“Ah, so you survived.”

Kylie gasped and spun around, perhaps a little too fast. She ended up staggering again slightly, but she quickly regained her balance. Mr. West stood there on the sidewalk, smiling at her as if a horde of monsters hadn’t emerged from nowhere and slaughtered many of his students.

“You were almost too late,” he chuckled. “Wouldn’t have gotten your word… But good thing you came on time. Good choice of word, by the way. First time I’ve seen an angel in my classroom.”

Kylie stared at him, dumbfounded.

“M-Mr. West…” She babbled. “How could you just…”

“Stand there?” Mr. West finished the question for her.

Kylie’s silence confirmed that indeed, that was her question.

“Well, young lady, like I told you before, the only requirement to graduate is survival. So aiding my students would be like giving them the answers to a big test. It’s simply cheating. You all must fend for yourselves, understand?”

“I—I guess…” Kylie looked at her feet sadly. Her hands trembled slightly.

“Don’t be so sensitive now. I’m not asking you to become an emotionless robot or anything, but if you continue to get shaken up like this, you’ll be a sitting duck during the next blight… Blights are the life-threatening challenges you have to overcome, like the one that just happened now. Anyway, why don’t you go and work on your powers a bit so you’ll be a little more prepared next time, hm? I have more lessons to prepare for.”

“Is there a nurse’s office?” Kylie asked, gesturing to her legs which were plastered with now dried blood. She did not want to deal with that herself.

“Yes. It’s not too far. Head back toward the field, then turn toward the dorms. The infirmary will be to your right, near the library.”

“Thanks…” Kylie turned and began to walk off.

“Good luck,” Mr. West called after her. “I always want to watch my students succeed!”
____________________________________________________________________________

Kylie arrived at the infirmary a few minutes later. She walked inside to see a few students also sitting around, being tended to. None of them looked to have any serious injuries, though. Mostly scratches, cuts, bleeding… Regular reasons to visit the nurse.

“Hello, dear. Can I help you?” A red-haired woman approached Kylie after she had entered.

“Hi, um… I was just wondering if I could get this blood off me.” She pointed to her legs.

The nurse followed her gaze, studied the charcoal-colored dried blood, and nodded.

“Monster blood, huh? Definitely tough to get out. It’s a miracle you didn’t get any on your clothes.”

“Tell me about it,” Kylie replied, rolling her eyes tiredly.

“Well, honey, here’s a washcloth. Take that into the bathroom and clean yourself up.” She produced a wash cloth from a cabinet and held it out to her. “Don’t worry about dirtying this old thing either.”

Kylie’s eyes widened. Oh. She had expected someone to wash it off for her. Now she was too embarrassed to clarify what she had hoped for. Clenching one hand into a fist, she forced a smile.

“Thank you…” She reached out to grab it.

The nurse caught a glimpse of Kylie’s word on the palm of her hand and smiled softly.

“Don’t be so somber, dear. I’m sure you didn’t pick that word because you’re weak. Have a little more spirit, huh?”

Kylie couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Right, sorry. I’ll be back.”

After nearly a half an hour of grueling work scrubbing off the dank liquid from her skin, and avoiding any of it from touching her beloved clothes, Kylie finally returned from the bathroom and gave the blackened rag back to the nurse. After mentioning her little dizzy spell earlier, the nurse suggested that she go to the cafeteria and eat a little bit to refuel. After getting directions, Kylie thanked the nice lady and went off in search of her meal.

[Alice and Marcus]

“Hey, come back here!” Alice shouts as Lauren went after Ryika. Lauren didn’t stop however, and Alice turns to look at Bran and Marcus, “Goodbye for now!”
Alice flies after them, but loses sight of Lauren.
She pouts and then mutters to herself, “I guess I should check out my room now.”

Alice opens the envelope and read:

