Page 2

Chapter Two

Juno

When we entered the town, we quickly sought out a café, desperate to find people talking so we could learn their language. Inside we found a group of five young humans, sipping on coffees and chatting. We sat down next to their table and with our magic we picked up their language, learning it in its entirety.

“I can’t believe your professor said that to you!” One of the women said with a shocked expression.

“Cheer up,” a man said. “It’s not like you can’t just write another article. You’ve got two weeks until it’s due.” He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. They were clearly mates. The sight made Nix and me grin at one another, pleased mates were a thing here too. Well, it kind of had to be to create more humans, but finding your mate was what everyone dreamed about. Finally feeling attraction towards another being, getting to experience that kind of love and want. I couldn’t wait until I met mine.

I shared a look with Nix and together we rose and went to their table, awkwardly trying to find the courage to speak in their language. I cleared my throat and tried to appear welcoming and confident as I smiled at the group of people.

“Hi, I’m sorry, but I just overheard you speaking about a professor. We’re new in town and are looking to get an education here. Where’s the education center you attend?” Something about education center sounded off in their language and from the way they tilted their heads showed they thought so, too.

“You mean school?” One of the men said, not unkindly, but clearly confused.

“Yes, sorry. We’re not from here,” I answered honestly, hoping they, like us, had a big world where people talked differently depending on where they lived.

One of the girls brightened into a big smile. “We attend the local college here, but you can’t just show up and get accepted.” She didn’t seem to scold us, more amused by us than anything. Another woman rolled her eyes at her friend but it seemed to be an inside joke we weren’t privy to.

“I’m Ria,” she introduced herself. “I’m heading back to class now. You can follow me if you want?” We nodded and once outside, I introduced us.

“Juno and Nix,” she replied. “I like your names.” She seemed oddly comfortable around strangers, not that we knew how friendly people normally acted in this world, but it was refreshing.

The college was only a five-minute walk from the café, and as soon as we spotted it, it was obvious it was a school. “Down there you’ll find the main entrance, and I know Loretta, our student counsellor, is in there working right now if you have questions.” We just nodded and waved goodbye, searching for this Loretta person immediately.

“If their technology really is like ours, maybe our magic can alter it, enrolling us into this school effortlessly,” Nix whispered as we walked inside the building. A list of names on the side of a wall had us finding Loretta easily.

“Maybe they have homes here too,” I whispered back, hoping to live close to the school.

Loretta’s office came into view as we headed down a long hallway. We knocked on the door and waited, not sure how to behave accordingly, but deciding to do what we would normally do. Everything else had seemed a mirror image of our world so far, maybe manners were too.

“Enter,” a raspy woman’s voice called out from inside. We entered with Nix coming in behind me. “What can I do for you, boys?” she asked kindly while Nix closed the door behind him. She was maybe in her fifties and wore a knitted cardigan over a floral dress. We hadn’t decided on what to tell her and I worried Nix wouldn’t be thinking the same as me and blurt something.

“We’re new students,” Nix lied easily. My left eye twitched from the effort it took me to stifle my laugh. Nix had always been an amazing liar, easily getting out of trouble even as a kid.

“Oh,” she replied, sounding confused. “What’re your names?” she started tapping on the machine in front of her.

“My name is Nix Cinnen and this is Juno Maxwell.” The names he gave were our true names, something I found worrisome, not that she could do much with it.

“Ah,” she exclaimed. “Here you are,” she continued her tapping. “You’re the ones from Snivem. Let me just check your dorm room… and yes that’s ready too… and your forms… Yes, everything is there,” she spoke mostly to herself as I eyed Nix. He was amazing with his magic when it came to technology, but I had to admit I was impressed it’d worked without me even noticing him using it.

“Alright, boys,” Loretta said, getting up from her squeaking chair. “I’ve printed some papers for you to sign and here are your keys.” She handed us each a key to our room and turned around to grab the papers. It seemed way too easy, but they didn’t have magic so maybe we were just in luck.

Loretta spent a few minutes filling us in on the cafeteria and where our dorm room was located. We had more questions but when she hinted at something called a website being up to date and filled with answers, we knew it was her way of telling us to get out of her office.

We left in search of our dorm room. It wasn’t hard to find with Loretta’s guidance and soon we were inside with the door locked, finally free to talk and act as we wanted.

“Snivem?” I asked. The name had obviously worked for Loretta, and we needed to keep our story straight if others asked too.

Nix shrugged easily. “I used my magic on their world map and chose a place far from here. It’ll hopefully help us out that they know we come from another country than this one.” I had to give him that.

