Alma

I feel my breath in my lungs, scraping hard, to the point that it burns. Backing a couple of steps away from the concrete wall, I take a deep breath, spinning to look at my opponent, who looks pissed with me for smacking straight into the concrete wall. Like that was what I wanted to happen. Totally. At least now I can say I left a mark here, judging the blood stain and new ding in the stone. This school really sucks sometimes. Aside from looking like a medieval kingdom filled with prisons and gardens, the schedule was intense. Monday through Friday and every other Sunday, we were all expected to wake up, train , get changed, eat, go to class, followed by more mandatory training. At Vreake Academy, creatures of all walks of life were able to live together as a way to ensure peace among each new generation. Schools like Vreake existed everywhere, and even met to ensure world peace, as opposed to just regional peace. Making connections and acquaintances here was all fine and dandy, but could be a lot better-- with competitive, overbearing, territorial males all flaunting around, it was dangerous for the students to simply be left to their own devices-- to keep war to a minimum on campus, the Powers That Are decided everyone had to be exhausted, all the time. Each species and group of people was different, with different looks and ways of living. Most students were excited to mingle and explore new cultures, but each race also had different inner-social standings. So, whereas the most powerful necromancer was the temporary leader of the death magic wielders, they were not the most popular kids in their year, or on campus. Typically, the more powerful someone was, the cooler they were within their species, and most of the time they were upper-level in general popularity. Everyone wants to be friends with a powerful person, especially if you aren't the most powerful person. Powerful friends mean you're protected. But, what really sucks was the fact that standing applies only to the guys for most races; the females are just expected to do as they're told and be happy. As if. Females of a race, in most cases, are assigned a non-title. They simply float through the ranks of their people until they find their mate, which is their other half. Once mated, a female is expected to share their standing with their mate; if a female is unmated, they are stuck at the bottom. Of course, there is a hierarchy among females, but no one really talks about it, or acknowledges it, unless someone bitches about having to work with someone else. I don't care about social standing, mostly because it's not strength that is against me, but heritage. My rise to the top would lead to unrest within the ranks lower than myself, and I'm not risking chaos for power. I know I am dominant and strong. At the very least, I should be stronger than the douche who just threw me into a wall. At Vreake, there are only a few major categories of people: Wielder, Morph, Fae, and Shifter. Wielders included witches, wizards, warlocks, druids, and other magic-wielding people. They learn their magic through study and script. Fae were the Fae, sprites, and dryads-- they were born with elemental magic and the ability to wield it was natural, although consequences were omnipresent. Morphs were people who were changed into existence, such as vamps and ghouls-- this group is always interesting to see on campus because they were rare and appeared older than their peers, or younger. Lastly, there are shifters, like me. Shifters are those who have multiple forms. Of course, there were others, but they were angels, demons, and other divine children. The divine and holy bloods were the worst. They are all "Obey me or I will smite you", which is how I got into my current mess. A yokai, a Japanese monster, decided that I, a wolf shifter-- a rare commodity, I am-- would do his bidding, and I said no. I refuse to be bossed around by some asshole with an itch to scratch. I glanced away from the wall as the yokai laughed, which was horribly squeaky for a guy his size-- the man was built like a football player, all height and muscle. I open my mouth to say something that is probably dumb and goading when my opponent decides to shed his mortal skin, letting the bright red skin of his true form peak through. Just had to be an Oni, known for their strength and size. Could this day get any better? If I had known he was Oni, I probably would have run, because although there are rules against killing other students, there is nothing the teachers can do to prevent it from happening, and whereas I may be strong, I may not beat a well-trained Oni. Because I am female, a lot of the guys here think they can boss me around. What they don't realize, however, is that I bow down to no one but my Alpha and Beta, which were currently not here. Didn't stop males from trying though. This particular male had demanded I go back to his room with him. As if. I focus on my breathing, allowing the pain to awaken my wolf. She was harder to call on unless I was pissed off or scared because I am a half-blood. My mother was Fae, my father a Shifter. I inherited my abilities from my father, but I looked like a Fae, with a shimmer to my skin and ears that pointed slightly, never mind the bright silver eyes; the only give away to my non-Faeness was my hair, which is a dark brown. My looks scared some weaker opponents, because the Fae are a species to be wary of. However, Oni are worse, by a lot. They will rip you apart and then go eat lunch. If I die, I die-- other than being female, I do not have much to offer my home pack. To them, like many of the shifters here, I am a disgrace, a smudge in the perfection of the shifter lines. My Alpha would be pissed if I died, seeing how I could be used as leverage to create new ties. The Oni looks at my surprised expression and smirks, thinking I am surprised by what he is. Honestly, I knew he had to be someone dangerous, judging by his looks and his friends, all who are similar in stature and blocking my exit. I