---

---

His fingers had caught the door’s edge, but brisk footsteps from behind him, light as they were, gave Runik enough reason to pause. Only his head turned to regard her, and recognition flashed through his expression briefly. He didn’t actually know who she was, but naturally his memory wasn’t so bad as to forget the redhead who had almost cut loose after Mr.Wick had hit the deck yesterday.

She didn’t try to hide her intentions in the slightest, and for that Runik let go of the door to turn around and face her. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what held her attention and he even raised his arms slightly, turning them over so she could see how the runes wrapped around his entire arm. His lips curled upwards into a small grin as he noticed her eyes trace over the revealed markings, and he wa-

The alarm blotted out every other noise in its intensity and Runik’s expression scrunched in discomfort for a moment. A small thump against his chest told him that his suffering had to be comparatively mild, and he made ready to catch her just incase. As the seconds ticked by and his ears adjusted to the obscene volume, any discomfort was quickly replaced by annoyance as he couldn’t do anything to ease the girl’s suffering. A slow look at their surroundings didn’t reveal any obvious speakers that he could put a projectile through to help lower the volume…

The alarm ceased as abruptly as it began and he looked down with worry in his expression though it quickly faded. Seemed like the pain was a simple afterthought when compared to the embarrassment, and his grin returned when it seemed like she was about to attempt an explanation. Naturally that was also interrupted. The announcement wasn’t exactly welcome news and he sighed heavily afterwards, scratching at the back of his head. Really? Two Erasers last night and now this? It didn’t help that he wasn’t fully recovered, nor that he really wanted one of the old man’s sandwiches… Unspoken complaints aside though, he barely spared the box-carrying individual a glance as he approached the redhead and her friend, Lyssa.

Seemed like the two were students if their mention of the Erasure attempts from last night were anything to go by. “Could be better circumstances to meet, but I’m Runik.” He extended a hand towards each of the two as his tattoos began to glow softly. Mana rushed through the channels in waves, each surge of energy brightening the glow until it was quite noticeable. “Guess even Erasure attempts aren’t enough for the Headmaster to ease up. That aside, I don’t mind if ya tag along. Hopefully that’ll be enough to count as participation?”

His attention turned back to the front of Nekoa at the bell chimes and the old manager quickly poked his head out. “Huh, you’re still around. Give’m hell kid, and come back afterwards. I’ll have something fixed up for you.” Runik couldn’t help but grin and he nodded enthusiastically before he turned his attention back to the redhead and Lyssa.

Naturally and unfortunately, Alucard would not get his order because of the whole evacuation business. While the old man didn’t push the fallen angel to get out, he did leave a strong implication that caused damages would come with… unfortunate consequences before exiting by the back door.

---

@RabidAnubis@Rune_Alchemist@Eklispe

@liferusher
Adrians voice (Use your imagination)


The night dragged on endlessly with fighting, Adrian not bothering to intervene but instead just simply watched like a detached set of eyes. Most were over rather quickly, this 'eraser' squad being quickly overcome by the unusually strong students arrayed around the grounds. The night rolls on and the dead are returned to their rightful places. Such was life. Now began the greatest part of life! That of the shirt stealers circuit, as he had come to name his once a week romp through the open windows of the dorms admist the late night when most all were asleep and would not likely awaken.
The thrill of being apprehended was almost on par with the ecstacy of finding a delicious article of snack for him to enjoy. Perhaps the winter lineup was finally coming into his season. Adrian chuckled softly to himself as he took to the night sky in a rush of his great wings, gliding on the still winds till he reached his target. The room was large, two beds, sink, dresser and some chairs. Standard living quarters for what appeared to be women, judging from the size of the sleeping form he saw in the darkness of the room. Women always had such wonderful things.

A clawed finger curled lightly under the windowsill and lifted the glass barrier soundlessly open. The soft ruffle of his cloak heralded his entrance as Adrian crawled in on his hands and knees like a creeping spider. The moment his body touched the floor he laid flat and watched with intense crimson eyes for any movement at all, any confirmation the sleeping had awoken. Satisfied that nothing had budged, Adrian rose to his full height of nearly 8 feet, slouching ever so slightly so he did not hit the roof. His broad smile revealed his sharp teeth as he silently padded around, robe wrapped firmly about him as he crept closer to the sleeping form. So innocent in their sleep, dreams of life and love etched on their faces. His hand inched closer to Reinas face but he retracted it when she shifted ever so slightly, Adrians breath held in his chest as he stared at her.
A breathless sigh escaped him when he decided to continue. With great caution the Moth man opened the first drawer he could find and nearly gasped. There in full display was the undergarments! He could not resist as he grabbed a beautifully designed black and blue laced pair and swallowed it in a single gulp, the ecstacy of the moment had him shivering as Adrian grabbed a rolled up pair of silk socks and gently slurped them into his mouth, a soft hiss of his acidic spittle dissolving the fabric for easier consumption. The right sock of the pair was thrown casually to the floor as Adrian moved on to other finery.
Underwear, socks, stockings, t-shirts, anything he could get his hands on was folded over his free arm like a buffet table plate as he piled up his findings. In his excitement of the moment Adrian had come undone, his robe falling free from his back and great dusty wings spread wide. As he turned and swayed, hunched over a pile of half eaten clothes, Adrians wings began to make contact with the sleeping womans face without his knowing.
When she awoke, it would be to the sight of his hunched form drooling over a pile of her unmentionables, tiny moths fluttering around the room in an endless circle about their humanoid counterpart.

Alistair snapped awake. His eyes shot open as the runes on his arms glowed violently in the darkness of his room. The red lights danced across the walls of the room. Thunder rumbled through the entirety of Liseranna. Clouds gathered over the entire of the island. The teacher shouted out. He felt the pain in his scar like it was fresh. It was searing against his skin. Alistair bit his tongue, breathing in through his nose. The man leapt from his bed and immediately grasped at a cigarette and lit it up. Pushing the ash and tobacco into his lungs calmed him. The rumbling stopped. The clouds parted. The thunder stopped. He stood in the middle of his room, smoke in his lips. He sighed softly “I guess I can’t hold it back in my head for too long” he sighed softly and rubbed his fingers through his hair and growled. The Runed Teacher walked around his room and sighed, pulling on a loose shirt and a pair of jeans. He didn’t need to teach today, but there was something niggling at the back of his mind. Something he had to remember about today.

