Liska felt completely drained by the time she got to last period. Supernatural class was the last class of the day for every student at Eclipse. The students were sorted into classes based on which type of supernatural they were. It was also the only class that junior high and senior high students took together, as far as Liska knew.

She already had a pile of homework and hoped that at least she would know the basics of shifter transformation, since she had been transforming since she was eight, which was young for a fox shifter. It helped that fox shifters were big on clan school and supernatural education, because Liska was learning that not all supernaturals had the same level of education before starting junior high.

Shifter class met outside in a clearing in the woods. There was an unlit firepit at the center. She joined the other students and perched on one of the logs laid around the firepit. “Liska!”

Liska’s cousin Brick bounded toward her, a huge grin on his face. He was fifteen, and most people couldn’t help but like him, because he shared his enthusiasm with everyone he met. True to his personality, he stopped when a tall boy who Liska thought might be some sort of cat shifter greeted him by holding out a fist. They exchanged a secret handshake, but it went too fast for Liska to follow all the movements.

After a last elbow bump with the tall boy, Brick turned and applauded her. Liska blushed and glanced around at the other students. They were watching, but their smiles were friendly.

“You finally made it to Eclipse Arts. Ready to carry on the grand legacy of our glorious Renard tradition?” Brick laughed.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I’ll be happy if I can pass music theory this semester.” Liska sighed as Brick settled on the log next to her.

“That bad, huh?” Brick frowned. “Oh, wait, you’re in Magister’s class? I hear he is really hard!”

“I was hoping it would be my favorite class, but he’s already playing favorites with the orchestra students.” Liska said morosely. “And

I only took chorus at clan school.”

Brick reached over and patted her shoulder. “You were always good at school and at music. I’m sure you’ll do fine. And by the time you graduate, you’ll be a pro, so you can do whatever you want after that.”

That made Liska feel a little better. It was true that she wanted to be the best she could be.

“So how is this class?” asked Liska.

“Easy peasy.” Brick leaned over to her. “Lawds is the P.E. teacher, and I think he’s a bit bitter EA doesn’t push P.E. more, so we do lots of running, learning how to forage from the land, and that stuff.”

Liska grinned. It didn’t sound too bad. All things they had already learned in clan school.

“Are all the shifters in this class?”

Brick shook his head emphatically. “Too many at Eclipse. We’re divided up based on abilities and interests. Foxes, wolves, cats, and other fast hunters are in this class.” He punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Of course, we don’t really hunt, but we use targets and other things to simulate it, just like in clan school.”

It would be good to run out her stress from the day. That’s what she had liked about shifter class in clan school. Though she suspected her homework each night would be hard, and being too tired could make it even harder.

Lawds, a wiry but not very tall wolf shifter, looked too young for his grey hair. He shouted, “Take a lap around the school, everyone! If you’re new, follow the crowd. Don’t worry about keeping up. There are upperclassmen who take their sweet time about it every year, and you can follow them.”

Liska grinned at Brick, then pushed off the log.

“Let’s go,” said Brick, and she followed him toward the school at a lope.