"I thought he was going to mate you right in the garden." Emelia blurted and I glared at her.
"You really didn't feel anything towards him?" my mother practically pleaded for me to say yes.
"No, nothing like that, his scent was just friendly and warm, that was it." I shrugged and she pouted and slumped her shoulders.
"There's more shifters out there Elode." my father assured.
"Shouldn't you be worrying about those three first." I declared, pointing to my older siblings and father chuckled. The temperature had finally cooled down enough for me to even attempt at unpacking so that's what I did. I went up into my room and unpacked everything. My walls were a soft white, carpet a warm grey and comforter black, the other furniture was also painted black, including a full bookcase that took forever to fill, the room suited my tastes well. I flopped on my bed after I was done and stared up at the blank ceiling with a satisfied sigh, job well done if I do say so myself. I heard a knock at my door and my mother's scent wafted in as she pushed the door open as I had left it ajar.
"All done?" she guessed. "Foods ready sweetie." she told me and I sat up with a groan. I went downstairs and we all had dinner together, we we're quite tired from our busy day and we didn't have time to relax tomorrow so we all went to bed early. School was starting in the morning, oh goodie! I set my alarm before I got into bed and dropped off as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up to the sound of KSI's song 'Wake up Call' playing on my phone and I grabbed it and dismissed the alarm. I let out a yawn and stretched. I got up off of the bed and plodded off to my connected bathroom and had a shower. I got dressed in some black basketball shorts and a grey and white loose shirt, messed with my hair for a while but it always did what it wanted to so I gave up pretty quickly. I brushed my teeth and stared at my stark blue eyes in the mirror, I could never get over how blue they really were. I finished that and grabbed my already packed backpack from on a chair and walked out of my room and headed downstairs. I could hear sounds of movement in the rooms but no one else was ready yet. I dropped my bag on the sofa and went into the kitchen to make myself a coffee and some jam on toast. I sat sipping my coffee and munching on my toast when Otto lumbered down the stairs sleepily, his blond hair already a talosed mess, like he'd just got out of bed.
"Morning." he mumbled and I handed him an extra strong black coffee I had made for him and he took it gratefully. He poured himself into a chair at the table and nursed the mug, slowly coming to life with every slip, Otto was definitely not a morning person and couldn't function before ten without a coffee and it was about seven at the moment. Jasper on the other hand bounded down the stairs already full of beans.
"Morning Bu-bu." he called me that annoying nickname and I scowled at him. "Nothing for me?" he pouted in disappointment and fake hurt.
"Maybe if you didn't call me that stupid name I might make you breakfast." I retorted and he chuckled. We had the same conversation every morning but nothing ever changed. My mother came down the stairs in her dressing gown, she didn't start work until tomorrow, lucky for her. "Morning ma." I greeted her and handed her a cup of steaming tea and she smiled at me.
"Thank you sweetie." she pecked me on the head and sipped it as she started to make everyone else breakfast.
"Mummies boy." Jasper teased and I just rolled my eyes. Dad came down next in his suit, his ink black hair done to perfection and not a crease in his starched shirt. He surely changed his appearance when going to work, when he wasn't working his hair was as messy as Jaspers and he wore loose jeans or shorts and plain shirts, always covered in grease due to constantly fixing things and tinkering. He was like two different people. He kissed mum on the cheek and she smiled up at him and handed him a freshly brewed coffee in his flask. Jasper gagged exaggeratedly and Emelia hit him on the head with the newspaper she had just gotten from the letterbox before handing it to dad with an innocent smile. He smirked at her and pecked her on the head.
"Thank you dear." he thanked Emelia. Mum packed his lunch and handed him his briefcase, them exchanging another kiss Jasper gagged at again before pulling away. Mum shoved a croissant in his mouth and we all laughed. He just rolled his eyes and juggled his things before grabbing the croissant and taking a bite.
"Have a good day at work dad." I told him and he smiled at me.
