The Survival Kit Academy || Mastered » Places

         It was so very convenient Mr. Kurayami and his associate were dealing with any further conflicts. Hive grinned. In spite of his taunts, he'd been well-behaved... Well-behaved enough not to warrant a second glance. Back on the ground, skipping over the pieces of rubble he'd dropped to the ground, Hive found himself next to Cleo. “Sssh,” He hushed, as he touched the forearm of the usually excitable Cleo. “This is our chance, follow me.” Hive said, as he drifted to the back of the group.

Cleo’s ears perked up upon hearing a familiar voice, turning her gaze over to look at Hive as he touched the girls arm and quietly spoke something to her. At first the feline didn’t quite understand and merely gave a questioning stare, until what he was suggesting finally hit her and Cleo gave a faint meow in response as the cat mentally debated what her course of action would be. On the one hand Cleo felt that she had to stay as it was the right thing to do accruing to the teachers, whilst on the other hand it also felt right to follow Hive as she knew him best, in comparison to their school. Then again there was also the issue of Ichiro to consider, and as his demon the feline felt compelled to stay with him.

But if Cleo did leave with Hive, then there was also the chance she could return and come back for her mage at some point. That sounded like a plan, or at least it reassured her and made the girl feel better about leaving. Even if her decision was made in only a few seconds, it would work. She’d make it work. Giving a nod to herself the feline slowed her pace down gradually so that she was able to drift backwards and allow the other students to pass her without suspicion, and soon enough she lingered at the back beside her friend. As she kept to the back and dropped her pace even more a gap began to emerge between the two demons and the rest of the group, though no one seemed to notice or minded. Even the Headmaster hadn’t bothered to glance behind him, which Cleo had noticed and then whispered to Hive, “Come on.”

The academy entrance was fast approaching and soon the group would be passing through it, to which Cleo motioned for the bug-demon to follow as she casually drifted off the path leading to it. Maybe the whole idea was a little amusing to the girl, filling her with visible excitement though she’d try to ensure that she didn’t get carried away, at least not just yet.

The strength of their vanishing act was like a magician’s, subtle and making use of the elsewhere directed attention. The experiences of everyone seemed to have them so distracted, nobody had paid mind to the two slipping away. Like Cleo, Hive wore the sense of excitement on his face. After all his efforts to gather information and seep into the cracks of the academy, it was this simple opportunity that had gotten him away from it. What a beautiful thing. He could hardly keep himself from snickering, as the image of the academy drifted further from the horizon.

The feeling bolstered with every step Hive took and flowed within his pace. From a subtle detour, Hive now felt almost like running. Off the beaten path, Hive had lead Cleo into more open lands. They were still close enough to civilisation, here and there the odd road swayed through the landscape. Yet the scent of the grasslands was positively different from the academy’s.

“Ah… The air.” Hive breathed in deep when they’d come to a stop. He let himself drop into the grass, which colour had already attached itself to his boots and now claimed spots on his jacket as well. “We have missed this feeling.” Hive smiled. The sense of being free again caught Hive in a state of euphoria. His smile evolved into a chuckle. Hive felt a positive energy flowing through all of his bodies as he started to laugh out loud.

“Free, Cleo, can you believe it, we are free!” He roared, unable to contain the raw emotion. “Finally free!”

Cleo had followed Hive onto more open fields of land and for a moment stood idly and observed as her companion enjoyed the fresh air around them. “Aren’t you exaggerating just a bit? There’s air everywhere, silly.” She teased lightly before kneeling down onto the ground near the bug-demon. “But I understand what you mean… it’s different in some strange way.” Smiling, the feline let out a content purr and allowed her ears to flicker in the cool breeze.

Exhaling a long yawn the girl dropped onto her side as she hit the ground and lay in a state of fatigue. “It’s pretty late,” Cleo said and shot a quick glance to the night sky. “We should sleep and continue in the morning, maybe find some food and stuff?” It was hardly surprising for the cat to think of her stomach above everything else, though given how far they had gone in such a small bit of time Cleo wasn’t that worried about the pair being found by the academy just yet.

“Anyway, sleep, sleep.” Pulling her body over and crawling next to the other demon Cleo plopped down against his side lazily, before looking up to Hive. “It’ll be nice to sleep beneath the stars like the old days, out in the grass and fresh air, huh?” Cuddling against him and wrapping her arms round the bug-demon softly the girl began to drift off without little effort. Whether he companion would sleep too she couldn’t guess, but the feline was knackered and needed her rest! So hopefully he wouldn’t mind a little nap for the cat’s sake.

