{
  "submission_id": "3151982",
  "keywords": [
    {
      "keyword_id": "61",
      "keyword_name": "boy",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "82372"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "37",
      "keyword_name": "cub",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "285264"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "15837",
      "keyword_name": "dating",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "697"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "1799",
      "keyword_name": "friendship",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "5353"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "236",
      "keyword_name": "gay",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "152243"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "27758",
      "keyword_name": "kennen",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "417"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "42176",
      "keyword_name": "league of legends",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "4021"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "3372",
      "keyword_name": "macro",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "23335"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "165",
      "keyword_name": "male",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "1214237"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "10308",
      "keyword_name": "male/male",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "127903"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "2712",
      "keyword_name": "micro",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "13724"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "762",
      "keyword_name": "nudity",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "46763"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "157",
      "keyword_name": "red panda",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "15220"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "909",
      "keyword_name": "romance",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "9217"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "533630",
      "keyword_name": "runeterra",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "16"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "449",
      "keyword_name": "school",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "9094"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "113",
      "keyword_name": "shota",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "35267"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "17774",
      "keyword_name": "shrinking",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "1778"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "27690",
      "keyword_name": "teemo",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "637"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "29643",
      "keyword_name": "testing",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "263"
    },
    {
      "keyword_id": "27692",
      "keyword_name": "yordle",
      "contributed": "f",
      "submissions_count": "3763"
    }
  ],
  "hidden": "f",
  "scraps": "f",
  "favorite": "f",
  "favorites_count": "4",
  "create_datetime": "2023-10-21 19:23:15.417139+00",
  "create_datetime_usertime": "21 Oct 2023 21:23 CEST",
  "last_file_update_datetime": "2023-10-21 19:20:20.479658+00",
  "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "21 Oct 2023 21:20 CEST",
  "username": "pentrep",
  "user_id": "202883",
  "user_icon_file_name": "147300_pentrep_150_by_veemonsito-dcfpc3p.gif",
  "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/147/147300_pentrep_150_by_veemonsito-dcfpc3p.gif",
  "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/147/147300_pentrep_150_by_veemonsito-dcfpc3p.gif",
  "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/147/147300_pentrep_150_by_veemonsito-dcfpc3p.gif",
  "file_name": "4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
  "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
  "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
  "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
  "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
  "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
  "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
  "thumb_huge_x": "300",
  "thumb_huge_y": "267",
  "thumb_large_x": "200",
  "thumb_large_y": "178",
  "thumb_medium_x": "120",
  "thumb_medium_y": "107",
  "files": [
    {
      "file_id": "4735385",
      "file_name": "4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
      "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
      "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
      "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.doc",
      "mimetype": "application/msword",
      "submission_id": "3151982",
      "user_id": "202883",
      "submission_file_order": "0",
      "full_size_x": null,
      "full_size_y": null,
      "screen_size_x": null,
      "screen_size_y": null,
      "preview_size_x": null,
      "preview_size_y": null,
      "initial_file_md5": "b28fb0a9ed1c891eb2f8409ed0653840",
      "full_file_md5": "b28fb0a9ed1c891eb2f8409ed0653840",
      "large_file_md5": "",
      "small_file_md5": "",
      "thumbnail_md5": "727f8406122de3b5c9cb4b96f48f7df3",
      "deleted": "f",
      "create_datetime": "2023-10-21 19:20:20.479658+00",
      "create_datetime_usertime": "21 Oct 2023 21:20 CEST",
      "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
      "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
      "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4735/4735385_pentrep_testing_.jpg",
      "thumb_huge_x": "300",
      "thumb_huge_y": "267",
      "thumb_large_x": "200",
      "thumb_large_y": "178",
      "thumb_medium_x": "120",
      "thumb_medium_y": "107"
    }
  ],
  "pools": [
    {
      "pool_id": "75233",
      "name": "Backgrounds for other characters",
      "description": "Background stories for characters other than Pent and Samaliel.",
      "count": "27",
      "submission_left_submission_id": "3018329",
      "submission_left_file_name": "4592601_pentrep_ionian_exc.doc",
      "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4592/4592601_pentrep_ionian_exc.jpg",
      "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4592/4592601_pentrep_ionian_exc.jpg",
      "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4592/4592601_pentrep_ionian_exc.jpg",
      "submission_left_thumb_huge_x": "300",
      "submission_left_thumb_huge_y": "281",
      "submission_left_thumb_large_x": "200",
      "submission_left_thumb_large_y": "187",
      "submission_left_thumb_medium_x": "120",
      "submission_left_thumb_medium_y": "112",
      "submission_right_submission_id": "3178340",
      "submission_right_file_name": "4778550_pentrep_bandlewood_festival.doc",
      "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/4778/4778550_pentrep_bandlewood_festival.jpg",
      "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/4778/4778550_pentrep_bandlewood_festival.jpg",
      "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/4778/4778550_pentrep_bandlewood_festival.jpg",
      "submission_right_thumb_huge_x": "300",
      "submission_right_thumb_huge_y": "267",
      "submission_right_thumb_large_x": "200",
      "submission_right_thumb_large_y": "178",
      "submission_right_thumb_medium_x": "120",
      "submission_right_thumb_medium_y": "107"
    }
  ],
  "description": "It's testing week at Bandle Academy and the students are stressed. Kennen tries to help out a friend and things don't go as planned.\nRated M for implied nudity.",
  "description_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>It&#039;s testing week at Bandle Academy and the students are stressed. Kennen tries to help out a friend and things don&#039;t go as planned.<br />Rated M for implied nudity.</span>",
  "writing": "Testing by Pent Ghelsburg\t\n\nDisclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves micro macro and suggestive content with underaged characters. You have been warned. \n\nIt had been a few weeks since the trip to Ionia. Hailun's leg had healed up enough that he could get the cast off. Kennen was finally let off the hook for sneaking out. Things had returned to normal for all things considered. Hailun and Kennen remained close but their relationship remained distant in public. Neither cub was that crazy about being passionate in public and the occasional issue with people pestering them about it made that unlikely to change anytime soon.\n\n\tIt was getting close to the middle of the school term and with it came some of the bigger tests that students had to tackle. Education was something in Bandle City that was taken rather seriously. While testing was somewhat of an anomaly, for the most part, some subjects required a physical presentation of progress. Things like combat preparedness and magical conditioning were of the like to fall into that category.\n\n\tWith the onset of testing on the horizon the students of Bandle Academy had become more recluse. Those who were more studious formed groups to better tackle whatever preparation they thought was necessary. Hailun and Kennen were different, even going as far as to almost completely isolate themselves from each other out of the fear of distractions. It was a change that both of their parents weren't expecting but didn't question.\n\n\tIt was the beginning of a new week, the week before the tests were supposed to be held. Placards and signs of all sorts had been affixed throughout the school to remind the students what was at stake. Hailun arrived at the school bright and early, as he often did. The usual crowd of students was out front. Many of them were palled around each other, discussing strategies and notes for the tests on their mind.\n\n\tHe looked around for Kennen but saw no signs of the other cub. He was hoping to get in a sparring match before school but it didn't seem like it was going to happen. The red panda saw Poppy hanging out in her usual spot by the tree, lazing about and seeming genuinely carefree despite what was going on. He decided to see what her plan was for the next two weeks to see how she would handle it.\n\nHe approached Poppy and waved to her. She panned her head up to him and smiled.\n\n\"How goes it, hero?\" She said shading her eyes from the sun and peering over the other cub's shoulder.\n\nThe red panda shrugged. \"It goes. How about you?\"\n\n\"The same. What's up?\" Poppy figured he must have been looking for Kennen or something of the sort.\n\nHailun kneeled. \"You're not getting ready for the testing week?\"\n\n\"Nah, I am waiting on Lulu so I can study with her. She's the smartest girl I know.\" The girl seemed confident in her answer.\n\nThe boy nodded. \"Oh cool. Have you seen Kennen?\"\n\n\"I think he went into the school to get in some practice for magics and sorcery class. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the study with some of the other students.\" Poppy figured it made sense as Kennen wasn't as strong in magic as he was in combat.\n\nHailun stood back up. \"Thanks. Let me know if you want help studying later.\"\n\n\"I'm all set. Have a good one.\" The girl had already decided on a plan and wasn't about to change it.\n\nThe boy waved to her and she eased her head back into a restful state. Hailun walked into the school and proceeded through the halls. The freshly lacquered floors smelt of wax and squeaked as he walked on it. It wasn't a very long walk to the magical studies wing of the school. It had its hall dedicated to each of the different levels and areas of study. But the most popular area for this time of area was known as the Aritorium.\n\nThe Aritorium was an open-air training area that was still within the school's walls. It had a few training dummies, tomes for spell casting, and several magicked items that hovered about its room. The room was airy and had various shrubs and trees to offer a little spice to the otherwise drab area. Hailun made his way to the Aritorium, hoping he would find Kennen or any of his other friends.\n\nHe arrived in due time and peered around inside. The smell of dew and stale water was ever present as some stagnant rain puddles remained from the last rain shower that had passed through the area. Hailun could hear some words being uttered, some form of spell being cast he was certain. He kept to the perimeter of it as he didn't want to be the accidental target of some spell gone wrong.\n\nAfter walking around it entirely once, Halun decided to take his chance and poke his head inside.\n\n\"Stop casting for a moment…I'm looking for someone.\" He announced in hopes he could get whoever was casting to stop.\n\nHailun heard no further chanting and figured it was safe enough to come to the inner ring of the room. He peered within just to make sure nothing was going on before stepping in entirely.\n\n\"Oh, hey Hailun. What's up?\" Kennen saw the other boy approach from the rear.\n\nThe red panda looked over his friends, wearing some earthen casters' robes that had been issued as an acolyte's garments by the school.\n\n\"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see what you were up to.\" Hailun approached the other boy and smiled at him.\n\nHailun pointed at Lulu. \"I was just practicing magic with Lulu here. Lulu, have you met Hailun yet?\"\n\n\"Somewhat. Pleased to meet you, Hailun.\" She curtsied with her staff bending down with her.\n\nHailun smiled at her.  \"You too. Thanks for helping, Kennen.\"\n\n\"It is no problem. I have known him for a long time. This isn't the first time I've helped him practice his magical studies.\" The blue-furred yordle stood back upright.\n\nThe smaller of the two boys nodded. \"I see. What spell are you working on?\"\n\n\"Kennen needs to work on Expacio. I need help with something a little more advanced.\" She didn't name it since she was in a more advanced class than the two boys.\n\nKennen looked over at Lulu. \"I told you we could practice it if you want.\"\n\n\"The problem is I haven't even tried it yet. I'm not about to cast something on you if it is new to me.\" She shook her head seeming unwilling to try it.\n\nThe brown yordle sighed. \"Suit yourself. I just want to help you too.\"\n\n\"I appreciate it but I don't know how you can help just yet.\" She kicked her feet in the rocky gravel.\n\nThe red panda hummed as if thinking to himself. \"Why not just try it on me? I owe you for helping Kennen with his issue back a few months ago.\"\n\n\"You don't owe me anything for that. He's a friend after all and he was suffering.\" Lulu was always one looking to help other people regardless if there was a reward.\n\nHailun pointed at one of the training dummies. \"What about on them?\"\n\n\"The professor said I need a live target to try it on. It will not work on inanimate objects.\" She walked over and grabbed a tome before showing them the spell in question.\n\nThe book was made of old yordle runes, a language that neither Kennen nor Hailun had been taught quite yet. They looked at it but could not make out anything other than a few symbols that matched the current writing system of the language.\n\n\"Oh come on…you can try it on me. You've done enough for me today.\" Kennen continued to try to convince her to just give it a go.\n\nShe stood hesitating a moment as if uncertain whether it was a good idea or not. \"I suppose I don't have a choice. You both are willing?\"\n\nBoth Kennen and Hailun nodded at her. \"I suppose a coin flip will have to do. Kennen if it lands on heads then you're it. Tails is for you Hailun.\"\n\nThey nodded again, understanding the deal that had been made. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin and showed it to them.  She proceeded to throw the coin in the air. It remained in the air for several seconds before she caught it and showed it to them. It had landed on heads.\n\n\"Looks like you're the lucky one, Kennen.\" She said looking at the bigger boy.\n\nHailun kicked the pavement. \"Aw, alright.\"\n\n\"If you want to do it, then you can Hailun.\" Kennen didn't want to make the boy feel like he was left out.\n\nThe smaller boy shook his head. \"Nah, we made a deal so it's all you.\"\n\n\"Alright…now that it's settled I need Hailun to step to the side and for Kennen to come to the center of the training area with me.\" She instructed them before stepping a bit back. \n\nKennen took a position opposite of her. \"Alright, so do I just stand here?\"\n\n\"Yep, no defensive technique or nothing. I just want to see if I can get it to work.\" Lulu was rubbing the top of her staff as if preparing it.\n\n\"What is this spell supposed to do anyhow?'  Kennen's curiosity was already getting the better of him.\n\nLulu hummed a bit. \"The runes make it unclear as if it is the caster's will that imposes itself on the victim.\"\n\n\"Right…and that means what?\" The brown yordle had no idea what she was getting at.\n\nThe girl rolled her eyes. \"I am unsure but I guess we will see ourselves. Are you ready?\"\n\n\"Yeah, bring it on.\" Kennen was ready for whatever it was.\n\nShe angled her staff forward and slapped it on the floor. \"Tremendo!\"\n\nSeveral moments passed and nothing happened. She shook her staff as if expecting something to come out of it.\n\n\"Was that it?\" Kennen didn't feel any different.\n\nLulu stamped her foot into the gravel. \"No, nothing happened.\"\n\n\"You can try again if you want.\" The boy said, intent on helping her with the spell.\n\nThe girl nodded and angled her staff again bumping it against the floor twice. \"Tremendo!\"\n\nAgain several moments passed and nothing happened. She looked at her staff and threw it on the floor, walking away from it.\n\n\"Wait!\" Kennen ran over as he didn't want her to give up. \n\nYet, she continued walking even still. She hated the taste of failure and didn't deal with it very well. Kennen approached the staff and looked at it. It looked like any other ordinary piece of wood except for a small ribbon hanging off a purple gem near the top. He grabbed hold of it, a small bit of purple dust exploding all around it. The glittery powder sparkled and flaked as it\n covered the entirety of his form.\n\n\"Lulu?\" He called out again to the girl, running after her with the staff in his hand.\n\nHailun wasn't sure what to make of the situation. The glittery powder was barely noticeable to him and it didn't come off as anything strange. He decided to let Kennen settle the issue and catch up with his boyfriend later. The red panda made his exit from the Aritorium and made his way to his next class.  The first class went like normal, the teacher went over nothing new as he knew the students had too much to worry about with exams on the horizon.\n\nThe boy exited from the class and noticed that Teemo was hanging around with Tristana. He hadn't seen them around each other recently and was glad to see them together again. He approached them and they smiled at him.\n\n\"Hey, you two. How goes it?\" He asked to start the conversation.\n\nTristana smiled at him warmly as he approached. \"Good and yourself?\"\n\n\"Good. You two ready for the exams?\" Hailun asked, not seeming to notice her constant stare.\n\nTeemo nodded. \"Yup, you coming to Scouts this weekend?\"\n\n\"Probably, I need to ask my parents.\" The red panda hadn't established a schedule for his scout obligations yet.\n\nThe smaller cub gave him a thumbs up. \"Cool. I'll see you this weekend then.\"\n\nHailun departed from them, thinking about what the scouts would have in store for him that coming weekend.  The red panda soon noticed Amumu outside one of the classrooms. The boy was completely encompassed in the book he was reading.  The other yordle wasn't sure if he should bother him or not and decided to let his friend remain focused on what he was doing. The yordle cub continued on his way down the hall.