The History of Magic lesson went by more quickly than expected. The history of the magical gem mines was very interesting and the worksheet wasn't all that difficult, even by Skip's standards. Cassandra and her Court had finished it in half the allotted time, with enough time to spare to finish their Potionology homework and the assigned writing homework for their current class. Cassandra and Ash had just finished helping Grim write his history homework when the bell rang and everyone except Professor Trein, The Court and Ace left the 'boring' class as quickly as possible.
After writing the last sentence for Grim's assignment, with a few edits recommended by Ash, Cassandra put her things away, save for today's history assignment and homework, before she made her way to the front, passing by all her Court to collect their assignments as well. Lucius must have decided he would make an excellent parka, because he had draped himself over the tribrid's shoulders and had banished Grim to sit on the edge of the desk half way through the lesson.
"Here.", Cassandra said as she held out her and her Court's, including Deuce's and Ace's two assignments. Professor Trein quickly took the assignments and flipped through the papers, steadily raising an eyebrow as he did so.
"This is today's assignment and homework. For all of you, even your familiar and the child. This should have taken at least two hours of research and another hour to write, and that's just the homework. How in Seven's name did you all do this so quickly and thoroughly?", the aging professor asked as he skimmed over Cassandra and the others' writing, looking out over the still seated students in confusion.
Cassandra shrugged.
"We just work fast."
'And we can write ten times faster than normal humans. Not to mention there's also the fact that three of us have IQ's of over 200, and I may or may not have done Deuce's and Ace's assignments for them so they wouldn't get an F for their first two grades in your class.'
Those two idiots had spent the entire class glaring at each other and whispering insults under their breath, completely forgetting about the assignment. Cassandra knew it wasn't good to do everything for them and not let them learn from their mistakes, but she refused to let her newest friend and soon-to-be Court member as well as her newest Court member get anything but A's. They had a yet-to-be made reputation to uphold, after all.
Professor Trein looked at her skeptically, "So it seems.", he drawled out in a manner not unlike her most fashionable professor's 'I'm onto you' voice. Nevertheless, Trein took one last glance at the papers before nodding at her in approval and changing the subject.
"I still find it hard to believe Lucious has warmed up to you so quickly. He only acts this way with my daughters, and even then it took him years to get fully used to them. Animals are said to be excellent judges of character, Mrs. Mikaelson, and my familiar is no exception. I expect great things from you."
With that final statement, Trein snapped his fingers, and Lucious jumped off Cassandra's shoulders to return to his master's side. The two of them then took their seats at the professor's desk, with Trein sitting in a rather large leather chair and Lucious perched on top of it. It was as if their conversation moments ago had never happened as the severe man started grading today's assignments, paying no mind to the loitering first years in his class. It seemed the strict professor was turning a blind eye.
'It seems everyone here has a problem staying consistent personality wise.', Cassandra thought exasperated. If people could anime sweat drop, she would be.
Bewildered after the odd interaction, the red head blinked, turned back to her Court and started to walk over to the desk to get her things. After she retrieved them, she looked over at Ace and Deuce, who were still so wrapped up in trying to insult each other and stomp on each other's feet under the desk, they hadn't noticed the classroom had emptied, or that they were being watched. Cassandra sighed, this was getting ridiculous.
"Both of you, stop it. Now."
Cassandra said this the same way her mom said things to her dad or uncles when they did something stupid, like killing someone and leaving the corpse on the dining room table (something that has happened more times than any of the Mikaelson clan would care to admit). The very annoyed tribrid sighed and looked at the two Heartslabyul students with 'listen or else' eyes, her golden irises seeming to glow even brighter with annoyance. If the two morons weren't terrified, they probably would have thought it was hot.
"You both are acting like children. I don't know what happened or what made you both so mad, but this whole 'alpha male rivalry' thing isn't gonna happen. I will not have the two of you arguing over petty things every other minute. Deuce, you are in the Court of Miracles now. That means what you do and how you act reflects back on me and others. If you're constantly getting into verbal sparring matches and get easily goaded into doing things, those negative qualities will be associated with all of us once people find out who we are and how we are associated."
Ace let out a loud "Ha!" as Cassandra finished verbally obliterating his love rival, only to be intimidated into silence once more when Cassandra's piercing gaze fell on him.
