Holy High-Worlds Beyond IC (Holy High Reboot, Open!)

[Kingdom of Irhk]

"Ran Ouphe, right? Good to see you made it!" Michael greeted, as the Fae-Elf rushed to class, fearing that he was late. He smiled, glad to see that most of the students were coming for class. All of them should have been there, and he hoped, despite the ridiculousness of his methods, that Hyperion's megaphone and trumpet would startle the students into coming to class. He also noticed Nyarlathotep had arrived and was also munching on "her" breakfast as she stood near the back of the crowd. "...Hm...well, it's 7:00, so I'll give the instructions for everyone who is here. As a part of your first lesson, your task will be a sort of game of capture the flag. On the west side of campus, heading toward the forests, the library, and the waterfall, are hidden nine envelopes. On the east side, heading toward the shoreline, the outlying dorms, and the beach, are nine more envelopes. They look like this."

Michael reached into his pocket and pulled-out a small, beige envelope with a wax seal of the Holy High logo. "They look like these. You have exactly thirty minutes from the time I say, 'Start,' to go search for the envelopes. You can make teams, you can go solo, and you are of course allowed to fight each other for the envelopes. You are allowed to have multiple envelopes, but no more than three at a time. You are not allowed to leave the campus for any reason, you are not allowed to hide in the dorms, and you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to knock your classmates unconscious. If you're wondering how we're going to watch your progress, Hyperion will be overseeing the combat itself. I will record your results, and we will discuss those results accordingly. If you are caught breaking any of the rules we have set, your final 'score' will be counted as zero." He examined the class, and then flipped a page on his clipboard. "Before we begin! Does anyone have any questions?"

Xavier eyed Apophis for just a slight moment, as Michael mentioned that he could not break any of the rules. As a god of chaos, he figured he might try to do something sneaky. At the same time, he knew that some of the most wicked gods were also some of the most clever. If he could partner with him, both of them would have an advantage, and he would be able to keep an eye on him. He knew he would be uncomfortable doing so, but teaming with Apophis almost seemed like a reasonable option.

Patriah and Hamiri eyed each other, but they also looked around at their classmates. Patriah wondered if Razorclaw would be willing to partner-up, and Hamiri wanted to invite Kimiko to their group. Both of them knew they were capable of finding envelopes apart from each other, but teamwork was never a bad concept. Of course, Kimiko and Razorclaw could also both have their own ideas. If they wanted to go solo themselves, then Patriah and Hamiri would partner together to find envelopes.

"...Aaaaany questions?" Michael repeated.

Lucifer

The Greek God's one man orchestra woke the Adversary soon. Through the alcohol fueled cacophony produced by Hyperion he could identify the structure of Seven Nation Army.

Slowly, he woke up, and poured water over his deep black hair and walked out of his dorm in a long, dark red robe with black details with black, somewhat loose pants.

Soon he found the place where his brother was starting an exercise to capture small envelopes at a particular side of the Academy. The reward was a secret, which bored Lucifer, but soon as the exercise was explained he did have a few questions...

"First... How are we supposed to fight for the envelopes if we can't knock out the other students? And second, was the drunk, trumpeter version of André Rieu really necessary?"

[5pb]

"Yes, one very important one:" Melkor would inquire with a clear voice. "Is there any real point to hoarding all of the letters? Any wavering on poor grades, a free lunch pass, something along those lines? Because if there isn't tangible reward for this "capture the card", why even bother partaking in it?"

Melkor was a pragmatist first and foremost, his powers returning to him minute by minute. If there was a good reason to hoard the letters, he would just disregard the very notion of alliances and brutally (but honestly) dominate the competition. If there wasn't, but the game was forced regardless, it would be an ample opportunity to get to know his fellow students, and who would be his fellow usupers when the time came.

When Hamiri eyed Kimiko, Melkor made sure to note that he was also interested in an alliance. Ran, Zagreus, and that Razorclaw fellow seemed interesting as well, and the new girl too. But something about her made the pit of his stomach churn...

Michael smiled knowingly at his student. Of course one of them would immediately ask what the point of the exercise was, and he chuckled as Melkor spoke-up. “Our ‘leaderboard’ will determine your class-ranking. The students with the most envelopes will be at the top, the ones who get the least, or none, will be at the bottom. Though we will also keep in mind other aspects of your performance in this exercise. Teamwork, strategy, obviously your abilities in combat...This is an initial exercise to show us what you are all like as students and as fighters. The last aspect...well...I can’t entirely answer until the end of the exercise. It’ll be a little bit of a surprise...”

“WINNER GETS THE FINEST BOTTLE OF LIQUOR I HAVE!!!” Hyperion marched back over to the class to interject as Michael finished speaking. When the archangel shot him a disapproving glare, the sun god frowned. “You didn’t mention any sort of tangible reward, I was offering a solution! What do you suggest then?” he inquired.

“The reward will be announced after the exercise has been completed and we have discussed their performances with them,” he responded calmly, though he did sigh as Hyperion suggested giving the students booze. Even if they were immortal gods, he knew better than to give possibly unstable beings alcohol. “...Any other questions before we begin? That was a good question, Melkor, thank you,” he inquired, giving a friendly smile to Melkor before turning back to the rest of the class.

Kimiko

When the thought of teaming up crossed her mind Kimiko immediately looked at Hamiri, who had also looked at her. It was no contest who she would attempt to ally with. Having seen some of her skills when they subdued Cerberus, Kimiko had an idea what she was capable of. Some of the students were asking questions and looking around for teammates, others waited patiently for the hunt to start. Kimiko didn't have any questions herself but was ready to listen to each question asked, she new the importance of information and also thought of this as a good way to learn about people's thought process.

Nyarlathotep

After listening to the first question asked by Melkor she sighed, she was waiting to get this hunt started and was getting a bit antsy. She had finished her curry and wasn't looking around for allies, She hadn't met any of the other students yet, but she had noticed some of them giving her od glances. This was the perfect opportunity for her to mess around with some of them. She noticed Melkor was looking at her, so she decided to give him a healthy smile back. She was in a rather appealing form and the smile was genuine, not really off-putting.

[Luminesa]

"Ran Ouphe, right? Good to see you made it!" Michael greeted, as the Fae-Elf rushed to class, fearing that he was late. He smiled, glad to see that most of the students were coming for class. All of them should have been there, and he hoped, despite the ridiculousness of his methods, that Hyperion's megaphone and trumpet would startle the students into coming to class. He also noticed Nyarlathotep had arrived and was also munching on "her" breakfast as she stood near the back of the crowd. "...Hm...well, it's 7:00, so I'll give the instructions for everyone who is here. As a part of your first lesson, your task will be a sort of game of capture the flag. On the west side of campus, heading toward the forests, the library, and the waterfall, are hidden nine envelopes. On the east side, heading toward the shoreline, the outlying dorms, and the beach, are nine more envelopes. They look like this."

