Elemental Academy

Break away

"Thankfully, headmistress Cade wasn't smart enough to ban you from leaving campus," Quinn pointed out. "Which was considerably stupid, but perhaps that was the idea. She wants to see where you go, what you do and who you interact with. Then I, daresay, she acted intelligently." Aria and Raquel froze as Quinn stuffed her sixth liter of water into her backpack. Phoenix was out, getting a permission slip from Alister while the three of them pack the essentials. Raquel tied her pouch of rune magic to her belt and Aria laid her fans into straps underneath her red plaid shirt.

"I think today would also be an ideal time to go Equinox Ball shopping," Raquel stated wisely. Quinn raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, 'Power Surge' week is less than two days away. That's when Cade's really going to cause an overhype and everyone's going to be dress shopping."

"The least we could do is browse, Solomon," Aria pointed out and both Quinn and Raquel turned to her completely bewildered. "I'm starting to see why you and Phoenix enjoy it so much." She chuckled then turned to Quinn. "I won't make it a habit. Promise."

Their door opened and Phoenix came in holding paper in her hand and the three roommates quietly cheered. The four girls gathered their beasts and their bags before descending into the quad and heading for the portal. From the portal, they were transferred to the far side of Scorch, the capital city - Zodiac - where Quinn grew up.

They appeared on a balcony of a building with a spectacular view of the cityscape and the hilly terrain just behind it. "Whoa," Aria and Phoenix stated breathlessly while Raquel was in a speechless awe. "Whoever lives here..." Phoenix began but she couldn't finish. "This is a million astron view."

Quinn chuckled as she patted Raquel and Phoenix. "Ladies, ladies, ladies," she started clearly chuffed with herself. "It's a sixty million astron view." The three of them turned to her completely wordless. "This's the penthouse my dad bought for me when I was nine."

"Why're we here? We're supposed to be at the cemetery," Raquel hissed, suddenly angry. "We have to get there. Right now!"

Quinn guided them into the large master bedroom that had a wall turned into a water feature. "There's an earth elemental I trust more than my parents that went to fetch them. Trust me, nobody's more discreet than Smithers." Raquel rolled her eyes defeatedly while Aria and Phoenix surveyed the room, still in awe. "Anyone for a refreshment?"

"No thanks."

Their beasts were running around wildly over the white tiles, Dire, Vixen and Teal would occasionally slip over their paws. Charity was perfectly fine, cooling off in the water feature that housed pink water lilies. At some point, Teal went to take a sip of the water but Charity's tail pulled him into the basin. Purring excitedly, Dire jumped into the basin and splashed Teal and Vixen - who carelessly sat nearby.

"I can't believe this's all yours," Aria stated as she peeked out of the bedroom, at the enormous crystal chandelier that hung near the top of the luxury spiral staircase. She turned back to Quinn, who didn't seem bothered by the exterior or the interior. "Actually, I can." Aria turned back to look out the door and saw a man with graying black hair in a suit. "Someone's coming. Hide!"

Raquel and Phoenix stood defensively while Aria hid behind the door but Quinn and the beasts remained as they were. "Smithers," she called then ran into the man's arms. "I've missed you so much."

"It's only been two weeks," he stated as he held her tighter, "but I've missed you too." When they parted, Smithers turned to gazing trio and the four critters. "You must be Raquel, Phoenix and Aria." Aria nodded to him as she warmly smiled. "We best be going. Mr. Solomon's a busy man. Please," he gestured to the stairs.