After handing the letter back to the Headmaster, I lead Mr. Mayarna and Ms. Coscana out of the room. Ms. Coscana quickly excuses herself to grade some papers from the previous year, but Mr. Mayarna continues to follow me. “You are very strange. Why are you so interested in me? You were watching me and Alekai before he even sat down.”
His eyes widen at the sight of complete sentences and he sighs. “You are a mystery. I was away on vacation until yesterday, but I heard stories. You showed up and within a week had the staff a mess and Damarian so confused on what to do with you that he hasn’t gotten any work done all week.” He pauses. “I think that’s why he let you come to today’s meeting. He thought it might change your perception of us a little. I don’t think he expected Alekai to take such a liking to you.”
“Yeah, what’s up with that? He mentioned that everyone’s scared of him because he’s strong. He said I was the first person in a long time to call him kind, but I can’t imagine him being scary at all. He looks… sad.”
Mr. Mayarna sighs again, more heavily this time. “Alekai used to live with his grandparents. They were unsure of what to do with his strong magic and ended up suppressing it. When his grandparents moved in with his parents, they brought him to us. By then he had little to no control over a force that should have been mostly instinctual. We’ve yet to find ways to help.” He considers me. “Although, he likes you. You’re not scared of him and you have more than enough magic to smother his if he gets out of control. Perhaps you could try teaching him? With your background, I expect your methods would be quite unorthodox. Johanor was always good at coming up with unusual solutions to things, something I highly suspect he passed on.”
I hide a smile as I nod. Grandfather had some of the most innovative and strange ideas, possibly ever. In his words, “Think outside the box. When the whole population tries to fit inside, it gets really crowded and there’s no space for anything new. If you stay outside, then you get a whole new perspective on the world.”
I write this out and show it to Mr. Mayarna. He laughs. “That’s the same thing he used to tell us, only we were too stubborn to take his words to heart as much as we should have. He’s probably the reason Damarian, Indira and I are considered eccentric. All three of us were friends with him and despite trying to invite the strangest teaching staff we could, we still ended up with some people who consider themselves ‘normal’. Most of us are round pegs not even bothering to try to fit in the square holes teachers are supposed to fill, but somehow we recruited some square pegs too.” He leans closer and whispers, “Between you and me, those so-called ‘square pegs’ are the ones that students absolutely hate going to class with. Their teaching is so boring, even the other teachers fell asleep trying to listen.”
I stare at him wide-eyed before bursting into silent laughter. My shoulders are shaking, I’m running out of breath and my abdomen hurts from laughing so hard, despite my lack of sound. He watches me, clearly concerned for my health. I stand up straight again. “Sorry. It’s been a while since I could laugh like that.” My gaze turns distant.
“I’m heading to the forest. If you plan to join me, meet me at the place I first appeared, in an hour.” I shake my head and walk to the nearest window, swinging my legs out and jumping down, ignoring the fact that this is the seventh floor. Upon landing, I walk to the small garden where I first found the Headmaster and wait silently in the shadow of a tree. He sticks his head out the window to check if I’m okay before nodding and taking off up the stairs at a full run.
Exactly twenty-seven minutes later, Mr. Mayarna walks out of the building. He makes a beeline straight for the garden. He’s carrying a small bag. Scanning the treeline, I can tell the moment he spots me because he walks over. Checking his watch, he settles down to patiently wait for the rest of the hour, whereupon he stands and offers me a hand up. I get up on my own (much to his embarrassment) and lead him into the forest to a small waterfall with a lake. There’s a cave in the cliff face right next to the stream where we can set up camp.
He follows me in and watches with awe as I quickly and easily set up a simple cover for the opening. I wave at him and send a meaningful glance at the stream. He startles a little before going to collect water. “Is this safe to drink?” I nod. This stream hasn’t been polluted yet, so it’s perfectly fine to drink from. He seems nervous and jumps when I touch his shoulder. “Ah, sorry,” he starts, before glancing toward the forest. “I keep feeling like we’re being watched.”
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“Pfft,” I write. “This is the forest. Of course we’re being watched. There are always animals around and the plants have eyes too. Relax. None of them will attack.”
“How do you know that for certain?”
I sigh, but it’s a valid question. I pad over to the edge of the clearing and sit, holding out my hand to the myriad creatures assembled in the underbrush. I wait for a solid five minutes before a curious squirrel stretches out his nose to touch my finger. I remain perfectly still and slowly they all surround me, nuzzling my hair and clothes gently. I smile and stand slowly, leading them back to Mr. Mayarna. He sees the crowd and stiffens, moving at snail-speed in an attempt not to scare them. I smirk. “That is a beautiful imitation of a statue. You would make an excellent street performer.”
He laughs a little. “I didn’t want to spook them,” he murmurs. “Will they run if I move?”
“You’ll scare them less if you just move normally. Right now you look like a predator. Act like they’re not here and they’ll relax.”
He nods and begins to move towards the cave at a normal speed, though I can see him watching them out of the corner of his eye the entire time. “Why are they so calm around you? Is it because you’re quiet?”
“My lack of sound actually scares them. It reminds them of predators. They like me because I’m like them - I grew up out here, I don’t smell like cities or pollution, and I act like I’m part of the forest. You, on the other hand, are completely out of place: you smell like a city, you act awkwardly, and you move like frightened prey. They don’t exactly see you as a threat, but they can’t seem to entirely accept you either.”
He considers that for a moment. “What can I do to fix that?”
I hesitate. “Come here. Move quietly. No matter what, don’t flinch.” I wait until he does as requested before continuing with, “Sit. Slowly. No sudden moves. Wait for them to approach you first. Don’t reach out to them.” He does exactly what I tell him. The animals move with extreme caution as they approach, but gradually overcome their fear and accept his presence.
“Somehow, I’m reminded of you,” he says quietly. “You don’t react well unless you’re given time to consider things - your thoughts, your actions, the situation, the thoughts and actions of others - and you don’t like being prodded or startled.”
I almost smile. “It’s a side effect of living in a place with predators around every corner.”
He nods. “I know.” There’s a long moment of silence before he sighs and asks, “Should we gather firewood?”
I stare at him. “There’s no need, tonight will be warm enough without it,” I write. “The fire would scare everything away, but it would also make it harder to see beyond the circle of light it would cast. Bad idea.”
“Do we need to sit watches, then, in case of predators?”
I shake my head. “The animals will warn me if there is a predator, but the cave and my senses should keep us fairly safe even without them.” I eye him warily. “Unless it’s you I need to be concerned about?”
He shoots me a horrified look. “I wouldn’t - how could you - why would I - oh, please tell me you’re joking…”
I roll my eyes. “Of course I’m joking, but I’m also not as naive as everyone seems to think. Give me some credit - Grandfather and I survived peacefully for years, but he did give me a rather thorough education.”
He grumbles, but subsides easily. “It’s getting dark, I’m going to go lay down. See you in the morning.” He stands and walks into the cave, falling asleep almost as soon as his head touches the floor.
I sit with my friends for a little while longer and eventually fall asleep, curled up on the grass around a small kitten who seems to think I’m its mother. I fully trust the creatures around me to alert me if my own senses fail to recognize danger, but I doubt anything will try to harm me.