Ortus Solis Rufam's Story

"Thanks again for bringing me this far," Ortus said for perhaps the third time on the journey. This, however, would be the last time he would say it to the blood-shot-eyed driver of the rusted-over pinto. He slid his tee shirt, the grey one he'd changed out of perhaps ten minutes down the road for his green camouflage one which drowned his torso in how over-sized it was, into his heavy-duty backpack. Doing a lot of town jumping, the one backpack, though stuffed to the rim and one more object from splitting at the seams, served really as his only luggage.

"No problem," The blood-shot-eyed driver replied. Ortus had come to learn the young man's name to be Carl during the 45 minute drive. "I always wanted to pick up a weird hitchhiker." The grin on Carl's face was enough to cause worry, but Ortus had tried to ignore it for the sake of a ride. Sure, the driver didn't seem one-hundred percent like he was in the condition to be driving, but there were few people stupid kind enough to give a ride to a vampire voluntarily. Or, at the very least, were too incapacitated to realize they were picking up a hitchhiking vampire.

"Right," Ortus responded, staring at the driver with an odd mixture of feeling offended, and feeling concern for the driver's mental state. Whatever Carl was on, it wasn't doing him much good. "And I've always wanted to get picked up by a crack head," He retorted sarcastically.

"Aw yeah." Carl slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, breaking with his tires half on the grass beside the road, though he didn't seem to care. "This is as far as I go, I gotta take a exit a little more down the road, but hope you have fun, Mr. Hitchhiker." Throughout the whole trip, and four introductions, it still seemed that Carl was adamant about calling Ortus "Mr. Hitchhiker" instead.

"Yeah, I hope so too," Ortus responded, snatching his backpack and kicking open the car door to get out. As soon as his feet hit the grass and the door was swinging closed behind him, the car was racing off, turning up the dirt and grass on the side of the road as it took off. Any longer in that car, and Ortus felt like things could have turned sour, he was sure, and he was glad that he got out when he did. It wasn't very far to the U of D, he was sure from some of the maps he'd picked up on the way. Sure, hopping from town to town was easy when the next town was a mystery, but going to one that was specific took a bit more effort. He'd had to spend a whole month in one town to be sure his enrollment for the school had gone through, and all the research he'd had to do on the WiFi at public libraries or coffee shops just to map out the way to get there. He typically did a lot of running whenever he changed venues, but being sure to make it on time required a bit of hitchhiking in between when his stamina was low. It wasn't far, now. This turn off of the semi-highway would take him right into town, and if he ran, he'd get there in maybe fifteen minutes. Less, if he used his animal form, but he worried about what kind of first impression a large cheetah would make.

Not that the gangly ginger would be making much of a great impression himself, but keeping a low profile at first would probably prove better in the long run. He tossed his bag over his shoulders and took off down the adjacent street, starting at a low pace before speeding into a steady run. He could get the whole way there, that way. He could relax again once he was there, though he figured the very idea of the new place would be enough to make his energy remain.

It was perhaps ten minutes, rather than fifteen, when his stride slowed to the sight of the gates which separated him from the new school. Even from the outside he could see it bustling with people, running around, finding where they were supposed to go, toting around their heavy bags, and talking with friends they hadn't seen in a while.

Small jitters ran through him as he finally stepped onto campus. He figured it was his energy again, though that didn't make sense. After a run, it should have calmed him almost completely, though he wasn't about to admit that the anxiety was the actual cause of his "energy" ticks. He tried a few ticks before settling on one - rubbing the back of his neck, biting his nails, twisting his ear piercings - until he settled for a usual hand-run through his loose orange curls. His eyes darted around quickly, examining the area with awe. The amount of people wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, of course; he'd grown up in a city. Even still, it had been a while since he'd been in such a crowded setting. He wandered for a while, distracted by the scene, before the realization finally hit him that he hadn't the slightest idea where he was going.

Ortus stopped dead in his tracks, looking all around for any kind of trail marker, though nothing was obvious enough. While he reached around to the pocket of his backpack, He could feel a couple passing eyes on the back of his neck. It wasn't a ton, but he could tell they were there. After all, he doubted he was anywhere in the right area, and the drooping collar of his tee-shirt didn't help, showing off the start of the tan skin pigment of the stripes which ran down his neck and his spine. Another moment was taken to run a hand swiftly through his hair again. Too swiftly really, and the motion looked far more like a nervous tick at that point than previously, when he had played it off as a simple readjustment to his hair.

Finally flipping through the papers again, he located a map of the campus, and took another glance around for the names of buildings. He started walking as he tried to read the map, uncomfortable in the particular area for the time being. He could explore later, maybe when things cleared out a little more. A run was probably the best idea, and he'd need one eventually. Once the excitement wore off, he'd need a break, but his low points didn't last forever. Anyone who'd ever spent a day with him knew that, and soon enough he'd be itching to move around. It didn't take too long for him to situate himself on the map and figure out his position on it. In fact, he'd walked in nearly the opposite direction in his wandering. Oops, he couldn't help but think to himself. No wonder I got a couple of looks...

Ortus jogged the rest of the way, as soon as he had a heading, and it wasn't much longer before his eyes rested upon the much less impressive building. It wasn't... that bad. ... ... Oh who was he trying to kid? The building was more or less the worst on campus. Wandering around the nicer side left the building seeming even less than it was by comparison. Not that he could complain. After all, what had he really been expecting? And he had to argue that it was better than over half of the places he'd stayed in the past. Upon examination from his slightly more distanced standing point, a couple of humans stood in front. They seemed dismayed, and from the looks of these humans, he figured that was the whole thing about sponsorship. They must not have known what they were getting into, though Ortus couldn't say he knew much about how the situation at hand was going to work out either. A few other students made their way into the building as well, some moving around the group, some pushing straight through.

