Demons, Witches, and Toads (BoyxBoy) - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Three months had passed since Wheeler had officially enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Magic.
Things had been going surprisingly well considering he'd previously committed identity theft and nearly (by accident) murdered two students just to get in.
Having some friends would have been nice but...well...he at least had Mulock and Mister Pumpernickel. Everyone at the academy seemed rather frightened of him after the tree incident. The most interaction he'd get from his fellow students were frightened glances when he passed them in the halls. But hey, that at least meant more time to work on his studies.
And speaking of...the demon had been making sure that nearly every waking moment Wheeler was hard at work.
He stood in the stables now, adding new straw for the shipment of crystal goats that had just arrived at the academy. Perched on top of a large stack of hay sat Mulock, a textbook open in one hand as he continued to quiz Wheeler mercilessly.
"What would you say if you were trying to cast a rain spell?" the demon called down to him now.
"Aquəa Dəscendəs," Wheeler repeated from memory. One of the goats, made (as the name would suggest) entirely from crystal, began to gnaw at the edge of his coat.
"Good," Mulock murmured, absently flipping a page. "And if this kind of spell gets out of control, what do you do?"
Wheeler thought for a moment, finally managing to yank his coat back from the goat. "Um...deep breaths?"
"Nope. You're supposed to visualize the water slowly flowing out of you. You messed up which means we're starting over." With that, the demon flipped the book back to the first page once more.
It took everything in Wheeler to bite back a groan. He knew Mulock was doing this for his own good—but God did he sometimes want to hurl that textbook out of his hands and just start stomping on it.
Mulock opened his mouth to ask another question when Wheeler suddenly froze, hearing a rustle.
"Everything okay?" Mulock questioned, arching a brow.
Wheeler glanced around, his gaze darting over the stacks of hay. "I could have sworn I heard something..."
"It was probably just a goat," Mulock said with a shrug, his attention returning to the textbook. "Alright, so when casting a fire spell what do you..." and that's when a second rustle came, this time even louder. The demon's eyes narrowed as he slowly shut the book. "Okay, what the hell?"
Wheeler's gaze suddenly locked on the haystacks near the stable's entrance, a golden haired head peeking up from behind them.
His eyes grew wide. "Priscilla...?"
There was a loud huff as the girl popped out. She sighed heavily, brushing the straw from her skirt. "You caught me."
Priscilla hadn't spoken to him much since their first day, though he often saw her trailing at the back of Violet's posse of girls. He'd figured Violet had probably forbidden her from continuing to engage with him. But she was here now, wasn't she? Maybe she'd changed her mind about being his friend?
"What brings you here?" Wheeler asked with a smile.
"Oh," Priscilla said, sheepishly glancing down at her feet. "It's kind of embarrassing actually..." Her gaze drifted to Mulock who was staring down at her from his perch, quite distinctly human—not cat.
"Uh...who is that?"
"Wha...it's um...err...it's Mully," Wheeler stammered.
"WHAT?!?" Priscilla gasped.
"Wow. Way to blow my cover," Mulock said blankly.
"I'm sorry," Wheeler babbled, "I didn't remember if there were rules about telling people and I just panicked..."
"You can turn into a human?" Priscilla gaped.
"Yeah, tada," the demon muttered. "The magic cat can do magic things. What a concept."
Priscilla placed her hands on her hips. "So not only did you keep it a secret that your rude cat has a human form but he's also the prettiest boy at the academy. That's so totally not fair."
"Aww cute," Mulock said in a deep monotone. "The spoiled brat thinks I'm pretty."
"Oh shut up, murderer!" Priscilla snapped.
"Attempted," Wheeler cut in quickly. "Attempted murderer!"
The demon flashed him a wicked smile. "Are you so sure about that?"
"Uh, let's change the subject," Wheeler stammered. "Priscilla, what did you say you were here for again?"
"I didn't," Priscilla said.
"Oh," Wheeler mumbled awkwardly. "Well, uh...do you want to tell us?"
Priscilla let out a small sigh. "Violet sent me. She saw some crystals near the stable and told me to collect them to bring to her." Her gaze fell to something sparkling in the hay and she quickly dipped down to pick it up, holding the glistening item up to the light. "I assume she was talking about these."
"Why didn't she come herself?" Wheeler asked, arching a bow.
Priscilla's shoulders sagged. "She said she had more important things to do."
"Well that doesn't seem very nice."
"Yeah," Priscilla said softly. The girl quickly caught herself, shaking her head. "But she's super cool. Everyone thinks so. I'm grateful she even picked me to do something for her!"
Wheeler cast her a worried glance but didn't argue.
Priscilla looked to the glistening animals around them now, eyes narrowing. "The crystals don't have anything to do with these weird goat things, do they?"
"Wow, could the crystals in the stable be connected to the crystal animals who live there? It's going to take a real genius to figure this one out, " Mulock answered dryly.
Priscilla cast the demon a chilling glare.
"Uh, yeah. To say it a little less rudely, the crystals do come from the goats," Wheeler said, petting the head of the one beside him. The goat in return let out a little baw before chomping back down on his jacket.
Priscilla's face paled, staring down at the shard she held. "Wheeler...I am literally begging you to tell me this isn't their shit."
"Oh no, no! They're just sheddings!"
"Okay." She let out a low sigh of relief. "That's still kind of gross but at least...tolerable I guess."
"I'd be happy to help you collect them," Wheeler said with a smile. "There's sheddings everywhere and I've been meaning to clear them out anyways."
Priscilla hesitated a moment, clearly weighing her options before she finally gave a small nod. "Okay...um, sure. We can't let Violet find out though or she'll yell at me."
Wheeler gave her a cheerful thumbs up. "It'll stay our secret, I promise!"
It wasn't a declaration of friendship by any means, but Priscilla was at least giving him a chance. That was more than enough for Wheeler.
"Alright," he said, beaming from ear to ear as he placed his hands on his hips. "Let's start collecting this crystal! There's a ton of it so we're going to need all hands on deck. Mully, that includes you."
"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Mulock muttered. "Why should I?"
"Cause I'm your master."
"Again, you're not my master. Please, for the umpteenth time, watch your phrasing."
His gaze fell to Wheeler's hat which had shifted slightly as Mister Pumpernickel's head poked out from beneath it.
"Hey," Mulock snapped, "why don't you make him do it?"
"Um...because he doesn't have opposable thumbs," Wheeler replied.
"Uuugh, fine, fair point," the demon grumbled, finally climbing down from his perch to assist Wheeler and Priscilla who'd already begun digging through the hay.
Mister Pumpernickel let out a smug little croak earning him a cold glare from the demon.
"You better shut up before I start craving toad legs for dinner," Mulock said icily.
"You always say you want to eat him but I don't think your heart's really in it anymore," Wheeler pointed out with a grin.
Mulock simply rolled his eyes but didn't protest.