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Nyx had been stuck all morning attending a rather dry and tedious faculty meeting. Discussions about weekly student performances, minor edits to the curriculum layout, professors' specific lesson plans, blah, blah, blah. Nyx yawned in his seat; his eyes wet with boredom. Some of the other twenty-four professors in the room glare at their fresh-faced colleague. His behavior is certainly unbecoming of a professor belonging to such an esteemed institution. Some knew better to just ignore it. Headmaster Augustine—once again appearing as an old man due to the time of day—begins to speak.

"Last night, we received a report concerning the theft of a magical artifact from our very own archives underneath the academy library. The scoundrels responsible for the crime are known magic users. Fortunately, we know the general area in which they have absconded to. The city guards have already been sent to set up a perimeter. We'll send in the Miracle Seven to locate the thieves and retrieve the artifact. Rest assured, none of the library staff were harmed in the incident."

Nyx perks up after hearing the report. This could be a prime opportunity to give his students some real world experience in what they can expect if they decide to pursue the life of an adventurer after graduation. Not to mention it'd be great for Nyx- or, rather, his students to have some time away from academy grounds. It already has been two long weeks since the start of the semester after all. "The Miracle Seven? For some lousy thieves? Nonsense. I propose that my class be allowed to handle this matter. Class-C has been viewed as a joke for a good decade now, I say that my students be given every opportunity to disprove that." Nyx explains.

"With all due respect Professor Nyx, what you're asking for is extremely dangerous. We're not talking about supervised sparring sessions on campus. If your students confront these thieves and it results in violence, well... I believe it would be a matter of life-or-death." Professor Charlotte of Class Marigold speaks out against the idea.

"Good. Motivation to perform. Besides, I'll be there to supervise them and make sure they don't get themselves killed. You wanted the Miracle Seven? You have it. The former Second Seat. That should assuage your fears."

"I like Nyx's bravado. I say let him and Class-C take care of this. What's meant to be will be." Professor Uejima of Class Sakura chimes in with support. The rest of the present professors are indifferent on the matter. They have their own classes to worry about rather than interfere with the business of the infamous Class-C.

Headmaster Augustine strokes his beard as he contemplates the proposal. After a brief moment of silence, he finally responds. "Very well."

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Nyx had instructed the class to meet him at Genelogia Station for the mission. He told them to pack the bare essentials, seeing as how they would be staying at a local village for the duration of their trip. Their destination is a forest region on the outskirts of the city. Despite the close proximity between Genelogia and the local village, interaction between the two settlements were kept to a minimum. Nyx studies the wanted posters of the two thieves responsible for the crime. A pair of twins known simply as Sice and Pictor. It seems they have eluded capture before in another city.

Unfortunately for the pair, Genelogia's city guards were fast in their response, cordoning off all possible routes of escape from the area they're currently hiding in. Class-C just needs to fish them out. As usual, the Genelogia Station is a busy place. Housed in a grand three-story building, the station has three trains operating at any one time. Class-C is bound for the 'A' train that leaves in about an hour. Luckily for Nyx, the tickets has been paid for by the academy. In addition, Nyx has received a hefty fare for any expenses relating to the trip.

The past few weeks for Sophiel were filled with disappointment. Not for the class, Professor Nyx was a good teacher despite his general cold demeanor towards everyone and everything that wasn't himself. It was her performance in class. While she did well in the physical aspects of it, the mana flow meditation training went as expected. To put in a simple, casual way she was shit as it. It would seem that Professor Nyx shared that same sentiment by the looks he gave her whenever she failed at a simple mana flow exercise. It was the expected result if anything, though she did feel like she was getting a small smidgen better.

Aside from class, she tried to help Kiara with replacing her book but it seemed like she had it handled. Perhaps, she could help Kiara at another point of time. Nothing of a note happened aside from that. She went out with her roommates to buy ingredients and tools for the kitchen, she did some maintenance in their dorm room, and she joined the Yearbook club. While there other clubs that she would have liked to join, she wanted to check out the club for personal reasons.

Awaking very early in the morning, she got up from her bed. Today was an important day as today was their first mission. Professor Nyx had announced it yesterday in class. They were to pack any essentials that were needed for the trip, which Sophiel had managed to obtain yesterday after class was dismissed. The mission was simple. Find the thieves, apprehend them, and deliver them to the city guards. Granted, it was going to be easier said than done. They did manage to steal an artifact from the academy and got away with it, for now, which was a great feat itself. "Though, they won't get away from me," Sophiel muttered to herself with a smile of confidence as she continued to pack her things.

After finishing up dressing up, cataloging their necessities, and eating a good morning breakfast, Sophiel decided to practice her mana flow meditation the way that Professor Nyx taught her. There was a still plenty time in the morning, Yvain and Mandi shouldn't be up any time soon. Walking to the common rooms she shifted about a little. "Okay, step one..." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. "Envision the mana within yourself," She muttered in a trance. The light green of her mana flowed within her, this was the step that she always got right. After a few minutes she proceeded with the next step. "Now reach deep inside," Sophiel muttered, her voice tracing a small amount of doubt. Inching closer as if she was approaching a small animal, she proceeded to tap into her mana. But, just as soon as she tapped into the it, it retreated away. She opened her eyes and sighed.

"What am I doing wrong?" She asked herself. "I listened to what the professor said, yet I'm still at a loss?" No matter how hard she tried, no matter how hard she sang, it always came out with the wretched failed song. She could only perform 'Inconsistent Chorus,' and nothing else. She was doing something wrong and she didn't know what. "I guess, I'm just a lost cause," Sophiel said with an uncharacteristically deprecating chuckle. As much as Sophiel would like the mope on her failure, she noticed that it was almost time. Well, almost time for her. She had to run a few errands and would like to arrive at the station ten minutes before the actual time. Leaving a note behind to tell Yvain and Mandi she was departing, she left the dorm after she grabbed her coat and essentials.

Soon arriving at Genelogia Station, she decided to wait at the entrance to meet up with her classmates or the professor. The place was crowded. She had to wait perhaps an a hour and, exactly, ten minutes before they departed, but didn't she mind. She could practice, and fail, at tapping into her mana pool. With that, she waited for anyone else to get here.

Over the next two weeks, Ty fell into a steady rhythm of training, cooking, training, yelling at his bitch roommate, and training. Even though professor Nyx was strict and distant, Ty was enjoying the physical training, doing particularly well in the obstacle courses. He was always pushing himself for more weight or better times. It hardly even felt like he was in school. Well... until he had to sit in his seat and listen to History lectures. That felt very much like school. It was debatable whether he got more notes or drool in his notebook during those lectures. At least professor Nyx wasn't a shock therapist like Mavis, so he was left to be as much of a historic failure as he pleased.

