The boy and his raven
The bus pulled to a stop infront of looming iron gates. Edward didn't even notice at the sudden change. He was to transfixed, staring at the new music student. Who was she? What was her power? She hadn't said anything, but Ed could tell she was endowed nonetheless. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember the stop where she got on. Hah, like he could ever forget. It had been in a crowded area, with townhouses. The street had been nice and bright. The girl's house had been slightly dark, and it had smelled ... slightly odd. Only a little, but Edward remembered a drift of something reaching his nose. He wrinkled his nose, trying to figure it out. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the girl smirking at him from across the aisle.
Roused by a touch to his shoulder from Liam, Edward opened his eyes to find everyone disembarking from the bus. Sighing, he swung down the steps using the handrail to land on the curb. Followed by Liam he walked into the courtyard, passing underneath the large shadow that gave him chills everytime. Since it was the first day of the term, they still had a few minutes to get to Assembly. The blond-haired boy trudged up the stairs, but before he entered the doors, he turned to look for his friends. Liam started to scramble up next to him, but turned and exclaimed, "Caitlyn!"
Caitlyn, followed by Haley, walked over to them. Caitlyn had a mocha skintone, and long hazelnut curls fell around her face. Her eyes were a chestnut brown and when she smiled, it seemed to light up the world. She was the son of Lysander and Lauren Sage. Lysander had the power to call up his spirit ancestors, and Lauren was simply normal. Caitlyn hadn't inherited either of their talents. Instead, she was an illusionist like Edward's mother Olivia. It was a little odd to look at Caitlyn and think that they were distantly related. Haley was the son of Paton Yewbeam and Julia Ingledew. Haley was only a year older then Edward and Liam, but his father was pretty old. Edward greeted his cousin with a grin. Haley wasn't really his cousin, but what do you call your great-great-uncle's son? Your third cousin?
Haley grinned back. He had black hair that curled around his ears, a pale skin tone and freckles. His eyes were an azure blue, and he had a way of talking that made you listen to him, no matter how quiet he was. Everyone had expected Haley to be endowed, but wasn't. He couldn't powerboost or travel back in time, or knit enchanted clothes or see into the future. He was a kid who lived in a bookshop with 60-year old parents and liked to read. He was one of the most normal kids you could find anywhere. To make him even more typical, he had a crush Autumn Wind, a mysterious girl.
Autumn wasn't endowed either. She was in Haley's drama and in most of his classes. Noboy really knew anything about her; where she lived or who her parents were. She was friendly enough but didn't seem to be on a side. He hair was red, long and straight. She and Haley knew each other, but anyone could have told you that she didn't like Haley specially. It was as plain as day. Only last year, Haley had started trying to talk to her more. She would just breeze right past him. And that was the thing; she would breeze. It seemed like there was wind following her, yet she had no talent and she hadn't done anyone out of the ordinary. It was just .. weird.
"Hey, where's Owen?" Caitlyn asked, frowning. Caitlyn frowning was a remarkable sight. She had no frown lines, no creases, no anger in her eyes. Her mouth just seemed to change shape with affecting the rest of her body. Liam started, as if he was confused she was asking about the Music student. But then he realized why. Owen hadn't been on the bus. Edward opened his mouth softly. He shook his head, and the four of them turned to stare back at the bus. It had driven away, and there was no sign of the third-former anywhere. That was really odd.
The Music student by the name of Owen Raven was endowed. He played the flute and had the ability to talk to animals. His parents were complete opposites. His father, Billy Raven, was short with red eyes and white hair; and his mother, Emily Sprung, was tall with jet black hair and brown eyes. Their traits had combined to give Owen pastel black hair and pastel pink eyes. He always carried a raven on his shoulder so he was easy to spot. If he had come to school with them, Edward and Liam would have noticed.
"That's odd..." Haley frowned. He couldn't pull it off as well as Caitlyn could.
The four headed inside and remembered to be quiet. The first place they went was the large assembly that was always held at the beginning of the year. Filing into the auditorium, with new fabric seats, they sat together. Edward sat beside Liam, who sat beside Caitlyn, who sat beside Haley. Haley was joined by his friend Kai, another fifth-former who had also in drama. Kai had a head of messy brown hair and his left ear had a stud in it. He was endowed, his power being the power to become invisible at will. He had gotten that talent from his mother, Una Brown, who was married to Edward's godfather Benjamin. On Edward's other side sat Gemma Torsson and Leah O'Donald.
