After seeing the class breakdown Nathan waved his hand at Ryland to get his attention then signed excitedly, “Same class!”

“Awesome,” Ryland grinned, they followed people going on with the tour. When they reached closer to the dorm, worms began slithering in his guts. 

“I’m a little anxious about living with so many people…” He said vocally, not knowing the proper signs. 

“I have a lot of siblings so I’m used to it!” He signed with big wild hands as he did when excited, “it’s probably too much to hope we’ll be roommates.”

“I hope so too,” Ryland signed “nobody here knows we’re trans…” 

He’d done his research, Ravenhold was very strongly pro-trans students, but having to live with strangers? Sharing bedrooms and bathroom space? That was more mortifying than any villain Ryland could think of. 

“Well, it probably won’t be a problem. I read that superheroes are disproportionately queer.”  Nathan joked, a big grin on his face.

Ryland snickered. “Still it’d be nice to be… seen as normal?”

Nathan shrugged, “Normal never really was a priority of mine or an achievable goal.”

It made sense, Nathan was Deaf, Asian, and trans, he couldn’t exactly blend in with “proper” WASP society… 

Ryland looked around, the class he’d been assigned to was quite unusual; multiple paramorphs, even a Tzari. What was normal to superheroes anyway? 

They reached the house and people poured in, the two of them found the kitchen and snatched some pizza that had been left on the counter for the students. Ryland looked around and found rooming arrangements, drawing Nathan’s attention to it.

Hands full of pizza Nathan gave a pout studying the board, soon followed by Ryland. They hadn’t roomed together… 

“Awww, I’m with Kiyoshi? Sounds Japanese?” He shrugged, Nathan’s roommate was far stranger, “What kind of name is Danalar?”

Nathan finished one of the slices and finger spelled with his free hand; “t-z-a-r-i.”

Ryland’s gaze wandered and there he (or she? Ryland wasn’t sure how to determine Tzari sex) was, standing with the others at the kitchen counter, Danalar was tall like all of his species, dressed like a human and speaking fluent English. Danalar had strong chiseled features similar to a human, but the tusk and cat-like ears gave the illusion away. 

“They’re kind of handsome for an alien,” Ryland said. 

“Tzaries are hot.” Nathan signed extremely matter-of-factly before wiping the grease on his hands off on his jeans. 

Ryland gave him a punch to the arm lightly, “What about Svar?”

“Venusians are very much non-monogamous, why would I be even if I was dating Svar. Which I’m not. Yet.” Nathan’s hand movements were sharp and pointed but his face was animated with an eye roll, pursed lips, and finally an eyebrow wiggle

“Slow down,” Ryland joked. Nathan repeated himself vocally, as quiet as he could, being Deaf he wasn’t exactly capable of gauging volume.

“Yet?” Ryland shook his head, he didn’t entirely understand Nathan’s attraction, Svar was a great person but he was a giant blue alien lizard, how would one even be intimate with them? 

At Ryland’s feet, Callie was practically vibrating, so many people, so long spent being a good girl. He nudged his friend toward the back of the house and they went out through the backyard’s patio door.

Ryland unleashed Callie and she immediately sprinted around the yard a half dozen times yipping with excitement. She had a lot of energy to burn off…

As Ryland sat down on the deck’s stairs, Nathan found a stick. He whistled and grabbed Callie’s attention, wiggling it around before tossing it. Callie ran after it at maximum speed.

Nathan sat down, “Wish Svar and the girls were in this class too.”

“Me too, at least it’s just us, I don’t sense any other meteor children in our class.”

Nathan nodded, Callie brought back the stick and he threw it again.

Ryland closed his eyes, the Meteor shards were linked together and he could feel their presence. He could sense all the ones on campus and even in the city around it.

“I can feel a few more around campus.”

Nathan nodded, “Hopefully they are just like us.”

“I’m glad to have you with me.” Ryland put a hand on Nathan’s shoulder. 

Nathan smiled before Callie jumped on him, shoving the stick at his face, demanding he throw it again.

“Callie!” Ryland laughed, “We’re having a heart-to-heart you silly spoiled puppy.”

Nathan laughed and took the stick, giving Callie a fake-out throw so she went running while the stick was still in his hand. Callie went all over looking at every corner of the yard for the missing stick.

“I’ve always got your back.” Nathan offered a fist for a fistbump.

Ryland returns it. “Should probably unpack soon?”

Nathan shrugs, “probably.”

Ryland gets up and calls Callie, “Come here, girl.” 

She came back sad and confused, where had the stick gone? Nathan chuckled at her reaction and gave it to her to chew on. Immediately she became excited again.

Ryland touched her for attention. “Follow.”

Callie picked her stick up, and followed them.

Nathan stretched and followed after Ryland, jogging around him so he could get in front of him to sign, “if our roommates end up sucking, maybe we can just force them to let us have a room together.“

“That could be fun,” Ryland said, he found his bags and brought them upstairs, finding their rooms. “At least we’re neighbors?”

