Chpt 2

It's not that Vagus wanted to be born this way, affinities are mostly hereditary. In recent years, many noble marriages are no longer arranged solely based on wealth and influence, innate affinities became a factor that was just as, if not, even more important.

Feeling annoyed, Vagus repositions himself back to the lying position. He stared blankly at the closely knitted leaves above, as if trying to remember something.

"Wait, what's that on your face?"

Before Vagus could react, the girl was already half way over him. She reached out a hand and ran through his overgrown bangs lightly, revealing a red mark the size of a piece of chalk on his forehead.

"I'm fine, don't touch me!" Vagus knocked Tenisha's hand away with a little too much force than intended. The crisp sound of one hand slapping against another resonated under the willowing branches.

It was the first time Vagus ever raised his voice or spoke with any kind of emotion at all. Tenisha although surprised, spared no time to pin the boy down.

"Let go… of me…" the boy struggled under the girl's restraints. Although only one year apart, Vagus was considerably shorter than Tenisha. If anything, Vagus was shorter than most girls his age.

He was often ridiculed for his short stature and effeminate looks. The shoulder length blonde hair and plump childlike face doesn't help his case either.

"Hold still!"

Tenisha managed to maneuver herself completely on top of Vagus, despite the boy's best efforts, Tenisha easily suppressed both of the boy's wrists using only one hand of her own.

"Hehe, sometimes it really makes me wonder if you're a guy after all. I mean just look at these soft cheeks"

Tenisha teased with a sinister smile that made the boy shudder. She then proceeded pinching his cheeks as if giving a demonstration to their squishiness.

Vagus shook his head in retaliation, unable to escape due to the obvious size difference.

After a few more minutes of fruitless struggling, Vagus finally gave in as he realized there was no chance for a getaway. Tenisha, seeing that Vagus has finally calmed down, raised her arm towards him, extending her index finger against the tiny bump that had formed atop the boy's brows.

"ri ka hi o, rir gue…"

The girl closed her eyes as she chanted, focusing her magic to the center of her palm. Her luscious vermillion hair danced under the summer breeze.

She could feel the warm flow of mana slowly gathering in her right hand, she then focused all the energy onto her fingertip, discharging it in a flash of gold.

"There, all better now." Tenisha's lips pursed in a smirk as she finally released Vagus from her restraints.

Although the boy's forehead is all but healed, his wrists now brandished a red mark the shape of a person's hand, "Oh no, your wrists! I didn't mean to, here… lemme..."

"It's fine… thank you, Tenisha." Vagus returned the smirk with a wry smile. He knows better than anyone just how whimsically terrifying Tenisha could be sometimes, "I'll be heading home then, tell professor Dolokrav I won't be attending the afternoon classes."

"Wait! What do you mean you're not attending?" Tenisha stood up in a fury, the boy had already started making his way towards the forest, "I know you're not headed home! That way is towards Boreas Forest! Do you have a death's wish or something? I found Mr. and Mrs. Murphius yesterday, they said you hadn't come home till very late last night! What if… what if you don't make it back at all tonight…"

Vagus paused as he heard that last sentence. He turned around to face Tenisha who was still under the Elm tree.

"I'll be fine. Also, keep this a secret from ma and pops."

He then continued his stride without looking back again, despite the girl's continued screams of desperation.

It wasn't long before the boy could no longer be spotted, his silhouette fading into the gloomy plantation shadows, along with the echoes of his name being shouted.