"They are not our peers!" Ian declared, his voice rising with uncertainty and disbelief.
They couldn't be.
Unless a group of newly admitted students had secretly begun a synchronized marching exercise that no one else knew about.
But that would be illogical, and therein lay the problem, sothing wasn't adding up.
The marching footsteps outside didn't belong to anyone they knew nor were the normal sounds of human movent.
And despite the ongoing rain masking much of the noise, one thing was clear: whatever was out there wasn't human, or at least not normal.
The pacing of the footsteps, the clanking sound, it seed out of place.
They had no choice but to stay inside and wait for things to settle.
The rain continued relentlessly, the storm swirling violently in the distance, masking any other sounds.
Hours passed as they waited, the steady downpour gradually slowing.
Soon, only the occasional drip of water remained.
Yet the footsteps, they remained too, loud, persistent, and unmistakably deliberate.
After a lengthy wait, the rain finally began to ease, the harsh downpour shifting to a light drizzle, the ground wet and muddy.
And with the change in the weather, the sound of marching beca more distinct, and clearer.
As it did, it grew even louder, echoing in the otherwise quiet atmosphere.
"Do you think it's safe to go out now?" Ian asked, his voice tinged with apprehension.
The silence outside was eerie, the absence of both rain and marching sounds suggesting a temporary reprieve.
Even then, there was no certainty.
Caution was needed, especially when there was still an unsettling tension in the air.
"I'll go out and check," Aldrich volunteered, stepping forward. "Calia, can you create a small opening for to pass through?"
"No," Ian interjected quickly. "I should go."
Ian raised an eyebrow, sizing up the situation.
He considered himself more suited for the task of venturing outside. "I know you think you're stronger," Aldrich started, "and maybe you are, but I have clairvoyance, and that gives an edge in case of any sudden attacks. So think again, who's the better choice here?"
Aldrich didn't argue further.
It was clear to him that they both had their reasons for wanting to be the one to venture out.
The debate was unnecessary.
The idea of risking their lives for the safety of others didn't sit right with either of them, but that's how it was, heroes didn't always get a say in their roles.
"Fine," Ian relented. "But if things get dangerous, shout for help or run."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Aldrich replied with a smirk.
It was ridiculous to imagine.
Aldrich certainly does not think himself a hero nor does he believe he emulates the traits of one.
Neither does Ian think otherwise.
Calia stepped forward, her hand pressing against the wall as she manipulated the material to create a hole just big enough for Aldrich to crawl through.
With her Art maintaining the structural integrity of the space, she ensured the area remained secure.
Crawling on all fours, Aldrich slipped through the opening and into the light.
The outside air was crisp and fresh, the world illuminated by the soft glow of the remaining storm clouds.
The trees were still swaying from the earlier gusts, their movents eerily quiet now in the aftermath of the storm.
Aldrich scanned the surroundings with caution, eyes sharp. "It's safe to co out now," he called back.
Ian wasted no ti, moving to exit the shelter.
Calia followed closely behind, dissolving the earth elental Art that had protected them and restoring the surroundings to their original state.
The bricks she had cut from the walls were now seamlessly restored.
"Aldaman, she needs help carrying Trevor!" Ian called, but Aldrich was distracted.
He had already noticed sothing strange.
"Can you co and check this out?" he called urgently.
Ian approached, his curiosity piqued by Aldrich's tone.
"Those are...?" Ian asked, his voice trailing off as he saw what Aldrich was pointing to.
"Footprints," Aldrich said grimly. "Specifically, the footprints of whatever made those marching sounds we heard earlier."
Indeed, Aldrich wasn't wrong.
The footprints in the wet mud weren't those of any human, they were too large, too strange to be one.
And certainly, not from any animal Ian recognized.
The shapes of the prints were unnervingly alien: one large, long toe and a smaller, slightly curved one.
"Can you think of any animal that might leave prints like this?" Aldrich asked, seeking Ian's insight.
Ian squatted down, examining the tracks closely. "Horses, maybe," he mused. "But these aren't horse prints."
"Horses have two matching toes," Aldrich pointed out. "These are different, long and irregular."
Ian thought for a mont. "The only other animal I can think of is an ostrich..."
Aldrich looked at him, sceptical. "Ostriches don't leave prints like this. They're not that clean, and they certainly don't march in perfect synchronization. This isn't an ostrich."
"I know," Ian replied, now crouched beside the footprints, his hand hovering just above the earth. "Look at this! If it were an ostrich, their footprints wouldn't be so precise. And they definitely wouldn't march in perfect rhythm."
Aldrich leaned in closer, his attention fixed on the prints as Ian's hand hovered above them. "Hey, over there!"
Aldrich's gaze sharpened.
Even without his clairvoyant eyes, he could see sothing in the distance, but it wasn't until he focused on his other senses that he saw it, a glint in the mud, sothing out of place.
"What is it?" Ian asked, curiosity edging his voice.
Aldrich bent down, reaching into the mud and pulling sothing out.
He held it up, studying it closely with his clairvoyant sight.
It appeared to be made of tal, red tal, but beyond that, he couldn't discern much.
"I don't know," Aldrich admitted, his voice tense. "It's hard, like tal... but it's red."
"Can I see?" Ian asked, his tone now more serious.
Aldrich passed the object over, watching Ian examine it with careful deliberation.
"Hmm..." Ian murmured, inspecting the strange piece. "It's like... an exoskeleton. But I can't be sure."
"An exoskeleton?" Aldrich repeated. "Like a crab?"
"Or a beetle, or a centipede. There's a lot of creatures it could be from," Ian said, shaking his head. "It's too small to tell. The footprint could match any number of creatures with similar shapes, it's too plenty to narrow it down."
Aldrich's frustration was palpable. "So we're stuck in a forest with unknown creatures roaming around, and we have no idea what we're dealing with?"
"Damned second-years," Aldrich cursed, realizing that their troubles had only just begun.
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