Grey Onyx

Grey hadn't had much of a good sleep. Though his body may heal quickly, the sheer punishment he had suffered under the might of Heus left him in a less than ideal condition. While not nearly injured enough to be bedridden, he was not fit for combat at the moment. So, he would be taking a day off (or rather, forced to. Captain Mathix had noticed his sorry condition and ordered him to rest for the day). Although he did visit Lucilia earlier to see how she was doing. However, she didn't have much time to talk seeing as how she was basically doing Khan's job while he recovered. She had asked a strange task of him, however. She wanted him to deliver a box of clothing to someone by the name of Colette. Normally she wouldn't ask him to do something so... menial but he imagined any assistants she had were dead. In any event he was glad to be doing something productive as opposed to sitting around

When he arrived at the dorm, he was surprised to find that it was relatively unscathed. He had passed no less than five breeches to the winter air throughout the halls on the way here. In any event, he wanted to get this over with quickly, while he couldn't work, they never said he couldn't train. With two loud raps on the door, he shouted "Hello? Colette? Lady Lucilia asked me to deliver this to you! I'm going to leave it by the door!" With that, he gently set the box by her door, and continued on his way to the gymnasium.

When he arrived, he noticed it was nearly empty. Nearly. There was a lone woman practicing with an axe and a small shield on one of the training dummies. He watched for a while, and against his better judgement he felt like bothering her a bit. When she took a quick break, he approached, seeing the folly in possibly starting someone when they were swinging a bladed stick around the morning after a demonic incursion. "Uh, Miss? Sorry to interrupt, but I saw you practicing and I noticed how you were swinging that weapon..." He began, somewhat awkwardly. He didn't wan't it to look like he was insulting the woman, just trying to help. Who knows how many people died yesterday when proper training could have saved their lives? "I take it you were trained by someone that uses a two-handed axe? Anyway, when you swing like that you're putting too much force into it, and the blade will just get stuck." for emphasis, he grabbed one of the iron training axes and buried it into the wooden dummy's head. "And when you put so much effort into taking it back out, you leave yourself wide open. you should put your hand a little higher on the haft and keep your strikes quick, and your shield close..."

He demonstrated a few attacks with another one, along with a shield. While his shield wasn't as small, the basic principal remained. After that, he backed off. And with a start he realized he hadn't even introduced himself. "Er, my name is Grey by the way, I'm a guardsman here... And aside from that you look pretty good. Your stance is good, you seem like you get enough exercise, hell with a little more training you'd be well on your way to mastering the thing." While not imposing, to his trained eye she was formidable. He was good at appraising people's combat effectiveness, and she seemed like a fine warrior, to say nothing of the powerful magic she would likely command. or did command. Age didn't really tell him much about how strong the mages here were.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak was glad to hear Meirin's voice, even if she did seem surprised to hear him at first. From her tone, it seemed like she was in good health...or at least acceptable health. His joints popped and ached as he stood, which was both relieving and concerning at the same time. He had not gotten dressed yet, but he was still wearing his leather trousers, so Meirin did not have any unpleasant surprises when she approached the hole in the wall. He approached the hole as well and examined the damage to the stonework.

"Well, my entire body feels sore, my scales are bruised, and my joints feel like those of a one hundred-eighty year old man, but I am alive, and I will recover. I believe that potion mended my fractured rib. As for this hole, we can ask the next geomancer we see. I doubt it will be a priority for them, but I am sure they will get to it eventually. Until then...I suppose we are roommates. Hopefully, it turns out better than the last time I attempted to be Aruna's roommate." Ssarak said with a chuckle. When Meirin asked if he had seen anything, he cocked his head to the side and looked at her curiously. "See what?" He asked.

Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth viciously hacked away at the straw dummy. Occasionally one blow would be particularly powerful and she'd cleave right through it, which brought her a sense of satisfaction that helped her ignore her shortcoming yesterday. These cleaving blows were far and in between, but she felt that she was getting a pattern of idea of how to make it more consistent. As she attempted to cleave a head in half (Which she failed at doing, forcing the axe to get stuck somewhere between the eyes), a voice called out to her. She tried pulling out axe out quickly, but it took her a food five seconds to do so, five seconds in which an opponent could have taken advantage of. Luckily even though she used up so much time to pull her axe out, the person who spoke didn't seem hostile.

