NO ONE DARED TO BOTHERJaye anymore.
That was supposedly a good thing — the creature was not fond of being harassed for its clear differences from the fairies it studied alongside. However, being left alone from the snobbish individuals who decided that it was less than them also prevented it from making friends, or perhaps it yielded no desire to do so. It preferred to be alone, rather than bothered by the other students.
As it strolled down the hall, humming under its breath, while the corridors filled with chattering students, the red-headed creature kept to the walls, avoiding brushing against any of the bustling fairies who were too preoccupied with their conversations to realize that a predator walked among them. Of course, it always seemed to prowl in the shadows, watching, waiting for a moment to strike, but this time it was even more silent, nearly invisible to everyone around it. A predator among prey, clothed as harmless, though it was anything but.
After a long day of classes, all Jaye wanted to do was return to its room and get some sleep, but it had received a summons from Headmistress Faragonda which requested its presence in her office at the end of its final class. There was no reason, just a demand, and so with a tinge of annoyance lurking within its heart, the young dragonoid made its way through the hallways, drowning out the chatter of students until it reached the doors of the Headmistress' office.
Pushing its way inside, the dragon glanced around, admiring the decor of the room before it made its way to the back, where Headmistress Faragonda was standing behind her desk.
"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?" Jaye halted a few paces away from the desk and folded its arms across its chest.
"Yes, hello dear," Faragonda smiled warmly at it, moving around the desk to stand about three feet away from the dragonoid creature, her expression never changing. "How has the year been treating you?"
Jaye pursed its lips slightly, curling its reptilian wings ever so slightly. "Fine." It replied curtly. "The classes are challenging, but I've maintained decent grades and successfully increased my power the longer I've studied."
"That's excellent to hear," Faragonda replied, tilting her head to the side. "You're one of our top students in the first-year class, making you a likely candidate for professor should you keep it up the rest of the years you are here."
"We'll see," it replied tersely. "Why have you called me here?" I just want to go back to my room.
Now, the expression of the Headmistress shifted, to something not as warm as before. Her lips tugged downward into a frown, her eyes became distant — an odd look for the woman who usually remained content and confident. She turned away from Jaye, walking toward the window overlooking the courtyard of the college. "You are aware that the exchange program is taking place starting tomorrow, right?"
"Of course," the dragonoid replied, tilting its head to the side. "Everyone is talking about it."
"Three witches from Cloud Tower are coming here to Alfea for two weeks, and in turn, three of our fairies are headed over to Cloud Tower, to get a feel for both schools." Faragonda told it.
"Don't tell me you've decided to send me over there at the last second," Jaye's attempt at a joke fell flat; there was no life in the words, and no humor to be scrounged. It had applied for Cloud Tower initially, seeing as it was neither fairy or witch, and had been rejected embarrassingly quickly, leaving it stuck with Alfea, lighter magic, and pesky students who didn't mind their own business.
The Headmistress shook her head. "No, my chosen fairies have already packed and will set out tomorrow morning. The witches coming here are my concern for now — they don't have anywhere to stay."
"You haven't given this any thought?" It asked, incredulously, staring at her in the reflection of the window.
"I believed that our fairy students would be kind enough to give up their room for the witches coming to take their place. I was wrong." She replied. "The fairies have declared that their room is to remain untouched while they are away, and out of respect, I will not go against their wishes."
It paused at that, the reptilian tail halting in its curious swaying. "What has that got to do with me?"
She glanced over her shoulder now, eyes twinkling with something Jaye didn't like. "You are the only one at Alfea currently without a roommate."
For a moment, the young dragonoid was confused by the words, until realization dawned on it. "You want me to share my room . . . with a bunch of witches?"
"It is the best solution."
"Might I remind you that my room is specifically enchanted to my needs?" Jaye told her, forcing itself to keep a respectful tone with its headmistress. "A normal fairy or witch can't survive in the heat of that room, and if I cool it down anymore, I might as well freeze to death in my sleep."
