Hero

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

---

The dark haired girl let out a sigh of relief, standing from her seat at the first opportunity. If she managed to get away before any of the adults could reach her, she could probably avoid any additional lectures. If he was going to saddle her with pointless tasks and thought she wouldn't retaliate, then he had another thing coming. Truthfully, she would have liked to say more, but she had drawn enough ire as it was. Her point was now known publicly, and further aggravating Taniguchi wouldn't get her anywhere.

Taking a hold of her bag, Sakuya mapped out her escape, only to get interrupted. Naomi Oka, the vice president, had stopped her with a greeting. She wasn't overly familiar with her but considering that they'd be working together moving forward, it was nice to see she took her duties seriously. Now that she thought about it, however, she realized that she knew nothing of Naomi. The shuffle after Natsuhime's disappearance had given way to some new and old faces, as well. Today would be a good time for a meet-and-greet and to better prepare herself for the year. She'd have to squeeze in looking after the transfer student when she got her chance.

In the meantime, Sakuya would focus on getting through the day. "Good morning, Naomi," Sakuya returned the greeting. "I appreciate the initiative. We'll be meeting in the council room after school to get a jump on the new year. It's a little sudden, but I'd appreciate it if everyone could make it. I'll make sure an announcement is made so everyone can make it."

As much as she wanted to continue the conversation, however, she knew staying in one place for too long would attract the vice principal's attention. "Why don't we get going? I believe we're in the same class this year." She sincerely hoped Naomi wouldn't think she was trying to blow her off since the last thing she wanted to be was rude.

Hoping Naomi would follow her lead, Sakuya made the walk to class 3-B. It looked like their teacher had yet to arrive, albeit the rest of their class was slowly filtering in. As she turned to make an additional comment to Naomi, she was greeted by a quiet voice. To her surprise, Ueno Emiha was the one that had called out to her. They hadn't spoken since last year, understandably, but it wasn't unpleasant. At least someone was on the same page as her, though she was much closer to the rest of the group than Sakuya was.

That said, Sakuya was so focused on hearing Ueno out that it wasn't until she brought up the chatter that she noticed that the room was louder than usual. Excitement all around, all focused on the same thing: the board up at the front of the class. There was some writing decorated with what looked like a butterfly, though she wasn't entirely sure why it was causing such a fuss. Sakuya hadn't given it any notice until now, and apparently, that was a mistake. Her eyes widened as she read it, indignation gripping her for a moment.

Looking around the room, she noticed how quickly most pretended to look away, as if they weren't just talking about her. The last thing she wanted to do was to cause a scene, but she couldn't exactly just let it happen without doing something. Taking in a deep breath to calm herself down, she took her phone out as she walked over to the writing, taking the eraser in her free hand and snapping a quick picture. Another thing to add to her quickly growing to-do list. Vigorously erasing the writing, she replaced the eraser before returning to Ueno, her mood soured.

"Some writing on the board has everyone's attention," She explained to the girl. "It would seem someone thinks it's funny to accuse me of causing the disappearances as a power grab. That said, they're ill informed if they think my house is a place to look."

_{@Entityx@psych0pomp@Obscene Symphony}

Fire Emblem: The Slumbering Goddess

---

"Dear Goddess, my back."

Derec wasn't a stranger to making mistakes--he had hurt himself physically more times than he would admit in training, and he still had a scar from the time he accidentally stabbed his own foot--but Great Goddess had this taken the cake. The seats in the carriage had been so cramped that he volunteered the floor to give some reprieve to both sides, and honestly, he genuinely believed it wouldn't be so bad. He had done it once or twice as well, so he had experience. Then again, it wasn't for two hours, and it certainly wasn't in a carriage where he could feel every single bump in the road. He was also generally fond of horses, but he was pretty sure if a monster came and attacked the animals, he wouldn't be as enthusiastic in saving them.

