Desmond jogged up to Leo as he adjusted the sleeves of his uniform.
"As soon as I heard of your return as a Reveur, I put my head down and focused extra hard to graduate early!"
Leo couldn't find the words in his mouth, only an ache lingering in his soul.
An ache of dread and guilt.
He had led a fifteen year old boy to his death.
Before he could even think of a response, his mouth moved on its own.
"Leave."
Desmond's eyes widened as he halted his approach.
He spoke after a moment's hesitation.
"What do you mean? Aren't… Aren't you happy to see me again, Professor?"
Leo stared on, remaining silent.
He remembered all the times Desmond had blankly stared out the window in his class.
He was always the first to his class and the last to leave, yet he hardly paid attention.
How could someone usually so unmotivated simply blast through school?
The boy's ambitions were hard to put an exact pin on.
He turned to Caspian.
The man stood beyond the two, an emotionless expression on his face.
He nudged to the teenager.
Unwillingly, Leo turned his eyes back to Desmond's.
"Forget I said anything," He forced a smile. "Congratulations on becoming a Reveur."
He put out a hand.
Desmond's slight weariness had faded away as he beamed with excitement, greedily taking his hand.
After a moment of silence, Caspian finally stood beside the two.
"As you know, a large part of a Captain's duties is mentoring the recruits. I assigned you to Desmond Acker, assuming you wouldn't mind teaching an old student."
Leo gazed back down to Desmond who had been standing in respectful silence.
Standing before a Grand Reveur and the legendary Leo Morwyn himself must've been a lot for the young boy.
Even if it was ignorant to ignore the dire situation that Desmond had put himself in, Leo decided that he wouldn't rain on his parade just now.
"Alright, fair enough. Come on, Desmond."
The boy happily followed him out of the office.
Leo thought for a moment, not entirely sure where to start.
He felt a bit embarrassed that he couldn't think of a curriculum by himself after years of being a Professor for the most prestigious academy in the nation.
This embarrassment turned into annoyance as he realized that Caspian hadn't given him any guidelines to follow for what material to teach Desmond.
He could imagine his voice now.
` I'll trust you with this one. `
Leo turned his gaze down to Desmond.
"How much do you know about Cryptids?"
Desmond thought for a moment before answering,
"As much as anyone else does, I suppose. Big scary monsters."
Leo took a deep breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Yep. You're definitely fifteen."
Leo continued down the halls, leading Desmond.
After some walking, he led him through a set of yellow double doors that led into a large archive of books and documents. Several Reveurs walking or jogging around with books or stacks of papers.
"This is the Cryptozoology Department."
Desmond looked on with silent awestruck.
The sheer expanse of the archive was simply mind boggling to him.
"What kind of information is stored here?"
"Anything from basic classification systems to full Cryptid biology examinations. Everything we have on Cryptids is here."
The two walked through the towering shelves, Desmond's neck beginning to ache from how high up he had been constantly looking.
"Is all of this really necessary…?"
"Absolutely. Even small local rumors have to be fully reported and documented."
"Why is that?"
Leo halted his response and thought for a moment, changing his mind.
"It'll be easier if I just explain the classification systems."
Finally, they reached a certain section of the shelves. Leo took out a couple large books and plopped them behind him.
Desmond stumbled to catch the books.
Afterwards, they sat down at a secluded table. Desmond sprawled the books out over the desk.
Leo sat down opposite of him, leaning back in his chair.
"Let's go over the origin of Cryptids."
Desmond leaned in with a focused expression.
His eyes caught the expression, causing him to freeze for a bit.
After a moment, a small smile curled on his lips.
He couldn't deny it. He truly did enjoy teaching.
Especially someone this willing and eager.
He continued.
"Leaving out the religious speculations, Cryptid origination is classified with three terms."
He held his pointer finger up.
"First, Accumulation. The most common origin of Cryptids. Accumulation is described as the collective fear, superstition, or otherwise belief of a Cryptid."
Desmond interrupted him immediately with a raised hand.
Leo nearly laughed at the hand but decided to let him have his moment.
"Yes, Desmond?"
"How can a Cryptid originate from the belief of itself? Wouldn't that require it to exist in the first place?"
Leo nodded, understanding the confusion.
"Good question. It's pretty simple though. You see, it's within human nature to create the fantastical. How many horror novels have you read?"
"I don't read."
A silence lingered.
"Okay, well, some people do. It's quite strange, but a lot of people have this urge to feel frightened by something. To exaggerate. To make believe. That's why it's so important to document even local rumors. Something as small as that can trigger a chain reaction and eventually manifest a Cryptid."
Leo nudged to one of the many books before Desmond.
"Open that one. Find an entry on the Dire Wolf."
The boy flipped through the book, scanning each page.
Finally, he found the article and held the book open to show Leo.
"That's it, the Dire Wolf. How do you think it formed? Go ahead and give your best guess."
Desmond thought for some moments, silently theorizing.
"Did some wolf-like beast have its way with a village?"
Leo chuckled.
"Nope. Just a regular wolf with peculiar lighting that made it look bigger. Rumors turned into folklore, and folklore turned into the Dire Wolf as we know it today."
Desmond looked as if he had seen a ghost, his face slightly pale.
"Is it really that easy?"
Leo nodded.
The boy thought for a bit longer before asking with weariness in his voice,
"And how would I fare against one of those?"
Leo hummed in response, pretending to think just to be dramatic.
"Well, have you attained your first Art yet?"
He shook his head.
"No, not yet. I'm still not entirely sure how to carve it…"
Leo clicked his tongue in dismissal.
"Ah. That's where you've got it wrong. No one can control the creation of their initial Art. It comes naturally when the Eidcore decides that it's necessary. It's the subsequent Arts and additional properties afterwards that can be purposefully carved. Until then, you'll just have to wait."
Desmond sighed deeply, slouching into the table.
"Now, now. I'll make sure you get there in no time. For now, let's go over the second origin of Cryptids."