"And with that the lessons about mating is over. If you have any more questions about it please don't hesitate to ask one of the leaders or trainers about it in your free time." Anubis sighed as if he was happy to finally be over with it. "You can go to lunch now."
The boys stood up and went to lunch.
Craw waited a bit till the others had left and went to Anubis. "Hey."
Anubis looked up and sighed. "Are you feeling better today Craw?"
Craw nodded. "About what you told me yesterday..."
Anubis sighed. "I bet you want to hear why I kept it a secret..."
Craw shook his head. "I know you had a good reason for it. I don't want any explanation. I don't even want to know about my past... At least not right now... There are other things I have to understand first... I have to think about a lot already..."
Anubis looked to him surprised. "That is new..."
Craw nodded. "I think I understand you now a bit... It was a bit too much for me... I just came here to thank you... But I want to ask you for one thing... no, for two things."
Anubis looked to him. "Whatever it is you can tell me."
Craw looked to him serious. "First I want that you don't tell me anything about any secrets or about my past anymore as long as I don't ask for it."
Anubis nodded. "I can understand that."
Craw sighed. "Good... And the second thing is that I want that you treat me like everyone else. No even more I want that you train me harder than anyone else. I don't want that you treat me like your brother and friend. I want that you treat me like the weakest trainee that ever came to the guild." He took the power enhancer into his paw.
Anubis looked to him surprised. "But-"
"No buts. I know or at least I have the assumption that the power enhancer didn't come into my hands by coincidence. You chose exactly this one right?" Craw looked at the pendant.
Anubis looked to him nervously.
Craw looked to him again. "Because if I am really the same Craw as the last human I must have the very same aura. You explained me the pendant only resonates to a specific aura and so I came to the conclusion I must have had this very same enhancer as I was the old Craw. I don't want any special treatment. I want to earn this."
Anubis sighed. "Why that?"
Craw sat down onto a chair. "Because I want to feel alive. I want to be sure I don't get it because of my past."
Anubis looked at his papers for a moment like if there was written something really important. "If you really want that I will do that..."
Craw nodded. "It is what I want." He sighed and stood up again. "Do I have more stuff? I mean stuff that you stored away for me?"
Anubis nodded slowly. "Some items... and one... something that you really liked."
Craw turned to go. "When I reach gold rank... Then you can give it back to me."
Anubis nodded. "As you wish."
Craw nodded and left the room. He felt a bit better now. He went to lunch where the others were waiting already. As he got his food he sat down next to Ariela and kissed her cheek. She giggled and Craw started eating.
Brighton grinned. "Any bets about how many eggs will be found in near future in the guild?"
Everyone spit out their food. Craw and Ariela because they had to laugh hard, Damion because he was shocked by the thought and Kathrin because she tried to hide that she was actually amused by it and acted disgusted.
Brighton shrugged. "Just saying. Teenagers act pretty dumb often."
Craw sat down between Brighton and Ariela. He grinned happily. He wished he could have sat next to her before already but now he was happy. He smiled and nuzzled her. He was a bit surprised himself that he did that but it somehow felt right to him. He wondered if he learned that in his last life.
"Craw! What is the difference between a x-eye seed and a decoy seed?"
Craw was surprised. He looked to Anubis nervous. "I-I don't know..."
"Then tell me what item can you use to avoid traps?" Anubis looked at him very strict.
"I-I don't know." He felt a bit embarrassed.
"What do you have to watch out when the wind in a dungeon gets stronger?" The Lucario stared at him.
"W-Wind? I-I don't know..." Craw mumbled.
"Then something really easy: What do you do against blind status?" Anubis glared at him now.
Craw looked down embarrassed. "I don't know..."
Anubis sighed. "Well so much about best trainee of the week... Your skill in fighting is useless if you don't even know the most simple rules of a dungeon." He turned around and started to write into the chalkboard. "Before you start dungeon training you will learn dungeon basics and have item training. Till everyone of you have at least the basics you're not gonna go in any dungeon."
