Along a wide brick path with the occasional student or faculty member populating it, Temperance strolled through the academy's courtyard, the distant ring of Nakamai's whining drumming against his brain as he held his head with mild disappointment at not getting away fast enough. He sighed, feeling mild shame at himself for even getting mad given he was no better at her age. With a shake of his head, He gave his noggen a light knock, making him flinch as he reset his head pain.
"But damn that brat and her indexing nonsense," Temperance uttered as he kneaded his fingers against his temples, hoping the pain would be gone by the time he returned to the dorm room. While rubbing his head, Temperance eventually found himself in a mini-plaza, a large flat disc constructed from curved bricks with smaller inactive Battle Grids surrounding its perimeter.
He dragged his feet against the floor, creating a small spark as his getas repeatedly struck the paved ground. With a bitter smirk, he threw his gaze to the sky, the influx of frustration coming from Nakamai finally subsiding and taking the headache with it. Now feeling relieved that he was pain-free, Temperance watched the passing clouds without any interference and could finally think again.
"Now, I think it's about time you quit messing around, I didn't agree to help you so you could angst around," Teach remarked, his energy silhouette forming right in front of Temperance and staring the guy straight in the face.
The spiritual energy being's sudden appearance mixed with his sudden words startled the angelic kitsune, causing Temperance to stagger back, almost losing his balance but managing to stabilise himself by throwing his arms out to his sides. Once he fully stabilized himself, Temperance let out a huff, its delivery making his annoyance at Teach unmistakable and without any room for it to be mistaken for simple exertion, as he straightened out his posture. Temperance rested a hand on his side, swaying his head to calm his nerves while waiting for Teach's incoming witty remark with mild amusement.
"Do you really think so little of me as to make a remark at your expense when I was the cause?" Teach asked unamusedly. Temperance simply averted his eyes, figuring a response was obviously part of Teach's plan to get around his self-imposed rule on how to tease him. Temperance's silence, quiet as it was, brought a smirk to Teach's face, not that anyone other than Nakamai would be able to tell.
"It seems you can learn things without me needing to spell it out for you," Teach remarked. Temperance scoffed in disbelief, momentarily thinking Teach was complimenting him before the realisation hit him and he slumped his head in defeat.
"Thanks for that...," Temperance grumbled, forcing himself to stand up straight.
"Don't sweat it, Astrotho. Now-". Teach couldn't even finish his sentence before Temperance socked Teach's projection in the face, forcing the projection to fizzle away and violently disperse into pieces.
"Yeah-yeah, I get it, figure out who my unknown parent is," Tempererance grumbled in frustration, his face mildly red from being referred to by his actual name. Clenching his fist against the unscathed pillar he punched, Temperance winced in pain, the delayed pain coursing through him as his temper simmered down.
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"Honestly... why is he even interested?" Temperance muttered mentally, "I mean, how is having me promise to figure out the answer to my request a proper reward?". Despite his constant questions on the matter, Temperance knew he'd never get a straight answer from Teach and scoffed as he removed his fist from the pillar, his fingers twitching as he released his grip.
"Is this really necessary?". The nearby despondent murmurs caught Temperance's attention, and he turned his head to see three students standing by a Battle Grid, two girls and one boy.
"Come on, Faithilia; it's not that serious...," the other female student grumbled to Faithilia, who had her arms firmly crossed and sticking to her guns.
(Faithilia is a super short, dark-tanned, sixteen-year-old humanoid dragonoid shibaru with slightly thick thighs; she has hip-low bright royal blue curly hair with dark grey blue gradient tips tied at the end with a violet purple breve-shaped hairclip, a violet purple left eye with a thick slit-shaped iris, a bright royal blue right eye with a thick slit-shaped iris, dark grey blue shiba inu ears with bright royal blue gradient tips, slight sharp canine teeth, and three poofy, big, fluffy dark grey blue tails with bright royal blue gradient tips, dark grey blue and bright royal blue striped scaled-covered body parts[forearms, hands, entire legs, feet, and hips], two super large dark grey blue right dragon wings, two super large bright royal blue left dragon wings, and a three-foot long dragon tail with dark grey blue and bright royal blue striped scales)
(Faithilia is wearing a violet-purple fur sweater with a super large hood and bright royal blue inside)
"You two were knocked out with a single attack in that tournament thingy for a scholarship which isn't the main issue...," Faithilia stated boisterously, scratching the scales of her forearms against each other as she increased the tightness of her locked arms. The scratching scales created a minor screeching noise, mild enough to not cause any irritation but still enough to be annoying for everyone else.
"Then what is?" the girl asked as she clasped her fox ears to protect them from the screeching. Faithilia huffed defiantly, disappointment oozing from her every action at the nerve for the duo to not know what they had done wrong.
"The. Issue. Is that you're not trying to get any stronger!" Faithilia exclaimed calmly, as calmly as someone yelling can be. The two students grumbled under their breaths, their movements reserved and timid.
"That's easy for you to say, you made it to the final round of that very tournament," the boy remarked before walking off, shortly followed by the girl taking the chance to flee with him. Watching the duo's lackadaisical escape attempt, Faithilia was left at a loss for words and could only put on an annoyed expression at failing to get the duo to train. The girl brought a hand to her face, relief on her face, gratefully mentioning to the boy that Faithilia wasn't in the same classes as them. The remark sent a shiver of frustration down Faithilia's spine, making the dragonic shiba contemplate taking more drastic.
However, as she pondered, Faithilia's attention was ripped from the two students, sensing a collective of spiritual energies comparable to her own. She spun on the spot using her tail, excitement gushing from her beaming grin which only increased in intensity as she locked her eyes on Temperance.
"Well-well-well, what do we have here?" Faithilia asked amusedly, her words sultry as she couldn't contain her building elation before adding, "How would you like-".
"Not interested, already had my share of training for today," Temperance uttered, watching the excitement from Faithilia mildly sour.
"Oh... well... at least you are training, unlike some people," Faithilia uttered, raising her tail slightly and striking the floor to relieve some of her tension. However, the dragonic shiba got an idea, a sinister grin appeared on Faithilia's face which brought an equally resentful frown to Temperance, who already regretted his decision to approach Faithilia.