"Alright everyone, settle down." Mr. Jefferson chuckled warmly as the talking died down. "We're going to start this week with a new prompt assignment. Begin with something familiar from your own life—such as a past event, something you know how to do, a character inspired by someone you know, or a place from your life—and put it in a fictionalized scene or story." explained the Instructor before he took a seat behind his desk for now, allowing everyone to think.
Abney would look at the teacher for a moment, listening before beginning to take notes with his pencil, scribbling down what he said in regards to today's assignment, only to stop mid brush of his pencil to look over at Xavier, the Vulpix giving a smile before going back to writing in his notebook.
Xavier would be doing the same, before he looked over at Abney out of the corner of his eye, seeing the Vulpix give a smile after having looked at him, before chirping in his mind. "I don't know what manner of mischief you're up to today Abney, but I'd recommend you don't pull any pranks in class"
Abney would tense a little, going ridged before looking over at Xavier again, replying back in a mental link "I don't plan on it?? But uhm... stay out my mind and we'll be okay, alright?"
"Don't worry, I mean no harm, we're able to talk without issue anyways, not like the teacher can hear us" he replied with a smirk, tail beginning to wag some, gently knocking against the wood backing of the chair.
"So, I am going to take an event from my life and uh... maaaybe portray it as myself, only under a different name" said Abney to Xavier through the link.
"Same! I was thinking maybe we could share ideas, make our stories full of pizazz" Xavier would then look over to the twin sisters, giving a little head tilt toward Vanessa and Victoria, curious if he should peek into their minds.
Victoria had calmed herself by now, choosing to write about the time she learned how to control her fire abilities for her assignment. She would occasionally glance over towards Xavier, her tail wagging excitedly as she suppressed a blush.
Vanessa was quiet, the subject of her paper being set in her old home of Germany. She mixed reality and whimsical fiction as she wrote, weaving a tale about German mythology in the present day. Her story circled around the very prominent legend of The Fraternity of the Rose Cross and it's fabled founder Christian Rosenkreuz. She was interested in how, under his direction, he tutored several disciples in the art of alchemy, philosophy and divine science. She would insert herself into the narrative as one of his disciples.
By the time the two boys had settled on a subject they were well on their way on their story, writing down a few things that made sense, too much sense in fact because it actually happened. But who would believe them? Not too many.
Abney had put together a story of him chasing someone across the solar system to save someone. Actually happened but would anyone believe that?? Probably not.
Xavier was a bit too dark, a story of loss, enslavement and cultist brainwashing and terror. Again, who would believe that happened? Probably no one. Especially seeing it was on a freight liner headed for another planet.
As time passed, Victoria was the first to finish up her story, setting her notebook aside as she began to wonder what the boys were writing. Vanessa on the other hand was still writing when the Instructor stood, "Alright students, are there any of you willing to share your story with the class? It's not required of course, but we do have time for one if anyone is interested."
Abney raised his paw. "I am willing to share, though I think Xavier might be willing as well." he said with a grin over at the coyfox
Xavier flinched, then gulped and nodded yes. Public speaking was not his forte and not his strong suit, it always gave him the willies when it came to it.
A few other students were willing to share as well.
"Wonderful, Abney and Xavier, why don't both of you come up here, we may be able to share both before the bell." Jefferson replied.
Abney would nod, standing up before moving over to Xavier, nudging them and leading them to the front of the class, Abney sitting down next to the coyfox before smiling and beginning his story.
Abney would then smile and begin first, a story tale of how the character was hired by a big corporation to go find a child that had been taken by an unsavory group of crazy people, moments of going place to place, planet to planet, finding leads in the most unexpected of places, most of all, in the underbellies of these worlds where most things are left to die. A happy ending of course, being with a grand and epic fight of good versus evil against the cultists on board the freighter SSV Pericles.
