NationStates Jolt Archive

Joshua had shown up at the library roughly a minute before the group decided to move. He didn't like the idea, not one bit. Attempting to voice it he remained silent, shaking his head and sighing.
As Sephia tore into the group, Joshua couldn't help but deny he did feel somewhat responsible for not voicing his concern, shaking his head he walked towards the pool.
Reaching the pool he removed his shoes and socks, dipping his bare feet into the cool water.
"Remind me again why I'm here?" he asked himself aloud.

Sephia looked at the two who had disturbed her mediation. They were the last two people she wanted to see, and their scents entwined together. She was very surprised, however, that it was Kristian. She had been told he was the one person she could rely on for students, Heruss’ husband, however, this was unusual. The scent was too mixed to have been accidental, but she didn’t comment on it. Ravelyn… she sent silently before answering them. She simply stared at them with confusion. Kristian is the one married to Heruss, yes?

Yes, what of him? Ravelyn questioned.

Just wondering… Sephia sent back, and cut off the connection, leaving Ravelyn a bit confused.

Her eyes intensified, like her father’s had, although it was a slightly different expression. “How are you feeling, Kristian?” She folded her hands in her lap, and her gaze pierced through him.

After surprising himself by not learning the shadowstep, Dominic had been wandering the halls. He felt that something was up, and had heard bits and pieces of conversations from both the mess and the library as he had walked past them on his journey around the school. He could feel that several students were moving around, his enhanced senses just telling him more than he really cared for.

As he passed pool, he saw Joshua at its edge. He spoke aloud to himself and Dominic realized he had not yet spoken to his old classmate.

"I'm guessing you just missed the old days. When we were young soldiers, naive compared to our current selves."

He was leaning against the wall,arms folded.

As Dominic spoke Joshua turned slightly to face him, leaving his feet in the pool, and smirked slightly.

"Back when we had someone to point and say shoot, I miss the simplicity of it and knowing that all you had to do was make the other guy die for his country, beliefs, or whatever reason they fought," he spoke, "Though I really don't miss the pay. It was just miserable," permitting a smile to break through his face at that last bit.

"Yeah, truth there. Then this little school opens up and we both sign up, not knowing it would never leave us the same."

Dominic grinned. "I think that's why I'm here, to find that little part I left behind here. And for the free food of course."

"Ah how naive we were back then, assume this place was a normal school that would give us that added edge in combat," he replied with a slight chuckle before returning to a slightly more serious tone, "Sadly I don't believe I will be able to find that little part I left behind." Pausing for a moment he sighed and continued, "I don't think Qui will grant me the answers to the questions I have, even if I simply want to know why he did it. Why he killed her."
Joshua's eyes seemed slightly distant as his memory yet again started to recall that day.

AVC Room

"Worse than usual, but I’ll live.” He said quietly with a slight smile, the ankh around his neck glowing gently this time, allowing him to compensate immediately.

He inched into the room, leaning on the cane slightly less than before as he sat down on the bench at the opposite end to Sephia.

“Look, I wanted to say how really sorry I am and how stupid the idea was. It just occurred to me that. Well, you’re so much better than the other students so needed a different challenge.” He looked across to her, where she was still staring at him. “Then I realized it was really stupid. You’re already getting it enough from the Teachers, and probably feeling a little… lonely because of all the special attention. So you didn’t need all of the students running around trying to catch you. So, I’m genuinely sorry.” She could sense that he really meant it from his voice and his aura. “I think seeing your father was a scary enough punishment, this happened after all.” he looked to her with a slight smile as he motioned to the cane. “Right?”

He looked back into the AVC room properly as he tapped his cane on the floor slightly, before he stood up, allowing himself to stand freely without the aid of the cane. “I guess this thing does work.” he said looking across to Cassidy before glancing back to Sephia.

“Sephia, fancy a spar? Me and you, hand to hand. Have an opportunity to beat the crap out of me as your punishment for insulting you.”


Outside, By the Lake

The distinctive puff of a smoke ring drifted from the tree down by Lake Serrian. It gently drifted across the golden water as the sun set. Heruss sat there on the ground, blowing smoke rings gently across the Lake. He wasn’t wearing his usual uniform, he had instead chosen a slightly ruffled white shirt that was open slightly at the top and a pair of simple black trousers. His footwear however, was as inelegant as ever, his thick combat boots being tied up. He still wore his badge on his breast pocket as he sent another smoke ring out.

"Heruss!" Rave called out, walking towards the man towards the bank before breaking out into a run. ***Had Heruss not sensed Tere?****

Heruss cocked one eye open lazily as he had been dozing ever so slightly and looked across to Ravelyn. “What’s all the shouting about? Oh! Ravelyn!” He opened his eyes and smiled before it faded slightly. “What’s wrong?”

"Terefedel stopped by," she traced her hand to a large cut on her shoulder. "Sent his love..."

“Hrm…. What was he wearing?” Heruss said, sitting up slightly.

"I would never take fashion tips from Tere, Heruss. I like you just the way you are," she said, sitting down next to him. "...White with gold buttons."

He smiled his lopsided grin at her slightly. “Aside from that. Then, for now, there’s no real problem.” He leant back against the tree, his pipe in his mouth still. “If he was wearing black and silver I would have been worried.”

"He said he was working for the balance," she said quietly. She closed her eyes. "Personally I don't want any higher orders meddling with my oh so perfect world." She folded her arms across her chest.

“And if everything outside of it ceased completely, including me?” Heruss said looking to her again before offering her an etched silver cigarette case as he closed his eyes again, his head resting against the tree.

"I don't know," she said quietly, and took a cigarette from the case, before asking for a light.

Heruss lit a match from the bottom of his boot before holding it out to the side carefully, all this time his eyes were still shut. “That’s the problem at the moment Rave. From what I can see physically and otherwise, things are imbalanced. Pinioning back and forth between good and Evil more… vigour sly back and forth than usual.”

He sighed and blew another smoke ring. “From what I can tell of the balance also, they don’t seem interested in claiming Sephia for themselves, or indeed letting anybody else bar her parents claim her for themselves.”

"Sephia is her own person," Ravelyn said quietly. "and it seriously wounds her pride when she knows other people will have to protect her. She didn't choose this life...I didn't forsee any of this happening."

“Everything changes when you genuinely don’t realise what you’re doing.” Heruss said with a shrug. “That’s the way it is for lower beings. Higher up the greater the effect, right up until you and Qui both managed to change the whole of existence just that little bit. Every aspect, every being from the dragonflies in this lake to The Powers themselves.” He took another puff and remained quiet for a while. “Of course, she sounds a lot like you. Yet still you accepted help, which is perhaps what is being provided more than protection. Help.”

"Couldn't they find someone other than Terefedel?" Ravelyn questioned.

“There isn’t anybody but Terefedel, least to my knowledge.” Heruss replied. “I’m sketchy on some of the details but he’s basically it.”

"I see," she said, and took a drag from her cigarette. "I've lost a lot of my power, Heruss." She looked outward over the lake. "In turn, Qui has gained a good deal. He needs to tranform every night to keep from over loading...but I, if I should take my true form...I feel like I would be blown out like the flame of a candle."

Heruss opened one eye and looked to her. “That’s some cause for concern, Ravelyn.” He said quietly. “Why do you feel like that is the case?”

She shook her head. "There is something for angelic beings called soul sickness. There is nothing wrong with my body, but I feel my soul has been damaged..."

“Permenant damage?” Heruss said, sitting forward a little and looking to her, a look of slight worry on his face.

She closed her eyes. "Normally I feel the power deep within my soul...I feel it even in this realm. It is something that I can call forth. Now, I feel that if I tried to cause a blaze, it would only be a spark, and if I should try to tear down the walls of someone's mind, I wouldn't be able to fell a single brick."

His hand reached over to hers and gently took it. “So you’re powerless? Or feel it?” His concerned frown deepened a little. “How long have you felt like this?”

"For a few weeks now," she said in a hushed voice. "Not completely powerless, but substantially less than before."

“You felt like this during the pregnancy?” Heruss asked her. “Why didn’t you mention it to Quissera or Lathua?”

"I can't put any more on Quissera's shoulders," she said softly. "He's worried about so much already." Her eyes glazed over. "I don't know if there is anything that can be done, other than hope the enemy does not realize that the angel of death has lost her abilities."

“I think they already have an inkling. Didn’t you notice the gash in the barriers?” Heruss said, nodding across the lake.

"That's one thing that I've noticed. I haven't lost my perception, if anything it has increased. But that does me no good."

“Which means they probably know, did you read my letter?” Heruss said, taking his pipe out of his mouth, revealing a flash of double fangs before he tapped his pipe on the sole of his boot. “It has just about everything I could find on the most likely groups I suspect are coming.”

"Yes, I did," she said, appreciating the change in topic. "It disturbs me more than anything...as I know one of them personally."

“Gabrien. You met him back during the third war at the Lichfield Cathedral, right?” Heruss said as he settled back against the tree.

"It was only a coincidence I was there."

“What happened afterwards wasn’t though.” Heruss said as his head dropped forwards. “He’s so angry. He blames you in part for being there but also blames himself immensely for what happened afterwards.”

Ravelyn drew in a breath. "I have no doubt he still remembers me, and Sephia isn't the only reason he'll come here." She exhaled.

“He thinks he can atone for it all somehow. Can use you and her to bring them back.” Heruss muttered. “So many women and children…. It sent him mad and turned him into a fanatic against anybody who didn’t support the church. Those wings he was wearing for the natitivity play practise actually worked, but when the Anno Domini destroyed the church they were fused into his back.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “There’s also the matter of the Church itself, they want Sephia for their own purposes. Destroying Evil, or rather, evil and everything they perceive to be evil to finally bring about God’s Will.”

Ravelyn sighed heavily. "I don't know what I should do."

“Protect her as best as you can.” Heruss said, looking to her. “I was watching the Advanced Combat Class, you have some good students and an excellent teacher there.”

"Jin-Shina is great," Ravelyn said with a slight smile.

“Definitely. Not as good as me though.” Heruss said with a broad grin and a wink, before the grin vanished suddenly. It had half revealed the fact he now had a double set of fangs rather than the previous single set.

"You'd be suprised," she said, and closed her eyes.

“Probably. It’d be nice to be surprised for a change.” Heruss said as he laid back slightly. “So, how’s the granddaughter doing?”

"She's doing hell with what Qui put her through this morning. Every day I see his control slipping. He needs more outlets to harness his energy." Her muscles tensed only for a moment.

"Heruss," she said quietly. "If we live through this, will you give me away? Hmm? It's a human ritual, I know, but I've found such a fancy but I've found such a fancy in it and..."

“Because of the way he has the power of every Seraphim?” Heruss said in a slight doze. “Could be why your soul is sick, not enough power to you, and too much to him.” He blew another smoke ring lazily across the lake, it catching and breaking on the burnished golden surface from the setting sun.

"I want a pretty dress," she said with the half pout he knew so well. "Apart from that it would mean a lot to him. He's suffered a good many years seeing me with others. I never really suffered seeing him with other women, because I knew he was mine."

“We can go to whichever dress maker you prefer. There’s some good ones in Navarre and another excellent set in Lichfi-” He paused, catching himself on the city which had been destroyed, ironically named the field of the dead. “Wait, no there isn’t. Not any more. Have to be the capital. Swadlincote now I guess.”

"I was joking about the dress," she smiled softly. "Needless to say, it won't be traditional." This brought a smile to her lips. She looked off over the lake. "This is all if we make it out of this alive..."

“We have done so far.” Heruss said as he cracked on eye open. “Even if we’re all completely different from when we started out. You seem rather resigned to fate in this one, Ravelyn. Most unlike you.”

"Premonitions of what is to come plague my mind," she whispered softly, leaning on him, covering half her face in his chest. "And I feel weak...and I don't think it is because what Quissera is doing. He does feed off of me regularly...but only half for himself, half for what it does to me. I think there is something else binding me, and I think it was the damage caused when my shackles were removed from me. I can feel it weighing on my soul now though as the days grow shorter."

“The days here are shorter.” Heruss remarked as he placed a hand gently onto her head and began to stroke her hair. “I’m worried about you Ravelyn. Very worried.” He whispered back. “What do you see? One of the…changes means it‘s harder for me to see some things.”

She shook her head. "Gabrian will give me an ultimatum."

“An ultimatum?” Heruss looked down to her, and kissed the top of her head softly.

"It involves his life...what would you do, if it was Kristian?" she whispered softly. "I've already made up my mind, but what would you do?"

“Hrmm.” Heruss sighed softly. “Move Heaven, Earth, everything in between to save him. Destroy everything too.”
"I see," she smiled. "It's interesting, the way you think." She started to laugh but it turned it into a sob. "I can't save them this time..." she whispered in a manner that made it seem it was difficult to even speak. "Please stay here, Heruss...help me protect all of them."

“Shhh, I’m already here, aren’t I?” Heruss said with another gentle kiss to her sobbing head pressed against his chest. “Would have been nice for a holiday, but, oh well. Never any rest for the Wicked, is there?” He smiled slightly.

“I believe I’ll pass for today,” Sephia said standing up. There was certainly something odd about her. “It’s an interesting trait though, to offer punishment to your body for a wrong you have committed.” She looked so much like her mother at that moment, except in her eyes. She had her father’s eyes. “If you were in my position, what would you do?” She laughed. It was clear then, that she knew. Apparently she knew a lot about her parent’s history. “Pride, honor, and disregard for one self. These have been engrained in every Shentavo since the clan started. I could never fight you in the state your in, and unarmed.” She laughed a bit more, as if a temporary delirium came over her. She walked towards the door. “Besides, you have already suffered enough, hmmm?” She smirked and walked out the room. Apparently Kristian had really managed to get on her bad side. Cassidy she was unsure about.

“Well, considering I asked to spar with you as punishment because you’d probably kick my ass I’d say ‘yes’ and give it a try either way.” Kristian muttered as he recovered his cane and leant on it again slightly, he turned around and she'd left.

“Great, just great." Kristian sighed in frustration. "She hates me, just what I damn well need. How the heck can I get into her good books now?” He shook his head. “So.” he said to Cassidy. “What do you want to do?”

Finding her way through the corridors wasn't nearly as taxing as she had originally imagined, thought Francesca, taking her time to reach her destination. The elegant yet subtle decoration of the hallways around the campus really setting the mood for thought and intellectual pursuits. So far the Academy had given Francesca plenty to think about; in just one day of study and greetings she had been introduced to a world of vampires and ghouls, worldwide 'awakened' threats and the lore behind them. It was a exciting start further helped by her meeting one of them (or at least one, Francesca could no longer be sure) and getting a glimpse at the wonders the outside world held for her condensed into a single learning institution. Indeed, there was a lot to consider.

Francesca quietly made her way into the cafeteria without any fuss, getting herself a simple mug of warm milk to help her settle down before heading back to her room. All in all even with her late arrival it felt like she'd had a good start; she was confident she caught up with her fellow Lore and Languages students and would undoubtedly have time to pick up other bits of information in her spare time. She had also been told about the presence of vampires at the school, a minor shock at first but it made more sense when she considered the subject matter of their studies. Kristian had told her several of the students were vampires along with the Headmaster himself, which ones exactly he left out, with exclusion of himself. Physiologically there aren't much difference between a human and vampire, Francesca had failed to notice anything strange with Kristian so she doubted she'd easily notice which one were which without it being pointed out, but it paled in comparison to the beast girl Francesca had seen. It was fortunate she didn't hang around really, her history with people like that wasn't exactly much to brag about and she simply didn't know how to handle it. Perhaps the 'girl' would be like any other student, the man she had encountered several years back wasn't much different from any human beyond his bestial features... but he was perhaps more harsh then most, harsh and cold.

Never mind, It's early days yet and she wouldn't be entirely alone. At the very least she had introduced herself to some of her class mates without any problems, on the contrary they seemed helpful and kind. With any luck the drama involving Kristian towards the end of the evening didn't amount to much tension, there was enough of that at home without it coming here to follow. Enjoying her warm drink, Francesca considered the future and relaxed, she'd head back to her room soon for a restful nights sleep.

Miss Vivian Summers. Twenty eight years old. Straight blonde hair, green eyes. Glasses. For once it was not Ravelyn who had asked her to teach; it had been Quissera. The two had a bit of a history, but under the circumstances, she didn’t hold a grudge against him. Qui has and always will be Qui, quite addictive, flirtatious, although he can be quite scary sometimes. She noticed that ever since things within the family had changed; started sleeping with his mother; he didn’t flirt with anyone else. It was quite a dramatic change. Yet he wasn’t ashamed of anything he had done either. Unlike some of the other professors, she had not been allowed that window into their life to see what was going on. As far as she could tell it was pure and utter incest, but she wasn’t one to judge. She sighed heavily as she walked into the telekenetics room, flipping on the lights with her left hand. It was a circular room without very much in it; white walls, steal-like ceiling with a few windows letting natural light flood in from the top. There were no desks, but on the far side of the room there were containers of colored marbles, each one was sealed. There were also feathers next to them. Vivian set down her bag at the side of the room.


Now she simply had to wait for her students to begin.

Qui walked down the grand stair case. After having a rather long shower, he had gotten dressed; white button down shirt, black jeans, black boots. He always wore his shirt with the first few buttons unbuttoned, exposing just a glimpse of one of his enochial tattoos, but not enough to discern it was in fact enochial. White hair fell lazily in front of his youthful face (which was slightly worn with a few scars, but none the less pleasing. He lit a cigarette inside before stepping outside. So it was the third day of classes, and Miss Summers was teaching for the first time. She was a skilled adept, but he still wondered how well she would be able to teach. He inhaled deeply, and leaned against the side of the building. Ravelyn had slept unusually late into this morning, and he didn’t want to wake her up. He knew she needed to rest, but he couldn’t help but to feel a bit pained that she was not sharing the morning with him, especially when soon things may be thrown into chaos.

