A/N: Why hello there! As I've stated before, this is the first (and last!) restart of this series. Now, I had planned on releasing this first chapter on the seventeenth of this month, however, I ran into some issues and had to postpone that to a later date. My new, revised deadline was to be the twenty-third of this month, and I think I did a good job of not taking any longer than that. Further updates should normally be done in a one to two week basis. Now before I get into anything else, I must think all of you—and I mean everyone, for the feedback, patience, and sympathy I have received over this story. Now I only wish others would come back from the dead and start writing as well, but alas, I can only control my actions and not their own. There's a lot I want to say, but at the same time, I don't want to make this Author's Note any longer than it already is...

So, in good faith, next chapter, I'll respond to any reviews I may come across. These responses will not nearly be as big as the ones some of you may remember. But I think they'll be big enough to satisfy those of you that review while being small to not fill the entire page in black text. In any case, I'll also usually respond to any reviewer VIA PM, but consider this method to be a secondary option (actually, I haven't been able to send private messages lately, sorry for that guys).

So that's all I got to say. I'm thinking of new things to do in the Authors Note that won't take up much space. Currently, I'm thinking about doing some speculation on certain questions at the end of the chapter but I don't know yet, let me know if y'all want anything in particular. Anyhow, I hope to hear from you guys soon!

*Note: As of the 6/22/2017, all reviews prior to this point are towards the initial version of this story. For those who have reviewed those chapters, there may be some difficult creating a new review for these new chapters. As such, I figured to let you all know that before throwing this at you so beware. Guest reviews and those who haven't already reviewed the individual chapter number are likely to be unaffected. Take care!*

(Also as a reminder, this story is technically alternative universe, as it does not follow the canon events that happened during the Wolves of the Beyond series. In my opinion, the last part of the true canon series should have ended during the last book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. Thus, this story reflects that sentiment, just so you know!)

Incongruous Recurrence

Act I : Tabula rasa

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

~ Nelson Mandela

Chapter One

A Whole New World

Amalgamated between the marshy landscape of Ambala to the north and the temperate forest of Tyto to the south, lies a grossly familiar kind of tree standing immensely above every other tree in the entire region. An ostensibly natural wonder to behold, and a sight one could not avoid to observe even if they tried. Many would have expected the tree to have grown spontaneously, without a reason or purpose; however, nothing was further from the truth. This magnificent tree, was yet another Great Ga'Hoole tree made from the very seed of the original—the same exact tree that lays unchanged on a island in the middle of the Sea of Hoolemere. The chosen location for this new, equally impressive Great Ga'Hoole Tree, was no fluke either.

With the Northern Kingdoms too dry and cold and the Middle Kingdoms too far and isolated, the most logical choice remaining for a new Great Tree location would be in the continent of S'yrthghar, otherwise known as the Southern Kingdoms. While the Sea of Hoolemere is technically within reach of the Southern Kingdoms, it is still too far away to be considered apart of the continent itself; henceforth, the reasoning behind the new location.

This new Great Ga'Hoole tree—locally named as the Gateway to Hoole—is still shrouded in mystery regarding its creation. Circulative rumors and folktales had once said a Great Tree could only grow once it comes into contact with tears from an embered king. Of course, fictitious legends and myths hold little bearing when contradicted by clear evidence that bust the original theory.

To the southeast, the River of Hoole flows into the Kingdom of Tyto; but just before that, to the northeast, there is an inlet connected to the Sea of Hoolemere (acting as a natural border to several states in the region). This inlet, oftentimes serves as a crucial navigational checkpoint for many owls of all likes, especially to those that lack the skill to track down the location quickly. This—just like the tree's location—is also not coincidental.

. . . It is, after all, named the Gateway to Hoole for a reason.

Now, during these crisp, early hours of dusk. The wind, light and undefined, would prove to be a comfortable experience for any novice fliers who wished to venture out into the limitless skies of the Southern Kingdoms. Something that many looked forward to, now that spring was finally upon them, and the first leaves were starting to sprout from their priorly dormant state. Although the winter itself was insignificant, it still was commonly accepted as an yearly annoyance due to the general lack of thermals and scarce food supply.

