Chapter 120: Wind-puffing Rabbits

-The Next Day- After breakfast in the Cafeteria, it was time for another long walk to the outskirts of the Lochxen Forest for a double-period of Study of Magical Beasts. Eloise grabbed Caius’s arm as they walked, pulling it so close to herself, it was lodged between her breasts. A sight that had Baler Khione turning pale whenever he happened to look over before he would then look at Caius’ face and grit his teeth in annoyance. Caius ignored him. Just as he mostly ignored Aylin who was glaring at them but for obviously opposite reasons. Kaya, who was sticking close to Caius’ other side, was the one who paid Aylin the most attention. Glaring right back at the Ice Magic Prodigy and looking like she was just daring her to cast some spell in their direction. Aylin smiled in response to the taunt and for a second, Caius thought she’d take the bait. For a second, he allowed himself to wonder who would win that fight and then shook his head at how ridiculous that thought was. If it were to start, he was going to step in and ensure it didn’t happen because it just seemed silly to him. But still, hypothetically, should he be in the position where he couldn’t interfere, how would that battle go? For Kaya, he had a fairly good gauge of her capabilities. Nature Magic was her go-to but she had a High Affinity with Earth, Water, and Wind Magic as well even if she hardly ever used them. Nature Magic was her go-to because it came most easily to her. Made her feel connected to a side of her that was very scarce in the Acheron Empire. [To Kill A Demon Lord...] highlighted how diligently she worked to improve her Nature Magic. She had received spells for the other three elements she had high affinity with, from her human family but Nature was hers to develop alone and so she did. All in all, Caius believed Kaya was currently far more impressive than she had shown in any class drill thus far. Aylin’s abilities were not as clear to him. Her Genius was more of a narrative plot point in [To Kill A Demon Lord...] than it was actually something she was shown to do anything with. It was why Caius was usually so impressed when he saw her use her magic because those were details the original story skimmed over since she was hardly an important character. Her plot in the story, when she wasn’t pining after an uninterested Caius, was actually tied to Doran Langston, the single commoner of their school year. A guy who developed quite the crush on Aylin and kind of ruined his life because of it. Caius took a pause thinking about battle outcomes to glance over at Doran. He stood close to Aurelius and was usually trying his best to look as small as possible but did occasionally glance at Aylin. Now, this ordinarily wouldn’t be an issue. Every boy in class—besides her brother—stole glances at Aylin. Also, they looked at Kaya quite a bit. And Eloise. And Delia even though the way she stood and the air she gave off always made them want to look away. Some would have sworn they got zapped by lightning by staring at Delia’s beautiful bronze skin and undeniable curves for too long. But we digress. The fact that Doran glanced at Aylin was not the issue. It was the fact that Caius knew how that turned out for him that was. The silent glaring contest Kaya and Aylin were currently engaged in seemed to be coming to a head when the entire class suddenly stopped. They were now standing at the spot where they had taken the class last week but Professor Lea Gilligan wasn’t there. Soon enough though, she was walking out of the shadows cast by the trees of the Lochxen forest, her hips swaying subtly with every step and highlighting the pouches on her waist. As one, the entire class remembered the incident of last week’s class and the painful blast most had suffered. Those pouches were likely to contain another set of horrors for them to deal with. Of them all, Caius was the least worried. In the original story, during last week’s class, it took so long before anyone realized how to pacify the Fire-cracking Lizards that some students suffered burns that had them visiting the Infirmary. Lea Gilligan had laughed about that and said it was all part of the learning process. Still, [To Kill A Demon Lord...] had highlighted a much more mellow next few weeks of classes that didn’t have the students suffering injuries. Last week had gone better than it did in the actual story canon because Caius knew what to do but he still felt there was an 80% chance Lea had something calmer planned for the day. ’Okay, maybe 75%,’ he amended in his thoughts when he saw that familiar wild look in her eyes. "Good morning students," Lea Greeted, "Sorry I’m late. Was rounding up the Magical Beasts for today’s lecture. I try to get them fresh. Makes for a more accurate experience, I think..." She opened one of her pouches then and made it expand so she could dip her hands in. The class waited with bated breath. Some took a step back when the top of a cage became clear to see. Eloise grabbed Caius’ arm even tighter and she winced. And then the entire cage was out and inside it was... a bunny. "Oh," Eloise said and relaxed her hold on Caius’ arm. She chuckled a little and then looked around Caius at Kaya, "See, Kaya? Now THAT is cute. Not those ugly lizards from last week." "You won’t hear an argument from me," Kaya said already subconsciously leaning forward like she wanted to reach her hand through the cage to pet the bunny’s furry coat. It raised its head in the cage then and turned its startlingly green eyes on her as it breathed and released a clear plume of wind from its nose. "Beautiful," Kaya said. Everyone agreed. "No startled jumps today?" Professor Lea Gilligan asked and clicked her tongue, "Disappointing." Caius could tell she meant that. Mellow lectures were clearly not her favorite. Still, when next she spoke, she had enthusiasm in her voice. "This is a Wind-puffing Rabbit. It’s a Three Star Magical Beast. To be honest with you though, I’d argue its cuteness should get it up one more star." "I agree," Kaya said with a nod. Lea smiled lightly, "But don’t let their cuteness fool you. Wind-puffing Rabbits are a menace when they get going. They have an affinity with Wind which can make them not only very speedy and difficult to catch but also wreak havoc should they choose to. That plume of breath you keep seeing this cute little guy produce is only so tame-looking because it’s being made inside an Enchanted Cage. Otherwise, it could send Third Circle Mages such as yourselves flying a good couple of feet away. And they do that whether they like you or not. It’s both a defense mechanism for them as well as a way to have fun. Today, you’ll be learning much about these guys. Their preferred habitats, their feeding habits, their preferred feed, their mating habits, and seasons... And of course, you’ll get to cradle them too. And try not to get blown away of course. Physically and Metaphorically." "Do we get to keep them?" Aylin asked. At some point, she had leaned closer to the cage as well. She and Kaya’s faces were inches apart and they were soon glaring at each other out of the corners of their eyes. The tension was so palpable that the Wind-puffing Rabbit’s long ears twitched and it moved its eyes from one of the two beautiful ladies to the other, looking almost confused. Lea felt the tension as well but moved past it as she laughed. "It would be irresponsible of me to allow that, I think. I meant what I said about them wreaking havoc. They’d devastate your dorm rooms and your lives if left unchecked. And they are so chaotic they can hardly be kept in check." "Do we at least each get one to pet today?" Eloise asked and she almost sounded like she was squealing. "I’m afraid not," Lea Gilligan said, "It would be much better to have helping hands when dealing with their chaotic cuteness. So today, you’ll all be working in pairs."