Finally, the story gets to turn darker. This chapter features what would normally be an obligatory duel scene, we all know Tobias isn't going to pick a fight with anyone.

Right?

With a full stomach and no responsibilities, Tobias decided to go for a walk outside. The cafeteria had plenty of open space, but nothing beat the outdoors.

Tobias took a moment to breath in the fresh breeze of clean air. Back on Earth, it was very hard to find air that smelled this pure. Even out in the forested wilderness, the fumes of car exhaust and such would carry for miles. But here, there was only the rich scents of nature rolled together with the fragrant wisps from a hearty breakfast buffet.

Tobias looked out on the open courtyard. Grass stretched up until the large stone walls that surrounded the academy. On the lawn surrounding the cafeteria, sets of white chairs and tables were set up. The chairs were simple in design, but the soft pink cushion on each seat looked expensive for the primitive era this world was currently in. The tables were similarly designed in a simplistic but noticeably expensive way. They were round, and large enough to sit four people comfortably.

Black robed mage students, normally in groups of two or three, sat or stood around these tables. Each student was accompanied by a creature Tobias correctly assumed to be their familiar. It was as if Louise's entire class had set aside the day to spend time with their new pets.

"Aren't they supposed to be having classes?" the human familiar wondered aloud.

With a shake of his head, Tobias moved to walk past the tables. From his morning flight, he had noticed that the main gate on the southern border of the academy was left unguarded. Feeling the urge to take to the skies and explore, he headed in that direction. While he could morph inside the Academy, he didn't want to take the chance of running into someone. Until he better learned the best hiding spots of the Academy, he decided it would be best to only morph in Louise's room, or outside the walls where no one could accidentally run into him. Tobias doubted Louise would need his presence anytime soon, and if while flying overhead he spotted her looking for him, he could easily fly away, demorph, and come back.

Weaving through the throng of nobles, Tobias could feel many eyes on him. He could hear words spoken lowly, but not low enough to be considered proper whispers.

"That's the commoner that Louise summoned."

"Yeah, as if we would fall for that."

"Scrawny looking thing, isn't he?"

"I know. You would think that if she was trying to hide her lack of talent, she would pretend to summon a commoner with some visual appeal."

"I wonder how much she paid for him to parade around in a loincloth?"

"It's no wonder he almost walked away from her; it's such an embarrassment."

"The familiar of Zero? What a terrible title to have."

Tobias took in the words with a scowl. Teenagers truly were the pettiest species in the entire universe. Now he could see why Louise seemed desperate to have him as badge of accomplishment. In an environment like this, she was probably starved for a break in success. That still didn't excuse her for being a spoiled brat, but Tobias could at least sympathize Louise for her situation.

While Tobias's intention was to storm through the nobles and get outside the walls without any interruptions, his ears were drawn to the sound of angered yelling. Out of habit from his time in the wilds as a hawk, his head rotated towards the sound.

Peering through a growing ring of black-robed students, Tobias could see the back of a tall, blond noble boy. The noble was moving with animated gestures, and while Tobias couldn't make out the words, the tone of anger was clear. In front of the blond was a serving girl in a with sort black hair. In fact, Tobias recognized her as the one who had served Louise at breakfast. While the Tobias couldn't see the boy's face from his position, he could see that the maid's bright blue eyes were brimming with tears.

Tobias reminded himself that it was none of his business. The only reason he was even sticking around was because he owed Louise a life debt, and he really had nowhere else to go. There was no reason for him to involve himself in affairs that were probably inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

With this reminder in mind, Tobias found himself pushing into the crowd of students surrounding the two. "What's going on?" he asked the nearest student, a pudgy blond-haired boy with a curl of hair that centered on his forehead.

The blonde didn't even look at Tobias as he respond. "Guiche finally got caught two-timing his girlfriend again. Both girls slapped him right on the cheeks. It was a sight to behold."

Typical scummy teen behavior, Tobias mentally grumbled. "So, what's going on now?" Tobias asked, watching and listening as Guiche berated the maid for, quote, ruining his good image.

"He's reprimanding the commoner for blowing his cover, obviously," the pudgy boy replied.

"Is that so?" Tobias responded with a dangerous edge to his voice.

