Another week elapsed before their scheduled orientation day arrived.
"Rise and shine, boyos! It's school time!"
Both Rafe and Andre shot right up beside each other as the bed they both slept in next to each other jostled and swayed, their heads nearly colliding with one another.
"Hey!" Rafe barked at Beau, who stood at the end with a smug grin on his bearded face. His large hands didn't even look like they were moving as they lay atop the mattress to make it tremble.
Andre blew out a tired breath, eyes half-lidded as his leg bent back until his foot reached his head, his toes subconsciously scratching at his tousled, brown hair.
"Come on! Get those asses up 'cause it's orientation day!" the lycan rattled the bed again.
Rafe grabbed the pillow under him and tossed it at the older male. There was a slight whistling sound before it slapped Beau in the face, and the thing burst into tiny patches of stuffing. When it hunkered down to the floor, the lycan was still smiling playfully.
"Alright! Alright! I'm up!" the blond swept off the bed and snatched the pair of sweatpants laying on the wooden floor.
Andre, having slept with his clothes on, was slow to scramble, squinting out the window past Beau to the still-darkened skies. "But it's, like, six in the morning."
"Ironward waits for no one!" Beau was like a drill instructor screaming at his recruits, and it made both boys wince. "Now, up, you two!"
"You know, I could laser the shit out of you now," Rafe snarled as he passed by Beau to go to the bathroom.
It was a bluff. Even after training for two months, the superhuman wasn't able to produce the same results he did back at Graybite, much to his vexation.
As if knowing this, the lycan's smirk only got wider. "You can try, imp, but you should save that energy for Iron-"
"Yeah, yeah! Got it!" the bathroom door slammed, nearly sending Andre, who was sluggishly moving right behind him, to the ground and out cold.
Twenty minutes later, Rafe and Andre sauntered down the cabin steps, the former in a red flannel and black shorts and the latter in a navy sweatshirt and ripped jeans. Beau was leaning against the wall beside the staircase with his arms crossed like he was waiting for them, inspecting the two closely before nodding in approval.
"I'm sending in a complaint for child abuse just so you know," Rafe said as he walked past the lycan and toward the kitchen island, where Toby sat tapping away on his laptop while sipping his coffee.
Beau shrugged as he walked next to an amused Andre. "It got you up."
"Funny that," Toby spoke up even as he typed. "I just might, too. All that banging woke me up."
"Actually, it was the banging before that. I heard no complaints then."
The human brunette's face flushed red, his fingers slowing their paces down as he groaned and shook his head. "TMI, dude."
"See what I have to deal with?" Rafe turned to Andre as he unwrapped a made bowl of cereal.
The omé, along with Beau, prepared a plate of venison at the stove. A wave of nostalgia washed over him like a warm blanket at hearing his friend's complaint. "Kind of. It's not any different than dealing with a dozen other little kids. I'd do the same thing to them, too."
"For shame," Rafe shook his head.
"I called Bylo yesterday. I think he's having a bit of a power trip with his newfound job. I think the little scoundrels had the same reaction as you did."
"Oh, yeah. About that," the superhuman looked at Beau, his eyes hardening at the thought of the alpha. "Is that Renkin guy still keeping his word? I don't trust him to not secretly send in the dogs after them for his own amusement."
The kappa wolf, of course, spoke as he chewed. "Alpha Renkin is many things, but he isn't anything if not a man of his word. If you don't trust him, trust me."
Rafe exhaled and spun back to Andre, giving him a helpless shrug. "Well, it's as far as we can throw him, and he's definitely a heavy lard-ass, but we'll take it."
Beau growled at the blond, glaring at him as he addressed the omega, who was busy trying to conceal his chuckles with his food. Toby didn't even bother to hide his amusement, laughing aloud at the two.
"Don't let him corrupt you, cherub."