Despite these early hours, an owl, a particularly young one at that, had arrived to his destination, the Gateway to Hoole. Being a first-time visit, the view he saw was astonishing to say the least. The sky was blazing in a wide spectrum of vibrant colors ranging from orange to purple. The bark of the colossal tree seemed to shine intensely under the sun's rays, the glare was almost as powerful as looking at the sun itself. He couldn't comprehend it all, it was too much to take in all at once, he could only stare in wonder.

The owl's feathers were just as glossy as the tree itself, his plumage was nearly entirely of a dark brown mix with certain areas of the body such as the facial disk appearing lighter than others, his wings and underbelly sparkled with numerous white dots and slashes that interfused to create a rather recognizable pattern. His eyes, almost as dark as the night itself, reflected the glow of the tree perfectly. These characteristics, clearly made him out to be a Spotted owl, one of the more common owl species in the region. For someone as small as he was though, one could have mistaken him for an adult Whiskered Screech owl!

Upon arrival, he was intercepted, questioned, then subsequently escorted by daytime sentries to one of the many landing branches near the lower section of the tree. The whole ordeal was more unnerving than he had expected, the guards had been quite circumspective on his arrival. For someone of his tender age, he would have anticipated a warm welcome; of course, coming in at such a time of day could be seen as—odd, to some. He placed that blame on his poor navigational ability, it took him hours to just find the inlet leading to the tree itself!

He did admit, however, that with his general lack of knowledge, he was surprised to even have found the tree at all.

After being directed to one of the main entrances to the rather quiet, unmoving tree. The sentries had stated that they would be back with him shortly. For what reason or purpose however, remained lost to him. All he could do now was wait, as he didn't have the confidence to ask a single question to the owls that had almost literally interrogated him for answers. At this point, as the night began to set in, the tree's inhabitants began to grow active; with it, a unsettling feeling began to stir in his gizzard. How long had it been since they had left?

What if someone comes out here and thinks I'm an intruder? He thought grimly to himself. He could already tell his first night at the tree was going to be a tough one . . . assuming, of course, he even was accepted into the tree in the first place.

Finally, a particularly muscular Brown fish owl approached him. The owl's sheer size and matured age made him appear intimidating at first, but his amiable smile and passive posture was convincing enough to leave behind such fears. His effortless strides showed that he was an avid walker, much like a Burrowing owl, perhaps his job has him walking more than flying. But, given how strong his wings appeared to be, such an accusation was hard to justify.

The Brown fish owl stopped and looked down upon his smaller companion, studying the details of his new apprentice. Gazing around the Spotted owl's small form, looking for any marks or items of interest, he seemed to have noticed something when inspecting the Spotted owl's back. There was a moment of pause for the larger owl, there was something he found odd about this new arrival. He clicked his beak in complexion for a moment. The sounds of the growing activity in the background seemed to have unsettled the Brown fish owl momentarily, before he focused his attention back to the young owl below him.

He started off with a simple introductory questions. "A newcomer, eh? Must've been a long flight here I'd reckon?" His voice was deep and melodious, fitting for an owl of his size.

The younger owl, still not confident enough to speak, simply nodded his head in response. The larger owl could see the Spotted owl's eyes were poised and alert but not looking directly at his own. His feathers were stiff and unmoving as well, he even appeared to be shaking at times. The Brown fish owl simply sighed, anything to get this youngling talking would be a good starting point for introducing him to the tree.

He started with an easier question, "So where you from, lad?"

The Spotted owl's eyes flicked up at the larger owl's for a moment, before settling back down at his previous level, studying the talons of the greeter.

"Ambala." His voice was faint, a mouse squeaking would have been louder in comparison.

"Ambala!? Well how about that! I happen to come from there as well! You're the first young newcomer from Ambala I've seen in weeks, the only other owls I've come across that are from Ambala are older than Hortense herself!" He chuckled rashly, though it did seem to perk up the newcomer enough to cast aside his shyness for a moment.

As one would expect, the Brown fish owl already knew this information from what the sentries had gotten out of the kid earlier. But he thought this conversation could help relate to the lonesome Spotted owl, and it seemed to be working.

Without a response from the younger owl, he continued where he had previously left off, "Ah, yes, Ambala is a wonderful place with a community that looks after their own."

