Sol and I sit down at a table near the window in the large cafeteria. Sol has his tray piled high with food, whereas I have hardly anything, save for a couple pieces of fruit and some bread. Soon, we are joined by Faith, the tall foreigner from before, Sky, her friend, and a guy I don’t recognize. He looks like Drew, the intelligent, gray-haired one from before, only he has tannish-brown hair and bright green eyes. His hair is messier than Drew’s and he has a bit of a... dumb look, like he hardly knows what goes on. No, wait, scratch that last bit. He only appears that way, but in truth, he holds the same intelligence and cleverness of both Faith and Drew, harbored inside of him, only waiting to come out.
“Hi guys,” Sol greets all three of them brightly, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
Faith pulls up a chair next to me; Sky sits next to Sol, and the other sits on Faith’s other side. I sniff the air, an aroma I’ve only smelled once before wafting through the air: meat.
I am a strict vegetarian. I do not do meat. In Heaven, we didn’t consume God’s creatures, but instead, we feasted upon the fruits and vegetables that grew in the lush green pastures of the Kingdom. I’ve only smelled the thick scent of meat on Axel, when he came to visit. It was on his clothing.
“Is that all you got, Vincent?” Faith asks me, eying my plate skeptically. “Where’s the protein?”
The smell is coming from her plate, and her friend’s. In fact, their plates are piled with dead animals. My nose twitches grudgingly, and I feel bile begin to rise in my throat. All of those animals, killed to be eaten by these people.
“I’m a vegetarian,” I rasp, swallowing my vomit and looking away. “Where I come from, it was forbidden to eat meat.”
“Oh, really?” Faith looks back at her plate. “Why’s that?”
“We aren’t meant to consume God’s creatures. They were put on Earth for companionship, but the father of your race made them turn against you. We of Heaven know that they weren’t for consuming.”
“Don’t knock it ‘till you try it,” Faith jokes lightly, tearing off a strip with her teeth. When she speaks again, her voice is muffled. “I mean, have you even tried meat?” She swallows.“It’s, like, an explosion in your mouth!”
I wrinkle my nose and sniff. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Oh, c’mon, Vincent!”
“No. It’s against my religion.”
“You don’t have a religion,” Sol cuts in. “You’re neutral, remember?”
I glare at him. Thank you, Sol. “Well, I lived there long enough to adopt their senses of morality, so, technically, it is my religion.”
“Just try it,” Sol groans. “It won’t kill you.”
I narrow my eyes and look back to Faith, who is grinning and waving a sliver of beef on her fork.
“It’s really good...” she urges, sticking the fork in my face and waving it under my nose. You, know, for a bunch of beings that are supposed to respect me, they aren’t really all that respectful.
About the meat… it doesn’t smell horrible, but I can’t help but to think of the poor animal that died just so humans could feed.
“Lord, please forgive me for what I’m about to do,” I mutter under my breath. I take the fork from Faith reluctantly, and put the meat into my mouth. A mixture of flavors seep onto my tongue: sweetness, with a slight burnt taste with a hint of grease. I’m ashamed to say this, but it’s delicious. I have never tasted anything like it.
I hear Sky giggle and I look up.
“What?” I ask her after swallowing. “What’s so funny?”
“You spent all that time arguing against trying it and you found out that you actually like it,” Sky answers. “If you’re going to live with us you have to get used to trying new things, Vincent.”
“I never said-”
“You didn’t have to say so. Like Faith, my powers double up. I’m a telepath as well as electrotype.” Sky smirks smugly, as if this is some big achievement. Oh please, I could fly circles around this girl.
I sniff at that, searching for the Gift Scent that is lying beneath her electrifying one.
“You won’t be able to sniff it out,” the tan-haired boy says. “That scent is much more subtle than her other one.”
“How do you know?” I question, raising an eyebrow at him.
“My senses are heightened,” he answers, smiling. “I can smell, see, and hear things most others wouldn’t. Plus, my strength, speed and agility is quadruple that of any “above average” male. My name is Kyunte by the way, but everyone around here calls me Milo.”
“Good to meet you,” I say, dipping my head. “Are you, Faith, and Drew related or something?”
“Something like that,” Faith replies for him. “We come from the same tribe off the coast of California. Milo’s my guardian and Drew’s his half-brother.”
I nod, interested. “What made you guys move here?” I ask, propping my chin on my hand.
Faith’s eyes water and she turns away. Milo puts his arm around her and leans forward to address me.
“We don’t like to talk about it. It’s a… sensitive subject,” he murmurs, smoothing Faith’s hair. “It’s not a very good story to tell, and you might be disturbed to hear it. “
“I understand. It’s okay,” I say quickly. “Faith? Are you okay?” She nods and wipes her eyes with a napkin as she separates from Milo. Her eyes are red, and she appears distraught. “I’m sorry. I won’t talk about it again.”
