Trey smiled as sat down at an empty table, lunch would be good today. An egg salad sandwich, a glass of water, and a bag of chips. As he looked around the lunchroom he saw much going on, Roland, Circe, and Duncan were talking to one another, Ms Tholl was talking to a spider student, a giant spider was walking the wolf from earlier- what? Trey did a double take as he looked out the window again, seeing nothing where there had previously been a giant spider. He shook his head and took a sip of water, he needed more sleep. As he ate his lunch in relative silence he thought on the lesson Ms. Tholl had taught earlier, economics on the first day was an interesting approach. It was easy to claim that he didn't need to learn about money if he was going to be a Dawnslayer, but Ms. Tholl was right. There was no guarantee he would become one, so he needed a backup plan. Music is a fun hobby for him, perhaps he could go public.

While he mused on the idea of being a musician, he kept a close eye on the boy from yesterday, the one who had been so adamant about doing something about the murderer. From what he had heard, his name was Roland. That's all he knew about him, but it was certainly a start. Trey frowned as he finished his sandwich and took another sip of water, it was really quite noisy in here. This is why he preferred to spend his time outdoors, people didn't speak so loudly in the forest. Perhaps people confuse their indoor voices for their outdoor voices and vice versa? Trey chuckled quietly as that thought crossed his mind, opening his bag of chips with a loud pop.

---

She gave a halfhearted glare at Sonia when she attempted to defend her choice of beverage. Unless she was the worst lightweight the world had ever seen she wouldn't be properly intoxicated from a few sips, but if that were grounds for exclusion then every working joe would be knocking back sips of whiskey with their lunch. Still, it was hard not to understand the first day jitters, and following a murder, there were worse ways to cope with stress. "I can gather that you aren't impaired, but you still shouldn't drink coffee for lunch. Save that for after your classes when you aren't so supervised, okay?"

Tholl waited patiently for her to enjoy the smoothie, and was gladdened that Sonia didn't ask what kind of meat was within. Contrary to what most students thought, they would have need for money, and those who took that lesson to heart would realize that quality meals came part and parcel with managing their own wealth. Just looking around she could tell by the meals before them that some students either had no regard for it and either subsisted off meager rations or blew all their money on the most expensive cafeteria food they could find. Then there were the ones who prepared their own meals, and were rather shabby to say the least.

"I'm looking forward to telling them the pitiful Dawn Slayer salary later in the year." Tholl remarked offhandedly, a dreamy smile on her face while her eyes followed Circe's back, no doubt trying to find some privacy with her conspirators. A 'Daddy Long Legs' as they are commonly known skittered along the rafters, it's pinprick of a body and narrow legs unseen unless with intense observation while it kept pace with the group of inquisitive students.

The divine spider was drawn from thought and plot by a polite question from the ever so nervous Sonia Weaver. "Oh don't mention it. I bring plenty in case I want to spike Mako's thermos when she isn't looking....don't tell her that. I have her convinced it's Yurius."

"Anyhow, I suppose you could say every spider here with the exception of you is my brood. Though I've got more kids then I can count globally. And subterranean if you count the Drow...Oh, but if you mean Arachne, then there's only my darling Danessa. Pride and joy of my life since she came out of my wife. Though she's a bit too young for Hikari, and she's not interested in the Dawn Slayer business anyway. Takes more after her mother then me in that regard-"

She could have gushed for the entire lunch period about her family as any proud parent would, yet even she had to stop and straighten up when the uncontrollable twitching of one student in particular brought more eyes then would be appropriate upon them. If it were anyone else Tholl would have assumed it was some epileptic seizure, yet foreknowledge and the fact they were somehow eating through their spasms had her scowling instead.

If Tholl didn't know for certain what the murderer was on campus, she'd have called Mr. Strivelyn suspect numero uno. But it wasn't like she could judge him with any efficacy considering the family she married into, but damn did she want to call an exorcist when he started acting like this surrounded by fresh faced students.

"Sonia. I understand I hold no power over you beyond the teacher/student relationship, but if you need to talk then I'll be here to listen. I'm not a councilor, but given our needs, I can help." Tholl said, knowing it may be seen as unprofessional to favor a student because of their species, but when was she going to have another spider in Hikari?

