I woke up to the sound of a bell ringing loudly, coming up and down the hallway.
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I groan loudly and roll over, putting my pillow over my head. I feel Seraphim move against me, cradling into my side.
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I hear Raphael get up and open the curtains, light streaming into our room. I groan louder and Raphael laughs.
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"Rise and shine roomie, can't have you being late on your first day now can we?" He says in a chirpy, almost lively voice. Not sounding like he was asleep just moments ago at all.
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I don't get morning people, how are you so lively in the morning? I feel like the walking dead when I wake up.
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I pull the pillow off my face and sit up, rubbing my eyes as I adjust to the light. Seph, lucky lizard, just moves deeper into my blankets and continues his sleep.
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I force myself up and take Seph out of the blankets and put him on the desk while I make my bed.
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"Oh by the way Leon, we have room inspection almost every morning, so you have to have everything neat or you get a strike." Raphael says and my eyes pinch together.
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"What happens if you get a strike?" I ask him, it sounded rather serious.
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"If you get three strikes in one week, you're basically grounded over the weekend. You can't leave your room unless during meal times and have to hand in your devices." He explains and I nod. Another thing to the millions of things I have to remember now.
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Raphael gets his stuff to head to the bathroom and I do the same and follow suit.
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When we got the bathroom, there were many guys there, some waiting for the showers while others stood in the bathtub and water spun around them really fast like a typhoon.
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They had underwear on so don't stress but some took initiative. A few guys, I don't want to call them dwarves but that's the only way I know how to describe them, four of them all fit in the same shower.
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I was a little stunned at all the different dynamics. A guy by the sink was applying something onto his big leather like wings.
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There was a lot going on.
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Someone brought a speaker in here and rap music was blasting from it, it was kind of nice, reminded me of Caleb.
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I sat on one of the benches that were in here— yes, super weird that there's benches in a bathroom, but super convenient.
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It took a little while for a shower to open up, but eventually it did and I was able to shower but I had to be quick.
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So I took a speedy shower before brushing my teeth and heading back to my room where Raphael was halfway dressed.
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I look to my bed and there was my blazer, sweater vest, a few pairs of pants and a few white shirts, a tie and a pair of black, very shiny, school shoes.
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I was about to ask Raphael when this got here but I decided I'm just gonna go with the flow today. I shrug and start to quickly apply lotion over my body, with my towel still covering my you know who, and my shirt clinging to my wet body so no one sees that monstrosity on my back.
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I quickly get dressed into my uniform and look at the mirror that was between my bed and the wardrobe.
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Not to toot my own horn but I looked good. The sweater vest was white with yellow and blue lining and seams, while the blazer was mostly blue with yellow lining, and my tie was blue as well. On the right side of the blazer was the schools crests and on the left side was the house crest 'VICTORUM'.
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I quickly comb my hair out before patting it down and fluffing it out in some areas. As I was doing my last appearance checks, the bell started ringing again.
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I quickly looked to see if Raphael was looking away before quickly planting a kiss on Seph's head and grabbing my backpack.
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We make it to the foyer where roll call was happening, Michael reading out the names one by one until we were all eventually called out, then we headed to the cafeteria.
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"Any subject you're particularly excited about?" Raphael asks me as we walk.
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I think for a second. "Mhm, I think sacred geometry and devine literature, even occult literature."
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He smiles at that. "Have a nack for sacred texts I see." He says in a sing song voice.
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"Yeah I guess. I had a really big religious studies phase." I tell him and he nods along.
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His lips tug up. "Are you Korosian?" He asks.
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I shake my head. "No. Wait— what is that?"
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"It's the main religious belief in The First Veil. You religious at all?"
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"Woah. Also no, I'm not very religious, like my family and I are not religious." I respond.
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He hums, and that's when we enter the cafeteria. And again, I feel eyes on me, like they were peering through my clothes. Leaving me bare and vulnerable for them.
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I look away before heading into the line but I saw a table set up with different cereals and that felt like the better option.
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I get out of line and get a bowl before putting my cereal in and THEN the milk. Cereal first, then milk, so to you weirdos that do it vice versa, you're wrong.
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I wait there until Raphael is out of the line and he leads us to the table. I keep my eyes glued to the floor so I don't meet any stares, as I look up to see where I was going I felt something tap my ankle in and I went crashing to the floor.
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The laughs start from every direction, and I feel myself shrinking further into myself. My bowl with cereal was broken but luckily nothing got onto my clothes.
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Raphael rushes to my side and helps me up and I honestly just feel like crying. I feel the tension in my eyes, as well as my vision blurring and a lump forming in my throat.
