While he leaned on the wall. Something crept into the room. It wasn't overwhelming or even physical.
It was a subtle feeling. Dean noticed it almost immediately. The volume of the room wound down at a steady and yet frightening pace.
The silence grew and grew and then he entered.
A human walked in, not like he owned the place but more like the very space needed him to remain relevant.
Dean watched from the wall. He was still relaxed. After all, this wasn't the first time he had felt such presence.
The man who had a slight limp on his left leg, arrived at the centre of the hall and tapped his cane on the ground. He didn't climb the podium. Maybe it would have been too much of a hassle.
But Dean definitely knew the man didn't need it to draw attention. It just pulled to him.
The centre of the hall opened up as everyone seemed to form a circle around him. As a theatric beam of light washed over his position.
The sliver handle of his cane glittered as he raised his head.
All eyes in the hall were on him at that very moment.
"Freshmen." He said with a clear and confident tone that filled the silence.
"Welcome to Franseint Academy," he completed with a small smile reaching the edge of his lips.
"I am Richard Vaughn," he said calmly. "I am the one you come to… when you have any problems here. I am the one, who will over see your stay in this institution"
He cleared his throat allowing them a second to process before he continued.
"Most of you are here because you passed the drafts. You demonstrated potential and capability"
He scoffed as he tapped the black length of his cane on the ground.
"I applaud your capability and potential." He paused, "But capability is by no means enough and potential…would always remain what It is. A state without motion."
His eyes swept the room, and each gaze he caught quickly glanced away.
"You are not here to learn how to summon. Everyone can do that. You're here for survival. For strength. For understanding,"
A student gulped and everyone could sense the tension like they gulped themselves.
"You are here at Franseint to prove your worth. Not to yourself nor to your families," he tapped the crest on his attire.
"You are here to prove your worth to this academy. To this city. And to humanity."
Dean's eyes narrowed at the presentation, his lips curled up into a smirk.
Richard continued. " So I'll tell you. Lace up your boots. Fight and train… knowing the price can only be paid with your sweat and blood. Because our enemies do not sleep. They do not tire and they do not rest."
Stepping forward he twisted the tip of his cane on the ground.
"You may have capability. You may have familiars but what they have and we don't..is time—"
Dean nodded as he understood the man's point almost instantly.
"--Humanity has no time. We have duller swords and our walls weaken even as I speak to you."
The students began looking at each other but didn't dare breathe a word.
"We may be losing it all but we have you. The next generation. The cubs that would wield our weary fangs. For in your hands, we either rise or watch everything fall."
He stopped and nodded. "--But here at Franseint… we never fall."
Dean could almost see phantom hands applauding in the background but reality was disappointing.
'Ofcourse, you need permission...,' Dean thought as he clapped once. As eyes turned to him in shock.
But Vaughn only smiled as his expression softened.
"But before all of that. Before proving yourselves. Before defending humanity. Before expanding our territory to something time never forgets."
He smiled.
"You will go to your dormitories. Drop your bags. Get to your rooms and then return here after putting your house in order."
A few students shifted as it seemed, the rust in their joints had finally gone off and they were ready to move.
Vaughn's voice became calmer. Even though it wasn't like he was yelling before.
"With your houses in order. You would return back here where you take the first steps into your future."
He smiled openly as he raised his right index finger while leaning into the cane from his left.
"But what is humanity if not unified?"
He stopped like he was genuinely waiting for an answer before he continued.
"In the spirit of humanity. I will grant you five minutes to get to know each other."
Dean nodded at the man's request. He wasn't big on it but he understood the value, after all, they would all be stuck with each other in the next few years. So why not get to know each other.
Though Dean knew that was also a recipe for disaster.
Dean watched as the crowd opened up to Mr. Vaughn, who limped as his cane tapped the floor with authority before he disappeared into a room at the back.
Immediately he was out of sight, the room exploded into noise like they were choked all this while.
The cliques formed faster than he could spell the word.
Vampires drifted to vampires and werewolves to werewolves with only humans forming several groups.
'Unity? What a joke,' Dean couldn't help but shake his head slowly.
The cliques weren't all that bad, if he had to be honest. Loud ones at the top. Quiet ones sticking together. Same everywhere.
The elites were loud and the confidence was evident in their tone and overly pompous
And the not so elites stayed with each other after all they weren't the worst of the crop.
That would be Dean. Who stayed alone even though eyes were staring his way. he didn't want to interact with anyone after all the people he knew from the draft weren't here except Rogue that is.
That meant the other high ranking participants of the draft must have picked Vermith academy.
Astrea going there was a no-brainer. It was her family's academy after all. Of course she would go there.
Talking about Astrea. He recalled she was quite the mystic, but the vampires he had in his radar were far from it.
The girls had pale skin and slim figures that seemed way too perfect. It made sense that they weren't humans.
Their short skirts made the werewolves and humans seem like they weren't doing enough.
"Damn," Dean straightened up as a few things made sense now.
He remembered how the guys in his old life, would talk about college like it was the lobby to heaven. It was all about the ladies. Dean finally figured it out.
He was about to pull his bag and walk out to find his dorm when a young boy approached him with a tanto in hand. And a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
Dean raised a brow.
"The fuck?"