Mina chuckled and replied, "Famous? Your mother was the pride and joy of this city. She and that natal beast of hers. If I remember correctly, it was a Felitricity. The girl who got accepted into one of the Five Great Beast Taming Universities. I thought she was on the Home Star, but I guess she returned."
Lucas exclaimed, "Raast evolved from a Felitricity?"
He mentally compared the image of a Felitricity, a lightning elemental beast that resembled a big cat, and Raast, a huge tiger with golden-striped blue fur and a pair of deadly yet beautiful wings growing out of his back. Not to mention that his huge size was actually him after he had shrunken his body to the limit. He definitely needed to talk to his mother about this.
Mina replied, "I went to one of her battles and I do remember her calling the Felitricity Raast. But why do you look so surprised?"
He replied, "It's nothing."
Mina said, "It seems that your mother hasn't told you anything about her past. If that is her intention, then I'll be crossing a line if I say anything more about her. Anyways, explain your situation to me."
Lucas took a deep breath to calm himself down and then said, "I will be ten years old in two months, but you told us that the Call can begin after the ninth birthday in some cases, so I hope what I'm experiencing is the Call and not something else.
"About four months ago, I started having trouble sleeping. I thought that it would subside after some time, but unfortunately, it didn't. And with the classes, the library, and my duties as a Club President and the Student Council President, I was exhausted. Even that didn't help me fall asleep. That is, until one night, I passed out.
"The next morning, I somehow awoke on the rooftop, and I was refreshed. It was the best that I had felt in some time. But the janitor found me there and took me to the Dean. I explained my situation to her, and she allowed me to do a simple test that night. I bought some camping gear and set it up on the rooftop.
"I slept like a baby that night. And I had a very weird dream as well. It was a giant fireball burning multicolored flames. I did the test in a few different locations, but the rooftop was the best location. So after spending a hefty amount of BP and some of the hard-earned Graces, I was able to set up a tent with some array formations there. I have been sleeping there ever since. Or sometimes, I just spend the entire night staring at the sky. And when I do sleep, I have the same exact dream every night. The same exact giant fireball…"
Mina continued his sentence, "...burning in multicolored flames. Almost like a…star."
Lucas paused. Why hadn't he thought of that? It was so obvious. Him not being able to sleep until he was under the stars, and the literal star that kept on appearing in his dreams like clockwork.
Mina said, "Lucas, from the details that you have given me, I can only come to one conclusion. You are experiencing the Call of the Stars. So your Innate Talent must be related to stars. Rare, but I've met a few people who have also experienced something similar. Like Innate Talents, every Call is also unique. For now, I can give you three pieces of advice. One, try to remember the image of the star that keeps on appearing in your dreams. It's just a hunch, but it might help in the future. Two, continue sleeping on the roof if it isn't uncomfortable. No simulation can beat the real thing, after all. And three, buy the stuff on the list that I'm about to send you and ask a teacher to set them up."
Lucas nodded and said, "Thanks."
Mina replied, "Anytime. If you still feel that something's weird, you can come to me."
Just then, Lucas received a notification and muttered, "Damn it."
He said, "Ma'am, I have to leave. Thanks for this."
Mina said, "Go."
After Lucas had left, Mina checked to see if there was anyone watching her. When she was sure that there wasn't, she finally let the smile that she had been holding back with great difficulty appear on her face. She had lied to Lucas. Not about the info, that was completely true, but about the fact that she had met people who had experienced the Call of the Stars before. The truth was that people like Lucas were incredibly rare. Very few experienced the Call of the Stars. Lucas was the first that she had met to do so.
Which resulted in very little data on them and the Call of the Stars. She wasn't going to lead him astray or anything but wanted him to help her with researching this rare phenomenon. She took out a notebook and started making notes about what she had learned.
Meanwhile, Lucas was on his way to break up a fight. Two teams within Fenrir's Fangs had somehow gotten into a scuffle and he needed to stop it before things got any bigger. He also gave Derek a call and asked him to come there. When he reached there, he witnessed Derek shouting, but it was less shouting and more roaring, no, howling. Surprisingly, the fight immediately paused.
Derek, although surprised himself, said, "Lucas, I got this."
Lucas nodded. Derek clearly had the situation handled, so he left. There was much on his mind right now. Unbeknownst to Mina, she wasn't the only one hiding secrets.
Lucas went to the cafeteria, had a chocolate shake, the thicc kind, and went to his room. Not the rooftop, but his actual room. He quickly got bored, though, and went to the rec room to blow off some steam. He stayed there for about an hour when he received a message from Vivienne.