Mana Academy (IC) (Open, Fantasy)

[Haedros 92712]

Iris

“Gwynn? Dominique?” Iris still searched for her team. Finally, after about 5 minutes of searching, she saw her teammates, working on trying to... lift some roots with water? “Guys! Starting without me? You dummies!” Iris smiled brightly at her team... right before stepping forward and tripping on one of her shoelaces.

[Saleon]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Soleil appreciated Lynn’s encouragement. He felt her hand on his back as he spoke, and the sensation felt strangely comforting. His worries about not passing started to melt, and he smiled toward her. “...Th-thank you...” he whispered, a timid smile on his face. With his fears somewhat abated, he turned toward the orb of water she had formed.

“...I...I-I don’t think we need to open it...We just...need to make sure the packet mixes with the water and then bubbles, according to the instructions,” Soleil suggested. He then gently lifted the little packet in an orb of water. After lifting it, he held it in the orb, and began to whirl it steadily in the water. He then turned and looked toward Sanja. “You...should keep the water at a soft boil, so that it will heat but won’t entirely disappear. And...let’s see...while you’re doing that...”

He turned and stared back toward the extra-credit circle, as he began to swirl the packet. “...Once it’s all mixed...Shaun?...Why don’t you go over to the extra credit circle?...Maybe if you step in it...we can...activate it and see what happens...” he suggested. He felt his group would be able to finish the assignment, but everyone had to do their part. Given Shaun would not get to have much of a role in this assignment, either, he had to make sure he could do something.

Amanda looked over to all the students as they attempted to work together. A little part of her was disappointed at the apparent difficulty some groups are having in following what she had thought were simple instructions. It seems many students came with the instruction that this would be like regular, well, baking or teamaking, as many students had assumed. She had already eliminated every kitchen tool that students summoned. Though, with a little effort, the students were getting close to getting it.

One student, Soleil, was eyeing her from the back and mentioning how little the earth students had to do. She hopped down from her high chair and walked over to him. "Jeez, I'm mostly back but I still need to play it easy on my feet," Amanda Stradt pouted playfully.

"Allows some time to mull over the circle, though, don't it," Amanda says, "besides, your part is to make sure the herb is maintained even as it is stirred. The herb is to diffuse flavor, but not necessarily be destroyed. So make sure it doesn't break down."

"O-oh. Well um, sure!" He said sorta confused. There was a lack of things that he himself could do given his situation but he could try something. Looking at the swirling mass of water, Shaun looked down at the contents and tried to think of a way to make the process go faster. "So let's see...uh..." He simply said to himself before holding his hands out towards the contents. Soon what looked like a pair of clay, blocky substances before he began to make the bottom of the blocks to stretch and form around the bottom of the mixture of water and connect it before he moved his index finger in a swiveling motion, causing the contents to spin quicker than before.

Shaun then looked backwards to see what this circle was that Soleil was talking about, he moved backwards towards the circle until he stood where Soleil wanted him. "Okay, so now what?" He said to the group while continuing to focus on mixing the substance.

"Also, it is kinda interesting seeing students try everything to figure out an extra-credit circle," Amanda said. From what Soleil and Shaun could tell, the spell was definitely a summoning spell, but of what was a mystery. Some of the intricately designed sections were taught in class, but not all of them. So far, it has not been made active.

She then checked her clipboard. She felt like some people were missing...

---

Elias heard his sister long before he saw her. She came running down the hall, just as Elias turned to meet her. And then they crashed straight into each other. Elias’ books fell and scattered all over the floor. “Dang it...” he heard his sister mumbling. Elias stood, his face flushed. “What do you think you’re doing you klutz?! You’re lucky it’s me you ran into and not an administrator or something!” Elias sighed. Maybe he was being a bit too harsh. He looked at his sister to see... wait what? She’s...crying?! Elias was flustered. How must this look to everyone around them? Iris on the floor, bawling her eyes how with Elias just sanding there over her. “Hey hey hey! Quit crying would you? Look, just be careful where you’re going please?” His sister nodded. Elias set about collecting his books, while his sister walked off. What in the world was that?

Virgil-- a small, diminutive rodent wearing what seemed to be a cute pair of armor-- was looking around the hallways. It also carried an overly large great-sword (for his size at least). He kept a list of students in his other hand, seeing if there were a couple of people who were late for the midterm. He was darting across the hallways, jumping from sill to window sill. With a little luck, they'd be easy to find.

He spotted Iris as she was entering the courtyard, but her brother was a little behind. He darted over to the brother, stopping a little before the brother's feet. Virgil pulled out his notebook and scribbled very simple instructions. He had grabbed a larger piece of paper folded up a little to make it easier to write. After squeaking a little, he lifted his sword and pointed in the direction, before hopping away.

---

Iris

“Gwynn? Dominique?” Iris still searched for her team. Finally, after about 5 minutes of searching, she saw her teammates, working on trying to... lift some roots with water? “Guys! Starting without me? You dummies!” Iris smiled brightly at her team... right before stepping forward and tripping on one of her shoelaces.

Amanda pulled out the clipboard, "seems to be the new students-"

After about 5 minutes of searching, Iris saw her teammates, working on trying to... lift some roots with water? “Guys! Starting without me? You dummies!” Iris smiled brightly at her team... right before stepping forward and tripping on one of her shoelaces.

"-like that one..." Amanda noted, writing a small note, "well, she is new." Amanda then made a quick scribbling on a piece of paper. As it was complete, she dotted her eyes and finished with a period. The ink glowed for a second, before flying off the paper and turning into a large pillow in front of Iris, "I am a generous god. Muhahaha."

"You are actually just on time, considering where your teammates are at. Your goal is to help spin the water while not necessarily destroying the herb inside the dome. You are going to be tested on how quickly you can work with a group, along with your skills," Amanda said, handing a small note as she patted the new student. She then offered her hand to help lift the new student up from her extremely comfortable pillow.

