The Odd Dragon Out: Reckoning of the Cinder-Born

The first day of the second Stride of the term began just as Ginger had thought it would. At least how he thought it would after the incident yesterday evening.

With the rise of the red sun of Ravi, Ginger met the stares and scorn he had anticipated receiving.

The word had spread, just as Ira had said it would. It was impossible for Ginger to hide the fact that he was from the Wild, especially when a Professor had casually told a First Year student who had then heard Ginger confess that it was indeed true.

This was how Ginger thought he had been exposed.

It had to be a Professor, since all of them knew of his background, according to Professor Lyall.

Given Vassilis' status, Ginger had no doubt that it was easy for the proud dragonling to learn things that were probably meant to be secret.

But was his background a secret?

The image of Professor Mara had appeared in Ginger's head, and his mood had turned darker.

The looks he got since walking from the First Years' dormitory, with older students even going as far as to brazenly grip his shoulder to ask with amused faces if he really was proudly a halfling were crushing.

The open, collective disdain he received when he arrived on the fifth floor topped this, though.

Ginger had not even gotten the chance to shut off some of the burning emotions he had with sleep, and that made him twice as miserable.

He couldn't sleep.

If not for the fact that he couldn't stand to enter his dorm room again last night, and endure looks and words that would weigh on him even in his dreams, then it would definitely be because Ginger was scared he would up and harass another Professor again in his sleep.

He couldn't have that again. Not now.

He knew for a fact that Madam Agathe had gone easy on him and Reiss before, but if he were to insist on becoming an annoying, buzzing dragonfly around her...

'Urgh...'

With dark circles under his eyes and more than a fair bit of intense depression, Ginger took his seat in class. He wore his scarf, but not to hide his scales, after all, a fair bit of their cast was showing. He opened his book and pretended to be writing something meaningful just so he could avoid the obvious attention.

Of course, his classmates didn't hide the fact that they were both curious, with some making it extremely obvious that they didn't want anything to do with him – more than before.

Scrunched up pieces of paper hit Ginger every now and then.

Several of his classmates came over to ask him questions, and when he didn't answer, they felt more than comfortable to poke or shove him in annoyance.

"Just wait and see. He'll probably be expelled soon."

"I can't believe he thinks he should be in the same room as us."

Comments flew.

Ginger scoffed hatefully.

'They don't know anything about the Wild. They don't know what people there have to go through. They don't even understand what I had to go through at my age!' Ginger thought, seething.

Of course, no one here knew.

They didn't know and they didn't care, so they couldn't and wouldn't take the time to even consider just how different it all was.

The only person who could understand was Reiss.

Ah, Reiss.

Ginger felt his rage dip.

Since yesterday, he hadn't managed to talk to Reiss.

When he stormed out of the dorm room, he had gone to the library to spend the rest of his remaining peace, which was sure to end by morning. This morning.

He was kicked out twenty minutes before curfew like everyone else, and had sombrely scaled the steps at the end of the fifth floor all the way to the tenth with the dark expectation of hateful faces cackling at him. After reaching the intended floor, he remained in the study, which had still featured a number of his fellow dorm mates until midnight before finally going to sleeplessly lie in bed.

Because of this, he hadn't managed to speak to Reiss. He didn't know if he wanted to, and he didn't know if Reiss wanted to either.

Well, that was fine.

He was alone when he came anyway.

He should have expected that Reiss wouldn't want anything to do with him too, after the trending reveal. Even the affable Fotini didn't greet him as he usually would this morning, after all.

All his warmth from before towards Ginger was gone.

Ginger saw Reiss who was seated to the far left of the class doing as he was doing – scribbling frantically into a book.

Ginger tiredly scoffed and went back to doodling nonsense.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't tune out all the pieces of gossip.

"You know, I've noticed he is a bit slow when reading and speaking. It makes sense now."

"Is the Second Burning even safe for him? Aren't humans very fragile? Hybrids are already a problem, but this..."

Ginger wanted to angrily shout at the girls who were speaking freely three desks away

Humans weren't fragile!

Sadly, Ginger didn't have the strength for it.

