The next morning you'd felt everything with Roman had been a dream. Secretly you'd hoped you could be friends. It left a sort of happiness in your tummy that quickly went sour at the thought of him possibly stealing Theodore's kitsunebi.
As it was the beginning of the week you had classes again, and like so many times before you sat with Eleanor and Simone, and like so many times before, Theodore was absent at the bell. Only this time you knew he wasn't just late. He didn't show up.
You finished breakfast early, leaving with Eleanor so you could tell him about Roman, leaving out the more... personal, details. Eleanor reminded you that Theodore and Roman knew each other somehow, presumably for a while. Still, until you'd spent more time with him you couldn't say for sure. Sylabil's was the only class you had where your friends were in it, but also hadn't been affected by any seating changes. You were still with some new people who didn't seem particularly interested in getting to know you.
Maurice had given you and Eleanor the same coins he had- one each. These were to open the portals; plaza fountain, koi pond outside Theo's, another portal not far from the lake within the forest, and Jack's bar. You still hadn't met that guy.
But by far staying at his store was the most fun, exciting thing you'd done all year. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, you'd learnt so much from Maurice in just a week. So after class, you headed back over, this time alone.
Much to your relief, Theodore was there too. It was your first time using the portal in the woods- you had to be careful no one saw you.
"How was patrol?" He asked half bitterly half jokingly.
The boy was not well. It seemed mostly to be due to the utter stress he had to have been feeling. His face was paler and his eyes weren't as bright. But mostly it was the missing smile. Knowing he wasn't human was a shock to say the least- one Simone was pretty spot on about- but it was still Theo wasn't it?
You told him you hadn't found anything particularly off, but that your evening was spent with Roman. His weary eyes grew intrigued but you settled his apprehension. Together you headed to the newly dubbed training room.
"Why did you take The Creature's Almanac?" You asked him in the elevator.
"Oh," he said. "It didn't belong to him."
"But why did you take it?" You asked. "And why did you leave it in the common room?"
"Maybe I forgot," he sighed. "Or maybe I wanted someone to find it. Like Eleanor. Or you. Or whoever was meant to find it."
You entered the room together, the weapons being more familiar as well as the strange plants and potions.
"But I took it because I wanted to check something and I couldn't find what I was looking for so I let the universe decide what to do with it," he said. You weren't sure how much that really added up but had no real reason to doubt him. This was Theodore.
"Like I said, I've been here a while. I've lived in that forest a very long time," he went on. "I asked for more chaos, more action, and the universe listened. I should have known better."
"The Almanac was open on a page about kitsunes," you remembered.
"I did that on purpose," he smiled weakly. "I was hoping Eleanor would find it actually. Maurice had been keeping this from him for too long. Granted, I think we can agree this wasn't the best time for him to find out."
You began sparring with the kitsune, still winning without magic help. Just decades of kitsune life under his belt. You took the time to ask him more about what his deal was since you'd only found out his secret a week ago. Maurice's memories gave a sweet depiction of their friendship but you wanted to know about before then. You wanted to know about him.
"Well obviously I'm not really a second year," he joked. "It's too bad you didn't read more about me from the almanac- that section was nearly entirely written by Maurice. Anyway- every hundred years we get a tail, blah blah blah- and I have three. You do the math."
You barely dodged a punch, quickly side-stepping.
"And you don't have any idea who could have your kitsunebi?" You asked.
"No," he replied, blocking your kick. "Watch yourself- not bad. No y/n, it could be almost anyone. I've ruled out any humans though because as far as I'm concerned- though you put up a good fight- nobody here would be strong enough to just knock me out and steal them."
It was at this point you started talking about the night students, starting with the one you'd spent last night with.
"He's starting to open up to me- maybe he can help us-"
"Roman does his own thing," Theo replied. "Maurice knows that too. He'll try and stay out of conflict if it doesn't concern him."
"Do you have any advice for getting him to... I don't know..."
