"So how far have you got with Will?" (Yoko)
"I don't know who you mean." (Enid)
"Come on, they're always together. Have they been together?" (Yoko)
"Cough..." (Enid)
Enid choked on Yoko's words. They had just arrived at their dormitory after the last classes of the afternoon, Enid with her little pink backpack and Yoko with her brown satchel on her back and her characteristic black glasses.
"I don't want to talk about it" (Enid)
"Come on, Will, he's so sexy and he's so in love with you, don't tell me he hasn't tried?" (Yoko)
"We both decided we wouldn't go that far yet." (Enid)
"That means if you wanted to ~" (Yoko)
"Looks like someone left you a present. It's not your birthday tomorrow." (Yoko)
Yoko dropped her bag on the floor and rushed to grab the card, a delicate white card with gold edges and handwritten letters.
"With love for my sugar plum and my other half, the love of my life" (Yoko)
Enid snatched the card from Yoko's hands as she joked, her face flushed.
[With love for Enid Sinclair, I'm glad I met you.]
"You should open it" (Yoko)
"Open what?" (Enid)
"The box" (Yoko)
Enid fixed her gaze on the small shiny red box on her bed, placed right next to the bouquet of colourful flowers.
"Let's see what I got you?" (Yoko)
Enid quietly opened the box. Inside was a delicate gold and silver bracelet, resembling two intertwined vines with flowers growing on them. A small diamond was set in the centre of each flower, and the flowers alternated between silver and gold. Right in the centre was a circular medallion with a spider embossed on it, which looked as if it wanted to escape from the metal if you looked closely enough.
Enid took the small box and ran out of the bedroom in search of William.
(At this hour, he must be in his study, bedroom, at the Archery Club, or practising with his violin) (Enid)
Just as Enid was planning to search every place until she found William, she ran into Xavier.
"Do you know where Will is?" (Enid)
"He should be in the second Arts Room, the one that's not usually used." (Xavier)
"Thank you." (Enid)
Enid ran off in that direction, facing a long journey and several flights of stairs. Nevermore was a very large academy, with halls, towers, and secret passageways everywhere.
Second Arts Hall (Temporary) William's Painting Studio.
"Clack"
"Xavier, you came to see how my painting is going... argh" (William)
William took off his headphones and, before he could finish his sentence, felt a soft body knock him off the bench where he was sitting.
"Thump."
They both fell to the floor in an embrace, William taking the brunt of the impact against the wooden floor.
"That was dangerous, Enid" (William)
Enid remained silent, trying to catch her breath, and William waited until Enid looked up and climbed up to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Now will you tell me what's wrong?" (William)
Enid's response was a kiss more intense than usual, her multicoloured claws expanding with excitement.
"Will, stop, I'm covered in sweat." (Enid)
"It doesn't matter." (William)
It took them a while to pull away from each other. William kissed Enid's chin, neck, and chest until he left a mark on her pale skin.
(They're bigger than they look.) (William)
"This is going to be a problem tomorrow." (Enid)
The marks were quite visible, William pressed his cheek against Enid's cheek and the marks gradually disappeared.
"They disappeared" (William)
"I even feel your skin is softer, leaving that aside, why today?" (Enid)
"Everyone will give you something tomorrow, but only I will give you something today, one day early" (William)
"I like the idea. I'll give you your birthday present a day early too" (Enid)
Before getting up from the floor, Enid gave him one last quick kiss.
"Now Enid, close your eyes for a moment." (William)
"Let me guess, you're painting one of those pictures, right?" (Enid)
"It's the one I'll submit for the competition." (William)
Enid wrinkled her pretty little face in disgust. William's works were not her favourites, painted in oil on canvas, William devoted many hours to them, grotesque figures of large beasts slain in fierce battle.
William's idea as a collector was to keep a small part of the beasts he hunted, a fang, a scale, or something characteristic of them. His plans fell apart when what he kept turned to ashes after a few minutes.
(Perhaps the energy remaining in their bodies is transferred to the medals, leaving the body empty and causing them to disappear after a few minutes).
"Xavier likes them, he let me hang a couple in the bedroom" (William)
"Xavier is an artist just like you, you should paint something cuter, maybe a kitten or maybe a litter of kittens" (Enid)
"Perhaps I should paint a portrait of you and submit it." (William)
"Stop it, that would be embarrassing." (Enid)
"Knock knock."
"William, may I come in?" (Weems)
"Weems?" (Enid)
"Give me a moment, Headmistress." (William)
William quickly adjusted the collar of Enid's shirt and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, while Enid wiped some lipstick from William's cheeks.
