[IC] Montagne Academy for Aspiring Mages!

[Absolis]

Adria Solium

---

Adria herself actually shook just a little bit as Meredith shook her hand. That was a... strong handshake. Let's put it that way. Regardless, after that the person had made their way over to some files, all the while droning on about people that Adria hadn't met yet. Though she should probably make an effort to remember that name, Livia.

Of course, the person eventually asked her last name. My, how could Adria have forgotten such an important detail to add! She would need to rectify that immediately, as soon as she got out of her own head. Meaning now.

"Oh! Solium. Adria Solium. I was supposed to be here yesterday, but I ran into some delays."

[Ashifili]

Huh?

Before the oni’s eyes, that red-rock thing spouted off some slightly threatening two-liner, before slowly changing from volcanic rock to sand. Arata narrowed his eyes at this, wondering what exactly prompted this, before he bared his teeth. A mind reader? Was that what this shape-shifting fuckwad was? A mind-reading, formless coward, hiding behind a myriad of identities and insidiously pillaging the thoughts and memories of others? His eyes narrowed. His canines elongated. His horns began to rise up.

But before any other points could be made, another individual made their way into the Library, shouting out a selection of other words. Right, he was in a library after all, and this was, in fact, a place where books were laid to rest. The oni looked at the colorful book on western architecture, recalled his duties, and decided to let it go. He let out a sigh, cracked his neck, and was about to reinstate his question towards Katsumi, when yet another weird thing happened.

A slight pressure was suddenly felt on his shoulders, a different sort of restriction compared to the Night Parade’s self-inflicted curse. Moments later, however, that pressure disappeared, and in the vacuum left by its presence, a man arrived. Tattooed and with very short hair, it reminded him of a mixture between a priest and a gangster. Hell’s bells chimed and color was drained from the library, a cold wind whispering through the Library.

It wasn’t the same sort of excessive, burning power as that bat-girl, but instead a more measured, sharper strength. The threat of death, and the wrath of all nature, hm?

Arata grinned.

“Oh, you look like you’re pretty strong. Let’s fight!”

It was a hilariously simple-minded declaration, all things considered, but unlike that loud idiot or that shapeshifting piece of coal, this new arrival had an air of mystery that actually made Arata want to test him a bit. See how the mages of the future could handle the ancient power of an oni and all that.

Not-Ogre though?

“I’m an oni,” Arata responded easily, “And the last time I saw people sticking seals to walls, they were trying to re-seal me. Of course, most of them were older than you, prettier than you, and probably stronger than you, but hey, it’d still be a bit annoying…”

“…though it’d also be an interesting challenge.”
@TheHangedMan@Zombehs@sakurasan

[Pyromania99]

-Livia and Katherine-

Katherine was a little worried about what the Headmistress was doing. Surely she had students compliment her before? With little option she sat herself where Livia instructed her sitting with her legs pushed together as a lady should and answered the comment. "As you can see, there are easily over a dozen hands in this room sans you and I." She rose a hand and her dolls imitated her. "As a student of Montagne Academy, and not to mention my tardiness, I do owe to the head of the school some sort of service as recompense. If it is within my power, I shall acomplish whatever you ask."

If she could get on the Headmistress' good side, then perhaps it could be a better learning experience than attending classes. "Also, by human standards at the least, calling you old would be an insult if looks were an indication." She looked to the side opposite of the headmistress and muttered to herself, "Unless she took some sort of Elixer of Immortality. Or isn't even a human."

Livia laughed at her statement.

“Well, you certainly know how to flatter someone.” She took a sip of the tea. This was an interesting little student indeed. She seemed honest with her words, and a loyal pair of hands were always welcome. Especially one such as her that could create even more loyal hands. The teenager was right, though. She wasn’t entirely that old – at least her physical age was only a mere twenty four.

“It’s quite adorable, honestly. Really though,” She gave Katherine a cool, somewhat suspicious look. “Whatever I ask, hmm? Even if I asked you to…kill one of those dolls of yours?”

Katherine gave the Headmistress a rather serious look and most of the dolls gave of a reaction of fright, "I said I'd do what was within my power. These little dolls are my babies and a part of me. I cannot very well kill a part of myself, now can I?" She kept her look and didn't show the slight bit of fear with her thought of having to practically murder one of her kin. "I hope you can understand that much."

Livia seemed pleased with the answer Katherine gave.

“Oh, of course not.” She replied with a smile. “My own spirits are precious too me as well. I would never ask another Sanctus mage to do such a thing. Not unless it was something truly important.” Loyal servants were good, but servants that were obedient to the point of not being able to think for themselves, were not. Katherine at least, appeared to fall under the latter at the moment.

“So, you know that I am the Head of the school. I like to think I know what goes on at all times in my school. My precious little spirits do a very good job of keeping an eye on things for me. That scuffle other day that fool of an Oni had with the dragon, for instance. They informed me of the event quite quickly.” She took another sip of the tea, setting the cup on the table before sighing.

“Yet, it is quite difficult to observe them twenty four hours. They only alert me when things either are already happening or have already happened. I may be able to see what they see sometimes, but watching all of them at once is…quite the feat, even for me.” She gave Katherine a pleasant smile. “If…I could possibly get some help with watching things from a certain student with some very cute dolls…it would help me out quite a bit. Oh, and do help yourself to the tea if you want.”

Oh yes, Katherine had forgotten about the tea, "Pardon me." She said while grabbing the cup that Livia had poured for her and drank a bit. Despite all other things, she had only really begun drinking tea lately and found it pleasant so she smiled as she downed the drink. "I suppose I could help keep watch on things with some of my dolls. They can spread around and keep watch during the daytime, though I'd prefer not to have too many of them out at night." Most people should not be outside at night so that wouldn't be too bad. "Did you need anything specific?"

“Anything specific…hmm…” Livia pondered for a moment as she took another sip of the tea. “Anything that I have is far too dangerous for you to deal with at the moment, and I would hate to lose such a…precious student.” She chuckled. Really, she didn’t have anything all that specific at the moment. Nothing that a student such as Katherine could handle safely, at least not without a little training.

“That said, perhaps you’d like to simply…help in general? It’d come with a fair share of responsibilities as well – such as making sure the students were behaving and weren’t say, skipping classes and such.”

Katherine would have to trust this woman when she said things were too dangerous. Still, now she felt like... "A glorified Academy Truency Officer?" She couldn't say that it was the most... Flattering thing, still if that is what it took to get on the good side of the Headmistress than it was worth doing. "If that is what you want time to do. Speaking of, I believe I saw a boy and a dragon named Sorcha head towards that small town. I've lost track of of my sense of time so I don't know when classes start."

“Oh yes, Sorcha is a dear friend. I gave her permission to take Lukas out, since it is an agreement between them.” Sorcha had come to talk to her about it last night. Apparently Lukas and another girl had challenged her to a duel. Amusing really. Seemed Lukas made a bet with the dragon, too. But that didn’t matter.

“But your job won’t be something so simple, Katherine.” Livia replied. “Think of it as more of the…head of the student council. We don’t really have one of those, but if you want, I could give you special permission. Discipline students, make sure they’re following rules, generally…making sure they behave.” She smiled, taking a sip of the tea before setting the empty cup on the desk in front of her.

“Of course, and reporting to me anything…that is happening that could possibly interfere with the day-to-day here.”

"Student Council President?" Katherine asked. Definitely not the position she would imagine being granted. She chuckled a little before summoning a doll from one of her rings and used her magic to turn its arm into a spear. "And how did you want me to discipline people? With the pointy end?" The doll struck forth with a thrust for emphasis. "Or should it be a bit more normal bit of discipline with detention and other casual things like that? I'm more inclined to one than the other though I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one." The girl laughed a little as she fixed the doll's arm and took it back into her ring.

Livia laughed as well.

“No no, I can’t have go around disciplining my precious students in quite that way.” The headmistress sighed, shaking her head as she continued. “I am not fond of violence in general, though unless it accomplishes some greater goal. So yes, detention and other things such as that for now.” A small smile formed on her face as she continued. “However, if the students continue to be a problem…then you are allowed to get ‘creative’, if you will.”

"That's one of the things that separates us then." Katherine muttered. Admittedly, Katherine does not appreciate violence directed at her. At others is a different story however. "That being said, I suppose I can get 'creative' if the need comes. I'm rather excited over all." The Puppeteer was rather hoping people would resist but that comes after the other options really. "That all in order now, is there anything else you wanted to add? If not I'll figure out classes and scope out the school, find places for dolls to patrol et cetera. I might even need to make more." She chuckled slightly before turning her whole and undivided attention to the headmistress.

Livia hummed quietly, thinking if there was anything else she would need to add here.

“I cannot think of anything else, save to keep an eye on that Oni, Arata.” She sighed, thinking of his earlier confrontation with Sorcha. “He seems like a decent fellow, but he is much too violent. I say I wouldn’t mind you being…creative with him, should you need too. Do be careful if you do, though, he is quite strong and would likely prove quite difficult to subdue.” That said, Livia stood from the couch and made her way back over to her desk and sat in her chair. "If worse comes to worst, I'll simply deal with him myself, but such a thing would be quite troublesome to deal with really."

“With that said, I’m not sure there’s much else to discuss. I’ll make sure your position is known by tomorrow to most of the campus. So unless there is something you want, I believe our business is concluded.”

"Keep an eye on the Oni 'Arata'. I'll make that my number one priority for now." Katherine said with a smile across her face. If he was "much too violent" that definitely meant he was sure of his power, at the least. "For now, I have nothing else. I do have a few questions but I feel I must first perform my duties. After all, I am still a student. And a student's duties has to do with studying. Perhaps we can talk again later, Headmistress, over coffee or tea again." With that she finished her cup of tea and stood up, motioning for all of her dolls to follow her with a the words, "Come now," muttered loud enough for one to hear. "If I see anything, I'll send one of my dolls here to inform you. Until next time." The dollmaster turned and gave a slight curtsy alongside all of her dolls before leaving.