It was only by a miracle that he hadn't fallen out of the carriage, albeit the pain shooting up his back definitely made him feel much older than he was. All those years of training were apparently nothing to one bumpy ride. He stretched out as best as he could, ignoring his protesting muscles as he forced himself to walk around a little. He managed to catch Auberon's complaint, letting out a hollow laugh. "Here, here," He mumbled an agreement, genuinely preferring a long hike to that ride.

He nearly walked into poor Isolde, watching her grimace. "I know some healing magic, maybe it can alleviate you?" The timid girl offered, clearly sympathetic.

"Please," The word came out before he would even consider her offer, all too glad to let her usher him to a nearby stump.

As Isolde tended to Derec, the professors seemed to debate on how to answer Euphemia's question. No one seemed to want to offer their opinion first--except for Tomai, who decided his time was better spent making sure the horses got to drink some water and wordlessly left it to the rest. Kaira teetered on voicing her thoughts, albeit she let out a small gasp.

"Ah--No! Come back here!" She called after Imogen.

Michail clucked his tongue, looking over to Kellen, Auberon, and Jorah as the latter went digging around in the weapons cart. "They're coming whether we like it or not, but I'm willing to bet they're looking for assistance and think we're an entire unit of knights," He finally spoke first, frowning.

"Then we should get the students as far away as possible," Euphemia suggested. "Once they're safe, we can go over and see what we can do to help."

"How much help could the four of us really be?" Kaira couldn't help but ask. "Not that I'm doubting anyone's skill, of course, but..."

"The best thing to do is take the students to Luin with us," Michail stated.

"Absolutely not," Euphemia immediately protested. "TIt may just be a bandit attack, but they have no real experience. Someone could get hurt, or worse."

"They could also get attacked while we're away. I'd rather keep them close and use whatever skills they have."

"They're not soldiers, Michail, they're children," She reminded him. "Commoners, nobles, royalty--none of them have actually seen a battle before, you're telling me you want them to experience death and bloodshed on what's supposed to be a training day? They aren't ready for this!"

At that point Tomai rejoined the trio, frowning at the growing group of students gathering. He knocked on Michail's armor, gesturing to the other trio. "Whatever we decide, they're coming whether we like it or not. I'm going to get the carriages ready," He said, gesturing for Kaira to follow him.

Michail watched Tomai for a moment before looking at his sister again. After a few seconds, she let out a heavy sigh, giving him a shrug. With a decision made, he flashed a grin. "Come on, let's go," He told Euphemia, ignoring her mumble as he took her map and rolled it up. He jogged over to the prince, the duke's son, and the crazy girl, making sure each one got a good whack of the map. "Didn't you three go over the basics this week? There's no segment on being the Welcoming Committee." He scolded all three of them, handing the map back to Euphemia.

"He's right. Get back to the others and standby while we see what they want," Euphemia ordered, making sure she stayed in front of them as Michail walked forward to meet the duo. "You can't be too careful on the road."

Michail waited patiently with his spear in hand, though as they neared, it was obvious his initial guess was right. One of the men had a few sharp cuts along his hand--he had narrowly avoided archers, he'd wager. The desperate looks on their faces turned to relief once they were close enough, with the unharmed man practically throwing himself off his horse to greet Michail.

"Thank the Goddess you're here!" He huffed, stopping to catch his breath for about two seconds before continuing. "We're in desperate need of the Knights' assistance. Our village is being plundered by bandits, they've only just started, but they were bringing barrels over in a cart to do something--"

The words no sooner left the man's mouth as a distant explosion caught everyone's ear. Smoke billowed out in a thick, gray cloud, growing in size as Michail watched.

"Th-They must have blown the cart up!" The other man gasped.

Euphemia caught Michail's expression, shaking her head at him. Still, the blond turned to the men. "I suggest you keep going to the west, Mirestone Village will likely offer some help as well while we drive the bandits out," He suggested.

The duo immediately took his advice, riding off. "Michail..." Euphemia's voice took a warning tone.

