Cat dreams and Fox secrets

The sun had already risen high enough to fill the room with a bright, warm light that filtered through the lace-like shadow of leaves outside the window. Day had confidently claimed its place, but the room felt more like an alchemical lab than a student dormitory. Lio was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the chaos he himself had created: scattered around him were mugs with traces of green infusion, torn parchment scraps, bizarre amulets, and... a sparrow. A live one. It strutted confidently across the carpet, pecking mint cracker crumbs from Lio's palm like it owned the place. Ray stood in the doorway with a cup of green tea, watching the scene like it was a stage play. He'd already woken up and glanced through his schedule — yet still felt a bit overwhelmed. Because of Lio. While other students started their day calmly — reviewing their timetables and adjusting to new surroundings — Lio's day followed a much more direct path: 'I have an idea, let's try it!' And now he was sitting on the floor, trying to grow mint in a ceramic mug, chanting a growth spell... backwards. — "If you invert the ending correctly, it should trigger an alternative stimulation phase!" Lio declared excitedly, consulting a messy sketch in which the mint appeared to be simultaneously growing, glowing, and dancing. Ray took a sip of tea and exhaled quietly. He still wasn't sure whether he had enrolled in a magical academy — or gotten swept into someone else's mad experiment. While Ray carefully packed his bag and checked the campus map, Lio was already trying to measure 'spatial echoes' near the ceiling using a pendulum made from a spoon dipped in coffee grounds. At some point, he dashed into the hallway to 'borrow' some branches, tripped over the stairs, greeted someone invisible, and returned to the room to lay the twigs on the floor, muttering: — "If a ghost walks over this line, it'll leave a trace, and we'll finally know who's been stealing my bookmarks at night! Think it's sabotage?" — "I think you are sabotage," Ray muttered tiredly, stepping over one of the twig lines and nudging the sparrow off a pillow. Lio hadn't properly slept since arriving at the academy — and it showed. Not as zombie-like exhaustion, but as a stormy, glowing, barely-contained energy that practically screamed: If no one stops him, he really might open a portal to some demigod's kitchen just to fetch 'the perfect noodles.' — "Oh!" Lio exclaimed, glancing at Ray's schedule. — "You only have classes in the evening? Then we've got the whole day!" — "What... do you mean we?" — "Tour time!" Lio declared triumphantly, already pulling on his jacket and stuffing a bottle labeled Invigorating Cat Elixir into his pocket. — "What, you thought I'd let you wander alone around a campus where one of the bridges actually eats people who are late to class?" Ray raised an eyebrow. — "'That a joke?" — "...70%." Against his better judgment, Ray smiled. It wasn't stupidity — it was Lio's sheer aliveness that was infectious. Everything was interesting. Everything was worth exploring. Or at least poking with a stick to see if it would glow. They stepped outside, and the day seemed to come alive in new colors. The academy campus wasn't just beautiful — it was ancient, alive, and just a bit insane. Towers that appeared white marble by day turned to black obsidian by night. Roads curved at their own whim — once they looped around a building to shorten the path, and next time they led the students straight into a mirrored garden, where trees reflected but didn't exist. — "This is the Illusory Magic Exam Garden," Lio explained, chewing a cherry pie. — "Just don't touch the reflections. If they touch you first, you'll speak in reverse for three days." They crossed a courtyard where translucent beasts roamed — guardian spirits of the different departments. A snow-white rabbit in a magician's hat, a miniature dragon flitting between towers, and something like a golden raven perched on a flagpole, yelling 'Latecomer!' at anyone running to class. — "That's Sheriff. He gets paid to emotionally terrorize people," Lio said with a grin. — "Don't feed him after midnight. Don't ask why." — "He still works here?" — "He can only be fired if you beat him in a verbal duel. No one's managed it. Not even Professor Nekra." Ray found himself laughing more than he expected. Sure, a staircase almost ate him, and he had to dodge a swarm of enchanted butterflies involved in 'an experiment,' but all in all, the day was going better than anticipated. At least, until they reached the Alley of Hours. At first glance — just a walkway between buildings. But the moment you stepped in, the air buzzed with temporal echoes: someone passing an exam, someone falling in love, someone... disappearing. Ray hesitated, staring into the lingering traces of spiritual energy. Deep in the shimmer, he caught a flicker of something else — outstretched claws, a whispering voice like a ringing bell, someone's pain frozen in repetition. He shivered. Lio had already moved on, oblivious to what Ray had just seen. And maybe that was the difference between them: Lio saw everything as an adventure. Ray saw it more like a minefield. By the time the sun began to set, they had returned to their dorm wing. Still full of enthusiasm, Lio launched into a speech about how he planned to join the 'Experimental Feline Alchemy Club,' which claimed to teach how to convert yawns into usable energy. — "Just imagine!" he said, gesturing wildly. — "No more morning depression — just meow and boom! Energy!" — "What if it's only temporary?" — "Then meow every ten minutes!" Ray, exhausted but still smiling, glanced at his schedule. His History of Magic class started in fifteen minutes. Originally, he hadn't planned to attend — he thought he'd postpone, explore the campus a bit more, settle in... But after everything... — "I think I'll go to the lecture," he said suddenly. — "I want to... settle into the studies. You know. Traditionally." Lio didn't even suspect the shift in mood. — "Oh! Great! Good luck! If your professor's an old man with a beard down to the floor — that's normal. If the beard starts talking on its own — don't answer. It's a trap." Ray said goodbye quickly and walked off, feeling a calm return. Not in a sad way — just... quieter. Leviathan Tower, bathed in sunset light, welcomed him gently. Stone arches, mosaic windows, the scent of old paper and magic. And the lecturer's voice, soft but commanding: — "History of Magic is not a chronicle of spells. It is a record of consequences." Ray took a seat in the corner, pulled out his notebook, and for the first time in a long while, felt like he was doing something... right. Somewhere far away, back in the room, the mint cup was probably bouncing again, the sparrow was nibbling on an amulet, and Lio was likely figuring out how to grow little legs on his ink pen.