"Come in, Headmistress Weems. My painting is ready to be sent once it's completely dry." (William)
"Is this it? I like it. Was it inspired by Goya?" (Weems)
"Mostly, and a little bit by William Blake." (William)
"Is it a dragon?" (Weems)
Weems contemplated the painting with his arms crossed.
"A drake from German mythology." (William)
"I think it's perfect. It's very beautiful." (Weems)
The painting in question depicted the dragon's final moments, with blood and its mouth ravaged by fire, the last moments of a majestic and ancient creature. The dragon seemed to want to leap out of the painting.
(By mixing a little of Xavier's blood into the paint, I was able to achieve that effect) (William)
Caliban Hall dormitories
"Did you hear about the new bear attack?" (Xavier)
"Was there a new one?" (William)
"That makes three now, a poor vagrant who went into the forest to look for hallucinogenic mushrooms or something like that." (Xavier)
Xavier handed his laptop to William.
[New bear attack Poor man found half-eaten]
"It doesn't say anything new here, except that they'll do everything they can to stop it." (William)
William got out of bed and grabbed his black jacket. The nights were starting to get colder.
"Where are you going?" (Xavier)
"For a walk." (William)
"I guess to Jericho. Just make sure you don't get caught and be careful." (Xavier)
"Do you want me to buy you anything?" (William)
"You can get some alcohol. Bianca wants to have a party at the lake tonight with the members of the Nightshade Society."
"Alcohol, understood. See you later." (William)
William transformed himself into a large four-winged eagle and took off for Jericho.
Jericho Police Station
(Files, Files where they will be ~) (William)
William wandered around the police station in the form of a cat, going from room to room, swishing his tail from side to side. Some officers tried to stop him or catch him, but he simply had to run a little to lose them.
(Maybe I can take a look at the armoury later, although it would be a problem to get it out of here) (William)
("Sheriff Galpin's Office", there must be something interesting around here) (William)
William looked both ways down the corridor.
(Clear)
I took human form and took a sheet of paper out of his rucksack. After tearing it, a key emerged from the ink. It was the same key Xavier had used to open the door to Professor Thornhill's office.
All he had to do was insert it to open any door. William had two with him; they would last a while before disappearing into dust.
(Let's see, recent case files.)
William searched through Galpin's filing cabinet with multiple folders of unsolved cases until he found the one about the bear. It contained photos and information about each person murdered so far, as well as photos of the crime scenes.
"Click."
"I always lock up before I leave..." (Galpin)
Galpin entered the room and quickly checked it after turning on the lights. He was an old policeman who spent more time at work than with his family.
(Maybe it was Ritchie again, leaving some coffee...)
William took advantage of his carelessness to run away when he turned around in his cat form, a small black one. The only thing Galpin managed to see was a small shadow running out of the corner of his eye.
William achieved his goal and saw something interesting, a request to send Tyler to a camp far from Jericho.
(Perhaps a punishment for not telling him what happened in the alley that day.) (William)
William wiggled his little paws proudly and somewhat carelessly. He would return to his warm bed after getting Xavier's request, until he heard something that caught his attention.
"Understand, Mrs. Rocher, you want me to believe that some red imps stole and ate your cats?"
"That's what happened, I saw it with my own eyes!" (Rocher)
An old woman was talking to a police officer, who looked fed up with her and her crazy stories. It was the third time that week she had come in with one of her tales.
"And last time, wasn't it goblins carrying a deer across your property?"
"That's exactly what happened!!!" (Rocher)
Old Mrs. Rocher waved her bony arms with skin hanging from them, her voice full of conviction and exhaustion.
"There are dozens of them coming out of the ground. Last night it was my cat. I'm afraid today it might be me for dinner."
"They're small but there are many of them. I can hear them laughing in the dark, mocking me. They know I'm afraid of them and they enjoy that... it amuses them."
"All right, Mrs. Rocher, wait a few minutes. An officer will go with you, accompany you home and check the place." (Ritchie)
The Sheriff's assistant, Ritchie, entered with a cup of coffee. She had heard the lady's story.
"It may have something to do with the bear case. Go take a look and take a shotgun with you." (Ritchie)
"But it's almost my quitting time!"
"Shut up or you'll be part of the team going out to hunt the bear tomorrow, and as far as I know, you're not very good with guns."
Ritchie whispered the last part to the officer. He had known Mrs. Rocher since she was a child and used to give butter cookies to the children on Halloween.
Minutes later, a patrol car left Jericho, heading for an old farm on the outskirts near the forest. Neither of them noticed the fat white cat resting in the back seat of the car.