Academia - Part 5
Academia - Part 5
by Zelphair
Alright, Kaze thought to himself, just take a deep breath and calm down. The former was far easier than the latter, but as he leaned against the tiled wall and took slow, steady gulps of the warm, humid air, a modicum of peace returned to him. After a few moments, he dared to stand upright again, taking a critical look at himself in the mirror.
There were wet tracks in his newly dried fur, but those were easily solved via the same dryer that had done wonders for his fur after the shower. His admittedly sensitive nose picked up a slight trace of salt, but since he could barely detect it himself over the pleasant floral scent of the shampoo he'd just used, he could reasonably set aside his worries concerning the otter's less sensitive sense of smell picking up those same traces. What was less manageable, however, were his obviously red and swollen eyes. The contrast between the bloodshot whites and the bright green iris seemed to be visible from space. Something would have to be done.
Turning on the cold water from the faucet, he thoroughly soaked a wash cloth before, ever so gently, dabbing and pressing it against his eyes. He'd always hated putting anything near his eyes, but there was one piece of his father's advice that had always survived, despite the elder fox's unpleasant demeanor: Always meet the world with a face both fresh and flat.
It wasn't that Kaze tended to agree with his father on principle, of course. In fact, most of what the venerable old fox had to say was blatantly wrong in his son's eyes. Much like the old saying went, though, even a stopped clock was right twice a day. His father did have one gem of wisdom, and it had served Kaze well in the past. The world was quite often a cruel place, and there was no need to give those who would do him harm further ammunition. An open, unguarded expression was a vulnerability. He had forgotten that to a certain extent the previous night, thrown off his guard by the rather unexpected turn of events. However, if there was anywhere this sort of defense was necessary, it was here, in this place where unusual was a nearly constant understatement.
If eyes were the windows to one's soul, the young fox's would be closed, shuttered, and covered with six inches of reinforced steel plating. He would carry himself with dignity, though not the dignity of his blood that his father always espoused. His dignity would be his own, forged in the trials of growing up a freak. A long critique of himself in the mirror showed a satisfying degree of success.
Collecting himself, and wrapping a towel around his waist in an attempt at modesty, he opened the door and stepped out into the room, his eyes coming to rest upon his roommate. The otter was fully clothed for the first time since the fox had met him, but surprisingly enough, it did nothing to diminish his charm. The otter's supple torso was currently encased in a plain white dress shirt that contrasted starkly with his ebony fur, and with the crisp dress pants in almost the same shade of black. Standing out prominently from the shirt was an aqua ribbon just to the right of the otter's heart.
"Your bags are under the bed, by the way," Dylan remarked with a smirk, gesturing in the aforementioned direction. "I figured you'd like to put some clothes on before you meet the headmaster. We can get your uniforms later, but for now, anything will do."
"Yeah...uh...thanks," Kaze said with yet another blush, vaguely wishing for dark fur like his roommate's. No amount of tightly controlled expressions could seem to keep blushes from rising around the otter. Moving over to the bed and pulling out what was left of his possessions, he was relieved to find that the packs had apparently remained watertight. He would have liked to have thoroughly checked his guitar, but at the moment, it would have to wait.
With more than a bit of difficulty, he managed to slip on a pair of white cotton briefs without removing his towel. From there, he could pretend to at least some degree of modesty while donning a pair of khakis and a dark blue button-down shirt, though he was sure Dylan was watching him out of the corner of his eye. Eager to avoid an awkward silence, the now-clothed fox quickly opened his muzzle, letting the first question that came to his mind spring free.
"So, does that ribbon on your chest stand for anything?"
"You'll get your own soon enough," Dylan assured him. "They make it easier to identify what someone's Gift is. Aqua's for water, you'll get pale blue for air, those fire jerks get red, and earth's stuck with brown. There aren't many Healers here, even in training, but they get green. Makes them easier to spot in an emergency. All the other gifts just get a black ribbon, because there just aren't enough of any one type to make color coding convenient."
"So everyone's either an Elemental, a Healer, or something else you can't tell just from their ribbon?" the fox asked for clarification.
"That's right," the otter confirmed, "though a lot of people are pushing to give the Teleporters their own color. There aren't many of them, but there's a lot of stuff we couldn't do without them."
"So what's stopping them?" Kaze asked, careful to keep his tone light. He was honestly interested, and quite curious, but this relative stranger didn't need to know that.
"Actually, the Teleporters themselves are against it," Dylan replied with a smile. "There aren't enough of them to go around, and a specific color would make it a bit too easy to track them down and try to secure a favor, instead of officially requisitioning one."
