^^ Damian and Titus ^^
--- Damian's POV ---
I walked into my fourth class of the day, after lunch, which was rather pleasant, an sat on a bench. We were next to the woods, seated in front of a cabin.
Geoffrey was there, glaring at me, but one cold look from me had him scrambling to sit farther away. Pera was also there, but seemed distracted, and morose. 'I wonder what my sister said to her...'
The little one, Sam, my fourth roommate, was there as well, and sat next to me. I smiled slightly and cringed as my heart fire began to burn an odd color. Tiny spots of red and white appeared on my crystal flame. They indicated interest.
The teacher, a giant of a man, easily bigger than Titus and Vulcan, stepped out of the cabin slowly, his steps booming. He grinned, his beard twitching amusingly. "ALLO CLASS!" He boomed out, laughing loud enough I cringed, my sensitive ears wiggling.
He lowered his voice. "I'm Mr. James Norberta. Make fun of my name, I'll make fun of your squished skulls. Call me sir, or James. I am your bestiary teacher. I'm here to teach about the different monsters, demons, and beasts of the world. Any questions?"
"Are you half Giant?" I asked.
He nodded. "Good spot, mr. Dragon Prince sir! Absolutely I am! On me mothers side, can ye imagine? Now! It's the first day, so what you're all going to do is study one beast in my wonderful woods! You may attempt to tame it, but I don't recommend that on your first day. Any more questions? No? Good!! Let's begin."
He started lumbering into the woods, and I followed easily, Sam hiding behind me. He stopped after a while and said in a normal persons voice, his whisper. "See that? That there's a pack o' wild BloodHounds. One of the hardest to train, and one of the most loyal if you manage." He said.
A large pack of black dogs were in the clearing, tearing into a deer carcass. They looked up, and growled, sniffing. I waved a hand, and our scents were removed from the clearing. They grumbled and went back to eating the deer carcass.
He nodded. "Now. Today, you all are going to try to tame one." He said.
Sam squeaked, and the dogs heads shot up. A few split off and began pacing towards us, and I growled lowly, so they could hear. Then I hissed in draconian, "heel."
They flattened their ears in aggression, and launched forward. I caught the biggest one to the chest, and slammed it down, roaring in its face, but blocking the sounds from the meadow so the other Hounds weren't able to hear.
I roared in Draconian again, a language all animals inherently understood and obeyed. "Submit!"
The Giant Hound whimpered and went limp. I stood, and snapped my fingers, and it slowly stood, licking my ankles. I smiled. "Enough, boy... Hmm... You need a name... You're big, bigger than your brothers. I'll call you Titus." He huffed and pranced happily, and I smirked, then looked at Sam, only to find him barely holding off his own Hound. It was licking him enough to drown him.
I froze, then couldn't control the giggle that left my mouth. Sam grinned and then coughed "oh gods my mouth was open, enough, girl!" The bitch heeled, sitting next to him as he got the slobber off of himself slowly. I waved a hand, and it all fell off.
I smiled. "You've done this before?"
"No, animals just... Do that, with me. Oh no... Seems were about to lose a Prince..." He said, pointing.
The third hound was savaging Geoffrey's arms while his friends tried to get it off him. I sighed and snapped my fingers at my own hound. "Hunt." I said. My hound leaped forward and tackled the other hound, quickly ending its life. I looked at Geoffrey. "Alright to stand?" I asked as his friends healed him.
"Why did you help me?" He asked, still in shock.
'I wanted to test my Hounds Fighting capabilities.' I thought simply. "Don't take it to heart. You're not my friend. But why would I simply watch you die? Terribly useless of me. If I want you dead I just have to kill you." I shrugged.
He glared at me, regaining his composure. "I didn't need your help, you foul mouthed little demon!"
"Oh? Titus, heel." My hound, who I now realized was the alpha of this pack, stood beside me. His back reached my ribs. "Would you like to try again?" I asked. He looked away, not giving me an answer. I nodded. "That is what I thought."
I walked back over to Sam, and Titus immediately began dominating Sam's bitch. I sighed. "Sorry, Sam. Didn't see that coming."
He shrugged. "If she gets pregnant, I'll have puppies to train."
The teacher coughed into his fist. "Very impressive, sir Damian. Now, if ye'll remove this barrier so I can continue the class?"
"Aye, teacher." I waved a hand and dissolved it, then as an afterthought touched my blade to the hounds carcass. "Feast, Hubris." The body was sucked into the blade, and the blood added to the blood vial.
It was filled with all the blood that father had ever spilt in his crusades against the demons and humans, and it was a great asset. Certain spells required a specific blood to cast, and I had one of almost every blood, including Geoffrey's now. It hung from my neck, in the shape of a thin brass cylinder, a relic 'Bullet' of old.
The other students began attempting to tame their own beasts, and I sat down with Titus, Sam, and his bitch, which he hadn't named yet. She laid in his lap, spent now, while Titus sat proudly next to me.
I chuckled and rubbed his ears and face. I looked at the teacher. "Can we keep them?"
"Of course, but they don't leave the Forest, as there's liable to be accidents if they do." He said.
I nodded. "Interesting." I moved Titus into my box, and Ira began playing with him, fetch of all things, with a rabbit hide.
The teacher blinked, scratched his head, and shrugged. "Alrighty then. Anyway. Class!-"
---
"Alright. Class is half over, so I suppose that's enough for now. I'd like to show ye all somethin'. Does everyone know what a Wyrm is?" My fifth class was on demon knowledge, and I was unlucky enough to have Geoffrey and Pera and Drake in that class as well.
"Sure, one's sitting over there." Geoffrey smirked.
I slowly stood, and snorted, fire leaving my nostrils. "Do not make me end you, Geoffrey, son of Adam. Continue testing me, and I will not care about the war your death will cause, and my kingdom will win." He looked away, and I sat down.
