3 Party, Leaving and Teaching

Everything else aside, the orientation party seemed alright. Plenty of food and drink, plenty of people to talk to and some generic but decent house music in the background.

I mean, I'd much rather there be some actual alcohol here but I understood that Alfea wasn't quite as lax as my Tribe was on underage drinking. In the Werewolf community, as soon as you hit puberty you're pretty much allowed to drink because it's a vital part of our celebrations. Guess fairies aren't the same.

And here I was, bone dry sober and standing next to Terra, Aisha and another one of my roommates who reluctantly introduced herself, Musa.

"Who actually saw the shepherd's body?" Terra asked, the topic of conversation being the recent gossip about a dead dude being found outside the barrier surrounding Alfea. Terra was pretty sceptical about it. "Maybe he was just old. People get old and die. We all die," she said and I share a glance with Aisha, the both of us feeling that Terra was just trying to stay ignorant of the truth through pure optimism.

Musa, however, wasn't so silent about her disagreement, "That old age decapitation really sneaks up on you," she sarcastically said.

Aisha, spurred on by what Musa said, spoke up as well, "Happened to my nan right in the middle of bingo," she joked, "Just...thwop, thwop, thwop, down the table," she motioned a rolling gesture with her hands and Musa gave a laugh.

"I get you're trying to be optimistic, Terra," I spoke up before shaking my head, "But when the teachers came back in I could smell the blood on them. It wasn't a clean or natural death."

"Smell?" Terra looked inquisitively up at me, "How did you do that?"

"Werewolf nose," I said, not really seeing the need in holding back on the information now that Bloom knew. Stella knew as well, so it was only a matter of time before either one let it slip. All three of the girls looked at me, varying degrees of surprise on their faces. Musa was by far the most lax about it though, barely quirking an eyebrow up at me as her eyes flickered purple for a brief second.

"A Werewolf?" Terra asked, a slight crack in her voice, "Wait--you're a Werewolf? Oh my, I'm so sorry, I think I have a few plants set up in the living room that agitate Werewolves. I'll move them out as soon as possible--" I cut her off with a raised hand and a smile.

"Don't worry about it, Terra. I'm more resistant to smells than others of my kind," I tried my best to placate her but I could tell it was worrying her. Odd how she got over the fact I was a Werewolf so quickly and instead began worrying about the plants in the living room hurting my nose...she really is a nice girl. Too nice for her own good, I presume. Seeing Terra wasn't going to stop worrying anytime soon, I turned to Aisha and Musa, "Got any questions about Werewolves you've been dying to ask?"

"Nothing other than one thing," Aisha quirked up with a smirk, "Do I have to worry about the dorm having a wet dog smell after you shower?" she teased and I returned the smirk, glad she felt comfortable enough even knowing that I'm a Werewolf to banter with each other.

"Oh, I assure you, I smell wonderful after a shower," I drawled out before winking, "Only a little bit of wet dog gets through the ultra-powerful shampoo I use."

Aisha gave a laugh while stacking cookies onto a napkin in her hand, and Musa gave a curious look as she saw how much she was taking, "No judgement, but..." she gestured to the eight or nine cookies the other girl was carrying.

"Oh," Aisha gave a slightly awkward chuckle, like a kid who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, and explained, "I eat like a million calories a day. I swim a lot, you know?"

Musa gave a nod, "I used to dance. I get it," she said and I gave a nod of agreement. Werewolf metabolism sucks at times. On one hand, it means I can eat and drink whatever I want and still stay in shape but it also means I have to eat A LOT. The only reason I'm not destroying the buffet and pouring it down my gullet is because I had a massive breakfast before I came to Alfea.

"On that note," Aisha said and chomped a bit of the bread stick in her hand. She'd already eaten quite a bit, as well. Surprised a non-Werewolf could even have this much of an appetite, swimming a lot or not.

"Second round, already? Damn. Twice a day, every day. You weren't kidding, Aisha," she joked and I rolled my eyes, seeing an opportunity for some friendly ribbing.

"She had a mouthful of a bread stick, Musa. Not an entire Subway sandwich," I joked and Musa gave a smirk in reply while Aisha seemed to spot something interesting off to the side and walked off. Though she didn't speak to anyone else and left the room - probably to go swimming. Who knows--feels like I'm thinking that a lot lately.

I caught Terra looking at Musa nervously, almost anxious about something, and I could tell she wanted to say something, so I excused myself and backed up and away. Feeling a bit peckish after seeing Aisha eat, I wandered over to the buffet and picked up a little food. Just a few sandwiches. Or five. Six at the most. They looked amazing, okay? Sandwiches in hand, I walked over to the side of the room and leaned up against one of the archways before tucking in to my food.

