@Stern Algorithm
As they spoke, Kanako noticed that the strong wind blowing around them suddenly died down. Perhaps this was due to Miss Catherine's power? She imagined doing such a thing would be easy for an experienced wind elementalist like her.

"Y-yes, right away!" Kanako replied to Catherine's request. She didn't expect she would be asked to demonstrate her strength first before beginning their lessons. Well, she just have to calm down and do her best.

Kanako took a deep breath and spread her legs apart a little. She began with something simple. Taking care on facing away from Catherine, she gathered the wind around her before blowing them all to the empty space in front of her. After that, she gathered the winds around her once more but this time she blew it all around her towards the four directions.

That's it for the strength demonstration... now for finesse...

Kanako then brought her hands close to her stomach, before manipulating the air around them to create a swirling ball of compressed air inside them. At first, the air density was light, but as she focused, she added more and more air to the ball. As the ball got denser and bigger however, she could feel that she was slowly losing control of the thing. She now thought she would reverse the process, slowly taking air out of the swirling wind ball. However...

"A-aaaaaa, n-nonononono!"

The ball instead spun faster and faster as Kanako panickedly tried to make it die down. In the end, the wind ball exploded right in front of Kanako, sending her flying a few meters away from where she stood.

"Ooowww, that did not go as I expected..." she said to herself as she rose up, after landing on her butt. She always had trouble in controlling the wind in that manner. It seemed she just lacked the finesse necessary.

"So, h-how did I do, Miss?" she asked Catherine eagerly. What the poor girl didn't realize that thanks to her wind ball, she had shredded her own skirt to pieces. Now, she stood in front of a teacher wearing nothing but a pair of pantyhose-covered panties down there.

After a few moments of searching through his things, Silas managed to retrieve a set of clean clothes. He hadn't gotten changed after the chaotic events of the night run, so a shower was most definitely in order. Besides, taking a shower would help him actually wake up, he certainly didn't need to piss off more of the teachers by passing out mid-class! As he stood up, the ever-tempting bed next to him caught Silas's eye. He so badly wanted to just fall down and sleep through the rest of the day, it took all of his willpower to resist the inviting call of the pillows and sheets.

He let out a defeated sigh as he proceeded towards the bathroom clothes tucked under one arm, before his path was intercepted by Vera. Currently she was the complete opposite of Silas. He was a mess, tired and angry at the fact he was currently awake, while she seemed energized, happy, and generally ready for the day.

"Classes? Oh, there's nothing to worry about, love. We didn't miss a thing,"

She had been waving a paper around as she spoke, and Silas found it being pushed into his hands as soon as Vera had stopped talking. "Well that's good... Now I don't have to worry about some teacher literally burning me because I missed the first day." Silas said as he gave a small chuckle. Now that class had been cancelled, he wouldn't have to contend with a teacher's ire tomorrow. In a place where the Headmaster looks like he could be the final boss of a video game, and another teacher threatens students on day one, I probably shouldn't piss a teacher off.

"Ooh, how about we grab a bite somewhere together before training? That ought to make you feel better."

The mention of food caused Silas to realize that he'd not eaten anything since waking up, albeit he only woke up a few minutes ago. It was if the words themselves had made him hungry, Silas even thought he heard his stomach growl, though he was unsure if it was just his imagination. Still, food was food and he wanted to eat.

"Yeah that sounds great! Just gimme a minute to get ready."

Spurred on by the motivation of food, Silas rushed into the bathroom and hastily closed the door behind him.

Silas stepped into the shower and turned on the water, the warmth felt great on his exhausted body, yet there was something... off about this water. Every time a drop touched his skin, the connection felt more than just physical. Strange as it sounded, it was as if the water was almost... calling to him? Was this just because he was at the academy? Maybe it was just his tired brain making shit up? Or maybe this was because of his own elemental power? Two feelings in particular washed over him as the water cascaded past. On one hand being surrounded by the water felt nice, it was soothing and comforting in a way. Yet at the same time the water felt as if it could become a suffocating and threatening presence on a whim. Confused greatly, Silas elected to get out of the shower and get dressed.

Emerging from his side of the dorm room, considerably more awake, clean, and 'present' than before Silas called to his roommate.

"Alright, I'm ready to head out. Where are we going?"