Dormitory building: C
Room: 108
Room type: Double
Roommate: Reina Reeves

*WOOOOSH*
A massive gust of air spins past Alice, throwing her hair into her eyes and nearly blowing the paper out of her hands.
After realizing he didn’t know where the cafeteria or dorms were, Marcus had literally jumped after Alice to ask. He would have asked Bran, but Bran seemed... distant. Gone even.
“Do you know which way the cafeteria or dorms are?” Marcus rumbles as non-aggressively as possible.
“Umm… I can go fly up and see where they are,” Alice replies, slightly unnerved by Marcus’s sudden appearance.
Marcus waits patiently on the ground, staring up at her.
“Do you want wings as well? I could probably do it,” Alice responds.
“Sure.”
“Okay! What would be a good color...I know, pink!” Alice says enthusiastically.
“...how about black or white instead.” Marcus pleads.
“Nope!”
Alice imagines pink fluffy wings on Marcus’s back.
“Please change the color. Please.” Marcus sighs as he looks at the set of pink wings.
“But they look adorable!” Alice says, staring at Marcus with wide eyes.
“I don’t like the color pink.” Marcus tries.
Alice then imagines Marcus flying in the sky next to her.
Marcus begins to regret asking Alice for directions as he shoots up into the sky.
“Hey look! I think those are dormitory buildings over there!” Alice points to a set of four buildings.
“Can you set me down and remove these?” Marcus was nearly beyond words. Alice was some sort of special existence. A rare, whimsical thing. Like some sort of ethereal spirit in how literally nothing could impact her.
“Let’s gooo!” Alice flies towards the set of buildings and propels Marcus with her.
“...I just wanna eat something...” Marcus mutters under his breath, putting a hand over his eyes as he’s whisked away toward wherever the hell this girl wanted.
“Oh, so you want to go to the cafeteria instead?” Alice asks cheerfully as she stops them, and redirects them towards the main buildings, presumably where the cafeteria was.
Marcus glances at her sadly. He was afraid to say anything. God knows how much worse it could make things.
“What’s your favorite food? Mine is meat!” Alice remarks happily.
Marcus doesn’t respond.
“Huh. I guess you don’t want to eat anything anymore,” Alice then drags Marcus along with her over to the dorms.
Marcus doesn’t respond.
“Do you know what building you’re staying at?”
Marcus doesn’t respond.
“Why aren’t you talking, are you injured somewhere? Oh no! We should probably take you to the infirmary as soon as possible!”
Uneven, broken laughter quietly resounds.
“Yeah, you sound like you bonked your head somewhere,” Alice comments, concerned, rushing them both to the main building again.
“I’m, perfectly, healthy, haha.”
Alice looks at Marcus, confused, “Back to the dormitories then!”
She takes Marcus back to the residence buildings and drops him off on the roof, “Have fun! And I hope I’ll see you again!”
Alice flies off again to her own building.
Marcus finally responds, after he was confident Alice was out of earshot. “...yaaaaaaaaaay...”

---

Elsewhere, Lauren begins to feel an odd yet warmly comforting feeling of camaraderie.

[Milayou and Eliisa]

This school… the teacher called that a… blight? All those students… they’re all dead…

“Hon. Hon? You still need to sign here.”

The receptionist pointed towards the bottom of the room contract.

“Uh, uh, yes.”

Milayou absent-mindedly dashed the pen across the paper in an attempt at a signature. The receptionist sighed gently and shook her head.

“Dearie, I know you’ve seen a lot in these last few hours. Head to your room for now, alright? If you don’t like where it is, or don’t like your roommate, please do come talk to me.”

Milayou nodded imperceptibly at the receptionist.

“Your room is 227, on the second floor. Do try and get some rest, sweetie.”

What have I gotten myself into…?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was able to defend myself… but…

With the strength of a stiff breeze, Milayou pushed the dorm room door open.

...the other students…

Dropping her satchel near the door, she staggered to the nearest bed-like object and tumbled into it.

Eliisa stirred. Someone entered the room… probably my roommate.
“What’s your name?” Eliisa asks the newcomer, still somewhat bleary.

Milayou fumbled upright in her bed, stammering.

“Ahh, please don’t hurt me! I didn’t know there was someone in this room…!”

“I’m not going to hurt you, why would I hurt you? My name is Eliisa though. Eliisa Gerhardt.”

Milayou straightened her bangs and ponytail.

“Uh, okay… M-Milayou Riviel.”

“What’s your word?” Have to be careful if it’s something dangerous.

“Uhm… I think it’s ‘Reflect’. W-what about yours?”

“My word allows me to transform things,” Eliisa says somewhat vaguely. Reflect seems pretty non-aggressive.

“Transform things… like what things?”

“Let’s see, what’s your favorite animal?” Eliisa queries.

“Umm, okay. Well, the fox? In folk stories and mythology, foxes are seen as cunning, resourceful and mischievous… They outsmarted their enemies... even when they were weaker and smaller! They’re kinda cute and fluffy too… Sometimes I wonder if I could be wise and cunning like a fox…”

Eliisa, feeling unusually mischievous, grinned and went over to touch Milayou.

“Eliisa…?”

She focused on giving Milayou fox ears and tails to match her hair color.

A most curious sensation came over Milayou’s body, focusing at the top of her head, and at the bottom of her back. Milayou felt her hair move slightly, and the bottom of her flannel shirt flutter.

“Aaaauh, Eliisa!?”

Eliisa turns the air into a small mirror and hands it to Milayou for her to look at. On her head were two blonde-white fox ears, and a set of matching tails behind her.

“These are…?”

Looking in the mirror, Milayou tried wiggling her new ears and tails. To her surprise, they moved in response to her thoughts. She reached up and touched her ears. They felt velvety and soft, and a bit sensitive to the touch. Fluttering her tails back and forth, she tried stroking one with her hand. A strange, euphoric feeling caroused through her.

“...real?”

“Yeah. Now you are actually like a fox.”

As Milayou fiddled with her new foxy appendages one last time, a spritely grin slowly creeping across her face.

“Eliisa…?”

“Yes?”

With a short hop, Milayou bounced off of her bed and into Eliisa’s, glomping her in a big, warmhearted hug.

“Thank you!”

Eliisa gets a bit flustered at the sudden gesture and says quietly, “You’re welcome.”

After Milayou releases her, Eliisa suggests, “Hey, why don’t we head over to the library? So we can get a better idea of our words and what they can do?”

Milayou’s tails wave about buoyantly.

“Ah… that sounds like a good idea! I think I lost… a few books earlier.”

“Alright, let’s go there first and head over to lunch afterwards,” Eliisa recommends.

“Okay!”

