Kiara’s smile faltered at Ty’s words, but she couldn’t exactly fault him for that. Alberta was a bit off-putting to the other students. She was starting to see this more and more during their time together as a class in the last two weeks. Even so-perhaps she was biased due to the tea conversation-she couldn’t help but find some sympathy for the other girl. “Oh, well, I wouldn’t say Alberta’s all that bad. Just like everyone, she has her quirks and if we’re going to be a class, we’ll have to learn to move around those quirks eventually.” A pause. “Or we learn to use our quirks to our class’ strength. She kind of reminds me of Eris in a way…”

Turning to Sophiel now, she pondered the question given at her before shrugging. Well, it was best to be honest given she was thinking about the mission on her way here. “At first, I thought this was just one of the professor’s tests for us, something to keep us on our toes. But now I’m not so sure. If it’s true, I have to wonder how two thieves managed to slip past Avalice’s defenses and what kind of relic they were keeping warranting stealing. It could also mean these thieves have an ability we’re not certain about if they were able to slip by.” That thought alone held its unnerving implications. Was there even a plan? If not, did Professor Nyx expect her to come up with one with the other students?

Before she could fester in those dark thoughts, some brightness delighted the trio with a stark presence. Kiara nodded and waved at Mandi as they approached. She still wasn’t sure if their peer was a guy or girl, despite having two weeks to get to know her peers. Oh well, it probably didn’t matter. What did though, was Mandi’s challenge to Ty that was no doubt meant to draw a reaction. Kiara blinked, not expecting that; but not offended either. In fact, she looked at the boy with a sly smirk. “Well Ty. I’m curious now, and it’s not nice to keep a girl waiting.”

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on her side because soon enough Ty gave his answer. Now Kiara’s face dropped, and it took a moment to manage a defeated but light sigh. “Ah, well, honesty is the most appreciated and I can’t fault you for that, right?” The class rep raised her hands in mock defeat before turning them to wave at Caelum as he arrived and stole Ty’s attention for now. More and more students flocked, filtering in and making a group amongst themselves. Even the ones at the edge of the circle were hard pressed to be included when their number was simply increasing. Kiara looked back at Ty and said, “Well, just be sure my sister doesn’t hear your-”

What started as a tease turned into a drawn back sigh and this one was genuine. Because now she heard the familiar, criticizing voice of her sister in the air. Eris, despite their talk weeks prior, seemed determined to still make life just that bit more difficult. The class rep nodded curtly at her sister when she arrived, making a note to keep an eye on her now that they were on a real mission. It wasn’t long before the professor joined them as well, tailing Eris.

With Professor Nyx present, the class was collectively gathered towards the trains and swiftly sent to boarding them. As each one was directed to some seats, Kiara found herself brought aside by the professor himself, along with Ty. Curiously, she waited for what this could be about, before looking around to notice that yes, one of her roommates was still missing, among others. Before she could even answer though, there was Sekhandur by their side, appearing like a ghost.

“Um, he’s right there? Oh, and there’s Alberta and Kress. Can we take our seats now professor?”

"Is that so?" Sophiel replied. What was it like to live within a village? From what she had currently seen from Ty, it seemed like he wasn't raised with proper manners, in terms of living in the city, and was rather a little ignorant with technology. She'd need to ask Ty later over his experiences in living in his village. She'd like to call it... research. After all, her runaway sister was now living somewhere beyond the city. While she could care less if she was okay or not, she was curious on how was she living her life. "If you have time later, can you tell me more what's it like to live in your hometown?"

She also agreed with Kiara, it would seem like they had similar thoughts. "Agreed, they would most likely prove troublesome to capture." Thankfully, Sophiel knew some moves that would be able to hinder their movements. It might be a little painful for them, but at least they would be apprehrended.

Then, Sophiel sensed a disturbance in the force. Turning around, she saw Mandi walking down to the station to where they were. "Ah, Good Morning, Mandi," She greeted with the same polite tone she greeted with everyone else. Sighing at Mandi's flattery over her clothes, she opted to not respond to it. She also took a few steps away from Mandi in response to her flighty steps. As much as she would tolerate Mandi's eccentric personality, whatever she was going to do by getting close to her while others were around was prohibited. It'd be straight down embarrassing if out of nowhere she was receiving a hug from Mandi. "It seems like you're excited about the mission," She commented about Mandi's exuberance.

She greeted Caelum with the same "Good Morning, ______," and shook her head without turning around to look at Mandi. "Ty, you don't have to respond to that question." With another sigh of exasperation, she looked towards the orange haired boy. "Mandi's just trying to-"

I think, I'll go with Soph. She's the cutest."

Sophiel opened her mouth and closed it, opened it again, and closed it. It took a good few seconds for her to process what Ty said before flushing over the comment and punching him in the shoulder, with a little more force than what she would have liked. "Ty! You could have just said that you didn't prefer anyone, or you liked us all, or any other neutral respond!" She scolded with flushed cheeks. In comparison, to Mandi, she didn't mind them all too much. With the tone Mandi usually said it, it usually came off as slightly serious and non-serious. But with Ty? The pure genuinity of that statement was a little much. This shook her off so much that she didn't greet Ankaa as she showed up at the station.

With all of her composure gone, she could only wave at Yvain and glared at Mandi. "Be quiet, Mandi!" With that she entered inside the cart, passing by her professor due to being unable him to greet him properly. She couldn't muster the inner model student within her to even try and figure out where in the world were Sekhandur, Kress, and Alberta were. Going over to a window seat, she plopped herself down onto it and opted to stare outside the cart to distract herself from the 'compliment' that Ty gave her. "Why..." She muttered to herself as she buried herself in her arms.

That was probably the first time she called cute... Excluding the times Mandi has called her cute or anything remotely similar to it. Though, it was probably the first time she was described as cute by a boy. Groaning from eternal suffering and embarrassment, she decided to drive off these thoughts by looking at the cart. They were rather fortunate being able to ride such a luxurious cart. She would have doubted her predecessors before her would have been able to ride the cart, let alone ordering beverages for free.

@Dezuel@Relin@TheWendil@Chezka

Well, that was exciting!

Swept up by the maelstrom of Lady Blumenthal's accelerated morning ritual, Kress simply went with the flow, spending the time to pack up her breakfast into a container for future fooding before she practically dragged him to Genelogia Station. It wasn't the first time he had ridden a carriage, but it was certainly the first time he had ridden a public one, and the differences in decor and mannerism was quite interesting. Though his dormmate may have busied herself with becoming even more presentable than she already was, Kress had popped out his sketchbook instead, scribbling down notes, both written and drawn, on the strange circumstances around them. Not like worry about the time would make the horses go any faster...though Lady Blumenthal certainly tried.

They arrived a step behind Sekhandur, who looked about as unflappable as always. Ty was there as well, and Kiara too! Honestly, considering how Professor Nyx had eradicated most of the class on day one (though, of course, it was more as if they were relocated) and how he didn't even bother to pretend Misaiya existed during homeroom on that same day, Kress had thought they were going to be left behind completely. It was nice to see, really, that there was some niceness in the professor after all. Tough love, was it? Avalice Academy brought many experiences and this was certainly one of them. Leaving Lady Blumenthal to excuse herself first, Kress was perfectly willing to wait his turn...until Caelum spoke up.

Two weeks had been plenty of time to understand how refined his classmates' speech was, and amongst them, Caelum was decidedly placed upon the same category of Ty, though perhaps he was worse in that he did so unintentionally. The blue-haired youth's eyes widened slightly, pupils dilating as he read the warrior's intention before everything was vocalized, and in that moment, Kress spoke up, hoping to cover up what fire-fuelling nicknames his classmate was about to speak out.

