This is just stupid.

[Creator]

The sound of heavy footsteps began to approach through the fog, heading down the path toward the docks. A silhouetted figure appeared through the mist, walking forward rather slowly. As he came into view, it became obvious that he wasn't human. Dull, gray skin covered him, and his pointed ears stuck straight out. His hair hung down in thick black spikes that occurred naturally, though Adren himself would actually prefer to be bald. Hair was only a distraction, but alas, it regenerated when cut. He glared out at the water, eyes slowly moving from one side to the other. This was where he was supposed to meet his escort, right? So why was he waiting?

Suddenly, with a deep, roaring voice, he boomed through the fog. "GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOW." The echoes remained for a few moments after he stopped, unwilling to let anyone remain unaware of his presence. Adren's waist stretched out, raising his upper body high above the mist so he could look out. His head rotated completely around, as if he had no bones, and he returned to normal height. His arms twitched and he shut his eyes, growling softly.

[demonfire]

From the mist came the soft thump of heavy paws against the earth. A low growl, followed by the sound of sniffing came from the same area post-Adren yell. As the beast came closer to view, it seemed to be a large grizzly bear, larger and smarter than your average grizzly (almost like Yogi!). It's fur was lush, even to view, as if you could fall asleep in it and then never want to wake up; although, its claws and teeth were like nails in that 'perfect' bed, ready to scratch and tear up any occupants.

Well, a grizzly in the middle of the mist was sure an odd sight for one to behold. It was sure an awe-inspiring beast, but raised many more questions. The bear walked up to Adren, sniffing around him and then Adren himself. It looked up at Adren in something like an understanding, although understanding wouldn't be quite the word used for animals.

[Creator]

Adren turned, grinning widely as he spotted the bear. Just his luck. It seemed a bit out of place here, but a meal was a meal. He turned to fully face the beast, growling softly. It didn't seem to be acting like any bear he'd ever seen, but from past experience, he had learn to accept things as true and not ask too many questions. Instead, he laughed softly to himself, his voice lowering to a quiet but demonic tone. "I don't like fur, but I'm not picky." His mouth opened, and continued to open, stretching down to the ground, as he made a move to bite the bear.

[demonfire]

The bear's fur began to shed, revealing another layer of fur underneath on the sides and back, although on the front was a motley of different animal hides. A man's face appeared grinning, rugged as if he hadn't shaved in a few weeks, and eyes like that of the previously assumed beast, and his hair the same color as the bear's fur. Underneath the fur was muscles that would have only been gained from years of hard labor and fending for oneself. The man heartily laughed at the boys attempt to eat him, simply stepping backwards. "I don't think I would taste very well, maybe some other meat would do?" he said, opening up the bear-fur jacket he wore over top his motley shirt, revealing strips of smoked meat. The man seemed to be prepared to go without contact to civilization for a while.

He took a strip of what seemed to be bacon and threw it to Adren. "For you, Man Who Eats the Sky," the man said, with a dialect of some Native American in his voice, despite his everyday American features. "So, Man Who Eats the Sky, will you be attending this fine academy?" the Grizzly-Man asked. "But wait! Where are my manners? I am Aklak by my tribe, but most just call me Griz," Griz said with a hearty smile on his face.

[Creator]

Adren simply stared at the man for a moment, mouth still enlarged, as if contemplating whether or not to still go through with his plans. Reluctantly, he stepped back and caught the bacon in his mouth, swallowing it whole as his body returned to normal. "I am Virdan Avedis Nevoru Kimme Adaven Adren, but on Earth people say my name would be Adren Adaven. So I just go by Adren. And yes, I'm going to school here. Are you my escort?" He had never seen someone quite like this man. But then, he had lived a rather confined life here. Quickly losing interest, he leaned down into the water and began to drain away, drinking in more than should have been possible. When he was done, he sighed and looked back at Griz.

[demonfire]

"Well, guess your parents had too many good names to go to waste, huh?" Griz said, partaking in a hearty laugh, ending with slapping Adren on the back. "But if you want to call me an escort, I guess you could," the man said, rubbing his chin with his hand in apparent thought. Griz reached into the fur/smokehouse and grabbed a rather large piece of jerky that he began to viciously chew.

"So, d'you come from the Lights?" Griz asked in between chewing his jerky, which once examined seemed to be just like his fur clothing: a motley of different things. The jerky seemed to smell like moose meat, venison, and salmon all rolled into one smoked strip of meat. Obviously this man was all about taking life slowly and taking in as much as possible, as he didn't seem like he was planning on doing anything besides chat at the moment.

[Creator]

Adren took a moment to think about what the man meant by "the Lights", and decided he must have been referring to space. But that didn't mean Adren would give him an answer. "Where I come from is none of your business. I'm not asking you anything personal, so you shouldn't ask me. And only one name was given to me, the rest is just narrowing it down to my family. Adren is my name, the rest is like saying, 'Adren Adaven, who lives in this city, who lives in this state, who lives in this country, who lives on this planet.'"
He looked around, not sure where the school was, but itching to find out. A soft growl began to rumble from within, though he wasn't conscious of it.

