“It is only when we examine the underlying principles of arcane fonts do we gain an understanding of the intricacies that form the foundations of magical theory and spellcasting. What separates the mundane spellcaster from a more experienced practitioner is not the ability to memorize all their spells, though that certainly can help. It is their ability to distill the fundamentals of each spell and pull the requisite parts together. Knowing the way each spell and element intersect…”

- Magos Freja Vatteryn, Senior Magos of the Mages Guild, “The Basic Competencies Of Spellcasting”

One month had passed since Sophie’s unfortunate run-in with the Carradorians and Traxians, having only narrowly avoided being further embroiled in the situation. With a constant outpouring of news from the frontlines about the state of the Carro-Traxian war, she could feel the uneasy peace in the Academy slowly being shattered. Fortunately, the Frostwinders had yet to pester Ary in any meaningful capacity, though a few scattered instances of abuse being hurled at her still had Sophie on edge the entire time.

Their classes generally carried on as they always had. Assignments and lessons blended together as they slowly got overshadowed routine and casualness. Princess Lucinia still treated her with hostility in their shared management and warfare logistics class, which honestly brought a small sense of normalcy.

Although in her mathematics class, she and Ary would always manage to sneak in a cuddle or two before or after class depending on how late they arrived. It elicited a lot of teasing from Aetemo and Taveia, but Ary seemed to find it amusing and therefore Sophie did too.

Sophie did slowly learn to dread the weekends thanks to Sophia’s intensive training regime where the two would practice techniques before sparring. It was only thanks to Ary planning weekly tea parties with their friends or dates that Sophie was able to avoid her responsibilities from time to time. A welcome break from the battering she would receive.

Of her siblings and companions, Elaria fit in almost scarily naturally with her peers. The girl had used her charm and wit to easily win over friends. Even more when she would perform songs for the crowd. Raylani floundered for a while, left out of her depth from life in the deeps. But the dark elf was trying, and Sophie noticed the fondness she often showed Elaria.

Sophia was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Where Elaria embraced a more outgoing persona, Sophia was the shadow hidden behind every corner. She did manage to make some friends, or at least that’s what she told Sophie. Sophie was doubtful but did not pry. At the very least, she was friends with Alodie and Fana to an extent, warming up with the Lucurian far faster than the girl had with Sophie. Hells, Fana’s still wary of me to some extent.

The chill winds of the north had slowly subsided as spring began making its presence known. But with their retreat so too, did most of the snow go with it. That did mean there were less snow people for Yana to toy with, and all Sophie could do was that the faerie would not switch to making mud people when spring eventually fully takes hold. I am not going to clean up after them.

“Sophie.” Ary called out.

“Yeah?” Sophie turned away from the window and smiled.

“You done yet?”

“Eheheh…” Sophie sheepishly shook her head.

“You’re so slooowww.” Ary’s face crinkled into an adorable pout.

Unable to resist, Sophie leaned over and gave her lips a small peck before apologizing, “Sorry, I zoned out.”

“Less zoning out and more studying.” Ary complained whilst affectionately rubbing her cheek against Sophie’s, “We’ll have plenty of time to question our life choices later.”

“I know, I know. I just find math a little boring.”

“Sooophieee.”

“I know, I’m trying.”

The redhead frowned but did not pull away, leaning against Sophie as the half elf tried to finish her homework. In truth, Sophie dreaded math not just because it wasn’t the most interesting subject, but because she was bad at it. Considering that there as a test coming up, she was also afraid of being humiliated, especially when compared to Ary’s surprising adeptness at the subject. Still, Sophie knew that she just needed more practice, more studying to try to catch up. Can’t embarrass her in math of all things.

It was such a mundane concern that Sophie felt almost chipper just thinking about it. Compared to defying death, the potential for riots in the academy or diving into ruins, it was nice to be worried about a math test. Noticing her smile, Ary seized the initiative and pulled Sophie in for a kiss. A little off guard, Sophie’s eyes widened before she leaned into it, the two holding their position for a few seconds before pulling away. Sophie met Ary’s gaze and found an outpouring of love twinkling within them. Touched, she pressed their noses togethers as the redhead beamed a radiant smile at the gesture.

“Now focus.” Ary ordered.

Sophie just chuckled and nodded. If only Ary was in every class. Then she could tutor me for everything, hah.