Michael reached into his pocket and pulled-out a small, beige envelope with a wax seal of the Holy High logo. "They look like these. You have exactly thirty minutes from the time I say, 'Start,' to go search for the envelopes. You can make teams, you can go solo, and you are of course allowed to fight each other for the envelopes. You are allowed to have multiple envelopes, but no more than three at a time. You are not allowed to leave the campus for any reason, you are not allowed to hide in the dorms, and you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to knock your classmates unconscious. If you're wondering how we're going to watch your progress, Hyperion will be overseeing the combat itself. I will record your results, and we will discuss those results accordingly. If you are caught breaking any of the rules we have set, your final 'score' will be counted as zero." He examined the class, and then flipped a page on his clipboard. "Before we begin! Does anyone have any questions?"

Xavier eyed Apophis for just a slight moment, as Michael mentioned that he could not break any of the rules. As a god of chaos, he figured he might try to do something sneaky. At the same time, he knew that some of the most wicked gods were also some of the most clever. If he could partner with him, both of them would have an advantage, and he would be able to keep an eye on him. He knew he would be uncomfortable doing so, but teaming with Apophis almost seemed like a reasonable option.

Patriah and Hamiri eyed each other, but they also looked around at their classmates. Patriah wondered if Razorclaw would be willing to partner-up, and Hamiri wanted to invite Kimiko to their group. Both of them knew they were capable of finding envelopes apart from each other, but teamwork was never a bad concept. Of course, Kimiko and Razorclaw could also both have their own ideas. If they wanted to go solo themselves, then Patriah and Hamiri would partner together to find envelopes.

"...Aaaaany questions?" Michael repeated.

Lucifer

The Greek God's one man orchestra woke the Adversary soon. Through the alcohol fueled cacophony produced by Hyperion he could identify the structure of Seven Nation Army.

Slowly, he woke up, and poured water over his deep black hair and walked out of his dorm in a long, dark red robe with black details with black, somewhat loose pants.

Soon he found the place where his brother was starting an exercise to capture small envelopes at a particular side of the Academy. The reward was a secret, which bored Lucifer, but soon as the exercise was explained he did have a few questions...

"First... How are we supposed to fight for the envelopes if we can't knock out the other students? And second, was the drunk, trumpeter version of André Rieu really necessary?"

“It was VERY necessary, thank you!” Hyperion shouted back, holding the trumpet and the megaphone ready, as if he planned to use them again if Lucifer continued to complain. He did not act immediately, however, as he did have a question for Michael to answer.

“You’ll have to get creative,” Michael answered, “you don’t have to severely harm or kill your opponents in order to defeat them. That is one of the things you will learn in this class, the many ways combat can be accomplished. If you’re worried about ways you can get the envelopes more quickly, you can partner with one or two of your classmates and make a scheme to get envelopes.” He then looked to the rest of the class. “Also! If you are in a group and your group has envelopes at the end of the exercise, all students in that group will be counted as having that many envelopes. For example, if Razorclaw, Nyarlathotep, and Lucifer make a team and get an envelope, they will all be counted as having one envelope at the end of the exercise.”

“And if we catch you breaking any of the rules, Michael will come and stop you. How? Cause I’ll be watching the whole time!” Hyperion added.

Michael looked over at him and nodded, even though he had already mentioned this piece of information. He then summoned a timer, and he held it ready. “If you kids are ready to start...when I press this, you may begin!” He pressed the timer, and a short beep sounded.

[Luminesa]

Michael smiled knowingly at his student. Of course one of them would immediately ask what the point of the exercise was, and he chuckled as Melkor spoke-up. “Our ‘leaderboard’ will determine your class-ranking. The students with the most envelopes will be at the top, the ones who get the least, or none, will be at the bottom. Though we will also keep in mind other aspects of your performance in this exercise. Teamwork, strategy, obviously your abilities in combat...This is an initial exercise to show us what you are all like as students and as fighters. The last aspect...well...I can’t entirely answer until the end of the exercise. It’ll be a little bit of a surprise...”

“WINNER GETS THE FINEST BOTTLE OF LIQUOR I HAVE!!!” Hyperion marched back over to the class to interject as Michael finished speaking. When the archangel shot him a disapproving glare, the sun god frowned. “You didn’t mention any sort of tangible reward, I was offering a solution! What do you suggest then?” he inquired.

“The reward will be announced after the exercise has been completed and we have discussed their performances with them,” he responded calmly, though he did sigh as Hyperion suggested giving the students booze. Even if they were immortal gods, he knew better than to give possibly unstable beings alcohol. “...Any other questions before we begin? That was a good question, Melkor, thank you,” he inquired, giving a friendly smile to Melkor before turning back to the rest of the class.

Kimiko

When the thought of teaming up crossed her mind Kimiko immediately looked at Hamiri, who had also looked at her. It was no contest who she would attempt to ally with. Having seen some of her skills when they subdued Cerberus, Kimiko had an idea what she was capable of. Some of the students were asking questions and looking around for teammates, others waited patiently for the hunt to start. Kimiko didn't have any questions herself but was ready to listen to each question asked, she new the importance of information and also thought of this as a good way to learn about people's thought process.

Nyarlathotep

After listening to the first question asked by Melkor she sighed, she was waiting to get this hunt started and was getting a bit antsy. She had finished her curry and wasn't looking around for allies, She hadn't met any of the other students yet, but she had noticed some of them giving her od glances. This was the perfect opportunity for her to mess around with some of them. She noticed Melkor was looking at her, so she decided to give him a healthy smile back. She was in a rather appealing form and the smile was genuine, not really off-putting.

Patriah had continued to avoid Nyarlathotep’s glance, though every now and then he eyed her or her curry. If he could only figure what was so strange about her, he would not feel so uneasy. As a result of his worrying, however, he did not pay as much attention to the rules as he should have done, and he was confused when the timer beeped. “Wait what?! Oh! Ah...hm...uhhhh...” He knew they could partner with their classmates, and so he went to grab Razorclaw. “Hey, you! You could form a group with me and Hamiri! Wanna join?”

Hamiri, in the meantime, went calmly to Kimiko and smiled. “So! I guess we’re partnering-up? How do you want to go about this?” She grabbed her arm and gently brought her away from the crowd, hoping to keep any of the other groups from knowing their plans. After all, she did not trust Apophis or Lucifer to play fairly.

Xavier acted according to his own plans and approached Apophis. “...I think we’d do well to work as a team. Do you have any suggestions? We can use a combination of your powers and mine, so we can get the envelopes quickly,” he suggested, with a grin. Of course, Apophis could always reject his partnership, in which case he had some ideas of his own.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Kimiko

When the thought of teaming up crossed her mind Kimiko immediately looked at Hamiri, who had also looked at her. It was no contest who she would attempt to ally with. Having seen some of her skills when they subdued Cerberus, Kimiko had an idea what she was capable of. Some of the students were asking questions and looking around for teammates, others waited patiently for the hunt to start. Kimiko didn't have any questions herself but was ready to listen to each question asked, she new the importance of information and also thought of this as a good way to learn about people's thought process.

Nyarlathotep

After listening to the first question asked by Melkor she sighed, she was waiting to get this hunt started and was getting a bit antsy. She had finished her curry and wasn't looking around for allies, She hadn't met any of the other students yet, but she had noticed some of them giving her od glances. This was the perfect opportunity for her to mess around with some of them. She noticed Melkor was looking at her, so she decided to give him a healthy smile back. She was in a rather appealing form and the smile was genuine, not really off-putting.

