Pakora academy: a school whose construction completed in the year 2015. A school by demi, for the demi. Though it was not an institute that chose to discriminate openly, there was an obvious tinge of preference towards the individual known colloquially amongst their own circles as "demi", or "demi-humans".

Its purpose was to give the demi humans and all the other beings with a mind of their own a place to go too. The amount of money that had been poured into it made it rise out of the ground in an instant utilizing the newest technology and best thought out architecture that was available and possible. Some of the most comfortable type of furniture together with advanced teaching tactics. There should be close to no disadvantages to any of the students at the school. "{i]The heaven of schools[/i]" some students would call it. There was nothing not to like about it, and some of the students that applied to the school were even willing to pay a fortune. But there was no bribing with these type of schools. Students should feel extremely lucky to have this amazing education opportunity.

---

Sun beaming down onto her sunny blonde hairs, birds and cicadas chirping in the background filling the atmosphere with a feeling of summer in an almost picturesque fashion. The smell of the vast ocean entered her nostrils, salty and consistent in origin, as she drew forth another breath of fresh air. The ocean was widely spread out in front of her eyes giving off quite a scene with the town beneath the hill. The sky was clear with only the small trails of white from the two planes flying thousand of meters above them. The path going uphill towards the school was filled with many different types of flowers that grew in this environment. They were mostly all still blooming, lighting up the path in a sea of colors.

There were already quite a fair number of students coming uphill to enter the school. Some of the students were coming up the hill with quite a bit of hand luggage saying on the travel tags the students had come from land and continents away to participate on this new school. They came via busses, trains, boats, planes, hiking whatever you could think off. They were, however, all a tad unlucky not knowing that it would be so crowded at the transport with only one bus riding uphill. Most of them decided to walk but have underestimated the one fact that going uphill was a little tougher then walking straight. Most of the students arrived at the school completely exhausted from either the walk or the extremely hot bus. Luckily Hikari wasn't as dumb as all those people, she had arrived a day early knowing about this "familiar sight" already.

The girl in question was wearing a white blouse without a single indication of the school's badge or anything at all. The blouse had the upper button undone and wasn't tucked in like it was suppose to be. Under that she wore a short brown skirt, brown knee socks and brown school shoes. She was not the only one wearing the uniform, in fact a big amount of people were wearing it, but starting this year students were permitted to wear any casual clothes too. The academy had grown out of that sort of archaic, ancient era of drone-like schooling already. This was suppose to be a modern school so school uniforms didn't fit what the administrators wished to provide for their youths. They were still on sale for the people who felt the need to.

As the blonde turned around and walked back inside the school again, she moved the top of her blouse in waving manner to fan her hot body. Her blonde hairs followed her small frame, l dancing gracefully around from the breeze of the sea she met in resistance. She looked even worse than the people coming up the hill, she had been out for too long expecting to be entertained by the sight of the exhausted students but it only punched her in the face and only helped contribute to her own lack thereof energy.

---

After a brisk walk through the main halls she ended up at the auditorium with already a lot of people occupying the giant room. Hikari swiftly walked to the very back of the auditorium past all the people. She took a quick glance around to see all the snacks and drinks on the tables at the side of the room. There were standing tables all around with a few smaller snacks on them for the taste. It looked more like there was gonna be a big party then a real ceremony.



Hikari almost fell backwards from the quite sudden yell. It was suddenly getting really warm after seeing this girl. She was sweet and all but she was truly a devil.







Hikari stuck out her tongue and bumped the side of her head in childish manner. Mary gave quite an audible sigh. She grabbed Hikari, dragging her by the arm arm and towards the side of the podium giving a quick run down if she had everything prepared. After most students had entered the lights dimmed down with the spotlights on the podium. Hikari stepped up the stairs and removed the piece of paper from her skirt pocket while walking. She stopped at the stand on the middle of the podium where the microphone was at. Hikari clearly looked confident in her speech as the student body president. She folded the paper open and cleared her throat, her presence seeming to shrink to the crowd itself as she glanced at the paper. Spread upon the paper were the doodles she had made earlier. Hikari swiftly felt her pockets but nothing more was in them. Sweat was pouring down her face as she grinned in disbelief a the crowed before her her eyes slowly turned to Mary in fear but with the same grin on her face. Mary was signing for her to go on. Hikari turned back at the crowd again and finally took some action. She janked the microphone in one hand and held it like some famous seattle-style rock star.



Hikari extended her arm forward and dropped the mic to the ground immediately and walked off stage afterwards. From a short distance loud furious yelling could be heard from Mary. Soon after Hikari had so awkwardly left the stage the lights turned back to their normal position with a light music playing in the background for the mood. Hikari could be found sulking on a chair at the nearest corner to the stage with a huge bump on her head. Mary had given her severe punishment; she would not be allowed to leave the chair until further notice.

Lily took the scenic route to the school, meaning she walked there instead of taking the bus. She immediately decided on the former once she saw how crowded the bus was. She couldn't imagine her just sitting there for god knows how long with those people. Not that she was against them or anything. It's just that she hated being bunched up with people, with no fresh air to breathe.

And so she climbed the hill. Thankfully, her dragon strength made her not tired at all as she pulled her wheeled suitcase, so she could enjoy the gorgeous view and the fresh breeze straight from the ocean. The heat was also merely warm for her, even though she wore an elaborate dress. Without her fire resistance, she would have sweated like a pig underneath that clothing of hers.

Her walk, however, wasn't entirely alone, as there were others who chose the same route as she did. And most of them were panting and sweating as they walked uphill.

She felt a litle pity for them. To be born not as a dragon.

