There was a growing humidity in the air, and the air pressure seemed heavier, and yet the public was told there was nothing to worry about. A thick blanket of fog carpeted the scenery, billowing over the mildew-stained grass, and acid eaten cement.

Theo wandered to class with a shrouded mind, his thoughts clouded and bewildered. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened the other day at the foxy boxing matches. Once he led the Lamia girl to his roommate in the stands, the two of them hit it off rather quick.

Apparently, when Lamia decided they liked someone, they didn’t waste time. The two of them had been spending hours together, and more than once Theo had to sleep in the dormitory lounge rather than enjoy the comforts of his own bed. One thing was for sure, he was getting tired of seeing Craig’s sock on the doorknob.

Due to a random fire that occurred on the ground floor, near one of the restaurants coincidentally, the foxy boxing arena was temporarily shut down. Since then, future matches were suspended for the next week. It was a shame really, some of the female competitors had gathered their own groupies, and there was a movement to start a mens only fighting competition as well.

But none of that interested Theo, who only wanted to figure out who the succubus girl was that was following him.

He arrived to class peacefully enough, there were no random shadows, or perfumed smells that caught his attention, which was a shame. He chose a seat halfway up the stands and took out his notebooks in preparation. This particular seminar covered Magical Theories and studied how the ether (as it was sometimes referred to) directly influenced the development of intelligent species. There were some who believed all intelligent species, demi-humans and humans included, originated from a single race that enhanced, or evolved, due to the magics of the world itself.

It was a theory that had been gaining traction for the past century, although it challenged the fundamental beliefs that all species were created by their own gods, or shaped by their own deities. Personally, Theo believed the answer was probably a combination of both. There were far too many physical similarities between the species to suggest they all sprung up from the ether, but at the same time their magical profiles and natures were too different to think they hadn’t been changed somehow. Whether by magic, or some higher power, he wasn’t certain, but he was open to both ideas.

As Theo sat and listened to the instructor drone on about the magical affinities of elves, his mind wandering back to the succubi girl from the other night.

Am I going crazy? He started to wonder.

He tried to clear his head, and wished he brought something to drink. Coffee sounded really good, right about now.

It wasn't until the end of the lecture, when the professor was drowning the class with notes about how the orc species might’ve been the ultimate result of what all species could’ve been like had they not been influenced by magic, when Theo caught a flash of pink in the periphery of his vision. His heart leapt up his throat.

In his panic, he dropped his pencil, sending it skittering across the floor. The pink flash was gone, amidst a jumble of rattling chairs. Theo looked around for several seconds, trying to gage whether he actually saw anything. Eventually, he decided to reach down and pick up the pencil.

Peering under the desk, It was then that he saw a pair of bright yellow eyes staring up at him.

Lorelei seized with panic, and in a blind stupor she jumped. Her head slammed against the underside of the desk, knocking the wind right out of her. She then fell forward onto his lap, dazed. She blinked several times, seemingly trying to regain her senses. When she finally looked up, she had been mere inches away from his groin.

Theo’s eyes were wide with shock.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, clearly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to…,” she trailed off, unable to think of what to say, or do.

"Don't worry about it," Theo responded kindly.

Lorelei’s heart was racing, and in an instant she jumped off his lap, and ran out of the classroom. She darted so fast, the instructor gasped in shock. All the other students in attendance seemed surprised as well, some even welcomed the distraction. A few who were privately asleep,

trying to mask their eyes in their books, woke up from the disturbance.

"Hey, wait!" Theo called out at her. He jumped from his seat, and tried to reach out to grab her, but she was quick, and slipped from his fingers before fleeing to the door.

 

---

 

Lorelei stood outside of the magical arts building, peering around the corner. A few students passed her by, but she waited in silence as Theo ran past her.

How could I do that! Oh my god, Theo is going to hate me! I made him look like a fool in front of the whole class! What was I thinking? Lorelei had never felt more frightened.

After a moment, she sighed a breath of relief; no one was searching for her, and Theo was nowhere in sight. Feeling safe, she decided to head towards the library on campus. The wind was steadily getting worse, and already a dour overcast consumed the skies. It was clear another thunderstorm was approaching, and she didn’t want to be caught outside when the rain started to fall.

She made it to the campus library and could already imagine the vanilla latte that was calling her name at the front barista. She shared words with the harpy at the front desk, got her latte, then proceeded to her private area. She browsed the shelves for a while and found a book that might be fun to read, or at least get her mind off things.

As she pulled it off the shelf, and felt her foot slip, sending her colliding with the shelf.

SMACK!

Lorelei cursed, taking a step back and rubbing her forehead. As she tried to collect herself, a knock sounded from behind her.

She whirled around, and there he was.

Her heart raced again, just like earlier. She tried to calm herself.

"Hi," Theo said, smiling nervously.

“Theo…!” Lorelei dropped the book.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you." Theo cleared his throat and picked up the book for her. "Can I sit with you?"

Lorelei nodded. Everything was shaking, and her teeth were jittering, but there was an aura of calmness around her that told her it was ok. She let him follow her to a couch in the library leisure area, right next to a warm fireplace, and sat on the most comfortably couch in the world.