Then, there was the meditation. Ty didn't really know what he was supposed to be doing in those exercises. Reaching out and touching his mana was just something he did instinctively. He could draw and form his mana when he wasn't thinking about it, but when he tried to focus on it, it seemed like some wild, unruly force that refused to be touched. After two weeks with no progress in this regard, it was frustrating, but Ty didn't give up. He knew he needed to control his mana if he wanted to defeat the miracle seven. Unfortunately, this was the brick wall that had kept him stuck in class C. His physical fitness and craftiness had gotten him pretty far, all things considered, but he wouldn't be able to realize his potential until he figured this out... whatever he was supposed to do. After two weeks of routine practice, though, Professor Nyx gave them an exciting announcement. They were going hunting.

Ty was up at the crack of dawn, packing his idea of "essentials." His survival knife, a waterskin, some jerky for rations, and a bit of flint for starting fires all packed into a small bag slung over his shoulder. He didn't know how long they'd be in the woods for, so it was best to be prepared. He did a few morning stretches while his roommates slept, and left them a note saying, "Sorry, no time for breakfast," then bolted for the train station. He'd seen trains before, but he never rode on one. It was cool that they were going on a real mission, but right now he was psyched up about riding on a marvel of modern technology. His brothers would be jealous!

He sprinted all the way to the station, resting his hands on his knees and panting to catch his breath. He looked around to take in the sights, and surprisingly, he wasn't the first person there. "Heya, Soph!" he said, giving his classmate and fellow Might practitioner an emphatic wave. "You're here early, but I guess that's like you, huh." The two of them hadn't really spoken much. Only brief formal interactions in class. He wasn't really sure what to think of her. She acted like a proper noblewoman, but at the same time was polite to even those beneath her station. But that was really all he knew about her. Polite. He didn't really know her. Maybe this would be an opportunity to get her to open up a bit. "Pretty cool that the school's letting us go on an actual mission, isn't it? I'm pretty pumped! I'm also surprised the professor vouched for us. I thought he hated us." Ty chuckled. That last remark was only half-serious. He didn't sense any actual malice from the professor, but it was weird for a teacher to be this... distant.

Ty's thoughts were derailed, though, as a train came chugging into the station. It wasn't theirs, but it was still a fascinating sight. In less than an hour, he'd be speeding along those tracks. "Oh man, I can't believe we actually get to ride one!" He stared wide-eyed as people poured out of the train with a childish expression. "Forget what I said. Professor Nyx is awesome for getting us tickets!"

A solid two weeks or so had passed from that fateful first day and, thankfully enough, nothing too out of the ordinary happened. Professor Nyx, shrewd as he appeared to be, wasn’t too grueling of a teacher. Nor was Class-C as rife with bad luck and ill omens as their rumors gave them credit for. Truly, at least to Kiara, the greatest challenges came in trying to negotiate between her roommates. She could still remember that first night when she came home, only to find Sekhandur had moved all their stuff to one side of the dorm. She could also faintly remember Sanhan was already passed out, leaving only her to explain decent spacing.

Over the course of their tutelage, she ended up having to go to the student resources center within the academy to replace her tome. Oddly enough, they seemed all too eager to follow with accommodations once she explained what class she was from. Thus, she held now a new Mytal Tome, one composed more so of reactive metal that would harmonize and unleash her mana. Considering their recent classes in mana flow, it seemed appropriate enough, though she couldn’t help but feel the book was…hollow…

Those thoughts aside, it was a never a dull day for Class-C, especially now. Apparently, their professor thought it was fun to give them all some real-world experience, signing them up to catch two thieves hiding out somewhere in Genelogia. Supposedly, they stole a rather important magical artifact straight from the school itself. How two meager thieves were able to slip past Avalice's defenses and guards, Kiara couldn’t even begin to imagine, and she honestly thought this was just another one of Professor Nyx’s tests at first. Or pranks.

“At least this will help us put practice to what we’ve learned,” Kiara said to herself as she headed to Genelogia Station. She packed the bare essentials, just like she was told, though the Mytal Tome still felt…wrong in her hands. She chalked it off to its different properties more than anything else. As the class rep, it was natural for her to arrive early, but all the same, she was pleasantly surprised to find some students already waiting at the station. She recognized both and soon enough, she was passing into the crowd to meet the two.

“Hello Sophiel, Ty,” she said to the pair with a small smile. Her hand clenched over her new tome and she looked directly at Sophiel. “Avalice covered the handling of my tome but I appreciate the effort you put in. Please, don’t trouble yourself about it,” she said. Granted, she still wasn’t sure why Sophiel seemed to resent her, but she hoped taking the burden of the smashed tome away would help. As for Ty, she gave him a nod. “By the way, Ty, I never got the chance to thank you. Er, it was the first day of class. About Eris? I’m glad you defended her back then, especially when she can be a bit…yeah.” She let those words hang for the obvious.

Her practice was interrupted when she heard someone call her name, or rather a nickname. Looking towards the origin of the sound, she spotted a person with orange hair. Ty, she recognized as he came closer. They hadn't interacted that much from the past few weeks aside from simple hellos, or goodbyes. "Good Morning, Ty," She greeted with a smile. She admittedly was surprised that Ty would be one of the first, aside from her, out of her classmates to arrive at the station. It was mostly from the troublesome attitude that he had exhibited on the first day. Perhaps, she should quickly judge a book by its cover.

"To say that he hates us is a bit much, Ty," Sophiel said after she shook her head. "While his personality leaves much to be desired, he is a good professor in my opinion." She agreed with Ty in his sentiment. He didn't seem to care about them that much aside from the fact that they were students. He took his job more professionally instead of personally, if that made sense. It would be nice if he was a little nicer, but you can't have everything in the world. Sophiel attention shifted as Ty's awe of the train made her turn to look at the train. "You haven't been on a train before?" Sophiel asked. It was a little strange, for her, to see someone be excited for a train. Perhaps, Ty lived in the more rural parts of the countryside?

Upon hearing a familiar voice, she looked towards Kiara. "Oh, Good morning, Kiara," She greeted with a smile. Thankfully, she wasn't greeted by the painful feeling that plagued her during the match between her and Kiara. However, she frowned when she heard that good news from Kiara about her tome. "Is that so, again I apologize for that." Sophiel said, emphasizing it with a bow. Straightening her posture back up, she looked Kiara in the eye, "Though if you need any help, please tell me." Sophiel still felt guilty over breaking her tome. Even if it was fixed, she still wanted to amend things.

“Regardless of that, what are your opinions on the mission?” She asked, deciding to make a conversation while they awaited for their classmates and professor to come. While she knew Ty was excited for the mission, she wandered if he felt anything aside from that. She also wanted Kiara’s opinion to hopefully get a better opinion so that she could focus on that aspect rather than being envious. "In my opinion, I'm surprised we were assigned this mission. Shouldn't this type of mission belong to a higher authority in the academy?"

@relin @TheWendil

The days had progressed faster than the young mage has predicted, there had been much fun though. Nice warm baths, a few small games and ofcourse trying out various food and sweets. The chocosticks which the sly hydromancer had bought also came useful when introducing a game to Sophiel and Yvaine. Sadly they had not had the time to play it, as there was always something interupting such plans. There was something highly appealing to the hydromancer in possibly seeing Sophiel trying to hold her stature while another would chomp down on a chocostick and gradually getting closer for what some might consider a kiss!

