Chapter VIII

When he awoke, the first thing he noticed was that someone had moved some of the clothes. Basil, he figured, likely visited the room while he and Mort slept. But the bed opposite of Kizu’s showed no sign of use. It looked like Basil just dropped some clothes off, and picked some other ones up.

The clock read one in the afternoon.

He stretched and reached up to scoop Mort out of his little nest of cloth. Then he took out his orb and had it guide him out of the academy.

The path it took him led him through one of the academy’s gardens. As much as he wanted to examine the flowers and plants, he knew he didn’t have the time if he intended to keep his commitment.

The academy’s front gates were designed extravagantly. Lined with silver and gold, the walls appeared to glow slightly and the top of the gates were styled with flourishing tiled tops. James opened the small door to the side of the gates and allowed him to exit, but reminded him to return to the academy before ten.

As he began to make his way down the train, he managed to find better bearings for himself. A massive mountain rose from behind the academy, lush with green vegetation all the way until its flat top. The town, further down the trail, was situated alongside the sandy beach and the shining cobalt sea.

“Had me worried there,” Harvey said, leaping to his feet from a stump he’d been sitting on. “I thought maybe you forgot or overslept.”

“No, here I am,” he said, trying and failing to sound excited.

“Cheer up! We’re going to our first party! Think of the possibilities! Girls, food, sun, drinks. What else could you ask for?”

“A hammock and a book?” Kizu offered.

“How’d you manage to get placed the worst in every class with that kind of outlook on fun?” Harvey shook his head.

“I was raised by a witch.”

Harvey stopped walking and stared at him.

“What?” Kizu asked, exasperated. A small piece of him hoped Harvey might find the revelation uncomfortable and run him off.

“Amazing! That explains everything! Green hair, monkey familiar, not sleeping in the normal dormitories!”

“I’m in a normal dorm, just the third years’ dormitory.”

Harvey resumed his pace again. “You know, I had a cousin who had this fling once with a witch. Nearly took his head off in an argument. The whole coven hunted him for like a year.”

“The same cousin who invited you to this party?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “No, no. Different side of the family.”

As they walked, Harvey continued chattering on about how the witches had attempted to hunt down his cousin and the cousin’s deft deceptions and evasions. A few other students passed by on the trail. Once they reached town, the entire plaza exuded complete chaos.

Students were everywhere, filling the little shops and cafes that dotted the streets. Locals sold fruits and fresh juices from little stalls and small children ran about the place, playing games. Kizu noticed a chubby bald man looking self-important in a uniform and watching the kids with disdain, as if expecting them of mischief.

They had to shove their way through the crowd. It reminded Kizu of something between swimming and dancing as he pushed between cluttered groups. Eventually, they emerged on the other side of the square and slipped into slightly quieter streets. However, as they approached the villas down at the beach, the noise ramped up again. Both music and voices talking over one another.

“This is the place,” Harvey announced, walking up tot he loudest building. Then he pushed open the door of a villa.

The interior was just one large room with a loft overhead and students filled all available space, wearing all sorts of outlandish outfits. One girl wore an outfit made only of multicolored feathers. Another boy barely wore more than paint. As he looked around, Kizu noticed that almost everyone there had the same scaly complexion as Harvey.

A countertop along the wall was piled high with fruits, meats, and desserts. Harvey walked over and snatched up a stick of meat and began gnawing on it, his sharp teeth leaving indents in it.

Kizu regretted not asking his orb what region Harvey was from. Most of the people in the room had more outlandish hair colors like red and blond, but they looked naturally grown alongside the scales on their faces. He wondered what race these people were.

As he joined Harvey at the food table, Mort peeked out of the satchel and yawned. As soon as the monkey showed his face, heads began turning in his direction. Kizu had only barely put a caramel sweet in his mouth, before a girl approached him.

“This is Kizu,” Harvey interjected, forcing himself forward. “Kizu, this is my cousin, Emilia.”

Emilia smiled, showing her sharpened teeth and causing Kizu to take an involuntary step back.

“Nice to meet you,” she said. “You’re a first-year as well?”

