Niven didn't mind holding Silas' hand, not at all. It was weird at first he had to admit, but he soon grew used to it and let Silas follow him around like a puppy.
The angel was much more touchy than he expected. He refused to let go of Niven at all, afraid that if he lets go of his hand, the blond would disappear. And so Silas gripped him even more tightly, shuffling a little closer to the boy with his left wing wrapped around Niven's body.
It was a little difficult to move, Niven pondered several times. He even tried to ask Silas to let go for just a moment, but then the angel couldn't stop crying. Niven had to sigh, stopping several times to wipe Silas' tears away and then drag the male as they made their way through the forests.
If Niven had to be honest, he was actually shocked to the point of being frightened about what he discovered just an hour ago.
Who the hell knew Silas could end up like this? The male still wouldn't stop crying no matter how long ago the incident was, or how many times Niven tried to comfort him. If anyone told him Silas would cry like this, out of everyone in the academy, Niven would've laughed right in their faces.
Niven shuddered at that thought. He really just discovered a secret side to Silas he didn't even mean to find.
"Alright, are you okay now?" Niven and Silas once again stopped, mostly because the angel was finally quiet and the boy could hardly hear any more sniffles. Niven reached out to wipe the last of the tears away before continuing, "I think we're close to the end. If you don't want to your brother to worry about you then it's time to stop crying, okay?"
"Yes..." Silas obediently nodded. "I'm s-sorry..."
"What are you even apologize for?" Niven sighed. "You're doing fine. Let's go."
Yeah, that's how it went. Every now and then, Niven would hear Silas sniffle before the noise eventually died down. The blond couldn't help but look back at him, thinking he needed to stop again, but Silas shook his head and said he was fine. The angel was slowly returning back to his haughty temperament, rarely saying a word to Niven.
But even though Silas seemed arrogant again, Niven was happy enough to let the dark skinned male walk on his own. Though it seemed too soon as he tried to release his hand from the angel, it only made Silas' mood grow sour and he almost cried again.
Now, Niven could only blame himself as Silas clung back onto his form with a glare. But at the very least, Niven was able to feel just how soft and silky the male's wings were. He was ecstatic, wearing a happy smile as he kept touching Silas' feathers. The dark skinned male scowled, but he didn't move away or scolded the blond. He only kept silent and unfurled his wings once, letting Niven see them in a clearer view.
For some reason, it seemed like Niven was taking care of a child. Silas had the temper of one.
"I'll buy you new gloves," Niven spoke as they trudged through. "I'll get my father to order some. I'll make sure they're even better than the ones you had since you lost your other pair."
"That's okay... I have spares in my dorm," Silas quietly refused.
Niven grinned. "I always wondered why you wore gloves. Even in the blazing heat of our sessions, you never took them off."
Crimson dusted against the angel's cheeks. "I didn't want to hurt you..."
"It must've been hard for you to keep going like this, right?" Niven spared Silas a glance. "Last night, I'm guessing the reason why you couldn't eat was because you didn't have your gloves on. Does the material actually stop you from withering live objects away?"
"Sometimes... not really... hardly," Silas weakly replied. "The enchantments aren't as powerful to completely stop my ability, but it's better than nothing so I always have my gloves on. I can't touch anything with my bare skin without killing it."
"I see, that's a pain," Niven muttered out. "How long have you had to endure it?"
Silas flinched. "I-It's what I had to live with since I was six... it's been twelve years, I think. Maybe even more, I can't remember anymore."
"You've done a good job in protecting yourself and the others from getting too close to you," the blond replied. "But I am sorry you've had to deal with that for a long time."
"I..." Silas didn't really know how to respond to that. He always heard how sorry the other party is once they learn what he went through as a child up until now, and he loathed the pity on their faces when they look at him.
Eventually, Silas began to grow resentment for his brother, even though he knew deep down Agustine wasn't really the problem.
Niven noticed the contempt on the male's face and he tugged on his hand a little harder, pulling Silas along faster. "You know, I can try to help you overcome it."
Silas perked his head up. He was already in disbelief Niven could withstand his corrupted ability, but to hear him say he could try to help him made Silas even more stunned.
"H-How?"
"I'm a Kingston," Niven deadpanned. "I'm not... as talented as my brothers, but there's hundreds of grimoires with thousands of ancient spells locked up back in the duchy. I think there could be a way to undo that little curse you have. If not that, my father also has several wizards back home who have personally served our family for generations. My aunt also has close connections to several royal families throughout three different countries, just in case we have to think outside the box."
