by A. R. Crebs
Dovian shook his head. “I don’t believe it was ever alive, at least not in the sense that would give it lasting life. He had enough energy to begin, but then fizzled out before he could finish developing.”
“So…I created a corpse?”
“Pretty much.”
“And…if I could reanimate him; then he’d be a zombie lizard! I’m like a necromancer!” she hissed with a sadistic tone. She reached for the egg, but Dovian pulled away from her.
“You’re not going to reanimate it, Lita.”
“But if I can’t create a lizard, I’ll fail!”
“Once again.”
“Let me make another one! I’ve still got time!”
“It’s too close to the end of the semester. If you even get the thing to hatch, you won’t have enough time to raise it within the following class assignments.”
Lita clutched Dovian’s robes. “Please! Please let me try one more time! I promise! I’ll figure it out! I’ll make one!”
Dovian patted her on the head. “It wouldn’t be fair to the other students if I did that.”
“Actually, we wouldn’t mind,” one student interrupted. A series of agreements followed throughout the room.
Lita grinned. “Ha! My fellow classmates have pity for me! Please, Dovian! Let me try once more!”
Dovian looked over his students. “Would any of you be against allowing Lita one more chance to pass the class this semester by building another egg?”
The room remained silent.
Dovian looked down at the girl. She tugged on his coat a few more times, forcing the most pitiful expression she could manage.
“You are certainly good at pouting; I’ll give you that. Alright, I’ll allow you one more chance.”
“YAY!!!” Lita cheered, removing herself from the man.
Dovian held up a hand. “BUT…you will be required to take summer classes to follow the assignments for the lizard’s upbringing. Think of it as an extension to your semester.”
Lita clapped her hands. “Yeah, yeah! Whatever, fine!”
A soft knock rapped on the doorway. “Someone is in a rather boisterous mood. Oh, it’s Lita. I should’ve known.” Orin approached the two, his emerald cape flowing behind him.
Lita smirked. She had known Orin all her life. They had an interesting friendship, mostly harassing each other.
Dovian patted Orin’s shoulder in greeting. “Thanks for stopping by. I know you’ve been busy.”
Orin shrugged. “It’s a little slow today. I was on my way to Lucinda’s place for some of her meatloaf. You care to join me for an early lunch?”
“Ah, as much as I would love to, I’ve encountered a schedule change this semester. I have another class immediately following this one.”
Orin made a sound of dissatisfaction. “Aw, how unfortunate for you. Doesn’t that cut into your usual naptime?”
Dovian rolled his eyes. “In fact it does.”
“And, what is this class?”
“Literature,” he mumbled.
Orin stared at Dovian a moment, his expression plain. After a few seconds, he burst out laughing. “Literature?! You?!”
Lita joined in the laughter.
“Is it really that funny?” Dovian asked.
“Oh! More so! It’s quite hilarious!” Orin leaned against the lab table. Wiping a tear from his eye, he said, “Dovian the Barbaric reading books about flowers and butterflies.”
“Ah, yes. I’m so barbaric, indeed.” Dovian scowled.
“You should stop by sometime. It’s quite humorous listening to him read aloud,” Lita said.
Orin eyed the girl, his grin widening. “I’ve no doubt! Perhaps I’ll hit up Lucinda’s Café later! I’d hate to miss this.”
“You best be going to Lucinda’s. If you show up to my class, I’ll make you read as well. Besides, don’t you make use of poetry when wooing your female victims?” Dovian sourly griped.
Orin was a ladies’ man. It seemed nearly every season he had a new girlfriend. There were constant whispers among the halls of Ives that told tales of his suave and dashing behaviors, songs, poems, and gentlemanly gestures. Dovian thought it was less romantic and more disturbing how quickly Orin passed from one woman to another.
“Yes, yes! But I’ve always been the charmer. You, on the other hand….” Orin chuckled again.
“Are you here to mock me, or are you here to help me?”
Orin rubbed his chin. “Oh, alright, you old sourpuss. For what cause am I here today?”
