Cole knew that his turn to go on the Haven's scheduled adventure camps would come eventually, he just did not expect it to come so soon. He had only been at the Haven for a term, being sent there shortly after he discovered his ability to shift into some terrifying form, and to pick up say, someone letting one rip at the other end of this vehicle he was on. Thankfully, the bus was not enclosed, and was not trapping any stale scents he would have had to put up with if it had been covered. With all those power training sessions he gone through at the outskirts of the forest, he had grown relatively used to the sounds and smells associated with the environment that currently surrounded the group.

However, that hardly meant that he welcomed them. He had never been this deep into the forest before, and having had a rather short time to adjust to his heightened senses, needing to endure being in an unfamiliar environment still tired him out. He felt a little overwhelmed even now, as he sat in silence staring out into the trees they were speeding past. A black and white cat had hopped onto the seat next to him at some point while the students were embarking, and seeing how no comment had been made about it by Dr. Sullivan, he had assumed that the cat was another shifter and did not pay much attention to it either.

He recognized a few students on the bus, mainly those who were grouped with him for the Arena combat session at the beginning of the term. He saw the large dragon-hybrid regularly at their training sessions, and he could not forget the girl who had been his opponent, or the one who had abruptly ended a conversation with him after touching his hand. He still had not figured that one out, but hoped that things were not going to be awkward between them if and when they had to communicate at some time during the camp. The rest seemed new, or could be older students he simply had not met yet. It mattered not anyway, did it? He just wanted to get through this before the real vacation started.

Sarah was super excited about this camp trip. She absolutely loved being outdoors, and though she would have infinitely preferred a trip to a coastal area Oh how I miss the sea. The wind, the birds, the crashing of the waves, the smell of salt in the air For the umpteenth time that morning, Sarah closed here eyes and took a few deep breaths. Her joy of going out and roughing it for a while was enough to tip her over the edge, and the memories of the sea and the water weren't helping her control herself. Breathe! Sarah reminded herself. Why oh why had they planned this camping experience so close to the holidays? She was already excited about going home and seeing the sea and her silly old lighthouse and her parents again.

Sarah sighed and looked around the bus, hoping this would distract her from her thoughts. No point in going over the edge or getting homesick now. She'd been doing great so far, loads better than she'd hoped. Living on the little lighthouse island had made her little family unusually close. Being her parents' only child had added to this bond of course, and Sarah had dreaded coming to school as much as she'd been excited about it. She'd definitely enjoyed her first term at Haven. It was great being around like-minded people, not having to hide your weirdness and learning how to control that which made her so different from others.
It had taken more time to get used to the relative silence of the forest, honestly. She'd had trouble sleeping for weeks because she found it difficult to nod off without the constant rushing of the waves all around her. It had taken time, but by now Sarah was almost as fond of the forest as she was of the sea. If she couldn't live near the coast, the forest was preferable to a big city or a desert scene. Way to distract yourself, Sarah! She rolled her eyes at herself and smiled.

Looking around the bus again, she recognized a few faces. Some of these students she had met before and had worked with in their various classes. She saw a couple of new faces as well and looked forward to the chance of making new friends. Her eyes rested for a moment on the black and white cat sitting in one of the seats. Was this a student? Or had someone brought a pet? She smiled to herself and let the bus carry her to her destination.

Claude sat in a back row seat, feeling the wind whip through her hair and scratching at her ankle with her other foot. Her feet hurt. It probably had something to do with the big, clompy boots Mr. Colles had insisted she out on for the trip. They would be hiking, after all. Roughing it. Couldn't rough it in flip flops, they were antithetical to the whole concept. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn proper shoes, and had been about to explain that here soles were basically nothing but callous at this point when the sun had caught him just right to highlight those rugged good looks and her argument had dribbled out of her mouth along with the drool.

Oh well, It was the only complaint she had about the situation. She hadn't been out in the woods like this since the big Rumble in the Pines and was fully prepared to make the most of it. Sleeping outside, heating on a roaring fire, be serenaded to sleep at night by crickets, it'd be just like when her and mama were on the road and didn't have the money for a good hotel. She hadn't been allowed to attend this retreat before, same as how she hadn't been allowed to fight, until she was at at least a high school reading level and the contrast between the free, open air and those boring classrooms invigorated here like nothing else. Not to mention...

She glanced down at the special bag she'd set beside her, filled with containers of peanut butter she'd been saving since she hear she was going on this trip. Nestled amount them was a video camera and some plaster of paris she'd pilfered from the art class. There was no better time and no better place to hunt her down some squatch.

