With a red face and puffed cheeks, Ellie Elliot looked nothing short of ridiculous as she dragged her heavy suitcase down the flagstone corridor between two tall buildings. She was out of breath, her clothing was rumpled, and her short brown hair was frizzed in the chilly winter air - certainly not the way she pictured the start of term. She hoped dearly that no one was watching her from one of the windows above.

Why did Daddy have to pack so many of my clothes? she thought to herself, lugging the bag another few feet with a grunt. Finally, the effort became too much for her; she dropped to her knees and fell back against the large leather suitcase, wheezing and sniffling.

She was only just ten years old, young for a new student, and the school was large and strange and unfamiliar. The monumental buildings of Brunnhold towered above her, and, as she looked up at them, she realized at last that she was completely lost.

Nervousness and homesickness turned to cramps in her stomach. Of all days to get lost! There was only another half hour until sundown, and surely they would lock the doors. Why on earth didn't I ask for directions?

She looked around frantically, hoping to spot someone who could point her towards the first year dormitory.

A man with a crown of long, shaggy gray hair encircling his balding head and wearing robes of deep crimson can be seen striding along the grounds at an alarmingly quick pace. Through the chill and darkening air the sound of his muttering can be heard clearly.

"...have to remember the pronunciation. Can't insult them again, no, no. THAT ended badly last time... yes, yes it did. Where did I leave that scroll. No, not the one with the spelling errors circled on the desk. The other one, the one that's bloody right this time. Have to remember where I put it. I have to remember the correct pronunciation."

He is completely absorbed in his diatribe and is clearly oblivious to all else around him.

Ellie, deep in her thoughts, did not notice the man until he had almost disappeared down an adjacent alley.

"Hey, mister!" she yelled, forgetting her manners for a moment. "Er...sir! Please, wait!"

Abandoning her luggage as a lost cause, she stumbled after the crimson-robed galdor, tripping slightly on the unfamiliar terrain and wishing she had worn more practical shoes.

"Sir? Sir?! Can you tell me where the...OOF!"

There was a silent second of panic as she tripped on a loose cobble, and a long fall, during which she thought "Oh, dear, my dress" and "This is not a good day," and then closed her eyes tightly as the ground loomed before her.

A few moments later she opened her eyes, dazed and winded and lying on her stomach in a mud puddle.

A figure strode towards Ellie, wearing a heavy coat with his hands deep within its pockets. His scarf was pulled up around the lower half of his face so that the warmth from his breath kept his lips from turning blue, and there were snowflakes in his hair.

He had just come back from the West Gardens. A small, grey Bander wolf trotted at his heels.

He thought he heard a voice, and seconds later saw a young girl laying face first on the ground. His wolf, Oddy, loped ahead and stood above the girl, his head cocked to one side curiously.

Jasper caught up with him and looked down at Ellie, frowning,
"What are you doing out here? It's beginning to snow." He knelt down and took her by the arm, lifting her up onto her knees. Once her face was out of the mud he let go, jamming his gloveless hands back into his pockets, waiting for her to answer him.

Ignored by the passing professor, Ellie felt snubbed and winded - until she heard Jasper's voice, and felt a strong arm pulling her up.

The little girl was immediately conscious of the mud all over her dress, her wild hair and her dirty fingernails, as well as a host of other imperfections. She blushed.

"Please," she said breathlessly, "I'm trying to find...er..."

She fished in her pocket, and uncovered a piece of paper with her dorm room on it. Unfortunately, like everything else on her person, it was now covered in mud. Ellie let her arm fall down at her side, dejected.

"Do you know the way to the first year's dorm?" she muttered, blushing harder. Her mother, doubtless, would be ashamed of her by now. Cursing inwardly, she realized she had botched her first day of school; she had to look and sound like a complete idiot.

"Yeah. You're going the wrong way." Said Jasper, his voice muffled behind the thick grey scarf. He had managed steer clear of the main campus today, the beginning of term, so as to not get caught up in the hubbub of new arrivals. They were always asking questions, giggling, crying, looking completely out of their depth. It was a little disconcerting to be around.

He had just finished taking Oddy for a walk through the gardens and thought everyone would be inside and settled. And now he is faced with... this.

He noticed the bulk of her suitcase behind them, and couldn't help raising his eyebrows at the sight of it. It seemed almost as large as she was.

"Is that yours?" He stood up and motioned towards the suitcase. The wolf stayed where he was, tail twitching slightly, bright eyes watching the strange mud-covered creature with a mixture of apprehension and awe.

Ellie wanted the earth to open up and swallow her at that moment. This boy, this cool older boy, he was actually talking to her! And she looked like something that crawled out of a swamp! This was the worst day ever.

"Y-yes," she stammered, teeth chattering in the cold as the muddy water started to penetrate her thick layers of clothes. "I know, it's enormous. My d-dad's a bit overprotective..."

Why did I just mention my father, Ellie thought, groaning inwardly. Only lame kids have fathers.

Suddenly, Ellie noticed the bander wolf watching her. In an uncharacteristically girly moment, she let out a gasp and a squeal of delight, putting her mittens to her face. "Oooh! Is that your bander? He's so pretty!" She did a little hop from one foot to the other; she had never seen a wolf in person before, only in stories, and she half expected Oddy to grant her a wish (though of course, she was far too old to believe in such silly things).

Jasper stepped to the suitcase and tugged it up by one hand, and, to his horror, almost jarred his shoulder in doing so. It really was quite heavy. So Ellie wasn’t the only one momentarily overcome by feelings of foolishness. Luckily, when he checked, the girl wasn’t looking at him. She was jiggling about gleefully at the sight of Oddy.