Halfway through my bountiful horde, I heard a voice up behind me, "This is a lot of people, Wolf boy--Still feel like you can keep me company with all these strangers around?" The scent of spice I recognized as Bloom followed the words and I smiled as I looked over my shoulder at her.

"If you really don't like this many people being around you, why'd you even come? Did my ruggedly handsome looks persuade you?" I smirked at her before going back to people watching.

I felt a elbow dig into my side lightly as Bloom stood next to me, though I hardly felt it and it only made my smirk wider, "Shut up, jerk," she huffed before looking over the people mingling and dancing in the middle of the room, "...Is it so bad that I just like a quiet place and don't like being surrounded on all sides by noisy people I probably don't wanna know?"

Shrugging, I swallowed the food in my mouth and answered, "Err, not really. I guess it's a personal preference thing. Personally, I can do both - sitting in the woods and chilling out or partying with a bunch of people I don't know," I said before turning to her, "Do you wanna stay here or go somewhere else? Pretty sure the woods aren't too far from here."

Her outfit was pretty...Bloom-like. Red sweater a size too big for her, some sporty leggings, boots and topped off with a leather jacket. Compared to earlier her hair was half-up half-down and it fit her much better, in my opinion.

She tucked a strand behind her ear and gave me a look that already answered my question - kinda like puppy dog eyes, really - but still spoke up, "Can we, uh, you know...do that? Is this orientation party something you can just skip out on and go into the woods?"

"Sure," I nodded in affirmation, "The only possible problem would be safety. And I doubt there's much in those woods that is more dangerous than anything I'd have to face in my Tribe on the average Tuesday." I waited a few seconds and then asked Bloom again, "So, do you wanna go out to someplace more quiet? I'm sure you've been dying to try and test your powers out. If you being so impatient about the subject of learning magic with the Headmistress is anything to go off of."

Bloom spared me a slight glare at the mention of her being impatient but mention of testing out her powers suppressed that brief annoyance and she gave me an eager nod.

Seeing her agreement, I moved my body and gestured to a nearby exit with my hand as I took a bite out of the three remaining sandwiches I'd stacked on top of each other. More efficient that way or whatever my food brain was thinking. Bloom gave me a look seeing me eating before rolling her eyes and walking on toward the exit, "What?" I called after her with a laugh, having swallowed the food in my mouth.

"Nothing," she smiled before seemingly not being able to stop herself from asking, "...So, does you being a Werewolf have anything to do with you eating like some sort of starved person? Or are you just really hungry?" she got out as we exited the hall the party was taking place in.

I took another bite, chewed, swallowed and then shrugged, "Werewolf thing. You don't get superhuman strength and metabolism without needing more to fuel it. I usually eat a lot of protein bars and nutrient bars or a lot of milk and eggs. It gets worse around the full moon though, among other things."

"Other things like what?" she curiously asked as we walked through the empty halls of the college and then down some stairs toward an exit for the building itself.

"Other things that aren't really conversation topics, Bloom," I grimaced, thinking about how to explain it but decided against it. She'd only just found out I was a Werewolf and dumping what happens on a full moon would just be over the top.

She hummed in response and I finished off the stacked sandwich before pushing the door open and showing the field and trees ahead of us. A few hundred meters away from us was where the forest surrounding Alfea really started and where the barrier surrounding the school was set. I gave a sigh and looked to Bloom, "Do you wanna get there quick or do you wanna walk there?"

"Um," she paused, looking between me and the distance to the forest before settling back on me as she answered, "I guess I wanna get there fast? The faster we're there, the faster I can test out my magic, right?"

"Yep," I answered and kneeled, "Get on then. I'll get us there quick enough."

Bloom paused for a moment before her eyes widened, "W-wait, what? 'Get on'? Get on you?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, Bloom - What, did you think I just like kneeling in a field like this? Get on before I pick you up in a bridal carry."

Shocked into action, Bloom tentatively walked behind me and mounted my back. I locked my arms around her legs and made sure to not touch her inappropriately. As much as my Werewolf side wanted me to. She obviously felt a bit uncomfortable about the whole 'Getting on a recently met person's back' and I could get that - I was just too lazy and impatient to walk across a field at her normal human speed. We all have our downsides.

After she was secured, I stood up and she rocked back and forth before snaking her arms around my neck like a koala. If I weren't a Werewolf, she'd be chocking me out right now. Dense skin and muscle for the win, huh?

"Ready?" I said, setting into a running position, smirking as I felt her heartbeat spike.