"So, this is the place..." Lily said as she stood in front of the school gates. It was just as luxurious as she was told. Her parents had indeed sent her to the best school you can have in the entire nation.

She then saw a bunch of people wearing what seemed to be similar clothing. She had heard of this before. They were called school uniforms. The school itself no longer required its students to wear one, but some still chose to wear them nonetheless.

And she could understand why. She thought the outfit looked quite interesting. Perhaps she would purchase one just to wear in a whim.

She first headed to her designated room in the dormitories. Once again, she was impressed with how lavish everything was. The dormitories looked more like a five-star hotel instead of a school dormitory. The room she received was wide and spacey, it was more like a house than a room, seeing how she got a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom complete with a wide bathtub, and even a balcony since her room was located on the upper floors. She put her suitcase inside and then immediately headed to the auditorium.

When she arrived in the auditorium, it was already mostly filled with the new students. She saw some snacks being provided in the standing tables. However, she was not particularly hungry so she ignored them. She took her seat in the back, sitting calmly as she waited for the event to begin. Luckily, it began right away or else she might have gotten bored. And her dragon nature would just make her leave the room without giving a care that she might have just broke a school regulation.

As the lights dimmed, a girl walked onto the podium in front of the room. Her face looked confident as she radiated her bright smile to the entire room. However, that confidence was soon ruined with her fiddling around her pockets and with the paper she took from them. Perhaps there was an unexpected mishap, Lily thought.

After her short speech, clearly improvised on the spot, Lily rose up. She thought she would walk around for a while in this party. If nothing interested her, she would just leave and walk around the school instead.

Well, off to find love! was what Ascot thought, as he got off his parents' car with his suitcases and onto the foot of the hill where Pakora Academy stood in all its glory. Noticing how there was only one bus leading up to the school, the boy unfurled his fiery, red-orange wings, took up his suitcases, and began flying to the gates of the academy, where he would continue on to his dorm - shared with one Edward T. Carter - and deposit his suitcases for later unpacking. The boy would then smile, remembering what his father had told him about the other boy.

Edward has been tasked with an immense burden, Jehoel had said, The Silver Key keeps the beings of Anti-Logic from entering our reality and contesting the True God. Protect him, not from physical threats, but from the overwhelming power of lonliness and lack of bonds, so that the weight on his shoulders would be lightened.

Ascot would sigh wistfully at that, smiling. What would Edward be like? He knew the other boy was straight, and thus incompatible, but he couldn't help but hope that Edward would be a friendly and honorable person, one worth swearing his loyalty to. He wanted that, the feeling of committing himself to a worthy cause and a worthy person, of submitting himself to someone who proved himself worthy, of giving his life and service as someone else's knight.

Then, going off to the auditorium, the boy would eat a snack or two, before taking a seat. He would briefly scent a demon, but decide not to make a fuss about it; Pakora Academy was supposedly a 'truce zone' between Heaven and Hell. Instead, he would look at the young, blond woman with cute little fangs - a Vampire? - as she gave an awkward, yet endearing speech welcoming them into the school and inviting them to an 'Opening Ball'. Cool, a way to meet new people and potential boyfriends/girlfriends! And Edward, of coutse.

Once the speech was over, he would walk around, hoping to find his way back to the snacks, when he noticed a young woman with light purple hair that was accentuated by a billowing dress in that same color that made her look like a southern belle. Walking up to her, the boy, still in his checkered hoodie, but with the hood let down to show his messy black hair, and said:

"Hello there, milady, my name is Ascot, Ascot Sky, and I'm looking for a boy named Edward T. Carter. He is a boy one year older than me, who prefers to wear black, and has the same color of eyes and hair as me, but has a short ponytail." Prim, proper, and courteous, that was what Ascot was trying to be.

"Anyway, you seem like a lady both blessed with looks and intellect. May I ask what you plan to study in this academy?"

@liferusher@Hammerman

"Who is this kid?" was the first thought that came to Lily's mind when Ascot out of nowhere introduced himself to her. She freely eyed him from his head to his foot, not caring that it probably wasn't a polite action to do. He had the impudence to just flirt with her like that right even when they only first met, so she had the right to judge him right away, to see what he was made of. He was certainly good looking, but she disliked that cheekiness of his.

"I don't know this Edward T. Carter of yours. And, as for my future studies, I don't think that's really your business, is it?" she answered harshly.
@Letter Bee

~Odette Billeaud~

Odette, was apprehensive. She wasn't used to dealing with people, let alone the living. She was looking forward to being able to possibly learn more about the world, and in turn more about herself, what exactly she was and perhaps who she was, but...if she had a heart, it'd probably be beating fast enough to sound like a small engine. Being a ghost though, such a thing was blessedly impossible. It was definitely quite easy to appear calm on the surface, something she was quite thankful for. Just a small advantage of being undead, she supposed. Emotions were a bit easier to deal with when you didn't have a physical body to be affected by those emotions in quite the same way.

She totally just wasn't trying to convince herself of that fact either.

Odette walked up the hill to the school. She'd have much rather well, did some spooky ghosty floating, but she didn't want to appear quite so...different. She wanted to fit in, after all. advertising that she was a spooky ghost was probably not going to be doing that. Maybe she was overthinking it a bit though. This was a school for others like her, wasn't it? Surely they wouldn't mind...no no, it'd be best not to do something such as that, just in case. It'd be best if she just stayed quiet and didn't cause any sort of trouble. That would be the best way to make friends.

