"Safety of the nation... ensuring your future... Strive for greatness..."
Blah blah blah... All of the speaker's words filtered straight through Jasper's mind, coming and going with no lasting impact, all that he wanted to go somewhere with a bed and lay down, everything was just making him sleepy at this point.
That being said, he was still quite observant, he didn't miss the multiple darkly dressed personnel within the shadows and along the walls, nor did the feeling that could only be described as 'fuzzy' that encompassed his body as soon as he entered the auditorium. They were being monitored, him and the other forty or fifty people scattered in the seats, the others...
"Now, with all that being divulged, it seems to be time for group assignment."
The old man's words caught Jasper's attention, perhaps even his interest, and he turned his focus more on the stage.
"This will decide your peer pairings, and your instructor, for the year, perhaps longer. Listen carefully, and head to your instructor only once all groups are given. Group A, Instructor Micah, Pearson, Milo, Sandra, Trent, and Carson." Next to the older man a younger one stood, dressed pretty similarly, and gave a smile and a wave. This procedure is repeated again and again four, five, and six times, each excluding the name 'Jasper,' until finally, viola...
"Group G, Instructor Tiran, Malka, Hera, Jasper, Serine, and Madix." At this another younger person, though Jasper would be hard-pressed to determine their exact age and gender, stood, giving a slight wave. Only one other group was announced after Jasper's, and the older man with rigid demand laced through his words announced, "You are all free to break." Before turning and walking off. Almost immediately the building was flooded with warm light, whatever was dimming them for the speech was cut almost on cue, and those called 'Instructors' stood, spacing themselves apart and waiting for the audience to come to them.
Jasper tentatively stood, following his peers in heading to the large stage, making his way toward the person now known as Instructor Tiran. He couldn't tell which of the others was in his group, but honestly didn't care, none of that would affect his plan to get through this place. As long as they aren't crazy, it'll be just fine.
He stood a few feet from the Instructor, now it was clear who was who, more or less. At least he was able to see who was in his group. A smaller kid, Jasper would guess around fifteen, wearing a baggy cloak that obscured most of their features, an average-looking boy with brown ear-length hair, what caught Jasper's eye on this one was the thick metal band fixed to his wrist, and a yellow light dully shone on the band's face. Next was a girl, wearing some kind of overcoat, very fancy attire overall, almost like some businessperson's kid, with long black hair. And finally, there was another casually dressed, average-looking girl, with shoulder-length dark-brown hair, and the same strange band as the boy was on her wrist as well, although its light was notably green and not orange.
Once they all assembled their Instructor, Tiran, walked a bit closer, speaking up in that dreadful jovial tone. "Well alright then! As you might have figured out, I am Tiran, and for the next year, perhaps longer, I will be the 'chaperone' of you guys, Group G, otherwise called Theta." Jasper was a bit more certain that Tiran was in their mid-twenties given their voice, and now that he was up close, he was also decently sure they were a woman. "Now, before we head out of here to the Theta Dormitory, does anyone have any urgent questions?" They scanned each of their audience's faces, seeing no one speak up they smiled and continued.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"Well, let's move! Once we are in a less crowded space we should be able to do a little meet-and-greet!" Tiran took the lead, being one of the first Instructors to leave the Auditorium, and guiding the group through the double doors yet again, steering them through the rain and to one of the numerous single-story larger-scale buildings, evidently another Dormitory, and proceeding through another set of double doors.
What the hell is their deal with these things? God damn. Honestly, such a small thing was surprisingly irritating to Jasper, it just added to that overwhelming aura of 'school,' and it made him sick.
"Okay, now that we are here, I'll start us off, with some simple things about me, let's see. I'm Tiran, age 27," Ha, I was right, look at that. "I've been an Instructor for three years now, and before that, well currently as well technically speaking, I was an officer within the Jaeger Police. Now, who wants to go next?" they looked expectantly at those assembled in the well-furnished common area of the dorms. It was pretty cozy, even to Jasper's standards, and was just within the doors and down a short entranceway.
It was the well-dressed girl who decided to take the initiative. Following Tiran's example with, "I'm Serine, 17, I've known about being Anomalous for my whole life, and I am a third generation of the Moka family." That caught Jasper's attention real quick. The Moka family was founded off of the original Anomalous in Noviri and is now a prominent line of powerful Anomalous, they hold considerable influence in even global affairs. Didn't expect someone so high in the hierarchy to be in Corlude's, this may complicate things a bit.
The other girl spoke next, following that template herself. "Malka, also 17, I've been Anomalous for about two years, and my family is absolutely nothing special." Her speech was short and sweet, and she looked to her right, at the similarly banded boy, who started with an irritated sigh.
"And I'm Madix, 16 this time, Anomalous for a year, and Malka is my sister." Jasper could kind of see the resemblance, and the bracelets had helped clue him in pretty quickly, but still, getting siblings who are both Anomalous from a non-generational family is pretty special... Okay, interesting...
Well, suppose it's my turn. "I'm Jasper, 16 as well, almost 17, I've been Anomalous for about seven years, and like those two my family is nothing special." He gave a slight gesture to the siblings, subtly trying to gauge Tiran's expression but getting nowhere.
"I suppose that leaves one left..." The Instructor looked to the smaller, still-covered figure, who spoke up with a slight sigh.
"I am Hera, I just turned 16, I've been Anomalous for my whole life, and as far as I've been told, my family was quite normal." Jasper felt even more vindicated after his judgments proved to be correct, but he picked up on the slight undertones in the younger kid's brief sentence of something more in there, not that it concerns me. Again their circumstances were a bit strange, but not unheard of.
"Well, nice to meet all of you! Now with that out of the way, hows about we divvy up the rooms real quick? There are six of them, so go ahead and take your pick." Tiran produced a stack of those hotels do not disturb cards- but instead of those words being on them, each was blank. "Just take one of these and write your name on it, put it on a handle, then meet back here, alright?" They placed a sharpie next to the small stack and stood back, letting the five kids grab a placard, write their name, and head toward the carpeted hallway that contained the six rooms mentioned.
Jasper was in and out quickly, placing the card in the first room on the left, and immediately returning to the commons to wait for the others. Next was Hera, then Serine, followed by the siblings, all being said, they operated pretty quickly, though to be fair, each room was practically identical. The one left over was the second on the right, for whatever reason, and Tiran was quick to place their card on its handle, returning to face the awkward group of teens with a smile.
"Okay, we've gotten some of the most boring stuff out of the way. Now, I believe in practical demonstration being the best path to familiarization, that being said, are you all willing to do something a bit more on the fun side?" Those words were quite enrapturing to their audience, but they did the job of catching the attention of the five.
"Who wants to have a demonstration of their abilities, through a spar with yours truly?" Tiran's smile turned a bit devious as those words were spoken, and Jasper couldn't help but sigh to himself.
Off to a quick start are we?