The mere thought had filled the yellowrobed mage with joy and amusement, coupled with the other things that floated about in the head of the mage when not studying matters of magic or doing endurance training. To Mandi the most important thing to possess when it came to magic was control and being able to fight in a sustained fight, by using as little strain on the self as possible. But there were ofcourse some spells which were more strainful than others, but this didn't just apply to Mandi's magic for certain. When it came to their professor, Mandi regarded him as being powerful, but his views was too much similar to that of Mandi's siblings which had all met unfortunate ends in their search for power. This in turn made Mandi to focus harder, trying to master the ability to channel mana. Like water flowing in a stream. But there was a fine balance to be kept, to not push too far ahead too quickly as that was an error which Mandi's siblings had done too. The easiest path is not always the best one to tread.

Such was the case in warding Yvaine from bad influence people, as Mandi regarded them anyways. She was way too nice for her own good, and people would take advantage of that kindness for their own designs. The yellowrobed mage would have none of it, as long as something could be done about it. Both Yvaine and Sophiel had been fun roommates and classmates to Mandi however, it was both curious and amusing to try to put Sophiel in embarassing situations by posing odd questions or taking odd approaches. She could be so stiff at times.

Then there was Yvaine which was the complete opposite, but despite that she was quite different from Mandi aswell. The trio was certainly a curious one. Though there were plenty of other classmates about aswell, such as Ankaa which Mandi had fought during the trials which saw most of the others expelled. Mandi did regard Ankaa as a very potent mage, she was both fast and strong, and had shown a good thinker when Mandi had been putting out humble words. These things had told the young mage plenty about that particular classmate. Mandi still felt abit bad for pushing a fellow classmate like that, but when put it that situation as it was there was little that could had been done. Nyx really had expelled the rest from the class. His way of teaching was merciless, it made the mage think about it's father and how he had fallen in his quest for revenge.

The thought of family occasionally came to the young mage's mind, but there was little use to dwell overly long on it. Three of Mandi's siblings were dead and the father had been sealed away in some magical crystal years past when Mandi was still a child. There was however still one sibling alive, but he was locked up in a maximum security mage's asylum where dangerous mage's were kept from causing harm to the populace. The powerful magics in that place was enough to subdue even the most powerful of mages, he wouldn't be going anywhere. Then again Mandi didn't think he could even if he tried to, he was after all the least promising of the siblings. But then again one shouldn't underestimate peoples potential later in life.

Some people after all would learn very quickly and very well at the start, but then gradually come to a halt, while others were able to take a slower approach but grow more over a longer period of time. There were times where Mandi wanted to speak up against what Nyx was teaching, but doing so would not only had been improper it could had meant being expelled. Also there were always the thoughts about that Lexicon of his. A Lexicon. A book which held the language of mana, where you could create wonderous spells only limited by your own mind and physical body. Different spells were taxing on the mind, others targetted the body, some even went at both. The thought had entered the young mage's mind early on, what would have happened if Mandi had gotten hands on a Lexicon. What would the young mage had done then?

What the mage's siblings and father would have done would had literally 'spelled' disaster for many. A lexicon was dangerous, a boon but also a curse. It could make others long for it, to the point it would likely drive them mad. Corruptive no doubt about it. While some would surely wish to use such a thing to do good or evil, Mandi couldn't help pushing away the thought of what it would do with such a thing... would it ever end up in the young mage's hands.

There had been time for abit of socializing and pondering, but also training. But now had the day come for them to be dispatched for what seemed like a task, no it was rather a mission, set forth by their professor. Nyx. They were supposed to meet at the Genelogia station, Mandi had heard about it but had never used it in person, so this would be the first time. How bad could it be? Mandi had furst been bothered by the fact there wasn't enough space in the travelling bag for chocosticks nor swimwear. So the mage had to do without it, then again bathing without swimwear wasn't such a big hinderance, unless the professor would be about. The mage did pack down some loafs of bread and apples in a small box and a pair of extra clothes, skin oils, a hooded lantern with oil and a blanket. What else could one need?

After having gone through the packing carefully the young mage had set off to the station, and when arriving there the mage saw some familiar faces. Sophiel. Who was always in time for everything. 'Such a good girl~' Mandi smiled with closed eyes, before looking at whom else was about, spotting Ty and Kiara. Taking a few moments to collect the entire scene, Mandi strode forth with both hands behind the neck.



"Greetings my dear classmates~ Sophiel~ You are looking pretty in that~. Oh not saying you look bad without it though!" Mandi winked to Sophiel nodding towards her clothes, then soon after turning to smile to Ty and Kiara. "We'll be great with you three with us~." The mage proclaimed removing the hands from the neck to point at each one of them, one at a time. "Sophiel the crimekicker! Ty the tiger chef and Kiara the... uhm... class representative! Allright!" Mandi did an armpump motion and gave a wide grin, then took a few jumpy steps forwards on light feet trying to almost snuggle up to Sophiel.

"Oh hey! Ty, you are brave, how would you like a challenge? If you complete the task, I'll tell Lanza you are far more brave than him. All you need to do is..." Mandi began to grin, taking a slight breath and then exhaling. "...to give Alberta a kiss on the cheek~. Or would you rather say whose the cutest girl here?" Mandi snickered softly with a hand before the mouth.

Avalice's classes weren't difficult or easy. Sure, her body got tired and she couldn't everything that was asked of her. Still, it wasn't something she considered truly hard. No, it wasn't an insurmountable task she couldn't complete. She could chip at it day by day. Just like an arid field tilled, she'd soon see the fruits of her labour. Though, she still had much difficulty with the issues. The refinement of her own magic could only go so far, especially when limited by two weeks. Two weeks of study and effort, even when guided, wasn't enough for some life altering change. She certainly understood her powers greater, but not as much as the others. While she certainly worked hard, she didn't put as much effort into it as the others. She'd push herself to the point of collapse if asked, but if not? She'd just put in enough effort to get by and learn.

Maybe it was the fact that she didn't just get it. She didn't really know how to improve herself unless told. It was hard for her to look inwards at herself, especially because she didn't know what she wanted to become.

In terms of getting along with the other students, she was moderately less successful. She didn't really come to make friends, nor was she the most social student. Unless she had reason to talk to someone, be it of her own interest or someone talking to her, she simply didn't talk.

That extended to the mission they were on.

After being instructed to meet at Genelogia Station, Sanhan arrived only to stand as filler to the crowd. She didn't really have anything that interested her at the moment, nor did she feel the need to talk to anyone else. Some of the others were excited to be going to the city. Not Sanhan. It was just something she needed to do. Hard to be excited about going to someplace she knew nothing about. The others formed their groups to talk about things. Nothing they talked about really interested Sanhan. If they talked about food, animals, or music, maybe she'd pipe in. Maybe. Thus, she relegated herself to idly standing by.

Slog, sweat, shower, stretch, sleep. Rinse and repeat; a regular routine.

