When Willow returned to the orientation hall, the event was already over, and the staff and professors were leaving the stage.
She took the first empty chair she found in the section where all the first-year Dregs were seated. There was no way she could return to her former seat beside Korra and Zira. It was right at the front, and she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.
Despite the orientation being over, none of the students made a move to leave their seats. The loud murmurs that filled the hall made it clear that something was still coming.
Suddenly, a familiar figure rose from the crowd. With a proud smile painted on her red lips, she made her way confidently to the stage.
Willow recognized her instantly and felt a bitter taste rise in her mouth. "It's that enforcer. Lila, was it?"
The student next to her gave her a sharp look. "Keep your voice down. That's Lila Tipper. If anyone hears you talk about her like that, you're going to be in serious trouble."
Willow blinked in surprise. All this grade stuff is so intense. "Isn't she an enforcer?"
"A third-year enforcer. Pay attention." The student frowned at her.
Willow turned her attention back to the stage. Lila had already been speaking for a while.
"...Second-year enforcers, take care of our first-year Regulars and Dregs, will you? And first-year enforcers, don't be afraid to show us what you're capable of."
Everyone clapped, and Willow scoffed quietly as she joined in, clapping her hands with fake enthusiasm.
At that moment, all the third and second year Ascendants rose to their feet. They stood out immediately and it was not just because they weren't wearing uniforms, but because everything about them screamed power, danger, and luxury.
Each was dressed in their own unique style, and they walked with a confidence that was impossible to ignore as they made their way out of the hall.
The first-year Ascendants, however, remained seated, watching their seniors leave.
As soon as Willow spotted Ezrik among the crowd, she shrank down in her seat, trying to hide herself as he passed by with the others.
The student next to her gave her a strange look. Willow returned it with an unimpressed glare. This girl was starting to get on her nerves and she was a Dreg just like her!
"All first-year Ascendants may leave with their seniors, please," Lila said with a polite bow. Instantly, the first-year Ascendants stood and exited the hall.
Noticing that third year regulars and dregs were still in the hall, Willow lips pulled into a pout. Being an Ascendant was the greatest authority regardless of the year.
Willow sat up straighter as a boy stepped onto the stage beside Lila. She tapped his shoulder, exchanged a few words with him, then left the stage and followed the other third-year enforcers out of the hall. Behind them, the third-year Regulars filed out, followed by the third-year Dregs.
Now, only the first-year students, excluding the Ascendants, remained in the hall with the second-years.
Willow was starting to piece together the hierarchy. The second-year enforcers were responsible for the first years, but they had no authority over the first-year Ascendants.
The male on stage was a second-year enforcer, and his face was set in a stern expression, his dark eyes sharp and observant.
"Now, I'm going to clear up a lot of things that you'll need to understand if you want to survive in Nexus. Regardless of the school rules that were explained earlier," the enforcer began.
Willow made a mental note to ask about those rules later. She already knew them. She'd spent years researching Nexus after all but it wouldn't hurt to double-check.
"To the first-year enforcers, you're still first years. That means you're nothing more than Regulars to us. When you see us, you bow, you obey. Don't go enforcing shit unless it's on your fellow first years regulars and Dregs."
Murmurs of excitement and amusement rose from the first year enforcers around them, and Willow shook her head at their enthusiasm.
But beneath that, she felt the guilt gnawing at her again. She had destroyed Earth. And now, everyone who survived had clearly gone insane in some way and that insanity had been passed on through the genes.
She laughed nervously under her breath and rubbed the back of her neck, as if the motion could somehow ease the weight pressing on her chest.
"Now, it's time for us to choose our fodders," the enforcer suddenly announced.
For some reason, Willow's heart skipped a beat.
"Fodder?" she asked the girl next to her.
The girl gave her another strange look, but Willow didn't notice. She was too busy thinking about Navian.
Navian had told her she was going to be his fodder, and that she'd find out what that meant. Was this what he meant? Is it happening now?
She watched as the second-year enforcers moved through the rows, talking to Regulars and occasionally Dregs, choosing them to be their fodder.
It felt like a slave contract. And if that was what it meant, she was doomed.
"Hm. You there, be my fodder," the enforcer from the stage suddenly said.
Willow's head snapped up and now he was standing right next to her, staring at her with amusement as his eyes roamed over her face.
Willow's eyes widened, and she quickly looked behind her, even though she knew he meant her. "Her?" she asked, pointing to the student behind her.
The enforcer frowned. "No. You, Dreg. Be grateful I'm even choosing you."
Willow's breath hitched. She hated his arrogance, hated the way he was looking at her like she was some object he'd just claimed. It made her feel disgusting and it was like he was trying to undress her with his eyes.
There was no way she was agreeing to this.
Besides, she already had a very capable and undeniably handsome Ascendant who had claimed her first.
With the most polite smile she could muster, she looked up at the enforcer and said calmly, "I don't know what fodder means, but I'm already one."
The enforcer's face twisted with offense. He looked around, scoffing in disbelief. "This bitch," he muttered under his breath.
Willow followed his gaze and noticed that some students were staring at them. She bit down on her lower lip in suppressed annoyance.
The enforcer glared at her. "You're a fodder to who?"
Willow held her polite smile and replied innocently, "Navian Grimm."