02 | Tyrants Do Smile

"Oi! Hand that over, nya!"

Your eyes linger wearily on your lone sandwich packed full of salted meats and vegetables. You give the bread a gentle squeeze and then hesitantly proceed to meet Linia's eyes.

The way she stands in front of you gives off this dangerously dominant energy. Hands on her hips, smug grin crossing her lips, her gray tail swishing back and forth. Of course, as usual Pursena is there beside her, munching on another slab of jerky. Her eyes are not as tense and focused as her sister's, her attitude masked behind a quiet and aloof exterior, yet she still gives off the same kind of hostile vibe.

The two of them stand there, just a foot or two away from you as you sit in peace — well, until now — on the courtyard bench.

You eyeball your sandwich one more time like you're preparing to say goodbye to an old friend. If only the bread could talk, it might be weeping to stay secure in the warm clasp of your hands until you inevitably decide to swallow it whole.

"You want my food?" you ask the girls.

"What's it look like?" Linia suggests, leaning in. "I said, hand it over." Before you do anything, you set your eyes on the healthy sum of meat already in Pursena's hands. Skeptical, your eyebrow lifts while you consider the fact she herself has that much food, and always does telling from how much she feasts even in class, so why would Linia need food from anyone else?

"Don't have enough meat to share between the two of you?" you ask, clutching your sandwich still. "You guys already seem pretty well off. Why even bother getting food out of me?"

Linia's grin gradually falters, her lips going loose and morphing into a frown that is somewhere between frustration and disappointment.

"Listen here," she begins, "I didn't say you could start asking questions like that. Make it easy on yourself — gimme the sandwich and things won't get nyasty."

That sandwich is all you have til after classes when you have time to head back to the dorms and get more to eat. That's not for a few hours, give or take, leaving your stomach in hungry knots already. As if Linia can read the look on your face, your subtle and silent refusal, she quickly bends down and snatches the sandwich from your grasp.

Pursena's eyes widen a little upon seeing her sister do such a thing. "Linia—"

"Hey!" you shout, getting out of your seat. You clench your fists and are already in the process of stepping closer to the beast-girl when you feel a swift, firm jab at your chest. Linia denies your advances with but a push of her free arm, sitting you back down on the bench.

You land with an oomph and look up with furrowed brows, only to see Linia's foot lifting into the air. Her boot stamps you hard in the stomach, prodding your nerves and forcing you down against the wooden back of the bench. It creaks under your weight and the pressure of Linia's leg on your torso.

Trapped.

"That hurts," you manage to say but Linia shows no mercy; she digs her foot in deeper.

"Boo-hoo. That's what ya get for being such a thorn in my side. You do as you're told and that's that!" The beast-girl cackles, slinging an arm casually over her knee. She looks down on you like you're merely an ant for her to crush beneath the toe of her boot. In some way she has already made you feel incredibly small, powerless, knowing you wouldn't dare pick a real fight with another gifted student. Running the risks of, one, being beaten and two, getting expelled, is not on your to-do list.

"Linia, I think that's enough. Quit before a teacher sees us or something." The clearly more cautious but still nonetheless ignorant Pursena juts into her sister's series of threats.

"Oh, come on, ya telling me you don't wanna make Y/N pay for thinking they can test us?"

Linia and Pursena share a glance. It almost feels like they're communicating through a silent language unbeknownst to you, deciding what to do with you. Their telepathic conversation is broken when the two of them face you again, Linia grinning once more and Pursena continuing to feast on her jerky.

"Listen up, nyewbie," says Linia, "just for talking back to me, yer gonna be ours for a little while, got that?"

"Yours?" You give her a sour stare. "I'd rather—"

Puuush.

Cutting off your remark is a burning pain in your stomach. Linia's foot pushes down harder on you, ripping a pained wince out of you. Just to shut you up.

"No more talk-back, nya," she coldly states and lifts her foot again slightly. "I said you're ours whether ya like it or nyot. Until we get bored with ya, you're to do everything we say, no matter what it is."

That doesn't sound terrifying at all.

"Like, getting me more meat and stuff," Pursena cuts in. "I've been running low."

