Mana Academy (IC) (Open, Fantasy)

[Prusselanden]

Flap flap
Ignis looked over at the window on the right. "You again? What is it now?" She opened the window to let it in. "I know you're sniffing out something bad, but I don't know where it is. Help me out here, Kay?"
The guardian gingerly crept into the building and cocked its head.
"....we can't let anyone see me talking to a gargoyle. I'm already Well known as an idiot, I don't want to look like a crazy person too." She sighed. "Make this easier for me, k? How bout you help me find it?"
The Gargoyle screeched and fluttered down the dimly lit hall. If anyone bumped into them it would hide behind Ignis to avoid being spotted.

[Woodstovia]

"I-I know what you are." Alex managed, his voice breaking despite how he tried to control it. He wasn't strong enough to control his own voice, "You're a demon, I know Ruta's letting them into the school, I know everything." he spilled. "B-but don't worry. I'll serve you, I'll do anything. Just - please." he begged, kneeling before the monstrosity. It was showing kindness but Alexander knew not to let his guard down. He had to remain vigilant and strong.

[Rhomaia]

Sage

"You know, Ruta, you should smile more often. I heard that even just faking a smile can brighten your mood," she stated, making an attempt to lighten the mood. "Also, I think that it would serve you best if you were to not underestimate me again. Who knows how many surprises I may have in store for you."

"...I think I've had enough surprises for a lifetime, honestly." Ruta answered, shaking his head and smiling at Sage, though his smile was just as artificiial as so many of the past ones he had painted onto his own face to conceal the pain. Unfortunately for him, Sage's advice did not shine through in this case. Yona still lingered on his mind, and as did every other bloody, gruesome experience he had fought through in his service to the Corps. Naturally, it would be hard for him to think happy thoughts in this moment, but that didn't mean Ruta wouldn't at least try to look at peace.

[Charlia]

Hailey Winters


"Huh? Oh, you're not a virgin. I guess I'm kind of surprised by that. I mean I'm not either, not a virgin. Ah... well, not by a long shot. Kate, I'm not disappointed at all. I really couldn't care less. As long as it wasn't while we were together, it doesn't matter to me. And, I think even if it was I could forgive you."

Hailey was surprised that Kate wasn't a virgin, she wouldn't have expected her to have much of an opportunity for... physical relationships. Her shame about it wasn't surprising at all though. Of course she would have been taught to be ashamed of that, just another thing that they would use to try to change her. Just another tool to hurt her with.

"But, If you're not comfortable with this, If you don't want to do anything, I won't hold that against you either. Just let me know if you're ever uncomfortable."

"Eh? No, no," Katelyn said quickly, blushing again. "It wasn't while we were together, it was before I came to Mana, I didn't even know you existed at the time! I wouldn't do something like that!"

As stupid a decision as it was, it wasn't like that. I'd never hurt you like that. Never.

In response to Hailey's last words, Katelyn just hugged the other girl. "It's all right, Hailey. To be with you, the girl I love more than I've ever loved anyone... I think... it will be nice."

Ugh, that sounds awkward. Less talk more action, that's my motto in most scenarios and I'm pretty sure it works in this one too.

So she stopped talking and just kissed Hailey quite passionately.

[Sonitusia]

Violet Heart

Sighing quietly from disappointment, she turned back to Theo and extended an arm to her friend in a way that suggested that she would like to dance. "It seems that we'll have to dance with each other. It's a shame... I was hoping to get you to meet some more people."

Venta
Theodora Mills

---

Shiiiite, this is pretty gay...

But as much as she didn't want to admit it, Theodora liked Violet. Not really in a romantic way, but the other girl did complement her inabilities to be nice to most people. And she was supportive of her inventing and was generally less annoying than the others in the Venta dorms. So seeing her giving up on finding a partner due to lack of males left in the room, Theo felt that she should take responsibility for holding her back too long just so she could get inside as well.

Thus, she locked her arm with Violet's, and lead her to the main floor. Reciting in her mind all the lessons her mother tried to teach her on dancing, she took the lead as a man and got into the rhythm.

"Have you ever danced before?" she asked, trying not to look too closely into Violet's eyes.

[Sky-TheLandOfNekos]

Violet Heart

Sighing quietly from disappointment, she turned back to Theo and extended an arm to her friend in a way that suggested that she would like to dance. "It seems that we'll have to dance with each other. It's a shame... I was hoping to get you to meet some more people."

Venta
Theodora Mills

---

Shiiiite, this is pretty gay...

But as much as she didn't want to admit it, Theodora liked Violet. Not really in a romantic way, but the other girl did complement her inabilities to be nice to most people. And she was supportive of her inventing and was generally less annoying than the others in the Venta dorms. So seeing her giving up on finding a partner due to lack of males left in the room, Theo felt that she should take responsibility for holding her back too long just so she could get inside as well.

Thus, she locked her arm with Violet's, and lead her to the main floor. Reciting in her mind all the lessons her mother tried to teach her on dancing, she took the lead as a man and got into the rhythm.

"Have you ever danced before?" she asked, trying not to look too closely into Violet's eyes.

Violet Heart

"Yes! Far more times than I care count," she answered Theo, also trying to avoid any awkward eye contact with her friend. Dancing with Theo wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she heard about the ball, but it was still enjoyable, well, aside from the embarrassment that she felt and the blush she did her best to hide. Luckily, Theo had decided to take the lead, so that wasn't something she had to worry about. "So, who taught you how to dance?"

[Archembalt]

Ruby Kasoura

With a calm, observant gaze, Ruby's icy blue eye seemed to be looking over Scott just as he had looked over her. Only in her case, she was much more interested in what was going on with his face and body language, not just overall appearances. He was clearly stressed, his quick breaths and fidgety movements were more than enough to indicate that, and his eyes lingered over Ruby's clothing, either meaning he was checking her out or sizing her up. That, or he had some other strange reason for it that could always be explained.

