"No barking, got it? No matter what. You just stay with me, no growling, no barking, no running off. Understand?" Nino said quietly to his dog, kneeling on the cold tile floor of the gym's bathroom. Nino was finally clean and full, feeling as normal as he possibly could while talking to his dog about Monster School Etiquette. Carter, to his credit, was sitting and listening intently, tail wagging as he looked up at his boy.

'No barking. Got it. Stay with you.'

"Yes," Nino encouraged, patting him on the head. "Stay with me. We stick together and everything will be fine, we just need to trust Ms. B that nothing there is actually dangerous. Or well… dangerous to us, I guess they're all still… dangerous." Nino grimaced a little at that, bowing his head and shaking it with a sigh before moving to stand up.

Nino stood still for a moment, taking deep breaths to get himself ready for what came next. Ms. Bustier had come through on her promises, both he and Carter were fully fed and showered now. Carter had thrown a fit about being pushed into one of the showers at the public gym they were using, but luckily they had been the only ones in there so Nino was free to argue with him until he sat still and he could rub the dirt and lingering garbage scent from his fur. Now Carter sat patiently in front of him, still a tad damp but fluffy and content from being toweled dry. They might have a slightly harder time passing him off as a service dog now that Nino actually looked put together and mentally sane.

Carter fidgeted a little, starting to stand even as he was midway through shaking himself violently again, and Nino was forced to step back with a groan. His newly cleaned collar jingled noisily as he did, mixing with Nino's muttered, half-hearted complaints.

"Dude Ms. B actually cleaned my clothes can you not ruin them again with wet dog smell? Much appreciated."

'You smell that way too,' Carter shot back immediately, giving what Nino had decided was the dog equivalent to a snicker when he pouted. Nino was about to respond when there came a polite rap of knuckles on the door, Ms. Bustier's now familiar voice slightly muffled but still effortlessly heard.

"Boys? Are you about ready now? I bought you some shoes, and some things for Carter as well."

"Yeah, coming!" Nino called back, feeling a rush of gratefulness for this woman for perhaps the dozenth time already. She was so kind and patient, and even though Carter couldn't understand her his tail starting wagging just from hearing her voice.

Nino took just a moment more to steel himself, before finally, he turned towards the door and walked out with Carter at his side.

"Well you look much better!" Ms. Bustier said immediately upon sighting him, stood nearby with a plastic shopping bag looped over one arm. She was still in her 'human' form seeing as they were currently making use of a human public facility, but their next destination would let her stretch her legs. All four of them.

"Thanks again Ms. B," Nino repeated himself, feeling the need to say it at almost every turn in the road. He had been in her company for about three hours now, and despite the ludicrous nature of their acquaintance she had managed to make him feel more normal than he had ever since he was attacked by that monster in the woods. He'd never stop owing her for that

"Of course," she answered with a smile, looking down to fish through the shopping bag as she spoke. "I bought you some flip flops while you finished washing Carter, they aren't very nice but they'll do. They're easier to replace should you lose or damage them." She pulled out a pair of black flip flops that were roughly the correct size, maybe just a touch too big. She went back to the bag. "We can't keep walking Carter around without a leash, being ticketed by human police is always annoying. They don't exactly have a proper name in their systems to charge, it always ends up being a hassle. I also grabbed a small bag of generic food for him, so please apologize to him for me if it isn't particularly good."

Nino laughed at that, looking on with a smile as Ms. B stooped to attached the simple brown leash to Carter's collar, the shepherd sitting obediently as Nino had asked him to while in public. "Carter's not picky," Nino assured her, taking the bag from her so she wouldn't have to carry it which she seemed to find polite of him. "He'll eat anything, seriously. Thank you for thinking of him."

"Of course," she repeated with another kind smile, her expression turning earnest as she asked, "Are you ready?"

Nino was a little slow to answer, reaching out to take the leash from her as well as he fought back his unease. Eventually he said, "Uh… yeah. I'm a little nervous, not gonna lie but, I'll be cool. I'll do my best, anyways."

"You're very brave," she said softly, reaching out to touch his unscarred shoulder in a comforting gesture. She gently guided him towards the door as she said, "It's going to be alright. You'll love it there, I'm certain of it. You'll have more fun then you're expecting to, I know attending our school wasn't something you intended but… we're glad to have you."

"What is it called again?" he asked, trying to mentally prepare himself as he tugged Carter back a little since the shepherd having pulled ahead to eagerly escape the potent smell of sweat and musk that came along with gyms.

