Disclaimer: If you don't recognize it, it's probably mine. If you do, it's Tammy's.
Chapter One
Cassie lay on the roof of the girl's dormitory at Winding Circle, staring at the stars that lay just out of her reach. They were so beautiful, pinpoints of light in the black sky. Just in the distance, she saw a pale shadow winging its way towards her. She sat up, and held her arm out just as the tiny elf owl landed. Barely the size of her hand, Nuktia's buff-colored feathers were dark-streaked. The owl made a content huur, telling Cassie that she had fed well that night on insects and one tasty lizard. Nuktia hopped up Cassie's arm, to her shoulder, where she snuggled inside the girl's shoulder-length, thick black hair. Cassie sighed, totally relaxed. She enjoyed one of the few times of peace since she had come from the farm.
"Cassiopeia, is that you up there?" a voice called. A light reached up to illuminate her. Cassie groaned as she saw Dedicate Staghorn below. "Get down from there immediately." Cassie turned away from the dedicate, making like she was ready to slide down as she knew any other girl would do. In reality, she was letting Nuktia off her shoulder and whispering that she had to go, and that Nuktia should fly away and enjoy the night, as Cassie herself could not. She slid down the roof, knowing that the dedicate would freak if she ran down it in her usual fashion, and landed lightly on the ground. The dedicate grabbed her by her upper arm and marched her into the dormitory.
She was woken at dawn by the same dedicate shaking her shoulder. "Pack," the woman curtly ordered. Cassie did, sighing. She was cast away again, as usual. She was going to be sent to some other place, with a new set of rules. Why they couldn't just let her off in some forest with nice big trees and plenty of birds, she didn't know. She finished packing her few belongings with the dedicate watching over her the entire time, and followed her to Winding Circle's administration building. The dedicate muttered the entire way.
"First there was that girl Trisana, who was unmanageable and now you. Why is it always me that gets stuck with the hard ones. I've hardly had a good night sleep since you arrived. Now sit," she said, nearly throwing Cassie onto to one of the benches. Dedicate Staghorn stormed into the office. "Honored Moonstream, I've had enough!"