The Brown fish owl gave an assuring nod, signaling he was to follow that rule to the letter, then added, "Name's Jedrek by the way, and yourself?"

"Aedan, Strix Aedan."

"Ooh, the formalities!" Jedrek exaggerated boastfully; there was a hint of teasing in his voice, "I like that in an owl, especially those who are prideful of their heritage—is your family aristocratic?"

"I guess you can say that." Aedan responded simply.

Jedrek hesitated for a moment, before responding rather assertively, "Well, if I were to have such formalities, I guess you could call me Lieutenant Jederk."

He seemed to let the new title settle in, before adding.

"As a Brown fish owl, I started off from the bottom and worked my way up. So people now respect me based off my rank, not my heritage. You see how that works? Someone's character and path isn't defined by birth, it is defined while living and the actions you make while you're living. Am I wrong?"

Well in the case of my birth, you are wrong, "Lieutenant" Jederk. Aedan thought

There was another period of silence, so Jederk decided to continue on with his inquiry, leaving behind the prior discussion. "So I noticed that you arrived here all by yourself without anyone to help you. Quite an amazing feat if you ask me, you must be a natural navigator!"

Aedan chuckled nervously, "Well, umm . . . yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Most owls of your age arrive with their parents, I take it that they were confident in your ability to get here? Your parents must be awfully proud of you." Jederk's question was met with a blunt response.

"My parents are dead."

Jedrek's eyes stayed put on Aedan's, there was a moment of shock and disbelief in his expression. He just didn't know how to respond to the poor owl.

Aedan explained, "I lived with my aunt and uncle since I was an owlet, they never really cared for me. I was nothing more than a thorn to their side, so they threw me out, sent me here to try to find something to do with my life. I guess that's where my 'formalities' got me, huh?"

Darkness began to creep in as the last fade of sunlight wore out. The commotion inside the tree grew louder and louder. There was singing, talking, and yelling in a frenzy of hoots and voices. Soon the inhabitants will be proceeding with their normal schedules, undeterred by anything the night may throw at them.

Jedrek only sighed in pity, before gesturing with his wing to follow him, they slowly proceed to enter the massive tree itself through one of the many corridors. It was hard for him to describe such walkways, he lacked the proper knowledge and vocabulary to describe them. Though, he did notice some candles illuminate certain portions of the corridor.

"Hmm, was your father apart of the military?" Aedan nodded his head slowly, wondering why Jedrek was asking such questions.

"Did you happen to know his name, by chance?"

"I don't exactly remember, my aunt mentioned him a couple of times. I think it's Dru—Drusus?"

For some reason, upon hearing the name, Jedrek wilfed to nearly half his former size. His eyes were wide and motionless, his forward movement suddenly halted briefly, and he turned his head back towards Aedan, taking a look at him again, before starting to walk once more. He began to speak more cautiously, his voice no longer held that bitter-sweet tone, now it was serious and direct. Aedan didn't quite understand why he reacted in such a way. Maybe he knew him once?

"I'm sorry for your loss . . . now, Aedan," he paused again, stopping his progression towards his previous destination, "what is it you wish to accomplish here? Do you have any goals in mind?"

The question seemed to have caught Aedan off guard, he wasn't quite sure how to respond to it.

"I—I can't say."

Jedrek's eyes narrowed, he asked slowly with a hint of irritation, "You don't know or you don't want to say?"

Aedan gulped, it felt like he was being interrogated again by those sentries. "Well, I've always wanted to study everything about the 'Others', you know? Those long gone two-legged creatures? Though, I'm not too sure if that's exactly an area that even the Gateway to Hoole offers to study."

Jedrek observed Aedan carefully once again, there really was something odd about this owl. It wasn't just his gizzard giving this vibe, it was everything about Aedan he saw. His demeanor, interest, and background were all red flags to him. Sure, there was an owlet or two that stuck out from the rest, but this one wasn't like the others. There was much more going on behind the scenes that he wasn't aware about, and he didn't even have to sense it to know it. It will take some time to truly unravel the full story behind this newcomer, but for now, it was only best to set him the right direction.

They had been walking for a good while now, and the sprawling voices of the tree's populace were getting louder and louder. Aedan was hardly paying attention to it, he was too focused on following the instructor, worried he may possibly get lost in the narrow corridors of the tree.