"As for you Ace, if you want to remain by my side in a more official manner, you can't constantly be arguing with one of your own. We are a united front against whatever or whoever opposes us. If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. That won't have much meaning though, if your constantly arguing with someone who is supposed to be your friend and ally. Do I make myself clear?"
Ace looked a bit confused by the reasoning behind his verbal beatdown, but Deuce knew what she was implying, and was very opposed to it.
"What?! You want him in the Court?! I thought it was only made up of people you trust with your life?! You can't trust him! He's a total jackass! No! No way!"
Ace looked like he was about to ask questions, but was stopped when Cassandra responded to Deuce.
"I said I felt I could trust you after barely one conversation, that you have a good heart. I know Ace is annoying-"
Ace made a choked noise at that.
"-But he has a kind heart too, even if it doesn't show itself the first time you meet him... or the second or third."
Ace exclaimed a small "Hey!" and looked like he was about to say more, but another piercing glare from Cassandra silenced him.
"But it's there. It's just buried under a lot of snark. My decision is final, Deuce. So, both of you, make up, stop arguing, and at least pretend to like each other. Do I make myself clear?"
Ace went to open his mouth, only for Cassandra to interrupt him.
"And I swear if one of you says 'but he started it', I will smack you so hard not even google will be able to find your asses."
Ace then quickly closed his mouth before opening it again, and Deuce proceeded to open his with a confused look.
"What's google?", the teal eyed and red eyed boy asked in unison, causing them to glare at each other.
Cassandra sighed and rubbed her temples. This was going to be a long day.
"What is your next class?", she asked, exasperated. The two took their crumpled, paper schedules out of their blazer pockets. Cassandra took them and looked over them. Aside from Ace having study hall when the rest of them had potions, their schedules were the same as the rest of the Court's. Their next class was Physical Education, followed by lunch, study hall with Professor Trien again (This was when Ace had potions), and a free period to use for homework, tutoring, clubs and office hours. Cassandra thought that was a pretty sparse schedule, but considering the amount of work everyone had been given just on the first day, maybe it was because first year was about learning the basics and they would move up to have more classes next year. That or this school had a major staffing problem.
"We have practically the same schedules, except for potions. Thank God. We all Have PE next on the athletics field. Now, let's go before the next class shows up here and sees a bunch of first years having a powwow in their classroom. It's amazing that hasn't happened already, anyways."
The red head then turned to her more amiable Court members with crossed arms and started giving orders.
"Griffin, you explain everything to Ace on the way to class. Skip, hold onto Grim to make sure he doesn't try to, for lack of a better term, skip. He was eyeing the windows a bit too much during our history lecture- Don't deny it Grim, we all saw you."
The cat-like creature tried to argue his innocence briefly before he saw the looks he got from the Court that made him realize he wasn't fooling anyone. He shut up soon after that.
"The rest of you, just grab your things and try not to argue amongst yourselves. I've had quite enough of that today."
With that said, Cassandra marched out of the classroom with a schooled neutral expression as everyone else followed. The entire walk down to the ground floor and outside, she didn't say a word. She just listened to Griffin explain the Court to Ace, Skip bantering with Grim about how tuna was not better than cake, Yue asking anyone of them who would answer if his hair looked alright, and Shorter, Eiji, Deuce and Ash making jokes with each other about how their intimidating professors were no match for the power of a polite, well read teenage girl. After taking the opportunity to breath and collect her thoughts, Cassandra's anger and irritation had dissipated and she was back to her normal self. By the time they had reached the athletics field, Cassandra was looking forward to doing what she and the vampiric members of her Court did best.
Completely eviscerating humans in anything remotely physical.
After making a brief stop and changing into their gym clothes (Ash and Shorter volunteered to guard the bathroom while Cassandra changed), all of them were ready to grind their foolish mortal classmates to sand.
Joining their classmates outside, they heard their coach, a muscular man named Ashton Vargas, giving out his name along with instructions for today's class. Today, they were going to run a mile on the dirt track. It wasn't a race, but given how competitive teenage boys could get, it really was.
'Simple enough', Cassandra thought as she turned towards the vampiric members of her Court.
"You have full permission to go all out. If anyone asks how you did what you did, just deny you did anything or say it was a spell. That being said, grind these fetuses to dust."
Emphasizing the last word of her statement, Cassandra let herself grin evilly along with her undead Court members. It was always fun to obliterate the fragile egos of humans who thought they were all that. No one had said such to imply it yet, but they all knew at least a few of them were probably thinking it.