The past fortnight had been two weeks of non-stop PT. Well, there were plenty of lectures and mana exercises too, but… If Misaiya had thought the first day had left him sore enough, all the running and jumping and lifting so far hadn’t yet rendered him bedridden only by virtue of copious amounts of willpower, adrenaline, and analgesic balms. The first obstacle course had been a tough but interesting challenge. The fifth had just been suffering.

Fact is, Misaiya wasn’t particularly fit. The other four might-classified Camellians - Ankaa, Sophiel, Caelum, and Ty - were doing at least somewhat better. Physically, they all outperformed him by a decent margin. As for the meditation training — Sophiel had trouble with magic too, but her mana could still effect some sort of change, albeit uncontrolled. He had rather more extensive issues.

Manipulating his mana wasn’t that difficult. He could move it around just fine, even shape it into simple patterns. Turning raw ‘mana’ into actual ‘magic’ was where he ran into a real wall. Misaiya had never so much as attempted to practise using magic, and he could only draw a little mana from an already tiny pool. It was like drinking from a tea cup with a spoon, convex side up. Spells would unfortunately still be a long ways away.

Camellia was a pretty supportive class, though. Or, a decent number of his classmates were at least. Misaiya was trying his best to do his part and pay it forward whenever he could. This admittedly wasn’t often, struggling as he was.

He stretched his limbs and neck and sides and back, a good half a minute each. Was that creaking and popping normal? Either way, by the end of it he felt better-prepared to face the day’s mission.

It was late in the morning, but he still had a good hour or so before the appointed reporting time at noon. A quick rinse later, he was packing the ‘bare essentials’, as Nyx had instructed. Misaiya had emptied out his rucksack, leaving only his equipment, a few sets of clothes, and a whole lot of air inside. Even at his most leisurely pace, it only took a few minutes before he was all set to head on out.

Misaiya would have gladly taken a passenger had any of his classmates wanted a ride — if it weren’t for the fact that his bicycle was a single-seater, and while there was a load carrier on the rear wheel… one, that was more a romantic couple thing, and secondly, it was pretty unsafe and he’d seen his fair share of cracked craniums because of people horsing around. The road is like a tiger’s mouth, after all. Better play it safe.

Helmet, on. Bells, check. He was ready to roll.

This was Misaiya’s first time leaving the campus since his arrival, and his first proper look at Genelogia in the daytime. The city was a metropolis in the truest sense, positively bustling and brimming with life in a way he hadn’t been able to appreciate trudging through the streets in the dead of night. Cycling all around campus had helped him in getting used to the bumpiness of cobblestone, too. He was still essentially a commuter at the moment, though, so he cut back on the sightseeing after a while.

He heard his destination far before it came into sight, the shrill whistles of incoming trains and the low rumbling of rails serving as unmistakable identifying characteristics. To little surprise, it was a heavily-trafficked place. Navigating the crowds milling about the platform, even dismounted, as such proved to be quite a pain. Old ladies and little rascals alike, by the time Misaiya came across his classmates, he had narrowly avoided running over and bumping into a dozen people with his bicycle.

Ty’s eye-catching orange hair had captured Misaiya’s notice first. Soon he spotted the rest - half the class had arrived already, and he was still very early. For a student who had spent years dutifully chasing after stragglers and latecomers (putting aside the incident during the opening ceremony), it was a welcome change of pace.

Misaiya gave them a nod and a wave, plus a ‘ding’ of the handlebar bell in greeting. Excitement seemed to be the principal part of the present atmosphere, what with the guys all but bouncing around. Sanhan though was just standing aside, idly - well, she had always been, maybe not asocial per se, but quiet for sure. She never seemed to chat or small talk, nor had she ever initiated a conversation. Was it callous apathy, or peak zen?

No, it was probably just a cultural difference. Practical simplicity and plain speech were not unfamiliar concepts to Misaiya, so it was hardly a stretch to imagine that the girl from a faraway land was content to be left undisturbed.

And so he did not speak to her. Ah, Caelum was here. The swordsman had stayed up pretty late last night training, but had still been the first in C-D to leave. Yet there was not a hint of tiredness on his face. Amazing, and quite the contrast with Misaiya’s everlasting barely-suppressed aching.

In fact, that aching was making a resurgence right about now, with a side of lethargy. Combined with all the background noise, Misaiya didn’t really have the energy to hold a conversation. So he shifted out of the way, next to Sanhan, and leaned against his bicycle. A poster caught his eye.

Sice and Pictor. The twin burglars’ pictures were now posted all over. With their useless eye-only masks, they looked like some caricature of a phantom thief, or perhaps just a regular roguish robber, given their shabby clothes. Though, with scarves like that, ‘artist’ would have been his second guess.

If they use the elements, then they‘re probably earth mages. The rationale was simple; they had green hair.

A lot of magic users were like that, not just the elementalists. Nyx’s dark dress and arrogant airs were a good match for his shadowy spells. Kress was blue, and used water magic. And earth magic, and all the other elements, but that didn’t support his point. Kiara… well, ‘ice’ described her personality more so than her magic. If only she could swap with Mandi, whose bright yellow streak of hair brought to mind electricity, and not so much water. And as for Eris - ‘smoke and mirrors’. That had to be most befitting the oddball girl, with hair the colour of smoke (if the smoke had come from burning lavender) and mana that allegedly caused a bizarre sensation of recursive self-reflection. She was Misaiya’s roommate and all, but he still had a hard time grasping her character.

Was their affinity to certain colours innate, born of the same factors that shaped the characteristics of their mana? Or were they consciously or subconsciously imitating the element they used, spurred on by cultural expectations and stereotyping? It was a nature versus nurture argument of sorts.

…what a tangent of thought that had been. And to what end? Actually, speaking of hair, and looking at Sanhan beside him — Misaiya wondered what her natural hair colour was, for she had both white and black locks. And unlike Mandi, whose hair was obviously dyed yellow, Sanhan’s case was a bit ambiguous.

It was curious. He was curious. That was cause enough.

“Sanhan.” She was right beside Misaiya, so he didn’t need to speak very loudly. Just enough to be clearly audible. “If it’s nothing sensitive to ask — is your hair naturally black, or white?”

@OwO

Ty exchanged some pleasantries with Sophiel, though she seemed reluctant to speak out against the professor. That made sense. From what he could tell she was one of those straight-laced diligent students. The kind who stayed awake during history lessons. He didn't have anything against that, though. People could be interested in whatever they liked. Maybe if they had lectures on surviving in different climates he'd be more interested. He just couldn't get invested in a bunch of dead geezers. Ty shook his head when she mentioned trains. "No, never. We didn't even have train tracks anywhere near my hometown. I'd never even seen a train until I hiked over to Genelogia. I always thought they were just like really long caravans, but they're way cooler!" He gave a slight chuckle. He knew that talking about how amazing a train was probably made him seem ignorant, but he'd rather be honest and just enjoy the experience.

