Spirit: The Familiar

The cat was no longer there when she finally arrived. She panted, having ran the whole way there. Well, that as a fruitless effort. Maybe next time. She sighed, holding onto her knees. What would she do now? She would feel embarrassed if she returned to the room empty handed.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called.

Carina looked up at the blond haired boy who was walking over to her. He was waving, a bright smile on his face. Carina smiled in return and straightened up.

"Alex!" she said.

When he came up to her, he pulled her in for a brief hug. Carina laughed and returned his hug, patting him on the back.

"It's been a long time!" Alex said when he pulled back. "I mean, I know it's kind of a taboo thing to just up and leave the academy like that... But I missed you. We all did."

"E-Everyone?" Carina stumbled. Alex nodded his head.

"Christopher and Angie, too," he said. "You're lucky the Grand Elder views you as his daughter pretty much. Anyone else who would just up and leave like that probably wouldn't be welcomed back with open arms. Hey, what brings you back here, anyway? I know why you left... But when you didn't return after they dropped the classes, well..."

"I-I actually have this uneasy feeling," Carina said. "I just- I wanted some help. It's not like the usual uneasiness that comes along when you know something bad is going to happen, and you just don't know what. This feels intense. This feels important."

The sky began to darken around them, and Carina only looked up for a short while.

"It rolled in along with these clouds," she whispered. "Did you feel anything odd earlier today?"

"Nope," Alex shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I've never been like you. I don't get any major bad feelings. I wish I could help..."

"It's okay," Carina sighed. She scratched the back of her neck. "Anyway... It hasn't gone away at all. It's super intense, that it's almost nauseating. And I really just wanted to speak with the Grand Elder to find out if he had felt anything too- and to see what I could do about it. It feels like he has felt it, but he hasn't told me anything. He said he doesn't know whether or not I'm ready. Ready for what, I don't know."

"That's weird," Alex said. "But I've never known that man closely. No one has, except you and those who work more closely with him."

"Yeah-"

The clouds opened then and seemed to almost dump rain on them. Carina shrieked at the interruption, bringing her hands up to her hat that was not offering her any protection at all from the rain. Alex laughed and grabbed her elbow, guiding her by it into the cafe they were standing outside of.

Carina laughed too, swiping her hands over her now soaked clothes. Some people sat at their tables looked up and over at them, but then returned their attention to their meals.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that!" Alex said.

"I kind of expected it," Carina shrugged. "It just took its sweet time getting here. It got kind of like this back where I was living."

"Where were you living?" Alex asked.

"Oh, out in the woods," Carina answered. She smiled and looked outside, at the rain falling heavily from the sky. "It's beautiful out there. And I got to practice my magic without any interruption. You know, no one telling me to go to bed or anything like that... There were no rules."

"That sounds nice," Alex sighed. He had a dreamy expression on his face when she looked back at him. "But of course you would choose to live out in the woods. You have nature magic, after all."

"Yeah," she smiled at him.

The rain stopped abruptly within a few minutes. Carina looked back outside, at the streets that were now darkened with the wet drops. She and Alex stepped back outside.

"That was wild," Alex laughed.

"You say that every time," Carina shook her head.

"Well," he shrugged. "I don't much like water. You know. I'm a fire mage."

"I remember," Carina said. "I think I'll head back to the dorm now."

"Really? So soon?" Alex said. "I was just on my way to meet up with Christopher and Angie. Wouldn't you like to join us? You know, catch up a bit? You can tell us all about your woodland adventures."

"Another time," Carina waved him off. "I really want to change out of these wet clothes. And I might follow my roommate around his classes, since I don't have any scheduled for today."

Alex looked defeated.

"Alright," he said. "Well, at least you really are back then. I hope you'll stick around. See you later!"

With that Alex wandered off, to meet up with their friends. Carina smiled after him, then turned and walked back to her dorm.