Chapter Text
Syldor drops them off at the front gate, surprisingly enough.
Vex climbs out of the black SUV first, because her brother needs a few more seconds to finish his aggressive sulking, and straightens her skirt before getting both of their backpacks from the trunk of the car. Her nerves are humming, buzzing, vibrating underneath her skin. She takes a deep breath, pinches the skin on her wrist.
"You have no idea what you’re talking about-"
"Vax’ildan, you have to get a hold of yourself right-"
"Screw you!"
The door slams shut, the tires screech, and Vex holds her breath so she doesn’t inhale the exhaust fumes. When the car speeds away, Vax is pacing up and down, an absolutely furious expression on his face.
"You had to scream at him right on the first day?", Vex asks, but she steps forward towards her brother as she says it. "He’s gonna be really mad when we get back, now."
"Let him be mad, I don’t care", Vax replies sharply. "He doesn’t even care about us, he’s just afraid we’ll embarrass him."
Vex shrugs and holds out her hand. "Let’s go. I don’t wanna be late."
Her brother rolls his eyes, but takes her hand as he shrugs on his backpack over one shoulder. "You’re so nervous."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"D’you think he put us in different electives?"
Vax doesn’t reply, but Vex feels his grip tighten around her hand.
They haven’t been separated from each other for prolonged amounts of time since… ever, really. They’ve been in this town for about a week, and their father kept them in the house for the most part during that time, which means that Vax doesn’t yet know the secret passages and hiding places around the new school. The school, too, is bigger than they’re used to— Byroden Elementary had been a converted bar. She knows Vax is on edge, has been since they waved goodbye to their mother.
Maybe she is nervous.
Vex glances around the schoolyard as they enter. Kids are already running around, playing tag, or climbing on the wooden jungle gym. Everything is spotted with colours of sweaters, hats, coats. A banner over the main doors — it’s a portal, really — reads "WELCOME BACK TO WESTRUUN ELEMENTARY!", complete with jolly font, little smiley faces, and confetti painted on it.
"They have a big gym over there", Vax says quietly, indicating to the right with a tilt of his head. "And behind that there’s a little forest that-"
"How do you know?" He doesn’t answer. Vex nudges him with her elbow, frowning. "Did you sneak in yesterday?" Still no answer. "That’s why I had to distract Dad?!"
"Stop calling him dad, it sounds weird."
"Well, he is!" Vex huffs, then forces her shoulders to drop. "Just don’t get caught. And… that’s nice about the forest." She pulls a face at her brother, who smirks. "Thanks, scrawny."
He squeezes her hand as they keep walking towards the double doors.
"D’you think we can get in yet?", Vex asks, and her brother begins to answer, but before he can get a word out, something slams into Vex with full force.
She’s been described by her mom’s elderly neighbor as "a mere reed of a girl!", and the truth of the statement rings true once again as she goes flying. She manages to catch herself on her hands and knees, barely keeping her head from hitting the ground. Even as she lands, she knows she’s bleeding.
"Ooh- sorry, sorry! Oof-" The roughly accented voice breaks off suddenly, and Vex turns to see her impending sense of doom verified.
There’s another person on the ground next to her now, a large boy with short cropped black hair, easily a head and a half taller than her. Vax is raising his fists angrily, but before Vex can even shout at him to stop, a blur of yellow hits him in the stomach and sends him flying backwards as well.
"What are you-", Vex begins, at the same time as the tall boy starts saying "'m real sorry, I din’t look where I was goin', and Pike was almos' at the goalpost, so-"
"Oh man, I’m sorry!", a fourth voice chimes in that Vex realises comes from the blur of yellow which she now realises is a girl. "Didn’t mean to do that, really, but I just had to keep him from hittin’ you!"
"Him from hitting me- did you see that he knocked over my sister?!", Vax groans, clutching his stomach.
"You two are siblings? That’s so neat!" The girl looks back and forth from him and Vex, smiling widely. "I don’t have any siblings, but I think Grog is secretly my brother and they just never told us."
"Excuse me, what’s going on around here?"
Vex looks up, squinting against the sun, and sees an adult with a reddish-brown ponytail glaring down at them somewhat sternly. His hands are folded behind his back, and he is wearing something that she thinks could be a fancy suit if it was less obviously dusty. But before she can think of something to say, the girl speaks up again.
"Nope, Mr Noja, sir! We’re all good", she says with a grin.
"Then why’re you all sitting on the ground? Oh my- and this child is bleeding."
Vex puts her hands over her knees. "I’m sorry."
"She and Grog fell down, but right now we’re just sitting down 'cause it’s nice."
The man — a teacher, Vex assumes by now — hesitates, then gives a thin smile. "Well, I’m sure you’re right. You, bleeding child- I don’t believe I know you. What’s your name?"
Vex squints upwards again. "Vex’ahlia Vessar, sir", she answers.
Mr Noja’s face brightens. "Ah! The transfer students. Then that would make you…", he turns to Vax, "Vax’ildar, no?"
"Vax’ildan", he answers, brusquely.
"Yes, that’s right. Well, welcome to both of you, and…" He gestures towards Vex’s knees. "See the nurse before class, will you?"
"Yes, sir." She nods and tries to smile despite the burning in her knees.
He wanders off, and Vex looks over the girl, who is still smiling. Now she gets a closer look at the girl; she’s small, would probably barely come up to her shoulders if they were standing. It was her sweater that made the blur as she rushed past before, a yellow atrocity with an orange sun embroidered on the front. Her black hair is in a long, messy ponytail. Her jeans are ripped at the knees, but Vex doesn’t see blood, so she assumes it’s not recent.
"You lied."
The girl focuses her bright blue eyes on Vex. "Excuse me?"
"You lied about why I was bleeding, and what happened."
"I omitted a key detail", she clarifies. "That’s different. And Grog didn’t mean to do it!"
"No, I really didn’t", the tall boy says apologetically.
"Your name is Grog?", Vax asks suddenly. "Really?"
"Well actually-", the girl begins, but she is immediately interrupted by Grog.
"Yah, yah", he says, nodding frantically. "It’s Grog. And, yeah- sorry for your knees."
"He has trouble keeping his strength in check", the girl says, nodding wisely. "I’m Pike, by the way, and you both have really long names that Grog won’t remember, so why don’t we just make 'em shorter?"
Vax says "No" at the same time that Vex says "Vex and Vax is fine."