Craw slowly looked up. He felt the others of the group glare at him. It seemed like if they blamed him for not being able to go into a dungeon soon. Craw looked at Anubis. It was clear what he was doing. Craw asked him for that after all. He was now the weakest link of the chain.
Anubis looked at the class. "Everyone of you should write down what you learn. This way you take it in better." He wrote some things onto the board. "Let's begin from the first step on. In this case it's literally meant. Stairs. Every dungeon is made of different layers or levels if you want to say so. To get to the next one you have to find the stairs. Every level has one or two of them depending on the dungeon and if there is maybe a secret bazaar in the dungeon. The only exception is the final level, rest rooms and riddle or boss rooms. The stairs can appear anywhere in the level you are in. They can appear at the point that is as far as possible from your start position in the level or directly next to you. When you find the stairs and climb them up or down you will find yourselves in a void for a moment before you suddenly find yourselves in the next level. Wherever you come out after climbing up some stairs you will never find a way back to the last level so make sure you don't forget something in the level you are in before climbing up to the next level. Also one of the mysteries of the dungeons is that no matter how spread your team is they somehow get teleported with the member that climbs up the stairs." He looked to the class. "As you should know a dungeon change every time you enter it. Every level in a dungeon is a maze that is building up the moment you climb up the stairs. Depending on the dungeon the maze is smaller or bigger and have smaller and bigger rooms. The higher the dungeon level is the bigger the mazes get. That is why the ranks are so important. Depending on your rank you can only enter smaller or up to the biggest and most dangerous dungeons. The most dangerous dungeons also named as legendary dungeons can only be entered by the independent teams known as master rank teams or under certain circumstances in a well chosen expedition. A dungeon normally consists of two things. the maze levels and a final room. If the dungeon is bigger it normally also have a rest room. Some dungeons have a so called boss room or a riddle room or both. The final room is simply the last room of the dungeon. Sometimes it is a boss room at the same time but sometimes it is also a treasure room with loads of treasure chests or both. A boss room can also come near to the end of a dungeon. Then it can have stairs like the other maze rooms or it has a path that leads you directly into the void and somehow into the next level. A rest room normally has a so called save statue. That statue can be used with your badges to create a save point. Every time you get defeated in a dungeon you normally get kicked out of a dungeon or get trapped so you have to get rescued but if you have such a save point you get always thrown back to the save point. Only exception from that are dungeons with bosses. If you lose in a boss fight the boss might be able to trap you even if you have a save point." He just continued to explain everything and didn't even slowed down in speed.
Craw tried to write everything down but he had real problems with it. His only hope was that Brighton or Damion wrote down what he didn't.
It seemed to continue endlessly till Anubis finally stopped. "And that is why you have to watch out for a mysterious wind that suddenly comes up... OK I see you all are tired. Finish what you are writing down right now and then go to dinner. Tomorrow we will continue with items."
He sat down at his table and the most of the group left the classroom.
Only some stayed to continue write down some things. After a while only Craw was left. As he finally put down his pencil he sighed. "You really don't hold back."
Anubis looked to him. "You wanted it this way."
Craw nodded. "And I wouldn't want it different." He smiled. "Thank you for that." He stood up and stretched himself. "Mister Anubis?"
"What is it Craw?" He looked up with curiosity.
"Could I get some coaching after dinner? There are some things I didn't get." He smiled.
Anubis grinned. "Yes. Come at sundown into this room. You need some break too."
Craw nodded and grinned. "Thanks mister Anubis."
"That's what a teacher does if his pupil wants to learn." He grinned looking down at his papers again.
Craw turned to leave the room again. "You are a great teacher."
Anubis grinned. "And you are a great student."
Craw nodded and left the room. He didn't want it different. He needed this. He needed to know that he was worth this third chance.
As he finally came back into his room in the middle of the night he just fell onto his bed wanting to sleep but something wasn't right. He fell onto something or better someone. He quickly stood up again to look who it was.