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"You okay?" Raphael asks me softly and I nod, dusting my shirt and my pants.
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"You want to go get more cereal?" He asks and I shake my head.
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"No I think I'll just head to class." I say to him and he looks at me in concern.
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"Are you sure?" He asks and I nod.
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"Yeah, could you show me where the botanical garden is? I have botany and alchemy right now." I say, my mood still very dampened and discouraged.
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He nods and pats my shoulder, he gently tugs my arm and leads me out of the cafeteria where I still heard laughing even after we got out.
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"Are you sure you're fine?" He asks again and I give him a weak smile.
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"I mean it sucks, but I'll be fine." I say with a nod and he pats my shoulder again.
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He leads me out of the main building, down a trail of cobblestones and small hedges on either side until we reach a greenhouse.
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It was made of glass, large and taller than usual greenhouses. When we're at the door he turns to me. "I have to get back and eat before my classes, but I'll see you later yeah?"
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I give him a smile, which I can already feel is more pathetic than usual and nod.
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"Thanks."
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He gives me one more nod and concerned look before jogging back towards the main building, with a sigh I turn on my heels and walk in.
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Okay- this is gonna be very lazy, but think of every type of flower imaginable but on steroids and has this ethereal glow to it. Stepping in I put my ear up against a nearby flower and hear it release a small humming sound.
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Holy cow.
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I continue to look around in this daze and the harmonies the flowers were creating.
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I stepped towards one, with these beautiful, big purple petals, it emitted this soft pinkish glow and before I realized it my hand was lifted, moving towards the flower and right before I made contact—
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"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" A voice screeched in alarm and it scared the heck out of me, I jumped back and as I did I lost footing and again, went tumbling to the floor.
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Why does this keep happening today of all days?
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"Oh god I'm so so so so so sorry." I frazzled voice said, and I had no idea where it was coming from so I was just looking up into thin air.
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"Up here." I hear, and I look up from my position on the floor, it took me a minute, but after that I say a small girl sat at the top of the shelf. My eyebrows furrow in confusion and that's when she flies off the shelf and towards me.
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Right to my face, I look at her. She had a glowy brown skin with black braids and was wearing the same uniform as Raphael, except she was in a skirt. On her back was a pair of green, almost transparent wings that shimmered pink.
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"Wow." I hear myself say in fascination.
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She flies backwards before landing on the floor and in a flash, she was at a normal persons size.
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"I'm so so so sorry, I just saw you coming in and I didn't want to frighten you then I saw you almost touch the Night Hollow and I freaked out." She rushes out, her hand holding mine as she helps me stand up.
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I was still mesmerized by her wings that fluttered behind her so beautifully, and by her face cause she is astonishingly pretty. Her skin, again, just glowed, if I had to put what she looked like into botanical terms, she resembled a cattleya orchid. Thats how pretty she was.
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I give her a smile. "No worries. Thanks for stopping me from touching whatever that is." I say and she smiles back at me, charming, bright, hypnotic even.
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"That's a Night Hollow, induces sleep deprivation and usually causes psychosis." She says and I look back to the flower in almost wonder that such a pretty thing can cause that much damage.
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"Jeez, thanks a lot then." I say and she smiles brightly. I hold out my hand. "I'm Leon by the way, nice to meet you."
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She smiles and takes my hand and gives it a shake. "I'm Saeg, are you the new kid people have been talking about?"
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I shrug. "I guess, I got here yesterday." I tell her and she nods.
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Starting to look around the room again. "How come you were here while everyone is at breakfast?" I ask her.
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Her smile falters slightly. "Uh- I just prefer it here is all." She says with a nervous laugh.
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Lie.
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I look back at her. "I came here early because someone tripped me in front of the whole cafeteria." I tell openly and she looks at me in soft pity.
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"I...I don't have anyone to sit with in the cafeteria so I just hide out here." She says softly.
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I look back at her, with a small smile. "Thats understandable. I only have people to sit with because I think my roommate feels obligated to keep me around."
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She nods, her smile returning to her face. "You wanna come and crash here during meal times? There's barely ever anyone here other than Ms. Thornspell."
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I smile back at her. "That's sounds like a pretty good idea."
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She smiles brightly and claps her hands softly together in excitement. "Yay! New friend!" She cheers, but then her face drops.
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"Oh my god I completely just called you my friend even though we just met, I'm so so so so sorry. God this is why you don't have any friends Saeg, you scare 'em away!" She rambles, her hands moving really fast and theatrically.
