It barely lasted a minute.. Volibear thought with a frown as they waited for Louise's familiar to show. It was irrational, but Volibear was still blaming the kid for his current situation. Specifically being carried like a teddy bear in Kirche's arms as a group of girls came over to pet him.
It's insulting.. all this touching, and petting and the stupid baby voices... I'm older than all of you damn it! Stop treating me like a newborn!Of course Volibear didn't voice any of these thoughts. Why? Cause no one would hear them over the chatter of half a dozen girls trying to get a piece of his furry behind... figuratively of course.
At this rate I'm going to get fat from being carried everywhere... I have legs for a reason, dammit! Apparently the girls found Volibear's frustrated face lovable. The Ursine barely understood women back in Runeterra, these alien women were twice as bad. So he did what any smart bear would do.
Keep my mouth shut, and hope they forget about me sooner or later. Oh he could only pray.
"About time you showed familiar. I was expecting you to run like a coward, but I guess even a commoner such as yourself has some standards."
Well that was rude. Volibear snorted quietly. Guess the show is starting. The Ursine just laid back in the embrace of his red-haired jailor as he watched the quick bante-...squabble. Banter implies some witty dialogue was exchanged. They are just cubs Volibear.. remember that. They are allowed to be a bit stupid.
That thought did little to reassure him as he continued to watch his fellow familiar, trying to form an opinion on the boy. Either a complete civilian or one of the best actor's I've ever seen.
No one would dare call Volibear an amateur when it came to battle. He'd killed more people or animals then he could remember, and like most veteran's he'd developed and trusted his gut feeling. Which was screaming at him, mostly using words that start with 's' and end in 'laughter', with the familiar as the likely target.
Volibear gave Tabitha a quick look, trying to see if he could read her thoughts. He came up blank, mostly. The majority of her face was hidden behind her book, but he could still see the alertness. Interesting... Must have had similar thoughts..
With that in mind, Volibear turned back to the 'action'. Mostly just listening to the blonde cub explain his magic. Not the brightest move, but then again if he was trying to two-time a pair of girls, he was an idiot by definition.
Still, the bronze golems were impressive from an aesthetic standpoint at least. The blonde cub certainly had a flair for showmanship.
The fight was over in Volibear's mind after the golem landed the first punch. The kid couldn't react fast enough, so that threw the actor theory out the window. The familiar was just another cub. An average, everyday cub who'd been dropped off here, to get his human behind beat into next week.
"Kirche..." Volibear growled out quietly, getting the red head's attention.
"Yes cutey?" Kirche beamed back, happy that her adorable new friend was actually calling her something other than 'women' or 'she-devil'.
"Would you.. Put me down. Please."
"Why?" Odd..He isn't struggling..
"I'm going to teach a cub a lesson in humility... and if you put me down, instead of forcing me to escape I'll.." Damn this place... making me resort to bargaining like this.. "I'll let you play with me for an hour without trying to escape.." Volibear said 'play' in a tone most people reserved for their most hated enemies, but Kirche didn't notice.
Instead she gave him a small kiss on the forehead, called him an adorable little thing, wished him the best of luck and set him down.
Tabitha noticed the movement, raising an eyebrow at her familiar who gave a quick nod towards Guiche. Interesting... challenge him?.. Good enough standard.. I'll observe to see how he performs in combat.. step in myself if he gets too injured... and kill Guiche if he damages Volibear's fur...
The ice mage just nodded back, giving her approval.
Volibear took a breath, knowing what was going to follow was a gamble. He had a guess that whatever turned him into a cub was reversible.. probably the universe giving him a hand, since very few of the doors here were his size... hopefully using some of his magic would get him back in fighting condition...And if not, I'll just bite the kid. I may not be as strong as before, but these teeth can still do some damage.
With that thought in mind, Volibear made his way into the clearing, ignoring the whispers of the students, and the various looks he was getting, a mix of curiosity, and worry at 'a little sweetheart' like himself getting hurt. The only one who didn't seem worried was Tabitha, but she already had multiple back up plans ready in case things went south.