Internally sighing at both the boy's habits and the fact that he had so loudly declared himself a mage in front of unsuspecting bystanders, half of whom were probably still sober enough to listen in on their conversation, Ruby gave Scott a small, almost imperceptible smile, as if to say she did know exactly what he was talking about.

"And of course, one of you kids has to give me trouble during my first night of the job..." she said quietly, sighing audibly this time, which sounded somewhere between disbelief and exasperation. "You must be one of the students, then. I can take you back to the hotel, though I'm really not sure if you really want to go back." she finished, leaving out the part saying, 'You don't seem to like being around people'.

Scott's eyelids tapered when Ruby made mention of a 'job' and referred to him as 'kid'. He doesn't particularly like people, especially those who appear younger than him, talking down to him. And that sigh she emitted didn't help. Scott could already tell that he wouldn't like her. In fact, when she sighed, his shoulders visibly tightened, like some sort of awkward 'defense mechanism'. His irritation had to be stifled, however, since he much rather get help than shut someone else out due to a little disrespect. Anyway, she said that she's on the clock currently. Doing what exactly? Maybe she was a tour guide. It might explain why she could speak English. But she looked so young.

"No, I want to go back," Scott said, a bit of sharpness tinging his tone. But then again, when he said 'mage', she acted as if she knew what he referred to. Maybe she could lead him to the hotel. But then again, she might be apart of some organization meant to intercept lost students who had gathered at large tournaments and then promptly kidnap said stragglers in order to utilize their mana for twisted magical and scientific projects.

That did sound a bit ridiculous, Scott thought. And he needed to snap back into reality soon, because, once again, he was just standing there. Looking into her eye for an odd amount of time. Six seconds, about. Not saying a word. He hated talking with this woman. It made him suspicious, and when he was suspicious, Scott drifted into his imaginative line of thought. He became stiff. He became unaware. He hated that. He hated when he became aware of this unawareness. And he didn't like this woman for making him feel this way. The aggravation slowly dissipated once he took another deep breath, and his shoulders slacked.

"Take me there," he commanded, shrugging.

If he so much as expected that Ruby was trying to isolate him from the crowd in any way, he would be on his guard. He had nearly perfected his defensive spell, Sunward. And he had also become an adept caster of his Sunsaber spell. If she tried to touch him or attack him, he would ensure that her flesh and bone would be immediately disintegrated into ash. He didn't want to kill her, though... Just severely maim, if it came down to it.

. . .

Perhaps he was just a little too paranoid. But he was in a foreign land. He had to be careful.

[Sonitusia]

Violet Heart
"So, who taught you how to dance?"

Venta
Theodora Mills

---

Lifting up Violet and doing a turn like the rest of the dancers, Theodora answered when she placed Violet back onto the floor. "My mother," she said flatly, not really in the mood of mentioning her, "I've actually been to more balls than I look, though most of the time I'd refuse to even grace someone's hand... Truth be told, she didn't like that."

Glancing over at a more romantic couple, Theodora seemed to have lost a step for a moment before getting back into the tune. She could feel a few people looking over at her mistake, but she didn't care about them at all as she tried to control her breathing. She smiled nervously at Violet, but upon finding herself looking at the other girl's eyes, she regretted it immediately and was left with red all over her face and a light wind blowing through herself which she had conjured accidentally to cool herself down.

Needless to say, she was half-enjoying, half-hating the activity.

"But I suppose that those lessons paid off, never expected to actually do this again..."

[Luminesa]

"I-I know what you are." Alex managed, his voice breaking despite how he tried to control it. He wasn't strong enough to control his own voice, "You're a demon, I know Ruta's letting them into the school, I know everything." he spilled. "B-but don't worry. I'll serve you, I'll do anything. Just - please." he begged, kneeling before the monstrosity. It was showing kindness but Alexander knew not to let his guard down. He had to remain vigilant and strong.

This alarmed Rabbit more than anything. The boy thought was a demon, a wicked spirit who was seeking to torment him. Sure, he was aware that he was a monster inside, but he was not something that was seeking to harm the boy. He realized that it was wholly possible that Alex had been scared of him the entire time he had known him. Like Soleil, he had come from a powerful-but-wicked family, which had probably tormented him enough. Then he had come to this school expecting some sort of solace, only to find he did not know how to interact with others, and so he had lashed-out at everyone, in his loneliness.

Then he met Rabbit, and he was reminded of the things he had seen at home. All of this Rabbit could tell by looking into Alex's eyes, by listening to his voice breaking pitifully, how he laid his fragile heart in front of him, waiting for the end. He put a hand on Alex's face, holding him steady and also showing that he was not seeking to harm him. "...Tell me what is hurting you, dear..." he whispered, showing the boy compassion now that he knew what Alex was hiding. He was lonely and frustrated, and he was afraid for his future. "...Tell me anything...I want to help you...I promise you, I will not harm you..."

[Saldinado]

Anatoly Raskolnikov

"Well, Simone... We could go for a walk in the city, but with you being a local, I'd suggest a place you never visited before... My room, maybe?"

There was a certain malice in each word Anatoly let out of his mouth, like he tried to involve her in his story and in his wishes. The question was: Would Simone believe in him so easily? Or she would see through the smoke and mirrors he used?

Simone Bellerose

She softly giggled at his little attempt at whatever he was trying to do. It was completely cheesy to her, however cute. But it was how he said it that made her looked at him with a sense of caution and confusion. Though she didn't reveal it in her face. But she couldn't leave him in the dust, so she answered his question.

