Qasim sighed heavily as he drapped himself over his desk. As junior year was fast approaching he couldn't help but to start feeling the pinch of this so called 'adult life' looming over him. Project after project was flooding in, and the litch could only sigh to himself. He felt entirely swamped; lost at sea. He wasn't the most likeable kid, and so children hadn't exactly been jumping for joy to team up with the at times prickly freshling. Qasim had resigned himself to having to do yet another project all by himself. But as the door of the classroom swung open and a bright-eyed Baphomet fumbled in, Qasim's heart fluttered with resparked hope.

---

Dawbie had clumsily found the door handle and pushed his way in to the class room. He had been distracted trying to peddle his hand-made socks off to other freshlings. None seemed to like appreciate the time and effort that went in to his craft. "They're just socks," they would say. It ruffled Dawbie's fur the wrong way, but the boy had to keep strong. The baphomet wore his smile as brilliantly as possible, and as the Science teacher turned to him with a disapproving scowl on his face, the boy couldn't help but to feel crestfallen.

----

The jagged shape of Qasim's mouth appeared all the more menacing as the small child grinned from ear to ear. He listened avidly as Flora scolded the boy's tardiness, the litch puffing with pride as he knew what was to come next. His ears were primed for just the right words, and then ...

"Qasim will fill you in on today's homework."

Score!

The hallowed child swiftly started to move his books aside, preping his space to share with the other freshling. Qasim had caught sight of the rather full brief case the other boy was carrying. He had to admit, Qasim was curious but did not want to pry. At least, not yet. Qasim's appearance was questionable enough as it was. He didn't want to alarm the child by bombaring him with questions.

"Come! Sit here!" Qasim called, patting the seat beside him as he yanked over an empty chair.

---

Dawbie was used to hallowed children by now. There were so many students at the school who had mutations and unusual traits that the boy didn't stop to question the peculiar shape to Qasim's mpith. Instead, Dawbie ust sat down, plunking his suit case at the ground and scooted his chair in to the table.

"Fill me in, sir!"

---

Sir? Odd ... wait, did Qasim have an old man's face? The boy pursed his lips together and gave a small puff of air. There was no time to worry about things like that. there was an assignment at hand that they needed to complete.

"Alright. Well, we're supposed to go outside on our own time and find three different bugs to sketch as quickly and as accurately as we can. We then need to label each part of the bug to the best of our abilities. Miss Flora said she'd give us extra points if we colour the bugs too." Qasim shifted, eying the brief case momentarily. "It's pretty easy sounding, right? We can catch a couple of different ones and then release them. She didn't have enough bug cages for every student, which is why it's a paired assignment."

--

Bugs, eh? Dawbie didn't like bugs. Especially moths. They ate his socks ... put holes in all his hard work. The baphomet scoffed lightly, but soon shrugged. "That's fine. Did you have time after class today? Maybe we could head straight out after school and try and catch them right away. Would you prefer to draw and colour, or would you rather catch them?" Dawbie fiddled with the locks on his case. The left lock kept busting open. At this rate, the boy would have to ask for a new one. It was the third one in the same amount of months.

---

Qasim perked up considerably as the boy suggested dividing the responsbilities. Qasim liked to think himself stealthy and discreate. He would gladly be the valiant one to chase down the 'creepy crawlies' that made other people whine with discomfort. He would be the hero for this little project. Sure, the other kid might get more recognition because they were his drawings ... but Qasim would know. He'd know he had been the true hero who saved the day.

"Alright! I like this arrangement. And yah, I'm free after school. I live in the dorms so I can wander around a little bit before curfew."

--

Dawbie clapped his hands excitedly. "Excellent! It's decided then! I've got some new colouring pencils I'd like to try out and I do believe this is the perfect oppurtunity!" The baphomet scooped up his brief case, letting it settle in his lap with a small 'whomp'ing sound. Then it dawned on him ...

"Oh! I don't think Flora mentioned my name. Or if she did I missed it ... my name's Dawbie! She said your name was Qasim. Nice to officially meet you!"

--

"Likewise!" Qasim beamed. His four eyes drifted to the clock then as some spidey sense tingled up the back of his neck. The clock had finally hit the hour, and the bell suddenly sounded, announcing the end of the school day. The litch hopped to his feet without hesitation, scooping all his books with one sweeping arm in to his open bag, giving a little happy wiggle as he zipped it shut. "Let's go now!" He cried over his shoulder excitedly as he darted towards the door, not bothering to wait for the baphomet to catch up.

--

Dawbie's mouth gapped a bit as the boy suddenly ran off. Was class really over already? Dawbie took a moment to adjust himself before collecting his things and following after the litch as fast s he could. He didn't want to get left behind ,... but he also didn't have paper or his pencils. Maybe he could convince the boy to detour to the dorms so that Dawbie could be more prepared ... but he felt Qasim's spirit was too determined and figured it would all fall on deadf ears. So, instead, Dawbie simply tried to catch up to him. Their adventure was about to begin.