A low thrum rumbled in Adrian's throat as he nuzzled his bedding, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight. He laid curled within his nest of comfortable blankets and soft pillows, feeling lazy and tired.

The teachers had let Adrian back to his room, stating that the young feral was too smart for his own good.

The boy snorted, yawning and stretching his body without a care. It wasn't Adrian's fault that his brain absorbed knowledge like a dry sponge, how his vocabulary was improving at a dizzying speed...

Or that his mere presence intimidated the other students. Surely, they should've been used to being in the presence of predators on a daily basis but somehow, being near Adrian always had negative results for the weaker shifters.

Which was, most of them.

So, Adrian now had private lessons for everyone's safety and comfort. However, Adrian didn't quite understand why, if so many of the students were suffering underneath his predatory presence, why there were still females, and males, that seemed to be drawn to him.

It didn't make any sense for these people, a vast majority of predators, to attempt to approach him and gain Adrian's attention.

Especially when they squeaked and quivered in fear when he so much as looked in their direction.

He shook his shoulders as if he was in animal shape before letting out a soft thrill. Nostrils flaring, Adrian grumbled to himself before hopping out of bed.

After having spent years on his own and as his animal, it felt annoying... confining to remain in his human skin. Several teachers had told him that the young Feral was allowed to shift. He just needed to warn someone of the faculty before he startled shifters left and right.

The mere idea of shifting brought his animal closer to the surface. Dark feathers seeping through his hair, glinting in the sunlight as Adrian shouldered past the door, pushing his room closed before heading out.

Once in the hallway, he inhaled deeply, needing to find an adult that wouldn't wet their pants at his approach. Inside the shadow of the building, things were much cooler than in the direct heat of the sun.

It made Adrian long to shift and sunbathe, to stretch his legs and feel his blood pumping through his veins.

Adrian was used to long days of tracking prey and roaming through the woods. Now that he was forced to sit still and do nothing, he was bored out of his mind.

And a bored carnivore was a dangerous one.

Tapping his foot on the floor a few times, Adrian pushed his shift back as much as possible. He didn't want to be confined into his room for shifting without permission, nor did he want to listen to Willem scold him for tearing another outfit to shreds.

So the young male grumbled, sounding more animalistic than human as he shook himself before following the scent of the closest adult.

Several students fluttered through the hall, grinding to a halt and watching him wide-eyed as he paid them no mind and pushed past them.

The stench of fear was curling through the air, making Adrian snort and shake his head to not give into the desires of his shift.

"Oh boy... Michael, go get Darius and Willem, I'll deal with him." Adrian stilled, turning his head as Sebastian quickly approached, raising his hands to show he meant no harm.

"Easy does it. What has you so upset, Adrian?" The Cape buffalo asked warily while his brother rushed to the exit. More feathers sprouted from his neck as Adrian's eyes settled on the disappearing form of the other buffalo.

Prey...running...

He snorted and shook his head once more, nictitating membrane flitting over his eye before he let out a pulsing thrill.

"Want to shift... run outside." Adrian tilted his head to the slight breeze that ruffled his feathers when the door opened once more. Revealing a glimpse of the clearing outside.

Meanwhile, Sebastian let out a relieved sigh, shoulders relaxing from their previous tensed position. "And that is understandable. I'm glad you came out to alert us instead of shifting on the spot." Sebastian rubbed over his lips before motioning Adrian over.

"Come on, let's get you out in the sunlight so your shift can relax. What did you want to do as your shift?" He asked curiously, voice deep and soothing as Adrian started following the man's lead.

The young raptor thought about it for a moment, torn between options. "I don't know. I'm bored, wanted to run, do something besides sleep and wait."

Sebastian laughed at that, letting out a snort that sounded more of his shift. "Oh, I know the feeling. Well, not like predators but just sitting around doing nothing all day can drive anyone up the wall."

Adrian didn't quite catch the meaning of that saying, but he understood.

"I mean, "Sebastian continued with a wave of his hand, holding the door open with the other, "Predators need to move in order to catch food. Most herbivores have an easy time getting their meal in the wild and only need to run when a predator is near."

The sun enveloped Adrian's skin with warmth, making the raptor let out a pleased thrill. As he looked around the grounds, he could see the truth of that statement with his very own eyes.

Teenagers and children were spread all over the compound, relaxing between lessons, scattered in clusters of predator, prey or a mix thereof.

But it was easy to spot the difference from a distance. Larger groups of men and woman whom sat in the shade of the trees, simply conversing with one another. Laughter and playful banter as they enjoyed the shade and observed the motions on the field.

A field where the predators were playing sports in semi-playful competitions, all to give their shift a chance to relax and let off some excess energy.

Adrian spotted some of the lions darting along with a ball, kicking it towards the opposite side of the field where a mix of leopards and lions on both teams were competing in a game of soccer.

Beyond, several cheetahs, wolves and even a few horses were running along the track court in a show of stamina or speed.