Annabeth turned to see the man who spoke to her. He was dressed in a light guard uniform, which told Annabeth that he was a guard. Why he was her instead of helping with the reconstruction of the college she didn't know. Wasn't her business she suppose, but after yesterday, she didn't want to be caught off guard yet again. She eyed him as he explained how to properly use an axe, even pointing out that she seemed to have taken two-handed axe training instead of her more usual weapon-and-shield style. She still didn't quite trust him, but she took mental notes of his technique on how to handle her axe better. Than the man made proper introductions. He was indeed a guardsman here, and his name was Grey. He complimented Annabeth on her form and physique and even thought that if she kept at it, she'd master the axe. "Thank you. And I certainly hope I can get better with this before too long." Annabeth shifted her hand on the handle of her axe, taking into consideration of what Grey told her. She wanted a bit of reach on her weapon, as it was already much shorter than her long sword and any less and she might as well just find herself a large knife. Admittedly her past training had made her used to swinging her axe from near the bottom, and now having so much hilt made it a bit cumbersome. Annabeth figured that she'd find the right balance for her eventually.

Remembering her part in basic manners, Annabeth faced Grey to introduce herself. "My name is Annabeth Gulch. I'm a student here at the college. I'm just here to... To get ready for another disaster. Um..." Annabeth shook her head. She really should stop thinking about yesterday. If she need something to focus on, she should focus on getting the right handling on her axe. "So what brings you here, Sir Grey? I had thought all the guardsmen were working towards reconstructing the college/ At least, that's what I seem most of them doing if they aren't... Well, guarding."

"Ah... It was nothing important. Don't think too much about it." Meirin waved off her last question. She did crack a smile at Ssarak's joke about them being rooms mates now with the hole int he wall however. A bit of humor would help ease tensions, she hoped. "Well, now that I'm in good health, I was thinking of trying to help the college out a bit. The sound of construction woke me up, so I figured they could use an extra hand with repairs and what not. Are you interested in helping them too?" She could see the usefulness of a large Eysire like Ssarak for the repair efforts. Though another thought came into her mind as she continued to wonder how she was going to help the college. "Ah, but just so you know, we're probably not going to have much of a break. I mean, once we start I doubt they'll just let us walk off whenever we feel like it. If you have any plans today, I understand if you don't want to come. Since classes are canceled for the day, I figured I'd use my free time to be productive."

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak walked over and grabbed his vest from beside his bed. "If I had any plans, yesterday cancelled them. I do not believe I could, in good conscious, do nothing while the college could use my help. If you are going to help with repairs, then I will be right there with you. I am sure there are plenty of roles we can fill, though...I am fairly certain I know what kind of task they will have me performing. When you look like I do, there is really not much mystery in what others expect you to be capable of."

As much as Ssarak wished he could keep a joking mood, there were other worries he had that he was sure Meirin shared. In the aftermath of the attack, there was still much they did not know, and a few questions Ssarak desperately wanted answers to. "I would also like to stop by the infirmary later, after it has calmed down enough that we will not be disrupting them with our presence. I want to know how many of my friends survived, and how many are injured. With all the chaos yesterday caused, I fear it might be days before we know for sure who did not make it."

Grey Onyx

Grey of course wasn't exactly a savant when it came to social cues, however, so he failed to notice Annabeth's distrust of him. He wouldn't be offended if he did, what with the total clusterfuck that went down last night. although he did notice she didn't seem to like it when he suggested a higher grip "That's the thing about war-axes, they don't reach as far as swords but they're easier to wield and they hit harder. But don't ever let anyone tell you they're faster..." Naturally, the common assumption was that swords were quicker than one-handed axes but that was garbage. All the metal you needed for the blade often made them just as heavy if not more so.

Annabeth? Seemed noble. She didn't look noble, or seem to act that way (to grey, this is a compliment however), though maybe her parents gave her that name for that very reason? anyway, she seemed distressed when she brought up yesterday, and he certainly didn't blame her. Then she asked her what a guard was doing not... guarding. With a sigh, he told her. "My CO told me to take the day off. Last night I fought this large demon and it smacked me around quite a bit... anyway, I guess I'm not at my best but I'd like to do something productive. So, I thought I'd come here to train. You know the rest." He finished. At this point she may of noticed that he certainly didn't seem like a big demon beat the crap out of him, even if he did look a little tired. He didn't want to think about last night either, however, and he returned to the subject of fighting "How's that buckler serving you? If you want I can teach you how to use a proper shield..." He emphasized it by lightly tapping the wooden shield on his forearm with the training axe. "Sure it's not the biggest variety of shield but I'll be damned if my own hasn't saved my life on countless occaisions. Not just mine either."

