[IC] Tales of Amarist: Young Heroes

[XMEGAVENOMX]

Chapter 1: Young Heroes

It was a nice, brisk morning in Eve City; there was a slight breeze blowing, the sky was perfectly clear and the winter months were finally ending, bringing back some green to the naked branches that typically decorated the city. A young man dressed in obsidian pants and a white undershirt stood in front of a mirror adjusting his clothes and flattening out unsightly wrinkles. Phillip moved over to his coat rack near his dresser and slid on his matching obsidian Magus Academy coat that signified him as a secondary level student. His roommate had already departed for the school buildings even though classes were not going to start for roughly another half an hour. Phillip was currently finishing up a few classes from the standard course load such as secondary history and science but along with the typical classes he was placed in a pair of advanced magic classes along with a handful of other students who specialized in alternative styles of magic. Then of course there was also his combat training classes where a variety of fighting techniques and weapon specializations were taught. The black haired young man was one of the top marksmen in the Academy but had recently been focusing on honing his abilities as a squad leader; he had been beaten convincingly by an upper level student two years ago that swung the tide of the fight in his favor by managing to close the distance between the two combatants and forcing Phillip into a close quarters fight.

Finally satisfied with his appearance the young gun mage grabbed his necessary books and departed for class. His four story dormitory was populated by a collection of boys close to his age numbering close to three hundred total male secondary level students. The total enrollment of Magus Academy recorded at the beginning of the academic year was 2,476. This was a record number for Magus Academy's brief history and Phillip had seen enrollment increase by a small percentage every year for the past seven years. The male to female ratio was fairly even but, luckily for Phillip and the other boys, was skewed in slight favor towards the female side as there were a large number of families in the outer rim of New Eden who were still in the process of acquiring a consistent supply of Mana-Drives from ManaTek Industries and new Magic Towers that were still under construction and thus still needed their young men to stay and work traditional rural jobs.

The Magus Academy grounds were spread out over a five-hundred thousand square meter plot of land that was acquired eight-five years ago by the original founder, Valentius Argo. It was a beautiful campus that featured excellent architecture that truly exuded a sense of modernity, forward thinking and higher learning. In the spring, like it is now, students were often seen out on the various green lawns in the afternoons studying, eating, socializing or exercising. Magus Academy was a very special place and was seen by many as the focal point of progress in the land. But for now, at least to Xavier, the only thing that mattered was making it across campus to class on time. He wasn't known as a morning person and was late to his first class more than a student of his standing should be. His first class was Amaristine History and on this particular morning he just barely managed to slide through the classroom door just as the eight o’clock bell chimed across campus.

[SaberClass4242]

Albert was running, running as fast as his legs could carry him as excitement fueled his entire being. A figure appeared just in the distance; a tall man in a scarlet suite standing in the open gateway, his hair long and dark, matching his well trimmed beard. There was a smile on his face as Albert collided with his legs, wrapping his arms around them as tightly as he could. He could feel the man's large hands ruffle his hair, joy filling his little body almost immediately. He looked up to the man eagerly as he gripped Albert's shoulders, pulling him away gently as he lowered himself to one knee. He reached behind him, pulling out a large, aged book, the leather cover as ragged as could be. But as the man handed it to him, Albert did not care, because he knew what this book meant.
‘Study hard,’ the man told him with a warm, gentle smile, his eyes shimmering like endless emerald lakes. ‘And, one day soon, you'll be ready to come with me.’
And then the man rose from his feet, ruffling Albert's hair one last time before turning and making his way down the stone pathway. Albert watched with a grin, gripping the book close to his chest as he watched the man's figure grow smaller and smaller.
“Bye, daddy.”