[Luminesa]

Soleil had been frightened as Amanda had suddenly approached their table. Had she heard him? He was sure that she would scold him for his sneaky behavior, yet when she approached she did not do anything of the sort. As she instructed his team, he felt himself relax further. “...‘D-Diffuse the flavor’...” he repeated, as she spoke. He blinked, and thought about her words. He then turned back toward the circle, and stared at the packet as it slowly whirled in the water. “...Flavor?...”

Dandelions had an odd taste. The petals themselves were almost bittersweet. He remembered being a tiny child and tripping into puddles of dandelions outside his mother’s looming castle. He had gotten some of the petals in his mouth, and as he had spit them out, he had remembered they had tasted a little like coffee grounds. He had never tried them ground and with water, so he did not know how that would taste. Yet as he realized that this would be something he would drink, his eyes opened wide.

“...I-It’s tea!” he whispered to Lynn and Sanja nearby. “...We’re making cake and tea! Th-That means...all we have to do now is just warm the tea until it gets hot! And...th-that must mean...” He turned toward Shaun and waved, as he focused on the swirling packet with one hand. “The summoning circle...m-must have our supplies! Our cups and our plate, a-and possibly even a microwave! O-Or a candle! Keep standing in the circle and see what happens!”

He had never been so excited about possibly passing a test before. The exam was not only a test of the students’ abilities to work together, but also of their abilities to think critically, beyond a set of given instructions. He felt giddy. For once, he was able to be proud of something other than his ability to build constructs.

[Haedros 92712]

Iris just stared at Amanda. A pillow had just appeared from thin air in front of her very own eyes. That’s not something pillows did was it? It had to have been magic, but what kind of elemental magic allows things to appear from nowhere. And the instructions. Spin the water without destroying the herbs? No problem! “So... how are we going to spin the water? I mean, is an aquo among us, first of all? And how is the water going to be spun? Ooh! Is that where I come in? Do I spin the water with my wind magic? Is that’ how this is gonna go down? OOH YAY I LOVE USING MY WIND! I CAN EVEN USE MY SUMMER WIND. Oh wait... do you even know what that is? Is where I heat up the wind magic I cast with a little bit of fire! It’s really cool. I should definitely show you.” Iris spoke all of this at a rapid fire, talking so fast it was almost hard to understand. “Oh, and by the way, that thing with the pillow. How did you do that?”

[Saldinado]

Shaun Calhoun

"...Oh? Uh, yes sir!" Shaun exclaimed with a small voice crack of confusion. The lack of work from his part was making him agitated in all honesty. But now he was starting to feel somewhat helpful. He did what Soleil said and stood in the circle. He waited their patiently as he continued to swirl his finger around the imaginary cup of tea per say while watching their own contents swirl. Now all was left was for that fire kid to start boiling the water or something like that so that they can "diffuse the flavor."
A soft sigh of annoyance and curiosity escaped his mouth before smiling at Sol. "So now we wait, I guess?"

Dominique Corleone

"...Well, we'll hold on that trick for a later date. But thanks, hehe."

Who is this... Do we have another person to deal with? And a rather chatty and clumsy one at that.

A small and soft sigh escaped Dominique's mouth as the new student began asking questions. Seeing as there really wasn't a lot of coordination and cooperation going on, and he was pretty useless as well, he decided to make use of the others' projects as examples for inspiration for theirs. Plus a little kick to their stuff.

"Alright, now here's what's gonna happen!" He exclaimed to his group, he voice booming through the area in an almost team manager-esque fashion. "Kad, you've already read off the herbal cantation and summoned our herb, so good job dude; now, if you don't mind, I'll add something to the mix..." As he trailed off, he pointed his hand towards the ginseng in Kad's hand and soon what looked like a reddish-brown, stick-shaped substance appeared in his hands as well. It gave off what appeared to be a light, yet refreshing spiced cinnamon smell in the air around the latter. "Its cinnamon. It pairs well with ginseng and offers a pleasant aroma to the dish while providing some health benefits as well." He explained to the group. Hopefully this was allowed.

"Good. Now, Gwyn," he said not missing a beat of his words. However, he toned his voice down so that he sounded more friendly and inviting, "can you please enclose the ingredients around Kad with your water? Afterwards, I would you...madam. Excuse me if I don't really know your name so soon, to begin using your Venta powers to stir the water and its contents smoothly and thoroughly long enough so that they combine well and infuse the water. Lastly," Dominique trailed off looking over towards Kadnikov and winking at him, "I would like for you to start a flame underneath the water while its mixing until it starts to reach a boil."

He inhaled some more air from speaking so much and looked at his group chuckling and nodding. "Now, do you think that we can do that? Anything else that I need to say?"

[Segral]

Oliver sighed in response, he'd read the steps and knew what would happen next, but he frankly couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they were bloody baking.
That said, he didn't refuse to do whatever was asked of him.
Only briefly looking at the pile of whatever kind of dust he had grinded up and started humming a repetitive rhythm to keep himself from going too fast or too slow.
He expected Nick to follow his lead, but would eventually slow down or speed up if needed.

His pile of ingredients started swirling at first in a mini tornado until it progressively calmed down in a gentle tide going back and forth. Similar to one that someone would make in a tub.
Oliver's hands moved left and right in rhythm.

"I'll adapt, do as you will."

Nick Rider

Oliver still looked annoyed and almost dumbfounded at the idea of using powerful applications of mana to create baked goods, although Nick couldn't really blame him, it still made him a little queasy. Hopefully, this cake would go well and they could all move to the next part of the exam, or even better, this was the last part of the exam. He didn't think his brain could withstand the idea of baking another pastry with mud magic.