"Ah, I stayed behind to wake Lady Blumenthal up, because I noticed that she wasn't up when she usually was," he said, all smiles. "Ty, you went ahead of us to explain the circumstances of our tardiness to Professor Nyx, right?" Hopefully Ty'd pick up the white lie from there. Certainly sounded better than the past where Ty left the dorm before any of them even woke up.

There were others, of course, who had more...scandalous theories. Kress flushed a bit at the implications that Mandi leveled upon the two. Lady Blumenthal may be a lovely individual, goal-driven and hard-working almost to a fault, but to imagine a situation where they'd have coupled in a mere two weeks? Weren't most meaningful romances something that culminated in a chaste kiss after a year or two of cordial friendship? Kress rubbed his ear, feeling how hot it was, and then shook his head.

"No, no, Mandi. Lady Blumenthal was just up late studying...protective spellcrafts, was it? Theories and Practicums on the Manifestation of Static Resistance?"

Didn't take a genius to read the spines of all those library books she brought in, after all.

Eris halted dead in her tracks, crossed her arms and smirked when Nyx addressed her question. "My sincerest apologies. I expected a different outcome to this exchange. I suppose this proves life is full of surprises indeed." Considering what she got used to in the last few days, she expected him to shoo her condescendingly. Nevertheless, though no shooing ensued, the condescension was still there.

"Oh, no. I'm don't misunderstand me. I'm brimming with confidence. But you could very well excuse a young mind for being curious and inquisitive, don't you think? 'Ignorance is the privilege of youth', or so it was said," Eris shrugged the question about her motives. They were very evident in her own opinion, and if not... a little mystery makes a woman more charming does it not?

"Yes, I feel much safer now. Almost as if I've been taken under the wings of an All Mighty angel," Eris chuckled in an amused way as she entered the train alongside everyone else. She appeared to look around the cart for an empty seat, though in fact, she was waiting for no one other than her sister to pick one and then follow her.

[color=palegoldenrod]"Though, I have to say," she said to herself as she struggled to try to get her luggage at the overhead compartment, thanks to her height. "I don't feel the least bit interested in getting my clothes damaged and dirty for a couple of mere petty thieves."

"At any rate, would you mind giving me a hand with this?" She asked, looking at Ty.

---

@Blu@TheWendil@Relin

Ty was a bit too distracted by the train to fully process the girls' reaction to his answer. He didn't think that calling a girl cute was that big of a deal, and both Mandi and Kiara had reasonably tame reactions to being passed over in the impromptu contest. Sophiel, however, pulled his attention right back with a punch to the shoulder. It didn't particularly hurt, but there was enough force to jar his body and elicit a confused expression. Why was the girl he said was the cutest the one that was mad at him? If anything, he expected the other two to double-team him or something. "But if I didn't pick one, that would be a cop-out." To Ty, backing out of a challenge, even a ridiculous one about talking to girls, was worse than any consequences that would follow. "And it's not like I said anything rude. I Just said what I thought. For all I know, more guys might find Kiara cuter..."

Before he could dig his grave any deeper, though, the professor addressed the class and led them onto the train. Ty's jaw dropped at the mention of food. "That thing's a restaurant too!?" He thought they would need to bring their own food and drinks along for the train ride, kind of like when people rode in a carriage. More often than not, Ty's limited wallet held him back from eating all he could. Today, apparently, that would not be the case. However, before he could take the time to appreciate the spectacle of modern technology, he was pulled aside by the professor. His blood ran cold and his limbs felt numb. His mind raced as he tried to think of what he could have done to invoke their professor's ire. He heard rumors that the man had turned someone into a frog. Frogs were pretty cool, but Ty did not want to be one forever! Was it about sleeping through history? Or maybe he saw the commotion he was causing with the girls? Honestly, he'd been too busy these past two weeks to do anything truly worthy of reprimand. But then he noticed Kiara was called aside as well. He let out a sigh of relief. It couldn't be bad if their straight-laced rep was here with him.

"Any idea why Sekhandur, Alberta, and Kress are so late?"

Ty was barely responsible enough to account for himself, let alone others. Why was the professor asking him of all people where they were? He figured Alberta was just taking her sweet-ass time in the bathroom like always, though it wasn't like Kress to be late. Ty began with a big shrug. "Well, Sek's always talking to ghosts and stuff. Maybe they finally got him..." Before he could continue to speculate, the trio showed up, Kress being dragged along in comedic fashion. Some of the other students had some... imaginative... ideas as to what they were doing. Ty looked at Kress, then Alberta, and then burst out laughing. Why would anyone want to hook up with a girl like her. But, he straightened up when Kress asked him to vouch for them.

He'd been down this road plenty of times before. Whenever his brothers were off doing something they weren't supposed to, they always fed Ty a believable story that he'd in turn feed to their father. Perhaps due to years of fraternal conditioning, Ty reflexively agreed. "Uhh, y-yeah. I was gonna tell you that they were... umm..." This time, however, he wasn't fed a convincing story. "Studying so hard that they almost missed the train?" Ty concluded in an unconvincing inflection. His brothers always gave Ty the exact words to say and made him repeat them back several times before letting him go. After all, Ty was a terrible liar. "But, yeah, they're here now, so it's all good. Thanks for trusting us with this mission, professor. I won't let you down!" The confidence returned to Ty's voice. He was so ready to hunt down these thieves, but more importantly, to experience the most awesome mode of transportation ever created.

As Ty made his way into the cart to find a seat, Eris turned to him and got his attention. He noticed that she was struggling with her luggage. "Wow, that's a lot of bare essentials you've got there," he teased, letting out a quick snicker. His own bag was only half-full and fit comfortably over his shoulder. He wouldn't even need to use the upper compartments. However, he didn't let her suffer too long. He took her bag by the handle, and with one swing of his arm, hoisted it cleanly into the compartment. He was only an inch taller than the girl, but if nothing else, his training at Avalice had made him strong enough to perform such tasks with ease. "There you go, 'Ris. Let me know if you need help with anything else. I could also give you some packing advice. You won't wanna be hauling something like that through the woods." With that he headed off to find a seat before all the good ones got taken.

Sophiel was nestled in a corner, taking one of the window seats. Ty debated taking a window seat himself so he could watch the scenery fly by... but then he'd be stuck if he wanted to get up and walk around. He could still see the scenery from the aisle anyway. He did remember that Sophiel wanted to talk about some things as well, so he figured the train ride would be a good time. So, he plopped himself down next to her, setting his bag on the floor beneath his feet. "So, I guess we'll have plenty of time to talk about my village and stuff if you want," he said casually, as if the debacle of Mandi's challenge hadn't happened. "It's probably not very interesting, but I guess I'm as good a person to ask about it as anyone." He leaned back and stretched his feet under the table. Nobody was sitting across from him yet, so it probably wouldn't be a problem.

@AThousandCurses@KoL@TheWendil@ERode@Matsuri@Blu@Dezuel

@samakama

Sanhan tugged at her bangs, pulling on the black hairs. Really, she never put a considerable amount of effort into thinking about her own hair. To her, her hair was just as it always was. The question gave her a brief moment of pause before she answered.

"Naturally white," she let go of her hair, "it's dyed black in certain ways to show one's lineage and class."

An honest question beget an honest answer. Had Sanhan been a funnier, more socially aware person, she might have joked about it in some way. No, I was spooked by a ghost as I rode to the city. That probably would have been a good joke, right? Well, it didn't matter. Sanhan dryly answered it. Seeing Misaiya like this, Sanhan's curiosity got the better of her. There was actually something she was curious about now.

"I never got to see what your magic was," she asked in earnest curiosity, "what is it?"

