Crowvette

Royal Rumble!

Lise

Lise took a fairly uneventful walk to her dorm. If anything, she was fascinated by the surroundings she observed. The manor of hers was dark at night and only lit by electric lamps in certain areas, and only after a young Lise complained and complained about it. To think that something as large as a city could have lights along every street. The only thing detracting from her experience were the so-called pants that she was wearing, which felt strange to her.

Between her ability and the strangely dedicated royal guard that was Andreim, Lise felt plenty safe despite the unfamiliar surroundings. It was only after a fairly long stroll did they come upon the familiar territory of Laurels. Walking through the dorm hallway, they eventually stopped at Lise's room.

Lise handed her room key to a shadow maid and turned to Andreim. "Now, boys aren't allowed in these dorms, so I will quickly return your trousers before anyone notices you're here." With that, she disappeared inside her dorm, the door to her room swinging back but not quite closing.

Lise gingerly tugged at the belt of Andreim's pants, eventually getting it loose. She was unfamiliar with commoner clothing, after all, and it could break if she was not careful. For that reason she even refrained from summoning her shadow servants. Their strength could be regulated, but she couldn't risk an accident. Eventually she managed to loosen the belt and buttons of the pants, and she pushed them down around her ankles.

This was a problem. They were much too long for her, and they seemed to bundle up around the ankles when she was taking them off. As she tried to push them off, she lost her balance, falling right on her butt with a thump. Lise felt a twinge of self-consciousness, despite nobody being present. 'Commoner clothing was supposed to be easier to wear and take off, wasn't it?!'

Outside of the room, Andreim could hear a thump.

Andras

Andras nodded at Ascot's plan but she also spoke up to William afterwards, saying, "I can keep track of any cards that I draw for you, but... I can't stay at Laurels all the time. I have some other engagements that I have to see to."

'Like doing more Vigilante work since I'm about to spend some money on new clothes, for one.' Andras's stomach fluttered slightly at the thought of her wardrobe embarrassing her again. 'Hopefully I can get something done with Brutus soon.'

"Plus, I'm not even a student. Wouldn't that raise some concerns if I stayed around there too much?" Andras grudgingly admitted to herself that she already spent too much time at what is essentially a rival school, but she used the excuse that no other school had a library as expansive as Laurels.

Royal Rumble!

Lise

Lise was taken aback. 'Better clothes? Does he not like my current wardrobe-' Her thoughts stopped as she grabbed Andreim's pants, which she was still wearing. 'Oh.'

"It's too late to buy new clothes, all the stores are closed... We'll have to return to my dorm." Lise nodded to herself, thinking it a fine course of action. She stepped forward confidently, then faltered.

'Where are we again?' Lise was glad she was in front of Andreim, because her cheery expression cracked slightly as she realized that she didn't know where she was at all. She studied the nearby buildings and landmarks, finding nothing familiar. 'How far away are we from Laurels? What path did the limo take to get here? C-Could it be that I'm lost?!' Lise's expression turned from a confident princess to a lost child in a moment.

Regaining her composure once more (something she has had to do rather often since coming to Rhea), she turned back to Andreim, and gestured for him to walk ahead. "Lead the way, Andreim!" She gave a pure smile, hiding her inner shame at being lost.

Duel Academy: Year one

Aww, no pendulums. I'm guessing that means no Links either?

Royal Rumble!

Lise

Lise let Andreim put the pair of pants on her. She wasn't particularly used to wearing pants, but they were a little large on her anyway, so it wasn't really uncomfortable. As Andreim scooped her up, she clung to him without thinking, her eyes firmly closed. She was just glad that she was being taken out of the nightmare scenario from the other room.

She didn't open her eyes until she felt fresh air on her face. Standing outside of the building, the first thing she opened her eyes to was the stars... And Andreim's face. Despite being clear of the situation, Lise's heart didn't stop thumping. If anything, the current situation seemed to make things worse. 'Could it be that... He's the one making me feel like this?!'

Lise shook her head a little. Though her heart was still racing, it was definitely different than when she was in the presence of the ghost and... flesh monster. She couldn't dwell on it all here. As she regained control of her thoughts, she became more and more aware that Andreim was carrying her. "You can let me down now!" Lise said, slowly regaining her normal princess confidence.

Royal Rumble!

Andras

The situation escalated a little more than Andras would have liked - but at the same time, it was likely that this Galbrek may have done something worse than causing a scene. Either way, he seemed to be indisposed thanks to Vernon.

Andras looked towards the man who was currently summoning a ball of energy in his hands. Though she brandished her spells for dramatic effect, she also knew that she didn't have much in the way of useful spells at the time. Whoever this new face was, he and a few others seemed to be working with Galbrek. The situation seemed to be a bit of a standoff.

Andras nodded at Ascot's suggestion, keeping her eyes on Galbrek's helpers. "Good idea, William. Let's go... Eat." She emphasized her words, showing to Bertrand that she was going to leave and not try to attack him. She took a few steps back, not turning away from Galbrek's minions. "Masami, I don't suppose you'd come with us too?" Andras gave a somewhat strained smile.

Royal Rumble!

Lise

Lise was at her limit. Too much had happened. Somewhere in her heart, she wished that the fox had taken her with him. The only thing she could manage to do is blink with a blank, slightly horrified expression on her face. One of the only students she feared had seen her in such a humiliating situation. A ghost had walked right past her in a heated rage. At the same time, a police officer tried to ask her for help fighting said ghost. Some kind of flesh golem had (admittedly, fairly politely) interjected into the existing fight. She would have broken down by now if it weren't for her partner.

