Private A Small Fish in a Big School

Julune couldn't discern how he felt about this island. He was too new to feel one way or another, but people back home had many opinions. Most were still recovering from the King's change in attitude towards Manta Carlos. Some believed the declaration of war should have escalated for their associations with pernicious humans, others were happy to be connected to an island that so readily accepted them. Julune certainly didn't advocate for war, but neither was he warm towards the island. Not yet. Right now, it was just a place to get away from his own home under the guise of "exploring the world."

And now that he was exploring, he was lost. Wonderful. He had gotten a tour of the school and had a pretty good mental blueprint of it. That didn't dampen how different this world was to his old one. While the school was wonderful at accommodating larger creatures, he still felt better shifting down to his two-foot-three height to keep from drawing attention and knocking people over with his tail. It was easier for him to travel through flight this way, so he fluttered around not far from the dorms, looking over the map in his brain as he tried to figure out how to get to a class. Classes were currently out, but he forgot to pick up an assignment and hoped his teacher would still be there to let him retrieve it.

Julune managed to narrowly avoid hitting a distracted student. All the blame couldn't be put onto them. He was also distracted by the map in his mind and his further confusion of the school's layout.

His thoughts screamed at him to yell at the stranger. To swipe at them and claw their face up. Instead, he let out a low hiss, catching it almost immediately. With averted eyes and a lower head, he said, "Sorry. That was unnecessary. I was distracted too."

It felt wrong asking for help from someone he hissed too. Julune was tempted to wave the help off and fly before he could make a worse reputation for himself. A coward's choice. There was a chance for him to make things right, and that option wouldn't help him find his way around.

"I... I'd appreciate some help finding a classroom... if I haven't, uh." He let out a small cough. "If I haven't offended you." Threatened, more like.

It felt like a punch to the gut whenever someone showed fear of Julune, reasonable or not. In this case, it was reasonable, and he couldn't blame the student for flinching.

Was that Jae's full name or the first part of it? The cluster of cultures here made figuring that information out difficult. Based on the pause in his name, Jae might be fine until he was told otherwise. But just in case, Julune wanted to give out his full name too. "I'm Julune K'Kuniet. Nice to meet you, Jae Yi-Lin."

He told Jae Yi-Lin the room number, putting the classroom up on the second floor of the school's building. "The teacher goes by Mr. Peregrine. He's my math teacher. I'm um..." His tongue tangled itself in his mouth as he tried to explain his problem. "I'm new here. I'm having trouble finding the building for his class. I got myself more lost in the end..."

"That would help a lot. I had a tour already. Clearly it didn't stick as easily as I thought it would... A-Anyway, I'm practically a newborn here. Anyone older and more experienced than me is a help." He gave a close-lipped smile to Jae. The tenseness of earlier was fading now and he wasn't about to ruin it by showing off his sharp teeth.

"Would it be easier for you if I grew larger? I was only this small so I wouldn't get in anyone's way... or attract too much attention."

Julune took Jae's response to land on the ground and desummon his wings. Not a second later, he began growing into a comfortable height just below six feet.

"I can't do much about the tail, but it shouldn't be, uh, in anyone's way." This was better than flying anyhow. Living underwater, the only time he had to fly was when he was scouting in the sky for his hunting group, which wasn't often.

As the two walked, Julune showed open appreciation of being reminded of the school's buildings. Jae included new tips as well. Something a student would notice rather than a teacher.

"You sold yourself short," he said suddenly. "You mentioned being new like it would be a problem, but you've been helpful. The area here is much more familiar to me, so I know we're going the right direction."