"Eric, wait... ummm thank you for helping me... do you... could you... I feel bad but... I might need help getting to my room after this, is there any chance you can stay?"

"it's ok if you can't! I'm sure I'll manage"

Eric felt his heart skip a beat as he stopped in the doorway and stared down at the floor, swallowing hard. He honestly wanted to run away. He'd had his fill of socializing today but something... something in her voice made him feel bad. 'I'm sure I'll manage.' He could just imagine the fake smile she was giving him, a similar expression to that he'd seen on Lucy's from time to time when she said one thing but meant another.

After what seemed like ages, Eric slowly turned and walked back toward Andromeda and sat down in a nearby chair to wait for the other two in the infirmary to help her. This was definitely not his usual self. He had a really bad feeling about all of this. What exactly was he getting himself into? He should have just left like he always did. Ignore her, that was better right? No chance of getting back stabbed. "I-I'll stay..." He told her, looking over at one of the other corners of the room.

When he heard the red haired boy talk to him, Eric's head jerked over to look at him, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. He nodded quickly, obviously nervous with so many people around. He hadn't even really planned to go to the assembly. He really hoped that Andromeda wouldn't want to go either. That way, he could just take her to her room and then return to his own. Maybe by then Lucy would return to the other world and he could pull her back out. He needed the comfort.

He looked over at Andromeda and then back at the two red heads, then to Andromeda again. "Ready?" He asked. His pale brown eyes stared at her with a soft expression. For some reason, he felt the need to protect this person. She seemed a lot like him but... better. Like she'd gone through similar events but handled them much better than he ever had. Eric himself always constantly looked as if he could disappear at an moment. Everything about him was pale from his skin color to his pale brown hair. He wasn't a presence that demanded attention but he liked it that way, preferred it even.

Ryuu

Ryuu did not say anything as he gave Lily an unreadable expression as he followed Oliver. He definitely was in no position to do anything about whatever business she just had, and he was the kind of person to jump in and cut street fights to an abrupt halt; he wasn't some therapist for emotional disorder.

Maybe being pretty stupid does have its merits, he thought as he followed Oliver. Then again, I'm a teacher.

Okay, maybe I'm not following any of the "teacher" stereotypes, but still.

Putting his hands to his pockets, the dark-haired, sunglasses-wearing otaku glanced at Lucy.

"..."

In an instant, his epic aura and expression returned as he brushed the front of his hair upwards with a gloved hand as he asked Oliver, "So what's Maria got up her sleeve this time, anyway?"

Overhearing Crash speak to Andromeda as she searched through the cupboards, she thought that the shapeshifter would be really well-suited for the medical field… If he could overcome the curse that was his own clumsiness. He was always trying to help others, something that apparently hadn’t changed at all over the years, and he had very good bedside manners.

“That’s good to hear,” Kathy sighed in relief when Andromeda finished answering her question. “And thank you, for understanding that I didn’t mean it in an odd way.” When the bottle was mentioned again, she gently placed it down on the bedside table next to the bed for Andromeda to take if she wanted to.

Looking between the Eric and Andromeda, she smiled at the knowledge that the gorgon seemed to be in good hands. She wouldn’t have felt right about leaving the girl alone, even if all the treatment was now completed, so it was good that Eric had agreed to stay with her. “I’ll let the two of you know if you miss anything important at the assembly. Although, ah… I guess you wouldn’t know where to find me…” She paused with a thoughtful expression before the figurative lightbulb turned on and her smile returned along with a solution to the issue. “I’ll stop by the infirmary tomorrow and hopefully we’ll run into each other. If we don’t, I’ll leave a note or let Lily know to tell you what the assembly was about… She would probably remember it better than me anyway.”

“And speaking of which…” She turned her attention back to Crash. “Let’s head on over the assembly. I’m sure Andromeda will be able to get more rest with just Eric tending to her instead of having 3 people crowd and bombard her with offers of help.” Chuckling a bit, she smiled at the other girl and walked over to the door. For a moment, she hesitated. For a moment Kathy had felt tempted to ask if Crash would be willing to hold hands as they walked down the halls but… ‘Ah, nope. That won’t be good for my heart.’ Letting out a breath, she put a smile back on her face as she beckoned him over to the door. “Coming?”

@FaithsRose@Animelover_princess@HylianRose

Lily let out a breath of air she hadn't known she was holding when Carmen's arms wrapped around her and the soft voice of her friend gently asking what was wrong. She swallowed hard as the tears came full force now. She didn't even know what she was going to tell Carmen.

'Oh, by the way. I think I might have a son.'

'Yeah, every single angelic being is going to try to hunt him down.'

'And it's my fault.'

'I don't even rem-'

She let out a shuddering sigh after a few minutes of hanging onto Carmen and then gently pushed the Skylark away to look at her. "I think I have a very... very large problem, Carmen." She began, her brows furrowed. She motioned for Carmen to go back into her office before walking in that direction herself, pulling Carmen with her by hand.

Once inside, she pulled out the picture and the number and handed them to Carmen. "I just happen to see this picture fall out of a student's wallet. That..." She paused, her heart tightening. "That woman... I think it's me b-but... I don't remember any o-of it..." She explained before burying her head in her hands, tears returning to her.

Carmen dutifully followed the angel back into her office. She took the picture and looked at it as Lily shakily explained herself.

The skylark looked over the picture for a long time and had to admit that the girl in the picture did look remarkably similar to the pink-haired angel in front of her.

"Now Lily," she spoke, trying to be as comforting as possible. "That has to be a coincidence, right? I mean...I'd imagine you'd remember something like this...wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes... But Carmen. You know that I can see auras. I always have. And over the years, I've gotten much, much better at it." She began, slowly regaining her composure. "In every person's core is a twisted aura, two separate auras which represent their parents." She continued, watching Carmen for her reaction. "That child has half of my aura in that twist. The other half... I don't recognize it but that other half is definitely mine." She finished. Lily walked over to one of the chairs in the office and sat down with a 'fwop' sound as air escaped the fake leather cushion.