Erasals.

Alistair growled, a violent guttural noise that ripped from his throat. The teacher strode out his room, eyes glowing with fire and lightning, stormy as the magic he called down. His shoulders set, he barged through a few students that milled around the hallway.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” One of the students called out.

Alistair turned, the runes on his arms glimmering “I suggest you walk away...right now”

The other student immediately recognized the rune scarred instructor “Dude...that's Kuruz…” he whispered. They profusely apologized and walked off. Alistair closed his eyes and breathed in more tobacco. He muttered a gentle incantation and the mental map behind his eyes glowed in to life. “Find the phoenix” he repeated consistently in his mind. Nothing showed up. He sighed and resigned himself to going to the teachers lounge to see about the injured.

The hungover teacher padded into the lounge, waving slowly at Juliann and Synth “So Erasals happened last night huh?” he sighed and looked at the black sludge of coffee that was what was offered to the teacher and sighed “Rollanda healed everyone up I guess?[” he mused before placing himself down next to the new instructor, falling into his default position; elbows on knees and holding the mug of coffee. His slightly lopsided grin playing across his lips “so Juliann…how’d you come to be drafted by A-sshole”

Meruin Hazy

---

Meruin was at a certain coffee shop, enjoying her . . . what was this? Breakfast? Lunch? It was her first meal of the day, but it was afternoon. Did that make it brunch instead? But wasn't brunch eating a lunch food for breakfast? Or was it eating breakfast foods for lunch? Or was it . . .

Her thought process was interrupted by the serving of food on her table. In the end, she decided that it was not worth thinking about, and that food was food and meant to be eaten when you were hungry, regardless of the time. Picking up the spoon and fork, Merui prepared to dig in to her three pounds of steak, a bowlful of mashed potatoes, a whole plate of fish, three servings of chicken fillet, and a plateful of buttered rice and kofta balls in tomato sauce. Meruin frowned. There was something wrong with the amount of food on her table . . .

Hadn't she ordered shawarma as well?

In that moment, the resounding blares of alarms reached her ears, causing her to jerk slightly. She had a particular dislike of loud noises, and especially so when they came without warning. Grumbling, she looked around for the source of the sound, before realizing there was no source. So it was telepathy, which meant that it was either the Director, or someone associated with him.

It turned out to be the latter as a rather unpleasant announcement made itself heard. A beast was being released into the city and they were all being forced to participate in its apprehension. Not that she was particularly adverse to the idea of fighting in general but she liked to do so on her own time, and lunch - brunch? - time was definitely not that time.

Meruin looked around, and it seemed people were evacuating already, including the proprietor of the cafe, an old man with a slight paunch.

Her face paled in horror when she realized that this meant she would not be able to finish her meal, not if she was shooed out of the cafe.

Looking about, Meruin quickly flung a hand over all of meals, the runes on her back glowing slightly. In an instant, she transmuted her foods into small, dehydrated cubes, while her empty vials of potions were promptly filled up. There was no way she was not going to eat these, she thought as she tossed the cubes into her rucksack.

The tiny ,age joined the other students leaving the cafe. She suddenly paused and turned, wide eyed at the boy with runes glowing on his arms, and more importantly, his companions.

To the outside, it seemed Meruin was just an curious little girl who was fascinated by Runik's runes, but the truth was different.

Meruin, in an effort to advance her alchemy, had long made it a habit to analyze the structure and make up of everything around her - it made instant and long distance transmutations so much easier - and everything included people.

Or things that looked like people, anyway.

Currently, Meruin needed something, something that would advance her experiments greatly, but finding a source for it was difficult. Almost impossible, even. She'd been lucky enough to encounter it before, but that was several years ago, when she had no idea what it was she held in her hand.

Now, that same substance, or at least, something close to it, was just within arms reach.

Pheonix Blood.

That girl with red hair. She had Phoenix Blood on her somehow, and a lot of it. Meruin had to figure out why she had it, and eve more importantly, if she would be willing to share.

She approached the group of students, head leaning forward slightly.

". . . can I join you three?" Not exactly subtle, but Meruin was never the best at social interaction. Oh well, she could have done worse.

In Edgar's previous line of work, one had to always be on alert. As such, it was very easy for him to slip into a crisis mode, and this was no exception. The dragon-kin laughed at him, and called him adorable.

I'm going to kill her.

If anything, it was her that was insulting him.

"You don't seem scared of me at all, do you?"

The lightning that followed didn't make him flinch in the slightest, and neither did the weapon being held to his throat. He had been in such a situation before, but not with such speed. She could have decapitated him in the very second she summoned the blade, but instead she chose not to. His eyes flickered across her body in search of a catalyst, or at least some type of runes, so that he could attempt to determine what she could do. His eyes, though, kept being drawn back to one thing in particular; her glaive.

"I will give you one chance to apologize for your insolence, before I turn your charred corpse into my sandwich."

He paid no heed to the comment, and instead continued to look across the blade held to his neck. Electricity arced across it, and it had released some kind of lightning strike in a horizontal fashion. He could feel the negative pressure the blade was exerting, thanks to its charge, and in a single moment his runes went from a pale white green, to an all out glow of green. His clothes kept his other runes hidden, but the one of his eye, cheek and neck all glowed a brilliant green. There was no need to activate the spell - it had been in constant flux since the erasers attacked.

Venalichdremonal" the incantation was instant, probably taking less than a second to say. The runes across his body lit up even brighter, and dulled again with his magic cast.

A temporal field, completely devoid of movement through time, began developing itself around three places on the Dragon-kin's body; her right arm and glaive, her left arm, and both her legs. The field would freeze them all in place, and the electricity that once danced across both weapon and wielder would stop, or at least it would in the time-devoid areas. Their arcs would still be clear and present, but they would move no longer, as the energy that once flowed through them ceased its flow.

Then, with her body disabled for the most part, he brought his arms around and tried grabbed the glaive, attempting to drag downwards and drive it into the ground, all with his left hand. Throughout the movement, the rune for space glowed a slight green, and kept his body moving through the temporal field.

As he tried dragging it down, he looked the dragon in the eyes.

"I doubt you'll be eating me."



After the battle with the eraser, he and Juliann had had a talk. What he gained from her information was intriguing, and would help protect the heir, but was what he gave her really of equal value to what she had said? He wasn't complaining, though, since having an extra ally to help keeping the heir a secret was always welcome, and the woman was more than qualified to be that person. The only question, though, was would it be enough?