Yana cared little about human affairs, her time spent in this place making her somewhat antsy at how mechanical everyone acted. They would go to class a, then b, then c, tomorrow d and e and f, then repeat it all over again. On the bright side, Ary made sure to constantly borrow library books so she could read them when the two were in class. It was a somewhat dull process but she appreciated the accounts of adventurers and their stories.

She also found great joy in puppeteering her legions of snowmen, manipulating the mana in the environment to give the little simulacrums the impression of life. She would occasionally make them do performances, making them reenact scenes from a book or story she wanted visualised. It had become a quaint little pastime and occasionally even Aryana or Sophie would comment on it when they noticed the snowmen on the window. Every once in a while, she would let in a horde of them into the room for a performance fit for a faerie, though she always cleaned up before there was any trouble.

Over the past month and weeks, she had also carved herself a small rest area by taking over a shelf above Aryana’s desk. It offered convenient access to the windows but also was the furthest away from the beds. With the help of the two peculiar elves that the duo know, they, alongside Aryana, helped design a small little accommodation box padded with puffy pillow like materials to serve as a bed for Yana. Of this, she was very pleased. It also pleased her that when she went to bed, the puffy materials would also help drown out the sound of her bonded and the half elf having a sex, a fact that still bothered her quite greatly despite how used to it she was.

Her suffering was rewarded by the weekly tea parties that Aryana arranged with their friends. Without fail, Yana was able to snack on a variety of delectable treats and teas, easily earning her approval. She also got more chances to toy with the humans, elves and the singular catfolk the pair invited over. Though that poor girl seemed even more nervous than Aryana.

Today’s schedule was much the same as always for Yana. Sophie and Aryana finished their studies and split up to head to their respective classes. Whilst Yana couldn’t follow Ayana to the mage’s tower, this time, she had classes with the herbology department. This always gave Yana plenty of chances to examine the strange flora that they stored in the name of ‘learning’. Though Aryana did warn her to be careful and try not to attract attention. So far, she could confidently say that she was doing a good job.

Yana lounged peacefully atop a particularly sturdy plant leaf, before using the soil and dirt to craft a little ‘dirtman’ much like the snowmen of her performances. This creature would then swap and keep away any curious insects or critters that might be looking to latch onto the faerie. It allowed her a solid hour’s worth of napping and she deemed this to be worthwhile.

Tucked away in her little corner of the greenhouse, she wondered just how wide was the range of Aryana’s interests. Here, unlike some areas of the academy, she could feel the more natural mana flow. The plants wafting the tiniest flows of mana around the place as they would in the world outside. Tapping into this connection relaxed her, and Yana yawned as she splayed herself out on the leaf.

“The humble leaf is always near, no matter where you might shed a tear.” She hummed to herself.

As her eyes closed and she let out a hearty sigh, she felt her chest tighten. The uncomfortable sensation roused her from the calming stupor and she bolted upright, her eyes now alert as she drew upon threads of mana to sense what disturbed her. Amidst the peaceful plants and average humdrum of the students and professors, she could feel a particular corner of the greenhouse radiating mana tainted with faint traces of fear.

Alarmed, Yana bolted up and fluttered towards the other end of the greenhouse, inevitably attracting some eyes as students wondered why a mote of light flew above them. She could see nothing within the greenhouse itself that provoked this reaction, which meant it was outside. Holding onto the threads of mana, she could feel the aura of malice traveling through the air. It made her uneasy and she continued following the threads, trying her best to get a handle on the situation.

Still uncertain, she dispatched her dirtman to warn Aryana, or at least alert the girl that something wasn’t right. Meanwhile, she maintained her vigil, connecting to the different mana flows that continued to change at the presence of whatever or whoever it was that caused this fear.

Yana readied herself to defend the greenhouse and her frail bonded. Her hands were outstretched, channeling the latent mana in the air into a piercing shot capable of harming foes many times her size. As little arcs of mana turned to energy, cackling at the tips of her fingers, she waited. And waited. But the threat never materialised, the feeling of fear slowly dissipating.

Her wings fluttered aggressively, the little faerie ready for a battle that never came. A singular bead of sweat ran down the back of her neck as she finally relented. Still cautious, she tugged onto the mana tendrils, scouring them for any more information. Receiving only confirmation that whatever it was had moved away from the greenhouse. Relieved, she let her shoulders sag and fluttered over to a nearby table, keeping herself mostly hidden from the other students.

