The third day had finally arrived and Evan had 3 more booths to visit, though he was extremely reluctant to visit one of them. Astoria, Soe, and Basteti.
The Astoria section was sure to be informative in terms of getting the information needed to figure out what's happening in the kingdom. He also planned to hide away his hair and wear a face mask, fearing the discrimination he was sure to receive. The other races were fine with his snowy white hair, but the humans? They scorned him for it. Evan wasn't even at fault as he couldn't magically control his hair color, aside from dyeing it. That idea, however, leaves an awful taste in his mouth.
Evan is currently in Soe but knows almost nothing about the continent, aside from the academy itself. The male had always been curious about the surrounding area, but his schoolwork and busy schedule often got in the way of exploring what the rest of the continent has to offer. Honestly, he felt as though he was missing out on something and he felt the strangest tug, urging him to escape the academy walls that confine him to endless preparation for an old prophecy.
Sighing, Evan thinks about the last booth he planned to visit but is now having second thoughts about. On his wrist, a bracelet innocently lay, preventing his scent from revealing the truth. In most of his current classes, there are maybe a few beastmen here and there, never enough to figure out that something is off about his scent. If he does go to the Basteti booths, all for the purpose of garnering information about what would have been his home, he risks possibly exposing himself.
On the other hand, the more he learned about the continent and its people, the better chances he had at successfully hiding himself. For example, if certain mannerisms are present within all citizens of Basteti, following them would hopefully help to make him blend in.
Biting his pink lips, Evan grabs his phone and calls up Cole, who had left him yesterday without any word, along with Osser. The phone rang twice before a giggly 'hello' came from the device. "Cole! Hey, what are you doing right now?" Evan starts off, trying to make sure tomorrow didn't somehow leave them on the wrong foot per say.
"Evvy!~ My prince! Well, right now i'm with Osser. We're eating lunch together at the Meow Cafe off campus." Evan can hear the excitement in Cole's voice, as the male somewhat brags about his day. Evan sighs as he realizes his friend probably won't join him for the day and cuts the male off right as he talks about his favorite fairy kitty from the cafe. Yes, fairy kitty. Weird creatures that Evan has avoided on instinct and never wants to come across.
"I was planning to invite you to join me for the last day of the festival but, as you're with Osser, I doubt you'll come. I hope your hangout with Osser goes well." Evan gently states, hoping that maybe tomorrow they'd all meet up. "Sorry Evvy!~ We can get lunch tomorrow after classes." Evan can almost hear a sad smile text through Cole's voice and chuckles a bit, before saying goodbye and hanging up.
He walks towards the Astoria section, hoping someone will have even more information about the riots. Evan knew he could have gone to Mr. Holland but he feared the male's response, considering how much more sensitive he would be towards the topic.
Upon arrival, Evan was, safe to say, disappointed. Compared to the other hallways/booths he has visited thus far, Astoria's section feels fairly bland. Most of the booths have intriguing inventions but, the entire atmosphere feels well..boring. 'Odd', he thinks to himself. He isn't sure if maybe seeing the other sections first soured his first impression for Astoria's section.
Either way, Evan begins his hunt for information as he doesn't need any historical book for the continent. He read one on the plane already and found out how disgustingly biased it was. It seemed as though humans didn't change, no matter the circumstances. Discrimination existed everywhere and Soe was probably the safest place for those other races/species who wanted to attend schooling with any human attendees.
Evan finally found himself in front of a booth that sold tiny pins, something he didn't believe he would ever find himself attracted too. They were infused with a magic of sorts as every single pin glowed in different colors, some even alternating between colors. He found himself attracted to a pin that had a little demon on it. It was just..so cute. Evan wasn't one for cute items but something in him screamed that he NEEDED to buy it. Before he even realized what he was doing, Evan held the purchased glowing purple pin in his hand.
He really needed to stop spending money but he just couldn't help himself. In his old life, he often bought items representing his home and his college, so this truly wasn't any different. Clutching the pin in his left hand, Evan placed it onto his uniform before leaving the area, wanting to be free of the bland atmosphere.
He instead found himself trailing along the freshmen building, where nothing was really happening. He still wanted to visit smaller booths outside the main building, which were run by those from the surrounding city, so for now, Evan sat inside an empty classroom.
The pin on his chest glowed brightly, lighting up the fairly dark classroom. His mind was blank as he let his thoughts flow freely. Evan didn't often have a cool-down time of sorts and even with the festival, he kept exploring rather than giving himself time to just rest.
He stared up at the ceiling, which glowed purple. Evan began making shadow puppets to pass the time, finding joy in the simplest of things. Little wolfs and spiders filled the ceiling as Evan remained blissfully ignorant to the world around him for the time being.
Had he been paying any attention, he would have noticed the eyes following him.