~If I'm a teacher, why the hell do I have to go out in the halls in my cat form? The students have seen me, I should be fine.~ Zarkash growled as he waited at the door for Alice.
"Because there are students that don't even know you're in the school, Zarkash. What if one of them totally freaks out, and tells the council of magic about you? You'll get taken and experimented on or something."
Zarkash looked at her with wide eyes. ~They do that?~
"Of course. They don't know anything about demons. Like- how do you live on only blood? Is your digestive system the same as a human's? Stuff like that." Alice looked around the room for her wallet, biting her lip nervously when she didn't see it.
~It's in the drawer.~ Zarkash rolled his eyes, knowing what she was looking for by her frantic expression. ~Forgetful girl. You'd lose your head if it weren't attached to your neck.~
Alice looked up in surprise and smiled at the very familiar comment. Her father had told it to her many times when she was little. The more she thought about her father, the sadder she became.
~Ah- hey-~ Zarkash said uneasily, feeling the sorrow building in her through their mental link.
"Oh, I'm okay." Alice smiled, looking into the drawer, grabbing her purse and walking quickly out the door. Zarkash followed and kicked the door shut with his hind leg, watching Alice walk stiffly down the hall in confusion.

Alice looked around the cafeteria, noticing with amusement that Ricky was sitting by Mio, the witch he usually stood by in his flight class. She stood in line, waiting to get her tray as Zarkash sat beside her, occasionally walking forward when the line moved. He looked up at the person in front of her, noticing it was the boy from the demonology class.
~Hey, boy!~ Zarkash spoke to the boy, who looked around in surprise before looking down and seeing Zarkash.
"Oh, hi sir. I didn't see you there." He said uneasily.
~Don't worry about it. In this puny form I don't expect anyone to see me right away.~ Zarkash growled in frustration. ~Did you get your homework done well?~
"Ah- yes sir. Thanks for the help. My name is Suro Fog Pebiarm, by the way. But everyone calls me Suro." The boy looked to Zarkash with his yellow eyes, before looking up to Alice. "And you must be Alice, his summoner." Suro took Alice's hand, bowed and kissed it softly. "A pleasure to meet you, my lady."
Alice blushed at the action as Zarkash bristled in anger. Suro saw their expressions and brought his hands up defensively."I didn't mean anything by it- it's a custom where I come from when we meet a woman to do that. I didn't offend you, did I?" Suro looked to Alice with wide eyes.
"No, I just wasn't expecting it, I suppose." Alice giggled.
"Good. I really didn't mean to make anyone angry." Suro sighed in relief, looking down to Zarkash. "So Zarkash, what are we learning in the next class?"
~No idea. I usually wing it.~ Zarkash shrugged. Alice chuckled as Suro turned surprised.
"I thought all classes were supposed to follow a curriculum, though?"
~Yeah well, this one doesn't. I usually just tell you guys about my life and call it good.~
Suro nodded, looking up as the line moved toward where he got the food onto his tray. He picked up one of the plates of meatloaf and green beans, sighing in frustration at the food handed to him. Alice took her own share, walking over to Suro as he started to walk away.
"Hey Suro, why don't you sit at the table with us? There's plenty of room." Alice smiled, relieved to see Suro smile back.
"Sure, I'd like that." He grinned happily, walking with Alice over to the table Ricky and Mio were already sitting at.
Alice sat down next to Ricky, who looked in annoyance to Zarkash as he jumped up onto the table.
"Don't sit on the table, Zarkash. That's nasty." He muttered, his wings drooping as he picked at his food.
~Don't complain, pussy-boy. I can sit wherever I want to.~ Zarkash hissed. Alice leaned over near Zarkash and gasped before covering her mouth and moving away again.
"Actually Zarkash, sit on the bench next to me until you take a bath later." She tapped the bench beside her.
Zarkash looked at her, his eyes flashing in anger. ~You can't tell me what to do you stupid girl- I'm not taking a fucking bath. I'm fine as I am.~ He growled.
"You do smell pretty bad sir, sorry." Suro said uneasily, looking at the grime sticking to Zarkash's fur.
~What is wrong with you people?! I'm fine!~ Zarkash yelled to all of them, making them flinch as he sat on the bench next to Alice, brooding.
"I think he's aquaphobic." Alice whispered to Suro, whose eyes widened and nodded, glancing down to Zarkash.
~I can here you, stupid girl. I'm not afraid of water, I just don't like it.~ He muttered.
"Either way, you're taking a bath tonight. That's that." Alice said, looking down at Zarkash with a stern expression.
~Make me.~ Zarkash sneered.
Alice grinned as well, her eyes flashing at the challenge. She pinched her arm hard, knowing Zarkash would feel it as well. He jumped, glaring at her with angry eyes until she pinched herself again, making him growl in frustration.
~THIS IS NO WAY TO TREAT A DEMON!~ Zarkash yelled, lashing out and scratching her on the arm before running out of the cafeteria. Alice hissed in pain and held the bleeding scratches, glaring after Zarkash with eyes burning from the pain. "Stupid demon." She whispered, looking down at the long gashes on her arm.