Albert's eyes opened suddenly, still feeling heavy and sore. It was as though he hadn't even slept a wink, though he knew that was hardly the case. He yawned long and hard before slowly raising himself out of bed. He looked around his dormitory, his fellow roommate still fast asleep as always. He could hardly blame him, if Albert could have his way there would be no reason to wake up so early. But he digressed, making his way into the bathroom and beginning his morning routine. He quickly bathed before dressing himself in the appropriate attire; his school uniform consisting of a black jacket over a white button down shirt, black slacks, abd his black boots. After dressing, he looked himself up and bmdown in the mirror, making sure hus hair and clothes wrre up to par before walikng over to the foot of his bed. There stood a large wooden tote, sitting right where it always had. Albert crouched down, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a single key. He unlocked the tote before slowly opening it and revealing multiple texts bound into leather covered books, papers with pentagrams and other magical ritualic symbols, and a wide array of glimmering gemstones. Albert grabbed a single scarlet pouch, clattering with the sound of all the gemstones already inside as he tied it to his hip. And with that, he locked the tote up, grabbed his brown leather satchel with all his books for the day, and made his way out of the room.

~~~

Albert Archibald, heir to the Archibald magecraft and student of Magus Academy, made his way down the path to his first class of the day, a slight bounce to his step and a competitive glimmer to his eye. It was merely the required history class that all students of his level had to take, but on top of the required material, Albert was also attending several advanced classes involving advanced magic, combat training, and battle tactics. He was only a year or so younger than than other second ranked students, but he had certainly earned his early entrance into the role. Nonetheless, he still had a long way to go before he could consider himself a full-fledged magus. That said, he would have to make it through his first class at the very least. He found his way to a seat before the bell range, indicating the start of classes. That did not stop one young man from sliding in right at the nic of time, though, mustering a sigh and a slight grin at the sight. At least Albert was not the only one having a hard time getting up that morning.

[Ursane]

The light of the morning sun cracked through the curtains of one Pharous Magni, unwelcome in the way it splashed across his eyelids, slowly rousing him from his deathly sleep. With a long, deep groan, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Waking up in the morning was definitely a process for Mag. Laying haphazardly in a pile of bed dressings, he cast a sideways glance over the preparations that awaited him, his outfit set out, his books packed up and ready, mobile workbench locked up and awaiting transport. Damn, late-night Pharous was such an overachiever. Much different than morning Pharous, he thought to himself with a roll of his eyes.

He took his time standing up, basking in these last moments of blissful grogginess before the insidious perturbation of his own nudity closed in around him. Going too long without the soft caress of tempered leather and the solid reassurance of cold steel always made him anxious. Of course, his normal outfit would be entirely inappropriate for the academic environment, as he learned, though didn't care for, last year. After a whole year of strange glances and whispers over his attire, he decided this year to compromise. He pulled on the smooth black trousers they sent to him, the white undershirt and button-up, but then strapped on his dual-Mana Drive harness. These mana drives were newer models he'd been developing, much more compact while still retaining their previous capacity and efficiency. He then donned the black jacket he'd modified to fit snugly around the drives. The dressy black combat boots that came with the uniforms now coursed with the dark navy runes that his usual boots also had, allowing them to function the same way, however discreetly. Completing the ensemble with a pair of black fingerless gloves fitted with the same tech of his gauntlets, and a pair of wire-framed glasses that mimicked his goggles, he had found a way to retain all the functionality of his previous outfit while appearing to wear only the school uniform, sans the smallish Mana Drives that matched the outfit well appearing on his chest and back.

Picking up his mobile workbench, which looked more like a suitcase at this point, and shouldering his satchel of tomes, he made his way to the campus, arriving early, as always. He couldn't say he was nervous, but he was definitely a little excited; from simply what he'd learned already, he'd increased the quality of his product by magnitudes. He watched the students file in with his signature grin emotion drowning out the fact that he sat in one of his least favorite classes; Amaristine History.

[Opposition]

It was very early in the morning, but much to the surprise of many, Alyn was always up on time. Despite her appearance, Alyn was generally the opposite of a night owl. She much preferred to spend time in the bright light of the sun, but that didn't stop her from spending nights lying awake anyways. After all, she had been lucky enough to be alone in her dormitory so she never needed to worry about noise and the like. Well, luck was what she credited it to, but the Divina family did have their sway when it came to matters out of view. It wasn't likely that she was one to ever make noise, though. It just wasn't her in her personality.

