Morning arrived and the air was crisp, tinted faintly gold as the sun climbed above Nexus Academy's towers. Auren woke before dawn, his mind already set for the day. His Eternal Glass had been claimed, but a claim meant nothing if it remained a ruin. Ownership was power only when it could be shaped.
After freshening up and dressing in smart casual wear, Auren summoned the school servants into the garden before the first bell rang. According to his timetable, his first class begins at around 9am giving him plenty of time to arrange the rebuilding of his garden.
"I want it rebuilt," he said simply, standing amidst the withered husks and fractured panes. "All of it. Replace the glass, restore the structure, replant the soil. I'll pay you in advance."
The servants exchanged startled glances. One of them stammered, "Young master, this will take—"
Auren sighed and pulled a pouch from his storage right. When the servant caught a glimpse of the pouch, a light of greed flashed in his eyes. Auren knew this hence why he prepared funds for this work. He dropped the pouch into the man's hands. The gold coins inside clinked heavy and full causing the man's eyes to widen.
"This is more than a month's wages," the servant whispered, awed.
"That's only the beginning," Auren said. His tone was level and not boastful. It was simply a fact. Fenvaros spoiled all his sons with coin, and Auren's "pocket money" would have passed for a viscount's annual budget in lesser dominions. For most, it was wealth enough to sustain a household. For him, it was just allowance.
The servants bowed deeply, their hesitation vanishing. Some of them even wished for more work but Auren was struck with his needs.
"If you do shoddy work then you will die. I'm sure that the Academy can acquire more servants." Auren stated calmly, his hand tracing along the overgrown vines.
One of the servants sneered because as an Alpha Therion with the bloodline of a Mammoth, how could he allow some wolf Omega to order him around. One of the servant who hailed from Blest Dominion tried to stop him but failed.
All this fell on Auren's eyes and with a simple flick of his wrist the man's head was frozen and crushed. This is what he had been training for, his bloodlines have become immensely powerful and his control of Primis has grown to the intermediate level. The servants were frightened but the lead servant was not, this is common within Nexus Academy.
"It will be done, young master." He promised reverently.
Satisfied, Auren left them to their work and walked to his first class of the day. The academy halls were alive with its usual noise. The shuffling of feet, the sharp laughter and the low hum of lessons being recited fell on his ears. When Auren entered his lecture hall, a burst of foxfire nearly burned his cheek and hair.
"Careful," he murmured, leaning away on time just as Eiran turned around, the fox's face was bright with pride. Then his eyes darkened before brightening up. Auren was puzzled by the array of emotions that Eiran's face had shown.
"Auren! Look!" The flamboyant fox Therion practically glowed. Behind him, seven luxurious tails shimmered, their tips lined with flame like wisps of black. "I finally did it. Over the holidays I got the seventh tail!"
Auren blinked, then allowed the faintest curve of his lips. "You worked hard. Congratulations."
"Hard? Hard doesn't even begin to cover it. I nearly burned myself alive three times." Eiran grinned wider, clearly waiting for the awe to settle in. "But that's not even the best part. Watch this."
In that instant, Eiran wagged his seven tails, they rippled and then their forms weaved together until they coiled into a single sleek tail, glimmering faintly with power. The tail was a beautiful purple color that matched his hair. Auren looked at the long fluffy tail and couldn't help but think, [It looks so fluffy].
"Convenient, isn't it?" Eiran boasted, swishing it once for emphasis. "No more getting stuck in doorways or tripping over myself. I call this, Compact elegance."
"Compact arrogance," Auren corrected dryly, but his tone was lighter than usual.
Eiran laughed, unbothered. "You love it." Then a if triggered by something, the very fluffy tail hit Auren square in the face, having caught him off guard. "How dare you ignore me over the holidays?!"
Auren rubbed his cheek slightly before shrugging his shoulders. Eiran was about to launch an array of questions but the teacher entering saved Auren the trouble. They settled into their seats but not before Eiran gave Auren the look of, " We'll talk later."
Auren just nodded and when the teacher began, he listened with half an ear to the lecture. Auren tried to listen and even wrote notes like normal but, his mind wandered to other matters. The matters was Zevaros's smirk in Mortal's Heaven, the spark of exhilaration in their last fight, and the thrill of their chase game. The tug in his chest was something he didn't quite understand.
