For the next three weeks, everything settled into a semblance of normalcy. At least, as normal as things could possibly get in a highly competitive, hierarchy-obsessed shifter academy.
Classes continued their relentless march forward. It was the same routine everyday; we would wake up, have breakfast on the way to classes, attend several lectures, meet up for lunch in the canteen, then split for training until bedtime.
On the surface, Kristine and I had returned to our old routine, but the warm, effortless spark that used to define our friendship had withered into something cool and fragile.
We didn't talk very often anymore. She still came over to the annex at night, drifting in before my training was complete, still looking as fresh as when she woke up in the morning with the scent o
