"You what?!" exclaimed Shendelzare, obviously displeased. Lyralei nodded in shame. Yurnero had tried to tell Sven the incident with Balanar. They hadn't been able to come into contact with each other much due to the amount of time spent on other things. Lyralei had told Traxex, who instructed them to report the attack to Shendelzare. "Well, I'll fill in a file for Miss Krobelus and alert her. You guys should be more careful next time!"
Yurnero hadn't spent an actual morning under the guidance of Miss Krobelus. When she received the file scribed by Shendelzare, she announced that there would be Exorcism Duty at night for one week. The other hero's faces reflected as much puzzlement as his own. Evidently, they hadn't experienced Exorcism Duty before. Whatever it was.
"Dears, today is the beginning of the Education Week. For those of you who don't know, it is the week every month when we have to do some studying. Okay, darlings?" declared Miss Krobelus. Yurnero felt stupid. He'd never actually had any proper education before. It would be hard keeping up with the others, who were years away from being certified adults. He stole quick glances at some of the other heroes. Surely he wasn't the only one with no education. He knew Sven had a rough idea of maths and english. Terrorblade looked pretty much stumped.
Miss Krobelus left the room for a moment and came back in, pulling an old-school blackboard on wheels. Shendelzare faithfully passed Miss Krobelus a white piece of chalk. She began to write a simple equation on the board.
3+5=?
Several heroes raised their hands to answer the question. Yurnero was completely flustered. Carl, the good Dota 2 player, had his hand practically touching the ceiling. Even Sven slowly volunteered to give the solution. Miss Krobelus clapped and pointed at Rubick, who correctly answered 8. To Yurnero's surprise, many of the other heroes weren't that great at studying either. The only people answering the questions correctly were Rubick and Carl. The maths jam continued until lunch and Yurnero shoved his way to Sven. He wanted to chat to his friend, something he hadn't really done properly since their arrival. Sven was occupied with Rylai as usual, but this time Yurnero wasn't going to leave them there.
"Hey there," said Yurnero, trying to sound as casual as possible. He calmly seated himself, noticing the clear but slight ring of disappointment on Rylai's pale face. He tried his best to ignore her behaviour. Rylai couldn't hog Sven to herself, as much as she wished to. Yurnero felt a pang in his heart when he realized the dismay that had settled in on Sven's eyes. Uneasily and awkwardly, Yurnero attempted to begin a conversation.
"So how are you guys going?" asked Yurnero. Rylai exchanged a nervous glance with Sven. Yurnero felt the urge to yell, "Oh what, so you don't want me here? Fine by me!" and storm off. Instead, he concealed his rage behind his mask and waited for a response. He hoped that Sven understood the situation. The glue that had bonded them together was melting, there was no denying it. It was already hard facing the fact that one day Sven could abandon him, but Sven didn't seem to give a care.
"Well, um, we sort of wanted some privacy together," replied Sven, fidgeting and not looking Yurnero in the eye. Rylai swallowed and nodded, taking Sven's side. Yurnero felt as if a knife had plunged through their friendship. Thankful for the mask that held his teary face, he left the table while Sven and Rylai were engrossed in conversation.
He went outdoors, kicking a Pepsi Cola can in the way. It was pouring, but he didn't care. He lightly weaved in and out of the plants covered with sparkling droplets and sat on the sandstone lining of a pond. He scanned the area to check if he was alone, which he wasn't. A navy cape cascaded down the branch of a beech tree and a matching hood was turned away from him. Traxex. Yurnero didn't want someone else in the garden, but knew he couldn't shoo Traxex off. He got off the sandstone and perched himself on a redwood bench.
Yurnero was readjusting his position, when he got the impression that he was sitting on something. His sentiments proved to be correct, he had managed to crease a notebook that someone had left behind. Yurnero was suspicious at first, especially when he stared at the front which read 'Property of Mirana'. From what he had heard about her hadn't been pleasant, so his already suspicious instincts turned up a notch. Anyhow, it was her fault that her notebook had been left behind. Yurnero flipped to the first page.
