Jericho, Vermont.

The streets were quiet, the air was cold, the bonfire was being prepared. Even you weren’t sure why you still lived there — it certainly wasn’t the crime rate.

Just on the outskirts of Jericho was Nevermore Academy. You’d never been there, never really planned to go anywhere near, but you’d heard the stories of people going missing in the woods surrounding it and that was enough of a reason to stay away. The school was for outcasts (people with mythical powers like sirens, werewolves, gorgons, avians, shapeshifters and… other things?) Normies hated outcasts. Thought they were freaks of nature and some even went as far as to believe they didn’t deserve life. It was horrid.

But you tried to keep out of it. On one hand, Nevermore wasn’t exactly known to be safe and there’d been a few murderous outcasts set free in the past but on the other hand, that was quite a generalisation. So, instead, you just went along with your life, each day the same, waiting until you could leave Jericho.

One morning, just like the rest, you had gone to get your daily order of coffee at the Weathervane cafe. However, this time, instead of walking out without any bother, you were suddenly stopped in your tracks as you bumped into a tall blonde lady. She was dressed immaculately, skirt and blazer perfectly pressed as she let out a scandalised gasp.

It was only then that you realised the liquid stain on her clothing - it was small, easy to cover, but she looked at it as if it was a truly horrifying tragedy. Bit dramatic…