Writer - CottonKitten, Character - Avery
Having beesomewhatn looking around in the same pale room for a few hours, I finally heard the sound of approaching footsteps against the stone floor. I got up on my feet, waiting for the door to open as I prepared myself for the worst. As the door opened and two unfamiliar figures walked in, more questions filled my mind as the two men didn’t smell or seem to be any creature that opposed a threat. One of them was taller than the other, with long gray hair and a faintly wrinkled face, eyes seemingly gentle. The other one was quite short as I could see clearly over his thin spiky white hair, standing on edge as if he had just woken up.
- This must be our new guest? Sorry for the somewhat unconventional guestroom, but I hope you do not think little of us because of it.
The taller of the two that had just addressed me, seemingly somewhat embarrassed as he looked around the small space, his old hands gently playing with his robe whilst waiting for me to speak.
- It’s fine. May I ask where I am?
- Oh my! I- Have they not told you where you are? I am so sorry for the miscommunication on their behalf, young man. You are currently at Welton Academy, school of the Arcane. My name is Ambrose, headmaster of this school. This is my dear friend and vice principal professor Zauber.
- Ah yes, pleasure to meet you!
The name didn’t sound familiar to me, but the title indicated that they had great knowledge of the supernatural world. However what shocked me more was the fact that this was a school, which made more questions than answers cross my mind as to why the dark creature had led me here.
- A School?
- Why yes! School of the Arcane no less. It is one of the best our great isle has to offer.
- Are you familiar with the Arcane young man?
I have had countless encounters with other creatures who to humans should not exist, each one filling a page or two in my journal as I come across them.
- More than I wish to be.
A confused and somewhat odd reaction was shared between the two old men, as if to check if they heard the same thing.
- If it is not too rude of us, we would like to inquire about a few things.
- Things?
- Well, yes. Just some general questions of who you are and what you are doing this far into the woods? Specifically on our school grounds no less?
- We are not accusing you of anything mind you, we are only curious!
At first I had expected suspicion, harsh words and demanding answers. But they were patient, calm as they remained gentle in their voice as they spoke. Perhaps I could take advantage of this as I still needed to find the dark creature that was hiding somewhere on these grounds.
- Go ahead.
- Yes, well we would like to know just what you are doing here in these woods, and at such an odd hour?
Before I could answer the question the professor called Zauber cupped his hands in front of himself, slowly moving them as he pulled them apart, creating a glowing light ball in between his palms. I watched with curiosity at the pure white orb, its aura somewhat familiar to me as I understood it was some kind of lie detecting orb.
- Something pulled me here.
- Oh? A monster? Curse?
- Eh I’m not sure what it is. I just feel myself drawn here.
- I see. Like an energy or aura?
- I guess so.
- Right, good. I also wanted to ask, if that is not too intrusive of me, who you are?
I watched as the orb glowed in a soft blue whenever I answered what it thought was the truth, keeping my answers vague as I didn’t wish for them to know more than they needed to.
His words echoed in my mind as I hesitated on what kind of answer I should give them.
- My name's Avery.
- Oh, lovely to meet you Avery!
- You said you were familiar with the arcane, have you ever been taught in the magical arts.
- No.
- Oh- but. You are a creature of the arcane, no?
- I’m not so sure what I am to be honest.
Once again the two old men looked at each other in even more confusion, their question not really answered but it sure peaked their interest. It wasn’t a complete lie, the continuing questions I had of my kind, only growing as I searched for answers.
- I see. Do you wish to know more then?
- Are you saying you could help me?
- We would love to! It is only if you wish to do so of course. We can just as easily give you a ride back into town if that is what you wish.
- We are after all a school, teaching people of the arcane is what we do best here.
Their offer was just what I needed, a reason to stay without any suspicion on my presence here as I hunt down the dark creature.
A soft smile adored my lips as I crossed my arms against my chest.
- When can I start?
- Oh, lovely! Any time really, we just have to do the necessary paperwork, nothing too intricate, and find you a dormroom of course though that should not be too difficult-
- We would love to have you enroll in our academy Avery. I will make sure to gather some necessities for you to clean yourself up. I will send after you in a bit to arrange the enrollment, does that sound alright with you?
- Yeah, sure.
We would love to have you enroll in our academy Avery. I will make sure to gather some necessities for you to clean yourself up. I will send after you in a bit to arrange the enrollment, does that sound alright with you?
- Excellent, we will be back in just a bit then!
With that the two of them left, closing the door behind them as I sat down onto the bed once more. If it weren’t for the fact that the professor had used magic I would have believed them both to be human. But as that was not the case perhaps they were witches? Or something similar?
Not long after the old professor along with the headmaster left, the small metal door opened once more, one of the young men from earlier making his presence as he held the door open for me.
- I’m here to escort you. Please follow me.
I trailed behind him as we made our way into another area, the wooden rustic walls shining from the warm lights from the ceiling as old antique decor adored its halls. Old oil paintings hanging on the wooden surface from one corridor to the other, the other weirder than the last one as they all seemed to have some supernatural nature to them. Before I could continue to observe the desolate halls the young man in front of me had stopped in his tracks, opening a door before turning to face me.