[Nico & Jace]
Jace unpacked his laptop and charger and plugged it into the the wall and also unpacked an old GameCube and put it off to the side. Nico tucked his case of Magic cards under his bed and organized his clothes and also plugged his laptop into the wall.
Maybe I can set up a crude LAN network in place of a working wifi network Jace thought, working out what he would need.
“Well, it’s about lunch time, we could head to the Cafeteria and get something to eat, or maybe we should map out the rest of the school to get our bearings.” Nico suggested.
“Food would be nice, but it would be helpful to get a map of the school so we know our way around better.” Jace said, reaching for the envelope. “I wonder what else is in the envelope we all got when we showed up here.”
Jace opened the envelope again.
“Nothing, not even a schedule....I guess other than feeding us and housing us, the people who run this place aren’t going to do anything make things easier for us.” Jace said.
“Well, I would say while we are on our way to get some food, we can look around some more.” Nico suggested.
“Makes sense.” Jace agreed. “Let’s get going then.”
Nico and Jace left the room and locked it behind them. As they left the building, Jace noted that the guards looked a bit tougher than simple grunts.
I wonder what we can get by them without raising any sort of alarm. Jace pondered, tangentially.

[Katie]
After a few minutes, Katie got up and started to set up her room with what she had brought with her. Once she had unpacked and set up her room, Katie sat back onto her bed and looked out the window.
I guess I should go get something to eat now.
After making sure the room was setup properly, Katie left and began to head back down stairs toward the front door.
Everything seems so peaceful now....hard to believe that we were all fighting for our lives a little while ago.
She started to make her way toward the cafeteria.
I wonder how many people actually died today, and how many of us will there be when this is all over? Katie thought, saddened at the thought of death.

-Reina-

The sun shone brightly, glaringly so actually, down on the girl standing on the pavement outside of the highly ornate gate leading to the prestigious, promising institute. Raising her right-hand up to shield her eyes from the brilliant rays, Reina gazed in awe at the extensive campus that lay before her. It was somewhat hard to make out the details of the main buildings and surrounding area, as it seemed that the main gate to the campus was situated at an unbelievable distance from them. Sighing, Reina thought to herself, Hahaha, it’s almost as if they wanted to make it hard to students to sneak off campus, or something...Well, on the brightside Reina, at least you weren’t the one who had to carry all 6 of those heavy bags across that long field…..Should I have tipped the guard people…??? Shaking away her silly thoughts, Reina picked up her last bag, a backpack, off the ground with her clammy hands and slung it over her left shoulder.

Upon arrival, Reina had presented her acceptance letter to the guards that had stood at the gate. Soon after, her luggage had been swiftly confiscated in order to be transported to her dorm room, wherever that was supposed to be. However, there was one bag that Reina had requested to carry herself. After a showdown of inquisitive stares and much defiance, the guard in charge of transporting Reina’s luggage acquiesced, allowing the girl to carry the one bag on the condition that the contents were examined first. The backpack held simplistic items, such as all of the usual, essential school supplies typically carried by studious high school students, a handful of half-eaten snacks, an empty reusable water bottle, and a ball of yarn with two silver knitting needles jutting out of the tightly wound sphere. Having cleared the backpack, the guard proceeded to gather up the 6 heavy articles of luggage with just his two arms, amazingly enough, and had entered through the gate while Reina’s attention had been successfully diverted to the remaining guard. The remaining guard went on to explain that he would be the one to guide the “new transferee” to her assigned teacher’s office. The guard then proceeded to enter the gate as two new guards stepped out, replacing the ones that had welcomed the “new transferee”.

Hurrying along, Reina realized that it would probably be in her best interest to not lose her guide on her first day of school; she was already late as is. The short-haired brunette took a deep breath, slipped her right arm through the other strap, and quickly strode through the ornate gate onto the campus.

Reina was immediately blinded. Flinching from the glare produced by brief, sudden change from shade to light again, Reina was forced to raise her right hand once more to shield her eyes. Maybe I should have thought about wearing my sunglasses today, Reina thought to herself; however, in a matter of seconds, her eyes readjusted to the sunlight. The scenery that Reina was met with, though, stunned her. Rubbing her eyes and blinking profusely, Reina paused in her tracks and gazed around her in utter astonishment. She could have sworn that she had just passed through the main gates of the institute, yet somehow she had already managed to cross the extensive field and was now standing in front of the school’s main building.

“You have plenty of time to ‘ooo’ and ‘aaah’ later. Since you are already quite late, 'Miss Transferee', I would suggest you quit your lollygagging and focus on not falling behind. I have no obligation to wait for you if you decide that you would rather lose yourself in your own thoughts on the first day,” the guard nagged as he continued walking, unfazed or, perhaps, unaffected by the strange lapse in time, distance, and/or memory. The disdain in his voice was acidic.

“U-uh…..b-but uh….how?” Reina stuttered as she hastily glanced behind her in the direction that she had just come from and back at the receding figure of her guide. The dazed and confused girl hesitated for a moment, almost as if she were debating running back across the field towards the gate in order to refresh her memories, before she scurried after her impatient guide. The short tour was filled with silence and only lasted until they reached a door. The guide knocked on the door before opening it and stepping aside. He then motioned with a tilt of his head for Reina to enter. Biting her lower lip, Reina stole one last glance at the guide-guard’s stern expression before moving into the room.

