Mortals, Mythlings, & Mischief - Chapter 2

It didn’t take long to realize that I’d be with the same kids every class, as we all kind of traveled together in a group more or less in the same direction, although kids dipped in and out to try and visit friends or stop for something without being late to the next class.

We were apparently freshman group A, which led to the obvious assumption there was at least a group B. The school wasn’t that packed, so if each class had about the same number of kids, which was fifteen for my group, then I couldn’t imagine forty-five or sixty kids in just the freshman class. At least not considering how big the school was and that it was a boarding school.

Still, I was just guessing, since we’d only done two classes, A&C and then algebra, and were on our way to our third period PE class.

I was actually a little glad we all shared the same schedule because it meant I just had to follow my classmates and didn’t get lost in between periods. Not that I followed particularly closely, as there was a general sense of animosity from just about everyone I met.

Well, except Lily, who had been nice if standoffish since A&C class.

The Gym was pretty impressive with a huge ceiling that went way above us and bleachers off to either side, I guess for basketball games or whatever they played here. Everyone here was a freshman, but maybe they’d had an orientation because it seemed like they were all pretty comfortable with the layout. As soon as we walked in, Zara spread out her wings and took off, landing on a high beam up in the ceiling.

“Alright, freshmen! Gather ‘round!” A booming voice called out, loud enough to be heard over everyone talking. “Zara, get down from there.”

I turned to see who I could only assume was our teacher. He was enormous, easily eight feet tall and built like a brick wall. His bovine head sported an impressive set of horns with a big gold ring through his nostrils. He was massive, to be sure, but the tight white t-shirt that looked like it was going to rip in half any second and the almost uncomfortably small blue running shorts made him seem even more massive.

“Welcome to Adaptive PE. I’m Coach Krov. This class is designed to help each of you develop your unique physical abilities and learn how to both use them and control them, so you don’t hurt yourselves or your classmates but can defend yourselves.”

I kind of shuffled my feet, acutely aware of my very human limitations in this crowd. That feeling didn’t go away when his eyes fell on me for a second as he looked over us, like he was highlighting the fact that I didn’t have any abilities.

“This year, we’ll cover a wide range of activities. You’ll learn how to maximize your natural talents, compensate for any weaknesses, and most importantly, how to collaborate with classmates who may have very different capabilities than your own.”

My classmates, however, were excited about it.

Coach Krov clapped his hands loudly. “Today, we’ll start with a simple assessment. I’ve set up obstacle courses tailored to groups of you. This will give me a baseline of your current abilities. Some of it will take place out on the quad or at the pool.”

He gestured to various areas of the gym, each set up with different challenges. I saw a climbing wall, an agility course with moving platforms, and more.

“You’ll rotate through the courses in groups based on your primary abilities. Flyers, you’re with me first at the aerial course. Aquatics, head to the pool. Earth-types, start at the climbing wall. Shapeshifters and adaptables, take the agility course.”

As the mythlings began to disperse, I just kind of stood there. It wasn’t really clear what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go.

“Edmund!” the coach bellowed, making me jump. “What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?”

“I, uh, I’m not sure where I should go, sir. I don’t really have any... abilities.”

“Humans,” he said with a snort, a sound that reminded me of an angry bull. “Go with the shapeshifters.”

He jerked his thumb towards the agility course where Lily and a few others were gathering. I nodded quickly and scurried over. I could feel him staring at my back.

Lily’s ears perked up as I approached. “Hey, Daniel! Looks like you’re with us.”

“Yeah. Coach Krov thought this would be the best fit.”

A boy with fox-like features, Ren, if I remembered correctly, scoffed. “Best fit? He can’t shapeshift.”

“Maybe he’s here to make us look good,” another student joked, earning a few chuckles.

I felt my face heat up, but Lily said, “Come on, guys.”

It was the way a parent would talk to a rude child, and they at least seemed to respond to it a bit, and the jokes stopped.

The agility course was a dizzying array of moving platforms, swinging obstacles, and narrow beams. It looked challenging. As we watched, Coach Krov made his way over to us, having finished giving another group their instructions.

