Liliana glanced over the group at her dinner table. Emyr was sitting there with Nemesis wound around his neck, whispering in his ear as he absentmindedly ate. Marianne was chatting with Anya excitedly. The two girls had really hit it off and always had something to talk about, even if Liliana was convinced half their conversations were nothing but nonsense. Liliana looked towards Alistair, who was gazing at Emyr with a soft smile she doubted he was even aware he wore.

Liliana’s eyes darted down to Alistair’s tray, where a slice of chocolate cake sat. She had an identical piece on her own tray, sitting untouched. Liliana looked between the two cakes for a long moment, judging them before she decided. Her hand darted out and grabbed her brother’s cake and dragged it to herself. His fork aimed to impale her thieving fingers was not nearly fast enough to catch her.

“Give me my cake back!” Alistair growled at her. Liliana smirked as she pulled the slice of cake closer to herself.

“It’s mine now.” Liliana smirked.

“You already have a slice! Of the same exact cake!” Alistair huffed, his voice rising.

“Yea, but I wanted your cake.” Liliana said with a slight pout as she sunk her fork into the stolen confectionery.

“Lili, I swear to Vita if you eat my cake.” Alistair threatened, trying to lean forward to grab the cake from her. Liliana leaned back, balancing the cake as she quickly darted the forkful into her mouth, chewing with a huge grin on her face.

“Lili! Stop eating my cake!” Alistair shouted, shooting to his feet to come around the table. Liliana jumped up onto her seat and vaulted over the table, cake in hand, with a shriek.

“Never! Just take my slice!” Liliana called out as she darted away from her brother, popping another forkful in her mouth as she ran.

“I don’t want your slice. I want mine!” Alistair yelled as he chased after her.

“So your slice was better! I knew it! You dick!” Liliana said over her shoulder before shoving another forkful in her mouth.

She started weaving around tables of other class S students, the fourth years too absorbed in the textbooks they always had in their hands to notice the ruckus, the third years looking amused but unbothered, the second years looked a bit irritated but most said nothing and their first year classmates looked either embarrassed, angry or entertained by the siblings. Liliana was frantically shoving bites of cake in her mouth as she turned, twisted and jumped around the cafeteria to avoid her brother, who was shouting insults and threats behind her.

“Oh, fiddlesticks, look like it’s all gone,” Liliana called to her brother as she darted back to their table, dropping the empty plate on the table. Liliana fell into her seat and grinned up at her brother, who was staring at the plate in shock.

“Guess you have to eat my cake now instead. Such a shame.” Liliana said with a smug smirk. Alistair’s head whipped up and his eyes narrowed. Liliana barely had time to open her mouth to curse before her brother tackled her to the ground.

“Get off of me!” Liliana cried out as her brother shifted so he was sitting on her back and he could start tickling her sides.

“Spit it out! Spit my cake out, you fucking menace!” Alistair demanded, as Liliana choked on giggles.

“Do you want to eat my vomit, you freak?” Liliana gasped out between laughs.

“On three.” An exhausted voice said. Seconds later, Alistair was being dragged back while Marianne caught Liliana under the armpits and pulled her back when she tried to launch herself at her brother.

“Lili. Sit.” Marianne said in Liliana's ear and Liliana slumped before sticking her tongue out at Alistair, who was being pulled back by Anya and Emyr.

Liliana sat down in her seat and noticed as Marianne took her seat next to her that the girl was shining slightly before it turned off. It explained how Marianne had pulled Liliana back. She was using skills and spells to boost her Strength, though Liliana hadn’t really wanted to break out and chance hurting Marianne.

Liliana sat down in her chair and pouted as she ate under the stern gazes of Emyr and Marianne. Anya just looked endlessly amused by the events that had transpired. Alistair shot a murderous glare her way, but Liliana could see the smile trying to break through. She pushed her slice of cake towards her brother, who snatched it from her as if he was afraid she’d take off with that one too.

