Return of the Titans

CHAPTER TEN

So, rule of thumb: don't be late for class in a mystical school. Your teacher may be a flying bird woman.

And I'm not exaggerating by that. I opened the door of the room Doc had told me to go to, and the first thing I saw was a woman flying above the heads of sitting children. I had heard bits of the discussion while heading toward the door: something about bird men and the Black Plague. She was in mid-sentence of explaining the importance of hygiene when I walked in.

Missus Craven wasn't an ugly woman. Her face seemed young, no older than in her mid-twenties. Her brunette hair had been balled up into a bun, kept together with literal twigs, although a few strands spilled to stream down the sides of her face. From the two open windows, her ashen gray feathers were dappled with sunlight.

When I entered, the woman was hovering over the head of a young satyr. He wasn't paying much attention and was gnawing the rubber off of his eraser. When the door opened, she turned to fix me with a pair of dark golden eyes.

"May I help you?" she asked, oblivious to the fact that she was half pigeon.

I stayed at the door's entrance, in case I needed to make a run for it. Students eager to pay attention to anything other than their curriculum joined forces to stare at me.

I shifted my feet uneasily, grip clammy on the doorknob. "Uh, Doc -- Headmaster said I could come here."

"Oh?" The woman left her place above her student's head to return to her desk. She then perched herself on the outstretched limb of a potted plant that sat beside a fat stack of papers that awaited grading. With a wing, she motioned toward the sea of seats. "Well, then, have a seat."

I murmured a "thank you" as the rest of me slipped into the room. I kept my gaze on the ground, trying my best not to trip over exposed hooves, nor get electrocuted by trigger-friendly storm spirit trainees. I found a vacant desk that wasn't too far in the back, but also wasn't too much in the front. I didn't want to bring attention to myself. Primal instincts kicked in as I took my seat and sank into its chair.

Missus Craven cleared her throat. "So, Miss...?"

"Frankie," I said. "Frankie Taton, ma'am."

"No full name?" she asked.

I shook my head, leg thumping against the floor faster than the speed of light. "Just Frankie."

"Frankie." She said it like it was two syllables: Fran-kie. Liking how it rolled out of her beak, she asked, "You're a new recruit, yes?"

I nodded. "Yes, ma'am." I hoped my unease didn't show in my us of formal words. But it wasn't my fault. Again, my instincts kicked in when I was nervous. I was trying my best to keep myself in the background as much as possible. I just wanted to get back to Doc as soon as possible. It felt good knowing that he hadn't given up on me.

"It's been a while since we've had a new student grace these halls. A little bit too long, I would say." Missus Craven's feathers raised themselves as a shiver passed through her small body. Flustered, she briskly began to preen them, starting with under her wing.

A chair creaked from behind me and someone whispered, "Howdy, youngblood."

I gasped. Jay. I whirled around to see his grinning face, mentally stabbing myself to stay in my chair. "What are you doing here?" Relief rushed through me as I put two-and-two together. Doc must have saw me protect Jay earlier. He must have thought that I wanted to stick around with him for a while. I made a mental note to thank the man the next time I saw him.

"It's homeroom, duh," Jay lightly teased. "My first unofficial class, and if you ask me, my favorite. Miss Craven lets us eat snacks as long as we're not too loud."