"Well to be honest Anatoly, I am pretty sure that your room looks like the rest of the rooms in this hotel, no? So what would make your's so special from the other ones?", she said softly and smiling at him in an almost sly manner as she knew what she was doing.

[Woodstovia]

A shiver of fear and mistrust ran down Alexander's spine. He flinched back, away from Rabbit's hand and stared into his mask. The thing hadn't even denied it when Alex had named him a demon. He supposed he was right once again. But now the thing was acting differently. It was trying to be kind, it was touching him and asking for his deepest, darkest secrets.

"...Tell me what is hurting you, dear...Tell me anything." he whispered silkily. It exploded like a gunshot in Alex's mind. Now it had changed tactics. It was bored of intimidating him, trying to kill him. Now it was manipulating him, if he let his guard down it'd blackmail him, force him to serve, turn him into a withered husk of servitude. Alex pushed away from Rabbit and stood upright "No. I'm fine." he said brusquely before running away again.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Anatoly Raskolnikov

"Well, Simone... We could go for a walk in the city, but with you being a local, I'd suggest a place you never visited before... My room, maybe?"

There was a certain malice in each word Anatoly let out of his mouth, like he tried to involve her in his story and in his wishes. The question was: Would Simone believe in him so easily? Or she would see through the smoke and mirrors he used?

Simone Bellerose

She softly giggled at his little attempt at whatever he was trying to do. It was completely cheesy to her, however cute. But it was how he said it that made her looked at him with a sense of caution and confusion. Though she didn't reveal it in her face. But she couldn't leave him in the dust, so she answered his question.

"Well to be honest Anatoly, I am pretty sure that your room looks like the rest of the rooms in this hotel, no? So what would make your's so special from the other ones?", she said softly and smiling at him in an almost sly manner as she knew what she was doing.

Anatoly Raskolnikov

"Well, the room is exactly equal, except..."

The sudden stop made by Anatoly served so he could pull her even closer, while getting himself closer to her ear, so he could calmly whisper near her ear, trying to slowly break through her resistance with a cliché charm.

"Except that I'm there, and I would really enjoy your company for the night."

[Rhomaia]

"No, I want to go back," Scott said, a bit of sharpness tinging his tone. But then again, when he said 'mage', she acted as if she knew what he referred to. Maybe she could lead him to the hotel. But then again, she might be apart of some organization meant to intercept lost students who had gathered at large tournaments and then promptly kidnap said stragglers in order to utilize their mana for twisted magical and scientific projects.

That did sound a bit ridiculous, Scott thought. And he needed to snap back into reality soon, because, once again, he was just standing there. Looking into her eye for an odd amount of time. Six seconds, about. Not saying a word. He hated talking with this woman. It made him suspicious, and when he was suspicious, Scott drifted into his imaginative line of thought. He became stiff. He became unaware. He hated that. He hated when he became aware of this unawareness. And he didn't like this woman for making him feel this way. The aggravation slowly dissipated once he took another deep breath, and his shoulders slacked.

"Take me there," he commanded, shrugging.

Ruby Kasoura

If Ruby hadn't thought the boy was distrustful and stressed, she certainly thought so now. His eyes were strangely focused on her own, and going for long intervals of time without so much as saying a single word, suggesting that he was lost in thought.

'Lost in thought, my foot. If he was thinking at all he'd at least ask my name. He's got something else on his mind, like the most efficient way to make some kind of stupid, unnecessary escape. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?'

Again, she sighed internally at the boy's attitude. The attempted command merely made her narrow her one cold blue eye at him, as if to say 'You're not the one giving orders here'.

"Fair enough. You must like that shiny little charade they're playing at, considering you ran straight out of the hotel without your wits about you." Ruby said, with a telltale hint of sarcasm and a noticeable shake of her head. With that, she turned around and began walking away from the boy, beckoning for him to follow with her next words.

"Now, unless you want to stay lost in the streets of one of the biggest cities in Europe, I'd suggest you follow me."

[Saldinado]

Anatoly Raskolnikov

"Well, the room is exactly equal, except..."

The sudden stop made by Anatoly served so he could pull her even closer, while getting himself closer to her ear, so he could calmly whisper near her ear, trying to slowly break through her resistance with a cliché charm.

"Except that I'm there, and I would really enjoy your company for the night."

Simone Bellerose

She looked at him when he paused with a confused look before she was pulled in closer to him and whisper into her ear and softly say what he had to say to her. And then she turned pink in the cheeks, even though she knew what was going on. But even so. It was still an surprising thing to hear; but she didn't protest. She rather reciprocated by bringer him ever closer to her with her arms around his neck and gently whispered into his ear.

"I would much rather enjoy your company as well. Amour.", she said with her French accent being more prominent in her words this time.

[Archembalt]

Ruby Kasoura

If Ruby hadn't thought the boy was distrustful and stressed, she certainly thought so now. His eyes were strangely focused on her own, and going for long intervals of time without so much as saying a single word, suggesting that he was lost in thought.

'Lost in thought, my foot. If he was thinking at all he'd at least ask my name. He's got something else on his mind, like the most efficient way to make some kind of stupid, unnecessary escape. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?'

Again, she sighed internally at the boy's attitude. The attempted command merely made her narrow her one cold blue eye at him, as if to say 'You're not the one giving orders here'.

"Fair enough. You must like that shiny little charade they're playing at, considering you ran straight out of the hotel without your wits about you." Ruby said, with a telltale hint of sarcasm and a noticeable shake of her head. With that, she turned around and began walking away from the boy, beckoning for him to follow with her next words.

"Now, unless you want to stay lost in the streets of one of the biggest cities in Europe, I'd suggest you follow me."