As they were chatting, another classmate, Kiara approached. "Hey there, Rep," he said, giving her a friendly wave. He knew Kiara basically had the position thrust on her a random, but despite that she was doing her best to fill the role. Ty tried not to give her too much of a hard time since she didn't really flaunt her position and was just doing her best like everyone else. The class rep from last year was way more stuck-up and let the position get to their head at times. Kiara thanked Ty for defending Eris during the first day of class. He just rubbed the back of his head. He didn't really think of that outburst as defending her. Alberta had just really gotten under his skin that day. "Oh, it was nothing, really. Miss Flower Princess just needed to get taken down a notch. Haha." He cocked his head a little when Kiara expressed her apprehension about her sister's demeanor. Perhaps it was because Ty hadn't spent much time with her, but he didn't really know what she was talking about. "Hmm, we chatted for a bit and 'Ris seemed nice enough to me..."

The conversation then shifted to the task at hand. A confident smirk crossed Ty's face. "Well, aside from the fact that thirteen against two are pretty slanted odds, those two thieves made a huge mistake. Trying to hide from me in the woods? Impossible! I've been tracking game since I was knee-high, so unless these guys are master woodsmen I'll have 'em pinned down in no time. Human tracks tend to stand out in the wilderness. The only problems I can see are if they're smart enough to cover their tracks, or if it starts to rain and washes it all away. But, yeah, they're pretty screwed." Ty had no doubt that this mission would go successfully. He saw this as an opportunity to impress both the professor and the rest of the school. Catching legitimate criminals in a real mission... nobody would be able to look down on class C after that.

The atmosphere suddenly seemed to become a bit more... pink... if that was possible. Mandi cheerfully approached the three of them with an aura of contagious merriment. Ty reflexively mirrored their gesture, pumping his fist in the are along with the mage's. Tiger chef? He could get used to being called that. It was like a combination of two of the coolest things in the world. However, the hydromancer was not all fun and games. Ty's expression immediately became more serious when Mandi issued a challenge of bravery. Before the mage even said what the task would be, Ty confidently proclaimed, I accept! What do I have to do?" His jaw dropped, though, once the nature of the challenge was revealed. "Alberta!? I'd kiss Lanza's boot before I kissed that weed gorgon. And not because I'm scared of her! Touching her would probably give you a rash, like poison ivy." His face scrunched up in disgust even thinking about it. That left the other half of the challenge...

"So, out of you three? Hmm..." He looked at his classmates and thought carefully. It certainly was a good test of bravery. Some guys were simply too shy to compliment girls. Ty, fortunately, was not one of those guys. However, he knew girls could be very temperamental over matters such as these. Declaring one cuter than the others would risk the ire of the spurned women. He didn't have a particularly strong friendship with any of them at the moment, though, so he wasn't exactly obligated to choose one over the other. And, based on their personalities, the threat of physical violence at answering the question seemed low. He decided to just give an honest answer. He wasn't sure if Mandi even was a girl, but their cuteness could not be denied. What they lacked in feminine stature, they made up for in demeanor. Then he looked at Sophiel and Kiara. From what he knew of them, they carried themselves similarly, but he saw more of Sophiel in their Might classes. He knew she was just as hardworking as anyone else he'd met. "I think I'll have to go with Soph," Ty said at last. "She's the cutest."

Before he could see the consequences of his decision, another of his classmates decided to join them. I the word "train" his attention was immediately pulled away from the three cuties. "I know, right!?" Ty said excitedly, turning towards Caelum. "I heard you put rocks in them to make them go. How crazy is that?"

@AThousandCurses@TheWendil@Dezuel@metanoia

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---

The two weeks of training under Nyx had been pretty standard stuff; physical training and meditation. Ankaa was quite successful at both, and didn’t particularly feel satisfied with just that. Instead, she contemplated all the spells, techniques, and strategies she’d seen her classmates exhibit at their first (and hopefully not also last) matches. Liu thought about how she’d match against each, and came to the unfortunate conclusion that there were not many she saw herself winning against for sure. There were only some she found it likely she’d get a draw against, and a fair number she admitted she’d probably lose to.

So, she also spent time to train on her own, perfecting her existing techniques and spells, and thinking of potential new ones she could learn and implement. Their lectures focused on the history of magic and mana; some thing she’d already known, and some she hadn’t yet – Ankaa listened to them all attentively, however, and made careful notes of the information new to her.

At some point in this period at the academy, she visited the Arcane painters with Kress and Misaiya. She’d discovered that the life-like paintings didn’t give exact information, but based on what she heard, she though that perhaps the things could be refined to provide more detailed knowledge on a painted person or even a painted location. However, she did not feel like dedicating years – because it would surely take as much – to such a pursuit. Nonetheless, drawing was a hobby of hers, and she’d not spent as much time using paints so far. Seeking to rectify that, Ankaa joined the club. It was more so of a leisurely activity for her than anything else, but everyone needed down-time, even her.

When she was just thinking that her current schedule was becoming an established routine, professor Nyx informed them that he’d managed to procure a mission for them. They were to apprehend two thieves and secure the artifact they’d stolen from their academy. The notion that all thirteen of them would be sent to seek for two thieves was a bit strange, but understandable; they were inexperienced, so the numerical advantage would do them good.

What Ankaa worried most about was that she’d not heard their instructor mention any sort of strategy to them yet, and she didn’t know if he already had something in mind and would fill them later on or if it would be all left to them. If just the thirteen of them had to come up with and agree on a plan…Liu sensed it would end very, very badly. They didn’t know one another well enough for one, and despite having a class representative, it was doubtful that all students would listen to Kiara. Never mind that it was an unknown how good of a strategist the other girl was.

The day of the mission dawned on them. Ankaa roused when she heard Caelum getting ready on the other side of the room – after her first day in their dorm, she’d had to switch to where Eris slept, since it was apparently a girl side, boy side kind of situation – and stood up not long after him. She made herself a simple breakfast, ate, and went to the courtyard for a short training session. After returning to her dorm, she saw that the other occupants had already left. She took some time to make a lunchbox for herself, then added it to the rest of the packed essentials – her journal, some money, a spare set of clothing, a packet of dried food, a matchbox – and after sheathing her sabre at her hip, left for the station.

She travelled at a light jog, marveling at the unknown land. When she finally arrived, a good number of students were already there – perhaps they’d come so early due to nerves or eagerness. Meanwhile, Ankaa could admit that crowds such as the one waiting for one train or another did not suit her. Still, she’d made it well in time, and approached her classmates. Liu simply nodded at some of them in greeting, then stood at one of the more secluded corners unobtrusively, and leaned against a wall. While waiting, she listened to the conversation of the other Class-C students, and watched the general goings-on through half-lidded eyes.

---

Alberta could hardly believe it had only been two weeks since the semester had begun. It was far from the height of summer in Avalice, yet everytime she gazed out of the windows in Class C's lecture hall, the sun always seemed to linger in the same spot for eternities at a time. Being stuck in places she hated usually had that effect on her.