Before she could get an answer, Nyx had already ushered them onto the train. Perhaps it'd be an awkward ride on... whatever this thing she was being put onto was. What was it? To move such a large behemoth of steel... Was this a great mage's magic? Though, a skill of this scope was not relegated to the transportation of man.

She boarded and immediately felt out of place again. It was like a fusion of everything she didn't like. Enclosed spaces, exorbitant displays of wealth, and the slight rattling of the ground. She took a seat at one of the tables far opposite of Sekhandur.

Was it going to be an awkward few hours because of that question? Maybe. Maybe not. Sanhan was already sitting awkwardly with her hands on her knees and a look down at the ground.

---

Alberta suspected nothing less from her classmates. Had she not exhausted all of her energy in the past hour rushing to get ready and travelling to the station, she would have had a lot more to say to the people making comments about her. Right now, Alberta could just about manage a look of intense disgust in response to Mandi's remarks. She didn't know what she found more repulsive; said student's suggestive implications towards her and Kress, or just the concept of physical intimacy alone.

"Have you got sewage in your ears, Alzaru? I guess it's not unlike someone as deplorable as you to come up with such perverted—!"

Alberta was cut off by Kress' more reasonable and valid explanations. But rather than thanking the boy for supporting her, she simply looked on with confusion, almost annoyed. She could have handled this entire situation on her own just fine, so why did he have to interfere? Really, Kress could have just left without her in the first place and not get himself swept up in this mess! Did he have some sort of ulterior motive? Or was he just that stupid?

"Indeed it was," Alberta confirmed Kress' statement with a sigh. She had wanted to keep the subjects of her training and studying private, especially from certain people, but at least her all-nighter made for a genuine excuse. "Studying for a few hours before bed has always been part of my routine, but I can assure you it's not like me at all to lose track of time so recklessly. Regardless, I…" Alberta paused, appearing a little hesitant. Her gaze shifted away from Nyx's for a brief moment.

"It won't happen again, Professor."

Once Alberta was dismissed by her professor she gave him a quick nod, before walking past Caelum and greeting him with a malicious scowl. Oh, how she wanted to rip that idiotic grin off his face and grind the rest of his body into plant fertiliser. Even after two weeks had passed, Alberta refused to let her default victory against him fade into the background as the semester progressed. All those late night training and study sessions wouldn't be for nothing, and if her and Caelum were to cross paths in battle again, she would aim for total decimation.

"For the hundredth time, it's 'Blumenthal' you halfwit," she hissed at Caelum. "Remember, I didn't give any of you losers permission to call me 'Alberta', but I guess you're too slow to even comprehend something so simple."

Alberta had insinuated on multiple occasions that no Class C student had earned, or would ever earn, enough of her respect to call her by her first name, or for her to call them by theirs. Whatever she could do to keep her distance from this cursed class, she did. And with varying degrees of success, it seemed.

After throwing her satchel into one of the overhead compartments, Alberta slid into one of the benches below her. As she tried shuffling towards the window seat, she was startled to find someone already there. Sanhan, in all her awkwardness and eerie silence, had gone completely unnoticed by Alberta; running on two hours of sleep did not do well for her spatial awareness. But at this point and in this state, she couldn't be bothered to move elsewhere. Sanhan didn't even seem that disruptive from what she remembered anyways, so Alberta figured she could at least get some much needed peace and quiet for a time. Instead of moving to the opposite bench as she otherwise would have done, Alberta just sat there, resting her elbows on the table and holding her chin in her palms.

@Dezuel @ERode @Blu @metanoia @OwO

Sophiel's reaction to Ty's answer had been priceless, it had highly amused the hydromancer. There was something highly appealing in seeing a serious individual such as Sophiel lose her footing and get flustered and speechless. That is before shooting a barrage of verbal things in Ty's direction and telling Mandi to be quiet, before darting off into the train. To Mandi this was both very sincere, cute and troubling at the same time. To the young mage it seemed like Sophiel had some problems dealing with emotions and perhaps even upholding a fascade of some kind. Mandi was very familiar with that part, knowing fully well how people behaved in one manner whilst being truly something else.

Kiara had taken things alot better, whilst she had indeed wanted to hear Ty's answer, she had gotten likely the answer she didn't want. But at least Ty had explained to her that more guys might find her the cuter of the two. Mandi felt like there was a great need to speak to Kiara later to make sure she was allright. Alberta had quickly retaliated on the implied kissing with Kress, even going as far as to ask if Mandi had sewage in the ears. What did that even mean? But it didn't stop there, she also called Mandi deplorable and perverted. Then Kress also came to her defense, just as the young mage had foreseen he would.

'That I simply implied what may have occured caused you both to repel it fiercely and thus growing closer to each other against a common threat. Just as I predicted you would.' Mandi thought whilst getting aboard the train, and carefully made it towards the seating area, passing by Caelum and just seeing Alberta get to the seats. There was no need to put the small backpack the mage carried upon the back up on the luggage section of the train, so Mandi turned to look around and spotted Sophiel and Ty sitting next to each other.

"Oho~! Well aren't you getting close~." Mandi smiled broadly looking to Ty and then to Sophiel who seemed to be midway suffering in her flustered state.

"Oh my, Sophie-trophy looks abit red! Ty, best check so she doesn't have a fever... since when you are ill you cannot feel that yourself~." Mandi explained and looked to the seating next to Ty and Sophiel. "Oh Yvaine may want that seat, do excuse me for abit~ I am going to complete the part of the challenge you couldn't do Ty." The young mage said quietly to Ty, whilst sticking out the tongue slightly, the mage's eyes winking, before Mandi turned around and setting the gaze on Alberta on the other side of the wagon and walking over

"Hey Blummie~ I am sorry for thinking you were K-I-S-S-I-N-G with mister Alstein. But you thought of perverted things? How indecent~. Do you think of such often?~" Mandi placed one hand in front of the mouth in an embarassed manner, leaning slightly over the table which Alberta was using her arms to rest her head at. Before tilting the head to the side, with the black ponytail flapping from one side to the other, closing the eyes for just a brief moment before flashing them open again. Mandi proceeded to lean in closer with the face to say something in a hushed tone.

"If you let me give you a kiss as an appology, like a common servant would to a superior and refined mistress in the faraway lands of Shalash Indria. I will be able to get Ty to dress in girl's clothing for the day, complete with a short skirt, and you could make fun of him. How about it, miss Blumenthal~? Wanna get some justice and teach him a lesson~?." Mandi began to smile in a highly teasing manner, the mage's red eyes set at Alberta's, eagerly awaiting the queen of thorns answer.

---

'A' Train - Fifth Car | Interactions: @Dead Cruiser

---

Nyx's inquiry as to the whereabouts of Sekhandur, Alberta, and Kress would swiftly be answered by the sudden appearance of the students in question. Before Nyx could get a word in, Mandi began teasing the other tardy mages not named Sekhandur to which Kress corrected the misunderstanding with an excuse. Ty attempts to corroborate the story with an all-too-blatant lie, but, honestly, Nyx didn't care at this point. "Take a seat. All of you." he dismissed. Uh-oh. His tone of voice seems calm enough, but there certainly is a hint of seething wrath behind it. He turns to face Sekhandur who had already taken a seat without Nyx's permission. "Stand up." he tells the wayward prince in a commanding voice.

"You'd think that with the amount of effort you put into your training these past couple of weeks that you'd be more rested." Nyx says, referring to his yawn from earlier and his general apathy for Nyx's instruction.

"Also, 'right on time,' was it? Instead of a watch, perhaps you should invest in a change of attitude. Here's what's going to happen. For the duration of this train ride, you will stand in the back. Don't even think about taking a seat. Don't think about ordering any food either. Failure to do so will result in your immediate expulsion. Understood?" Nyx definitely isn't kidding around. Even before Sekhandur can answer, the train's whistle blew and they begin to depart from the station. Usually, the force of a train taking off could put just about anyone off balance if they were standing, but Nyx stood absolutely still, seeming unaffected by it as he continues to stare down Sekhandur.

