It took an hour and some convincing to get the group to move to a proper table within the library, but soon Beatrice and Nova had learned all they could about the werewolves of Ravensburl. While Beatrice asked questions and Lee answered them, Nova typed their notes on her laptop and created a nicely compiled document.

To Beatrice's surprise, Headmistress Cassandra really did think of every way possible she could attend to her student's needs. The werewolves had free run of the south field during the full moon, plenty of wolfsbane potions in stock courtesy of Meowstaff's greenhouse, and the kitchen staff were ready to accommodate any meat cravings they might have, no matter how bloody the steak. Even Professor Hope had to take on additional training to properly care for hurt or sick werewolves, and Lee assumed it was the same for vampires though he hadn't managed to ask any.

"So, what's would you actually need help with?" Beatrice mused. "The Headmistress has thought of everything!"

"Headmistress and the professors have the heavy lifting done, sure, but it's the public image that's the issue, I'd have to say." Lee shrugged again and paused to rub his shoulder. "That's the one thing they can't change, no matter how hard they've been trying. And they've been trying pretty hard."

Beatrice's brow furrowed as she thought. She read through Nova's notes again. "That's true, but if we get enough prominent families to see the better, more accepting side of things..."

"That's a noble goal, Bee, but how many prominent families are there?" Nova leaned on the desk, growing tired of going in circles. "They're, what, the old families with big names like yours and Hawkswood?"

The earth witch nodded. "Dad said there was a whole council of families. They used to be called the Council of Clans, but they've formally broken up and dropped the title. Still doesn't mean they've lost their influence though."

"Why did the clans break up?"

"A part of the ruling families were starting to think the others had too much power." Beatrice waved her hand. "There was a huge falling out and they disbanded."

"Don't just wave your hand at something like that!"

"Anyway, the families retained their titles, land, and influence. They're just a lot less united in opinion and stuff. And then the government was founded."

"Excuse me, what?"

Beatrice looked over to Nova, eyes wide in surprise. "The magic body that governs the ethical use of magic."

Nova took a deep, frustrated breath. "Bee, I don't know a lot about this whole magic society."

"Right, right! I'm sorry, I'll tell you all about it later."

Meanwhile, Lee idly scratched at his neck. "If you two are done, I think we can all go. There isn't really a clear answer to this aside from keep Circe away from us. But word spreads quickly, so..." he shrugged again.

"Just leave her to me. Who knows, maybe I can talk to her!" Beatrice smiled. "Maybe we can be friends!"

"Bee, your optimism knows how bounds. But maybe it should lower its expectations."

In the end, Beatrice never did get any studying done for the Wisdom Check game.

By the time they had said goodbye to the werewolves, it was night. The two roommates walked back through the west courtyard and back to their dormitory when Beatrice glanced up at the sky, lost in thought.

"What's on your mind, Bee?"

"The moon. It's very clear tonight and it's almost full."

"Let me guess." The tech witch glanced at her roommate with a knowing look. "You want to go see the wolves in the field?"

Beatrice nodded. "Will you come with me? I've never seen werewolves in action before. Vampires yes, but not werewolves."

"Yeah, sure. I've never seen anything like that at all."

"Thank you, Nova." Beatrice held her roommate's hand and leaned on her shoulder as they walked. She didn't see Nova pointedly turn her head away again. "You know, I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"You jumped to helping them really quickly, even if, you know, there's the whole stigma surrounding them."

Nova made a coughing sound. "Well, you know... I thought it was a good idea. You wanted to help them, so why shouldn't I?"

"So you did it for me?"

"I didn't say that!" Nova bristled, but the earth witch laughed. Beatrice's laugh was soft and good-natured and reminded the tech witch of the sound of birds singing. "I mean... You made it sound like a good idea."

"Still though, thank you."

Nova smiled, and Beatrice squeezed her hand. The moonlit walk back to the dormitory was peaceful until Beatrice stopped in her tracks and stared.

"Bee?" Nova said but looked to where her roommate was staring.

"Professor Laurence?" The earth witch said in disbelief, letting go of Nova. "What are you doing here? It's really quite late."

The Illusions professor was coming out of their dormitory room. He brushed his hands off in an idle gesture, but Beatrice had her eyes on him. "Ah, Miss Gaia! Nova! Wonderful seeing you two this fine evening. I may ask the same of you."

"This is our dorm, Professor," Nova replied, her voice flat and even. "We're going to turn in for the night."

"Yes, wonderful." Laurence smiled in that odd way again. "Don't mind me, you two. I just put up another poster of the Inter-School games on the bulletin board in the common area." He nodded his head to them and started walking down the path. "Good night, you two."

"Good night, Professor," Beatrice answered, but she kept her eyes on him till he had passed the west courtyard's fountain and raven statue. Once he got within range of the raven statue, the earth witch let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Come on, Nova."

"You suspect something." The tech witch stated, following her roommate into the dormitory building and into the common area. "What is it?"

Beatrice found the bulletin board easily and scanned it. "I don't know, but something feels off. Here on the board, do you see it?"