---

Roland groaned simultaneously with Duncan when Tholl decided to sit at the table they were headed too. “Oh come on. First we have to be escorted by the staff now we have to eat lunch with them?” Roland shook his head but continued walking forward anyway. Hopefully she would be pulled away by other duties and let the four of them talk freely.

Plans changed, however, when the red haired girl noticed them approaching. She quickly excused herself from the table and me them halfway ushering them to another one. Roland cocked an eyebrow when she mentioned they would “talk about it later.” He figured she was talking about the murder, but the blush on her face and the way she looked at Duncan made him wonder if there wasn’t something else on her mind.

Sitting down at the new table, the girl handed correctly guessed their previous class and promptly handed them some potions. Roland sumized them to be healing and politely declined. “No thanks.” He said handing the vile back, “Healing isn’t something I need to worry about.”

Not wanting his food to get cold, Roland took a bite of his sandwich before continuing to talk. “I don’t think we got your name before. I’m Roland and this is Duncan.” Introducing himself and his friend with a mouth full of chicken probably wasn’t the most formal way to do things, but he at least covered his mouth while he spoke. ”Think your friend is alright being left with Tholl over there?”

@Silver Carrot@Cerces22

Much occurred upon lunch time, there were many interesting faces around and much more interactions occurring among the seams. With a cup of instant noodle on one hand and a fork on the other, young Lumen sat on tall grounds witnessing the rustle of the crowd under him. But perhaps tall grounds was a bit of an overstatement, as the boy really just sat on a lingering support beam which comfortably held his weigh enough to help sustain him on such a height. His eyes shifting from side-to-side gathering whatever fruits of information he could about the people around them. Silence was now his companion, hid under the guise of his hood, those who favored flying were exchanging weird glances at the youth due to the idea the climb couldn't have been too comfortable to begin with. And Lumen could admit it wasn't too pleasurable, but the sights from here were worth it. This is what a harpy would view, or a hawk, the idea was that he could garner a different perceptive of sight by mere accommodating himself somewhere differently. In the rustle of people, it was easy to ignore or miss the small details which slipped effortlessly on the trek of everyday, from here, it's as if he was a spectator to a play... Of course, this came with the concious decision to slip away from staff and promptly expose himself to future turmoil, but then again, could they blame him? This was the epitome of freedom. He was withing sight and it was awfully entertaining as well. Many aspect came to him, for one he saw his Economics teacher and that old Vampire Lord Yurius interact with students.

He witnessed Duncan and Ronald exchanging in conversation, and much more a face he hasn't seen before and it was an arachnid humanoid talking with Tholl, seems they hit it off quite effortlessly. "Hmmm, the only down side for heights is that I can't obtain any audible information." He expressed with noted disappointment. Why was Lumen disappointed? He couldn't really understand it, either. His finger tips were heating the cup enough to cause the water withing was beginning to steam, his other hands twirled the forked between fingers, mindlessly keeping it busy until he thought the temperature was enough to begin consuming this. That strange kid who appeared late for class sat alone in a corner, eating his sandwich in peace. Maybe Lumen should make an attempt at conversation, but to be frank he didn't want to give up his spot. Trey was his name, correct? Trey didn't seem to be half as emotive as prior, perhaps he has already forgotten those feelings of dread that came to his mien once the class ended. Lumen shrugged at the though, and he began to eat his noodles.

Now, he needed to do something entirely different. He could snoop around for information, or merely allow events to unfold. To be frank, he needed freedom beyond what he had now to do one of those, and he couldn't really draw so much suspicion to himself that he could be considered the prime subject. This mystery pegged at his curiosity immensely, and more the while the silence the staff was keeping was even more mysterious as well. Why not even announce what kind of creature is following them? Do they expect everyone would just calmly follow their directive? Perhaps they do, perhaps they mind not anything due to their trust on their student's obedience. Lumen's sights shifts to Ronald, who previously had underwent a state of rage due to the situation at hand. Were it not for Duncan's intervention, or even Yurius, he might've done something he ended up regretting. Life was at stake here... Lumen knew this as a fact, but to those who's hearts are stronger than their will of survival... would they be able to sit idly back knowing how something of great mystery and more so, a insensibility that allowed them to kill... Will they be able to sit back forever and let other do their fights for them?