She took a look around at the others who had decided to walk up the hill. A few of them seemed rather out of breath. She was of course, not bothered by such physical exertion and thought about possibly helping them a bit. She could, theoretically, create a spirit designed to carry all of them. It'd be easy, really! But...Odette gave a small frown in slight worry. No. Fit in, she'd be fine! just don't draw attention to herself and she'd be fine!

Unfortunately, for the other students looking on, Odette was the epitome of a cool, calm demeanor. A few students had to turn their head at this student, walking up to the school who was neither sweating, and giving off a cool aura that made their hair stand on end. A few started whispering to themselves, but she didn't hear. Eventually, following the stream of other students Odette followed them to the auditorium, taking a seat near the middle. She gave the refreshments a brief glance, but spared them no other thought. Wasn't like she could eat, even if she wanted too.

She focused, instead on the ensuing speech given by the energetic blond girl. She was honestly impressed. Not that she'd know a good speech if it was right in front of her, but she'd definitely not be able to even talk that well in front of even a single person, let alone an entire auditorium. Perhaps she should ask the girl how to talk to others easily? She seemed friendly enough.

Soon though, the speech was over and the auditorium filled with the idle chatter of other people.

...oh dear, what should she do now? Introduce herself to someone? Make a friend? To those looking, they'd simply find her with her legs crossed, looking a bit bored and giving a slightly harsh glare to no one in particular.

Kyoko Sakura

There was a huge stream of students hiking up the hill in front of the school. The sun was basically burning down on all of them, making their journey way more difficult than necessary. Lots and lots of different kind of faces, sometimes even beings were coming up walking towards the entrance. It was actually quite an impressive sight for anyone who was not involved. It really showed how far the world had become so far, be it with mixed public reactions. Some of the people there seemed confident and were not bothered at all by the long hike they just had to perform. Others just seemed exhausted and wasted as they arrived on top of the hill.
Amongst all of them was one blonde girl in her school uniform, she was about halfway done with said hike. The girl looked up the hill and saw that she still had quite a while to go. A loud and broken sigh was the sound she made in reaction to that, before she continued to pull her huge luggage uphill.

It actually took her quite a while until she reached the top but once she did, she simply broke down onto the floor face-first. To anyone looking she seemed like one of those 500 human students who were given the chance to attend this school, simply because there was no way to actually know that she was a witch. She didn´t have a special smell, a special aura or whatever you want to call it. Kyoko thought it was good that way though, like that she´d maybe be left alone by the others for now. The witch was used to pretending to be human after all. To bend into society is what she was best at.

It took her about five minutes until she got up again, still exhausted from the long and annoying hike. As a witch her physique was that of a human, making her just crushed by the heat and exhaustion. Though when she got back up, what she got was a very amazing sight. Many different kind of demi-humans entering the campus, some already chatting. All different kind of mixes with animals, sometimes common ones sometimes ones that have only been described in myths. This sight caused a smile on her face as she made her way to the place where they could put their luggage until they were assigned dorms.

Not exhausted anymore and rather full of energy, enthusiastic to learn more about demi-humans, Kyoko the witch made her way into the auditorium, almost overwhelmed with the variety of faces which she saw there. The humans in this room seemed mostly rather shy, which was obvious to her. They wouldn´t wanna mess with any demi-human, they could be rather scary. However even though she seemed human, Kyoko definetly did not fear messing with them so she made her journey through the hall, walking up to strangers who were demi-humans. Not necessarily to make friends, but rather to learn more about them. She touched the tails of animal demi-humans, sometimes their special features which humans didnt have. Some reacted confused, some positively while others reacted angry at the little human disturbing their privacy. Kyoko mostly just apologized and moved on.

Everything went well until she tried to touch a certain ghostly figure who was dressed in a funny way. Not like Kyoko was one to judge, though she wore the school uniform currently, wanting to make a good impression on the first day of school. Anyway, she approached the person from behind, stretching out her arm to touch her shoulder when suddenly, her arm phased right through the shoulder as if it was air. Poor Kyoko however already leaned in so much, there was no going back. Because there was no resistance, the human-looking witch could not keep her balance and fell over, landing face-first on the chair where the girl was sitting until she fell off it and in front of her feet. "Owww...." she said while rubbing her nose in pain.
Once she regained her focus, she looked up at the girl still sitting on front of her with crossed legs and blushed slightly considering she was emberassed. Kyoko quickly got up. "Oh... u...uhm... sorry... I thought you were human..."
Kyoko lied not to anger her more.

@Rune_Alchemist

Edward drifted in and out of sleep; it was a habit, one that he had no intention of correcting in the future. He liked sleep, because with sleep came dreams, and he adored dreams - especially when he woke up in one that wasn't his. It was always a treat - like a little peak into the purest depths of a persons soul. Nightmares where also fun, but not nearly as much. as dreams were; usually nightmares tended to feel the same, with the usual elements of fear laced within - unless of course, said person was afraid of some truly extraordinary things, in which case, nightmares tended to be hilarious.

He chortled quietly as he recalled a certain nightmare involving tuna and peanut-butter . . .

In any case, when the transport bringing him, and a dozen or so other students, lurched to a halt, he finally snapped out of his dreary state. They'd arrived.

Pakora Academy was the number one school for demi-humans, and as a school alone it was one of the best, or so he'd heard; he hand't had much of a school life to compare it with. Matthew had homeschooled him on near everything. Social interaction was learned from interacting with various people on the streets while hunting for cults, or otherwise on the streets. Not exactly a normal learning method, but it suited him just fine. The academy, despite its preference for demi-humans, was still a good enough institution that there was a sizable amount of purely human students attending; students that he was arriving with now.

