Darksteel

Chapter 18; Sleeping during lectures is strictly forbidden.

Classes were delayed that morning due to the previous night's events. Still, even if they hadn't been postponed, Asta was certain would have slept through most of Core Subjects anyway.

He had woken up rather late that morning and, seeing that Nico was still asleep and Adar was off doing whatever Adar did, he decided to take a walk before breakfast. Thus, dressing warmly against the autumn chill, Asta found a simple, red scarf in the back of the wardrobe and thought to borrow it. For despite the fact that it was not his own, it was very soft-- the fabric brushing gently against his skin, and smelling slightly of spices he could not name.

Either way, it was terribly warm and he intended to wear it for the rest of the day if he could.

Quietly stepping outside the dorm room, Asta tiptoed down the silent hallways, keeping his gaze fixated before him and nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Whipping around, he found himself face to face with Adar, who seemed to be trying his hardest not to laugh.

"Blimey," Asta swore, glaring at the prince, "You've got a knack for sneaking up on people."

"I can see that," Adar replied, his expression holding the same cocky arrogance it always did. However, something about his look was different this time; it was filled with a tension not often seen on the young man, and within a flicker of a moment, his grin disappeared, replaced by an almost intense look as he leaned in, hissing suddenly, "I have to talk to you."

"You're already talking to me." 

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"No more than usual, I suppose."

But Adar did not smile. "I saw you," he said, his voice no louder than a breath of autumn air as he went on, "Last night in the clearing with that Monster; you never fought it, Asta, you were talking to it."

"I don't know what you're getting at; I'm certain there are lots of people who talk to monsters."

"Yes, but usually it's to beg for mercy. You were talking to that creature as though it were a bloody house cat."

Asta shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were nothing, yet despite that, he felt a spark of pride flare in his chest.

 Was Adar impressed that he had tamed a Monster? He did not appear to BE inpressed, but perhaps that was simply the nature of his face.

 Either way, the Adar would not let Asta simply brush off the incident, and as the two stood alone in the hallway, the prince continued to ask questions about Asta's way with monsters that grew increasingly more difficult to answer by the moment.

Mostly because Asta himself hadn't the slightest idea of what the bloody heck was going on.

"Has this happened before?" Adar demanded then, his violet gaze narrowing to icy slits.

Asta cringed slightly, though he was not sure why, "Once or twice, yes."

"I don't want to see you do it again."

"I suppose you could always close your eyes."

"This isn't a joke, you twit," Adar snarled, "You cannot do this sort of thing any longer."

Apprehension clawed at Asta's heart; taming Monsters was one if the few things he was good at and here Adar was, trying to take that away from him. Who did he think he was? 

Crossing his arms over his chest, he replied stubbornly, "Why should I?"

"Because its not natural!" Adar glanced uneasily around the empty hallway, "Monsters were not meant to be tamed. They're dangerous."