[IC] St. Sappho Academy, Medieval Magic Academy (Invite Only)

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

"Whether you can handle the frostbite or not, 'the joke's on you.' I'm saving myself for when I'm ready." Mugi giggled poking Lyssa on the nose and releasing herself, if only to eat the nice chilled food the cat had prepared. The. . . Whatever it was. She was not accustomed to food much in general, as Yuki-Onna could mostly live on snow and water. They of course, also required other nutrients though whatever methods they could. Typically, that involved eating food, though this western food was beyond her. "Oh, but, if you are jealous like inferred, I can give a hug. Especially to Neko-Chan over there. She's incredibly cute."

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna giggled a little bit at how lethargic the dragon was. It was cute in a way. A farcry from the scary thing she fought in that cave not too long ago. "Medicine from an arguably reliable source." She couldn't help but say that even in front of said source's familiar. "Luckily, she might have mentioned you'll enjoy this." She handed it off to the dragon, but kept close just in case she was shakey and was about to spill it. "I also brought a. . ." The Knightess wasn't really sure what her and Fia's relationship was so she took the liberty of deciding herself, "I brought a friend. Her name is Fia. She's a bit shy, so don't close the distance too fast."

Katherine Lindall

Katherine had kept an eye out in Livia's office for lack of better things to do. The maid was being a bitch, as per usual. That Knight girl came in and inquired about the snow. . . Well, at the least Katherine wouldn't have to worry about solving it now. Then she listened in on the small exchange between Aetheria and Livia. Speaking of Aetheria, she hadn't seen the woman much since they retrieved Fia together. Then she learned why in the exchange. It was interesting stuff really, but it wasn't her area of expert-- A door opened. Katherine was all bundled up in whatever blankets she had, but she turned to check and see what the cause of the opened door was. It was that brilliant student Swen. What he lacked in real social skills he made up for in knowledge and theory. . . At least, that's what Katherine gleamed. Unlike Livia, she took interests in students as far as their academics went. Every student that passed would only increase her standing in the world.

"Greetings, Swen." Katherine said, thinking on it all, it was a class day and some students were better about it than others. "There seems to be a snow issue today, doesn't there? I'm not expecting many to show up today all things considered. If no one shows up you're free to leave. If you needed help, I can assist. Not like I'm leaving here myself anyways."

[Roleplayer001]

The magierprinz nodded, a little surprised that he was the only person that had shown up. Certainly there were a few people here at least as studious as himself ... right? Perhaps it would be a little awkward, but he would be glad to wait and make sure he didn't miss a single day of class! After three years here, the only class days that had gone by without him involved missions handed out by the school! It was almost a point of pride for him.

Choosing a seat in the front row ... "I'll wait then to make sure class doesn't start. What would we be learning about anyways?" In a way, Swen was curious to see exactly how much of her teaching Kathrine actually planned out.

Aetheria looked at the headmistress as she appeared to soak in the information ... but Livia's gaze went on for just a bit too long, and knew that the woman was plotting something. The teacher questioned if it was information that would be useful for her ...

"... if there is something you know, or in some way this is useful, it is my responsibility as your employee to be of assistance and my responsibility as an academic to use that possible knowledge in my research. Has the girl done anything that suggests otherwise?" Of course, there was more information. The woman had no intention of hiding what she had figured out, she simply wanted to be paid for the overtime in trust, favors, or wealth.

This was like playing catch with a bomb though. She'd have to wary of angering Livia by requesting too much. On the other hand, she wasn't a slave and this information was of little benefit to herself.

Maoin was glad that her mistress was concerned about keeping the sheets clean, but in truth she was fairly certain this was just a ploy to keep herself from watching a scene unfold. The kitten largely ignored the remained of the banter as she began to feast on the food in force, chewing slowly and enjoying the flavors. Fish went good with everything.

"Oh, but, if you are jealous like inferred, I can give a hug. Especially to Neko-Chan over there. She's incredibly cute."

The kitten looked up, a slight meow leaving her lips as she continued to chew. Sure it was nice to be called cute all the time, but Maoin was starting to question if anyone ever took her seriously ... did they? She didn't mind of course being petted, especially by her owner, but it didn't seem to make the noblewoman happy when others got too touchy feely. It made sense with a little thought. After all, she was her lady's pet, not theirs. Even if she would never admit it, Maoin knew that her mistress enjoyed being her primary source for pettings and similar pampering.

There was only one way to counter this trend, and that was to fight fire with fire.

"You are cute too, Mugi."

Fia looked as the buried figure revealed themselves. It only took a moment, but the crimson haired girl recognized the sleepy figure. Aside from being a bit taller, having a slightly more aged face and tarnished draconic features ... and of course, a significantly larger chest, this was certainly the woman that had been appearing in her dreams.

The dragon's eyes were barely open when she started to lazily reply to her mistress. For a few moments, Fia wished Livia would let her be this lazy. It would likely be a much easier existence than the mountain of paperwork she constantly received. The phoenix shot only a slight look over at Luna as the headmistress was called arguably reliable. She wouldn't debate that.

However, upon being called out as a friend, the crimson haired girl made herself more visible by stepping just a bit further away from Luna. The creature before her though ... before she could catch herself, she spoke probably the loudest and most coherent words in her entire life (which meant a solid average volume for most people.) "Sorchy Sparky?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Sorcha~

Sorcha could smell the beverage before Luna even produced it. The dragon swiped it surprisingly swiftly, the warm mug heating her hands almost instantly. It smelled absolutely wonderful and before the next sentences even left Luna's mouth, Sorcha had already downed half of the beverage. A contented sigh left the dragons lips - Livia really knew just what to do to make her feel better. She hadn't had this alcohol in a long time...she had to wonder where she got it, but she supposed she shouldn't ask too many questions about what Livia got up to in her spare time. It'd be awhile before she was up and not all that sluggish, but she was at least awake to coherently speak for now.

But a friend? Livia had sent a friend with Luna? Well, Sorcha wasn't one for not meeting others, but she was absolutely a mess. Her hair was strewn all over the place, she wasn't wearing something appropriate for meeting someone and she probably looked like she stayed up half the night drinking. To put bluntly, she was not in any condition to be meeting anyone new right now. That said, she wasn't about to turn away a guest in Luna's home. T'was not her place to do such a thing.

"Sorchy Sparky?"

The soft voice caught her off guard. Her eyes widened.

"Who?...where did you..." She practically hissed. Any sluggishness the dragon was feeling evaporated instantly, replaced by a seething, burning rage at the mere mention of that name. Her head immediately turned to the sound of it. Luna would likely immediately be able to tell something was incredibly wrong. The mug in Sorcha's hands shattered into pieces, spilling the rest of the hot liquid over the bed. A snarl slowly formed on her lips, a low growl coming from her throat as she laid eyes on Fia...the child in front of her.

Why. Why did she come back like this? She was supposed to be fully grown, wasn't she? How could she have even been killed? It wasn't like she could die of old age. More importantly though, Livia was looking for her - the headmistress has insisted that she was still actively looking for her. Did...did Livia lie? No...livia wouldn't lie. Not directly, but it didn't matter.

As rage filled the dragon more with each passing second, her thoughts became more and more incoherent, replaced with a single desire to kill this thing in front of her.

"OUT." She seethed towards Luna. "Get. This. THING out of my sight." It should have been obvious Sorcha was practicing as much self control as she could possibly muster at the moment.

~Cynthia & Livia~

Livia seemed to weigh Aetheria's words, a thin smile appearing on the older mages lips as she studied her. Well. If she wanted to ask what her plans were, it was well within her rights to do so. Whether Livia was going to give up such information easily, was another matter entirely. Of course, the White mage's question was worded incredibly wrongly. She missed the mark quite a bit.

"No no, not at all. I would agree with your research. It seems quite accurate from my own experiences." Livia replied. "I was merely...thinking about a few of my own research projects as always." She didn't mention any sort of connection to Fia that said research might have though. It should be easy enough for Aetheria to connect the dots herself if she wanted to pursue such a line of questioning.

~Gwynn & Lyssa~

"Wah...you tease! What If I'm the one you've been waiting for? I'll give you tons of hugs and pets and you'll have an entire mansion to live in-ah. Uhm, I mean. Yeah. My parents. Own a mansion. Out in the countryside. Yep yep." Good job Lyssa, just run your mouth more why don't you? Ah well. More importantly Mugi was being a huge spoil sport.

"I said I am not jealous." Gwynn replied with a huff, and before Mugi could have a chance to hug Maoin, Gwynn walked over to where the kitten was sitting and gave the kitten a pat on the head. "So why don't you go back to making out or something."

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

"I've never 'made out' with anyone in my life." Mugi replied, as if offended. "If I were to guess, I'd say you were jealous." She decided to eat some more of the food in front of her paying hardly any attention to the kitten and her master, instead turning back to Lyssa. "I'm not completely sure what a 'mansion' is. . . But I must assume it's something the wealthy have? I've heard of the hubris of man streched far but I've yet to see a living example until now." She couldn't help but giggle. "Are you trying to woo me, miss?"

Lunalel Lightsword

The Knightess' face soured in the aftermath of Sorcha's yelling. "Sorcha!" The woman yelled in a commanding tone. "That is not the way we treat guests inside the domain of the Lightsword family. With the contract between us, you effectively have been brought in as a member of this family. . ." Luna was more than just a little angry. Even so, she could see the strain the dragon seemed to have on her face and decided to change her mind on word choice. "I know not your issue, nor does it matter this moment. We will have words of this." She didn't sound too angry. Stern, yes. It was in her own interests now to learn of the dragon's issue.

