"This is stupid." Sam wheezed. They were currently hiking up the mountain trying to reach the school that rested on the other side of the mountain range. It had a been a few hours since they started and they weren't even halfway there.
"Oh, calm down. It's only a hike. Jesus." Zach called. He was way ahead of them and didn't even look the least bit tired. "How are you not dying right now?" Kameron asked, dodging a particularly slippery rock. Zach shrugged and grinned down at them. "Maybe cause I'm not lazy and a cute little string bean like you." He said.
Kameron gasped dramatically and stuck up the middle finger at the jock. "Asshole! Thats not nice!" Sam stared at them in amusement. "You do realize that he called you cute?" She mused, smirking. Kameron faltered and glared at her his face turning red.
"W-What...T-thats not...I...." Kameron couldn't find any words.
"Like I said, cute." Zach said laughing. He turned and continued up the mountain Kameron cursing him all the way. A few times they had to inch along a few thin ledges that they barely could stand on. And sometimes there was a steep incline that could barely be traversed due to the foot wear that Sam and Kam were currently wearing.
"Come on. We're almost there. A friend of mine is waiting for us." Zach called down to them. He had already reached the peak about 20 feet above. They had come to the point of full on climbing using footholds and handholds.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." Sam muttered. Finally they reached the top and Kameron collapsed panting. "Oh that was the worse..." He moaned. Zach grinned down at him.
"You should exercise more." He said. Kameron glared at him and stood up shakily. "Oh wow." Sam whispered. Below them stretched a mass of trees rivers and lakes and in the middle of it all the largest castle Kameron or Sam had ever seen.
"This is the Arvios Valley. In it is Falar Forest and the largest river on the continent, the Ogars River, runs over there." Zach pointed to the east and Kameron could vaguely see. a large river running along the foot of the mountains surrounding the valley. It split up into smaller rivers which snaked across the valley like a giant spiderweb.
"It's beautiful." Sam said.
Zach nodded. "Well come on we still have more walking to do. A friend is waiting at the foot of the mountains."
He pointed down at the ground far below. "Oh come on. We just went up a mountain and now you want us to go down?" Kameron growled. Zach shrugged and began to make his way down. The others followed reluctantly.
Lucky for them the trek down was much nicer than the hike up. They reached the foot of the mountain only in half the time it took to reach the top.
"So this friend..who are they?" Sam asked once they stopped. Now that they weren't looking at it from above the valley and the forest looked a lot more imposing. "There." Zach pointed to the trees and Kameron squinted noticing something emerging from the treeline.
"Is that..." Sam didn't finish. It was a fox. A white fox with streaks of red fur along its long fluffy tails. Yes tails. Plural. Nine swishing tails. "Holy shit." Kameron whispered smiling as the fox walked up to them stopping in front of Zach. Then it began to glow. Kameron and Sam watched in amazement as the fox grew and changed becoming a girl. She looked about their age Asian American. She was wearing what looked like traditional Japanese robes and her tails were still visible as were the fox ears on her head.
"Hello. You must be Samira and Kameron." She said waving at them. "Guys this is Jia. She's a friend of mine and a kitsune." Zach said grinning.
"Hello." Kameron said.
"Hi." Sam muttered shyly.
Jia smiled at them.
"Well come on then. We have to go now or we won't get to the school before nightfall." Jia said glancing at the darkening sky. "I really don't wanna be out here at night." Kameron muttered.
Sam nodded.
With that they set off with Jia leading the way.
So how did you guys meet Zach here?" Jia asked as she led them around trees and boulders and over small creeks.
"He was in our school." Kameron answered tripping over a rock. He cursed as Zach caught him. "You good?" he asked and Kameron glared at him in response. He pushed the older boy away before continuing.
'I don't like him. Or her.'Apep whispered. Kameron scoffed. "You don't have to. Just shush." He whispered. He could feel the snake god move around in annoyance.
'You cannot silence me and you know it.'
'Maybe. Maybe not.' Kameron thought.
'Just be quiet please.' Kameron pleaded. The snake god was silent. Kameron sighed and glanced around. The trees were much more further spaced than the trees in the forest that him and Sam had landed in when they first got to this world.
Meaning that he could see a lot further and a lot better. This part of the forest seemed more swamp than forest. And from time to time Kameron was sure he could see some type of animal in the small bodies of water surrounding them.
It was nice for a completely different world. Normal almost.
If not for the fact that there was a girl with fox tails leading him and his best friend to a so-called magic school and he was sure that some of the trees around them were moving. Which was awesome, don't get him wrong. But disturbing too. "So, Jia, can you tell us more about the school?" Sam asked. Jia smiled at them over her shoulder. "SUre. The students are split into groups based on magic. Destruction, Balance, Order, Mind, and Shadow. There's one more, but I'd rather not speak about that one."
Kameron frowned. "Why not?" He asked. Jia sighed, her tails swishing in agitation. Sam sighed. "Just ask someone else later." She whispered.
Kameron shook his head but stayed silent and followed Zach and Jia into the swamp.
* * * * *
Darius was panicking. Kameron had been gone for the entire night. The police had been called and Sally was crying telling the police what happened. Brian had refrained from sending Darius to jail.
He was currently pacing back and forth in his room. Dammit. He should have stopped the first time. He had seen that look of fear. He never wanted to see it again. He couldn't sit here. With a growl he ran downstairs and grabbed his jacket by the door ignoring his mother and Brian in the living room.
"Where are you going?" Brian asked. Darius glared at him and for a second the air around him flared red hot, the temperature in the house rising for a few seconds before falling. "None of your business." He snapped before he ran out the door. He would find his brother if it was the last thing he did.