The first page was just an illustrated title page. Things got more interesting when he saw the next page. In fact, it was covered with shippings of some off the other heroes, including himself. Yurnero couldn't comprehend why someone would do such a childish thing. It was definitely Mirana's handwriting, fancy with all the loops and curls. As much as he struggled, Yurnero couldn't really read.
He angrily marched over to the beech tree, where Traxex was soundlessly firing arrows at a hay-filled dummy with a painted target on it. Yurnero gripped the bark, alerting Traxex. In self defence, she blew on the tip of the arrow, infusing it with ice, before shooting it art the direction Yurnero was in. He dodged the deadly projectile and scampered up the beech tree. He hastily filled in the details for Traxex, before passing her the notebook to read.
Mortred + Strygwyr
Shendelzare + Dragonus
Luna + Banehallow
Slithice + Slark
Rylai + Sven
Traxex + Yurnero
Krobelus + Darkterror
Mirana + Terrorblade (most important)
Traxex stared at Yurnero expressionlessly. There was a moment of awkward silence. Suddenly, Traxex exploded into a rage.
"That little idiot!" roared Traxex, unlike her usual quiet and alone self. "So Mirana reckons that she can ship us together and a bunch of other buggers?! And why? Why her and Terrorblade? He told me that she hated him! She's got a lot of explaining to do!" And with that, Traxex slid down from there beech tree and stomped off back inside, which left Yurnero alone in the rain with the notebook. Questions raced through his mind. Why would anyone ship him and Traxex? He decided to spy on Mirana and see what she was really up to.
Yurnero stealthily slipped behind a couch, glaring at Mirana. She was showing her gang of male followers her collection of cat pictures, which were probably downloaded from the internet. However, Yurnero did pick up that she was whispering about something that seemed to disappoint the boys. He assumed that she had finally mentioned Terrorblade to them. His point started proving to be true as the day went on. Before dinner, Yurnero caught Mirana staring dreamily at Terrorblade. Aiushtha appeared to have picked this up too, her cheery trademark smile had lessened by a fair amount and she travelled near Mirana uncomfortably.
Exorcism Duty was due to commence after dinner was completed. Miss Krobelus had summoned a swarm of green ghosts that patrolled the perimeter of the home. The ghosts produced a dim glow that would keep Balanar off. Someone had spread the rumour that Yurnero and Traxex were an item. Lyralei was clearly devastated by this news, despite that Traxex reassured her it was a lie. The person who had the started the rumour was a mystery.
On top of that, Education Week constantly hindered Yurnero's spying, which was meant to be incessant. His head was always crammed with boggling facts and rules that Rubick had offered to teach him the simple concepts of education. Yurnero was grateful, but it still meant that he couldn't spend as much time investigating Mirana. Under the guidance of Rubick, Yurnero was learning quickly. Soon, Rubick's help had paid off. He was capable of contributing more in class, but still wasn't as sharp as Carl.
After Education Week was over, matters got a little easier to handle. Yurnero was able to spend more time investigating Mirana, who's crush was intensifying. Her group of guys no longer followed her around and she always complained about the position of her seat at banquets, unless if she was next to Terrorblade. Miss Krobelus had told her that she needed to socialize more. Exorcism Duty was working successfully and Balanar hadn't been spotted for a while. Yurnero had also befriended a mystery-loving girl named Lanaya, who seemed keen to check out Mirana's schemes. It turned out Lanaya was much better at investigating Mirana and concluded facts that Yurnero was oblivious to. For instance, she was able to figure out that Mirana had learned of their intentions after Yurnero had been hiding outside and an arrow from Mirana had nearly hit him.
One morning, Yurnero was hiding behind the fish-pond when he bumped into Rylai and Sven, who were having a private chat.
"Ooh, what are you doing? It looks like a game!" squealed Rylai childishly. "Can I play? Please? How do you play?" Yurnero was silent for a moment as he weighed the consequences in his mind. If he let Rylai join the 'game', he'd have to deal with her. However, Sven would be likely to join her, meaning that he would get to spend some much-needed time with his friend. If he excluded Rylai, he'd be back to solo. Chances were, he'd get more out of letting Rylai tag along.
"Okay," he grinned. Just as planned, Sven immediately joined Rylai. Yurnero beamed, glad to have Sven back. He was about to give Sven the old slap on the back when a delicate finger poked him on the back. Yurnero turned around to see Lanaya looking half worried, half impatient.
