Clarence's head was spinning a little bit from the way Sazel talked. She really was the type of person who didn't have a care in the world. If Clarence were to describe her then he'd probably call it a strong chaotic energy. Someone who enjoyed leaning into their role, but also decided what that role was themselves.

"…I suppose?" Clarence said in regards to the question of him joining them.

He would've liked to wait for Mort to come back but since he always headed to the library anyways, he was sure he'd end up finding him.

Although, he going by Sazel's description he was pretty sure he knew someone who ticked most of those boxes. Isobel Mulryan from Dracona, who he also had a class with and had never interacted with, although he knew well enough of her. She was very slightly shorter than he was.

The thing about it though was that she was very particular her appearance including her hair, which was long. It came down to her back even when she had it up in her usual drills. Otherwise she fit the bill, although Sazel's descriptions of the colours were very odd.

"I don't think I know who you're talking about…" Clarence said. "I'm headed to the library anyway for my first period so I'll follow you."

He was pretty sure he knew who she was talking about, but at the same time there was room for error and he also didn't want to have to do much to keep this going. He needed to go to the library and if he wasn't going to follow them now, it'd be awkward to run into them again.

Still though, he wondered how the Nidhogen was going to fit in the door.

@CelesteEste

Interactions with: @CelesteEste Sazel; @RoflsMazoy Clarence and Mort

---

"A Lawrie? Hmm. Green Morning the Lawrie." The Nidhogen didn't smile, merely a few pops of seeds that skittered onto the floor.

So they were going to the library, something it wasn't allowed to do due to its size. The last time it was in there, it knocked a shelving unit over and it had a domino effect. It spent the better portion of the day trying to get everything back in order, and the amount of red in the room was very distressing. Better to look the part.

The Nidhogen arms and legs dug into the soil of the courtyard, its head and shoulders going upright towards the sky. The warping and snapping and twisting of wood adjusted, like a tree growing on fast forward, its form growing limbs, then branches, then leaves. Its trunk twisted, thickets of ivy and vines swirling about its form, covering its face and completely obscuring the being that was before. But as it spiraled, warped, unfolded, a new shape began to form just past the curtain of leaves. Finally the Nidhogen stopped and from a large open knot in the tree near the roots, something crawled out.

What emerged was a girl? Simple in design, she stood about 5'1. The flower on her head, a vibrant purple. She was in her entirety shades of green save a splash of color at the end of her petal like skirt that wore the colors of House Phantasma. Her limbs bended more like stems folding in mockery of an arm or knee joint rather then how it should function. The smile she wore seemed etched on rather than anything involving the muscles of her 'face'. Indeed, the more one looked the more inhuman features one could find, having her waver between 'cute' and 'uncanny'. She spoke, her voice now becoming undeniably feminine. "I've been working on a huu-man form so I can walk among the soft barks. What do you think?" Nidhogan did a little twirl, her movements kind of rubbery considering she was more stem then wood now.

"We should draw the lost girl's picture. Maybe other students know. I can ask while you are at your classes. And maybe the Nettle knows. She's really good at finding people. This one means, she is really good at trying to find people." They haven't found the Caregiver yet, but not for lack of trying.

---

---

Considering there was no way a gust of wind could roll through a hallway, the gust of wind that scattered the papers was no doubt Lorcan trying desperately to defy authority via the use of magic or his summons. Cogsworth's tentacles shot out as quick as the eye could blink and the stack was reorganized in his hands. "Using magic on faculty is a grave offense at this school. That will be detention for you. And I suppose I'll hold onto these until you are civilized enough to handle them properly." The student stormed off, and Cogsworth went on his way.

The nerve of some kids.

Things hadn't played out quite as Max had expected. Albus was spared his crushing end thanks to the interference of a couple of large cats, Lohi and Tohi, and their quick barrier. He still got some satisfaction out of kicking Grarves' ankle, after the fact, and eliciting a rather satisfying and loud yelp. Which caused Max some minor discomfort in his ears. He started walking away from the scene only to be stopped by the sound of an angry voice calling out to him.

"Oi!" Isobel yelled out as she walked up behind him, "Spiky haired overly dressed bastard. Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Max looked over his shoulder at her but didn't turn around. She along with another boy, Arkadian, were staring daggers at him. Though, Isobel's was by far the more impressive scowl among the two of them. Max knew they wanted a fight but wasn't in the mood to go all out in a crowded lunchroom. It was one thing to fight back against a dragon you 'thought' was attacking you. It was another to beat up two students out for an explanation you didn't want to give. His answer was thus brief and monotone displaying little care for their unspoken threats, "To class." he answered, then began walking away again. Max didn't expect either of them to just let him go. So, as he stepped away they would hear an ominous clicking sound as Max gently tosses something small and round behind him. Isobel would see the grenade roll to her feet as Max started sprinting away. SHe would have little time to react as the grenade exploded, but fortunately for her. The grenade would not explode into fire and shrapnel, but instead, pop like an over-pressurized can and releasing a massive cloud of smoke into the air. In the chaos that ensued Max would burst through the nearest emergency exit and run down several hallways. If he believed the coast was clear he would take some time to catch his breath before walking to Lady Lestrelle's class. "Well, this morning was certainly more exciting than usual." He mused eyes scanning the halls for dark skin and long white hair, "If I see her again. which will most likely be around lunchtime. There is no doubt a fight will break out." Max smiles, "Perfect, I'll just summon the changeling before then. It will make for the perfect test." Max walked with purpose as he made plans for his next encounter with Isobel, a look of sadistic glee upon his face.

"Wooooow!" Sazel's interest shot up as she saw The Nidhogen's newly developed form, the girl walking in circles around the summon as she took notice of all the details. "It's excellent, really-o, kinda impressive how you can compress that big body of yours on this smaller form, I wish I could do that sometimes!" the much shorter girl said, poking the sides of the form as she observed the texture.

"Nettle? Hmm, perhaps later, if we can't find a hint in the library. I don't exactly have much more than a few hours, and I want to get some investigation done." she said, before pouting at the suggestion of a drawing. "Drawing, hmm, I am no artist, but I can try."