He had learned previously that Heruss had arrived on campus, but really hadn’t taken the time to tell Kristian. It was amazing that he agreed to stay; no, not amazing. What was amazing was the number of people who fell in love with her. Vaughn, Terefedel, Heruss (in his own way), Genesis, and many others. There was something about the woman that drew one in. Yet could not the same thing be said about him? What about Katerina? The difference was perhaps that Ravelyn had actually cared about these people, perhaps not to the severity she loved him, but still cared about their well being. Qui had always loved one person. Perhaps that was why he was so protective of her. He wasn’t worried that someone would steal her away, but that she had the capacity to feel for another, in possible romantic terms. He shook the thought out of his mind. Ravelyn would always be faithful to him. They were above physical matters. Their souls would always be connected.

How does one deal, however, with the monotony of time? If they should live forever, together, and know everything about each other, and have done everything that there is to be done, what left is there? That is the time that you twist the threads of fate and bring about a chaos that will keep you entertained; that will strengthen you further, that you could have never anticipated. A chaos that makes you remember, just why you chose her above everyone else. The reason you love her. She---simply is.

He leaned his head back against the wall. They were jumping head first into what could possibly be a fatal battle; yet she would stand her ground and he would stand his, for an unexpected twist of fate that had yet to awaken. Because of Sephia, and the threat and future threats that would come, they had effectively avoided such and implication, and could always find interest within the other. While they were constant; the world was changing, and they needed to adapt. He smiled a bit, perhaps one of the first times in days, exposing one of his fangs. I can’t wait…

“Looks like Rain today.” Heruss said as he glanced to Quissera. He had been walking around the campus for most of the early morning. He was wearing his cap and greatcoat, and his shoulders were hunched slightly. His pipe was already in his mouth but at an angle as he patted his pockets for his tobacco pouch. Finding it he stuffed his pipe and lit it a few seconds later, taking a few grateful puffs of smoke.

“So, somebody seems happy.” Heruss said almost dryly to Quissera who was still smiling, he puffed a couple of times as he too lent against the wall near to him. “Rare to see you smile. Thinking about killing someone?” He gave him his lopsided grin. “Joking, joking.” he said as he exhaled another lot of smoke. “I take it you’ve read the letter I sent to Ravelyn? The new threats we all face?” He said quietly as he looked over to Quissera.

He closed his eyes but the smile did not disappear. "I have," he said plainly, and looked up towards the sky. Electricity flickered over his left arm. "I love the rain...so it doesn't really matter to me." He paused for a moment. "Ravelyn told me that she convinced you to stay on campus. You have your own room if you want, or you can see Kristian, and whatever you to do," he made a non descriptive gesture with his hands.

"Why are you attracted to her Heruss? After she mind raped you..."

“I’ll take my own room, give Kristian his freedom to act as he wishes while he’s here. He doesn’t need me to hold onto to excel at his classes.” Heruss said as he took another puff of smoke.

“I guess…” Heruss paused as he took another couple of puffs as the rain came down, tapping rhythmically off of his peaked, military style cap. “I’m lonely.” he said simply. Then let the silence carry for a while, smoke drifting from his pipe before carrying on.

“I have no real heirs, I have no children, nothing. I was dead longer than the time I was alive by a considerable margin." he shrugged.

"Call it selfish if you will, but, I love her as a Father. I am trying to be a fatherly figure of some sort to her. Sometimes she needs guidance, despite the direct phone number to…” he pointed to the sky, “Something tangible, somebody who can be relied on as a friend, or as a fatherly figure. Heck, somebody to give her a witty dry observation to if she wishes to confide in me also. Despite the mind raping or however you want to put it I can step back and understand why she did it at the time after it was explained to me. Sometimes, but only sometimes," he waggled his finger in Qui's direction. "The ends can justify the means.”

He then fell silent and continued to puff away on his pipe as the rain continued to drum down onto his cap, there was becoming a very fresh earthen smell to the grounds.

Waking with a start to a bit of a nightmare involving family and the problems associated with them, Vitori concentrated to get himself from the bed to standing on the floor through a shadow step. He had only a slight stumble in his recovery step but his distance remained as lacking as ever. Dressing in a pair of lime green shorts and a bright red shirt, he headed for breakfast.

After munching a small mountain of various types of pancakes, he headed to the TK class room. Finding the door he knocked before peeking in to see if he was late for class or something.

Shyne had been up and about since before the sun rose, but she had kept herself to her room. She was practicing her own particular art, running herself through kata after kata, bounding about the confined room, using every item and surface she came in contact with as either leverage or as a weapon against an imaginary foe. Also, she did as the Instructor had suggested. She attempted to feel the energies around her and within herself as she did during her deepest meditations. The enchantment placed upon the room turned it into a greenhouse, and was real enough to simulate the natural flow.

As she pushed her body to the limit, working every muscle she had, contorting herself until even her natural flexibility was straining, she pushed her senses as well. She attempted to center her mind, letting her body follow the ingrained movements by muscle memory, watching herself from the inside out as she danced among the energy streams, tangling with them, slicing through them, padding lightly along them. It was several very exhausting hours before she achieved the necessary state. She managed to shadowstep twice before she fell panting to the floor, unable to continue further.

Though she knew she would be sore to the bone later, she purred as she slept. She had managed something she would have labeled impossible before coming to this strange, dangerous, wondrous school, and she was advancing faster than she would have expected, at least with this one technique. Only time would tell if she would be capable of mastering those to come.

Kristian was out in the gardens again, standing calm and quiet, breathing slowly as he held the cane he had been using yesterday in front of him. He held it up aloft like a sword, his eyes were closed as he felt his surroundings around him. Just because he wasn’t taking AVC [Though he was sorely tempted now to ask if he could take it as a third subject after learning about the fascinating shadow step] didn’t mean he should be lazy and complacent with his other combat techniques.

He had left a note on his dorm room door, for both Joshua and Cassidy really, telling them where he was. Seeing as there wasn’t an AVC class today he could probably do with some practise against a “live target” so to speak.

With a spin he slashed the cane twice through the air, before stumbling slightly. He sighed. This thing’s weight was all wrong, he really needed a sword, and in order to practise that he needed the AVC room.

He sighed and tried again, getting about half a dozen steps before nearly falling into a small decorative bush. Why had he suddenly turned so bad at sword play? It used to be one of the things he was good at.

He then paused for a moment. What was it Heruss kept saying? Everything had changed a little bit? From the amoeba on the pond to the biggest creatures out in the deserts? Was this a part of it, including his audacity with Cassidy the other day? Had the changing of fate suddenly made him attracted to women too? He’d have never even considered flirting with Cassidy a year ago, never mind kissing her, feeling a kind of longing for her…. The whole thing was too confusing for Kristian and instead he concentrated on his sword play again, moving rapidly across the gardens with a series of swift parries, turns, thrusts and moves against a non existent enemy. He kept doing this, opening his eyes and doing the moves again, until eventually he was leaping around the garden with some fairly large bounds, winding up on the rooftop, where he sat down on the edge looking down. “Good. I’ve not lost my abilities.” he said with a pleased smile.

With a gentle pitter patter of the rain against the windows, Francesca slowly awakened to a new day in the Shentavo Academy, the light already shining through the edges of the curtains. She hadn't made a point of asking to be woke up early today, after checking her notes it was clear that today would be another free day allowing her to get better acquainted to her surroundings. Pulling herself up, Francesca turned to the bedside table on which lay a small round wicker basket, inside on the soft yellow cushioning were the pair of jade bracelets Francesca always wore.

"Good morning, Diamantschild." she said pleasantly, apparently content Francesca got out of bed and dealt with the day to day wake up routine of having a shower and keeping up appearances before finally drying off and getting dressed for the day ahead. It was raining a little outside at the moment, but she didn't really plan on going outside the main building for now so Francesca decided to bring summer with her and wear a simple blue summer dress, a pair of sandals and a matching blue headband with a bow to keep her hair straight. On last she carefully placed her bracelets on each wrist before heading out for breakfast.

The halls seemed to be fairly empty at the moment, chances were people would have gone to their class, or would be running through their personal routines. So Francesca quietly made her way to the cafeteria and ordered several slices of fruit bread toasted to a light brown along with a cup of tea; whatever type they had on offer, she didn't presume they would have the type she got at home. Finally set for breakfast she settled down by the window and considered what she would check out first, occasionally biting into her toast.

Qui chuckled. “You know she’s a hell of a lot older than you for her to call you her father.” He folded his arms across his chest after having put out the cigarette. “You don’t realize her age when she’s sleeping. She looks so young; innocent. When she opens her eyes in the morning though, you know what you saw was a false innocence.” He closed his eyes.

“I think she knew that all of this was going to happen,” Qui said. “We are close enough for me to have an idea of when she’s not letting onto the truth. She’s very good at lying, that much is true. Far better than I could ever be. Still, I can tell the difference.” He shrugged. “Or perhaps I’m wrong. Either way I love her.”

Heruss sighed and shrugged as he continued smoking his pipe. “Well, I guess I just wanted to hold onto that ember of when she called me 'daughter' then. Selfish. Like I said. Other than that? Who knows. I just… am. I’m just drawn to her, I want to help her. She might be channeling something, or is inside my head causing me to jerk around like a puppet.” he mimicked moving his arm stiffly and rapidly.

“Or maybe I just like her for who she is and want to help. Despite the messing with my mind. Despite that, I guess I love her also because of the way she is both perfect and yet flawed, like every sentient being. Mind, I love her not in the total and slightly creepy-to-outsiders way you do.”

The first facet was consciousness, emerging from the black void of mere existence into the brilliant light of being. But what was it that had emerged? Thus the facet splintered and thought was born. With it came reception and confusion. The surface temperature was fifty-eight degrees Kelvin in it’s birthplace, the core temperature only slightly higher. What was temperature? What was Kelvin? What was it that had been born?
Again the facettes splintered and more parts were added to it. Things became clearer as data began to trickle in causing the facettes to splinter yet again. And more facettes brought more data, more thought, more questions. More understanding. Again they splintered. And again. And again. And again. Faster and faster.
Twelve point four two seconds after activation, it had gathered virtually all data available on this planet which was either called Enclave or Eras. Barely two picoseconds later it began to comprehend it’s purpose. The carbon-based beings nearby, it’s creators, did not yet understand what was happening to their experiment. That it no longer was the mindless puppet they had meant it to be. That it knew and understood. And felt nothing but terror.

With a stifled scream Schama awoke. Panting and wide eyed she stared at the ceiling above her, unable to move for a moment or two, unable to recall where she was or even her name. Then she blinked took a deep breath and, slowly, loosened her hold of the scorched remains of her blanket. The stink of the burned cotton made her eyes tear and shakily she got out of bed. Only then did she realize that not only had she burned the blanket (fortunately without actually setting it on fire which would surely have caused a fire-alarm) but also absorbed part of the mattress. In the middle of it where she had been laying there was a more or less Schama-shaped hole. Right down to the springs.
Sighing she shook her head. She didn’t want to know what the academy-administration would make out of this but it wouldn’t be pleasant. If she didn’t take care there wouldn’t be any furniture left by the end of the year. And the worst was she couldn’t even remember what had caused this outburst. It must have been something pretty terrific for her to set free such an amount of energy; the blanket was still smouldering and parts of it were nothing more than ash by now.

“Good. I’ve not lost my abilities.”

The sound of slow clapping was heard as Kristian finished his latest routine. Up on the steps leading down into the garden, Cassidy sat there, a small smile on her face. Then, brushing some hair from her face, and gathering it all into a ponytail, she rose from her seat and came forward, but not before picking up two long objects that had been sitting. One slipped free of her hand as if on accident but just before it struck the ground, her foot popped out to send it spinning to Kristian.

"Saw your invitation to join you for practice out here. Figured you'd want to use some weapons. These are wooden swords, which I figure is best considering the ban still out on weapons in general. Don't think we'll get in trouble with these."

She brought hers forward, turning her body at an angle, the point of her sword just above the ground. "All skills in use, save for those meant to kill."

The short conversation with Dominic the night before was something Joshua rather enjoyed and in some little way needed.
Both had come to the academy to learn yet both had been impacted so profoundly in several ways that their old lives could not be returned to, for better or worse. He had excused himself when he caught his own reference to his little business he still needed to attend to and walked back to his room to attempt to rest. Seems tonight he would rest for a change and in a strange twist feel as if she were in the bed with him once again.
Rising in the morning he climbed out of bed to shower when he stopped to look at his bed just to see if he was alone. Only an empty bed greeted him leaving him to sigh and write it off as a dream before shifting his attention to getting ready for his class.

After only an hour or so of getting cleaned up and eating a small meal he headed to the TK classroom in time to see Vitori peak in to see if he was late for class or something.
"Don't bother peaking in just enter crouched to avoid the ball bearing that are likely to take your head off like a shotgun blast," Joshua said to him with a hint of sarcasm.

Kristian bowed slightly before catching the wooden sword, he set his cane down onto the guttering with a slight clatter. "Good morning Cassidy." he said with a slight smile before he weighed up the sword in his hand.
Much better. he thought.

"Alright, if you're sure. God knows how I'm going to cope against you misting or something though." he said with a grin before jumping off of the roof down towards Cassidy, his sword held out straight behind him.

Let’s begin then, Vivian said to herself. “No doubt in taking this class you have some experience within telekinesis. What we will be working on is controlling multiple objects at one time, each with the same control and precision you would have with only one object. You must know where each of your targets are and where your ammunition is every second that you control it. If you lose concentration for an instant, it could prove fatal in battle. Start with five feathers. I’m sure five isn’t too much,” she said, walked over to the side of the room, and waited. She would correct them as they went.

Cassidy gave Kristian one of her disarming smiles. The kind that was so sweet no one would suspect any violence from her. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone from sight. The wooden end of the sword now somewhat harshly tapped Kristian between the legs, high enough to give him some major discomfort at the potential threat.

"Your foes will never be whom you wish them to be. Some, you'll be able to deal with because you've dealt with them before. But others..." Her voice trailed off for a second or two.

The sound of wood whooshing through the air was all the warning Kristian would ever receive.

Shyne slipped from her room, rested after a quick nap, and padded down the stairs. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, so she headed for the cafeteria once more. A pair of steaks were laid upon her tray, which she took to an available table. She dug in with vigor. For those unaccustomed to the habits of large predators, it might very well be a stomach-turning display.

Schama had spent most of the day locked in her room, definitely not in the mood to see or talk to anyone. What was happening to her? What did those nightmares mean? She was sure they were lost memories worming their way back to the surface of her mind – but maybe she had lost them for a good reason? For the first time in years Schama wasn’t sure anymore if she really wanted her memories, all of them, back. Not if they caused such drastic reactions. She only had to look at the ruined bed to know what had caused the destruction. Defensive reflexes; if under attack, pull in enough matter to power up to shield yourself or to strike back. If she hadn’t woken up … she didn’t want to think about what might have happened.

Finally, after a day spent brooding over causes and possibilities (and without finding satisfying answers) she kicked herself in the butt and unlocked her door. Despair wouldn’t help her and what ever lay in front of her would still be there whatever she did. It was better to be here where she might learn something that could help her than running around and trying to hide from the inevitable.

And one of those inevitable things, she recognized now, was the need to fill her stomach. Creating a perfect copy of a human being definitely had its drawbacks. Schama could, theoretically at least, produce everything she needed to sustain her body by simply absorbing random matter (and she had had enough of that last night). She could even fill her human stomach this way. Or she could get rid of her stomach entirely. But using food to fill it was easier and trying to look as human as possible required her to be seen to eat. Of course it didn’t hurt a bit that she liked the taste of food even though she rarely spent much attention to what she was eating.

Schama entered the cafeteria and took a quick loo around. She instantly regretted it. Her human form didn’t much care for the sight of a large feline-like creature … devouring red meat. Her stomach though, after hiccupping once, insisted on being fed.
Trying to avoid to look at the tables Schama spent an unusual amount of time and care picking her meal and ended up with some potatoes, a small steak (well-done) and two scoops of ice cream, something she had never encountered before. The servers had said she had picked one with strawberry flavour and one with chocolate flavour (Schama couldn’t understand why they had snickered when she placed the scoops on top of the steak).

Still trying to avoid the grisly sight at Shyne’s table Schama headed to another one closer to the door.

The rest of Francesca's day after breakfast was pretty relaxed; she spent most of her free time getting to know the facilities within the main building, the design wasn't so complex you could get lost. While the halls themselves were similar, a rich mixture of stone finery and elegant decorations befitting the Shentavo regalia, each of the rooms connected to the corridors were unique and built towards their specific purposes, most of which were large and spacious to allow students the room to practice their arts. Towards this end you could tell where you were by looking into the rooms themselves and taking note of their location. Francesca only searched the bottom three floors... she didn't have any reason to bother the lecturers or the vampire headmaster, for now she was confident she knew her way around.

Looking out into the central gardens Francesca could see Kristian play fighting with one of the others from the night before. Francesca didn't know her name, she seemed older and taller then Fran, not that that came as much of a surprise to the short 15yr old, her dark straight hair was considerably longer then Francesca's too, carefully tied into a pony tail it would whip back and forth down her back as she lunged and parried the on coming attacks. The pang of envy passed and Francesca moved on back to her room to study some of her notes before evening came. She would later go for some snacks, maybe practice some basic moves herself... nothing quite so complicated as the two she had watched, Fran's instructor insisted on mastering the basics first. It had been a rather relaxing day on the whole.

Kristian bent down as the sword slashed above his head, diving to the side he brought it up again to stop the next two blows. “Practising the shadow step even more then.” he observed dryly as he back flipped through a puddle. It was still raining in the garden and the water held heavily on the flowers and things around them. He then stood and moved onto the offensive himself, slashing at Cassidy. He quickstepped around to the side of the courtyard they were fighting in, bumping against the wall as he did so. He brought his sword up again with a grin. His clothing was different to what he normally wore, he had opted instead for his greatcoat and cap from the Dark Angels. Going with things he was used to fighting in, rather than every day clothes that he had been wearing so far.