"Be careful not to piss him off," he said through gritted teeth, throwing a punch you managed to block. "Don't hesitate after blocking to make an attack- Roman is really sensitive. He's also pretty unpredictable. Bit hard to categorize. But for your own sake don't make him angry, women in general are not good news for him."
"What happened to him?" You asked, already having some vague idea.
"I don't know everything, but I know that whoever the woman was that bit Roman, was, well, the love of his life, I guess you could say. She was a vampire."
Kick. Punch. Dodge.
"And did he know?" You asked,
Theodore shrugged, before stealthily tripping you to the ground.
"Beats me," he said, offering a hand. "But I've been trying to help Roman get his memories back. I don't even think the kioku trees can help him."
"Could he possibly want revenge on you for something?" You asked, eager to find something. "Did whoever wrote that letter see you face to face, is that why you weren't in class?"
"I am avoiding any place vampires could potentially find me," he said. "But keep in mind, I am bound not to say anything. I barely found a loophole to show Maurice the letter."
"What about the others?" You asked.
"I don't know- but I can tell you about them to make your life easier," he said. "Lucian too- don't make him angry. I know he has a temper. But he's probably someone you'll be safest with. He's pretty well known in the magic community, same as Dimitri. But nearly all of Lucian's pureblood family was murdered a long long time ago."
"Oh my god," you said. "Can we take a break?"
"Yeah, it's unrealistic you'll be fighting while talking about this stuff anyway," he said, no shortage of breath. You drank some water, waiting for him to go on.
"Lucian probably couldn't have done this, I don't think he's strong enough," Theo thought out loud. "But everyone said Cadere did it."
You nearly spat out your water.
"What? Cadere?"
Theodore stared.
"You didn't know?"
You shook your head aggressively.
"Well, wow. Sometimes I forget how old I am. Anyways- Cadere was supposedly this insanely skilled vampire hunter before, you know, before he was turned. I don't know all the details, I wasn't even around then. But when everyone in the Lavendale house was killed like that- well, Cadere might have been a vampire by then or he might not. Most people don't know that he took the surviving son under his wing when he started Arcadia Academy. So why would he do that after murdering the kid's family? It doesn't make any sense to me anyway."
"And Lucian?" You asked. "Was he there?"
"Why don't you ask him on patrol tonight?" He said grimly. "Nobody back then paid any attention to him, he was one of quite a few siblings if I remember correctly. He didn't have any special abilities like they did. He probably didn't like drinking blood then either, I'm willing to bet. If he were anything like his siblings, people would care when they realized what happened."
"What?"
Theodore drank some of his water, as though waiting for you to answer your own question.
"He ran away. Gone. Adios. Sayonara," Theo said. "Some vengeful vampire hunter tearing apart his family and the guy didn't want to be a part of the body count. I don't blame him. Although, a lot of the high vampires who know he's alive still remember his so called disgrace. His own family never cared to even look for him."
It was dawning on you now how little you knew about your friends. About anyone. What kinds of lives had these night students lived having been alive for over a hundred years? Where were they during both world wars? During the fifties? The eighties? Why were they here? Who were they and who did they used to be?
"Anyway- Lucian is fairly close with everyone except Avery," he said. Avery was someone you were eager to know more about.
"What's Avery's story?" You asked.
To your dismay, Theodore shrugged.
"No one really knows," he repeated what you'd heard others say. "But Avery is... dangerous. Don't underestimate him. He takes what he wants, he's stronger than he looks, and from what I've seen- the guy has a habit of making deals. But mostly breaking them. I know for a fact some of Avery's power has to have come from elsewhere..."
"Would he take your kitsunebi?" You asked.
"I don't see what he'd need me to do that he couldn't do himself, and the writing didn't look like his," Theodore said. "I'm quite careful with calligraphy actually. But Avery is... wow. You watch yourself around him. He's probably been eyeing you for quite a while now."