The Knightess dragged the phoenix out of the dorm. "My apologies for her outburst. I've no idea what came over her. . ." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar sight. A certain hound that she had met for but a little while. . . Still, the girl was respectful enough so long as one didn't irritate her. . . Well, that's how it seemed between Swen and her. "Eith, was it? May I inquire a favor of you?"

The hound perked her ears at the human woman with a sword at her side. Yes, that was right. She was at the restaurant that day. She seemed like a nice person. . . With that obnoxious dragon that Eith could not put a read on. "You can 'inquire' but it doesn't mean I'll do it."

"I can buy you some food or drink if you want. Later."

Eith's ears perked up at the thought. ". . . I suppose." She replied, staring at the woman with hunger in her eyes.

Luna sighed a bit before answering. "Escort this girl to the Headmistress' office if you could. Just keep your distance or she'll just run off." Luna turned to Fia, "I'm sorry again. If you excuse me."

The Knightess quickly re-enter the building and headed for her room. Eith watched on for a bit, almost amazed at the scene that just unfolded but merely scratched behind her ear and saying, "I guess it's time to go to the Sketchy woman's place?" The Shellagh mentioned before lightly shrugging and walking towards the office.

_______________________________

Luna returned to her room and calmly closed the door behind her. The typical look of kindness that seemed to make home in her eyes were gone and replaced by the worry of a friend. "So then Sorcha, what is your issue with Fia?" She was irritated still, but knew the dragon wouldn't have done something like that without some reason. "Don't try to play this off as a mistake, it won't help either of us. I want to know why you yelled at Fia and called her 'thing.'"

Katherine Lindall

"Studious are you?" Katherine said almost annoyed before smirking a little bit. "We really could use more like you here. So many students have been skipping out as if they're on some vaction . . . But I digress. . ." The teacher looked about for papers at the desk that had her lesson plans. "Let me take a look. . . It seems we're going over Soul Theory. Well, some of the more advance parts of it, as we went over the basics lightly the other day. Takes a specialized student to manipulate them properly. . . So it's mostly warnings to not mess with disembodied souls least you suffer the consequences. It's fun to go over all the bad ways a soul can make a mess of one's life though."

Katherine looked to Swen and cleared her throat. "Of course, it's for the safety of the students that think they can mess with souls without fear." The woman couldn't help laugh a little. "Have you ever had to wrest control of your body from a lost soul? Hopefully you never will."

[Roleplayer001]

The magierprinz nodded, putting a hand against his chin. "I admit that is not within my range of experience." A few seconds passed before a thought passed into his head. "I've never controlled souls or puppets before myself, but since it seems ... others are not arriving ... perhaps you could deliver me a few pointers? Since you are here, this would be a good time for me to start experimenting with this type of magic myself. Maybe I can start building my own little army?" In truth, soul magic was something the mage had been avoiding for a little bit of time. His last sentence was said with a smile, but there was a little truth in it.

The teacher frowned slightly as Livia appeared to give off the most roundabout and unexplanatory explanation she could. If that was the game the headmistress wanted to play, that was fine. Aetheria would reveal anything she learned with absolute and academic certainty, but little more. "I hope your own projects are going well then, and I am excited to see them published in the future. And I am curious about your own experiences."

Of course, if the headmistress was willing to help her out in other ways, it could be useful. The pair of them could come to an agreement on different terms. "I have some other rudimentary research, but nothing close enough to completion for the headmistresses eyes. If you were willing to give me a ... more updated ... version of her tears, that would be helpful. There is some variation even in the batch you gave me, and it would help me test a few hypothesis about how they work and perhaps provide information about the phoenix that we would both consider useful."

A small scroll found it's way out of the teacher's bag. If Livia bothered to read it, she would find herself seeing strange glyphs and what seemed like an ancient version of Latin. "Lastly, try getting her to read this. Just to satisfy my curiosity. Samples of writing from the old, middle, and new kingdoms of Egypt, in addition to writings from various eras of Greek and Latin literature."

Maoin leaned into the pettings, tail wrapping around her newest benefactor and ears twitching as her owner's hand ran across her head. Oh, it felt soo good. After a little bit of purring though, the black haired looked up into the eyes of her mistress. The pettings never lasted long enough coming from the ice mage, and it was usually a bit of a disappointment.

"Mistress ... have I been a good kitty?" It was a bit of a strange question, but everyone else seemed to say something along those lines when she was petted. Her lady never made those sort of comments, which confused the neko. Her owner's petting schedule was random at best.

When the dragon entered her furious rage soon after waking up, the yelling and words sent Fia into one of her most common emotions: shock. The fourteen year old simply stared at Sorcha, feeling like she was being held there by the force of fear itself. When Luna's hand pulled her out, there wasn't really a person there anymore to respond to the kind woman's words, or to resist the guiding hand that maneuvered her like a doll.

She didn't even realize she was following someone else really until she felt a sudden warmth fill her stomach, and the crimson haired girl realized she was crying. Brushing away her tears with her hands, she looked at her newest companion. A wolf girl? A hellhound?

The phoenix was self-aware enough that she knew she'd normally be really upset at what just happened. She still was. But this new person gave her a sense of ... fulfillment ... she hadn't felt before. Despite her tears, she found herself looking at her newest companion silently, curious about what was going on, and who this person was.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Sorcha~

Sorcha remained silent, eyes glaring at the small girl as Luna escorted her out of the room. She restrained herself from moving or saying anything else, for fear of not being able to control herself if she did. She didn't want to make Luna more upset than she already did, and she definitely didn't want to kill a child...even if that child was was someone she wanted to kill. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, tearing her eyes away from the door to the spilled ale as Luna and Fia left. She made a mess on Luna's bed, yelled at a guest, and overall was a fairly discourteous host.

"Don't try to play this off as a mistake, it won't help either of us. I want to know why you yelled at Fia and called her 'thing.'"

At least Luna thankfully didn't seem angry with her.

"You have my apologies, Luna, as well as my thanks. That was quite improper behavior for one such as I...and if that girl had stayed here i am not sure I could have kept myself from doing something I would have regretted for the rest of my life." Her voice was much more calm, but it was clear she was still furious about something, but there wasn't much Luna could do about that. A Dragons rage was not something that was easily stifled, even if she was tired. "...haa...is being angry normally this tiring?" The dragon shook her head. "I haven't been so...furious since..." She dragons voice trailed off, eyes seeming distant for a brief moment before shaking her head and looking over to Luna.

"Fia...is that the name she goes by now?" Sorcha mused, a wistful seeming smile forming before it was replaced with a frown. "I assure you, I would never try and cover such an outburst as a mistake. I...I have a history with that...Phoenix, and it would take a lifetime to tell you everything that happened but I shall tell you the important parts." Sorcha said, pulling the covers off from around her and sitting at the edge of the bed. She folded her hands on her lap, collecting her thoughts for a few moments before speaking. "It is a rather long one that ended in shall we say, betrayal and the murder of hundreds of innocent lives." She looked towards the ground, wings visibly drooping at recalling the rather unpleasant memories.

"...You remember that ruined village that you walked through on your way to my home?" The dragon asked. "I doubt you could tell, but Once upon a time, it was a magnificent city. People laughed, lived, loved...children played in the streets. It was what you might call a self sufficient city state. It was prosperous and relatively peaceful - it had a rather powerful dragon living in it that the people looked to for guidance and kept any sort of hostile people at bay. Indeed, they even called her a god. A god that routinely ate all their food reserves and played with the children in the gardens." She smiled, chuckling a bit at that sentence likely making it obvious which dragon she was speaking of. "Aha, such lively little ones. I would play the part of the big scary dragon and they would play the part of a valiant hero trying to slay me. I do so...miss them...If things had been different it would likely still be there today, and I would still be sitting upon that throne getting fat and still stealing extra food while having a funny little adviser irreverently pulling on my horns and telling me not too." Her smile faded before sighing and looking at the floor.

"But...She, Fia, or at least, one of her past lives now I suppose...she had some influence with...some sort of holy Crusaders or something. I am not sure, as a devout follower of the Allfather I am not particularly inclined to learn the religion of someone else. Anyways...she had those crusaders attack my home...after repeated assurances that such a thing wouldn't happen even if we were 'heathens'" Surprisingly the dragon took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. "I...apologize but I cannot go into detail. I am unsure I could keep my composure if I did, and I would hate for you to have to experience that again." She looked up at Luna. "I did what I could, but even a dragon, especially a complacent one who has spent the last decades being nothing but a glutton and playmate for children could not stand against such an army. I fought and you can be sure I took as many of them to the grave as I could...but, it wasn't enough. I managed to survive barely and...I buried those that I could find over the next year but..."

The dragons voice trailed off as she inhaled.

"I-I apologize again, Luna but if that is enough..."

~Cynthia & Livia~

"Hmm...her tears?" Livia hummed thoughtfully as she picked up the scroll she had been given. That wouldn't be too...difficult to get at the moment if Fia was currently having a bad reaction from meeting Sorcha. "I am unsure if I can get you a sufficient amount - I will not resort to beating the girl, but I will do what I can." She didn't want the tears at all, and asking for them might give Fia the wrong idea after having built a good rapport with her. She read the scroll, turning her head to the side for a moment as if someone was speaking to her before smiling laying it on her desk.

