"O~i!"

The sudden yell pierced through the eerily quiet night and grabbed Silas's attention swiftly. The source seemed to be a pair of student's silhouettes slumped on the forest floor, whom Silas likely wouldn't have noticed otherwise. The exact shapes of the figures was obscured, but it seemed like they were trying to call both himself and Vera towards them for reasons unknown.

Well that's pretty fucking creepy.

He caught an uncertain glance from Vera, and returned merely a shrug. Regardless of their shared uncertainty, Vera started moving towards the shadowy figures and Silas followed close behind her. They had come pretty far together, there was no sense in leaving one person to investigate the voice. As they got closer, the shades were revealed to be a pair of senior students. The boy looked pretty banged up, and the girl had tears in her eyes, they didn't look like they wanted to prank the first-years. Even so Silas kept his guard up, these guys could just be a distraction after all!

"Pretend you didn't see us. If you find the headmaster, can you tell him to send a runner? The main path should be one of these three,"

The HEADMASTER?! He knows about the midnight run?

Not a second after the boy had asked them to help, did the blonde senior burst into tears and latch on to her black haired boyfriend. Silas was surprised yet again as Vera fell back on to him and took hold of his arm. Confusion had involuntarily spread across his face as he met her gaze, he wasn't opposed to her doing this, it was just unexpected. A small chuckle escaped Silas's lips as she released his arm and spun herself away from him, but the humour of the moment was quickly left behind as the seniors were still there watching.

"Oh dear, we definitely will, Thank you for telling us the way."

"Yeah, thanks for the assist. We'll let the Headmaster know if we see him."

With the request of the senior's heard out, all that was left was to pick a path. Silas looked to Vera as she gestured to a path.

"So... you want to try this one?"

"I don't see why not, c'mon let's get going!" Silas exclaimed as he grabbed Vera's wrist and started half-running down the path. He ran like this for about half a minute, so they would be out of earshot of the seniors. He stopped running and let go of Vera's arm as he looked to her.

"First of all, that guy was lying. A thorn bush is not enough to cut you up like that. Another thing... are we going to look for the Headmaster, or are we just going to continue the run and help out if we find him?"

@Raptra

With the way her eyes look, which is always far away, and the way she walks, which is always like she'll stumble into a pit without realising it, it's hard to tell whether Lyra is going somehwhere or just aimlessly ambling around. But be assured, this time she had a goal: finding the water squirters. to... you know what, she hadn't thought this through. To tell them off for their lame trick, she supposed.

"I-I don't think we should go looking for trouble!" ShiZen wa saying. Lyra brushed it off.

"My Dad always told me to leave no puzzle unsolved. I'm not leaving this one until I had it."

But with this fog and the dark and because the forest was unfamiliar, she couldn't manage more than running around on instinct, avoiding trees and sounds of trouble (was that a crashing sound? It's like someone---maybeee two students with the help of some wind magic?---fell off a tree).

"Hmm, it's a bit hard to find our way around, isn't it?" A thought occured to her. "Hey you're water elemental aren't you? Can you, mmm, sense something in the fog? Fog's made of water."

Then her ears perked up. Something was blowing in the wind too: sounds. There were chatters, footsteps, and, very faintly, the sound of running water. "I think I'm hearing something. Water? Hmm, the fountain?"

Was there something they were supposed to do at the fountain? Lyra couldn't really remember.

@Stern Algorithm

Location: The river, #1

The river flowed down through the forest in complete serenity. A natural flowing body of water that trailed into the forested area just a few minutes from where the fountain was located and ended up looping back down and out just a few minutes away from where it had started. Not a particularly long way to follow.

Such comforts could be deceiving..

With no other way to go but forward the students would have to use one of the many provided little wood bridges to cross the wide river and stay dry.
Anyone attuned to the call of the water would feel something watching them.