As he kicked into motion again, shoving the map in the pocket of his jeans and tugging at the rings in his right ear, he couldn't help himself from staring with curiosity at the small number of humans. Well, their disappointment was certainly far greater than his, obviously. He couldn't help but kind of feel bad, he supposed, but sponsorship made it better for vampires. So, in that way, he couldn't help feeling nothing at all for the situation. Which in turn made him kind of feel bad again. He swerved quietly around the small group as he made his way to the door, not wanting to get in their way, or aggravate an already ticked-off human, though he couldn't help look over his shoulder one more time before pushing through the door.

His look at them wasn't malignant. Nor was it bored, or plain, or even downgrading. He simply looked on with wide, curious, green eyes, interested in the people's current situation. Not that he'd bother them, of course. He wouldn't bother to ask, that would be... Impossible? No, not impossible. Uncomfortable? Yes, but that wasn't the word he was looking for. It would give him anxiety is what would happen. But no, he wasn't going to admit that. He was fine. He could wait for people to come to him, if they wanted to. They didn't have to, and he wasn't going to force anyone to talk to him. It would be fine. It wasn't like he needed any friends right off the bat.

The inside of the building wasn't much better than the outside, but at least it wasn't falling apart where it stood (yet). Ortus checked the fistful of papers again, re-checking the number for his room, before heading straight to the door with the number four on it. Right on the first floor, and easy to get to. At least he wouldn't forget where it was or anything, that had to be a benefit. He spent a good few minutes fishing his hands through his pockets before snatching out the key to the room and making his way inside. A room with a bed. There wasn't anything else, unless you chose to count the peeling wallpaper and cobwebs in the corners. Still, he'd seen worse.

Ortus dropped his bag down on the bed, coughing as a light dust cloud spread with the sudden motion. It wasn't unusable or anything. After a little while, he'd easily clean it up, and maybe make it even better than home. He didn't have a ton of money, but he could spend some of it on that. Not to mention that he'd need a few more basics. Sheets for the simple, thin mattress were going to be a necessity, and maybe even a table would be nice after a while to put his laptop on top of. Still, it would have to come later. He'd have to save money for a bit longer, which he figured would prove difficult to get while inside the campus unless he got an actual job or something...

For the time being, he took his backpack back off of the bed, and after beating as much of the dust out of it as he could, he turned and began digging through his bag. At the very bottom was a rolled up, grey blanket, the material mostly ruined from the number of times it had been improperly washed. Not that it had holes in it or anything, but the softness from it had completely gone. Opening it up and folding it over once, he laid it as neatly as he could over the mattress as a temporary covering. It would do for now.

Ortus tucked the clothes he'd strewn back into his bag, and unzipped the lined pocket which held his laptop. It wasn't like it was a fancy computer or anything, and he'd bought it on the cheap, but it did it's purpose of allowing him to stream videos and look up stuff when needed. He grabbed it, along with the charger, and plugged it into the outlet near the end of the bed, setting it down on the ground for a much-needed charge.

There. He was unpacked. All he had left really were his clothes and a couple toiletries, and those could stay in his bag for the moment with the lack of any kind of closet or dresser. He could find some sort of cheap way of organizing those, too, at a later time. Maybe a second hand shop was near by that he could go through. He'd have to look on the maps again, but he'd save the activity for later. Finally by himself, he felt himself settling down, feeling more tired from all the energy he'd used up on the trip over, and the extra energy that had kicked in the minute he stepped on campus being extinguished. After prying open the small window to let some much needed air into the room (and to satisfy the needs of his claustrophobia), Ortus let himself plop down on the bed, now that it was mostly dust-free and all covered. After a short few seconds, he let himself lay on his side and take a breather, just to relax, eyes on the hallway, which he could see through the slight crack in the half-closed door. His breaths were heavy, and he tried to just let his mind catch up with his body. Or perhaps it was the other way around.

Ortus rolled onto his back, staring up at the one window which sat beside the bed above him while he tried to think, his body started to relax, no longer breathing heavily or feeling dizzy, and he simply tried to organize some of his thoughts. He needed stuff, he was starting school for Christ's sake, and he desperately tried to make a mental tally of what kind of things he'd had back when he was at his old school. Notebooks and folders and stuff, yeah. Well, he already had a backpack--

Well, no... that old thing was wearing thin, and he still had it stuffed with his clothes and his bathroom towel and a plastic baggy with some soap and some shampoo in it. Which brought him then to the second list of things he needed. Maybe craigslist had some local listings for free ugly furniture that people had put on the side of the road, but he couldn't help but think that the sight of a scrawny ginger dragging a full-size wardrobe through campus was going to be a little weird. Oh well, he'd check anyway. Maybe someone was getting rid of one of those cheap package shelves, the kind that comes as a thin box filled with balsa wood panels, some screws, and a tiny sort-of-screwdriver. He didn't necessarily need to put his stuff in a traditional dresser or anything. There was nothing wrong with improvising. Ortus sighed; he was biting his nails again, but by the time he realized it, it hardly mattered much.

The door slammed open and Ortus jolted from his resting position. His entire body immediately sprung into alertness, and the small amount of fatigue that he'd been resting for was expelled from him. Even with his eyes on what little he could see through the previously partially-open door, the fact that anyone had entered into the room was still a shock enough in itself. He wasn't sure what to think of the black-haired girl standing in his doorway.

"Sorry," she said, most likely an apology for her method of opening the door. "I'm just in the room right next to yours, so I thought I'd introduce myself. I have tea."

Ortus sat for a few short seconds, processing the words that were coming from the girl for a few moments before a friendly smile spread across his face, glad to have a positive interaction. It was always nice to find someone being polite, and he hadn't thought anyone was going to bother with him for a while, especially due to his little habit of never being the first one to approach.

"Wow," He mused, as if a person just being politely friendly was the rarest gem to be seen. "That's so nice of you!"

