Like an open book.

‘Was I dreaming?. I had to be. That can‘t be real.’

Brunette hair fell over jade green eyes as they stared blankly at the cold concrete street. A pale complexion gleaming lightly in the morning light. Eight O’clock. He was on time. Something was most definitely wrong. Never in his life had Adrian been on time for anything. His excuse?. He just had to get out of the house. Things were too weird. Soft lips parted lightly, a sigh escaping them as Adrian looked ahead of him. The school was in sight. Perhaps it would act as a sanctuary from the happenings at home.

Or perhaps not.

After all, the thing he was trying to escape was beyond belief to begin with. Adrian had lived in the area for no more than a few months. He barely knew his way around the towns and cities, having come from England. London to be precise. His accent wasn’t thick but it was noticeable. He lived with his parents and younger sister, Harba-Mari. She had an odd name compared to the rest of her family. The fact was she felt her old name, Janet, was too boring so now makes everyone call her something else. Adrian was older than his sister by four years. He was sixteen, she was twelve. They didn’t always see eye to eye but they were close enough. Usually they would walk to school together but today Adrian left her behind.

The teen’s mind filled with images from the night before. Each wilder than the last. A book. A talking stuffed animal?. A mission he was forced to accept?. He never signed up to be a, a Cardcaptor as he was called. Shaking his head, the brunette turned into the school yard and looked about for anyone he’d come to know. No one was there. Looking to the large clock tower he realized he was even earlier than he thought. Great. Just great. Hastily making his way across the courtyard and into the building Adrian hunted for his locker.

Pulling open the metal locker, Adrian threw his bag inside only to have his attention caught by a soft noise. An ‘Mmph’ of sorts. Raising an eyebrow he opened the bag. Eyes widened as the creature from last night revealed itself from beneath a loose sweat sock.

“Oh. My. God.” Adrian mouthed in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening. Surely. He wasn’t crazy. There wasn’t a stuffed animal talking to him. Especially not in amongst his gym gear.

“What are you-What are you doing here?” The teen uttered softly, his eyes darting about to see if anyone was coming, despite knowing that was unlikely for the time being.
“I came to make sure you’re alright. You left in quite a hurry.” The animal replied, small wings resting at his back as his tail hung loosely to one side.
“But you’re not. I’m not. This can’t be happening.” Adrian echoed, trying to reclaim some peace of mind.
“Just. Stay out of sight.” The teen continued, accepting defeat for the time being as he reached into his bag to pull out his books only to pull out something else.

It was a card of some sort. It was too big, let alone too lavish to be a loose playing card. In the middle was the picture of a dark figure. No recognizable features. Beneath the picture was a name. The Shadow. Adrian slowly remembered more of the night before. How everything had gone so dark when he’d opened the book and read the card’s name aloud. Then, how he’d perhaps woken and found the once full book to be empty. That was how he’d come to find the talking animal and be declared a card captor.

An abrupt grin crossed Adrian’s lips. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. However, for now he’d have to accept it and try not to think about it. He had enough to worry about at school as it was.