Chapter 4

Lexi meets her pack mates.

~4~

 

Hunter strode back along the hallway with quick, purposeful steps. Lexi trailed behind him, keeping pace, but otherwise happy to be led to her dormitory. The corridors had come alive in the time they had spent in the Alpha’s office and young shape shifters of various ages dressed in tunics of varying colours paused to make way for Hunter as he passed before their eyes found Lexi as she scurried after him. Each of them stared, their brows creased into frowns as she bowed her head and hurried on. Some of the shape shifters they passed greeted Hunter with a smile or salute, and those that did not scampered out of his path as soon as they set eyes on him.

            Upon reaching the base of the staircase, Hunter paused and glanced down at Lexi. “Ignore the stares. They will grow used to you soon enough.”

            “Do they show every newcomer such interest?” Lexi asked lowly as a boy of about seventeen with fair hair stopped speaking with his brown-haired friend to gaze at her, a ghost of an awestruck smile on his mouth.

            “Only the interesting ones.” One corner of Hunter’s mouth tilted up in a half-smile before he scampered up the stairs, taking two at a time. Lexi followed, a frown etched on her face. She wanted to ask why she was particularly interesting, but Hunter refused to slow down enough to give her the chance.

            The staircase curved around a stone pillar and led out onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard. From this height, Lexi could see the sparkling clear water of the pond below, but she had not much time to admire the view as Hunter continued along the balcony, past the set of stairs leading up to the next floor and around a corner. Doors almost identical to each other lined the wall on the right, each sporting a unique symbol made from silver metal. The symbols were foreign to Lexi and she did not know what each of them meant.

            Hunter stopped at a door in the corner. Its symbol consisted of an incomplete circle, like a horseshoe, with a line across the middle. Lexi meant to ask its meaning, but Hunter opened the door for her and said, “After you.” Lexi held his gaze with narrowed eyes for a second before she entered.

            The common room was fairly large and spacious. A fire crackled merrily in the fireplace on the wall to the right, surrounded by three couches and two armchairs, opposite a wide window with a deep sill, casting the hazy evening light across the room. The floor was wooden, but a thick, red wool rug covered most of it. Two doors stood in the far wall beside two desks covered in half burned down candles.

            “This will be your home, should you pass the trial,” Hunter said softly as she examined the room.

            Anxiety churned Lexi’s stomach and she decided to ignore the subject of the trial. “How many are your pack?” she asked instead, noting the number of seats available around the fireplace.

            “There are three of us. You will make our fourth.” Noticing Lexi’s puzzlement at the seating arrangement, he added, “We tend to have many visitors.”

            Lexi nodded slowly. “The other two, are they wolves also?”

            “Yes, hence why we are a pack. Shifters of the same animal are homed together here, as we tend to have more of an understanding of one another. That does not mean we cannot cooperate with others; a pack is like a family away from home. My closest friend happens to take the form of a leopard.”

            “Where are they?” Lexi asked.

            Hunter smiled wryly. “Knowing Seth, they will be waiting for us in the dining hall. Dante brought up your things, which we left in your dormitory. I hope you don’t mind sharing a bedroom with Ebony.” He gestured the door on the right-hand side of the far wall. “Come, I suppose you’re hungry.”

            Although Lexi’s stomach was virtually empty, she was not in much of a mood to eat. Nevertheless, she nodded in agreement and Hunter led her from the common room, back out onto the balcony. He walked beside her back down to the ground floor and led her round to the dining hall, which was on the far side of the Academy. With most of the shifters already eating, the corridors had quietened down.

            “Have you any previous fighting experience?” Hunter asked her as they made their way across the courtyard, rounding the pond and back into the corridor on the other side.

            “I have some skill with a hunting knife,” Lexi offered lamely.

            Hunter grimaced, almost imperceptibly, but Lexi saw. “We have four weeks to train you, so previous experience is not an issue as such…” Lexi did not for a moment believe his words, but did not say so.

            At the end of the corridor was a set of large double doors, glass windows following the shape of the arch they created. Hunter pushed one of them open and held it for Lexi to pass through. She was hit by a wave of noise; laughter mingling with the chatter of at least a hundred adolescents gathered in the dining hall. Hunter laughed at Lexi’s obvious surprise and gently pushed her through the doorway.

            The hall itself was just large enough to hold the exact number of shape shifters gathered. The people sitting nearest the doors looked up as they entered and stopped talking to stare. Lexi flushed under their gazes, but Hunter seemed not to notice as he led her through the maze of tables and benches. More faces glanced up at their passing and each held Lexi’s gaze. Some were friendly, others not so, but each of them stared. Most tables were surrounded by no more than three or four shape shifters, but Lexi spotted one group that had pushed two tables together to seat all seven of them.

            Hunter spotted Lexi looking over at the larger group and said, “We eat in our packs. That group are all hyenas.”

