Welcome to Willowbrook

Jack vs Marcie

October 14
Northern Kingdom
Skies of Alexandroupoli
Eastern Macedonia
Greece

Jack heard his phone buzz as he combed his hair. He raised it to see a text.

Horse head 🐴
Outside the castle. You ready yet?

He replied instantly.

Me
All set. Gimme 5

He gave himself a quick glance in the mirror and nodded, satisfied with his appearance. He grabbed his leather jacket and backpack and left his room, locking the door behind him. He didn't want Oreithyia snooping in his room. She wasn't a bad person, but she could be a little too nosy for his liking. Jack reached the dining room, "Going to school. See you later." "Jack," Oreithyia's voice stopped him as he turned to go. Damn her, he thought. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? "Are you leaving already?" Oreithyia asked. He nodded, "Pegasus is outside." Oreithyia nodded, "Have a good day, okay?" He gave a single nod, "Okay. Later." He turned to go, "Wait." Another voice stopped him, this time it was Chione. He murmured some swear words in Danish under his breath. She ran up to him in her heels and Jack raised a brow in disbelief. How she was able to do that without falling was beyond him, especially since the floor was made out of ice. "Can I follow you and Pegasus to school? I'm already set to go," she said. Jack scowled and considered telling her no but he didn't want Oreithyia's nagging. He brought out his phone

Me
We have a problem. Chione wants to come with.

Horse head 🐴
Oh shit. Well, it's just her. It couldn't be that bad?

Jack thought it was that bad. Of all the gods he knew, Chione was one of the most talkative. She was going to sit in front of him on Pegasus' back and he would have to listen to her talk a mile a minute. He sighed, "Sure, why not. Pegasus says it's fine." Chione smiled and skipped back to her parents and siblings to give each of them hugs and kisses before she left. Jack turned and left. He wasn't going to stay to watch that. He met up with Pegasus at the bottom of the steps. Pegasus gave him an ice cream bar and raised a brow, "Where's Chione?" Jack scowled as he took a bite, "Telling them bye like we're on Broadway." "Well can she save her Oscar performance for later? Not all of us are cold resistant," Pegasus said and rubbed his hands together. "Chione. Pegasus is getting cold, hurry up," Jack called. Chione came running down, "Ready." Pegasus turned to his horse form and Jack helped Chione up. He got up after and Pegasus flew away.

*

Jack had never been more glad to see the school building or his friends waiting for them in the parking lot. He could already see Aurianna talking to Cali. In all the three hundred and twenty something years of his existence, he had never met an actual shapeshifter. Shapeshifters were very reclusive, so it still surprised him sometimes that one of the rarely seen creatures was actually one of his best friends. Aurianna was also another walking mystery. Shadow beasts didn't even come from this world so seeing one on a daily basis was not exactly normal. Then again, a lot of things had not exactly been normal since he met his friends. He also saw the ever-friendly vampire Vlad and his partner-in-crime Thunder telling Arian and Ivy something that was apparently funny since they were laughing so hard. It never ceased to amaze him how close Vlad and Thunder were, considering that last time he checked, vampires and werewolves weren't the best of friends. But, then again, what did he know? It also shocked him how much Arian and Ivy looked alike. He agreed with Marcie when she said that they must have been twins in their past lives or they were twins and just didn't know it. The resemblance was just that uncanny.

Speaking of the purple haired witch, Jack found her explaining something to Seren. He nearly snorted. There was hardly anything that Marceline Williamson didn't know. She was by far the most intelligent and Jack sometimes found himself envious of her. It didn't help that, being only sixteen, she was the youngest in their group. Pegasus landed beside them and Jack had to hold back the urge to jump for joy. His expression must have given something away though, because he could see his friends all trying to hold back their laughter. He got down immediately and helped Chione down. She turned to Pegasus and petted his mane, "Thanks Pegsy." She turned to Jack, "See ya," and she skipped into the school. Pegasus turned back into a teenager and gave a horse like snort, "What in Tartarus is 'Pegsy'? What am I, some kind of doll?" The others started laughing and Jack found himself chuckling. "Hello Jack, hello Pegasus," Hayden, Marcie's teddy bear waved at him from her bag. He waved back and Pegasus gave a nod. Arian clapped Pegasus' back, "You, my friend, are officially Chione's pet horse. Congratulations. And enjoy." Pegasus scowled while they kept laughing. "Anyway," Aurianna said in between laughs, "we should go. Class is about to start. Come along, Pegsy." They kept laughing as they entered the building while Pegasus kept whining about his latest nickname. Poor Pegasus, Jack thought.