The boys all sat, working tirelessly on their concoctions. There was smoke filling the room all different brightly hued colors. Hints of green, blue, orange, and purple filled the room. As well as an assortment of sweet and bitter aroma's. None of the active brews had come close to right.
Most of the boys had to have their roc skulls emptied and had to start over. Then there were the head boys. Aldric, Rhys, Jasper, and two more high ranking classmates, Fleilan and Harden, Aside from Fleilan and Harden, the boys wore looks of distain. The roc skull was untouched as were the vials and ingredients on the table.
"C-c'mon fella's, this'll be fun," Fleilan begged, his nervous tone not well hidden.
"You know what would be real fun, special classes and treatment from the architect," Jasper chimed in, breaking the otherwise silent air.
"Oh come off it Jasper. If you cant successfully cast a single charm without help, what makes you think you deserve special treatment?" Aldric asked, barely glancing at the slender sickly face of his supposed brother.
Rhys shot him a dire look as Jasper gritted his teeth.
"No, no, no, you have always been the favorite. Everyone knows it, we've seen the way he listens to you, the way he seems to light up when you're around. You arent better than any of us, you're just the lucky chosen one," Rhys interjected, loudly shouting over the roc skull, pouring the still water into the well.
"You may think you're more than you are Aldric, but just remember, your family had no interest in you either. You're no different than any of us, unwanted, and forgotten," Jasper said, kicking Aldric's shin under the table. Aldric's leg lurched back, and his knee banged the table loudly, almost dropping the roc skull to the floor.
"Everything okay boy?" The apothecary's gurgled voice rang out over them.
"Yes sir," the three boys said together. Fleilan quickly added the thistle and began slowly stirring. Their liquid began swirling around the skull and sparkling softly. The boy's eyes lit up with their vibrant green and he brushed his blonde curled to the back of his head and gleamed brightly at the smoke.
"D-did we do it?" he asked, looking to his table for confirmation, but it never came. Rhys waited for the mixture to begin smoking, never taking his eyes off of Aldric.
"You aren't nearly as perfect as you'd like to pretend to be Al. You aren't special and you aren't useful. You're nothing, just like the rest of us," he said. The smoke began stack from the cauldron adding the only pink hue in the room.
"Chew on that for a while, then talk to me when it clicks," he added, throwing the viper-toad gaul in. The mixture thickened in the skull and turned an acrid puke color, but the smoke stayed the same.
"Are you certain he's nothing? I mean, to me at least, it seems you're more upset that he seems to be…something," Harden wondered, dropping his mercury marrow droplet into the mix. The boys all went stone silent as Aldric added the second and final drop of marrow to the skull.
The smoke quickly turned green and Fleilan covered it with the special lid.
"And who are you to talk Harden. Almost seven years and nobody even knows you. Not to mention your mediocre, at best, magical ability.
"Mediocre or not, at least I have any. It's a wonder you're a raven at all. I'da pinned ya as a wren," Harden scoffed, scratching his chin. Rhys stood abruptly, almost knocking the table on its side. Aldric quickly followed as did Jasper. The three stared each other down waiting for the other to make a move.
Harden attempted to stand, but Aldric pressed him back to his seat as the rest of the class began to take notice.
"Oh good, I sure can't wait to see you cast one charm before passing out again," Jasper jabbed.
"A low blow Jasper, give the guy some credit. I'm sure he could harden himself twice before going into a coma," Rhys laughed. Aldric didn't move, and he didn't respond. He felt his anger deep inside. A sweeping feeling in his gut, a tight pressure behind his eyes, and a burning in his chest.
He felt it, every filling breath, and every bead of sweat. Time slowed around him and his vision narrowed. He saw almost full darkness and he felt his body go weightless. He could see the altercation unfolding around him, but it felt like he was watching from an outside perspective.
He watched as Rhys shouted, and Jasper laughed. He watched Fleilan and Harden in between a battle they didn't start, and he saw the apothecary, who's name he had just realized was on the board. Dr. Hallow.
Then like a rush, his senses returned, and he was back in his own body just in time to hear the final insult.
"A worthless hack who's only true self worth comes from pleasing a father he doesn't have!" Rhys yelled. Aldric's eyes peeled open and before he could stop himself, his fist collided with the boys' face. A loud thunk echoed through the class as the other boys began swarming the table.
Jasper quickly kicked Aldric in the stomach knocking him back momentarily. With a scream, Aldric stood and rushed Jasper. He grappled his legs, hoisted him up and slammed him to the floor.
"Boys…op…ighting" Dr. Hallow's voice was barely heard over the chanting ravens. Aldric still felt the tight burning in his chest as his anger grew. He felt himself raging as he swung and kicked at each of them.
Jasper punched him on the right side of his face, sending him backward where he stumbled into the table. Rhys kicked him solid in the stomach, and he toppled over. He knelt on the floor clenching his stomach and trying to keep from throwing up.
"See, at the end of the day. You're nothing!" Rhys shouted, winding his leg up for yet another kick. Again, the world slowed, Aldric's vision narrowed, and his eye sealed. He breathed deeply, focused on the burning, and released it.
"No!" He screamed as Rhys' foot connected with his chest. A loud crunch filled the room followed by a horrifying blood wrenching scream. The others went silent as they watched in horror.
Aldric knelt on the floor, his body covered in stone scales, and Rhys fell back screaming, and holding the pipe cleaner that was once his leg. His limb was bent and folded in ways tht shouldn't have been possible, and his shin bone poked out toward the base of his knee.
"Move aside!" A gurgling voice shouted, spreading the sea of boys and pushing through the crowd. Dr. Hallow pushed to the boys side and blew a blue dust into his face. He hyperventilated for a moment, took a sharp breath and collapsed unconscious.
"That's enough for today then. Don't suppose we'd want to kill one of our brothers now do we?" He gurgled, looking directly at Aldric. Aldric's stone face gazed at his teacher and the scales began to flutter down his body before disappearing.
"Do you need a doctor too then?" He asked, looking at the boy. Aldric glanced at his hands and then back at the apothecary.
"N-no sir. I-I'm okay," he stuttered, rising to his feet and continuing out of the class. Though he felt terrible about his flock mate, he was more extatic that he focused his energy correctly. He had somehow rejuvenated his energy without using hope at all.
He had, just like before, just needed to focus his anger. He now knew, he had a long way to go, but he was ready to continue.