            The table Hunter was headed for happened to be in the corner furthest from the door. On the bench on one side of the table sat two people, one male and the other female. The boy ate sandwiches from his plate in a constant chain, speaking to the girl with a full mouth. Hunter indicated for Lexi to take a seat and the pair stopped talking immediately.

            “This is Lexi,” Hunter introduced as he sat beside her on the bench. “She will be joining us for the next four weeks and longer if she proves herself in the trial. Lexi, this is Seth and Ebony.”

            Seth placed his sandwich back down on the plate and sanded his hands together before saluting formerly. Ebony rolled her eyes at him and smiled politely at Lexi. Lexi nodded in reply and tried a small smile. Seth grinned in reply and returned to his sandwich. His face was young, appearing more innocent than many of the fledglings of the Academy. He gazed at Lexi through deep brown eyes, like those of a young pup, peering out from underneath his mop of hazel-coloured hair that fell over his eyes, neither fair nor brown, but struck a balance right in the middle.

            The dark-haired girl said, “Welcome to the Academy, Lexi.” Her black hair was tied back and fell down the back of her neck in loose spirals. Her cheekbones were high and her pale skin accented the pale blue of her kind eyes.

            “Thank you,” Lexi replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

            “Seth, did you leave any food for anybody else?” Hunter asked, eyeing the four large plates on the table, covered in different variations of sandwiches, meats, salads, and slices of bread.

            Seth shrugged. “There was plenty.”

            Hunter picked up the plate holding all the different meats and handed it to him. “Put it back.”

            Seth scowled, but stood and took the plate from Hunter’s hands. Lexi watched him make his way through the tables towards a long platform laden with many plates of food, some hot and others cold. Seth was an unusually lanky boy, standing at least half a foot above Hunter, but he was a great deal skinnier. His tunic, the colour of oak leaves in the summer, hung loosely from his shoulders, accenting his lack of muscle.

            “He is still young,” Hunter murmured, picking at a leaf of lettuce.

            “He matches you with a sword, Hunter,” Ebony replied coolly.

            “I am an archer, not a swordsman,” he said indignantly.

            Ebony shrugged as if that was no excuse and turned her friendly eyes on Lexi. “Do you have any questions you would like answering?”

            Lexi had many questions, so much so that she was not sure which to voice first. She glanced round at the many shape shifters sat in the hall, talking and laughing between themselves and leaning back to talk with shifters of another pack. Seth had discarded the plate and stopped at a table of three to talk with a lean, brown-haired boy that appeared only a little older than Seth and wore a tunic of the same colour.

            “Do the tunics signify anything?” she asked.

            “The tunics themselves are a sign of a shifter,” Hunter told her. “The colours represent our class; our purpose, if you will.” 

            “Archers wear grey, like Hunter,” Ebony continued. “Astrologers wear off-white, like me, and huntsmen, like Seth, wear green. The swordsmen wear black, the horsemen wear charcoal, and the scouts wear blue. In battles our colours help to identify each other easily, therefore the Alpha proposed we wear them all the time.”

            “Grey, archers…white, astrologers…” Lexi murmured under her breath, gazing round at the hall at large and pinpointing each of the colours Ebony had listed. “Blue…scouts…” In the entire hall, she could only see one person dressed in blue; an older girl with a slim physique and rich brown hair.

            “There are only four scouts, currently,” Hunter told her, noticing her gaze.

            “Why?” she asked.

            He shrugged and Ebony replied, “The Alpha chooses our class once we pass the trial. Seeing as we don’t have to fight many battles, I believe that he does not see a need for many scouts. Swordsmen, horsemen and archers are the most valuable to the Academy.”

            “So why is there a large amount of astrologers and huntsmen?” Hunter pointed out, taking a bite out of a piece of bread.

            “Astrologers can use the stars to predict a battle before it commences, therefore useful. And huntsmen supply the kitchen with the vast amounts of meat, which saves money. Hence, the Alpha considers them valuable,” Ebony told him simply.

            Hunter shrugged again and Seth dropped back into his seat opposite Lexi. “Have these two explained the trial yet, Lexi?” he asked, picking up his half-eaten sandwich.

            “She has only just arrived, Seth,” Hunter admonished.

            “And she has just four weeks to train,” Seth reminded him.

            Lexi’s stomach churned and she put down her sandwich. Four weeks was barely any time at all, and she had to hone her skill to the standard of those surrounding her in little over a month. Suddenly, she did not feel quite so hungry.

            “Don’t worry, Lexi,” Hunter said with a small smirk, nudging her shoulder with his reassuringly. “We will have you trained in that time.”

            Ebony raised one brow at Hunter before speaking. “There are four of you currently in training,” she explained. “Which means two of you will pass, and two of you will not. Those that do not will have their shape-shifting ability removed and sent back to their parents. I assume the Alpha has told you this much already?”

            Lexi nodded.

“The first task is an endurance test, a race across a variety of obstacles that has been set up in the basement. Ledges, ditches, and pits you have to find a way to cross, vines to climb and webs to slip through. Nought but the fastest of shifters can cross the obstacles efficiently, but the wisest find the most effective paths. The shifter having shown the greatest of abilities will receive four points, the second being given three, the third two and the shifter with the least impressive performance is given one.