[demonfire]

"Well, boy, if you don't want me to pry all ya head to do was say no, rudeness is not needed," Griz said, seeming to be more like a stern father giving his son some reprimanding for doing something wrong. He bit into the large motley jerky one more time (well, actually just eating the rest of it, the man could seriously eat jerky fast).

Griz looked at Adren, sensing restlessness from the boy from his eyes and from the growl escaping him. "The school isn't going anywhere, Adren. Sit back and take in life, or else it will pass you by," Griz said in a laid-back-philosophical kind of way. "There are a couple of different people in this world, those who truly live and those who do not. Those who truly live die with a smile on their face, content on what they had done. Those who do not are always begging for a minute more when Death's cold fingers wrap around them, and instead of smiling in the face of Death, they frown," he said.

[Creator]

"I've been alive for about three hundred years, and I'll live another five hundred. I'll have time to stop and smell the roses," he said rather angrily. "I know the school isn't going anywhere, but neither are we. If you don't mind, I have a friend at the school I'm rather anxious to see, so I'd like to hurry it up." He seemed annoyed that he had to admit to any sort of bond with any human, for any reason, but did little more than scowl. "Now, where is it?"

[demonfire]

"The words of the fool," Griz said, shaking his head. "Why rush things, go to bed regretful and have the risk of never waking up and dying with wishes still left in your heart?" he asked. "I've lived many times, and all I can say is that men need to take some time to smell the roses, lest their spirits never be at rest," the bear-man said.

"The school is past the lake and its mist," Griz said, sounding disappointed in his student's lack of focusing on the here and now. "If you truly feel as though you need to rush, then I won't stop you, but I hope you've got a way across," Griz said. The more you got to know this strange 'Inuit' type fellow, the more it seemed he was one of those friend/teachers--the ones that like to have a good time (not in that sense pervs!) as they taught, with joking and the like.

[Creator]

"I don't have wishes, and I don't have a heart. You assume too many things. And I'm still not sure of the definition, but I don't think I have a spirit." He looked out at the lake and shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "Some escort. They could just have a sign." He began to walk out into the water, with his legs stretching out as he walked to keep him mostly dry. He didn't much care to see if Griz was coming along in whatever way he could, though he supposed it would make it easier to find the school. Unless, of course, it was so large he couldn't miss it. He'd never seen a school, but it couldn't be much larger than his old house, right?

[demonfire]

Griz began to walk out on the water, although as he stepped it seemed to turn into ice sturdy enough for the behemoth to stand on. "The heart is the emotional center of the body, and all things have a spirit," Griz said, keeping steady pace with the boy. "No real physical training can begin without first training and relaxing the mind. After that you'll be able to push your body to limits never before imaginable," he said, hoping to find some spark with the strange boy.

Adren was certainly arrogant for a student, well, at least not humble enough to respect his elders, namely Griz. "Guess you won't be wanting your gift then," the bear-man said, shrugging as new ice formed underneath his feet and the old ice turned back into the normal lake water as if nothing had happened.

[Creator]

Adren glanced back at Griz, then seemed rather frightened. He moved more quickly, apparently wanting to get away. When he felt he was at a safe distance, he turned around and shouted. "Keep that stuff away from me! If you want to give me something, just give it!" With that, he reached an arm out, which stretched slowly toward Griz. He was eventually holding his hand out expectantly in front of him. "Just keep the ice away!"

[demonfire]

"Boy! I just went through that speech about patience and you still haven't learned a thing, huh?" Griz asked. You could say he was disgusted with the lack of waiting from the Virdanican. "You'll get your gift soon enough," Griz said as he took out a strange writing utensil seemingly made of bone and a piece of parchment.

"You'll be needing a schedule for the Academy," he said. "You and all the other students will have the same schedule for the first six periods: Magic, Weaponry, Alchemy, Beastry, Master, and then a Break Class. Then comes the electives," Griz said, taking in a deep breath as though he had done this routine time and time again. "For Seventh Period you can choose between Music, History, or Potionry; for Period Eight you've got Holy, Flare, or Summoning; Period Nine is Thievery, Dragoon, or Samurai; and Period Ten you can choose between Survival and Puppetmaster."

[Creator]

"I don't care what classes I take," he said, no longer bothering to look at Griz. His arm retracted and lowered. "Just sign me up for the first from each group." He continued to walk, though he was unable to see well through the density of the fog. A fish nibbled at his ankle, only to find that the ankle could sprout a mouth, which quickly devoured the unsuspecting creature. He turned just slightly to watch Griz out of the corner of his eye, and finally gave a hmph. "Do you know where I can find Seger?"