"If that is everything then, my own business is calling." Livia was somewhat disappointed that Aetheria wasn't pursuing the line of questioning about what she could possibly gain from three souls and life-giving tears.

~Gwynn & Lyssa~

"I am not jealous." Gwynn repeated again to Mugi, though she didn't realize the other girl had focused her attention back on Lyssa. Instead, she focused back on Maoin, pulling the kitten close and rubbing the top of her head again. "Yes, you area good kitty." She replied rather absentmindedly.

"Maaaaybe?" Lyssa, giggled innocently at the Ice womans question. "If I was trying to...is it working?" She scooted closer to Mugi once again, giving her a bright grin.

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

Mugi gave Lyssa a sly smile as she stood up and slid her way over to the cat and her master. She put her arms around girls' heads and ruffled their hair. The master had pulled her servant closer and it let the Yuki-Onna mess with them much easier. "Not exactly. I might have to blame these two though. If the golden one here isn't jealous, I sure am." Mugi teased. [collor=teal]"Of your relationship that is."[/color] Mugi skillfully slid herself away on some quickly created ice back to her side before Gwynn could do too much.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna listened to the entire story. It must not have been easy to tell that. A look at the dragon's face told her that much. "I understand. I thank you for telling me." Without another word, Luna put her arms around the dragon's neck, minding her horns, and pulled her closer. "And sorry. We shall discuss this matter in time." For now, she needed to not bring Fia near Sorcha and just helped the dragon.

Katherine Lindall

"Pointer?" Katherine asked, almost curiously. "Advice . . . Yes. . . Well, my first bit is to never get too involved with a teacher. . ." The woman joked. The boy wouldn't get it, but she sure as hell found it funny. "Or maybe don't even bother trying. Not unless, of course, you lack the will to fight against a presence invading your very being." The woman shifted a bit in her blankets. Had it been any other situation, she'd seem absolutely rediculous. "It's not so easy trying to sort through the voices that echo in your head at times. At the same time, it's not like I control an army. Well, I control a small number, but the others are like my children. I feed them and care for them and they do as I will."

It wasn't like it mattered too much if the boy knew that much. "Regardless, I have a feeling no one else is going to show up today. Not that I'm free to leave myself," An excuse to not go back into the cold just yet, "but you are. Happy studies."

Eith, The Shellagh Alpha

"Red Girl, what's wrong? Sword-Woman wants me to take you to Sketchy-Woman. Let's keep moving." The Shellagh Alpha waited for the girl to start moving, but was wondering why she had tears in her eyes. Eith wasn't so dumb she didn't know what tears were. They were those things humans had when they were so scared of their life that they try to drown themself instead of actually succumbing to their fate. She's never actually seen it work though.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Sorcha~

The dragon let out a breath, resting her head against Luna's mindful of her horns as a wing covered the Knight in a surprisingly affectionate seeming embrace.

"Thank you. I'll be fine." Sorcha said. "But...if you intend on bringing her around more...just a small warning. I will do my best to behave myself, but I am an old dragon. Old dragons are the worst about grudges and being angry over nothing." She chuckled lightly.

"Hrm...you're surprisingly warm." The dragon said as she pulled Luna tighter, her tail snaking around the bed and around Luna as her smile slowly turned into a playful grin. "And it is so very cold outside. All we need now as a fire and we'd be so very warm! I suppose I'll have to make do with you, though." She teased the knight, though she didn't seem to have any intention of keeping Luna there if she didn't want to stay.

~Gwynn & Lyssa~

....WHAAAAAT?!

Did...did that girl just...one of Gwynn's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as her hair was ruffled by the Yuki-Onna, a small blush covering her face as she fumbled with words for a bit before finally managing to say something, folding her arms on her chest as she silently thought of every curse word in her vocabulary.

"Yeah, well, go be jealous somewhere else." She grumbled, though her voice sounded somewhat unsure.

Lyssa was just happily finally digging away at some food no one seemed to be paying attention too.

[Roleplayer001]

The magierprinz picked up on the hint, and after exchanging pleasantries gave a small bow and left the teacher to her own devices. What ... did she mean by getting to involved with a teacher? Were the rumors about the teachers basically being like one of those instructional novels he read true? The mage wasn't certain, but he'd have to investigate.

Damn. Either this woman was oblivious or she was hard to bargain with. The teacher guessed it was the second. But she might as well get the first possibility out of the way. "Well headmistress, I will come back with more things to the table in the future. If possible, do the things I asked, the research should be beneficial to you. Perhaps next time, you can make a little time to discuss your research and future plans for the academy? And maybe talk a little about your familiar? I haven't seen the red head in a while, and as a medical professional I'm feeling a little concerned for her."

If Aetheria didn't know what clear was, that would hopefully make it obvious. The white mage wanted a place on her inner circle, and damn she was curious why Livia would accept such a ... unstable spirit to serve her. It made little sense to her mind at least. There had to be some other way Livia benefited from the relationship. Was she secretly harvesting the girl?

Rising from the chair, the white mage gave a short but respectful bow before turning the room and making her way out, staff taping the carpet softly as it did so. She'd need to turn her hypotheses into facts by then though.

This. Was. Irritating.

Pink hair pets kitty. Pampers kitty. Then stops.
Then her mistress pets kitty. Pampers kitty. Then stops.
Then her mistress and the cold hand pet kitty. Pamper kitty. Then stop.

She didn't know what the jealousy was about, but damn she was sick of the lack of consistency it caused. It was costing the poor servant that had just pulled them a breakfast out of thin air, and she was having none of it.

Animalistic eyes looked between the three of them, the girl's voice surprisingly hostile as she began to flail her arms and put them into their place. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHICHEVER WHORE IS JEALOUS! All of you - and I mean all of you - are going to pet me for the next ten minutes. All of you. At once. No talking. If you don't -" Maoin thought up the most lethal threat she could think of. "- you'll be forced to watch the others eat the delicious cookies am I going to bake afterwards. And I make the best cookies in heaven, earth, or hell, so you'd rather DIE than be forced to go through such hideous torture."

The kitten was shaking a little bit afterwards, glaring at them expectantly. And damn it, she planned to follow through with that threat. Even her owner would see the same look, second only to the ones delivered at the library or the following aftermath.

The phoenix began to walk next to ... the dog person. For a moment she questioned why she was being called 'red girl' but after hearing 'sword-woman' - probably Luna - and 'sketchy woman' - certainly Livia - being addressed she understood that it was probably just the dog-spirit's way of naming people.

The amber eyes still were watering after the incident, but it was slowing down just a little. She was very curious about who this person was, and why she felt so ... warm. Like some sort of fire flickering in front of her. Like one of the ones in the office or at her house.

"... I ... I was ... wrong about ... my dreams ... that's all ..." In truth, that was probably the best way to describe it. She'd had a hope, a dream, tried to grasp it, and only felt it be rejected. She couldn't even make friends if she wanted to. Was she ... even worth anything at all to the dragon?

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

Mugi had to cover her mouth just to keep the laughter back. This cat was amusing, and so was her owner. The owner didn't blow up as much as the Yuki-Onna would have hoped, but the cat however. . . The cat wonder beyond expectations. So much so, that Mugi couldn't keep her laughter in check and giggled aloud with her hand near her mouth. After a short outburst of it, she spoke up. "You all are so rich in your emotions! It's so lovely!" Mugi had to wipe a frozen tear out of her eye. "And Koneko-chan here just wants to be loved on. But if she desires my cold hands petting her, I suppose I could allow it." The Snow Woman slipped back around and went to pet the cat-girl. . . However, instead of petting the girl's head, she rubbed her cheeks.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna had to sigh. The dragon went from angry, to depress, to annoying all in the matter of ten minutes. The Knightess pulled away as she had to ask. "Must you add those odd bits?" The dragon just had to make Luna feel awkward didn't she? Regardless, now that she thought about it, she was pretty hungry. She'd not ate yet. "I forgot about food. . . I think I should go eat, did you want to join me?"

Katherine Lindall

"Yes, yes. If you see any students that go to this class, tell them that I'll take it easy today, but they better show up next class or there will be disciplinary action." The woman said, waving the boy off. Well, she might as well stay around long enough to make sure to turn away any other student that shows up.

Eith, The Shellagh Alpha

"Dreams? Those things are wrong all the time for me. I use to dream that I was eating a juicy stag, but I woke up chewing on a rock." Eith said, hardly trying to confort the girl so much as state facts. "Makes me hungry again . . ." Eith didn't really have much more to add to that. . . The office wasn't that far away now. . . At least, she didn't think so.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Sorcha~

"Odd bits? I was serious! It's freezing out here and I don't even have my scales to keep me nice and toasty." The dragon pouted slightly, but it was only moments. "I am certain you don't want me to follow you around in this nightgown." The dragon chuckled before walking over to where her armor had been neatly folded in a pile. "Let me get dressed and I'll certainly join you."

~Gwynn & Lyssa~

Gwynn's mouth tried to form words at the kittens outburst. That was...well, a rarely seen side of the kitten. In any other situation she might have laughed. But now? Sheer jealousy and anger flowed through her veins. First the damn teasing from Mugi, and now this. At least Lyssa was...doing whatever it was she normally did, but that wasn't helping. She was pretty much pissed at everyone in the room. So the ice mage stood, boots hitting the floor with a heavy step as she stomped towards the door.

"FINE!" She yelled. "Make cookies for them! See what I care! I'll go find my own cookies!" The ice mage stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Yep, she was jealous.

