His Prerogative (Ravenous Book 1)

Chapter 1: Seconds

-:Spencer:-

See, the thing about time, Spencer had found, was that despite the shortness of a simple second, so many things could be packed within the tiny length. It wasn't even truly the amount of things that could occur that mystified her really, rather, it was the sheer power.

A heart beating quick and sure, providing that one extra push towards life. A ray of light crossing vast distances, illuminating spaces far beyond its origin. The flap of a bird's wing, lifting far above anywhere a wingless being could hope to go naturally.

Seconds were nothing in the long term span of time, sure, but still, Spencer knew very well that they had power. After all, for some, a single second gone wrong could make or break their entire life.

Spencer knew, without a doubt, that a single second could make her break her entire life. She knew, and so she was careful.

'Well,' she thought as the bottom of her skateboard caught on a rather ratty bunch of feathers, 'I try to be...'

And then she found her entire body lurching as her front wheels stuck, and she went down with absolutely no grace.

The first sound she made as she fell was more befitting of someone stubbing their toe as opposed to someone falling face first down to concrete after rolling at a good five miles per hour, but the sound that quickly followed as she felt the coffee she'd been carefully gripping go flying was slightly more appropriate.

All in all, if anyone would have cared enough to look, they would have seen a short person weighed down by a half zipped book bag trip off of a skateboard and land on their face, books and papers flying every which way only to be sprinkled with a violent spray of coffee as an old metal mug hit the ground.

Swearing, she checked the time on her watch and winced. First day of school and she was already pushing her schedule to the max, every little thing fitting tightly with just enough time between to get her where she needed to be. She liked to be organized, and scheduling was one of the most efficient way she'd found to do that. Sure life could throw curveballs and mess up her careful planning, but she understood that and was okay with that... Some days.

Currently, it was not one of those days. So of course she gathered up her coffee stained supplies, still swearing to the high heavens, and ignored the fact that she was most certainly going to smell like stale coffee for the rest of the day as she attempted to bolt towards her first class.

Any extra time she'd allowed in her morning had already been eaten away by the housing trouble she'd encountered. Generally she didn't care where she slept as long as it wasn't complete and utter shit, but in recent years she'd become used to being around her girls. Toni and Mala had been her constant companions both in the group home and out of it since they'd met, and as such, the school had seen that rooming the girls together in a single dorm would probably be a good idea.

With so many species in attendance, the board focused on doing whatever possible to keep the students as comfortable as they could. Happy students were less likely to start trouble, and prevention of trouble was a must have when one considered that at Alder trouble could range from a student ruining a text book to one student draining another of their blood to anything in between.

Mixing youth, humans, and supernatural beings created those types of problems, after all. Supernatural beings had been laced throughout human society for millennia, but it was only in the recent decades that they came out of hiding. So many beings existed that where far above the natural order humans had created. So many more powerful, more ancient beings... And yet humanity continued to dominate society. Humanity insisted.

And that was a problem, she knew. Humans still controlled much of society despite the allowances made to the others, and humans, for all of their ingenuity and perseverance, had the nasty habit of segregating and looking down on anything too different.

'We fear what we do not understand,' she thought to herself as she rushed through the halls, body tensing every time she passed too close to one of the more overtly different beings in attendance.

She knew of course, that she had more to fear from the vampire she could not recognize then the Satyr who could not hide his legs. Still, she only knew most by their legend, and not by the truth of their natures. Legends, stories, and gossip could influence even the most logical.

The inane fear she knew she harbored was actually one of the reasons she had chosen to attend Alder at all. Not only would they offer her one of the most rewarding programs currently in existence, but it would offer her a chance to be rid of her prejudices. Her past few years had already worked wonders on her comfort levels around beings that where different from what she knew.

That was especially important, she felt, if she ever hopped to become a doctor. She only wished to work with humans, but being at Alder had opened up so many more paths for her. She would focus on human biology, but with her experience she would be able to recognize and treat unnatural ailments much easier. She'd learn to tell the signs of an almost draining through the girls who offered themselves as meals to bewitching vampires. She'd seen what a Harpy's screech could do to an eardrum. Spencer had been treated to firsthand knowledge on what a Nymph's curse could do to a body.

It was frightening, fascinating, and educational all at once.

Some days, it was the only thing that reminded her that she was even alive.

She was doing good, that was true, but for all of her schooling and all of her drive, there was still the sense of hopelessness that crept up with every day. Monotony was a dangerous thing, and she found that it would bury her if she let it.

A long, long time ago, she'd sworn that she would never let anything so inane keep her down.

Perhaps all of those things, all of those seemingly random but completely connected things, where what led her to where she was.

Perhaps her careful scheduling, her fear, her ability, her drive where what put her in Alder Academy's ever so careful balance of education and disaster, just one of many willing to put it all on the line for learning and unity.

Perhaps it was those things that pressed her, a rather unsocial girl at the best of times, towards the cultural communications class instead of public speaking for her graduation requirement.

Or perhaps it was the simple passage of time, a single second, a split decision, that landed her in a seat next to the boy she never should have met.