Shocking. You fight to hold yourself back from making a joke about her gluttonous behavior.

"And if I refuse?" you ask.

Linia balls her fist, lunging halfway at you. She makes it seem like she's going to punch you square in the jaw but she doesn't; she pulls back and laughs at how you flinch.

"I'll beat yer ass and make you submit. Easy as that."

You can't really decide if you're scared or just peeved. Needless to say these two girls are annoying. It was funny to hear Linia call you a thorn in her side when in reality she's the only one being a bothersome nuisance. The more you're faced with these stuck-up princesses, the more you feel the urge to fight back. You really want to put them in their place.

After all, they still don't know you're able to cast spells without reciting the incantation.

Not only that but up until this point you've been studying and training in combat, refining a technique that could be deemed close-range combat but with magic instead of blades or hands.

Who ever said magic is strictly ranged?

You're so tempted; you could easily beat a lesson into these girls.

"Let's get going already," Pursena tells her sister. She swallows the last of her jerky and tosses the naked bone aimlessly to the grass.

Linia resists a moment, having no intention on letting you go free. Having you still trapped beneath her boot makes her feel like a goddess. She barely hears her sister's suggestion over the sound of her inner voice scheming up ways to make you squirm and hate your every second spent at this academy.

Regardless, she gives it a rest, taking her foot off of you. "Yeah, whatever. I was done anyway."

You notice she still has your sandwich in her hand. Just when you think she might hand it back, because maybe this is all just a silly game, Linia drops the sandwich flat on the brick pathway. She crushes it into mush with her boot. You keep a straight face despite the feeling of hot anger rising inside of you.

"I wasn't gonna eat this garbage anyway," she says, clasping her hands together behind her head and staring at you, unamused. "Bring better food next time and maybe I'll consider eating it, nya."

As to not provoke her further, you only look up at her and don't respond.

Pursena turns around and starts walking down the sidewalk without her sister. Linia, on the other hand, is still warily eyeballing you like she's just about ready to start picking on you again. Her ruby-red feline eyes glimmer, radiating unkempt mischief like a cat poised to swipe its helpless prey.

"Actually," she says suddenly, causing Pursena to stop in her tracks and glance back over her shoulder, "I need ya to do something, nyewbie. Call it your first chore for us."

Her tail sways. You look on, uninterested but forced to listen anyway.

"Bring us some goodies later. Some sandwiches for me and—"

"Dried meat," Pursena adds quickly.

"Yeah, that." Linia looks from you to the crushed sandwich on the ground, grinning from ear to ear. "Make it better than that garbage, got it? And don't be late. We'll be waiting outside the girls' dorm right when the sun is about to go down."

"I have to wait that long?" Pursena grumbles. "That's like, too long if I gotta wait for more meat."

"Quiet, nya, I'm the one giving Y/N the order," Linia says, facing her sister now. Both of them have bitter looks on their faces.

"And I'm the one who doesn't feel like waiting that long."

"Too bad! You gotta wait!"

"Who put you in charge anyway?"

"I did, ya bone-licking dork!"

"You'd better watch your tone."

You stare, confused, as the sisters bicker with one another for a few moments. It's honestly humorous considering they're fighting over who's giving you your first task.

Oh, wait. That's not funny. That's annoying. You really are like their little plaything. Better yet, a servant. You just watch them argue on and on until they remember you're sitting there. They slowly turn to face you again, their anger melting into brief sheepishness.

Linia clears her throat. "Anyway, nyewbie! Better be there! If ya ain't, we're gonna have real big problems." The beast-girl pops her knuckles, a toothy grin on her face. "Don't even think about runnin' away, nya."

They leave you to your own accord — the lonely bench and your smashed sandwich on the brick sidewalk. You don't have the energy to clean it up. You're just gonna carry on with your day, finish up your studies and do as they say. You'll swing by the market later and make some more sandwiches. Maybe, and it's a long shot, but maybe they'll go easy on you if you really do enough to please them.

Do as they command for now. They're bullies, that much is obvious, but who knows? What if you make a breakthrough and find their soft sides?

Eh...

Wishful thinking.