Wingram, Leyline Attunement Zone
@Nanaya, @Psyker Landshark

---

Boiling.

Her blood was boiling.

Valen dared to associate her with Umbralists. Again.

”For one of your ilk, I would advise a search for inner peace.”

She blinked, before her anger dispersed in the face of confusion, and fear.

“The Abyssal One knows we're here!”

Ciara gritted her teeth. “There's no way it knows, it only saw how you were divided in controlling my actions.”

“It knows you exist conflicted, and not in control. That is enough for us.”

“I'm completely in control, I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Your attempt at a lie is cute, little Hunger, but we know you better.”

Ciara listened as Valen offered to duel them when they were finally worthy, and she snarled, her disgust evident on her face. There can't be that wide of a gap, can there? He has to be joking.

Before she noticed the ping, and her eyes widened.

Hildegunde.

Iraleth moved faster, her light shining bright as she activated her Ethos. She was on the same wavelength, and when she turned to Ciara, Ciara could only nod her head.

“Count me in.”

Her glare settled on Valen and his lackeys before she extended a hand to Iraleth, the one she was fated to duel that evening.

Fates were interesting, weren't they?

“Let's fly.”

@ERode@Nanaya

That was faster than expected, but Hildegunde was far from complaining. Chloe - wherever that door led - was no longer in an active battlefield. The dirt wall crumbles, and Hildegunde, not wasting precious time to escape from the blade, ducks and runs. The blade grazes her leg as her PB wavers, but leaves her in one piece. She falters in her step, but manages to stay on both feet.

Then, and only then, does she take the time. The time to think, and the time to act. The pain searing in her leg grounds her to the moment.

Otis's offer rings in her head. She wants to flee - it was nature, after all, to listen to one's pain, minor or otherwise. Moreover, she wasn't liking Chloe's chances without immediate help, and she didn't know where that door led. On the other hand, leaving this beast to roam freely was likely unwise, and possibly leaving Otis alone with it didn't bode well either.

For the moment, she would fight. That might change depending on the answer Otis gave.

It was close enough now. She would not waste her ethos yet - the beast had come close enough that missing this shot would disgrace her as a hunter, and with backup, her need to gamble was less urgent. After today's class, she had her doubts her ethos would even simplify things in this situation.

Her words are sparse.

"Chloe, healing," Hildegunde hisses, followed by the sound of gunfire. A bullet flies towards the beast's chest - likely where its heart would be, if it had one. Her eyes fixate on the beast, watching intently for anything unusual - or, if she were lucky, a body going limp.

"Will she have that?"

Monstrous.

It was a creature designed with murder in mind, a great wolf formed from shadow and mist, cleaving through the air with a bladed tail while shards shot out in rapid succession, so powerful that they sunk in the dirt entirely.

And it spoke too, a thoughtful rasp that didn’t match its savage attacks.

“Adapa,” Otis spoke, springing up from the dive-roll he executed to avoid the arrows, “record.”

The Door remained present, a perpetual escape route that would be a death sentence for any enemies to enter, and his Personal Barrier would ensure that he’d be able to absorb at least a few hits if he had to. Information, then, was what he wanted. The arcane tome opened up beside him, burning with that heatless flame, as Hildegunde’s own bullet cracked through the air.

“Only if we leave,” the Strigidae replied, chambering his firearm with ensorcelled bullets. “Watch your eyes.”

The trigger was pulled, and essence-imbued steel flew through the air, the heat generated by air friction triggering a particular reaction mid-flight as it exploded in a blinding flash of light. It was only a distraction, a pause that’d allow him to break up the flow of combat as he aimed his gun skywards next, sending a second bullet upwards past the canopy. That one exploded too, a burst of brilliance to serve as a signal.

“Best to surrender now!” he called out to the shadow-wolf. “Wouldn’t take much longer for Alto to arrive. And amongst the student population, there’s at least ten who have Ethos specialized in hunting and tracking, so it’s a waste of effort to try escaping.”

Lies, all of them.

If conflict could be won with empty threats though, that would be for the best.

@Sifr@ERode@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST

Thwack.

