Alebard and Zalek had just been getting ready to get up and head to class for the morning when the ground began shaking. Instinctively, Alebard turned to look in the direction the shaking seemed to be coming from just in time to see Grarves barging through the doors of the cafeteria, heading straight for Albus in his normal, puppy-like manner. Alebard often found it surprising that such a large dragon could have such a puppy-ish nature, but that was hardly an issue right now as the dragon was on a collision course with Albus, who seemed to have no intention of trying to avoid what was sure to be a painful experience.

Of course, all of this was made immediately worse as some jerk slid a tray right under Grarves, causing the land dragon to slip, making what would have already been a painful experience that much worse if it hadn't been for the quick actions of another summoner and his summons putting a barrier up between Albus and the sliding Grarves.

After all that chaos, Alebard felt sorry for the poor land drake as it was clearly hurt, both by the tray causing it to slip and the collision with the barrier. Alebard held no fault for the boy who had made the barrier as it was probably the only thing that had kept this from being any worse that it had been, but towards the boy who had caused poor Grarves to slip in the first place, Alebard was nearly as angry as Isobel was, and if he didn't have absolute faith in Isobel's ability to handle the situation herself (though not necessarily in the best way), he would have confronted the boy on her behalf. As it turned out, though, the boy decided to make a hasty escape with a smoke bomb before Isobel could escalate the situation much more. Alebard was sure this offense wouldn't be soon forgotten, though, and he made a mental note to avoid the boy at all costs. He was clearly of the bad sort of people, and Alebard wanted nothing to do with such people.

Finally, things were starting to calm down, and people were slowly resuming their usual activities. Silas bade Alebard farewell and headed out of the cafeteria. "I need to be getting to my first class myself," Alebard said in response as he also rose from his seat and headed for the exit. He made his way directly to the emerald Lyceum, and from there to Lady Ashorath's classroom, where he took his usual seat in the front row and approximately at the center of said row, immediately producing a small sheaf of papers and a pen for any notes he would need to take or any other sort of writing the class would require.

Nikola sighed lightly to himself. He couldn't find the opportunity to enter the cafeteria again so he had retreated to his first class. It wad Lady Treek's class, a relaxing affair when compared to the cafeteria chaos. The smell of tea wafted in the air, dyeing the room's air in a variety of scents. Small creatures sleeping peacefully on the floor, Kitten providing warmth as it slept on his lap, it was enough to make a student like him very sleepy. He could feel his eyes closing in spite of themselves...

Nikola shook his head. He didn't want to sleep here, he needed to pay attention in class. The boy tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. The dragon in his lap stirred, looking up inquisitively at Nikola. The boy stroked the dragon reassuringly, lulling it back into slumber. Yes, he needed to make sure he got everything he could from the academy. When compared to his siblings, he was deficient in almost every aspect. As far as he knew, Lady Treek was quite kind, so she probably wouldn't mind if he fell asleep in the middle of class. But he couldn't afford to. Every minute he spent idle was a minute his siblings had ahead of him. And with the lead they already had, he couldn't afford to let them go further.

Nikola was shaken from his thoughts by sudden mewling. He looked down, finding Kitten squirming under his grip. It appeared that he had clenched his hand a little too hard. He relaxed his fist, affording the fluffy beast some comfort.
"I'm sorry, Kitten." Nikola whispered to the beast, stroking it gently.
The dragon huffed a little, but made no moves to leave. The boy smiled a little as they sat together in comfort. If nothing else, he'd make sure to try his best for Kitten as well.

Albus Winterhold

Albus hand run back home to grab his bag of supplies for the day since he hardly came back here until it was dark. Vesper was still sitting there, watching TV. "You're a lazy dragon, you know that?" Albus told her as he snuck back in the dorm to grab his things. Well, that was fine anyway. Not like there was much else to do-- "What did you say!? I'm no better, huh? Oh, you'll get yours! I swear you will!" He peaked his head into the common area to yell at his summon some more before retreating a minor sonic blast heading his way. He gathered the rest of his stuff and run out the front door, dodging a couple of sonic blasts.

"Grow a pair she says? Heh, maybe she'd like a couple of minutes with Silmeria..." He mused the thought for a minute but backed off that idea in his head very quickly. That would be dangerous in many ways altogether. No, he didn't need Silmeria. He'd get back at Vesper in some other way. "I just need to get to Miss Treek's class! It's always soothing there."

He ran to Treek's classroom and took a minute to catch his breath before entering. He still had some time before the classes officially started. That much was good. As he scanned the room to see who was here already, he noticed something out of the ordinary... A new person? Or two? No, rather, a new person and an absolutely adorable summon! A lizard girl? Or something. Albus walked up to the teacher and gave her a usual greeting. "Good morning, Miss Treek! Are you well today?" He asked, letting her answer before asking another question. Miss Treek liked a bit of fun having so she'd likely go along with his request, even if just to see what he was up to. "So, I see we have a new student here today... I'm gonna go introduce myself but if you call on me today for class, can you call me Alba? I just wanna play a little joke on a new student."

After her answer either way, he'd smile and thank her or frown and give a small "understood" as he walked off towards the new guy. His mood would change back to excited rather quickly though as he set his bag down on one of the tables and then jumped on the dragon girl, giving her a big hug! "You are just the cutest girl!" Albus smiled very happily as he rubbed cheeks with the dragon girl. "Dragon girl? Whatever! Adorable either way!" He got his fill quickly enough and released her. "Sorry, about that, she's just too cute. I have my own summon but her personality is... Rotten?"

He cleared his throat and looked over the master of this cute dragon girl. A couple of words Albus could describe him... Rich, stern... He looked like a noble for the most part... Kinda like Isobel, right? "Sorry, sorry. My name is Alba Winterhold. House Dracona, pleasure to meet you person I've never met you before!" He held out a hand to this new boy, introducing himself.

Nettle

When at last they arrived at the library Nettle looked up at the massive collection of books. Her expression was one of a calm but relaxed neutral state. To her the sight of this place was one she was very, very familiar with. If she could have a choice in the matter she'd spend every session here. She'd just search through each and every publication, taking in the combined knowledge stored here to help her hammer down the steps leading up to her ultimate destination: The home of The Caregiver.

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

Nettle slowly turned her head to look back at Livia. It was less like she was looking at her and almost like she was looking through her.

"Hhh... I remember... Hhlast where I left the books hI was hh researching."

Turning back she continued on until she was approximately in the middle of the room. Standing there she focused her mind, her eyes closed as she channeled the magic through her to open the way. To the observer it would appear as though she were just standing there. To those with sight beyond the human ken three strange nature sprites manifested. Those familiar in such a field would recognize them as Thistle Sprites, mischievous little fae who can bring a fair amount of pain to the unwary. In legends they are known to creep into unwary adventurer's tents where they would gently and subtly devour their toes before scattering back into the wild leaving their victim to awake the next morning with this unpleasant surprise of theirs. There are rumors that this story was spread by someone who didn't know they had dragged their feet through poisonous brush resulting in their toes needing amputation but those who know Thistle Sprites know better.

_
<Hello again.> She greeted the three wild sprites who were already roaming about, tussling through books left about and firing off thin bolts of purple energy tinged with mottled green hues. Little thistle flowers were already growing out of some of the shelves, off the spines of books and other miscellaneous surfaces.

<Could you three find me these books?> She rattled off the titles of the books she was studying yesterday evening, the hyper little sprites staying still only long enough to hear her instructions out. They flitted away, moving about the library like silent invisible little bumble bees. While the sprites worked at the task she set them she found herself an open table to set herself up at. Sitting down she brought forth her bag and produced from it a series of vials as well as her mortar and pestle.

setting out before her a small stone bowl she produced a vial with a fine white powder contained within. She gently tipped the vial, tapping the bottom so that only small smatterings of the substance sprinkled into the bowl. Capping off the vial she reached in the bowl and took a thin pinch of the powder that laid within. She held it a small distance away from her nose initially, taking in it's scent by cautiously fanning the air over it to her. A standard precaution for one who has regular business working with lethal formulas.

The scent of the powder smelled proper. It had a fairly strong scent that while bland would catch in one's chest causing the one breathing it to inhale deeper than usual. To the untrained nose one might mistake it for powdery smelling salts. It was of course much more than that. She could already feel the tingling effects of the substance from this whiff alone already acting on her brain like a small parade of electric spiders crawling all across it.

Having confirmed it to smell as the substance she believes it to be she gently touches a small few granules against her tongue. It had that lovely taste akin to licking formaldehyde but with an added prickly sensation that rolled up to the base of the tongue. While this was not a taste to savor it did confirm that there was no cross-contamination with any other substances in the mix. This was important since the psychoactive properties of this compound she was brewing were very potent. A faulty reaction could have nasty consequences, even on the likes of her.

_
Taking out a couple more vials she repeated the process, adding a couple particular leaf oils into the mixture. Finally she took out something that looked like finely ground cinnamon. It was, of course, not that at all but something much more mystical. Rather than produce a pinch by hand she instead ran her index finger along the length of the clear glass. The portion of this strange dark brown powder closest to the side her finger was at seemed to slide up the side of the glass, following her finger as she traced it along the outside. Soon the powder escaped it's glass prison and hovered right before her finger tip, no closer. Taking her thumb she pinched the floating ingredient against her index finger. Upon her exerting pressure upon the floating substance the edges of her finger and thumb right around where the substance was held caught alight with a magical purple flame. Like holding the flame of a candle it was fairly hot so she spared little time.