He tried to evade that feeling and just focused on thinking about his glass garden. That really did the job and Auren found himself visualising the garden,within the pouch was the design that he wanted the garden to have and the variety of flowers he wanted planted. He had forgotten to tell the servants so he sent a message to the administration staff who then communicated with the servants working on the garden.
After the class Eiran questioned Auren about why he was so absent minded but the way he evaded the questions so expertly, exhausted the fox. After two more classes, lunchtime arrived and the two of them went to the cafeteria. In the hallways Eiran didn't forget to show off the convenience of his tail to Auren.
The academy had long established its unspoken hierarchy, and Auren and Eiran had their designated spot. It is a secluded table by the far window, untouched by the jostling noise of the crowd.
No one else dared intrude because on the first day of school, this is where Auren and Eiran challenged an upperclassman and won. Auren and Eiran sat and ordered their meal from the menu, when it arrived they ate as their usual routine. Others could only watch from a far but the pair at the table didn't have a care for their opinions.
"You should come train with me later," Eiran said between bites. "With your sword and my tails, we'd be unstoppable."
Auren lifted a brow. "I'll pass."
"Cold as ever," Eiran sighed dramatically. "One day you'll regret ignoring me, you know. And when that day comes, I'll laugh."
"Then I'll never give you the satisfaction," Auren replied, voice even, his eyes glinting.
"But really, what did you do throughout your holiday?" Eiran asked curiously. He hadn't given up on getting answers from his silent friend.
Maybe it's because of the food but Auren actually answered Eiran. " I modelled an Ad for Mortal's Heaven then I played the game for a while. I also fought with my mother and father once. Mother's quarrel was more verbal while father... he beat me up using his spear."
Eiran couldn't even continue eating. He stared at Auren, blinked then blinked some more. "You had a crazy holiday."
"Yup," Auren agreed with a slight laugh.
Their banter carried them through lunch until afternoon classes resumed. By the time the sun dipped toward the horizon, Auren's anticipation had reached its peak. He excused himself quickly after the final bell, his feet carrying him with quiet purpose back to his Eternal Glass.
When he arrived, the transformation stole his breath.
The shattered structure had been reborn to something new. Gleaming panes of polished glass caught the fading sunlight, scattering it into fractured rainbows. The ironwork was strong and newly forged, vines curled with life instead of decay. At the perimeter, a faint shimmer revealed the barrier he had ordered, an invisible shield to keep intruders at bay.
Inside, the air was rich with the scent of fresh soil and blooming petals. Rows of flowers stretched across the space, each carefully chosen by Auren himself. [Good, they passed my message and they did as instructed.] Auren walked inside the garden, hand brushing over every petal.
White lilies to signify purity, rebirth. Crimson roses to mean desire, will. Blue irises for wisdom and resilience. Nightshade blooms his sign of danger hidden in beauty. And, tucked carefully into one corner, a single flowerbed of moonflowers, rare and delicate, unfolding only in darkness.
Each bloom carried a meaning. Together, they painted a language only he understood. Auren walked slowly down the central path, his fingers brushing a petal here, a stem there. His chest tightened, not with weakness, but with possession. This place was his. Not his parent's, not his brother's, not the academy's. But his alone.
The shield hummed faintly as he activated the locking sequence. The Eternal Glass was now more than a garden. It was a vault for his heart, hidden and untouchable. It is his sanctuary. Auren sat in the center of the garden, letting the fading light of sunset wash over the blossoms, and for a rare moment, he allowed himself peace.
Night deepened across Nexus Academy. The grounds grew quiet and dormitories filled with the steady rhythm of sleep. Auren had already returned to his room. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, thoughts half tangled in petals and half in fists colliding under virtual skies.
As he was busy lost in thought, waiting for sleep to arrive, his terminal rang with a soft chime. A notification blinked. Auren thought it was Eiran so he picked it up to check the message. It wasn't Eiran. Auren sat up in a hurry, blood stirring within his heart. The sender's name glowed across the screen.
Zevaros.
The night held its breath.