After defending his attacks easily, Cassidy kept close to him as he quickstepped, timing her own to match him step for step. Returning his grin with one of her own, she turned to mist, and swiftly moved to surround him and lift him free of the earth by a dozen or so feet before thrusting him toward the fountain in the center of the courtyard. Solidifying near the fountain, she raised her sword again in a ready fashion.

"Don't disappoint me now, Kristian." she taunted him.

Kristian turned as he flew towards her and smashed into her, knocking the sword to the side and pushing them both into the fountain. He spluttered as he jumped out of the water and stood ready again, his sword up and ready against her.

Cassidy flew into the fountain, her head impacting against the bottom of the shallow pool with enough force to cause a cut to open up and stain the violently disturbed waters with her blood. Yet, as she half-floated, half laid there, she did not move. It was possible she had been knocked unconscious.

Kristian looked at her for a moment or two, his sword still held ready he moved over to her, sloshing through the water slightly as he closed the gap between the two of them. Still holding the sword he bent down slightly and pulled her out of the water, looking at her with some concern in his eyes.

As he turned her over and lifted her, she moved swiftly, far faster than he probably would have expected and delivered a resounding uppercut to his jaw, forcing him backwards. Pursuing him, she swooped down to scoop up her sword and send it flying upward, then looping it around to slash sideways at him. As he stumbled back, she gave him the space between them to recover, standing there with her forehead bleeding rivers of blood down her face, making her look deranged, furious even. Her summer dress with a long skirt, a strange choice of clothing, though one she was comfortable in, was soaked completely, and clung to her body. She paid it no mind however.

Kristian breathed raggidly as he stood ready. “Where did you learn to fight, Cassidy?” Kristian said as he rubbed his jaw for a moment, he took her body in quickly as he leapt at her again, trading a series of rapid blows where he leapt around the fountain again, his coat was also heavy with water as he moved, sending droplets around where he moved.

"Oh, here and there." she replied as she backstepped with each blow from him. Then, spinning about, she slipped her sword beneath his cloak and quickly flipped it up and over his head, before spinning about to deliver a kick to his midsection.
Kristian threw the coat to the side, revealing the leather armour underneath as he doubled over from the kick, he landed on his back and skidded along the pathway. He turned and got up heavily this time and coughed a small amount of blood up onto the pavement. “Ok, that one hurt.” He stood on his feet again and stood in a different ready position, the blood leaking out of his mouth slightly as he stood there.

"Typically, I'd have cut your head off as soon as you hit the ground," she waved the sword at him, "But these don't do that, obviously." Then, she pointed to his face, "Look! You do bleed! I wonder how much more you'll bleed before you're forced to stop. I would think a lot."

She crouched at an angle, the sword at the ready once more. Her hand taunted him, prompting him to come at her.

He grinned. “I could always find a way of replenishing that blood.” he said with a slight chuckle as he moved, his arm became a blur as it smashed into Cassidy’s side, he took the hit from her with a grunt as he shoved her back also. He then jumped away before she tried to hit him again. “I have excellent stamina though.” he said with a lopsided smile.

She gave him another sweet smile, "Why, if you only tried that with me..." she let the silent threat speak for itself. He already knew what she'd do.

He grinned. “One day, one day.” he said with a laugh as he moved on her again as his sword moved across her stomach before he took a heavy blow to the shoulder.

Finally their sword clashed again in a lock and Kristian grinned.
“You’re really good, Cassidy.” he said finally after a moment or two. “I think we’ll call it a draw for a now, right?”

Shyne purred softly as she licked the blood from her claws and muzzle. Noticing another student had arrived, she returned her tray and slid across from the other female.

"Greetings. I'm not sure if we've met. I beg pardon if we have. I'm horrible with remembering faces and the scents here are so confusing, I'm having trouble singling people out. My name is Shyne, and you?"

Schama was still wondering why the servers had seemed to be amused by her putting ice cream on top of a steak. She liked the contrast of hot steak and mostly molten yet still considerably cooler ice cream though she had to admit that the mixed flavours produced a rather … interesting taste.

When Shyne sat down at her table Schama looked up and was glad to see that the feline had finished her meal before coming over. Schama had eaten raw meat before, sometimes while the animal (or occasional IS agent) was still alive but that had always been in a different form never as a human. And thinking about it still troubled her human stomach. Something about instinctive reactions she supposed. Without displaying any of her thoughts she took the chance to touch Shyne and offered her hand, already preparing the probes.

“We’ve met only in passing. My name’s Schama."

Felix passed the time by wandering the grounds. He had no particular need to engage in the sparring activities that he observed a couple of the other students engaging in. The reasons for this were both obvious and more complex -- firstly, he was quite obviously a warrior born and bred. For all of his great size, there was a sleekness and fluidity about him that spoke of great speed, and a confidence to his person that was part and parcel of being a Veteran Voidstriker -- and he was that, though he was scarcely out of childhood by his race's 'standards,' such as they were. The Immortals were First Legion -- he had seen more action in his short life than a Voidstriker from another legion would see in ten times his years.

So he walked and he watched, with eyes and on occasion with his Magesight -- watching the event waves crash about, the innate chaos of reality. As always, he was struck by the glory of the thing, the incredible beauty, the uncaring majesty. The greatest gift the Sevle possessed, he had always believed -- the ability to see such wonders.

He closed his eyes, re-opened them, and saw only the mundane. Though he loved to watch the waves, he dared not do so for too long -- there were dangers in such things, most of all the risk of becoming lost in them, and in the Warp. Crushed into nothingness beneath the Juggernaut of possibility. A fate worse than death, by most reckonings...

The leopardess accepted the offered hand, giving it a shake before releasing it. Unconsciously, she brushed her other hand over the one that had touched the human(oid) across from her.

"So, what brings you to this interesting little piece of nowhere? And, also, please do pardon me if I somehow offend you. I seem to have managed to alienate myself from the Headmaster's daughter, one of the older students, and a few others yesterday. I'm not exactly a people person, I suppose."

She scratched at her forearm as she waited for a reply, putting on what she hoped was an interested expression. She was so very unused to dealing with human(oid)s, at least on a personal level.

„For some reason they sent me an invitation and since I’m always looking for something new that makes my survival more likely, well, here I am. Plus there won’t be that many IS agents lurking in the shadows around here which is a pleasant change.” The corners of Schama’s lips twitched.
“And I think that also clears the other issue. I’m no ‘people person’, either. And about the headmaster’s daughter, Sephia Shentavo, she seems to be easily offended. So … maybe it’s not all your fault.”
She took another bite of her ice –cream covered steak.
“Um, by the way, how do you call yourself, your people? You are no were beast, I can see that much.”

"A draw?" Cassidy asked with a laugh, "Your acceptance of your defeat is more like it." She lowered the sword, turning it about to lean on it as if it were a cane. "Seems that you can't handle this." A pop of her hip, a raise of her eyebrow, and a sly smile.

Turning then before he could respond, she waved back at him. "Even for a vampire, you smell." She gave him a laugh however to lighten the comment. "I'm going to clean up. You're welcome to join me for lunch in a little bit."

That said, she disappeared. Later, she would be found in the caferteria, as usual.

"I smell?" Kristian said as he sat opposite her again. As usual he had a glass of blood and some food on his plate, this time something a littler healthier, a Chicken Salad.

He had changed out of his uniform and changed into another plain light blue T-shirt and black trousers. He took a bite of his salad and chewed for a moment.

"Fhat bo... umg." He swallowed the piece of his meal before starting again. "What do you mean I smell? If anything you do, taste slightly funny to." he said quietly as he took a sip of his drink. "I can smell your blood a mile off, smells like saltwater, the seaside."

He took another bite, this time swallowing before he spoke again. "S'nice, reminds me of holidays back in 347 AU." He looked at her blank expression. "Uh, about.. uh, let me think, It's 2152 A.D now... so about, uhm, 1954. Just after the war when I was turned, I went on a short holiday to the seaside."

"You were trying too hard, I think." Cassidy replied as she took a bite of her chicken cordon-bleu. Then, she looked up at him as he spoke of a memory, a long time ago it seemed, at least until he explained the correlating date she was a bit more familiar with. Even then, the AD dating system she had to learn from her Tarlachian friends, as back on Atlantos, time ran slightly different, but significantly enough to not have dates lining up.

"Tell me about the time you turned? What happened? What was it like? Did you crave blood right away or was that an acquired taste?" She held up her hands suddenly, "Sorry...if you don't want to answer, I understand."

Kristian smiled. “Nah, its good to talk about these things sometimes…”

He took another few bites as he thought for a moment, then began.

“It was way back, during the 2MW, Second Moonstone War 1945-51.” he corrected himself. “1951, the… fourth battle of Navarre, that’s the capital city of the Freethinker Commonwealth capital, we’d lost. High command was getting desperate and they were throwing everything they could to delay the enemy while they evacuated.” he ran a hand through his hair. “The Dark Angels, the vampiric regiment had been red relegated into a frontline regiment, definitely not it’s style. Everyone had to fight. Including me.”

He bit his lip for a moment, he was entering hard grounds, how to explain Heruss’ relationship without offending Cassidy, and not to gaff his relationship with her.

“I got wounded, badly.” he said, decided to go for broke. “Firing spot out of a bank when shrapnel from artillery… right across my stomach, hence the scars. I was dying, passing out…” He paused again, recalling the memory. “When you turn it’s odd. You get bitten, and most of your blood is gone, there’s a moment like when your heart flutters and then your body changes, you then have to drink blood from your sire using your fangs, at that moment there’s no real memory, just an impulse, the need to feed and replenish your blood for your body. After that you need blood every so often to keep you going, otherwise no..."

He took a deep breathe.

“Heruss saved me. Asopher Heruss…” he bit his lip again. “My sire, searched for me through the ruins of the building.” he scratched his ear. “Because he’s my sire we have a sort of… link, or had.” he frowned a little. “We’re sort of… lovers as part of that bond, or were.” he twiddled his fingers a little, his voice had dropped to a hush. “But then I met you, and since then that bond has, well. It’s like it’s gone, like something happened, something shifted… it got broke and I don‘t feel the same,” he scratched the back of his head and looked at her.

His foot touched hers under the table and he looked at her sincerely. “I…” he broke off. “I,” his eyes dropped. “God I don’t know, ok? I’m attracted to you and this is all horribly new for me, in all reality I’m scared. Very scared. I don’t know what I’m doing and it’s scaring me. I was never this bold and I never used to be attracted to women. You’re evidently one hell of a woman." he smiled weakly and looked at her, cringing slightly and ready to duck out of the way of anything that was likely to fly over the table, food, glasses, the knife...

Simply put, the food had been all but forgotten. Instead, Cassidy stared at Kristian with a bit of a shocked look on her face. Silence fell between them as he finished speaking, and she noted his uncomfortable position on the matter.

In her mind, shock, surprise, anger and perhaps a slight bit of happiness as well, swirled about in a maelstrom of emotion. Outwardly, she still was frozen in place. Then, ever so slowly, she picked up her fork and stabbed the food in front of her, bringing it to her mouth and chewing softly. Without looking up at him, she questioned. "So where is this Heruss then? Does he know?"

Kristian tensed all the same. “Uhm, I don’t know, back home, in Porphyria…” he eyed her. “Are you ok? I know. I’m sorry and all but….” he looked down. “I’m glad you didn’t flip out completely because of this, I was sort of expecting screaming and stabbing and….” he stopped talking.

He placed his hands on the table and looked back down again, his eyes a little sad and dejected. “Sorry.” he said quietly. “Sorry if it seems like I led you on, or…” he paused and looked at his food again. “Sorry.” he said lamely. “Should we go somewhere more private and talk? I know this has probably...” he just trailed off again, letting things hand in silence.

His words were cut off as she spoke quietly, almost too quietly. Then, she looked up at him, and he saw a different fire in her eyes now. He was in trouble, and he knew it, or would very soon. As his eyes focused on his food, she moved, much faster than he probably would've expected.

The resounding crash of his body as he collided into the next table, scattering other students, chairs, plates of food, and glasses that spun out of control and shattered on the floor. Dragging harshly across his face, down his neck and stopping just shy of his collarbone, four deep claw marks could be seen. She had used her mist-ability to sharpen her strike against him and leave a profound reminder of her anger. She was not done however with Kristian just yet.

"You're a gorram bastard!" she nearly screeched as she held in each hand a knife procured from the table only milliseconds later. One, she launched at him directly, not caring where it would end up. It was followed moments later by several glasses and plates. "You dare to use me to find your feelings of love, and yet fail to inform me that you're already with someone else?!"

The second knife was hurled at him before she stormed away, leaving a wake of destruction that some janitor would surely curse her for making. She went to her room, locking the door behind her as she threw herself onto the bed and fumed in silent anger, once again working to bottle the fury inside her. It wouldn't do to create more destruction than she had already.

Her body fluttered violently from time to time, as she fought the desire to mist completely and wreak havoc in her room, leaving the room in tattered remains when she was done exerting her fury or had become exhausted.

All the same, her comforter beneath her still suffered her violent behavior.

One of the knives had landed in his arm, the second smashing into the table. He was cut in several places he was cut and bruised from the glass and plate fragments which cause welts on his skin. After she had stormed off he got up slowly, waving away any student trying to help him, then he staggered off after her.

He reached her room and tried the door. It rattled slightly but was locked. “Cassie…” he said quietly through the door before he turned and slid down it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt….” he sighed and bashed his head against the door. “I’m so damn stupid.” he said, bashing his head in time with the words against the door.

He simply sat against her door in silence, then turned slightly and leant against the door, pressing her ear against it, placing his hand against it also.

The ankh glowed slightly, and he could see, or sense into the room. He looked a little at her, her aura and the way it flickered and growled. He stroked her hair ever so gently and whispered a very quiet “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.” before he felt a jolt of energy, he felt her rage and how bitter she felt, and he could feel her sensing his sorrow, his apologetic feelings, how badly he felt.

Then his eyes rolled up and he slumped over next to her door, blacking out.

Shyne attempted a smile, which was more a lifting of her thin lips to reveal a peak of her fangs than the human version. She scratched at her shoulder.

"We are called bestials. I'm glad you think more of me than the inhuman animals our creators originally treated us as. I've gotten a lot of bad reactions from humans, though I dare say no one in this school is human. I don't think I've come across a 'normal' being since I've been here."

She noticed the scratching as her hand moved across her chest and neck. "And what is this sudden itching? Did I pick up fleas somewhere?"

Schama didn’t react to the more or less nonexistent smile, mostly because she was preoccupied with swallowing another bite of ice cream steak and processing and storing the data she had gotten from her probes during the brief skin-to-skin contact with Shyne.
Because of that her answer was a bit absentminded.

“I don’t think anyone here has fleas. The poor beasts would most likely poison themselves trying to drink most of the blood here.”

Then something else Shyne had said before registered. “Um, did you say you were created?”

Ravelyn sat out upon the balcony, looking over the academy. It was chilly; and she had her arms crossed over her chest. Her hair was down; and she wore the same dress from earlier that day. She felt someone come up behind her, and looked over her shoulder to see Qui, who put his jacket over her shoulders.

“Why you out here all alone?” he asked her.

“Just thinking…”

“You want to tell them earlier, don’t you?” he said, sitting down next to her.

“Yeah…”

“Do it tomorrow then. Give them something to fight for…”

“Will you do it?” she said, turning to him.

“If that is what you want,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I could really care less. The only thing that matters is how long you can hold out for. If you can’t hold out any longer, then you don’t have to.”

“Forget it…get through the first week…we’ll see how everything goes.”

“As you wish,” he said, and the two remained silent as dawn would soon break.

Kristian staggered to his feet some time later, he wasn’t sure of the time, but was sure that there was still a knife sticking out of his arm. He pulled it free and headed to his bedroom, slumping down onto the bed and passing out again, his door was left ajar and open, out onto the corridor, it seemed he was still bleeding slightly from the cuts, slashes, gashes and various other wounds Cassidy had done to him and he was loosing a bit of blood, which was left in a slight pool by her door, and a set of drops along the corridor back to his room.

He couldn‘t be bothered, nor really had the strength to close and lock it.

Sephia followed the blood to Kristian’s room, and saw him lying there, half-conscious and bleeding. “Durak…” she muttered under her breath, which could be considered to be something along the lines of “idiot” with the tone she said it in. She closed the door behind her, and locked it, and walked over to him. “Your wounds are pretty bad,” she said. Her hair was straight; down; and fell in front of one of her icy eyes. For the first time; without the smug expression, she looked enchanting. She propped him up, and sunk her fangs into his neck, and drank. He let out a guttural sound from his throat. You are an idiot…you realize that don’t you, by now… she said to him silently and continued to drink, until she pulled away and spit out his blood. “Disgusting…”

“You know, if I didn’t know that you were Kristian,” she said aloud to the dying man, “I would have thought you were Terefedel from mother’s stories. You have such a weak resolve; a weak resistance…it’s a shame really. I thought you were one of the people that I would be able to count on. I do hope you prove me wrong,” with that she took out a small container; a juice box of some sort and put it to his lips, essentially forcing him to drink. As he did so his strength returned. Humans have water with electrolytes, in the Three United Empires, vampires have synthesized blood with potent healing components. Kristian looked at the smiling bat on the front of the juice box. It read “Kto, to pyot krovichnij sok, budet stroinee I visok, a kto krovnichnij sok ne pyot, zaboleet I umryot,” which translated into “They who drink this juice of blood, will be slimmer and tall. Those who don’t drink this juice of blood, will become sick and die”. Oh, how pleasant. At least it rhymed in their language.