She snapped her fingers, the force applied by her finger and thumb causing the substance to elicit a bright flash of this purple flame erupted. Just as quickly as it appeared the purple flame broke apart into gentle drifting motes of dissipating motes of such fire. As these motes dissipated the traces of the powder they carried aloft drifted into the bowl like tiny spores from a freshly bloomed flower. The powder still seemed to glower with residual magic as they landed upon the mixture she had created.

White smoke rose from the bowl. Initially she fanned a small sample of the smoke into her nose to make sure it wasn't faulty before she took a full dose of the stuff. The effect of this smoke, even in as small a sample as she had just tried, did far more than just tingle her brain and rush her lungs. She could feel all her senses and awareness widen as her mental processes unfolded and expanded all at once. Memories once distant and foggy were now clear and instant. Her thoughts ran as though time were slowed around her. She was aware of so much more around her, able to process and comprehend it all in ways uncanny to the normal mind.

As everything seemed to check out she leaned over the bowl, burying her face a slight bit into the white smoke and breathing in her wondrous mind enhancement formula. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated and breathing deep. A smile tugged at the side of her lips as she began to internally brainstorm for her more esoteric speculations.

The sprites were fairly prompt in hauling in the books she desired despite the fact that they were almost as big as they were and easily a half times heavier too but to Nettle's expanded mind it seemed to draw out for an astonishingly long time as each second felt as though it contained an hour.

"So what are all of you here studying, anyways? I'm looking into some...legends around an old eastern empire."

"Hhh... I am currently hhstudying Yggdrasil. I also am hhhstudying the dreaming... Amongst other hhhthings." Even as Nettle spoke she wasted no time. She took the first book that was brought to her, opening it immediately to the page she left off at. As another book arrived she opened that one as well. She held both of the books simultaneously, rapidly reading through one and quickly glancing over to the other one, flipping through pages and reading through select passages before returning to her primary text. It seemed she was studying this tree of many realms and switching to a separate text to cross-reference certain details.

To what ends only she knew.

Livia Fiore and Odhra Bebbin
Library, First Session

---

"Erectile dysfunction, huh..." Livia smirked lightly. "No, no, I don't quite have that problem, heh." Sio gripped her shoulder lightly, poking her head curiously over the summoners shoulder as she observed the bookshelves alongside her. "So what do you know of undead? Many eastern folklore and legends about undead are quite fascinating. Their demons are particularly vicious and I think two sort of spider spirits." Livia made an off-hand mention with a smirk before quickly continuing. "I'm thinking about trying to find a specific sort of demon from there. I’m just...rather undecided on what I should be trying for.."

"Meui, tretil?" A gentle ruffle of her hair got her attention.

"...What?"

"Tretil, tretil!" The ghost released Livia from her grip, pointing towards Odhra. Livia frowned for a moment, trying to understand her summons. A language barrier was a difficult thing indeed, but thankfully she had been studying these rare phrases and words of her for a while.

"...I think Siobahn says she has something she wants to give you." Livia sighed as Siobahn nodded eagerly. "Alright, alright. I'll call you back before second session." With a ghostly giggle and a mischievous wave towards Odhra, Siobhan vanished from sight, presumably being unsummoned and sent back to her forest for now. A few minutes after she left, Livia pulled a book off the shelf and walked back over to Odhra.

"Take my advice, Odhra. Anything she gives you, will almost certainly kill you in some fashion." She opened a thick tome and flipped through some of the pages, glossing over her previous statement as she returned to the earlier topic. "A type of undead, a demon, or other fairy like creature similar to Siobahn."

”I’ll bear that in mind, but I’m sure it is nothing too dangerous. Sio hardly seems the vindictive type!” Odhra chirpped, fairly certain Livia was just over reacting. ”As for what I know of undead, very little.” He says stroking his chin. ”My studies mostly focused on preventing things from getting to that stage. And despite what literature might say, very few realms have naturally occuring undeath as a result of infection or biological trigger and what few that do...yeah. Don’t summon those.” He says, suddenly frowning deeply. ” Like, ever. Pretty much all of those are categorically useless. Unless you really like watching decomposition in action.”

”As for spiders and undeath...little more complicated. Depending on the culture, spiders might be more strongly associated with communal connections than anything else. Eastern empires tended to focus on spiritual spiders as predatory aspects. The Tsuchigumo being little more than artistic exaggerations of native burrowing spiders and the Jorogumo which, while technically a spirit, was more a tool for teaching a warrior caste to ignore the request of beautiful young women in the name of fulfilling their obligation to their lords. So in that culture, don’t see a lot of connection there.”

Odhra pauses for another moment, now visibly racking his brain for anything helpful. He reaches into his bag and pulls out a small silver notebook, flipping the front open and wordlessly thumbing to a page. ”For more general undead though? Best recommendation I can give is a Jianshi. Easy to control, relatively diverse since they were once humans, and….well, they hop. Like...everywhere. Its basically the fourth cutest thing I’ve ever seen a corpse do.” He chirps, handing the book over to Livia, the notes….spare on specific details but a general overview being there.

”More seriously, it's also probably a good idea for you as well, what with exam coming up.” He says, his tone a little more serious. ”Jianshi are not likely to be common enough to this region that the masters or the students have ready access to the resources needed to trivialize them. And little leg ups like that generally what get people into the higher tiers initially.” He adds, remembering the first time he publically summoned Bubbles during his last exam. Got a lot of angry glares for that one..

"Jiangshi, hm..." Livia mused, taking the book that had been slid across to her. She had considered them before, being particularly well versed in such topics. Odhra's input was certainly welcome, if not particularly overall helpful. She hadn't been very interested in them for the simple reason they seemed...not exactly well suited for what she wanted. They likely weren't very subtle creatures, what with being unable to move very well.

“They were on my list of things to look into. As were Enera, or perhaps a Baku.” There was a list she had narrowed down to just having a few left, and Jiangshi was at the bottom of it...but perhaps she could make a small adjustment. Handing Odhra his notes back, Livia placed a few of her own notes onto the table. “As cute as hopping is, I'm a little concerned about their mobility...but perhaps that should be a small thing to consider.”

She could use something a bit more...direct, in its nature. As good as all her cloak and dagger schemes were, having something that she could use to deal with things more directly was always a good backup plan.

“What about you, Odhra? Planning on trying to summon anything else soon?”

A look of abject misery washes over Odhra’s features as he leans over the table, a soft groan escaping him. ”Sir Lestrelle...is heavily encouraging me to move out of my comfort zone with the arachnid family.” he said with the exhaustion of someone who had experienced the conversation far more than they likely wanted. ”Say’s I’m over-reliant on them and it keeps me from looking at alternatives. I don’t think he’d fail me if I don’t but...kind of don’t want to risk it.”

He huffs and sits up again. ”I think he let me get away with it for now because Baily is somewhat advanced for my level, but...ugh. Its not my fault. My babies listen to me so well because nobody else WANTS to summon them. So it’s been really easy to build up a strong harmony with them. I’ve no idea how I’d even approach a cat summon or whatever...So I’m kind of just waffling on the decision on what to try next.” he half whines, knowing he was being more than a little stubborn in Livia’s eyes. ”Probably another combat focused one or...whatever.” he sighs, sounding very uninterested in the idea. Bubbles will always be cooler than some dumb cat anyway.

“Hmm, I see.” Livia glanced over to the bookshelves, thinking. Something that was out of his comfort zone but she would have decent knowledge of and was something more Bestia related. She supposed this is where her studies into all sorts of mythologies and legends would come in handy. “I think I may have something for you...” Livia flipped through a few pages in her book, finding a page that was heavily outlined with notes and even a rather well done sketch of a rendition of a particularly large werewolf like deer creature.

“A wendigo may be a good place to start.” Livia handed him the notebook. “Often considered spirits and result of human greed and excess, they are at times, considered a sort of beast as well. Closely related to the lesser known Wechuge, they're fairly formidable creatures.” Livia leaned back in her chair. “They were also used as protectors, by sacrificing a person to let the spirit have their body to protect them from their enemies.” She paused, frowning slightly. “...That said, I am unsure if it would entirely fall under Bestia. Depends on who you talk too.”

Could she have tried a bit harder to help with something more bestia? Most certainly. Did she have any desire too? Not really.

Odhra considers the notebook for a moment, eyes lazily roaming over the details. ”I...guess. Looks kind of cute to..” He mumbles, scribbling down the notes on a spare sheet of paper with surprising speed. ”If nothing else, it could atleast be less exhausting than Bubbles to keep out. Plus, other folks might find it more relaxing to be around that than one of my babies…” he sighs, finishing his copy of Livias work and carefully tucking it into his own notebook.

”Thanks Livi. I’ll take a look into them after classes tonight....speaking of which…” he says, leaning forward. ”When you gonna try and summon your new baby?” He asks, a lilt of excitement in his voice. ”I kind of wanna be there if I can. ‘S Always cool to see what someone fishes up from the realms. Plus,...probably a good idea to have a medic on site just in case.” He adds, less a threat and more a recognition of reality. Accidents happened, and Odhra would be lying if he said he wouldn’t love to be the one with first crack at the victim if it happened.

“Aha, don't look so down.” Livia replied with a chuckle. “I know how you feel. I don't particularly desire to...step outside my comfort zone either, as it were.” She gave a small shake of her head. “But if one desires to get stronger, then they must.” She had no idea what she would do once she mastered Phantasma – she really didn't fancy ever using any of the other houses. Dracona was too overt. Bestia was far too rowdy and Machina was...hm. Come to think of it, Machina was fairly interesting in its own way.

Maybe.

“Hm, I was planning on doing it tonight.” Livia continued. “I feel as though I am ready for it, and I see no reason to wait around.” Having someone else present presented unknown variables that could happen. Bad ones. Odhra presence however, would be quite welcome honestly. The boy was naive, but incredibly smart. “So by all means, its a date then.”