The student finally looked at Tobias, and nearly jumped out of his skin. While it was a surprise to see Louise's plebian familiar instead of a fellow student, what really creeped him out was the look in Tobias's eye. The smaller boy's face was as dead as a day-old fish, but the look in his eyes made the noble believe he would be the next fish to die. The noble boy took a shaky step back as Tobias proceeded to step forward.

"Please, I can't lose my job!" the maid was begging the noble boy.

"You should have thought of that before you got in the way between a man and his heart's desire," the noble retorted with a haughty sneer.

"Only an animal blindly chases after its desire." The maid and noble's attention were pulled to the side as Tobias continued to stride forward. "I've seen dogs in heat with better self-control."

"Who are—oh, you're Louise the Zero's familiar, aren't you," Guiche said with an arrogant chuckle. "And just who do you think you're calling a dog?"

Tobias shook his head. "I wouldn't call you a dog," he said.

Guiche lifted his chin up with pride, but Tobias was not finished.

"To call you one would be an insult to canines everywhere," Tobias deadpanned. "You're more of an ill-mannered mutt, sniffing the butt of everything that resembles a female, and even some things that do not."

There were a few loud snorts from the surrounding students, and Tobias could spy more than few that were desperately trying to hold back their laughter. Some students, however, were openly laughing to Tobias's half-joke.

The human familiar was long out of practice in the art of trash talking, but he remembered the basic idea. Insult a person. Insult them some more. Finally, insult them and their mother. As long as the insults were biting enough, it would get under anyone's skin.

Guiche, as it turned out, had extremely thin skin. Tobias was only getting warmed up and the tips of the noble's ear were already turning pink. "You dare make a mockery of me, Guiche de Gramont?" he asked furiously.

"You were doing a great job long before I showed up," Tobias said, continuing his deadpan delivery.

Tobias stepped even closer, now headed directly to Guiche. As he did so, he moved one of his hands behind the small of his back and made a small shooing motion to the maid. It took a few tries, but as Guiche grew redder in the face as he struggled to make a comeback, eventually the maid recognized his signal and began to slowly creep away. The ring of students didn't part for her escape, but they didn't stop her either, as they were much more concerned with the latest action happening in front of them.

"I see the Zero needs to work on disciplining her subordinates," Guiche finally gritted out. "Children like you should know better."

"What does that say about you?" Tobias asked, tilting his head to the side. "Shouldn't someone your age know better than to toy around with women? Or is that what you learned as a child?"

Tobias could hear people choking around him. That, and the fact that most of the laughter had dried up, cued him in that he had probably taken the insults too far. Still, mission accomplished. The maid was long gone, and Guiche was probably so angry at Tobias that he probably forgot the maid's face already.

"You have insulted not just me, but my father, and my family name," Guiche declared. "You, familiar of Louise the Zero, I challenge you to a duel!"

"I'll pass," Tobias declined immediately.

A dark sneer spread across Guiche's face. "Are you such a coward that you will not face me in honorable combat?" he challenged.

"What about you is honorable?" Tobias asked. "All I see is a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum because he got caught sneaking two cookies instead of one."

Guiche's expression faltered as the crowd once again broke into giggles. Tobias could recognize Guiche's bullying type. He relied on an audience to inflate his pride, but when the crowd turned against him, he lacked the confidence to stand his ground. He was like a common fowl, puffing his feathers to appear larger than he was to hide his lack of power. However, Tobias was a hawk. He stood with or without the crowd, never flinching, and only giving flight when he was in way over his head.

And this schoolyard bully wasn't even a challenge.

"I will report you to the Headmaster!" Guiche declared. His voice was authoritative, but his eyes were wavering against Tobias's steady gaze. "You and that maid will be punished for disrespecting a noble!"

Tobias mentally cursed. His trick to distract Guiche from the maid didn't work quite as well as he intended. It was time to up the ante. "What makes a noble?" Tobias asked, adding a touch of venom in his voice. "Just because you were born into privilege, you think you're someone important? Don't make me laugh. You, Guiche, are nothing. Just a little bug that just so happened to crawl out from gold-crusted crap pile. If you want to be a noble, act like you have the slightest bit of dignity instead of chasing after skirts like a wild beast in mating season!"

