Chapter 312 - One Hundred and Twelve - This feels familiar, but not...

Looking at his old 'Master' now, Tor had no wavering feelings in his heart, just shame.  Shame regarding what had occurred during those times they'd both walked these grounds together.  He glanced with cold eyes at the other man and also cast a glance over the youths that followed him here now.  There was a flicker of interest; they did not appear to be Caprian's usual lackeys...

It wasn't hard to make a deduction of how Caprian came to be here; his family must have made the decision to enrol him into another school.  Considering the reputation of the Red Savage Sands Force, the fact that the Mage Tower's school did not accept bribes (just high, annual tuition fees) and that the Azure Heights Finishing school was for girls, then it was likely Caprian had enrolled into the Qilin Academy of Excellence. 

Tor inwardly sighed.  If not for Caprian's innate, but unused talent, how else would he have swept the previous situation under the carpet to gain this chance?  He doubted that the other had changed his lazy habits, however.

Sure enough; "Why isn't it that my friends are interested in discovering the great talents hidden within the Institute's alchemy school?"

*****

Leon tossed the dirty water soiled from the breakfast dishes onto the wild flowering patch outside his courtyard home.  Stalks holding blossoms of white, purple, yellow stretched tall over smaller plants with pink, red, blue at their hearts, while grasses with jade green droplets dangled over everything else.  The tallest plants could easily reach Leon's slender waist and none were worse for wear considering the grey and other waste waters tossed over them from time to time.

The flowers began to move without the aid of the wind and two large bright eyes peered out from in amongst them.  Leon shook his head and sighed.  It was good that these wild flowers were hardy, or how else would they survive the frequent abuse of both man and feline?

Jin Li had left earlier with Wu Ye, hunting for whatever meat they could find and kill in the wilds of the mountains for their bottomless stomachs.  Li Ming had remained behind as the small alchemist's guard supposedly.  Few true guards would abandon their duties to track and chase butterflies after all.  The prey was indeed quite large, about the size of Leon's palm and it was attractive, but surely not much of a meal once caught. 

Li Ming leapt out of the flowers, spraying petals and pollen everywhere as it clawed at it's prey... and missed.  The butterfly nonchalantly drifted on a convenient breeze up and out of reach.

The coeurl stared after it longingly before seeking pity from its Master.

"There, there?"

Apparently, Li Ming was that easy to satisfy, lowering its neck to nuzzle Leon's c.h.e.s.t with its large head.

Just as Leon began to reciprocate, stroking that soft halo main about its head and neck, a loud barking caught their attention and their first thoughts were that Brother Tor was coming to visit. However, here was Xiao Xiao running up to them frantically, but no beast tamer in sight.

Xiao Xiao used its teeth to grip the hem of Leon's sleeve and tugged it with a growing w.h.i.n.e. Li Ming growled in response, a warning, to which the Cooshee quickly responded;

'Master says that I should protect human Leon from the bad humans wanting to hurt him.'

'Bad humans? Wu Ye says bad humans can't come to this place with Master's aura... why so worried?'

'Master's family was threatened by the bad humans, Master felt he had no choice but to lead them here. But if human Leon is out of their reach, then the bad humans will have to go away again.'

Naturally the one they communicated about only heard a series of barks and growls, couldn't know of the danger and instead tried to calm the beasts down. After all, every human on Earth understood that felines and canines seldom got along. But seeing that they weren't engaging in all out war, just exchanging a few warnings, Leon decided to just keep an eye on the situation while returning to his house with the washing up bowl. As he did so, he felt an extensive hard warmth push at his back, forcing him to hurry forward and nearly causing him to trip. He glanced back to see Li Ming's large head was responsible.

"Wah! W-what are you d-d-doing?"

'Hurry!'

'Too late!'

"Tch, trying to confuse me by taking us the same way... isn't that just like what you did in the past? Traitorous bastard."

A wave of unwelcome familiarity washed over Leon, just as the mist thinned within his mind around a few still forgotten memories, all containing a particularly unpleasant figure with a smirking sneer and a wide girth. He couldn't help but reflexively shiver.

Caprian, by himself, was not a frightening man; his soft, round face while not handsome, was not something scary or unappealing.  However, his attitude was frightening, the way he regarded so many of the students as grass beneath his feet, how he perverted others, gathering them around himself and having them do his dirty work while he watched.  Even now there was a crowd gathered behind him and a shamefaced Tor unhappily dragging his feet beside him. 

However, the situation felt greatly different from the scene in one of his memories. For one thing, though the posture of his former bully was still expressing his cruel pride, it lacked a bit of his former confidence. Also, these youths behind him did not appear to be currying favour with Caprian... in fact, if Leon wasn't wrong, these youths looked upon Caprian with some disdain. 

That look he'd seen in the eyes of his lover too often to mistake it. 

But before he could question it in his own mind, Caprian's beady eyes found him.

Although Leon could see varying differences in Caprian, the other's eyes saw only what he wished to see which was a trembling villager boy who was humble and meek before his mighty presence. Behind him however, the youths steps hesitated as they glanced about themselves; what weak, isolated country bumpkin that had been exiled to the periphery under Caprian's underhanded guidance? Wasn't that a walled courtyard property not a tumbling down hut? And wasn't that a young a.d.u.l.t Coeurl beside him? His clothing did not appear to be tattered and patched either for all it still appeared to be made of cheaper cloth.

However, they then considered Caprian's previous boast, that this youth had accidentally made adjustments to the Beast Calming Pill that the Teachers had mistakenly thought was his doing, only to cover up their mistakes by expelling him when realising this. Although they did not wholly believe the large youth's claims, seeing that the structure was fairly new in fact and that this village born man wore a small amount of silver and jade, they calculated that the youth had indeed created pills that garnered him such benefits. Their resolves settled and expectations increased. Wasn't it still just a commoner before the mighty them? Wasn't it just a pet Coeurl yet to have felt the tamer's whip? Exchanging looks, they stepped forward ready to claim what they had come for.