Hallow silently walked into the classroom, a glum expression plastered across his face as he took a seat in the very back of the stone cold room. They were old desks, but better than the accommodations in his cell, much much better. This was like a cozy, pillow-top bed compared to the mattress they gave him. Others shuffled in, some wearing clothes of current fashion with smiles and gossip pouring out of their mouths, others with chains in tow, and special collars to negate their powers. But all were well behaved, all wanted to be in this lessons rather than working with the other prisoners. How many, he wondered though, were actually just putting up a facade, waiting to escape?
The teacher finally came in, fake smile, fake plastic filled body and all. Her teaching book was obviously custom, nothing they printed for the humans. Her lesson would be custom too, if this he knew, specifically designed to make us believe we were worse than the humans, that we deserved to be here. Some history that would be. He knew better, but not everyone else did.
Kit walked through the door of the classroom, stopping periodically to take in her surroundings. Her head jerking around the room studying the faces casually, she made her way to her seat. She may not know too much, but she was hardly uneducated and not at all stupid no matter what she’d lead others to believe. This teacher looked suspicious already, she could smell it in the air and in the woman’s manner. Kit couldn’t help but stare at her cautiously from her seat, calculating a way around the obviously false woman. She squinted, focused, almost ignoring the others in the room. Kit knew, the woman about to give the lesson was more of a threat. She waited to see what would come out of the teacher’s mouth.
Hallow eyed the girl that walked into the classroom, as well as every other person that walked in. But something about her seemed to stick out from the other ignorant fools who though that this lesson was actually going to be worth while. The way that this cat-girl suspiciously glanced at everything was evidence enough that she had the same mindset as himself. Atleast if an argument came up, he wouldn't be the only one with capability to face up a teacher. As much as he favored being independent from other prisoners, when it came to being rebellious, there was always strength in numbers. In this arena where it was a battle of the minds, he definitely would need help. But who know, maybe that lesson would be normal and no arguments would come up. As the girl sat in a seat next to his, he got a closer look at her, trying to discern what kind of person she might be. But, as curious as he was, he wasn't about to start a conversation. Meanwhile the teacher remained at the front of the class, quiet and stern as people struggled to find their seats.
Only one instance broke Kit’s concentration. Her ear twitched as she sensed she was being watched. Quickly, she turned her head to face him, without moving a single muscle more, and looked back just as quickly as if she remembered she didn’t want a distraction. Still, she kept part of her mind on her neighbor with curiosity. Why is staring at me? The thought made her slightly uneasy, if only the fact she had no answer. While the others were finally seated, the last person accommodated, Kit’s ears perked up in the teacher’s direction. Now we’ll see what you have to say, human. Kit was adamant there was no human history she could be interested in. Placing her hands straight in front of her on the desk, she glared at the woman.
The teacher made a loud coughing-like noise, a cue that it was time to start this so called lesson. Hallow was forced to turn away from the interesting cat-girl and toward the horridly ugly teacher, her large glasses peering right at him. Even her dress was ugly, all purple and fluffy and elegant to display her rich, powerful status. She even looked mildly smart passed all the fluff, but it was well hidden behind a sly, ignorant smile and evil eyes. With a slam of a giant, likely fake, book onto the desk, the teacher began speaking. "The Human race has almost always, and likely always will be the dominant race on this planet. Chosen by god, the human race has exceeded all others not in physical strength, but in intelligence. Multiple times in history the human race has displayed the superiority of their morals, minds, and goals above that of animals and other creatures..." The teacher began, already starting right off with a lecture on the superiority of humans. Hallow growled in disgust, rubbing at the metal cuffs on his wrist that blocked his still dormant powers. He so badly wanted to be set free, to be stronger than this human and prove her wrong...but as far as anybody knew right now, he was a gray-skinned freak who appeared quite fragile. The teacher continued, citing references to particular instances in history and using god as a source of "fact". It was all rubbish as far as he was concerned. "You all mutants are just simply another test that has been brought forth that will prove the might of the human mind. You are no greater than the animals before you, and don't believe any different. If you were any better than an animal, you wouldn't be in a cage after all, now would you?" She said, tricky logic coming from one of the humans that locked him up in the first place, along with all the other mutants here. But who were they to judge him. He couldn't sit by and take it.
"That's a lot of talk from a woman who wears more fur than a dog..." Hallow blurted out as he stood up, displaying his scrawny gray nature, his black blood evident in the veins that popped out. He seemed weak at first glance...but there was a mysterious nature to him that was hidden by his black hair and silver eyes. "That's some talk coming from a prisoner who even I could beat in a fist fight, young man. If that's true than it must be far to easy then to simply conquer your feeble mind..." The teacher spat back, obviously taken aback by his statement.