“Indeed, if you need any help at all, do inform me. I shall do my best to assist you.” With that, the force that was holding the door close disappeared, and allowed Katherine to leave.

[Flood]

Chen Avarice

Chen looked surprised as Melody began to walk out in response to his yelling. He quickly replaced that with a smug grin as he crossed his arms and smiled. "Yeah, that's right! Obey the scion of the Greed lineage! Tremble before my might!" He was suddenly interrupted when he felt his magic completely suppressed by some unknown force. His smug grin twisted into a scowl and he twisted his body towards Cole. "Stop that now. I won't tolerate having some holy as thou Fuck suppressing my magical heritage."

Luckily, Chen never had to say anything in the first place because Cole quickly turned it off. He picked up the hooded child saying something about an Oni and Chen filed it away in the back of his mind. He noticed that Melody was now rapidly turning into glass and he smiled, that's what you get for threatening knowledge. He then looked back to Cole and his scowl warped back into his usual smug grin. "Thanks buddy. Sorry for the outburst, I take pride in my family, ya know?" He chuckled and tossed the book he as holding behind him.

"Man that was pretty fucking intense huh? Glad that shit is over. Time for introductions I guess! I'm Chen Avarice, son of Prince Greed, scion of the Greed lineage, yada yada yada. I'm a big deal." Chen shrugged humbly, even though he was clearly very proud of this fact. "Your turn." He pointed at a random person, not really caring who he was pointing at.

@TheHangedMan@Iatos@Zombehs@sakurasan@Ashifili

[Savo]

Indentured servitude is the #1 cause of nosebleed related deaths - Part 2

Lukas and Sorcha

“Hmm, you think me so dishonorable not to give you an even chance, Lukas?” Sorcha replied, not using her little title for him for whatever reason. The dragon chuckled softly, shaking her head in a very nonchalant manner. It was clear she thought she knew the outcome of this little duel already. Hopefully though, that wouldn’t stop Lukas from trying. It would be rather disappointing otherwise.

That, and if he impressed her regardless whether he won or not, she’ rescind her command anyways, even if she wasn’t able to use her natural talents.

“I won’t be using my lightning or flying. Didn’t intend too.” She waved away his blade as well. If she had one of those, there was a good chance she’d likely kill the boy on accident since she intended to be completely serious in this fight, and not holding back like she was last night.

“ And I appreciate the offer, Lukas, but if I had one of those you’d already be dead.” With a confident smirk, the dragon took a relaxed, but obviously defensive posture. With a breath, she motioned for Lukas to attack first.

“Shall you start, then?”

Lukas stood there, a statue to the wind as she responded. His lively eyes almost seemed despondent, almost as if he gave up before this whole spiel began. "I do not; I only wish to reinstate the rules so neither of us makes a blunder; precaution if you will it." Looking at the dragon who was paced away from him, he stood there, unwavering, only responding on a moments notice.

He nodded as she agreed to not to use any of her abilities, however... "Lightning dragon, eh? Well then, thank you for that little tidbit, at least I have a better idea of what you did last night," he said, locking the contents of her words away in his mind as she brushed his sword off to the side. Noticing this, he gave her a nod, his gaze unwavering as the sword immediately turned to attention and impaled the tree once more with the steel.

"Hmph, alright then." It seemed he wasn't as perturbed any more, even with the woman's claims that she would downright destroy him with the blade. Once more it was time to fight. "No more analytical bs then, no more acting like a jester," he muttered as he glared at the woman. Lukas was completely fixated on Sorcha - nothing bedazzled him about her, nothing distracted him from the battle ahead. Regardless...

"Time to fight then... Let's start." Suddenly, Lukas dashed forward at the dragon, headstrong in his advance. His pace was sped up as he continued, before attempting to slice downward on Sorcha with a quick overhead strike.

"She'll either... or... maybe..."

Ah.

Such a rookie move, heading headlong into an attack recklessly. She had made many attacks like that in quite the similar situation ages ago. How nostalgic, one might say. It would be, if the thought also didn’t feel her with a slowly boiling rage, at least. Still, this boy had nothing to do with that and taking out any anger on him would be wrong.

Brushing the thought aside, Sorcha made her move.

A simple overhead strike. Easy enough to take care of, since there was an overwhelming difference in physical strength here. Using her left hand, she grabbing Lukas’ wrist, using his forward momentum against him. She pulled him, placing her right hand on his back, shoving him forwards and tripping him in the process.

“Now, you’re going to have to do better than that, Lukas.”

As he began the descent, he felt his left wrist being gripped. Before he knew it, his own body was being used against him. His headstrong abaddon caused the woman to swiftly shove him forward, tripping him in the process. Despite this, he looked mildly surprised for the most part before returning to the former state he was in. He wasn't smiling, however, he was hoping for one thing.

At this stage, it was difficult to perform a dive roll of some sort, but he could manage something as his body was about to eat the pavement. Keeping an eye on the dragon, Lukas jammed his other arm forward with his palm outward. As soon as his hands hit the ground, he used the rest of the momentum that threw him forward to lead him into a roll. While he ended up further than intended, he finished by springing up and swinging his sword to throw his speed in the same direction, twisting him around.

Jamming his left foot back to decrease the knock back, Lukas noted he was a few meters away from the dragon, his target not even close to where he intended to strike. Still, it was better than slamming is rib cage onto the ground, because god knows it is still a bit tender.

"Hmph," he snorted, as he jumped back a foot, gazing at Sorcha, before diving into it again. As he ran, he signaled his next attack by holding his sword close to his body, preparing to thrust forward. As he approached at a fleeting rate, Lukas shifted the sword forward slightly before swiftly pivoting around, switching to a sideways slice as the sword in the opposite direction.

Well, he certainly knew how to regain his footing, but if it was against more than one opponent, he’d be a dead man. Still, it was good enough for now. His following movements though….she had to sigh. Slow and cumbersome. It couldn’t really even be called a proper feint. His movements were too easy to read, not to mention that pivot was completely unnecessary. If he hadn’t have done that, she might have actually had to dodge. He added such unnecessary movements.

Once again, she grabbed his sword wrist, completely unmoved by his feint. She simply smiled, before squeezing. hard.

“If that’s the best you have, Lukas, then I’m disappointed.” She sighed. “I was expecting more from a fool who walked right into a dragons den, then had the audacity to challenge an order from them.” With her free hand, the dragon grabbed Lukas’ on the same side as his sword arm, and pulled him, spinning once as she made sure to keep a firm grip on his sword wrist. As soon as she had completed one full spin, she released her grip on the boy.

Lukas was up close and personal and he felt the need to make this quick if he wanted to end the battle. He heralded no care for the dragons personal comments, nor the rising disappointment in her voice, instead, focusing on the mere milliseconds he had. Swiftly, he seized her arm with his left hand, holding on to her wrist with an iron grip as Sorcha let go of his sword hand. Using that grip, Lukas swiftly tugged himself forward, utilizing the speed himself and his sword, Lukas shoved his sword forward, making it look like he was thrusting... before letting go of the blade, causing the weapon to be launched towards Sorcha's torso.

"Checkmate," Lukas mumbled as his face returned to its nonchalant self. As the sword was released, he threw a fist towards the arm Lukas was grappling onto, intending to force an ultimatum on her - stop his fist from smashing her arm, or block the steel from making contact with her body. As he did this, Lukas swung the rest of his weight downwards, attempting to settle down on the ground once again.

Well. That was not something Sorcha had expected. Turns out he wasn’t hopeless after all, then. Still, a move like that wasn’t going to be the end of it. The dragon had been impressed, though. She hadn’t expected something like that from the human. She’d have to dodge the blade, and block the fist. Or at least dodge in a fashion that meant she could avoid getting hit.

So, the dragon jumped, putting as much strength into her legs as she could. Even without the help of her wings, she was able to get a good few feet off the ground, enough to angle her body horizontally to avoid the blade.

In the same instant, she used her free hand to grab not his wrist, but his shoulder. Using her upward momentum, the sudden act changed her trajectory as her momentum carried her over the boy. His little blow would probably miss. There wasn’t much he could do to account for such a sudden change.

“Checkmate?” She laughed as she passed the boy. The next instant the hand on his shoulder tightened, and as she landed gracefully the dragon once again tossed the boy over her head in the opposite direction of his sword.

“I’ll admit, that was a fairly good strategy, but such a half-baked scheme is only going to get you killed. Now you don’t even have a weapon.”

Before he knew it, Lukas was flying over the woman's head with his arm still firmly attached to her wrist. Weighing the options, it would either lead Sorcha to slamming him into the ground or him arcing his body in an attempt to smash into her. Either way, one thing was for certain - he was going to have a difficult time obtaining his sword. Deciding not to give in to the low odds, he went with option C and let go as soon as Sorcha finished the action. He flew some distance, but still was within her sights and she to him.

Bending his knees and leaning over slightly, he skid on the ground as soon as he landed, keeping balance, somewhat difficultly with him stumbling a bit, but he managed. Dusting himself up, he looked over at Sorcha who commented on him lacking a weapon. "Lady Sorcha, I still can use my weapon you know." Eyeing the blade, he formulated a quick idea as he sprinted shortly after that light comment. Sorcha was going to probably be guarding his sword vehemently, dissuading him from any attempts with grapples and tosses.

Once he neared the dragon Lukas put his eyes all on her, launching his fist at the woman in the most rookie-like manner he could. This was one hell of a gamble, but from the looks of it, it was a much higher chance than seeing if he could swing into her or get a couple of broken bones. At this point, Lukas felt he had an idea over how she would react - grasp at his wrist when the time came.

"Come one, try snatching me again, see where it gets you this time Sorcha..."

Another attack like that, then? He was seriously attacking her head on? Had he not learned his lesson? No…something was wrong here. She could feel it. Lukas wasn’t as much of an idiot as he tried to make himself out to be. This was going to be a feint or something, she was fairly sure. So…she should dodge here, and not attempt to grapple him.

