Rhian slowly turned around, confused, tense... still ready to bolt if needed.
Behind him, the girl, or who he thought was a girl, was still complaining loudly.
"Come on, dude!" she whined, pouting like a kid caught mid-prank. "You said you weren't gonna interfere! You should've seen his face! It went all 'Ahhh, wahhh, I'm sorry, nooo!'—like, seriously? Priceless."
Rhian just stared, not sure whether to feel insulted or embarrassed.
But then… it happened.
Right in the middle of her complaining, something started to change.
Her frame shifted.
Her body grew taller, shoulders broadening, curves flattening down into the straight build of a guy.
Even the voice, halfway through a sarcastic rant, broke mid-sentence, deepening smoothly from playful feminine to casual male.
But the hair stayed the same.
Rhian's jaw slowly dropped.
'What… the hell…'
Standing there now wasn't the same sharp, loud girl.
It was a tall guy, same sharp orange eyes, same annoying grin, like he just casually slipped into a new skin without effort.
The transformation was clean. Natural.
Way too natural.
"W-What…" Rhian finally managed, his voice dry. "What are you?"
The guy stretched lazily like it was nothing unusual.
"Shape-shifter," he answered casually. "Name's Ash still Ash whether I look like this, or like that." He waved a hand at nothing in particular.
Then he grinned wider.
"Welcome to Eclipses Academy, newbie." He winked, voice teasing. "Where we traumatize students before orientation even starts."
Rhian, still mentally recovering, had only one thought echoing in his head like a broken record.
'This school is insane.'
Rhian stood there, still trying to process whatever kind of weird life choice had brought him to this exact moment.
Ash casually walked toward him like nothing was strange about what just happened.
Rhian instinctively moved a little to the side, eyes narrowing slightly, watching him like someone might watch a wild animal.
Ash noticed.
He rolled his eyes, dramatically.
"Geez, bro, relax," Ash sighed. "You're not my type."
Rhian blinked.
Ash casually threw a hand over his shoulder like they were best friends now.
"I prefer goths," Ash said way too casually, ticking off fingers, "you know… dark eyes, boots, attitude like they hate the sun, bonus points if they look like they hexed their last boyfriend."
Rhian stared at him.
For once… that actually made him feel a bit more comfortable.
Not because it made sense.
But because it assured him Ash was just straight-up weird, not dangerous.
'At least not in the way I was worried about…' Rhian thought.
They finally stepped into the other room.
Rhian paused.
His eyes widened slightly.
A TV.
A real TV.
Flat, sleek, shining quietly in the middle of the living room like some kind of relic of civilization.
Something he had only heard about from the kids in the outskirts, or seen broken ones used as scrap back home.
Ash was talking about something, probably still ranting about his ideal scary girlfriend but Rhian didn't hear a single word of it.
All his focus was locked on that screen.
'Holy shit... it's real.'
This was the living room.
And for Rhian?
It felt like stepping into another world.
As Rhian stood there, practically admiring the TV like it was some sacred artifact, another door opened from deeper inside the dorm.
Footsteps.
A tall figure stepped out.
Rhian turned, his eyes immediately catching the presence of someone different.
This guy was tall, taller than anyone Rhian had seen here so far. Lean, built like someone who trained seriously, but not bulky.
He wore a simple black shirt, sleeves casually rolled to the forearms, showing off a black tattoo coiling around his wrist and snaking in smooth, swirling circles up his arm.
It looked cool.
Alive almost.
Ash was tall too, taller than Rhian by a little.. a lot of little.
He walked up straight to Rhian and offered his hand.
"Aras," he introduced himself simply.
Rhian, not hesitating, shook his hand back. The grip was solid.
"Rhian."
Aras gave a small nod of approval and walked over to the couch, dropping down with the ease of someone used to claiming space naturally.
He leaned back, glancing briefly toward Ash with a faint smirk.
"Don't mind him," Aras said casually, "glad to have someone else around he can bother."
Ash scoffed immediately, plopping down across from him.
"Hey. I'm excellent company."
Ash leaned back on the couch, eyes narrowing just a little like he was sizing Rhian up properly for the first time.
"So…" Ash began, voice playful but curious, "what kinda carrier are you? Physical, Mystical, Hybrid... or the big bad Cursed?"
That last word came with a teasing grin.
Even Aras, who hadn't said much until now, shifted his gaze toward Rhian, genuinely curious.
Rhian shifted awkwardly where he stood.
Ash, noticing his reaction, smiled knowingly.
"Relax, dude," Ash said casually. "I fall under Mystical Shapeshifter type. Makes sense, right?" He motioned at himself like it was obvious.
Then, without looking, Ash pointed at Aras.
"This guy too — Mystical."
Aras, still lounging like nothing could bother him, simply stretched out his hand. There was a soda can on the table.
Without touching it — without even moving much — the can slowly crushed inward, crumpling like an invisible force pressed down from above.
Controlled. Clean.
Mystical ability, no doubt.
Both of them now looked at Rhian expectantly.
Waiting.
Rhian felt that hesitation crawl up his chest again.
'Should I tell them?'
What if they hated him?
Cursed didn't have the best reputation. People feared them. Distrusted them. Even worse when you lived under the same roof.
But as he stood there, Rhian realized something important.
'I'm going to attend cursed classes... I'm going to use cursed abilities... there's no hiding this.'
And these two? They were his roommates.
People he'd sleep near. Eat near.
Starting that off with a lie?
Felt like asking for trouble later.
So Rhian took a quiet breath.
And spoke honestly.
"I think I'm a Cursed."
Ash's reaction was instant.
His grin stretched wide, excited, like a kid hearing a cool rumor confirmed.
Aras, however… his reaction was harder to read.
Just... something. A slight shift in posture.
Ash immediately shot up from his seat, animated.
"Really?! What can you transform into?" he asked, rapidly firing guesses. "Beast type? Insect type? Draconic? Abyssal? Come on, dude, tell me you're packing wings or something insane."
Rhian awkwardly shrugged. He didn't know any of the things ash named, sure he knew beats and insect, but what was draconic and abyssal.
"I… don't know."
Ash stopped mid-hype.
"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't Cursed always able to transform? Isn't that like... your whole thing?"
Rhian scratched the back of his neck, just as confused.
Honestly... he was wondering the same thing.
If he was a Cursed, not some weird hybrid, after all if he was cursed shouldn't he have transformed by now? Fangs, claws, wings, something.
Ash stared at him for a moment.
Then shrugged like it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Eh. Maybe you're just a late bloomer," Ash said, sitting back down.
Rhian sat down, too, feeling strangely relieved.
Aras finally spoke again, voice calm.
"Either way," he said, "you're here now."
Simple words.
But somehow… they felt like acceptance.