Just as Adam entered the Hall, another Healer entered along with a mug of tea resting on a small tray in her hands. She caught sight of Adam and sighed. "Mister Adam as well as Miss Miataea? Before the opening ceremony's even begun? You two aren't trying to set new records aren't you?"

"I resent that," said a girl resting on a nearby bed, "and hello uh . . . Adam? Aran? Sorry I forget."

The girl had long dark hair and dressed in a long brown robe, with apparently nothing underneath. She reached out gratefully for the tea in the Healer's hands. "In any case, spell-backlash and mana-poisoning are two different levels of ailment. I assume spell-backlash is what happened to you, Mister A-something?"

Veili didn’t quite have a response to Elizabeth’s declaration and stood there, not slack-jawed, but somewhat disbelieving. The expression stayed there even as she rummaged for something, and he only steeled it after she spoke again. He was interested, but kept it under the wraps.

Whatever god granted the small miracle of there being no one else in the immediate vicinity of the duo, Veili thanked it. It probably had to do with the two being both fairly intimidating individuals, but all of that would have mattered for jack had anyone been eavesdropping. The rumor mill stopped for no one, and this conversation certainly would have been prime fuel.

“How responsible of you.” He just might have been serious about what he said, but without much inflection to his voice, it was hard to tell. Closing his eyes and tilting his head forward so chin rested on chest, he let out a small sigh before realizing there was a distinct lack of foot steps. Opening a single eye, he saw that Elizabeth seemed to be just waiting. “I thought you had places to be?” He tilted his head questioningly, indicating the entrance she had strolled through to catch him just a few moments ago.

The rumor mill was something Lizz had stopped caring about a long time ago. Her reputation was set in stone and preceded her wherever she went, so the girl didn't bother much with keeping her voice down. If anything, individuals daring to spread nonsensical rumors about her usually ended up with demolished faces, which was another entertaining 'disadvantage' of it all. So really, Elizabeth didn't share Veilis worries in the slightest. Still, their presence did keep the hallway clear of other students.
She surveyed his face for just a little longer, attempting to get a better impression of how he felt about the situation. Had his expression given away the slightest hint about his concerns, she would likely have poked at the matter a lot harder... but Veili was in luck this time.

As if to mock her own words, the pink-haired one followed his tilting motion with her eyes, looking at the corridor she was about to disappear into, then back into his one opened eye. "Indeed I have. See you there later, I presume." She noted this almost in a threatening tone, making sure her fellow student attended the event that was - in her eyes - a terribly boring waste of time and effort. But at least everyone had to suffer through it equally. She implied an exaggerated gesture and a bow before buzzing off back onto the slowly crowding corridor. In the most thug-like way possible that took up an unnecessarily large portion of the passage and urged people to move out of her way.

Alexander was wandering around the school, well honestly, he was more so lost than anything else though had be so far to stubborn to ask for directions. Eventually he realized he probably not going to find the assembly thing on his own and he was probably half-way across the school from it. In hindsight, he really felt like looking at signs or asking directions sooner would of been helpful, but on the bright side, he was starting to get a hang of the layout of school, at least he hoped.

He then walked down a hall and seen an open door. "Maybe someone in here can give me directions." he thought out loud. When he looked into the room, he seen a few people inside and asked them, to no person in particular, "Do any of y'all know where the assembly is at? I kind of got lost." He, being as curious as he was, took a cursory glance around the room, but only one thing in particular caught his eye. A girl on one the beds, his magical sense could barely comprehend the magic surrounding her, but it did not feel good.

The color drained from his face, and his legs locked up, "You know, I think I can find the assembly by myself." he said, taking a step back and freezing.

A raised eyebrow, a slight tilt of the head, and a noncommittal shrug. Three simple gestures that promised nothing from the student giving them. Veili hadn’t bothered himself with the opening ceremony the past two years, and unless something truly spectacular decided to happen he didn’t see himself attending this year’s. Unfortunately for her, Elizabeth’s threatening tone didn’t fall under such a category. Shaking his head at her ‘antics’, he watched her round the corner before finally sighing. The year was proving to be interesting at the least, and with that in mind, he too left the empty hallway behind.

Chuckling when he saw the parted students only just refilling the gap that Elizabeth had no doubt left in her wake, Veili walked forward and the student body once again pushed aside for him. It helped him for a while before he reached a point where his and her paths differed. At that point, his hands slipped into his pockets, his posture slouched a bit, and his gaze sharpened. He wouldn’t have been out of place in the seediest parts of any city, amongst others with the same presence. Wisely, students shuffled away from him, pressing closer to one another, in an effort to let him quickly pass by.

