"Dog!"
Eirian was right. Dorin was so glad to meet his pet that the two collided when they met.
"How have you been, you little rascal?!" Dorin fell on the ground as the huge dog jumped him.
"Little? That dog's almost as big as you are!" Johan said, eyeing the beast cautiously. "Does it bite?"
"Only if I tell him to!" Dorin grinned. "I've had dog ever since I could remember!"
"They were practically born together," Eirian added. "Hence the name Dog, which he thought of himself."
[He's really big. What breed is he?]
"He's a xolotl, the only one left in this part of the world," Eirian said proudly.
[A xolotl?!]
"Oh, he's rare, then?" asked Johan.
[More than that, a xolotl is an endangered mythical dog that can control fire and lightning at will!] wrote Sebastian. [It is also said that they collect souls and guide them to the after life.]
"They are treated as powerful deities in some past civilizations," Eirian pointed out.
[in terms of distinctiveness, he is as unique as Azra and Dagon.] Sebastian added.
"So, can he turn human too?"
Eirian turned abruptly at Johan and stared.
"Who is this... Azra and Dagon?" she asked.
"They're our other friends back in the dorm," Dorin answered her. "Azra is a caladrius, while Dagon is a baby dragon Johan hatched from an egg." He went closer to Eirian and lowered his voice. "We had to register Azra as a familiar so she can stay in out room."
"A caladrius and a dragon?!" Eirian's red lips turned into a perfect 'o' as she stared at the three friends. "So many interesting things are happening around you, Dorin!" she exclaimed. "You really should have told me you were going to university! I was so bored all this time, while you where out here having so much fun!"
"Well, it's not like I could just message you..." said Dorin with a pout. "You know that I could only reach you through the bathroom mirror, and I never really planned to stay here long..."
"A bathroom mirror?" Johan asked.
"We charmed it so that I can contact Eirian and my mother anywhere they are in the world."
"It goes direct to my compact!" said Eirian, showing off a golden compact mirror she pulled out from a small lacy hand bag. "Whatever happened to that photography class you went to anyway?" she asked.
"Oh, I won a camera! I have two of them now, and I plan to take photos all over campus this weekend – as soon as I find some free time to do so!" Dorin pulled something out of his pocket. "Anyway, I have a cellphone now!" he told his friend proudly. "Do you have one, too? Can I have your number? We can take pictures on my phone too, though my picture always turns out all blurry for some reason..."
"Oh my, can you send me your details via Bluetooth?"
Eirian took out her own phone. It was purple and studded with glittering rhinestones at the back, with the letters 'E' and 'D' etched in amethyst and golden topaz. She had to teach Dorin how to use the Bluetooth, though, as the young mage was still not familiar with the gadget.
"There! I finally saved it!" Dorin said happily as he added Eirian's number in his contact list.
"How about your numbers?" Eirian asked their two companions. "We'll be together all year, so I might as well get your details, too."
[I'm sending you mine.] Sebastian found himself taking out his cellphone.
"Oh, nice, that's the latest model isn't it?" Eirian fussed around it. "What about you, Johan?"
"I don't have one. I could never get used to how it works. End up losing it all the time..." Johan grumbled.
"That's sad," Eirian looked at Dorin. "What about you, Dorin? Didn't your phone break due to the innate electricity in your body?"
"Oh, that's why Prof. Dupont bought me a special one," he explained. "He said that he had the Science and Technology Department fix it to withstand sudden fluctuations of electricity."
"My, how thoughtful... did he think if this trick himself?" she asked with interest.
[It is actually commonly used by magi with the lightning element] Sebastian wrote on his slab.
"Oh, I didn't know that," said Dorin.
[You can buy one in the mall, it costs much more, though. They also have water and heat resistant models which are all pressure tested for other elemental magi.]
"Oh, is that so..." said Eirian, losing interest.
For some reason, Sebastian felt relieved.
"Hey, aren't you guys going to your next classes?" Johan asked. "I still have to pick Dagon up from his class with Lord Ombra."
"Let's go to our next class than!" said Eirian who took hold of Dorin's hand.