"Oh, umm..." ShiZhen thought about it for a bit. For her, her elemental powers had been nothing but a nuisance. She came to this school to get rid of them, or at least get them under control. It hadn't occurred to her to actually put them to some use."I-I've never sensed anything with my powers before," ShiZhen replied, but just saying it made her realize that that was incorrect. She remembered suddenly how there were a few times when one of her younger siblings got lost and she started absorbing moisture, she was able to find her lost sibling. In fact, whenever her power activated, she became acutely aware of the people around her, a sensation she had attributed to anxiety. She was already drenched anyways from the squirters guns, and something about this place was unsettling her. "Actually, I do feel something, but I don't know what. And that sound, I think it's a river. And there are...bridges? But there's something else..." ShiZhen didn't want to talk about the other thing she sensed more than she had to; the inability to identify it properly only served to make whatever it was seem creepier.

Lyra and ShiZhen followed the sound of water, and sure enough, they found their way to the river. It flowed calmly through the forest, but fortunately not soundlessly, otherwise someone would get very wet for the umpteenth time today. The fog wasn't as thick here, but it was hard to see where the river came from and where it was snaking towards. Lyra crouched down next to it and dipped her hand into the fresh water. Lackimg any water elemental skills, it was merely cool and refreshing for her.

"You were right, ShiZhen. Here's a river," Lyra said cheerfully. She looked up and scanned her surrounding, or at least so much as he could see. "It's pretty wide, I don't think we're supposed to swim throu-ah!" She got up and pointed her flashlight. "You were right again. There's a bridge."

Lyra turmed to her friend and only then noticed, really noticed, the expression on ShiZhen's face. "What's wrong?" she asked."You look like you're seeing a... well, uhh, ghost?"

@Stern Algorithm

The river rippled and surged over the bridge. With a sound like a crashing wave, the water rose and formed into a strange serpentine creature, with a head somewhere between an eel, a snake and a horse. It turned to look at the two first years, slowly sliding through the river until it could meet their eyes. "So..." The voice didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular, and the creature's jaw didn't move. "You're new..." The surface of the water making up its body went smooth again, rippling as it focused on the water elementalist girl. "New blood and new water. You want to cross my bridge?" Emphasising its control over the water, the entire watercourse of the river turned into the creature's body, curling into a tube that rose a foot or so over the riverbank, settling down a moment later.

@Stern Algorithm@Pseudo Stygian

To say that she was surprised by Silas' sudden tone of urgency would be an understatement, though, there was no time to actually address that as Vera felt herself virtually being dragged down her suggested path by her wrist a split second later.

"Ow! Hey! Not so- We still can't see very well. Wait- What if we trip over something?! Silas!"

Vera wondered what had gotten into her companion. Perhaps he simply want to finish the run quick after being told the way to the fountain, or maybe he was running from those two seniors for some reason. They had been running for some time, and from the way he seemed to be slowing to a stop, again for no obvious reason, she expected that she would be hearing some sort of explanation from him soon.

Considering she was hardly the athletic type, Vera found herself having to take a couple of deep breathes to recover from the unexpected sprint, speaking up again after he had let go of her. "What in the world was that all ab-"

"First of all, that guy was lying. A thorn bush is not enough to cut you up like that. Another thing... are we going to look for the Headmaster, or are we just going to continue the run and help out if we find him?"

Vera took a moment to process everything that he had just said before responding. "Well, I was kind of under the impression that him saying 'thorn bush' was merely a trivialization of something else that could actually, you know, cause damage like that. I didn't think of it that way, but you could be right too. Regarding finding the headmaster, well, we don't even know where we are right now, do we? Our best chance is to follow this path to the fountain anyway and see what happens from there. I recall him saying 'if' we find the headmaster, meaning that probably nobody actually knows where he is."

Her eyes then lit up at a sudden realization. "Oh, could that have been hint that the headmaster is at the fountain? In that case, we should be really careful when, and if we make it there."

@CriticalHit

"Well, I was kind of under the impression that him saying 'thorn bush' was merely a trivialization of something else that could actually, you know, cause damage like that."

