---

Roland kept pace as they were led to their living quarters, albeit a few steps behind. After being publicly shut down, he wasn’t exactly in the brightest of moods. Duncan must have picked up on his bleak vibes as the centaur left his conversation with Lumen to fall back and inquire if Roland was still thinking about the assembly. Not seeing much point in trying to avoid the topic, Roland let out a sigh and nodded.

“It’s just… I can’t stand doing nothing, you know?” He said trying to dial back the frustration in his tone. ”I get what everyone is saying. Yeah we aren’t Dawnslayers yet, but that doesn’t mean we have to sit on our hands and ignore what’s going on. I feel like we could contribute if they would just give us the chance.” He didn’t know if Duncan would understand. No one really did if the assembly was any indication.

Before either had a chance to further their discussion, Lumen decided to pipe in introducing himself and telling Roland he was rooting for him. “Um. Thanks?” He responded not sure what the white haired boy meant. Was he saying he supported Roland’s ideas, or that he wished him luck in his own efforts? And why was he having a strange urge to cast an exorcism on Lumen?

Come to think of it, the more Roland looked at him, the more uncomfortable he felt. It was akin to how he felt being around Yurius, but with Yurius he knew it was because of his vampiric blood. Divine users could usually tell when the undead were in their presence, but Lumen was clearly of the living. Or was he?

A question for another day. For now, they had arrived at the dorms and it was time to pick beds. Upon entering the boys dorm, Roland noticed the front wall had all the male student’s bags and luggage carefully lined against it. Collecting his bag and gear, Roland looked over the still mostly empty room to decide where he would be sleeping for the next year. Without much thought, he dropped his stuff on the closest bed he saw. After all, it's not like there was any reason he'd need to check all the beds first, right?

@Conscripts@Silver Carrot@Sync@floodtalon

Duncan shrugged. "If I hadn't have seen that hoofprint, I might be with you. I won't pretend it's not annoying being allowed to do nothing to help, and to be shut away and hand-held like toddlers. But...I've got to be honest with you, I'm absolutely terrified.I don't want any of what that thing was. I just hope they start teaching us to be Dawnslayers soon, and the threat goes away so we can be treated like the future badasses we're going to become."

When they got to the dorms, there wasn't any question which bed was Duncan's. while the rest were bunks not dissimilar to what you're see in a youth hostel, at the edge of the room was a large mat on the floor, with an ordinary sheet in the middle of it. This was a centaur's bed. The horse half sleeps nude, but the human half still needs a sheet. He grabbed his luggage and went over to it, before starting to unpack.

@Awesomoman64

---

Mako didn't respond to any of Lilac's musings, which may have been worrying, but she was clearly listening, and clearly interested. The teacher was thinking; 'The world would be a more peaceful place if more people were like this girl. More peaceful because there'd me more murders. 'Cause of death: naivety'. Those damn white witches and their 'balance' and 'natural law of the world'. As far as Mako was concerned, order wasn't balance. The 'natural law of the world' and the 'law of the natural world' were two very different sets of rules to describe the same fundamental things. Whilst one celebrated the circle of life and all things being in a harmonious cycle, helping the others to live, the other proclaimed that to live is to be the fittest, better at killing or running than others of your species. If a lion's chasing two rabbits, they survive by being faster than the other one. If two dogs are fighting over a female, the female will be mated by the one with the sharper fangs. Neither law was wrong. One was merely white, and the other was dark. One rosy, one cynical.

Mako smiled down at Lilac when the young faun thanked her, and asked if Mako could accompany her to the forest. Mako shook her head.

"I will able to escort you to the gardens, but not the forest. The murder took place in the forest, you know. As powerful I am, there are more powerful beings out there, and until we know what we're up against, we shall stick to the rules. The gardens, however, are close enough to the school to be safe, with an escort."

The group arrived at the dorms shortly after, and Mako approached Circe. Her usually perpetually closed eyes opened, revealing piercing, harsh gold eyes, sparkling with intelligence. "I'm glad to see you safe, miss. It's dangerous to travel without an escort. Please be careful in the future." Mako paused, before leaning closer and staring right into Circe's eyes with a stare that'd make the girl's hackles rise. "That's an interesting book you're reading." she merely stated, before standing up straight and walking back to Lilac. "And now, young faun, Im afraid I must take my leave. You'll be okay here, right?"

@13org@Cerces22

The school assembly went better than expected. Aria chose to be placed on standby, allowing Reiko to get her message across. In these dark times, a voice of strict authority needed to be used and the Vice Principal was more suited for that role. As the proceedings went on, the Head Magister took notice of a few new faces among the student populace, all but confirming with just a glance to their faces that they were late to the initial orientation.

Oh well. Better late than to be murdered on campus, a thought that made Aria frown further. When the assembly was over, a few students raised up their concerns loudly. She had expected swift action by the staff to contain the outburst but surprisingly enough, it was handled well by the student themselves. With some intervention from Yurius, the students’ worries were settled; for now.