"It'll be on a voluntary basis," He said, patting her shoulder as he walked past her.

Rolling his shoulders as he approached the majority of the students, he brought his free hand up to his mouth, blowing out a loud, shrill whistle. "Listen up!" He called out, his voice practically booming. "The village nearby has requested the aid of the Knights of Seiros. As the only Knight here, I'm honor-bound to go and do whatever I can. That being said, I can see some of you already itching to jump up and tell me you're willing to fight, but I'm going to stop you right now."

He threw a small smile Euphemia's way before continuing, "Doing the right thing and doing what's best for the situation is something you're going to have to decide for yourself. Because of that, for this one time, I am giving you a choice to make," He stated. "You can stay here, away from the village and the majority of the action. That said, I can't guarantee your safety--Euphemia, Kaira, and Tomai will be joining me, and while it's only a slim chance, the bandits may decide to target you if you stay here. However, if you think that your skills are good enough to ensure your own survival, if you're willing to put your life on the line for people who are nothing to you, if you think you're ready to see a man bleed to death by your own sword, then this is the time to see if you have what it takes."

Michail turned to the other professors, pointing his spear towards the village. "We move out in sixty seconds! Get those horses ready!" He commanded. "Anyone who chooses to come along had better get their asses back in that carriage if they don't want to get left behind!"

RWBY: Chasing Shadows

---

---

Fiona couldn't really stop herself from shuddering as they continued on--the place disturbed her, to say the least. To think that something like this could even happen in such a place was nothing short of terrifying. Bandits taking over was already bewildering enough, but even seeing that there weren't any around spooked her. There wasn't any sign of anything around, and for a moment, she genuinely wasn't sure what was worse. The anticipation and jumpiness was starting to get to her, though at least she recognized that it was her own nerves. In a weird way, this was exciting, too--scary, yeah, but it was hard to explain.

Of course, the thought crossed her mind right when the Grimm actually appeared.

It was strange, she had heard a lot about them, but seeing one for the first time was a shock. She had seen plenty of pictures, sure, but it was a lot more animalistic than she thought it'd be. Still, she had been expecting one, maybe two--not [this many! She'd be lying if she said she wasn't frightened, but what got to her first was hearing Kohaku's shout. Before Fiona could question what she was doing, the Faunus girl had sprung into action.

"Wait--!" Her warning went unheeded as Kohaku went right and Saffron went left. What happened to staying in formation?! Saffron continued on the melee streak, and it looked like Kohaku's side was riddled with spikes--no, there was fire now. An attack of that magnitude may as well have rung a dinner bell letting all the Grimm know they were there. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of time to properly fix their formation and the best thing to do would be to adjust properly. Scoffing, Fiona pressed down on the button of her umbrella, spinning it as the metal clicked and slid into different places, bringing up its new form as a crossbow as she took a few steps backward. Saffron and Rio could take on the left with little issue, but she figured it was better to play it safe than sorry.

Taking aim, Fiona waited for the flames to show any persistent Grimm, a bolt flying into the first one that decided to have the audacity to survive Kohaku's attack. Honestly, she felt like she was going to turn into a babysitter if these two were going to turn out to be the impulsive type. Wasn't it better to take these situations from a logical perspective? Then again, the difference came off as a little too obvious: clearly, they had experience that she didn't.

---

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

"Magic, magic, magic, magic, magic--"

Honestly, this day was going so well. At least it took a turn for the better because she was swooning and skipping and dancing and happy and everything--nothing could bring her down right now. Of course, she had her new--boyfriend? No, it was too soon to put a label, right? Actually, she probably should've asked about that. But it didn't matter, Aaron was tired but okay, she could now keep an eye on him knowing he was safe, and magic classes were started again! In the back of her mind, she also knew she'd have to take that stupid etiquette class, but she was reveling in happy thoughts so she'd deal with that whenever it came.