Synth sat in the teachers lounge, reading a newspaper from some other country. Probably England, but it really could have been from anywhere and been just translated. He sat sipping the tea he had, which while others didn't seem to enjoy all too much, it was actually quite to his tastes. The atmosphere had been pleasant, but it was pretty much all shattered when Alistair arrived, radiating cockiness and stupidity. He had heard the storm from earlier, and assumed it had probably just been the teacher, which made his question how he even became one in the first place. If he couldn't control the power of his magic, nor how it was cast, surely that would under qualify him. He wasn't the heir, and even A pretty much said it was a student, not a teacher, even if he didn't mean to.

“so Juliann… How’d you come to be drafted by A-sshole”

The man clearly wasn't educated to a particularly high standard, given his wording, which only raised more questions about his career. However he became a teacher, though, was mostly inconsequential, because his name was being more or less slandered.

"Now, Alistair. That isn't a nice way to talk about a co-worker, now is it? his voice had a slightly deeper tone, considering how he fought the previous night, and the fact he removed and replaced his runes. He was also pretty tired, which didn't really help much for conversation.

The light tickling feeling from the wings of Adrian made Reina's nose twitch in reaction. She lightly grunted and moved with her head to make it stop but the tickling continued. Reina slightly opened her eyes but only the shadow of the room filled her eyes. She couldn't see a thing and her eyes were still hazy from the sleep on top of that. She squinted her eyes and rubbed lightly in both her eyes. She heard a very soft sound of someone eating in the room, was it one of her roommates that couldn't resist the need of getting a midnight snack. Reina blinked a few times and listened carefully to the sound while watching up at the ceiling from her bed. If she waited long enough one of the two wouldn't eventually go to sleep again so she have to do anything with it.

Now Reina could see a little bit clearer she decided to take a peek at one of the eating girls again. She glanced over the table and the beds. Both the girls seemed to be lying in their beds but she also noticed another thing. The sound wasn't coming from either of the two. The window was open right next to her, she was sure that she had closed it after time waking up. Reina looked further around the room and immediately had to start squinting again. Her eyes slowly scanned the room but stopped on a certain spot. It was unclear what was happening there. She could only see a black shadowy blob with some red mixed in with it. It was frantically moving around near her closet. Her eyes widened when she saw the mess behind him. It looked like he pulled most of her clothes out of the dresser already. She quickly covered her mouth. Was it a thief? Why would he need her clothes for that? What is he eating... Eating? Reina stood up from her bed without trying to make any noise. She was moving slow and steady and made sure not to get to close. She walked around the creature avoiding its enormous wings. What was it? A expression of terror was written on her face as she got closer to him. What were these tiny leaves blowing around the room? She tried catching one of them. Her face went blank for a moment as the moth continued flying through the room. The mothman continued eating as Reina stood still without any sign of movement like her soul had left her body, as blank as white paint. Some color turned back to her face again as an expression of terror reappeared on her face.



Reina ran screaming around the room swatting her arms around trying to scare the small moths away from her and kill any in the progress. Her roommates were out cold, one of them was sleeping like they would never wake up again and the other got knocked out cold after the last time. Reina stood still for a moment and suddenly started facing the giant moth. She was quiet for a moment knowing fully well what it was now. The look of a scaredy cat on her face suddenly turned to a somewhat angrier one when she finally saw what he had been doing up till now. Part of her clothes were still unscattered but the largest part was or half eaten or gone inside the tummy of Adrian. She averted her route and turned to him.


Reina ran up to him like she was seriously gonna hurt him but the only thing she was able to do was annoyingly slap him as high as she could with both hands.





She could understand one of the three things that was happening at the moment. The fact that she was locked into a tiny animal cage to get on the boat towards this island was one of those things that she understood. Since animals always had to be locked into cages so they wouldn't run astray on the ship. Yet that the short black haired man laughed when he came with the idea and kind of leaded her in with some snacks. It was a little suspicious that it really was a must.

The other thing however was that they already have been on the island for two days but she still didn't get to be out of the cage. But to have left her alone for the rest of the time was the cherry on the cheescake. Why did the man with the short black hair leave her somewhere in the bushes were no one could see her. She gazed around her a little with her eyes only half open and her small hands on the bars of the animal cage. This must have been around hour 30 that she hadn't be able to move a tiny bit. She was stuck in the same position since the cage had too little room to move at all. Her body was a little sore, she had still been able to sleep at least but it became a little painful and boring to stay like this. She could occasionally see some of the feet from the students walking by but they wouldn't react to her cry of help or just be confused by it.

She wondered if the man with the short black hair would ever come back to get her again. He would only find her a new master and return back to her. You would think there were plenty of masters around the academy so it was dealt with quickly but apparently not. Shino groaned a little and dropped her forehead against the metal bars. Why did he have to put a lock on the cage, if it wasn't there she would already have gotten out.

Shino shifted a little in the cage from side to side. On top of all that she really had the need to pee at the moment so it was about time someone would get her out. It would be awkward if they found her after that she couldn't hold it anymore. So she opened her mouth and let out a emotionless whining voice.

@TheHangedMan
@Eklispe (poor guy is just hanging out, trying not to reveal himself)
@Zombehs
@Rune_Alchemist
@Thanatos


Lyssa seemed upset by the fight from the previous day, but Iravis couldn't do anything about it. She's probably just tired. She needs sleep. The demon probably wanted a hug or some other form of physical comfort, but the hug quota for the day had been reached.

"Could be better circumstances to meet, but I'm Runik." The runed one extended a hand, and discussed cooperation.

Iravis looked at the hand awkwardly, not knowing exactly what he was wanting. Modern social cues were strange. What did he want? She curtsied instead, leaving him hanging. "I bear the name of Iravis Ustrina. Perhaps the fates could have been kinder to us, but what bond is stronger than that made by the hammer?" Based on the glowing runes, he was probably powerful. And based on his body, he was rather attractive in a rugged way. And based on Lyssa, the demon wouldn't be much help.

A girl approached, seeking to join the party. Based on Lyssa's condition the Phoenix was worried that the hellion wouldn't put a lot of energy into this battle. However she seemed ... awkward? And she was awfully short, and couldn't be older than fifteen.