Honestly, Alberta and Kress got off easy. Fortunately for them, they were sensible enough not to piss Nyx off even despite their tardiness. It's a three hour ride to their destination. Three long hours if this is any indication.

---

Sekhandur's opinion on this trip had already soured. He now wished that he had truly overslept and missed the train altogether. This western chauvinist appointed as their professor seemed to take umbrage with the fact that Sekhandur wasn't enthused by his incompetent lessons. The likelihood of Sekhandur learning anything from this man seemed to drop even further, given that he was now the whipping boy for soothing his bruised ego. Over the past few weeks, Sekhandur had heard of Class C's reputation for being the refuse pile for outcasts and idiots, and he was beginning now to understand where that reputation came from.

Rising to his feet, Sekhandur scoffed loudly enough for the other students to hear. "Might as well," he muttered, again at a clearly audible volume, "I'll gain as much from that as I have from anything else you've told me to do."

After mincing back to the rear of the car, Sekhandur leaned against the wall as it lightly jerked and bounced from the motion of the train. He produced his grimoire, unfurling the ancient scroll, and began to read through it for what must have been the thousandth time, just to pass the ride along more quickly. His eyes fell upon a familiar passage, which after rough translation amounted to, "...descended the Presence of the Judges, magic given voice and shape. They fell upon the wayward tribes of Man, the scorpion held high in their battle-standard. Sons of the stars, men born of fire, as the earliest peoples of our race were born from dust and clay."

Lineage and class. To display such things so openly via hair was… it was a foreign concept. Were there patterns proscribed from use except for members of certain classes?

There were plenty of peers and patricians or the progeny thereof enrolled and employed in Avalice. It scarcely affected anything, but Misaiya idly wondered if Sanhan was of aristocratic heritage as well. Discord was not uncommon in such households, or at least so the stereotype goes. Hopefully he hadn’t struck on something sensitive. But she thankfully seemed quite unperturbed.

As for her question… “My magic? Isn’t it obvious? It’s quite simple, and it’s not that subtle, after all—“

Ah, Nyx was calling. The last stragglers had arrived as well — Alberta, dragging along her (some would say ‘misfortunate’) room-mate Kress. Gates open: it was boarding time.

Sanhan looked a bit uncomfortable as she stepped up and into the cabin. As Misaiya followed behind her, carefully manhandling his bicycle around and about all the obnoxiously ostentatious opulence. The staff almost seemed to stare, twitching whenever its wheels came too close to something or another. Surely it couldn’t have been so strange to bring a secondary vehicle into another vehicle… though putting it that way did, admittedly, sound a bit odd. Well, there‘s always time for firsts.

That’s right. Sanhan was from a rural area, wasn’t she? This was probably her first time taking a train. Misaiya parked and secured his bicycle to a handle on the cabin wall, then sat on the vacant bench across the steppe girl, with his bag beside. He still hadn’t given her a proper answer yet, and it would simply be unfair not to.

“I don’t have any magic. Sensing and manipulating my mana is the best I can do. I haven’t got any natural aptitude for it anyhow, and besides, most people fare just fine without.” A little caveat was probably needed there, since most people didn’t attend a notoriously selective adventurer school.

“In my mother tongue, trains are called ‘fire carriages’ because they burn coal.” He gestured all around to the surrounding train cabin. “Although, now there are some places with ones that run on electricity alone.” His hometown was one such place. Their introduction saved many lungs from the noxious smoke of steam engines.

“Tonnes upon tonnes of cargo and thousands upon thousands of people are moved across continents by rail every day. All that, powered by nothing but boiling water.” A contented smile crept onto Misaiya’s face. “You could say that this is a kind of ‘magic’. A magic wielded by no one individual, but born of a collective, collaborative effort.”

Misaiya let out a single laugh. It sounded almost more like a cough, and would have looked like one too, had he not accompanied it with a grin.

“Which is all to say - I can’t use magic, so I turned to science and engineering. Haven’t given up on trying yet, though!”

It did, however, seem that Alberta had given up on staying awake. All sense of dignity went out the window as she plopped beside Sanhan, glanced at her with hazy confusion, and eventually just… gave up. Misaiya was no physician, but after a decade of school, he had learned how to diagnose sleep deprivation with remarkable accuracy. Either this was Alberta’s first time staying up late, or she had substituted a siesta in place of solid sleep.

It was a shame that Mandi either did not notice this, or did not care.

He kept silent for a while. Mandi had overstepped by no small degree, but - perhaps it ought to be called naïveté - Misaiya was still of the belief that the mischievous boy had not done so out of malice. As such, he would rather avoid offending Mandi or alienating him, while still telling him off sternly enough that Alberta would be spared the untimely ribbing. Coming off as a no-fun authoritarian would be counterproductive, after all.

Mandi was more the teasing type, and he did that to pretty much everyone, albeit with a focus on the girls. The sheer prolificness of the boy’s juvenile humour had slowly come to annoy Misaiya, even if only slightly. And to think that Mandi was a year his senior! The only person in the class who was remotely as raunchy as him would be Eris, who also chased skirts (poor Kiara, she had it the worst) and seemed to outright disdain boys. Truly a twisted tag team for the ages.

Ahem.

Plus, there was more than just one boy in Camellia who had made it a hobby to bother the flower- and tea-lover. Ty and Caelum ended up in shouting matches with Alberta on a semi-regular basis, and they shot demeaning nicknames and insults at her (and vice versa) every time they met. Admittedly, she was the one initiating confrontations a disproportionate amount of the time, but still — 3 on 1 hardly seemed fair. Sekhandur didn’t get nearly as much flak for behaviour at least as egregious. Plus, Kress seemed to have a more positive opinion of her, though even a devil in human form would receive no worse an appraisal, so perhaps he wasn’t the best source…

Either way, Misaiya didn’t want a fight breaking out so soon after setting off, and right when he and Sanhan were having a perfectly peaceful conversation, too. Mandi had to go.

“Hold the ribald comments, Mandi, cease your bawdy tease.
If you have any empathy, then let her rest in peace.”

…that double meaning had not been intentional. At all. Whoops? Hopefully Alberta wouldn’t take it poorly. Why was he saying this in iambic meter?

“Whence you came, our friends await; they long for you again.
Go back and entertain them three: Sophiel, Ty, Yvaine.”

The four of them did seem to get along well, and Misaiya could sincerely testify that Yvaine was a most pleasant person to be around. It wasn’t like he was attacking anyone, right?

“Such baits and barbs are tiresome — note, briars have hearts too.
The circumstances bid us part, so we bid you adieu.”

That was probably enough. He couldn’t come up with another rhyming couplet anyway. And so, as if Mandi had already vanished from his sight, Misaiya waved over one of the train staff. “Excuse me!” A steward came over at once, with a practiced gait.

“A pillow, please. Make that three, actually. And a pot of tea.” Misaiya turned to the two across the table. “Have you eaten? The school is paying for food onboard.” It was too late for another breakfast, and still far too early for lunch. Fruits it was, then. “Duri— no, that’s out of season. I’ll have a pineapple.”

Yvaine was last to head to their designated area. Partly because she took a moment to wonder at the locomotive up close, curious to see how close the figures in her textbook were to the actual thing. Partly because something the professor had said put a kink in her plans. She hasn't realized that one would be able to order drinks and food in the train. It seemed quite amazing to her; she imagined a full-sized kitchen fitting in one of the train's car, its imaginary chefs moving gracefully even as the train lurched ever forward. Unfortunately, it also meant her classmates would have no use for her snacks. It would be too presumptuous for her to impose it upon them, knowing that there would be better food served.