CLACK!

The door closed noisily behind the short-haired brunette. Exhaling slowly, Reina steeled herself for what was to come. So far, the staff at this school seemed to be pretty uptight, which was probably to be expected from such a prestigious institute that had hailed many exemplary graduates. Now faced with a black-haired woman wearing rectangular glasses frames and a scrutinizing expression that sat at the desk in the back center of the room , Reina attempted to make a good first impression. She was quickly shot down, though. Having only begun to open her mouth to introduce herself, Reina was abruptly cut off by the woman sitting behind the desk.

“Don’t bother,” the woman stated coldly as she waved her hand in a dismissive manner, “I already know who you are. Reina Reeves, age 16, normal history with a bit of self-confidence problem…” The woman trailed off at the end of the mocking statement as she peeked up above the brim of her rectangular frames as if confirming her analysis. Seeing the mystified and embarrassed expression that she was looking for on her student's face, the woman continued. “I am Ms. Hawkins. You were placed in Class 1, and therefore I will be your homeroom teacher….Anyhow, you are inexcusably late. Despite your approved waiver, you missed a very important...entrance exam. Sadly, you are unable to make up the examination portion, but before you are dismissed from this office, you are required to write on this slip of paper a single word. This word will define how you will be fighting for the rest of the school year. It will be what you will depend on, and the only thing you can depend on during your stay here. And most importantly, and I don't know why some teachers don't tell you this, but this word will be your supernatural power, your ability. I recommend nouns and verbs, and to lean away from the more abstract of words.” Ms. Hawkins then pushed a square slip of paper across her desk along with a pen towards Reina. The short-haired brunette stepped forward and took up the slip of paper and pen. “Once you’ve decided on a word and written it down, hold it in your hand and say it aloud”

Nodding, Reina took the slip of paper and sat down in one of the not-so-comfortable chairs situated in front of the woman’s desk. The young girl shrugged off her backpack and fidgeted awkwardly as she tried to get comfortable. A word...that I’ll use to fight…? What does that even mean? I mean, like I know what the words mean, but AUGH this makes no flipping sense. Am I just going crazy? Did the stress finally get to me again? Or maybe all of that monotonous driving got to my head? Or am I just dreaming? Because fighting, the application and school site never mentioned anything about that...Maybe I really am not ready to push myself again. Maybe mom and dad were right, maybe I should have just stuck with my home school...Augh, I need my needle and thread...all I need is my thread...yes, just my thread…

Calming down, Reina elegantly scrawled out the simple word, ‘Thread’. Peering up, Reina noticed the woman’s gaze still fell upon her. The woman looked like she was waiting patiently to see what this late transferee had come up with. Feeling a bit pressured, Reina shifted uncomfortably in her seat and straightened her back. She cleared her throat before she spoke her word in a clear voice. A bit confused about the whole process, Reina gasped in bewilderment as the paper in her left hand shriveled into nothing and a sharp, itching pain in the palm of her left hand replaced it. The girl immediately stood up and screamed. A single word etched itself into her skin, ‘Thread’. Grasping her inflicted hand, Reina flailed it around wildly, screaming all the while.

“What did you do to me?!” Reina wailed. Her eyes were filled with fear as she gazed upon the woman in front of her who had ordered her to carry out the strange ritual.

“I did nothing. This is simply your welcoming ceremony. Skyline is not your typical school. In order to survive for one year, you have been gifted with one ability of your choice. Based on your word selection and natural ability to wield it, you may or may not live till graduation day. You should consider yourself lucky, you missed the first trial day. However, if you were present, you would have come to realize the true blessing of being able to choose and use a word.

Anyway, enough of you, I have no further business to discuss with you. Take this and be on your way. Your class assignment, dorm information, key, etc. are all inside.” Ms. Hawkins proceeded to thrust a manilla envelope at Reina and indiscreetly hinted at the girl to get out of her office. Receiving the message loud and clear, Reina made her way towards the office’s one and only door.

“Oh and one more thing,” Ms. Hawkins called out just as Reina placed her hand on the door knob. “Make sure you have a clear image in your mind of what you want your word to do when you go to use it. It would be terribly unfortunate if you were to meet your end due to your inability to use your word.” With an amused smirk, the austere, black-haired woman with rectangular dismissed the disconcerted new student.

Exiting Ms. Hawkin’s office, Reina closed the door carefully behind her and stepped to the right of the door. She leaned against the cool wall and let her knees buckle under her body weight. Collapsing to the floor, Reina rested her head against the wall behind her and shifted her body so that she could bring her knees up to her chest. She clasped the newly acquired packet in one hand and her backpack in her other as she wrapped her arms around her knees. It had been a long, long day. The excitement from the morning was completely gone now. Reina had been so elated to be able to attend such a prestigious school, one that could contend with the achievements of her elder sister; however, everything was a mess now. This school was weird. Its students were expected to fight. Fight what exactly? The girl did not know, nor really care to question it at the moment. She honestly didn’t want to know the answer either. Not to mention, the strange paper to tattoo ritual thing that happen. It was like magic, or some queer voodoo something. It was all just too much for poor Reina to comprehend in one sitting. So Reina just sat there outside of Ms. Hawkin’s office for a good 30~ish minutes or so, staring at the wall on the other side of the hallway, stupefied by all of the information that was just dumped on her. What kind of mess had she just gotten herself into?