"Battles usually favor the larger army. We'd be glad for your company." Iravis tossed Runik an inquisitive look, wondering what his opinion was. Perhaps he'd have more knowledge about other students than herself. "Wounds matter not for me, and Mr. Runik here seems to be a big man. I think we should take the front line, and have you two act as reserves if we struggle." The seventeen year old really just wanted to keep the two younger girls out of the fight.

---

The Titanpad

The Director had been watching everything from the comfortableness of his chair. A smug smile appeared on his face.

"Hm, I see, I see. What a pair of troublemakers. And here I thought Sorcha wasn't going to make too much of a ruckus. And mister Quantus going nuts just for a simple sandwich, really..."

He made his spinning chair turn around, and around, and around as if he were a simple and young boy, while laughing loudly.

"Haha! They are all so funny! THIS is the very essence of youth! The Japanese word for this is 'Seishun'!" The man then stood up and extended his arms to the sides. "Ah, yes! Fighting, arguing and the like, all of them help deepen the relationships of people!"

"Buuuuut..." His eyes opened ever so slightly, revealing brown, reptile like pupils. "Mister director A doesn't like immature boys and girls. I shall show them that they should have fun, instead of arguing. Cha cha!" With those words, the man disappeared from his office.

At first his hand appeared again behind Edgar, and pushed him forward to where Sorcha was. His presence was so easily ignored that the man couldn't have ever predicted this sudden turn of events.

Afterwards, his other hand appeared again behind Sorcha, pushing her forward as well.

The two were meant to hit each other face first and probably end up hugging each other.

Afterwards, and without anyone ever noticing, he infiltrated the ranks of the students and started shouting,

"My, how bold! Doing that in plain daylight, what a lovey dovey couple! Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!" He encouraged the crowds, and soon enough, they started cheering along with the director in a united chorus.



The cheers echoed all throughout the cafeteria, and outside of it too. People started gathering outside to look, and unite in the cheer. It almost seemed like hypnosis.

"I hope you learn from this experience, good boys and girls. When in doubt, ask and don't just keep your asumptions to yourself. Also, try collaborating a bit more."

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Vocab

sorry not sorry blame anubis for this one

---

Juliann yawned. Something quite odd for a woman like herself.

Synth had made her stay awake the whole night, and not in the crude sense of the word. It was often that she had to pull all-nighters when it was something related to the eye but it still was taxing.

Alistair approached her and commented some about how she was drafted in with Synth.

She chuckled some, and though she couldn't answer until Synth was also done with what he wanted to say, she did go ahead to answer once that was done with.

"I... cannot say it was too bad. However, I do not know what the director has in his head. And I can't say either that I don't feel constantly watched by him. It is kind of a creepy feeling." The woman sighed.

"I do think that mister Synth is a bit volatile. The erasals too seem a bit too brutal. It has honestly been filled with new experiences ever since I came here. Mistress Rollanda's magic too is quite impressive. Being able to, hm, 'revive' dead students like that is quite impressive."

Like yesterday, the woman still had her ridiculously heavy sword hanging from her side.

---

@Musoka@Vocab

@Vocab@GrafRoy Zeppeli


Before this human could even finish uttering his spell, she knew something was incredibly wrong. She hated this human almost on instinct for some reason after he started using his magic. She had found him mildly amusing before, but now?...she couldn't place it, but something about him simply made her want to impale him on her glaive.

She had years of experience beyond this little human brat, and she wasn't going to be done in by him, not when she had just got here. She wasn't going to let another insult her so badly, not until she settled that other grudge. By the time his runes had even finished lighting up, the entire air had been charged with electricity - and if it wasn't for outside interference, she'd have already been a few yards away leaving Edgar quite singed, just a little from the very close shave he just had.

First, he was pushed forwards, she first thought it some sort of attack, but suddenly she felt quite a strong arm push her forwards as well, right towards Edgar. Very briefly, her arms wrapped around him as they hit, sending both of them into an impromptu hug. It lasted only a second, however, though the dragons face was completely red with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She knew someone had just done something. It was likely the director, given what she knew about him, but she wasn't even going to think about messing with that guy. Well, unless he wanted to help her squish this little bug. Then she'd gladly team up with him, however briefly.

"Hmph, very well." She coldly replied, ignoring the students as she powerfully flapped her wings, lifting off of the ground as she moved backwards, coming to a stop yards away from Edgar. "You have made a mistake, human...I was looking for someone to possibly be my master, but it seems you wish to be my enemy instead." She only told him that because of her pride, she wanted him to at least realize he had just missed out on quite the opportunity here. Certainly he was strong, but something about him just rubbed her the wrong way, so she wouldn't likely accept him anyways, but he had no way of knowing that.

And with that said, there was another powerful gust of wind as she soared into the air, heading for the city.



"What, not fond of fighting? I guess there are all kinds of mages out there. Still, I'm surprised you seem so calm even after having a dragon kind of crash-land right in front of the cafeteria. I can see why that guy over there lost it."

Livia was about to start eating, right when a student approached her. Well, that was after the dragon showed up, but she didn't really concern herself with that. She wasn't interested in the dragon, or whatever it was going to do. Unless it decided it was going to mess with her lunch...then she might get a little annoyed and do something, but she was inside so her food was safe from such dangers like that idiot with his sandwich.

"I am glad you are well, then." She replied to Gall, giving him a friendly smile and a nod before turning to Lin.

"I find fighting annoying, honestly." she replied with a sigh. "Serves no purpose other than to cause a ruckus and to annoy others. Like most people I've ever met." She gave Lin a rather harsh look, but did say anything if she didn't mind his presence or not. She didn't, really, as long as he didn't do anything other than talk. "I'm more of an observer anyways, I don't like involving myself." Though she said that, she was probably about to involve herself.

"I'll admit, I find the man challenging her mildly interesting though," She continued, giving the events transpiring outside a glance, taking a sip of her tea. He was one of the ones in the classroom, wasn't he? One of the ones who could have possibly been the Heir. Hmm...it was unlikely he was actually the heir. She didn't put much stock into the directors shenanigans, but it'd be fun to mess with this guy a bit, since she was pretty sure he was also there. "Only two people would challenge a dragon, even a weakened one. A fool who over-estimates himself," She looked back to Lin, giving him a glance. "Or someone who actually has enough power to defeat one. I wonder how a student could possibly do that?" She chuckled quietly, letting the words hang there, and letting him draw his own conclusions.

She was, again, mostly messing with him. On the off chance the guy was the heir, she'd have to laugh at him. Really. What an idiot, making a target of himself.