“Why must you two do this?” Marianne asked as she rubbed at her face with a hand.

“They’re siblings.” Emyr said with a shrug.

“My littermates were like that, too. Fighting over everything,” Anya said with a grin, though her eyes looked sad.

Liliana had to wonder what it would be like to go to a school in a different country with no one you knew. She’d learned enough of Anya to know the girl wasn’t native to Cista. Her family was very wealthy though, so they’d been able to afford to send one of their kids to the Academy. Apparently the entire group, or litter as Anya called them, had to fight. The winner got to go, and that was Anya. Still, she always talked about her family with love clear in her voice, and Liliana couldn’t imagine how much she missed them.

In her mind, the faces of Silas, Jason, Clover, and Flint flashed by, and Liliana rubbed at her chest. Perhaps she could imagine it, because she missed the rest of her hodgepodge family fiercely.

“I’m glad I don’t have siblings if this is normal.” Marianne said with an exasperated sigh.

“This was light. There was no blood drawn,” Anya said, and she sounded almost disappointed by that.

“Yea, if they get into it bad enough, there’s no pulling them apart. You just have to hope weapons don’t get pulled.” Emyr said with a shrug as he bit into a piece of his steak.

“You locked your sister in a closet and left her there for four hours when you were eight.” Liliana said, voice deadpan as she looked at Emyr.

“Yes, but I don’t get into tavern brawls with my siblings over cake.” Emyr said with a derisive sniff.

“She took the last cookie your cook had made for the day.” Alistair cut in, his voice as deadpan as Liliana’s.

“It wasn’t cake.” Emyr said with a huff as he turned his head and started to very pointedly whisper to Nemesis. Liliana and Alistair traded wry glances, lips quirking and eyebrows raising as they silently communicated how ridiculous Emyr could be.

“I expect my Bond back in my room when I get back from Beastology Club,” Liliana warned Emyr as she gathered her finished meal.

Beastology club started after dinner, closer to late afternoon. Apparently, they switched the meeting time of the club every few weeks because many of the creatures the students and professor had were more active at certain times. Liliana was excited for when the club switched to meeting after dark. She wanted to see what kind of creatures they had that were strictly nocturnal.

“Fine.” Emyr said petulantly.

He had quite enjoyed the last day of having Nemesis with him, saying she was quite adept at spying. Liliana had heard some of what Nemesis had found out, though she was waiting for Emyr to compile all the rumors and secrets he’d uncovered, and she could admit using her Bond to spy on their enemies was useful.

“Oh! Are you going to study?” a sweet voice called out just as Liliana started to stand. Liliana felt a very sudden and illogical urge to bash her head against the closest hard surface.

Why Vita, why. Is this some cosmic joke? Liliana wondered as she painted on a pleasant smile and turned to look at Diana, who had found her way to their table.

“No, sorry. I have the Beastology Club I’m going to.” Liliana said, keeping her voice even.

“Oh.” Diana said, her smile dimming as she seemed to droop. Liliana had the oddest feeling, like she’d kicked a puppy.

“I was hoping to study with you. You always seem to know the answers when you’re called on, and Professor Clintone complimented your essay the other day.” Diana said, her voice sad as she looked at her feet for a moment. She perked up slightly and looked at the rest of the table.

“Maybe I could study with you guys?” Diana asked hopefully, eagerness clear in her voice.

Liliana’s eyebrow rose in surprise. She wasn’t expecting Diana to try so hard to interact with them. None of them had gone out of their way to befriend the girl. Then again, Liliana remembered that Diana was a commoner, there was a chance she was struggling to fit in with class S which was currently made up of mostly nobles. Maybe Diana thought their group would be more inclusive, as Anya wasn’t a noble and Liliana’s mother was a commoner. Diana might have charmed the nobles in the game, but Liliana knew this world wasn’t always like the game, and it took longer than a week and a half to charm people enough that they forgot the prejudices they were raised with.