As they walked towards the library, Sazel sketched something on her notebook, a terrible drawing of what the student looked like, though with some notes that clarified what she remembered. "Hmm... Does this remind you of anyone, Lawrie? No? Sheesh."

Entering the west library, Sazel casually moved to one of the shelves and took out a book, this allowed her to move the shelf away, revealing a secret one behind. "The student archives, very useful for the Chronicle Club... technically not something I should be looking at without permission... buuuut you can't solve a mystery without breaking a few rules, right?"

There were countless volumes, with basic info and a portrait of each and every student, no exceptions. "Someone help me up? The latest years are on the top."

Clarence had no idea the library had secret sections. Why the hell did they even need to exist? Especially for the yearbooks, surely they should be publicly available? The whole situation reeked of fish, but when he looked at Sazel she couldn't possibly be the one who perpetrated it.

Chronicle Club... They're going to go on my avoid list...

He didn't feel like he wanted to get involved with whoever was behind all of this.

There were countless volumes, with basic info and a portrait of each and every student, no exceptions. "Someone help me up? The latest years are on the top."

There was no way Clarence would be able to lift her. He'd never tried lifting anyone, and he was pretty sure if he tried it would be so pathetic that Sazel would think badly of him. And if that happened he wasn't ever going to come to Lady Oravierre's class again.

He side-eyed the Nidhogen hoping, and begging for it in his mind to help her up without him asking. If he asked, then... actually wait why didn't they just lift her together? Yeah, that'd work.

"I probably can't lift you but Nidhogen could?" He said.

Wait, that didn't come out right.

@ShwiggityShwah

Nettle

"I apologize for my sister again, Nettle..."

"Hhh... No hharm done." She assured her, none too disturbed by the numerous disturbances around her. It seemed the summoner behind the black cat receded and she was no longer being force fed sweets so she returned to eating her soup. There seemed to be some disturbance off in the distance, some students caught up in strife with each other's summons it seemed. It did not bother her. Every day was like this in the cafeteria. The day someone wasn't getting injured by someone or by their summon would be the day she'd officially call 'Kinda weird'.

So she ate her soup. She overheard Livia and Odhra discussing heading down to the library for their first free period which so happened to also be her own free period.

"Hh-I will be hheading down to hthe library... As I hhh usually do." She affirmed. After calming finishing her soup and tea she gathered up her things and made her way back to one of the cafeteria booths. As was usual for her mornings she picked up a large bowl from the silverware distribution stands and filled it with water at one of the food stands.

With the water in hand she made her way over to the courtyard, careful to make her way through the throngs of busy students all making their way to their respective classes, at least among those who didn't have their morning as their free period. Eventually she made her way to the courtyard where she saw a large rooted tree among the smaller less extraordinary trees. This was of course her summon, the Nidhogen. She didn't even need to be linked to it to tell that this particular plant growth was it's body set and rooted. This was it's method for adopting other forms separate from it. She had seen it happen before so it was not unfamiliar a process to her.

"Hhh... I hshall leave this water for your hhh... return." She placed the bowl neatly at the base of the tree. With the water delivered to her summon, at least where it left it's main form, she began upon her way to the library. She would reunite with Livia and Odhra on their way there.

Nikola emerged from the chaotic cloud, coughing and reeling. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he was sure that the boisterous boy had rolled out a device of much mischief. He stood for a moment, just outside the grey cloud, breathing in and out to check if there was still smoke in his lungs. He coughed again, wiping his mouth and looked around. It was still chaos, as he had expected.
"Kitten, are you okay?" He asked the fluffy dragon.
It had been strangely quiet. He could feel its body tremble in his hands. But just as Nikola began to worry about its health, it opened its mouth. The boy was relieved, thinking that it was yawning. But it was tensed too tightly for that. Too late, he realised what it was doing. Too late, the dragon sneezed.

Fur exploded out from the dragon, and a half-eaten mass of meat flew out into the cafe. As the fur began settling on nearby students, Nikola stood frozen. He had no idea where the meat mass went but he should probably go apologise. But then he'd have to apologise to the people getting fur on them too... The smoke drifted closer and Kitten sneezed again, kicking up another cloud of fur. Thinking quickly, Nikola ran out of the cafeteria.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that..." Nikola muttered to himself.
Kitten mewed piteously as he wiped the snot of its snout with a tissue. Nikola should probably have stayed behind to clean up the mess he made, but he'd panicked and ended up in the hall. He had something of an aversion to loud places; there were too many things taking his attention. Nevertheless, he should probably go back and clean up his mess. Or at least do... something. That was something he should do as a member of his family. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel reservations about going back into the chaos. Nikola quietly walked back towards the cafeteria and took a peek inside.

Interactions with: @CelesteEste Sazel; @RoflsMazoy Clarence and Mort
Though anyone in the library could probably see this.

---

She swung her head from side to side with a slight bounce. An odd gesture, as if she wanted to show that she appreciated the compliment as the inflection in her voice made determining emotional states kind of difficult, so she used her body. "Have you tried putting alot of weight on your head? It might make you shorter." Sazel said, wanting to change herself. She knew that softbarks didn't like have their insides on their outsides, so they couldnt do what Nidhogen could. I mean small ones could come out of softbark females, but she atleast had the understanding that it wasn't the same being.

They walked to the library, the Nidhogen's new body still had that nasty habit of constantly shifting and moving even if she was trying to keep a form. Her fingers seemed to grow, wriggle, add in number until like leaves of her dress they were brushing on the ground by the time they got to the library. "Don't like the dirty flat wood room." She said. "This one doesn't know how you can write so much. Most of its probably silly."

Sazel managed to find a secret passage way causing the girl to tilt her head. "Hidey place." Sazel said something about breaking the rules. "Oh! The Nettle would want to know about this! The Caregiver can be inside too! Maybe thats why we cant find it. Need to commit more crimes." She reasoned.

