Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zigari rubbed their temples, the beginnings of a headache nagging at them. After the talk and snuggles with Callie, Zigari had felt well enough to write the paper, though they still weren’t happy about it. Thankfully, it had been a few days since the project had been done and turned in and so Zigi had pretty much worked over their emotions about it. They wondered, however, just how long it would take to get the paper back. Would the teacher leave a note, as some seemed to do, on his paper? What would they think? Closing their eyes, Zigi leaned against the wall outside of the classroom and closed their eyes.

They heard laughter behind them, coming from what they had thought was an empty classroom. Frowning, Zigi opened their eyes and debated on turning around to see who had lingered behind. They tsked and shook their head. It was none of Zigi’s business on who wanted to linger around in a classroom after class had been dismissed. They were just about to push away from the wall when footsteps, and the giggling, sounded beside them. The giggling came to a stop as the two geists skidded to a stop in front of Zigi. One of them nudged the other with his elbow and leaned in to whisper to the other.

“What? No way! Seriously? That’s them?”

“Sure is.”

Zigi’s eyes narrowed at the fellow freshlings before them. They recognized them, easily, as two of their classmates but Zigi didn’t know them personally — didn’t even really remember their names. Trying to ignore the grin one of them gave them as they went back to whispering between the two of them, Zigi went to move away — to head back to their dorm room.

“Oi, where do ya think you’re goin’, hm? That’s kind of rude, yeah?” One of the geists spoke as the other shoved Zigi back into the wall. Zigi’s lip snarled up, revealing a sharp fang. Just as he was about to hiss at the duo, the same one spoke up again. “What’s wrong? Is the naga angry cause he ain’t got no parents?”

Zigi froze, lips moving into a neutral expression. How did they know about that. Zigi had only told Callie about their situation and now the teacher knew because of their paper. Could they have told the boys? Surely not…

“Boo hoo,” the other geist said as he made a fake crying expression. “Gonna cry, snake? Go cry to your mommy? Oh, that’s right, you ain’t got one.”

Zigi’s fists clenched and they gritted their teeth in anger. They felt the sharp tips of their fangs p***k the inside of their lips. When one of the geists opened their mouth to speak again, Zigari lunged, teeth bared and a hiss escaping their lips. They tumbled, screams from the unattacked geist echoed through the hallway as Zigi landed a few good punches and hits with their tail before they rolled and the other boy was on top of him. Zigi snapped, barely missing landing a bite, as the boy landed a couple of good punches to Zigi’s face before he was being lifted up and away. Zigi tensed as the rest of the world flooded back into their consciousness. Zigi shoved off the hands that tried to help them up and glared at the two geists who were now being led off to who only knew where. Probably the same place Zigi was being lead to — which they could only guess was the office. Zigi’s shoulder sank as one of their worst fears came to the forefront of their mind. Would they be kicked out of the academy?

Zigari winced, when they heard Callie’s voice, but they kept their eyes downcast, too embarrassed to face their friend at the moment. Zigi feared the worst, completely expecting to be kicked out of the academy because of the fight. They were an outcast, after all. Something that nobody had wanted to begin with. They kept quiet as they were ushered into the office and sat down to explain why they had been fighting. What happened next, surprised Zigari to the fullest. Apparently the duo were well known bullies and Zigari wasn’t the first person they had tormented. All that Zigari got was a warning and was told no more fights or there would be worse consequences.

The naga was too thankful to enquire about what those consequences would be and went on their way after being dismissed. When the door closed behind them, Zigari blinked at the sound of a soft purr. Frowning, they looked around, gaze falling onto the sleeping form of their neko friend. Blinked, Zigari slithered over to her and tilted their head. “Callie? Hey...why...why are you here?” A slight tinge of red spread over their cheeks as they realized that Callie had actually followed them and waited for them.

Zigari raised an eyebrow, a smile edging up the corners of their lips as Callie’s words were interrupted by a yawn. They eyed her as Callie finally spoke and Zigi noticed the slight blush to the neko’s cheeks. Was she embarrassed? Zigi tilted their head, wondering what on earth their friend had to be embarrassed about. Maybe she was embarrassed because Zigi had found her sleeping? Their smile faded to a frown as Zigi reached out to steady Callie when she wobbled. “I’m fine. I got into a fight with a couple of kids. They...were picking on me.” They chewed on their lip, debating on going into more detail but decided against it for the time being. Instead, Zigi changed the subject, bringing the same question full circle, back to Callie. “Are you ok? You don’t look so well. Do you need to go do the nurse?”

“Callie…” Zigari’s words trailed off as their friend reached up and cupped their cheek in her hand. Swallowing, Zigi closed their eyes. When Callie moved forward and wrapped her arms around them, it was all Zigi could do to stop themselves from crying. It still amazed them that they could have a friend such as Callie and it still made them emotional. Zigi wrapped their arms around Callie, tucking their face against her hair and inhaling. It was such a habit of comfort for the naga now, that they didn’t really realize they were doing it most of the time. When Callie pulled away, Zigi frowned and fidgeted awkwardly for a moment.

“Not much trouble,” Zigi said as they glanced up to Callie. “Mostly just a warning. They were bullies.” Their eyes flicked to the floor, as they brought their hand up to rub the back of their neck. “They...they knew about my parents. Teased me about it. I lost my control. I shouldn’t have but they just wouldn’t shut up.” Zigi sighed and glanced up at their friend. “I’m sorry I worried you, Callie,” They said as Zigi bent down and up the packet the neko had dropped only moments before. “If you’re sure you don’t need to see the nurse, can we head back to our dorm?” They paused for a moment, brows pinched together. “I mean...you don’t have to if you had other plans. I just...I’m going to…”

Zigari felt himself blushing as Callie linked their arms and laid her head on his shoulder. “Rest is good,” Zigi said as the tips of his ears burned. He wasn’t sure what it was about the neko, but she threw him off guard so much. As long as he’d been roommates with her, it stilled seemed as if he was unused to the clinginess. Despite that, though, Zigari didn’t hate it. He’d grown to like cuddling with her and it seemed to calm him on his bad days as well. So when Callie suggested it, he couldn’t help but smile. “Snuggling sounds great right about now.”