Chapter 2

School ended, fiinally. Foster slid through his classes with ease, as usual, but this time there was nobody to talk to. Now that school had ended, he had many people to talk to.

Too many.

"OMG, Foster, today was soooo boring without you!" Kristie believed that because she was a water nymph, and he was a Sun Child, they were like, destined to be together, or something. But Foster just saw her as some sort of leech.

As she chattered on with some of the other kids in their friend group, Foster zoned out, catching sight of Mateo.

Foster found most people in Hildegard entertaining, but so far, Mateo had been his favorite. The boy was slightly telepathic, wore polo shirts, and always styled his hair perfectly.

Foster knew that the boy could hear him thinking about him, and he continued to stare. Mateo ignored him.

You know you love me, Foster thought loudly in Mateo's direction as he passed, leading his little group of chattering friends out into the sunny afternoon of Hildegard.

Hildegard was a boring little town, and Foster couldn't wait to get out. The only thing keeping him here was his age... and his magic.

Hildegard was the last village on Earth where magic could run free- the most forgotten place. The safest place. And if he left, he'd have to give up his little light, and the memory of Hildegard, for forever.

So the cobblestone streets and the looming forests would have to do, for now.

"I was thinking we could all go to the movie in the park? I heard it's some old 80's movie," Kristie bumped into one of the guys playfully.

"Nah Kristie, I got rehearsal. You know this," He sighed. Foster's best friend, Keenan, had one of the worst diseases Foster could imagine- he was a theater kid.

"Oh no! First Gus and Kayla, now you? looks like it'll be just you and me, Foster," Kristie peered at him from behind her silky curls. She was pretty, and Foster hooked up with her enough times to know that he wouldn't get to watch most of the movie. But most of his hookups left him alone after.

Lucky, lucky Foster then he spied his escape. His savior, really, slinking out of the castle-turned-school.

"Actually, Kristie, looks like it's just you- I got tutoring," He stopped, gesturing apologetically as Kristie shot him a look.

"Tutoring? With who?" Instantly jealous. God, he felt good.

"Miss Faunch," he pointed a thumb at the girl, who shouldered her way around a group of very loud werewolves.

"Meissa Faunch? You're getting tutored by the troll girl?" Kristie looked disgusted. Foster was getting closer and closer to freedom, he could feel it. He began backpedalling away from her, grinning as he felt his escape working.

"Is that what she is?" He quipped giddily. He turned, following Meissa, who'd barely managed to make it through the wolf pack, leaving Kristie and the Academy behind.

"Miss Faunch!" He called after her, making it to the dirt path. As they grew ever so slightly farther from the cobblestones, the breeze picked up, rifling his curls and exposing his forehead. "Miss Faunch you almost forgot me!"

She stopped in her tracks, then turned on her heel, which had to hurt. Maybe not those calloused feet, but whatever.

"For the last time, it's Meissa, and you possibly can't be serious," She scowled at him. She was probably a head shorter than he was, and her legs about a head wider. He was beginning to see the troll.

"I need tutoring, Miss Faunch," he shrugged, and grinned. He wished for a second that he had Mateo's telepathy so he could figure out why she could possibly hate him so much. I mean, everybody loved Foster Adaunt. Until he broke their heart. Then they hated that they loved him.

"Fine the I guess we'll just-," She'd begun to stalk back towards the school when she stopped abruptly, an Idea interrupting the scowl on her face. The wind picked up, blowing her tangled hair around. If he reached out, he might even be able to catch some of it in his fingers.

He almost did, too, when suddenly Meissa grinned.

"Okay then, sure. You can come to my house." She peered at him slyly before turning and walking back towards the forest.

Foster was ever-so-slightly frightened by her grin, but he would never admit that to anyone. Instead, he let his curiousity guide him toward her, and he followed just a pace behind, into the woods.

...

If Nature was her mother, than the wind was her babysitter. And it was very excited about Foster. Unlike Meissa.

She didn't know what she did to deserve his torment, but there he was, strutting a pace behind her like a prince entering a court.

But he wasn't entering court. He would soon be entering Vergessene forest.

The moment he recignized the boundary line, his steps faltered. Most in Hildegard feared the forest- well, most feared the druids, and the Druids wouldn't go near Vergessene. Good for the forest, and good for Meissa. She didn't bother to hide her smile as she leaped over the fallen tree that ended Hildegard's path.

"You don't-," Foster frowned, his uniform sloppily hanging untucked, "You can't possibly live in there."