The big bag in her hands, filled to the brim with small containers individually labeled, felt heftier now as she maneuvered through the first of the train cars. Perhaps she could give it away to the other passengers later on? Not everyone would have the luxury of the academy's coin sponsoring them. Along the way, Yvaine took a moment to help an elderly woman to her seat, after she had staggered and nearly lost balance when the train had jerked forward for its departure. The woman refused when she offered one of her packed snacks, and in the end, she wound up with more than she came with, upon the woman's insistence to repay her simple gesture.

When she finally arrived at the fifth car, the others seemed to have settled on their seats. Mandi's exuberant playfulness seemed to be already in full gear, making Yvaine smile as she passed her by mid-teasing Alberta. She greeted the others who were nearby as well—Sanhan and Misa, who were sitting with Alberta; Caelum who was just a row over.

Everyone seemed to have taken their seats… except for Sekhandur. It was hard to miss him, standing, as stately as ever, by his lonesome all the way in the back. She wondered why he alone remained standing, especially when there were many vacant seats reserved for them. Was it a Kemeti custom, perhaps? Or maybe he preferred to stand as he read? She wasn't sure what effects a moving locomotive would have on your reading.

Curious, Yvaine decided to approach him, stopping only to greet the professor along the way. "Blessed day, Professor," she beamed. A quick glimpse at his visage had been enough to tell her he was in a sour mood once more. Seeing him unhappy had only dismayed her at first, but after two weeks, she had also come to expect it. For a brief moment, Yvaine looked up at him wordlessly, a spark of determination in her eyes as her silent promise to cheer him up echoed in her head. "Please let me know if you'd like some company. I'll be right here!"

Yvaine excused herself and continued on her way to the back. She stood across from Sekhandur, still holding her bag and surprisingly stable even as train felt wobbly beneath her feet. "Good morning," she greeted after a beat, making sure she wasn't interrupting him in the middle of his reading. Out of all her classmates, Sekhandur had been hardest to approach. Not because he'd said or done anything to scare her off, but mostly because he seemed to Yvaine the type that would have so many princely duties to attend to, on top of all the schoolwork and extracurriculars. She'd been worried about wasting his time.

"I've not read many texts about Kemeti magic," Yvaine said, mostly thinking out loud. "But there was a passage I remembered seeing once, about the Shan'iatu." The word came out clumsily—it was the first time she'd tried saying it out loud. "It had been so interesting, I wish I could have read more about it."

---

'A' Train - Fifth Car | Interactions: @Dead Cruiser @Chezka

---

Nyx watches silently as Sekhandur rises from his seat, still defiantly arrogant in his demeanor. He mutters something about benefiting as much from this 'lesson' as he did with any other ones from Nyx. The latter simply smirks, satisfied. "Bark all you'd like. You'll still follow my orders like an obedient dog." Nyx tells him with his arms crossed. "Arrogance without talent is simply foolishness. Your lofty sandcastle will be swept by the wind yet, little 'Prince'." After that, Nyx saw no need in continuing this interaction any longer. As of now, he sees nothing of value in the imperious royal. Despite her haughtiness, even Alberta has proven herself a hard worker and earnest about her studies. Smug and lazy, oil and water. Best not to waste precious seconds on such trifling matters.

As Nyx is about to take his seat, he is approached by the all-too-gentle Yvaine who greets him with a particularly pious salutation. "Most people would say 'good morning'." Nyx says in hope of teaching her to adjust better to her current environment. Yvaine gives him a determined stare, as if she's trying to relay to him a message. Honestly, Nyx couldn't even begin to read into whatever it is she's thinking. A sweat drop nearly appears on his forehead. This girl is an odd one, or maybe Nyx is. Either way, Nyx doesn't know how to respond, but he does take a more gentler approach with her than the others. "I'm going to take my seat now..." He simply tells her before walking away.

Sitting down, Nyx crosses his arms and stares longingly out the widow at the passing vista; daydreaming of a life that could've been instead of the one that currently is.

---

Genelogia - Outskirts | Interactions: @Relin @metanoia

---

The 'A' train pulls into a tiny, almost seemingly abandoned station on the outskirts of the colossal city-state that is Genelogia. It's easy to tell this derelict outpost sees little use; even the benches—little in number as they are—are covered in a noticeable layer of dust. This is truly the beginning of podunk nowhere. A steward steps out of the train car and directs the class outside before making his way back in. None else but Class-C will be stopping their journey here it seems, not that it's any surprise. Soon, the train takes off, leaving to greet Class-C once more in about three day's time.

Nyx produces a map and checks for the location of the scenic, nameless little village they are to rendezvous at. "The northern trail, along the river..." he mutters to himself. Folding the map and putting it back into his pack, he looks to the class. "Come along, and stick close. We've a five mile trek ahead of us. Ty, you'll stick to the front seeing as how you're familiar with this sort of environment. Caelum, cover the rear." Nyx orders. In a place as remote as this, Nyx wouldn't count on there being many signposts to direct their way.

And so they walked, and walked, and walked. The forest thicket impeded much of their visibility but, other than that, the trek was proving quite uneventful. Soon, they found the river that was mentioned in the map and followed its stream upward. They stopped midway along the river bank and to take a brief respite, but Nyx was adamant in moving along as fast as possible. For a mage, Nyx proved to be rather physically resilient with seemingly endless stamina. Not once did he seem tired of the endless walk as he led the class forward. Guess such a thing was to be expected of a former Miracle Seven.

Then, things took an absolutely bizarre turn. "What's this...?" The trees in the distance: their leaves displayed hues of red and yellow, colors of the fall. But, that couldn't be. Clearly it's springtime on the continent. Nyx looks back over his shoulder and sees the line of green trees separating from the Autumn ones. Magic? Nyx is swift in focusing his thoughts to detect any strange lingering mana in the air. It's faint but something is there. An impressive thing to hide from someone so attuned with mana. The students would completely fail to pick it up even if they try their hardest.

"This is the work of magic. Temporal, maybe. Hard to tell. It doesn't feel 'powerful', but its composition is unusual enough that even I'm having difficulties sussing it out." Nyx explains. As he said, it's unusual but not particularly threatening. They should check out the village first before deciding what to do next. Did the city guards come across this as they secured the routes leading in and out of the area? If so, no one from Avalice was informed.

Some time later, they finally arrived at their destination: a nameless village probably home to less than three hundred people. The clearing that housed the village is bordered on all sides by the strange Autumn trees, as if this entire area exists in some temporal phenomenon. The village itself is quiet with barely anyone moving about. Some homes are boarded up from outside by faint light can be seen from within. Then, the class sees one of the villagers. Various parts of his body are plagued by bark-like growths, like that of a tree. He moved so sluggishly and his face seems vacant.

Just when she thought that she had the peace and quiet that she so desperately needed, fate decided otherwise as she heard the sound of Ty’s voice. She groaned into her arms, was he dense? She clearly didn’t want to talk to him right now, especially what happened a couple of minutes ago. Regaining her composure, she got up and turned to look at Ty. “That’s fine, it’s better if I heard from personal experience rather from a book,” She straightened her clothes and sleeves.

She gave Mandi an eye before redirecting her focus back onto Ty. “Tell me what it's like living in the village. Any small things, any big thing, anything will be fine.” She said with a proper smile. Hopefully as Ty would tell her of his life they would become better friends, and to understand what kind of life that her sister might have lived outside of the city.

