Spirit: The Familiar
Chapter Eleven
"Most of you know vaguely that the purpose of the familiar is to provide guidance in times of need," the professor went on. "The familiar is your guide. Originally they were not our friends. We bent the rules a bit, by 'capturing' our familiars. By capturing our familiars, we are able to keep them at our sides for as long as we wish. We do this by catching them, and placing a special collar around their necks. They will transform into a human form. And they can change back and forth between this form, and their true form at will."
There were several hushed sounds around the room, as students whispered to each other. Carina's body felt like it had been exposed to a live wire. She wondered just how many of her classmates had begun seeing their familiars.
"In this class you will learn only about the purpose of familiars," the professor continued. He looked around at everyone, and finally his gaze landed on Carina. A faint grin passed over his lips, and there was a glint in his eye that Carina could only guess the meaning of. "The more advanced class will teach you how to capture your familiar. I would like a show of hands, to see how many of you believe you have seen your familiar so far. Since you have come of the age."
Carina looked around the room. No one was raising their hand. It felt discouraging and she shook slightly, but she returned her attention back to the professor. She very slowly raised her hand. She could feel the eyes of her friends on her. Would they feel jealous? Would they come to detest her?
She swallowed weakly, and looked at Alex out of the corner of her eye. There was no envy there in his eyes though; only awe. Carina relaxed.
"Miss Carina... Evergreen," the professor said, glancing down at a sheet of paper he held in his hand. He looked back up at Carina then. "You believe you have seen your familiar? What makes you think this?"
"Th-this cat I've been seeing..." Carina trailed off. The professor raised an eyebrow, as if to silently ask her to continue. "She has very unique eyes. She's appeared whenever I was unsure of where to go. It's as if she's been telling me that I've been on the right path so far. She's actually what guided me- what really encouraged me to come back to this school."
The professor smiled once more. He returned to his desk, no longer pacing the room, and sat in the chair there.
"Unique eyes," he said. He raised his hand, flicked his wrist, and a piece of chalk rose from its resting spot to write what he had said on the board behind him. "These familiars have unique qualities, that will probably only stand out to the person who they are there to help guide. They can be anything. From an ordinary cat, to a bird, to a lizard... Even a fish. Though that one might be more tricky to come across. I truly hope that none of you has a fish for a familiar, or that will make capturing them especially difficult."
The room was silent for a while. The chalk wrote down the list of animals the professor had provided. Carina was amazed; that was probably some kind of magic that she would eventually learn too.
"Alright," the professor sighed. "For the rest of the class I want you to read that entire passage from page 232 on to page 356. And take notes. There will be a quiz on it the next time this class meets."
Collective sighs and murmurs of discontent passed through the room, and the sounds of notebooks and pencils and whatnot being pulled out filled Carina's ears. Carina shrugged and looked down at the passage, beginning to read.
"And Miss Evergreen," the professor spoke again. Carina looked up at him, startled. "I would like to speak with you after class. You're not in any sort of trouble. I would just like to speak with you, and see whether or not it might be possible for you to skip this class and move onto the real deal."
"O-oh," Carina said. "Of course!"
They exchanged smiles, and Carina returned her attention to the textbook. She pulled out her own notebook and a pen, taking note of random parts throughout the passage.
The chance to skip the intro class and move onto the more advanced class... Carina had no idea such a thing was possible. If she did get to move on so quickly, she would be that much closer to capturing her familiar. What sort of collar would she receive to put on her? Carina shook her head and focused once more on the textbook.
There were several hushed sounds around the room, as students whispered to each other. Carina's body felt like it had been exposed to a live wire. She wondered just how many of her classmates had begun seeing their familiars.
"In this class you will learn only about the purpose of familiars," the professor continued. He looked around at everyone, and finally his gaze landed on Carina. A faint grin passed over his lips, and there was a glint in his eye that Carina could only guess the meaning of. "The more advanced class will teach you how to capture your familiar. I would like a show of hands, to see how many of you believe you have seen your familiar so far. Since you have come of the age."
Carina looked around the room. No one was raising their hand. It felt discouraging and she shook slightly, but she returned her attention back to the professor. She very slowly raised her hand. She could feel the eyes of her friends on her. Would they feel jealous? Would they come to detest her?
She swallowed weakly, and looked at Alex out of the corner of her eye. There was no envy there in his eyes though; only awe. Carina relaxed.
"Miss Carina... Evergreen," the professor said, glancing down at a sheet of paper he held in his hand. He looked back up at Carina then. "You believe you have seen your familiar? What makes you think this?"
"Th-this cat I've been seeing..." Carina trailed off. The professor raised an eyebrow, as if to silently ask her to continue. "She has very unique eyes. She's appeared whenever I was unsure of where to go. It's as if she's been telling me that I've been on the right path so far. She's actually what guided me- what really encouraged me to come back to this school."
The professor smiled once more. He returned to his desk, no longer pacing the room, and sat in the chair there.
"Unique eyes," he said. He raised his hand, flicked his wrist, and a piece of chalk rose from its resting spot to write what he had said on the board behind him. "These familiars have unique qualities, that will probably only stand out to the person who they are there to help guide. They can be anything. From an ordinary cat, to a bird, to a lizard... Even a fish. Though that one might be more tricky to come across. I truly hope that none of you has a fish for a familiar, or that will make capturing them especially difficult."
The room was silent for a while. The chalk wrote down the list of animals the professor had provided. Carina was amazed; that was probably some kind of magic that she would eventually learn too.
"Alright," the professor sighed. "For the rest of the class I want you to read that entire passage from page 232 on to page 356. And take notes. There will be a quiz on it the next time this class meets."
Collective sighs and murmurs of discontent passed through the room, and the sounds of notebooks and pencils and whatnot being pulled out filled Carina's ears. Carina shrugged and looked down at the passage, beginning to read.
"And Miss Evergreen," the professor spoke again. Carina looked up at him, startled. "I would like to speak with you after class. You're not in any sort of trouble. I would just like to speak with you, and see whether or not it might be possible for you to skip this class and move onto the real deal."
"O-oh," Carina said. "Of course!"
They exchanged smiles, and Carina returned her attention to the textbook. She pulled out her own notebook and a pen, taking note of random parts throughout the passage.
The chance to skip the intro class and move onto the more advanced class... Carina had no idea such a thing was possible. If she did get to move on so quickly, she would be that much closer to capturing her familiar. What sort of collar would she receive to put on her? Carina shook her head and focused once more on the textbook.