The veins on Guiche's forehead throbbed as he took an aggressive step towards Tobias. "If you were on my family estate, I could have you hanged," he threatened.

"Run back to your precious family then," Tobias taunted. "I'm sure your mother won't mind babying you for another couple of years. Who knows? Maybe next time you step foot outside your mansion you'll pass as a halfway-decent human being."

Guiche took another step forward. Every muscle in his face was taunt with barely restrained rage. He and Tobias could both clearly hear the crowd was on Tobias's favor, despite the smaller boy repeatedly going too far in his insults.

"Vestri court. Duel me. Now," Guiche growled.

"What was that?" Tobias asked, straight-faced. "I couldn't hear you over all the growling and barking, mutt."

"That's enough!" Guiche declared, drawing a rose from his robes. Tobias couldn't even guess how Guiche had managed to keep it there without crushing it. "I had hoped to not sully my fellow student's meals with violence, but it appears you are in desperate need of discipline!"

"Are you seriously going to hit me with a flower?" Tobias asked, genuinely confused. "It doesn't even have thorns." And if it had, Guiche would be the one on the receiving end. The shiny-haired noble was squeezing the flower so tightly Tobias could see white in his knuckles.

"As if I would resort to such barbarian tactics," Guiche scoffed. "Valkyrie, teach this miscreant a lesson in manners!"

Tobias watched as a single flower fell off the rose and drifted to the ground. His eyes widened and he instinctively jumped back when a white circle expanded from the petal once it hit the ground. A figure rose from the ground, clad in feminine grey armor and wearing a white skirt. No, Tobias amended as the light died and he was able to get a clearly picture of it, the figure was a set of armor, shaped into a recognizably feminine form, and wielding a spear. The summoning had caught Tobias by surprise, but something about it quickly caught his eyes.

"You really are obsessed with girls, aren't you?" Tobias deadpanned. While the statue had boob armor and narrow hips, its face was as expressive as Tobias's. That is to say, aside from its catlike eyes and barely discernable nose, the so-called-Valkyrie's face was featureless. Its helmet was more detailed, decorated with puffy wings on either side and falling to cover the golem's neck on multiple sides.

"You really don't know when to give up, do you?" Guiche asked through gritted teeth.

"I know exactly when to give up," Tobias replied. "I just don't see the point in giving up to someone as pathetic as you."

"Let's see if you can say that after facing the power of a mage!" Guiche declared. "Valkyrie, crush him!"

Tobias, despite having never faced a golem before, was only half surprised when the earthen construct suddenly started sprinting toward him at a much faster pace than an animated set of armor had any right to move. He didn't waste a second before pivoting on his heels and dashing straight into the crowd. Students ran in terror as the Valkyrie gave chase. Tobias was taking a gamble that Guiche wouldn't have the golem cleave through his classmates in an attempt to reach him, and it payed off. Even without Guiche giving a verbal command, the Valkyrie moved more cautiously through the sea of tables, chairs, mages, and familiars.

"Stand and fight like a man!" Guiche shouted.

"You first!" Tobias shouted back. Mid-combat mockery wasn't his thing—that job belonged to his old teammate, Marco—but Tobias's goal wasn't to fight, just to annoy Guiche long enough to drive any other thoughts out of his mind. Given how the golem was following Guiche's wishes without a need for complicated demands, it rather had an understanding of Guiche's intentions, or was being manually manipulated. In either case, as long as he used the students as human shields, he would be fine.

Tobias had an epiphany.

His strategy was callous and cowardly.

He didn't really care.

"A mage is supposed to use magic. I refuse to sully my hands on a commoner like you," Guiche declared. "But peasants like you should stand and fight with your primitive tools!"

The human-turned-hawk-turned-human wondered if Guiche noticed the hypocrisy in his statement. Given that he was still red-faced furious, that was probably a "no".

"Make me!" Tobias taunted, leaping over a table to avoid a grab from the Valkyrie. Unfortunately, his lack of training in his human form finally caught up to him. Instead of clearing the table in his jump, his foot snagged the table's end. Tobias tumbled, unable to catch himself as he landed hard on his shoulder and crashed onto his back.