Lyssa simply watched Gwynn leave and Mugi tease the poor cat more. That was not how you treated a kitty at all! Meanie pants, the lot of them! And she was the demon here!

"Waaah, you guys are mean!" Lyssa replied with a pout. Before Maoin or Mugi could do much else, Lyssa leaped over to the cat and wrapped her arms around her in a similar fashion as earlier. "Quit being mean to the kitty! It's okay kitty. You can come live with me and I'll give you all the balls of yarn and delicious treats and pets all day."

[Roleplayer001]

~Livia and Aetheria~

Livia picked up the teacup on her desk, bringing it to her lips and taking a sip as she watched Aetheria leave. She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and savoring the taste of the tea. Cynthia could really brew a very delicious tea, couldn't she? She didn't nearly praise the servant enough. Perhaps a reward was in order. It was unfortunate her mood had been soured by the white mage. Was that all she was willing to do to gain some inkling of information in her plans? She had been fairly obtuse about it, but she'd be a fool not to detect the white mage's desire to learn why she wanted Fia. She had hoped Aetheria would be willing to press a bit harder, just so Livia could gauge how
It seemed she didn't have as much ambition as Aetheria thought she had.

The first thing Aetheria would notice was a dip in the already colder than normal temperature in the room as the doors to her office were locked firmly in place, unable to be opened by simply pulling. The next she might notice the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, followed by the eerie feeling of being watched by....something from somewhere.

"Is that the best you can do, Aetheria?" She asked, opening one eyes and fixing Aetheria with a bored expression as the teacup was sat back down on the table. "I'm disappointed, really. I thought you of all people might provide a little entertainment, after all you worked quite hard to get to where you are today, but leaving after barely even trying? Unfortunately I have to say you seem to not be as ambitious as you think you are." Her voice was cool, carrying a somewhat condescending tone with it as she spoke.

"Perhaps I merely expected too much of you? And you held such promise...but if you stop when you're not even halfway then you are nothing but worthless trash to me. Or perhaps you think you will get another attempt now that you asked?" She chuckled lightly. "There are no do overs in life, Aetheria. Some things, you only get one shot at, and this? This is one of those times you will only ever get one attempt to achieve. If you didn't think you could, then you should have come better equipped. You've missed that chance of having better bargaining chips." She let her words sink in, letting the mage stew in whatever emotion her words elicited from her be it anger, confusion, or curiosity.

"So," The furniture in the middle of the room was slowly moved aside, creating a clear path to the chair in front of Livia's desk, her fingers tapping idly on the smooth wooden surface. "take a seat. I'll make this somewhat easy and simple for you. You want to know what my plans are? Then simply ask." She motioned to the seat in front of her as she spoke, giving her a cool smile. "A...good friendly game of twenty questions hmm? You may ask ten non open ended questions, as long as the answer is something I can give in only a sentence or two. That should be simple enough for you, isn't it? And don't worry, I'll answer with percent honesty. If you accept, you will walk away with information regardless of whether you find out what you actually want. However...at the end I will ask you a question. A single question. And your answer will determine if you will...lets say, find out what I am researching quite intimately. Of course you can always walk away and miss this opportunity. It will not likely come again, but you will at least walk away unscathed."

She leaned forwards in her chair, eyeing Aetheria carefully. It was likely she was sizing up the white mage, seeing just how much she wanted this little information.

"I think you're clever enough to come out of this...relatively unharmed, but perhaps I am wrong? You have ten seconds before I decide you aren't what I am looking for."

The white mage admittedly felt a chill go up her spine and fear begin to press into her mind as she realized that the headmistress was willing to destroy her entire existence on the spot.  But being an adult, she took a deep breath, turned around, and moved into the chair, adjusting her robed to make herself comfortable.  Her expression steeled and any hint of submissiveness left her voice.  

”I came attempting to be subtle and respectful.  Not to play a silly game.  It is rather clear thought that we should abandon both of those ideas.  You have information I am curious about and could possibly find useful, and I am certain I have knowledge that is useful to you.  We both have skills the other doesn’t, but I have far more free time than you do.  That means time to research and discover things that could help you.  And the potential to find a lot more, if certain items are provided.  As my employer and superior, I’ll give you something for free.  But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect to be paid a little extra for my overtime, so to speak.”

"What a boring answer." Livia replied with a sigh. Well, that was fine. She didn't want to play her little game, well she'd just play another. "Subtle? If you want something you should just ask outright. I am your employer but I like to think myself reasonable. No need to waste both of our times with things like subtleties. It’s rather depressing that it seems you don't understand, so let me try to enlighten you. Why do you think I built this academy? I am certain you are curious to the answer, but it's much more simpler than you might think." Livia let Cynthia pour more tea as she continued.

"Manpower. Resources. Money. I have an entire school, and an entire student body full of hopeful, bright students looking to impress. Not to mention the teachers, which are some of the best mages in the world. You want the tears? I could give you them, and reveal some of my motives. Or I could have a team of people run a project on them. Money goes quite a long way of keeping people's mouths shut, and if that doesn't work there are always less...scrupulous methods. I may not have free time myself, but I have people that would be more than happy to work for less information.” She picked up the refilled cup, deciding to get right to the heart of Aetheria’s little matter here.

“So...why should I divulge anything about my personal projects to you? Projects of which, have been in the works before I even built this academy and are something not even miss Lindall are fully aware of. Projects of which, you don’t even know the full implication of if successful, that could change humanity's position among beings far greater than them. So what makes you so special, hmm?”

”You wouldn’t hire me unless I had a very special set of skills, Headmistress Livia.  Perhaps you could hire a few hundred interns, but while they might discover more … they wouldn’t discover as deeply.  And one of these special skills is something you lack because you practice a different school of magic and probably only know one or two mages of the same caliber as I.”

Aetheria reached a single hand down to her belt, pulling out a flask.  ”For example, since I was a student here I have had suspicions about your … mortality … just looking at you.”  The white mage took a sip of whatever liquid contents were within.  ”You haven’t aged a single day since before I was hired.  I don’t know how you managed to do it, but a single glance made me suspicious.  A few strands of your hair from the garbage confirmed it.  You don’t have long left, do you?  But you have a backup plan, I’m sure of it.  I simply hope it’s not as easy to detect for someone with my skillset.”

At first, Livia was silent, followed by more silence. Seconds ticked by as she simply observed Aetheria before a small smirk formed on her lips.

"You're treading on dangerous territory, Aetheria." Livia chuckled. "You should tread carefully, or you might find out something you shouldn't." Livia wasn't upset no, more amused than anything. Didn't have long left? Well, that was certainly an understatement. By all rights, she should have already been dead. "Magic is magic. It is true my magic is nowhere near as geared to your particular task as yours is, but magic all stems from the same source. It would not be too difficult to do a bit of...reverse engineering, so to speak if you're clever...which I am." She pursed her lips before taking a sip of tea.

"So...how much do you already know then, hmm? Since you seemed to have decided to look into my personal research without my permission anyways...Couldn't you find it out better on your own then? Or is that the limit of your abilities?" If Aetheria did truly believe that was the limit of her abilities, then Livia might be more inclined to help.

The white mage simply shrugged in response.  ”I know your soul is attached to your body in an abnormal manner, but I know not how or why.  If I had access to your tears … I could perhaps figure this out.  Hair isn’t the best sample, after all.”  A slight chuckle left the woman’s lips as she thought about the silliness of the situation.  ”Of course, I doubt you’d be willing to give me your tears and blood easily.  If you ever end up in my hospital though ...”  Aetheria gave off a slight wink.  ”... who knows, maybe I would find out something about you even you don’t know.”

Something about herself she didn't know?

...now there was an idea. Livia smirked, opening a drawer in her desk and pulling out what looked to be a syringe. Perhaps it was her own curiosity, but any information about her own body would be quite useful. She place the glass implement on the table on front of Aetheria.

"Let us make a little deal, then hmm? You find out anything about me that I do not already know, and I'll tell you anything you want."

The white mage raised her eyebrow in return, a little curious.  Surely there was something she could figure out.  ”Anything, or everything?  There’s a bit of a distinction there, headmistress.”  Aetheria was actually a little excited about this.  A more idiotic person might attempt to perform some sort of hex with it, but the connection between Livia’s body and soul was strange anyways, and any mage of her caliber would have protections against such a thing.  The syringe entered the woman’s robes, unlikely to be seen again by anyone but her.

"Anything you want." Livia replied. "But you are probably aware that I reward those who go...above and beyond, so to speak. The more information you bring, the more I will be willing to reveal to you."

The white mage nodded for a few moments.  Seemed like this would be a test of her skill then … considering her alternate magical field, she was sure she could figure something out.  ”I will return as soon as I discover something worth sharing, headmistress.  For now, I have a lab to attend.”  This time Aetheria rose from her chair, pushing it back to it’s original position.  ”On a completely unrelated note: classes are formally canceled for the day, yes?  I don’t think anyone’s coming anyways …”

"Do as you will. Indeed, most students are likely not coming, but as always I have work regardless. You are dismissed." With that the doors to the office opened with a loud creak, the slightly oppressive aura in the room dissipated and Livia waved Aetheria gone. The white mage gave a respectful bow on the way out of the room, and closed the door behind herself. This would be interesting.

Face pats were alright, and Maoin returned a slight but somewhat reluctant purr as the cold hands touched her.

"FINE! Make cookies for them! See what I care! I'll go find my own cookies!"