Eventually the crowd of students spread out into smaller groups walking the Academy’s paved paths, and intimidation was no longer necessary to have ample room for himself. Stifling a yawn, the deep breath he drew afterwards carried the smell of a fresh breakfast. The Academy’s dining hall was quite busy and Veili clicked his tongue in annoyance. The line would probably be long, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

For a moment as the morning sun’s light shone down, Aoife shivered as a chill ran up her spine. She did not feel cold, the breeze was by no means cool and there was the warm blanket of sunlight covering everything. Instead, there was a momentary innate wrongness upon her, beleaguering her senses.

It was right after she had her small staredown with Lovedaia, though the investigator knew with certainty that this was not a consequence of that engagement.

Aoife was reminded slightly of the ever-present feeling of being watched owed to the instructors’ sight wards placed about the school, but it was all the same different in comparison. The investigator could not put a finger on it, but more than the sensation associated with the wards, it was similar to how it felt when a spirit was staring at her. That feeling of her mortal flesh being transparent and the light of her soul being observed.

She looked about as she continued onward, to see if anyone else was acting peculiarly. No one? This was the second time that she had felt this way that morning, both when in the presence of Adam. Deducting every other factor, she shifted her focus to the young adult in question, he had one eye closed in recoil from the sudden daylight, the other peered at her; his open eye betrayed his dazed state, appearing unfocused, but there wasn’t anything else to remark on. Not like the Adam’s eye was glowing or anything.

“Adam, did you——” she said, then stopped mid-sentence, “Never mind.”

The moment passed, Aoife let the feeling fade out of her mind. It was a mystery that she hadn’t any solid clues to follow up on, that seemed to affect only her for a matter of seconds. No use worrying about something that nothing can be done about.

The rest of the trip to the Hall of Healers was, expectedly and somewhat thankfully, uneventful and quiet. No more students being kicked into them or screaming boys fleeing through the passageways. Just Aoife, Adam, and a scant few straggling students just waking up or lounging about to squeeze in some social time before the Opening Ceremony.

Aoife originally had in mind that the end of her short journey with Adam would take place as the pair had arrived at the Hall of Healers. She would leave him in the capable care of the eponymous healers, perhaps do some magical stretches of her own, and then return to her previously intended destination.

Plans never survive contact with the enemy. Things never really go as intended.

The pair was greeted at the door. Frequent visits for self-inflicted injury sure had their way of taking their toll on a healing staff, their emotions highlighted as one said, “What did you do this time?”

Though it was a question in structure, her easily visible annoyed exhaustion made it more of a statement in tone. Her injured friend was helped into the Hall of Healers, Aoife suppressed a small chuckle at the dejected look he was being given. She began to turn, now ready to leave as he was in the hands of the healers.

“Ah, Miss Aoife, would you care to come inside as well?” the same healer asked, staring directly into the investigator’s eyes. Her body language and expression seemed to speak a bit more, saying something along the lines of ‘You brought him here, he’s your friend. Your responsibility extends to the end of his visit so you can keep him under watch for us!’

“I… Uh…” Aoife stammered and let out a short sigh, unable to think up a good reason to reject the offer, “I suppose I should.”

She pressed into the building, just behind the healer and her new patient.

The Hall of Healers was a simple enough building, its interior barely partitioned by solid walls here and there to section off staff areas, a storage area, and the area for the patients. The latter was divided by simple curtains looming between comfortable beds—the comfort being one of the reasons some lower class students faked illness just to get some shut-eye there—and given that ‘place of healing’ feeling with stocked bedside tables full of medications and healing reagents.

Aoife rarely visited for herself, though she did occasionally stop by to drop off an injured student or a message from a teacher. Sometimes, she also visited in hopes that she might catch a job.

Just through the door, a Healer in the middle of enjoying a spot of tea spoke up upon seeing Adam, "Mister Adam as well as Miss Miataea? Before the opening ceremony's even begun? You two aren't trying to set new records aren't you?"

The investigator perked up as she heard Miataea’s name. She did not have to rack her brain in the slightest to recognize it. Another student infamous for the irresponsibility of experimentation, but never-the-less better known as Aledine’s Star, the Academy’s best hope in the Honor Games and the Student Council Representative. If Miataea was here, then who was going to perform the opening speech in the Opening Ceremony?

"I resent that," said a girl resting on a nearby bed, Aoife bent at the hip to get a view past the healer with Adam. It was Miataea indeed, "and hello uh... Adam? Aran? Sorry I forget."

Not the target of conversation, Aoife’s attention drifted elsewhere. Her gaze shifted not too distantly: one bed over, behind the star student sat a man, one arm sat still in a sling as the other was being used to pat away some sweat on his brows. Their eyes locked for a brief moment and the man blinked, almost literally jumping in his seat as if surprised to see the red-headed Magestrava there. He beckoned her over with a gesture of the hand.

