Mallory awoke the next morning and just sat in his bed for a while, looking around his room one last time. He wouldn’t see it again until Thanksgiving, and would miss all his geeky decorations. His walls were covered in anime and video game posters, and he had multiple display shelves with various comic books, manga, collectibles, and tabletop roleplaying materials. Looking at his normal teenager’s bedroom, one wouldn’t be able to immediately tell he was an otherkin - a mortal with ancient fae ancestry. That bloodline connection was responsible for giving mortals the capacity to wield magic. Some looked very human, while others were entire subraces of otherkin. 

After finishing his packing, he dressed in a black DragonForce t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, then strapped his messenger bag over his shoulder. It was equipped with a domain expansion enchantment to create an extra-dimensional space inside, greatly expanding the storage capacity. Nyx hopped up on his shoulder, and they headed downstairs to the kitchen. The smell of freshly-cooked eggs, bacon, and pancakes filled the air. 

“Looks tasty!” Mallory said with a smile as he sat at the table. Nyx jumped down to go eat her food. The teen noticed a second messenger bag leaning against the wall. He immediately recognized it as belonging to his best friend, who was also starting high school. “Where’s Emmett?”

“Bathroom,” Nathaniel replied through a mouthful of food. Emmett Haldeman promptly returned to the kitchen. He was an elf about the same height as Mallory with neon pink irises, dark chestnut skin, and black hair twisted into short dreadlocks. His sharktooth earrings were enchanted with glamour charms, which cast an illusion over his eyes and pointed ears, making him look purely human to anyone without Fae Sight. He wore a white Critical Role t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. 

“Dude!” Mallory jumped up and hugged his friend. “This is it, man. Time to make a name for ourselves!”

“Hell yeah, dude!” Emmett replied cheerfully. “They say it’s pretty rare for freshmen to get on the Chimeraball teams, but they haven’t seen us in action yet!” 

Chimeraball was a popular combat sport played at many magic schools in the United States. Knowledge of Arcane Martial Arts was essential to be truly competitive. 

“That’s right!” agreed Mallory. “All that training we did over the Summer is gonna pay off!”

“Well I would hope so!” came a fourth voice from the deck outside the glass kitchen door. In walked Zebastian Dane, who looked like a much older, taller, more muscular version of Mallory. His dark wavy hair cascaded down over his shoulders and his face was covered with a few days-worth of stubble. He wore a black hoodie and blue jeans. Following behind him closely was Pegasus, his white-coated golden retriever. Zeb joined them at the table while Nyx and Pegasus sniffed each other and rubbed heads. 

“Yeah, if they do poorly, what does that say about you, Zeb?!” Nathaniel jested. That was a reference to the fact that Zebastian had been mentoring Mallory and Emmett all Summer to prepare them for Chimeraball tryouts. 

“They wouldn’t sully my good name like that,” the elder brother said with a wave of his hand before turning deathly serious and narrowing his eyes. “Right, boys?” There was a moment of silence, and then the four guys all busted up laughing. 

After finishing breakfast, they were preparing to leave, when Nathaniel pulled Mallory aside and hugged him tightly. “I’m so proud to see you finally going off to Qrowdell. I only wish your mother could be here to see it.” Nathaniel’s wife and Zebastian and Mallory’s mother, Hikari Miyazoko-Dane, had died from a nasty case of Gremlin Flu about a decade prior. 

“Are you gonna be okay here all by yourself, Pops?” The teen asked. 

“Oh yeah, I have the other cats to keep me company. Plus there’s a pretty heavy caseload at the office, so that will keep me busy.” The father waved away the son’s worries. He was an investigator with the Bureau of Extranormal Affairs & Crisis Oversight Navigation (B.E.A.C.O.N.), an agency of otherkin who had infiltrated the federal government and worked to conceal any magical exposure in faeless communities. 

After one final round of hugs, Mallory and Emmett grabbed their bags and followed Zeb out to his black Jeep, Nyx and Pegasus close behind. They lived in a pleasant neighborhood in Portland, Oregon across from a park. After everyone climbed into the vehicle, they drove off. Nathaniel stood in the driveway waving as they left, tears welling up in his eyes. 

A few blocks away, they turned onto a heavily wooded street. Zeb made use of the cover and pressed a button on his dashboard, activating a cloaking charm. “Alright, buckle up everyone!” He pressed a second button, and the vehicle began to levitate off the ground. The wheels folded inward and became horizontal, two jet boosters extended out from the back, and the Jeep rocketed into the sky. Magitech such as that was quite normal in modern otherkin communities.