Aria sensed deep unsettlement within Roland and Circe, keeping her gaze on those two longer than others before leaving the auditorium. She made a mental note to have Reiko keep a watch on them before heading to her office; she had kept Tholl waiting long enough. Though she was not too keen on having to deal with the wolf’s more untrained functions, sighing as she sensed the animal marking patch after patch of her school with its fluids.

It wasn’t like she needed to see Tholl’s mind to know the situation. After all, the spider woman was quite indicative of it from her announcement on the intercom. “Tholl, I do hope you have a place to keep her without interfering with school regulations,” was the first thing Aria said as she entered her office. One look at the beast and she knew. “It’s a female if you were wondering,” she said to Tholl, moving to her desk.

“Alright, let’s see what we have here….” Closing her eyes, the Head Magister focused intensely into the wolf’s mind. The animal would find itself suddenly flopping onto its belly where it stood, muscles relaxed as Aria gently probed into its memory. For starters, nothing was in color; but digging deeper, she found the wolf to be in constant motion, trees and the forest floor in view. Was it running from something? What could it be-wait.

There it was. A brief, brief glimpse, but something was there. Hooves, yes, that much was confirmed by the tracks earlier…but this creature was much bigger than expected. Something hellish and oozing out malice with…yes. “Yes, I know what we’re dealing with,” Aria said gravely, opening her eyes and staring at Tholl. “Fetch me Reiko immediately.”

The news would spread far and fast among the staff, informing them to be on their utmost guard. For the Head Magister had now identified the creature responsible and it wasn’t pleasant. Whether the students would catch on to this new knowledge their superiors knew, it was hard to say. But it was doubtful they would, especially when the first day of real classes had finally begun.

-

@Silver Carrot

Circe cracked her eyes open and rubbed the sleep from them. For the life of her she could not remember falling asleep last night. The last thing she did remember was Miss Mako coming in with some other students and than warning her to be careful of wondering the school without supervision, and commenting on her book.

She looked down at her reading material and saw she stopped on a page with a large beast with hooves that just screamed evil and hate. Circe dismissed the beast right away, while it to had hooves, the tracks at the scene yesterday suggested a far smaller creature. She knew she was missing some minor but important detail on this thing, she just needed that last drop of information. If the teachers knew anything they were keeping their lips sealed shut.

It's not like I want to hunt the damned thing!! I just want to help and study it when it is captured. The more we know about what's hunting students the more we are able to defend ourselves. And why do I need to be escorted every damn place?? It's highly unlikely that whatever it is will enter the bloody school.

The young woman finished dressing for the day and saw her class schedule for the day. She had Mako in the morning, and Yurius in the afternoon. At least it seems he allowed her into his class, hopefully she would be able to prove that she was worthy there. She doubted she would be the best fighter in the school, but her transformations did give her a slight edge over at least a few, and she did know how to fight.

The young woman followed behind a group of students lead by a teacher to breakfast and after a quick meal, she piggybacked upon an other group to class. She rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of this strict herding forced upon them, but she needed to keep a low profile. Hopefully Roland got her note and there would be a reply waiting for her back in her room at the end of the day. Maybe after lunch she would be able to sing her fangs into some very unpleasant places to release some pent up stress. Afterwards she can figure out what the beast is!!

The night almost seemed endless. Lumen didn't know what caused him to be so sleepless, but there was certainly an air of difference in this atmosphere. He felt... nervous, anxious about what was about to proceed after today. Though he had seen and met many different people in the span of a few moments, he had yet to truly digest what had happened on the premises of this academy. Someone had died... it raveled the soul within him, caused it to shiver and as proxy made Lumen tremble. He was scared. Yes, he was... This wasn't anything ordinary he had ever experienced and much less something he had an understanding about. The world before them is full of many things and much of such are bad. Curiosity didn't blind the young man of this truth, but it did overpower it. His eyes weigh heavily on him slowly bringing themselves to a close. What Lumen had thought to be a second had translated into hours, and now the morning sunshine beamed through the windows and woke him from his slumber. A stretch, his muscled recovering their strength, generously allowing Lumen to stand on his feet and proceed to his morning routine. Classes would start soon, and he shouldn't be late. Propping his hood back on, he hid his line of sight. Best to be much more careful around this curse, especially when surrounded by this amount of strangers. He didn't want a repeat of past actions, didn't he. As the memories replayed on Lumen's mind he felt a cold sweat trace through his spine. Yeah, it was certainly best to do this.

He brought the necessary equipment and decided to proceed to the class room. Exactly where did he have to be present? The halls were long and it felt like he'd easily get lost. However, pulling out the program his morning class was...

