Eye of The Wyvern

XVIII

Professor Hansor sat across the Headmaster in her office. Andla, who was shuffling a deck of cards, paid no mind to him. "How long are they going to take this time?" Hansor sighed. Andla hushed him, "Now now, Hansor," she looked at him, "Chasm and Delta are probably having trouble finding Ms. Saturn due to all her copies."

"Yes, Andla," He crossed his arms, sitting back in the chair, "but they've always been this way, even as students. You can ask the old Professors that taught Delta. She was almost always sneaking away with him." She laughed. "That's my favorite thing about those two," the cards began to fly in a synchronized pattern as Andla swished her hands gracefully, "they always choose happiness and patience. Besides, they are probably almost here by now."

The door swung open, startling Andla and causing the cards to explode all around the room, nearly hitting everyone around her. Delta, who was in the doorway first, managed to stop a few from hitting her. She cleared her throat as Hansor gave her a look, "We have a missing student, Headmaster."

Andla rose from her seat, "Who? All students were accounted for this morning were they not?" She swished her hands, and all the cards glided back into a neat stack on her desk. Chasm chimed in as he opened the second door, standing with Delta, "I was told by Karissa this morning that she was skipping due to her health, but no one has seen her since. Not even her own roommates." The three girls stood behind Chasm and Delta.

Hansor stood, "Did you double check the Medic? The ones in the Wyvern Section can be real stingy." Tethys interrupted, standing with the girls, "We checked there and the Women's. We also checked the Baths." Andla sighed, "Did we check outside at all? Maybe she's taking a walk?"

"I had a few of my copies look, no one has seen her." Tethys gently pushed past Chasm to enter the room. "I think someone let her out of the gate." Delta furrowed her brows, "No one is able to open the gate except for me, Hansor, Andla, and a few of my Witch and Wizard students." Hansor nodded, "Then we question those students, because clearly none of us let her out."

Amanda shook her head, "Karissa wouldn't do something like that without a teacher's approval. Something crazier is happening!" Lorelai nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Karissa's not a rule breaker.." The professors looked between the three girls. Andla sighed, "Alright, well let's rule out all the possibilities. We'll check around the entire Sanctuary, and I'll have Tethys and Delta question the students who are able to open the gate. Chasm, you and I are going outside the Sanctuary just to see if maybe she did leave."

Hansor chimed in, looking at the girls, "This is not saying Karissa is doing something she shouldn't, but when it comes to missing students, we have to rule out everything. You understand, right? We aren't going to throw accusations and punish anyone unless it is absolute that there was a major rule broken." The girls nodded. "We understand, Professor," Cora said, "I think that Amanda is just really worried. Her intuition is pretty good, so when we find her, there needs to be some things ruled out before anything else. It's not like her to defy orders."

Andla and Chasm approached the gate, and with a wave of her hand, they left, locking it behind them. "Where should we look first?" He asked. Andla scanned around for a moment, then she pointed at the woods towards South Town, "If Karissa would leave, she'd head home. If we don't find her immediately, we'll head inside Rhian's or Peter's to try and get their help.." Chasm nodded, "Ready when you are.."

* * *

The walk fell silent after a few minutes, Karissa trailing a few feet behind Rhian. "You're walking faster than you usually do, Ma." She chuckled. No response, and she began to get the feeling something wasn't right. "Ma, do you even know the way back? This doesn't look like the same path Chasm and I took.."