Quest Of The Valkyrie

Chapter 6

6

A note on the corkboard outside of the main building cancelled Afterlives 101 and had me just as confused as the other students gathered at the bulletin board.

"No class? On our second day?" an Elf voiced, scratching his pointy ears. "But we're supposed to learn all about the different afterlives?"

With my hands stuffed in my pocket, I looked at Astrid and shrugged. I didn't really like her, but she was the only familiar face. Well, her, the pink-haired Wood Elf, and the Dragon roommate. But the last two were hardly competitors for my time.

"Guess we have the rest of the day off then. I'm hungry," I stated.

"I could eat." Astrid broke free from the group and positioned herself next to me. "Don't think this makes us friends, Ylva."

I snorted sarcastically, making sure to roll my eyes. "Of course, not. Not in a million years."

"You have a map?"

I held up the brochure. "Right here."

Ready to find myself something tasty to eat, I turned on my heels and came face to face with the pink-haired Elf. Aellyn?

"Hello."

The scent of wet moss and soil wafted up from her, filling the stone hallways with a sliver of forest.

"Hi?" I said, cautiously stepping back. I didn't particularly care for her smell.

"Are you going to the dining hall too?"

"Ummm... Yes?" I replied, wishing I lied the moment the words left my mouth.

"I was headed there too. Come on, we'll go together!"

Oh, no. I didn’t want to go with her. But could I be so rude to decline her offer right in her face?

Hesitantly, I exchanged a weird glance with Astrid who shrugged and shook her head.

"Sure?" I replied, earning a loud scoff from her.

My fellow Wind Child pulled up her eyebrow and stuck her nose up, not in the least bit subtle about her dislike for the Wood Elf. "Over my dead body. I'm going back to the dorm. Beat you later, Ylva."

"Awww, looks like it's just you and me!" Aellyn cheered, clapping her hands and jumping up and down so excitedly, that her pigtails bounced.

"Yaaay," I voiced, trying not to sound too sarcastic. Luckily, the Wood Elf didn't seem to catch on on my hesitation. Instead, she just unfolded her own map and pulled me along to the dining hall.

The entire school was buzzing with other students from various years, either hanging out in groups or moving in swarms. Did nobody have class? By the gods, so much for education...

A couple of people shot me weird glances as I walked next to the Wood Elf, but I shrugged it off. If I was them, I'd be staring too. I still thought it was weird that she was in Valkyrie 101 instead of Reaper 101. That didn't make sense.

Oh, that reminded me... What happened between her and Brynhild after the dusk wolf event? Was it nosy to ask her about it or was it the polite thing to do? Making conversation could be considered polite and I really wanted to know.

"Hey, Aellyn?"

"Yes?" she quipped, bouncing up and down cheerily.

"You stayed a little longer after How To Train Your Wolf with Brynhild. What happened?"

The pink-haired girl bobbed up and down in glee. "Oooh, you won't believe it. We had this a-ma-zing conversation and she let me pet Grey. Oh, she was so sweet and gorgeous. And I got to play with the pups too. One of them licked my nose."

"You played with the wolf pups?" I asked, frowning sceptically. Dusk wolves were notoriously protective over their young. Even if Grey was Brynhild's companion, she wouldn't just let anyone near her young ones.

"Yes! Oh, they're so cute. They tried to chase each other, but they can't walk properly yet so it was a belly chase. You should've seen it."

I tipped my head to the side. "You're talking about dusk wolf pups, right?"

"Yup."

"Really??" I couldn't mask the disbelief in my voice. Why would a wolf allow a strange Wood Elf this kind of privilege?

"Yes. Back home, we had a den of moon wolves. They're a little smaller and they only come out at night, but they behave the same way. I used to spend hours playing with the little cubs."

We arrived at the dining hall, which was surprisingly packed with other students. Did nobody go to their lectures?

I'd planned on ditching the Wood Elf as soon as I got here, but her story fascinated me. How did her experience with the moon wolves relate to the way Grey interacted with her?

"Wolf-mothers are generally very aggressive and protective over their young though. What did you do that she didn't attack you?" I asked.

Aellyn swung her pink backpack down on a table and sat down. "They're not that scary when you know them well."

"I actually grew up with a dusk wolf," I pointed out, feeling strangely attacked by her statement. She wasn't the only one that had experience with them, we just weren't so foolish to think they weren't dangerous. Stupid Elf.

"Oh, okay then... Anyway, I just stayed completely still to let Grey know I wasn't there to hurt her young and let them all sniff me. I also scratched her under her chin, which is something moon wolves love, so I figured, why not try? Right? Also, are you going to sit down?"

I wrinkled my nose at her question, wishing she hadn't pointed out I hadn't actually sat down. Now that I had some time to study the dining hall, the dynamics were quickly becoming clear. Despite the lack of markings or assigned areas, the hall was divided into clear sections.

There were groups of Guardians and Angels scattered throughout the hall, some of them even sitting together with Banshees. Looked like they got along without a problem. However, that wasn't the case for the other three types of AAs.

A group of Reapers hung in the far corner, occupying a whole bunch of tables and glaring at anyone that dared come too close. With their dark hoods and sharp scythes, they certainly looked intimidating for Elves. There were strict rules against them using the blade for anything else than cutting souls loose, but I certainly wouldn’t want to get in a scuffle with any of them.

In the other corner, a head group of Shinigami possessed three tables with their backpacks and weird shadowy tendrils. They didn’t seem hostile, but it was clear they wanted to be left alone. Approaching was a risk not worth taking.