"Great," you said sarcastically.
"He usually gets along okay with most of the students, it's actually the girls who either love or hate him," Theo added. "The boys tolerate him. He's sensitive too, or maybe he just wants people to think that. I'm three centuries old and even I haven't figured it out."
"What about the others?"
Theodore thought carefully.
"Bel is fun, I always thought he had a good heart for the most part. I think he was worse last year though," he said after a pause.
"What do you mean? Worse how?" You asked.
"Well," Theo hesitated, rubbing the back of his red hair, "He wasn't as shy about drinking from humans. He had Roman to blame for that. Maybe Lucian finally got to him."
There were some questions you felt burning at the back of your brain but didn't occur to you to ask right then.
"Be careful around him too, alright?" Theodore said seriously. "I don't know if you know this or not, but, even as a kitsune I can tell- your spirit has a very pleasant aroma to it."
You stared at Theodore.
"I mean, I can take the form of others and possess others too, this requires passage into their being. I have to consume souls, magical essence, spirit for lack of a better word. I find this energy all around me." Theodore tried to explain. "Yours is just very noticeable. I can see why the vampires like you."
"Maurice asked me if I was a sorcerer the first time he brought me here," you mentioned.
"I think you'd know if you were one," he said. "Although I am curious about your lineage."
You really didn't know much past your parents- nearly all of your time was with your aunt. She was your dad's sister- and your grandparents on his side visited often until they passed away. You never knew your other grandparents.
"We'll look into it after all this gets sorted out," Theodore smiled. "Also- Bel can get really... dependant. Not just with, you know. He has these visions that he relies on more than anything else and he can be surprisingly intense. I could almost see him trying to take my kitsunebi as a joke but he wouldn't have been able to."
"That leaves Dimitri," you said. While you knew little about him, he was one you felt oddly safe around. Like he wasn't the worst shield in case anything went wrong- which it had more than once in the night dorm. You had Dimitri to thank. Actually, all the boys had protected you when Leyla and that Trinity girl tried to bite you. It was odd but you almost couldn't see any of the night boys putting Theodore's life at stake like this.
"I know he has some ties to Cadere," Theodore frowned. "The castle before it became Arcadia Academy belonged to the Cerullo's. Dimitri's mom was killed by a vampire hunter, that's a popular story. But I tried staying out of vampire business. I had enough problems with people trying to drown themselves in the lake. He's definitely powerful though. I just don't see why he'd need me to do anything for him. He's stronger than me as far as I know."
"So where does that leave us?" You asked.
"Screwed," Theodore shrugged, staring at the window. "I don't know what any of those blood-suckers want with me."
You stared out the window too. It was drearily overcast.
"Why is the weather always wrong?" You asked.
"This?" He said. "This is our pathetic fallacy window, you know- reflects the emotions of the people in the room."
"That's really funny," you said, watching the sky being forged. You sat in silence for a few moments.
"You're sure it's one of them?" You asked, eager for a sudden revelation. "It could be a girl night student."
"It could be someone trying to get revenge on Maurice if they know I'm close to him. But that's a bit extreme," he replied darkly. "Whoever took my stars is comfortable knowing that when I get them back I'm going to kill them."
"What can we do Theo?" You asked him.
"Wait," he replied.
And you watched as the overcast sky turned black as a crow.
~
Fan here- sometimes you get 5000 words of action following various characters and points of view, sometimes you get contextual filler. Fret not- as you can probably tell, big shit is brewing. Thoughts? Conspiracies? Hit me with them, I'm into that shit. Love you guys, this is my third night writing/publishing in a row. Also I love your art. This chapter was going to be way longer and get into the patrol but it's already long and suitable to end here. In true Fan fashion it's also nearly 3:00am.
Night! Lots of love! Let me know if some of this new background has changed your feelings about any of the boys! (Still sticking by your favourite? Changing teams? ;3 )
~ Your number one Fan <3