-The Day After-

  Meteora walked into class, dark circles beneath his eyes from a night spent in his Ocean of Consciousness.

  The scent of sea salt and homey campfire still clung to him as he slid into his seat at the very back, by the window.

  Exhaustion hit all at once. He yawned heavily, feeling one blink away from sleep—

  And yet, his senses were sharp. Alert. As if he’d just woken from the best rest of his life.

  He watched out the window calmly as his classmates walked in, many were lively and excited, like usual. Some glanced his way, slightly startled by his content demeanor despite his evident exhaustion.

  He lazily waved, more curious about who their teachers would be. As every class had two.

  As if on cue, adults walked in. a Didact and a Halfling. The Didact was wearing their Virgo crest proudly over their right breast while the Halfling had her Gemini crest as her hairpin. The class was shocked into silence as they were also Liminals, near perfect ones at that. The Didact's monkey features proud and graceful while the Halfling's features were cute and attentive.

  "Greetings, children" The Didact greeted them warmly in their synthetic voice.

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  "Sonny, you're going to intimidate them." Giggled the halfling gently, almost like a mother gently chiding her own child.

  "Hmm, you say this, Merida, but the one in the far back has eyes of extreme curiosity." The Didact-Sonny-pointed out, speaking about Meteora-who had been watching them with silent interest as he had never seen Liminals before-causing him to look out the window, though he kept glancing their way to be polite.

  The Halfling-Merida-giggled, "Well, we will have plenty of time to get to know each other as we will be your teachers for the next 13 years till you graduate."

  Sonny nodded their head before clapping their hands once, calming down the excited whispers and pointing in the small gesture.

  "The let us start with introductions. You may call me Sonny, no honorifics are necessary. However, I will ask you to be respectful with me as a model of authority" Sonny introduced themselves, sticking to the gender neutral ways of their race.

  "And you can call me Ms. M or Ms. Merry!" Merida introduced herself in her motherly yet chipper tone. "Sonny and I will be teaching you all for the next thirteen years. We will stand by you, and help you reach your goals and aim for the potential you want for yourselves."

  After a breath.

  "After a week of adjustment, classes will start in full. We only have three years to ready your foundational education before practical classes start-for your genres, Astrological and Industry roles" Sonny explained, a hint of excitement in their synthetic voice.

  "Don't be scared to ask questions, nor fail. That is part of growing up, children" Sonny said softer, more maternal than Merida had the whole time. "I will say this quote that I absolutely adore, then we shall start class."

  "Why do we fall, class?" Sonny asked in that same maternal warmth, their amber eyes aglow with warmth, "So that we can learn to pick ourselves up."