Oliver was doing some kind of thing to make the powders move like tides, taking the lead, again. It seemed like he was taking the lead for most of this exercise, he just seemed so good at this, like it was second nature. It made Nick feel so...envious, he wanted to be that good, and that smart, and that handso...wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there. He had some work to do, no time to hook up with guys you've just met. He had to focus. Now was not the time to get all jealous, he could muse about that over some freshly distilled mint liquor.

Copying Oliver's hand movements, his face suddenly morphed into a mask of shock as the powder, turned into a massive blast that almost knocked all the powder off the table. Regaining his composure, he slowly drew the powders back to him, regathered them in a pile, and tried again, this time going slower. Soon, the powder seemed to calm down and move fluidly, before Nick moved to mix the two powders, swirling them around each other. He lost his rhythm a few times, but soon, the dust was well mixed, and he could finally sit back for a second.

"Alright, so what's the next step?" he asked, leaning back in his chair slightly.

[Luminesa]

Ambrosia did not pay as much attention to her assignment, as she heard Soleil shout something about supplies and saw Elias coming to join them. He was apparently an Aquo, from what she heard from Professor Stradt, so that meant her team would have extra help. “Okay! This is good! Ummmm...but we apparently have a new person in our group, so let’s have him swirl the ingredients just a little more for us!” She then waved to Elias, and smiled. “Hi there! Welcome to our group! We have most of it done, we just need you to swirl the ingredients a little more!” she explained, pointing to the cakey batter Oliver and Nick had been shifting around.

After she finished talking, she turned and looked down at her paper again. “...Once you do that, I need someone to time me for 25 minutes, so I can bake the cake! Though...I don’t know how much heat to use...I guess until it looks like a cake? Someone can turn it continually while I bake it, I guess...Elias, you could do that too! And Oliver! Nick, you can watch the timer!” she suggested. While Soleil was trying to keep his composure nearby, Ambrosia was excited that she might not entirely fail her exam.

[Frisct the II]

Soleil had been frightened as Amanda had suddenly approached their table. Had she heard him? He was sure that she would scold him for his sneaky behavior, yet when she approached she did not do anything of the sort. As she instructed his team, he felt himself relax further. “...‘D-Diffuse the flavor’...” he repeated, as she spoke. He blinked, and thought about her words. He then turned back toward the circle, and stared at the packet as it slowly whirled in the water. “...Flavor?...”

Dandelions had an odd taste. The petals themselves were almost bittersweet. He remembered being a tiny child and tripping into puddles of dandelions outside his mother’s looming castle. He had gotten some of the petals in his mouth, and as he had spit them out, he had remembered they had tasted a little like coffee grounds. He had never tried them ground and with water, so he did not know how that would taste. Yet as he realized that this would be something he would drink, his eyes opened wide.

“...I-It’s tea!” he whispered to Lynn and Sanja nearby. “...We’re making cake and tea! Th-That means...all we have to do now is just warm the tea until it gets hot! And...th-that must mean...” He turned toward Shaun and waved, as he focused on the swirling packet with one hand. “The summoning circle...m-must have our supplies! Our cups and our plate, a-and possibly even a microwave! O-Or a candle! Keep standing in the circle and see what happens!”

He had never been so excited about possibly passing a test before. The exam was not only a test of the students’ abilities to work together, but also of their abilities to think critically, beyond a set of given instructions. He felt giddy. For once, he was able to be proud of something other than his ability to build constructs.

Well, I don't know how to use fire. I just have lightning on my side. It can be used as a heating element, but it would only have to be a miniscule amount to produce heat.

Sanja looked at where he was supposed to create his portion of the orb. It was going to be considerably difficult considering all of the other parts had been put into place. It was almost like reverse Jenga. He started out by forming the mana in the space into the shape of a hollow orb without activating it. This took a considerable amount of concentration, but was not something he was unable to do. Upon confirming the integrity of the location, Sanja began to activate the magic and form a paper thin sphere made of lightning that began to heat the water slowly to a boil.

"I never thought I would be used like a kettle before, but I guess there's a first for everything these days."

[Imperial--japan]

Valerie Teichmüller, Group 3

When the groups were announced, Valerie breathed a sigh of relief at not being paired with Soleil. It was in his best interests after all, that he be paired with someone who could return his empathy and friendship. Not the husk that struggled evermore to perform basic human functions and associate like a normal individual. Surely, undeath was her bane, and though she wanted nothing more than to be Soleil's friend, she knew it was for him that she would distance herself. Instead, she had been paired with three individuals of whom she lacked much interaction with, if any at all. Instead of introducing herself immediately, she elected to hang back and allow them to associate with each other unhindered. Valerie would perform as needed, but she had no desires to do anything beyond what was required of her. When the points were deducted from her team however, she frowned. She wasn't actually upset as she was incapable of feeling such an emotion anymore, but she believed that her former self would lose her composure at such a thing.

"Unfortunate...." Was all Valerie could think to herself. As the group moved to acquire the necessary components to begin the exam proper, Valerie stood nearby, her Mages cloak on but silent herself. She knew her role, and as a Aquo would encase the herb in a dome of water when her peers were ready. She figured she would inform them of that much. Stepping forward, she addressed Jadwiga and the others, hopefully speaking loud enough for them to hear.

"I am an Aquo. Please inform me when we are prepared to begin our phase." She said in a quiet voice. Luckily, she had ample blood vials prepared for this exam and the next. Ideally, when this was all over, Valerie would not need to be a bother to those around her like she was now.

"And please utilize me in whatever way is beneficial to the group." She added, hoping to emphasize she could be useful here.

[Khasinkonia]

Kazimiera Wojciecha Jadwiga Baskerville

Jadwiga once more looked over what needed to be done, and then presented the peppermint to Valerie. Hopefully this girl knew what she must do, for competence needed to be on their side to deal with lost points.
“So, you know what to do?” she asked, looking Valerie up and down one more, just to gain some looks for potential judgement. She hadn’t really interacted with this girl before, so quite a few different outcomes were possible. She didn’t seem particularly objectionable at first glance, but then, how could sight alone tell everything about someone? Outside wasn’t how people were judged on the final day, after all...