Her phone buzzed before she reached the ballroom, and she paused to take a look. Max had taken a picture of someone wearing a collar with only one word. Oh geez, he must have one of those vampires. She couldn't help but shudder, all too glad that all she had to deal with was an uppity Ben, though she did manage to type out a quick response.

> No leash?

She definitely hoped there wasn't. Pocketing her phone, she entered the ballroom, perking up at seeing Esi. Seeing that she wasn't alone was a little surprising, though. The guy with her looked formal from head to toe. That wasn't really too strange to see around here, but he seemed super stiff. Catching his expression, she noticed how tired he looked, too, like he hadn't rested in a while. 'Wound up' was the first thing that came to mind, but he honestly looked...well, she couldn't think of the word she was looking for, but she had to admit she was a little worried about the poor guy.

It didn't help that he instantly reminded her of Aaron.

Swallowing hard, Lilie mentally berated herself--there was no need to jump to any conclusions. Instead, she threw on a smile, giving the pair an excited wave. "Good evening!" She greeted them.

---

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

---

The morning started well all things considered. The faculty had concluded their meeting and gave themselves a small break before convening together for the opening ceremony. The vice-principal, a man by the name of Taniguchi Honda, was exasperated; it was quite the feat considering the day had yet to begin. While word had yet to get out, already he had dealt with a headache. He was all too aware that there was no consoling a grieving mother, but he didn't appreciate that private investigator. For one, he made it clear that he wasn't above harassing students for information. For another, it was yet another reminder of the incident that plagued the school's reputation. Wasn't it enough that they were still dealing with the rampant delinquency?

Fortunately, Principal Wada had tasked him with keeping the school's reputation intact. He already pulled a few strings to paint the school as optimistic for the media, but he would need to have a word with Natsuhime Haruka himself. For now, he focused on the student file in front of him, already having a plan on how to deal with that particular wrinkle. His solution arrived at the knock of the door, coming in after he gave the word. A lovely girl by the name of Nakano Sakuya let herself in, and Taniguchi had to admit she was definitely a sight for sore eyes. A diligent and obedient third year, he figured she would be a good counterbalance to the violent delinquent.

"Good morning, Vice Principal," She greeted him. "You asked to see me?"

"Yes, thank you for coming," He sighed, closing the folder. "I'm glad to see you're well. I heard you had quite the break. It's a shame to hear what happened to your father."

Sakuya frowned at him, though she shook her head. "I did, but I can promise it won't affect my duties," She told him.

"I'm glad to hear it," Taniguchi replied. "That said, I had been hoping to count on you in regards to a transfer student by the name of Hoshino Noriaki. He's a second year in Momoji-sensei's class. If it isn't too much to ask for, I'd like you to keep an eye on him."

"A transfer student?" Sakuya asked. "Well, this year the council wants to focus on repairing the school's reputation. There's also Maeda Takeshi, and--"

"And we look forward to the council taking care of that problem as well," Taniguchi cut her off. "This is just as important as I'd rather not see Hoshino fall into the wrong crowd. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone."

Sakuya looked uncertain, though she ended up nodding. "I understand," She conceded. "Was there anything else you needed, sir?"

"Now that you ask, there is," Taniguchi leveled a look on her. "I understand you were personally affected by the disappearances, but I ask that you not draw too much attention to them. It goes without saying, but the school already has enough on its plate."

Letting out a huff, Sakuya crossed her arms. "I'm not going to pretend my brother never existed, I hope you understand that," She stated cooly. "Natushime-san and Chousuke-kun were also honorable students, you can't pretend that their disappearances can just be swept under the rug."

Taniguchi wasn't entirely surprised by her insistence, but as always, the young believed their narrow viewpoints were the only things to consider. He rose from his seat and approached Sakuya, looking down at her. "And I'll remind you that you've already rocked the boat plenty as it is," He said. "We're overlooking your father's scandal and allowed you to take Natsuhime's position as president, but I'll remind you that you're already walking on thin ice."

