War Gears (IC, Episode One)

[USRK]

Deryn marked in her notebook as the people came in. She liked keeping short records and tallies, which made her think of the stripes running down the side of her body. There were 6 large stripes, 4 for German submarines, and 2 for German ships. Followed by that were four medium stripes and 1 small stripe, the medium ones for German bomber mages and the 1 for a Me-109 Mage. The memory made her smile. The German had put up one heck of a fight and she had excepted her defeat and Deryn's win elegantly, which couldn't be said for the Germans nor the Americans in her classroom.

[The Grey Wolf]

The door slammed shut and into the room glided a stern Red Army women, hair in bun and an eyepatch covering her left eye; followed by two bumbling Russian soldiers who were cursing in their mother tongue and trying to fix whatever was wrong with their guns. "Good evening children." she announced in a thick Belarussian accent. One of the Russian soldiers knocked over the desks and another accidentally fired their gun, causing the woman to start hissing at them in Russian and making them scurry off. "Today, we will be discussing German unification."

Riley suppressed a groan as she sat up straight, still fidgeting with her crush's cat ears. Every day they were forced to sit in class and listen to either an idealistic American, a prim and proper Brit, a suaive Frenchman, or a rather hardy Soviet give them a lecture about history, armament safety, war atrocities, etc. She had no idea when she agreed to sign up for the program that this would be a requirement.

While Ms. Volkov went into detail about German unification, adding a bit of Soviet bias in the process, Riley made a paper airplane and threw it into the air. It flew for a few moments before a gust of wind sent it flying into the side of the head of one of the Tiger mages. The M3 mage averted her gaze and started whistling innocently.

[West Suburbia]

Alva sighed as the Soviet teacher droned on about German unification. When she first came to the academy, she expected more field trips and outings away from the main campus. She didn't expect 99% of the time being spent sitting in a classroom with a bunch of foreign mages more or less dead set against each other. The Soviet soldier that had his gun discharge in the beginning was amusing, although it had made her flinch.

Ms. Volkov made her feel intimated. With her eyepatch especially. Was it for show or was it really to cover up a wound? Her thick Belorussian accent also made her very hard to understand, to the point where Alva's Swedish accented English sounded like perfect American or British English. As she thought about the French teacher, who she especially liked for his suaveness, Alva caught something on the corner of her eye. Turning to look, she saw a paper airplane gliding through the air. Alva watched the airplane get blown off course by a gust of wind from the open window, striking against the head of the...Tiger I mage? Tiger II? Alva couldn't differentiate between them very well. But instantly she thought, If an American threw that.... The brewing argument that was happening before class would be very minor compared to the outburst from this.

Wanting no part from it, Alva raised her hand. "Pardon, Ms. Volkov?" she said. "Could I use the restroom?"

[North Arkana]

Jackie couldn't sit through one of the Soviet classes. She never could take the way the Soviets seemed to talk down to anyone of another nation. Throw in what she knew about what happened to Poland after the uprising, and Jackie was actually more hostile towards the Soviets than the Germans and Japanese with the end of the war.

She stood up, throwing her jacket over one of her shoulders.

"I'm going out for a smoke."

[Zrhajan]

The door slammed shut and into the room glided a stern Red Army women, hair in bun and an eyepatch covering her left eye; followed by two bumbling Russian soldiers who were cursing in their mother tongue and trying to fix whatever was wrong with their guns. "Good evening children." she announced in a thick Belarussian accent. One of the Russian soldiers knocked over the desks and another accidentally fired their gun, causing the woman to start hissing at them in Russian and making them scurry off. "Today, we will be discussing German unification."

Riley suppressed a groan as she sat up straight, still fidgeting with her crush's cat ears. Every day they were forced to sit in class and listen to either an idealistic American, a prim and proper Brit, a suaive Frenchman, or a rather hardy Soviet give them a lecture about history, armament safety, war atrocities, etc. She had no idea when she agreed to sign up for the program that this would be a requirement.

