As before Elva did not seek me out. Not even when the train finally stopped did she approach me again. I suppose that was to be expected though. It was like the poets said, "Meeting and parting are an inevitability".

A robotic voice on the intercom said, "All humans are to depart the train with their documents and personal item only. Leave all other materials on the train. I repeat, all humans are to depart the train immediately with only their documents and personal item."

I zipped up my oud and triple-checked the folder they gave me. Only then did I climb down the metal ladder and exit my room. Scanning the train car, I saw a couple other stragglers by a now open door. Getting in line, I was at least grateful by how much shorter this line was. Instead of the dozens of people in front of me, there were only three. Meaning in no time at all, I was in front of a werewolf with a tablet on hand.

This one was a male, hair cropped short and dispassionate gold eyes. "Name."

I answered, "Ranna Hakawati."

"Ward Number"

"Fifteen."

"Papers."

I handed him my folder. He looked through my documents, handing them back to me and tapped away at his tablet. "You're on Bus 42. When you exit the main station, pick up your map and proceed immediately to your designated bus."

I mumbled a "Yes, Master." and stepped down the stairwell for my first look at the Capital. Even though this was just the station, it could easily fit fifty of the train stations back home. If I lifted my head above the sea of grey, I could even see several other trains which had likely arrived around the same time as the one I just descended from. Unlike myself, however, a lot of people had spent the trip up to the Capital bonding and filling in their socialization quota.

Meaning the sound of chatter and footsteps created a loud and bustling atmosphere completely foreign to me. What was even stranger was how the werewolf guards not checking everyone's papers and assigning bus numbers just sort of stood to the side with bored looks on their faces.

So this is what Leyla meant by reality being different than expectations. Not having time to think more on this, I clutched the strap of my oud case with one hand and my folder with the other while following the mass of graphite clad people. All the while, I kept my head down, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other without catching anyone's attention.

It did give me a lovely view of the marble tiling. The color was a mix of white and gold. The extravagance made me frown a bit. Would the governor and her family even be able to afford this much marble?

Just as I was going to ponder the question more, I narrowly missed getting shoved to the ground and trampled. Even though I was short by even human standards, I focused on moving swiftly, weaving through the hundreds, if not thousands of bodies. By some miracle, I made it to a stand with a bilingual sign which read "Maps. Only one map per person. Violators will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy."

I quickly grabbed one and tried to orientate myself, but unlike getting here, I didn't have a mass of people to guide me towards a specific location. Instead there were groups of people headed towards ten different exits which led to different buses. Damn it! If I knew this was going to happen, I would have forced myself to socialize, even if I knew the people I picked would only talk to me so they could curse me out behind my back.

Should I ask a guard for directions? I dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. The last thing I'd allow would be to led to my bus in front of a crowd of strangers like some lost child. Besides, my mom always said that every problem had a solution. As long as I calmed down and thought about things rationally, everything would be okay. In contrast, allowing my emotions to overtake me would only worsen my current predicament.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

So I took a deep breath, humming the tune to a lullaby my mom used to sing me whenever I got scared from a nightmare. I hadn't had a nightmare in years, but when I was a kid, they used to be really common for me. Maybe that was why I couldn't dream much as an adult.

"Focus Ranna," I muttered to myself, effectively pushing away thoughts of nightmares and dreams.

Somehow those words combined with the familiar melody helped me to drown out the noise and crowds surrounding me. I'd have to ask my mom where she learned this tune the next time I saw her. For now, though, I looked at the map, the "you are here" marker and my intended gate. Then I looked around me, a sinking feeling starting in my abdomen at how my genetics meant I'd never be able to tell right from left in this place.

Even with my hormone meds, my heart rate began to elevate and my breathing took on an irregular rhythm.

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic. You are a Hakawati and we do not have panic attacks in public.

The last thought woke me up enough to close my eyes and focus on breathing in and out until my heartbeat resembled something more normal. Only then did I open them up again to look around me once more. The crowd was still thick with people picking up maps before wandering in seemingly illogical directions.

I hummed louder, safe in the knowledge that no one was paying attention to me. It was only just as I was about to swallow my pride and look for a guard that I looked up. There right in plane sight, above everyone, were signs with matching gate numbers to the ones on the map. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to hide my laughter from how absurd it was that I couldn't see something which was right in front of me.

When I was talking with Elva, it was a risk to even joke about suicide, but she wouldn't have trusted me if I didn't speak plainly. I would likely never see her again so it didn't matter what she thought about me as long as she didn't report me as being mentally unsound. Here though, there were too many witnesses who could put me in serious trouble if I acted or said anything outside of the ordinary.

So even though I wanted to do nothing but laugh at my own foolishness, I bit the inside of my cheek and checked the map for my gate. Buses 40-49 were in Gate 4. To give myself more room, I put my files in my oud case, in the place I usually kept sheet music, zipped it up and strapped it to my back, crumpling the map slightly between my two hands.

Very slowly, I maneuvered through the train station, constantly bobbing my head from the map in my hands to the various signs and hallways. Eventually I did make it to the gate and breathed a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, that was the exact moment a robotic voice on the intercom said, "This is the last call for buses 40-49. If you have not boarded, the bus will leave without you."

Even though Leyla was the athletic one and I was more comfortable sitting with books or with my oud, I sprinted, reaching the evergreen bus just as the doors closed. In fear, I banged on the door, yelling "Wait! Wait! I'm still here!"

Just as I was sure I was going to get abandoned, the doors opened up and an elderly werewolf woman looked down at me with hands on her hips, speaking in an accent of the common language familiar to all. "You're late."

Baring my neck in a sign of submission I mumbled incoherent apologies, hoping that if I looked pathetic enough, she would show me some mercy.

She sighed, causing me to dig my nails into my palms in an effort to hide my smile of victory. In the next breath she said, "Find an empty seat. Girls sit on the left side of the bus."

I lowered my head, muttering my thanks and gratitude as I found the lone empty seat in the back of the bus, next to a girl who was pretty enough to almost be mistaken for a werewolf. The only thing that let me know she was human were her gray eyes.

Not wanting to repeat my mistakes, I gave her a shy smile. "Hi, I'm Ranna from the fifteenth ward. What's your name?"

She looked at me and just as I was sure she was going to ignore my weak attempt of a greeting, she said, "Warda from the nineteenth ward."

When I was going to say more, the bus began to move and the older werewolf woman clapped her hands, standing up. "Ladies and gentlemen, for most of you, your time in the capital will be but a fleeting dream. However, there are those among you who may be found worthy by fate and the Goddess to be a mate, making our Capital or even a city in a different district your permanent home. Regardless, from this moment on you are all representatives of the humans of your ward and I expect you all to behave with dignity and grace.

Now, it'll be about an hour before we arrive to the sector which will house you for the next few months. Before then, are there any questions?"

Complete and utter silence.

"Excellent," the she-wolf said. "Then you may discuss amongst yourselves while here. Once you exit this bus, however, you are to obey each and every instruction given to you."

When there was more silence, she said, "Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," we all said as if we had time-travelled back to school-children.