"Alright, alright, settle down, class." A short eared elf teacher with skin the color of coffee yelled out to the rowdy classroom mostly filled with elven kids with the rest being of a variety of alien races.
"We have a new student today. She's traveled a long way to join us, so please welcome her properly."
Most of the kid's attention eventually made its way on the new girl standing in front of the class.
A young Aqua, around eleven years old, stood with her webbed hands clenched into tiny fists at her sides. The light blue fins along the sides of her head twitching involuntarily. She shyly avoided looking at the class, eyes nervously scanning everything around the room besides them.
There was absolute silence.
The instructor chuckled nervously sensing the awkwardness, then bent down to her.
"It's okay. Go ahead and introduce yourself."
Aqua gulped.
"M-my name… is Aqua." She managed to mumble out just loud enough to be heard.
There was absolute silence. The teacher sighed, shaking his head.
"What do we say class?"
"Welcome to the Elnath Star Traveler Academy Aqua." The class replied back together robotically.
"Good." The instructor muttered out before looking down to Aqua.
"Go find your seat okay?"
Aqua nodded, but as soon as she started walking toward her seat, the whispers began.
"Where is she from? I never seen someone like her before." One elf kid whispered.
"Look at those weird fins on her head… ewwww, why are they moving? She looks like a freak. Don't let her sit next to us." Another kid whispers to their classmate next to them.
Aqua dropped her head, trying her best to ignore the stares and words bombarding her. She hurried to her seat at the back of the class next to the window, her fins twitching furiously. The instructor turned his back to the holographic board and resumed the lesson.
"Now then, let's continue where we left off. Remember, essence manipulation is the foundation of all Star Travelers—your ability to harness and shape your energy determines everything..."
Aqua barely heard him, or anything at that for that matter. She tuned out everything around her as she began to pout, staring down at her desk.
She hated it there…
Everything about it.
"Why… why did I have to come here? Why did…"
"Psssssssssssssssst. Hey you!" A voice whispered out.
Aqua flinched slightly, blinking as she turned her head to the desk next to her. She saw a young Sera grinning back at her. She leaned in closer to Aqua.
"You okay? Don't let those jerks' words mess with you." She whispered
Aqua hesitated, both surprised and slightly confused before whispering back.
"Uh… thank you… I… really appreciate it."
Sera's smile lit up even more.
"No problem at all! Name's Sera! Sera Vex. I'm from the world of Vesperia, in the Gliese star system."
Aqua tilted her head.
"Ves…peria?"
"Yup! The Viridion galaxy's cinema hub! Home to the most magnificent, dazzling, and brightest future star in the known universe!" She gestured to herself dramatically before flashing her a toothy grin.
"ME. You're looking at a future holo-movie director, the greatest one to ever live by the way. Ever heard of the Galactic Cinema Awards? Yeah, I'm gonna win, like, a bizillion of them one day."
Aqua blinked, slightly overstimulated but still couldn't help herself from feeling slightly intrigued by the weird blue girl.
"A… holo-movie director?"
"That's right!" Sera twirled a strand of her dark blue hair, her tiny wings flapping excitedly.
"The best stories don't just happen, Aqua. They're made. Directed! And soon, the entire universe is gonna watch my movies and be left speechless. Just you wait!"
Sera puffed her chest out proudly, glancing at Aqua anticipating a look of amazement plastered on her face… But that wasn't the case.
"Weirdo." Aqua said stone-faced, as if she wasn't down in the dumps a second ago.
"You know you're weird too." Sera immediately rebuttalled, matching her deadpan expression.
They stared at each other for a short moment before their serious expressions broke into a mix of snorting and chuckling.
Some giggles later, Sera leaned on her desk, resting her chin in her palm looking over to her.
"But enough about me. What about you? Where are you from? What's your dream?" She asked enthusiastically.
Aqua stiffened up a bit.
"I'm, um… I'm an Elythrian and I'm from one of the plentiful water worlds in the universe. It's… a water world with lots of islands in this galaxy, but I… don't remember the nam—"
Sera's eyes lit up and her tiny wings began to flap.
"Whoa! That's so cool! A real ocean planet?! What's it like? Do you live in a city under the water, or like—do you guys ride giant sea creatures instead of spaceships?"
"U-uh, no, we—"
"Oh! Oh! Do you have underwater festivals?! Is it true that you can communicate with sea life?!"
"I mean, we can, but not all of us—"
"That's soooo cool! No wonder your name is Aqua! From a world of water! That's so on the nose and I love it!!!!"
Aqua didn't know what to say for a moment, completely overwhelmed by Sera's enthusiasm, yet… she didn't mind it. For the first time since she had arrived, someone was actually talking to her—not just about her, but to her. And the way Sera spoke, with such genuine excitement… it felt nice.
Really nice.
"T-thank you." Aqua said shyly, a small smile creeping up her face and cheeks blushing red.
"You're, um… you're cool too."
Sera's wings fluttered even faster.
"Awwwwww! You're soooo cute!! Your face is so adorable! You're terrible at giving compliments though, hahaha that was the most awkward cool I've ever heard in my life!"
Aqua's entire face burned bright red.
"Sorry! I-I didn't mean it like that!" She flustered out.
"Nah, nah, I get it! You're just shy and that's fine, I'll bring you out of your shell in no time! So what do you say?"
Aqua tilted her head and blinked.
"Uhhh… Say what?"
Sera extended her hand out.
"Let's be friends!"
Aqua's heart skipped a beat and her fins fluttered.
"Friends?" She mumbled back subconsciously, completely surprised.
"Sorry, was that too forward? I just—" Sera nervously said, blushing and rubbing her arm.