\n\nThe red panda headed toward his next class, thinking to get an early start on it. He figured it would be a chance for him to get ready for it. He arrived at the sight of Heimedinger. Hailun wasn't used to seeing the man in this side of the school and it caught him off guard a bit. The man's mustache whiskers wrinkled a bit as he smiled at the boy. Heimerdiner said nothing but welcomed the cub inside.\n\nThe class started before long. A lesson on hydrogen planning and fostering water in areas where there was none. It was a pretty drab subject but one that would be necessary if the students found themselves in a situation where they were lost and had no other way to get water for themselves. Heimerdinger took them outside to give the technology a try. Each of the students was given a makeshift drill made out of a soil insert.\n\nHailun had no one to work with that day. It was something he hadn't experienced yet and Heimerdinger wondered why no one paired with him but did not confront the issue. The Red Panda was more than able to work on his own and was able to make use of the device with little issue. Even went as far as getting a small spout of water pouring out from the plot of land he'd selected to work in.\n\nHeimerdinger checked in on the students, commending the ones who accomplished the task. The man smiled at Hailun again and gave him the same compliment. Once everyone was done, he returned them inside before dismissing the class. Hailun kept to the rear of the line as the students headed out, not seeming bothered by the fact he was still alone. Heimerdinger couldn't help but feel bad for him but decided to let it go.\n\nHailun proceeded out of the class and back into the hall. He was a bit bored from the bland lesson of hydrogen planning and yawned a bit. Despite it being earlier in the day, he found himself a bit tired.  He supposed it was because he hadn't had much sleep the night before. He knew there was little he could do about it other than consume something with sugar or simply deal with it. He decided that he would just have to wait for lunch.\n\nBy the time lunch rolled around, his stomach was rumbling as it often did that time of day. Entering into the cafeteria proved the usual amount of foot traffic. He proceeded to the rear of the line and looked around to see if he could find Kennen or Gnar or someone else he could sit with. The only people he recognized were Teemo and Tristana at the corner of one of the tables. He figured would want to spend time together alone as they sometimes did during lunch since they were sitting removed from everyone else.\n\nHailun thought about it as he waited in line. He figured Kennen or Gnar would have to show up at some point and decided to sit at a mostly vacant table. He grabbed his tray and selected his lunch before making his way to the table. The only other people at the table were Veigar and Vex who kept to themselves and hadn't caused any issues as of late. Hailun eyed them as he sat down but they paid no mind to him.\n\nAfter a few moments of eating, Kennen found his way over to the boy's table.\n\n\"Is this seat taken?\" The brown yordle asked as he felt bad the other cub was sitting alone.\n\nHailun looked over at him and smiled. \"Of course not. I would love to have you sit next to me.\"\n\n\"Cool, how was your day?\" The other yordle sat down next to his friend, placing his tray next to him.\n\nHailun shrugged. \"Today's been boring. The teachers are all too worried about the tests. How about you?\"\n\n\"The same. Nothing new. Just review.\" Kennen began eating his food without delay, knowing full well they didn't have much time.\n\nThe red panda spoke between bites. \"Did you give Lulu back her staff?\"\n\n\"Yeah, I told her a white lie that her spell made me feel energetic. I felt bad for her.\" The brown yordle sighed.\n\nHailun smiled. \"That was nice of you. I guess nothing happened though.\"\n\n\"Nope, I don't feel any different. Do I look any different to you?\" Kennen asked to be certain.\n\nThe other boy looked over at him. \"Nah. You look the same.\"\n\n\"Cool.\" Kennen continued eating his meal until the tray was empty.\n\nHailun put his arm over the other boy's shoulder. \"Want to walk to class together?\"\n\n\"Sure, that would be nice.\" The brown yordle got up from the table, picking up both their trays.\n\nHe waited a moment until Hailun got up. The two stood next to each other. Hailun looked at Kennen and Kennen back at Hailun.\n\n\"Say does something seem off to you?\" Kennen realized he was looking directly into the other cub's eyes.\n\nThe red panda stepped back and looked at him again. \"No, why?\"\n\n\"I dunno. Just something seems off. Did you get bigger?\" The boy stepped closer to his friend as if sizing himself up with the other boy.\n\n\"Maybe? My mom says I'm going through a growth spurt so it's possible.\"  Hailun shrugged as if being uncertain about it.\n\nKennen shrugged. \"I guess it doesn't matter.\"\n\n\"Nope, but it makes it easier to hug you.\" Hailun reached around and hugged the other boy tightly.\n\nThe brown yordle blushed and returned it with one of his own. \"Yeah.\"\n\nThe lunch bell rang before long and the two cubs went their separate ways. Hailun attended his next class, survival where Teemo was already in class. As usual, he sat down with the other cub and waited for class to start. The smaller yordle looked like something was bothering him but the other boy said nothing about it. The teacher for the day showed up before long with a large box in his hands. Today's assignment was to go through mushrooms to determine what was consumable versus what was not.\n\nThe teacher soon began explaining the lesson and going over the basics of the task. Teemo was something of an expert in mushrooms. He'd been developing his colony of the plant in hopes of creating something he could use for his own devices.  It was something that had been long in the works but that he hadn't perfected quite yet. Still, as a result, Teemo had become quite knowledgeable in the world of mushrooms and considered himself an expert. \n\nThe class was taken outside. It was a dark day with grey clouds looming overhead. It wasn't yet raining but the sky threatened ominously as if it was about to pour. Still, it wasn't enough to stop the teacher from taking them outside. She wasn't concerned for them to get wet and unless it showed signs of a lightning storm, she hadn't been told otherwise. \n\nTeemo and Hailun were the first ones out of the classroom. The smaller cub made his way toward the entrance of the Bandlewood. He knew all too well where to find outcroppings of all sorts of types of mushrooms. The Red Panda was more than willing to let him take the lead as he had no idea what to look for. Eventually, once they were far enough from the school, Hailun decided to break the silence.\n\n\"How's everything going, Teemo?\" The bigger boy hoped his friend would be willing to talk about whatever he had on his mind.\n\nTeemo didn't look back at his friend and instead maintained forward. \"Fine. Yourself?\"\n\n\"I am alright. Is something bothering you? You look worried about something.\" The red panda was straightforward with his concern.\n\nThe smaller boy hesitated and peered back. \"No, why?\"\n\n\"It just seems like something is bothering you. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?\" The cub grabbed Teemo's shoulder.\n\nTeemo shook his head. \"Not really.\"\n\n\"But I want to help you…all the times you helped me in the past. I can't just leave you hanging.\" Hailun pleaded with the boy.\n\nThe tan yordle slowly sat down before patting the spot next to him. \"Sit down, please. If you promise not to tell anyone, I will tell you.\"\n\n\"Yeah, of course. I promise.\"  The red panda sat down next to the other boy.\n\nTeemo huffed. \"Tristana is upset with me, I think.\"\n\n\"Oh? What makes you think that?\" Hailun looked over at the other yordle who still avoided his gaze.\n\nThe boy panned his head up as if to look towards the sky. \"Because she doesn't want to hang out as much. I think she is jealous.\"\n\n\"Jealous of what though? You're not seeing anyone else I'm sure.\" The bigger boy scratched his head as he was confused.\n\nTeemo shrugged. \"I'm not sure.\n\n\"Do you have any idea of what it could be?\" Hailun tried to get the other\n cub to face him.\n\nThe tan yordle finally relented, a small tear forming in his eyes. \"Nah but it stinks. I would never cheat on her so I don't know what she's upset about.\"\n\n\"Have you tried talking to her about it yet?\" The bigger cub put his arm over the other boy in an attempt to comfort him.\n\nTeemo cocked his head awkwardly. \"No, I haven't. I am not sure she would talk about it and she's been sort of moody lately because of whatever it is.\"\n\n\"I think it's worth trying…but you know her better than I do.\" Hailun shrugged at his friend.\n\nTeemo simply nodded and sniffled.\n\n\"I mean…you guys are a couple and you know her better than anyone. So why not just bring it up casually without mentioning thinking she's jealous?\" The red panda removed his arm from behind the other boy.\n\nThe tan yordle nodded. \"I guess your right. It's worth a shot. I'll try to talk about it later.\"\n\n\"I am here to support you if you need me. After all…without you, I would never have ended up with Kennen.\" The bigger boy smiled warmly at his friend.\n\nTeemo smirked at the selfless comment. \"I didn't have as much to do with it as you think but thanks.\"\n\n\"I guess...but this isn't about us. Is there any way I can help you?\" The Red Panda wanted to be certain he was of any help to the boy in need.\n\nThe smaller cub shook his head. \"Probably not. It's something I need to figure out myself.\"\n\n\"I guess your right. Well…let me know if you need anything, alright? I'm here for you.\" Hailun gave the other boy a short friendly hug\n\nThe tan yordle smiled. \"Alright, thanks. I appreciate it. How are things for you and Kennen?\"\n\n\"I think it's going well. I just want to make him happy.\" The bigger boy looked up to the sky which was beginning to rain a bit.\n\nTeemo grasped Hailun's shoulder. \"It's about both of you, remember that. That's what I keep telling myself for me and Tristana anyways.\"\n\n\"Yeah, I know. I love him. I can't wait to spend more time with him today. Feel better now?\" The red panda was hopeful talking about it resolved some of the other yordles issues.\n\nTeemo nodded. \"Yeah, let's go.\"\n\nThe two headed back into the thick of the woods. The rain picked up but they did not relent as they had to get something to bring back. When they finally found something of interest, they quickly hurried back to the school to turn it in. They found the teacher waiting outside, seemingly looking for them. The two boys handed off the mushrooms to the woman who quickly rushed inside when they returned. \n\nThe rest of the class went by pretty quickly with the instructor giving out instructions as to the next step. Teemo seemed much less distracted now which made Hailun feel like he had helped.\n\n\"Thanks for talking to me about it by the way.\" Teemo wanted to be sure his friend knew he appreciated his help.\n\nHailun smiled at him. \"Of course, you're my friend.\"\n\nWhen class was over they were released from the class. The hallways were much thicker with activity now since none of the students were outside. The weather had gotten to the point where they weren't letting students out of the building. The local forecast showed a storm was brewing and it was unlikely to let up anytime soon. Some of the cubs were looking out of the various windows wondering when it would come to an end.\n\nHailun wasn't as interested in what was going on outside. The idea of bad weather wasn't something that bothered him. He made his way past them to the recreation area of the school.  He couldn't help but wonder what the recreation class would have in store for them since they couldn't go outside. When he arrived at the court, he found it to be already full of students who were crowding about for whatever reason.\n\nHailun began to think something more was up. He peered around and wondered if he could see anyone he knew. He saw no signs of Kennen or anyone else hanging around, though it was difficult to make people through the thickness of the crowd. Soon he saw one of the school coaches take to the bleachers with what looked like a voice augmentation device.\n\n\"Students, the weather outside has taken to the worse. The administration has informed us that the recreation class is to be canceled so that displaced students may remain here. Since dismissal is so near, we recommend you hang tight until we get an all-clear from administration or the weather service.\" The coach spoke loudly, their voice somewhat muffled out by all the chatter.\n\nSounds of disgruntled groans followed as the announcement came to a close. Hailun saw that some of the cubs had taken seats on the bleachers but many more were horsing around. Soon seeing Gnar rampaging through the crowd, seemingly looking annoyed. The small orange yordle blazed right past him. Hailun couldn't help but wonder what had happened and decided he would check in with him later.\n\nHe soon saw Amumu and Rumble hanging around on one of the corners of the court. Deciding to stop by them and see if they knew anything more. The green yordle waved to him as he approached.\n\n\"Hey, Hailun. This weather sucks, huh?\" Amumu initiated the conversation since he knew the other boy better.\n\nHailun nodded. \"Yeah, It was starting to rain when I was in survival class. Is it supposed to let up soon?\"\n\n\"I'm not sure. They haven't said anything other than canceling recreation class.\" Amumu sprawled out on one of the bleachers, leaning back a bit.\n\nThe red panda rolled his eyes. \"I was looking forward to having some fun.\"\n\n\"Aren't you worried at all?\"  Amumu wasn't sure what to make of the situation.\n\nThe smaller boy had a confused look on his face. \"About the weather? Why should I be?\"\n\n\"Rumors are saying we're going to be stuck here a while.\" Rumble cut in since he was more in the loop with hearsay.\n\nThe red panda looked dismayed. \"Oh…that sucks.\"\n\n\"Yeah…so better get comfy.\"  The green yordle laid flat back onto his bag,\n\nHailun sat idly for a while until the school bell rang. None of the students left the building. Word had already gotten out about them being stuck and many of them assumed that to be the case. Eventually, the administration came on the intercom and let them know what was up. \n\n\"Weather is supposed to let up in about an hour…be ready to head out at this time. Your parents are already aware of the situation.\"\n\nThe Red Panda got up. He wanted to move his legs as he was already feeling antsy about sitting around even for a short while.  Hailun decided to see if he could find Kennen and hang around with him since he was going to be stuck here for a while. Heading down the hall, Hailun began looking for anyone else he might have known. The halls were just as thick with students so he had to dart his way through the crowds.\n\nEventually, he came across Teemo and Tristana who glared at him again when he approached them. They looked just as annoyed as before and he considered not confronting them. Making his way past them, they paid him no further attention as they stood idly next to one another. Hailun continued idly walking around with no signs of anyone else he knew. It was warmer in the halls than normal and he considered walking outside.\n\nJust as he was about to push on the door, Heimerdinger guided him elsewhere. Hailun grunted at him but the man remained stern and steadfast, standing in front of the door so no further issue was to come about. Soon Gnar came rampaging down the halls again, skittering right into Hailun causing him to fall to his behind.\n\n\"Gnarada…\" The orange yordle rubbed his head.\n\nHailun picked himself up and offered a helping hand to the other boy. \"You alright? Did someone upset you?\"\n\n\"Hwa Wabbo.\" Gnar huffed seeming frustrated.\n\nThe red panda helped Gnar to his feet. \"Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.\"\n\n\"Raag Kshaa. Vimaga Vrooboo?\" The orange yordle was pacing in place as if bored.\n\nHailun shrugged. \"I was looking for Kennen. Do you know where he is?\"\n\nGnar dusted his tail off on his back. \"Shubbanuffa.\"\n\n\"What do you mean? We still hang out if you want.\" \n\nThe smaller cub crossed his arms. \"Nakotak Vigishu.\"\n\n\"I'm sorry you feel that way. I didn't mean to make you feel ignored. Do you forgive me?\" Hailun suddenly felt very guilty.\n\n\"Goova. Ovagarava!\" Gnar smiled widely as he seemed content with the response.\n\nHailun patted Gnar on the head. \"We can catch up this weekend if you want. Do you know where he is?\"\n\n\"Fue Huega.\" Gnar pointed down the hall toward the clinic.\n\n\nThe red panda felt his heart sink. \"Oh, okay. Thanks, Gnar. Talk to you later.\"\n\nAn immediate sense of concern washed over the boy. Had Kennen gone and hurt himself again? He couldn't be sure. He walked as quickly as he could with all of the traffic deterring his progress. An announcement came from the intercom again, saying that the students could leave soon. Hailun knew he needed to act fast or he would be caught by the bad weather again. Many students began heading for the door, but the red panda kept himself working against them.\n\nHe soon arrived at the clinic. The air smelt of alcohol and disinfectant. The same woman he had met before recognized him. She smiled at him and pointed back to the room where Kennen had ended up. He nodded to her but said nothing. Concern was bottling up inside him as he could barely contain his emotional discourse. The door to the room was open and Hailun poked his head inside.\n\n\"You alright? What happened? Can I come in?\" It appeared the boy was fully clothed and didn't appear to be injured.\n\nKennen was sitting atop the medical table, still waiting to be seen. \"Oh, yeah. I'm fine.\"\n\nHailun made his way inside. \"Then why are you here if you're fine? Do you feel sick?\"\n\nThe brown yordle shook his head. \"It's hard to explain. I feel fine but…all of my clothes are loose on me.\"\n\nThe red panda looked up at the boy sitting on the exam table. \"So…you're losing weight? Or what do you think?\"\n\nKennen hopped down off the medical table. \"Do I\n look different to you?\"\n\nHailun looked over at the boy. From afar he didn't seem that much different, though his clothing was sagging a bit on him.\n\n\"No? It just looks like your clothing is kinda  big on you.\" The red panda shrugged not making a big ordeal about it.\n\nThe brown yordle stepped nearer to his friend, finding himself to have to angle his head up slightly to look into Hailun's eyes. \"How about now?\"\n\n\"Oh, wow…I guess you do look smaller. What do you think happened?\" Hailun took a step back to get a closer look at him.\n\nKennen shook his head. \"I dunno…my clothing fit fine this morning…\"\n\n\"Maybe we should get you home so you can rest?  We can always come to the clinic tomorrow?\" Hailun suggested that they could take advantage of the possible break in the weather.\n\nThe brown yordle sighed. \"I guess. It's not like anyone is at the clinic right now anyway.\"\n\nKennen hopped off the table and grabbed his bag before following Hailun out the door. Most of the students had already left since the doors had finally been let open. Very few of them remained behind except for the few who had obligations elsewhere in the school. The red panda reached over to grab Kennen's paw. The two held hands as they walked down the hall. Passing by Heimerdinger who waved them off as they made their exit from the building to the outside of the school.