Coco Bean

'It smells like... Fleshlings.'

A rough veil of silence coated the withered, snow-covered fields. Only one being stood out from the scene, and that was a rather brown Foreas. Limp leaves held onto her head for dear life and sap had noticeably flowed freely from a wound to her head mere hours before. She did not shiver. She did not move at all for minutes, which eventually turned into hours.

No matter what she did, she couldn't take those scenes off her head, she couldn't shut off the fear she had felt from the moment she saw the first demon. It was like a rain cloud had decided to relief itself onto Coco after years of self-deprivation. The cloud would just keep pouring down its water on her, and she could do nothing but lay still and let it soak her body and mind in their entirety. A mere meter to her right lay the carcass of an unknown entity. A fleshling who other fleshlings referred to as 'demon', a being who had nearly tore her chest open with its claws and teeth. It had only been a night, yet the body was already well into the process of decomposing, and maggots, animals and weather did a number on it. It let out a stench that deeply unsettled Coco. It resembled decomposing fleshlings mixed with the scent of fire, sulfur and blood.

She was too exhausted to move, though. It wasn't her body that bogged her down -- the rising sun made sure to feed her with enough energy to move -- It was her mind that forced her down onto the floor. Never before had she missed home so much, to simply live in the Great Forests. To take in sunlight when it was day and have fun with others at night.

Things weren't so simple these days. Of course, they had never actually been simple. Home had its fair share of problems too, and even the Syphis seemed to pale in comparison to what this condemned College had in store for her. Granted, it would be a great thing to share with the Tree. The thought of being useful to the Tree sent a small shiver down her spine. Her leaves quivered in clear excitement. But now was not the time to return, not until Spring came.

She lifted a hand to touch her necklace, fearing it might have gotten broken the night before, then she sat up and stretched her limbs.

"You should move now, Coco." She said to herself, joints popping and leaves pricking up in pleasure.

"Yes you should, Lady Coco." A masculine voice rang out, followed by footsteps and the rattling of plate armour. The man's armour was so white and bright that Coco could swear he was the mortal counterpart of the Sun.

Coco jumped onto her feet, picking up her spear and pointing it at the source of the voice--That is, until she realized who it was. She dropped her spear and relaxed.

"... Mathias Hobbes," She began, some hesitation evident in her voice, "right? I'm so glad to hear you!" She exclaimed and walked over to him, a slight skip in her gait.

"Ser Mathias Hobbes, my Lady," He watched her in suspicion as she stopped just one foot in front of him and gently grabbed his hands, he took a nervous glance to his sheathed sword, then focused on Coco's featureless face once more, "and I'm glad to see you've survived."

"Are all the demons gone? How many fleshlings are dead? Is Rathel okay?" Coco asked, completely unaware of the thorough way in which the Knight stared at her body.

"We are not sure yet, my Lady. I was just counting the dead in this part of the gardens until I stumbled upon you."

"Oh... Another thing-" She leaned her head in towards his, "what's a 'Lady'?"

Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth continued to hack and slash at the wooden dummy. While she still found her new handling of the axe to be cumbersome, she was starting to get a feel for it. She somewhat was listening to what Grey was saying, telling her that he was to take a day off after fighting a particularly large demon. She saw plenty of them last night, and the guards who fought them. Most of them are dead. She supposed that the survivors would be too injured to serve, but a quickly glance at Grey showed that, while he still barred scars from last night, he was quite healthy for someone who fought against a large demon as he said. Perhaps his injuries were more than physical? Well, Annabeth wasn't going to pry. She didn't really want to know.

Grey moved the subject back to fighting and mentioned her choice of shields. Grey used a larger shield than her buckler, made of wood and bound by metal. Annabeth's own shield was made entirely out of iron, with some leather backing. "I like my buckler. Lighter than most shields I work with, and the way it's designed allows me to parry blades easier. Plus I can do this-" As Annabeth finished one attack with her axe, she suddenly jumped towards the straw dummy and slammed her buckler right into it's head. She struck it with so much force that she was able to decapitate the dummy, though attacking it with her axe before hand probably helped. "Which to be honest, I have a hard time doing with larger shields. I even tried using a targe once, not too bad, but it's not a buckler."Annabeth sunk her axe into the remains of the straw dummy and walked over to her bag, which contained most of her things including her waterskin.