"Collège Françoise Dupont," she told him, the pride in her voice clear as she led the way out onto the street, leading them towards the school in question that was only a few blocks away now. "It's a fantastic school, founded in an old human school that was scheduled to be renovated for other purposes. However, our esteemed principal, Mr. Damocles, saw the opportunity to continue using the school to educate children of a different background. He converted it into a school for Other Realm beings a little over two years ago. This is only the schools third running school year."

"Oh," Nino remarked in surprise, looking at her as they kept walking. "I was sort of expecting something like, ancient and old. It's that new?"

She nodded, her expression thoughtful as if she was wondering how to phrase something. The trip kept walking, Nino struck again by the normalcy of the street compared to the strangeness of their conversation. They passed a café and a storefront, a handful of businesses and many busy looking normal people on their way to do some busy, normal things. Nino felt sort of uneasy being near them at first, but now that he was clean and feeling thoroughly like himself he didn't feel quite as… unstable.

Ms. Bustier considered what to say for a moment more, before finally she said, "The other realms are very ancient places, the oldest of them all being the Never Never. They have existed longer than the human realm certainly, and with that sort of age comes an incredibly detailed and complicated culture. The realms only mixed very rarely, it was really only during the era of humans that they started to intersect. Humans proved to be extremely capable creatures, combining dormant aspects of their world and using it to open gateways to others. They learned to wield magic, and in doing so set into motion a very large change." Ms. Bustier looked over at Nino as they walked, speaking carefully. "You see, its only within the past six thousand years or so that beings from different realms started to meet and influence each other, while travel between realms was technically possible it was never done. It was humans and variations upon the base human form that opened those doors. This created magic folk as they exist now and led to the creation of human variants such as werewolves like yourself. Cervitaurs existed long before humans, and many vaguely human appearing beings existed before them as well, but my main point is no one interacted before humans appeared. Only beings that existed in their own realm interacted, and even then there were many divisions and factions."

She paused for a moment, unconsciously putting an arm out in front of Nino to keep him from crossing the street as traffic darted passed, regardless of the fact that Nino gave no sign of actually intending to cross. Nino watched as she lapsed into thought again, the teacher's teal eyes flickering up as they were given the sign to walk again.

"So, no one talked?" Nino tried to prompt her, intrigued but pretty confused still. He wasn't sure what the point of this was, even if it was pretty interesting.

"Yes, interactions were rare. We all knew each other existed as well as the other realms, but nothing mixed. However once humans and human sorcerers appeared and created a culture of crossing the borders between worlds things were forced to adapt. Suddenly established gates existed all over, and all creatures could maneuver between them. Cities were established in the FarLands that hosted all kinds of life, and eventually about as many magic creatures lived in the human realm as they did anywhere else. So long as human civilization has existed so have the gates, and while that may seem like a long time, in the eyes of the supernatural it isn't, not exactly. Many things that are not accustomed to adapting were forced to change, and even now many factions struggle to exist side by side. Prejudices exist and our children are raised with outdated values. Mr. Damocles as well as every teacher at our school are of the mind that this needs to change, and that the improvement of our standings with each other lies best in our children. So, only two years ago, Mr. Damocles established the first school that was open to children of every realm, and its mission was to teach them about every realm, not just their own. Children are incredibly kind, and I have learned that it is their default state to understand and learn. If we can create a generation of new ideas and generate an environment of tolerance and integration, then our future would be much brighter. The mixing of realms already exists, teaching the children of our worlds to feel at home in every realm regardless of their origins would change everything, so that's what we're doing."

"Wow…" Nino exclaimed quietly, staring ahead. "Monster racism. I dunno why it didn't occur to me that that might be a thing."

"I'm not sure I'd brand it that strongly," she contradicted him, then she seemed to think better of it. "Well, of course there are still some people like that. Mostly it's just this culture of assumptions and prejudices that we want to counteract. Society has made great strides, but still we taught our children separately. Our school is very unique, but I hope one day it will be commonplace."

Nino didn't respond at first, really not sure what to say. "Cool," he eventually went with, looking down at Carter as the shepherd walked confidently ahead.

Ms. Bustier fell silent, walking a little ahead of Nino just so she could lead the way. Explaining the intricacies of their school's mission without paining the realms in a bad light was difficult, and she was fairly sure she had failed. They weren't bad places, just old. He'd see himself though, and she was grateful once again that his first proper introduction to everything that was out there would be in the controlled environment of the school. She didn't want to tell him what people typically thought of werewolves… she just prayed her students had learned enough in this school year to give him a chance.