Even the combatant's took notice of his arrival, the bronze golem taking advantage of it's opponent's lack of attention to get another harsh punch into the kid's unguarded stomach, sending him rolling into the dirt, face first on the ground.
Guiche took a moment to watch the snow-white bear, recognizing it as Tabitha's familiar, halting his golem from taking any further action until the creature cleared the grounds. The one that could talk apparently, and was responsible for the blue haired girl's new popularity, since most wanted to meet the little cub. Personally he didn't see why. Verdandi was a much finer specimen of class, grace, and excellence.
The blond frowned slightly when instead of moving, the bear took a seat next to the commoner's head, who seemed to be struggling to stay awake. Good, now hopefully he'll yield. This entire endevour has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Volibear gently patted his fellow familiar's head. "Hey cub. You still alive?"
"Um..." Saito blinked, wondering if he hadn't notice Guiche's golem give him a hit to the head. After all the bear was talking. To him. And he thought this place couldn't get any weirder.
Apparently Saito wasn't paying attention to the recent happenings last night. Tsk tsk. Maybe do a little less laundry, and instead live a little... Actually.. that's a bad lesson to teach..Um... work, then play. Much more fulfilling.
"I'll take that as a yes. Rest, cub. Leave the fighting to a warrior. Even in this form, I'm sure I can teach the blonde one some manners." Volibear gave the kid another reassuring pat on the shoulder, before turning to glare at the golem in front of him. Bronze.. hm.. would be nothing in my normal form.. for now.. avoid the turret's go straight for the nexus.. The ursine shaman grinned. Nothing like an easy win.
The student's were stunned. Tabitha's familiar could talk, and more importantly it was challenging Guiche.
What is with today?! "Tabitha! Control your familiar!" The blonde turned to look at the shorter ice mage, who just shrugged back. "Don't just shrug! I'm fine teaching a common pleb some manners! But I would never stoop so low as to willingly attack a baby animal!"
Volibear just snorted, loud enough for everyone to hear over the growing whispers. "Child, I can make my own decisions. And I assure you. I am far above a small cub such as yourself. I thought being a noble, meant you acted... well.. noble."
The small bear grinned as he continued, cutting off a retort before Guiche could build up steam. "After all, I find it hard to believe, that someone of your heritage, of the such a pure and prestigious blood line would be willing to mercilessly beat on an unarmed child. Especially one who helped a pair of women defend their honor." Volibear nodded in the direction of Katie and Montmorency.
"Now are we going to sit here, or will you accept my challenge like a man, cub." Guiche felt a small chill go up his spine as Volibear smiled.
Those teeth are not for cute, little love bites.. still.. I can't let this slide.. come on Guiche. Get it together. You're from a military family. Your father would be ashamed of you running away from some baby bear... even if it looks like it could bite my arm off with ease...
"Fine, familiar. I accept your challenge!" Guiche took his normal pose, ignoring the shouts for his blood from the gathered female audience.
Volibear just coughed, looking at the blonde, then the other familiar. Ugh..With a bit of reluctance, Volibear bit onto the blue cotton collar quickly dragging the defeated familiar over to the pink-haired cub he vaguely remembered as his summoner. Kid owes me for this...
"Here... let him rest for a bit." Volibear warned, before pawing back to his starting place.
"Well.. I have already introduced myself to the crowd... so.. um.. if you would?" Guiche was starting to lose steam. There was no way he was coming out of this looking like the good guy. I'm attacking a defenseless fuzzball! How am I not the bully?! Even my sweet Montmorency is looking at me with contempt!
"Volibear, as for titles, I have none you would recognize or care for."
"Alright, then we shall duel until either of us yield. Do you find these terms agreeable?"
"Good enough." Volibear stood on his hind legs, his full height coming up to just below Guiche's waist. Soon as the signal is given.. rush the cub, give him a few smacks... and possibly ask Marteau for a snack...
An: Rather rare of me to leave on a cliff hanger.. but since I'm being a nice guy and updating this earlier than I expected I had to make a compromise somewhere, well aside from the quality. Still hope you all enjoy and hope to see you again in a week or two :)