"Hey wait up!"
Seth slightly tilted his head, Emily was waving for him to stop, and she came towards him. "Hey em, what's wrong"
"Nothing I just wanted to hang out, so let's walk somewhere," She said with a smile. Seth shrugged his shoulders and then followed her.
The trees in the academy were different from than earth's, Their leaves were purple and the flowers grown on them were red, they released a natural fragrance.
Seth glanced at Emily, She was wearing a light blue dress which was rare for her, and her hair was tied into a ponytail.
Emily glanced at Seth. "You know you can just tell me I look good rather than acting all shy," she teased, nudging him playfully with her elbow.
Seth chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "You do look good, Emily. It's just… I'm not used to seeing you like this."
Emily raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Like what? A girl?"
"Yes, a girl but it's nice to see you look like that, it's refreshing to my eyes" Seth smirked, Emily glared at him and then laughed the next second.
"Careful, Seth. You might be charming," Emily said, rolling her eyes but smiling.
Seth grinned, feeling more at ease. "I think that was a compliment, so I'll take it."
As they walked, the sun began to set, casting a warm, golden hue over the academy's strange yet beautiful landscape. The purple leaves of the trees shimmered under the fading light, and the air was filled with the soft fragrance of the red flowers. They wandered off the main path, heading towards a small, secluded garden that was often overlooked by the other students.
Emily led the way, her steps light and carefree. "You know, it's nice to just… be," she said softly, her voice almost drowned out by the gentle rustling of the leaves above them. "No training, no classes, just us."
Seth nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it is. It feels like we're in a different world sometimes."
"We are silly" She nudged him gently, Seth rolled his eyes and the two continued walking. Thally betrayed Seth by sitting on Emily's shoulders, She stuck out her tongue at him.
He ignored her and continued walking with Emily, She glanced at him again and then held his hand her fingers intertwining with his. Seth felt a jolt of surprise, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he squeezed her hand gently, a small smile playing on his lips.
Emily's expression softened as they continued walking hand in hand. "Seth, do you ever think about… the future? What it might be like after all of this?" she asked, her voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty.
Seth glanced at her, his brow furrowing slightly. "Yeah, sometimes," he admitted. "But it's hard to imagine what things will be like when everything's so… unpredictable."
Emily nodded, her gaze fixed on the path ahead. "I know what you mean. But I guess… I like thinking that maybe we'll still have moments like this. Just the two of us, away from everything."
"Oh? Are you proposing to me" Seth asked mischievously.
"No, we are friends and this is a Friendly gesture" She laughed lightly.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you don't have feelings for me" Emily's laughter softened, and she glanced down at their intertwined hands. "Well, I never said that," she replied, her tone more serious than before. She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. "But sometimes, I wonder if it's worth complicating things. We have a good thing going, Seth."
"Eh, I mean I knew you had a crush on me for a long time, I was just too insensitive back then and was also a little of a pushover" He nonchalantly replied.
"…" Emily was silent but still blushing.
"Okay, so what do you want to do now?" Seth asked, trying to ease the sudden tension that had settled between them.
Emily took a deep breath, her blush fading slightly as she regained her composure. "I don't know, maybe just… keep walking? Or we could sit by the fountain and talk."
Seth nodded, feeling a mix of relief and curiosity. "Sounds good. Let's head to the fountain."
They made their way to a small, ornate fountain nestled within the garden. The water shimmered in the twilight, casting a soft glow around them. They sat down on the stone edge, the sound of the trickling water filling the comfortable silence between them.
"You used the Academy's map to find this garden" he asked breaking the silence between them.
"Yeah, I did. I needed a place where we could just… talk. Somewhere peaceful," Emily admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
Seth nodded, gazing into the water as it rippled softly in the fountain. "It's a good spot. I'm glad you brought me here."
"Damn, he is smooth," Vice said as they looked at them from a distance.
Verity was silently observing them. "Yeah, but I don't see interest in his face?"
"Well that's probably because all you ever think about is recruiting and fighting strong people, you can't read emotions that easily" Zane exclaimed, she glared at him which in turn shut him up
"So now that I know you have a crush on me, should we go forward?" Seth asked Emily.
"What no stop teasing, yes I have a crush on you but it's not that deep. I'm just… comfortable with you, that's all," Emily said, trying to downplay her feelings, though her voice wavered slightly.
"heh sure, Anyway I made an enemy of the entire Radiant Light group" Seth was not bothered by what he said, he felt it was a good opportunity to see if he could mimic sole dangerous plants. Maybe he got his father's experimental side.
"Wow, that's bad, what did you do?" She asked curiously.
"I gave them poison ivy, Thally made it so that it would spread through their entire building, so all of them present should have poison ivy by now" He answered.
Emily's eyes widened in surprise. "You went all out on them, huh?"
Seth shrugged nonchalantly. "They were getting too cocky. Sometimes, you need to knock them down a peg. Plus, it's not like they'll die from it. Just an itchy reminder not to mess with me."
"Yeah but the problem is you may get bullied," She said with a worrying tone. Seth reassured me he was fine.
After the two finished talking, they went back to their dorms after going for their dinner. Jake was on his bed looking into his computer, he glanced at Seth when he came in and went back to what he was doing.
Seth had his computer but he didn't feel like going through the trouble of checking the internet today, so he just played with Thally.
"Stop poking me!!" Thally immediately moved her hands up and down, Seth chuckled as he continued poking her face.
Before Thally had the chance to bite him, he stopped. "…You can't bite me"
"If I can't bite you I'll just paralyze you then," She said in an upset tone.
"Haha, Fine how about just patting your head with my finger" He asked.
Thally's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Seth. "Okay, but only if you stop poking me."
Seth grinned and gently patted Thally's head with his finger. She sighed contentedly and closed her eyes, clearly enjoying the gesture.
"I heard you cause some trouble for Radiant Light, their members have been annoying me" Jake suddenly spoke to him.
"Oh yeah, they wanted me to lick their boss's shoe, So me and Thally let them get a taste of poison Ivy, Also why are you talking to me, don't you hate me?" He asked curiously.
Jake shrugged, not looking up from his computer. "It's not about hating you. It's about recognizing that sometimes, taking them down a notch is worth the trouble. Besides, it's entertaining to see what you'll do next."
"Oh, then what about when you suddenly felt uneasiness near Haiki, there is something wrong with her" Jake was uncomfortable when he heard her name.
"…She gives off the same feeling as Axel" Seth and Jake may not be the most tolerable with each other but they agree that Something isn't meant to be approached.
Outside of the Academy, Metrocore city surrounds it, there are only about a million people in the city, It is one of the most populated cities on this planet and academy.
Far out in the city, A building that had the signature logo of Radiant Light stood, it was a gold star that constantly shined. Inside they were currently all having a meeting, all of them had cold and bloodthirsty expressions.
"Disgraced by a Level 1, how disgusting" A teacher of the academy sat on a throne of gold, he was currently looking down at two people.
"Next month is when the First years are going out for their first beast hunting exhibition, I want these five dead if not, never return" In front of them were the names of Five people.
1. Seth William's
2. Axel Illuminai
3. Zack Umbra
4. Feiling Xue
5. Allen Red