Evergreen Mountain Academy

Chapter 6: Shadows From Afar

Sneaking back into the academy was easy enough and went relatively smoothly, had it not been for them immediately running into Principal Fluffycatboi and scoring Basil and Aku a warning and Hiro a detention (that he ended up skipping). They returned back to the party, though staying on the outskirts, away from all the drama. Thankfully, the remainder of the night wasn't full of things that weren't supposed to be on fire catching on fire or questions Basil didn't want to answer.

Elvie might have had the right idea of staying at the dorm to study and get a good night of rest, because the next day was midterms— which no one else was prepared for the anguish of.

Mr. Fluffystuffin's history exam could probably legally been considered torture, and they possibly could have used a bit more studying for Madame Elma's biology test. Basil thought that the science, potions, and geometry exams went all right, and Master's Guide to Growling, Fur Grooming, and Choir were relatively easy compared to the long, rushed papers and multiple choice questions of other classes. And the plus side of ADP was that midterm day was the same as any other day.

The not-so-great side was that Basil couldn't tell Mx. Nerium or Aaron about her power.

She couldn't really understand it either. She had waited her entire life to be able to say "look, I'm the same as you. I have an ability. I'm not broken." Yet it felt like a betrayal. She had only just met them and they had accepted her unconditionally because they were the same and she belonged. And now she just... didn't anymore.

But it was more than that. She couldn't lie that she was always so desperate to discover that she had a power to worry whether it was a good one or not. Imagine waiting longer than any of the rest of one's peers to figure out one's ability only to find out it's the ability to open drawers without touching them. Or the power to levitate only a foot off the ground. Or an ability that would outcast one further from society than not having an ability ever could.

Despite the diverse variety of powers in the anthro world, there were some that are viewed with harsh taboo ingrained into the culture. Blood or bone manipulation are both viewed with caution given their dangerous and violent potential, though it typically runs through vulture or desmodus bloodlines and is seldom used. Powers relating to nighttime or darkness can sometimes have negative connotations due to their depictions in media as well as myths from the Ancient and Old days, while abilities associating with the dead face the same implications.

But no one ever addresses these cliches because of how rare the powers themselves are, or rather how hidden they are. It was almost poetic how Basil figured out her long-used ability was seeing and communing with ghosts on the night of All Hallow's Eve in the middle of the woods. It was too much to face right now. So, she'll wait, just until she processes it all herself.

Kitten steps, tiny kitten steps, one at a time.

Nova had some stern words about honesty and secrets and friendship to give Basil, but she reasoned that the time isn't right when she hasn't even gotten used to it herself. Nova has gotten a little quiet since then.

The day following midterms, the sloth secretary's voice had announced over the loudspeaker for everyone to gather in the courtyard for a school-wide field day. (The announcement took a full twenty minutes to finish)

Aku was up the night before reading in the dorm common area, apparently not worn out by the day's exams, and he and his temporary roommates, Hiro and Feliks, all woke up late this morning, so Basil went down alone to save them all donuts and bacon before the macaque lunch lady ran out.

She's not quite sure where to find her friends in the crowd of students; it seems so much smaller with so many. Thinking it's the best option, Basil heads over to the willow tree where Aku and Hiro eat lunch to wait to see if they walk by.