\n\nOnce outside, Hailun looked at the skies above. It was still rather dark. The clouds loomed ominously above with a dark grey tint that seemed to leer down upon the land. What remained of the sun that time in the afternoon was completely blocked out by the omnipresence of cloud cover. Kennen tapped him on the shoulder to get him moving once again. Both of them figured they didn't have much time before the sky opened up once again.\n\nThey continued walking until they were at the park where they had watched the cinema. The entirety of the grassy flatland was covered with drops of rain. The trees overhead drooped down a bit as the amount of water that had fallen caused them to sag a bit. Hailun looked over at Kennen who seemed to be semi-distracted as if thinking to himself. He wondered if the boy's perceived issue was what was bothering him.\n\n\"You alright?\"  Hailun grasped the other boy's hand tightly as if providing him extra support.\n\nKennen murmured before snapping out of it. \"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking I guess.\"\n\n\"About what?\" The red panda wanted to make sure he wasn't overly concerned about it.\n\nThe smaller yordle stopped in his tracks. \"I don't want to be little…\"\n\n\"You're not that little. Just smaller than me. It's not that bad is it?\" Hailun tried consoling his friend and hugged him.\n\nThe brown yordle sighed. \"No, but…I mean I'm not even that big to begin with.\"\n\n\"Well, I mean…no not compared to humans or vastaya we're not.\" The red panda shrugged as size didn't matter much to him.\n\nKennen looked at the floor. \"What if I keep getting smaller?\"\n\n\"Don't worry…we'll figure this out as soon as we can…\"  Hailun hugged his boyfriend tightly before releasing him from his arms.\n\nThe smaller boy kicked the gravel under his feet. \"I guess you're right. I just hope it doesn't get worse…\"\n\n\"You'll be big again soon…and I promise I'll take care of you.\" The bigger boy squeezed the smaller one's hand tightly.\n\nKennen forced a smile. \"I hope you're right.\"\n\n\"Did you want to hang out or what do you want to do?\" The red panda wasn't sure if his boyfriend would be in the mood for anything.\n\nThe brown-furred boy hummed. \"I don't have anything in mind. Do you?\"\n\n\"We could go to the park for a little bit and then go home after if you want.\" Hailun just wanted to take the other boy's mind off his issue.\n\nThe smaller boy nodded. \"Sure, that sounds fun.\"\n\nThe two cubs rejoined hands and turned around. They backtracked through the park to the area in the rear of it. A small playground could be seen with some swings, a slide, and a set of monkey bars. They could see it even from where they were as they hadn't gone that far past it. Hailun picked up pace and started to run as fast as he could. The brown-furred yordle followed suit and easily outpaced him in no time flat.\n\nThey arrived at the playground with no one else in sight. Rain began to drizzle down from the sky again as the two looked upward. The clouds above were still grey and puffy, blocking out the sun's rays from gazing upon them. Still, it wasn't hard enough to deter them from staying and enjoying themselves. The red panda made his way over to the swing set and sat down on one of them, goading his boyfriend over to do the same.\n\nKennen joined him in the next swing over, not having as much trouble fitting in the seat as his friend did. The two began swinging next to each other, bending their legs forward and back so that their bodies were given motion. The drizzle of rain dripped down upon them as they moved themselves up and down. The somewhat chilled air pushed against them as they swung in the swings together.\n\nThe two continued to swing next to each other for a bit until the rain began to pick up. Kennen jumped off the swing and landed square in a puddle of water. Some mud exploded around him as his feet hit the floor. The Red Panda cub soon did the same, landing right next to him. His landing caused some mud to splatter over his boyfriend. The brown-furred yordle couldn't help but playfully shove the other boy.\n\nHailun smirked at him before tackling the other cub onto the ground. The two of them rolled around in a. bit. Kennen tried to get the upper hand but each time he ended up on top, the other boy just rolled over him with no issue. It was apparent that he was having some difficulty being in control. Even still, Hailun still had to fight for it but eventually, he ended up on top. The red panda looked down at his boyfriend with a big grin on his face.\n\nKennen squirmed and wiggled underneath the other boy. The bigger boy leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the lips before standing up. Hailun offered the other boy a helping paw and the crestfallen cub gladly took the assistance.  By this point, both cubs were soaking wet and dripping with mud. Their school clothing was stained with the dark brown tint of the grime that covered them. The smaller boy returned the kiss with one of his own before they joined hands once again.\n\nWithout saying a word, they began walking together. Each time they took a step, the water slopped up against them. Yet they continued, not caring at all about the fact they were dirty or wet. The rain began to pour more heavily as they walked along. They decided to pick up the pace and ran as fast as their feet would take them. Of course, Kennen held back a bit so that his boyfriend could keep up with the quicker boy.\n\nThey soon arrived at Kennen's home. The weather hadn't let up at all and was now pouring down in constant sheets of water. Even going under the awning of Kennen's home didn't provide them much respite. The wind carried much of it underneath as the sound of lightning could be heard in the distance. Kennen's eyes sparkled a bit as the storm picked up in intensity, his purple iris' glowed a bit as it resonated with the storm.\n\n\"Would you like to come inside before it gets any worse?\" Kennen offered to be a good host.\n\nHailun nodded. \"Sure, I guess I could wait until the weather lets up a bit.\"\n\nKennen unlocked the door and let them inside. He noticed his parents had turned the heat on the moment the door pried open. The two cubs stepped inside with both of them stopping by the front door. Each of them looked down to shuffle off their shoes. Even their socks had been soaked so they scooted those off as well. Hailin looked over at the other boy, noticing he could just about see the top of the other cub's head. Of course, he didn't say anything about it as he knew it would upset his boyfriend.\n\nBoth cubs continued to walk inside once their shoes and socks were off. Kennen led the other boy to his room where he rifled through one of his drawers to find both of them something more dry to wear. He found each of them something and handed one off to the red panda before trotting off to his bed to strip off his clothing. Hailun decided to go the bathroom to get changed so that the other boy's parents didn't catch them in their delicates together.\n\nHailun wasted no time in getting changed once he was behind the shut doors of the bathroom. He dried off a bit with one of the towels and put the clothing on he was given. Ringing out the clothes he had changed out of onto the rug below. He couldn't help but be surprised by the amount of water that came out of it. Once he was done, he headed back out to the other boy's room making his way through the hallway back to it.\n\nOnce inside he saw that Kennen was on the bed already changed out of his wet clothes. The brown-furred cub seemed distraught about something.  Hailun walked over to the side of the bed and sat down next to his boyfriend. \n\n\"What's wrong?\" The red panda looked over to the other boy.\n\nKennen gripped his hands together tightly. \"Even these bedclothes don't fit anymore…Look.\"\n\nThe brown-furred yordle gripped the side of his arm and showed the sleeve sagging on him a bit.\n\n\"I mean…you're not that much smaller. At least you're not like ant-sized or something.\" The bigger boy tried to look at the positive side of the situation.\n\nKennen sighed. \"But…what if I keep getting smaller?\"\n\n\"I'll take care of you no matter what, alright? You're still my boyfriend after all…\"  Hailun leaned over and kissed the other boy on the cheek.\n\nKennen returned the kiss and smiled at him before squeezing the other boy's hand tightly. The two sat there idly for a few moments with neither of them saying a word to one another. The brown-furred boy looked out the window and noticed the weather had let up a bit.  He looked over at his boyfriend.\n\n\"Maybe you should go home while\n the weather isn't as bad?\" The smaller boy figured his boyfriend would want to take advantage of it.\n\nThe Red Panda looked behind him and noticed it was true. He hopped off the bed and began to head out of the room. Kennen followed him out the door and into the hall. They made their way through it together and stopped at the exit. Hailun slipped his shoes back on, the sloshy and wet inside of it making his socks wet in mere seconds. The two shared a short hug and kiss before parting ways. \n\nAs Hailun looked back, he couldn't help but worry about his boyfriend. Kennen was worried so much about his little issue. The Red Panda didn't see the problem. After all, he was the same boy that he fell in love with. He turned around and continued on his way home, glad that the weather had improved a bit. The cub picked up pace and ran as fast as his legs would take him as it was still raining a bit and he wanted to stay as dry as possible.\n\nBy the time the red panda cub got home, he was wet again. His parents were waiting for him by the time he got back. They were worried about him since he hadn't checked in. Both of them stared at him intently the moment he walked through the door.\n\n\"Where have you been, mister?\" The cub's mother tapped her foot impatiently.\n\nHailun looked over at her not seeming to understand what he'd done wrong. \"I was at Kennen's waiting for the weather to let up.\"\n\n\"Why didn't you let us know? You could have communicated that to us…we were worried.\" The boy's father crossed his arms looking disappointed at his son.\n\nThe younger male looked at the floor, avoiding their gaze. \"I didn't think about it…sorry.\"\n\n\"We understand you're close with that boy but next time please let us know you're going to be home late, alright honey?\" She smirked and shook her head at him.\n\nThe cub nodded. \"Alright, sorry Mom and Dad. It won't happen again.\"\n\n\"Good…now let's get dinner. Next time you should invite your little friend over so we can get to know him better.\" Both his parents didn't quite know the full extent of their relationship quite yet. \n\nHailun kicked off his shoes. \"Okay, Dad. I'll ask him tomorrow.\"\n\n\"Maybe Friday if you two are both up for it and his parents are alright with it?\" She began to head to the kitchen since that issue was taken care of.\n\nThe family headed off to make dinner. Their meal was a usual one, with a mixture of fish and vegetables. His father had worked on it hard and it was still warm despite having sat out a little bit in the open air. The three of them talked about their day, sharing what happened between them as they often did. It was a closely knit family that enjoyed the true nature of what family was meant to be.\n\nWhen the meal was over, Hailun retired to the bathroom to get ready for bed. The rest of his night was quiet. After he cleaned up and dressed into his pajamas, he worked on his homework a bit. He didn't have that much to do so it didn't take him that long to finish everything. After he finished, he cleaned up his space and put everything away making sure to stash his homework in a folder for safekeeping.\n\nOnce he got to bed, Hailun's mind began to wander a bit. He was thinking about Kennen and how worried he was about the other boy. Of course, the size issue didn't bother him nearly as much. Though part of him wondered exactly how bad it would get. It didn't seem like it had stopped the last time he had seen the boy and it had only seemed to have gotten worse as time went on. He knew that the morning would be telling and that would truly determine if it was something to worry about or not.\n\nHailun shut his eyes before long, allowing his mind to rest. It took him a bit to fall asleep. When he did…his dreams were full of the oddest of things. Images of a tiny Kennen in his hands…running around, all but lost for what to do. It was a strange experience to be sure and when awoke the next morning, he wasn't sure what to make of it. Pushing the memory out of his mind to replace it with concern about the other boy once again.\n\nThe next morning arrived with the sun gazing through the window. Its ever-vigilant gaze peered through the Bandlewood with an awe-inspiring brightness. Hailun looked towards the window and closed the blinds so it wasn't quite as bright inside his room. He scooted out of his bed and went over to his wardrobe to change into his school clothes for the day. His mother soon called for him to come to the kitchen when he was ready.\n\nIt didn't take that much longer for the yordle cub to get ready. He soon made his way down the hall and to the kitchen. Hailun could smell whatever his mother was cooking and it made his stomach rumble with anticipation. The cub padded his way into the kitchen and saw his mother and father were both there. The older male was kissing his wife and letting her know that he was off to work. This wasn't odd to the boy who had grown used to his father leaving just as the cub was waking up for the day.\n\nHailun sat down as the food his mother had made for him was already on the table. The parents usually rotated meal duty as the father had more free time at night and the mother had more free time in the morning. She had made him some crumpets and jelly along with some fruit. The cub spread some jelly on it and began to eat his food. He was slightly distracted, thinking about the day to come for school.\n\nHis mother soon hurried him along since he was dilly-dallying.  Hailun finished his meal and cleaned up the table. The woman thanked him and the cub gave her a short hug before she returned his affection with a kiss of her own. The cub smiled at her before breaking away and making his way to the living room to grab his bag and head out. He put his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the door to begin his day anew.\n\nOnce outside, the wind gusted against him. Some nearby trees bent against the wind as it was strong enough to cause the trunks to buckle against it. Hailun had to shield his face from the wind as some dirt and sand were being thrown about. He pushed his way through the brisk winds as he made his way to school. It took him a bit longer than usual, though he was still able to make good time despite the wind seemingly deterring his progress.\n\nAfter he made it to Bandle Academy, he was surprised to find that a fair amount of students were outside despite the weather. He began to look around to see if he recognized anyone. He saw Gnar was hanging around with Amumu. Hailun was a bit surprised to see Gnar with the green yordle as it was a friendship he wasn't quite aware of just yet. The red panda cub made his way over to them.\n\nBoth of the boys waved to him with Gnar being a bit more energetic about it. Hailun approached them until he was at a more personal distance from them. \n\n\"How are things going you guys?\" The bigger boy asked them.\n\nAmumu shrugged. \"Good…just nervous for another test today.\"\n\n\"Yeah, test week stinks…I wish they would spread it out more.\"  Hailun sighed loudly.\n\nThe orange yordle snorted. \"Ahanga!\n\nThe green yordle looked confused. \"Right…\"\n\n\"I think he agrees with us.\" The bigger cub had come to understand Gnar as well as anyone else who knew and spent enough time with him.\n\nGnar nodded his head excitedly. \"Yada ya.\"\n\n\"I don't know how you understand him but I'll take your word on it.\" Amumu was just hanging out with Gnar because Rumble was home sick today.\n\nThe Red Panda chuckled a his friends. \"Have you guys seen Kennen around?\"\n\n\"No, I haven't. Isn't he usually around by this time in the morning because of whatever sport it is that he participates in before school?\" The smaller boy only knew of Kennen's involvement because of what Hailun had told him in the past.\n\nHailun nodded. \"Yeah, I guess I didn't think about if he might be there. I will go take a look. Thanks.\"\n\nThe bigger boy waved to the two boys as he parted from them. Hailun felt silly for not having considered his boyfriend's hobby. He made his way into the school and past a few groups of other cubs. He passed by Teemo who was hanging out with Tristana again. The two were holding hands and the red panda hoped they had mended whatever issue they had previously. Teemo was much too busy to notice the other boy as he passed by.\n\nHailun continued until he was at the rear part of the school where the sparring arena was. It was the alternative to the outdoor training area when the weather didn't cooperate to let the cubs practice. The red panda figured the kendo group had to be inside since the wind outside was rather strong. He continued making his way into the back of the school until he reached the sparring arena. He could hear the slapping of wood together and he was all but certain that Kennen would be participating.'\n\nHe popped his head inside the room but didn't step inside. Hailun looked around and saw a few of the cubs practicing some kendo moves that he wasn't familiar with. Each strike they landed on the other's wooden katana resulted in thuds that reverberated through the room. A few adults were visible overseeing the activity to make sure things didn't get out of hand. Hailun still saw no signs of Kennen within and wondered where else he could be.\n\nThe Red Panda cub began walking around again, going a bit further into the sparring arena. The coach was paying attention to her students so she didn't quite notice they had a visitor in the area. Hailun kept to the perimeter of the room as he didn't want to disrupt the practice session that was underway. He assumed there was a locker room for the students to get changed in, just as there was one in the school gym room.\n\nThe yordle cub continued his way until he reached an off-shoot hallway that was in the far corner of the room. He could still hear the slapping of wood coming from behind him as it echoed through the hallway he was walking through. Eventually, he reached the end of it, arriving\n in the changing room where there were no lockers. It was a small room vacant of anything except some benches, laundry baskets, and several of the student's bags.\n\nHailun looked around and saw no signs of Kennen. It was apparent the other boy wasn't in there. So he began to backtrack the way he came, passing right by the coach who was coming his way to collect some supplies from the room he had just left.\n\n\"What are you doing back here? You're not a member of the team. If you want to try out then tryouts are only on Thursdays.\" She folded her arms expecting an answer sooner rather than later.\n\nThe red panda looked up at her. \"I was looking for Kennen. Have you seen him around?\"\n\n\"No, he did not come to practice today. I am not sure where he is, sorry. Now…out with you. Practice is not the time for visitors or spectators.\" She pointed towards the door to show she meant business.\n\nThe boy wasn't aware the place was off-limits during practice. After all, he had watched Kennen in the past without any fuss. Though the woman wasn't familiar to him and he figured she was just playing it safe. He made his way back out of the sparring arena and stopped once he was outside the door. Once again his mind began to wonder where his boyfriend was. He couldn't help but worry that maybe Kennen had gotten sick or that something else had happened to him. He decided to wait and see if maybe he would just run past him later in the day.