Xavier would shudder a little, knowing that story a bit too well because that was him, mentally growling a bit as he looked at Abney for a moment, then told his story, which was much, much darker. A tale of gunmen breaking down the character's bedroom door at night, the character being taken by these people, his parents nowhere to be found, being taken to a dark place in the belly of a ship, tortured in ways that should not be physically possible, torment from the cultists, brainwashing techniques that involved drugs, force-feeding of chemicals, and more, but a happy ending by the end of it as the character was saved in a flash of fire and ice as their savior came up and got them from the underbelly of the same ship that appeared in Abney's story: SSV Pericles.
A student then piped up. "How did you both have the same ship name when you're three desks apart?"
The class was moved, freaked out and driven to tears by these two stories. Well, except for a few... who were utterly terrified to show emotion.
The girls were shocked, a tear falling down Vanessa's check that almost instantly froze to her seat as emotions swirled between pain and anger. Victoria waited for the bell before darting over to the boys, nuzzling Xavier if he'd allow. "You've been through so much...I'm so sorry. Why would you agree to share that nightmare?" she asked with a slight head tilt.
"That's easy to figure out" said Xavier toward the one that had asked about the story ship. "It happened to us." he smiled, then a collective gasp would come from the class in both disbelief and surprise.
"We thought it would make for a good story to share, then again, who honestly would believe it?" said Abney toward the question of their choice to share it. "As for how it lined up? Aheh... I don't know how that happened!" he said with a soft laugh, hiding the fact the both of them could read minds in their own rights.
The bell chimed in shortly after, but before the group could make their way upstairs for Biology, Mr. Jefferson asked Xavier and Abney to hang back a moment. He wore a look of concern much like the students. The twins overheard his request and risked getting in trouble for being late, waiting for the boys outside the door.
Abney would blink, then sit down and put his paw on Xavier's tail to keep him in place as he hung back. "Yes?" he asked curiously toward Mr. Jefferson.
"Considering the context of the assignment, is it true what the two of you had to go through despite your young ages?" Jefferson asked cautiously.
Abney softly nodded yes to the question, as did Xavier.
The wolf rubbed between his eyes and sighed, "Care to explain why a child was recruited for such a dangerous rescue mission Abney? And Xavier...cultists? May I ask what their motives were and if you're alright?"
Abney would sling his collar slightly to the right, showing his ID badge for the ICA. "I'm an ICA, my age might be low, but I am an agent of the International Contract Agency contracted under Ravenwood." he explained clearly, then twisted his collar just a bit more to show the Ravenwood badge on the front of it. "It wouldn't be the first time the company has hired a child. Exceptional talent and all that..."
"As for the cult... erm, I'm still being hunted, but Father has kept me safe and sound from it, but that doesn't stop them from trying every now and again. I... I'm terrified of them, sure, but I am mostly safe and sound, especially with Abney by my side" he said with a nervous smile toward Abney.
"It's true, though there are things in this line of work that... make it rather difficult to keep track of the little scamp" he said with a chuckle, then hugged Xavier from behind. "This one is my best friend after all, I dare not let them sink into the dark."
Jefferson nodded slowly, "Noted, thanks for clearing that up. If you guys need an outlet for discussion, might I suggest more expression through my classes. I'm interested in learning more if you're comfortable with sharing." he smiled, walking them to the door.
They both nodded yes. "We might" they both say at the same time before stepping out into the hall.
"Well, that coulda gone better..." said Abney with a sigh after the door shut
The twins wandered up as they entered the hall, "Are you ok?" they both asked simultaneously.
Xavier gulps and nods yes, looking a bit bewildered. "I am yeah" he said with a meek smile, his collar being readjusted by Abney.
Abney nods yes, before sighing through his nose, black smoke pouring from it as a sign of frustration. "I'm fine, just had to explain things to the teacher over our mysterious past." he said, then looked over to see Jennifer standing there near the office, gulping as he wondered if she was here for him or something.
Jennifer smiled at Abney, then gave a motion with her finger for him to come over, the arctic fox looking quite pretty.
Vanessa noticed that and drooped her ears, "Are you in trouble?" she whispered.
