In the hidden woods

Perfect isolation from the human world, deep down into the hidden woods where the Halloween Academy is located.
Birds chirp from every side of each tree branch. The earthy atmosphere rises and fog creeps from the bottom of the ground towards the endless dim light. The hidden woods the darkest place ever known to man, is also known as hell to most humans. No survivors had ever come back home from this evil place. Rumors are said that monsters live in the hidden woods, and wait for their prey each day. That rumor is slightly true accept, the monsters don't wait in the woods for their prey. They wait for time to go by as they sit in their classes learning how to master their special gifts.

Sarah busied herself with leaning back in her chair and the reading of some Yokai Weekly magazine, all the while having put forward the illusion of a her that was actually paying attention to what the ranting other teacher before her, something about responsibility and other boring crap. The Not-Quite-Therah smiled and nodded in response to him, and Sarah turned another page, raising her eyebrows at an article about how to make your tail glossier. After giving it a once-over, she scoffed to herself in disgust. Making monsters buy $1200 oils seemed ridiculous when she'd been working her beautiful tail under shampoo and conditioner and gotten, well, a beautiful tail. The teacher heard the scoff, threw his hands up in disgust, and walked off, thank Inari.

Ms.Melody came in the room where Ms.Sarah was, sat on top of her desk looking up towards the ceiling and asked "Are you ready for the first day of school tomorrow for our students to arrive? This year I heard that the selection was very difficult and only chose the finest students. I just hope we can control them and teach them, the other past year was full of well behaved monsters, and they all managed to learn how to control their skills fine. She turned her head around to Sarah "Hmm..reading the Yokai weekly? Did you see the gas prices? They're insane! With this teacher salary I don't know how we can afford it." She jumped down the desk and looked towards Sarah then said "I really hope this year goes well."

Talia walked slowly through the school halls, her eyes down despite the lack of students. They had shipped her out a day early. She was supposed to get acclimated with her surroundings. That was supposed to help make her feel less intimidated.
It was so obvious that they knew nothing about her. Her last accident had nothing to do with intimidation. None of them did. Talia tried not to think about it. But she still saw it in her mind. Blood, screaming. Focus on something else!, she told herself. Don't think about what happened. Talia took a stealing breath. Think about something else. Think about music.
Her shoes made little tapping noises on the floor. Tap, tap. The boy trying to hit her. No, music! Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She counted the beats, matching them to her footsteps. The air began to feel warm around her. She couldn't loose control, not so soon. Talia sank to her knees, her head in her hands. Not so soon, not so soon, not yet, not so soon...
Her heartbeat slowed, fell back to a more natural pace. She was shaking.
She couldn't break down like this after tomorrow. Not in front of all those people, not when people could get hurt. Talia was suddenly glad that she was at the academy a day early. It gave her time to find a place to hide.

A small snake shifted inside a locker of the school. It was her locker, after all, and her things were already away. She liked this form best at the start of the school year- it made her feel powerful. She heard feet tapping on the floor, and she perked up, slideing through a slit in the locker. She had been here for a week, waiting. The snake-form felt better about land than the others. She slithered her way passed her, into a restroom. She felt the familier crack of her spine as it grew, shifted, changed. The new bones, the new skin, the new muscles slide into places, the clothing she was wearing when she shifted in rags. The sight smell and everything else never changed, and she was grateful for that. She was wearing a blue top that was now shredded and pants that were equally so. She cracked her fingers and her spine again before she stepped out, her newly-found legs not failing in her perfect stride. She saw the girl up ahead, and she picked up her pace. "Hey! You're early!" She said, looking towards her.

Ilene walked towards the Academy, trying with little success to keep her wings drawn in to her back. They caught on leaves and branches, and before long she became quite aware that she was dragging a sizable stick behind her. She could smell the Academy up ahead, full of different creatures of many species. She couldn't help herself anymore-- she ran, wings flapping a little, with the stick beating on the ground. She was sure that the sight of her was quite comical, a Flier girl still unaccustomed to wings, but at that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care.