Carmen stood still as Lily sat down. She was attempting to find a rationalization for the image and the aura that would make sense.

It was not going well.

"But...that's not p-" she started to say. She stopped because she remembered something. She remembered...that Lily didn't remember.

"...oh."

The skylark tried to look as if she was taking it in stride, but failed spectacularly. Nonetheless, she knew what needed to be done.

She walked over to where Lily was sitting and sat on the chair's thick, leather-covered arm, placing one arm on the angel's shoulder.

She could only think of something generally encouraging to say. "Well...whatever you need to do, I'll be here for you." She gave Lily a meek smile.

Lily let out a frustrated sigh and threw her hands in the air as she leaned back against the chair. "You're no help at all!" She shouted, half joking. She let out a soft snort and sent Carmen a soft smile. "I'll figure it out. What I need is a how to book on parenting for Angels. They don't sell those, yanno?" She told her, chuckling at herself.

What was the use of crying at this point? She'd had her moment and she'd probably have another with Carmen later that night. She needed to get herself together and figure out how the hell she was going to deal with this. "My main concern is the boy. He seemed about as offput by it all as I was and there's also the matter of his nature and that demon attached to him." Lily began, mostly talking to herself at this point. "It doesn't look very strong but it's not a pushover either and it's linked very tightly to Edric..." She continued. "And he's a freaking nephilim." She groaned, leaning forward to throw her head into her lap. "Carmen, it's not too late to just run away and live together on a deserted island, right?" She asked, not moving.

"Well," Carmen began, sighing as she started to pace around the room.
"Your main concern may be the boy, but my main concern is you. You can hide it all you want, but I know you rather well, Lily. And I know when you're distressed. And who can blame you?"

She sighed again at Lily's last question.
"In a world with no responsibilities...perhaps."

After a pause, the skylark continued.

"I think you just need...time. I know it sounds cliche, but..." she flipped her hair distressingly.
"I suppose if you talked to the boy about it it might ease the shock after a while. But...I'm not exactly the authority on family, you know. I can only do so much."

At this point she had arrived back to the chair Lily was slumped in and sat back down on the chair leg.
"So just let me know what you need," she said, managing to give a small grin.

"The problem is that I don't know what I need. I think..." Lily thought for a moment, sitting pensively. She knew Carmen was right about time but she knew the situation required more time than they really had to give it. His existance had proved to bring only more stress into her life. "I guess I just need to have a chat with him to let him know that I'm going to try, but I need time. And... Would you go with me? You don't need to be next to me, but just knowing you're around would help me a lot..." She asked, looking up at Carmen.

Carmen gave the angel a warm smile. "Of course, dear," she replied. "You know I would do that even if you didn't ask me to."

A gentle knock could be heard on Carmen's door as a sing-song voice rang out, "Ooooh, laaadies!" Maria pryed the door open and poked her head in to see Carmen... AND Lily. Two for one. A wicked grin grew on her face as she eyed them. "I've come to whisk you away to the assembly with me. I've got some plaaans." She explained, still grinning.

Maria pouted as she stepped up the stairs to walk towards the podium. She suddenly didn't want to do this at all. Not only could she not find one of her students, but she'd also been denied the rights to a laser light show for her students.

Walking up to the podium, her expression didn't change much. She let out a heavy sigh as a smile grew on her lips. "I apologize for what is going to be a rather boring assembly... Some people wanted to be party poopers."

Criston snickered in the background, thoughts of the party to come on his mind.

"Regardless... Welcome to Athalia Academy! For those of you new to the school, I'm Maria Cross, the school's principal. When I'm not off saving the world, you can find me in my office on the second floor. I can't guarantee I'll always be there or that even if I am, that I'll answer. So uh... You're better off getting Brako. That buzz kill never leaves his office."

"Ahem..." Brako cough from beside Criston, who nudged the old man with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrow at him. Brako rolled his eyes and walked on stage, motioning for Maria to step aside. She did as she was told, chuckling at him as she did so.

"Good afternoon. I'm Brako Rackshaw. Please, call me Mr. Rackshaw." He introduced himself, bowing slightly to the crowd.

"Brako RULES!" Criston screamed, throwing his voice so that it seemed as if it came from the back of the gym.

"Ahem..." Brako coughed again, glancing at Criston. He sighed before continuing. "As most of you know, you're here because you're special. You don't belong out there with the humans, the regular one's anyway. You're here because you want to learn not only scholarly knowledge, but about yourself. Explore your possibilities and make some life long friends. Use this campus as much as you can and gain from it what I hope you all will leave here with. The confidence to hold your head up high and say, 'I am myself!'" Brako bellowed, his voice loud and proud as he smiles down at the students. "Now go, there is much to be done and so little time to do it in." He finished, smiling and walking off the stage, disappearing into the darkness.

Maria raised a brow at him as he left, chuckling when he was gone. She walked back up to the podium and grinned at the crowd. "He gave that same speech when I first came to this school." She told everyone, chuckling. "But the sentiment remains. Find who you are here. Find friends. Discover your limits, explore your abilities, and most of all... Have a little bit of fun along the way." She ended grinning. She really wished right now to poof in a cloud of purple smoke but she respected that old man... She sighed as she waved and walked down.

As she did, Criston picked up where she left off and walked up to the podium. "Before I announce what everyone is waiting for, I wanted to give your professors a chance to introduce themselves. And I'll started us off! I'm Criston Cross, Maria's one and only son... that I know of. I'll be your magicks professor as well as the magical creatures professor. Oh, and uh... Math. I do that too sometimes." He began and then looked to the side to see who would step up next.