…still, she was curious as to what exactly he was going to do. So she humored him, and grabbed his wrist once again.

As Sorcha attempted to grapple him, Lukas quickly set his plan into motion, quickly turning the tides by opening up his fist and grasping at her wrist. Using the momentum from his acceleration forward, Lukas quickly pulled himself closer to the dragon. As he did that, he went into an uppercut with his free fist, forcibly moving it at a swift rate. If everything went as planned... Lukas kept his poker face as he underwent this endeavor.

Well, that was not quite what the dragon had been expecting. Good, he was learning just a little then. Chances were, this was simply a feint, and she should counter instead of dodging. But well, now where would the fun in that be? He was doing fairly well, too, after a little warm up. It’d be a shame not to see what exactly he was capable of.

So, the dragon dodged, sidestepping far enough to put just enough distance between her and Lukas’ uppercut.

Excellent! It seemed to go off with a hitch... somehow. After this whole spiel, Lukas wasn't exactly sure whether or not this little feint would work, but had some confidence that he could pull off the rest of the technique. As Sorcha shifted to the side to divert herself from Lukas, he squeezed her wrist temporarily, before letting go. Using the combined momentum of his dash and her sidestep, Lukas then followed up by grabbing her wrist once more before she could fully land on the ground.

He had fractions to overcome, knowing that once her other foot landed, it would be much more difficult to get her off balance. Lukas swiftly put the leg that was closest to Sorcha's unfixed leg, Lukas quickly swept his own foot, knocking it away from where she was going to land. Making sure it would render her unstable, he shifted his weight in the same direction as her, attempting to pull her wrist back so her stride would get an unneeded oomph that could knock her off balance.

Well.

That was certainly amusing. The dragon stumbled, though didn’t fight it. She fell right to the ground, landing flat on her stomach as she was unable to regain her balance. If Lukas hurried, he could get that hit in he wanted too so badly.

Probably.

Alright, now this is getting to be a bit fishy the more he thought on it, though he kept to himself for the most part. This was waaaay too easy, along with the facet that she didn't bother fighting back, despite the chance of possible response in resistance. Something was up the more he swiftly pondered on it as Sorcha came crashing to the ground. It was almost as if she was attempting to goad him into "finishing the job" as she lied there. Sure, in a way that sweep did count as a blow, but... hum... try for a second hit out of curiosity or just let it lie.

Lukas swiftly turned around and bolted for his steel after letting go of her wrists, deciding on what he considered the safer option. There were too many hazards in play, ranging from her own tail, to wings, and even hand. Sorcha by all means was still a threat, even lying on the ground, and haphazardly throwing a punch in an attempt to "end" the spar was... not something he felt content with... because implications. Immediately, he snatched his sword, and quickly lurched forward, attempting to accomplish one last thing.

As he got close, he briskly did a lunge with his sword, adding a spin attack afterwords. Either way, this task had reached the apex of completion. As he went through with this procedure, Lukas did his best to keep a devout eye on the dragon, not knowing what simple or complex trick she might pull from her stark scales.

So, a feint to trip her so he could retrieve his sword in an attempt to finish her off? Well. It was certainly a good strategy. Against any other opponent, it could have very well worked. Unfortunately for Lukas, she wasn’t such an easy opponent even in her currently weakened condition.

Before he could even get his lunge attack off, she moved. She pressed her hands to the ground, and in a rather impressive acrobatic display she pushed herself into a handstand, spinning her body she pushed off the ground and landed on her feet facing Lukas. Both his lunge and his spin attack missed completely.

“Stumble me, and then go for the kill when I was down, hmm?” The dragon smiled. “That was quite a good strategy. Would have probably worked on a much less skilled opponent.” She gave a flap of her wings, creating quite the gust of wind.

“I will give you this one chance to surrender, Lukas. You have sufficiently impressed me.” She continued with a nod of approval. “But your skill is nowhere near enough to best me. If you wish to continue, then I will show you just how outclassed you are here, Lukas.”

Being pushed back by the flurry, Lukas attempted his best to hold his ground, using his steel blade as a somewhat ineffective shield as he held the smooth part to his hand. Looks like he got his answer with the failed blow... regardless. Returning back to the way he was before the start of the battle, his eyes were livelier as they were before, reducing all traces of seriousness to ashes. He knew this battle was over long before either of them attempted to strike back. "Apologies Lady Sorcha, but this battle had already ended..."

Standing his ground, he continued stating his piece of the argument as she flapped on. "The terms were I had to land a blow on you - with what, was never specified," he sounded displeased, but with what matter exactly? "I struck your leg with my foot, tripping you over..." Lukas finished his sentiment, gazing over the woman as he started up again, once more with something else.

It could be interpreted that tripping her counted as a blow, though Sorcha didn’t count it. Perhaps she should have specified the terms just a bit more, but it seemed it didn’t matter. Lukas was already beating himself up over losing, which made the dragon sigh. She wasn’t going to bash his interpretation of what a ‘hit’ was at the moment. She’d save that for a later date.

"Regardless on if you choose to respect that as a blow or not, it seems this battle has met its end," Lukas let out a solemn sigh, keeping his eyes firmly placed on Sorcha. "In the time we shared, you gave me a second reminder of how much more I have to go." Swiftly nodding, he kept speaking. "This demonstration is over for both of us, whether I met your demands or not; I abscond from this spar," he declared, implying that he had in fact, surrendered, giving victory to Sorcha.

“Lukas,” She quietly said. “While it is true that you have much more to learn, you are already quite skilled. I have walked upon this earth for nearly two thousand years. I was taught swordsmanship by King Arthur when I was but a child. Since then I have only perfected and mastered my physical abilities. Consider things…You did very well, did you not?” She smiled, walking over to Lukas and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Both last night and right now, you displayed some excellent swordsmanship and adaptability in combat.”

Bring his head to level with Sorcha's, he was quite surprised to see her very appreciative of the way he handled himself, all things considered. It made him feel a bit better, despite his own harsh criticism over how he inadequately reacted in battle. Lukas gave the dragon a slight smile at the encouragement induced from her. "That means a lot coming from you Lady Sorcha; thank you," he spoke softly as she put an hand on him. A bit more tranquil, he let the blade in his hand go, letting it defy gravity as he pleased.

"... but to be fair, even if i did display those things, I'm not the type to easily be that satisfied with myself," he spoke, chuckling a bit. "I have my own reasons for that, but above all, I won't be happy with my skills nor my strength until they reach the what I consider an acceptable standard... which may or may not seem a bit unrealistic currently." He could feel his heart beating somewhat strongly for the most part, albeit harder and harder as the boy gave a wide smile to Sorcha.

He had his own reasons for wanting to get strong? Curious. He reminded her a bit of herself when she was younger, though her goal of becoming a ‘Grand Dragon’ probably wasn’t the same at all as whatever Lukas was wanting. Sorcha fell silent for only a moment when the boy smiled at her. He certainly seemed like he wanted something.

Well.

Perhaps she could finally make that offer she was thinking about making.

“Lukas. I have been debating something since you challenged me last night.” The dragon began, looking over to where some of his swords had been placed. “It is not often I get challenged by a human. The last to do it, was Headmistress Livia some twenty odd years ago.” The dragon spoke, walking over to Lukas as she gave him a friendly smile.

“You are skilled with a blade and you have a goal to work towards. You are far from a master, however, and your current skill would never allow you entry into the gates of Valhalla. So I will do something for you very few people in this world have had a chance too.” Sorcha then extended a hand to him. “If thou wish it, I will train you and turn you into a fine warrior capable of slaying even the mightiest dragon.”

Lukas was a bit taken back by the dragons offer of training him, as a sort of master and apprentice sort of way from what he identified. While he did appreciate the offer (and would most likely take it up), he felt that it was inordinate for him to make the request... especially with some of her previous reactions to him. That seemed to erase most of the doubt and disappointment over himself, easing him into a much more comfortable position. Lukas' smile became more genuine, a streak of determination was in his eyes, willing, unrelenting, wanting.

"I would have to truly be a foolish person to deny such an offer, Lady Sorcha," Lukas spoke boldly, nodding his head, displaying his agreement to the task. Stepping up to the plate, he further gave his willingness to learn by grabbing her extended hand, firmly grasping it as he looked at Sorcha. "You're someone who has lived through countless battles and have knowledge that extends beyond my years, so..."

Lukas almost looked somewhat giddy with excitement, making it difficult to keep his jubilant feelings in check as he accepted her proposal. "I accept your proposal Lady Sorcha; maybe once I become strong enough, I might be able to pierce your lustrous heart." Lukas gave her a mischievous wink with a short chortle as he gazed over her. "Regardless, I look forward to these training sessions where I hone my skill, body, and mind under you; thank you for giving me such a privilege m'lady." His tender smile, nor good mood would have a difficult time fading, especially after this whole spiel. After all, flesh will always be stronger than steel.

The comment about ‘piercing her heart’ made the dragon laugh loudly. Her grip on Lukas’ own hand tightened considerably, probably enough to make the human very uncomfortable.

“Wow that was terrible.” She replied, her laughing dying down quickly after making the statement. “Piercing my heart is gonna take a lot more work than you’re capable of, Lukas.” He had impressed her so far though, so who knows? Maybe he could, but it would be difficult for him to at best. She gave him a mischievous smile, and suddenly pulled him closer to her, placing one of his hands on her shoulder and her free hand on his, giving him a very tight hug.

“Besides,” She quietly spoke. “I’d say I’m the one who pierced your heart, hmm?” She released the boy from her grasp after speaking, a small smile still on her lips as she turned and started walking back towards the town.

“Ahh, I’m starving!” She said. “Come on Lukas, let’s go so you can buy me some delicious food already.”