"Makes sense, I guess," the blue fox figured, shrugging and looking away from the otter as he carefully pulled his shoes onto his footpaws. "Are you going with me to see the headmaster?"
"Just taking you there," the otter explained from behind him. "It wouldn't exactly be a private meeting with me there, but I wouldn't want you to get lost wandering the halls. It's a big place out there."
"Just...how big is it?" the fox inquired, a bit of nervousness creeping into his voice despite his best attempt to hide it. Big places usually meant massive throngs of people. Maybe it was simply a consequence of being socially isolated, but Kaze had never felt that comfortable around crowds. He could never shake the feeling that the teeming masses were watching him, judging him...and he had to admit they likely thought poorly of him, to say the least.
"Well, it takes up the whole island," Dylan answered, with a shrug of his own, "That's about all I know."
"Island?" By this point, the fox was having a more and more difficult time hiding how intrigued he was. "Where exactly is this place, anyway?"
"I wondered when you were gonna ask that," the otter said with a grin. "But to tell you the truth, I don't really know. Somewhere in the Atlantic, I think. They don't really make maps that say 'Secret School for Freaks Here'. And they don't tell us because...well, because of security risks, I guess."
"Sounds like a bigger deal than I thought," the fox remarked as he opened the door for his roommate. The two of them stepped out into a hallway that could have come from any college dorm he'd ever seen, only...longer. Turning both ways, Kaze couldn't see an end to the hallway anywhere in sight. He made sure to take note of the number on the door: 15-CZ. Not that he'd likely be able to find it without help, if it ever came to that. "Who's in charge of something this big, anyway?"
"Well, the headmaster basically runs things, but as far as where his reports go, well...you'd probably be better off asking him." A few doors down, the otter stopped at a seemingly random spot on the wall, pulling something from his pocket and waving it in front of him. A second later, with barely a sound, a panel of the wall slid up to reveal...an elevator?
As the fox gingerly followed his roommate inside the chamber, he could see that it did indeed resemble a normal elevator inside, although there were multiple panels of buttons, with both numbers and letters. It was hardly the most astonishing thing he'd seen in the last twenty-four hours, and yet it was at that point that Kaze decided to let down his stonewall façade for the moment. So many incredible things kept happening, and at the very least, he had the feeling that hiding his surprise was going to become impossible. With that in mind, the sheer bafflement with which he looked to his roommate made any spoken question moot.
"Elevators," the otter explained, with yet another of his trademark grins, "built into the entire infrastructure. They're activated by our school IDs." As the doors closed and the craft began to ascend, Kaze could see the object in question, prominently featuring a poor quality photo of a smiling Dylan. Interestingly enough, even the ID simply said "The Academy" in the space where a school's name would normally be. As they continued upward, their ascent eventually stopped, and the fox naturally expected the doors to open. It was with quite a bit of surprise, then, when a second later, he found himself being pressed against the wall a bit as the conveyance began to move to the right.
"What the hell?" the fox blurted out, before blushing as the otter fell against him. Dylan extracted himself quickly, but Kaze couldn't help a rush of excitement at the otter's soft fur and firm body that had been pressed against him.
"I probably should have mentioned that," the otter admitted, wearing the sort of knowing grin that only made the fox's blush more profound. "It's a really, really big place, so the elevators don't just go up and down. It takes some getting used to, I know."
Kaze nodded a bit, then proceeded to launch a valiant attempt at spending the rest of the elevator ride not looking at his roommate. The massive panels of buttons before him seemed the most likely distraction. Three panels currently had buttons pressed, marked "Administrative Sector", "30", and "ZZ" respectively. The numbers and letters didn't mean much to him, but the panel with the titles was interesting enough.
Dormitory was presumably the area they'd just left. Their destination, the Administrative Sector, was most likely the location of the various staff offices, including that of the headmaster. Some of the other labels were a bit more confusing, though. Commercial District? East Training Grounds? North Workrooms? The fox had no clue what any of them were, and his imagination actually managed to keep him occupied for the rest of the ride, until a small ding heralded their arrival at their destination.
With a certain degree of trepidation, Kaze followed Dylan out of the overachieving elevator, and into a spacious anteroom that seemed more in keeping with a Fortune 500 company than a school. The walls were papered in a sober but inviting shade of forest green, with a few well-maintained potted plants and hanging ferns of a similar shade. There was even a small fountain in the center of the room, its soft but constant stream of water providing a pleasant, relaxing background noise.
