Chapter 50: Open wide

***

-The Next Morning-

-At Lochxen-

Kaya and Eloise walked through the corridor on their way to the cafeteria. Kaya looked tired and a bit sleepy, and Eloise was pouting.

"Everyone is already going to be there!" She said suddenly and even in her annoyance, her voice came out like music.

"There’ll still be food, Eloise," Kaya said and stifled a yawn.

Eloise snorted,

"There better be," she said, "What happened to you anyway? I kept knocking on your door and you didn’t come out."

Kaya yawned now. Her eyes were clearing up a bit but she still looked mostly out of it.

"I was poring through the Arcane Codex all night. You know, for Professor Melvin’s assignment?" She said in a tired voice.

That took Eloise by surprise.

"The Assignment? The Arcane Codex? Why would you spend your time doing that? Of all the useless topics Professor Melvin could have chosen to start us with..."

"It’s not useless," Kaya interjected, "Not to me anyway."

Eloise looked confused now.

"You’re Kaya Aiesling. Your family, like every other noble family, has had their interpretations of the Codex since forever. You won’t be here otherwise."

Kaya shrugged.

"Yeah, but their interpretation is very limited on Nature Magic."

Eloise opened her mouth now, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, right," she said, "Sorry, I should have remembered that."

Kaya smiled.

"It’s fine."

Eloise became even more flustered to be so easily let off the hook so she hurried to add in a bit of a ramble,

"You know it only slipped my mind because you make it so easy, right? You’re so good at your Magic that it sometimes doesn’t look like you struggle with it at all."

Kaya chuckled then.

"Thanks. But it really is fine."

Nature Magic was an Elven specialty and besides leaving the Acheron Empire to seek them out in the Forests they resided in or hoping she one day lucked out and met an Elf Adventurer, there were very few channels Kaya could learn Nature Magic from.

The element did come easily to her. She had been manipulating nature since she could walk. There were even certain things she could do without ever having to cast an actual spell. Like healing or creating a bed of vines. But it still didn’t feel as ’complete’ as it should be. She turned to her family’s Arcane Codex and discovered quickly it wouldn’t be much help. But then, she learned that there was a whole array of raw data she could peruse and decipher on her own.

The Arcane Codex is meant to frustrate the mind and force it to expand, increasing enlightenment and Magical acumen. But by ’reading between the lines’ and creating mismatches of symbols such as the ones meant for ’Light’ and ’Life’, she was finding herself alternatives and already starting on the path of creating Nature spells to bolster her repertoire.

It was insanely difficult. Spending all night on it had only yielded two complete and usable symbols that couldn’t even be strung together to make a spell.

But this was just a start. She was learning so much about deciphering the Arcane Codex that she was expecting things to get easier soon.

They were at the Cafeteria doorway now and Eloise let out a slightly hungry groan.

"Gods, is that roast I smell?" She asked and looked like she was salivating.

Kaya was chuckling when she noticed Eloise had stopped short.

"What’s it?" She asked but Eloise was already pointing at someplace in the cafeteria.

"He came!" She said and her voice came out in a bit of a squeal that Kaya could already guess who she was talking about.

Her eyes followed Eloise’s pointing finger but really, it wasn’t needed because there was something just different about that place that attracted eyes. Everyone was looking over already.

Caius was sitting at a Cafeteria table and by his side was the impossibly beautiful Aylin Khione who was leaning so close her breasts looked to be touching his arm and she spoke in an almost sensual whisper. It wasn’t clear at first if the reason so much attention was on the two was because of Caius or because of Aylin but Kaya soon decided it was both.

Caius’s presence was a unique oddity and the girls would always gawk at him. Add in Aylin who always had the attention of every boy and you have a Cafeteria where people were hardly eating. Or at least touching the food to anywhere other than their mouths.

Caius raised his hand then as he spotted Kaya and Eloise.

"Hey," he called with a wide grin and then gestured them over with a finger.

Aylin followed his eyes and gesture but was already frowning before her eyes fell on Kaya and Eloise. Her annoyance wasn’t even about those two. It was about how quickly an intimate moment between her and Caius was getting crowded.

"You can’t be serious," she said and was releasing that chilly aura of hers.

"Cut that out. You’re welcome to stay," Caius told her shivering a bit at the cold.

He arrived at the Cafeteria about five minutes ago, and looked for Kaya and Eloise before picking an empty table when he realized the two were running late.

He gave Aurelius a wave and gestured at Doran Langston, ignoring Baler Khione as much as the grey-haired boy was trying to ignore him, and began filling his plate with food he was going to try his best to enjoy.

And then, while many were gawking and wondering whether to join his table, Aylin led the charge. Leaving a table filled with her posse of gal pals to sit as close to Caius as she could.

For the few minutes they had sat together, Caius didn’t hate her. She had very few dialogues in the original story that showed her as much of a feeling human person as this short conversation had done. And then her expression soured when Caius invited Kaya and Eloise over.

Eloise was grinning and Kaya still looked stunned. But the two made their way over immediately.

Aylin scoffed when they got closer and then gave the two ladies a glowering look aimed especially at Kaya before she stood up and whipped her head around so hard, it swung her hair an inch away from slapping into Kaya’s face before she walked away.

Every boy watched her go. Caius just sighed and smiled up at Kaya and Eloise.

"You’re late," he said, "Come on, sit."

"What was that about?" Kaya asked as she sat down while she kept watching Aylin until she sat her round ass down at the table with her group of friends, folding her arms and practically freezing that entire area of the cafeteria.

"Some people are just rude," Caius said, waving it off.

Eloise was eyeing Aylin as well and then her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she returned them to Caius’ face.

"Is that really all it is?" She asked.

"It’s the gist of it, yes," Caius said as he grabbed a piece of food with his long fingers and brought it to his mouth to chew.

"Hmm," he said with slightly widened eyes, and then he picked up another piece and held it out to Kaya who froze.

"What?" She asked, staring like a deer caught in headlights as her pointy ears twitched a bit with anxiety.

Caius’ expression remained the same.

"It’s good, try it," he said.

Kaya looked all over the Cafeteria feeling self-conscious only to have the feeling proven right when she saw all eyes were on them. She blushed hard but leaned forward, opened her mouth, and let Caius put it in before she started to chew.

"Good, right?" Caius asked like he was completely oblivious to all the attention they were getting.

"Good," Kaya agreed with one hand over her mouth as she tried to get her hyperventilation under control.

"Gods, get a room, you two!" Eloise said rolling her eyes.

Caius chuckled.

"There’s no need to feel left out," he said as he picked up another piece of food and held it out to her,

"Open wide."

"Oh?" Eloise said and stopped short before giggling to herself and barely keeping it together as she took the food from Caius’ hand.

Caius shook his head a little and then felt someone’s eyes on him. He followed the feeling and crossed eyes with Baler Khione.