The humans with him looked around in awe and a hesitant sort of fear. There were all kinds of creatures here, some straight of myth and legend. Demi-humans, even if people were aware of their existence, were still relatively rare to encounter, so Edward was sure that for normal humans, seeing such a large gathering of them would cause at least some mild apprehension.

Because, despite them not being overtly hostile, each and every human here was aware that many here could kill them without so much as a struggle.

It fear from that knowledge that Edward would have to struggle with others; he knew what true monsters were like, and children were children, despite the difference in race and ability - as such, they shouldn't have to fear for their lives, nor have to experience being feared so intensely.

They were herded into the auditorium, and Edward felt a small smile grace form across his face. It was adorable, really. Fear and apprehension had given way to one of the most universal feelings in the world - boredom and annoyance; not even demi-humans wanted to put up with old men and their repetitive speeches.

Those feelings were again quickly swapped with excitement. Rather than the boring auditorium like what was expected, they were instead treated to what looked more like a huge party. Food was lined up on the side, and welcoming decorations were placed all over the walls and ceilings.

Time passed quickly, with the ceremony - if such an informal event could even be called that - ending with the speech of the highly cheerful and bubbly Student Council President. He was honestly tempted to laugh as she fumbled through her speech, still managing to grin, despite the rather obvious choke at the beginning.

With the ceremony over and the party officially underway, several students began getting up. Others went to leave immediately, while most began chatting with each other.

Edward, on the other hand, had his eyes on a certain ghost. Laughing internally, he could feel her desire to . . . interact, people. He could feel the accidental front she put up, and the nervous girl underneath - some things, it seemed, didn't change, even after death.

When another girl physically crashed through her, a snort of amusement escaped unbidden through his lips. Now that was just uncalled for! he thought with a grin.

Deciding to lend the poor girl a hand, he got up, and literally offered her a hand.

"Hey there," he asked, grinning slightly. "Need any help?"

Afterwards, he looked up at the other girl, and smiled. "Hey, no need to be so nervous. Your face's going all stiff, you know?"

~Odette Billeaud~

@TheHangedMan@Melpaws

As much as she tried too, Odette simply could not bring herself to talk to someone or to move from her seat. Uncertainty and nervousness ate away at her mind. What should she do? How would she go about introducing herself? Would a simple hi do? Everyone already seemed to be talking and she was left there alone, without someone to talk to. It'd be both rude and annoying to simply interject into someone's conversation suddenly, wouldn't it? The more she thought, the more her face became locked in a cool glare, not even realizing she was doing it. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't even saw the person approach.

Odette reacted on instinct. She wasn't used to other people, and definitely wasn't used to other people being able to touch her. As soon as Kyoko's hand touched her shoulder, she'd feel her hand suddenly become cold and meet a little resistance before going through the rest of her body. Odette's own body froze in sheer terror and embarrassment as the girl fell through her, landing on the ground in not the most comfortable of positions. If it was possible for a ghost to die of embarrassment, this would be the part where it happened.

"Oh... u...uhm... sorry... I thought you were human..."

...human? She thought she was human? That meant she was doing a good job, then! A small surge of happiness, followed immediately by embarrassment again. She had just screwed up any sort of that thought being true. Judging from a few other students they had saw the entire thing, but judging from their looks and a few of their conversations she wasn't exactly making the best of impressions. She hadn't meant to do it! She had...just been startled....

"Hey, no need to be so nervous. Your face's going all stiff, you know?"

The new boys comment didn't help either. Stiff? Her face was stiff? Was she obviously that nervous? She was at least trying not to appear as such, but was she failing? As she continued to think, she turned her cool glare towards him, wearing a harsh frown. Right, nervous. She couldn't appear nervous. She had to do something. Right! Introducing herself would definitely make he seem not nervous. Just a small hello. It'd also clear up any sort of misunderstanding! She could manage that, right?

"Hello! I am Odette, glad to meet you!" That was simple enough! Even she could manage that, right? Just a simple sentence would be enough!

"...Hell..."

Unfortunately, a majority of the words were caught in her throat, and came out jumbled in a not so nice sounding fashion. The glare she was still giving people and the otherwise general cool aura around her didn't help.

Kyoko Sakura

The fall really did get a lot of attention for being such a minor event. People that stood close to them certainly noticed it, the place was quite crowded after all. As a result, they looked at both and soon all three of them, though not for long. Some also talked to their partners as if they were making fun of them, chuckling shortly after. While the witch did notice that, it wasn´t for too long really. If she cared what others thought about her she wouldn´ have gone around being all "touchy touchy" with the demi-humans. Still, this situation was somewhat emberassing. Not because of the people staring, but rather because of such a huge misjudgement from her side. She never saw a ghost before and she did not use any magic to spot supernatural beings. She tried her best being as human as possible after all. No need to create a fuzz.

Soon though, before she could stand up herself and before the startled girl could react a third person approached them. A teenager who seemed very human, reached out his hand to help up Kyoko. With a slight nod, she took his hand and stood up in the process, dusting off her uniform a bit. However, Kyoko did feel a little bit odd. Now that she thought about it, going right through that girl left her with a really odd feeling of cold air around her body. As if it was chilly inside of the auditorium. Kyoko rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile while turning towards the guy.
"Thanks!", was pretty much all she said to him, though it did sound quite enthusiastic.

