Safehaven

Chapter 38

Believe it or not, the remainder of our day went by without an incident, well, almost. Mark was still a jerk, but now my friends and I honestly didn't care. We were alive and together. News had spread like wildfire, and our tale of the golem was all over the school by the end of lunch. And even though almost everyone knew the story, my little band of misfits was still being ignored. Jeez, what have you got to do to get some attention around here? Anyway, the day went by in a blur. Conversations, events, they all just melded together. Finally, it was the best time of the day. Dinner. As Gwindol and I made our way down the halls from a heated talk with Quinton and Sage about what was the best way clip Felix's nails without getting impaled, there was the only thing on my mind. Outside, snow had started to fall, covering the dense thicket of the woods with a powdery blanket. Tree branches were laden with the weight of the frost and gracefully arched low to the ground, like they were bowing for their beautiful performance. But bitter winds blew from the north, and it was suicide to go outside during the day. Also, the Games had been canceled until next spring, which was fine by me. Even though I had only participated in one, I was overjoyed not to have to do another one. So, instead of the Games, students found different ways to entertain themselves. You couldn't round one corner without seeing a pair of kids playing burn-ball, which was sort of like dodge ball. But the actual "ball" was a round sphere made up of magic particals that always floated several feet of the ground. The "thrower" could utter a certain command to their own ball, and it would obey. They only consequence was that wherever the ball touched, skin, clothes, or hair, they turned black with ash, and it didn't wear off until several days later. So there were kids running around the halls with soot stained faces and singed hairs. Another favorite pass time was Bannister Hopping. Do you remember the room that had all the dissapearing staircases? Of course you do. Well, some certain students, cough*boys*cough, had started up a new competition of who could slide down the stair railings without falling or being stranded when the stairs vanished. So far, nobody has even gotten half way down. Quinton was idiotic enough to try it, and ended up in the infirmary with broken nose and black eye, though he wore those around school with pride. It showed that he had at least attempted, but not succeeded. I, on the other hand, was doing something better with my free time. Instead of riding banisters and chucking glowing orbs, I was working on my Bond. Gwindol and I had grown closer together as pals, but I could still tell he was hiding something form me, yet I couldn't get it out of him. So eventually, I just gave up trying to prompt him. In the meanwhile, the silhouette of the prancing dragon in my necklace had gotten darker, which symbolized that my connection with my dragon was stronger. Now, we could effortlessly communicate and read each others thoughts. Thankfully, he had the courtesy not to go probing, or else my life would be over. Also, Gwindol had taught me to maneuver my wings ever so slightly so that they weren't so cumbersome and didn't take up so much room. After a few crash landings, I had even managed to flutter a few feet off the ground! It was WAY too cold to go outside to really practice, but I made due with what I had. Sage, too, had been working on her gift. She could still fly higher and longer than I could, but Gwindol and I were closer than she and Dash. Often, the Pegasus and girl would waltz around the corridors, having a verbal conversation. Between snorts, neighs, and the works, nobody knew what they were conversing about. At least Gwindol and I kept our thoughts private. On a happy note, Finn and Jada were now working as a pair. After Jada had lost the unicorn, I had feared that she wouldn't bond so easily with another animal, the trauma of loosing a best friend would take its due. But I was wrong. The fwen and girl would not be any closer. At night, they would often snuggle up to one another for warmth, which I thought was extremely cute. Even better, Jada's hearing had improved tenth fold. She confessed that she felt guilty for letting us walk into a trap up on the cliff long ago, so she had taken a vow to train harder. Now, she could hear the faintest echo over half a mile away. The tufts of fur on her ears had grown darker and more unruly. So they looked more like pom poms on a headband rather than the ears of a wolf. Antigone, however, was a different story. She and Kai were almost complete opposites. The girl slept in every morning, while the griffin went out to explore before the sun even came up. Antigone liked solitude and peace, while Kai enjoyed noise and chaos. Even though they were nothing alike, I could tell that my friend dearly loved her new companion. They chatter together for most of the day, even during classes, and spent loads of time gazing out windows onto the white sparkling landscape outside. Over the course of the past few weeks, Antigone had been working on her gifts. Since her gift was that of weather influence, she kept sharp by manipulating the outside temperature and stuff like that. Sadly, she could do nothing about the dense cover of snow outside. She had already tried to melt it without much avail. But her physical gift was having much more luck. Kai had given Antigone and tail, which does sound a little odd, but useful. Antigone could now balance more easily and do several things at once. The tail was like a third arm. It could hold things and grasp objects. Once, the girl had even hung off a chandelier by it! But Antigone usually used it to multitask, which was pretty cool to watch. For some reason, my friend was self conscious about her gift. Don't ask me why, because I thought it was awesome. But Antigone certainly did not. She often kept the tail hidden from view by tucking it under her billowy robes. She only brought it out when we were all alone in our rooms, which was not often. Anyway, Holly had fully recovered from the cliff incident in just a couple of days. She still kept the windbreaker she had been given tied around her waist, and refused to part with it for even a minute. It was her baby. Rinal was a little jealous, I'm sure. The kitsune kept eyeing the jacket, as if wondering why she didn't get as much attention as it did. The thought was amusing. Holly was now able to go "all clear", as everyone called. She could fully disappear in the blink of an eye. Once the red fur enveloped her body, there was nothing left to see. Also, her mysterious gift of the future was coming along nicely. She hardly ever mentioned it to anybody, and only practiced it when she and Rinal were alone. She only shared her visions with everyone else and I when were sat around the fire, recalling our day. Last, but not least, Quinton was doing fine. He and Felix were so much alike, they could have been related, which was quite possible, judging from how they ate. They boy still kept the gloves on as a precaution, but removed them more frequently to use them. Scissors, a knife, lock pick, Quinton had a fun time learning about all the stuff he could do. Also, his force fields were coming along nicely. He could control their size and density, but they could only go so large before the boy ran out of energy. Felix supported his master freely, though. The 2 were practically inseparable. And there I was now, having all this flash across my mind as Gwindol and I made our way down for dinner. Snowflakes were starting to fall, and the windowpanes were frosted over, creating a hodgepodge of the light hues outside. Finally, the dragon and I made it to the mess hall. Tonight, it was chili and fresh breadsticks. The warm smells thawed the lingering chill from the winter months. I took a deep inhale, and slowly let it out. It was dinner time, and nothing could come between me and my meal.