- Oliver -

he floated down the hall silently, the larger teacher padding along behind him. he had no real idea where Maria was but figured heading for the assembly was a reasonable plan, though he'd have to be careful not to take too long, he could always feel a bit of strain on his soul from being away, but he'd been gone for far longer and been fine so he wasn't about to mention it.
"So what's Maria got up her sleeve this time, anyway?" Oliver smiled and chuckled.
"oh you'll see, she has big plans this time" he said, "we're heading for the assembly now, i'm sure she'll meet us there"

- Andromeda -

she smiled at Kathy but was silent as she listened to Crash say "So judging by the looks of it, it's probably only a minor sprain...how painful is it? Can you weight bear at all? I'm going to have to touch it to bandage it but tell me if it's too painful...and sorry but we've got to elevate it" then he said "If you sit back on the bed a bit and just place your foot on this pillow" she glanced down "it's hard to put any weight on it, but not impossible, and it is kinda sensitive but i don't think bandaging it will hurt that much" then she did as she was told and shifted back.

she kept glancing at Eric, waiting for his answer. finally, he spoke "I-I'll stay..." she exhaled and smiled, then muttered "thanks" with a bit of a blush. then Crash started bandaging her ankle and she held back whimpers and cries because it really hurt but she didn't want them to know that.

“I’ll let the two of you know if you miss anything important at the assembly. Although, ah… I guess you wouldn’t know where to find me…” Andromeda giggled again and Kathy said “I’ll stop by the infirmary tomorrow and hopefully we’ll run into each other. If we don’t, I’ll leave a note or let Lily know to tell you what the assembly was about… She would probably remember it better than me anyway.” Andromeda laughed at that and smiled "that sounds like a plan" she said "i have to come back anyway, so thanks" then they started talking about going so she looked at Eric and smiled again, with a light blush on her cheeks. he asked if she was ready and she nodded "yeah" she twisted to slide her legs off the bed and started standing. she managed not to fall over. "my room's on the second floor, near where I fell onto Ryuu"

Crash took in what Andromeda said, nodding to show he'd heard her as he set about sorting things out. He took extra care when it came to bandaging her ankle, despite the fact she tried to hide how painful it was, he was purposefully looking for any signs that he was hurting her. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make the process painless. Crash instantly felt guilty when Eric nodded at him, he hadn't realised how nervous Eric had been...he should have really. If his memory had kicked in and he'd been a little less distracted, he would have but...'Hope I didn't come across as an ass...' he told himself, realising it was too far along to apologise to Eric for making him uncomfortable. The shapeshifter also wondered whether he'd spent too much time away from people...

This particular thought process seemed to completely occupy his mind, unless he was directly spoken too, he barely seemed to register what was being said. Despite being distracted, he tucked the tips of his fingers into the pocket of his jeans and glanced at the people in front of him. At least he looked like he was listening, sort of as Kathy and Andromeda talked, still his expression could only be described as distant. In fact when Kathy looked at him, it took him a moment to realise she was talking to him 'Crabapples! All i got then was 3 people crowd and offers of help...just nod, nod now...any time now. Please? Do something...you're just staring blankly' With his lightning fast thought process, it took him less than a moment to shake the startled look from his face and nod in agreement to Kathy's statement, putting up his most convincing smile.

'...a dog would have been more convincing than that Crash...smooth' He watched Kathy walk over to the door very briefly glancing back at Andromeda and Eric, he was a little hesitant to follow Kathy straight away but as soon as she beckoned him over his face lit up and he smiled "Yup!" Lifting his hand up to his head, he saluted Eric and Andromeda "I'll see you two around and take care" He grinned at them before hastily following Kathy out into the hallway, purposefully walking on her right side so he could see her.

"Do you know you're way around here already?" He asked as they made their way down the hallways, considering how bad he'd been at finding his way through the old building it wasn't much of a surprise that he willingly followed Kathy's direction. Being out of the infirmary definitely seemed to raise his spirits, he was more relaxed...well relaxed in the sense that he wasn't as tense as before and that excited glow had reappeared on his face. In truth he was still fired up about being back, though he didn't feel the same need to run around like something from the looney tunes anymore, he was quite content walking alongside Kathy. Not silently though, his mind was abuzz with questions, working just as fast as his heart. "So, how have you been?" He asked turning to look at her, debating whether to be more specific or not with his question. "I mean-" He added, reaching up to rub the back of his neck as his cheeks colored "-if you don't mind me asking, it's been a while since we...we talked" He added, clearly unsure of himself...though the smile never seemed to leave his face. 'After all these years...she still makes me nervous' A fact that he actually found comforting, oddly enough.

It probably didn't take the pair long to get to the assembly, even with conversation. Coming up to the door, Crash put his hand against it and glanced at Kathy. "I think they've started" he murmured, pushing the door open so that he could look into the hall and so could Kathy if she wanted to. "Seats at the back just over there" Crash grinned, edging into the room he glanced up at the stage, wondering who was stood at the podium and hoping he wouldn't mind the fact that they were a little late. Providing Kathy was with him, he made his way over to the empty seats, letting Kathy sit down before he did. 'Uneventful, just this once *Fate, let it remain just that' He thought, reaching up to adjust his bandanna subconsciously.

(*He's always believed in fate though wouldn't know -or remember?- that Fate is an actual being)

Eric sighed as he listened to the others talk, as well as Andromeda's small groans/whimpers of pain she was trying poorly to hide. He stared down at the floor, just... thinking.

How could I help her?

Could I even begin to?

What medicines to have?

Would a heated blanket help?

Ice pack?

Do I even own an ice pack?

I've never needed one before now...

I'm such a failure. I don't even own what every normal person would probably have.

He let out another sigh, straightening when Andromeda spoke to him. "Okay." He replied and began walking in that direction, rather stupidly forgetting that Andromeda would need help to walk.

~ Carmen ~

It didn't take long for a certain professor to appear after Criston even made a hint that it was now somebody else's turn.