“Pardon me,” Aoife said, and moved towards the man.

Desmond Cormac appeared as neither a sagely Magestrava in flowing robes nor the practical combatant that Aoife looked to be. Instead, he was a diminutive, portly man that looked much like a human colored melon with arms, legs and a head. His breath came in off and long heaves, with the occasional sniffle from a lifetime of allergy problems. Despite his languid appearance and altogether poor health condition—or perhaps because of it—he was quite the instructor for physical reinforcement magic. That his arm was in a sling told the investigator in Aoife that something interesting was about.

And it was this instructor that had another job for Aoife.

Funny how these jobs seemed to come in rapid concession…

Village of Remnis - 5 Years Ago

”Alright Danny, now say ah.” The doctor said sternly, checking the internal structure of the boy’s pharynx. The middle-aged man had to narrow his eyes, even with the assistance of glasses it was still quite the task to focus. Once the human inspection was complete, the doctor stood up from his school and rotated towards his medical cabinet. ”So, Mr. Finks. Just to clarify… You have supposedly been hearing voices? Did these voices sound somewhat similar to the residents of this estate?” He questioned as he glanced back at the boy, who was merely sitting there silently, his arms tightened around his legs. The 12-year-old raised his head and opened his mouth as he attempted to form the proper response in his mind. “I can sometimes hear the voices of Billy. Or the lord. But they are drowned out by something scary. It makes their voices choppy and hard to hear.” The childish sit-rep was hard to go off of, the man raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement.

”Uh-huh… Something scary.” Even though he was a doctor, the man took on a slightly sarcastic persona, a rational piece of mind to deal with those who are unable to think clearly. He rubbed his chin, furrowing his brows to give off the impression of deep thought. ”Well, Danny, if you had gone to the other doctors in town, they probably would have diagnosed you with insanity. But, unlike those underpaid baffoons, I am a man of insight. Let’s just say, I am very intrigued.” He walked over to a desk and began rummaging through the drawers, filled to the brim with labeled books and organized folders. As the man continued with his searching, Danny’s eyes wandered around the room, taking in his surroundings. For a room within a noble’s abode, it was considerably small and compact. Since the doctor served the lord exclusively, he didn’t have too many patients. To accomadate for the occasional sick individual, there was a white bed in the corner of the room. Overall, the room was empty and grey, a non-motivating work environment.

[b]”Ah, here it is.” The man’s voice caught Danny’s attention, he gazed at the doctor as he eased a book out of the drawer. ”As you know, there aren’t many Magestravi in this village. There are those who learn about their capabilities along the line, and then there are those who are born with natural talent. My dear boy, I believe you are the latter. This book right here should help you hone your abilities.” Finks managed to read the title and realized it was a book based around insorcery. Those ‘voices’ you here are actually the thoughts of those around you. Yet it seems your on and off switch isn’t exactly working, so you will need to work on that. I think you can squeeze enough time in to practice, since the lord has morals and looks down on working children 24/7.” The doctor smiled and patted Finks on the back, But alas, it is almost dinner time. Maybe skim through that book once those gluttons have stuffed themselves enough.”

Present Day:

The bitter taste of the beverage kept Finks awake, though he found himself in a partial daze. It wasn’t until he noticed a figure leaving his general vision did he fully regain his senses. ”Pardon me...” The voice belonging to Aoife said as she walked off, making her way back towards the dorm. Danny stood there idly, contemplating his next choice of action, ”Only building in that direction is the Hall of Healers.” Though the young man had no intention to venture further into the analysis, as his stomach growls for more food became a priority. “What the- I just ate ten minutes ago.” He muttered to himself, receiving yet another deep rumble in response. Yielding to his stomach’s desires, he debated on his options. ”I don’t have enough time to make myself something to eat. Line shouldn’t be too long, since students will probably give into the time constraints and bail from breakfast.” Finks thought to himself as he had already made up his mind. With a stoic expression and posture, he walked through the courtyards, passing students who were attempting to get in last-minute conversations. The opening ceremony was creeping upon him, only adding fuel to the fire of the rush.

"I’ll just get a bagel. Keep it simple, and quick.” The image of a bland bagel took form in his head as he finally reached the dining hall. The aroma of the food took Danny by the nostrils and guided him to the back of the line. ”Now that I think about it… I might as well get a bagel with some addons. Maybe some butter and bacon. That sounds enticing.” Without his noticing, a fiendish grin formed on his face. Though he was quick to replace it with his usual expression, making sure nobody saw him in such a state. He looked up at the student before him, a red-haired senior who was almost half a foot taller than Finks. The line began to pick up the pace as students gave in to the small time frame, ”Good. Be gone. Oh, I might as well get another cup of coffee as well.” He thought to himself as he noticed the lack of weight within the cup. Eve silently followed him, hovering to his side.

