Chapter 8
“Survive p>
That single word echoed through Aria’s mind. For a brief moment, she considered Brittney’s offer. Still, she couldn’t fully trust her yet. Girls could become enemies over the smallest things.
Right then, Professor Cletus clapped his hands together. “That will be all for now,” he announced. “If there’s any part of the orientation you still don’t understand, I’m willing to answer a few questions p>
Almost every hand in the room shot into the air. Except Aria’s and Brittney’s.
Professor Cletus looked stunned at the overwhelming response. “Well,” he said with an awkward chuckle, “that’s certainly more enthusiasm than I expected p>
A few girls giggled.
“Alright,” he continued, adjusting his glasses. “I’ll take four questions and no more than that. As for anything else you may still be confused about He lifted a thin booklet from the table beside him. “Our orientation guide should cover most of it p>
He held it up briefly before adding, “And if you still need assistance afterward, you may contact the support team directly. They’ll be available throughout your stay… however short it may be p>
Brittney whispered conspiratorially, “Let’s see them ask the dumbest questions possible p>
“Let’s see Professor Cletus scanned the room before finally pointing at someone. “You. Go ahead. What’s your question p>
The girl, a pretty brunette, stood excitedly. “Hello,” she said brightly. “My name is Chelsea. So… hypothetically speaking she began, trying and failing to sound casual, “if one of the beast heirs likes us, are relationships actually allowed p>
Aria rolled her eyes. She had seen that question coming from a mile away.
That was the entire appeal of Bestiaris Academy to girls like these. Date a beast man. The beast shifters were considered superior species compared to humans and the idea of being chosen by one carried a certain twisted prestige to it.
Cletus sighed the kind of tired sigh that suggested he had answered this exact question far too many times already.
“Relationships between participants and beasts are not prohibited,” he answered carefully. “However, your primary focus should be survival and integration p>
Brittney scoffed beside her. “Their shamelessness is honestly impressive p>
Aria understood exactly what she meant.
The government’s entire goal was obviously to encourage relationships between humans and beasts, yet they kept hiding behind the polished word integration instead of admitting it outright.
Another hand shot up immediately, taking advantage of the distraction.
“Yes?” Professor Cletus said.
“Are dragon students actually capable of flying while carrying someone?” The girl asked. “And if so, would they allow humans to be their rider p>
“Someone watched way too many fantasy movies growing up,” Brittney muttered with a laugh.
The man scratched his head awkwardly. “With the proper positioning and equipment, that is theoretically possible. However, dragon shifters are extremely temperamental and dangerous. I strongly advise against approaching them in their shifted forms p>
Judging from the girl’s disappointed expression afterward, Aria doubted that warning had been received the way he intended. Perhaps this would be fun after all.
“Professor Cletus,” the blonde girl from earlier, spoke up suddenly without waiting to be acknowledged. The same girl who had mocked Aria.
“Is it biologically possible for a human to conceive a child with a beast?” she asked boldly. “Specifically a snake shifter. How exactly would the anatomy even work p>
This time, murmurs spread across the room. Even Aria was mildly interested despite knowing the girl’s intentions were anything but scientific.
“Regarding Karen’s question,” another girl chimed in thoughtfully, “if humans can reproduce with wolves, then I don’t see why it would be impossible with other species p>
So there were intelligent people here after all, Aria mused. Though the fact the blonde girl’s name was actually Karen somehow felt incredibly fitting.
Professor Cletus took over. “Thank you, Aleksandra, for that. And just like she said, cross-species reproduction has already been proven possible between humans and wolves. As for serpent shifters, however, the answer becomes a bit more complicated p>
He adjusted his glasses before continuing.
“Many serpent species are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs develop and hatch internally before live birth occurs. Others are fully oviparous and lay eggs entirely. Because of those biological differences, we honestly don’t know how compatible reproduction with humans truly is across every serpent species p>
“We also lack sufficient scientific data to fully answer that question. Human-serpent pairings remain extremely uncommon and controlled studies on the subject are practically nonexistent p>
Aria shuddered. The thought of them trying to gather “scientific data” for something like that was horrifying enough on its own.
Professor Cletus continued, thankfully oblivious to her thoughts.
“However, nature has always been unpredictable and the human body itself is remarkably adaptable. It would not surprise me if such cases became possible under the right circumstances p>
Then Brittney spoke loudly from beside her.
“Yeah, well, let’s just hope none of you end up laying eggs from your vaginas p>
The girls burst into laughter while Karen shot Brittney a murderous glare. Not that the girl looked remotely bothered.
Aria’s brows lifted slightly as she studied the girl beside her. Brittney really wasn’t like the others. Maybe giving her a chance wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world after all.
“Now for our final question.” The Professor said, his gaze sweeping across the room, searching through the sea of eager girls.
Then his eyes landed on Aria. She stiffened immediately.
Please don’t. She had already had enough attention for one day.
“Aria Aspen,” he called, much to her chagrin, “as the last candidate to arrive, I imagine you must have quite a few questions yourself p>
“I don’t—” The denial stopped at the tip of her tongue. Maybe she did have a question after all.
Someone in this room clearly needed to remind these idiots what they were actually walking into.
“You’re right,” Aria said slowly as she rose to her feet. “I do have a question p>
Professor Cletus gestured toward her encouragingly. “Go ahead p>
Aria glanced around the room, catching the girls’ curious expressions before looking back at him.
She asked calmly, “Since the government is so determined to send us to our deaths, I assume they’ve already prepared graves for us too p>
Silence instantly swallowed the room.