-POI-
Like any werewolf tribe, there were gatherings for many different events. Traditions included the lunar eclipse, where it is said that a new lupine god is born. Or the Supreme Initiation, where a new Alpha Supreme is selected for the nation.
However, the landing of an actual aircraft on their tribe soil was not on the calendar. Wolves did not have much to do with technology when magic was at their disposal. Still, it was a sight that inspired awe in mage-kind whenever advanced machinery was put to work before their eyes.
And right now, a crowd of the Radon tribe's citizens surrounded and ogled the sonic silver aircraft that sat right outside the edge of the woodlands. Its cockpit was sharp and pointed like a dagger, and the wings arched outward, giving it the resemblance of angel wings. Under the radiant sun, its surface gleamed so spectacularly that several individuals had to cover their eyes.
"Holy crap!" Andre gaped. "Is that… a spaceship!?"
The four were the center of the attention aside from the aircraft. With permission from the tribe's alpha, Toby was able to call in someone to deliver the jet via remote control. It's been a while since he had been in the driver's seat of one of these things.
"With a few upgrades in the near future, it will be. It's actually an old ride of mine, but it still works like it's fresh out of the factory," the Irons tapped the jet's metallic surface, his chest puffed up in pride.
"One of the first prototypes built by the Irons?" Rafe's silver eyes roamed.
Way back then, the Coat was originally known as the House of Copper, where the families focused on improving what already existed instead of inventing new concepts. Before cyborgs and robots, the Irons had an affinity for airplanes and fighter jets.
"Great grandpops was proud of this one," Toby dug out a small remote and pressed a green button at the top. "Boys! Meet the Alicorn!"
There was a metal whirring as a section of the side folded up. Then, a ramp shot out from the bottom, a spacious slope that allowed for entry.
"Come on! Let's go in it!" Andre, excited and jittery, did tiny hops on both his feet, gazing up at Toby eagerly as if waiting for the go-ahead to enter.
Rafe took a step back from his suddenly-hyper friend while Toby laughed and gestured toward the jet.
"Your chariot awaits."
The omé didn't waste another second, sprinting up the ramp and into the aircraft. Apparently, some members of the audience thought that meant they could get a ride as well, but Beau spun around and let out a deep growl at them. It had the desired effect, people flinching back as if an electric fence had been placed between the four and the rest of the world.
"No can do, guys! No free rides today! Back off!"
Some of the crowd dispersed after that, going back to their ordinary lives.
The Alicorn's interiors were just as shiny as the outside. Andre oohed and aahed at the mechanics and inner workings, not touching but marveling closely. Rafe had to smile a bit. It was always a joy seeing his sheltered friend react to the pleasantries of the outside world. Hearing those bright snickers and seeing that wide smile on the omega's face never failed to melt the ice around his heart.
"Sometimes, back at Graybite," Andre spoke, "I'd see one of those flying cars pass by in the air, and I always wondered what it was like to be in the sky. I don't think anymore fly above my tribe since Renkin got mad about it. Said they were trespassing on sacred territory."
The superhuman scoffed, not too happy at being reminded of Andre's shitty alpha. "So, he owns the air now? Why would he get all fussed up over that?"
Beau placed a hand on Rafe's shoulder and guided him to one of the red cushion passenger chairs in front. "It's not just Graybite. It's the Majestic Moon Monarch. They think they own everything under the moon."
"Man, Bylo's gonna poop his pants when he hears about this!" Andre giggled as he dumped himself in the seat on the left of the captain's chair, where Toby sat. "Hey! Think I can fly it?"
The Irons blinked in shocked horror before shaking his head, laughing nervously and waving the omé away. "Woah! Let's put the breaks on that idea, bud. How about you just sit back and watch instead?"
Beau laughed and buckled up on Toby's right.
Andre smirked and spun around to stare Rafe down in the seat behind him. "Raf. If you don't get me a spaceship for my birthday, you'll never see me again."
The superhuman shook his head. "So high maintenance."