"You're... serious?"
Niven looked back, his brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not? You helped me a lot during these past few months... I'm not very good with my abilities, yet you still put up with me. I may as well return the favor. A-And besides, we're friends so there shouldn't really be a reason why I want to help you."
Niven expected Silas to quietly thank him, but he also wasn't that surprised to see the angel's sky blue eyes glaze over, tears threatening to spill out. The blond sighed a little, finding it really hard to keep walking through the forests. He stopped again, having to bring his sleeve up to wipe Silas' eyes.
Really, he was like a child.
"In the meantime, you can stay with me if you're scared," Niven offered. "I-I mean, of course you hardly ever get scared but it's just that if you need someone to be with you then I'm always here—unless you're better off alone and don't need me, then that's fine too!"
Niven ended up stammering over his words, wanting to comfort Silas but not overdoing it in case he actually offended the angel. Silas was too proud, much too arrogant to even want to rely on someone for comfort.
Though he was once again taken by surprise when Silas raised a hand up, pressing it up against Niven's chest, right on top of his heart. The angel let it sit there for several moments, wanting to feel his heart beat before wrapping his arms around the boy's form in a small hug. Niven only stood there awkwardly, wondering if Silas really needed a hug even though they held hands for nearly an hour.
"I haven't hugged my mother in years," Silas whispered. Niven suddenly felt even more pity for the male. The angel pulled back a little, staring down at Niven with a bit of grief in his eyes. "I don't remember what it's like to touch someone... and I know you're probably uncomfortable with me, so I'll just hug you one more time and I promise I won't cling onto you anymore-"
"Don't say that. I'm not uncomfortable," Niven scowled. "You honestly think I'm going to believe that when you were crying just two minutes ago? You're not bothering me so don't feel guilty or whatever. You're free to stick with me whenever you want."
"Are you sure?" Silas sounded really unsure of himself, almost like he still couldn't believe Niven was allowing him to do this. That small fear was stuck with the male, the paranoia of having his ability kill Niven. Silas paled even more at the thought and turned away, too ashamed to look at his partner.
It was obvious to the blond Silas was hesitating since he was scared, but the student only patted the angel's back. "I'm sure. I'll be fine. I told you that as long as my ability is in effect, nothing will happen."
Silas gripped Niven's hand a little tighter. The distress was still clear in his eyes, but he forced himself to nod his head and follow through what Niven said.
Finally, they were back to following the ribbons. This time, there was no stopping. Niven couldn't spend another hour in these forests and he really needed to go back to his dorm room to see King and Gabriel.
As the student continued making his way through, Silas kept his gaze on Niven's form. He was still curious as to what the blond's ability actually was, seeing as how it managed to protect Niven from being killed by his corrupted ability. There were countless of things Silas thought but never ended up sounding right. He really couldn't figure Niven out, even if he was a Kingston, it shouldn't be so hard to figure out what sort of power he held.
In the end, Silas gave up temporarily. He figured Niven would tell him and the other Wolves later on in the future, but as for now, he was satisfied with what he had. He wasn't so desperate to know, this was fine with him.
He has Niven now to look after him, and he was okay with just him.
After what seemed like hours of endless walking and several complaints, Silas and Niven finally ended up at the end of the path. There were no more ribbons attached to the trees and so the two of them stood still, silently observing the area.
Silas wrapped his wings around Niven a little tighter, finding it weird how no one else was there with them. He figured Arien would've been the first to come, or at the very least, Vasili would be here to take them to where the others were at. The place was just empty and too quiet for Silas' liking. Seeing as how silent the angel was, Niven pulled his head back a little, bumping into the male's right wing.
"What's wrong?"
"There's no one else here," Silas stated blandly.
Niven frowned, peeking his head out from the wings to take another look around the place. "Did we take a wrong turn?"
"No, this should be it." Silas hesitantly released the blond, taking a few steps back in order to get a clearer view of the forests.
Niven was starting to get a little worried seeing as how there wasn't anything for them here. No one was here, the two of them were alone. He turned his head over to Silas, watching the angel contemplate on something for a moment.
Silas thought about just leaving this place by using magic, it didn't matter if he was violating Vasili's rules. They made it to the end so their little lesson was over, they should be free to use their abilities. Not to mention, his partner was hurt from the attacks earlier. Silas didn't doubt he was probably in a worse state than Niven, the throbbing pain in his arm hadn't gone. The students already had enough of a hard time just trying to get here without stumbling over their own feet from exhaustion. If they didn't get any treatment soon then Silas was sure one of them would get an infection.