"And you have a good first day at school." he returned the favour and leaned down and I pecked him on the cheek like I always did, his stubble rough against my lips in a familiar way that was uniquely dad. Emelia did the same on the other cheek. Jasper refused such unmanly affections and Otto just nodded respectfully at dad before he left. He made his way out of the door and it closed behind him. Mum dished up their breakfasts and I started on the washing up, having already finished my coffee and toast, I washed up my cup, spoon, knife and plate and dried them and put them away.
"Such a good boy." mum praised me and gave me a side hug, mug still in her other hand, pecking me on the side of the head.
"Suck up." Jasper accused.
"Lazy ass." I threw back and he scowled at me and I laughed.
"You've got all that energy and let you can't find any to wash your own dishes." Emelia chided him and he poked his tongue out at her.
"I have more important things to use that energy for." he defended and crossed his arms.
"Well getting laid isn't one of them." Otto spoke up, burn. Jasper glared at him. Otto was a man of few words but when he used them he didn't let them go to waste. Emelia and I laughed and mum just shook her head. They all ate their breakfast and then we got ready to leave. Jasper spent way too long trying to get everything he needed for school, armature, he should of done it yesterday like I had. Once he was ready we all said goodbye to mum and left the house. The four of us walked down the street in the early morning sun and I relished the slight chill that lingered in the air, autumn was getting closer, soon followed by winter.
"You better try and make friends at this school Nobu." Emelia insisted and I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"If I like someone, I'll try." was all I could promise, socialising really wasn't my thing. Emelia just let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Recluse." she retorted and sent me a disappointed look.
"I don't deny it." I shrugged, I was shy and proud about it.
"That makes it even worse." she declared dramatically. "But you liked Leo." she wiggled her eyebrows at me.
"Correction, he 'liked' me, I wanted to play." I told her in a huff.
"With his giant dick." Jasper joked and I shoved him into a bush harshly and he let out a surprised cry as he flattened the poor bush with his huge frame.
"And at least someone showed interest in Nobu, that's more than I can say about you." Otto pointed out and Jasper glared at him as he got out of the bush and picked leaves out of his bird nest that he called hair.
"A bit too much interest if you ask me." Emelia mentioned and I nodded my head, definitely too much.
"He made me feel uncomfortable." I agreed and Otto frowned.
"At least he'll get the wolves off of our backs." Jasper said something useful for once. We had reached my school at that point and Emelia embraced me in a hug, Otto squeezed my shoulder reassuringly and Jasper slapped me on the back none to gently and I scowled at him, guess that was payback for the bush. They all continued on, dropping off Emelia at her college before Otto and Jasper got to their university.
I walked up to the school, walking through the blue painted gates and onto the car park. This one was made of red brick and white framed windows, typical school block shape, no architecture what so ever. The car park was slowly filling up and students lounged against their cars talking to friends, walking into the school, meeting up with friends and standing together in groups whilst I walked alone. I was no social butterfly, it didn't bother me. Some of the students gave me interested and curious looks, obviously not having seen me before, it was still a small town, they could tell I was new.
I walked through the glass and mesh metal doors and saw a sign above a door saying office, I headed over in that direction. The floor was a grey linoleum and the walls an off-white beige colour, corkboards littered the walls, filled with posters and pamphlets, the best school projects filled in the gaps, typical school. I knocked on the office door and heard someone call 'come in'. I stepped through the open doorway and saw an older human lady with large wireframe glasses on string and a bright red painted smile. She wore a bright floral blouse and a gawdy necklace, her greying brown hair in a smart office hairdo. "Hello dear, you must be Nobu Unica." she guessed right and I nodded in confirmation. She looked on her desk for a moment, looking at different papers before finding what she needed. She held out some papers and I walked in to take them from her. "This is your schedule and a map of the school, your parents already gave the school your medicals and we have already received your previous schools paperwork for you." she informed me and looked over at another sheet and gave me a wide smile. "Good grades, exemplary behaviour." she nodded in approval. "You're a shifter, huh." she muttered as she scanned the sheet. "It says your exempt from gym until winter and are not expected to shift during class if asked." she looked up at me with interest from behind her desk and I fidgeted under her gaze.
"My shift isn't exactly common." I spoke in a quiet and soft voice, the nerves from starting a new school were finally hitting me now my siblings were not here to distract me. She gave me a reassuring smile at my obvious nerves.