In spite of the answers given, Silas believed that the two seniors were trying to trick them. Or rather one of the seniors, he truly did feel sorry for the girl and Silas really did want to help her get out of the forest if she was that scared of the dark. Something about the guy rubbed him the wrong way though, he was up to something and Silas knew it! He even asked both him and Vera to pretend they never saw him, and that reeked of shady intentions. With Vera's mention of 'something that could cause damage like that' Silas couldn't help but let his mind wander.

It would need to be able to cut someone, and whatever it is could still be out there. Like a wild animal! Or maybe a person! Or maybe- NO. Stop it! Don't freak out over what 'it' could be while 'it' might not even exist! Wait a second... maybe that WAS his plan... First freak us out about something in the forest so we're on edge, then swoop in for the kill! Hah! I've figured you out you smug bastard!

Silas couldn't help but triumphantly grin as he thought to himself, his mistrust wasn't groundless after all. There was no way in hell that some senior student would get the drop on him tonight!

"Well, we don't even know where we are right now, do we? Our best chance is to follow this path to the fountain anyway and see what happens from there. I recall him saying 'if' we find the headmaster, meaning that probably nobody actually knows where he is - Oh, could that have been hint that the headmaster is at the fountain? In that case, we should be really careful when, and if we make it there."

"If? Nah, more like when we make it there. The fountain's just beyond one of the three paths they showed us right? So that's a 1 in 3 chance at winning. If we get it wrong, we just go back and pick one of those other two. We'll get there, and if he isn't there then..."

He choked on the end of his sentence, a look of frustration spreading across his face and a hand at his side balled into a fist. He was stuck, he couldn't win. If they didn't find the Headmaster, the girl would be left scared in the dark forest, not to mention that Silas would feel terrible about the victory for a long time. If they did find the Headmaster, not only would his chances of winning the run be forfeit, Vera would also likely be caught and eliminated. Would she hate him for that? Damned if you do, Damned if you don't... Silas paused and let out a sharp breath before looking at Vera.

What if she was in that position? Could you leave her alone and afraid in the dark?

The words of his own conscience had betrayed him and cut him like a knife. Silas quickly turned away from her. He couldn't leave her in the dark. The thought of Vera being alone and afraid in the forest because of his selfish actions made Silas sick to his stomach."Damn it all..." he muttered to himself as he wiped the sweat from his face. Mustering his courage, Silas turned back to face Vera. Unfortunately for Silas his face was an open book right now, reading of both sadness and frustration.

"S-sorry about that. We should get going now, yeah?"

@Raptra

-void-

@Hammerman@Kalleth

Alex and Max were not sttuned to the wind around them. They chuckled at the success of their elemental creation amd positioning along with the more immediate humor of their targets deftly overcoming this part of the obstacle course.
Alisha could feel ot keenly. Almost an extension of her own body were the winds around her. The girl below was about to do something rash..

The wind howling around Kanako reached an apex before she directed into the treetops.

"Heh. Shouldn't have done that.." Max whispered, shifting to look at their own air elementalist.

Alisha had her hand back and eyes closed as she communed with the air around them, coaxing it to her request. Unlike Kanakos way of channeling strong gusts through a gradual buildup, Alisha thrust her open palm down like she was squashing a bug.
The wind roared at her silent command. Two opposing forces of air clashed halfway to their tsrgets. The contest of who was stronger in this exchange between a beginner and a graduate-to-be was never in question.
The heavy gust did not break or stop Kanakos, instead absorbing her own blast of wind into Alishas to fall upon Jideh and Kanako.
The dirt around them was tossed away in the sudden whipping storm of wind falling on them, pushing down and out rather than straight up.

When the raging storm cleared a moment later there was a circular trench almost a foot thick and wide around the pair from where the wind had dug into the soil. The two were not harned at all.

"WE SAID GET GOING!!" Alishas loud shrieking voice cut through the quiet of the night.

Vera was confused by the sudden smirk that had formed on her companion's face as she spoke, assuming that he would be sharing with her what he thought was so funny. Unfortunately, that assumption was wrong, as his reply to her right after that appeared to have been cut short by whatever was in his head. He was now visibly upset, and she found this abrupt change in mood to be absolutely puzzling, almost frustrating even. What even was going through his mind? Was he going to tell her any of it?