Silas gripped on his arm, feeling how numb it became. He scowled in return, somewhat pissed off from the situation.
Niven saw the growing frustration on the angel's face and began to walk over to Silas, wanting to pull his hand away from his wounded arm. He didn't know if Silas noticed, but the tighter his grip became, the more blood gushed out. He grew increasingly worried and reached his hand out to grab the male's attention.
But then Niven suddenly found himself on the ground, landing harshly with a groan and an abrupt weight on his stomach. He lolled his head around, finding himself face-to-face with a surprisingly large animal whose eyes resembled gold. Niven almost yelped from fear, trying to push the creature away until it pounced back on the blond, mouth widened as it stuck its tongue out to lick Niven's face.
Niven was confused for a second, wondering if it was just tasting him for a second before taking a bite. When he shoved the animal's head back, he realized it was a white jaguar. Niven blinked his eyes several times, finding its gaze strangely familiar.
And then it hit him.
"Mirren!" Niven was elated by his form. The beastman mewled, shoving his head closer to the blond and rubbing himself against Niven's face. Mirren continued to give kitten licks to him, ignoring the way Silas stood with a cold gaze.
Silas was about to storm over and kick the damn cat over when someone stood in front of him, albeit out of breath. He jumped back in surprise, watching his brother excitedly wave over to him. Agustine didn't dare to touch him, though he couldn't help but to jump around a little as he neared his brother with excitement. It's been such a long time since he didn't have to worry about giving anyone bad luck, and he figured Silas would be happy as well.
The angel hesitantly moved back again, not missing the way his older brother slumped his shoulders in disappointment. Agustine just now remembered how much Silas disliked being in his presence, so he quickly walked away from the angel to give him some space.
"Brother-" Silas had to stop himself. Even if he got Agustine's attention, he wouldn't know what to say. It's not like he actually held a conversation with him before, and his brother never liked talking.
With a sigh, the male instantly covered his wings and quickly followed Agustine over to where Niven and Mirren were at.
Spending his time as Mirren's partner wasn't as awful as Agustine had thought. Turns out, Mirren made a good companion and took care of almost everything for the both of them. He hunted down large predators and ate through them without batting an eye, and he even took the time to prepare deer meat for Agustine as well. The only trouble they had was communicating with each other. The jackal masked student wasn't stupid, he knew Mirren didn't take too kindly to his presence and they never really bothered with each other during the whole lesson.
Mirren was always in a mood as well; always snarling, snapping his canines, running off by himself to hunt down any animal he could claim. Even if Mirren did look after Agustine, he had a feeling Mirren would rather leave the male behind and go off by himself. Not that he didn't want to, but because it was natural for Mirren to do so.
It was the brunet's instincts. Mirren's kind were always alone, no matter where they were. So Agustine didn't blame him for leaving him behind sometimes, these were primordial instincts.
But even if Agustine thought it was just in Mirren's nature to be alone, he really didn't have it in himself to believe that. As of now, the jaguar was happily prancing around Niven, preening at the attention the boy was giving him. It was so obvious the only person Mirren wanted to be with was Niven, it didn't matter if jaguars were solitary animals.
Niven was too focused on Mirren beast form to notice Agustine to the side, slightly depressed and wilting away in his own thoughts. He was only excited to see Mirren as a fluffy and gorgeous cat, happily petting him all over before realizing just how tall Mirren's form was.
Even standing up, Mirren was slightly taller. The jaguar gazed down at Niven, sticking his tongue out to lick the boy again.
Niven grinned. "You really scared me there for a second. I thought you were actually going to eat me."
"The hell did you guys find us?" Silas cut in with a gruff tone. "I didn't expect you two to actually come."
Mirren gave a cat-like snort before ignoring Silas, giving Niven small meows and purring loudly. Niven gushed over him all over again, not hesitating to wrap his arms around Mirren's neck in a large hug. He was really soft and warm, and the fur was silky to the touch. Almost like Silas' wings!
He would've basked in the fur a little longer if it weren't for Mirren instantly shifting back to his original form, wrapping Niven tightly in his arms and lifting the boy up for a second. Niven was startled, clinging onto Mirren with petrified eyes.