This was a different laugh from last time as hid his winces of pain from her grip with a returning chuckle of his own. "Trust me... it gets worse; wanted to call Katherine a doll," he remarked as his own laughter faded too. Lukas knew some of his quips were horribly laughable, but hey, it sometimes garnered him a new friend!... or a slap to the face... or just awkward silence... But it was the former to say the least. His smile was softer and less wide... and more or less, the look on his face was different as he was pulled in.

Lukas noticed a teasing twinkle within her eyes; he expected some sort of prank, and quite frankly he was happily denounced of this. Suddenly, Sorcha pulled Lukas in, embracing him. His eyes widened and his face was slightly flushed as he was brought closer to her. As she hugged him, he opted to hug her back, that shocked expression of his transforming; he was now beaming. As she began whispering, Lukas laughed softly, allowing only the duo to hear it.

"Guess I made it too obvious, huh," he whispered back after her comment over "piercing his heart," before they let go of each other. Lukas quickly retrieved all of his items with his mind, bringing them all to him as he began walking to catch up with the opulent woman. Lukas held that same smiling lip, unrelenting, and unchangeable. "Ugh, you seem way too eager to plunder me Lady Sorcha," Lukas responded with feigned annoyance as he pouted for a few seconds. As the blades, sheathes, and satchel fell into place, he broke back into the same smile of liveliness, of happiness, of determination.

"Maybe I might satiate that ravenous hunger of yours with one of these?" Lukas pulled out one of the few remaining sushi rolls in his bag as they traversed towards town, putting his hand forward as he offered the wrap to her.

"Sushi roll, m'lady?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Meredith~

"Adria Solium! Nice name, good name! Really flows. Kinda reminds me of water." Meredith said with a small giggle as her three fleshy appendages continued to shuffle through some papers and other things on her desk. She was slowly swaying back and forth, humming a pleasant sounding tune as they did so. Her hands were idly tapping the desk she was sitting on, and her legs were slowly kicking back and forth in some unseen rhythm.

"Hmm...Nope, that's not it." she said, her back still to the filing cabinets. "Dorm assignments, Dorm assignments....where did I put those?" The fleshy tentacle shaped appendages moved faster through the cabinets. Several objects were tossed out of the drawers as her search continued. The items included a few vegetables, a suspiciously adult looking doujin if the cover was anything to go by, a few syringes, dissecting knives - several of which flew in Adria's direction, a set of risque looking underwear, and lastly some sort of beaker filled with some sort of bubbling blue liquid which spilled and promptly ate a hole through the floor.

"Oh wait!" She said, as if she had a sudden revelation. "I know where I put them!" Without looking to see if she possibly harmed Adria in the process, she hopped off the desk, walking over to a cabinet on the other side of the room. She opened it, revealing a nice, neat stack of papers inside of it. She reached in, grabbing them with her extra appendages, turning around to face Adria as she began looking for her room. "It's written here somewhere, I promise!~"

After a few seconds, she did a little twirl, and handed a sheet of paper to Adria as her other appendages stacked the papers back on her desk.

"There ya go!" The fleshy appendages retreated back into her garments as their task was completed.

@Absolis

[DELETED7282737]

Shino Koizumi

Shino peacefully moved about in the bed at night but not as much to disturb the sleep of Ylva. Shino would softly pant or hug the girl for the warmth she needed and the softness of her body that attracted Shino just like the girl was a big stuffed animal. Her cat ears were close to her head and her tail neatly wrapped around herself with the end lying on her belly so that it wouldn't end up out of the bed. Shino had pulled off her shirt at night feeling it was rather uncomfortable and warm in her sleep. She had recklessly tossed it aside somewhere on the ground together with her socks and shoes scattered all over the room. Shino had a well night of sleep and tried not to disturb the girl much in her sleep.

---

SHino's eyes jumped open to their usually sleeping look as sign of her waking up. She blinked a few times and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It appeared the girl she slept with yesterday had already disappeared from the bed and had taken a stroll outside or something along those lines. Shino stretched herself as the blankets she was lying under fell off of her. She gave a wide yawn and sat upright looking about the room, on the ground she saw her shirt and all and appeared to be rather confused by it, thinking the girl might have undressed her in the night. Her hair decided to jump in 6 different ways and made a total mess of itself showing that the cat girl clearly had just woken up..

Shino shivered and set her feet onto the ground to get her shirt for some warmth while she wasn't under the sheets. Shino's ears twitched about as she had caught up on some nearby noises most likely still in the room. Shino moved her head towards the direction and decided to walk the way she heard the sound coming from wrapped in the sheets with her still bare feet.

Upon entering the 'living room' (execution chamber) area she saw the person creating all the noise and to her surprise it was no one less than the girl she had slept with last night. Shino tilted her head lightly looking up at the girl while she was pulling herself up and down onto the bar with her ice blocks stuck behind the bar itself. Wait what? She had ice block as feet? Now that was some weird new species that Shino hand't heard about before.

"Hey hey human! What are you doing in Shino's home! Shino wasn't informed on human."

Shino didn't look angry or mad but just like she usually did, it looked like she did not have a worry to care about and looked pretty lazy in fact by her appearance at the moment.

"Did school send Shino slave? Slave who can do work for Shino? Can slave make meat for Shino... please."

The please was just something she had learned to do when she requested someone to do something for her.

Kirby-chan

Reina had just arrived at the school gates of the island, she hadn't seen anything like it before and was certainly impressed by all of it and that something like this even existed and laid in front of her own eyes right now. Her eyes sparkles by the sunlight as she looked over all the big buildings she could see spread over the island. A rush of excitement went over her spine as she stood in front of the gate and took her very first careful step into the academy. The center of the school was in front of her with various pats leading towards every single point you could think of what would be in an academy. She slowly started walking again and came till the point on which path she should decide to go. Reina glanced over the ways she could possibly go and had yet to decide what she should do for the day in the first place. It might be nice to unpack her bag and place all her clothes somewhere appropriate.

Now it wouldn't be a all days work to do such task for a normal person but Reina had a LOT of clothes to her possession. It was not something you could carry around on your back alone. Doing something peaceful instead sounded way more please able to do today. Yet what, Reina didn't have any real friends around the academy she knew yet and shopping alone would have been so boring thing to do. Getting food was out of the question but maybe the library was a fair idea to consider. If Reina came to discover that she didn't have any lessons idea she might consider doing the library idea. Now did Reina wonder one thing, her familiar was suppose to show up somewhere around the center area on the school. Yet Reina wouldn't have thought she would be faster than him on the spot.

[Zelosse]

Adian 'The Moth King'

Adrians wings were spread wide as the moth man glided through the sky, around him were thousand of smaller moths clinging to him or flying around him, drawn to his presence like a magnet. His thoughts seemed to call or repel at his leisure and it was perk he drew great amusement from. So many people disliked moths and many more disliked an 8 foot tall one with rending claws and sharp teeth. An advantage he had used very rarely, preferring to observe rather than instigate. Bound in service to Reina Izumi, Adrian had offered his services in the wake of an unforgivable accident. Though the moth would never admit to such a thing in public there was an incident where someone had eaten a majority of the young girls clothing in a midnight binge.
Had all gone downhill from there. The girl had later allowed him to serve her as a familiar and Adrian had taken to the role diligently. Granted the creature had been bound by others in the past but never had he done so for more than a fleeting moment, whatever magic that had bound them as master and servant always fizzled out and became null. Often to the displeasure of the, what Adrian had begun referring to his old masters as, 'collector'. This time was different to him in a way not yet fully understood. Willing service to this one was a new and interesting experience. Though Ms.Izumi often lamented that he slept in her closet and continued to unintentionally drool and dissolve expensive garments. Adrian had since taught himself not to destroy her things unintentionally.

Like a dream the memory of their binding returned as he drifted across the massive schoolgrounds searching for his princess. A concoction of crushed bugs, bile, and foul liquids had formed the framework upon her back. A likeness of his own wings magically imposed upon her skin that could be expanded into her own set of wings similar to his own. Mastery of flight came natural for his species but the girl had problems. Fear of heights was often a question but never would he pry on her interest or disapproval.

At long last he saw her enter the schoolgrounds and felt the familiar race of his heart at spotting the youthful girl. A great beat of his wings scattered the other moths into a frenzy as they all collectively tried to keep up with their diving leader. His freefall became a controlled swoop as Adrian spread his wings wide to catch the air and act like a parachute, slowing his descent to a crawl as both feet touched solid ground. Forwards in a rush he came to try for a hug on his master but the simplest of glances froze the colossal moth as surely as a brick wall. Even the lesser moths that fluttered around them like a storm refused to so much as fly too close to Reina let alone land on her. Instead they circled at arms reach like a tornado about her and swarmed over Adrian, who promptly dipped to one knee and bowed his head, his wings folding across his body while draping his luxurious red cloak across his exposed body.

"You have arrived, my queen. At last! I trust the trip has not been taxing?"

In the time Mothra had come to serve this girl the attitude had changed dramatically. When on the clock he was well trained, obedient, and respectful. Her protection was top priority. His very physique had been altered with the contract, granting him power and speed to match. Though by no means the strongest he was capable of fending off attackers and performing physical feats previously impossible. The chitenous hide of his exoskeleton had hardened to offer more protection as well. A gift he had never received with any other. All for her benefit.

[Matsuri]

Vera Rosenberg

---

---

Vera's Natural Habitat (The Garden)

---

---

"Yes, plants are my magical specialty, but what about yours? We don't get a chance to talk much, despite sharing a dorm."

Well, that was true. Although the girls Vera was sharing a dorm with weren't all that bad, it seemed she wasn't interacting with them as much as she expected. If she was to gain even a little bit of trust, then actually talking to them was her best bet.

And actually remembering their names, too.

"Manipulation over a wide range of plants… That is quite an ability you have there, Alicia. I'm a Bratus mage myself, however… my powers are much more limited."

Before Vera attempted to pull one of the withered plants, her little friend spoke up.