The sides of Scott's mouth curved down into a frown. She saw him leave the hotel? Was she a hotel attendant, then? So she trailed after him once she saw that he left. Why? That was an odd thing to do. Suspicious. Whatever. It didn't matter anymore. Once she told him to follow, he did so, breaking out into a little jog to catch up with the woman after stalling for a few seconds. He had his plan set in motion. Either she takes him to the hotel or she gets hurt badly. If she stops and tries anything, like any sudden movements with her arms, then he'd be primed to attack. Scott didn't care that he was in public. It would give him an excuse to just run off and avoid the crowds, then. It would have made him very comfortable, had it not been for the concern he had for his old basset hound, Bertram. That fatass was still in the hotel room -- sleeping, more than likely. It's what he always does.

Fwump.

Scott had accidentally bumped into someone on the street while in his train of thought. He didn't get a good look at their face, but it made him jump some nonetheless. Now he clenched his fists as he walked and recuperated from that minor blow. His eyes were focused straight ahead on Ruby. Other than distrusting her some, he hadn't really taken a chance to look at her completely. She did have a nice figure, he supposed. The suit did a decent job at concealing any voluptuous curves that she might have sported. Blue eyes weren't his type, though. Her hair color was ugly in his eyes. At least she was petite. That was a somewhat redeemable characteristic, he guessed. He did like them petite. Her face was average.

Regardless, his slight irritation with her persisted some below the surface. She didn't state her name. It was her 'first time on the job'. This woman reeked of mystery. But whatever. When they got to the hotel, he would leave her be and try to find his room. If this 'hotel attendant' tried anything funny, it would result in her severe mutilation and his frantic escape. Either way, there was the chance that he wouldn't have to see her face again. And that gave him some relief. But what if she turned out to be a mage? She might try and put up a fight. All he could hope for was that his sun magic could dominate whatever magic she practiced.

The best thing to do now was to stay focused. Look at the back of Ruby's head.

Fmp.

Another person he had brushed up against. He heard a muffled 'oi' from them. They were annoyed, but so was he.

Scott kept wielding the frown, and his glare had intensified. His pace picked up some.

He remembered why he didn't like cities.

[Luminesa]

A shiver of fear and mistrust ran down Alexander's spine. He flinched back, away from Rabbit's hand and stared into his mask. The thing hadn't even denied it when Alex had named him a demon. He supposed he was right once again. But now the thing was acting differently. It was trying to be kind, it was touching him and asking for his deepest, darkest secrets.

"...Tell me what is hurting you, dear...Tell me anything." he whispered silkily. It exploded like a gunshot in Alex's mind. Now it had changed tactics. It was bored of intimidating him, trying to kill him. Now it was manipulating him, if he let his guard down it'd blackmail him, force him to serve, turn him into a withered husk of servitude. Alex pushed away from Rabbit and stood upright "No. I'm fine." he said brusquely before running away again.

"Alex!" Rabbit stood and watched him run away, and he suddenly felt a stabbing pain. He had not told Alex he was not a demon. He should have denied it, he should have told him he was not a demon, that he was his teacher and he was only trying to help him. Yet he had forgotten himself, as he had looked into Alex's eyes and had tried to understand his pain. Maybe he was so used to being considered a demon and a monster that he had forgotten that he needed to calm the boy first, before talking to him?...

Worrying Alex was going to rush away and hurt himself-after all, he was certainly unstable, and still shaky from throwing up-he did something he had not wanted to do. Summoning an orb of water with his mind, he took aim and he shot it square at Alex's back. As he had done with Aidan two months ago, he had knocked Alex to the ground and disabled his mana flow. Once Alex was down, Rabbit sighed and slowly walked toward Alex. Once he reached him, he explained quietly, "Your mana has been temporarily disabled. You cannot use any attacks on me, and I will restrain you if you try to run. I am only doing this because I do not want you to hurt yourself."

He then used his telekinesis, and he lifted Alex to his feet. Holding him up with his magic, he looked at him again, deeply saddened behind his mask. He was not sure if he was making the situation better, but he did not want Alex to rush away in the state he was in. He watched him and saw the immense fear in his eyes. There was only so much Rabbit could do, but he had to try one more time to speak to him. "...I am not a demon...I am a lot of things...but I am not a demon. Demons only seek to help themselves. I only want what is good for you. To that end...I will not release you until you calm yourself..." he explained, softly. "You do not have to tell me what is wrong...but you are obviously not in your right mind, and it is my job to make sure you are safe."

[Rhomaia]

Aria and Lorianus

The altercation with Lorian came off as a complete to surprise to Aria, and to everyone else it seemed just so. The arrogant child had simply waltzed right up to the close knit group and threw a degrading series of insults towards them all, with Aria herself having been the prime target, it seemed. Word of her 'abnormalities' had evidently spread fast to the rest of House Comnenus after the end of the Britannia branch and Lyn's death.

Needless to say, she was shaken by his sudden arrival, but she did not cower behind Henry and Catherine as Lorian had stated. She remained silent and stoic in the face, knowing that anything she said would only egg him on further, and likely start trouble. Yet everytime he insulted her, everytime he called her 'garbage', or 'ugly', her silvery amber eyes narrowed and she grit her own teeth, holding back with her words.

This served her and everyone else better than expected when the Italian Professor arrived and put an end to Lorian's tirades, wherein he was not only deprived of his breath and voice, but of any dignity he might have had when he was dropped onto the floor. Angrily, he shook off Dominique's help and stormed off, muttering incoherent racial slurs under his breath.

The mystery Professor, sighing discontentedly, had walked back to the refreshments table where Lorian's gang stood, and coldly ordered them to disperse. With each of them giving the man a stare of hatred and superiority, they reluctantly did as told, with some of them going to their rooms and others simply spreading out and remaining on the dance floor, talking amongst themselves.

