Hexus: Neo

}21{ Growth

"I understand," Damilare said as he got up. "Thank you so much for your kind consideration. I'll do my best to make sure this never happens again. Thank you."

Dr Edvin hummed in response and Damilare thanked him once again before gesturing to the moody teenagers to get up and leave. He nodded appreciatively to the secretary as he walked past, and they moved quietly down the empty school corridors, pausing only for the girls to get their coats from their lockers, before making their way to the exits. Through the glass doors, he spotted Olutayo standing in the foyer, looking out at the snow-covered parking lot.  Damilare brushed past him and stepped into the biting cold, crunching through the snow as he stomped towards the car.

"So..." Olutayo started. "What ha-"

"Both of you better have a good explanation for what that was about," Damilare said as he turned towards the girls, barely bothering to hide the anger in his voice. "What part of 'keep a low profile' didn't you understand?"

Elisabeth scowled as she looked up from the ground to meet his eyes. "But she started-"

"I don't care whose fault it is!" Damilare screamed as his wings and tail ripped through his clothes. "What did she say that was so bad that you had to start fighting? Anything could have happened! You could have involved some innocent bystanders and turned it into something worse, like a police matter. You could have used magic and exposed yourselves! So don't you dare stand there and try to play some stupid blame game!"

Elisabeth took a step back, her eyes wide and frightened as Olutayo slowly stepped forward.

"Um, Pops," Olutayo said cautiously "You're-"

"What?" Damilare seethed as he turned towards the boy. He hadn't sensed any humans other than the ones within the school, so he wasn't at all concerned about being seen. Olutayo seemed hesitant to continue, and Damilare tried to calm himself, figuring that he probably looked like a wild animal on the brink of going berserk.

I definitely feel like one.

"You're bleeding," Folasade said softly.

Damilare looked down. There were dark red stains on his jeans and in the snow beside his feet. He winced as he opened his fists and retracted the claws that had grown out and stabbed into his palms. The puncture wounds closed quickly and he wiped the rest of the blood against his side pockets before reaching in for the keys.

"Get in," he said as he unlocked the doors, grunting as he forced his wings and tail to recede into his back. "And don't say anything else or get on my nerves until we get home. Adam really likes this car."

}-{

The children made themselves scarce as soon as they entered the house, much to Damilare's relief. Though he wasn't exactly experienced in the parenting department, he knew some sort of punishment had to be instituted, but he wasn't yet in the mood to deal with their indiscretions. He pushed the matter to the back of his mind and sighed as he released his wings and tail, following the sounds of conversation into the lounge.

"-now at a tactical disadvantage," Kojiro said grimly.

"Shit," Ecru muttered, drumming his fingers against the back of the couch close to Adam's shoulder. "Without Esoterica, we're basically just a group of uncoordinated fractions. This was obviously well calculated."

"You think?" Paula said snidely, rolling her eyes.

"What? What's going on?"

Damilare startled and turned. Adrianna had appeared in the doorway beside him, her gold-flecked hazel eyes glowing inquisitively. He hadn't heard her approach, which was odd. Paula groaned and threw her head back on the loveseat she was occupying.