Odhra beamed, a smile that (to a casual observer) ranged somewhere between honest naked joy and sadistic mirth spreading across his face like a jagged scar. ”Lovely!” he chirpped, rather loudly, unable to keep his excitement out of his voice. ”I’ll bring some food over for afterwards. Never know how a first time is going to affect your blood suger. Chicken and rice with fruit salad ok?” He asked, mind somewhat scattered between organizing a list of tools and medications he’d need to pack and wondering if he should cook or just pick something up from the cafeteria.

“That sounds lovely.” Livia replied. “And make sure there's enough for Eva as well, hm? She'll get jealous if she finds out we're doing something without her.” Now then, it was about time for them to get going, and Sio should probably be well done with whatever it was she was doing. She had to suppress a groan just from the thought of it she she focused her mind, summoning her ghostly friend.

Siobahn appeared in her usual fashion, floating up from Livia's shadow with a friendly giggle, giving a brief hug to her summoner before fixing Odhra with a rather...unsettling grin as she released Livia and floated over to the boy.

She pulled out a white flower that seemed to release some sort of strange aroma and handed it out to Odhra. The flower was beautiful – almost immaculate. The petals were thick, large, and seemed to glow softly. The stem was thicker than most plants, about the size of Odhra's thumb. It seemed hollow?

“Tretil.”

Livia saw the flower, blinked twice, before sighing lightly and using her hands to form an 'x' as she locked eyes with Odhra.

”Aww, thank you Sio” Odhra coos, sparing a moment to give Livia a quizzical look, thinking maybe he should talk to her later about trusting her summons more. Taking it gently he smiled at the banshee warmly. ”I’ll be sure to treasure it for the rest of my life.” He says honestly, reaching into his bag.

“...you most certainly will.” Livia replied with a small smile. Well, whatever. If he wanted to experience that, then he most certainly was welcome too. Sio simply clapped her bony hands together with a ghostly chuckle before floating over back to Livia. With a friendly wave bye, Siobahn fled back into Livia's shadow leaving the two of them alone again. “I suppose that's that then. Second session should be starting soon and I should go make sure Eva's not still pouting. Meet you during last session?”

”Sounds good to me. I need to get this pressed before it starts to wilt, so if you want to head out thats ok.” he says as he takes out some disposable gloves, a breathing mask, a small metal plate and disinfectant.”Generally takes a few minutes and is honestly pretty boring to watch. But it should keep the flower visibly prestine for several decades.”

He pauses for a moment, considering something. ”....also keeps whatever biological contaminants it might be carrying from another realm neutralized and sealed in a vacuum. Though I guess I wouldn’t have know that before hand...plus poor Sio’s feelings might have been hurt if I had set up a clean room just to accept a gift.”

---

Sir Geldwin's class went as well as usual. Today was theory-only day, with each students giving short lectures on the subject they had been assigned to, before accepting questions and criticisms from their fellow classmates. Such was his style of teaching, preferring students to learn and push the boundaries of their knowledge on their own. He would only interfere if there was a subject they couldn't process on their own.

Corona's subject was about neural network learning, a recently discovered method of developing artificial intelligence from scratch. So far, they only had robot summons already with AIs that they didn't develop themselves. And it was difficult to reverse engineer said AI, as they still lacked the needed technological comprehension to even attempt on analyzing such a thing. Such was the common woe of Machina summoners. They would summon technological beings that far surpassed any technological understanding they currently had in their world.

Corona's specialization wasn't necessarily on AI analysis and development, though she certainly had some skills and knowledge in the matter. More than Esther at the very least. Her specialization was on data transfer, network optimizations, and brain-computer interface protocols.

But today, she was not making a presentation on that. In fact, one of her peers was the one who was presenting the subject.

Naturally, she bombarded him with questions as she felt his presentation was lacking in many aspects. She didn't care if she might end up being viewed as rude by the others. Geldwin himself approved of it, as he believed students had to continue striving beyond their limits.

When it was her turn to give her presentation, she gave the most detailed of them all. Sir Geldwin ended up having to cut her off prematurely as she was taking too much time out of the class. As for the questions, Geldwin himself ended up asking most of it, just to test her knowledge on the subject. And she managed to answer them all flawlessly.

All the way through, her familiar was out with her. Sir Geldwin never disallowed summoning your familiar in class as long as it didn't distract or interrupt the lecture. Her mind was linked to it and the database it possessed, allowing her to remember everything she chose to store perfectly, her studies and research being part of it.

She never considered it as 'cheating', of course. Sir Geldwin approved of it, and she built up this system of memory sync all by herself. And it wasn't easy. She had to endure so many headaches as her brain had to adjust to the alien way it was sending and receiving electrical signals, not to mention all the programming she had to do in her mind, needing the utmost focus. Like a Zen master, she had to only think one single thing; and that thing being the codes she was writing. If she thought of homework, or getting food, or even going to the bathroom, those stray thoughts would be written as codes as well, messing up the entire thing.

The session went like a breeze to her due to how interesting everyone's presentation for her. Before she knew it, Sir Geldwin announced that they had run out of time and that they should go to their second sessions now.

After this is Student Advocacy, huh? Let's see... Who's on the list today?

---

Esther's class differed wildly over Corona's, as Sir Kimbra preferred to teach in a more practical way over just talking over theories and the like. And Esther welcomed that very much. Unlike Corona, she couldn't stand learning just raw theoretical stuff. Too boring for her.

The class today was about the so-called Sterling Engine, an engine that worked by utilizing the difference between temperatures. Sir Kimbra didn't spend much time talking about how it worked on paper. Most of the class was instead spent on him bringing out all the fancy forms of Sterling engines that he possessed in his repository and demonstrating them in the class. He even invited the students to go to the front and take a close look at them.

Esther, naturally, took that opportunity right away.

Putting down her cup of coffee, she nearly ran towards Sir Kimbra's table where all the devices were displayed. She started from the device that could run just by her body temperature. Just by her putting her hand on the device, the turbine inside would move.

"Oh wow, this is amazing!" she exclaimed with glimmering eyes. "Now I want to incorporate this engine thing into Castle as well!"

Her brain immediately went into overdrive, imagining all the upgrade possibilities she could do to it. She bent forward, examining the device really, really closely as it worked.

"Hmm, so this goes there, and that goes here..." she mumbled, lost in her own world.

Entirely ignorant of the fact that she was exposing her panties to the rest of the class, as her one piece dress had risen up by her bending over like that.

In retrospect, she probably should not have worn such a criminally short dress in the first place, especially with how absent-minded she could get whenever something caught her interest. It was an old dress, well worn for years of her being in the academy. At first it was mid-thigh long, short yet still at a reasonable length. But now, after shrinking little by little from multiple laundries and her getting taller as well, it only barely covered her undergarments, matching its length with the outer jacket she wore. Any kind of bending over would no doubt reveal her unmentionables to the world. And she certainly had to be more careful of any kind of breeze or even when she walked up the many academy stairs.

Or she could just wear one of those spandex shorts some girls liked to wear under their skirts and save herself the trouble.

But where's the fun in that? Wouldn't work. She believed it would clash terribly with her style and she would just look odd wearing them.

And a lot of male students in the academy were certainly thankful for that belief, including the ones that participated in the very same class she was in right now.

Unfortunately for them, the girls of the class were already ready, and they quickly blocked the view with their bodies, giving a couple of deathly glares towards the boys that were staring too obviously towards the oblivious girl.

Indeed, this had happened so many times that the other girls had to be the one to protect Esther's chastity. They had told her over and over about how she should be more careful with how she moved, but Esther just kept doing it over and over again.

One of them came to Esther and whispered, "Esther, you might want to straighten up. Your panties... they're showing, you know."

"A-ah!"

Esther, brought back to the real world by her whisper, quickly did as she was told. She stood up straight with her hands pulling down the back of her short dress. Her face was red as a tomato.

"T-thank you for that, Mylina," she whispered back with an ashamed smile.

Two more times a similar exposing incident happened in the class, and every time one of her girl friends would block the view and warn her right away. Esther might feel embarrassed for a short while but she quickly forgot everything once she returned back to her own little mechanical world. Such was her character. It might not work well if we talked about her being a girl who wanted to keep her undergarments from not showing, but with her being a student, she was the best of the class. She just had a knack in both understanding a complex device just by looking at how it worked and a knack in the actual mechanical construction itself.

When the class was over, she already decided on what the next upgrade for her Castle would be.

"So that's the situation... Orewing." Clarence finished.

They'd moved to an empty table, which wasn't too hard to find this early in the morning. Mort had joined them in an official capacity and he could help grab extra books if need be.

Mort's true name was still something he kept secret. He generally avoided referring to him by his name. Even in the morning when he was weakest, he made sure to speak softer so he wouldn't be heard. It wasn't that strange in their situation though. Mort probably wasn't his name, but Clarence had gotten so used to calling him by it that it was odd to call him Orewing or to try and not call him at all.

Well, if it was Sazel he doubted she'd notice it anyway. Even if she did, she probably didn't know him well enough that it would be unusual for him.

...Unusual. Is it really? He thought.

"Alright," Mort replied in his usual, steady voice. "What am I going to do?"

"Uhhh, maybe you could find her? We have her picture, so...?" Clarence said, looking over at Sazel to make a confirmation.

@CelesteEste

Darcy, Andi, and Vel navigated the morning rush as they continued on to first session. Andirah broke from the group and headed for the Crimson Lyceum, Velvette made for the Azure Lyceum, and Darcy continued to the Emerald Lyceum with Ceraseth floating by her side. Upon entering the hall, Darcella spotted two of her favorite mentors conversing outside of one of the rooms. Lady Ashorath and Lady Wyght diverted their attention as Darcy approached to greet them.

