Spirit: The Familiar

When the chime went off to signal the end of class, Alex, Angie, and Christopher waved to Carina as they left. Carina waved back at them and Alex paused by her.

"So, catch you after this guy is done talking to you about whatever?" Alex asked. There was a grin on his face, as though he hadn't actually meant to sound like he wasn't interested. Carina smiled back.

"Yeah," she said. "Wish me luck. I would like to skip ahead, even if it means being in a different class than you guys for two weeks."

"Yeah, well, you would deserve it," Alex said. "You're the only one of us who's been seeing their familiar. So you really are more advanced than us anyway. Okay, we'll wait for you outside."

"Thank you," Carina nodded.

All of the other students had already filtered out of the room, so Carina made her way over to professor Diggory. He looked up at her from his desk, setting the book he was reading face down on it. He stood soon after and dusted off the back of his slacks.

"So, you've seen your familiar," he said.

"Well, yeah, we covered it a little, earlier," Carina nodded her head. "I just- started seeing this cat."

Professor Diggory made his way over to one of the large bookshelves in the room, and pulled one off of it. He set it open on the desk in front of her, to a page where a white cat with violet eyes had been painted. He placed his fingertip over the image.

"This was Ipsa, my familiar," he said. "She died a couple years back."

"I'm sorry," Carina said. She frowned, admiring the beauty of the cat. Professor Diggory patted Carina on the shoulder and chuckled.

"It's alright," he said. "It was her time to go. The truth is... They are only here with us for a short while. They have the lifespan of the animals we cherish; they don't live like we do. And we may have multiple familiars over the course of our lives, sometimes even more than one at the same time. You really believe you've been seeing yours?"

"Yes," Carina nodded again. "I don't think I've seen a cat with eyes like that before. They were really- vibrant, and striking. I'm really not sure how anyone else hasn't noticed yet. And she usually appears when I'm unsure of whether or not I'm going in the right direction. She even- brought me to this cafe, and I ended up seeing my friend again for the first time in years."

Professor Diggory was silent for a long moment then. The smile on his face made Carina feel at ease in the silence. She looked back down at the image of the white cat with the violet eyes.

"They kind of glow like this," Carina whispered. She trailed her fingertip over the page.

"Well," professor Diggory finally said. "I think it's safe to say that you can move on to the next class. This introduction really is only to teach you how to start seeing your familiar anyway. That's the final goal of this class. In the advanced class you will learn how to capture your familiar. I'm sure you will find that much more enjoyable."

"Yes," Carina said. Her eyes lit up as she looked up at the professor. "I can't wait! I can't wait to meet her. I have never managed to get her to stay; she always disappears as I reach my goal."

"One day, she will let you capture her," professor Diggory nodded. "Alright. I'll file the paperwork. Tomorrow you can head to the advanced building."

He walked around to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled a slip of paper out of it.

"Ah- here it is," he said. He handed the slip of paper over to Carina. "That's the building number. So you know where you're going tomorrow."

"Thank you so much," Carina said. She gave a short bow of her head, and then looked at the paper.

"You're free to go," professor Diggory said. "Have a good rest of your day, Carina."

"Yes- thank you again, so much," Carina said. She waved at him and shoved the paper in her pocket, before rushing out the door.

Alex, Angie, and Christopher were all waiting there for her, as Alex had promised. They all turned their eyes toward her, eager to hear the news.

"I'm going to be in the advanced class, starting tomorrow," Carina said.

"That's awesome!" Alex said. He walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I wish I could be, too," Angie sighed. "I'm so proud of you. What's it like to be able to see your familiar?"

"Yeah, I want to know too," Christopher added. "What's it like? Are they cool? Have you been able to get near them yet?"

"Guys, guys," Carina laughed. "We can talk about it over lunch. I forgot I haven't had anything to eat yet."

Carina felt her cheeks grow warm as her stomach growled loudly. The group of friends laughed, all throwing their arms around each other.

"Okay, catch up over lunch," Alex suggested. "Like we originally planned anyway." He winked at Carina, and she smiled back at him. "And then you can tell us all about your adventures in the woods, and what it's like to see your familiar. And whether or not your familiar has let you near them yet."

"Yes," Carina laughed. "Don't worry, I won't skip over any details." Though she didn't know how far into the details she actually wanted to get.