"No, they're still alive. Let me see what I can do. No promises, though."

Another chance to see Alicia's magic in action. Not that it was a bad thing, though. Some insight on her roommate's abilities was always useful. Slowly but gently, her new acquaintance invested all of her magic into the flowers' death bed, attempting to revive them back to good health. It was simple and not too spectacular but it got Vera hooked. If this girl where to practise a bit more, then…

No. As if Vera would worry over such things, right? Doing something like that was pretty troublesome, right?

"I did what I could, and I think they can still be saved. They'll need heavy doses of water and fertilizer, though. Get them back up to speed. And before you say anything, it was no problem. Much better test of my powers than working with healthy plants; that's pretty easy."

"My, such skill for a mage so young," Vera responded, despite their mere one year age gap. "Some people find it much easier to simply control plants, make them flourish. However, creating plants and how fast you can grow them depends solely on the person. In your case…"

Facing Alicia, Vera held out her ringed hand, focusing her magic power into it. It would begin to glow an emerald green before a small magic circle appeared, producing a single rose.

"…if you practise frequently, you'll be able to find it much easier to create plants if necessary. You're already quite talented, Alicia. It would be a shame to see such talent go to waste."

Vera then stepped away to reach for some fertiliser as Alicia had advised. Good thing she always left things where it would serve some use in the future.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to teach you a few tricks of my own either."

Shit. How did something like that manage to slip out? Looking a bit taken back, Vera's body stiffened.

"That is… if you have time to spare, of course."

Yet another promise Vera would be reluctant to keep. Her mind seemed to say otherwise, however. How was she going to get out of this one?

@shagranoz

[sakurasan]

Katsumi exhaled a bit. These ignoramus, ridiculous idiots. Wait. She was a mind reader? Katsumi couldn’t find much that she liked about mind readers. At all. She quickly attempted to wipe her tainted thoughts from her head as someone came into the room and flipped the library’s defense mechanism. She didn’t mind the pain, either way, she wasn’t even using her powers at the time so it barely even hurt. She shot a bored look at the @Zombehs man and moved once he turned it back off. With that, she snatched the book out of the loud mouth that had came in earlier and smiled at @floodtalon him. “Thank you. However, it doesn’t matter if you don’t like this specific genre. This is not your library nor is it mine.” She smiled kindly at him and put the book back where it belonged. Well, she didn’t fully dislike him. He reminded Katsumi of her brother and that was a good thing.

“Oh, you look like you’re pretty strong. Let’s fight!”

Yeah. Not going to be here for that. I do hope they don’t do such a thing in the library. As well as my new home, not that these people had bothered to notice or care. Well, no mind I suppose. Katsumi went over to the western architecture area once again. Since he couldn’t read, she got him the ones that were pretty much specifically pictures. There were about 5 different books that were focused on images of the interiors. They were pretty good and gave a light to the interiors of western architecture, a large amount of images in each of the books. Katsumi walked over to him and placed the books on a seat that he was near.

@Ashifili “These are the books focused more on interiors. I hope you find them useful. I'll get out of your way now.” She says, a kind smile on her face. With that, she got a seemingly interesting book that she had brought to the school and walked out of the room with a polite bow towards everyone and @TheHangedMan smiling at seal-girl. Katsumi headed over to the bakery that she happened to hear about before. "Boulangerie Le Clair" Katsumi did love sweets after all.

The place wasn't extremely crowded so she ordered a cup of coffee along with a small pastry. Taking a seat in the back, she took out the book and began to read. The food tasted delicious and the book was... interesting for sure. She'll never know why she has a book on parenting. I suppose I thought it would help me in life...? Well, no mind. Katsumi could read anything and it doesn't matter if it would actually help her in life later or not. She continued to read the book, sipping her coffee from time to time.

[Ashifili]

A lesser man would have had a headache from all the bullshit he had to deal with, but Cole? Cole simply let out a sigh and said to the battlesexual oni, "Arenas should be open in a day or two. Book one and let me know when."

Meruin’s words were met with a similarly calm, if not slightly bored reply. "So long as you don't cause any trouble and don't tag the place up you can stay. If you want Gall you can call for him yourself."

And, with that, the graduate left the room. After all, it was still a student’s dorm, not the actual library.

---

Arata was fine with that, ultimately. He got his books from Katsumi, whom he thanked with a dip of his head. He got another fight from an interesting (yet also boring) person from Cole, whom he smiled at. And…that was basically it. While the greedy loud person went about his introductions, pointing at the seal-pasting midget, Arata took this as his cue to leave as well. Exiting the Library, he juggled the two books in his hand, before bouncing off once more.

Sorcha and her new boy-toy were basically off fucking around in the red-light district or whatever, so the Tower’s highest floor WAS an option now, but at the same time…

Yeah, it wasn’t the tallest building after all. Setting his sights towards the clocktower of Montagne Academy, the structure that stood above everything else, the oni ran up the side of it, somersaulted upwards to the highest point, and from there, with the wind billowing the pages and the sounds of the school drowned out by the sounds of the sky, the oni focused on visualizing the storage shed.

He focused, he imagined, he thought, until there was not a single spare cell in his brain left to wander off and consider other things.

Three days.

Three days until he can see the worth of this wider world.
@floodtalon@TheHangedMan@sakurasan

[TheHangedMan]

~Meruin Hazy~

Meruin took little notice of the slights against her appearance, only caring that apparently, this man was an oni and the fact that he was here meant he was able to resist the attempts at sealing him. Which meant one of three things: Either he was an exceptionally strong oni, those were exceptionally weak Exorcists, or he was lying. Of course, there was also the fourth option of him being delusional, but Meruin liked to categorize that as the same thing as "lying", even if he was only actually lying to himself.

Therein held the focus of her new-found interest in him: The blood of a powerful Oni was, in fact, one of the few catalysts that she had deduced would allow her research to progress, even if it wasn't her preferred one. The other options were Phoenix and Dragon blood, of which she preferred Phoenix for its vitality, though both were notoriously difficult to find, due to how rare it was to meet either. Oh, there was one last option, but Meruin was loathe to use it; demon blood was powerful but highly unreliable as a catalyst by virtue of how unstable it was. She discovered it had something to do with the inherent nature of demons to be naturally attuned to destruction. While she would save it as a last resort, Meruin was having a rather hard time procuring the means by which to obtain her preferred blood samples, so even if it risked establishing her ritual, she may just have had to use demons blood.

Now, it just so happened two necessary catalysts appeared before her, both of them at the bottom of her list of "what to use for this delicate and easily catastrophic ritual-slash-experiment", and both of them had inklings of personalities she found difficult to communicate with. Chen's impassioned declaration did little to impress her -- claims to an exalted bloodline rarely did, but if he was who he claimed to be, she had to take a moment to think on what to do next.

First, she had to confirm the veracity of their claims. Whether or not that boy was actually an Oni or whether Chen was really the scion of a Demon Lord that governed the avarice of man. How to go about that though? She had a few methods, but a large part of that involved the consent of her intended subject, and she was unsure about whether or not their characters would allow it.

Secondly, she had to ascertain whether they would be willing to cooperate or not. Judging be the supposed-Oni's demeanor, she may have to get ready for a fight she would rather avoid. As for Chen, well, perhaps she would be able to play on his pride. He seemed simple minded that way, but then again, he may also have a hidden intelligence to back up his loud pride.

Meruin committed both their faces to memory. She would see them again, she would make sure of it. For now, she needed to get to work. Besides, the others were already leaving. Before the supposed-Oni left, Meruin said: "That is of course, if you are an Oni. Perhaps you could prove that first before anything else." Hopefully he heard her. She would prefer not to repeat herself on their next meeting.

"Meruin Hazy," she said in simple reply to Chen's imperious finger pointing. "I have books to read. Good day."

"I think this Chen guys kinda hot, and that Katsumi girl reminds me of this one Nippon AV actress I knew back in the day. Girl had nice tits but nooooo personality outside of her fucking . . ."

Meruin tuned out the rest of Heathers speech. Now, where were those books about blood-seals?

@floodtalon @Ashifili

[shagranoz]

Now it was Alicia's turn to be impressed, and she let out a low whistle. "Manipulating plants that are already there is easy for me, but actually creating them out of thin air? You're already a better mage than I could ever hope to be." Alicia continued, "That said, I will take you up on your offer. Maybe I could teach you a thing or two as well, get you beyond just roses. Meet me in our common room tonight, and we'll have our session. I'll even cook!"

[Absolis]

Adria Solium

---

Adria quickly ducked as some of the syringes and knives being flung out of the cabinet flew towards her. Some of them dropped on the floor behind her, while some managed to bury themselves into the wall. Which was mildly terrifying, if we were to be perfectly honest. If she survived long enough to get her dorm assignment, she wouldn't stick around any longer then she had to.

Um, could you...not..uh, alright...

Adria started to protest about the throwing of sharp objects, but stopped herself. As it was clear it wouldn't do much of anything. Though, thankfully, they stopped anyways when Meredith finally found the dorm assignment. Adria took the dorm assignment from Meredith, quickly mumbled her farewells, and supposing she wasn't stopped, would quickly back out of the room and dash for the nearest corner.

---

@Rune_Alchemist

[DELETED7282737]

Kirby-chan

Reina looked over the square and realized Adrian had not yet arrived and was probably still lying towards her, he wouldn't be the kind of person that would stop somewhere else by first. Reina looked up at the sky and almost immediately spotted the black blip above her that was suppose to be Adrian. She gently smiled at the sight of him flying and noticed he had seen her too when he started descending himself to the ground to greet his master. The moth man came in at a incredible speed and was just in time to slow himself down before he landed. A gust of wind fell down upon the ground letting the girl her hair and skirt flutter in the wind gust. The moths Adrian always had with him formed in a tornado around her covering both Adrian and herself in the middle of it. Adrian knelt down in front of her and acted rather appropriate now he had gotten used to Reina a lot more and knew how to better deal with her. Reina brushed the hairs out of her face and kept the gentle smile on her face as the moth man greeted her.

