Chapter Text
Grian never thought he would just be normal. His parents were not normal. They were fire mages. He'd waited and waited for his powers to kick in but they never did. It turned out that he was just a normal little human. And then he got kicked out because of it.
His parents didn't want a normal human kid. He was weak and useless and they needed him to be strong and powerful. Not to mention it was unheard of to just have a normal kid. So they sent him off to a boarding school. That was where he was now.
It was a boarding school for kids of all ages and variety. Hermit boarding school was an all inclusive school for kids from all sorts of backgrounds. They had safety measures in place for all sorts of hybrids and magical creatures.
They had a storage full of animal blood, suitable for the vampire kids. There was fire protection on everything for fire mages, for kids he was supposed to be like. Everyone was protected from any fire related mishaps. They had any odd food item that different creatures could need. They even had pools for any aquatic hybrids or water mages.
There were classes for kids to train and develop their magic, on top of all your regular education. There were even classes for you to learn all about all the different types of beings that you could find in the world. That was a useful thing when you went to a boarding school filled with all of them.
His roommate's were not normal like him. He was roomed with a vampire and an elven boy. The vampire had some interesting abilities due to his heritage. He was the first son in a long line of pureblood vampires. That meant he was very strong and powerful. His elven roommate was strong in elven magic and very knowledgeable.
He felt very out of place being just plain human, but his roommate's were very nice at least. As far as he could tell from his first day at least. They didn't seem to think badly of him for being human. They didn't really seem to care at all. He cared though. He didn't want to be pathetic and weak. He wanted to be like his parents, capable of producing the largest flames and taming them just as quick.
Mumbo and Scar were in the room with him now. Grian was sitting on his bed by himself, doodling in a notebook. They were both sitting on Mumbo's bed, talking about small things like how their trip had been. It seems like they'd known each other and already been friends. Maybe they'd been attending the school together already?
“Hey, Grian?” Mumbo pulled Grian out of his thoughts.
“Yea?” Grian nervously responded to the vampire.
“Do you wanna walk with us to the dining hall for dinner?” He asked kindly.
“Uh… Yea, sure I guess” Grian shrugged and climbed off his bed to get ready.
He pulled some shoes and a hoodie on and then he was ready to go with them. Walking out into the hall was scarier than he thought it would be. The halls were filled with other students. He could see a wolf hybrid talking to a creeper hybrid. He felt himself trying to be smaller as they walked past.
There was a blazeborne talking to a demon hybrid. He found himself looking at the blazeborn with interest though the boy's friend did frighten him. Blazebornes were similar to fire mages. Fire mages appeared human like, you wouldn't know they were a fire mage until they demonstrated their abilities. A blazeborne didn't look very human at all. They were surrounded by their own flame, having a strong control over it. Maybe that's why he's friends with a demon hybrid. Demons are heat resistant.
They continued walking on, so he only got a moment to take in the blazeborne and his demon friend. As they continued he spotted a white haired boy who seemed to be an arctic fox hybrid. He was speaking to a deer hybrid with curly red hair and large majestic antlers. That seemed like an interesting pair. It was peculiar; prey speaking to predators?
It was unheard of where he was from. You were either afraid or you were feared. You were friends with people like you or you had no friends at all. That didn't seem to be a thing here. But still he couldn't help but stare wide eyed in fear every time they moved past anyone he felt could hurt him.
“No one can hurt you, ya know” Scar, the elven mage, startled him.
“Uh, yea. Right” Grian stared at the ground as they walked.
“No one would hurt you” Mumbo corrected
“They're perfectly capable if they wanted, but they'd likely be expelled,” he explained.
“Mumbo, I don't think that really helps” Scar sighed.
“Oh, oops. My bad,” Mumbo scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
“We wouldn't let anyone hurt you as long as you are with us” Scar reassured.
Grian nodded, a light blush on his cheeks. They hardly knew him yet they were promising to keep him safe? Why would they do that? Why would they risk anything for him? He was just a worthless little human. They were strong and powerful. He didn't even deserve their protection yet they were offering it willingly and easily.
They get into the dining hall and Scar and Mumbo lead him to the food line. It took a few minutes, standing in line, but they did finally get to the food. Grian picked out some baked chicken, macaroni, and a small side salad. Scar got the chicken as well, with some steamed veggies on the side. Grian tried to hide his confused look when he watched Mumbo pick up a meal that matched his own.
They went and sat at one of the many circular tables filling the large dining hall. Grian picked at his own food, not feeling particularly hungry. He was feeling too nervous to eat it all. He couldn't help staring at Mumbo as the boy devoured his own food. Mumbo caught his eye and chuckled.
“I know I'm a vampire, but I'm still able to eat normal food. The blood is more just to keep me alive” he explained, not seeming upset by his curiosity.
“Oh. I see. Sorry I don't really know much about anything” Grian frowned.
“That's okay. You feel free to ask us any questions you might have” Scar offered kindly and Mumbo nodded in agreement.
“Okay. Thanks” Grian let himself smile for the first time that day.
Scar and Mumbo smiled back. They seemed happy with his company? He wasn't used to that. He'd grown used to feeling unwanted. Ever since he'd turned 6 and still didn't have any magic, his parents stopped giving him any sort of love. He was surprised it took them so long to ship him away. He was 15 and it had been almost 10 years since then.
“Are you going to eat any more?” Scar gestured to his half eaten plate.
Grian shook his head and pushed it away. He felt tears coming up but he blinked them away. Why was he upset? Luckily no one seemed to notice. He'd recovered nicely.
“We can head back to our room, then?” Mumbo suggested.
Grian could see they'd already finished their meals. They must be ready to get back to the room. He nodded and followed them to the trashcan to dump their trash. Then he let them lead him back to their room.