For all this time, Aria had not looked embarrassed. Certainly, she looked angry at the pointlessness of the incident and it's outcome, and even held a single hand over her face and let out a deep breath as things began to quiet down. Shaun kissed her hand affectionately and wished her a good evening, and Soleil had also wished her well, both actions she smiled at.

As the night came to a close, and all was said and done, the golden light of the ballroom began to slowly dim as the moon sat on it's throne over the horizon, and some guests began to leave, either annoyed by the commotion or simply tired from the long Parisian night.

Even when the lights became more mellow and subdued and the crowd noticeably thinned, Aria remained on the dance floor, still clad in the intricate white and gold dress she had picked for this night. With the absence of true light, and wishing to give everyone at the dance at least a small amount of compensation for Lorian's outbursts, the platinum haired Italian Professor walked to the center of the room and raised his hand skyward. A number of small, sunrise orange flares erupted from his palm, floating up just before they reached the ceiling and casting a pleasant light and warmth over the attendees of the ball.

Smiling at the sight and turning to Henry, Aria gave him a small but happy grin. "It'll take a lot more than that to ruin my night. Not when it's such a beautiful one as this." she said softly, the gentle glow reigniting in her eyes just like olden times. "I accept."

[Rhomaia]

The sides of Scott's mouth curved down into a frown. She saw him leave the hotel? Was she a hotel attendant, then? So she trailed after him once she saw that he left. Why? That was an odd thing to do. Suspicious. Whatever. It didn't matter anymore. Once she told him to follow, he did so, breaking out into a little jog to catch up with the woman after stalling for a few seconds. He had his plan set in motion. Either she takes him to the hotel or she gets hurt badly. If she stops and tries anything, like any sudden movements with her arms, then he'd be primed to attack. Scott didn't care that he was in public. It would give him an excuse to just run off and avoid the crowds, then. It would have made him very comfortable, had it not been for the concern he had for his old basset hound, Bertram. That fatass was still in the hotel room -- sleeping, more than likely. It's what he always does.

Regardless, his slight irritation with her persisted some below the surface. She didn't state her name. It was her 'first time on the job'. This woman reeked of mystery. But whatever. When they got to the hotel, he would leave her be and try to find his room. If this 'hotel attendant' tried anything funny, it would result in her severe mutilation and his frantic escape. Either way, there was the chance that he wouldn't have to see her face again. And that gave him some relief. But what if she turned out to be a mage? She might try and put up a fight. All he could hope for was that his sun magic could dominate whatever magic she practiced.

The best thing to do now was to stay focused. Look at the back of Ruby's head.

Ruby Kasoura

The long trek from the commercial district back to the hotel was not as long as Scott might have first thought, even if he had gone a long, long way off the path. The dark city streets, barely illuminated by the dying light from lamp posts, some even flickering and sputtering out as a result of poor maintainence. Miscellaneous litter found itself on parts of the road and sidewalks, as no one had even bothered to pick anything up, even if this place was meant to be the cultural capital of the world, the very example of class and elegance in every way.

It all reminded Ruby of her childhood days in San Francisco, where she had so often stole from others to keep up a frugal existence, drifting from seedy slum to seedier slums in search of food and unsuspecting bystanders to pickpocket. This European city, no matter how pretty it looked at face value, really was no different from those disgusting places.

Time around Ruby and Scott seemed to accelerate for a few moments, and all the lights, shapes, and sounds around them became dulled and blurred, like they were both trapped in tunnel vision. A strong breeze blew in both of their faces, and the chattering and laughter of all the people around them seemed to meld into one mad, incoherent sound, an amalgamation of a hundred voices all screeching in almost perfect unison as they both kept on the path, and even that seemed to be blurred, so much so that only gray concrete could be seen beneath their feet, the space between blocks nonexistent.

It would feel like only a few seconds later when they had both come back to the hotel, the golden and silver grandeur of the building once again dwarfing all the modest buildings that bowed before it. Once both Ruby and Scott's feet were firmly planted on the ground and moving at normal speed, the impact of inertia, like a punch to the gut, would hit them both, though Ruby only gave a slight grimace, like it was something she had learned to expect and deal with.

"Well...here we are." Ruby said, with a long, drawn out breath, leaning nonchalantly against a lightpole to get some of the air back into her lungs.

[Prusselanden]

snip

[Woodstovia]

The demon shot him in the back, instantly disabling his mana and the ability for Alexander to defend himself. It hoisted him up off the ground and let him dangle in the air, unable to escape it's clutch. "I will not release you." it hissed at him. He tried to throw out his arms, to kick his legs to flail around or do anything but it was not use. He couldn't move his body yet he could still feel his jaw moving and had some limited mobility of his head. He glared at the demon angrily, wishing it would just leave him be. yet it merely continued spinning lies, now when Alexander had rejected it's advances it began trying to reassure him, telling him it wasn't a demon and trying to paint itself as Alex's friend, claiming it was trying to help him. But Alex had enough of it's lies.

The crimson the lion had bled out of him was burning now, it was hot and pumped through every muscle of his being. he could feel it, getting angry, getting excited. It was pumping quickly now. He could feel it, he could taste it even. Perhaps some had leaked out of his mind and into his mouth when the demon tore reality with it's foul magic. "I'm not bowing before you." Alex finally growled, trying to gather his wits. "Let me go!" he demanded of the thing. Prepared to be snapped into little pieces and for his soul to be taken off somewhere. He was miserable at surviving.