---

Gwyn Talyllyn

Gwynn smiled awkwardly as he watched this new girl approach, and then trip only to be caught by a pillow created by Ms. Amanda.
“What is this, but a soft fall?” he softly enunciated, shaking his head as he awaited his portion of the task at hand, looking over the new team member, “Ei, beth yw hyn, ond cwymp meddal?”
With Dominique calling the group to order, Gwyn clasped his hands together, and took a deep breath in and out. No leadership necessary from him was probably a good thing, as as mutual decision making with his sister hadn’t lent itself to quick and wide-reaching independent thought. Just like the Talyllyn railroad near their hometown, their thought usually used more than one train. He nodded as he received his orders, and concentrated on summoning enough water to deal with the mixture Kad and Dom had put together. It took a moment, as he wasn’t natively a pure water mage, but it came together soon enough. His less-than-pristine water swirled around the mixture in a sort of ovular shape. His figured his control could have been better, but either way, the job was getting done.

[Serah]

Ambrosia did not pay as much attention to her assignment, as she heard Soleil shout something about supplies and saw Elias coming to join them. He was apparently an Aquo, from what she heard from Professor Stradt, so that meant her team would have extra help. “Okay! This is good! Ummmm...but we apparently have a new person in our group, so let’s have him swirl the ingredients just a little more for us!” She then waved to Elias, and smiled. “Hi there! Welcome to our group! We have most of it done, we just need you to swirl the ingredients a little more!” she explained, pointing to the cakey batter Oliver and Nick had been shifting around.

After she finished talking, she turned and looked down at her paper again. “...Once you do that, I need someone to time me for 25 minutes, so I can bake the cake! Though...I don’t know how much heat to use...I guess until it looks like a cake? Someone can turn it continually while I bake it, I guess...Elias, you could do that too! And Oliver! Nick, you can watch the timer!” she suggested. While Soleil was trying to keep his composure nearby, Ambrosia was excited that she might not entirely fail her exam.

"It's up to you. Do you want me to supply you with Mana for a bit?
I can always spin the 'cake' until it looks alright." Oliver answered with a deadpan while stretching his back. The powder had shifted progressively into some kind of batter, which made decent sense, but was hardly something Oliver figured he'd do with his power.

"If you're the Aquo guy... There's little we can have you do. Time Ambrosia, or supply her with Mana if you know how to do it. Unless you have some control over Earth you won't be able to shift things at all." He seemed to think for a moment, before taking control of the shifting batter entirely.
"Nick, supply her with magic, and you-" He gave a heads up to the newcomer. "-You time Ambrosia. I'll handle the rest. Ambrosia, put the cake on a high flame. 25 minutes is quite short I think for cakes. I'll handle which side eventually gets to be cooked, I should be good enough on that matter."

[Imperial--japan]

Valerie Teichmüller, Group 3

Valerie looked up, ceasing her constant gazing towards the ground as someone decided to address her in question of her ability. It was a fair question as well, as it was unlikely that anyone here actually knew her or what she was capable of. Looking over towards the plant in question, Valerie nodded her head to the question of her competence. Reading it, it appeared that the plant they would be using was a Peppermint. As Valerie recalled, she was quite partial to the plant for its aromatic oils when she was alive, now she could form no proper opinion on it due to her lack of smell, but perhaps clinging to her memory of it was what would work best. A single hand was inside her cloak where she would crush a small blood vial in her hands in order to fuel her magic. It would dissipate soon, being used to empower Valerie so she could cast her Aquo magic.

"I shall begin." Valerie informed her colleagues, removing her hand from the cloak and making a hand gesture. She ripped a decent amount of water from the air, supplied by the water moisture and vapor that people breathed in on a constant basis. A bed of water moved under the peppermint, slowly spreading out before encasing the peppermint within her ball of water.

[Haedros 92712]

Elias

So he was supposed to time this girl... Ambrosia, was it? Okay then, if that’s all I’m good for here, might as well... So he proceeded to do just that. All the while he griped silently to himself. Timing, huh? Is that really all they have for me to do around here? I swear, I could rotate that cake better than this blank faced- Elias cut himself off. Now was not the time to mumble and groan.

[Saleon]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Shaun Calhoun"...Oh? Uh, yes sir!" Shaun exclaimed with a small voice crack of confusion. The lack of work from his part was making him agitated in all honesty. But now he was starting to feel somewhat helpful. He did what Soleil said and stood in the circle. He waited their patiently as he continued to swirl his finger around the imaginary cup of tea per say while watching their own contents swirl. Now all was left was for that fire kid to start boiling the water or something like that so that they can "diffuse the flavor."
A soft sigh of annoyance and curiosity escaped his mouth before smiling at Sol. "So now we wait, I guess?"

Amanda also wrote down notes relating to group one. Afterwards, she just kinda stared at Shaun and Soleil. Something about them standing in a circle as it does nothing but waste their time made her grin.

Virgil looked up at the circle from Amanda's collar. He hid out of sight quite easily with his size. He pondered for a second, then looked to Amanda. He quickly scribbled something and showed it to Amanda. "Yes, yes it is, Virgil," she patted him softly on the head as he hid in her collar. She then hands him a small biscuit. Amanda then whispers, "do you think I should tell them only I can activate it?"

Elias: So he was supposed to time this girl... Ambrosia, was it? Okay then, if that’s all I’m good for here, might as well... So he proceeded to do just that. All the while he griped silently to himself. Timing, huh? Is that really all they have for me to do around here? I swear, I could rotate that cake better than this blank faced- Elias cut himself off. Now was not the time to mumble and groan.

Amanda Stradt looks at group one. She clears her throat loudly. "Sorry about the ambiguous role at the moment. The school apparently made last minute changes even after I made second to last minute changes," Amanda sighed. She looked at the instructions. Amanda quickly wrote a secondary ruleset to add on to group 1. "This... should--" she continues writing-- "fix it." She then hands Ambrosia the next set of instructions.