Lumen laughed. The answer was no, of course. Only until the right buttons were pushed, until the wrong person dies. Someone who they love, so... what would it take? Lumen was intensely caught in his own thoughts. Maybe it was the best course to just wait and see. This type of mysteries have a way to unfold themselves.

---

Letting Mako taking the lead, the two of them headed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. The vampire was in a thirst for blood at the moment. He had hit himself multiple times today, all of which were healed by healing potions but they did nothing to replenish the lost blood in his body. He had to add more. Blood. Any kind of blood.

Having arrived on scene, he was heading for his own food section when something else caught his attention. There was this student, this kid. He was twitching, shivering as he ran, bumping on the centaur that just had class with him earlier. His attitude and behavior made the vampire narrow his eyes a little bit. Just a day ago a student had been murdered. And the Head Magister had decided, recently, to inform the staff of the murderer. Or at least what it was. Having that knowledge, he could not help but draw connections.

"That kid..." Yurius said to Mako, grabbing her attention to the boy if she wasn't already doing so. "There's something odd about him." Not just the suspicion, but that there was something, something within him. Something that the vampire could dimly sense.

The guy then sat down and had his food, messily, which only added more to Yurius' speculation. But still, he ignored it for now and headed to order his own lunch. Unlike the students and the staff, who have to step in line for food in the cafeteria, the vampire didn't have to. His only source of life was blood, the rest were pretty much comfort food which only served to satisfy his taste. And almost obviously nobody really wanted to drink blood, except for a few minor individuals. But still, aside from the main glass of red liquid, he also had a chicken thigh. Simple enough...

Having finished it, Yurius looked for a table. While he could just sit all by himself at an empty table in the corner like the day before, the old vampire simply thought it was good for some changes. There was Tholl, whom he was friendly with, sitting next to an Arachne, who was near the guy the vampire just glared at. Nearby were his students who either just got their first-hand experience of hitting the deck with cuts and bruises or were about to.

"If you don't mind..." He approached both Tholl and Sonia as he sat down on an empty seat next to the two of them. Settling down on where he was placed, he took a sip from his bloody drink as he asked the Arachnid. "They say the first day of class is a day of nightmare. How is your class doing?"

@Lonewolf685 @Silver Carrot

Sonia made a mental note to save the coffee for after school. It was a shame since she genuinely enjoyed the taste and feel of coffee no matter the flavor, but she didn’t want to get into trouble with Tholl. Looking on the bright side, this just means that Sonia will have more coffee over the long run, to reward herself after a long day of work. ”Of course, professor. I’ll make sure to limit myself.”

Sonia wasn't sure what Tholl was talking about with the Dawn Breaker's salary. Sonia knew that Tholl was part of the economics class though so she likely meant how their jobs applied to the greater society as a whole. Secretly, Sonia wasn't too interested in the Dawn Slayers for the purpose of fighting monsters and saving the world, though that certainly was something that motivates her. Originally she just wanted to learn and gain great arcane power. But what good would that be if she didn't have monsters to fight and a world to save? Though when it came to money, Sonia was lacking. She was receiving some allowance from her family, but most of her money came from her Spider Silk sales. Which made Sonia realize why she felt so afraid of Tholl: she was competition.

While it's certainly true that working together and combining skills and resources will create more profit than just an business owned and operated by an individual would, and Arachne's pride could rarely allowed that to happen. Even her own mother, who was the main silk producer of her home, left her family's silk spinning business to strike out on her own and create her own store without family ties. And when other Arachne tried to set up shop competition was fierce. Sonia's mother was scariest when she thought her livelihood was in danger, and Sonia realized that this was the feeling she had around Tholl. Tholl was the big spider on campus; all the things Sonia used to take for granted being one of the few Arachne around was now threaten by someone who was older, wiser, stronger, all and all more successful. But unlike her mother, Sonia knew better than to act on her primitive instincts.

They weren't stone age barbarians competing for natural resources. They were modern people in a modern age. Society was built to subvert and overcome archaic impulses that are no longer needed or even just redundant. In other words, tradition. Tholl was kind though Sonia had no doubts that she was just being manipulative. But Sonia had no reason to try to compete with her beyond reasons of pride and it would be a bigger blow to her pride to be defeated utterly. She knew when to fold, and besides in this day and age who you know was more important than what you can do. Or rather, who knew you. And if Tholl can trust Sonia and her abilities, it would only make Sonia more successful.

