A few months had passed since Theo began living in Arcadia. Word about the bizarre fight spread throughout the whole school like wild fire, and Theo learned the hard way that covering it up with 'It was the tea!' did not quite convince everyone to not look further into the matter.

Nobody mentioned it in the present though, but Theo could still feel them talking about it behind his back, despite it occurring long ago. He could sense the fear from them whenever he passed them by. They made it obvious for him for him too. Whenever he caught sight of them, they steered clear away from him as much as possible.

On the bright side, humans hadn't bothered him since the bathroom incident and the monocle, which he was sure was cracked from all the punches, was still intact. Sure, the humans gave him disapproving looks and a cold shoulder from every now and then, but they never done anything further than that. So overall, Theo had been happy with a few people for company.

That was, until then.

It happened in such a short period, neither Theo nor Hugo had the time to react. They were in their cabin, studying the Orders of magic for the upcoming exam, when a spherical object flung through their open window without warning whatsoever.

Distracted by the sudden appearance of the tiny widget, they gave each other questioning glances before dismissing their work to analyze the anonymous object.

Theo, being the curios of the two, was the first to pick it up. He was taken aback by how heavy it was as it weighed on his palm. A tiny ball should not weigh a ton, even in a place where physics doesn't apply. As he studied it, he noted that it looked like any other normal silver sphere ball, with the exception of strange yellow highlights decorated on it.

Hugo was about to examine the strange object too, when all of a sudden said object flashed a bright yellow light and exploded, letting off streams of smoke in all directions.

"You klanking, dangfering, dead beating humans!" Hugo war cried, his voice echoing around the room.

Theo heard the elf cough and muttering swears while slamming onto things that made things clatter. The blonde lad couldn't see him though. Even if he wanted to, his eyes watered whenever he opened them. Knowing that his eyes were out of commission, he relied on his hearing ability to become his sight.

He felt betrayed when he heard something akin to a door being burst open and footsteps dashing out. Judging from distant yelling where it sounded like it came from outside, he was positive that Hugo had just abandoned him to knock some humans out cold, the typical friend he was.

Regardless, Theo coughed his way through the room, his mind rushing with everything he was going to do with the culprit once he get out of the fuming cabin too. Holding his sleeve over his mouth, he waved his hand back and forth through the thick fog in an attempt to clear it up to see better. He stumbled, fell into a wall and began to feel his way to the door by memory.

He managed to find the doorway, only to fall through it and land onto the sharp gravel at the foot of the stairs. The blonde lad groaned in surprise, seeing stars dancing around. He would have sworn one of them was even wearing black shades and started doing an odd dance. It had an uncanny resemblance to someone riding a horse.

When the painful sensation passed, he continued to hack his lungs out before flipping himself over to face the cloudless blue sky above.

"Theo!" A familiar voice yelled. Theo blinked the tears out of his eyes as he heard distant footsteps getting louder, rushing towards him. Soon, Xellos's face came to view. About three seconds later, another face joined in too. Her face was a bit of a blur but Theo managed to recognize her as Breanne, Hugo's Lillin cousin.

Before he could protest, both Breanne and Xellos grabbed Theo his shoulders and lifted him to his feet, causing him to sway and almost black out right then. He was certain it was due to his fall than from inhalation from the smoke. After wheezing a bit more and feeling like he wasn't going to pass out any time soon, he took in his surroundings.

Theo gawked at the cabin in outrage to find that it looked worse from the outside than it was from the inside. The cabin looked like it had somehow captured a large malevolent yellow cloud. Parts of the cloud were escaping through the windows and the chimney but most of it remained in the cabin, causing it to bulge out by a good inch.

About a heartbeat later, Theo almost jumped out of his skin when the roof caved in and the windows shattered. Even some of the wood from the walls snapped but it managed to stand upright through it all. The yellow cloud was now escaping the cabin by a larger portion, but the cabin itself looked like someone had thrown a nuclear bomb inside.

If it wasn't his and Hugo's cabin, it would have even looked amusing to Theo. Since it was their cabin though, Theo felt every strand of patience snap inside of him. Furious, he turned around, eyes wild as he scanned around the swarm of people to find the culprit so he could head-butt whoever they were.

A couple of students stood in a nervous semi-circle while some of them stopped to watch the excitement. In the middle of the gathering students, three all too familiar looking humans were sitting, back to back with flower vines curled around their wrists and ankles, binding them to the ground. A few feet away, Hugo was glaring at the boys, tightening the vines with a flick of his hand every few moments.

In living in the same cabin as the elf, Theo came to know that Hugo was a very energetic guy, so energetic, Theo often found himself being very mindful in what he said. Otherwise, he was just asking to get his eyebrows singed out of his forehead. There was even an accidental burnt mark on the cabin wall as a reminder.