Patriah had continued to avoid Nyarlathotep’s glance, though every now and then he eyed her or her curry. If he could only figure what was so strange about her, he would not feel so uneasy. As a result of his worrying, however, he did not pay as much attention to the rules as he should have done, and he was confused when the timer beeped. “Wait what?! Oh! Ah...hm...uhhhh...” He knew they could partner with their classmates, and so he went to grab Razorclaw. “Hey, you! You could form a group with me and Hamiri! Wanna join?”

Hamiri, in the meantime, went calmly to Kimiko and smiled. “So! I guess we’re partnering-up? How do you want to go about this?” She grabbed her arm and gently brought her away from the crowd, hoping to keep any of the other groups from knowing their plans. After all, she did not trust Apophis or Lucifer to play fairly.

Xavier acted according to his own plans and approached Apophis. “...I think we’d do well to work as a team. Do you have any suggestions? We can use a combination of your powers and mine, so we can get the envelopes quickly,” he suggested, with a grin. Of course, Apophis could always reject his partnership, in which case he had some ideas of his own.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"Sure. I'll work with you two." Razorclaw had been up since the crack of dawn reading a book on the history of the school. It was an interesting read so far. Working with his classmates would give him the opportunity to learn more about them. Information was always useful. And, to be honest, this activity also sounded like it could be fun.

[Ranoria]

Azazel

While the idea of teaming up with someone was appealing, once Michael had dropped the bomb about splitting the award, he knew that it was impossible. Splitting his award with another one of the students here was simply not an option. Besides that, he had little doubt that he would be able to hold his own with any of them, and perhaps almost any two. He may not have had the raw power of some of these other gods, his skill and experience far outstripped any of theirs, if he had to guess.

The only problem, of course, was actually finding these damn letters.

With a deep breath, Azazel emptied the breath in his lungs and doubled over, eyes closed as four gleaming white wings burst from his back. In the process, his shirt was torn to shreds, but it was well worth the advantage of being able to fly, a few of his feathers falling gracefully to the earth as he flared out their source.

He’d already seen a flaw in Michael’s instructions though. He didn’t have to knock anyone unconscious to disable them, just tear or slice particular muscles or tendons that would either make it too painful to move or simply impossible as their body went limp.

But that said, he had to decide which direction to go in. Towards the shore was likely where fewer people would go, but he also liked the idea of having the forest to use in the case of combat that pile undoubtedly occur. The shore was open, and if he ended up in a situation where he had to fight multiple opponents, the cover of the trees would allow him to isolate the individual combatants, at least for brief instants.

“Alright then,” he squatted down, wings raised up before leaping into the air and taking flight towards the nine envelopes that they’d been told were between their current position and the forest. That way, if it came to a fight, he’d at least have a chance against multiple opponents.

Otohime

As for herself, Otohime severely doubted that going away from the coast would ever be to her benefit, given her own powers. Fortunately, she had yet to reveal what she could do, so no one could quite understand the scope of her powers until she chose to reveal herself. That was an advantage, not that she had any idea what anyone else could do either, but being near the water would certainly have positive repercussions on her end.

So, with that, Otohime glanced around, not really opposed to an alliance, but also not familiar with anyone here at the moment. So instead, she headed towards the coast, knowing that it was her best shot of getting anything out of this.

[Luminesa]

Patriah had continued to avoid Nyarlathotep’s glance, though every now and then he eyed her or her curry. If he could only figure what was so strange about her, he would not feel so uneasy. As a result of his worrying, however, he did not pay as much attention to the rules as he should have done, and he was confused when the timer beeped. “Wait what?! Oh! Ah...hm...uhhhh...” He knew they could partner with their classmates, and so he went to grab Razorclaw. “Hey, you! You could form a group with me and Hamiri! Wanna join?”

Hamiri, in the meantime, went calmly to Kimiko and smiled. “So! I guess we’re partnering-up? How do you want to go about this?” She grabbed her arm and gently brought her away from the crowd, hoping to keep any of the other groups from knowing their plans. After all, she did not trust Apophis or Lucifer to play fairly.

Xavier acted according to his own plans and approached Apophis. “...I think we’d do well to work as a team. Do you have any suggestions? We can use a combination of your powers and mine, so we can get the envelopes quickly,” he suggested, with a grin. Of course, Apophis could always reject his partnership, in which case he had some ideas of his own.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"Sure. I'll work with you two." Razorclaw had been up since the crack of dawn reading a book on the history of the school. It was an interesting read so far. Working with his classmates would give him the opportunity to learn more about them. Information was always useful. And, to be honest, this activity also sounded like it could be fun.

Patriah nodded to him and turned to grab Hamiri, but he noticed that she had immediately run to go talk to Kimiko. A little surprised, he smirked as he realized that she ultimately wanted him to work apart from her. She got along well with him, and he knew her better than anyone on the campus, but she wanted him to use his own skills and...brains. While he was not the most brainy individual, he wanted to reach the top of the ‘leaderboard’, and so he acquiesced and turned back to Razorclaw. “It looks like she’s got a teammate with Kimiko, but she doesn’t want to come with us. Let’s head to the coast and see if we can beat the rest of the class to those envelopes. Hang on!”

Before his classmate could protest, Patriah revealed two huge, muscular, emerald dragon wings. He grabbed his large classmate under the arms, and heaved both of them up into the air. “This is our plan! We’re gonna fly over, we’re gonna find the other kids, and when one of them is about to grab an envelope we-”

“Not the smartest move to announce your plans in front of the whole class,” Michael interrupted, with an encouraging smile.

Patriah was mortified as he realized how loud he was, but he made-up for it by flying up into the air, higher than any of his classmates, and by continuing when he was out of earshot. “...When one of them is about to grab an envelope, we’ll dive-bomb them! Have your sword ready, and hang on!” He then flew toward the coast, swooping Razorclaw along with him.

In the meantime, Hyperion created an orb of sunlight, and had it float high above the island. He covered his eyes, and the sunlit orb acted as he eyes over all of the island. He could see every student, their location, and their battles. Michael stood next to him, in order to act as his eyes on the ground-level in the courtyard.

[5pb]

Kimiko

When the thought of teaming up crossed her mind Kimiko immediately looked at Hamiri, who had also looked at her. It was no contest who she would attempt to ally with. Having seen some of her skills when they subdued Cerberus, Kimiko had an idea what she was capable of. Some of the students were asking questions and looking around for teammates, others waited patiently for the hunt to start. Kimiko didn't have any questions herself but was ready to listen to each question asked, she new the importance of information and also thought of this as a good way to learn about people's thought process.

Nyarlathotep

After listening to the first question asked by Melkor she sighed, she was waiting to get this hunt started and was getting a bit antsy. She had finished her curry and wasn't looking around for allies, She hadn't met any of the other students yet, but she had noticed some of them giving her od glances. This was the perfect opportunity for her to mess around with some of them. She noticed Melkor was looking at her, so she decided to give him a healthy smile back. She was in a rather appealing form and the smile was genuine, not really off-putting.