He was sitting, but it didn't take him more than a few extra moments before shifting, uncomfortable with what to do with himself, what to offer her in return, a way to continue the conversation, or..... "Um... Oh!" He realized, quickly, standing and rushing over to meet the girl, reaching out to take the extra mug of tea to free her from having her hands full. "Sorry. Um..." He looked quickly around the room feeling a bit more awkward in this moment then the last. "Uh, did you want to... sit down or something? Uh..."

Moving out of the girl's way, he made his way over to the center of the room and kicked his backpack over, letting it slide across the dull floor until it hit against the furthest wall, out of the way. Not that the object posed some sort of threat to the room's level of "tidiness," and not that the room could be considered either tidy or untidy at the moment, really. It needed some work, for sure, and there was little which made the room even look occupied.

"Sorry... again," Ortus flashed her an apologetic smile. The first person to interact with and he wasn't really doing very well. "It's probably not very comfortable in here or anything. I just got here, and I haven't really gotten around to getting anything that i'll need yet."

He shrugged, running his hands on the hot smooth surface of the tea mug, inhaling the scent. It smelled so good, but he sort of started to wonder what kind it was. After all, he and caffeine had never mixed well in the past. His unbalanced energy made his energy highs so much higher and more jittery, and the minute the rush left him, he was lower than low, and his irritability was at an all time high. He might have even hit someone for looking at him funny the last time. At the very least, there was always the possibility that tea was less hazardous than coffee was, and there was always the possibility that it very well might have been decaf... He decided to disregard the question until possibly later. He didn't want to seem like he was ungrateful for the offer, or like he was turning her down. He'd take the risk. But he could throw the comment in later, casually, just to see about how he should appropriately manage his energy afterwards.

"Well, I'm Ortus by the way," He finally added, realizing she had come by for an introduction in the first place, not necessarily to listen to his apologies for this and that. It wasn't as if he was solitary, and sure, he loved having people to talk to, but regardless of both of these aspects, he still always found himself having trouble. He had to think about it too much, and he always ended up acting frazzled and nervous in one way or another. He'd be better once he was more comfortable, but it was always hard for him to get that way. It would just take him some time.

"It's really nice to meet you," Ortus added, his extra hand moving away from the mug and raking his fingers through his hair, front to back. His hand stayed there, however, while he twisted a lock of orange wavy mess until it formed a small hair tornado. He tried to keep a friendly smile on his face, despite how shy he was beginning to feel after all his little jolts and jumbles around the room. Keep calm, make small talk; that's really all he could do. "So, how long have you been at this school?"

"It's jasmine. I'm sorry if you don't like it- it's just the kind that I had been making," The girl included while he still stared at the mug in his hands. He gave her a quick smile. Honestly, it could have been a cup of hot water and nothing else and he would have been grateful to her for offering it to him.

She had seemed to offer to shake hands, but in the momentary lapse of his, he didn't quite process the action until it was long gone, regretting not simply reaching over like a normal person to shake it back, but soon, she is trucking on regardless, instead simply answering back his introduction, and the little question he had asked her. "I'm Quinn- Deirdre Quinn," She said, before taking a small sip of tea. In the heat of the moment, he decided to take a sip of tea as well, finally. The hot liquid streaming down his throat, the soft flavor, the aroma... He'd never had it before, but instantly he liked it. And he liked this girl, simply for being kind enough to introduce herself, to bring over tea in such a kind gesture, and just for treating him like a person. He was vaguely aware that the calming heat of the tea, the great feeling of having someone being kind to him, had started the familiar sound which typically emanated from his throat when he was happy; he was purring.

Purring wasn't something typical for most big cats, and cheetahs were one of the few wild cats that actually did so. Like some big compensation for not being a type of wild cat that could roar. Or, maybe more like a lousy consolation prize, actually, since purring hardly made up for not being able to scare the pants off of someone in the middle of the night by letting out a really deep growl. But he'd come to not mind this part of himself, and some of the one-night flings he'd done in the past really got flushed with the cute little feature. Every time, though, they simply assumed that he what he turned into was a regular cat. Uh, NO.

"I've been here for three years now," she continued, answering his question and finally taking a seat on the corner of the bed after having stood there for quite a bit of time now. "And you're new?"

Ortus swallowed down the sound in his throat, causing it to stop. He gave a small nod in response for a few moments, before finally responding to the statement itself. "Yeah, I guess it's kind of obvious, huh?" He gave another smile, shrugging before making a few unnecessary circles around the room until finally settling down on the edge of the bed too, though being sure to give her as much space as possible, just in case she was one of those people who insisted on their "personal bubble" being an actual thing. He, of course, was almost the opposite of those kinds of people, and absolutely loved getting way to up-close-and-personal with everyone.

"I just got here today," He continued, and took another sip of the great Jasmine tea she'd given him. "But that's probably obvious, too, sorry." He gave a small awkward chuckle at himself, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still just trying to think of all the stuff I have to go out and get for the school year and all. And even just stuff I'm going to need in general, y'know?"

He looked around the nearly empty room one more time, feeling a bit closed off inside of it. At the very least, the door was open, but he couldn't help but wish there were more windows in there. That was going to kill him, but he didn't plan on spending too much time inside anyway, since he preferred sitting outside anyway. Open spaces were just more comfortable, especially with claustrophobia.

"I'm sort of like a hobo," He said, finally, looking back at Deirdre and smiling, despite knowing that being a hobo probably wasn't something to smile about. "Going from town to town and stuff? I can't carry a lot with me since I travel on foot most of the time, so I only have so much stuff. I'm sure I'll get myself mostly situated in a few weeks, but I'll have to see if I can get myself accustomed to staying in one place for so long."

He shrugged, taking a deep breath before taking another sip of tea, the sensation began another round of purring, deep in his throat. The sound in itself was almost comforting and relaxing, and he was surprised at how calm he was at the moment. That of course, would probably change once the caffeine kicked in, if the drink had any. At least he had some time, of course. He gave Deirdre another smile after a short moment.

