Fox 6

I buried my face into the delicious smelling pillow that my head was resting on. It was so warm and comfortable that I just wanted to stay here forever. An arm wrapped around me and pulled me closer to the pillow causing me to snuggled deeper into it.

"He's a cuddler." Levi's voice rang out. I scrunched up my nose and turned my head until it was nestled in between the bed and what I now knew to be Levi's warm body. He chuckled sending vibrations through him and the bed and I found myself biting his bare side. He jumped in shock and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me.

"No biting Tae. I don't want to have to explain what's been going on in this room." Alistair laughed.

"What happens in our room stays in our room." I replied sleepily.

"Regardless. You need to wake up now or else we'll never get anything to eat." He explained.

"What time is it?" I questioned.

"It is now nine twenty-two and Levi and I would like to get some food and explore the school grounds before it gets too late." Alistair told me.

With a loud high pitched squeal like yawn I stretched out my whole body from my fingers to the absolute tips of my toes. I rolled my shoulders and then schreeched like a girl when I realized that I was indeed naked. I reached down on instinct and tried to pull a sheet, blanket, pillow or something over my boy bits.

"Where are my clothes?" I shrieked.

"You left them over there when you shifted. Remember?" Levi laughed as he pointed to a pile of clothes by the door which were definitely mine.

"When did I shift back?"

"Sometime while we were sleeping I woke to find a naked Levi lying directly on top of me, smothering me to death so I think if anyone had a reason to freak it would be me." Alistair muttered.

"Don't act like you didn't like it." Levi countered smugly.

"Can someone just get me my clothes." I grumbled.

"I think you look good without the clothes personally." Levi purred just as Alistair hit his chest. Levi held up his hands in surrender as he chuckled and climbed over Alistair out of the bed. The soft gasp that left my mouth at the sight of Levi's naked form caused him to laugh even more.

"Don't worry you'll get used to it." Alistair sighed but I doubt I'd ever get used to seeing all of him. "Apparently he was a nudist before I met him so clearly it's alright for him to walk around in the absolute nude all the time."

"Really?" I questioned ignoring his nudity as he slowly bent down to retrieve each article of my clothing.

"Why of course. Can't you tell?" He questioned drawing my attention back to him. He was absolutely stunning standing there but I had to will my eyes to never fall below the waist.

"I think I'm scarred for life." I muttered.

"Please, I can tell you like it. Mind reader remember." He teased as his eyebrows rose and fell in a goofy fashion.

"If you want I can teach you how to put up mental barriers when you want to but for now let's get you dressed and let's get out of here. Levi either get dressed or shift but either way we need to go." Alistair commanded and with a huff Levi tossed me my clothes then shifted into his fox. "Would you like to shift as well or change?"

"I'll change. I'm still not used to being a fox and I'd like to explore as a human." I replied.

"Alright, let's get going." He answered as Levi sat patiently at the door.

I changed back into my clothes quickly as my two companions waited on me outside the door in the hall. Levi wanted to stay and watch like the little creeper he is but Alistair forced him out the room which I was thankful for.

"So do you guys know where we're headed?" I questioned as I walked out the room heading to were Alistair was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed.

"No but we thought we could just ask someone to tell us where to go. There should be someone out right now." He answered.

'If not we'll just aimless walk around until they send us back to our rooms.' Levi spoke in my mind.

"Well that'll work too I guess." I laughed as the three of us headed to the door. Levi pretty much had to lightly jog to keep up with us and I wanted so badly to laugh at him but the glare he sent my way told me that I probably shouldn't. With a yip he told us to wait a second before I witnessed the incredible.

In seconds he went from his cute and adorable small fox form to one large enough to be mistaken as a big dog. I simply stared wide eyed at him until he began walking again and we all fell into step with each other.

"Could you always do that?" I questioned.

'Yes, but it's hard to explain how such a big fox exists in our realm.' He replied.

"True I guess." I murmered as I just stared at him.

"It's good when he needs to protect me. With practice you'll be able to shift into a fox that big as well." Alistair explained.

"That's amazing." I awed as I reached out to poke his side. Levi jumped but otherwise just stared at me trying to figure out if I'd do it again.

"What else will we be able to do?" I questioned.

