Cerve said she was a second-year student in the athletics department, which attracted powerful, confident young monsters from all corners of the continent. They were no longer at war, but it never hurt to be prepared. Of course, the Nemea Academy couldn’t exactly announce that it was training soldiers. Instead, the athletic department conducted their affairs under the guise of promoting health and fitness. Students honed their minds and bodies through a variety of activities such as track and field, javelin and discus, martial arts, ball games, and swimming.
“I don’t like to brag, but I have excellent grades, dude.”
Cerve stuck out her tongue. Her flaxen hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her expression was joyful. Her tail wagged furiously. Glenn took this to mean she saw him as an ally. She was wearing a two-piece undergarment that fit her like a glove. It was similar to the light-shielding undergarment Sapphee wore, though probably made of more absorbent fabric. She was taut, lean, and extremely athletic.
“I’m on a full scholarship…but my grades have been dropping,” she continued.
“Why is that?”
“Umm…” Cerve’s eyes darted uneasily around the room. She turned her attention to the dog heads on her shoulders. “Guys, say hi.”
“Grrr…!”
Orr, the dog on Cerve’s left shoulder, growled. But he wasn’t growling at Glenn, rather his disdain was directed at his counterpart, Ery.
“Argrrr…!” Ery threatened in return, baring her teeth.
Orr seemed more aggressive, but Ery clearly had no intention of backing down, either. They were salivating, each ready to take a bite out of the other. Their teeth were sharp, and if given the opportunity, they probably wouldn’t stop at just a nip…not that they could reach each other.
“Hey, stop fighting, dudes!” Cerve ordered.
“Grrr…!”
“Arf…!”
Cerve reached both hands up to stroke her shoulders. The dogs dropped their heads and did as they were told, but didn’t stop eyeing each other.
“See, dude? Lately, they just won’t stop fighting.”
“Your Cerberus shoulders are fighting…? I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
Glenn glanced over at Sapphee, who shook her head. It seemed that, despite her excellent grades, she was flummoxed, too.
“It’s awful! I don’t know when they might start, so I have to worry about it all the time. It gets in the way of my sports!”
“That is…awful.”
“If my grades keep dropping, I could even lose my scholarship. Ahhh!”
Cerve was trembling. Everyone was welcome at the Nemea Academy, regardless of species or status, but that also meant the student body came from a wide variety of financial backgrounds.
“Can you think of any reason why they might be fighting?”
“No! There’s nothing! Even if I get them to settle down like this, they just start back up again later. The worst is when they both howl at the same time. Ugh!”
If she couldn’t come up with a reason, it would be difficult to get to the bottom of this.
“Cerve, I think it might be better for you to talk to a real doctor, like Dr. Cthulhy, rather than students like us,” Glenn said.
“I’m not hurt or sick, dude. I just want these two to get along!”
Cerve held her head in her hands. As soon as she bowed her human head, Orr and Ery started snarling at each again.
Glenn understood. Cerve didn’t think she was ill, just in trouble. She’d gone to medical students rather than a doctor because she was just looking for a consult, as Lime had said. He glanced over at Sapphee. He was sure she would help Cerve if she could, but Sapphee’s specialty was pharmacology, and he didn’t think Cerve’s problem could be treated with medication alone.
Sapphee was the reason he wanted to become a doctor in the first place. When she was young, she’d fallen gravely ill and it was caring for her that had led him here.
“I understand,” he said. “If you prefer not to go to a proper doctor, I’d be happy to take a look.”
“Glenn! Seriously?!”
Cerve jumped up and down.
He thought she might hug him. She seemed very friendly. Having been wrapped in both Cthulhy’s and Sapphee’s embraces in the past, Glenn was well-aware of the monster propensity to be physically demonstrative. It made him wince a little.
“Okay, then…hear me out, and then follow my instructions.”
“I will, dude!” she answered quickly.
Such immediate submissiveness actually concerned him a bit.
“See, Sapphee? Good thing I brought Glenn, yeah? Another perfect decision made by me, Lime!”
Lime puffed up her chest.
“Shouldn’t you be the one having a consultation, Lime?”
“Each situation is different, yeah!” Lime said, ignoring Sapphee’s sarcasm.
Sapphee let out a sign and returned to Glenn’s side. “Since this is my lab, I’ll help you. What do you plan on doing?”