Within Sazel asked for a boost. Nidhogen looked up and then back to Sazel then to Lawrie. The flowers on her head grew a little brighter. "This one is helping!" She said excitedly, or just more loudly. Tendrils of leafy vines twisted around Sazel's waist like rope, tight, but not painfully so, and then Nidhogen raised her arms, causing the girl to rise into the air, higher and higher, but with enough control that Sazel could guide them.

Another arm came out from the elementals form with branch like claws and writing vines. "Lawrie want up too?"

With a plate full of food, Eric exits the breakfast line and starts to make his way across the room, only to hear a familiar 'bwark' as the ground trembles. "Oh no... You've got to be kidding me Isobel... Grarves, this early in the morning?" Eric mutters to himself while he watches the land drake come bursting through the cafeteria doors. Watching the chaos unfold, Eric's eyes narrow as he catches Max exacerbating the situation. Talk about chaos incarnate, dealing with him is going to be a risky business indeed.
- - -
"Oi!" Isobel yelled out as she walked up behind Max, "Spiky haired overly dressed bastard. Where the hell do you think you're going?"
- - -
Shit. This could go very bad, very fast. Eric thinks in sheer panic, one hand dropping to the hilt of his Estoc; only to relax moments later as Max chooses to run out with a well timed smoke bomb. Taking a deep breath to collect himself Eric steps forward through the smoke to Grarves, who he hand-feeds a piece of breakfast sausage before looking over at a still fuming Isobel. "What is it with you and chaos, Isobel? I swear, wherever you go, trouble follows." Eric says, his tone dryly teasing, one hand idly giving Grarves chin scritches.

Now that he thought about it he hadn't corrected the assumption that his name was Lawrence yet, and now it was too awkward to do it.

"S-sure, I guess..." It would be rude to not take the offer but Clarence sort of didn't want to have to do anything. Still, he could probably get by...

He took the Nidhogen's hand and ascended. It took a little to learn to control it but he got the hang of it quickly. He knew generally where to look, the current year's yearbook was fine to start with, but he knew Isobel had been here since at least the year before. She was rather familiar with the other students, he would estimate two years at least but he could be wrong. He picked up last year's yearbook since it was likely Sazel would choose the current, if it was there.

He flipped through it quickly since Isobel's appearance was rather distinctive, and he knew exactly what to look for.

"I found her," Clarence announced. Sazel's drawing was actually Isobel as it turned out. "Isobel... She's in one of my classes."

Since he wasn't lying at all here the line came out smoothly. Then Mort swung in with a covered plate. Their gaze(?) met and Mort immediately froze.

Is now a good time? He seemed to say.

Uhhh, maybe, maybe not? I don't know... Clarence seemed to say back.

Mort went away for a second. He came back without the plate. Presumably he placed it somewhere out of the way, maybe on top of a shelf or something. He came back and introduced himself.

"Hello Nidhogen, it's been a while." He said.

Clarence wasn't aware the two had ever met, but it was something of an inevitability that you'd run into Nidhogen one way or another. One of the unwritten rules of L'Mordryn.

Mort recognized the Nidhogen, because the foliage on the dragon and the new form it took were similar. He'd only ever had passing interactions with the summon however, they didn't 'know' each other too much.
@CelesteEste@ShwiggityShwah

"Hmm, you shouldn't commit crimes." Sazel answered when Nidhogen mentioned it. "Unless you really need to! Then it's fine."

"Lawrie, you could get on all fours and let me step on your back." Lawrie, to Sazel, came from Clarence, she was not aware it had a second name, and would never understand why some people referred to him as Lawrence even though she was at fault for that.

She eeped softly as she had her midsection wrapped in vines, but was quick to focus properly on the shelf ahead, picking the first book and not bothering with getting down since she doubted she would find her mystery girl on the first one.

Then Clarence found her! Sazel was so excited to finally know more about the mystery girl, but, to her surprise, it was not her at all. "Ah! Didn't you see my drawing? This is not her!" Sazel placed her finger on the temple of the face in the picture. "She didn't have this enormous courtyard of a forehead. I guess the colors are right though. Tan skin, white hair, but less of a brat, more... uh... elegant I guess." the girl was so focused on her act she didn't even notice Mort.

Silas had just finished his second round when the ground started to shake. He tilted his head slightly in confusion trying to guess at the source. As an animal aficionado, he figured the rumbling was coming from a fairly large beast rather than, say, an earthquake, and he scanned the area awaiting its appearance. A sizeable land drake burst suddenly through one of the cafeteria doors and seemed to be making a beeline for a specific target. Silas furled his brow at the abrupt appearance of Grarves, and visually followed his intended path. His victim had been Albus.

Oh this should be good…

The times Silas had seen Grarves around campus, it appeared the drake acted more 'fido' than 'fearsome', so he knew Albus wasn't in any real danger. In fact, it looked like he was accepting his fate. Before 'The Attack' could occur, however, a kid he recognized from class had intervened and sent the poor land dragon on a more dangerous collision course with Albus.

"Hey! Why would you-?!"

In the same instant, Arkadian appeared with a magical barrier, saving Albus from a rather serious fate. Silas had been impressed with Tyro's abilities from what he'd seen so far this year. To be so young and to have a link with such powerful spirits was an impressive feat indeed. At any rate, the chaos didn't stop with Grarves coming to a halt...Isobel was extremely pissed, which obviously was completely justified. A completely unprovoked attack had been made on her summon, which was quite a taboo at L'Mordryn.

And this won't be as good…

Before sparks could fly, though, the kid had managed to escape by deploying some kind of smoke bomb. Silas was far enough away that the cloud was mostly dissipated when it reached him, so he wasn't affected by it too much. He fanned his hand in front of his face instinctively as he viewed the aftermath of the incident.

"Yeah...this is definitely going to escalate into something later...probably something good enough to make it into the school paper."

Silas chuckled to himself and shook his head. He looked around and saw that most people were still slightly distracted and decided it was a good window to make an exit before the rush.

"Well, looks like there's nothing more to see here, so I'm gonna go ahead of the crowd. I'll catch you later, Alebard!"

Silas gave Alebard a friendly salute as he turned and headed for the door.

