Evan ended up leaving his spot by the fountain, making long strides towards the auditorium of sorts. Well, his long strides were more like penguin waddles because of his short legs. Anyways, the principal wanted to do a thank-you speech and speak about how the festival went overall.
One of the biggest reasons for the festival was to reinforce the idea of neutrality, peace, and how Soe is a safe-spot for all. If someone feels the need to discriminate against someone else, then they'll be severely punished. It's one of the reasons as to why Evan himself hasn't been talked down to by those from Astoria, though he has seen the occasional sneer or glare. Sometimes, it's hard to completely escape the discrimination, but with Cole and Osser by his side, no one has truly gone against him.
Evan however is still worried, because he isn't sure how long his bracelet will protect him against the other beastmen. His mother had said it would be enough, but there are rumors of the prince of Basteti having one of the best noses in the entire world. Evan has yet to cross paths with the prince, as he has been somewhat avoiding him. The fox-hybrid has seen the prince here and there, which often leads to him going the other way.
Evan eventually makes his way to the auditorium, noticing the small amount of students actually visible in the building. None of his friends are around, which is understandable. Cole and Osser are having some sort of hangout, while Yan is who knows where. He still hasn't completely wrapped his small head around her heritage. It's just crazy!
Principal Mies makes his way onto the stage, in another colorfully blinding suit. This time, it's an electric blue suit with flowers all over it and it's just..distracting. "MY CHILDREN! I am so pleased to announce another successful cultural festival! THIS YEAR WE HAVE RAISED PLENTY OF COINS FOR THE LOCALS! As many of you know, we do our best to support the locals as most of our beautiful home is self-sustaining. Thanks to all of you lovely students, we will have plenty of funds to hold our Ice Ball! Please look forward to that over the coming elements!" With his speech finished, the principal begins to rattle off stories from students who had interesting experiences during the event.
The most intriguing story, at least to Evan, was from the bald-headed blacksmith who had somehow managed to get sponsored by the kingdom in Oceanus. Through the book he skimmed through on Oceanus, many of the weapons used on the continent are light and airy in nature. The kingdom doesn't buy much of its weapons from Ophinx at all, instead using their magic to create beautiful weapons. He wonders if the student has the ability to create those weapons in the same capacity and quality of local Oceanus citizens.
Leaving the auditorium, Evan quickly remembers the principal mentioning something about an Ice ball and he's honestly interested. During his own high-school career, Evan never really went to any of the dances and only stayed at prom till the minimum amount of time as he didn't actually have a date. He did have his friends, but they all had dates so the event was just lonely. Now, however, he may actually be able to get a date!
Thing is, Evan believes a lot of the female population finds him cute..and he isn't entirely comfortable with being with a female anyways. He might ask Yan because the two have a sense of mutual trust. Maybe if he ever met that one guy again, he could force him onto a date as compensation for the harassment against him. It isn't because he's into guys or anything, the guy just owes him!
Unaware of the small blush on his face, Evan quickly walks back to his dorm with the intention of flopping onto his bed. The last 3 days have felt tiring, despite not really doing much. His bed is calling to him, almost singing. As he opens the door to his dorm, Evan almost falls back in surprise. The little crystal he purchased yesterday has grown exponentially, almost the size of a potted plant.
Slowly walking over to it, Evan hesitantly touches the crystal, wanting to know how it grew so much. It was a tiny little nothing yesterday! Now, it's just massive.
As soon as his hand makes contact with the even larger, the entire room is basked in a golden glow. Evan quickly covers his eyes, unwilling to be blinded by something out of his control. It takes a few minutes for the glow to fade away, but Evan still hasn't uncovered his eyes, fearing what could've happened.
His ears pop out into existence, trying to hear for the slightest noise, fearing an intruder. Despite the world being magical, he had yet to hear of such a phenomenon happening. Though, he won't cross it off the board yet.
Slowly, his hands come down from his face, eyes still shut. As he opens up his eyes, he finds that nothing has changed, allowing confusion to fill his features. Looking around the room, Evan notices how the crystal has become tiny once again and he wonders why that happened. Eventually, the male can't find anything that has changed, so he sits down onto the bed and grabs the crystal.
As he sits down, something feels..off. Quickly standing back up, Evan pats down his bed, trying to find where the off spot is. However, he comes up with nothing. Baffled, Evan tries to think about what he could have possibly felt.
He sits down again, once again feeling something off. Sighing, Evan places his face in his hands, just wanting to sleep by this point. His tails slowly wrap around him as a means of bringing comfort and suddenly, it clicks!
Tails! He should only have 1 tail! Quickly grabbing his tail, he finds another, casually swaying along. Horrified, Evan wonders what the actual @#$& is going on. How can a crystal give him an entirely new tail?!?
Evan lays on his bed, wondering once again when he will catch a break.