silentfort
Moon
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2016
Zack pulled his phone out of his pocket again, nervously checking the time. He was going to be late. He'd thought that catching the earlier train would have allowed enough time to walk to the campus even if he did get lost, and it probably would have done, had it not been for the baby undine throwing a tantrum at the station. While he'd avoided the worst of the flooding he'd managed to turn himself around and had to take the long way to the university village.
Shoes squishing, he pushed his phone back into his pocket. A centaur came trotting out from between two apartment blocks, several textbooks in her arms and more bulging out of her saddlebags. As she passed, he noticed her tail swishing to dislodge a fly from her flank. That must help, he thought, pushing damp hair back from his face. The day was hot, and walking quickly was making it worse. With any luck he'd be - ah, good, there it was.
Rebecca had said her flat was in the blue building, room 402. He shifted his bag on his shoulder and headed for the door. As he reached for the intercom, the door opened in a blast of cool wind and papers. A girl with pale blue skin blew after them, frantically trying to collect them before they scattered.
Zack slipped through the open door, smiling faintly. If he snuck in, he could show up at Rebecca's door and surprise her. That'd be something.
As he climbed the stairs, he listened to the noises of the building. A trilling birdcall came from somewhere, behind a door there was laughter that could have been a dog barking. He'd known there were more monsters - sorry, not-humans - living in the city than out in the suburbs, but he hadn't expected to see so many on his first day. It had been over a year since the revelation, since the little kobold girl had wandered into a human's campsite, lost and alone, sparking international interest. Since then, communities all over the world had stepped forward - or slithered, or flown, or crawled. It was still a mystery where many of them had been hiding. The sylph who'd blown the door open had looked more or less human, but how on earth had centaurs been keeping themselves undetected all this time?
"With magic," had been Rebecca's response. From the conversations they'd had in the past year, it seemed she'd made several non-human friends when she started uni here. Apparently integration was happening more successfully in the city than out in hicksville.
Breathing heavily, Zack stopped outside room 402. He fished out his phone to check the time - but the battery was dead. He shrugged, then used the blank screen as a mirror to fix his hair. After a glance in either direction to double check the hallway was empty, he reached under his shirt to pull at the edge of his binder, making sure it was sitting flat. Rebecca knew he was trans, but this was the first time they were going to meet face to face - he wanted to make a good impression.
Then, with a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
When it opened, he stepped forward - and froze.