Patriah had continued to avoid Nyarlathotep’s glance, though every now and then he eyed her or her curry. If he could only figure what was so strange about her, he would not feel so uneasy. As a result of his worrying, however, he did not pay as much attention to the rules as he should have done, and he was confused when the timer beeped. “Wait what?! Oh! Ah...hm...uhhhh...” He knew they could partner with their classmates, and so he went to grab Razorclaw. “Hey, you! You could form a group with me and Hamiri! Wanna join?”

Hamiri, in the meantime, went calmly to Kimiko and smiled. “So! I guess we’re partnering-up? How do you want to go about this?” She grabbed her arm and gently brought her away from the crowd, hoping to keep any of the other groups from knowing their plans. After all, she did not trust Apophis or Lucifer to play fairly.

Xavier acted according to his own plans and approached Apophis. “...I think we’d do well to work as a team. Do you have any suggestions? We can use a combination of your powers and mine, so we can get the envelopes quickly,” he suggested, with a grin. Of course, Apophis could always reject his partnership, in which case he had some ideas of his own.

Kimiko

"I don't know, everyone seems to be heading to the coast. We could follow suit or we could break away and head for the waterfall. I'll leave that choice up to you," Kimiko spoke quietly hoping that none of the other students would hear her. She also had another thought, "I can prevent us from getting snuck up on by using my ability to see spirit energies." Kimiko while talking to Hamiri also had her ears perked up using her excellent hearing to listen to other students.

Nyarlathotep

A few seconds after the signal was given to start Nyaru gave a solid kick off of the ground and launched herself skyward. She also used her shape-shifting ability to grow a pair of massive wings. With one beat of said wings she took off at high speeds towards the coastline, with each beat of the wings making her speed double.

[Danceria]

Melkor would turn to Otohime, though he knew not her name, and Ran. "If you want to help, try to keep up." with that, he faded into shadow. A dark bolt would leap along the water, and following the winged show-offs, so that way they may exhaust themselves over fighting and he'll finish off the remainders. To be fair, he was never terribly one for games, especially ones that may cause him unnecessary enemies, but there are things he has to do eventually. Perhaps he could observe their weaknesses and capitalize on them later...

[Luminesa]

Patriah had continued to avoid Nyarlathotep’s glance, though every now and then he eyed her or her curry. If he could only figure what was so strange about her, he would not feel so uneasy. As a result of his worrying, however, he did not pay as much attention to the rules as he should have done, and he was confused when the timer beeped. “Wait what?! Oh! Ah...hm...uhhhh...” He knew they could partner with their classmates, and so he went to grab Razorclaw. “Hey, you! You could form a group with me and Hamiri! Wanna join?”

Hamiri, in the meantime, went calmly to Kimiko and smiled. “So! I guess we’re partnering-up? How do you want to go about this?” She grabbed her arm and gently brought her away from the crowd, hoping to keep any of the other groups from knowing their plans. After all, she did not trust Apophis or Lucifer to play fairly.

Xavier acted according to his own plans and approached Apophis. “...I think we’d do well to work as a team. Do you have any suggestions? We can use a combination of your powers and mine, so we can get the envelopes quickly,” he suggested, with a grin. Of course, Apophis could always reject his partnership, in which case he had some ideas of his own.

Kimiko

"I don't know, everyone seems to be heading to the coast. We could follow suit or we could break away and head for the waterfall. I'll leave that choice up to you," Kimiko spoke quietly hoping that none of the other students would hear her. She also had another thought, "I can prevent us from getting snuck up on by using my ability to see spirit energies." Kimiko while talking to Hamiri also had her ears perked up using her excellent hearing to listen to other students.

Nyarlathotep

A few seconds after the signal was given to start Nyaru gave a solid kick off of the ground and launched herself skyward. She also used her shape-shifting ability to grow a pair of massive wings. With one beat of said wings she took off at high speeds towards the coastline, with each beat of the wings making her speed double.

Hamiri watched as a majority of the class rushed for the coast, with very few students heading toward the forest area. She frowned as she thought. “Hmmm. I think the waterfall would be better. We won’t face as much conflict, we’ll get the envelopes we need, and then we can plan a defense in case we get caught. Once people do start coming toward the forest, and it gets too crowded, we can sneak away and let them all fight each other for whatever is left. Since there’s lots of trees, we can hide in them and then use them to sneak away. And your spirit energy will can help us to decide which places would be best for hiding,” she explained.

She then smiled as she realized she had picked a good, practical teammate. She did like working with Patriah, but he was not as well-suited for sneaking. He was better for large, sweeping attacks to take down enemies, and for now she wanted to make the challenge as easy as possible for both of them. As she had seen Patriah had picked a fellow brawny classmate, she knew the two of them would mostly hack and slash their way to the envelopes, and she did not want to be in the way when they reached the envelopes.

[Chrominus]

Lucifer

The Greek God's one man orchestra woke the Adversary soon. Through the alcohol fueled cacophony produced by Hyperion he could identify the structure of Seven Nation Army.

Slowly, he woke up, and poured water over his deep black hair and walked out of his dorm in a long, dark red robe with black details with black, somewhat loose pants.

Soon he found the place where his brother was starting an exercise to capture small envelopes at a particular side of the Academy. The reward was a secret, which bored Lucifer, but soon as the exercise was explained he did have a few questions...

"First... How are we supposed to fight for the envelopes if we can't knock out the other students? And second, was the drunk, trumpeter version of André Rieu really necessary?"

“It was VERY necessary, thank you!” Hyperion shouted back, holding the trumpet and the megaphone ready, as if he planned to use them again if Lucifer continued to complain. He did not act immediately, however, as he did have a question for Michael to answer.

“You’ll have to get creative,” Michael answered, “you don’t have to severely harm or kill your opponents in order to defeat them. That is one of the things you will learn in this class, the many ways combat can be accomplished. If you’re worried about ways you can get the envelopes more quickly, you can partner with one or two of your classmates and make a scheme to get envelopes.” He then looked to the rest of the class. “Also! If you are in a group and your group has envelopes at the end of the exercise, all students in that group will be counted as having that many envelopes. For example, if Razorclaw, Nyarlathotep, and Lucifer make a team and get an envelope, they will all be counted as having one envelope at the end of the exercise.”

“And if we catch you breaking any of the rules, Michael will come and stop you. How? Cause I’ll be watching the whole time!” Hyperion added.

Michael looked over at him and nodded, even though he had already mentioned this piece of information. He then summoned a timer, and he held it ready. “If you kids are ready to start...when I press this, you may begin!” He pressed the timer, and a short beep sounded.

Ran dashes off towards the forest, giving glances around to see if anyone is following them. Their mossy hair flies behind them, seemingly allowing anyone a chance to grab on for the ride. Ran twists their magic of souls, makes themself purposely seem small, able to be attacked, not a threat. Upon sensing an envelope beneath a small pile of twigs, they secret it within a hidden pocket on their body, from where they pulled the earlier apple. Then they freeze, moving inperceptibly to see if anyone is following.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Otohime

As for herself, Otohime severely doubted that going away from the coast would ever be to her benefit, given her own powers. Fortunately, she had yet to reveal what she could do, so no one could quite understand the scope of her powers until she chose to reveal herself. That was an advantage, not that she had any idea what anyone else could do either, but being near the water would certainly have positive repercussions on her end.

