Carolyn's lip curled as she regarded Jacob with the kind of look that suggested that something abjectly repulsive was standing before her. Throughout her stint as a prefect, Carolyn had had to deal with an abundance of different faces. The difficulty that this presented in terms of remembering specific faces, however, was not an issue when it came to Jacob Rockwell.

Although he did run into trouble every now and then, he was not a notorious repeat offender. The reason Carolyn wanted this ignominious student to be anathematised by the rest of the student populace was simple; he was no army hero, he was a supercilious moron. Perhaps he wasn't a vocal bragger, but even his attire screamed pretentiousness to her as she glared at the dog tags he was wearing and refused to be without. She knew that people like him loved the attention of being different and were very eager to exploit that.

Unfortunately, her sentiments towards Rockwell would not be suffused to the rest of the students as he was not the social pariah between the two of them.

"If you call me 'Lynny again," she started, breaking the long and tense silence. "I'll kick your teeth down your throat."

It always amazed her how even other students would talk to her in a friendly manner or engage in a facetious, verbal jousting match as if the two had developed some kind of rapport. Either they had entertained the possibility of a friendship, or the detentions simply needed to be harsher.

"Kitchen duty from 6am to 9am. Toilet duty from the end of class to 8pm." she said tersely. "This is the part where you go back to your room, shut up and reflect on what a waste of space you turned out to be."

Carolyn turned on her heel and left haughtily, nodding in acknowledgement at the prefect who just passed her by.

Hugo, the prefect who was supposed to watch the gate from 1am til 2am, took up his position and gave Jacob an apologetic shrug.

---

Whilst she rarely felt sympathy for late-comers, and especially the group of failures she had had to deal with today, she did feel an infinitesimal pang of guilt for her treatment of Mable. The detention would still be on, of course, as Carolyn never reneged on punishments.

Thinking that it would be prudent to check on Mable and inform the nurse of her patient's detention situation, Carolyn made her way through the White Mage guild and gently opened the door to the infirmary.

"The fuck?" whispered Carolyn in surprise upon seeing Avery, sitting cross-legged and looking exhausted and thoroughly lost. "You better have a good excuse for being in here."

Avery shifted her line of sight from her interlocking fingers to the unwelcoming sight of Carolyn Lilac, the woman which embodied the ideal prefect for any guild. She made an effort to avoid the prefect during the day, knowing full well that Carolyn would dig up some irrelevant reason to punish her. She was too assertive and strict, and simply her presence made Avery nervous.

Carolyn loomed over her, looking as daunting and fearful as ever. Avery tried to avoid her piercing gaze, which appeared as though it stared straight through her like daggers. She hated being bossed around and told what to do, like some commonplace dog that held little to no authority for itself. But knowing Carolyn, that sort of behaviour was unavoidable in their current situation.

"I got lost," Avery replied in a monotone voice, tucking loose threads of hair behind her ears. She had no reason to be so afraid, as she was genuinely lost in the Academy. Yet the small sense of reassurance she granted herself didn't stop her hands from trembling as she tucked them into her pockets. She attempted to show as little emotion as she could, worried that even the slightest flinch would give Carolyn reason to lash out. Avery continued to stare into the cold floor, her toes curling up in her boots.

"Jesus, how did you get lost?" exclaimed Carolyn exasperatedly. "The rules don't allow me to punish stupidity but believe me, I would if I could."
Carolyn blurted out the words before really thinking about it. Here was a girl close to her age, sitting down on the floor because she was lost. As far as victims of verbal abuse went, this one was far too easy. The same unfamiliar pang of guilt that Mabel had caused her to endure grew larger at the sight of Avery's refusal to make eye contact.
"You need to start getting familiar with the building, you've been here too long to be getting lost." said Carolyn sternly. "Get back to your dorm. Go straight out of the door and take your first right, then your second left and go up the stairs. Take a right at the statue, then take your next left and finally the second right near the bathrooms. Keep going until you get to the painting of Minerva and then go left from there. It's really not that hard. Now go on, scram."