.
=================================================
Student | Morning | Midday | Afternoon
=================================================
Circe | Mako | Lunch | Yurius
-------------+-----------+----------+------------
Duncan | Yurius | Lunch | Tholl
-------------+-----------+----------+------------
Lilac | Mako | Lunch | Yurius
-------------+-----------+----------+------------
Lumen | Tholl | Lunch | Mako
-------------+-----------+----------+------------
Roland | Yurius | Lunch | Tholl
-------------+-----------+----------+------------
Trey | Tholl | Lunch | Mako
-------------+-----------+----------+------------

Ah, right. Mrs. Tholl. How curious, was that not the woman who's voice was heard over the intercom last night? Lumen pondered, feet pacing him towards his destination. She was calling the Headmistress to the office for something, she didn't quite mention what it was. Perhaps for the best, as how things are at present any type of uproar or news would be quite terrifying. But piecing things together, Lumen thought he could come to a few conclusions. Maybe it was trivial, maybe it was nothing more than just a need for communication, paperwork, anything regarding the school. As things are right now, maybe she needs to oversee some special cases and they need her attention. The one that Lumen seemed to be more inclined to believe however, it's that it had to do with the murders. But... It couldn't be, something of that caliber... The staff would be much more careful to not even hint the slightest amount of information to anyone, especially the students after that dilemma yesterday. He decided to remove such thoughts from his mind, and continue to the classroom.

Once there, he took a seat. He waited, not much else could be done at the moment. Face hid to the public through the shadows of his hood. Yet there was a soft smirk adorned on his lips, he rose his hand inches before his sight before an insignificant flame hovered inches above his index finger. Shifting it to ring, middle and pinky and back, its colors shifted in a gradient of hues. Signifying its lack of completion, the link was still weak, but he could do this much. Lumen entertained himself until classes would commence, until then he played with this flame.

Duncan woke at the crack of dawn, without an alarm clock. Centaurs generally are early to bed and early to rise. This would be the time where he'd take a lap around the park. Maybe he'd be able to get escorted to the gym if he asked nicely. But he doubted it. He felt like a prisoner right now. Groaning, he threw the duvet off his human half and stuck some deodorant and a shirt on. The shirt was a faded grey Black Sabbath T-shirt. Looking down, he decided that he'd better put something smarter on over it, opting for a black sweater. Dressed now, and very glad he didn't have to worry about trousers unlike his bipedal brethren, he was ready to start the day. But nobody else was, including teachers, so he at back down, put some headphones on, and listened to music until a much more respectable time, whereupon he got up and headed to Yurius' classroom, after a very large and very green breakfast consisting of a bacon sandwich, and two large bowls of apple salad. He didn't know what he'd be getting taught today but his teacher was that stern vampire, so no matter what it was, he'd probably be getting put through the ringer.

@Conscripts

---

The shifter would find Mako already at her desk upon entering, drinking from a thermos and seemingly paying no mind to Circe. At least not yet. Then again, class hadn't quite started yet, and not everybody had arrived. Mako may have hated the new rules even more than the students did. She had been required to get up early, then spend close to an hour escorting students to and fro. There wasn't enough coffee in the whole storeroom for this, and Mako didn't want to risk getting caught drinking on the job. Again.

She yawned, smacked her lips grouchily and looked around. She finally noticed Circe, or at least it only seemed like she noticed her now. Well well, she was in her class, it seemed. It would certainly give Mako a change to keep on eye on her and discern whether she was merely thinking dangerous and rebellious ideas, or whether they were in any danger of becoming more than thoughts. Being a teenager wasn't a crime. Letting a teenager die? That was, to her at least.

This class was Spells And Potions. Contrary to popular belief, spells weren't magic, not in the strict sense. The power that elementals could harness with their bodies and even non-elemental could learn to harness in a limited sense, and the natural power of the universe that could be tapped into with incantations and rituals, were two distinct and separate branches of study.

@Cerces22

---

Unlike the others who simply awoke by their own volition, Roland’s slumber was ended by the alarm he had set on his phone. While few would actually notice the soft *bzzt bzzt* of his phone vibrating on his bed, it was more than enough to get him up. Tossing his covers aside and rubbing his eyes open, Roland debated skipping his morning workout knowing full well who his first class would be taught by. Eventually he opted for a light workout of sit ups and push ups to at least keep him in the habit.

After taking a quick shower and throwing on some clothes, he followed Duncan to the cafeteria for breakfast. There wasn’t much chatting between the two because the second Roland’s nose caught a whiff of the food, his stomach reminded him he had hardly eaten yesterday. Once he had chowed down on what was probably all the bacon and eggs they had, Roland again followed his centaur buddy to their first class.

Upon entering the vampire’s classroom, Roland teased some predictions to his friend. “So what do you think he’s got planned for us? Super hard obstacle course to ‘test our limits’ or is he just gonna beat the crap out of us and go from there?”

