By the time Lucavion returned to his room, evening had settled over the Academy.
The last light lingered between the distant towers, leaving the room dim enough for the mana lamp beside his desk to awaken on its own. Lucavion loosened his collar and pulled off his outer coat when a soft thump came from the window.
Vitaliara stood on the sill.
Leaves clung to one side of her white fur. A smear of dirt crossed one foreleg, and something suspiciously similar to a burr had lodged beneath her chin.
Lucavion stared at her.
Vitaliara stared back.
Her fur drew inward for an instant. Leaves, dirt, and burr disappeared beneath the shifting white before the coat smoothed itself immaculate again.
Lucavion hung his coat over the chair. "Great timing, you have."
Vitaliara stepped down from the sill with considerably more dignity than someone who had arrived wearing half a shrub deserved. He reached for the buttons of his shirt, and her head turned toward him.