With a short yawn, Alyn rose from the bed in her open room. Sure, she had plenty of extra space before she had strewn her books and belongings all over the floor. Rolling out of bed after a few moments, Alyn proceeded to start her daily routine. Despite her introverted personality, Alyn was definitely one to care about her appearance. A great amount of time was spent preparing her outfit and her appearance every morning. She had plenty of time considering she had nothing else to do and no one else to deal with in the mornings. Alyn would either spend time with her pet or stroll around the academy, both of which were part of her intentions for the day. Her little Beltran was her pride and joy. In fact, one of the only things that seemed to bring a smile to her face was her time spent with that little crow. She poured a small fortune into his necessary care and pampering.

But Beltran wasn't the only little guy that needed taken care of that day. Alyn had a combat training class not far into the future, which meant she had some serious work to do, and that meant she had to remove the particularly peculiar and ugly ragged rug covering her dormitory's floor. There was no way she would keep such a hideous scrap of cloth there without good purpose, but good purpose it had. As Alyn slowly pulled the rather large piece of fabric, the large chalk seal upon her floor was revealed. As such a novice mage, such was required for her binding rituals. The rituals that seemed to grow ever more present in Alyn's life despite her aloof attitude towards the dark arts of the Divina Family, but alas, Alyn had already been scolded in her last three combat training classes after failing to perform any sort of spell. She, with a great remorse in her eyes, prepared herself to once more expose herself to the evils that had helped her get into the academy.

Alyn gently slid her mana gem into the chalk circle. She intended to stave off whatever her captive was at least until combat training had ended. As Alyn brought a hand out, her arm perpendicular to her body, the dull white lines and designs of chalk began to glow an eerie midnight blue. She had started channeling mana into the center of the circle. On the outside it appeared nothing more than some sort of magical circle enchantment, albeit a very demonic looking one via symbolism within, but on the inside, within the spells inner workings, there was a much more sinister use. A trap, it was, but more than a mechanical trap for animal hunting. This trap was the sort used to hunt and capture beasts of a much greater caliber, but of course, Alyn was only capable of harnessing the mere baseline of this spell. The mana slowly funneling into the enchanted circle acted as a lure, a tantalizing source of interest for less than savory beings that lurked beyond this plane of existence. After a while, any circle of this source was bound to lure some great creature, but what happens after the creature is captured is up to the prowess of the mage.

Alyn was lucky today. Her time in this constant meditative state working the spell was rather short. The channeling mana had caught the eye of a lurking beast after only a few minutes of concentration. Alyn's eye went alight with a mixture of surprise and relief as a small red creature started showing its form in the circle. A mere imp, it was. No doubt a simple minion to some hierarchy of greater beasts, demons, and devils. At least, that's what Alyn was taught to believe from her training with the Divina family. The lowly imp started lashing out with its claws and spouting nonsense with a raspy and pained voice. From here, it was a long and arduous duel of wit and will. Alyn, of course, came out on top. Reasoning with a devilish little imp may be hard, but tricking one is quite the opposite. It had very minor flame magic of which Alyn could now channel in small bursts. The seal would only hold for the day, and the magic would be just enough to show something in combat training. After finally finishing up the ritual and gently covering the seal, which was still glowing, with her dilapidated rug, Alyn started off on her other basic morning tasks.

After the careful slicing and feeding to her pet of 'just one more' slice of fruit about five times, Alyn set out around the academy just as the sun started to rise. She was dressed in her usual blue cloak that sat over the top of her academy uniform. It wasn't as inconspicuous as she seemed to think, but that midnight blue shawl of sorts had a special meaning to her. A meaning that she, like almost all other details about herself, kept hidden from those around her. Such thoughts pervaded her mind on a daily basis, and per usual, Alyn found herself pondering her magical abilities as she strolled through the rather pleasant sections of the academy. Over time, students began to populate the walkways and paths, but Alyn seemed too occupied to notice. No, she was lost in the ever speeding thoughts of her own mind. For Alyn, these almost meditative sessions were commonplace among her usual schedule. It was rather distracting, her constant thought. Every so often the young girl would bump into another student lightly, giving little more than a short and basically inaudible apology before moving on rather flustered.