His brown locks were gone, replaced by the pale purple from before. The gold in Mirren's eyes stayed, glowing a little intensely as he slowly put Niven down on the ground.
The beastman grinned wildly, showing his sharp canines. "Hi, baby!"
Niven would've greeted him back if it weren't for Mirren actually being stark naked. He had to pull himself away from the male, taking off his dirty cape and then handing it over to the male.
"Here... you might want to cover up."
"Hmm? Sure." To say he was not ashamed was understatement. Mirren could hardly care about being bare in the forests, but Silas rolled his eyes in irritation before stalking over Niven.
"While I'm so happy you've joined us," Silas said sarcastically, continuing on to ignor Mirren's look of contempt, "do you know where our alpha is at?"
"Here... right here..."
The four of them almost jumped from the raspy tone coming over from another section of the forests. Arien appeared, his usual stoic face gracing his features, but there was something a little different about the male. There was a wild look in his eyes, his silver orbs shifting rather quickly from each member of the council.
His uniform was dirty and a little ripped. Arien lost his cape as well from some time ago, and he stood imposingly, almost a little threatening which made Mirren's eyes turn to slits as he tried not to hiss viciously at the male.
But Niven didn't see the way Mirren sneered at Arien. The boy quickly went over to their alpha and grabbed his arm, checking to see if Arien really was alright. He's been by himself for a day and a night, so Niven worried about him.
Arien didn't pull away from the boy, he simply let Niven check him all over without a word.
One of the only things Niven noticed was the pungent smell of iron permeating the air thickly, causing his nose to scrunch up in disgust. Niven later saw the blood from the corners of Arien's mouth, and the way the dark color stained itself on his alpha's hands.
While Niven was busy checking for any injuries, Arien took that time to smell the boy's comforting scent. Miles from this place where he was snacking on a fallen animal, Arien could instantly smell the citrus coming from Niven and actually abandoned the dead creature, hurrying over to see whether or not Silas and his omega were close by.
The jaguar beastman glared at Arien, not liking how close he stood to Niven.
"You look like you went through hell," Mirren commented with a snort.
Arien pursed his lips for a second, glancing at Niven who kept checking up on him. The wolf beastman looked back at Mirren with a frigid stare. "I... went for a quick snack. Looks like you did the same."
"I'm very picky with food," Mirren replied.
"I'd agree with you but you went through a very large massacre of different animals not too long ago, boy!" There was a giggle in the air followed by a gentle hum.
The five of them immediately looked up to see Vasili floating, waving his cane around carelessly. The man took his sunglasses off and giggled, already managing to annoy the Wolves.
Had he been there the whole time? Niven made a face at the thought. He really didn't even notice the man up there at all.
Vasili jumped down to the Wolves, giddily walking over with a wide grin. Mirren bared his canines warningly, hating the smug smirk on their professor's face. Tapping his cane on the ground with a thump, the man extended his hand over to the ground with sparkling eyes.
"Children! You've made it without any harm!" The pink haired professor declared confidently.
"My wrist is probably fractured and my arm is injured," Silas deadpanned.
Niven glared. "I got wounds from that griffin."
"You sent this fucking python to try and kill me and a harpy-ass bitch for Agustine," Mirren added in, snarling a little. The demon shuddered from the memory of having that creature attack him.
While the other rained down complaints to Vasili, Arien quietly murmured, "Well... I mean, I'm fine but..."
"See? Look at your alpha! He handled himself perfectly fine! Haha!" Vasili giggled. "The five of you made it this far without losing a limb, be proud of yourselves! I was honestly expecting someone to die! Step one worked out quite well!"
Niven rose a brow. "What's step one?"
"Make sure my students survive through the first night."
"What was step two?"
Vasili shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't think you'd make it this far! Tehe..."
Niven clicked his tongue just as the others felt extreme loathing for the man grow even more. But Vasili didn't seem to mind the hateful looks, he kept that smile on his face as he continued, "Since everyone came back safe and sound, you all pass and are rewarded to go back to the academy! Isn't that nice?"
"What was the point of all of this?" Silas questioned bitterly.
"The point? Oh! Well, it was mostly to make sure the five of you get a lesson in the week since the headmaster caught me slacking off! Haha... good times!" Cackling to himself, Vasili raised a finger to wipe some imaginary tears away. "But anyways, it's just as I said before, you children have gotten a little too comfortable staying inside the academy and having its protection. This was a good way to exercise your natural survival instincts without having to rely on any of your abilities! One never knows when you end up becoming a cripple so it's best to start relying on yourself. Who knows when you lose your powers?"
