^^ Raymond ^^

--- Raymond ---

I shifted languidly, and groaned in relief, rolling around in the grass as my clothes were sent into my second dimension.

The others who hadn't been able to also shifted, with one of them climbing into a pond beforehand, revealing themselves as a merfolk of some kind.

My form dwarfed them all, at nearly 50ft long, with twice that in wingspan.

I laid down, and slowly approached Daisy, crawling stealthily, nudging her gently with my nose, then retreating, trying to play.

She squeaked, and turned into a bush, making me flinch, then grumble in annoyance. "I didn't mean to scare you... can you turn back?" I asked as softly as I could, shaking the dirt.

Ms Garda patted the bush easily, and Daisy reappeared, hiding behind her. I hunched my shoulders slowly, hiding under my red wings at her disapproving stare. "Sorry..."

She hummed. "I see, don't worry, Daisy, he doesn't mean any harm... but Raymond, you must realize that you can't play with the other children like dragons. They cannot wrestle or play-bite, you understand?"

I nodded morosely. "I will try..." I turned and approached another dragon, about my size, but sapphire blue, and nudged her wing gently.

She gazed at me slowly, and then hummed, seemingly amused.

"Oh! Mrs Avian, nice to see you! How was your vacation?" The teacher asked the adult dragon.

"It was pleasant, thank you, Ms. Garda. My Mate enjoyed the ocean, and I enjoyed the storms. Who is this Drakon you have?" She responded.

"Ah! Yes, that's Raymond Aurelius, he started today!" She smiled.

"Raymond? Truly? You've grown splendidly, haven't you! You'll be the size of our father before you're thirty!!!" The dragon laughed and spoke in Turkish, nudging me, scratching my scales gently in a greeting, her claws pulled back to avoid damaging my scales.

I tilted my head slowly and responded in the same language. "Do I know you, miss?"

"You met me yesterday, little brother, I'm Amira!! Amira Saurian Aurelius-Avian." She giggled softly, and pounced, rolling me over.

I laughed and tackled her, nuzzling my nose into her chin. She retaliated by trying to pin me, testing my combat skills, and I yelped, twisting my neck to avoid Daisy, who'd turned into a bush again.

Ms Garda tsk'ed and stomped over. "Mrs Avian! You must be more careful! Your wrestling very nearly harmed a student!" She snapped, and moved Daisy away as soon as she turned humanoid again.

"My apologies, I'd no notion you had a Dryad amongst your students. I haven't met this young brother of mine, and wished to test him. I apologize to you as well, small dryad, I wished you no harm." She turned her head and blinked a glowing sapphire eye at Daisy to get a better look at her.

She squealed in fear and turned into a bush again, though ms Garda carried her away, sighing as she shifted back.

"Hmm... fearful creatures, Dryads." She hummed.

I wiggled my tail for extra balance, and tackled her again, nipping her wing-tips playfully, and then leapt away.

She growled slowly, and then blinked, looking up. "Oh!... hello, Maximus... you know how to make an entrance, eh, Little Brother?"

I turned, and Maximus was looming over us in his pitch-black Drakon Form, watching calmly.

The other children reacted predictably, running away, but I sighed as he settled himself, laying his head on his forepaws. "My apologies... I did not mean to halt your playing...you must get to know your sister and classmates, Raymond. Play in human form with them, or maybe a smaller dragon." He commented.

I nodded and rubbed my multiple spines on my hair against her chest plate, marking her with my scent.

She chuckled and did the same, purring. "I am very pleased to have siblings once more.  Go, play with the children, as he says."

I shifted human, hiding beneath her wings as I summoned my clothes and dressed.

She playfully bopped me with her wing, and then leapt away, shifting human. She had clothes on already, surprising me, but she just fixed my hair and nudged me towards the children, who were all on the other side of the courtyard.

I approached them cautiously, and darted behind David, the only one bigger than me, when the herbivores flinched.

