Calfuray Academy (ManxMan) ✔️

Epilogue

(A/N: This Chapter is nearly 5000 words. You have been warned.)

Chapter 52: Epilogue

3 Months Since Dean Left

A deep thud was heard when Sebastian threw his elbows on the table in front of him. He was seated in the library, studying the words to these spells for the seventeenth time.

Even after being deemed as one of the natural talents in the school, Sebastian still struggled in the class, especially when it came to memorization. There was just this one spell that was in Arabic and he couldn't get the pronunciation right.

Sebastian ran his fingers through his steadily growing hair, tugging on the ends slightly before letting go. Sure, it seemed as if he was having a hard time. But, overall, Sebastian had gotten far better at delivering what his professors wanted and his average had spiked in the past couple of months. 

However, the one person that he wanted to celebrate with was in a different dimension. Just the thought sunk Sebastian's mood further into the ground. Since Dean left, whatever loneliness he thought had disappeared came back with a vengeance. He never realized how much he had depended on Dean for companionship and confidence until his mate was gone. 

Sebastian and Dean messaged each other as often as they could —which became daily after Sebastian cast a strong spell on his phone. But it just wasn't the same. No amount of sweet words and reassurances could replace the expression on Dean's face when he looked at Sebastian. Sebastian shook his head, trying to dispel his negative thoughts.

He decided to go with the approach he always took when his sadness got too much for him, he threw himself further into his schoolwork. Whether it was healthy or not, it was the best Sebastian could do.

—————

10 Months Since Dean Left

"Dr. McCain!" Dean, who had been studying what might have been an important artifact, turned to see who had called him. His colleague, Callie, jogged up to him with a wide smile on her face, holding a tablet in hand. Dean gently dropped the item in his hand and stood up. He was curious as to what had her so excited that evening. 

"We got the comparison analysis back for those chicken bones that you insisted were not chicken bones and, well, they definitely aren't chicken bones!" Callie rushed through her words excitedly and Dean had to strain his ears to catch everything that fell out of her mouth. He let out a sigh of relief when she finally turned her device to face him so he could see it himself. 

Dean's eyes widened as he pulled the screen even closer. The tablet had the x-rays of an actual chicken placed beside their bones and highlighted all of the differences between them. Compared side by side, it was very clear that they had not found a chicken.

"It confirms everything that you talked about!" Callie was exultant, jumping from behind Dean to get glances over his shoulder. "The size and weight of the ribs are far too big to belong to a chicken from the time period yet too small to be an ancient vampire. And, the bones on the spine break off oddly, meaning there should be a pair of wings there. But the size of the bones doesn't completely match up with feii either! I think we're finally in the right place!" 

Dean's legs almost gave out from under him. When Dean and Callie's team was dropped off at the first site, they searched for and studied bones for four months before having to move on. This was now their third site and Dean had been nervous that they would never find what they were looking for. Now that they've found the new animal, they could find out if the hypothesis was correct.