"You really need to beat him into line or something." Ricky muttered, standing and walking over to Alice to examine the scratches. He brought a hand up and it glowed a strange black hue for a moment, before quickly fading. "There, you don't feel it for a while now. I can't heal, but I can at least make it feel better." Ricky said, looking into Alice's sad eyes. "Has he been like that this whole time?"
"No, not all the time." She whispered.
"Why does he treat you like that? You'd think a summoned creature would care more for its master." Suro said thoughtfully.
"I have no idea. He's been like that since he came here." Alice whispered.
"Maybe it's something about his past. Has he told you anything?" Suro looked at her in concern.
"No, not really. The only thing I've heard about his past is what he's said in class."
"I think it's time you asked him about that, sugar. It's no good sitting in the dark in a situation like that." Mio said, her green eyes glinting.
"I guess. It might just make him more angry, though." Alice said uneasily.
"Then just ignore him. He'll settle down eventually." Ricky patted Alice on the back comfortingly. "He's not worth being this upset about. Just worry about yourself for now."
Alice nodded, looking toward the doorway, but saw no sign of Zarkash. She nodded, eating her lunch in silence as the other talked around her, occasionally glancing in her direction uneasily.

Alice looked up at one of the large windows lining the hallway, noticing how much it was raining outside. She started walking back to her dorm room, but looked back outside the window as a green flash shone through the rain-battered glass. She looked closer at the field below, noticing two figures standing in the pouring rain, one of them a large creature of some sort. The other one was kneeling on the ground, holding his arm. Alice flinched and looked down at her arm as a long gash started forming on her skin. She gasped and ran down the stairs, hoping Zarkash was okay fighting against that… whatever it was. She burst into the rain, looking around for Zarkash, only to see him jump out of the creatures way as it charged him again.
"Zarkash!" Alice yelled, running toward him as the creature turned around to run back at him. Zarkash looked up at her in surprise and waved his hand for her to stay away as the creature looked at her with fierce yellow eyes.
"Ah, hello mortal girl." The creature sneered, its silver teeth flashing in a deadly grin as he stared at Alice with wide eyes. He looked like a mixture between a horse and an iguana- long legs with clawed feet, a series of deadly looking spikes sprouting from his back and a long lashing tail. Alice gasped as her mind froze, her eyes frozen wide as she collapsed on the ground from the creature's stare. She heard the creature's loud laughter, but was frozen in place on the ground, unable to move at all.
"Damn you, Dudrom. She's not involved in this." Zarkash hissed, looking over at the basilisk with a glare of hatred, but careful not to look into the creature's eyes.
"Nonsense, Zarkash. She summoned you here, so she is obviously important to you. Why do you not kill me like you did Golorne?" Dudrom snickered, circling around Zarkash in the pouring rain.
Zarkash stayed silent, not wanting to tell Dudrom that he hadn't been unsealed yet- this would be much harder than he thought it would be.
"Why would you wait out here, anyway? Are you not supposed to be with your summoner at all times? What if I had attacked her instead?" The basilisk grinned, glancing over to Alice.
"Don't even think about it." Zarkash snarled, standing in front of Alice protectively.
"Ah- so you do have to protect her. I was hoping you would." The demon laughed, rushing toward Zarkash with his claws bared toward his chest. Zarkash knew that if he moved the demon would hurt Alice instead, so he stayed his ground, bending to prepare himself to take the charge head-on. He flinched as Dudrom's claws dug into his shoulders, grinning up at the demon as he put both hands on the basilisk's chest, slamming his magic into the creature's heart. Dudrom screamed in pain, staring at Zarkash with wide eyes as he stumbled backwards, looking down at the blackened skin on his chest.
"Very clever, Zarkash." The demon growled, looking over to the girl on the ground, paralyzed from his gaze. "It looks like your human isn't doing so well, though. She's losing a lot of blood."
Zarkash glanced over to Alice, hissing in fear as he saw the blood pouring out of the new wounds on her shoulders. He saw her still, his eyes widening in fear as she lay completely silent for far too long. He looked down at his hands as they started glowing silver, telling him that he had once again been unsealed.
"Alright Dudrom, time's up." Zarkash growled, shifting into his natural demon form, and rushing at the basilisk. Dudrom faltered and started turning to run before Zarkash grabbed him by the shoulders, whipping him around with a snarl and shoving his claws deep into the creature's chest. He ripped through flesh until he tore the demon's heart out, kicking the corpse away before rushing over to Alice. He had to be fast, but who could he go to? He looked down at her pale face and swore harshly, shifting into his human-like form as he sprinted into the school, ignoring his own wounds as he searched for someone to help Alice. She was losing far too much blood- he would be alright, he was much more durable than the girl.
He saw Suro at the end of the hall, and ran toward him, his eyes frantic.
"Kid- uh, Suro- Please, help her. I don't know how." Zarkash looked down to Alice as she started coughing for breath.
"What the hell happened?" Suro looked down at the deep wounds on Alice's chest and arms.
"A demon attacked me. Please- just help her. She's getting quiet." Zarkash felt the bond between them grow weaker, his insides strangely twisting at the thought of her dying.
"Alright, follow me." Suro said, running down the hall toward his room, glancing back occasionally to make sure Zarkash was still following him.