He frowned at them. "Oh give the guy a break, he's just a bit bigger than most Lumina." He seemed annoyed at their reactions to both Maximus and I.

They remained where they were, so he grumbled and looked at me. "Well... looks like it's just you and me. Not many Carnivores here, so the lot of them are cowards."

"David!" Ms Garda sighed.

He shrugged and looked around. "So what should we do? I've been digging for bones while ms Garda isn't looking, but... nothing yet."

I hummed and sniffed, finding the scent of rabbits. "There's a Warren under our feet. We could catch some rabbits, and eat them for breakfast." I suggested.

"A real warren? Awesome! But no, we can't eat them, the teacher will get mad." He looked down curiously.

I slowly approached Daisy again, and sat down, waiting for her to notice me. After a few minutes, the bush grew eyes, deep inside the leaves, and I grinned. "Wanna find a rabbit? There's a warren underneath us. I can catch you a bunny."

She turned humanoid again, blinking at me. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes."

She hummed and took a small step towards me. "Well... okay... but don't hurt the bunnies." She warned me sternly, despite paling with fear.

I nodded again. "Okay." I began digging carefully, so as to not disturb the animals or destroy the Tunnels, and once I had exposed the main line, she gasped as bunnies darted past us, zipping by at full speed. "Do you wanna just watch, or want me to catch one?" I asked.

She had a small dilemma. "I don't wanna take it away from its home... but bunnies are so cute..."

"What are you two looking for?" Ms Garda asked softly, so as not to scare Daisy. Then she saw a bunny dart by, and gasped. "Oh! You've uncovered a Warren? How clever! Class, would you like to see some small bunnies?" She called to the others.

They approached slowly, standing near Daisy, and I darted a hand into the hole, pulling up a very fat rabbit, and sitting it on my knee as it recovered from its shock.

"Where'd you learn how to catch rabbits?" Ms Garda asked.

"On the Island, most of what we ate was Beef, so we looked for different meats to make sure our diet wasn't bland... Veal is my favorite, but sometimes I just caught rabbits because they run fast, and I liked to chase them. Now it's not so fun, because I'm faster than they are, but that's okay." I shrugged and smoothed the rabbits fur, petting it slowly. Once it calmed down, I presented it to Daisy, grinning. "I told you I could get you a bunny."

She pet it gently, and it darted out of my grasp, cuddling into her hands. She giggled softly and sat down, and it was in her lap before she could even properly sit. I leaned back and looked in the hole, licking my lips when I saw another, equally fat bunny, dart past.

Ms Garda noticed, and frowned. "And now I'm afraid the bunny does have to go home, ladies and gentlemen, sorry,-"

"It won't go back." I said simply.

"Excuse me?"

"Rabbits never go back to a place where they've been in danger. It won't go back to that Warren or Burrow. It'll need a new one." I explained simply.

She sighed. "I see... and you knew this, but pulled him out anyway?"

I shrugged. "To be honest, I planned on-" I paused, looking at Daisy, who was hugging the fat bunny to her chest, eyes wide in confusion behind her glasses.

"Ahem. Well, it doesn't matter now. She can keep it, I suppose... don't feed it carrots, they like Lettuce or Cabbage more, and don't feed it any candy, because it'll make it sick." Ms Garda sighed.

Daisy gasped and cuddled the bunny a bit tighter, petting its ears.

The bell rang, making me hiss in annoyance, and me Garda nodded. "Sorry, everyone, that's the end of home room, assume your human forms, please?"

Everyone shifted back swiftly, except David, who just sighed, kicking a pile of leaves slowly.

Miss Lilly and the other women said goodbye, and then walked off into the teacher's lounge, while we went back to our classroom and gathered our things.

I pulled out my schedule, and hummed softly. 'Home room, Chemistry, Art, Neo-Physics, Algebra, Culinary Arts... I need to find my Chemistry room... 3-22A? That's a bit far...' I started walking, and found that Daisy was walking behind me. After I went up the stairs, she was still there, so I thanked fate softly and hung back, letting her catch up.

