It was strange really, Dawn could’ve sworn she saw Amber as a blazing phoenix, dazzlingly bright for a second, she shook her head, attempting to shake off her suspicions. But it was so obvious… Amber was a fireos! 

Today was Amber’s first official day, her first day where she actually had lessons. Luckily, Amber was studying Marine Biology, which meant that they only had one different class. Amber would be asked to go look at the animals in The Animal Hospital, but would never do the healing, unlike Dawn. 

She rolled over on her bed and opened up her Moon-projector, and opened her Moon-phone, and called the pack.

“Hey!” Lily answered the call, “You’re late for the patrols, everyone’s waiting!” She showed her the whole pack. 

“Ok,” Dawn said, looking fondly into the eyes of her pack-mates. And her crush. She blushed a bit when she saw him, though he probably didn’t feel the same way… She shook herself, reprimanding herself for getting off task.

“Right…” She murmured, and then again louder, “Right, Merlina will assist the Sigma in training the Psis, and the hunters will go out on a trip. Oh! Also, please have the Nus and Xis do a weekly round up today! Bye everybody!” 

She was about to blow them a kiss when she heard a clattering of footsteps behind her. She snorted, someone was trying to be stealthy. Then her face turned pale. Amber had been watching her, for a while it seemed, and she had an unreadable expression on her face. Dawn’s face flushed bright red. “What do you think you’re doing!” She exclaimed angrily as she tried to hide the hologram.

“Nothin’” Amber replied, looking distant and thoughtful. Hopefully she hadn’t realised Dawn was a spirit. Hopefully.

It was time for the test. The test was an important ritual for all orientation students and their guides to ensure only the top tier students got into, and stayed in Woodland University.

Dawn felt a surge of fear for Amber flood over her. She knew she would pass the test, but Amber might not. She had been observing Amber all day, and every aspect of her fell just above the lowest bar. From her personality, to her lifestyle, to how smart she was, and how old she was, it all fell just above the lowest bar. It surprised her how her affection for Amber had grown, even though they had some rough patches.

The teachers handed out the test papers, to everyone  but Dawn. Dawn normally blazed through the test in one minute, so the teachers forced her to wait two minutes so. It wouldn’t be too unfair.

Amber looked at her, confusion spreading across her face. Dawn understood immediately what Amber meant, and sighed as she said, “Yes, yes. It only takes me one minute to complete the test, without studying. So the teachers mad me wait two minutes so it’s ‘fair’.” 

Amber nodded understandingly. Three minutes later, Dawn had just finished the exam. As she was handing the paper in, she saw Amber’s eyes widen with surprise as she realised Dawn was serious about only taking one minute to complete the test. Dawn waved to her, and mouthed, “Meet me after the test!”

Dawn was simply sitting in the dorm, reading a book when Amber found her. Amber crossed her arms and queried, “So, what did you want to show me?”

Dawn chuckled a bit at this, surprised by how fierce Amber was at that point. She said, “Well, if you are going to join this school, you’d probably bring your pet right? Well we’ve got you covered. I want to take you to the pet boarding house, where, as we are in the middle of a remote village and forest, we have tons of space!”

They walked down the hall as Amber asked Dawn questions about the place. When they finally reached there, Dawn threw open the doors and said, “Tada!” There were bright, clean cages lining the walls and a creature in each. Dawn walked over to the end of the hall and gestured to a wolf in a cage. 

“This is Luna!” Dawn told her. “She is my pet wolf. I found her in the forest one day and we have been almost inseparable since!”

Dawn looked at Amber’s face, sinking in all the details. When Amber finally took a look at Luna, her face turned as white as stark. “Is something wrong?” Dawn asked her.

“No… Nothing,” Amber said, trying to compose herself. “It’s just… I swear I saw her last night with another wolf.”

This time it was Dawn who turned pale white, but she quickly hid it, and replied, “Really? I will check the locks tonight when I go check up on her.” But she knew she hadn’t really convinced Amber. She sighed inwardly. She would try to make it out tonight, though it would be nearly impossible.