Ivory Sanctuary Class of 2024 (3,821 new messages)

Felix hesitated before tapping the notification. The chat exploded in vibrant colors and animated stickers as he skimmed through the latest messages. But with the ease of anyone of his age group, he navigated the rapid-fire, chaotic stream of emojis, photos, and commentary.

[Lyria Berylstone: Just picked up my first pet! She’s SO cute. Look at her tiny curls 🥰!” [Attachment: photo of a beaming Regal One with a curly-haired human.]

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

[Marko Garnetson: Whatever, Lyria. Wait till you see my pet. Dude’s ripped. He could arm wrestle a E-Rank!]

[Cleo Goldwyn: Uh, Marko. We’re not supposed to overwork them. They’re fragile.]

Felix rolled his eyes but smirked in spite of himself. The messages painted a clear picture of what young Regal Ones were like—ambitious, competitive, and proud.

Then came the gossip.

[Fiona Quartzwell: Anyone else yet to pick out pets and freaking out about the selection? I feel like I’m picking soulmates, not pets 😅.]

[Theo Onyxwood: Relax, Fiona. You’re just overthinking as usual. Besides, anyone would be a better choice than the ones a certain someone picked 😏.]

[Sam Topaz: Lol, turns out Mr. Perfect isn’t so great at everything. At least his tastes suck 🤪.]

[Sonia Silversand: Did anyone see him this morning? He was early for his appointment, which is SO unlike him. Did the ‘lone wolf’ finally realize he’s not too cool for us?]

[Jax Flintcroft: Nah, he’s probably brooding in a corner, pretending to be mysterious. I bet he’s still mad I beat him in our final sparring match.]

[Ella Pearlman: Are you kidding? You call a tie ‘beating’? Felix could wipe the floor with you, Jax. He just didn’t want to humiliate you 🙄.]

Felix blinked. What the hell? Were they talking about me?

Upon confirming that there was no one else named Felix in their year, he couldn’t help but feel conflicted.

The original Felix, it seemed, had been the subject of equal parts admiration and resentment. Popular among cats and humans alike with a reputation as a talented but aloof figure. 

No pressure or anything, Felix thought, his stomach churning. “I might be able to pull off the ‘aloof’ part, but talented…?”

The chat continued:

[Theo Onyxwood: He barely even talks to anyone. What an arrogant ass.]

[Zara Emeraldine: He’s not arrogant! He’s just… mysterious.]

[Sam Topaz: Mysteriously full of himself, maybe. Bet he’s just overcompensating for something.]

The more Felix read, the clearer the image of the original he got. A star student, admired and envied by his peers, yet distant enough to fuel endless speculation. His haters called him arrogant, while his admirers praised his dedication and skills—especially in combat.

“Well, that’s just fantastic,” Felix muttered. “I can’t even dodge a flying handbag, and everyone thinks I’m some battle god.”

As he scrolled further, he found a thread of messages about the ongoing assignments to career paths. Everyone seemed to be buzzing with excitement or anxiety about their placements, with combat assignments drawing particular attention.

[Jax Flintcroft: Combat Division, here I come! Can’t wait to show off my divine form 🔥.]

[Marko Garnetson: Good luck being in Bloodstone’s shadow. I heard both the Leader and Combat Divisions fought over him. The battle was epic.]

[Fiona Quartzwell: OMG, is that true?! As expected of my idol 😍.]

Felix nearly dropped his phone. Fought over by superiors? What would they think once he didn’t live up to their expectations?

He slumped forward, burying his face in his hands. “I’m so screwed.”

Just as Felix was imagining various scenarios that inevitably ended with him being dragged and thrown out by his tail, a sudden noise outside the building drew his attention. 

A crowd had gathered across the street, their murmurs audible even through the thick glass walls of the lobby. Felix squinted, noticing that many were pointing toward the roof of the building across the street, their expressions ranging from shock to disapproval.

Curious, Felix slipped out of the lobby and moved closer to the scene. As he stepped outside, the sound of voices grew clearer.

“What’s going on?” someone asked, clearly having been attracted by the noise as well.

A person standing nearby heard them and paused in their discussion with another pedestrian. “Some human’s up on that roof. Looks like they’re about to jump.”

“A human?” someone in the crowd asked, their voice tinged with disbelief.

“Of course it’s a human,” another replied. “No Regal One would ever do something so undignified.”

Felix followed their gazes to the rooftop of the building opposite. A lone figure stood on the edge, silhouetted against the morning sky.

It took Felix a moment to process what he was seeing. The figure wasn’t just standing—they were poised to jump.

Felix’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Shameless human behavior,” one Regal One muttered, their tone dripping with disdain. “They don’t realize how lucky they are to have us.”

Another voice countered, softer but no less audible and dripping with pity. “Poor thing. Humans are so delicate. It’s tragic when they lose hope.”

The murmurs swirled around Felix, but his attention was locked on the jumper. His initial reaction was detached—it was a tragic scene, sure, but it didn’t concern him. That is, until his ear twitched and picked out an angry voice through the din.

“Virgil!”

The crowd below was a chaotic mix of Regal Ones and humans. Some whispered in hushed tones, while others shouted for someone to intervene. Felix’s eyes found a human couple near the front of the crowd, their faces twisted in anger and fear.