---

"Do you know this guy, Darcy...?" Andirah asked pointing at Lorcan with a thumb and contorting her face into the most annoyed grimace her adorable face could muster. Velvette wasn't as vocal with her annoyance; she simply glared at Lorcan as if he were a smudge that had appeared on the table and needed to be promptly removed. However irritated the two girls had become, Darcy simply raised an eyebrow and gave a light sigh that clearly signified her utter boredom. She had been approached countless times by boys (and girls) who made futile attempts to hit on her, though it did little more than boost her ego. This particular time, though, felt a bit different than a flirtatious approach. The boy in question had a very pompous air about him, as if he was already one of the top dogs in the room. Normally, Darcy would have simply gotten up from the table as if he hadn't said a single word she should consider worthwhile, but she was feeling particularly froggy this morning. To be approached by some cocky newbie who even considered himself on the same level as her was a check to her alpha. She mentally cracked her knuckles.

"The next time a pathetic beanpole like you decides to come at me with such a ridiculous and dismal attempt at fraternization, I'll grind you into infinitesimal dust like the insolent drudge you wish you were."

Without breaking eye contact, Darcy stood up from the table. She quickly flicked her vision to the barely-dressed dragon girl whom she assumed to be his summon. She seized what she saw as yet another opportunity.

"...And put some frickin' clothes on that thing, you perv."

Without waiting for any kind of response, Darcy turned and started toward the nearest exit, moving with a slightly provocative walk that she hoped would pour a bit of salt on the wound, not once looking back. She knew full well that he was probably staring her down, and the dragon summon was a clear indicator that she would most definitely cross paths with the boy again...but she would deal with that later. Vel and Andi followed suit...except Andi decided to part in a more childish manner. She lifted the back of her skirt and mooned Lorcan while sticking out her tongue. Ceraseth complimented the act with a hiss as he perched once again on Andirah's shoulder. Darcy glanced down at Andi while they walked.

"Was that really necessary, Andi?"

"Of course it was...he's a jerk!"

"So, you reward him by giving him a peek at your cute little ass…?"

"...I didn't think of it like that," Andi said rubbing her chin as if discovering some newfound knowledge. "Wait, did you just say I had a…?" She stopped mid-sentence and tried her hardest not to blush, throwing her hands behind her back and fidgeting nervously with her hands. She kept her eyes low as she struggled to regain her composure. Darcy loved pushing these buttons and she wore a sly grin as they continued on. Velvette snickered audibly at Andi's sudden awkwardness.

"Shut up, Vel!" Andirah grumbled.

It was just then that one of the cafeteria doors exploded open and a certain land drake came barreling into the cafeteria.

"Is that Grarves? The hell's going on?"

It took only a few seconds to figure out and Darcy nodded in approval.

This is gonna be good…

The moment the dragon's wild charge was foiled, Darcy's face contorted into a look of anger.

"What the actual hell is his problem?!"

The trio was on the other side of the cafeteria at that moment, and Darcy made to help kick the culprit's overdressed ass, but the fight was over just as quickly as it had begun. She almost went to see if Grarves was alright but quickly remembered that she had pranked Isobel earlier. Darcy didn't really feel like reminding her of that while she had daggers in her eyes, so she decided to continue heading out of the cafeteria.

Cafeteria

---

"Bwark!" Immediately upon receiving the pettings, his melancholy quickly dissipating. The dragon rubbed his head against Albus' hand, panting happily before rearing up, and assaulting Albus' face repeatedly with his long, slobbery tongue. This continued for about a minute, the dracona male now well and truly covered in saliva enough that might make one question what he had been up too.

"Son of a-" Before Isobel could confront the attacker, he played some dirty, cheap trick. A smoke bomb. She tried to follow after him, but only ended up utterly blind, almost running into the door herself. Ciervia hissed as Max ran, sending a blast of cold, icy breath towards the direction he had fled, but to no avail. It slammed into the wall, freezing a small portion of it. "...tch." Isobel frowned, hands clenched into fists as she lost sight of him.

"Next time I see that bastard, Rutul's getting a snack." Isobel glanced over to Eric, still visibly angry at the turn of events. Grarves gratefully accepted the sausage, and Albus was finally free of the dragons assault as he wolfed down the treat. "It's not my fault. That jackass tried to hurt Albus and Grarves." She replied with a scowl. "He wasn't hurtin' no body. He just wanted to play." Ciervia, the calmer of the two was nuzzling Isobels' cheek lightly in an effort to calm her down a bit.

Albus Winterhold

Well, Grarves seemed better... And then... The part he was not wanting to experience. Even more than being trampled! Slobbery licks. Albus wanted to scream "Eeeyuhg! Disgusting!" But it'd probably get in his mouth at this point! Dragon drool getting everywhere and all. He practically nailed shut his eyes so they didn't get slobbered. When Grarves eventually stopped, used his hands to wipe away whatever liquid was there. "Blleeeeegggghhhhhh...." He said aloud first before finding a nearby handful of paper towels and wiping down the rest of his face and hands. "The feeling doesn't go away!"

He was just about done complaining really. His face was mostly cleaned off at least and the yucky feeling was just about gone too. "Control your saliva you big doofus dragon!" He added, giving small slaps to the dragon's shoulder. "Bleh, if you're fine then whatever. I need to get to class then." Albus looked again at the person that saved him. "Thanks again... Uhh, Kiddo... Yea." He gave the younger boy a couple of pats on the shoulder and started walking off toward Isobel. "Welp, I'm fine now and I need to head off to class. It was an interesting breakfast." He said, blowing her a kiss and starting to run out the door... Though he hadn't noticed the girl not far away from it and bumped into her.

"Oof! Sorry Darcy!" He added, taking a step away from her. "Little mixed up in my head still. We should hang out some time though. Maybe a little coffee or something." He added, looking at Darcy's hair and noticing a little leaf made it in her hair. Of course he had to pick it out. He showed it to her and dropped it before walking off. "Hehe, catch you all later!" He gave them all little chance to reply as he ran back off to his dorm to gather up his school supplies before class. He rather enjoyed to take his classes seriously after all.