He already anticipated a response as he placed his hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly as a warning. She winced, instinctively moving, but he kept her in place and made sure to look directly at her as he continued, "Some of the teachers reconsidered your attendance as well--so I think that keeping your head low and listening to your elders would do you well. I know you find it hard to believe, but I'm doing you a favor, Nakano-san," He said, lightly pushing her towards the door. "Now run along, it won't due to be late."

As expected, the girl turned around and faced the door. She almost responded, but either decided it wasn't worth it or chose to heed his words. Ah, to be young. Someday she'd see that he was right. After taking a glance at the clock, he decided that he would follow suit and head to the auditorium.

---

---

The opening ceremony proceeded as it did every year. A few teachers would speak of Hinotori High School and its many accomplishments, the Principal would give a few words on the expectations every student had, and it was normally capped off with well wishes for everyone. At the very least this year it was accompanied by many boasts of the school's renovations, including a brand new auditorium that had been added. Going forward, all school assemblies would take place there; apparently, this would be the last time any ceremony or event would take place in the gym.

Even so, Nakano Sakuya couldn't quite focus on any of that. She had taken her seat wordlessly, offering a token greeting to her fellow council members before falling into silence. It was hard to admit that she wasn't a fan of the conversation she was just in, her mind buzzing. She couldn't believe what she had been asked--how dare he tell her to just ignore the disappearances? It was bad enough to accept he was gone, but she felt going by the vice principal's words were a disservice to him.

"And now, a few words from this year's student council president, Nakano Sakuya-san."

Sakuya's head snapped up at her name, getting to her feet as she threw on a polite smile. Stepping onto the platform, the dark-haired girl offered the room a bow of respect, straightening up and placing both of her hands on either side of the podium and looking straight at the students. There wasn't any time to get lost in her thoughts, though the stares of her peers encouraged her to speak.

"Good morning," Sakuya greeted the crowd, her voice sharp. "No matter where we go or what we do, there are challenges ahead of us. What I'm asking from each of you, and from myself, is to meet those challenges straight on with your head held high and your heart wide open. It's not enough to simply try to get by in life as that doesn't move the world forward. You must try to excel in everything you do; strive for excellence in every task, large or small. Your individual successes benefit society as a whole because when you succeed, you lighten the burden on your fellow man. When you succeed, you are in a position to give rather than take."

"We may not have the power to inspire the entire world to strive for success, but we do have the power to try to achieve it for ourselves. My challenge to each of you, and to myself, is to do all that you can do to reach your full potential. If each student here in Hinotori could put in just a fraction of that effort, imagine the endless possibilities that could happen."

Coming to a pause, Sakuya's fingers tapped the side of the podium as her eyes briefly flickered over to the adults on her right. Taking in a deep breath, she made a conscious decision as she continued, "Before we conclude, I would like to take a moment to address something that has also shaken the foundation of Hinotori."

While her words wouldn't have much of an effect on the students, the adults couldn't quite subdue their reactions, likely knowing what she was already going to say. It didn't stop her. "Five months ago, tragedy hit Hinotori in the form of a string of missing students and suspected arson. Four of them would have been returning for another year while the last would have graduated," Her grip on the podium tightened, though she collected herself as she kept going. "While the police have closed the case, I believe it's important to remember that regardless of what happened we don't go forgetting their contributions to the school. Natsuhime-san would always say that the future was in our hands, and I think we should keep her words in mind as we proceed through the year."

Even though she wanted to say more, she figured that much was enough. "We stand here today on the precipice of the future. It's not a distant reality anymore. It begins here. It begins today. Thank you," Sakuya finished her speech, stepping down as the students gave her polite applause. She took her seat with the rest of the student council, keeping her eyes closed and ignoring the glare that the vice principal shot her way.

"Thank you, Nakano-kun," The principal gave off a nervous laugh before turning to the students. "And with that, our ceremony is over. Please head on over to your homerooms. If you've forgotten where to go, there is a board with everyone's names next to the gym as a helpful reminder. Dismissed!"