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I laugh and tap her shoulder. "We can be friends Saeg." I tell her and she looks at me again with stars in her eyes.
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She just throws her arms around my neck and hugs me quickly before pulling away, her hands staying on my shoulders as she looks at me with determination.
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"I promise to be the bestest, most loyal, most kind friendly friend you have ever had!" She says, no ounce of insincerity in her tone.
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I smile at her brightly. "I promise to be the same."
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She smiles, her hands clapping in excitement again and I laugh softly at her excitement.
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She takes my hand and leads me to the desks and sits down next to me and for the next twenty minutes, Saeg and I talk about everything and anything. Well not the whole "Essence Incarnate" stuff, but everything else.
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She tells me she's from a small faery village, which by the way is more developed than I thought, when I imagined a faery village I imagined something like pixie hollow, but nope. She showed me pictures, they had almost everything but just small. She told me she has no siblings and two dads but really happy. Apparently faery folk either male or female can get pregnant. How nuts is that? Super cool. She told me about how her friends all kinda ditched her after they started dating people, Saeg said she didn't really feel anything romantic for anyone so it was hard finding someone like her friends did.
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It was fun, we spoke as if we'd been old friends and not as if we met twenty minutes ago.
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Before we could continue other students start to filter into the class and with them, the teacher. A stout woman, with brown hair tied in a braid with huge purple frames for glasses that magnify her eyes almost comically.
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She stands at the front desk which was covered in potted plants.
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"Good morning everyone." She says and everyone stands up, I was a bit behind but I stood up as well.
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"Good morning Ms. Thornspell." Everyone says in unison.
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"You may take your seats and class will begin momentarily." She says going around her desk.
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Saeg turns back to me. "Okay I know this is a personal question, but have you ever had a boyfriend?" She asks me.
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I shake my head. "No, I've had talking stages but never a proper boyfriend."
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"Really? We're gonna change that!" She says, I can already see her mind conjuring up all sorts of things.
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She looks around the class with an inquisitive look on her face, her eyes scanning the room.
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"Oo, what about that guy?" She asks, nodding her head towards someone at the back.
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I look over and see this boy with stunning green eyes that go well with his brown skin, he had dreadlocks tied at the back of his head and was wearing a different uniform than the green and yellow one Saeg was wearing and the blue, white and yellow one I was wearing. His blazer was black with red seams and red lining, with a black and red tie.
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I look back to Saeg and shrug. "He's cute," I admit and she claps her hands together.
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"Mhm, thats Claude. Okay what's your ideal type?" She queries.
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I think for a second. What is my idea type?
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I look back at her. "I have no clue." I drawl out and she laughs softly.
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"Personality wise?" She asks.
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I think for a second again, that's a bit easier to determine.
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"Funny. Open minded, polite, knowledgeable. Other than that, I'm not too picky." I respond and Saeg smiles happily at that.
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"God, I'm sorry if I'm moving too fast but I have a whole bunch of things I wanna do now that I have a friend." She says smiling with that bright, charming smile that I'm not sure she knows is super charming and welcoming.
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"Sorry to interrupt, but your smile is really beautiful. Actually, you are very beautiful." I say, not catching myself say before it leaves my mouth.
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Her smile, if possible, grows wider, she is literally illuminating the room right now.
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"Leon if you I told you how beautiful you are, you'd probably pop from all the compliments." She smiles and I find myself mirroring her bright smile, from what started off as a shit day, I found a hidden gem— no scratch that, a hidden treasure.
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Ms. Thornspell gets everyone's attention. "Today class we will be talking about correspondents in our craft." She starts. "So pair up, and discuss magical correspondents with herbs in our craft." She says and I look to Saeg who is smiling broadly before turning back to me.
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"This is like the only class where I'm doing well, so I'm kind of a pro." She smiles.
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I mirror her excitement. "I have no idea what's going on, so please, take it away." I respond.
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She claps her hands softly in excitement. "Okay so basically in the craft we use different kinds of herbs for different things. We're basically drawing out the life force or Essence of that herb to get our desired outcome," She explains and I nod as I follow.
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"So basically we have herbs that do different things. Like white sage, it removes negative energy from our spaces. But it is a closed practice because it is indigenous to Thal'Raen practitioners or the spirits of what mortals call Native Americans. Frankincense is used for protection, success and divination. Roses, passion; love and self love. Lavender, protection and love." She says as she talks I quickly take out one of my books and scribble down notes.
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She tells me more herbs that are translated to english to help me understand. Like Palo Santo which is a herb sacred to Southern Americans and Arnica that helps enhancing psychic abilities.
