A Bright and Shiny New School....With A Twist? ((Chance; Adele; Open!))

Chance looked up. This had to be the place. He glanced back down at the envelope in his hands. “Masquerade...” He whispered. The place seemed to be in a panic. Students were darting this way and that, but always seemed to stay close to the main building. They seemed frightful of the surrounding woods. Chance really wanted to ask what all the fuss was about, but he didn’t want to be singled out on his first day. His name and face had been plastered in papers all over the country. The story had ran on every major news network known to America, and several known only to Mexico. So, naturally, Chance pulled his hood up, obscuring his face in the morning sunlight. He began the slow walk down the side of the road, the school looming in the distance. He was passed by a silver car, what looked like a Infiniti G37 Convertible, but Chance couldn’t be sure. It moved way too fast. There was a time when Chance would’ve given anything to have a car like that, but nowadays, something like that, he thought, was way too flashy, and would bring way to much attention his direction. Right now, all Chance wanted was to fly low and stay under the radar.

Chance walked on, starting to drag his feet. Staying under the radar wouldn’t last long, he thought to himself. His first teacher would ask him to introduce himself, someone would recognize him, and the whole thing would be in every corner of the school by lunch. Chance would never be able to make friends. And every something went missing they would automatically accuse Chance of taking it. Chance started to stare at his feet, but wasn’t really paying attention to what he was seeing. Sometimes Chance wished he had never confessed to being the White Wolf. Chance shook his head. The press had started calling him that after the first painting was stolen, a portrait of a white wolf. Chance himself never endorsed the name. In fact, he had almost left a note at one of the crime scenes that read, “I am not the White Wolf”, but that made what he was doing real, not just some sort of dream. The school inched closer as Chance reflected on what had happened the past six or seven months. His life had been turned upside down, inside out and backwards. And he was powerless to stop it. Chance did not like feeling powerless. He looked up from the ground to realize he had arrived at the enormous school.

He watched the silver car from earlier drive off, and looked around to see who might’ve gotten out of it. There, Chance spotted her. She was the only one with luggage of any sort. He watched her stop a student, and as what was going on. They explained that Strogoi were about to invade the school, and that the student body had ten hours to prepare. Chance wondered what Strogoi were, and why the would want to invade a preforming arts school. Now that he thought about it, why would anyone want to invade a preforming art school, or a school period, for that matter. After the student had darted off, Chance approached the girl. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder. “Uh...excuse me. I’m new here, and I was wondering if you could tell me what’s going on or what on Earth Strogoi are.”

Ade was one of the first to leave the theatre (and one of the only ones who didn’t revert to their natural state; it was surprising how little humans there really were at Masquerade), rushing directly to her room. Shoving the box of unpacked books aside, she carried the large trunk (which was rather difficult) over to her still undressed bed and opened it, revealing its contents. Instantly, the room was filled with the scent of old books, familiar herbs, and leather. Ignoring the urge to just sit there and breathe in the lovely mix of smells, Ade quickly fished out her black, skin tight, leather skinny jeans, the sleeveless tube top that hemmed just above her belly button, and the tight leather trench coat that became her robe when her illusion dropped. Once changed, only leaving the trench coat on the bed, she searched through the trunk for the box that held her different belts. Once found, she strapped them on; Ade then pulled the trench coat over it all. She looked at herself in the mirror that was mounted in the center of the lid, and applied charcoal around her eyes.

She strapped a dagger on to her right calf; another, more slender one was hidden up her sleeve. She put rings on her fingers, each decorated with rubies. She took her scythe charm and slid it on the chain that held her mother’s ruby covered locket. She then took that chain and lifted it over her head, pulling her hair through after; the locket and the charm took their place hanging there. She smiled, her fingers barely brushing against the jeweled cover, her thoughts going to her mother. Ade shook her head, and pulled herself out of her thoughts, walking out of the door. She grabbed a water bottle filled with phoenix blood from the mini fridge on the way out.