Her mistress didn't have that sort of reaction though, and stormed out of the building angrily. Even Maoin was able to pick up that she had somehow upset her owner, and sat there stunned. The kitten was completely confused as to why, but before she could do anything she was suddenly wrapped in a hug and petted by Lyssa.

Pink haired said something about staying, but she didn't really remember it. Mugi said something encouraging her to go after mistress, and after a brief moment of thought the kitten agreed. A brief struggle ensued against both the good feeling pets and the woman's tight grip, then Maoin questioned the two of them. She remembered that she asked for both of their addresses and promised to have their exchange at a later date, then promptly tossed them out as she gathered up a few items before sprinting out the door.

---

She went to a few taverns she thought Gwynn frequented. At first she was polite, waiting patiently for the managers to patiently return her query of if her owner was there. The kitten's politeness ran out eventually as panic began to set in. Where was Gwynn? Was she alright? What had gone wrong?

The next thirty or so establishments went by in a blur as the kitten ran in and out of them, simply examining the interiors as she sprinted through the various rooms. A few people yelled at her, but she didn't care. Both her ears and her eyes confirmed that her owner wasn't there.

At some point, she simply paniced enough that she began yelling, "MISTRESS!", as she charged through the streets, hoping a confirmative voice would eventually respond. Her fears came true though as there weren't any signs of jewelry stores being robbed or the voice of a returning message.

Eventually on the street, she found her owner. Running up behind her blonde haired mistress, the kitten made her exclamation. "Mistress, are you -" The face that turned around though wasn't the same, and a very confused blonde haired student was left behind in the streets, wondering what was going on.

---

It took a little under two hours. Breathing heavily both from exertion and stress, eventually the kitten went out of town to the lake as a last resort.

And of course, there was the form of her owner, skating on the frozen, icy, cold surface. A brief shiver went up Maoin's spine as she finally calmed down a bit, adrenaline leaving her system. The sound entering her ears and her eyes both confirmed that it was her owner simply enjoying herself.

Of course. It was winter. Stupid, stupid cat! Of course! She was rambling about playing in the snow this morning and refused to even take her morning bath, obviously she's out here enjoying herself.

Approaching at the edge of the ice, the familiar let out a final, horse cry. "Mistress!" As soon as she let out that yell, the girl realized it had probably been a bad idea to say anything. The kitten realized she was a mess and completely unpresentable. Breaths were coming in raggedly, sweat and tears partially frozen clung in small portions to her face. Her mage was obviously upset, quite possibly with her, and probably didn't want to talk right now. Besides, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Alone.

The girl set the bag she had been carrying on the ground, sitting down next to it and looking at the ground as she waited for her owner to eventually approach.

The phoenix blinked a few times, thinking about how the person next to her would manage to chew on the rock. It was a strange idea at a minimum. Rather than responding though, she simply nodded. They were getting close to the office, and Fia had some sinking feeling that she would have to explain herself. One of the mages that had rescued her eventually walked by without comment, probably heading off to do something important.
much she wanted that information.

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

She had told the cat that her master just wanted her to chase her. Truthfully, she was just jealous, but the Snow-Woman couldn't bring herself to find it humorous in this situation, so she just goaded on the girl on. When she was asked for an address, she just gave one some girls gave her earlier. A certain "wonderful person who is the bravest of all knights" or something. She wasn't too sure. "I hope they stop acting like such. . . 'brats' was it?" The girl asked Lyssa, but continued. "But not that I'm here, I'm not sure where to go. I'd like to start schooling here if possible."

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna giggled slightly. It was amazing how fast the dragon's demeanor changed. The woman was actually impressed. "Yes, yes. Get dressed and we shall eat. I'm rather hungry, so the sooner the better I say." Luna closed her eyes, glad the worst of the storm was over at least. Now she just needed to get past the griping that would likely come from the dragon about the cold and her almost non-existant armor.

Eith, The Shellagh Alpha

"It's here." Eith said as they came to the building Livia's office was located. A strange woman she'd never seen before left, but payed little mind to her. She didn't have food, so it didn't matter much really. "Now to the Sketchy-Room." She said as she confidently pressed onward towards Livia's office and pushed the doors open with little care for the world. "It is here!" She said as she walked in looking between Livia and Cynthia with a smile of success on her face. One might mistake her for a new-born pup with the look she had.

[Rune_Alchemist]

Gwynn & Maoin

Her feet landed on the icy surface of the lake surprisingly gracefully, twirling before letting the icy surface carry her halfway across the lake.

Ah jeez, she had really messed up again, hadn't she? For someone who used ice magic, she was the total opposite of the element sometimes. Really, stupid stupid stupid. Goddamn it. She should just go back and do something before that stupid cat did something drastic like spend an hour outside in the cold looking for her. Not only would that make her feel worse, it wasn't good for Maoin to do something like that. Ugh, but if she went back now and walked back on whatever it was they were doing because it was clear Maoin wanted the pettings it'd just make her angry again, and she honestly had no idea why.

...no, of course she knew why. She just was too stubborn to admit it because she was a goddamn idiot that couldn't be honest with herself. Still, Maoin wanted those pets, and she shouldn't let her own jealousy get in the way of Maoins wants. The cat had finally managed to find some friends and had even spoken out of turn for once! That was what she wanted after all.

Ugh. EMOTIONS.

WHY YOU BE DIFFICULT.

"Mistress!"

Ah damn it.

Gwynn turned her head to the sound of the voice. The kitten had probably been doing exactly what she had thought she had been doing then. The blond sighed, skating in the direction the cat had been standing it. For the odd second, Gwynn simply stared at the cat, frowning slightly and giving her a not so friendly look before folding her arms and sighing.

"You should have at least put something a little more warm on." Gwynn grunted. "How many times do I have to tell you to think about yourself more?" Still, the blond shook her head and took a seat next to Maoin, pulling her close to her, but said nothing for the moment.

”Sorry, mistress, that was a bit s-silly of me.” The kitten was truthfully glad that she didn’t have to wait long, but she only looked up when her mistress talked to her. The black haired girl was cold - very cold, she realized. Running around had kept her warm, but now that she was still it was starting to get more than a little chilly for her. Shivering just a bit as she leaned into her mistress, she didn’t say anything for a bit, wondering if her owner had anything to say first. After all, it would be prefered if her mage spoke first.

Gwynn rubbed Maoins shoulder, unsure of what exactly to say. She wasn't exactly smart or very...tactful at these sorts of things if her track record was anything to go by. Which it was. A very good thing to go by.

"Sorry about...err, flipping out back there." Gwynn started. "Heh, just got a little irritated with them and I guess I sorta took it out on you." Annnd she didn't say anything she wanted too again. Ah, damn it. Well, she at least had time to sort of salvage this now, didn't she? She wasn't any good at this sort of thing. Personal things like this...she tried to start getting better at it, but she didn't think she was improving. A few more silent seconds passed before Gwynn continued.

"...what are you doing out here anyways? You wanted them to pet you, didn't you? Heh, you looked like you were having fun, especially when Lyssa was petting you. I don't think I've ever heard you make a cute noise like that...not outside of other activities, heh."

The kitten looked up, blushing a bit at that comment and enjoying the little shoulder rub she was experiencing. ”... Yeah … the pettings feel nice, they always do. Maybe if you were turned into a kitty like me I would show you mistress … and we could pet each other for a few hours ...” A brief smile crossed Maoin’s face as she thought about it, and for a few moments it was clear that was what she was imagining her mage looking like. An absurd thought.

Of course, she wouldn’t let the conversation become sidetracked to her getting pet. It was rather obvious her owner had been very upset about something. ”I left almost as soon as you ran out, getting their addresses in case we had any business with each other in the future. I’ve been looking for you for two hours all around town, wondering where you had gone …” A slight frown crossed her face as she looked around. It should have been rather obvious based on their bond that she had been panicking … ”What bothered you so much? Did I do something wrong, mistress?”

Gwynn gave Maoin a silent look, quite unimpressed with the suggestion that she of all people be the one receiving any sort of physical affection in the form of petting. She quickly let the thought go with a sigh, looking out over the lake and trying to help warm the kitten up a bit.

"Wrong? You? Pfft, when have you ever done anything wrong?" The blonde replied. If anyone was at fault here, it was her for both overreacting and getting jealous in the first place. "Just got annoyed with them."

The kitten’s eyes simply looked into those of her mistress. ”Mistress … I do many things wrong. I should have noticed you being annoyed. I …” Truthfully, she actually didn’t know what she could have done. And really, she knew her owner was trying to deflect the conversation. ”... I can’t be a good familiar unless you tell me things. You’ve said you trust me, and that you would tell me everything. Tell me what’s going on. If there’s anything within my power, I will do what I can to help.” The black haired girl’s tail flicked around behind them, making small impressions in the snow as it moved around.

Gwynn looked at the ground, grinding her teeth together. What was wrong? Nothing was wrong, really. The mage sighed, leaning on the kitten as she thought about what she should say. Chances were even if she did come up with something to say she'd completely flub it but she couldn't just not say anything since Maoin asked.

"...they were being uh, awfully flirty in front of us." Gwynn said hesitantly. "I guess I was just a bit...uhm, jealous." Her fault really, she's the one who told Maoin to get to making the food for them. She reached a hand up and started petting the Kittens head. "And no, you have never done anything wrong, Maoin. Not even any times I get upset with you. You're already good enough the way you are. You uh, still need to work on the friend thing and doing something other than doting on me all the time. Because ya still do that."