Serenity had not been looking forward to this trip, she wasn’t a huge fan of nature, though she was a huge fan of Mr. Colles. She had glanced around the bus after she had climbed on and noted the faces she recognized, especially Cole, The boy she had sat and talked with during the fighting in the Arena. She felt silly being so thrown by him, but that brief touch during the Arena had sent a shockwave through her, it hadn’t been a long enough touch to learn anything but it still had sent a tremor through her. She had been reluctant to go into the woods with the other students but she knew she had too, it was this or being stuck on campus for the rest of the summer since her parents did not want her to come home.

She hadn’t made any friends yet, but then she had only been at the school for one term and was leaps and bounds ahead of many of the students thanks to her abilities. She enjoyed learning, and the fact that she could easily pick up new subjects made her life easier, but the only place she hadn’t been where she felt she would do the most good had been the infirmary. Shaking her head a bit she turned glancing around the bus she smiled a bit at Cole hoping that she could ease any awkwardness between them while they were all out in the woods.

She didn’t smile at anyone else though, taking stock of the new students and one slightly shocking cat who was sitting next to Cole, but she just shrugged a bit and relaxed against the seat watching out the window as the trees went by.

Trips were fun to Sophie Hillcourt - despite her timid nature, she couldn't not get excited to spend some days out and exploring. Despite the excitement and want to look around, Sophie remained in her cat form, which she was comfortable in. Perhaps if she was going with a smallish group of students that she knew she would go in her normal form, but who she was with was the opposite - a group of students that she did not know.

It spooked Sophie a little, but she knew that she had to bear with it, or she would be going nowhere. So, she sucked it up and sat down beside a student that she didn't know and was a little too nervous to talk to, taking just as nervous glances at everyone else as they rode along. On occasion, she would look up and around the bus, taking in the area around them. She took a nervous little glance up at the student sitting next to her, before looking away and instead just waiting quietly.

"Tk tk tk tk." Came a sound from the back of the bus. Claude was leaned forward in her seat, a hand extended toward the cat she'd spotted on the seat in front of and across from her. Her fingers wiggled beckoningly, promising scratches, pats, and (if it was lucky) a belly rub. "Puss puss, tktktk. Here kitty."

She'd never had a cat, or any pet. Pets needed stability, which is something they hadn't been able to provide. So if there was an opportunity to make friends with a cat or an old dog along the way you can bet Claude took it. Lucky for her you couldn't keep strays out of anywhere, as was demonstrated by this poor puss that had bummed a ride from them. Cats showed up wherever theatre was food to be had.

Seeing she wasn't getting much of a reaction Claude decided on a new strategy. She reached into her bag, cracked open one of the peanut butter tubs, and lightly dipped two fingers into it. Nodding, she extended her hand again. "Puss puss." She said. This worked with rats, raccoons, and the occasional adventurous possum. It would work for cats, right?

Sophie could not help but perk up at the sounds coming from the back of the bus. She moved herself to the edge of her seat, peeking around it to see who was making it. And it was obvious by "puss puss" that the sounds were directed toward her. In a more human form, she would have been able to avoid the sounds a lot easier, but in her cat form she was almost drawn toward the sounds. Some of her personality was still there, however, and she managed to stick to her seat.

That was, until the girl calling her dipped her fingers into something that Sophie could not see, and called out to her. That won her curiosity over - Sophie let herself drop down into the isle between the seats, walking up the bus slowly and cautiously until she reached the girl that had been calling to her. With a little hesitation, Sophie moved her face up to the fingers, examining what was on them and giving them a little sniff.

She recoiled, just a little, when she figured out it was peanut butter. In her normal form, Sophie would have been happy to eat peanut butter, but in her cat form peanut butter wasn't good for her. Last time she had managed to get some as a cat, she had ended up sickly, and figured out by looking it up later that cats really shouldn't be eating peanut butter. Sophie peered up nervously at the girl, sitting down on the floor.

Kaze was a very uncomfortable dragonoid right now. He was crammed into the far back of the hover bus on the uncomfortable floor. Whoever made the thing hadn't the material that could hold up over two thousand pounds in a seat form. There were familiar faces, and some unfamiliar. Eira had vanished ages ago after that kiss, and Claude was still alive thanks to the faculty of the school. He had warned her he was strong and she got to feel it first hand.