"I'm not actually sure. I've only been taught so much considering my family were mortals. I had no one to teach me and the only reason I even knew about Rhyeal Academy was because one day I ran into a few magical beings including the floating head you met earlier, Alexander. Hey! He can show us around." Alistair snapped his fingers before running back to our room.

Seconds later he came back out with what looked like a phone in his hand. He quickly swiped his finger across the screen several times until he was satisfied with what he had found. A soft ringing sound echoed in the now quiet hallway before a purple light glowed from the phone and the same floating head from before popped up.

"Hey! You're here." Alexander sounded excited. "Sorry about Vivi and the way she acted. She's been reprimanded."

"Oh, no problem. Nothing too bad happened so it's all good." Alistair dismissed the whole thing. "I was wondering if you could show my familiars and I around."

"Sure. We were headed down to get something to eat now anyways. What's your room number Aly?" Alexander questioned.

"Stop calling me that." He groaned but told him where our room was. Alexander told us that he'd be here in ten minutes or less so we needed to be ready to leave. We headed back to our door and sat down outside the door. Levi sat down on his haunches besides Alistair who instantly draped one arm over the strangely large fox.

"I wonder what our classes will be like." I muttered.

"Interesting. Very interesting." Alistair laughed. "I've heard stories from Alex and they seem pretty intense but he's probably not going to be in any of our classes since we're technically beginners and he's had his familiar almost since his birth."

"How'd that happen?" I questioned.

"Well he was born in a realm where magic is as common to as wifi and he's had plenty of options to choose from when it came to familiars. He told me that he bonded quite easily with Vivian when they were younger but had some problems with her once they were growing up. The day we met he was in our realm looking for her because she had run away apparently." He explained.

"Wow. I hope that things are better for them now." I replied.

"Well I don't know how much better they are but I try not to pry. He says that one of the classes that every mage and familiar has to take is the one that helps us understand and strengthen our bond. He's had to take that class three times with her already."

"Maybe they're just not right for each other?" I questioned.

"It's possible but it's hard to not take that intial feeling into question when rethinking your choice for a familiar. When I first met Levi I knew that something was special about him and there was just something in me that told me to talk to him. After we established what he was it was hard for him to come to terms with it but I just knew I had to keep at it because he was meant to be my familiar. The same thing happened with you, although it was considerably a lot easier to convince you to give up everything and leave to a magical realm with us." He remarked and instantly I stiffened.

"Well I didn't really have much to give up back there." I admitted. "No real family life, no friends, nothing to look forward to each day. I'm sure no one misses me at all."

"I'm sure your parents miss you." Alistair tried to comfort me.

"I'm sure my parents haven't even made it home to read the note. Neither of them will be back until sometime next week probably. They usually just stay over in the city in an apartment they share during busy weeks." I explained.

"Oh." Was his only response which was understandable.

"Yeah, well I've grown used to the life. I know they love me but I'm pretty sure they don't like me very much." I shrugged my soulders just as the sound of footsteps echoed in the distance. Looking up the hall I first noticed the arrival of one of the only students that we've seen so far. He wasn't in uniform but in plain clothes that any normal teen would wear.

His wavy blonde hair was cut short on the sides and was a bit longer on top causing it to fall into his face a bit. The muscles in his arms were clearly shown as he strolled down the hall in a stylish tank and some board shorts. If I wasn't sure that he was a magical being I'd swear he was a normal surfer boy.

"Hey Aly!" He called down the hall waving wildly at us as Alistair groaned but stood up from his spot on the floor. Levi shifted and shoook his body out as he stretched and stood up properly as well. With a huff I pushed myself up from off the ground and stood before Alexander and the little fox from before.

"Stop calling me that." Alistair groaned with an adorable pout on his face.

"Why? I like it?" He smiled widely and threw an arm around Alistair's shoulder pulling him into a hug. It was entertaining to watch Alistair struggle in vain to get out of the hug as Alexander held tight. Finally he was released from the stronger male and he hit at his chest desperate for retribution.

"Don't do that! I almost died!" Alistair shouted.

"We know that's not true. I'm sure your familiar's would have jumped in had they thought you were really in danger." Alex chuckled as he rubbed his chest where Alistair had just finished punching him. Alistair turned to look at the two of us and simply glared at us.

