Lexa's Proposal

"Little An, what's wrong!" Alexander cried out in alarm, kneeling down to her side immediately and inspecting her.

"Its all Andria's fault!! T-they were... They were after ME!... It hurts so much Daddy!!" She cried, her little head whipping back and forth as her body shook with her boiling emotions. "Mummy won't love Andria no more, Mummy loved Andria's hair and now its ruined. Daddy's hurt because of Andria too! It hurts, it hurts!"

Lexa just stood there in shock for several seconds, not having expected such an explosion of emotions. Yeah, she had been crying and frantic when they were waiting for Alexander, but it was nowhere near the level she was displaying before her now. It would seem she had been to hasty... No, she had been too ignorant.

"Little An, don't say such sad words. Mummy and Daddy's could and would never fall out of love with you. You're in our hearts always, right next to your brother's and sister's!" Alexander responded quickly, both his hands coming up to cup her tear-stained face and turning her eyes up so she could look directly into his eyes so that she could see the determination and truthfulness of his words. "And whose hurt, I'm as fit as a fiddle, see, see!"

Alexander waved one of his hands around in an exaggerated fashion as he sported a bright and comforting smile.

"But Lexa also got hurt because of me!" Andria refuted immediately, pointing to the little kitten who could still be seen with several cuts and bruises, though mostly healed.

"They're marks of pride." Lexa quipped before jumping with sleek movement, landing impossibly softly on Andria's little shoulder and curling her neck and body to face into Andria's quivering violet eyes as she spoke further. "Andria, didn't you want to be a powerful Magician? Well, then that will mean the two of us will experience several more events just like this in the future where our very lives are on the line. And not just us, our family and friends too. As cruel as this may sound, crying and grieving about every grievance will lead you nowhere..."

Andria's neck retreated like a turtle as an upset but thoughtful look took over her as she took in her newly acquired partner's words, which while blunt, were heartfelt and surprisingly comforting. As if looking for extra reassurance, she then turned her eyes to Alexander who gave her a sweet smile and a conforming nod.

"Your partner is right, honey... What you need to do now, is store away this experience for the future and not to dwell on the unchangeable. And don't you worry about your hair, it can always grow back. Plus, you look great, long hair or short hair!" Alexander ruffled her hair and gave her a confident smile before turning towards his men to issue out orders. "Men, clean up the bodies and investigate the area. Five of you will join me back to the camp. We better get back before our men and the people from Hawk Academy grow restless."

"Yes, sir!" The Wilderwolf Soldier's responded promptly and quickly got to work on their assigned mission's.

"Great?..." Andria whispered beneath her breath, only to be heard by herself as her chaotic thoughts suddenly calmed. Only Lexa on her shoulders noticed her emotions seemingly calming from her previously frantic state, causing a pleased gleam to shine in her eyes. This was a good first step.

★★★

When their party returned tot the camp, morning was already in full swing and the relieved sigh of several people rang out in relief from the people who had been left behind as they saw that everyone had returned with no fatalities. Some of the students were especially worked up through the last night; as one could expect when they had been in danger of attack two times in such a short time frame. Thankfully, the teachers job was made easier by the presence of Sandra, Seph and Jared, who calmly reassured the other students the whole time. These three students were look up at by all of these students, and seeing them in such a calm state of mind really helped to placate their growing worries. And finally, with everyone having returned without casualty and the news that the enemy had been defeated, things finally calmed to a normal level in the camp.

The only anomaly, was that the usually cheerful and quirky Andria was being eerily silent, her gaze looking distant and unfocused, only her hands moving as she slowly petted Lexa in her hands.

"Oh, the cat grew." Jared tilted his head inquisitively.

"That's what you notice?!" Sandra gave Jared a credulous look.

Seph also shook his head helplessly. "She's only four years old, its a wonder she isn't a crying mess right now... That's gotta count for something."

"I don't know. Her current state might be worse..." Sandra sighed sadly. It was truly a difficult situation.

Clenching her fists, Sandra puffed up her cheeks and let out a preparatory breath before walking over to Andria's side. Lexa's head in Andria's hands lifted and looked at her as she walked over.

"Andria, are you okay?" Sandra asked, mentally slapping herself afterwards. Of course she's not okay! 'Ah, I've never been good at this sort of stuff!'

Andria gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, creating an awkward atmosphere as she answered. "Yeah, Andria's fine..."

"..." Sandra wanted to speak but couldn't find the right words.

"Liar." A chilly voice landed like a thud, seconds later revealed to belong to Seph, who had also walked over by their side with Jared at his side.

"Hey, that's too blunt Seph!" Jared reprimanded.

"Jared's right, apologise." Sandra wasn't impressed either. How could he say that to a four year old.

"..." Seph was silent as he gaze into Andria's turbid eyes, her violet pupils looking a colder shade than its usually bright and captivating self.

Surprisingly it was the cat in Andria's hand that spoke up next, her words surprising everyone. "He doesn't need to apologise, he's right."

Along with her words, Lexa stood up from her lying position and leapt over to Seph, landing softly on his shoulders, where she rested her front paws on the boys head. Seph seemed rather unresponsive to the awkward pose, leaving her be.

"Andria, holding everything in is going to lead you nowhere..." Lexa spoke in a harsh tone. Only to find that her words seemed to have little effect to the girl opposite herself, who simply pursed her lips and stared silently at her. Finally, an idea popped into Lexa's mind and a second later, she straightened up her posture as she spoke seriously and loftily. "If your just going to mope all day... Then maybe I should just be Seph's Tamed Beast instead! An Early Stage Foundation Rank Magician at the young age of 8! He'd be the perfect companion!"

Finally, Andria's silence and frozen expression changed as a shocked look overtook her, her eyes widening and her little mouth dropping.

Despite her extremely hurt reaction, Lexa felt internally happy. She'd finally reached through to her...