“Alright, listen up! Your goal is to complete the course as quickly as possible using whatever adaptations work best. Use your abilities, but remember - control is key. We don’t need any accidents on the first day.”

He blew his whistle, and the first group started. I watched in amazement as Lily bounded through the course, switching into a wolf and back as she needed leaping or the ability to grab and swing. I realized once she got the ability to only change part of her body, she would probably go through it much faster.

Others weren’t faring quite as well. Ren, despite his agility, misjudged a jump and ended up dangling from a platform by his fingertips. Another student, attempting to morph into a more aerodynamic form but not change altogether so she could make a grab on the other end, got stuck in some halfway point and tumbled off a rotating cylinder.

I tried to commit every detail to memory. Dad had been clear, he wanted me to watch and learn about their abilities. What the different types of mythlings could do and what their weaknesses were. Each detail I mentally noted in my head felt wrong, like I was betraying my new classmates. Especially Lily.

But he’d been very specific in his orders when he’d sent me here, and I knew if I broke them, I’d have to go back home. Live under his roof again.

“Edmund! You’re up!” Coach Krov’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I noticed he’d put me in a group by myself. True the numbers were odd and so someone would have to be last, but it seemed my being the one was very much on purpose. I could feel the other students, even those in other sections, watching me.

Man, if I screwed this up, it was going to be embarrassing.

I took a deep breath and approached the starting line of the obstacle course. Coach Krov blew his whistle, and I took off, sprinting toward the first obstacle.

I had done courses like this before. Maybe a little less enchanted, but still very difficult. My father had pushed me since I was little, training me to be able to fight and chase mythlings. I also had our genetics. It is what set our family apart from other mythling hunter families, and it was one of our darkest secrets.

Down the line, one of my ancestors had done something to our genetics, used some kind of magic to alter them. It was subtle, to be sure, but we were stronger and faster than other people our size, which helped when fighting Centaurs and Gargoyles.

I vaulted over a low barrier with ease, landing lightly on my feet. It was the easiest of the obstacles, to be sure, and so far I had not wowed anyone.

The next was a step up. A series of moving platforms that slowly cycled in a pattern. I had been watching it, waiting for my turn, and did not have to lose time knowing where they would be. I leapt as soon as I was in range, landing on the edge of one platform before jumping to the next, my precision on point. As I landed on the final platform, I felt a surge of confidence.

On to the swinging beams. I had done stuff like this hundreds of times. It was kids’ stuff. I ducked and weaved through them, dodging and ducking, coming out the other side.

A series of swinging ropes hung before me. Without hesitation, I grabbed the first, using my momentum to swing to the next. Then it was the climbing wall, which also presented little challenge. I scrambled up it, finding the little crevices they had put in, using them to pull myself up with my fingertips.

When I reached the top, I did not hesitate. I leapt off, tucking into a roll as I hit the ground and came up running, dashing toward the rotating cylinder. Instead of trying to jump down on it and run as it rotated the other way, I landed and immediately dropped to my chest, gripping the two edges as tightly as I could and letting it carry me around.

I felt gravity pulling at my feet as I held up my whole body weight, letting the wheel carry me around. It was simple work as it came up and above the finishing platform to plant my foot on the metal surface, let go, and kick off hard, landing with a somersault.

I was sweating a little, but I could see my time was good. Not the best of the class, but that was to be expected. Lily had beaten me, and I was happy for her.

It was not until I calmed down a bit that I realized the gym had fallen silent. I turned to see my classmates staring at me, mouths agape. Lily’s ears were straight up, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Holy crap!” Ren exclaimed, his earlier disdain gone. “Where did that come from?”

I hopped down from the platform and found myself face to … well, lower abdomen of Coach Krov.

“That was... unexpected, Edmund,” he rumbled. “Care to explain how a human managed to outperform most of my mythling students?”

Damn. I had overdone it. I could hear dad telling me not to overdo it and show them what I was capable of.