[Double Post - Dice please nerf.]

“Mister Adam as well as Miss Miataea? Before the opening ceremony's even begun? You two aren't trying to set new records aren't you?" Adam once again killed his magical senses as he turned to look at the healer that had spoken up. Quirking an eye brow he opened his mouth to speak but.

"I resent that," said a girl resting on a nearby bed, "and hello uh . . . Adam? Aran? Sorry I forget."

He was cut off, leaning to look past the healer in front of him he saw the crown jewel of Aledine acedmy herself Miataea. Adam knew her; it would be hard pressed to find a student that didn’t know of her outside of the first years. They had a similar reputation for magical experimentation, only real difference is Miataea only experimented every now and again whereas Adam was experimenting constantly. It was due to their shared reputation that Adam had come to dislike the majority of the student body. She was given a pass, due to either her gender or time she had spent here he didn’t know, where he was ostracized for it.

"In any case, spell-backlash and mana-poisoning are two different levels of ailment. I assume spell-backlash is what happened to you, Mister A-something?" Adam fought the urge to roll his eyes, his name had been said not a minuet ago in a statement she had responded too. He couldn’t tell if she was being purposefully mocking or if she was just stupid.

“Adam” He answered evenly ”and yes I am suffering from minor spell back lash, the physical ailments are merely inconvenience, the main issue is a rather severe migraine, interfering with my castings otherwise I would have just healed the damage after waiting for my limits to recover” He explained more to the healer then to Miataea, his tone even and controlled but still notably raspy. To an outsider it would appear as if he had only dealt with a small issue, those that dealt with often Adam knew that he often put himself in positions that would kill lesser men, and no one could deny his durability.

“If you would be so kind as to help with that I can take care of the rest.” Adam requested kindly. He had been to the halls so much when he was younger, that it had started to annoy him almost as much as it annoyed the healers. So he had decided to learn how to heal himself as to minimize down time between “minor accidents”, basically anything that would allow him to walk away without a limp. He would have even categorized the backlash he had suffered through earlier as a minor accident if not for the severity of the migraine that he was dealing with and the oddity that had occurred with his magical perceptions, it had him thinking minor aneurysm or the like originally, now he wasn’t so sure.

“So, Mana poisoning?” He asked turning back to Miataea an eyebrow quirked in curiosity, He had suffered from the condition once when he was younger. It was the closest to death he had felt, and hadn’t really experimented with Mana much since. A part of him was reviewing what he knew of Mana, adding it on to the list of ways to once again accelerate his learning.

“Adam,” answered the young man evenly, ”and yes I am suffering from minor spell back lash, the physical ailments are merely inconvenience, the main issue is a rather severe migraine, interfering with my castings otherwise I would have just healed the damage after waiting for my limits to recover.”

It looked to the Healer that he was trying to explain his condition to them, but it was a needless thing. The Healer already new that he was having more trouble than he was saying. She nodded and mentally cataloged the things she would need for his recovery.

Upon seeing Adam's reaction to what did seem as insulting on Miateae's part, spoke up. "You'll have to forgive Miss Miataea. Her thought processing and physical ability are less than stellar as of now," said the nurse giving Miataea a withering look, while answering Adam's question at the same time. "Perhaps that will teach her not to ingest Mana Stones like sweets the next time around."

At this, the girl in question muttered incoherent indignities, but looked guilty all the same.

"Well, I will leave you two alone now. Try not go and injure yourselves while I'm gone, okay?" said the Healer teasingly. She turned and headed straight towards the storeroom for their elixirs. An awkward silence fell over the room once she'd left. Miataea coughed self-consciously.

"So, um, how's the weather?"

"Mister Cormac?" Aoife greeted, her tone questioning so to urge the instructor to get right down to business.

Desmond frowned, once more patting away his ever-present sweat from his brow. "Please, Aoife. You know I prefer 'Desmond' among students that have already graduated from my class," he said before taking a small wheeze, as if he had spoken at some length without taking a breath. On the surface, Aoife's former instructor sounded as if he were just making casual conversation, something at the back spoke of another, deeper underlying problem.

There was a momentary lull as the Reinforcement Spellcraft instructor paused. He looked lost, physically and mentally. For a time, the Hall of Healers knew only the sound of Adam and Miataea speaking, and the constant current of air puffing in and out of Desmond's mouth and nose. Aoife couldn't help but tap a foot on the ground in impatience, placing one of her hands at her hip and casting a definitive look that said, 'Well?'

