Twisted Wings

Chapter 7

Dawn was almost breaking by the time Celeste returned to Ramshackle. She had spent the past few hours flying around the island, pondering her meeting with the horned man.

She was hesitant to return, afraid that the horned man wouldn't keep his word. However after several hours of debating with herself, she quietly landed on Ramshackle dorm's doorstep. She couldn't just leave Grim and her new friends without so much as a good goodbye. Perhaps the horned man would keep his word after all.

Retracting her wings, she opened the rickety front door and walked inside, putting away her sword.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Celeste jumped slightly at Grim's voice behind her. She spun to see him sitting up on the couch in the lounge.

"Grim? I went out for a stroll. Why are you not in bed?" Celeste was amazed to see him up so early.

"I had a nightmare and when I woke up you were GONE! I looked all over the dorm for you! I figured I'd wait for you on the couch but I fell asleep..." Grim flattened his ears as he gave her a pitiful look.

"I'm sorry Grim I was gone longer than I meant to be." She went over and patted him on the head, surprisingly he let her do so with no objection. "I won't disappear forever without informing you first I promise." She tried to reassure him but he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

"You say that like your plann' on disappearin'." He grumbled his forked tail twitching.

"Grim, I'm not going anywhere at the moment. Now let's get cleaned up. I suspect Riddle will be waiting for us to continue the investigation." She said as she left the room to put on her school uniform.

A short time later they made their way to the main street. It was still relatively early but students were already out and about. She was relieved to see that she wasn't getting any unusual looks. It appeared that the horned man had indeed kept his word.

Now that I think of it, he said to call him whatever I liked... She thought, remembering he hadn't told her his name. Perhaps she should call him Pan, after all, he appeared to be like a mischievous horned spirit.

"Mornin' Celeste." Cater's greeting snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked to see him and Riddle walking towards her.

"Good morning Cater, Riddle." She said smiling back at them.

Riddle's brow furrowed slightly when he saw her. "Hm. Your tie is crooked you know. A disorderly uniform suggests a disorderly dorm." He reached out towards her and adjusted her tie.

Celeste glanced away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Oh, your right. Sorry, I'm not used to wearing such things." Usually, Zaphiel assisted her with complicated accessories and with her hair.