"Good morning, Lady Ashorath...Lady Wyght," Darcy said with a warm grin and a casual tone. She had quite a favorable rapport with the two mentors just short of a first-name basis, and Darcy reveled in it.

"Morning, Darcy," said Lady Wyght with an equally casual tone.

"Darcella," Ashorath echoed with a curt nod. She finished her coffee and nonchalantly folded her arms over her chest. "How's your little pet project going?"

"Andi is showing a lot of promise," Darcy replied assuringly. ...and also giving free panty shots...

"We'll see how just how much promise when exams come," Ashorath responded with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Well, if anyone can whip her into shape, it's Darcy," said Lady Wyght, giving Ceraseth a scratch under his chin and earning a satisfied purr.

"Don't worry, I got this, Lady A... Ashorath." Darcy corrected herself before Asmia could react to the informality. As much as she liked Darcy, she still expected her to refer to her with her full last name. Lady Ashorath gave another nod. "Let's go, Cera," Darcy said as she pressed on toward Lady Wyght's room.

Lady Wyght gave a split lesson that morning, dividing the students by house. She would lecture one half of the students while the other half had free study. Her Draconas were finishing up a dragon anatomy review while her Phantasmas were learning about bog spirits from an eerie realm that Lady Wyght had been studying. During the last little portion of class, all of the students were engaged as a whole once again as the mentor gave a small review of some invoking techniques. It was an easy-going lesson that Darcy seemed to cruise through. She had always been impressed by the mentors' dual knowledge base and couldn't wait to get to the point where she could start her own cross-house studies. As her musings were cut short by the end of class, she collected her things and headed out toward her next class.

Livia Fiore and Odhra Bebbin
Glade, Late Friday night.

---

Livia inhaled, a cool night breeze tickling her skin as she glanced towards the forest canopy. Night had fallen over L'Mordryn, and after sending Siobahn off and making sure Eva wasn't going to follow, the former noble was eagerly looking forward to see what would come of this summoning attempt. Odhra had given her quite the idea. A jiangshi. A perfect fit for her needs. Something a bit less stealthy than Siobahn, but far more dangerous in a direct confrontation.

Not that she wanted to have such things, but sometimes the direct application of force was the correct response to a situation.

Walking through the forest, Livia finally found an acceptable spot to try something. Not a clearing, but not heavily forested either. She doubted things would since she was the one doing the summoning, but if things did go awry for whatever reason, she wanted as many things between herself and whatever was happening since she didn't have Siobahn with her.

Speaking of...

“Odhra,” Livia turned towards the other summoner, briefly glancing in the direction of the school. “I don't mean to put you on the spot, but how's Bubbles doing?”

Odhra cocks his head at his friend for a moment, green hair turned almost black in the dim light falling in his face and framing his curiosity at the chosen spot for summoning. ”A moment, please.” He says simply, his eyes rolling back in their sockets as he reached out far into the realms. He stands with an unearthly stillness for a moment, eerily quiet save for the occasional clicking of teeth as his body mimics speech not given form on this plane.

”A bit gassy from his evening hunt. But otherwise he is fine and free should you feel the need to bring him in.” He admits, his features settling back into their normal warmth. He scratches the side of his head before continuing. ”Probably best make that a last resort though. He’s not exactly the most subtle of things to bring out, even at this time of night. And if I do, we’ll only have about...I wanna say three minutes at worst to get this situation under control.”

“I see.” Livia exhaled. “Good, good. I don't anticipate anything will go wrong, but...I dislike being without a summons...three minutes, though?” She asked. That was an odd time limit to have for something.

”Bubbles’ is a giant arthropod.” Odhra says, shrugging simply. ”Unfortunate reality of my babies is that their size is often incompatible with our own atmosphere. They lack lungs and instead breathe through spiracles. Basically a bunch of very small lung like structures along the body. As such, the much larger ones I have to essentially pull double duty in providing both the magical anchor for their existence here and provide the high oxygen their bodies need. Normally this isn’t too bad, but Bubbles is huge and his own regenerative abilities need to feed off my magical stamina. He’s...taxing to run at full strength.”

He taps his chin for a moment, considering something. ”That's probably an inherent advantage you phasma folk have over Bestia. We’re at times constrained by physical limitations of what we summon. Fish can’t breath without water and the like.” He says, not really having put too much thought into the houses before now. ”Don’t get me wrong. We can be heavier hitters. But you all have a little more leeway in what you can bring forth, even if its normally too abstract to survive….or even be considered live as the case might be.”

Chatty as usual, wasn't he? Livia listened with an amused smile. It made sense. She was no biologist or scientist, dealing more in mystical matters, but it was true. Insects didn't have the biological parts needed to survive in this atmosphere for long.

“An astute assessment.” Livia nodded. “Though, I will say at times, there are some constraints on what we can use and when. For example, various forms of undead are at their best during the night hours and grow weaker during the day.” A little known fact was that while Siobahn had no trouble existing during the day, there was a reason she normally hid herself in shadows. Sunlight made her uncomfortable. “But this is perhaps a better talk to have in a proper setting and not in the middle of a forest. I don't anticipate things will go awry, but should they do I'll be counting on you.”

Odhra gives a small mock salute. ”Righto! I’ll give you a little space in case you need to prepare stuff.” He chirps stepping a few feet back and kneeling next to a tree. He takes a few seconds to check his medical bag, the small interior light blaring in the clearing for a half second before he seemed satisfied and closed it. Then he sat quietly, letting his eyes readjust to the darkness and watching for the show to start.

“Right then, lets get this started.” She stepped away from Odhra, taking a few moments to mentally prepare herself. This was something significantly more powerful than a simple Wraith, though she supposed Siobahn wasn't quite so simple. Closing her eyes, Livia held her hands in front of her, the flat of her palms facing the opposite just inches away.

Relax her muscles...

Expand her mind...

Feel the outer realms...

Livia stood completely still, the cool breeze subtly growing in intensity.

She steered clear of the familiar, forlorn sensation of Siobahn's forest. The fey of the melancholy copse was not what she was looking for. She extended her mind further. Past the realms of fire spirits, the frigid realm of ice. The lands of the summer and winter courts. Realms she knew of well from her research, but never visited. She needed to go further. Further still.

Soon, she could feel it.

A subtle sense of dread began filling her. She could faintly smell rancid meat, metal, and...alcohol? A cold shiver passed through her body, but she wouldn't be deterred. Something here...yes, something here would be more than suitable. She had traveled far enough so this should be the area she needed to summon something from.

So she called.

And something answered.

Livia's body tensed, her throat clamping shut as a cold, icy grip wrenched her throat. No, she wouldn't quit. Not yet. Never. She would have whatever this was...! She pulled with all her ability, whatever it was on the other end trying to pull her instead. Her body was cold, a lack of oxygen was starting to cloud her thoughts.

“Ack-!” Livia coughed, desperately trying to refill her lungs with air. Just as suddenly as the grip formed, it was gone. A black portal opened in the air just in front of Livia, the rattling of chains and a horrendous smell of blood, alcohol, and meat filled the air as Livia stumbled backwards, any energy she might have had utterly drained.

whump

A pitch black structure fell from the portal, slamming into the ground with force enough to embed itself into the soft earth. The black onyx structure was abhorrently ornate. Its surface was carved with intricate designs of unknown origin, crafted with an obvious careful and steady hand. The designs themselves seem to depict some sort of story, with human figures, demons, and other supernatural entities dancing across its surface in a myriad of patterns and stories. The thing sits upright, with the bottom being wide and large enough to support its massive weight without falling over. The top of it is carved and decorated with a number of jewels.

The entire sarcophagus was covered in chains, rusted, but still holding tight around the sarcophagus. Talismans of unknown origin were taped liberally across its surface, written in ancient languages.

Odhra stands slowly, resisting his first instinct to rush to Livia’s side until they knew WHAT she’d summon was or if it would do anything on its own. He lightly shuffled his way towards her, the air behind him warping slightly as he prepped Bubbles for an emergency entrance. Once he was at the other invokers side he knelt down, looking her over for obvious signs of trauma. There was no blood, much to his mix of disappointment and relief. But sweat beaded across her skin and hair, breaths were ragged and more uneven than he’d like.

But more disturbingly... ”Livi. Hold still a moment.” He said quietly, his voice calm but carrying a friendly authority that refused all counter argument. He cupped a hand underneath the taller girls chin, her skin slightly too cold to be normal. For a moment he considered taking a small light out from his bag but decided against it. He’d no earthly clue what the sarcophagus might react to.

Instead he leaned his face in close, warm breath catching on the girls neck and clavicle as he examined her neck. On each side of her neck were four long claw marks. Not deep, he noted thankfully, but stippled with redness that blossomed on the girls otherwise pale skin. ”Something got its hands on you.” He said, keeping close and quiet. ”Nothing serious. Probably happened during the ritual. I’ve some aloe for that later. How do you feel? Any disorientation or pain?” He adds, keeping his pace slow and clear.

“Urgh,” Livia coughed, holding a hand lightly to her neck. ”Burns...slightly. Mild headache, feel like I got dumped into an ice bath...and I smell a rather horrendous combination of alcohol and blood.” She tried to chuckle, but only ended up having another small coughing fit.

The chains on the sarcophagus rattled gently in the breeze.

The portal hadn't closed yet.