As Spike wiped off the sweat from his forehead, he suddenly noticed a creature jumping towards him. As he got ready to get crushed between its jaws, the sun suddenly came back. Within seconds the beast dissapeared back into a rune on the floor and dissapeared. Spike slowly lowered his guard again, and looked around. The creatures had dissapeared, all of them, just as fast as they arose.
Spike suddenly remembered that he still didn't knew what room he was assigned to, and grabbed the envelope out of his pocket. As he opened it up and took out the note, he noticed he was in room 261, and a roommate he didn't knew.
Spike made his way towards the dormitories, but kept an eye on his surrounding, the bodies that laid all over campus were more than he had imagined. The sight of all these bodies was amazing, and yet disturbing, that this school would allow such horror happen on their grounds.
As he reached the dormitories, he entered the building and walked up towards the reception.

"Name?"
"Ray Crassins"
"Room 261, your roommate still hasn't showed himself."

Spike didn't payed much more attention to what she was saying, the only thing he wanted to do now was to get to his room and lay down for a bit.
As he walked passed the guard, he got to the second floor and searched his room, as he found it he opened it up and looked at the lugage that was in the room itself. A small bag and guitar from himself, and quite some bags from his roommate, did he packed up for an entire lifetime or something?
As Spike looked around, he noticed one of the beds was next to the window, while the other was in one of the darker corners. His roommate would probably want the bed at the window, so Spike choose the other bed. As he grabbed the backpack from the ground, he threw it unto his bed and then grabbed his guitar. As he opened up his backpack, he grab some of the modificators and attached them to his guitar.
As he sat down, he began to play, while using the modificators to adjust some of the sounds.



As he closes his eyes while playing, he began to enjoy it more and more, although he didn't truelly made asure the others couldn't hear it, for he was used to play on the street to gain some change to eat and drink. As he slowly finished off the song, he smiled and opened up his eyes again. It was a certain sensation he gained from playing, as he placed the guitar to the side of the bed, he sat down for a moment and glanced at his arms who were still covered in blood that was hardened. What would he do with this? He couldn't just wear them like sleeves, but still they were his weapons. With a smile, he moved the hardened blood towards his chest, making it cover it like it was a bulletproof vest.
Atleast now none would see the blood that he carried with him, although he had to find a new way to gain blood if he would use up all of it. Perhaps a needle or something else that could create a small wound unto his own body. As Spike thought about this, he slowly fell asleep.

[Ryika & Lauren]

Placing a hand on Ryika's shoulder, Lauren shuffled past and went up to her room. "Go on and get some food at the cafeteria. I'll catch up to you later okay!?"Yeah right... It's time for some peace and quiet.

"Okay! I'll be sure to save you a seat there!" Ryika cheerfully replied as the pair separated.

------------

[Ryika]

A confused Ryika emerged from the dorm building, unsure of what to do. Her precious notebook had been stashed away in her room with Lauren, leaving her with nothing to reference. She headed to the main building, assuming that the cafeteria would be inside, or at least someone who could tell her where.

The path between the dormitories and the main building was dotted with small groups of students nervously chatting among themselves, many bandaged up in various places. Ryika avoided bumping into students wandering around, who were eyeing the other groups of students as if they were looking for a place to fit into, as to avoid being dragged into a relation she didn't want or need.

She continued along the short path to the main building from the dormitories and ended up in the lobby. After a brief scan of the room she spotted a sign pointing towards the cafeteria, where many other students were convening. Nearly all the students she passed by were discussing the words that they had chosen, showing off where the word had been imprinted on their skin.

Lacking any desire to eat without her friend, Ryika meandered around the room, searching for a place that they could both sit at. She settled on a near empty table populated only by a pair of girls sitting together at the end. The girl in the hoodie seemed to be in slight distress while the other was seemingly satisfied by something that had occurred previously.

These two seem normal. Time to make friends.

"Hello~! I'm Ryika. Can me and my friend sit with you two?"

[Nico & Jace]
As the pair left the dorm, Nico started to run through the definitions of his word in his head.
Standard fire breathing winged beast....probably could do dragons from MTG if I can get a clear image of it in my mind....
Jace, trailing slightly, kept observing the surroundings as they made their way to the cafeteria.
Maybe we should keep growing this group and if necessary, cut a deal with Gideon and try to avoid unneeded loss of life between the eclipse fights Jace thought, running through possible plans to survive the year.
After a little time, Jace decided to voice the first part of his idea.
“Nico, maybe we should try to get a few more people working with us instead of on their own, better chance of surviving.”
Hm, that makes sense..... Nico pondered “ Yes, better chances at survival.”
Jace noticed someone ahead of them. “Want to start now?” He asked
“Might as well, just don’t force the issue, don’t want to make enemies if we can help it.”
The pair picked up the pace a bit to catch up the the student ahead of them.