Drinking and pouring some water over her head, Annabeth looked towards Grey. "Why so interested in teaching me? Not that I mind, but I don't want you to think that I'm incapable of handling myself." At least Annabeth wants to think that she can handle herself. Last night proved otherwise, but she doesn't want to dwell on those thoughts.

Grey Onyx

Grey simply shrugged, and explained his own preference for more mid-sized shields. "I suppose, though I prefer to fight more defensively. To be honest, If I had to go without my axe or my shield, I'd take my shield. It's not too small to be useful, but not big enough to slow me down, perfect for a body-guard." Grey took a moment to bring the training dummy back up, and struck it in the 'stomach,' followed by a chop to the neck. "Hell, if you use it right you can knock the fight right out of most of the unruly bastards you'd fight in my line of work." With that he kicked it back down, grabbing Annabeth's axe and pulling it free as it fell. He offered it to her. "Still, nothing wrong with that buckler of yours. Any weapon's as good as any other provided you have the training. It's awfully cliche, but the only thing that matters is the one holding it. Least, that's what my uncle always said."

When she asked him his reasons, he was a bit flustered. he had no idea of her true capabilities, but he certainly wouldn't call her defenseless. "N-no, not at all Ma'am. I just..." He took a seat on a nearby bench, and sighed. "I saw a lot of men die last night. I was pre-occupied with the one fight for most of the incident, but I had to fight my way down there, and I saw things. Corpses littered the halls, and I'd seen the demons they had fought, they weren't much tougher than the average soldier. How many people would have lived if they had a little more training? If they were just a bit stronger? I was always told I was a prodigy back home, a real warrior savant. But did I share any of my skill? No, the thought never crossed my mind." He was silent for a moment. He knew it was stupid to blame himself for anything that happened last night, but to bear the weight of all the violence that surrounded him was his way.

"So what if you lose to something that was only a little bit stronger than you? Maybe that little trick I just taught you is enough to tip the scales? Maybe that small amount of time you save pulling the axe out saves your life? I just try to keep all the people I can safe, it's why I came here in the first place. And the way I see it, If that trick saves your life, I'm doing my job. So, I guess you can say I just want to help out." That was more or less all he really wanted to do. He certainly couldn't end evil forever or instill peace between all the various factions, but he'd do all he could.

Leith opened the door to his room. He had known that he wouldn't be able to get to sleep after the events of the night before, so he just wandered around the college, helping where he could. He was both mentally and physically exhausted, and yet he knew that he still wouldn't be able to sleep. He would probably go see Sam later in the night for something to help him sleep. When everything had calmed down more-so than it was at the moment. He only came back to the room to drop off his gauntlet and the sword that he had acquired early in the battle, as well as change into some fresh clothing

He had shuffled his way to his bed and deposited his sword on it before he noticed the hole in the wall and Ssarak and Meirin Standing there. He stared at them for a few moments before he realized what was wrong with the scene. Leith shook his head to clear it and chuckled. "Well this is a surprise. Did one of you fight a demon in here?"

___________________________________________________________________

Darius woke up with a start. He was covered in bandages and he was in an unfamiliar environment. He sat up in the bed quickly and immediately regretted it. His arms and legs started burning and his head started throbbing horribly. It had felt like he had been drinking the entire night before. It took him a lot of effort to not vomit at that moment.

He looked around the room and saw that it was full with injured people. Some were wailing in pain while others were either unconscious or dead. Darius saw no one from his detail in the room. That could be either a good thing or a bad thing. With a grunt of effort, pulled the covers off and swung his legs over the bed, ignoring the pain that doing so had caused. He located his robes and pulled himself off the bed.

His legs failed to hold him upright for long and he collapsed onto the ground. A woman walked towards him to help him up but he waved her off. "Leave me! I do not need help," he growled between laboured breaths. He slowly pulled himself up the wall and walked towards where his robes were, using the wall as support. When he grabbed his robes, he started the slow process of putting them back on.