Dear Group One,

As this is a group project, not having Elias do anything will be a failing grade. To assist in you not get a failing grade and suffer through remedial lessons, I have added the following: The Aquo student will manipulate the mixture, since it is partially made of wet ingredients, to mold the project into a form suitable for later. You should also make sure that, despite the shifted form of the project, that it still is heated evenly.

Sincerely,
Amanda.

The period at the end of her name is ominously dotted with a heart. Something about the heart makes it look like the bleeding remains of her enemies.

Iris: Iris stared as the girl, Valerie, surrounded the peppermint in water. She stared, for it was rare she truly payed attention to Aquo magic in use. Wait, am I supposed to be turning the orb? Oh shoot, I don’t wanna mess up and use wind magic on the herb without knowing if that’s what I’m not supposed to do, and I don’t want to not do it if I have to. Should I ask? Oh, but I don’t want to look like a total ditz in front of my team... oh what to do, what to do...

From the back of her eyes, she saw one of the girls panicking. She stretched her arms, before shouting to the whole class once more, "and once again! You have the instructions. Just follow them and you should do fine."

[Serah]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Elias: So he was supposed to time this girl... Ambrosia, was it? Okay then, if that’s all I’m good for here, might as well... So he proceeded to do just that. All the while he griped silently to himself. Timing, huh? Is that really all they have for me to do around here? I swear, I could rotate that cake better than this blank faced- Elias cut himself off. Now was not the time to mumble and groan.

Amanda Stradt looks at group one. She clears her throat loudly. "Sorry about the ambiguous role at the moment. The school apparently made last minute changes even after I made second to last minute changes," Amanda sighed. She looked at the instructions. Amanda quickly wrote a secondary ruleset to add on to group 1. "This... should--" she continues writing-- "fix it." She then hands Ambrosia the next set of instructions.

Dear Group One,

As this is a group project, not having Elias do anything will be a failing grade. To assist in you not get a failing grade and suffer through remedial lessons, I have added the following: The Aquo student will manipulate the mixture, since it is partially made of wet ingredients, to mold the project into a form suitable for later. You should also make sure that, despite the shifted form of the project, that it still is heated evenly.

Sincerely,
Amanda.

The period at the end of her name is ominously dotted with a heart. Something about the heart makes it look like the bleeding remains of her enemies.

And as it turned out, the new guy would have a use. One Oliver had briefly thought of, but discarded out of mostly not being sure whether or not it was the right course of action.
That said, he didn't mind it too much.
The threat of remedial classes however, did bother him a lot. Mostly because they were voiced as a threat in general, something he typically disliked or downright hated depending on the person. Especially regarding teachers, he hated being threatened. Not because he thought he was stronger, but mostly because he figured that a teacher should accompany their students and help them out; Amanda however was doing the polar opposite right now.
If he didn't know the other side of the coin, he probably would've sent a glare her way. He didn't, and focused on the newcomer.

"Well, new guy. You heard the boss. Mold this up and pass it on once you're done. Either to Nick or me."
It would be lying if Oliver said he didn't notice the silent seething of the newcomer. However whereas one would address the problem immediately, he simply raised his eyebrow questioningly at Elias.
"If you want me to stop calling you 'new guy', you can also tell the group your name. Because it sure as hell wasn't on the paper at first."

[Luminesa]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Shaun Calhoun"...Oh? Uh, yes sir!" Shaun exclaimed with a small voice crack of confusion. The lack of work from his part was making him agitated in all honesty. But now he was starting to feel somewhat helpful. He did what Soleil said and stood in the circle. He waited their patiently as he continued to swirl his finger around the imaginary cup of tea per say while watching their own contents swirl. Now all was left was for that fire kid to start boiling the water or something like that so that they can "diffuse the flavor."
A soft sigh of annoyance and curiosity escaped his mouth before smiling at Sol. "So now we wait, I guess?"

Amanda also wrote down notes relating to group one. Afterwards, she just kinda stared at Shaun and Soleil. Something about them standing in a circle as it does nothing but waste their time made her grin.

Virgil looked up at the circle from Amanda's collar. He hid out of sight quite easily with his size. He pondered for a second, then looked to Amanda. He quickly scribbled something and showed it to Amanda. "Yes, yes it is, Virgil," she patted him softly on the head as he hid in her collar. She then hands him a small biscuit. Amanda then whispers, "do you think I should tell them only I can activate it?"

Elias: So he was supposed to time this girl... Ambrosia, was it? Okay then, if that’s all I’m good for here, might as well... So he proceeded to do just that. All the while he griped silently to himself. Timing, huh? Is that really all they have for me to do around here? I swear, I could rotate that cake better than this blank faced- Elias cut himself off. Now was not the time to mumble and groan.

Amanda Stradt looks at group one. She clears her throat loudly. "Sorry about the ambiguous role at the moment. The school apparently made last minute changes even after I made second to last minute changes," Amanda sighed. She looked at the instructions. Amanda quickly wrote a secondary ruleset to add on to group 1. "This... should--" she continues writing-- "fix it." She then hands Ambrosia the next set of instructions.

Dear Group One,

As this is a group project, not having Elias do anything will be a failing grade. To assist in you not get a failing grade and suffer through remedial lessons, I have added the following: The Aquo student will manipulate the mixture, since it is partially made of wet ingredients, to mold the project into a form suitable for later. You should also make sure that, despite the shifted form of the project, that it still is heated evenly.

Sincerely,
Amanda.

The period at the end of her name is ominously dotted with a heart. Something about the heart makes it look like the bleeding remains of her enemies.

