Summoner

Chapter 11

Layla was on her way to the library when Cecil approached her. "Will you help me study? I failed Ms. Botnic's test and she's making us retake it," Cecil said to her. Her and Ash were starting on making salves to help Ash with the hands on test they had in a few days. Ash came up behind them, "What's up Cecil?" "I'm asking Layla to help me study for Ms. Botnic's class. I failed her last test and she's making us retake it," Cecil said to him. Ash and Layla shared a brief look. Ash then gestured with his head, "Come on." Cecil looked confused as he and Layla began walking towards the library together. 

They went in and passed a table of girls whispering about the demon. "Apparently the demon was out looking to eat the contestants, drawn by all the magic they were using," one girl whispered. "That's so not what happened," her friend whispered back. "I heard the demon was summoned by someone who was mad they lost." 

Layla and Ash rolled their eyes at the pathetic rumors that were circulating around about what had happened. It had the chance to finish them all off, but it didn't . They were out of it's way and that's all it cared about as it began tearing up the arena to search for whatever it thought was beneath it. 

They went to their usual spot. "Hey, I did leave my notes," Layla said as she picked them up from the table. "You always forget something," Ash said. "I do not," Layla said as she sat down. "You're constantly leaving behind your pencils," Ash pointed out. She scoffed, "Whatever." 

"How long have you two been studying together," Cecil asked them. "Too damn long," Ash muttered. "Did you get your scores back from your Ariel Beasts test?" Layla nodded and took the test out of her bag. He took it and looked it over as Cecil got out the test he failed. 

"How did you score on your essay," Layla asked Ash. "I got a B," Ash said as he passed it to her without taking his eyes off her test. She looked it over. Cecil was amazed at the civil manner they spoke, not even making rude comments on the other not being smart in something. He was expecting them to brag to one another that they were better than the other, but they didn't. 

"What," Ash said when he noticed Cecil was staring. "Nothing," Cecil said quickly before pulling out his notes. Ash went back to looking over the test. 

"You still get the names for feathered and skin wings mixed up," Ash noted. "Zontoxia and Lontoxia are only different by one letter," she muttered. "That's because Toxia means wing, while Zon means skin, and Lon means feathers," Ash explained. "Many words regarding the scientific language around animals is much of the same, because the scientific language was once the original language." 

"Yeah well, I speak the modern language," she said with a sigh. "Think of it like the Limin flower and the Stimin flower," he said to her. "The Limin is like Lontoxias. Limin flowers have a soft fuzz that grows on the flower, allowing it to live in the colder environments just like those with Lontoxias can. It's why griffins can live on the peaks of mountains, while dragons can only live as high as half way up a mountain." Him comparing it to plants allowed her try and remember it better. 

She nodded as she wrote the note down. "You got a B because in your ending you put that the hilta is used for poisons when they're meant for antidotes," she said to him. "Damn, again," he asked as he looked at it and saw where she circled his mistake. "Other than that you were spot on," she said. "Wait, you got a B for getting one thing wrong," Cecil asked, eyes wide. 

"The higher level your class in, the harsher she grades," Ash explained to him. "That's a little insane," Cecil said. Layla shook her head, "Not really. In year four, she has us refer to our research essays to help us make many of the salves and tonics we make in class. One wrong thing in your essay could mean life or death if you use the wrong ingredient. It's why we have to research as much as possible when writing our essays." "She is harsh on us, even in year one because many of us could possibly one day need to make one of these, and she wants to drill it into our heads, so when we graduate she's confident we'll be set for afterward," Ash explained to him. He nodded slowly, seeing their points. 

Layla then got out the ingredients for the salve she was testing Ash on how to make. He got to work while she helped Cecil. 

Afterwards they cleaned up and were getting ready to leave. "Do Terro and Maxis know you two have been studying so much," Cecil asked. "No," Ash said. "Didn't really want to deal with their shit. However, if they need the help, like you did, I'm not gonna stop them from studying with us because I would rather you guys get the help you need and deal with them, than have them fail." 

Cecil understood his point and nodded. "I'm gonna go, I have to check on Strayia and see if she's able to eat all of her dinner yet," Layla said while slinging her bag on. Since Strayia went too long without food, her body doesn't let her eat as she should, but slowly she's able to eat more and more. Once it's clear her strength is restored, they'll start working on wing excercises to strengthen her unused muscles to be able to support her weight for when she learns to fly.

Strayia looked up at Layla from where she laid in a relaxed manner. It was better than the tense posture she had her first couple of nights in her compartment. Layla saw that tonight she had eaten half her dinner. "Great job Strayia," Layla said while running her hand over her snout.

She spent some time with Strayia before going to see Hellucio. When it was nearing curfew she went back to the dorm for the night.