Nephriel

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

Anna stuck her tongue out at Gunner again and waited patiently for Anya who looked like she felt kinda sheepish. Anna slid up next to her and mussed her hair, "Hey there pretty lady... let's get a move on."

Sebastian was, for a moment, tongue tied. "Pretty lady indeed..." but he said no more than that. He didn't want to embarrass her. He took her hand and Anna slipped back to Gunner and chatted away at him as they all walked towards the lake. Once there, Anna was the first to jump in with a loud WOOP!

Sebastian shook his head, "That has to be cold... I prefer to ease in." He slipped out of everything but his boxers and folded them up on the nearest rock before glancing at Anya again. She really was beautiful... he couldn't quit looking at her. "How about you Anya? Feel like sunbathing with me a while?"

He stretched out on the big boulder like rock and watched Anna come up for air and tease them, "Sissys... come on Pretty Boy," she told Gunner. "Don't take all day."

Vampire Academy

Anna tried not to let what Gunner's comment did to her heart show on her face. Instead she punched his arm and took the pressure off him unknowingly by taking it as the joke he'd hoped she would. "Yeah yeah, I'd have to wonder if you slipped a laxative in the chocolate though because the day you give me chocolate covered strawberries without an ulterior motive, like handing Sebastian off on me when he's stone drunk... like you did when I mentioned my favorite flower was a tiger lily... yeah I'm still holding that against you, is the day I lay down and admit defeat in our sparring matches." Which they both knew she wouldn't do. Gunner could beat her at hand to hand a thousand times and she'd STILL be determined she'd beat him sooner or later.

Anna nodded at Serena, "Like Gunner said, I wouldn't worry about it too much since you got away." Still, Anna was beginning to suspect she knew what was wrong with Serena. She rubbed the wrist she always wore a sweat band on... or foundation... or a ton of hairbands. It had never drawn anyone's attention but she could imagine how much harder a scar on one's neck might be to hide. She chewed on her lip a little, tugging at the edge of the sweat band a bit before she forced her mind back to her food. HER scar was something she had been able to keep a secret even from Sebastian from all this time simply because she didn't let her mind go back there... to before she'd come to Academy. You'd do a lot of things for money... especially when you were watching your little sisters starve. Anna had come a long way, she didn't even really think about it anymore... It had only been a few times, when they were really desperate... and it had never went past just biting and never anywhere other than her wrist... but that was bad enough in the eyes of the Academy. Only Anya had ever known... and only because she'd walked in on Anna relaxing while taking a bath. She'd sworn never to tell.

She bit into another strawberry, again jerking her mind away because Seb was now looking at her funny, and smiled at Niya and Jordan when they finally took a seat at the table. "Hey you two, still hanging out I see?" It was odd to see Jordan in someone's company for more than a day. He was constantly bouncing from group to group.

Jordan shrugged, "What can I say, she's an interesting girl." He wasn't one to lie about why he liked someone. As Niya asked her question he shrugged, "I'd assume they'll probably go easier on us in class today since we had that big attack this morning. I'm looking forward to convincing Belikov to let me spar with you."

~*~

Sebastian had noticed the odd look in Anna's eyes when Serena had brought up her near 'bite' and wondered if she were remembering being back home at the commune and seeing girls being used like that. He knew what Anna thought about it... that it wasn't their fault for either doing what they had to or in being taken advantage of young... She saw it as being male Moroi's fault for using their weaknesses against them... or using them as breeding mares for more Dhampirs. He felt the darkness stir inside him at the thought of anyone treating anyone that way, especially his friends. It took a moment to realize it was Anna's aura brushing against his own that was making him so moody. He pulled his mind back to himself before he crossed a line and breached privacy, turning back to Serena.

"You do need to eat SOMETHING though, how else are you going to effectively teach me to poke things with metal sticks? The bell is going to ring soon... At least eat a fruitbowl or something... pleeeeaase?" He playfully batted his lashes and poked out his bottom lip, attempting to make her laugh.

Jordan shook his head and looked at Niya, "Are your friends always like this?"

~*~

Aleks frowned but immediately released her, not wanting to push her into hysterics and she seemed to be dangerously close to it already. The distant look in her eyes mixed with the irrational fear told him she wasn't in the here and now. Gently, he touched the tops of her arms... not restraining, just soothing. "Trish... it's me... it's Aleks. You're alright, just take a breath. I can help you..."

