Nursing her head, Arrieta leans against the underside of the carriage along with Neidr. She looks distraught as she complains,

"That kid always acts up, I should have known better than to take him with."[Arrieta] Neidr looks at her and asks,

"Kid?" [Neidr]Arrieta holds her hand up against her head and said,

"Yeah, the uh, Rackler. My family's raised him since young. I bottle-fed the little brat, and he still can't listen at all. The glutton." [Arrieta]Arrieta spoke both angered and amused.

"Do you have a plan to get him back? I mean other than trying to chase it." [Neidr]Arrieta puffed up her cheeks and said,

"Well, usually I keep snacks for him, but I left them at the academy. He always loves to chase food."[Arrieta]

"The academy? Tell you what, If you bring me there, I'll find your Rackler."[Neidr] Arrieta let out a laugh,

"Fat chance! If you can find my Rackler, I'll carry you to class!"[Arrieta] Hearing this, Neidr smiled. He reached out his hand, and Arrieta cautiously grabbed it.

"Ok, we have a deal."[Neidr] Neidr forced himself to stand up and started walking towards the Academy. Arrieta jumped up behind him and said,

"Ya ain't gonna catch a Reckler even if you weren't half dead." [Arrieta]Neidr nodded and said,

"Don't need to, just follow me." [Neidr]

"Whatever, not like hangin here's gonna help anyway."[Arrieta]

The pair walked for a while before Neidr walked straight into the woods. Arrieta skipped up behind him and tapped his shoulder,

"Hey, you some kinda tracker? My sis is a tracker. She can hunt Paksi all day."[Arrieta] Neidr didn't move his gaze as he slowly moved through the forest,

"That's awfully impressive, one was enough to tear me up." [Neidr]Although Neidr couldn't see it, Arrieta shook her head and said,

"Nah, she hasn't caught one yet, that's why she hunts all day." [Arrieta]Neidr rolled his eyes and looked at Arrieta in exasperation.

"What? Not catchin 'em is better than bein turned to a chew toy doncha think?"[Arrieta] Neidr pressed his lips into a line and looked forward, ignoring her. Eventually, the sounds of chewing could be heard in the distance, Arrieta's eyes shot open in surprise when she saw the Reckler feasting on the corpse of a Paksi. She stared at Neidr in astonishment and said,

"Damn! You are a tracker."[Arrieta]

'No, I just know where the body is.' Neidr looked at Arrieta and said,

"Catch him." [Neidr]Arrieta looked at him and said,

"Ya ain't gonna help?"[Arrieta] Niedr merely pointed at his bandages and said,

"The deal was that I find it, and you take me to the academy."[Neidr] Neidr leaned his back against and tree and closed his eyes.

"The rest is up to you, good luck."[Neidr]

Arrieta rolled up her sleeve and said,

"Why I oughta..." [Arrieta]Neidr interrupted her and said,

"Beat a defenseless patient?"[Neidr] She stomped her foot and yelled,

"Dammit, Fine! Only cuz your not in good health, though!"[Arrieta]

Arrieta proceeded to sneak up to the Rackler, holding a rope in her hands. As the thing was feasting, she threw the rope around its neck and leaped onto its back. The Rackler immediately jumped around, trying to throw her off of its back like an angry bull. Arrieta held strong, though. The Rackler tired out, before she had even broken a sweat. Fifteen minutes into his nap, Neidr was rudely awakened by Arrieta poking him in the cheek.

"You're lucky I didn't just go off and leave ya."[Arrieta] Neidr stood up and said,

"Lucky indeed, How are you planning to take us back?"[Neidr]

Arrieta sported a huge grin and said, "Gonna ride."[Arrieta]

She hopped onto the Rackler and held out her hand,

"Leap on if ya got the balls."[Arrieta] Neidr took her hand and climbed behind.

"Clench yer legs and grab ma' waist, else ya fall yer face be turned to paste."[Arrieta]

'I wasn't worried until you said that.' Heeding her whimsical advice, Neidr grabbed tightly around her waist. She tapped the Rackler twice on the head, and they were off. Neidr could barely hold on, making the ease with which Arrieta rode the Rackler into the distance all the more impressive. The Rackler charged down the road, and Neidr could hardly keep his eyes open for the wind. Arrieta hollered,

"So, you a new student? I hadn't meet nobody yet ya' see. We were travelin down to the Academy just like everybody else an all of a sudden little Jim went crazy, Ah, we're riding little Jim. Cute name dontcha think?"[Arrieta] Neidr stomach was churning, and it took everything he had just to not fall off of this Rackler-cum-cheetah.

"I'll talk when we get there."[Neidr] Hearing this, Arrieta let out a boisterous laugh,

"That'll teach ya to bully me! Doncha worry though, yer doin good fer a first timer, lord knows I hurled three times when Papa took me!"[Arrieta]

In the distant rolling hills arouse an astonishing tower that pierced the sky. Buildings and islands of earth floated around it. They circled it like it was the center of the universe. From small pieces of land only large enough to hold a pound to large hunks of earth that could hold a football field, everything, no matter how grand, only made the tower more prestigious. When the trio made it to the end of the path, nothing stood on the ground except the tower. Its base seemingly as thick as the ankle of a god. Larger than anything that floated above it. Both Neidr and Arrieta paused and stared, mouth agape. Neither had seen such a scene in their lives. For a moment, there was only silence and awe.

They had found themselves in a new dilemma however, they had reached their destination, but how do they enter. Just when that though troubled their minds, they could see something falling toward them from the tower. Its metallic sheen glinted in the sunlight. When it finally pierced into the ground, the Earth reverberated. A metal capsule, like a coffin, that could hold two people, but no more. Its top held a chain that soared into the heavens, presumably into the tower. Its front opened like an Iron maiden, except automatically and without the pain. The familiar voice of an old man sounded out of the capsule, although he was nowhere in sight.

"Student number, 00960, Student number, 00526 you are the last to arrive. This will be reflected in your entering scores. No outside creatures are allowed on the premises. We will send your Rackler back to your home student number 00526. Board the capsule."[Grumpy Old man] Neidr and Arrieta quietly followed orders and sat opposite of one another in the Capsule. The old man spoke one last time before they were yanked into the sky,

"Welcome to Rotham Academy."[Grumpy old man]