(Kseniya)

It was evident when Anna saw Gunner, her eyes lit up, but Niya barely looked at him until he was close enough to be discerned from the crowd. Her eyes instead were on the girl he was talking with. She was quite good looking and seeing that she was coming over to them gave her a shiver. Though she started to feel quite cold her cheeks were starting to build a blush. Sadly she hadn't gotten to clean up much from the ride on the plane and air port, so she looked like she hadn't been sleeping and a little in need of a bath. She gripped her tray tighter as they stopped to talk, coming right behind her in the line. When she was introduced she nodded shyly to them before stepping forward to purchase her meal.

The woman at the register looked like one of the Dhampirs that worked at the on campus cafe in Siberia. She wondered for a moment is she could speak Russian to the woman."Вы не принимаете рублей не так ли??" (You don't accept Rubles do you?) She gave a weak smile, trying to pull off the joke.

For a moment the woman just looked at her before laughing. "Не-а. Обменный курс сосет." (Nope. The exchange rate sucks.")

With a little warm feeling in her stomach from finding another Russian speaker so quickly, she stepped out of line and moved towards the table the others were either sitting at or moving to..

---

(Trishia)

She given her speech about Russian roots in language in the male Moroi lunch room. It was the strangest place she'd ever expected to give a speech, but it had come across almost flawlessly, even with the pages missing. Afterwards she's spoken to the head of the language department about her thoughts on getting a native speaker as a guest in her class, trying to slip in Aleksander's name once a while. Later, when the schools bell rang for lunch, she'd gone over to her refrigerator and made a made a peanut-butter and honey sandwich. With her stomach full she'd thought she wouldn't want to do much else, but then she'd remembered what Aleksander has said about him being on the watch in the cafeteria. With a few quick slaps of bread and peanut-butter she made a sandwich and then cut out a piece of baklava before putting both in a little paper bag.

Walking from one building to the other in the campus wasn't difficult, most buildings actually leading from one building to the next, and so she found herself at the entrance to the cafeteria a few minutes later. A pleasant smile was on her face as she walked along the outskirts of the tables, looking into the faces of some of the guardian shaperones before she found Aleksander's. She flopped on to the wall beside where he stood, smiling before she nodded. "Evening sir, I had hoped to find you here, how are the crew mates?" She gave a little fake pirate voice to her speaking.

Aleksander chuckled as Trishia joined him though his eyes remained focused on the kids, alert and watchful. "Hello again," he greeted in return his eyes flicking momentarily towards her and taking in her appearance. "Hmm... Baklava. I haven't had any in quite a while, you were lucky to find some."

He had his hands locked behind his back in the typical Guardian stance, the one that made them all look like statues, but somehow he still managed to look rather relaxed despite his watchfulness. "They seem to be almost as bored as I am," he joked.

His eyes flicked back to her once more, showing her that he was paying attention before they returned to roving the room carefully. "How did the speech go? Well I hope?"

He actually enjoyed her company, it broke up some of the monotony of his watch.

~*~

Anna shrugged as Kseniya failed to say anything in response to her introduction to the group again... Maybe it was a culture thing? She grabbed a few things from the line and then headed to the table she had pointed out to the others, figuring that Sebastian and Serena would join when they were done talking and Gunner would when he was ready.

Kseniya was already headed to her table and Anna smiled in return, "Find anything worth eating up there?"

(Trishia)

She laughed softly as he spoke about not having baklava in a long time. She frowned at that. "Well...it's home made, my mom taught me how to do it, so it should be better than store bought." She was looked up at him as she spoke, knowing that he was listening fully to her while keeping his mind on the kids in the cafeteria. His posture seemed so...odd....a complete mixture of rigid guardian composure, and complete relaxation.

With finding he was bored she gave a little pout. "That's horrible, I'm sorry you're bored. I wish there was something to do about that." She gave a little frown of her own before smiling up at him again. "My speech went really well thank you. Heh...I didn't know I had the pages I'd lost memorized.....that helped a lot. I was still shaking though, ....annoyingly enough." She bit her bottom lip and gave a little sigh before holding up the bag to him. "I almost forgot. I made you a watch snack. I know that watching other people eat can make someone hungry so...I wanted to make sure you weren't.

---

(Kseniya)

Having reached the table Kseniya shrugged at the inquirey. "Not really.....all I could identify is the pizza, steak and spaghetti." She gave a little frown before sitting down. "Where did that other girl go? The one that was coming over with Gunner?" Her ears had been buzzing too loud when she'd been so close, so she hadn't gotten to know what they were staying.

She picked at the steak quietly for a few moments before finding that it tasted amazing. .