Faragonda allowed for a small smile to tug at her lips. "The enchantment on your chambers can be altered to fit the needs of both. Keep your side of the room warm enough to sustain your needs, but also allow our guests to be comfortable on their side as well."
Jaye considered it for a long moment, curling its wings around itself just slightly. The idea of sharing a room with someone else was not ideal for it, especially considering it had been alone all this year, but it couldn't necessarily go against the order of the headmistress herself. So, after some time with silence passing between them, the young dragon finally exhaled sharply. "If you insist upon it, I can deal with some guests, but I won't be entertaining them. I'm no glorified babysitter."
"Of course not," Faragonda replied, waving her hand. "Keeping an eye on our students and our guests is my responsibility alone. You have your own classes to worry about, so just make our guests feel welcome."
"I'll do my best," the dragon replied, "but I doubt that I'm the most welcoming person you have to offer here."
The headmistress smiled slightly, nodding once. "I have a feeling you'll be just what these witches need for their stay at Alfea."
The early morning sunlight was beginning to peer through the large window of Jaye's room as it awoke from the comfortable warm slumber it had been wrapped in, glancing toward the clock to see that it had slept in quite a bit. Suspended by its reptilian tail, wings curled around its body, it wasn't sleeping on the bed, though the mattress was about four feet below, just in case the desire to sleep curled beneath a weighted blanket struck it.
Now, however, the young dragonoid unfurled its wings, stretched lazily, and flipped over to land on the mattress, relishing the warmth of the room for a moment before walking over to the closet and grabbing a black t-shirt. It carefully pulled it over its head, staring into the mirror to observe its own face and quietly judging the way it looked before it shrugged a shoulder and whistled once. "Nyota!"
A furry white face peeked out from the cluster of blankets on the bed, ink-black eyes gazing toward the dragon curiously. A weasel.
She squeaked, emerging fully from the pile of cloth and scampering over to her owner, who allowed her to climb up its outstretched arm to then perch on its shoulder.
"Time for some classes, I suppose." It scratched her under the chin and headed for the door to its room, stepping outside and leaving the warmth behind in favor of the cool temperature drifting through the hallway.
Jaye walked down the corridor, heading toward the courtyard of Alfea so it could cross into another building without having to cram through hallways full of students.
"Remember to be on your best behavior," the dragonoid told the weasel quietly as it walked. "We don't want our temporary roommates to get angry on the first day."
Nyota leaned in and pressed her face against Jaye's cheek, squeaking softly. The redhead smiled slightly.
As it walked toward its first class of the day, the young magic being passed through several students, all of whom stepped aside to give it room, a smart move on their part if they didn't want to be slapped with a wing, or its tail.
No one wanted to get on the bad side of a dragon.
It crossed through the courtyard quickly, entering the school once again through another door and then walking into the classroom with a nod to the leprechaun professor, Wizgiz. He greeted it with a warm smile, and it took a seat in the back corner, watching other fairies trickle in, laughing to themselves.
The professor moved to stand in front of his desk, and Jaye automatically toned him out as he began to drone on about the wonders of metamorphosis magic — magic the young dragonoid already excelled in. Despite being a destruction-based creature, its ability to shapeshift at will drastically gave it an advantage when it came to wild magic. The magic that fueled everything in nature.
Magic that both fueled and drained destruction.
Such power existed in a delicate balance throughout the universe. There could be no creation without destruction, no light without darkness, no good without evil. As annoying as that balance was, it was what kept the Magic Dimension in harmony.
This was the reason why, while magic could be driven by an individual to lean toward good or toward evil (hence the difference between witches and fairies), there was always a balance within the magic itself. A fairy of water could use her power to destroy as well bring life, just a witch of shadows could be good or evil. It all depended on the source from which an individual took their power from.
