Chapter 40: Nothing Sentimental.
"Alright, seems like that was her limit for today. We can try again another day, if that’ll be alright with you."
Elian gave her a quiet nod, his eyes still fixed onto the small cave the dragon had disappeared into. Then they turned to leave.
The professor closed the gate as they left, gesturing for Elian to stand apart from the group.
"Alright next!"
Milena, who was now at the front of the line, stepped forward.
"Name and course?"
"Milena Belyanova, Scholar Studies."
"Alright Milena," Miss Talia said, clapping her hands together. "Stand there and follow what I said, don’t project, don’t perform, just stand there and let whatever comes to you decide on its own."
Fenn gestured toward the open yard, still visibly still recovering from whatever had just happened with the old dragon.
"You’ll probably get something a lot less dramatic than what he just went through." She inhaled a long breath. "That’s usually a good thing, usually, for the record."
Milena walked out with her usual rigid poise, spine straight, arms loose at her sides, and stood perfectly still in the center of the yard. Different from Elian, but still a posture that gave away no weaknesses.
Miss Talia sent out the familiar pulse of mana.
For a moment, exactly like it did with Elian, nothing happened.
Then, from somewhere near the base of the fence line, a patch of shadow that had been sitting motionless in the grass began to move.
It was not the larger snake that Elian noticed before, but a smaller, younger looking one.
It uncoiled slowly, sleek and black, scales catching the light in faint threads of deep violet as it slithered out into the open—not large, obviously nothing like the dragon. IT was barely the length of Elian’s arm, moving with an eager, wriggling energy that seemed entirely at odds with everything Elian had learned about Milena in the last two days.
It shot straight toward her, coiling up around her boot before she’d even fully registered it was there, head lifting to peer up at her with a pair of bright yellow, curious eyes.
"Oh,"
Milena said, her composure cracking for one genuine, startled second.
"That’s... a snake."
"That’s a baby bloodfang."
Fenn said, sounding faintly delighted despite herself.
"They’re a rare species of magical serpents that bonds with humans. Though they usually go for quieter, more withdrawn casters, mostly reclusive types, typically. Bit surprising, given you’re the most composed student I’ve met in a long while, even with a snake in your boot."
The snake, apparently unbothered by any of this analysis, continued winding its way up Milena to her arm with obvious enthusiasm, tongue flicking at her jaw, practically vibrating with what could only be described as delight by Elian.
"It’s very..."
Milena searched for the word, holding perfectly still like she wasn’t sure whether touching it back was allowed.
"Affectionate."
"That’s one word for it." Fenn crossed her arms, watching with clear amusement.
"Bloodfangs bond for life, once they pick someone, it’s decided. Congratulations, apparently, you’ve made a new friend."
The snake let out a small, chirping hiss, curling itself contentedly around Milena’s shoulders like it had been waiting its entire life for exactly this moment, and for the first time since Elian had met her, Milena looked entirely, thoroughly at a loss for what to do with her own face.
She opened her mouth, looked at the professor, turned to the snake, then looked back at the professor.
"I get to keep it now?"
Miss Thalia shrugged, "He’ll be really sad if you don’t."
Milena blinked, entirely taken aback by the humorless reply.
A long moment of silence.
Then she let out a long exhale,
"So I have a snake now,"
Miss Thalia nodded with genuine enthusiasm, already moving on to the next person.
Milena walked out of the open yard to stand next to Elian, snake still still in shoulder, It’s head turning as it looked around the world with the curiosity that of a newborn child.
"Congratulations on the new pet." Elian said, studying the snake more closely.
Milena shot him a glance, more embarrassed than anything he’d ever seen from her.
"You can have him if you want."
A pause.
"You should be glad he doesn’t understand human language." Elian said mocking a hurt tone, already cursing the influence Bellamy and Darrow was having on him.
Milena raised an unimpressed eyebrow, the snake curling itself a little tighter around her collarbone as though sensing the exchange wasn’t in its favor.
"He understands tone I think. That’s probably worse."
The snake caught Elian’s eye, stayed still for a moment, then for some reason hissed at him.
"Is he mad at me?"
"He’s chirping at you. There’s a difference if you listen closely."
She said it with the flat, weary precision of someone already resigned to becoming an expert on serpent vocalizations against her will.
"I think that means he likes you. Quite unfortunate really, I was hoping there’d be at least one thing in this school that didn’t actively like you."
"High praise." Elian chuckled.
Milena didn’t see anything, observing the next person called as they struggled with an overly affectionate drake twice the size of them.
The snake however, had other plans.
The snake craned its head toward Elian, tongue flicking curiously in his direction, and Milena sighed, resigned.
"He wants to meet you properly i think."
A pause.
"I don’t even know why I’m translating for a snake. This is already a becoming a problem."
"You could name him."
"I’m not naming him. Naming him makes it permanent."
"He’s bonded to you for life, didn’t miss Thalia say that already? It’s permanent unless you want to make him very very sad."
Milena shot him a look that suggested she was very aware of this and resented having it said aloud.
The snake, oblivious to the tension, slithered further along her shoulders and settled with its head resting near her collar, entirely content.
"Fine," she muttered, mostly to herself, glaring down at the small black shape now draped across her like the world’s most affectionate scarf.
"Something practical, I’m not doing anything sentimental."
"You say that like sentiment isn’t already happening."
"It is not happening."
Behind them, Fenn’s voice carried across the yard again, already calling the next name and Milena huffed out something that wasn’t quite a laugh, adjusting her new, uninvited companion with a care that betrayed exactly how little she meant any of her own protests.