lock it pop it drop it

Fortuna rolls two 7-sided dice. A 7 and 3 is rolled.

You are, of course, ready to explode. Maybe in 4 minutes. Maybe right now. You can’t tell if it’s from excitement or something else, but you do know one thing - you have to get going immediately, otherwise the M-classes will have to clean up little bits of you from all over your room.

They already have to handle enough without that.

You slide your palm across the surface of your plain wooden desk as you walk towards the set of drawers hunched at its bottom right. Its surface is scored with years of use before your inheritance of it; kids that have come and gone and probably become adults long prior to your conception in a batch, even. It’s amazing to think that eventually, you’ll be one more of this desk’s past owners.

Your claws hook into the black handle and you pull out the first drawer. You’ve been keeping this face secret for this day, vigilantly taking it out and polishing off the dust only when you’re alone. This is going to be the start of the rest of your life, after all. You wanted a fresh outlook for it, and you know you’re not alone. You wonder if you’ll even recognise any of your other village-mates at first glance, or if they’ll even recognise you at first. You’ll have to search a bit harder for your friends, if they’re even awake yet.

But enough of that. You have a laboratory to go to. You slide off your old face, checking with the mirror that your new one won’t be lopsided - that would completely ruin the point of making a good, fresh impression! - and hurry out the door.

Fortuna rolls a 20-sided dice. A 20 is rolled.

The V-class running the capture creature lab looks up from the eyegret chick she’s coaxing off of the counter as you enter. There’s technically supposed to be a line, but of course...

“Oh, it’s you. Early as always, huh? :]c"

You’re here before any other I-class. Heck, you’re here before any other notail period. (Sometimes there will be kids that are waiting an actual day early, sleeping in the dirt in their excitement, but you guess not your year.) This isn’t new, as the V-class suggested - you’ve always been a punctual person, the kind of child the M-classes like to point at for example when someone slinks over late. You’re also the kind of child that loves learning; there’s a reason the V-class recognises you. Every year, you’ve always come to this lab and watched line after line of classes file in, until you had to leave or until all the notails had gotten their creature, and then the metaparxis.

Except this time, it’s your turn.

“Yeah. You know how much I love capture creatures, I had to come today as quick as I could. Do you need any help with this group? @/w\@”

She gives the peeping bird a flick on the tail while it’s focused on you, snatching it up in her arms at its startled squawk. She moves it properly over to the rest of the M-class creatures the second she has it, with an expert efficacy you envy. You wish you could manhandle a capture creature as easily as that.

“Nah, I got it. :]c" The V-class looks you over as she says this, considering something. You know most V-classes don’t really care for most other notails, so you don’t expect her next actions at all.

She skirts past the gamboling tailmic in the way and crosses over to you, standing right in front of you. You have to tilt your head up to meet her measured gaze, staring at you from her tentider face.

“Listen,” The V-class says, laying a hand on your shoulder and escorting you further into the lab. She’s steering you further in than you’ve ever been - you were only ever at the front, watching her bring forward each class’ assorted animals. You can guess this is where the ones that are going to be moved later in the day are. “You’ve been visiting this place since you were barely out of your old village. You haven’t exactly been much help, since you’re tiny, but you’ve tried. I can tell you care about these capture creatures. :]c"

She finally guides you to the room she’s looking for, and flicks the light switch on. Your presences alone have been heralding the cries of the creatures inside, but the light illuminating them only serves to increase the cacophony. You can see gweches, tongues and tails both bright. You can see unicorns, the small ponicorns only of course, nickering and snorting - similar looking to each other, but still varied enough to catch the eye.

This is the I-class creature room.

“It might be breaking the order, but I figure you deserve first pick of everything that’s available more than anyone else. No one else is here, anyway - just you and me.” (That doesn’t sound right to you, because this is a big lab and you don’t think just one V-class could possibly take care of that many creatures, but you don’t interrupt her.) “Take a look around here, and some of the other rooms. Some things just won’t fit an I-class like you, but there’s plenty that will.

“Take a J-class creature. An M-class’, or something. There’s nothing stopping you. :]c"

Blessed gods, you are the luckiest I-class in the village. Or maybe just the charming-iest? It’s so exciting, either way! There’s so many options available, so many things to scan; you couldn’t stop yourself from scampering from room to room even if you wanted to, looking over all of the creatures.

A lot of them seem kind of intimidating, or just aren’t for you - you point at a mallon pen questioningly (the mallon pups inside scamper towards your hand and start jumping to try and reach it) and the V-class definitively shakes her head. You’re disappointed, but you let it go.

Eventually, you gather up a list of creatures you think would be a good starter for you.