---

[Katie]
As she made her way to the cafeteria,Katie heard footsteps behind her.
Oh god, please, not on the first day Katie prayed, shuddering at the thought of repeating everything she had been on the receiving end of again.
She snuck a glance off to one side and noticed two boys closing distance quickly.
Well, I can turn things around if this is what I think it will be

---

[Nico & Jace & Katie]
Nico and Jace caught up with the student after a little bit.
“Hi, I’m Jace.” Jace introduced himself, keeping a friendly tone in his voice.
“I’m Nico.” Nico added, calmly.
“Hello, I’m Katie.” Katie said, shakily. So far so good.
“Going to the cafeteria?” Jace asked politely.
“Ye..Yes” Katie stuttered out, surprised at how nice Jace was acting.
“Want to go with us?” Jace asked. “At least until we get there.”
“Sure.” Katie said, finding confidence in herself.
The three continued on to the cafeteria, talking about everything that had happened thus far in the day.

[Eliisa and Milayou]

The smell of plastic packaging and floor cleaner wafts through the doorway as Eliisa and Milayou enter the library. Filling the hall, crammed bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling of the library. Some shelves carried a second layer of books in front. Even more books were stored in mechanical stacks in the rear of the library.

“Do you like books, Milayou? I’ve always liked them,” Eliisa comments, looking around in wonder at all the books.

“Mmhm!” Milayou nodded cheerfully. “Reading has been a hobby of mine for a long time. I used to send my favorite books out to my father... when he was away on trips.”

“Same, I always had a special fondness for books. And I wished my family went on more trips.”

“Oh, I see… Hm, what is this?”

The two stopped at a large, solitary bookshelf on top of a grey granite dias. The shelf's acacia frame showed many years of use at the Institute. Its presence in the library was like a warden, standing vigilant against the eventual tide of grubby students.

“This bookshelf looks important. Why is it out here by itself…?”

Eliisa inspects the books carefully, identifying that they were dictionaries, and laughs, “Because our abilities are based on words themselves. What better resource could you have here aside from a dictionary?”

“Ah, that’s true… Why are there so many dictionaries here though…? Are there really that many words?”

Eliisa skims through rows, realizing that the bookshelf was filled with dictionaries, varying in sizes and languages.

“The quantity of words wouldn’t make there be more dictionaries, Milayou. It’s just that there are dictionaries for other languages here.”

“Yeah... that makes sense.” Milayou examined the dictionaries more closely.
Some of these dictionaries in less common languages are still in their packaging wrap…

“Doesn’t really make much sense that they include those, since another requirement for going here was to be able to speak and write in English. Which is the language we’re required to use here,” Eliisa answers while carefully pulling out a dictionary and flipping through it.



Some of these were expected...but others...hmm… Could I teleport then?

Milayou carefully pulls out a dictionary as well.

“Mmh, okay. My word… R… Re-flect.”

Reflect
[ri-flekt]
”To cast back from a surface.”
I… think I did this by accident earlier today. When that boy ripped that monster apart… and the monster’s blood went everywhere... I wonder how he’s doing?

“To give back or show an image of; to mirror.”
Like a mirror… Images… Does that mean that I could make myself look like someone? If I reflected their image back at them?

“To serve to bring or cast on its performer.”
Uhh…. what do I even do with this? I could… make others think about themselves. This doesn’t seem that useful though… especially against things like those monsters.

“To throw or cast back; cause to return or rebound.”
Returning or rebound… Ah, that’s how I was able to remove those monsters earlier! For more dangerous things… I think this could be used like the first definition.

Milayou shook her head dejectedly.

My word… It seems like I can only... react to the things that happen.

Eliisa ponders some more and answers Milayou distractedly, “Not all definitions will be useful or practical. Like for example, change also means small coins. I don’t particularly feel like bombarding people with...What’s the term for it here? Pennies and nickels?”
But this is definitely a very good resource. Hmm… I hate breaking rules but my survival depends on this.
Eliisa holds the dictionary in her hand and pictures it becoming a bracelet. A sterling silver bracelet with a book charm [a book patterned flourish?] falls into her palm and she puts it on.
This should be secure and accessible at the same time.

Looking up from her dictionary, Milayou watches as the dictionary in Eliisa’s hand turn into a small bracelet.

Ah… she’s using her word power again!
“Eliisa, is your word ‘Transform’?”

“Something like that,” replies Eliisa.

“Umm, okay. Can I try something on you? I don’t think it’ll be harmful…”

“Uhh, no thank you. Sounds too risky,” Eliisa declines.

“A-alright… I was thinking… about reflecting your image back at you… Would that still be too risky?”

“Try it on someone else please. I’m not particularly fond of being a guinea pig.”

“Okay…”
Ah, what was I thinking? I guess that really wasn’t fair of me to try something on her… I should be more careful with my word abilities…

Seeing Milayou’s downcast face, Eliisa urges, “I’m sorry about that. I just don’t want anything bad to happen. Why don’t we go eat now though?”

“Mmhm. Okay.” Milayou replied, still faintly distressed.

[Alice and Reina]

When Alice touches down in front of Building C, her wings suddenly disappear, leaving her to fall flat on her face. Where did they goooo?

She thinks about what most people did in this situation.

“Help! I’ve fallen and can’t get up!” Alice screams loudly. Nailed it-- just like those commercials!

Sure enough, a female guard peeks outside the door and sees her sprawled ungracefully on the grass.

“Oh no! I’m sorry, there’s some power nullification in the dormitory buildings,” the guard apologizes.