Quietly nodding her head, Meirin was going to lead the two out of the room when Leith showed up. He didn't seem to have rested last night, which worried Meirin a bit. She did crack a smile when he asked about the wall. "Not exactly. Let's just say that I'm not partial to using doors. Anyways, me and Ssarak are going to go out and try to help the college with repairs. You look... Tired. Should we drop you off at the Infirmary first?" Meirin remembered Leith's help last night. He was a great assist when she and Lyris fought against the Black Knight, and things might have turned out worse if Leith wasn't there to stop the demon from whatever it was he tried to do as well as taking on the flying sword. So now she was worried that Leith wasn't recovering from the aftermath; it looked like he stayed up the whole night, which he probably did. That wouldn't do anything good for his health or his mind. But she could understand why he couldn't simply rest. Frankly she was surprised that she was able to sleep herself, but that was mostly from finally giving into the pain and blacking out rather than simply being exhausted. "I think we should go to the Infirmary first, make sure Leith and our friends are okay."

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

"Agreed. Leith, if you wish to recover fully from yesterday's events, you will need rest. Even if you do not feel it completely necessary to visit the infirmary, you should at the very least get some rest here to speed along your recovery." Ssarak recommended. Going through his mind was a list of his friends and acquaintances and the last places he remembered seeing them. Other than Leith and Meirin, He had not seen many of the others he had fought alongside in the dining hall. Devan, Jenna, Auriel, and Haklo were all alive the last time he saw them, but anything could have happened when they split off to secure the college. Sure, they did have the advantage in their counterattack, but it had still been a dangerous task. There were also other, less combat-capable students he knew that he had not seen since before the attack. Then there was Annabeth, who he remembered being in a questionable state the night before. Leith was the last one to see her, so Ssarak reasoned he would have more up-to-date information on her health.

"Leith, do you know what happened to Annabeth after I left? I remember she was wounded and in a daze; were you able to ensure she sought proper medical attention?" He asked.

Leith scratched his temple with his left hand as he answered Ssarak's question. "Yes, I was able to get someone to look after her. She really seemed out of it, didn't she?" He put his right hand under his armpit as he attempted to remove his gauntlet.

"Actually, I think I saw her this morning. She was carrying an axe and a shield, so maybe she was going to go to the gym. And as for getting some rest. I've still got a day or two left in me. One of the upsides of having insomnia. I won't be able to sleep right now, not after last night. I was going to go pick up something to help me sleep later- why isn't this coming off?"

The entire time that he had been talking, he had been trying to remove his gauntlet. He lifted his gauntlet up to examine it."It didn't fuse- ah, it did." The gauntlet had fused to his arm. For all intents and purposes, it washis hand for now. An absurdly large and extremely strong hand.

"I guess i should have taken it off when I was done with it. Oh well. Anyway, you were going to the infirmary, right? I'll be right behind you, I'm just going to change into something that isn't as cut up as this is." He gestured to his clothing, which had several tears and cuts in it, as well as some dried blood.

Colette

Colette came out of the room the next night with a sigh. She was wearing a different dress since her other one was destroyed. She was now wearing black dress that was tight against her small form and it was strapless. At the top of the dress it curved up and was shaped like a bat wing. The dressed ended at her knees and she still had her black boots since they were still in perfect condition, like they always have been for centuries..

"I wonder what Lucillia has planned for me.." she said to herself as she walked out of the tower for the first time since she got wounded. Her wounds were completely healed leaving nothing but flawless pale skin in its wake. She walked around campus trying to find Lucillia not bothered by the cool air around her.

Meirin sighed as Leith continued to act very lax about his health. Well, at least if they were heading to the Infirmary, they could get a doctor's note to see if Leith should worry or not. Though Meirin was very much unnerved when he said that his gauntlet was "Fused" to his hand. It looked rather demonic. "Right... Let's go than."

Meirin led the two boys towards the Infirmary. The entire college seemed to echo in cacophony with construction. It hurt her ears a little with how much noise they're making, and she wondered if they were simply doing repairs. It wouldn't surprise her if the college was going to step up security if something like this happens again. She was certainly going to suggest it next time she meets a teacher. Meirin tried her best to ignore some of the things in the hall, mostly the piles of tarp. She knew that there were bodies underneath the tarp, and taking Ssarak's word to heart last night, she has to stop blaming herself for their deaths. She felt that this was rather callous, but what could she have done? Brooding on it wasn't doing anyone any favors, least of all herself. She'll just have to try not to let it bring her down. The college needs all the hope it can get right now.