@Conscripts@Silver Carrot

@Silver Carrot

Circe sat in a random chair a little off center of the room, Miss Mako had yet to notice her enter the room, and after the remark last night, she definitely wanted to stay off the teachers radar. She placed a notebook on the desk and began drawing, she wasn't the best but she was going to try and build a dossier on the students and staff. The more she knew the more she could plan around their overall strengths and weaknesses in case this school hosted some sort of team games like the other schools do.

She decided to start with the new guy that snuck into the assembly he was the freshest in her mind. Though the rest of his face was decent enough she had trouble catching his eyes just right, it felt like something else was looking out from his eyes with him. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember the shape of his birth mark, only the pull of it. Was. That his ability?? To use his birth mark and hypnotize those who see it?? Circe knew she had to get to the bottom of the mark, if that was it's power, she and Roland could use it to capture the monster so she could study it.

A few more students milled into the room, but none she recognized, she put away her books listening to the chatter of the other students. More dismissive high school drama, some of the girls who said the boy with white hair was completely gorgeous and oozed mystery. Circe just scuffed quietly to herself, this was a school to learn combat and magic, not for dating. She looked up and for the briefest of moments caught Miss Mako looking at her, Circe gave a slow feline grin to the teacher.

---

The vampire was sitting idly on the table, watching and waiting as students began to fill his room. Old students, new students alike. His arms were crossed as his back laid lazily onto his chairs, not feeling so encouraged after the new rules had been implemented. How wearisome it was. He still got up as early as he did, but instead of his routine fitness exercise, which had kept him strengthened and healthy for over five centuries, he had to escort a bunch of kids to school. Sure, they weren't actually kids who needed a mama's hand everywhere they go, but this wasn't that much different, only grown kids who were discontent. Still, for safety, Yurius had no reason to question such decisions.

He just sat there, waiting for class to begin, occasionally glancing to see new students, some of whom were pretty surprising and interesting: the student who caused the commotion earlier the day before, and a half-man half horse. He had eyes on these two particularly. Among dozens of students, he knew that there would inevitably be bad students who only wished to pass the exams. But there were also ones that had a vision of they had to become. For the guy who stirred up things at the assembly the day before, he did not expect many things from him, but he did show a certain amount of determination in that attitude. While rash, Yurius had paid attention to him. For the centaur, he was curious at how Reiko assigned the guy to his class. He didn't expect people like that to be able to fight so proficiently, especially in a class about pure combat like Yurius'. Maybe he had a secret potential, or that Reiko just trusted Yurius to be able to make a warrior out of him. In any cases, he was also interested in this one.

Once the clock struck, Yurius stood up at once. His class, Art of Combat: Intermediate and Advanced, had begun. After gaining the attention of the student body, he began his talk. His voice was booming, boasting his inner strength of a vampire, yet contained the sound of age and wisdom of someone who had seen the birth and end of many.

"A curtain rises for a new era. Welcome to your very first stepping stone towards your career as a Dawn Slayer. And here shall be the place for you to master your own self. For you to let your inner fire speak to you, let your mind clear, your body hardened. Let you become who you want to become."

"Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. A good fighter is the one who can master both. But it is a true warrior who can use such mastery for good use, with a determination and passion that could only be compared to monumental titans. As such, I shall also expect only the best out of you. There shall be no excuse for slacking off during practice or lecture. But feel free to do so if you find my lecture not worthy of your attention. And at the end of this year, if you manage to fail this course, I will have no responsibility over you. Your success or failure is your own."

Yurius then took a moment for everything to sink a bit before continuing.

"So what do you expect to see from me many of you are asking so rudely in your head while listening to my less than interesting lectures? Firstly, if you desire a 'walk in the park' course, get out." The vampire pointed at the door, his expression serious. "Secondly, if you want a comfortable course, get out. If you think combat is easy and comfortable, then get to the beginner class, if there is one."

"Thirdly, if you expect fancy moves of martial arts, or the projection of what you would so popularly called as 'Kamehameha', you better leave as well. As I said before, this is a place where your inner fire speaks to you. It is YOU who will discover yourself. Yes, you have heard me. You will develop your own fighting style, technique and strength that only YOU are the true master of it. You are all born as individuals. Do not die as a copy."

"All of you today, will have to demonstrate to me, firstly: what your power is, what you can do with it, and what style of combat you think you can do. For those of you who have developed your own style and has gotten first-hand what is combat, then good. For those of you who don't..." The vampire crackled his fist. This was not gonna be very fun for them.

"But now, follow me to the arena, where you will prove your power to me, and to everybody else present." He said, as he led the classroom to an arena. The area around it was as large as a badminton court, with reinforced glass on the edge of the arena, separating the battleground and the spectator area. Yurius, since he was the teacher, entered it, standing in the middle, while the students would sit at the spectator area, waiting to be called upon.

"Before we begin, when you step your foot onto this battle arena, you will not be demonstrating your power onto a harmless dummy, or a senseless wall that could not react. You will demonstrate it...on me." The vampire then suddenly gave a low toned laugh, weirdly and somewhat frighteningly.