“So just like Superman, we have our own kryptonite too?” Alice asks, her eyes wide with wonder.

“You could...put it that way I guess,” the woman replies blankly.

“Can you carry me inside? I’m normally in a wheelchair but I left it back in the classroom since I could fly,” Alice asks.

“Oh. Sure, no problem. I’ll see to it that they make an exception to the nullification for you,” the female responds hastily as she picks Alice up and brings her inside.
The female guard sets Alice down gently on a very comfortable armchair inside the lobby.

“Wait here. Soon you’ll be able to take care of yourself,” the guard orders.

“Okay!” Alice replies happily. Flying, flying, flying~

“While you’re sitting there, you might as well tell me your name,” the receptionist calls from her desk.

“It’s Alice McKay!”

“Okay. Once you can get over here, take these papers and sign them,” the receptionist motions to the papers she had set aside for Alice.

“Alright!”

The guard from before reappears and nods to indicate that Alice should be good to use her power again.

Alice imagines herself floating upright with wings on her back.

With a whoosh noise, Alice’s wings reappear and she goes over to the front desk to sign the papers, humming to herself.

Moments later, the door to Building C clicks closed again. A short-haired brunette now stands awkwardly to the right side of the door, having paused only for a second to gaze around the lobby area and reference the piece of paper in her hand. The girl’s gaze quickly falls upon another girl, who hovers inches above the ground thanks to a pair of white wings. Surprised, the short-haired brunette gasps out of utter bewilderment. She has never seen anyone with actual working wings before, or at least she assumes that they are real. There doesn’t seem to be any strings attached to the floating girl, and the teacher that the short-haired brunette had just met with did mention that this school is a strange one.

The short-haired brunette takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, counting to ten. Having calmed her flustered nerves, the girl silently and cautiously approaches the front desk. As the girl draws closer to the receptionist’s desk, she catches wind of a lovely little melody. The girl with wings that was standing in front of the short-haired brunette seemed to be diligently filling out a form. Reina did not wish to interrupt the floating lass; however, she was a bit desperate to get to her dorm. Clearing her throat, Reina pokes the floating girl’s left shoulder and asks, “Excuse me, miss. I was just wondering if you could direct me to room number one-oh-eight?”

Alice starts, surprised at hearing someone behind her. Her wings flare out and clip something-- Alice didn’t know what.

Reina reflexively jumps back a bit as the wings of the girl in front of her extend outwards. “Ah! Uh...sorry…,” Reina apologized.

“No, I’m sorry!” Alice looks at Reina, “I didn’t realize anyone was behind me!”

“Hehehe...yeah, sorry, that’s my bad. I probably should have made some sort of noise or something. ...I was just on my way to find my dorm, but I don't know where to go. So I am sorry for startling you, I just need some directions...," Reina trails off as she finally notices the receptionist staring at the two girls. Wooops...guess I probably should have asked her instead..., Reina thinks to herself.

“It’s okay. My name is Alice, and my word is ‘wings’!” Alice exclaims cheerfully, “And wait, did you say room 108? I’m in that room too!”

Directing her attention back to the girl with wings, Alice, Reina cannot help but grin at the other girl's bubbly reply. "I'm Reina and my word is 'thread'. It's nice to meet you, Alice! I can't believe how ironic this situation is. To bump into my roommate here, and even ask her for directions to the same dorm room, hahaha," Reina laughs in response. Reina did not stop laughing, though. It felt nice to laugh after experiencing such a queer day. After a couple of minutes, she finally stops and glances up at Alice, fearing her roommate's judgment of her.

Alice stares at her and says excitedly, “Can you make plush yarn then?”

"Actually...I have no idea. I haven't really tested out my word, but I assume so....I just need to imagine it being fluffy when I want to use my word, yes?"

“Yup! Just imagine plush yarn, it’s so squishy and fuzzy!” Alice began to float up and down enthusiastically.

Getting a bit giddy at the sight of her roommate's zealous reaction to her power, Reina cannot help but query, "Should I try it then? My word, I mean."

“Yeah! Then you can practice it and be the awesomest superhero ever!”

Reina smiles at Alice and nods in agreement. The short-haired brunette then proceeds to close her eyes and visualizes a simple spool of thread resting upright in the palm of her hand. Reina then goes on to build off the basic model, imagining the thread to be poofier, fluffier, purple. After a few seconds, the imagined spool of thread materializes in the palm of her left hand, resting right above the carefully etched word in the palm of her hand. Reina's eyes bulge immediately. It worked! It actually worked!!, she screams mentally. Both a bit terrified and elated at the product of her new found power, Reina smiles from ear to ear in a semi-crazed fashion and glances back and forth between the palm of her hand and Alice's face.

"Did'ya see that?!" Reina cries out happily, "It actually came out just the way I imagined! ...I wonder what else I can do with this word...Anyway, touch it, Alice! Is it soft?"

Alice reaches out to touch it and a smile breaks out on her face, “It’s so fluffy I think I am going to die!”

Reina giggles at Alice's comment. "Maybe I should knit you something later. It would be possible if I imagine the thread to be a bit thicker, like yarn. What would you prefer, a scarf, small blanket, small stuffed animal, or something else?"