Eventually Meirin managed to get to the Infirmary. Not quite as bustling as last night, but the place was still packed. Guards were moving bodies out from the Infirmary, while some patience rested within. "This place still looks busy. I'm... I'm going to wait out here. See if anyone needs my help. Come find me when you're done, alright guys?"

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak nodded in response to Meirin. "Of course, I will tell you who we find. Hopefully, we can put to rest at least some of our fears." He said. Just as he and Leith were about to enter the infirmary, however, a young human male exited out the door in front of them. He had bandages over one of his arms and slightly torn clothing, but otherwise appeared unharmed. It took Ssarak a moment to recognize him, but he knew who both Ssarak and Meirin were immediately. He was the one that and imp-like demon had taken hostage so it could escape, the one Ssarak and Meirin had saved.

For a few moments, he looked at them silently, as he was obviously surprised to see them. Without saying a word, the boy walked forward and hugged Meirin with tears forming in his eyes. The boy looked at the large Esyire next to her with a bit more of an intimidated gaze, but nevertheless, he did the same to Ssarak a few seconds later. Ssarak understood the boy's emotion upon seeing those who saved him, but even so, he wasn't quite sure what the best way to respond would be. He had saved lives before, but they were usually other warriors, not someone who was barely more than a child. For the moment, Ssarak simply allowed the boy to hug him while he looked to Meirin, hoping she would be able to help give a more meaningful response.

Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth listened and watched, but her eyes were focusing off to the distance. She understood what he was saying, and it hit close to home. A little too close. Not his fault of course, but still it felt... Awkward. "That's good to know. I'm... I'm just going to go. Thanks for the pointers." Annabeth took back her things and started to pack her things up. She was about to leave when she stopped and looked back towards Grey. "Ah... You know, I wouldn't mind some more training. I'm usually here in the mornings if I don't have classes or work. I usually train with some others too. I think we all could work together. I'm... I'm just going to go see some people. It was nice meeting you." Annabeth took her things and went on over to her dormitory.

Annabeth dropped most of her things off. The only things she kept was her armor, dagger, and buckler, which she left hanging off her belt. She wasn't sure why she left in such a hurry. It was rather foolish, now that she thought of it. Classes obviously weren't going to be happening and despite being able to do some training, she was physically not well enough to help with the repair of the college. Too risky. She supposed that she could just take her longsword to the forge at least. Give her something to do. So taking her broken sword she walked out of her dorm and headed towards the forge.

As Annabeth was heading towards the forge (Taking a much longer route due to repairs) she spotted someone interesting. A girl with pink hair. At first she thought it was Satori, but as Annabeth got closer she quickly discovered that it wasn't Satori, but a vampire girl that Annabeth vaguely remembers seeing at Underhaven some times. Which also reminded her that Annabeth should stop by Underhaven at some point and see what's going on with them, such as if Annabeth is still going to be employed with them. Regardless, the pink-haired girl seemed lost to Annabeth. Deciding to try to be helpful (And also since she was bored) Annabeth went up to the girl. "Hello there. You seem rather lost. Do you need some help?"

Leith idly played with a loose string on the right shoulder of his shirt when the group had stopped outside the infirmary. When Meirin and Ssarak left the room, Leith had quickly realized that the gauntlet being fused to his arm might hinder his changing into some fresher clothing. He had to cut the right sleeve off from the shoulder and the arm. He had to do the same thing to the shirt that he put on. He would need to see a tailor before he ruined his entire wardrobe. He threw his cloak over his shoulders and had hurried out the door after Ssarak and Meirin.

He looked up from the loose string when someone walked out of the infirmary and hugged both Meirin and Ssarak. Leith raised his eyebrow at the scene. Apparently, something happened between the three of them. He leaned against the wall as he waited for the interaction between Ssarak, Meirin and the student to wrap up.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

The pain faded into the background as Darius put his robes on. It hadn't disappeared or lessened, but he had started to ignore it. When his robes were on, he made his way towards the doors of the infirmary. On the other side of the doors, Darius spied the woman to stole his kill the night before. He cast her a withering glare as he continued on his way. As much as he would have like to give the woman a few choice words, he had to go find his detail. He did not see any of his colleagues in the infirmary, and he had a creeping suspicion of where they would be. He needed to go to the stables. He shook his head when he saw the boy hugging the Esyire. "Queers..." he muttered under his breath.