While Ms. Volkov went into detail about German unification, adding a bit of Soviet bias in the process, Riley made a paper airplane and threw it into the air. It flew for a few moments before a gust of wind sent it flying into the side of the head of one of the Tiger mages. The M3 mage averted her gaze and started whistling innocently.

Eugena listened to the long and boring lecture, quite grateful that the tiger situation hadn't escalated and decided to pose a question to the teacher, in order to maybe see what the USSR might end up saying. "Sorry, but this brings up a salient point to me. What is the situation with Czechoslovakia? Will it become an independent state or will the USSR keep control over it?" she asked. whilst waiting for an answer, she noticed a paper airplane hit one of the tiger mages, followed by some american suddenly starting to whistle. "Verdammtes Idiot, the only good way this could end is if you somehow deflect suspicion. And bluffing seems to be quite difficult for you." thought the mischevious Hetzer, but she remained externally calm.
Valentin was not paying attention to class, or, to be more specific, part of her attention was on the seemingly interminable lecture about what would happen to the Germans, while the rest of her mind was dedicated to watching the various insects and leaves float by the window. Noticing the question brought up by the unusual German girl, she decided to respond, saying "Probably the same that happened to the Ukraine. A puppet, soviet-controlled government, under the thumb of Moscow"
It would be a stunning feat of naivete to be unable to notice the bitterness in her voice.

[Legatia]

Upon the appearance of the Soviet woman, any remaining positivity left in Laura was quickly 86'ed. The girl had a deep-bound hate for the Soviets, and it showed. While she made no verbal protest, her fists clenched under the desk and her slight-frown poker face went into an even deeper show of discontent. She abhored the idea of listening to a Soviet, let alone one having any sort of authority over her. These men can't even handle simple firearms, what makes them think they can handle Mages?
Further enraging the Jagdpanther was how the woman talked about German unification- especially how she biased it towards her own Bolshevik homeland. Laura simply grit her teeth in silence, waiting for this lesson to end or something to happen. The last wish she had may have been granted when an American threw a paper airplane at one of the Tiger mages, which she quickly turned her attention to. Anything but this goddamn Russian woman.

[Nachfolgia]

Annaliese glanced up from her beat up Iron Cross and noticed a Russian officer walk in with two soldiers. Her calm demeanor dissipated upon the sight of them and she instantly gave a scowl. She watched as the two Russian soldiers fumbled around with their firearms. One accidentally discharged his Mosin, causing Annaliese to nearly jump out of her seat. Now she was pissed off and deaf. The gunshot did nothing to better her mood, it only increased her hatred of the Russians. " Fucking idiots." Annaliese muttered to herself as the two soldiers left the room in a hurry.

Annaliese rolled her eyes when the Russian woman began to talk about German unification. She didn't believe a word the woman said, the Russians just wanted what was best for them. They didn't care about the world, just to fill their greedy pockets with German money. The Tiger Mage tuned the woman out and went back to get own thoughts. Suddenly, something struck Annaliese in the temple. She looked down at the floor and saw a paper airplane. Her anger instantly grew 10 fold at the sight of something so childish. She turned around and looked for whoever was responsible. She immediately noticed the only American Mage who didn't make eye contact and knew it had to be her. She gave the most intense scowl of hatred at the American Mage, the kind of scowl that burned down into the soul. " Real mature, you childish moron! Consider yourself lucky I don't rip your head off right now!!" Annaliese yelled out in anger.

[Occupied Deutschland]

Kimiko had lowered her head and begun taking notes as the Soviet woman spoke. It was curious to observe where her claims differed from the reading Kimiko had done on the subject the previous evening and that morning. She hadn't known the first thing about German unification before reading about it, but from the look on the German war-mages faces it seemed likely they didn't think the woman knew much about it either. So perhaps even bothering with notes on the topic was unnecessary. What help would a false history be to them?

Unwilling to risk the wrath of the Soviet teacher, Kimiko kept her eyes on the paper in front of her. Instead of notes on the topic, however, she resorted to practicing writing and spelling some of the individual words the woman said in English. 'Unification' tripped her up and she had to write out the entire English alphabet on the paper before guessing as to its spelling. She still suspected it was incorrect, but had no easy way of finding out.