"Do you want to be friends?" He asked, and the question seemed to come from absolutely nowhere. "It'd be nice to have at least one here."

Ortus was... distracted. He felt bad, of course! Or... he would feel bad, rather. The poor boy was too distracted to realize his level of distraction. Oh goodness. Had she spoken to him? Had she said anything more? Hadn't he asked her a question? What was that again? Nothing was coming to him, but it didn't bother him. Not yet, anyway. His eyes were on the ceiling, head tilted upward and slightly over to one side as he listened intently to the bustle. It had begun with some thudding, he remembered, which had cause him to waver only slightly in previous moments, and with all the back and forth, the murmurs that his sensitive hearing could pick up, he couldn't help but be intrigued.

Biting his lip, his mind went back and forth on the idea of going up there. He whined slightly. He wriggled in his seat on the edge of the bed like a restless child unable to sit still. He was getting all antsy about it! There was just too much going on not to run around and investigate! His energy lapse was gone from sight, and he was feeling as uneasy and jittery as ever. Maybe a little more.

He brought his nails to his teeth, beginning to bite at the already short edges. What to do, what to do? He couldn't leave... He was talking to Deidre and--

Oh god, He thought, eyes widening slightly. I completely wasn't paying attention to her!! His eyes shifted over to her for a moment before a bustle from upstairs sounded and he stared back up at it. He'd forgotten about the girl again, suddenly. He had to go, he had to scamper off, his short attention span would surely get the best of him, even if it wouldn't conquer the shyness for him to speak to any of the others. At least he could look on from a distance.

In an instant, the mug was on the ground and the gangly ginger was out of the room. No words, no explanations, and not a clue.

Ortus smelled the air as he stepped out of his room, not bothering to close his door, and beginning to wander. The girl's bathroom was down here, so he figured that that meant the boy's was upstairs. Perhaps he could use that as an excuse if they asked him why he was up there. It was a good plan, in his opinion, and maybe if the other people seemed mean, they would disregard his presence with that. The air had a lot of interesting scents in it; a couple were animals, some where humans, and the rest were vampires. There was a good number upstairs, actually, and by the time he processed half of the information, he was already halfway up the stairs.

He stopped on the step, listening to it creak and contemplating whether or not he should turn back before it was too late. They wouldn't want him to bother them, would they? They'd probably get annoyed, wouldn't they? He should go mind his own business, shouldn't he? He began biting at his fingernails again, and though his brain was yelling at him to go back down those stairs and back to his room, back to apologize for running off without a word, his feet moved him up the other half of the stairway.

As he reached the top and peered around at some of the occupants, he took quick note of the Bear and the Leopard, and felt a little comfort in the idea of the animals at the very least. They were probably familiars to some of the witch vampires, right? Yeah, that was more than likely. When he examined the other people, however, he quickly noted that almost everyone seemed busy talking to someone else. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, after all. He was in no mental condition to walk up to one of them and instigate a conversation, and if they were all busy, they probably wouldn't say anything to him, either.

Leaning against the closest wall, he continued biting his nails, trying to think with a blank expression on his face while he simply looked on curiously at everyone else's commotion, until suddenly piercing the skin of his nail bed and drawing blood by accident. He winced, bringing his fingers away from his teeth as the blood welled from where it had split on his index finger. This is why you aren't supposed to bite your nails! He chastised himself mentally before licking the blood away and shaking the hand in the air at his side to stop the stinging sensation of the cut. How many times does this have to happen before I learn?

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Well, it was certainly nice to have Lilith holding his hand. It was so nice that Henri didn’t mind not beating up the fire truck kid. Besides, he saw the look in her magenta eyes. He knew she needed him to let this go.

“A’right, a’right,” he said reluctantly. He gave her a small smile. “I’ll spare ‘im… fer now.”

Suddenly, Lilith let go of his hand, turning her attention to something else. Henri followed her gaze and set his eyes on Adwin Malir. The artist didn’t look too happy to see Henri, something the witch vampire couldn’t quite understand.

"Hello, Lilith. Hey there, Smokestack. I presume your summers have been adequate? If that's the case, then I suggest we find if one of these newbies is our Sponsor," Adwin said, though he seemed to really be talking to Lilith. Henri frowned slightly at the nickname, but didn’t think too much of it. After all, he’d been calling someone fire truck for a while now. He supposed other people could make nicknames for him. But "smokestack"? Adwin didn't have much taste.

Lilith nodded at Adwin. “Good to see you again Adwin. I hope that your summer was good as well.”

Adwin spoke again and two seconds later, Henri realized the empathic vampire was actually talking to him. “Your Sponsor is back there. Careful, she's fragile. Pretty sure if you hit on her, she'll explode.” He motioned down the hall behind him, probably indicating one of the rooms. All Henri saw was some scrawny, ginger kid near the stairs who seemed to be eating himself starting with his fingers. He gave a small wave and proceeded to ignore skinny kid.

Distracted by the ginger kid, Henri only now comprehended Adwin’s words. Basically, he had a new Sponsor. The Sponsor was a girl. Henri thought about it for a moment. Just because his Sponsor was a girl, didn’t mean she was a beautiful girl. Then again, she could be some gorgeous bombshell. Henri sighed. He debated going down there and seeing for himself, but Lilith was right here and he didn’t want to be rude by ignoring her... and Adwin, but Lilith was more important.

He brought the cigarette away from his lips before speaking. “Oi, Malir. What does she, uh, look like? So I can recognize ‘er later, a’ course.” Fail lie.

Adwin didn’t have a chance to answer, for a stranger intruded upon the conversation. And not just any stranger. Henri’s eyes widened just a tad. The cigarette dropped from his fingers, but he really didn’t care, even if the whole dorm building burned down. Why? Because said stranger was freaking adorable! Long, brown hair and warm, hazel eyes. The glasses were a bit of a stretch, but they still didn’t look too bad on her. So, all in all, Henri didn’t mind not knowing what his Sponsor looked like.