“It’s okay. I-I will tell you about what happened, just not today.”
“All right, if you’re sure,” I grumble awkwardly, unsure of what to say or do. I glance at Sol, who leans towards me. Sky does the same, not as if she has something to say, but because she’s most likely nosy.
“Their past is one that’s very difficult and… not that fun to hear about,” Sol whispers to me. “I only know about it because Milo told me, but that was only after we’d known each other for, like, a year or so. Faith hasn’t even talked to me about it, and I’ve really known her as long as I’ve known Milo or Drew.”
“I found out everything from Faith,” Sky puts in, looking a little smug.
“Yeah, because you annoyed the crap out of her until she told you,” Sol points out. “Faith isn’t likely to tell anybody anything about what happened. Echo doesn’t even know. Neither does Isabel.”
“Well, yeah duh about Isabel. They hate each other and if Faith were to tell Iz about where she came from than that would give her even more reason to mock her,” Sky states matter-of-factly. “You should know that of all people.”
I run my fingers through my hair as they argue, my jaws stretching in a yawn. These Mutants, they’re so…different from the Angels.
“Does anyone know about you guys? The Mutants?” I ask as the question pops into my head.
“Nope,” Sol pipes up, grinning. “We’re our own species shrouded in mystery.” He smiles dreamily, his blue eyes focusing elsewhere.
“What he means is, only our parents know about us. And, the faculty here of course. They keep us in hiding so we aren’t used as government weapons or crap like that. It’s rather complicated. It’s like a warped version of X-Men,” Sky explains, giving a small smile.
X-men?
“We came here so we can be with our own kind, where we truly belong. It’s nice, actually. None of us really miss our families, since we don’t relate with them that well,” Sky continues.
“What’re you talking about? You have a sibling here! Two, really,” Faith scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“Blitz is my half-brother, and Sol doesn’t count. He’s my step-brother,” Sky snorts.
“Well, Milo is my Guardian and Drew is his brother but that doesn’t make them any less my family,” Faith snaps back, her voice lowering to a growl. “At least you can go back to yours. We have to fend for ourselves.”
“Ayrie, shut up,” Milo orders her warningly, frowning. “You’re making a big deal out of something that isn’t one.”
“Kyu, she’s-”
“No she’s not, Ayria. Be quiet,” Drew whispers to her. “It’s okay. Don’t take things so personally.”
“Fine. Then we’ll settle this the old-fashioned way,” Faith decides, folding her arms and sitting back in her chair.
“You don’t mean-” Sol gasps, appearing shocked.
“You bet I do,” Faith confirms, smirking.
“But that’s so unfair! You always win!” Sky exclaims, her knuckles turning white as she grips the table.
“Toobad, Princess,” Faith sneers, her grin broadening.
“Why, oh why, in the hell did I open my mouth?” Sky groans, putting her head down on the table.
“W-what’s going on?” I stutter, looking around for some answers.
“You know how we have training next after lunch?” Drew asks me, looking amused.
“Yeah, and?”
“Well, at the end of the class we have practice bouts, and today is “Number One Day,” meaning that whoever currently has the number one spot of each gender in our class gets to pick their opponents. Faith and Milo both hold the spots, and Faith is going to abuse her position to get back at Sky for a seemingly rude remark she made,” Drew explains. “Faith has never lost her spot to anyone.”
“Ah, I see,” I say, nodding. “Has Milo?”
“No,” Drew replies, sounding bitter. “I’ve tried so many times to no avail, but I’m sure that I’m a close second to him. He doesn’t even really have special abilities. His motor controls are above average, yes, but he’s just really an enhanced Human, much like Captain America.”
What is with all of the comic book references? I wonder. My guess is that they can sympathize and understand them? I am quite unfamiliar with the comic book Universe, considering that I lived in Heaven for a majority of my life. In my Human studies class, however, I learned about comic books, graphic novels, and of course the ever-so-popular manga. It was interesting, seeing how the writers could create such characters that could do such things. Maybe they are Mutants themselves. I dunno. Sounds pretty cool though. And yet, I still want to know more.
“What is X-me-?” I begin to ask, but am cut off when Faith turns around.
“So, Vincent,” she says, holding her fork in her hand after neglecting her food for what seemed like forever, “why did you come here of all places? I thought you would most likely train in this mystical land filled with wide-open spaces and mystical creatures and all that junk.”
I shrug. “Not my choice. My Guardian brought me here.”
“You have a Guardian too?” Faith gasps. “Is she as young as you? Do you have to end up marrying her too?”
“Uh, no? My Guardian is male, for one, and we don’t usually end up mating. Well, actually I’m not sure if I get to mate or not. Axel hasn’t told me much.”
“Axel? Is that your Guardian’s name?”
“No, my Guardian is Adel. Axel is my mentor,” I explain. “I’m sure you’ll meet both of them soon enough.”
Faith nods. “I suppose we will.”
Gender:
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