I shifted in my cushioned seat. I had been sitting there for about an hour now, without any sign of it stopping.

“Stop fidgeting,” Ariel said. I sighed and looked down at her in my lap. She was lying there, clearly relaxed.

“You shouldn’t talk so loud,” I whispered to her. “You’re supposed to be a pet.” Ariel, who was the most popular girl at my school in my past life, was reincarnated as a dragon, who ended up as my pet. As for me, well, I’m a prince. My father is King Austiend, and I have three brothers and a sister.

“Both of you, shush!” My friend Kanata said to us. Kanata was my best friend in my past life (we still are). Back then, Kanata was a guy, but they reincarnated into a girl. And also one of my cousins.

“Hmph,” Ariel said, pouting.

“And now, we thank you all for coming here tonight!” The speaker said. “Thank you very much! Now, we can all get some food and get to know each other!” Everyone started clapping, so I started to as well. Then everyone started getting up and walking to a large room off to the side where some delicious smells were coming from.

“Oh great,” Kanata said. “I’m starving, aren’t you?”

“I guess I kind of am…” My sister Saty said.

“Hey there!” Someone said from behind me. I turned around to see our teacher coming toward us. She reincarnated as an elf, and she just so happens to be going to the same school as us.

“Shun, who is this strange girl?” Sue asked me, holding onto my arm.

“Saty, this is Arya,” I said. “Me and Kanata have met her before.”

Sue squinted suspiciously at Arya, and his behind me slightly. I heard Kanata whispering to Sue that she could trust Arya.

“What’s up?” I asked Arya.

“There are some people I want you to meet,” She replied. “Follow me.” She led me and Kanata through the clumps of people all around. They were almost all students for Drachmere Academy, just like I was.

“Here we are!” Arya said.

“Oh, hey there, Arya,” Someone said. It was Mathew. Mathew was the captain of the soccer team in our previous lives, and also probably the meanest guy. “Wait a minute. Shun?”

“Hey Mathew,” I said. “Nice to see you.” Not really, I thought. “How’re you doing?”

“Good,” Mathew said.

“Hi Shun,” someone else said. I turned to see a girl standing with Mathew. Her clothes are in varying colors of greens and turquoise. Her hair had been dyed a magenta color and greenish-orange scales were scattered across her skin.

“Fei?” I asked.

“Yep, it's me!” Fei said.

“Nice to see you guys again,” Kanata said, coming up behind me.

“Who are you?” Mathew asked.

“Hah!” Kanata said. “I guess it makes sense you don’t recognize me. I’m Kanata.”

“What!?” Mathew said, laughing. “Oh my god! You were-”

“Reborn as a girl,” Kanata interrupted. “Yes, I know.”

Just then, Ariel jumped off my shoulder and trotted forward, her elegant snout tilted upward. She looked up and examined Fei’s tail as everyone, including me, watched on in silence.

“So. Anything important happen recently?” She said. Fei and Mathew gawked at her.

“Shun, how is your pet talking?” Mathew asked me.

“It’s me, Ariel,” Ariel said. “I was reincarnated as a dragon.”

“Wow!” Mathew said. “Forget a gender swap, you change frickin’ species!”

“Oh my god, Mathew!” Fei said. “Stop being so shocked.”

“What did I do!” Mathew asked.

“Just forget it,” Fei muttered, turning away from Mathew.

“I still don’t know what I did,” Mathew said.

“Oh, there you are,” Someone said. “Where have you been Fei?”

“I was talking with Shun and Kanata,” Fei said, turning to face the newcomer. A tall girl was walking towards us, occasionally lifting into the air slightly. She had a fancy red skirt with blue ruffles and brilliant green pants, accompanied by a purple top.

She had shining silvery hair and multi-faceted blue-green shimmering compound eyes. But the most astounding thing was the four huge, oval-shaped, shimmering wings attached to her back. Each time she lifted into the air, the wings became a shiny blur as they propelled her. She landed with a soft thud in front of Fei.

“Really?” she asked. “Cool.” She turned to face me, her eyes glittering. “I’ve heard so much about you! Oh, hi Mathew.”

“Hello Kami,” Mathew said.

“Hello,” I said. I looked questioningly at Fei.

“Shun, this is my sister Kami. It turns out being a kime runs in the family,” Fei said.

“Ooh,” Kami said, looking at Kanata. “You’re sparkly.”

“I am?” Kanata asked. She looked down at herself, confused. The only sparkling thing she was wearing was a small, nearly unnoticeable necklace that she wore everywhere.

“Yep! All along here, here, and here.” Kami said, pointing at three different places on Kanata’s clothing.

“Kami, you’re doing the thing again,” Fei said.

“I am?” Kami said. She frowned slightly. “Oh. Well, I’m going to go grab some food.” She then rushed off, her silver hair peeping above the crowd occasionally.

“Sorry about that,” Fei said. “She often sees things the rest of us can’t.”

“It’s totally fine,” Kanata said. “Now, let’s go get some food!”

“Definitely!” Arya said. We all started walking over to the food tables.

“Just a quick question,” Mathew said.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Do any of you know anything about Indigo?” he asked. “I haven’t seen her at all.”

“I think Skorch mentioned her once to me,” Fei said.

“Who’s Skorch?” I asked.

“That’s her right there,” Fei said, pointing. I turned to see a dark-skinned girl walking towards us. Her hair was black dyed red at the tips and a long snaking scorpion-like tail swayed behind her. A single purple horn grew from the left side of her head, curving up and over. Also, covering her skin were a multitude of pure black markings, swirling in intricate patterns.

She sauntered to the food tables, grabbed a plate, and piled food onto it.

“Hi Skorch,” Fei said. “How’re you doing?”

“Great,” Skorch said, stuffing her face with a large variety of meat. “Hey, Mathew.”

“Hello Skorch,” Mathew said.

“Who are these people?” Skorch asked, looking up at Kanata and me.

“Do you remember the reincarnation stuff I told you about a long time ago?” Fei asked.

“Oh, so these are some of your friends from your past lives or whatever?” Skorch asked.

“Yep!” Fei said.

“Cool,” Skorch said. “Nice to meet you guys.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I said.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have places to be,” Skorch said. She set her plate down, leaving one piece of food behind. She then dashed off, her long tail swinging wildly.

Bing Bong . . .

“What was that?” Sue asked.

“I don’t know…” Mathew said.

“Teachers and students, please excuse this interruption. This is Principal Feendil speaking. Please make your way to the row of tables near the garden doors. There you will find your room number. Please note, some of you may have roommates.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see all of you tomorrow,” I said.

We all followed the directions, and I eventually made my way to a room. I opened the door to find someone already inside, hanging from the ceiling, with huge, silver-red feathery wings wrapped around their body.

“Hello?” I said tentatively.

The wings unfolded, revealing the actual body of the person. They hung there, staring at me for a second before dropping to the ground. They opened their mouth in a smile, revealing extremely sharp teeth.

“Perfect for dessert,” They said.