“Sorry, we have Scrimmage tonight.” Alistair with a shrug and Anya nodded.

“I was planning on spending the night practicing my notes with the flute I’m trying with for the Band Club,” Marianne said with an apologetic smile. Emyr didn’t even say anything. In fact, he didn’t acknowledge Diana’s presence at all, which was rather in character for him.

“Oh, well, maybe next time?” Diana asked, though she looked quite crestfallen. Liliana felt torn between the urge to offer to study with her and the instinct to stay away from Diana and all the trouble a fourth hero could bring into her life.

“Next Lunaday we can study together if you’d like,” the words were said, feeling like they were dragged out of Liliana’s lungs forcefully.

“Really? That would be great! Thank you so much, Lili!” Diana said, her face brightening and her eyes doing that odd twinkling thing where it looked like the girl had dusted glitter over her irises.

“Liliana, or Rosengarde. Only my friends call me Lili.” the words came out a bit sharp, but something about Diana calling her Lili had raised her hackles. Diana blinked, looking a bit taken back and unsure for a moment before she smiled again, if a bit more sheepishly.

“Yes, right. Sorry, I just heard everyone calling you Lili, so I thought… I’m really bad at this etiquette thing. I’m sorry.” Diana said, her eyes wide and her smile drooping a bit more into a pout. And the feeling of kicking a puppy was back.

“It’s fine. We can’t expect those who weren’t raised like us to know all the intricacies of noble etiquette. Just call me Liliana, alright?” Liliana put as much false niceness in her voice as she could, her sweet smile aching on her face. Diana seemed to take her words and expressions at face value and she smiled at Liliana again before waving goodbye to the table and walking off.

“I’m going to go to the club before I get accosted again.” Liliana said, as her pleasant mask dropped.

“Yes, run for cover before any more admirers come circling,” Alistair teased. Liliana shot him a venomous glare that just prompted him to grin at her. Liliana shook her head and walked off. If her walk was more of a stomp, she’d never admit to it.

Liliana started a fast walk towards the building the Beastology Club used as soon as she got out of the cafeteria. A large annex connected to the stables. Liliana assumed it was there because it made it easy for students without summoning stones to bring in their bonds and mounts, and they got access to a special section of the large fields used for the stabled beasts.

Liliana walked into the large barnlike building, slipping through the doors and pausing as she took in the many beasts spread around the room. Some were sleeping, others were patiently standing or sitting, others still were running around or even on the students already there. A bright purple Skvader dropped onto her head for a moment before taking back to the air, where it used its rabbit legs to bounce off walls and ceiling.

“You made it!” a voice called out, and Liliana looked to see Kor’iat walking to her, waving a hand. Maud walked next to her, a grin on her face.

“I wouldn’t miss this club!” Liliana said as she walked to the older girls, eyes barely able to focus on them as she looked at all the creatures.

She could see a flock of Dragonflies, actual miniature dragons with translucent insect wings, fluttering around. Someone had a Caladrius, its snow white plumage glowing on their shoulder. There was Gryffin cleaning its fur, and a Manticore was using its deadly tail to play with juvenile Solion. And so many more.

“If you have any bonds that can be around this many others and not cause a fight, feel free to let them out,” Maud said, but her eyes looked hungry, as if she was dying to see what creatures Liliana had. Liliana could understand that hunger and need to see every beast there was.

Liliana tapped on the stones for Polaris and Lelantos. Both had been informed they needed to be on their best behavior, and Liliana trusted them to not cause malicious harm. Polaris would probably cause some mischief, but he wouldn’t try to hurt anyone. Lelantos would either find someone to play with or take a nap.

“A Mirage Tiger? And a Shadow Winged Kitsune?” Maud asked as the two beasts appeared, both a bit on edge from suddenly being around so many other beasts but behaving. Polaris immediately latched onto Maud’s voice, sniffing out the possibility of compliments. Lelantos just pressed closer to Liliana.