My fellow Valkyries were seated in the middle of the room, with the centre table dominated by Flavia and her little group. And they'd spotted me. One of them even waved me over. If they witnessed me sitting down in no man's land with this Wood Elf, I could as well sign myself up to be a Valkyrie outcast.

No, I couldn't let that happen.

"Sorry, I just saw some of my friends over there," I lied to Aellyn. I didn't think Flavia's squad would take kindly to being labelled as my friends, but I'd rather associate with them than be the Wind Child that was friends with the Wood Elf. That was just not done.

"Oh... Okay." Aellyn nodded as she rummaged through her bag. "Sure... I guess I'll see you in class?"

"Yeah, you will." Hastily, I waved her away and sprinted towards Flavia's group. They all had their dark wings out and took up two whole tables for themselves, but everybody was letting them. One of the girls paraded towards the Wind Children buffet and everyone stepped aside so she could choose whatever she wanted. They were clearly the popular Valkyries around.

I halted in front of their table, directing my attention to Flavia. If she accepted my presence, none of the others would say anything about it.

"Hi, guys!" I crossed my fingers, hoping I hadn't mistaken their invitation.

"Ylva. Join us," the leader said, gesturing to an empty seat.

Quickly, I dropped my bag and sat into the chair before they could change their mind. I wanted to be part of this group.

Flavia folded her arms, her muscles rippling dangerously under her skin. Not that it was any surprise. From what I experienced before, it was clear she held real power and wasn't afraid to use it. The tattoos creeping out from underneath her shirt were trophies of her acclaimed status and victories.

"So... No class?" she said, tweaking her eyebrow curiously.

"No, it was cancelled."

"Yours too?" the girl said that returned from the buffet. She frowned deeply as she set down a plate of food. "Weird."

Flavia pushed her short hair behind her ears and clapped her wings. "Girls, manners. Introductions."

The woman on her right side spoke first. "Oda, daughter of Octavia."

"Alva, daughter of Alva," another introduced.

"Dagmar, daughter of Dahab."

"Kaia, daughter of Kai."

I just nodded along, barely registering their names. I'd never remember them, but that was fine. The only one I needed to know was Flavia's and potentially Oda, her right-hand woman. The others were just fluff and filler. Not nearly important enough to worry about learning their names for now.

Flavia gestured to me. "So, Ylva... Tell us something about yourself."

"Uumm... Okay. I'm from the West tribe, I don't have any siblings, and I've always wanted to be a Valkyrie."

Oda hummed, running her fingers through her dark hair. "Are you from a noble family?"

My face heated up. That was a very direct question and not something I imagined being asked on my first day. I wasn't ashamed to be from a side family, but I knew some noble families regarded us as lesser. I was about to find out whether any of the girls had opinions like that.

But then... They didn't know me. I could just lie... None of them were from my tribe, they didn't know who was and wasn't noble.

"Yes, I'm from a noble family."

"Really?" Oda nodded. "Ace. You'll fit right in."

"We needed a new sixth member," Flavia said. "You'll do, Ylva, daughter of Helga."

"Yesss," I hissed, quickly realising that wasn't a very cool thing to do. "I mean... I wouldn't have expected anything less."

I needed to train my composure if I was going to fit in with these icy women and their nonchalant demeanours. Subtly, I studied Flavia's mannerism and pulled my shoulders back like she did. I didn’t have the wings to really pull it off, but I could start practising. It wouldn’t be long until I could hold my own against Flavia. She was tough, beautiful, and had all the girls in line. A good role model to have.

She rose from her seat. "We have class."

"Oh, okay," I stammered. Did I need to stand up too? Did I have to walk them to their class? What was I supposed to do here?

Before I managed to figure it out, a group of angry looking Reapers approached. Their dark hoods concealed most of their appearance, but the markings on their capes were rather... memorable. The one in the front thudded his scythe down on the table, burrowing into the wood. "Flavia."

So much for them not using it for anything else than souls.

"You're ruining my table, Sim," the leader of my new squad replied coolly.

"You're ruining my appetite with your face," Sim countered, earning some laughter from his gang.

Not phased in the slightest, she looked him up and down with raised eyebrows. "What's with your haircut? Did you fall on your scythe?"

"Oooh, burn!" Oda hissed, egging on the other girls to join in.

Was I supposed to engage in the dissing or would that be weird? Was this a normal thing for them just to come over and kick up a fuss? Did I have to do something? Run away, perhaps? Getting into a fight on my first day was probably not good for my record.

"Whatever," Sim muttered, running his hand through his hair to flatten it.

"We're leaving. Girls." Flavia turned without dignifying that with a response, ready to stride away. Just before she did, she flicked her hair back and looked at me. "Ylva, you can come to my dinner party on Saturday. Third floor, room fifteen. You're bringing the potato salad."

She clacked her heels and strode through the dining hall with the rest of her girls following her closely. Some lone students quickly scrabbled out of the way while the other groups just glared at them. Sim and the other Reapers grumbled, but they returned to their part of the dining hall without starting another fight.

Once they were gone, I fell back into my seat. Relief crashed over me and had my legs trembling uncontrollably. That was not what I expected from my first lunch. Damn...

I knew the rivalries between the Valkyries, Shinigami, and Reapers existed but I didn't think it would be this... flammable.

Even so, that wasn't that important. Apart from some smack talk, nothing really happened. Maybe it was just a way to blow off steam and look cool.

The real notable event was being invited to her dinner party. That was a big deal. I'd have my first opportunity to prove I was worthy to be in their friend group.

I was lucky to be recruited on day one. If it hadn't been for the Dragon in my room, I might never have caught their eye. Hah. At least I got something good out of that miserable situation. Ish...