Smile
Anton
D inner after the weird Weapons class was surprisingly uneventful, and we all dove into studies along with Kit. Oriel and Salem eagerly helped him quiz ancient history facts and creature types at the end, which seemed to ease the new guy’s anxiety a little with each correct answer. He really built a lot of his self-worth into his academic performance—possibly too much, though I’m hardly one to judge. My family doesn’t approve of my artsy endeavors and the amount of control I need in my efforts and life to make up for it are hardly what Kit’s kind would call ‘healthy coping mechanisms.’
Yes, I’ve been reading up on their psychology shit in my spare time to figure out how best to help him; it’s not a big deal.
While that time was uneventful, the next day also felt like it was fairly calm, too. Admittedly, I don’t have shit with Kit on Monday and Wednesday, so I barely see him until dinner and study time. He’s so serious during that time, helping Salem cook and working on both current assignments and catch-up that it’s hard to get in time for anything else. That is, unless someone like Jasper causes a fucking issue and then we spend an inordinate amount of time untangling his mess.
Today, though, is one of the two week days where I have a chance to get closer to our new member. Despite X playing our hidden secrets games, I’m focused on gleaning whatever moments I can with Kit so he feels comfortable enough to ask to see one of my shifts. My bird and my demon are pretty insistent about it, as I imagine the others’ inner beings are, too. I suspect he’s seen Oriel and Salem’s demons because they have this very smug, settled air about them.
The fuckers aren’t saying anything, though, just like Xerxes isn’t giving me hints about his newest mystery I need to solve.
Sighing as I exit our shared room, I scratch the back of my neck. When I’m restless, my bird likes to bring my feathers just under my skin, making it itch like crazy with little relief. I’ve been sitting on that for days now, white knuckling the irritation under my calm guise. I prefer not to show anger outwardly unless necessary, and that has kept me safe from my mother. She’s the tyrant in my family, and the Aldaric matriarch's rage phases are well known within the royal court. My research project suggests humans would call her bi-polar, and I’m inclined to agree.
“What’s wrong, babe?” X asks as they leave our dorm and join me by the elevator.
I shake my head. They don’t need to hear my musings about my mother everytime my past rears its head. My pride won’t allow me to be that weak or vulnerable constantly and it's absolutely an inherited trait of our demon line. “Nothing. I got lost in thought as I so often do.”
Xerxes squints, his head rearing back a bit, then bobbing in that very cobra-esque manner that tells me they don’t believe me. Their thinking posture is directly linked to their animal and it's a tell anytime they‘re studying you if you know to look for it. “Annie, you’re a terrible poker player. Why do you always think you can fool me? That’s your ‘my family sucks ass’ face and I certainly know what it looks like.”
Damn it, that works both ways, I guess.
“Yes, I was thinking about Anastasia.” My expression sours and I wave my hand. “But I’d prefer not to. Aegon is no better, but at least he’s simply neglectful and distant. That is easier to handle.”
“It does more damage than you think.”
My eyes snap to Kit as he and Salem leave their room to join us. The kinkajou is perched on his shoulder, looking at me as if it can read my thoughts. Obviously, it can’t, nor can it talk to Kit Kat, so I’m probably safe to recognize that his hair is getting a little longer and flops adorably in his eyes. Blinking as I turn back to the elevator, I shrug. “I’m very accustomed to that particular facet of my childhood. It’s not a concern anymore. I expect him to fail and he never disappoints.”
“Yikes,” Kit mutters. “Talk about avoiding your issues, man. That shit will eat you alive; I know it for sure.”
“Demons have excellent compartmentalization skills,” I reply nonchalantly. “Ask X. They know what I mean. Hell, even Salem does.”
Salem groans, and I imagine his big frame wilting as I bring him into the crossfire. “Ugh, Anton, it’s fucking seven a.m. Could you not?”
Xerxes saves the panda by interjecting, “We do, KK. It’s part of the divide in our minds with the demons and shifters for us, I think. I suppose that seems weird to you because of all the head shrinking, but Annie is telling the truth.”
“Mostly,” Salem mutters. “Not that seven a.m. is the time to start some bottom of the pits discussion about demon psychology. It’s a goddamn travesty to do this shit before we eat.”
“Salem, it’s always a little before you eat,” I shoot back. “When can I broach anything with that kind of schedule?”
Kit snorts, and I turn to see him covering his mouth with his hand. The look on his face is joyfully amused and I feel the preening bird inside of me react to causing his mirth. “He’s not wrong. You really do eat and sleep a lot.”
“I’m a panda , assholes. That’s like ninety percent of their life, minimum.”
“ Guys .” We all look at Zavida as he walks down the hall with Slash and Jasper behind him. “We don’t want anyone overhearing this, even from the elevator. Unity, right?”
I roll my eyes at the kitsune. “Zav, we’re just bickering like friends. No one will think I actually have a problem with Salem’s natural behavior other than having to keep his ass awake in class.”
“Even so, be more cautious. Though, I approve of whatever you did to make the shrimp look happy to be tagging along with us. That will sell our deception if we can do it more often.”