Abney would shake his head no, walking over to Jennifer as he was picked up by the snow fox, petted twice before Vanessa would see her tuck a USB into his collar, connecting it to the holo-display of his collar. "More jobs?" he asked her.
"Yes" she said simply. "I expect them done soon. See you after school for more information." she said with a professional tone, then set him down gently. "Now go play, champion" she grinned, then turned to walk away.
"Wait! Miss Jennifer?" said Xavier toward her.
"Hm?" she perked an ear toward his request for her to wait.
"Can you sing your song in music class today?" he whined.
"Ohh I planned to deary" she grinned, then took quiet steps to walk away, almost as if she wasn't there at all.
The girls exchanged a look before deciding not to ask for now, wandering up beside the boys right as the late bell rang...Biology was about to be awkward!
Xavier squeaked, then giggled as he grinned at the two of them, then ran off toward Biology, Abney close behind him.
The twins bolted right after, hoping that Mr. Vlodovic was in a forgiving mood today.
-
As the lot of them entered the classroom, and got to their seats, they would see that there was no teacher right away, a look of confusion crossing Xavier's and Abney's faces as they wondered where he was, five minutes ticking on the clock before the door would be kicked open, quite literally, a small shriek coming from a few of the students as the fennetiger wandered in, carrying a large, black box.
"Excuse the delay in the class everyone, mild issue with trying to get this out of the truck and keeping it contained" he said with a chuckle, placing the box down as he took the lid off of it. "Thank you Rosarisi" he said with a wave to the pink haired one that was out of view.
"Alright, so, who here is ready for today's assignment, I did give ample warning to our students it was gonna be a wild one" he asked, looking around between the lot of them.
Vanessa cowered in her seat while her adventurous sister Victoria was practically bouncing. "I'm ready sir, what's in the box?" Vicky asked.
The fennetiger would just smile at Victoria before pulling the shade panel back to show the box was actually a cage, a loud snarl coming from the fox inside before it calmed and began to pace a little back and forth. "Alright, settle down everyone, this is what we are studying today, this is Sparky, a coyote that came from Aurora National Zoo, he will be assisting with our study of how coyotes act, well... the feral proper ones that is, unlike my son over there in the corner" he grinned toward Xavier
"Oh come on, I don't be mean to everyone!" he whined and pouted a little at the callout before seeing Tod open the box and help the coyote out into the open, on a leash of course, his ears perked as he looked at Sparky.
"Right, so, turn your tablets on and click the module on display, and who here can tell me the specifications of the species in question?" he asked.
"Erm, Canis Latrans, known as the Coyote, but also known as the American Jackal, Prairie Wolf, and Brush Wolf, has a rating of Vulnerable in terms of conservation, has 21 confirmed subspecies, and males are 18 to 44 pounds, whilst females are 15 to 40 pounds. They also are very much valued by Native American tribes in North America as spiritual animals" said one of the students.
"Very good, now, who wants to come pet the fluffy before we move on?" he asked, clicking something in his pocket to signal for Sparky to sit down, which he did.
Victoria nearly shot out of her seat, extending a paw towards the feral without hesitation. Vanessa on the other hand was taking notes from the safety of her lab station. She took this opportunity to list differences between the wild visitor and Xavier.
Sparky immediately leaned in, sniffing curiously of Victoria as the coyote definitely was bigger than Xavier, but not by much, had a slightly darker tone to his fur, and looked akin to a mix of gray wolf and coyote markings, despite being a full blooded coyote. His eyes also were a golden shine, unlike Xavier's blue, and the coyote definitely was making odd noises at times.
Though as soon as Xavier came over, the coyote would shift his attention to the coyfox, sniffing right into his ear before the two would begin to play bicker, nipping at each other and showing a plenty of playful energy, before Tod would tug Sparky back a little before the feral went too far. "Down boy" he chuckles to the feral, then smiles at Victoria and Xavier. "Sorry, he tends to get excited whenever he sees a member of his species, or at least a close second to it"
"Hehehe, he's definitely cute" said Xavier, smiling before giving a couple pats to his side before returning to his seat with a bright smile on his muzzle.