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

---

---

Public court in the morning. Kazuki would make sure to commit that to memory; it was too late now, but he would have to make that a priority. Maybe he could make sure to get up early so he could have a chance at speaking with the Queen. Of course, the thought of speaking to royalty, NPC or not, was something he would have to approach carefully. Maybe he could bring it up to the others and get some opinions, but it was clear that the players were leaving the NPCs out of the loop and it was already starting to affect them whether they wanted to admit it or not.

The NPC's disdain was as clear as the sky above them, leaving Kazuki conflicted. On the one hand, he supposed from their perspective the sudden strain of hosting so many people basically abandoning their jobs definitely looked bad. On the other hand, these people were data and had no idea what they were going through. But he wasn't about to get into a philosophical argument on whether or not the world and its inhabitants were 'real' or 'fake' or whatever. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, Kazuki gave the man a proper bow. "I understand. Forgive me for taking up so much of your time," He stated, managing to take the paper off his door without dropping anything. "Thank you for the information. I know my words ring hollow, but contesting responsibility isn't my goal. I'm only looking to open communication between wayfarers and Thorinn."

No, that wasn't entirely true. If he really thought that, he wouldn't have voted against going to the dungeon. In hindsight, he had no idea why he did, either. The deaths of Enos and Aaginim had spurred him to vigorously study every single medical text and healing book that he could get his hands on, but when confronted with the vote, he choked. There wasn't much to it--he didn't think he was good enough to guarantee their survival. He only just began to take his abilities seriously and if he was being honest, he just didn't think he could manage it without becoming a detriment. It was a stark difference from his initial plan of just agreeing with his brother.

But it was too late to renege, and the messenger had better things to do than deal with him. He was about to head back into his home, but he figured maybe he could offer something as thanks. "Would you like a glass of water before you go?" He ended up offering. "Since you have a ways to go. Wouldn't want the heat to get to you."

---

---

Midnight Sun: Last Song Over the Horizon

---

"Ugh."

The sound came out unwillingly, the brunette holding a hand over her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut. The first and last bite of these 'meals' were always the hardest in the girl's opinion, but at the very least she was able to stuff them down without throwing up at this point. She naively believed after a month she'd get used to it, but honestly, the tasteless meals just made her depressed whenever it was mealtime. The only silver lining was that she was probably thinner than ever, but she had to admit it came at a price too great. Would it really be too much to make this stuff have some kind of flavor?

Aurora placed down her utensils, more relieved that she was finished. The smart thing to do was to probably get started on her assignment; the science side of being a coordinator was definitely a weakness of hers. Sure, she was brilliant of course, but actually sitting down and writing out these assignments bored her to death. Not that she'd let that stop her, but it did require giving herself a pep talk anytime just to start. If only she was back in high school where she had droves of nerds willing to do her assignments for her again.

Clucking her tongue at the thought, the brunette decided to take her leave; there wasn't any point in dawdling in a sea of strangers. Maybe she should take some of her pent-up energy and actually try to get to know someone, but no one really caught her attention. Well, there was Erik Nyqvist-Åkerfeldt, the adopted son of Dr. Øystein Åkerfeldt, but it wasn't like she was familiar with him. The two had met in passing some time ago at a fundraiser but barely exchanged pleasantries. He was definitely cute, yes, and she would give him some credit in that he was certainly enthusiastic when it came to anything involving the Valkyries. But she wasn't looking for a lecture, she was looking for fun.

No sooner had she let out a tiny sigh of exasperation when she spotted a dark-haired boy staring down at something. That one was in her class, too, wasn't he? She wracked her brain for a name, eventually landing on Sirius. Not that she remembered his last name, but as far as she was aware, it wasn't relevant. What was relevant was that she was very much a fan of the tall, dark, and handsome type. He looked annoyed at something, but that could easily be remedied.

