This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/CrackHeadSchzioMarin on 2025-12-28 13:53:05+00:00.

First: Chapter 1

Previous: Chapter 11

(My dumbass reuploaded chapter 11, then when I found out, I realized I didn't even write chapter 12, mb)

“—genetic code as the following A-b-a-c, in contrast to the B-a–a-c, giving them the advantage of—” Mr Yanala continued on his lessons about DNA and genetic splicing. However, that was not what got the attention of Ae; instead, it was the horrible excuse of whispers that rang around the classroom.

Apparently, his recent disagreement with that one cosplayer a few days ago seemed to have spread like self-replicating nanites within the institution, as students talked about ridiculous theories.

“I heard he shattered his spine,” whispered one of his classmates.

“Someone said he lost control of his instinct! I wonder if that's true…” said another.

From what he managed to gather from the conversations around him, the main rumor was that he would have eaten the poor guy if he hadn't been stopped by security…which was completely preposterous! Though if he really did want to eat him…he knew for a fact not even an armored security unit could stop him…

Suddenly, a light jab hits the side of his stomach, which causes him to slightly flinch before looking towards the source.

Turning to face where the jab had come from, he is met with Oril's goofy smile while holding up her E-device just high enough so he could see, and at the same time not get caught by the currently distracted teacher.

The device showed a video of one of the Kalanaian’s domesticated animals, which looked like a mix of a raccoon and sheep. The said animal was balancing on the edge of a table before dramatically falling onto a carpeted ground.

He looked Oril dead in the eyes, and she looked back, seemingly expecting something from him, but what she wanted, he couldn't guess.

“What?” He said, keeping his voice below a whisper.

“It's funny!” She said while doing her best to contain her giggles, which periodically began seeping through.

Ae guessed it could have been. But it wasn't really his sense of humor. Though to be fair, he and his friends used to constantly laugh at shitty dick jokes, so who was he to cast judgment on her?

“I guess so.” He replied, without even a twitch of his lip muscle to hint at it.

Oril just looked at him suspiciously before ducking back and continuing to disregard the, frankly, interesting topic.

“And that concludes our lesson for today. Please remember to answer the homework on your student answer slate sites, which is due in two days. Thank you and goodbye.” Sir Yanala said.

The whole classroom stood up, including Ae, and thanked the teacher as he left. “Thank you and goodbye, Sir Yanala.” They said in a drawn-out, bored manner as their teacher left.

“I wonder what the next subject is.” Upon hearing Oril's side comment, Ae began recalling the schedule.

“Physical education.” He said, just as their teacher walked in.

“Alright, class! You know the drill! Head to the locker rooms and get changed!” Their teacher said in a jubilant manner.

“Ah shit.” Oril said, completely defeated.

…

Being honest with himself, Ae expected the locker room to smell…kinda like…y'know…a male locker room? So…like a wet dog? But to his surprise, and relief, it actually smelled quite pleasant.

The shorter males stared at him as he walked to his own locker, key in hand. Opening it, he takes note of his uniform lying nicely folded in front of him, his standard training uniform, of course.

His shirt was a black, tightly fitting t-shirt with the words “physical training” printed onto his back in bold white letters, while his outfit number sat on the right side of his chest, with the same font and color.

The pants were actually one of his favorites, even asking for a second pair to be shipped over. It had four pouch-like pockets, two on each side, which made it really useful when carrying things. Though that alone was great, the fact that each leg held a zipper just above the knee area, allowing it to be turned into shorts, was what sold him.

With the eyes of nearly every guy in the locker, he began undressing. First, his shirt, of course.

As they undressed, he heard the expected gasps and murmurs of surprise as the few seconds he exposed his back, revealing his ugly past. Though it only lasted a few seconds.

As he was tying his boots, Ae was suddenly poked from behind. Slightly annoyed, he first finishes tying and boots and stores his school shoes before turning to face whoever poked him.

“Are they…real?” He came face to face with a colorful green and blue male, his feathers forming intricate patterns.