@Raptra

After asking how Dia her day went yesterday she turned bright red for no apparent reason. Emi tilted her head seeming a bit confused as to what had suddenly happened to her. Dia looked all too nervous and flustered at the same time... Her first school day couldn't have been that exciting right?



Dia went aloof with her story, telling Emi how she looked at the stars together with Felix? and they then went running. Did she actually meet someone that she likes already? That was fast. Dia only reddened as her words became a big ball off tangled wires and then quickly stopping herself before it got even worse. Dia calmed herself down before completely diverting the topic, NO! Emi ran up to her and held both of her hands while looking her straight in the eyes with a serious tone.



The room turned silent before Emi her stomach made a big loud growl clearly breaking the tension in the room right now. Emi let go of Dia and dropped herself down to her knees while holding one hand behind her head and giving a slight awkward giggle.



She gave a soft puppy lip at Dia hoping she would be so kind to cook some food for this poor blonde floof.

---

Dia bowed her head slightly. "I can do eggs," she said with a small smile. "But only sunny side up. The rest is always a mess and ruined when I try."

---

A short time later Dia had put down a plate for Emi, herself, and found some containers to take some for Felix. She was currently enraged with cleaning up her mess, still a little flustered over Emi's last request to know more about her ramblings.

"He's, uh, another first year. And, I don't know, there's just something about him that clicks. Err. Like there's this bit that makes everything feel okay and that I can not worry around him so much. If that makes sense?" Dia said softly.

Vera stiffened, stunned for a split second at how quickly her dorm mate had bolted into his bathroom. She then let out a small laugh and shook her head, amused at how her words had seemed to supply him with a sudden burst of energy. Hearing the sound of running water start from behind the closed door, she realized that he would probably be ready soon, and before her too, considering the time that her own morning routine took.

"No worries, love. Take your time," she called out to him, before making her way back to her room to fish the necessary items out of her own unorganized mess.

Sure enough, she was still seated in front of the mirror, brushing her long golden locks when she heard a shout from Silas telling her he was all set to head out.

"Just a second," she answered from inside.

Vera then grabbed her bottle of Satsuma-scented mist and swiftly sprayed it on as a final touch before emerging from her room, slinging a sleek leather bag over her shoulder. She thought about Silas' question as she joined him back in the common room. Well, she had been wanting to see what was out in the city since the day before, plus, it would be a good opportunity to familiarize themselves with the surrounding area.

"Hmm, how about we check out the city area near the academy?" She suggested. "We could probably find someplace for lunch out there. I'd love to try the tram system too, that'll be fun."

Having been driven around in private vehicles for most of her life, Vera found the idea rather intriguing, though, that could be said about anything and everything she had seen from the time she had arrived at the academy. What was city life like for Elementalists? What difference would having elemental abilities make in such cases?

"How about it?" Vera asked with an excited grin as they headed for the door. "It'll even be my treat, a little 'thank you' for helping me along last night."

@CriticalHit

@Stern Algorithm@Kalleth

Kano rubbed his hands together as he approached Shizen, the glowing eyes under the dark hood shone in the further low light of the underground hot spring making it seem like a butcher was eyeing a piece of meat for the cutting board. The problem Shizen was likely having, as he could feel the water being pulled to her, was that simple loss of control played by ones emotions. Every student manifested their powers at a young age in a different way that they could not control, sometimes harmless little gusts of wind or drawing moisture to your skin but other times it was little sparks of flame igniting clothing or kicking up duststorms.

Jorden Manilow was one such student who had manifested in a way that made him often very dirty.

Kano chuckled a little when he realized that even after all these years that still hadn't really changed.

"I hope you brought a bathing suit with you. To control water you must hear it. Where better than in the relaxing pools? Lets do an exercise where you focus on repelling water on an area of your body. Being in the springs is also very relaxing after an event like the one with the water snake obstacle. Please,"

Kano motioned to the hotsprings steaming behind him as he walked over to, and onto, the waters. Treading the surface as if it were solid.

"What you see is water below repeling me, instead of simply enveloping me as you would expect. It is communion with the waters themselves as you project your desire to it."

The actual process was far more difficult to do than Kano made it sound but with a little patience it could be done at whim.