Lady Treek was in particularly good spirits this morning. She hummed cheerfully as she brushed the last few chairs free of the dust that settled overnight, leaving them nice and pristine for her students. She placed her hands on her hips and scanned the room, nodding in satisfaction, before making her way to a long table staged against a side wall. On the table were numerous small mugs and a few jugs of different flavor teas. A small and fluffy lamb-like creature was resting near one of the table's legs and she gave it a little pat on the head. A few more of the creatures were settled in different places around the room enjoying the coolness of the floor where they rested. The mentor ambled over to her desk and took a seat, crossing her legs and sipping on her own cup of tea while waiting for her students to start piling in.


Sir Geldwin sat studiously in his armchair reading over the report Sazel had handed in earlier in the morning. Silently scanning the page, he grinned slightly when came across a well-written statement
or an especially intriguing fact. When he finished, he quietly congratulated her for another job well done and filed the piece away with the rest of the Chronicle Club's work. He eyed the photograph still sitting on his desk, and after a moment, unassumingly slipped it into a drawer which he locked with a key. He reflexively adjusted his glasses and grabbed his lesson plan for the day, looking it over for the third time this morning.

Sir Kimbra popped another handful of trail mix into his mouth while he checked his pocket watch. Just a few moments until the first bell chimes. He felt energized having taken a gratifying early morning run and he was looking forward to the day ahead. He summoned a strange looking magitech orb that came with an apparatus that he attached to his right hand. Holding the orb in his left, he tossed it over to the other hand where it floated just above the apparatus. He then flicked his wrist as if to toss the orb and it sailed across the room. At a certain point, however, the orb changed course and headed on a return trip towards the mentor. He lifted his right hand and 'caught' the orb, securing it once again in the field above his hand. He continued to toss the orb in this fashion like a sort of magitech yo-yo...one of his more amusing discoveries.


Sir Dra'den cruised through the halls juggling a number of the Nidhogen's apples. He tossed them to students as they passed until he was down to one. He wiped the apple on his shirt and took a bite.

"Deeelicious!"

He high-fived another student as he passed, making his way toward Sir Kimbra.

"What have you got here, Tai?"

"Some strange device I discovered one day. If it's not a toy in its original realm, then I've repurposed it," Sir Kimbra replied with a chuckle.

"You Machina guys are nuts, you know it?" Dra'den gave Kimbra a hearty pat on the back. "Some wild stuff going on this morning...did you see all those apples?! I almost died laughing! Never a dull moment at this place."

---

Lady Ashorath and Lady Wyght stood in the halls of the Emerald Lyceum sipping their respective morning drinks and making light conversation. Phylicia had a rather girly mixed berry tea while Asmia drank straight black coffee. They seemed to have caught wind of the most recent incident in the cafeteria.

"It doesn't surprise me that Mulryan was involved," said Ashorath, shaking her head slightly. "You're going to have an interesting morning, Phyli."

"It's nothing I can't handle," said Wyght, moving a few strands of hair from her face and taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Lady Ashorath took another long sip before changing the subject. "Quarterly exams are actually looking quite promising this year. We've had some very bright students as of late."

"Yeah, but we've got our share of lazies, too."

"We'll just have to push them harder, that's all."

"Can you even push any harder, Asmia? Those poor kids are gonna break down."

"Not all of them are kids."

"Ok, you got me there," Lady Wyght said before draining the last of her tea.

The pair continued to chat as they awaited the start of first session.

---

Lady Lestrelle sauntered about the room straightening chairs and desks. Ambient whirring and clicking noises could be heard from the various small machines performing random tasks throughout the classroom. The mentor made her way to the front of the class where a large board had an equally large sheet of paper tacked to it. She grabbed a nearby marker and began to draw a diagram onto the paper, aided by a couple of small floating machines, each of which wielded its own marker and was programmed to fill in the parts of the diagram that Closi didn't (or couldn't) draw.

"Nifty little things, aren't they?" Sir Lestrelle said, suddenly appearing in her doorway. Closi neither startled nor seized her current task.

"Very handy, yes, dear," Closi replied in a very noncommittal tone.

"Heard your aide got in a little tussle at breakfast."

"Oh? Did he get hurt?"

"Not yet...he beat up a certain Dracona girl's summon."

"Yet? Are you expecting something to happen?" Closi stopped drawing and turned to her husband, letting the bots finish up the diagram.

"Eh...you know how these kids are," Matthias said with a small shrug. "Have a good morning, dear." Sir Lestrelle flashed a winning grin and gave his Lady a wink before departing.

Closi walked to her desk, folded her arms, and leaned back against it, awaiting Max and the rest of her students.

---

Corona and Esther separated with each other as both went to different classes. They were lucky that they left the cafeteria early, as they weren't bothered in the slightest by the chaos happening in it right after they left. Such incidents weren't that rare in the academy, unfortunately. Some summoners just couldn't control or discipline their summons properly and there were students that were just troublemakers from the start. In Machina, similar incidents had happened many times. Most of the time it was some student's invention or tool going rogue. Some Machina students just lack common sense in constructing their little knick-knacks. Even Corona had to warn Esther sometimes to not go overboard and think more carefully about her inventions.

She herself however always took care to not mess up her inventions. Every design decision would be documented in her mind, and she would test her tools properly in a safe setting before bringing it up to the public.

She soon arrived at Sir Geldwin's classroom. Judging by the lack of noise, it seemed she was the first to arrive. As the door was closed, she decided to knock before barging in. She knew that Sir Geldwin liked to arrive early and he might have been inside already.

Only after her knock that she entered the room. Sure enough, he was there already.

"Good morning, Sir," She greeted him with a smile. "I've made the paper you told me to write a week ago. I believe you wanted us to each present the paper in front of the class? Oh, and here's the digital copy."

She handed him a little chip. It could be used at an electrical computing machine to display the text, or it could be inserted to a projector to display the text to a screen.

She never wrote her papers in actual papers anymore. Too bothersome. Why would she do that when she could just write her paper with her mind and store it digitally?