-POI-
Throughout the hour of the ride toward their destination, Beau spoke of the Ash Lands, an archipelago consisting of over thirty rocky islands that sat tightly together. It was a home for magi, from metropolises to small towns inhabited by faeries from different courts, therians, and alien lifeforms. All of them living about a regular, mundane life since the Split. And Ironward was its protector, as the lycan addressed later.
"What the…?" Toby stared up at the darkened skies as he piloted the aircraft. "That's weird. Love? How long have we been flying for?"
Rafe and Andre's attention were drawn as well, gawking at the soot-colored clouds overhead. What appeared to be a thunderstorm was manifesting, the occasional flash of blue and, strangely, pink in the distance.
"Why.. is it nighttime? And storming?" Rafe asked in disbelief. "The sun was rising when we left."
Beau waved off their concerns, smirking in his seat. "Don't worry about all this. It's just a protection spell for the other islands. Say a missile comes soaring toward the school. One bolt of lightning should take care of that problem real quick."
"So, how come we're not being shot down?" questioned Andre.
"Because we got authorization beforehand."
Toby's lips pursed as he eyed his mate sternly. "That would have been nice to know fifty-five minutes ago, babe."
The kappa wolf just shrugged. "Nothing would have happened. The Ash Lands is a well-protected place. At least, from outsiders, that is. Anything that goes down here, stays down here. The weather will return to normal once we get to Ironward."
Rafe sighed, annoyed with the lycan's blasé attitude while simultaneously impressed with the magic on display. He really had no experience with the all-encompassing force of the magi, so anything better than this would be insane to him. And he had a feeling the rollercoaster ride was only just beginning.
"Give me a score on how crazy this all is from one to one hundred," the blond told his wolf friend.
The omé briefly lifted his shoulders, quite unmoved by the sight outside now. "Meh. It's a twenty. Twenty-five for me. I kinda live around magic, and it's not that much different from the tribes. Renkin gets witches to put up a barrier every now and then during pack conflicts."
Rafe snorted. "Let's see if that changes."
Ironward was located in the centermost island, or so Beau claimed. It was an educated assertion, seeing as how the storm clouds have receded completely upon flying over what was the largest piece of land they've seen in the archipelago so far. And the academy could have been mistaken for a city if it weren't for the emblem that was pasted and stylized right onto the tallest monolith there – a winged knight's helmet on a shield, which had the handles of swords atop and a crown between them. And under the helmet was a band that displayed the name of the school for all to see.
Ironward.
The coat has nothing on this, Rafe thought, feeling a bit smug that there was something anyone other than the Coat could do better.
Ironward was a series of gothic-styled buildings, structures fused with small mountains, the construction using its natural environment to complete its design. Andre was reminded of haunted castle ruins, but aside from being overly huge, probably taking up most of the island, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. From far back, it looked like the spooky relics of an enormous temple.
"Looks freaky, right?" Beau chuckled at the teens' gawping. "Get used to it for the next nine years."
"I don't think we've seen anything yet. We haven't even landed," Toby said. "Speaking of which, where do we park?"
The lycan got up and trudged next to his mate, taking over the steering wheel while the latter sat pack cautiously. He continued as he lowered the ship toward a sandy clearing near the monolith. "Oh, but they'll be enjoying this sight, too. We didn't see them because of the storm clouds, but there're a few floating islands above us. Choose the right classes and you'll be learning in the stratosphere."
Andre and Rafe turned to each other, their jaws hitting the floor.
"Fifty," the omé breathed out.
The parking lot was an expansive space of sand amidst forestry of three-pronged, cherry-red trees. There were only a few other vehicles in the vicinity, allowing Rafe and Andre to take in their surroundings as they stepped out of the Alicorn. They gazed at the odd foliage, spotting tiny, shadowed figures skittering across and behind the branches, chirping as they sped into hiding.
"Was there supposed to be a welcoming party, or…" Rafe drawled.