Anna blinked, "You mean Serena? She is still with Gunner and Sebastian, I think Seb wanted to talk to her about something. She'll probably be over in a minute."

She laughed, "Yeah, well I think the school likes to give us a lot of mystery food sometimes. I grabbed the pizza, it looked a little less questionable than the mystery meat in the spaghetti."

~*~

Aleksander smiled, "You should have more faith in yourself. From what I hear you are a very good teacher, the students relate to you well. That is a rare gift."

He spotted two boys squaring off and frowned, "You two," he barked. The two boys, who had apparently been preparing to fight over what he could guess was probably some form of girl trouble or another, looked over at him. "That is enough. Take your seats, there is no fighting in the cafeteria... Save it for class, you will need the energy when I have you run laps together."

The two boys groaned curses and after shooting a few more glares, took their seats. His attention returned to Trishia with another smile and as she offered him the snacks he arched a brow in pleasant surprise, "Oh? We do get hungry, especially since after this I have an introductory class to teach... No rest for the weary," he joked.

He took the bag from her, "Thank you, I will eat it during my class so my students can be jealous... what is it?"

(Trishia)

As he laid the compliments on her she blushed darkly, shivering slightly. Usually the only one who would tell her she was doing something right was the head of the department. She smiled up at the Guardian beside her beofre she jumped at his sudden outburst. She hadn't been expecting it and put a hand to her throat as she watched the two boys.

It was kind of funny to see the students be yelled at. Normally that didn't happen in her room, mostly because she'd set a kid on fire at one point, and everyone was just...nicer.

"Oh dear...that sounds fun...laps heh..I should start running again." For a moment she was lost in thought, not having run laps in quite a while. She looked back up at him as he took the bag, smiling with her whole face. "Then I'm glad I brought you something to eat! And it's a peanut-butter sandwich with a desert of baklava. ....Sorry that I didn't pack any sort of drink." She tilted her head apologetically before she looked over the crowd of students. "Oh...there's that group again. Sebastian....he never attended my class even though he was assigned for it." She pouted slightly but shook her head. "I wonder if I scard him off or something."

---

(Kseniya)

The girl gave a little nod at the explanation before she sighed. She could relax a little while the other dhampir was still talking to the new boys she'd momentarily met. She started to cut at her steak, speaking quietly to her stomach to quiet it down. "I always hate it when my stomach started to growl, makes me feel like an animal." She gave a laugh before sipping her water.

Gunner grinned at Anna, "I can be anything you want me to," He laughed a little and started to pile things up on his plate. Dinner was always better during regular school hours, which was saying something. He let Serena pass him as she seemed to be grabbing less food and sure enough, she was paying while he was still inspecting and chatting with the staff. He looked at them all, "I'll meet you at the table."

Serena nodded and started to follow the group. They didn't get very far before spoke to her. She hadn't really expected it and was taken a bit off guard. She looked at him and gave a small nod, when Anna suddenly jumped into thing. Gunner looked back at them when Anna tried to drag him into things but kept his mouth shut. A moment later, she was introducing him to Niya, "Nice to meet, now will you go to the table, I'm trying to get some food here," he teased.

The two girls walked off and over to their table leaving Serena alone with Sebastian. She looked up at him, "Just a moment..."

When Gunner finished paying, she looked at him, "Can you take this to the table with you?"

Gunner gave her a bow, "Of course, M'Lady," He smiled and took her small tray and headed toward the table.

With her hands now empty, Serena held them and looked at Sebastian. She bit her lip slightly, "Do you... mind if we step outside?"
~
Gunner placed down his and Serena's food and the table and looked over his shoulder at them. After a moment, he looked at the two girls and grinned, sitting down. He grabbed his apple, which was always on his tray and always the first thing he ate. He bit into it and looked at Anna, "She isn't going to kick his ass."

He smirked at her before returning his attention to Niya, "So, are you the poor soul that has been wrapped into being Anna Banana's roommate?"

Anna laughed somewhat at Niya's comment, "If it makes you feel any better I didn't hear anything over all the talking."

As Gunner took a seat she sighed, "I know she won't... I just hope that Sebastian behaves himself with her, though... looking at him right now I don't think he has it left in him to be an ass. He looks pretty tired, the first day is always the hardest on him..."

She shook her head as she spotted the apple, "Good to see some things never change." She tossed a french-fry at him playfully, "Hey! I'm a good roomie thank you very much. Have you met your roomie yet or has he still not shown up?"

She took a bite of her pizza and groaned at all the cheese-y goodness, "Mmmmm, heaven."