"Yurnero, you really have to see this," sighed Lanaya. She pointed in the direction of the arena that he and Luna had first fought in. Yurnero frowned and beckoned for Sven and Rylai to come. He swerved around a couple of prickly, trimmed, hedges and saw Traxex and Mirana, each with a bow in hand. The sack-dummies that Traxex had been aiming at the other day were positioned as far away as possible. Each archer whipped their notches into place and steadied their arrows, aiming for the red bullseyes.
At first both arrows hit their desired targets, but soon the competition got fierce. Arrows were flying in multiple everywhere, until Mirana elbowed Traxex and the arrow slipped out of place, missing the sacks. Mirana was declared the victor. Traxex privately fumed to herself and disbelievingly spotted Terrorblade applauding on the watching crowd. Mirana flung herself at him, giving him a bear-hug.
Aiushtha, who was standing beside him, had definitely lost her sunshine. Her smile faltered, until tears threatened to stream from her eyes. It was a horrible sight, to see someone as cheerful as Aiushtha crying. She fought through the crowd, a mystical group of glowing sprites following her. Terrorblade didn't seem to notice as Mirana planted another kiss on him. Traxex had escaped with Aiushtha.
"Mirana! I challenge you to a shoot-off!" snapped a tinkling voice. The unusually hard face of Lyralei was glaring at the princess. Mirana threw her hands up in the air, like it was going to be even easier than defeating Traxex. Mirana got off Terrorblade, who looked rather dismayed after he couldn't find Aiushtha.
Lyralei carefully drew an arrow from her sheath. Mirana prepared her shot and then let it fly through the air. Lyralei swiftly and accurately fired in quintuple shots. Yurnero couldn't help but be amazed as she gracefully let her arrows find a home in the sacks. He remembered how she'd proven herself when Balanar had assaulted them whilst he'd done nothing in fear of death. Eventually, Mirana missed the bullseye and Lyralei's relaxed. Mirana grew extremely agitated, carelessly firing an arrow on a random direction. Yurnero had to assist unlucky Lanaya to Mr Dazzle.
That evening, Lanaya limped into the computer room towards Yurnero. She said that she'd heard Mirana planning to go somewhere for the night as she passed the nursing home. Yurnero finished up a Battlefury as himself and thanked Lanaya for the information. Lanaya plopped down on the empty seat next to him and started a match with Mortred, who was Strygwyr's girlfriend. She insisted coming to check on Mirana as she was always keen on mysteries. He accepted and focused back on his game that he was playing against some of the other heroes.
LinatheMaidenSlayer11: Why are we playing with retards again?!
FRESHMEAT: Gee dunno plz pause I'm gonna get some food
Purist Thunderwrath: Okay, let's pause. Lina, Pudge, you should speak more formally.
Love-everything4evR: Yay. Here we go again….
Carlculus: Gee whiz the only person smart enough to pause the game is me.
Rubick's Cube: Are you k Aiushtha doesn't sound like u
Shendelzare Dragonus: Didn't u see what happened today Rubick
For Krobelus: Ya rumour is Terrorblade and Mirana are together now. Everyone practically knows Aiushtha likes Terrorblade.
B positive: Anyone seen Mortred?
Jugornot: Yep she's playing with Lanaya
His peers proved to be too much for him. The players on the Dire constantly targeted him because they knew he wasn't a skilled player. Lina told him that he was doing something called feeding. Carl, once again, displayed professional play. In the end, Yurnero and the rest of the Radiant lost the game. Most heroes had switched off their computers, except for Carl who was playing 1v1 with Miss Krobelus. Miss Krobelus won, shaking Carl's hand before sending everyone to sleep.
Yurnero was doing his best to stay up late, so he could find out what schemes Mirana had in mind. He was beginning to doze off at midnight, when he swore he heard someone passing his door. He slowly creaked the door open and sneaked into the shadows. He found Lanaya in the darkness and they patrolled the corridor on their knees. It was indeed Mirana scampering through the night and she was drawing closer to Terrorblade's room. She entered his whereabouts and quietly shut the door, not knowing Yurnero and Lanaya had slipped in.