Iris: Iris stared as the girl, Valerie, surrounded the peppermint in water. She stared, for it was rare she truly payed attention to Aquo magic in use. Wait, am I supposed to be turning the orb? Oh shoot, I don’t wanna mess up and use wind magic on the herb without knowing if that’s what I’m not supposed to do, and I don’t want to not do it if I have to. Should I ask? Oh, but I don’t want to look like a total ditz in front of my team... oh what to do, what to do...

From the back of her eyes, she saw one of the girls panicking. She stretched her arms, before shouting to the whole class once more, "and once again! You have the instructions. Just follow them and you should do fine."

Ambrosia saw the letter and panicked. Her group had done everything correctly up to this point, and now because the new person had nothing to do, they were going to fail. “...But we said he could time it and everything...” she muttered, staring back at the paper nervously. She was ready to do her part and to complete the assignment, but if she did so the group would fail?! She wanted to scream. The one time she was actually about to pass something and she was about to fail because of one person. “Wait a minute!” She looked over at Professor Stradt, in a bit of a panic. “How are we failing if we are doing everything correctly? Nobody in the group has made a misstep, I’ve watched and made sure of it! And we gave Elias something to do, but there’s not much for him left to do! I still have to bake the thing! This isn’t fair! None of us are doing anything wrong!” she yelled.

[Saleon]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Amanda Stradt looks at group one. She clears her throat loudly. "Sorry about the ambiguous role at the moment. The school apparently made last minute changes even after I made second to last minute changes," Amanda sighed. She looked at the instructions. Amanda quickly wrote a secondary ruleset to add on to group 1. "This... should--" she continues writing-- "fix it." She then hands Ambrosia the next set of instructions.

Dear Group One,

As this is a group project, not having Elias do anything will be a failing grade. To assist in you not get a failing grade and suffer through remedial lessons, I have added the following: The Aquo student will manipulate the mixture, since it is partially made of wet ingredients, to mold the project into a form suitable for later. You should also make sure that, despite the shifted form of the project, that it still is heated evenly.

Sincerely,
Amanda.

The period at the end of her name is ominously dotted with a heart. Something about the heart makes it look like the bleeding remains of her enemies.

Ambrosia saw the letter and panicked. Her group had done everything correctly up to this point, and now because the new person had nothing to do, they were going to fail. “...But we said he could time it and everything...” she muttered, staring back at the paper nervously. She was ready to do her part and to complete the assignment, but if she did so the group would fail?! She wanted to scream. The one time she was actually about to pass something and she was about to fail because of one person. “Wait a minute!” She looked over at Professor Stradt, in a bit of a panic. “How are we failing if we are doing everything correctly? Nobody in the group has made a misstep, I’ve watched and made sure of it! And we gave Elias something to do, but there’s not much for him left to do! I still have to bake the thing! This isn’t fair! None of us are doing anything wrong!” she yelled.

Amanda sighed, taking off her glasses, "I was joking, mostly. You guys are doing fine. If you want to know, this is testing two things: cooperation and testing magical skills. I can't evaluate Elias on his magic if he is only timing your project." She then looks to Virgil.

Virgil made a note along the lines of "you" "did" "take" "it" "a" "little" "too" "far."

"I figured. I shouldn’t joke about people’s grades during finals,” she muttered, a little disappointed.

“Alright, I’ll make it clear. I need a way to measure how each groupmember works together and works to balance each other’s weaknesses. If one student is more or less watching as the project is completed, then they aren’t participating and being left out. Along with that, I can’t test them individually since I can’t test their finesse and skill in magic. The group working together is a major portion of the assignment. That is why I adjusted the assignment for your group,” she elucidated.

Virgil then hopped up on to Ambrosia’s head and patted her. “You” “are” “not” “in” “trouble” he reassured, before ducking back into Amanda’s shirtcollar.

“I figured you guys would readjust to the assignment and it would be fine. There wouldn’t be a loss in grades,” She said.

[Luminesa]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Ambrosia saw the letter and panicked. Her group had done everything correctly up to this point, and now because the new person had nothing to do, they were going to fail. “...But we said he could time it and everything...” she muttered, staring back at the paper nervously. She was ready to do her part and to complete the assignment, but if she did so the group would fail?! She wanted to scream. The one time she was actually about to pass something and she was about to fail because of one person. “Wait a minute!” She looked over at Professor Stradt, in a bit of a panic. “How are we failing if we are doing everything correctly? Nobody in the group has made a misstep, I’ve watched and made sure of it! And we gave Elias something to do, but there’s not much for him left to do! I still have to bake the thing! This isn’t fair! None of us are doing anything wrong!” she yelled.

Amanda sighed, taking off her glasses, "I was joking, mostly. You guys are doing fine. If you want to know, this is testing two things: cooperation and testing magical skills. I can't evaluate Elias on his magic if he is only timing your project." She then looks to Virgil.

Virgil made a note along the lines of "you" "did" "take" "it" "a" "little" "too" "far."

"I figured. I shouldn’t joke about people’s grades during finals,” she muttered, a little disappointed.

“Alright, I’ll make it clear. I need a way to measure how each groupmember works together and works to balance each other’s weaknesses. If one student is more or less watching as the project is completed, then they aren’t participating and being left out. Along with that, I can’t test them individually since I can’t test their finesse and skill in magic. The group working together is a major portion of the assignment. That is why I adjusted the assignment for your group,” she elucidated.

Virgil then hopped up on to Ambrosia’s head and patted her. “You” “are” “not” “in” “trouble” he reassured, before ducking back into Amanda’s shirtcollar.

“I figured you guys would readjust to the assignment and it would be fine. There wouldn’t be a loss in grades,” She said.

Ambrosia listened, calming the buzzing in her head as the teacher spoke. She was not going to fail, nor was her team. Professor Stradt had just been playing a joke of sorts. She did want them to give Elias something to do, however, and so she re-read the letter. “...Um...uh...o-okay...” she answered, as she read. She hoped the teacher would not play another trick, but now she stared over at the extra-credit circle and wondered.