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As she's explaining, Ms. Thornspell speaks up. "Your assignment is to discover two herb correspondents that aid an Essencer in a warding spell." She says and I look to Saeg.
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"Basically a spell that drives away negativity." She whispers and I nod.
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"But that is the end of our class, I'll see you all Wednesday." She says with a polite smile on her face.
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Everyone starts to get up and pack their things to leave the class.
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Saeg has a frown on her face.
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"Hey, I'll see you at lunch, I promise." I try to reassure. She brightened slightly.
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"It's a date— wait not an actual date cause that would be weird, no one wants a weird friend date right? That would be horrid!" She rushes with an exaggerated 'Pfft' noise to which I laugh.
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"I'll see you at lunch Saeg, I promise." I say as I pack my bags. "But could you show me where the ancient history class is please?" I ask and she smiles again and nods.
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"Yeah sure, let's go." She says with that same dazzling smile.
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She packs her books and so do I before we leave the greenhouse.
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"Did you know the school was built for the primary use of Jïlar Grufaas? Like that's crazy right? That this whole institution was built for one kid? It blows my mind!" She says and I kinda grimace at that.
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"Like the whole school was built so they could help us. Isn't that crazy! Like a whole establishment was built for one kid." She speaks as we walk. "They must be really cool. I really hope they're a girl!" She says as we walk and I catch myself smiling at her rambling.
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We get to class and Saeg stops in front of it, she lets out a dramatic sigh. "I guess I have to leave you here. At lunch we can go get food packs from the cafeteria before heading to Ms. Thornspell's class." She says sadly and I smile at that.
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"I'll see you at lunch." I say to her and she perks up.
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"Okay! Have fun— well technically you can't have fun because you're in class and classes aren't usually fun..."
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"I'll see you later." I say with a smile before heading into my class, but before I look over my shoulder and smile and wave to Saeg who reciprocates broadly.
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I walk in and I find that almost every seat is taken but one close to the back.
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I walk over and sit down at the desk and take out my ancient history textbook and empty notebook. Since the teacher hadn't started, I flip to the back of my notebook and start to doodle away.
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It's a bad habit I've had since elementary school, I would always be rebuked for the drawings at the back of my book but I never stopped. It's fun.
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As I'm drawing I feel the very strong sense of someone staring at me, and since I've come to this school that feeling has never been wrong.
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I look up and turn my head to see the person next to me was staring at me intensely, not really in a bad way I think, he just looked perplexed.
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His hair was brown and short, his complexion a light tawny brown, he also didn't seem too tall, his eyes were this hazel color. He had soft features, a small almost imperceivable smile on his face, his eyes bright.
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He smiles at me in greeting and that kind of shocks me but nonetheless I smile back.
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"I really like your hair." He says to me, his voice soft almost hesitant.
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I smile at that. "Thanks. I like your eyes." I compliment back and he smiles.
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"I'm Lakota." He says and stretches a hand out and I smile at that, meeting his hand in the middle. Noticing immediately how soft his hands were.
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"Hi Lakota, I'm Leon."
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He smiles again at that. "You know I really wanted to greet you yesterday when I heard you got to our dorm." He says and I perk up slightly.
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"You're in Apollo?" I enquire.
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He nods. "Mhm, I'm like across the hall from Raphael." He informs and I smile at that.
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"How come you didn't come say hi then?" I ask and he gives me a sheepish look with a nervous laugh.
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"I didn't want you to think I'm some sort of creep." He grimaces and I laugh softly at that.
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"I wouldn't have thought you were creepy." I say and he smiles brightly at that.
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"Also I saw what happened in the cafeteria this morning, just ignore those guys. They've always been dickheads." He says and I nod, feeling a little embarrassed.
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I wave it off as if it didn't actually bother me.
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"It's fine, it doesn't bother me anymore." I lie and he smiles at that.
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"Are you going to the Bellum social this friday?" He asks me.
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"I'm not much of a party person so I don't think so." I tell him and nods in understanding.
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"Neither am I. But it could be fun." He offers and I nod.
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"I'll think about it." I say then the teacher walks in.
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Everyone stands up. "Good morning Professor Stolas." They say and I follow along but not saying anything because I had no clue what his name is.
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He was young looking, with short black curls and deep brown skin.
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"Good morning everyone. Hope you're all well, please get out your textbooks and turn to page 207." He says and everyone sits down and starts taking out their textbooks and I do the same.
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I turn to the page and look at the topic at that page.
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'Essence Collapse'.
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"Today we'll look at factors that contributed to the Essence Collapse." Mr. Stolas says, he gets a marker and writes the topic on the board.