"Thank you. Prince Damian, for volunteering to tell us the difference between Dragons and Wyrms." The teacher said dryly.
I stood again. "Yes, miss. The differences between Dragons and Wyrms are plethorant. We are fundamentally different. They are to us what apes are to you. Lesser evolved distant cousins."
"Explain." She said.
"Wyrms are incapable of even the most basic sentient thoughts, and rely on instincts to survive. Dragons are capable of immensely complicated thought, and rely on intelligence to thrive. Wyrms are unable to perform even the most basic magic, only able to release pure mana in a flame attack. They are, however, pack hunters, and able to instinctually develop vague tactics, such as 'dodge, counter', but not so complicated as 'feint, draw them in'. They are, in essence, no more complicated, neurologically, than a dog." I said.
"I see. Well spoken. Now. Are there any other students who'd like to add to that?" She asked.
Pera stood. "Yes. Wyrms are not brainless beasts."
"I never called them brainless, even dogs have well developed brains. They are simply not sentient." I said.
She growled. "Yes they are! My Toothless is loyal and kind, and -"
"Stop. I can tell you that you are barking up the wrong tree, I've been fighting and training Wyrms my whole life. Yes, They are capable of affection and loyalty, just like any dog. Dogs and Wyrms understand pack structures. If you tame beasts, you are an alpha, and they will show deference to you. If you are kind, they will love you, but again, it is a dogs love. Basic, instinctual, vague." I fired back.
She was almost crying now. "You're wrong!"
"Am I? And who are you to tell me about my own blood, beast tamer? First you argue with my sister, who is half Dragon. Now you argue with me, who is full dragon. You do not seem to realize we know more than you about our own genus." I said mercilessly. "Your Wyrm may love you. I do not contest that. But it is not sentient, and it does not have a complex mind."
She dried her tears. "I will prove you wrong!"
"How? How can you prove sentience?" I asked.
"My Wyrm understands Draconian." She said triumphantly.
"All animals understand Draconian. My hound I met today, Titus, responds to and understands Draconian, despite never having been trained before. It is in their blood to obey Dragons." I said.
Her face fell, and she slowly sat down. "So... You're not just being mean? They really... Aren't?"
"No, they are not sentient." I said.
She nodded slowly, and got up, bowing to the teacher and leaving the classroom.
The teacher sighed. "That was cruel, Damian."
"She was deluded. I removed the diseased bandage that was a lie to herself. It hurt her, but she will heal." I shrugged.
Drake, who'd been silent the entire time, nodded. "He's correct. A painful truth is better than a beautiful lie."
"Shut up, Drake." I smirked.
"Punk." He shrugged.
---
I walked into my last class, which was an expert demon magic course 'Dimensional Magic and Demonic Armaments', (or 'DMDA' on my schedule), and I grinned when I saw Le'Main.
She smiled and beckoned to the long desks in front of her, and I sat down. Drake, Jason, Sam, and Dick were there as well. I sat on the opposite side as drake, though we all sat at one table in the front.
The class filled in slowly, and she smiled radiantly. She was very happy, for a demon. "Hello, class!! I'm your teacher, Francesca Le'Main, and I'm here to tech you demon magic! Can anyone tell me the difference between demon magic and human magic?"
Drake spoke. "Human magic focuses on changing the physical plane, whereas demon magic focuses on the Etherial and Aetherial planes."
"Correct. And does anyone know the difference between Ether and Aether?" She asked.
"Ether magic focuses on the elements, such as shadow travel and fire armaments, and portals to the Ether realm, though those can be made with human magic, if differently, and Aether magic focuses on dimensional magic, such as pocket dimensions." I said.
"Again correct! Now. What about demon weapons? Does anyone know the process by which they're made and used, and why?"
"A demon weapon is the only thing besides magic that can harm an Etherial Being, such as a dragon, because it itself, or half of it, is in the etherial plane. They are made with the corpses of demons, usually higher class, such as Wyrms and Dragons." Drake said before I could answer.
"How?" She prompted.
"One must have several corpses, for an effective one, or an extremely powerful demon. You must first gather all the flesh, bone, and scales into a metallic density, then you smelt and forge it like any other weapon." I said.
"Correct. I am under the impression you have one?" She asked.
"Several." I said, and released my armory. Ira stood tall, holding Rage on her shoulder, then Hubris in her other hand, and my multitude of daggers on her hips.
"And who is this woman?" She asked archly.
"A construct I created with demon weapons and millions of demon souls meshed into one being." I said.
She blinked. "I had heard rumors someone had managed to build a construct after all these years, but to have it here... I am impressed. Retract your armory, for now. One weapon should be enough."
I nodded and accepted Hubris, sending the Rest of my weapons, (and Ira), back. I set the blade on her desk, an the wood groaned from the weight of the 2000 pound blade.
She nodded. "Thank you. Now. Does anyone know why you cannot touch a demon weapon unless you are a demon or demigod?"
"Because only demons and demigods can access the Ether." Jason said before either me or Drake, and I sighed. "Though humans can access Aether at an extremely high skill level."
"Thank you, Jason, you are correct. Now, who can tell me what the major complication of demon weapons is?"
"They are possessed by the souls of the demons the flesh is taken from, and they possess their owners of their owner is untrained." I said.
"And how is this circumvented?"
"Years of dedicated meditation and body training, to train the body and mind." I replied in sync with drake, and we growled at each other.
"Are there other ways?" She asked, ignoring our squabble.
"Not that I know of. I've never tried another way. If you cannot control your mind, you do not deserve to hold the weapon." I shrugged.
"Yes, well, for those of us without that level of concentration, what then?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
I smiled. "Learn magic."