Victoria had definitely been blushing when Xavier began play fighting with Sparky, backing up out of the way only to back against the table with an embarrassing yip. She then slowly wandered to her seat, ignoring the chuckling from Vanessa.
After everyone had gotten a chance to interact with Sparky, the lesson went on, the various aspects of the species being detailed, examples being given, questions being proposed and asked, and all of the nice details of how coyotes were, and how they had gone from least concerned, to vulnerable due to the second American civil war and climate change sparking a lot of the problems they had before them.
Xavier had gone back to his seat by the time the lesson went on, sitting and taking notes next to Abney, humming a soft tune to himself as he did so, the two boys a mere seat space away from the two girls, which the seat in itself was vacant, reserved for a student that had not been seen for a good two weeks...
Once class let out for lunch and free time, the girls had two very different agendas. Vanessa approached me the empty seat, noting she had never seen a fellow student sitting there in her short time being enrolled at Rowanbranch.
Victoria however, as oblivious as ever, followed Xavier out. It took her a couple of minutes to work up the courage, but by the time the two had gotten downstairs, she started by asking if he had a mate.
Xavier gulped, then blushed hard at the question if he had a mate or not, then led her to a bit of an alcove in the school. "I'm in an open relationship, I... don't know if that's alright with you or not, but I do like you, I'm allowed to like kits my own age, and of course, you're very pretty and very nice, and..." he shuddered, then looked down, feeling a bit bad.
Taylor however, was nearby, waiting to see how that interaction went, sneaky foxxo mode engaged.
Abney strolled out of the class as he headed down the stairs without much thought, headed for the cafeteria.
Vicky chuckled and gently booped the coyfox, "I don't have an issue with that if you don't, silly. Wanna join me for lunch maybe?" she asked sweetly before licking his cheek with a blush.
Vanessa came downstairs shortly after that cute interaction, lost in thought as she passed the pair without noticing.
The coyfox would smile then would give her nose a quick smooch before nodding yes to her question to joining her for lunch. "I'd like that!"
Steam erupted from the girls ears as she found it impossible to speak anymore, using her tail to hold his as they left to get food. In the cafeteria, Vanessa settled in next to Abney like usual, but something seemed off as she picked at her lunch quietly.
Abney would blink a few times as he picked up on her emotions and looked over at her, head tilting some before asking. "What's wrong?" he was quiet, soft in tone and wanting to help somehow.
Xavier smiled and walked into the cafeteria, grinning a little as he strolled with her and got their lunches without much hassle.
Vanessa sighed, "What's the story with the girl that stopped coming to class? Think she's sick or something?" she asked curiously, "I only figured out something was up when they've missed role call since Vic and I got here...maybe I'm just being paranoid."
"I don't know what the story is behind her, Amani was a kind hearted girl, kind of looked like an Espeon but not one at the same time, she had come to school for six years now from my understanding and then just... stopped, she's been absentia for a week now and I'm... guessing Tod is gonna look into it? He usually does find answers quicker than most, almost like a mindreader." he said, then smiled a little. "I'm just hoping she's alright..."
"Hey Abney, Vanessa, come on over when ya can!" said Xavier from the table near the window close to the back of the cafeteria
The white Vulpix nodded at his answer before turning her attention to Xavier and...Victoria? She was unused to her sister not being by her side so she figured this would be interesting. Vanessa grabbed her tray and moved over. Abney may have noticed the lunch monitor, Mr. Jefferson, shifting his position closer to the back table as well, though it wouldn't be too unusual.
The coyfox grinned as he then put his paw around Victoria, grinning wide at the other two before saying "Meet my girlfriend, Victoria" he said proudly, definitely blowing the lid off of the whole situation without a care in the world.
Abney set his food down gently before hearing that, blinking quickly a few times before he just smiled wide at Vanessa. "Now I'm waiting..." he said in an amused tone, as if daring her to say something.
"Your WHAT?!" squeaked the normally quiet sister as she stared at the pair, dumbfounded. It took her a moment to register what Abney said, "Waiting? For...for what...I mean uh..." she began to stutter as her coat took on a shade of red resembling her twin.