*In the Frozen realm*
The winds howled along the tundra, ice spreading for as long as your eye's could reach. Yet on the ice sat one lone wolf surrounded by the white... far from home and far from anything known she was lost in a frozen field with no clear direction to where it had to go. She didn't remember what had happened before this, nor how she had ended up here, all she knew was that it was surprisingly cold all around her. She felt lonely, abandoned... and somewhat terrified of reasons she did not know. Knowing little of her situation as only the cold, fear and lonliness remained a constant.

Shikio was the name of the wolf, but that knowledge gave her little comfort as she didn't know where anyone else was. On that information she wandered forth without knowing direction, knowing naught of the distance she would need to traverse to get to anywhere of notice.

It was an endless wander in a cold lifeless land, harsh elements and a rough terrain made it as difficult to advance as it was to return. As the storm started growing too thick for her to see, and its swirling chills were biting her skin she thought it would be her end. She had never imagined that cold could be her undoing, she s that was a fenrir and had hardly felt cold before were now shivering and quaking... But at the moment when she thought all were going to end she heard a voice.

Suddenly the storm faded and a clear starfilled sky were above... Around a beautiful aurora started dancing and in that moment she could swesr she could hear music. "My child... Belowed star whom shine brightest of all. Do not fear because what you see is naughty but a world beyond your dreams... A branch of Yggdrassil on whom is not thy home... Come home Shikio... And awaken, walk with pride my daughter... Wherever the wind may take you, your always welcome back to my side..." Shiro said as the wind formed his gesture.

Shikio sniffled slightly, but nodded to him as light engulfed her senses and soon... She awoke.

---

She opened her eyes and quickly sat up in her bed, first looking around as she tried to make sense of where she was. As she regained her senses she realized that this must be where they treat their sick and wounded as she somewhat recognized the scent and appeal of this place.

She recalled that Lin had taken her here before when she had hurt herself from glass. Looking to herself she couldn't quite place her mind on what had really happened and what had been a dream... But the fact that she had ended up here meant something had happened to her.

Getting out of the bed Shikio realized that her cheeks were wet, she had been crying in her sleep and however odd it felt to her she dried them off before looking at a mirror. Physically she felt and looked just fine, and wounds she had sustained and her broken nose had been fully restored.

She packed her belonings when she had tje chance and then left thanking the nurse on the way out and then went outside. There it struck her again that she didn't know where to go... For the first time in a very long time she had such a heavy heart, and momentairly the thoughts about giving up and go home crossed her mind.

Yes she swallowed hard as she decided to go for a walk to clear her mind. Thus she slowly walked through the academy with her thoughts swirling heavily around in her head, it was enough for her to not pay attention that happened around her and eventually she came to sit on a staircase leading away from the academy.

She sighed again, looking longingly to the distance and then back to herself. She thought of Lin again and decided to look for him. Searching around she eventually found his scent and then followed it to the cafeteria. Once there it didn't take too much effort to find Lin...

Shikio approached Lin slowly, the closer she got to him the lower her ears dropped as pain veiled up inside her. She didn't care if he were busy or engaged in talk with others... Instead she said nothing... Drew in close and as her tears started flowing she hugged him and cried into his chest.

@liferusher
Adrians voice (Use your imagination)


Adrian chewed on his meal with enthusiasm, lost in the thrill of his feast without the slightest inclination to caution. Had he been a tad more attentive he might have noticed the pink pajama wearing woman rise from her bed and begin to search for the source of noise, closing the window and Adrians escape route with a loud crack of the glass pane meeting the window frame and snapping the upside down Moth man from his enjoyment, mouth agape he swiveled his head and wings to see her in a fury swatting the moths that had followed his entrance before slapping Adrian full in the face.

"GRAAAH!"

He screamed and lost purchase to the ceiling, clenching hard enough to crush the roofing he clung to in a shower of dust and debree as his form collapsed in a heap atop the table with a CRASH of splintered wood and swirling motes of dust and hairy scales as the startled eater fought to detangle from his robes and a pair of pink underwear that had fallen on his head, covering his eyes and rendering his defeating gaze completely ineffective all while the pink pajama girl continued to slap him about the face, justifiably angry at the damage to her property.

"I'M SORRY! PLEASE STOP!"

Adrian managed to put his feet under him and rise to his full frame but bonked his head on the ceiling even as his he lost footing and slammed full on into a nearby tall dresser stand full tilt. Adrian screamed in useless terror as he grabbed onto the falling object for dear life as it teetered and fell, pinning the moth man below its bulk.
Wings spread out, arms motionles, the mothman groaned softly on the floor.

-Joulie

And so it had begun...

In a brief moment almost taking no more than a few seconds the clouds on the sky had suddenly swirled to one single spot and blocked out the sun from shining down on the academy. These clouds turned darker than the blackest pich and swirled around with the force of the strongest of tornadoes.

The air heated considerably, and soon the clouds lit up blue from thunderbolts jumping freely between them and quickly after brought their heavenly wrath downward in a gigantic briliant crack of lightning that probably made even the bravest crap their pants.

It was a roaring display as the gigantic thunderbolt struck the courtyard of the academy licking its walls on each side and cracking the ground below with its terrifying force. In an instant the rest of the academy would have shaken as from an earthquake.

In the next moment all would be gone again, no signs of clouds... Only the scourged remains of what once had been a courtyard, and a deep crater. In the middle of it all sat a huge feathered bird crouched over, but soon its size would deteriorate down to that of a winges woman.

She would look around her surroundings before walking and somewhat hoovering out of the crater. "So this is the place that emmited such curious energy... You mortal... What's the name of this place" she commanded pointing to a quite pale looking student at random.

When Reina started screaming Adrians attention had faded away from his dinner and had changed towards Reina instead. He let out a terrified screech and kind of paniced. She did not understand. He was so large and looked very scary to her own opinion but he just didn't seem like the vilian type. She would suspect him to kidnap her or trying to fight her but instead he crashed into the ceiling? He really wasn't some evil pantie thief. She however couldn't forgive him for destroying all her clothes. He fell onto the table completely destroying it.

A pair of pink underwear fell onto his face making him blind for a short span of time. Reina could do nothing but blush at the scene. This wasn't allowable. The mothman rised once again and crashed into the ceiling again by the lack of vision. His head really must have hurted. He fell again dragging the dresser with him to the ground. He was slammed onto the ground by the dresser that almost immediatly locked him down.