We probably could if you’d quit pissing him off, you dickbag.
But I don’t say that, only nod, and the elevator doors open to take us down for breakfast.
Today’s goal is to repeat whatever I did to make Kit smile—mission accepted.
“Our gracious administration has assigned new tasks for you to work on for your Games trials. The curses, spells, and hexes on this sheet have been deemed essential to your survival. Before you ask, no , I don’t have the slightest inkling why they are highlighting these incantations.”
Wormwood gives us all an imperious look as he shoves the printed copies at a demon in the first row. I don’t know the guy, but I absolutely get why he’s scuttling up the rows to get away from our professor. The mage/dhmapir’s temperament is notoriously unpredictable and he doesn’t look happy in the slightest. When the dude finally gets to the back row, the sheets make their way from guy to guy until they reach me.
I’m interested in knowing why this is printed rather than being sent electronically—as most things at Discordia are.
I take the remaining copies and pull one loose, passing the rest to Kit. My brows furrow as I look over the tiny print that covers both sides of the paper. “Motherfucker… this is?—”
“Insane,” Kit whispers as he gapes at it. “I can’t do any magic, much less learn hundreds of these things before the random day they announce the start of this thing.”
The tension in his frame is palpable and I drop one hand from my copy, placing it on his arm. “We’ll be okay, Kit Kat. All things in time, right?”
“But we don’t have time!” he hisses.
Since he didn’t pull away, my bird preens again and I have to focus my eyes on the lengthy list of magic. I don’t see anything particularly offensive on the front of the page, but that doesn’t mean anything. There has to be a reason why Wormwood did it this way, and I need to figure out why.
“Anton. The back. In the middle.”
As usual, Slash is a demon of few words, but they’re important. I flip the paper, scanning the list there until my eyes widen. Smack dab in the center, there are at least ten forbidden incantations. “Holy shit.”
“What? What’s going on?” Kit asks as he peers at the backside of his list. “I know I’m behind, but you guys can’t hold back like this.”
“Settle, KK,” Salem says as he leans forward, peeking around Slash’s bulk. “Anton will explain. He’s better at this shit than us big dudes.”
I roll my eyes at him, then turn back to the panicking new kid. “This list is mostly inane, but several of the spells on the back are classified by the crown as forbidden. I know that sounds weird because we’re demons.”
Kit snorts softly, leaning into my arm to look where I’m pointing on my paper. “Why are they forbidden?”
“Because they’re difficult to accomplish, require a lot of power, and helped the current royals win the Games and the following war.”
Slash grunts, shifting in the chair with a disgruntled look. “Several of the court royals used them. My father is more… aggressive with his magic—up close and personal. He and the King were not so subtle in their actions in those events. Spells like this are intended for less physical demons.”
“So the other family heads, then?” Kit asks as he frowns. “Your parents, Anton?”
“Surely my mother. Probably X’s father. Salem’s parents would have been somewhere in between. Zav’s would have been focused on other things. Definitely Oriel’s folks,” I respond slowly. “But given that it was not chronicled—purposefully—it would take someone with very intimate knowledge of the coup to put these here.”
Like Lucian fucking Darkstar.
“What happens if people use them?”
I look at the nervous looking guy, squeezing his arm again. “It’s basically treason, but who the fuck knows what the King would do. His moods are mercurial and he hasn’t had anyone stupid enough to challenge the court in centuries.”
“My father would kill them after many, many, many years of torture.” Slash doesn’t elaborate, but I have no desire to ask him to. “And they would feed the pieces to the beasts in the Wastelands.”
“Well, that’s not terrifying,” Kit grumbles. “Thanks, big guy. I feel much better now.”
Slash gives him a toothy grin and surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to upset the kid. In fact, he looks pleased as hell and I have no idea why. Filing that away for future analysis, I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. “I don’t know what their game is, but we can assume we know who is behind shoving this shit into the curriculum.”
“That dickhead,” Salem mutters. “As if death games aren’t bad enough, he’s going to have all the wanna-be competitors using this shit to come at us. You know that’s why those spells are on here.”
Nodding, I turn to Slash. “You need to figure out how to counteract this shit. The only two people who can ask those questions without raising suspicion are you and Jasper.”
“He cannot.”
Kit looks at the shark shifter curiously. “Why?”
“Besides pissing his dad off at the ball, Jasper has never been known to accept his father’s advice or pay attention to his stories. It will raise eyebrows.” I give the kid a little smirk and he flushes bright red when he realizes he was part of that little issue.
“It was good for him. Do not be worried.”
“How was that good for him, Slash?” Kit Kat says softly. “It felt good at the time and I think Jasper was happy to stick a fork in the King, but now… It’s hampering our ability to gather information. Or, that’s what it sounds like to me.”
Salem chuckles, shaking his head. “That may be true, but I bet Prince Pissypants hasn’t enjoyed a party that much in years .”
I can’t dispute that, but I’m not sure if it was worth it yet. Only time will tell.