Nova stared at the board for a moment. There was a poster for the Inter-School Games, along with notices for school facility maintenance due to expansion to accommodate Hawkswood students, some notes regarding lost items, really nothing unusual. "What am I supposed to be seeing? The poster?"

"That's exactly it!" The look in Beatrice's eyes was hard and serious. "This same poster was here this morning! Professor Laurence didn't just put it here, he was lying!"

"You're saying Professor Laurence is lying?" Nova said slowly. "Bee, that's a big accusation."

"I know it is, but I also know that I'm right." Beatrice studied the bulletin board. She was sure that nothing on it had changed since that morning. "I first met him at the bus station to Ravensburl. He was friendly and cordial to my parents, but there was something off about him."

"He was never the warmest of people."

"Yes, but even though he smiles, it doesn't reach his eyes."

Nova looked to Beatrice. "What do you mean?"

"If you're truly happy or joyful, it shows in your eyes." The earth witch gestured vaguely with her hands, struggling to put her thoughts into words. "You can just kind of tell, you know?"

"Can you tell with me?" Nova said suddenly, causing Beatrice to look her in the eye. "What do you see?"

The taller witch's dark eyes were always hooded or unreadable, but there was something different shining there now. There was a softness reflected in the silver moonlight, a gentleness that belied her harsh angles and monotone voice. There was care there, plain for Beatrice to see.

"Nova?" The earth witch said slowly, her cheeks burning for the second time that day.

Her roommate chuckled and turned away, running her fingers through her dark hair. "I don't know what you're seeing Bee, but..." Her voice turned so soft that Beatrice could hardly hear her. "I'm glad you're the one to see it."

The earth witch was at a loss for words and could only stare back at her roommate. The silence stretched on for so long that Nova began to fidget, moving her weight from one leg to the other. "Hey, Bee?"

Beatrice smiled, not trusting herself to say anything. She only offered her hand, which the tech witch easily took, and squeezed it gently. Her heart leaped in her chest, hammering away so loudly she was sure that Nova could hear it somehow. The way that Nova's angular face was tilted towards her; it was a struggle to keep her voice even as she spoke. "I hope you see the same in my eyes, Nova."

Nova blinked and couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, I think I do. But it's weird we're talking about that right after you've accused a professor of lying."

"Oh! Right!" Beatrice smacked herself in the forehead, while her roommate burst out laughing. "What were we doing? Oh, Nova, I got so distracted!"

"You're cute when you get distracted!"

"Nova!"

"Well, it's true!"

With a smile of pure joy on her face, Beatrice leaned into the tech witch, putting her head on her shoulder. "You know, this suddenly doesn't feel so important. Maybe we can figure all of this out tomorrow."

"That sounds good. It's about time we turned in anyway."

"Alright... Back to our room."

"Hey Bee?"

"Yes, Nova?"

The tech witch smiled back at her roommate and said nothing. Her dark eyes spoke all she needed to say.

The next day, Beatrice was determined to talk more with Nova. She had so many questions! Did the tech witch like her, like her? Were they really on the same wavelength for a moment? Were they illusions and Nova was messing with her? Once the two had gone back to their dormitory room, Nova opted to head straight to bed instead of speaking with Beatrice more. It threw Beatrice off, but then again was all of it too fast? She hardly slept a wink that night, and only managed a few hours of sleep once she saw the barest hint of dawn light coming in through the window. She wished she could send a message to her brother, maybe he could clear up some questions.

Beatrice was properly woken up by the sound of crunching and chewing coming from somewhere in the dorm room. Groaning, she sat up and put her glasses on, still blinking the haze of sleep away. She found the source of the noise quickly: Fleece, Nova's sheep-shaped familiar, had decided to graze on one of Beatrice's potted plants.

The earth witch's first instinct was to stop the sheep in case it was grazing on something that would harm it, but then she saw the familiar leaf shape of her fern and decided against it.

"Good morning, Fleece." Beatrice yawned, swinging her legs over her bed and getting up to stretch.

The sheep familiar bleated happily back. Beatrice was sure that it would be wiggling its tiny tail if it was a real sheep, but Fleece seemed to be a round ball of white cotton all over, save for its head. She could barely see its legs from under all the fluff. Looking across the room, Beatrice say Nova was still in bed, buried somewhere under the pile of blankets she kept on her bed. Why did she have so many blankets, Beatrice wondered. Was it too cold? The earth witch filed the thought away as another thing she wanted to ask her roommate, but for now, it was time to get ready for the day.

It was still a weekend, and with all the craziness around the Inter-School games coming about, classes were the last thing on everyone's mind. Beatrice went ahead without waiting for her roommate — she didn't want to wake her — and found herself in the main hall despite not really having a plan. Professor Grace was manning the sign-up table instead of Arcturus, as the professors were taking turns with the duty. Beatrice strode over to the table, only to find Grace asleep sitting up. The Professor was quite a small person and wore an oversized coat over her robes. There were a few chemical burns at the end of her sleeves from all the potions she had to create and demonstrate during their Alchemy classes.

The earth witch quietly filled out another form, this one to formalize her intent to enter the Wisdom Check game. She put the slip of paper in the box and watched as the folded bird hopped out of it and flew down the hall.