The boy groaned as he struggled to get up. He stood to his feet with surprising ease, but when he tried to run, he realized that he was no longer on the ground. "What the hell is going on?" he shouted, realizing that he was floating several feet above the ground. Without any purchase, he couldn't go anywhere.

A laugh from Guiche caused Tobias to turn his head in the noble's direction. "Struggle, peasant. Or you can beg for my forgiveness, if you wish."

Tobias narrowed his eyes, noticing that Guiche's rose was pointed straight at him. "Couldn't beat me with just your toy?" Tobias asked snarkily. "Had to rely on a cheap trick. Hypocritical, isn't it? What kind of honor do you have?"

"A mage's weapon is obviously their wand," said Guiche, his arrogance back in full force. "While I could've held back some more, you were causing too much of a disturbance."

"You were the one making the big fuss. How much property damage was that?"

"Silence!" Guiche ordered.

Tobias rolled his eyes, or at least attempted to. His pupils ended up making a zigzagging motion as he struggled to keep himself oriented. "Stop barking mutt. You're only making a bigger fool of yourself."

Throughout the fight, Guiche's face had been constantly shifting between arrogance and anger. Now, he glared at Tobias in cold fury. If Tobias hadn't known what a coward Guiche really was, he would have taken the taller boy seriously. Instead, Tobias just resigned himself to whatever fate he was stuck with. Those were the eyes of someone who was set on a goal, and as it stood, Tobias was helpless unless he wanted to reveal his morphing to the entire school.

"I was going to offer you a final chance to redeem yourself," Guiche said with an exaggerated resigned sigh. "But now I see that you desperately need to be put in your place."

"Oh no," Tobias delivered in such a dry voice that no one could miss his sarcasm. "I am so scared. Whatever should I do?"

That was when the Valkyrie struck.

Tobias let out a pained gasp the butt of a metal spear jammed into his side. He instinctively curled into a ball to protect his most vital organs. And just in time too. A second jab smashed into the side of his ribs, with a third quickly following into his thigh.

"Do you know realize your predicament?" Guiche asked. The arrogant sneer on his face was back in full force. His eyes danced with amusement as he watched his Valkyrie beat down the defenseless Tobias. "You should apologize quickly; I'd hate to return you to the Zero in too rough of a condition."

Tobias drew a ragged breath as a chuckle escaped his lips. "Your statue may look like a girl," he wheezed. "But it can't even hit as hard as one. Pathetic, aren't you?"

The Valkyrie swung its spear into Tobias's side once again, this time using the tip. The trapped boy grunted as the golem swung again and again. Sometimes the spearhead drew blood, but mostly it was a beating of the spear butt across his entire body.

Tobias's shoulders shook heavily between the blows. The surrounding students, having ceased their fleeing when Tobias was caught, were at first amused by the punishment. However, they began feeling very disconcerted when they heard human familiar chuckle. As the beating went on, the sound grew to hysterical laughter. There was audible pain in that laughter, but it didn't show on Tobias's face. His mouth was captured in an expression too twisted to be called a smile. And his eyes…

His eyes were what that made them the most terrified of all.

Tobias's golden-brown eyes were open wide. With amusement, pain, or rage, none could tell. Perhaps all. Perhaps none. The only thing every student could agree on was that the expression on his face made them all want to run into their rooms, hide under the covers, and cuddle their pillows for the nearest foreseeable future. Even Guiche, who was still commanding his golem to dole out the "punishment", was shivering in subconscious terror as the haunting laughter continued.

Tobias couldn't help himself. He didn't know when he started laughing, but he couldn't stop. To think, he had started out being treated like a neglected pet by his guardians and being bullied in school. Then he got alien powers and became a child soldier in a covert war. And now, after renouncing humanity and deciding to live out his life in the wilds, he was back in a school, stuck as someone's pet, and being beaten black and blue by a common schoolyard bully. Despite the pain, Tobias couldn't resist the hilarity of the situation. Once again, his life was nothing more than a cosmic joke. Unrestrained laughter bubbled from is lips like an endless fountain of suffering mirth.

"STOP!"

The Valkyrie stopped in midswing upon Guiche hearing the voice. A red-faced and panting Louise burst through the circle of students, and equally exhausted raven-haired maid right at her heels. Louise looked first at the bloodied Tobias, who looked in her direction with a face frozen in maddened amusement, dry laughter still choking from his mouth. She then whirled to Guiche, who looked like a dere frozen in headlights.

