Chapter Text
“Fluttershy!” Zephyr exclaimed loudly, shaking Fluttershy awake. She groaned, looking at him with squinted eyes. When Fluttershy woke up this morning, she didn’t expect to be greeted with her little brother's face right above her own. “You’re going to be late to school!” And, wasn’t that a great thing to hear at… 8:45! Oh no. Her first class of the day started at 9 am!
Fluttershy shot out of her bed, frantically searching her room for clothes before shooing Zephyr out kindly, and thanking him for waking her up. “Gosh Fluttershy, it’s only the second day of the year and you’re late!!” She sighed heavily, the anxiety settling in her stomach chaotically. After fumbling for a few minutes, she decided on her favorite pink tank top, yellow butterfly cardig an, and long patchy green skirt. She threw on some brown mary janes and dashed through the house, while Zephyr snickered lowly from his spot on the couch.
“Don’t trip!” He shouted after her, watching her throw an aloof look over her shoulder before darting out the door and down the sidewalk. There was no way she could hit the bus on time, so she would just have to make a run for it.
Goodness, she hated running. Not that she was any better at flying though, so this would have to do.
Somehow, only five minutes late, she managed to make it to class. She walked in the doorway just as the professor finished her introduction. The professor raised a brow at Fluttershy, who was struck with pink cheeks and small disturbances of gasping for her air.
“H-Hello,” She muttered, head down as she waited for permission to be seated. Her wings tucked closely to her back as she felt herself curl inward with all the gazes trained upon her.
“Hello.” Professor Cheerilee chuckled deeply in amusement. “As glad I am that you could make it Fluttershy, I hope this is not a foretelling of the rest of the year.” Her brow went back up and Fluttershy blushed heavily in embarrassment, her hair falling to cover her face as she nodded deeply.
“Of course, Ms. I promise to not be late again without a good reason!” She spoke, taking a second before rushing to her seat. She sat softly and began to settle in.
“Anyways,” The professor bellowed to the small-ish lecture room with a short giggle. “Today we will be delving into the complexities of Phytogeography and Plant Ecology. Now, don’t be scared when I say we are much more like plants than you realize.” She speaks confidently and winks, causing a rush of small laughs across the room.
Fluttershy, entranced, leans in to absorb everything that the professor is saying. Cheerliee is one of the best teachers in Equestria, especially in the studies of Zoology and Botany. In the two short classes Fluttershy has been able to take from Ms. Cheerilee, she was confident in saying she had a lot of fondness for the woman. She carried herself with confidence, care, empathy, and a good set of problem-solving skills that Fluttershy got to witness hand-in-hand with her first impression. She also held a lot of passion for the classes she hosted, which were Ecology/Biological Sciences.
“Now that we have that covered, we can get our hands on the real stuff.” The professor leans over to start up the projector on her desk. She fiddles with her computer for a few moments before, “Ahah! I am not the best with technology, I must admit.” Her shoulders shake with a silent laugh. “But, if you notice how this picture of two plants stand side by side, you may also be able to notice their key differences. Left side is in a dark and dense, green area while right side shows a light, open, sandy area. What are a few things, off the top of your head, that would be different about these two settings?”
Fluttershy watches as people raise their hands, others just shout out answers and Cherilee nods and smiles brightly at each remark. She figured, she could speak up, as there were so many answers, but the anxiety had her hunching her shoulders and nodding along with what other students said. After a certain point, Cherilee pulls everyone back to the main point and focuses on the detailing of the topic at hand.
An hour and a half goes by easily and Fluttershy almost sighs when Cherilee declares that is all of their time. Their homework was easy; to pick a plant and give a simple essay on its DNA structure, biome history, and comparison to a cousin identity.
As Fluttershy walks out, she gives a simple, “Thank you,” an appreciative nod the the professor, who smiles with a nod of her own. Fluttershy finds herself roaming the halls of the college for a few moments, taking it all in. There weren’t very many others hanging around, they were either in class or outside.
She didn’t have another class for another forty-five minutes so she figured it would be fine to explore, as she still wasn’t very familiar with the campus. As she sauntered through the halls, books held close to her chest, she couldn’t help but notice the college seemed more like a castle. There were beautiful works of art, made by students and others alike, lining the walls. The windows were large, showing the campus greenery from where she stood, while the windows nearer to the ceiling were glass-stained with all different types of narrative photography.
Fluttershy didn’t realize she was stopped, staring at the words never written, until someone bumped into her, causing her to let out a small shriek and drop her books. She turned around with wide eyes, hands close to her face as she went to apologize when she was stopped in her tracks.
A man, taller than she’d ever met, stood in front of her. He had a brow raised, hands lax at her side. He did not try to pick up her books, or even apologize for the matter. He just stared down at her, stoic and detached. Everything about him seemed to be mismatched, from his eye colors, hair colors, clothing and-- Hah! Fluttershy almost smiled when she noticed he even had mismatched shoes and socks. Oh. He also had his ears pierced. Well, didn't that look good on him?
Fluttershy blinked herself out of her thoughts, starling herself with them. “Oh uhm,” She muttered, meeting his eyes through her lashes when she realized she might have been staring for too long. Suddenly, she was crouching, gathering her books. “I’m s-sorry,” She mumbled quietly, struggling to pick up her books with suddenly shaking hands.
The man just tilted his head to the side a bit, staring down at her with calculating eyes. As if he was observing her. “Why were you standing in the middle of the hallway?” He watched as she stood back up, all books in arms, and satchel secured over her shoulder.
She blinked in surprise, not really expecting the man to say anything, let alone question her. “Well I… I was looking at the art. It’s all so lovely, I’m not even sure when I stopped.” She spoke quietly, letting the man look up and then back at her with a quite astonishing gaze. She tucked her hair behind her ear, confused and waiting for any sort of response but all he did was stare for a moment before pursing his lips.
“Your wings are jittering,” he commented, looking slightly behind her. With that observation voiced, he begins walking passed her. “Do be a dear and try not stand in the middle of hallways, would you?” He asked, not unkindly. (Again, surprising.) Fluttershy just blinked at him as he passed, staring as he sauntered down the hallways, obviously comfortable in this environment... or rather, uncaring.
Too late, as he was already turned down a different hallway, Fluttershy found her voice. “Of course.” She promised softly, staring down at her books as she headed towards her next class. What in the world just happened?