Strange Request

Junius escorted Aayla to the Student Council Office. Rather than a simple office, it was an entire wing that branched off of the Central Administration Building. The opulence of the main building had clearly influenced the Student Council Office.

With white marble and gold embellishments, the wing could have been found in a modest palace. The even had their own (student) secretaries and private dining lounge! The elegant tune of a violin and piano duet drifted down the hallway.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Could you please inform the president that I, Junius Ahroyor, have arrived with Ms. Aayla Glowery?"

"Absolutely! Please wait a moment. Would you prefer to wait in the lounge?"

"No need. We're expected, so we'll just wait here."

One of the student secretaries quickly walked away. They came back only a few minutes later.

"The president will see you now."

The student secretary guided them down the long hallway. Several other students with badges quickly passed by or talked in the hallways. Still, the office was very empty. Their guide knocked on the last door at the end of the hallway.

"Enter," a calm voice commanded from inside.

Their guide bowed and closed the door after they entered. Eileen Bennett sat behind an elegant desk while glancing through several papers. She carefully scrutinized Aayla as she entered.

"Thank you Junius. I know that you've been fairly busy lately."

"Indeed, but I can always make a bit of time for our President Bennett."

"And how are you doing Ms. Glowery? It's been almost a month since I've seen you last. You must've been busy to send Mr. Lawlor for every student council meeting."

Aayla awkwardly chuckled under Eileen's gaze.

"Yes, planning for the trip was intensive. The residents have been going stir crazy lately."

"It's rather fortunate that you have Junius and Renee living there to help you then. Mr. Lawlor has been very informative, but there are some things that I'd rather talk in person about. You should have plenty of time now that the trip is over."

Ramona advised her to avoid school politics but that's no longer possible. Darn it. Aayla's mouth twitched as she struggled to maintain her smile. Looks like the President won't buy any more excuses.

"I do have plenty of time now."

"Excellent!"

Eileen reached into her desk and took out a shiny badge with an orange ribbon. She tossed it towards Aayla.

"It's a bit late, but here's your badge Ms. Glowery. You are the chair of the Residence Council for Nafriton Residence Hall and this badge is proof of that. Mr. Lawlor already has his as the vice chair. The Student Council extends our warmest greetings to the chair of the newest subsidiary of the Student Council."

Oh no. Oh nononono. This is not what Aayla and Ramona had in mind. Darn that meddlesome old man in the headmaster's office. Also, since when was Theo the vice chair?! Aayla didn't remember that so she just nodded her head. He's already been taking care of the Student Council meetings anyways.

"As for my primary purpose of bringing you here today, could you explain that incident in Forest Waypoint a few days ago for Junius and I?"

Surprised, Aayla obediently nodded and retold the main events of that day. She glossed over the beginning of the day. The Halcyon students became very nosy when they learned that Aayla spent the morning with Daren. Attracting any more attention because of that was definitely undesirable.

Fortunately, Eileen and Junius didn't care about how she spent her morning. They only cared about the snake. Both didn't seem that surprised as she answered their questions. Almost as if they were expecting her answers.

"Ms. Glowery, how did you learn to handle snakes? You seem to be extremely familiar with the breed found in that shop, but none of the professors here have even heard of it."

There's no way that they would. It's a common snake on Terra. That doesn't mean they have something similar on Tellus.

"I just happened to pick up some tips from my family and my parents' work friends."

"Did you happen to pick up some tips about other animals?"

Her father was a zoologist. Her maternal family was involved with several wildlife parks, ranches and veterinary practices. Of course, she knows how to handle animals! Well, Terran animals.

"For more common animals like horses and dogs, and a few more exotic varieties."

Eileen wrapped her fingers against her desk. She and Junius stared at each other for a long time. Occasionally their facial expressions would change and they would gesture to each other. Aayla was very confused by this. What was going on?

"So, it's settled then."

"Mmhmm. We need the help. Mr. Forolan and Mr. Vear don't have the practical skills and knowledge that she's demonstrated."

"Ms. Glowery, Junius and I have a small mandatory mission for you."

"A mission? I'm sorry but I can't leave the residence hall for too long."

"No need to worry about that," Eileen happily replied. "I've gotten to know Mr. Lawlor very well over the past few weeks and he'll do an excellent job. Junius, could you explain?"

"With pleasure, President Bennett."

Aayla internally cringed. Sending Theo to the meetings had backfired splendidly. The president isn't mad about Aayla skipping the meetings, is she?

With a wave of his hand, the curtains closed and the lights dimmed. Junius took out a black disk, like what Ramona had, and placed it on the desk. Sharp images were displayed in the air. Each one displayed a familiar creature.

Some had packs of wolves or foxes. Others had flocks of birds or schools of fish. Caribou, lizards, beavers, bears and more. All were normal animals. They were nothing new to Aayla, so she was surprised that people were taking these creatures seriously.

"Each of these animals was found in the forest surrounding Forest Waypoint and Nafriton University. They started appearing after a sudden energy spike in the forest just before school started around three months ago."

Junius pointed out the various creatures along with where and when they were found.

"Unlike other living beings, these have little to no magical energy with little ability to absorb it from their environment naturally. If anything, they display a resistance to mana. However, their health is excellent and some individuals have physical abilities that rival those of magical beasts."

Oh. So, they were like Aayla. Wait, could they be from Terra as well? Have other Terrans crossed over? Did Ramona know about this?

"Nafriton's top researchers haven't discovered anything about the energy surge or why these creatures are appearing. However, the animals have been slowly encroaching on inhabited areas. The faculty, city government and Student Council are concerned about possible conflicts between humans and these creatures."

Junius turned to Aayla.

"This is where you come in, Ms. Glowery. Few people have experience with animal taming like what you've demonstrated with the recent snake incident and the previous bear incident. The university is too busy to investigate these animals. The ones on campus should be safe for students to handle, so they've assigned the Student Council to investigate.

"The headmaster personally approved for Mr. Forolan and Mr. Vear to lead the investigation, but they don't have practical taming experience. Which you have proven yourself to have. Upon Mr. Lawlor's suggestion, we have decided to appoint you to the team. Headmaster Marin and Nurse Rouse have also approved."

GAAAHHH! Darn it! Aayla internally raged. As expected, Nurse Rouse was trying to 'help' Aayla make friends. But for Theo to betray her too?! He knows that she doesn't like to go out, right?! Aayla's smile cracked.

In his defense, Theo thought that he was doing Aayla a favor when he cooperated with Nurse Rouse. In his view, she already did him several major favors. Theo got to connect with the Forolan heir and his aid, as well as the upper echelons of the Student Council. She indirectly helped Theo get his revenge on Angela Morvell as well.

When Nurse Rouse mentioned her concerns, Theo was completely on board to help out. Aayla was a very responsible, intelligent and dedicated young lady. She deserved to have some opportunities of her own. Besides, Aayla's rise in power would drive those Butterflies insane, and Theo could repay her. How could he not cooperate with Nurse Rouse? Both of them were extremely proud of themselves.

Aayla secretly gnashed her teeth. With the headmaster's approval, there was no way that she could get out of this. Junius continued to explain their current progress. Several animals had managed to make their way onto campus. Fortunately, they were all harmless so far but they keep on wandering near humans.

The student team would identify and capture the animals on campus. Any information would be passed up to the faculty team. Aayla's eyes lit up.

"Who's on the faculty team?"

"Deputy Heston is on the team to help study the energy spike, if that's what you want to know. She's not involved with the animal investigation."