chapter two
August 5^th, 172 NCY

Adrian Loren Finch had never been one to let minor things stop him from having a good time. One of his favorite stories was about the night of a phenomonal party when the only clean clothes in his house were a pair of metallic silver bell-bottoms and pink ladies' underwear. It had turned out to be a wonderful party.

So green skin, red eyes, gigantic ears and a tail most definitely weren't going to keep him out of the mall. Only security guards could accomplish that, and, so far, they were all too scared to approach him, let alone tell him what to do.

Therefore, four gongs found Adrian marching out of the mall, dark sunglassers covering his handsome, catlike eye, dangling cross earrings glittering in the sun. He happily ignored the cries of small children and shouts of grown-ups, smiling just to show off his slightly pointed, sparkling white teeth. No, not much was going to get him down today.

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"What d'you mean, Laznusaniel's gone?"

"I told you," Sodehon snapped. "He left, just this morning, while you were out. Didn't leave an explanation or anything."

"Why on earth...?" Adrian muttered to himself, striding past a rather harrassed-looking Sodehon and into the private chambers.

"Adrian, sir," Sodehon called, following him, her black hair falling out of its braid in her haste, "you know he is often forced to make unannounced leave. The council --"

"He never leaves without telling me," Adrian replied flatly. "Ever since he found me, he's left me in charge whenever he has to go anywhere."

"Don't remind me," Sodehon snarled. "Now don't worry about it. Master Laznusaniel can take care of himself, and he's proven it on numerous occasions. Now, there are quite a few pupils of his that are feeling hungry, so I suggest you inform them that it is time for breakfast."

Adrian smiled at Sodehon over his shoulder. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous."

Sodehon laughed. "At least I don't have to deal with the little brats all day," she said lightly, rapping on doors with her tail as she passed.

Slowly, under Adrian's watch, younger figures began emerging from the rooms that lined the hall. Bleary faces peered out, and tired people staggered in a somewhat orderly fashion back down the passage to the large courtyard, where they were free to eat anything growing on the trees or in the ground. Lunch and dinner were served inside, but it had been decided by Master Laznusaniel that a more natural breakfast was more healthy for his students.

Laznusaniel was much older than anyone any of the eight- and nine-year-old pupils had ever seen in their lives, but he was also much wiser. He considered it a duty of sorts to assist what he called 'the next generation' in learning the skills and techniques his fathers had taught him. His brainchild was a handsome school, full of halls, chambers, and libraries, that had become a sanctuary for not only students, but for others that wished to learn or teach.

The students were from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life, though they all shared some things in common. They were all the same color -- green. They all had large ears, whippy tails, and each and every one of them owed their life to Laznusaniel.

Adrian walked out into the garden, closing his eyes as the wind tossed his thick black hair about his shoulders. The happy chatter of young voices filled his ears, and this was joined by laughter when he discovered that a large apple tree had planted itself right in his path. Frowning, he backed away from the prickly bark, silencing the demon children with a glare from his red-orange eye. Then, turning back to the tree, he summoned all the strength in his muscled legs and lept onto the trunk, latching on with his talons and clawing his way to the upper branches, where the ripest, juiciest apples hid themselves.

To the delighted cheers of the little ones, he plucked the apples from the bark and tossed them down into waiting hands.

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