Gem let out a little blush as she settled herself down beside him. Edward was oblivious. It seemed like everyone but him knew that she liked him. He mumbled a greeting and looked up at the stage where he expected Harold and Manfred Bloor to appear any moment now. Tapping his fingers anxiously on the seat, he barely spared a glance at Gemma as he looked over at Leah. She was a second-former and spoke with a slight scottish accent, but she intrigued him. She wasn't endowed in any way, but she was spunky. Leah had long blond hair and threw caution to the winds. The few times they had seen her over the summer, she had always worn bright green and pink. Leah didn't have a side either, which bothered Ed. She would come and sit with them, then flounce off to talk to Jacob and Jenna Tilpin.
The Tilpins had different powers. They were twins, the children of Idith and Joshua Tilpin. Jenna was quiet and vicious like her mother, and she was telekinetic. Jacob was like his father. Everything stuck to him. He was friendly to almost everyone, but he was obvious about the fact that he and his magnetism belonged to Patrick and Manfred Bloor. The twins didn't look alike either. Jenna had a pale face and long black hair in pigtails, whereas Jacob had bushy hay-coloured hair and always had an expression on his tanned face. Despite their differences, they were still the best of friends.
Gemma yawned and leaned on Edward's shoulder. He didn't mind. They had always been close friends, and that was one of the reasons he chose to ignore how she felt. He didn't want to complicate anything. Ever since he had held her while she cried, letting out all of her emotions about her mother's disappearence, the physical boundaries between them had evaporated. Gem was endowed, and she had the power to fly. Thanks to her father Tancred, Gemma wasn't effected by storms. But because of her mother's disappearence, she didn't fly that often. She had slightly tanned skin and curly blond hair that she kept at shoulder-length. Sometimes Gemma could be oddly frusterating. She said things Edward didn't understand, or got sad all of a sudden.
A hush fell over the students in the auditorium. Harold Bloor stood on the stage. He didn't run the Academy anymore, but he and Manfred had decided that Harold was probably much better at public relations. Clearing his throat, he began to speak, "Welcome to Bloor's Academy. Those of you new here will begin the morning by going to your respective departments, then following your schedules. Those of you not new here are expected to behave, as you already know the rules," Harold coughed, and went on to explain the new developments in Bloors Academy.
It was beginning to bore Edward, so he turned to talk to Liam. He had barely poked his friend's shoulder when an icy voice hissed from behind him, "No talking, Bone."
Edward turned to see three of the "evil"children sitting behind him, two of which were endowed. Patrick Bloor was the one who had spoken. Long black hair hung in front of his eyes and down his neck. It wasn't long enough for a ponytail yet, but Patrick might fashion it soon. The boy was a sixth-former, and ran the King's Room. He had the power to burn anyone with fire, and Edward tried to wilf into an even smaller version of himself. He nodded and whispered, "Sorry Patrick."
"He said not to talk!" The second boy said. He was not endowed, but his aunt was. His name was Cameron Loom. He was in Art and was a complete vagabond. He 'trained' rottweilers and skateboarded around. He wasn't the mose well-behaved boy, but at least he only got out on weekends. The freckled boy did his sandy hair up in spikes, and he completely adored Patrick.
Edward bit back a retort and sighed, turning back around to face the front. As he turned, his eyes latched on to the third boy, an endowed child by the name of Tristan Calling. Tristan barely spoke, but his green eyes watched every move Charlie made. He had short and tidy red hair and a long face. Nobody knew his endowment or his parentage. Some believe he was the child of Asa Pike and some thought he was a Loom child, Whatever the case, he certainly belonged to Patrick.
"Turn around," Patrick's voice cut into his thoughts, and Edward twisted right back around. He had missed most of the speech, and only tuned in to the end of it, when Dr. Bloor barked a sharp command.
It must have been for the new girl to stand up, for that's exactly what she did. She looked around and waved at them all. Lastly, her gaze fell on Edward. Sher winked chillingly. Dr. Bloor waited for the gasps to die down before saying, "This new girl is Audrey Endless. She is endowed. Edward Bone, it will be your duty to show her around and then Lydia Lyson, you will help her at night."
Edward looked around in confusion. Why was he helping her? Because they were both in Music and, of course, endowed. He felt an odd sense of déja vu. Like when his father had helped around Dagbert Endless - Endless! Audrey Endless. Was Audrey a drowner? Best not to get on her bad side then. Another bark from Dr. Bloor and Lydia's voice going 'I agree, sir' brought him back to reality. Ed cleared his throat and muttered, "Yes sir," back to Dr. Bloor.
--
The rest of the day passed rather quickly. Edward helped Audrey to get to Music class and showed her where to go. He explained the rules, but had the odd sense she already knew them. He sang akwardly in assembly compared to her, and when he went to play the saxophone, she went off with her clarinet. Music passed gratefully fast and soon they went back to the blue cloakroom. Leaving their capes on the hooks, Edward took her out for break. He tried to shake her off once, but Audrey grabbed his shoulder and cried, "Edward! I don't know anybody here. Don't leave me. I'd like to meet your friends!"
