Jaxon embraced Blake who let out a sneeze.

“Why are we here, Elliott?” he asked, looking over at all the people. Most stood by stands filled with food and games, put up by the second years. The Harvest festival occurred far later because of all the drama but it was finally here. Jaxon had wanted to do something with Blake but a bunch of the second year had been pulled aside. Apparently, they weren’t to participate in the Harvest Festival in any conventional way.

This year the festival was being put up by the river at that, and there were plenty of tents with radiators for those who were freezing.

Elliott looked excited, his smile wide while Kai stood beside him, alongside Freya and an unknown long-haired man, looking grumpy. “We have chosen fifteen random second-year students to represent the school in a newly created event this year.”

Looking down at Blake who seemed distracted by something by the river. “What is it?”

Blake looked up, frowning. “You can’t see them?”

“See what?”

Blake looked back at the river. “I guess they must be spirits.”

“Spirits?”

“Yeah, lately I have been seeing strange things such as fishes swimming in the sky and fairies flying from tree to tree. According to Denesha, it is because it's soon what the druids call Samhain. “

“Ah, you mean Halloween. My mother calls it Samhain all the time,” Jaxon said, remembering something about this being an important time for druids.

“Yes, during that time, the veil between realms weaken and spirits can be seen to them who is extra sensitive,” Blake said, seemingly trying to touch something but Jaxon could only see air.

“Could you see the spirits last year?”

“No, according to Denesha it was because I haven’t adjusted to my powers yet. This year though, I seem to be seeing all of them.”

“Excuse me, are you done?” asked Elliott, cocking an eyebrow at them. Blake flushed, muttering an apology while Jaxon just smirked.

“You are taking too long, just get to the point.”

Rolling his eyes, Elliott continued. “As I said, we will have a swift race. You fifteen will be divided into three teams. The Green Shell will be team Kai, the Red Shell will be team Freya and the Blue Shell will be my team.”

It took a few seconds before Jaxon registered the words. “Rowing?”

Elliott pulled away from a large cover and showed three long row boats called racing shells.

“Oh, you must be kidding me,” Alex suddenly burst out. “I am not putting myself inside some old rowboat and race down the river. I’m a bloody cat for fuck sake!”

“Yeah, lady luck must sure be pissy to whatever team you will be on,” Kai chuckled before he saw his brother’s face. “He is not on my team!”

“There was a draw and you got him as a team captain.”

“He is a bloody cat!” Kai shouted as Alex grumbled over to the green boat.

“I have noticed. Clover, you will be the team captain of the red shell,” Elliott said, watching as Clover strutted over to Freya who patted her back.

“And Wallace, you will be the team captain of my team.”

“He isn’t even a student here!” protested Kai, watching Wallace coming over with an embarrassed look on his face.

“No, but he and his father is a guest. I wanted to include them,” Elliott said, looking down on his paper.

“Now, Blake, you will be in my team. Jaxon, you will be on the red team alongside Aeron.”

Reluctantly, Jaxon let go of Blake who ran over to Wallace who looked rather intrigued. Jaxon on the other hand looked like a drenched dog as he walked over to his team.

“Look a bit more alive, won’t ya,” Aeron said, slapping him over the head.

“Let’s see. Erin, you are on the green team.”

“The squirrel?!”

Ignoring Kai, Elliott continued. “ Haley and Hadrien are on my team. Dale, you are on the red team. Millie, you are on the gree-”

“And the nutcase!”

Elliott groaned, rubbing his temples. “I’m sorry, Elaine. You are with the wailing banshee.”

Cainen suddenly burst out laughing, earning a glare from his sister. “You got chosen to row, sister. Don’t let them down.”

Elaine, still looking like a vampire queen, snorted. “Don’t worry, I’m not the one who abandoned my family to get out of doing the dishes.”

As she strutted over to Kai’s team, his eyes narrowed. “Can you at least row?”

Elaine showed her very manicured long nails. “Does it look like it?”