Waking up at 5:30 in the morning isn’t normally my cup of tea but trying to get back with imminent detention isn’t the best idea, I had devised a plan I remembered that Mabel’s Body warmer had broken I could probably salvage one from one of my sports kit. And wake her up for detention.

Searching through my chests I summoned Aeka to help me and for some conversation. I started talking to Aeka she kept saying that I’ve never trusted anyone since my trip so the reason of me trusting someone so easily was very strange for me. Once I had found a spare one I wandered over to the medical ward noticing how imposing the white building was for a medical ward.

“Hey Mable,” I said entering the doors “listen I found one of these in my kit and thought you might need it more than I, anyway you better get up detention is in 20 minutes I’ll see you, Hope you’re feeling better.”

Scenario #3
Walking over to the kitchens for detention is pretty much my normal day now. I hung around just outside waiting for either a prefect or some of the others from last night. A quick glance at my watch shows that it’s 5:57, people should be arriving around now.

Carolyn yawned as she turned the corner, still bleary-eyed and not feeling as if she had fully awaken. Perhaps she was still in bed and this was all a dream...
"Oh. It's you." she said dully upon noticing that Leo was waiting outside the door to the kitchens.
Dropping the thought of it being a dream, she contented herself to her current situation being reality or a nightmare. She leaned against the wall adjacent to the door and tried not to close her eyes as she waited for the others to get there. She hoped that they would get there before 6am as she really wasn't in the mood to dole out any more punishment. More detentions meant more detention duty and sleep was too precious of a commodity to waste on these plebeians.

Scenario #2

Jacob smiled as Carolyn walked away, visibly infuriated with him. As the new guard showed up and offered an apologetic shrug, Jacob waved it off. "Not her fault. I'm the one out at one in the damned morning, after all." As he made his way back to the room, he finally looked over his clothes. It seemed there was a bit more damage than he anticipated: a few small holes, as well as several scorch-marks, had made themselves apparent on his jeans, and the left arm of his t-shirt was nearly burned off. The jeans weren't a huge deal, but the shirt would have to go. Oh well.

4:45 AM. A piercing, monotone ring forces Jacob up, his hand shooting out and slamming the alarm clock. "Just over three hours, eh? Well, I've done more on less." Sitting up, he swung his legs over the bed, launching himself onto his feet with his hands. Stretching and yawning, Jacob walked over to his dresser, pulling out his clothes for the day. More or less the same thing he wore every day, save for the jacket. That came later. First order of business: exercise. Laying prone on the ground, Jacob took a few breaths before beginning his routine.

Around half an hour later, Jacob made his way to the shower, cleaning himself off and getting ready for a long day. Grabbing his rucksack and jamming whatever books and materials he'd need inside, he made his way to the kitchen. By the time he arrived, it was just before six AM. Lucky him.

Scenario #3

"Mornin', Carolyn. Sorry 'bout last night. Didn't mean ta piss you off with the nickname. Mornin'...I recognize the face, can't place a name. Sorry 'bout that. Pretty sure I saw ya last night though. Pretty crazy, eh? Personally I wasn't expecting things to get so crazy, but it turned out those chumps weren't yer regular buncha chumps, either." Shrugging, he offered a smile of comradery to Leo, whose name he still couldn't remember. He was certain they were different Guilds, though, so it probably wasn't a major issue for either of them. Probably. Hopefully.

Scenario 2

Ashlynn watched the Mable and Carolyn make their exit. Revving her bike gently, she slowly went off to park it, all while trying to not make such a loud ruckus.

/Ashlynn left Scenario 2/

---

Scenario 3

Ashlynn never overslept if she could help it. She only did when she was ensured a restful lazy day, which came rarely. She got ready for the day, especially for 'detention' early in the morning; suit and helmet on, backpack grabbed, and out the door.

She arrived at the outside door to the kitchens, only to see the faces from last night. She leaned on the wall in front of the door, arms crossed, waiting calmly. But the calm was short lived.

---

Scenario 3

Cancer, on the other hand, woke up late. Not very punctual and very much one to do things last minute, he rushed out of his dorm room and sprinted his way down the halls; his hands were rigid and went up and down with each step.

