The first thing I noticed upon getting out of the helicopter, were the students. There were a lot of them. And each had their own uniqueness. Some had wings. Others had horns. I saw one girl on the soccer field who was covered in scales and had what looked to be a dragon's tail, which she was using to keep the other players from getting the ball. She made shot after shot at the goalie, who missed every one of them. And then there were students who looked normal—perfectly human. That is, until you saw the fire sprouting from their fingertips or their eyes change color.

"Welcome to Silas University, Cupcake. School for the people society deems freaks and weirdos." I turned to see Carmilla walking towards me. I had been so busy watching the people around me, I hadn't noticed her get off the helicopter.

I chuckled. Carmilla stood beside me, watching the students playing soccer in the field. "You know," Carmilla said. "That dragon-tailed girl is dominating the game. No one's going to beat her. I don't know why the others haven't given up yet."

"It's unethical?" I suggested.

Carmilla scoffed. "Ethics are ridiculous game played by children who think they can oppose order in an arbitrary universe."

"Yeah, but what can you do, but try?"

Carmilla was about to respond, when she was interrupted by LaFontaine, who was still inside the helicopter. They stuck their head out the doorway. "Hey,Frosh! Karnstein!"

We turned to look at them. "A little help for a second?"

I glanced at Carmilla, who just shrugged and started walking back to the helicopter. I followed after her.

When we got there, we saw LaF trying to take down a heavy looking black bag from the shelf above the passenger seats Carmilla and I had sat in on the way here.

LaFontaine looked at us expectantly. "Help me get this down!"

We made our way over to them and grabbed a hold of the bag. Together, we hauled it off the shelf and set it down gently on the floor.

"What is this thing, anyway," I asked, curiously eyeing the black bag at our feet.

"It's the Corvae guy," LaF said casually.

Carmilla and I jumped back in surpirse. "WHAT?!" I exclaimed.

"You put the body of the Corvae agent… that I killed… in a bag above our heads?!" Carmilla seethed.

"Uh… Yeah. Why? It's not like it would've fallen or anything. You guys were fine."

Carmilla rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something—probably a sarcastic comment, but I interrupted her before she could: "It's the principle of the thing, LaF!"

"Yeah, yeah," they said dismissively. "Now help me get this to my laboratory."

After bringing the Corvae agent's body—or, the specimen, as LaF liked to call it—to their laboratory for "research," Carmilla offered to show me around campus.

It was around lunch time, so we decided to go to the cafeteria first. Carmilla led me down a series of hallways, filled with twists and turns. I swear, this place is like a labyrinth. I didn't know how I'd make my way around on my own without getting lost.

I voiced my concerns to Carmilla, who just replied, "You get used to it, Cutie."

When we got to the cafeteria, Carmilla led me to a table near the back of the room. "Stay here," she ordered. "I'll get us food, Cupcake."

And then she disappeared into the sea of bodies and I was left alone at the table. I sat there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"Hey, there! You look kind of lost. Are you new?"

I looked up to see a tall girl with flaming red hair standing there.

"Oh, hi!' I stuttered. "Ummm… I'm waiting for- a friend, actually. She should be back in a few minutes. And, yeah… I'm new here."

"Oh, cool! I'm Danny. Danny Lawrence."

"Laura Hollis," I replied.

"They finally found you?"

I nervously tucked my hair behind my ear. "Um… yeah. It seems so. Apparently, they've been looking for me for the last few months."

"Yeah," Danny said cheerfully. "But you're here now! And, hey, if you ever need help with anything… you can just ask me, ok?"

I smiled at her. "Ok. Thanks!"

She smiled back. After a few seconds, the smile faded from her face and was replaced with a scowl. I turned to see Carmilla walking toward us. She was glaring at Danny with narrowed eyes. Carmilla set down two trays full of food on the table and came to stand behind me. All the while, never breaking eye contact with Danny.

She put her hands on my shoulders and continued glaring at Danny. "Xena," she said coldly.

"Elvira," Danny replied, her voice just as icy as Carmilla's.

I looked between the two in confusion. What is going on?

"What are you doing here?" Carmilla snarled.