That was enough, the nervous instructor seemed to remember the purpose of it all, and again he jumped while seated, even letting out a small 'ack!' in apprehension. Rather than begin speaking, he cast a furtive glance in a seemingly random direction; downturned eyes occasionally flicked upwards, then at times to the sides.

Aoife blinked, what had Desmond Cormac gripped by such nervous tension? He was always a bit mousy, but not to this extent.

The direction he had been looking in would appear random to those out of the know, but Aoife was aware that there was a teacher's ward placed to observe the Hall of Healers. But then, Desmond was a teacher, so what had he to fear from his fellow staffs' peering eyes and ears?

An answer would soon come, she supposed.

"Uhm——" Desmond's head turned to look at Aoife, then back in the general direction of the ward. He muttered under his breath, a poetic verse that could only be a short incantation, "May the wolves be blinded,/so that the sheep may play in peace..."

The red-headed investigator felt a tingle, not only from the faint nuance of magic being used, but from the sensation of being watched fading to some extent. The ward had been deactivated, and using the 'proper' method, too. The only reason Aoife was aware of it was due to her ridiculously acute senses for the matter. Desmond turned back to his former student, a renewed sense of purpose apparent on his face. She could only smile, and tugged at one of the Hall's curtains to obscure the two of them from sight.

Aoife, too, cast a small spell. Though hers was without incantation, but with motion. Surreptitiously, the investigator twirled a finger, and the pair felt a gentle wind about them. "We can talk without the others behind us being privy to the conversation now, Mister Cormac," she began, "It's, of course, nothing suspicious. Everyone is entitled to some privacy when it comes to their problems."

Since entering Aledine Academy, even going so far as upon entering the general territories surrounding the place of education, there was a feeling—a sense that something was watching. Not the spirits that looked through the flesh, but something more corporeal, more tangible; mortal eyes were peering from afar. As Aoife's abilities developed, so too did her perception of magic around her; information from more senior students and the staff also provided insight: the students were under watch by magical wards placed by the teachers.

Of course, security was a necessity in an environment that taught and raised kids with the ability to flay the flesh off another person's bones with their mind or throw fireballs like some sports player. The wards were obvious precautions in the light of security. They, of course, could always be intercepted and deactivated.

Even then, out of sight of the wards and the prying eyes of observers, Aoife always felt something icy cold run up the back of her neck as long as she stayed in the academy and within areas that weren't too private. Even with the known wards disabled, the unmistakable chill of being observed remained. Intuition and experience told her it wasn't the work of spirits.

It was eerie for a time, that there were next to zero resting moments where she didn't feel peering eyes upon her. But, time went on, as she was never aware of its source, there was no sense in worrying about it actively. Not even in this situation, where there was really no place to go with Desmond that wouldn't raise suspicion or break a code of ethics—like going into one of the restrooms with him.

Besides, she was after all on the side of the rules, right? Aledine Academy wouldn’t have given Aoife the privileges and awarded the freedoms she had if she was going to be a liability that abused her power. In the end, the instructor was no criminal, so this just had to be a situation of some sensitivity.

"Right... Well..." Desmond began to supply at last, "Some students of mine have gotten into some trouble..."

The case was as such:

It appeared that as of late, fledgeling Magestravi have been holding much more magical energy locked up in them than ever before. A few foolish students had the misguided idea that raw power equaled prodigal talent and attempted a necromancy ritual on a recently departed accidental student casualty. Apparently, the original intent was to raise the student as a mere corpse puppet, as the child had somehow managed the complicated ritual with his pet cat at one point.

The ritual was an overwhelming success—with emphasis on overwhelming—and, for reasons unknown, the student came back as a lich of some power.

And quite a deal of rage.

It appears that the recently reanimated ran to the Rainbow Lake, where it's currently gathering flesh for flesh golems, and reanimating once dead mystical beasts. A problem, to say the least.

Normally, guards and trained necromancers would have been sent, and the students would have been expelled. Desmond, their primary teacher, didn't wish for them to be put into the detainment center or expelled yet; after all, no one had been harmed, and—at least according to him—it was a child's job to be curiously stupid.

Aoife could see one of two ways to solve this case: simply obliterate the lich for the safety of the school; or get into contact with it to ascertain why it is so angry, then neutralize it however possible. The latter was significantly more risky, as this could somehow be tied into demonic possession, and her better judgement told her to refuse the job.