For Yana, she couldn’t let the matter go. Whatever it was had been powerful enough to elicit fear from the nearby flora. Clear enough in threat that the cry of nature had been heard by her. What that meant was trouble, and although it didn’t seem to be directly at Aryana, Yana couldn’t help but worry.

The fast but controlled shuffling of boots and the tiny tip taps of the dirtman hopping across tables made Yana’s nose itch.

“Yana?” Aryana whispered, the girl’s eyes darting around to make sure no one else was close to her, “Your little mud soldier led me here.”

Yana, still agitated, warily flew up towards Aryana, taking her time settling into the girl’s coat pocket. The fae’s mind was still tapped into the network of mana, slowly retracting herself from the cry of frightened plants as everything returned to a level of uneasy calm.

“Yana?” Aryana asked a bit more urgently.

“There is trouble on the horizon, a dangerous being with ill intention. A most powerful of foes, to keep us on our toes. It’s not after you, I think. But I dared not even blink. It has wandered away, to the rest of the campus in search of some prey.” Yana spoke.

“Trouble? Here?” Aryana hissed in surprise.

Yana vigorously nodded, “An unknown stranger, potentially a grave danger.”

“A stranger? Here? Do you know if they were a person? A creature?”

“I doubt that the plants would cry if it were a beast, likely a humanoid at the very least.”

Her ‘mud soldier’ as Ayana so insulted the dirtman, bobbed up and down in agreement with the faerie.

Ayana frowned and scratched at her nose in frustration.

“You’re certain it wasn’t after anyone here?”

“It is gone.” Yana replied.

Aryana looked over to the direction where Yana had been staring. The girl tried futilely to squint in an attempt to perhaps uncover anything else. Yana wanted to puff up her chest, for if she could not see or sense it, then there was little chance that a human could. But Aryana was nice to her, and so she kept quiet, simply waiting for the girl to give up.

After a few seconds, Aryana sighed. The girl’s expression dimmed to resemble one much like Yana’s own. Of wariness and uncertainty. Seeing her bonded in distress, Yana fluttered her wings assertively.

“Worry not dearest Aryana, for you are protected by me, Yana!” She gently beat her chest.

“Heh.” Aryana managed a thin smile, “I suppose us not being the target means it's not likely mages or Frostwinders."

Aryana looked down at her expectantly, but Yana did not know what she expected. So she just looked back up at her bonded in confusion.

“I… but you’re sure whoever it was, was dangerous?” Aryana finally asked.

Yana practically scowled, how dare you doubt my words, hmpf. She gave what she hoped was a flick directed at Aryana’s hand. “Of course they are, I wouldn’t lie!” She pouted.

“Haah, I know. Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that if someone did sneak into the academy then…” Aryana let out a tired sigh, “Nothing good’s going to come out of this.” She grumbled.

“That is the truth.” Yana affirmed.

“After class, can you help me find Sophie? Whatever the trouble might be. And the others as well, especially Sophia, she can probably help figure out what’s happening.”

“Ugh, to find the half elf and the false elf? However they respond, don’t blame yourself.”

“Mmm, I won’t. But it’s better safe than sorry. Could it be…” Aryana furrowed her brow, “If it’s powerful… could they be after someone just as strong? Maybe…ah.” Aryana gasped, “Are they after Eva?”

Yana watched as Aryana’s eyes widened with shock.

“Shit, we need to tell Sophie. Even if we’re wrong, it’s best to be ready, just in case.” Aryana continued, now looking more alarmed than before.

“Aryana?” Someone called from afar.

“Shoot, right, class.” Aryana hissed before composing herself, “Forget about going after class. Go. Now. Find Sophie and warn her.”

“But-” Yana tried to protest.

“I’ll be fine. The professors are here and more than a few of the others have some spellcasting experience.”

Yana was not reassured, but it seemed an earnest request judging from the panic in Aryana’s eyes. So with a defeated shrug of her shoulders, the faerie agreed. “I’ll be your messenger. But don’t count on it again.” She huffed and took off. Yana was only a little peeved, she should’ve been more than enough, after all, she was a faerie. But she understood Aryana’s worries all the same. The two half elves were capable warriors whatever their origin. She just hoped they would be able to handle whoever it was that sought to cause chaos. I hate to admit it, but with how that Sophie can just siphon mana... Yana involuntarily shivered at the thought of Sophie using her anomalous powers, let's just hope it doesn't come to that.