Vampire Academy

Anna felt a little glow of pride as Gunner mentioned Basil punching a Guardian in the nose, "Oh? I missed it! Good job Basil and yeah, a little though you might have had a loose fist and that could make it hurt worse. Still, the fact that you even tried is amazing." She gave the Moroi girl a little squeeze.

Then, as Gunner nabbed her she blushed a little and waved at Basil, "I'll see you later... after training class."

She headed into lunch with Gunner, "I forgot how fun fighting together is... though I guess it'll be a lot less 'fun' out in the field."

She stepped into the lunch line with him and tossed him an apple before grabbing the strawberries, a salad with chicken and croutons, a sweet roll, and an apple of her own. Once she took a seat she waited for Gunner to do the same and bumped shoulders with him playfully before pulling her hair up into a messy bun so it wasn't in her face while she ate. "God, I love strawberries..." She took a bite of one, closed her eyes, and groaned. "Heaven... I think I'd take strawberries over roses any day... strawberries and chocolate. The guy that gets me that combo wins my eternal love... I mean it." She took another bite of her strawberry and wiped her hands off on her napkin before starting in on the salad. She was feeling healthy today... and kinda self conscious. She'd always eaten a lot around Gunner but for some reason, the idea of eating her usual pizza and garlic bread combo and having her breath smell like it wasn't quite as appealing. She sighed, she HAD to quit worrying about what Gunner thought. He was her bestie, what did he care what her breath smelled like so long as she wasn't breathing on him... It wasn't like he was planning on kissing her any time soon and she'd never be as thin as a Moroi so...again... why worry about it?

She pushed a crouton around on her plate.... before glancing at Seb who was staring at her with amusement. She glowered, "What?"

~*~

Seb put a loose arm around Serena and gave her a little squeeze, "You'll never get through it if you don't face your fears... Just see today as that... facing your fears. Learn from it and don't let it get you too down."

He smiled, "Besides, until that... I though your fighting was beautiful."

As Anna and Gunner took a seat Seb spotted Anna's food choice and arched a brow. She caught him looking at her and snapped a what his way. He shrugged, "I just never thought I'd see YOU eating a salad."

She threw a piece of lettus at him and he laughed, picking it off his jacket and tossing it onto the table. "Gross Anna, if I wanted to share your food I'd ask."

Anna stuck her tongue out at him and stabbed viciously at a piece of chicken, pointedly ignoring him. He turned back to Serena, "Don't worry... okay?"

~*~

Jordan smiled at Niya and then sighed at how long Rae was taking... He might be a novice in training but he really didn't have much patience for stuck up Moroi. He planned to join rogue strigoi hunters after leaving the school, he couldn't really see himself wasting his life on protecting some Moroi who would never really appreciate the sacrifice.

As Gabby entered the Feeders without her Guardians Jordan decided he'd waited long enough. He smiled at Niya as they both slipped through the lunch line.

~*~

Aleks frowned when Trishia didn't even seem to hear him and very gently he caught her by her arm, "Trishia... talk to me. What is it?"

True concern shown in his eyes.

Vampire Academy

As smoke was blown into Alek's eyes he was momentarily blinded and his hand caught and forced into the wall. He smiled grimly, good... the novices and the moroi were at least attempting to work together. He'd been keeping his eyes half on Gunner and half past them and to the rest of the fighting, making sure no one got too injured when he spotted Trishia who seemed to be acting strangely. He should have been watching Gunner and Anna with his full attention though because the two were magic when they fought together. The minute his hand hit the wall and the pain spiked through his wrist, Anna had wheeled around behind him and he felt her two fingers make contact between his ribs from behind, emulating a staking... He held up his hands as he was vanquished and congratulated the two before taking off after Trishia distractedly.

After a moment more of fighting it was all called to a halt by several of the Guardians who congratulated those deserving of it. "Good job to all of you, especially those Moroi who helped aid their Guardians in their protection... From what we saw here today there is hope for our races yet and you should all remember today... Always be prepared, never be lax in your duties, you never know when something like this may happen out in the real world...."

Aleks heard all of that distantly as he caught up to Trishia... his Russian accent lilting as he spoke to her quickly, "Ms. Matila, are you alright?"

~*~

Sebastian flinched when Serena froze up and it was partially due to long distance compulsion that the Guardian did not berate her. He caught up to her and sighed, "It's alright Serena... really. That's what these fights are for, to show us where we need to improve. We all have our fears... You're strong, you'll get through it..."

He caught her arm and after giving dirty looks to a few of the surrounding students he drew her with him out of the hallway and into the actual cafeteria. "Deep breaths okay?" He used just a little compulsion, just enough to help her anxiety cool and to help her begin feeling okay again... safe. "You're secret is still safe."