While Silas seemed to be concerned about the senior possibly lying about how he had gotten cut or whether or not the headmaster was at the fountain, Vera was suspicious about where the path they were following could possibly lead to. Sure, the older boy said that it lead to the fountain, though, if he was lying about the other things that Silas suspected he was, he could be lying about anything, including where the path they were on would actually take them. There were so many possibilities, so much that they were unsure of.

She turned her attention back to Silas, who was still pondering over... whatever it was that he was not letting her in on. She stared at him, still perplexed by his behavior, and finding the intense moment to be way longer than it actually was. He finally ended it with curse under his breath, before turning to her and simply suggesting that they continue walking, despite the obviously agitated look on his face. Why was he so troubled?

Oh no... you don't just say that to me after acting in such a way, boy! You're going to tell me what's wrong! was what Vera wanted to say, but she knew that there was a high chance of that making the situation worse. Instead, she kept that thought to herself, gazing down at his hand that was curled up into a fist, another clear sign of his distress, and lifted her own hand to take hold of his. She hoped that her touch would relax him.

"Cheer up darling," she finally spoke in a comforting tone. "This is just a game, and we're supposed to be having fun. I know I said it'd be great to win, but it's not going to be the end of the world if we don't."

Vera had to admit to herself that as strange as it was that Silas seemed to be way too serious about the run, it was also somewhat amusing.

@CriticalHit

The two girls clap and dance around each other. "You can go! Remember Valentine's Day is soon!" The mist fades away, though they keep it around them as they run off to find other first-year couples to trap. Their laughter echoes behind them.

"We know you wanted to kiss her anyway!" They shouted to Felix.

Dia barely registered the words of the upperclassmen. She was still blissfully lost in her own world. When they faded away, however, she pulled away slightly from Felix to look in their general direction.

She huffed. "Annoying like flies," she muttered. "Good riddance."

With a shake of her head, she pulled gently on Felix's uninjured hand. "At least...." She hoped the blush that sprung to her face was hidden by the relative darkness as she left the rest of the sentence fall away. She was a little embarrassed to say that at least she'd gotten another kiss out of it. "Walk and talk," she added, mostly to herself. A reminder of what they'd set out to do.

"Did you, I mean, what did you get into before the roof?" She asked, curious. "After the podium thing, I mean. Which I don't understand, for the record. Why you did that, I mean."

How did people manage small talk, she wondered idly. She was a wreck of nerves. What if he realized she wasn't anything special like he seemed to think?

"You were right, ShiZhen. Here's a river," Lyra said cheerfully. She looked up and scanned her surrounding, or at least so much as he could see. "It's pretty wide, I don't think we're supposed to swim throu-ah!" She got up and pointed her flashlight. "You were right again. There's a bridge."

Lyra turmed to her friend and only then noticed, really noticed, the expression on ShiZhen's face. "What's wrong?" she asked."You look like you're seeing a... well, uhh, ghost?"

"So..." The voice didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular, and the creature's jaw didn't move. "You're new..." The surface of the water making up its body went smooth again, rippling as it focused on the water elementalist girl. "New blood and new water. You want to cross my bridge?"

"I-I sense something else, but I don't...EEEP!" ShiZhen looked up suddenly as the water snake formed out of the river and 'spoke'. "Th-this is y-your bridge? Y-yes, we'd like to cross if it will lead to the fountain." ShiZhen spoke directly to the snake, forgetting for a moment that there were probably prankful seniors controlling it. She looked over to Lyra for reassurance before continuing, "We're wet and tired, and probably lost, and I'm not even sure why I'm out here right now..."

She looked over to Lyra for reassurance before continuing, "We're wet and tired, and probably lost, and I'm not even sure why I'm out here right now..."

The river creature was fascinating, but when ShiZhen expressed her discomfort Lyra's attention jerked. We... are?

See, Lyra wasn't what you would call a sensitive sort. Perceptive, sure, but she's not really skilled at reading emotions, or whether she'd offended anybody, or if she's pushing someone too far. Even without knowing a thing of what they're supposed to do, she was having good fun running around the forest.