He had skipped his favorite breakfast in the Feeding Hall, feeling that he would probably vomit it out sooner rather than later.

As he grew more and more agitated, Ginger felt someone's shadow on him. The revelation of who it was, didn't improve his day one bit.

With a freakishly satisfied look on her face, Fillys grinned as Ginger looked up at her.

"You know, I thought you were just a scrub who got into the school with some shady connections before. Boy, that was already disgusting, but to think you're a halfling too? Wow. That. Is. Hilarious. You're better than I thought!" she said, positively enjoying the look on Ginger's face, as well as the hieroglyphics he had been writing down in his book.

"My brother and I have a bet going. He thinks after the Burning, your Kardia will be so poor that it won't even have an effect at all. Funny, right? As for me, I think... hmmm. I think you'll get burned to bits by the Rebounding Seether. It's not like those small office fires, you know? Bet you didn't know that."

The class seemed to be listening in.

Ginger was too tired to show more emotion than he was now.

He had been very excited about the Second Burning before, and because of yesterday, his cheer was greatly diminished.

He thought perhaps he could get what Reiss had explained to be the Totality type Kardia and make everyone eat their words, but Fillys' surety at his failure, admittedly made him doubt.

She giggled.

"What about you? Do you have something to make a bet about?" she asked while tilting her head, making her apple-green hair drape to the side.

At that moment, the clip-clop of Professor Lyall's steps which emphasized each set of inches she covered, rang out. Her distinct lips formed an innocent-looking V shape which silenced the class.

Behind her, three students followed with large boxes in their hands.

One was Alcaeus, the other was a talkative boy named Nicolas Onasis, well-known through his exploits in the past Stride as a specialist in sarcasm, and the last was a girl with medium-length, curly red hair that bounced as she moved. She had round, unfocused baby blue eyes that had hints of laziness to them.

Halfway towards where Professor Lyall stood, she stumbled over and almost dropped the box she was carrying, which gave nearly everyone – even Ginger – a jolt of momentary fright.

The girl's name was Caron, and she was notorious for sleeping during classes. Ginger imagined she had been called to Professor Lyall's office several times in the last Stride on account of her behavior in every single course including Dragon Biology and Kardia Studies.

Professor Lyall took the box from her and thanked her for her help with a concealed sigh.

Different from the students, Professor Lyall hadn't been concerned with Caron almost dropping her box despite it holding objects that were made of glass.

She faced the class and her lips drew taut.

"Morning class," she said. "Today, we'll be going to the Rebounding Seether for the Second Burning. Your other Professors are going to join you, but we will bar representatives from Out Courses in order to not make you too anxious. Great Ebony knows how many students have fainted from the excess attention through the years."

Excitement immediately flooded the class.

This was it.

Ginger kept on a dark face.

He yawned.

He was very tired.

He hoped that the Second Burning would end soon, despite his result, so that he could maybe doze off in Expired Times and Diluted Histories afterwards. Surely, if he were to start sleepwalking then, someone in class, Professor Fotis mainly, would stop him, right?

To a tired Ginger, this seemed like a stellar idea.

"Alright. Everyone, come up and grab a flask," Professor Lyall said while pointing to the three boxes she had had Alcaeus, Nicolas, and Caron carry.

Within them were thick, glass bottles without anything to cover their mouths. They were sparkly, and pristinely clear, which invited the idea to keep them that way, even for the dragonlings.

After everyone had grabbed one, Professor Lyall explained, "These flasks are indicators, like the Othoni-Kardia you used during your First Burning. They will determine your Kardia type from how your Kardia flows after the Burning, as well as whether it Collapses or Surges. And it's alright, none of you are capable of breaking them yet. Don't let me catch you attempting to though."

Ginger was barely listening.

He wanted to, but a lot of thoughts blocked his mind.

From what he managed to hear though, a part of him cursed.

'I forgot to ask Reiss about what this Collapsing and Surging means. Well... I guess I missed my chance...' he thought.

At that moment, the excessive noise of hundreds of feet rang outside the class.

Professor Lyall's lips drew wider.

"Let's get going, shall we?" she said.