am surprised because my wolf has decided to play, which doesn't happen often; I'll probably regret it later. Normally, I am stuck fighting on my own, but she has been feisty today. My wolf's anger is useful during the extra training sessions I run after classes-- I am left paying for the tuition of Vreake out of pocket, and the sessions pay a pretty significant portion, for sure. Like most things involving shifters, the strength of the presence of my wolf depends on some external force. For wolves, coyotes, and foxes, the external force is typically the moon. For other species, such as bear shifters, it is seasons-- cat shifters seem to be the length of the day, and birds are stormy times. Aside from the moon, I think the amount of control I try and hold over both myself and my wolf may contribute to her reluctance-- not being able to always hunt and run and explore at her every whim really seems to put a dent in my wolf’s tail. Shifters need to phase at least once a month. Being a half-blood, I can normally go a month and a half to two months without phasing, but I haven't phased in three months, mainly because of schoolwork and training and the fact that I didn't have the necessary “protection” to phase. My wolf is just as hard to put back in her cage as she is to step out of it. Being able to phase takes me longer because of her bitchiness. First, I need to coax out my wolf, but like most other things, it is complex-- I need to have someone with me or my wolf won’t step forward or withdraw, and forcing a phase-back can be dangerous as I don’t always phase back into a complete form. Someone more dominant, or someone my wolf and I trust is ideally present to help ease the transition; otherwise, I need to sleep off the transition completely, which takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a day and a half. Simply put, without someone with me, I can't phase, and since the accident last month, I have no protection. My best friend and packmate, Ro, has gone on runs with me my entire life, but four months ago, he was transferred because a Selkie attacked him, and he won. He was removed from campus, leaving me by myself here. Looking like a Fae drove my fellow shifters to avoid me, and the Fae are kinda prejudiced against me because I take forever to phase, even though they go on runs in their animal forms as well each month, not because they have to but rather because they want to. Then, of course, the animal yokai and some of the others just don't like me, mainly because I stand up to them when disrespected. My wolf is an adamant b***h. Either her way or the highway; and she refuses to phase with just anybody there to watch over us. I couldn't really care less; like I said, I die, I die. Got to die sometime. Why not die after a good run? There was another problem with phasing with just anyone. My wolf wants someone who is either a shifter or Fae, or in some way related. Not helpful, because both species avoid me. Maybe I can get my wolf to compromise for a run alone, even if she hates the idea of being vulnerable. I watch the Oni as he laughs at my surprised expression. He really thinks he is worth my time? I have warm up and a class to run-- this guy isn’t on my list of s**t to do. But I’m not going to look weak in front of the others in the quad on campus, where the Oni and I are currently standing. Students walk by on the stone pathways lined with stone and bright flowers. I watch as a few people purposefully turn around and walk the other way, or spin their heads to look into the forest beyond the hedge, all for the sake of deniability. Cowards. The lack of compassion really pushes me to the edge of anger and into being pissed off, and my wolf comes forward a bit more. My claws burst out where my fingernails once were. It would have stung a little bit, but the pain in my chest drowns it out. The claws lengthen, hardening and becoming sharper as I stand straight up, ignoring the fact that my breath is not going all the way to my lungs; I refuse to look weak to my enemy. My teeth change too-- my wolf is not playing around. Phasing into my warrior form, a mix between human and animal, is quick, though I am going to be exhausted afterward-- I might need to speak with Nao to see if I can reschedule lessons today. Phasing completely destroys me, physically, emotionally, mentally; not only does it take a while, but it is tiring too. Half phases are still the same speed though, which made no sense to me, but I stopped trying to figure it out. I face my foe head on. My claws are poised to allow me to strike with ease, though the Oni doesn't know that. He charges, which looks akin to a giant red grizzly lumbering forward on its hind legs. I almost laugh, but hold it back. I would laugh if I made it through this fight alive. When he comes within arm's length, I lunge using my wolf's speed, making me nothing more than a blur as I rake my claws across his face and chest. I hear the Oni cry out in pain, then holler that he is going to kill me; I only snarl in response. I am done with these males thinking they can boss me around. I will cut them all down if I have to. I know talking is futile during a fight, especially in warrior form; it would only be a garbled mess. The Oni, however, doesn't share my opinion and yells, calling me a b***h, like I’m not one. Hello, I am a female dog. I also hear him call me a few other choice insults, all of which entice my wolf to come out further, allowing my eyes to glow bright white. Soon, only one objective is clear: blood. I need to draw it, and I need to fight. Without thinking, I attack. My speed is inhumanly fast, but the Oni is prepared for it and tries to grab me by the throat. He forgot one thing though: I am a pissed off dominant wolf. I let him get a grip on my throat, and claw his wrist, drawing his ichor blood in waves. I feel his fingers loosen as I destroy his arm, and give a twist, snapping the bones. The Oni has no choice but to let me go, which is a mistake. I launch at his throat, but I don't make it.