The near morbid investigator in her, however, goaded the redhead to follow the case. It was interesting, it had zombies, it even might deal with spirits... Perhaps she should get Ren in on this job for that contingency? Aoife let out a laugh, equal parts to ease her discomfort and because this actually was entertaining. Better judgement be damned, she never wished harm or that magic would be abused, but it did give her things to do and things to learn.

"Sure. I'll do what I can, Mister Cormac," Aoife said. Desmond frowned again, still displeased with being called by his last name. "Besides, I like hunting zombies. There's a detached, highly distilled sense of guilt-free violence associated with their extermination, something that could never be attributed to the murder of humans."

She chuckled. In a way, the investigator was joking; she wasn't some hotblooded action junkie. Never-the-less... "Aoife, I'd be careful with that kind of notion," the instructor wiped some more sweat from his brow, "Aren't you supposed to be more subtle than that?"

Apparently he missed the joke, Aoife sighed, "Were you expecting more profound and wise words? Fates, I'm trying to be an investigator, not a philosopher. They're zombies and their lich controller."

That had been enough, Desmond resigned with a shrug of both of his shoulders. He adjusted his slung arm and dismissed the investigator, "Alright, then. Thank you for taking this case, Aoife." The privacy barrier of wind lowered, and Desmond accordingly resumed the functioning of the ward he deactivated.

With a nod, Aoife turned away and cast a longing look at the door. She wanted to get to the exit, over to the opening ceremony, then right onto the case. Just inside her field of view, the healer with a cup of tea from earlier gave the investigator a glare that seemed to say, 'Oh no you aren't. You're taking Adam with you, out of this Hall. For that, you're staying right here.'

She sighed and resigned to that fate, taking a seat near Miss Mana Poisoning and Mister Spell Backlash.

Perched atop the Tower of Water, beak and armor glinting in the morning sun, was a griffin. Atop the griffin in turn sat a rather peculiar dark-skinned girl, with large, nervous eyes. She was thin, and had an air of illness about her, which wasn’t helped by a mostly-bald head (only a small vestige of black hair remained unshaved). In her hands the girl held a pair of brass binoculars, attached to a cord around her neck, and every few seconds she would put them up to her eyes to look for something in the distance.

“Can you see them yet, Corin?” she murmured in the griffin’s ear. “Are they really dumb enough to come all the way to the Academy to look for me?” A patch of empty air to her left answered it’s almost as if you've angered them... I can’t imagine how, but Ren gave the empty air a furtive look. “I wasn’t talking to you, grandfather. I was talking to my griffin, and in fact I think I was rather enjoying myself without you around.”

Hurt, I am. Truly hurt... Getting back to the business at hand, you’ll be pleased to know that I found the girl. She’s currently in the Hall of Healers… Ren looked up curiously, and gave the empty patch of air her full attention. “What? Is she injured?” No, no, just being a much better person than you, granddaughter. From what I can tell, she’s helping the healers to look after some fellow students.

“Hmph,” was all she had to say about that. Whatever Aoife was doing, she needed the girl’s expertise to get her out of her current predicament. Whoever the sick students were, she was sure they’d survive without Halloran for a few minutes. As she was considering this, Corin the griffin (as opposed to Corin the spirit) chirped softly, and tossed his head to get her attention. Ren put the binoculars back to her eyes, and finally, there they were. Six rather large men in dark leather were thundering down the road towards the Academy, their horses’ hooves kicking up dust into a small cloud behind them.

“And here I was, thinking they wouldn’t be able to figure out where I lived… -sigh- All this trouble over a mangy dog. Gods.” In preparation for flight, Ren made sure her legs were securely buckled to the saddle, gripped the saddle's flight-bars tightly, and made a soft chirp of her own. Immediately, the great beast spread his wings and leapt from the tower, reaching the ground and the nearby Hall of Healers in a single, lightning-fast dive. While she now unbuckled her legs, in order to get off of Corin, she told him to take flight again and keep watch, in case their surly adversaries were more dangerous than they seemed... If anything untoward were to happen, he would give a piercing cry.

"Now then, where... Aoife! Just the girl I wanted to see." With an uncharacteristic smile, Ren briskly approached the familiar investigator, saying "How is my very best friend in all of Lismos today? Feel up for some, uh..." Her usual nervousness crept through the friendly mask, and the girl glanced around at the Healers and the two Magestravi, Miateae and... the other one, some young kid who looked vaguely familiar. She leaned quite a bit closer to Aoife's chair and lowered her voice, dropping the smile. "Look, I really need your help with something. It's a sticky situation, not exactly a 'case', but your skills are definitely needed. I don't have much time to explain, but suffice to say, your timely intervention will be the difference between six idiotic criminals getting locked up and six corpses that I have to deal with... And I promise, if you help me, I'll owe you one. The next time you need me to talk to some dead people for you, I'll waive my usual fee. A favor for a favor, okay?" Ren jerked a thumb back towards the door. "Now, I'm afraid there isn't much time for thought, as they're probably already at the gates. Is it gonna be option A or option B?"