“Yeah, umm…” Glenn was looking at the dogs on each of Cerve’s shoulders. “I think maybe we have to train them.”
Training. The moment Cerve heard that word, the smile disappeared from her face.
Glenn, still oblivious to the delicate workings of others’ minds, didn’t even notice.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Academy cafeteria was a popular place, somewhere that students could eat their fill at a reasonable price. They offered meals for all types of monster diets including herbivores, piscivores, and carnivores. But what about humans? At first, Glenn didn’t know if he should line up alongside his classmates.
Fortunately, Sapphee turned him onto the existence of the bread and grains corner.
“Let’s decide what order you should eat in,” Glenn said as he ate his bread.
He was sitting across from Cerve, who had a plate full of beef in front of her. It was fresh and raw, still dripping blood. Cerberii were strictly carnivorous, and Cerve looked thrilled by the prospect of the feast before her, but she sat up straight at Glenn’s words.
“U-understood, Glenn dude! So, uh, what order?”
“Is that plate three heads’ worth of meat?”
“Well, we only have one stomach, so we only need to eat enough for one. But everyone feels bad if they don’t get to taste for themselves. I always feed Orr and Ery!”
What she called a single-person portion was still large serving compared to other species. Cerberii must be heavy eaters.
With multiple brains, they must need much more energy.
Cerberii physiology was full of surprises. Her other heards weren’t superficial appendages, but had brains, mouths, and esophagi that connected to her digestive tract. Cerve controlled the central human body, but she clearly couldn’t control them, as evidenced by their fighting.
The Cerberii lived in especially harsh climates, even for the monster realm. It was possible that their other heads had evolved to compensate, specialized to tear through the enemy at point-blank range and protect the center head at all costs. Each head had its own brain that could attack at any time, even if the central head didn’t notice the threat.
A species that lives in conditions so harsh it can only survive by having multiple heads…
“They say that dogs eat in order according to ranking. Let’s make sure they remember to start with Cerve. Next is Orr, and then Ery.”
“Oh…r-ranking?” Cerve looked at the heads on either side of her own. Their tongues were hanging out, dripping drool. “Orr and Ery are both part of my body. We’ve always lived together. They’re like family, dude. I can’t just rank them like that.”
“Listen, Cerve.” Glenn looked directly into her eyes. “I believe the reason Orr and Ery are always fighting is because they’re trying to establish which of them is more dominant. The literature I’ve read says that when the three heads of a Cerberus cooperate fully, they’re remarkable in combat and can survive even the harshest environment. In dogs, such cooperation requires establishing a clear hierarchy.”
“B-but I’m not a dog. I’m a Cerberus!”
“Yes, but the heads on your shoulders exhibit behavior traits extremely similar to dogs. If they establish who’s in charge, they’ll stop fighting.”
“B-but I…”
Cerve looked as if she was about to cry.
Glenn took another bite of bread. “I thought you said you’d follow my instructions.”
“U-uhh…you’re right, dude! I have to do this!”
Cerve shook her head, then cut some meat. When she opened her mouth to take a bite, Glenn could see her sharp canines.
“Mm, nom nom…” she chewed and swallowed. “Okay, next it’s Orr’s turn!”
She cut off another piece and fed it to Orr, who had his mouth open wide, waiting.
“Grrr!”
Seeing Orr fed first, Ery started growling.
“Err, s-sorry, Ery…”
“Don’t apologize. You need to teach them the hierarchy.”
Cerve already had tears in her eyes. “B-but…”
Ery whimpered in sympathy.
By contrast, after being assigned the higher rank, Orr regarded Ery with a look of pride. He barked, but Ery didn’t like this and responded by baring her teeth.
Cerve looked pained. “Ohhh…”
Glenn cocked his head, trying to figure out why she was finding it so difficult. This was the best treatment, and he needed her to follow it.
He continued eating, trying to remain calm. “Cerve, you need to be patient until they both learn.”
“I-I can do it!”
“Grrr…!”
“Arrrf…”
Glenn was oblivious to his patient’s distress, relying on his book knowledge alone.
He also didn’t notice the two upperclassmen staring him from another table. Both of them could tell that the young would-be doctor had a long way to go when it came to his bedside manner.