"Some help you two are." He grumbled.

"Come on let's get going before all the good food is taken." He announced.

"I highly doubt that's going to happen." Alistair laughed.

"Yeah, but I still want to get down there." He shrugged. "So, I guess you're the one with the extra tail." He had turned to the side and was looking at me.

"Yeah, that's me." I nodded my head. Blatantly, he looked me up and down bit his lip and then nodded his head as if he was impressed by something.

"Interesting." He murmered.

"What? What's interesting?" I questioned.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He smiled as began to walk off with Vivian trailing behind him.

Alistair simply shook his head with a slight smile on his face before he and Levi began to trail behind the duo. We walked in silence until we reached the elevator where the door immediately opened up for us.

As soon as the doors closed Alex began to explain the inner workings of the dorm life here. Apparently all the room doors only open up on command from their owners. So the door to our rooms will only open up for us. The elevators will immediately come when called and will take us to any floor with us simply speaking the words.

As the elevator descended we continued to talk about the academy and I noticed that Levi was shuffling a bit between Alistair and Alex. Looking down I held back a laugh as he kept nipping at Vivian's tail. It was clear that he wanted to play but it was also clear that Vivian wasn't very keen on making new friends. She hissed almost like a cat at Levi and bat at his muzzle but nothing would deter him.

"Cut it out." Alistair scolded him as the door opened. He whined a bit but stepped to the side moving closer to Alistair and calming down more. As soon as the doors were opened far enough the little fox darted out of the elevator and around the corner. I took a step out the elevator and looked down the hall she had just sprinted down curiously.

"Don't worry she's just going to shift." Alex explained.

Before any of us could respond the young lady from earlier today stepped into into the hallway looking annoyed. Her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she stopped in front of us with her hands on her hips.

"Can you keep that thing away from me?" She questioned.

"His name is Levi and it's rude to call him a thing." I snapped.

"Whatever, just keep him away from me. I don't know what he's doing but I'd appreciate it if he'd stop." She sassed.

"Well if you weren't so uptight you'd know that he just wanted to play with you." I replied smoothly.

"Excuse me?" She squeaked.

"You heard me."

"Okay, I think that's enough. We need to get going and standing in the middle of the hallway arguing is not going to help us right now. Vivian, behave." Alex spoke up successfully ending our argument. He seemed a lot more serious than the ever cheerful guy that we had met before. With his no nonsense tone Vivian fell into place at his side although she didn't seem to happy about that.

"Whatever." She grunted, clearly annoyed.

It seemed that that was the end of conversation until we hit the main hall. That's when Alex begin explaining and pointing out everything that we saw including old pictures of men and women with animals besides them, staircases that led to obscure parts of the Academy, and even the wing that led to the other side of the Academy. We turned down another hallway and the noise that followed reminded me of the school cafeteria back home. Clearly we were getting closer and closer to the dining hall here at Rhyeal Academy.

"This dining hall is large enough to fit almost every student here Rhyeal Academy. In here you will encounter all the different species and types of beings that reside here. it's best if you branch out and meet new people rather than to stay with your own kind. You'll see fairies and werewolves sitting together and chatting as well as vampires and mages laughing at random things." Alex explained.

And true to his words there sitting in front of us were a whole host of magical beings that I would never have dreamed of seeing in my entire life. Most of them seemed relatively normal but there were a few hints and tell-tell signs that told me that they were more than the moral beings that I was used to. There was something unique and different and everything about them screamed home. I would be accepted here and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that even if I was bothered it wouldn't be because I was a fox.

"Here you can get almost anything you would like prepared considering we are indeed a magical Academy. You can also try things from other realms but I wouldn't try them before actually finding out what is in them because sometimes you just never know." Alex explained.

"You mean like that time you tried the fairies' stew?" Vivian teased actually sounding a bit playful.

"In my defense it was blue and sparkly and it looked good." He pouted.

"Yes and it left you blue and sparkly for three weeks afterwards. Do you know how annoying it is to clean up rainbow colored vomit?" She glared.

"We don't have to air out all my business do we?" He groaned. The playful banter between the two of them was nice and definitely different than what we've seen of Vivian since we met her.

As Alex led us up to the line of students waiting for their food I began to grow more and more anxious. A few students turned to watch us as if we were fresh meat which we technically were. We were the new students on campus and I'm sure it showed.