He watched the molten girl try to encourage a feline over. Said feline was one of the students, he could smell her human scent through the feline musk. "Check the ingredients of your peanut butter. Some brands hold things toxic to animals." He said to her. His voice still as weird as ever, as if three to four people were talking at once and each one had a voice deeper than the last. Looking up towards the front of the bus he fluttered his wings slightly.

"Are we getting close? This ride is not fun." He was clearly not comfortable on this metal futuristic rig.

As the Hoverbus moved along, Cole would occasionally take his gaze off of the trees outside and look around the vehicle. At one such time, he met the gaze of the cat on the seat beside him. He stared for a couple of seconds, wondering if there was something it wanted to say. Every mutation was different, so it was possible that some transformations allowed one to keep their ability to speak even though others did not. He raised an eyebrow when it simply looked away, but did not think much of it. As he proceeded to return to staring at the trees, his ears suddenly caught what sounded like the clicking of a tongue, and he glanced over to see a short-haired girl attempting to beckon the cat.

There was currently too much going on for him in terms of smell, he had to work on that, but even with such an issue, he was fairly certain that whatever was beside him wasn't a real cat. The girl then fumbled with something in her bag, and he barely had the time to wonder what she was up to before the scent of peanut butter filled his nostrils. Seeing as how she had not succeeded the first time, he decided to let her in on what he was thinking.

"Uh, Miss? I don't think that's actually an-" he then paused in slight surprise as the cat eventually got off the seat and made its way over. "...animal."

He looked on in amusement at the cat's reaction to the girl's spread-covered fingers. Convincing, but there was no way that was a real cat. Still, it did not make sense for a human to respond to being beckoned in such a way. Perhaps the takeover of animal instincts was an effect of this individual's transformation. Cole was all too familiar with such a phenomenon. Psychologically, his 'other side' was really strong, and needless to say, the instincts and capabilities of his beast were likely far more threatening than those of this... cat.

He glanced around the vehicle again, curious as to who else was seeing this. Someone had acknowledged him with a smile... Serenity, was it? He gave her a polite nod in return, convinced that she harbored no animosity towards him even after what had happened between them before. It was likely not something he had done, which was what he had been worried about before. She seemed to be by herself, and he would have invited her to sit with him, though, after what had taken place the last time, he figured that it was probably not a good idea. As for why, that was beyond him, and he was not going to ask if it was not brought up. It was not as if he was an open book himself.

---

At the distinctive voice of the dragon who was expressing his discomfort, Dr. Sullivan turned in the driver's seat, or what would have been the driver's seat if the vehicle was not controlled telepathically, and glanced towards the back.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, Kiddo," she responded, in a tone that implied that she was looking forward to the end of the ride herself.

@Gentlemanvaultboy @datadogie @JewelProphet30 @Dutchess Sarah @Kazemitsu

Vera wasn't big on the great outdoors. Much like her dad (the museum curator, not the archeologist), she was a creature of comfort, much preferring snuggling up next to the fireplace with a good book as opposed to roughing it in the woods and dealing with bugs and weather and all the fun stuff that came with the great outdoors, and the generally uncomfortable ride didn't help with that. Still, Vera was nothing if not adaptable in every sense of the word.

She had been keeping her head down mostly, getting bits and pieces of the goings on among the other students in the school, but this was more or less her first foray into a genuine social activity, if you didn't count getting hit on by that cute girl in the protective suit in Ancient History. To say she was a bundle of nerves would have been an understatement; on top of the difficulties that her new powers gave her when she developed, they also prompted a lot of people to poke and prod her to learn more about them, like how long they lasted or what would happen if she copied this power or that power. It made her feel like a piece of meat, when her powers were the only thing that anyone wanted to talk about. Hopefully the other students she was stuck with on this trip wouldn't fall into that same trap. The big dragon guy in particular seemed like he'd be sympathetic to someone whose powers were the only thing people cared about.

---

Levy poked his phone absentmindedly as the bus murmured along. Its engine made a soothing noise for him, and he was blessed with the ability to not care much about the outdoors one way or another, so he found himself nodding off as the trees and underbrush passed by. He should have felt fine by now, given the several months it had been since his family practically disowned him, but a part of him deliberately kept its distance from the emotions surrounding the rejection. It felt too uncomfortable to think about, so he pulled open another up-and-coming designer's catalog in a new tab and perused, the process of screenshotting favorite outfits automatic by now.