"Sorry to interrupt," began the freaking adorable stranger. She was obviously nervous, but her voice was so cute! Henri just wanted to go up and hug her. "But do you have any idea where sponsors are supposed to go?"

Henri didn’t hesitate. He was beside her in an instant, smiling pleasantly. “’Ello, sweetheart. The name’s Henri. Henri Leppards. Pleased to meet ya.” He extended his hand. “And as for where to go, why don’t you take the room next to mine? It has a great view. I’m sure Malir can move out.”

"This will be good for you.
-J.R."

"hell no im going back home
-Levi"

"Don't be such a weenie, Levi. Once you get used to things, you might even enjoy yourself.
-J.R."

"yeah and maybe ill meet a pink unicorn too, dont be stupid jeffy
-Levi"


"howd u guys even get me on that plane anyway?
-Levi"

"No comment.
-J.R."

"u r such a little dickwad like srsly u r the worst therapist i have ever met
-Levi"

"I'm the only therapist you've ever met, Levi. Call me when you're settled in, okay?
-J.R."

Levi huffed, shoving his cell phone deep down into the front pocket of his jeans as he peered out the window of the taxi cab at the gates to the University of Diversity. The place seemed to loom over him, and the metal walls of the taxi cab couldn't protect him from all the danger it held. The idea of a fence around the campus was comforting, but the vastness of the campus was enough to completely nullify what little comfort that gave, and nullify any other comfort that could possibly come from anything else. Not that he assumed he would find any comfort in this place anyway. It was like its own damn town for Christ's sake! And for all Levi cared, a town could have easily compared to an entire state, or an entire continent.

He sunk down a little further in his seat, just his eyes peering out the window while he wrapped his arms around himself. Did he even have all of his stuff? His parents had packed his bags, probably while he slept, seeing as he'd just suddenly woken up on a flight to whatever-the-hell-state he was in, confused and having to be comforted by three stewardesses. What state was it? Idaho? Oklahoma? Ohio? He didn't care. It wasn't his town, it wasn't his house, and it wasn't his room. Jeffy had mentioned in his earlier texts that he'd sent documents to the school to be sure that they kept him enrolled; kept him in his classes. He wondered how hard he'd have to try to get himself kicked out. Maybe he could use his graffiti to tag some of the school buildings. Maybe he could skip all of his classes. Hell, maybe he could make such a scene in the middle of a class and get kicked out. A couple of pieces of paper signed by a therapist couldn't possibly be enough to keep him, could they?

"Mr. Havet?" The taxi driver suddenly interrupted, and Levi instantly glared at him, already uncomfortable enough with the man simply for the fact that he had to deal with being around him.

"What?" Levi snapped, not bothering to spare the word an ounce of sharpness. Had it been a knife, it would have killed the chubby taxi driver.

"I think its time for you to go. We've been sitting here for twenty minutes and you still haven't moved." Levi had to give the man props for keeping so level headed.

"Actually, I've changed my mind!" Levi retorted, spinning up a new lie and hoping the taxi driver wasn't in on the whole situation, too. "I'm going back home, so you can just take me back to the air port and bill my parents for the extra mileage."

The taxi driver sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm afraid you'll have to get out, now, Mr. Havet. I've been told strictly that you must get off here."

Levi huffed again, kicking the metal wall which separated his seat from the drivers, only to find himself wincing at the pain that it stuck into his toes, which sat barely protected behind his blue Vans. If only the wall hadn't been there, then at least he could have caused the driver a little more discomfort. The firm statement, probably direct from his parents, or from Jeffy, was enough for Levi to immediately, and whole heatedly, hate the man. Like this moron had any authority to be bossing him around?! Oh, Levi was livid. Jeffy would be hearing about this, oh hell, he was going to have to sit on the phone for hours while Levi screamed at him. This was all his stupid fault! Jeffy had always seemed like he was all talk, before. He was like a big brother to Levi, really, but now... Now that little ass was just a big traitor! He was going to get it for sure! Levi wasn't sure what "it" was, yet, exactly, but he'd be getting it, that was for sure.

"Fine!" He muttered, snatching up his backpack and shoving open the door, only half-wanting to start crying about hurting his toes. "It's not like there's any chance of me staying in this stupid place!"

Storming from the backseat and slamming the door behind him, he made his way quickly to the already popped trunk of the cab, lifting the hood up as far as it could go and sighing at the sight of his bags. How the hell had his parents expected him to deal with this much luggage, anyway? His backpack, he could handle, but there was no denying he was petite, and here he was, staring down at a huge black travel trunk - the kind which stood on some little wheels and opened up to have bars for clothes to hang on, as well as a couple of drawers at the top and the bottom - and his big black duffle bad. The duffle, obviously, was home to his graffiti gear, from the way he could see the jutting figures of spray paint cans and thick folders which held his pre-cut stencils and concept sketches. He was surprised that Jeffy and his parents had sent that along with him. Honestly, were they trying to encourage him to vandalize something? Because that was what it looked like.

Grabbing the handle of the trunk with both hands and yanking it out with all the might he could muster, he almost felt like his arms would give way half-way through the action. He almost fell backwards when it officially slipped out from the trunk, but caught himself, throwing back one of his legs into a better stance to keep his balance. Even he was surprised that he managed it, breathing heavily and bending at the waist when the wheels of the trunk were officially on the ground, exhausted. Still, he wasn't done yet, was he? He hefted the duffle bag up with a little more ease, but not much more, and quickly slid the strap around his shoulders. God, he wasn't sure how much longer he could take the weight of it across his shoulder, along with his already stuffed backpack, and pushing that awful trunk with him. He'd have to find where he was supposed to go, and he'd have to find it fast, at least so that he could drop all of this stuff before coming up with a good plan. Well, two good plans, actually, he corrected himself as he shut the trunk of the cab, flinching backwards in fear as it sped off as soon as the action was completed.

