Academia: The House of Lionheart

IV

This time, he had no choice but to be fast enough to catch her. Could he do it? He didn't know, but he put his entire being into it. His wings of white flames crystallized as he shot through the air. Emerging from the clouds, he saw her plummeting to the ground.

With no time to react, he gritted his teeth and pushed himself to fly faster than dragons, who were second to none. Finally, he was close — he screamed for Reign, but could his voice even reach her? He extended his arm, his fingers tapping her foot, but he pushed her away.

Suddenly, he felt the intangible limbs on his back vanish. He, too, lost his wings, and they were doomed to fall back to the mountain. At the very least, he should grab her — he reached for her again, and it was so close, but he couldn't touch her. Just one last push, please! he begged. His body tilted, drifting toward Reign, where he reached out one last time — closer — he just needed that one last inch — yes! He finally gripped her leg and brought her into his arms.

Was this the end for them? They were falling for so long that, at some point, it started to feel like they were floating mid-air. Roiru wished he could simply fall unconscious too — he didn't want to feel any pain. What would it be like when he hit the ground?

Wait, why was he giving up? He still had his affinity, an affinity for nature. What could he do to soften their impact? Even if he weren't to survive it, if Reign could, that's all that mattered. They don't both have to lose their lives having done something foolish.

If only Reign hadn't fallen unconscious, she could've used her portals to save them. Don't feel disheartened, he thought; he had to push forward. He manifested a thick vine, tied himself to Reign, and faced the ground — but he had nothing to worry about. Their master shot up from the mountain and caught them, slowing their descent to the ground.

They landed safely by the other Lionhearts, but when Reign woke up, they had a mouthful to hear from Zerakiel. There were a few things they must've forgotten — they may die when their spiritual energy reserves hit zero.

"So much for you two making out in the clouds," said Raiden, nudging Roiru's shoulder.

"What? It wasn't like that," Roiru shoved his shoulder back, but his cheeks went red at the thought of it.

"Huh? Then it wasn't worth it."

"What do you know?"

"You're blushing."

"Awe, has my brother fallen in love?" said Ren, jumping on Roiru's shoulder.

"We've already established this, ya know," said Raiden, then giving Roiru a noogie.

"Jee, stop it; it's not like she can't hear us," said Roiru, glancing back at her. She was talking with Serenity before they headed back to the common room. The legion had ships ready for their familiar voyages, so the Lionhearts had to be prepared to leave by dawn.

Roiru couldn't contain his excitement, but neither could his brother, so he wasn't alone. The House of Lionheart was the last to leave the academy, but it seemed worth the delay. From the top of the Grandmaster's Square, they saw all the second-year houses of the Legion of Raiders lined up in what stretched for at least a mile. Roiru looked in awe — it was insane how the academy could gather so many people in one place. They had to descend at least eighty feet worth of stairs before they could join their ranks.

"How many cadets are here?" said Ren.

"More than you can count alone. I'd say there are around four thousand," said Zerakiel, leading them down to meet the Lichts and the Yumadovs. The Lichts were a rather pleasant house to shake hands with. Meanwhile, the Yumadovs obviously weren't so. They'd squeeze, roll, and twists their hands as they met, especially when it came to Scratt and Kerviel.