She then took her seat at the front most row. She had no problem sitting in such an exposed spot for sure as she wasn't like those students who would sleep or play with their gadgets in the middle of a lecture.

---

Esther skipped happily towards her classroom. It was Sir Kimbra's class, and Sir Kimbra's classes were always fun to her. He wasn't that serious of a teacher and he was also a big fan of mechanical clockwork devices, just like her. She always showed off her familiar to him and the improvements she was making to it over the years.

She came early to the class that morning, and she made her entrance with a cheerful shout of "Hello everyone! Nice weather we're having today, huh?" before taking her seat at the front of the class. But then, as she walked there, she noticed that Sir Dra'den was there as well.

"Oh, hello Sir! Almost didn't see you there!" She greeted him. "Coming for a visit?" Such was the casual way she had with him. She knew that Dra'den was also the type of teacher that wouldn't mind such familiarity coming from his students.

She then sat on her seat in the front row, before summoning The Castle with a snap of her fingers. A gate immediately opened, and her familiar appeared from it, walking with its all too small legs. The gate soon closed afterwards.

"G-go-od...m-mor-ninggg...M-Mistress...E-Esther..."

"Good morning!" Esther replied. "Hey, go make me some coffee, would ya? Here, the coffee beans." She took out some from the pouch she had on her waist. Without even leaving her seat, she entered the beans from a certain pipe above the machine. It was the input pipe, the place where you put the raw materials that you wanted to process. Any others, than she might ruin the machine.

"N-need...w-water..."

"Oh right, of course you would need some water! What kind of a coffee it would be without one? Unfortunately though, I don't think we got any water here... Oh, I know! Why don't you get some water on your own? The bathroom is just to the left on the outside. Now go!"

"R-rig-right a-away, M-Miss..."

The Castle immediately began crawling out of the room. It looked so burdened by its heavy body and its tiny legs that you would feel sorry just by looking at it. But Esther didn't care. She knew the machine could make it. She designed it herself after all.

She then turned back her attention to the two teachers. "Hey, it's fine if I get some coffee to drink in class, right, Sir Kimbra?" she asked him with a grin.

The thing about L'Mordryn weirdness was that it was gone within the blink of an eye. Once everyone had room to breathe they just carried on like nothing even happened, which was probably good for Arkadian. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment when he thought back to why he'd done that just now.

It was a short story which took place a year or two ago when Arkadian was in normal schooling. There wasn't much of a story, just that when someone was as obsessed with cats as Arkadian used to be, a very specific two cats, who may or may not have existed in the first place, one could get bullied for it. The tales Arkadian read on a daily basis didn't help either.

And so, Arkadian and malice were thoroughly incompatible. He couldn't stand someone who did bad things intentionally.

Arkadian looked back to the cafeteria, and the mass of students now getting up to leave, and then he noticed something.

"Where'd Krampus go?" He said.

---

L'Mordryn was quite an amusing place. The realms tended to get a bit stale sometimes. Throughout the ages, when a new dominant force appeared it tended to color the landscape and leave it that way until the dominant force either died out, or another one appeared. But here at L'Mordryn the dominant forces came and went. Not that he'd been around to see it happen to much of an extent, but still.

L'Mordryn was full of potential, but not without its limitations. The act of teaching Summoning was, in essence, handing a child a power they didn't understand, but the more they came to understand, the stronger they became.

You need knowledge to summon, and knowledge to link, but when it came to trickster spirits, all the knowledge you need came with the name.

The sight of a black cat familiar was nothing uncommon to L'Mordryn, and neither was that of a black crow. The sight of a black cat turning into a black crow, well, that was only a little rare.

Did he have a true objective? Not really. The boy Arkadian's summoning of him had been nothing but a twist of fate. Luck, destiny, or whatever you wanted to call it. A boy so susceptible to being tricked, summoning a spirit who so enjoyed it. But as any good trickster knew, trickery had a very firm definition.

To trick someone is to be over someone else. To have them play in the palm of your hand, without realizing they're heading for their own demise. Trickery differs in method and intent, but the end result is always the same.

Repeat after me.

I want what he has. I want what he has.

He won't give it to me. He won't give it to me.

Stealing invites retribution. Stealing invites retribution.

So I'll make him give it to me. So I'll make him give it to me.

In Trickery, both parties are equally responsible for the events that take place, and thus, both parties are just as liable to be punished for it. What he performed on Arkadian wasn't Trickery. There was cause for it to be, for instance in the morning prank against the Witch Child. It could be seen as a prank on his master, and his equal responsibility to restrain his familiar before it did something to someone else. But to be a Trickster also requires the intent to be a trickster, and he was beholden to no such thing.

To steal without intent was simply malice, but that suited him just fine. It was in his nature to take without a care for retribution. In the days of old, all trickster spirits were like that. Pure chaos. There was no such thing as blood for blood, a ploy to make someone's life a living hell, could easily turn into a one-sided slaughter. Which side was the trickster on? Who knew.

"There you are, bagel boy!" He squawked from high above the school.

He made sure not to be heard, of course, but a new form meant new rules, so he just had to shout something with his new voice at least once. And of course, who else would he be tailing but Bagel boy. There were a lot of different types of people in L'Mordryn, but for the most part they were 'good' people. They'd return malice with righteous retribution, harmless trickery with either punishment or forgiveness. Bagel boy was the type of person to return malice for malice.

Bagel boy knew his limits, but if he started something, who knew when it would end? But for the mean time he'd stay close by. Sitting in the trees as a crow, or perhaps slithering through the undergrowth as a snake. Whatever struck his fancy, he guessed.

@Crazy Scion

Library, First session

---

After breakfast, Livia went with the others to the Library. An uneventful trip for her, at least. She wasn't wholly one for idle chatter. She was a little concerned that Eva decided not to come, but ultimately it was for the best. Less distractions for her own research. Now she just had to worry about entertaining Sio. And speaking of, that little ghost...she was currently silently hovering over Odhra and poking him at regular intervals over the course of their entire walk over here. Her hands were cold, and well, rather pointy. If she poked to hard she definitely might have drawn blood.