Jordan watched the headmaster start teaching, having opened his eyes when Hargor began speaking to the student. He watched the waters from currents which flowed around him and he got a slight chill even in the warm baths. He supposed it was no different than if Jordan had come across somebody totally submersed in sand, or earth in general. Of course, most people you came across submerged in sand were already dead. As opposed to all people living and breathing, having their bodies composed of a large percentage of water.

Still, as far as Jordan knew, no elementalist alive could control their elements inside another person's body. At least, he'd never been brave enough to check whether such a thing were possible, even during his days as a spec ops agent. It was plenty dangerous being near an elementalist, or any stripe, regardless of one's environment. If Manilow could contribute anything to Shizen's tutelage, it would probably undercut Hargor's authority, and he probably wouldn't take too kindly to that. So, after taking a long moment to soak, feeling the waters still flowing around him, Manilow got up.

Taking his towel, Jordan dried off, and said a muttered farewell to the teacher and pupil. He was still wearing the "sand boxers" he'd fixed for himself in the water, and he swiped up his clothes and headed for the change-room. A shower to freshen up couldn't hurt.

---

@Zelosse

Jordan was sitting in the gym, foil sheathed, trainers tied, and stretches completed. Now, as he sat, the teacher sipped at a water bottle, shrugged his shoulders, and hummed a song.

This kid was bold enough to leave a note, now he'd better damn well show up. Jordan thought, his knees cracking as he adjusted his position. He'd had more than a few good duels in his time, and his weapon of choice was polished, sharpened, and ready for a tussle. As for the man who had to use the weapon, similar things could be said. Of course, there was the grain in his shoulder, still faintly aching even after the hot springs, as well as the heartache he was nursing, and the wariness of this kid who had seemed so explosive yesterday. Nevertheless, the gym teacher planned to give him a lesson, and he hoped it would be one of humility, and not one of mercy...

---

Manilow really tried to be patient. He really did. He was so patient in fact, that he patiently waited for the lady at the service desk to retrieve the list of dorm numbers for the students. He patiently searched said list for the Punk-In-Question's dorm number. And he patiently waited for the elevator to make his way to the top floor.

He lost his patience halfway down the hall from Felix's room.

Stomping loudly through the hall, foil still belted at his waist, shoulder creaking like a bitchy ex-girlfriend, Jordan came to a heated stop outside the punk's door. Making a fist, he slammed the door repeatedly with such force that the hinges squealed, and if such a violent action could be jokingly called a knock, then he knocked three times.

"Hey tough guy! I thought you were itching for a scrap? What, did your girlfriend tire you out? Come on muchacho, there's a score to be settled, and I don't have time to waste!"

Jordan was mostly blowing air out his ass with these comments, but he channeled his best drill sergeant brogue, and this same voice had made grown men tremble in other contexts. Namely, contexts where an assault rifle was also associated with the voice. Manilow had nearly brought it, but had decided that this particular dispute didn't require full-metal jackets or extended magazines. Or, well, guns.

The Gym teacher also had plenty of time to waste, given that his teaching slot was during the period the Academy had waived for the day following the Night Run, but anything that put a spring in the boy's step was worth a shot. He half-hoped that Felix would burn the door to ash and come out swinging. At least Jordan was ready, for once.

"So you're a Zeke," Lyra repeated. "And a Zeke takes pictures with his camera and paint with light." She frowned. "I don't know about that. I know someone called Zeke back home. He's a shepherd. He's got a flock of sheep with him and he really loves them." She looked in awe as Zeke started to paint on the air above them. The picture didn't look like anything, just shapes and colours in the air, like clouds in a clear sky. Like sheep. The Zeke from Lyra's hometown loved his sheep to bits, even though he sometimes has to force them to move where they should go. When this Zeke was bumped around and had to erase his picture, he started pouting in the way that reminded Lyra of those sheep being shepherded around the plains.

She laughed merrily. "Now you're looking like a sheep yourself. Maybe I should just call you Sheep." She gently pulled him away from the crowds and to a quieter corner. "Right, I'll just run up and grab my viola, err, violin, and I'll be back soon, okay?"

Lyra ran quickly up the stairs, humming a bit along the way.

---

Her room was empty and just exactly as it was when they went out last night. ShiZhen was nowhere around; it didn't even seem like she was there today at all. Lyra briefly wondered where she could be. The last time she'd seen her she had half her legs frozen in the middle of the river, after all.

In any case, her violin was right there on the table where she left it. She picked it up and made her way downstairs.