He almost missed the announcement of the ride's approaching end, looking up briefly before the phone consumed his attention again. 20% battery. People he had only encountered briefly around the school. A plethora of unusual powers. And an overwhelming sense of being lost.

He didn't know a thing outside the circle of his ex-friends and family, where vapid chatter about the latest TV show episodes and someone's new hair salon was the peak of excitement. Superficiality was enough for him--well, should have been. Cultivating a sense of belonging in an environment he had always considered as exotic as Antarctica was beyond him and his limited experiences. There was no information in his past to use, nothing to help him figure this out, and he hated--for a moment--that complacent Levy who never bothered learning anything.

"Have you seen the new Greta and Hanse line?" he texted, firing off the message to one of his old friends. But ever since they had heard of his effective exile from their society, no one had responded to anything he said.

"Whaaaaaat?" Clause said, standing slightly up and bending her head backwards love over the seat to stare at Kaze upside down, disbelief on her face. "Seriously? I ain't never heard of no peanut butter killing anything." She said, then though for a minute. "Sept if you're trapping with it...or allergic..."

She flipped her head back down to look at the cat, and extended her hand again. But the cat didn't seem at all interested. Maybe Kaze was onyo something there. Furrowing her brow she stuck the fingers into her mouth and sucked the peanut butter off with a pop. Then she rubbed her now clean fingers under the cats chin.

"See? She likes it." Claude said to the boy in front of her that had spoken up. "If I were really a human I'd of bit somebody talkin' to me like that."

Kaze watched Claude move about in her seat to eye him. "Certain brands of peanut butter add a chemical that isn't good for most animals. It's deadly to some and others it makes them sick." He clarified while the girl cleaned her fingers via mouth. "There's also the fact some animals, dogs and cats, that don't salivate as heavy as humans. So they'll literally choke to death on it if fed larger amounts." The draconic being continued on.

The Driver/Teacher at the front of the bus let him know they weren't far from camp now. Which was good, his ass was going numb on the steel floor of this damned contraption. He should have just gotten out and ran at the start instead of riding in it.

Serenity was beyond glad when their teacher said they weren't far from the campsite, at least that meant that they would be getting off the bus soon, but unfortunately meant that she was going to be stuck in nature for the foreseeable future. She smiled a little when Cole nodded to her and she settled back into the seat listening to the dragon boy rumbling from the back of the bus was sort of soothing but in truth she was nervous and since she only saw a couple of people she knew she felt out of place once again. She thought about joining Cole, wanting to explain some about what had happened before and let him know it wasn't his fault in the least and so she glanced around and stood turning to hurry back to the seat Cole was sitting in.

"Hi, Cole right?" She smiled again as she sat down once she saw the seat was empty and turned to face him carefully. "How have you been?

@Raptra

Andrew’s trip consisted of barely much but sitting still and twiddling his thumbs. He had been lucky to be able to grab a seat by the front where not much commotion (or in other words, the discomfort of socializing) tended to occur. The trip could be quite lengthy, but the open sceneries of the forest had made up for any of the existing boredom he felt. The sun was shining bright indeed, but the stinging heat felt different. With the balance of the cold air emitting from his face, (pretty much the only part of his body that isn’t wrapped in warm clothing) and the comforting warmth of the sun hitting his skin, it had such a humane touch to the feeling, he would rest his head back in such an angle that it would face the sun and take in the peaceful moments.

Just then out of the silence, voices started ringing at the back of the bus. Students had started to interact with one another as Andrew silently watched them, leaning far to his side and peering behind. “They must know each other already,” Thought Andrew to himself. It had only been his first couple of days after all. One could be seen playing, or rather trying to get the attention, of a little black cat, and meanwhile, a young lady with blonde hair with streaks of purple here and there stood from her seat, which was a bit closer to where Andrew sat, and hastily made her way towards the back where a hooded young boy, perhaps the same age as him, seated himself.

Along the line, Andrew could clearly hear the fumbling and uncomfortable grunts of a humanoid dragon who was crunched onto the floor at the far back of the vehicle. He had simply refused to hide his inner rage and eventually addressed that the trip hadn’t done the young fellow any justice and had even asked if they would be arriving soon.

Andrew let out a quiet chuckle at the scene. The humanoid dragon indeed looked quite funny, like a little kid who had been grounded from playing outside. But nevertheless, it was easy for Andrew to sympathize with the young man’s discomfort.
He had wished he could express, in any way, some gesture of reassurance. But the smile on Andrew’s face fell away the moment he realized that he doesn’t even know his name and that it was easy as 1,2,3 to make out what a dragon could be capable of for some of his ‘like’.