Following the metamorphosis class, Jaye elected to skip its potions class and instead busy itself in the library until lunch, and upon entering the dining hall, it merely picked up a tray and walked over to a corner of the nearest table. Sitting down, it began eating whatever meat they'd decided to serve for the meal, feeding any fruit or vegetables to Nyota with a small smile.
The room was alive with chatter from those around Jaye, who elected to remain quiet in the little corner of the cafeteria, eyeing every person who came in and sat down.
"Looks like they have mystery meat again," one girl with lavender hues in her hair told her friend as they passed Jaye's table. "At least it's a respectable color this time."
Her companion nodded in agreement, and the two continued to chatter as they left the dragonoid's range of hearing, and it turned its attention elsewhere, now observing a group of fairies telling jokes a few tables down.
However, just a few minutes later, it felt a chill crawl down its spine, and a new presence filled the room — a presence that was much more sinister than that of the fairies clustered in groups while eating.
It watched with keen interest as some unfamiliar faces entered the cafeteria, faces whose styles and overall scornful energy immediately gave away who they were.
The witches.
It was interesting to see them at last, as it had only been in idle contact with a select few students from Cloud Tower, mostly due to the rivalry between the two schools. Still, those who called upon darker magic interested it to an extent, and it wasn't just because the dragonoid would have gone to Cloud Tower if they had accepted it.
Jaye watched the witches for a long moment, trailing them with its eyes as they walked to get their lunch, but then looking back down at its own tray the moment they had vanished into the crowd, presumably to find themselves a table.
Handing over the last carrot to Nyota, the young creature finished what little was still on its own tray, then got up, disposing of it and heading into the hall. It stuffed its hands into its pockets, looking up at the clock that showed the time high above.
"What do you think?" It glanced at the white weasel. "Skip the rest of the day? Or go to class?"
She squeaked in response.
"Agreed," it sighed, "not feeling up to history lessons right now."
Turning slightly, Jaye headed back down the hallway toward the dormitories, humming quietly under its breath while it moved. Students soon became few, until it turned down the empty corridor leading to its own room.
"Let's enjoy our last few hours of privacy," it murmured, pushing the door to its room open and heading over toward its bed.
It set the weasel down on the mattress and moved toward the dresser to scrounge up a change of clothes, finding only a gray tank top and a pair of black pants. Not the most ideal for someone who disliked wearing anything short-sleeved, but until it did laundry, it would have to do.
It slipped into the pants easily — at least they were more comfortable than the ones it had been wearing all day — and then took great care to remove the shirt without straining the reptilian wings which stretched out from its shoulder blades. Putting the tank top on in place of the shirt was a bit more difficult, seeing as the tightness of the garment made it near-impossible to comfortably shove its wings through the slits in the back. However, after some struggling, it managed to get them through.
That was when it heard the door to the room open, as a few sets of footsteps. There were no words spoken, but unfamiliar scents drifted through the air, causing Jaye to momentarily take its attention off the struggle with its shirt.
Glancing up into the mirror at the people it had become aware of, Jaye raised an eyebrow. "You know, when you walk in on someone changing, the proper thing to do is leave, or apologize." It pulled the hem of its tank top down and then turned to face the three women who had silently filed into the room in the last minute or so. "Can I help you, ladies?"
The tallest of the three, with long white hair pulled back into a ponytail, leaned against the doorframe, eyes flickering around the room with interest. "We were told this was our room."
"Oh, witches, should have known." The creature's expression shifted slightly as it twisted to once again gaze in the mirror. "Welcome, or whatever. Your side of the room is over there —" it gestured to the far wall, which had been tailored while it was away to fit their needs, "—three beds and a nightstand for each. There are also some desks to do whatever work you're assigned. I'd stay over there unless you want to feel like a rat in a terrarium. The room's enchanted to fit my needs." It adjusted the top with annoyance, noticing that the three girls had not moved even after it finished speaking, and instead continued to stare at it. "What? Did I forget to do something?"