“I, uh, I just really liked sports at my old school. I guess I am just in good shape?”

“Uh-huh,” he said, and I got the distinct impression he did not believe me, but after one last hard look he turned back to some of the other groups who were still going. “You lot. You are not done. Stop gawking and finish!”

Lily bounded over, her tail wagging slightly. “That was amazing, Daniel! You must have been on every sports team at your old school.”

“Yeah, I played a lot of different sports. You know, to keep busy.”

A few of the other shapeshifters in my group joined us, all talking excitedly about my performance. Not all, I noticed. Some still seemed like they would rather catch a plague than talk to me, but I was making some headway.

***

The first half of the day finished up and it was time for lunch. I had been to lunch at a normal school, and thought it had prepared me for what I was going to see.

It hadn’t. I’m not sure if I would have stood out more if I were a Mythiling walking into a human school. When I walked into the cafeteria, it was like every eye turned to look at me. The noise, which I could hear out in the hall before I ever got into the long, open hall, dipped noticeably with the stares.

It only lasted for a moment, but I felt it all the way down in the pit of my stomach. Or maybe it was just the scene stretched out before me. I had been in class with Mythlings all day, but that hadn’t prepared me for this moment. The enormous room held long tables filled with Mythlings of every description, some with wings, others with scales, a few who seemed to shift form even as they ate. It wasn’t just the sight and sound. The smell was overwhelming, a combination of flavors I recognized mixed with scents that made my nose burn.

When everyone went back to what they had been doing, I finally managed to find my feet again after being frozen in place. I made my way to the food line, trying to ignore the whispers that followed me. The serving counter displayed dishes that defied description. What looked like raw meat still moving, something that glowed an unnatural blue, and … other things.

“You must be the human,” a voice said while I was taking in the strange food laid out in front of me. I looked up to find a striking phoenix with golden and purple feathers wearing some kind of white coat made to fit her large wings. “Principal Shteno ordered some food for you. It might not be what you’re used to, but it should be edible. Let me know if it isn’t right or if there’s stuff you like, and I’ll see what I can do for the future.”

She had a nametag that said Fenix and these four silver earrings in one ear and three in the other. She was … cool.

The food was much less cool. She handed me a plate with what looked like a strange interpretation of a hamburger and fries. The bun was almost black and the fries seemed to be made from some sort of purple tuber.

“Uhh, thanks,” I said, taking the plate and trying to not look so dubious.

She looked somewhat proud, and I didn’t want to rain on her parade. I just hoped it was edible. I got out of the line and back into the cafeteria hall, and started looking to find a seat. Each table I looked at was full of Mythlings who glared back at me, daring me to try and sit with them.

It was very clear I wasn’t welcomed here. For a second, I thought I had an option when I caught Lily’s eyes across the room, but she quickly looked away, and my heart sank. I guess being nice a few times in class and being nice in front of the entire student body were not the same thing.

I spotted an empty section of table in the far corner and started making my way towards it, figuring I could just keep my head down and eat. That had been naive.

A group of Mythling students suddenly stepped into my path. They were a mix of different species, but they all had the same hostile look in their eyes. None were from my classes, so they were either in a higher grade or in freshman group B.

“Where do you think you’re going, human?” one of them, a minotaur, sneered. “You don’t belong here and none of these tables are for you.”

“I’m just trying to find a place to eat,” I said, trying to keep my calm. This had been happening all day, and I was getting a little tired of it. “I don’t want any trouble.”

“Too bad,” a werewolf girl said, baring her fangs. “Trouble’s found you. Try and sit, and see what happens.”

I looked around the room, trying to find some way to avoid this that didn’t involve fighting. They had made it clear to me that fighting would get me kicked out, and my dad would not be happy if I lost this opportunity on the first day.

For a second, I thought I’d found a way out when I saw Principal Shteno watching from across the room. She fixed the group with a stern glare, and they seemed to wilt under her gaze.

“Try and sit at a table, and she won’t be able to help you,” the minotaur muttered as they went back to their tables.

