99 Chapter 98: The resemblance between cousins

Two hours had passed since they had begun their training, in which Nina had made it her objective to make Elize work her ass off. She was made to run three whole rounds around the ground as a warm up, after which the she wolf began teaching her basic combat moves. Of course her friend was quite attentive so as not to inflict any injuries on her. But that didn't mean that she went easy on her. It was the first time that Elize had to make use of her body to defend herself, and it was not an overtly pleasant exercise. 

Dripping in her own sweat, Elize welcomed the cool breeze of the evening, blowing against her. She tried to calm her pulse which appeared to be pounding hard against the walls of her head. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, while listening to the leaves rustle above her. The sun was much less since there was only an hour to sunset. 

"Fine, since it's your first day." Nina said, sitting down next to her. "But we'll have to make your body a bit more fit than it already is. Your birthday is in a few days remember? We don't want our Luna to be a weakling now would we?"

Elize smirked at the sweet coated coaxing. She was so not going to fall for it. The Luna talk was not going to work on her. She knew that after she regains her magic, there wouldn't be any need for physical strength.

"Sweet talk all you want." Elize said, without opening her eyes. "This is all that you're going to get from me."

The sound of Nina's laughter echoed towards her right side. It was such a pleasant sound, Elize thought smugly. She had missed the girl's company. She sat up on the grass, leaning against the tree trunk. Her eyes landed on the one person who she wished took it's place. 

'How did I do?' Elize asked through the link.

Zack was explaining something to a younger boy, who seemed around her own age. There was a group of girls who were surrounding the two. She could see the drool coming out from the sides of their mouth. As soon as she reached out, Zack turned towards her with a smile. 

'You did great baby. I can't be prouder.' He said, winking.

'Liar.' She accused, shaking her head at him with a wide smile plastered on her face.

"So how long have they known each other?" Elize asked, keeping her eyes on the two.

"Who?" Nina asked, looking towards the group. "Eun Ae?"

"Yeah.." 

"The four of us more or less grew up together." Nina replied with a shrug.

"The four of you?" Elize asked, confused.

"Yeah..Zack, his cousin Jin, Eun Ae and I."

"Cousin?!" Elize asked, looking back and forth the two guys.

Lang Jin had his hand around a girl's waist, whispering something into her ears. The girl giggled shyly, nodding her head as a response. She looked back towards her mate. Zack was standing in the middle of a group of guys and girls, with the latter outnumbering the former by at least a dozen. He was laughing at something that Eun Ae had said. Yes, she was seeing the similarity. 

"Yeah they're cousins. Our headmaster is aunty Meiling's own brother." Nina replied.

"Ha! That's why he seemed so familiar!" Elize exclaimed. "He looks so much like creepy old man Li."

"Shhh. Not so loud." Nina warned, trying to control her own laughter.

Elize laughed along lightheartedly. Soon a familiar blonde head came into view from the direction of the ground's entrance- pretty close to where Zack was standing. She waved her hand at the newcomer, who apparently looked confused. 

"Legolas!" She called out.

Hearing her voice, he turned towards her, relieved. 

"Elize!!" He called out, with a huge smile.

The exchange evidently grabbed attention from a whole bunch of students. She saw Zack's brows furrow in irritation as Eun Ae started shaking her head. Legolas started jogging towards her, ignoring the wide eyed stares and appreciative looks. 

"Who's the good looking elf?" Nina asked, intrigued at the sight.

"Friend." Elize replied with a wink.

She got up from her seat, as the boy neared her. He looked quite worried, despite the smile that was on his lips. 

"Have you seen Agatha?" He asked, stopping next to her. "I have been searching for her for a while."

Elize shook her head worriedly. "No…I thought she'd eventually return to her classes."

"Eventually?" Legolas asked, his brows raised in question.

"Yeah well…" Elize trailed off, remembering what had occurred during lunch hours that day. 

"No. I searched in her biology class. She's not there." The elf said, with a frown. 

Elize was shocked at the information. Agatha was never one to skip her classes, she was the studious kind, who actually enjoyed her time at the academy. She had thought that Agatha would have returned to her classes after what had happened, but it seemed that she had not. Under normal circumstances, she would have dismissed the idea of Agatha taking any insult seriously. But her friend had appeared quite moody since yesterday night. Something was surely bothering her a lot. And she guessed that the incident with Aerin had only made things worse. What if something happened to her?! She thought warily. 

"My classes are almost done." Elize said, determined to take things into her own hands. "Let's go search for her together."

"Thank you." Legolas said, "It's worrying. She never misses her classes."

"I know Legolas." Elize replied, irritated at the obvious statement of facts. She turned towards the she wolf who was still sitting on the ground, looking at the both of them with peculiar interest. "Nina, can I..?"

The redhead nodded. "Need some help?" She offered.

Elize knew that it was not an offering as such. Nina wanted to follow her around, to ensure her safety. She had spotted her exchanging looks with Zack. Her mate had probably asked Nina to stick to her. But she had things to talk to Legolas too, which would be quite awkward in the presence of a third person. It was best if they went alone, she thought.

"Ahh…I think it's best if it's just the two of us." Legolas quickly interrupted.

Nina turned towards him with an annoyed look. "Did I ask you?" She asked rudely.

Legolas took a step back, awkwardly. "Uhh.." He said scratching his head. 

"It's fine Nina." Elize said, reassuring the wolf. "I'll reach out to Zack if there's anything."

Nina sighed. "Fine." She said reluctantly. "But be careful. And don't go outside the campus without informing someone. Okay?"

"I promise." Elize reassured the girl with an earnest look.

Saying her goodbyes, she quickly jogged across the ground along with the elf. Time was of the essence. There was only around forty minutes till sunset. They had to search the whole campus by then. And if they weren't able to find her inside, they had to get out of the academy grounds before the gates closed for good. She had no clue where Agatha could be. This was the first time that she was witnessing her friend having a breakdown. She hoped that they'd find her inside the campus itself. She had heard rumors of dangerous beasts that crawled out of the forest surrounding the academy walls. Since such creatures gained enormous powers during the time after sundown, the administration had strictly warned them to either stay inside the campus or stay in the nearby town during such hours. She hoped, that they'd be able to find her before anything happened to her. 

'Where do you think that you're going?' Zack reached out, just as she passed the group that surrounded him. 

'I'll talk to you later babe. I promise I'll tell you as soon as I'm back.' She replied, without looking back.

'Who is he?' He asked, a hint of jealousy making itself evident in his question.

'A friend. Later Zack!' She said, getting out of the training ground.