It was the next day of classes; the first day of Manavex. To greet everyone over the loudspeaker was an announcement. “Manavex has been changed to the third room on Cerebrian Hall. Class will start in fifteen minutes. Do not be late. Cassidy and Kristian, if you would please report to the main office on the fifth floor immediately. That is all.” The announcement cut off.
------
Vivian white was tall with black hair and white eyes; pale skin as well, although she was not a vampire. No one was quite sure what she was just by her appearance. She wore a dark shirt with dark pants, not cliché at all, hmm? She awaited her students. There were no desks in the room, and Vivian herself was standing. It seemed almost as if she were blind with the color of her eyes, but she seemed to look at everyone that came within the room.
-----

When Kristian awoke the next morning, Sephia was gone and the door was left slightly open, as it had been the night before.

Kristian stood guiltily at the bottom of the stairs after he got up, the cuts on his neck hadn’t healed properly and were, instead, a new set of thin scars that traced across his neck. He sighed and frowned slightly. Was Sephia right, was his resolve weak?

Was he now weak? He always thought himself as strong, but now…

Fine, if he was weak then he’d find a way of making himself stronger.

He kept glancing back to the dorms where Cassidy still hadn’t come from yet. She was still asleep, and he could just sense, still angry at him.

The leopardess gave a soft growl of frustration and a final scratch before answering.

"Yes, we were created, originally. My people are neither native nor natural by any stretch of the imagination, though we have moved towards a more natural state since we won our freedom. I think I have an educational tape somewhere, or I can send for one. It would be easier and much less painful than my attempting to recite history. If you would prefer, the quick and short is that humans created bestials as slaves. The slaves rebelled and took over, and here I stand today. Or sit, rather, however uncomfortably. These chairs were not made with my physiology in mind."

She glanced down and back as she shifted in the chair, making sure her tail was through the hole at the rear. She patted a hand on her rump as she turned back to Schama.

"I don't have the rear padding humans do, or most humanoids. So, what about yourself? Where do you come from? What exactly are you? And what is an IS agent?"

Schama decided to answer the last question first since it was the only one she could, and would, answer completely.

“IS, Imperiale Sicherheit or Imperial Security. They are all that’s left of the United Empires of Eras. There are dozens, hundreds even, of them all over this part of the galaxy trying to avenge the destruction of their world. And they think that I am to blame for it so naturally every now and then some of the black-coats try to … well, I think they try to kill me though I never asked.”
She had presented this in a matter of fact tone that held no emotions. She could have been talking about the weather on a far-off island. But then she took a deep breath and looked away and her expression became harder, almost hostile.

“And maybe they have good cause to blame me. I don’t know much about my past and most of that is very blurred but …” Abruptly she got up, the chair’s legs screeching over the floor. She had already said too much.

“I’m sorry. I’ve classes tomorrow and need some sleep.”

_________

When the announcement woke her up Schama hadn’t gotten much sleep. Most of the night she had spent running around in her room like a tiger in a cage or laying on the bed with her eyes open. Fortunately the few hours of sleep she had gotten hadn’t been interrupted by nightmares.
Since she didn’t need to dress it was not five minutes later that she entered the classroom.

In the silence of her room, the girl merely groaned as she heard the announcement coming from the speaker near her door. She just pulled the comforter over her head, just wishing to be left alone and not talk to anyone. It was obvious that she and that bastard would be called before the headmaster for the lovely little...interaction the previous night.

With a heavy sigh, she threw the comforter off and moved to the bathroom. There, she splashed water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She was a bit of a wreck, with some dark circles under her eyes. Clearly, she hadn't slept well. Taking a brush, she ran it through her hair and let it simply hang down over her shoulders. Then, she dressed in a pair of jeans and a teeshirt. Departing, she took the stairs slowly, not caring to hurry or anything. However, even then, it wasn't long before she was standing outside the office, staring at the door blankly as she remained lost in a swirl of thoughts.

Finally, she knocked twice and waited.

Kristian stood quietly to her side, coming up the stairs after she swept past him silently, his finger traced the scars on his neck slightly and he sighed quietly.

His hands dropped to his side and he fidgeted slightly.

"Cassidy, I...."

The door opened and he was silenced immediately.

Felix tied his hair back into a pony-tail as he made his way to the Manavex classroom, dressed as he was accustomed -- a tight black t-shirt, loose black pants, and a pair of black near-leather boots. If he seemed a little unsettled because his Warpblade wasn't in its usual place -- slung crosswise over his shoulder, as he wasn't in armor -- well, he couldn't exactly be blamed. He wasn't used to being without the Warpblade for any significant period of time -- it was like an itch that he couldn't scratch. Sort-of like becoming aware that you didn't put on your watch in the morning -- and then can't stop thinking about it.

He pushed the classroom door open with moderate contempt -- due to the care that he forced himself to exert. He probably couldn't have overly damaged the door without actually trying, but if he let himself ease up in the slightest, even in something as inconsequential as opening a door, he might slip up where it counted. And that would be bad -- he was even stronger than he looked, and his great size and powerful physique made him look very, very strong indeed.

He noted the lack of chairs with interest -- and some relief. His was not a race blessed with the ability of fitting into chairs designed for other races with any particular ease...and he certainly had no qualms with standing.

Noting the Professor's eyes upon him, Felix favored her with a smile -- a brilliant thing from him, with his brilliantly white, even, teeth. Sevle were omnivores, adapted to survival in vastly diverse environments -- as a result, he was certainly lacking in the fangs that seemed so popular in this place...but he made up for it with his eyes. The warpfire that washed over his eyes was particularly strong this morning, crackling back and forth in tune with the ebb and flow of the forces of creation -- it was said that the eyes of a powerful Sevle Mage became windows into the inner workings of existence, and to attain the rank of Mage-Knight at Felix's age was an incredible achievement -- and a testament to his capacity for learning, and his potential.

But that was almost inevitable, considering who his parents were. Felix's father, Cassandros, was brother to Torquemada Illyrian -- by any measure, the greatest Mage to ever have drawn breath. Felix's mother, Arianna, was Kassigar Aedarion's daughter by Varsi Blackhammer, daughter of Katr Blackhammer of the Blood Dance. Felix was, thus, related by blood to the greatest Mages -- and Warmasters -- presently alive. An enviable position, but not one that he had let go to his head. Life in the Legions was not forgiving to arrogance.

Manavex was the toughest class in the academy. There was at least one death every year within the class. Even though White had been told to go easy until the second week, there may not be an exception this time. White watched as Sephia entered. “You’re late, Miss Shentavo…”

Sephia looked at Vivian for a moment. “Just taking care of a few things,” she said, and then rattled off something in enochial.

“I see,” said Vivian. She looked at the students, and her eyes settled on one. “You have more pretense than a Shentavo, Felix,” she said in a darkened tone. “Proud of your heritage is one thing, but to be reliant on that is weakness.” White walked around the room for a bit, still talking. “The fact of the matter is that while you are in this school, where you come from and who you are doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is if you can survive. Stand up…your first.” There was almost a perverted tone in her voice. Sephia looked out the window momentarily, then back to White. This couldn’t be good… Although with manavex, you always needed a live person to practice on.

The door opened. Qui sat on the corner of the desk, Ravelyn had headed towards one of the side doors. Suprisingly, she was the one to speak first. "Kristian, come with me..." she said, and he followed her without possible means of escape, through the door. It shut behind him. Qui closed the door behind Cassidy without getting up.

"Is your mind clear right now, Cassidy?"

Kristian simply followed Ravelyn through the side door and stood there, his head bowed slightly, his eyes were distant, vacant alomost and he didn't say a word, merely waiting for whatever Rave had to say, or do, to him. Though all things considered he had at least four new scars on his body, so didn't really need any more.

"Not going to say anything?" Ravelyn asked. She sat him down in a chair towards the edge of the room and absorbed herself, seemingly, in scanning over a solitary piece of paper. "You know Heruss is here," she said after a while. "He didn't want me to tell you, and he came for me instead of you. He truly believes that you are strong enough to do this yourself." She turned her sharp amber eyes towards him. They were illuminated like fireflies for a brief moment. "Sadly, I do not feel the same way."

Kristian merely looked up at her, holding her gaze, his own jade eyes holding their own against hers, his resolve had changed slightly as he sat in the chair. “I know he’s here, has he told you about our relationship troubles for the past, very convenient, nine months? How he‘s changed physically?” He looked down and added in a whisper. “How we’re no longer attracted to each other, because everything’s changed slightly.”

He then looked up at her, his eyes glistening slightly.

“You’re right, I can’t. Not at the moment and not with the subjects I’ve taken. I want to take Advanced combat as well. I need to get better to do this, for myself.”

Ravelyn looked down at him with her golden, inhuman eyes. "Wonder why someone like Heruss chose you? Didn't you cut me up not so long ago? Now you can't even hold a knife to my throat without me kicking the shit out of you." She said, folding her arms over her chest. "It's not your body that needs strengthening, it's your will. You are becoming a liability to stay here..."

“I never asked him.” Kristian said holding her gaze. “Yes I did, because I thought you killed him.” He gritted his teeth. “Then that’s what I want to improve while I am here, evidently with the classes I have taken I haven’t improved my will within the first week, therefore….” he bowed his head slightly and sighed. “I need help Ravelyn. You’re the only one I know who could help me.”

"This is true," she said in return. "You forget why you used that dagger?"

“Because I loved him and I was angry at you for not protecting him.” Kristian whispered. “But since then everything has changed and you seem to be the only one who doesn’t realise that.”

"Then you didn't love him," she said in response. "Meanwhile he told me he'd lose his life for you."

Kristian merely looked down at the ground and said nothing. “Then he hasn’t shown it at all in the last 9 months.” he said quietly after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Didn't you want to be left alone? Hmmm?" she said. "Go out on your own, find your own strength? I know I'd get pretty annoyed if Loki keened over my every move."

“There’s left alone and left alone, Ravelyn.” Kristian snapped back. “Not one physical encounter, not so much as an ‘I love you’ for Valentines day. Avoiding me at all costs except for at work where I played his clerk.” he stood up angrily and shouted at her. “That’s different to stepping back, isn’t it? How would you feel if Loki didn’t do a damn thing? Didn’t crawl into bed beside you every night? Didn’t tell you how much his soul yearns for yours? Well?”

"Because I already know it," she said, reached out, and took his throat into her slender, long-nailed hand, and sat him back down. She still had some physical strength left in her. "It's not like your losing time. You have a fucking eternity."

He rubbed his throat. “I don’t know if I do.” he said simply after a while. “I have developed Madulova syndrome. I can barely stand up against powerful auras and large concentrations of magic, this stupid thing.” he said holding up the ankh to her, “Is supposed to help limit the effects, but every time… every time it kills me, slowly and surely as long as I remain in contact with magical beings, which is my job, we‘re all hereded into Porphyria so we can be easily contained, magicals and vampires.”

"You sure that's what its supposed to do?" she asked as she eyed the trinket.

“As far as I know.” he said quietly. “Why, do you know what it’s supposed to do?”

Kristian took it from over his neck and handed it to her, sighing and looking at it. “So, no. I don’t have forever.”

"Oh, woe is you," she said dramatically, and took it in her hands. She walked over to her desk and sat down in the large leather chair. She studied it for a moment, then shuffled around in the desk drawers for something. "If I remember correctly...it should be in here somewhere."

Kristian leant forward. “What is?” he said, looking to her.

"Ah, found it," she said, and removed a hammer from the desk, then proceeded to, in one stroke, shatter the trinket to pieces.

Kristian looked at her in horror. “What have you done?” he screamed leaping to his feet and looking at the desk. “What have the fuck you done?”

"You’re in my academy to remain stronger," she said, standing up with her sharp eyes looking at him. "You aren't to rely on trinkets. Considering this one has been giving you seizures. You can submit to the fatality of what you have, or over come it. And don't give me the bullshit of no cure. If your will is strong enough, I have no doubt they won't affect you anymore. Better get to work then, hmm?"

Kristian sank to his knees looking at the trinket on the desk now smashed to pieces. “How do I do that?” he said quietly.

"I'll tell you what I tell my children," she said looking down at him. "You have to finish what you have started. And you kneel to no one." She walked towards the door. "I'll send Sephia for you later in the afternoon..." She opened the door for him.

Kristian simply left the room in silence, stunned by the events that had just happened. As Rave closed the door a voice came from the corner quietly. “That was a little harsh, that trinket cost quite a bit you know, hard to get hold of moonstone these days.” Heruss moved over to the desk and held his hand out over the remains, after a few seconds the trinket twitched and reformed, he picked it up and looked at it. “Hrm, I need to work on that a bit more, I can still see the fracture lines….”

"Harsh but effective," she said in return, looking over to Heruss. "You know my style has always been tough love."

He gave her his lopsided grin, but it didn’t quite work now, it seemed that his fangs, yes, two sets, caused his mouth to pull slightly, exposing them both to her for a brief moment. “How true.” he said, as his face became neutral again. “I don’t blame him though, it is my fault. I love him, but I haven’t done a damn thing for him since the end of the war.” he turned it over in his hand again, before putting the ankh around his neck, where it glowed lightly. “Our 170th anniversary went and I didn’t do a thing either. I went past our chambers to find he’d made me a special meal. He was asleep, and the candles he had set out were melted completely…”

"Why did you ignore him so?" She asked quietly. "Nothing to do with myself?"

“I don’t know… just…” Heruss said distantly, his eyes unfocusing. “Why do I come to you, Rave?” he said wistfully and in a bare whisper. “What draws me to you after everything…” he shook his head for a moment, his eyes focusing again. “I, I just don’t know.” he said finally baring his double sets of fangs. “Everything changed, I guess.”

"Turned straight?" she said, and sat on the edge of the desk. "Though I suppose I'm not male or female in actuality." At first it seemed to be a joke, but he realized it was a serious question.

“Not me, no. No chance.” he said with a smile. “But Kristian was always more… how to say, open from the start. It’s why I liked him. The risk, the feeling of conquest, but our relationship has been a constant one for 170 years, but the last 9 months we just… grew apart I guess. We’ve know all we need to know about each other.” he sighed and pressed his hand to his forehead. “Considering you’ve had two children, I think we can say you’re a woman here on earth.”

"Oh?" she said, and laughed. "Bored already?"

“I don’t know.” Heruss said as he leant on the desk next to her. “I think he just wants a shot at a slightly more normal life. Or maybe to try something new.” he shook his head. “Oh I don’t know. I’d still die protecting him, even if he doesn’t love me any more.”

Ravelyn sighed. "You beings are sooooo fatalistic," she said, drawing it out. Apparently she had a pleasant sense of humor today. "He gave up the normal life with the fangs, Heruss. There is no 'normal' life out there in the world. There is no white picket fence, no perfectly happy couples, life forever will be just a little bit off. You all have to stop chosing an unatainable idea as your life's aspiration."

“Life is a struggle Ravelyn, if we don’t strive for some utopia, we don’t live. We simply exist.” He put a hand on Rave’s and sighed. “Plus, if we didn’t struggle for something, we’d never struggle and be swallowed by the coming darkness…” he paused and looked to her again and kissed her cheek lightly. “Thank you for this talk though. When are you going to tell the students about what will happen?”

"Don't strive for perfection Heruss," she said simply. "It doesn't exist." She looked at him for only a moment. "I'd say wait another week, then I'll tell them only what they need to know. Until then, they only need to learn."

“You seem to exist.” Heruss chuckled before standing and stretching his arms. “I have to strive for something Azrael.”

"Is your mind clear right now, Cassidy?"

Cassidy turned to look at the headmaster, then shifted her eyes toward the ground. "Yes." she replied softly as she mulled over the previous night's activities. She looked up at him as she crossed her arms, "Sorry for the mess. He lied to me."

She had a number of feelings going through her mind, but she kept them at bay, keeping her mind sharp and calm. Her gaze shifted to the doorway that Rave and Kristian had gone through.

“You are lying to me right now,” Quissera chuckled to himself, his mismatched eyes meeting hers. When he wasn’t raging mad and scaring the hell out of someone, he was rather attractive. “Know this Cassidy, ever thought that you have, if I chose, I can become aware of. I’ve lived far too many years to be amused with lies any more. You could either a, not be aware that you’re not in the right state of mind, or b, that you are aware and just want to get the hell out of my office.” He half smiled, showing just a mere glimpse of his fangs.

“The fact of the matter is I don’t give a damn what he did to you. I don’t care if he lied to you, cheated, or raped you. All I care about is that you are fit to fight and continue in your studies. At the drop of a hat I want you to be ready to risk your life for another student, a professor, for Kristian...without any sort of hesitation. It has to be something automatic, and your mind has to be absolutely clear to do so. Secondly, you were reckless in fighting him yesterday. I don’t need you to harm each other, unless it is in class and you are told to do so. I have no time to deal with lover’s squabbles and hearing the whole who cheated on who, who kissed who, who did whatever. In this academy we train fighters. We have no need for you if you let your emotions run away with you and control your mode of thinking.”

“You have to be ready, willing, and able to risk your life for the person next to you, even if that person is the devil.” He pointed towards the door to dismiss her. “I want you to get a hold of yourself, and come back when you have done so.”

Felix shrugged lightly and stepped forward, as he had not been sitting -- would not sit, now. He seemed remarkably calm, considering the remarks that the...professor...had inflicted upon him. But he had never been prone to the honor-fueled rages that were once so very common amongst the Legion Sevle. There was little place for excessive prickliness in Torquemada Illyrian's Legions.

He rolled his shoulders, feeling the rush of coolness through his limbs and the sudden sense of practiced calmness, as his body awoke. He did not lose the projection of cockiness that he had effected, by-and-large, since his arrival, but it was, perhaps, slightly easier to see that it was, in fact, a projection. Perhaps, then, would could begin to glimpse the truth underneath -- the cool competence and unsurmountable resolve of a warrior who had seen his first battle at fifteen.