---

She came back to the foyer humming the same tune she started when she came up, although it had improved somewhat. It took Lyra a while to realise that her violin was singing along, although faintly. She touched the strings and realised that they were, surprisingly, still. It was the small slice of air around them that was vibrating in the same way a string would. Odd, yet fitting. She's an air elementalist, wasn't she? Though it was curious why the sound would only make itself around the violin strings.

"Ooh, yeah, Zeke!" Lyra spun around to meet her friend. She'd somehow walked all the way past him. "Let's go?"

@Regitnui

"So, h-how did I do, Miss?" she asked Catherine eagerly. What the poor girl didn't realize that thanks to her wind ball, she had shredded her own skirt to pieces. Now, she stood in front of a teacher wearing nothing but a pair of pantyhose-covered panties down there.

Catherine hovered down and landed, looking around to make sure no one else was around to see Kanako's mishap. "You did splendidly, much better than most incoming students. You have raw talent," Catherine complimented. Despite losing control of her high-pressure ball, Catherine could see that Kanako had a good deal of force and finesse that was rare for someone without elemental training. The fact that the air released from her ball could shred cloth was a testament to that. As for the skirt, as long as no one else showed up, Catherine wasn't going to draw attention to it, she could sort of tell that the lesson would not be as effective with Kanako all flustered and embarassed. "Being an elementalist is not an exact science, and everyone picks up their 'knack' for it differently, but once they get something that clicks, it will form the foundation of their abilities." Though not necessarily true, Catherine liked to promote students to develop their individual styles instead of checking off bullet points from a curriculum. "Let's start with breathing exercises; some students need to realize how much of their body is composed of their element in order to manipulate it like 'part of their own body'." Catherine widened her stance, squared her shoulders and began to breathe to demonstrate, moving her hands up and down along with her breathing, reminiscent of certain esoteric East Asian martial arts styles.

"I hope you brought a bathing suit with you. To control water you must hear it. Where better than in the relaxing pools? Lets do an exercise where you focus on repelling water on an area of your body. Being in the springs is also very relaxing after an event like the one with the water snake obstacle. Please,"

Kano motioned to the hotsprings steaming behind him as he walked over to, and onto, the waters. Treading the surface as if it were solid.

"What you see is water below repeling me, instead of simply enveloping me as you would expect. It is communion with the waters themselves as you project your desire to it."

"I...I didn't...bring a bathing suit..." ShiZhen replied, feeling a little crestfallen. "B-but...I suppose my clothes are already wet, so what difference does it make...right?" ShiZhen slowly walked forward, and, fully clothed, dipped herself into the hot spring, though she did at least have the decency to take her shoes off. Like this, her wet clothes didn't cling to her so uncomfortably. The hot springs were rather nice, and reminded her of the aches, bruises, and cuts she didn't know she had received from the night before. It was relaxing, and made ShiZhen realize that since her powers had manifested, she had developed a mild fear of water, and hadn't been able to relax around the substance, even when showering. In fact, she hadn't let herself be submerged in a very long time, since she never had the time to take a long relaxing bath, nor did she swim for fun. She moved her arms around, feeling the buoyancy, and how her hand cut through the fluid. She took her hand out of the water and pressed it down on the surface. With a 'bloop', her hand passed right through as one would expect. She tried this repeatedly, trying to concentrate on repelling the water with her hand, but to no avail. "I-is there like...a trick to it, or something?"

@Stern Algorithm

Kano chuckled to himself politely at the first few attempts ShiZhen tried at attempting to repel the water. Indeed it was harder than it looked which was why he chuckled. So many students wanted to master everything quickly.

"The trick is directing the water. Not forcing it."

Fingers closed in a fist the headmaster pointed his hand at ShiZhen, taking his time to spread his influence across a large area around the young pupil. The change of the water would not be very obvious but under his command it became almost motionless, until Kano extended his fingers.
The water around ShiZhen, including the water on her outfit and hair, flowed out steadily until she sat on the smooth stones. All the water in the pool near her had receeded as if a sheet of glass had surrounded her.

"Perhaps repelling water might not be a good start for you just yet. Close your eyes and focus on the water around you, flowing free, until you can hear it in your mind. When that happens just imagine it collecting over your hands instead of away from them."