Xavier laughed some and grinned wide, wagging his tail slightly from side to side. "Oh goodness, what do we have heeere?" he teased.
Vanessa tried to take a drink of juice only for her to swallow it wrong, choking a bit as an ice shard flew from her throat into the glass. Once she recovered, she bolted out of the cafeteria due to her shy nature and embarrassment. She liked Abney...was this really happening right now? In her hurry to hide, she ran into another Vulpix, one she hadn't met or even seen before.
"Easy there...where's the fire? Are you alright?" the mysterious Kantoan Vulpix asked sweetly, wrapping his tail gently around the girl to help calm her down.
The moment Vanessa went bailing on them, Abney smiled and sighed, then slowly stood up after a minute. "I should probably go get her." he said softly
As he exited the cafeteria, he'd quickly be met with the sight of the young Alolan in the embrace of another of their kind. Granted, she seemed speechless, but something felt weird here.
Abney, he wasn't the jealous type, but the moment he laid eyes on this new and unusual character, his eyes start glowing pink in the irises, his crystal reacting and inspecting this one's thoughts.
(Maybe this will be easier than expected...) was all that could be read before Tyrian turned his attention to Abney, "Are you why this little angel was so upset?" he mused, attempting to pull her closer before she regained her senses. Vanessa backed up slightly and shook her head, "No! This was just a big misunderstanding, Abney didn't do anything. Thanks though." she reassured before going over to her friend.
Abney would blink at the sudden question, saying nothing before turning to walk back into the cafeteria, holding the door open for Vanessa. After the two were back in, he smiled at Vanessa. "Sorry if I weirded you out, I'm just... I guess teasing" he said with a chuckle.
"Sorry I freaked out...truth is, I've never liked anyone like you before. Everyone just kinda gravitates towards Vicky. So when it seemed you liked me too, I panicked." she admitted with a blush. "Did I blow it?"
"Naaah, but you might blow up in a second." he said with a bright smile, before leaning in and smooching her on the cheek. "So how about we go back to lunch, eat and talk, hm?"
The nearby vending machine froze over before she managed a short nod. As they made their way back to the table, Abney would catch a glare from the one known as Tyrian.
Abney didn't seem to notice the icy Pepsi cola machine, but kept near Vanessa as he went back to his food and began eating fast, only to catch that glare from Tyrian.
Victoria immediately apologized for making her sister feel cornered, "You ok Van? You know we were only teasing..." she pouted before noticing her paw literally frozen to Xavier's.
"Consider us even...besides, you guys scared me enough to actually go through with it." Vanessa replied with a soft chuckle before nuzzling Abney sweetly, unaware of Tyrian's nearby presence.
Abney wouldn't do much about the glaring other Vulpix, but would just quietly nuzzle at Vanessa a few times before returning to eating his food, humming a little as he listened to the thoughts and ideas of others around him.
"Sooo, I guess you're stuck to me for the moment" said Xavier to Victoria, giggling a little.
Victoria huffed, her body temperature raising just enough to melt the ice without burning her new mate. "You're welcome I guess, you two are cute together." she smirked.
Xavier chuckled happily, nodding in agreement as he wagged his tail from side to side. Abney was doing the same with his own tails.
-
Across town, Angelica paced the living room of the family's new town home, much more vocal than she portrayed in public. "Are you honestly telling me that you're comfortable with our daughters mingling with a tainted family?" she growled.
Vincent winced, "That's not what I said, my snowflake. I just think we should at least meet the boy's parents before we decide anything. The girls seem genuinely happy to have made a close friend this soon after the move, let's wait this out." he stated calmly. Clearly, the dynamic of this couple swaps when behind closed doors.
Angelica's eyes began to glow with an intense green aura as she protested, "And what are you to say if this evolved beyond a simple friendship?"
"One step at a time, snow angel. I doubt that will happen, especially not this soon." Vincent hesitantly replied...oh how wrong he was.