\n\nHailun went about his class routine like normal. His classes were nothing special with having to take more tests. There was only one day left of his exam sessions and he was very much looking forward to finishing it up on the next day. It was during lunch he realized that Kennen was absent. He ended up sitting next to Gnar since he wanted to catch up with him a bit anyway. Of course, his mind occasionally drifted to Kennen since he was still worried about his boyfriend.\n\nMid conversation with Gnar, the red panda overheard Poppy talking with Lulu. The two girls were sitting opposite them and talking about the test. Their conversation soon turned to the failed spell on Kennen. It was then it dawned on the young red panda that perhaps Lulu's little mishap had caused this. He decided would check in on the other boy at his home. He could only assume that he was sick but time would tell if that was the case or not. The yordle cub continued to go about his day as normal until the final school bell rang.\n\nIt seemed like the day had dragged on long enough for the young boy. His mind was torn between his tests and the concern he harbored for his boyfriend. Even hanging out with his other friends hadn't dissipated his worry. Hailun rushed outside with the crowd of students who were just as eager to be done with school. The red panda filed through the front door and filtered through it the crush of cubs. \n\nTeemo stopped him once he was outside. Hailiun had been acting weird much of the day and he wanted to make sure everything was alright. Once the red panda boy had explained the situation, the brown-furred boy understood what was behind his friend's behavior. The bigger cub excused himself and said goodbye to his other friends. He wasted no time in exiting the schoolyard and making his way to Kennen's home.\n\nThe red panda made his way down the cobblestone sidewalks and cut through some of the wooded areas to save some time. Hailun was familiar enough now with the route that he cut through the shortcuts to get there a little bit quicker. Still, he walked as fast as he could in hopes that he might get there as soon as possible. The boy had very good time and arrived at Kennen's home before long.\n\nHailun approached the door to his boyfriend's house and knocked on it. The wooden frame of it reverberated with a loud thud as he hit it. He waited a few moments, thinking that someone would eventually come to the door. After a few moments of standing there, he knocked again. Yet even still there was no answer so he decided to walk around to the rear of the building. The red panda was intent on seeing if anyone was home.\n\nThe yordle cub made his way around the side of the building to the back of it. There was a small tree that overlooked the window where Kennen's room was. Hailun began to climb the trunk, using his claws to gain traction on the bark. He had always been adept at climbing trees and this one was smaller as it had been trimmed back a bit.  He eased himself on the branch closest to the window and peered inside.\n\nLooking inside was a bit difficult as the sun was reflecting from the glass on the window. From what he could make out, he thought he saw a shadow of a figure inside. He was close enough so that he could touch the window. He poked his claw on the window, tapping on it a. few times in hopes of getting whoever was inside's attention. He kept it up for several seconds, carefully watching the figure as it moved within.\n\nKennen was inside his room. Of course, he heard the tapping from the window. He was in no mood for shenanigans. Looking behind him to the window, he saw a figure outside his window perched on the branch. He stared at it for a moment. It didn't take him long to realize who it was. The brown-furred yordle had wanted to be left alone. He figured he'd probably been seen and decided he couldn't hide anymore.\n\nSlowly he pushed himself close enough to the window so that he could open it. Hailun looked over at him. The brown-furred yordle was still in his pajamas. The two-piece pajama set was sagging quite visibly on him. It wasn't evident that he'd gotten smaller but it was apparent the stuff no longer fit him. \n\n\"How are you feeling, Kennen? You were absent from school today so I came to check on you.\" The red panda remained perched on the branch and did not move from it so he didn't fall off.\n\nKennen sighed. \"Look at me…I'm still getting smaller…none of my clothes fit anymore. Even the stuff from last from last year is too big on me.\"\n\n\"I mean…the only way the nurse can help you is if she can look at you. Can I come in?\"  Hailun wanted to make his boyfriend feel better.\n\nThe brown-furred yordle looked to the ground. \"I mean…I guess you can if you want. Promise to not laugh?\"\n\n\"Why would I laugh? I mean….we are boyfriends, right? I wouldn't do anything to knowingly hurt your feelings.\" The red panda hopped off the branch and onto the window sill.\n\nHe slid himself off the window sill and onto the bed beneath it. The mattress creaked a bit against his weight as his body shifted a bit. Hailun kneeled and brought himself back down to ground level. He was now standing right next to Kennen, finding he could see clearly over his head. Hailun tried not to make a big deal out of it as he already knew his boyfriend was having trouble coming to terms with his problem.\n\n\"See? I barely come up to your shoulder now…it's gotten so much worse from yesterday.\"  The smaller boy shuffled his feet.\n\nHailun ruffled the boy's head fur. \"It's not that bad…I mean yeah you're small but you're still cute.\"\n\n\"Thanks…but that's not my point. I feel like I'm just going to keep getting smaller until I vanish.\" Kennen sat down on the edge of the bed.\n\nThe red panda sat down next to the other boy and put his arm around him. \"You know I was thinking about it and have you given any thought that it could be magic that caused this? I mean…didn't Lulu cast a spell on you?\"\n\n\"Yeah, she did. But it didn't do anything, remember?\" The smaller boy looked back over at his boyfriend.\n\nThe bigger cub hummed. \"Well…maybe it just took a while to take effect. If it is a spell…maybe it will just wear off?\"\n\n \"Is that a risk worth taking though? What if it doesn't? If Lulu's spell did work then maybe I should talk to her about it?\" Kennen was coming around to the idea and it seemed to make sense.\n\nHailun shrugged. \"We don't know where she lives…so we need to wait at least until tomorrow to talk to her about it. What did your parents say about it?\"\n\n\"My parents got home late last night…and they left early this morning. They haven't had a chance to see me like this yet so they don't know. They won't be back til late tonight either.\" The brown yordle thought about it a second.\n\nThe red panda hummed. \"We could show you to my mother….she might be able to help you. She is quite adept at magic.\"\n\n\"You think so?\" Kennen perked up a bit as his ears twitched slightly.\n\nThe bigger boy nodded. \"Yeah, it's worth a shot isn't it?\"  \n\n\"I suppose it is…I would get changed into something that fits but I don't think I have anything that does anymore.\" The smaller boy stood back up to show he was ready to leave whenever his boyfriend was.  \n\nHailun stood up and ruffled the other boy's head fur again. \"Alright, little guy…let's head out.\"\n\n\"Don't call me that…I'm not little.\" The brown-furred yordle huffed a bit.\n\nThe red panda couldn't help but giggle a bit. \"Of course, you aren't…let's head out.\"\n\nThe two cubs joined hands and walked together down the hall. Kennen didn't bother to put shoes on since even those were loose now. Choosing instead to walk barefoot for the travel over to Hailun's home. They kept to the side roads as they often did on the familiar route. Those who did pass them by would have taken them as brothers. It wasn't an odd sight to be sure and didn't raise any alarms to those who happened to walk by.\n\nWhen they arrived at Hailun's home, they walked directly to the front door and the red panda unlocked it. They broke their hand holding the moment they walked into the door. Hailun immediately called to his mother in hopes she would be home. It was still early and he wasn't sure either of them were home just yet. After there was no answer, he knew neither of his parents had come home from work yet.\n\nHailun took Kennen back to his room. The smaller boy tripped on his pajama pant leg that was now dragged just below the toes of his feet. The bigger\n cub turned around to help his boyfriend who winced a bit from the sudden fall.  The red panda helped the other boy back up and dusted and held him up a bit. The cub noticed his friend was much lighter now and he felt like he could lift him if he tried to.\n\n\"Wow…you're still shrinking?\" Hailun thought it may have stopped but looking over at the other boy he had to tilt his head down to look at the tip of his head.\n\nThe smaller cub sighed. \"I tried to tell you that earlier.\"\n\n\"Well…my mom should be home soon. Hopefully, she can help. Do you want to do something until then to pass the time?\" The Red Panda hugged his boyfriend in an attempt to make him feel better.\n\nKennen hugged the other boy back. \"Yeah, I guess. What did you have in mind?\"\n\n\"Hmm…we could play a board game or cuddle a bit if you like. What are you in the mood for?\" The red panda wanted to make the other boy feel more comfortable with his situation.\n\nThe brown-furred boy shrugged. \"Whatever sounds good to me.\" \n\nHailun thought about it a second after breaking the hug off and decided that a board game was probably the better decision. He went into his closet and fetched it from the storage area where he had placed it before. It was a game he hadn't played in some time but one that he figured would pass the time and make the other cub forget about his little problem. He brought it out of the closet and placed it on the floor. He looked over at the other boy who was holding up his pants so they didn't fall off.\n\n\"You know…you can just let those go. It's not like I haven't seen you in underwear or naked before.\" Hailun poked the other yordles chest to try and make him laugh.\n\nKennen blushed a bit, allowing them to fall. \"I guess…haha.\"\n\n\"Come on and sit down, Ken.\" The red panda patted the spot next to him.\n\nThe brown-furred boy smiled at him. \"Oh cool, I haven't played this in a while.\"\n\nThe smaller cub joined him before long. The game in question was called mechs and minions and it was an old yordle tradition that was passed down from generations ago. The game was one that most cubs knew and one that most of the older folks had experienced when they were younger. The goal of the game was to build up, upgrade, and manage mechs so they could accumulate points by eliminating the Minion threat. The end of each game would then be decided by a winner-take-all player-versus-player bout with the completed mechs facing off against each other.\n\nEach cub chose a mech and began assembling the basic parts of it. Hailun chose a defensive mech while his boyfriend chose an offensive one. Neither of them had to be explained the rules as they had both played it before. They began the game before long with both of them rolling the dice to decide initiative. Kennen went first and scored some minor upgrades on his weapon and frame design. Hailun was a little less lucky and only got an armor upgrade to his already beefy build.\n\nWhen the sweep round occurred, it was time for both cubs to get as high a minion score as possible. Of course, since Kennen had the higher attack power on his mech, he mowed down a lot more minions before his mech was damaged. Hailun managed to lag behind a bit but still kept up the same score since his unit lasted just a bit longer. The game until this point had been neck and neck but slowly the game was turning in Kennen's favor.\n\nThe final round of the game was the big show of what their mechs were made of. Each boy placed their mech at the arena where they rolled for initiative. Hailun went first and his weapons were but a weak farce that weren't quite enough to penetrate Kennen's armor. The brown-furred boy's machine was able to break through the plating of the red panda's mech with ease. It was with that fatal blow that the game was decided and the smaller cub was declared the winner.\n\nHailun congratulated his boyfriend on his victory. Kennen smirked a bit and the red panda was glad to see him smile again. Just as they were cleaning up, they heard the door shut. \n\n\"Maybe that's my mom…I'll go check. Be right back.\" The bigger boy picked himself up and headed out of the room.\n\nThe red panda made his way down the hall and saw that his mother was unpacking her briefcase in the living room. His face lit up as he approached her.\n\n\"Hey, Mom. How was work?\" He asked her so that he didn't bombard her with the problem immediately.\n\nThe older woman shrugged at him. \"It was alright. The usual more or less. How was school?\"\n\n\"It was good…I brought Kennen over to play. Is that alright?\" The boy hoped she wouldn't mind since he didn't tell her about it beforehand.\n\nShe looked at him warily. \"As long as he leaves before dinner it's fine. You need to study for your last tests tomorrow.\"\n\n\"Yeah, He'll go home soon. I was wondering if you could help us with something?\" The cub hugged her lightly.\n\nThe mother hugged him back. \"Sure what's up, kiddo?\"\n\n\"Well…I think Kennen was hit by a spell at school…and now he's shrinking.\" Hailun tried to explain the situation as he understood it.\n\nShe rubbed her chin. \"Sounds like he was hit by a wayward Wild Growth spell gone wrong…Is he in your room?\"\n\n\"Yeah, do you think you can help him?\" The boy was hopeful she could.\n\nThe boy's mother nodded. \"Most certainly. Let's go help him out before it's too late.\"\n\nThe two walked together back down the hall to Hailun's room. Kennen was just finishing cleaning up. The shirt he was wearing covered much of his body. The red panda's mother looked over at him and tried to assess the situation. \n\n\"Come on over here, little guy.\" She said to him since he hadn't noticed their arrival.\n\nThe brown-furred yordle huffed as he was called that and turned around to approach her. She pointed to the spot in front of her and knelt in front of him. \n\n\"Look into my eyes.\" She said with a firm yet reassuring tone.\n\nHailun stepped to the side of them so that his mother could do what she needed to. He had complete trust in her and figured she could fix his boyfriend's problem. Kennen looked up at her meekly stared into her eyes. The woman pointed at him with one of her fingers. The tip of it pressed against the boy's belly. Using her other hand she drifted it across his body as some specs of light began to emit from her touch.\n\nKennen could feel a strange warmth build inside him, emanating from the finger where she was touching him. He began to tingle inside as the sensation spread through his warmth. The woman closed her eyes as she cast the incantation over her subject. The warmth continued to spread through the young boy's body as he stood there. Hailun watched with interest for any signs that his boyfriend might be recovering.\n\nSlowly but surely the cub's body began to creep up. His muscles began to ache and become sore as his form extended. His frame regained what size he had lost over the past few days. The red panda boy watched as his friend returned to his former state. His mother soon removed her touch from the cub. Kennen's shirt now fitted him much better and his lower half was left in the boxers he was wearing.\n\n\"Now…go put some pants on and try not to find yourself a target of a spell anymore.\" The mother opened her eyes and stood up.\n\nHailun hugged her again. \"Thanks, Mom!\"\n\n\"No problem…Remember he needs to go home soon. Dinner isn't far off.\" She headed out of the room leaving the two boys alone.\n\nThe Red Panda boy hugged his boyfriend again. Kennen couldn't help but smile as he shared the embrace. His anxiety was all but relieved to see his boyfriend's eyes slightly below his own again. Oh, how it felt to be bigger again…he told himself.\n\n\"See…I told you she could help.\" Hailun let the other boy go.\n\nKennen bent over grabbed his pants and put them back on. \"Yeah…no more being a test dummy for Lulu…haha.\"\n\n\"Yeah. You should probably get home before your parents worry about you not being home. See you at school tomorrow?\" The red panda kissed the other boy on the cheek.\n\nThe brown-furred boy returned the kiss with one of his own. \"Yeah, sure…Thanks again. See you tomorrow, dude.\"\n\nHailun showed the other boy to the exit of his home, allowing him to borrow some of his shoes and socks so he didn't have to go home barefoot. The red panda watched as he departed, already eager to see him the next day. Glad that this whole ordeal was over. No longer was worry filling his mind, instead filled with simpler things and the final test on his horizon. His entire focus remained on that for the remainder of the day.\n\nThe rest of the night was low-key for both of the boys. Each of them had to study as they wanted to do well on their last marks. Kennen's parents returned home much earlier that night, much to his surprise. Apologizing that they hadn't been home as much lately and telling him that it would change soon. Of course, he understood and was happy to have his family life back. When they asked about school…he left about his little experience over the last few days as he didn't want to feel any more silly about it.\n\nWhen the final test came push to shove…both boys mastered their marks. They passed, much to their delight, and their parents. The anxiety that had come with it had all but left. The school announced it would be planning an outing to the forests to celebrate. Hailun and Kennen both immediately signed up for it, both boys planned on spending the day with one another and their parents were all for them going to get them out of the house since they'd been shut in because of the tests.\n\nIt seemed that everything had returned to normal. Kennen did not have another bout with the shrinking episode. He talked to Lulu about it who was more than apologetic to him. Promising that she'd never try it on him again. He reassured her that he was still willing to help when push came to shove as he wasn't as worried about his wellbeing and just wanted to help. After all, it was all magic…and permanence was\n not something most cubs understood just yet.  In the end, it was an experience neither of them would forget for the near future.",
