Book? Ah-

The Awakening

Waking up in a small enclosed space wasn't something Blu Roos was proud of, nor something zey tried to do a lot. And yet it kept happening, first the hunters, then the searchers and now it was... Well he didn't actually know that right now. He could tell the shape of the box, it was vaguely pentagonal with a flat top. The fact that Roos was so calm about this situation is what started their freak out.

—

I couldn't hear my own thoughts over the sound of my heartbeat and the ringing that had taken over my eardrums. I slammed on the lid of the coffin and screamed over and over again a strong 'I'm not dead!'. Until it became weak and he crumpled a bit in the cramped space. My back hurt from the pressure of the box and I couldn't get any air into my lungs, I was drowning above water.

There were words being spoken outside of the coffin that grounded me somewhat. I couldn't understand them but I tapped rapidly on the lid trying to get their attention if only to get out. I got their attention, that's for sure. The lid to my coffin flew off in charred splinters to the ground, a few chunks had come my way and scratched up my face.

Stepping out of the coffin I took in my surroundings... Coffins. Floating coffins... Everywhere. Suddenly there was a cat thing in my face talking at me in a string of chuffs and pops, it seemed angry. And then it reared its head, cheeks puffing out and fire -pure blue fire- shot at me.

I ran, I ran like the whole of Metelli's guard was on my tail. Which is pretty fast for me, all things considered. I sweeped through the corridors of the building and came out into a courtyard through a large pair of doors. It wasn't long before the fire-cat thing caught up to me and I went through another pair of doors back into the building.

I ducked into a room as the fire-cat was about to round the corner, blocking up the inward swinging doors with a chair under the handles. I then took a moment to figure out just what in the shadow realm was going on. I was in a coffin, then broken out of a coffin by a fire-spitting cat and then said fire-spitting cat yowled at me then chased me through, what I'm pretty sure is a castle-turned-school with how many desks there are and the lack of candles in the hall.

Looking at myself I realised I wasn't wearing what I was earlier, before I -most likely- blacked out. Instead I was wearing a three piece suit, a jacket with gold detailing and purple lining fabric over a collared up-down shirt-dress -also with purple lining and gold detail- and everything was cinched at my waist by a purple belt with a gold clasp. There was also a hood, it had fallen off my head when I started running in the courtyard, it was attached to the jacket. The jacket which was too big for me, I now realised as I shoved the sleeves up to my elbows and checked that I had pants on. I did, I also had my boots still, which was a good thing.

Wandering through the room, which I now realised was a surprisingly clean library, there were a lot of books. I had just taken one off the shelf when the doors burst open. I dropped my hand and then my body as I scrambled under a table. The fire-cat pushed me from behind and out from under the table, successfully freaking me out as I scrambled away from it.

"You {really think you could get away from my nose? Stupid Human!}" Of the chuffs and pops that the creature made, I could only make sense of a single word. I guess it really was a language, huh? "{If} you {don't wanna get charred, then} you {better hand over those-}"

The fire-cat was cut off by a rope wrapping around it. It freaked out, probably because it was just restrained in the oldest of old fashioned ways. I looked to the other end of the leash and saw a stick of a man. He was wearing formal clothes, a button-down shirt and a, rather sparkly, black vest with dress pants and blue-black full wings. Attached to his hip was a very glamorous chain with three large hand-mirrors in a triangle formation and four bronze keys dangling off smaller chains. Hanging off his shoulders was a pop-collar trench coat that looked like it was made of pitch black crow feathers, matching the ones on his top hat where there were three more feathers and another mirror attached to a blue ribbon. The hat sat upon black hair which partially covered pointed ears and framed what had to be the most disturbing thing he had.

The top half of his face was covered by a mask in the shape of a crow's beak, the shade in the eye sockets showed nothing but his glowing yellow irises as he smiled at me.

I was more on guard than I ever had been before, this man was obviously fae and no matter how much I trusted those from my home I didn't know him. He was talking to me, I couldn't understand him and my flight or fight stomped in. I hunched down and got in a defensive stance that my mother had shown me and bared my teeth. I might not be a meifwa or a werewolf but I can sure as hell bite like one.

The man seemed taken aback at my behaviour. "{Why are you doing that?}" He had stopped talking, probably scolding me or something.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I said through gritted teeth, dam fight or flight. Seriously, I ran from a fire-spitting cat but not an unknown man who was definitely more of a threat. Instincts are weird.

—

Dire Crowley had been looking for this student for an hour, and was in the middle of scolding them for their irresponsibility of not properly taming their familiar when the child dropped into some sort of defensive stance and bared their teeth at him. "Why are you doing that?"

"{Who are} you? {Where am I?}" The kid spoke in whistles and hisses, Dire could only get the word 'you' from their sentence. The way they spoke sent a shiver down his spine, their tone was clear, they were feeling threatened and were on high guard. The language they used, Dire realised, wasn't dissimilar from the language of snakes, but Dire didn't know more than a few simple words in that language so the knowledge was basically useless unless he got Mozus. Gods bless him, that man would know exactly what to do right now and probably understand the child.

Sadly, Professor Mozus Trien was in his classroom across campus working on lesson plans with Professor Divus Crewel and Coach Ashton Vargas. Probably drinking too, if we're being honest here. Therefore, Dire was alone on this one.

"Hello?" He tried slowly in the hissing tongue, in response the child tilted their head. Dire was about to try again when the child said something back.

"Hello.. ." They spoke slower than him and sank into their stance more, it was clear they weren't really okay with this development. Honestly, Dire really just wanted them to calm down. "Who {are} you?"

"I am Dire Crowley." He gestured to himself and dipped his head slightly. Then after a second he placed his staff down and moved back from it before standing up again. "Who are you?"

The child relaxed a little, raising mostly from the stance and closing their lips. They were still on guard, but it was lower. "I am -" They gestured to themself. "-Oc{ean Ro}os."

"Again?" Dire couldn't quite make out what they said.

"Blu Roos." The child said again, then pointed at Dire. "Dire Crow~ley."

There was a strong hiss at his last name but he nodded and smiled shakily. "Crowley."

"Crowley." The child said again, correctly this time. It was still strange, they weren't articulating the words they said properly but it was understandable. "Where am I?"

Dire didn't know how to say the name of his school in Hiss, but he could say it in common. "You are at Night Raven College." He made sure to speak slowly so they might understand him.

Blu had a blank face for a second then scrunched up their nose and sounded out the words before actually saying them. "Night Raven College." Dire nodded at their attempt and they smiled at him.

Dire decided he would have to speak slowly and not speed up for this kid, had their parents never taught them common? Or were they from a secluded part of the world that didn't know the basic tongue of the mainlands? Either way, this kid would need to be taught and Dire would succeed in that.. . Well, maybe Mozus would help a little bit.

"We must go back to the gate room, where you woke up." Blu nodded after a minute and Dire smiled more genuinely, they were picking up the language rather quickly. Maybe this year wouldn't be too bad.

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