Yuuki sat in the library of her house with a about 5 thick books on her head. She breathed in and out slowly while studying the history of monsters. Her mother was walking around her, barking, "Sit straight! Study properly! You have to be the best student in your school! After history we will have mathematics, then science, followed by literature, english, and your french. Your school starts tomorrow and you have to be prepared. Anyone who knows about vampires will know you." Yuuki fought against the urge to sigh, knowing that it would bring another long and tiring speech from her mother. Her eyes was fixed onto the book while she thought of all the monsters she will see.

Many hours passed and Yuuki's classes were finished. She took the books books off her head and stood up. After bowing to her mother, she excused herself and went up to the rooftop. She held her flute and played a cheerful melody. She was so excited to join the academy and finally have friends. Yuuki thought of the life of romance she would have in the academy. Starting from when Yuuki had received the letter of acceptance from the school, she was constantly nagged about finding a suitable man to marry. Her mother's expectations were high. The man had to be the heir of a clan, if not a son of leaders like her parents. He had to be good looking too. Yuuki sighed, she put down the flute and walked to the railing of the rooftop and looked down at her clan's village. Many children were running around and playing with each other.

Yuuki sighed again and walked to her room, sitting on her bed. A few moments later, Sebastian, her butler, knocked on her door. "Miss Elizabeth, the limousine is ready for you downstairs," He told her, "You luggage are in the other limousine." Yuuki nodded once to Sebastian and looked at her room for a last time. She then followed him down to the car. Sebastian opened the car door for her and Yuuki sat in the car with her flute case on her lap. Sebastian closed the door and sat on the other side of the limousine. Yuuki nodded to her chauffeur, indicating that they could leave. She then looked out of window as they were on the way to her new school. The limousine containing her luggage followed behind.

In the blink of an eye, the limousine reached the academy and Sebastian left the car to open the door for Yuuki. She stepped out and started walking towards her dorm room confidently. Sebastian walked beside her with a trail of servants carrying her luggage containing her shoes, clothes, accessories and other things she needed or wanted. Yuuki was glad not many students were here yet. She was freaked out by the fact that many people in this school would know her. They reached her dorm room and put down her luggage. Yuuki scanned the room, it was many times smaller than her own and she assumed others were going to share the room with her. She hoped she would not be an overly crazy fan of hers. She met plenty of those people at one of those high class parties her parents held at their home. Sebastian excused himself and together with the servants, they left the school, leaving her alone. Yuuki decided to walk around the school to find somewhere she can play some of her many instruments she brought along.

Talia opened her eyes in shock, and quickly bolted to her feet, her movement a blur. There was a girl with red hair walking toward her, clothes in tatters. She smelled of reptiles, scales, and the sea, although that was incredibly faint. Talia took a step back, her breath speeding. Mentally she monitored her powers, and her thirst. She was mostly under control, if not a little surprised.
"Yes." She said softly, her high voice ringing. "I um, wanted to get used to my surroundings." Talia dipped her head, locking her eyes on her shoes. Her cheeks flooded with color, but luckily, white hair covered most of her face from view. Control, Talia. Breath. The half vampire took a deep breath, mental counting out the rhythm of "Spoon River" in her head. The bright rhythm of the clarinets helped her keep calm.
"You are early too, though." Talia said, twining and untwining her fingers.
Talia had known she would have to face students sooner or later, but she had hoped against sooner. And this student was so much taller than her. Talia, looking to be about eight years old, looked very vulnerable next to this wild looking girl. She lifted her eyes just slightly, studying the girl. She obviously wasn't a vampire. A vampire would have noticed Talia as a halfling, and definitely would have shunned her. This girl was too reptilian. Talia spoke without thinking.
"And you smell like a snake." Her cheeks colored further, and Talia covered her mouth with her hand, as if she could take the words back. The last time she had spoke like that... Dont think about it. This school is different. She hoped.

"Nope, no clue" Nabri said, looking after the man. "I'm Nabri, by the way. Do you know if they have a pool here? I never got the chance to look" she said, looking around. She was trying to act polite, but that didn't come easy to her and well, she hadn't had a swim in days and she was getting ornery. "Oh! I'm a shape-shifter, in case that wasn't obvious. I look human enough" she smiled quickly, but it was fake, and oviously so, at that.

