I woke up early in the morning – as was mine and Teival’s daily routine of late – and did some training in the secluded spot until the dawn arrived. Returning to our room, I was looking forward to a hearty breakfast of crushed crystal termites when I bumped into Teival’s leg. “Hmm?” I poked my head through his legs and saw Dad casually standing in our room with a nonchalant expression.

“Why are you here, Dad?”

Dad turned to my master and pointed at his uncovered head, “To tell you to never show that in front of Anders.”

I raised my head to peer at what the stern man was pointing at, only to realise it was Teival’s silver hair. I saw him subconsciously place his hand on it before grabbing the familiar cloth to cover it.

“…I know. You don’t need to remind me. I am already aware of how bad it would be if he found out.”

“Good.”

I walked through Teival’s legs and yawned before tripping over the sleeping clothes Teival had left strewn across the floor this morning. I lost my footing and ended up tumbling toward Dad, resulting in me face-planting his leg. I froze from a frosty gaze falling on me from above. I jerkily tilted my head to glimpse at Dad, only to witness him staring back at me with a displeased expression. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to get my saliva on your clothes!” I desperately tried to lick his clothes clean before Teival rescued me from my addled actions.

“It’s been a few years since I last came here…Your room’s a mess.” I watched as he ran a finger along the hard hole ledge on the wall and inspected the black residue collected on it. “Did you forget my lessons on how a cluttered room leads to a cluttered mind?”

“No, I didn’t…Dad…”

“Then, I hope you also didn’t fail to remember how a cluttered mind affects the efficacy of your spells.”

“I understand, Dad. I’ll make sure to clean it up.”

I grabbed hold of Teival’s sleeping clothes and jumped onto the bed to help make the room tidy. Unfortunately, I had placed them in the same position that Dad had chosen to sit, resulting in him pulling the clothes from under him and dumping them at his side. My ears picked up on his exasperated sigh as my eyes observed him rub his fingers between his brows.

“Teival…make sure to eat with us while Anders is here. It’ll look bad if you don’t.”

“I’d rather train with Kia than eat with that banshee.”

“TEIVAL! WATCH YOUR WORDS!”

Sensing the hostility radiating off Dad, I shifted to a battle stance in front of Teival and growled defensively at the man. I heard him sigh heavily before hanging his head:

“Just…try and see things from Adah’s perspective, will you? Imagine having to raise another woman’s child and have it be a constant reminder of your family’s injustice.”

“…”

My master remained silent as I saw him lower his head in what I presumed was shame – although I didn’t really understand what he was to feel ashamed about. I ceased my growling, since my stomach had decided to take over – which prompted Teival to get my food for me. “Ah! Teival is such a kind master! Always aware of my eternal hunger!” I wagged my tail in happiness before noticing Dad stand up and walk to the door.

“Just remember to behave and things will go smoothly.”

After tapping Teival’s shoulder, Dad vacated the premises, leaving us to our breakfast. I nuzzled my master’s hand and rebutted what the man had said, “Teival has always behaved! It’s everyone else who has been naughty!” Teival scratched behind my ears before rearranging the positions of several items and objects haphazardly placed throughout the room. I helped by dragging his dirty clothes into a comfy pile before burrowing into them. “Bet you can’t find me, Teival!” I wagged my tail excitedly, feeling quite assured that I was a master at stealth.

“I can see your tail, Kia.”

“Ah! I’ve been discovered!” I tucked my tail beneath me and hoped he would forget I was there. I closed my eyes tightly, for extra measure, however I soon realised I was being gently lifted out of the clothes released onto the bed. After receiving some light pats on my head, as well as an extra treat for aiding his efforts in tidying up, I happily wagged my tail while nomming on my food. “I’ll have to work on my stealth for the future!”

With the room no longer cluttered, Teival and I left and headed for the main home where Dad, Dinara and the woman lived. “Oh wait, didn’t Dad refer to her as Adah?” While pondering over this, we soon met up with Dad, Dinara and Anders. After a few fake pleasantries between Dinara and my master, as well as some brief words with Anders, we headed for the school. “Urgh, why can’t we just play in the plains? I hate being cooped up in that musty room!”

Along the way, I ensured we maintained an appropriate distance from the man from the Schwarzerberg Clan, since I didn’t feel up to volunteering myself for undue pain via headaches whenever in close proximity to him. At first, I wondered if it was the smell that was niggling me, however whenever I was downwind of him, the only difference in scent from everyone else was a metallic one reminiscent of something. Other than that, the other inconsistency compared with everyone else was his choice of colour for his clothes: all black.

Entering the school, I noticed a distinct lack of unkempt and shoddy attire, and an obvious increase in neat – nice smelling – children. If that wasn’t all, my master’s peers were also noticeably less rowdy than usual. I attributed it to because they finally realised they should respect myself and Teival! “Yes! Know your pitiful positions of being beneath us! Grovel at my paws and beg for amnesty over your past transgressions!”

If only such a change in attitude was because of that. Alas, I knew the more likely reason to be due to the presence of Anders. Why, some might ask, but it was kind of difficult to ignore the eyes of admiration and deep respect boring holes into the Clan-man’s figure. Sighing to myself over the children barely registering mine and Teival’s existence, I lay down beside my master’s desk and wallowed in self-pity. “Just you all wait! Soon you’ll be wishing you had been friendlier to us when I – we – completely trounce you and become the best in the village!”