"Let us proceed. Two at a time. The first entry shall be..." The man's eyes appeared skimming through the spectator ranks, but his minds were already settled on two students already. "You" He pointed at Roland. "Yes, you. The one yesterday. Come. The second one shall be...the centaur. Two of you. Come down here and, firstly, state yourself."

@Awesomoman64@Silver Carrot

Duncan turned to Roland when he entered, grinning. "I'd wager my money on the latter. He seems a very stern sort and I can't imagine him just having us run an obstacle course. We're here to fight, and I expect we will fight."

When the teacher came in, Duncan was proved right. He say up straight and paid complete attention. He couldn't help grinning on one side of his mouth as he listened. The speech was scary, but also exciting, and after having been treated like children yesterday, it was refreshing to be throw in at the deep end, with no handholding, babying or sugar-coating. For the first time since coming to this school, he felt like a real Dawnslayer-in-training.

He followed the class to the arena. He was right. They were going to be fighting today. He couldn't see any dummies, though. Were they going to be sparring with each other, or...?

Duncan gulped as the teacher's next words confirmed his suspicions. They were going to be fighting him, and Roland and he were first and second up. Roland put his hand on the human's shoulder and muttered "Good luck," before looking round the arena to see what weapons were available. It was unlikely they'd have his first choice, a bow and arrows, but even so, Duncan was a good as useless in a fight unarmed.

@Awesomoman64@Conscripts

---

Circe may have had the grin of a cat, but Mako had the grin of a fox; unnassuming yet sly, which she returned to the young shifter along with a flash of her open eyes, still the same piercing gold as yesterday. Just as quickly, she closed them again and sat back , though the grin remained. When everyone had arrived who was going to arrive, Mako stood up and wrote on the board in large letters; 'SPELLS & POTIONS'. She then made her way back to her desk, took another sip from her thermos before putting it away, and returned to the front of the class.

"Alright, class. This is lesson 1 of Spells and Potions. This isn't magic class, so if I catch anyone using their own magic on their incantations, rituals, or potions, I will heavily deduct marks for cheating, and the final exam's a doozy, so you'll want to lose as few marks as possible. Now, why do we use spells and potions instead of our own magic, you may ask? Well, a few reasons actually. First, we are tapping into the mana pool of the Earth instead of ourselves so it's much preferred if you're beaten up, mana-depleted, pregant, or just really suck at magic. Second, Because we're using a much larger mana pool, we have much more power to work with. Being able to manipulate and guide that much power can achieve some incredible things.

I shall give the class a choice, however, since it is your first day. Then we shall alternate week by week. Would you like to start with spells, or potions?"

The rest of the class muttered amongst themselves. Some of them didn't mind. Others didn't know the difference. Seemed like it was up to Circe, and as Mako caught her eye and smiled, she knew it too.

@Cerces22

---

Tholl had spent her time being berated by understandable upset woman. Aria was not pleased to find her office smelling of the great outdoors. Lotte did not appreciate the wolf's attempt to establish dominance and mate with her. And the Mrs. certainly did not find the idea of giving their daughter a pet Wolf out of the blue to be sound, and let her mind be known wordlessly and painfully.

She'd just have to find another way to validate her #1 Dad mug another time.

Blustering her way through the halls with a thermos of coffee in one hand and a leash in the other, noting passively that there was a lack of people eager to crowd around her to 'Pet the puppy' as some would say. Though that would have less to do with the fact it was a wild animal, and more so the handy vest in a utilitarian beige that declared the wolf a service dog.

"Alright class, sorry if I'm running late. Had to explain to the big girl here that the coffee is mine and I'm not sharing." Tholl declared as she entered to find a decidedly bored classroom not in the least eager as those who would be tormenting poor Yurius. Something told her he was the type who'd soon be bemoaning the decline in strength of the passing generations.

Setting down her black nectar of the gods and securing the wolf to her desk's legs, Tholl favored the students with a disarming smile.

"You may be wondering why someone dressed in a sailor suit at the desk, but I assure you I am your teacher, Mrs. Tholl. It's my pleasure to be teaching you the finer points of Business and how to establish yourselves in the world around you. Oh and I know what some of you are thinking, about what use any of this is when you're going to graduate as Dawn Slayers and run about saving the world. Or perhaps you're an entity who lives separate from the modern times, or is an ageless immortal?"

"Here's the thing; No hero has saved the world with their bare naked body. The Dawn Slayers don't ask for the charity of others so they can fight with the donated pots and pans from over stocked kitchens. The Great Witch didn't snap her fingers and rouse up inexhaustible armies and the means to clothe, feed, and support them. No no no!" Her voice with an excited fervor and she slapped her palm out against a wall length white board for emphasis. With all eyes turned to her know she snatched up a red dry erase marker and slashed out the name Hikari Academy in the center before liberally circling it. The wolf looked up form where it laid on the floor, chewing at the metal desk leg, only to decide the marker didn't smell edible either and return to the desk.