These thoughts were interrupted when Tholl mentioned the smoothie. Apparently she liked to prank Mako with the meat slurry. Sonia couldn't help but crack a smile at this. She remembered doing something similar in her younger days, tricking other students to eat meat from disgusting but otherwise harmless sources, like liver or hearts. "How devious, professor. But your secret is safe with me." Tholl then went on to talk about her family, specifying that there was only one arachne among them, her daughter Danessa. Sonia was going to ask more when she noticed someone sitting at her table and making a mess.

Just barely glancing to her side she saw the smaller person devouring his food as if he was a starved beast. Sonia could appreciate a healthy appetite, but that was no excuse for ill manners. As mentioned above, they weren't barbarians. And no matter who or what race or culture this person came from, they too have to compromise with the fact that they need to adjust themselves to the society they live in now, not the one they grew up in. Sure a traditional Arachne meal would be a live animal struggling in webbing, but Sonia wasn't going to disturb everyone by bringing in game and then sucking all the fluids from it's body until it was a desiccated husk. There were standards.

At least he was apologizing. Sonia let out a sign and finished her own meal too, in a much more calm and organized manner. "I'm sure you are. But you should try and control yourself. It won't do good for you or everyone else if you keep this up." Sonia's words were a touch harsher than her previous attitude was. While she meant to be a touch scolding, it was almost like she was dismissive of the other student. Frankly she wouldn't mind if he did leave now in shame but she wasn't going to press the matter any further. That's when another joined the table: Yurius the vampire teacher. If Sonia remembered correctly she was going to his class next. "Hello professor."

At this point Sonia wasn't really too bothered by all these random folks coming to her table. At the very least it'll make some sense for a fellow teacher to join Tholl. Though instead of talking to Tholl, Yurius asked Sonia a question directly. It was just small talk though so she answered back. "So far so good. I just finished spells and potion class with Professor Mako. Though I finished my potion I don't think I'll get any feedback until tomorrow. How about you sir? Any students show promise?"

@Conscripts@Lonewolf685@Strange Rodent

@Awesomoman64

Circe looked back to where Roland had pointed, Sonia now had Tholl, Yurius, and an other student at her table. The new guy made an aweful mess, but that wasn't Circes concern. She absentmindedly took back Roland's potion before she talked.

"Names Circe, did you get my note last night?? We need to talk about everything. Unlike the others around your not afraid, so help me Obi-Won, your my only hope." She said to the young man, hoping Duncan wouldn't say anything they were talking about to the teachers.

"Are you good at research?? I have been doing it all night, I have roughly twenty books on my bed, and still many more at the library to check out, we need to get our hands on a sample. I want to be the first to study whatever it is. We can meet at the library tonight to find clues, after dinner we can go." She finished her sandwiches, thankful she had Mako before Yurius, looking at the boys she knew she would use them... A lot

Duncan also declined the healing potion. "I only got punched in the stomach once, and it winded me. I'm not actually hurt anywhere," he explained, before standing back and listening to Circe and Roland, raising his eyebrow. He didn't actually suspect that they were planning anything to do with the attack. For one, he didn't know that Circe had any interest in it. He also didn't think that Roland would actually go out alone or in a small party of first years looking for life-threatening danger against the will of the teachers. In that situation, Duncan didn't know who he'd be more afraid of; the monster or the teachers!

What Duncan did know about Roland was that he thought Circe was cute. "I'll leave you two alone," he said, his tone making his meaning clear, before walking away from them. He looked back to Sonia, who was at this point surrounded by teachers. No matter. They could be introduced later. He sat down at an empty table besides one other person, which was good, s the centaur practically took up two seats in his efforts to stop his horse end blocking the space between tables.

After finishing his meal, he looked up at the other occupant of his table. "Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"

@Awesomoman64@Cerces22@floodtalon

---

After collecting her own food, at the cafeteria, Mako was about to sit down with the other teachers. Other people of note sitting with them included the spider girl, and the subpar human boy, both from her class. The human boy appeared to be twitching, however, and this time he could clearly sense something about him, like a fire burning him from the inside out. Interesting.