When turning back to the girl Kyoko ignored the pathetic attempt of a greeting and slowly reached her hand out in another attempt to touch her skin. "Don´t mind me... I am just curious... I really want to know what your skin feels like...does that make me creepy? I´m sorry if it does... I have never seen anyone or... anything for that matter, like you."
It was clearly obvious that Kyoko either didn´t know better or just didn´t care what others thought about her actions or what she said. Before Kyoko did touch anything though, she pulled back.
"I´m being rude right now. I have never seen demi-humans, I just love the oppertunity given to me at this school! My name is Kyoko Sakura, it is a great pleasure to meet you!" Since the other girl seemed so nervous, while Edward seemed comfortable talking to them, Kyoko decided to break the ice with an improvised but enthusiastic greeting. She did learn about proper behavior after all, even if not as much and, quite frankly, she just didn´t care as much.

@Rune_Alchemist @TheHangedMan

All right, he got blown off; time to withdraw, then. So Ascot would then say:

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried into your business." After that, he would leave Lily and find other people to talk to - and he was just in luck, as he heard someone crash onto the floor, but not so loudly that any serious damage was implied. Turning towards the sound of the subsequent conversation, he would see two cute blonde-haired girls...and Edward, or at least a boy who fit his father's descriptions of the young man.

Ascot would then stamp down on his urge to enthusiastically greet Edward with a glomp and over-familiar talking, and instead walk slowly, cooly, towards him and his companions. He would be so focused on that to the point where he'd shrug off Odette seemingly telling everyone to go to Hell and instead say:

"Are you Edward T. Carter? If so, glad to see you. My name is Ascot Sky; my father and the one who raised you were old friends." Truth and only the truth; Ascot knew Edward's powers. "And, yes, I'm a Half-Angel; Half-Seraphim, to be exact."

A smile, before the boy would continue:

"I have two reasons for coming here. One is to get a boyfriend or girlfriend - not that I'd go after you, I know you're straight - the other is, well..." How to phrase this without revealing Edward's secret? "The other is to make sure that you have a friend in this new setting." This was sincere.

"Hmph, good riddance," she said to herself as she saw Ascot leave. She noticed how he immediately started off a conversation with a group across the room, two blonde girls and some guy in a coat. Guess she didn't have to worry about hurting his feelings after all, seeing how quickly he bounced back like that after being dismissed by her.

Her mood soured, she decided to leave the party right away.

"Now what should I do?" she pondered as she left the auditorium. "Maybe I shall take a look on the uniforms they have to sell here."

And so she headed towards the school tailor. Yes, the school actually had such a place. Other than selling uniforms, it also accepted custom-made requests by the students. Truly, this was the highest school of all.

On her way she went past by only a couple of other students. And she noticed how they all wore varying outfits. Even the ones wearing school uniforms wore different ones. The school was just as relaxed as the rumors (and the rules) said.

When she arrived at the place, she was immediately greeted by dozens and dozens of school uniforms, all differing in design from each other. Her eyes widening, she immediately looked around to see what kind of uniform she liked best.

"Ah, a customer! Welcome, welcome!"

Her excitement was interrupted when a woman clad in an office lady attire, white shirt and black pencil skirt, approached her, a wide smile plastered on her face. Lily's expression immediately returned to her normal, haughty-looking one, as she adressed the woman.

"You are the caretaker of this place, I assume?"

"Yes, yes, that's right! I'm Alice! And young lady is..."

"Lily. Lily Flameheart."

"Miss Lily then! So, what can I help you, miss?"

Lily paused for a moment. She was quite overwhelmed by the overly enthusiastic disposition of this woman.

"I am looking for a school uniform to wear. I figure I shall wear the appropriate dress for the place," Lily answered, still keeping her poker face. She didn't want to admit that she found the uniforms interesting and cute and how she wanted to wear them herself. Her dragon blood was too proud for that.

"I see! I see!" Alice answered. "Then, allow me to get you the best looking uniform for your build and complexion. Now, I will first take your measurements, if you don't mind that is."

"Go right ahead," Lily answered.

Alice then took out a measuring tape from her pocket. It was as if she was always ready to do this to everyone that entered her shop.

"Hmm, I see. Slim, tall, medium-sized bust, I got just the perfect uniform for you."

She then scurried off to the back of her shop, leaving Lily just standing there looking a bit dumbfounded.

But then, just in five minutes, she already returned, bringing with her the uniform she promised.

"Here it is! Tell me if you like it! The changing room is right there!"

Lily took the uniform, not looking at it until she entered the changing room at the side of the shop.

"This is... pretty nice," she muttered once she took a good look at the uniform she was given.


(Lily wore her pantyhose with it though)

It was a simple blue sailor uniform paired with a nice blue hat as the accessory. White lines decorated its edges, adding a little spice to the otherwise plain clothes. And a pair of little anchors hung off from its back, adding to the whole sea theme.

She didn't need anything fancy to start with. So she readily accepted it.

"Ah, you look perfect, Miss Lily!" Alice said, her eyes shimmering brightly and her hands clasped in front of her chest.

"Do you have a longer skirt? I feel this one is quite short to my liking," Lily said as she twirled around in her new dress.

"Oh no, that is already perfect, Miss! Making the skirt longer will just ruin the harmony of the uniform!"

"Well, if you say so," Lily responded, a tad unsure. She just had to be careful with the way she moved around.

"Now, hurry back to the party. I'll send your dress to your room."

"Wait, you know that I'm a freshman?" Lily asked, a little surprised.

"Of course. I know just by your expression." Alice winked. "Now, go on. Go make some friends."

"Friends, huh? That would be nice," she replied, though she didn't look at Alice when she said the words.

As she left the shop, she mumbled, "It would be nice to find someone like him here..."

Names are concepts which derive themselves from the power given to them as an anchor of sorts to existences within the confines of the world. A name, according to a certain mythology, gives someone their purpose in the confusing existence that is reality. Therefore, the exchange of names could be considered an exchange of identity, processed only through the understanding of formalities.