Internally Adam sighed, if the healer had just used magic to help he could have been on his way already, but it seemed that he had gotten one of those that felt that natural healing was the best treatment. He could understand the logic of it; no one would learn to be careful not to injure themselves if all it ever took was a wave of the hand to make it all better. Never the less he was annoyed there were things he would much rather be doing at the moment, mostly studying, but he was stuck here for the foreseeable future it seemed.

Behind him he heard the doors to the hall once again open up, turning partially, he was greeted with the sight of another Magistrava that he had dealings with a few times, Rin if he remembered correctly, not that he truly cared at the moment. With a shrug he returned his gaze to outside.

“So, um, how’s the weather?”

Alas it was not for long as Adam once again turned his attention to Miateae a questioning look on his face. “Seems well enough to me” he replied as he once again turned to look out the window, not caring about the silence, it had never bothered him.

The soft tapping of shoes was the only alert that the Headmaster gave as he walked towards the Hall of Healers. He had accessed his wards and to his pleasure found that the two people he'd thought to replace Miateae had in fact gone to visit her. Or join her, as the matter presented himself. Still, he would inspect Adam's condition for himself, and if he found it acceptable, he would ask him to do the opening rites.

He knocked on the door to the Hall, and a second later it was cracked opened by a short nurse with mousy-brown hair. "Yes?"

"Hello there, Karin, I hope you don't mind my intruding?"

"Of course not Sir!" she squeaked, quickly opening the door in full. "Right this way."

Render looked around the room until he found the young man he was looking for. "Ah, Adam, what a coincidence," he said. "I was just on the way here to visit dear Miateae, but as it happened I've also been searching for you," he said, giving the young man a short nod in greeting.

Adam was quiet as he looked out the windows of the Hall of Healers; some might think he was admiring the scenery as he was seen sketching landscapes from time to time as he healed up. That wasn't too far off either; he was admiring the way everything looked when he was fully extending his magical senses. It was a serene and surreal image, as he watched magic flow throughout everything he could see. It reminded him of the dream that set him down this path. Offhandedly he noted that everything seemed to ebb and flow at the same tempo of his migraine, later he would experiment but for now he was content to just watch the world spin for a moment.

Since he was just passively watching both with his eyes and his senses, Adam was aware of the headmaster a fair bit before he knocked on the door. He was tempted to look upon the head master and see what he looked like with this new found sight, but thought better ‘if Aoife had been blinding, the head would be damaging’ slowly he retracted his magical senses, fascinated with how the energies would blur out of sight as he did. Taking one last moment to savior the images he had seen, he collected himself and turned to look at the door as the headmaster walked in.

"Ah, Adam, what a coincidence, I was just on the way here to visit dear Miateae, but as it happened I've also been searching for you"

“Greetings Headmaster, what can I help you with?” Adam asked doing his best to keep his rasp quiet. Internally Adam was, uncertain; He never knew where he stood with the Headmaster, having never really talked with the aged gentleman despite knowing his reputation as the most knowledgeable person in the academy. Adam always felt like he was walking on ice around him, but could never place as to why. It was an instinctual feeling, one that he had learned to trust while living as a street rat. Regardless he was quite interested as to why the Head master had searched him out.

The Headmaster took a seat nearby, and placed the basket of sweets he'd brought for Miataea on the floor; the girl had a vicious sweet-tooth, and he'd been giving some to her since she'd began attending Aledine, partly as an apology for the circumstances that brought her here, and partly as a bribe to keep her here. At this point in time, he was sure that she needed neither the apology nor the bribe, but it has since become a habit of his. He'd give them to her after talking to Adam.

"As you are aware, the opening ceremony is today, and the opening rites is usually done by a student of the teacher choice. Naturally, the first one that came to mind of the faculty was Miataea, but as you can see she's indisposed," he said, tilting his head over to the now girl, who was flipping through the pages of a book. "As Headmaster, I'd thought it best to find a good stand in for her. I had two candidates, and as it happens you are one of them."

The other was of course, Aiofe, but it seemed she was busy with that . . . rather irritating problem that had just resurrected nearby. If that thing wasn't dealt with by the time the ceremony was over, then he would take care of it himself.

"If you accept, I'll see to it that you get healed faster instead of having to take the more, erm, scenic route inside the Hall," he said, fully aware that Adam would be slightly annoyed with having to heal naturally. He supposed it had to do with the boys drive to do more, but in all honesty, if he could, he would avoid taking shortcuts with health. Magic was not an omnipotent cure all, and even the best healing spells missed those small details that could come back with a vengeance later.