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"For the sake of our newer student, we'll do a quick recap on the topic before looking at the events that lead to the collapse." He starts, his hand going back to the board. "The Collapse was due to many things but initially it is the blend or mesh, or every Strain of Essence, the celestial, natural and mystical phenomenon that disrupted the stability of Essence." He says, his eyes landing on mine momentarily.
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"Now let's look at what caused this disturbance. Firstly, planetary alignment and celestial convergence. From what we know, every millennia, a rare alignment of the largest bodies in our solar system, this alignment pulls on the Essence layers of the realm. This alignment causes a powerful gravitational and magical resonance that disrupts the Strains, like pulling on the strings of a tightly wound instrument." He explains, his voice was filled with passion so it was easy to tell he really enjoyed what he was teaching.
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All this stuff has me thrown in a loop. First there's this big ball of energy in universe that I apparently am apart of, now it has weird periods when stuff gets rocky?
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Oh lord.
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"Then there's the Solar Flare of the Twin Sun. A powerful solar entity that should not be mistaken as a star rather than a living, breathing being. It interacts with our solar system every hundred years and enters our orbit. This colossal entity shifts the balance and stability of Essence because of the amount of energy it exudes."
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"The last one I will talk to you about before we move on to you copy notes is The Shattering of the Aether Veil. The Aether Veil is a metaphysical layer that separates the mortal realm from planes of raw Essence. Over time, fractures appear in the Veil due to natural aging or misuse of powerful Essence magic, allowing raw Essence to bleed through. When the Veil weakens to a critical point, it unleashes an uncontrolled outflow of Essence, causing colors and Strains to bleed into each other uncontrollably. So with just these few factors, we as historians can pick apart this information and see in hindsight that all the factors for the collapse were present and could have been avoided. Now turn to your class work books and take notes from page 207 to 215 until the end of the period." He says and everyone begins to busy themselves.
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"Leodonis come to my desk please." I hear Mr. Stolas say and the whole class turns to just stare at me.
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Why do they keep doing that?
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I stand up and walk to his front desk, making sure I kept a look out if anyone wanted to trip me up again.
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I get to his desk and he gives me a warm polite smile. "How are you liking C.A.A so far?" He asks.
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I give him a polite smile. "It's good sir." I say and he nods at that.
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"If I'm going too quick or there's a particular topic you don't understand then let me know. And after lunch you'll be meeting Professor Eternus and the council." He says and I nod.
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"Thank you." I say and he smiles again and since I think that was the end of the conversation I walk back to my desk.
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As I walk past some kids that were looking at me pretty intensely and it made me shrink more into myself.
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"Sodolash." One said under a fake cough.
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Faggot.
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I look up to the person and the people around him are laughing pretty heavily. I pretended to not understand and walk back to my table and sit down.
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Well that added to my extra crap day.
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Wow, they even made me curse.
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I take a deep breath and grab my pencil and continue my doodle. I don't know if you can tell or not, but I'm very sensitive, so almost everything made me cry.
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I didn't cry that day though, my mind was almost too numb to think.
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"You guys think this faggot would enjoy it?"
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"It doesn't matter if he does or doesn't, let's just do this before someone comes looking for him."
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In and out.
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Breath. In and out.
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Don't let them see you like this Leon, just breathe, you're okay.
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I could feel my stomach burning slightly, the feeling of something pooling and bubbling in my gut made me think I wasn't too okay. My eyes were stinging, the same burning feeling as I felt my mouth dry and there's a lump forming in my throat.
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I keep my composure well, well not too well. But it was better than just throwing up right onto my desk.
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That would be utterly horrendous.
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My lift my now shaky hand and it gets Mr. Stolas's attention. His brow lifts in question.
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"May I go to the bathroom?" I asked and I cringed slightly at how shaky and weak my voice sounded.
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He nods with an almost concerned look on his face. I get up and make my way out of the class, small laughs and dark chuckles follow me out.
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I start to walk aimlessly trying to find a secluded area or even an empty classroom or just even the bloody bathroom but I couldn't find it.
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My breathing was becoming labored and my heart was beating out of my chest.
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This can't happen right now; Leon breath.
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But I couldn't and I felt myself start to slowly close in on myself.
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Breathe, in and out Leon. In and out. Breathe.
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I finally found a bathroom that didn't seem to far from the cafeteria and I head in and close the door of the stall behind me.
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I sit on the lid of the toilet and take in deep breaths, my stomach starting to lurch and jab.
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Dang it.
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I bring my knees up and hug them to myself and I start to rock myself back and forth.