~*~

Anna put her hands on her knees, catching her breath as Guardian Belikov walked away and she listened distractedly to the teacher, she was too busy checking on her ward and thanking Gunner. "You okay Basil? Sheesh, that came out of no where... Thanks Gunner, if it hadn't been for you I'm pretty sure I'd be toast right now... Guardian Belikov isn't exactly someone I feel that confident taking on. He seemed distracted too..."

She ran a hand through her hair and smiled again at their wards, "And thanks by the way, for the compliments..." She glanced at Gunner, "Maybe we should figure out a way to keep near and far guard going on these guys... Especially if they're going to be attacking us like that all year... Ugh I'm hungry." She wasn't even aware she was rambling, she was still hyped up on the adrenaline from the fight.

~*~

Jordan was about to finish off his own 'strigoi' when a halt was called on the fighting and he went back to his casual, hands in pockets stance. He glanced at Niya, "You can fight seriously well... I'm impressed, and I'm really not easily impressed."

He smiled at her, "Maybe we can train together in class unless Belikov really ripped you a new one about breaking that girl's leg... Honestly, if you don't expect to get a bone or two broken in a real fight you're in trouble in the real world..." He didn't always agree with Belikov but he was the teacher so what he said went.

Vampire Academy

Anna laughed a little, "If you want to be introduced to the gang come on over... but yeah. This time of year breakfast and lunch are supposed to be considered free time till the tests... guess that got a switch up this morning though. I doubt it's a permanent change, probably just something they did in response to the Strigoi attack."

She walked with Basil towards the lunch room and was just past Gunner when several Guardians seemed to come out of no where... and it wasn't just at them either. Down the hall another group was being attacked. Anna was beside Basil and as the first reached for the Moroi girl, Anna strong armed his reaching arm away before he could grab her. "Basil, against the wall!" She backed the Moroi back against the wall so that the 'Strigoi' couldn't get behind them. She didn't have time to see what Gunner was doing but she knew he was being attacked too because she could hear sounds of a fight on either side of her... down the hall and right next to her.

As she'd backed away, she'd fended off attacks and then kicked outwards... feeling guilty as the 'Strigoi' Guardain's knee buckled and gave and she brought her own knee up into his chin as he fell, dazing him before she leapt onto him and made the staking motion with her empty hand... For one thing a Guardian was almost never without a stake so she was hoping that her attack would be acceptable and apparently it was because the Guardian yielded just as she was yanked off him by another one.

She was hauled backwards, away from Basil as arms wrapped around hers and lifted her feet off the floor. She tried to knock her head back into his nose but he kept his head away from hers. Grim faced she kicked her foot back into his leg, trying to take out his knee as she had the others. It worked... kinda. He stumbled, it allowed her feet to touch the floor. She used that moment to bend her knees and push hard, slamming him into the wall. He released her and she stumbled out of his grip and out of reach just as he grabbed for her... No wonder she was having such a problem. It was Guardian Belikov... and she wouldn't be able to take him alone. Gunner had just finished off his own 'Strigoi' though she hadn't seen how. "Basil, get to Gunner... now." She was too busy deflecting attacks to make sure Basil heeded her but she knew Gunner would hear her telling Basil what to do. She hoped he was free enough from attack to take her on because there was no way she was beating Belikov even if she was managing to defend against him... barely. She could buy time though.

~*~

Sebastian chuckled and then nodded, "Lets head to lunch..." They hadn't gotten far when they saw a whole slew of Guardians and their Moroi being attacked by 'strigoi'... Several at a time in most cases. He could guess they were emulating an ambush by a pack of the strigoi and it was effective since the hall was the perfect bottle neck. You couldn't really escape one group of 'strigoi' without running into another. "I suppose we should help?"

Some groups were fairing better than others... down the hall he saw Gunner, Anna, and he thought he spotted Niya right at the feeders though he couldn't tell if she were in a fight or not too. The hall was hell... if this were a real strigoi attack there would be a LOT of casualties on both sides since not many Moroi were fighting back. They hadn't been taught how to participate in these attacks with their magic yet, something Sebastian was sure would be remedied this evening. There was a wind user who knocked a strigoi off it's feet with a pretty powerful gust and there was a water wielder who made the fountain spew water in an attacker's face... Fire and earth were at a disadvantage though... Fire couldn't do anything without it possibly being lethal and earth didn't have much to work with while INSIDE the school... unless they wanted to tear a piece of the floor up or some such.