Harvey leapt at the opportunity to start explaining about Kizu’s background. Emilia nodded with interest and her eyes seemed to linger on his green hair.

“Come on, Emilia,” another older student said, breaking into the story just as Harvey began to explain how they had met yesterday. “Braxton just bet his father’s best horse that he could drink an entire bottle of renegade rum without burping a single spark.”

“Excuse me,” Emilia said, humor glinting in her eye. “Pressing business to attend to. I look forward to seeing you around, Kizu.”

“I’m impressed,” Harvey said as Emilia walked away. “She remembered your name at the end. I don’t think she even remembers my name.”

“Aren’t you her cousin?” Kizu asked.

“Yeah. That’s how we usually call each other, cousin.”

Mort climbed from the satchel up to his customary position on top of Kizu’s head. Just as Harvey had predicted, girls kept coming over to see the little monkey, and Harvey profited greatly off the exchange. Each time a girl agreed to meet up later, he got out his orb and the girls would give it authorization to message them. Only then did Kizu realize that the orb he was given was actually designed to be a scrying orb. He was surprised the academy was willing to let students run around with them. Especially after witnessing two students throw their orbs at each other, to see whose would break first.

A few people talked to him, asking about his hair or who had invited him. They all appeared significantly more pleasant than when he met students up at the academy. Maybe it was because they were off-campus students. Or maybe the drinks relaxed their stuffiness. Either way, Kizu was grateful.

“Kizoo, right?” A girl sidled up to him. She reeked of a pungent perfume and swayed slightly as she spoke. “Heard about you from Emilia. I think we’re in the same Enchanting class. C, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Awesome, I might need help with the homework. Barely skid by last semester. I was relieved to see I got boosted in the rankings by the first years just enough to get in C this time. No thanks to you though, ha!”

Then she slinked off and chatted with another person.

He supposed, by the end of the day, everyone at the party would know who he was from word of mouth. At least Emilia didn’t seem to be saying anything necessarily bad about him. Everyone seemed affable as they approached.

He slid out the back door, a handful of sweets stashed in his pocket, and stood on the white steps that led down to the beach. The party spilled out here, students swimming in the sea and using elemental magic to blast a ball back and forth. He saw a small child crafting a sandcastle alongside a student and having tiny little sand soldiers attempt to besiege it. Chubby sea lions lay scattered about the beach, lethargically sun bathing amongst the students.

The sun beat down on them from above, and already Kizu noticed pink skin on many of the students’ lounging on the beach. Every student appeared to fully engage in the lackadaisical attitude regarding the future of tomorrow. No one studied or practiced or memorized. They blithely enjoyed themselves.

Kizu walked down the beach until he found an old driftwood log sticking out of the sand and made it his seat. He kicked his feet up and watched as sea lions dived in the water. The tide ebbed and flowed, slowly progressing. A wave of nostalgia washed up on him juxtaposed with the tide. It felt so familiar, so peaceful.

After a while, he stood up and continued his beachside stroll. Kizu scanned the villas lined up on the beach's edge, seeking out his family’s. He located it after a few minutes. The building was made of white stone with a Hon flag billowing off the back porch. Finn likely relaxed inside, enjoying his own space. Not wanting to disturb or irritate his brother, Kizu simply stared at the building and let memories wash over him.

Anna and he spent hours playing games of hiding all about the villa. His favorite hiding spot had been under the house. He needed to peel up one of the back deck’s pieces of wood to get under. The entire area was covered in spiderwebs and mice but it always took Anna ages to find him down there. She, on the other hand, would usually hide on the roof. A nearby tree leaned toward the villa, giving easy access to the flat topped roof. Once, he’d fallen and sprained his ankle as he hit the ground. After that, he had never tried to climb the tree again and Anna stopped hiding up there for his sake.

Kizu itched to climb up it now. Instead though, he turned and walked back to the party down the beach. He ate and drank with everyone, chatted and even attempted (and failed at) dancing. And then he scattered with everyone else when the local constable showed up later that night to shut the party down.

In all, he felt drained but surprisingly fulfilled as he made his way back up the winding trail to the academy.