Andrew popped back onto his seat, eyes locked onto the front view of the bus. He could already tell that they were getting closer to their destination. And the more the bus moved, the more the unease that he could feel churning in his stomach grew. His head had become blank from all the heavy wondering. With an attempt to pull himself together, knowing that his timid trait would surely serve him little to no good, Andrew released a deep sigh from the bottom of his lungs to calm his ranging senses.

What he momentarily failed to take hold of was how the air he had breathed out came out to be a chilly fog of air that soon began to travel to the back of the bus the more the bus traveled forward, eventually disappearing as the warm rays of the sun continued to conquer.

Cole continued to watch as the cat seemed to be responding well to the girl who had called it over. He also noted her interaction with Kaze. She was a boisterous one, but friendly enough, and that was what mattered. He nodded with a light smile at her words, though, he was still convinced that the feline was a shifter of some sort. I guess that if you're going to stay in that form, you're just asking to be spoken to in such a manner. Regardless, whoever it was probably was not going to stay that way throughout the entire trip, and although he was interested to see the human behind the cat, he was in no hurry to do so.

He then flinched ever so slightly when Serenity suddenly took the seat that the cat had vacated, mainly because such an occurrence was unexpected, though, it might have had something to do with the last time they interacted. It was not that he minded her being next to him, and if she decided that it was alright, then he would trust that it was safe. It was highly likely that it had something to do with her abilities, whatever they were. He remembered that they had not gotten to that yet. He considered the possibility of her being some kind of empath who had seen him for who he truly was, but if that were the case, she would not be approaching him again like she currently was, would she?

"I- uh, yes... that's right. I remember you as well," he stuttered a little at the beginning, being caught off guard. "Well, this last term has been rather challenging for me. Getting accustomed to a new environment is never easy, but nothing too unfortunate apart from that first Arena battle. I hope you have been well."

That was when the Hoverbus slowed to a stop, and the students on board were instructed to disembark. Cole then gestured to Serenity. "After you."

It was not as if he had a choice, considering that she was on the outer seat, but he would leave it at that.

---

@Kazemitsu @JewelProphet30 @Gentlemanvaultboy @PokimKyOshi @Dutchess Sarah @datadogie @Nyarlathotep @KaiserElectric

The still waters of the lake glittered, reflecting the light of the morning Sun. Right by it stood the small but comfortable wooden lodge known as Woodhaven. The structure was equipped with the most basic of facilities, and the students had three rooms to share among them. One on the second floor provided a clear view of the lake, another, also on the second floor, had windows facing the clearing beside the lodge where a campfire place and a couple of picnic tables were located, and the third, on the ground floor, allowed a view into a dense section of the forest. Each room had two bunk beds, allowing four students to a room.

Dr. Sullivan alighted right after Mr. Colles, putting her hand on the vehicle's shell and giving it a rub. The latter had barely been off the Hoverbus for twenty seconds before a large jaguar sprinted out from the woods towards him. It was clear that the two were well acquainted by how Colles immediately bent down to stroke the majestic animal's fur. As both staff members paused to exchange a few words, it was difficult not to notice the striking contrast between them. From the clothes that they wore to their companions of choice, it was apparent that the wild was his domain, while civilization was hers. It was nature versus technology, organic versus synthetic, past versus future.

Dr. Sullivan soon hopped back onto the Hoverbus and sped off to the main school, while Mr. Colles turned to the group of students to get their attention. "Alright kids! Settle in, have a look around. We'll be exploring the caves after lunch."

He gestured to some rock formations that could be seen from a distance past an area of forest, before entering Woodhaven.

@Raptra

Serenity smiled as Cole said that adjusting to the world they now resided in was the hardest part and she had to agree but was kept from doing so as they finally came to a stop and she stood blushing a bit since she realized that she had startled Cole when she sat down. She headed off the bus tugging on her gloves as she stepped out and looked around her eyes wide as she hiked her bag up on her shoulder "It's beautiful..." she murmured as she glanced back at Cole and grinned. "I've been alright, I didn't have much to do after the arena fights, besides a few classes, they aren't really sure where to put me yet since my powers are a tad ambiguous" She followed the others as they headed for the lodge building and she turned to Cole settling in to walk beside him, shortening her strides to match his as they walked. "I'm sorry if I startled you on the bus, but you are really the only person I know here, and I was getting rather lonely, I only had a few letters from my parents and none of my friends wanted to talk to me anymore."

