Authors note: This is a new fic I'm working on. Its basically the adventures of a bunch of changelings going through high school. This is a traumatic time for the best of us, and a lot more of who we are is forged in high school than most of us would like to admit.

So what must it be like for a person who literally lives in two worlds?

This story will chronicle a few of the adventures of a band of young changelings, their loves losses and humiliations. This first chapter will just be setting the stage and introducing the characters. Each chapter will include the biography of one of the main players.

Oh and FYI I'm using the Troll's revised rules – a fan alteration- which can be found at the Traitors Gate site (I think)

Attica. Devils Island. Chiangi. Littleton County High School. Loretta Zimmerman would have been happy if her life had led her clear of any of those places. As it was, she supposed she was lucky to be at Littleton. After all, the food was better and virtually no one was ever shot. On the other hand, convicts didn't have to deal with history class…

Thank Tyr its over for another day she thought. Most students disliked classes, but its particularly tough to sit still for an hour, listening to old mrs. Broadie drone on and on about the middle ages when you're a troll. Her parents told a very different side of the Viking era (based on their Past Lives), and so Loretta found Old 'Battleaxe' Broadie's explanations a bit one sided. Not to mention the fact that the girls behind her were constantly whispering 'Lesbo,Lesbo' when they thought she couldn't hear.

That really wasn't fair. Loretta had been open about her boyfriend, and they had been seen (or rather caught) making out in the halls. The whole 'lesbian' thing was down to her height, her muscular (yet feminine she reminded herself) build, her close cut hair (athletes couldn't afford to have it blowing in their faces, and neither could warriors) and her position as captain of the girl's track team and wrestling team. If she were even a little more like her boyfriend… she smiled grimly at what Jonathan would have done to those little skanks. She couldn't really picture it (she was far too gentle a person) but the general picture seemed to involve a heavy book, a slide rule and lots of screaming. Still, it was a nice thought to have as you left your last class of the day.

"What do you MEAN you don't have any money, you little FREAKS! I'M HUNGRY!"

Loretta sighed. "Speak of the devil and you can see that he's Johnny" she muttered as she hurried of to find her beloved, and stop whatever mayhem he was up to.

She turned a corner to be confronted with a familiar sight, at least to the pupils of Littleton. A wiry youth in a black leather jacket, blue jeans, and biker boots was currently terrorizing two smaller students, both of whom were dressed in pink dress shirts and Bermuda shorts with fedoras. Even the girl. At least that's what most people saw. What Loretta saw was quite different. The two victims were Pooka, one a cat-girl, the other a cross between boy and rabbit. She had blue hair white paws, and a long white tail. He had powerful long ears and an odd face, in which mouth and nose almost formed a snout. As for their assailant, he was still wearing the same clothes only now he was a snarling gray skinned monster, with immense flat teeth and wiry dreadlocks dyed bright red. Hardly every day fare, unless you were Kithain.

Oh, and a six-foot tall blue girl with horns is just business as usual? HAH! She thought before yelling "JOHNNY! Let Pixy and Felix go! I'LL give you some food"

Instantly Johnny's attention left the Pooka couple. This was both good and bad. Good, because they no longer had to be worried about being eaten. Bad, because he had forgotten to take his foot of her tail and to release his ear.

"Yeah? Some of those cookies ya made?"

Same old Johnny. His stomachs not the ONLY way to his heart, but it is the safest. Loretta nodded and kissed him on the cheek. Johnny grumbled amiably, something about not wanting her to do that in public, and then asked where the food was.

"In the club room, Johnny. You cant get out of seeing the others, you know that. Now get off the pooka, apologize, and lets go"

"What? Oh, yeah, sorry babe. Forgot about em." Johnny whirled around, causing Pixy to flinch "I'm so sorry for my terrible behavior" Perhaps it was some as-yet unknown Redcap Birthright, but Johnny could make even an apology sound like a death threat.

"Not at all. You behaved wonderfully" Pixy said

"Oh yes, wonderfully" Felix said.

"A true gentleman!" they chorused. This was, of course, a lie, but since Johnny hated all gentlemen, he didn't really mind.

The sign on the door said: Pagan Gothic Republican Fantasy Live Action Role-Playing Guild – Members Only.

It had been a truly Pooka idea to set up the club under that name. It was technically open to anyone, but since no Pagan Gothic Republican Fantasy Gamers attended Littleton, no one had ever asked to join. Thus, they had a small haven where they could escape both the Banality of the real world and the politics of the Dreaming. Which was exactly what they all needed. Plus, they could behave as they liked here and everyone would think it was just part of a game.

All the members were there. Aside from Johnny, Pixy, Felix, and Loretta (club President), there were six other changelings. First was Lars Olafsson, another Troll. There were Aristotle and Ophelia Mantarakis the Satyr twins. There was Pyotr Maradovska and Annabelle Proulx, the Sluagh. Finally, Mary Stickland, the boggan. Seating was informal, a wide circle with couples always sitting close together. That meant Loretta and Johnny (despite Lars glare), Pixy and Felix, and Pyotr and Annabelle all sat in their respective pairs.

"Well, this'll be brief" Loretta said "I just wanted to say: Welcome back. I hope we can have a good year together, with none of the…unpleasantness of last spring. Now, lets get to those cookies!"

End Introduction

Loretta Zimmerman

Age: 17

Height:

Seeming: 5'10

As a Troll: 6'

Weight:

Seeming: 145 Lbs

Troll: 175

Chrysalis: Age 7. A boy stole my friends trike and I stepped in to stop him. Next thing I know I'm blue and mother and father are telling me about the Dreaming.

Favorite Class: Gym. I'm a natural athlete and its good to keep in shape.

Least Favorite: History. Honestly, mother and father teach it better.

Loretta was born lucky. The child of two Trolls, she has had the support and guidance most Changelings lack. They have taught her since her Chrysalis, instructing her in the Troll philosophy and their view of history. She loves these lessons, so much so that her parents discontinued her homeschooling and placed her in High School "to keep her grounded in the Autumn World".

Loretta is a fair, kind and above all honest girl. She has only ever lied to her parents about one thing: Her boyfriend. As far as they know, no Redcaps attend Littleton. She has yet to work up the courage to let them know that there are 3 redcaps in town, all Unseelie, and she's dating one.

Her relationship with Johnny is a subject of much rumor among their Kithain friends. She loves Johnny for his courage, tenacity, and wit. She also finds his seeming quite attractive. Moreover, she has discovered a surprisingly keen mind beneath all the anger and hunger.

Her skills as a warrior have yet to be truly tested, of course, but she has skill with a magical shortsword called frost-biter.