Sashaying almost runway-style up to the podium before smiling at the Cross, Carmen Calandra dramatically flipped her hair to turn her head and body to the audience of students. She grinned as she surveyed the crowd in front of her, observing a mixture of emotions plastered across their faces. Eagerness, confusion, boredom, and naturally a couple of students who were outright asleep. It was no matter: they would be awake soon.

"Hello," she said in a quiet, melodious tone.

"I'm Carmen Calandra, and you'll find that some of us are living specimens of successful Athalia graduates. You see, I and a few of my colleagues were once students in the Academy, just like you."

"But now?"

Suddenly, the strawberry blonde woman exploded in an extravagant shimmer of bright colors into a gigantic gaseous bird, that stood perched on the podium with its elegant wings gracefully flapping in the wind.

"We aren't afraid to show our true selves," she said, with the same voice as before. The skylark presently became a fashionable female again, with a smirk on her face. With her huge sunhat and her trumpet slung on her back, she was unmistakable for anyone else. "But anyway. I am the Director of Fashion at this Academy, and I teach all of the fashion courses. If you'd like private music lessons, I'd be happy to teach those as well."

Presently a male student in the audience yelled "Why do we need fashion courses?!"

Carmen tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at the boy as she said "You're asking me that with that outfit?" With a smile, a polite wave and a flip of the hair, Carmen left the podium while the audience had not yet stopped chuckling.

---

Edric has made his way to the assembly hall and taken a seat. He remained there for awhile, watching the other students trickle in. The assembly had started, and people were talking, but Edric failed to pay attention. It was only when a student yelled something about fashion and one of the professors said something witty back that he started really coming back to reality. The vice principal, Brako, was it? He had delivered a speech that he had half-paid attention to.

He shook his head furiously. He had come here for two reasons. He had already found his mother, that was reason one, but he also needed to make friends. He wouldn’t make friends by acting like a sullen asshole. He sat up straighter and put a smile on his face. His mother didn’t remember him, that kind of sucked, but hey! Here he was at fucking Athalia! The most premiere school for magical beings, he should be happy. He leaned forwards, putting his elbows on his knees and steepling his fingers.

Alright, time to pay attention!

Kathy thought that Crash seemed oddly distracted as she turned her attention back to him but… Seeing the bright smile on his face as he walked over to the door, she wondered if she had imagined it. “See you two around.” Giving them a wave, she left the infirmary and waited for Crash to join her before beginning to walk down the hall.

“Sort of. I took a peek at the map and noticed that they seemed to have kept most of the layout the same as the old buildings. Sorry if I get us lost though.” She answered with a chuckle. It also helped that she had seen most of the students heading in the same direction so she had a good guess as to where the assembly hall was. In direct contrast to Crash, Kathy was growing more tense and nervous as they walked away from the infirmary. With how empty the place was now, she had just come to the realization that they were alone together. Which… Made it the perfect time to ask what he had been doing the last few years but… ‘Would that be probing in too much?’ Normally she would have still searched for a polite way to ask, but the fact that Crash had hesitated to answer her about the eyepatch was still stuck in her mind.

Luckily for her, and ironically enough, it was Crash that ended up providing the opportunity to talk about the past. “It really has been a while, hasn’t it?” Fiddling with a lock of her own hair, she continued, “I’ve been doing fairly well, and did a bit of travelling.” Actually, there had been quite a few major changes in her life but they were not things she intended to disclose without needing to. “What about you? Were you… Busy?” Kathy hesitated a bit with the last sentence as she indirectly tried to probe into why he hadn’t stayed in touch with her.

She smiled when they reached the assembly hall; feeling quite a bit proud and relieved that she had managed to guide them over to the right place. Scooting close to the door, she peeked inside and tried to locate the seats Crash was talking about, but she didn’t actually see them until they stepped into the room. Kathy gave him an appreciate smile and thumbs-up when they finally reached the seats. ‘Thank goodness there was space in the back.’ Sitting down, she kept an eye on Crash out the corner of her eyes as he settled down… A part of her actually expecting him to make some sort of last-minute blunder even from just sitting down. The thought made her feel a bit guilty, but she also wondered if that was actually possible when it came to the clumsy shapeshifter.

Her expression brightened greatly when she recognized Criston (though she had missed his introductions) and Carmen at the stage, clapping enthusiastically with the majority of the crowd when the latter transformed from the stellar bird into the familiar form of the friend she had greatly missed.

((Surprise! Managed to squeeze in 1 post before Saturday. :P))

- Oliver -

he had been planning this. so, when it was his turn to introduce himself, he was not in fact, on stage. he wanted to scare an auditorium full of magical beings because he took risks like that. so he literally fell, from the rafters, into his seat, still in ghost form because he hadn't bothered to go get his body, it would have taken far too long to get back to the auditorium wheel-chair bound and the rules are that a spirit warrior cannot move his own body, even if he's just moving the wheelchair his body is in.
he put that out of his mind to wave to the children around him as he stepped up to the podium "Hi, I'm Oliver Cohen, I went to the original Athalia academy and pretty much just followed it here" he glanced around at the other teachers and smiled again "I'm the computers teacher here, and if you're in my class, I'll give you pre-warning, the first lesson will be a surprise for all of you" he winked at Maria "I also have some limited knowledge of gardening and alchemy picked up from a... friend of mine, so if you ever need help with that, I'm here" he said it with a sly smile "I hope to see many of you this coming year" with that he did a very over-exaggerated bow and stepped back, walking to his seat.

- Andromeda -

Andro tried to carry her own weight, she really did, but her ankle decided it just wasn't going to happen. she managed a couple of steps before she nearly flew to the floor, catching herself on the bed frame. 'that's... what? 3 times I've fallen in one day? once down the stairs, once when I tried to stand on my ankle, and now' she sighed quietly and forced herself back up to her feet "Um... Eric I... I feel bad but I... I don't think I can walk on my own quite yet" she blushed and looked down at the ground "sorry for... well being such a nuisance... you keep going out of your way... it's really nice of you..."
she mentally sighed 'can I seriously not get a single sentence out in front of him? what is wrong with me? I'm mean I'm normally a stuttering mess but not this bad..."