"Your wings," The brunette witch wearing purple stated, her golden eyes piercing through it like the sun. "You're not a fairy."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, I'm well aware of what I'm not." Jaye replied tersely, pointedly stretching out its wings to display them a bit more. "This was the option that got back to me, as you'll see, Alfea isn't just fairies. We have elves, leprechauns, and other weird creatures."
The witch tilted her head. "Then what are you?"
"Don't you have classes to attend?" Jaye countered, facing them once again with crossed arms.
"Only one for today," the one with white hair spoke, looking it up and down. "Now answer the question. What, exactly, are you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" It growled, watching them cautiously. "I'm a dragon."
"A dragon," the witch with purple hair, wearing a magenta crop-top, said incredulously. "No way."
"Yes way," Jaye responded, "I've got the wings, the scales, the tail—"
"—the fire-breathing abilities?" The one dressed in purple challenged.
It nodded. "Among other things."
The three witches now fully entered the room, taking in everything, though the one with sharp blue eyes kept her gaze focused on the dragon. "The sign on the door said your name is Jaye," she commented, "is that like, the bird?"
"Pronounced like the bird, spelled a bit different."
"Hm, not bad, for a fairy."
It rolled its eyes. "Not a fairy, pretty sure we cleared that up."
"What's your magic deal?" The brunette asked, examining the beds before looking over at the dragonoid.
"Are you asking what my power basis is?" Jaye tilted its head.
"Yeah, essentially," she replied. "I'm a Witch of Dark Magic, or illusions and darkness. My sisters are over ice and storms."
Jaye considered the question for a long moment. "My abilities, other than the fire, are fear and destruction based."
"Fear and destruction, eh?" The supposed ice witch narrowed her eyes. "Sounds more like something a witch would have. Why aren't you a Cloud Tower student?"
"Oh, I applied there," Jaye responded, "but the application was rejected. Your Headwitchtress doesn't accept students who aren't witches."
"So you went here?" The storm witch wrinkled her nose in slight disgust. "I'd have rather gone rogue, if I'm being honest."
The dragonoid sniffed. "That was definitely an option, though not one I wanted to take, especially once my sibling secured a position at Red Fountain." It shrugged a shoulder and turned away from them to avoid having to watch them — the one with white hair especially — look it up and down. It was unsettling, and Jaye wasn't in the mood to be eyed like a piece of interesting meat. "Anyway, unless you have any questions about the school, I've got nothing else to say. Enjoy the school if you can, and try not to pulverize anyone out of being an inconvenience."
The dark witch snorted. "What lies are they feeding you here?"
A slight smirk. "The kind that makes almost everyone here afraid of witches."
"Well, at least our reputation precedes us," the storm witch snickered.
"It certainly does," Jaye responded neutrally. "Speaking of your reputation, do I have the honor of knowing your names?"
The witch with white hair glanced at her companions, stepping forward slightly. "Well, since you're being so polite," her gaze never left that of the dragon, "name's Icy, and my sisters are Darcy and Stormy, respectively."
"Straight to the point," the redhead mused, "do all witches name themselves after their powers, or are those names you choose after you figure them out?"
Icy smirked. "That's a secret. Maybe we just know who we're going to be early on."
"Mhm," Jaye grazed its tongue over its fangs. "If you insist." Moving over toward the bed, it scooped up Nyota in its arms, the weasel staring intently at the newcomers as she burrowed into the crook of her owner's arm. "You already know my name, and this is Nyota. She's my Familiar, so take care not to frighten her unless you want your eyebrows singed off by accident."
"A Familiar, you say?" Darcy glanced at Icy. "Not something you see often anymore — not even in witches."
"Didn't the practice of Familiars die out once witches started learning to channel their own energy?" Stormy asked, glancing at the weasel with curiosity.
"It did," the dragon responded, "but other creatures kept up the practice, especially ones who harness more raw energy than controlled magic. Dragons are just one example. If I didn't have a Familiar, I'd probably burn the school down in my sleep."