He wasn't able to move and kind of half passed out on his way down. Reina got one of the swatters that was lying on one of the closets close by and ran over to his side to continuously swat him with the swatter. After all she did she was kind of worried. Maybe he was just a person in a costume or he didn't mean any harm at all. She worryingly crouched down next to him to see if he was fine. The blush remained on her face as she lifted the underwear from his head.



She worringly asked the monster. Wait why was she even trying to be nice to it. It just ate her whole wardrobe. She looked at the damaged it did and became somewhat frustrated again. Reina gazed at the stream of moths that were still in her room and became even more frustrated. She quickly stood up and rushed rushed over towards the kitchen area. She searched the cupboards untill she found the insect repellent. She had to get their leader first. Reina ran over towards the face of Adrian again and pointed the repellent at his face.



Reina yelled at him as she sprayed the repellent at his face. After a good 20 seconds she stopped and looked at how he was doing now. If he wasn't dead yet she had to spray again till he would finally die so there wouldn't be any moths anymore.



She questionable asked but not because she was worried. Of course she hoped he didn't answer. She didn't want to see the thing suffer all too much when she tried to kill him.

It took a day to swim from the shores of the English Channel to the magically shielded island that Liseranna Academy was situated on, and Arata was fairly impressed by all this. Since when did the world become so big? It felt like it had just been yesterday that he could reach the edge of the world within a week’s worth of rampaging, and now? Who knew that there was so much more land once you passed the sea? Such a novel idea.

Perhaps, if the Night Parade had not been sealed all those centuries ago, they could have made their way to exotic lands such as China and Saudi Arabia and challenged new kingdoms, clashed against the elephant infantry or the firework-throwers or everything else. But, alas, what was once legion was only one now, and though he could feel the nine hundred and ninety-nine dormant flames that smouldered within his body, Arata still couldn’t quite shake off the loneliness that ate at him. It didn’t help that, for some stupid reason, alcohol was now prohibitively expensive, and that there were no longer any wars or grand battles to cause a ruckus now.

That dwarven representative had promised him glorious things such as Erasers, scourges who attacked newcomers, and the Magus Games, a festival of blood and violence as students formed teams…but as he rose from the brackish sea and shook himself dry, all the sun-haired oni saw was peace. Where were the Erasers that sought to remove his head from his shoulders? The grand battles of might and magic that would scorch the skies and scar the earth? Hell, outside of the occasional, erratic beating of Raijin’s drums, there really wasn’t anything at all.

The island was pristine and picturesque, featuring the foreign, European architecture that he had become accustomed to in the week of travel he had partaken. There was a boorish sense of ‘newness’ to the whole place, but perhaps people preferred neat, clean things these days. Didn’t quite coincide with his image of exorcists drowning in rooms full of archaic scrolls, but hey, maybe they’ve changed over the years.

Order was a hell lot more boring than chaos though.

“Ah, Izanagi’s balls,” he groaned, shaking droplets of salty water out of his ragtag kimono, “Guess I’ll just scout out this place then. Maybe Liseranna has bandits or something that'd try the steal the clothes off my back or something."

Didn’t seem like it though.

With a lethargy expected of an oni that spent too much time thinking and not enough time doing, Arata began to walk to the central hub, the mall, of the island.

[Deleted/moved down:Ignore this]

"Hmph!" Lin said, while brushing some of his hair away with a single hand. "You know talent when you see it, it seems. Sadly, I don't yet think myself powerful enough to be able to go one on one against a dragon. Perhaps if..."

He was about to mention his familiar, when the girl herself attached herself to him.

She was... crying? Wait, THAT Shikio was crying?

"S-Shikio! What are you doing?!" The man was taken aback, of course. He felt like pushing the girl away, but perhaps it would be a bit too cruel to do that right now.

A deep red blush took a hold of Lin's whole face and he started patting the Fenrir's head, trying to soothe her.

"W-What's wrong, Shikio? You hungry? Or.... is it perhaps more serious and I shouldn't've been an ass like that?"

It wasn't often that the boy was at a loss for words, and that truly was the case this time. He turned to Livia and shrugged.

"Err, what were we talking about anyway?"

---

@Rune_Alchemist@Iatos

Vera Meadows and Jocelyn Blackwell

---

---

With a gasp, Jocelyn's eyes popped open. Her breathing was fast paced and seemed almost irregular, like she was running some sort if race. She was sweating a whole lot as well.

Damn, that strike to the head really got to her.

Jolting out of bed she scanned the bedroom. Just a quick check to see if there were any remaining suited psychopaths in the area. Oh, and bullet holes. There should have been a lot of buttholes bullet holes.

Surprisingly, there were none to be seen. The sheets seemed fine and the walls were anything but damaged. It was like nothing had ever happened. Like it was all just some trick, an illusion to be exact. Pretty creepy, to be honest. And Jocelyn was experiencing the full extent of it.

Once she actually managed to balance herself she saw a small piece of paper float onto the ground. Picking it up, she read:

---

Patricia and I wanted to stay by your bed for a bit longer but we were called back to the house by your mother. It seemed like an emergency, so we couldn't stay long. Sorry. If you need us, don't hesitate to call us, okay?

Octavia.

---

Jocelyn read it over again and smiled. Octavia was such a considerate person. Maybe even too considerate. Maybe even too considerate to the point that Jocelyn was worried out of her mind about the woman herself.

"Emergency?"

Well, that's what it read on the paper. Placing it onto the desk the girl got dressed, picking out some new clothes for her first school day. She continued to ponder in the hallway, her face cold and serious.

"Someone was trying to take it again."

---

First period flew by quicker than Jo had expected, and now she found herself suffocating in the cafeteria. Being only 4'11 was bound to get her killed at some point.

"So crowded… And I thought the school was hard to navigate through…"

"Ah. Jocelyn, was it?"

Startled, Jo spun around on her heel, almost toppling into a nearby table. She held her breath, gazing up at the tall brunette.

"O-Oh… I mean, yes! Good morning to you, Vera."

The towering teen smiled. "Good morning to you too, Jocelyn. You seem to be doing well on your first day."

Jocelyn quickly nodded. This feeling again… Every time Vera was in her presence, Jo just seemed to freeze up on the spot.

What is with her… I mean, she seems nice and all, but why do I feel so uneasy when she's around?