"Chemistry, right?" I asked.

She nodded and pet the ears of her rabbit again, who was now happily tucked in her jacket pocket, like a baby kangaroo.

I grinned. "You... want to walk there? Together?"

She blushed bright red, and looked away, hiding.

"Good enough answer for me." I grinned triumphantly, and matched her rather slow pace.

I noticed Maximus, sitting on the roof, and waved, giddy with my new friend. He snorted a little fire as a response, and she squeaked.

"Are you okay? He's just saying hello." I asked her quickly.

She blinked, fixing her glasses. "That's how dragons say hello?"

"Well, we don't really speak much when we're not around humans... so we rely on body language and the color of fire. That was low heat, a dull red, meaning that he isn't agitated, which is good, and it was in response to my wave, so he was acknowledging my wave with his own, because it would be quite silly for a dragon to wave his paws." I giggled.

She laughed, nodding. "You're right, that would be silly! So... what would... white mean?"

"White fire? That's the hottest type, so either he's in love, or very very angry, depending on who it's directed at. And it also depends on if he sneezed it or breathed it through his mouth. Through the mouth is almost always a warning or attack, with two exceptions: Heating a Cub or Greeting a loved one." I answered easily.

She blinked. "You breath fire on your young?"

"We have to. Dragons can't produce their own heat, and so the babies would freeze to death if we didn't heat them up." I nodded.

She gasped. "Really?!? That's horrible!"

"It's actually very comfortable, really, and toasty. Dragons don't get burns, no matter the heat, so I guess we evolved to be suited to our needs, like lizards learning where to lie to soak up sun." I shrugged.

She hummed. "So fire doesn't hurt you?"

"Well, my human form, sure, because it's small and frail, but not my dragon form." I nodded.

We reached a small door that read had a picture of a cup, half filled of water, and below it it read, 'Technically, the glass is always full.'

I snorted, amused, and Daisy smiled when I opened the door, entering first. I hummed. 'Well that's a little rude... I opened the door so I could enter, not you... ah well.'

I entered behind her, and looked around. Mostly older children filled the room, and a short man stood at the front, calling names. He stopped when we entered, and then grinned. "Miss Flora! Good to see you're not late! And who's this?" He glanced at me.

"I am-"

"He's a new student, from abroad. His name is Raymond Aurelius." She interrupted my speech before it began.

I hummed and gazed at her calculatingly. 'Rude... she's very rude... but she's cute, so I can't seem to be angry at her.'

The man nodded and checked his list. "Aha! Well, welcome to Chemistry 101, you've entered at the perfect time! I'm Mr Hector, your new teacher! If you'd find a seat, we can continue roll. Brianna Kochner?"

"Here."

I hummed and looked way up at the stools.

Daisy giggled softly and raised her hands, and an elder girl that smells of Were-human picked her up, setting her in the seat next to her simply.

I hummed again and found a seat next to a tall, thin boy with pitch-black hair and eyes, but pale skin, then simply hopped up onto the stool, using only my toes. I landed perfectly, and he looked over slowly, then looked back out the window.

I noticed he was watching the birds, and hummed. "I could catch one, if you want a closer look." I said simply.

He glanced at me, and frowned. "No thanks. I wouldn't like you harming my Kin."

I blinked. "Ahh, a Were-human. I see. I am Raymond. And you?"

He ignored me, making me narrow my eyes, but the teacher distracted me by tapping the board with a ruler. "Now! Yesterday, we learned about isotopes, and why they exist... would someone like to recap for our new student?"

Several people raised hands, and he picked a random boy sitting at the back.

"Isotopes are atoms with the same number of protons, but differing numbers of neutrons, Creating different atomic weights. There are 275 isotopes of the 81 stable elements, but there are over 800 radioactive isotopes, or 'Radioisotopes', some of which are natural, and some synthetic. Every element on the periodic table has multiple isotopic forms." He said simply.