The kitten rubbed her head against the pets she was receiving, enjoying herself. By the time they were done, the girl’s tail and arms found themselves around her mistress. ”I know, it’s just hard on me. You know I care about you, mistress.” Still, there was something that confused the kitten. ”What … what exactly was making you jealous? As soon as I em … made my exclamation .... and Mugi started petting me, you sprinted out of the room and it sounded like I had done something wrong. I just finished … um … embracing you … so …” Overall the kitten was finding herself more and more confused the longer the pair spoke to each other.

Gwynn fidgeted slightly where she sat.

"...do I not pet you enough?" She asked, still petting the top of the neko's head, running her hand over one of the kittens ears.

The kitten rubbed her head against her owner, ear twitching happily against the hand that went over this. ”Meeeeeewwww.” Maoin let out a happy noise, but eventually collected herself enough to actually make some sort of comment. ”Not mmeeewww place to ask … but … I could use a bit more, mistress.” After all, while she certainly enjoyed being pet between the legs, it would be nice to be pet for extended periods of time elsewhere as well.

Suddenly the most absurd thought entered the girl’s head, and she actually moved away from her owner’s pettings. ”Is … is this about other people petting me?” The girl seemed to be a little confused at this notion, but she was trying to hide it. It had always seemed like in the past her owner had encouraged physical contact with others.

Gwynn flinched at the question, seeming somewhat disappointed that Maoin moved away from her. She sighed, leaning back and supporting herself with her hands as they made an impression in the snow.

"...Ha, yeah." Gwynn replied, shaking her head, looking up towards the sky. "Stupid, isn't it? Here I am telling you to get friends and the next I'm getting jealous that you're trying that." She cast a look over to Maoin, giving her a small smile. "So it's nothing to worry about...me just being an idiot as usual.” Smile turning into a mischievous grin, Gwynn continued. “But hey, if you wanted to be pet more you just had to ask."

The kitten looked at her mistress with a slight frown. She nodded in response to the girl’s final question, but decided to respond to her earlier comment. It had been over a year since they had been together. And this girl STILL hadn’t figured out rule number one of being a familiar. ”Gwynn. I’m only doing this because I love you.” A second later the blonde haired girl would feel a sudden pain on the right side of her face as Maoin slapped her.

The girl actually had a few tears starting to form. She really didn’t want to do that. But it was rather clear that sometimes there was only one way to communicate with her mistress, and that was to physically awaken the brain that was somewhere beneath that thick skull. ”It’s my job to worry about you. I chose to do that when I became your familiar, mistress.” A brief sigh left the girl. ”Listen, I had other, more impressive options to choose when you picked me. And yet I chose to be an adorable little kitten that would hopefully be easy to talk to and tell to do things if you needed to. Please make me believe that decision was at least somewhat effective.”

Ow.

"Ow goddamn-sweet fucking baby Kraken in a goddamn reef! What was that for you-you-I'd call you a bitch but aargh!" A slew of colorful curse words left Gwynn's mouth as she was slapped. The kitten could hit surprisingly hard! And with the cold weather, it stung more than a little. The kitten herself was a little surprised at this colorful language, but she kept herself from making a comment.

It caught Gwynn off guard, and for a moment after she managed to get her mouth under control, and could only stare at Maoin in slight disbelief and surprise as the kitten spoke. Gwynn was fully aware that was supposed to be her 'job'. That didn't mean she was ever going to be comfortable with it. Not with how...just cute and defenseless the kitten looked. She simply listened quietly, trying to form words, but failing more spectacularly than usual, silence following for a few seconds when the kitten finished speaking before Gwynn could say anything, lightly holding her right cheek.

"...Maoin," She began with a sigh. "When I look at you, I see an adorable, defenseless kitten. A defenseless little kitten that I have to worry about or she's going to get hurt. A little innocent kitten that doesn't need to handle the problems of some idiot who can't even handle personal relationships that well. I can't help it. If something were to happen to you because of me, I'd never be able to live with myself." She removed her hand from her cheek, unsure of what else she could say. "I'm not saying that you should have picked another form, but...I don't want you to worry about me. I can't help it. I know you're supposed to, but it makes me worry that you worry. Worry that you're going to do something stupid like you just did and run after me in freezing goddamn weather without even putting a jacket or something on and get hurt."

The kitten paused for a moment .... the blonde haired girl knew of her powers as her mistress … right? She’d go back to that in a second, but first she needed to mention something else. ”Perhaps if my mistress didn’t run out of the building like it was on fire, I wouldn’t have. I’m more capable than you think I am ...” The girl prevented herself from bringing up the promise of sword training from earlier.

”... and mistress. I don’t think this involved fighting a dragon or some sort of hellhound. Can you explain … why seeing another pet me made you upset? Have a bit of mercy on this poor, adorable, defenseless kitten and help her out so she doesn’t have to worry as much?” Of course, she was making a little fun of herself towards the end there.

"I already said I was jealous that you wanted to be pet by them." Gwynn replied, unsure what more of an explanation Maoin could possibly want.

The kitten looked back at her, letting out another sigh. She’d have to phrase this differently. ”I mean, can you tell me why me wanting to be pet by them makes you feel jealous?” There was a variety of reasons why, and the girl wanted to hear what it was. Or maybe she already knew, and Maoin just wanted to hear her say it.

Gwynn fidgeted uncomfortably. Had Maoin always been so...insistent? It was refreshing, but damn it she didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

The kitten sighed. Apparently her owner had the full intention of keeping things quiet, for whatever reason. After giving her a little bit of pleading eyes, Maoin decided to have mercy on her mistress. ”Mistress. I’m assuming you don’t want anyone else doing things … more than petting, either?”

Gwynn's face reddened a little bit at the question. Of course she minded.

"What you do in your free time isn't any of my business." But it wasn’t like she could tell Maoin she couldn't if she wanted too.

The kitten rolled her eyes. There wasn’t really a way to get her to say anything, even after slapping her across the face. But Maoin had a few guesses. ”Mistress. You promised you would tell me everything.” Of course, she knew the answer. But if her owner would ever be someone of consequence … she’d have to get comfortable with requesting things. This was one of them. ”I’m - I’m not exactly sure how you intend on ordering a crew around if you can’t give a cat one, Captain Mistress.” That was pushing it a bit, but hopefully it would give the mage a little perspective.

"I am telling you everything!" Gwynn retorted with a huff and a small glare. "And I can give orders just fine! Because they would at least be able to handle them! I tell them where to shoot and how to steer the ship, and they do what they do best. I don't need to manage every little detail as long as they do their job." Gwynn said, folding her arms. There was no need for her to do things like that. She'd be the captain. She'd be the one making sure they had a goal and how to get to that goal, and everyone else would do what they would be best at.

The kitten frowned slightly as she abandoned her attempt at making an analogy. Clearly, she had pushed a little too far. Her ears fell just slightly, her tail slowing in it’s movement. Her owner would feel a small impact as the cat leaned back into her, rubbing her head slightly on the taller woman’s shoulder. ”Mistress. It’s alright to be a little possessive of me, for whatever the reason. I belong to you. I won’t let anyone else do more than … hugging me, alright? I can handle that, okay?”

Gwynn simply wrapped an arm around Maoin again, resting her head on hers.

"...yeah, that's fine." She had to resist the urge to say if that's what she wanted. "...want to stay here for a bit? I still haven't build a snow fort since the last one was destroyed."

The kitten looked up at her owner, reaching into the small bag she brought and handing the contents within over to her mistress. ”Cookies. For you, mistress. You should eat something before creating another battleship.” Truthfully Maoin always kept something tasty to eat around.

As she waited to see what would happen, she lowered her head into the world’s best lap, closing her eyes and rubbing her face lightly against her owner’s thigh, hoping she’d get a few pettings before they assailed someone else.

"Deal!" Gwynn said with a grin, without warning standing up with excitement. "Come oon, up and you think I can't order anyone around I'll show you! On your feet kitten we got a ship to build! You'll get all your pettings after it!" She pulled Maoin to her feet, grinning brightly.

”Meeew!” The startled cat let out an excited cry as suddenly she was face planting the snow, and then getting yanked up to what amounted to a standing position. With a smile on her face, she finally replied. ”Yes mistress!”

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Week Four, day 3~

~Livia~

The rest of the week passed with relatively normal weather, as well as without further incident. With a little help from the incident with Sorcha, Livia was able to acquire a few tears from Fia without raising much suspicion from the other girl that night. Another vial for Aetheria if she had need of one later and she did find out something interesting, or anything at all as Livia wanted.

At the moment though, she was dealing with a rather pompous and arrogant individual she greatly disliked dealing with.

"Lord Kostis...while I understand the nature of the request is rather urgent, I believe your concerns are unfounded." Livia said with a sigh.

"Unfounded? Headmistress you can not deny that the seal placed upon that creature has been weakening."

"Perhaps your hired help is simply not skilled enough," Livia gave the man wearing a rather luxurious looking black and red robe sitting across from her a cool look. "I do not mean to be rude, but your performance with even the internal affairs of your own jurisdiction with the council is mediocre at best."

"Mediocre? Bah, I am no great mage like you but I know how to solve problems, and I know problems when I see them." He refuted. "That is exactly why I am on this little council because unlike you pompous mages I can get things done without magic.

"Hmph...because that worked out so entirely well for you when you came running to me for my help a few weeks ago."

