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Larissa didn't like his smirk, or his tone. She frowned lightly "I thought I did know what they looked like. It's not like I've seen all the animals in the world. How was I supposed to know some of them were cute?" she complained. "Anyway, that's interesting" she mumbled, sounding a bit subdued after he explained what kind she was. "I guess these bats are nice. I never really looked them up since they creeped me out to begin with"

She watched the bat look around, her large ears swiveling gently, her eyes bright and blinking. It was unusual that this bat had blue eyes. Did that mean she could see in daylight, or did she still use echolocation like other bats? She didn't really want to ask Leo though, since he was acting, well, kind of mean. Maybe he just didn't like her or something. Was it too late to opt for getting a single room? She started to feel uncomfortable and hoped she hadn't made a bad mistake by allowing him to be her room mate.

Sensing her master's discomfort, Snow Poff rubbed her head against her hand gently and she calmed down a little. Until she heard him complain to the teacher while she was standing there. "What? How did I insult her by opting not to use a gendered pronoun? I didn't know what gender she was until you said it just now! I in no way intended that as an insult!" her eyes flashed angrily "Maybe it was a mistake rooming with you. Miss, is it too late to request a single dorm because I don't know if I can handle this the way things are now. He's clearly soooo much more advanced than me and he knows everything. He may as well room with himself!"

She was angry and upset. She was a long way from home and had no friends here, and didn't know anything in the area. All she had was her familiar. Tears pricked at her eyes and she turned on her heel and stormed off. Fine. If he wanted to complain to the teacher right in front of her then ******** him. She didn't need a douchebag for a partner. She didn't need anyone but her kitten.

While Isabella and Leo had their conversation, Rissy was walking as far away as she could go, as fast as her legs could take her. Her ample boobs jiggled slightly with each step as she cradled Poff close to their warmth. She was still fuming and near tears, but they were more tears of anger than of sadness. How dare he? Complaining about her right in front of a teacher on the very first day for a minor sleight she hadn't even intended. She barely knew him and already he was an insufferable a**. Yes. He was. He was! And a big fat know-it-all too.

Why did he even get a second familiar? Was it just to try and nettle her? She sulked, and fumed some more, and didn't stop marching till she reached a quiet courtyard with a large and old tree that had pastel rainbow flowers in hanging ruffles. She pushed through them and sat down on a bench under the tree, hidden away in the hanging flower curtains. Inside, it was private, and it smelled wonderful from the flowers' perfume. Little did she know that this tree had a reputation. It was a tree used by couples to confess their love for each other, and pledge devotion with intent to marriage.

For her, it was just a calming safe haven. She sniffled, and looked down when she felt Snow Poff's tiny tongue on her skin. Giving her kitty kisses. A few tears fell. She could sense the kitten's confusion and sadness, and her desire to make Larissa feel better. Her heart softened with affection and adoration. She smiled a little, kissing and petting the kitten lovingly once she could pull her hand away, scritching under her chin and behind her ears. In the silence, she began to voice her thoughts. "Why does he have to keep trying to force those things down my throat? He barely even knows me, yet he expects me to just change the way I feel about them in one day. And for what? For him? Why? Why does he keep trying to push his opinions of them on me? Why is it so important to him that I like all the things he likes? Animals. I should probably just call them familiars, since he'd have a problem with the word 'things' as well" she said, somewhat bitterly. She sighed and leaned back, stroking Snow Poff. Her heart rate began to slow down, as she began to calm and the heat and anger drained out of her, as quickly as it came. She played everything over in her mind again and again, inspecting the footage.

She looked tired all of a sudden, and now she sounded small and sad "I did it again, didn't I? I let my emotions, especially anger, get the better of me" Her voice was barely audible, heard only by the kitten. "What should I do? I still feel angry just thinking about what he's said and done so far. If I let myself get that angry and lose control while I do a spell, I could lose control of my magic too". She took a deep calming breath, then slowly sighed through her nose, and she felt more relaxed. Her head began to feel clearer too, not fuzzy and hot with emotions. She thought back to her outburst in the hallway and groaned miserably, hanging her head as she tried to curl in on herself "Ohhhh....I made such a bad scene in front of the teacher. She's going to think I'm so stupid. She's probably already labeled me as a problem student. And he probably said bad things about me and now she has no reason not to believe him. Great. And she was the teacher that led us all to the familiar room. Way to make a good first impression. I really really hope we don't have to see her again" She pouted as the events replayed again in her mind "Hmph. What was his problem anyway? I said that I liked her. I said she was cute. I thought she was adorable. ...Even if she is a bat. Isn't that what he wanted?"

