The Eternal Bound

"Hey, that's the girl I saw in the parking lot earlier!"

"She's so beautiful..."

Elyna heard the whispers with her heart beating fast. Her grip on Brian's hand tightened, but the effect only made them even more noisy.

"Silent!"

Brian took control of the situation, making the children quiet instantly.

"Okay, introduce your name to your new friends. It's okay, I will protect you," whispered Brian softly. Elyna nodded. She was moving forward while secretly biting her lip.

"Well, my name is Elyna," said Elyna. Her eyes looked over warily. When Elyna tried to look at the environment around her, she was faced with humans who looked at her curiously.

Seeing their gazes made Elyna move towards Brian. She was scared. The gazes of the people in the class seemed to overlap with the humans who witnessed how she was tortured in the narrow room.

Her eyes slowly turned red. Val was not by her side. No one could protect Elyna if someone tried to take her away.

Brian panicked when he heard a small sob from Elyna. Val could cut his limb off if he scared Elyna. Brian had deliberately chosen the best class, where the humans tended to behave well.

Brian held Elyna's shoulder gently. First, he had to make his best friend's cute partner feel safe in her new class.

"Hey... don't be afraid, okay? They're all good. Look."

Elyna slowly averted her gaze, making her classmates silent after seeing her crying face.

"She's new to this city. She's also not used to communicating with other people. But I trust you guys. If it's this class, I'm sure Elyna can adapt faster and no longer be afraid to make friends," Brian said firmly. The students nodded obediently. They didn't intend to scare Elyna with their curious gazes.

Seeing Elyna's crying slowly subside, Brian was finally relieved. He smiled sweetly once again, ushering Elyna to sit on the seat that had been provided previously.

Elyna was asked to sit with a brown-haired girl who smiled kindly. And for the first time, Elyna smiled back at the girl, even though it was so small that it was almost invisible.

"Emma. Please help Elyna if she finds it difficult."

The girl called Emma nodded. She stretched out her hand to get to know Elyna. After learning, Elyna returned the favor, and they got to know each other.

"Hi! I'm Emma Tiary. You can call me Emma!"

Elyna is a sweet girl with curly hair who has a friendly and pleasant expression. Emma is a human. However, thanks to her good intentions, Elyna didn't feel so afraid of Emma.

"Elyna."

Seeing that Elyna was not as nervous as when she was standing in front of the class, Brian finally left, and the teacher came back in.

Elyna looked confused at the female teacher, who began to explain the lesson after giving Elyna a polite smile. Elyna was silent and blinked several times, attracting Emma's attention, who was taking notes from the lesson.

"Aren't you taking notes? This lesson is a bit difficult. You'll have trouble in the upcoming exam if you don't take notes."

Elyna looked up, confused.

"What is she talking about?" she asked innocently.

Emma froze for a moment. She didn't know whether Elyna was joking or serious about what she said.

"Chemistry. Have you never studied chemistry before?"

"What is chemistry?"

Emma's mouth opened, then closed again without making any sound after she heard Elyna's innocent question. Emma never thought that Elyna kept silent because she didn't understand anything that was explained in her new class.

Those who sent her to the academy were very reckless. Emma was confused as to why Elyna's parents even allowed her to attend the academy without any preparation.

But Emma was patient. As a good seatmate, Emma was ready to help Elyna understand everything in her new class.

Emma took a deep breath. She smiled at Elyna and began to explain everything slowly.

"Forget it. Where's your book? Just follow what I do," Emma finally decided. Elyna looked at her confusedly once again, making Emma have no choice but to look for the book that Elyna should have brought with her own hands.

"Can I open your bag?" Emma asked to make sure. Elyna nodded. Emma's aura was good. Elyna tried to believe in humans again, like what Val asked of her.

After getting permission, Emma took a book with a pencil case from Elyna's bag. She put them in front of Elyna, which was returned by the girl's confused look.

"Here, start studying. You'll forget quickly if you don't write it down in a book. I don't know what your study method was like. But here, you'll need a notebook," Emma explained patiently.

Elyna nodded. She was hesitant to use a pen. She had never used a pen before. She had only seen a professor use it before when it was still in his old pack.

But a moment after the ink came out, Elyna started to get excited. Her eyes lit up, and she started to imitate what Emma did.

***

"Elyna!"

Just as the bell rang, the classroom door opened, revealing an excited Hera followed by Jake, who smiled slightly as he approached Elyna.

"Your confused face is so adorable! How was your first day? Are you okay?" Hera cupped Elyna's cheeks and then looked at her worriedly.

Elyna smiled and nodded, making Hera sigh in relief and kiss Elyna's reddened cheek.

"Thank goodness. You must be hungry, right? I came here to take you to the cafeteria."

"Hey, don't forget about me," Jake grumbled from behind. The boy ruffled Elyna's hair gently, looking at her with a gentle gaze.

"It seems like you are safer in this class. You look happier and more relaxed than this morning," Jake commented. Elyna nodded in agreement, then remembered her new friend who had been helping Elyna during 'class hours'.

"Hera."

Elyna tugged Hera's shirt while her eyes looked at Hera eagerly.

"She's my friend, Emma," said Elyna, making room so that Hera and Jake could freely see Emma. Emma smiled nervously. She then bowed slightly before Hera and Jake.

"My name is Emma. Elyna's deskmate," said Emma nervously. Hera smiled sweetly while her hand tightly wrapped around Elyna's.

"Please look after Elyna when we can't look after her. She is my precious family."

A loud noise was heard after that. Hera took the initiative to invite Elyna to eat in the cafeteria with Emma and Jake, ignoring the several pairs of eyes that were always watching them.

Emma walked with Elyna behind Hera and Jake, who were busy arguing about what they should eat.

"Are you really their family?" Emma asked carefully. Elyna tilted her head in confusion, then thought.

Pack means family. She is now in the same pack as Hera and Jake. Therefore, they are her family.

Elyna nodded, making Emma look even more surprised.

"You're the sister of a famous model and band vocalist?! No wonder your equipment is so expensive!" Emma said with enthusiasm. Elyna wanted to open her mouth, asking what a model and vocalist were before Hera grabbed her hand excitedly.

"Elyna, what do you want to order? Jake will order it for us. You too, Emma. Just tell me what you want! Jake's treat," Hera said casually.

"Hey! Why am I the one paying?! If it's just to pay for Elyna and her friends, I'm okay. But you?" Jake replied angrily.

"It's okay. I can pay for my own food."

Emma felt bad because of Jake and Hera's argument. Because of that, she decided to order her food. Elyna, who was curious, ended up following her. When she saw a picture of meat on the menu, Elyna immediately pointed at it excitedly. Elyna likes meat. Meat has been her favorite food for a long time.

Hera squealed with excitement when she saw Elyna pointing enthusiastically at the menu with photos of meat. Hera hugged Elyna and Emma excitedly from behind. "Then, I'll just treat you guys! Let's leave that stupid Jake alone!" she said while leading Elyna and Emma away from Jake.

"Hey, what are you doing? Wait for me!"

Poor Jake. He has to chase Hera, who took Elyna away and left a famous vocalist like him alone.

The four of them were too focused on their world to realize that there were many pairs of eyes staring disapprovingly at how Elyna had come and stolen the attention of the two stars of their academy.