As Tigris was walking away, his proud footsteps became less and less enthusiastic.
Slowly the bravado about being the older sibling went away, and frustration about not being able to visit the lessons together with Cyril returned.
He turned towards his sister and roared.
Hearing a cute meow, Morpho flew closer towards him and twitched her antennae a few times in a hurry.
Since she was free, she wanted to go train, so there was no time to waste on idle chatter.
Tigris pawed in the air a few times and showed his fangs, his very being full of complaint.
Although his actions only led to endearing stares from the passing students, Morpho perfectly understood what her sibling wanted to convey.
He proposed an alliance against Atheris, the mean snake. She was the youngest, yet she behaved so rudely to them!
Morpho, the ever proud and competitive butterfly, only fluttered her wings in contempt and quickly flew away.
She saw no need to enter a team. She will do just fine on her own.
Tigris stared at the departing red dot in the distance, then he sat down on the ground in sadness, abandoned by his big sister...
Seeing a pitiful kitten, a few students approached with shining eyes.
"Aw! Poor baby!" Some female student affectionately called out and walked closer, only to be stopped by her friend.
"Hey, that's Felling's cat. Leave it. We are going to be late." Their voice was filled with caution.
Tigris didn't even look at them. He was already used to humans treating him like some mentally deficient tiger, calling him embarrassing names and whatnot.
If Cyril didn't forbid him from harming humans, he would've long shown them his majesty and strength!
"So what? How could I not pet such a cute little guy?" The student shook off her friend and approached again.
How could a random human touch him so easily? Tigris turned around, wanting to let them hear a roar of the tiger, or maybe try illusion magic? That won't directly harm them...
However, all his thoughts of making trouble immediately disappeared when he turned around.
The student was crouching in front of him, holding in her hands a box full of tasty meat snacks. Her face appeared slightly familiar, but then again, all humans, aside from Cyril, looked pretty similar to each other.
"Here, this will cheer you up!" The student took one out and laid it on her hand in front of Tigris.
...
In the past, Tigris read in some book that a competent emperor must be able to show mercy and not let emotions cloud his judgment.
So, as a show of good faith towards the students of Ailanthus, Tigris graciously accepted her gifts. Besides, a few pets is nothing, and he did skip breakfast today.
The female student with long brown hair smiled in triumph and enjoyed the soft fur of the tiger.
A plan was slowly forming in her mind.
...
"...burrowers are generally rare, but extreme caution is advised when they are confirmed to be on the battlefield." The young professor of demonology finished her lecture and swiftly left the auditorium.
Today they started learning about another type of demon, a giant worm that travels underground. Its appearance was rather unsettling.
"It's just an ugly worm with a ridiculous tail or horn sticking out somewhere~" Rhamn found it amusing, however.
Just as Cyril was replying to her with solidarity, someone called out to him from the side.
"Cyril, is your jacket... moving sometimes?" Myra hesitantly asked, her face slightly unnerved.
Perhaps it was because of what they were learning today, but she had the illusion that a worm was crawling under his skin.
Rose tuned in too, very interested in the topic.
Cyril sent a brief look around the auditorium. Most students had already left for the next lesson, and those who hadn't done that yet started moving after he looked at them.
His sneaky actions only fueled the tension further. Rose and Myra subconsciously leaned forward, curious what he was about to tell them.
Cyril, feeling just a little bit mischievous on the inside, grabbed at his jacket and pulled slightly, creating some space.
As the two girls watched with bated breath, suddenly a snake head poked itself from the inside.
Rose, in a startle, quickly stepped away, though she calmed down after a second.
Then, curiosity took over, and with a fire in her eyes, she leaned in to take a better look.
Myra wasn't even startled. The moment she noticed Atheris, a smile appeared on her face. "Wow! Is this your new pet? Snakes are so cute..."
"At least Myra is not completely insane," Rhamn nodded in agreement.
Myra cautiously stretched out her hand to touch Atheris, though the serpent hissed threateningly, and she could only stop mid-air.
Their reactions were outside of Cyril's expectations. His face turned blank, as his mean joke didn't succeed.
"Yeah... I got her just recently. She is a new family member," he dryly replied.
Next came a barrage of questions from Rose about what kind of creature this was exactly, what abilities she had, and so on.
Cyril could only quickly go through them. He felt a bit like a kid showing off his new present...
"Where do you even get them from? Can I get some for myself too?" Rose said in the end with curiosity.
Seeing two of her friends getting themselves pets and being so excited about them made her want to try to get one herself.
"Impossible!" Rhamn exclaimed before Cyril even had the chance to think anything.
I would not propose to give one creature to her, don't worry... Cyril reassured her.
After all, they weren't really pets.
In reply to Rose, Cyril could only weakly reply, "Sorry. I promised to not tell anyone about where they are from."
He then hastily added, upon seeing Rose raise her brow, "It's not anything bad or illegal, don't worry."
With this, the group stood up and went for their next lesson of the day.