Spirit: The Familiar

The little boy wasn't too much shorter than her, but Carina had never been very tall. She stood up from the desk and noted there were only a few inches difference in their heights. Internally she sighed, slightly upset over the fact that a ten year old was almost as tall as her.

This kid has a short crop of bright red hair, and a face dotted so heavily with freckles it reminded Carina of looking up at the starry skin on a clear night. His eyes were piercing and green. Carina wondered what kind of magic this kid held within him.

"I'm Carina," she explained. "I'm to be your new roommate. I hope you'll accept me."

The kid's face lit up. His eyes widened, and a brilliant grin formed on his face. He ran over to Carina and immediately his small arms encircled her waist.

"Oh! I've been so lonely in here by myself!" the kid exclaimed. Carina awkwardly patted him on the back. He drew away, still smiling up at her. "My name is Adam. I've only been here a short while. Carina? I've heard a little about you. The Grand Elder says you've got some great potential."

"Does he?" Carina laughed.

She scratched the back of her neck and watched as the little boy wandered over to the desk. He plopped several more books down onto the surface, and Carina wondered briefly just how many classes he was taking. He must have caught her staring, as he turned to her and gave her a different sort of smile.

"Some of those are yours, actually," he said. "There have always been two sets of books in here. So yeah, these other copies are yours."

"Oh, thank you," Carina said.

Adam made his way over to his bed, the one by the wall, and sat down. He had a notebook and one of the text books in his arms. Slowly but surely he began his studies.

"So, class just let out I'm guessing?" she asked him.

"Oh, one of them," he said, though he was distracted by the words on the pages of the text book.

Carina stepped closer and peered down. It looked like a book on all the different herbs to be found. Carina looked back up at the boy's face.

"I've been wondering since I got in here," Carina started. "What's the herb that's ground up in the bowl over there?"

"Oh, that's actually a flower," the boy said without missing a beat. "Clover. Well, some people call it a weed. But it's a pretty flower..."

"I see," Carina looked back over at the bowl.

Clover. Why hadn't she guessed that? She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Her attention returned to Adam, who was now scribbling something down in his notebook. Carina tilted her head to the side.

"So, you have more classes for today?" she asked.

"Yeah, just a couple," Adam nodded. "If you don't mind, I'm trying to get this assignment done. It's not that difficult, but I would like to have it out of the way so I don't have to worry about it anymore."

Carina almost had to suppress a chuckle at that. She nodded and gave the boy his space.

Carina stepped over to the window then, peering outward. The winding yellow streets through the city could be seen clearly, and now there were several people out and about as they transferred classes or walked to wherever they were going. There were vines and whatnot growing up the sides of several of the buildings. Off in the very far distance Carina could see the golden tower.

It was a very special, very important tower. Carina had only heard legends about it; that the tower housed a very special being with very special powers. It was rumoured that the being possessed every magical ability all at once. Carina shook her head at the thought; every witch was born with only one gift. To dream of having more would be greedy.

She had almost pulled away from the window when she caught a glimpse of green and blue. Those eyes!

She pulled the window open and leaned out, looking hard for the colours she had seen. Sure enough there was the cat, staring at her from the nearby cafe. Carina felt the excitement bubble through her.

"Alright, kid!" Carina said, hopping back and shutting the window once more. "I've gotta go for now! I'll see you again later!"

"Hey, don't call me kid," Adam called after her as Carina dove out of the room.

But the words didn't quite reach her. She was on a mission to catch that cat, and nothing would stop her then.