Despite Louise's apparent exhaustion, her tone was wrapped in fury as she growled at Guiche, "What do you think you're doing to my familiar?"

Guiche, already trembling, was now pale in the face. Finally, he realized that he had been beating Louise's familiar, who was still softly cackling like a madman, in the middle of a public area. Still, he tried to put on a brave face. "I was merely giving him a proper reminder of his place," he said smoothly. "You should do better to teach your familiar not to defy the public order."

But Lousie wasn't having any of it. "Release my familiar now, Guiche," Louise demanded.

"But he—"

In one swift motion, Louise drew her wand and pointed it at Guiche. "Now!" she ordered.

Guiche's face went as white as a sheet as his façade crumbled away. The circle of students grew wider; none willing to risk getting caught up in one of Louise's infamous explosions. Slowly, Guiche lowered his wand, gently depositing Tobias on the ground.

The boy was not in good shape. His dirty blond hair now had wild streaks of red running through it. His clothes were scuffed, ripped, and stained with patches of crimson. Angry purple welts were already visible in the places his clothes no longer covered. Despite this, Tobias still made sounds of mirth. His laughter had died, but he still chuckled as he straightened himself. There was a limp in one of his legs, but it didn't deter Tobias as he took as shaky step towards Guiche. Louise and the maid moved to steady him, but he raised a hand to ward them off.

Every step Tobias took was unsteady, tentative. It looked as though he would fall any second. The audience waited with bated breath as Tobias shambled toward Guiche. Even Guiche could not bring himself to move as he watched the smaller boy approach him.

Stopping in front of the blond noble boy, Tobias showed is bloodstained teeth in a way that could not ever be described as a smile. "A bully with a fancy bloodline is still a bully," Tobias said with surprising neutrality. "Congratulations, you're the scummiest person I've met since I've gotten here, though you wouldn't break the top ten nastiest people I've met. In fact, I can't even put you in the top ten worst bullies I've met, and that's saying something. You're both the worst and underwhelming at the same time."

THUD

Next thing Guiche knew, he found himself on the ground with a harsh sting in his jaw. Tobias, standing over him, lowered his fist. "Don't act like a tough man when you're still a child," Tobias advised in the same flat, disinterested tone. "Otherwise, you'll just continue to make a fool out of yourself."

Tobias hobbled over to Louise, unbothered by the eerie silence surrounding him. He spat out a clot of blood to the side before casually asking, "Were you looking for me?"

"I—you—what did—?"

Seeing Louise on the verge of hyperventilating, Tobias put a—hopefully—reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Let's head upstairs, it's better talk away from the gossips."

"You're injured!" Louise exploded. "You need to lie down. Someone, run and get a water mage!" Several students did so, nearly tripping over each other as they went.

"I'll be fine," Tobias assured her. "I've had worse."

"That shouldn't be something you're proud of!" Louise snapped. Despite the anger in her words, Tobias could see the obvious concern in her face. "Lie down and tell me where you're hurting."

Tobias sighed. "Louise, my injuries aren't a big deal," he said patiently as he struggled to maintain his balance. "A good night's rest and I'll be fine." After a quick morph and demorph, he neglected to add.

"You'll need a bit more than that," said a new, older voice. Tobias and Louise looked up to see Professor Colbert floating above their heads. "Try not to move anything, I'll fly us to the Water Tower."

Tobias stared up at the man. Colbert had no wings, thruster, or any other forms of propulsion that Tobias could identify. With the softness of a gentle breeze, he and Louise were lifted up into the air and soared to an outer tower with a blue roof.

Tobias turned to Louise. "Mages can make golems from rose petals, levitate people, and fly?" he asked Louise. "How does that even work?"

"You're asking this now?" Louise asked incredulously.

"It's something to take my mind off the pain," Tobias hinted.

Louise grimaced, but complied. Her words were rushed due to the stress of the situation, but her expertise in the subject showed in her explanation. "Golem creation is Earth Magic. Generally, at least line class earth magic. However, Guiche is talented enough to use them even though he's only a dot class mage. Levitation is such a basic wind magic that it barely even counts as dot class magic, while flight is line class. Carrying people while flying is bordering triangle class wind magic though…" she added thoughtfully as she considered their current situation. "And Professor Colbert is a fire mage."