Regardless, Theo knew Hugo was terrifying when he was angry but right then, he looked like he could commit murder and would not even regret it for the rest of his life.  Right then,Theo's anger seemed like a kitten hissing a meow compared to Hugo's, which was like a dragon ready to shoot red-hot fire to insects known as mortals.

"How are you feeling, Theo?" Breanne asked, shooting him a concerned look.

"You okay?" Xellos asked soon after. "You were in there for a while."

Theo didn't know how to answer them. First of all his throat felt like he had swallowed a thousand of cold needles. There was a sharp pain floating around his head and he had a somewhat difficult time breathing. His lungs felt like it had tiny holes in them and it burned like he had drank boiling hot water. A small part of him was tired, but he supposed that it was due to the shock from the odd flash bomb.

Theo couldn't help but chortle when he remembered the first time he was ambushed by a smoke bomb, back in that questionable carnival. It felt like it had happened years ago. However, it was from that day forward that his life had turned a hundred and eighty degrees turn. Whether it was for better or for worse, Theo still didn't know.

His two friends continued to look at him as if he declared he got cancer. Once Theo felt that he deemed fit enough, the blonde lad grinned at the two, worrywarts as they are, just to irritate them. This caused Breanne to give a light scowl at him while the corners of Xellos's lips tipped up.

"I'm fine, perfectly fine." Theo answered, except, it didn't came out that way. Instead, it came out in a scramble of vowels, accents and weird sounds sat odd and even angles. Both Xellos and Breanne stared at him with wide eyes. Even Hugo, who was dealing with the humans, looked up at him with mystification, his rage forgotten.

"I am fine." Theo tried again, this time louder. However, the words were garbled, but sounded fluent at the same time. A second later, the bound up humans burst out laughing.

"It worked!" One of them yelled through his laughter, throwing his head back as he cackled. The other gave Theo a wide, delighted look. Distance cheers from another cabin- he suspected as the human cabin- were heard, making him feel uneasy.

"What worked?" Theo asked, the words coming out smooth but in a language not his own. The humans continued with their symphony of laughter, watching Theo with such glee, the blonde lad glared at them and started cursing at them with words that no one else seemed to understand. He succeeded only in earning a more concerned look from his friends and more bewilderment from the semi-circle of audience around him.

"We're going to see Oracle." Hugo announced, grabbing Theo by the shoulder and steering him in the direction of the Arcadia High.

*****

"A simple curse." Oracle concluded, nodding his box head after a few mere minutes of examining. "A little too advanced for humans. I might have to check on them soon."

Theo swore, a stream of foreign words falling out of his mouth, tumbling over each other. Beside him, Hugo groaned and started muttering something about killing humans later under his breath.

"Don't worry." The Oracle said, his voice sounding playful. "At least you didn't get Shadow Kissed. That would have been nasty to fix up."

"Shadow Kissed?" Theo asked, his words foreign and laced with a heavy accent. When the Oracle froze, Theo bit down to his tongue, trying to stop sounding so odd even though it didn't help. The box headed man stared at him for a while, or what Theo thought he was staring at him, before perking up as he if understood what Theo just said.

"Shadow Kissed is when you lose your shadow." Oracle explained, pointing at the shadows beneath their feet. "Believe it or not, you can lose your shadow. There are many outcomes from losing them. You can become a Phantom, or the Shadow, or lose your mind or the worst case scenario, erase yourself from existence."

Theo shuddered at the last bit.

"No matter!" Oracle piped up, as if trying to change the subject. "A little bit of Mountain Echo Grass should fix you right up."

Theo gave Oracle a puzzled look. Ever since he was accepted as a student in Arcadia, he had been studying herbs and plants. They were interesting to say the least, all of them having their odd benefits and weird side effects. Mountain Echo Grass was a name he had never heard before as of yet.

"Mountain Echo Grass." Oracle repeated, as if he sensing Theo's astonishment. "It's a plant that can be grown only from a mountain a thousand of miles away from here. Just one bite out of that you will overcome this... language barrier. Unfortunately, we don't have them at the moment."

"Eeeh?" Theo cried out, his eyes widened in shock.

"Wait!" Hugo cried out as well. "So we can't cure, Theo?"

"No you klanks." Flint, who had been quiet the whole time, snarled. "It just mean we ain't got any now, elf."

Hugo sent him a withering look while Theo shrank in his seat. Ever since his first encounter with Flint, he had made an extra effort to prevent himself from crossing paths with Flint. Observing the man from afar, Flint was always angry, chewing his cigarettes and barking out punishments for ridiculous reasons. He swore a lot too and Theo was sure that he would win a Guinness World Record for the number of curses in less than a minute.