It made Adrian release a thrill of delight, chest vibrating with the low growl that wanted to slip out. He was eager to join them, shifted or not.

His muscles trembled, as if preparing to leap forwards in a sudden burst of energy.

But he held back, realizing that the second he darted on the field, even if he had the intention of merely joining the teens, they would scatter and flee.

And Adrian would be left alone.

Solitude wasn't odd for predators, in fact, most of them thrived in it. Adrian had survived most of his life on his own... but he knew things could be better in a group.

There was less stress during the hunt, the fear of getting injured... what if you got hurt and couldn't hunt anymore? What if you failed to find and capture prey?

A single predator would grow desperate and, like the cougar that had become Adrian's prey, would wither away. They would grow lean and weak until the point that even their hunger wasn't enough of a drive to hunt.

And perish.

Adrian shivered at that, feathers in his nape ruffling with agitation. He had always been careful during hunts, had avoided bigger prey because of those what ifs.

"Good afternoon! Quite a pleasant day today, isn't it!" Adrian's head snapped around at the sound of Darius' greeting, feeling his feathers puff up before he slowly relaxed.

At least there was one who'd understand how Adrian felt like. One that was similar yet different in their own way.

"Darius, thank the heavens." Sebastian sighed, giving his twin a grateful look as Michael followed Darius on his heels. "Can you help the young Feral stretch his legs?"

Adrian moved his weight from one leg to the other, anxious for the approval to shift. He hardly ever had to struggle this hard to keep his shift back.

"Certainly." Darius smiled and turned to look at Adrian. "Can you control yourself while shifted or would you prefer for us to clear the field?"

He thought about it for a moment, knowing that this was a test in itself. If Adrian said he could keep control, but then attacked someone, he'd be under close supervision whenever he was out.

That is, if they still let him out.

"I can... I think." Adrian said with a tilt of his head before huffing. "As long as nobody attacks me." He added, knowing that all bets were off the second someone attacked his shift.

He wasn't about to allow anyone to attack him without consequences.

"Then you can shift, just stay close by to not spook anyone." Darius hadn't even finished his sentence before Adrian's clothes twirled to the floor, ripped to shreds due to the transformation.

Adrian shook his massive body, flapping his winged arms for a moment before huffing contently. True to his word, he stayed near Darius, who calmly walked to the field, hands casually tucked in his pockets.

The people on the field gave Adrian wary looks as he slowly stomped closer, head swiveling to take everything in.

"Okay, let's see. There's a track free if you want to check how fast you can sprint?" Darius pointed to a single track separate from the others. "There is a timer and camera fixed to that track to calculate your max speed."

Adrian nodded, digging his claws in the soil before slowly making his way over. Darius followed, grinning to himself as he saw the gathering of fellow Ferals. Losing part of their fear of Adrian due to their curiosity. Even Darius wanted to see how fast Adrian could run if he really went for it.

As soon as Adrian got the go ahead to run, he darted down the track. The gravel was giving him plenty of grip for his claws to dig in, propelling him faster and faster down the straight track.

He grinded to a halt when Darius shouted his name, kicking up gravel in a spray of stones and dust. Tilting his head, Adrian slowly headed back, ruffling his feathers as Darius and the others were looking at a screen with those blasted numbers on it.

"42 miles per hour... Not bad, not bad at all. Not too surprising, seeing how you lived most your life in the wild." Darius grinned up at Adrian.

The young man purred at the praise, shaking his feathers out and puffing up when he heard several murmurs along the students.

Murmurs on how a considerable amount of them were equally as fast, if not faster.

Darius grinned at that, "Ah, true but there is a vast difference between all of you and Adrian." Darius smirked at the group of lions, whom were already boasting that they could run at 50 mph.

One of the lionesses huffed, speaking up with annoyance. "Oh? What's so special about him then? His speed doesn't lie, you know."

Darius snorted at that, shaking his head at the arrogance that dripped from the lioness' voice. Even Adrian huffed, puffing up his feathers when Darius continued.

"Most, if not all of you are ambush predators. You rely on the element of surprise and catch up to prey in a sprint." His eyes flitted to the massive Dakota Raptor that started preening his feathers.

"Meanwhile, Adrian's hunting tactic varies. At times he'll use ambush tactics, sure. But his kin is capable of maintaining their speed for far longer distances."

One of the wolves perked up at that, huffing with a pleased snort. "Like wolves! We can travel for an entire day without dropping from exhaustion, so we can exhaust our prey and sprint when we need to!"

"Exactly". Darius praised the young wolf, grinning as the remainder of the group eyed Adrian warily. "Actually, Adrian."

Adrian turned his head towards the Utah Raptor, membrane flicking over his eye as he aimed it at Darius. "Since you wanted to run around today... would you mind running on the track until you grow tired? We'll have someone clock you to see how long and how fast you kept running."

The boy snorted at that, tapping his claw on the floor a few times. Adrian didn't mind, had wanted to stretch his legs. Being able to run until he was exhausted would surely calm his shift down.