The scolding session by Aymon was long and tiring. For every reprimand, Arielle had a rebuttal ready to go, which only prolonged the tense back-and-forth. At the end of it, they were no closer to understanding each other, but she at least won herself an unlocked door. Fighting for a basic right on a campus filled with beings who had everything. The irony wasn't lost on her.

It was the next morning, and she sat in a research lab waiting for whoever would be poking and prodding her to arrive. Aymon gave her a schedule to adhere to, which Arielle agreed to loosely follow until she could figure out a better way to spend her time.

The lab was pristine, with well-polished wood floors and countertops that made Arielle doubt whether any experiments actually occurred here. What appeared to be an endless supply of flasks took up shelves upon shelves, some empty and others not. Studying the many substances, she said, "Hey Krad, Evol, I have a question."

Her two constant companions, who'd been floating around, occupying themselves, came to hover by her.

Arielle continued, "So you two can disappear at will, can't you? You don't just hide."

There was nothing for a moment before Krad asked, "What makes you say that?"

"You weren't anywhere to be seen yesterday, when I was with Lyle. I could still sense you though."

"We could've been just hiding in the hay," remarked Evol.

Arielle laughed at the silliness of it all, shaking her head with fake exasperation. "Well, I'm going to take your avoidance as confirmation. And with that being said, please stay hidden for the duration of this so-called experiment."

Evol came to hover in front of her before perching on a shelf. "Why's that?"

"Because I don't trust them, so let's limit how much power and access they have while we can."

Evol and Krad gave each other sidelong looks, and Arielle just shook her head at their unspoken communication. "Look, it's a dog-eat-dog world here, and I'm barely a squirrel in their eyes," defended Arielle.

Before either of them could respond, the door to the lab opened and the two of them immediately disappeared despite their earlier hesitations. What appeared to be a hybrid-hawk led the way, with Aymon and Fuso following.

Aymon introduced the hybrid as Lucy, and without any further niceties, the experiments began. A full body exam was done, her blood was drawn, and samples of her hair and nails were taken. Lucy also cast a few magical spells that she failed to explain the purpose of, which really left Arielle feeling like a lab rat.

"Okay, I think I've recorded basically everything I need for a baseline analysis. The last thing is physical and magical aptitude testing," Lucy started explaining. "Granted, the magical aptitude will just be perfunctory, we all know what the results will be."

Arielle stood up and stared down Lucy with her apathetic voice. The whole time, Arielle felt treated more like an inanimate vessel than a human being. "Look, I get that no one's happy a human like me got this saint's blessing or whatever, but that doesn't give you the right to treat me like nothing."

Both Aymon and Fuso, who'd been talking in the corner, looked over now. Lucy remained indifferent to Arielle's declaration, replying, "I was merely stating the facts. Humans have no innate magical capabilities and frankly, compared to other species, can hardly compare physically either."

There was a momentary pause before Lucy added, "You humans do excel at being far more emotional though."

That was what broke her. She'd been forced to watch her parents get knocked out before being taken from her home against her will. She was now bonded for life with a spirit and shade, and she was now living in a place that hated who she was at her very core. Could that really be called emotional?

Something deep inside of her broke, like a dam that'd been holding back tons upon tons of water finally cracking. Except it wasn't just a crack, it was crumbling. A swelling heat in her gut soon began to spread, reaching towards her limbs like a web of energy trying to encapsulate her whole body.

"I'll show you emotional," snapped Arielle. And as though it was muscle memory, she threw her hands up before her and said in a voice that sounded like it was spoken by a stranger, "Nyattsu." A brilliant red light covered the room, and then came the cascading noise of flasks shattering, their glass shards painting her vision like a piece of artwork.

"Is that emotional enough for you?" asked Arielle, towering over Lucy who was sprawled on the floor, her voice still low and deep, unwavering despite the dozen cuts coating her face.