"You won't, I have faith in you" He grinned as she chuckled, having not even looked at a map or really noticed where students were going, he hadn't the foggiest idea of anything. Even if the layout was somewhat familiar...thinking back on it, he'd never been good at navigating the halls of the former academy either. He didn't notice how tense and nervous Kathy was becoming beside him, perhaps before he would have but for the moment he was lost in his own thoughts and enjoying the nostalgic feeling of contentment. He wasn't blind enough to not notice it when he finally broke the silence between them at least...though he had to force back an influx of worry as he waited for her answer. He hid the worry well but the guilt he could barely keep from his face, his eyes often betrayed him first, seeing as one of them wasn't functional he hoped it wasn't obvious 'While doesn't quite cover it though' he thought as he watched her fiddle with a lock of her hair. His face brightened as she mentioned travelling, though he was glad to hear she'd been doing well 'fairly' caught at him.

Before he could think up a way to ask her a bit more about her travels, she bounced the question back at him. He lifted his hand up to the back of his neck, picking up on her hesitation though he wasn't sure why. "I'm not sure busy is the right word" He smiled "I'd say lost would fit better" He decided though he couldn't quite explain his word choice, he hadn't meant to say it out loud. "It took me a while to recover after the knock to the noggin'...and body when...you know" He couldn't quite bring himself to be more specific but he kind of figured she'd know what he meant. "When I was well enough to leave England, I travelled as well...mostly." He decided on saying "Little Feather came with me until we found her tribe...well not her tribe as such, we found other Lakota's and she wanted to stay with them" He told her, reaching up to sweep some of his fringe of off his forehead, the action was in vain because it instantly flopped back again. 'If I'd of known you were going to travel...' He pushed the thought aside and quietly added "I tried to text you a few times before we left but they didn't go through" rubbing the back of his neck.

Upon reaching the assembly, he noticed Kathy's smile "Nicely done" he grinned, moving over to the door. The grin left his face only briefly as they made their way over to the seats, lighting up his face again as Kathy gave him an appreciative smile and thumbs up. And through some small miracle he even managed to avoid any last minute blunders as he settled into his seat. Unfortunately as soon as he sat down, he felt a familiar agitation rise up within him reminding him he had too much energy and that he didn't need to rest up. His eyes travelled around the hall, inspecting the décor and the sea of people between them and the stage. His fingers twitched against his thighs, one of his hands reached into his jacket to touch the drumsticks tucked inside though he forced himself to leave them there and instead dropped his hand back down to tap out some form of rhythm as Carmen took the stage. His smile grew as he recognised Carmen, the buzz of energy within him did as well, he sat up a little straighter to listen to her, already wishing the introductions were over so that he could get to the stage to greet the other Athalians. 'Once students...change, can't escape change' Being a shapeshifter himself it was a rather ironic thought and a distracting one...so much so that when Carmen changed forms, he was taken completely by surprise. With a sharp intake of breath he jumped back in surprise, taking the weight off of the front of his chair and applying pressure to the back of it.

As many of the students started clapping enthusiastically, Crash's chair fell backwards as did Crash himself, luckily the horrible screech was pretty much drowned out by the clapping. It took him a moment to realise what had happened before he sat back up, clutching at the chair as he did. His face was practically the same color as his hair 'Fate - 3 Crash - 0...can we leave it at that now? These things are supposed to come in three's, why didn't I remember' he gripped the edge of his chair, bashfully checking to see if anyone noticed before he quietly tried to detangle himself from the chair before standing it back up again. Listening to Oliver as he introduced himself, by the time Oliver bowed and walked back to his seat, Crash had settled back into his. "Great...that's two dreams in one day" He muttered under his breath, thinking about it he pinched the back of his hand to make sure he was actually awake before forcing himself to focus on the stage again.

Ryuu Yamauchi

Oliver went ahead and made himself look like a badass.

Ten out of ten.

Ever since Lucy had blipped out of existence, Ryuu fell into a mixture of despair and anger. Alas, his dream lasted for... a few minutes. Befitting of his sad little fate, considering that nothing actually ever went his way. Heck, who thought he would become a math teacher? That was clearly Athalia's fault for not letting him become a shut-in.

...On a second thought, Ryuu decided that him becoming a teacher was for the better.

Cracking his neck, the anime-loving teacher marched over to the podium, taking off his sunglasses. The light hurt his eyes as usual, but exposing them for just a bit would not hurt that much.

"Name's Ryuu, but you can just call me 'sir'," Ryuu attempted to look formal, only to look like some gangster who had his spotlessly clean car dumped in a bucket of white paint. "Been here longer than you, so I actually know more than what my looks try to tell you. I'm a math teacher; my courses aren't a breeze, and as long as you do anything aside from disrupting my class and sleeping during my lecture, I won't... punish you.

"That's all."

Turning away from the podium, Ryuu walked away for a good distance before he finally smiled a bit. "I think I did decently," he told Oliver as he sat next to him.

Criston

Criston stood calmly as the other teachers introduced themselves, getting kind of bored and listless. He really just wanted to announce the party and get off the stage before anything more happened. He still had paperwork he wasn't ever going to do, afterall.

As the last teacher shyly made her bows, Criston sighed, rolled his eyes and marched his way up to the podium. He smiled and got closer to the mic to begin his speech.

"And now that that's over with..." He began.

But something he saw made his smile drop. But it didn't just drop. It was like it melted away. He paused, staring at the pair in the back, two sets of red hair. For a while, he did nothing but stare at Kathy and then when his eyes darted towards Crash smiling at her, he cleared his throat. "It's time for a party!" He shouted, forcing enthusiasm.

He found her first.

Before me.

I've been searching for years...