Beau cranked his thick neck. "It's a lot quieter than it should be this time around."
"And that's not normal-" Andre cut himself off when the sound of footfalls reached his ears and made them twitch.
The four spun in the direction of the monolith to find a long-legged man walking from a tunnel of the red trees. As he got closer, his features became more prominent.
"My apologies, friends," he spoke, his voice smooth like silk and modulated. "I would have stood at the entrance waiting for you, but there was a smudge on my suit. Didn't want you to think I grew up on a pig farm or something."
Beau lifted an amused brow. "Oh, excuses. Let me guess. It was about this big," his index finger and thumb gestured only a couple of centimeters of space.
"Technically, I live here. Representation is a twenty-four-seven job."
Rafe and Andre stood silent as they stared up at the over six feet, golden-haired man whose handsome face and bronze eyes seemed to glow even in the sun. The black of his formal wear contrasted greatly with the brightness his form appeared to emit, giving him a presence greater than his height.
"It has certainly been a while, Beau Watson," the man raised a hand, to which the lycan shook heartily.
"Hope you didn't miss me too much, Mr. Gylarcan."
"Didn't I already tell you to call me Jophery?"
"No way do I wanna feel as old as you," Beau chuckled, then indicated over to his mate. "This is my rich and lovely soulmate, Tobias Irons."
Toby appeared to be feeling the atmosphere around Mr. Gylarcan as well, a bit of a tremble in his arm when he shook the man's hand. "Um, hello."
"It's so wonderful to finally meet you," he beamed, teeth white and shiny. "As much as Beau here used to go on and rant about humans, you'd think it be karmic justice now that he's mated to one, eh?"
The joke relaxed the Irons a little. "I like to think that."
"My eternal punishment," the lycan snarked as he pecked his mate's cheek.
When those bronze orbs turned to the two teens, a chill went down Rafe's spine, and he couldn't tell if this guy could be trusted or not. But at the same time, that gaze he held seemed so… inviting. He heard Andre audibly gulp.
"And these two must be my newest disciples," Mr. Gylarcan quipped, reaching over to grab Rafe's right hand and Andre's left and shaking them both vigorously, making both boys wobble in place. "Welcome to Ironward. My name is Jophery Gylarcan, the academy headmaster. I hope to wow you guys into staying with us for the next nine years."
That didn't sound rehearsed at all, Rafe wanted to mutter over to Andre, but pursed his lips to keep the sarcastic comment from coming out. The omé's response was much more polite.
"W-We can't wait, Mr. Gylarcan, sir."
A gentle elbow tap brought the superhuman out of his reverie, slightly stammering out, "Uh, what he said. Sir."
Mr. Gylarcan snickered, the sound light and silvery, as he turned and led the group toward the tree tunnel. "Well, don't sound too excited. Allow me to be your guide. You guys are lucky my schedule's cleared up for today. Now, you get to go on the secret special edition of the tour."
"Lord knows I haven't seen the entirety of this school," Beau spoke wistfully.
"Legend has it nobody has. So, let's get you guys on a head start, shall we?"
Andre leaned toward Rafe and whispered in his ear, "Sixty."
-POI-
They have yet to step foot into the monolith, Mr. Gylarcan having led them down a different path, but it already felt like a whole other planet.
"Ironward has been in the game since 1698, starting as a small charter school for neglected and homeless magi after the Earth Split. It was actually more of a group home with a school on the side than anything else. We wanted to make this place a safe community to support those left behind, so we decided to invest more. Of course, we weren't going to shy away from business. From then on, it was like watering a plant…"
Their headmaster cheerfully monologued about the history of the academy as they went by dorm hallways, libraries, lecture halls, union centers, and much more. For such a humongous place, it wasn't bustling with people, only a couple of passersby eyeing the quartet briefly. Mr. Gylarcan took them to the Adam Society, which was the group of dormitories assigned to the first three years.