"Sio could you not act like a child."

"Cu'laihm." She replied simply with a giggle.

"Could you at least make yourself useful and find me something then?"

"Sh'ihm, Meui." Zipping back over to Livia, the ghost playfully saluted before eagerly seeming to bounce up and down at the prospect of being given something to do. Walking into the East Library proper, Livia took in a deep breath. Libraries were one of her favorite places. The smell of books and old paper was something she quite enjoyed.

"Wonderful," Livia smiled. "If anyone has anything they need found, do tell Sio. She'll be more than happy to find you anything you need."

"Na'Wa?" Blinking in surprise, Sio pouted lightly. "Cu'laihm!"

"Now now, don't pout you're part of this study group too and if you're not here for reading purposes you can help out in other ways." With an audible 'tsk', Siobahn looked off to the side before sighing, relenting and shrugging.

"Hes, Meui." Despite her seeming agreement, she gave the others present a particularly cool glare that almost challenged them to try taking Livia up on that offer.

"Excellent." Now that they were in the library proper, Livia took a brief glance at the others. "So what are all of you here studying, anyways? I'm looking into some...legends around an old eastern empire."

Suggestion: Now would not be the to remind Isobel that technically she initiated this by having Grarves run through the Cafeteria. Duly noted. Eric mentally ripostes, choosing to ignore the 'ravens' dry snark for the time being. With a sigh, he steps away from Grarves, pulling up a seat at a nearby table. "Can I trust that you'll handle this... formally, and not just start a fight in the halls?"

"If by formally you mean beating his face in and then having Grarves slobber all over it." Isobel replied with a growl. The land dragon walked back over, bwarking in his usual manner before laying on the ground next to Isobel. "Then yea, formally."

Fork halfway to his mouth, Eric stops and very deliberately makes sure he does not sigh again. "No. By formally I mean challenging him to a duel and settling this in the arena not just starting a fight that would give a mentor, or Cogsworth, reason to intervene." Eric finishes, finally taking a bite of breakfast.

"Geh." Isobel grimaced at the thought of taking this to the arena. "If that jackass would actually do that, then sure." She replied, though she obviously didn't think much of the idea. "Not that he would. He ran like the little bitch he is so no way in hell would he do that." Sighing, she waved bye to albus, blushing lightly from the kiss she was blown before shaking her head and leaning lightly on Grarves.

Do I tell Isobel that I know Max? That could redirect her anger at me... but she'll probably find out eventually one way or another. Better to be upfront about it. The fewer lies the better. Now here's to hoping she's not feeling too inquisitive. Eric thinks, mulling over his options and their potential consequences before replying.

"Ehh... I don't know him that well, but I do know that Max isn't one to shy away from a fight, at least one that's on his terms anyway. Max will at the very least know of you through reputation, so he'll be expecting you to come after him. That makes it a fight he can prepare for, which then makes it a fight on his terms. So no, I don't think he'll be running from your next encounter." Eric says, pausing mid sentence to wolf down a couple quick bites; the first bell would be shortly, and he still had a good bit to eat.

"Eh, you know that guy?" Isobel replied with a frown. Eh, didn't really matter. Meh, that sounded entirely convoluted, but she couldn't exactly say he was wrong. If he knew she was coming, then that would give him time to prepare...but then, what did she care? She could handle whatever the hell he threw at her. "...doesn't matter!" She replied swiftly. "That wimp ain't got nothin' up his sleeves that could take down Rutul." All she had to do was just tell the Wyvern to eat the guy and that'd be the end of that fool.

Patting Grarves behind his ears, she continued. She'd find him later...for now she was missing her daily routine.

"Anyways, grarves and I got some training to do. Wanna be my sparring partner?"

Inwardly sighing with relief, Eric offers Isobel an apologetic smile. "As much as I would enjoy a few good matches, I do have class to attend. Nothing like a little magic theory first thing in the morning if you ask me."

Lorcan watched the small redhead berate him, his expression falling somewhere between neutral amusement and indifference.Part of him would admit to enjoying it, it was rare for people not to recognize him (though, that was more an issue of the constant parade his parents put on for him than anything else) so the lack of realization on the girls part was fairly...novel.That and he'd never been called a beanpole before. That she'd said that insult with such honest venom was frankly hilarious. He would have liked to rebut, but the girl seemed to have exhaust whatever patience she had for him with that little tirade and left with a final barb towards Penjani's state of dress.

"...You know Peni..." Lorcan says watching as the small crowd he'd joined slowly follows what he now assumed to be their leader. "I'm starting to think everyone is entirely too sensitive about a little skin." He adds, just as one of the redheads lackeys stops and hefts her skirt up, a pair of pale pink panties greeting his vision as she stuck her tongue out in an attempt to tease him.

And doing very well at that, a faint flush hitting his face as well as dull confusion washed over him. Penjani quirk her head to the side for a better look before shooting a glare at the girl, promising a swift and painful death and poking her master's back. "I..." He began, eyes leaving the pink embrace alone for want of any other (and less confusing) stimuli. "Am getting so many mixed messages from this morning." He concluded, finally deciding that checking back on his cousin was the best way to quickly forget the mooning.

Isobel seemed to have calmed down, snuggled against Grarves as the after shocks of his tumble began to fade away into his rather short memory. Next to her a young man stood sheepishly, smiling uneasily at his cousin as he spoke. Lorcan's eyes narrowed, his expression becoming grim and analytical as he took a moment to commit the boy's face to memory. He looked...vaguely familiar. His posture was wrong to be a noble though, too unconfident. Too lacking the strength of character (however much faked) that ran through Lorcan's normal circles. Former competitor on the dueling circuits? No. While his movements were deliberate enough they lacked the grace, the boys head bobbing too much as he spoke and arms sometimes going slightly too wide. Training would have knocked those habits out of him.