Most of the words were unfamiliar to Theo, but it was easy to guess they were not asking people what time it was.

Then there were moments when he had that occasional aura, the overwhelming pressure of someone bearing the sin of killing many people. Or at least, that was the impression Theo was getting. However, he was too frightened to ask anyone whether Flint was a good person or not.

"Flint, please go fetch some of those Mountain Echo Grass." Oracle said, nodding his head to the other man's way. "I know they are not easy to find, but we need your assistance in this."

Flint didn't say anything than clicking his tongue in annoyance. He sent Theo and Hugo a sharp, disgusted look, something the two got used to receiving from him, before the dark haired man disappeared out the door.

"How long would Theo be like... that?" Hugo asked once the two of them were sure Flint was out of earshot.

Theo gave the elf a dry look to which Hugo shrugged in return, as if to say 'what else was I supposed to say?' to him. Even so, when the Oracle started tapping his fingers on the front surface of his box head, humming an unfamiliar song, Theo dreaded for the answer.

"That plant is valuable and difficult to find." Oracle said, nodding to no one in particular. "I would say about a few days, give or take a few weeks."

"A few weeks!" Theo squeaked, disbelief creeping in his voice. "Can't you fix this curse in a few hours? How am I supposed to talk to anyone? Go to classes? Chant spells?"

"Dude." Hugo sighed, shaking his head. "I have no idea, what the klank you are saying."

Theo turned to the Oracle for help. He hoped that at least this man, lacking in some areas to be called as a dependable adult, understood him.

"I fear it had been many years since I have practiced this particular language." The Oracle said with a tone so sad, Theo almost considered him being genuine if it were not for the box for his head, preventing the blonde lad from doing so.

Even so, Theo threw his hands to the air in frustration. He continued to babble on, his tone getting higher and more pitched. Not that Theo would ever admit it, but it was kind of cool to hear his own voice bend around the elegant words. Nevertheless, Theo was in a dilemma he could not get out of and it was in dire need for a solution.

"Rest assured," The Oracle said, letting out a low chuckle. "By the sound of your creative words, I am sure there is a student here in Arcadia who is fluent in that language. I will arrange that child to be accompany you till we clean this little mess up."

Theo huffed, unsatisfied with the outcome but let it be. Although, had wanted to ask the Oracle about the carnival and the boy with multi-coloured eyes for months. He never had the chance to bring it up since the man was so busy, he couldn't spare any time for others.

However, now that he was in the office, Theo could not help but fume in rage to find that he was still incapable of asking those questions. All because their spoken language didn't match. He knew that he could ask through writing, but Oracle, as undependable as he was, was still a busy man.

Moreover, Theo preferred talking it over than writing it down. There was no use moping over it though. He would just have to teach those humans another lesson. This time, he was not going to show any mercy.

"Anyway," Oracle spoke, pulling Theo out of his thoughts. "Until Flint comes back with the plant, you are dismissed. I have already sent out a couple of workers to fix the cabin up and it should be done by teatime. Don't worry about those humans, I will make sure they won't go unpunished."

Theo grumbled but knew better than to argue. He stood, shoulders sagged and made his way toward the door, ready to pulverise the humans by his own means.

"Not you, Hugo Rhavoilini." The Oracle spoke up, making Theo freeze and turn to his elf friend who also went stiff. Concerned for his friend's wellbeing, he ran through of all the possible things Hugo could have gotten himself in trouble to in his mind.

Other than his anger issues for the past few months, he came up with none.

"Relax, child." Oracle said, chuckling as he did so. "I am merely going to discuss about Hugo's Meister."

"Meister?" Theo asked, ignoring how odd his voice sounded. At the same time, the blonde lad heard Hugo saying something too. He turned and gave a questioning glance at the elf. Hugo reflected the same expression back.

"Ask about Meister or Melita, did you?" Hugo asked, eyes narrowing in clarification.

"Meister." Theo answered before frowning. "Melita?"

"Meister is what you are to Psyche." Hugo answered, nonchalant. "Like a Scabbard is she to you. Scabbard, I am too. My Meister, Melita is."

At the last two sentence, Theo's eyes almost bulged out of its sockets.

"You are a Scabbard?" The blonde lad cried, earning a puzzled look from the elf and silence from Oracle. The man might be looking astonished too, but Theo couldn't tell either way.

Theo realised then that he should have known long ago, why Hugo didn't seem to have anyone following around him like a bodyguard. It was because he was a Scabbard himself. He did notice that the elf was strong, a bit too strong for someone his age. He fought in a way with such surgical precision that Theo would have called him a monster if not for the fact that everyone else in the school already did so.

That, and the mystery of why Hugo always covered himself from head to toe. He never seen him ever wearing a T-shirt or not wearing his beanie hat. It always piqued his interest, but he never asked lest it would strike one of the many Hugo's nerves.

