The Ecouves forest was a tragic place. Carnage lasting for days, weeks, had taken place here. Even walking among the flowers, sometimes you caught the vile, metallic smell of old blood.
But for us three, it might as well have been a theme park.
This forest was a speck compared to the Transylvania woods, which housed truly nasty creatures.
The conversation turned toward the school and tomorrow's events.
"The professors you saw were all of them. Every single day, we have five classes: Magical History, Dueling, Potions and Elixirs, Creature Studies, and what we call Creative Spell Casting..."
Lor was in her element.
"...don't bother with Dueling. It's just a bunch of immature idiots using it as an excuse to do battle... But as new students, and given your name, they'll probably keep their distance at first. But we all have a choice when it comes to accepting duels—remember that."
I appreciated her concern, but it was unnecessary. What today showed was that those in our class were slow. We had fought actual battles, not silly duels.
"I'll keep that in mind. I'm not here for that," I said, trying to make her believe I didn't need any more warnings.
"Hmm... what are you here to do?" Lor asked.
"I'm going to keep that to myself. For now," I smiled.
She narrowed her eyes but let it go. I enjoyed teasing her.
Soon, we arrived at a large, serene clearing. Other students were already there, having a night picnic.
"Let's take a breather. Later, we head back."
We all agreed and made ourselves comfortable on the lush green grass.
I did what I always do and lay flat. The night sky was cloudless, offering a magnificent view. The stars were my constant source of inspiration and untainted beauty.
"...I still can't believe we start tomorrow. It's surreal," Pelit's voice broke the silence.
"Well, tomorrow is just the opening ceremony. No classes, just a meet and greet. A little time for old friends to catch up," Lor, sitting next to me, was quick to correct him. I had a feeling she would do a lot of correcting in the future.
I felt someone tapping my feet.
"The place you guys worked, that forest... How was it?" Lor asked.
"It was... peaceful. Wasn't it?" Rimel answered, overhearing us.
"Being here now is actually pretty close," I mentioned, closing my eyes.
I enjoyed the peace until nature called and ruined the moment.
I got up, dusted myself, and walked toward a random location inside the tree line.
"W-where are you going?" Lor called after me.
"Boy things."
I would have loved to see her embarrassment, but things were getting pretty hairy, and making it back dry was my priority.
I found my spot and did what draws a smile on every man's face.
(CRACK... CRACK.)
I was willing to let go of the first sound, but the one after that...
I was annoyed and had dribbled a bit, so whichever unfortunate soul came after me would pay a heavy price.
"Who is the victim?" I asked the trees.
(CRACK)
I shut up and turned serious. My regular shields flashed, and I readied my mind.
"...Finally, we are alone."
I froze, recognizing that creepy, high-pitched voice. I allowed a small light on the tip of my finger and shone it on her.
"It's you..." The creepy, hot chick from earlier.
"Shhh..." She put a finger to her mouth, and I felt a wave of relief. If she wanted to keep it quiet, my friends must be fine.
"Okay," I whispered, putting my hands up as if I was caught. "We're quiet as mice now. Why do you keep stalking me?"
The bottom half of her face was covered by darkness, but I felt, more than saw, that she was smiling.
"Some light stalking is the cornerstone of good relationships." She laughed quietly.
Alice looked and sounded just as unhinged as she had back in Transylvania.
Suddenly, an idea struck me.
"You said last time..." I slowly walked forward until she was an arm's length away. "No more games. Right? Tell me who you are and why you are following me."
I enjoyed seeing her take a step backward as I took a step forward, taking some of that power back.
"S-stop..." She put her hands up when her back hit a tree.
"Nowhere to go," I stopped right in front of her.
Hmm. She smells nice. Like wildflowers and honey...
Suddenly, my train of thought shifted. What the hell am I doing? No matter the angle, I was coming across like a predator.
"I just w-wanted to talk... can you step back a little, please?" She asked, whispering while looking at my shoes.
I was hyper-aware of how close we were. Her demeanor had changed from predator to prey. I kind of liked that?
"You uncomfortable?" I asked, lifting her face.
She avoided my eyes and... dare I say, looked quite cute.
"FERITH!!"
I jumped backward as she stepped forward. She stumbled.
"Whoopsie. Are you okay?"
I caught her, and for the first time, I tried to engrave her features into my memory.
She looked around, panicking, and then pushed me.
"Let go!"
"Ferith? Is that you?"