- There's a change of clothes as well as an available shower for you to use. You can leave your old ones in the small basket to be cleaned later. Professor Zaubar should be here in a moment to escort you.
- Oh okay.
I didn’t hesitate to enter the room, the man closing the door behind me as he remained on the other side. Scanning the small room, I looked for any type of trap or use of magic, just in case.
After I established there was nothing of that sort around, I walked up to the low side table where the change of clothes was neatly laid out. Feeling more relaxed than before I began to undress, laying my small shoulder bag onto the floor as I put my own dirty clothes in the basket provided. Standing in the shower with soothing warm water running down upon my skin a sense of calm enveloped me. It started to feel like this wasn’t such a bad choice after all as I hoped the kindness from these people would remain during my time here.
I let my hand brush through my wet hair, pulling it back as I turned off the tap, letting the few drops of water drip down before getting out of the shower.
I took my time, drying myself off with the provided towel before getting dressed into the new clothes with the school's logo visible on its fabric, right above my heart. A slightly too-tightly fit pair of navy blue chinos, a fitted white dress shirt along with a knitted vest in a matching color to the trousers. This wasn’t really my first choice in style but they are at least clean.
A few moments later a faint knock could be heard from the wooden door along with the aged voice of professor Zabur.
- Avery? Are you ready to meet in the headmaster’s office?
I took up my bag from the floor, swinging it over my shoulder before opening the door with a sudden loud bang. The poor old man jumped from the unexpected sound, a bit startled as he held his hand over his heart, his pulse slowly calming down before he addressed me.
- Oh my, that sure startled me. I assume we can head on down to the office then?
I let the old man continue his rambling as he escorted me through another part of the school. The same decor and antique theme seemed to run through the whole building.
- It is quite fortunate that you are enrolling this early in the semester. You won’t have missed much then!
I wouldn’t say it was fortune, rather impeccable timing and some surprisingly convenient set of events.
A faint shaky chuckle escaped the old man, his eyes watching me as he searched for any type of answer. Only for me to quietly stare at him in response, making him seem a bit more uneasy than he already was.
- I will of course make sure to tell the kitchen of any allergies, we have a few witches who have quite the list of things that are not to their liking or contradict their lifestyle. So you don’t have to worry about that!
It was clear he was uncomfortable with the silence between us, trying his best to hold the conversation as he hoped I would say at least something back.
I would have said something if I didn’t find the tiny old man's reaction hilarious.
- ... A man of few words, one can do nothing but respect such virtues. If there- You know, are any issues that arise during your time here, you can of course come to me, or the headmaster for any advice or guidance. We are more than happy to help you.
It was quite entertaining as I listened to him speak, coming up with new things to say as we got closer to our destination.
- We have thought of a solution for your dorm, I hope you do not mind the compromise, as it was quite- well last minute I suppose. We weren’t expecting students to stumble their way out of the woods like this. Elijah is quite wonderful, a good boy with a clever head on his shoulders-
The tiny old man opened the big doors in front of us with surprisingly great vigor, giving me no time with my thoughts as I was now met by two intensely glowing red eyes. I could almost feel my heart stop for a moment, the mere presence of this person screaming danger as I took in his smell. His scent wasn’t anything similar to what I had smelled from any creature before, autumn leaves and lavender, yet there was something familiar about it to me. The small hint of the woods in the scent giving his true nature away, quickly making my previous startled reaction shift into unease.
There was no doubt about it that the taller black haired young boy in front of me was a werewolf.
A kind I always tried to stay away from, as any time I tried to get close they would come hunting me down. But why does he look and smell so different from the ones I have encountered before? As the boy took a step towards me, I felt myself tense up even more, he was now holding his hand out with a small smile on his lips.
- I’m Elijah.
I couldn’t help but hold onto our shared gaze, only looking at his hand for a second. I was now slightly regretting my decision to enter this school so carelessly. However, I couldn’t go back now, knowing I had to stay if I wanted that dark essence. I swallowed, slowly calming myself down as I finally broke eye contact, turning my gaze towards the other two instead.
- Why yes, Elijah, this is our new student Avery.
I could feel my heartbeat quicken at the mention of us sharing a room, uneasy as to where this new acquaintanceship could possibly lead to. I took the papers from Ambrose's hand, fiddling with its corners as my eyes went everywhere around its scribbled down words and rectangles. What was I even looking at?
- If there is nothing else you are wondering about, or if you think of something later, just come back here to my office. Otherwise Elijah will take it from here.
The large amount of rectangular boxes all squeezed into the paper in some kind of pattern with some words written sporadically all over the place made me more confused. Though do I even need to know what all of this really means?
- Are you ready to go?
I looked up from the papers to meet the boy called Elijah's eyes once more, his words gentle as he waited for me to answer. I folded the papers once or twice before shoving them into the backpocket of the trousers I was currently wearing. I didn’t plan on giving him an answer, simply walking towards the doors as I waited for him to escort me wherever the so-called dorm room was.
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