"I get it, y'know? I'm also really far from home. And it sucked at first. People here are weird about seeing someone new. But I figured… if I can do something about it, if I can make sure you don't go through that alone, then I should, right?"
Aqua's eyes widened slightly. Sera resonated with her in a way she couldn't describe, almost as if they shared a bond from a previous life.
Sera smiled again, her blushing intensifying.
"So, what do you say?"
Aqua stared at her for a moment before a small smile began to form on her face.
"I… would like that. Yes."
Sera's wings flapped furiously as she practically squealed.
"YES! A NEW BESTIE! This is the beginning of something legendary, Aqua! We're gonna take over the galaxy, then the universe! No—ALL UNIVERSES!"
A student behind was fighting for their life, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Sera, your wings—stop flapping so hard! I CAN'T BREATHE! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
Later on in the same class, the instructor began to explain an exercise for each of them to do.
"In a moment, I will call out the name of one of you. You are to walk to the front of the class, state your affinity, primary and/or sub, then materialize that affinity in a controlled manner using your essence until I say stop. Understood? Okay first up–"
Aqua gulped nervously as she listened, her fins twitching slightly. One by one, students were being called to the front of the class. She could feel the twitch of her fins quicken at the thought of standing in front of everyone. Sera noticed her fins flapping at mach jesus and leaned over with a smirk.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" She whispered.
Aqua flinched slightly, turning to her.
"H-how do you know?" She whispered back.
Sera chuckled and pointed toward the light blue fins on the sides of her head.
"Because they twitch every time you get worked up. Kinda like my wings when I'm excited."
"You… noticed that?" Aqua mumbled, slightly surprised.
"Of course! You think I don't pay attention to my bestie? Besides, it's so darn cute!!" Sera grinned, then grabbed her arm reassuringly.
"Listen, you got this okay? Just do your thing, and if you mess up, who cares? It's not like these losers' opinions of you matter anyways."
Aqua's eyes slowly opened with a subtle shock as the twitching died down a little.
"Thank… you."
Before they could talk more, the instructor called out.
"Sera Vex, you're up next."
Sera's grin widened. She shot up from her seat and strutted toward the front of the class with exaggerated confidence.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to witness greatness!" She said as her small blue wings began to flap.
The instructor pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.
"Just state your affinity and begin Sera."
Sera dramatically placed a hand over her chest.
"Very well. My affinity is wind!"
She extended both hands forward before shutting her eyes to concentrate. A few seconds passed, and a small breeze started forming between her palms. Her body tensed up, sweat dripping down her face before finally, a small ball of compressed wind the size of a golf ball materialized, swirling in front of her palms.
"She actually did it… " Aqua thought to herself, a small smile forming on her lips.
The instructor nodded approvingly.
"Good. Now, maintain that form. Feel the flow of your essence from your core reserves. Control it."
Sera bit her lip, focusing harder as she kept the sphere stable.
"Good good, now slowly reduce your essence output and disperse it."
Sera did as she was told, releasing the energy gradually. The wind sphere dissipated into nothing. She took a deep breath before standing tall with a smug expression despite being drenched in sweat. The only sound was the flapping of her small wings in the dead silence before a slow, half-hearted applause followed from the class.
She walked back to her seat and leaned toward Aqua.
"Alright, your turn. Just do better than that guy over there who almost set his own desk on fire." She whispered, pointing at a student who was still patting out embers on his sleeve and desk.
"Aqua." The instructor called out.
Aqua's fins began twitching violently as she stood up. She walked forward, every step toward the front feeling heavier than the last. She turned to face the room, keeping her head down slightly, trying her best to avoid any eye contact…
That was until she saw Sera.
Their eyes met and she gave her a nod of reassurance.
Aqua took a deep breath. She raised both hands, closing her eyes. Slowly, icy blue essence began to flow around her as moisture in the air condensed into numerous small water drops. After a moment, those same droplets merged to form a ball of water, far larger than the ball of wind Sera formed or any students before her.
Gasps and chatter erupted through the classroom.
"A water affinity? And… it's so huge!" One student excitedly told another.
"Is she actually in the same cycle as us? There's no way…" Another student mumbled to herself.
Sera's wings flapped excitedly.
"Wow… You're so amazing Aqua!"
The water sphere slowly grew as the instructor watched in awe.
"Impressive… Her control is remarkable for someone so young. Such innate talent… There's no doubt about it, she'll definitely become a power star traveler one day…"
But then—
Something flashed through Aqua's mind.
She saw her younger self laying on the ground, trembling uncontrollably covered in blood.
And around her were dozens of dead bodies…
Her hands began to tremble, subtle at first before becoming violent. A bitter chill spread through her fingertips.
"No, no, no…"
A section of the water sphere began to freeze over. The instructor's eyes shot open seeing this.
"Aqua, reduce your essence output immediately! " He said urgently.
But Aqua didn't hear him, the images of the scene flashed in her mind again, this time a little more vivid.
"No… no, stop—stop! STOOOOOPPPP!!!!!!!" She violently screamed out, startling every single person in the room.
The sphere exploded outward, drenching the instructor. He stood there, dripping wet, eyes blinking in disbelief.
The class was completely silent, the only sounds heard being the water dripping from the instructor and Aqua hyperventilating.
That was until the class burst out into laughter.
"She totally freaked out!"
"Did you hear that scream? It was like something straight out of a horror holo!"
"She soaked the teacher! Hahaha!"
Aqua stood there frozen stiff, eyes wide with humiliation. Her vision began to blur, not from her memories this time, but from tears forming.
"Hey, shut up, all of you!" Sera tried to yell out, but no one listened, they just continued to cackle.
Without a single word, Aqua bolted from the room, shoving past students as she ran out the door.
Sera shot up from her seat.
"Aqua—wait!"