Judging by the screaming, there was another argument brewing.

"Annaliese, it is merely a piece of paper." Kimiko said softly, glancing at the folded creation. It reminded her somewhat of origami, if significantly less pretty. She could not help but wonder what its purpose was.

[Monfrox]

"As if you could, you jumped-up little shit." Penny muttered under her breath as the Tiger mage snarled at Riley.

Riley was not, at least to her, an inherently bad girl. Penny liked being petted, but sometimes she had to shoo the girl away so she could get other things done. It seemed no matter where she went, Riley was always trying to follow her. It was a bit weird, honestly. Still, this Tiger mage was in some serious need of chocolate. She wondered how long she'd be menstruating for. Must've just started at this rate, course coupling that with losing a war and her entirely sour mood seemed a bit justified. Still, that didn't give her the right to take it out on them. The war was over. They had their chance. And now they were paying the price, though the mage was considered lucky if she wasn't being taken to Nuremberg.

[Ulvenes]

Before the American mage that Freyja had attempted a conversation with could reply, another woman entered and from the looks of her, and the two soldiers she brought with her, she looked like the teacher. However one of what looked like her bodyguards discharged their weapon by accident. Damn conscripts. It's almost embarrassing to know we were beaten by such unprofessional 'soldiers'. She thought to herself and watched them leave. She didn't bother to listen to the nonsense of lesson, knowing that the Russians would just cram as much of their propaganda down their throats as much as they could. Much like Hitler, but worse since they won the war and want to glorify themselves as heroes.

As Freyja stewed in frustration, listening to the unification nonsense spewing from this 'teacher', but it didn't take long for a paper airplane to soar through the air and hit her short tempered sister-in-arms in her head. Great. Now my poor Sister-Tiger is going to throw a fit. And sure enough, the Tiger girl blew up like the Atomic bombs in Japan. Sitting only a desk behind and to the left of her, Freyja leaned forward and placed her hand on Annaliese's shoulder, "Sister, please calm down." She whimpered.

[Stormwrath]

Looks like many of the American and German mages weren't too happy with this teacher from Belarussia, Miss Volkova. With her were two Russian conscripts who looked like they couldn't even handle their rifle. Regina chuckled a little at the sight as Volkova began to discuss on the German Unification. Guess I can't blame them for being drafted into the Great Patriotic War, she thought to herself. Jackie on the other hand sighed, not because their teacher was a Red, but because it was on about history.

Many of them were pretty skeptical of the way that she was handling the lesson, particularly the American and German mages; who had resolved not to pay any attention. Some of them had grimacing looks at the teacher herself — being the Soviet that she was. Then again, Regina would've received the same judgment had she been placed in the teacher's shoes. Oddly enough, she couldn't see what was wrong with the way the teacher communicated the lesson to the students: after all, at the moment it was about the Revolution of 1848 and the North German Confederation that Prussia established with several other German states. Ms. Volkova seemed to know what she was talking about. Regina just continued to look at the teacher and take down notes to important details as much as possible — that was how studious she was.

"The Revolutions that swept through Europe like wildfire were crushed by reactionaries, and they died out within a year; proving that those in power were not willing to listen to the demands of the people for change. Yet the desire for the Germans to unite under socialism and democratic values was…"

Was that really how it went? When Jackie came across the same history lesson, Germans didn't unite become socialism and communism were appealing. The Soviet teacher was getting her facts from a Soviet textbook, and on top of that the lesson itself was boring, even if the bias in her tone was gone. She was now hoping that at least something interesting would happen during class; it could be anything, but at least something that could get rid of her boredom. Interestingly enough, fate may have heard her and answered it in a humorous manner. One of the Americans tossed a paper airplane and sent it flying up in the air, and a gust of wind made it change direction and hit the head of the Tiger mage. Oh shit.