So, with that, Otohime glanced around, not really opposed to an alliance, but also not familiar with anyone here at the moment. So instead, she headed towards the coast, knowing that it was her best shot of getting anything out of this.

Lucifer

Soon as the exercise started, people started to fly to their destinations. Being someone who came late to the institution, Lucifer was in a worrying lack of friends. Patiently waiting for the teams to depart, he awaited for the last, alone ones to depart so he could follow them.

One of them particularly caught his attention. Someone without distinguishable powers - at least not in her anatomy - headed for the coast, and he decided to follow.

"I don't know your name, but I assume you are lacking a... teammate. I propose a temporary partnership. We work together, get one or two envelopes and then return, end of partnership. What do you say?"

[Ranoria]

-snip-

Otohime

Although she hid it fairly well, Otohime started when Lucifer approached her, not expecting someone to propose an alliance, but soon picked up on what he was saying, and, admittedly, the idea of teaming up was an appealing one. With her lack of experience in combat, having someone to watch her back couldn't hurt. And so, with a nod, she decided to side with him.

"Those terms are agreeable," the water goddess flashed him a smile while extending a hand in greeting, "You may call me Otohime, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

As always, she remained formal and graceful in her actions, and, while she didn't know just whom she was dealing with, her thought process didn't go much farther than having someone on her side in this exercise.

Azazel

On the other side of campus, meanwhile, Azazel was on the ground behind the last dorm before the campus ended, not far from his own, actually, with one of the envelopes in hand, a frown on his face. This almost seemed to easy, but, as he soon realized, that was probably the point. Hiding eighteen small and somewhat difficult to find objects across such an expansive tract of land meant that searching every nook and cranny would have taken them weeks, if not longer, so leaving the letters in spots where they could be seen was probably the point.

That said, however, this exercise was likely more intended to see the how the students would fare against each other in combat, and while he was sure that none of them posed too much of a threat, he was on his own, and that meant that he could be overwhelmed. With that in mind, Azazel folded the envelope in two and stuffed it in his pocket, glancing around briefly to make sure that no one had seen him.

Satisfied, the demon thought of spreading his wings once more and took flight. It wasn't particularly taxing, he could do it for hours, and with a bird's eye view, his hope was that there would be another obvious letter scattered among the treetops.

[Bycrest]

Hermes
Having had no real choice on whether he could opt out of attending school, Hermes had no choice but to make the best of the situation. He had been uncharacteristacly silent for the most part, excusing it as whatever teen angst he was supposed to have a while back. When the students were all called together, he was surprisingly one of the last to arrive. His attitude perked up a little when he heard what the excerise was. A search mission for random envelopes are the campus, not much of a challenge. The hard part comes in trying to keep the envelopes from the other students, and that's when the messenger god smiled. First of all, Hermes was pertty good at find envelopes out in the wild. He'd never admit this but sometime when he's on a delivery run, Hermes would lose some letters and have to retrace his steps in order to find them. It would also be really embarrassing if he didn't make it out with at least one envelope, and try to steal the rest from the other student.

When the exercise started, Hermes stayed back for a bit. Catching up wouldn't be much of a problem so he spent that time thinking. There were a lot of places one could hide a small item around this campus, so finding them would be tedious. However, a thought flashed into Hermes head. This is a school run by Zeus, and there's no way he would leave his ego out of something. With that in mind, Hermes started looking around for things that represented of resemble the King of the Olympians.

Hermes' first direction was towards the forest, going at a casual jog that seemed like a full sprint to the untrained. Looking around for any sign he soon found an eagle's nest in the treetops. "If Zeus had any say in this, he'd probably think he was clever to hide one up there." Hermes said to himself as he started climbing. "Wish I had brought my winged shoes for this, climbing sucks."

Even while complaining, Hermes still managed to climb to the top relatively quickly. Luckily for him, the eagle that built the nest must have been away for a hunt so he was able to search the nest without any conflict. Sure enough, he found one of the envelopes hidden inside. "Ha!" he said as he tucked it inside his messenger bag that he kept with him. "Now how do I get down?"

[Luminesa]

Hermes
Having had no real choice on whether he could opt out of attending school, Hermes had no choice but to make the best of the situation. He had been uncharacteristacly silent for the most part, excusing it as whatever teen angst he was supposed to have a while back. When the students were all called together, he was surprisingly one of the last to arrive. His attitude perked up a little when he heard what the excerise was. A search mission for random envelopes are the campus, not much of a challenge. The hard part comes in trying to keep the envelopes from the other students, and that's when the messenger god smiled. First of all, Hermes was pertty good at find envelopes out in the wild. He'd never admit this but sometime when he's on a delivery run, Hermes would lose some letters and have to retrace his steps in order to find them. It would also be really embarrassing if he didn't make it out with at least one envelope, and try to steal the rest from the other student.

When the exercise started, Hermes stayed back for a bit. Catching up wouldn't be much of a problem so he spent that time thinking. There were a lot of places one could hide a small item around this campus, so finding them would be tedious. However, a thought flashed into Hermes head. This is a school run by Zeus, and there's no way he would leave his ego out of something. With that in mind, Hermes started looking around for things that represented of resemble the King of the Olympians.

Hermes' first direction was towards the forest, going at a casual jog that seemed like a full sprint to the untrained. Looking around for any sign he soon found an eagle's nest in the treetops. "If Zeus had any say in this, he'd probably think he was clever to hide one up there." Hermes said to himself as he started climbing. "Wish I had brought my winged shoes for this, climbing sucks."

Even while complaining, Hermes still managed to climb to the top relatively quickly. Luckily for him, the eagle that built the nest must have been away for a hunt so he was able to search the nest without any conflict. Sure enough, he found one of the envelopes hidden inside. "Ha!" he said as he tucked it inside his messenger bag that he kept with him. "Now how do I get down?"

Hamiri and Kimiko headed into the forest, and they remained quiet as they looked for envelopes. They did not want to be noticed, as they wanted to get three envelopes as quickly as possible. Hamiri found one after about five minutes in the woods, as she looked in a hole in a tree, which hid a nest. In that nest was nestled an envelope, which Hamiri grabbed and handed to Kimiko to keep. As she gave the envelope to Kimiko, she heard rustling and grunting from deeper within the forest. Someone else got here before us...I thought I saw Azazel running into the woods... she thought, as she led Kimiko deeper into the woods.

As they continued, she looked up at the highest tree in the woods, and she saw that Hermes was stuck in the tree. Like an adventurous kitten, he had climbed into the tree to get an envelope, and could not get down. Knowing Hermes’s behavior from the day before, she knew he would be reluctant to fight, so she figured she could help him while avoiding conflict. Regardless, she signaled for Kimiko to hide so he would not see their envelope.