The sound of impact against flesh rang out as Hildegunde's bullet pierced through the shadowy chest of the beast. It didn't seem to react to this, and its exterior showed no signs of damage - or so it appeared, at least, until blood trickled through the hazy coating of the wolf. Its grey orbs studied this for a moment, bearing its fangs as it acknowledged the liquid life exiting its torso, before turning its attention upward towards Otis. Dashing to the side closer to Hildegunde to avoid the Strigidae's bullet, it stopped in its tracks to look away when the flash of light struck, growling. Reacting with split second timing, it burst into pursuit the moment the flash had faded enough to give way to vision once more, galloping towards Hildegunde to swing its blade at her while once more firing black arrows from its torso towards Otis that seemed partially coated in blood from its wound.

"Surrender? Escape? Hah! The fleeting reverie of youth is surely the sweetest salvation. Green gills breed ills."

Were Otis to defend against the arrows, he would find them breaking apart against his barrier with some kind of dark liquid beginning to burn at his barrier like some kind of acid. If he dodged, he would find this same process occur to the first thing that the arrows would hit instead, coating parts of the surrounding area in a dark acidic substance.

The beast would continue to hungrily pursue Hildegunde with slashes of its blade and swipes of its claws as its blood leaked onto the soil. It hadn't seemed to register its own impending danger should others acknowledge the beacon, entirely focused on its prey as it pursued the hunter and shot at the owl.

---

@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE

"My thoughts on 'em? Well, er..."

Emelie turned to observe the duo's standoff against the Leuvalt heir, trying and failing to conceal and remove a look of pity and concern for Chunji in the process from his story. She gazed at each of them for a moment, furrowing her brow, before returning her attention towards Chunji. The pitiable look was still there, but she cocked a half-smile to further hide it, since it appeared her fellow occultist had no intention of acknowledging it for the traumatic experience it was. Indeed, a diversion of the topic proved the best course of action, most likely. She wasn't a therapist.

"We've been acquainted, if ye could call it tha'. A minor kerfuffle here or there, but nothin' to where I can say anythin' special, o' course. Lotsa special folk here, can't remember every gosh dang one, y'know? But..."

Trailing off, one hand gripping her cane tighter, she looked off towards the situation between them once more.

"Wish I could be more like 'em, I think. Walkin' up to the big weight-thrower himself and pokin' noses. It'd be nice to have the courage to poke noses."

After another moment, it all happened so fast that it nearly made Emelie's head spin. The activation of an ethos and the duo taking flight caused shrieks and screams to appear from nearby students in the clusters gathered, including a few of Valen's own semi-circle, observing them shoot into the distance to another part of campus further north. Some whispered about disrespectful delinquents skipping the ceremony, while others gazed on in concern as if wondering if an emergency came up. For Emelie's part, she hyperventilated for a moment on uneasy legs before returning to regular breath, a hand on her chest as if to steady her very heart. She'd turn to Chunji, pale as a sheet.

"Speakin' of, what was tha' all about?! Your friends got summin' goin' on that requires that blitzin' speed? I near took a tumble!"

She leaned on her cane and sighed, concern once more taking over her features. Nearby, another student among a group could be seen taking to the skies, albeit with a much softer exit to avoid startling others around him, and began flying in the direction that Iraleth and Ciara had hurtled towards. He was much slower, however. If Chunji had spared a gaze, Rio could also be seen nearby walking away from the ceremony grounds, though not in the same direction as the airborne students.

The take-off made Chunji's bangs flutter. Chunji looked up to see the disappearance of two classmates and a third who had decided to follow. All attention to their idle chatter disappeared. "I received a distress message from one of my classmates. I now know I wasn't the only one who received it." Principal Raja most likely wouldn't be pleased by the turn of events. She was watching everything unfold, which was fairly odd, though she must have some sort of invisible automaton following the situation. Her inaction spoke volumes to Chunji.

"Ms. Nachtnebel's message was sparse but conveyed a clear message. She was in the forest, and she needed help. I assumed she only sent it to my classmates as all except me were recently absent from the ceremony." Rio and Chloe weren't unaccounted for, however. Davil was still in the infirmary; Hildegrunde followed Chloe, but Rio...

At that moment, Chunji spotted Rio moving further away from the crowd. Chunji's eyes held perplexity as Rio was going in the opposite direction of the discord. Where was he going? "It seems today will be more troublesome. Please inform Principal Raja about what's happening and tell her I will be late in attendance. My classmate seems to be directionally impotent." With that, he got up and sprinted after Rio.

Why was Rio heading in the opposite direction of the commotion? Given the sparse contents of her message, Hildegrunde must've sent the message to everyone she was associated with. Rio must've gotten the message, but he didn't care enough. That or he wasn't aware that Chloe was currently in danger.