I looked back to Principal Shteno and she gave me a look that seemed to say ‘I told you so’. Then, just as quickly, she turned away, ignoring me once again. I sighed.

With no other options, I found a spot on the floor in the far corner of the cafeteria and sat down, balancing my tray on my lap. It was humiliating, being relegated to the floor like some sort of second-class citizen, but what choice did I have?

I picked at the strange purple fries, turning one over in my hand as if that might help me understand what exactly I was about to eat. After a moment, I gave up and popped one into my mouth.

The flavor was earthy, sweet, and a little bit spicy all at once, kind of like fragrant, spicy dirt. It wasn’t inedible, not by a long shot, but I wasn’t sure it was something I’d ever willingly choose again. I took a tentative bite of the burger next, which turned out to be better than expected. The texture was different, a bit gamier than the beef I was used to, and there was a strange aftertaste, almost metallic, but not completely off-putting.

I set it down and really didn’t feel like eating it. Not that I needed weird food to lose my appetite. As far as first days went, this one had definitely been at the bottom of the pile. Beginning Creative Animagi Arts had been so weird, both because it was my first taste of the school and because of what the class was, it was hard getting my head around it.

Algebra hadn’t been too bad; at least numbers made sense no matter who was teaching. Although, the Rakshasa running the class was... unnerving. Her eyes always seemed to linger a little too long when they passed over me. It was like she could see right through the average human mask I was trying to wear and see what I really was. But the class itself was fine. For the forty-five minutes I spent solving equations, I almost felt normal again.

Almost.

Then there was Adaptive PE. That had been something else entirely. The first obstacle course had gone well for me, but it hadn’t helped with the jabs and taunts. After that, the other kids had tried their best to sabotage me, and I hadn’t managed a performance like I had on the first one.

Mythling Cultures, though, that was the one class I thought I might actually get something out of. It was also the one where I could probably follow through on my dad’s orders. If there was ever a chance to really learn about the different mythlings here, it would be in that class. The whole point was to study their traditions and cultures, and I was going to need all the information I could get if I was going to do... well, whatever it was my dad expected of me.

I watched the kids all eating, moving from table to table, talking and something struck me. For all its weirdness, this cafeteria didn’t look so different from the one back at my old school. Sure, there were wings, scales, and claws, but the way everyone grouped up into their little cliques felt all too familiar. There were clearly popular groups and outcasts, but what surprised me was that these lines didn’t seem to follow species. There were nymphs sitting with minotaurs, harpies chatting with sirens, and even a couple of gryphons eating with a spriggan. It wasn’t the division by race I’d half-expected. They just didn’t like each other for normal teenage reasons, I guessed.

My eyes caught on a group at the far end of the room. Lily, sitting with her usual crowd. Her ears twitched as she laughed at something, her tail wagging behind her. For a second, I thought she looked my way, but she didn’t hold my gaze for long. I sighed and took another bite of the burger, having forgotten it wasn’t a normal until it hit my tongue and I almost spit it back out.

So much for making friends.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the PA system came alive and a booming voice loud enough to be heard over all the chatter said, “Attention students, Sports tryouts for the fall season will be held this afternoon. All interested students, please report to the gym at the end of the school day.”

The cafeteria practically buzzed with excitement after that. Mythlings started talking animatedly at their tables, some kids getting up and running to other tables to talk.

Sports, huh? I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess it made sense they’d have teams here. I wondered what kind of sports they played at Euryale. Probably nothing like football or basketball, not with the range of abilities these mythlings had. It might be interesting to check it out... or it might just be another opportunity to get humiliated in front of the entire school.

I finished my lunch, though I wasn’t confident the food would stay back down. Tomorrow, I’d have to bring something from home. No offense to Fenix and her experimental cuisine, but my gut couldn’t handle another day of this.

Picking up my tray, I stood and made my way to the cleaning station, keeping my head down as much as possible. The last thing I needed was to draw any more attention than I already had. I dumped the remains of my meal and placed the tray on the stack, then headed toward the door.

I still had four more classes to get through.