"I could ask you the same."

"I'm with Laura," Carmilla replied simply. Her grip on my shoulders tightened a little bit. I swear, I saw Danny's eyes flash a bright cold for a second

My eyes widened a little and I subconsciously moved a little closer to Carmilla.

She stepped a bit closer to me, so that there were only a few inches between us. I heard a growl come from Danny at the action and I bit my lip. Carmilla was so close to me, I could feel the heat from her body. it felt… nice.

Shut up, Hollis! I told myself. This is no time for you to be focusing on your squishy girly feelings. This is serious!

I could feel the tension between Carmilla and Danny as if it were another body in the room. They were still glaring at each other, eyes locked and unwavering.

Suddenly there was a yell from across the café: "Hey, Danny! Come here!"

Neither of the girls turned to look. They were still fully engaged in their intense glaring contest. "Your pack's calling you, Xena," Carmilla snarled. "Better go before they come running."

Danny's eyes narrowed even more—if that was possible—and she glared at Carmilla for a few more seconds before turning and walking away. Carmilla continued to watch her go until she disappeared into the mass of people and was out of sight. Only then, did her grip on my shoulders loosen and her body relaxed. She sat down beside me, closer than usual for two friends. Not that I minded…

She slid one of the trays on the table towards me. "Dig in, Creampuff."

I looked down at the tray. There were some chicken nuggets, a few spoonfuls of mac n' cheese, a pint of chocolate milk, and… a cupcake.

I chuckled. "Thanks, Carm."

"You're welcome," she mumbled around a spoonful of mac n' cheese.

We proceeded to eat in silence. After a few minutes, I said. "Carm?"

"Yeah, Cupcake?"

"What was that? Between you and Danny?"

Carmilla was silent for a few moments. Then she looked at me. "Danny's… She's a werewolf."

"And you're a cat." I said thoughtfully. "So… is it, like, a cat versus dog thing between you two?"

Carmilla laughed. 'That's part of it, I guess. We never got along. Xena started here in 4th grade. That's how we met. We were in the same class and ever since we then, we've disliked each other. It turned into hatred over the years due to… certain occurrences that I'd rather not revisit at the moment."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion, trying to make sense of this newfound information. There was something Carm wasn't telling me.

As if reading my thoughts, Carmilla sighed and said, "It's a long story, Creampuff. Better left for another day."

I nodded, not pressing her any further. She'd tell me when she was ready.

After lunch, Carmilla showed me some of the around some more. She showed me the auditorium and the gymnasium. She took me to the dorms, though we didn't really go inside.

"You'll be assigned a room soon." Carmilla said. "For now, you can stay with me, I guess."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You're asking me to move in with you? We haven't even known each other for a full twenty four hours," I joked.

"Well, Cupcake, Desperate times, desperate measures. Besides, it's only temporary." She smirked. " Though, we could always make other arrangements…"

I smacked her shoulder playfully. "Shut up," I said, laughing.

After the dorms, Carmilla took me to a balcony where we had a clear view of the courtyard. There were tons of students there—eating at the picnic tables, relaxing in the shade of the giant oak tree in the center of the courtyard. Some huddled in small groups and discussed the latest gossip. There were even some students who were practicing their powers.

I loved the courtyard from the moment I layed eyes on it. It was like the heart of Silas University, where the students could just… be themselves. They could hang out with friends and not have to worry about accidently showing their powers. They could be in peace. That's something you don't get in society, especially if you're a power.

I'll admit I was nervous about starting at Silas. And I was nervous about telling my Dad what had happened and I was nervous—probably most of all—to learning the truth about my mother and who she really was. I was nervous about a lot of things. But as long as I had Carmilla at my side, I would make it through anything.

I looked over at Carmilla. She was watching the kids down in the courtyard. When she noticed me staring at her, Carmilla looked over at me. Her eyes met mine and she smiled. I smiled back at her and her hand found mine, interlaced our fingers. And we stood like that for a while, just enjoying the comfort of the other's presence. For the first time in the past 12 hours, I felt my body relax. I felt calm. I felt peaceful.

Well, I did. Until the alarms started going off.