"Theo?" Hugo's voice cut through his thoughts and Theo looked up to find the elf staring at him. Theo opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and grinned. He waved the two a quick goodbye as he stepped out of the office, and walked away. Once he was out of earshot, he groaned in irritation.

A few days with a language barrier was not going to be as easy, but Theo knew that complaining was not going to fix it in any way. With another sigh escaped out of his lips, he stepped outside and almost did a double take when he saw who sat at the front door steps of Arcadia High.

"What's wrong with you?" Theo asked, forgetting that he was damned to speak in another language.

Three humans looked up and shot him equal looks of disdain, confusion, and annoyance before ignoring him. Theo was tempted to bunk their heads with whatever object he could find for disregarding him, but curiosity about the three won over. He stayed back, observing them to find out what mischief they were up to.

One of the three, the one with red fur, held his clawed hand over the grass outside. For a moment, nothing happened and Theo stared at him with a sceptical expression. That was when blades of vines stretched out and curled around his little finger, pulling him down with more force than Theo would have expected. He then remembered what the Oracle had assured him, that he would not let the humans go unpunished.

This caused him to laugh aloud, thankful that at least actions couldn't get lost in translation. He couldn't wait to hear of whatever punishment Oracle had in store for them.

The tallest one of the humans rolled his eyes. The red furred human, too distracted on the task of freeing his little finger, didn't even notice Theo walking away. The blonde lad kicked off the grass and smiled at the three watching him in envy as no grass attacked his ankles.

After walking away with his head held high though, the realization that he still had no way to communicate with others dawned on him again. It dampened his mood within seconds.

Not being able to talk sucked and Theo was tempted to go back and create more chaos to those humans for payback. However, he kept walking forward, not wanting to stoop to their level. There was no use in trying when they were going to face the consequences anyway.

The blonde lad wandered, having no particular place in mind. Little by little, he could feel his mood getting lighter, but he still felt sour and annoyed, which was saying something since he was most often a calm and composed person. That seemed to have flied out the window when he accepted magic though. The very thought made him start to miss his ordinary life.

Even though it was boring, it was not devoid of joy. Back there, he had some fraction of control in his life. He had his mom to support him even if his father couldn't. Even if he had no friends, he followed a routine that was systematic and dependable.

In Arcadia, he had none of that.

Sure, he had a few friends, but he lacked control. It made him feel uneasy for someone who was used to keep things in reason and order. He supposed that having control in his life was the price he had to pay the instant he believed in magic again, but he knew he would just have to make do. He would just have to hope that he won't regret his decisions later in life.

As he started to hum a song, Theo felt his jeans pocket warm up, sending tingling sensation through his body. Frowning, he fished his fingers in his pocket and pulled out the little bell that Psyche had gave him on their first encounter. It laid on his palm, unmoving and innocent while continuing to give out warmth in pulses.

"Psyche..." Theo whispered, his eyebrows furrowing together in melancholy and betrayal.

Psyche was still a girl riddled with mystery. The last time Theo saw her was about a month ago. He knew that Psyche had a double job of dealing with Shadows in the forest, but meeting her was so rare, Theo often wondered if she was even real.

On the days when they happened to pass each other, she would respond about half the time what he asked her in private. She never spoke in public, not even when Theo was with Hugo. She never talked any more than that either, and never started a conversation herself. Hugo had told her months ago that she was welcomed to their cabin, but she never really did return.

Last but not least, she was his Scabbard yet she never came when he was attacked in the bathroom. Theo knew that she was a girl and he should be more concerned that there is a girl risking her life to be his bodyguard. He knew Psyche had other responsibilities too. Yet he can't felt like she had thrown him away like tissue paper.

Granted that Theo perhaps didn't mark anything in Psyche's life, she somehow warmed her way into his. He couldn't help but be infatuated with her. The girl did a great job playing the mysterious and dangerous card well and what was best was that she wasn't even trying to show off.

Yet, Theo couldn't help but think that she could at least hang around or be present when Theo was in danger. Even earlier that day, she could have been there when both Hugo and Theo had been ambushed by the smoke bomb, doing her job as his Scabbard.

"You said you were going to be there when I needed you." Theo spoke in a glume tone. "Where were you when I was beaten up by humans and today?"

"Well you didn't call for me." A voice spoke up out of the blue.

Authors note: I am so sorry for not updating earlier. I have a lot of excuses. School is merciless, health problems and existential crisis. I only managed to get free time only now "^^ I couldn't get my friend to beta read its since we don't go to the same school so I am not completely okay with this chapter yet, but I will fix that later. Anyway if you see any mistakes please notify!

Oh and don't forget to vote!