What the hell, now she just fucking shows up out of nowhere next to him of all people?

He took a deep breath and smiled at the crowd. "Party downstairs in the ballroom, be there or be Brako." He shouted, waving as he made his way down the stairs. As he did so, however, he failed to notice the wire jutting out ever so slightly and tripped, tumbling down the staircase like an idiot.

To stall any further embarrassment, he whispered a spell in a hushed angry tone and vanished in a cloud of pale lavender smoke, barely visible to the audience.

The gymnasium was quiet for a few moments, what would feel like eternity to some, and then slowly, the crowd began to talk and a quiet roar of conversation rose as those in attendance slowly left, making small conversation as they left.

Criston sat in his office chair, slumped back, staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes, he looked down at the frame on his desk and swallowed, hard. It was a picture of Kathy in casual clothes, the only picture his hired detective had managed to get of her before she disappeared again. It was blurry but he knew who it was and could see clearly every detail of her face as if the picture were crystal clear to him.

Smooth, Criston. Very smooth.

Way to lose your fucking head, moron.

Oh?

Carmen was intrigued.

The ballroom you say?

The ballroom she had helped design and decorate (along with much of the campus' adornments)? The ballroom she had a gown waiting in her office to use in?

Yes.

And so, the skylark flipped her hair and made her way back to her office rather than immediately downstairs like everyone else. Throwing open the doors of a certain hutch sitting on one of the walls, Carmen smiled as she beheld a beautiful ballgown that she hand-picked from her collection for such an occasion. Of course, once she wore it she'd have to switch it out with another one...

Naturally, the extravagant strawberry blonde woman didn't realize that probably exactly zero other people on the campus expected an actual ball in the ballroom, with tails and ball gowns and waltzes by Johann Strauss. But she wouldn't have cared even if she did realize it. And so, with the ball gown put on, a matching pair of heels selected, and her sun hat and trumpet donned, Carmen left her office.

Soon she reached the ballroom itself, opening its grand entry doors and walking in. The room seemed like it was setup for exactly the sort of ball Carmen was envisioning, but with several key differences. For one, while the reception tables set against the walls included many high-class treats that Carmen approved of, there were also more...normal...foods for the less ritzy students to enjoy. Things like (ironically enough) Ritz crackers, Cool Ranch Doritos, Oreos, and curious blue candies called Sanics. Second, although there was a stage for performances of waltzes, there was currently a soundsystem set up, with what was presumably a DJ booth front and center. It was currently silent. "Well, that just won't do," Carmen mused to no one in particular as she walked up to the stage. No DJ was in sight, and Carmen wasn't about to let modern party music ruin the setting. So she took our her phone from her purse and plugged it in, and a scant 30 seconds later the sounds of an album of Strauss waltzes lazily drifted across the ballroom. Of course, she wanted to and could have just started playing it herself, but then she wouldn't be able to walk around and sip wine.

Speaking of wine, the skylark soon noticed the beverage table at the opposite end of the room and nonchalantly walked over, where she spotted her favorite red wine. "Ah!" she exclaimed, pouring herself a glass. Although the champagne and cocktails were tempting, wine was a weakness of hers. That said, there was liquor of all types and most of it was not appealing to her (but would be very appealing to the teenagers who just wanted to get drunk). She wondered how Maria had known what Carmen's favorite wine was, and then assumed Lily told her. So she set about sipping it as she admired the glistening chandeliers and waited for more guests to arrive.

---

Well, that was certainly interesting. Edric thought, a smile creeping onto his face. He noticed he was smiling at the man’s (Criston, was it?) blunder and wiped the smile off his face. He couldn’t make friends if he laughed at people he didn’t even know. He resolved to go down to the ballroom that was mentioned, perhaps he’d talk to some people there. He waded through a sea of people with a smile on his face. He was glad for the crowd, he’d had enough of the country side’s isolation.

The ballroom was exactly as ornate as the name implied. Looking at the way the ballroom was arranged, there was going to be an actual ball. Edric looked down at his clothing, suddenly glad he had dressed semi-formally for the first day. White button up shirt and slacks might not be traditional ballroom attire, but he supposed it was better than sweat pants or something.

He wasn’t the first student to enter, the fashion teacher, Carmen, was here as well as a few students who had trickled in before him. He supposed he should have put his things away, but that could wait. He needed to mingle. He maneuvered his way to the beverage table and filled an extravagant glass with cherry Dr. Pepper. He supposed he could have some alcohol, but the smell of the stuff made his stomach turn.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned on heel and found himself face to a befreckled girl who was easily half a foot shorter than him.

”Hullo!” The girl said in the must bubbly voice he had ever heard. ”I’m Aileen, what’s your name?”

Eddy! Holy shit! A girl just spoke to you without you speaking to her first! Azamor said mockingly.

”H-hi. I’m Edric.” Edric was totally lost. Before, he had his clumsiness or the infirmary to use as conversational topics, but now Edric was lost. Azamor would’ve grinned, had he a physical body. Edric barely noticed that Azamor stole control from him. Azamor took moment to get to used to get used to the feeling of having a body before dumping Edric’s glass over the poor girl’s head. Edric seized back control, but not before the damage had been done. Aileen looked at Edric, fury in her eyes. She pulled back an arm and slapped him with such force he stumbled back a bit. She walked away huffing and Edric sighed.

Goddamn you, Aza. Edric thought coldly. He threatened the demon the only way he knew how. I swear to God, Aza. I’m going to play “Piano Man” for hours on end tonight.

Worth it!

He cursed under breath. Moments like that were what kept him searching for a way to break the bond he shared with the demon. The only deterrent he had at the moment was Billy Joel. A few hours of some “Uptown Girl” usually kept Azamor from screwing with him for a few days. He had often wondered what caused the demon’s hatred of Billy Joel. Refusing to dwell on the situation any longer he walked towards Carmen, deciding to introduce himself.

