The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 17

17

"Ouch! I swear—" I growled, pushing the prickly bunny away.

"It's okay, she didn't do it on purpose," Ryoko mused, sitting down on my bed to tickle Pickles' face. "You just like Ylva's bed, don't you? You little rascal."

I groaned, falling back on my pillow without spikes. "I'm serious, Ryoko. Something is going on and they're not telling us."

"I guess so? But does it matter. You didn't get in trouble."

"I did. I’ll be punished by my teachers at some point. Plus, all the other Valkyrie students hate me. Well, all but Aellyn, but she's just as disliked as I am."

The Dragon patted my knee. "It'll get better."

"I don't know... I feel like I'm just kind of locked in this room with you."

"And that's such a bad thing?" she teased, shooting me a playful smile.

"No, not really," I admitted. And I meant it. Ryoko wasn't all that bad. Despite her fluctuating personality, I liked what I saw. The desire for adventure, the slight snark, the knowing smile she brought out every now and then.

The Dragon flicked her hair over her shoulder as she fed Pickles a couple of paper balls. That damned bunny still kept jumping on my bed for no reason.

"Can you put your pet away?" I asked, glaring at the spiky thing.

She clicked her tongue. "Come on, she's cute. Look at her adorable whiskers and her fluffy black dust."

"She's got spines that hurt me."

"Only because you keep sitting on her," my roommate pointed out.

"Only because she keeps sleeping on my pillow," I argued back. This dust bunny might be cute from a distance, but she was no joke up close. I already endured too many animal abuse since I got here.

"Just give her a try? Please?" She pushed the ball of black fluff towards me. Pickles did a little hop that had me squeal in surprise.

"Oh my, did you just scream?" Ryoko teased, snickering under her breath. "Are you really scared of a harmless, little bunny?"

I glared at her. She might have golden rings around her eyes and smoky tendrils following her, but I wasn't intimidated.

"I'm not scared," I growled back, shuffling towards Pickles and awkwardly petting her. I wasn't going to let a puny Dragon outbrave me. If I could face dusk wolves, I certainly could deal with a dust bunny.

Ryoko tweaked an eyebrow, clearly daring me.

Fine. If that was how she wanted to play it...

"Here, Pickles, Pickles." I rubbed my fingers together, luring the little animal to me. She perked up her ears and spines, rapidly scurrying across the bed to jump onto my lap.

"Ouch!" I glared at Ryoko. "She pricked me. Again."

"You need to be more careful. Pat her from back to front, not the other way around."

Sighing, I tried her method. With the forward motion, it flattened the spikes against her back instead of them catching in my skin.

"Hah."

"See. She's so soft."

"She is," I admitted reluctantly. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"You never seemed interested." Ryoko shrugged, feeding Pickles another ball of paper. "Here, you try."

Carefully, I waved the strip in front of the bunny. "Num, num, num."

With a little hop, she shook her fluff and nibbled on the paper scrap. Now that I knew how to avoid the spines, she was very soft. And kind of cute. Her little nose moved when she chewed, the funny hops, the wobble when she walked.

"Hello, Pickles." I tickled her between her tiny ears, earning a soft grumble.

"She likes you," Ryoko noted, shooting me a knowing smile.

"I guess she's not too bad," I admitted. Cautiously, I shuffled back and kept a close eye on the bunny. It was soft to touch, but not pleasant under my butt at all. "Why did you bring her to the Academy again?"

"She reminds me of home."

"Right..." I looked at her, trying my best not to laugh. "Because your home is a dust bunny?"

Ryoko shot me a bemused glare. "No. But dust bunnies only appear in homes with positive vibes. Pickles appeared just before I left and we took that as a sign."

"Aha. Do you Dragons take lots of things as signs?" I asked, my eyes widening. s**t. "I mean... Are you— You're a Dragon right? I didn't mean to assume, I just thought—"

"How dare you," Ryoko hissed, making my stomach twist in knots.

Fuck.

"I'm so sorry, I thought, I didn't,—" I stammered, taken aback by the sudden laughter.

