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 Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:11 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:12 pm
Few would guess by looking at him now, but there had been a time when no one had thought Thian would live long enough to attend his first Academy class. Born early in the year from an apparently healthy soul stone, there had been no reason for the demon to have had any trouble, no mutations or stigma to impair him. Still, the child had struggled, developing a cough right out of the crystal that had lasted for months. He hadn't grown at all during that time, at least not physically, but during his lengthy convalescence he had watched, he had listened.
By the time his lungs cleared and Thian was approved to start classes at Asphodel, he was both fiercely intelligent and monumentally self-absorbed. His caretakers were confident that he would shed his tendency toward isolation soon enough, especially once he had made some friends. Too bad every last child he had met in his short life so far had been a complete idiot. Too bad he didn't want friends.
Thian stood at the front of a classroom of tiny strangers, eyes narrowed as he judged their hopeful smiles and glazed stares.
"Go on and tell us your name," the teacher suggested with a smile. She was a litch called Miss Keetra, and though she was a tad too perky, she wasn't pushy and therefore wasn't entirely horrible.
"Thian," he replied, arms folded and tail circling his leg.
In the idle seconds before Miss Keetra directed him to a seat, the boy took another measuring look at his peers: the nappers, the nosepickers, the crybabies, everyone. He would be expected to smile and shake hands and share toys, to laugh at things that weren't funny or be bullied as punishment. He would have rather been sick forever than deal with this, but he had no choice.
"All right, Thian. I know everyone's excited to meet you and you'll have a better chance to get acquainted during playtime, but for now please take a seat there, next to Amory. Amory? Would you raise your hand?
[ 345 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:14 pm
There remained one pair of eyes that Thian could not yet have glared into, and that was because they hadn't been raised in his direction. Amory's attention was on the book in front of her, and when Miss Keetra called her name, she did as she was told without much thought, jutting her hand up into the air as she continued to read. In response to many other requests she wouldn't have been so quick to comply, but for all of her defiance, Amory didn't have much of a problem following harmless orders. School was full of harmless orders. Perhaps that was why she did so well.
It was only after she registered movement out of the corner of her eye that she looked up, sharp magenta stare taking in the newcomer. He was tall for a demon, thin too, and just barely young enough to still be considered a freshling. What was he doing here? And more specifically, what was he doing next to her?
[ 166 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:15 pm
Thian hadn't ever thought to wonder what it was like to be on the receiving end of his own coldly inquisitive stares, but right now he was getting a pretty good idea anyway. He dropped into his seat with a sigh, fully aware of the pair of bright eyes tracking his every move. The demon silently pulled open his bag and retrieved his notebook, pristine save for his neatly printed name. Thian opened to the first page, writing a brief note in dark blue pencil.Tearing the page out as slowly as he could, he passed it to the chimera, still not meeting her eyes. She probably couldn't even read.
[ 114 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:19 pm
As he settled in, Amory kept watching. She was quite taken by their similarities—pale purple skin, stripes, scowls—and she was definitely more amused than he was by their situation. She was already more than accustomed to being surrounded by idiots.
When she saw him attempt to hand her a full sheet of paper without folding it up or anything, Amory hurried to take it form him so they wouldn't get caught. What was he thinking? Didn't he know how to pass a note? The chimera scribbled a hasty reply, her chicken scratch legendary even at her young age.Quote: i want you to fold our letters right if
you're going to keep sending them
like i did
[ 142 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:21 pm
He had expected her to give up or lose interest once she had been directly confronted, so when her reply came coasting into his peripheral vision, Thian jumped in his seat, the demon frowning when he realized just exactly what had startled him. He wasted no time opening the note, nor did he try to hide that he was doing so. It was only when he read what she had written that he realized he should have been stealthier when handling their missives. Apparently they could get in trouble for passing notes.
Even as he bristled at the thought of being scolded for failing to pay attention to this insipid lesson, Thian also felt a twinge of something else, something secretive and devious. It was a new twist on the sensation he had felt when winning a board game or playing tag, and he was pretty sure he liked it very much.Quote: if you insist on replying,
i should know your name
did i fold this okay?
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:22 pm
Amory didn't respond right away when she heard him tapping on his desk, thinking it was just a nervous tic or unconscious twitch. It was only after her idly swishing tail made contact with another that she turned sharply to glance behind her, catching sight of their note balanced on the flat of his. She looked up at the boy with a wicked grin, surprised to see he was smiling too.
Bringing her tail back within range, they eventually managed an awkward trade, the note slipping onto the blunted spikes at the end of her tail. With a little more practice and a better notification system, it would be the perfect way to pass notes.Quote: my name is amory
you folded it very nicely
and that tail thing was awesome
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:24 pm
Despite the grin her note put on his face, he didn't attempt to communicate again until after class had ended. It was an odd lesson on flitterat husbandry and the sorts of foods the wild sort liked best, and by the end Thian wanted a pet of his own, if nothing else. Even after they were dismissed, he remained silent for a time, stowing his books and checking his schedule under Amory's watchful eye. Eventually, he looked up. She was shorter than he was by an inch or two and she was obviously a chimera, but beyond that and the color of their hair, they looked a lot alike.
"What class do you have next?"
[ 115 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:26 pm
His voice was not at all what Amory had expected. She'd imagined a whiny, irritating drone, but Thian had the scratchy vocalizations of one who barely spoke at all, let alone whined. She almost couldn't hear his question over the bustle of the hall, and she found herself leaning in before she considered his personal space. She shifted back again almost immediately.
"I've got math, then science, then home. Home is my caretaker's place first, then the dorms. Sometimes." She didn't like that she was babbling, but she was still a tad thrown by the encounter.
"So. Math." Amory folded her arms, her backpack already nestled between her wings.
[ 109 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:31 pm
"Math." Thian looked down at his schedule once more. "Me too. Where is it?"
He had started his day alone and disgruntled, irritated by the very idea of leaving his calm, soothing life for this hectic mess. Tonight he would enter his dorm for the first time, unapproachable as always, unwilling to admit that anything about the day had gone well. Only he would know that things weren't quite as bad as he made them seem. Only he would know that he had Amory. Deep down he thought he might even like how the promise of her friendship made him feel.
"If you don't mind me coming." He hoped she didn't, and not just because he wanted to stay by her side. He also had no idea where he was going, and he would have rather kissed an angry cockatriel than asked a grownup where to go.
[ 147 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:33 pm
"Nah, I don't. Follow me."
Amory didn't wait to see if he would do as he had been told, she simply hefted her pack a little higher and started out into the hall, tail swaying in her wake.
"We probably shouldn't pass notes in math," the chimera advised, finally looking back at the boy when they were about halfway between classrooms. Mr. Oriomb is more strict than Miss Keetra," she lied. "He's a good teacher, but he's not afraid of punishing kids." The truth was, math and science were Amory's favorite classes, and she didn't much like the idea of a bunch of notes messing up her lesson, even if those notes were from Thian.
"You got me?"
[ 118 ]
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:34 pm
Thian nodded, the room Amory was poised to lead him into bright and distracting behind her. He'd never had a problem with math, but it definitely wasn't his favorite subject either. He would do as she said for now, then after all the adding was over, they could get back to having fun.
"Okay. I'm ready."
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