But just because the classes seemed to drag on forever, it didn't mean things weren't going smoothly for Alberta, in the beginning. Acute mana shaping and control were the most vital aspects to mastering the many complex languages contained in her little spellbook, so she was very much used to these kinds of class exercises by now. Stamina training on the other hand? Not so much, but it was manageable. Yet something was still bothering her, as many things often did.

Offensive spells always came so easily to her, practicing defensive ones rarely crossed her mind. Alberta had dedicated so much time to honing her fighting spells to perfection, and for a while, aggressive bombardments of briars and thorns seemed to be enough to keep her opponents at bay. But after the disgrace that was her two previous magic battles — both against Might users who would always have the physical advantage against her — Alberta needed a way to destroy her weaknesses before anyone else could exploit them.

Like some other students, she soon found herself in a cycle of practicing new spells in the class courtyard, and burying her head in any library books of relevance as soon as classes ended. But these time consuming activities weren't the only things keeping her away from her dorm room hours after sundown. Dorm life had been hell on earth for Alberta ever since she stepped foot in there, in spite of how tidy and pristine her and her roommates had managed to keep it. Ty, despite his fortunately good cooking skills for a humanoid rat, was a nightmare to deal with, their rows swiftly integrating into their daily routines. Kress on the other hand was at least tolerable, even with his excessive cheeriness and futile peacemaking efforts. Of course, Alberta was intent on avoiding the two as much as possible, not even joining them at the table for breakfast and dinner; such things just weren't worth her time. When they had finished, Alberta would eat alone, just as she liked it. Just as she was used to.

As the days went by, the worse Alberta felt. She just could not, for the life of her, get her defensive spell to work as she wanted. The shield was brittle, misshapen and weak, her mana shaping and control never seeming to balance out as she was used to. Overall, performing the spell just felt so… wrong. It was a roadblock Alberta thought she'd never hit, ever, and it frustrated her to no end. In one instance, she'd gotten so mad that she threw her spellbook to the floor in a very colourful fit of rage, much to the confusion of any spectators that happened to be in the courtyard at the time.

That happened the day preceding the current one. Alberta arrived back at the dorm that evening more temperamental and fatigued than usual, not even looking at the fresh plate of food her roommates had kindly left for her. It was straight to the shower then straight to her desk, where she sat examining her spellbook for the thousandth time in between cramped stacks of library books. And there Alberta stayed all through the night, repeating the same words from the same page until they started jumbling around on the paper, and then repeating those jumbled words until she essentially confused herself to sleep. She wouldn't wake up until much, much later in the morning.

"Today, we're going on a mission!"

Yvaine said the words out loud as she scribbled them on her notebook, her flowery script neatly filling in the spaces between the lines. It would be her first time out in the city, her first chance to experience the bustling metropolis she'd read so much about. She had glimpsed some of it during her travels with her guardian, but they had moved at such an efficient pace that there had been no time to appreciate the sights.

"I hope we can find the culprits without much trouble."

Her first two weeks had been nothing short of amazing, seeming as though the years' worth of experiences she missed out on had been packed into each wonder-filled day. Most important to her were the precious moments with her classmates, and the opportunities to get to know them better. Some were harder to approach than others, but she was nothing if not gently persistent in her endeavors. Mandi and Sophiel have already won over her heart so completely, she knew she would do anything to keep them happy and safe.

Club activities (she joined choir and was already in the running for a solo!) kept her busy whenever she wasn't training her mana control or reviewing Professor Nyx's lesson for the day. And on top of all that, she was still adapting to living outside the priory. Some habits were harder to break—she still rose with the sun to do chores, for instance—but she was beginning to feel more comfortable with her new normal.

Yvaine had said as much to her guardian, who wrote to her every three days to see how she fared. Her journaling came about for his sake, to make sure she didn't miss anything when she recounted her previous days. Her guardian remained a mystery to her, but it touched her to see him so invested in her and her progress in the academy.

And speaking of the academy… Yvaine brought her pen to the top-right corner of the page and sketched a cutesy doodle of Professor Nyx's head with his face currently blank. It was to be filled at night, after she finished the entry with reflections of the day's events and she had gotten an overall impression of the professor's mood. Yvaine leafed through the previous pages and examined the past doodle Professor Nyxes with a fond smile.

Currently, they were all drawn with frowny faces. She hoped to change that one day.


Extra preparations had made her slow to get ready on the day of the mission. Mandi had gone ahead minutes ago and she spied Sophiel's note earlier. Yvaine hummed happily as she packed the last of the small containers and neatly stacked them into two bags. "And that makes fourteen!" She didn't know what riding a train would entail, but she hoped there was room in there for the snacks she made for the class. Ah, and she hoped they would like it! Fruits and pastries seemed safe enough.

With the class's snacks ready, she was all set to go. Her own bag contained very little—just the bare essentials, as the professor instructed. Yvaine looked at the time and hurried along with a renewed sense of urgency, clumsily toting the bags beside her as she broke into a run. She mustn't be late again! Timeliness is next to godliness, as they say.


Yvaine reached the station not long after Ankaa, her arrival punctuated by the sound of her packed snacks clattering to the ground as she tripped on loose gravel. "Hello, everyone!"

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe that—in the off chance this isn't another of your 'unorthodox' tests—this is an unnecessary risk you are putting us through.” Those were the first words to leave Eris' lips as soon as she arrived at the station, after preparing herself carefully for this mission they suddenly found themselves roped into.

“There are only two conclusions to be drawn from this scenario: First, any criminal good enough to sneak into the Academy is bound to be a dangerous individual who's likely beyond our capacity to deal with. Or, Second, if they are within our ability to deal with, what does that say about the Academy as a whole? If we of the so-called weakest class happen to capture them, wouldn't that mean the whole institution is far less competent than it's said to be?”

“Regardless of the outcome, I can't see this situation leading to anything good,” Eris finally complete her question. She tried her best to sound as logical and collected as she could. She wasn't questioning their teacher's latest scheme out of fear, or pride. It was simply a matter of thinking things rationally. For the two weeks she has been in this class, logic—and a little bit of fashion, though that was inconsequential to their current predicament—seemed to be the two greatest pitfalls most of her peers were faced with.

“At any rate, I doubt my question will sway your mind so I suppose I'll join the others now,” Eris said as she turned on her heels and began to walk towards the group gathered around her sister. Now that their relationship was known to the whole class, there was no need for her to keep her distance.

---

The last two weeks had been fun. It didn't cover any new ground, at least theory-wise, but as the days melted into each other, Kress could definitely feel the difference of working in a class, rather than having one-on-one tutoring sessions all the time. Seeing other students solve problems in different fashions. Eavesdropping on other people's discussions. And clubs! Oh, how wonderful clubs are! Arcane Paints with Ankaa, Misaiya, and Yvaine was pretty fun, but as a Creation Calculator himself, the Natural Magics Club and the Sorcerous Forge competed for his affections too, not to mention the hella fun jam sessions that the Avalice A-Stringers had been hosting over the last week or so. Making friends was fun, for sure!