"Well, if you want my advice lad," he started off bluntly, but not rudely, "if you're not entirely sure you know where you want to end up, take an introductory course into Guardian training. It's interesting, teaches you a lot of useful skills, and opens up the possibility of living here as a sponsored Guardian; and . . ." He thought about briefly, before adding,

". . . if you're exemplary in your training, you could possibly get accepted into real training at the actual Great Tree itself, to become a real Guardian. Then—and this is only a possibility—you could start doing your 'research' there with all the resources you could ever need."

Aedan seemed to awe at the idea, but it sounded far easier said than done. To this point, however, any plan was better than nothing at all. But doubt still settled in, to become a Guardian, he assumed it would require his full commitment to the training programs offered. For how long it would take, would it be worth the wait and effort?

Now in a particularly crowded portion of the tree, the corridor opened up to a large hollow of sorts that Aedan could only describe to be as a kitchen. Many owls gathered to grab their early meals, while others socialized and laughed in the company of others.

Jedrek finally came to a halt in the middle of the hollow, the area was now being filled by fresh arrivals and the volume of voices grew louder in intensity.

He turned to Aedan and said, "Of course, you could also always look into starting your career in the Ambalian military, like your father. Take some courses here, maybe look into some leadership programs, and perhaps maybe you could become a Corporal Strix Aedan. What is more, if you hook up with me, you could even be a Sergeant Strix Aedan, am I right?" He winked in a joking manner, though the statement hardly seemed satirical in nature.

"Of course, sir. Now what about—" before Aedan could ask, Jedrek vanished into the crowd. Probably off to attend his other duties.

This was a problem, as Aedan looked around, he was swarmed by the mass of owls arriving into the hollow. To put it simply, he was lost, and did not know where he was or where to go. Was he suppose to know where to go? Did he miss out on a crucial piece of information he should have picked up? Was Jedrek testing him?

He tried not to panic, he was notorious for making a lot of stupid mistakes when under pressure. There was no reason to get worked up over this, he reasoned, as all he had to do was ask a local where this "introductory course" is, and get to it as soon as possible.

He took a deep breath, and approached a trio of Northern Saw-whet owls, they were walking out of the front most corridor of the hollow. They were likely related to each other, and were looking for a meal. They didn't look to be in a hurry, so he thought they would be the perfect group to ask for such instructions.

"Excuse me," he started off sheepishly, hoping they would be understanding of his current predicament, "do any of you know where I could find the introductory training hollow to become a Guardian?" They only looked at him, a mix of confusion and amusement filled their faces.

Then they bursted out laughing, before proceeding to carry on to whatever location they wished to go to. He sighed, he would have thought the owls at a tree like this would have been more forgiving to a newbie like himself. Maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally thought. But before he tried to ask anyone else, an old voice called out to him gruffly.

"Psst, kid!" Aedan looked towards the owl only to look away momentarily in shock.

It was an old Lesser Sooty owl, but it was extremely hard to tell it was even a Sooty owl at all as, his face was badly mutilated with scars gashing out from every corner of its face. The most horrifying was one that came across where one his eyes once was. It was amazing to believe this owl was still alive even after taking so much injuries in the past. For such an old owl, it must not be at all surprising to the locals, as no one even cast an eye towards him.

Adean approached the Sooty slowly, avoiding to look directly at the scars. Luckily, it seems the old owl was in no rush, and was patiently waiting for him to get close enough to hear what he had to say.

Once close enough to hear him clearly, the Sooty said, "Take the corridor to your right, it'll be the seventh hollow on your left. Got it?"

Aedan nodded his head quickly and grew a soft smirk, "Yes, thank you very much sir!"

"Don't mention it." Was all the old owl said as Aedan ran off, before he started scanning the crowd again, listening in with absolute precision about what some owls were saying despite all the clutter.

Following the directions given, Aedan came across the hollow he was directed to. Peeking his head inside the hollow, nearly a dozen owls were occupying the back area. The instructor in the front of the hollow, was the first to take notice to his presence. There was a moment of hesitation between him and the instructor

At first, he thought he was in the wrong hollow, and was about to proceed out of the area.