”Hello!” He said in what he hoped was a friendly voice when he had finally found the Skylark amidst the party-goers. ”I’m Edric. Edric Karst, I think I’m in one of your classes.”

---

@Driving Park-Carmen
NPC-Aileen

As Crash began to, vaguely, tell her about the years they’d missed the first emotion she felt was concern. Then… Shock. Kathy felt her heart drop with his words. ‘Little Feather was travelling with him? But he wouldn’t even let me visit him when I…’ Staring ahead, and doing her best not to let her expression waver, she tried not to think about such things. Well… In the end she couldn’t keep up the smile she usually had on her face, but at the very least she prevented herself from looking terribly disappointed. “A-Ah… I see. So was it just you and Little Feather travelling together?” She asked, and regretted the question the very instant she finished her sentence. Actually, she was scared of learning more. She didn’t want to know if something happened between the two of them and…

“Huh?” Kathy turned to look at him in surprise. “You did?” It was strange. She had checked her phone multiple times a day to see if he contacted her again but she was certain that she hadn’t received any texts from him after- ‘Wait… Could it be?’ Looking away again she began, “I… Hadn’t received any texts from you ever since I changed my number. Um… Could it be that you never got the text I sent with my new number?” She certainly hoped so. For the longest time she had wondered if something terrible had happened to the shapeshifter, or if he no longer wanted to stay in touch with her.

Just when she had thought that Crash had managed to avoid any further accidents, he miraculously managed to fall into another. Literally. ‘It’s kind of amazing, in a sense.’ She thought as she watched him fiddle with the chair. “Careful… Otherwise I may have to drag you back to the infirmary again.” She smiled at him as she tried to comment in a joking manner. Her first reaction would’ve been to just ask if he was alright but… Judging from all the blood rushing into his face she figured it was better to make light of things instead of showing concern.

“Hm? A surprise?” Kathy’s ears perked up at a portion of Oliver’s introductions. Having signed up for computer classes she was very curious to know what the ghost had in mind. The smile on her face widened as Ryuu stepped up. He didn’t really look like a teacher, but she felt that his classes would probably be really interesting to attend. Hopefully in a good way. As the other introductions went underway, her attention began to drift. She didn’t recognize the others and having to listen to so many of them in such quick successions she gave up trying to remember them all.

She clapped along with the other students at the announcement of another party. Her enthusiasm to celebrate slipped slightly when she saw Criston fall… ‘Is he alright?’ She wondered, though there was no way for her to really know since he disappeared almost an instant later. ‘A lot of people seem to be tripping and falling today… I better be careful as well.’

With all the announcements done, most people were chattering excited and moving out of the assembly hall. Kathy was not in a hurry to leave though. Remaining in her seat, she tried to peek out at the shapeshifter beside her from the corner of her eyes. Then she looked down at herself and frowned at the clothes she had picked out… Just her usual jeans and a plain white t-shirt. ‘Ah… I really want to change before going but…’ Turning to look at Crash again, she felt her cheeks begin to glow red as she began, “Um… Crash? Since there is a party after all… Do you want to maybe…” Her voice kept getting quieter and quieter as her face turned bright red. She began to rub the back of her neck in a very Crash-like fashion as she looked back down at her shoes. Gathering up her courage, she raised her voice back to normal volume and continued, “Can we go to the party together? Er, if you don’t mind I kind of want some time to change and get ready first so… If you’re not in a rush then I was hoping we could go… Together..? O-only if you don't mind of course!”

Crash noticed that Kathy's smile had vanished, though he didn't quite cotton on as to why. If anything he thought it was because Little Feather hadn't returned with him, the Lakota had spoken highly of Kathy and even helped...'Probably shouldn't mention that right now' He tilted his head as he thought on her question "And Lion for a while...though we lost him before we could find Feather's people. He did it to keep Feather alive, after that she lost her powers...which is why she hasn't come back here I guess" He replied, thinking his explanation for her absence would cheer Kathy up a little. "I mean she still might show up, if we're lucky" He grinned, again meaning to lift her spirits rather than dampen them but...

The shapeshifter nodded his head, giving Kathy a questioning look as he registered her surprise at his words. He couldn't quite keep his apprehension in check as his mind flooded with doubts, if she'd received the text then why was she so surprised by what he'd said...He inhaled sharply as she told him she'd changed her number and before he said anything else he brought his hand up to lightly tap his forehead. "You changed your number...I didn't realise you'd changed your number" He mumbled, caught in between feeling relieved and agitated by this new piece of information 'She wasn't ignoring me...' not that it'd stopped him searching for her throughout his travels..."I didn't get a text but I did kind of...break my phone around that time. It took a while to fix and I had to change the sim, I've only got your old number" He admitted pulling out his phone to show her the number he had, at the same time hoping she wouldn't notice he'd of had to memorize it to put it back in his phone.

Having got himself back in his chair, he gave Kathy a bashful grin "Three's the magic number, won't happen again" for most people this may have been true but when it came to Crash, Murphy's law often overrode the other rules. Having already forgotten what he'd actually signed up for that year, Crash couldn't help but hope he hadn't been put down for maths 'Ryuu as a teacher would be fun, if not slightly odd...but maths? I think he'd end up killing me' Crash decided, though thinking about it he had a feeling maths had been on his list of classes...'Ah, I didn't recognise him before...must be Criston though' In typical Crash fashion he didn't linger on the nightmare of maths for too long, he squinted with his good eye to get a better look at Criston's face. 'Definitely him...he looks different, then again doesn't everyone' Crash lurched forward as Criston took a tumble on the stairs and inhaled sharply when he disappeared in a puff of smoke '...Even makes tripping look classy' he thought with a small smile.

