Vlad had never seen a fledgling reject the change, and after watching June he never wanted to again. The blood smelt sweet and the coughs could break one's soul. As everyone else tried to gather around her, the young Mirror stayed back in horror, gripping the back on a chair. Zoey eventually came past with Damien and Stark behind her. The two Vampyres held a stretcher and waited for the okay to lift the girl onto it.
All of Vlad's friends reluctantly left June's side and watched as she was removed from the room. Bone, June's roommate, left with her, holding her hand. Marrow, MJ, and even Apate had tears in their eyes. Keres didn't show any emotion, she looked blandly at him as he stared at the spot where June had previously lain.
"I think we should all head back to the dorms." Niles commented sadly. "Go to bed early."
Everyone nodded sadly. Vlad stayed where he was, even when MJ hooked her arm around his shoulders and tried to make him follow the group. He said nothing to her. They left him there since he wouldn't move.
"I knew she was going to die today. And I know when everyone else will die." Keres, who had also stayed behind, told him.
"Is that your gift from the goddess?"
"It is. Not quite as glamourous as yours."
"Then tell me, how do I die?"
"I can't tell you that. Don't you know that a future is set in stone and cannot be changed unless it is known (I did –not- try to rhyme that, just for the record)?" Keres smiled. "In the words of a Timelord 'it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff.'"
"Err, what?"
"I just thought you should know that everyone at this House of Night had their future changed when you were brought onto the grounds."
"Me? What do I have to do with anything?"
"I see monsters. They storm the HON, to fight you. Many people will die, protecting you. Whether you're here or not makes no difference."
"How do you know for certain?"
"Because I am cursed with seeing a person's future every time I look at them Vlad; and the truth is, when I see you I see nothing." With that she walked away.
Vlad continued to stand where he was for a few minutes. He thought about his lack of future until the click of high heels got louder and louder.
"Oh, thank you Nyx for finally giving me someone I can use." Xia looked up as she draped her arm around the boy. "Don't worry Vladdie, you have a future. That little girl can only see the futures of fellow children of Nyx."
He glared at her. "Why did you give me the most dangerous element ever?"
"Well, you see, dear Vladdie, I would have given it to Kaine but she was always just too floral, and she's dead. I need my dear Thunder alive. Also a new crop of the rest of the elements, but that will be taken care of with a new generation, aye Vlad?"
"What?"
"Dense aren't you?" Xia sighed and got off the boy. "Just hurry up and become someone worthy of wearing my mark or I'll carve them both from your skin."
"You could help me, you know."
"I can't actually. It's against the rules. Something that Zeus never seemed to understand back in the good ole days."
"Can you stop reminiscing and talk to me?"
"Snippy, I like that. One of my favorite qualities of my dearest Kaine, and Tilla too." Xia smirked and moved Vlad's bangs out of his eyes. "Do you think you can compare to them? The warrior who died because of another's choice and the broken woman missing her little voice are better men even in their current states, and they are some of the best women that ever set foot on this earth. Can you be like your soul twin, boy?"
"You want me to live up to that? Two of the best men a goddess has ever met that are female?"
"Exactly, glad you understand." Xia kissed him on the cheek. "Cheerio boy!"
Xia left quickly. Vlad sighed and returned to his dorm room, the book beneath his arm. Upon arriving at the room he sat the book with the other one and stripped to his boxers, ready to go to sleep.
While he and Niles were changing, the expectations of fledglings after the passing of a classmate were explained by the upper classman of the two.
"During announcements Zoey will say a few kind words and we'll have a moment of silence. Things will be a little quieter in the cafeteria but everyone will be expected to be better by tomorrow. As for her close friends, teachers will give them a little more slack."
"Do we count as June's close friends?" Vlad asked, grabbing up the book from the library.
"I don't think so." Niles looked at the knife marks on the back of their door. "When do you expect to read that during class?"
"During the lectures, obviously." Vlad sighed and headed to breakfast, not waiting for his roommate.
No one said anything during breakfast, so Vlad poured over the book, hoping the warrior's description of his use of Thunder was near the beginning of the fairly long book. Every time he was sitting down his eyes were on the pages. No one said anything to him, not even the slightly annoyed professors. Well, one did.
Vlad was so invested into getting back to the book he didn't notice the very blatant differences in his drama teacher. For one it wasn't even a vampyre. The only things the man in the front of the room had in common with the normal teacher, Erik Night, were hair color, gender, and a wish to get in the high priestess's pants. No one had warned the boy that the fallen angel took Erik's place while he performed his duties as a tracker.
"Excuse me, but I happen to be teaching." Kalona removed the book from the boy's hands. He looked at his mark and scoffed.
"You have wings…" he noted aloud.
"Just because you are one of my big sister's chosen ones does not mean you will be getting special treatment." Kalona whispered to him, glaring.
"Sorry, but what the hell?"
"If you don't know you can get the story from one of your little friends later. Now tell me where that oaf of a boy left off."
Vlad got through the class, barely and headed for the lunch room. Currently he was more concerned by bird man than his lack of knowing how to control Thunder (I swear, Hii, Sori, if you two do not stop snickering I'm going to kick your asses! P.S. Sorry for all who have no idea what the hell I'm talking about.)
Upon being asked, all his friends went into story telling mode, filling him in on their High Priestess's amazing defeat of Nefert and her deal with Kalona.
"In hopes of keeping the world safe she decided to basically be his sex slave?" Vlad tried to confirm.
"No! He's her servant, getting paid with sex. Obsession is a powerful thing." Bone corrected, before shoving her tongue down Marrow's throat.
"Well, now that I'm no longer confused on that." Vlad opened the book back to where he was and continued reading until the end of lunch.
In the middle of the second to last class of the day he stood up and cheered. The teacher glared at him. Vlad instantly sat down and planned for what he was going to do after classes. He had found what he was hoping to find in the book.