Seth found it fishy that he would approach him so suddenly the moment he walked out, he squinted his eyes. "Well that's great I guess, I'll see you later"
"Ah wait a minute," Lucien asked in a warm and gentle tone, but Seth felt that if he didn't stop, something might happen to him.
He turned around. "Yeah?"
"Would you like to join?"
"No"
"oh…" Lucien thought his flashy entrance would be enough for Seth to be amazed. But he did not give much heart to his rejection it felt it would be perfect to make an example out of him.
Lucien's warm smile didn't waver, but Seth noticed a flicker of something in his eyes disappointment, maybe irritation, quickly masked by a return to his charming demeanor. Seth kept his guard up. Lucien was known around the academy, not just for his charisma, but for how quickly his attitude could shift when things didn't go his way.
"Well, if you ever change your mind," Lucien continued smoothly, "the offer stands. We could use someone with your potential."
Seth simply nodded, his instincts telling him to avoid getting entangled with someone like Lucien. He knew the guy had connections, a group of followers who admired his power and influence. Seth had no interest in joining their ranks, especially when it felt like Lucien was trying too hard to pull him in.
Lucien's smile didn't reach his eyes as he stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You might want to think about it, Seth. People who say 'no' to me don't always get second chances."
Seth felt a chill down his spine, but he stood his ground, his expression neutral. "I'll keep that in mind."
Without waiting for a response, Seth turned and walked away, feeling Lucien's gaze boring into his back. Thally, his plant companion, shifted slightly on his shoulder, sensing the tension.
"That guy gives me the creeps," Thally whispered in his ear, her tone playful but with an edge of concern.
"Yeah," Seth murmured back, glancing around to make sure Lucien wasn't following. "Let's just stay clear of him for now."
After walking for some time Seth saw a familiar face which made him want to leave, as he was about to go the other way.
Haiki's eyes flashed with a certain interest she silently followed him. Thally turned around to look at her and then turned back.
'That Haiki girl is following you' Thally communicated with him telepathically.
Seth felt irritated by that information. '…So we have golden eyes number two here, can I just go find Emily in peace…'
A silent tear escaped from his eyes, he sighed and turned around, he stared at Haiki she was currently pretending to look around, As he stood there Seth had to appreciate her, her white skirt fluttering slightly in the breeze, and her posture was relaxed, almost casual, as if she wasn't just caught tailing him. Haiki had a knack for blending in, even when she was clearly up to something.
"May I ask why you are following?" He asked with a forced smile.
Haiku suddenly smiled and went towards him. "Well that's because I find you interesting, so let's be playmates"
Thally suddenly froze, she felt something small reacting somewhere but she didn't know where, She shrugged it off and continued watching.
Seth blankly stared at her, he was not in the mood to talk to someone anymore, he had already been threatened. "Sure we can be friends but I'm not really in the mood for playing right now," Seth replied, his voice carrying a hint of exhaustion. He had enough on his mind with Lucien's veiled threats, and Haiki's sudden interest only added to his unease.
Haiki then pouted. "Well fine, I have been homeschooled all my life so it would be nice if you educate me on some common sense since I lack quite a bit of it"
"I can see that, but I guess we will see each other later I guess" Seth turned to leave, hoping to finally find some peace, but Haiki wasn't done yet.
"Wait, Seth!" she called out, her tone light and teasing, but with an underlying determination that made him pause. "I wasn't joking about the common sense thing. I don't know much about how things work around here. Maybe we could have lunch together? You could teach me a thing or two."
Seth hesitated. On one hand, he could use a break from all the strange interactions he'd been having lately. On the other, something about Haiki's insistence made him wary. She seemed genuine enough, but given the day's events, he wasn't sure if he should take her at face value.
Thally, sensing his internal debate, nudged his cheek with a leafy tendril. "She seems harmless, but I wouldn't let your guard down just yet."
Seth sighed, realizing that trying to avoid Haiki might just lead to more trouble. Besides, if she was genuinely clueless about how things worked at the academy, maybe it wouldn't hurt to help her out. At least it would be a distraction from Lucien.
"Alright," he said finally, turning back to face her. "Lunch it is. But let's keep it simple, okay?"
Haiku beamed, her smile bright enough to rival the sun. "Ok, You promised tomorrow after classes"
She happily went her way, but Haiki had one thought in her mind, it was a command that was set the moment she set eyes on Seth. "Destroy…William, well I might as well have some fun with his spawn"
After not finding Emily, Seth dejectedly went back to his dorm room and fell silently asleep. Thally of course went into her pot.
In the Endless Expanse of space, on a highly futuristic Moon, an Academy was situated between Two Twin towers.
Serid was wearing glasses and her tail nervously went side to side. "Why am I being a teacher…..and a battle teacher at that… I've been reduced to mere teacher…"
She sighed and removed the glasses throwing them on the ground and crushing them under her legs, She rubbed her eyes in annoyance. "ugh whatever, let's just get my schedule from the overseer"
Seth woke the next morning feeling a bit more rested, but the events of the previous day still lingered in his mind. Lucien's thinly veiled threat and Haiki's odd behavior were hard to shake off. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, glancing at Thally, who was already out of her pot and stretching her leaves in the morning light.
"Morning, Thally," Seth mumbled, running a hand through his hair.
"Morning!" Thally chirped, her usual energy returning. "Ready for another weird day?"
Seth chuckled, though it was a bit forced. "I guess. Let's just hope it's less weird than yesterday."
Jack already left earlier, After wearing his uniform, Seth went to his class which was a few blocks away from the Dorms.
Seth was troubled, his instincts were telling him to ignore both Lucien and Haiki, After entering the class he found an empty row and sat at the end of it.
As he was wallowing in his misfortune, Someone sat near him and he was finally joyful, Emily was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you look so down are you sick?"
"Nope but I might be in danger," He said with a smile.
"Do you need any help?" She asked with a bit of concern in her voice.
"Maybe but I don't need your help for now, also this is beast class right?" Emily was baffled, didn't he look into his schedule?
She hesitated for a moment then asked. "Are you sure you aren't sick we can go to the Infirmary"
Seth's eyes twitched. "I'll take that as a yes and I'm not sick"
Emily chuckled and didn't further try to tease him, After the students all came in a teacher with wild-looking hair, his eyes were a predatory yellow suited for a hunter.
He was playing with a small dagger. "Hello there little brats, Today we will be talking about beast Ranks and anatomy"
He didn't seem to care for the introduction, some students were displeased but they didn't fully show it. Seth's mind was currently in panic as he could feel himself shudder from fear.
'The hell is this Thally?!!' He communicated with her telepathically.
Thally herself was nervous but managed to calm down. 'ehm well you know how we both grow stronger when we are exposed to sunlight or water or even dirt and sometimes air'
Seth ceased his eyebrows. 'Yeah symbiotic shenanigans'
'Well good because we 'grew' last night and our mind can now detect the energy of well-living beings, basically it's tracking and we can also sense predators….' She said in an enthusiastic and also nervous tone.
'…So basically we are scanners…whatever I am already used to it' He said and sent his attention back to class.
"So let's continue, as of now forget the old ranking system of E,f, a,b,c, and S, because it's not creative enough, and honestly, it doesn't fully capture the complexity of the creatures you'll be dealing with," the teacher said, pacing at the front of the class. "In this academy, we use a more refined classification system based on several factors" He flicked the dagger in his hand, embedding it in the desk with pinpoint accuracy, startling a few students. "Let's start with the first category"