What if we finish and we take the cake over there and some monster pops out and eats it?! Or what if a jack-in-the-box pops out and we get scared, drop the cake, and fail?!...No. No. Ambrosia, you’re not thinking rationally. Think rationally. Stay calm, stay focused. There are no monsters and no evil jack-in-the-boxes...well...you’re a vampire, but that’s different! We’re almost done! We just have to get Elias to do...something.

When she finished her inner rant, she looked toward her new teammate and nodded. “Sorry about all that. Ummm...the instructions say you need to stir the batter a little more. That way it sticks together when I cook it. In fact, you and Oliver can take turns turning the cake, so I can cook all of it and it won’t be all raw and gooey! Does that sound good? Just hold it up and start turning it for me,” she instructed, a little calmer now after taking a moment to collect herself.

[Saldinado]

Shaun Calhoun

That grin. That little grin on her face seemed innocent and jovial to some, but to him, he became flustered and irritated by it. He puffed his cheeks and pouted as his face began to change into a soft rosy color on his cheeks in embarrassment. It was like he was being mocked; and by all people, it was by her. The instructions given were basically bullshit to a Solum, and seeing that little cheeky mouse on her shoulder write down something to her, only to have the latter look down at it and whisper something to her.

A small huff of annoyance exited his mouth as he looked back at Soleil now becoming more impatient and irritated. However, his fit of irritation slowly devolved into a feeling of a psuedo relief upon seeing the water boil and swirl thanks to the rest of the group. Maybe while that was going on, he could make himself useful by asking the mentors what the hell was suppose to happen. "Hold on." He simply said to the group as he looked at Amanda with a small frown on his face. "I'll be right back."

Moving from his spot, he began walking from the circle only to reach the his destination with a hard glare within those soft colored eyes facing towards Amanda and her little pet. "So, uh I gotta question." He said softly in attempt to make sure that nobody was looking at him. "So we've been doing all this stuff for a while now, and that circle has something to do with us making sure that things work out well for us. But so far nothing is happening. So," he ended off with a sigh and closing his eyes before continuing, "what exactly are we missing from it? Is it a certain item? Spell? Mathematical or magical equation of some sorts to get it to work? Even just a little hint would help me understand exactly what we need to do, because so far its not working in our favor." He finished before looking down at his nails and back up at her.

But, at least we're not the only clueless people around here. So there's that I guess.

[Saleon]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Moving from his spot, he began walking from the circle only to reach the his destination with a hard glare within those soft colored eyes facing towards Amanda and her little pet. "So, uh I gotta question." He said softly in attempt to make sure that nobody was looking at him. "So we've been doing all this stuff for a while now, and that circle has something to do with us making sure that things work out well for us. But so far nothing is happening. So," he ended off with a sigh and closing his eyes before continuing, "what exactly are we missing from it? Is it a certain item? Spell? Mathematical or magical equation of some sorts to get it to work? Even just a little hint would help me understand exactly what we need to do, because so far its not working in our favor." He finished before looking down at his nails and back up at her.

But, at least we're not the only clueless people around here. So there's that I guess.

Amanda's ears perked up as Shaun called to her. She turned her chair around, rolling over to the board as he spoke. She moved her hand to her chin, pondering over the circle, "well... I guess I can give some help... while I found it enjoyable as you guys try and diagnose the circle and how to activate it, I never said you had to do that. You just need to figure out what it does. It is made similar to ink magic. More to my magical signature."

She then rolled over, "also, only one student needs to get it for the whole class to. Say the overly worried Ambrosia in group one gets it, whole class. For now, I'm just trying to write down scores and take evaluations. Even if it get's passed over by everyone else, I'll still count it. Because ideas may get glossed over as everyone is thinking. But make sure figuring the circle doesn't mess with the project as a whole."

[Luminesa]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Amanda's ears perked up as Shaun called to her. She turned her chair around, rolling over to the board as he spoke. She moved her hand to her chin, pondering over the circle, "well... I guess I can give some help... while I found it enjoyable as you guys try and diagnose the circle and how to activate it, I never said you had to do that. You just need to figure out what it does. It is made similar to ink magic. More to my magical signature."

She then rolled over, "also, only one student needs to get it for the whole class to. Say the overly worried Ambrosia in group one gets it, whole class. For now, I'm just trying to write down scores and take evaluations. Even if it get's passed over by everyone else, I'll still count it. Because ideas may get glossed over as everyone is thinking. But make sure figuring the circle doesn't mess with the project as a whole."

“...Just one?...” Soleil mumbled to himself, as he held the tea steadily while Sanja finished heating it. Everyone would get a better grade if he figured what the extra credit circle was for, but had he not already figured it out? He turned toward Amanda and told her his answer out-loud. “Th-The circle is...all of our cups and plates for our tea and cake! B-Because Ambrosia’s group is making cake...a-and all of us are making tea! Th-That’s the only thing that the circle can be for, I-it’s the only thing that...that makes sense!” He sounded a little more assertive than usual, which scared him, but for once he was confident in his answer.

[Saleon]

Amanda Stradt
The Storyteller
Outside Courtyard

---

---

Amanda's ears perked up as Shaun called to her. She turned her chair around, rolling over to the board as he spoke. She moved her hand to her chin, pondering over the circle, "well... I guess I can give some help... while I found it enjoyable as you guys try and diagnose the circle and how to activate it, I never said you had to do that. You just need to figure out what it does. It is made similar to ink magic. More to my magical signature."

She then rolled over, "also, only one student needs to get it for the whole class to. Say the overly worried Ambrosia in group one gets it, whole class. For now, I'm just trying to write down scores and take evaluations. Even if it get's passed over by everyone else, I'll still count it. Because ideas may get glossed over as everyone is thinking. But make sure figuring the circle doesn't mess with the project as a whole."

