<h4>Chapter 20:</h4>


    The first ce we go to is the clothing store, and after some nerve racking walk along the full of customers streets I manage to find one at the side that had a change room behind it.


    Torn between wanting to preserve mother''s hard earned money but wanting to have a cool look too I end up choosing a simple vest, a blue pair that contrasts well against my white skin and hair, and brings out my yellow full eyes, being a sleeveless tunic closed by golden buttons at the front and open and simply knotted on the back to give space for my wings, and a pair of puff pants and white sandals, all with simple embroidery on them that could only be seen when the light hit at the right angle, reflecting the gleaming light-blue needlework.


    After paying I go to the back, carrying the folded clothes on my beak, and once inside I use the Rune Tablet to change to my humanoid form and quickly put the clothes on, having a hard time knotting the back.


    Once done I fold my hands on my back and go outside, finally feelingfortable in changing forms like this, and simply walk past the owner of the shop since he is already too busy to gives us any attention, however Lily gives makes up for that by saying:


    "You look like a high quality tofu."


    ...What''s that supposed to mean?


    "I will show you where the school is, and will be back to get you at lunch."


    "Wait, you are not staying?"


    "What? You need to hold thisdy''s hand now?"


    "No, is just-"


    "Thisdy is very busy, and this honey would be given out by himself, you know."


    In the end, that is just what she does, guiding me towards the school and leaving me there before even speaking to the teacher, flying away carrying her stuff while screaming she will be backter to pick me up.


    Well, at least she has that much sense of duty on her, and wouldn''t just abandon and forget about me... right?


    I end up going in on my own, and even though I know it is silly I still get a little stress out about it, but once inside a kind r; the teacher I soon realize; is quick to understand my situation, and beyond what I expected he does not ask for anything beyond my name, guiding me directly towards the ssroom, not taking long to walk these halls since the school is quite small, having rs from different ages sharing the same ssroom for there is not many of them overall to begin with, and as he guides me to the youngest bunch I soone to realize that this situation is kind of awkward.


    Not only because the other kids look strangely at my long fluffy tail swinging back and forth behind me, but because, the moment Iy my eyes on that row of kids, I feel... left out, not only because I don''t know them, but because I don''t feel the same as them.


    It gets clearer by the time I sit on the back and hear them talk, their childish behavior and silly chitchat are too immature for me, not saying that in a bad way, they are children after all and that is to be expected, however the mere fact that I''ve already stared death in the face... made me lose some of that innocence already after that.


    Plus I''m a beast too, and by essence we are not the same, my kin doesn''t have the luxury of having a childhood; the moment we are born until the end of our lives were are to fight to survive, and the children even more so since we are easy prey.


    So theyughed, talking about unimportant things, hairbands, clothing, new colorful crayons and the like, and I''m here trying to learn how to read so I can be stronger to survive in the wild.


    It is just too... ipatible.


    So in the end the only one I speak to is the teacher, which is fine by me, and putting a lot of effort into learning I''m bound to not waste much time nor money here anyway, so no point in trying to make friends with the children.


    Is not a matter of not liking children you see, even though I''m one, is just too unharmonious.


    I don''t think too deeply about it though, for my mind is focused and I''m actually quite anxious to start making use of that thick book back at home, however of course it is not that easy nor fast as I wished and for the next few weeks I have to be patient and learn with the others like this.


    When I leave, however, I''m meet with two surprises; well, not really surprises, but still something odd.


    Firstly because Lily indeed came back in time, showing some sort of responsible demeanor that is strange to even phrase her with, even more to consider herself a responsible adult.


    I mean, the people I trust, mother and Cottonwhistle, chose her, so she should be trustworthy, but she has the gift to make me think otherwise every time she opens her mouth.


    And the second surprise is that, when we get back to the fairieske, mother has note back yet.


    Well now that''s a boomer, I had so much to talk with her about, first day of school and all that, I even wanted to show her the notebook and paint we brought so I could practice, the cheapest of course, I''m not the one to waste hard earned money on things like that, only the necessary.


    Though I can say some books and beautiful clothing did catch my attention, some threeyer blue tunics... but still I wouldn''t dare to be that wasteful.


    Looking at the darkening sky with lodging as the girlsughter surrounds me I wonder what mother would be doing right now, hoping for her safety and barely appreciating my surroundings with the growing worry in my heart.


    Only when the sky turns from baby blue to orange, purple, and dark blue that I start to realize that I may not go back to our nest as soon as I hoped for, still with my human form so I could practice holding the pen and using thisplex and delicate utensils called fingers, the mere pressure needed to hold anything down being so different from my simplistic wed paws that I have to train just to get the pressure right.


    Those things are as slippery as fish, only that my ws can hold the slippery animal in ce much better than my hands can against such small round things!


    As I get sleepy, however, I stop training and find a good ce to put my things in; a hollow hole inside a tree; and after putting my clothes in I change back to my griffin form, stretching out and enjoying thefort of being back at my own skin, having my fur to warm me up better than those light humanoid clothing, and I finallyy down beside the trunk and fall asleep while the fairies do the same over my head and below in the flowers.


    However such simplistic shelter would soon change to be improved because I soon realize that I''m about to spend more and more time with them than I thought to at first.