Meanwhile, a certain pair of card themed morons was doing the exact opposite of what their leader had told them to do.
"What do you think she is talking about with them?", Deuce asked his sworn enemy as he watched Cassandra have what looked like a team huddle with her senior Court members a ways away from them.
"Stuff she couldn't be bothered to tell you, apparently. I thought you were supposed to be in the Court too? Makes me wonder if she really meant what said about you or if she just took pity on you because you looked lonely.", Ace said snarkily as he started stretching for the run. Deuce frowned.
"You're in the same situation as me, dumbass. Maybe Cassandra only let you into the Court because of that."
Ace stopped mid-stretch and frowned. He recalled what his ex-girlfriend had told him when she dumped him
"You're just a lonely little boy who I took pity on because he had no friends. You're not the heir to a fortune, you're not smart, and you can't even win at basketball. You. Are. Nothing."
Ace could hear the word 'nothing' ringing in his ears, over and over. He couldn't hear anything else. Not the sound of students being rowdy. Not Coach Vargas saying to go to the starting line. Not even Deuce's slightly concerned calls of his name. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he snapped out of it.
"Ace, are you okay? You looked super out of it."
It was Cassandra who said that, her eyes glowing with concerned warmth as she kneeled down beside him. You would never have guessed she was at the end of her rope with him just a few minutes ago. Smiling, the girl continued speaking.
"I'm sorry I excluded you and Deuce from my talk with the others. I was just telling them not to hold back on the run, even if we are more physically fit than most others and will probably easily outrun them. This might include you two, so I didn't want you guys to feel like me and the others were trying to make you feel inferior."
The heart marked boy's eyes widened before returning to normal as he gave the girl a small smile.
Why was he panicking? Cassandra didn't act anything like Vanessa. She had been nice and humble and all the things that bitch wasn't. She would never want to be friends with him just out of pity, he didn't know why yet, but he was certain.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired.", the young man lied swiftly. Cassandra didn't seem to believe him, but didn't say anything as she helped up and guided him and Deuce over to the starting line.
Everyone was already lined up and ready to run, except for Skipper, who was playing on Ash's Twisted Wonderland phone under a tree along with Grim, who was cheering him on. Coach Vargas had apparently been told, along with the rest of the staff, by Crowley that since Grim didn't really have the capabilities necessary for participating in PE, and since Skip wasn't a prodigy student and was a twelve year old child, they were to be exempt from strenuous physical activity and all tests and exams in just Skipper's case. Skip could still do assignments, but wasn't going to receive a grade at the end of the year. He would, however, still be counted as an NRC graduate should he complete the four year curriculum. It made a surprising amount of sense to Vargas for something thought of by his boss. Must have been his yearly good idea.
"Okay, listen up! You are going to cover the entire length of this one mile track by the end of class! Start with a walk, then a jog, and then a run. You can't walk or jog the whole time, or you will fail! Know your grade for today will lower five points for every ten minutes you take to complete the lap after thirty minutes."
There were a lot of mumbles of complaint at that, and Ace might have joined in if it weren't for the giddy looks on his fellow Court members (he was in, right? They hadn't said anything, but they kept implying it, so...?) faces. Something was about to go down, and he wanted in. Just as the mischievous first year was about to start asking questions, though, his muscle head of a coach started talking again.
"This is NOT a race! Don't turn this into a competition, or you'll regret it later! You will end up using all your energy and finish later than you should! Don't fail your first assignment because of something preventable! You got it?!"
Everyone responded with a chorus of "Yes sir!"s, but Cassandra knew that was a lie. Most of these people were insecure teenage boys. The day they didn't take a chance to make themselves feel superior to those around them by beating each other at God knows what was the day the earth caved in.
Everyone got into their starting positions. Cassandra was between Ash and Yue, who looked to her moments before Vargas blew the starting whistle.
"Last place finds dinner?", Ash asked quietly, proving Cassandra's point. The tribrid smirked.
"How about first runner up gets me all to themselves tonight, because we both know I'm going to leave you in the dust.", she whispered back.
That got Shorter and Eiji's attention real quick, and all four of her mates got determined looks on their faces.,
"We'll see about first runner up, darling.", Yue said in a slow drawl.
The whistle was blown, and six blurs flew across the track.