"Ouch... You could have wake me up a more careful way..." There on his bed was Ariela.
"A-Ariela... What are you doing here in my bed?!" Craw was embarrassed and confused. He looked around and it seemed that Brighton and Damion weren't there. "W-Where are Brighton and Damion?"
Ariela smiled. "They are not here."
Craw felt a bit uncomfortable. "I can see that but where are they?" His tail was wagging uncontrolled.
Ariela giggled. "I asked them to let us some time alone so they left. They sleep in a different room."
Craw blushed widely.
"You think too much again." Ariela smiled and slowly pulled him into a kiss.
He didn't know what to do. He wanted to resist but he also didn't want to stop the kiss.
Ariela let off of him and stroked his cheek. "Don't worry. I don't want to do it. I just want to be alone with you a bit."
He calmed a bit down at her words but still was a bit wary. "Then why are you here?" His tail still wagged.
Ariela giggled and stretched herself. Even then she looked beautiful. "There are much more things than just that that we can do. But how about we talk a bit at the beginning?"
He looked to her a bit nervous. "I don't want to let you down but I am so tired..."
Ariela smiled. "That is OK. Here. Eat this." She grabbed her bag and took out a chesto berry and gave it to him. She took out a second and bit down onto it. "But be careful they are pretty hard."
Craw nodded and bit into the chesto berry. It was really hard and very dry to eat but as soon as he gulped down the first bite he was instantly awake again. "How long does the berry work?"
Ariela shrugged. "If you have enough they work for as long as you want."
Craw sighed. "I mean this one berry."
She looked to him a bit disappointed. "About an hour."
He nodded. "OK. But then I really need some sleep..."
Ariela pouted. "It's nearly as if you don't want to spend time with me."
Craw blushed. "I-It really isn't that way... It's just... I told Anubis to not pamper me anymore. I asked him to train me harder than the weakest trainee he ever had. I want to be worth it."
Ariela sighed. "So that is why he was so hard to you..."
Craw sat down next to her and nodded. "Yeah... I just want to be worth this second chance and I want to be ready for whatever might come..."
Ariela softly kissed him. "Why that?"
Craw smiled weakly. "It makes me feel better..."
Ariela moved around in the bed a bit and Craw looked what she was doing. She crawled behind him and flopped onto his back hugging him from behind. "So you want to sleep to be rested for tomorrow?"
Craw nodded. "Yeah... I am sorry... I should take more time for you..."
Ariela smiled and nuzzled into his neck. "It's fine... We don't need to be together all the time."
Craw sighed and softly stroked her arms. "It is hard... I want to train hard but I also want to be together with you... I want to spend as much time as possible."
Ariela kissed his neck.
Craw purred a bit.
Ariela giggled. "I didn't know Riolus are purring too."
Craw blushed. "Me neither..."
She smiled and nuzzled his neck softly. "I have an idea. How about we train together? Then we can be together as often as we want."
Craw smiled and let her caress her. "I love that idea. But please don't spare me."
She giggled. "Are you a bit of a masochist?"
He blushed. "Not really... I just want to become stronger..."
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. But you should remind that I am a psychic and fairy type. I have a double advantage over you."
He nodded. "That's OK." He softly took away her arms and turned around to kiss her.
She smiled and kissed him back. "I love you."
Craw smiled nuzzled her softly. "I love you too."
For some minutes they just sat there kissing, nuzzling and hugging each other.
Craw smiled. He was happy. He wanted this what he had with Ariela to never end. He sighed. "We never talked about it."
Ariela smiled and kissed his cheek. "What do you mean?"
He blushed a bit. "About if we want to have kids one day..."
She blushed a bit and giggled. She was even more beautiful when she blushed. "You want to have kids?"
He blushed more. "Maybe? One day I want some for sure. But I don't know if I am able to make eggs... I mean I was a human..."
She smiled and nuzzled his cheek. "We will have to see that. But even if not we could still have kids. We could adopt one."
