The sun had barely dipped past the spires of the academy when Kai passed through the stone arch near the herbology greenhouse where the plants for his naturopathy class came from.
His robes pulled tighter against the wind. Twilight had turned the campus golden, and students loitered under enchantment-lit trees, the usual mix of laughter and mana crackles rippling through the air.
Two girls sat on a low wall nearby, whispered behind their hands. Their voices weren't meant for him, but they never noticed him slip into the shadow of the tower ruin beside them.
'Concealment.'
"…She's the first one this year," one murmured, brushing a strand of copper hair behind her ear. "Gone. Just like that."
"She didn't even pack. It's like, like she vanished." The other girl's voice quivered. "Why do they always say they just… left? Who leaves without telling anyone?"
"Pressure gets to people," the first girl muttered, not sounding convinced. "Maybe she just couldn't take it anymore."
