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Mister Demi smiled and waved as his students left his classroom. He let out a sigh of relief, his last class of the day was done for, so he could finally relax. He heard the sounds of his wife, Misses Thavel, entering the room. The two had gotten married recently, as a matter of fact, and his mood brightened a little just by hearing the iconic sound of her heels. He looked over and saw her leaning against the doorway. “Hi honey!” he said.
Thavel walked forwards to the desk he was sitting at, “Hello dear, Miss Grace told me to tell you to meet her in her office.”
“Oh, really? Do you know what it’s about?” Demi asked.
Thavel shook her head. She leaned forwards a bit, her large claws covering a significant part of the table they rested on, "Unfortunately not. You haven’t been getting in any… trouble, have you?” Her tone was serious, as if she were interrogating him.
Demi gave a nervous laugh, “Heh, of course not.”
Thavel gave Demi a kiss on the cheek and went back to standing up straight, “I thought as just, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Either way, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“Thank you, Thavel.”
“Mhm,” she said, before turning around, “Well, I’m sorry, but I have quite a few things to grade right now. It’ll probably be a few hours. I’ll see you later.”
“Alright! See you later!”
Thavel left the room, with Demi following a few seconds afterwards. However, by then she was somehow already gone. She sort of had a habit of doing that.
He made his way down to Grace’s office, where he saw both the principal herself and his good friend Miss Sasha. The latter smiled and waved when she saw him, “Oh heya Dem’s. Glad you could make it!”
Demi waved back, “Hello!” He sat down in the chair next to her, “So, what’s this all about?”
“Well, we have a meeting later today with a few other people across the district. More specifically, a meeting between various teachers of elective courses,” Grace explained.
Demi nodded, “Oh, alright! When are we going? And uh… do you know how long it’ll take?”
“Well, if we leave within the next ten minutes, we should be back before four.”
“Sounds perfect, Thavel said she’d be staying for a few hours. She might not even notice I’m gone.”
Grace stood up, “Well then, both of you get ready, we’ll be leaving soon.”
Both Demi and Sasha stood up, “Yes ma’am,” they said in unison. They didn't do it intentionally, but they had gotten used to syncing up often. You see, the two had been good friends ever since early childhood. Having grown up so closely, they developed a lot of similar traits. They both had the same favorite foods, the same bright, welcoming smile, the same love for all forms of creative art. Hell, they even shared the same taste in women.
It was safe to say they were close, however dating had never been something that’s crossed either of their minds. The two of them were both very happy being friends, and Sasha was a lesbian anyways. However that didn’t stop the rumors and speculations. They had lost count on how many people had wrongly assumed they were together. They thought that they’d stop once Demi and Thavel started dating, but it really didn’t. If fact, there were quite a few times where Thavel suspected him of cheating, no matter how clear he tried to make it that he and Sasha were nothing more than friends.
They both exited Grace’s office and went their separate ways. Demi went to his classroom, and made sure to grab all the things he might need. It took him around 5 minutes, mainly because he misplaced his phone and had to look for it. Given he still had a few minutes before he had to leave, he decided to stop by Thavel’s classroom to let her know he’d be gone.
He poked his head in, seeing Thavel working peacefully at her desk. “Hey honey! Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be leaving for a meeting in about five minutes.”
Thavel dropped the pen she was using and looked over at him. She stared in shock, “What?!” she asked. Her voice sounded more like a low growl than regular, english speech.
Demi took a step back, “Yeah, sorry, I have to go to some meeting. I only found out like, 5 minutes ago…”
“Who’s going with?”
“Oh, it’s just going to be me, Grace, and Sasha.”
Thavel got up out of her seat and let out a low grumble. Then, without saying a word, she walked up to the classroom door, lightly pushing Demi aside. She speed-walked down the hall before Demi could ask anything. He stood there, a little confused. But most of all, he was worried. Thavel seemed… really upset.
He walked after her, but he couldn’t find her. He saw Miss Grace standing in the hallway. “Oh, Demi, are you ready to go?” she asked.
“Well uh… I think I need to talk with Thavel real quick. Have you seen her around?” Demi responded.
“She’s in the car,” Grace said. “She said she wanted to make sure everything ‘went smoothly’” There was a bit of distrust in her voice when she said that last part.
“I uh… guess that works out then.”
Grace nodded, “I suppose so,”
The two went out and walked towards Grace’s car. There, they saw Thavel sitting in one of the back seats. Grace sat behind the steering wheel, while Demi went to the back and sat in the middle seat, directly next to Thavel, who still seemed pretty grumpy. “Uh… Hey Thav, are you alright?” Demi asked, his voice a little shaky. But Thavel didn’t respond, she only glared at him in response.
Just then Sasha came rushing out of the school’s entrance, speedwalking towards the car. She was holding a manilla folder with a few papers inside, presumably notes she planned to take during the meeting. She was always prepared like that. The scent of her perfume filled the air as she sat down in the remaining seat next to Demi with her usual smile on her face.
Grace started the car and pulled out of the parking lot before flooring the gas pedal. The car bolted down the road going at least 15 miles over the speed limit. Even though Demi had gotten used to her wild driving style, it was always a bit of a shock.
About thirty seconds after Grace started driving, Demi felt Thavel’s arm glide behind his back. Her claw grabbed onto his shoulder, her grip uncomfortably tight. Then suddenly, she pulled him in until his head rested against her side in an awkward side hug. He looked up and saw her glaring, not at him, but at Sasha.
“Uh… Thavel? What’re you doing?” Demi asked.
“Stay like this.” Thavel demanded. Her voice was more of a growl. As she spoke, her hold over Demi tightened until he was practically being crushed.
