“A public education…” Rem muttered. “I'm nervous and excited at the same time.”<br/><br/>The other three in his company were a bit cold and didn't respond.<br/><br/>“Young master, are you looking forward to anything when we get there?” the wood elf tried.<br/><br/>Shenra rested his cheek in his palm and simply said, “Recruitment.”<br/><br/>The wood elf felt a bit awkward, but he smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah, it would be great to make some friends.”<br/><br/>Here, the monorail was out in the open. The tracks were impossible to follow without riding the device, and the Halfblood Palace district was similarly hidden. No humans lived here, unless they had been integrated into the palace. Consequently, monsters could act in the open without worry.<br/><br/>It took a few minutes before the monorail arrived. When it did, the four of them came aboard. Shenra took the lead, ironically, looking the most human of the bunch. Following behind him was the wood elf, a harpy with Crimson wings and hair, and a rather large, powerful-looking youngster covered in archaic tattoos; Rem, Ruo, and Sibil. It was obvious to any who knew about the Halfblood palace that these four were successful offsprings by how smoothly their genetics had merged together. No random horns or scales or tree bark, no apparent disabilities or pain.<br/><br/>Shenra quietly sat in an unoccupied seat along the side of the car, and the others sat on either side of him.<br/><br/>It seemed like a mixed batch here. The young prince looked around and saw pure bloods and halflings alike. He saw a dark elf, which he respected, and a Cyclops, which he couldn't help but slightly glare at.<span style="font-style: italic">Useless genes,</span>he thought, turning away.<br/><br/>There was also a very disabled boy at the back. Shenra distinctly got the feeling he was being inspected, so he inspected the boy back. It wasn't like he had Ethereal senses, though, so he didn't gain anything. Eventually, he got bored and just closed his eyes. Ruo was lost in her own thoughts and worries, cold beauty that she was, and ignored everybody. Sibil was the silent type to start with, and his build was imposing to the extreme at six foot eight. Rem was the only one still looking around with nervous excitement. There were a few others like him, including a naga, and his imagination was starting to blossom with thoughts of friendship.<br/><br/>In the middle of everything, a fire Sprite seemed to have offended the woman he was sitting by, and was banished to the center of the cart. Looking for a way to sate his sudden boredom, his eyes fixed on the four most recent entries.<br/><br/>“So you all are from the Halfblood Palace, right?” he said carelessly. “Since you're all mixed bloods, then what the hell does that make you?” He directed his overbearing attitude to the most normal looking, Shenra.<br/><br/>It didn't matter if he was trying to be disrespectful or if he was just an idiot. Crimson flames reared up to attack him.<br/><br/>“Holy Gaia!” he shouted, blocking with his own flames. However, inexplicably, these flames were far more intense than what he could conjure up. He was knocked to the ground, and the Crimson harpy from the Halfblood Palace was standing over him with overbearing pride and arrogance.<br/><br/>“Pitiful weaker species,” she scorned ruthlessly. “You dare speak to my yo--to, to Shen that way?!” Although they weren't hiding themselves, it would be a bit much to reveal that the young master of Halfblood Palace was here himself. Still, it wasn't easy for her to call her prince so casually by a friendly nickname.<br/><br/>“Ruo…” Rem said nervously.<br/><br/>“Don't start fights, Ruo,” Shenra said coolly.<br/><br/>The Phoenix’s boundless pride seemed wounded by being reprimanded. “I'm sorry, Shen,” she said softly, sitting down. The Fire Sprite took the opportunity to scamper off.<br/><br/>“Just take care not to negatively influence the Palace’s reputation while we’re here.” The young master closed his eyes again. They had almost arrived at their destination.