All three of them were silently absorbed in thought as they walked, although Carter's were perhaps a little less intense. While Ms. Bustier fretted over how best to control the introduction of Nino to the classroom and Nino anxiously worried over what exactly everyone was going to think of him Carter was more preoccupied with the path ahead. His collar was very jingly and while normally that didn't bother him he was apparently supposed to keep a low profile. Nino had warned him a dozen times while he was being forced into taking a bath that there were going to be a lot of things they weren't used to in the place they were going. Carter was not allowed to be aggressive or defensive in the slightest or he'd get in a lot of trouble with his boy. It was made extremely clear to him that even if he thought with all his heart something was a threat he wasn't allowed to react. Carter had eventually agreed to this on the condition of if Nino was attacked he was allowed to get involved and Nino had agreed to this because the deer woman had assured him that he was safe and he wouldn't be hurt, and Carter had allowed it because he liked the deer woman. She smelled nice and fed him, and she made Nino feel better in a way Carter hadn't been capable of. She had made him feel safe and fed him, comforting him with all the things Carter couldn't understand, and while he felt wretchedly guilty that he couldn't do those things himself he was extremely grateful that she had appeared to do it for him.

Carter continued to be irritated with his jingly collar for the rest of the walk, knowing even before Nino had signaled him to stop that they had arrived. He could tell.

Carter sat down slowly with his side pressed against Nino's leg, the two of them stood square in front of a large unassuming set of steps leading towards a large unassuming building. To Carter it might have passed for just another human place, but something gave it away. It was a quietly, flickering surge of energy, wrapped around the outside of it and soaking into the steps. It made the fur on Carter's back stand up, his posture tense as Nino started talking in a quiet voice to the woman. She was gesturing at the building and Nino was looking at her, but Carter kept an unmoving lock on the doors.

There was something about the building…

"-a deterrent," Ms. Bustier had been explaining, looking towards the large front entrance of the school. "The enchantment keeps humans away and allows us to have our school in the middle of the city. To them it's just a school that they have no reason to investigate, the spell influencing them only enough to let the building pass from their notice. Even if they got passed the enchantment on the steps they'd never be able to pass through the doors, no human without an explicit pass can enter."

"Right," Nino said quietly, looking at the floor and shifting his weight nervously from foot to foot. He looked over to see that Carter was stiffly at attention, staring with razor focus at the doors. As he had asked the dog wasn't barking or making a fuss, but it was clear that it was only Nino's strict instructions to behave that kept him in check.

Ms. Bustier was quiet for a moment, her hands folded in front of her as she watched the young boy.

"Class is currently in session," she explained after a time, her voice gentle. "There is likely to be no one in the halls, though we should go in now. The lunch hour will be soon, and passing through everyone at once may be uncomfortable for you."

"We should go now," Nino answered immediately, the thought of wading through a packed hallway of monsters so thoroughly putting him on edge that he'd walk in alone if it meant not dealing with that right away. Ms. B seemed to have expected that, nodding once and already walking forward.

"We'll be going to see Mr. Damocles first," she explained as they started up the steps together, Carter staying very close by Nino's side and on high alert. Nino was staring at the doors with a tense expression, nodding to show he had heard though he didn't reply. She got to the top first, putting a hand on the door handle but looking back at him first, as if hoping for him to acknowledge that he was ready to enter.

She smiled proudly at him when he nodded again, his fist tight around Carter's leash but his posture otherwise determined. He was incredibly brave and trying his best, just like he had promised.

Without further ado Ms. Bustier opened the front door, opening it and stepping aside to let Nino follow in behind her.

Carter entered first, standing in front of Nino with his tail out straight behind him. Carter was sniffing at the air, half focused on the building and half focused on his boy, who stepped forward with a shiver and allowed the door to shut behind him.

Nino shook himself a little, trying to throw off the weird feeling crossing through the threshold had given him, chalking it up to the magic barrier Ms. B has described as he quickly assessed his surroundings. Admittedly, he was a little surprised at how… normal it looked.

It was just a school, the entrance at least looking exceptionally like district buildings he had always known and not entirely unlike his old school. What really gave it away was the smell. Nino genuinely could not place about 90% of what he was getting, and the unfamiliarity made him swallow nervously.

Madame Bustier had been waiting patiently, allowing him to adjust before he nodded again, silently acknowledging that it was okay for her to take the lead. After taking an extra moment to assure he was alright she started to walk again, going slowly to allow the boys to look around.