"Teacher." Talia said, studying the approaching figure. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable with so many people. "I don't know if there is a pool." Talia kept her hands behind her back, wide grey eyes shifting between the two girls. She really didn't want to be here. Nabri seemed restless, and Talia didn't want to end up in a conflict.
"Oh no. Is he a... Human?" I ask softly, taking a step back. She knew some of the teachers were human, but she wasn't prepared to deal with them so soon. Spoon River shifted into Mozart's Requiem; the scary part of Mozart's Requiem.

"I don't know, sorry. I'm a terrible person to ask questions like that, I'm not a fan of water. Asking me to swim is liking asking a giraffe to fly, it just can not and will not end well," Ilene replied with a good-natured smile. "A shape-shifter, huh? I'm a Flier, if you couldn't gather that from the scales and the wings." She thought for a moment, then suggested, "Maybe he was a teacher? He smelled human. What other forms can you take besides this one?" Shape-changing would explain the sort of muddle this girl's scent was-- a little human, a bit fishy, a bit reptilian, and a little...something else.

Lance raced through the thick trees as fast as he could, each step increasing the ever present dread that envelops him when the sun begins to set. come on, he thought to himself, just a bit further. He could feel his skin beginning to crawl, and he began to sprint now. Something snagged his foot and he tripped, falling hard to the ground. He looked up to the sky and watched in horror as the last of the sun sunk beneath the dark night sky. Pain started to rack every part of lance's body. his skin began to shred away to expose thick matted fur. his face elongated and he grew serrated canine teeth, bared in a menacing growl. His eyes glowed with a fiendish red light. All trace of Lance was gone. All that was left was the wolf. He lifted his snout to the night sky and let loose a ear splitting howl. The wolf then sprinted through the forest, hunger driving every step...........
Lance woke up at the rising of the morning sun. he felt refreshed, revitalized. then with horror he observed his torn, bloodstained clothes, and what was left of a once magnificent stallion. He heard something to his left, and he instinctively crouched in defense. The figure stepped forward and extended their hand. The next four words the figure spoke would puzzle lance for a long time.
"We were expecting you."

Finally after pacing down the corridor he stopped in front of the three students. He paused for a second and took a quick glance at each creature quickly before speaking. He noticed a bird like figure, a petite girl, and a beast in human form with shocking red hair.
He let his breathe out quick and said to the students "Welcome, my name is Professor Klein and I teach students about human anatomy. I see that you all are early, I hope you all settled in and are getting used to this place. I know it is a bit quite odd and hard for some of you to be around a human figure like myself but you need to get used to humans if you wish to live in the real world instead of hiding from there. If any one of you ladies have a question let me know." Then gave out a smirk.

"Fish, snake, mermaid, human" she smiled and shop the girls hand "though if you would excuse me, I want to go catch a rat or something before classes start" She laughed and started walking, scales appearing on her body, her spine shortening, her arms and leg bones retracting, her eyes becoming dark as she walked, until nothing but a snake was in her place. She slithered out of the school, into the woods. She saw a boy there, and she was immediately interested,so she came closer. She smelled wolf-like blood in him, so he was a shifter like her. Then she smelled water, behind her. She turned to the pond behind the man. She rushed to it, her snake-body sliding into the waves and her mer one appearing. He shirt was destroyed and soaking, so she took it off and placed it on a rock. Before she began talking. "Hello!"

"Thank you," Ilene replied, trying to hold her breath. The human flesh scent was going to drive her mad if she didn't. Another scent, another scent, find another scent to focus on... she chanted mentally. There wasn't much else around to focus on, so she dug the claws on her hands into her palms. It was a wonder she could even do this-- once upon a time, the mere presence of a human was enough to drive her into a murderous state where her only thought was of her hunger, and how she could most quickly satisfy it. But that was why she was here-- to surround herself with humans, and other people with similar problems to hers', and learn to control the hunger. "Could you tell me where the dormitories are?"

The first thing that popped into Lance' s head was shock. He had watched as this snake shape shifted from a scaly reptile to an enchanting creature with a fish tail. The second was that There were others like him. His hopes were not in vain. "Hello!", the mermaid said while swimming around the pond. Lance was unable to reply, as he was busy dragging the carcass of the stallion behind a thicket of bushes. He eventually got it behind the Bush, and with his enhanced sight he observed a pack of wolves a couple yards away from him in the dark shadows, whimpering in hunger. A pang of compassion struck Lance. He swiftly lifted the carcass with inhuman strength and tossed it to the starving wolves, who tore at the carcass with relish. Lance smirked, and walked back over to the pond, and the mermaid within. His voice was hoarse as he said," Sorry, I had to, ahhhhhhhh... clean up my mess. My name is Lance. May I ask for your name?"he gave a slight smile as he spoke.

