Cole
It was normally a rather unremarkable area of the academy, but that changed rather quickly as the circle of glyphs etched into the land lit up and drove back the darkness that followed the recently set sun. The light was soft even as the symbols shifted rapidly and motes of light began to drift upwards. They quickly gathered into a humanoid shape and each mote that merged afterwards seemed to solidify the form and shape further. There was no great flash to finish the spell, but Cole stood whole as the circle’s light faded.
While uninjured, Cole’s attire spoke of the troubles he must have encountered. His clothing was had numerous uneven holes with blackened edges. A few tears and gashes were also among the damage although only the largest was stained with a slight brown of dried blood. The clothes weren’t necessarily in tatters, but he was a far cry from presentable. There was even a rather sharp acidic scent mixed with of gunpowder that clung to him. Though Cole didn’t let either stop him as he finally reoriented himself and went off to drop off the samples he had collected.
One was a blade of black chitin so dark it was impossible to see and would have seemed to drink in light had there been any around. About a foot in length with razor sharp edges, the fleshy bit at its base indicated it must have been torn from whatever creature it had belonged to. The other samples were bottled in several vials shrouded by a soft white glow, but even that wasn’t able to hide the green coloration of the liquid they contained.
If Cole hadn’t drawn attention with the condition of his attire than the shroud of mana that lit him up like a beacon certainly would have. Given the isolated location of that particular teleport circle, it would have taken more time than he was comfortable to reach the Nurse if he simply walked. The vials were enchanted and high quality, but even then the potent acid could only be contained for so long. The originally bright glow had dulled considerably and he guessed the magic wouldn’t hold for the hour. Ideally they would no longer be in his possession at that point.
Sharp knocks against the infirmary’s door were all the warning Meredith got before Cole promptly threw the door open and stepped in with a huff. The sound of wheels rolling over the tiled floors proceeded the nurse moments before she rolled into sight on a chair. While forward motion faded almost instantly, somehow she continued to spin round and round. “Oh! You. Ma-” Each spin seemed to coax another word from the Nurse, but he put an end to it quickly with a toss of the three vials at her. They wouldn’t shatter that easily, but Meredith nonetheless stopped to swipe them from the air.
“That was mean!” Meredith pouted for a moment as she wagged a finger in Cole’s direction, but her expression changed quickly as she raised the vials to eye level and examined their contents. “And what did you do with my vials?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Cole drawled as he tossed a small slagged and blackened piece of material in her direction. Practically unrecognizable as what was once a glass vial, but an Alchemist of her level wouldn’t have any trouble deducing what happened and it seemed she did so quite easily. It was impossible to tell if she was bothered as Meredith simply shrugged her shoulders and threw her hands up as if it couldn't have been helped. Wheels rolled across the floor before she dropped the three vials onto a holder on a desk.
"Is that all you managed to get?"
"No, I did rip this off too," Cole said as he showed her the tail blade he had brought back with him. Her eyes seemed to shimmer at the sight of the pitch black chitin, and he recoiled a bit at how fast the nurse rushed up to him. She practically tore the sample from his hands and didn't seem to care as the edges sliced into her hands.
"Those vials are probably going to fail in less than an hour for your information." She looked up at his head's up and nodded in response a few times before she reached up and patted his head with surprising quickness. Now he had blood in his hair... and it was definitely on purpose since she could have closed those cuts almost instantly.
"Aw, thank you for the heads up. And for the samples too."
“You’re welcome.” With that done he turned around and left the infirmary and Meredith’s presence. It was a bit too late for him to pick up payment for the job, so that would have to wait until tomorrow. For now he rubbed at his belly at the appealing thought of a hot meal. The cafeteria was probably packed with students right now as classes finished up, so that was right out. He looked down at himself as he descended the stairs and figured that it would probably also be for the best if he got changed first. So for now it looked like home was his first stop.