She watched as Sebastian walked off with Serena and felt a little anxious. Serena, for all her differences, was a lot like Anya and Anna wondered if Gunner had noticed the similarities yet. Honestly, it had been what had first pulled her to Serena but the girl was very different in some ways too... Despite her meek nature Anna could tell there was a strength to Serena that there hadn't been to Anya... Anya had always been... fragile both physically and emotionally. Either way, the similarities were enough that if Sebastian had noticed she figured that it was part of the reason he looked so tired. He wasn't just dealing with his Spirit issues... he was dealing with ghosts from his past too.

Biting her lip Anna ran a hand through her hair, setting aside her pizza... worrying her lip with her teeth and tormenting her thick hair was something she did when she was anxious or upset and currently she was both. She took a breath and tried to drag herself out of the past as she turned back to Niya and Gunner.

"Sooo.... we have introductory classes in a bit... For us it's fighting and for the Moroi types it'll be magic. I'm kinda looking forward to it."

~*~

Sebastian nodded at Serena, "Sure... it's not really something I'm comfortable talking about around a lot of people anyway."

He stepped out of the lunchroom and guided her a ways down the quiet hall before pausing and taking a breath... Where to start? He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and started with what he considered was the most important to her. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone, I'm not that kind of person. Your secrets are your own and I'm not even completely sure what I saw anyway..."

He grimaced, now to explain the more difficult part. "I'm sure you've guessed by the way Gunner and Anna watch me so closely, but I'm damaged goods. I've got this gift... more like a curse really... I wield Spirit if you know what that means. Mostly, I just see auras... people's emotions reflected in light around their bodies."

He sighed, "But sometimes I slip... Sometimes, I see too much. Anna and Gunner, they know the risks... they've been around me for forever but you're new to the group... if you even want to be part of it... Sometimes, my mind wanders. It kind of slips away from me and sometimes it rubs against someone else's. That's what happened today..."

He dropped his hands back to his sides feeling like an ass again, "I pulled back when I realized what had happened, I don't LIKE feeling or knowing that much about anyone, so I didn't see much... All I know for sure is that you were hurt... a lot... and that you're trying to move past it. I swear to you I will not say anything. I can't help what I see, but mostly I can help what I say."

Now for the weirder bit, "When I can't... when I can't control what I say... it usually doesn't make sense anyway."

He realized that his mood was slowly lifting once more, the auras seemed to be easing off too... maybe the time around everyone and then in the lunch room had sped along the rise of his tolerance. Either way, he was suddenly very hungry and he knew she'd be uncomfortable if he even so much as mentioned that fact so instead he bowed to her. "I hope you'll accept my apology... I don't mean to leave you but the others are probably waiting for you and I have to run a few errands before class starts."

~*~

"Baklava... Then truly I thank you. As I said, I haven't had any in quite some time."

As she mentioned running he looked mildly impressed, "Really? There are so few Moroi that I know who do such physical exercise. Mostly they work their minds... It is still impressive, do not get me wrong, but it is nice to know that there are those who find the physical important... and enjoyable... also."

He enjoyed speaking to her, she was different... quirky. He noticed Serena and Sebastian leaving the lunchroom and frowned, he'd give them five minutes and if they were not back by then he'd be sending someone after them... Teenagers necking in the hall tended to irritate the teachers.

(Kseniya)

With a little snort she laughed at the jibe from Gunner. Anna didn't honestly seem to be a bad person, she was in fact quite nice for someone new. She shook her head. "You two act so funny. It makes me rather happy." She meant that their good mood put her in a good mood, but it came out a little odd. She answered him either way. "And yes, I am Anna's dorm mate. We've already unpacked and everything." With a decisive nod she finished off her juice and steak.

With the topic of fighting springing up Niya smiled around her mouth of liquid. Once it was down she nodded happily. "Oh yes. I hope I don't break anyone...I forgot to ask, is there a weight lifting class in this school? I never thought to ask." She looked at her knees before she shook her head. "As long as this jet log doesn't bring me down first." She didn't notice her own mess up, saying log instead of lag, so she just kept going. "How many girl Dhampirs are there here?" With a quick glance around the room she frowned. "Not many by the look of things."

---

(Trishia)

Trish gave a little happy noise, more like a squeak, as he spoke about the Baklava. "I could give you the recipe if you'd like? Maybe make some black bread?" She ran a hand through her hair.

"Oh..well...you know. All Moroi have fast metabolism. So they don't think they need to run, they also don't think that Strigoi are capable of getting past their guardians." She shook her head. "They don't know that they need to be able to at least put up some sort of fight." With a little sniff she returned from her dark mood, bobbing her head to music only she could hear. "I wanted to ask....are you teaching the Moroi physical classes as well?" She thought she'd heard some of the Guardians were teaching the teenage Moroi how to fight. Another of the teachers had wondered if the teachers could start a class as well.