Demi glanced over at Sasha, who had scooted as far away as possible from the two. She was looking out the window, trying not to acknowledge whatever was going on next to her. He gave a silent sigh before looking back forwards.
The rest of the fifteen minute ride was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. Thavel’s grip on his shoulder never let up, and no words were spoken. Once Grace pulled up into the meeting center’s parking lot, Thavel finally let Demi out of her grasp. He noticed his arm was a little sore, but otherwise, he was completely fine.
The group walked into the meeting center’s main room, “Wait here,” Grace said, motioning to one of the empty chairs. “Since you don’t actually teach an elective class.”
Thavel begrudgingly sat down while the others entered the conference room. As soon as they walked in, Demi could already notice people staring. Most of the other teachers knew of what went on in Maple Leaf Academy, and were obviously rather judgemental. Before, their negativity was directed towards Grace and the killers, but ever since Demi married Thavel, he’s been lumped in with them too. As much as he’d love to be known as the “beast tamer” who swooned a wendigo into living a more peaceful lifestyle, that couldn’t have been further from the truth…
The three sat down in the last remaining chairs, and with that the meeting had begun. I won’t bore you with the details, as nothing important really happened. It was just a standard meeting, with not much really going on. Demi wondered why they even bothered to come out here, but it was probably just a formality.
Once the meeting had concluded, Demi made sure to be the first one out the door. It wasn’t because he hated being there (well, okay, he did, but it wasn’t the reason why), but because of Thavel. Not only did she definitely miss him, but if some of the other teachers saw her they’d almost certainly start something… he’d rather not see anybody get mauled today, so it’s safer just to get her out before anything happens. That was one thing he didn’t like about her, some days it feels like he married a living time bomb rather than an actual person. That didn’t mean he didn’t love her, of course, she’s just… frustrating at times.
The moment Demi walked through the large double doors, he saw his wife’s eyes light up. She sprung out of her seat and embraced him in a bear hug, literally lifting Demi off of his feat. “Finally, you’re back!” she exclaimed.
Demi gave a nervous laugh, “I was only gone for a few minutes.”
“Oh, but it felt like an eternity. Now, let’s get out of here, alright?”
“Mhm, sounds good.”
Thavel and Demi went outside and waited by the car for the others to show up. Once they were there, everyone got back in the car and started the drive back. There was far, far less tension this time around, however.
Nothing of note happened on the trip back, besides a bit of small talk here and there. Demi felt like everything was going great, that Thavel was over whatever plagued her earlier. That was until they made it back, and she asked to speak with him away from everyone else…
“Demi, dear, may I speak with you for a moment?” From the way she spoke he already knew he was in for trouble. She only ever spoke like that when she was ready to rip one of her students apart, so it didn’t exactly instill confidence in what was about to take place.
“Uh… sure thing.” Demi agreed, a little reluctant.
Thavel grabbed onto his wrist, so he probably didn’t have much choice anyways. She led him to her classroom before shutting the door behind them. Her demeanor shifted entirely as she crossed her arms. “So, why didn’t you want me to go with you?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“You told me five minutes before you had to go, why is that? Did you not want me to come along?”
“Well, I was only told like, ten minutes beforehand. I had just about as much of a heads up as you!”
“What were you doing for the other five?”
“I was getting ready.”
Thavel shook her head disapprovingly, “I know what you were really thinking.”
“Uh… What was that?”
“You waited, in hope that I wouldn’t have time to reach out to Grace. You were hoping you could go without me.” Her voice started to sound completely deranged, and her antlers poked out of her hair, “And I know why!”
Demi took a step back, at a total loss for words.
“You wanted to be alone with her, didn’t you?” Thavel continued, taking a step forwards as she did.
“I thought I already explained this, me and Sasha are just friends, that’s it!”
Thavel punched the blackboard next to her, causing a loud booming sound. “Bullshit! I know what’s going on, I’m not stupid!” She had fully transformed into her beastly form by now, which intimidated Demi greatly. Her already tall height was exaggerated, and she looked ready to attack. “Why?! Why are you doing this to me?!” she shouted as she broke out into tears. “You’re breaking my heart here. Am I not good enough for you?!”
“Thavel… I… I would never.” Demi said softly, almost to the point of a whisper. “Because I… because I love you, and only you.”
Thavel seemed to calm down a bit, although she was still in her feral form. “Do you promise?”
“Of course I promise, that’s why I married you. You’re the one for me, Thavel.”
Thavel suddenly lunged forwards and grabbed Demi in a hug far stronger than before, squeezing with all of her might. “Oh Demi! I’m sorry I snapped at you like that!”
Demi shook his head, “No, no, I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner… It was probably a lot for you to go through…”
“It’s alright dear,” Thavel said as she let go. “Now… I still have some papers left to grade, and I would appreciate it if you left me to it.”
“Sure thing. I’ll see you later honey.”
“Until then, dear.”
Demi left the language room and saw Bloomie standing in the middle of the hallway. Her arms were crossed as she glared at him with her usual piercing stare, “What was that noise?”
Demi waved dismissively, “Oh, it’s nothing.”
Bloomie glanced over through the classroom window and saw Thavel, still transformed, grading papers. She looked back at Demi, who was visibly shaken up, “It doesn’t look like nothing.”
“Well… it was something, but everything’s fine now!”
Bloomie simply shrugged and walked off, “If you insist.”
Once Demi was out of sight, Thavel laughed maniacally to herself. That really couldn’t have gone any better. Not only was there no way he’d go on trips without her again, but he even blamed himself for what happened! Even if she did hate to see him upset, it was like an investment, and she knew it was going to pay off very, very soon. Everything was falling into place perfectly.