In the evening Cyril managed to reach the academy with a bit of time still left to his day.
Tigris on his shoulder vaguely woke up, his half-narrowed blue eyes looking around with curiosity.
His white tail swung back and forth with a bit more energy to it than usual.
Morpho, however, was incredibly excited. She tapped her legs in place, over and over. She would unfold her wings, only to fold them back.
Cyril observed her excitement, and a helpless smile appeared on his face.
He walked through the academy gates, towards his familiar dormitory and past the local park, observing its well-cared-for plants.
He stopped.
From the park's direction, his sharp hearing picked up the distinct sound of someone training with intensity.
Could it be...?
Somewhat curious, he walked into it, following the noises.
Just as he expected, right where they were the previous night, Myra sat on the ground, panting.
"Myra."
"Ah!"
She jumped to her feet, hands ready to attack.
Finding him, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Find me when I am doing some late-night training."
He replied with a blank stare.
Myra shrugged and sat back on the ground, relaxing.
Cyril walked up near her and sat down as well. Morpho on his shoulder greeted Myra with an eager jump, and even Tigris lazily waved his paw.
"Hello..."
Myra returned the wave, staring at Cyril in curiosity.
"...Did you do anything with the herb yet?"
"Not yet, but!"
Myra sat up straight, raising a finger with excitement.
"I remembered something! From my visions, I mean. There is a clinic somewhere in the slums with a very skilled mage. He can concoct a special pill using mageroyal as one of the ingredients!"
"Alvin?" Cyril guessed, his blue eyes narrowing.
"Yeah. You know about him?"
"Only recently. Saw him in the mall in the shopping district..."
Something about him doesn't sit right with me.
He swallowed the last part of his sentence, finding no basis for his hostility.
"Yeah. So I plan on going to him." She said with a casual nod.
Cyril went silent for a second and looked in her eyes.
"I'll go with you."
"Really?" Myra's black eyes widened, staring at him in shock.
"Yes. Are you against it?"
"Of course not. Let's go together!"
Myra shook her head, her auburn hair shaking with it, and both of them went silent.
The moon softly illuminated the patch of grass they sat on, making the atmosphere somewhat ethereal.
"...Have you tried Dragon Art today?" He broke the silence as he observed the moon over them.
Myra flinched and sighed, moving her gaze to the ground.
"A little bit. No good so far."
"I'll keep trying, of course! I'm not quitting that easily!"
She gave him a thumbs-up, on her face a somewhat stiff but optimistic smile.
...This is a bit awkward.
Cyril nodded, then hesitantly opened his mouth.
"Actually, I taught you this technique without permission, and now the owner of it wants to see you."
Myra stopped moving completely, the smile freezing on her face.
"Huh? Selene does?"
"Yes, sorry for involving you in this."
"...And sorry for forcing the technique on you in the first place. I-"
"Hold on, wait!"
Myra quickly leaned closer, waving her hands to the sides.
"Time out!"
"Why are you apologizing for that?" She asked, genuine confusion on her face.
"You wanted to make me stronger. I should be the one apologizing!"
"And you could've put me in danger? I asked for your help in saving the world! You can involve me in any situation you want. I'll be happy to agree, don't even ask!"
Cyril stopped talking, only staring into her black eyes for a few seconds.
"Thank you." He nodded and looked away.
Myra took a deep breath and slapped herself on her cheeks.
"Alright! Let's deal with this! When do we meet Selene?"
Cyril stared back at the night sky and fully lay down on the grass. Tigris changed his posture, curling up on the ground.
Morpho flew up, making quick circles around them.
"Selene is patient. It's up to us. In a few days maybe."
Myra lay down as well, following the red blur racing around with her eyes.
"That's good. I was worried it would be tomorrow. We are going to that new zoo after all. That would take the whole day, there is no time for anything else.
Cyril glanced at Morpho, still full of excitement, and froze.
Ah.
We are busy. Isn't it a bad time? We should create Morpho a sibling when we have more time to properly take care of it.
Rhamn appeared lying near him, pinching her chin in thought.
"You might be right. We should do so after the zoo. Maybe I'll get some inspiration there that could help too."
Both of them looked at the clueless red butterfly. Morpho's antennae twitched from time to time, only barely containing her excitement.
"...Who'll tell her?"
...
After relaxing for a little longer, they went their separate ways.
Myra waved him goodbye as she walked away. There were still circles under her eyes, but she seemed less tired, her face more lively.
Cyril watched until her back was no longer visible and walked a short distance towards his dorm.
There, right in front of it, stood Ophelia.
"Welcome back, Master." She bowed to him, her face as expressionless as always.
"Hello..."
Cyril glanced at her for a second, contemplating something. Then he walked past her.
He tried to remember a time she had been angry with him, but his mind came up with nothing.
Ophelia observed his departure and tilted her head, a bit of confusion visible in her black eyes.
Without looking behind him, Cyril finally returned to his dorm, where Tigris took his rightful place on the soft bed and curled up again.
Isn't Tigris sleeping a bit too often?
"He is just a cub. They sleep a lot. Let him grow up a bit."
Sure.
Cyril looked away and sat behind his desk. In front of him were his study materials, ready for the evening of study.
He glanced at the terrarium placed near his bed.
Morpho sat there with her back turned towards him, unresponsive.
Sorry, Morpho. We'll do it after the zoo.
He began studying, while Rhamn tried in various ways to approach the beautiful red butterfly but was met with failure every time.
A few hours passed like this.
"Nooo!" Rhamn finally dropped her head on the table, tears running down her face.
"She hates us! Morpho will never talk to us anymore! I am worthless! What's the point anymore!? Cyril, your heart is dead!"
His hand writing down in a notebook twitched, and he sent her a blank stare.
Stop it.
Her red eyes briefly shone, but then more tears flowed.
Morpho, in her terrarium, subtly moved, turning around to look behind her.
Her insect eyes observed the desk near Cyril, where Rhamn was wallowing in sadness.
After a short hesitation, she hopped out of her terrarium, flying to the table.
She awkwardly twitched her antennae, reluctantly cheering someone up.
"Hehe!" Rhamn immediately stopped, a bright smile emerging on her face.
"Thank you, Morpho! Don't worry. We'll get right to it as soon as time permits!"
The butterfly slowly nodded her insect head, staying near for a moment.
...How do you exactly talk with Morpho?
Cyril resumed his studies, having observed her theatrics for long enough.
"Same how I talk to you. I just do. When I don't want to, I just don't. It's simple."
I see.
He quickly finished up and went towards the bathroom.
Finished with most of his evening routine, he lay down on the bed beside Tigris.
Morpho landed near him, her back still turned away.
In his hands he held a handmade but elegant-looking notebook.
He slowly learned illusion magic, and when it was time, closed the book, put it in his cupboard, and turned off the magic lamp.
"Good night."
He said towards the dark ceiling.
Immediately he heard a flutter of wings, a cat's majestic meow, and an enchanting whisper, "Good night."
Strange, I didn't achieve much today, my training has been slower than I had hoped, and I've been embarrassed by my Master... Yet I still want to say it's been a good day.
With that he closed his eyes and softly drifted off into sleep.