The Lonely Thoughts of a Snail in Soil

Please Join our Club!

Chapter 14: Please Join our Club!

Factions, guilds, and clubs form a great deal of Hidden society. None should be tampered with.

--Excerpt from 'The Guide to the Realm of the Hidden.'

Neth

"Welcome to the big club event!" Neth said with a big grin. "I'm Neth, and please ask any questions, walk around, and explore the different club and organization options the school has to offer."

Neth and the other Iron Four had volunteered to help out with the club and organization meetings going on for the first few days of orientation. While they were in several different clubs each, Neth had believed it would better suit them to greet everyone, to get to see faces and judge abilities, while also talking about their respective clubs in the process.

"Hi, welcome to Denver High Academy. Do you need to be shown around, or any club you'd like to visit? Information on anything?" he asked the three new students that just walked into the hall. They were in the Student Union, in one of the massive rooms used for such occasions. The middle one was a pretty magi, shorter, long silver hair done in several tight braids, and born of ice. On her right was a fae, who was very well dressed, and had a look to her that made it clear she wasn't to be messed with. And to her left was a tall shifter, short hair, skinny, and had the appearance of someone who thought he knew what was going on, but not quite.

Interesting group.

"Uh, sure," said the shifter. He seemed a little nervous. "What all does the school have to offer?"

"We actually have a lot of different options, something for everyone." Neth waved them along and began going down one of the aisles of stands. The floor of the hall was a beautiful white and black marble swirl, which could memorize the eyes easily. Above was a dome that was made of hundreds of window panels, letting clear light in and allowing everyone to stare out into the clouds. Neth thought all classes should be held in here. "Can I get your names before anything?"

"I'm Hannah," said the magi.

"Bill."

"Lilly."

"Well a pleasure to meet you three," he greeted. "I'm Neth, a second year in the hero program. How's your first day been?"

"Not bad," Hannah responded. "Seeing the school has made me pretty excited for classes and training."

"Everything here is crazy big," the fae added. She stretched out her arms, as though just imagining the size of every structure was making her body ache. "I didn't think the school would be so goddamn huge."

"It does take a lot of adjusting," Neth agreed. He stopped in front of the first row of clubs, motioning to all the different choices they had. "These are the fighting clubs. Here you could join any type of fighting style or rough housing club and everyday you'll never go back to the dorms full of energy. They'll wear you out, drain you of all motivation, then send you home with a black eye."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" Bill inquired. "Sounds illegal."

Neth smiled. "Because you'd get to punch the living daylights out of whoever you want. These clubs are for those who want to hone their skills without worrying about consequences."

The trio looked around for a few moments, and Bill picked up a pamphlet. Deciding to continue, he took them to the next row of stands. "These are the more artsy clubs. We've got everything from knitting to robotics. These students can make anything under the sun, and are often the ones who actually cause the most trouble on campus." He leaned in close to Hannah. "Rogue scarves last year destroyed three garden beds."