"Are you all right, Jocelyn? Is there something on my face?"

"Oh… Sorry about that. I'm just a bit tired today. That's all."

The little lady looked away, avoiding eye contact with Vera. Quite an impolite thing for her to do during conversation, but this time would probably be the only exception.

Smiling, Vera took a step closer. "Maybe if you grabbed a bite to eat you would feel a little better? I strongly suggest that you try this cafeteria's food. You won't regret it, I can promise you that."

After being shoved into the queue, Jocelyn had to lightly tug onto Vera's dress just so she could see where she was headed with her. Oh well, the girl was only thirteen anyway. She was still growing, of course. That's what Jo hoped at least.

Suddenly, just before Jo could reach the glorious looking sandwiches in front of her, another student bumped in, tossing her back into Vera. Maybe it would have been better to stay hidden behind her acquaintance instead.

"Please, you really shouldn't cut into the line like that-"

"Huh? Since when did a small fry like you have the permission to tell me what to do? Pipe down pipsqueak, I ain't listenin' to you."

Jo reluctantly drew herself back from the slightly taller boy. He was pretty average, about 5'6 at the least. A fight wasn't what she was looking for, but she had to set this one way or another. That food wasn't going to stay sparkling in all its delicious glory without her taking some.

"Look, I really don't want to cause a scene, but can you please just-"

Gently placing a hand on the boy's shoulder, Vera stepped forward, leaning towards him. "Please, you really shouldn't cut into line like that. If you're not able to follow simple instructions, then I'll assume you're brain is just as simple."

Vera leant in again, this time whispering in the boy's ear so Jocelyn wouldn't be able to hear. "Also, since when did a small fry like you have the permission to order other people around as you wish? Pipe down pipsqueak, nobody's listening to you."

Then, a smile.

Her eerie voice sent shivers down the boy's spine, like a cold, ominous wind that blows across a graveyard. Her smile, eyes, voice; it was all a literal definition of creepy.

But it seemed to work well, so Vera went on with it.

That was... a bit unexpected.

Taking a step forward, Vera let the boy scurry to the back of the line, dragging Jocelyn forward. The little girl eyed the mouthwatering array of sandwiches, each of them with their own exotic and unique flavour. Their high prices made little Jo's eyes widen, though. Why was picking out sandwiches such a stressful choice?

"Jocelyn, would you like to sit with me?"

Snapping out of her food hypnosis, the mini mage looked up.

"Oh, yes, of course. Hold on… you bought two?"

Vera held up the plastic wrapped sandwiches in her hands. "Yep. One for you and one for me."

Jocelyn gasped at this girl's undeniable generosity. Okay, she was pretty nice. Still iffy, but nice.

"Ah, you really didn't have to buy one for me as well! If you want, I can pay you back-"

"Don't worry Jocelyn, that will not be needed. You deserve it for trying to stand up for yourself back there. I like people like that."

It's also best if I try to be nice to you, especially after scaring the living daylights out of that boy earlier on. Wouldn't want to make a bad impression on a younger mage.

The two sat at a table, biting into their not so well deserved food. The young Jo's eyes sparkled with glee, her face much brighter than usual.

"Delicious, isn't it?"

"It really is! I mean, yes, it is. Also, thank you for buying this for me, Vera. I'll be sure to buy you lunch the next time we meet here."

The brunette chuckled. A real chuckle. For the first time in ages her mask had been lifted. She had to admit, the girl was downright adorable.

"Oh, no, it's absolutely fine. Small things such as this don't need much in return."

The little lady took another bite out of her sandwich. She gazed up at the clear blue sky, sighing.

"Is there something wrong, Jocelyn?"

"Hm? Ah, no, I was just thinking."

Vera tilted her head to the side. "Is something troubling you? You seem quite concerned."

"Oh, no, not at all! Well… um…"

Jocelyn looked away again, her lips dropping into a small frown. Flashbacks from the night before replayed in her head, making her shiver. Everything had just happened so fast, faster than Patricia could run around a football field with her blinding speed.

Jo tried her best to put up a convincing smile, which most likely failed to hide her true emotions. "Please, you don't need to worry about me! I'm fine, really."

A blast of lightning struck the ground out of nowhere, making little Jo shriek. A table was hurtled towards the two girls, blowing their expensive food off their own table, as well as sending it flying along with it.

"Wha-What was that?" Jo exclaimed, almost falling off her chair in shock.

"What… was that?" Vera muttered, eyes widened slightly at the creature that stood before them.

How can you act so calm when someone just blew your sandwich away with a table?

Vera glanced at the astonished Jocelyn, trying to speak over the screams of the other students. "Please, don't be frightened, Jocelyn. You just have to get used to things like this. I remember on my first day someone called in a giant snake in the exact same area. It wasn't all that pretty, trust me."

"Greetings, humans. I, am Sorcha, Radiant King of the heavens and the Wandering Tempest of the North."

The two saw someone else approach the dragon lady, or 'Wandering Tempest of the North' as it seemed to refer itself to as. Even from such a far distance Vera could tell this boy was pissed off.

Pissed off because it wasn't just Vera's sandwich that got blown away by this dragon's extravagant entrance.

The girl had to try her best to hold in her giggles. It was an expensive sandwich, yes, but getting worked up over something so little made her snort. Oh well. This was definitely an amusing scene to keep watch of.

Alistair raised an eyebrow at the conversation that happened before him. He took off his glasses, his index and forefinger rubbing at the bridge of his nose “ahh...you both thought I meant Synth when I said asshole….” he smiled, the same cocksure crooked smile he was oh so known for.

“ I mean Synth here, which I know isn’t your real name, is an asshole that got possessed in the way backs at the age oooooffff...10?” Alistair scratched at his head and smirked at Synth “ But no...I meant the Director...fucking asshole…”

Alistair’s eyes flicked down, like a shadow had been cast across his face and he suddenly felt as though he were shrouded in darkness and the cloying sense of loneliness. But he shook his head and immediately the smile was back “so...what are you two here to teach? I assume How to be possessed” he pointed at Synth with a grin before he moved to Juliann. He stopped for a second and looked her over. An eyebrow raised, his eyes for the first time in his life were drawn to other things that should not be publicly looked at. The emeralds in his eyes snapped back to Juliann’s own mismatched pair.

