Chapter One - PART ONE: WONDERHEART INSTITUTE
PART 1: WONDERHEART INSTITUTE
~CHAPTER 1~
One year later...
Stormlash sighed and tucked in his wings. I should probably go find my seminar, he thought. Stormlash's fur felt heavy; it was as though someone had rolled huge boulders onto his feathered wings and had tied him the ground. Stormlash felt himself dig his claws into the scorching sand of Denial. Yet as he stepped forward, he couldn't stop himself from throwing the desperate look of 'SMS! Save my soul!' towards his parents.
Serein smiled and waved, as though telling him to get a move on with his life and accept reality. Cyclone only nodded, then gestured towards Serein, telling his mate that he had other things to do and that they couldn't just stand there in the sand, waving goodbye to their son. Then, in a blitz of light, his parents had vanished, leaving Stormlash alone on a foreign planet, in front of a foreign academy.
"Hello there!" a cheerful golden griffin greeted him, smiling. "My name's Jasper! What's yours?"
"Stormlash," he responded. "But, uh, you can call me Storm... A lot of my friends do."
"Hmm.... interesting name.. I like your eyes!" She likes my eyes? Huh. Okay, I'll take it. "Anyways... Stormlash... hrmm.." Jasper ran a claw down the papyrus scroll. Her eyes lit up again. "Beautiful! Stormlash, your dormitory is down the hall, up the stairs to the left, sixth cave on the right."
Stormlash, who had not taken in a word of anything she just said, looked at her blankly. Jasper must have mistaken his expression for not one of a griffin who had not been paying attention, but for one of a griffin who was thoroughly confused of these instructions. "Oh," she giggled. And General Thunderstorm went here? He wants me to go here? I thought the Instituti of Aurum Cornu didn't have giggling griffins around every corner. She looks like the kind of griffin who had too much Pink Water. "Sorry! Here's a map and all the seminars listed! I'm sure you'll find your way to the meeting cave - and if you don't, then the map has a labelled section where your rooms are listed and how to get there!"
"What if I'm still confused?" inquired Stormlash, trying to see if she was actually as stupid as she looked. "Who would I ask for help?"
"You can always ask me, of course, but there are griffins scattered all over the place!" She replied brightly, her smile stretching across so wide, showing off those sharp teeth. "Oh, and I forgot to mention, we currently have dragons attending this school! So don't be surprised if you them lurking in the corner or something!" Jasper didn't seem to see that allowing scaly, fire-breathing monsters to come to a school where there more vulnerable creatures was a bad idea nor would it cause the staff a problem.
"Say... what...?" Stormlash felt sick. "Why do you have dragons attending your school? I thought this was a griffin-only academy!"
"Hey!" a voice barked from the back. "Get a move on, cloud-brain! The rest of us are waiting!"
"Just a minute!" called Jasper cheerfully. She shifted her gaze so it was back on Stormlash once again. "Sorry about that.. anyways, we don't like to discriminate. Besides, the dragons that go here have their own part of the school, so you won't have to worry about getting burned by their fire."
Yeah right, thought Stormlash. "Ah, um, yeah... I should probably get going." However eager as he was to end this conversation with the strange griffin who had complimented his eyes, Stormlash remembered that he was supposed to thank her for all of her help. It was only proper to do so. "Thanks!" he called over his shoulder, then ducked his head, face burning as he sprinted up the stairs in his haste to get away.
Stormlash came to a stop at the hallway. Wooden lockers lined the walls, coming to a stop before each door, which had a silky curtain of bird feathers, some with many different colors, some with just a solid color, which Stormlash could only assume led to each dormitory. Deciding to wander around each hallway, Stormlash went with this idea and turned around a corner. But just as he rounded that corner, he collided with another griffin.
This griffin's fur was sleek and pitch black, like polished obsidian. By her eyes were silver diamonds, her underbelly a dark grey. Her wings too were black, but the feathers were sparkly, like a night sky, almost like a nebula, sparks of red and orange, greens, purples, and blues, all blending together on a backdrop ebony black.
