A talk with Sister Evelyn

Morning arrived too early. Nora's body ached from last night. She had questions, and only one person she could trust, Sister Evelyn.

Nora made her way to the dresser to gather her clothing for the day. Flutterbell flew out the moment she opened the top drawer.

"Excuse me! You had me locked in their all night, that's never going to happen again." Flutter bell said. She had her hands on her hips and was flying just high enough to be looking down at Nora.

"I'm sorry." Nora said, "I would blame it on habit, but I was just too worn out to handle company."

"We'll work on it. I haven't ever had a roommate."

Nora, of course, had several roommates through the years. One of her perks as a senior in good standing was her own room. But, she had enjoyed that for almost the whole school year, and she didn't really mind. Though she had a feeling this roommate may prove more difficult than all the others.

"That will be my room, my private space," Flutterbell said, gesturing to the drawer. "You will leave it open at all times, one palm's length." The little fairy spoke with a voice of authority.

"I'm sorry, really." Nora said while grabbing one of the pair of socks Flutterbell had thrown out the night before.

"Okay," Flutterbell said. Her voice was sing-song happiness again. "We all make mistakes."

Nora moved to grab a set of panties out of the top drawer, but no sooner had she reached out than the fairy landed on her hand.

"What are you doing now?"

"Getting dressed." Nora answered, "I was going to get my underwear" She said, but her voice trailed off as she realized.

"NO! My panties!" The fairy said. It was loud and sudden - a toddler throwing a tantrum.

"That's right." Nora said meekly. "Sorry again. As you said, things to get used to."

'No panties' Nora thought to herself. 'That's going to take some getting used to.' Yet, she raided the rest the dresser for her uniform. "I need to see Sister Evelyn, she might know what's going on." Nora said.

"Okay," Flutterbell said. "I'm going to set up my new room."

Nora wasn't sure what there was to set up inside a drawer, but that was the least of her questions. The questions she wanted answers to were 'what was that thing last night?' and 'where did all these strange creatures come from.' Flutterbell had been helpful, but her answers were infuriating, she assumed so much that answers left Nora with more questions than sense.

"I have classes today." Nora said. "Remember, stay out of sight. I should be back in the afternoon. Stay out of trouble."

"Have fun." Flutterbell said, as Nora hurried out the door. She hoped to snag breakfast quickly to make have time to catch Sister Evelyn before the day started. She bounced down the stairs to the dining hall and made quick work of some cereal and fruit before darting out the door towards the Sister's Office. Despite her best efforts, it was within half an hour of classes when she made her way into the office and stood across from the Sister.

Sister Evelyn was young, in her mid-twenties. She had shoulder length dirty-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. No matter how chaotic things seemed to be, Sister Evelyn was always collected. She wore an easy and gentle smile. Her face was free of wrinkles, save for a hint near the eyes. They did not age her, merely accented the smile.

"Nora," She said, "What brings you by so early?"

Nora made a small curtsey. The gesture brought a breeze up her skirt, a titillating sensation, but not one that she would allow to distract her. She bowed her head in submission before the Sister.

"Sister Evelyn." She began. "Last night was the New Moon."

"That's right! How did the ceremony go? Did you learn anything?"

"I didn't finish the ceremony." Nora said. "I was interrupted. Something happened." And she tried to find the words for it. The strange creature, the attack, the strange feeling that despite it's alien nature, the creature was lusting after her, but trying put order to the events was suddenly hard. "I was attacked." She blurted, and with that, she had a foothold. "I had started the ceremony, and a creature came soaring out of the woods, well, two creatures really."

Stumbling and uncertain, she relayed what she could of the attack, of the strange creature of rope-like tentacles, of the fairy that had come out to help her. She told all. She trusted Sister Evelyn completely and prayed that she might have answers.

Sister Evelyn listened. When she talked of the attack, she made as if to hug her. Had it been anyone else, Nora would have recoiled from almost anyone else, but Sister Evelyn was like a mother, a sister, and a friend. She allowed the hug, and even felt a few tears well, but she pushed the emotions down, making it through her story.

"I see." Sister Evelyn said when she was finished. "This is distressing news. We need to talk more, but I'm afraid that it's almost class-time. I also fear that you may not have been the only student to have had their night disturbed. I will pull you out of sports in the afternoon, but I need your help now. We need to know if anyone else was visited last night. It's also important to not cause panic. You did well by keeping this quiet. Continue to keep this quiet, but, do what you can to investigate."

"Yes Sister." Nora said automatically. She curtseyed again and made her way from the room.