“Can I have a scarf and a blanket? Pleeeease?” Alice begs, eyes shining.

“Of course!” Reina beams back.

“Ahem…,” the receptionist coughs expectantly as she looks at the two girl with raised eyebrows. “I hate to interrupt, ladies, but if you simply finish filling out this paperwork, then you two can continue your discussion in your room.” The receptionist then proceeds to ask for Reina’s last name and hands her her respective papers to sign. Reina skims the documents and signs her name with a pen, handing the papers back to the receptionist.

“Sooo, did you already fill out your paperwork?” Reina asks as she turns back to face Alice.

“Yup, I finished and was about to give it to the receptionist when you surprised me like that!”

“Oh...sorry,” Reina apologies sheepishly. “Well, if you are done, should we go check out the room together?”

“Sure, I want to know how big it is!” Alice replies.

“Okay! Uh, do you know which way to go?”

“Uhhh... let’s check the signs!”

“Good idea. Hmm…” Reina walks over to the nearest hallway and analyzes the sign on the wall marking the hallway. “It says 100-110, so this way, maybe?”

Alice excited rushes toward the direction Reina indicated. Near the end of the hallway, Alice calls, “It’s this one right here!”

“Awesome!” Reina shouts as she jogs quickly in order to catch up. She slows to a stop in front of the door and glances at Alice. “Soooo, would you like to do the honors?”

“Alright!” Alice pulls out the envelope from earlier and shakes the key out into her hand. She grips it firmly and inserts the key into the keyhole. After a bit of fiddling around with the lock, Alice finally unlocks the door and yanks it open. Reina gasps in surprise as soon as the door to their dorm is flung open.



The room is pleasantly yet unexpectedly spacious, and Reina cannot help but take a step inside the room. “Wow,” she mumbles under her breath as she take a good look around.

“Cool! This is bigger than my bedroom!” Alice exclaims happily as she zooms in to take a better look.

“Hehe really?” Reina inquires with a half laugh. The short haired brunette moves over to examine the desks, sliding her hand over the sleek wooden surface.

“Yeah, we were moving around a lot so my parents never bought a huge house or anything,” Alice responds while plopping down on a bed.

“Oh...well...did you at least get to visit a lot of cool places? ,” Reina replies as she tests out the comfiness of the desk chairs.

“Mhm. I’ve been to tons of places! It’s all one great big adventure!”

“That’s great! What’s the coolest place that you have visi-,” Reina starts to ask before she is rudely interrupted by her grumbling stomach. “Uh...that’s embarrassing...hahaha…”

“Let’s go eat! As long as they have meat I’m happy,” Alice remarks, suddenly floating upright again.

“Sounds good to me!” Reina responds cheerfully as she hops up and heads to the door, pausing just outside the door for her new friend.

Alice squeezes through the door with her wings and flies over to the end of the hallway, looking back at Reina. 

[Nico & Jace & Katie]
As the trio entered the Cafeteria, Jace surveyed the room for an open table somewhere for everyone to sit at. Nico looked around to see what groups were forming.

Better be cautious, who knows what the other students are thinking now that they have seen blood and death up close and personal. Nico thought, eyeing the students who appeared to be seated by themselves.

So many people, which ones are going to target me. Katie thought, tensing at the sight of a large group of people

“Let’s get some food and find a table that isn’t crowded.” Jace said glancing discreetly at Katie. She doesn’t seem to like being around large groups of people, good to know. He noted.

He picked up on it too, maybe he would make a good ally here, so long as he didn’t lie about having morals. Nico thought. “Sounds good, try not to get on anyone’s bad side.” he added.

“Ok..” Katie said, relaxing visably. Jace seems like a nice guy, but Nico seems a little to sure of himself, but he might just be used to being around people who don’t know as much as he does or something like that.

The three split up and went to different counters for food.

---

[Jace]
Jace got a short line for a counter that was for making your own burger. Jace placed a burger onto a roll and put a slice of cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings, and barbeque sauce on top.
Now for a drink. He thought, satisfied at his burger.
He approached the drink counter and opted to get a bottle of water.

Once he had his meal put together, Jace found a table that was unoccupied and sat down and glanced around for the others.

---

[Katie]
Katie glanced around at the available foods and went to a counter that offered macaroni and cheese.
It isn’t Dad’s homemade, but it’ll do.Katie thought, feeling a little home sick.

Katie got a small serving and got a bottle of iced tea and started to look for Nico and Jace.

---

[Nico]
Nico looked around at his options for food. Hm......what do I feel like getting to eat......Nico pondered.
He caught sight of a seafood counter and got in line.
Nico got an order of shrimp and chips and a bottle of green tea. Maybe I should bring something for the others...Nico thought.
He got four crab cakes to share and noticed Katie looking around and made his way over to her.

---

[Nico & Katie]
As Nico got over to Katie, he called out to her.
Katie heard her name and turned to see Nico approaching.
“Do you see where Jace is?” She asked, turning to look back toward the tables.
“I think I see him over there.” Nico said, pointing toward a table that jace appeared to be at.
“Lets go over then.” Katie said, starting to move in that direction
Well, she seems to be getting over her fear of crowds nicely, not sure that it would have been a problem anyway, given how many people died in about half an hour....Nico thought, following Katie.