Dovian held Lita’s egg directly before the other man’s face. Orin’s eyes widened; he peered sideways at Lita.
“Your egg, I presume?” he asked.
Lita nodded dismally.
Orin returned his stony gaze back to the shell, his irises swirling.
“What do you see?” Dovian asked.
“A dead fetus,” Orin said with a serious tone.
“And what do you not see?”
Orin flicked his sight to Dovian only a split-second before returning to the egg. He shook his head. “No light. There’s no light inside.”
Dovian nodded. “As I thought.”
Orin’s gaze shifted back to normal. “But you could tell that yourself, why would you need me?”
Dovian motioned to Lita. “Have you ever read her?”
The Emerald man focused his attention on her. Lita self-consciously covered herself with her arms. She had heard rumors that Orin had X-ray vision and could see through women’s robes.
“I’ve not,” Orin mumbled.
“And what, exactly, are you reading?” Lita asked.
Orin gave a cockeyed smirk. “Oh, everything.”
Lita shielded her chest.
After a few seconds, Orin’s amused expression fell. “Huh…never seen that before.”
“Never seen what?” she snarled.
“You normally this stressed, Lita?” Orin asked.
Lita’s face reddened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve barely got any light contained within you.” Orin gave a whistle. “But you sure do have a lot of repressed dark energy.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, a little worried.
“It’s as I expected.” Dovian nodded as he held his chin. “Lita, your eggs won’t hatch because you don’t have enough light energy.”
“You expected that?” She peered down at herself.
“Well, I would never guess someone with a personality such as yours would be so negative on the inside, but it makes sense as to why you can’t maintain a life-force within your lizards.”
She grabbed the sides of her head, tugging on her hair. “Well, what’s wrong with me? How do we fix it?”
Orin chuckled. “There’s no fixing it, Lita. It’s just the way you are. But, with practice, you could eventually learn to generate more light energy than dark.”
“So…I’m full of darkness?”
“Yup!” Orin leaned to the side and mumbled to Dovian, “Hell, she’s got more than Euclid! And I thought he was bad.”
Dovian smirked. “Perhaps we can infuse Lita’s dark energy within an egg.”
Orin’s eyes swirled at the thought. “You’d have some strange reptilian monster running about if you did that! Best not explore the idea!”
“I’m like a powerful sorceress!” Lita clenched her fists. “Ohhh, the things I could do!” Next, she yelped. “I could be a warrior!”
Dovian waved his hands. “Now, now, let’s not get hasty!”
“I’ve got tons of dark energy! You know that’s a good sign of a great warrior!” Lita cackled. “Wait till dad hears about this!” She twirled and cheered, disrupting the class.
Dovian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Lita, let’s focus on your egg. We’ll discuss physical courses at a later date. At this point, it may be detrimental to your class score. If you could release some of that negative energy, perhaps you will balance out and be able to house life inside an egg.”
“Little squirt wants to be a warrior?” Orin asked. “Wouldn’t you be cute on the battlefield?” He poked the girl’s nose. Lita hastily smacked his hand away.
“Don’t patronize me.” She pointed. “Dovian, I don’t have time to waste energy. I have to come up with a solution now.”
Dovian huffed. “Then you had better come up with a plan to create more light, or you’re going to fail once again.”
Lita growled.
Orin looked between the two. “It’s quite interesting. Dovian, currently you are nearly made entirely of light. Now, I’ve seen you in battle, and I know you can pull out that dark energy, but Lita…she’s the complete opposite of you. You must have soaked up the remainder of the Gaius genes.”
Lita rubbed her hands together. “I am Lita, the Dark Sorceress!” she gave a low, bellowing laugh. “Oh! Does that make me like a Feral? I always wanted to be like a Feral!”
Orin and Dovian warily eyed one another. “You don’t want to be a Feral,” they simultaneously muttered.
“Why not?” she frowned. “According to the legends, they sound totally badass!”