Nino stayed close to the teacher, his skin prickling uncomfortably at how exposed the open courtyard made him feel. It was a large square shaped space surrounded by a balcony like second level that looked like it held classrooms. He felt a little better when they turned, sticking to the side of the courtyard and working their way towards a staircase that lead up the same side of the building they had entered, Ms. Bustier speaking quietly to them as they walked. Carter dutifully marched up the steps beside Nino, sniffing each step as they did.

"My classroom is just down there," she informed him, pointing out the classroom she meant. "You'll have me for homeroom as well as a most of your other classes seeing as I teach most of what you'll be taking. You'll only have two other teachers that you go to daily, and you'll get the chance to meet them first. We're doing this at your pace, I hardly expect you to be taking my tests right away, and I'll ensure Ms. Mendeleev doesn't as well. She's the only one who might try."

"Thank you," he said genuinely, attempting a smile when she looked back at him again. She seemed pleased with the effort.

'Are you sure this is alright?' Carter asked him with a whine, Nino looking down at the dog as they reached the landing.

"It's okay buddy," he assured him, petting him as they made a right and headed towards an unassuming door. "I'm here with you. We're good."

The small group came to a stop, Carter's tail held out anxiously behind him as Nino balled up the extra length of the leash in his hands.

"This is the principal's office," Ms. Bustier announced, standing in front of it and giving him one more encouraging smile before stepping forward to knock. Nino swallowed again, reminding himself to just chill out and that everything was going to be cool. This might all be bizarre and awful but it didn't have to be and everything was going to be cool. This was the best option. This was the only option that ended with him having a place to stay and maybe him not hating himself and what he had become. Meeting the principal was step one.

He heard something sort of weird after Ms. Bustier's knock rang out, like a loud shuffling of feathers, but after a short silence he jumped at the deep, firm voice of a man calling from inside.

"Come in!" he called out, the fact that he was in another room entirely irrelevant thanks to Nino's unnervingly good hearing nowadays. Nino waited for Ms. B to open the door, holding Carter close to his side as he stepped in with the teacher standing behind him.

The office was simple, the sort of thing you'd expect from a principal's office although perhaps a little nicer. He didn't imagine many public school offices had a view quiet like he did, a large window looking over Paris dominating the back wall. Nino was aware of odd, out of place trinkets and chests and things in the corner of his vision, but he remained focused on the large undeniably owlish man who stood behind the desk.

The man was dressed professionally in a brown suit, his hair varying shades of gray and his eyes an unnervingly bright yellow. With the eyes and his brow, he really looked like the spitting image of an owl somehow made a man, and Nino suspiciously remembered the sound of feathers before he was distracted by the man approaching him, holding out a strong hand.

"Hello young man," he said as he shook his hand, tone serious and impeccably professional. "I am Headmaster Damocles, principal of this fine school."

"H-hello, sir," Nino said uncertainly, clearly out of depths. "I'm Nino. Thank you for uh, well…" he wasn't very sure what he was thanking him for, suddenly unsure of the man's involvement but generally feeling like he owed everybody something.

The owlish man raised an eyebrow, letting his question trail. "Nino…?"

"Lahiffe, sir," he supplied, using both hands to twist the leash he was holding. He glanced down at Carter at about the same time the principal did, quickly explaining, "This is my dog, his name is Carter. He's just a dog but uh, he's mine."

Carter was sitting obediently, genuinely trying to restrain himself from sniffing the hell out of the new man's pant leg. He shifted a little, determined to behave, but this man was giving him the same weird feeling the deer woman had, and, though he'd never admit it, the same feeling he had gotten from Nino ever since he found him again. The silent feeling that this person was different.

Mr. Damocles stared at the dog for a moment, his expression stern and unreadable, but when he looked back to Nino he was nodding.

"This is a difficult time for you, I'm sure. Having a 'service dog' of sorts to help you adjust is wise. I expect you to clean up after him however, and under no circumstances let it harass the students here."

"He won't sir, I promise. He's promised to behave."

Mr. Damocles raised an eyebrow again, seemingly the only readable gesture this man's face was capable of making, and he looked passed Nino to Ms. Bustier as if expecting an explanation for something.

"Werewolves are capable of limited communication with canines," she explained from her place by the door. "He is able to speak with Carter and has conveyed to him that being obedient is important while on campus."

Nino looked over his shoulder at her a little surprised, looking back to Mr. Damocles in time to see him nod and step back towards his desk. It hadn't occurred to him that there would be some things about werewolves that not everyone knew, he was sort of hoping everyone would be able to tell him what was up. But then again, he didn't know everything about everything but that didn't mean the knowledge didn't exist. It had been a little childish to assume everyone was a werewolf expert, like, they had monster school for a reason.