When he got there, his suspicions were confirmed. His horse, as well as the other horses from his detail were gone. "Those spineless cowards!" Darius knew, he knew, that the representatives would have fled the moment that something had turned sour at the college. He was probably shrugged off as having died in the attack. If they had left the moment that it was safe to do so, they would have been gone for hours. He stormed back towards the main building, barely noticing the slight wind that was blowing earlier whipping around him and making his robes flap in the wind.

When Darius re-entered the college, the headache that he woke up with had returned, but it was nowhere near as painful as it was when he woke up. He decided that since he was at this college, he would stay. A whole bunch of openings popped just up with the guard. He learned from a passing guard where he needed to go to sign up. He was told that he would probably have to wait to speak with the woman named Lucilia. That was fine, he had plenty of time.

Cynn Ellime

Cynn was in the dining hall.

She was sitting in her usual place; the second table from the front right corner. The room was its normal, clean self, with empty tables accompanied by equally empty benches. Next to her sat a rock about as tall as she was and twice as wide. It had crushed part of the bench she sat on. The young elf regarded it with some interest, and as she sat there staring at it she saw a face in it. She couldn't recognize the face, no matter how hard she tried, but it was bleeding from its forehead. She heard a voice, neither male nor female, tell it to put it back where it belonged, and suddenly she was facing a wall several meters away. The wall had a large hole in it, through which Cynn could see fire and hear screams. She figured it would be wrong not to return this obviously hurt rock to its original position and that no harm would be done by keeping all that destruction out of the pristine room.

She turned back to the rock and raised her hand, palm upwards. The rock reacted by removing itself from the ground. Cynn then moved her hand over to the hole in the wall and pushed forward, willing the rock into the space there. The hurt face stopped bleeding and smiled as it sank into its place, then disappeared altogether. The bench Cynn sat upon was no longer broken and splintered at one end, and the wall showed no signs of having ever been broken.

Cynn decided to start writing. She set out her blank books and the scrolls she had brought to transcribe. As she began to move the pen, she felt herself getting into the groove of what she was doing. On one hand, you had the information and the story in the scrolls, while on the other you had a pattern of transcription that was almost rhythmic. It lulled the girl into a trance, so it surprised her when she looked down and saw her rapier in her hand, in her pen's stead. It was just as small as the pen had been, but it was most definitely her rapier. She shook it a few times, as if to get the ink to flow again, and a few drops of blood came to the tip. Upon inspecting what she had already written, Cynn found that the words were a matching shade of red. Realizing that the blood would soon run out, she attempted to make due with what she had. Eventually, a small circle of blood appeared on her forearm, and she dipped the tip of the pen in it to replenish her supply of ink. Continuing to write, it wasn't until the elf had finished transcribing the second scroll that she noticed the girl sitting in front of her.

She jumped and almost fell off the bench. How long had this girl been here? When Cynn recovered, she took a closer look at this girl. She was very good looking. Cynn never thought she'd be thinking that about someone right off the bat, but...this girl was stunning. She had dark red hair that came down to the base of her neck, and a very flattering figure. She had taken a great interest in watching Cynn work, as if it were her favorite sport. Cynn began to feel intimidated by her.

Suddenly the woman's interested look was replaced by one of fright. It dawned on Cynn that this new girl was dressed like a nurse from the infirmary, and sat in a semi-reclined position, as if the bench she was on had some back that the elf couldn't see. This was strange behavior, as the infirmary workers should not be in the dining hall. Their food should have been brought to them, as they needed all the help they could get after the demons had turned against the college. Odd, she thought. When did I get into this cot? She was still sitting like she had on the bench, hunched over her workplace, but now there only a thin mattress beneath her. Looking back to the wall she had repaired, she found the grey stone walls of the infirmary in its place, a door where the bleeding rock had gone. She sat up, confused, and turned back to the girl across from her. However, the girl was not across from her, but was sitting in a chair diagonally from her, on the left side of the cot she sat in, looking terrified.

When she looked at her hands, which had continued moving up until this point, she found no pen-rapier. The inkwell of blood in her arm was covered with a thick cloth wrap. Her books and paper were no where to be found; instead, she saw brilliant white sheets, the same color as her hair, with small imprints where her fingers had traced the words she had been transcribing moments ago. Her eyes were dry, and she realized that they'd been open for several minutes. She realized that she had not blinked once in the dining hall.

