The Hunter Mage

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

It has been a week since Penn joined the academy. She was freer now, she still wasn't used to it but it was easy for her to figure out by the third day that she probably was not leaving. She would break into sobs once in a while but it was nothing a little hug and her favorite song didn't fix.

Vernon had found in no time that his mother had made sure to sing the same song to them. So the day he hummed it by chance, she had sung along. Thankfully, Dev witnessed it so he sort of stopped teasing him at the fact that Penn was his sister. Now, he teased him for being the ugly sibling.

His training however was the exact same thing. No change and it was exceedingly stressing him out. The worst part was, he wasn't getting enough rest but he knew there was no way he would skip a day without hanging out with Penn.

She appreciated his company and even if she did not, he would have been a thorn in her butt because he was sure as hell was not going to leave her alone. He was glad they had found a routine she was comfortable with and more importantly, she was getting used to her new environment.

She still had a few outbursts of tears but they could be easily taken care of. She was also warming up to the other members of the crew. A couple of Madames and she seemed fond of Madame Rebecca even though Vernon was not sure she liked Penn.

However, she had not gone out of her way to do anything mean to Penn and he figured he was just overthinking. If Penn was not his sister, he probably wouldn't have noticed but now that he was looking too much into everything, he was likely seeing what wasn't there because he was staring too hard.

Anyway, it didn't matter what he thought, as long as she was fine and comfortable, he was completely fine with whatever seemed to happen around her as long as it did not affect her.

He hopped his way to the kids' section, training was just over and this time around he has dragged Dev with him instead of running off on his own as usual but he was only doing this because Dev had complained about Vernon just leaving without letting him know.

"Slow down," Dev was yelling. "She is not going to disappear if you're two minutes late."

However, Vernon was not listening and even if he was he did not care for what Dev said. "Why are you complaining now? We are already here." Even though they still had a couple more feet before they got to exactly where the children were.

Dev rolled his eyes, Vernon was like a rolling boulder the only way to go was in a downward spiral. There was nothing he could do to stop him now. Considering his sister was already in his line of sight.

They finally got there and all Dev could do was pant for his life as he tried to get his breathing under control. The children were already screaming at the sight of them but he was still bent over, praying that nobody would run at him with the way he was feeling he doubted he had the strength to hold more than a child. If they all ran to hug him, they were all likely to fall flat on the ground.

Vernon did not waste any time as he made his way through the crowd of children to his sister who was already on her feet and running towards him. "Penn!" He cried and lifted her high up.

Dev couldn't comprehend how he could do that immediately after they had just run a couple of meters to this place. He braced himself for the impact of the children and even though he was prepared he still staggered a little but thankfully he didn't fall, nobody did.

He quickly sat on the floor just in case more children had the same idea and of course, they did but at least the fall wouldn't be that bad. They soon gathered around him and within a few minutes, he forgot his exhaustion as he played with them.

For Dev, it was mentally exhausting to do this but it helped. It was something to look forward to besides constant training and training. He had gotten used to the idea that they would eventually leave but it did not make it any easier, especially the fact that there was no warning except the loss in weight and then the child is gone.

The child is taken without any warning, without any chance to say goodbye and no matter how many times it happened there was no getting used to it and that was what made it even more annoying.

He took his attention from the children for a little while and turned them to Vernon. He was very worried, not just about the fact that his sister would be taken away, he still had at least a couple of months before he would start thinking about that rather he was worried about Vernon's health.

Even though Vernon was constantly trying to put up a brave front, his exhaustion was not easy to ignore. It showed in his eyes and the way his back slouched every now and then.

Dev was worried that he might break down sooner than they wanted even though Bess was sure to heal him, he still could help the worry he had. He tried to distract himself with the children but every now and then he would glance in Vernon's direction, studying him and hoping not to find anything amiss.

Vernon on the other hand did not notice Dev's worry at all and neither did he think there was anything wrong. Sure as soon as he laid in bed he slept off and he was feeling a little more tired recently but he did not count it as something to worry about and for some strange reason felt more energized than usual.