What a magical world.

Those were the thoughts that ran through Kenmei's mind over and over again. The young woman was in pure astonishment as she gazed out of the window she was seated next to, watching the clouds floating by. It was just absolutely gorgeous, the sky a soft gradient, brilliant blues mixed with oranges and reds from the rising sun. Splashed across that brilliant canvas were clouds of radient lavenders, tinted with soft pink hues. True, it was a sight that Kenmei had often seen. However, she had never seen it from thousands of feet in the air.

She shifted herself closer to the window, pressing her side and shoulder against the wall of the flying... contraption. She had grown up always seeing and hearing the loud, disruptive machines used by the humans. They had always flown through the skies above her small town, disturbing the quiet and peaceful paradise. At least, it was always a paradise in her eyes. But now, she was hundreds of miles away from her sanctuary, gliding through the sky in a contraption even more mysterious to her than the planes of the humans.

It was a flying machine that was only ever told to her in stories by her mother. A flying machine that was made to transport special people for one purpose only. It was pure magic, quite literally infact. It was fueled by the collective energies of its passengers, each and every one of them providing a unique aura to power the craft. Twenty-two people, they had said when she boarded the flying craft. It took at least twenty-two Witches and Creatures to make their journey possible.

An odd fact to be given to them at the beginning of their flight, Kenmei had thought. There were others given to the group, but she was too excited to even remember them now. In fact, her excitement was so intense she couldn't believe she was able to sit still in her seat. It was nearly mind numbing to her, the fact that she was actually chosen from the numerous other young Witches in her town. She was finally getting her change to attend The Academy, just as her mother had many, many years before her.

TCWA, or better known to the magicial community as The Creature and Witch Academy. It is, and always has been, a highly prestegious and exclusive institution for those with special powers. Only twenty-two new students are accepted every year out of the thousands that send in their applications. Kenmei had sent in an application for the last three years, and this time she finally got an acceptance letter.

Though, it was a bittersweet moment for her. Her mother had sadly passed away two years earlier, and so she was only able to celebrate the occasion with her older brother. Kendai, although born with no special powers, understood the significance of this acceptance. Though he was sad to see his sister go, he supported her dream and urged her to go. Kenmei had been hesitent, due to Kendai's deteriorating health, but she took his words of encourgement to heart.

Now, she had no regrets. This was the chance of a lifetime, and she was not going to take any second of it for granted. The closer and closer they got to The Academy, her excitement only continued to build. It seemed, however, that she was not the only one bubbling with excitement. Kenmei's thoughts were pulled back into reality from loud voices somewhere behind her.

Sitting up away from the window, she turned her head and peeked over the back of her seat. Near the back of the end of the flying craft, a younger girl with pale blue hair was bouncing about in her seat, so high that she was even visible from Kenmei's spot in the front. She was ranting on and on about her excitement, a grin stretched so wide across her face Kenmei was sure she could see all of her teeth.

"This is so amazing! How come no one else is as excited as I am?! I mean, we got accepted! This is so exciting!" As she threw her arms up into the air, almost screaming her last sentense, electric sparks flew from her body, bouncing about the inside of the cabin. Kenmei cowered down, as did the majority of the others, doing their best to dodge the lightening. The flying ship rattled and wavered a bit from the sudden burst of power, causing many to scream and cry out in fear.

The young woman in the back stopped her bouncing and covered her mouth, giving a loud gasp. "Oh no, I'm so sorry! My magic gets out of hand sometimes when I'm excited.." She began to laugh nervously, fanning herself with a hand as she grew nervous at everyone staring at her. Kenmei peeked back up over the back of her seat once she was sure it was safe.

She wasn't fearful at all, but actually quite intrigued. This girl was from another town than her own, through she did not really know where. She had never known a Witch that used lightening before, and definiately had never seen one almost electricute everyone in the immediate area. She seemed like a nice person, however, and Kenmei wondered if they would have the chance to meet.

Beyond the studies, that is what she was truly scared of. Making friends had never been Kenmei's strong point, as she was quite shy and more than a little awkward. Though, she knew it was something important that she had to do. She wouldn't be able to survive the four years at The Academy without friends.

As she settled back down into her seat, she turned her head to look once again outside at the sky. 'Perhaps when we land... I'll try and introduce myself...' Kenmei thought to herself, moving some of her hair out of her face and back behind her left ear. 'Though.. I wonder who I'll be paired with...'. As she grew nervous about the thought, she started to run her fingers through her hair.

At the beginning of each school year, the Witches were paired with a partner Creature. Kenmei had not been given too much information about it yet, as they were going to be given all instruction at orientation when they arrived. Though, from what she had been told by her mother, whoever someone was paired with could either be a lifelong bond, or a horrible experience. Her mother had been fortunate and had been paired with a Creature that was her best friend and partner, until she got too ill to work.

Kenmei could only hope that she would have the same luck. Though she was confident in her skills, Kenmei was not a fighter. Like her mother, she had inherited Healing Magic, and as such she was defenseless agaisnt attackers. She knew she would be placed with a Creature that was profound in offinsive magic, someone whos aura matched her own.

How the High Witches and Creatures were able to pick and match the young students together was beyond Kenmei's knowledge. She could only hope that whoever she was paired with, that they could make it work. What she did know, is that whoever was chosen to be your partner, there was no changing it until the next year. That fact is what make a pairing a total disaster.

Kenmei shook her head, forcing herself to distract from those thoughts by flattening out her pleated skirt against her thighs. 'Stop being so negative, everything will turn out amazing. Everything will be-' Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she glanced back outside her window, beginning to see the very tips of a large structure peeking out over the clouds.

As if driven by an unknown force, her body one again pressed itself against the wall next to her, her cheek flat agaisnt the cold glass of the window. She gazed, wide-eyed, at the castle the came into her view. It was beyond any porportion that Kenmei could measure, with each tower rising higher than the other. Surrounding the enromous structure was a city, though Kenmei could not tell what the buildings were

What amazed her the most, however, was that all the structures were on a floating island. She couldn't believe it, land floating in the sky? It was absolutely incredible, with clouds pooling around the base, swirling in a slow but constant vortex. All around it, she could see different flying machines and even some people flying about on other magical tools.

Kenmei's excitement only grew, somehow pressing herself even tighter to the window to see even better. Though, it started to become a little too much excitement for her. She could feel her stomach starting to bubble and boil into nausea. Was she really good enough for all of this? She was from a poor family and was getting by only on a scholarship. Already, she felt lower than everyone else here, without even knowing anyone.

She swallowed the hard lump that had grown in her throat at these thoughts, peeling herself away from the window and settling back into her seat. Excitement gave way to nervousness and she could feel her hands beginning to shake. How could she possibly do this, having no friends and no experience in such a populated place? She already wanted to give up, turn around and just go back home to her brother. Though, she knew that was not an option. Though it was terrifying, it was the best opprotunity she had even been given.

Breathing in deep, she held the air deep in her lungs for a moment before releasing it, trying to calm herself as she closed her eyes. She could not let her anxiety get the better of her. She had to control it, to keep the monster at bay. Shifting her position in her seat a bit, she opened her eyes and looked back outside. Instantly, she felt the same warm, comforting feeling she had felt a few minutes before as she gazed at the clouds.

It truly was a magical world.