The two girls had their faces in the same shade of shocked. They looked like the kind of twins from interracial couples that got the same face just a different set of other features. They were the same height, same curvy body type, same full lips, and the same large eyes. From what she could tell their differences were only superficial. One girl's skin was tawny with pink undertones while the other was terra-cotta with coral. They both had wavy long hair though one's was blonde like sunbeams and the other's was black like the growing night sky. Blue eyes, brown eyes, and other things in between worked them out into different people but that didn't change what they were doing.

Each girl was staring at Thisbe as if she had walked out of a nightmare.

"Name's Thisbe," she tried to smile but her face was twisted in confusion as she glanced around and watched every girl in the room slowly stop what they were doing to focus on her. "I've got to go."

She walked around the couple and heard their hurried whispers to one another, "Is that Zoey's new roommate?"

"Jeez, what the hell is happening here?"

"How is that possible?"

"Where's Queen Damien when you need him?"

"Stevie Rae would be mad at us for just staring at her like that."

Be opened the door and slipped out of the room, deeply annoyed by the fact that everyone that had been silent began to speak once they were sure she had left. She didn't want to hold it against anyone though. Yes, it was a big deal. Suddenly in the world the first filled-in-Mark fledgling had arrived and it was obvious she had been doing something right because of the fancy additions. Thisbe could only assume she had been doing some great and crazy shit so how could the rest of school not be surprised?

Don't take the stares personal, Zoey had said.

I never do, Thisbe responded.

"You!"

Nearly out of her skin she jumped at the sound of the voice on her shoulder and the sudden grasp around her waist. She pulled away harshly and turned with the intention of hitting who ever had grasped her but the sight behind her made her freeze. It was a tall woman—more like girl since her youthful glow gave off the appearance that she was no older than fifteen—that had a smile beyond belief. Her skin was beautiful sepia that held all colors of rose and gold at her smiling cheeks. Her tattoos spread across her forehead and down her temples like beautiful brushstrokes flowing in swirls. She had long black locs that fell down to her waist and bright amber eyes that glowed like the sun. She wore a cute little white dress with a blue peter pan collar and the symbol for Nyx right over her heart.

She was beautiful with gleaming white teeth and she was aiming every ounce of her happiness right in Thisbe's direction. She didn't have to be introduced to know exactly who she was. The woman opened her arms and wrapped Thisbe in them once more as she excitedly shouted, "I'm your Mentor!"

"Hey, hey!" Be responded, patting the woman's back lightly as she tried to pull away, "Uh, nice to meet you, Kehinde! But I'm not much of a hugger."

"Oh. Sorry," she blushed as she pulled back and dropped her hands as she put on the appearance of a super elegant adult vampyre while stating, "I am Professor Kehinde. Your new Mentor."

Thisbe let out a small chuckled as she watched the gleam in her eyes grow crazier and crazier, "Alright, you can go back to normal."

"Awesome!" She grinned as her shoulders relaxed into her normal stance and began leading her away, "If I can be honest you're my first protégé. I've been teaching for five years but you're the first one that Nyx has blessed me with and I really can't stop myself from being so excited!"

"Well, I appreciate your excitement…and everything you've done for me already. The room is hella dope," Be nodded, following the woman down the crowding hallway.

"Thank you. I wasn't sure if you'd actually like it. My affinity doesn't always make everything clear," she frowned slightly as she gazed downward.

"Uh, affinity?" Thisbe questioned.

It seemed then Kehinde brightened up from what ever strange thought she had procured earlier and instead took to enjoying the fact she would be helping Thisbe with her first question, "An affinity is a goddess given gift that is beyond talent or natural ability. Often it is something we never thought we could do in our human lives and it is only after we have been Marked that the goddess allows these truly remarkable gifts to unfold."

"So some people could have more than one?" Be continued, her brows furrowed in focus as the woman lead her out of the building and out to the night air that was colder than she remembered.

"Yes. The new leader of the dark daughters has the affinity to control the five elements where as the old leader had the affinity of seeing visions of the future. Neferet, our High Priestess, has an affinity for communicating with our feline friends and another that allows her to speed up the natural healing process of humans, vampyres, and other creatures alike," she smiled as she explained.

Thisbe looked around to the beautiful walking paths and the other buildings that made up the entire school. A large brick wall surrounded the entire estate, separating the school so that it seemed like its own little world. A large statue in the middle was of a woman with her hands raised toward the moon and Be recalled vaguely that it looked much like Nyx that she had seen in the cave and somehow felt that she was correct without asking. Be shook her head and continued with the conversation, "What's your affinity?"

"Oh me?" Kehinde blushed, "I have an affinity for art which is how I was able to know you were coming and who you were and what you might like. Through Nyx I can use any medium to create lovely pieces and sometimes these pieces allow me to predict the future, see what's coming, or who is coming next. It doesn't happen often so I haven't discussed with anyone how some of these things come true. Nyx sometimes works through dreams so when people ask I tell them I find out things that way."

"Why are you telling me this big secret?" Thisbe wondered aloud, watching the woman instead of the beauty that surrounded her.

It was then that the joy that naturally sprang from Kehinde dimmed and the seriousness of her expression added years to her face that could not be understood, "I just have a feeling that strange things are coming. I guess I just want us to have a strong bond before everything get's taken away."

"Whoa," Be shook her head as she tried to get through the waves of TV drama crashing against her from her Mentor's words, "Shit, what does that all mean?"

Kehinde chuckled, "It means I'm getting way ahead of myself like I always do. Come on, class begins soon."

"Shouldn't I get my schedule?"

"Please, I am your schedule," she grinned, "Nyx has shown me you will have an incredible affinity for art yourself and so I have made sure that you will be at my side all day."

Thisbe would have felt weird about that if she didn't already like her Mentor and not just because of all the stuff she gave her. Be genuinely did like Kehinde and strange times or not she wanted to get close to the woman and she did not want to let her down. The only trouble was she was starving and she needed to get something to eat fast, "You think our time together could lead to a kitchen area cause I'm about to eat my own leg."

Her Mentor smirked as they got to a huge building that looked like a semi-miniature airplane hangar. Behind that she thought she could see a greenhouse but she ignored it for the time being since she had to focus on why she didn't answer her not so subtle food question. Kehinde opened the large, thick door and guided Be into what looked like a long coat hallway that stretched sideways across the entire length of the building and was hardly lit. It was thick enough for two people to walk side by side the whole way down and hooks lined the walls above cubbies that were barley used. An excitement began to bubble around them as the woman opened the next door.

The aroma of magnificent baked goodies hit Thisbe, stunning her into mouth-watering zombification. But that wasn't it. The place was huge! Her first thought of an airplane hangar was correct because the ceiling stretched way high up and extended little more than half of the length of a football field. It had an almost dome shape and bright lights lined the top middle along with some of the sides. The different "classes" she found were separated in different sections of cloistered tables and students. The cooking section was definitely set to the end of the place where large stoves and other appliances rested against the back wall.

"This place is relatively new and we're all trying to get used to the set up but we like it. No one gets in anyone's way and we all share the space. If one student wanders into another's class that's just fine, none of the teachers are possessive. We all like to share," Kehinde explained, "And we especially love to share the goodies the culinary class cooks up. Wanna grab a bite?"

It took only a second for her to realize her response. Thisbe swallowed hard then grinned happily, "Fuck yeah!"