"We have made preparations for you," Mr. Damocles was suddenly speaking, looking through a series of papers. They were covered with marks and things that didn't even remotely look like letters, but he seemed to glean something from them. "We have quite a few empty classrooms, seeing as our school is still newly established we haven't been able to utilize all the space we have. Upon hearing that we could expect you as a new student we set one aside and outfitted it for you to stay in. We will make a few accommodations for your dog as well, seeing as it will be staying with you. However, I express again that it must behave." He lifted one of the papers close to his face, peering at it and nodding to himself before looking back to Nino. "The costs of your education will be provided by the school, considering your circumstances. We exist to better the lives of children from all realms, including this one. There will be no expectation for you to pay us back or make payments of any kind for the duration of your education, however you will be expected to do your absolute best in your classes."

Nino blinked once, a surge of gratitude cutting through him as he said, "Yes sir, thank you sir."

The man nodded, actually smiling at him. For a moment Nino thought he detected pity in his eyes, but it was really more like a sadness. Ms. B had said a lot of people had pre-existing notions about other creatures. It seemed that, at the very least among adults, the general assessment for young werewolves was something along the lines of, 'This poor boy…'

The adults talked for a moment, Ms. Bustier stepping around him to quietly ask her boss a question while Carter nudged Nino's leg. The dog was asking for a brief synopsis of what was going on, and Nino knelt down to give it in a hushed voice, aware of Mr. Damocles watching him as he did.

Carter was being very good, eagerly using his time where he finally had Nino's attention to tell him, 'Bird!', which unfortunately Nino had already deduced. He listened while Nino explained in simple terms that they were going to live at the school, and that Carter was supposed to be a good boy while on campus. He sullenly reminded Nino that he was always a good boy, thank you kindly, and Nino was actually laughing a little when Mr. Damocles called for his attention.

"Yes sir?" he answered quickly, standing up and looking to Ms. B for a moment to assess her expression. To his relief she still seemed pleased, smiling a little.

"On suggestion from Ms. Bustier you will also receive an allowance, however that will be determined after you've settled in. Class will be letting out for lunch soon, so it would be best if you went with her now so as not to be caught in the rush. She will show you to your room, and you can both decide together how you would like your introduction to go. Caline," he said, turning to address the teacher directly, "I will assume that I will continue handling your class for you, should you wish to stay with him and provide him some individual instruction on what to expect."

"Thank you sir," she said with a smile, stepping away from him and heading towards the door, in a little bit of a rush now. "Come on Nino, I'll show you your room. We best go quickly."

"Yes mam'," he answered immediately, moving Carter forward as she opened the door for them. However, he took the extra moment to look turn towards the principal and somewhat bow his head and shoulders, the gesture coming naturally as a sign of respect though he couldn't recall ever having done it in his previous life. "Thank you," he said again, and was happy to see the man smiling when he looked up again.

"And thank you, for joining us," Mr. Damocles responded, repeating the gesture in a way that made Nino very happy, noting with a strange tingle in his spine that should he have a tail it would have likely been wagging.

Nino turned back towards the door, glancing down once to check he actually didn't have one and sighing in relief when he found that he didn't, stepping out quickly with Carter and Ms. Bustier. He had discovered that non-human emotions made him feel… less stable, less together, and were usually accompanied by a shifting sensation in his spine. He was very quick to lock it down, only breathing evenly again when the sensation subsided.

Ms. Bustier was ahead of him, Carter tugging at the leash and dragging Nino back to the present as the small team walked quickly over the second level. Nino picked up the pace just a tad when he became aware of voices from the classrooms to his right, realizing once again that he was in a school of creatures he had never known existed. He could hear the shifting of paper and passing unintelligible conversations, sounding to all the world like typical classroom ambiance. With just a little twist…

Nino focused on the things he knew, the jingling of Carter's collar the only completely familiar noise and it helped him relax a little. He could hear the murmur of the classes pick up, everyone preparing for the bell to ring for lunch most likely, but he just focused on following Ms. Bustier, and the consistent jingling of the collar.

Though they ended up cutting it a little close, Nino was out of sight inside of a typically unused classroom far into the school by the time the bell rang, and the hallways were flooded with things he didn't understand. He didn't look, not that many people were in his hallway seeing as it was reserved for unused classrooms. Still though, he could hear the chatter, and knew it would only be a very short time more before he would be out there too.

First day of monster school…

This ought to be fun.