Mantra of Chill

Tez was lounging on a soft chair in the administration office waiting room. He had just had his interview about rejoining the academy, to study a degree program specialised in order to allow him to become a scout upon graduation. It had modules in sociology, psychology, combat training and various skills a scout would need. The final six months of the course consisted of joining in the scout training program with all the other prospective scouts. Luckily, his timetable was mostly concentrated in the middle of the day, so he could still keep his job at Club Orpheus, and go back to school.

All he had to do was sign some paperwork, and he was off to the races. He'd get a dorm room, which he might be able to swing towards contributions to his flat, a food budget, which was excellent, and access to free healthcare, and a job upon graduation. A job he really wanted. Why he didn't rejoin sooner he had no idea.

Tez laughed as he heard the guy on the seat near him. This is insane. He remembered feeling the same way when he first came to the island years previously. But then again, it had all been insane when he had first shifted into a strange feathered jaguar creature with obsidian hind legs. It was like a fever dream or, now as Tez thought about it, a super wierd acid trip. After that can the changes to his appearance, the pure white eyes, the black obsidian nails and teeth, the feathers. The bloody feathers, he could never quite keep them under control. He ran a hand through his hair and found one, black and yellow, poking out just above his year. He pulled it out, and flicked it into a nearby bin.

"I guess you're new here huh?" Enquired Tez, leaning forward into the stranger's field of view "I'm Tez, Tez Gann"

@Ozzie

"Yeah, you'll get used to it. There's all sorts of folks here. Like the shop i get my morning coffee from is ran by a demon and the barrista is a snake chick. It's like a wierd version of your hogwarts letter" laughed Tez, "so if you're here you must be different somehow. What can you do?"

This individual asked him if he was new. Tez was far from it. He had almost forgotten the life he left behind. His mum said she would visit the island this year, but she had said that for the past two years, and the last time he saw her was when she came for his high school graduation. I think the island creeps her out, thought Tez, or maybe she's just embarrassed to have me as a son.

"Nah i've been here since I was ten" said Tez, changing seats so he was sitting in front of the stranger, who he now knew was called Dante. "I don't exactly look human as you can see, so they brought me here. I graduated from high school a couple of years back, but kinda never went to college. I just had my interview, and so i'm coming back to school to do my degree"

Tez smiled happily at Dante with a friendly, obsidian toothed grin.

@Ozzie

"Psychology? Powers like that would be pretty awesome for a psychiatrist. I've got a couple of odd psychology modules this year, maybe we'll be in the same lectures?

"I'm sorta a god. Like not a proper god, just like... a semi god. I got a whole random grabbag of powers. Like i look like this for one" Tez cast a hand over his body, and wiggled his obsidian digitigrate toes. "I can also turn into a wierd jaguar creature. Oh, yeah, and this."

Tez held up a single finger. The obsidian spread from his fingernail to cover his finger, and a single flame flicked into light atop the finger.

"Random obsidian B.S. and some basic magic. I have a lot of natural ability, i've just never been intrested in magic."

Powers only on TV and movies. That made him smile. Tez had grown up watching superhero films, but he had only ever actually watched them since he had arrived on the island. A lot of the powers in tv and movies were kinda, well, dull. Like super strength. Tez knew dozens of people with super strength. It wasn't that rare.

"Haha, i get you. Someone in my class growing up had lazer eyes, and had to wear glasses, ya know, like cyclops from the x-men. He's an interior designer now. There are no super-folk here, just, you know normal people. Its pretty sweet to be honest."

@Ozzie

"Nah" said Tez, flicking the flame from fingertip to fingertip "I got some of the basic stuff down, like the useful things, but when you get into it, certain levels just become... theoretical. Like you can do the thing, but never use it. Like fire magic, I could, eventually, turn the flames into like a flamethrower, but why would I? Whats the point. I guess all the magic and monsters stuff is pretty new to you huh?"

This guy seemed decent, if a little naive. Tez wondered what life in the outside world was like without magic, without vampires. The blissfull ignorance. The only people who believed in bigfoot and aliens were nutjobs on the internet posting blurry photos on conspiracy forums. Tez had dated several aliens, and he was pretty sure that the guy who delivered his post was a bigfoot. Or a yeti. I wonder if they're the same species, thought Tez, I'm sure CryptidHunter42 knows. Or you know, i could just ask the postman.

@Ozzie

Tez stopped for a moment. Had this Dante really just made a pun? He'd fit in well onthe island, thought Tez. Tez held out his hand, and a small ball of water formed in it, water vapor condensing into the ball. He turned to Dante with a smile.

"Water you doing these puns for." Tez responded, before flicking the ball of water into his mouth. "You'll do well here with a sense of humour on you. Best survival tactic there is in a new place, being able to laugh about stuff. To be honest, it was a choice between advanced magic, which was long and a kinda boring class, or two free periods. I was sixteen and lazy, so guess which one i took."

@Ozzie