"I just don't get why you like that guy," Xenrai said, walking quickly down a school hallway with Disruptor next to him looking all smug.

"Because he's cool, and because he pisses you off. Isn't that obvious?" She said, grinning. "Oh - there's Hita! I wonder if he has any news for you?" The fur-wearing (but not fur bearing) superhero in training sped off toward the Kin, smiling and giggly. Xenrai went more slowly - he wanted information, but ... maybe he didn't.

The few weeks that had gone by since their trip to Shy's labs had made a big difference in Xenrai's behavior. He left the Healing Den more often, and had come back to Carramba High with Disruptor to see what it was like in a public school.

It was nothing like he could ever have expected. The place was filled with people - more than usually attended a large hatching at the Den. And they were all so different! Superheroes and furry kin, and humans, aliens, mathematic constructs and artificial beings... And that was just the teaching staff!

But being overwhelmed by such a thing was not really a possibility. Xenrai was old enough to wander the halls and get a 'temporary staff' pass from Crazy Doc Sanger. Who was almost - but not quite - the same as Kalkin. Xenrai had a strong suspition that it was really Kalkin, only from some time in the future, where he could spend a lot more of his free time on this world.

Xenrai followed Disruptor, off to face the young student Kin, Hita. The blond-haired cheetah lad looked rather happy with himself. "How have you been doing, Hita?" Xenrai asked, "you look pleased."

"I am," Hita said. "I just transferred here and Baeris said that I didn't need any more help than the Anatomy course I'm supposed to take. But when I got here, they wanted me to stay and join the track team too - so now I'm going to be a runner!" He bounced on his feet, tail ruddering himself for balance, "it's great!"

"You'll be going back to Planet Twenty when?" Xenrai asked, and Hita's muzzled face grew a more serious grin.

"I'll be going back when I graduate. I decided it would be okay. I've been back there twice, to check up, and make sure that everyone thought it was okay. They told me that if I get a good education I can help teach when I get back, and I really like that."

"So... is my sister all right?" Xenrai asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Oh - she's great," Hita assured him. Disruptor looked smug about something, and swayed back and forth waiting for them to finish their conversation - she obviously wanted to get to class, but she had to take Xenrai to the office first for his pass. "In fact I think I heard that her and Omaciyu are a 'thing'. Can you imagine that?"

Xenrai blinked, his eyes going wide again. "What?"

"Yeah, Oma falling for a - well, no offense, but a half-human girl? Heh. But since Temih didn't come back all enthralled with him, I guess that's okay. I mean, I guess you know that she was with that guy, Ivo."

"Yeah... I know. He spent a lot of time at the Den. Freak..." Xenrai looked away, half confused. His sister was with Omaciyu? Wasn't he a little.... old for her?

"I know what you're thinking," Hita said, "but -" just then, the middle bell rang, and a scurry of students began. Carramba High was a busy place, and Hita had a class to attend. "Look, sorry - I have to run. But it's been neat seeing you again. Zalmaji and I will visit again. I wanted to show Baeris something, when I'm ready."

"O - okay," Xenrai said. Disruptor took his arm and dragged him away to the offices and admin center.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "I mean, you look kinda pale."

"That was a joke, right?" Xenrai said, obviously his fur would cover any changes in skin color he had.

"Well, your little nose leather is kinda pinkish right now. I'd feel it to see if it's wet or dry but I can never remember if it's dogs or cats you want to do that to."

Xenrai blinked and tried to focus on the path to the office. His sister was with the eldest of their tribe? What next? He hadn't heard anything about his brother - but he knew that if something had happened they would have brought him back to the Den properly. So he must be okay... Right?

When they got to the Admin center, they were directed to an office which lay at the end of a green strip on the floor. It led around a strange toroidal half-space hall, and to the door of a pretty young black woman with two-toned hair and a computer jack plug coming from her temples.

"Hey - you made it. Finally..." She said. "Disruptor, here's a pass, go on to class okay?"

"Gotcha grrl," Disruptor said, and ruffled Xenrai's hair. "Stay cool."

She vanished out of the office and Xenrai found a chair. The girl behind the big desk looked him over, and then gave off a rather naughty grin. "Oooh, another Sanger. What fun. And a furry one at that..."