What the hell did that rotten guy think he was doing?! Speeding off like that!! The ass!!

Grabbing the handle of the travel trunk and taking a quick moment to straighten out his brown Firefly tee-shirt which depicted two dinosaurs, one saying 'curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal," and the tan cardigan which he wore unbuttoned as a top layer before making his way onto the campus hesitantly. This would be horrid. It was already horrid, but he was sure that it would only get more horrid. What had he been thinking about before? He'd nearly forgotten, but quickly recalled what it was. Planning. Yes, he'd need two plans. First would be his revenge on Jeffy. Perhaps a terrible computer virus? Yes, that certainly sounded like a good idea, and he could easily send it strait to him with the man's email. Second plan? Get the hell out of this joint, for sure. How hard could it be to get kicked out of a school? Really! Surely, he'd come up with a game plan for how to do it as soon as he was locked inside his dorm room.

"Hello there!"

Levi stopped dead in his tracks, flinching as a young man with a devious smile and a clip board stepped into his path. He fidgeted again, watching the man hold out the clipboard as if he were offering out a million dollars. He was trying so hard to make it seem like it was something that Levi wanted, even if he didn't know what it was.

"Would you like sign up for a sponsorship program?" He asked, pushing the clipboard a little further into Levi's face.

Levi flinched back a step, putting his hands on the strap of his duffle bag nervously, trying to adjust the weight it was putting on his small shoulders. "No," He finally answered, being sure to make the statement as firm as possible. "Please go away."

The man furrowed his brows, and his look changed to one that was pleading, like he needed the signature or he'd die. He took another step towards Levi and Levi instantly took another step back. "Come on, you'll hardly have to do anything! Just sign your name!"

"Cut it out!" Levi snapped, turning sharply and trying to go around the young man. "Whatever it is, I'm not doing it!"

The man quickly darted into his path once again, and Levi, so frightened by the sudden action, went to jolt backwards again, only to loose his footing and be dragged down by the heavy momentum of his duffle bag and landing on the ground with a thud from his body, a heavier thud from the fallen travel trunk, and some clanging from the spray paint cans in the duffle. Levi winced as he hit the ground, shutting his eyes tight and biting his lower lip. Great, just what he needed, a bruise on his ass, too. When he opened his eyes, the man, much to Levi's disappointment, was standing right there, looming over him and instead of offering a hand to help up the small boy, instead, there was that freaking clipboard, held out right in front of Levi's nose.

Oh god was he livid.

"IF I SIGN YOUR DAMN PIECE OF PAPER WILL YOU JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE?!!"

Levi was vaguely aware of the people who'd stopped to look, to laugh, but his attention was far too focused on this asshole to care at the moment. It was okay. He was just making a scene. That was normal when he wasn't getting what he wanted. He watched as that stupid smile stretched back over the young man's features, and Levi almost regretted his words. Maybe he shouldn't have given in like that? No, it was fine. The guy said that he'd barely have to do anything, right? Maybe it would be okay, if all he was looking for was a little signature.

"Yes, I most certainly will!" The man answered, shoving the clipboard into Levi's hands. "I'll even take your bags to your new dorm room for you! Since you seem to be having so much trouble."

Levi looked at him bitterly, but took the pen in hand and signed away at the bottom line, huffing to himself and uttering all the bad words he could muster in a breath too quite to understand. As soon as the pen tip was off the paper, the clipboard was being tugged out from his hands, and the man was looking over it. Levi took the strap of the duffle bag off his shoulder, making it a little easier of a time to stand while the man looked over the paper, almost as if he hadn't even looked at what he was asking Levi to sign himself, though he was probably just checking to be sure that it was filled out correctly or whatever. Suddenly, he smiled at Levi once again, and Levi was really starting to hate that smile, as he picked up the small boy's duffle bag for him and stood the trunk upright, grabbing onto the handle.

"Thank you, Levi Havet!" The man said, handing Levi a small information packet before beginning to make his way away from him, towards the dorm building, more than likely. "You'll be sponsoring the normal Vampires!"

...

...

What?

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!" Levi shouted, tightening his grip around the pen he'd signed his name with. Vampires?! Seriously?! Like hell he was going to do that! They'd probably eat him whole! There was no way he could handle that kind of situation! Wouldn't they rather grab people who were all... wholehearted and shit? Did this guy not have any kind of good judgement for character? He wasn't cut out for that!! In the heat of the moment, he chucked the pen towards the man's head, enraged that the man managed to step away from it just in time and continue on his merry way bringing Levi's things for him, and at a safe distance. With no other choice, Levi followed him, until he saw the building that he was being led to, that is.

It was... a crap heap.

You've got to be kidding me, he thought, dropping to his knees in the grass while the asshole with his bags simply went inside, dropping the stuff off, and left to go on and sucker in more people to do the same thing, probably. Levi had stopped caring about him. Now he had to worry about this place. It was terrible, it was probably falling apart, it was going to be a living nightmare. He fished his cell phone back out from his pocket, dialing the first number on his contact list, which happened to be the first out of only three numbers, and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Levi?"

"You've sent me to my death, Jeffy, I hope you're happy," Levi responded, skipping the greeting all together.

"What? What are talking about?"

"I'm talking about some guy who bullied me into signing this damn paper, and then finding out that I just got suckered into being a sponsor for vampires!" Levi heard Jeffy snort, trying not to burst into laughter, and immediately balled his hands up into fists. "This isn't funny, Jeffy!"

"You've got to admit, it's kind of funny."

"No it's not!" Levi snapped, finally picking himself up off the ground and dusting off his jeans. "I'm going to die here and it's all your fault! I hope you remember to put on my grave the cause of death, because it's going to say 'died of terrible therapeutic treatment'! I hope you know you're absolutely going to get it for this."

"Levi you're going to be fine. I'm pretty sure they won't let their students kill their other students. Just try to relax and get into the flow of things. And I swear to god, Levi, if you put another virus on my computer, vampires are going to be the least of your problems."