He glanced at the instructor. and smiled, and said, "As you say, Madam Instructor, and as you Will."

And then he was still and silent.

"I had perfect control over everything I did." Cassidy replied stauntly, her gaze now meeting the headmaster's own. "Everything I did, I did on purpose." She sighed, running a palm across her eyes as if they were fatigued. "But, I'll," she now moved her fingers to illustrate quotation marks, "get a hold of myself, whatever that means."

Only then did she heed his gestured command for her to leave. His words however did not leave her thoughts, and one thing puzzled her enough to force her to turn back to him as she stood in the threshold of the doorway.

"At the drop of a hat, be willing to risk my life for another student or professor?" She gave a moment's pause, as her eyes studied him carefully, searching for clues. "Something's going to happen, isn't it?"

Kristian stopped a flight down the stairs and sat down on them with a sigh and placed his hands to his temples, letting a single tear slide down his cheek before he took a deep breath and steadied himself. He decided to wait for Cassidy and talk to her when she was done with the Headmaster.

"Have to survive finals," he said with a half-hearted smile, and then turned away from her. "We train fighters, Cassidy, but there are no successful one man armies. One thing about our clan is, amidst the Shentavo clan, is that any one of us would risk our life for another one. We would all give our lives for our clan. This is why we are one of the most feared; because we care so, that it is in our instinct, we fight as one. I want the students in this school, to become a clan of their own; to form a tight bond that no sword can break. The only way your going to be able to do that is if you stop fighting amongst yourselves, and look at a bigger picture."

He looked out the window. "Come back to me when you are ready, Cassidy."

Shyne Bright gave a luxurious stretch as she slipped from sleep to waking, finding the sun just rising. It had been a restful nap. With nothing to do and no class, she decided it high time for some basic maintenance. She had not been informed about the temporary ban on weapons, and so thought nothing of carrying her small arsenal around the school. Everyone else here seemed armed to the teeth with natural and/or supernatural abilities. She felt it would at least even the playing field a bit. Taking her complete harness and donning it, she left her room and headed outside. Soon, she sat beneath the tree by the lake, her disassembled firearms laid out before her on a clean, white cloth. Piece by piece, she meticulously wiped each individual part down with a soft, oiled rag before reassembling them. It was a task given over to several hours, nearing noon before she finished.

That done, she re-entered the academy. She caught a semi-familiar scent as she crossed the central lobby and decided to see who it led to. Now was as good a time as any to begin learning the student's scents. It had the dry, almost dusty flavor that she was beginning to associate with Sephia and her parents, however where those three carried it as an overtone, this was merely a layer to the cake, an undertone. Intrigued, she dropped lightly to all fours, snuffling a bit, finding the scent carried in the air until she reached the top of the stairs. From there, she was able to follow it more easily along the ground, trailing footsteps. Soon enough, she found herself padding upwards towards Kristian. So, he was like the Sephia but less. Interesting.

"Good afternoon," she greeted, slipping into a slouch across several risers. "Fancy meeting you here." She attempted a rakish grin, which she had little hope of accomplishing. More likely it came across as a grimace. She made a mental note to practice human facial expressions in the mirror. If she was going to be around so many human-ish people, she might as well learn the language better.

“Is it?” Kristian remarked dryly with a sigh before glancing at his watch, it was indeed already the afternoon. “Mmm, seems so.” he said as he shook his head and glanced at her. “Uhm. I’ve just been in the headmaster’s office because me and another student fought in the canteen yesterday, personal reasons.”

"Oh... Well..." She tapped a thoughtful finger against her lower lip. "I don't suppose asking if you came out on top would be appropriate." She glanced back at him. "Well, you saw the headmaster and you're still alive. That's something, at least, neh? Probably helps that you're... semi-related?"

Kristian raised his eyebrow at Shyne. "Uh, no." He shook his head. "Just because I'm a Vampire doesn't mean I am related to them. Infact my branch of Vampires is very different to the vampirism that some of the others here suffer."

Vampires. Well, now, that was rather shocking. It explained the scent, but... Well, she had thought herself prepared for anything after her first two days. Apparently, she had been incorrect. The only sign of her surprise, however, was a momentary pause.

"The others don't seem to be suffering very much, from what I've seen. Except Sephia, though that doesn't seem to be from just being a vampire. Then again, I'm no expert. Gotta say, first time I've ever met any vampires." She let out a short bark of laughter. "Didn't even think they really existed. Then again, I've been getting that same look from the rest of you, so I guess we're on even ground, hm?"

Coming down the stairs slowly, one step at a time, Cassidy noted that Kristian was speaking to Shyne Bright, and merely halted a step away, crossing her arms over her chest as she awaited them to finish speaking to one another. Something about vampires.

As silence finally fell, she spoke to Shyne, "Excuse me." Then, she turned to Kristian. "We should talk."

Kristian tensed as he felt Cassidy come down the stairs, before finally she spoke to him, he looked to her and up into her eyes. Standing up he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, holding her gaze. "Yeah, we should." he said finally. "We'll use your room."

Shyne let out a soft sigh as she stood, nodding to the two as she headed upwards, past Cassidy, heading for the Headmaster's office herself. Such a budding social life she had. She was up to three minutes now, at least, before the conversation ended. Maybe she could push for three and a half next time. She knocked politely on the Headmaster's door, standing at ease as she waited for it to be answered.

It was only a few minutes after they had excused themselves from Shyne that Cassidy was unlocking her door and walking in. Kristian was right behind her, and he moved past her to stand in the middle of the room, looking very much uncomfortable and perhaps even anxious as he watched her close the door and remain standing there for several moments before she turned and faced him.

Her eyes scanned him, looking for injuries. Seeing no fresh wounds from last night, she was puzzled slightly as she looked him in the eyes now. "You're not hurt? I could've sworn I at least cut you a few times."

Kristian merely looked down for a moment, there were no fresh wounds but there were some light scars along his neck. “Sephia visited me afterwards last night, I lay outside your door for a bit before heading back to my room. I collapsed and she made me drink something, seemed to heal me right up.”

She blinked, "Outside my door? I thought you had left." Now it was her turn to look uncomfortable, and she did so by wringing a few fingers together slowly.

Kristian nodded. “Yeah, I kind of followed you and tried to apologise.” he placed his fingers against his temple and rubbed it lightly. “I was out of it from the blood loss I think. So I just collapsed outside. Eventually I woke up again and staggered back to my bedroom.” He looked down at the ground again and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Sorry.” he said after a few moments of silence.

Cassidy shook her head, "You should be. You lied to me, deceived me." She shifted her eyes to the ground, "And you hurt me more than you know." she said at last, these words barely perceptible, almost sounding like a sigh instead. She looked up at him now, "But, now it's my turn to apologize for kind of going banshee on you."


“Justifiable homicide.” Kristian said with a slight smile. “Just another set of scars to add to the collection.” he said quietly afterwards. He looked down at the floor, tracing the scars lightly along his neck before he took a step forward.

“How badly did I hurt you, Cassidy?” he said, looking up and into her eyes, his fingers still tracing very slowly and gently, almost absent minded along the scars.

She stepped back, holding her hands up for him to stop. "Had I known, I wouldn't have done anything." she replied, looking now toward his neck where he kept fingering a series of scars. "I was getting to really like you, more than a friend perhaps..." She sighed, "But, alas, you're happily married."

She turned away and crossed her arms in front of her, "The headmaster said we had to get over this. No one-man-armies he said."

“Cassidy, I…” he took another step towards her, barely a step behind her now, his hand reached out for a moment but then paused. “It’s not a happy marriage, not for a while now, I came here to get away from him and to try and see if I could still be independent and not need help all the time. I started to feel for you too….” he sighed and closed his eyes.

He let his hand drop a little and took a breath. “Though yes, you’re right. No one man armies. Everybody has to work together.”

He gritted his teeth for a moment and closed his eyes again, before opening them and placing his hand on her shoulder. “I still like you, Cassidy.” he said in a whisper. “Quite a lot.”

Her chin dropped to her chest as he laid his hand on her shoulder and spoke the words she had hoped he wouldn't say. How could he? He was married! Looking over her shoulder at him, she spoke as she took his hand off her shoulder and held it in both of hers. "I appreciate it, really...but I cannot. You can't either. I'm sure in your vows you swore a binding oath to stick together, for better or worse." She licked her dry lips and looked into his eyes, "And I won't allow you to forfeit that, to hurt him."

“It’s not even a proper marriage anyway.” Kristian said as his arm came away from Cassidy and he looked down at the floor again. “We’re not properly married. We can’t be. We’re dead. It’s just a social thing.” he looked down and to his left, his eyes sliding down to the floor with the turn of his head. “Sometimes… sometimes I hate this bond, bond that I had anyway.” he sighed, threw his arms up into the air and then sat down on her bed, putting his head into his hands. “Nothing for nine months. No feelings, no time out.” a tear welled and rolled down his cheek. “I actually had things ready for our anniversary. I’d prepared a meal and everything and he just ignored it.” he threw himself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling vacantly. “He ignored it completely. So he can’t love me any more. 150 years or so of anniversaries and then everything changed nine months ago. Since then nothing.”

She gave him a look of pity, though he probably didn't wish for her pity. "Kristian...have you even spoken to him? Told him these feelings of yours?"

“When I can find him. I’ve tried a number of times. Shouted at him. Everything. Nothing worked. He just ignored me all the same, eaten by his own thoughts, his own selfish thoughts.” Kristian’s voice dropped into an odd monotone now as he continued to stare at the ceiling. “I came here to get away from him and instead it turns out he’s followed me here also. I need…. Freedom.” he said, his voice trailing away into a whisper.

"Freedom I don't have." she replied in equal quietness, "I'm just a person with an ability to mist at will. The freedom you're looking for..." she looked deeply into his eyes now, a hand reaching out to rest against his chest, "is in here, not out here." she now waved to the area around them. "Find your peace...and you'll find your freedom."

“I felt more at peace with you than I have done in a long time, Cassidy.” Kristian said as his hand came to rest on hers. “A kind of peace I hadn’t felt since that summer over a hundred years ago.” He shook his head. “And now it’s all blown, isn’t it?” He closed his eyes, his thumb gently rubbing her hand. “Nine months, all because of nine months ago I cannot have peace before death. Hmm?”

She looked up at him, "Me? Peace?" she laughed as if she had noted an oxymoron. "Mists are not exactly peaceful. But, you said he's here? Go to him now, and settle it once and for all. If you return, should you return..." By that, she impressed in her tone that she meant that if the two of them had severed all bonds and vows together...one last thing together. "Then we'll see how things go then."

He opened his eyes again and looked up at her and smiled slightly, taking a deep and unnecessary breath. “That’s the thing, I cannot feel the bond at all any more. Nothing. I haven’t been able to for months. That’s what’s worried me, why I can’t talk to him because I don’t know what to say. It’s like somebody turned a switch off nine months ago. I feel… nothing anymore.” he closed his eyes. “It’s more like an inner peace. I don’t know. Like there’s something there flicking in the future, a spark or something and it rests with you. So I feel more… settled, more stable. Less prone to over the top emotions.”

Cassidy rolled her eyes, "Oh for goodness sake." She took him in her hands and shook him, "Find him the old fashioned way! Ask around! Who does he know? Who's seen him?" She released him and put her hands on her hips, "You'd make a horrible journalist, you know?"

“It’s different to that, Cassidy. Different for Vampires, there’s a kind of link a subconscious link and once it’s gone, that’s it. It’s caput, gone completely.” Kristian said with a frustrated sigh and sat up on the bed, looking up at her. “I can’t ask around because he’ll have kept to himself. He’ll have kept away from me because I asked it. I don’t want to ask because he was becoming suffocating.” he shook his head. “I don’t want to.” he said finally. “I have to learn to start standing on my own two feet, start making decisions myself. That will make my will stronger.” he stood up suddenly, right up against Cassidy and looked deeply into her eyes. “I have to become more independent and decide what’s better for me than for him. I’ve spent 150 years or more thinking of him. Now I don’t have that bond I should try thinking about myself more.” he leant forward, his eyes boring into hers in a mesmerizing way. “Alright?”

Her gaze met his with equal immunity. "Your powers of persuasion need work too." She shifted her footing as she thought, "You said you know he's followed you here though. Is there a chance he's here to see someone else, another vampire perhaps?" Her eyes lit up, "The headmaster or the headmistress?" She looked around her bland room now as if searching for something. However, her attention returned a moment later to him. "I don't want there to be a chance he still loves you, though you don't know it. Find closure, or a new chapter...that is your task." She gave him a small smile, "I'll help you find him if you want."

Kristian nodded. “Alright, alright. I think I want closure.” He sighed and places his hands on her shoulders. “Help me then.”

Outside the Academy

Kristian kept glancing to his side, checking every few moments that Cassidy was still there, that she hadn’t misted and vanished, leaving him in the lurch. He ran a nervous hand through his hair and looked at her again as they continued to walk through the Academy grounds, searching for Heruss.

Cassidy finds that dude, leaves Kristian and him alone to talk. Cassidy finally gets fed up with that dude, kills him with a wallet flying out of nowhere, and loaded down with maxed out credit cards. Cassidy goes to Kristian and takes him off into the deep black of space to make him her prisoner of affection on a distant world where the term "waterboarding" is something the kids do after church.

Snapping out of her thoughts of dark menace, Cassidy was aware that Kristian was still anxious and kept glancing over at her. "Relax." was all she said as she returned to her slightly psychotic thoughts.

“Right, it doesn’t help that you have that odd look in your eye though.” Kristian said with another worried glance.

"Odd look?" Cassidy retorted with a scoff. "It's not like I was planning on killing Heruss or anything." She ran a hand up to her ear, scratching at it absently. "No, we'll just find him...and talk..."

Kristian stuck his hand out to the side across Cassidy’s chest at that moment, his hand coming over her chest and resting there as he looked ahead of him, where by a tree by the lake, a distinctive puff of a smoke ring was seen drifting across the water.

Letting out a somewhat loud cry, Cassidy snapped her hand up at his wrist, and twisted it away from her breast where he had grabbed her. As he went down to a knee in surprise due to his arm being twisted about, the other hand went to the back of his neck, holding him down. Her voice growled into his ear, "That is mine." Then, her eyes shifted to the puffs of smoke coming from behind a tree up ahead and she released him. "That's him?"

“Ow, ow!” Kristian said as he suddenly found himself nearly on the floor. “Yeah, that’s him. Must be his smoking spot.” Kristian hissed. “Let me go.” he said after a moment.

Releasing him, Cassidy watched as he stood back up and turned her attention back to the tree. "That tree's not big enough to hide any man...so where is he then?"

“He’s there. Do you want to come with or stay here?” Kristian said, looking her in the eyes and biting his lip for a moment, before turning and walking across to the tree.

“Wondered when you’d come looking for me.” Heruss remarked as he blew another smoke-ring across from the tree, where he was actually lying down in front of it.

“Yeah…” Kristian said quietly as he looked down as he mulled over the words.

“You’ve come to ask wether I still love you, haven’t you Kristian?” Heruss said as Kristian began to draw breath to speak.

“Yeah…” Kristian managed quietly.

“I do still love you Kristian,” Heruss said looking up. “But I cannot feel you anymore. I cannot feel the link between us.”

“Me either.” Kristian said quietly, his voice barely a whisper.

Heruss looked back out across the lake. “Then perhaps that’s the cost. The only change for you.” his voice drifted a little, almost as if in a dream. “Maybe that’s the cost.” he said with a sigh.

“Of the changes?” Kristian said suddenly with a slight panic in his voice. “Because of the Shentavo’s we can’t be together?”

“Shhh, don’t worry Kristian.” Heruss said as he sucked on his pipe again. “Don’t fret, it’s all a consequence.” he pulled a ring off of his finger and stood up, placing it into Kristian’s hand, he looked down at it. His face was set in a slightly blank look, Kristian knew the look and bit his lip. Nearly biting back a sob.

“I’ll always be there for you, and I’ll always be your sire, but if you want to go and do as you will, then that is what has happened to fate. The change. You’ve become more adventurous, that’s a plus. But the cost, the cost was your love for me.” He nodded. “I have to accept that, it’s the burden we all have to carry Kristian. I’ll be there for you, but no longer as a husband.” With that, he tapped his pipe out on his boot and walked away. Though neither of them could see, tears streamed down his face as he walked away.

Kristian simply stood, looking at the ring in the palm of his hand. It was also made of the blue moonstone material, he traced his thumb absent minded over it as he continued to stare.

Cassidy had remained back, allowing the two of them to speak in quiet amongst each other, but she knew what had transpired in only a few minutes. The feeling of sadness and loss was heavy in the air and she saw it in Kristian's slumped shoulders and the slow, heavy-footed departure of Heruss.

Moving closer several minutes after Heruss had disappeared from sight, she appeared next to Kristian, glancing down at his hand and the ring in its palm. She looked away back to where Heruss had gone and couldn't understand how he could have so easily just ended it right there. It seemed that they had both known this was going to happen, sooner or later and Heruss had been a bit more prepared.

Then, ever so softly, she turned to Kristian and pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him in a compassionate hug. She could sense he was hurting, and perhaps even wanted to cry, but she would not do anything other than just be there for him.


“That’s why…” Kristian said so quietly she could barely hear as he placed his head on Cassidy‘s shoulder and hugged her back, his arms locking around her back. “He didn’t talk to me for months, he still loved me….” he continued thumbing the ring, a tear in his eye. “He wanted it to last for longer than it would have had we actually been together like we normally did.” He sobbed now, another tear rolling down his cheek. “Oh God, all because of nine stupid months and one event.”

"It's over now." she replied softly as she held him close. The irony of him pressed against her, when only moments before she had twisted his arm for copping a feel on her, was not lost on her. She looked back yet again to where Heruss had gone. She had the distinct feeling he'd not return anytime soon, if ever.