"Huh? Oh, Beatrice Gaia." Professor Grace said with a yawn, the sound of the box shaking having woken her. "Didn't you already sign up for something?"

"Good morning, Professor!" Beatrice smiled. "Yes I did, I signed up for Potion-Making. I just thought that maybe I could try my hand at Wisdom Check as well."

"Mm, Potion-Making." A lazy smile came on the professor's face. "If your performance in my class is any indication, I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. I can't say anything about Wisdom Check, however... Unless the questions deal with potions."

"Thank you, professor! I hope to make you proud at the Games." Beatrice took a moment to look up and down the hall. It was still early on a weekend, so there were very few students milling about. The ones that were walking around were still half-asleep and migrating towards the main hall's dining area for breakfast. "Professor, I did have a question for you."

Grace yawned. "Well, I have nothing else to do at the moment. What is it?"

Beatrice hesitated a moment. "About the wolfsbane potions for the werewolves..." She paused, and Grace's eyes widened a fraction, the professor becoming more alert.

"What about the potions?"

"I would like to help make them," Beatrice said with confidence. "Brewing the potions every month, I mean."

The professor breathed a sigh of relief. "You had me worried for a moment there, Beatrice. Of course, I would welcome your help brewing them, but are you quite sure? It's a tall order, and wolfsbane potions are not easy to make. They're actually quite labor-intensive."

Beatrice nodded. "Yes professor, I know. I've come across the recipe before in my research, and you mentioned them in class when we were discussing the properties of wolfsbane."

"You're my best student of this year and an Oakendale Gaia." Grace chuckled softly. "So I'm not surprised you've done your research and that you're so willing to help. But I do have to ask, why? And how did you know we need so many wolfsbane potions?"

"I met a few werewolves yesterday. They told me that all their needs are met, but if there's any way I can help them further, I'd like to do that. And potion making is my best class, so..."

"Hmm." Grace paused to stretch, the sleeves of her coat slipping down her arms. "An Oakendale through and through. Alright, please do help with potion-making. It takes half a month to brew them, and it still depends on the yield of Meowstaff's crop. We have a good backlog, thankfully... Oh, but are you squeamish with blood?"

"Blood?" Beatrice was taken aback. "I'm not too squeamish, I've dealt with some pretty bad wounds with the people my family has helped. Why do you ask? Are the werewolves getting hurt?"

"If they do get hurt, Hope can heal them right away. But no, I'm asking because I do need more help making blood rations for the vampires."

"Wait, what?"

"You do know there are students here that are vampires, right?" Grace asked, suddenly worried she had blurted out a school secret that she shouldn't have.

"Oh, I do know about them, though I haven't met any yet." The earth witch frowned. "I spoke to Headmistress about the librarian, Mortanius, and she said that the vampires’ blood diet is animal blood."

"It is, primarily, but by combining the blood with a few more ingredients in a potion, I've managed to invent a blood ration that sates their thirst for a tad longer, and has a longer shelf life than, say, bottled blood." Grace smiled, a sparkle in her eyes as she spoke. "I'm really rather proud of it."

"That's amazing, professor! If it’s a potion, then I'd like to help with it!"

"Wonderful! I look forward to your help, Beatrice. I'd like to see you in the third-floor Alchemy lab on Monday next week after all your classes are done."

"I'll do that, professor!" Beatrice beamed. "Thank you!"

Grace smiled and nodded, a bit more awake. She waved the first-year student off. "Go on now, I don't think you've had breakfast yet. Enjoy your day while no one's thinking about work yet! But don't forget to turn in your Alchemy quiz tomorrow."

"I won't forget! Have a good day, professor." Beatrice did a small wave as she turned to head off towards the main hall's dining area, feeling more confident in herself. There was a clear purpose now, and a direct way she could help the non-humans of the school. It may be a small gesture, making potions, but it would be helping all the same. She was about to head inside the dining hall when a tall, Asian student tapped her on the shoulder.

"Good morning, Beatrice," Nova said, stifling a yawn with her hand. The tech witch wore sweatpants and a tank top, yet it flattered her figure in a way that made a blush creep up Beatrice's face.

"Nova! Good morning!" The earth witch said, startled. "I'm so sorry, should I have woken you earlier?"

"What? No, don't worry about that, it's fine." Nova chuckled. "Actually I'm happy I caught you. I was going to ask if you'd like to have breakfast with me."

"With you? Of course! You don't need to ask, Nova." Beatrice smiled. She smoothed out her day dress and walked into the dining area with her roommate. "I'd like to do more things with you. I really like spending time with you, just walking and talking."

"You know, I'd like that too. Hey, can you save that table for us? I'll get us a couple of trays. What do you want, pancakes?"

"Yes please, that sounds great." Beatrice noticed how attentive her roommate was getting. Surely that just means she's a good friend, right? As Nova walked off towards the cafeteria line, having to take many more steps than usual due to the Headmistress's expansion of the place, Beatrice couldn't help but watch her roommate, her mind and heart racing.

She is just a good friend, right?