Serenity smiled as they entered the building and glanced around taking in the basic facilities and she glanced at Cole and the others as they walked in taking not of the people and making mental lists of possible abilities. It helped to know who was safe to touch, at least in emergencies, though with her gloves she was safer than she would be with out them, she walked over to a large set of windows and grinned as she looked out over the lake, maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all.

Claude was briefly distracted as the bus pulled in for a stop, taken in by the majestic lake. Then she looked back down to the cat.

Nope. There was no way she could let it run around the untouched wilderness. Small little thing would get ate or starve to death. Little baby had to be an inside cat for a while before she could get it back to civilization. So, gathering up her bags and digital camera under her arms she reached forward and gingerly picked the cat up. Cradling it in her arms she jumped over the side of the bus and landed with a thump on the ground outside.

It was a good thing too, because the first thing that happened was a wild predator running up to Mr. Called waiting arms. She tried to hold the animal a little higher as the bus drove off. "Yep, definitely an inside cat. Can't allow cattibalism. That would ruin the whole trip." She said as she started toward the cabin.

@datadogie

As the bus slowed down, Kaze stood up with a series of crackles and pops from his back, wings, and tail. Grunting he just hopped up, the metal hover vehicle floated out from under him, before he landed and started to lope after the vehicle. His movements weren't unfamiliar to some of the students, that strange animalistic loping jog he could perform. His wings were folded tightly against his back as he followed along without difficulties.

Once the bus full of teens stopped, Kaze went up beside it and watched the others disembark from the metal contraption. The teachers were next to each other, technology versus nature was apparent when it came to them. Claude was cradling the cat to her chest, making the largest of the students shake his head. "If she struggles, let her down. If it feels like she can't escape she won't let you hold her anymore." He stated as his tail scooped up the luggage that had been left. Which was his own duffel bag and someone elses. It'd all get sorted out later.

The teacher said they'd be exploring some caves after lunch. He glanced at the spotted great feline next to Colles. "What, exactly, is for lunch?" He questioned as he went along with the teacher and other students.

Just as Andrew thought of passing the remaining minutes they have until they arrive at their destination with a little nap, he noticed the bus coming down to a slow pace till it halted to a complete stop.

Peering around, his breath was taken away by the gorgeous view that lay in front of his eyes; a beautiful wooden cabin with a wide, peaceful lake just by it’s surrounding. Andrew let out a whispered “Wow.” The more the fact that he was going to start new adventures in such a lovely place sunk onto him, the more his quiet soul jumped. Anywhere that seemed better than home.

He was finally outside. With guts punching him with excitement, curiosity, and fear – all at the same time. All this made him start to produce cold sweat from his forehead.

Andrew’s senses snapped when he felt the levitating bus rock. Students then one by one started to exit from the vehicle. Everyone indeed looked just as excited, they’d hop off the bus with visible anticipation.
Doing one last check on his duffle bag and backpack to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything important, making sure he had his gloves and scarf on, Andrew trailed behind everyone else, making him one of the last ones to get off the vehicle. He had been in the middle of fixing his composure when suddenly, a rather dangerous-looking jaguar sprinted towards the direction of one of the professors that made Andrew voice out a rather loud and frightful “Yieep!”

He clutched onto his duffle bag for dear life, thinking it was going to attack him and the rest of his fellow companions. But as they all watched the professors approach and interact with the creature with no fear expressed anywhere on their faces, they’d reckon they had a connection with the animal. Andrew let out a light sigh of relief, but he felt his cheeks light up, hoping nobody had witnessed his embarrassing actions. And once again, he found himself fixing his composure, only to hide his icy face sweating coldly. Luckily, he was just behind everyone else.

A few minutes had passed, the hover bus had taken off with one of the professors driving it away. Andrew silently bid it a solemn farewell and thanked it for the pleasant ride before being interrupted by the loud, ringing voice coming from the other professor who had stayed behind. They had been granted the freedom to look around and will be exploring caves by the later hours, as informed.

Andrew tightly gripped the hems of his backpack – he’d never seen caves before! His mind scanned on all the endless possibilities and events he would encounter in this lovely place. But the first steps seemed to be going inside the wooden cabin as he watched the rest of the students heading the very direction. Quietly, Andrew followed suit. Looks like the adventures, and his grumbling empty stomach, would have to wait for a bit.