Ty couldn’t help but snicker at Mandi’s little pet name. “Pff… Sophy-Trophy…” But he quickly put his hands up defensively. “Don’t worry, I’d never call you that,” he said quickly before he got punched again. However, it seemed like Soph had calmed down a bit from Mandi’s teasing. Ty leaned back in his seat, stretching his legs out under the table and thought about his hometown. “Hmm… Well, I guess the biggest difference between living in the city and my village is that out there everybody knows each other. You can walk through the city and see a hundred new faces in one day, but back home it’s weird if you see someone you don’t know. It’s like, even though our houses are farther apart, everyone feels closer, you know?”

Ty stretched and then rested his hands on the table, looking at Sophiel as he continued. “And believe it or not, money isn’t really worth all that much where I’m from. Everyone in the village has their job and pitches in to get through the winter. You just do the work that needs doing when it needs doing. Only the merchants trade for money so they can bring back stuff from the cities. My family was in charge of hunting and bringing meat for the village.”

He went on for a bit about the hunting excursions he went on with his family, but didn’t dwell on them for too long. “How about you, Soph? Did you live in a big ol’ mansion or something? What’s that like?”

Sophiel’s eyes burned into Ty’s skull as he mentioned that accursed name that Mandi had made up a few moments ago. Her gauntlets were drawn, but she restrained herself from punching Ty in the face as he made a promise not to call her that. Leaning back into her seat with her hands on her lap, she listened to Ty’s story. “Is that so?” She listened with interest. A village was like a tight knit community, so she wasn’t surprised on the part that they mostly knew each other. Though, she didn’t know what to weigh on if the relationships between a community in a city and a village were the same.

Though she was quite surprised at what Ty said next. “Your village doesn’t use money?” Sophiel said, a little shocked at that prospect. She would expect that there’d be some shops that would require something in exchange, in most cases money. To hear that the village would work together and help each other out was a little strange to her. “I see, that’s indeed very surprising to hear.” Perhaps, her sister was living quite comfortably. Living in a village didn’t seem too bad if everyone was willing to contribute to everyone's survival.

She attentively listened until Ty asked a question of his own. Her life within the city. “Mine? Well it wasn’t that special.” She paused before continuing, “Well wasn’t special for me perhaps.” She corrected herself. “My family wasn’t rich enough like Ms. Bastien’s, so I didn’t live in a mansion, but my family was well off enough to own a big house.” Sophiel thought about her life a little bit more before continuing. “You know how we’ve lived in a dorm in the past several weeks, right? It’s sort of like that but better. The air condition is better, the walls didn’t have cracks, and it wasn’t littered with pests.” She said.

“Aside from that, it’s not really that different from my family’s house.” Sophiel avoided telling Ty about her family life. Although he did bring his family up, she was going to neglect telling him about hers. He didn’t ask, so it didn’t hurt.

Ty listened eagerly as Sophiel explained what city life was like. She seemed pretty modest about it, and she wasn’t one of the super-rich people, but still sounded like she lived a comfortable life. “That’s pretty neat,” Ty said. “I remember when I first walked into Avalice. I couldn’t believe that I had so much space for myself. My first year here, it took a while to adjust to just how big everything was.” He chuckled. “If I went back home now…” He paused and looked out the window at the scenery rushing by. His smile wavered for a moment. “It’d probably be pretty different, but I think I like it better here anyway.” He beamed at Sophiel and then waved down a staff member.

“Hey, can I get the biggest steak you have. And a tall glass of exotic fruit juice. Just pick the fruit with the weirdest name.” Yes, Ty had breakfast. Yes, he ate plenty. But he was not about to pass up an opportunity for a free steak. “So, what made you decide to become a hero? Seems like it’s a lot more popular than I thought when I enrolled.”

“Is that so? That's surprising, don’t you miss it being back in your village? After you have family back there,” Sophiel asked, unaware that she may have poked into a sensitive subject. “Though if you’re happy here, then who’d I be to stop you,” She said. Ignoring that beaming look that Ty shot at her, why was he doing that, she looked towards the waiter and decided to order a little something for herself. “I’ll have some water.” She said before turning back to Ty.

She was slightly worried when she heard Ty was ordering the ‘biggest’ steak within the train. Hopefully Ty had table manners, the last thing she needed was to change out to her extra set of clothes. “Why did I become a hero? I’m mainly doing it for my family, but…” She paused for a second to think about it. “I… I want to arrest the criminals who would threaten anyone's life.” While she was in such confidence, if one listened clearly there was a little bit of uncertainty within it. “How about you?”

“I mean, sometimes I miss it,” Ty said, “but, well…” He rubbed his arm. “My parents were kinda mad when I left. Still, I’m glad I came here. All my life I was always just another one of my dad’s kids. A scrawny one at that. Anything I could do, at least one of my siblings could do better. Heroes are people who do things that nobody else can. That’s why I wanna become one. I wanna become my own person. Probably sounds weird, but I don’t regret it. Once I figure this magic stuff out and make it to the top, I can go back home and show them it was all worth something.”
The waiter brought out his steak and some guava juice, as well as Sophiel’s water. Ty immediately began digging in. At least he knew how to use a fork and knife. He wasn’t completely uncivilized. “Mmm, sure you don’t wanna order any food? This is cooked perfectly!”

So, Ty didn’t have a great relationship with his parents nor his siblings. She shouldn’t have been surprised, but she was a little saddened by it. A bond between siblings and parents was the most precious one. There was no other bond that could be established from blood. She had read that from a book once. “I see, my apologies, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.” Staying silent for a moment, she decided to change the topic. “Well, I hope your time here will bear some fruits. Avalice is one of the best schools to become a hero of legend. I have no doubt you’ll become one.”

Her eyes landed onto the waiter as he brought them their order. Taking the water, she could only hear the disturbing sounds of Ty viciously attacking his steak. While he had the decency to eat the steak with a fork and knife, they way he was eating… “Please, chew slower. You might choke, Ty,” She said, shaking her head. She was glad that she only ordered water. “I think I’m good.” Sophiel finally said before looking at her clothes. There were going to be a lot of food stains that needed to be cleaned out when she returned back to the dorms.

Ty waved his hand dismissively at Sophiel’s apology. “Don’t worry about it, Soph. None of that crappy stuff is on you. Nothing you need to apologize for.” He paused in his voracious consumption when Soph continued, though. She had no doubt he’d become one? He swallowed his bite of food and wiped his mouth, looking unsure of what he just heard. Was she just being polite, or did she actually mean it? It was hard to tell sometimes with city folk. “Thanks,” he said at last. “At least one person believes in me.” He relented to Soph’s request and slowed down eating his steak. “Don’t want me to choke, huh? So you do care.” He chuckled, unable to resist a small tease. Surely he could get away with something that small without getting punched.

Shortly afterwards, Ty was placed into a head lock.

---

---

Ankaa shuffled onto the train with the others, marveling at the interior. She had only heard of trains, but hadn’t ever actually seen one. It was quite something to take in. She strolled along the carriage, noting all the little details. Midstride, she took out her journal, making some quick notations and sketches at the back of it.

Involved as she was in her activity, she missed much of the ongoing commotion, startled out of her reverie only when their instructor suddenly yelled at them to sit down. Liu blinked at the order, noticing that most of the other students were already sitting down. She joined the table seating Sanhan, Kress, Blumenthal, and Misaiya. Mandi was pestering the Lady of Thorns, but before Ankaa could intervene, Misaiya was the one to put an end to it.

Shrugging, Ankaa stared out of the window for the remained of their journey, captivated by the view. She stopped only to eat, finishing her home-made lunch. However, she did order some things to refill her lunch-box with, just in case she’d need it for later. She studied her journal, observed the students, stared outside the window, and even napped a bit to spend the time.