Larissa had calmed down considerably by this point. So when the light bird appeared and dropped the scroll, she watched it with admiration and awe, before curiously picking up the scroll at her feet. She unrolled it and read the short note, then sighed. "Well...at least he gave me an apology. I guess it's okay if he talks about those things, so long as he doesn't try to force me to agree with him. I can't like something I don't like" She thought about Sapphire and frowned a little, considering her feelings about the bat. She was a bat. But she wasn't creepy or ugly at all, she was nice. "Or, can I? I like that little bat. Maybe there are things I could get to like, if I know more about them. I just don't know about scorpions though. I only liked that small one since it was made of gems" she told Snow Poff, and the kitten mewed as if she understood.

The witch pocketed the scroll and stood with her familiar cuddled in her arms. "Oh well. I feel better. It's probably time to go back. I'm kind of tired after that, and it was a long journey here. I think I could do with a cat nap" she smiled at Poff, who yawned in agreement. She giggled softly "You too? Come on then" she took the map out of her pocket and slowly found her way back to the dorms, and their room. When she stepped inside, she could hear water running and the bathroom door was locked. That's a relief. She didn't really want to face him if at all possible. Not sure if things were going to be awkward between them now, and embarrassed for her earlier actions.

So instead she put the map back in her pocket, put her pointed hat on the bed post and went to lay down. She turned on her side so her back would be facing Leo when he came out of the bathroom. Snow Poff nestled down on the bed covers, close to Larissa's belly, and closed her eyes for a good sleep. Kittens needed to sleep a lot when they were small. Larissa must have been more tired than she thought because she fell asleep within minutes.

She started to stir an hour and a half later, and blinked open her eyes. Noticing Poff still sleeping, she tried to get up as gently as possible, but the kitten's eyes opened and she stood and stretched, her tiny back arching and her tail quivering as she yawned. Larissa rubbed the sleep out of her eyes then politely covered a yawn and stretched herself. She sensed that Poff was in a playful mood now, and picked her up to put her on the ground with some toys. She picked up a stick wand toy and dangled it for her, the pink mouse on the end jingling softly. Poff went wild for it, jumping and batting at it excitedly.

Larissa laughed, watching her play as she continued to entertain her. She looked around and noticed her room mate was at his desk playing a game. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment and shame. She bit her lip, not sure if she could talk to him. She wanted to apologise for earlier but...it felt awkward.

She put the cat toy down and went into the bathroom, taking Poff with her. Larissa smiled as the kitten did her business in the litter, copying her master's actions. She then stepped out after washing her hands, Poff pinging past her legs and pouncing on a catnip rat, grabbing it in her front paws and bunny kicking it with her back legs, biting on its head and ears. Larissa stood awkwardly behind Leo's chair, not sure what to do. "Um..." she noticed he had headphones on. Oh well, she didn't want to bother him. But she had to try! "Excuse me?" she spoke up louder so he could hear her.

She looked away to the side, clasping her hands in front of her belly and nodding "Y-yeah. I'm sorry. I want to apologise for earlier. I didn't mean to insult your Familiar. It was just a misunderstanding. And I'm sorry I was rude to you. We can...still room together, I guess. And, um, if you just want me to listen to your opinions, then, I can do that" she said graciously. Her cheeks were pink with a blush of shame and embarrassment but she looked genuinely contrite.

Poff came over and rubbed her head against Rissy's ankle encouragingly. She then got distracted by another toy and skittered off after it, hitting it around the floor.

"I...don't have very good control of my temper sometimes. I get mad easily" she admitted. "I always regret my words and actions afterwards"

She fidgeted in place when he was silent for a long time, starting to get nervous. She was relieved when he finally spoke, and let out a silent sigh of her own. "W-well...maybe" she said softly, in response. "Anyway, it doesn't matter now"

She noticed Sapphire's behaviour. Was it...er...was she, scared of her? Oh well. Guess she'd have to make it up to her too, somehow. Who knew familiars were so sensitive? Then again, if someone called Poff an 'it'...maybe Poff would be upset too. It's not like she said it in a condescending manner the first time, it was just a stand-in for when she didn't know what pronoun to use. But the way the baby bat was acting, it seemed like she didn't like Larissa. So maybe she should be more careful. She made a mental note not to call anyone else's familiars without the proper pronouns.