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But no matter what happened, it felt like I had hands running over every part of my being. Not small and gentle touches, these were malicious, ill intended like something was trying to rip my soul right out of me.
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I close my eyes and start to slowly breathe, my tears were brimming at my eyes and I felt pressure press around my neck and throat.
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I don't know what was happening but I could feel myself spiraling into panic. My hands were shaking and tears were coursing down my cheeks. I put my head against my knees and start to hum softly, just to calm myself down.
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As I was in crisis mode, I heard the door to the bathroom open.
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"Leon?" I hear a voice call softly, and I hear it to be Lakota.
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I sniffle and wipe my face hastily as well as my nose before replying, trying with the best of my ability for my voice to sound stable.
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It wasn't though. "In here." I murmur, my voice shaky and quiet.
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I see his feet approaching my stall and he knocks softly. "Can I come in?" He asks, and for some reason my brain doesn't think twice about it, I just unlock my stall and he pushes the door open and walks in.
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He looks at me, noticing the clear distress I was in. He sits down on the floor, and leans back against the door. Without question.
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"I know it's hard, especially with people like that here." He says gently and I nod, my eyes shutting.
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"It's not even about what that guy called me, it just reminded me of something." I murmur, my voice sounding foreign and defeated, way beyond the years someone my age should sound.
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He nods, his face twisted in soft concern. "I know what that's like. I used to get panic attacks all the time, it's exhausting." He says and I offer him a small and lame attempt of a smile.
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"You didn't have to come and find me." I say to him and he nodded, giving me a soft smile.
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"I know. But I can't imagine not being from here and all of a sudden everyone seems to be making life hard. So I'm here," He says and I genuinely smile at that. Try to, at least.
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"I just don't get why this has to come up on my first day. And why are these guys so mean?" I say almost exasperation.
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He nods as I speak, his face still showing that caring, tender expression.
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"You never got picked on in the mortal realm?" He asks me and I sigh.
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"I did, and it got bad. But I don't get why people are just...cruel, I guess? It sucks." I huff.
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"It's almost break, you wanna go to the food shop? They sell these really good ice cream cups, I'm sure it would make you feel better." He asks and I nod taking in another deep breath before getting up.
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"I left my bag in class." I say and he shakes his head.
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"I brought our bags, it's just outside." He says and I nod.
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"Thanks."
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"No worries." He says as we walk out of the bathroom and into the hall where our bags were up against the wall.
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We pick them up and we start walking.
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"So what is the mortal side like?" He asks as he leads me to the food job.
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"Honestly it's just like this but more boring." I say and he nods.
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"Do you guys have a dictator running your world?" He asks and I laugh at that.
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"No, well in different areas there are dictators." I explain and he hums.
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"I've always wanted to see the mortal side. It's kind of illegal to interact with anything man made, even you guys media is illegal for us to view. But I still watch mortal shows and their music." He says and I smile at that.
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"Really? What kind of music do you listen to?" I wonder and he gives me another sheepish look.
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"Pop mostly. Lame I know but mortal pop is sooo good!" He says his hands thrown up in expression.
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"So by pop artists I'm thinking Ariana Grande?" I ask and he perks up further.
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"Yes! Her and Chappell Roan and Taylor Swift. Love love love love them." He says excitedly and I smile, I think him and Saeg would also get along.
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"What about you?" He asks me.
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"I listen to everything honestly. But I love indie and indie rock." I say and he smiles.
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"Favorite song?"
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I ponder for a second. "Probably Tek It, by Cafuné." I say and he looks perplexed.
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"I don't think I've heard of it. You should play it for me sometime." He says and I smile and nod.
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"What's yours?" I ask him.
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He smiles. "Mortal song, probably Say So by Doja Cat," He says, a reddish hue painting his brown features.
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I laugh. "Why are you embarrassed, that's a good song."
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He shakes his head. "I have the music taste of a fourteen year old white girl," He says and I laugh at that.
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We get to the food shop which is outside a quad area. There was a fountain in the center of the quad, stone tables and benches as people walked or sat and ate their food.
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We get into the line and Lakota turns back to me. "What's your classification and rank?" He asks me and I just shrug before turning to look at him.
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"They never told me." I say honestly, because technically they didn't tell me.
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"Well I'm an MS skinwalker, and the Strain I specialize in is Umbrus." He says and I nod.
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"So you can like turn into animals?" I ask him and he nods, seeming happy I got it.
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"Yeah but I can turn into anything, and I can communicate with animals too." He tells me and I smile at that. I could do that too. Well kind of, Seph is kind of a mystery so I have to pretend I know what that gecko is saying.