Mirana reached out for a black book on a desk. She removed it and exited the room. Lanaya and Yurnero followed her out, when she suddenly spun around to close the door. Yurnero cringed as a glowing Exorcism Duty ghost glided down the hallway. He knew Lanaya dreaded the same thing: they were going to get caught. Dozens of ghosts patrolling the area began to follow the first ghost.
"Cringe you cur!" exclaimed Mirana, seeing Yurnero and Lanaya. She concealed the black book behind her back. Lanaya folded her arms with suspicion. The Exorcism Duty gang wandered nearer to them and drifted back to Miss Krobelus's bedroom. Yurnero and Lanaya crept away whilst Mirana glanced at the ghosts. When she whipped her head around, she was isolated. Yurnero breathed a sigh of relief in bed and got some shut-eye.
The next morning, Yurnero, Sven, Lanaya and Rylai piled breakfast onto their plates. What Shendelzare had mentioned during the Dota 2 Phase was just about true, much to Yurnero's disappointment. Aiushtha was roaming around the chairs and saying nothing. Lanaya was telling Sven and Rylai about Mirana and the black book. From across the table, Yurnero jumped to the conclusion that the black book was in fact Terrorblade's diary. He could make out the diary format and Terrorblade's illegible cursive writing.
"Hand the diary back to him." demanded Sven, extending a gauntlet to pick up the diary. "Terrorblade is probably fumbling around for that thing. You don't want him like that, do ya?" Mirana, being stubborn, wasn't convinced so easily. She squinted at them in anger.
"Fine. Only if you get him here to claim it himself. And also, I have to read this good stuff first. Now get!" she growled. Yurnero almost felt that she was trying to do a bad impression of a cat. Sven grumbled and conferred with Rylai, before he went off to get someone. Mirana relaxed and flipped to the first page. Mirana hadn't gone further than the second word when the diary was instantly replaced by Shendelzare. The diary was where Shendelzare had been standing, at the drink dispenser. Terrorblade, who had been helping himself to some water, stared downwards, seeing his diary. He picked it up in confusion and took it up to his room.
"Swapsies?" smirked Shendelzare, being watched in admiration by Dragonus. She grinned and walked back to the drink dispenser. Mirana's eyes looked as if they could burn a hole in Shendelzare's head. Aiushtha was watching with a hint of amusement, but she clearly hadn't recovered. Sun Wukong, the troublemaker and biggest gossip was whooping with laughter. News spread around the home and Mirana became a laughing stock.
Terrorblade was devastated by what Mirana had done. He had lost a little trust in her, but he immediately regained it by lunch. Shendelzare had become more popular with the home, but insisted on sticking with Miss Krobelus. She spent the day roaming the home, eventually catching Sun Wukong pinching food from the kitchen.
Other girls like Lyralei and Traxex could be found in the arena, practising their specialties. Yurnero didn't understand why, but he was beginning to realize that he was infatuated with Lyralei. The way that she'd saved him when Balanar had come left him awestruck. Her sparkling expression was beautiful. Everything was amazing about her.
Yurnero gazed at her as she improved on her already high archery skills. He made a coy wave at Lyralei, who smiled and waved back. He knew he was blushing madly, but he didn't care. It was all behind his mask. Lanaya scowled from behind him, like a reminder that she was there. Yurnero blinked and returned his attention to her. Lanaya picked up a clue and her eyes welled with tears. She turned on her heel and stormed off. Sun Wukong, who'd been ordered to prune the hedges by Miss Krobelus as a punishment, scampered up to Yurnero.
"Juggernaut, is it true you and Templar Assassin were once a thing?" crooned Sun Wukong. Yurnero tried to block out the words and find Lanaya. Suddenly, his mind came round to a single, simple thought. It wasn't his fault Lanaya couldn't cope with him liking Lyralei. They were just friends, after all. Lanaya wasn't his girlfriend. Or how had it seemed in her perspective? He didn't try to spend much time in other heads.
Lanaya had vanished from Yurnero's circle of friends. He felt awful, but was sure Lanaya didn't want him back. She had certainly been firm when she'd abandoned him.
Life was tough, home or not. But he still preferred living with Miss Krobelus and the other heroes over the itchy bush.