"You guys will be staying in one of these buildings for the next three years," the headmaster gestured to the trio of villas positioned some ways from each other to form a house triangle. "They all have the same interior structure, so we'll only have to go inside one of them."
"What are the other, uh, dorms called?" Andre asked.
"That would be the Lilith Society for the middle grades and the Eve Society for the upperclassmen. A little Genesis for ya there," he grinned cheekily before resuming to the villa on the right.
It was like stepping into a medieval castle. It was easy to tell that the stone construction had been recently refurbished for the new semester, but the great hall they found themselves in still had that ancient feel. For over several hundreds of years, an incalculable number of people have traipsed this building and so many more will after.
"I feel like royalty right now," Andre muttered, an amazed smile on his face.
Rafe hummed in agreement. "If this is what the freshmen houses look like, can you imagine the higher grades' places?"
"Probably mansions in the sky."
Up the wide staircase led them into a curving tunnel, small alcoves containing a door for each dorm room, every one of them numbered. They soon came upon a homey corner area, like a miniature living room, with a couple of half-crescent couches and a holographic screen acting as television in the front. At least, that was what it looked like based on the four slouching lumps who sat in the first row, all scar-faced, spiky-haired, and dagger eyes as the five passed by. Their cold glares seemed to be directed at the two younger teens the most even when Mr. Gylarcan waved in greeting.
"Gentlemen."
They ignored him, silent and scowling at Rafe and Andre. Annoyance bubbled up in the former's stomach as he took in each of them, sending a sharp glower their way. Much to his irritation, the one on the most far-right, a hefty, green-skinned fellow, starting smirking as if Rafe wasn't any threat to them, lips curled up to reveal sharp, yellowing teeth. He might have not been, but his first impression wasn't going to be him looking like a coward.
With soaring anger and confidence, Rafe slowed down his gait, raised his fist, and lifted a middle finger, pretending to spit at their feet as he walked. That wiped away their smug expressions real quick, and it was now the blond's turn to smile haughtily. The ogre snarled something unintelligible before shooting up out of his seat, but the guy next to him, a dark-skinned humanoid, slammed a hand on his ugly oaf of a friend's bulging shoulder and sat him down.
Apparently, Andre had been watching, for the omé quickly pushed Rafe's arm down and exclaimed, "Dude!" in a quiet hiss. Then, he silently offered a "Sorry!" to the surly guys before hurrying the both of them along.
The superhuman rolled his silver eyes, wanting to grumble something rude at the omega. Out of the corner of his eye, Andre was giving him an exasperated, expectant look, one demanding him to explain his reasoning.
"They were looking at us funny!" Rafe sneered. "Did you see that big one with the hideous shade of green? He was about to scrap with us."
The omé shook his head in disapproval. "I don't think anybody would like having a middle finger thrown at them."
"Then maybe they should keep their eyes to themselves. If we're going here, and Beau's right about the place, then we can't look like scared, little bitches our first day."
Andre sighed but chose not to respond, opting to just let it go. He'll talk Rafe out of his uncouth ways at a later date.
-POI-
Over an hour and a half later of classrooms, dorms, and Beau whistling on like an old man reminiscing about "back in his days", the five strolled into Dalhia Diner, a favorite eatery amongst the student body and some of the island natives, or so Mr. Gylarcan proclaims. Music reached their ears, the beat reverberating throughout the practically empty venue. In the corner was a bar counter, stools lined up before shelves of alcoholic beverages, and nearby was a stage, used for stand-up and live musical performances. The few people that were present paid no mind to the quartet that entered.
"Half-time show!" Mr. Gylarcan exclaimed gleefully as he clapped, facing the four with an odd smile. "I bet you guys are famished right about now! I know at least two of you are."
"Well, I hope you've prepared for an army because it's been over three hours since lunch and my belly is about to start feeding on itself," Beau rubbed his stomach.
"Can't let that happen. Not many seem to remember the Great Drought of the Dalhia Diner, but I do."