Kai looked ready to burst by his seams. The long-haired man, came forward giving him a bright smile and an American accent. “Don’t worry, I have sent one of mine to help you.”

“And who the fuck are you?” asked Kai, getting a slap over the head by his mother but nothing brought him out of his sour mood.

“He’s the new Head Druid, “ Elliott explained, patting the man on the back. The man looked absolutely happy to be there, caressing his trimmed beard while inspecting them all.

“Another one? What’s wrong with this one? The first one was possessed by a shade and the second one was a racist maniac. So is this one a nazi or something?” asked Kai, getting another slap over the head.

“Worse,” Hamish said grimly. “He is a hippie.”

“Pardon?”

“He’s a hippie. They found him demonstrating for the environment in Australia and he was thrown out.”

“It was a peaceful demonstration!” the man said, huffing. “Only peace and love can save the planet.”

“Oh my god, please tell me the hippie isn’t on my team,” Kai said.

“My name is Sunny, and no,” Sunny smiled and laid his hands on Hamish's shoulder. Hamish first looked blank before his eyes went wide.

“But I have already graduated.”

“Yes, but all the students belonging to our circle ran away. Only you stayed so, you will have to do,” Sunny gave him the uniform of the green racing team and pushed Hamish toward the team.

“Seriously, this is my-“ Kai quieted down when Hamish pulled of his druid robes and showcased a lean but fit physique.

Hamish noticed his staring and blushed as he pulled off his glasses. “I was on the swift racing team in my former school. We won a couple of competitions.”

Grabbing onto his shoulders, Kai looked at him in pure desperation. “Save us! You are our only hope, lad!”

“Hey!” Alex grumbled, along with the entirety of the green team.

Elliott cleared his throat,” and the last ones are Heidi Barlow for the red team-“

A red-haired witch with long nails, high heels, and fair skin stepped forward. She cocked an eyebrow at her team, all made up of shifters before rolling her eyes. “I guess this will have to do.”

“Says the bitch queen herself,” Elaine snorted. The two ladies glared at each other, clearly, both of them stood at the highest in the witches’ hierarchy and they really didn’t like each other.

“And Opal Patal will be on my team,” Elliott finally said. Jaxon frowned at the brown girl stepping out of Ciaran MacGreine’s arms. She wasn’t a fae like him but she shared his Indian appearance. Though, unlike Ciaran, she wasn’t a mix.

She smiled brightly at her team, introducing herself as Ciaran’s niece, and all was set. At least Jaxon thought so before Kai open his mouth. “You must be kidding. Look at that team, they are pure muscles,” he pointed at the Jaxon’s team, completely ignoring the scrawny Dale and the bitch witch herself who clearly hadn’t done any physical work in her entire life.

“And your team has two dark horses!” Kai pointed at Wallace, who scratched his head abashedly and Opal just smiled brighter.

Jaxon got a bad premonition as he heard Kai’s continued whining. Kai’s eyes were not annoyed or angry, they were cunning. Just like when they were kids. He wanted to warn Elliott but it was already too late.

“Fine, you get to be the referee. Stop acting like a child,” Elliott said, slamming the whistle down into his hands. Kai grinned and strutted over to his team, signaling for them to huddle up to strategize. Jaxon groaned, he doesn’t know what Kai was up to but that smirk was not friendly.

“Huddle up, lads and lasses!” Freya shouted and Jaxon’s team came closer. “Okay, let the muscles do the rowing.”

She nodded to Jaxon, Aeron, and Clover. “You other two, just try to steady the boat with your magic. The water is cold, you do not want to take a swim.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Jaxon asked, and Dale snorted, gesturing towards the other teams.

“Are you truly so dull that you don’t think the other teams will use a little bit of magic?”

“I think he is right. Just be subtle with it so the so-called referee won’t notice,” Freya said, nodding to Kai’s back. “And don’t be afraid to push a little. You might not want to take a swim but letting the other team taste water is a good idea.”