"Y-yeah," she tried to sound tough and unperturbed but her stuttered reply cut all of that down pretty quickly. I didn't comment on it and just tensed my legs before pushing off with enough force to displace the grass and ground beneath my feet. I obviously didn't go full throttle but I did put enough force into it that I was running quicker than a car a second after I kicked off. If I went full throttle...well, Bloom wouldn't have been able to hang on.

Even at this speed she was kinda struggling. Oh well, I had her and I guess she knew that because halfway across the field she began hooting and hollering like she was on a rollercoaster. Though even then she didn't release her arms from around my neck.

I got the distinct scent of adrenaline and could tell she was getting the ride of her life.

Too bad it was over a few seconds after that. We were in the forest and I came to a skidding stop just before the barrier. I dropped my arms but Bloom didn't get off, her adrenaline still running high. I gave her a tap to the knee and looked over my shoulder at her, "Bloom? We're here."

Her hair was wind whipped and her cheeks were bright red, her eyes wide and her pupils dilated. I had the oddest then - That she looked so beautiful like that. But I pushed the thought off as something to do with the approaching full moon and decided to meditate after I got back tonight. Bloom looked to me and finally snapped out of her adrenaline-induced state.

"Already?" she questioned, almost disappointed. A far cry from her hesitation from before.

"Yeah, already," I chuckled and she hopped off me shakily, nearly falling but I quickly caught and steadied her, "Take a few deep breaths and let the adrenaline leave your system before we cross the barrier. Last thing I need is you tripping over a branch and breaking something."

At the sternness of my tone, Bloom's red cheeks took on a different meaning, and she gave a reluctant nod as she sat down on a nearby rock and began calming herself down.

"You...first with that ridiculous strength and now with that speed," Bloom started after a few seconds before giving a disbelieving laugh, "How the hell did you guys stay under the radar so long? Surely someone would've seen something."

"If we don't want someone to see us, they wouldn't, Bloom," I smiled before sitting on a rock opposite her, "We can smell people before they even see us. Or hear them. And besides, we lived a nomadic lifestyle. Constantly travelling, constantly moving from place to place. I was born in Britain but by the time I was four, I was in India, then Japan. Africa, South America, Scandinavia--I've been all over the place. A benefit of that is that we were rarely ever in a place long enough for people to get suspicious."

Bloom gave an envious look and sighed, "Must've been nice. I was stuck in California in a no-good town with my parents," she grumpily said, leaning her chin against one of her hands, "Wait, so, you grew up all over the place? Do you know loads of languages then?"

I smiled in reply and responded, "Yeah. I know most of the languages in Europe to a decent degree. Same goes with the languages in the East. I'm best with English, Spanish and French though because I spent a lot of my life in Europe's forests and had to occasionally join my Tribe on their visits to the cities nearby." Bloom just stared at me after that and I gave her a quirked eyebrow, "What?"

"Nothing," she said before shaking her head and looking away, "Just thinking about how different our lives are but here we are, at the same college. I guess it's the first time I've met someone so different to me, who I can still get along with."

"Oh?" I questioned, wriggling my eyebrows comically, "Is the exalted Bloom finally admitting we're friends?"

The redhead rolled her eyes at me but looked back and met my gaze with hers right after, "I guess I am. You're an interesting guy, Ezra. More interesting than any of the others back in my town, anyway," she trailed off before embarrassment hit her and she covered up her compliment and turned it into a backhanded one, "Low bar to get over, honestly."

I gave a mixture of a scoff and a laugh before standing up, "I'm glad I'm up to your low standards then, Bloom. Wanna cross the barrier so I can show you how to do magic? Maybe after that you won't think me going at jogging speed was so impressive," I teased her.

Bloom wilfully ignored the teasing and got up, her excitement and need for magic overruling everything else. She faced toward the way away from the college, where the air just looked a little off, and put her hand up against the barrier and slightly fuzzy air. The air turned blue when she touched up against it and with the barest of pushes, it contorted around her outstretched hand before the hand passed through and the barrier wobbled back into place like jelly after you flick it.

Following after her, I pushed down the shiver of enhanced senses when I passed through the barrier. My skin picked up more than Bloom's did and the way the barrier stuck to me, combing over my entire body as if looking for something just felt...invasive. But I guess this is how the barrier sorts and chooses who can enter or who can't.

Oblivious to how horrid the barrier felt to me, Bloom walked on into the woods and I picked up my speed to catch up to her. When I caught up, there were a bunch of Sprites flying around her. Magical insects that are like the Otherworld's equivalent of Fireflies and they aren't just limited to one colour. They're also a sort of hive-mind creature that travel in groups of hundreds - which seems daunting but when you consider that they're pretty small, it's not that big of a group, visually anyway*.