"Very good, yes, now open your books, and let's start off today with a little something spicy... let's say... combustible Compounds?" He grinned happily.

I hummed and hopped down from my stool, approaching the front of the room, and grabbed a book from the pile in front of his desk, trotting back to my desk and opening the book to the first page. 'What's a Neutron?... hmm... aha!'

I found a chapter about the basics of the 'Nucleus', which included Protons and Neutrons, and were surrounded by electrons. I devoured the knowledge, rereading the chapter and then starting at the beginning of the book, paradoxically located a few chapters before this explanation.

A few minutes later, I had finished reading the book, and so I leaned back, digesting the knowledge contained in this small tome of only 300 pages.

The teacher was pulling out laboratory equipment, and setting it on every desk, and had apparently missed my inhalation of his entire course in under a minute, though Daisy had noticed, because she apparently disapproved. "Now, I hope you all studied, of course, because the test this Friday will be on the Subject of Heat in Chemistry, and it's effects on all chemicals."

A piece of paper landed on my desk, and I hummed, opening it.

'Don't use your powers in class!!!'

I blinked, then looked over at her. "I didn't?" I said simply.

She ducked as the teacher looked at me. "Didn't what? Study? No worries, of course you're exempted from this week's test, I wouldn't want your first grade to be a failing grade, but I expect you to be caught up by next Monday, Mr. Aurelius!" He laughed lightly and continued on.

Daisy sighed and shook her head, muttering. 'Why must dragons be so intelligent, but also so very nonsensical?'

I smiled and shook my head, looking at the new equipment that had been placed in front of us. Based on his words and actions, and this equipment, we would be making certain elements combust... interesting.

"Good, now, let's begin the first stages of the experiment... I'm not much one for safety, but you all are responsible enough to stay away from the fire, yes? Perfect. First, you'll need your Petri dishes, filled with your different combustible solids. Next, we'll spray some ethanol on them to ensure they burn..." he demonstrated slowly, and I hummed, sniffing the different compounds.

"Don't breath those in." The boy next to me said calmly.

I hummed and nodded. "They don't smell very good, do they? Except this one." I looked at the green-colored compound, Sodium.

He nodded. "And they're not edible. Poisonous."

"To humans, maybe." I muttered, annoyed that he'd think I was so frail that dust could kill me.

"Now, When different ionic compounds are heated, electrons around the metal atom become excited and jump energy levels. When the electrons fall back to ground state they release light and heat energy. The amount of energy released determined the wavelength and color of the light released, resulting in different colored flames." The teacher continued, and lit one of his Petri dishes on fire with a small flint in his left hand.

"Interesting..." I breathed.

"While the colors may not change at first, once the flame hits the solid, they will." He said, just as the clear flame turned bright blue.

I grinned slowly, and hummed, raising a hand.

"Yes?"

"What element makes a Black Flame?" I asked.

He blinked. "No element can make a Black Flame, child. That would be paradoxical."

I raised an eyebrow and huffed black Flames with red streaks from my nose. "Paradoxical? I think not." I crossed my arms.

He blinked slowly. "Daisy, what did you say his name was?" He asked slowly.

"Raymond Aurelius." She said clearly.

He scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "Ah. Turkish Obsidian, hmm? Perhaps Obsidian burns black."

"Obsidian burns white, actually." I shrugged.

"I see. Then, I actually have no idea. But, don't breath Flames in a Laboratory, you don't know what you'll set on fire."

I shrugged and leaned back, annoyed with the lack of decisive answers.

"Anyway, class, yes. These elements can be lined up, like so: manganese, strontium, sodium, copper, plain ethanol, and potassium, to create a rainbow of flames." He lit all six at the same time, and I blinked at the small rainbow in front of him.

"Wo~w..." the class intoned, amused. The rest of the class continued seamlessly, though I was distracted by Daisy, who kept answering questions, and being generally adorable.