If he were to catch up in time, Chunji would've called out to his peer. "Rio, the attunement ceremony is going to start. It would be impractical to miss an important event." Chunji was on guard at the time. Hildegrunde had been attacked on school grounds. Now that the academy's security was questioned, he needed to be on full alert.

Iraleth heard the gunshot before she saw the confrontation. The Inheritor glided down towards the source of the shot, increasing her speed as she saw Hildegunde and Otis under attack from some sort of shadow wolf. With Ciara on her back, her angle of approach was limited. Stopping to let her off was out of the question at the moment, so she'd have to make do.

"Dismount if you can! Otherwise, hold on tight!" Iraleth shouted to the witch on her back, tucking her wings and limbs in to further the speed of her plunge. It wasn't going to be a smooth landing. The paladin grit her teeth beneath her conjured helm, her shield braced out in front of her.

The paladin came in from a nearly-horizontal angle, taking the beast from the side as it tunnel-visioned on Hildegunde. Several hundred pounds of warrior, Ethos-conjured plate, and magical shield rammed straight for the creature's flank at high speed, intent on shattering it with sheer force and velocity.

@Sifr @ERode @Estylwen

Wingram, Leyline Attunement Zone
@Nanaya, @ERode, @Sifr, @Psyker Landshark

---

The speed at which they soared across the sky was breath-taking, and Ciara had to hold on for dear life. She saw from her peripherals the bright flash of light, and listened as the light gave her instruction.

“I have an idea.” Ciara grunted out against the wind, and gripped once before letting go, free falling on her own through the sky now.

Shadows crept up, wrapping around her legs to sprout off at her back in wing shapes, catching the wind and slowing her descent. From a snapshot bird's eye view, she saw the battlefield spread out before her. A beast attacking the dark one and Hildegunde. Iraleth's tank-shot impact against the Beast. Ciara watched, tilting the shadows she glided on so she was falling on top of the Beast. And, at the last minute, she dispersed the wings, gripping the dark one's sword firmly in her hands as an aura of shadows crept around the blade.

With a hiss of air through her teeth, she brought the blade down on top of the Beast, the blade causing an arc of shadow to cut through the sky. The impact would be enough to create cracks in the ground and send up clouds of dust.

After the impact, Ciara would flip back in the air, landing cleaning a few feet from the Beast. Her eyes would land on Hildegunde immediatly.

“Are you okay?”

Hildegunde grimaces as she moves on her bad leg, avoiding the pursuing beast. Each swipe brings claw and blade inches closer and closer to the hunter, and Hildegunde knows she cannot scramble away fast enough to make another shot. She looks for some sort of out...

...Then there were four. Regardless of how empty Otis's threats were, backup came all the same. Hildegunde watches as Ciara and Iraleth crash upon the beast, scrambling away in the moment of chaos. Just enough of a buffer to get away and make another shot. She'd need to thank her classmates later for their haste and help - but that could wait.

"I'm fine!" Hildegunde calls out. Save for her minor leg injury, she was doing okay. She raises her rifle once more, aiming for the creature's head. The head was a smaller target, and she couldn't fire right away - not with Iraleth so close. But if she could make the shot, it would likely end things a lot quicker. If she missed? The situation was more than under control with four people.

Well, three people. Otis's answer wasn't reassuring. She was no help as a healer - surely someone out of the group would be. Or at the very least, know the way to a clinic. She could not allow Chloe to bleed out while the four of them fought.

"Someone go to the door, Chloe needs healing!" Hildegunde calls out, an unusually authoritative tone to her voice.

"Rest of us, stay!"

He clicked his tongue.

Otis hated stubborn fools. Especially ones that possessed Ethos.

With empty threats breaking down, the Strigidae sprang away from the acidic arrows, their scattershot nature making it easy enough to avoid if he kept moving. The beast’s focus was on Hildegunde, undoubtedly due to what she and Chloe knew, and while Chloe had been secured, the riflewoman had a clearer head. Who knew what blood loss and fatigue could do to one’s memories? He loaded his gun with phantasmal ammunition once more, the beginnings of a spell upon his lips.

Then, quite on time, Iraleth and Ciara arrived with the brilliance of a sunburst followed by the arcing of shadow.

“That’s my cue then,” the Strigidae said. “Don’t be too invested in winning, if the three of you can’t handle it.”