"Can I ask why you can't attend gym until winter?" she questioned me gently.
"I have a cold climate shift and overheat quite easily during warm weather." I explained and she nodded in understanding.
"We have an air conditioned gym, do you think you could participate in the lessons that took place in there?" she pushed and I considered her words, slowly nodding.
"I believe I could give it a try." I agreed and she smiled in encouragement and scribbled something down on my paperwork.
"Is your exception from shifting just due to your rarity, or is there any other reason why your parents don't want you to shift at school?" she prodded and I frowned at her slightly intrusive question.
"It kind of stems of off my rarity, some males have tried to mate with me against my will after finding out what my shift is." I admitted and she looked at me with worry and pity. "I've had to fight them off." I added and she frowned in concern.
"I understand their worries now, with you turning 18 soon, there....advances would only become more frequent." she stated and I nodded in agreement at her words.
"They don't want me or any of my classmates getting hurt." I told her and she gave me a small smile.
"Well, all of the shifters here have been taught about consent from day one, now I know that doesn't mean that their hormones won't encourage them to make bad decisions but I hope it provides you with a little comfort." she informed me and I smiled thankfully at her.
"Thank you miss, that eases my fears a little." I voiced my thanks quietly with my head lowered bashfully.
"Oh your such a sweetheart." she crooned and stood up from her chair and embraced me in a very tight and heavily perfumed hug. I stood their awkwardly as she assaulted my nose with her strong perfume and tried to crush my ribs.
"You tormenting the new kid already?" A male voice chuckled and the lady pulled away. I looked to my left and saw a tall man in his mid-20's in a dress shirt and slacks, I sneezed to clear my nostrils of her perfume and he smirked with amusement. He had pale hazel eyes and reddish grey hair, I sniffed the air discreetly, hmmm, another feline. He had pronounced cheekbones but quite a round face for a feline, not as tall or built as the other men in my family but a little taller than me, with the same amount of muscle. That with the hair colour, hmm, a puma? I sniffed the air a little deeper, yes, that smells right. He looked me over and sniffed the air as well.
"Another feline right?" he asked and I nodded.
"Puma?" I guessed and he raised his eyes in surprise.
"You've got a good nose." he complimented me. "Despite Mrs Marks perfume." he added with a chuckle. "May I ask what you are?" he pushed and Mrs Marks looked at him with mistrust.
"His paperwork says he's exempt from shifting in class and that his parents would rather no one know what his shift is." she stared at the man pointedly and he looked over at me with interest.
"I understand." he nodded but sniffed the air deeply in curiosity.
"Curiosity killed the cat." Mrs Marks chided.
"But satisfaction brought it back." I finished the saying and the man smiled at me.
"I'm guessing you have a rare shift." he surmised and I nodded.
"He said that others have tried to rape him." Mrs Marks frowned deeply as she said it and tried to hug me again but I agilely got out of her reach and she pouted at me. He looked at me very concerned at that.
"Is that why you moved?" he pushed.
"No, my father got offered a promotion in his company up here." I informed him and looked concerned. "My families very protective off me, try is all that happened." I assured him. "Our old town learned their lesson pretty quick and I got left alone." that seemed to ease his worries a little.
"The rest of your family feline as well?" he guessed and I nodded. A bell rung throughout the school and I winced at the harsh sound, it would be hard getting used to that. The man looked over my shoulder at my schedule. "That was the five minute warning. Your first class down the hallway, turn left and it's the third door down on the left." he explained. "And my name is Mr Concolor."
"Thank you sir." I thanked him and quickly left the office to get to my class. I glanced down at the sheet, homeroom first. He said it was down the left hallway and the third door on the left. I found the room and walked in. it was mostly full and I found a seat a few rows back next to the window furthest away from the door. The guy I sat next to looked at me wearily. I sniffed the air and took in his slightly square irises, long nose, larger, slightly sticking out ears and goatee, a goat I decided. I ignored his worried glances and faced the front of the class. Not soon after a teacher walked in, Mr Concolor, what a surprise, he gave me a small smile as he entered and stood in front of his desk.