“No way! We actually found him!” The sign-holder cheered, turning to his two companions.

The girl sighed, nodding somewhat tiredly, while the short male’s expression was hidden by what seemed to be a full-face gas mask.

“Shit - and I thought we weren’t gonna find you in this damn place! Name’s Rylan. Rylan Rivera.” Rylan held his fist out, and Thomas bumped it awkwardly, making the other boy grin.

“Hi - I’m Lylith.” The tall girl said, offering a hand, which Thomas shook, a gesture he was far more familiar with.

He turned to the short boy expectantly, who seemed to be confused if Thomas was looking at him or not. The boy seemed to search for the subject of Thomas’s focus for several seconds, before realizing that Thomas was looking at him and awkwardly waving in response.

Thomas smiled slightly and gave back a little wave of his own.

“And that’s David,” Rylan stated. Now that they were all close together, Thomas was able to get a good look at all of them.

Rylan was a little taller than him, by about an inch or so - with tanned skin, messy brown hair and gold eyes.

Since Thomas didn’t know of any human subspecies with gold eyes, he assumed they had been changed cosmetically. The boy also seemed to radiate an aura of energy - constantly shifting his weight, looking around, and fidgeting his hands.

While Lylith was shorter than him by a few inches, she was still tall for a girl - and Thomas noticed a streak of purple in her long brown hair that he hadn’t noticed before. Seeing that she was also quite thin, he wondered if she was from a low gravity planet - at least by human standards.

To Thomas, she also seemed like a nice person - though definitely not as energetic as Rylan, being more dignified in her speech and actions.

And finally, David - Like all New Germans, was short, with dark grey skin, dark brown hair and a face covered by a dark nondescript full face mask - its most defining feature being its glowing red eye lenses. The silent boy stood about half a foot below Thomas, looking around the spaceport, doing his best not to look anyone in the eyes.

He’s definitely self-conscious about something...maybe his appearance? Thomas thought as he cleared his throat.

“Well, you guys know where the school is, right?” He asked, trying to get the group to move, before realizing Rylan and Lylith were looking behind him.

Oh right. Thomas thought.

Javqua.

Sheepishly turning around, Thomas gestured towards Javqua, “Oh, yeah. I...uhh...heh. This is Javqua, a Krakovak. She’s my classmate.” He explained, chuckling nervously. How had he forgotten about her?

Javqua just stared at Thomas for a second, a small look of disbelief in her eyes. It was now that Thomas realised how much he had fucked up. He hadn’t mentioned a rather...important fact. Realizing that he realized, Javqua smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m Javqua. I’m Thomas’s classmate - and girlfriend,” She said snarkily, putting a hand on Thomas’s shoulder and gripping it tightly.

Thomas blushed deeply, his pale skin turning a very vibrant red.

“Wow. You forgot she’s your girlfriend? You terrible man.” Rylan said jokingly, shaking his head.

Lylith only raised an eyebrow in response, whilst David gave Thomas an exaggerated thumbs-up, a muffled chuckle coming from underneath his mask. Well, at least someone’s happy for me. Thomas thought.

Shaking his head with a flustered expression, he motioned for his new friends to follow him out of the spaceport.

“So - like I was saying. You guys know where the school is, right?” Thomas asked, and Rylan answered.

“Yeah! We got a short tour from the Headmaster, he showed us around. Man, but is the school nice. It must have a high budget.” The boy said enthusiastically, and Thomas opened his mouth to reply - but before he could, Rylan interrupted him.

“Wait! I remember there was a cafeteria! Is the food good? Holy shit! Alien food! That’s gonna be sick!” Rylan exclaimed excitedly, and Thomas smiled slightly. Rylan kinda reminded him of a puppy, with his eagerness and energy.

Not that Thomas minded - puppies were great.

------

Javqua hadn't been sure what to expect of the other humans, all of them missing the mark of what she had expected them to look like. But no matter how much they differed in appearance and personality, they all seemed...human.

She could definitely sense their chaotic energy - especially in Rylan.

But after living several weeks with Thomas, Javqua had been able to become accustomed to his personality, and how he was.

While Thomas was quiet, humorous and reassuring most of the time, there were moments when she could sense chaos from him - his Hellworlder side.

And now, she felt that chaotic energy again...times four.

---------

Valus had been following Thomas’s group, able to hide himself in the mass of Xenos moving around in public - making sure not to look directly at them just in case.

As he moved, he was contemplating the best way to confront the humans. Thinking back to his data-net research, Valus had found the best way to apologise to them, which was telling them straight.

The problem with that plan was… Valus’s social anxiety. He really wasn’t good with talking to people, he would always just feel really stupid doing so - as if by just speaking, he’d be seen as an idiot.

Looking at them, he noticed they were beginning to head for the student apartments, and he began to follow, trying to figure out the best time and place to confront them.

Deciding the best approach would be to wait outside Thomas’ and Javqua’s room, Valus took a deep breath and moved as fast as he could, taking the long, stealthy way around.

------

Thomas and Javqua had split off from the rest of the group - the new students being a floor above theirs. But as they turned the corner, Thomas stopped when he saw Valus, the lanky figure fidgeting with his manipulators.

“I...uh...we...we need to talk. I…I w-want...need to tell you guys something.” Valus said, clearly nervous.

Turning to look at Javqua, Thomas walked past Valus, opened the door, and pulled him inside.

------

“I fuckin called it!” Thomas shouted, making Valus jump. The news that the Headmaster was just as bad as he had guessed pissed him off to no end. But on the other hand, he was ecstatic to be right.

While they didn’t have nearly enough evidence to drag the bastard down - they had knowledge of the Headmaster’s acts and intentions.

In turn, they would know to be extra wary of any encounter with him.

With this in mind, they decided it would be best to tell the others as well. They quickly left the room and walked upstairs, Thomas walking ahead with a brisk pace.

As he was about to knock onto Rylan’s door, as that was apparently where they were all hanging out, when a loud thud could be heard. Throwing caution to the wind, Thomas pulled the door open, what he found… was in all honesty exactly what he had expected.