Trish never saw the two teenagers leave, but that was why they didn't put her on duty in the Cafeteria.

Serena followed him out of the cafeteria, thankful that he didn't want to discuss anything right there in the midst of everyone. She looked at him when he started to rub his neck. She subconsciously started to play with the small piece of scarf that stuck out of her knot. She bit her lip as he spoke, explaining everything he wanted to tell her. She kept quiet as he did, knowing that he wanted to get through it as quickly as possible. She looked at him when went to walk off to attend to his 'errands'. Quickly, she caught his hand, stopping him. She looked up at him, "I believe that you will not anyone. Even Anna and Gunner. And I know you did not want to find out... But you know... Even if it just a little... Everyone will find out sooner or later... They always do..."

She shrugged, "And know this... Or I think you know this... And that is my biggest secret. I haven't much else to hide from you. I guess hanging around you is not that bad when you have already found out the worse..."

She smiled and dropped his hand, "I have forgive you."

With that, she turned and left for the table in the cafeteria.
~
Gunner grinned at her when she made comment to his apple habit, "Shut up, they're good. And," He picked up the fry she threw at him, "Way better than this crap."

He tossed it back at her and grinned mischievously, "I wouldn't know about your roommate habits, you still refuse that private tour of mine," He caught her as she bit into her pizza, muttering about it being heaven. He chuckled, "Yes, the private tour would indeed we heaven."

He noticed as she started to bite her lip and run her hand through her hair. He watched her for a moment before she managed to pull herself back to reality. He reached out and grabbed hold of a strand of hair, gently tugging it, "Stop worrying. He's... They're fine."

He dropped his hand and returned to eating his apple. When she mention the introductory class, he nodded, "With so many new kids... It'll be nice to see what everyone can do."

When she asked about female Dhampirs, he shook his head, "There aren't. You guys are a rarity. Most live in communes and choose to raise a family over fighting," He shrugged, "I guess it is good. Otherwise, we'd get no where with the whole populating thing..."

He leaned back in his chair and didn't even notice Serena when she sat down next to Anna, where he left her tray. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she picked up her fork, "Sorry, I was gone so long...." She looked to the other new girl. She hadn't been introduced to her, not with Sebastian wanting to talk to her. She gave he a nodded, "I'm Serena Abatangelo."

Sebastian smiled, "Thank you..."

He watched her go and shook his head before heading towards the Feeding Area. He headed inside and signed up avoiding most of the other Moroi as he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall.

~*~

Anna laughed, "Don't knock my junk food, it brings me comfort."

As Niya called them funny Anna smiled, "Well we aim to entertain." She nodded, "Kinda... there is a gym and usually our teacher guides our exercises and then the Gym is open till curfew so we can practice on our own initiative if we want."

As she looked off at the door and started to worry again Gunner tugged her hair and she smiled, "Right... I can't mother him all the time."

When he mentioned his bedroom tour being heaven she almost choked on her pizza, her cheeks going bright red embarrassingly enough. "In your dreams pretty boy," it was basically what she'd said to him the last time he'd teased her about it and she remembered being almost as flustered then. She'd come back to school expecting to find her scrawny best friend and instead he'd been a muscled up skilled fighter. It had been awkward for a little while because she hadn't been sure how to see him... as the friend she'd known forever or... well... Her blush got deeper and in an attempt to divert the conversation she brushed her hair from her face and pointed out Serena headed their way.

"Oh look, my favorite Italian is back! Welcome back!"

She tried not to be aware that she sounded a little overly excited about Serena's return in her attempt to avoid further confusing conversation about Gunner's room. What the hell was wrong with her? Since when did Gunner's teasing get to her like that? She took a drink of her juice to cool her temperature... it seemed overly warm in here.

"Seb go to the feeders or something?"

~*~

Alex nodded, "Mmhm, the Moroi classes are optional so they don't take place during normal school hours... It is during their down time. I suppose this way the Queen avoids forcing such lessons upon those who feel above it... So far I've had an astounding number sign up. Myself and the other Guardians will be over seeing the training personally... another way to appease the Royals and keep them feeling special."

His tone wasn't bitter when he said it, only amused. He'd long ago accepted the way things were. "I agree, if more Moroi took it upon themselves to help their Guardians protect them there would be a great many fewer losses on both sides."

He glanced at her teasingly, "Why? Did you wish to learn physical defense?"