But the instructor, a Long-eared owl, called out to him before he did, "You're in the right hollow dear." She clarified, though it seemed strange to Aedan on how she knew this was the hollow he was looking for.

"Oh, alright." He said meekly, feeling the eyes from everyone in the hollow now staring right into his soul.

Slowly joining everyone else in the back of the hollow, all of whom were standing and arranged in a linear fashion from left to right. He took up his spot at the rightmost section of the line, with a rather large Great horned owl to his left. It seemed rather awkward to him, why haven't they started the lesson? Were they waiting for him to arrive? Were they really going to stand here like this the entire night? There were so many questions, it seemed he hardly noticed any of the details of the hollow, such as the large map against the wall behind where the instructor stood.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the teacher began to give her introduction to the class.

"For any newcomers here," the teacher looked directly at Aedan for a fleeting moment, "my name is Madelyn, and I will be your teacher for the next week." Her voice was pale, with no particular tone or noticeable emotion.

"Tonight, we will be starting off with some basic history and geography of the Southern Kingdoms after The War of the Ember."

She proceeded to pick up a narrow stick with her talons, "Now, students, can anyone tell me which kingdom this is?" She pointed at at a marked area near the middle of the map. To Aedan, it was an easy answer.

He raised his wing, hoping to be called on for the answer. Madelyn noticed instantly, and responded.

"Oh, yes . . . um—"

"My name's Aedan, and uh . . . the kingdom you are pointing at is the Kingdom of Ambala."

"Indeed you are right, Aedan." She said the name sharply, as to click it into her memory.

"Now, the reason why I started with Ambala is because of its history. Without Ambala, the Southern Kingdoms would have looked a lot different than it does today."

The only thing Aedan had over the others was a superb knowledge of his home state. He had learned all about Ambala when he was a owlet. He could name every important hero it has ever produced in the legends, and he could fill in nearly every question about its history since the times of Coryn. It was indeed, an important place when it came to shaping the history of the continent.

Ambala is most well known in the legends for its unified community and its great struggles with renown evil ideologies such as the owlnappings of St. Aegolius and the fanatical uprisings caused by the Striga. The community at the time had realized early on, that to face such threats, they must unite and cooperate to oppose such wrongdoings—with, or without the Guardians. Heros, such as Hortense and the Green owls of Ambala, were the symbol of their unification and common interest. In times of great need, it was the Ambalians that had come to save the day, even when the Guardians themselves were facing total annihilation both in foreign affairs and domestically when Coryn fell into the influence of the Striga.

Their unity, perseverance, and history quickly sparked the idea of having their own, recognized kingdom with an actual king and queen, as well as a locally created army. Following the fall of the Pure Ones and the death of Coryn, the new king of the Great Tree, Soren; recognizing the countless favors given by the owls of Ambala, accepted the terms made by Ambalians and quickly appointed a king and queen to lead their new kingdom. Or at least, this is the simplified nature of it that Aedan knows full-well about.

There was more to it than just the Ambalians asking for their own regional power. Owls that spent most of their nights at The Brad, or the living library, suddenly found it their responsibility to guide the owls of Ambala to a new destiny. For the longest of time, this idea of a new metaphorical "Guardians of S'yrthghar" has long lingered in the minds of the Ambalians. The role of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole seemed to grow out obsolete, and they believed their new presence should reflect this thinking on the continent. Added with memories of the Guardians siding with the very enemies they swore to destroy, and the many cases of Guardian instability, the Ambalians since the beginning days, had tried to shift away from the Guardians sphere of influence.

Of course, to a young mind like Aedan's, this hardly meant anything to such a degree as it stands now. What he didn't know, was that due to this very struggle for power, the last of the recognized powers, the Gateway to Hoole, the Kingdom of Tyto, and the Kingdom of Silverveil were all created to keep Ambala in check. But since those simple times during the age of Coryn, things have gotten far more complicated in the grand scheme of things.

Ambala-then and Ambala-now is far different than those in the past would have imagined. Ambala was no longer a cherishable example of Guardian sponsorship and generosity. Ambala has expanded well beyond its simplistic goals of a representative nation-state. Owls who were once living there—even if they just wanted a simple lifestyle—were indoctrinated into the kingdom, establishing the core of its population. Goods and services such as blacksmithing and craftsmanship were centralized by the kingdom to stabilize and maintain required production of materials and create a primitive economy. It's military quickly and secretly expanded from a self-defense militia appointed by Guardian advisors, to a full-fledged army with numerous divisions under its command and with officers that had been training with the same standards and lessons as the Guardians themselves.