Cassandra laughed as she felt the wind fly through her hair. She was reminded of her escapades as a wolf, or a raven, or an alligator, or anything else on God's green earth. Her time spent running through the woods, flying through the air, or swimming in the bayou would always be the times where she felt she was most free. This little jog wasn't much by comparison, but it was still nice to be able to stretch her legs.
The tribrid almost groaned when she came back to her starting place. Was it really over so soon? Maybe she shouldn't have gone at full speed. Stopping abruptly, Cassandra skidded on the dirt track, kicking up a large cloud of dust as she did so. Not even five seconds later, a blonde blur, followed by a black one, a purple one, a brown one, and a strawberry blonde one. The dust cloud grew, and it took a few moments for it to clear. When it did, the six bloodsuckers were face to face with a very shocked Ashton Vargas, and their entire class, who had stopped making their way down the track in shock. Cassandra and the others stared at them and Eiji blinked.
"What?", he asked, genuinely confused for a moment before he remembered; 'Oh yeah, normal people can't run that fast!'
"How in the Great Seven's name did you all do that?!", their coach yelled, utterly astonished by their athletic prowess.
"Uhh, special magic from our world?", Shorter answered awkwardly, readjusting his sunglasses and taking Cassandra's advice. The coach scoffed.
"You expect me to believe that?! No spell should be able to do that, even a Unique Magic shouldn't be something you all happen to have in common! What the hell are you-?!"
The coach probably would have continued if he hadn't made the mistake of looking Yue dead in the eye, who took the chance to compel him.
"We're just normal students, sir. What we did is completely normal, and isn't something to be mentioned.", the young vampire said, walking over to his teacher slowly as he said this. Coach Vargas nodded with a slightly out of it look on his face.
"Yes... yes, you're right.", he said, his voice quiet and monotone as he did so. A few seconds later, he snapped out of it and turned to his other, still gawking students. He frowned.
"Well, what are you all looking at?! The longer you take, the lower your grade!"
That startled them into running again, except for Ace and Deuce, who were still shocked by their fellow Court members' capabilities. The two stood side by side, not moving out of the way for very annoyed oncoming runners.
"What in the fresh hell...?", Deuce trailed off, not quite out of his stupor. They were running fast enough that they were blurs! They were running as fast as his magic wheel! What the fuck?!
"Yeah, what you said...", Ace agreed with him for the first time since they had met. That was not a pace humans should be able to run at, Unique Magic or no. And they just made their teacher okay with it, somehow?! Ace already knew that Cassandra wasn't normal, the entrance ceremony was proof enough of that, but this...
'Just what the hell have I gotten myself into...?', both boys thought in unison, questioning their decision to join these people.
Cassandra then turned over to look in their direction, and smiled at them brightly. Suddenly all doubt either of them had vanished.
Realizing that they were free to do whatever since the coach would probably ignore them for a while due to the compulsion, Cassandra walked up to him, tapped him on the shoulder and looked him in the eye when he turned around.
"Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade are done for the day. They finished the lap and passed with flying colors. When you tell them they are done, say that their presence has been requested by their dorm leader in the forest behind the botanical gardens."
Vargas's pupils dilated, and he turned around to face the track once more.
"Trappola! Spade! You're done for the day! Your dorm leader needs you at the botanical gardens! Best get a move on, he's a stickler about being on time!"
Ace and Deuce both looked at each other, confused at why they were being let out and why their dorm leader needed them specifically at such a specific location. Deuce was about to ask what he needed them for, but Ace just shrugged and went to get his stuff. Deciding there had been enough weirdness today and that he would not look a gift horse in the mouth, Deuce sighed and did the same.
"You know, you were slower than usual today, Griff. You usually have everyone except Cassandra, Ash and me beat in the speed department.", Yue said as he watched the two new recruits bicker over something as they grabbed their things from a distance, glancing sideways at his friend. Griffin sighed.
"It's been a week since I last fed. You and the others fed just a few hours before the case.", the older Callenreese said, the unspoken question of when they would feed next hanging in the air. Cassandra had said they would check the infirmary tonight, but what would they do if there were no blood bags? Stealing from a hospital, if there even was one nearby, would draw more attention to them than necessary. They could feed off of students, but how long until someone put two and two together? They were running out of options and if they didn't figure something out quick, they would end up desiccating before the end of first quarter.