Slightly annoyed, Ae answered. “If you're referring to my scars, yes, they are real.” He said before turning around to place his school shoes in the locker.”

But much to his displeasure, the colorful man didn't stop talking. “Y'know, most of us are scared of you…But you seem like a nice guy.”

“Oh?” Ae said before turning to face the man again, now noticing the small group of boys behind the one in front of him. “How so?”

The male just chuckled before responding. “Chuchu— uh, the name's Kelaka, by the way,” Kel said before lowering his head and extending his neck.

Ae stood confused for a moment before remembering how the Kalanaians greeted each other. So, Ae too bowed and extended his head, just enough for the top of his head to softly bump Kelaka’s.

Standing up straight, Kelaka continued. “Those guys in the back—” he gestured with all his talons, “are my friends.”

…

Ae and the rest of the males were separated from the females, who were lined up behind them, when they were brought outside.

He stood lined up with the rest of the boys in his class, in front of an expanding oval field. The weather today was quite pleasant. Clouds above provided some shade from the ever-beaming sun while the wind made its presence known.

He looked to his left and saw Kelaka with his friends. Kelaka was shorter than him, only by a few inches; his feathers were a rich green, red, and yellow, while his talons were small and, seemingly, intentionally dulled.

Kelaka’s friends were similar, though with varying heights and different colors. Wuqi was the shortest of the bunch, colored in dullish blue, yellow, and purple feathers. In contrast, Iko was the tallest, though only managing to be taller than Ae with the feathers on top of his head poking up like some kind of crown. His colors were nearly identical to Kelaka 's, however, his body mass was much more scrawny, even compared to a regular Kalanaian.

Then there were the twins, Kef and Kiya, who had the same colored feathers of Reddish brown and Bluish yellow, had more fluff in their general chest area, and had their fitness shirt uniforms slightly tied up to show a little of their waist.

Now that Ae actually had a closer look, he realized that most of the male Kalanaians had a barely noticeable, yet distinct feminine appearance. Were they gay? No…he'd have to do more research after this.

“Alright-” Mr Hethra, their Physical instructor, started. “We'll be performing a short run to get all your blood pumping! After that, we'll work on those wings!”

At that, everyone, except Ae, lets out an exasperated sigh.

…

Oril forced her legs forward despite them feeling like they each weighed hundreds of pounds. The muscles already burned like they were in flames, and the fact that she slowly felt herself getting hotter and hotter didn't help, as her heart pounded harder and harder.

“An entire…twenty…minutes…of this torture?!” She heard one of her fellow classmates gasp out in between breaths right in front of her, seemingly about to faint any second.

The truth was, the only reason Oril herself didn't faint or fall behind was the motivation to stay together with the rest of the flock, and of course, not to seem weak in front of the guys who were trailing right behind them.

Speaking of guys, she wondered how Are was doing…

…

Ae looked like he was leading the group by how he was constantly ahead of them. He would have passed the female group already, but he was specifically told to stick with their respective groups.  So here he was, jogging half-assedly while small droplets of sweat began forming on his forehead.

The runs on Earth during his weekly physical maintenance and monthly physical exam were quite different from what he was currently experiencing. First of all, the weekly physical maintenance required conscripts to run five miles in under forty minutes. Second, the physical exam called for the same thing but in full gear, which typically weighed fifty pounds total, not counting the training rifle. However, one plus side was that they were given extra time instead of just forty minutes.

This, on the other hand, was a cake walk, no required amount of laps, no blazing heat, no bullshit loaded gear, quite honestly, Ae was enjoying this.

He couldn't say the same for his fellow classmates, though.  They all seemed on the brink of collapse as they begrudgingly forced their feet forward. Every now and then, he could hear murmuring about physical education and how it was their least favorite subject.

But what would he do when they began their…flying exercise…last Ae checked, he himself couldn't fly…even in the lower gravity the current planet had. He was actually quite interested in seeing the Kalanaians fly in the flesh.

Then, as they rounded ne...

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