But ShiZhen was tired and worried and maybe even scared. Maybe she shouldn't have dragged her around on her quest against the pranksters. Maybe she should have at least asked her about what she was feeling.

Lyra opened her mouth to apologize, but closed it again as she felt the eyes of the water serpent on her. "Ah, yes. We'd like to cross your bridge, please."

She eyed the river nervously. It rippled unnaturally in the creature's wake, as if it wasn't just an elemental but the entire river. Is the entire river a living creature...? At least it didn't seem hostile.

The river serpent... chuckled. Ripples ran down its body and the soft susurrus of shaking reeds filled the air. "Over, under, ridge... But you're too young to cross my bridge." A serpentine arc flooded the bridge, and the head dropped down past the girls' knees. "Beyond the bridge is not for ones as as little as these. Unless the shadowbinder knows, permits and sees."

Rising again and passing so close that the girls could have felt its breath, if it had any, it rippled again. "Or, prove you can. Maybe the bridge is yours to cross. Test my will and I test yours, I test your skill and you test mine." It rose further, and a cobra-like hood spread out in a full hemisphere from the creature's 'neck'. "Which among you would stop a river's flow?"

@Pseudo Stygian@Stern Algorithm

@Old Amsterdam

The laughing pervert pranksters dismissed the shattered stone wall, cackled like Hyenas as they departed somewhere in the dark mists, at last leaving them back to being alone. Well.. About as alone as you would think with no doubt the many more pranksters just waiting to stir up trouble.
Optimism wasn't exactly Felix's strongest quality.
If anything his strongest quality was the way he managed to constantly cause further harm to his already irritatingly hurt hand. What had been a dull sting had become excruciating. Of course that didn't mean he would ever stop being such a reckless fool.

All of that was lost in the moments shared with this strange but wonderful young lady.

"At least.." he whispered, unsure what she was trying to say.

The next line of questioning came up unexpectedly, catching him a little off guard but not entirely unprepared. Of course someone would ask about why he would make such a huge blunder like he had on the podium.. made threats.. defied the authority of this academy. His silence was almost as telling as the sad look on his face as Felix held Dias hand with his uninjured one. They padded through the dark forest in silence for a bit as he tried to think of an explanation that would be adequate.
His first thought was to lie but promptly decided against it.

"The truth is.. I hate it here. Didn't ask to be here, didn't want to be here, but.." Felix squeezed her hand just a little tighter, "It beats where I came from. Can't control whatever power everyone has. I've hurt myself, and others, many times without wanting to. This place serves as a reminder of my history so I.." Unable to face her, he looked away in a mixture of pride and deep shame. ".. I chose to be a jerk. If I'm gonna learn how to control myself and stop hurting others, the only way is to be alone.. right?"

Finally mustering the courage to look her in the eyes again he turned to flash a rare smile.

"Sometimes you find what you need without looking for it though. What I was doing before going to the roof was standing at the door to my dorm room thinking about what I had to do. His name is Silas Asara and while speaking on the podium there was a part where I mentioned my roommate had better be ready to leave.. Wasn't blowing smoke at that. When I see him.."

The two had been walking along the treeline as best they could. At some point they had wandered too far in and stumbled upon one of the many pathways.

@Raptra@CriticalHit

Felix and Dia broke through a thick bit of low hanging branches and emerged just shy of the other traveling pair, Felix was too busy explaining himself to realize they had found another pair of students.

"I'm gonna kick Silas out of our room for good." Felix stated confidently. Still unaware of the gravity of the situation they had potentially just walked into.

<Snipped quote by Stern Algorithm>
Lyra opened her mouth to apologize, but closed it again as she felt the eyes of the water serpent on her. "Ah, yes. We'd like to cross your bridge, please."

The river serpent... chuckled. Ripples ran down its body and the soft susurrus of shaking reeds filled the air. "Over, under, ridge... But you're too young to cross my bridge." A serpentine arc flooded the bridge, and the head dropped down past the girls' knees. "Beyond the bridge is not for ones as as little as these. Unless the shadowbinder knows, permits and sees."