[Luminesa]

Elizabeth Tsukuyomi


"Not at all. I suppose I shall start with explaining some things. There was a time when I studied in Europe, in Paris even, with the other great houses. I know of most of the families that that populate our schools, or at least what they were like. I mean no judgement by this, but seeing your family name show up... Troubled me. Yet, you are nothing like Rise of my youth, so I started to see what I could learn about the family now. I'm sure you know some of the things that I found out. Yet still, here you are, nothing like what would be expected. Now, before I continue, tell me about your family. I would like your honest opinion on them, both your immediate and distant family. I want to know your experiences."

Tsukuyomi didn't need to see the scar on his body, she could taste the hurt coming off of the boy, ever since they had met. And now he was here she could see all, all buy the boys mind, what he thought, and how that affected him. She had been thinking about this for a time, and now that the boy was home, her mind had been decided.


Annice Null


Annice was happy when Alli held her, but something crept through the back of her mind, some base, horrifying, primal fear. Something she couldn't identify, much less explain. Something that poisoned his touch, screaming in the back of her head to scream, to run, or to draw her blade and strike him down, just like before. Why? Why did she feel like this with the only person who wanted to be close to her? Her voice trembled slight as she spoke

"I... Don't know... I think I'm going to go lay down... something feels wrong. I.. I'm sorry."


Hailey Winters


"Huh? Oh, you're not a virgin. I guess I'm kind of surprised by that. I mean I'm not either, not a virgin. Ah... well, not by a long shot. Kate, I'm not disappointed at all. I really couldn't care less. As long as it wasn't while we were together, it doesn't matter to me. And, I think even if it was I could forgive you."

Hailey was surprised that Kate wasn't a virgin, she wouldn't have expected her to have much of an opportunity for... physical relationships. Her shame about it wasn't surprising at all though. Of course she would have been taught to be ashamed of that, just another thing that they would use to try to change her. Just another tool to hurt her with.

"But, If you're not comfortable with this, If you don't want to do anything, I won't hold that against you either. Just let me know if you're ever uncomfortable."

His eyes widened as she asked the question, and he stared down at the table for a moment. Silently, he poured himself a cup to the tea, and then he stared into the reddish-brown drink. He had always been one to keep his feelings about his family close to his heart, primarily because he did not completely know himself how he felt about them. However, he trusted his professor, who obviously knew some of what he might say before he even told her.

"...M-My mother...started training me...a-after my father died...I-I was four...She wanted me to learn the Dark Arts, like the rest of the family..." He paused for a moment, took a sip of his tea, and he continued slowly. "...B-But...as I started training...m-my mother and...her family...started to talk about me. Th-They said I was not like them...I-I was a Light Mage. Light...and Wind..." Another sip. He was obviously trying to hide behind the tea cup, to calm himself. "...They said...th-they had never seen one like me in the family before...Th-They were outraged...they beat my mother, and they told her...if she did not train me to become a Dark Mage, they would disown her..."

His hands began to shake now, and he had to put the cup down. "...So she began to beat me. Every time I would do something she didn't like, sh-she would beat me. I...I-I did everything I could to make her happy...I-I started to make constructs...but they were Light Magic, not Dark Magic, and every time she saw them she got angrier and angrier...there was one time..." His eyes lit up for a moment, as he began to remember. "...Once I...I-I wanted to show her and her family...that I was improving...s-so I made a construct that...might be considered scary...I-I made a wolf...But then when I made it, it did not want to fight...i-it wanted to play..." He laughed slightly, showing a little happiness at the thought. "I-I showed it to my mother and her sister...It walked around them and it fell asleep at my mother's feet...I-It was actually a pup, not a full-grown wolf...It was so cute and fluffy..." However, as quickly as the smile came, it faded, as did the sparkle in his blue eyes.

"But she did not approve of it. She...sh-she destroyed it...a-and then she lashed me...sh-she and...her sister...I-I never wanted to hurt them...I-I...I-I just wanted her to be proud of me...to see that...I-I was improving...But she has never been happy with me...e-even when I'm the only one...who has ever told her they love her...sh-she still beat me...Sh-She sent me here to learn Dark Magic...b-but...I don't want to learn Dark Magic...I-I don't want to be evil..." Of all of the times he would have been permitted to cry, he should have cried now. Yet now, of all times, nothing came. His eyes were empty of any tears, and he was empty of any sobs, save for the loud, horrid cries that echoed in his mind, the cuts and bruises he felt again and again, replying like an awful film in the back of his mind. He simply sat in front of her and went silent. He did not even touch his tea, which had started to go cold.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Aria and Lorianus

The altercation with Lorian came off as a complete to surprise to Aria, and to everyone else it seemed just so. The arrogant child had simply waltzed right up to the close knit group and threw a degrading series of insults towards them all, with Aria herself having been the prime target, it seemed. Word of her 'abnormalities' had evidently spread fast to the rest of House Comnenus after the end of the Britannia branch and Lyn's death.

Needless to say, she was shaken by his sudden arrival, but she did not cower behind Henry and Catherine as Lorian had stated. She remained silent and stoic in the face, knowing that anything she said would only egg him on further, and likely start trouble. Yet everytime he insulted her, everytime he called her 'garbage', or 'ugly', her silvery amber eyes narrowed and she grit her own teeth, holding back with her words.

This served her and everyone else better than expected when the Italian Professor arrived and put an end to Lorian's tirades, wherein he was not only deprived of his breath and voice, but of any dignity he might have had when he was dropped onto the floor. Angrily, he shook off Dominique's help and stormed off, muttering incoherent racial slurs under his breath.

The mystery Professor, sighing discontentedly, had walked back to the refreshments table where Lorian's gang stood, and coldly ordered them to disperse. With each of them giving the man a stare of hatred and superiority, they reluctantly did as told, with some of them going to their rooms and others simply spreading out and remaining on the dance floor, talking amongst themselves.