“ How to be stunning and strong?” he winked at her and stood up, stretching out and grinning at the teachers “ Buuuuut thats neither here nor there I think…” the black haired man yawned and grabbed another coffee before slumping down in the same spot, looking at the others expectantly for more conversation.

@liferusher
Was he supposed to be impressed by this? Was he supposed to be entertained? Was he supposed to feel anything in this new environment? At least the mountains had environmental dangers, and the cities had iron carriages freely wheeling about like wild stallions, but this? Arata wanted to scream, but he was tired even of that. Perhaps it really would have been better if he had accepted the proposal to ride on one of those metal birds, but the challenge of swimming through such a riotous sea had been too appealing to him at the time.

Now his clothes were just itchy and he had a long way to go before he reached the mall. Maybe he should run? Would the teachers here care if he shattered the stone paths to get somewhere faster? Actually, why did he even care about that?

After all, if they had a problem with what he was doing, they’d go to punish him, right? And punishment led to fighting, right? So naturally, that meant…

"Haaaalllpppp"

A drawn-out plea, more half-hearted than genuine, rang through the air, stopping Arata before he could make a foot-sized indentation onto the concrete sidewalk. He turned, eyes searching for the dastardly bandits that must have been viciously assaulting a lone traveller on her way to the city and instead found…bushes.

Bushes that, when brushed away, revealed a white-haired, one-tailed, half-transformed nekomata in a locked, iron-barred cage.

Arata stared at this peculiar sight and let out a long, disappointed sigh. Had youkai, over the course of a few centuries, degraded this much? To the extent that a nekomata, proud man-eaters and shapeshifters, were incapable of even fully transforming into a cat and slipping through the gaps of this cage? Yes, she must have been a young one, perhaps even a domesticated one, but the sun-haired oni couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“Hey, nekomata-san,” he began, crouching down and crushing the lock between his right hand, “I just got to this island, so do you know if there’s gonna be a battle starting up here? The dwarf that told me to come here promised a festival of blood and violence, but, you know…”

He gestured to the peaceful walkway leading to the main hub of Liseranna Academy. The sun was shining brightly (outside of a bunch of random thunderclouds that came and went), birds were chirping happily, and there was literally not one person who looked like they were looking to slay with impunity.

“…this is really peaceful…”

@liferusher
@Ashifili

Fire, darkness, the smell of death and flame clogging the nose. Arthur stood there, his spear six feet away. Six feet to far, "How dare you think to tread in my domain mortal. Now you will die alongside your friends!" The voice boomed before a wave of fire flew out. With a deft roll Arthur was out of the way, then another roll as a second wave of fire. A jump over a few rocks to avoid another gust of heat. Running out of room to run. No choices left. Arthur gathered every drop of mana in his body and emerged from his makeshift cover. His fire against his foe's. The two waves of flame clashed, neither giving the other ground. Arthur couldn't believe it, he was matching this thing. "Don't think you've won human. You will still burn, if not now than in time. That is the will of-"

Arthur shot upwards. He was in his bed, dragonling leaping off the bed at the pyromancer's sudden movement. "It's just me, don't worry." Arthur assured his scaly ward. Pulling himself out of bed Arthur instantly flew towards the nearest wall. "Dammit all to something or other." Arthur cursed as he leaned against the plaster. Dragging himself over to his closet and forcing the flimsy wooden door open to reveal many red suits Arthur thought about what to wear. Pants of course, alongside some nice shoes. His chest was already covered in bandages, though the reason why was beyond Arthur, his infliction was of course mostly internal besides from a few stray burns. Maybe they were coated in some healing magic of some sort Arthur considered as he pulled out a simple red coat which he threw over himself, not bothering to button up the over piece, it hardly mattered if people saw the parts of his chest not covered in bandages. Deciding against one of his hats for the time being Arthur took a step away from the closet and nearly fell.

Picking himself up and starting to walk towards the kitchen he considered that it may have been better to stay in the infirmary a few more days like the nurse girl asked. Of course, Arthur couldn't. If he left little Igneel alone too long the poor thing would incinerate all the furniture in worry. Pulling out everything needed for cereal he took a look over at the nearby wall clock as he poured in the milk. About noon. The first real day of classes had started and he was behind. Arthur looked down into his midday cereal. Erasers likely attacked last night. Arthur couldn't be there for any of the students, couldn't help burn away some of the schools taint. Why the director let such filth continue to exist in his school was beyond the destructive class mage. There was naught to do about it though expect stand in the erasers way at any chance. If any of the students got hurt last night, if any of the new students got hurt, Arthur would have words with A. Nice, mild words where Arthur wouldn't lose his temper, because the director was foolish, but also powerful enough to kill everyone in the school and then get bored.

About halfway done with his bowl Arthur heard a great amount of noise all at once. Reeling from the sound Arthur kept his head down on the cool wooden table. Then a voice pipped up, could have been anyone really. Students being forced to fight things. "F**king A" Arthur mumbled as he raised his head and looked out the window. Of course he couldn't interfere. Staring down at his favorite place to eat on the entire island as the people left. It was a nice place, pleasant atmosphere, good food at reasonable prices. Phoenix stepping out. Wait what? Staring down at Iravis Arthur silently cursed the director. He knew the girl was in the city. At least she had friends. That demon roommate. Runik, good kid, strong magic. Sadly Arthur couldn't do anything for them, A would have his head if Arthur tried to intervene, and he was already recovering from a nasty curse.

So instead Arthur decided to leave the town, orders from up high and what-not. Giving Igneel a rub between the horns Arthur then concentrated, and was gone.

The road between town and the academy proper. Arthur leaned against a nearby tree, that spell took more out of him then he would have liked. Needed more exercise clearly. So the mage started walking. It had been a good five minutes, this island seemed longer than usual, maybe a trick of the mind, maybe someone messing with someone else. Didn't matter. Taking a quick break to recover his breath Arthur heard something unusual. "Haaaalllpppp" Well that was never a good sign. Came from the nearby bushes. Sighing Arthur walked over before noticing someone else going to the noise. Big person too, or at least strong looking. “…this is really peaceful…” "Just the way we like it, nice and peaceful, and then suddenly a reality shaking battle that threatens reality pops up, ends, and then nice and peaceful again." Arthur said as he looked down at the girl in the cage. Some kind of cat girl, how she ended up in a cage was of little matter as the boy crushed the lock with his bare hands. "Arthur Wick, I'm a teacher here. Who are you two if I may be so rude?"