“Virgil St. Lilith, get down from there right now!” the man shouted, his face red with anger.

“How dare he pull a stunt like this!” the woman shrieked. “Does he have any idea what this will do to us?”

The figure on the rooftop didn’t respond, but Felix thought he saw him look this way.

Suddenly, his ears flattened over his head in shock. The name sent a jolt through his system. Virgil St. Lilith.

The face from the profile flashed in his mind: angular features, whiskey-colored eyes, a smile that didn’t quite reach them. One of his prospective pets.

Felix’s pulse quickened. “No way,” he whispered.

What were the chances of the police, or rather the members of the Combat Division arriving in time?

As if to answer that unspoken question, gasps and cries from the crowd erupted around him. Felix instantly looked up and saw as that khaki colored figure swayed, one hand already letting go of the railing.

Oh, fuck.

Pushing past the crowd, Felix darted toward the building’s entrance like his life depended on it. Even as he ran, he didn’t know what the hell he was doing, but something was urging him to get to that rooftop before it was too late.

*

It couldn’t have been more than three minutes by the time Felix burst through the doors opening out onto the roof of the 22-floor office building.

A feat that shouldn’t have been possible but barely broke a sweat on Felix’s superpowered body. But Felix had no mind to marvel over his crazy new physique.

“Virgil!” Felix blurted out. Even as he skidded to a halt, appearing as composed and trustworthy as possible. Internally, he was panicking. How did one even go about trying to talk a suicidal person out of commiting their suicidal deed?

But Felix needn’t have bothered. The young man in a khaki trench coat that flapped in the wind only turned around calmly at the call. Whiskey colored eyes met his own ruby orbs and held them for a few suspended seconds before their owner flashed him a beatific smile.

Before Felix could puzzle out that enigmatic smile, any thoughts in his head grinded to a screeching halt. 

The man with the intoxicating eyes and just as potent smile let go of his other hand on the railing.

And without so much as a word, that tall, lanky figure tilted backwards.

“!”

“Fuckfuckfuck—!”

*

If someone were to ask Felix later what had possessed him to sprint over at a speed that surely broke world records (on Earth, anyway) and leap over the railing after that absolute nincompoop… he would have blamed it on his Regal One instincts. Like how a gentleman would automatically reach out to catch a fainting young woman or hold the elbow of an unsteady old lady.

Nevermind that on some unlucky occasions, the former turned out to be a stalker and the latter a scammer.

Felix should’ve known that with the kind of luck he had (such as dying by handbag-kun) he would encounter a similar fate.

Only doubled in misfortune with the other being some kind of a cross between a stalker and a scammer. With a dash of insanity just to spice things up.

*

A breathless, exhilarated laugh drifted upwards on the wind of gravity’s momentum, tones of mellow delight betraying their owner’s joy. Whiskey colored eyes were bright as if a flame had been lit within as they focused on the celestial being diving down after him, trailing storm clouds and silver lightning in their wake.

Despite his eyes watering slightly from the fierce, unnatural gales, Virgil St. Lilith did not blink once, so avidly focused on his would-be savior he was.

When deceptively slender arms that tapered down to massive diamond tipped claws wrapped tight and unyielding around him, his vision filling up with luminant rubellite, pearlescent and mercury, another breathy laugh escaped him. There had never been a doubt in his mind that this magnificent being would not outrace the speed of gravity and save him from himself.

“Well, hello there.” Virgil whispered, staring into those flaming carmine eyes framed in curled snowy lashes, those equally pale brows furrowed slightly in consternation. Their faces were so close Virgil could feel the ticklish breath of the other, so warm and soft it belied the fact that what he was currently being clutched in the claws of was a being of indomitable power, as uncontainable as a supernova.

The Regal One—his Regal One—who only reached his chin if you didn’t take into account those two-pronged, stupendously voluminous tails, each hair needle sharp and glinting, that fanned out behind him. Or the colossal wings covered in countless blinking blood red eyes, stiffened slightly in response. Even all three pairs of his wings and the many eyes that covered them froze along with him. But strangely enough, they didn’t succumb to gravity and instead remained suspended high up in the air between several hundred meter tall superstructures in a sudden defiance of nature. 

The golden light of day which fully haloed the city below also bathed them in a soft glow, highlighting honey gold in Virgil’s wind disheveled chocolate tresses and glinting dazzlingly off of the other’s pale pearlescent strands. 

And as banal as it might sound, Virgil truly did feel as if time had stopped for them at that moment. At least for him, the endless voices and dark thoughts that usually gnawed at his psyche seemed to have been banished temporarily, as if it feared the burning brightness in his arms. Whispers of you should’ve never been born, what a wretched child, and why are you such a freak?! sputtered out like a weak flame up against a violent storm, leaving Virgil feeling a rare peacefulness.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

So lost in the feeling, he nearly missed the flutter of those snowy lashes which was the only sign the being—boy, creature, god?—gave before they were moving again, landing not long after on the roof of the Pet Bureau’s headquarters.

AN: Thank you to those who gave this little story a chance! Please continue to let me know what you think! I enjoy hearing speculations, ideas, even wishes on what readers might want to see more of!