And with that, he backstepped into the void within his Door, allowing the structure itself to fade into nothingness upon his exit.

Ciara, however, would receive a mental message before he disappeared completely: this is as good an opportunity as any to secure an advantage.

---

And thus, he was within that false heaven once more, a micro-universe craft from a creator-god who had yet to live past two decades. Within the space, Chloe floated, whatever blood she shed becoming sanguine globules that hovered around her in the weird physics of the World Between the Doors.

"Are you conscious?"

There was no particular concern, nor perhaps even any urgency in his voice as he posed the question.

"If you are, explain what happened. And explain how you are in the center of it."

Chunji, after all, had defined the roles.

Hildegunde had followed, and Chloe had lead.

@Sifr@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark

CAMPUS GROUNDS, FOREST

Both attacks would strike true against the wolf, whose body crumpled into a crater in the ground. A gurgle of bile and blood cocktail fled its open maw as its body convulsed in the dirt, dull wispy eyes darting back and forth between Iraleth, Ciara and Hildegunde. In the places upon which it was struck, the veil of shadows was cut apart, revealing grey fur underneath with a fresh coat of crimson. "Mmmm... not enough to overcome a pure numbers advantage. Not like this, at least. The bloodlust was a critical flaw as well," the raspy voice would continue to echo out from the wolf.

All at once, the shadow veil coating the beast would warp and converge upon its back where Ciara had struck, revealing the full form of the wounded grey wolf that bore no recognition in its eyes. The shadows on its back rose and formed into the shape of a small impish creature made of pure, featureless darkness, its lower half seemingly rooted in place to the torso of the lifeless beast. A second later, a mouth of gleaming white teeth upon its otherwise silhouetted face became its sole defining feature, curved downwards in a scowl.

"It truly is a shame to be assaulted by a fellow sufferer," it would look towards Ciara. "And for that sufferer to unite with the worshiper of a false deity," it would then regard Iraleth with a wave of its hand.

"And another who saw, yet I have no chance of survival were I to continue to fight... hrmmm," it would finally turn towards Hildegunde, finger to chin in thought, muttering to itself in an unknowable language.

After arriving at an epiphany, it raised its tiny arms in the air with a smile on its face.

"I have been vanquished, great heroes! You may now proceed to take me to your leader, or whatever else your protocol is around here. I invoke my prisoner rights and safeties!"

---

@ERode

WORLD BETWEEN DOORS

Chloe's eyes fluttered open as she registered Otis' voice. She made no efforts to move as she simply stared into whatever 'up' was in the current moment, entranced by the space she found herself in. Blood still leaked from her wounds, trailing out of her slowly, though she wasn't as bothered by it as she was previously. "Hildegunde and I... were attacked by some monstrosity in the woods, as you saw."

Turning over to face towards Otis, slowly, she continued.

"I was taking a brisk walk before the ceremony, and she took it upon herself to follow me... for whatever reason. Then we were both attacked."

Despite floating through the air and not having a concrete grasp on a solid up or down, Chloe's hands fell to her hips in annoyance, glare sharpening towards Otis. A small spiral of scarlet trailed around her as she floated through the World Between Doors, but the pain she was in could only be matched by the sheer insult of accusations.

"Neither she nor I are in the center of anything, you understand. We were attacked by some accursed being, by a bad roll of the dice. Wrong place, wrong time. And now a threat to school safety prowls the forest attacking students, which is a far more pressing matter, you must agree."

---

@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE

"Ah?! Alright, just uh, go off then," Emelie exclaimed in surprise at Chunji's sudden sprint. She hobbled towards the front by Raja, going her separate way for now.

When Chunji had caught up to Rio, the boy was far removed from the attunement zone, walking towards the front of the school. He half-turned on his heel towards his classmate when the distance was closed, facing Chunji with a look that immediately betrayed that something was smoldering beneath the surface. "What's so important about it? Attuning to all the school's leylines, so we can be big 'n strong like the greats? Borrowing Big Daddy Union's grand earthen powers? Pffft."

He turned away and spat, then stared back at his classmate. Removing one of his hands from his pockets, he pointed at Chunji while still half-turned towards him. "And you, all the while. The same blank, uncaring expression, yesterday and today. Teacher's pet, tryin' to make sure everyone stays in line. Rules to the letter, and not a step above or below."

His outstretched hand balled into a fist which fell to his side, turning to fully face towards Chunji now, maintaining a distance of two paces away.