For all this time, Aria had not looked embarrassed. Certainly, she looked angry at the pointlessness of the incident and it's outcome, and even held a single hand over her face and let out a deep breath as things began to quiet down. Shaun kissed her hand affectionately and wished her a good evening, and Soleil had also wished her well, both actions she smiled at.

As the night came to a close, and all was said and done, the golden light of the ballroom began to slowly dim as the moon sat on it's throne over the horizon, and some guests began to leave, either annoyed by the commotion or simply tired from the long Parisian night.

Even when the lights became more mellow and subdued and the crowd noticeably thinned, Aria remained on the dance floor, still clad in the intricate white and gold dress she had picked for this night. With the absence of true light, and wishing to give everyone at the dance at least a small amount of compensation for Lorian's outbursts, the platinum haired Italian Professor walked to the center of the room and raised his hand skyward. A number of small, sunrise orange flares erupted from his palm, floating up just before they reached the ceiling and casting a pleasant light and warmth over the attendees of the ball.

Smiling at the sight and turning to Henry, Aria gave him a small but happy grin. "It'll take a lot more than that to ruin my night. Not when it's such a beautiful one as this." she said softly, the gentle glow reigniting in her eyes just like olden times. "I accept."

Henry Von Kressel

A spread smile could be seen planted in Henry's face with her acceptance of his request. He calmly took her by hand as he conducted Aria to a place where they could dance privately, away from the prying eyes of the Italians.

The slow song set the pace of the pair, as Henry merely admired the color of her eyes. The specific kind of illumination that the Italian teacher made reflected in her now slightly reignited eyes, creating something Henry wouldn't be able to describe even if he wanted. And out of the same mouth who spitted out the sophisticated offense and the elegant threat to Aria's distant relative, only the simple things could come out.

"I can't tell you how I'm happy to see you here Aria. Just... Thank you for coming. I admire what you did. And... Don't think I've abandoned you during these last months, okay? I was watching over you at a distance, because I really didn't know how you would react if I approached you."

[Prusselanden]

"We've been walking all over the hotel, and still nothing!" She sighed in frustration at the stony creature. "Why the hell were you trying to get my attention anyways-"
Suddenly, she heard Alex's screams from down the hall.
"-what in the tarnation?" She walked towards the screaming and spotted Alex screaming hysterically at Rabbit.
The gargoyle disappeared into thin air.
"..........The fuck is going on? You two drunk? Sigh. This is why we have alcohol laws in the US..."

[Rhomaia]

The crimson, the lion had bled out of him was burning now, it was hot and pumped through every muscle of his being. he could feel it, getting angry, getting excited. It was pumping quickly now. He could feel it, he could taste it even. Perhaps some had leaked out of his mind and into his mouth when the demon tore reality with it's foul magic. "I'm not bowing before you." Alex finally growled, trying to gather his wits. "Let me go!" he demanded of the thing. Prepared to be snapped into little pieces and for his soul to be taken off somewhere. He was miserable at surviving.

Antonius Ruta

After concluding his conversation with Sage, which had been just about the only peaceful and generally pleasant thing he had experienced in all of two months, Ruta's peace of mind was interrupted by a series of ear piercing wails and screeches echoing from down the hall, reminiscent of a banshee or some other hellish creature whose screams were meant to scare the living daylights out of people.

Without a second thought, Ruta bounded down the hall in his black suit and robes, an ornate black greatsword materializing in his hands as the sound of his hurried footsteps reverberated through the corridors, his blue eyes darting back and forth for the source of the noise.

After a few turns and about half a minute of searching, Ruta came upon Alex and the Rabbit, the former sprawled on the floor and the latter simply standing up, looking non-threatening as usual. The d'Autriche, like usual, was screaming like mad, ranting and raving that the Rabbit was a demon and demanding that he be let go.

Though he was less than fond of the boy, Ruta gave the Rabbit a skeptical sideways glance, still brandishing the long charcoal black blade in his right hand like it were a paperweight. With a long sigh, he stated calmly while ignoring Alexander's screams, "You are about to say this is not what it looks like, and at this point I am rather inclined to listen to your explanation. What happened here?"

[Archembalt]

Ruby Kasoura

The long trek from the commercial district back to the hotel was not as long as Scott might have first thought, even if he had gone a long, long way off the path. The dark city streets, barely illuminated by the dying light from lamp posts, some even flickering and sputtering out as a result of poor maintainence. Miscellaneous litter found itself on parts of the road and sidewalks, as no one had even bothered to pick anything up, even if this place was meant to be the cultural capital of the world, the very example of class and elegance in every way.

It all reminded Ruby of her childhood days in San Francisco, where she had so often stole from others to keep up a frugal existence, drifting from seedy slum to seedier slums in search of food and unsuspecting bystanders to pickpocket. This European city, no matter how pretty it looked at face value, really was no different from those disgusting places.

Time around Ruby and Scott seemed to accelerate for a few moments, and all the lights, shapes, and sounds around them became dulled and blurred, like they were both trapped in tunnel vision. A strong breeze blew in both of their faces, and the chattering and laughter of all the people around them seemed to meld into one mad, incoherent sound, an amalgamation of a hundred voices all screeching in almost perfect unison as they both kept on the path, and even that seemed to be blurred, so much so that only gray concrete could be seen beneath their feet, the space between blocks nonexistent.

It would feel like only a few seconds later when they had both come back to the hotel, the golden and silver grandeur of the building once again dwarfing all the modest buildings that bowed before it. Once both Ruby and Scott's feet were firmly planted on the ground and moving at normal speed, the impact of inertia, like a punch to the gut, would hit them both, though Ruby only gave a slight grimace, like it was something she had learned to expect and deal with.

"Well...here we are." Ruby said, with a long, drawn out breath, leaning nonchalantly against a lightpole to get some of the air back into her lungs.

