Jideh woke up to the sound of furious knocking on his door. He stumbled out of the covers, realized with an easy smile he'd gone to bed in his clothes, and opened up the door. An eager-looking older student was there, and Jideh was confused at first.

Several minutes later found Jideh trailing alongside other students who were walking outside of the dormitory. He listened patiently to the explanation the older students gave, and when the gout of flame blasted into the night's darkness, Jideh began walking. He saw almost all the other participants tear off at a run. He was inclined to walk, both for safety's sake, and to enjoy the atmosphere of the Academy grounds at night. He was still sensibly dressed, and he'd thought to grab his spade before he'd left. Other than that, he'd been remiss about lacking a light source. Jideh figured that the light of the moon would be enough to see by, and as he walked along the forest's path carefree as can be, he took in the forest at night. The trees were whispering in the breeze, and he could smell them, and feel them. He could actually feel them! 

It startled Jideh initially, when he felt the branches tugging at his clothes, but then he realized that a specialist in flora such as himself could easily have done something like this, and he was walking. It seemed that the trees wanted him running, or at least moving faster. Jideh felt no compulsion to comply, seeing as he was covered up, and the branches stopped short of whipping at his face. He had listened to the stories the older students told of ghosts, but he wasn't really sure that he believed them. And even if they were true, he guessed that the bumbling students rushing on ahead of him would take care of that potential threat neatly, and he would have plenty of warning should he run into them.