"I was gonna go take care of somethin', but you piss me off, you know that? Seeing you prancing around with that same condescending look, it all just reminds me of how we never got to finish our fight the first time. Maybe if we had, you would've been taught a valuable life lesson."

No words left the reticent boy's mouth. From one perspective, people may infer that he was formulating a proper response to his peer's outburst. Another would be that his peer's outburst didn't warrant a response, as Chunji must have concluded it to be incredibly childish. The answer was simple.

Chunji froze at the unexpected outburst that Rio leveled onto him. How did such animosity build up over the course of two days? Any actions that may have involved Rio were purely inconsequential. If Rio wasn't going to attend the first important ceremony, what was the point of attending the academy in the first place? Furthermore, what was with this random accusation of being a teacher's pet? Knowing more about your surroundings and ethos was crucial for future reference, but even then, Chunji stood with an adamant demeanor when dealing with things that didn't interest him.

Now for the fight on the bridge? It was simple. Rio and Chloe were in the way, so Chunji remove them from his path. If anything stood to obstruct his goal, Chunji would find the proper procedure to excise that obstacle.

These reasonings would sound like excuses to Rio, so Chunji didn't bother to explain himself to his classmate. His well-meaning concern only stoked the indiscernible fumes that had rested within Rio. It would be best to address Rio's statement before explaining why he had followed in the first place.

"I was not aware that I had aggrieved you so, Rio. Though I won't apologize as it comes off as insincere." Chunji emphasized. A frown broke out on his face as he continued his dialogue. "Honestly, I wouldn't have cared that much about your activities. What you do does not pertain to me, but on this occasion, I found it warranted my intervention." Dayin popped up beside them, and with a snap of Chunji's fingers, the pages started to turn.

A list of messages from Chunji's contacts appeared.

"Otis had sent me a message regarding Ms.Steeler and Ms. Nachtenbel's whereabouts. I only told him I remembered Nachtenbel following Steeler out of the classrooms after class. Now..." Hildegrunde's latest message glowed to signify the importance of its contents. "Surely, you can connect the dots yourself, can you not?"

Whatever bridge that Chunji had been hoping to build was put into jeopardy. How Rio would respond to this could vary in two extreme ways. Either he attacks, or he runs towards the forest. Any result was fine.

Chunji had given up the idea of forging a rapport with Rio. Having friends was not a long-term goal Chunji envisioned for himself.

Otis frowned.

A bad roll of the dice.

He didn’t like that phrase. Didn’t like the implication of something as indistinct as ‘luck’ out there. But he held his tongue there, a neutral stare matching Chloe’s glare. Regardless of the threat that the wolf-like being presented, it was no mere monstrosity, unidentifiable and without reason. It was no impossible threat either, not an insurmountable enemy. Instructor Alto had spoken of how Wingram was different from Strigari, how the former was merciful compared to the latter, but Otis himself couldn’t particularly picture it, in truth.

A few first-year students disappearing into the forest, never to return?

That was a rounding error. If they died, they would not become the heroes that the Vaalin Union desired. The facilities themselves would remain, and only those who survived the threats within and without deserved such a vainglorious title. The Strigidae understood this, did not feel anything about it. Chloe did, however. Ciara held darker, heavier nama, but Chloe’s burned just as well, simmering beneath the surface only to boil over and over and over.

“This is a space isolated from Castalia, in a manner even more so than Ascendia,” Otis said, “Nothing spoken here will be heard elsewhere, Chloe. If there is something you know, say it here. If you do not wish to answer my questions, be forthright with it, because I do not get the sense that you are quite as conniving and calculating as the environment you find yourself in.”

Whether that prompted any particular response from her or not, however, the owlkin himself would move on. Answers could be obtained from more than just a single source. Answers could be obtained even from a single source, regardless of consent, if one had the right tools and spells.

“Time, however, flows regardless of isolation, and when I had left, the attunement ceremony had already begun. Do you wish to attend, or would you rest and recover at a clinic?”

Wingram, Forest
@Nanaya, @Psyker Landshark

---

This is as good an opportunity as any to secure an advantage.

Ciara blinked, stunned, as she watched the door with the dark one disappear. An advantage? For what?

That’s when her face turned slowly towards Iraleth, and trepidation entered her system. The dark one had to mean Iraleth, right? They were fated to duel in just a handful of hours, were they not?