Kit snickered under her breath, with the woman’s first sentence. It was so infuriating it was funny. She stretched out her claws on the desktop and sunk them deep into the wood, pulling her arms back slowly, scratching it, peeling shreds of wood along she winced. The more the teacher spoke, the more Kit wanted to launch at her and tear at the woman’s flesh, but she held back…waiting….watching…knowing she wanted to provoke. Snap! Oh wait…no…wasn’t Kit. Her neighbor had allowed that blasted woman to get under his skin. Kit looked at him curiously, head tilted, wondering what was going through his head and giggled at his words. Bound in chains, seems not even that could cage his defiance. She admired him for that much, but the evil woman continued to taunt him cruelly. This didn’t sit well with Kit. He called you out on your stupidity and still you are so smug? She let out a low growl at the woman’s reply. The words cut deep if allowed. She could see her neighbor’s blood boiling, veins popping out of his frail skin and she wondered if it was true. Based on his own determination, maybe looks were deceiving…or maybe mind can easily win over matter, as the woman herself mentioned. If that is the case, she’d certainly be no match, but it would take careful planning. Kit kept an eye on this stranger and possibly new accomplice. She smirked slyly as she plotted a crude image of an escape, one that would hardly work except to keep her mind occupied unless it was developed further. "Feeble mind" is gonna cost you, lady, she thought, grinning.
Hallow breathed deeply, her words echoing in his head. He had to ensure that he did not lose control of his emotions, or else feel the wrath of the hunters. He did not have enough energy to deal with them. This would have to be a battle of the minds, not of fists. As much as he hated it, this teacher was smart enough to know how to approach this situation. But he didn't want this to draw out too much longer...he was already angry enough as it was. A sudden growl escaping the mouth of his neighbor forced a smile out of him, forcing him back to reality as he chuckled and glared at the teacher with cold, unflinching, hate fill eyes. "All of the books and facts in the world could not save you from the cold fear that so easily plagues your race. Perhaps we animals simply take pity on your cowardice, and allow you your childish goals rather than please our own desires of ripping out your innards and seeing light fade from your eyes...." Hallow retorted in the most cold, monotone voice he could muster. His response was gruesome, quick, and ruthless enough that even this teacher without morals was taken completely off guard. She was completely silent, meanwhile Hallow glanced at the cat-girl who had growled at the teacher, doing just enough to give him courage to say what needed saying. "Who knows, perhaps even your house cat is plotting your death this very moment?" He added with humor, sitting back down and going quiet. The teacher remained flustered for a moment, then continued with the lecture, albeit a bit quieter and with less confidence. Obviously his threat of murder had scared her a little.
Tilting her head at her neighbor’s chuckle in response to her growl, Kit wondered what he was up to. Her eyes widened and ears honed in at his next response that sent the “teacher” into a panic. He’d do nicely, she thought. Not knowing why, Kit jerked back in her seat when he looked back at her. His next words made her smile more widely than she could ever remember. Pathetically, she covered her mouth with one hand. Holding her stomach with the other, she fought her own laughter so as not to be noticed…she would want to disturb the class of course. No, of coooourse not. Regaining a bit of self-control after a while, she spoke, finally, “if we ever get out of here, that’s not a bad idea,” looking back at him with a smirk.
Hallow smirked, glad that his neighbor found amusement in his statements against the nature. He was pretty sure that even a house cat would be enough to take down this idiot of a teacher, but the cat girl next to him seemed so much more interesting than those smaller, fuzzy creatures filled with evil. As the teacher rambled on, he simply drowned her out and was just glad to be free of his prison cell and with interesting people. His anger had subsided, and now a faintly small smile was on his face as he leaned back. "I'm sure i'm not the first person who has wanted to kill a teacher, I'm not against a little after-school fun...." He replied calmly, coughing a bit before staring off into space. It had been a while since he had talked with anyone, it felt very weird.
As everything went back to “normal,” Kit felt she should say more, but her mind stayed focused on that one idea. What a glorious idea. She just sat there and zoned out, continuing to scratch the desk, alternating hands. The motion soothed her. Force of habit, and just with old habits, she began to drift off to sleep with that thought in mind. Her eyes closed and arms slowed to a stop as her head descended to the desk, where she finally snoozed. Her silent breathing turned into a soft purr as she began her dream. She dreamt of herself, before she was Kit, before she was humanoid, when she was just a cute little kitty who went by the name of Moniesworth.