  "writing_bbcode_parsed": "<span style='word-wrap: break-word;'>Testing by Pent Ghelsburg\t<br /><br />Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves micro macro and suggestive content with underaged characters. You have been warned. <br /><br />It had been a few weeks since the trip to Ionia. Hailun&#039;s leg had healed up enough that he could get the cast off. Kennen was finally let off the hook for sneaking out. Things had returned to normal for all things considered. Hailun and Kennen remained close but their relationship remained distant in public. Neither cub was that crazy about being passionate in public and the occasional issue with people pestering them about it made that unlikely to change anytime soon.<br /><br />\tIt was getting close to the middle of the school term and with it came some of the bigger tests that students had to tackle. Education was something in Bandle City that was taken rather seriously. While testing was somewhat of an anomaly, for the most part, some subjects required a physical presentation of progress. Things like combat preparedness and magical conditioning were of the like to fall into that category.<br /><br />\tWith the onset of testing on the horizon the students of Bandle Academy had become more recluse. Those who were more studious formed groups to better tackle whatever preparation they thought was necessary. Hailun and Kennen were different, even going as far as to almost completely isolate themselves from each other out of the fear of distractions. It was a change that both of their parents weren&#039;t expecting but didn&#039;t question.<br /><br />\tIt was the beginning of a new week, the week before the tests were supposed to be held. Placards and signs of all sorts had been affixed throughout the school to remind the students what was at stake. Hailun arrived at the school bright and early, as he often did. The usual crowd of students was out front. Many of them were palled around each other, discussing strategies and notes for the tests on their mind.<br /><br />\tHe looked around for Kennen but saw no signs of the other cub. He was hoping to get in a sparring match before school but it didn&#039;t seem like it was going to happen. The red panda saw Poppy hanging out in her usual spot by the tree, lazing about and seeming genuinely carefree despite what was going on. He decided to see what her plan was for the next two weeks to see how she would handle it.<br /><br />He approached Poppy and waved to her. She panned her head up to him and smiled.<br /><br />&quot;How goes it, hero?&quot; She said shading her eyes from the sun and peering over the other cub&#039;s shoulder.<br /><br />The red panda shrugged. &quot;It goes. How about you?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;The same. What&#039;s up?&quot; Poppy figured he must have been looking for Kennen or something of the sort.<br /><br />Hailun kneeled. &quot;You&#039;re not getting ready for the testing week?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Nah, I am waiting on Lulu so I can study with her. She&#039;s the smartest girl I know.&quot; The girl seemed confident in her answer.<br /><br />The boy nodded. &quot;Oh cool. Have you seen Kennen?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I think he went into the school to get in some practice for magics and sorcery class. I wouldn&#039;t be surprised if he was in the study with some of the other students.&quot; Poppy figured it made sense as Kennen wasn&#039;t as strong in magic as he was in combat.<br /><br />Hailun stood back up. &quot;Thanks. Let me know if you want help studying later.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I&#039;m all set. Have a good one.&quot; The girl had already decided on a plan and wasn&#039;t about to change it.<br /><br />The boy waved to her and she eased her head back into a restful state. Hailun walked into the school and proceeded through the halls. The freshly lacquered floors smelt of wax and squeaked as he walked on it. It wasn&#039;t a very long walk to the magical studies wing of the school. It had its hall dedicated to each of the different levels and areas of study. But the most popular area for this time of area was known as the Aritorium.<br /><br />The Aritorium was an open-air training area that was still within the school&#039;s walls. It had a few training dummies, tomes for spell casting, and several magicked items that hovered about its room. The room was airy and had various shrubs and trees to offer a little spice to the otherwise drab area. Hailun made his way to the Aritorium, hoping he would find Kennen or any of his other friends.<br /><br />He arrived in due time and peered around inside. The smell of dew and stale water was ever present as some stagnant rain puddles remained from the last rain shower that had passed through the area. Hailun could hear some words being uttered, some form of spell being cast he was certain. He kept to the perimeter of it as he didn&#039;t want to be the accidental target of some spell gone wrong.<br /><br />After walking around it entirely once, Halun decided to take his chance and poke his head inside.<br /><br />&quot;Stop casting for a moment&hellip;I&#039;m looking for someone.&quot; He announced in hopes he could get whoever was casting to stop.<br /><br />Hailun heard no further chanting and figured it was safe enough to come to the inner ring of the room. He peered within just to make sure nothing was going on before stepping in entirely.<br /><br />&quot;Oh, hey Hailun. What&#039;s up?&quot; Kennen saw the other boy approach from the rear.<br /><br />The red panda looked over his friends, wearing some earthen casters&#039; robes that had been issued as an acolyte&#039;s garments by the school.<br /><br />&quot;Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see what you were up to.&quot; Hailun approached the other boy and smiled at him.<br /><br />Hailun pointed at Lulu. &quot;I was just practicing magic with Lulu here. Lulu, have you met Hailun yet?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Somewhat. Pleased to meet you, Hailun.&quot; She curtsied with her staff bending down with her.<br /><br />Hailun smiled at her.&nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;You too. Thanks for helping, Kennen.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;It is no problem. I have known him for a long time. This isn&#039;t the first time I&#039;ve helped him practice his magical studies.&quot; The blue-furred yordle stood back upright.<br /><br />The smaller of the two boys nodded. &quot;I see. What spell are you working on?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Kennen needs to work on Expacio. I need help with something a little more advanced.&quot; She didn&#039;t name it since she was in a more advanced class than the two boys.<br /><br />Kennen looked over at Lulu. &quot;I told you we could practice it if you want.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;The problem is I haven&#039;t even tried it yet. I&#039;m not about to cast something on you if it is new to me.&quot; She shook her head seeming unwilling to try it.<br /><br />The brown yordle sighed. &quot;Suit yourself. I just want to help you too.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I appreciate it but I don&#039;t know how you can help just yet.&quot; She kicked her feet in the rocky gravel.<br /><br />The red panda hummed as if thinking to himself. &quot;Why not just try it on me? I owe you for helping Kennen with his issue back a few months ago.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You don&#039;t owe me anything for that. He&#039;s a friend after all and he was suffering.&quot; Lulu was always one looking to help other people regardless if there was a reward.<br /><br />Hailun pointed at one of the training dummies. &quot;What about on them?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;The professor said I need a live target to try it on. It will not work on inanimate objects.&quot; She walked over and grabbed a tome before showing them the spell in question.<br /><br />The book was made of old yordle runes, a language that neither Kennen nor Hailun had been taught quite yet. They looked at it but could not make out anything other than a few symbols that matched the current writing system of the language.<br /><br />&quot;Oh come on&hellip;you can try it on me. You&#039;ve done enough for me today.&quot; Kennen continued to try to convince her to just give it a go.<br /><br />She stood hesitating a moment as if uncertain whether it was a good idea or not. &quot;I suppose I don&#039;t have a choice. You both are willing?&quot;<br /><br />Both Kennen and Hailun nodded at her. &quot;I suppose a coin flip will have to do. Kennen if it lands on heads then you&#039;re it. Tails is for you Hailun.&quot;<br /><br />They nodded again, understanding the deal that had been made. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin and showed it to them.&nbsp;&nbsp;She proceeded to throw the coin in the air. It remained in the air for several seconds before she caught it and showed it to them. It had landed on heads.<br /><br />&quot;Looks like you&#039;re the lucky one, Kennen.&quot; She said looking at the bigger boy.<br /><br />Hailun kicked the pavement. &quot;Aw, alright.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;If you want to do it, then you can Hailun.&quot; Kennen didn&#039;t want to make the boy feel like he was left out.<br /><br />The smaller boy shook his head. &quot;Nah, we made a deal so it&#039;s all you.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Alright&hellip;now that it&#039;s settled I need Hailun to step to the side and for Kennen to come to the center of the training area with me.&quot; She instructed them before stepping a bit back. <br /><br />Kennen took a position opposite of her. &quot;Alright, so do I just stand here?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yep, no defensive technique or nothing. I just want to see if I can get it to work.&quot; Lulu was rubbing the top of her staff as if preparing it.<br /><br />&quot;What is this spell supposed to do anyhow?&#039;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kennen&#039;s curiosity was already getting the better of him.<br /><br />Lulu hummed a bit. &quot;The runes make it unclear as if it is the caster&#039;s will that imposes itself on the victim.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Right&hellip;and that means what?&quot; The brown yordle had no idea what she was getting at.<br /><br />The girl rolled her eyes. &quot;I am unsure but I guess we will see ourselves. Are you ready?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, bring it on.&quot; Kennen was ready for whatever it was.<br /><br />She angled her staff forward and slapped it on the floor. &quot;Tremendo!&quot;<br /><br />Several moments passed and nothing happened. She shook her staff as if expecting something to come out of it.<br /><br />&quot;Was that it?&quot; Kennen didn&#039;t feel any different.<br /><br />Lulu stamped her foot into the gravel. &quot;No, nothing happened.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You can try again if you want.&quot; The boy said, intent on helping her with the spell.<br /><br />The girl nodded and angled her staff again bumping it against the floor twice. &quot;Tremendo!&quot;<br /><br />Again several moments passed and nothing happened. She looked at her staff and threw it on the floor, walking away from it.<br /><br />&quot;Wait!&quot; Kennen ran over as he didn&#039;t want her to give up. <br /><br />Yet, she continued walking even still. She hated the taste of failure and didn&#039;t deal with it very well. Kennen approached the staff and looked at it. It looked like any other ordinary piece of wood except for a small ribbon hanging off a purple gem near the top. He grabbed hold of it, a small bit of purple dust exploding all around it. The glittery powder sparkled and flaked as it<br />&nbsp;covered the entirety of his form.<br /><br />&quot;Lulu?&quot; He called out again to the girl, running after her with the staff in his hand.<br /><br />Hailun wasn&#039;t sure what to make of the situation. The glittery powder was barely noticeable to him and it didn&#039;t come off as anything strange. He decided to let Kennen settle the issue and catch up with his boyfriend later. The red panda made his exit from the Aritorium and made his way to his next class.&nbsp;&nbsp;The first class went like normal, the teacher went over nothing new as he knew the students had too much to worry about with exams on the horizon.<br /><br />The boy exited from the class and noticed that Teemo was hanging around with Tristana. He hadn&#039;t seen them around each other recently and was glad to see them together again. He approached them and they smiled at him.<br /><br />&quot;Hey, you two. How goes it?&quot; He asked to start the conversation.<br /><br />Tristana smiled at him warmly as he approached. &quot;Good and yourself?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Good. You two ready for the exams?&quot; Hailun asked, not seeming to notice her constant stare.<br /><br />Teemo nodded. &quot;Yup, you coming to Scouts this weekend?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Probably, I need to ask my parents.&quot; The red panda hadn&#039;t established a schedule for his scout obligations yet.<br /><br />The smaller cub gave him a thumbs up. &quot;Cool. I&#039;ll see you this weekend then.&quot;<br /><br />Hailun departed from them, thinking about what the scouts would have in store for him that coming weekend.&nbsp;&nbsp;The red panda soon noticed Amumu outside one of the classrooms. The boy was completely encompassed in the book he was reading.&nbsp;&nbsp;The other yordle wasn&#039;t sure if he should bother him or not and decided to let his friend remain focused on what he was doing. The yordle cub continued on his way down the hall.<br /><br />The red panda headed toward his next class, thinking to get an early start on it. He figured it would be a chance for him to get ready for it. He arrived at the sight of Heimedinger. Hailun wasn&#039;t used to seeing the man in this side of the school and it caught him off guard a bit. The man&#039;s mustache whiskers wrinkled a bit as he smiled at the boy. Heimerdiner said nothing but welcomed the cub inside.<br /><br />The class started before long. A lesson on hydrogen planning and fostering water in areas where there was none. It was a pretty drab subject but one that would be necessary if the students found themselves in a situation where they were lost and had no other way to get water for themselves. Heimerdinger took them outside to give the technology a try. Each of the students was given a makeshift drill made out of a soil insert.<br /><br />Hailun had no one to work with that day. It was something he hadn&#039;t experienced yet and Heimerdinger wondered why no one paired with him but did not confront the issue. The Red Panda was more than able to work on his own and was able to make use of the device with little issue. Even went as far as getting a small spout of water pouring out from the plot of land he&#039;d selected to work in.<br /><br />Heimerdinger checked in on the students, commending the ones who accomplished the task. The man smiled at Hailun again and gave him the same compliment. Once everyone was done, he returned them inside before dismissing the class. Hailun kept to the rear of the line as the students headed out, not seeming bothered by the fact he was still alone. Heimerdinger couldn&#039;t help but feel bad for him but decided to let it go.<br /><br />Hailun proceeded out of the class and back into the hall. He was a bit bored from the bland lesson of hydrogen planning and yawned a bit. Despite it being earlier in the day, he found himself a bit tired.&nbsp;&nbsp;He supposed it was because he hadn&#039;t had much sleep the night before. He knew there was little he could do about it other than consume something with sugar or simply deal with it. He decided that he would just have to wait for lunch.<br /><br />By the time lunch rolled around, his stomach was rumbling as it often did that time of day. Entering into the cafeteria proved the usual amount of foot traffic. He proceeded to the rear of the line and looked around to see if he could find Kennen or Gnar or someone else he could sit with. The only people he recognized were Teemo and Tristana at the corner of one of the tables. He figured would want to spend time together alone as they sometimes did during lunch since they were sitting removed from everyone else.<br /><br />Hailun thought about it as he waited in line. He figured Kennen or Gnar would have to show up at some point and decided to sit at a mostly vacant table. He grabbed his tray and selected his lunch before making his way to the table. The only other people at the table were Veigar and Vex who kept to themselves and hadn&#039;t caused any issues as of late. Hailun eyed them as he sat down but they paid no mind to him.<br /><br />After a few moments of eating, Kennen found his way over to the boy&#039;s table.<br /><br />&quot;Is this seat taken?&quot; The brown yordle asked as he felt bad the other cub was sitting alone.<br /><br />Hailun looked over at him and smiled. &quot;Of course not. I would love to have you sit next to me.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Cool, how was your day?&quot; The other yordle sat down next to his friend, placing his tray next to him.<br /><br />Hailun shrugged. &quot;Today&#039;s been boring. The teachers are all too worried about the tests. How about you?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;The same. Nothing new. Just review.&quot; Kennen began eating his food without delay, knowing full well they didn&#039;t have much time.<br /><br />The red panda spoke between bites. &quot;Did you give Lulu back her staff?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, I told her a white lie that her spell made me feel energetic. I felt bad for her.&quot; The brown yordle sighed.<br /><br />Hailun smiled. &quot;That was nice of you. I guess nothing happened though.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Nope, I don&#039;t feel any different. Do I look any different to you?&quot; Kennen asked to be certain.<br /><br />The other boy looked over at him. &quot;Nah. You look the same.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Cool.&quot; Kennen continued eating his meal until the tray was empty.<br /><br />Hailun put his arm over the other boy&#039;s shoulder. &quot;Want to walk to class together?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Sure, that would be nice.&quot; The brown yordle got up from the table, picking up both their trays.<br /><br />He waited a moment until Hailun got up. The two stood next to each other. Hailun looked at Kennen and Kennen back at Hailun.<br /><br />&quot;Say does something seem off to you?&quot; Kennen realized he was looking directly into the other cub&#039;s eyes.<br /><br />The red panda stepped back and looked at him again. &quot;No, why?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I dunno. Just something seems off. Did you get bigger?&quot; The boy stepped closer to his friend as if sizing himself up with the other boy.<br /><br />&quot;Maybe? My mom says I&#039;m going through a growth spurt so it&#039;s possible.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun shrugged as if being uncertain about it.<br /><br />Kennen shrugged. &quot;I guess it doesn&#039;t matter.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Nope, but it makes it easier to hug you.&quot; Hailun reached around and hugged the other boy tightly.<br /><br />The brown yordle blushed and returned it with one of his own. &quot;Yeah.&quot;<br /><br />The lunch bell rang before long and the two cubs went their separate ways. Hailun attended his next class, survival where Teemo was already in class. As usual, he sat down with the other cub and waited for class to start. The smaller yordle looked like something was bothering him but the other boy said nothing about it. The teacher for the day showed up before long with a large box in his hands. Today&#039;s assignment was to go through mushrooms to determine what was consumable versus what was not.<br /><br />The teacher soon began explaining the lesson and going over the basics of the task. Teemo was something of an expert in mushrooms. He&#039;d been developing his colony of the plant in hopes of creating something he could use for his own devices.&nbsp;&nbsp;It was something that had been long in the works but that he hadn&#039;t perfected quite yet. Still, as a result, Teemo had become quite knowledgeable in the world of mushrooms and considered himself an expert. <br /><br />The class was taken outside. It was a dark day with grey clouds looming overhead. It wasn&#039;t yet raining but the sky threatened ominously as if it was about to pour. Still, it wasn&#039;t enough to stop the teacher from taking them outside. She wasn&#039;t concerned for them to get wet and unless it showed signs of a lightning storm, she hadn&#039;t been told otherwise. <br /><br />Teemo and Hailun were the first ones out of the classroom. The smaller cub made his way toward the entrance of the Bandlewood. He knew all too well where to find outcroppings of all sorts of types of mushrooms. The Red Panda was more than willing to let him take the lead as he had no idea what to look for. Eventually, once they were far enough from the school, Hailun decided to break the silence.