Classes are Starting!

Feeding Feathers wasn't as problematic as Kai had imagined it to be. The griffin was friendly, and all he had to do was throw a whole chicken to him, and that's it. The cat Luke talked about showed up near lunch time, and then it vanished again.

That was a normal behavior coming from a cat, so Kai didn't think too much of it. But as the day progress, Kai started to feel a little scared. Although the task of taking care of the animals was not a difficult one, the nearby forest started to get creepier.

Strange sounds came from all sides. Kai was glad that he was inside a cabin, one well-protected with wards and other magical devices. Feathers was outside too, meaning that any creature that approached the cabin would have to go through him.

However, even with all of those things, Kai still felt anxious and scared of looking through the window. His mind could only think that at any time something would appear and get him.

'Why is this cabin outside here? It's not even protected by the school's barrier!' Kai complained.

The cabin's kitchen had some ingredients and cooking utensils, but Kai was not feeling like cooking something to eat. Jane showed up at one point close to 6 pm, bringing some food for Kai.

"How is your task going?" Jane asked.

Kai was destroying the food Jane brought him — because he didn't want to cook, he had barely eaten during the day — and Jane had to wait till he answered her.

"The task itself is pretty easy, just give the griffin food and feed a cat. But this place is creepy. Does Luke live here?" Kai asked.

Jane and the other teachers had their rooms inside the academy, protected by the barrier, which was the safest place.

"Yes, he lives here. As far as I know he is also the one who patrols the forest to make sure there are no spies or dangerous beasts roaming around. Luke is one of the best teachers when it comes to combat skills," Jane said.

"I see. And do you know where he went?"

"No idea," Jane said, as she drank a cup of coffee, "I was planning my classes the whole day, and I will return to it. The only reason I stopped was to bring you food, and I am glad I did."

She chuckled when seeing Kai's mouth, which was dirty due to the tomato sauce.

When Jane left, Kai felt less safe, again. With her around, a powerful Arcanist who could fight, Kai felt no fear, but alone inside that cabin in the middle of nowhere? Well, that was scary.

Things got really worse when Kai decided to pull the window's curtains and look through the window, right into the forest. That had been his biggest mistake, and if he could go back in time, then he would not do it.

Kai stared into the forest, and behind one of the trees, a shadow.

It was hard to see who it was or what it was. But there was no doubt it was a silhouette in the middle of the forest, and Kai started to freak out. He felt like the shadow stared back at him, and then it vanished.

Kai quickly closed the curtains, and checked the door to see if it was locked. He thought about running away back to the academy, back to the protection of the magical barrier, but it was far and he was not sure he would make it.

He decided to stay inside the cabin and hope that Luke would show up soon, or hope that the shadow would not go there. After a few minutes of staring at the cabin's door, he heard a commotion outside. Feathers was making loud noises, as if something or someone had approached.

Time seemed to slow down to Kai as he anxiously stared at the door, and then the door opened. It was professor Luke.

"Professor Luke! It's you!" Kai said.

That was the first time he was happy to see someone as creepy as professor Luke.

"What happened? Why are you acting like this?" Luke asked with a puzzled expression.

Kai decided to share what he had seen with him. It was the only way to make him feel safer. Luke listened to all of it, and he said, "I will search the woods tomorrow morning. Come with me."

Professor Luke was many things, but he was still one of the teachers in the Brainheart academy. He could see how scared Kai was to return alone to the academy, so he went with him to make sure nothing happened.

Kai gave a deep sigh after passing through the academy's main gate. The barrier around the academy gave him safety again.

When heading back to his room, the hooded figures he had seen inside the train crossed his mind. Kai felt like the shadow he saw was wearing similar clothes, but it was hard to be sure because of the darkness.

'I need to pay attention to the smallest details while I am here,' Thought Kai.

The two months passed rather quickly. Kai spent his time exploring the academy — the areas he could enter, at least — and practicing magic.

His practice always happened inside his room, as no one would see what he was doing there. Kai thought about sneaking up into the library, but Jane could suffer if they found him, and Kai would never do something to harm her. Jane was like his grandmother at that point.

Kai woke up with principle Finley knocking on his room's door early in the morning, giving him the school's uniform.

"All the students will be in the main hall. You should change to your uniform and go there," Finley said with a friendly smile.

"I will be there in no time."

The Brainheart Academy, once empty, was now blooming with life. Many students were there in their first year, like Kai, but others were returning from vacation. It did not matter in which year they were in, all of them went to the main hall to hear Finley's speech.

'It is finally starting! I cannot wait!'

Kai was eager to start learning more about magic, and he could not stop thinking about the shadow he had seen that day in Luke's cabin.