"Not at all if you ask me, they were well prepared and there were clearly no real problems in the flight. Thank you for asking Adrian but really, you don't have to call me queen every time you address me. Something that wouldn't sound to spoiled would be alright for me."

Reina gave a quite awkward laugh at him and had a somewhat blush on her face after he had called her queen. She didn't find it a bother to be the queen of the moths but she wouldn't think of it as something amazing either. Reina gestured the small moths to stand down being quite intimidated by them actually. If they would all sit on her it would be enough to make her pass out and or die at any given moment. Reina looked directly at Adrian ready to speak to him as she placed a hand on the side of her head to brush the hairs behind her ear again.

"Say Adrian, Would you rather go to the library or settle into the dorms so that that would be out of the way, I have quite a lot of stuff with me and still need to orientate where everything is and all. I must say it would be better to settle in to be honest but it would be your call."

[VanityMage Levi]

Conner

Time flew by for Conner. He was still in the same area blowing bubbles until finally deciding on what he should do. Going to town was simply out of the question, He could go shopping on his next day off. Besides, he thought it would be nice to take his time exploring the school, not only so that he could get a better understanding of the school grounds, but to also scout out for possible hiding spots to avoid others. He finished using up the last of the liquid bubbles in his container before heading out to locate said spots. He soon regretted this because he remembered that he had left his bag in his room at the library and now, he couldn't hide his face when he comes across other people. Instead, he sufficed with using his hands as a form of substitute until he gets his bag back.

While walking through the halls, he overheard some female students talking about how they've both have already gotten their dates and picked out some dresses for the ball. A ball? Now that he thought about it, the shape shifter he met at the library yesterday did mentioning something about purchasing items that one would see at an event. He wasn't sure if he was going to go though. Being shy, confronting others was a big task on it's own let alone asking someone out. Plus he would have to go buy some nice clothing but just arriving here yesterday, he didn't know how to navigate through the city to find a clothing store. Giving a small sigh of defeat, Conner continued his walk. If anything he could just relax in his room right?

Shortly after, the boy was at the center of school and immediately noticed there being another female student accompanied with a moth man, he also noticed the swarm of moths surrounding them. Upon closer inspection and seeing how they acted towards each other, Conner understood that this moth man must be her familiar. Not wanting to be a disturbance to them, Conner quickly hid behind a tree but had accidentally stepped on a small branch during the process which let out a loud *Snap*. Scared in knowing that his location had been discovered, he peeked his head out of the side sheepishly and apologized.

"S-Sorry, I hope i'm not intruding o-on anything..."

@liferusher @Zelosse

[Iatos]

The Chorus and Melody

The rather... complex stuff.

As the spark of energy renewed itself, the pieces of glass shattered to the four winds would again gather. From all the corners of the world, the deepest of the depths and upon the highest peak... at least if your entire world was the lawn in front of the library. Once the pieces had resembled the glass lady was once more. Letting out a noice akin to a hollow yawn her form stretched and twitched with a serious of scraping noises. Putting her finger to her chin she wondered why she had chosen this place and form to sleep... yet she couldn't bring herself to remember it... she did however remember the task assigned to her, it was important after all and everything else... was less so.

It was at this point she realized that she was in fact not alone, there was a stranger near her someone with a hollow gaze starring at her and yet not. In fact it was hard for her to even place where the figure was, it was like if he were covered in a thick mist that were everywhere and nowhere at once. When the figure communed with her, it was not with words... but with a song, a composition that rang deeply through her mind and perhaps her very essence itself. She could naught question its origin, because before she knew from whence it came it had soother her curiosity. She replied to this song, with lyrics of her own and yet she didn't understand them at all... it was a language beyond her, yet she spoke it fluently as it resonated within her.

When the Figure was satisfied Melody flinched, she were now in the form of a ten or so year Old Girl and yet she couldn't quite remember transforming into it, she looked around finding nothing at all around her. She couldn't remember much about the thing she had witnessed, it was like if it hadn't even been there to begin with. She had a lingering hollow feeling, like if something had been taken away yet she couldn't place her finger on what it was... she felt famished and soon left for the cafeteria to get something to eat. She didn't change form as she felt tired and confused, instead she picked up a plate and silently sat down to eat, all while she couldn't shake the cold that for a while would linger over her.

[Savo]

~The Monster Girls Day Out! Ditching class for a dress?!~

It was a pleasant meet and greet from this morning onwards as the Arachne met her new roommates, smiling brightly at the scene. As the introductions finish going underway, they eventually departed to head to classes from what she deducted... but her? She was heading to Headmistress Livia's office, recalling she made an offer for familiars to procure a job if they wished not to study. As much as Yume wished to partake in education, maybe taking a job for this year would give her experience in this world if... no one wanted her. At least she could provide for herself.

Following the directions given to her, Yume weaved and bobbed her way throughout the town, passing many a student or patron, earning her a couple of long lived stares or a simple glance. After traversing for a while, she finally located the tailor. Quickly entering inside, she noticed the wide variety of clothing, ranging from casual to formal attire, Yume browsed the place for a few minutes before meeting up with the owner of the store; a slightly flamboyant man who seemed to teleport all over the place in the blink of an eye. After his shenanigans, the girl promptly delivered him a piece of paper, signed by the headmaster. Reading it over, he nodded, before quizzing her skills.

Giving her a couple of minutes, she eventually displayed a beautiful, flowing dress that showed an elegant purple with a composition at the bottom which made it partially translucent in a smooth, wave-like pattern. The man gave her a hug, along with a pat on the back, exclaiming she was hired, before explaining that these next few days would be a bit busy, seeing as everyone would most likely be searching for an extravagant dress or suit for the upcoming party. Nodding, she gave the man a patient smile, replying she would do her best before creating a few more dresses and suits before departing for the day.

Eventually, the woman donned her birthday suit and departed to the land of sleep, knowing full well that she awakened when she slumbered. Soon enough, one of her roommates would discover that the dream version of Yume conceived a landing pad for them to jump on. Of course, it was more of a cushion to sponge their fall more than anything, and would make for a useless trampoline if jumped on constantly.

---

After Mugi agreed to go with her, Lyssa immediately hopped into the shower since she didn’t want to waste any time getting started. Change her clothes, dry hair, grab her laptop case and in about fifteen minutes, the demon was ready to get going into town. And as soon as they both were ready to go, they left their dorm for the day. Iravis left soon after as well, and Katie would probably leave later.

But for now, the Yuki-Onna and demon headed out of the dorm towards town.

As the Arachne awoke from her slumber within the early recesses of the morning, she yawned softly as the dust settled from her eyes. Gazing outside the window of the silk stored room, she smiled as the sun rose up to new heights. Pushing herself off the side of the bed, she traversed over to the closet which housed myriads of her dresses she wore every day. As she looked over each of them, the woman tapped the air, as if trying to decipher a hidden meaning behind them all... before procuring a dress with an orange, blue, and white hue. Obscuring her unclad body, she fetched her bag and dumped a few bundles of silk into her bag before going out into the main foyer, and outside. The view over the campus was gorgeous... and there was now a huge spider web near the bottom...

Pretending that it was nothing of interest, she descended the tree steadily before eventually making it to the earthen below. "Now... where was the bath," she murmured mutely as she stared at each passageway, recalling that they lead to certain places. After a while, she tried her luck and randomly chose one of the paths. Thankfully, that guess absconded any lingering doubts with the hot spring in sight. Chirping happily, Yume daintily made her way into the bath. The shower she couldn't fit in had nothing on this secluded place as she exhaled a few "aaahs," easing herself in, and before Yume knew it, her abdomen was submerged in the warmth, the water barely reaching above her midriff.

This was bliss. After completely cleaning and drying herself off, Yume attended to the garments that were near the springs. After performing other tasks that her caretaker displayed, she began to stretch all while heralding a huge grin on her face. The Arachne felt refreshed and ready for the day as she headed off to the cafeteria to procure a quick breakfast before going to town, ready for the rush of life and her skills of conceiving dresses to be put to good use.

It didn’t take long for Mugi and Lyssa to reach the town. Lyssa was skipping classes, but that was perfectly fine in her opinion. She wasn’t going to be learning anything new anyways. Well, not anything that she would like to learn. Like, how to make infinite chocolate or what rare things were alchemically made from. Like…dragon scales! They couldn’t be just made from any normal stuff, could they? She’d love to get her mitts on one so she could study it. Alas, there were no classes like that, though. Such a shame, really.

But now wasn’t the time for that.

She needed a suit or something. Not a frilly dress, no. She hated those. Something that was easy to move in and wouldn’t hinder movement a whole lot, but was equally fashionable and would look great at a party.

“Hmm…where do you think we should look, Mugi? I want something that’s easy to move in. I don’t like dresses.”

With Lyssa's resignation from wearing a dress, Mugi sighed a little. "But you'd look great in a dress. You're so cute as is, I'm sure a nice dress would look wonderful on you." Really, aside from dresses there was little that the Yuki-Onna knew about western wear. Dresses were so very close the Kimono that she wore all the time that there was not as much a difference as Kimonos and pants. Pants felt weird and really just did not keep her as cool as her normal outfit of a Kimono and Scarf. "I guess anything would really look good on you though."

“Ehe, really? I wouldn’t look anywhere as good as you would in a dress!” Lyssa giggled, doing a little twirl as she walked, taking note of any clothing stores in the area that she might find something dressy to wear to the party. “Dresses don’t work for me. They don’t move very well, and for a martial artist wearing restrictive clothing isn’t very good.”She replied with a hum. Even if she didn’t entirely like her martial arts, she still…well, used them. Without them, her magic would be almost useless.

“Ah…but I don’t really know the first thing about clothes….” She sighed. “Well, dressy clothes anyways. Any suggestions, Mugi?”

