Chapter 7: Introductions

Malvina's POV-

The soft sound of Ninani ruffling her pure white feathers was the only noise that filled the room. The first training session with the first three summoners that arrived was cancelled. Olvan had said that it would be better to wait for the rest of the summoners to arrive anyway before starting battle training.

Honestly, I felt a little guilty about it. Would the session even had happened if I sent them a letter or a message beforehand? Was it just a waste of their time? I stared into Ninani's seemingly glowing eyes. That always calmed me. Gave me a sense of peace, not quiet tranquility like you would expect with Jhi, but instead various sounds: birds chirping, ocean waves, or the wind blowing softly.

I had first discovered it when we were on the ship, sailing to Greenhaven. The unsteadiness of the boat and the ebb and flow of the waves made me sick to my stomach. I had looked to Ninani for comfort, and then all of the world's wrongs were blocked out. I could only hear and feel peace. It would be a very useful skill, for sure.

One other thing that I noticed was that Ninani did not seem to be very affectionate. She would often be off to the side, staring into something only she could see, or preening quietly. Whenever I stroked her feathers, she would close her eyes in content, but not make any motion to ask for it. When I hold out my arm for the passive state, she would stare blankly until I recoiled. Ninani just seemed to not want to be involved in anything. Nonetheless, her presence is very soothing.

As if Olvan's words of waiting for the other summoners were fate, in the next few hours, like a hurricane, the kids who summoned Rumfuss, Arax, and… Gerathon (I had shivered when I heard that name) arrived.

The routines were regular for two of them. For Gerathon, however… They had to take special precautions. When the Great Serpent first came through the gates, she had hissed at every Greencloak she saw. True that she was much smaller that she used to be, but her venom was still fatal and her reputation still strong. The Greencloaks had her out in the courtyard under supervision, while her summoner, a boy from western Zhong, was given a room close to the castle entrance.

It had been a day since that happened. And today, like lightning, the rest of the summoners had arrived: Dinesh, Mulop, Halawir, Kovo. The two betrayers had acted much less aggressively than Gerathon, but still seemed untrustworthy.

Kovo was sinister and unsettling. He seemed full of rage and fury, and ignored everyone, even his own summoner. Fortunately, that made him safe enough to keep in a regular room. Halawir, on the other hand, was dark and brooding, his sharp eyes seeming to shoot the words revenge and hatred. When his summoner arrived, he was nowhere to be found. The young girl explained that the eagle would come nowhere near her, and spent most of his time soaring in the sky. There was no question of containing him. Of course, these were all Olvan's opinions.

Now, today, we were to meet in the courtyard, to introduce ourselves and become familiar. Not to mention, to discuss with some of the other Greencloaks what had happened to the Spirit Animal summonings and why they disappeared.

It was right around that time. Olvan said to go down in the mid-afternoon. I just hoped that the others were friendly. Ninani stood gracefully, sensing my thoughts. I smiled gently.

"Come on," I said, "Time to meet the other kids." I rose from my seat on the bed and patted the wrinkles in the bedsheet down. I reached for the doorknob and turned it easily. For how old the castle was, the place was still functioning very well. The door made no sound as I opened it.

The corridor was dimly lit, and had a cozy feel to it. Banners were hung on the walls, not as elaborate paintings or extragravant decorations, but as simple carpets to make the walls less echoey and to keep heat in.

It was safe to say that I had absolutely no idea whatsoever how to navigate the castle, and the only two routes I knew at the moment were the ways to the entrance and the dinner hall.

Only a few minutes later, I found myself breathing in fresh air in the courtyard, and six others were already there. I involuntarily shivered when a saw Gerathon's curled up form in the far corner. A ring of stones in one side of the yard was meant to be a lounging area to talk and have a moment of peace. There was enough for everyone, so Olvan made that our official meeting place.