~*~

Jordan was with Niya as they headed into the feeders but there were two Guardians waiting for them inside. He sighed, already knowing what was going on because of the ruckus out in the hall that he could now hear loud and clear. He got on one side of Rae, leaving the other to Niya. The Guardians rushed each of them respectively. Jordan ducked a punch and brought one of his own up into the Guardian's guts and then almost got a knee to the face before he caught the knee and straightened, yanking upwards and sending the Guardian onto his back. The guy rolled away and got back to his feet, coming for Jordan again.

Vampire Academy

Anna smiled and handed her the advil she'd brought, "Hmm... I could see where that could be dangerous..."

When Basil brought up Gunner she blushed deeply and decided that Basil would probably be the safest person to tell. She didn't really know Sebastian, Gunner, Serena, or Kseniya well so the only people she'd tell were other Moroi. Though... that was probably worse since the Moroi royals would just LOVE to get their hands on that kind of information about anyone. Good gossip was hard to come by. "Nah... I might as well be a guy when it comes to Gunner. He doesn't see me that way. I think seeing me in that dress just freaked him out, he's not used to me being girly."

She walked with Basil towards her classes, "Plus he's kinda hung up on duty and propriety... He's not the type to go taboo. If he ever had a girlfriend she'd be Moroi." She eyed Basil, "You'd probably be more his type than I would. Pretty, leggy, blonde, moroi..." She stretched a little, "As for me, I've got a family to think about back home. I don't really have the time for any serious relationships and I'm not really the type for hot flings... So consider my love life a dead end at the moment." She stuck her tongue out at the other girl playfully.

She didn't mention the fact that Gunner probably still saw Anya's change as his fault... He had been meant to be Guarding her that year but Anya's step mother had been pretty clever and had forced Gunner to go get fitted for 'more appropriate attire' while staying in her house. She hadn't given Gunner a choice, either he went and got fitted or she sent him back to academy since he didn't look 'suitable' to be her daughter's guardian. Gunner was being attacked by fitters when Anya's mother had taken them all out shopping, forcing Anya along even though she hadn't wanted to go... Gunner hadn't even known they'd left till he managed to escape them. By that time though, the Badicas had been returning without her. Gunner had walked all the way to the mall to go and find her but there had been no sign... It hadn't been his fault, but he believed that he should have done something so he could have been with her....

She walked with her through classes till around lunch time and then shrugged, "You need to hit the feeders before the lunchroom?"

~*~

Sebastian chuckled, "Maybe... and don't worry about the teachers. They'd be more angry with them if you didn't kick them in the head and failed to protect me."

He eyed her, "Good job protecting me by the way. Lets get to class, if I'm late too much again this year I think the teachers heads may explode."

He headed to class and the day pretty much flew by uneventfully except that he kept hearing rumors about a strigoi attack but every time he asked who'd been attacked someone gave him a different answer and eventually he'd given up. The gossip in this school was insane and hear say got things mixed up.

Vampire Academy

Anna felt shaken... She had wanted to keep Anya from he and Sebastian. Now though, it was looking like that wasn't an option but if she admitted seeing Anya then he would know about her remembering more than she was letting on. She bit her lip, her friends were more important than her fears of her own emotions so she took a breath. "I... saw Anya... last night."

She cut him off before he could ask her about the dream, "It wasn't a dream... I really saw her. Serena was there, Anya threatened her and made it pretty clear she wanted us all back as a 'family' again... I didn't say anything because I didn't want Sebastian running off and doing something stupid, getting himself killed. I... also didn't want to be the one to break that kind of news..."

She tucked her hair behind her ear, "I didn't want you knowing because I was worried you'd see it as your duty to go after her and we aren't ready... We still have the stake training coming up, we know the basics but we'd... we'd get ourselves killed. I don't even know if she is alone, the Strigoi have been traveling in packs." She knew he was probably going to be angry but she'd done what she'd thought was best for all of them.

She spotted Basil and looked at Gunner guiltily one more time, "Don't tell Seb... you know he'd do something stupid and he has been so happy lately..."

She took off after Basil, calling her name.

~*~

Sebastian smiled, enjoying her laughter. "Well, I suppose you pass. I don't think the Guardian actually expected me to actually fight back either... most Moroi probably still freeze up despite the lessons."

He ran a hand through his hair, "I wonder why they're attacking this early in the year though... it makes no sense. You haven't even been through stake training..."

~*~

Jordan shook his head, "I didn't know her..." As she excused herself he shrugged, "I don't have a ward... I'll just follow you around as a far guard for today till they figure out what to do with me... If you don't mind."