Hinako Kirishima, therefore, was something “unreal”. A fabrication that has managed to trick the perception of those around her in a caper greater than a bandito in the wild west. A nameless entity; a former god whose name was lost to the stretches of time, had given herself this pseudonym as a means to continue her existence, even if she was no longer someone to worship.

Even if she wasn’t a deity any longer and had been brought to curve as a wandering spirit, Hinako still believed herself superior to all others around her. Even if they were the messengers of heaven themselves, she had been someone powerful enough to move mountains and part the seas through her own power. But that was long ago. A deity's power comes only through the number of people who adhere to their name. It has nothing to do with the actual quality of the deity. Even normal humans could be deified after death if their name carries the needed weight that a god would require.

But Hinako was reduced to a single worshiper, and that single worshiper was herself. She had chosen to continue on existing through the belief in herself rather than fade into obscurity and die. Perhaps not unlike a cockroach trying its damndest to live, even through the worst conditions.

“Where am I exactly…?” Hinako stated to herself in a confused tinge. There was no way that the former deity would have lost her way in a school, right? The classes were numbered, as were the floors. How could someone of such former prestige and esteem lose their way so easily?

“I guess I’m lost again ... tee hee.”

It wouldn’t be the first time that Hinako had lost her way. There were a few times where she would accidently forget how to return back to her town and thus take refuge in any structure she could find at the time. But as a spiritual existence she did spook the locals of the area when she happened upon that. But it wasn’t as if she kept in the same place for too long after her place of worship was lost to obscurity.

She was no one’s blowing wind. She was the lightning. She was no one’s autumn moon, she was the night. She is the highway.

Even in her appearance, something that as a spirit Hinako hardly put time to consider as a presentation, was often a simple a simple tunic and hood that didn’t completely obscure her demi features, definitely didn’t allow for them to obviously be observed if she was to sulk into a crowd.

But considering her coronation at the school, she decided to wear something more applicable to modern society. Though she was a bit afraid to use things like the “internet” or even “Watch television” she was able to find some apparel tips from a house she had visited in the past. A simple, short skirt with a blouse under a light brown sweater with black pantyhose that contrasted against her pretty, creamy white skin. In fact, it it wasn't for her ears and tail, one could hardly confuse her for something other than a normal school girl.

Her tail swayed sadly in an almost hypnotic sense,her ears drooped over her head clearly showing something was wrong, even if she couldn’t directly tell others,

“What should I do? Maybe I should ask someone, but I can’t say I’m too good at talking to people,” she sulked. Of course, there was a time where the proud Hinako would have simply demanded the knowledge from others, but through her time as a drifter she had been instilled with humility.

As Lily walked back to the auditorium, she noticed a girl who looked like she was lost, as she looked around her with a confused expression on her face. That, and the low swaying of her fox tails and ears.

She didn't know how she could get lost. You could always read the signs and look at the maps displayed to find out where you were.

Her face looked so worried that she just couldn't leave her like that. And so she approached her.

"Hello there," Lily greeted her, "Apologies but you look a little lost. Are you perhaps a freshman? I am a freshman as well and if you like we can go together to the auditorium. I just left to get this uniform that I wear from the tailor and now I'm going back there."

@ADamnFiddle

~Odette Billeaud~

@TheHangedMan@Melpaws@Letter Bee

And now the human wanted to touch her! Now that she didn't phase out of existence because she was startled, she was able to at least, and for the most part Odette wouldn't have minded. In fact, she had very rarely ever been touched by anyone. She kept mostly to herself after all, and most contact with humans had never gone so well. Besides, the girls curiosity was justified and founded, and wasn't going to hold that against her. Wasn't everyday someone ran into a self-aware ghost. Being curious about something was good, as long as one didn't get carried away.

As Kyoko introduced herself, Odette sighed in slight relief, though it might have sounded like one of annoyance to onlookers. It seemed as though her botched greeting was either ignore or at least pushed aside just as another boy walked up. Now, normally Odette tried to remain completely neutral towards people if she didn't know them, but this new guy? He made her feel uneasy simply from being in the same vicinity as him. She would have passed it off as nervousness had the guy not spoke up himself.

An angel, or at least someone who was half one.

Odette sat quietly, nervousness increasing by a drastic amount as she realized that one of the people around her could likely end her existence quite easily. Holy powers and such things regarding religions always, always, made her uneasy and could be used to great effect against her. However, he didn't seem like he'd just do that out of nowhere...and she did want to make a friend and these people seemed...fairly good, especially Kyoko. As long as he didn't try anything she'd be fine...

Oh right. She was staring, giving the other girl a cold glare as she silently thought. She still needed to give a greeting and introduce herself. Right, just give her name. She could practice the small talking later. Just give Kyoko her name, and that'd be fine for now, wouldn't it?

"O...Odette..." The ghost managed to finally introduce herself, voice fairly quiet as it wavered, though her face didn't loose its usual cool demeanor.

@Hammerman

“Lost? Me? I’d never have something so unfortunate happen to me. Never have I ever been lost. Hahaha,” Hinako nervously said, waving her hands erratically as if she was trying to complete a thought that simply wouldn’t find itself in focus.

Despite her bravado-filled statements, one could see an obvious shift of her fox-appendages change their once saddened state to one that seemed more energetic and happy. Even if she was someone who was a bit prideful due to her unnatural upbringing, she still was not able to control the aspects of her that were not “human” in the sense that animals tend to have little control over the vacuous tail. She seemed to sulk when considering her next statement; her actual needs. She was [poorly] convincing when stating that she was not lost. But the need to find the auditorium blew over this pride.