”Noted. And you smell fine to me.” He half chuckled, eyeing the portal. ”I don’t want to rush you, but do you think you can keep...uh..that here and close that portal? I’m concerned about what keeping it open might do to you.” He added, a sudden small gust of warmth erupting behind the both of them as the gate he’d prepared for Bubbles earlier opened only the tiniest of fraction.

“Portal?...” Livia furrowed her brow, glancing at Odhra as she finally managed to catch her breath a bit. “I'm not...keeping any portal open, Odhra.” The invoker glanced towards the black hole like portal, wincing a bit as her neck moved. That wasn't right. She wasn't keeping that open, and Odhra sure as hell wasn't, so what was that even...! Before she could finish her thought, the air around the sarcophagus began to shimmer, several tears in space forming around it, cracking the air as several figures walked through the torn opening.



Grotesque looking undead shuffled through, wearing foreign armor and weapons as they slowly stepped foot into a realm not their own. With a guttural, demonic howl the four undead seemed to lock onto Livia and Odhra.

Odhra stares back at the four undead creatures for a moment, blinking owlishly at the quartet. ”....nope.” he chirps, smiling at the undead as space burst behind him. Briefly, the miasmic odor of blood and spirits is overwhelmed with the scent of rotting vegetation and tangy musk as the gate to Bubble’s primal world shatters open. Bubble’s hulking form barrels out, his form resting over the two kneeling invokers comfortably. Salvia drips from his mandibles in sticky globs and his stinger thrashest about wildly, a fist sized bubble of venom dangling from its tip and glowing faintly orange in the evening light. Bubbles answers the undead’s howl with a roar of his own, a series of clacking and chirping that (while not loud) resonates the air around him and making Odhra and Livia’s teeth vibrate uncomfortably in their skulls.

Unfortunately for Bubbles, mindless undead tended to lack what people knew as 'fear'.

Undeterred by the creatures appearance, the four undead soldiers shambled towards the insectoid creature, now focusing on it instead of them. A small reprieve as the four engaged Bubbles. One met the beast head on. It was slow, but there was an undeniable power behind its movements it bought its high, before swiftly bringing it down upon bubbles head.

Two of the others tried flanking the beast, trying to gain the advantage, whilst the last seemed to position itself in front of the sarcophagus.

“Hrn...they seem like simple undead, but they're not disorganized...”

”Looks like they’re trying to protect that...thingy you brought here. Any clue what it is?”

Bubbles, meanwhile, slammed forward, catching the sword on the face and driving forward. Blue-green ichor flowed from the gash as the beast charged forward, thrusting a paw and driving the undead into the ground where it belonged. The arachnids head swiveled quickly, the laceration already knitting together at an unnatural speed as its stinger tail swung like a battering ram into the skeleton on his left. Orange venom flushed from the stinger, pouring uselessly onto the ground in heavy puddles. But the sheer mass of the blow did enough to crumble the rib cage like powdered glass.

“Judging from the construction of it...a sarcophagus of some sort? It's construction isn't entirely indicative of eastern lores...” Livia pondered, utterly calm despite the ensuing fight between bubbles and the handful of undead. “I don't recognize those talismans either. And why is it chained shut?...to keep people out...or keep whatever is in there, in?”

The undead hissed as it was crushed beneath the arachnids blow, ancient armor and bones crumbling to pieces in an instant, returning it to the earth. The one on bubbles left was slammed with the stinger, its abhorrent ribcage nearly shattering itself in half, but the undead hardly seemed to notice. It hissed, a slow lunge forward, diving its rusted blade into bubbles side.

The second one lunged towards bubbles legs, using its blade to try and immobilize the beasts legs.

”Given its got a set of guards...I’m going to hazard a guess at keeping whatever it is in. Either way, if that is what you summoned you ability to influence is probably being hindered by the talismans. They probably need to come off...don’t suppose you know how to make replacement ones in case thats a terrible idea?” He asked nervously.

Bubbles hissed as his prey proved more resilient than he’d thought. Blades peirced everyside of him, only his pride taking any sort of permanent injury. Bubbles back leg crumpled as the skeleton to his right jabbed into his thigh, but it did little to really deter the creature. There was no need to move when his prey had been unwise enough to come this close. The stinger still embedded in the left skeletons chest lifted and slammed the undead into the earth once, twice, three times. Each impact sounded by a dull thump and the clinking of armor until it finally gave way entire.

”...hold on a moment. Bubbles!” Odhra said, the large creature not breaking its gaze to the final (and now lone) threat. ”Roll over.” A gurgle of amusement escaped the large creature as it hurled itself to the right, body slamming into the final attacking skeleton with a wet crack as the hulk half buried itself into the ground.

“Perhaps...they seem to be protecting it.” Livia agreed. There was only one way to really find out, though...and that was to open it. “I can't say I can remake those exact ones...but I could possibly do something should I need too.”

Livia watched with amused fascination as the last of the odd skeletal soldiers was dispatched by bubbles. The fourth so far, hadn't moved from its defensive position by the sarcophagus, and the portal overhead seemed to be growing smaller in size.

”Its a shame I’ve got to break them…” Odhra says, finally standing up as Bubbles wiggled on his back. Happily grinding what was left of the skeleton into a fine powder in the process no doubt. ”It would have been fun to figure out how they worked.” He sighs, snapping his fingers for Bubbles to rise. The spider creature rolls back to its legs, shaking briefly and letting the blades lodged in its side clatter to the ground as his body forced itself back together.

Bubbles waddled closer to the remaining skeleton, now calm in the knowledge that the threat to his master was all but non-existent. Almost casually, his stinger rose behind him, stabbing into the remaining skeleton and (like before) flailing its hooked foe about its body and into the ground. ”That said...for guards…” Odhra said, watching as his baby tore the skeleton a proverbial new one. ”They’re not exactly...I dunno. Good? Think maybe there are more of them to come or they just got made on the fly or something?” he asked, not quite yet approaching the sarcophagus until Bubbles had deemed play time over.

“Mhm, perhaps. Difficult to say. They were incredibly aged from what I could tell.” Unlike Odhra, Livia's curiosity was getting the better of her. “They may have just been whatever was easiest to make for now. Or perhaps they were not used to dealing with something like bubbles. From what I could tell, a human fighting them would be rather difficult.” As she spoke, Livia began walking towards the sarcophagus, cautiously curious of whatever might be inside.

“...now, what are you?”

By now the portal overhead and dissipated entirely.

whump

The sarcophagus jolted forwards a few inches, whatever was inside of it had slammed against the interior walls. The metal chains holding the lid in place snapped, creaking, and breaking against the force inside. The talismans shuddered, doing little to halt whatever monster was inside. It shifted again, and again, until the chains could no longer hold the creature inside.



“...nhhhhn?” The sarcophagus lid slammed into the ground near Bubbles, a raspy, groaning voice echoing from within. “Aaaahhhhg-ack-urgh...aaah?” Something quite...odd quite literally hopped out of the sarcophagus, arms extended in front of it and dressed in foreign clothing, its lifeless eyes half opened.

“Hnnn...ah, my retainers...dead...? Ah, so useless...useless...make their bones into dessert...” The small humanoids eyes focused on the two humans. “...ah...? Human...not palace?...food?” her head tilted to the side. “Ah...smell...sweet...perhaps one of you...My lord? The other...dessert...?”

Odhra stares at the tiny forgien zombie, eyes wide. ”My gods Livia…” He begins, his voice shaking. ”She’s….ADORABLE!” Odhra squeaks, hugging Bubbles thick neck to resist the urge to rush the poor little Jianshi. Odhra snuggles into the nape of Bubbles neck, the large beast ‘purring’ in response, content to be the object of his masters misplaced affection. ”Also looks like SHE made the portals somehow. Maybe some dominion over other undead and acting as a proxy invoker? But her hoooornnns~” He adds, his ability to analyze the creature before him now pretty much lost in the frenzied thoughts of what the C&F will do once they see this masterpiece.

“Nhn...” The Jiangshi's eyes turned to Livia. “...my lord. My sweet lord...you are...him...? The one who called me? Ah, ah...it's been so long. Sweet air...sweet, delicious life filled air...” A subtle, smile formed on the undeads mouth. “...makes me so, so very hungry....”

“Adorable yes,” Livia held a hand to her chin. “...though I am unsure about her temperament.” The jiangshi took this time to literally hop over to Livia, its stiff joints and muscles.

“Master...my lord...Is that one dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Ah, ah, that delicious looking boy. I can have him can't I? You summoned me and bought me a gift. Lord is too kind...”

“Well...I suppose if you want.” Livia smiled lightly. Probably no harm in letting this play out. She doubted this zombie could really do anything to Odhra as long as bubbles was here.

“Ah, ah~” With a odd giggle, the Jiangshi spun on her heels, facing Odhra. “Meat for Mizu, a pound of delicious red meat, for little Mizu~” She hopped towards Odhra...

And immediately fell flat on her face with an oddly adorable ‘squee’ noise and a small squeal.
Odhra stares down at the fallen zombie, Bubbles salivating over his shoulder as he rubbed his massive head agaisnt his master. He kneels down to the fallen zombie, staying just out of arms reachs for the moment. As adorable as this zombie was, he wasn’t so absent minded as to just let himself get eaten. ”You ok there...Mizu was it?” He asks, blinking curiously at the creature. ”Maybe you should stay seated for a little bit. No real telling how long you’ve been in that box for….” He offers, taking out his medical bag just in case he had anything that might theoretically help the poor zombie girl. Bubbles, meanwhile, glared down at the offending creature, practically begging her to try something so he might have an excuse to feed but making no movements beyond that.

