Page 177 of Court of Aether and Shadows

Liam's shadows erupted from his chair, making several nearby students scramble back. "I'm not afraid to take the lead," he snarled, his power pulsing with wounded pride. "I'm obviously the Alpha of this pack. I've been with her longest, protected her in the mundane realm-"

"Pull out of this argument while you still can," Solaris muttered, his sun-bright energy flickering with warning. "Before your pride takes damage it can't recover from."

Cypress lounged back in his chair, his elemental tattoos shifting through patterns that somehow managed to convey both amusement and exasperation. "Maybe we should settle this Alpha debate now," he suggested, ocean-deep eyes dancing with mischief. "Personally, I surrender any claim to the title. I'm quite content in my elemental glory, and I do so enjoy when our void wolf companion is happy and fulfilled."

"Agreed," Solaris nodded, though tension lined his perfect features. "The position's not worth the void rifts Nyx would undoubtedly open under our beds."

But something about Liam's energy felt... wrong. Different from his usual posturing. The shadows around him moved with an almost desperate quality, like they were fighting against some lingering corruption. My mind flashed back to the darkness we'd encountered before our dash through the walls - how it had seemed particularly drawn to him.

Before I could voice my concerns, Liam's next words shattered any thought of diplomacy.

"A woman can't be an Alpha," he spat, shadows writhing with centuries of ingrained prejudice. "So unless Nyx suddenly grows something between her legs, she can't outpower me in this pack by default."

The cafeteria went deadly silent.

Power - pure, ancient, and terrible - rolled through the space like a tidal wave of cosmic force. Void energy crackled around me, making reality itself bend and warp. Students scrambled away from our table as the very air began to crystallize with the intensity of competing court magics.

Every void-touched plant in the vicinity bloomed simultaneously, their petals revealing glimpses of infinitedarkness. The temperature dropped dramatically as my galaxy eyes blazed with power that hadn't been seen in the realms for centuries.

"Want to repeat that, Shadow Wolf?" My voice carried harmonics that shouldn't exist in any mortal dimension. "Because I could have sworn you just suggested that power is determined by what's between one's legs rather than the ability to tear reality apart with a thought."

To emphasize my point, I allowed a small void rift to open beneath his chair - not enough to swallow him, just enough to remind him exactly who he was challenging.

The cafeteria had become a theater of tension. Hundreds of eyes watched, court energies mixing and swirling in response to the primal display of power before them. Even the crystalline walls seemed to pulse with anticipation, ancient magic recognizing the weight of this moment.

Cypress and Solaris exchanged loaded looks, their powers withdrawing slightly to create a clear field for whatever was about to unfold. They knew, as did everyone watching, that some lines once crossed could never be uncrossed.

Some challenges, once issued, demanded response.

I rose slowly from my seat, void energy coiling around me like a living cloak. Each movement left trails of cosmic force in my wake, reality bending and reshaping itself in response to my presence.

The cafeteria held its breath, hundreds of students watching as centuries of prejudice collided with power that could unmake worlds.

The game had changed.

And our dear Shadow Wolf was about to learn exactly why gender had nothing to do with true power.

Chaotic Lessons

~SPARROW~

The first thing I heard upon approaching the academy cafeteria was the rhythmic chanting of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" echoing through crystalline halls. The sound carried harmonics of different court energies - Aether students' voices chimed like bells, while Void practitioners' calls seemed to bend reality itself.

"Well," I said, glancing between my two powerful escorts, "this is... festive for a first day?"

Lord Helios walked with perfect grace, his iridescent robes shifting through colors that somehow managed to convey both amusement and academic interest. To my left, Lord Aetheron's shadows danced with barely contained mirth. Between them, I felt like a mortal caught between two forces of nature - which, technically, I was.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" I asked Helios as we neared the cafeteria doors. "I mean, as a professor..."

His perfect lips curved into a smile that held centuries of secrets. "My dear Lady Sparrow, why would I interfere with such an... educational display?"

"But..." I gestured at the chaos we could hear building behind the massive doors. "This is supposed to be neutral ground, isn't it?"

A rich chuckle escaped Aetheron, his shadows curling playfully around my feet. "Neutral is such a... flexible term in our realm. The lines between courts have always been more suggestion than law."

"Indeed," Helios agreed, his harmonious voice carrying undertones of ancient knowledge. "The Council of Elders only truly concerns themselves with attacks on professors or their own ranks. Finding beings of sufficient power and knowledge to fill those positions is... challenging."

"What my old friend means," Aetheron added, golden eyes dancing with barely suppressed amusement, "is that student squabbles hardly register compared to the political maneuvering of the courts themselves. The Elders save their wrath for those who dare disrupt their carefully maintained hierarchy."

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