With a sigh, she continued.

“...You got me. I cannot say I am too familiar with these grounds as much as it pains me, and the buildings I have been within in my life were definitely not as grandeur than this structure. Even the shrine wasn’t as large as this place.”

How did she get so lost? She couldn’t tell you. Though she had been a wanderer for some time, the nature of a goddess was sedentary rather than a rolling stone or a wheel on the highway. But even if she was a wanderer for some time, despite her nature as a goddess, she was not the sort of person that knew where she was going. Simply put, she was a leaf in the wind until this school offer had given her direction.

“But…” she trailed off, her tail spinning around in a circle before coming to a stop, her eyes looking around the room before they once again reset themselves on the girl before her. Now that Hinako had gotten a better look at her, it was clear she was not of eastern descent. Hinako had the clear appearance of a Japanese girl, and although she could choose to change her appearance on the whim of her desires, this was the form she tended to take. The girl before her was clearly of western origin, Hinako finding her petite appearance rather cute. If they were meant to be around the same age, Hinako did stand about 10 cm above the girl. Perhaps it was a bit embarrassing to ask directions from someone who appeared to be a bit younger in terms of stature, but Hinako understood that appearances meant nothing in the realm of Demi.

“....If you are going to the auditorium regardless, I guess I could have you lead me if you would be so inclined to do so. My name is … uhh ... Hinako. Hinako Kirishima. Might I ask what your name is?”

Even if it wasn’t her “name”, it was still the name she chose to go by. It might be a bit difficult for someone to go by a name that “no longer exists”. A nameless goddess that simply existed. No. She had not the power to act upon the name forgotten to time. “Hinako Kirishima” more than worked for her tastes. Even if it wasn’t necessarily “hers”, it was still her “current name”.

“I just transferred to this school, so I guess I am a “freshman”. Glad to have met someone who is also new to this place. Makes me feel a bit better. I cannot say I am too good at making friends. I’ve hardly spoken to humans in ages. It makes it easier knowing that most of the students in this school are similar to me ”

At first, Hinako answered that she wasn't lost at all, followed by a nervous laugh and handwaving. Lily could immediately tell she was lying, as her intonation, body language (including her tails and ears), and facial expression, all pointed to the other way. Really, this girl was not a good liar at all, which she liked seeing how she disliked manipulative, fake people.

And besides, her mannerism and awkwardness were quite cute. It reminded her of how awkward that boy of hers was. Lily thought she might be fond of this girl after all.

"Very well then, Hinako. Follow me," Lily answered. As she addressed her, her lips couldn't help forming a small smile. It was very rare for her to smile in front of others. She only did it in front of people she liked.

"Oh, and my name is Lily. Lily Flameheart. I am a dragon, a poison one to be exact. And I assume you are a kitsune, judging by your tails? I never met your kind before, but I've heard stories about them. Powerful magic. Some of them even had worshippers like a god. My family has people who bring them tribute every year, but they aren't really worshipped. They're more like local lords than anything."

Looking at Hinako's really obvious large bushes of tails that came out from her back, she asked her a question.

"And I wonder why you don't hide your tails and ears, especially the tails. They're so huge and fluffy. Wouldn't they get in the way if you sit on a chair? And they're lifting your already short skirt so I can see your panties."

Once again, Lily's dragon mentality came out. She didn't care, or more like she didn't notice, how impolite and pushy she was being to the fox girl. If she had something to say, she would say it with no fear whatsoever.

@ADamnFiddle

---

Edward smiled. With the arrival of the new guy, everyone seemed to be making introductions. It looked like he was the only left; now that just wouldn't do, proper manners and all that. Plus, the Odette girl was trying so hard to be sociable, he'd feel bad if he didn't respond in kind to her efforts.

"Hello Odette, Kyoko, Ascot. Edward Carter," he said, "human, if it wasn't obvious."

With that out of the way, he turned to Ascot. The boy had said something that caught his attention. "Half-Seraphim, was it? I remember hearing about you all from Matthew. I'm surprised they remembered someone like me," he said, in self-depreciating good humor. "Still, going to school just to hook up with someone? I must say, for an angel, you're surprisingly daring." He didn't really criticize his choice - it wasn't really a bad reason, all things considered. His own reasons certainly didn't involve anything actually scholarly, for that matter.

He though about the angels and what he knew about them. They were benevolent beings, insofar as human logic went - beings that could be understood and sympathized with human plight; the exact opposite of his nemeses. Still, they didn't usually involve themselves with whomever the current Guardian was, for good reason. They were a welcome ally, to be sure, but just as he couldn't do much to assist them with their responsibilities, the same held true to the opposite. His burden was a lonely one, for his shoulders and his shoulders only, until he found a successor.

Still, he wouldn't turn down friendship when offered. This and that were two different things, and he didn't have to involve his duties with who he chose as friends.

Turning to Odette - the poor girls face was stuck in a permanent glare - Edward smiled. "So! Odette, Kyoko, what brings you here?" he said, trying to start a conversation to help her out.

---

@Rune_Alchemist @Melpaws @Letter Bee

@Hammerman

“L-Lily Fl-Flameheart,” Hinako echoed, tripping slightly on the foreign name. This would be the first time she left her region. She hardly knew much about the outside world, aside from stories she was told about a group of people called the “Dutch” that traded in the south of the country long ago. Perhaps it was not right to call Hinako “wise”, despite her not-so obvious age difference. As a goddess, knowledge that didn’t involve her followers was not needed.

“Nice to meet you, Lily. Thank you for taking your time to help me out. I really do appreciate it,” she said with a light bow, folding her hands upon herself.