“Mizushi-Douji.” She replied to Odhra with a small whine, arms flailing just slightly, trying to reach the boy just out of her reach. It seemed like she was having trouble bending her joints in any reasonable way. “Ah, my bed...sleeping for...years? Only wake...when feast.” Her mouth turned into a pout as she puffed out her cheeks. “Aaaah, this stupid undead body of miiiine. So inconvenient...so stiiiiif....hungry...boy let me have just a nibble. Just a little tiniest nibble...”

“If she is a proper Jiangshi, then she likely unable to move well. According to my notes their limbs are in a permanent state of rigor, meaning for the most part they will be locked in place.” Livia knelt next to Mizushi.

”Aww…” Odhra whines, eyes rolling over Mizu like an injured puppy. ”Poor girl. I’ll look into artificial muscles we might be able to implant later. Since you’re dead I’m not too worried about auto-immune rejection.” he chirps, opening up the medical bag. ”Plus…” He adds, his grin turning vicious and too wide as his previously pleasant gaze settled into a cheerful leer. ”I’ve always wanted to try surgery on an active and conscious participant.”

”But until then!” He chirps, the momentary sadism being washed away in the boys normal aura of warmth. ”Would a little blood work well enough? Don't really have any medical waste at hand to give you….at the moment anyway. But I can stand to lose a pint or two!”

“I don't think that's a good idea, Odhra.” Livia bopped the other summoner lightly on the head. “Not for now, at least.” She was concerned for a number of reasons – mostly it being she wasn't quite sure Mizu would take just a pint or two. “I'll take her back to my dorm for now. See if I can get any more information about her.” Standing up, Livia grabbed the Jiangshi's clawed hands, helping to pull her up back on her feet.

“Ah, my lord...your hands...so warm.”

“And uh, thanks for tonight, Odhra.” Livia looked uneasily off to the side, hiding her mouth with a hand. “Really...if I tried this without you, I am not quite sure I could have handled it....and you too, bubbles.”

”Nope!” Odhra says, now taking his turn to bop Livia in return. ”You’re a lot better at this than most people are at your rank. Waaay better than I was anyway. You could have handled it on your own.” He said, scratching the underside of Bubbles chin. Bubbles slowly leans forward and presses his head into Livia’s chest with surprising dexterity for such a large creature, a heavy purring rumbling from the beast to confirm his masters assessment. ”Me and Bubbles just helped a little. Sides, it was fun! My poor big baby doesn’t ever get a chance to stretch his stinger enough. Don’t you boy?” He adds, the last part devolving into baby talk as Bubbles tail flails wildly about a small rain of venom arcing behind the two as the creature lavishes in the praise.

“Haaa...” Livia returned Odhra's words with a small smile. “Well I suppose I can't deny that if you're going to insist.”

“Maaaaster....hungryyyyy.”

“We'll see about getting you something to eat once I'm back in the dorm, Mizu.” Livia said, turning her attention back to her newest summons. Ah, she was exhausted. She really needed a bath and a meal of her own. Not to mention her neck. “...do I have you to thank for my neck, by the way?”

“Ah, ah, Mizu is sorry, Lord...your neck was so pretty, so delicious...I almost broke it....” Mizu began hopping after Livia, the Sarcophagus she left behind seemingly not moving from its position where it had embedded itself in the earth, at least for now.

“I'll see you tomorrow, Odhra.” She headed back to the dorms, Mizu hopping along behind her.

---

Weekend had come, and with it, it was time for the academy's students to attend to any clubs they were members of.

Including the Future Tech club, of course.

The academy was generous enough to give them their own little building of their own. It was necessary, as they didn't just need to have a meeting place, they needed an actual, honest-to-goodness laboratory where they could conduct their experiments freely and without any interruption from the outside. They also needed a warehouse of sorts to store all their unused equipments and gadgets. They had quite the collection, as they still kept the many inventions previous members had created, even after they all graduated from the academy.

The place was built sleek and slim with mostly white walls, giving it a futuristic look. There were some places who had a more industrial look like the machine laboratory used by members of the club who were more inclined towards steam and clockwork-based tech over the more futuristic ones, but on a whole, the place was quite biased towards that clean, high tech, even a little alien look. Both the former club president and the current one were not into that steampunk look.

And now, as usual, Corona was holding a meeting with the members of the club, discussing what activities they shall partake in for the weekend. They were now gathered in the meeting room, with Corona and Esther in the front facing towards the rest of them. There was a whiteboard hanging behind them, used to draw all sorts of things like charts, diagrams, and other images that could help illustrate things when someone did a speech there. Most of the time though, people would already have a presentation prepared beforehand that they would just project instead of having to draw or write it manually.

"Now that everyone is here, let us begin," Corona announced once all the seats were full. She rose up from her seat and walked towards the big whiteboard behind her. Esther on the other hand was just sitting on the side, watching with a smile on her face. As usual, she gave all the non-technical talk to her friend.

"So, as we have discussed last week, today would be an excursion day. We would travel to the city and give the required services that were asked of us. That being installing the microchips into the farm animals and pets they had asked us to."

"They" being an associate of farmers as well as an associate of pet owners. Ever since Corona took the chair as the president of the future tech club, the club had been more active in helping the citizens outside the academy with their problems using their technology. Esther certainly had a hand in that change. In fact, she was the one most excited about it. But Corona agreed that doing so would be great for Future Tech, the House of Machina, and even the Academy itself.

Especially since they could also halt the advance of those luddites who distrusted technology and wished for the progress of humankind to be stifled.

Indeed, recently, there had been more and more prominent figures showing their suspicion and distrust against the spread of machinery all over the kingdom. Some did have valid complaints, like the pollution given out by the factories, but others were just simply fearmongering for no discernable reason. And there were those shamans and druids who opposed it simply out of their ideology. She still remembered how they ended up in a face-off against them when Esther came up with a mechanized saw capable of chopping down trees far easier and quicker than normal axes could, before giving the blueprints to the lumberjacks requesting their help.

"We have heard that a group of druids already voiced their opposition against our plan," Esther suddenly interrupted as she stood up from her chair. She had her arms crossed and her expression fully serious, which was certainly a rarity for her. "Saying that putting our chips would be inhumane to animals. Hmph, clearly they just wanted the people to be dependent on them whenever a dog or a cow got lost." Esther was referring to the druids selling their services to seek lost animals using their druidic powers. "With our microchips installed, paired with the simple handheld devices we would give to the owners, they could track where their animals were at all times on their own, no charge required. And not only that. THey could also see their vitals, whether they were sick or not. No need to rely on the mumbo jumbo spells those druids possessed. Ours are far more convenient after all." Esther continued, speaking of their product proudly. She always had a beef with those kinds of druids ever since the incident with the lumberjacks.

"And that is why we must make sure today's event goes along smoothly," Corona interjected. "Pick up your tools. We're departing immediately."

And with that, their meeting was adjourned. They all scrambled to gather any devices and tools they needed to bring on their excursion.

Evangeline Lindall?

It was Evangeline's favorite time of week! The meeting of the Cute and Fluffy Club! Oh it was the most joyous day of the week! Floofel and Evangeline walked into the room before everyone else to prepare properly for the meeting. Eva had Floofel do a number of things. First, she was to check the room and make sure the fluffing on the walls was perfectly poofy. Evangeline was always very picky about that sort of thing. There were actually way too many things she got very particular about. The walls had to be a particular shade and if they faded... Well, Floofel wanted to do it anyway. She was only happy if Evangeline was at this point.

The room was in pristine condition for what Eva wanted, it just needed a minor amount of dusting. There were a good number of seats. Fluffy blue and pink armchairs surrounding an elongated fancy wood table with a number of silver colored plates every couple of feet. Aside from a buffet that seemed a bit out of date at this point, likely a leftover from whichever defunct club use to inhabit the room, was a number stuffed animals. Many of them, things Eva forced asked people to bring in. "Eva, how did you want all these stuffed animals set up today?" Floofel asked Evangeline as she started the water for tea.

Evangeline sat in her big chair at the far end of the elongated table. She put her hands together and rested her chin on them. "Hmmm, let them be free today. However they want to be, let them!" The small girl demanded in a cute voice. All she meant was "leave them alone for the day." "I want to drink some of the black tea today." She added looking to Floofel who was looking through the tea.

"Three sugar lumps and a small bit of milk then?" Floofel asked only to be promptly answered with a nodding head. "I'll have it for you then." Now, they just needed the other members to show up. As the entered, Floofel would greet them. "Welcome, what kind of tea would you like?" from her tea station at the buffet table.

Nikola walked the halls, with Kitten nestled in his arms, tightly grasping a mysterious brown bag hanging from his right hand. It was the weekend, which meant that it was time for his club. He was a little nervous, as usual. He still hadn't gotten used to talking to people yet. But it wasn't like he would get used to it if he studied all the time. Building connections was important, and you got used to people by talking to people. Or so the maids at the estate had told him. They also told him gifts would help, which was what he'd gotten the paper bag for.

Emblazoned on the bag was the logo of a popular sweets store he knew from his time at the Drakengard estate. Nikola had never visited the store himself as he'd been wrapped up in his training, but it had a reputation amongst his siblings and the servants. He'd received the bag a little while ago with a note telling him to share them with friends. Sadly, he had forgotten about the bag until today, so he thought it would be good to share the treats with the club.

Soon enough, the boy arrived. Standing in the doorway, he could smell the distinct scent of tea. Steeling his nerves, he entered the room. The scenery that met his eyes was familiar, if bizarre. The walls were soft and fluffy, the carpet was soft, the chairs were soft. If he had to describe the room, he would call it 'aggressively comfortable', leaning a little too aggressive for his tastes. He did his best to ignore his slight uneasiness as he was addressed by a moth-like woman he had yet to grow used to seeing.

