CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE. Bullbirds and Ribbons.

The students scattered every-which-way, every student doing what they could to stay out of the creature's line of sight.

Instinctively, Jaden let his beast take over for a few seconds.

He leaped back powerfully, digging his claws into the earth to stop himself from sliding further back, quickly moving out of the bird's way.

Raynod staggered backwards right after him. His eyes wide with fear.

Jaden glared at the Ordi-gregor. What did he think he was doing?

"Do you mind?!" 

If they stayed together, they would only get in each other's way. They needed to get a ribbon on their own.

Luckily, the bird wasn't heading in their direction. Yet.

It had its sight on the two other boys that had attended the class. Both were currently desperately trying to scramble out of the way.

From the corner of his eyes, Jaden spotted the bulky looking teenager dash into the fray, heading straight for the bullbird from the side, without a single hint of hesitation.

"What does Ervic think he's doing?" Raynod cried.

Jaden gave no answer, carefully watching every movement the student made.

The bull bird had its attention on the other two boys, so it failed to notice the broad-shouldered teenager until the last moment.

Mere feet away from the creature, Ervic leaped, propelling himself faster and higher than his human form was supposed to take him. 

"He's using controlled shifting," Jaden said, speaking his thoughts out loud, slightly impressed.

Controlled shifting posed a challenging feat to achieve for any Gregor. Especially at this age. It demanded a lot of practice, and a strong will in order to hold the fragile balance between beast and human.

Yet, mastering it had an advantage. Being able to morph partially boosted one's physical abilities way above human expectations. 

Ervic wasn't just using this ability well, he was using it better than anyone else Jaden knew. 

Alas, it wasn't enough. 

The bullbird had noticed Ervic just then and, with an insane amount of speed, rammed its skull against the broad-shouldered teenager with a roar, sending him flying back several feet.

"Oooh, that has got to hurt," Raynod remarked with a wince.

Jaden grimaced inwardly, trying his best not to imagine just how painful that hit had been for Ervic.

Luckily, due to the fact that Ervic used controlled shifting, Jaden knew a hit like that couldn't possibly harm him too much. 

The broad-shouldered teenager was already getting to his feet.

Dean clucked his tongue, shaking his head in what the Cursed One percieved to be utter disappointment.

"Better luck next time, kid."

He directed his attention back to the rest of them. 

"Better get a move on, your time's almost up."

He had barely finished his words when someone, or something, let out a loud bellow from behind Jaden.

He looked back to see the spiky-haired, lanky teenager from earlier. 

His hands were cupped over his mouth as he made the almost inhuman call once again.

This seemed to rile up Govi even more than before, as it replied with a louder, almost deafening, roar, raking one hoofed foot against the damp earth before charging at the student.

Jaden's heart crashed against the inner walls of his ribs with each beat as he watched the massive bird close the distance in less than a second, hurtling toward the boy, flapping its pathetic wings and huffing with each hoof fall.

"That thing's gonna flatten him!!" Raynod exclaimed. Everyone was following the beast's progress.

Just when it seemed like Raynod's words would come true, the boy simply raised a hand.

The bird immediately drew itself into a grinding halt, sending earth and grass into the air. The tips of its spiralled horns were barely inches away from the spiky haired kid, but this didn't seem to bother him one bit. 

He still had that lop-sided smile plastered on his face. Now it had grown into a toothy grin.

The bullbird seemed mesmerised. It huffed and bellowed but did absolutely nothing to hurt the teenager. Even staying still enough for the boy to actually reach up and gently pat its damp muzzle.

"FIG! That's against the rules!" Ervic was the one who yelled these words, standing on his two feet like nothing had happened to him earlier. 

He was glaring at the lanky teenager, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"You're not supposed to use any talent!" He cried again.

It was then that understanding dawned on Jaden. 

The spiky haired student named Fig was a beast speaker.

A very rear talent that allowed the owner to speak to beasts of lesser intelligence and an extremely useful one at that, as it was the only talent known to the Gregors that never attracted dangerous Magicals when used in an environment like this, nor did it frighten the Non-magical creatures away.

"If I were you, kid," Dean spoke up, picking at his finger nails. "I'd have concentrated more on getting my own ribbon."

Ervic glared at the teacher but didn't say another word.

Jaden could understand why Dean wasn't going to do anything about this. In a place like this, having someone like Fig around would be a great advantage.

Fig, meanwhile, payed Ervic no attention. 

Instead, he spoke softly to the creature.

"Hey there buddy, having a bad day?" 

Govi huffed in what Jaden assumed was a response.

"You don't mind if I take this, do you?" Fig asked, gingerly reaching up to snag a ribbon hanging low over one of the massive spiralled horns.

The creature let out a soft groan, but still stayed perfectly still, till Fig had taken his own ribbon.

He stroked Govi's head once again before letting him go and stepping back slowly.

The lanky teenager gestured to the rest of the students then, his smile growing still wider.

"They're all yours."

The creature turned on its heels then, settling its fierce yellow eyes on them.

Beating its wings, Govi belted out a roar. The earth shook violently under its feet as it descended on the rest of the students once again.