The German turned her head left and right and spotted the American who threw the plane, and grimaced at her. "Real mature, you childish moron!" she roared. "Consider yourself lucky I don't rip your head off right now!" Her fellow Axis mages quickly told her to calm down. Jackie turned and whispered to Regina, "Is she always like that?"

"I guess," her Russian seatmate whispered back. "It may be best not to talk about it right now, maybe some other time."

"Got it." At least the American could sit and endure the class now as the teacher began to touch on the rise of German nationalism. "A particular figure, Otto von Bismarck, rose to prominence during the…"

[Nachfolgia]

Before the American mage that Freyja had attempted a conversation with could reply, another woman entered and from the looks of her, and the two soldiers she brought with her, she looked like the teacher. However one of what looked like her bodyguards discharged their weapon by accident. Damn conscripts. It's almost embarrassing to know we were beaten by such unprofessional 'soldiers'. She thought to herself and watched them leave. She didn't bother to listen to the nonsense of lesson, knowing that the Russians would just cram as much of their propaganda down their throats as much as they could. Much like Hitler, but worse since they won the war and want to glorify themselves as heroes.

As Freyja stewed in frustration, listening to the unification nonsense spewing from this 'teacher', but it didn't take long for a paper airplane to soar through the air and hit her short tempered sister-in-arms in her head. Great. Now my poor Sister-Tiger is going to throw a fit. And sure enough, the Tiger girl blew up like the Atomic bombs in Japan. Sitting only a desk behind and to the left of her, Freyja leaned forward and placed her hand on Annaliese's shoulder, "Sister, please calm down." She whimpered.

Annaliese felt a hand touch her shoulder and immediately whirled around, ready to knock someone on their ass. She halted her punch when she saw her fellow Tiger Mage was the one who touched her. " No, I will not calm down. These allies are acting so childish! They flaunt their victory at every opportunity. If only they realized what they took from us! They took our homes, our country, our families, Our Fuhrur...they even took my SS uniform. I have nothing to show my pride for the Reich. I will never forgive them!" Annaliese yelled in hushed terms, tears running down her face.

[Ulvenes]

Annaliese felt a hand touch her shoulder and immediately whirled around, ready to knock someone on their ass. She halted her punch when she saw her fellow Tiger Mage was the one who touched her. " No, I will not calm down. These allies are acting so childish! They flaunt their victory at every opportunity. If only they realized what they took from us! They took our homes, our country, our families, Our Fuhrur...they even took my SS uniform. I have nothing to show my pride for the Reich. I will never forgive them!" Annaliese yelled in hushed terms, tears running down her face.

"Sister, look at yourself. You too are acting childish. You are throwing a temper tantrum like Kinder. The war is over, we lost. There's nothing we can do about it now. We just have to learn to adjust to what is now reality. The Fatherland will survive under its oppression like it always has and will become great again." Freyja said, holding herself back from mentioning Hitler. While Annaliese was a Nazi who seemed to have a love for Hitler, Freyja did not share the same affection. "Remember how we recovered from the First World War? We will recover again, just give it time. Maybe we'll even be able to beat the Russians economically one day." She continued with a gentle smile. "But please, for now think of your Sisters. If you continue to act like this and threaten every Allied mage that even looks at you you'll surely bring them to do the same to us. You're a big girl, you just have to suck it up."

[New Strausberg]

*RRRRRIIIIIIINNNNGGGGG*

What?

What was that demonic, hellish noise?

Oh right...

An alarm clock...

Groaning, Allison sat up, groggily turning off her alarm. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up in her pink pajamas. Allison slowly limped over to her closet, like a zombie, and put on some regular clothes. After getting dressed in a nice blouse with a dark blue jacket over it, along with a cute miniskirt, she went over to her bathroom to freshen up a bit. Once she brushed her teeth and dressed up her nice blue hair, she went back over to her bed and began to organize her school stuff.

"Why?" groaned Allison, "Just why do I have to go back to school?". Then, she noticed the time. Class had started 30 minutes ago...