(Kseniya)

She laughed softly as Anna's cheeks went from slightly rosey to full on crimson. Her hand came down on her back comfortingly before she with drew it, looking up at the Italian girl. Niya felt her own face start to flush bright red as the girl introduced herself. With a swift motion Kseniya bowed her head towards the girl. In a voice that was a little quieter than her usual tone she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Kseniya Zyomin...but you can call me Niya." She was glad that she could at least half way understand the English through the other girls accent, but she didn't know if Serena would be able to understand her's. She scooted over the chair beside her before she tried a weak smile. "Please let me know you?" It was a Russian saying that many people used to break the ice and also be polite to strangers. She didn't know that it would be a strange think to say in America.

Anna's outburst made Niya's tight knot in her stomach loosen a little as she sat there. Though the worried looked on her face hadn't completely gone away. The inquiry about the Moroi guy made Niya feel sorry for Anna, like she had lost track of a younger brother.

---

(Trishia)

Trishia nodded along with what he said, understanding why Queen Vasilisa would do shut a thing to keep bablance. The numbers from the school actually didn't surprise Trish, simply because she knew how hard the school had taken losses quite a few years ago.

"Heh, if the Royals cared so much we would still be fighting along side all of you. Just as we used to when we were a united force. ....As for me wanting to learn....well...I'm not Royal, and I'm certainly not of noble Moroi blood at all. My parents both work the humans and I'm just a teacher. If I go out into the human world, as I plan to, I won't be assigned a Guardian, or even a be able to afford a body guard....so I have to do it myself. And ...well...I believe that if I'm willing to put someone else's life at risk, I should be willing to risk mine." She was still smiling at the end, but she shrugged like it made no difference. "Why do you protect Moroi?"

Serena nodded when the girl introduced herself. She smiled, "Niya," she managed the name without butchering, she thought, and smiled, "That is a lot easier to say than Gunner."

"Oy," Gunner said, "Not my fault you two have fancy accents."

Serena smiled and looked back at Niya as she spoke again. She tilted her head slightly in confusion, not understanding the girl's question. She was slightly curious at whose English was at fault. She assumed it was her own. She didn't get a chance to ask when Anna asked her about Sebastian. Serena looked at her and after a moment of hesitation, she nodded, "I think so... He said he had some errands to run... I am not to sure what he meant but I think he might have been talking about going to the feeders..."

It was Gunner's chance to look confused. Why would Serena think he was talking in code about going to the feeders. He decided it might have something to do with what he had found out and what they had talked about. He reached out and tugged lightly on Anna's hair, "I said stop worrying. He'll be fine. I'll even go check up on him before curfew if he doesn't come around. Hell, I'll go check up on him after curfew if it makes you feel any better."

He gave her a small smile and decided that once more the conversation needed to change direction. He wasn't exactly sure where to, "I think you're just a little too excited to get your ward," He grabbed his water, "You don't even know if you are going to get Sebastian. He could be my problem."

"He is not a problem," Serena said quietly, which caught Gunner off guard. She looked at him and shrugged, a small smile on her face, "If it makes you feel better, An-na... I do not think he is going to... um... self medicate."

Apparently, her blush had been pretty obvious and Niya took pity on her... at least someone did, there for a minute she thought she was going to roast. Anna, always the people watcher, noticed Niya's odd reaction to Serena when the other girl came over and wondered what it was about but didn't say anything. She wasn't going to make anyone feel awkward. She listened to their convo with curiosity.

When Gunner tugged her hair again for worrying about Sebastian she smiled some and then blinked, just as surprised as Gunner... Still, her heart warmed a little more towards the other girl. Anna was a hugely protective person and anyone who cared about one of her friends was alright in her book. "Seb's hard to handle even on his good days is what Gunner means. He tends to get himself into all sorts of trouble, you'll see what we mean if you end up with him. It's not that he's a burden, just that he likes to push limits..."

With both her friends properly defended she smiled at Serena, "Huh... usually he comes right out and says it. Still, I'm glad he's feeling a little better... He'll probably be back to his usual self by tomorrow."

She turned back to Gunner, "And of COURSE I'm excited to find out who my ward is... It's a chance to really prove ourselves. So long as I don't get Rae we're all good... I think I'd maim him before the end of the year came."

She glanced at the clock and felt jitters return, "Speaking of which dinner is almost over which means class will be next. I wonder if we'll find out our wards today or if Guardian Belikov is going to be checking us our for compatibility..."