"I was simply busy with more...important matters to devise a plan."

"More important matters than the safety of the people you have been given charge over?"

"A matter of a threat more important than some hellhound looking for food. And no it is not any of your concern headmistress." The headmistress raised an inquisitive eyebrow at this, curiosity obvious but the lord was tight lipped and said nothing more. Silence followed, only the sound of Cynthia pouring more tea for the both of them filling the room. "It doesn't matter, that is not what we are discussing. What we are discussing is what to do about this problem."

"A non-existent problem." Livia replied, sipping he tea. "Unless you have solid proof that you can present to me then I am afraid I will not help in this matter. I have my attentions turned elsewhere."

"Fine, have it your way headmistress." Kostis replied. "You will not accept my proof, so I have to wonder if you perhaps you are hiding something but very well then. I will resolve this matter then." He stood, grabbing the cane that was resting by chair. "And for once, I'll show everyone just what a devil you are. Let us go, Clete."

With that, the relatively younger noble left the room in the most irritated fashion he could afford to appear. Clete simply gave Livia a small bow before following behind him. As the door shut behind him, Livia frowned.

This might be a problem.

"Cynthia, make sure he doesn't cause a problem, hmm?"

"Of course headmistress."

Gwynn

Ugh.

She was tired. And sore. And she really could go for a drink right now.

Last weekend, working for Livia was less than fun. So much housework she had to try and do. She got the cleaning bits down easily enough and she was...acceptable at that according to Livia, but she still couldn't do anything else all that right. Cooking, keeping her mouth shut when she wasn't being directly spoken too. This servant stuff was almost made her want to pull her hair out and tell Livia to go fuck herself and do it her goddamn self.

She didn't see how Maoin did this stuff. Blargh, at least she had money.

Money that she used to buy a small sword for Maoin. It wasn't the most intimidating looking thing, but it was small and light. Perfect for a smaller body like hers. A little training would go a long way to making her feel better and get this irritation worked out of her system.

...she should probably get out of bed first. With a yawn, she got up and went about her usual morning routine with Maoin. Bath, getting dressed, breakfast. She did have classes today but a little morning warm up never hurt anyone as long as she didn't get carried away. Besides, she wouldn't give Moain time to comment on her getting to class or not. That comment last week about her not being bossy enough was going to be proven completely false.

"Hey Maoin," Gwynn gave the kitten a friendly smile as she sat on the bed, securing her sword on her hip and wearing something a little less than elegant like the kitten probably would have wanted. "So. I got something I wanna show ya this morning before class starts."

~Sorcha~

The dragon was, for once, up before Luna would have been. Over the week, the dragon had been waking progressively earlier and earlier. The Knight would have likely noticed but if Luna asked, she simply brushed it off. She wasn't not sleeping well and she wasn't tired, she was sleeping a lot less for whatever reason. By the time Luna would wake this morning, she'd find the dragon fully dressed in armor and lounging about idly in the room for whatever reason.

She seemed to be finding a book rather interesting for whatever reason.

[Roleplayer001]

The magierprinz had foundly found some answers from the book he had taken from the library during their little break in. Interesting, but he had made a deal with Gwynn in this matter and intended on following through with it.

In the meantime, he had a certain hellhound following him around the streets after they finished breakfast. While the man did have an idea for getting his own personal companion, Eith was ... a bit too untame for his tastes.

The atmosphere had largely been normalized, and Swen looked to the puppy as he was heading to Kathrine's class. "Alright. I'm going to give you some cash for food today. Spend it how you want, but this should cover the next two meals for you." A few rather expensive coins were handed over in a small pouch to Eith. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

Normally the girl wasn't too interested in following him around, so he guessed the answer was no.

The past week had been wonderful. Despite not accepting any pets from strangers the entire weekend she had been out with Tazia, things had gone rather nicely. During the weekdays her owner seemed to set out some time after dinner to pamper her, which oftentimes led to more happening. Also, she had baked a few more of those cookies for her mistress.

She seemed to like them, especially when she returned late at night from whatever quest she was still working on.

Of course, she loyally did not question or investigate what her mistress was doing, although there were hints based on her mistress' behavior anyways. She seemed to return with a regular schedule and without being inebriated, suggesting she perhaps was working somewhere. The girl also had faded marks from dirt, along with the smell of soap. Was she perhaps drilling younger people in the art of the sword, and just bathing quickly afterwards? Sparing regularly with a group of friends? Doing incredibly well scheduled nighttime robberies?

Maoin was a bit curious about why she wasn't being told about what was going on, but with a large amount of effort she forced herself not to ask as she prepared her mistress for the day, who seemed oddly intent about getting up on time to go to classes.

"Hey Maoin. So. I got something I wanna show ya this morning before class starts."

The kitten blinked a few times, but simply nodded and moved herself to the edge of the bed next to her owner, looking up into her face. "Yes, Mistress?" She was a little curious about what this was about. After all, she was a cat by nature.

Although she raised an eyebrow at her owner's rather casual clothing, Maoin remained in her own usual servants uniform, and intended on doing so for the day unless told otherwise.

The past week had been awful, to put it simply. Livia would likely have noticed Fia walking around with a sense of hopelessness or worthlessness as the younger girl moved around, even managing to put a somewhat of a damper on her usually nervous behavior. Whereas previously she read books, perhaps sometimes more than Livia intended, it seemed that Fia was either finding herself distracted or simply not interested.

The crimson haired girl had dealt with pain, abuse, and being forced to live in conditions that could only be described as inhumane. And despite having a few weeks away from such things, those memories haunted her. She still needed to find a private space sometimes, where even Livia couldn't find her.

But this ... this wasn't the same. She had hopes. Of course, it was stupid. Dreams of ... probably what Livia called friendship, maybe even one of those forms of love. And, despite her natural inclination to hide, she had overcome that in the hope of discovering those things.

Only for those hopes to be dashed to the wayside as the dragon screamed at her before they even had the chance to speak. Apparently, dreams were simply meant to remain as dreams.

And Fia finally realized how some of those privileged students could be sad. To have one's dreams crushed wasn't the same sort of pain in the tower, but an entirely new way to suffer that she hadn't been exposed to before.

---

Her thoughts were interrupted as the pompous man finally found his way out the door, Fia letting out a small sigh of relief as he left. The crimson head girl approached the desk slowly, carrying a small stack of papers she had been working on and lazily putting them down on the desk, looking at the floor as she released them. "... Anything else ... today ...?" It was still rather early in morning, but Fia wasn't in the mood to do anything. She wanted to go home, lie down in their bed, and just sleep all day.

[Pyromania99]

Mugi, the Yuki-Onna

Mugi never really got to talk to the headmistress. Really, she just was afraid of being kicked out, so her best thought was to accept Lyssa's offer to share with her. For the moment, the Yuki-Onna was thankful. Still, Lyssa had a way of trying to stick close. In fact, she had other things in mind as well, as it would seem. . . Still, Mugi denied whatever advances she'd have made. It came to morning time however, and Mugi woke up from the floor she slept on. It reminded her the most of home at least. It was probably a little later in the day since Mugi stayed up later in the night reading. These books of Lyssa's were interesting actually.

Lunalel Lightsword

Luna woke to the sound of pages turning. She had gotten use to the dragon sleeping next to her, but today was a bit different. Sorcha wasn't in her usual place in the oversized bed, but instead seemed to be sitting and reading elsewhere. Wiping the morning sand out of her eyes, Luna slowly made her way out of bed. "Good morning, Sorcha. Reading this early in the morning? What's got your attention? I didn't take you for one to read, in honesty." The Knightess made her way over to her wardrobe to put on her uniform and the piece of armor she retrieved from the blacksmith.

Eith, The Shellagh Alpha

"None." Eith said as she recieved the coin pouch from Swen. If nothing else, their relationship hadn't worsened. She wondered just how long this "Meal-Ticket" would last. He mentioned he was not an inexhaustable source of money, so she might want to look into a different source. "Thanks for the pay, have a great day." The Shellagh said almost musically as she went off to go for more food. She was still hungry after a light breakfast and Swen likely understood how important it was for her to eat. On her route to whatever restaurant sounded good, she practically ran into someone familiar. "Oh, it's that Sketchy Maid again." Eith lost track of how long it had been since she mindlessly left, but a quick look of her surroundings showed her that she had covered a bit of distance since she left.

Doll #69

The doll that stayed in Livia's Office decided that rather than hide, it might as well sit on or near Livia's desk. It just studied the exchange between Livia and the weird man, Kostis was it? Not that it mattered much. Livia was full of surprises and secrets that not even Katherine was privy to. After the man left, the doll stood up practically sighed as it shrugged and shook its head back and forth to show it was confused unsure what to think exactly. Katherine herself, pondered slightly as she prepared for her class.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Sorcha~

The dragon clicked her tongue as Luna commented on her current pastime. "Oh? What do you take me for an uneducated backwater dragon? Being well educated is standard part of being a good knight, and queen." The dragon closed the book she was reading, placing it upon a nearby table. "I am a particular fan of history, considering I've lived through most of it and have more than quite a few tales to tale as well." Sorcha stood, walking over to Luna with a small smile. Well, might as well get right to the point then. No sense in beating around the bush when there was something to be done.

"Uhm...Luna," Sorcha began with slight hesitation. "I was perhaps wondering if you could take me to the phoenix-er, Fia. I would go myself, but after my quite unacceptable behavior, I fear that she might flee at the sight of me. And do not worry, I do not intend to harm the girl..." her voice trailed off slightly as her gaze drifted downwards. "..But If I am unable to control myself..."

