Screaming.

It was guttural, inhuman. Like a barn owl’s screech, if a barn owl had been bred with a rabbit in distress, was granted the lungs of a professional opera singer. If one were close enough to investigate what had caused the sound, however, they would find only a scrawny girl rocking an odd, fleshy pile cradled in her arms, cooing at it as if it were a baby. Esperanza didn’t blame her little creature for being fussy. Poor thing had been stuck in a crate for almost a full day now, and while she had finally been able to let him out upon their arrival, Chupacabra was likely getting peckish by now.

[color=#FF7433]“It is alright, [i]mi bebé[/i],”[/color] she whispered. Smiling fondly, Esperanza planted a kiss above Chu’s cluster of eyes, listening to the skitter-skitter as he looked up at her. [color=#FF7433]“Do not worry. We will be there soon. You have been very good for mommy.”[/color] After a moment of thought, she drew a handful of granola from her pockets, and let it fall into the creature’s awaiting mouth. Esp nuzzled him against her face as he chewed, waiting for him to finish before continuing her trek into the woods. Mama had always said that moving with your mouth full could make you choke, after all.

It had taken several hours to fly all the way from Mexico. Several more to ride the cab all the way to the edges of the forest. Nobody had wanted to drive all the way through the thick shrubbery, so the last step of their journey had to be done on foot. Not that Esperanza minded, of course- the woods were nothing like what they had back home. She was feeling a bit tired, admittedly, but that was alright. From what the letter had said, she would be assigned a room upon arriving at the school.

A room.

And a room[i]mate[/i].

The thought sent a thrill down her spine. 

She didn’t know how long she walked before she began to hear something other than the birds and the squirrels and all the little woodland creatures calling out for their mates. Her parents had given her a phone before her departure, but as Esperanza’s hands were currently filled with Chu, checking the time was a near impossibility. But she heard it, and, blinking owlishly, she hushed her pet and listened closely.

It was music. Not the music of the trees, but of actual, man-made instruments. She must be close. Brightening up, Esperanza began to run as fast as her skirt would allow her- 

Only to find herself crashing into another person. 

Stumbling backwards, Esperanza shook off her daze and gasped out a shocked [color=#FF7433]“I am so sorry!”[/color] to whoever she had run into. Chu seemed just as surprised as she was, chattering and giggling to himself as he clawed his way up onto her shoulders. As she hastily tried to compose herself, fixing up her hair to try and look presentable, she took a brief look-over at who she had run into. Dark hair. A mask. Esperanza had always thought masks were supposed to be worn in Halloween, but the thought was swiftly kicked to the side. There were more important things to worry about currently.

[@knifeman]

[hr]

There was a chill in the air. It nipped playfully at Dawn’s nose as she slipped through the woods, caressing what little skin was left bare to the world. It wasn’t surprising that the meeting-place was located in such a tucked-away place- after all, she had little doubt that she and her fellow students would garner suspicion otherwise. Most of her own less than human traits had been hidden throughout the length of her journey, carefully concealed beneath layers of magic, but now that the chance of finding another ordinary human was slim she was able to drop some of the illusion. 

Some. Not all. The weight of her tails was very prominent, but only one was trailing behind her, flicking lazily in an imaginary breeze.

The letter had been simple enough. “Congratulations,” the ink whispered. “You’ve been accepted into the academy. If you can’t fly, head to this location and wait for our headmaster to retrieve you.” There had been little else. Unsure of what to expect, Dawn had spent a night before packing up her essentials and making choice calls in the meantime. She had arranged for an old friend of hers, Harley, to take care of the office for her while she was away, and for another to drop her off at the meeting place. All of the loose ends had been neatly tied, and everything she could need was bundled up inside her bag. There was nothing to do now but reach the academy itself, and work from there. 

After passing through a tangle of vines and flora, Dawn began to hear the sound of voices. Music. All good signs. She adjusted her hat, pulling the brim over her eyes as she strode into the clearing. There were a handful of other people that had arrived and were mingling with one another, but not enough to indicate that she was late. She nodded to herself, then, carefully placing her bag upon the grass, Dawn perched upon it and settled in to wait. 

It was an interesting bunch by the looks of it. And it would be a very interesting semester.