*☆ — burned out

“I will admit, this is just who I am as a person- and I’m learning not to apologize for it, so I’m sorry for how this interaction is going but not for who I am,” she said as she took a step back but gave a smile of confidence before taking a breath and deciding to start over. “Hi, I’m Dana, I panic when people randomly address me, yell at me, or get mad at me- for I have no idea what to do.” She said holding up a thumb before smiling again, “And you are-?” She said trying to make this conversation go in a pleasant direction, but she knew this would go into her memory forever as one of the worst embarrassing interactions she would ever have.

Izabel hadn’t even paid attention to where she was going, she just was out for a walk. At times she was in her own world, not paying attention to the proximity of others as she walked. She didn’t want to hear the thoughts of be of any influence in the thoughts of others. If anything her powers she kept to herself. Not liking that her species can lure, can make one come to them. Though when the person ahead of her turned around so fast, she almost ran into them. Flinching as she stopped. A confused expression on her face. Blinking for a few seconds “What?..” she stated as she gave herself some space. She took a listen to the surroundings “Is it too noisy?” she asked, there wasn’t that much chatter.

~

Typically around people, Lennon was on guard, tense, ready to attack at the drop of a pin. But even without knowing it was Calvin, Lennon felt a sense of relief wash over him just at his scent. This was a pack member, he was safe. And safety was a new feeling for the young wolf. He liked it though. It was much better than the fear he’d lived in as a human, or the absolute terror of his initial introduction into the life of a werewolf, after being attacked and left for dead. If only he knew that the person who had caused that terror was the same person making him feel safe in a new environment right now, it would shock him to say the least. “The ribbit,” he gestured to his ear after trying to croak like a frog, cringing again to show Calvin how it felt. “It doesn’t process right. It’s not a nice sound.”

Leighton was aware it was obvious. It wasn’t like she was an official school guard, though. The actual ones were further out into the perimeter, currently unseen in the trees. There was only so far the students were actually allowed to go out. So, she chose that hill, the academy itself right behind them. She watched as the other student joined her, laughing quietly at his comment. “Don’t worry, it was just a joke,” Leigh affirmed, eyeing the distance. “Honestly, if anything was out there right now… the school sentries posted further out would sense it first anyway,” she admitted with a shrug. 

Zara had been following this boy too closely it seemed because he shot around and snapped at her. “Ew.” She stated, not looking up from her phone. “I’m just trying to meet my friends. Sorry, I didn’t think it was a crime to look at my phone and walk fast.” She rolled her eyes at him. 

“You should really learn to control that anger of yours.” She chuckled, raising her brows at him. “Have you been a wolf long?” Zara asked him. “I mean, please don’t ask how I know. We all smell the same.” The brunette said, waving it off. “You know… Now that we’re all here… You’re gonna have to get used to people staring at you, babe.” She rolled her eyes. “Was someone giving you a hard time?” She asked, pouting. “Do you need a hug or something?” She asked sarcastically. 

Clara hadn’t really expected the werewolves, but had been delighted when they came. They had saved the town and the young magician didn’t want to think about what would have happened if they hadn’t been there. She had been heading in the direction of Professor Kutlar’s office when one had just so happened to coincidentally wander in front of her. Not that she noticed, of course, considering she hadn’t been paying attention to him and her exhaustion after helping out with the patients from the attack was certainly getting the better of her. Not until the individual turned around with fire in their eyes did she even awknowlage who he was. This of course sent Clara into a flurry of apologies, even though it had been he who snapped at her for no reason. “I- uh- my professor’s office is this way.. I wasn’t- I mean… I wasn’t trying to follow you. I’m sorry.. sorry.” The healer paused, clutching to her books for dear life considering that she was afraid of confrontation. 

Dana had been coming back from one of the professors office and was glad that she did. They had given her a sense of comfort and she actually found a pep in her step for a moment. She felt like she could breath and move through just today with a sense of peace- only to immediately have that feeling cut off when someone just turned and scolded her out of nowhere. On first glance she noticed he was different than the people she’d known before and wondered if he was one of the werewolves. But her brain didn’t let her properly function, going immediately into panic mode, “I-uh…movement,” she said trying to get out that she didn’t know what he was talking about. Wanting to at least not cry in this movement from the intimidation, “bathrooms, bedrooms, night walks, cars-” she said just listing of different places to find peace.

Garrick held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Calm down, mate.” He said, letting out a small laugh. “I’m one of the professors here. I’m just doing my rounds.” He admitted. Garrick wasn’t trying to sneak up on the kid, he just wasn’t sleeping all that well so of course his senses weren’t all that good. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you or anything.” He continued. “I’ve been trying to check on more of the students around here. You’re new right?” He asked casually. 

~

The endless optimism and happiness that seemed to come from Mikki seemed to baffle a lot of people, he was used to the puzzled expressions. They didn’t really seem to faze him. So while he was used to them, he didn’t necessarily connect with them. He was just content being the way he was. “That’s okay, you can always ask. Although I maybe wouldn’t snap at most people, a lot of them aren’t going to respond well to it,” he pointed out, brows furrowing. He looked around the smaller greenhouse and nodded, grinning. “There’s a lot more, if you go around the front of the greenhouse. This is the lesser known part of it. But it’s quiet, and it’s peaceful. That’s what you wanted, right?” Mikki’s fingers danced over the leaves of a larger plant near the entrance. “Do you meditate?”

Since the attack, Cade had basically spent any minute on the academy grounds and only went home to sleep, only to walk back to the library early in the morning. He was still determined on improving his magic as quickly as possible and the fact that there was a whole bunch of werewolves at the academy now, didn’t make things less interesting either. When he was on his way back from the secret library once again though, he quickly realised that he wasn’t the only one who was still feeling pretty on edge. Raising his eyebrows as he stared at the guy who had just spun around and was still glaring at him, the male eventually shrugged. “Not getting anywhere near you it seems…”

Sure, the new environment took some getting used to but at least they had each other. The Allen pack was a family and took care of each other. So, just because Calvin was walking around with a stick up his ass didn’t mean Luke was. But the other wolf was fairly new, so maybe he got a pass. But still. He was following behind his pack mate, just waiting for him to finally realize Luke was there. Once the younger werewolf spun around, Lucas halted and stifled laughter for a moment. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” he joked, huffing at that frustrated look in his friend’s eyes. “We’re at a big ass school, Cal. What did you expect?” 

It was exciting to be around the new creatures, the werewolves he’d only read about before. Mikki knew the situation that had brought them here was less than ideal, of course, but he still found the silver lining to be that they were a part of the community now. More creatures working together in harmony, keeping each other safe. There was something profoundly beautiful in that, Mikki thought. Though he supposed he shouldn’t be smiling at the person who stared him down, glaring daggers at him, making his brows furrow and his smile dissipate into an expression of concern. Something was wrong, and he wracked his brain trying to think about what he knew of werewolves, or if perhaps this was just an individual who didn’t handle crowds well, regardless of his species. This was a lot to take in as it was, and without taking a moment to really think things through, he gestured for Calvin to follow him. “You’ve got to go to the places most people choose not to enter,” he explained, leading him to a nearby greenhouse, going along the side to an entrance to a smaller section of it, a place Mikki knew there were very few people besides him who ventured. He held the door open for Calvin, offering another smile. “It’s tough to find the quiet spaces here, but they do exist.”