Amber's POV

I had nearly succeeded in forgetting what I had seen that day. When I tried not thinking about it, it took over my life, and it was all I could think of. But the more I actually tried to think about it, the more I realized it was probably just a really realistic nightmare or something that my brain had twisted around and turned into an actual 'event'. It was still hard to totally shake off that oppressive dread, but it was getting much better. I did feel bad for ignoring Caleb, but he was starting to strike me as the kind of person to take relationships really seriously. I was going to have to break up with him sooner than later, but I was definitely not looking forward to that. To take my mind off of everything, after Combat class I decided to go through a few of the more difficult katas. It was a sunny day, which was rare in these annoyingly foggy mountains, so I headed outdoors. On my way out, I passed Set and Zenery, who were wrapped up in their own little world. It was cute the way Set was set so off balance by Zenery. 

The weather was indeed amazing, and I was definitely refreshed after doing both Goju Shiho-Sho and Kanku-Sho. Just as I had poured half the contents of my water bottle over my head and toweled off my face, I heard a familiar 'pop'. Somewhat dreading what I would find, I turned around. 

"Up here~" I slowly looked up into the branches of a big pine. Milaek was curled up in the tree, smiling. By this point, I was highly suspicious of any show of friendliness from either her or Azami.

"Would you like to get stronger?" she asked, examining her nails..

"W-what?"

"Nyaa~ You're not supposed to know yet, but something big will happen soon. It's better if you're stronger before then~"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Azami sent me because I was bored and had nothing else to do~" 

"Fibber."

She looked startled when Azami herself appeared at the base of the tree and tilted her head upwards, looking daggers at Milaek.

"I know you disapprove, but we weren't going to interfere with this side of things, right?" 

Milaek stretched, catlike. "It's more fun this way~"

"Must we?" 

Milaek smirked at her silently, sharpening her nails on the tree. 

"Fine," Azami rolled her eyes and flicked a golden charm at me. "Experiment with that." She disappeared in what might, in a lesser being, have been considered a huff. Milaek remained, her lips still curled in that enigmatic smile.

"This is just for you and Larimar, by the way~ So I wouldn't talk too much about this to the rest." She grinned, revealing her razor sharp canines, before she too vanished. Shaken, I stared at the spot where she had been a moment earlier before slowly picking up the little gold charm. On close examination, It was a flat, almost paper-thin image of a clock with no hands, a rearing lion stamped in the center and weird symbols circling the outer edge. It was, surprisingly, impossible to bend. Azami said to experiment with it… did that mean using my powers? I had to try something… but what? What in the world was this thing for?

Xerin's POV

I was secretly glad that the Caleb/Amber/Larimar drama had happened. Not because of the drama itself, of course, but because it took my mind off of a certain redheaded moron, a reprieve I definitely needed. I pitied Caleb, mostly, because he was the only one who hadn't realized that Amber wasn't exactly serious (well, in general, but also about their relationship). I was happy for Larimar, however, since it had been clear for some time that she had a crush on Caleb. She would have a chance now, of course, as she was quite obviously much better suited to Caleb than Amber was. Even Caleb had to realize that. Amber, though… I frowned. She had been behaving quite strangely for the past couple of weeks, and it had been quite alarming. Within the past few days, however, she had returned, more or less, to normal, though she was still a bit twitchy. Thinking about it, I considered it likely that there had not been a repeat of whatever had triggered her strange behavior, so she was trying to forget about it. Realizing that I was still standing in the middle of the hallway, I shook off my speculations firmly and went off in search of the botanical garden, as I really wanted some lemon verbena for tea. However, the Academy proved as maze-like as ever. I had even heard rumors that fourth-years occasionally got lost, simply because the Academy was so monstrously huge and none of the locations of anything made any sense (there was a rumor that the hallways arbitrarily changed locations, but that was of questionable veracity). Some corners were definitely darker and spookier than others, and there were some sections of the school that were to be avoided at all costs. Thus, the route I took to the botanical garden was convoluted and, naturally, missed the garden completely, leaving me somewhat lost. Okay, so I was completely lost. Despite myself, I recalled a story Nico had told about a student who had gotten lost and wasn't seen again until forty years later, when a pair of adventurous first-years discovered nothing more than a pile of bones. At the time, the tale had seemed deliciously spooky. It certainly wasn't any longer- more like completely terrifying. Fighting the unseemly urge to cry, I picked a random direction to walk in, figuring that I couldn't get any more lost than I already was. The corridors were shadowy and dimly lit, without a window in sight, and my steps echoed loudly. I cringed at the noise, jarring in the silent halls, and slowed my pace, walking as softly as possible. The corridors were long and empty of anything but flickering torchlight and the occasional grimy, ancient iron door, and the farther I walked, the thicker the layer of dust on the floor became. By the time the dust had reached nearly an inch thick, I was about to turn around and retrace my steps, when I heard the sound of muffled voices. Really, I should have left then and there, but I wanted to know exactly how to return to the main area, and I wondered if the speakers were familiar with the school.
They were.
In fact, there was no one more familiar with the school.
For the speakers were indeed Milaek and Azami, who had built the school three centuries ago (reportedly with the assistance of giants). Though I didn't quite understand their discussion, the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise.
"We should get rid of him! That stuff is dangerous." The mellifluous voice was Milaek's.
"He is an experiment, after all, so it's only natural. And we pledged our cooperation."
"… Really."
"Well, technically, I suppose. It isn't like they can enforce anything."
"Obviously. Anyways, we have to do something about him."
"I vote we wait a bit longer. It is, after all, immensely entertaining. You know we haven't enjoyed ourselves like this since that time."
"Ugh. I still can't stand the kid, but I suppose."
"You are right, though, that is one dangerous item. Its capabilities are simply breathtaking, but the cost is too high."
"We'll do something."
With a tiny pop, I heard them dematerialize. With wide eyes, I slid down the wall, hardly daring to breathe. At that point, it didn't even occur to me to be shocked at having escaped notice. I was occupied with mentally cataloguing every male student I knew, wondering which of them had been the subject of that conversation.
And wondering which student could be hiding a secret like that, and who could possibly be backing them.