The Ambalians were know on equal terms with the Great Tree of Ga'Hoole itself.

With these factors, the Ambalians had tried to go beyond their natural borders. Their first ambitions laid on the inhabitants of Tyto Forest, however, this was not to be in their favor. They, recognizing the Ambalian creeping expansions, requested their own autonomous state. The Guardians, for their own reasons, accepted the request. The relationship between Ambala and Tyto since then has always been brittle.

Aedan could go on thinking about how things changed, it seemed almost as if it was a whole new world since the legends of Coryn. And to think, of relatively peaceful it was now? How greatful many must be, to not go through what horrors there was during those Glaux awful times. There wasn't ever a moment where Aedan payed too much attention to anything. The floor, for example, he could describe it in his mind with great detail if he wanted to. But why bother? This floor wasn't important, nor the people, not even the Gateway to Hoole itself.

From his standpoint on the world, such details were irrelevant. He always did like the idea of a simple life, something where he didn't have to think too much about anything. Though, such a lifestyle is impossible to achieve in today's world. But he still tried nevertheless, perhaps he could get to that point if he got through this class. Anything's possible, after all.

Aedan slowly returned back to reality, the teacher was still droning on about Ambala and its history. Remarking about something regarding Ambala's responsibility of occupying St. Aegolius after the War of the Ember. Despite that, he noticed the Great horned owl next to him was mumbling incomprehensibly to himself. Aedan, for whatever reason, decided to look directly at him to see what that was about.

Feeling Aedan's stare, the Great horned turned to him and asked with mild irritation, "Well whatcha you looking at, mate?"

Aedan shook his head quickly and responded, "Oh, nothing . . . sorry."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He remarked in a raspy voice.

A Barn owl near the middle of the line popped its head out from the rest of the group, towards the Great horned, and said, "Favian knock it off, give the kid some slack!"

Her voice was authoritative but well-intended, a gifted speaker in Aedan's eyes.

The Great horned, whose name has been revealed to be Favian, scoffed then replied, "Alright, alright, I'll leave him alone."

They returned their attention to the teacher, who to this point, hasn't payed any mind to the talking between the students.

Due to this, Favian got Aedan's attention, and clarified on something. "I don't know about you, but I can't stand listening to this go on. It's just boring, you know? I just want to get into real topics like blacksmithing, that'd be a good lesson . . ."

"Or Ga'Hoology," piped in a Spotted owl, not much older than Aedan himself, "I personally think that would be a better class than blacksmithing."

Favian puffed up in agitation, "Oi, frink off you tree-loving twat! I swear to Glaux, Vaughn, I'll tear your face off if—"

"Hey, keep it down. Some of the new ones are trying to listen." that same female Barn owl asserted. Her maturity was reflected by her age. She was older than most of them, but not nearly old enough to be considered a fully matured owl.

Aedan hadn't been listening to the lecture since the beginning, in fact, he was growing a smile from the quarrel the two owls were just having. Though, he did suppose there could have been other owls in the group that were trying to listen. So he, along with the others, tried focusing on what the teacher was saying again. But throughout the time spent there, those two owls wouldn't stop arguing about which topic is better.

The class lecture finally came to an end, and they were dismissed under the instructions to review what they've learned about the Kingdom of Ambala. By the end of the class, Aedan's short contact with Favian has now turned into a acquaintance-level friendship. The same holds true with the other Spotted owl, Vaughn, but not nearly to a similar level as it is with Favian. Another owl he came to meet was Vara, one of the other female Barn owls of the class. Though, their conversation was far more brief than the others.

Vara was perhaps the most quiet out of the three, Aedan noticed. She always had a wandering eye during the entire conversation. Always looking out for who was speaking and what they were doing. She also seemed to study the left-side of the group more often than the right, where Aedan was. There was always something over there that caught her eye, but Aedan just couldn't tell what it was. Besides that, she had a nice, calm voice that wasn't unpleasing to hear. Like the other Barn owl, she was older than the rest, if not the oldest besides the teacher.