[Xeron]

White covers piled high on a soft blue bed, a mass in the middle of them the long golden hair falling off the edge. A small pink-white bunny wrapped in the figures porcelain white arms, it’s onyx eyes staring, unmoving, the pink heart shaped nose stuck out on its face. The pale, slender figure stirred under the mountain of blankets groaning. Eyes fluttering open, she shoved her head under the covers kicking her feet.

“Nooo… Not already morning….” Her soft, tired voice croaked out. Holding the bunny tighter in her arms, more stirring under the covers was seen. Knowing her fate, Ambrosia poked her head from the covers and hissed at the sun streaming through the room. Finally, she began to peel away from her blankets rising out of bed and giving a stretch. She wore a silvery, silky nightgown with bows on the straps that fell off her shoulders. Giving a glance around the room, Ambrosia noticed that her roommate did not come home, again, last night. Not that she really cared, she was a bit of a pain in the ass anyways, Demanding that her pastel colours made her brain hurt or something of the sort.

Ambrosia slung her legs off the bed, the bags under her eyes worse than normal, as if she hadn’t been able to sleep for ten days straight. Even if this was not the case, it was the only unsightly part on her unblemished skin. Holding onto the stuffed animal’s hand, she hopped out of bed, the long, blonde, locks close to touching the hardwood floor. Her lip curled in the direction of the uniform the school had them wear. The black jacket with silver lining, and either black slacks or a black skirt with that white undershirt. She was pale as it stands, but this really made her look like a vampyr. Though she had the chance to add a bit extra to her uniform. The jacket had a small pink bunny pin on the upper right hand side, and the skirt had a bit of white tulle underneath. Nothing major, but her own personal touches.

Padding around her room, she sluggishly made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day to come. It wasn’t long for her to finish up her basic routine. That was until Ambrosia was met with a formidable foe. The streams of gold that ran down her face and to her calves, a soft, heavy mess of long curls. Rarely did she brush it, but it was a horrible process to get it up into her signature twin tails look. Battling with it, she shook her head out and attacked it from the top with a brush to get it parted correctly all while leaving out enough to string down her cheeks and rest on her neck. The bangs were the easiest part, cut slightly straight across her forehead with a minor curve. Ambrosia blessed her hair dresser for that.

A full five minutes later, her hair was up in two pink hair ties on either side of her head and flowed down to her knees. The room was covered with stray golden hairs and it was a bit of a mess. All Ambrosia could do was shrug, it was a battle to get it to do what she wanted anyways. There had to be casualties somewhere along the way and so if her roommate’s nail polish were to be spilled then so be it. One final touch, then she would be able to leave. Ambrosia walked over to a box sitting on her night stand. It was a cotton candy pink colour with a lavender ribbon on the rim. Removing the lid sitting inside was a bright pink staff on a chain set atop a fluff of cotton. Placing it around her neck, Ambrosia gave a twirl to look at herself in the mirror. A person could only look so cute in such a boring uniform, but it was fine.

Ambrosia paced around the room, unsure of what she needed to do. It was a while before her class, as she didn’t really have one until a bit later. With a mild shrug, she walked over to her bed and began fiddling with the mess of blankets on her bed in attempts to make it. The bunny had made its way onto her night stand, though it wasn’t the only thing she seemed to sleep with. Shaking out the covers a blade and another smaller stuffed animal fell onto the ground with a clatter. It was a small blade with a black handle and the metal was sharpened all while being slightly stained a rustic brown colour on the tip. Giving a sigh, Ambrosia picked up the knife and placed it on the stand, not really paying any mind to the stuffed owl on the ground. It wasn’t much, but it was a blade Ambrosia’s father gave her. To remind her to keep her cool, is what she guessed at least. Not like she really cared about whether or not she lost her cool but apparently her family did.