Pelit was close, and I saw his wand lighting the surroundings.
Damn it. The girl!
I turned my neck so fast I heard a little crack, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"Brother? Why are you standing like that?"
I looked down and was still standing as if ready to catch someone.
I put my hands down, straightened up, and felt a little irritated.
"Lord God. A man can't even have a moment of... I mean, I'm good. Let's go back to the others. It's getting late."
He gave me a strange look but soon turned and signaled the others.
I checked one last time, peering into the darkness where she went. Nothing.
What a day.
——
"...Irina believes that the dwarf kind didn't actually go extinct, Ferith. They are hiding somewhere! Like every other race, they have their own separate realm. It's so obvious, yet I never thought of it like that..."
We were inside our room, well past midnight. Rimel was in top form and unrelenting.
"...I bet the Headmaster would know. And if so, don't you think that other magical minorities, like vampires and the wolves, fairies even... maybe they are all still alive and well? Hiding? Somewhere... don't you agree?"
...zZzZz...
"Guys! Are you sleeping?"
When he didn't receive an answer, he actually went and rocked Pelit until he stopped pretending.
"Yes, Rimel! Yes, Rimel!?" He sat up, angry.
"If you're awake, then say something for heaven's sake..."
"Why... why are you guys still up?" I pretended to just wake up.
Pelit grabbed a pillow and launched it at me.
I was surprised, but my reflexes took over, and... well, I blew up the pillow.
"Merleau, give me strength," Rimel complained, quickly cleaning up the feathers with a few swishes of his wand.
I sat up, knowing there was no escaping this. Pelit felt the same. He even lit a few candles and let them hover above us, creating a nice little ambience.
"So?" Rimel sat down and asked.
I was trying to recall what he said. Something about minorities' survival?
"Well, needless to say, I... agree," I went with the safe option.
"I myself... concur." Pelit, as usual, was a paragon of spoken words.
Our friend wasn't that easy to fool. "Right. You weren't sleeping and yet heard nothing..."
"Yeah, stop pouting and give us the rundown of your... rant," I asked. I yawned and sent an air bubble ruffling his hair.
"...You don't care. I'll just talk to... some... someone else." He finished awkwardly.
We smiled, knowing he almost said Irina's name.
"You really do like her, huh?" I asked sincerely.
He wanted to deny it, but seeing us not taking the mickey out of him, he relented. "She is awesome. No?" He waited until we both agreed. "Smart, and I bet she is really good at dueling."
"What makes you think that?" asked Pelit.
"She was humble... too much so, if you ask me. Kind of reminded me of Ferith. You're the same."
I pointed at myself, asking the question with my expression. Rimel nodded and continued.
"Yeah. Unassuming, I mean. Look like any other guy until the battle begins. You change. Isn't that right, Pelit?"
"Hmm, hmm. Complete 180," he agreed, tracing circles with his finger.
I didn't even question them. As the people always around me, they knew me better than anyone.
"I guess," I admitted, lying down. "We all have multiple layers... like different personalities, you know?"
They hummed along.
"Like yourselves. Let's take today. Rimel turned into a 1980s protagonist when he saw someone bullying another," I joked.
"Scary, scary," Pelit agreed.
"See? We all have that," I said.
"That Milan guy... felt sorry for him," Rimel admitted.
"Hmm," I hummed.
"Her sister, though, she isn't a pushover. I think there might be something there for you, Ferith." Pelit spoke up.
"Not interested. I mean, she's cool, but... I don't need another distraction."
"One day you'll feel differently," he said with conviction. "Meet a girl that makes you welcome... a distraction. Like that beautiful enigma."
"Leyla?" asked Rimel.
"Hmm. She is... like a beautiful puzzle."
Lord, help him.
"I'm happy for both of you. Not even twenty-four hours, and look at you two. Anyway, I will root for both of you from a distance."
I pulled my blanket around me. "This is worse quality than what we had back at The Taj."
Tomorrow, we might need to go back to town and pick up some comfort stuff.
"The distance, he says... you do know one day we will ask why you decided to come back, right?" asked Rimel.
"Right?" Pelit repeated.
"I know, you muppets! Now let me sleep uncomfortably, please?" I adjusted myself.
"That's right... it is uncomfortable, isn't it?" Rimel asked the room.
"The worst," I said over my shoulder.
"Like they never heard of quality fabrics..."
With that little genius observation, our first day came to... an interesting end.