~*~

Alex considered the question for a moment, "There are many reasons... I'm sure you have heard of my uncle, he used to mentor here. Both Dimitri Belikov, my uncle, and Rose Hathaway inspired me. My mother and my uncle were very close and she admired his strength... I looked up to both of them as a child and they helped to begin training me quite early..."

He shifted in his stance a bit to relieve the ache in his back, "Rose Hathaway's best friend and Ward is Lissa Dragomir, the queen... their relationship also inspired me... Perhaps that is why I refused to take an official ward. Their relationship, the way it worked, it taught me that the best Guardian's care for their wards like family... it drives them... I wanted a ward I could care for like that. I have not found one... beyond my students of course..."

(Kseniya)

The little accent that went along with Serena saying her name made Niya blush again before she laughed at Gunner. "I do not have an accent my friend, you are the one with the accent." She stuck out her tongue at him before looking at Anna.She was saying something about Sebastian being difficult, but once she was done Niya stood up and waved to each of them. "I will see you all in a few minutes. I'm going to go to the dorms and change into my uniform." She waved good bye again before walking out of the Cafeteria, a happy smile on her lips.

---

(Trishia)

Trishia had known of Dimitri Belikov from different stories, along with having met Rose at the academy one day. She could understand how that would have a bit of an impact on any young child. "That had to have been some amazing training. Dimitri has been rumored to still be a god." She shook her head, purple curls flying in different directions.
For a moment she was going to pipe up and ask him if he'd been to the Red Square before he moved to the United States, but then he spoke again.

Honestly Alex's determination to protect his family and those under his care made her heart squeeze for a moment. A new light shone on him for a moment before she smiled. "You'll find one, I'm sure of it. I hope it's a pretty blond, tall Moroi, with good legs. Maybe a bit of a tan....If it worked out right you two would make beautiful kids." She laughed softly, pushing her fingers through her hair again.

Gunner laughed when Anna turned to him, he shook his head, "I know you are. I'm just saying you are a little excited."

His eyes moved to Niya when she stood. He nodded his head when she said she was going to go and change for class. He looked back at Anna, not really paying much attention to it. Serena, however, blood turned to ice. Uniforms weren't normally fashioned to cover ones' neck. Meaning, her scars.... She had told Sebastian that everyone would find out sooner or later but she hadn't expected it to be on the first day.

Gunner smirked at Anna, "You know... I think you should get Rae. Maiming him would probably bruise his ego enough that he might act like a normal Moroi being," He chuckled a little as he stabbed his salad with his fork, "I might even just turn my cheek... Royal or not, he's an ass."

He started to eat a little faster, knowing well that classes were just around the corner. Serena looked at Anna and bit her lip, "Um... Uniforms... Do we all wear the same? I don't think I got one... We didn't have anything like that back home at Santa Catherina's...." Her hands moved and she started to play with the scarf tie delicately at her neck. She could probably get away with her scarfs for everyday uniforms... But she hadn't a clue how she would handle with it in training... She couldn't wear her hair down even... Not that it would help any with the amount it would be moving around. She looked between Gunner and Anna, "I don't think I got a uniform."

"See you later Niya..." she watched the other girl go.

Anna laughed at Gunner as he spoke, "Well, don't forget you said that because it might just happen one of these days..."

As Serena asked her question Anna shrugged, "Well, it's more expected of the Moroi to wear the uniforms... It's not really practical for the Dhampirs. What qualifies as a uniform for us is our warm up clothes in class."

She noticed how nervous Serena looked and frowned, "Hey... are you okay? I mean, I really don't think anyone is going to expect you to wear the uniform... They don't even issue them to Dhampirs unless we ask. Skirts and letterman jackets aren't very practical when it comes to killing Strigoi."

She glanced at Gunner just as the bell rang, "Woo! Time for fun," she said as she grabbed her tray and headed over to the trashcans to unload it. Then, she headed for the lunchroom door and waited for the other two to catch up. "Come on slow pokes!"

~*~

Alex chuckled, "Looks don't really matter so much, I would rather it be someone I can talk to easily... Someone interesting." He shrugged, "Like you, you are interesting, quirky... funny. A woman can be as beautiful as she'd like but without personality it's just a show..."

He smiled again with some amusement, "Besides... long lanky blondes are not my type. They tend to be many and all very much the same."

As the bell rang he sighed and let his rigid posture drop at last, "Classes will be starting now, I would invite you to observe but you have Moroi to teach yes?" He held up the bag, "And I have these to eat. Thank you again, I would be starving by the end of class without your help."