"You're the biggest asshole I know," Levi retorted, taking a quick glance at the crumpled papers in his other hand.

"I'm the only asshole you know, Levi. For Pete's sake, I'm the only person you know. I gotta run, call me later, alright?"

"Whatever," Levi said, hanging up the phone and shoving it back into his pocket where he'd retrieved it from. His gaze went back to that godawful building and he simply stared at it for a moment, as if maybe staring could scare it away, scare the whole situation away, like one would do in a bad dream. But no, nothing would get solved that way. He simply pushed himself into gear again, making his way to the building and inside. The inside of it wasn't really any better than the outside, but at least it wasn't falling apart, yet, he supposed. And it wasn't like he planned on staying long, right? He'd be gone in no time! He'd be such a little prick on campus that they'd just have to send it home! So, it didn't matter how crappy the place was, did it? Well, maybe it did a little bit, since he still figured he'd be here for some time. He'd have to find a way to make himself somewhat comfortable.

Finding himself face-to-face with a bunch of closed doors with maybe only a couple of people moving in and out of them, he found himself grimacing. There was no way to tell which one of these rooms that guy had gone into! Where was his stuff? After that fall... Certainly he'd need to check the spray paint cans. He couldn't have one leaking all over the place... That would just suck. He bit his lip looking around for someone he could possibly bother about the information, though it seemed that the most commotion was coming from upstairs. Maybe one of them knew, although he hated the idea of talking to anyone, especially at this point. All he wanted was to lock himself in and try to sort through his stuff. Maybe do some murals on his walls, especially since working with his spray paint always seemed to calm his nerves at least a little bit.

Sighing, he figured there wasn't much he could do about the issue, and trudged his way up the stairs. As soon as he came to the top however, he flinched, and nearly fell backward down the stairwell. Was that... Were those... wild animals?! He stared with wide eyes, though everyone else seemed to be dismissing their presence as if it were completely normal. Well, maybe one or two people seemed to look at them once in a while with apprehension, but that was about it. Honestly, how was that normal? Last he checked, a bear wasn't exactly the kind of thing you kept as a household pet. The range of domesticated animals could not have changed that much in twelve or thirteen years, he was almost sure.

Levi tried to ignore the situation, for the moment, and made a note to himself that if those things even made one step towards him, he could just run back downstairs and out the door, or at least he could hide in one of the other rooms, if he found one unlocked. Biting his lip, though, he took a look at the people around, trying to decide which ones would be able to give him the information he wanted. The kid with the orange hair seemed too preoccupied with a cut on his finger, and hardly seemed like he himself knew what the hell was going on. The tall brute with the fiery red hair and an unlit cigarette in his mouth seemed free to talk, but his enormous stature was enough to be frightening in itself, and Levi couldn't help but subconsciously take a step away from the guy. That left the group a little further down, nearer to the wild animals, that consisted of a paint-splattered boy, the dread-lock king, and some chick with silver hair, all seeming to be giving their full attention to a girl with long brown hair. Oh god, what was he supposed to do? Well, he supposed there was just one thing. He would just have to make another big scene, and hope someone would be irritated enough to pay attention, or pity him enough to help him out.

He put on his best nervous expression, furrowing his brows and holding his arms in close to his body. The nervousness, the shyness, it mixed with a small hint of aggravation, and that was exactly what he wanted to convey. It was a look that said; 'pay attention to me! But seriously, don't touch me because you're all scaring the shit out of me.'

"Hey!! Did anyone see some asshole carry a duffle bag and a trunk into any of the rooms?" He spoke out, making sure he'd be heard by at least someone. "He made me sign up for this sponsor thing and then he said he'd carry my bags to my room but I lost track of him and now I have no idea where my stuff is."

Kaiden had to admit that he hadn't been listening to the Mouseman the entire time, so he missed those little jabs at him about his cigarette and something about being unlucky. Kaiden, however, did no miss the little jab of rebelliousness at him - at least the mouseman had spunk. So while Kaiden was somewhat preoccupied, he did hear the little sound of scurrying footsteps running towards him, and then suddenly in front of him. Confused, Kaiden looked down to see the little man exit his legs and run on all fours away. Once he was far enough away, mouseman turned and threw a retort. Why don't you figure it out yourself, stupid."

Kaiden rose an eyebrow in mild amusement before the kid turned and ran, which allowed for a deep rumbling chuckle to exit from Kaiden's body. The kid was annoying, but spunky - should be interesting. So Kaiden turned and called back to the kid. "Will do, laddie, will do." Kaiden shook his head in amusement before turning back to view the surroundings. Once again, that large cat and bear were still watching all the kids move. To his left, Mr. Dreadman was talking to a kid with colours everywhere, and two pretty little lasses - one who had just arrived. It was then that his eyesight zeroed in on something he hadn't noticed on the little mouseman - name tag badge things that seemingly had each person's name on it. This school may have a faculty of lyers, but they are efficient lyers. Kaiden nodded in agreement with himself, before turning back into his room.

In a few seconds, he had completed the newest of his two tasks: creating a makeshift name tag for himself out of ducktape, the letter on the wall and a few bobby pins and gathering up his work out supplies into a duffel bag. His plans for the day? Finding the gym and catching up on some practice, and possibly catching a few of his vampires on the way. Since he hadn't a clue where the gym was, Kaiden figured that if he looked for shape shifters while he looked for the gym, he would be keeping things efficient.

So with the makeshift name tag on his bandana (which read 'You will be sponsoring the Shapeshifting Vampires' for it made no sense to add anything to a fairly straightforward message) and his duffel bag full of clothing, a few of his own equipment and some water, Kaiden exited his room to see a kid jump up the stairs and yell.