It took less than a second for Adam to truly decide if he would take the Headmasters offer or not, he was going to, but it still took a few moments for him to answer. This was because he couldn’t clearly recall what the opening rites entailed as he was normally reading during them. “I’m willing to help; I just would just need to know what it is you need me to do. I’ve spent the last few rites brushing up on my reading so I’m not sure if it has changed since the first one.” He spoke up finally as he fully turned to face the other man.

As he conversed with the Headmaster Adam was running calculations in his head. He knew better than most that healing magic was not all powerful, not if you lacked intimidate knowledge of someone’s body, even than there were something’s that it would just not be able to fix completely due to the ever changing nature of the human body. Thus he was figuring out which of his injuries he would have to pay closest attention to after he was healed as to not agitate a still healing injury. Karma inflicted injuries tended to heal the cleanest; Xi was a mixed bag and Sakra injuries tended to last long after healing even if treated in the traditional sense. So he was likely to be dealing with chronic migraines for weeks if not months as well either sense of touch or smell would remain dulled for some time as well.

None of those prospects really bothered Adam; he had dealt similar consequences before, and likely would again knowing him. He was getting better at estimating what he could get away with magically as well as how long it would take for him to heal. In fact was it not for his inattention earlier he wouldn’t have had to come to the hall today. And if you asked him what he gained out of the ordeal was much more then what he lost. A plethora of remembered avenues that he could take his studies as well as a rather fascinating new discovery with his magical senses, If anything he would have backlashed worse if he knew what would have happened if only to see what else would come of it.

The Headmaster was internally counting the seconds in his head. Before he even got to five, the young man answered him, same serious look on his face. Render grinned and was a little entertained to find that Adam did not disappoint his expectations in the slightest.

“I’m willing to help; I just would just need to know what it is you need me to do. I’ve spent the last few rites brushing up on my reading so I’m not sure if it has changed since the first one,” he said bluntly.

The Headmaster chuckled, approving of Adams' choice. "Nothing much is needed. It's simply a bit of sugar-coating, or even a warning if you prefer, about their time here at our academy, plus some lip service to the teachers and small speech about the purpose of learning and some such," said Render. Miataea would have made for an interesting speech, what with her attitude, but in all honesty, Adam was just as interesting, albeit in a different direction from her. "So, is that simple enough for you Adam?"

Meanwhile, Healer was looking a bit ruffled at the sudden arrival of the Headmaster. Even though he was generally fair and overall a nice man, he was also rather particular about performance, and currently two of his most prized students were in the Hall. It wouldn't be a mistake to say that every Healer in the Hall had probably broken into a cold sweat.

“So I am to give a speech about the overview of the school year to everyone?” Adam asked more for his own thoughts then for clarification. He would have never believed that he would be asked to do such a thing, believing his reputation would cause worry about what he might say. That meant the head master was not as opposed to how Adam learned then he originally thought. With a shrug he spoke “I’ll have to think up the speech on the way but it shant be any real issue”

The thoughts of public speaking pulled old memories to the surface, back when Adam was younger and much more criminally inclined, conning people was one of his best resources to get money. He was always more skilled and reading and convincing people then he had been at lifting goods from them. He found it rather humorous that a skill from his past life would come in handy now. It got him to thinkinking on what other mundane skills would be useful for a Magestrava to have. Ruefully he realized that answers he had been seeking earlier were dropping in to his lap left and right all because he had slipped in his control.

Brushing away thought of his past he fixed his gaze on the Headmaster “I know the entrance ceremony is due to start soon so I shall follow your leave” After that proclamation he returned to staring out the window, no longer see the landscapes however, now he was forming his speech. It was a novel experience for him he had never been tasked with vocalizing to the school at large; he couldn’t help but wonder what some of his class mates would think when they saw him at the podium. At the same time he realized that he couldn’t just say what he thought about the whole experience, not without upsetting a fair amount of people. Absently he wondered if politicians ever had similar thoughts.

“So I am to give a speech about the overview of the school year to everyone?” asked Adam. “I’ll have to think up the speech on the way but it shant be any real issue.”

"That's good to hear," said Render, nodding his head. "Anyway, I'm fairly certain you know how to craft a good speech, so I think I'l leave you to it."

And with that the Headmaster got up. Before leaving he approached Miataea and handed her the hamper of sweets The girl took it with a smile, before waving goodbye to the Headmaster. A Healer opened the door open for him as he exited, before sighing in relief.

"Good luck to you, A . . . Adam, right?" said Miataea. "I didn't want to give that speech anyway. I hate crowds."