The Witch sat besides the twitching boy, and smiled. "Potions aren't for everyone," she consoled in a soothing, almost motherly voice. "I noticed that you struggled in class today. Don't worry. You'll probably do a lot better with the rituals and incantations. I've yet to ever meet a student who was bad at all three."

After his next twitch, she let a beat of silence pass, then leaned closer, concerned. "Are you aright? You look uncomfortable. Would you like me to take you to the nurse's office?"

@Strange Rodent

---

He saw Tholl scowling at him. The judgement in her eyes worried him. She'd seen it on the second day, which he was wondering about. His specific condition was fairly rare, so she must be well versed in this area. He was also worried about how he'd do in her class now. He wouldn't be able to focus. All things considered, he'd done terribly over the past two days. Oh, well. Not everything can go his way. As long as he learned something. That something being 'Always pack food for lunch. Always pack snacks in case.".

Had he known the girl better, he might've cared what she thought. He couldn't have held it against her, though. She had no way of knowing what he was dealing with, nor a point of reference. As far as he knew, anyway. He thought about spilling the food he had just cleaned up just to spite her, but that'd have hardly helped anybody. A shiver ran through him as the last of the pain vanished, but the dizzying high of an energy overload was still present. He'd have to discharge a bit if he didn't want to get noticed, not by the students, but by the teachers. It was probably too late, though.

He closed his eyes, and breathed in. He began to meditate, in an attempt to equalise. He had done this hundreds of times before, so it almost came as naturally as walking by now. He formed a pipeline of sorts, leading into the earth. After this was complete, he allowed his energy to be affected by gravity. This caused all the excess to fall out of his body, and disappear into the earth, ready to be claimed by anyone. Finishing this procedure was as simple as closing the pipeline and removing the false gravity. He opened his eyes, and felt a whole lot better for discharging. He no longer felt like a time bomb, ready to explode at any second.

He placed his cutlery on his plate in the proper fashion, side by side, and was about to leave the table before he saw Miss Mako approach. Looks like he had some explaining to do, and hopefully it'd only be for being late to class. She sat next to him, and consoled him about his performance in potions while reassuring him about rituals and incantations. Huh. He thought she hadn't noticed him enter. Funnily enough, he probably couldn't do either rituals or incantations, as he is incapable of consuming Mana, only controlling it. Then she asked him a question which worried him. He was fine now, but she'd obviously seen him eat. He mustn't go to the nurses office. If he did, they'd surely spot the demon and attempt to excorsice it. He'd tried that at least five times before. Each and every attempt had brought him and the excorsist close to death. This demon wouldn't leave without a fight, and it had rooted itself in his very soul. Removing it would not be dissimilar to attempting to remove a very large brain tumor.

"No, thanks. I'm alright now. Nothing I haven't dealt with before." He said, cautiously. He proceeded with a strange grimace on his face, "I probably won't be able to do spells and incantations. I'm unable to cast spells. However, I don't consider potions to be a failure. I may not have produced the results I wanted, but I did learn exactly how to make saltwater more salty. You only fail if you don't learn.". He said this while gazing at his empty plate.

@Silver Carrot

---

It was rapidly getting cramped at the table, and Tholl found her eyebrows raised as all the teacher's joined her at the student's table. Frankly this was not a precedent she had endeavored to set when she joined Ms. Weaver for lunch. "Am I the only teacher who brought their own lunch?"

She would have thought they'd rather eat in the teacher's lounge when they didn't have lunch duty, but the divine arachnid assumed they just liked the social interaction. Yurius was certainly chatty, by vampiric standards. All the ones Tholl heard about over the years were a millennia were a stuffy fair, barring the genocidal oddballs...

Sonia leapt at the question, and Tholl was content to wait for the student to finish before answering as well, all the while pointedly ignoring Mako's efforts to comfort the possessed boy. If Aria doesn't tell them about it, I bloody will.

"Oh you know how it is. Kids have so little interest in the minutia if they don't see it helping them cut off the head of a rampaging dragon. I'll have my work cut out for me explaining that the hero business doesn't cover travel expenses, lodging, or food." Tholl answered with a dramatic eye roll before leveling a finger at the combat instructor with an impish grin. "Hey, I should have you as a guest speaker one day. Nothing like a long life span to make you value the power of a healthy savings account. Or pile of gold. I'm not picky. I'll pop into your class and we can give your class a good show to shatter their expectations."