"Look, why does everyone expect all of us to behave the same way?"

"Why, did you somehow get a recessive prudish gene? Oh my god, you did!" She laughed loudly and then extended her hand - manicured nails were done in the same two-tone orange and black as her hair. "I'm Cybill Qeats, I run the admissions and on site approvals. And yeah, I do expect you all to act the same. From experience." She winked, and then turned to her desktop computer. Her head jack led to it, and the other side had a kind of laptop that connected to the other jack.

"So do you have any idea why you'd like to stay here - or are we just going to find somewhere that needs a helping hand and stick you with whatever you're given?" She said.

"I was ... well, I have some experience in the medical field," he said.

"That would figure," Cybill said. "Well, right now, the nurses office is doing okay. But we do have a track and field meet coming up this weekend. I think you should be on hand for the medic team. Your ... Um, which one is it?"

"My what?" He said, confused.

"Oh - here it is. Your grandfather is going to be there too, but I think he's going to be coaching. So let's leave him to that, and put you on the temporary medical team. You could go visit the team quarters and get familiar with the students. They're a lot of fun. I think - isn't there a Kin there?"

She was halfway concentrating on her screen, obviously getting information from it directly into her brain. But she was also polite enough to just ask when someone might know something - she wasn't a cold computer.

"Yes, I think his name is Hita. Will there be dragons at this track meet?" Xenrai said, half smiling.

"Of course there will be. I think," Cybill pressed a key or two, "they're going to be carrying our camera crew. Like a blimp, only with leather wings..."

That actually elicited a laugh from Xenrai, and Cybill looked pleased with herself.

"You don't have a dragon, yourself, do you?" She asked.

"No, I don't." Xenrai started to fidget. "It's getting kind of late for me to bond one, too."

"You're hardly too old to bond." She said, wisely aware of many other people who had bonded before him, and at much later in their lives.

"Well, it's one excuse."

"Don't you like dragons?" Cybill asked. "I love them, but it always seems like my cyberdeck gets in their way. They can't communicate with me properly, until I'm unplugged, and I hate being unplugged. So..."

"I see why that would be a problem for them. But... I don't know," Xenrai sighed. "I've always lived around them, they're always there. I never really thought about why I hadn't bonded before now."

"Well, maybe later you will. It's not important right now." Cybill assured him. "For now, here's a site map, and a pass - put this on your collar." She pinned it on for him, clipping the little printed out and quickly embossed pass (complete with his picture and information) onto the collar of his tank top. (fyi: he was wearing more than in the picture above.)

"Thanks..." Xenrai said.

"We'll see each other a lot, I think. Are you set up with housing yet?"

"Um... no?"

"Well, I'm sure I can have something made available shortly. Don't worry." Cybill said, and shooed him out of her office. He went down the hallway again, walking quite some distance before he realized that he'd seen the same three doorways twice now. Only this time, they were upside down.

"What a bizarre place..." He muttered to himself. "I mean, people think that the Den is a strange place hanging out outside space and time, but this..."

"It is rather odd, isn't it?" Said a woman, from the other side of the walkway. She was walking toward him, but she was also tilted in a way that said he couldn't touch her if he reached out - she was on the other side of the torus.

Finally, Xenrai got outside and strode around the campus to familiarize himself. The campus map that Cybill had given him was illuminated with what looked like animated diagrams. There was a dot - he realized it was himself - and it was about halfway to where he needed to be. He went east, to the hillside where the campus athletics department had bleachers, and saw the track down in a flat area.

Xenrai's heart beat quickened, for some reason. Then he realized it was because there were people down there running. Away. Not from him, of course, but they were running back and forth like... "prey," he whispered.

They were making his instincts move in ways he'd never thought possible. Now, he did remember a time when he would chase after Striker or one of the other flitters who resided at the Den, but that was as a very young child, and he knew that human children did the same.

But this was something entirely different. He wanted to chase after the people down there. They looked much smaller from on the side of the hill.

Suddenly, Xenrai smiled. He would really enjoy his stay here at Carramba High. If he got the chance to play in the dirt and race around after people - even better.

***