Reborn

Muskog

Sophie still couldn't believe she had to be seen in a blue pleated skirt with black leggings and a shirt-vest-cape combo. The outfit was just as horrible as she remembered it.

When the chimes rang and Dex was standing in the doorway in his complimenting uniform, Sophie couldn't help but laugh.

"This is still better than human clothes." Dex insisted.

"I highly HIGHLY doubt that." She added emphasis on the second highly.

"Hey, you're wearing the Ruewen crest," Dex said, pointing to the triangle patch sewn where her cape hung over her heart: a scarlet eagle soaring with a white rose in its talons. His patch was square and looked like a bunch of chemistry equipment twisted into a tree. "We wear our family's crest on our uniform. If Grady and Edaline are letting you wear theirs, they must be serious. Are they adopting you?"

"As of this moment, I have no idea, but I hope so." She ran her hand over the patch.

"Hey, they will, okay?" Dex tried to assure her. He pointed to hundreds of crystals hanging in a round chandelier. "The Leapmaster 500. You're lucky. My parents aren't nobility, so they're only authorized to have the 250—it's missing tons of cool places. Foxfire!" he shouted.

The crystals rotated until one lowered, casting a beam of light toward the ground.

"You ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Sophie relaxed as the warm feathers pulled her away to her first day at Foxfire.

———

Thousands of bells chimed in an intricate pattern, and everyone faced the far wall, which now showed a close-up of Dame Alina, a stunning beauty with porcelain skin and fragile features. Sophie felt her entire body tense just at the sight of her.

She smoothed her caramel-colored hair and pursed her lips. "Good morning, prodigies. First and foremost, whoever put reekrod in my desk over the weekend will— It's not funny!" she snapped as everyone cracked up. Her eyes narrowed. "Mark my words—whoever it was will be punished to the fullest extent of my abilities."

She let the threat dangle before she continued. "Last week we had fourteen prodigies detect special abilities—a new record." She clapped and everyone joined her.

"Dex, I have to leave now."

"What do you-"

Sophie leaped out of her seat and made her way to the exit, but not before a spotlight hit her in the face.

"And—last but not least—where is she.. . Ah, there!"

Sophie held her breath waiting for Alina to introduce her, but the spotlight moved on, searching the crowd.

"Well, I'm sure she's here somewhere." Dame Alina continued once Sophie could not be found. "Everyone, please welcome Sophie Foster—a Level Two prodigy, starting her first day at Foxfire."

By then Sophie had made it out of the exit. She could hear Alina scold everyone for whispering about her and clapping soon followed suite.

Dex burst through the exit she escaped through. "How did you know she was going to do that?"

"I didn't." Sophie lied, walking down the hall while Dex scrambled to catch up.

"You had to have known, why else would you have left?"

"I didn't feel good. First day nerves."

Dex seemed satisfied with that answer. He led her into the main building, which was divided into six different wings by the towers, one wing for each lower grade level. The walls of the Level Two wing were the same blue as her uniform, and the banners bore a halcyon in midflight.