She then summoned her own set of wings, black and feathery like a raven’s wings, and she swooped to the top of the tree. As she found Hermes, she inquired, “Hey!...Want help getting down? Don’t know if you want to team-up, but you probably don’t want to be stuck up here.” She kept an arm’s length away from him, in case he drew a sword or did somehow try to attack her. After all, even if he was reluctant to fight, they were still in Combat Class, and she always had her sword ready if he did want to fight.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"Sure. I'll work with you two." Razorclaw had been up since the crack of dawn reading a book on the history of the school. It was an interesting read so far. Working with his classmates would give him the opportunity to learn more about them. Information was always useful. And, to be honest, this activity also sounded like it could be fun.

Patriah nodded to him and turned to grab Hamiri, but he noticed that she had immediately run to go talk to Kimiko. A little surprised, he smirked as he realized that she ultimately wanted him to work apart from her. She got along well with him, and he knew her better than anyone on the campus, but she wanted him to use his own skills and...brains. While he was not the most brainy individual, he wanted to reach the top of the ‘leaderboard’, and so he acquiesced and turned back to Razorclaw. “It looks like she’s got a teammate with Kimiko, but she doesn’t want to come with us. Let’s head to the coast and see if we can beat the rest of the class to those envelopes. Hang on!”

Before his classmate could protest, Patriah revealed two huge, muscular, emerald dragon wings. He grabbed his large classmate under the arms, and heaved both of them up into the air. “This is our plan! We’re gonna fly over, we’re gonna find the other kids, and when one of them is about to grab an envelope we-”

“Not the smartest move to announce your plans in front of the whole class,” Michael interrupted, with an encouraging smile.

Patriah was mortified as he realized how loud he was, but he made-up for it by flying up into the air, higher than any of his classmates, and by continuing when he was out of earshot. “...When one of them is about to grab an envelope, we’ll dive-bomb them! Have your sword ready, and hang on!” He then flew toward the coast, swooping Razorclaw along with him.

In the meantime, Hyperion created an orb of sunlight, and had it float high above the island. He covered his eyes, and the sunlit orb acted as he eyes over all of the island. He could see every student, their location, and their battles. Michael stood next to him, in order to act as his eyes on the ground-level in the courtyard.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw had never really been in the air before, so this was a new experience, which he was enjoying so far. He said to Patriah,"You do realize I have a crossbow, not a sword, right? I suppose I do have my claws and fangs, but I might accidenatly kill someone if I use those." Razorclaw wanted to kill prey, not his classmates.

[Luminesa]

Patriah nodded to him and turned to grab Hamiri, but he noticed that she had immediately run to go talk to Kimiko. A little surprised, he smirked as he realized that she ultimately wanted him to work apart from her. She got along well with him, and he knew her better than anyone on the campus, but she wanted him to use his own skills and...brains. While he was not the most brainy individual, he wanted to reach the top of the ‘leaderboard’, and so he acquiesced and turned back to Razorclaw. “It looks like she’s got a teammate with Kimiko, but she doesn’t want to come with us. Let’s head to the coast and see if we can beat the rest of the class to those envelopes. Hang on!”

Before his classmate could protest, Patriah revealed two huge, muscular, emerald dragon wings. He grabbed his large classmate under the arms, and heaved both of them up into the air. “This is our plan! We’re gonna fly over, we’re gonna find the other kids, and when one of them is about to grab an envelope we-”

“Not the smartest move to announce your plans in front of the whole class,” Michael interrupted, with an encouraging smile.

Patriah was mortified as he realized how loud he was, but he made-up for it by flying up into the air, higher than any of his classmates, and by continuing when he was out of earshot. “...When one of them is about to grab an envelope, we’ll dive-bomb them! Have your sword ready, and hang on!” He then flew toward the coast, swooping Razorclaw along with him.

In the meantime, Hyperion created an orb of sunlight, and had it float high above the island. He covered his eyes, and the sunlit orb acted as he eyes over all of the island. He could see every student, their location, and their battles. Michael stood next to him, in order to act as his eyes on the ground-level in the courtyard.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw had never really been in the air before, so this was a new experience, which he was enjoying so far. He said to Patriah,"You do realize I have a crossbow, not a sword, right? I suppose I do have my claws and fangs, but I might accidenatly kill someone if I use those." Razorclaw wanted to kill prey, not his classmates.

"Oh...right...um..." Patriah had completely forgotten the weapon his classmate used, even if he had seen him use it some time before. As he was speaking to him, however, out the corner of his eye he noticed an envelope on the roof of one of the dorms. Grinning, he turned back to Razorclaw. "Okay, better idea first. Let's get this one right here, I'll drop you carefully down so you don't fall off the roof, you grab it, I'll pick you back up again, and then I'll put it...somewhere. Hm." He looked around for pockets on his person, and figured his scarf would suffice, unless Razorclaw's own outfit had pockets. He then continued, "Once that's done, you can maybe aim your arrows at some kid's foot. Like...oh!" His eyes spotted Lucifer and Otohime, and he grinned. "...One of them. Try to get the smart-mouth next to the girl," he muttered, making sure neither of the students below could hear them. "In the meantime I'll look for more envelopes close by. You can hide a lot in sand, for sure."

As he spoke, he flew Razorclaw close to the rooftop, and prepared to drop him down about five feet. He hoped the roof would not be too slippery, or too fragile. The image of a giant fish-man falling through the rooftop would certainly be funny, but not beneficial to the task at hand. In the meantime, the Wind Mage's eyes shifted around the courtyard, watching for anyone who might be eyeing them. Plenty of the students had wings, and so he knew they might be risking a fight by being so inconspicuous. "Hurry and get it, too, so I can steal it. It's right on the ledge by the drain-pipe," he urged his classmate.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Razorclaw
Razorclaw had never really been in the air before, so this was a new experience, which he was enjoying so far. He said to Patriah,"You do realize I have a crossbow, not a sword, right? I suppose I do have my claws and fangs, but I might accidenatly kill someone if I use those." Razorclaw wanted to kill prey, not his classmates.

"Oh...right...um..." Patriah had completely forgotten the weapon his classmate used, even if he had seen him use it some time before. As he was speaking to him, however, out the corner of his eye he noticed an envelope on the roof of one of the dorms. Grinning, he turned back to Razorclaw. "Okay, better idea first. Let's get this one right here, I'll drop you carefully down so you don't fall off the roof, you grab it, I'll pick you back up again, and then I'll put it...somewhere. Hm." He looked around for pockets on his person, and figured his scarf would suffice, unless Razorclaw's own outfit had pockets. He then continued, "Once that's done, you can maybe aim your arrows at some kid's foot. Like...oh!" His eyes spotted Lucifer and Otohime, and he grinned. "...One of them. Try to get the smart-mouth next to the girl," he muttered, making sure neither of the students below could hear them. "In the meantime I'll look for more envelopes close by. You can hide a lot in sand, for sure."