She liked to think her expression wasn't the least bit blood thirsty as she made the offer.

What an interesting development. Thought lumen, feet swinging at the edge of the support he sat down upon. It had seemed that this spider girl had garnered an interesting amount of attention to herself, three teachers and within that was an even stranger child. He seemed uneasy, almost like a shaky hand at the end of a trigger. Something oozed out of him and it wasn't pleasant, either. It was evident he didn't have much... control of what his body did and did not do. Twitching between intervals and restricting motion after a spasm. Something was odd alright, and it feed all the more deeper to Lumen's curiosity. "Hmm. Too early, still too early. We might have a mess in our hands within the premises too. If that's the case, it seems there's a cat in our bird cage." Lumen pondered on the thought, if that child really was as dangerous as he believed, then would the teachers be fast enough to react to the outburst? Or would another life be at stake. Lumen slapped his left cheek, a gesture he did solely to snap himself of such a troubling thought. "What am I even saying?" He laughed. A final gulp and Lumen had finally finished the last of his meal, guess he would proceed towards that boy who appeared a bit too late to class, Duncan was there, it seemed he had separated from Ronald and that red haired, female. Perfect, he didn't have to spend this time lulling around. Jumping off from where he sat his feet managed to plant themselves firmly on the ground, the high difference was a bit higher than what Lumen anticipated, so there was quite the small stumble upon landing.

Lumen quickly regained his posture and proceeded to adjust his hood, hiding his eyes from plain sight. This should hold the curse back long enough for someone to not be too affected by it. His traveled across this place, where people would all form friendly circles around their preferred classmates and friend. Many tables were already full of people whom where eating their lunch or merely enjoying their break. Teachers loomed across this place too, so nothing felt too disorganized. This is knowing that a higher power was among them and that they arbiter'd control to some extent. Regardless, Lumen made it towards Trey and Duncan with much thought to it at all.

"Hey, Duncan! It's good to see you again." He turned to the kid next to him. "Trey, was it? I'm Lumen. Sorry you had to go through Mrs. Tholl's lecture in front of everyone. It couldn't have been too pleasing." He said, a smile beaming on his lip. "Do you guys mind if I sit? You see there aren't many free spaces around, soooo..."

---

Listening to the two of them speak made Yurius scoff at a few of his current and former students. Weak, childish, naïve and fueled with self-interest and arrogance. They are the embodiment of what he hated. If he was his former self, he would be challenging them to a fight and running his claws along their necks. But to him, they didn't really matter. He didn't have to waste time caring for those buffoons. His time left was not worth it.

Without prior-indication, he put up his two fingers. "Two. You may refuse to believe, but in the physical, there are only two. Among a few dozens of them. So like you said, I definitely know these things, very well in fact." He looked to Tholl "And yeah, a splendiferous idea I would say. I am already in the process of that, showing them how pitiful physically they are at the moment."

With that said, he took another sip from his drink. "While that is taking place, I may give these toads a glimpse of a life in exile, just like how I did near a century ago. I'm no hero, but that should give them the warning."

The vampire grinned evilly. Old habits die hard. He had ceased his genocidal rampage, yet sometimes, he couldn't help but think like that.

@Lonewolf685 @Ryonara

---

“Um… Note?” Roland shook his head and shrugged. “Sorry, I didn't get any note. But I’d be more than happy to help if you’re looking into this thing.” Roland held out a thumbs up confirming his interest in joining the cause as it were. The one thing he had wanted was an opportunity to help find a way to stop whatever was out there, even if it was sort of going behind the faculty's backs. How could he say no?

Duncan, on the other hand, must have decided he’d rather not be associated with such dealings and decided to leave the table. Although, the way he said "I’ll leave you two alone.” sounded more like he was a wingman making his exit play and leaving the rest to Roland. Man, what a bro!

Now it was just the two of them. Circe began explaining her progress with research. The amount of books she had been reading made it seem like she already had a handle on this thing. Roland started to wonder if it would be truly wise for her to involve him in this especially with all the attention he had drawn to himself. He found it hard to imagine the staff didn’t already have an eye on him at all times.