"S-Sorry!" she started backwards, cowering underneath him. "I-I didn't m-mean to.. sorry, I'll be more careful..." her voice trailed off.
"It's fine.." said Stormlash, edging away from her. Maybe I could make a new friend..? "I'm Stormlash," he added hastily. "But if you want, you could call me Storm. I honestly don't mind. Uh... oh yeah! What's your name?"
The black griffin rose to her paws hesitantly. "I'm Bubbledreamer. Er... I guess you could call me Bubble.. though there aren't a whole lot of griffins who could get away with it."
"Would I be one of those 'whole lot of griffins' who does get away with calling you Bubble?" Stormlash grinned.
"It depends." Bubbledreamer smiled back. "So Storm, what seminar are you in? I'm in the Moonstone Seminar. I didn't check the other names, but the Moonstone Seminar has Prince Anubis in it." The smile faded from her face.
Stormlash rolled out his scroll. "Huh, I'm in the Moonstone Seminar too, along with Blizzard, Scorpion, Jellyfish, Cliff, Anubis, Glow, and you."
"We're in the same winglet! Wait a minute... did you mention Glow?" Bubble's face lit up. Stormlash was reminded heavily of Jasper. "Oh my stars, I know her! She and I are friends! And we're in the same winglet! All three of us! We can be friends! And hang out everyday! YAY!"
Bubbledreamer bounced ahead. "Come on, slowpoke! Let's go find Glow!" Does she literally glow? Stormlash wondered. As they walked, they burst out into conversation, asking where they came from, what means of travel they used, favorite color, favorite food, and what they liked to do in their free time.
Suddenly, a piercing cold swept over Stormlash, as though someone had opened a door in Astrypso, sending frigid air through his fur, sinking into his skin and chilling him down to the bone.
Stormlash squinted up at the haughty face of a cryokinetic griffin. "Out of my way, minor. Can't you see royalty coming through?" The griffin himself was wearing a mask that demanded respect.
"If you think I'm going to bow down to you, Mr. Cool-Guy Ice-Breath, then you are horribly mistaken. Also, I am not a minor. If you must know, I am from Astrypso and was part of a Weather Patrol." Stormlash lifted his snout to look at the disdainful ice griffin. Bubbledreamer was looking from the griffin to Stormlash, and then back again, as though she didn't know what to think about them. She was clearly confused, yet looking at the other griffin with a mix of fear and disbelief. "Move, you filthy creature," barked the griffin to Bubbledreamer.
Stormlash hissed. "Don't talk to Bubbledreamer that way. I don't know who you think you are, but just because you're some kind of prince or whatever, does NOT give you the authority to be a drunk hippo about everything and be rude to everyone you meet."
Bubbledreamer winced, and brushed her claws against his forearm. "Let's go," was all she said, looking as though her only desire was to run away and die.
Stormlash glared at the other griffin, whose fur was an icy-bluish lavender, with an almost reflective quality to them. Stormlash, was feeling quite resentful towards the rude cryokinetic griffin and he wanted to turn around and walk away with Bubbledreamer, but he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't tear himself away from the griffin's eyes.
His eyes, at first notice, seemed a dark blue, like most Astrypso eyes, but when he looked deeper, he could see streaks of green and purple, like an aurora borealis across an arctic night sky. His face was a contorted mix of an aloof scowl and a forced smirk, as though he were trying to look regal and imposing, but was actually an avalanche of mixed emotion and thoughts about himself inside.
Then, without warning, the griffin whipped around and stalked down the corridor, tail raised, wings tucked close to his body. Stormlash let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Stormlash and Bubbledreamer stayed back, watching the glittering griffin strut down the hall for a few moments, before they turned away as well, and rounded another corner. "I thought you'd never ask," growled Stormlash as they continued walking. "Honestly, the nerve of him! Who does he think he is? Just because he looks like some glitzy peacock, doesn't mean he can call us minors and insult you like that. Also.. why didn't you stand up for yourself? I'll bet you're way tougher than him, if you tried."