As I approached the area, I noticed a scarlet-eyed gorilla, a golden-furred lion, a sprawled out octopus, a boulder-sized elephant, and a grazing boar. I waved, but only a tan boy with Mulop wrapped around his shoulders and a tall girl by Dinesh's side waved back. Ninani seemed uninterested.

"Hi," I worried that sounded too boring so I added, "I'm Malvina."

"Badri," the girl responded. She looked west-Zhongese. Badri yawned, then looked at Malvina for a good few seconds before the boy cut in.

"I'm Jati," he paused for a few moments and I was about to say something— "I summoned Mulop. He's really quite cute. It's a wonder he can breathe out of water. Heck, he seems to love it more up here than in water. And I've seen him squeeze through so many things. He loves listening to stories and he just looks so silly. Sometimes he nips me though. I've been feeling really weird in water ever since I summoned him. Sometimes I can breathe for a few minutes underwater. It's a little weird. But I can swim so much better now and—"

"Will you PLEASE SHUT UP." A voice came from behind us, and a brown-haired boy (who had apparently listened to Jati's speech) stood with his arms crossed. A very intimidating ram: Arax, stood with his horns high beside him. "You make me want to PULL out your TONGUE and FEED it to the VULTURES." The way he talked was very threatening, it wasn't loud, but he enunciated almost every few words. I tried to draw in Ninani's calm.

Jati's eyes widened and he sighed.

"Well, you… you could be nicer about it," I advised, shocked at how aggressive this boy was. He scoffed.

"Stop your bickering," the Niloan boy beside Cabaro spoke up. "Can we just wait for the others before we start our little introductions?"

Almost everybody in the circle nodded at least a little. This dark-skinned boy had a strong sense of leadership in him. Harsh leadership, but leadership nonetheless.

As we waited, I started to notice how different everybody in this meeting was. The boy beside Kovo seemed to have a lot on his mind. Different emotions would show up on his face without anyone doing anything. The Niloan boy was very solemn, and held his head high like a king. Badri looked very… tired, to say the least. She was constantly yawning and leaning on Dinesh. Jati was fidgety and seemed extremely bored with himself. The girl with Rumfuss sat quietly, and was looking off at the forest beyond the castle.

One by one, as the others arrived, I noted their personalities and how to speak with them to keep on their positive side. Olvan, along with another woman, had come out and was standing by the door and motioning them towards the ring of stones.

First, an Arctican girl wrapped in animal skins nervously stepped in. I couldn't see her eyes, as she kept her head down with black bangs hanging over her forehead. A lumbering polar bear slept silently on her palm. I was surprised that she got Suka to enter the passive state.

Only seconds later, a tall Euran boy with blonde hair walked out. He stood far from the meeting, and his Spirit Animal was nowhere to be seen. It took me a few more minutes to realize that he might have summoned Halawir.

Next, a large and regal elk trotted out to the courtyard, with an Amayan girl not far behind. She had curious brown eyes and dark flowing hair.

And lastly, a Zhongese boy, with pitch-black hair and tired eyes, stepped out. Olvan and the woman beside him seemed to pay special attention to him. The Great Serpent, coiled in chains, hissed loudly in his presence, but did not show any other signs of aggression.

Now, all eleven summoners sat or stood around the ring. Their Spirit Animals took up most of the large space.

"I welcome all of you to Greenhaven," Olvan began. "I am aware that this is a completely new experience for every one of you. We have some… problems to talk about, but let's get to know each other first, shall we? As you all know, I am Olvan, leader of the Greencloaks. This here," he gestured to the decorated woman beside him, "is Lenori. She will be helping you with your bonds. I know that having two adults here during your introductions might be a bit… awkward, so why don't we give you some privacy?" With that, Olvan and Lenori walked over to the guards by Gerathon, engaging in conversation.

There was a moment of silence before someone spoke up.

"I'm Dian," the boy beside Kovo said, "I summoned Kovo, the grouch." The ape growled menacingly at that, clenching his fists. Dian smiled nervously. "Just kidding."