Rising again and passing so close that the girls could have felt its breath, if it had any, it rippled again. "Or, prove you can. Maybe the bridge is yours to cross. Test my will and I test yours, I test your skill and you test mine." It rose further, and a cobra-like hood spread out in a full hemisphere from the creature's 'neck'. "Which among you would stop a river's flow?"

"It's speaking in verse," ShiZhen thought to herself sarcastically, which was rather unusual for the girl. But when it got to the part of asking which among them would stop a river's flow, she looked over at Lyra and gave a weak smile. "I guess that would be me,
wouldn't it? Do I just...attempt to cross?" She asked the water snake, walking over towards the bridge and placing one foot upon it gingerly, hoping it didn't make any sudden movements.

@Zelosse @Raptra @CriticalHit

---

Dia thought for a moment, unaware of the people they'd started coming closer towards, as she listened to Felix's explanation.

Her gaze fell on his hand, which looked like it was bleeding again, and she huffed, irritated.

"Well, I can't help anything that happened before. But I'll figure out how to help you not be so angry and keep hurting yourself," she murmured, pointing at his free hand. " And as for the roommate situation...I can tell you're serious, but I really think you should go about it different. I mean, uh, it's not like we're in our dorms much. At least it didn't seem like it so far. And there's always the roof. I like it up there. I mean, all you really need your dorm for is to sleep, so...." she trailed off, noticing the others and going a little red as she curled into Felix more. " Oh. Uh. Hello? " she murmured towards them.

His request had dangled in the air for a few seconds now, the forest's atmosphere only making the silence seem much more drawn out. He was expecting her to demand an answer, tell him to stop wasting her time, or maybe even just continue on the run. The response that did eventually come though, was nothing that Silas could have predicted. As the balled up fist at his side was suddenly met by Vera's outstretched hand, he was shocked for a moment, but not even a second later the shock had melted away.

"Cheer up darling, This is just a game, and we're supposed to be having fun. I know I said it'd be great to win, but it's not going to be the end of the world if we don't."

She doesn't even have a clue...

As she spoke, his fist unraveled itself in her hand. His posture relaxed as a small, quiet chuckle escaped him. Silas looked to the ground for a few seconds, his embarrassment was evident. He eventually returned his gaze to Vera as he tried to keep some semblance of his composure.

"Don't get me wrong, I still want to win this. But...you could be right. Maybe I am... taking this too seriously."

The words burned his sense of pride as he spoke, but if Vera thought that was why he acted strangely before he would use that to divert her attention from the true reason behind his behaviour. He didn't want to lie to her, but Silas wouldn't be able to explain the truth right here and now, so this facade would have to do for now.

I'll explain this all... eventually

"Hey, Vera... Don't tell anyone else about this.. okay?" He asked in a hushed tone.

Just a few seconds later an oddly familiar voice rung through the forest, one that Silas hoped he wouldn't hear for a while.

"I'm gonna kick Silas out of our room for good."

Quickly Silas turned around at the sound of the claim, searching for the arrogant source. Standing before him was another pair of first- years, one of whom he recognized as the same kid that destroyed the podium earlier. THIS asshole? Again?! Right now?! A sharp sigh escaped his lips as Silas realized what all this meant. The kid who had destroyed the podium earlier was his roommate, Felix Williams. He'd read the name next to his on the board earlier and had been wondering who Felix could be out of all the other first-years.

"Why the fuck did it have to be him...." Silas muttered under his breath.

Pulling his hand away from Vera's he looked over to the oncoming pair, and the same scowl from earlier retook his face.

"Hey! not sure if you knew this, but it's real stupid to talk about getting rid of someone when they can HEAR YOU!"

@Raptra@Zelosse@Old Amsterdam

Vera smiled warmly at Silas' reply and slipped her thumb into the palm of his now relaxed hand, relieved and satisfied that she was able to calm him down. Well mostly at least. She could tell that he was still slightly agitated, though the reason for that was made clear to her this time, by his request for her to keep what had just happened a secret. She was rather confused, not finding it to be that big of a deal. People get carried away when they are into something like this all the time, do they not? Regardless, she saw no harm in reassuring him.