"Here's a basic principle of Economics; Nothing is free. You yourself can of course get a free lunch, but the cost to society is always borne to someone. This means you can't get something without offering something else in return. Let's take Hikari Academy itself as an example. We receive private funding from numerous sources and generous donations from previous graduates to foster their successors, but they don't do this from their goodness of their hearts- Even if that in and of itself provides a utility value we will cover in later chapters, mind you- But so Hikari can produce a needed service or good in exchange for their support."

She drew two arrows shooting upwards from the Hikari bubble and ended them in open circles to be filled in. Turning to the class she settled her eyes on the hooded visage of Lumen Kresnik. "Mr. Kresnik. In the future I'd appreciate if you could keep your hood down in class. I've had one too many aspiring mages use it to sneak naps in. Now then, perhaps you can help me fill in the blanks here. Tell me, given the resources put into Hikari, what are we expected to produce upon your graduation?"

Lumen didn't know what to think at first. Whether if the animal companion was some sort of elaborate ruse to snatch away at their attention or if the initial statement was her attempt of an opening joke. Lumen couldn't make hands or tails because the setting and context of the class really didn't seem to mesh together with the school, the teacher and much less an animal that seemed more attentive if it should scratch it's left ear or the right. A service animal? Why would she-- The class resumed with a strong tap of the white board while this... dog? Chewed on the desk leg like an infant pup that's desperate due to its teething. Economics class, huh? How would he know, he never had to manage money once in his life. He's been poor and homeless, technically. The shelter did everything for him when it came to provisions, shelter and food. The value of a dollar was something that he gained through not having an at all, so perhaps this class reassured Lumen that he would certainly fail. Grasping the flame he cast with the grip of his hand, extinguishing its existence in a subtle grasp he continued to listen, only to have their eyes connect. This shouldn't be a problem though, he was hooded and didn't have direct eye-

"Mr. Kresnik. In the future I'd appreciate if you could keep your hood down in class. I've had one too many aspiring mages use it to sneak naps in." Fuck. Out of all the things, she went to this one. Maybe he could explain, but to be frank he didn't think she'd care much about it. Turning to the classmate that were now delivering their sight to his presence... He felt a tinge of anxiety boil up his chest and a nervous laughter escaped him, a mean to deal with the situation. Smiles are the perfect solution to defuse any out come that might arise... Yeah, he should explain, maybe this would-

"Now then, perhaps you can help me fill in the blanks here. Tell me, given the resources put into Hikari, what are we expected to produce upon your graduation?" WHY ME!? Unlucky, this is what he gets for questioning things he shouldn't about people he didn't know about. The universe was starting to retaliate, bellowing in his ear about his lane and questioning why he decided to stay out of it. Maybe he should've skipped, yeah that sounds... Wait, what was he thinking? Something over took him, a thought that peered into the back of his head. Something that illuminated his curiosity and began to boil within a thought. Rumination took place, and he removed his hood. Demonstrating his face towards the myriad of the class.

"Well, if I'd give the most common answer. It's that we become Dawn Slayers, no? But I also think that might be too simple of an answer. So let me expand a little bit further if I may, Mrs. Tholl." He began to search in his thought, possibilities and theories, along with combining them with the facts and knowledge he knew to be true. "Dawn Slayers are more than mere mages and witches, we all hold a type of responsibility regardless of the plain of which we are fostered upon. We all share the same space within the spectrum of things, therefore there is a balance that must be kept. If not the same mistake and occurrences of the past will repeat themselves and who really wants that? Whatever means to achieve that, that is not this academy's aim. Benevolence is not what I find to be this academy's defining feature, if I may say so myself Mrs. Tholl. I do say it with utmost respect to your authority and those of the head." He continues to ponder, trying to find a solution, but it becomes less about the class in itself, and more about satiating his own thirst to uncover this mystery he has implemented in his head.

"I suppose that by that definition, we are sourced to produce potent dawn slayers capable of distributing their talents for the safeguard of that balance. Monetarily speaking, we need to train such to produce the quality marketing of our services to the people. To put it in simpler terms, I suppose- Dawn Slayers are the merchandise which will propel the existence of a radiant world." He thought of the killing that occurred recently, might there be something that's shifting the balance again? Well, he couldn't come to any solidified conclusions, but he stopped speaking. Mainly because he forgot to continue, he now shifted to talking with himself than anything else.

"But why is the dog here then" he mumbled.