She listened to Leo speak some more. "Oh, okay. I will. Thanks for the tip. I'm kind of at a disadvantage in some ways since I don't come from a magical background. There's a lot of things I don't know. I don't want to anger or upset anyone else by making a faux pas with their familiars. You were lenient, but I doubt a more powerful witch or wizard would be, given the same circumstances".

She decided this conversation was completed, and she felt much better about things now. She noticed the scroll on her computer desk and went over to pick it up and unroll it. 'Oh, he was right. We do have Familiar Care first thing. But what are all these other classes? Oh, one of them is gem studies. Good'

She pocketed the scroll too, so she wouldn't lose it. She decided to go on her computer for a while and look up information about familiars. While she was searching and reading over things, she had an idea "Hey, Leo? Or should I say, Leonie..." she giggled softly "What do you think about looking around the town outside the school? I've never been here before and I'm curious what there is around here"

She found a lot of useful information about familiars and realised she did know some of it but had forgotten. Guess she'd been slack in brushing up on her basic magical knowledge. No real good excuse for that besides carelessness. She felt a bit bad about it, but resolved to try and read as much as possible so she could refresh her memory and avoid making newbie mistakes or causing problems. She also made a soft "Oh" of recognition when she read the part about properly addressing familiars. Looks like it was more of a deal than she thought, and quite offensive to these intelligent beings. She'd have to apologise to the baby bat somehow. If it wasn't too late to already. She knew that she'd never call Snow Poff like that, and that she'd protect her and look after her and make sure they never got separated. Right now, the familiar kitten was happy and carefree, comforted by her partner's presence nearby. Rissy smiled, affection for her little pal welling up.

She had then gone on to tease Leo a little, since she was in a good mood now. She pouted at his response, but it was playful "Aww. But it suits you. And, yeah...I can't tell her you're a guy. My dad and her would really flip out if they knew. So I have to get used to calling you a girl name. At least if I slip up and call you Leo on the phone now, they'll think it's just a shortened nickname of your full name. And I'm safe"

She smiled when he said they could explore town together, going to get her hat and put it back on. "Okay, that sounds like a good place to start. Oh, you drove here? I can drive, but I don't have a car yet, so I had to take the train" She went and picked up Snow Poff and put her in her pocket. "Stay there okay? We're going to go outside the school gates. So stay close and safe. We can't get separated" she told Poff, knowing that she'd understand every word. She looked at his familiars, and felt regret for upsetting them. Especially since they were babies. "So, um, did you name your new familiar yet?"

She frowned a bit, this guy doesn't seem to have any semblance of a sense of humour. She decided not to call him that name unless she wanted to annoy him. It might entertain her some time if she was bored.

She noticed his clothes were pretty fancy. What sort of home life did he have? His family were probably rich. Didn't he say they were all mages or something? No doubt they earned their living well and had been in high positions for many years. She glanced at the rapier. Was it dangerous in town? Maybe there were some areas that were. Or some people, come to think of it.

She smiled at the name he had given to the bat. "That's nice. It suits her well. I've never heard of any bats having blue eyes. I thought they were always black" Poff was peeking cutely out of her deep dress pocket, just the tips of her ears and her eyes showing. She was staying put but she was still able to look around. Her eyes were yellow, and her nose was pink. The tiny paw pads were pink too. Larissa reached down and petted her gently. "Good girl" she murmured and Snow Poff chirred happily.

"Okay. Do you think they have magic shops around here? I imagine they would since the town's built around the academy. They must get a lot of business from the students that come here, and from the school staff" she paused to listen. "Oh, okay. I am a little peckish" She followed him out to the car park and to his car. She looked at it and admired the colour and design. It seemed expensive, and she wondered suddenly about their different status in society. He was like the upper class, a noble, and she was...uhh...a peasant girl. A normal civilian. Oh well. What did status mean anyway? They were room mates. That made them equals. Yeah.

She watched the car unlock with a wave of his hand. "I guess that saves you worrying about losing your car keys, huh? It must be convenient" She waited for him to get in first, a bit hesitant to get in. It was a really nice car. She was almost afraid of getting in, but it's not like she could pull out her broomstick and fly to the information centre. She smiled at that thought. A broom would be fun. But she didn't know how to enchant one. Maybe she could fly on a crystal....a rather absurd image of her and Poff sitting on a giant prism crystal flying through the air entered her mind's eye. Poff made a funny noise, and she realised it was a giggle. "Yeah, I thought that was funny too" she said warmly to her.