"So, what are you reading?" He asked, while sitting down next to her. The warmth of his body pressed so closely to hers made her arms shake even more fiercely. It was getting hard to hold the book in her hands. She was so anxious, so excited, and maybe a little terrified of all of this.

She looked down at the book she withdrew from the shelf, she hadn't even read the title until now.

"Oh, this is… The History of Inter-Species Procreation,” she replied with a twitchy smile.

“Really?" Theo’s eye lit up, his face consumed with questions.

Lorelei could tell he wanted to respond with a tease or a joke, but held it in. It was charming, how he tried to hold himself back.

“Yep…” Lorelei's tail was standing straight toward the ceiling. Somehow, she figured she might as well go with it, rather than seem like a complete fool. “I'm interested in the topic of inter-species marriage, and everything that it entails.” Her tone was practically a high pitched squeak towards the end.

Theo laughed at that. “I guess that's a pretty popular question these days.”

“Well, there are lots of creatures that seek out relationships with humans, but not so much vice versa.” Lorelei tried to continue speaking as if she fully understood the subject. She didn’t. “And there are several other species that are avoided by humans altogether.”

“I'd beg to differ,” he laughed. “I mean, my roommate is dating a Lamia now.”

“Yeah, I know about that,” she exclaimed. “He's dating my roommate Marci. They make an… Interesting couple.”

She knew Marci had been trying to cover for her back at the Colosseum, but she didn’t know that her roommate actually was interested to know about the man that stood up for her at the theater. She guessed it was a win-win, but it pissed her off how quickly Marci was able to start a conversation, and relationship, with a man she just met. How she made it look so easy, Lorelei could never understand.

“I bet,” Theo sighed. “It doesn't make sense to most people. But I bet they’ll make it work.”

“That’s good then," Lorelei said, and smiled at him. For the first time her shoulders released some of the tension she had been holding up.

“I guess,” Theo leaned back in the couch. “I just wish they let me sleep in my own dorm every now and then.”

Lorelei gulped at the insinuation. Every fiber of her being wanted to run, her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She had to forcefully will herself to keep still.

They both fell silent for a moment, contemplating their own thoughts. She half expected to hear rain drizzling outside, but instead a small band of sunlight broke through the clouds, illuminating the library.

“So, I'm curious,” Theo finally broke the silence. “Why were you hiding under my desk?”

Lorelei blushed. “I… I'm sorry,” she stammered. “I'm just… I'm a little bit embarrassed.”

“It's okay,” he reassured her. “I won't tell anyone.”

“I'm still sorry, though,” Lorelei fidgeted. “I shouldn't have done that. But you’re making it hard to find places to hide.”

Theo laughed at that. “I'm actually glad you did,” he tried to contain himself. “I was getting really bored in that class.”

Lorelei joined in his laughter while blushing profusely. “I'm glad I could entertain you,” she snorted.

Theo smiled back at her, and Lorelei felt her heart skip another beat.

“Do you want to maybe get out of here? Maybe get something to eat?” He asked.

Lorelei was caught off guard, for some reason she wasn't expecting that. Her heart was beating rapidly.

“I… I don't know,” she said.

“Come on,” he coaxed her gently. “You can bring your book if you want.” He extended a hand to her.

Lorelei stared at it for a long time, her heart throbbing beneath her breast. She expected him to withdraw it, he should’ve withdrawn it. After several seconds, his hand still reaching out, she finally took it, electricity passing between their fingertips.

“Okay,” she finally said with a shaking voice.

“Great!” He was definitely excited. “Let's go to the dining hall then.”

Lorelei let him help her get up from the couch, then together they walked hand in hand through the halls of the library towards the exit. While Lorelei found it hard to say anything, her tail wouldn't stop stroking Theo's back all the way to the dining hall.

And then something poked her in the face, hard.

Lorelei opened her eyes; a dull throb steadily rose behind her eyes. She was laying on the floor; evidently, she had slipped and fallen into the bookcase, then passed out next to it. A short vampire girl seemed to float above her with a curious grin.

“Hey, you alright?” Faine asked.

Lorelei groaned.

The vampire poked her lightly on the cheek again. “I knew following you around would be fun, I never imagined you’d fall asleep after falling head first into the shelf though!”

Lorelei rolled over to her side, her plump breast nearly slipping free from her blouse, then slowly got to her knees. “How long have I been out?” She could see her spilled latte next to her, and a book laying open on the ground.

“Oh, about five minutes.” The vampire rolled her eyes, while brushing her ginger-colored hair to the side. She had chosen to braid it, and Lorelei was a little jealous of how good it looked.

“You could’ve at least woken me up sooner!” Lorelei rubbed her temples. The pain was slowly fading, but she still felt disoriented. The memory of her blissful dream was still prominent in her mind. She wished it were real.

“But you looked like you were having such a nice dream,” Faine scoffed. “And you were talking in your sleep.”

Lorelei’s tail moved to strike at the vampire, who simply dashed to the side. The vampire planted her feet onto the ground, then picked up the empty latte cup on the floor. “How about I get you another one, and in return, all I ask is that you sit with me.”

Lorelei looked at the sticky puddle that was once her beverage. She swallowed, remembering the taste of vanilla cream on her tongue.

“Ok,” Lorelei nodded. “But don’t expect me to talk about anything.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare,” the vampire laughed.