Andreim tried to keep his cool, Lise could tell. He offered something strange, but in this situation it seemed fitting. After all, a gentleman would be justified in sacrificing clothing for the comfort of a lady. His strength under pressure was significant. Lise was grateful enough that she didn't even care about Andreim's lapse in using her proper name.

Lise gripped Andreim's arm, as if to steady herself. Her eyes were fixed on the ground, and her voice was tiny and shaking. "Andreim... Please get me out of here." Lise managed to glance up to him once, holding back tears.

Two shadow maids crouched around Lise, summoned by her without a word. Their long dresses seemed to flutter without any influence from the air, providing a makeshift cover for Lise's state of undress.

Andras

Andras had noted that this new fellow had wanted to speak to her, but as he turned to look at Andras, the enchanted ribbon that she had used as a makeshift eyepatch seemed to react. The free-flowing ends of the ribbon stretched in front of Andras's eye, blocking her from making eye contact with Galbrek. Andras tried to look past the ribbons briefly, frustratedly saying, "Erayo, what are you-"

Andras stopped mid-sentence. The enchantment, a magical legacy of the moonfolk monk Erayo, was a powerful protective magic. It would block the first attempt to affect the wielder with a magical ability. She stepped back, quickly summoning her spells to her hand. "What did you try to do just now?" Andras said. Maybe it was a mistake. He could have an ability that he couldn't turn off. Maybe she was on edge from the previous two fights. But she felt uneasy with this man in front of her.

Royal Rumble!

Lise

Lise admitted it. She may be a little over her head.

Obviously she wouldn't admit that to anyone else, but she definitely admitted it to herself. What kind of royalty would admit something like that? But as she and Andreim dodged past several other people trying to work on a flanking manoeuvre, Lise realized that she was relying a whole lot on Andreim to have an idea of what was going on, who was an enemy, and what they should do. 'Maybe I need to thank him after all this...' Lise thought briefly, before denying it. 'Does someone like me compliment a pauper like him for doing his job as my partner?' Lise's thoughts had been all over the place recently. Maybe it was Andreim's fault, somehow?

Lise's silent introspection was just about the only thing that was silent in the apartment. Below there was some kind of din with the sound of snapping wood, a downpour... The sound of boiling water? Lise was not given the chance to fully make sense of the sounds before some kind of attack ruptured the floor beneath them. Splintering the walkway, countless nigh-invisible bolts destroyed the floor beneath the two. In the blink of an eye, the floor gave way beneath the Andreim and Lise. One particularly unlucky bolt skimmed right across Lise's skirt - thankfully missing her, but not missing the clothing, which it tore right through. Then the floor beneath her gave way entirely.

Lise had been told once that ladies never fall, they simply descend with grace. She always told herself that she could pull off a graceful fall when the time came.

She couldn't.

"KyaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Lise couldn't help but scream as she fell through two floors of the apartment. In a reflexive action, she did manage to summon a shadow maid to catch her - though in the moment she didn't think to do it for Andreim. She landed roughly, but it wasn't anything too painful. It took Lise a moment to understand her surroundings. She was on the first floor, and it was awfully bright. Considering a shadow had caught her, she though it wouldn't be so bright, but-

'Why him?!' Lise was looking into the eyes of none other than Alto. The fearless leader of Laurels. Her shadow maid must have been taken out by the light boy's mere existence. Alto set her down gently, and Lise scrambled to her feet without a word, dusting off her clothes, and opening her now-dry mouth to say something. Anything. She just had to act calm, he was just the Student Council President after all. Nothing to be nervous about.

It was at that moment that the last thread holding her skirt together snapped, falling down around her feet.

Royal Rumble!

Andras laughed lightly at Ascot's greeting. "Hope? Jeez, you poet, stop flattering me." After the (slower) explanation of the plan, Andras sagely nods. "The Root may be unpredictable, but if any magic can do such a thing, it would have to be it."

Andras sighed, mentally recalling her spells. "That being said, I'm looking rather low on spells right now... I overdid it trying to win the midnight tournament." Andras flushed a little as she recalled her defeat.

'It was fun, though. I wonder what Masami thought? I should see where she is...' Andras looked around, her eyes searching for fluff. Andras was never one to miss out meeting with a potential friend, and it was her duty as a resident to show around new faces! 'Ah, we should do something together so I can show her around Rhea!' Andras smiled inwardly at the thought. Andras spotted the fox-girl within moments, and waved at her to come over.

Royal Rumble!

Andras

Andras was trying to cool off her burning embarrassment by taking a break away from the crowd in the cool air. She was kneeling down, examining her skinned knee carefully. 'Jeez. Next thing tomorrow, I'm going clothes shopping. Need to get some pants, and definitely some new-'

A new voice speaking up interrupted Andras's thoughts. A man? Before she could get up to talk to the man, a familiar voice rose through as well. Andras recognized Ascot's voice - and he was sure giving a quick explanation to her. "Jeez, William, slow down!" Andras sighed, getting up from her kneeling position and turning around.

She saw her friend William, as she expected, and someone she'd not seen before. The two were now talking on their own, actually. Andras felt a twinge of embarrassment. 'Was I really that slow to respond that they had to talk to each other?' She lightly slapped her cheeks to try and get herself more alert.

She approached the two. "Yo. I see that the Demon Lady of Despair is in demand by many!" Andras held up her hand in a greeting.

Royal Rumble!

Andras

Andras took note of the fox girl taking steps away from her. She could feel a slight pang of regret. 'I-I didn't mean to scare her that much, geez... She must be really new around here.'

"A Laurels student?" Andras stopped, chuckling softly. "Well, allow me to give your first lesson." Andras took a wide stance, holding her hand out. Her spells one by one caught in her hand, no longer orbiting her. Fanning them out in her right hand, she turned to the man she originally challenged. "Let's not keep her waiting, shall we?"