Levi strolled besides Alistair like he was the biggest and baddest out there and Vivian walked confidently besides Alex as if nothing could touch her. What I wouldn't give to have the confidence that those two possessed. I meekly trailed behind the four of them almost as if I wasn't even apart of the group. Ever so often I would scutter along behind them, eager to catch up.

"So what is it that you three would like to eat today?" Alex questioned as Vivian simply kept walking and picked up a slice of something that looked like purple pizza with strange toppings on top.

"What did she just pick up?" I questioned.

"Well that is Rhyeal's equivalent of a pizza. It has toppings from different dimensions and the sauce is made of special pixie ingredients." Alex replied.

"Will I die?" I questioned as I stared at it skeptically.

"No, I'm sure you won't die but if you're not sure about it then don't try it. Like i said they do have things from the mortal realm here." He replied.

I shrugged and reached forward to grab a slice of the strange looking pizza when it was snatched from my hand just as my fingertips grazed it. My head snapped up to see a gorgeous girl standing before me with bright blue hair that was pulled to the side of her head in an intricate braid with what appeared to be sea shells woven into it.

It was clear that she was a natural beauty as everything about her screamed beautiful but something about the sneer that graced her lips completely distorted her beauty into something completely disgusting.

"Alex." She greeted as the corners of her mouth turned up into a fake smile as she drew her hand back holding my slice of magical pizza.

"Geneva." He greeted back in a clipped tone as his whole posture rigid.

"Who are they?" She questioned, her eyes darting back to look at Alistair and Levi then back at me.

"They're new students that I'm showing around. This is Alistair, Levi and Tae." He introduced us.

"Well welcome to our fine Academy. It's in your best interest to keep to your own group and try not to cause any problems as you mages so often do." She replied.

"What?" I questioned my eyes finally leaving the pizza and actually meeting hers.

"What's your problem?" Alistair questioned.

"You'll find that the mages are generally the least liked of all the magical beings that attend this Academy; even with the vampires and wolves. Most of the magical beings don't agree with the forced enslavement of familiars to mages. Your familiars will probably blend into the Academy better than you will little wizard so it's probably best if you don't even try." She answered matter of factly as she glared at Alistair.

Levi didn't take kindly to that as he took a step forward to protect him from this strange girl. Alex hadn't said anything the entire time and he didn't seem surprised as if he had expected this to happen.

"Well I wasn't forced into anything." I replied confused.

"That's what you think." She replied. "It's fine though because when the time comes you'll finally be free to do as you please. Come on Vivian, let's go eat over there."

Without hesitation Vivian left Alex's side and followed after Geneva who practically glided away as if she was royalty. I turned to look at Alex who still didn't seem shocked by this situation at all.

"What just happened?" Alistair questioned voicing my own thoughts.

"You just met Geneva. One of the mermaid princesses that attends this fine institution. She's also apart of a group that believes that mages are into slavery and that we've forced our familiars to be with us." Alex explained as he watched Vivian follow Geneva to a table filled with other perky looking girls.

I did remember Alistair saying something earlier about mages that bonded with familiars by force but I didn't think it would have been as big of a problem as she had made it seem.

"There are some mages that do bond to familiars by force but they're just evil beings. Just like you have good in bad in any race you have good and bad mages as well. Not all of us are like that." Alistair answered my unspoken question.

"So was she telling the truth in saying that pretty much the entire school hates us?" I questioned as I once again reached for a slice of pizza.

"Not for that reason alone but that is definitely a part of it." Alex replied as he too grabbed a slice.

"Well what's the other reason?" I questioned.

"Don't worry about it now. I don't want to overwhelm you with too much on your first day." He replied dismissively as he led us to a table that we could sit at.

As we sat and ate I realized that I was left with more questions than answers. This place, although filled with magical creatures of every kind, was no different than my school back on Earth. Although there were a few groups that were intergrated and seemed happy enough there were more groups that were segregated and apparently there was plenty of tension to go around. Would our time here at Rhyeal always be like this?

It was hard to tell at this point but I was more excited than anything. Tomorrow we would begin a new day filled with a whole new experience. Despite Geneva and what she said I was sure once they got to know us they'd love us.

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