<br /><br />&quot;How&#039;s everything going, Teemo?&quot; The bigger boy hoped his friend would be willing to talk about whatever he had on his mind.<br /><br />Teemo didn&#039;t look back at his friend and instead maintained forward. &quot;Fine. Yourself?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I am alright. Is something bothering you? You look worried about something.&quot; The red panda was straightforward with his concern.<br /><br />The smaller boy hesitated and peered back. &quot;No, why?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;It just seems like something is bothering you. Are you sure you don&#039;t want to talk about it?&quot; The cub grabbed Teemo&#039;s shoulder.<br /><br />Teemo shook his head. &quot;Not really.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;But I want to help you&hellip;all the times you helped me in the past. I can&#039;t just leave you hanging.&quot; Hailun pleaded with the boy.<br /><br />The tan yordle slowly sat down before patting the spot next to him. &quot;Sit down, please. If you promise not to tell anyone, I will tell you.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, of course. I promise.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;The red panda sat down next to the other boy.<br /><br />Teemo huffed. &quot;Tristana is upset with me, I think.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Oh? What makes you think that?&quot; Hailun looked over at the other yordle who still avoided his gaze.<br /><br />The boy panned his head up as if to look towards the sky. &quot;Because she doesn&#039;t want to hang out as much. I think she is jealous.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Jealous of what though? You&#039;re not seeing anyone else I&#039;m sure.&quot; The bigger boy scratched his head as he was confused.<br /><br />Teemo shrugged. &quot;I&#039;m not sure.<br /><br />&quot;Do you have any idea of what it could be?&quot; Hailun tried to get the other<br />&nbsp;cub to face him.<br /><br />The tan yordle finally relented, a small tear forming in his eyes. &quot;Nah but it stinks. I would never cheat on her so I don&#039;t know what she&#039;s upset about.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Have you tried talking to her about it yet?&quot; The bigger cub put his arm over the other boy in an attempt to comfort him.<br /><br />Teemo cocked his head awkwardly. &quot;No, I haven&#039;t. I am not sure she would talk about it and she&#039;s been sort of moody lately because of whatever it is.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I think it&#039;s worth trying&hellip;but you know her better than I do.&quot; Hailun shrugged at his friend.<br /><br />Teemo simply nodded and sniffled.<br /><br />&quot;I mean&hellip;you guys are a couple and you know her better than anyone. So why not just bring it up casually without mentioning thinking she&#039;s jealous?&quot; The red panda removed his arm from behind the other boy.<br /><br />The tan yordle nodded. &quot;I guess your right. It&#039;s worth a shot. I&#039;ll try to talk about it later.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I am here to support you if you need me. After all&hellip;without you, I would never have ended up with Kennen.&quot; The bigger boy smiled warmly at his friend.<br /><br />Teemo smirked at the selfless comment. &quot;I didn&#039;t have as much to do with it as you think but thanks.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I guess...but this isn&#039;t about us. Is there any way I can help you?&quot; The Red Panda wanted to be certain he was of any help to the boy in need.<br /><br />The smaller cub shook his head. &quot;Probably not. It&#039;s something I need to figure out myself.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I guess your right. Well&hellip;let me know if you need anything, alright? I&#039;m here for you.&quot; Hailun gave the other boy a short friendly hug<br /><br />The tan yordle smiled. &quot;Alright, thanks. I appreciate it. How are things for you and Kennen?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I think it&#039;s going well. I just want to make him happy.&quot; The bigger boy looked up to the sky which was beginning to rain a bit.<br /><br />Teemo grasped Hailun&#039;s shoulder. &quot;It&#039;s about both of you, remember that. That&#039;s what I keep telling myself for me and Tristana anyways.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, I know. I love him. I can&#039;t wait to spend more time with him today. Feel better now?&quot; The red panda was hopeful talking about it resolved some of the other yordles issues.<br /><br />Teemo nodded. &quot;Yeah, let&#039;s go.&quot;<br /><br />The two headed back into the thick of the woods. The rain picked up but they did not relent as they had to get something to bring back. When they finally found something of interest, they quickly hurried back to the school to turn it in. They found the teacher waiting outside, seemingly looking for them. The two boys handed off the mushrooms to the woman who quickly rushed inside when they returned. <br /><br />The rest of the class went by pretty quickly with the instructor giving out instructions as to the next step. Teemo seemed much less distracted now which made Hailun feel like he had helped.<br /><br />&quot;Thanks for talking to me about it by the way.&quot; Teemo wanted to be sure his friend knew he appreciated his help.<br /><br />Hailun smiled at him. &quot;Of course, you&#039;re my friend.&quot;<br /><br />When class was over they were released from the class. The hallways were much thicker with activity now since none of the students were outside. The weather had gotten to the point where they weren&#039;t letting students out of the building. The local forecast showed a storm was brewing and it was unlikely to let up anytime soon. Some of the cubs were looking out of the various windows wondering when it would come to an end.<br /><br />Hailun wasn&#039;t as interested in what was going on outside. The idea of bad weather wasn&#039;t something that bothered him. He made his way past them to the recreation area of the school.&nbsp;&nbsp;He couldn&#039;t help but wonder what the recreation class would have in store for them since they couldn&#039;t go outside. When he arrived at the court, he found it to be already full of students who were crowding about for whatever reason.<br /><br />Hailun began to think something more was up. He peered around and wondered if he could see anyone he knew. He saw no signs of Kennen or anyone else hanging around, though it was difficult to make people through the thickness of the crowd. Soon he saw one of the school coaches take to the bleachers with what looked like a voice augmentation device.<br /><br />&quot;Students, the weather outside has taken to the worse. The administration has informed us that the recreation class is to be canceled so that displaced students may remain here. Since dismissal is so near, we recommend you hang tight until we get an all-clear from administration or the weather service.&quot; The coach spoke loudly, their voice somewhat muffled out by all the chatter.<br /><br />Sounds of disgruntled groans followed as the announcement came to a close. Hailun saw that some of the cubs had taken seats on the bleachers but many more were horsing around. Soon seeing Gnar rampaging through the crowd, seemingly looking annoyed. The small orange yordle blazed right past him. Hailun couldn&#039;t help but wonder what had happened and decided he would check in with him later.<br /><br />He soon saw Amumu and Rumble hanging around on one of the corners of the court. Deciding to stop by them and see if they knew anything more. The green yordle waved to him as he approached.<br /><br />&quot;Hey, Hailun. This weather sucks, huh?&quot; Amumu initiated the conversation since he knew the other boy better.<br /><br />Hailun nodded. &quot;Yeah, It was starting to rain when I was in survival class. Is it supposed to let up soon?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I&#039;m not sure. They haven&#039;t said anything other than canceling recreation class.&quot; Amumu sprawled out on one of the bleachers, leaning back a bit.<br /><br />The red panda rolled his eyes. &quot;I was looking forward to having some fun.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Aren&#039;t you worried at all?&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Amumu wasn&#039;t sure what to make of the situation.<br /><br />The smaller boy had a confused look on his face. &quot;About the weather? Why should I be?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Rumors are saying we&#039;re going to be stuck here a while.&quot; Rumble cut in since he was more in the loop with hearsay.<br /><br />The red panda looked dismayed. &quot;Oh&hellip;that sucks.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah&hellip;so better get comfy.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;The green yordle laid flat back onto his bag,<br /><br />Hailun sat idly for a while until the school bell rang. None of the students left the building. Word had already gotten out about them being stuck and many of them assumed that to be the case. Eventually, the administration came on the intercom and let them know what was up. <br /><br />&quot;Weather is supposed to let up in about an hour&hellip;be ready to head out at this time. Your parents are already aware of the situation.&quot;<br /><br />The Red Panda got up. He wanted to move his legs as he was already feeling antsy about sitting around even for a short while.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun decided to see if he could find Kennen and hang around with him since he was going to be stuck here for a while. Heading down the hall, Hailun began looking for anyone else he might have known. The halls were just as thick with students so he had to dart his way through the crowds.<br /><br />Eventually, he came across Teemo and Tristana who glared at him again when he approached them. They looked just as annoyed as before and he considered not confronting them. Making his way past them, they paid him no further attention as they stood idly next to one another. Hailun continued idly walking around with no signs of anyone else he knew. It was warmer in the halls than normal and he considered walking outside.<br /><br />Just as he was about to push on the door, Heimerdinger guided him elsewhere. Hailun grunted at him but the man remained stern and steadfast, standing in front of the door so no further issue was to come about. Soon Gnar came rampaging down the halls again, skittering right into Hailun causing him to fall to his behind.<br /><br />&quot;Gnarada&hellip;&quot; The orange yordle rubbed his head.<br /><br />Hailun picked himself up and offered a helping hand to the other boy. &quot;You alright? Did someone upset you?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Hwa Wabbo.&quot; Gnar huffed seeming frustrated.<br /><br />The red panda helped Gnar to his feet. &quot;Oh, I see. Yeah, I guess that makes sense.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Raag Kshaa. Vimaga Vrooboo?&quot; The orange yordle was pacing in place as if bored.<br /><br />Hailun shrugged. &quot;I was looking for Kennen. Do you know where he is?&quot;<br /><br />Gnar dusted his tail off on his back. &quot;Shubbanuffa.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;What do you mean? We still hang out if you want.&quot; <br /><br />The smaller cub crossed his arms. &quot;Nakotak Vigishu.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I&#039;m sorry you feel that way. I didn&#039;t mean to make you feel ignored. Do you forgive me?&quot; Hailun suddenly felt very guilty.<br /><br />&quot;Goova. Ovagarava!&quot; Gnar smiled widely as he seemed content with the response.<br /><br />Hailun patted Gnar on the head. &quot;We can catch up this weekend if you want. Do you know where he is?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Fue Huega.&quot; Gnar pointed down the hall toward the clinic.<br /><br /><br />The red panda felt his heart sink. &quot;Oh, okay. Thanks, Gnar. Talk to you later.&quot;<br /><br />An immediate sense of concern washed over the boy. Had Kennen gone and hurt himself again? He couldn&#039;t be sure. He walked as quickly as he could with all of the traffic deterring his progress. An announcement came from the intercom again, saying that the students could leave soon. Hailun knew he needed to act fast or he would be caught by the bad weather again. Many students began heading for the door, but the red panda kept himself working against them.<br /><br />He soon arrived at the clinic. The air smelt of alcohol and disinfectant. The same woman he had met before recognized him. She smiled at him and pointed back to the room where Kennen had ended up. He nodded to her but said nothing. Concern was bottling up inside him as he could barely contain his emotional discourse. The door to the room was open and Hailun poked his head inside.<br /><br />&quot;You alright? What happened? Can I come in?&quot; It appeared the boy was fully clothed and didn&#039;t appear to be injured.<br /><br />Kennen was sitting atop the medical table, still waiting to be seen. &quot;Oh, yeah. I&#039;m fine.&quot;<br /><br />Hailun made his way inside. &quot;Then why are you here if you&#039;re fine? Do you feel sick?&quot;<br /><br />The brown yordle shook his head. &quot;It&#039;s hard to explain. I feel fine but&hellip;all of my clothes are loose on me.&quot;<br /><br />The red panda looked up at the boy sitting on the exam table. &quot;So&hellip;you&#039;re losing weight? Or what do you think?&quot;<br /><br />Kennen hopped down off the medical table. &quot;Do I<br />&nbsp;look different to you?&quot;<br /><br />Hailun looked over at the boy. From afar he didn&#039;t seem that much different, though his clothing was sagging a bit on him.<br /><br />&quot;No? It just looks like your clothing is kinda&nbsp;&nbsp;big on you.&quot; The red panda shrugged not making a big ordeal about it.<br /><br />The brown yordle stepped nearer to his friend, finding himself to have to angle his head up slightly to look into Hailun&#039;s eyes. &quot;How about now?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Oh, wow&hellip;I guess you do look smaller. What do you think happened?&quot; Hailun took a step back to get a closer look at him.<br /><br />Kennen shook his head. &quot;I dunno&hellip;my clothing fit fine this morning&hellip;&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Maybe we should get you home so you can rest?&nbsp;&nbsp;We can always come to the clinic tomorrow?&quot; Hailun suggested that they could take advantage of the possible break in the weather.<br /><br />The brown yordle sighed. &quot;I guess. It&#039;s not like anyone is at the clinic right now anyway.&quot;<br /><br />Kennen hopped off the table and grabbed his bag before following Hailun out the door. Most of the students had already left since the doors had finally been let open. Very few of them remained behind except for the few who had obligations elsewhere in the school. The red panda reached over to grab Kennen&#039;s paw. The two held hands as they walked down the hall. Passing by Heimerdinger who waved them off as they made their exit from the building to the outside of the school.<br /><br />Once outside, Hailun looked at the skies above. It was still rather dark. The clouds loomed ominously above with a dark grey tint that seemed to leer down upon the land. What remained of the sun that time in the afternoon was completely blocked out by the omnipresence of cloud cover. Kennen tapped him on the shoulder to get him moving once again. Both of them figured they didn&#039;t have much time before the sky opened up once again.<br /><br />They continued walking until they were at the park where they had watched the cinema. The entirety of the grassy flatland was covered with drops of rain. The trees overhead drooped down a bit as the amount of water that had fallen caused them to sag a bit. Hailun looked over at Kennen who seemed to be semi-distracted as if thinking to himself. He wondered if the boy&#039;s perceived issue was what was bothering him.<br /><br />&quot;You alright?&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun grasped the other boy&#039;s hand tightly as if providing him extra support.<br /><br />Kennen murmured before snapping out of it. &quot;Oh, yeah. I&#039;m fine. Just thinking I guess.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;About what?&quot; The red panda wanted to make sure he wasn&#039;t overly concerned about it.<br /><br />The smaller yordle stopped in his tracks. &quot;I don&#039;t want to be little&hellip;&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You&#039;re not that little. Just smaller than me. It&#039;s not that bad is it?&quot; Hailun tried consoling his friend and hugged him.<br /><br />The brown yordle sighed. &quot;No, but&hellip;I mean I&#039;m not even that big to begin with.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Well, I mean&hellip;no not compared to humans or vastaya we&#039;re not.&quot; The red panda shrugged as size didn&#039;t matter much to him.<br /><br />Kennen looked at the floor. &quot;What if I keep getting smaller?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Don&#039;t worry&hellip;we&#039;ll figure this out as soon as we can&hellip;&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun hugged his boyfriend tightly before releasing him from his arms.<br /><br />The smaller boy kicked the gravel under his feet. &quot;I guess you&#039;re right. I just hope it doesn&#039;t get worse&hellip;&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You&#039;ll be big again soon&hellip;and I promise I&#039;ll take care of you.&quot; The bigger boy squeezed the smaller one&#039;s hand tightly.<br /><br />Kennen forced a smile. &quot;I hope you&#039;re right.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Did you want to hang out or what do you want to do?&quot; The red panda wasn&#039;t sure if his boyfriend would be in the mood for anything.<br /><br />The brown-furred boy hummed. &quot;I don&#039;t have anything in mind. Do you?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;We could go to the park for a little bit and then go home after if you want.&quot; Hailun just wanted to take the other boy&#039;s mind off his issue.<br /><br />The smaller boy nodded. &quot;Sure, that sounds fun.&quot;<br /><br />The two cubs rejoined hands and turned around. They backtracked through the park to the area in the rear of it. A small playground could be seen with some swings, a slide, and a set of monkey bars. They could see it even from where they were as they hadn&#039;t gone that far past it. Hailun picked up pace and started to run as fast as he could. The brown-furred yordle followed suit and easily outpaced him in no time flat.<br /><br />They arrived at the playground with no one else in sight. Rain began to drizzle down from the sky again as the two looked upward. The clouds above were still grey and puffy, blocking out the sun&#039;s rays from gazing upon them. Still, it wasn&#039;t hard enough to deter them from staying and enjoying themselves. The red panda made his way over to the swing set and sat down on one of them, goading his boyfriend over to do the same.