Deciding not to ruin their moods with that looming problem, the two diverted their attention to a certain red haired tribrid, who was making out with Ash behind a line of trees a few yards away. The two vampires could only just barely see them, further proving that they needed to feed as quickly as possible. Griffin subtly cringed and looked away, and Yue made his way over to the pair just as hands were starting to move up clothes.
"Can you two not? I am not compelling the entire class to forget what happened when you two get caught.", he said huffing as he poked his head in through the trees. Ash pulled away from his lover reluctantly, a string of saliva connecting the two, still very flushed and panting supernaturals. Ash collected himself and looked towards Yue smugly.
"What, jealous I stole your consolation prize?"
Yue did not take the bait as he usually did when it came to arguing with Ash, and instead sighed tiredly, taking his hair out of his now ruined ponytail and letting it fall in shiny ebony curtains around his face.
"No, Lynx, I'm being practical. We don't know what's considered the social norm for romantic relationships here. Sure, there were some laws about poly in those law books from the Land of Hot Sands, but beyond that it is never mentioned. It's likely that the law is only there to be enacted by rich, powerful men and no one else. We don't know how people will take... us. People can be cruel, add magic to the mix and we have no idea what people might do to us if they found out about our relationship. It could be anything from social pariah hood to being burned at the stake for all we know. People tolerated us back in New Orleans because of who you were, Cassandra, but we don't have the protection of the Mikaelson name anymore. All we have is a supposed to be stuck in Tartarus Underworld god who has yet to show himself to us, who may or may not be an attempted child murderer, and a flaky headmaster who already is suspicious of us and doesn't like us. We're on thin ice as it is, and we don't need to make things harder for ourselves. Until we gain a reputation and gauge the social climate a bit more, we should keep our relationship a secret from the school. I know you don't like it, Cassie, but it's what's best for right now."
Cassandra scowled. She never liked the idea of keeping her love for her boys a secret. If people wanted to judge, let them judge, but she would shout her love for her les amoureux to the heavens regardless. But, she knew Yue was right. They had no idea how relationships with more than two people were treated in this society, and she would never want to endanger the others because she wanted to be selfish. Sighing, Cassandra agreed with a "Very well.", and followed Ash out of the tree line. Just before the two got out in the open, Cassandra grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards her, bending him down a bit for another searing kiss. The two of them moaned as their tongues danced once more, and when they parted again they were left flustered for a second time.
"Do not ever doubt my love for you, okay? Not for you, not for Eiji, not for Shorter, and not for Yue. You are the four winds at my back, the lights of my life. I would die for you if you asked, and I would just as easily live through hell just to see your smiling face again. I will never be ashamed of loving the beautiful, kind, smart, strong man in front of me, or the three others standing just a few yards away. No amount of social exile or even violent retaliation will ever change that, and if I have to pull you aside every chance I get to kiss you senseless and remind you about everything that makes you amazing to prove that to you, I will."
The tribrid kissed the blonde gang leader chastely one final time, looking him in his beautiful jade eyes that shined with yet to be shed tears. Cassandra closed them gently with her thumb, causing them to finally fall as she gently kissed each eyelid.
"I love you so much.", the man who people called 'the devil himself' said in a quiet broken voice as he leaned his forehead against his lover's with closed eyes. He could never doubt what Cassandra felt for him. He never thought that he would be loved like this, that he deserved to be loved like this, and yet here Cassandra was, constantly fighting tooth and nail to prove him wrong, and succeeding against all odds.
"And I as well, my dashing lynx.", she whispered to him, using one of her many pet names for him, saying it so reverently it could have been mistaken for a divine epithet.
With one last kiss on the forehead from Ash, the two separated and went to rejoin their fellow Court members. Just before they came within sight of the others, Cassandra whispered one final message in her mate's ear.
"I'm going to talk Grim into sleeping with Skip this week. I'm going to spend all night showing you just how much I love you, and then the others the next three nights. I hope you don't plan on sleeping."
With one last smoldering look at her blonde mate with that teasing little smirk he hated and loved so much, the dragon eyed girl made her way over to the rest of The Court and started conversing with them as if she hadn't been making innuendos about him and some of them mere seconds ago as he stood there blushing like an idiot.