Straightening up, Cynn tried to suppress her shocked expression. It didn't really work. "Um...hi..." She didn't really know what to say. The red-headed woman's terrified expression continued. "Um...I'm...I'm Cynn... What...wh-what happened?"

Khan

Khan's body ached.

From the tip of his wings to his tail, his whole body felt a shimmering flame of pain nestled deeply within as he exhaled. Slowly he shifted his elbows beside himself and propped himself upright, his head twisted to surveyed the damage. His eyes saddened by the sight which greeted him. Students, staff and more were stretched out all over the place with white robed healers navigating the maze. In the care taker's hands were often an assortment of medical supplies, bandages and salves, or cart pulled in their wake. The wooden wheels click-clacked while it held the current meal of bread and broth, both filling the room with their delicious scents.

Khan settled back into the soft give of his pillows. Curiously, his eyes lowered to examine himself. The odd color eyes took in the white glimpse of bandages wrapped about his chest, freshly changed, and his hands. Gently he lifted his runes one closer to his face as he narrowed his focus upon the mended scarring left behind, bumping through the thin linen wrap.

"Nice to see you awake." A cheerful and familiar voice broke out behind Khan, the large Esyire narrowly avoided jumping out of his scales. His wing however visibly tensed when Sam came walking from the corner of his eye and stood facing him.

"I've been worse..." Khan answered, his throat seemed to crackle from the parched sensation.

"Any worse and we would've lost you." Sam said, his hands occupied by a silver tray.

The spicy and warm aromas had wafted from the large bowl, pale yellow with floating bits of vegetables and chicken chunks, seemed to draw his attention. He couldn't stop the slight silva rush within his mouth when the smells hit his nostrils in greater strength. To display his hidden urges, his middle made a low, needy rumble. A sound that tugged at Khan's awareness as he fought the sheepish grin to crept upon his muzzle. Sam merely let out a cheerful laugh, his hands reached to set the tray into the Headmaster's lap and pulled back to his position. His shoulders relaxed at seeing Khan's health improved but in a moment, uncertainty flickered across his face. Khan's focus narrowed on the brief expression. His eyebrow arched in question yet he knew, deep inside, what mentally Sam had been thinking about. He was debating if he should summon Lucillia shortly.

Khan mentally sighed after he had read Sam so well. "She's got enough on her plate, Sam. Let me eat and I'll see her myself, I've been laid up long enough."

Sam nodded and retreated to deal with other patients.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mar & Lyn

Lyn's light and mirthful giggles appeared to erupt throughout her chubby frame, centered at her belly. Each time Mar's fingers skimmed the soft, new flesh as the infant's limbs pulled in and popped outwards again. Her small cheeks pulled up into a grin letting out another round of melodious sounds. Clear juices dripped down the baby's chin as she chewed her food. Her enjoyment was highlighted by the sunlight, rays peeking from the wintery scene outside, reflecting back through the windows.

Gently Mar took a dried cloth then wiped away the evidence. Her eyes caught the flash of white and paused for a moment, absorbing the source. Gauze covered her hands and arms, the bandage hid away every inch of acid eaten skin with it's winding path heading from her fingers to shoulder and even around her torso. It looked like she was wearing a tunic comprised of wrappings.

Mostly it was to prevent farther infection. Several layers of her skin had been lost in the clash with the glob-like demon, each contact left burnt away blotches and new scars would appear in time. Time... The word danced within her head for a bit until it faded, something she knew she had plenty of. The reality left her slightly bitter.

Her sober mood was broken when her fingers were pressed together, the strong feeling of something wrapped about her fingers and settled there. Mar's head tilted downwards to see a sight to warm her heart: clasped within Lyn's tiny fist were her very own fingers. With the other hand, Lyn held her toes and foot curled up tightly against her tummy in wait. Mar let the tension ebbed away.

She knew the comfort a simple gesture had and as her daughter sat there, entertaining herself, it occurred her that time was all she really had left. Her hand caressed Lyn's cheek side surprisingly gently for one whose instinct was to kill and maim. A mental note passed within her mind, one to make a new weapon, before she cradled Lyn within her arms.

It was clear she was tired of being cooped up with the medical bay. Her coils tightly wrung themselves beneath her as she patted Lyn's back, like Althalus showed her, in a soft, circular manner. Her daughter seemed comforted by the sensation.