The second time she had said the name it had become a lot easier on her tongue. At the very least she was not tripping upon the pronunciation this time, which was an obvious improvement. Even if she didn’t have worldly knowledge, at the very least the former goddess was pretty decent at retaining knowledge. Though even if she was skilled at retaining knowledge, she still had a fear of modern technology; the accursed beast that ousted her following.

“It isn’t that I cannot hide my tails or ears,” Hinako said, trying to figure out a way to explain why it would be bothersome to do so. It was always strange to explain something you felt, but was not felt by others.

With a simple motion, she hid her fox ears behind her hands, engulfing them with her grasp. And as quickly as she had done this, the ears that once dominated the landscape of her head had disappeared, nothing taking it’s place.

“See?”

And in a similar motion, Hinako had covered the area where her ears were once and in the same instant revealed her ears once again. Perhaps she could become a street performer if schooling didn’t work out for her? Then again, she did understand that humans tended to fear those unlike them. Even minute differences could cause tensions. That is why Demi were forced to hide; skulk the shadows of society, hiding their obvious differences for fear of being ostracized for their differences.

“I have the ability to change my appearance to what I desire, though I tend not to like to use the ability to often. I don’t really have too much use for it, you know? But at the same time, I feel that my ears and my tails are a part of myself. Getting rid of them kinda feels like I’m losing an arm or a leg or something … I guess that isn't exactly it either. Sorry if that isn’t the best explanation, Lily, but I cannot say it is easy to explain this to others. Although it does get in the way of my clothing. Perhaps I could tailor my own attire to deal with that.”

It wasn’t as if Lily had a poor thought process. In fact, it did seem rather logical to the old Kitsune goddess. But unfortunately logical exercises are often trumped by the reality of things.

However, the statement "worshiped like gods" did strike a chord with Hinako. She had been ousted from her position, a nomad without a true "name" to call her own, aside from the one she had decided upon herself. If anything, she was about the same sort of child that the Poison Dragon Lily was before her. Even if she had lived for ages, she had given up a lot of herself when she had lost her fellowship. After all, a god's existence is only as strong as those who believe in them. Miracles can only occur with the faithful.

“Besides, I am proud of my tails. A kitsune’s power comes from her tails, didn’t you know? Enough about me though. I know very little about this "Poison Dragons" you speak of. Sorry if that is a troublesome question, but I am curious if you do not mind.”

A soft sigh escaped the messy-haired musician as he got off the crowded bus, stepping foot onto the campus of Pakora Academy for the first time. He stood there for a few moments, taking in the sights of the large school grounds, and the students all funneling into the main building. As he felt the day's heat, he was very glad with his his decision to wear a pair of shorts, paired with an A Day To Remember bad shirt(thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mxy668..). With his guitar case in one hand, his suitcase in the other, and his laptop bag on his back, he started walking into the school, and into his new life.

Zac felt a little out of place, most of the other students very visibly demi-human, with wings or different colored skin, fur, or tails, whereas he had none of these interesting features. He tried not to let it bother him though, keeping a positive spin on. So many different kinds of people to meet. He took another deep breath, smiling to himself as he followed the large trail of people into the auditorium, taking a seat near the back. Watching the student body president's speech, he couldn't help but chuckle a little, but also cringe as she dropped the mic. The resulting loud noise hurt his sensitive ears, plus the disrespect for musical equipment was a little uncomfortable, but he couldn't stop himself from admiring the girl's attitude.

After the speech, he walked over to one of the tables with drinks on them, pouring himself a drink, and looking around the room, examining the different students. He was quite a shy person, when he didn't know anyone, so he stayed where he was, just watching. Maybe he could find someone who he shared music taste with and recognized his shirt, or someone who saw the guitar case sitting beside him and was a musician themselves.

Kyoko Sakura

Now before anything else could be said or done, yet another new person appeared. Seemingly not a shy kind, the angel-like being went all "friend" with Edward despite them appearently not knowing each other. There might be some backstory for them but, quite frankly, Kyoko didn´t care. She was more interested in the angel´s appearance, since that was a fairly unusual thing to see. Just like a ghost, she has never seen an angel, or half-angel before so it was quite interesting for her.

There were other interesting things going on at the moment though. Edward finally introducing himself too and explaining how he was human. Now something seemed different about Edward, but Kyoko did not bother asking. There seemed to be more going on, but it was realy just something private probably which is why Kyoko didn´t ask. Although it was questionable to her... demi-humans were not a publically known species up until very recently, so their parents knowing each other did ring some bells.
Anyway, Kyoko was rather amused by his statement. "You are a human obviously? You can barely ever tell if someone here is human. Don´t judge someone by there appearance~" Kyoko winked and smiled brightly. "Obviously I am referring to the fact that I mistook our ghostly figure here for a human... kind of emberassing mistake isn´t it?"

All while talking to the others, Odette was staring at Kyoko actually making her feel slightly uncomfortable, until she finally said her own name. "U...uhm... Odette? I assume that´s your name then? Awesome! Such a unique name~"
This time Kyoko actually reached her hand out to touch Odette´s shoulder, this time actually feeling her skin for longer than half a second. It felt cold, unsurprisingly. Kyoko did expect it anyway! Yet her smile didn´t change and she kept her friendly face up until turning back to Edward. "What we are doing here? Well to study, duh. Jokes aside, this academy is amazing. It has everything one would need! And I really jumped at the oppertunity to meet demi-humans... I find them so fascinating? Isn´t it so, Edward?

@Rune_Alchemist @TheHangedMan @Letter Bee