@Silver Carrot

Miss Mako surely had a small flare for the dramatic, but Circe knew she was not kidding, she drummed her fingers across her desk listening to the other students bicker back and forth over which part of the course they had wished to study. Most of the students wanted magic so that they may use the knowledge in battling, it seemed the conversation was mostly leaning that way at least. A young man stood up and looked around to the other students and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Potions." Circe said cutting the boy off, he shot her an annoyed look and was about to make a retort. "I understand you wanting to master some spells, some of us do not have access to our own magics as readily as others, but potions, they hardly require any Mana consumption at all, right Miss Mako?? Sure you may be flashy with your lightning and fire balls, and you may feel powerful. But I couldn't conjure a light breeze no matter how hard I can try. I am patient on learning magics, potions though will be even more difficult, add the wrong ingredient at the wrong time and the potion you were making to save your comrades life will now kill him faster.
Potions can be used to refill your depleted Mana, using Earth's Mana is more dangerous, so for this week we should concentrate on potions. But you knew I would choose that didn't you teacher?? Am I going to get a pointy hat and stand over a cauldron cackling at the end of class??"

Circe kept her eyes locked on Miss Mako during her whole speech, gauging her reaction, seeing if the teacher wanted to play the game with rebellious teenager. Call her an edgelord, but she never did what society demanded, and she wasn't going to change her mind now. This school wasn't about fitting in, it was about knowing the special skills they would need to know on the field.

"You won't always be able to call in magic in the heat of battle,
but a proper unit will always have even the most basic ingredients for a healing drought, that is most important. So we are learning potions first, got it??" She crossed her arms, waiting for someone to say something, but it seems her little speech sucked out the bravado of the other students and they waited for the teacher to begin.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit-" Trey mumbled to himself as he ran down the hallway to Ms. Tholl's classroom. Of course he slept in, first day of official classes and he couldn't get his ass out of bed in time. He turned a sharp corner, sliding along the smoothly polished floors as his shoes struggled to gain purchase. He skidded to a stop, almost slamming into a few lockers as he continued his dead sprint to class. He was well aware that he wasn't supposed to be alone at any point, but he wasn't going to just skip class. Hopefully this incident would be overlooked just this once, with his luck that was pretty unlikely however. He finally made it to the door of the classroom and let out a heavy breath, looks like the lesson was already started so he wasn't going to make it out of this one unscathed.

Trey pressed his ear against the door to see what they were learning about, hearing something about Economics and services? He was at the right class wasn't he? Trey waited for a break in the talking and quietly opened the door, attention swung away from Lumen and towards Trey as he quietly walked over to an empty desk near the front of the class. Of course all the back desks were taken, that's what happens when you're late. All eyes were on him as he sat down, it was a bit anxiety inducing to be sure but it would pass. He looked at Ms. Tholl with a sheepish expression, rubbing the back of his head before he got out a pen and paper. "Sorry I'm late. I'm not exactly a morning-"

That's a wolf. Trey fell into silence as he observed the wolf sitting by Ms. Tholl's desk, quietly gnawing on it's leg. "...Is that a wolf?" It was the dumbest question he possibly could have asked, of course that was a wolf. The unspoken question however was closer to, "Why is there a wolf in front of me in my class?" That was a very good question that Trey would likely not get an answer to. One blink. Two. The wolf looked at him for a moment before disregarding him. Seriously, why is there a wolf sitting in front of him? Silence reigned. 'Is this my life? I guess it is.'

---

Roland listened to Yurius’ speech with a smirk painted on his face. It was pretty obvious he and Duncan were on the same page about this class. After all the new rules and restrictions had been placed to keep them safe, a class that didn’t pull any punches was exactly what Roland was looking for. Not to mention he already had some combat training under his belt, so he was at least somewhat prepared for what was to come.

His excitement only grew as they were led out of the classroom and into the school arena. He had been waiting for a chance to show what he could do, and he was about to get it. Yurius must have been waiting for this opportunity as well immediately calling up “the one from yesterday” to face him. Great, he was about to be made into an example, wasn’t he? And Duncan too? Well, at least he’d have someone to back him up, even if he wasn’t sure about the unarmed combat prowess of a centaur.

Stepping inside the glass cased arena, Duncan wished Roland good luck. Roland returned the gesture in kind mimicking Duncan’s hand placement and replied “You too, man.”

Dropping his arms behind him he stood at attention in front of Yurius. Taking a deep breath he looked the vampire in the eyes before stating his name. “Roland Nightbreaker, sir.” Yurius, as well as some of the students, would find the name Nightbreaker to be a familiar one as it belonged to many notable Dawnslayers; many of which Yurius would have trained himself.

@Conscripts@Silver Carrot

---

"A well conceived out train of thought, Mr. Lumen. I'll add a bonus point to your next test. Though that is still only a partial answer, as I asked for the two things we export. To continue from where you left off in the simplest terms necessary, Hikari produces Dawn Slayers and-"

Her lecture was interrupted by a student crashing through the door amidst an avalanche of sheepish apologies. The teacher favored Trey grimly, and turned aghast as he opened the floodgates by immediately questioning the Not-Service dog denting the metal of her desk's leg. With but a few words others in the class soon connected the dots and she could tell she was going to lose them if she didn't curtail this.