“Aren’t Alex your boss?” Jaxon asked incredulously.

Freya just smirked,” Not at the moment. Get out there and crush them.”

Jaxon glanced over at Blake who was smiling brightly at his teammates, rather eager to compete despite not really being an athlete. Maybe he was just happy to be in a team and competing for once, instead of just being pushed to the side like in P.E because he can’t keep up.

On the other side, Jaxon was grumbling. Cursing his brother for not putting him in Blake’s team. They soon were in the boat, trying not to tip over and showing that neither of them where experienced in this sport.

From the green team, Jaxon could hear Alex squeak as water splattered onto him and Hamish giving instructions to his less experienced teammates. Apparently, everyone had thought the same, and put the witches close to the front.

Heidi and Dale on their team were already, discreetly painting magical circles inside the boat, making it steady and ensuring it wouldn’t take in water.  Glancing around, Jaxon was trying to discover the other teams doing the same but he didn’t discover any cheating though Kai still had that nasty smirk on his face.

All the students were gathering around with the adults. They had taken up flags with the color of their favorite team, waving them eagerly as the tension grew rigid in the air.

“Ready!” shouted Kai, and Jaxon leaned in, his oar steady.

“Let’s start strong, maybe we can tip over at least one of the other team,” Clover whispered back to him and he grimaced at the thought of Blake swimming in the cold water, but he didn’t argue.

“Go!”

Then chaos broke out. The thought was to start strong, but they hadn’t counted on the green team. Elaine had slammed her hand down on the water, sending a wave to the side making Jaxon’s and Blake’s team unsteady while they got ahead.

Elliott was outraged, “they used magic!”

He pointed to the green team, glaring at Kai who just looked at his brother with a dull expression. “Really? I didn’t see anything and-“

He tapped the whistle, “-I am the referee.”

Elliott’s eyes flashed and his fist clenched, clenching his teeth he turned to the two other teams. Jaxon’s team had an advantage since they had used magic to steady the boat. It was impossible to move forward but it didn’t tip over. In a few seconds, the wave was gone and they shot forward, with the power of three shifters.

Glancing back, Jaxon couldn’t help but worry. To his surprise, Wallace had used the force of the wave to propel the boat forward instead of causing it to tip. They had shoot forward, ensuring that they were side by side with Jaxon’s team who had caught up with the green team.

Jaxon noticed a ruckus on the beach, Kai had tried to whistle and disqualify Blake’s team only for Freya and Elliott to grab onto him and fight him for the whistle, making all three of them fall into the water.

“Jaxon, focus!” Clover shouted. Looking up, Jaxon saw why she sounded so grim. Before they could do anything, Aeron let out a squeak as his girlfriend landed on the boat. With a powerful push with her legs, she forced the boat to slam into Blake’s team. Erin landed gracefully back on the green team's shell. Elaine steadied their boat and high-fived Erin as they once again were in the lead.

Jaxon tried to steady the damn boat, fearing it would tip over despite the charms the two witches on his team had put on but charms held on. Feeling like he should actually try, Jaxon decided to use the power he has trained for the last month. Focusing on Nightmane, he watched the black wolf, trying to reach him. Merge with him then…

Nightmane suddenly turned around, showing his butt to Jaxon who looked dumbstruck. Why wouldn’t he merge with him?

Then he notices Nightmane paying all his attention towards Blake who had let go of his oars to focus on the water. Nightmane wagged his tail, clearly cheering him on. “Seriously?! Aren’t you suppose to be on my team?”

Nightmane just ignored him, which made Jaxon grumbled. He turned his focus on Dale who pulled out a bunch of origamis shaped like birds. Muttering a few words, into his hands. The birds took flight, attacking the green team who was waving their oars, trying to repel the birds.

“Go!” Dale shouted as he went back to help Heidi steady the boat. Without a further word, Jaxon, Clover, and Aeron started to row with all their might. In a mere second they were past the green team but then something hit the boat, making it shake.