When they finally arrived, it was to an abandoned station outside of Genelogia. Ankaa actually appreciated the rural site they journeyed across, the nature giving her a feeling of home, even if it was fairly different. However, they soon noticed an odd sight – trees yellowed and reddened with late autumn. The problem being, it wasn’t autumn.

Ankaa frowned at the foliage, trying to get a read on the mana. But she couldn’t see anything strange. Subtle. Powerful? Their professor informed them that it was the work of magic, possibly temporal, but even he had difficulties figuring it out. An experiment? Or a natural occurrence? The martial artist would sooner bet on the former, but it wouldn’t do to fixate on one idea, especially not when the clues were so scant.

Liu was deep in thought as they walked. The village was surrounded by the autumn trees, and Ankaa bit her lip. Not a good sign. And lo’ and behold – as soon as she thought that, the appearance of the physically-altered villager confirmed the suspicion. Is that…some sort of magical tumor? A curse? I’ve never seen an affliction like that…

She may not have seen it, but Ankaa was determined to get a closer look. “Professor, I would like to inspect that person and his malady up close,” she murmured.

She looked at the other students. “We should find out how many are like this and if anyone spared of that knows anything,” she said to them as much as she did to Nyx. Then, her gaze was drawn to two specific students she thought might be able to help the situation most directly.

“Yvaine, does this seem like something you could heal?” she queried, working on the assumption that interfering and attempting to cure the condition they observed was the best course of action.

“And Blumenthal, since your magic has to do with plants, would you say this is likelier to have originated from a mage or from a natural source?”

She then turned to Nyx, as another question had occurred to her. “Professor, do you sense the same temporal magic interference as you had before, sir, or is there something else involved as well?”

Finally, Ankaa’s restless gaze wandered to the dazed villager. She was concerned how he might react to the presence of strangers – would he be aggressive or would he not notice at all? Perhaps he would even act almost normal. She’d have to observe carefully, but as soon as she had the teacher’s permission, she’d approach the man – unless the villager came over himself, that was.

---

Their professor's bizarre rant shouted at Sekhandur's back as he trudged to the back of the train car frustrated him, but probably not the way that the other man intended. Rather, Sekhandur felt a mounting sense of disappointment toward the person designated to reveal the mysteries of the arcane to him. He had suspected it before, but it was becoming all the clearer that this man suffered severely from pent up feelings of inadequacy. So far from Sekhandur's observation, they were well-deserved feelings at that; the man was inadequate. He projected his failings as a teacher onto his students, which Sekhandur would find sad if he wasn't the one suffering for it.

As he sat fuming quietly at the rear of the car, another student approached him. Yvaine, he thought her name was. Nice enough girl, all things considered, given the extremely limited interaction the two had up to this point. She surprised him by actually offering up some knowledge she possessed about his culture, which was a refreshing change from the witless inquiries he had suffered up to that point about food or fashion or something equally trivial.

"Shan'iatu," he gently corrected her pronunciation. "You happen to be speaking to one right now. In my language the word means 'Presence of Judges.' Long ago, they were the emissaries of the Judges of Duat, the kings of the afterlife that rule over the souls of the dead. They conquered the human tribes of the ancient desert, and ruled over them as both god and king. When their numbers grew few, they mingled their blood with that of the remet, the mortals. Their offspring were my ancestors, and their divine blood runs through my veins."

Remembering his heritage brought a smile to Sekhandur's face, and a certain calmness to his heart. He smirked while staring at the back of the professor's head. He could bluster all he liked. Sekhandur was still a prince, no matter how contemptuously he used the word, and he was a peasant. That's all he would ever be. Sekhandur had a throne waiting for him, and after that, immortality among the Judges.

---

Their destination was thoroughly disappointing to Sekhandur. He hadn't been expecting much, but this place barely seemed habitable. There was a strange magical presence in the air, but Sekhandur was more bothered by how pathetic and run-down this village looked. One of the inhabitants stumbled into view, and Sekhandur literally recoiled from the sight of him, drawing the corner of his cloak up to cover his face.

"I thought you westerners were a pale, ugly bunch, but this is just absurd." He said, speaking to no one in particular. "I was not aware that all of you were more handsome than most."

---

Alberta had the luxury of not having to interact much with Mandi these past two weeks. From the assumptions she'd made after seeing them plenty of times in class, she was convinced that staying clear of her bubbly classmate would be the best way to preserve what little sanity she had left. Upon hearing Mandi's absurd proposition — to which she prepared herself to shove them into the far left bench as a response — Alberta was again interrupted. This time, by bad poetry. Alberta pinched her arm to see if she was still awake, and unfortunately, she was.

It was enough to distract Mandi at least, and with the arrival of the steward, they were bound to have gotten the message at this point. But there was something more important on Alberta's mind — food. She was no stranger to skipping meals on occasion, but after missing yesterday's dinner and this morning's breakfast, coupled with her sprinting to the station fueled by adrenaline alone, hunger was hitting her terribly hard. Alberta sat up straight and addressed the steward with as much grace as she could manage.

"I'll have my own pot of tea. Black, please," she croaked. A caffeine boost would help wake her up. "And whatever spring fruits you have available, too. Oh, and some scones on the side would be delightful as well. Thank you."

When the steward arrived with everyone's orders, Alberta thought her fruits would come in a sizeable bowl she could keep to herself. Instead, the assortment stretched to half the length of the table, packed with slices of apricots, strawberries, peaches, and a bunch of other fruits in season. In the middle of the plate sat a neat pile of diced pineapple. Alberta just blinked at the large array of food in front of her, far too dazed to adequately process her shock. She took in a deep breath, as if she were about to lash out at her companions.

"You know what, just…" Alberta sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "take whatever you want. I can't finish all of that myself anyway." she finished, taking the plate with her scones on it. For the rest of the train ride she remained quiet and distant, taking slow nibbles from her food as if the events of that morning had never happened.

---

---

Save for her atrocious physical stamina keeping Alberta a few paces behind most of the students, the journey to the forest village was somewhat bearable. Though she hadn't slept on the train, the pleasant lunch she had was enough to distract her from her deprivations for a time. Alberta was lucky she'd remembered to pack her water canteen, otherwise she would've really struggled. Especially when the foliage started to thicken around her, making it harder to move about. Her face may have hit a few twigs and she may have almost tripped over a tree root or two, but Alberta didn't want to use up her remaining energy screaming into the trees above.

The atmosphere took a peculiar turn when the foliage started fading from spring greens hues into autumn reds and yellows. When the class finally reached the village, it was apparent the trees weren't the only strange occurrence. Alberta gasped at the sight of the plagued villager; she never thought she'd see something like that outside of the pages of books at this point in her life. When Ankaa asked to examine the very diseased man up close, Alberta scoffed with disapproval.

"The villagers must be boarding up their homes for a reason, and I'm betting it's because whatever that man has, it's probably contagious. If you even had half a braincell left, you'd know to stay away from him, Liu."

Still, Alberta contemplated Ankaa's question. Making her hypothesis from a distance seemed like a safer option. "As for his skin condition, you don't see ones caused by the environment alone that extreme on this side of Alrune. Most organisms responsible for those kinds of afflictions aren't as common in this particular climate, I believe."

"If all of this is anything to go by," Alberta continued, observing the vibrant autumn trees. "then it's likely the man's illness is linked to magic as well. A lot of disease-related spellcrafts take effect through physical contact or airborne substances, similar to how fungal spores found in soil or on plants can enter the body and cause infections similar to what that man has." Though her earlier studies about such magic had been brief, her limited knowledge could prove useful. After all, the spells under the Language of Wisteria were composed in a similar way.

"Either some crazy mage is going around casting diseases on people, or they're using magic to produce abnormalities in the forest's plant-life; some of which are inducing seasonal shifts in the trees, and bark-like lesions on the skin. There's nothing but dense forest for miles beyond this village, anything could be hiding in there."