As he spoke, he flew Razorclaw close to the rooftop, and prepared to drop him down about five feet. He hoped the roof would not be too slippery, or too fragile. The image of a giant fish-man falling through the rooftop would certainly be funny, but not beneficial to the task at hand. In the meantime, the Wind Mage's eyes shifted around the courtyard, watching for anyone who might be eyeing them. Plenty of the students had wings, and so he knew they might be risking a fight by being so inconspicuous. "Hurry and get it, too, so I can steal it. It's right on the ledge by the drain-pipe," he urged his classmate.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"I have my bag that I can put it in. I'm ready to drop whenever." Razorclaw figured his bag was a safe a place as any to keep the letter. After all, who would want to mess with a lizard fish monster? He thought he would be able to get a good grip on the roof's surface.

[Luminesa]

"Oh...right...um..." Patriah had completely forgotten the weapon his classmate used, even if he had seen him use it some time before. As he was speaking to him, however, out the corner of his eye he noticed an envelope on the roof of one of the dorms. Grinning, he turned back to Razorclaw. "Okay, better idea first. Let's get this one right here, I'll drop you carefully down so you don't fall off the roof, you grab it, I'll pick you back up again, and then I'll put it...somewhere. Hm." He looked around for pockets on his person, and figured his scarf would suffice, unless Razorclaw's own outfit had pockets. He then continued, "Once that's done, you can maybe aim your arrows at some kid's foot. Like...oh!" His eyes spotted Lucifer and Otohime, and he grinned. "...One of them. Try to get the smart-mouth next to the girl," he muttered, making sure neither of the students below could hear them. "In the meantime I'll look for more envelopes close by. You can hide a lot in sand, for sure."

As he spoke, he flew Razorclaw close to the rooftop, and prepared to drop him down about five feet. He hoped the roof would not be too slippery, or too fragile. The image of a giant fish-man falling through the rooftop would certainly be funny, but not beneficial to the task at hand. In the meantime, the Wind Mage's eyes shifted around the courtyard, watching for anyone who might be eyeing them. Plenty of the students had wings, and so he knew they might be risking a fight by being so inconspicuous. "Hurry and get it, too, so I can steal it. It's right on the ledge by the drain-pipe," he urged his classmate.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"I have my bag that I can put it in. I'm ready to drop whenever." Razorclaw figured his bag was a safe a place as any to keep the letter. After all, who would want to mess with a lizard fish monster? He thought he would be able to get a good grip on the roof's surface.

Patriah nodded, glad that they would have a safe place to hide their envelopes. He then dropped Razorclaw below, while drawing his sword. He knew he could be attacked at any time, and he worried especially about Lucifer or Hamiri coming for them. Even if he was friends with the latter, he knew she could fight him and Razorclaw together. "Alright, stick it in your bag, then we're gonna try and get one on the beach. Scouring the beach in forty minutes is going to be fun," he joked. He also looked toward the courtyard. Xavier and Apophis had not moved, and he could not tell what they were doing. Xavier had floated above the group to look around for envelopes, and he got nervous. "Ngh...Hurry up!" He tried to think of strategies for digging through the sand on the beach as well. He could make a sandstorm, and the idea of tossing aside any and all competition in his way sounded appealing. He figured if they were going to get caught, they might as well make their presence known with a bang.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Razorclaw
Razorclaw said,"I have my bag that I can put it in. I'm ready to drop whenever." Razorclaw figured his bag was a safe a place as any to keep the letter. After all, who would want to mess with a lizard fish monster? He thought he would be able to get a good grip on the roof's surface.

Patriah nodded, glad that they would have a safe place to hide their envelopes. He then dropped Razorclaw below, while drawing his sword. He knew he could be attacked at any time, and he worried especially about Lucifer or Hamiri coming for them. Even if he was friends with the latter, he knew she could fight him and Razorclaw together. "Alright, stick it in your bag, then we're gonna try and get one on the beach. Scouring the beach in forty minutes is going to be fun," he joked. He also looked toward the courtyard. Xavier and Apophis had not moved, and he could not tell what they were doing. Xavier had floated above the group to look around for envelopes, and he got nervous. "Ngh...Hurry up!" He tried to think of strategies for digging through the sand on the beach as well. He could make a sandstorm, and the idea of tossing aside any and all competition in his way sounded appealing. He figured if they were going to get caught, they might as well make their presence known with a bang.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw landed on the roof with a loud thud. He scooped up the envelope, and dropped it in his bag. He said,"I'm ready for pick up. The beach is right next to the sea, right?" Razorclaw, being amphibious, was at home in the water. Also, he might be able to find a fish or two to eat as well, which would be nice.

[Ranoria]

-snip-

Azazel

Flying above the woods as he was, he would have seen Hermes, stuck at the top of a tree, anyways. Hamiri flying up to help him, however? That was a dead giveaway. Movement was what got you spotted, and while he was sure that they both hadn't been thinking of stealth, he intended to make them both pay for that, assuming they had any envelopes. A quick fight would make this entire venture much less tedious.

With that in mind, the demon slowed his movement until he was above the tree that they were in, smirking down at them. He didn't have any way of telling if either of the two had an envelope in their possession, but he could assume that there was at least one between the two of them. "Morning."

He allowed himself to slowly sink down to one of the larger branches, one hand resting on the trunk of the sturdy oak, while the other hung almost limp at his side, extended just slightly, with his hand open as if to grab something out of the air. He kept his wings folded tight to avoid any unfortunate collisions with branches that would limit his mobility, gaze shifting between his two classmates, almost as if analyzing them. "I'd like to point out that I have no way of figuring out if either of you are in possession of an envelope. With that being said," neither of his hands moved, "I very much doubt that you," his eyes flicked over to Hermes, "climbed this tree without being fairly certain that it would result in your finding one. So let's make this easier on all three of us, and hand it over. No hard feelings, but I want to get out of this forest sooner rather than later. And I'm Azazel, in case either of you didn't know."

The strength of God, if either of you speak Hebrew.

He looked back and forth between the two of them as he spoke, expression not betraying his thoughts. He didn't know either of them, yet, but the second of the two was the one that seemed to have red flags everywhere. Not only was she obviously capable of flight, but she carried herself with a confidence that implied she certainly wasn't afraid of a fight. The other of the two, whom had most likely climbed the tree and been unable to get down, he wasn't worried about him. Even if he could hold his own, if he didn't have the ability to get down from these heights, then he obviously wouldn't be able to maneuver himself, either, enough to effectively fight back.

[5pb]

-snip-

~snip^2~

Kimiko

Kimiko watched them using her spirit sight but remained completely hidden in the bushes. She was a fox so moving around in the forest without being seen was kind of expected of her. Her spirit energy was also being suppressed, she didn't know what her classmates was capable of so she took every precaution to remain hidden. She was listening in as well, taking note of the demon's confidence and his methods.

Nyarlathotep

Nyaru flew towards the coast, watching as Patriah dropped the largest student in the class onto the roof. She then noticed the envelope that was grabbed, she was a little irritated but ignored it. Instead she decided to dart towards the beach, upon her arrival she lowered herself towards the ground. The massive wings that she had were quickly returned to her body. She looked around for a small bit before noticing a turtle shell, it was discolored. She ran over to it and looked under it, there was nothing . She then looked inside it and saw the envelope, "perfect," she thought to herself. She grabbed it and gave a look around to ensure no other student was watching. She then opened a small portal to her pocket dimension and placed the envelope inside. She then thought about taking the Envelop from the two previous students but didn't feel like confronting them yet, so she decided to look around the beach further.