As people begun to chatter around them, Crash considered getting to his feet and leaving with the others...then again it'd be better for the safety of all if he waited a while. Leaning back in his seat he turned to look at Kathy, tilting his head to the side as he caught her frowning. He was just working up the courage to ask her what she was thinking, among other things when she turned back to him with glowing red cheeks, feeling as if he'd been caught staring Crash sat up and nervously flattened his hair, blinking at her as she started talking. He lifted an eyebrow at the neck rub trying not to smile, considering how nervous she seemed to be, but failing miserably. And though he wasn't getting his hopes too high, he had an inkling of what was coming next.

Crash's smile grew as Kathy spoke, he felt a strange yet vaguely familiar feeling flush through him and it was his turn to flush with embarrassment. "I-I'd really like that" He murmured, clearing his throat and saying it again a little louder to make sure she heard him before adding on "I'm not in a rush, I mean I should probably move my bike and change out of this gear before going anywhere...especially a party" He responded with a bright grin. "Are you living here or off site?" He asked getting to his feet or rather bouncing to his feet, catching himself he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and carefully moved out from between the chairs. "If you like I can walk you to yours first though?" He offered, unwilling to leave just yet...

---

Rain was respectfully silent throughout all the introductions, lifting her right leg to elegantly position it over her left, the werewolf adjusted her dress according and leant back in her chair. Lifting a hand up she absently twirled her hair around her fingers, occasionally touching the braid hidden behind her ear. 'Maths? Fashion? Computers? These things sound familiar and yet I haven't the faintest idea about any of them...ask me how to track a deer in the fall, no problem. Ask me a...maths thing, the most I can tell you is it involves numbers...though maybe I know a little more than that. A good Beta would know more' Though Rain listened to everyone talk, her eyes only stayed on the stage whilst Carmen was up there, the form switch was so unexpected it made her wonder what was to come next.

Once the announcements were all done and rolled out, Rain couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. It wasn't that she wasn't impressed with the show, or at least aspects of it, it was more to do with the fact...she hadn't been to one like this before. The energy had been different, no one had really insulted anyone else and the real killer for her was the complete lack of violence. "Not even a speck of blood spilt...is every assembly going to be like this?" Rain asked, not that she directed her question to anyone in particular. 'The bird trick wasn't half bad though' She admitted in her thoughts, getting to her feet, she stretched out her limbs and turned to look at Ara and Aurelia, providing they were still with her.

"Maybe the party will be different" She commented, a part of her hoped it would so that she'd feel more settled, but another small part of her hoped it wouldn't. "It also reminded me, I love parties or gatherings...didn't think to mention it before" She admitted. Rain was becoming a little more comfortable with her social skills now, it was either becoming easier or she was beginning to care less about what she was saying. "I'm all for exploring but I am dressed for a party" She started, taking a moment to look down at the dress she was in, she smoothed it down before passing her fingers through her hair. "I'd imagine it'd be worth checking out, want to go?" She asked, so far she'd enjoyed being around Aurelia and Ara so she wasn't in a hurry to leave them behind.

Criston

Criston sighed as he straightened his tie and brushed his hair. He hadn't felt this down since his mother told him she wasn't going to throw him birthday parties anymore. Then again, he almost felt guilty for feeling this poorly about it. It wasn't like anyone had really wronged him... He just... felt down.

Which was odd for the usually upbeat warlock. Very... odd.

Knock, knock

Criston jumped slightly at the sound intruding on his thoughts and turned as the door opened and a young woman stepped through. She was small framed and in oriental clothing. She stepped in without a word and walked over to Criston. He lifted his hands as if she meant to attack him and flinched as her hand shot out, holding a letter.

Blinking, Criston finally realized the small girl wasn't going to attack him with anything and he took the letter from her hand, his brow furrowing.


Criston!

Sorry for leaving you to handle things on your own. I've got some important mommy things to do, yanno. Ayane, the girl with this letter, is your new fiance. Since the Fey Queen poofed on us, here's the Merking's daughter, well... one of them. She can't talk, so look out for her, would ya? I don't know what the King would do to us if his daughter had a bad time at this party!

<3 Maria

Criston crumbled up the letter, scowl on his face. Holding back a groan, he threw the note in the trashcan and turned to look at the girl. Ayane, hm?

"Ayane?" He asked and the girl looked up at him like a deer caught in headlights before nodding slowly. Criston sighed and looked down at her. "You know of the party, I assume?" He asked and got a nod in return. Smiling at him, Ayane walked up to his and took his hand, holding it in her own. He blinked, taken aback by her sudden movement. When she took her hand away, in his hand he found a opalescent shell with a string strung through it.

Ayne motioned for Criston to place the shell around his neck, mocking the motion with her own hands. Criston sighed and pocketed the shell, responding with, "Maybe later. Come on, we'll be late." With that, Criston walked briskly to the ballroom and they arrived just in time to see a young boy walking up to Carmen to talk to her.

Criston nodded at Carmen in greeting and then led his burden to the other side of the ballroom where he spoke with the DJ about the music for the night, ignoring the small girl beside him who simply stood and stared at him.

---

Lily

"This sucks..." She groaned as she fell back against her chair, staring at the choices in dress before her. She wanted to look good for Carmen but at the same time she didn't think a rather racy looking red dress in front of her son. But if she wore the usual white dress, Carmen would give her grief.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she reached her hand out and snagged the white dress. Carmen was already hers, it wasn't like she had to impress her.

Moments later, Lily was dressed with her hair braided down her back, a trick she'd learned from Carmen and was out the door, her heart pumping for the meeting with Edric. It wasn't like she was the best mother in the world, she didn't exactly know how to be one.

Maybe it was best if she just... didn't. Would it be better if she didn't try to be his mother and make up the time they'd lost? Would it be weird if she tried? She didn't know.

Before she knew it, she was walking in behind Criston and a strange girl he was with. She raised a brow at the sight and then raised one at Carmen as if asking what she knew but then she noticed Edric. She forced a smile and waved at the boy before walking over to them.

"Good evening, you two." She greeted them, picking up a glass of wine from behind Carmen and resisted the urge to chug it.