Cassandra had yet to go past second base with any of them in the two years they had been together. The most risque thing she had done with any of them was change in front of them, and that one time Yue and Cassandra (the latter's intoxication due to her Uncle Kol spiking her blood with vodka in the hopes she would 'let loose for once in her immortal life'. Neither she nor her parents and his wife were amused) got drunk off their asses and insisted Cassandra 'draw him like one of her french girls', something both of them apologized profusely for to each other in the morning. This was mostly due to the fact she was underage then and still is now, but the other reason was that she didn't want to make any of them, namely him and Yue, feel uncomfortable or pressured.
She wanted the two of them to be absolutely sure they were ready, and that when they were, then they would talk. Ash had been ready for a year, but hadn't brought it up because Cassandra was still underage and he didn't want to pressure her into anything. They literally had all the time in the world, there was no need to rush.
Yue, on the other hand, had been ready for well over a year. He had dropped a few hints, but their mutual lover was either choosing to ignore them or was just a bit oblivious when it came to sexual subtlety. It was most likely the latter, and because of that the Chinese boy wasn't getting laid unless he came out and said what he wanted directly or went for the more direct approach and just laid on her bed naked until she came to bed. Either way, he was likely too embarrassed to try it sober and felt like if he did those things, he would be dragging Cassandra down to their level.
Which led back to the ex-gangster's current delma of what the hell his beloved Cassie was planning for tonight.
It probably wasn't what his mind immediately thought of, but that didn't mean he didn't wonder...
While the genius boy was having his internal dilemma, the ex-Chinese mobster, Chinese gangster, pole vaulter and Iraq war vet stood looking out at the ridiculous sight before them.
Ace and Deuce had gotten into a wrestling match over God knows what, and were now rolling on the ground with choruses of "HEY!"s and "OW!"s as they did battle in what could only be described as a 'cat fight'. Coach Vargas was ignoring them, since apparently 'Done for the day' means 'Not my problem anymore'. How probably illegal.
"What the fuck are they fighting about now?", Cassandra asked, exasperated and just about ready to lose it.
"Apparently, they mixed up their everyday uniforms, but Ace wont switch with Deuce for some reason. Deuce punched him, Ace kicked him and that escalated into... this.", Eiji said, thoroughly done with the situation.
"And why haven't any of you broken them up?", the tribrid asked, right eye twitching slightly.
"We tried, but carrot top decided it would be fun to bite me, and I was not dealing with more of that so I gave up. If you want to get rabies from those two lunatics you wanted to join us, be my guest.", said Shorter, sounding thoroughly done as he held up his arm, his rolled up sleeve revealing a just visible bite mark surrounded by dried blood, it having already healed for the most part.
Cassandra sighed. She didn't hold Shorter's words against him, she would probably say something along those lines if she was in his situation. Sure, they were vampires who had fought and killed people, but that didn't mean they liked being bitten or expected it. That was an odd form of attack, even for supernaturals.
Marching over to the two first years who seemed to lack brain cells, she pulled them apart by their collar's and held them away from each other as she glared at them both.
"What the hell did I just tell you?! You can't act like this! You know what, that's it! You two are settling this stupid feud the old fashioned way!"
Deuce blinked, "Wh-what's the old fashioned way?"
From a ways away, Shorter grinned evilly, letting his fangs peek out just a bit. His glee at knowing these two were finally going to be set straight was palpable. Serves them right for ruining his new uniform.
"You two brawl until you both apologize to each other, or you drop unconscious from exhaustion."
Ace gulped at that, not expecting to actually have to fight the guy beside him. Deuce, however, was surprisingly smug. Unlike Mr. Fuckboy over here, he had actual fighting experience. He was going to Fuck. This. Punk. Up.
Cassandra, somehow sensing his satisfaction, turned to look at him with a glare that froze his blood cold in his veins.
"Don't act smug about this. I don't care how good at fighting you are, even if you win easily, you're still getting a lecture on the way to the forest."
That had Deuce gulping too, remembering the lectures his mother used to give him after he got into a fight. Those were hell.
"Now, I'm going to put you two down, and you better not-!"
The angry tribrid was interrupted mid-yell by the sound of screaming. Two, very familiar, child-like screams to be exact.
Reacting on instinct, Cassandra dropped Ace and Deuce roughly and ran over to where she heard the screams at full speed. When she got there, she saw a terrified Skipper and Grim, both of them shaking like leaves.
"Are you both okay?!", she asked urgently. Skipper and Grim, too scared to speak, simply nodded furiously in confirmation.
