"Are you sure you have your warbeads?!" "Yes, for the LAST TIME, mother" , said the young Lycyan, his ears bent forward and starting to burn red. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Luna's concern; as her adopted son he was the apple of her eye. But Redfang could at least try to calm her nerves; it wasn't as if he was going to war...this time. A gruff voice spoke up above Luna's nervous henpecking. " Beloved, stop fretting over the boy. You've already checked and rechecked his provisions four times over." Luna wasn't easily convinced, however, and continued. " Do not tell me to calm down, Red, it's his first time in a new place and he won't have any of the Pack to..." "Now you know that's not true; Badwolf's daughter is at the school and Badwolf has been one of the Pack since before Oberon rose to power. If she's half the wolf her father is, she'll recognize him immediately." "Well...I suppose..." The young mother's face still showed her worry. Aricos knew she was terrified beyond his father's consolation; this would mark the first time he had been away from for an extended period without any of his immediate family. "Mom," ( she loved it when he called her that instead of Mother) " I'm going to be alright. I promise. " She didn't say anything else, but he knew that she was a lot calmer after hearing that. " Come, Aricos; it's almost time for the portal!" , Redfang shouted. He hurried off to go join his father, waving goodbye to Luna behind him. As they sat waiting, Red spoke up in the tongue of their Pack. "My son, listen to me. Do not speak, simply hear." Ari immediately nodded; his father would not speak in this way unless it was seriously important. "As you know, Badwolf's daughter is going to meet you when you reach the school." Ari nodded. "As you also know, Badwolf married the Woman of the Red Hood. This union, while honoured in the eyes of the Luna Angela and our ancestors, is not common knowledge where you are headed. IT MUST REMAIN THAT WAY; do you understand?" Aricos nodded again, though looked at his father questioningly. " There is a man at this school known as Milton Grimm. He must never know this information. Do you understand? Never. Period. " Ari didn't nod this time; it wasn't needed. His father was trusting him with extremely sensitive information; he would not fail. As the portal finally appeared, Redfang spoke one last time to his son: " Remember my words, remember your Pack; remember your orders." " Yes, sir" , said his loyal son. And with that, he turned and walked through the portal.
"By Adonai..." Aricos didn't know what to expect from this new place, but what he saw was DEFINITELY not what he pictured. The castle before him stood proudly to the sky,banners flapping in the wind, parapets tall and graceful; it was simultaneously imposing and inviting ( not anything like the Obsidian Keep,which was just plain scary). One look at the place from bottom to top confirmed that while it looked non -threatening now, this place had been built as a fortress, and would easily be able to withstand a frontal assault; to say nothing of a siege. This observation came easily to Aricos; Redfang had been training him in warfare since he was a young cub. He was so caught up running strategies in his head on how the Pack could use this place(or conquer it, he wasn't picky), when a young woman's voice rang across the courtyard. " HEY, COUSIN! " He quickly scanned his surroundings, his wolf ears picking up where the call came from. He turned towards the castle to see a red blaze streak towards him. He was briefly surprised: she was faster than he remembered. She'd almost caught him off guard...almost. He quickly dodged out of the way of the oncoming streak, turned sharply around and got behind her. She stopped, stunned that he'd vanished so quickly when he'd barely noticed her coming. That is, until he lightly tapped her on the back and said clearly, "Tag; you're it." This caused the red-clad girl to leap almost 2ft in the air. Aricos smiled to himself and shrugged; " Cousin Cerise. She never changes... "
As soon as he'd gotten Cerise to calm down,(she was apparently very touchy about being caught off guard) she gave him a brief tour of Ever After High whilst they caught up. He told her of his training under his father, and his approaching induction into the Ebon Guard, the top security force in of all Necross. She told him of her studies at the school in her usual mutedly excited way. She spoke of joining the bookball team and being faster than all the boys(which wasn't surprising, given her heritage). But throughout her explanation, he took note of one detail: she never spoke of anything involving her father or Lycian upbringing. He didn't bring it up, however; Cerise had always been tentative in realizing her true limits and abilities as one of the Moon's Children. He wouldn't press the issue if it obviously made her uncomfortable. It made it all the easier to follow his father's command. Speaking of which... "Oh, right,before I forget; Headmaster Grimm wants to meet with all the new students in his office. I'm pretty sure that includes you, cuz. You'll find his office down the main hall, take the stairs on the right, go left and it'll be the biggest door in the hallway. " "OK ", Aricos replied. "Wait a second...is the headmaster's first name...", he started to ask Cerise. But as he turned around he saw his cousin had vanished into thin air... "Huh", he said to himself, " she's, quieter now too." As he already had the directions, though, he supposed he could find Grimm's office on his own. "I just hope this guy is the one Father was speaking of," he thought. "I'd prefer to know the face of my enemy...wait, ALL the new students?! "