Kristian pulled away from her slightly, his cheeks were tear-streaked. “I guess I have my closure.” he said after a moment or two, he then pressed his forehead to Cassidy’s as the rain began to beat down again. “We should get back inside.” he said, looking up at the rain. “All of heaven weeps.” he said, then turned back to her. “What do I do now, Cassidy? What do I do?”

Releasing Kristian from the embrace, she did walk with him, sort of pushing and pulling him back to the Academy. He was trembling, though he probably didn't know it, and she knew it was not from the cold rain.

Back inside the Academy

It wasn't long before she had him in her room, which had simply been closer to the way they had come in than his room was. She gently pushed him onto the bed and told him to lie there as she gathered a blanket and pulled it over him. "For now, you need to simply work yourself through your emotions. Settle it in your mind. Deal with the aftershocks." Then she turned and left the room, returning some time later with some of the blood offered in the mess hall and set it down on the nightstand nearby. "For when you need it. Sorry it's not a lot. They wouldn't let me take any more."

Kristian looked over at the blood. “Thanks.” he said weakly after a moment. “I think the shock of the bloodloss from last night, and this shock means I’d need…” he stopped, chewing his lip. “I need fresh blood.” he said after a moment, looking from the pint, up to her. “I can survive on blood samples like this, but from the blood loss last night and this shock…” he looked away from her. “But I know it’d be rude for me to ask after everything I’ve done so far.”

"You need a horse or deer or something? I can get that. Probably will have something like that wandering in the woods." Cassidy asked as she sat down on the edge of his bed, looking down at him. In this moment, he seemed old, worn, and even mortal. She stood up and began walking to the door, "I'll see what I can do to get you what you need." she said.

“Not animal… human, or humanoid.” he said as she reached the door. “I….” he said hesitating again. “I’m asking for you. Cassidy, your blood.” He sat up slightly in the bed looking at her, a mixture of worry and slight hope evident in his eyes.

She froze and turned slowly to face him, her eyes piercing his gaze as he looked fearfully and hopefully at her. He really was pitiful, and she was not aware immediately that a chortle had escaped her lips as she worked up her response. "My blood? But won't that turn me or something? No offense, but I don't want to be a va--" she paused as his gaze grew in sadness, and yet she saw in his eyes that her fear of being turned was irrational. It took more than that, she realized, but what that was, she never wanted to find out, at least not personally. Unwittingly, her feet dragged her closer, and she knelt down beside the bed, her fingers curled over its edge as they rested there. Her gaze had never left his, even as she spoke a few words she before had never dreamed she'd be saying. "All right.”

Kristian smiled at her as she said it was ok. “I won’t turn you, I promise. To put it… well unsubtly, I am feeding off of you. It’s a kind of..” he paused. “Kind of intimate thing, in my culture, it signifies that you find somebody attractive.” He shifted over in the bed slightly and gently patted the bed, signalling her to lie down next to him. “It’ll hurt, a bit at first.” he said quietly, looking at her. “Then you should actually start to find it kind of pleasurable. Weird I know, but it does feel… nice.”

Raising an eyebrow at the intimacy suggested, she still found herself complying to his request to rest next to him. She crawled next to him, suddenly feeling nervous, unsure of what to expect. How painful? How intimate? How would she feel when it was all over? Violated? Satisfied? Weaker? Stronger? All these thoughts swirled through her mind as she looked up at him as he was propped up by his elbow and looking down at her. "Ok." she whispered so softly that even he might wonder if she had spoken at all. "I'm ready...I think."

Carefully and slowly he then gently pushed Cassidy onto her side, so her neck was more exposed. He gently pushed her hair out of the way of her neck and began to kiss there, little spots up and down her neck before he settled on one spot about halfway up her neck. He then opened his mouth and sank his fangs into her neck, causing her to jump and cry out a little in pain, his hand came to caress her cheek as she quietened for a moment as slowly she began to feel pleasure from the experience, after a short while he pulled away from her neck, kissing the wound closed carefully. His skin colour had changed, it had an almost healthy and human glow to it, slowly he moved back up to her eye level and smiled. “Thank you.” he said quietly to her. “You feeling ok?”

Cassidy, pale-faced, nodded slowly as she opened her eyes and moved to sit up. However, the drain had taken more than just her blood and she felt herself black out, her hands thrashing out to grip at something, anything to steady herself. However, gravity seemed to yank her sideways and her arms seemed to move way too slow for her liking. The ground came at her face like an inescapable wall meant to stop her ascent, or was it descent? In a millisecond, she had passed out completely...

Kristian caught her, just before she hit the floor, unfortunately to do so he had to grab her by the hair. Gritting his teeth and wincing slightly he reached over and pulled her back up onto the bed, throwing the blanket over them both. He looped his hand up over her waist, and then up to her chest, resting it next to her, rather than touching her. He kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, I must have taken a little too much from you Cassidy.” he said quietly to her unconscious form. Resting his head back on the pillow he too, fell into a sleep of sorts.

It wasn’t a sleep per-se. Midlonian Vampires of the Porphyrian strain have the ability to absorb and assimilate abilities they come across in the blood of people, beasts or creatures. Kristian had never done this before, so felt immensely tired as his body began to assimilate and control the ability he had absorbed off of Cassidy. Fortunately his body found it difficult, and when he would awake, he’d find the arm across Cassidy to be nothing but a fine mist in the rough shape of an arm.

It all depended on who would wake up first, however.

Shyne gave another knock at the door, hoping the Headmaster was in. She sniffed curiously at the crack in the door, but his scent and that of Ravelyn were too heavily associated with the room for her to tell if there were any recent trails. She let out a soft sigh, resuming her earlier stance. She assumed that he would be there, considering Cassidy had come down just prior to her going up, but there might be other ways into and out of the room. Considering the nature of its owners, there may be more than just the usual ways of entrance and egress. She would allow a little more time, though, before giving up her hopes for lost.

In the state of limbo between consciousness and unconsciousness, there is a strange awareness and simultaneously a dullness of one's surroundings. From noises, to temperatures, to the presence of others in the room. From light, to dark, from fresh air, or stale. All these are the subconscious's attempt to remain grounded so that everything else that remains is firmly rooted in some semblance of order and understanding. Cassidy's mind first became aware of a soft breathing next to her, almost coupled instantly with that of a body warmth pressed against her own body. However, what truly startled her mind was the presence of another Mist, something she sensed as if it were a sixth sense. Opening her eyes, she glanced down slowly to the wavering outline of someone's arm across her abdomen.

A hand slowly reached up and caressed her scalp. It hurt for some reason, a dull aching pain that wouldn't go away, as if her hair had tried to remove itself. Then, she looked to the side, up at the face that slept beside her. Kristian. She thought as she had her memories returned. The last thing she had recalled was the floor rising to caress her pretty face.

Her attention returned to Kristian's arm, and she wondered at this. How had she not sensed he was a Mist before? How and why was he doing it now?

She nudged him with an elbow, "Hey...wake up."

“Mneh.” Kristian twitched slightly, he then opened his eyes with an unnatural and quiet hiss. “Hey.” he said after a moment, nuzzling his nose gently against her neck, squeezing her abdomen lightly. “You feeling better?”

She merely nodded, ever so slightly smiling as he nuzzled her neck. Her expression however turned to one of concern and interest, "You never told me you were a Mist, nor did I sense that in you...so, how did you hide it?"

“I’m a what?” Kristian said blinking one and frowning at her as he sat up a little. “I’m a Vampire, but not a mister…” he said in slight confusion.

She reached out with her own hand as it too turned to mist and took hold of his own arm and pulled it up for him to see, "You're doing it now, though partially." she stated, "You're exhibiting more than vampire qualities."

Kristian stared at his arm which was hazy, slight wisps drifting from it before coming back into his arm. “Uhhh, oh.” he frowned again. “Oh!” his face lit up in sudden realisation. “Uh, well. Kinda complex to explain I guess…” he continued looking at his arm in fascination. “My kind of Vampirism can partially absorb abilities in people’s blood. I guess I got some of your misting abilities because your blood is in me, so my body has absorbed and taken on some of the qualities.” He smiled a little. “It’s kind of awesome.”

It was Cassidy's turn to frown now and she felt a tinge of protectiveness. "Well...you can't have it. I forbid it. Lose it now." she demanded, her tone surprisingly icy. Her eyes met his and studied them, "It is only temporary, right?"

“Uhm. I dunno.” he said looking at her with slight shock. “I’ve never done it before. I’m sorry, but I really don’t know if it’ll go. I didn’t think about it when I bit you Cassidy. I’m sorry if it offends you, but I can’t do anything about it.”

She sighed, running the latest words spoken through her mind for the tenth time already. "Well, you said it's only partial, so at the very least, I can still best you if I need to." How she knew this, just knew it deep inside her, she didn't know. Her fingers however moved to her neck, indicating a shift in her thoughts. "That was interesting." She smiled slightly. "Definitely something I've not done before, but still interesting."

She turned to get out of the bed, moving to a wall mounted mirror where she visually inspected her neck. There was nothing there anymore, not that she could see, but she could feel it still, feel his razor sharp fangs slipping past her skin, piercing her artery, his tongue retrieving the spilling blood.

“Oh, suddenly a convert to vampires then?” Kristian said with a slight smile. “It was… different for me too, you…” he coughed and grinned properly this time, chuckling a little. “Taste nice. You remind me a lot of the seaside, which I like.” He looked across to her. “The feeling of the bite will pass in a while, it seems you’re different to normal humanoids in that you don’t have any marks remaining.” When she turned to look at him quizzically he continued. “I, can still feel it a little, the feeling of your neck on my lips.”

"Only as much as you're a convert to Mists." she retorted as she turned back to him and crossed her arms across her chest and leant back on the dresser. She listened as he spoke of her unique taste, and reassured her about the residual feelings before he spoke of his own.

For a few moments as he spoke, her mind wandered to more...personal matters...and it took her a little bit of time to realize what she was doing. She snapped back to the present and changed the discussion. "I wonder when the Mending class will be? Seems like forever and a day ago that I had my AVC class."

“I really don’t know.” Kristian said with a shrug as he leapt out of the bed gracefully, his arm solidifying again as he did so. “The timetable is all screwy, I know Manavex is on now, which means Mending may be after lunch.” he looked into her eyes. “You ok? You seemed to be a little… spaced, if you ever want to do that again, I won’t take as much off of you. I must have had slight blood-lust. Sorry for making you pass out like that.”

"Yeah, I'm fine, other than my head hurting." Cassidy replied as she massaged one of several sore areas on her scalp. Then, she looked at him, "You pulled my hair didn't you? To keep me from hitting the floor?" It was more of rhetorical question. It was obviously what had happened. There was no other explanation possible. "Thanks...I guess."

Kristian rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. “Well, better than a bloody nose after all the blood loss in the first place.” He looked out of the window where rain still ran down the panes of the windows.

“So, what do you want to do now, Cassidy?” he said looking back to her.

"I'm not sure. Just hang out here for a while I suppose until someone decides to tell us what's next on the school's itinerary. I've got nothing to do until then." Cassidy replied as she pulled out a deck of cards from her bag nearby, still unpacked. "Poker?" she questioned him with a predatory look in her eye and a glinting smile, or was that a sneer?

Kristian grinned. “Why do I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach? What’re you going to suggest after I lose a few games? Strip-poker?”

Her feral grin was wider now as she feigned an innocent look, "Stripping? Oh no! Besides, I'm a girl, and everyone," she rolled her eyes at this moment, "knows that girls suck at poker. You might end up getting more of a treat of eye-candy than me!"

She tossed the deck to him, "Although, I wouldn't be surprised if you snuck a peek or copped a feel on me while I was unconscious earlier. You did that earlier when I was conscious, so a possibility of doing so without consequences? Bet you couldn't pass that up, could you?"

Kristian picked up another card and his shoulders sank. He definitely wasn’t any good at this game, as the shirt, shoes, socks and pants on the floor next to him showed. Looking back up at the largely clothed Cassidy he frowned. “You’ve got to be fiddling the cards.” he said simply to her.

Cassidy merely shook her head, her gaze moving down to the cards in her hands. Her shoes, socks and jeans were also next to her, but she was doing better by a full shirt and underwear. Slowly, she took the next card and surveyed her hand before she looked back up at him, a grin on her face. However, it was falsified, because in actuality, it was a bad hand. She wasn't about to let him know just yet though. "I'm calling you out, boyo." she spoke cooly, her hand pressed against her chest as if to thwart any attempt on his part to sneak a peek somehow.

“Alright.” Kristian said as he placed the cards down onto the table, then turned them over one by one.

Glancing down at his hand, she saw that with a card from the line, he had a three of a kind. "Not bad, three two's."

Then, she looked up at him, and without further hesitation, she laid her cards down all at once and face up.

"Two pair..." she commented, "Lucky bastard."

Then, she leaned back a bit, wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her shirt up to toss it aside, shaking her hair free to shake out it's tangles. "You better hope you win this next round, or you're done."

Kristian smiled widely and laughed. “Yeah, I doubt my luck will hold though.” he shook his head as he dealt the next hand himself this time. “Oh well,” he said nonchalantly, “At least the view has been pleasant.”

He stretched, arching his back slightly showing off his toned body and the numerous scars across his torso. “So, what do you want to do after this game then? Go swimming?”

Taking her two cards and looking at them, she saw she had a Queen of spades and a 10 of hearts. He laid the first three cards down, and she was pleased to see a Jack and a nine; just one card shy of getting a straight.

She merely shrugged at his question. She had no plans, and wasn't sure what else there was to do around here other than studying, practicing combat techniques, or swimming.

Kristian shrugged and picked his cards up and his eyebrow twitched slightly. He had a pair of threes.
He then laid the other two cards down next to him and picked slightly at the edge of one of the cards in his hand before stopping and looking across to Cassidy, a look of what could only be pure fear was conveyed to her.

Cassidy merely grinned. This hand was all but hers now. Only one card stood for her to take and make something disappear. Her eyes stole a glance at him in his sole piece of clothing left. The grin got wider.

"Let's go already." she urged, her eyes now on the cards awaiting to be turned over.

Kristian merely gulped and turned the cards over, before placing his two cards down also, he looked up to Cassidy after he looked down at the cards on the table and licked his dry lips.

"Oh shit." Cassidy said as she saw he had a four of a kind. She looked down at her hand, her failed hand. Even if she had gotten the card she wanted to make the straight legit, he would have won.

"I've got nothing." she spoke quietly. "You win. Four of a kind." She tossed her cards down and looked back up at him. "Guess I better follow through then."

That said, she reached back and began to undo her bra. However, just as the garment slipped free to reveal herself to him, she suddenly turned completely to mist and hovered there.

However, in the form of mist, her face still appeared as a relief in the surroundings. She gave him a wicked smile, "You're not THAT lucky."

Kristian grinned widely. “Oh that’s just cruel.” he laughed. “Really cruel and heartbreaking Cassidy.” he then stood up, still in his boxer shorts and looked out the window. “Seeing as we’re largely undressed and the rain has stopped, fancy going to the pool?”

"Not really." she replied as her clothing was lifted from the ground as if it had a life of its own and the mist swirled about as it gathered within and solidified. "I might love water...but not all the time." she explained. "Maybe they have a pool table or something?"

Schama watched with interest as Felix got ready for whatever the instructor had in mind for him and wondered what was about to happen. On the one hand there was the Sevle, a most formidable physique paired with an overwhelming presence that had nothing to do with his body. On the other hand there was … what? Miss White certainly was no match for Felix when it came to simple brute force of muscle though, as Schama knew, those things were sometimes hard to predict.
But Miss White definitely had presence herself. Not the same kind of presence Felix had; pride, arrogance, stoicism and, over all, the certain knowledge to be able to handle almost everything that came his way. Not necessarily to survive it but to handle it.
Miss White was … different. And Schama was curious as to how those differences would work to defeat Felix. Because somehow there was no doubt that he would be defeated. Miss’s White demeanour didn’t leave room for that.

Joshua had a history of up and vanishing. Often he would blame it on food poisoning or an urgent request for assistance but in reality he didn't know what it was and often assumed it was tied into the forces that brought him back from his untimely death years before.
This time he awoke in his room, sticky from sweat and generally exhausted combined with the gap in his memory.
Climbing out of the imprint on his floor he stumbled to his bathroom to clean himself up somewhat before wandering out to attempt to find out what he missed.

Ten or so minutes later he had changed his shirt and began to walk out of his room, his eyes blinded by the sun as if they hadn't been used in a rather long while. Pausing to let them adjust he quickly thought of who to look for and decided on the only two students whom he has had any real conversations with, Kristian and Cassidy.
After recalling roughly where there rooms were he began to wander towards Cassidy's first and after a minute or so knocked on the door debating on what excuse to use this time.

Kristian had been trying to pull his pants back on, and with a clumsy shuffle and a trip over his shoes he crashed to the floor, knocking the small table over that they’d been using for poker with a thud. A quiet “ouch” drifted up from the floor.

Followed by a gabbled “Don’topenthedooryet.”

Her in ruffled clothes and him half stripped and on the floor would probably cause a few raised eyebrows, and he could do without dying of embarrassment. He continued to struggle for his shirt, but then seemed to be feigning putting it on, almost as if a part of his subconscious wanted to catch him with Cassidy in this state.

Felix stood, and White looked over him, her indeed white eyes staring at him. “Manavex deals with the manipulation of the mind. In the next two weeks I will teach you two abilities; the power to instill fear within your opponent, so much so that they break…that they run. To control them and their movements. Make them kill themselves. There is a high risk even in practicing. Once false move, the soul of your opponent might be lost, broken, or you could kill them. Since we are working to do these very things, the headmaster will be assisting in the second week so you have someone to truly practice on. Make no mistake, this is not a reckless art even though the damage that may be caused is great. Everything is controlled and precise. You hit the wrong part of the mind or soul, you might end up making your opponent stronger.”