It would have been more fun if Professor Nyx hadn't told them that they were leaving the Academy today and going elsewhere for a particular mission at the behest of theAcademy. Which was also fun, of course, and definitely a new experience. Kress was grateful for this opportunity too. It'd almost be like a mini-vacation!

But the harp he had ordered was supposed to arrive at the dorms today, and he had promised his A-Stringer friends that he'd show off his own skills. Have some fun. Participate and all, rather than just listen and enjoy.

Positives though. Always the positives.

He woke up, had breakfast without Ty, packed up his essentials in a suitcase, washed the dishes, set his abacus to a Make Heat spell for when Alberta would get out of the bathroom, and then settled down to wait for her to wake up. Kress waited longer then, rocking back and forth on his chair. Then a bit longer. Then closed his eyes and listened. There...didn't seem to be the sound of anyone actually being in the washroom. And as a matter of fact...was that snoring he heard?

The blue-haired youth looked at the clock, then towards Alberta's side of the room, then towards the flashback of all her rules, which, though Ty flagrantly broke, Kress treated as sacred law. He screwed his face up, looked back at the clock, tried to calculate the distance between Dorm Building C and Genelogia Station while taking in consideration their respective running speeds, sweated a bit more over how fast time seemed to move all of a sudden, and then sucked in a breath.

Time to man up and do this the manly way.

"Uh, Lady Blumenthal?" Kress stage-whispered, having not yet resolved himself to be a screaming nuisance this 'early' in the morning. "If you don't get up now, we'll be late...the Professor wants us to get to Genelogia Station, so...wake up?"

It took a few more tries before his voice reached normal speaking volume, and a few more tries after that before it could really be considered anything loud enough to reasonably rouse someone from their sleep.

---

Genelogia Train Station | Interactions: @KoL @TheWendil @Relin

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Eris had arrived at the station a bit earlier and sought out Nyx to ask some questions about the mission. Or, rather, she was questioning the mission itself. She believed it to be an 'unnecessary risk' as she puts it and inquired about the logic of it all. The entire time, Nyx's expression seemed almost apathetic as he listened to the young lady. At the end of it all, she states that she probably hadn't change his mind and begins to walk toward the rest of the class. "You know, some consider it 'rude' to ask a question but not stick around for an answer." Nyx tells her as he expectantly waits for her to stop walking.

"So what is it? Lack of confidence?" he asks rhetorically. "The academy is massive in scope; you've probably seen about five percent of it within these two weeks. Additionally, the security is more focused on the safety of students and faculty than they are on protecting some ancient relics. Any decently competent thief with the right magic can steal something from those archives. The catch is, they won't be leaving Genelogia territory. The school works closely with the City Guard to ensure these types of situations don't leave the confines of the state's borders, hence why the guards were so quick to act. The academy would typically send in the Miracle Seven to handle the rest, but it's overkill. I say this from experience."

Nyx begins to walk toward her. "Complacency is why Class-C has been the laughing stock of the academy for the past decade. Putting in minimal effort will always achieve minimal yield. I'd say taking risks might actually get some desirable results from you lot." He walks past her as he heads in the direction of the rest of the class. "Besides, I'm here, aren't I?" Nyx asks, indicating that if anything were to go awry, he'd step in.

Once he and Eris rejoined the class, Nyx takes his place in front and begins to address them. "Good to see most of you can actually pull off punctuality. It won't take off for another twenty minutes but it's time we board the train. Come along." He motions for his students to follow him and, together, they walk to 'A' train at the left station house. As they arrive, they are greeted by a hulking steel beast of a locomotive expelling a continuous plume of smoke from its front pipe. A marvel of technology in today's age. A steward asks for their tickets which Nyx gave out to the class the previous day.

"Ahh, you must be the Avalice party. You're in car number five, in the back." the steward directs them with his hand. An exclusive car all to their own. Another perk of attending the academy it seems. The interior of the locomotive is certainly high end, adorned with expensive wood and fabrics, and decorated sensibly. There are eight benches in total, each seating three people and are arranged face-to-face with a table in between. So in essence, four seating areas. Nyx puts his bag on one of the top cabins and then looks to the class before taking a seat. "Feel free to order food and drinks once the train gets going. Courtesy of the academy of course. Kiara, Ty, I need to speak to you two."

Nyx pulls them aside. "Any idea why Sekhandur, Alberta, and Kress are so late?"

---

The past two weeks had been a time of adjustment for Sekhandur. Life in the academy was very different to life in his father's palace. Adjusting to waking up in the morning for instance, a practice Sekhandur considered barbaric. Adjusting to the flavorless slop that could be laughingly called "food" that the academy served. Adjusting to the fact that he could not call a classmate "a belligerent sow that should be fed to a crocodile" without a stern talking-to from their professor. In retrospect, he might have deserved the lecture, but in his defense, she had been responsible for them failing a group project. He was ambivalent on the matter, but overall he was beginning to feel homesick. He wouldn't quit, that was even more unconscionable, but for now the academy's idiosyncrasies were beginning to wear on him.

Like the lessons he had been through, for instance. He had the distinct feeling that they were quite redundant, as he went through the paces of them. As far as he could tell, they were aimed at beginners, people who had never been through a proper magical curriculum. Sekhandur could spot several people in his class that easily fit that bill, but he was not among them. In Kemet, he had been the star pupil of Magistrate Sharu'Um, an esteemed scholar and mage in his homeland. That was not to say that Sekhandur was already familiar with the information presented in the lectures and instruction; they seemed to be geared to teaching this distinctly western style of magic, which Sekhandur was unfamiliar with. Even the magical history they taught was the western consensus on the subject, at odds with the events described in Sekhandur's grimoire. By forcing him to re-learn the basic fundamentals the way the academy wanted him to, Sekhandur felt like he was running in place, and making the least progress of any of his classmates.

Thus one could only imagine his enthusiasm toward this alleged field trip. He genuinely failed to understand the logic at play by making students track down what he considered to be petty thieves. If whatever they stole was so important, why was it so unsecured that it was taken by thieves who could in turn be tracked down by novice magicians? The whole scenario baffled him. Not to mention the fact that he purely didn't care that the whatever-it-was had been stolen. He really found the whole situation laughable. And so, as he woke up that day in the detestable morning, he took his time. Sekhandur luxuriated in bed a while after waking. He took a particularly long bath. He enjoyed some fresh fruit for breakfast. He took his time carefully choosing his outfit and applying his makeup for the day. And, long after his roommates had departed for the train station, he set off.

Sekhandur seemed to be the last arriving at the station, and their train was sat waiting for them. Their professor had demanded they bring only the essentials, and so for Sekhandur that amounted to silken robes, a bevy of golden jewelry, and his face was painted in flamboyant pigments derived from the crushed shells of rare beetles. He had his staff and grimoire as well, of course. Truthfully, the train ride was what won him over on even attending this excursion. He had never ridden a train before, as there were none in Kemet. Facilitating trade across the desert gave his kingdom much of its wealth, and the development of railroads across that expanse had been forestalled until it was ensured that the Kemeti crown would still get their cut of the profits.