Her hand gripped the sword tighter.

Iraleth’s back was turned to her, wholly focused on the shadowy Beast. Now would be an opportune moment as any other to strike her down. Forget the duel. Forget a fair fight. Just end her troubles right here and now. Safer that way. She might actually lose a fair fight.

She took a step forward.

Better just to end all her problems right here and now.

The Voices in her head were silent, bated breath.

But before Ciara could act on her dark impulses, the shadowy thing spoke. It had separated partially from the wolf and was looking directly at her.

"It truly is a shame to be assaulted by a fellow sufferer, and for that sufferer to unite with the worshiper of a false deity,"

Ciara’s dark amber eyes narrowed, and she lowered her sword hand slightly. Fellow sufferer? What was this dark being going on about? What did it know?

Her eyes glanced at Iraleth. United, huh? She stared silently before turning her eyes back to the small being.

"I have been vanquished, great heroes! You may now proceed to take me to your leader, or whatever else your protocol is around here. I invoke my prisoner rights and safeties!"

Ciara stared a moment longer, ideas forming in her mind. She immediately stood a bit straighter, and teleported in a gust of wind, appearing in between the little shadow being and Iraleth. Her stare was cold, looking at Iraleth over Otis’ raised sword. She only spared a slight glance to the shadow being, reaching out towards it with an arm.

“Attach to me, we need to talk. In private.” She spoke low to the being, the tone in her voice giving little in the way of negotiation.

Her eyes snapped fully back to Iraleth, teeth bared. “Don’t try and stop me.”

The beast...surrendered? The Inheritor's armor paused in surprise, but didn't lower its weapons, holding steady in a ready stance as Iraleth narrowed her eyes. What game was this?

Its words drew greater cause for concern. Solidarity with the shadow witch, and dubbing Astra a false god? Iraleth tightened her grip. It dared to invoke rights? Umbralists lost their rights.

She stepped forward, having no intention on honoring the imp's pleas. Best to deal with this now. Or at least she would have, if Ciara didn't step in to intervene.

Ciara challenged her, and Iraleth legitimately debated the merits of ending this here and now. Forget the duel. Forget what they'd already arranged. Would it not be better in everyone else's interest if she just ended this farce before it had a chance to grow fangs? It would be so easy. Fly. Close the distance. Bring the blade down. Ciara was proving more untrustworthy by the second.

But that wasn't who she was. Iraleth had sworn an oath. And she would honor it. Her Ethos released, and the Inheritor faded away to reveal a furious half-elf glaring daggers at both Ciara and the imp.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" She spat, her sword still clutched in one hand. "Damn yourself further, for all I care." Iraleth turned away, uncaring if her back was exposed. If Ciara attacked her now, that would end her case definitively. And if she was that far gone, why shed tears for the girl's fate?

In the meantime, Iraleth moved next to Hildegunde, starting to inspect her.

"Are you injured? You did well to survive before we arrived."

@Sifr @Estylwen

What game was this, indeed? Minutes ago, Hildegunde was staring down death, and now this thing had the audacity to plead mercy? Even if Hildegunde knew where she would theoretically bring this creature, she had doubts as to whether or not it was a good idea. Worse yet, Ciara stepped towards the creature with a request that nearly made her jaw drop.

Sure, Iraleth might not intervene, but Hildegunde very well will. Ignoring Iraleth's concern over her with a dismissive wave, she takes a step between Ciara and the being, her rifle pointed at the latter. Her finger hovers over the trigger.

Her leg stung more now that the adrenaline was wearing off, but that could wait for later.

"You're going to trust that thing?" Hildegunde hisses, incredulous. She motions to the lifeless body of the wolf with her foot - what a waste, who knows if she'll be able to process the poor beast before it began to spoil - as if to remind Ciara of what happened to the last thing it attached to. Of what little regard this creature had for its hosts.

"Are you fucking mad?"

Wingram, Forest
@Nanaya, @Sifr, @Psyker Landshark

---

"Damn yourself further, for all I care."

Ciara swallowed the lump in her throat, her sword hand lowering a bit.

“Aww, that’s sweet. You’ve grown to care for the light, haven’t you?” A Voice snickered in her head.

“Shut up.”

“You know you can never be friends with it, right?”

Ciara’s lips drew into a thin line, trying to hide the hurt in her eyes. This was the path she chose; she had to stick to it. With Iraleth’s back turned towards her, Ciara lowered her sword entirely, ignoring the pit growing in her stomach.

