“It’s been brewing all day.” Thayva went to close the window in the room as a wind began to whip violently at the curtains. “Catch enough of the frogs, and we’ll have that extra meat for the table!” She gave her husband a small smile, but the expression sobered as he continued. She sighed deeply. As much as she hated the idea of one of them being away from the orphanage, she nodded.

[center]*	*	*[/center]
	The night brought with it a fanfare of thunder and flashes of lightning that kept many kids, especially the younger ones, awake, huddled beneath their blankets. Rain beat down on the roof, a gale battered the house, and phantom gusts rushing through the halls made the flames of the few sconces remaining lit flicker, threatening to go out.
	In the dining hall, with their duties done for the day and the children in bed, the many staff members had gathered, their posts to patrol the halls afterhours temporarily abandoned. Thayva stood with her husband near the head of the group, fidgeting with the tip of her tail, and letting Serapis do the talking.

[center]*	*	*[/center]
	In the boys’ dormitory--a room crowded with beds with only enough empty space for them to maneuver through the aisles--Nick was among those who could not sleep. While the thunderous snoring of a few of the other boys filled the room, the booming thunder drowned out even that. With an irritated sigh, he glanced to the door in the dim light filtering through the room, grabbed a candle from beneath his bed, and lit it with a quickly muttered spell. 
	Tossing his blanket aside, he went to the bed belonging to Aurelian. He placed a hand on the other boy’s shoulder and shook.
	“Aurelian!” he whispered, flinching as another blast of thunder felt like it shook the floorboards beneath his feet. “You up?”