Classmates… Finn squinted his eyes at the word. It triggered memories of his previous life as a university student. So he was going to school again, huh? The thought was pleasing and familiar in a way, and he couldn't help but look forward to it, even if a bit.
He at least would actually learn how to take control of his powers as an Ossuarist…
Then there was also his ability to enforce stability onto chaotic soul masses with his Mythological Aspect Adaptations… He needed to know just how much such a power deviated from the standard norm, and whether there was a precedent to it… or maybe something at least similar in the history of Ossuarists.
"Hey, kid! Have you ever flown before? You're taking this flight surprisingly well! You should've seen Isis the first time she rode Freddy. She was screaming her lungs out!"
"Yeah, well, after riding in airpl—" Finn started to say, but immediately caught himself and bit his tongue to stop himself from speaking further. He didn't even realize when his mouth moved to talk about airplanes to Micah so naturally!
This side effect is way too dangerous!! Finn thought tensely. He could imagine the questions that would follow up if he hadn't caught himself so quickly!
Micah, for all his lack of tact, simply smiled at Finn's obvious choice not to speak, before changing the subject.
"So, Finn. How did you get your first chaotic soul mass?" He called over the wind.
Finn frowned harder, biting his lips to prevent himself from speaking again! What the hell were these loaded questions?!
Finn let the wave pass. He noticed that if the question was left unanswered for a few seconds, the urge to speak honestly would pass.
And immediately he felt it pass, right before Micah was about to ask another question, he blurted the first random thing that came to his mind—
"Why is a school so deep inside a forest?!"
"...ahh, that? It's an Ossuarist School, so that much is expected," Micah responded after a very short pause. "You will understand why, soon enough."
The main school building soon came into view. Towering above the treeline within a vast clearing. There were four of the same building built in a loose square around a massive central field. On it, Finn could see students dotted around, all locked in different sparring sessions.
As they drew nearer, more and more students stopped what they were doing to gaze up at them in the sky, making Finn feel a bit self-conscious.
"Welcome to the Seneschal Ossuarist School, Finn," Micah announced, as Freddy gracefully began his descent toward the central field. "Or, as I personally like to call it, the home of the most uptight Ossuarists in this part of the world."
Freddy touched down smoothly and folded his enormous wings soundlessly, before shrieking into the sky like a loud declaration, as if their arrival was not already eye-catching enough.
As Finn dismounted, and his feet hit solid ground, the feeling of being watched by hundreds of eyes pressed on him strongly, making him hyper-aware of every step he made.
Students of different ages, some looking very young, others already adults, had stopped their activities, turning to stare at the arrival of the imposing bird standing proudly at the center of the field, and most importantly, at the two people it had deposited.
Finn waited anxiously for Micah, who took his jolly time to disperse Freddy back into his shadow before abruptly clapping his hands loudly, drawing everyone's attention to himself.
What the hell is he doing?! Finn thought in alarm. All he wanted to do was get into the damn school building as soon as possible. So what the hell was Micah doing? Was he seriously about to make an announcement?!! Finn rubbed his neck nervously in trepidation.
"Alright, everyone, pay attention! This here is Finn."
Finn's heart skipped a beat at the sudden attention that focused on him from everywhere. A wave of red hot embarrassment washed over him as Micah continued.
"He's a new transfer student that will be starting tomorrow. He has zero experience as an Ossuarist, but he's very talented, and has the right attitude to work. I hope you take care of him!"
Finn died inside.
The next few moments passed as a blur to him. All he remembered was that Micah had urged everyone to clap, but the resulting silence — broken only by a few scattered attempts — was deafening. Then Micah had proudly led him into the building right after.
Finn only snapped back to reality after they'd winded through long corridors littered with students whispering and looking at him curiously, past stairwells bustling with more of them, before finally arriving at a huge double door. It sat at the end of a thankfully quiet, but very exquisitely decorated corridor.
Now that they were finally alone, Finn whirled on Micah, snarling like an angry cat. "Why the hell did you do that?!!"
Micah merely chuckled playfully at the outburst, holding a silencing finger up to his lips as they approached the huge double doors. But Finn was still fuming. He wasn't some kid that needed introduction, he was a fully grown, twenty-year old adult for crying out loud!
His real gripe right now wasn't even the embarrassment. It was that Micah had basically painted a massive target on his back now, even if he hadn't intended it.
Everyone was going to be watching him very carefully from now on. And that was something he didn't like at all. He was the type that preferred to do his thing silently and just blend into the crowd. But right now, that was no longer possible.
He frowned, but held his tongue according to Micah's dictate, just as the man pushed the huge double doors open without announcement.
"Micah Fugger," a voice that sounded oddly familiar to Finn, spoke with a chilling, but curt tone. "That was a very bold display down there, no?"
Micah simply shrugged with a smile and sat uninvited into the seat opposite the headmaster, who sat at his large desk with his hands clasped in front of him.
"Well, since that was the term of our agreement, I simply went ahead and sped it up for you. No need to thank me." He pulled out a cigar from his pocket and made to light it, but the flames were snuffed out by a sharp gust of air that came from nowhere.
"Do you think that just because you're a Caretaker now, you can do as you please here?" The headmaster's eyes snapped open in cold fury.
"Oh, sorry. My bad. I forgot you don't like smoking…"
"You know fully well I do not mean smoking!"
Micah rolled his eyes, sighing. "What? You think I was ready to be bogged down by the useless formalities and 'standard procedures' you were gonna use to delay his acceptance?!"
"They are called standard procedures for a reason—"
"Cut the bullshit, Seneschal! You and I sure as hell know—"
"—that the procedures are designed to protect the students from exactly the kind of unvetted chaos you insist on importing into this school!" the Headmaster cut in and finished Micah's words instead.
Micah leaned forward, placing his palms flat on the desk, causing the heavy wood to groan slightly. "And you think seclusion and delay is the way to handle a potential catastrophe? Finn is a rough piece of wild talent, Seneschal. He needs tempering, not storage. I didn't bring him here just for you to keep him locked in a secure wing until he spontaneously detonates."
"'Talent' is a very particular word to use…" the headmaster scoffed lightly.
"What? So you're saying you plan to renege on your words…?" Micah leaned back in his seat, watching the headmaster carefully.
The man sighed, before turning his gaze to Finn, who had been watching silently by the side.
"Boy. I do not know if this fellow here has told you the specifics of what you are about to get yourself into," the headmaster said, rising calmly to his feet. "I do not know whether he has in fact told you what it means to be an Ossuarist. What it means to be a parasite. Because, make no mistake, we are parasites!
If you become an Ossuarist, you will feed on the dead. You will steal the powers people strived so hard to earn throughout their lifetime, for your own benefit! I learned your parents are Arcanists…" His voice became hard, and he stared deeply into Finn's eyes like he was questioning his mettle.
"We Ossuarists live twice as long as they do. How will you feel when they get old and die, becoming chaotic soul masses themselves? How will you feel if an Ossuarist other than you is sent to their bedside as they die, waiting to devour and assimilate their essence for himself? How will you feel when you do the same for others as their children watch you do it?!" He roared, losing his composure. "Do you truly know the kind of life you are about to lead?!!"