"Hey!! Did anyone see some asshole carry a duffle bag and a trunk into any of the rooms? He made me sign up for this sponsor thing and then he said he'd carry my bags to my room but I lost track of him and now I have no idea where my stuff is." Kaiden raised an eyebrow to the kid, before shaking his head slightly. Poor bastard, he got suckered in too. Instead of stating the obvious, Kaiden grunted out a short reply.

"Not up here, lad." With that, he noticed the gangling, orange haired kid who was preoccupied by what appeared to be a cut on his nail. Well, he had to admit, there were quite a few weirdos around here, but Kaiden wasn't really in any place to judge: after all, he was a 6'1, pure red haired, muscle man with a scottish accent. Nothing really normal about that at all.

Regardless, Kaiden made his way around the little guy yelling to look down the hall for Mouseman, to which he shook his head and gave a chuckle before walking to the stairs. Before he did walk down the stairs, he turned his head towards the bear and the leopard, giving a smirk and a nod to them as if to say 'Nice to meet you, large animals - but I ain't scared'. Next motion was back to the orange haired kid to give him a nod of acknowledgement before walking by him as well.

Thing was, Kaiden didn't get too far before he heard the tapping of a rod of some sort. The stairs creaking under his frame, he rounded the stairs to find himself above a petite girl with a cane making her way up the stairs. This caused Kaiden to pause slightly, cocking his head. Once again, he was greeted with a predicament he had never been in before - here was the very first blind person he had ever met. Remember, Kaiden liked to live life in gyms and such, so he rarely got out and about to the city to actually explore or even care about it.

Now, this would have been all fine and dandy, except that Kaiden was pretty damn big, and the staircase... well, it wasn't as big as it should be. While there was room for two normal people to fit through, Kaiden took up a person and a half and the girl had a cane, which added to her width of space as well.

So, instead of standing there awkwardly like an idiot, Kaiden found the most efficient path and took it instantly: by talking (weird, right?) "Well, lass, we seem to be in a bit of a bind." It occured later that she may not be able to realize it, or she might take offense to his statement, but Kaiden didn't care for neither. If she was level headed, she would simply acknowledge that they were, and they would solve the problem. There was no need for over reactions or emotional annoyances in such. Kaiden just wanted to get by, and so did she.

True, he could have just waited or something, but that was somewhat awkward for a kid that hated sitting still. Though he did have to wonder if she was a vampire or not - a blind vampire? That would be interesting, to say the least.

---

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---

---

Everest tried his best to ignore the fact that he was being ignored. Marcus evidently had no intention of speaking anymore and Henri had gone off to converse with the others. The snow leopard sighed and his ear twitched in annoyance. He realized he hadn’t had breakfast yet. In fact, he hadn’t eaten at all since two days ago. Everest growled. He was starving.

Hungry snow leopards, no matter how chill they usually are, instantly become hunters. So Everest began pacing the ground, his footsteps silent, his movements calculated. He debated gnawing on Henri’s foot, just to make his hunger known, but decided against it at the last second. Instead, he rubbed his head against the legs of those in the group: Henri, Lilith, Adwin, and some other human girl. He then continued on his way, looking for anything that could be food.

There was a half-eaten, moldy, ham and cheese sandwich near one of the rooms. Ew. There were several mothballs lining part of the wall. Ew. There was Ruari planning something devious near the fire truck kid’s room. Everest chuckled. He pounced on the mouse boy, purposefully missing by a few inches. He loved to mess around with Ruari. The boy made a great playmate.

But he was still hungry, so he left Ruari alone and continued down the hall. He looked to the stairs and found himself staring at some guy with curly orange hair. There was something feline about him that Everest couldn’t quite put his paw on. Maybe he was a shapeshifting vampire? Everest wasn’t sure. After all, the kid looked quite pathetic, freaking out over his bleeding finger.

Another kid came up the stairs. He was also a pretty small and skinny, frail-looking person. Not a lot of meat. Everest looked away without even the slightest interest. No food to be found anywhere. He made the short trek back to Henri. The human girl had left and Everest’s master was still gawking after her. Sometimes it was embarrassing to be associated with this particular vampire.

Everest looked up with pleading eyes, hoping his master would recognize his hunger. Unfortunately, Henri still seemed to be stuck in gaga land. So, the snow leopard did the most logical thing a snow leopard would do: he bit Henri’s ankle.

Henri jerked back his foot, snapping suddenly from his stupor. “Wha’s yer problem, Evs?” He reached down to calm his familiar, but Everest bit his hand too. Instead of withdrawing his hand, he went ahead and slapped the snow leopard on the side of his face. “The hell? Haven’t ya heard the phrase, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds ya’?” He examined his hand and his ankle. Both were bleeding profusely. He’d fix them later with his voodoo.

The familiar glared. “But you haven’t fed me!” Everest retorted venomously. “Henri, I’m hungry! Get me something to eat or else I'll go hunting!”

“Quit yer whinin’! I bought a whole bunch a’ steaks jus’ fer you, but ya said ya weren’t hungry, so I cooked ‘em.”

Everest was aghast. He took an involuntary step back. “You cooked them?” The snow leopard nearly fainted right then and there thinking of those delicious steaks ruined by intense heat. Luckily, he was able to stay conscious and emit a low growl, his tail swaying to and fro.

Ignoring his familiar’s distress, Henri sighed. He looked back towards the stairs where that dazzling human girl had escaped. He hadn’t even asked for her name. Stupid Henri was stupid. How could he get so wrapped up in someone's beauty to the point of speechlessness? This didn’t usually happen. Maybe it was just a symptom of the first day of school.

The snow leopard snorted to catch Henri’s attention. "I'm still hungry." He glanced around, pleading with his eyes. He rested his gaze on Lilith and walked up to her, winding between her legs. "Lilith, food please?" he begged, trying to look as cute as possible. "Pretty please?"

"Honestly, Evs. Yer embarrassing me." Henri let out an exasperated sigh, slowly shaking his head. He rolled his eyes and turned to Lilith. “Jus' ignore ‘im, Bathory. He’s actin’ like a cub.”