Diamonds In The Dark

Moving

Skeppy sighed dramatically as he grabbed his meager box of personal belongings, stuffing his last hoodie into the small trunk he had been given to move out of the dorm. Again. He didn't have much to his name, only some clothes, a few hygiene items, a small pocket knife of sorts, and a few pairs of shoes. The knife he had stolen from a bully back when he was younger at the last school he'd been at. Shortly after he was expelled for being an "irrational and unstable hybrid." To which he was transferred here to Canon Temple, and now only a few months into his apprenticeship here, and he was back on the porch he had come in on. Just his luck.

You see, Skeppy wasn't a bad kid, he just seemed to be a magnet for unfortunate things, and trouble. Being born a hybrid automatically gave him a disadvantage from birth. Getting mocked and beaten up for something he couldn't change. Students had called him an assortment of names and treated him poorly. Once he turned 13 his mom, and last known relative to him, had left him on the streets. That day ended with a lot of tears, screaming, and some very cruel slurs for having confessed about a crush, that was on a boy.

From there he had moved place to place, and mentor to mentor. Several tried to teach him, to hone his skills and teach him to be one or the other. An Admin or a Watcher. But most of that ended with either the teacher giving up on him being stubborn, being expelled, or being bullied so much by the other apprentices he ran. Many times he would simply be pegged as the "bad kid" due to his rep, and his species. But the second thing he couldn't really change or help.

Now, once again he hefted the box in his arms, marching down the halls of his latest expulsion, Rosethorn Apprenticeship. He held his chin high, glaring down any students that shot him snarky comments or a side eye. His electric blue eyes were intense with anger and frustration, and the diamonds on his skin glittered under the artificial lighting of the halls. Students mumbled as he passed, and he tried to just ignore them. A few more minutes and he would be scott free anyways.

The tanned hybrid was escorted to the end of the road where an old lady greeted him. She was one of the bus drivers for part time students, he was pretty sure. Although, it didn't really matter. What mattered was that this old granny was just here to cart him off and pawn the responsibility of him into yet another school. Where then the cycle would repeat itself until he inevitably ended up in the streets again. He climbed into the small bus, ignoring his escort's protests, and plopped himself into a seat by the window. He assumed he was alone other than the driver, so he set down the case on the floor to his side and chose staring into the horizon over listening to whatever the guy was telling old granny bus driver. He flinched as the engine wheezed to life, and with the hiss of old hydraulics, the doors closed. The woman had waddled to her seat, and said over the system.

"We'll be driving to Hawkford and it's about an hour's drive. So get comfy, and feel free to talk to me if you need anything when we make a rest stop." She sounded like she was smiling. "And please stay seated when we are moving."

Skeppy shrugged, pulling the hood up and over his face, hiding the small diamonds along the sides of his neck, and pulling his sleeves down over his hands. He wanted to look normal, he wanted to not have the diamonds. No matter how many times people told him they were pretty and not gross, he hated them. His dark hair fell into his eyes, he brushed a strand away, only for it to be immediately replaced. He huffed dramatically, giving up on his untamed hair.

Before the bus could begin its journey though, the seat sagged next to him. He looked up expecting to see the driver, coming to talk to him or maybe scold him for something he didn't do. Instead a pair of bright green eyes gleamed, framed behind a pair of burgundy glasses. A boy smiled back at him.

He was wearing a dark hoodie, that had red stripes along it, and red lining on the inside of the windbreaker style jacket. His skin was darker, a blue black hue to it, and darker purple freckles dotted his nose. His hair was gray and messy, falling around his face in strands. He had a warm smile, that was genuine and not forced looking. A pair of tiny rounded fangs showed through. What caught his eye the most though about the boy, was the dark tail wagging behind him, and a pair of little horns sprouting from his head. The boy looked around his age, and judging from his color he was an Admin. From the End, and yet, a few little things were off that made it so he didn't quite fit the breed. The boy extended his hand, his voice soft and cheerful.

"Hey! You must be the new kid coming in!" His tail wagged again behind him. The pointed tip flicking with the happy moment.

Skeppy pulled the blue hood more over his own face, mumbling, "Uh. . Yeah. New kid."

The boy didn't seem deterred from the attitude though. But he lowered his hand, setting it in his lap. "Well my name is BadBoyHalo. But you can call me Bad! Or Halo."

Skeppy smiled a little at his enthusiastic tone, "Skeppy."

"Nice to meet you Skeppy!" He beamed looking over at the other. It made the tanned boy relax, seeing the stranger not try and push his boundaries or force him to pull his hood off or anything. "Well I asked Jemma if I could ride here, so that way I could show you around! Hawkford is really big."

Skeppy just nodded absently, he felt nervous about the seeming Admin. Worrying how it would all change if the other knew what he really was.

"I mean, I was so excited when I heard they were bringing another hybrid!"

His heart clenched, and his stomach twisted, as he stiffened. Quickly looking over at the other he did his best to not make his voice sound strange, "You know?"

Halo cocked his head a bit, his expression softening, "Yeah. But it's ok, I know how hard it is." He gently reached out and put a hand on Skeppy's leg. "I'm one too."

He blinked in surprise facing the other as the bus started rolling. He had never met another hybrid before, but now as he looked Bad over, it made sense. An Admin with a tail, horns, and tiny claws? Well it made sense if he wasn't entirely admin. So after some hesitation he pulled his hood down, looking away from the other.

Halo didn't seem pushy, but he saw him grin at the subtle act of trust, "I can't wait! You'll love it here Geppy!"

He smiled a bit, the other's enthusiastic voice was contagious, "My name isn't Geppy."

Bad flushed a little and laughed, putting a hand to his face, "Sorry! Skeppy! Skeppy skeppy skeppy. I'm going to work on remembering that."

He nodded a bit, putting his hands in his lap, not wanting to really look at the other. If Halo had noticed the diamonds (they were hard to miss) he wasn't saying anything, and for that, Skeppy was eternally grateful. They rode in comfortable silence for a little while, with Bad doodling something simple on a small sketchpad he had produced from his pocket.

"You draw?" He asked softly, glancing away from the window.

Bad glanced up, and cheeks flushed, "Y-yeah a little. But I'm no artist." He laughed rubbing the back of his neck. Closing the booklet.

"Nonsense! I bet you're wonderful."

Bad looked away covering his face with his little notepad. A soft surprised squeak escaped him and Skeppy grinned. Followed with a quiet nooooooo o. Muffled by the papers in his face.

Maybe for once things wouldn't be so awful after all here at this new school.