He sighed, "I feel bad for their family though..."

Vampire Academy

Anna smiled somewhat, "Good actually... she's not stuck up or anything which is nice. She'll hold a conversation and seems honestly interested in helping whatever Guardian she ends up with keep her safe... even if her parents are a little less open minded."

She glanced at the clock, the bell was going to go off soon. "Speaking of Basil, I better go find her... classes start soon."

Training for the Dhampirs wasn't until after lunch which meant that the first part of the day was left to guarding. It also meant that she'd have time to sort herself out.

She waved to Gunner and Niya and then headed off to find Basil.

~*~

Sebastian nodded, "Yeah, time for classes soon... you ready to go?"

He patted her head playfully and then headed in the direction of his first period. They hadn't gotten far when a Guardian dressed all in black leapt out from an open doorway and grabbed hold of him and pulled him back against them, yanking his head to the side. "Shit.. already?"

In an effort to buy Serena time to attack he threw his head back and hit the Guardian in the nose. It was effective in causing the Guardian to release him and stumble back with a curse.

~*~

Jordan smiled, "I got one of the Badicas.... she was starting school late because her dad was supposed to be coming back into town last night but she didn't come in to school today. I already checked for her." He shrugged, "Maybe they decided to drag out the happy home coming..."

He frowned when he heard a commotion out in the hall. "What's that?"

He got up and nodded in the direction of the hall, indicating she should follow so they could see what was up. What he saw was a Guardian attacking Sebastian and the girl that had introduced herself as Serena. "Why are they attacking so soon?"

Another Moroi who'd overheard him answered, "There was a strigoi attack last night... Two of the Badica kids were killed while they were sneaking out of their house..."

"Holy shit..." Jordan murmured. He hadn't known the Badica girl he was supposed to watch very well but he'd seen her around...

Vampire Academy

"Anna would never ask and would probably murder anyone who pressured you to talk about it... Gunner included. She's very protective and she can spot a touchy subject a mile away..."

Sebastian hesitated but nodded, seeing there was no arguing with her. He went into the feeders and headed to the desk. It didn't take him long to get called and he waved before going in behind the curtain. For her sake he tried to hurry and made sure his mouth was clean before he stepped back out. He walked over, looking nervous. "You okay? I didn't take too long did I?"

He didn't want to make her uncomfortable and seeing blood on his mouth would have more than surely made her uncomfortable. He also had hurried because he didn't relish the idea of someone like Rae spotting her standing like that and do his usual thing and flirt or even mention biting. He'd have honestly had to hurt the guy... He wasn't sure when he started to feel protective over Serena, he knew she could kick his ass if she wanted, but either way... he did.

~*~

Anna again stuck her tongue out at Gunner... She thought about training classes and their usual partnership and promptly felt awkward again. How was she going to handle feeling like this with them grappling and stuff? She blew a stray strand of hair from her face feeling troubled... It showed because it was only a moment later that she had a strand in her hair tugging and playing with it nervously.

Maybe she could call out of class sick? She bit her bottom lip, worrying the skin as she rethought that. She couldn't call out sick all year and she didn't want another partner... She'd just have to... get over it. She wondered how Basil was, trying to distract herself with duty. She'd remembered the extra water and to grab the advil... She wondered if her Moroi friend felt as bad as she did this morning. "How was your day with Gabby," Anna asked Gunner distractedly.

~*~

Anya moved down the street, licking blood from her lips. She'd paid a visit to her family, waited till her siblings had snuck out without their Guardians as was usual for them when they were meeting to party... It had taken short work to drain them both dry as well as their friends and she felt stronger because of it. She'd relished killing them, they'd tormented her in life so she'd made their deaths painful though she hadn't had the time to waste to make them slow. Then, she'd headed back to the school to eye the grounds... Seb had seen her then, her aura anyway, though she hadn't seen him... She'd been thinking of him though... and how sweet he would taste before she turned him.

Vampire Academy ~ Rememberance

Anna laughed, "Why? You hoping I'll go skinny dipping?"

As Anya tossed her the bathing suit she grinned at Gunner and wiggled her eyebrows, "Wouldn't you like to know."

She laughed and shrugged before she started heading towards the bathroom, "Relax pretty boy... Anya and I sneak off sometimes to swim when the whether is nice. We just don't always invite you boys. Girl time and all that."

She slipped in the bathroom and came back out wearing the bikini top and her shorts over the bottoms, "Your turn Anya... You guys will just have to wear your clothes, unless you planned just setting there."