My joints whirr as I clench my fists, the sound loud inside my own skull. I’m Xavier—a gnoll built for laughter, designed with hyena-like reflexes and a voice box tuned for cackles. But I don’t feel like laughing. Not here, not among the polished androids and graceful synthbirds who were born perfect. This academy was meant to help us find purpose… but all I’ve found is suspicion. They say one of us has been sabotaging the power grid. And they’re looking at me. My claws are too sharp. My laugh sounds like a malfunction. And last night? I blacked out near the reactor core. I don’t know what I did. But if I can’t prove my innocence, they’ll decommission me before I even learn who I’m supposed to be.