FF Chapter 14

Alex gets kicked out of class, and makes a new friend because of it.

Chapter 14

      Ms. Gale pleasant a nice woman. There was no better word to describe the contentment that seemed to exude from the gardener. She was a large woman with strong arms, honed from pulling out many stubborn weeds. Her hair was tied into a neat bun and she had a golden lizard pin on her light pink blouse.

      She began by introducing a few different plants, since the islands’ soil could sustain any and all types; desert cacti grew alongside tropical fruit inside the greenhouse.

      The first time Gale asked if there were any questions, one boy, a rather blunt type from the far northern mountains, raised his hand and said. “Yeah, I have a question; why should we care about this? We’re here to become wardens, fighters, not gardeners!”

      Gale sighed; she’d gotten this question far too many times to count. “You should care, young man, because the warden exam will also test your survivability. Can you identify what plants are safe to eat, what’s poisonous, and what can be used as emergency ointments? For example-” she held up a plant with five leaves and a long stalk. “Can any of you identify this?”

      Alex looked around, and so was everyone else. After a moment, he raised his hand. “I-I can. It’s called ‘crows caw’.”

      Gale was impressed. “Yes, it is. Do you know what it does?”

      “If you eat it is shuts your throat, so all you can do is caw like a crow.” Alex made a strangling sound to drive home the point.

      Gale tested him a few more times, and he got a perfect score.

      Gale smiled “Do you take an interest in botany young man?”

      Alex shrugged. “My Uncle Bor can grow anything, so I’ve learned a lot.”

      “Well your uncle seems very smart.”

      Alex smiled. “Oh, he is; they all are. Whenever I had a question about a book in the non-fiction section they would answer it…except for a few books in the ‘health’ section, they always got really fidgety when I brought those up; even my Uncle Winchester, and he loves over explaining everything.”

      Gale hastily switched subjects “Well you couldn’t have learned it all just from books. You could distinguish between two almost identical plants just from their smell!”

      Alex shrugged “I used to go camping with my dad back home in the south. He was a warden, so he taught me to live off the land.”

      Gale, and most of the class, was stunned. “Your father is a warden? Where is he stationed? I know all the outposts.” She boasted, but she was right. In her many years teaching, most of the wardens knew her, and her ‘all natural healing concoctions’, by name. “The south you said…is he in Outsmouth? Moumou? Campinon?”

      Alex shook his head. “He’s in Brig.”

      “BRIG!” She cried. “That’s the most prestigious of all the warden outposts. No one gets assigned there; they get requested. They’re the best, every man an army.” In her sudden movement, the golden pin on her shirt almost fell off, but she caught it. “Oh, sorry about that Spike.” She cooed, before lifting it up and placing it on her shoulder. To the kids’ surprise, the lizard pin moved, crawling back into place. It wasn’t a pin!

      “Wow!” A few of the boys exclaimed, pushing each other to get a closer look.

      “This is Spike, a golden pinecone lizard.” She introduced her little pet.

      “Why’s he called a ‘pinecone lizard’?” One girl asked.

      Gale smiled. “I’ll show you.” She tapped his head and all the scales opened up into spikes. “It may look cute, but if pressured it will fight back, hard. Those who try to eat a pinecone lizard will get a nasty surprise, as they can use paralyzing poison on their predators.” She suddenly straightened up as if she came to an important realization. She cleared her throat, clapped her hands together, and announced “Alright, that’s quite enough class. Let’s get back to our studies. Take your seats.”

      The rest of the class was pretty uneventful, except for one kid who lost his voice eating poison berries, but it returned by the end of class. Alex helped Eira and Frey, while also playing with Spike. The two got along very well, and the lizard even allowed Alex to pet him without fighting back.

 

      After botany class, Alex wandered around the schoolyard alone while Eira and Frey attended history class. It wasn’t really by choice though. He’d gotten kicked out for correcting the teacher too many times. Apparently calling the founder of Yanus Academy a ‘scatter-brained but well-meaning fool’ was too much, so now he was taking a nice walk.

      He was passing by some huge trees, wondering if anyone would mind if he had himself a quick climb, when he noticed someone. A girl was staring up at a tree, looking for something. As he got closer, he could tell the girl was troubled. A teacher was with her. Not just any teacher, Alex realised as he got closer, but the headmistress, Ms. Jensing!

      Alex walked over. “Hi.” He waved.

      “Oh, um…hi.” The girl nervously replied.

      Alex was about to ask what was wrong when he noticed something on her head; ears. Not human ears, cat ears. He then realized she was a ‘Caniko’; a species of the southern islands with cat-like ears and retractable claws. The back of her hands had black fur with splotches of grey that extended to her wrists, while the hair on her head was black and straight.

      “What happened?” he asked.

      Ms. Jensing answered. “Some bullies threw her hat way up in that tree. We can’t seem to get it down. We’re waiting for a ladder-” Before she could finish, Alex shimmied up the tree, grabbed the large-brimmed sun hat, and jumped down.

      “Here you go.” He smiled and handed the hat to the stunned pair.

      The girl blushed. “Th-thank you.”

       “I’m Alex by the way.”

      “A-Anastazia.” she mumbled shyly, before her eyes lit up. “Wait, are you the Alexander? The first year with a beast mark?” She looked over at Ms. Jensing, who silently watched the two kids talk.

      Alex rubbed his head. “I am, but please, call me ‘Alex’.”

      “Can-can I see it?” She quietly asked.

      Alex nervously rolled up his sleeve. After four years of trying to keep it hidden, having people ask to see his mark still felt weird. She bent down to examine his arms, giving Alex a good look at her ears.

      She placed a hand on the red lines that covered Alex’s arm. “It’s warm, almost pulsing; like a heartbeat.”

      Alex fidgeted. “Getting a mark stings at first, but you get used to it.” Alex stared at her ears. “They’re just like wolf ears!” he smiled.

      “Wha-what?” She cried, slapping her hat over her head.

      “Sorry, it’s just that I grew up in the south. I had a wolf skin hat with ears. My mom made it for me after she killed a pack of wolves that were hunting me; she made their pelts into a coat and hat.” He frowned “I grew out of them though.”

      “Wow.” She awed. “I grew up in the south too; on Kevetch.”

      “I know that island. It’s not far from where I grew up.” Alex laughed. “Are the winters on Kevetch, as bad as they say?”

      “Sometimes, but compared to what they get here it was a nightmare.”

      “I know! The winters here are nothing! Some people complain over some snow on the ground, when I grew up with snow to my knees!” They shared a small laugh before Ms. Jensing interrupted them with a subtle cough.

      “I hate to interrupt.” She smiled warmly. “But Ana, don’t you have an appointment with Gale? Something about ‘extra credit’?”

      “Oh, yes!” Anastazia quickly fixed her hat and left.

      Alex waved after her, before noticing something. He asked Ms. Jensing “I though Caniko’s had tails.”

      The headmistress turned to him and solemnly explained. “Ana is only half-Caniko. Her noble father married a human woman, and many scorn him for it. Even his own family ostracized him. His little girl took it upon herself to get a beast mark, so her family can reclaim their place.”

      Alex smiled sadly. He’d learned to go along with and accept whatever ‘big thing’ Fate had planned for him, but Anastazia had gone and chosen a hard path. He laughed quietly “She sounds like Eira; trying to get a beast mark to help her family and all.”

      Ms. Jensing got quiet and very serious. “Yes…she does.” She mumbled, before switching the subject. “I believe class is about to end, Alexander, and while I believe you have next period free, I think it best you rejoin your group.” Alex agreed, and rushed off.