Serena tried not to look to relieved when Anna revealed that there was indeed no uniforms, at least not for training. But that lifted a lot off her shoulders. She had a turtleneck stuffed into her little bag that she had been carrying around with her. She didn't trust herself to find the place that Gunner point out to her a second time. So, she prepared and hung around. When the bell rang, Serena laughed a little and Anna as she ran to the garbage and headed out the door. Serena and Gunner stood and followed, tossing whatever they couldn't finish on the way to class in the garbage as well.

They caught up behind Anna, grins on their faces as they walked to class. Gunner wrapped his arms around Anna's neck and rested his head on her chin as they walked, "I'm starting to hope you don't get Rae for a ward," he teased, "I don't want you dragging me into it saying that I was cool with it all."

Serena followed beside them. When they reached the gym, Gunner looked at her, surprised to see her now in a turtleneck. He wasn't exactly sure when or how she changed but she managed it. She put her other shirt into her bag and pulled in hair up into a clean ponytail before twisting it into a perfect bun. Gunner didn't think he'd ever seen someone put so much care into their bun or ponytail for a class where it was likely to get destroyed. He placed his hand on her shoulder and grinned, "Let's see what our little Italian can do."

Serena gave him a little laugh, "I'm curious about you Americano."

Gunner nodded, Guardian Robot, as Anna liked to call him, starting to kick in with class starting.
~
Basil walked to their attack class in a slow kind of fashion. At one point on her journey across the quad, Rae had joined her. She guessed she didn't have much problem with it as he was fine company but he also slowing down her already slow walk. Basil finally stopped and looked at him, "You know... I thought you'd be sprinting to attack class."

Rae shrugged, "I like the idea of learning to fight but just making my statement that that is the Guardians job, whether the Queen agrees or not."

Basil rolled her eyes and continued walking at a slightly faster pace. Rae fell in step and the two of them managed to make it into the class without being late. Basil looked around, curious on how attack classes were going to work. Would they have multiple teachers helping with different elements. It was all quite... intriguing.

(Kseniya)

Once Niya had made it back to the dorm room she'd opened up her draws to look at her uniforms. There was the school issued uniform for normal classes, a skirt and a blazer, then there were her read Russian uniforms with the Ozera insignia on them. With a small nod she pulled out her red uniform and dressed, wearing a black T-shirt under the red and white jacket. One quick look in the mirror and she nodded, smiling slightly. With a little whisper of assurance to herself that it looked fine she pulled her hair up into a tight but sloppy bun, and took off from the dorm to the training gym.

It wasn't until she was almost there that she saw Anna, Gunner and Serena heading in. She almost called out to them but decided against it, since it'd draw some unwanted attention. With a few little skipping strides she made it through the door a couple of moments before the bell rang.

For some reason it was clear to see who the Russians were and who the Americans were. Almost all of the Russians had some sort of uniform on, a house crest pressed into the collar for the world to see. Instead of going to stand by a group of her own people she chose to go stand by Anna and Serena, still slightly blushing at her procimity to the Italian.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------,
(Trishia)

It had been a long time since Trishia had felt that many butterflies in her stomach at once. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and smiled as he spoke about a body not making a woman perfect. Her blush turned completely crimson when he mentioned that she was interesting. She, like most people think about themselves, didn't think she was interesting at all. She knew that she was slightly over aggressive and bubbly, but that didn't make anyone interesting.

She laughed a little when he said he would invite her. "Well then I may come around second period if that'd be okay. I actually have an attack class to teach in at the moment, well, once the bell rings. I'd invite you, but I would want to burn you." She stuck out her tongue with a laugh and sighed as the bell rang. "Well, I guess off we go. I'm glad that I was able to help you with your food issue." She turned after that, flouncing away towards the Moroi class rooms.

---

(Gabriella)

Going to these stupid attack classes was the last thing Gab wanted to do. The teachers were so stupid and they probably didn't even know how and air user could attack a Strigoi. She bit her lip softly as she stepped into the class room, wondering why Miss. Matila was coming from the direction of the Cafeteria, she never had lunch duty. Almost immediately she forgot about the purple headed freak and turned her attention to the other students already in the class room.

After a few moments of shuffling around she finally found a seat in the back, not wanting to draw attention to herself. That was the best way to get out of doing class work.

Aleksander was already in the classroom as the students started pouring in. He spotted Anna and Gunner as well as a few other familiar faces and then took in the transfer students... He considered for a moment before he spoke up in Russian.

"Добро пожаловать это приятно видеть так много от нашей родины... Если есть что-то вы не понимаете в английском заказы будет перевести. Делайте все возможное."

((Welcome, it is good to see so many from our homeland... If there is anything you do not understand in the English orders I will translate. Do your best.))

In the typical Guardian stance he looked them all over, "Most of you already know your sparring partners from the year before but I will go through the line up..."