"Hmm.. a flier, we never had one of your kind in our Academy so far. You're the first one, and yes you will have your own room, no room mates, we believe that you guys need more quiet time to yourself but after hours you may wonder around the campus grounds with your friends after class. And if you check your schedule we do have anatomy right after lunch. The head master thought of everything."
Professor K turned around to the small petite girl with white angel pasta hair and said "So who are you little one? Is everything okay you're awfully quiet."

Talia's eyes widened. She suddenly stopped rocking as she looked up at the teacher in amazement, stunned at how nice he was being. She didn't have the best history with humans. Then she smiled her first real smile that day.
"I'm Talia." She said in a voice much more bubbly than before. Serene music played in her head, soft and upbeat at the same time. Then she giggled, noticing his comment. "And I'm really not that little, but I don't mind it when people call me that." She smiled again, then looked down and started fiddling with the ribbon on her sleeve again. I'm going to be labeled the teacher's pet for sure... She blushed at her sudden bout of chatter and began rocking on her heels again.

Talia gave an amused, but slightly overwhelmed, smile at Ilene's sudden outburst. The half vampire answered her questions one by one in her soft, high voice, looking at the ground.
"No, not all of them... I don't think they will be... Um, music class. I-I'm not so picky, as long as there's plenty of O negative-" she broke off, her silver-grey eyes widening in fear at her slip up. She hadn't meant to mention her being part vampire. Heat flooded to her cheeks. If Ilene hadn't realized she was only half vampire yet, her red cheeks would give her away for sure. Her breath started to speed, and in her fear her control over her powers slipped. The stick in Ilene's hand suddenly burst into flames. Talia yelped and covered her face with her hands. Oh no, Oh no...!

Ilene dropped the stick, stamping out the fire. "O Negative, huh? I prefer the flesh myself, but hey, that's why we're here. To avoid killing people. But if you're a blood-drinker, what are you? I mean, the only blood-drinkers I know of are vampires, and I've never known a vampire who could blush. Music, that sounds fun!" She'd never met a vampire who was so easily frightened, either, but that she would keep to herself. After all, she'd only met a few vampires, so who knew if those three, who had been 'raised' after their turning as a group, were typical? For all Ilene knew, it was Talia who was typical.

Talia blanched, her hands dropping. She isn't angry at me? Talia looked at the ground, choosing her words carefully.
"I am a vampire... of sorts." She went silent after that, fiddling with the ribbon on her sleeve. Talia bit her lip. Irene didn't seem scary. Actually, she acted rather nice, but Talia herself was proof that nice people could be dangerous when they felt threatened. She wasn't sure if she wanted to share her other side with this bubbly, if a little chatty, girl. So she didn't elaborate.
"Do you play any instruments?" Talia asked, obviously trying to change the subject. Her face lit up just thinking about music class.

"Thanks anyway, I'll keep looking." Said the silver-haired boy to a teacher as he exited a room. He was hurrying down the halls but stopped at he saw a small black and white bear run down a corner.
"There you are!" He yelled and ran after it. He turned the corner and didn't see the bear but a door was opened but shut immediately. He walked up to the door and slowly opened the door. He looked around the room for his toy but didn't see. The demon entered the empty classroom and shut the door behind him.

"Of sorts?" Ilene asked. "Musical instruments, no...I've always wanted to learn to play something, though. It's just been a matter of what I might actually be able to handle with my claws. I'm guessing you play at least one, though, what do you play?" So if this girl wasn't a vampire, but she was a sort of vampire, what was she? She was definitely of the blood-drinking variety, and she didn't strike Ilene as a flesh-eater, so that boiled her down to a scarce few varieties, none of which would warrant an 'of sorts'. Was she some sort of 'other' creature who called herself a vampire so she didn't have to explain what she was?

The demon's purple orbs he had for eyes stared at the professor speaking to him. "I uhm... You haven't seen a stuffed animal around here, have you?" He looked around once more and back to the teacher.
"I really need it back." The small boy them walked up to the professor's desk.