“Unless you enjoy living as an outcast,” Orin muttered. Lita groaned, rolling her eyes.
Dovian leaned forward, gathering her attention. “Moving on…what are you going to do about that egg?” He returned the shattered shell to the incubation chamber.
Lita’s face fell, her mind churning for an idea. As the bell tolled for the changing of classes, Orin shook Dovian’s shoulder.
“I’ll take my leave. As much as I’d love to sit in on your next class, Lucinda’s fresh meatloaf is calling my name. Have fun in your poetry reading.” Orin smirked and gave a small bow to Lita. “Always a pleasure running into you, Lita. Have a pleasant remainder of the day.”
Lita smiled, pretending to be smitten by Orin’s charming ways. She giggled and brushed her hair back.
Orin winked. “And I approve your choice of undergarments. Once again, you never cease to surprise me.”
“Ah! Get out of here, you fiend!” She swiftly covered herself once again.
Dovian pointed toward the exit of his classroom, giving a quick bow to Orin as he left.
“I’ll catch up with you later tonight, Dovian! I’ve got a couple bottles of wine I’d like for you to try,” Orin called out.
Dovian merely waved at the other man in confirmation before returning his attention to his students.
“Here’s the first big step!” he suddenly shouted. “Everybody must take their lizards home. Set up the cages and begin feeding. Don’t forget your heating elements. This is a crucial time. If any of you will be losing your lizards, it will be during this first week.”
As the students rushed from the room, he moved to Lita, tugging on her arm. She made a small choking noise, reaching for her dead eggs.
“Goodbye, my babies!”
Dovian grimaced. “Do you have your report ready for class?” He tried pulling her mind off the subject.
“Yes,” she whimpered. “I have two.”
“Two? Why do you not put forth so much effort in my courses?”
“Because literature is easy.” She shrugged.
“But why two?”
“One is for if I were successful today in my hatchings. The other was made in preparation for the inevitable doom I’m currently feeling inside.”
Dovian palmed his forehead. “This is going to be an insufferable class period.”
Together, they made their way across the compound toward the art and literature buildings. Lita eyed Dovian for a long while. Eventually, he cocked his head to the side, acknowledging her stare.
“What now?” he asked.
“You need a haircut,” she stated simply. She watched the man’s halo swirl around his head, his golden and silver hair shimmering with its own light. A few strands fell over his eyes.
Dovian gave her a baffled look. “You observe the strangest things.”
“It’s getting long. I know! I’ll stop by later tonight and cut it for you!” She mimicked the snipping of scissors with her fingers.
“Orin will be visiting, you know. Besides, perhaps I’m thinking of growing it out.”
Lita burst out laughing. “Why?!”
Dovian actually had no intention of growing his hair out, but after seeing Lita’s reaction to the idea, he decided to press the issue.
“Well…why not? It’s my hair. I can do what I please with it.”
“You want soft, silky locks like Euclid?” she giggled.
Dovian’s smile twisted off kilter. “Euclid’s hair is far too pretty. I’d never match that. But, yes. Perhaps I do want hair like his. Or perhaps your father’s.”
Lita cringed. “Dad has some pretty epic hair. But it doesn’t suit you.” She gasped and clasped her hands together. “Oh, but if you did, I could braid it!” She pointed to her braids.
Dovian gave a low bellow. “What a spectacle that would be!”
Lita placed her hand on his arm, shaking her head as she laughed. “You’d look like the cover of a bad romance novel!”
“That I would!”
“Is my literature class giving you romantic ideas?” she questioned.
“Oh, not in the slightest. I can’t wait for this semester to be over.” That was a lie. He was surprisingly enjoying the course. Still, he wouldn’t give that knowledge to Lita, at least, not willingly.
“I’m curious to know what I’Lanthe’s speech will be, aren’t you?” Lita smiled, biting her lower lip.
“I.…” Dovian noticed the look on her face. “What? What is that? Why are you looking at me like that?”
She skipped ahead. “No reason!”