---

@Kalleth

Felix had taken his time showering, making sure to clean the cuts on his hand as thoroughly as he could before getting out and wiping himself dry. To his displeasure the cuts refused to stop bleeding after hitting the wall.
Now all he had was dirty clothes and a bloody towel. Good start to the day.

With an exasperated and tired sigh of annoyance Felix flicked the towel into provided laundry hamper before dawning his dirty clothes again. The feeling of dirt on clean skin had him scowling but there was nothing to be done for it.
The morning progressed slowly as he took the opportunity of peace and quiet to have some plain toast and a glass of water, if only to stave off hunger, before sitting down on the couch.

The door being all but kicked broke the steady calm he had nearly achieved and replaced it with anger once more.

All he caught was "tough guy. Girlfriend. Score."

Felix was off the couch and at the door in an instant, all but throwing it open.

"SHUT UP!!"

Not bothering to look at who was there or why he threw a left hook at the shouters chin, aiming to break their jaw with one good hit and shut them up.

@Zelosse

When the door was thrown open and Felix came out swinging, Jordan was less than surprised. What did surprise him, was that the boy still looked as though he'd just gotten clear of a war zone. Why hasn't he changed into clean and untorn clothing? Jordan hoped that the kid wasn't eternally pissed off just because he didn't have enough clothes. He could fix that problem in an instant.

Oh yeah, and Felix had thrown a real haymaker at Jordan's face. The kid's inexperience with earth elementalists was clear, or maybe just masters of earth elementalism, because he didn't have anything on his fist as he swung it. But of course, it was second nature to Manilow at this point, that advanced technique where an earth elementalist hardens themselves like the stone and minerals that they can control utterly.

Punching Jordan's face while it was like this would be like punching a brick wall. Furthermore, Manilow gave no ground, and his head remained locked in place right where he'd left it. Basic training, for an elementalist like himself, had involved being punched repeatedly in the face by a man wearing steel knuckles until he no longer let the punch move him.

When the punch connected, Jordan realized his instinctive reaction was a mistake, and quickly softened himself and jerked backward, hoping the kid's hand wasn't broken. He hadn't seen those bloody knuckles before. Had he done that?

"Shit kid, I thought you wanted to do this with steel," Jordan said, hefting his fencing foil. "And do you need some clothes? I've got plenty of old training outfits down at the gym. Old, but clean. And mostly intact."

@Stern Algorithm
Hearing Catherine praising her for having raw talent, and that she did much better than most of the other new students, Kanako couldn't help but brighten up. She was proud on her ability, and being praised like this made her even prouder. She would make sure that she would develop that talent properly so that she could make Catherine even prouder of her.

Kanako immediately did as she was told. She first examined the stance Catherine was making, before attempting to imitate it as best as she could. The first training would be some breathing exercise, and the point of the training was to make her more attuned with her element. So Kanako concentrated herself at every breath she took and released. She felt the flow of the air coming in from her nose into her lungs and then coming back out.

Thanks to Catherine's tact, Kanako was able to focus entirely on the lesson, since she still didn't realize that her skirt was gone.

@Kalleth

Felix felt the strike connect and instantly came to regret it. Punching this guy was like punching the wall with the same results. There was an initial crack of his nuckles and the sensation of tearing skin as the hand was reeled back with a hiss, the fiery spirited lad winced but refused to do anything but shoot daggers at Manilowe.

If looks could kill..

When the horrible pain in his hand calmed down Felix was quick to respond rudely.

"I don't need a god damn handout. Not your charity case or your punching bag."

All but spitting at the mans feet Felix retreated back into the room, though he did leave the door open so Jorden could let himself in.

"Furthermore, you talk like that about her again and I'll make sure you feel the next punch..." not really thinking clearly again it was hard for him to realize the tough old teacher might have been joking or didnt even realize Felix had found someone, but that didn't matter. "I also can't leave. I.. promised to wait for her."

Zeke protested, "I'm not a sheep. I'm a Zeke!" but Viola had already disappeared upstairs. He waited for a little while, holding his camera, looking around at the crowd, then heading for the same stairs. It was too busy down here. Viola was still upstairs and he could catch up with her. Then they could go find something else to do. Or somewhere less full of people taller than him. He climbed halfway up the stairs before she shouted to him, and he turned around. She'd gone past him!