"Welcome, what kind of tea would you like?"

Nikola paused for a moment to think. He wasn't particularly partial to teas, he preferred sweeter drinks. But it would be rude to refuse the offer. He supposed he could ask for a sweeter tea, but the problem with that idea was that he didn't know what those teas were called. Maybe he could ask for more sugar in a less sweet tea that he knew of, but he didn't think having too much sugar would be a good thing. If so, he should moderate the amount of sugar he had, and go for a tea he was sure they had. Which meant -
"Um," Nikola began.
He was suddenly aware of how long he'd been standing for, and a note of uncertainty crept into his voice.
"Black tea with... 2 sugars, please." He said, stammering slightly.

He left the moth-woman to her activities and pushed further into the room to hide his embarrassment. There in the soft room was the head of the club, a girl about his age by the name of Evangeline. While Nikola didn't know the girl that well, she was intriguing in certain ways to him. She was the leader of the club despite being quite young, which he found to be fairly interesting. She had a certain energy and certainty to her actions that Nikola severely lacked. He found her temperament a little hard to deal with, despite her having qualities that he admired. Nevertheless, he knew she wasn't bad in any particular way, so he would do his best to get along with her.

"Good morning...?" Nikola said to the girl.
The boy freed his right arm from the fluffy mass he held to present the girl with the brown paper bag.
"I brought some chocolate... things."
He had forgotten what was inside, save that there was chocolate involved in their creation. Were they donuts? Pastries? Eclairs? He had forgotten. Nevertheless, he hoped the girl would take them.
@Pyromania99

Isobel had spent most of the class ignoring the teacher in favor of glaring at Max for the duration of class...and thinking of the fifty different ways she could kick his ass. So for most of the class, she had done nothing but glare and irritably snap at people. Ciervia on the other hand, was about as calm as a dragon could be, coercing Isobel to pet him most of the class...and then, class was over. She wasn't letting that bastard get away.

“Rrrraaaaagh!” Max would first be aware of a very dragon-like sounding roar as Isobel barreled down the hallway. “Hey dumbass get back here!” He'd have about five seconds before her foot impacted his face.

Max had not been oblivious to Isobel's persistent glare throughout the class period. He had hoped to avoid her today but had forgotten about their mutual class. To most, it would be unthinkable to forget about someone like Isobel. However, Max was a man of focus. He only paid attention to people if he needed to. Isobel may have been a firecracker, but to Max, she was just another loud girl. That was until today, after giving her dragon the boot she was less than happy with him. He had gathered tidbits from the other students about her. Her reputation proceeded her as she was considered a powerful summoner. He now recalled that her family was a very prestigious Dracona bloodline which didn't help his predicament. It sounded like she only had three known summons. He had already met her land dragon, and the ice dragon was sitting in class with him. It was what he heard about her nastier summon the fire dragon that gave him pause.

As class ended, he immediately made his way for the door. Of course, Isobel had no intention of letting him get away this time. Max was not an unreasonable man nor a coward. He just loathed interacting with irrational people and especially disliked hotheads. Isobel was an unfortunate combination of both. Her scream was like that of a rabid animal rather than a human girl, and the class parted like scared sheep. He didn't need to try hard to predict when she would collide with him. He counted out his steps, timing his movements with her approach. As he crossed the threshold, she would be only a second behind. In that second, he quickly grabbed the door handle and slammed it shut behind him. He then grabbed the door and braced his whole body against it to hold it closed. "We need to talk!" He yelled from the other side.

“The only talkin' you're gonna be doing is to my fists ya coward!” To say Isobel might be slightly difficult to reason with, was an understatement. Especially when it came to things like her summons and people she considered her friend. Tough love and fierce protection was how she mostly entirely operated. Isobel slammed into the door, causing the entire thing to shake violently.

Max struggled to think of a way to gain an advantage in this situation. He pressed against the door with all is might, but the reverb from the door jolted him. She was bound to break through at this rate. This girl only wanted to fight and could cut loose like this. He didn't mind the idea of fighting her, but he wanted a better setting. "Maybe...She would too." He thought to himself.

With a plan in mind, he yelled through the door. "If you're so eager to fight, then there is a better time and place for it! Think about it. If we fight right here and now the teacher is going to stop us in mere moments! Would that satisfy you?" He asked the last part less like a question and more like an accusation.

“Don't care as long as I bash your face in for hurting Grarves!” She pulled on the door. “Now quit being a little bitch and open this door!” However, there was an audible 'whump' noise, lighter than Isobels as something else seemed to hit the door.

“W-weh? Ciervia?” Max couldn't really hear, but there seemed to be some conversation between Isobel and her first summons. “What'dya mean talk to him? That's not gonna solve nothing.” A moment of silence followed by an exasperated sigh. “Alright fine, fine! I'll not beat his face in and I'll do this talking thing. But if he does anything funny, my fist – his face.”

Max let out a long sigh at her reply, "It seems that reasoning with her isn't going to work." he muttered as he rested his hand on Lightning. A gathering of students that had been watching the spectacle. All suddenly decided they had better things to do and made a hasty exit.

However, as Max prepared to retaliate, he paused. He noticed Isobel had stopped trying to bash down the door down. He could hear a muffled conversation behind the door, but beyond the strange squeaks and clicks of her summon, couldn't tell what was being said. There was a pause in the conversation at which point Max took a calculated risk and put his ear to the door. He heard a sigh followed by some fortunate news. "Excellent!" He yells through the door, "Since your willing to listen to reason might I suggest a more satisfying way to settle your score. The arena. An official duel where anything goes."

“Hah? The hell would I do that for?” Isobel scrunched her nose at the thought. Why the hell would she go through all that trouble when she could just bash his face in? Before she could voice such thoughts though, there was a chirp from Ciervia, quickly silencing any protests the headstrong girl might have.

“Tch,” Frowning, Isobel folded her arms across her chest. “Fine, fine. Whatever. You want an audience for your ass-kicking, fine then.”

"Well, the crowd wasn't the point." Max thought, "Though, now that I think of it, that will also work to my advantage." Max had much preparation to do now. The Changeling was going to have one hell of a trial run. Max opened the door, without warning, and for the first time since meeting her 'looked' at Isobel. She was shorter than him, forcing him to look down to inspect her. She wore a combination of noble dress wear and armor. A style of dress much like Max's own, though Max's was far more protective. He heard she used a sword which would explain why only her left arm was armored. She probably favored her right hand and thus would defend with her left. Taking into all that he's seen into account, he could safely assume she was a fast pace and aggressive fighter. She was also quite pretty with her dark complexion and fair skin. However, he would never consider dating a girl he didn't respect. Max glances at the teacher, Lady Wyght, "Let's make it official then." Max narrows his eyes at Isobel, "I'll even challenge you." and then speaking loudly and clearly so that everyone could hear, "I Max Muerte challenge you Isobel Mulryan to an anything goes duel tomorrow at noon."

“Anything goes, huh?” Isobel glared at him.“Fine then, coward. I'll accept your challenge.” The dragon perched atop her head was far less openly hostile, though his attitude wasn't any better. The pygmy drake coldly glared at him, somehow seeming to radiate arrogance through sheer force of will. ““Better not cry when I feed your ass to Rutul.” The Pygmy drake puffed a cold gust of air towards Max.

"Then we are agreed," Max stated his eyes still locked with Isobel's. He again showed no reaction to her posturing. He honestly found her arrogance, even if warranted, annoying. This fight was nothing, but a means to an end for him after all. Though, he did want to shake that confidence of hers in some way. To let her know she should not underestimate him and take the fight tomorrow seriously. He thought about it for a moment his eyes gaining a dangerous gleam as he did. When he next spoke, his words had a coldness to them. "Isobel, I want you to understand something. I'm not afraid of you, and that's not because I think I can beat you. Its because we are similar. We both hurt people Isobel, and as a result, neither of us care about getting hurt. I'm positive that both of us will be waking up in the hospital tomorrow."

“...we ain't nothing alike.” Isobel replied with a scowl. “I'm not the one who nearly hurt someone by sending a half ton dragon flying towards them.” She grinned, an aggressive, toothy grin obvious meant as a taunt. “You're right though, I don't care about getting hurt if it puts scumbags like you in their place.”

Max paused at Isobel's words. He looked at her for several moments as if her words had struck a chord. Then, he laughed a long and mocking laugh, "That's too funny. You want to know why that's funny?" He pointed at himself, "Because, I was thinking the same thing when I flipped your Dragon." He said with venom in his words, then laughed some more while passing, "And you say we aren't alike. You want to hurt me because I hurt almost hurt your friend. I wanted to hurt someone because they let their dragon rampage through the cafeteria." He paused his passing and pointed at Isobel, "That dragon was meant for you by the way. I may have drawn a hasty conclusion based on circumstantial evidence. But, given what I've learned about you. It would have, probably, been better if it had crushed your friend because then you would have learned something." Max was breathing heavy now. His zen had cracked, and he didn't look in control anymore. At this moment, his demeanor looked far more like Isobel's.

“....the fuck you just say?” Isobel growled. The balls on this guy. “Grarves is a big slobbery baby, he wouldn't hurt a fly.” He was in fact, scared of them. [/color]“He wasn't rampaging or nothin'. I called him, and that's just how he is. The only one causing trouble was you.”[/color] Isobel was doing her best not to just physically punch this guys face in. It was useless talking to this guy. That much was becoming exceedingly clear. Was she doing anything other than antagonizing him? Not at all, but Isobel wasn't really that good at the whole talking thing in the first place.

Ciervia moved to Isobel's shoulders now, Sitting regally upon his throne before making a chirping noise.