Alberta then glanced back at Ankaa, giving her a tense look. "Whatever the source is, we should talk to the other villagers about it first. The man can wait."

@samakama @OwO @SilverPaw

---

Kiara could only shrug when the professor made his statements known; in the end, her roommate appeared and she was quickly dismissed to sit anyway. Although, she almost regretted the action, hearing how Sekhandur was being chewed out for his tardiness and worse yet, made to endure a harsher punishment. There wasn't much that could be done for it however, thoughts to ponder for another time though; because she saw clearly an open seat waiting for her as well as the one who occupied the one beside it. She almost sighed but sat beside her sister nonetheless. "Do I even want to know why the professor was debating with you this morning?" she started off. Eris was a fool if she thought that tidbit slipped past her sight.

"A good day to you as well, Sis," Eris replied, showing her usual sharp wits. Anyone else other than Kira would probably have been greeted by a sharper remark, but teasing her sibling was more enjoyable. "If I must answer, the truth is that I was merely getting a feel of how this mission will be. Our most steemed teacher isn't very good at making his mind known. Naturally, the only way to be sure is to prod him," she said, taking a short break as the train whistle blowed. "But, fear not, I wasn't being confrontational if that's what you think. Of course, I cannot control how he will think but surely there's no harm in asking why in the world such a pretigous academy allowed a pair of lowly thieves to sneak in and do as they pleased. I can't be the only one who thinks something is wrong in this whole story. Like the pieces don't match."

Kiara ignored the obvious bait in Eris' tone. She ignored a great deal of many things when it came to her sister; better for her own state of mind. Even so.... "I don't think the professor is incompetent, but rather he has a hard time expressing himself to us. Or rather, he only knows one way how. This is also his first class I've been told so he's about as much in the dark as we all are," she started. "That said, it is odd why we're going on this field trip. Either the professor is that confident in our abilities, his own ability, or it's to give us some real world experience. Either one has a logical standpoint." Indeed, in theory the whole lot of them were in no actual danger and she doubted Professor Nyx could get away with as much as he liked to think when practically every eye in the school was watching them. Between having a Miracle Seven teaching them and their own slow growth, no doubt they were becoming a talking point in the school. Especially after the first day.

"Well, regardless. Are you ordering anything? Also...." A pause; Kiara glanced behind them slowly to make sure they couldn't be heard. "So out of curiosity, does Ty catch your fancy? I've noticed you two have been...I wouldn't say friendly knowing you, but cordial terms."

"Oh, I never said he was. If nothing else, some of his lessons have... interesting practical uses," Eris said as she once again created a buble of mercury, and easily shaped into a doll ressembling her sister. "But being gifted in a field while excising the others is hardly a thing a human being should strive for. At any rate, time will be the judge of whether my theory is right or not, I suppose," she said as she commanded the mercury doll with a finger, like a lazy puppeteer. "As for orders, I suppose a cake and some tea could do. Our beloved teacher can say they are gifts from the Academy but we are the ones who pay for it in the end. I see no use for reservations in this matter."

"Mmm~?" Eris almost purred as she heard her sister's question. "Oh my, Sis. Oh my... Are you this worried about me?" she teased in an equally hushed voice. "Well, I won't deny that he has been nothing but kind ever since we first met but... I wouldn't say there's any more than that. Well, I have other issues in my mind now, but who knows, who knows..."

"What are you even doing...." Kiara stared at the mercury doll likened in her image, of which now rested in Eris' lap. There was absolutely no reason to be doing this, aside from her trying to annoy her sister again. Still, it was causing no harm, for now, and so Kiara ignored it. As usual. "Well you don't have to worry abou tme sharing since I'm not all that hungry anyway." Kiara raised a hand, calling forth one of the waiters on standby to place her sister's order before rolling her eyes at Eris' dramatic comments. "You're making me regret even asking. But I guess you do see him as a friend. That's good." Indeed, she recalled telling her sister weeks ago to try and make some effort of getting along with their peers. So far, it looked to be working. Though she briefly wondered if mentioning Ty's earlier game of who was cutest would cause more good or harm. In the end, she figured it was best not to sour Eris' relations than what they already were. It wouldn't have been long before they reached their destination anyway.

"I suppose you don't understand yet, then. Never mind, you'll do it in time, this is far from the last ace up my sleeve so to say," Eris said as she dismissed the mercury doll and turned her attention to her breakfast. It seemed that Kiara hadn't understood the meaning behind Eris' actions, or noticed the great deal of control it took to do what she did so casually. Not that Eris could blame her sister, since she had been hiding most of her true capacity for the last two weeks. "That's a shame, though. I wouldn't mind feeding you if you are feeling tired," Eris joked before she took a bite of her cake. It sure wouldn't be long before they arrived at their destination. And, maybe for once, they wouldn't have any problems along the way.

Eris' sentiment, while in the right place, would prove to be incorrect. Not that she was concerned with her sister's parlor tricks; Kiara spent much of the trip in her own thoughts and in silence. Before long, their train arrived to the outskirts of Genelogia, all of them hoarded off the train and following their professor. Apparently they were supposed to head towards a village and along the way, walking was expected. Alot of it. So much walking that, indeed, would no doubt cause some unrest in the students. Much like the train trip, Kiara spent most of her walk in silence, though Eris was around for company. She was always around, always by her side like a shadow. It was only when she saw their professor pause did she pause too, looking around for what could have made him stop.

Then she blinked with some surprise, looking right in front of her. "Eris, it's spring, right?" She nodded towards the trees in front whose leaves were instead of a deep autumn coloration. Clearly something was off, and the logical answer was magic. "Hold on, let me try something...." Kiara shut her eyes for a moment, her own mana gathering into the twin points that were her eyes. When she opened them again, a red ring circled over her pupils as she cast her Mystic Perception over herself. However.... "Strange...I can see something faint. It's like looking at gas. It's there, but also not there," she told her sister, narrowing her eyes to concentrate as if that would help. Maybe someone changed the leaves for decorative purposes?

Eris couldn't say that she was pleased with the walk down a rundown patch of woodland. Sure, the great sages of the past always exhorted the value of following nature, and being among it, but even they knew when to draw the line. Eris herself wasn't unacquainted with these kinds of activities, but she couldn't help but think that their teacher was making this harder than it needed to be. Not that it mattered in the great scheme of things. After all, soon enough, they found themselves with something much more intriguiging to comtemplate.

"It certainly was the last time I heard of it. At least as far back as when we got in the school, if the blossoming trees of Class S are any indication," Eris replied to her sister's question as she looked around the curiously colored forest. "That said, I once read that there are areas where unusual minerals, magic, or both, can make the trees and other plants take on all manner of unique hues. But I don't think this is what's at work here," she said, pointing to the villager.

While the others, or more precisely Ankaa and Alberta, observed how the villager reacted before taking any action, Eris stepped forward. "Excuse me, sir. Are you alright? We came here from the Capital, is it possible we can talk to the local authorities?"

While Eris was bold enough to actually approach the sickly villager, Kiara overheard Ankaa and Alberta's discussion, moving closer to them. "Alberta's right. We don't know what it is or if contact will spread the infection. More than likely it is magical in nature." Her eyes were still activated and they would try to decipher any trace of mana over the man's condition. Hopefully some insight could be provided. "We also have to consider the possibility this is the work of the relic that was stolen at the school. If that's true, we have some knowledge of what it's capable of." She looked over at the others in their group. "We're a large number so half of us can gather information and ask around while the other tends to this man. Assuming we're allowed to act in this situation as students of the field, not the classroom."

That last statement was directed at Professor Nyx. For all they knew, he could just as easily order them to sit out of the situation at hand.

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