“...Just one?...” Soleil mumbled to himself, as he held the tea steadily while Sanja finished heating it. Everyone would get a better grade if he figured what the extra credit circle was for, but had he not already figured it out? He turned toward Amanda and told her his answer out-loud. “Th-The circle is...all of our cups and plates for our tea and cake! B-Because Ambrosia’s group is making cake...a-and all of us are making tea! Th-That’s the only thing that the circle can be for, I-it’s the only thing that...that makes sense!” He sounded a little more assertive than usual, which scared him, but for once he was confident in his answer.

Amanda looked up from her clipboard, "well, yes. You already mentioned it." She then returned to her clipboard and continued writing. She then added, "I am glad you figured it out though. I don't want this to be a punishing section of the midterm. If you are nice, we might even have tea and cake before the assignment. Also, remember to keep each dome of magic from interfering with the other."

[Saldinado]

Shaun Calhoun

...

A deadpan expression came over his face upon hearing that the circle was just a placeholder for their tea and cakes. He thought that there was some form of mana-excused reason for this circle; some form of complex and analytical reason why this was here, only to find out that it was basically a form of table for them to have a small snack before continuing on with their next exam.
"Oh...Well alright." He softly said to no one in particular as he softly sighed and turned around back towards his group. A rush of embarrassment filled his body as he repeated the conversation between the two of them in his head. However a small smirk came across his face upon remembering that she found their attempts at activating the circle was enjoyable to her; even if some form of annoyance came with the form of mocking compliment. However, he stopped and turned his view onto Amanda once again before speaking.

"Oh yeah, I have another question. So uh, seeing as these tasks involve basically every other thing except Solums, exactly what are we suppose to do in order to ensure that we don't look like we're just standing there looking stupid? Unless...I can do something with the circle that can house the tea and cake like you said...like make cups and plates I guess...wait, is that even allowed? And also, is it possible to discuss things with other groups in order to start the circle? " He ended sounding more confident, yet hesitant on his words at the time.

[Luminesa]

Slowly, but surely, the teams all finished their cake and their cups of tea. The extra-credit table appeared, and everyone placed their finished products on the table. The light, fluffy, golden Angel Food Cake sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by a circle of different teas. The scents of fresh peppermint tea, coffee-like dandelion tea, earthy green tea, and spicy black tea filled the air, simple-yet-elegant on the pretty table.

Soleil’s eyes glittered as he looked at the sweet display. All of their hard work had paid-off and had created a beautiful work of art, almost. To top the excellent work, the students would all receive extra credit because of his discovery of the contents of the secret circle. So not only had everyone passed the second exam, but those who had not done well on the first exam would receive a helpful boost to their overall score. He let out a huge sigh of relief, and as he sniffed the air the mix of smells rejuvenated him.

Meanwhile, Ambrosia wondered if they would be able to taste their creations. Her cake looked and smelled delicious. Delicate, warm, and buttery. She hoped Professor Stradt would not eat the whole thing in front of the class.

“Congratulations everyone!” Cecily called everyone’s attention with a clap of her hands, and she smiled out at the class. “You all did fantastic, and your cake and teas look and smell wonderful! With this part of the exam finished, we will take the time to grade your work. In the meantime, we will move the cake and teas aside and prepare for the third exam. Your third, and final, exam, will be one-on-one rounds against your classmates. We will give each of you a random number, and once we have picked for everyone, we will present the pairings.”

[Luminesa]

A few minutes passed, and the teachers put random names with random numbers from 1 to 16. The students could not see exactly what the teachers were doing, since Cecily had her back turned as she wrote. She herself seemed a little worried as she noted the randomized the student-number pairings. While the final round of the Quarterly Exam was rather straightforward, she only hoped some of the students would not be overwhelmed by their opponents. As she finished, she turned and faced the class, holding a sheet written with the numbers in front of her.

"Here are your pairings. We picked the numbers and names at random. Look closely at the pairings. Even numbers will fight each other, and odd numbers will fight each other. So 1 will fight 3, 2 will fight 4, and so on. We won't change the pairings. The rules are that each battle is 5 minutes, and during that time you have to render them unable to fight. No killing, obviously, but also no destroying Mana Points. We just need you to show you can hold your own in a battle. Look at the pairings, and tell me if you have any questions," she explained.

Oliver = 1
Jadwiga = 2
Iris = 3
Shaun = 4
Soleil = 5
Valerie = 6
Alphonse = 7
Ambrosia = 8
Elias = 9
Nick = 10
Sanja = 11
Dom = 12
Nemo = 13
Kad = 14
Gwynn = 15
Lynn = 16

Soleil stared at the list, and then he looked around the room for his opponent. His eyes landed on the tall, raven-haired boy standing nearby, who had looked around at most of the class as though they were a bunch of insects. He knew that look all too well, and his skin crawled as he realized he would be fighting him. For a second, his hand twitched, as though he was planning to raise it and to request a change of his pairing. Yet then he remembered that Allistor wanted to spar with him when he returned home. If I don't prepare myself now...I'll never beat Allistor...or anyone...I have to challenge myself to move forward... After his moment of panic, then, he steeled his expression, and looked toward Alphonse with a gently intense glare, as though he was resigning to his fate and preparing to fight him honorably.

Ambrosia, on the other hand, looked toward the list and then turned to stare at Valerie. She did not seem to be the most interesting opponent, at least not to her. She almost wanted to fight the pretty Polish girl, except that she was almost certain she would defeat her soundly. She had a fierce glint to her eyes, as though she was a hawk waiting for a little mouse to walk in her direction. Thus she sighed a bit of relief when she saw her opponent was not the most powerful girl in the class...or so Ambrosia thought. Hopefully she would at least be able to put up a fight, and maybe win if she got lucky. If I can pass this test too, my score will go way up! I can actually get a good grade in something for once in my life, and then I can focus on winning Oliver's heart! she told herself. She was glad she was simply motivated to fight for once.