Shaking away her thoughts, she simply continued to make her bed. Ambrosia knew better than to merely using her magic willy-nilly but she also knew that she could easily strike down anyone who dare get in her way. Ambrosia believed this to be a simple fact rather than just her ego speaking. Nor did she think she had that much of a god complex. It was something she always thought to be true, knowing full well that she had everyone topped. Granted it hurt like hell and the Candy Magic wasn’t at a point she would consider to be on par with her other stuff, she at least knew that she wouldn’t necessarily be on the bottom of the food chain if it came down to it.

At last, her bed was made and the room was cleaned from her battle with her hair and Ambrosia was finally ready to leave the blasted room. It was making her feel slightly boxed in and she enjoyed her freedom, her space. At last, she made her way from her room and out into the open. She hadn’t really planned her day out, she knew she had a few classes later in the day, but nothing real major in the morning. The teachers enjoyed her, other students were friendly with her and so most of the time she didn’t really need to do much in the classes she was in.

Outside now, she made small chatter with some other students whom she really paid no mind to. They had called out to her so being polite was the only thing she knew how to do. The usual “Are you getting enough sleep?” and the raccoon jokes were made. Not like she didn’t get it from everyone. Also the stares and the people waving their hands in front of her eyes just to make sure she wasn’t spaced out. All stuff she was used to at this point. It was fine. So long as that was all they really saw then it’s fine.

Saying goodbye to the group, she was quickly knocked into someone, hitting the ground. Ambrosia couldn’t help but to laugh at herself on the ground at how easily she was knocked over.

“My deepest apologizes.” Her voice was light as she looked up at the flustered figure. She had expected someone much larger. But no. It was a dainty little elf, smaller than herself even. A cloak draped over her uniform also, how unique. Ambrosia smiled at the girl, and got up quickly. “No need to be so flustered.” She set her hand on the girl's head cautiously, keeping that smile plastered on her face. The girl was quite pretty looking, but she also looked very spooked. Ambrosia searched for words to reassure the girl, but came up short. So instead of comforting her, she merely pulled out a bit of money a large grin on her face. “I know this may be weird, but you look a bit… off put I suppose. Do you have any classes currently? If not, I shall treat you to something. Breakfast or something? Then you can tell me why you happened to run into me! How does that sound?” A large grin spread on her face, as she didn’t really wait for a response, but more so grabbed her wrist and began walking anyways.

[XMEGAVENOMX]

As soon as Phillip sat down in his desk, the bell finished ringing for class. Phillip noticed that not everyone was present for class, specifically a pair of young men who Phillip knew very well. Shortly, just before class was about to begin his two friends, Joshua and Dorial tried their best to slide in without notice but Professor Cason took notice and subtly made a pair of marks on a sheet of paper on his desk.

"If you two don't start getting to class on time Professor Cason is going to reprimand you both." Phillip whispered.

"I know, I know. But I've told him before that I'm just not a morning person." Joshua replied.

"Yeah, well maybe if you didn't spend so much time staring at yourself in the mirror in the morning you wouldn't always be late." Dorial added with a cheeky grin on his face.

Phillip simply grinned and shook his head at the remark; he knew it was all in good fun. Joshua and Dorial were not only Phillip closest friends they were his roommates this year and had been for the past three school years. Dorial was a water specialist and Joshua had the gift of earth magic, specifically the ability to control and shape stones. The three of them pulled out their books and notes and prepared for what would be an onslaught of notes for Professor Cason was notorious for the speed at which he lectured.

I wonder if dad has anything from this time in his artifact collection... Phillip pondered as his professor reviewed the lecture from the previous class about what Amarist was like almost 1,000 years ago. There were roughly twenty-five students, including himself and his two friends, in this class and the young gun mage was at least somewhat familiar with most of them as Professor Cason had a habit of purposefully mixing up his students for various group projects.

Just before the moment when Professor Cason, a well-known wind mage, would have normally begun a new lecture, he started off on a new topic this morning; this was because of the field trip that was scheduled for later that day.

“Before we begin class today I first need any students who will be going on the trip to the northern forests to come to the front and meet with me for a few minutes so that we can go over the itinerary and expectations for the day. We’ll be going over everything as a whole group before we leave but as you are all older students I want to address you first so that you might set an example for the younger students today.”