Mugi chuckled a little. They say you learn something new everyday and Mugi was definitely learning new things. She couldn't remember anything about Lyssa saying she was a martial artist. It wasn't pertinent now, so she continued with her thoughts. "Well, I already said I'm not too knowledgable on western-wear. I also don't think you need to worry about martial arts either. If a ball is just some big party or social gathering then I don't think you need to dress with consideration to the restriction of the outfit." She didn't really understand what the ball was suppose to be really so she just assumed it was a big party. "You're always going around saying you're adorable. . . I agree. Now prove it with the cutest dress!"

As the Arachne clambered down the forlorn streets, she noticed two other women walking ahead of her. They both looked predominantly around her age, and she couldn't help but hear what they were speaking about. While the pretty one with the horns commented on getting a suit, the much shorter girl in a kimono spoke about how the horny girl would appear good in almost anything she procured. Taking a closer glance at the outfit displayed her in rather tight fitting clothes - not something that fit Yumes style, especially since they were rather a pain to get in.

Yume truly wanted to interject, but where would her manners be? After all, these two may of been students who were out on the town as friends, trying to discern what to wear for the ball. Reaching out then retracting her arm back to her face, she worriedly pondered on how the duo might react to such a sudden lady who dwarfed them both with her size...

'Oh my, should I, or should I not," Yume whispered in her indecisiveness. In her state, she began to shuffle forward at a swifter rate, her thoughts scattered between choosing to talk or stay silent.

"Inaction is the biggest crime," she recalled, "do not speak to strangers," hmph... why was life so difficult. In a way, these two people could be some valued friends, as well as customers for the store, The Enigmatic Emporium. Yume was fairly certain Mr. E, the owner of the store, would appreciate it if more came in. He did comment that this was one of the few highlights of each passing year, seeing as there were people who came in to be measured for the size of dress or tux they would adorn.

Eventually, she accidentally bumped into one of the two as they spoke, causing her to ricochet back in surprise. Her eyes were wide, her mouth was agape, albeit shrouded by both of her hands. That expression she gave almost looked like she walked in on a loved one being murdered in front of her. Yume's face was flushed as she resonated with a weak comment.

"Oh my goodness... I... I am so sorry, please forgive me..."

Lyssa’s eyebrows furrowed in thought, her tail swishing back and forth in mild annoyance. Mugi did have a point, but…she just really didn’t like dresses.

“Eeeh, Well if you say it like that I can’t refuse.” Lyssa replied. “Mind helping me out, then? I don’t really know the first thing it comes to-” The demons sentence was cut off as something or someone bumped into her. A small squee of surprise escaped the demons mouth as she stumbled forward, nearly tripping but managing to catch herself before falling face first onto the ground.

“Ehe, its fine!” Lyssa replied turning around to face who had just ran into her.

"A giant spider." Mugi mentioned without a spot of worry. Spiders were rather cool things. Eight legs and eyes, able to climb on walls and their own webs. . . Mugi wasn't exactly jealous or anything, but that was cool. And this one had a human body! "Isn't she cool Lyssa? Isn't she a Jorougumo? Oh, I guess I could just ask you couldn't I miss?" The girl chuckled a little bit before asking the actual party, "Would you be a Jorougumo?" The Yuki-Onna had a smile across her face as she asked, trying to stay friendly to counteract the Spider-Girl's worry.

Lyssa certainly wasn’t expecting an adorable little spider to be the person that had bumped into her. Without regard for what Mugi was saying, or whatever the spider might be doing, Lyssa reacted on the first instinct she always had when she met something adorable.

“Ah, she’s so cute! I must hug her!” That one sentence was the only warning Yume had. The next instant, Lyssa had jumped onto the spider and wrapped her arms around her human torso, giving her a full body hug.

Yume bowed in an apologetic manner, posthaste, seeing as she almost knocked over the pretty pink-haired girl in tight clothing. Regardless of her answer stating it was fine, when she came back up, Yume almost looked ready to cry over spilled milk due to getting lost in her train of thoughts. Looking off to the side, she could only wonder how her caretaker was cringing back in... what was it, America? over her inordinate actions which lead to another beings harm. Regardless, the smaller one seemed a bit eager to learn of what she was, voicing her reasoning out.

"Jorougumo?" Yume seemed befuddled over this question, tilting her head sideways as she looked up to her forehead. She did recall her caretaker explicitly mentioning Jorougumo, and how they were like Arachnes, but with a differentiating culture. Putting a finger on her lip, she occasionally tapped it for a bit before returning to her calm and collected position, after all, it wasn't at all ladylike to stare into space, especially with a question directed at her. "Uhm, I'm sorry, but I'm not a-huh?"

The inability to react quick enough left the girl reeling when Lyssa glomped Yume. Even if the warning came off, Yume was rather startled as the girl the kimono-lady referred to as Lyssa announced her intentions. The Dreamer couldn't exactly hold the girl up due to her lacking upper body strength. In seconds, she plummeted down with Lyssa, bent over into a slightly uncomfortable position. This felt a bit... awkward to Yume. "Was she incorrect the whole time? Is this what being a lady is like?"

As she pondered, Yume had no clue how to properly respond to such an "assault" save for her trembling lips and a raised eyebrow. This was all too surreal to her. "Uhm... why thank you Miss Lyssa? You look rather beautiful yourself," Yume responded in a calm manner after being slightly shaken up. As she said this, the Arachne wrapped her arms around the horny girl, blushing a bit lightly from this unexpected scenario... well... at least they weren't offended?

As the two of them fell over, Lyssa only gave a small oomph in reply, still holding onto Yume. As the Spider returned the hug, Lyssa simply giggled in reply.

“Beautiful? Well, Heh, I’ve never been called that before. Mostly shades of adorable~” She giggled again, releasing her grip on the Arachne so she could stand up if she wanted too. “And uhm, as much as I love having another person on top of me, you can get up if ya want.” She chuckled rather mischievously, either ignorant of what that statement might imply, or not caring.

Mugi was a little disappointed that she wasn't right about the other girl's species, but can't win them all or so they say. For now she stayed back slighty and enjoyed the sight of a demon and a spider toppled over on each other. It was a little silly to watch.

Oh, well... ok then! As Yume came face to face with the horny girl, Lyssa, she began laughing, which was a bit irresistible in an infectious sort of way... along with her noting it as a social cue. The Arachne begin giggling for a short period of time with the young lady, until she released her grip on Yume, prompting her to stop hugging the girl back too. At this point, the girl had a mischievous streak from her resonating chortle, making Yume ponder on why she made such a peculiar comment, save that she was tipped over on top of her.

"Having another person on top of her... oh! Oooooh..." It seems Yume was slightly coming to realize what Lyssa meant by "having another on top of her." Giving her a rather anxious look, the Arachne quickly pushed herself off the ground, dusting herself off. Of course, this also made it look like she made a newfound discovery! Something proper about this new woman in front of her, along with community indications from the way she reacted to her standing!

"So that means she must love this thing called a 'doggy pile!' Wow, another person similar to my previous roommate! Except cuter and probably less clingy." As soon as Yume brushed herself on, she put on a similar collected smile as she usually did. Bowing in respect, she continued on, giving the two what she denoted as the way her caretaker taught her. "Thank you again for your forgiveness; we never made it to introducing ourselves now that I think about it."

Yume extended a hand to help the horny girl up as she continued. "My name is Yume Asikiba, weaver of dreams and dresses alike; it's a pleasure to meet you both." She gave the two an affectionate smile as she awaited for the duo to maybe establish themselves... if they gave her the opportunity.

Mugi was confused by the naming convention of this Yume girl. A japanese name and not a Jorougumo. Still, if the girl claimed she was not one, then she must not be one. Now she needed to introduce herself. "Greetings, my name is Mugi. I suppose if you want a full name it would be Mugi Yukimura, but that much is unnecessary so feel free to just call me Mugi." No matter, she'd be happy to make another friend, Jorougumo or not. And this here is my dear friend--"

Lyssa took Yume’s hand, and quickly pulled herself up as Mugi started to introduce the two of them. Well, that wouldn’t do! She could definitely introduce herself!

“Yep, Lyssa Nemorienne!” Lyssa interrupted Mugi. “Don’t bother pronouncing it, just call me Lyssa!~” She offered the Arachne a bright smile. “Nice to meet ya, Yume.”

Giving the duo a cheery smile, Yume, once more repeated a bow as she stayed in that polite and stoic demeanor, before returning to the former once more. "I am honored to make your acquaintance, Mugi Yukimura," she said, nodding in respect, before adjusting herself to taller one. "Lyssa Nemorienne," following after the other and performing the same action as earlier. "It's an honor to meet you both!" As with that introduction, now lead into a proper... what was it... "ice breaker?" Yes, that's what she called it when you try to start up a conversation after a completely awkward moment!

"Hum..."

So how would she wrought destruction to the ice? Tapping her lip, before stopping conditionally, she thought of the perfect idea to start up a conversation! It was something that transpired not merely moments ago! Truly, it was a spark that would ultimately lead them and her to forgetting about this embarrassing situation! Addressing the issue, she kept her upright and lax demeanor as she started up a conversation. "Say, Lyssa, it seems you enjoying performing this action know as 'doggy pile' by jumping onto other people, do you not?"

Ok, maybe that might of made the conversation a tinge more... dicey.

“Doggie pile?” Lyssa questioned, tilting her head slightly, seeming a bit confused before a look of realization crossed her face. “Oh, yeah! As long as I get to snuggle someone, I don’t really care. I do prefer being on top most of the time though.” The demon giggled, a slight smirk forming on her face. It was obvious she was enjoying the Arachne’s ignorance that the fact her words could be taken to mean something else entirely.

“Why? Want me to be on top this time?” Lyssa’s smirk only widened at the statement.