Allison just stared at her clock for a minute, her mind barely able to process she had just slept through the start of school. Suddenly, she dashed up, grabbed her backpack, and ran through the school hallways to get to class.

ImsodeadImsodeadImsodeadImsodead, constantly repeated Allison to herself in her head, panicking. Arriving at the classroom, she threw open the door, only to be met with a wall of noise. It seemed there was a tense standoff between the Axis mages and the Allied mages. Oh, and she noticed the clock. Gulping, Allison realized her mistake. She set her clock an hour ahead on accident. Her face lit up red in embarrassment. Trying to stay out of sight, she slowly inched over to a desk and sat down, trying to act like nothing happened

The young Maus Ada chuckled when she saw the girl come in, she wasn't exactly a ninja about it as she swung the door open, the Maus slowly went after her and sat her head on the desk looking up at the newcomer, "a your not very silent swinging that doormopen defiantly didn't help your situation you know." Ada chuckled and causally poked at the new persons side trying to get some sort of reaction, "who are you? I'm Ada." She said cheerfully. Ada was always the friendly type around new people, she'd rather make friends then enemies and right now it seemed this person needed a friend to keep her little tardiness secret.

[Nachfolgia]

Annaliese felt a hand touch her shoulder and immediately whirled around, ready to knock someone on their ass. She halted her punch when she saw her fellow Tiger Mage was the one who touched her. " No, I will not calm down. These allies are acting so childish! They flaunt their victory at every opportunity. If only they realized what they took from us! They took our homes, our country, our families, Our Fuhrur...they even took my SS uniform. I have nothing to show my pride for the Reich. I will never forgive them!" Annaliese yelled in hushed terms, tears running down her face.

"Sister, look at yourself. You too are acting childish. You are throwing a temper tantrum like Kinder. The war is over, we lost. There's nothing we can do about it now. We just have to learn to adjust to what is now reality. The Fatherland will survive under its oppression like it always has and will become great again." Freyja said, holding herself back from mentioning Hitler. While Annaliese was a Nazi who seemed to have a love for Hitler, Freyja did not share the same affection. "Remember how we recovered from the First World War? We will recover again, just give it time. Maybe we'll even be able to beat the Russians economically one day." She continued with a gentle smile. "But please, for now think of your Sisters. If you continue to act like this and threaten every Allied mage that even looks at you you'll surely bring them to do the same to us. You're a big girl, you just have to suck it up."

Annaliese kept quiet as Freya spoke. She didn't want to admit it, but she was acting childish. Her actions were not becoming of a proud SS soldier. The Waffen-SS and the nazi regime taught her better than whine and complain about hardships in life. She needed to face them with her head held high and suffer in silence. Even though the other German mages weren't nazis, Annaliese felt that they were much wiser and calmer than she was. She felt kind of embarrassed that the regular Wehrmacht was acting more civil than the SS.

Annaliese wiped her eyes and stood up straight in perfect military posture. " Thank you, sister." Annaliese said with a faint smile. " I just wish I had my uniform...something other than this." Annaliese said as she pulled out her scuffed up Iron Cross.

[Lunas Legion]

"At least you actually got a uniform." Helena shrugged, idily glancing down at her own strange ensemble. "Us Volksturm just got whatever the Heer, Luftwaffe and Kreigsmarine had spare, which in the case of the latter two was basically everything at the end. We had a good laugh at how we all looked nothing like proper soldiers before we went off, and found out we weren't really soldiers, just bodies on the line to delay the Allies 'for the Fatherland' until the real Panzer divisions showed up. They never did, and that was basically my war in a nutshell."

[Nachfolgia]

"At least you actually got a uniform." Helena shrugged, idily glancing down at her own strange ensemble. "Us Volksturm just got whatever the Heer, Luftwaffe and Kreigsmarine had spare, which in the case of the latter two was basically everything at the end. We had a good laugh at how we all looked nothing like proper soldiers before we went off, and found out we weren't really soldiers, just bodies on the line to delay the Allies 'for the Fatherland' until the real Panzer divisions showed up. They never did, and that was basically my war in a nutshell."