[Luminesa]

-snip-

Azazel

Flying above the woods as he was, he would have seen Hermes, stuck at the top of a tree, anyways. Hamiri flying up to help him, however? That was a dead giveaway. Movement was what got you spotted, and while he was sure that they both hadn't been thinking of stealth, he intended to make them both pay for that, assuming they had any envelopes. A quick fight would make this entire venture much less tedious.

With that in mind, the demon slowed his movement until he was above the tree that they were in, smirking down at them. He didn't have any way of telling if either of the two had an envelope in their possession, but he could assume that there was at least one between the two of them. "Morning."

He allowed himself to slowly sink down to one of the larger branches, one hand resting on the trunk of the sturdy oak, while the other hung almost limp at his side, extended just slightly, with his hand open as if to grab something out of the air. He kept his wings folded tight to avoid any unfortunate collisions with branches that would limit his mobility, gaze shifting between his two classmates, almost as if analyzing them. "I'd like to point out that I have no way of figuring out if either of you are in possession of an envelope. With that being said," neither of his hands moved, "I very much doubt that you," his eyes flicked over to Hermes, "climbed this tree without being fairly certain that it would result in your finding one. So let's make this easier on all three of us, and hand it over. No hard feelings, but I want to get out of this forest sooner rather than later. And I'm Azazel, in case either of you didn't know."

The strength of God, if either of you speak Hebrew.

He looked back and forth between the two of them as he spoke, expression not betraying his thoughts. He didn't know either of them, yet, but the second of the two was the one that seemed to have red flags everywhere. Not only was she obviously capable of flight, but she carried herself with a confidence that implied she certainly wasn't afraid of a fight. The other of the two, whom had most likely climbed the tree and been unable to get down, he wasn't worried about him. Even if he could hold his own, if he didn't have the ability to get down from these heights, then he obviously wouldn't be able to maneuver himself, either, enough to effectively fight back.

Hamiri heard the rustling of leaves and twigs in the tree behind her, and she whirled around, sword in hand. As soon as she saw Azazel, she released a slight gasp. She could feel the evil aura pouring off his body, and she grit her teeth. Looks like I'm not going to be able to avoid a fight after all... she thought, preparing herself. As she held her sword at her waist, ready to go, she responded. "I don't have any envelopes, and neither does he," she lied, hoping he would take the bait. She looked him right in the eyes as she gave her lie, hoping that Hermes would get that she was trying to help him. Azazel would knock Hermes right out of the tree, if he engaged him, so she had to fight to help him. "I was helping Hermes because he was having trouble getting out of the tree. Now back-off. Go find someone on even ground. Unless you really think you could just take me down in one foul swoop," she shot-back, holding her black Witchblade for his eyes to see.

[Luminesa]

Patriah nodded, glad that they would have a safe place to hide their envelopes. He then dropped Razorclaw below, while drawing his sword. He knew he could be attacked at any time, and he worried especially about Lucifer or Hamiri coming for them. Even if he was friends with the latter, he knew she could fight him and Razorclaw together. "Alright, stick it in your bag, then we're gonna try and get one on the beach. Scouring the beach in forty minutes is going to be fun," he joked. He also looked toward the courtyard. Xavier and Apophis had not moved, and he could not tell what they were doing. Xavier had floated above the group to look around for envelopes, and he got nervous. "Ngh...Hurry up!" He tried to think of strategies for digging through the sand on the beach as well. He could make a sandstorm, and the idea of tossing aside any and all competition in his way sounded appealing. He figured if they were going to get caught, they might as well make their presence known with a bang.

Razorclaw
Razorclaw landed on the roof with a loud thud. He scooped up the envelope, and dropped it in his bag. He said,"I'm ready for pick up. The beach is right next to the sea, right?" Razorclaw, being amphibious, was at home in the water. Also, he might be able to find a fish or two to eat as well, which would be nice.

"Great, we can split-up for a few minutes!" Patriah flew over, lifted Razorclaw, and headed for the beach. The mention of Razorclaw being able to swim and catch fish reminded him that maybe they could check in the water for envelopes. He had never bothered to ask if the envelopes dissolved in water, but he figured they might as well try and find-out for themselves. As they reached the beach, however, he noticed the group of people searching the beach. Lucifer, Otohime, and Nyarlathotep were all looking. His stomach sank, and he knew he would have to fight. "...Hey, it looks like that girl over there found one," he muttered, pointing to Nyarlathotep. He had seen her pluck a crab's shell off the ground and pull out an envelope, so she was ahead of the game already. "Aim an arrow at her and see if we can maybe steal hers. I'll drop you off and you can search the water while I get her envelope. Sounds good?"

[Ranoria]

~snip~

Azazel

Her answer disappointed him. Her words held the same confidence as her posture, and, searching her eyes, he was almost inclined to believe her.

Almost.

The lie wasn't hard to catch. He'd seen her come up to help Hermes, and he knew she hadn't been here long, and that Hermes hadn't even opened his mouth to tell her whether he had an envelope or not. And that gave him a very valid reason to take arms against her.

It took everything he had not to lick his lips. She didn't look the type to back down, not without knowing just what he was, and the same could be said of him. Neither had a firm grasp of the others' powers beyond flight. It was just the sort of battle he'd been looking forward to, but he stopped himself. He was trying, consciously, to make sure that despite his demonic heritage and the obvious perceptions that came with that, the other students knew him for who he was, not what he had done.

Whether they could forgive the atrocities he'd committed was up to them.

Even then, with her very open challenge, it was hard for him to not take the bait and engage. There was no doubt in his mind that he would emerge victorious. He had yet to meet someone who could best him in combat without assistance, and few that could even then. Restraint was never his strong suit, as should have been expected of someone of his origins.

With a sigh though, Azazel relaxed his hand, not even pointing out the obvious tell from her words. "Alright, I'll bite, but put that toy away, otherwise, I might be inclined to reconsider." He wasn't scared of her in the slightest, that much was obvious, and the revealing of a blade only made him feel more inclined to reciprocate the action. But he did his best not to try and sound hostile despite that, "Be careful on the way down. Getting your wings, magnificent, I must say, tangled up with the branches would be unpleasant. And next time you're caught between two potential hostiles," his smirk returned, accompanied by a laugh, "I'd suggest not turning your back to one of them."

With that said, Azazel leapt up to the peak of the tree that he himself was standing on, balancing comfortably despite the obviously precarious position, his own white wings flared out in case the branch beneath his feet snapped. He scanned the surrounding area, not pausing the sweeping of his eyes when he spotted what looked like a rock formation in the distance, not wanting Hermes, or his apparent savior, for that matter, to catch on to his hunch.

"I'll leave you to it then, but before I go," the demon looked back to Hamiri, "I don't believe I caught your name." Despite his relaxed poise, he was ready. She seemed angry, and he didn't know her well. As far as he was concerned, she could stab him in the back without a second thought.