With her mind made up, Aurora disposed of her tray before confidently taking a seat across from the boy. Resting her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, she put on her best smile. "No need to get so worked up, here I am. Don't worry, you still have two other wishes," She teased, holding back a giggle.

---

Current Mood in One Gif

Pariah Online: A Voyage into the Intangible Aether

---

---

A decree by the Queen? What? Kazuki was shocked to hear as much, his eyes flickering from the page to the messenger. His reaction must have been anticipated or at least made the messenger wary as he noticed the man taking a step back. He couldn't entirely blame him--even before all this happened, he was well aware that a lot of players had a tendency to abuse the NPCs. Still, the note and his words were surprising. Go figure, on top of a death game, now they had to deal with taxes. Kazuki didn't even know how taxes worked in the real world, now he had to deal with that here?!

Still, he was relatively calm, if surprised. Stepping away from the door and shifting the box in his hands, he did frown at the messenger. "This seems...sudden," He admitted, though he stopped himself. Then again, was it sudden? Nearly every wayfarer had hidden themselves away in the town, no doubt the NPCs had gotten sick of them. But that was something he wondered if anyone considered: did anyone think to tell the NPCs? Their strange behavior was one thing, but if this escalated, it could spell trouble.

"Recently the wayfarers have had a difficult time and have suffered some heavy losses...It has lowered morale considerably," He decided to explain, but even as he spoke, it just sounded like an excuse. How the hell was he supposed to explain it from the perspective of someone living in the world? Wayfarers were supposed to be these mighty saviors or something, right? Ugh, he really wished he paid better attention to the lore. He should just let the messenger be on his way, but Kazuki couldn't let him go just like that, could he?

As the thought crossed his mind, an idea hit him. " I don't suppose that I could request an audience with Her Majesty?" He suddenly asked.

---

---

Of Blood and Magic

---

---

Getting Max to grumble less and stop trying to beat him with the towel rack was going to have to be his next priority.

Rubbing the back of his head a touch, Eris didn't really have too many expectations for the Back to Basics class. If he was being honest, it wasn't so much that he really wanted to relearn sensory basics, but getting his ass handed to him by Dame Patel at the time had started to wear on his nerves. He had figured that despite his training, he never really honed his natural abilities--what was the point in learning how to swing a glaive if he wasn't taking full advantage of his reflexes and senses? Sure, he knew how to make his footsteps disappear to sneak up on people and shapeshift, but that was pretty much it.

That and he was kinda hoping it would help his extracurricular lessons with Dame Patel not be as humiliating as usual.

Either way, he was pleasantly surprised to find Varis alongside him. A flirty joke, an exasperated eyeroll, and it was back to their usual beats. Not entirely, of course, but Eris liked it that way. Unfortunately, he couldn't even bask the return to their routine as a much more pressing issue appeared before them. As much as Max made fun of him for his evening wakeup routine, Eris was reminded that it existed for a reason. The things that could happen to your skin as the years passed were terrible. Did this woman never hear of moisturizer? Her eyes were so sunken in he was sure he could classify her as a walking skeleton. Disgusting, she was worse than some mages!

Eris avoided rolling his eyes as she spoke, too preoccupied with trying to think of how he could get away with taking a picture so he could put it on Max's mirror to show him how bad he would get if he didn't follow Eris' skin regimen. That said, it was flattering to hear he was a step above literal dog shit, though at least he didn't look like shit. By the stars that face was going to haunt his nightmares in the morning, wasn't it? The only silver lining was that he was very much interested in the promise of having his abilities come naturally to him. He would have rather learned from someone who wasn't a complete eyesore, but he supposed it was bound to happen. Not everyone could be as beautiful as he was, sadly.

At the mention of pairs, Eris turned to the redhead, clicking his tongue. "Knives, blindfolds, earplugs...I'd make a joke but it's too easy," He'd spare Varis that much, instead focusing on him. "You look like you've encountered something unpleasant."

---

@Achronum