"My name is Zuberi," the Niloan summoner of Cabaro followed, "This is Cabaro." Zuberi gave a demanding look at the Great Lion, but he just tossed his mane, and continued staring to the side.

Jati went next. "Jati. I summoned Mulop, the Great Octopus, and—"

"Why don't we stop it there?" Badri suggested with sleepy eyes. "Well, I'm Badri." She gestured to the lumbering elephant. "And Dinesh."

Sensing the tension between the rest of the kids, I decided to go next. "My name is Malvina. This is Ninani." As if on cue, the Great Swan ruffled her feathers loudly but gently, before settling back down.

"Arran." The blonde boy with no apparent Spirit Animal spoke up. He flicked his eyes to the sky. When I peered up, the shadow of a large bird was circling. "Halawir," Arran said in a low voice.

"Oh," the Zhongese girl beside Rumfuss whispered. Not quietly enough. Arran shot a glare towards her. "Um, I meant "Oh" as in poor Halawir." That made it worse. The blonde boy narrowed his eyes more. "Well, it must not feel nice to be forced into a Spirit Animal bond like this is all I'm saying." That made me think for a bit. But I lost my train of thought when she continued. "Imagine suddenly being the king of the skies… and then to have it all taken away."

Arran's eyes softened ever so slightly. "What's your name?" he asked in a plaintive tone.

"Bai," she answered. Bye? As in 'farewell' bye? What kind of a name was that? But I didn't want to offend her so I kept silent.

"Bai? Or Bye? Does anyone ever get confused?" Dian wasn't so considerate. Fortunately the girl only sighed.

"Bai. B-A-I. A lot of people get confused, yes. I mostly think it's because of my accent."

"Nah. It sounds the same either way, I think."

"Aaaaaanyways," the boy with Arax cut in (rather rudely as well), "It's not like anyone CARES about how your STUPID NAME is spelled. I'm Edan. And this is Arax."

"Like a fire." I recognized that name. A friend back home had it. He had once explained its meaning. But this Edan just raised an eyebrow at me. "That's what your name means."

"Pfft. Stalker."

"I think it's pretty fitting," Zuberi said sternly.

"WHATEVER. You ALL make me want to DISEMBOWEL the WORLD." Arax huffed at that. Tellun stamped his hoof.

"Um, I'm Lenmana… And my Spirit Animal is Tellun," the girl with dark brown hair said.

"Pahal." The tired Zhongese boy whose Spirit Animal was apparently Gerathon.

"Aaaaand…?" Dian prompted.

"And…" he hesitated. "Gerathon." Almost all at once, everyone turned their heads to stare at the small-sized Gerathon in the corner.

"Well," Badri said. "You?" Seeming too lazy to lift her hands to gesture, she instead gave a significant look to the shy girl with Suka.

"L-Lusa."

"And Suka." I finished for her as to not embarrass her further. She smiled slightly in gratitude. And for the first time I saw her eyes. They were a soft chocolate-brown. Zuberi scoffed quietly. Lusa didn't hear.

Just then, Gerathon hissed loudly and snapped her jaws. She writhed and struggled in her chains. Though she was small, the sight made every guard around her, including Olvan and Lenori, jump back.

The Great Serpent snarled in rage. She snapped at the nearest Greencloak and had her fangs deep in his calf. Dark streaks were already pulsing from the wound through the skin. The Greencloak shook violently.

At that point, he collapsed with a huge thud that echoed through the courtyard.

A/N: OH MY GOSH. That was the longest chapter yet. It's hard managing eleven different characters and Great Beasts though. I try to give them unique personalities, even if they're a little weird. WE'RE ALL LOOKING AT YOU JATI AND MULOP. Anywho, do you guys want me to upload longer chapters (obvious answer: yes.)? Or do think they're fine as they are? If I do make longer chapters they might take longer to type (I'M A SLOW THINKER.) Just give your two cents plz.

Until the next time,

Rainbowcookies .