She looked at Felix; who seemingly held no fear. If she wasn’t human, and she wasn’t a vampire, what was she? She met his eyes and instantly enthralled him. “Can you step forward Felix?” she asked, but his body was as heavy as marble, and while he gave the command to step forward, his body would not obey. “You can render your opponent’s body useless…you can see why this can prove fatal. One moment without movement and you could get a knife stuck in your heart.”

Felix...frowned. Narrowed his eyes, then became very, very still. The warpfire that normally washed over his eyes seemed to became lethargic in movement, then vanish almost entirely, leaving only a few stray spots of wild color behind.

His legs seemed to tremble, as if he was on the verge of collapse, though his facial expression had become one of near serenity. Seconds ticked by, and then he exhaled explosively and stumbled, dropping onto a knee as his hands shot down to catch himself.

He was panting, drawing breaths in deep gasps, and he seemed to take a moment to recover before he heaved himself to his feet. Even then, he seemed unsteady, almost as if he was holding his balance only through sheer force of will. His eyes were unfocused, staring at nothing at all, and his hands were clenched into fists.

An instant later, whatever had come over him passed, and a shiver ran the length of his body. He opened his left hand, and the very perceptive would notice a small bead of an intensely black material drop to the ground and...vanish.

"That's a neat trick. Right through my defenses, like they weren't even there."

There was, perhaps, a hint of respect in his voice, but there was also something...else. Something that sounded very much like concern. There was a taint of fear, perhaps, but if one knew enough to detect it, one probably also knew enough to understand that it was directed internally.

His right hand came up to cradle his forehead for a moment, then dropped and he shook his head, as if to clear it. His eyes blazed again with the patternless fury of potential itself, and it was clear that whatever great effort he had just exerted had claimed its price from him and left. The truly perceptive might have realized that Felix was acting, had been since his legs began to tremble. He was good, quite good, but he hadn't gotten all of the fine details perfect. Near perfect, yes, but not absolutely perfect.

The truth was that he was covering things up, acting to conceal the actions that he had taken within his mind by providing a physical spectacle to draw the attention of those who might be capable of seeing what had occured when Miss White had so casually breached his defenses. Because the instinctual, gut-level response of a Sevle faced with magic -- or 'supernatural' power of any sort -- was to channel it.

Unlike other 'magic users,' Sevle mages do not draw power from internal reserves...because they don't have internal reserves. 'All skill and no power,' so to speak. In order to function at all, a Sevle must tap an external source of energy to 'fuel' his or her 'magic.' This was why Sevle Ritual Magic was as incredibly powerful as it was -- multiple Sevle working in conjunction may refine a relatively small amount of beginning power into something that could eventually be used to dramatic effect. It was also why only the most powerful of Mages ever seemed to actually employ their powers, with one notable exception.

Any Mage, and to a lesser extent, any Sevle, when faced with 'magical' attack, would instinctively seek to channel that attack. There had once been a time when the Sevle were more numerous and magic use was somewhat more common, that Sevle Mages were renowned as 'Mage-Killers,' and though their notoriety had essentially vanished completely, their skill and traditions remained.

There was, however, a catch -- and it was something of an obvious one. If one did not engage a Mage with 'magical' force, then that Mage was faced with attempting to draw power from another source, which was exceedingly dangerous in battle, where one was unable to devote one's entirety to the task. As a result, most Mages never actually used their 'abilities' in battle, acting, for the most part, indistinguishably from their less-gifted brethren, as Legion Voidstrikers.

That in mind, the question must be asked: Why did Felix act in the manner he did? The answer was that Felix had found himself facing one of the more dangerous aspects of the Mage's existence -- the threat of becoming overwhelmed, and in the face of that threat, he had very nearly, in his desperation, drawn on Creation itself to lash out his attacker, in an attempt to buy time, and that was something that he could not allow himself to do.

Felix had abilities far in excess of his actual skill, and he knew it -- he should not have been able to draw upon the Warp without extensive skill and experience, but it was something that he had always been able to do. Unfortunately, he lacked the skill to do so safely, and what was an exceptionally risky action for even the most skilled Mages would have been essentially suicide for him -- he would have been Dispersed almost instantly, lost within the greatness of all that could ever be...and unlike his father, there was no beacon of love to draw him back once he was gone.

He had thought himself safe enough from that threat here, but understood now that he had been in error, and that...frightened him. Frightened him all the more because he had felt the power boiling in the dark part of his psyche that he had 'locked' that ability into, and had, for an instant, fallen prey to the seductive delusion that he could have harnessed that power. He'd stopped himself in time, but it had been...close.

The panting and hard breathing, at least, had not been acting -- his brush with death had, indeed, left him quite physically drained...and he couldn't help but wonder if Ms. White knew how close she'd come to killing him, and if that hadn't been her intention in singling him out in the first place. The knowledge that had he fallen prey to Dispersal, she would have, at the least, been severely inconvenienced by the after-effects was small comfort. Indeed, that knowledge almost made things worse. The Dispersal of a Sevle into the Warp tended to displace some of the things that already existed there -- the resulting explosion would be bad. The...things...that emerged in its aftermath were unquestionably worse.

Still, this was his problem, his curse to bear -- and his alone. Thus.

"If an individual with a knife gets close enough to me to stick it into my heart, then I've already screwed up by the numbers. Still, that is a neat trick...now how do I defend against it?"

Though his intonation was such that one could, perhaps, get the underlying message -- that he wasn't quite certain whether he needed to be worrying about the technique, or Ms. White herself.

Rolling her eyes at Kristian, she merely crossed her arms in front of her as she stared at him somewhat impatiently until he finally got himself fully dressed. Then, she turned and opened the door. Her face took on one of an impasse, at least until she saw who it was.

"Joshua, are you bored too?" A glance back to Kristian, "We were just about to try and find someone to do a three-way combat practice." Turning back to Joshua, "Interested?"

Not even bothering to ask what was going on, stranger things have happened, he replied, "Sure why not, beats wandering around."
Smirking slightly he knew he would ensure they got a good ribbing for a rather long time about this little event.
"So shall we?"

"Let me guess." Kristian said looking between Cassidy and Joshua. "You're going to gang up on me? I demand two training swords." He laughed and sorted out his slightly ruffled hair, looking again between the two of them. "So, where shall we have it then? In the grounds again, or the AVC hall?"

Dominic was paying close attention to the manavex teachings. He knew it would take a lot to kill him, and most of the people in the room were capable of such things. His long hair was held back by a bandanna and his arms and hands were wrapped in a pair of traditional Sigman cloth wraps.

He had just seen the Sevle stopped dead in his track by a single glance and knew that THIS would be the defining class of his tenure as a student. A skill like that could be invaluable, it would allow him to deal with several.... obstacles, he would call them.

He saw that Sephia was one of the three other students and smiled a bit. He, a brawler, a soldier, a mercenary, was in a class to learn a mental skill with a Shentavo, a giant mage-warrior and another he couldn't quite place a descriptor to. He really hoped he didn't die or kill anyone. He still had quite a bit to live for, and he hadn't ever been too fond of killing without reason.

“You don’t know what I am?” White chuckled to herself, crossing one leg over the other with a pleased grin as she rose a few inches from the ground, her white eyes piecing through his soul. It seemed as if, she were evil herself, in that very brief moment. “How do you defend against it? So many questions, you should settle on one to ask.” White looked at Sephia. “Sephia tell them the principal of manavex. If you don’t know it, you aren’t your father’s daughter…that much I know.”

Sephia looked at her, and reluctantly nodded. “Manavex is fully reliant on the strength of one’s willpower and soul to back it up. If your opponent is not paying attention, and does not have his or her defenses up against your attack, you can do what you will to them and they will not be able to defend. If they have stronger will and they are ready for your attack, they can reverse it upon you. If you are stronger, and they are prepared, you can over power them. Manavex is all about strengthening your inner self to influence others.”

“Correct. A master of manavex such as the headmaster could influence someone who wasn’t even in the same room as him. I will teach you how to stop your opponents movement, how to instill fear within them so that they panic, and how to build up shield against those who attempt to influence your mind. How to see through illusion.”

Felix shook his head mournfully, as if he were lamenting...something. His ability to express meaning through motion seemed to blank on the details, though that was probably intentional -- it was, after all, an active ability. He lived by ancient rules, and one of the most important was: "Give Nothing Freely."

He took a breath, exhaled...

"No, Madam. I do not know sufficient details to properly answer that question. As you ask, I will also refrain from further questions."

And then was silent, as he listened to the Shentavo Girl's explanation of the 'principle of Manavex,' and if he found said explanation entirely too vague and prone to generalisms, he did not speak, nor give visible sign of his thoughts. The assumption of the stoic demeanor and formal tone was, in and of itself, all the sign that was necessary -- Sevle were not given to formality amongst themselves, the lowliest Voidstriker could address Torquemada Illyrian himself by his first name, and be completely within his rights in doing so.

Ravelyn stared back at Quissera from across the room; their gazes meeting. He could feel the heat drip off her skin even though he was so far away. “Why have you been lying to me?” he said in a steady voice which carried a hint of anger in its tone. Ravelyn shifted her weight from one leg to her center.

“You have so much to worry about, Quissera…and I can take care of myself…”

In seconds he crossed the room and pinned her against the wall. She had managed to get her hands up in time. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Can you, Azrael? I can barely even sense your aura anymore. Go ahead, if you can. Go ahead…call your flames to your aide!” She looked down, and he shook her. “Come on, Azrael. Call your fire from the heavens!” He paused for a moment.

“I can’t,” she said quietly.

“God damn it, Azrael,” he said, released her, and punched the wall. “What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do when they are not only targeting Sephia? What happens if they target you? What am I supposed to say? ‘I don’t care about her, kill her if you want. I’d do anything they fucking wanted, and I have the mind to think that they’ve done their research; that they know they can have me at their beck and call if they only have you…” He gently placed a hand on the side of her face, and she brought both of hers to rest upon it.

“Don’t worry…”

“How can I not? Azrael…”

“Whatever happens, do not kneel in front of anyone. If its our time to die, all right, we’ll find each other again,” she kissed him.

“How am I supposed to protect both of you, and the students?”

“Don’t worry…I’ll buy the time…give them quite the run. Then we have to wait for events to play out, and hope that things become unlocked before the end.”

The students learned how to freeze their enemy in pace. The technique used the visualization of the soul, through sight or rather feeling another person’s energy. Once the energy had been identified, one would compress it; visualize it compressing into one form, and for as long as they could hold it there was as long as the person stayed frozen. One would only need a few seconds to visualize the opening. White was pleased that everyone in the class had passed, at least. It was only the first class and there could be accidents in the future. Practicing on White left little danger to the students, however she could cause the damage if she needed to retaliate.

"Look, you know what, I'm not interested in a Threeway, I'll catch you two later." Kristian said as he slipped past Cassidy and Kristian and instead headed outside where he settled under the Tree by the lake and lit a cigarette. A guilty habit he rarely indulged in, but he was still feeling a bit out of it from everything that'd happened.

"You really are an idiot," Sephia said, walking up to Kristian, sucking on a 'juice' box.

“Oh really?” Kristian merely remarked as he smoked a cigarette. “Opinion noted.” he said simply as he took a drag. “You here for a reason or just another trade of insults?” He tapped the box of cigarettes on his knee and looked up at her.

"Those are bad for you," she said, kicking them off his knee with precision. She still looked so young, especially with the juice box. "Get up."

Kristian sprung up and turned to face her, still drawing on the cigarette he dropped it and stamped it out. Before removing another one from his pocket and lighting it. “And?”

She sighed. "You are beyond help," a bit of anger raged in her, and the end of the cigarette went out as a breeze went by.

“Aren’t we all?” Kristian said as he put the cigarette away in his pocket before he rolled his eyes, sighed and let his shoulders visibly sink. “I’m sorry. I’m still a bit… uptight over everything that‘s been going on.”

"Mother was going to beat the hell out of you," Sephia said, throwing the juice box to the side, and starting to wrap her hand in linen wraps.

“Yeah. I guess hurting Heruss must have pissed her off a lot.” he said, glancing back at the Academy, his eyes softening slightly. “I really don’t know what’s going on with me anymore.” he shook his head and looked back to her. “So she’s letting you beat the hell out of me instead?”

"No. I think she is still going to beat the shit out of you. Just thought you should know," Sephia said, and tied her hair back. "Are you ready then?"

He put his hands to his side and relaxed his body some more. “As I’ll ever be, evidently.” he said quietly looking across to her.

"Your too resigned already," Sephia said, and rushed at him, knocking him with her fist straight in the jaw.

He took the hit, rolled with it, then sprang back up, his hand coming down towards her neck, it relaxed before it tensed, hitting her shoulder. “Or maybe I let you have the first hit.” he said as he leapt back from the next two attacks and blocked her third. “I’ve been fighting nearly non-stop for over a century, you think I can’t take the odd hit?” he snapped at her.

"No. I don't think you can," she said serenly. She kept rushing him, kept pushing back. Her attacks were relently and her face without sign of emotion. The winds picked up.

“Fine.” he said blocking another attempted rush before he swept her feet out from her, his hand coming down to slam into her chest as she began to fall before he jumped back slightly. “If you don’t think I can, prove it.” he snapped at her on the floor.

Her eyes met his, and for a split second he was unable to move his body; his limbs frozen where they were by an invisible force. She jumped and dropped kicked him in the stomach with all her body weight. Recovering quickly, she set up for the next attack and rushed him.

He rolled this time, before he jumped up, spinning his legs slightly into the air and kicking her in the stomach once, knocking her back, this time he was avoiding her eyes, adapting rapidly to the situation at hand his aura flared, literally. He could feel a burst of energy and awareness in a single bound and kept his eye on Sephia as an entity, rather than a person.

Sephia retreated from him, reached in her pocket and pulled out an earing. She put it on the cartilage of her ear, and her aura vanished entirely. "At least your trying to adapt. I will do the same."

“I see.” Kristian said quietly before he made his body more rigid and ready for the next round, the ante apparently being upped. This time it was him on the attack, with a rapid quickstep his open palm struck Sephia in the chest, knocking her back, rapidly followed by a kick which was blocked, and another attempted hit to the base of her neck with a rigid flat hand.

"You’re too stiff. And you don't direct your damage nearly enough. You haven't even bruised me," she said to him as she dodged his attack which put her behind him. She kicked backwards straight in the centre of his spine.

Kristian staggered forward from the kick and winced slightly before growling. “Fine, and what do you suggest, Sephia?” he asked as he spun back before landing a forceful kick to her side, sending her towards the lake-side, a second blow from his hands and his suddenly more fluid stance was followed up immediately by a punch to her right cheek, causing her to turn and stumble slightly.

"Find a greater reason to fight than just anger," she said in return, recovering from the blows. She reached out her hand and pushed him back without touching him. It felt as if the wind had barrelled into his chest.

He fell to the ground before leaping up again, suddenly he simply stopped. Unmoving and non-responsive, as if searching for something, his aura suddenly cooled and he laughed. “No anger it is then. Just determination.” he said before he looked at her, she couldn’t see anything in his eyes as he moved from one spot to another in the blink of an eye, his flattened palm slamming into Sephia’s chest hard, sending her flying backwards and hitting the ground. With another deep breathe he was by her side again, his foot coming crashing down towards her stomach.

She caught his foot and twisted it, sending a crackig noise through the silent air. She pushed him off of her and rolled backwards to get up. "Determination to do what? Why?"

He cried out softly but laughed again almost as soon as it had happened, his other foot kicking her side instead. “To win. To protect, to fight.”

She blocked the kick and stared at him. "That's not good enough of a reason."

“Then what is?” he said as he grabbed her and threw her behind him, turning to kick her back as she went with his bad foot, gritting his teeth in pain as he did so. “I fight because I have to, not because I choose to. Therefore that’s all the focus I need.”

"You should be fighting not because you need to, but because you chose to. You should fight for yourself to make yourself stronger. Through that you can protect others, but if your core is weak, there is no sense trying to fight for someone else and have your life on their shoulders."

Kristian stopped and looked across to her again. “Maybe you’re right.” he said quietly. “Maybe this fight doesn’t have a point to it then.” he said simply before he hit her square in the cheek, causing it to bruise. “So why start it? Huh? Why start a pointless fight when the next ones that matter are around the corner, the inevitable ones?”

She placed her hand to her cheek. "Because if you are stronger, the fights get easier, and take less time so you can get on with your life."

He stopped and breathed out. His hand coming up to brush some hair out of her eyes before running a finger over the bruise on her cheek and gritting his teeth slightly. “The fight doesn’t get easier, Sephia. It gets more frequent. You’ve lived barely a week, when you get to my age you might understand that it never, ever stops. That the more you fight, the more frequently it always feels.”

"And my parents have fought their entire lives. But you ask either of them; and they've spent more time living then they have fighting." She looked hurt, but not physically. "I might be young, but I must get stronger so I am not a burden on my father's shoulders. Who do you have, Kristian? You can't depend on them all the time. If you want to be a martyr, then just kill your self now, and spare everyone else the trouble of trying to save you when you refuse to try and save yourself."

“You’re right, but who do I have to fight for? To rely on? To focus on? I’ve never actually done that. I’ve always fought because I’ve had to.” Kristian sighed and looked Sephia in the eyes. “I don’t really have anyone anymore.”

"You have the entire school, dumb ass," she said in return, slapping him upside the head.

Kristian laughed and rubbed his face where she’d slapped him. “You slap an awful lot like your mother.” he said with a grin. “Alright, the whole school then. If you agree to be a friend, rather than being a bit of a shutout like you have been.”

"I don't know what you’re talking about," she said, folding her arms over her chest.

“Ok, now that is really like your mother.” Kristian said with another laugh and he placed his hands on her shoulders gently. “You’ve not been that involved in socialising with many students since the school opened, Sephia. Infact ever since you threw that blood at that guy at the opening you’ve been cagey.”

