Lydia really, really did not like the clinic.
It was too white everywhere, too quiet, and way too overwhelming, everytime she stepped into the place it was as if the walls themselves were judging you for breathing too loud. Every footstep echoed very loudly, even when you hadn't done anything wrong. The elf nurse
Who was a tall and silver haired with her face set to permanent polite-but-I-don't-care mode never explained stuff. She just commanded...maybe not commanded but you know...an instruction may seem like a command sometimes.
"Arm." she would usually say...no good morning or how are you doing?? Seems like she had confidence in her methods.
Lydia stuck it out for the third day in a row. The needle slid in smoothly and coldly. Whatever mystery liquid they were pumping into her always settled like cool mist in her veins. No sting. Just… settling.
"What is this for again?" she asked, already knowing the answer would be the same.
"For your ailment," the nurse replied, voice smooth as marble.
"What ailment?"
"You may go."
And that was it. Every single time.
Lydia grabbed her bag and left before the silence could swallow her whole. But she had to admit...the shots were doing something. The constant migraines? Gone. The way every little sound used to stab her fox ears? Gone and Dulled to normal college noise. Her senses finally felt… chill. Like she could actually exist in this monster-filled zoo without wanting to hide under a desk in search of peace and quiet.
Maybe the clinic wasn't totally evil. Maybe she should keep going despite the hostility.
**
Her locker clicked open with that familiar metallic sigh, and Lydia's brain short-circuited.
Flowers???
The exact same bright red ones that had turned her infirmary room into a romantic greenhouse explosion. They were tucked neatly inside,the petals as usual almost glowing at the edges like they were hiding tiny embers. She pulled the bouquet out, brows scrunched.
"Why do these look so familiar…"
Then she spotted the envelope.
It was silver. Thick and looked like it was made from Expensive paper that screamed "I have money and zero chill." Her name was written across it in careful, swoopy ink...
Lydia Bale
She ripped it open right there in the hallway, heart doing a weird little flip, excited for what was in there...
For the girl I can't stop thinking about.
She blinked. "Uh… who the fuck?"
A laugh almost escaped her mouth...this had to be a prank, right? But she kept reading anyway because she was intrigued as fuck.
Your presence soothes my fire. I hope we can get to know each other.
Sincerely,
Ignis Blazer
Next to the name was a tiny sketched phoenix, wings flared like it was mid-flight. Her eyes widened.
"Oh…"
Cafeteria Ignis. The seven star student ignis .. Red hair, red eyes, that warm voice that made her stomach do cartwheels even when she was half-panicking over an almost dropped tray. She'd barely spoken to him once, and the second time she'd been busy passing out in front of him and his whole elite crew. So why was the literal Phoenix prodigy sending her secret flowers and notes like some lovesick romance novel hero?
She flipped the paper over, ready to stuff it back and pretend this wasn't happening.
But there was a P.S. at the bottom:
If you are in need of company, come to the rooftop of the Griffin Building after lunch.
Lydia stared at the words until they blurred. Her ears perked up on their own.
"…Why would I go?" she muttered, but her tail (the one she usually kept hidden) gave a tiny, traitorous flick of excitement.
She dropped the letter back into the locker, slammed it shut, and turned...
Only to catch three random students scattering like startled squirrels, suddenly very interested in their phones.
Lydia sighed. "They were definitely gossiping."
She didn't even need her old super-senses to know that. The whole hallway probably already knew about the flowers. Great.
But the weird part? No headache. No sound overload. No dizziness threatening to knock her on her butt. She smiled to herself, small and secret. The shots were actually working. For once, she felt… normal. Almost ready for whatever chaotic college day came next.
***
By the time she hit the gymnasium for combat training, she'd almost (almost) shoved the note to the back of her mind.
Combat class meant tight gym wear. Short shorts. Fitted tank top. The kind of outfit that made her feel equal parts badass and "why did I think this was a good idea?" Other students kept doing double-takes at her legs as she pushed through the doors. Looking all sexy and Lydia felt like a celebrity..if there was paparazzi she knew they would be taking pictures.
And of course..of freaking course...it was him waiting in the center of the gym floor.
Kael Draven. Wolf Prince himself. Arms folded, silver hair tied back, looking every inch the guy who could bench-press a troll and still have perfect posture. He was overseeing warm-ups like a grumpy drill sergeant, but the second she walked in his golden eyes snapped to her.
"Late again Miss vale," he said, flat as a pancake.
She exhaled through her nose. "Good morning to you too, Your Highness."
Murmurs rippled through the other students. They were mumurs of reproach and gagging. Some were surprised by the talk back and some were angered by her statement cause fase it...who the fuck talks to their senior that way...
"A little bit smart mouthed today are we?" He said but she didn't reply. She was quietly regretting her words
They started warm-up drills sprints, stretches, stance work while Lydia tried to focus.
Then came sparring pairs.
And because the universe hated her (or loved her, she still wasn't sure), she ended up right in front of Kael.
They circled each other, gloves up, tension thick enough to cut with a claw.
"Uhh… so how are you doing?" he asked suddenly, mid-step.
She blinked, nearly dropping her guard. "What?"
"I said how are you doing?"
"Why do you care?"
His jaw tightened, that wolfish edge flashing in his eyes. "Because you fucking passed out in front of me a few days ago. Of course I care."
She paused. Oh yeah. The meeting room thing. She'd genuinely tried blocking it out.
"Oh."
He waited, still circling.
"So…?"
"I'm doing fine," she said, already distracted again. Her brain kept drifting back to silver envelopes and rooftop invites and that stupid phoenix sketch. Ignis's words kept looping...For the girl I can't stop thinking about.
"Hey," Kael called, sharper this time.
She jerked back to the present. "What? Sorry what did you say?"
Something in his expression dimmed, like a cloud passing over the moon his ears drooped a little. He threw a light punch; she blocked on autopilot.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Okay."
But she wasn't here. Not really. Her ears kept twitching like they were listening for something else...maybe the sound of phoenix wings or the rooftop wind after lunch. Her attention was miles away, and Kael could see it clear as day.
Her ear perked again, just a tiny flick of excitement she didn't even notice.
His shoulders dropped a fraction. He didn't know why it bugged him so much why the idea of her thinking about anyone else made his chest feel tight and his wolf instincts growl low in the back of his mind. But it did. Bad.
They kept sparring, light hits and blocks, but the air between them crackled with something neither of them was ready to name.
And somewhere across campus, Ignis was probably already waiting on that rooftop, fire in his veins and that same stupid longing pulling him toward one purple fox who had no idea she was collecting obsessed beast boys like trading cards.
And Lydia? She was just trying not to smile at the thought of what might happen after lunch.