"Let's go! Let's go!" He laughed, taking her hand and pulling her out into the gardens. He stopped in a manicured lawn and turned around, hmming. "I was indoors, but there's lots of people there, and maybe we can go look at the forest, or but they also said there was a town..." Where would there be good pictures? A quiet tune interrupted his thought, and he looked at Viola with a tilted head. Or more accurately, at her instrument. "We need a quiet place, with interesting light and pretty things," he said, slowly spinning in place again. "Um..." He let his camera dangle from the strap again. "You decide, Viola!" He said, taking her hands in his.

@Pseudo Stygian

Viola. Viola. Hmm, Viola. Yes, actually, Lyra wouldn't mind being called that. She liked it, especially when it's Zeke doing it. The way he said her new name was kind, and the way he keeps looking at everything, it's kind of cute. "Ooh, well. This place is nice already. Quiet," Lyra said. She looked around at the perfect green grass and up to the blue sky. "It's pretty empty, though, yeah. The forest?"

She gave it some thought. The forest last night was dark and foggy and wet. It might be better now, but she wasn't very keen on returning to a place so enclosed after seeing the open sky. Besides, she could still remember the water in her lung...

"No, I've just been there last night. It's not a very nice place," she said. Her violin played a faint, depressing chord, as if it corroborate her. "The town then! I haven't seen a lot of it, but it looks very pretty from up in the academy grounds. It's not that big either, so it shouldn't be too noisy?." She pulled at his hand. "Let's go!"

@Regitnui

It was a nice offer of Dia to cook her some breakfast but sunny side up eggs was kind of bland if she did it too often, it was clear that Emi would be cooking the most of the two of them. Emi let out an awkward chuckle as she looked at Dia.



Emi sat herself down at the table while Dia explored the kitchen to make them some sunny side up eggs. It took a few minutes before they were ready. They smelled good for a hungry belly. Emi immediately began digging in while listening to Dia her story about the person she had met and apparently was a real sweetie to Dia her eyes.

---

Dia smiled slightly. "It would be amazing to learn how to make more than just eggs," she said with a slight bow. "And I hate to leave so suddenly, but I promised Felix I wouldn't be gone very long. He's being stubborn, and I feel that if I don't get back he won't do what he needs to do. If you are agreeable, I think...I think I'd like you two to meet soon."

After waiting for Emi's replies, Dia excused herself, bringing the container of eggs she'd set aside with her, and began making her way back to Felix's Dorm.

She was in a rather good mood, happy and content, and was surprised at how well she'd handled the interactions with Emi.

Maybe today would be a good day, she mused.

Silas stood alone in the common room, notice clutched in one hand. Looking it over reminded him of all that had happened last night. Meeting Vera, the seniors at the crossroads, the encounter with Felix. It was hard for him to believe that all of last night's chaos had happened so quickly, it felt like Silas had spent an eternity in that ominous forest!

The turning of a doorknob drew Silas's attention away from the sheet of paper and towards the other side of the room. The scent of... oranges? struck him before he even saw his roommate. The smell was very nice... but it also certainly served to remind him of his current hunger. He watched as the source of the sweet aroma, Vera, emerged from her side of the dorm. She looked... beautiful to put it simply, her appearance leaving Silas stunned. He looked away quickly as he noticed that he'd been staring for a couple of seconds. Don't stare at her you idiot! What are you doing?! By the time his conscience had quit yelling at him, Vera was already talking about where they could go.

"Hmm, how about we check out the city area near the academy? We could probably find someplace for lunch out there. I'd love to try the tram system too, that'll be fun."

"The tram?" He asked, quite confused. "I'm... not sure why you'd want to do that, but okay"

"How about it? It'll even be my treat, a little 'thank you' for helping me along last night."

Her excitement was infectious, Silas couldn't help but be just as happy as they made their way out of the dorm. However the mention of last night stirred something in him. Just as they had left their room, he stopped Vera for a moment.

"It sound's great to me! but... since you mentioned it..."

His expression shifting to a slight grimace as he prepared to speak.

"About yesterday... there's something I need to say"

Seemingly uneasy, Silas shot a glance down the hallway to make certain that nobody else would overhear their conversation.

"I wanted to say... thank you. Thank you... for what you did yesterday. If you didn't say anything when we ran into Felix... I might've... I might've done something really, REALLY drastic. So... Thank you, Vera."