The two joked and laughed like old friends while Toby, Rafe, and Andre could only watch and try to interpret the inside jokes. Toby and Andre occasionally joined in the amusement, but Rafe just groaned and rolled his eyes.
"How're you two holding up?" their guide directed his attention to the two teens, who were huddled behind the adults. "We're fifty percent of the way done, so if you don't' think you can take much more, I'm happy to settle the rest of this for a later day."
Rafe immediately dismissed the excuse with a wave, stating, "Nah. We're good," at the same time Andre shook his head and responded, "It's all good."
Another piercing clap resounded as his grin got wider. "Great! Let's get some energy in you guys. You all will love what we have here."
"Seventy-five," Andre murmured to his friend as they followed the headmaster to a table near the bar counter. "This place is insane."
Rafe eyed the omé, slightly put off. "I thought you were going to say something about our weird-ass principal."
"Oh, him? Hm, no. He actually seems pretty cool to me."
"Of course, you would think that."
The table where they sat happened to be behind some other kid in a white shirt, jeans, and flip-flops seated at the bar counter. To be honest, Rafe couldn't tell if it was a kid by judging based on his backside, but the black wings hairstyle, short stature, and tan, skinny arms were tell-tale signs of youth. However, Mr. Gylarcan appeared to instantly know who it was despite the person not facing their way.
"Ah! Mr. Ogrikalis! I see you've stepped out of your nest for some grub. Not even you can resist an Ironward delight, can you, son?"
The boy turned around, his mouth turned down in an annoyed scowl. His skin was tawny, not as dark as Andre's. With a faint, permanent blush on his cheeks and violet eyes, he could be described as "adorable." Though, when the headmaster just snickered, his frown deepened before swinging back around to his nearly empty plate of some kind of bread and a cup of a blue glowing liquid.
"Ooh!" the next clap made both Rafe and Andre wince. "This looks like a good opportunity to blossom new friendships! I've always had a keen eye on who clicks with who and all that."
"You sure about that?" the boy grumbled, picking at the dark bread that has yet to be eaten with his fork.
"One hundred percent positive. Bones, meet Raphe Gold and Andre Watson-Irons. Raphe and Andre, this is Bones Ogrikalis."
Andre was momentarily stunned before spinning to Beau and Toby, who both winked at him knowingly. The omé suddenly felt like crying. All his life, he's never had a last name, having been born an omega. Now, not only does he have one, but Rafe's foster parents had given him their names. He always figured he was intruding when, really, he was always a part of the family.
"He's camping out here until the semester begins," Mr. Gylarcan continued, "but I believe you're all starting freshman year, so you'll be seeing each other a lot."
"Hey, there!" Andre waved, his joy bringing his excitement up a notch. "I'm Andre. This is Raphe."
Bones snorted, glancing at the two teens flippantly. "So I've heard a second ago."
Rafe glared heatedly at the other boy's back, wishing he could laser respect into him. He didn't know what Mr. Gylarcan was expecting, but there was no way he was going to make friends with this jerk. Andre either didn't recognize their future fellow classmate's surliness or didn't care, chuckling as if he made a funny one-liner. That was to be expected. He was friends with another certain prickly boy.
"Ogrikalis," Beau rolled his tongue around the word as if testing out how it would sound in his deep voice. "That's a real unique last name you got there, Bones. Sounds mystical."
Toby shrugged. "I like it."
Bones gave them a dry look before shaking his head. He stuffed the rest of the bread in his mouth, washed it down with whatever the blue drink was, and hopped off the stool. "You're too kind."
Mr. Gylarcan smiled as the violet-eyed kid brusquely sauntered away toward another table, this one reserved for dirty dishes and cups.
"I'm sure you guys will have plenty of time to mingle some more next-"
The doors to the diner abruptly burst open as two large, blurry masses surged inside midair, knocking down the tables in their way and cracking the hardwood floor as they barreled toward a startled Bones.