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We get to the front of the line and the lady had this really eery pale skin, her eyes almost yellow looking, she seemed cold and distant but the moment she looked to Lakota she smiled.
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"Got some new friends huh?" She asks and Lakota laughs.
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"Leon, this is Susi. She's literally the best." He says and Susi smiles at me and I return it too.
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"What can I get for you kids?" She asks
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"Could we get two ice cream cups please." He says and she immediately goes over to this machine, and gets two cups and fills them with ice cream. She puts two spoons in them and hands them to us.
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Lakota goes to take out his wallet but I did first. Least I could do.
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I hand Susi the money and smile. "Thank you."
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She smiles. "Don't let this one get you in trouble." She says affectionately towards Lakota and I smile.
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We move out of line and walk to a bench that wasn't occupied and sat down.
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I look around the quad as I eat my ice cream. The quad was nor— nothing about this place is normal actually, the blue guy at the other side is show of that. But the quad seemed regular if you remove all the supernatural beings around it. Fountain at the center, grass around it in a pentagon before laid brick floors, then five arches around the quad heading back into the school. The ice cream had a unique taste, it was almost the same as vanilla but it had this fruity flavor which was really nice, Jordan would love this.
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No pun intended.
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"So," He starts, as he eats his ice cream. "When are you gonna start Essence Training?"
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I look at him slightly confused. "I have no idea, I think I have to see Professor Eternus and the others after lunch while you guys are at sports." I say and he nods.
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"It makes sense, but if you have any questions on how to do anything, especially when it comes to Umbrus you can talk to me." He says and I smile and nod.
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"I will." I say and then the bell starts to ring. Lakota lets out a dramatic sigh which I laugh at.
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"I have Devine Lit. Which means you have sacred geometry, cause that's what's in the band." He says and I nod.
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"Could you show me there please?" I ask and he immediately nods.
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"Come on." He says and we make our way there.
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Once we're by the door he turns to me. "See you at lunch?" He asks.
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"I'm gonna come to the cafeteria to get a food pack, then head to the greenhouse, you wanna come?" I invite and he smiles at that.
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"I'll see you there." He says in departure with a warm smile.
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"Thank you Lakota. I really appreciate you coming after me." I say and he smiles back at me.
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"Don't sweat it, Leon. But I need to run, see you later!" He says with as he starts to leave. I smile and nod before heading into class.
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•••
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Lakota and I were walking to Ms. Thornspell's class to meet up with Saeg, who Lakota has never met before.
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Sacred Geometry was interesting, we talked about celestial beings and why we comprehend them different from what they look.
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So basically these beings live in the highest point in existence, or heaven but not necessarily the biblical heaven. And here they're so complex that when they've made contact with mortals or beings in lower places than theirs they seem odd and strange. Like Thrones, which we see as a big eye with wheels spinning around it, they look like that to us because in sacred geometry the wheels mean oneness and an infinite cycle and the eye means knowledge.
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Then there's the Aetherborn that are categorized into different groups though they are apart of one divine Aether thought form or consciousness. Like Michaels, Raphaels—
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OHHHHHHHHH.
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That's why they said they were brothers.
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I get it now. Okay, I'm caught up.
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Anyway, basically before they can ascend they need to live in this plane before they get back up there to be angels with the eyes and halos and crazy armor.
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Anyway, the more you know!
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I walk in and look around all the plants to see if I could I spot Saeg, and luckily she was here lunchpack in hand as she sat at a desk looking very anxious.
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I smile when our eyes meet and she perks up. "Leon! And stranger! Welcome!" She says happily and I smile, Lakota follows me and we both pulls chairs from the desks so we could seat opposite Saeg.
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"Saeg this is Lakota, Lakota this is Saeg." I introduce and Saeg is beaming.
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"Oh my gosh that's such a nice name! Like Leon said, I'm Saeg, so nice to meet you!" She says, taking Lakotas out stretched hand and shaking it enthusiastically.
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Lakota smiles and laughs. "Nice to meet you Saeg." He says with that sweet smile of his.
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I open my food pack to see it's fried rice and, chicken and gravy with a side of gravy.
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"Wait Saeg I never asked what Strain you specialize in?" I ask her picking up my fork.
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"Oh! I just dabble into Ferax, okay— dabble is the wrong word, I would say I'm a few feet into Ferax." She says and I laugh softly and so does Lakota.
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"You know I've never seen what these things do, I mean I have, but I've never seen it properly." I say and Lakota smiles, like a little knowing smile.