Annaliese glanced over towards the young Volksturm girl. " What are you talking about, Frau Helena? A uniform is not the only thing that makes you a soldier. You fought in the defense of the Fatherland and for your families, that makes you a soldier. Sure, the Volksturm wasn't as well trained as the Wehrmacht, but they fought just as bravely. In the defense of Berlin, I saw the Volksturm, just a group of children, manning an 88mm cannon against the Russian horde. They fought as hard as any Wehrmacht soldier. So, don't think a uniform makes you a soldier." Annaliese said with a smile.

[USRK]

Zoe, who had returned after getting yelled at by the teacher in the hallway, had watched all of this unnoticed. She grimaced at the mention of uniforms. Before the war she was known as a tough, dirty fighter so by the time rolled around for the war she almost instantly drafted. Unlike many of the other girls she was more than happy to fight, especially after her friend was killed by a Japanese submarine. She remembered basic training in all of it's detail, and the feeling of the armor and gun as she was first fitted. She also remembered the feeling of the two 25-pounder guns they mounted on her to test if they could mount the awesome 17-pounder gun. The kick was amazing, but it didn't even make her wince. After that she got the gun upgrade and some thicker, better armor. That was the day she was convinced she was going to war. A week later she was sent home. No thanks, no apologizes, nothing. Everything ended with a simple letter that said she wasn't needed and to go home. Zoe suddenly clenched her fist. She didn't even get to keep her uniform.

[The Grey Wolf]

Upset about being interrupted during a lengthy, particularly vitriolic diatribe against the Junkers, Volkova turned around. "SHUT UP!" she yelled, and Riley immediately stopped whistling innocently. "You," she pointed at Annaliese, "and you." she pointed at Riley. "Up here, now!" the M3 mage sighed and got up from her desk, walking up to the teacher. She was immediately smacked on the head with a ruler.

"What was that for!?" the Stuart girl demanded.

"You know better to interrupt class, the both of you." she did the same to Annaliese. "Take your seats, and if any of you start a fight again, it's off to the gulags, Trotskyist pig dogs." Riley didn't know whether the Red Army woman was joking, but she merely grumbled and went back to her seat, scratching and playing with Penny's ears.

"Perhaps, if you all find this subject boring, we might move on to something more recent." Volkova stated, turning back to her chalkboard and erasing the previous subject, before writing the next one. "Most of you were born a few years after the First World War ended. Can anyone tell me what started the war?"

[Stormwrath]

Regina knew the answer to this and immediately raised her hand. Once Volkova recognized her, she stood up and answered, "It was because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. Austria in response issued an ultimatum to Serbia, and Serbia accepted all of the terms but one. That was enough for the Austrians to declare war on Serbia." Regina was a diligent student, and one that would actually listen to the class.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

"After which Russia, using the excuse that the Serbs were their ethnic brothers, brought their noses into what would have simply been a regional conflict otherwise. This then forced Germany, which was an ally of Austria, to declare war on Russia. Then France declared war on Germany. Germany invaded France through Belgium which ticked off the Brits. Russia tried to invade Germany and got its but absolutely handed to it on a silver platter fit for the Tsars, and the rest is history." Emile smiled, Russian had served up a softball question and Emile planned on hitting it out of the park.

[West Suburbia]

Alva, disappointed that the Soviet woman did not heed her, was relieved when the teacher had ordered the M3 Stuart mage and the Tiger mage to come up to her, only to get physically chastised. At least a fight did not break out, she thought. The whacking over the head she did not agree with, but she did not dare make her opinion heard. The Soviet woman could probably do anything she wanted in the classroom short of killing them with total disregard to the rules. Tapping her pencil on her desk incessantly, Alva was then surprised at the question that the teacher poised to the class. What had started the Great War of 1914? After listening to some of the responses, Alva decided to add in what she knew from political discussions held back at her base in Sweden.