"Huh," said Tobias articulately. "I get the gist of it, I think. That means you're pretty powerful, huh, old man?"

"I am a square class mage, after all," Professor Colbert replied. While he didn't appreciate being called old—he was still in his forties for Brimir's sake—he felt obliged to give Louise's familiar some liberties. After all, most people wouldn't be conscious, let alone coherent, after taking such a beating. For a child not even old enough to grow facial hair to still be able to make quips spoke strongly of his hardiness.

When Colbert dropped the two off at the front of a blue-capped tower, two mages—who Tobias assumed to be some kind of medics—were standing outside to meet them.

"The boy is conscious, but most probably has serious injuries. Treat him gently and swiftly," Colbert ordered them. As the mages entered with Tobias and Louise in tow—the boy being kept in a levitation spell—Colbert let out a sadden sigh. He looked at the closing doors of the tower with pity before flying back to the headmaster's office.

Colbert landed in the Headmaster's office with a pained expression on his face. "The boy was surprisingly conscious," he reported. "Still, his injuries are probably severe. Internal damage and bone fractures at the very least."

"That is concerning," said Old Osmond, the Academy's headmaster, rubbing his long white beard. "It would be a problem if Valliere's familiar died due to a petty argument gone out of hand. This is exactly why we banned dueling in the first place!"

"Which is exactly why we should have stopped the fight before it got out of hand," Colbert insisted. "Once Gramont started attacking with his golem we should have stepped in."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Osmond asked with a raised eyebrow. "Those runes on his hand? Your theory on how he could be Gandalfr?"

Colbert hesitated with a pang of guilt. After noticing the runes on the boy's hands, he had done some research and found out that the runes were a perfect match for Gandalfr, a familiar of the Founder, Brimir. He had brought his findings to the Headmaster so they could find a way to approach the boy. However, he had not expected this.

"Gandalfr or not, we should not have let a child suffer like that on our watch!" Colbert insisted.

"Colbert," said Osmond seriously. "I too, do not wish for harm to come to those in the Academy. Noble, or commoner. But you know as well as I that this was our best opportunity to see proof that Valliere's familiar is, in fact, the Gandalfr. The Left Hand of God. The Absolute Defender. The Master of all Weapons!"

"Please, lower your volume, Headmaster," Colbert urged. He raised his wand, casting a soundproofing spell on the room. "We cannot let this information spread freely."

From the other side of a wall, a person clucked their tongue and frowned as they lost the ability to eavesdrop on the two.

"At this point, it's only a theory," Osmond said wearily. "Backed by books and records, but we have no evidence. If there was ever a moment to use such a legendary power, it would be then. But that boy, he didn't even try to fight back. It was as if he was—"

"Broken," Colbert concluded with a nod. "Whatever happened before Louise summoned him, it broke his mind, or at least his spirit. I've seen people like him before, but they were normally war veterans who had seen too much in too little time. I cannot fathom what a child like him has seen to break him at such a young age."

"Neither can I," Osmond replied gravely. "And to be perfectly honest, it troubles me." Osmond leaned forward in his chair. "Tell me, Colbert, do you believe Valliere's familiar to be a threat to her person?"

"No," Colbert responded after only a moment's hesitation. "While I have no proof, the actions he took during his summoning indicate that he has accepted Miss Valliere as his master. Even on this occasion, despite assaulting Gramont, he lied about the extent of his injuries to reassure Miss Valliere of his condition. A foolish thing to do, given the circumstances, but I am convinced that it was an action of loyalty."

"But do we know why he is loyal?" Osmond asked, stroking his beard. "Is there anything he's searching for or is getting out of the arrangement?"

"I am… uncertain," Colbert admitted. "I have had very little interaction with him. He strikes me as someone who is blunt, crude at times, but generally passive unless angered. I will admit, however, that his anger worries me. His rage is tempered, like someone who has become well acquainted with death, and has delivered it as well." Colbert didn't want to believe that someone so young could be a killer, but those eyes, they haunted him. Even in his military life, Colbert had seen very few sights as bone chilling as the expression in that boy's eyes.