Getting closer to the kitchens, he checked his left wrist whilst sprinting. There was no watch, as he didn't wear one, but he stared at where the watch should be anyway. "NO NO NO NO NO", he yelled while on his way to his destination.

He finally made it to the kitchen doors and skidded to a halt. "YES YES YES YES YES", he yelled again after seeing Carolyn- meaning he was not late. Yes!

Cancer looked around him, noticing everyone still drowsy. He especially noticed Ashlynn, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet at near 6 AM.

"Nice helmet!"

Ashlynn's head turned to him, noticing his helmet. "Nice.. Face." She turned her head away from him, staring blankly at the wall across from her through her visor.

"Hey Mable, listen I found one of these in my kit and thought you might need it more than I, anyway you better get up detention is in 20 minutes. I'll see you, hope you're feeling better."

Mable was silent until she heard the doors close. She was unmoving for a while, then let loose a low, pining moan of complaint for having to wake up to early. Slowly, and sluggishly, Mable shifted her weight, sitting up drowsily and looking around the impeccably white infirmary halls, pitched in a deep blue hue from the lights being turned off. She judged, from one of the windows, that dawn was fast approaching - the blood on her clothes, hair, arms and face was black and cracking. Disgusted, Mable dragged herself to the infirmary showers. Each step made the ground slide about under her feet which threatened to fail her at any moment.

After a cold, miserable but incredibly refreshing shower, Mable pulled on her bloodied clothes again, feeling heavy. Dimly, she thought about maybe sneaking off to her dorm to get a new outfit. At least, now, the ground wasn't tilting to the left and then to the right. She felt more energized, stable...

Once Mable approached the bed, she noticed three things. The first thing was that her bloody bodywarmer had gone, but the items in her pockets were placed on her bedside table with a note. The second thing she noticed was that, underneath the note, was a new outfit - a pair of skinny jeans, a pale blue heavy-knit sweater, and her bobble hat. And finally, the third thing she noticed was a completely new bodywarmer; was this the one Leo was talking about? Mable smiled warmly at the bodywarmer, before her smile faded into a puzzled frown. He didn't have to give her one, but he did anyway, and that confused Mable.

After cruising through the note ("Sorry about the clothes, we sent someone to get you a new outfit but the bodywarmer was beyond repair, just leave your old things at the foot of the bed and we can wash and disinfect them for you. Regards, the Medical Team.") Mable tugged the curtains around her bed and got dressed in silence, pulling on the bodywarmer last. It was warm, and slightly too big for her, but that's what made it better.

Scenario #3
Mable finally made it to the kitchens, having to run since she was not only late but also all the way in the Infirmary. She made it at 6.00 on the dot, which was an incredibly close call. At once she recognised Leo and Ashlynn - who could forget that motorcycle helmet? - And also one of the fighters from last night, along with someone she hadn't seen before. For a few moments she just stood there dumbly before moving to stand by Leo and Ashlynn.

Last night, Mable's words flowed unhindered, forced to co-operate through extreme terror and panic. But there was no immediate danger here and Mable's true personality started to shine through a bit more. She looked up to ask Aslynn how she was doing, but her vocal chords compressed, and she felt fear grip her heart. She looked so imposing under that motorcycle helmet. She probably didn't like her at all. Maybe she hated her for making her wake up at 6am. Maybe she'll think that Mable's just an oddball like most of her supposed 'friends' believed when she was little. Unable to face the consequences, Mable just glanced up at Ashlynn, opened her mouth, and then shut it again, deeming it better to be quiet.

Tired, damp and cold from the shower, and now afraid, Mable couldn't bear to even begin to thank Leo for the bodywarmer. Her mind took over and she over-thought the situation, coming to the same conclusion that Leo would be repulsed by her and refuse to speak to her ever again. It was terrifying, for Mable - she had gained something precious and didn't want to ruin it by talking. Or smiling. Or doing anything they could comment on.

So she stood by them in silence, arms folded nervously, looking at the floor.

Ashlynn turned her head to Mable. The little girl practically radiated self-confidence issues. Ashlynn felt a bit bad for her. A young girl like Mable shouldn't have to see so much blood be spilled at that age. They should be doing... Girly things, like talking about boys and shopping for clothes. Not this.