She gave them a once over, and sighed in relief when she confirmed they were unharmed herself. Looking up a bit, she saw the source of their terror.
An arrow had embedded itself in the tree the two were laying against, just inches above where Grim was sitting on Skipper's head. It was too close to them to have been an accident. Someone had shot at them on purpose.
Cassandra growled, oh this would not stand. No one shot at her babies and got away with it.
Without a word, she grabbed the arrow out of the tree and ran into the woods, ignoring Vargas's calls, asking about what had happened. When she was out of sight from her classmates, she shifted in the form of a white wolf with golden eyes the same as her human form, holding the arrow in her mouth. She sniffed the arrow, and got a feel for the scent of the owner from it; pine needles and sandalwood. If the smell didn't belong to someone who was shooting at her babies, she would have thought they smelled quite nice.
The girl turned wolf's ears perked up. She heard a rustling. Stopping her trek abruptly, she stood perfectly still.
SNAP!
A twig had broken behind her. Turning around, she saw a blonde young man in an odd feathered hat standing wide eyed and perfectly still. He had his hair in a bob cut, which on any one else would have looked horrible, but he made it work. His eyes were green, but were more of a grass color when compared to Ash's jade. He wore a purple vest under his uniform with a red and purple armband.
A Pomefiore student.
What set the wolf girl off the most about his appearance, however, was the hunting gear. Beige hunting boots, black leather gloves, and most condemningly, a bow and a quiver full of arrows on his back.
He was the one that shot the arrow.
Snarling, the furious tribrid raced to the man, who still stood paralizied with what she assumed was fear, and pounced on him. She slid with him onto the forest floor until his back hit against a large tree. He had nowhere to run.
Cassandra growled lowly at him as she leaned in closer and buried her nose in his hair as he released a noise of surprise, knocking his hat off. Pine needles and sandalwood, there was no denying it.
But just as she was about to bite his eyes out of their sockets, she finally got a good look at the man's expression. His eyes were still wide, and his cheeks were dusted with pink.
He wasn't afraid, he was in awe.
"Magnifique..." , he whispered under his breath.
Cassandra was taken aback. Only her family and Court had ever complimented her wolf form. Everyone else said it was terrifying. Why wasn't this guy screaming and trying to get away? It didn't make any sense.
'He must not have a lot of self preservation instinct...'
Even with his unusually pleasant reaction, he still nearly took her familiar's and the boy who she considers a son's heads off. No one, not even pretty, blonde, nice smelling forest boys got away with that.
But maybe she was being a bit harsh. Why would he try to hurt Skip and Grim? What reason could he have? She had never seen him before, and Grim and Skipper had been with her or the rest of the Court all day, and they never mentioned him. Something wasn't adding up.
Deciding to talk first and rip him to shreds later depending on his answers, Cassandra slowly got off of him and laid the arrow down beside her, before she shifted back into her humanoid form.
She never transformed into a wolf via werewolf transformation, because it was painful and she was always naked after words. When she changed using her animal shifting ability, it was painless and she kept her clothes. She hadn't transformed the old fashioned way in years.
The man just stared the whole time, watching silently as the shifter changed back and made her way towards him on two legs after picking up the arrow. When she reached where he was sitting at the base of the tree, she kneeled down in front of him and held the arrow out in front of her.
"qui es-tu et pourquoi as-tu décoché cette flèche sur la tête de mon familier?", Cassandra asked in french. She had heard him speak it earlier and figured it was best to ask the questions in the language he seemed most familiar with. The man's eyes widened further.
"Tu parles français?", the man asked hesitantly.
"Oui.", Cassandra answered with a nod, deciding to use her mother tongue this time to see if he knew it as well. She asked again, this time in english.
"Who are you and why did you shoot this arrow at my familiar's head?"
The man's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"I recall doing no such thing, Reine Des Loups.", Cassandra growled.
"Don't play dumb with me! You shot the arrow at my familiar, it was embedded in the tree he was sitting under mere inches above his head! How do you explain that?!"
The man gained a contemplative expression before his eyes widened in realization.
"Oh! Was your familiar the gray cat-like... thing? Sitting on that boy's head?", he asked, genuinely wondering. Cassandra nodded reluctantly.
"Well, I do believe I've figured out where the misunderstanding took place on my part."
Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "And that misunderstanding would be...?"