Now the first one outside of the hollow, Aedan wasn't sure where to go to now and was hesitant about asking for any directions, remembering what had happened last time. No one was rushing or seemed to be going to any particular place, some were talking, others were not. When it all seemed clear, he decided to turn around and go the other way. However, he didn't notice someone was coming out of the hollow until it was too late. They pumped into each other, causing the other owl to drop something out of his satchel he carried. A book from the looks of it.

The two crossed eyes, the other owl was a Barn owl, the last of the three in the class. Unlike the other two Barn owls, he was a lot smaller and younger than them, but at around the same age as Aedan. His face was also far whiter than normal and seemed to glow in the candlelight. The Barn was stunned momentarily, as Aedan quickly stuttered a response.

"Oh I—I'm deeply sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going. I should have known better."

The Barn owl quickly picked up the book and put it back in the satchel, before replying, "It's quite alright, mistakes happen, it's nothing to fret about."

Then the Barn owl left hurriedly, going down the corridor with extreme care. Aedan only watched curriously, wondering what exactly was going on with that Barn owl.

"Odd one, isn't he?" A voice said from behind him.

Aedan turned his head quickly and was relieved to see it that Barn owl. The one that had told Favian to give him a break. She always had that confident, assuring smile when talking to someone, something that wasn't present on most of the owls in the class at the time.

She continued, "He's actually like you, he's a newtimer here, but unlike him, you actually talk." She laughed softly, there was something convincing about how she laughed. It didn't seem forced or harmful, it just came out perfectly.

"Oh how rude of me," she realized, "my name, if you're wondering, is Kolina. I'm sure you've been wondering about that the whole night."

Aedan laughed, "Yeah, and my name is—"

"Oh that's not necessary, Aedan, Favian already told me a lot about you. The quiet Spotted owl that actually isn't annoying, he says he likes you better than the other one."

"Oh . . ." Aedan didn't know how to respond to that. They only just met, he was surprised to hear he made such a good impression to that Great horned owl. The thought about what to next slowly started to make its way back into his mind again.

"Anyways, you look like you want to ask something. I could tell, as you were standing outside of the hollow pensively."

Aedan was a little weirded out about how she had spotted his dilemma so quickly. But, he could tell she was the caring type. Not like those owls he saw earlier when asking for directions.

"Well . . . yes, I'm not actually sure where to go now. Like, um . . . where will I sleep for the day?"

The question seemed to come off not exactly the way Aedan had wanted it, but it seemed well received to Kolina.

"Ah, I see your problem now. The easiest thing to do is go out to the library and study during your free time. Or, you could hang out with us, and get to know some of us better." Both offers seemed like good ideas to Aedan, but he still wasn't fully sure of what to do just yet.

"As for where to sleep, I suppose that means you can't just fly out of here and go home, can you?" She asked.

Aedan shook his head, he didn't have a home now since his aunt had kicked him out.

"Well," she said slowly, "I guess you could sleep in our hollow, there's enough room for another nest, and I'm sure the others wouldn't' mind."

"Others?" Aedan repeated.

"You know, the other owls you've met? Favian, Vaughn, me, and Vara. We all sleep in the same hollow, we don't have anywhere else to go so we share the one the administration gave to us. I'm sure you'll come to like it." Her offer was again satisfying to Aedan, it seemed to be the easier route than looking for one himself.

"If you can do that, I would be very grateful."

"Of course," she said modestly, "if you ever need any help with anything, just ask me." She began to walk away towards the kitchen Aedan had arrived from when he first got here.

She stopped when she noticed he wasn't following her, and turned around to say. "Well? You coming or what? I'm sure you haven't eaten all night, and you probably want to get to know our friends more before you show up in there hollow."

Aedan nodded and quickly caught up with her just before she exited the corridor. The rest of his night would proceed rather smoothly for the most part, and this was only because of Kolina's guidance. Without her, he sure would have been in a tougher spot when it came to the other owls and figuring out what to do. Her charisma and high-spirits made the night much better for everyone. And now, he had a hollow to sleep in, friends, and almost a literal guardian.

What more could I have asked for? He thought smugly to himself.

However, all of this was to be only temporary . . .