"I'm just messing with you. Oh my, you should've seen your face."

I glared at my roommate. "Really? I was worried I offended you."

"How? By figuring out I'm a Dragon?" She chuckled to herself, wrapping herself in my duvet. "Surprise, I'm a Dragon."

A little miffed, I tugged on my blanket to get it back. "Well, I don't know if it's a bad thing to assume where you're from."

"It's not," she assured me, throwing another paper ball at Pickles. She suddenly perked up. "Why? Is it with you Wind Children?"

"A little. Everyone makes guesses about who belongs to which district, but it's not acceptable to guess out loud."

Ryoko pushed up her ponytails. "Why not?"

I shrugged. "It just isn't. Pride, I guess?"

She looked at me, the gold around her eyes dancing playfully. "So where are you from?"

"The West. Best district there is."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," I growled, protective over my home.

"I'll take your word for it," she teased, shooting me a disarming smile. She was certainly charming in her own confusing way. Sometimes polite and quiet, other times mischievous and excitable. It was hard to put a label on my roommate, but it kept things fun.

"So, what kind of Dragon are you?" I asked, reaching out to tickle Pickles. My hand bumped against Ryoko's stroking her back and a strange jolt of electricity jumped across. "Eek. Did you feel that too?"

She bit her lip as she looked straight at me. Fire danced around her irises, both playful and powerful. There was something else, something I couldn't figure out. A look, a gaze that somehow awoke a heat in my stomach. Was this a Dragon trick? One of her skills?

Without answering my question, she tapped her nose. "A Dragon never tells."

"Is that a real thing?"

She burst out in laughter. "No. But it sounded good, didn't it?"

"It certainly did. Mysterious. You should make that your slogan," I teased. I didn't know why, but she brought out my own playful side. It was easy to joke and banter with her. She took the sharp edge of the stressful part of being in the Academy.

"I shall. It'll fit nicely under my clan crest." She puffed up her chest, drawing my attention to her—

"Great," I squeaked, batting my eyes down. I didn't know what came over me, but I didn't have time to go there. There was something going on with the school and I needed to know what.

Mindlessly, I scratched the dust bunny and let my thoughts wander off to Hyde. According to the teachers, wolves had been stole from other schools too. Were they just stealing dusks? How were they controlling imprinted companions? Why were they collecting them? So many questions and no real answers.

"Hey, Ylva?"

I looked back up, staring in Ryoko's eyes. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice all serious of a sudden.

"Yeah... No... I don't know. I think I'm sad? I wanted to be popular and make loads of friends when I came here. Instead, I'm the girl that lost the dusk wolves, even though it wasn't my fault. And that's not even the worst part. The worst bit is that Hyde is out there, somewhere. He's just a pup, he can't take care of himself. What if he got separate from his mum? What if this thief is hurting him?" I hid my face in my hands, my voice breaking. "I know it's stupid to feel this way about an animal I don't even know yet, but he's mine. I'm connected to him. I can feel the bond, but it just goes nowhere. I can't sense him, I don't know where he is or if he's alright."

My roommate put a hand on my shoulder, her touch somehow reassuring. "Hey. Hey, hey, hey. He'll be okay."

"You don't know that," I protested, the image of a lonely Hyde bringing tears to my eyes.

"No, but you would." She pressed her palm on my stomach. "You'd feel it here if— You'd feel it here."

“I’m just worried about him. About all of them. They're all someone's companion. We're not whole without them."

"It'll be alright. We can figure something out?"

I looked up at her. "We?"

"Yes. You need my help," she teased, managing to crack a smile on my face.

"Thanks, Ryoko." I looked at her, the same warmth roaring in my stomach. "You're actually pretty nice."

"You're not too bad yourself."

Despite myself, my lips were curled in a smirk. Against all odds, I was enjoying her company. Her presence was reassuring and knowing she was in my corner installed some hope in me.

I could do this. We'd figure it out. Not all was lost. Not with her as my friend.