Regardless, Lorcan made a note to have a...conversation with the young man later. While it was doubtful he was a would be suitor for Isobel, it would be better to make sure. The Mulryans (and by extension, the Brighs) had an image to uphold, and while he was not personally opposed to Isobel taking a paramour from the common folk...It would be better for everyone involved if she avoided those without the proper breeding. If the young mans intentions were totally innocent, then all the better for Lorcan. Today was going to be tiring enough without having to scare away an upstart commoner with more hormones than sense.

Turning his eyes elsewhere he caught sight of Isobel's girl friend from earlier, the small blonde fussing over the rude redhead girls hair and picking debris from it. How any stray leaf had managed to catch itself on the girl was, frankly, questionable. She looked to be manicured to the nines on a daily basis, although the shoes were a bit much. Still, the blonde seemed rather pleased with her assistance, saying something quickly in a voice Lorcan assumed was far too cute for most of the girls in the entourage to compete with (earning the blonde no few small glares from her presumed rivals) before quickly gathering her things.

Speaking of people to meet, he should probably make HER his first target for introduction. Isobel would likely be skipping her classes, and while he relished the idea of joining her, it wouldn't fit his station to do so. And frankly, he probably needed more friends than just his cousin.

Penjani pokes his side once more, demanding the remains of his grapefruit silently. With a small sigh he hads the remainder of the fruit to his summon, the dragon girls maw opening quickly and shoving the whole of the fruit before furiously chewing.

"Come along." He grunted, lifting himself from the seat and heading towards the exit, deciding to skip scolding his summon for her poor manners as she wiped juice dribbling from her chin onto her arm. (Note to self: Give her a wet nap later).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lady Treeks classroom wasn't really what he was expecting it to be. Lorcan had imagined the class rooms would have some level of familiarity. Ordered rows of chairs and desks in stark sanitation, the cold glow of overhead magitek lighting and the faint smell of nothing mixed with yet more nothing that could only be ascribed to a classroom. What he had not expected was the faint smell of a dozen different teas steeping at once, playing a soft sleepy orchestra of clashing scents. In one inhale you would pass from the feather light tones of a white tea with a raspberry melody to a heady black aroma with full cinnamon brass accompaniment.

The room itself was equally chaotic, a dozen or so dozing summons strewn about the floor like some giddy school girls stuffed toys. Their spark of life only identifiable in the two or three which bounced around, the horseplay too gentle to be their natural inclination. He spoke before he event felt Penjani's excitement bleed over to him through the atmosphere. "No." He said firmly, the purple haired dragon girl beside him deflating as he denied her request before it even happened.

He walks to an empty seat near the front, Penjani following forlornly behind him with a defeated air and a soft pout before taking her place beside him on the floor. "Its only because we don't know the rules yet." Lorcan huffs, offering what little explanation he could to his summon. "Once we know what you're allowed to do and you demonstrate you can behave yourself, you will be allowed to play."

The dragon girl stares up at her summoner with a look sitting between childish annoyance and begrudging acceptance for a moment before crossing her arms and looking away. Glaring at the summoned playthings she'd been denied like a spoiled child, determined to comply to their parents wishes but making it clear they would have a thoroughly miserable time of it.

Lorcan considers threatening to send her back to her realm for a moment before he huffs, knowing it would only make her too upset. Penjani did not like being told no (and to be fair he was rare to do so) and would throw tantrums in her own way when he did, but she would be in tears if he forcibly dismissed her.

"Its bribery then?" He asks, Penjani stopping her pouting to look up at him in confusion. Lorcan slowly reaches into his bag and pulls out a small sketch book and a heavy box of crayons, placing them before the cross legged dragon girl. "I'll let you draw during the lesson. But if you are a distraction or make too much noise, you have to go back home until its over. Deal?" He says softly before Penjani leaps up and wraps her arms around his neck, hugging a quick confirmation before releasing him and setting about her distraction with a happy swish of her tail.

"Next time just nod..." he says, clearing his throat and hoping the teacher would not make any comments about that. ...Or Penjani's clothing. He was liable to say some rather unkind things if someone decided to harass his summon on that point for a third time in one morning. He gives a quick nod to his teacher before pulling out his own supplies.
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"Hehehe, stop that!" Odhra said in between stifling involuntary giggles as Sio prodded at him, finally cracking after what felt like the thousandth time. Odhra, being from house Bestia, wasn't really concerned with the behavior. After all, Bestia was the house of BEASTS. A summon trying bites and stings were just as common as sniffing or licking, though perhaps looked on a little less favorably by those outside the house. So as far as the doctor in training was concerned, Sio simply exploring him in what ways she could.

At first it was adorable and Odhra dismissed his summons to reduce his perceived threat, lifting up his arms slightly so the offending ghost could have better access to him, but after a while even he was starting to run out of patience. Not enough to yell at the offending specter of course, he didn't want to risk upsetting her. A summon trying to understand (and get comfortable with) their masters realm was a vital part of the bonding process. Interrupting now would only damage Livia's hard work, or worse! Discourage Sio from exploring further in the future all together!

Thankfully, Livia saved him from the spooky onslaught and he took a moment to catch his breath and shake the giggles out of his system. He takes a seat at once of the desks and mulls over Livia's question for a moment. " Honestly, since I constructed Baily I'm in-between projects. I mostly came to get reference tables from a few medical texts for the metabolization rates of a few chemical compounds for a thing in herbology. Making a generic version of a medication to help reduce the size of kidney stones." he says with a shrug.

"I could always use a text or two on far realm flora and fauna. Useful for my general projects and...been looking for a specimen of spider I interacted with once. Think it might fall outside of house Bestia's domain, to be honest, but its hard to tell. More abstract the realms get the more fuzzy the house lines get, ya know?" he says, writing down the medical texts he needed for Sio to gather.

"So...whats the legend you're looking for?" He asks, leaning forward on the table as Nettle finished giving her own requests. "Eastern empires aren't exactly my forte, especially after finding out most of their medical legends are just snake oil...in one case literally." He says, frowning at some of the frankly appalling practices he'd dug up in that short jaunt through history. "But I'm pretty sure its not that. Unless you've got erectile dysfunction. Either way, I'd still be happy to help if you want me to!"