"If it means that much to you, then I promise. It'll be our secret."

That was when two other teenagers emerged from some branches, one of them making their presence even more obvious with his open declaration about kicking his roommate out. Vera recognized the boy as the same one who created a scene in the Audience hall earlier that day. Wait, did he just say 'Silas'?

Vera immediately turned to her companion in shock. "Him? He's your roommate?!"

Silas, who had apparently figured things out as well, then let go of her and responded to that statement with an insult of his own. It was understandable, of course, though Vera was now clearly frustrated at this unwelcome event, especially when she had just managed to calm Silas down. She turned her attention to the girl, who had muttered a greeting.

"Uh, hey..." she replied her awkwardly.

Taking a better look at the girl, Vera then remembered her as the one with the ice ability at that fountain who froze everything after the Headmaster's 'prank'. What was she doing with him? In fact, why would anyone hang out with that guy? Sure, Vera was totally judging, but even trying as she was, she just could not come up with anything that made any kind of sense. There was a more pressing matter at hand, however. Were the boys going to scrimmage right there and then? Of course, there was a chance that it was not going to go down like that, but she did not want to wait till she found out.

Vera placed a hand on Silas' shoulder to get his attention, before speaking to him softly. "You can't stay there, Silas. Listen, I don't have a roommate. You can stay in the other room in my dorm until we get this sorted out. It's one solution I can think of, but you need to get out of there, at least for now."

Silas had been really nice to her from the time they had met, and after hearing that he had a roommate like that, she was genuinely concerned for his safety. You're a great guy, Silas. Please, don't do anything stupid...

@CriticalHit @Old Amsterdam @Zelosse

@Old Amsterdam@Raptra@CriticalHit

Even as he spoke the words Felix didn't feel the conviction behind them that had been present on the podium. Silently through the short time he had spent with Dia, his priorities in life had become chaotic and unfocused once more. Where previously there had been a burning hatred was now a smoldering ruin. Still capable of burning you if you wandered too close but was certainly not as dangerous from a distance.

"Hey! not sure if you knew this, but it's real stupid to talk about getting rid of someone when they can HEAR YOU!"

Turning to glare at the other student, Felix felt the familiar warmth of anger burning in his own skull. Like an all too familiar evil you made peace with instead of overcoming. On reflex the bandaged hand balled into a tight fist as Felix grit his teeth.

"At least I won't have to repeat myself."

Felix took a menacing step forward but stopped as both his eyes widened, Dia having moved in much closer. Like a wet blanket tossed over a burned out campfire, the burning in his soul sputtered out into smoke. Self control, he realized suddenly, had nothing to do with himself apparently.
There was a tense few seconds where he stared at Silas and Vera, his ire all but radiating from the death stare being cast their way, until finally he blew a sigh and unballed his fist.

"You're right. I.. WE.. Didn't come out here for me to pick fights," Felix stared at his injured hand. Bandages had been bloodied, the fire from earlier had blackened them a bit, and his knuckles had a deep ache from the time at the sandbags. Stress was a mounting issue and the only relief in what seemed like years was huddling close to him. Was it for protection, he wondered. For her or for him?

Felix fought himself internally as he digested the scene unfolding around him. Silas looked like a brash and prideful young man, the lady attached to him was cautious. In a funny way it was like looking into a mirror. Not that he recognized it as such at the moment.

"I will only say this once. For your own safety, do not become my roommate. The last thing I want is to lose control and hurt you.."

Felix's own sense of pride and shame was holding him back from explaining what he meant. It was difficult for him to explain the fears that plagued him. The threat of immolating something on accident, destroying irreplaceable things that belonged to Silas, danced in his mind when they had been told they would share rooms. The simpler answer was for Felix to leave.. He was tired of walking away. Backing down. Giving up.
For once he would be the one making a decision for himself.