Phillip and a group of his peers had volunteered to go on a school sponsored trip into the forests north of Eve City for field trial where they, along with a handful of their professors serving as chaperons, which included Professor Cason, would a chance to test their abilities against wild monsters. This was something that was absolutely prohibited at Magus Academy unless it was designated by the Academy as official school business and even then permission for these wild ventures were only granted to older students. Phillip had been on two previous excursions like this but for many going this day, it would be their first trial out in the wild. The trial had a few main objectives such as combat training and wilderness survival and so the group of students participating varied across the spectrum. The group was scheduled to leave an hour before noon which meant Phillip and the other students going on the trip, only had two classes that morning and would be released at ten o'clock to make any preparations they had forgotten to attend to the night before. Phillip was obviously excited for the chance to showcase his skill against real live monsters, albeit monsters who, for the most part, posed no serious threat to a group of young magi with their well-above-average abilities not to mention their professor chaperons. The gun mage hardly ever passed up an opportunity to improve upon his skill in combat.

"So you ready for the big trip?" Phillip asked as he and Joshua stood up out of their seats.

"I've been ready for this day since they told me I was selected for it." Joshua answered.

"Well you guys will have to tell me all about it when you get back." Dorial exclaimed. Unlike Phillip and Joshua, Dorial wasn't very skilled in combat but more than made up for it with his excellent intellect. He had elected to stay at the school as he was in the middle of an important science project.

"Don't worry, Do," Joshua said, using Dorial's common nickname "Joshua’ will be trying to hog all of the monsters so I'm sure it will be pretty boring for the rest of us."

"Hey, don't blame me if you can't keep up." Joshua replied back with a hint of competitiveness in his voice.

The two friends made their way up to the front of the classroom where they were joined by a couple of other students. This was about what Phillip had expected because from what he could remember from the roster of students there were approximately fifty students going on the trip today.

“Alright,” Professor Cason began, “First things first let’s make sure everyone is familiar with each other so why don’t you four introduce yourselves.”

“The name is Joshua Hearthstone. I’ll be the one out there smashing those monsters so keep an eye out for me.” The young stone mage said with an almost annoying sense of arrogance.

“Excuse my friend,” Phillip exclaimed as he turned to the two other students, “I think he’s a little too excited. My name is Phillip Jericho. I believe I’ve worked with you two before but I’m bad with names so you’ll have to remind me…”

[Opposition]

Alyn suppressed a groan just barely as she was hit once more. Of course, it was likely her fault as the girl opposite her was now knocked to the ground. This student was… The opposite of Alyn in terms of visible appearance. Her golden hair flowed obviously and elegantly while she showed off her uniform seemingly proudly, while Alyn herself was rather dark and unnoticeable in appearance. There was no doubt in Alyn’s mind that this girl must have been some sort of Evocation Mage, firing off dangerous spells all willy-nilly. Opposites. We are nothing alike.

The smaller girl brought a hand to her mouth, biting lightly on the knuckle of her thumb. Alyn didn’t intend to give any response to the other girl’s apology and instead would have simply continued walking with no words of greeting, parting, or apologizing, but just as Alyn was to start moving away, the rather excited girl placed a hand atop Alyn’s head. Drat! Now she couldn’t escape! Honestly, Alyn was rather frightened at the girl’s appearance and attitude. This lass was too smiley for the Divina girl. Alyn’s thoughts immediately began to wander in search of some sort of reason for this student’s attitude. Just as she was going to finally formulate a response, her ‘new friend’ withdrew money from her bag. What is she thinking I am going to do?! Alyn’s thoughts swamped her once more, but before any of them managed to reach any sort of cohesive semblance, she was grabbed and the girl she had run into started to walk, dragging Alyn with her. Breakfast? What?