The most dominant feature of the room, however, was a large desk, stacked with neatly arranged papers and a very standard looking PC, the kind you might find in almost any office. Behind the desk sat a female mink of middling age, remarkable only in her bright pink pantsuit and her aura of brisk efficiency. She seemed absorbed in her work, but somehow the fox doubted that anyone or anything could sneak past her and through the sturdy oak door to the left of the desk. For all that she seemed preoccupied with her tasks, she nevertheless looked up with a smile as they approached the desk.
"Good morning," she said with a nod in their direction, her voice crisp and clear, with a pleasant London accent that sounded professional without hindering her ability to be understood. As preoccupied as he was in glancing around the room, Kaze barely noticed her quickly scanning the duo's clothing and species, taking in the otter's uniform and ribbon, and the fox's lack thereof, in a single brisk sweep. "You would be...young Master Jordan, bringing young Master Shiroi to see the headmaster, yes?"
The mink was consulting an appointment book in front of her, but Kaze wondered how much of it was for show. He also had never heard his name spoken with a British accent before, and he had to stifle a giggle at how odd the juxtaposition sounded. As Dylan confirmed their identities, and the mink announced them on the intercom, the fox's glance traveled behind him, and somehow he was no longer surprised to see that there was no visible trace of the elevator they'd ridden.
"The headmaster will see you now," the mink said pleasantly, gesturing to the door beside her desk. Dylan thanked her sincerely, and all Kaze could do was nod politely in her direction and bow slightly, feeling awkward for not being able to get a word in, but at least having the presence of mind to be polite. Gods knew it had been drilled into him often enough to become practically an automatic reaction.
Still walking ahead of him, almost protectively, Dylan turned the ornate handle on the door and pushed gently, revealing a large office in much the same style as the anteroom, but with plants and fountain replaced by full bookshelves. A similarly massive mahogany desk took up most of the far end of the room, with a high-backed chair behind it, facing an impressive picture window.
As they entered the room, the chair slowly swiveled around toward them, revealing its occupant, a distinguished white wolf in an impeccable designer suit. As the wolf set down the book he was reading, Kaze couldn't help but notice the chair's occupant seemed fairly young for a headmaster. If the fox was any judge of age, the headmaster looked to be in his early thirties, still quite handsome and, from what he could judge beneath the suit, in good shape, too. The young fox couldn't help but blush once again, this time at the hazy memory of the wolf's bare fur against him.
"Ah, Mister Jordan and Mister Shiroi. Welcome," the wolf said with a smile, setting his book down on the desk. His accent was practically identical to that of his receptionist, albeit with perhaps a bit more personal warmth. It wasn't that the mink outside was cold or impersonal in any way, but simply that the headmaster seemed a bit more genuine than the average well-intentioned individual. "We're already well acquainted, of course, Mister Jordan, but I believe your roommate and I have yet to be formally introduced." The wolf stood and extended his paw as Kaze gingerly approached the desk. "I am Headmaster Ashton Baldric, and on behalf of the entire faculty, I'd like to welcome you to the Academy."
"Thank you, sir." The fox extended his paw to grasp that of the headmaster, shaking it solemnly, while at the same time giving a formal half-bow. It was just as his father had taught him, one of the family's token concessions to its heritage.
The wolf locked eyes with the young fox, a smile upon his face that also reached up to reflect in his eyes. The headmaster's manner seemed to relax, and his gaze shifted to the otter. "Dylan, you can go now. We need to talk in private, and I know you have class coming up."
"I would've been willing to miss it, sir," Dylan replied with his usual grin. Turning to Kaze, he looked the fox straight in the eye, that slight contact somehow managing to draw another blush from the fox. "I'm afraid I have to get going, but if you need something, or get lost, or anything like that, well...here." The otter proceeded to slide a small square of paper into the fox's recently released paw before heading out of the room. Several moments had passed, and the elevator panel was closing, before Kaze managed to tear his eyes away from his roommate long enough to see that the paper contained...a phone number.
Presumably, it was Dylan's. It certainly wouldn't make much sense for it to be someone else's. Granted, the fox couldn't honestly say for sure whether or not he had possessed the presence of mind to pack his cell phone, and even if he did, it still had to be unpacked, but still, the gesture was heartwarming. In fact, it was such an absorbing thought that it was at least a few more moments before the sound of the headmaster clearing his throat ever so politely brought Kaze back to the real world.
"Now, then...your roommate has left for the time being, and now..." Seemingly of its own accord, the door behind the fox swung gently shut. "Now we can talk privately. Please, have a seat."
Author's Note: Sorry this part ends kind of abruptly. The ensuing conversation's likely to be another part in and of itself, so it didn't feel right to suddenly double the length. As always, please, please, please comment. It inspires me to write more, and can help me truly improve.