“Do you have bonds, too?” Liliana asked the girls as she watched Maud slowly creep closer to Polaris, murmuring compliments about his coat, his wings, his tails and his eyes as she tried to coax the Kitsune into allowing her to pet him.

“Not me. I joined mostly to learn more about creatures I might have to fight. Most of the club are tamers or have bonds, but some of us are here to learn about creatures too.” Kor’iat said with a shrug, and Liliana nodded. That made sense. Most dungeons had beasts of all varieties in them, and the biggest everyday threat to people was beasts.

“I have a Pegasus, a Quillboar, three Kelpies though they barely listen to me, a Heliobear, and a Frozen Wraith.” Maud said offhandedly as she finally began to stroke Polaris’ fur.

Liliana’s eyes widened at the long list of creatures. Granted, Kelpies weren’t impressive. You could find one in most bodies of water, if not an entire herd. They couldn’t fight on land at all, even if they could take form on it. They took increased damage on land, and got sick if they were on it for too long, so they were only effective in water. Still, that was seven creatures bonded.

“Many tamers have a lot of bonds. They used varying types of contracts with them, so it’s not always such a task to bond. Some are contractual for a set amount of time or until something is done. And most tamers tame creatures at their level or lower. As most tamers don’t fight, they send out their bonds.” Kor’iat jumped in to explain because Maud was lost to them entirely.

“Ah.” Liliana eloquently replied.

She knew, objectively, that most tamers did things much differently from what she did. Taming lower leveled creatures was easier and you could build up an army of fodder creatures quickly that way, effective if you needed a lot of bodies between yourself and the threat, especially as most tamers pumped into Charisma, Intelligence and Wisdom almost exclusively as it would let them buff their creatures better and tame more.

Liliana was odd in that she fought with her bonds, so she couldn’t follow the typical path for tamers. She also didn’t tame anything on her own level, aiming always for at least a Rank above her. It meant she had fewer bonds, and wasn’t able to buff her creatures the same way a dedicated tamer could, but it also meant she had very strong tames and she wouldn’t be defenseless without them.

“Here, if you’re okay with leaving your Bond to Maud, I can show you around. We usually spend the first half just exercising our creatures and talking to each other about our own. The other half will be a lesson given by Professor Ferron on a voted creature. He talks about their habitats, behavior, evolutions, mutations in the species, how to care for one. If we have one of the creatures he’s lecturing on, he does a live show, and we go over how to fight and kill them or to negotiate with them.” Kor’iat explained the club as she walked Liliana around, waving at other students who called out to her.

It surprised Liliana to see Fabian Amberstar among the students. She hadn’t thought the boy had tames with how he seemed in Soul class. But the normally reserved and quiet boy was almost unrecognizable with the wide grin and mussed clothes he was wearing as he played with a Chamrosh that was doing tricks for him. Liliana noted before her attention was taken by a Cockatrice that his brown eyes shone when he was happy, the gold flecks in them standing out more.

“This is Bonnie, she’s a sweet girl, just don’t pull on her feathers,” Kor’iat introduced Liliana to the Cockatrice who made a noise somewhat like a hissing coo. Liliana raised a hand for Bonnie to nudge with her beak before prompting Liliana to stroke her head. Liliana marveled at how the rooster feathers faded into hard scales.

“Feel free to approach any beasts you see. They’re all friendly. Sometimes their tamer will be with them, and you can ask about their Bond. Have fun,” Kor’iat said to Liliana, who only paid slight attention to her words as she reverently petted the Cockatrice.

Kor’iat wandered off, but Liliana didn’t feel lonely. She walked around the club greeting new creatures and getting to play with them, pet them, or even talk to them with the ones that had advanced to being able to communicate. She also had several people approach her to ask about Lelantos, who was following behind Liliana.

Liliana couldn’t wipe the grin from her face the entire time she was in the club. She felt like if there was a heaven it was a barn attached to stables full of mythical creatures and people just as interested in beasts as she was.