"Y-Yeah.." she ducked her head, ears drooping. She lifted her snout mournfully at a tapestry as they passed, the breeze following after them and lifting the tapestry so it was flowing around in the aftermath of their fast-paced walk. "I-I don't know why I didn't put him back in his place... I guess it's because I.. don't know how.. and I don't want to start something.." she trailed off, as her eyes lit up with tears. "I.. just thought that if.. if I stayed quiet.. t-to show that I didn't want to fight back... he would've been n-nicer.."
"Oh... I.. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." Stormlash felt the guilt tsunami wash over him, drowning him in cold anger and remorse. Stormlash remembered how only a few moments ago, she'd been so happy to talk about that griffin. Ugh, what was her name? Come on, Stormlash! Think! After a few moments of digging through his brain, a name finally surfaced, clear as the sun on snow, with the same question from before. Oh. Right, her name's Glow. Wait. Does she actually glow? That would be funny. Stormlash amused himself with this, before he opened his mouth, and asked, "So... you were saying... about Glow-? Mind telling me about her?"
"You'll see," was Bubbledreamer's reply, as she led him through a room with delicate bird feathers draped over the doorway, like a colorful curtain of paradise.
. . .
Blizzard tucked in his tail, throwing a nasty look at the empty bed, where his roommate would undoubtedly occupy. I can't believe the way he talked to me, was the resentful thought circling around his mind. They really were minors though, after all, they weren't dignified royals, like him. Besides, if they were, they'd probably disgrace their kingdom. Blizzard scowled at the doorway, which had silver feathers hanging over the entrance. I'd better check the seminar list. Just to be prepared. Maybe I'll get grouped with other royals.
Whipping out the papyrus scroll, he scanned the seminars. There were so many different groups of different griffins, he finally found his own at the bottom-
MOONSTONE SEMINAR:
Ice: Blizzard
Earth (Type 1): Hippo
Shadow: Bubbledreamer
Air (Type 2): Glow
Earth (Type 2): Scorpion
Water (Type 1): Jellyfish
Air (Type 1): Cliff
Air (Type 3): Stormlash
Earth (Type 2): Anubis
For the first time that day, Blizzard felt a cold pulsing in his soul. Anubis, the Prince of Dark, the Prince of Rubriyturn, went here? This can't be happening. He felt sick to his stomach. Had the seminars been changed? I should have been nicer to those two griffins I met earlier.. maybe then this wouldn't have happened. Blizzard regretted eating that arctic cod before he'd arrived; he felt like he would throw up if he had to leave his bed.
Just as he scrambled off his bed and started towards the entrance to his dormitory, he collided with another griffin. The new griffin's fur was... strange. And different. And somehow... interesting?
Instead of any shade of boring red or any shade of boring orange, the griffin's fur seemed to be a mix of both, not entirely red, yet at the same time, not completely orange, either. His fur had hints of gold, like a sunset. Gold bands wrapped around his wings, which were the color of sandstone, with specks of a slightly darker brown scattered along the sand-colored feathers. His fur glinted in the sun, almost like Blizzard's own fur, but this griffin's fur seemed to fill the whole dormitory with a pleasant orangey-red light.
"Sorry," said the griffin in a pleasant tone. "I should watch where I'm going - this is like the third time I've collided with someone. My name's Cliffside, by the way, but I prefer to be called Cliff. What's yours?" Around his neck was a black leather necklace, with a teardrop-shaped gemstone, which looked like a fire opal.
The bottom half of the teardrop was more of an amber color, while the upper half was blending perfectly with the amber, going from black to golden-orange. But on top of that black and mixing slightly with the gold-orange to create a blue-purple color, was a beautiful gradient light blue to dark blue, waving and twisting around the fire opal like blue fire, in a similar pattern that an aurora borealis would sway.
Blizzard was so entranced by this necklace that he had not heard what Cliff said. Tearing his eyes away from the fire opal necklace, he looked up into Cliff's eyes, and was startled to see an iridescent greenish-blue-purple, like the colors of a peacock, with specks of black, like the brown specks on his wings. "My name's Cliff," repeated Cliff. "What's yours?"