Though, time seemed to have been set in the future. She had somehow managed to break free of the prison that now housed her. Desperately she ran from the desolate place in search of others. Going into city limits, the brave little feline sought out all the cats she could gather. Before long she had a whole army. Who knew so many cats lurked in town? With her cat army in play, she devised a slow plan to get back in. Yes, they were to go back, seemingly a suicide mission, but their numbers were to great to be threatened by few humans. It was just getting to the good part, the moment of truth. It was the point of success or fail.
Kit sat there, used to sleeping in strange positions. The droning of the teacher’s voice was easy to sleep through. The small motions and non-threatening sounds around her, were not enough to stir her sleep more than an ear twitch. Only sensing something close would she wake at that point.
Hallow glanced sideways, watching with stiffled laughter as the cat-girl fell asleep on her desk in a very strange position. It was so very interesting how much like a cat that his neighbor was. He almost wanted to pet her and see what would happen, though given the mindset of most of the prisoners here, he was aware that was likely not a good idea. But, she seemed so much more interesting as she slept and dreamed than the teacher that was currently rambling. But, even that interest soon faded into boredom, a feeling so common for him that he was always fighting to replace with something else. But the metal cuffs on his wrist kept him from doing anything that would make life interesting.
Sighing, Hallow grabbed a scrap of paper and lightly threw it at the sleeping kitten, in a playful way as he leaned back in his chair. "Hey, if I gotta sit through this woman's lecture then you are doing it with me. I'll find some way to pay you back later, but I need a distraction from this...rambling." Hallow joked as he attempted to wake kit up, smiling lightly. Even an angry conversation would be better than this joke of a history lesson.
A shocking tap from the paper ball made Kit let out a soft disappointed grunt as she was awaken from her near victory. She jolted when it hit her bare shoulder and calmly sat up looking in the direction of her paper attacker. Eyes wide and ears perked ahead, she scanned her neighbor’s face as he spoke. She tilted her head in one direction and then the other before finally looking down. Picking up the crumpled paper and examining it, she spoke, “you had to wake me when I was so near victory.” A soft pout of a scowl formed on her face before she continued, “very well then, I suppose I can tell you all about it…but we mustn’t be heard. I do not trust our peers,” she ended with a devilish grin.
Hallow was a little confused by the statements the cat-girl made, though it was likely something about the dream she had been having before he woke her up. Whatever it was she meant, he couldn't help but smirk as he took on a relaxed position and stared at her through his lifeless eyes. She seemed ready to explain herself, and he was ready to ignore this teacher fully. Urged on by the boredom that was filling him, he shrugged and stood up, motioning to the doorway as he stretched his legs and yawned rather loudly. "Alright then, that sounds a good enough reason as any to leave this classroom. I wasn't learning much anyways..." He commented with a grin as he began to leave the classroom. The teacher ignored them and kept talking, obviously too scared to even try and stop them. It wasn't as if they could go anywhere harmful. The hallway outside the class was like a prison cell all its own, blocked off and allowing entry and exit only at certain times. They would be stuck in the hallway for a while until all the classes let out. Hallow, now out of the class, was able to relax a little as he took a seat on the floor, propping himself up against a wall and crossing his legs. It felt good to stare at the backs of his eyelids and enjoy a peaceful quiet, almost forgetting that he had left the class to hear some story from the cat girl. "My name is Hallow by the way..." He finally spoke out, a quick introduction to erase any awkwardness.
Kit watched the gray boy carefully. He just up and left? A strange thing for her, even more so that no one cared. Though, she guessed the “teacher” was still a bit traumatized from earlier. Kit slowly and cautiously followed her neighbor out the door to the hallway. She watched as he accommodated himself on the floor, so restful. She stood there for a moment, tail flicking slightly at the side of her leg, the spilt end brushing up against her. Finally, she collapsed to the ground, hands flat on the floor in front of her knees. Staring at him for a moment as he broke the silence, she answered excitedly, “hello, Hallow Bytheway.” Tail swishing gracefully behind her, the feline gave a sweet smile, “I’m M--- Kit,” she replied, nearly choking on her simple words.
Hallow chuckled at the hilarity of what she though was his last name. Was she trying to be funny, or did she really think that was his last name? Either way, it was worth clearing up. But even stranger was her own name. One simple syllable: kit, sounding very similar to kitten. But he wasn't about to cal her kitty, atleast not yet. Kit would do just fine for now. "No, not bytheway. My name is Hallow Deorcnes...it means...." Hallow hesitated for a moment, a bit uneasy about giving out personal information. Not a lot of people realized exactly how old Hallow was, or where he came from. Even less knew what he really was....but what was the harm in giving out a simple nickname? "...It means Holy Darkness in old-english. Now, kit, what was it you wanted to tell me about? You seemed ever so excited about it..." He commented, smiling again from his restful position on the wall, his hands now folded behind his head.