"That's right, I'll see you guys back at the dorm later!" replied Dorin.
Sebastian made his way towards his next class.
It wasn't until he entered his lecture hall on the 5th floor in the west tower that his mind started to clear up.
'That's funny... what was it again that we were talking about during lunch break?' he asked himself.
'That's right... Dorin's best friend Eirian...'
His thoughts trailed off as he thought of the beautiful young lady with the deep purple eyes and black curls in bouncy twin ponytails.
He frowned.
'So, that was the friend he mentioned to me before... I see that they seem to be inseparable. But there is something about Eirian that I can't seem to put my finger on.'
"Hey Sebastian, is that a crease I see on your forehead?"
Sebastian turned to his left and saw Rylie grinning at him. He reached up absentmindedly at his brows.
[Hello, Rylie, is there something on my face?]
"No, I was just surprised to see a frown..." he frowned himself and changed the subject. "Anyway, who was that beautiful lady with Dorin earlier at lunch break? We were about to join you in your table but seeing such a lovely lady in your midst, made it hard for us to butt in. Even Ivanov and my brother Stephen couldn't take their eyes off of her!"
"Hmph. You were just ashamed to show your lowly self before such exquisite beauty," said a haughty voice from behind the two.
Sebastian tuned around to see Leonard Luther with a bandage on his left cheek. He tossed his very yellow hair as he slouched on the chair behind the two friends.
"Well then, why didn't you approach her?" Rylie answered back with irritation.
"It's not like Sebastian here would simply let me join in their conversation!" Leonard replied.
[Good of you to know]
"So, let's let bygones be bygones, leave everything in the past and start anew, won't we?" He smiled charmingly at Sebastian, but Sebastian knew better than to trust a smiling crocodile.
He decided to ignore him and face the front of the lecture hall.
"I see you are now part of the Special Class Sphere," Leonard continued, undaunted. "As expected of someone I had my eyes on since our first day of classes! I knew from the start that you would go places!"
"Is that the reason why you decided to steal his spells?" Rylie sneered at him.
"I did not steal anything!" Leonard looked insulted. "I simply borrowed them. I am, after all, older than you both. I have been in this university much longer, it was only natural for me to look after my underclassmen! Just think of the trouble you could have been in, if the spells you created backfired?"
"And yet you told Prof. Raevers that you made all of them by yourself," Rylie finished.
"Did I not?" Leonard smiled. "I didn't simply follow his notes, I made a lot of revisions on my own, thus, I made 'versions' of those spells myself."
"But they were originally Sebatian's spells to begin with!" Rylie stood up from his seat, his voice rising. The rest of their classmates were looking at them now, whispering to each other.
"There they go again, just because Leonard is soft on them," they said.
"If it were up to me, I would have asked Prof. Raevers to kick those troublemakers out of this class."
"As if anyone would believe that a mute nerd could create all those spells that only a 3rd year could achieve..."
Rylie looked at their classmates, then back at Leonard who had a sly grin on his face.
"Y-you idiots! So you don't think that a mere mute could easily turn the whole class into newts?!" Rylie yelled at them, when he felt a tug on his cloak.
[Leave them be. It's not worth it.] Sebastian showed him on his slate.
"How can I just leave them be when they – "
"Who is what, Mr. Thorn?"
Rylie turned around to see Prof. Raevers standing in front of the lecture hall with her arms across her chest.
"N-nothing, Professor..." he replied sitting down.
The rest of the class snickered.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he whispered at Sebastian with a red face.
[I just did, didn't I?]
"Silence." Prof. Reaver's voice reverberated inside the lecture hall. The class fell silent at once. "This is Charms 301, Advance Charms, where you will be learning about Advance Arcane Symbols for seals and protection spells. I hope that this year would be better than the last, particularly regarding a certain trouble maker who thinks too highly of himself."
Prof. Raevers' gaze fell on Sebastian, so did all of the students who had been part of his class last year. But Sebastian was too busy with his thoughts to be bothered by them.
He was still trying to figure out what went wrong during their lunch break.
But no matter how he racked his brains, he just can't seem to think straight.