“Before we go any further though, I have to ask.” Roland said after Circe gave him instructions on when to meet up later. “Are you sure you want to partner up with me? Obviously I'm interested but after the stunt I pulled yesterday I kinda brought a lot of unwanted attention on myself. I know this isn’t technically breaking any rules, but I seriously doubt you want anyone else to find out about this.”

@Cerces22

Mako laughed at his comment about being able to at least make saltwater salty. That was actually quite funny. She didn't even have to fake it! "That's a healthy attitude to have! Of course, all students should be trying for constant improvement and should never be complacent at the levels they are, even if they're good at the subject.

And if you insist you're fine, I won't press the issue," she started to speak quietly, leaning closer, and her grin starting to feel dangerous, "But you can't fool a Witch. There's a fire raging inside you, and I don't mean heartburn. I am serious when I suggest that you really should notify a member of staff about the Demon that's inside of you as soon as possible, for your own good."

She just came out and said. Strangely, nobody nearby has seemed to have heard or noticed. The truth was that to everybody else on their table, she hadn't said a word or opened her mouth once. It wasn't telepathy, for he had seen her mouth move. What manner of sorcery was this?

@Strange Rodent

@Awesomoman64

Circe lifted an eyebrow as Duncan left them alone, it wasn't that he left, it was how he left. This wasn't some date, and she hoped Roland wasn't trying to pick her up. This was serious, there was little time for dating, and besides he wasn't really her type. If he ever tried to make a move, she would have to stop that. For now she would let it go, there were more pressing matters.

Roland was nervous, or so it seemed, due to his out burst yesterday that she should avoid him so as not to be caught. He mentioned never getting her note, so by now it was most likely in Reikos or Aria's hands. She was a damn fool not making sure a hundred percent that it got to him.

"If you didn't get my note than the teachers already know what I am planning. But I think it's bull they way they have us corralled, we are training to be Dawn Slayers, but this is a good opportunity for us to learn. As I said before, whatever this is I want to study it. The teachers didn't even know what it was that attacked, so this will be ample time to study a previously unknown species. I figured if we do the research and can be helpful in anyway to the staff, they may allow us on the hunt. If you can, after classes meet me at the library we can look into more books." She looked up at the clock and noted that lunch was almost over and she had Yurius next. She looked back to Roland and waited for his answer.

Trey blinked in surprise as Duncan sat down at his table, he smiled regardless. He had no issues with the centaur, he had even stuck up for him the day prior. He was okay in Trey's book. Maybe... "I'm doing fine. Just people watching while I eat. How are you?" He asked as he ate a chip, chewing thoroughly before swallowing and taking a sip of water. Not soon after Lumen approached, apologizing for the lecture he had to go through in Ms. Tholl's class. Trey laughed as a minor blush rose to his cheeks, he shook his head and motioned for Lumen to sit down.

"I deserved it to be honest, not only was I late but I made a pretty big racket too when I came in. Besides, it's not like it's your fault. There's no need to apologize, I just need to not do it again really." A moment passed when a inquisitive look passed over Trey's face as he stared into the distance. "Actually I've been meaning to ask, how's your friend doing? Roland, I think that's his name. He didn't look too happy yesterday after the assembly." Trey's face communicated a bit of concern, but was mostly impassive as he ate another chip.

Sonia maintained her polite and gentle facade as her teachers spoke about the hardships and difficulties the students will have in class. Be it the business end of things that Tholl was talking about, or the inevitable and violent ends that Yurius eluded two. The fact that only two out of a dozen students he has shows any promise made her wonder if she'll even graduate with anyone in her class. Or if she'll graduate at all. But before Sonia could let these negative thoughts bother her, Owldin flew down towards his master. Sonia raised her hand for him to land on as he passed her a note: a spell scroll has been delivered to her room. "Oh right. Thank you Owldin. Please excuse me professors, but I need to go and get ready for my next class. Thank you for the meal, Professor Tholl."