“Yeah, he’s mine. My dad is breeds them.”

He lifted up the suitcase, a little more carefully this time, and began walking towards the first year dormitory – a place he hadn’t visited for a long time, but which he remembered vividly. They had to cross an open courtyard to get there, and the girl’s stuttering hadn’t gone unnoticed.

He stopped and put down the case, shrugged off his large overcoat, and then shed his lighter, maroon jerkin and held it out for Ellie to put on. She was just a kid, after all, and a painful reminder of how he felt on his first day at the University.

“I don’t care about the mud.” He said gruffly, the wolf circling him and letting out excited yelps that rang out in the encroaching darkness and stillness of the evening.

“What’s you name, anyway?”

Looking up from petting Oddy, Ellie was momentarily speechless when Jasper offered her his coat, overcome by a sudden bout of hero worship. Her eyes must have doubled in size.



Ellie gulped. She dreaded this part of meeting anybody; why on earth did she have to be saddled with such an embarrassing name? Her parents had had a thing for alliteration, and thought it was cute. The little girl was already concerned about her job prospects in the future. How could someone with such a ridiculous title become Queen?

She pulled his large coat around her tiny body, attempting to block out the winter chill. "I'm, um, Ellie," she said, praying to the gods that he wouldn't ask about her surname. "Who are you? I mean...what's your name, sir?"

Sir, I called him sir. What the bloody dickens am I thinking?

“Jasper,” He replied, fastening up his overcoat, smiling a little despite himself. It was like looking into a ghostly mirror of the past – minus the clumsiness. He was eleven years old when he started studying at the University, and Ellie didn’t look much older. Back then you hardly knew your professor from your maid.

“Here boy.” Oddy was fussing over Ellie, paws scratching at the cobbles as he darted around her, tail whipping the snow into little flurries.

“He’s waiting for you to run.” Said Jasper, but instantly regretted doing so. “It’s the weather. But he’s moony anyway. Just ignore him.”

As Oddy passed him Jasper reached out with his free hand and pinched the wolf’s ear, then steered him to his side and made a sort of whistling noise through his teeth. “Stay, boy.”

He glanced at the now comically overdressed figure.
“So…” The word hung alone for a moment, “Are you looking forward to it? Life at Brunnhold, I mean.”

The first-day-of-school butterflies, that was what her mum had called them. She felt utterly sick, actually - it was more like she had red-hot coals in her stomach. But she was far too sophisticated, in her own mind, to admit to such a fear. After all, grown-ups weren't afraid of anything.

She put on a brave smile, and what she hoped would come off as a nonchalant attitude. "Oh, yes," she said, patting the wolf - or trying to, at least, it kept running away - on its furry head. "My brothers have all gone before me, and they said it's very nice, but to avoid getting...er...hazed." The way she elongated the word told Jasper that she didn't know the meaning of it, but was pretending to. "But I'm not worried about that. I won't become hazed, no sir."

Oops. Called him sir again. Stupid...stupid...

They had reached the end of the open courtyard. Jasper led them through an archway and towards a relatively small, squat building, with windows touched by an orange glow – winking on and off as the silhouettes of children passed by, no doubt running about excitedly, jumping on beds, breaking things.
Jasper placed his hand firmly on Oddy’s head. The wolf would no doubt be teased into a frantic playfulness at the sound of their shrieks and laughter.
“You don’t need to call me sir,” he said, hoping to dispel some of her anxiety, “And don’t worry about getting hazed.”
Touched by her naivety, Jasper almost reached out to pat her on the head, like she was a bander wolf herself.
“Just be careful around the Stacks. From what I remember, they don’t let first years wander down there alone, but there are a few questionable characters with whom you don’t want to get mixed up with.”
Again, he regretted saying something that was bound to do more harm than good.
“Just try to relax and have a good time.” He finished lamely.

When they reached the doorway he handed back the suitcase,
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Elated, Ellie smiled warmly at him. He was the first friendly face she had seen at the school - everybody else had either ignored her or berated her.

"I think I'm all right now," she said. "Thank you very much for your help!" She took off his coat, somewhat reluctantly, and handed it back to him.

"And...I'll stay out of the Stacks," she added. "Though, not because I'm scared. It just looks...er...dirty." She hoped that her bravado would impress him - casually dismissing a fascinating portion of the school. It was the sort of thing her mother would have said, but she felt that it sounded unnatural coming from her. In reality, Ellie very much wanted to visit the Stacks, and it was quite obvious on her face.

"Maybe I'll see you around," she said, a little nervously. She glanced into the building through the diamond-paned glass window: the other children were bounding around on their beds, laughing and having a good time. Fear wriggled around in her stomach as she imagined introducing herself.

She curtsied to Jasper, desperately wishing that the other children would see her talking to him. "Goodnight, Jasper!" she said, and added, "Goodnight, wolf," to be polite.

Jasper folded his coat over his arm and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. The snow was falling heavily, landing in his eyelashes and melting down the back of his collar and against his neck. He shivered.
"Yeah, see you around," he said, looking up at the dormitory.

Oddy made a small, soft noise when she met his eyes to say goodnight.

"Goodnight Ellie, take care."

Jasper tugged his scarf up around the lower half of his face once more. He stepped out from under the dormintory porch and walked back the way they had come, whistling for Oddy who lingered for the shelter and company. Soon they were faint blurs receding into the night.