"My name is Prince Blizzard." Didn't he look like royalty? Why was this griffin fraternizing with him so.. casually? Did he not look like a griffin who deserved respect?
"Nice to meet you, Prince Blizzard. Would you prefer I call you Prince, or Blizzard?" So Cliff was going to act smart with him? You think you're so funny don't you, thought Blizzard.
"I would prefer neither. You can call me Prince Blizzard." Although he didn't mean it, but it would be nice to always be addressed that way and being called 'Prince' all the time was a bit ludicrous.
"Okay, Blizzard," said Cliff, flashing a smile, that Blizzard almost returned, biting down on his tongue at the last moment, so he only provided a coy smirk in return. "Whoa, that's a nice wristband you've got there. How much was it? The price for my amulet was about 250 gold. I, myself, had to pay for mine, unfortunately. What about you?"
Blizzard looked down at the only piece of wealth he had decided to bring with him. "I received this when I was two years old.. I honestly have no idea how much it costed. Yours costed 250 gold? That's... interesting..."
His wristband, made of gold (though it had been drained of its color slightly, so it was more of a pale gold color), had three fire opals, that looked the same as the one on Cliff's necklace. The largest fire opal on his wristband, which was in the center, was surrounded by an intricate pattern, that looked almost like a spider's web.
On the outside of the circle encasing the opal were two golden butterflies, slightly smaller than the opal, about a third of its size. Four golden feathers, painstakingly carved with serrated claws, no doubt, were coming outwards. Where the two feathers began and formed a 'V' formation, lay one opal on one side, and at the other side, lay the other opal.
"You got that when you were two years old? Lucky!" Cliff grinned. "Oh, and hey, do you know who our other roommates are? Because it can't be just us, right? But I've already checked the seminar list and asked Jasper, and she was literally no help. At all."
"Jasper?" Blizzard inquired. "You mean that crazy, irritating, griffin?"
"Yup.. hey do you think they serve Pink Water?" Cliff scratched the back of his furry head thoughtfully with a claw.
"What in the name of the Dark Prince is Pink Water? I've been hearing every griffin in this school talk about it, yet I'm the only one who has no idea what it is!" Blizzard scowled, lashing his tail.
"Pink Water is this drink that has these chemicals in it that make it bad for you, if you drink too much. I have a feeling Jasper drank too much and that's why she's so high." joked Cliff.
"I don't think she's drunk. I think she's just over excited." Blizzard rolled his eyes. "Anyway, are we just going to stand in the doorway, or should I move and let you through?"
"I'd prefer the latter of those options," said Cliff, still smiling. "Also, I've already asked you this, but, uh, do you know who our other roommates are and who's in our seminar?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," replied Blizzard, stepping back so Cliff could come inside. "Farstriker, Anubis, Hippo, and Stormlash are our roommates. And the griffins in our seminar happen to be Anubis, Hippo, Bubbledreamer, Stormlash, Glow, Scorpion, Jellyfish, and you."
"Huh.. seems interesting." Cliff muttered.
Blizzard didn't ask what he meant.
. . .
Jellyfish sliced a fish down in the Dining Hall thoughtfully. Hmm... I wonder who's in my seminar? It would be pretty awesome if Scorpion was in it. Though she did tell me something alarming. I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle!
Jellyfish paused to look at the static electricity running from the fish and spiraling up her claws then back down again. "Fascinating, isn't it," a low voice murmured in her ear. The speaker was a mahogany brown griffin and he laid his claws on her shoulders, a sly smile plastered across his face.
"Hilarious, scaring me half to death, Hippo," she replied, though she was smiling. "You sure like getting a laugh out of things, don't you?"
"Oh my darling, Jellyfish," said Hippo, a cheeky smile plastered across his warm copper brown face, "you know I like getting a laugh out of animate objects... and last I checked, you weren't just some 'thing'."