Swallowing his comment that she seemed to be getting on great with Dominic, he brought her over to where Kai and Caitlyn were sitting on a tree stump. Caitlyn waved but Kai just raised his eyebrows. Edward grinned as he came over, "And what have you two been up too? Anything Liam would like to know?" He laughed, getting a punch on the shoulder from Kai.
"Actually," Caitlyn began, "We were just waiting for Liam, Gem and - Oh, hi there Audrey."
Immediately, her voice had become hard and cold. She shot Edward an angry glance, but Edward just looked at her helplessly. Audrey clearly wasn't like. Time for a short joke, "Hey, Caitlyn, how come you got to stand back there in the auditorium when the rest of us were sitting?"
"I'm not that short! I'm 5"3, and I'll have you know -" Caitlyn began furiously, with a hint of laughter in her voice, until Kai cleared his throat.
Falling silent, Caitlyn looked at Audrey, and there was hostility in her eyes as Audrey smiled back at her. Walking over to Kai, Audrey sized him up. They were in the same form, Edward realized. He also realized that he would have to pull Ausrey away from Kai before Caitlyn decided to eat her for supper. Caitlyn's eyes blazed as she opened her mouth, but Edward clamped a hand over it, "Listen. Audrey, I better show you the rest of the ruins, alright?" He suggested feebly.
Audrey didn't fall for it. She looked at Caitlyn angrily and rolled her eyes, tossing her hair from her shoulders, "It's alright, Eddie. You can be honest with me. I can see that she doesn't like me very much. Come on, let's go somewhere else," She grabbed him by the hand and strode away.
Caitlyn looked at his form being dragged away. She mouthed the word 'Eddie'. Edward could only shrug. So he had a pet name now. He turned to keep up with Audrey and missed Gemma and Haley walking towards Caitlyn and Kai, a sad expression on Gem's face. He missed Caitlyn running over to hug her. Kai strode over with his hands in his pockets and clapped Haley on the back.
The horn sounded shortly after, and the children clamoured back inside. Ed grabbed his cape and headed to English, glad that Audrey was in a form higher than him. English was taught by the unfortunately named Mr. Semin, who ushered them inside and gave them a strict seating plan. Ed was to sit beside Liam and a random boy by the name of Marjc. After English was over, they grabbed their books and headed off to History, where they sat together in a corner. Ms. Carp gave them a pop quiz which Edward did miserably on. Liam did well, so he was cheerful as they headed down to lunch.
The afternoon whizzed by, and Edward found himself assualted by Audrey in the hall. She gave him one her cool looks and asked, "Alright then Eddie. Where are we headed? Where's the King's room?"
'Eddie' was about to answer when the ground underneath them shook. Audrey fell on him and he fell against the wall. as the floor began to rumble even more. Audrey shrieked and pulled him under a doorframe, where they huddled. Nothing fell from the ceiling, but the quake lasted a few good minutes. After that, the french teacher occuping the room they were huddled in shooed them to leave. They couldn't move with falling, and she got very annoyed.
Eventually they picked themsleves to their feet and walked down the hallway until they entered the King's room.
--
Paton Yewbeam was enjoying a nice cup of sherry wine when the ground began to shake. He was sitting on a white chair over a beige carpet near the white bedsheets. The room was candlelit, so Paton didn't have to worry about getting glass in his wine. The house shook so ferociously that the wine spilled all over the chair, carpet and bed.
As the quake contiuned, Paton caught a movement out the window. A black raven flew around the city with it's sharp calls. It dived around, then suddenly fell to the ground. A white hot pain flashed up Paton's arm and he gritted his teeth agaisnt it. It only lasted for a minute, but it left a hideous white mark on his arm. "It's time," He grimaced.
"Oh dear," Said Paton when the quake had subsided, taking in the mess, "Julia will kill me."
The poor unfortunate teacher named Semin xD
And the cut to Paton was to show the earthquake was also in the city. Just to have a little bit of silly, you know.
And can we guess anything about the raven? Guess correctly to win a MYSTERY plushie.
omgspazz
This chapter was to show all of the pairings kinda sorta. If you can name me all of the pairings I suggested in this chapter, then you win another MYSTERY plushie.
Want to here more about 'Eddie'? Review and stay tuned for the next chapter. I will not update this fast during the week.
Jelly - Yes, I am a god xD Thanks for reviewing. You get a Kai plushie that punches other boy plushies in the arm. Smexeh no?
Doo-doo-doo
Long enough chappie guys? Tell me if you want less/more, alright? Huzzahh. Plushies galore. Will be giving out lots. -likes plushies-
Eagleh