(*A/n - Made this shit up. Have no clue what that shit flying around Bloom was when she got passed the barrier but this is my attempt to add some depth to the Netflix show.)

We followed the river next to us in silence, the comfortable kind, and finally we came across a nice opening that had direct access to the river via a sand/dirt bank. Plenty of space for Bloom to try her powers out and quick water access if I need to put out any fires--if I needed to use the water, anyway. Don't know why I would.

The both of us came to a stop in the middle of the opening and Bloom looked to me eagerly, like a student does to their teacher.

I took a deep breath before speaking up, "So, Bloom, what do you know about magic and casting it?"

"Well, Stella said it's based off of emotions. Good ones or bad ones," she noted off like she was reading from an internal notebook or something, "And the strength of the emotions determines the strength of the magic."

"So the basics?" I questioned and she nodded, causing me to sigh. I was expecting this but it doesn't help the tedious minutiae that teaching involves. I guess I was hoping she'd know more than she did in the series, for some reason. Butterfly effect and all that usual stuff. But oh well, guess we have to go about the normal way. "Okay. Right," I said as a place holder while I thought up a relevant example, "For starters, you don't wanna use negative emotions. At all. They're stronger, sure, but as a result the magic it creates is much harder to control. Focus on good emotions."

She gave a slow nod before closing her eyes and lifting her hands, balling them into fists so tight her knuckles went bone white. Then Bloom opened her eyes and at the same time opened her hand...and nothing happened. Bloom did that same thing thrice more before groaning in frustration.

"Annoying, isn't it?" I asked as I walked up in front of her and sat down. She looked at me odd but I gestured for her to do the same and, when she did, I continued, "It's annoying and not bearing fruit because you're not going into this with the proper mindset. Using magic safely isn't as easy as thinking of an emotion and then poof, you've done magic. It takes a lot of visualisation and willpower."

"...O-okay, so how do I do any of that? I mean, I get visualisation it but visualise what? The emotions? The effects I want?" Bloom gave a helpless smile before her shoulders slumped, "I'm not like all of you guys who grew up with this being normal. Maybe I don't..." she trailed off before just sighing in self-defeat.

I raised an eyebrow up at her, provocatively, "Do you think that because I was raised around my mom who could use magic, that it was easy for me?" I questioned rhetorically, "Because if you do, you're wrong. Everyone has to go through this stage of visualisation and everyone has a little trouble with it. It can take some people days to even conjure up their element and control it properly. Miss Dowling would agree with me - Magic is a slow process. And you want control, right?" She nodded in response and I gave her a gentle smile, "Then close your eyes and think of a good memory. Really search for it. Think of a memory that fills you with joy or love or just general affection."

We went back to silence and Bloom closed her eyes, her face a perfect picture of concentration. Her brow was tensed, which was a bad sign, but then she began to relax. A slight smile picked at the corner of her lips and the joy held in that smile was infectious for some reason.

But remembering why I was here, and that it wasn't to just look at Bloom's face, I went on, "Now, look into that memory and think about why it makes you feel the way it does. Imagine that this memory creates a liquid of sorts when you feel what you feel in it, and that liquid falls into a funnel below the memory," I stopped and her furrowed brows were back for a few more seconds before she relaxed again and I took that as meaning she was ready for the next part, "That funnel is connected to a pipe, and that pipe is connected to your left hand. Feel the emotion travelling down your arm and then let it out of your palm, Bloom."

All the while I was saying that last bit, Bloom lifted her hand and opened the fist which began to smoke before sparking and then finally...a flame appeared on her hand.

"Open your eyes, Bloom," I said with a soft voice, smiling all the while doing so, and I got to see as Bloom's eyes fluttered open and then widen in surprise and relief, "You did it. You've got some serious talent...would've been a shame if you just gave up, right?" I teasingly asked and she just rapidly nodded her head, giddy with the results of our little session.

Standing up, I gestured for her to do the same and I alone walked over to a nearby tree. I moved muscles in my arm that didn't exist in normal human arms and I felt a claw slide out from under my nail, part of it cutting through the skin on my index finger.

Holding it out, I carved a rough bullseye into the side of the tree before letting the claw go back into it's resting place, leaving behind no blood or cut because of my healing factor.

Pointing toward the tree, I gave her a mischievous smirk, "Now, feel the happiness and joy and relief you felt when you finally conjured up that flame and then visualise it flying through the air at that tree. Don't worry about causing a fire, I'll put them all out."

Bloom gave me a 'Really?' look and I nodded, then she matched my smirk with one of her own.