Packing away her dishes Sonia left the cafeteria to go to her dormitory. She had previously spent her money bidding on a magic scroll of illusion, having stayed up all night sniping the bid to ensure that it gets into her hands. She wanted to make sure she was able to use it soon. It may take her a while to fully understand and memorize the spell off the scroll but unlike others who may need weeks or months just to understand the fundamentals, Sonia can already adapt her current magic to add spells to her pool of knowledge. That is to say, where some people mastering the blade, Sonia was studying spells. It made her think about what Yurius said about how he deemed only a few "physically" promising. She knew that she wasn't going to be one of them so Sonia needed to compensate. Fools look for answers, wizards make solutions. Sonia also needed to check the status of her spider silk shipment; she was relying on a good sale at the end of this week so she can buy groceries. Without it Sonia was going to have to eat more ham-and-cheese sandwiches for a while.

@Conscripts@Lonewolf685

"Tired but otherwise buzzing," Duncan answered Trey. "I had Yurius' combat class this morning. After being babied yesterday, it felt good to do some combat, and feel like a trainee Dawnslayer instead of a child." Before Duncan could ask how Trey's morning had been, Lumen joined them, and he and Lumen talked about Tholl's class, answering his unasked question for him.

"Hey, Lumen," Duncan answered. "Good to see you too. Of course you can sit here. So, how was Tholl's class? I'm not sure what she even teaches." He directed that question to the both of them. After their answer, he answered Trey's question about Roland. "He's alright, I guess. A bit bummed out that we were being treated like kids when we could help. Even though I'm terrified of what was out there, I can sympathize with that."

@floodtalon@Sync

---

He had no idea why she was laughing, he had been totally serious. He wasn't objecting, though. Laughter is a great thing. He listened to what she had to say before responding.

"I'd extend that to everybody, rather than just students. Complacency and contentment are the true negative attributes. Anger, sadness, suffering... they're necessary to motivate us to improve. Without them, we'd fizzle." He started off sounding rather enthusiastic, but grew into a more serious tone the further he went.

Now, Ceiran was used to weird things happening, but this almost took the cake (nothing would be more odd than sharing your body with a demon). The space around them seemed off somehow. He couldn't place his finger on it, though. On top of that, Ms Mako seemed genuinely concerned, which was a nice contrast from the contempt he'd grown used to.

"You're a member of staff, right? Well... I officially notify you. Sorry, this isn't really something I like to talk about." He said this with a slightly resigned tone, like someone who's had to explain something too many times. He started to get up to go before realising she'd just told the whole table his secret. He turned his head towards her and raised a questioning eyebrow. He judged that the best thing to say was nothing. She knew her shit, and probably wasn't reckless enough to do something like that.

@Silver Carrot

A nod and smile was delivered their way, Lumen directed himself towards the seat and answered accordingly to Duncan's querry. "It was a rather interesting experience if I say so myself, one laced with a lot of oddities. She brought an animal to the classroom who wouldn't dismiss the metal leg of the chair it gnawed upon." Lumen said turning to see Trey, who didn't feel too inclined initially to expand on what had happened to him, respecting that thought he dismissed that part particularly and continued on the other topic. "She teaches economics, actually. Well, I do suppose that within our circle not all of us might end up Dawn-Slayers." Lumen said rather dejectedly, something seemed to popped up on his thoughts suddenly, worrisome that he might be in that mixture of people. He pulled down his hood further, trying his best to conceal his eyes sight without obscuring his vision to pertinently. "She wants us to understand the value of money and what out roles with that are. I don't really get it, but I'm sure something of worth will be shown to us."

With that, it seemed Trey had followed up with a question of his own. Yes Roland the odd boy from the other day. Lumen had witnessed him talking with a female of crimson hair sometime when he sat in those heights before. Duncan replied earnestly, something about that felt refreshing. He wasn't afraid to demonstrate his thoughts. No reason to do so, either. They were at a safe space of course, though this young poltergeist as he snicked a glace at this odd child who sat with Yuris, Tholl and that other teacher. "Yes, he is quite something." Replied Lumen rather wistfully, reminding himself of Kresnik. "I think it's less about foolhardiness and more about passion. Certainly it doesn't stem from a sense of becoming and self-interest. It upholds a badge of benevolence, I feel. You're friends heart is in the right place, it's almost a shame that ours weren't in its entirety." Lumen thought, thinking that if anything else, someone of greater heart would've become the hero and give up something in order to obtain something better for someone else. He allowed that to sink in for a bit, before he continued: "Then again, we're weak for the most part. It's not at all smart to start looking for trouble if we can't dispel set trouble in the first place. Sorry, I went on a tangent. Forget I said anything."