Pride x Familiar Read Free

stretch out for
two kilometers into the distance. The rock ceiling overhead was
hidden behind an optical field that mimicked a partly sunny day.
There was even a breeze blowing strongly, courtesy of the habitat’s
life support systems.
    The nine foot tall wire fencing that surrounded
the building’s rooftop was the only thing preventing me from taking
a dive into the school’s central courtyard below.
    I stared at the scene before me, closed my eyes
for a moment, then paid attention to what she was saying.
    Oh, I forgot to mention, I was not alone in this
corner of the rooftop.
    “Caelum, won’t you say anything?”
    I leaned my forehead against the fencing, then
turned only my head in order to face her. The rest of my body
continued to angle forward, braced against the fence on my raised
arms.
    “What do you want me to say?” I gave her a
cheery smile. “Oh, sorry. I should say ‘congratulations’ shouldn’t
I?”
    She gave me a trouble look.
    Actually, she’d been looking troubled ever since
she arrived at the rooftop.
    I forced a bit more cheer into my smile. “Bet
your folks were happy to have their only daughter join a
Pride.”
    “Caelum…please…don’t be this way.”
    “Huh?”
    “Tell me the truth. We’ve been friends for so
long—”
    “I am telling you the truth. I’m happy for you.
You finally get your wish. You’ll be joining an Aventis Pride.
Isn’t that what you always wanted?”
    “I wanted both of us to be chosen—”
    “Well, it didn’t turn out that way.” I shrugged.
“Who knows, maybe things will change in the future. I still have
three years before I’m crossed off their list.”
    True. Though it was rare for anyone beyond the
age of nineteen to be accepted into a Pride, it did happen.
However, if the Symbiote didn’t find you worthy by then, chances
were it never would.
    I glanced away for a heartbeat. “Then again, I’d
rather I was never chosen.”
    I turned my body and leaned my back against the
fence.
    “I am happy for you, Haruka. I really am. You’ve
got a bright future ahead of you now. They’ll push you to get the
best out of you, but I’m sure you’ll be up to the task.”
    She gave me a pained look this time. “You make
it sound like I’m going off to ‘magic’ school or something.”
    “Sorry. But everyone knows that in this corner
of the galaxy where the Aventis rule, if you’re a member of a Pride
you get preferential treatment.”
    “I didn’t make that rule.”
    “I’m not saying you did. It’s just the way
things work. They won, Regulars like us lost.”
    She seemed at odds with what to say.
    I struggled to keep the cheer in my voice and on
my face. “What’s with the troubled look?”
    Haruka looked away. “Why did you call me up
here?”
    “To say goodbye.”
    A sob escaped her lips.
    I watched the first tears well up in her eyes
then slide down her cheeks.
    She swallowed and asked, “Why?”
    “You know the answer to that.”
    “No, I don’t. I have absolutely no idea!”
    “You’re going to be an Aventis, a member of one
of the eight Prides.”
    “So?”
    I sighed. “Aventis and Regulars like me don’t
mix.”
    “That isn’t true.”
    “Sorry, but it is the truth.”
    I watched her tears continue to trickle. I felt
like my innards were being burned. But there’s no avoiding the
truth. It bites like Hell and worse when it comes between you and
someone you really care about.
    Damn it. I had to get this over with before I
lost it.
    “Haruka, you and I were never that close,
so it’s not like we’re breaking up. We’re just…saying goodbye to an
old friendship.”
    “How can you say it like that? How can you sound
so freakishly reasonable? Do you know how much this is tearing me
up inside?”
    “You’ll get over it. You’ll attend one of the
five academies in Pharos for the Aventis, and you’ll make new
friends—Aventis friends—and you’ll find someone ‘special’ over
there. Pretty soon, you’ll be right