“What?- Why?” Was all she could manage before she was cut off as the pair started walking off. She wasn’t as flustered as she might have seemed at first, but at this point, Alyn was lost. Once the pair started moving, Alyn’s accompanying crow friend took off into the trees. It appears she wasn’t the only one slightly worried about the scenario. Where was this girl taking her? Whatever the answer, it seemed Alyn had little control over the situation anyways. She was merely pulled along with little resistance. It may have even seemed like she wasn’t resisting! Despite that, it wasn’t long before the girl lead Alyn to a rather large outdoor court, likely where students were to eat their meals from the nearby cafeteria. There were a great many people around which did nothing to ease Alyn’s nerves. This outdoor area was where Alyn’s captor finally stopped, which relieved her nerves in slight. Alyn was always one to come to the most grim conclusions in scenarios such as these, though even if this girl wasn’t intending to kidnap Alyn, little would have changed Alyn’s silent demeanor.

Alyn finally managed to force a rather weak tug against her captor's grip. She didn't wish to go anywhere with this girl she knew nothing about. Well... She knew enough to know the two of them wouldn't get along. Alyn just wanted to go on her typical walk. Perhaps the life of a bustling student wasn't right for a Divina. "What are you- Where are we going?"

[Xeron]

Ambrosia paid no mind to the soft protests that followed, off in her own little world, taking turns and dragging her new friend behind her. Not saying anything much beyond her own humming. This was something she did often, as in grab random people to make new friends. This girl, to her, seemed like fun to have around at least. She seemed to have something cool about the way she dressed and carried herself. It was something Ambrosia had never seen before. If anything, she could always just introduce herself to the girl and have someone new to talk to.

She turned to the girl, bending slightly to peer into her face, and grabbed both of her hands when they arrived. “My name is Ambrosia.” Her voice was soft once more, a large grin on her face. “Sorry for being so abrupt! But I mean…” The words faded away. She didn’t really have a reason as to why she took the girl. Impulsiveness was simply in her nature, and so there wasn’t much of an explanation to be given. Leaving it at that she bounced on her feet and glided to an open table, sitting the girl down by her shoulders. Ambrosia took a handful of money out of her pocket, “I will guess what you like! Don’t go anywhere!” with a giggle she took off.

Once inside the parlour, her feet lightly tapped the marble floors echoing inside the slightly filled room. Ambrosia couldn’t help but to wonder about her new friend, if she recalled before she grabbed her she had some sort of animal with her. Though she really didn’t pay enough attention to be able to remember what it was. A small sight escaped her lips as she stood in line to get what she needed, the chatter of those around her prominent.

“Are you excited for the trip?” A girl had asked rather excitedly to the boy she was standing next to.

“Sure. I guess, I don’t see why you’re so hyper over it though.” He replied in a slightly bored tone.

The girl laughed and grabbed the boy’s sleeve tugging at it causing his face to twist with displeasure as he tried to wiggle out of her grasp. Ambrosia couldn’t help but to laugh at the duo, piping up. “What trip are you talking about?”

She turned to face Ambrosia, releasing the gentleman next to her. Her face lit up at the question. “A while back we signed up to volunteer for a trip into the forest! It seemed really fun!!” The girl droned on, while the boy smacked her in the head lightly to get her to shut up.

“I was forced to go.” He mentioned then crossed his arms with a slight pout. This caused the girl to shake his shoulders grinning and chatted on.

Though Ambrosia’s face paled as the memories smacked her in the face, now not even paying attention to the two. A couple weeks ago there was a small sign up sheet she wrote her name down on with a friend who dragged her there. Is that what that was for? To go on some dumb field trip she wasn’t even aware of?? Puckering her lips, she grabbed two granola bars, a water and a strawberry milk making her way to the table she left her new friend at. Drowning in her own thoughts, she nearly walked past the table before dropping the stuff on the table and taking a seat. What the hell was I thinking? She scolded herself internally, before looking up at the girl sitting in front of her. “I hope you like chocolate!” Ambrosia chirped before resting her chin on her laced fingers. A small smile slid on her pale face and the next question popped out of her mouth “Are you going on the field trip that is coming up? Also, I have yet to catch your name and calling you new friend is a bit of a mouthful!” Bouncing her leg, she stared at the elfess closely.