Wind swept through the forest that lay to the east of the Academia Mythica. It brushed through the leaves, causing them to tremble. It was a rather quiet morning, the silence broken only by the chirping of insects and calling of birds.
And the ear-splitting scream of a girl.
The sound echoed throughout the forest, cutting through the silence like a blade. It was a sound that carried the weight of pain, conveying within it the anguish of the one who uttered the sound.
"It huuuurts!"
A girl with short, strawberry blonde twin tails was wailing at the top of her lungs. Her leg was stretched out in front of her, the hem of her dress pulled up to expose her knee. It was scraped, blood and dirt smeared over the area.
Near to her, a boy with hair the color of goldenrod clamped his hands firmly over his ears. "Would you quit screaming?" he shouted, over the uproar the girl was making. The wailing continued. "Gosh, you're such a baby!"
"Don't pick on her, Michael," a boy with hair like midnight scolded.
"Don't coddle her, Gabriel!" the other boy retorted.
"She's hurt. Don't be so harsh on her." Gabriel knelt down next to her, though he winced in pain as she howled in pain again. "Lily," he said. But his voice was overpowered, and he had to speak again. "Lily! Calm down. Let me see." Lily quieted momentarily, but as he reached out to touch her, she raised her voice again.
"No! Don't touch it! It hurts!"
"I won't touch your knee, I promise. Here, just... Get on my back. I'll carry you the rest of the way, alright?"
The tearful blonde rubbed her tear-stained face with the side of her hand. She sniffed, nodding. She wrapped her arms around Gabriel's neck, then wrapped her legs around him. He stood up, and Michael shook his head.
"We don't even know where we're going, you know."
"Well, we know it's this way, don't we?" Gabriel responded, shifting the girl on his back.
"Not really," he said, shooting an annoyed glance at Lily, who was sniffling pitifully. "All Dad said was 'go that way' and then poofed. And Dad hasn't always been the most reliable when it comes to directions in the first place."
"Well, it's not like we have any other choice. We'll just keep walking until we end up somewhere."
"Sounds great," Michael mumbled under his breath. The trio continued through the woods, progressing through unknown territory, hoping to somehow find the school they'd been enrolled in, the Academia Mythica.