He smiled and kissed her softly. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"
She kissed him back and smiled. "Yes I do. Not only because I can feel your love but also because I feel the same."
He sighed happily.
They just continued talking. They talked about themselves. Ariela told him about her life and Craw told her about what he remembered from the human world. They laughed together and cuddled each other. At some point they talked about Brighton, Damion and Kathrin and about the leaders. They just enjoyed to talk and be together.
In the end Craw just fell asleep as Ariela was talking about the city. She giggled as she noticed it. She wasn't angry at him that he fell asleep while she was talking. She softly put him onto the bed and lay down next to him before she put the blanket over them. She smiled and softly cuddled onto him. She kissed him softly and closed her eyes starting to sleep.
It was early in the morning as Craw woke up by Brighton's voice.
"Look at them. Aren't they cute together?" Brighton chuckled.
Kathrin sighed. "Shut up prince."
Craw opened his eyes and looked to him. "Good morning..." He stretched himself noticing that Ariela was still lying next to him still sleeping tightly. He widely blushed knowing what comes next.
Brighton grinned. "Did you two have some fun yesterday?"
Craw rolled with his eyes. "Do you ever think on something else? We didn't do anything. We just talked and at some time I fell asleep..."
Kathrin glared at him. "I hope so. If you did anything with her I will beat the shit out of you."
Ariela stretched herself and opened her eyes. "Kathrin don't be so loud in the morning... Nothing happened." She sat up and hugged Craw from behind. "Good morning Craw."
Craw blushed and his tail wagged again as he nuzzled her softly. "Good morning Ariela."
Brighton chuckled. "If you two still need a moment we can let you alone."
Damion just stood next to the door a bit embarrassed.
Craw shook his head. "Everything is fine." He stood up and stretched himself. He looked to Damion. "Is everything alright?"
Damion seemed to be a bit uncomfortable and nervously looked down. "Everything is OK."
Brighton sighed. "C'mon. We said we would talk about everything."
The Buizel looked at the girls nervously.
Ariela stood up and smiled. "C'mon Kathrin. It's time to get ready for class."
Kathrin grinned. "I am ready."
Ariela glanced at her. "Kathrin, let's go!" She turned to leave.
Kathrin rolled with her eyes. "Just as it was about to get interesting..."
Craw waited till they left. Ariela gave him a kiss on his cheek and his tail wagged again. Then the girls finally left. Craw looked to Damion. "So now that we are alone what's going on?"
Damion sighed and flopped onto his bed. "It's so depressing."
Brighton looked to Craw confused.
Craw went to Damion and sat down next to him patting his back. "How about you just tell us? Maybe we can find a solution for your problem?"
Damion sobbed. "There is no solution for my problem... It is... Beside you two I look so unimportant..."
Craw looked to him nervous. "Is that what you worry about?"
Damion shook his head still sobbing.
Brighton sat down on the other side next to Damion. "Tell us. What happened."
Damion looked to him with tears in his eyes. "She said no!" Then he digged his face into his pillow crying.
Craw and Brighton looked at each other confused.
Craw stroked his back. "What exactly happened?"
Damion cried for some minutes. "I-I asked her out for a date... a-and she said s-she would never go out with a nobody like me!" He cried again.
Craw helped him sitting up and hugged him softly while he pat his head softly. "Who said that? Viola?"
He cried. "N-NO! It was Caroline..."
Craw looked to Brighton confused but Brighton only shrugged. "It will be fine..."
Brighton nodded. "You might feel like if the world ended right now but you will see everything will be good again..."
Damion sobbed and looked at him. "What do you know about it? You are a prince! You can have any girl you want!"
Brighton looked to him.
Craw could see that he was pained by these words. "Brighton..."
Brighton lifted his hand to say Craw he should be quiet. "It is true. If I would want to have a girl it is pretty easy with my status as prince. But what would happen? I would have a meaningless relation with a girl that either is together with me because she wants my money or because out of fear what I would do if she would say no to anything I want. I would never have a girl that really loves me I would only have hollow relationships with girls that don't really love me."