She walked the halls of the castle-like place slowly, moving out of the way for the hurrying passerby. It was such a bombshell to drop on the human population of the school. How could the Headmistress do such a thing; the humans were weak compared to the Strogoi, that much she knew. But what of the Strogoi? Why were they such a threat? Immortals who drank the blood of another living thing? Having to lived like that for the past years, she could sympathize with the creatures. Ade knew that most, or possibly all didn’t live like she did though. The Strogoi could feast on any animal, while only the phoenix nourished her. But would that matter to the other students at Masquerade? Or would they throw her in along with the Strogoi? Surely Headmistress Hathaway wouldn’t allow such a thing; surely she would make them see that she was truly different than their enemy… Right?

But what did she know of the headmistress, other than that fact that is incredibly young and not human? Could she herself be Strogoi and allow the threat to infiltrate the school and kill – or change – the mortal students at the school? No. She had to trust that Hathaway was a good leader, and would never turn on the school. Or hope that was what Hathaway would do, anyway. Ade sighed, drank from the bottle, and continued walking outside to try to get a feel for the enemy.

Going out the front door, Ade noticed a new student carrying a ton of stuff, considering her small stature. She pretended not to notice the tiny thing, instead trying to look as busy as possible. She hated helping the newbies, especially the humans. They were especially annoying, and they would never get it through their thick heads that they should be afraid of her. She was basically death, for crying out loud! But no, they insisted on bothering her, much like this one was doing. Sighing, Ade quickly explained everything that was happening, not going into too much detail about what a Strogoi was. She’d just answer the question when it came about. Sadly, another new student walked up and demanded to know what was going on and what a Strogoi was. This pulled another sigh from Ade.

“A Strogoi is a type of vampire that feeds on the blood of another creature to live forever. Their victims tend to be that of the human race, but I have heard rumors of a few how choose to feed on animals.” Her tone was bored with a hint of annoyance. “Ms. Hathaway, the Headmistress, says that they’ll probably attack at nightfall, giving us about 10 hours to prepare for it. But with some of the students here-” she motioned to the students who rushed around them. “-it would be terrifying. But I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve heard that the teachers are planning. And they can’t attack during the day, so tonight would most likely be the worst.”

Ade smiled slightly, feeling bad for having to tell the new kids the news. Having to deal with being a new kid AND an impending attack by blood thirsty monsters? That would ruin anyone’s best day. She cleared her throat. "You two will be fine, I'm sure. A few of the more experienced fighters are holding classes for self defence and disabling Strogoi in the Martial Arts Arena. I can show you there after you guys get into your rooms, if you'd like."

Someone tapped Lydia on the shoulder. The dhampir turned around to have to look up to a boy, who was maybe a foot taller than she was, with slightly tanned skin, complete contrast to her own pale, and brilliant grey eyes. The boy said, “Uh...excuse me. I’m new here, and I was wondering if you could tell me what’s going on or what on Earth Strogoi are.” A girl with curly, brown hair, and brown eyes had appeared nearly out of nowhere, or at least of what Lydia could tell, and answered “A Strogoi is a type of vampire that feeds on the blood of another creature to live forever. Their victims tend to be that of the human race, but I have heard rumors of a few how choose to feed on animals.” The dhampir crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, and muttered, "I could have answered that..." The other girl continued, “Ms. Hathaway, the Headmistress, says that they’ll probably attack at nightfall, giving us about 10 hours to prepare for it. But with some of the students here-” the girl gestured to the mass of students running passed the three of them, “-it would be terrifying. But I wouldn’t worry about it. I’ve heard that the teachers are planning. And they can’t attack during the day, so tonight would most likely be the worst.” Pleasant, Lyddie thought.

Another girl came up, about Lydia's size, which she was thankful for, dark hair, and brown eyes, saying “Hello, I’m a new student here. Where should I head to from here?” Lydia replied, "That is a good question," she turned to the curly haired girl, "Where do we go from here? Probably inside somewhere," she guessed, being the four of them were all still standing out in the open.

Lydia had realized that no one had introduced themselves yet, so she introduced herself first, "Usually, when meeting new people, they introduce themselves. So, I'm Lydia. Lydia Collins, who are you guys?"

((gah.....sorry its short...and crappy...and late >.< most of my muse is gone......>.<))