“Should we call the rulers?” Nix asked, lying down on his bed.

“We kinda need to, considering we’ve got class in the morning,” I grinned. We both wanted to stay here, and even the thought of returning home already wasn’t a pleasant one.

Joining Nix on his bed, I called my dad. His worried voice filled the room, “Juno? Are you in danger?” Nix rolled his eyes, something my dad thankfully couldn’t see, this only being a simple call.

“Nix and I are fine, Dad,” I replied with a smile. “We just wanted to update you and the other rulers.”

I heard some rustling and then my dad changed the call to one where we could see one another. I accepted and saw all the rulers looking expectantly at us. We sat up, acting like the professionals we were hired to be. “Hi, everyone,” I greeted them with a smile.

“Yes, yes, what news do you have for us, boys?” Henriette asked with bright eyes.

“We’ve enrolled in a college here,” I replied, then quickly added, “We got our schedule already and have class in the morning.” I let them figure out what I meant and waited for their reaction.

“Oh, then you must stay!” Trise said easily. “Where are you now?”

“Our dorm room,” Nix replied. I was too busy grinning. We didn’t have to go home!

“Wait, Trise. Are you sure that’s a wise choice?” My dad cut in. “What about their things and the briefing.”

“Nonsense,” Henriette said, clearly agreeing with Trise. “The boys are attending the school and we need to respect their progress. Now tell me, boys, are they truly like us?” The others had reported back with their findings too it seemed.

“They are very similar actually,” Nix answered. “We could easily learn their language and I was able to enroll us without any issue with my magic, even providing us this room.”

“What about your needs there? Food, clothing, other things that you need to pay for?” My dad asked, ever the serious ruler.

“I haven’t had the chance to see how they deal with payments yet,” Nix answered seriously. “We don’t want to steal so we need to make sure whatever money we spend doesn’t hurt someone else.” It was one of our most valued beliefs that we shouldn’t steal from others.

“If you can make money appear with magic and use that, that’ll have to do,” Henriette said seriously. “If they use cards or their phones to pay, use that.” Phones?

“Phones?” Nix asked just before I could.

“Yes, the others reported back that humans use something called phones much like our slates, though theirs can’t change forms without magic,” Trise replied.

“Cool,” both Nix and I replied simultaneously, then shared a knowing look. We had been close since we were three, being neighbors until we moved out as adults, our parents still living next to each other.

“Well, boys. The others are getting back to the forest soon, we’ll tell them you’re staying. In the meantime, try to find out how to pay for stuff and get settled in,” Trise said, ending the call.

“I can’t believe we’re staying!” I laughed, feeling so damn happy and relieved.

“I know!” Nix beamed next to me, then he turned serious. “Can I ask you something?” The shyness in his tone had me turning serious too.

“Sure, everything okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah, it’s just… I feel at home here, you know, and we’ve only been here a few hours. Is that weird?”

He felt like me. The relief of knowing I wasn’t alone, that I wasn’t feeling something abnormal hit me. “I,” I swallowed, trying to find the right words. “I feel the same way.” His eyes lit up as I continued, now unable to stop voicing my feelings. “I honestly felt this way before we came here. Something inside of me told me to leave, to explore. Being here feels… right. Even just the thought of leaving has me gasping for air, it feels wrong to leave.”

“Exactly!” Nix jumped up from his bed and began pacing the floor. “I feel like I can finally breathe! Like I am where I’m supposed to be. For the first time in my life, I feel… home .”

“Home,” I agreed.

Nix and I left our room in search of some clothing stores, not wanting to use up all our magic on glamour. Our clothes weren’t too out there, but they were plain and boring compared to how people here were dressed. We also figured stores would be the perfect place to figure out how to use money.

“Do you think they use their phones?” Nix asked as we walked down into town where the stores lay. We had a map on our slates using our magic to combine their technology with ours, making it possible to access their maps and internet.

“You already figured out how to pay for stuff online, maybe we’ll just stick with that,” I said, ignoring the small detail of how we wouldn’t be able to pay for food online, unless food deliveries would be our only sustenance.

“Let’s just try,” Nix rolled his eyes. Soon after, a store appeared to our left, featuring male clothing. We entered and a woman with blonde hair glided over to us, effortlessly showing us everything we needed. When it came to paying, Nix used his slate and the woman didn’t even question it, likely just pleased to be paid for her service.

A few feet away from the store, Nix bumped his shoulder against mine, “See! It went perfectly!” I smiled at him, glad that he was pushing me to do things I felt awkward about doing. It always worked out somehow in the end every time. “Now, let’s find a place to eat.”