The Seven-Star students were most definitely not okay. Not after that purple fox had barged into their meeting room like a walking glitter bomb and accidentally turned their brains into mush. Not exactly mush...but that's most certainly what it felt like.
Night had settled over the academy all nice and quiet, corridors dimming themselves like the building was trying to give everyone a hint to go to bed already. But in five different dorm towers, five of the most powerful beast boys on campus were wide awake, staring at ceilings, pacing holes in their rugs, or floating in private pools like their entire world had just been yeeted sideways. All because of one tiny fox girl who didn't even know she'd sublimated them into full-blown obsession mode and their nights was going rough.
***
Kael's room smelled like old books and wolf-prince entitlement.... exactly how you imagined a lair of a canine would smell. He sat at his desk, pretending to study, but he hadn't flipped a page in forever. Same sentence. Same stupid sentence about ancient pack laws.
"Mate bonding is exclusive to similar specied" he read that over abd over again but it was not registering like he wanted it to. He finally slammed the book shut and dragged a hand down his face.
His mimd was elsewhere, it was on someone.. someone he shouldn't have been thinking about at this ungodly hour.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered. "She's just a first-year. Rare species, sure. Politically sensitive, obviously. But why the hell can't I stop picturing how small she looked on that infirmary bed? Ears twitching like she was dreaming about something cute…"
He stood up so fast his chair almost tipped over.
"Monitoring her is smart. That's all. School responsibility. End of story."
He walked over to pour water and caught himself whispering her name like an idiot.
"…Lydia."
Water splashed everywhere. Kael glared at the puddle like it had betrayed him. "Great. Now I'm the creepy one."
***
Sorren's room looked like a tornado had hit a serpent-themed Pinterest boardand carried the inspo and thrown it all over the place..therr scrolls everywhere, half of his scales that drawn along his neck still flickering from leftover annoyance. He was pacing like someone owed him money.
He too was thinking about the fox with a passion so deep it threatened to wander into unhealthy obsession
"She's troublesome," he growled, raking a hand through his hair. "Just waltzes in, all flushed and dizzy and smelling like fresh rain after a storm, and suddenly the whole meeting room feels… off. What even is that?"
He stopped mid-step and scowled at his own reflection in the window. "So what if she has purple fox ears that look stupidly soft? So what if she made my chest do that weird tight thing? When i first saw her... She's a problem. A walking, fainting, way-too-cute problem."
He started pacing again, faster. "Yeah. A problem. That's it." He said it three times like a mantra, but it wasn't working. Not even a little.
***
Steep didn't pace. He didn't fidget. He just sat on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like it might confess what the hell had happened.
"That wasn't normal," he said to the silence. His voice was low, steady, but his mind was replaying the moment on loop... the invisible wave that hit them all at once, the way every instinct in the room had suddenly screamed that Lydia was the center of everything. Not mind control. It was most certainly Not a spell. It was as if something had amplified his feelings...Like his body had decided she belonged right there in the middle of their chaos and now everything else felt boring without her. He never liked her one bit... but what was this feeling?
He leaned back slowly, jaw tight. "…What are you, fox girl?"
***
Ignis was flat on his back on his bed, shirtless, one arm tucked behind his head, wearing the dopiest grin known to beast-kind. A little receipt from the academy florist sat on his nightstand like evidence in a very cute crime. He kept glancing at it and chuckling.
He didn't even remember buying the flowers. One second he was watching her sleep in the infirmary...her cheeks pink, ears all soft and droopy...the next he was outside the shop handing over his card like a total simp. No second thoughts. Just pure, warm, chest-tight longing that had been simmering since the cafeteria and was now straight-up boiling.
"She looked cute when she was dizzy," he said out loud, then blinked. "Wait… why did I say that out loud?"
He rolled onto his side, facing the receipt like it might give him advice. That tug in his chest pulled harder, like his fire had finally found something worth burning for. He wanted to know what her laugh sounded like when she wasn't panicking. Wanted to ruffle those purple ears just to see if she'd swat at him and smile. This academy was supposed to be parties, late-night flights, and zero responsibilities. Not this. Not her. And yet here he was, already down so bad he was sending anonymous flower explosions like a lovesick teenager.
***
Neleus floated in the private pool built into his quarters, water lapping gently around his bare shoulders, eyes open under the surface. Water always fixed him. Calmed the currents and Balanced the magic.
Tonight it was useless...it dud straight nothing..
Every time he closed his eyes, there she was confused, overwhelmed, that little sway right before she dropped like the cutest sack of potatoes. He broke the surface with a slow exhale, droplets racing down his chest.
"…This is strange," he murmured, voice echoing off the tiles. Strange and warm and making his water magic hum like it wanted to wrap around her and keep her safe forever. He shook his head, but the smile tugging at his lips wouldn't quit. "Really, really strange."
At the exact same second in all five rooms the air shimmered like someone had flipped on a hidden switch.
A glowing circular seal formed in front of each of them. Ancient academy runes, cold and official as a parking ticket from the dean.
The message burned into existence:
ACADEMY NOTICE
Unusual energy discharge was detected in Seven-Star Conference Hall.
Occurrence timestamp: During Fox lineage student presence.
Classification: Sublimation-class aura manifestation.
Record archived.
The light vanished with a soft pop.
Silence.
Then five very different beast boys stared at the empty space where the notice had been, and the same cold, precise realization clicked into place.
It wasn't them losing their minds over nothing.
It was her.
And whatever the hell she'd just done to them… it was only the beginning.