The first thing that came out of Lann's mouth the next morning before class started was, "Nice battle wounds, Evie. You look like some Yakuza boss!"
Lann got two slaps to the back of his head: one from Evie, and one from his girlfriend.
"Ignore him. Thanks for bringing Kayna back even after she'd scratched you all over, Evie." From her perch on top of a student desk, Fiona munched on a banana-and-oatmeal power bar.
Evie huffed a laugh and puffed up her chest. "It was nothing! I love animals, so I don't mind!"
Their 5th period teacher, Mr. Gilliam, strode into the classroom just as the bell rang and everyone scrambled into their seats.
"Quiet." The class went silent. "Now, before I pass out the instructions and rubrics for your senior projects, there is a transfer student joining us today. Treat him with the same respect you all give to your fellow peers. Please, come in."
The door opened and Evie sat up straighter in her seat when the student walked in. It was the man from yesterday! Well, apparently he wasn't actually quite a man yet, since he still was a student, but the way he towered above Mr. Gilliam and his muscles looked as if they were going to burst out from the confines of his too-small school uniform.
"His name is Karok Cestus, and he transferred to Rocheste from Crescent Moon Island after their only school shut down. Mr. Cestus, please take the empty seat next to Miss Corona. Miss Corona, please raise your hand."
Evie raised her hand and tried not to blush when Karok turned his menacing stare on her. When Karok sat down in the chair next to her, the chair creaked dangerously from the weight but thankfully held. Evie waited for Mr. Gilliam to start lecturing before turning to Karok and smiling brightly.
"Hey, thanks for helping me yesterday with the cats! I'm almost jealous, since they seemed to like you a lot. For some reason, they don't like me. See?" Evie pointed at the scratches on her face with a cheeky grin.
Karok's glare didn't lessen in intensity when he turned to look at her, but Evie had a lifetime of experience of dealing with intimidating glares from her older brother and thus was completely unaffected by it.
"…No problem."
Inwardly, Evie swooned.
The moment the bell signaling the end of class and the beginning of the 35-minute lunch break sounded, the whispers began.
"He looks so scary!"
"He could probably crush me with his pinky!"
"Goddess, what do they eat on that island?"
"He looks like a fomor…"
Karok's glare swept over a few of the students, silencing them, and then he stomped out the door without saying a word.
With a grin, Evie took the opportunity to grab her backpack and made for the door.
"H-hey! Evie, where are you going!" Lann called at her retreating back, but was summarily ignored. He turned to Fiona with a confused look, but the girl was staring out of the window thoughtfully.
Oh, there you are! Evie was breathing heavily when she rounded a corner and found Karok sitting on a bench behind the library building. He was looking down at something in his hand, but Evie couldn't tell what it was from how far away she was.
Evie took in a deep breath to calm herself down, straightened her back, and walked over to the boy. When she was close enough, she could see that Karok was basically being surrounded back a flock of pigeons and sparrows. The birds didn't seem to be afraid of him at all.
Karok's large hands reached out, and three sparrows landed in his palms with happy chirps.
"Hey, Karok!" Evie popped up by the boy's shoulder.
The birds scattered immediately, a few of them even angrily pecking at Evie's head before flying away.
"Ow! Oh… sorry. I just wanted to say hello to the birds too…" Pouting, Evie's grip on her backpack tightened as she sat down next to Karok, leaving half a foot of space between them.
"You're not afraid of me?" Karok turned to face her and leaned in almost too close, and wow his eyes are a really pretty green.
"Nope! Why would I be?" Good thing Evie had no concept of personal space, either.
Karok turned away, his shoulders shaking minutely before he gave up and started laughing loudly. "Wow, that's the first… the first time anyone's ever said that to me!"
Evie stared before her lips twisted into a delighted grin and she could feel her cheeks starting to flush from how hard she was smiling. The relieved smile on his face and his carefree laugh were positively ADORABLE!
After a minute, Karok's laughing trailed off but his smile remained. "People generally don't like me because of my eyes. It looks like I'm glaring at them all the time, but I'm really not. I can't help how my face is."
"Why don't you say something, then? If they knew, they'd understand." Evie dug into her backpack and pulled out a tuna salad sandwich and a bag of pretzels.
"I… I don't like talking to people I don't know. I've lived on Crescent Moon Island for all my life, and it's small enough that everyone knew everyone there. This city is… it's just huge. I got lost just trying to find the school. I didn't think it was that far from the apartment I'm staying in right now."
"Where do you live?"
"A bed and breakfast next to an alchemist's shop – the Laboratory, I think. Mr. Ernmass and his daughter are nice enough to let me stay in one of their spare rooms."
"Oh, you live right by Brynn and Nyle's place! That's not far from the school at all! You probably just went down that one street that circles back. It's a tricky one." Evie pried open the bag of pretzels and offered first choice to Karok.
"Huh. That explains why I kept ending up back there three times." Karok took a few pieces, his hand barely fitting in the opening.
"I could show you the way back after school, if you want?"
"Really? Y-you'd do that?" Karok's cheeks turned slightly red. His skin was dark enough so it was hardly visible.
"Yeah, it's no problem. I live close by, too!" Evie stuffed a few pretzels into her mouth and chewed happily.
"Alright. If it's no trouble."
"Great! Before that, though, you need to meet my friends!"
"Uhm, well—"
"Have you ever heard of Captain Solair and the Treasure Hunters?"
Karok scratched at his nose, uncertain. "…Is it that comic with the superhero pirates? I've read a little bit."
"Then you'll be fine! Lann loves that comic, so you two will have plenty to talk about. Oh, what about baseball and soccer? Do you play?" Evie rubbed her hands together in glee.
"I used to, back on the island."
"Well then, you've already earned yourself massive points with Fiona, and you haven't even met her yet! Let's go, before lunch ends!"