He looked at a paper and began, "Gunner Marks and Angelina Ross, Serena Abatangelo and Kseniya Zyomin, ...." The list went on and on until everyone had a partner. "At the end of class you will all report to me to receive the names of your Wards for the school year. For now, do your warm ups and then we will be working on basic attack skills. We will start off with the basics for the beginning of the year and work our way up to actual stakes... For now, get your practice stakes from the tables." He indicated the tables on either side of him.

"I will be watching all of you and giving you pointers as you go... Start your warm ups. I will tell you when to begin sparring."

~*~

Anna sighed as she tugged the tie off her wrist that she always kept there. She tugged her hair up into a loose ponytail and then into a messy bun. She spotted Serena and Kseniya and waved at them happily before beginning her stretches. This part was so boring, when in the history of ever would a Strigoi pause and request that you both do your warm ups before fighting? Still, she knew better than to argue with Guardian Belikov, he'd run her ragged in her freshman year for talking back... lap after lap... all while Gunner dutifully did his warm ups without complaint. They'd both come out of his personal lessons bruised beyond belief but better for it.

She glanced at Gunner, he was already sliding into Robot mode... For now she was quiet, it wasn't until they started sparring that she gave him a hard time. Where she was rough around the edges and always improvising he was polished and purposeful... the only problem was that did often make his attacks predictable... When she got him to loosen up so did his fighting style and he became much much harder to beat... Plus, it was just fun to annoy him when he was so business-like.

She glanced up at him as she was stretching out one of her legs and winked at him playfully knowing it would get to him a little whether he showed it or not... maybe even get him to crack a shadow of a smile. "I think all this stretching has made me more limber than a professional contortionist sometimes..." she sighed.

~*~

As Sebastian entered the attack class he glanced around for faces he recognized... Rae was there and so was Gabby and Basil, none of whom he ever really talked to. He leaned against the wall instead of taking a seat and his eyes strayed to the empty seat by the window... Anya's old seat.

Gunner looked at Belikov as he read off the list. He'd been pairing him and Anna together since he'd caught them in the gym at the beginning of their freshman year. He didn't mind any, the two knew each other so well that it always pushed them to challenge themselves to try something new. Something to throw the other off. When he finished the list, he began to do his own stretches. Moving through every muscle in his body. He glanced down at Anna when he saw her look at him. Not a moment later, she winked. He did his best not to roll his eye but it did not stop him from shaking his head. He had moved to the ground when she spoke. He sat up and looked at her. After a moment, he cocked an eyebrow, "Hot."

The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile before he returned to his stretching, "So. Who are you betting on? Serena or Niya?"
~
Serena held her hands uncomfortable in front of her as Guardian Belikov spoke. He spoke in Russian first, which caused her to glance at Niya. They were lucky that there were people her who spoke Russian. Living in Italy wasn't very common among Moroi, not with the amount of sun. So, there weren't many Dhampirs there either. She fixed her gaze forward again when Belikov started to list out sparring partners. She was a little surprised to find that she was paired with Niya but smiled and looked at the girl again. She didn't say anything as the Guardian explained what would be happening over the year and to start stretches. Serena loved stretching, she'd always been rather flexible and she enjoyed the slight discomfort that stretching brought, no matter how weird it sounded. But it let her kick higher targets despite her short stature. Even in a room filled with Dhampirs, she was still small.

She sat down and easily placed her nose between her knees, her hands sitting on the ground passed her feet. She started there but slowly moved through different stretches, even placing her foot on the wall and leaning into it. She sighed, she wasn't sure what this was going to be like. How different it was going to be from Santa Catherina's. Not matter if fighting was all one language, orders were not. She just hoped she could translate in her head fast enough not to appear too ill fit of the classes.
~
Rae spotted Gabby when she came in and smirked. He sauntered away from Basil and slid into the desk next to her. He grinned, "Well, are you a sight for sore eyes."

He lifted his feet onto her desk top and continued smiling at her. Placing his hands behind his head, he leaned back, "No more surprise visits. I'm rooming with Mr. Moody and promised to text him if I were planning to put a sock on the door. Of course, we could always just go to your room."

Gabby was one of the many girls he'd brought back to his room last year, and she was his favourite. Not because she was the prettiest or the best, but because unlike some, she didn't get attached. Hell, she was doing the same thing he was with all the gentlemen. He smirked, "We should invite one of your busty little friends to join us this year."
~
Basil moved to a desk and sat on it, placing her feet on the chair. She drummed her fingers against her thigh, waiting. By god, the bell had rung and their teacher wasn't even there yet.