Damion looked at him surprised and ashamed.
Brighton smiled. "And if she only would be together if you are famous or rich then she isn't worth what you can offer her. Then she isn't good enough for you."
Damion blushed.
Craw nodded loosening his hug. "You deserve a girl that really cares for you and not only about your social status or your money." Craw smiled. "And who is she anyway? I mean I never heard of her before."
Damion sighed and looked to him with a mixture of confidence and disbelieve. "You are right but she is so beautiful... She is the most beautiful Buizel in the guild..."
Brighton chuckled. "What is with Viola? Already forgot her?"
Damion blushed and hit Brighton with his pillow.
Brighton chuckled. "Eww. It is all wet... But really now? What is with your feelings for Viola?"
Damion rolled his eyes. "That was just a crush..."
Craw smiled. "A crush can become love too. I mean I too had a crush for Ariela first to be honest? How can you know if you love someone if you don't know them? Sure I was sure I loved her from the begin with but anyone else would probably call it a crush. But now that I know her better I know I love her. There is no doubt anymore. Maybe you just need to know the right girl?"
Damion blushed nervously. "But how should I know a girl better if nobody speaks with me?"
Brighton chuckled. "Then speak with them. You are a handsome Buizel. I bet there are many girls that would like to have a date with you."
Damion looked down. "Are you sure?"
Craw grinned. "For sure. I mean you are strong, good looking and friendly. Every girl going on a date with you should be happy."
He blushed widely. "Thanks you two." He sighed and wiped his face clean. "I am really a mess huh?"
Craw chuckled. "Let's get some breakfast and then go to class. I didn't spend hours after class yesterday just to miss it today."
The other two nodded and they went to breakfast.
The lessons went pretty hard for Craw. Anubis kept his promise of treating Craw like the weakest trainee of them all. He had to study a lot and so he spend a lot of time after the class with learning. But this time Ariela was there too explaining her things as well not only Anubis. Anubis was surprised as Ariela wanted to stay as well first because she was one of the best students but as he saw what she was doing he understood that she wanted to help Craw and that they wanted to spend more time together. It nearly seemed as if he was amused by it. As Craw was finally finished Anubis asked Ariela to wait a moment and talk. Craw was confused but he waited outside.
Anubis smiled. "You really love him don't you?"
Ariela nodded. "Yes. There is no doubt about it..."
Anubis chuckled. "Funny. Seems he didn't change at all..."
Ariela looked to him confused. "What do you mean?"
Anubis shook his head. "In his last life he also had someone he loved. He don't remember it and he don't want to know about his last life. She was a Kirlia too and she was very similar to you. She was friendly and nice and always helped others. But to save her he gave her up. He never told her about him being a human and as the war broke out he drove her away just to save her. He didn't want her to live in sorrow because of his death so he was angry with her and he acted like if he was mad." He sighed and looked to her. "He was able to hide his true feelings from her. You know how hard that must be to talk yourself into not love someone. He did that only for her." He stood up and took something out of a drawer. "He loves you. He loves you more than anything. To him you are his reason to live. He is very strong. Stronger than everyone of us. Not with his body but with his mind. With his soul. If something like that ever happens again... If he ever tries to drive you away you have to be strong too... Very strong." He went to her and put something into her hands. "Grace ran away back then. She gave him up... Please don't do that. Please stay with him."
She looked to him shocked for some seconds before she looked at what was in her hands. It were two golden bracelets. She looked at them.
Anubis looked to her with curiosity. "I am sure you know what they are... You don't need to use them now... You can use them when you feel you two are ready for it."
Ariela looked to him. "Wait a second... Are these..."
Anubis nodded. "They were from Craw and Grace."
Ariela looked at them. "Y-You mean Craw... Craw was in his previous life married with my mother?"
Author's note: Sorry for another information wall. I tried to show how dry and strict Anubis' lessons are I hope that worked out XD
Still searching for a beta reader.