Jellyfish got off of the paralyzed tree stump and turned around to face him. "You think you're so funny don't you?"
Hippo chuckled. "I don't 'think' I'm funny, I know I'm funny. You just can't accept that, can you? Is it because you're so jelly?"
Jellyfish whacked him with her tail, sending an electric shock through her fur and his. "Don't call me Jelly. I'm not jelly... or jealous. At all. In fact, for your information, you sad, uninformed slob, my name, is Jellyfish."
"Sure thing, Jelly." The nickname, Jelly, seemed to have become Jellyfish's real name, as now Hippo would call her nothing but Jelly.
Jellyfish felt extremely tempted to poke his honey-colored underbelly, just to show him who was boss. "Oi! Scorpion! Get over here! I need you to back me up!"
Scorpion, her best friend, who was deep in conversation with another griffin, didn't hear her. "SCORPION!" Hippo and Jellyfish yelled at the same time. "GET! OVER! HERE! NOW!"
At their shouts, the marigold griffin turned her head slightly. "I'll talk to you later, Fen," she muttered to the griffin. The other griffin, who was a pretty red-brown smiled and turned, beginning to enter another conversation. She turned and walked towards them, coming to a stop at Jellyfish's table. "Hi Jellyfish. What's up, Hippo?"
"Jelly and I were having an interesting conversation-" Hippo began.
"Hippo and I were having an argument about my name," interrupted Jellyfish. Hippo looked highly affronted at being cut off. "He keeps calling me Jelly, when I've specifically told him that I prefer being called Jellyfish."
Scorpion lifted her gaze to Jellyfish's silver and purple eyes. The scarred water element griffin's different colored eyes were boring into hers. "I don't know anyone with the name Jellyfish," she informed her friend, looking away from Jellyfish, down at the black metal ring inset with an amethyst beetle that she wore. "Sorry, I don't know who you're talking about. If your looking for jelly fish, with a space in the middle of those two words, then maybe you should go over to those tables located over there and-"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" said Jellyfish, laughing. She whipped around to stare at Hippo. "If you would like, then go ahead and call me Jelly. I don't feel like arguing anymore."
"Yes!" shouted Hippo. "I knew I would win!"
"Nice work," Scorpion murmured.
"I wonder who's in our class.." Jellyfish's voice trailed off as she pulled the scroll from the table and looked it over. ".. Glow? Who's Glow?"
"What about Glow?"
"Hmm?" an unfamiliar voice inquired. "I thought someone called my name.."
All three of them looked up to see a stunningly beautiful griffin, who was glowing. Her fur was red, but whorls of rose pink went waving and twisting around her pale yellow underbelly as splashes of purple blended with the red. Her eyes were amazing, frost blue, with hints of darker blue around her pupils. Around her neck was a gorgeous rhinestone flower necklace and on her left paw was a gold wristband.
"Hello," said the glowing griffin. She smiled. "My name is Glow. What's yours?"
"I'm Jellyfish," Jellyfish responded.
"But you can call her Jelly," Hippo put in, ignoring the fur-burning glare Jellyfish threw him. When Glow turned to look at him, he flashed a charming smile that wasn't as dazzling as Glow's, yet still captured her attention. "I'm Hippo. Nice to meet you."
"He actually prefers to be called Hippopotamus, by the way," responded Jellyfish, "so you can address him by that from now on."
Hippo prodded Jellyfish with his claws, sending her into a fit of giggles. "You'll have to excuse those two, they've got it in for each other," whispered Scorpion. Hippo was scowling at Scorpion, and Jellyfish stopped laughing, turned up her snout and looked away. "I'm Scorpion," she added.
"Oh... my gosh. Scorpion! I cannot just even!" Jellyfish glared at her. Edging away Hippo, trying to look disgusted to even be near him, she added, "And eww... it's Hippo... disgusting... but Scorpion! I just cannot even with you!"
"Can you odd?" asked Hippo and Scorpion. It sounded as though they had rehearsed this.
"NO!" As she stalked away, Hippo and Scorpion exchanged smirks.
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