Every word was delivered with reluctance, he hated that he was admitting this. Yet he knew it was true, that he probably would've done something... stupid if she hadn't been there. Silas let out a small laugh as the unease faded, before looking back to Vera and speaking up again.

"Sorry about being so... depressing. I just... needed to say that."

@Raptra

Jordan followed Felix into his room, chuckling softly.

"You actually have a girl? Damn kid, who is she? I was just trying to get you to open the door. She must be twice as stubborn as you, nearly as headstrong as-" Jordan cut himself off, his demeanour souring a bit. "As Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons." Manilow looked around the dorm, smelling faintly of teenage boy as most dorms did. It was certainly small, though not, he remarked, as small as a military-regulation bunk. He took the opportunity to pull out a chair, and sit down, massaging his shoulder and stretching languidly.

"It's not a charitable act, kid, and I'm not asking you to be my punching bag. You were the one who wanted to take a teacher on, and so kindly left a note instructing me to do so. The reason I offer you a fresh change of clothes is because your fighting skill won't be at its height in those rags. How are you supposed to focus on the fight when you get undesirable drafts of air in certain... places..?"

The gym teacher shook his head and smiled. "It's good you don't take shit from anybody, but you've got to realize there's a difference between pity, and a genuine desire to help you succeed. I don't know what kinds of people you've known in your life, but as a soldier at least, you get the worst extremes of both kinds of person. Your squad, your unit-mates, they're your lifeblood, who you depend on when one of you takes a hit, the closest thing to family in the deepest circles of hell. And then there's the target, the enemy, the people we don't treat like people. We give them hell, and they give it back. Just the way things are. No sense to it all. They break you down, build you up, give you the strongest bonds you can make, those forged in combat. And then a day comes along where you make one bad shot, or the intel misses one key detail, and your whole life gets fucked. And so it starts again. All that really means, Felix, is that when it comes to people, the way you treat them is everything. It's good to be strong, to be fierce, to be proud. Don't let what's good about you keep you from acknowledging your weak points, or the fact that if your damned gym teacher wants to give you some help, it's not because he sees you as some inferior being, it's because he sees potential in you."

Jordan paused, realized how long he'd been talking, and wondered if the boy had heard any of what he'd just said. He had just tried to punch him after all. Wouldn't be the most promising candidate for a lecture, or a pep talk, but then, Manilow was surprised he'd strung so many words together into a coherent narrative. Most times he tried to do something like that, Cathy would point out all the contradictions and non-sequiturs that-

Jordan stopped that trail of thought, again, and just sat, chewing his lip.

"So who's this girl anyway?"

@Zelosse

@Kalleth

Felix cradled his newly minted knuckles close to his chest with his other equally 'minted' hand. They were both sore, stung like fire, and hurt just as much as you would think it did considering his right hand still bled a little. Small mercy from the universe that was his left hand not bleeding either. There wasn't much in the way of bandages and Felix was too stubborn to see a nurse about it.

"She must be-"

"as-"

"Hippo Queen-"

Not bothering to pay attention to the macho efforts of Manilow wasn't going to pay out. Instead of nailing his guess of Dias personality all the brash youngster heard was 'she must be a hippo'. Given his track record of lashing out angrily he was quick to lunge forward. Instead of tying to sock the loudmouth in the face as previously attempted, Felix changed up his style on instinct.

Every teacher knew that a student in their first year rarely had control of themselves or their element, being as it was the first few days of the school year most of them were still in the 'happy accidents' stage of training. Fueled by emotion they could well.. explode?

Both of Felix's hands were wreathed in red flame as he attempted to grapple Jorden. Perhaps unthankfully, the burning fire held no distinction of friend or foe and burned without control across his arms until the sleeves of his shirt and the bandages had become a charred mess.. Quick as it had come it was gone. Nothing left of the flames but smoke and a startled Felix sitting on the floor with a look of mild shock.

"This is why I don't want help.." Felix mumbled.

Rather than listen to the long-winded speech about soldiers and death Felix simply stood up and stormed off. From the route he took it was clear the destination was the gymnasium.

---

-Gymnasium-

Felix took up his position away from Manilow with rapier in hand. Part of him missed the feel of a weapon in hand, even if the blade was dulled. For a brief moment it almost felt like he was home.

"Lets get this over with. The sooner I thrash you, the quicker I can leave.."