The next morning was more awkward than I thought it would be. But given what we had all learned last night I wasn't that surprised.

Jarec was lingering by the door with Scraps at his feet. The paper dragon probably didn't know what was happening. Or maybe it did, but I didn't know much about whatever spell Jarec used to bring him to life.

"So…Mists," Jarec said. There was a blank stiffness there. Like he couldn't tell which emotion he had landed on but it wasn't a pleasant one.

"Yeah. Awful people. I can't wait until this history block is over."

"If he asks us to do something positive about them, I'm revolting."

"If you need help with that revolt I would be happy to lend whatever assistance I can." Not that it was much, considering the whole not-able-to-cast thing.

But maybe soon.

Hopefully soon.

(*********)

Spellcraft was a marked improvement over the awkwardness of History.

"Summoning an object from a known location is a utility spell that forms the building block of dozens of other everyday use spells. Miss Farsee, would you please join me up here and demonstrate?"

Angelina all but jumped out of her seat.

Classic Pixie, always eager.

So glad I wasn't there anymore, no one expected me to be something I wasn't. No more of that 'make a proper Pixie out of you' nonsense. There were no expectations for Dragon behavior.

Though I had some concerns about what kind of precedents the others were setting. Dragon was a blank slate, but the others were more than happy to fill those blanks with shenanigans.

She gave me a slight wave from the stage at the front of class and snapped her fingers. There was a flash of red and in her hands was a pen covered in pink sparkly stickers.

Hers.

Telvis clapped, "Well done. It's one of the simplest spells, but just because it's simple doesn't mean you should underestimate its importance. We have to learn to crawl before we hope to run."

And didn't I know it?

(*********)

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History class today wasn't much better. I managed to hold in my sighs though.

"By the seventeen hundreds The Mists of Hecate, while their former purpose was mostly obsolete as the human world was marching onwards. They, of course, remained supportive of keeping us and them as far apart as possible."

Less than ten minutes and my wrist was already starting to hurt and itch. Like clockwork, this thing.

I tapped my fingers on the desk, saying anything wasn't going to do me any good right now. Nor make this go by quicker.

I had enough problems to deal with.

"Of course, there's nothing wrong with anyone from a mixed family…" Oh good, he realized how awkward this lecture was going to be for some people.

He looked over the classroom and let out a sigh. "How many of you heard of a certain incident about thirty years ago involving the Mists and this school?"

Russel, myself and to my shock a handful of others all raised their hands.

"Miss Stewart, would you mind telling us your version?"

I glanced at Russel, he was frowning but gave me a shrug.

Times like this would be perfect for being in that telepathic group chat.

I really hoped that was permission. But it also wasn't like he asked before name-dropping me in his paper in front of the whole class. So vengeance.

"A handful of students were kidnapped right off of campus one day while serving detention," I recalled the stories Mom had told me, though it was supplemented by more recent discoveries. "They were all rescued, but one of the students was permanently scarred from the incident and the others kept to themselves and barely talked about it."

Dellik nodded, "I was going to school here at the time."

That made sense, actually. He looked like he could be old enough to have been a classmate of Mom's.

"I was in my third year, they were in their first. Like you all. None of the students were Pixies like me so I never interacted with them. But you would see them around campus. They picked up a bit of a habit of causing mischief. Especially if they felt one of their own was threatened."

The Exterreri.

"I admit that even now I'm unsure of the specifics. But the leader of that ordeal those kids went through was a man named Dearil Merripen."

That name didn't mean anything to me.

But the gasps around the room were very telling.

"Besides the kidnapping, he also led a small faction of Mists to murder members of the Grand Archy. They were voting for new regulations when it came to marriages between magical folks and humans."

And let me guess: the Mists didn't like that.

"Merripen, along with his immediate associates, were arrested and have been rotting away in cells since. It occurred to me yesterday that may be what you all associate them with. But while that man and his reign over the party was filled with darkness, not everyone who crosses paths with them have or had ill-intentions. While there are bad seeds in the Mists, I don't want any of you to walk away convinced every single one is evil."

I rubbed at my wrist again. It was hurting, but not as bad as yesterday.

"History is full of good and bad people. We are going to talk about some less than pleasant people and moments here. I won't blame any of you for being uncomfortable with it."

Bit of an understatement Dellik. But sure.

"If any of you want to talk about any of this please don't hesitate. My door is open even to those of you who aren't Pixies."

There was a long moment of silence in the room that lingered in the air like heavy fog.

"The Mists of Hecate were, and still are, a group of people who want to do good. The issues and conflicts often come from the question of what that means. What makes a person, or even a deed, good or bad is a complicated question. And you never know for sure what events may drive a person to even the most extreme actions."

(*********)

Russel was quiet as we left class. I couldn't tell if he was just thinking or talking to the others in the telepathic group chat. We need to make like a signal or something. Some way to tell me when they were doing that.

"How are you feeling?" I asked after a few seconds.

He sighed, "The sooner we get this block over with, the better."

"Absolutely."

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