Scott wasn't at all aware of the auditory and optical changes that were occurring as he continued following Ruby. Honestly, he had grown tired and thus his mind had stopped going off on wild tangents about anything or everything. His eyes were still plastered on the back of Ruby's head while he continued, so things had already begun to blur around him -- faces, cars, the like. But then when his peripheral was unable to discern pedestrian from pedestrian or car from car, and thin streaks of gray wind began to break apart what was of the Parisian streets, his heartbeat began to quicken in pace. His eyes wildly darted from side to side , up and down. Particularly to the ground, at his feet. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he wanted to be sure that he had firm holding. The gradually culminating bellows of unified sound didn't help his steep stress levels from leveling out either, but his legs kept moving. Everything happened far too fast for his mind to delve into the intricacies of this event. And before he could even formulate an orderly thought, a billow of wind had assaulted his face, causing him to close his eyes and turn his face away.

And then there was the pain. The pain that made him crumble to his knees and fall onto his side. It was dark. His eyes were tightly closed and his features were contorted into a strained grimace. It really did look like it hurt, as he had additionally curled up into the fetal position. Through gritted teeth he inhaled slowly, the air filling his lungs at a sluggish rate.

Painful. Very painful. And then when he had gained enough air to finally reintroduce some composure and rise to his knees and palms, she spoke.

"Well, here we are."

And it was probably then that he decided that he genuinely disliked her. She was some hotel attendant. An annoying one. A nuisance. Why didn't she warn him about what would happen? Why did she do that? Did she do that, anyway? Yes. She seemed to be mildly fatigued for some reason. Obviously she had cast that spell. Rude. And obnoxious. Scott hated being inconvenienced, and now, to add, she had made him look like a fool by throwing him onto his side onto the sidewalk -- a sidewalk where people would see him in such a state. It was utterly humiliating. He hated it. Hated it. But enough of that. He was at the hotel now. His mind was far too preoccupied, however, to even realize that he had landed in front of the building that he had just around a half an hour ago.

Now an adequate amount of air had been received into Scott's lungs, and he managed to rise back to a stand, though exhibiting a dazed stagger to the side still. And then he looked at Ruby and gave her a look. It was hard to describe, really. His eyes were narrowed, his lips were thinned, and his brows were furrowed. It was a look of disappointment, one could say. Or vexation. The fact that he was still heavily breathing might have made it seem as if he was also angry with her. In some ways he was. He delivered this scolding expression onto Ruby for a second or two before he bent down to pick up his vest which had fallen. Without another word, he fiercely walked through the doors and went to the front desk. The last thing Scott wanted to do was see that nuisance of an attendant again. At least, for the next few days. This might even be the wrong hotel, since he hadn't bothered to check, but it was worth a try. Whatever.

The sun mage was greeted with the smiling face of a man and some French greeting which had escaped his maw. He paid no heed to the niceties or the garish designs that the hotel had adorned and immediately cut to his desires.

"Scott Kissinger. I'm a mage. I'm here for the tournament. Where is my room?" Every word was greatly emphasized, and rudely at that. He was essentially talking to this clerk as if they had mental deficiencies. Regardless of the rudeness in his tone, the spiffy clerk produced a raised index finger and fetched a paper which had been stuck in a drawer. Once it was taken out, the man had begun to peruse it.

"Eh, Scott Kissinger?" He said in English with a comical French accent (well, to Scott it was comical).

"Yes." Scott retorted.

"You ah staying een room, eh . . . 504. Fifth flohr, fourth room."

Scott thanked him with a curt nod and nothing else, and headed towards the elevator. Good. He was in the right hotel, thankfully. His mind was blown out by this point. His overactive imagination had settled down and now his reality consisted of whatever was in front of him in the time being, which was now the elevator doors.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Ding. The boy stepped off and took note of the signs. One pointed right and had pictured rooms one through twenty-five to his right. The other -- No, he didn't give a fuck. His legs carried him past three rooms and stopped him once he had found himself standing in front of the fourth room. A white door with golden lettering above the peephole. 004. Wonderful. Scott reached for the doorknob, took it into his grasp, and pivoted it dow -- Oh. No? It was locked? It needed a card to open, and he spotted the device above the knob where the expressed intent was for someone to insert a card inside in order to unlock the door.

Fuck. Fuck. He needed a card and, of course, the desk clerk hadn't realized that he didn't have a key because . . .

Hold on, he thought. What was going through his mind now was how Bertram would have ended up inside this room. He remembered, at the least, leaving Bertram on the bed. How had Scott gotten into the room unless he had a card?

He patted down his right pocket and then his left pocket. There was something hard in his left pocket. He brought his hands up to cover his face and he let out a deep, muffled groan into his hands.

Fuck my life.

It was the card. The hotel card. The fucking hotel card he could have remembered that he had if he wasn't so stupid. The fucking hotel card that had the name of the fucking hotel and his fucking room number and floor number.

Whatever. It didn't matter. Someone had passed him and now he felt like a fool again. They probably didn't give him any looks, but he just made the assumption that whoever it was thought that he was strange. Today had been filled with far too many screw-ups. After slipping the card out of his left pocket, Scott inserted it into the door and a green light beamed. He opened the door, entered, and then closed the door. Immediately, he began stripping down to his underwear. He didn't bother turning the lights on or neatly putting his dress clothes onto a shelf or into a drawer. He was done for the day. When he went deeper into the room, past the bathroom and towards the double beds, he could hear Bertram snoring as per usual.

Of course he's asleep. The mage grinned some, but his exhaustion had reached its peak.

Finally, Scott decided to jump onto bed, get under the covers and comforter whose color was indeterminable in the dark, and fell asleep. And he was far too tired to brush his teeth before going to bed.

Fuck this day.