She was about to turn back to the shadow being, when she watched Hildegunde block the view, stepping in defiantly.

"You're going to trust that thing? Are you fucking mad?"

“It knows something. It- I just need to talk to it. I need to know.” Ciara said, pressing a hand to her head in frustration while she tried to reason with Hildegunde.

She absolutely did not want to hurt Hildegunde. But Ciara knew she couldn’t budge. She wouldn’t move on this - she had to know.

“Either you let me take it, or I’ll take it… by force.” Ciara said, immediately regretting the words coming out of her mouth. Even as she spoke, she didn’t have the will to lift her sword.

But she didn’t have a choice. Her whole life, she had no idea what she truly was. The Voices certainly didn’t help. And now, for the first time, this tiny little being recognized her. She had to know more.

An idea formed in her head. A devious idea that would ensure no one got hurt, and she would get what she wanted, what she needed. Ciara looked directly at Hildegunde, and uttered one simple phrase.

“Fames.”

Darkness exploded from her shadow and below her feet, extending out and upward, attempting to enclose Hidegunde and the shadow being within. Within the darkness of the now sphere, feelers extended around Hildegunde’s boots, giving Ciara a precise idea of her location. It was a simple matter to slide past Hildegunde and, once more, attempt to reach for the shadowy being. In the darkness, shadows attempted to scoop up the shadowy being, to sever its connection to the wolf. If successful, Ciara would have the being attach itself to her, and it would be a simple matter of teleporting an escape…

Iraleth snapped. Ciara's last, stupidest possible course of action was just too much for her to tolerate. Her sword came flying back out of its sheathe, and with a wave of her other hand, the blade began to shine with radiant light as Iraleth plunged headlong into the sphere of darkness, illuminating the area and trying to balance out the shadows.

The half-elf interspersed herself between Ciara and the shadowy imp, her sword of light stopping to point at the witch's throat.

"I have given you every. Possible. Chance. To simply be more than what I feared you were. You want me to treat you like an Umbralist so badly? Fine. We can have our duel right here and right now if you persist. But I warn you now: I would have spared you and left your fate to the faculty should I have won officially. Here? If you lose, I will put you down. This is your last opportunity to abandon this madness and walk away."

Her tone turned almost pleading, if it weren't for the undertone of fury still lacing every word.

"Stop making me have to try to kill you. I never wanted this to end in violence, you absolute idiot."

@Sifr @Estylwen

@ERode

WORLD BETWEEN DOORS

"I cannot... no, rather, I will not say much."

Chloe crossed her arms and turned her gaze, looking off into the distance of this dimension - anything to avoid looking at its creator, whose approach to inquiry mentally disarmed her. It was all so direct and so forward, nothing like the verbal dances she had often heard of the nobility swaying to. It was foreign and odd, to be around somebody so direct - to be around people so direct, in general. Perhaps, if nobody could hear her but the singular Strigidae before her, a small fragment could be told?

"I and another have been cursed, I suppose you could say. I with far too much essence, and they with not enough, and yet neither of us able to balance those scales," she began, raising a thumb to her teeth to bite down lightly, recounting something in her mind. "Not permanently, at least, and never again," she would end with a mutter.

Uncrossing her arms, the frill-elf once more stared at Otis, her body now openly facing towards him as she floated.

"I came here to find an answer to cure the two of us. As it stands now, should our natural lives play out, I will live to see every short-lived person I know die before me while I wither into a husk, and they..."

Trailing off momentarily, Chloe shook her head, defying her own hesitation and bringing the words aloud in this world that housed only two.

"Their prime essence will expire in six years, and they will die before having truly lived. So my time here will be spent doing what I can to ensure that we both live our lives at their intended lengths - no more, and no less. And perhaps as a result of that, I allowed myself to fall into talks with all sorts of individuals with all sorts of knowledge. That's all I can say."

Chloe would allow silence to fill the air, a portion of her secret off her chest to at least one person. When Otis had moved on, a scowl of regret crossed her features, nodding.

"I think it would be best if I were dropped at the clinic, if that suits you. The blood loss is making me a little lightheaded..."

The girl would slowly blink her eyes open and closed, a drowsy disposition gradually overtaking her.

---

@AThousandCurses

CAMPUS GROUNDS, LEYLINE ATTUNEMENT ZONE

"Aggrieved? It's nothin' like that. It's not like you did anything to me personally, didn't burn my house down or kill my parents."