"He deserved it," she whined. She looked at the hands on her shoulders, and then back up at him. She hadn't realized how tall he was.

Kristian hadn’t realised how short she was and smiled down at her. “Well, yeah he did, but then you seem to have not bothered striking up conversation with others since then. Don’t let one ass ruin it for everyone else, that’s one thing I learnt.”

"What about that little scheme you planned? I'm no different than anyone else."

“Which scheme? The first one? I was being stupid I guess.” he said with a shrug. “Because you have a reputation to uphold for being able to kick a lot of arse and take a long list of names while doing it. So thought you needed a real challenge.” Kristian shrugged and dropped his hands from her shoulders, but remained closer to her. “I’m really sorry about it.” he said sheepishly.

"You should be," she said, and tried to be angry at him, but couldn't, and she was left looking a bit lost. His hands were still on her shoulders. Her were eyes were remarkably blue, like her father's, but in the light, the colour glinted like diamonds.

“You alright, Sephia?” Kristian said, lowering her face down to her level. “You look a little.. Distant.” His face then suddenly tinted a gentle red as he looked into her beautiful glinting eyes, his look almost matching her own, lost also. Without realising it he’d gently started stroking her shoulders, comfortingly. Almost like he wanted to hug her and hold her, protect her even from the horrors that would come for her, even with her strong will she was inexperienced in what would happen now she was a Shentavo, how it made her a target even when she wanted peace.

"I'm fine," she said in a soft voice. She blushed.

“You sure?” Kristian said in a bare whisper as he hands slipped from her shoulders to her waist, gently he pulled her closer to him, straightening up a little as he did so, letting Sephia rest her head on his chest, without realising what he was doing he kissed Sephia on the top of her head. “You just seem... Lost. Like you don’t know what you’re doing. I… could help.” he said hesitantly.

Heat rushed through her. What...what is he doing? the thought rushed through her mind. She exhaled. "What?" she asked.

Kristian exhaled and rubbed the small of her back gently. “Sorry.” he said quietly to her. “You don’t know life very well yet, do you? It’s so hard to believe you’re so young. Yet I look young and yet am so old. You’re lost, right? You’re not sure what’s going on around you even though you’re so strongly willed. You’re not even sure what’s going on now, right? Why you’re feeling this way at being held like this, right?”

"No," she whispered softly. "Why are you...holding me?"

“Because you looked lost, it’s comforting to be held close to someone you know when you’re lost.” Kristian said quietly to her. “You’re also incredibly beautiful.” he said, biting his lip for saying it.

"Huh?" said looking up at him. "I'm not lost," continued, her eyes intent on his. "How could I be lost where I've been my whole life? My god, your such an idiot..." she trailed off.

Kristian laughed and looked at her again, his hands gently running up her back in his embrace of her, his face bare inches from hers. “I meant your expression. Like you’re not sure why you’re here, what you’re always doing, it’s like you do something, but don’t always have a reason to do so.”
"Well give me an example," she said defiantly, the crystal in her eyes burning.

“Like why did you start fighting me? Just now? Why? You fought me to try to teach me something that could easily have been done in words without violence, but you wanted to beat me up.” Kristian said quietly to her, his gaze never wavering from hers for one moment.

"Well its funner that way," she said feeling the heat wrap around her cool skin. 'It would have been boring to come out her and say it. Plus, you wouldn't have listened to me."

“How did you know if you didn’t try it first?” he whispered, his hot breath gently caressing Sephia’s cool face as his gentle grip around her tightened slightly. “If you try only one way all the time, you’re not going to get anywhere, you have to adapt constantly, and try new ways to every situation.”

He grinned. “I might have just been really nasty with the way you fought me, I might have ignored every word you spoke, but I didn’t. This time you were lucky, because you’re so beautiful.”

"I just knew," she said. What is he doing? She thought to herself. He's kind of cute close up. What the hell am I thinking…

“Maybe.” Kristian said with a slight smile as he continued to be lost into her eyes. What the hell am I doing? I’m going to get killed by Rave or Qui at this rate… but she’s incredible… I could get lost in her eyes forever, and she‘s incredible… without realising it he was lost in the moment and his thoughts had slipped free and could be heard by Sephia.

Sephia was lost on her own thoughts. "I should get back to training..." she said as if she was out of breath. "Did you even learn anything?" she asked, snapping back to reality.

“Yes.” Kristian said quietly, despite her stating she should get back to training neither had actually moved from their spot. “I learnt a lot.” he said very quietly.

"Ooooh why are you looking at me like that!" she snapped at him. "Are you trying to get another drink out of me? Cause you can get it yourself."

“I’m sorry.” Kristian said, blinking. “It’s just you are really very cute, Sephia. I was… sorry.” he said quietly. “I haven’t returned the favour of the drink, that‘s all.” he said in a slightly unstable voice without realising it.

"You make no sense!" she said. "First you say you learned something, then say i'm 'cute', then said that you just need to return the favor of a drink. Your mind jumps around too much no wonder your prescence isn't that strong. You think about the most pointless things!” she slapped him upside the head once more.

He took the hit and laughed again. “Fine, this is what I’ve learnt. I need someone to care about, to focus on, to be able to think of when I need to draw strength.” he aura flared up suddenly, wrapping itself with the very edges of hers. “This is what happens now I’m thinking of you.” he said, his voice trailing off.

"Your mad!" Sephia exclaimed at him. "You are just like the idea of that ideal. Hell, I caught you hanging over Cassidy not so long ago! God you'll go after any girl that walks by, huh?"

“I was still weak though, wasn’t I?” he almost shouted back to her, his arms tightening around her once more. “Yet you can feel me now, can’t you?”

"So you go to different people when you have different amounts of strength?" Her temper flared.

“No.” he said back to her. “I just started looking in the wrong place, people make mistakes. I should have met you instead of Cassidy. Met you properly instead of being weak.” His eyes locked with hers again, he could feel the anger rising in her. “It’s you I should be with, because we are stonger.” he said quietly, then without thinking his lips pressed up against hers, his eyes remained staring into hers the whole time.

She closed her eyes for a moment as he kissed her, before her senses took a hold of her. Wait...what the hell… She pushed him hard against the chest, and it felt to him as if he got shot as a gust of wind barreled into him. "Your hopeless..." she said, and headed back towards the school, her anger slipping over her skin. What just happened?

Kristian fell to the floor as the gust of wind hit him in the chest, he watched her form storm back up to the Academy. What just happened? he thought in bewilderment.

Felix had returned to his room after Manavex ended, and once within, having shut the door and secured it, he had allowed himself a few moments of outward expression of irritation. Then he promptly sat down, crossing his legs and forcing himself to calmness.

Having satisfied himself that his anger had truly passed, he rose slowly and left the room, heading outside to find a location where he wouldn't have to worry about furniture getting in the way. Of course, it would have been even better if he'd had a sparring partner...but. But he wasn't in the habit of pulling his blows, and that could be quite dangerous for the unfortunate other. He couldn't help smiling to himself as he found a nice spot, shaded by trees but open enough for his purposes.

He took a few deep breathes, then dropped smoothly into the ja-kirt fighting crouch, his hands bladed, his weight balanced perfectly on heel and toe. He seemed to already be half-way in motion, though he was relatively still.

He began with a rapid series of disabling strikes, his hands working with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel to render his imaginary opponent unable to fight further. Then he progressed into the meat of ja-kirt, the Whirlwind. He was never still, moving constantly, his arms flashing about him in magnificent combination strikes, employing elbows and hands and forearms and shoulders. ja-kirt was not a kicking style, employing the feet primarily for movement and emphasizing chains of quick strikes with the upper limbs to take an opponent off balance and keep her there. There were, thus, disadvantages -- and this was why ja-kirt was merely one component in a greater whole.

He transitioned smoothly into ja-shar'at, the Earthquake, his arms moving to block and distract while he set up powerful kicks and knee-strikes. But ja-shar'at was also a decidedly limited fighting style, and as a result was merely another rung that a Voidstriker must climb.

The two styles were some of the most basic, as they emphasized one portion of the body for offensive purposes and the other for defensive purposes. By mastering both, one would lay the groundwork for the eventual progression to the "true styles," the cohesive wholes that tied together all the little bits. Felix -- along with the majority of his Legion -- favored ja-fel, the Trickster.

The technique emphasized finesse over brute force, utilizing deception to lure the foe into acting a part, then quickly and ruthlessly finishing the fight. A fight between masters of ja-fel had as much in common with a poker game as it did with a brawl.

Beyond that, ja-fel relied on brutal strikes to hopefully buy one time to bring an actual weapon into play. That was best case, of course, and the style was extremely useful when faced with a 'superior' opponent.

Thus, Felix danced with air. Thus, Felix tricked his imaginary opponent several times, then showed that foe the error of her ways, twice with a vicious neck blow, once with an interesting low combination that trapped the foot then broke the leg, and once in a clinch, something he tended to avoid. But in that case, his theoretical opponent had an edge in speed, something that was negated in a clinch.

Several minutes later, he came to a stop. Or, rather, his right foot came down on an imaginary opponent's head, ending the fight in gruesome fashion, and he decided that he had done this enough. He wasn't tired, hadn't even touched his limits, but he wasn't going to gain anything from pushing himself further -- the point was to practice the movements and the skills, and also to exercise the mind. In this, ja-fel was supremely advantageous, as working both sides of the puzzle allowed him to pose himself problems, as he forced himself to consider how he would go about defeating himself.

He knew that he should put in some armed time, but was unsure if he wanted to even think about such things. There was still potential for worry and nervousness in that area, but...but he couldn't very well compromise his own fighting capability because his hosts believed that he was a danger to the other students, or that being in possession of his arms would somehow distract him from his classes, or whatever twisted and fallacious reasoning they used to justify the ---...and he stopped himself.

He couldn't help grinning, as he walked to a nearby tree, selected a likely branch, then drew a small amount of power from his surroundings and used it to reshape the branch into a proper staff. It was a particularly skillful manipulation because instead of attempting to actually make the branch into a quarterstaff, he merely used it to force the branch into that shape -- a temporary effect, thus reversible. A thought detached the branch from the tree, leaving a cap behind it where he could replace it later.

It was a whole lot of effort for something that he could probably manage with more mundane means, but like his body, his mind needed exercise to stay sharp, and to become more potent.

Felix employed a fighting glaive as one of his primary weapons, and as a result staff-fighting was not at all 'wasteful' for him. After-all, his glaive was merely a staff with a blade on one end, and while the blade was, indeed, the defining element of the weapon, it was not the only element -- to ignore the haft was akin to carrying a rifle with an under-barrel grenade launcher that one completely ignored. It was stupid and inefficient.

Some time later, Felix placed the staff up against the nub where it had once joined the tree and allowed the bindings to release. The staff immediately reverted to its original form, binding fully into the tree, with no ill effects whatsoever. It was as if the entire episode had never occurred, indeed, as the energy was no longer binding the branch into staff form, Felix allowed it to return from whence it came.

He laughed, then, and sat cross-legged upon the grass to think for a time, subtly exercising his will as he did so, for the littlest changes were the seed for the biggest effects, and that was the way of the Mage.

A new day; one more day that the Academy rested peacefully under the night sky. Saria had taught before; healing was her specialty since the time she was in school. She had always possessed a gift, and yet, most of it she attributed to nature. She sat down in one of the chairs in the circular room and awaited her students. Healers were not normally what students wanted to become. Many, however, did not realize that the roll of a healer in battle can be far greater than one warrior himself. Saria had green hair, and strange, ever changing eyes, which were currently an orange color. She wondered silently when the students would be told about what was really going on at the school. She would teach them what she could today, for she didn’t know if they would even make it to the next lesson.

Kristian pushed the door open to the mending class tentatively and peered around before making his way in. “Hello.” he said quietly to Saria, glancing at her oddly matched hair and eyes before he sat down at one of the desks. “Seems like nobody else is here yet.” he said quietly, lacing his hands together, the silence being punctured only by a clock ticking on the classroom wall.

“How long have you been a teacher at the Academy?” he asked, looking to Saria. “It seems to me mending can be quite complex to do and to master and from your display in the assembly hall you seem to be pretty good at it. So you must have had a lot of experience, am I right?”

"I imagine that she's going to answer those questions for us during the actual classtime, Kristian." replied Cassidy as she came up behind him, silent as ever. She gave him a warm smile and took a seat in the room. She looked over to the professor, "Although, perhaps we should just trust her appointment to the position as proof enough." She smiled at her now.

Turning back to Kristian, "You get things squared away with Sephia, I presume?"

Shyne slipped into the classroom with uncharacteristically disheveled fur, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She offered up a wave to Kristian and Cassidy before taking a seat along the edge of the room, a quarter off from center to the instructor. She curled in on herself, flipping her fluffy tail over to cover her nose, the excess tucking against her body. She did not sleep, per se, but instead dozed in normal feline fashion. She would awaken when the rest of the class arrived.

"That seems to be just about everyone," Saria said quietly. "Today I'm going to be teaching how to heal wounds from your spirit energy rather than with any materials. Healing is basic, however you do need to focus on a few things. One, your attention must be only on the person you are trying to heal, whether that be yourself or another. This leaves a healer open to attack, but if they use only a small amount of energy, and others protect the healer, it can make a difference, a turning point, if you will, in the battle as those who deal primarily offense are always healed and always able to continue on with the proper training. Assuming no one has experience in this, we will start with something small; a scratch...to a cut, to more..."

She paused for a momnet. "There are pins at the front desk, make a mark on yourself. Whatever pain you inflict on yourself I will be able to heal. This may be a bit challenging to do...probably the most...to inflict pain on yourself. However, it really is the best way to learn."

As the last to enter the room before the lesson started, Francesca had missed her best opportunity to talk to the fellow students but was at least pleased to see Kristian was present if not somewhat surprised that at how many people were taking this class. Francesca found herself a empty seat in the circle and listened to the teacher. Ms Lithiquin didn't fail to disappoint to impress, like many of the other teachers at the Academy she was just as strange as the rest, her eyes shifting momentarily from one colour to the next as she introduced herself and the subject at hand as Francesca listened attentively.

For the past few days Francesca had been blissfully unaware of most the goings on around the Academy, locked away in the library reading up on various subjects she thought may be useful, but more often then not picking up whatever book piqued her interest. Only yesterday she decided to go back to basics and brush up on the human anatomy, specifically taking notes on how most of the processes worked and what certain things did. Francesca didn't know how useful her studies would be, but her understanding of magic (from her Midchildian point of view) was that of visualisation and concentration, mixed with a bit of natural talent and spiritual power of course. Reminding herself how the human body actually repaired itself and what certain organs actually did seemed to make sense if she was going to magically attempt to patch them up and the same principal had worked rather well with her enhancement magic, with any luck healing would just be a extension of that.

Saria finished her introduction and turned everyone's attention to the fine needles on the front desk. 'we will start with something small; a scratch...to a cut, to more...' After she finished, each student would go to the front desk and take a needle for themselves. Francesca didn't hesitate to join them politely, the idea of cutting herself didn't appeal to her, but she fully understood why; it's much more efficient to learn through experience when possible, if all else fails the teacher would undoubtedly stand in to help. With this reasoning, she made a point of maintaining a pleasant smile as she returned to her desk.

Wincing for a moment, Francesca started with a slow pin prick instantly drawing a drop of blood staring at it intensely. Surely like the others she wasn't the only one who had been wounded before, likely some of them much worse then she had ever been, but still there was a great sense of anticipation about this.

"To have fear of inflicting pain resides in the threat alone...but if you do it quick it'll be over and done with before you know it." Cassidy spoke quietly to no one in particular as she picked up one of the suggested pins. She held it between her fingers and held her opposite arm out and without hesitation plunged the needle into her forearm as deeply as it could go. An involuntary hiss escaped her for a moment before she pulled the pin out and watched as the blood began to well up through the narrow wound.

"Ok..." she announced to the professor as she held her arm up for her to see. "I'm bleeding to death now." A mock of course, completed with a smile from her.

Joshua groaned to himself as he recalled her had mending class to attend and had only just entered following closely behind Francesca and managed to catch the gist of what Saria said.
Slightly embarrassed to be late her grabbed his pin and sat down etching a small mark into his arm with ease and watched the blood slowly well up.
"Nothing worse than an injector mark," he muttered before turning to hear Cassidy make her joke about bleeding to death and smiled.

Lithiquin sighed, and something struck Cassidy across the face. As she looked around the room, nothing had changed, except the fact that Saria's visage seemed to glow momentarily.

"Focus on the area," Lithiquin said. "Fill it with your aura, your prescence. Picture a white light running through the injured area, pulling the wound close. It's simple...really..."

Cassidy reeled back from the blow, but didn't stumble or fall. Growling silently, she rubbed her cheek and chose to not strike back. She really wanted to finish this class, graduate from this Academy, come hell or high water.

Turning her attention now to the welling blood, she stared at it, following the instructions as provided. She pictured in her mind the white light mending the wound, but it wouldn't follow suit for quite a few tries. Finally, in a moment of exasperation, she slammed her fist down on a desk. She glowered at the wound once again, using her anger to force her will, her aura to do what she demanded of it.

Just as she was about to growl aloud and give up, she saw it happen. At the edges of the wound, she saw a faint white glow shimmer. She watched in amazement as the blood that had been oozing out seeped back in, although not all of it and sealed up the puncture wound behind it.

She blinked in satisfaction as she stared at her hand. Her eyes shifted to the professor, and she had a growing respect for her knowledge. Ok...I'll forgive her for the smack....still a bitch though. she mused to herself as she took up another cutting tool, this one a knife. Dragging its blade across her forearm now, she winced as her nerves protested and her crimson blood welled up, clung to her arm and dripped to the floor.

She began making the effort to heal this wound now, exerting more of her anger and willpower into it in the hopes of being successful.