<br /><br />Kennen joined him in the next swing over, not having as much trouble fitting in the seat as his friend did. The two began swinging next to each other, bending their legs forward and back so that their bodies were given motion. The drizzle of rain dripped down upon them as they moved themselves up and down. The somewhat chilled air pushed against them as they swung in the swings together.<br /><br />The two continued to swing next to each other for a bit until the rain began to pick up. Kennen jumped off the swing and landed square in a puddle of water. Some mud exploded around him as his feet hit the floor. The Red Panda cub soon did the same, landing right next to him. His landing caused some mud to splatter over his boyfriend. The brown-furred yordle couldn&#039;t help but playfully shove the other boy.<br /><br />Hailun smirked at him before tackling the other cub onto the ground. The two of them rolled around in a. bit. Kennen tried to get the upper hand but each time he ended up on top, the other boy just rolled over him with no issue. It was apparent that he was having some difficulty being in control. Even still, Hailun still had to fight for it but eventually, he ended up on top. The red panda looked down at his boyfriend with a big grin on his face.<br /><br />Kennen squirmed and wiggled underneath the other boy. The bigger boy leaned in and gave him a light kiss on the lips before standing up. Hailun offered the other boy a helping paw and the crestfallen cub gladly took the assistance.&nbsp;&nbsp;By this point, both cubs were soaking wet and dripping with mud. Their school clothing was stained with the dark brown tint of the grime that covered them. The smaller boy returned the kiss with one of his own before they joined hands once again.<br /><br />Without saying a word, they began walking together. Each time they took a step, the water slopped up against them. Yet they continued, not caring at all about the fact they were dirty or wet. The rain began to pour more heavily as they walked along. They decided to pick up the pace and ran as fast as their feet would take them. Of course, Kennen held back a bit so that his boyfriend could keep up with the quicker boy.<br /><br />They soon arrived at Kennen&#039;s home. The weather hadn&#039;t let up at all and was now pouring down in constant sheets of water. Even going under the awning of Kennen&#039;s home didn&#039;t provide them much respite. The wind carried much of it underneath as the sound of lightning could be heard in the distance. Kennen&#039;s eyes sparkled a bit as the storm picked up in intensity, his purple iris&#039; glowed a bit as it resonated with the storm.<br /><br />&quot;Would you like to come inside before it gets any worse?&quot; Kennen offered to be a good host.<br /><br />Hailun nodded. &quot;Sure, I guess I could wait until the weather lets up a bit.&quot;<br /><br />Kennen unlocked the door and let them inside. He noticed his parents had turned the heat on the moment the door pried open. The two cubs stepped inside with both of them stopping by the front door. Each of them looked down to shuffle off their shoes. Even their socks had been soaked so they scooted those off as well. Hailin looked over at the other boy, noticing he could just about see the top of the other cub&#039;s head. Of course, he didn&#039;t say anything about it as he knew it would upset his boyfriend.<br /><br />Both cubs continued to walk inside once their shoes and socks were off. Kennen led the other boy to his room where he rifled through one of his drawers to find both of them something more dry to wear. He found each of them something and handed one off to the red panda before trotting off to his bed to strip off his clothing. Hailun decided to go the bathroom to get changed so that the other boy&#039;s parents didn&#039;t catch them in their delicates together.<br /><br />Hailun wasted no time in getting changed once he was behind the shut doors of the bathroom. He dried off a bit with one of the towels and put the clothing on he was given. Ringing out the clothes he had changed out of onto the rug below. He couldn&#039;t help but be surprised by the amount of water that came out of it. Once he was done, he headed back out to the other boy&#039;s room making his way through the hallway back to it.<br /><br />Once inside he saw that Kennen was on the bed already changed out of his wet clothes. The brown-furred cub seemed distraught about something.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun walked over to the side of the bed and sat down next to his boyfriend. <br /><br />&quot;What&#039;s wrong?&quot; The red panda looked over to the other boy.<br /><br />Kennen gripped his hands together tightly. &quot;Even these bedclothes don&#039;t fit anymore&hellip;Look.&quot;<br /><br />The brown-furred yordle gripped the side of his arm and showed the sleeve sagging on him a bit.<br /><br />&quot;I mean&hellip;you&#039;re not that much smaller. At least you&#039;re not like ant-sized or something.&quot; The bigger boy tried to look at the positive side of the situation.<br /><br />Kennen sighed. &quot;But&hellip;what if I keep getting smaller?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I&#039;ll take care of you no matter what, alright? You&#039;re still my boyfriend after all&hellip;&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun leaned over and kissed the other boy on the cheek.<br /><br />Kennen returned the kiss and smiled at him before squeezing the other boy&#039;s hand tightly. The two sat there idly for a few moments with neither of them saying a word to one another. The brown-furred boy looked out the window and noticed the weather had let up a bit.&nbsp;&nbsp;He looked over at his boyfriend.<br /><br />&quot;Maybe you should go home while<br />&nbsp;the weather isn&#039;t as bad?&quot; The smaller boy figured his boyfriend would want to take advantage of it.<br /><br />The Red Panda looked behind him and noticed it was true. He hopped off the bed and began to head out of the room. Kennen followed him out the door and into the hall. They made their way through it together and stopped at the exit. Hailun slipped his shoes back on, the sloshy and wet inside of it making his socks wet in mere seconds. The two shared a short hug and kiss before parting ways. <br /><br />As Hailun looked back, he couldn&#039;t help but worry about his boyfriend. Kennen was worried so much about his little issue. The Red Panda didn&#039;t see the problem. After all, he was the same boy that he fell in love with. He turned around and continued on his way home, glad that the weather had improved a bit. The cub picked up pace and ran as fast as his legs would take him as it was still raining a bit and he wanted to stay as dry as possible.<br /><br />By the time the red panda cub got home, he was wet again. His parents were waiting for him by the time he got back. They were worried about him since he hadn&#039;t checked in. Both of them stared at him intently the moment he walked through the door.<br /><br />&quot;Where have you been, mister?&quot; The cub&#039;s mother tapped her foot impatiently.<br /><br />Hailun looked over at her not seeming to understand what he&#039;d done wrong. &quot;I was at Kennen&#039;s waiting for the weather to let up.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Why didn&#039;t you let us know? You could have communicated that to us&hellip;we were worried.&quot; The boy&#039;s father crossed his arms looking disappointed at his son.<br /><br />The younger male looked at the floor, avoiding their gaze. &quot;I didn&#039;t think about it&hellip;sorry.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;We understand you&#039;re close with that boy but next time please let us know you&#039;re going to be home late, alright honey?&quot; She smirked and shook her head at him.<br /><br />The cub nodded. &quot;Alright, sorry Mom and Dad. It won&#039;t happen again.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Good&hellip;now let&#039;s get dinner. Next time you should invite your little friend over so we can get to know him better.&quot; Both his parents didn&#039;t quite know the full extent of their relationship quite yet. <br /><br />Hailun kicked off his shoes. &quot;Okay, Dad. I&#039;ll ask him tomorrow.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Maybe Friday if you two are both up for it and his parents are alright with it?&quot; She began to head to the kitchen since that issue was taken care of.<br /><br />The family headed off to make dinner. Their meal was a usual one, with a mixture of fish and vegetables. His father had worked on it hard and it was still warm despite having sat out a little bit in the open air. The three of them talked about their day, sharing what happened between them as they often did. It was a closely knit family that enjoyed the true nature of what family was meant to be.<br /><br />When the meal was over, Hailun retired to the bathroom to get ready for bed. The rest of his night was quiet. After he cleaned up and dressed into his pajamas, he worked on his homework a bit. He didn&#039;t have that much to do so it didn&#039;t take him that long to finish everything. After he finished, he cleaned up his space and put everything away making sure to stash his homework in a folder for safekeeping.<br /><br />Once he got to bed, Hailun&#039;s mind began to wander a bit. He was thinking about Kennen and how worried he was about the other boy. Of course, the size issue didn&#039;t bother him nearly as much. Though part of him wondered exactly how bad it would get. It didn&#039;t seem like it had stopped the last time he had seen the boy and it had only seemed to have gotten worse as time went on. He knew that the morning would be telling and that would truly determine if it was something to worry about or not.<br /><br />Hailun shut his eyes before long, allowing his mind to rest. It took him a bit to fall asleep. When he did&hellip;his dreams were full of the oddest of things. Images of a tiny Kennen in his hands&hellip;running around, all but lost for what to do. It was a strange experience to be sure and when awoke the next morning, he wasn&#039;t sure what to make of it. Pushing the memory out of his mind to replace it with concern about the other boy once again.<br /><br />The next morning arrived with the sun gazing through the window. Its ever-vigilant gaze peered through the Bandlewood with an awe-inspiring brightness. Hailun looked towards the window and closed the blinds so it wasn&#039;t quite as bright inside his room. He scooted out of his bed and went over to his wardrobe to change into his school clothes for the day. His mother soon called for him to come to the kitchen when he was ready.<br /><br />It didn&#039;t take that much longer for the yordle cub to get ready. He soon made his way down the hall and to the kitchen. Hailun could smell whatever his mother was cooking and it made his stomach rumble with anticipation. The cub padded his way into the kitchen and saw his mother and father were both there. The older male was kissing his wife and letting her know that he was off to work. This wasn&#039;t odd to the boy who had grown used to his father leaving just as the cub was waking up for the day.<br /><br />Hailun sat down as the food his mother had made for him was already on the table. The parents usually rotated meal duty as the father had more free time at night and the mother had more free time in the morning. She had made him some crumpets and jelly along with some fruit. The cub spread some jelly on it and began to eat his food. He was slightly distracted, thinking about the day to come for school.<br /><br />His mother soon hurried him along since he was dilly-dallying.&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun finished his meal and cleaned up the table. The woman thanked him and the cub gave her a short hug before she returned his affection with a kiss of her own. The cub smiled at her before breaking away and making his way to the living room to grab his bag and head out. He put his backpack over his shoulder and headed out the door to begin his day anew.<br /><br />Once outside, the wind gusted against him. Some nearby trees bent against the wind as it was strong enough to cause the trunks to buckle against it. Hailun had to shield his face from the wind as some dirt and sand were being thrown about. He pushed his way through the brisk winds as he made his way to school. It took him a bit longer than usual, though he was still able to make good time despite the wind seemingly deterring his progress.<br /><br />After he made it to Bandle Academy, he was surprised to find that a fair amount of students were outside despite the weather. He began to look around to see if he recognized anyone. He saw Gnar was hanging around with Amumu. Hailun was a bit surprised to see Gnar with the green yordle as it was a friendship he wasn&#039;t quite aware of just yet. The red panda cub made his way over to them.<br /><br />Both of the boys waved to him with Gnar being a bit more energetic about it. Hailun approached them until he was at a more personal distance from them. <br /><br />&quot;How are things going you guys?&quot; The bigger boy asked them.<br /><br />Amumu shrugged. &quot;Good&hellip;just nervous for another test today.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, test week stinks&hellip;I wish they would spread it out more.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun sighed loudly.<br /><br />The orange yordle snorted. &quot;Ahanga!<br /><br />The green yordle looked confused. &quot;Right&hellip;&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I think he agrees with us.&quot; The bigger cub had come to understand Gnar as well as anyone else who knew and spent enough time with him.<br /><br />Gnar nodded his head excitedly. &quot;Yada ya.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I don&#039;t know how you understand him but I&#039;ll take your word on it.&quot; Amumu was just hanging out with Gnar because Rumble was home sick today.<br /><br />The Red Panda chuckled a his friends. &quot;Have you guys seen Kennen around?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;No, I haven&#039;t. Isn&#039;t he usually around by this time in the morning because of whatever sport it is that he participates in before school?&quot; The smaller boy only knew of Kennen&#039;s involvement because of what Hailun had told him in the past.<br /><br />Hailun nodded. &quot;Yeah, I guess I didn&#039;t think about if he might be there. I will go take a look. Thanks.&quot;<br /><br />The bigger boy waved to the two boys as he parted from them. Hailun felt silly for not having considered his boyfriend&#039;s hobby. He made his way into the school and past a few groups of other cubs. He passed by Teemo who was hanging out with Tristana again. The two were holding hands and the red panda hoped they had mended whatever issue they had previously. Teemo was much too busy to notice the other boy as he passed by.<br /><br />Hailun continued until he was at the rear part of the school where the sparring arena was. It was the alternative to the outdoor training area when the weather didn&#039;t cooperate to let the cubs practice. The red panda figured the kendo group had to be inside since the wind outside was rather strong. He continued making his way into the back of the school until he reached the sparring arena. He could hear the slapping of wood together and he was all but certain that Kennen would be participating.&#039;<br /><br />He popped his head inside the room but didn&#039;t step inside. Hailun looked around and saw a few of the cubs practicing some kendo moves that he wasn&#039;t familiar with. Each strike they landed on the other&#039;s wooden katana resulted in thuds that reverberated through the room. A few adults were visible overseeing the activity to make sure things didn&#039;t get out of hand. Hailun still saw no signs of Kennen within and wondered where else he could be.<br /><br />The Red Panda cub began walking around again, going a bit further into the sparring arena. The coach was paying attention to her students so she didn&#039;t quite notice they had a visitor in the area. Hailun kept to the perimeter of the room as he didn&#039;t want to disrupt the practice session that was underway. He assumed there was a locker room for the students to get changed in, just as there was one in the school gym room.<br /><br />The yordle cub continued his way until he reached an off-shoot hallway that was in the far corner of the room. He could still hear the slapping of wood coming from behind him as it echoed through the hallway he was walking through. Eventually, he reached the end of it, arriving<br />&nbsp;in the changing room where there were no lockers. It was a small room vacant of anything except some benches, laundry baskets, and several of the student&#039;s bags.<br /><br />Hailun looked around and saw no signs of Kennen. It was apparent the other boy wasn&#039;t in there. So he began to backtrack the way he came, passing right by the coach who was coming his way to collect some supplies from the room he had just left.<br /><br />&quot;What are you doing back here? You&#039;re not a member of the team. If you want to try out then tryouts are only on Thursdays.&quot; She folded her arms expecting an answer sooner rather than later.<br /><br />The red panda looked up at her. &quot;I was looking for Kennen. Have you seen him around?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;No, he did not come to practice today. I am not sure where he is, sorry. Now&hellip;out with you. Practice is not the time for visitors or spectators.&quot; She pointed towards the door to show she meant business.<br /><br />The boy wasn&#039;t aware the place was off-limits during practice. After all, he had watched Kennen in the past without any fuss. Though the woman wasn&#039;t familiar to him and he figured she was just playing it safe. He made his way back out of the sparring arena and stopped once he was outside the door. Once again his mind began to wonder where his boyfriend was. He couldn&#039;t help but worry that maybe Kennen had gotten sick or that something else had happened to him. He decided to wait and see if maybe he would just run past him later in the day.<br /><br />Hailun went about his class routine like normal. His classes were nothing special with having to take more tests. There was only one day left of his exam sessions and he was very much looking forward to finishing it up on the next day. It was during lunch he realized that Kennen was absent. He ended up sitting next to Gnar since he wanted to catch up with him a bit anyway. Of course, his mind occasionally drifted to Kennen since he was still worried about his boyfriend.<br /><br />Mid conversation with Gnar, the red panda overheard Poppy talking with Lulu. The two girls were sitting opposite them and talking about the test. Their conversation soon turned to the failed spell on Kennen. It was then it dawned on the young red panda that perhaps Lulu&#039;s little mishap had caused this. He decided would check in on the other boy at his home. He could only assume that he was sick but time would tell if that was the case or not. The yordle cub continued to go about his day as normal until the final school bell rang.<br /><br />It seemed like the day had dragged on long enough for the young boy. His mind was torn between his tests and the concern he harbored for his boyfriend. Even hanging out with his other friends hadn&#039;t dissipated his worry. Hailun rushed outside with the crowd of students who were just as eager to be done with school. The red panda filed through the front door and filtered through it the crush of cubs. <br /><br />Teemo stopped him once he was outside. Hailiun had been acting weird much of the day and he wanted to make sure everything was alright. Once the red panda boy had explained the situation, the brown-furred boy understood what was behind his friend&#039;s behavior. The bigger cub excused himself and said goodbye to his other friends. He wasted no time in exiting the schoolyard and making his way to Kennen&#039;s home.