Either way it was necessary. She had to see. Had to see just how much the phoenix remembered.

Gwynn

"...have I ever told you I hate those uniforms?" Gwynn commented offhandedly as she turned on her heels, heading out the door. "Anyways, come on Maoin! Adventure waits for no one!" She grabbed the kitten by the hand, practically dragging her out of the room and out the dorms, passing a slightly confused Lyssa who had tried giving them a best-friend hug but was promptly denied as they bolted out the door. Gwynn led the kitten from the dorms right to the training grounds, not giving the kitten much time to ask any questions and if she did, she'd be met with silence or told she'd find out when they got there.

After bringing her to her usual training area, Gwynn released the kitten and turned to face her with a confident grin.

"Alright! So. Remember when I said I'm gonna teach you how to fight?" Gwynn asked, pointing at Maoin, the ring that swen bought her glowing slightly. "Welp, hope you're ready, I'm not gonna pull any punches and I only teach through practical demonstration." From the ring, came a shortsword. The weapon was smaller than Gwynn's usual sword and was much lighter, designed to be used with a bit more finesse and agility than hers. Perfect for a cat, if she could train that cat to use her agility correctly in a fight.

"Here ya go." Gwynn held the weapon by its blade, handing the hilt to Maoin.

~Livia~

Livia simply poked the doll on its forehead.

"None of your business, my student." Livia chuckled, turning to Fia. She pondered for a moment, a bit unsure as to what she should do here. Fia was definitely feeling down after what happened with Sorcha. She needed to help with that. "Don't worry dear, you don't have to do anything else today if you don't want too." She replied with a soft smile, before looking over to the doll. "...play with this if you want while I work. The dusty old thing is just taking up space at the moment."

~Kostis~

hmm...

It shouldn't be too hard to spot him, especially on his way to class. From the report, the young noble sounded both dashing and heroic, just like him! They should get along well, then. So just look for an upstanding gentleman with a heroic stature and-

AH

There he was!

Talking to some small...wolf girl? Well, he had an idea as to who that was. He wasn't a fool, no no, but he wasn't going to press the issue. The matter had been resolved and that was just the consequence of not being able to do it himself. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't going to attempt to get on the young lords good side. With a confident stride and friendly smirk the lord approached Swen with a deep bow.

"Greetings! You must be Sir Magierprinz! Apologies if I am interrupting - allow me to introduce myself. Lord Kostis of Greece at your service!" He rose back to his full height, holding out a friendly hand for the young mage to take. "Let me thank you personally for resolving that issue that I sought assistance for. Clete here tells me that you and your fiance performed quite exceptionally."

~Cynthia~

Cynthia had been following Kostis quietly since he left Livia's office. No doubt he was aware of her presence, he didn't seem the type to not be aware of something, but that was fine. She was not attempting to be overly stealthy. She was simply doing as she was told - make sure he didn't get into trouble and letting him know he was being watched...well. He likely wouldn't attempt anything. If he did, it was unlikely she'd miss it.

She of course, didn't want to linger too long in one area. besides she had a few other errands to run. She'd hear of anything that Kostis tried anyways. That was her job, after all. Make sure she knew everything that was happening in the academy...and then an insect...a pup decided to run into her.

"Sketchy maid?" Cynthia looked down at the mutt that had run into her with obvious disdain. "Mutt, I would keep your mouth shut if I were you, Or you'll have the most hellish bath of your life." And that was a threat she intended to keep as well.

...without Livia here to keep lid on her mouth, it seemed the Maid was much more...offensive.

"...However," Perhaps this was something she could have the mutts assistance in, then? "Perhaps you could assistant the Headmistress in a small matter." She had observed the mutt conversing quite a bit with Swen, who was also the target of Kostis at the moment. Perhaps this could be used, then? "I will be willing to pay you in whatever it is...your smelly canine self wants."

[Roleplayer001]

The Magierprinz looked over at the voice that suddenly approached him. After a brief look over the nobleman, Swen drew the conclusion that he was truly pompus indeed.

And seriously? Sir Magierprinz?

It was a bit odd for his former employer to be up here, but the nobleman decided to return his peer's respect with a slight bow appropriate for their relative stations in the noble hierarchy.

"Myself and Lady Gwynn Foghlu both did our best in your employ, Lord Kostis, and are glad that you are satisfied. This is rather distant from your demesne however, so pardon my manners for asking perhaps what brings you towards Boreas? If you require somewhere to stay on your travel, no matter it's cause, my family will be glad to be your host."

Simply being polite, but also getting to the point. The man truly was out of place here.

"...have I ever told you I hate those uniforms?" ... did her mistress simply hate the way she dressed 90% of the time? Wasn't it sort of cute in a way? Why hadn't she been told this before? Did she need to ...

"Anyways, come on Maoin! Adventure waits for no one!" Maoin's ears perked up as she heard those dangerous words.

This couldn't be good.

The kitten gasped as she was dragged out of the room suddenly, out of the dorm building, passed a confused pink hair (who she still owed cookies), across the school and straight to the training grounds. The cat briefly contemplated asking what was going on, but realized that it would be pointless. Hopefully it simply wouldn't be something dangerous.

Shaking her hand slightly as it was released to relieve dragged-by-owner-across-campus syndrome it suffered once every few weeks, her owner looked at her with a mischievous grin.

Certainly not good. They were breaking in somewhere.

"Alright! So. Remember when I said I'm gonna teach you how to fight? Welp, hope you're ready, I'm not gonna pull any punches and I only teach through practical demonstration."

The kitten let out a sigh of relief as she realized that they wouldn't be vandalizing the school again, and her eyes widened as her mistress finished her statement. If her owner truly meant to not pull any punches, she'd end up as a well bruised kitten in record time ...

Suddenly, a thin shortsword appeared in her owner's hand, the hilt colored black just like her own hair. Simple, but seeming well crafted in truth ...

"Here ya go."

"Is ... is this for me ...?" Her mistress never did fight with blades this small, and the servant realized it was perfectly sized for herself ...

It was unlikely that her owner would be able to dodge the ballistic hug that ended up going around her, sword narrowly avoiding her owner's side and tail wrapping around her. "Thank you!" Maoin was practically bouncing in cheerfulness for having finally received something, eyes watering just a bit out of some sort of sheer uncontrollable joy! A year and a bit more of cleaning, dusting, cooking, and being a maid, but it was worth it!

Various comments including but not limited to: "My mistress is the best mistress!" and "It's so pretty!" and "I'm so glad I'm your familiar!" were let out while the noble woman was hugged.

After a half a minute as if the black haired girl had some sort of uncontainable energy, she was forced to let go before skipping around for a bit and giving the sword a few celebratory and completely impractical swings. All in all, her little celebration lasted for an adorable couple of minutes before she managed to collect herself, wiping the tears off her face with the unburdened hand.

Then a thought occurred to the ever responsible familiar, who was still holding a wide smile that was starting to show a hint of being suspicious. "... where did you get this ...?" She really hoped her owner hadn't stolen something to get her a gift.

"Don't worry dear, you don't have to do anything else today if you don't want too."

Fia let out a sigh of relief as she was let off work for a day. It seemed that her mage did have some sort of sense of mercy regarding the unending pile of paperwork. Would it be worth asking to ...

"...play with this if you want while I work. The dusty old thing is just taking up space at the moment."

The phoenix hadn't ever really played with anything, but wasn't she a little past the doll playing age even for a child who grew up ... normally? She did wonder what that was like. Still though, she picked up Kathrine's doll obediently and put it against her chest, wrapping her arms around it.

Suddenly a question occurred to the crimson haired girl. She hadn't really seemed to talked to one of these things since she was taken from the tower, and well she did have a question or two for it. Though the doll wasn't likely to go anywhere.

Fia softly asked the doll the question posed in her mind. "... did you ... help kill... old master?" She wondered if this was one of the dolls that was assigned to that mission.

[Pyromania99]

Lunalel Lightsword

"Yes, well, I've half a mind to tell you to cool your head a bit more. . ." Well, Sorcha seemed apologetic enough, and if the tale told true. . . "It seems you're apologetic enough, so perhaps. If you do anything, your hard head might get a crack or two okay?" Luna giggled as if she told a joke. She moved to her closet, "We shall go after classes. I've missed more than I would have liked since arriving, so I think showing up there is in my best interest."

Eith, The Shellagh Alpha

"What's this? A whelpling insults and threatens me? It's been a while." Eith responded with amusement in her voice and her eyes glowing a bit red. "If there wasn't a promise to keep with that boy, I'm not not sure what you'd look like right now. Still, I suppose it's nice to see what a real dog looks like when it's loose from its master." The Shellagh was unintentionally baiting the maid into conflict, her real specialty. "I think that Sketchy Woman has no need for me, when she has you to do it Sketchy Dog."

Eith couldn't help but smirk. It's been a while since someone has said this much to her, aside from Meal Ticket, but he was a special case. . . He was a source of free food after all. "And I am pure-bred Shellagh. Hardly a "mutt" as you put it."

Doll #69

Doll #69 had its connection to Katherine cut, so it was by itself now. Help kill old master? This one was always left in Livia's office so there was hardly a reason it'd be one of the ones that would have killed her old master. In response to the pheonix's question the doll shook her head and pointed to her little quarters in a little crevice. Implying that was were she was, or has been for a while.