Mugi didn't understand "Doggy pile" until after Yume explained it. Then she seemed to remember something so very similar that happened to her, "Oh! That's like what we did with Iravis and Katie." The Yuki-Onna mentioned with little other thought. She thought it would have included more than just two people but perhaps not? For now she was content with just being a cute background decoration with a big smile, though not beyond joining in on whatever local traditions there would be.

"Oh, why thank you for the offer, but I have..." There was a slight look of horror on her face as she stared absentmindedly forward. The life in her eyes was drained completely as she recalled what she was doing this morning. "... work, uhm, what time is it as of now?" It seemed she was really worried over missing her shift, seeing as the manager was impressed with her style. Being a latecomer would do no justice in his books, none at all. As she asked this, she fidgeted uncomfortably as she did her best to stay calm in this impending situation.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we did with Iravis and Katie, Mugi.” Lyssa giggled, before giving Yume a somewhat troubled look. It seemed like she was late for something. “Uhm…daytime?” Lyssa chuckled before deciding to give out a more serious answer.

“I dunno,” She hummed. “I don’t really keep up with the time unless it’s the release date for a new game. So uh, sorry. Maybe sometime around…ten? I’m not good with time unless it involves cake.” She gave a friendly smile to Yume.

“But hey, if you got some place to be, I gotta find something to wear for the ball anyways. I have nothing, and Mugi wants me to wear a dress…” She sighed at the end of her sentence, still not convinced she would be comfortable in one of those contraptions.

Mugi giggled giddily, "But you'll look just downright cute in a dress." She felt it was a necessary add in for Lyssa. She really just wanted to see the girl in a dress so if she decided on something else later it was all worth it in the end. "But if you must go Yume, I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors." She ended with a light bow to the Spider.

Around 10, around 10, alright, so she was... thirty minutes early, how insightful! Yume gave a huff of relief as her wide eyes returned to her prim and proper state. However, these girls were a bit more interested in wearing something for the upcoming ball... oh, right, that... was supposed to be the thing she quizzed Lyssa and Mugi over. "Crap, I knew I was missing something," she ponder, keeping her own unconscious thoughts hidden while focusing on the hear and now.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was afraid that I almost missed work!~" She giggled to herself over such a small inconvenience of not measuring the time; took it as a calamity. AS she calmed down, Yume decided to move on to her next step - inviting these two to the store she worked at to bring in customers and design a nice dress. Tapping her lip, the spider began to move around Lyssa, eyeing her from head to toe as if she was assessing the threat level of her. Finally, she snapped one of her fingers, having a good idea of what she might like.

"Lyssa, Mugi, you two are searching for a dress Lyssa can wear to the ball in a couple of days, no? Well, I think I might be able to work and assist in your endeavors." Giving a confident beam, she turned her head to one of the stores near the end of the street, she pointed at that building. "I'm a seamstress of sorts; I recently procured a job from an eccentric man known as Mr. E down the street! It's a clothing store and for one, they're working hard on designing all manner of clothing!"

She gave a giddy smile as she swiftly walked ahead of the two. It seems that other side was coming out just a tinge as she continued to explain more. "Explicitly dresses and suits as of late for the upcoming ball." Pivoting around, she gave them a gentle invite as she beckoned them to come forth. "I'm sure I could weave a wondrous dress for your taste... or maybe that suit you mentioned."

Yume put a thumb up, and pointed it at herself, gradually boasting about herself. "I'm an expert on clothing, so if you need any help on finding your style, you know the gal... uhm..." Pausing briefly before she got a bit wild for her tastes, Yume waited a few moments before continuing on. "I mean, I'm the girl you can rely on, if you wish... so would you both like to join me at the Enigmatic Emporium?" Her hands were at her sides, her thumb no longer jabbing towards her as she kept herself under control. The girl gave a patient smile as she awaited their answer.

"This is a good chance since neither of us really know the most about dresses." Mugi mentioned to Lyssa while looking between Yume and the demon. It was most likely a good thing to have someone knowledgeable in the field of dresses help. "It'll be fun. Probably."

The demon giggled, giving the Arachne a bright smile. That certainly was a good offer! One the demon wasn’t about to turn down. She didn’t know the first thing when it came to dresses, so having some professional help form someone like a seamstress would be good. She did hope she could not get a dress, though. Or at least, if it was a dress it was something she could move easily in.

“Sure!” Lyssa said. “That sounds fun. I don’t even know where to begin with dresses anyways.”

As the two agreed to come along, she did her best to refrain from acting too excited... but wait, didn't this mean they were friends? That means she was nailing her social cues! Yume, you genius, you!.. Uhm, either way, she was ecstatic the duo wanted to tag along with her, allowing her to assist whilst spending time with her newfound acquaintances. The Arachne turned around, beckoning the two to follow after with a simple shaft head tilt and a reoccurring, affable smile...

Maybe then, she would get to do more friend things with them!... If she wasn't tired, that is.

"Let us get going then! I'll create the perfect dress for you two!... or suit; whatever fits your style," Yume chuckled mutely to herself as she beginning to walk once again once the duo behind her continued strolling also. This was a very quaint and fortunate day for both parties!

[Roleplayer001]

The Library, Day Two
_{@TheHangedMan}

After unpacking his goods the previous night, the Magierprinz fell into a deep sleep. Somehow, he had managed to ignore the party in the library the entire time, preparing himself for his day normally. Having lived in a magical fortress, the sounds of spells being cast and the business of work were normal sounds to Swen's ears, and they failed to bother him at this point.

His next class starting in a few hours, the Magierprinz left his room to study in the library. A few objectives were on his mind.

Firstly, the nobleman needed to keep up his studies. This academy was apparently rigorous to attend, so he felt some work in his free time would be warranted.

Secondly, the Prince intended to attend only the necessary classes, and focus on enhancing his non-grimore based attacks. Later, he would inherit the full grimore of his dynasty, but having some well developed capabilities outside of his book was also desirable.

Lastly, a princely heir should work on continuing his bloodline, and in this case the wizard decided that perhaps he should approach an appropriate candidate for the ball.

The library was the perfect place to work on all three of these. Studying here would be easy, magical tomes to work with were ready to be found, and for the last part ...

... well, father had warned him that many women these days were airheaded and unsuitable to assist in the running of princely state.

Eventually, he found himself searching through a section of the library discussing blood seals, a previously unreasearched topic for himself. After flipping through the pages for a few minutes, a woman his age appeared to approach.

She looked exhausted, and most wouldn't consider her as a prime canidate due to the bags under her eyes.

The prince realized though that this was likely due to her endevours towards her studies, and hard work was an attractive trait for a spouse who would sit by his side on the throne. Besides, practice courting would be essential for finding a wife in the future.

"What brings a lady like yourself here?" His own eyes looked towards her, searching the similarly aged girl for a reaction. A slight bow in her direction indicated a small amount of respect towards her.

[TheHangedMan]

~Meruin Hazy~

^@RabidAnubis

"-nd furthermore, I'll have you know that pornstars in Japan have really good commission fees. There's this one pool tha-"

Heather continued blabbering about the previous details of her occupation, but she knew that she was pretty much talking to herself at this point. Meruin's mind had already wandered into the realm of possibilities and hypothesis. When the girl got like this, she was absolutely impenetrable and it took something drastic for her to snap out of it entirely.

Unfortunately for the boy hitting on Meruin, talking wasn't - wait, what?

Heather metaphysically blinked and did a rapid double-take. This kid, was he really hitting on her? On Meruin? Maybe he wasn't hitting on her and was just being friendly but . . . Heather had really good instincts for situations like these, and there was no way that opening line was not a textbook opener for further flirting. She'd stake her life -- er, unlife -- on it!

But still, this kid had weird tastes. Not to say that Meruin wasn't cute, but she was cute in a very peculiar way, and was something of an acquired taste.

But none of that mattered! What mattered was that he was hitting on Meruin! HITTING! ON! MERUIN! SQUEEEEEEE~!

There was no way that Heather was going to pass up what was probably a once in a lifetime chance.

Heather waited for a few seconds, for a time when Meruin was within an arms length of the boy before shouting and mentally pointing in a direction to the side. "Meruin, the research papers you're looking for are over there!" Heather called as loudly as possible. Of course, this would get Meruin's interest, and the small mage turned her head in the direction Heather pointed out for her, without stopping her walk.

All according to Keikaku*,she thought, as things unfolded exactly as she hoped it would.
^{translators note: Keikaku means plan}

Meruin bumped into the boy. Normally, this should incur nothing but the both of them stopping short and a small stumble, but Meruin was not only an incredibly tiny and light, but her attention was completely devoted elsewhere. The resulting reaction then, was that Meruin stumbled back a few steps only for her legs to get tangled and fall hit the ground.

There, that would get her attention, thought a smug Heather.

"Apologies," muttered Meruin, getting to her feet. She regarded the boy with analytical eyes, and Heather groaned. She was still in research mode. On the bright side, she was at least looking at him. Maybe this could still work.

"Meruin, I think he was asking what you were doing here," said Heather.

"I see," thought Meruin. Why would he ask though? Was there anything strange with what she was doing here? Was he just curious or was it something else.

He was about the same age as her. Judging from the way he carried himself, he was probably someone of high-standing, probably someone from the upper echelons of society, maybe even actual blue-blooded nobility. Even if that were the case, did she have to answer him? What good would do to reply? Then again, when it came to socializing with people, Meruin found that thinking in purely cost-benefit terms was useless given the unpredictable nature of some people. So if there was no harm in answering, then should she answer? But then, would she have to apply that to every situation like this? It seemed tiring. Furthermore-

"Just answer him Meruin for gods' sake!" yelled Heather, frustrated with having to deal with Meruin's inner monologue and ridiculous tangents.

There was a reason Meruin commissioned her as a spirit, even if she wasn't a particularly impressive spirit. She commissioned Heather on the sole reason that she needed someone to help her with social interactions. If Heather wanted her to respond in a situation like this, then Meruin would.

". . . I was looking for research material," said Meruin after some thought. "Specifically, books on blood rituals and homonculus."