"The Russians were very poorly led, by incompetent leaders and overreliance on peasant conscripts. That was why they were routed so bad when invading East Prussia. They had bad strategy, bad leaders, and...well, they were bad overall. I cannot really blame them. They were beaten by the Japanese in 1905, then after the Great War, by the Polish in 1920 and the Finnish in 1941."

[North Arkana]

Alva, disappointed that the Soviet woman did not heed her, was relieved when the teacher had ordered the M3 Stuart mage and the Tiger mage to come up to her, only to get physically chastised. At least a fight did not break out, she thought. The whacking over the head she did not agree with, but she did not dare make her opinion heard. The Soviet woman could probably do anything she wanted in the classroom short of killing them with total disregard to the rules. Tapping her pencil on her desk incessantly, Alva was then surprised at the question that the teacher poised to the class. What had started the Great War of 1914? After listening to some of the responses, Alva decided to add in what she knew from political discussions held back at her base in Sweden.

"The Russians were very poorly led, by incompetent leaders and overreliance on peasant conscripts. That was why they were routed so bad when invading East Prussia. They had bad strategy, bad leaders, and...well, they were bad overall. I cannot really blame them. They were beaten by the Japanese in 1905, then after the Great War, by the Polish in 1920 and the Finnish in 1941."

Jackie, who had apparently managed to leave the classroom and grab a smoke without anyone noticing, walked back in around this time. As she was sitting down and placing her jacket back over the seat-back, she heard the discussion occurring.

"Well of course, when a nation's leadership is so concerned about ideological purity, or maintaining an iron grip on power, that they go so far as to purge their own military of competent leadership, you shouldn't expect much in the ways of victory."

Jackie couldn't help but let some of her disdain for the Soviets slip into her voice as she spoke.

[Nachfolgia]

Upset about being interrupted during a lengthy, particularly vitriolic diatribe against the Junkers, Volkova turned around. "SHUT UP!" she yelled, and Riley immediately stopped whistling innocently. "You," she pointed at Annaliese, "and you." she pointed at Riley. "Up here, now!" the M3 mage sighed and got up from her desk, walking up to the teacher. She was immediately smacked on the head with a ruler.

"What was that for!?" the Stuart girl demanded.

"You know better to interrupt class, the both of you." she did the same to Annaliese. "Take your seats, and if any of you start a fight again, it's off to the gulags, Trotskyist pig dogs." Riley didn't know whether the Red Army woman was joking, but she merely grumbled and went back to her seat, scratching and playing with Penny's ears.

"Perhaps, if you all find this subject boring, we might move on to something more recent." Volkova stated, turning back to her chalkboard and erasing the previous subject, before writing the next one. "Most of you were born a few years after the First World War ended. Can anyone tell me what started the war?"

Annaliese reluctantly walked up to the front of the class and stood before the teacher. Almost immediately smacked Riley with a ruler, which was amusing for Annaliese. Unfortunately, her amusement was short lived as she was hit with the ruler in turn. Annaliese merely rubbed the spot of the hit and listened to the Russian woman. She explained that if they interrupt her class again, they'll be sent to the Gulags. The "pig dog" insult was not new to the German Mage, she heard it before when she was captured in the battle of Berlin. The insult added to her already pissed off mood from being hit with the ruler. Annaliese muttered something in German as she took her seat.

Annaliese sat with her arms crossed, listening to each Mage give her answer to the teacher's question. Since she was stuck in the class anyway, she might as well participate. " Alliances. It was alliances that prompted the scale of the Great War. After the assassination of archduke Ferdinand, each country in Europe was dragged into the conflict through the alliances. Austria and Serbia could have easily fought it out on their own, but their alliances had a choke hold on Europe. Like the dominoe effect, each country fell into the war, created the supposed 'war to end all wars', but we all know how that went." Annaliese said with a faint smirk.

[USRK]

Zoe, reclining in her chair with her feet on the desk, laughs at german girls' remark. Then she raised her hand and, when called on, said "Hey, how about instead of listening to this old hags lecture we go outside? These people are already fighting with each other so why not let them at it? We'll call it "Physical Eduction""