Mounting the train, he was somewhat fascinated by the machinery of it, but found the decor within the cabin wanting. Same bland western style, would it kill them to use more gold and gemstones? "Right on time," He said to the professor, not even bothering to stifle his yawn, as he covered his mouth with a hand heavy with golden rings. "Perhaps I should invest in one of those little... Watchers, was it?" He pantomimed the shape of a small, handheld clock he had seen another man use before, but soon gave up and took his seat, kicking his feet up on the table in front of him.

Truthfully, he probably wouldn't have cared significantly if the train had left without him. As far as he was concerned, for this pitiful excuse for field work, he was offering the bare minimum, and that would be all. If this academy couldn't improve his skills in the classroom, he didn't see why he should offer up any extra effort on his end.

---

Alberta stirred to the sound of distant beckonings. She simply brushed them off as she rubbed her weary eyes, far too tired and achey to scream her frustrations at the world. She stumbled away from her desk to make her way to the washroom, as she often did in the early morning. Only then did she remember the assignment Professor Nyx had mentioned in yesterday's morning lecture. Alberta bolted out of the bedroom and looked up at clock in the common room, almost knocking into an anxious Kress.

It wasn't early morning. It was eleven o'clock, and she was due to meet her classmates in an hour. A furious shriek burst from Alberta's lungs.

"ALSTEIN YOU IDIOT, WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?" she bellowed, before charging back into the bedroom.

Alberta always woke up early for a reason; her meticulous preparations took time. Just her beauty regimens alone took that much time, as did showering, eating and getting dressed. She'd spent so much time reading last night that she hadn't even prepared her things beforehand! In her state of panic and delusion, Alberta rushed to pack her satchel first, flinging all sorts of clothes and bottles into it. She rinsed and moisturised her face, ran back into the bedroom and threw on a frilly blouse and fitted black trousers, tossing a short slit cape over her shoulders to finish. Twenty minutes gone, forty minutes left.

Alberta yanked at her tangled curls with a hairbrush and twisted her hair into a braid, before lacing up her heeled boots by the door. She then noticed that Kress was still loitering around for whatever stupid reason, and looked up at him with confusion.

"Why are you still here? I didn't ask you to wait for me, idiot!" Alberta shouted, grabbing Kress by his sleeve and throwing him out into the hallway. She slammed the door behind her and began speed walking down the halls, a coin pouch jingling at her belt.

"Get moving, Alstein! We'll just have to find a carriage downtown, we won't make it in time if we don't!"

And so the pair sprinted through the dormitories, past the academy entrance and towards the bustling streets of Genelogia, where they eventually found themselves a carriage. Alberta shoved Kress into the vehicle before the coachman could even ask where they were headed, until she frantically told the man to take them to Genelgoia Station. She hopped into the seat next to Kress as the horses trotted off, whipping an elaborate compact mirror out of her satchel. Alberta had never run so fast before, and her sweaty face, now redder than the cape she wore, was a clear indication. At least now she had some time to fix herself before having to face the professor and her classmates, which she was not looking forward to in the slightest. There was little a swipe of a handkerchief and a sip of water could do to fix those horrifying dark circles under her eyes, after all.

---

---

Alberta leaped out of the carriage and pulled Kress out with her, tossing a hefty bag of coins at the coachman as they rushed into the station. The railway clocks at each platform read ten minutes past twelve. The class must have boarded already.

Boarding a train had never felt so gratifying. Alberta, now a little less red and sweaty, approached car five where she had been directed to. Though upon entry, she was met with Professor Nyx and two other students — Kiara and Ty. Immediately she shot a glare at the boy, knowing full well why he had been pulled aside by the professor. She knew Ty wasn't going to let her live this down, and had the professor not been there she would have fully throttled him.

"My…" Alberta hesitated, sucking in a breath of air and an ounce of her pride. Lying would do her no good at a time like this. "…apologies, Professor Nyx. I accidentally overslept, which is why I was so… behind schedule."

She looked towards Kress, giving him the same puzzled stare from when they were at their dorm. "I honestly can't tell you why this one is late, though."

In that moment, Alberta's fatigue decided to hit her full force with all the aches and pains her adrenaline had temporarily washed away. Famished and exhausted, it took every bit of strength she had left just to refrain from leaning against the walls of the train car as she spoke. Alberta hoped she could get a seat and some breakfast soon.

Mandi had snickered as Ty explained himself that he wasn't scared of Alberta, the hydromancer didn't quite believe that to be completely true, but there would surely be little gains to be had in arguing with the young man. While he had seemingly tossed that part of the challenge out the window, he did answer who he thought was the cutest girl around, and he had picked Sophiel. This had been followed by a soft nod of the head by Mandi, who looked more thoughtful than annoyed by the choice. While Kiara wasn't exactly ugly, the young mage could understand how Sophiel had been the top choice in this situation. What the young mage had not counted on however had been that Ty would have been so bold.

'He really answered that? Huh.. he really is an idiot after all. Brave and honest though...' Mandi had thought, whilst getting a more amused facial expression.

"Oooh, Sophiel you have an admirer~ Ty-rific." Mandi said in a soft and teasing tone towards Sophiel, giving a wink to her and then smiling over at Ty, who were now addressing another student.

'Oh it's the whirlwind idiot...' The mage thought, still bearing some annoyance with how that boy had burst into Yvaine the first day in class. "Rocks? Don't you mean- Oh hey Ankaa~" Mandi offered a slight wave on seeing the classmate offer some nods to those present, but there were more on the way to join them. That's when Yvaine appeared, and Mandi in turn sprung into action, almost dancing the way over to the kindhearted girl.

"Hello Yvaine~ Glad you made it~. Time for hoot-hoot to go scoot-scoot." Mandi smiled warmly indicating the train, the black and blonde coloured hair fell to one side then the other, as Mandi tilted the head from left and right in a cheery manner. Then the professor himself showed up with another student, a crowd was quickly gathering up. Nyx had told them that they could get free food and drinks on the train, that was a pretty good thing for the students. But knowing there were people like Ty, Mandi was confident that the academy coffers would soon come to deeply regret that. Speaking of Ty, it seemed like the professor had some special thing to speak with Ty and Kiara about. Mandi simply observed them, in a somewhat discreet manner, over Yvaine's shoulder. The ponderous thought that the young hydromancer had were cut short by the arrival of Alberta and Kress.

'Oh? That Alstein kid and the queen of pricks were abit late to join us... and this is too good to pass up on.' Mandi thought closely, before coughing into the right hand that the mage had just formed into a fist. The mage raised it's voice and spoke out towards Alberta.

"Were you two up too late last night, miss Alberta? You look exhausted! Mister Alstein you scoundrel~." Mandi snickered and then the mage's mouth turned into a wide grin, followed by pouty lips making a kissy face accompanied with some sounds to make the implied occurance so much more plain. Mandi soon after readied up, knowing that girl's temper it was good to be ready in case she would try something. Verbal or otherwise.