"Hey kid. Sleep well?", Ashlynn asked with a small tinge of sincerity in her voice.

Carolyn, initially placated by Jacob's apology, felt her eyes narrow upon him once she heard him talk about what had happened 'last night' - his comments seemed to corroborate the wildly fantastical story that Leo had attempted to regale to her. Was she mistaken? Had their group actually been attacked by a group of Wanderers intent on ending their lives? It made no sense to her at all and thus, it was much easier to believe that Jacob was simply in on the joke. She would not risk her reputation in the eyes of the Academy staff by wasting their time with such nonsense.

She raised her eyebrows at the sight of Mabel, surprised that she had made it out of bed. Before she had left her in the Infirmary, Carolyn asked the nurse to only send her to detention if she woke up of her own accord. If she missed the detention, Carolyn had planned on arranging it for another time instead of adding to her punishment. She was aware that this was uncharacteristically kind of her but regardless of all other factors, Mable did have a spotless record in the Academy. In fact, she had kept such a low profile throughout her time at the Academy that her face was entirely new to Carolyn.

She disengaged herself from the wall and yawned once more before looking around at them all, barely able to conceal her irritability at having to wake up so early in the morning for a bunch of no-good troublemakers.

"Well, looks like you're all here." she observed, rather platitudinously. "Let's get going then, shall we?"

"You'll have company inside." she informed them, reaching for the door handle. "Some other students star-"

Carolyn yelped in pain and staggered backwards, clutching her nose; the door had swung with such frightful intensity that its collision wit her face had almost certainly broke her nose. Eyes streaming, she glanced up at the figure standing in the doorway.

"Oops." said Ivy sarcastically, ostensibly uninterested in concealing the intended nature of her action.

In a fit of blind rage, Carolyn lunged towards Ivy and grabbed her by the sweater, whirling around and slamming her against the wall with as much force as she could muster.

"You did that on purpose, you fucking psycho!" growled Carolyn, the taste of her own blood filling her mouth.

"It was an accident." said Ivy robotically, the tiniest shadow of a satisfied smile on her otherwise insouciant mien.

Carolyn gritted her teeth together, feeling enough rage to rip Ivy's head off. Realising that she couldn't attack a student for what they proclaimed to be an accident, she took several deep breaths through her nose to calm her down.

It didn't work.

She flung Ivy across the corridor telekinetically, over the heads of other students, and watched her body smash into the dense, marble wall. Without waiting for her to drop to the floor, Carolyn maintained the telekinetic hold she had on Ivy and threw her upwards against the ceiling and immediately brought her crashing down to the floor, revelling in the catharsis that revenge gave her.

She threw Ivy across the corridor once more, but Ivy was prepared this time. Just before the moment of impact, she coccooned herself in dark magic to absorb the impact of the collision. She tore out of Carolyn's telekinetic hold and planted her feet against the wall, swiftly freezing them in place and giving herself a perfect vantage point. In the blink of an eye, she had formed a massive sphere of dark magic in both hands and launched them straight at Carolyn who just barely managed to somersault out of the way. The result was a smoking crater in the wall where Carolyn's face had been a mere second ago.

Carolyn scowled at Ivy and expected to see this expression mirrored, but what she found was much more disconcerting. Ivy had a delighted grin on her face, a mark of her tenacious pugnacity, that clearly revealed how entertaining she found all of this. Carolyn, on the other hand, found herself more preoccupied with the prospect of losing her prefect badge than Ivy's loathsome truculence.

Ivy flipped off the wall and landed cleanly on her toes, her poise precise as she looked ready to pounce at Carolyn. The two were at an impasse; Carolyn would have to wait for Ivy to strike, or she'd lose her badge, whereas Ivy would have to wait for Carolyn to strike, or she'd be expelled. The two glowered at each other, the tension so thick that it seemed as if the air itself was getting denser. The only sound that punctuated the silence was the dripping of the blood from Carolyn's nose onto the floor. Regardless of the blood and the pain, her eyes were full of fire and wrath.

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