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Saeg has the same smile on his face, before staring up and taking a potted plant off the shelf and onto the table before sitting back down.
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"Ferax, is life Essence. It's all about tapping into the the life energy of the things around you, not to use their energy but rather they use yours." She says and her explanation is so assured and confident it almost shocks me.
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She closes her eyes before lifting her hands and pinching her middle finger and thumb together, she then quickly flicks her wrist next to the potted plant and one of the leaves grow, with this crazy glow to them.
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Holy cow!
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My mouth must have been hung low, Saeg laughs and looks around to see if anyone was working before touching the soil in the pot and with this shimmering green light, the plant continues to grow, right there and then.
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The leaves were large and full, it went from being the size of my forearm to being the size of my upper body.
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She pulls her hand away and tilts her body to look at me through the gaps of the plant.
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I look to Lakota in shock but he was just happily chowing down on his food.
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How can he not be amazed by this shit?!
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Oh my god—
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Did I just curse?
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"Your turn." Saeg says looking to Lakota and he smiles, putting his food down and rubbing his hands together comically.
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I laugh and he looks to me. "It's nothing bizarre, it's just simple shadow work." He says and I look at him in confusion.
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He laughs. "Not that type of shadow work Leon." He says and I give him a sheepish smile.
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He rubs his hands together again. "Okay, just stare at your shadow." He instructed.
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I look down from where I'm sitting and I look at my shadow, I hear a little bit of motion from Lakota and right as I was about to see what he was doing, my shadow waved at me.
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Yep! MY FREAKING SHADOW WAVED AT ME.
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"Wow wow wow Lakota this is creepy." I say in worry but never taking my eyes off my shadow, I move my head to the right to see if my shadow would do the same but it doesn't.
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I continue to move and my shadow just chills there, I even saw that guy scratching his bum.
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Real classy shadow me.
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I hear Lakota and Saeg laugh. "Leon you look so freaked out." She says.
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"I mean—yeah! My shadow is severed from my body!" I say as I continue to look at my shadow. I've seen and done some freaky stuff— but this? This is Dean and Sam type freaky.
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I hear Lakota snap his finger and my shadow started to follow my movements again.
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I look to Lakota and smile. "That was sick."
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He laughs, going back to eating.
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"What are your gifts Leon?" Saeg asks me, as she starts to eat.
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I shrug. "Still trying to figure it out." I say and she nods in understanding.
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We eat and I learn stuff about Lakota and Saeg as they get more comfortable with each other. Lakota is also an only child but he had a cousin that graduated from here a few years ago, she helps refugee areas.
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Eventually lunch comes to an end and I look to them. "I have to get to Professor Eternus. But I'll see you guys at dinner." I say and they both smile.
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"You want us to walk you?" Lakota asks and I contemplate it before shaking my head.
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"I'll be okay, see you guys later." I say with a smile before leaving.
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I into the main building and I do get confused on where to go again but I end up remembering and successfully going to Professor Eternus's class.
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I knock on the door and peeping inside to see many teachers inside, it didn't seem like the usual council, but some of the educators that were in the office with and the council were here and Mr. Stolas was here as well.
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"Leodonis, come." Professor Eternus says and I walk in with a small smile.
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"Afternoon professors." I say and they both greet me back.
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"Take a seat Leon." He says and I nod, I take on the of the desks at the front.
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"Leon we're just here to give you something, that's all, we don't want to take up your afternoon." He says and I nod as he speaks.
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He claps his hand and book appears in-front of him, it had a gold cover with a sun symbol on it with so many intricate symbols and words etched into the gold, the title engraved largely over the top. The books floats over to me and I take it into my hands tentatively.
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"Leon that is The Solaria Aurialius." Professor Eternus says. "A grimoire of spells and a guide on your powers and what you can do with your powers." He explains and I just look at the book, it was beautiful to say the least.
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"Monday we start looking at everything, step by step on how to control your abilities and ground your emotions. This training will include combat and theory, you'll need to be determined and disciplined in order to have a grasp on your powers before your first trial." Another professor says, you remember that grouchy man from yesterday? Professor Tao? Yeah him.
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I nod at that. "Do I keep this?" I ask.
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"It is a book solely about you, it's yours, read it. Educate yourself. Connect. Monday you start introductory training." Professor Eternus says and I nod slowly, my hands lightly grazing over the cover.
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"For now, keep it hidden and you can head back to your dorm." He says and I nod as I get up. I put the book in my bag before leaving them to probably continue to talk about me.
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Now let's see what this book says I can do.
ns216.73.216.13da2
and then Add to home screen.