Nathan nods happily with a smile and opens the door to his room

Ryland went into his, waving goodbye to Nathan for now. Ryland came in, looking at the room. It wasn’t so small, at least for two people. A pair of storage beds, dressers, small desks, and two closets. 

There was a single duffel bag hanging on the bedpost of the other bed, but no sign of the owner. Ryland took out Callie’s bed and bowls from his bag, filling them for her. That done he climbed in his bed and collapsed face first into the pillow. The texture grated against his sensitive skin, but he didn’t move. He wanted to pass out and wake up three months earlier before all of this had happened…

Callie suddenly went from eating to jumping and barking excitedly. “What is it, girl?” Ryland asked, not moving an inch.

He heard her jump onto the other bed, claws scratching against the bed cover. Ryland finally decided to move. 

He turned around, “What is—” he stopped when he saw what had caught her attention; a cat boy was now on the other bed, curled up in the corner to stay away from her. “When did you get here?” Ryland asked, confused. The door hadn’t opened. Callie meanwhile was trying to jump into his bed.

“Always here.” The cat boy said, anxiously, eyeing Callie, “I was always here.”

“You were?” Ryland asked. But how?

Was that Kiyoshi? He looked Japanese-ish, it was a little hard to tell, his face had markings like a Siamese cat.

Callie finally managed to make it onto the bed, she stopped just shy of Kiyoshi and panted with excitement. 

Kiyoshi disappeared for a second and reappeared, invisibility? “Yeah uh, what does it want?” He pointed at Callie.

Callie made pathetic little begging noises, unused to not being spoiled with love.

“She just wants scratches,” Ryland answered, sitting up on the bed.

Kiyoshi cautiously put his hand on her head and curled his fingers to scratch the very top of her head. Callie leaned into the scratches, making some happy noises.

“She’s harmless, just a bit of a slut,” Ryland joked, Callie would ask scratches of strangers, having no fear whatsoever of them. “I’m Ryland.”

Kiyoshi flinched a bit and then muttered; “I’m Kiyoshi.”

“Nice to meet you, I guess,” Ryland said, “Callie, come here girl, stop bothering him.” She came back quickly, Ryland picked her up and gave her some scratches. 

Kiyoshi sighed in relief, “it’s nice to meet you too.”

Rylands lay back down, emotionally and physically exhausted. “So you turn invisible?”

Kiyoshi nodded, “and teleport.”

“Cool,” Ryland said, he raised his left hand where a bright red gem was embedded, “I’m a meteor child, I kind of slow or speed down time.”

“Cool,” Kiyoshi said, nodding again. He uncurled a little and stretched his cat-like legs out. 

Silence settled between them, it was awkward and Ryland did not have any energy left to socialize with a stranger. He took out his phone and sent a text to his friends, asking them how they were settling in.

Svar was first to answer, “Svar has found a friend-reptile!” Attached was a picture of a human boy with his bottom half replaced by a snake’s tail. 

Ryland smirked and put the phone down. Kiyoshi’s stomach growling incredibly loudly drew his attention. He blinked. “Was that you?”

Kiyoshi’s face grew a little red, “sorry.”

“There’s pizza downstairs,” Ryland said, “People have probably moved on by now.” 

Kiyoshi nodded and disappeared, the indent in the bed going away. About a minute later he came back through the door with two slices of pepperoni pizza in his hand, biting one of them.

“How far can you teleport?” Ryland asked.

Kiyoshi shrugged, then swallowed the bite in his mouth, “not very far.”

Ryland nodded, “right.”

Kiyoshi finished the pizza and wiped his fingers off on the seat of his jeans before going to rifle through his duffle bag, he pulled out some sweats and a Coke.

“I think I’ll get ready for bed,” Ryland said, grabbing pajamas from his own bag. He would unpack in the morning. 

Kiyoshi was already changing his clothes, he had no hesitation in getting undressed. What Ryland saw slightly worried him, Kiyoshi was almost deathly thin, ribs and bones exposed, with a stylized-S on his hip branded into his flesh like cattle…

Ryland frowned but didn’t say anything, slipping out of the room. He took out his phone and googled S-brand, S-tattoo, bringing him onto a page about human trafficking… What Ryland read horrified him; Kiyoshi had been a modern-day slave of an organization known as the Syndicate. 

Ryland read more about them; a global criminal enterprise, the largest in history. They dealt in drugs, weapons, human trafficking, but also chimeras… Humans forcibly mutated into half-animal hybrids often as exotic sex slaves…

Ryland wanted to throw up… Was that what Kiyoshi had gone through? The website spoke of chimeras used in illegal bloodsports, but Kiyoshi was so small…

Ryland closed his phone, he knew enough, more than he had wanted to… He went to shower and change, trying to push away the horrible image in his mind. When he came back to his room, he looked back at Kiyoshi, curled up on his bed. 

“Going to bed,” Ryland mumbled.

“Goodnight.” Kiyoshi’s voice, slightly muffled by his pillow, responded.

“Goodnight,” Ryland answered, his mind still heavy with questions and horror.