“I got places to be and training to do, unless you'd rather just get your ass kicked, move.”

"A puppy? What?" Max stammered, unable to process Isobel's absurd claim. He spent a moment gathering his mind before blurting out. "Are you insane? You're telling me that giant boulder with teeth is friendly?" Max looked at Isobel incredulously, trying to sly any deceit but finding none. "Unless...could it be a dragon pup?" Max didn't like the implications of this line of thinking. It meant that the earth dragon was a mere fraction of its potential full adult size. He stepped aside at Isobel's request but more as an afterthought than an acknowledgment of her threat. "You know what. It doesn't matter if its a puppy. If anything, it's more disconcerting that you are letting an infant that big roam around unsupervised." Max sighed his rising anger having been put out by the sudden revelation.

“Like I said.” Isobel walked past Max with a grunt. “He don't hurt no one usually. If I thought he'd be a problem, I wouldn't keep him around. His species is a pretty docile kind, ya know, maybe if ya actually didn't have rocks in your head you'd know that.” Pot meet kettle. Isobel might not be the best student, but she knew her summons well. Not that Max would get time to reply. Isobel was already walking off, an aggressive pace that almost dared someone to try and get in her way.

"That went well." Max thought to himself, as he watched Isobel walk storm off. He had said more than he meant to due to her words getting under his skin. She, fortunately, didn't read too much into it. "At the very least. I know more about her than I did before. I don't think I'll have any trouble with a runt ice dragon and a giant rock child." He thought smugly, as he started walking to his next class. "My main focus will still be overcoming the fire dragon. I know I said I wouldn't be kind but if I were to kill one of that girl's dragons. Well, I know I wouldn't stop until someone's head rolled. That makes the challenge of bringing it down all the more difficult." Max went on like this, making plans for his future encounter.

---

Livia walked into the club. Really why was she even doing this? The cute and fluffy club was nothing but a distraction. Waste of time. Curse Eva for forging her signature on something. Ugh, she could be doing something far more important. She glanced over to Eva with a mildly cold expression before sighing. Well...maybe not a total waste of time if it made Eva happy. All she had to do was ask though, hmph.

"Puer Tea, Floofel." She preemptively replied.

Livia took a seat next to Eva, eyeing Nikola and the chocolates critically before sighing dismissively. Well, it was probably something Eva would enjoy, but then Eva had a tendency to enjoy almost anything. She wasn't a particularly hard girl to please if one knew how to do it.

"Hello, sister." Livia greeted Eva with a small smile. "What's on the agenda for today? Here to pester Siobahn some more?"

Lorcan had awoken long before his roommates, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon and cast purple and pink streaks against the still grayed sky as he began his morning jog. Part of him wanted to stay in bed, but...training was always the priority. Plus, it wasn't like he was currently privy to any club functions. ”I'll check the student directory later." He thinks as he rounds the corner of the Dragon Aviary for what felt like the fiftieth time.

He'd be lying if he said he was truly interested in joining anything though. His parents had made it pretty clear before he left that they expected him to attend whatever Junior Military group the school had available. It would make for good press back home. The young artist turned champion now beginning his long sojourn into civil and military service and all that shit. The old brass polishers would eat that up.

He scowled and attempted to push the implications of the orders out of his mind. No. Coming here was for HIM, and even if they benefited from the whole ordeal he'd be damned if they'd suck the joy out of it. Even if only vicariously.

”Least I got to hang out with Isobel for a bit..." He grumbled, recalling the cavalcade of idiocy that occurred the night before when he finally got back to his room.


Lorcan huffed, sweat beading off of him as he finally stopped his laps. Sixty Nine. He was doubtless that little troglodyte Albus would pull an innuendo out of that in some fashion if he were here. Finding a small bench off to the side of the path he peels off his shirt, letting himself cool off in the chill of the morning while there was still some privacy.

As much as he hated to admit it...he'd be hard pressed to say he disliked Albus. Oh sure, he was a perverted little freak with a host of neuroses that Lorcan was pretty sure he'd only just seen the barest surface of. But credit where it was due, the little trollop had actually managed to, in the most bizarre way possible, amuse him. Which was a damn sight more enjoyable than the other members he'd met of Dracona so far.

”...wonder when the culinary club meet next...." he said to himself, lazing into the bench and staring skyward.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



"Sorry we're late!" Odhra cries, practically running into the CnF meeting room, carrying three heavy looking trays with him. "A few of my babies needed to get their weekly feeding and then the cobbler didn't set right so I had to remake it an-" The green haired youth blurted, words coming fast and furious and he wobbled towards the buffet table.

"Master..." A much softer voice coo'd as it entered the room. The spider like figure of Baily standing calmly in the door way carrying a very very large and fuzzy octopus with a disturbingly human like set of pearly white teeth. "We arrived on time. Hello Flesh Bodies!" Baily says as she smiles and waves a stuffed tentacle at the trio of other members.

"Ah..sorry. Good!" Odhra says, voice wavering a little as the words 'flesh bodies' floated to his ears. He grumbles something about needing to work on that as he sets out the food he'd prepared for todays meeting. "Anyway uh... I brought Veggie lasagna with ground mushroom and five cheeses. Homemade noodles this time, so do let me know what you think! Barbaque'd chicken with apple and cranberry chutney on rice if you don't want the vegetarian option..." He says, throwing Eva a knowing look and silently defending his veggie pasta dish, whose honor was DARED sullied (SULLIED!!!!!!!!) yesterday.

He sets down the dishes, quickly pouring himself some tea and putting the final tray before Floofel. Both for her approval and to know it would be kept safe out of reach until it was appropriate for members to serve themselves...save Eva, but he had long accepted that fact. "And for DESSERT..." He said, looking a little proud. "Strawberry Cobbler with white chocolate and coconut shredded on top."

Baily plops down on an arm chair next to Nikola, smiling too wide and staring at the boy as her tail swished erratically behind her. "Master decided to make it last night after engaging with Flesh Body Livia in intercourse!" She chirped loudly and (atleast to her) helpfully.

---

Corona's herbology club session went as swimmingly as usual. Unlike in the Future Tech club where she was certainly one, if not the most, active member, here, she was more in the background, just doing her own thing without really coming out to the spotlight. She didn't really have the same passion in Herbology compared to her passion to Future Tech. She was only in it because she had an expertise in the subject from her former life as the village apothecary. And the knowledge of medicinal compound she got from it, as well as how they affected the human body, could be useful to be used for her healing nanobots project.

Today, she was merely in the corner of the class, mixing her own brew. It was a medicine to repel wild beasts, to be spread around in powdery form around an area you want to be protected. It would create a smell that the beasts absolutely hated, though for humans, it would just be a strange, medicine-smelling aroma.

Nettle

Down in the herbology club the door swung open as Nettle entered. She was wheeling a gurney covered in a white sheet obscuring a humanoid form in. Along with her strode her summon, The Green Knight. With one hand it rested it's axe upon it's shoulder and in the other it carried a small pot. Within the pot grew what appeared to be something that resembled a pale glass rose. It was only the slightest bit translucent and caught the light at the tips of it's petals with a radiant sparkle.

"Greetings." She announced her arrival, drawing the eyes of a fair few who were present. Accompanying her presence was the soft waft of sickly sweet death in the air. Whatever lied beneath the sheet on her gurney was evidently deceased. She spared little time, leaving the gurney in the middle of the club room and moving to retrieve her rose from her knight. Taking the delicate flora she sat it on the center table for others to observe. She already knew a fair bit about it despite having only discovered it recently.

While she attended the rose the knight stood by, standing at attention but in a fairly idle manner so that it did not come across as threatening. The gurney simply remained where it was, the body upon it still unmoving as it's decay continued to filter out from beneath the cover.

When the door to the club swung open, Corona's attention momentarily shifted away from her work. She saw Nettle enter with a gurney covered in white sheets alongside her summon.

She didn't know what she was going to do with the gurney, but she could smell that there was something dead under those sheets. From a distance, she couldn't make it out exactly but there was most likely something humanoid-shaped under it.

She sighed. She could only imagine whatever crazy experiment the girl had in her mind. It wasn't her job to do anything about it though. That would fall to the Herbology club leader.

However, her curiosity got the best of her. She decided to pause her work and approached the girl.

"Hey, what's that for?" she asked her casually, staring towards the gurney.

@A Lowly Wretch

Nettle

She turned her deep nephrite green eyes to the woman asking after the gurney she had brought in. It was no surprise that someone asked, it was common whenever she brought about her more odoriferous works.

"Hhh... H-it's one of my hmore experimental hh... Projects." Looking directly at the lady she calmly peeled away the cover. She did not bother to look down as she unveiled the subject. Laying face down on the gurney was the dead body of an older man. He appeared to have been dead for some time given the decay. Sprouted from the spine right at the base of the next was a flower. This flower had deep crimson petals with light red spots scattered across it in a freckled pattern, the little specks most densely packed near the base of the petals. The flower did not have a stem but rather appeared to be rooted to the spine directly.

"Hhit's a part of my hh... Practice. H-I've conjured it hhfrom the dreaming." Finally turning her gaze from the fellow student she looked down to the flower. She gently brushed her thin pale fingertip along the length of a petal, stopping right at the tip of the petal.

"Hhh... Hh-it grows in the soil hh-of the flesh. Hthere is a lacking of hfresh bodies so I've hhh... Hmade do."

Her voice though lacking in distinct emotion did ring with an inkling of dissatisfaction. Working with sub-par flesh made it harder to get clear results. It didn't provide satisfactory answers to the questions she'd hoped it would solve.

Nonetheless she figured she'd bring it in to the Herbology club meet nonetheless. Kill two birds with one stone.