            “The second task is a rivalry between the shifter in trial and one chosen from the Academy. This is used to show one’s worth of having a place here, and most can pass this with ease, for archers do not practise with swords, and horsemen rarely practise with a bow, to name a few examples. Four points are given to those who can defeat their opponent, and none to those who fail.

            “The final task is unknown to all but the Alpha, who devises it several weeks in advance. Because of this, there is no way to train you specifically for it and therefore we have to train you in any way we can that could possibly help you. In this way we can teach you many things.”

            Lexi nodded slowly, trying to memorise everything Ebony was saying. She was aware of Hunter’s eyes watching her closely, and opposite her Seth chomped happily on his food, unaware of her tension.

            “Are you not hungry?” Hunter asked.

            Lexi shook her head. Ebony stood and said, “I will help you unpack, if you like.” She smiled kindly and Lexi got to her feet.

            “Are you sure? You can’t have eaten much all day.”

            “I’m fine.” She tried a small, reassuring smile up at Hunter and followed Ebony back through the hall to the doors. The eyes of the young shape shifters followed her as she passed. She was used to stares; the people of Hargate often openly displayed their scorn, but the eyes that followed her here portrayed something different, like interest and puzzlement.

            Ebony held one of the doors open for Lexi to pass through and the noise ceased as it swung shut behind them. The dark-haired girl stood several inches shy of Lexi’s height, but although her eyes were kind, they were also sharp and seemed to pierce her mask in the same way as Cedonia’s.

            “Is there anything else you would like to ask?” she asked as they made their way back across the courtyard to the opposite side of the Academy.

            “Will you tell me about the different classes?” Lexi asked, intrigued.

            “Of course.” Ebony smiled warmly. “The archers, swordsmen and horsemen are simple enough; warriors, the main men of battle, so to speak. They are considered the most valuable additions to the Academy, and to any shape shifter pack. Fighting is what we are born to do, and so and shape shifter that cannot wield a sword, shoot an arrow or throw a spear would be isolated without a second thought. The astrologers, like me, spend their time looking to the sky. Sometimes the stars can predict a battle before it begins, therefore having many pairs of eyes on the sky is important. Huntsmen, such as Seth, are important in battle as well, for they often wield a good hand with a bow or spear, but their main purpose is to catch game to eat.”

            She paused upon reaching the staircase and greeted a pair of females in the same coloured tunics as she with a slight nod. They smiled in return and eyed Lexi curiously as she and Ebony took to the steps.

            “Scouts are a little different, in the sense that they have many purposes. They can be messengers, they can ride ahead of battle to check the grounds, or sometimes they just aid others in the fight. They are sometimes commissioned as assassins.”

            “Why is everyone staring at me?” Lexi asked lowly as another, older woman swept past, her gaze lingering on them.

            “You are new blood, Lexi,” Ebony said breezily. “Time moves slowly here. Every six months or so the trial is held and three or four new shape shifters arrive at the Academy; at least two leave afterwards, never to be heard of again, and the lucky ones that stay merge right into life and the cycle begins again.”

            “So the staring is normal?”

            “I will admit, you are earning yourself more stares than usual, but I expect that will be due to your complexion and hair colour. Excuse me if this is rude, but am I right in assuming you aren’t from Igrendem?”

            “I was raised in Findasia, but my bloodline comes from Enderwice,” Lexi replied briefly. She had no desire to go into the details of her past just yet, and Ebony pushed no further.

            The common room was darker now, but everything was as it had been earlier. Ebony led Lexi to the two doors at the end of the room, holding open the one on the right for Lexi to enter. This room was darker still, and it was not until Ebony struck a match and lit the candles on either side of the door that Lexi realised it was a dormitory with two beds, both with identical red sheets. They held feather pillows and soft mattresses made from a material Lexi had never seen before, much softer than the straw she was used to. At the end of the dormitory nearest the window, there appeared to be room for two more beds, however the space was currently taken up by a telescope and several outspread charts of the skies. 

            “This will be your bed,” Ebony said, indicating to the one on the right, her packs perching neatly side-by-side.

            While Ebony transferred Lexi’s clothes into the chest at the foot of the bed, Lexi decorated the overhead shelf with the four books she owned and a selection of rocks and crystals.

When finished, Ebony stood and wiped the dust from her knees. “The boys will be back soon.”

Lexi’s eyes were drawn to the window, revealing the darkened entranceway and the depths of the dense forest beyond. Above, the night was clear and a waning moon shone over the trees, casting the almost bare canopies in silver light.

She turned to Ebony. “If you wouldn’t mind, I would like a little time alone.”

Ebony nodded kindly in understanding and turned, leaving Lexi alone in the spacious room.

In the silence, Lexi sat cross-legged on her bed and thought of home.

No, she thought. This is home now.

Author's Note

I'm open to criticism.