<br /><br />The red panda made his way down the cobblestone sidewalks and cut through some of the wooded areas to save some time. Hailun was familiar enough now with the route that he cut through the shortcuts to get there a little bit quicker. Still, he walked as fast as he could in hopes that he might get there as soon as possible. The boy had very good time and arrived at Kennen&#039;s home before long.<br /><br />Hailun approached the door to his boyfriend&#039;s house and knocked on it. The wooden frame of it reverberated with a loud thud as he hit it. He waited a few moments, thinking that someone would eventually come to the door. After a few moments of standing there, he knocked again. Yet even still there was no answer so he decided to walk around to the rear of the building. The red panda was intent on seeing if anyone was home.<br /><br />The yordle cub made his way around the side of the building to the back of it. There was a small tree that overlooked the window where Kennen&#039;s room was. Hailun began to climb the trunk, using his claws to gain traction on the bark. He had always been adept at climbing trees and this one was smaller as it had been trimmed back a bit.&nbsp;&nbsp;He eased himself on the branch closest to the window and peered inside.<br /><br />Looking inside was a bit difficult as the sun was reflecting from the glass on the window. From what he could make out, he thought he saw a shadow of a figure inside. He was close enough so that he could touch the window. He poked his claw on the window, tapping on it a. few times in hopes of getting whoever was inside&#039;s attention. He kept it up for several seconds, carefully watching the figure as it moved within.<br /><br />Kennen was inside his room. Of course, he heard the tapping from the window. He was in no mood for shenanigans. Looking behind him to the window, he saw a figure outside his window perched on the branch. He stared at it for a moment. It didn&#039;t take him long to realize who it was. The brown-furred yordle had wanted to be left alone. He figured he&#039;d probably been seen and decided he couldn&#039;t hide anymore.<br /><br />Slowly he pushed himself close enough to the window so that he could open it. Hailun looked over at him. The brown-furred yordle was still in his pajamas. The two-piece pajama set was sagging quite visibly on him. It wasn&#039;t evident that he&#039;d gotten smaller but it was apparent the stuff no longer fit him. <br /><br />&quot;How are you feeling, Kennen? You were absent from school today so I came to check on you.&quot; The red panda remained perched on the branch and did not move from it so he didn&#039;t fall off.<br /><br />Kennen sighed. &quot;Look at me&hellip;I&#039;m still getting smaller&hellip;none of my clothes fit anymore. Even the stuff from last from last year is too big on me.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;I mean&hellip;the only way the nurse can help you is if she can look at you. Can I come in?&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hailun wanted to make his boyfriend feel better.<br /><br />The brown-furred yordle looked to the ground. &quot;I mean&hellip;I guess you can if you want. Promise to not laugh?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Why would I laugh? I mean&hellip;.we are boyfriends, right? I wouldn&#039;t do anything to knowingly hurt your feelings.&quot; The red panda hopped off the branch and onto the window sill.<br /><br />He slid himself off the window sill and onto the bed beneath it. The mattress creaked a bit against his weight as his body shifted a bit. Hailun kneeled and brought himself back down to ground level. He was now standing right next to Kennen, finding he could see clearly over his head. Hailun tried not to make a big deal out of it as he already knew his boyfriend was having trouble coming to terms with his problem.<br /><br />&quot;See? I barely come up to your shoulder now&hellip;it&#039;s gotten so much worse from yesterday.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;The smaller boy shuffled his feet.<br /><br />Hailun ruffled the boy&#039;s head fur. &quot;It&#039;s not that bad&hellip;I mean yeah you&#039;re small but you&#039;re still cute.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Thanks&hellip;but that&#039;s not my point. I feel like I&#039;m just going to keep getting smaller until I vanish.&quot; Kennen sat down on the edge of the bed.<br /><br />The red panda sat down next to the other boy and put his arm around him. &quot;You know I was thinking about it and have you given any thought that it could be magic that caused this? I mean&hellip;didn&#039;t Lulu cast a spell on you?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, she did. But it didn&#039;t do anything, remember?&quot; The smaller boy looked back over at his boyfriend.<br /><br />The bigger cub hummed. &quot;Well&hellip;maybe it just took a while to take effect. If it is a spell&hellip;maybe it will just wear off?&quot;<br /><br />&nbsp;&quot;Is that a risk worth taking though? What if it doesn&#039;t? If Lulu&#039;s spell did work then maybe I should talk to her about it?&quot; Kennen was coming around to the idea and it seemed to make sense.<br /><br />Hailun shrugged. &quot;We don&#039;t know where she lives&hellip;so we need to wait at least until tomorrow to talk to her about it. What did your parents say about it?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;My parents got home late last night&hellip;and they left early this morning. They haven&#039;t had a chance to see me like this yet so they don&#039;t know. They won&#039;t be back til late tonight either.&quot; The brown yordle thought about it a second.<br /><br />The red panda hummed. &quot;We could show you to my mother&hellip;.she might be able to help you. She is quite adept at magic.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;You think so?&quot; Kennen perked up a bit as his ears twitched slightly.<br /><br />The bigger boy nodded. &quot;Yeah, it&#039;s worth a shot isn&#039;t it?&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />&quot;I suppose it is&hellip;I would get changed into something that fits but I don&#039;t think I have anything that does anymore.&quot; The smaller boy stood back up to show he was ready to leave whenever his boyfriend was.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Hailun stood up and ruffled the other boy&#039;s head fur again. &quot;Alright, little guy&hellip;let&#039;s head out.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Don&#039;t call me that&hellip;I&#039;m not little.&quot; The brown-furred yordle huffed a bit.<br /><br />The red panda couldn&#039;t help but giggle a bit. &quot;Of course, you aren&#039;t&hellip;let&#039;s head out.&quot;<br /><br />The two cubs joined hands and walked together down the hall. Kennen didn&#039;t bother to put shoes on since even those were loose now. Choosing instead to walk barefoot for the travel over to Hailun&#039;s home. They kept to the side roads as they often did on the familiar route. Those who did pass them by would have taken them as brothers. It wasn&#039;t an odd sight to be sure and didn&#039;t raise any alarms to those who happened to walk by.<br /><br />When they arrived at Hailun&#039;s home, they walked directly to the front door and the red panda unlocked it. They broke their hand holding the moment they walked into the door. Hailun immediately called to his mother in hopes she would be home. It was still early and he wasn&#039;t sure either of them were home just yet. After there was no answer, he knew neither of his parents had come home from work yet.<br /><br />Hailun took Kennen back to his room. The smaller boy tripped on his pajama pant leg that was now dragged just below the toes of his feet. The bigger<br />&nbsp;cub turned around to help his boyfriend who winced a bit from the sudden fall.&nbsp;&nbsp;The red panda helped the other boy back up and dusted and held him up a bit. The cub noticed his friend was much lighter now and he felt like he could lift him if he tried to.<br /><br />&quot;Wow&hellip;you&#039;re still shrinking?&quot; Hailun thought it may have stopped but looking over at the other boy he had to tilt his head down to look at the tip of his head.<br /><br />The smaller cub sighed. &quot;I tried to tell you that earlier.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Well&hellip;my mom should be home soon. Hopefully, she can help. Do you want to do something until then to pass the time?&quot; The Red Panda hugged his boyfriend in an attempt to make him feel better.<br /><br />Kennen hugged the other boy back. &quot;Yeah, I guess. What did you have in mind?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Hmm&hellip;we could play a board game or cuddle a bit if you like. What are you in the mood for?&quot; The red panda wanted to make the other boy feel more comfortable with his situation.<br /><br />The brown-furred boy shrugged. &quot;Whatever sounds good to me.&quot; <br /><br />Hailun thought about it a second after breaking the hug off and decided that a board game was probably the better decision. He went into his closet and fetched it from the storage area where he had placed it before. It was a game he hadn&#039;t played in some time but one that he figured would pass the time and make the other cub forget about his little problem. He brought it out of the closet and placed it on the floor. He looked over at the other boy who was holding up his pants so they didn&#039;t fall off.<br /><br />&quot;You know&hellip;you can just let those go. It&#039;s not like I haven&#039;t seen you in underwear or naked before.&quot; Hailun poked the other yordles chest to try and make him laugh.<br /><br />Kennen blushed a bit, allowing them to fall. &quot;I guess&hellip;haha.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Come on and sit down, Ken.&quot; The red panda patted the spot next to him.<br /><br />The brown-furred boy smiled at him. &quot;Oh cool, I haven&#039;t played this in a while.&quot;<br /><br />The smaller cub joined him before long. The game in question was called mechs and minions and it was an old yordle tradition that was passed down from generations ago. The game was one that most cubs knew and one that most of the older folks had experienced when they were younger. The goal of the game was to build up, upgrade, and manage mechs so they could accumulate points by eliminating the Minion threat. The end of each game would then be decided by a winner-take-all player-versus-player bout with the completed mechs facing off against each other.<br /><br />Each cub chose a mech and began assembling the basic parts of it. Hailun chose a defensive mech while his boyfriend chose an offensive one. Neither of them had to be explained the rules as they had both played it before. They began the game before long with both of them rolling the dice to decide initiative. Kennen went first and scored some minor upgrades on his weapon and frame design. Hailun was a little less lucky and only got an armor upgrade to his already beefy build.<br /><br />When the sweep round occurred, it was time for both cubs to get as high a minion score as possible. Of course, since Kennen had the higher attack power on his mech, he mowed down a lot more minions before his mech was damaged. Hailun managed to lag behind a bit but still kept up the same score since his unit lasted just a bit longer. The game until this point had been neck and neck but slowly the game was turning in Kennen&#039;s favor.<br /><br />The final round of the game was the big show of what their mechs were made of. Each boy placed their mech at the arena where they rolled for initiative. Hailun went first and his weapons were but a weak farce that weren&#039;t quite enough to penetrate Kennen&#039;s armor. The brown-furred boy&#039;s machine was able to break through the plating of the red panda&#039;s mech with ease. It was with that fatal blow that the game was decided and the smaller cub was declared the winner.<br /><br />Hailun congratulated his boyfriend on his victory. Kennen smirked a bit and the red panda was glad to see him smile again. Just as they were cleaning up, they heard the door shut. <br /><br />&quot;Maybe that&#039;s my mom&hellip;I&#039;ll go check. Be right back.&quot; The bigger boy picked himself up and headed out of the room.<br /><br />The red panda made his way down the hall and saw that his mother was unpacking her briefcase in the living room. His face lit up as he approached her.<br /><br />&quot;Hey, Mom. How was work?&quot; He asked her so that he didn&#039;t bombard her with the problem immediately.<br /><br />The older woman shrugged at him. &quot;It was alright. The usual more or less. How was school?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;It was good&hellip;I brought Kennen over to play. Is that alright?&quot; The boy hoped she wouldn&#039;t mind since he didn&#039;t tell her about it beforehand.<br /><br />She looked at him warily. &quot;As long as he leaves before dinner it&#039;s fine. You need to study for your last tests tomorrow.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, He&#039;ll go home soon. I was wondering if you could help us with something?&quot; The cub hugged her lightly.<br /><br />The mother hugged him back. &quot;Sure what&#039;s up, kiddo?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Well&hellip;I think Kennen was hit by a spell at school&hellip;and now he&#039;s shrinking.&quot; Hailun tried to explain the situation as he understood it.<br /><br />She rubbed her chin. &quot;Sounds like he was hit by a wayward Wild Growth spell gone wrong&hellip;Is he in your room?&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah, do you think you can help him?&quot; The boy was hopeful she could.<br /><br />The boy&#039;s mother nodded. &quot;Most certainly. Let&#039;s go help him out before it&#039;s too late.&quot;<br /><br />The two walked together back down the hall to Hailun&#039;s room. Kennen was just finishing cleaning up. The shirt he was wearing covered much of his body. The red panda&#039;s mother looked over at him and tried to assess the situation. <br /><br />&quot;Come on over here, little guy.&quot; She said to him since he hadn&#039;t noticed their arrival.<br /><br />The brown-furred yordle huffed as he was called that and turned around to approach her. She pointed to the spot in front of her and knelt in front of him. <br /><br />&quot;Look into my eyes.&quot; She said with a firm yet reassuring tone.<br /><br />Hailun stepped to the side of them so that his mother could do what she needed to. He had complete trust in her and figured she could fix his boyfriend&#039;s problem. Kennen looked up at her meekly stared into her eyes. The woman pointed at him with one of her fingers. The tip of it pressed against the boy&#039;s belly. Using her other hand she drifted it across his body as some specs of light began to emit from her touch.<br /><br />Kennen could feel a strange warmth build inside him, emanating from the finger where she was touching him. He began to tingle inside as the sensation spread through his warmth. The woman closed her eyes as she cast the incantation over her subject. The warmth continued to spread through the young boy&#039;s body as he stood there. Hailun watched with interest for any signs that his boyfriend might be recovering.<br /><br />Slowly but surely the cub&#039;s body began to creep up. His muscles began to ache and become sore as his form extended. His frame regained what size he had lost over the past few days. The red panda boy watched as his friend returned to his former state. His mother soon removed her touch from the cub. Kennen&#039;s shirt now fitted him much better and his lower half was left in the boxers he was wearing.<br /><br />&quot;Now&hellip;go put some pants on and try not to find yourself a target of a spell anymore.&quot; The mother opened her eyes and stood up.<br /><br />Hailun hugged her again. &quot;Thanks, Mom!&quot;<br /><br />&quot;No problem&hellip;Remember he needs to go home soon. Dinner isn&#039;t far off.&quot; She headed out of the room leaving the two boys alone.<br /><br />The Red Panda boy hugged his boyfriend again. Kennen couldn&#039;t help but smile as he shared the embrace. His anxiety was all but relieved to see his boyfriend&#039;s eyes slightly below his own again. Oh, how it felt to be bigger again&hellip;he told himself.<br /><br />&quot;See&hellip;I told you she could help.&quot; Hailun let the other boy go.<br /><br />Kennen bent over grabbed his pants and put them back on. &quot;Yeah&hellip;no more being a test dummy for Lulu&hellip;haha.&quot;<br /><br />&quot;Yeah. You should probably get home before your parents worry about you not being home. See you at school tomorrow?&quot; The red panda kissed the other boy on the cheek.<br /><br />The brown-furred boy returned the kiss with one of his own. &quot;Yeah, sure&hellip;Thanks again. See you tomorrow, dude.&quot;<br /><br />Hailun showed the other boy to the exit of his home, allowing him to borrow some of his shoes and socks so he didn&#039;t have to go home barefoot. The red panda watched as he departed, already eager to see him the next day. Glad that this whole ordeal was over. No longer was worry filling his mind, instead filled with simpler things and the final test on his horizon. His entire focus remained on that for the remainder of the day.<br /><br />The rest of the night was low-key for both of the boys. Each of them had to study as they wanted to do well on their last marks. Kennen&#039;s parents returned home much earlier that night, much to his surprise. Apologizing that they hadn&#039;t been home as much lately and telling him that it would change soon. Of course, he understood and was happy to have his family life back. When they asked about school&hellip;he left about his little experience over the last few days as he didn&#039;t want to feel any more silly about it.<br /><br />When the final test came push to shove&hellip;both boys mastered their marks. They passed, much to their delight, and their parents. The anxiety that had come with it had all but left. The school announced it would be planning an outing to the forests to celebrate. Hailun and Kennen both immediately signed up for it, both boys planned on spending the day with one another and their parents were all for them going to get them out of the house since they&#039;d been shut in because of the tests.<br /><br />It seemed that everything had returned to normal. Kennen did not have another bout with the shrinking episode. He talked to Lulu about it who was more than apologetic to him. Promising that she&#039;d never try it on him again. He reassured her that he was still willing to help when push came to shove as he wasn&#039;t as worried about his wellbeing and just wanted to help. After all, it was all magic&hellip;and permanence was<br />&nbsp;not something most cubs understood just yet.&nbsp;&nbsp;In the end, it was an experience neither of them would forget for the near future.</span>",
  "pools_count": 1,
  "title": "Testing",
  "deleted": "f",
  "public": "t",
  "mimetype": "application/msword",
  "pagecount": "1",
  "rating_id": "1",
  "rating_name": "Mature",
  "ratings": [
    {
      "content_tag_id": "2",
      "name": "Nudity",
      "description": "Nonsexual nudity exposing breasts or genitals (must not show arousal)",
      "rating_id": "1"
    }
  ],
  "submission_type_id": "12",
  "type_name": "Writing - Document",
  "guest_block": "t",
  "friends_only": "f",
  "comments_count": "3",
  "views": "347"
}