Rio would take a half-pace closer, eyes locked.

"But you do remind me of all those shitty cement kissers in the capital. The kind to abide by the law while rising to the top off of the charity or success of others, only to toss 'em all aside when they got where they wanted to be. Smoochin' the ground of their superiors until they had the power to overthrow 'em."

Another half-pace, now with a small grin on the fighter's face that still held a look of annoyance in the eyes. He dug into his jacket pocket and unfurled a stick of gum, lobbing it into his mouth and chewing quickly. He was one step away as he continued speaking.

"Your stoicism hides it, but you have just as much to prove as any of those anxious goons. It's in the way that ya give the bare minimum until forced, I didn't need much time at all to see that. There's something in there, right? That thing ya brought out in the leyline, for example. Sorta tells me that if ya gave it your all from the beginning, the thing with Alto would've gone a lot more smoothly."

Rio's right foot slowly extended forward, but stopped before making a full step. He would spit his gum out onto the ground where his foot was about to touch, the shoe now hovering just over it. Looking back up at Chunji, the grin had faded.

"Now, I was goin' somewhere. Things are almost definitely covered with Pink and Shoots by now, I imagine, so no point in me making the run there. Am I gonna have to finish taking this step and ruining the sole of my shoe with this foul piece of gum underneath it, or are you gonna fuck off and let me do my thing?"

Snakes were said to be cold-blooded creatures, and folk tales of the Yi Family lineage often spoke about how closely connected they were to the Great Serpent. Oddly enough, Chunji felt that his blood was boiling underneath his skin. He was starting to understand Emelie's feelings at the library when he minced words at her. The insinuations, the accusations, and the amount of slander that Rio had thrown were burning the bridge faster.

"Ho... I apologize in that case. I mistook an aspect of your character," Chunji coldly said.

Projection was something Rio was most apt at. Approval? If Chunji could tilt his perspective to a degree of bias like how Rio was doing, wasn't beating Alto's challenge nothing more than a way to exceed expectations? It was just to satiate one's own pride.

Why would he spill blood, sweat, and tears for a cause that didn't even interest him? To achieve a momentary relief that would prove inconsequential in the future?

Chunji refused to partake such tasks.

Though Rio had been right to a certain extent, Chunji did have something to prove. Rio's target for that approval, however, was extensively mismatched. Any insult directed towards himself was okay, but an indirect one to his parents was one that he would not have tolerated. The grip on his sword tightened. He would have liked nothing more than to draw his blade.

"As we have discuss the crux of the issue, there is nothing more to be said." With that said, Chunji turned and left the area. Once he felt Rio was also going, Chunji would have stepped aside and hid. The heat from his blood still resonated in him. He couldn't return to the ceremony like this.

If he had been the blood of a dog, he'd happily tear out Rio's throat then and there. However, Chunji had a cold bloodline.

He'd wait, and he'd strike.

"透过现象看本质"

The world revealed itself to Chunji's eyes. There were enough coincidences for Chunji to connect the thoughts between Rio and Steeler. Enough of that warranted Chunji staying a little longer and observing from afar.

Clearly, Steeler had gone off by herself and got caught along with Hildegrunde in some accident. Now Rio was going off by himself, and Chunji wasn't interested in being the Hildegrunde of the situation.

Now what will happen to Rio?

It was clear to Chunji that he involved himself with more trouble than it was worth.

As Iraleth points her sword towards the imp and light pierces through the darkness, Hildegunde points her rifle at the shadow-imp - she would not allow it to grow cocky at the diversion of attention and try something funny. Her eyes burn with a flurry of emotions, fierce at Ciara's and molten hot at Iraleth's. Lines were being crossed and Hildegunde was becoming more and more frustrated with these two by the hour.

"Excuse you? Put her down? I am not burying another body in the fucking woods," she tells Iraleth, too wired up to realize what she had let slip.

"And you - I don't know what kind of answers you're looking for, but are you that desperate to endanger yourself and others for answers you may not even get - answers that surely have leads elsewhere? Is it worth biting the hands of those who want to put faith in you?"

She sucks air in through barred teeth. Stupid. These girls are so stupid. She is so thankful towards them, and yet they are so incredibly stupid.

"Why do you two insist on seeing enemies in each other? Our aggressor is right here," she reminds them, poking the imp with her gun.