The man looked at her with apologetic eyes
"I seem to have mistaken your familiar for a common monster, and thought he was attacking the child due to his position on his head. Looking back on it, the loud screeching sounds the boy was making were most likely laughter."
'You think?'
"You weren't at the entrance ceremony, were you?", The red head asked, starting to realize what had happened. The green eyed man shook his head.
"Non, I was away on a hunting trip. I returned to my dorm a bit after it ended."
Now everything was starting to make sense. He didn't see what she did at the entrance ceremony, and therefore had no idea what Grim, her or the others looked like. His reaction was practical, and now Cassandra felt like an asshole for nearly attacking the guy for just trying to help. Standing up, she offered her hand to the man.
"In that case, I am truly sorry for nearly attacking you. I was angry and annoyed even before you fired that arrow, so I overreacted quite a bit. I should have talked to you before I tackled you to the ground.", the tribrid said as she helped him up.
"It is quite alright Reine Des Loups, I would have done the same had it been my familiar or one of my younger siblings. You were only trying to protect them. I find instincts like yours most beautiful traits to have."
He said this with such sincerity that Cassandra actually felt flattered by his compliment. She never felt that way unless the compliment came from her Court or family.
"I'm flattered you think that and that you don't want to have me arrested for assault. I think you already know this, given the rumors I'm sure are flying around the school by now, but my name is Cassandra Mikaelson."
The man laughed at her joke before he bowed at the waist with a flourish.
"I am Rook Hunt, Reine Des Loups, vice dorm head of Pomefiore and Le chasseur d'amour!", he said, taking her right hand to his lips and kissing it, causing familiar shocks to fly through both parties. Cassandra smiled, deciding to set aside the slight annoyance that came with those sparks. This one was certainly a charmer.
"'The Hunter of Love', huh? Why do you call yourself that, I wonder?", the girl asked coily, deciding to prod this one a bit, putting her kissed hand on her hip as Rook raised his arms dramatically.
"For I am a connoisseur of all things of beauty! I seek all that is beautiful in this world, and it seems I have a new target in my sights...", Rook said, starting off with a loud, dramatic tone before trailing off into a much lower one as he lowered his arms, shooting his would-be attacker an intense look. It gave Cassandra goosebumps.
"Oh, is that so, Garçon de la forêt?", the tribrid asked slyly as she leaned closer to her companion's face.
"Oui, Mon Cheri.", he said in a breathless voice, a dark look having overtaken his forest green eyes.
The two stared at each other, slowly leaning their faces closer until they were mere centimeters apart-
"Cassandra! Cassandra, where are you?!"
The two jumped back from each other upon hearing the loud, booming voice of a man. Cassandra was able to identify the owner as a very concerned sounding Shorter. Realizing it was time to rejoin her Court, the blood drinker gave Rook a smile before reaching down to pick up his forgotten hat.
"It seems my absence has been noticed. I should go back now.", Cassandra said, an almost reluctant tone overtaking her voice as she dusted the hat off before placing it on Rook's head.
"Please keep what you saw me do today a secret. I know being able to turn into an animal isn't common here. Hell, it isn't common back home, and I don't want more eyes on me than I already have. I hope you understand."
Rook simply smiled and nodded.
"A lady's privacy should be considered sacred to uphold. Your secret is safe with me."
Cassandra sighed in relief.
"Thank you."
As she said this, she saw that she had placed Rook's hat on crooked. Deciding that simply wouldn't do, she adjusted it one final time as she looked into the archer's deep green gaze.
"I hope I see you again soon, Rook."
Deciding to be a bit mischievous, she kissed the man on the cheek quickly before making her way through the underbrush, yelling out to her searcher to 'not get his panties in a bunch, she was coming!'.
All the while, Rook stood there wide eyed and gaping as the beautiful young woman left him. After a moment, he tried to gather his hunting gear, only to fall to his suddenly weak knees.
'Oh Roi du Poison... I am sorry, but...'
'I'm afraid I love her, too'
Well that one was a lot longer than expected. Rook has arrived, folks! And I have just laid the seeds for the Great Pomefiore Love Square of 2022... Let's hope no one loses an arm in later chapters. Next chapter we're going to see what the heck Sebek has been doing this whole time (lets be honest, you all probably forgot what he was supposed to be doing), and then it's back to finishing this prologue I have made so hellishly long because I seem to hate myself and oh yeah there's the plot-
So long and good night, Thackery Binx