Chapter 12: Panotti of the Opera (1)
"In the Natural History, Pliny writes about the strange race of people known as the Panotti who live in the "All-Ears Islands" off of Scythia. These people there have bizarrely large ears that are so huge that the Panotti use them as blankets to shield their body against the chills of the night. Their ears were used in lieu of clothing." - Wikipedia about Panotti.
>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<
"There he is!" a rat omega squealed. "Isn't he dreamy with his long flowing turquoise hair and eyes?"
His friend the colourful parrot omega glanced at the beautiful siren prince and pulled the other omega away, lowering his voice. "Have you not heard? He's the defective alpha."
Puzzled, the rat omega asked for more details. In this academy, weren't only the prestigious or talented selected for enrolment? How could there be a defective alpha? He simply couldn't believe that someone so stunning would be flawed.
"What are you thinking?" the parrot hissed at his friend. "Not that kind of defect. Don't you know who he is? He is Syris, the fifth Siren prince of Atlantis!"
The fifth prince of Atlantis was famous not for his beauty or title. If anything, he was one of the only alphas who didn't have any admirers. Rumours said that Syris attended the Academy only because he lost the favour of his family. It wasn't an honour for Syris to attend the Academy, in fact it was quite the opposite. In the eyes of the sirens, Syris was such a disgrace that they willingly offered him up to the Academy to be sent away for five years with only one shark bodyguard. for someone without favour, power or prestige, it wasn't a surprise that Syris wasn't a favourite among omegas looking for a mate.
"What exactly is wrong with him?"
The parrot demon waited for Syris to pass them before he looked at his ignorant friend. "They say that he cannot sing."
There was a loud gasp of shock and disbelief. "B-But he is a siren! All sirens can sing and lure others into a trance..."
His friend smirked. "Well, this dreamy prince can only knock a person out or give them migraines if he tried to sing. I haven't heard it myself but they say that Prince Syris is tone-deaf and is the only siren in Atlantis who can't sing."
Too engrossed in their gossip, neither boys noticed someone else coming from around the corner and crashed into them.
"I'm so so-" the parrot omega squawked but paused midway when he realised who he crashed into. It was the beaver-like ugly boy that nobody liked. At once, his attitude changed.
"I was wondering who it was. As it turns out, it's the unwanted panotti. Oh well, I don't blame you for not looking at where you're going. Those eyes of yours are only decorations, just like your uselessly big floppy ears. Isn't that right, Floopy? Too bad you're just an unwanted beta with no luck at anything. If you were an omega, you might be the perfect match for the defective alpha prince. Too bad nothing is going your way, huh? Then again, that might not even happen seeing as you're so hideous to look at!"
Laughing at the beaver-like boy's misery, the parrot dragged his rat friend away who gave him an apologetic look as he was pulled along. Floopy had long grown accustomed to the bullying and teasing. he didn't have many friends even after entering the Academy. Nobody wanted him around and Amanda was kind enough to take him in and offer him a place in the Academy until he knew what he wanted to do with his life.
The panotti was a creature found in the magical forest and was some kind of fae who was blessed with good hearing and the ability to communicate with animals. However, due to his overly large ears that sometimes dragged on the floor and tripped him, he was often teased and bullied for being different. It didn't help that Floopy had buck teeth and freckles. His tiny eyes were made tinier behind thick glasses. He was clumsy and timid but if there was one redeeming feature that Floopy had, it was his talent for music.
As someone with superior hearing, Floopy often enjoyed listening to the folk songs that villagers and hunters often sing. In his free time before he got chased out of his forest, Floopy often conjured music with the help of animal friends. The forest faes were not happy with him as Floopy's love for music grew. They were envious of his songs so when Amanda sent an invitation, they didn't hesitate to nominate the ugly panotti to enter the Academy, telling him to never return and that they hoped he got stuck in the time cracks.
With a saddened heart, Floopy packed whatever little belongings he had and bade goodbye to his animal friends to enter the Academy. The only bright side was how he was roomed with a blind bat demon for his roommate. The other alphas and betas didn't really care or bother them despite their unpopularity. However, the same couldn't be said about the omegas who enjoyed taunting them and hurling insults. Their words pierced like thousands of needles pointed at his weak spot and Floopy didn't know how he would be like without that roommate of his.
In the huge Academy, the roommates only had each other to rely on. What just happened wasn't anything new. He held back tears and bent down to search for his scattered books, music scores and glasses. He just prayed that they didn't crush them this time because it would be awfully embarrassing to go to the librarian to ask for a third fixing spell for today. After making it through a rough day, Floopy knew that he would be licking his wounds, with his roommate beside to accompany him. They often spent their evenings talking about it and encouraging each other with false smiles so that they had the strength to face another day.
"Is this yours?" someone asked and startled the poor panotti from his depressing thoughts. Without his glasses, Floopy could only stammer his reply and run away without taking anything offered to him. He still didn't manage to find his glasses but he was too terrified. All his important books and music scores were gathered so the panotti bowed and apologised before making his speedy escape.
In the hallway, Syris was stunned. While he wasn't revered by many, this was still the first time someone had been terrified of him. He looked at the glasses in his hand and wondered what he should do. They were dented and finding the large-eared elf to return something broken didn't sit right with the siren prince so Syris decided to fix it before asking around for the strange boy to return them.
"There shouldn't be many large-eared elves here, right?"
>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<
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