"Ahem." Tholl coughed for their attention and leveled a pointed glare at Trey. "In the future, Mr. Black, if you are going to be late then enter the room quietly so as not to interrupt lectures and class discussions. And secondly, yes, this is a wolf. It's been displaced from its home in the woods and I am currently keeping it in psuedo witness protection until we can find it a new home. No, you can not pet it unless you sign a waiver I've had typed up and notarized exonerating me of liability. No, I will not accept questions about the assailant of yesterday's attack."

Turning from the suitably chastised Trey back to Lumen, forcibly brightening her expression lest she fill the room with gloom and more spiders then were already hiding in their desks to catch them trying to peruse phones on laps, she raised the marker to the board.

"Back on track. Hikari produces only a small amount of Dawn Slayers relative to those who are Drop Outs. By this I do not mean to say those who fail their classes but those who complete their courses but go into a field outside the world saving business. You see, not everyone is of the nature, talent, or inclination to risk life and limb, but they can still enter Hikari to receive an exemplary education in various fields of life mystical and mundane. Graduating from here regardless of your intentions is a significant boon when it comes time to decide where you want to go after this."

"So take to heart that even if you aren't the bravest, the strongest, the most clever, or even the luckiest, your education here can bear fruit for any path you choose to follow."

Inside Mako’s classroom, Sonia sat furthest in the back. It was the best place for her since she was so big, but didn’t want to get in peoples ways. Her eyesight would let her see every minute detail from where she was at anyways. Soon after Sonia arrives and took her seat, Mako started her lecture. Spells and Potions! And not ones Sonia were familiar with. That didn’t bother her though; Sonia wanted to learn new spells and forms of magic, so she couldn’t be relying on what she already knew.

Mako asked the class if they wanted to start with spells or potions first. Thinking about it, Sonia obviously wanted to do spells. Spells were her forte. She has tried to make potions before but she found their effects lacking. Sure they were useful, but they lacked a certain flair to them. Frankly she also thought they were boring and better suited for machines. So raising her hand Sonia spoke up. ”I would like to start with spells. Potions should be prepped and ready before an emergency. No one will have time to craft a healing potion or antivenom when you need it most. But spells can be adapted and used on the fly, if you’re trained enough to do so.”

@Silver Carrot@Cerces22

Mako kept her eyes on Circe during her entire speech, smirking. She was getting some kind of enjoyment out of this. Circe was a fiery girl with a very strong will. Mako didn't even want to tame her lest she spoil this little tornado. She was about to answer when something unplanned and very interesting happened; a student at the back disagreed. Mako's eyes opened. This was getting better and better.

"While I'd usually commend such thinking, you are mistaken about a few things. It will take you weeks to memorize the rituals and incantations, and that's if I skip the theory, which I'm not going to do as I think it's important. Young Circe here has a point. You don't need to be able to flawlessly recite and incantation or set up a ritual on the spot, if you have a ready-made potion available, and with the recent attacks, I want you all to leave today with your very own healing potions. If there is another attack on any of you, they may just save your life. So, everybody look in the cupboards under the desk, you'll all find some cauldrons, scales and athames. Don't cut yourself on them. They're sharp."

@Cerces22@Ryonara

@Ryonara@Silver Carrot

Circe turned to the voice of a new student speaking up against her. An Arachne wanted to study magics instead of the potions. Before she could offer a retort to the spider girl, Miss Mako spoke. She instructed on why she thought potions would be better suited to start with and stated she wanted every student to leave with a couple bottles of healing potions before the end of class.

Circe stood up from her desk passing the Arachne on her way and gently touched the girls shoulder. She offered a small nod of her head to the girl. Most of these students were sheep, blindly following those with power or their peers. This girl though, she gave a valid reason for her wanting magic vs potions that wasn't in sync with the other students. She had to respect that some, as she sat down with the ingredients she began devouring the book with the recipe.

The other students were already starting their potions ten minutes later while Circe still had he nose in the book. She read the entire beginners section before even starting the potion. She carefully mixed the ingredients together in a small batch first to make sure she got it right. One students mixture began to smoke as he made a mistake. Circe gave him the briefest of glances before going back to her own work. Although it was a test batch she was being as meticulous as if someone's life was on the line. As the potion finished brewing she took a small swig of it, her face scrunched at the horribly bitter taste of the brew. She looked through the book one more time, eyes devouring every word and warning on what could go wrong.

She began working on her main batch soon after closing the book, she wanted to do it from memory. As she brought the concoction to a simmer, she went back to the cabinet and began searching for an other ingredient. She found what was looking for and went back to the cauldron. She opened the container and dumped a few blueberries into the potion. With just a few minutes left in class her potion finally finished. She tasted it again and the bitter taste was gone, replaced by a light sweet flavor. She grabbed a few flasks and filled them up, she presented one to Miss Mako and waited for the teacher to grade her work. She went back to her desk and began cleaning as other students took theirs up to Mako.