Meissa shrugged, the wind blowing her hair around. Now that she was home, it began its ritual of untangling her mess. She liked the way the breeze felt, playing through her hair, the locks falling gently around her face once they'd been preened.

Foster stared incredulously at the girl glancing back at the school house. Meissa just shrugged and turned, dumping her schoolbag on the ground, pulling off her jacket.

Once she was free, Meissa began to job, hoping to find Tawna, or Sage, maybe Beorn. Any of the wolves. She might go swimming later, in this weather-

"Whoa!" she shouted, as the wind took her feet from underneath her. She flipped, almost hitting the floor before the wind caught her, throwing her back towards the tree where Foster sat.

"What the heck!" she shouted at the wind, as it danced through the laughing leaves.

"What was that?" Foster remarked from his spot on the tree, sounding almost impressed.

"It was nothing." Meissa grumbled, standing up and brushig the dirt off her butt. "It's not my fault your too scared to come in the forest."

No. It wasn't her fault. But maybe she'd help keep it that way.

"Scared?" Foster scoffed, slding down from the tree, landing of Veressene ground for the frst time. "Who said I was scared?"

Meissa rolled her eyes at his stupid ego, but she had to admit, she was impressed.

"My mistake," she shrugged. "So you'll be able to make it to the lagoon?"

She watched his face as he tried to imagine a lagoon, or where it might be, before he responded.

"Yeah, why not?"

She huffed.

"Oh, nothing."

She knew the forest would make it easy for him to get to the lagoon, as it usually only did for Meissa. She would tell them later that he wasn't a friend, and that they should banish him as they would any other person.

"So... do you live in, like, a tree house? maybe a cave? Do you have parents?" The boy continued to pry as he scrambled over fallen trees and little streams.

She didn't respond.

"You know, if you don't like me, you don't have to keep doing that." He grumbled, walking under a branch the wind had blown out of the way for him.

"Doing what?"Meissa frowned, jumping over stones that quickly dried and aligned for Foster's arrival.

"That," He gestured at the rocks, which sat in a perfect, stable line beneath his feet.

"Oh," Meissa frowned. "That's not me."

"Yeah, right. then what's your ability? what's your thing?"

"My thing?" Meissa couldn't help but be amused. The birds were watching the new boy curiously from the branches, and she could sense the wolves drawing nearer.

"Yeah," he went to pull a twing from his hair, but the breeze tugged it out before he could. He stuck out his lip, clearly frustrated by the wind's excitement. Meissa nearly laughed.

nearly.

"I don't have an ability. And I don't have a thing. I'm completely human." It was the truth, but Foster clearly wasn't satisfied. He let out a huff of angry air, and didn't press the subject, shouldering his bag.

"Okay, here we are. set your bag down over there, and we can start." She pointed to the platform boulder lying on the side of the lagoon, the tamest of the rocks in the alcove. It wasn't really a lagoon, just a still pool of water at the bottom of a waterfall. It fed most of the rivers in Hildegard. And it was Meissa's favorite place in the forest. The wind tugged at her hair, at her clothes.

"Oh, are you... hungry?"

Foster considered it, without hiding the disgust on his face at the thought of what she might eat.

"Um, no. Thanks," He tottered awkwardly on the rocks, climbing towards the platform she'd pointed to.

Meissa looked back towards the forest, where she cought a glimpse of Sage, peering out at her from the shadows.

It's okay, she shrugged, giving him a reassuring smile, and rolling her eyes. she turned, eaping from rock to rock to get to the platform. Her feet found the spots where she'd pounded the rock smooth, flattened moss marking their place. She'd have jumped into the lagoon already, if it weren't for the boy she had to babysit.

"So, what exactly are you... what are you doing?" Foster had tossed his bag to the side, precariously close to the river. he'd pulled off his shoes and lay back, stretching out in the sun.

"What? I'm a Child of the Sun. I can't enjoy it a bit?"

She huffed, rolling her eyes. It was just like the chair. Why was he so stubborn about the stupidest things?

In truth, he was glowing. The sun reflected off of his skin, and brought out the unusual blonde accents in his hair. He'd relaxed plenty since their entrance into Vergessene. Meissa didn't know how she felt about that.

"Um, Foster?" she asked quietly, but the boy didn't respond.

Of course he fell asleep.

She turned, addressing the wind and the water.

"Protect him, will you?" the water bristled, but the wind danced before her, curiously.

why?

Because this was the most popular kid in all of Hildegard, that's why. But that's not the answer the breeze was looking for, and the wind wouldn't care anyway. Instead of answering, she turned, hopping out of the lagoon and galloping into the forest.