"I fear leaving the familiar around Miss Valliere could prove detrimental for her health," said Osmond with a defeated sigh. "But it cannot be helped. He is her familiar, and if he truly is the Gandalfr, we shall need all the help we can get."

"Are you suggesting we send a clearly mentally unstable child off to war?" Colbert asked in incredulousness.

"No, even in our most desperate times, I would not send a child when I could do greater work myself," said Osmond. "But given Miss Valliere's family, and her own personal connection to the princess, there may be no choice in the matter." He looked at Colbert gravely. "We need to discover where this boy's agenda lies and whether or not he's the Gandalfr. If he's a threat to Miss Valiere's safety and is not the Gandalfr, I do not think I need to tell you what we must be do."

Colbert gave a slow, shaky, but deliberate nod. "We will do what we must, but unless he proves to be a threat to Miss Valliere or the other students, I will not lay a hand against the boy," he declared. There was too much blood on his hands already. Unless there was no other possible outcome, he would not add to that amount.

"As long as you are ready to deal with the worst possible outcome, that is all I ask."

While the school's medical rooms were lacking the equipment and sanitation standards Tobias was familiar with, they made up for it with superior healing professionals. The ability to flick a wand, say a few simple words, and restore injuries was almost mindboggling. It was only the sheer insanity that made up Tobias's childhood that allowed him to process what he witnessed.

"You should make sure to stay off your feet as much as possible for the next few days," the doctor ordered. Tobias wasn't sure if he was called a doctor, but since he hadn't introduced himself—instead immediately moving to diagnostics when Tobias was brought in—Tobias would call him a doctor until another title was given.

"Thank you, sir," Louise said with a respectful dip of her head. "I will make sure he takes it easy for the time being."

"Thanks for the help, doc," said Tobias as he slid off the examination bed and stood to his feet. Louise immediately moved to support the side with his bad leg.

The man looked confused by Tobias's form of address, but given the boy's condition and obviously non-native appearance, assumed it was a foreign title of respect. "Do return if his condition worsens," he advised Louise as she helped Tobias hobbled out the door. Louise gave some sort of reply, but Tobias's mind was too distracted to catch it.

The walk back to Louise's room was a slow and painful one. The gazes of students bore into them from all sides. While normally Louise was used to facing eyes filled with scorn, she was unused to seeing confusion and apprehension. No one was laughing or mocking her. If anything, they looked unnerved by her presence. Or at least, the presence of the human familiar she was currently supporting.

"Ignore them," Tobias said in a low voice. "They don't matter."

"Don't waste your breath," Louise said sharply, noticing that his breathing was ragged, and was even worse when he tried to talk. Despite her harsh words, she appreciated his advice. The other students were of no consequence to her. Right now, she had to get her familiar back to her room and acknowledging the observations of her peers was a waste of time.

Once they had—painfully—managed the climb of stairs to Louise's room, Louise released Tobias's arm so she could close the door behind them.

Tobias immediately picked up on Louise's mood. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically.

"What do you think?" Louise asked in a dangerously neutral tone.

"I think you're extremely angry," Tobias replied honestly.

Louise raised a hand as if to slap him, but remembering that he already had been beaten black and blue, clenched her hand into a fist and put it at her side. "Don't ever do that again!" she ordered.

"Insult your classmates?" Tobias asked. "He had it coming, but if you want—"

"I don't care about that!" Tobias could see Louise's eyes begin to water. She was angry, there was something more. Her eyes were pained and concerned. Her voice was as sharp as always, but underneath it was something Tobias was struggling to identify. "You got hurt. You almost died! You can't die on me, understand?"

Tobias was surprised by the raw emotion wracking Louise's voice. Her voice cracked, and she was shaking from head to toe. For a moment, he couldn't' understand. After all, she was fine, and he was a little battered, but none the worse for the wear. Then he remembered, Louise was a fairly normal teenaged girl. Magical world or not, she probably wasn't used to seeing people hurt. Given that she was a noble, she may not have been used to the sight of a bloodied person either.

