Laurel sat on her bed, carefully grooming Thistle. She was always worried about Thistle's wings once the weather got colder, and checked them constantly to make sure they weren't drying out or damaged in any way. Thistle, of course, saw this attention as being her due and just ate it up. Bouncy and Lilac were snuggled up to either side of her, enjoying the warmth. Laurel smiled. For a change she hadn't caught a cold yet as the weather had begun to turn. She hoped it stayed that way, since she loved being able to walk around without a surgical mask over her face.
The entire last year had been full of a lot of amazing things, and as Laurel lost herself in the familiar processes of vespercat grooming she let her mind drift. Her relationship with Flax was the first major thing that came to mind. Just being in the relationship itself was a pretty big change to her life. It was a tad embarrassing to think how oblivious she had been to Flax's feelings before his confession, but it seemed like lately she was becoming more and more sensitive to his different moods. She was still a bit oblivious when it came to other people, but she liked to think she was starting to improve there as well!
Her relationship with her familiars felt similar. They had been cute and sweet when she'd first gotten them, but there were still misunderstandings as she got used to their unique moods, and several mishaps before she learned the best ways to care for vespercats and slimes. Nowadays she could head off at the pass what would have been major disasters, or at the very least a call for wardrobe changes.
Her studies seemed to be moving equally apace. She'd always been pretty good at the normal subjects, but Laurel felt like maybe she was making some inroads to the more magical studies as well. She didn't have any kind of magical talent like a shaman might have, but she hoped that with enough study and practice she might become good at something like divination. Some branches required someone with natural talents, but there were others where all that was required was a knowledge of the practice and the ability to interpret symbols correctly.
As Laurel's mind drifted over divination, she thought she heard a faint sound. Like someone speaking, but she couldn't make out the words. Her head came up and she looked around. "Hello," she called towards her door, but no one answered. Odd, maybe a prank. As she thought that, the sound happened again. This time it sounded like a faint 'hello'. Laurel frowned and got up to actually answer the door.
No one was there.
"Strange," she muttered, going to look out the window. She didn't see anyone outside either who could have been making the noise. Sound usually didn't leak through the building. Still frowning, Laurel turned from her window with the intent of returning to her bed. That was when she saw it.
It was was a heat mirage. A shimmering suggest of claws, furry tail, and tall ears. Laurel blinked several times, even poked herself with a claw to see if she was awake, but the....thing didn't fade. It looked at her (or she thought it did) and seemed to nod.
'Hello,' she heard, a soft sound like the echoing inside a cave. Then the figure turned and walked straight through her wall. Laurel fumbled her way to her bed and sank down on it with a slight whimper. Bouncy and Lilac seemed concerned, but Thistle appeared utterly bored with the whole thing. What....had just happened? What had Laurel just seem? Was it some kind of magical projection? It didn't feel like one. Granted she didn't have any vast amount of experience with what magic felt like, but...
"Too weird," Laurel said into the quiet air of her room. And nearly jumped out of her fur when she thought she heard a ghostly chuckle. She stood up, gathered her familiars, and resolved to stay with Flax for the night. Tomorrow....tomorrow she'd find a teacher, and try to figure out what the heck was going on!