"Lose our abilities?" Mirren retorted. "Your ass must be jealous from all the shit that comes from your mouth, Professor."
Vasili thought maliciously, If I wasn't a teacher, I'd fucking k—
The pink haired man had to stop himself for a moment, taking a short break in order not to take his cane and slam it against Mirren's head.
"There's people out there with certain abilities which could steal yours. Who's to say it won't happen to any of you?"
"That's why we kill them," Arien said nonchalantly. "Or let the Royals deal with them first. Simeon tends to do the dirty work himself."
"We aren't killing anyone!" Niven immediately refused.
The other looked at him with blank expressions. Even Agustine didn't understand why Niven was so adamant on letting his brothers take care of the little vermin trying to disrupt their school.
Vasili felt himself sigh unconsciously, finding the blond a little silly. Of course he expected Arien to say such a thing, but he figured Niven would also agree seeing as though he was brothers with Levi and Simeon. He guessed the boy was just too softhearted to allow that.
"Anyways, the point is, this was all for your best interests!" Vasili said. "And we got what we all wanted, right? I have something to report back to the headmaster, your alpha got his little free time to Mother Nature, Mirren was able to snack on some prey for dinner, Agustine went Jinx-free, and Silas was able to hug Niven! I don't see why you silly gooses are complaining! Honestly, you should all be thanking me for—"
"What did you say?" Mirren quickly interrupted, thinking he didn't hear clearly.
"I said you had a great time eating that harpy-"
"No, what did you say about Silas?"
Vasili tilted his head and looked at him innocently. "Hmm? I said Silas was able to touch Niven. Why? Something... wrong?"
Instantly, Agustine lunged forward and grabbed Niven, putting several feet between him and his brother. The blond was stunned to the point where he didn't know what just happened. He was about to ask why Agustine did that when he saw Silas moving forward to grab him.
"Brother, wait. L-Let me explain..."
Silas was blocked by Mirren, baring his canines at the angel. "Beat it." The jaguar was ready to stop the male, watching intensely to see what Silas would do. Arien was also observing behind Mirren, his eyes glowing a silver hue.
"W-Wait... I'm n-not going to hurt him." Silas moved forward again, wanting to see his partner. "Niven's alright, he s-said he was fine-"
"Do you think turning animals into corpses are fine? Do they look fine to you?" Mirren spat. "Don't touch him!"
"But... I-I swear I'm not..."
Vasili had to cup his mouth, needing to hold back his laughter at the sight before him. Seeing Silas' prideful self crumble to pieces this fast was something he anticipated. The pink haired man really outdone himself this time, what wonderful entertainment could be find elsewhere?
Before he could watch with more vigor, Niven managed to separate himself from Agustine and warped over to Silas. He landed right next to the angel, snatching his arm and holding onto it tightly with a bit of a glare.
"Mirren, stop! I'm fine, see?" Niven grabbed hold of the male's bare hand, holding it right in front of the others. "I'm perfectly fine, nothing's going to happen to me."
Arien and Mirren flinched back, finding it hard to say anything. They were too dumbfounded, neither one taking their eyes off the blond.
Niven was... safe? He wasn't withering away?
Although Niven finally got their attention and showed that Silas couldn't hurt him, he looked past the two beastmen and saw Agustine in the background, shaking from the sight.
Agustine hadn't seen a live person touch his brother in years, and he was the cause of it all. Seeing Silas move even closer to Niven almost made the jackal masked student even more stunned.
Agustine just really couldn't believe it.
While the group was preoccupied with what's going on, Vasili, on the other hand, found himself extremely disappointed with the loss of entertainment. He supposed it should be a good thing Silas and Agustine wouldn't have to worry about the angel's corrupted ability, but he didn't spend a whole day and night not to receive some sort of intriguing scene.
Before any of the students could speak, Vasili tapped his cane on the grooming twice, warping themselves back inside the academy. Coming back inside of the classroom was a little messier than Vasili expected, watching some of them stumble back into the desks and chair. Still, the Wolves kept their eyes trained on Niven, who was helping Silas up from the ground.
With the Wolves back inside, Vasili would just have to find something else to keep him entertained.
Giving the boys one last look, the professor spun on his heels and walked away, giving the group some time to discuss.
Vasili wondered what else he should do for another lesson.