"So it anchors your magical energy?" Icy asked.
Jaye shook its head. "Nyota exists to channel my energy. Rather than that magic building up inside me as I grow, it siphons between myself and my Familiar, keeping it controlled, but still accessible should I ever need to summon it."
"Why not just learn to control it, like the rest of us?" Darcy inquired, her golden eyes piercing the gloom of the room.
"Tradition, mostly," Jaye told them. "My kind like having our raw energy at our disposal, dragons are meant to be beings of pure fire and magic, but just leaving it to lurk in our souls more often than not just causes us to destroy things around us. Having a Familiar helps to better control it naturally, rather than through the methods that more human beings have adopted, which hacks away at natural energy in an artificial manner." It shrugged. "Most Familiars have been with their owners since birth, and I usually don't go anywhere without her, just out of habit, and I'm less likely to explode on annoying fairies."
"Oh, so you're not too popular with the fairies here, either?" Icy's eyes glittered.
"Why do you think I room alone?" It countered. "Besides the fact that I need a room enchanted to produce enough heat so I don't die in my sleep, I typically don't like fairies. Too nosy. They don't like me, either," a smirk, "because I'm just too amazing for them, and they're jealous."
"Yeah, definitely should have been the witch," Stormy clarified, watching it with a sinister interest. "Too bad Griffin is a bit old-school."
Icy also had her eyes on Jaye, but seemed to be more in thought. Her 'sisters' both noticed, and shared a glance, though it wasn't long before the ice witch narrowed her eyes, a smirk creeping onto her face. "Sisters."
Darcy lifted an eyebrow in response, and Jaye was also surprised at the tone of voice.
"What?" Stormy crossed her arms. "What are you thinking, Icy?"
Instead of responding to the other witches, the woman stepped even closer, staring down her nose at the dragon as if trying to figure something out. "You are quite powerful, I can feel it," she commented, "and your energy — your very mannerisms — are too dark for just any fairy."
"Yeah?" Jaye replied, stepping back slightly to keep them from touching.
Darcy, who was watching the proceedings, suddenly lit up. "Icy, are you thinking—"
"We could use someone like you on our side." Icy finished.
"Your side?" Jaye tilted its head.
"Cloud Tower won't accept it," Stormy added, glancing at her 'sister' with confusion. "We can't change Griffin's mind on that."
"I didn't say anything about it coming to Cloud Tower," the ice witch countered, "it doesn't need to. It can stay here, and be our eyes in Alfea."
Jaye lifted a brow. "And why would you need eyes in Alfea, exactly?"
The witches all exchanged a long look, as if silently contemplating something. "Before we let you in on our secrets, dragon," Icy told it, "you'll have to prove yourself to us. Prove useful and strong enough to be named one of us."
The dragonoid's head spun at the thought. Ally itself with some witches? Witches who seemed to be harboring much more twisted intentions, those that affected Alfea? The idea was concerning, to say the least. Alfea had been its home for the last year, and while the other students weren't the most pleasant to be around, Faragonda had been nothing but kind and accepting of it.
"What makes you think I want to leave?" It asked hesitantly. "Yeah, Cloud Tower was my first choice, but I've been here for some time now. Is it wise for you to trust a creature who has lived among fairies with whatever intentions you have?"
"You make a good point," Icy remarked, "but call it a gut feeling I have about you. You're not a witch, but you're also not a fairy, and from what it seems, you don't have any real loyalties." Her voice dropped. "Why don't we give you a cause to fight for? An idea to place your loyalties into?"
Tempting, Jaye admitted internally. "I didn't think witches had friends."
"You wouldn't be a friend," Stormy finally spoke up, "if you entered our coven, you'd become one of us. A member of the Trix."
"You'd just have to prove yourself to us first," Icy smirked slightly. "What do you say, Jaye?"
A place to belong. It sounded . . . nice, even if the ones it would belong with were witches.
The dragonoid narrowed its eyes.
"What do I have to do?"