A/N: Hey guys! New story! I will try to actually finish this one. Please comment what you think!
Viventi Academy. It's a tertiary school, coming after prep school (I attended Glasgow Prep with my current roommates) and starter school (the one I went to with my roommates was Matioty Starter). The oldest school for Hunters in the world. What is a Hunter? you may ask. A Hunter is... a policeman, of sorts. We keep the world safe from the Catrops, the creatures of evil that haunt the edges of the Kingdom of Sirotren. My whole family is of Hunter blood, back to when the Hunters were founded- many, many centuries ago. Viventi is almost as old. It's withstood battles, fires, floods, and much more. It was basically my home, seeing as my parents were Hunters and were rarely with us, even when we weren't at school. Hunters are born, not made, as are Medics, the Kings and Queens of Sirotren, and... well, all the jobs in the kingdom. Each child instinctively knows their job- and mine is Hunter.
"MAYA! KIARA!" screamed my friend, classmate at all my schools, and roommate, Ella. Even with my enhanced reactions, strength, speed, and senses that the Hunters enjoyed, I could barely stop myself from being launched out of the open hovertrain door when Ella threw her skinny frame at me and my cousin/ other roommate/classmate, Kiara, who'd been staying with the nanny, me, my little brother Matt, and my older sister Maddie over the summer break. Kiara dropped her suitcase on my foot, and after letting out a few swear words, I hugged Ella back. Everyone on the train, including us, was wearing the black shirt and pants that were the uniform of Viventi, but since nobody had their year-indicating colored sashes, most people would've thought Ella was a second year.
"Ella, you know you and Tessa came to visit us two weeks ago, right? Speaking of Tessa, where is she?" I asked. My third and final dormmate slipped out of the next car. I gave her a quick hug, just to annoy her since she hates physical contact, then asked, "How have you been?"
"As you said, Maya, we saw each other two weeks ago. Have you forgotten about the fourth-year friendship streaks already?" Tessa responded. She lifted up a hank of her black hair, which was now shot through with crimson, the official color of Viventi fourth-year students. I grinned.
"Of course not! How could I forget when my 'twin' has the same thing?" Kiara interjected. We always joked that we were twins, since we were born in the same month and looked so much like our twin mothers- the same wavy dark brown hair, small, upturned nose, splash of freckles, slim frame, and golden eyes. My brother Matt looked a lot like the both of us as well, except with my father's green eyes instead of my mother's gold. In fact, the only one in my family who really looked like my father was my blonde, green-eyed, strong-featured sister Maddie.
"It's really great to see you guys anyway," I told my friends. Suddenly, we felt a jerk, and the hovertrain took off. I looked out the window and waved goodbye to my parents, Uncle Paul, and Aunt Kelly.
"Bye, Mom and Dad! Thanks for keeping me, Uncle Rick and Aunt Kathleen!" I heard Kiara yell from beside me. We settled into seats on the train and soon, we arrived at Viventi.
We were ushered through the castle's large front doors and into the dining hall, where the teachers sat at their table and we were seated according to year. I waved to my first-year cousin Kyle and my brother, Matt- Maddie had graduated two years before. It was my last year, and I looked around with a newfound admiration for the place.
"Welcome to Viventi Academy, new students, and welcome back, old ones!" announced our headmistress, Emelia Almerwick, after we'd finished eating. "Will the first year students please make a line in front of the staff table where they will receive their blue first-year sashes and dormmates?"
The first years shuffled to the front. Professor Almerwick called names in groups of four according to rooms. I didn't really pay attention until I heard my brother's name. "Matthew Rowlinson, James Drazinovich, Kyle Emermond, and Samuel Marlinkow, please come to the front to get your sashes. You will be in Room 567," said Professor Almerwick. The castle's ten floors consisted (from top to bottom) of the attic, the fourth year dorms, the third year dorms, the second year dorms, the first year dorms, three floors of classrooms, the dining hall and teacher's offices, and the basements. Only teachers went into the sublevels, and to be allowed into them was a great honor.
"Hey, our brothers are together!" Kiara exclaimed. Our twin mothers were the best of friends and did everything at the same time- even marriage!- but they'd also had us at around the same time.
"Oh, God, Matt and Kyle'll probably blow up their dorm," I groaned.
"Fun!" chirped Ella.
"I might be able to give them a hand with that," Tessa grinned evilly. We all smiled back at her.
A half hour later, after the second years had been given their green sashes and the third years had received their yellow ones, Professor Almerwick called me and my dormmates to the front, where we got our red sashes. It was almost eight, the first and second years' curfew, when the Sash Ceremony was done and we were dismissed. My roommates and I scampered to our new dorm, room 920, and sat down in a circle with our suitcases, which had been brought in by the helpful spirits, the Aurges. The room was the exact same layout of our three previous rooms, with the dark oak bookcase, brass beds, rugs covering the stone floor, and stout desks. The only difference was that the walls, bedclothes, rugs, and curtains were deep red.
I opened my red aluminum suitcase, which bore the Viventi Academy seal. My weapon lay inside, and even though I'd been using it since I was eight- my last year at Matioty Starter, when we had made our weapons- I still felt a rush of joy looking at it. The silver- colored blade, made from a titanium and adamant fusion and sheathed in a bloodred case, contained an automatic rifle that I could trigger with the press of a ruby button just below the silver crossguard. The hilt was wrapped in worn reddish brown leather, and a large ruby was embedded in the silver pommel. At Matioty, our last year was spent collecting the materials by hand for our weapons and making them ourselves. My sword was my pride and joy. I looked across at Kiara's nearly identical sword and sheath- the only difference was that her hilt was wrapped in burnished bronze wire and the rubies had a yellowish tint. To my left, Ella pulled from a greenish-gold sheath a golden blade that matched her dark blonde hair. The emerald in her pommel could be pressed to activate a grappling hook that shot out of the back. She fit her hand around the curved golden grip and smiled. Tessa, on my right, pulled her curved bronze sword with sapphires studding the pommel that could be twisted to push out a long, narrow dagger from her dark blue sheath.
"I love this thing," Ella said quietly. We all nodded in agreement. These swords had literally become part of our identity. We used them in sparring, we carried them with us nearly all the time, and we treated them regularly. Some people preferred to use axes or spears. But every weapon was connected to its owner.
"Goodnight, guys," Tessa said. She sheathed her sword and burrowed under the sheets.
"Goodnight," we responded. Eventually, we all went to bed, excited for the first day back.
A/N: Damn, I had exactly 1300 words but I felt obligated to put an A/N at the end... oh well. Please like and comment (and follow if you want to!) Thanks!
-Deepio