“No reason, my backside. What’d you do?”
She gasped. “I didn’t do anything! Why do you always assume I do bad things?”
Dovian pulled her collar, causing her to gag. “Because you are always stirring up something.”
“Perhaps this time it’s not me doing the stirring.” Lita hopped up the stairs to the building. She tugged on the door, holding it open for Dovian to walk through.
“I get what you are implying, so don’t get any ideas.” He poked her forehead. Dovian palmed the door above her head and guided her in before him.
“What ideas? I mean, just because you’re an old prude who has no female skills whatsoever doesn’t give me any ideas! I’ve no clue what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not an old prude.”
“I’m not even sure you’ve ever had sex, Dovian.” Lita placed a finger on her chin in thought.
“Dear God, why are you bringing this up now?” He looked horrified.
“Oh, wait, there was that one chick, right?”
Dovian covered Lita’s mouth. “Stop, right there. No more.”
Lita’s eyes creased as she smiled behind Dovian’s hand.
“This subject is off-limits for the remainder of the semester. And I don’t know what you’ve got stirring in that pot of yours, but it had better stop. Besides, if I were to ever…court anyone, it would never be one of my students.” Dovian gasped. “The mere idea of it is not only taboo but wicked. I mean, you are just children.”
Lita scoffed. “Um, I dunno the last time you checked, but I’ve got boobs now, Dovian. Pretty sure everyone in that class is old enough to make grown-up decisions.”
Dovian and Lita dodged a few students in the hall.
He leaned down, harshly whispering, “You will always be a child, Lita!”
She barked back, “And you will always be an old prude!”
As they entered the classroom, Lita opened her mouth to make one more comment.
“Enough!” Dovian boomed, scaring the students. She cringed at the sound of his voice and cowered to her desk.
I’Lanthe’s eyes widened as she looked toward Lita with a questioning look.
“See what I have to put up with? He’s such a terror.” She rolled her eyes.
“Good day to you all. Pleas
e ignore Lita; she's a monster today.” Dovian placed his bag on his desk. The room filled with laughter, smothering Lita’s protests.
“Today there will be no quizzes, but your speeches are due. Does everyone have theirs ready?” Dovian held his palm above a small tile embedded in the floor. With a pulse of blue light, the tile twisted and lifted from its place. A podium of light formed and quickly crystallized. Dovian eyed the class, amused by at his student’s anxious expressions. Some may scoff at those who were in the literature course, but it did take some nerve to stand before a group of people and give a speech based on personal emotions. It was quite entertaining to watch.
“Who would like to go first?” Dovian asked.
Martelle was the first to raise his hand. Dovian stepped to the side, holding his hand out toward the podium.
“May as well get it over with,” Martelle softly spoke.
Much to Dovian’s surprise, Martelle didn’t use his speech as a way to stab at the warriors. Instead, he was motivational and delved into Sorcēarian scripture. It would be of great use during his missionary work in the future. Martelle included his own dark thoughts as an example in his speech, which revealed some vulnerability and humbleness. Dovian was impressed. The boy was learning and slowly becoming more disciplined.
Once Martelle finished, the class continued one after another sharing their thoughts and feelings, each giving a life example to help prove their point to inflict the given emotion upon Dovian. Some were better than others, but none were exceptionally moving, especially Lita who insisted on shedding some tears and giving a few overdramatic sobs during her speech about loss and failure. Dovian might have been a bit more sympathetic for his cousin if it hadn’t been her fourth time taking his course and failing at creating a simple lizard. Still, he did notice a few students became teary-eyed themselves. Lita’s speech worked perfectly to those who had lizards of their own or had lost a family member in the recent war. It was effective in its own right, though a tad ridiculous.
“Thank you, Lita. That was as dramatic as I imagined it would be.” Dovian cleared his throat as he scribbled a few notes into his armband’s system.
“Why aren’t you crying?” Lita hissed as she wiped away her tears.
“Oh, believe me, dear…I’m crying on the inside,” he mumbled.