If Tobias hadn't survived a war, he knew he would have passed out from the pain long before Professor Colbert arrived. His body had been dealt several bone fractures, four broken ribs, more bruises than he could count, and enough blood loss to make even him feel lightheaded. It was no wonder Louise was so concerned about his condition, but the anxiety she was expressing was stronger than he expected. Didn't she see him as a pet? Why was she acting so attached to him? They had only just been acquainted, after all. Two days wasn't nearly enough time to get attached to someone, was it?

It was times like these that made Tobias wish he had a normal childhood. He had no experience in dealing with this. Not sure what else he could say, he offered, "I will do my best not to die."

"That's not good enough," Louise said stubbornly. "Swear to me that you won't die. That you won't get yourself killed doing something stupid like that!"

Tobias sighed. Asking for him to be immortal was a little farfetched, but avoiding stupid deaths would be pretty easy. All he had to do was not get involved in another shadow war against alien parasites, or something equally as ridiculous. "I swear I won't get myself killed by doing something stupid," he vowed solemnly.

That seemed to calm Louise down, if just slightly. "Good," said Louise with obvious relief in her voice. "I'll hold you to it. It would be embarrassing if I lost my familiar before I even graduate the academy."

Tobias refrained from rolling his eyes as Louise once again tried to sound authoritative. After her prior outburst, however, it was obvious that she was doing it to assure herself that everything was normal.

If that was the case, two could play at that game. "If you're done, I'm going to take a nap," Tobias said as he moved towards the straw bed.

Louise grabbed his arm immediately. "And where do you think you're going?" she asked.

Thinking that she had assumed he was headed towards the door—which was in roughly the same direction—he pointed at the pile of hay that made his bed. "To sleep."

Louise bit the bottom of her lip, looking pensive. "The straw could scratch your wounds," she said reflectively. "And the stone floor would be bad for your body."

"I heal fast," Tobias assured her. "I'll be fine." Seriously, if she would stop nagging him he could be healed in about three minutes. Morph. Demorph. Simple. Done.

"No! As your master, I am in charge of your health. I cannot have you risk getting worse." Louise looked thoughtful as she glanced around the room. "I suppose I will allow you to share the bed with me."

Tobias sighed. The bed might have been soft, but he hadn't slept in a soft bed in years. He was used to being perched in a try or resting in the nook of thick branches. Even in his human body, he was used to being on wood or hay, not a mattress. "I don't need—" he tried to say.

"That's an order!" Louise said sharply. "You should be grateful; it is not often that a commoner gets to sleep on such luxury."

"But I—" Louise glared at him, and this time Tobias was the one to look away. Not because Louise was intimidating. Far from it. In fact, the way she puffed up her cheeks when she was annoyed was pretty cute. The reason Tobias didn't push was because of the look in her eyes. Her body language and voice demanded obedience, which he could ignore, but her eyes pleaded for it.

Tobias could only sigh. "As my master wishes, so it shall be," he said reluctantly. His mood only dropped further when Louise pulled out a chair and set it next to the bed. She sat down on the seat, as if intent to watch him sleep.

Suppressing a groan, Tobias gingerly crawled under the covers, only hoping that Louise would tire of watching him long enough for him to quickly morph out of his injuries. Magical healing or not, being beaten half to death hurt!

Poor Tobias. Being coddled is leaving him in physical pain.

You guys have really inspired me. Who knew that complaining about a lack of motivation would trigger people to motivate me? The first chapter felt like a flop when I only had 3 reviews a month after posting. Chapter 2 managed to get over a dozen in the same amount of time. Thanks you guys! Y'all the best. This story may not have too many views, but right now I'm feeling quite satisfied with how it's going.

I've been on Spacebattles discussing with people how my stories get repetitive. I can see why people are saying that, since I let the plot flow with characters instead of purposefully trying to create new things for them (unless absolutely necessary). That being said, how did this chapter turn out? Tobias is one of the characters I cannot picture fighting Guiche in a normal duel, and in a fight without time to morph, bird boy gets wrecked.

Chapter 4 is underway (and makes an even bigger divergence from canon). I don't have an exact time I'll upload it, but since I have a poll on my profile for the next person to be summoned, I'll probably upload the next chapter of this on the 2nd or 4th Sunday of July.

Liked the chapter? Hated it? Found a typo? Have a theory on what will happen next? Leave a review! Remember (and I keep telling you this) reviews are food for a writer's soul!