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Morning came almost too soon. Hive had let a few of his insects nibble off the grass, coated in morning dew. Even though he woke early… It wasn’t like Hive to sit still. Yet today, he simply let his eyes wander the morning glory as he waited for Cleo to wake up and move her head off of his stomach.

Though Hive could feed off the grass for the time being, Cleo could not. He’d have to break this moment of serenity sooner or later… The academy would come looking for them. Yet at that point, as far as his insects left at academy grounds were concerned, Cleo and he weren’t missed yet…

Cleo began to stir and right away her ears began to flicker, a sign that movement was about her as the feline began to animate shortly after. Yawning, she pushed herself up a little and looked onto a familiar face. “Morning.” She greeted with a purr, before fully sitting upright on the ground and off the bug-demon.

“Morning.” Hive grinned back.

It took a few minutes for the girl to remember where they were and that they had left the academy. “Guess no one has come this way?” She said, referring to perhaps mages who may have been looking for them. “I wonder how everyone is doing without us, if they even notice we’re gone.” Mainly her teammates naturally, who she was beginning to miss but she’d suck it up for now, hoping to hide her anxiety for them. Just then suddenly a loud noise erupted from deep in her stomach and the girl let out a small whine. “I guess I’m pretty hungry.” She added with a sheepish giggle before getting to her feet and standing up slowly.

Turning her gaze over across some of the land Cleo then raised a hand and pointed in the direction that she faced. “I smell food that way,” Her senses were more heightened than others given her cat in-heritage, and knowing her, if she smelt food then Cleo was probably right. “Tell you what, let’s race! Like we did in the old days, sound fun? Ok, ok… On your marks, get set…” Before she had even finished the girl had already sprang forward and hurried ahead, being a tad sneaky perhaps, though hunger was most likely driving her sudden eagerness.

“They’re doing-” Hive tried to answer, but Cleo had already sprinted off. “Cheeky, cheeky.” Hive said to himself, as he pushed himself up to chase after Cleo. Hive wondered where Cleo’s nose would bring them… But until his scouts warned him of pursuers, he was not to worried about it.

Cleo had run a good distance before showing signs of slowing her pace down, as the feline took a moment to look back at her companion as he followed. As well, after looking to Hive the girl stared elsewhere and inhaled a deep sniff. Without saying a word Cleo pushed onward and returned to a light run, knowing Hive would follow and not doubt her sense of smell as the feline ran to where her nose lead her.

Running through the open lands of grass Cleo had soon brought the pair to a small woodland area and delved inside through the trees without a second thought, weaving in and out through them with great speed until suddenly coming to an abrupt halt halfway. With a tired breath she hunched over with her hands to her hips, ears flickering to whatever sound they picked up.

“There’s a town close by.” She said, though Hive likely already knew. The food she smelled was most likely from within the walls of the town itself, but simply walking into such a place may not be a wise action to take. Even from where they were, some distance aways, Cleo could practically taste the food and her stomach quietly rumbled a little. Just then however the girl lowered her ears suddenly and looked about, eyes wide and alert, as if something were near them. But for all the eye could see nothing was actually there and yet a sense tickled at her nose, as if warning Cleo. “I sense something.”

Whatever it was she didn’t know, and yet from seemingly nowhere a mouse sprang out from the bushes and darted about the small open patch of dirt before them. Cleo nearly jumped in surprise before offering a hiss to the creature, attempting to nab it with her hand but the small thing wriggled out of her grasp. “Damn mouse, you’re not what I sensed…. Were you? Hm.” The mouse continued to squeak and scamper about in front of the girl as if taunting her, as Cleo tried to catch it with little avail.

The two had often hunted together, so when Cleo started chasing the mouse, Hive lifted from the grass by beating his transparent beetle wings and hovered silently in wait until it would come his way. Unaware of it’s pursuer’s partner in predation, the mouse was skewered by Hive’s stinger within a flash. The bug demon offered Cleo the mouse, sticking it out like a marshmallow on a stick, as his boots reconnected with the grass.

.“Curious. What do you sense?” Hive asked. Cleo’s hearing was superior to his own and her sense of smell picked up different scents. The two often noted different things. “Is it in the town?” Hive wondered, though a little wary. They weren’t far away enough from the academy to leisurely stroll through the local population. Even if Hive felt little for playing hide and seek for the coming weeks.