Nova Aria's Story

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Location~ Academy Dormitories → Sports Facilities --- Location~ Sports Facilities

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11 2023

Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF --- Speech ~ #C5612A || Thoughts ~ #C5992A

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Nova had woken up perhaps an hour before the wake-up bell went off, and as such it was no surprise that she was mostly ready for the day by the time the sound roused the rest of the school's sleepy students from their sleep. She had long been dressed, in the female uniform for a change, and had spent perhaps half an hour fussing over her hair and make-up. It was a luxury she didn't usually afford herself, but it felt nice to do every so often.

Sliding her last clip into place, she proclaimed herself ready for the day with a bright smile and a soft giggle before grabbing her school bag and heading out to her class. She was no doubt rather late by now, but such things had hardly deterred her the year before and likely her teachers were used to it by now.

Of course, she was perhaps half way to the school building before she realised that she had no idea what her first class actually was. With a pout, she dropped to her knees and opened her bag, searching through it for her timetable. When, after a few minutes, she didn't manage to find the slip of paper, her eyes watered a little. She likely would have burst into tears if she hadn't spotted some other students walking somewhere.

Blinking away the tears that had formed, Nova quickly closed her bag before going to join them. 'Maybe they know where my class is? Maybe they are my class?' Of course, she didn't spot her sister among them, but maybe they had a different schedule this year? With a plan in mind, she brightened up fairly quickly, humming to herself as she skipped over to join the line.

On her way over, she spotted a sullen looking guy and deciding that he needed cheering up, she turned in his direction.

---

Lucien was almost relieved when he spotted the sports facilities not far away. The red-head hadn't turned up to bother him again which meant that his headache was gradually fading away and soon enough he would be changing into the clothes provided for the class. Although Lucien wasn't sure why he actually needed to change given that his ability wasn't a physical one, but he wasn't in the mood to argue with the teacher today.

Deep in his thoughts as he was, Lucien didn't notice the presence of other person nearby until suddenly his vision was full of white hair held back by red hair-slides and red eyes that eerily reminded him of the colour of blood. He blinked twice as the person leaned up, closer into his personal space, leaning back as they smiled brightly and his senses were suddenly assaulted with a combination of emotions that instantly revived the dying headache and amplified it beyond what it had been before.

"Oh wow, you have cool eyes! They're like yellow and stuff." She had said this perhaps a little louder than needed, but she had noticed them and felt like it needed pointing out. And hey! The guy looked less sad than before so, bonus? Nova giggled a little, taking a step forward as the taller male took one back.

Seeming to realise that he wasn't getting away easily, Lucien frowned, absently noticing the girl in front of him frowning in response. "I'm trying to get to class." It was perhaps the first thing he had said the entire day, although he inwardly groaned as the girl's face brightened up again and he was hit with another wave of emotion, this time mostly happiness and excitement, and was that a hint of nervousness too?

Smiling, Nova skipped around to the boy's side. "Me too, let's go!" Lucien sighed at this, sensing he wasn't getting away anytime soon. Thankfully they would have to split up to go to separate changing rooms so he only had to tolerate it for a couple of minutes longer.

With a stiff nod, expression going blank again, Lucien carried on to the sports facilities, ignoring the girl as she chattered on about something, he really wasn't listening. Once they reached the building, he almost fled into the male locker rooms after grabbing clothes his size.

"...And I lost my timetable! I wasn't sure where to go and I'm so glad that I found you, would've been lost forever otherwise!" Nova stopped a little as the two reached the field next to the locker rooms, watching as the taller male half ran into the boy's one. She grabbed ones her own size as well before pausing. Should she go into the female or male locker rooms? On one hand she felt more girly at the moment, on the other. Well she had used the male ones the last year and her locker was probably still there...

Nodding to herself, she skipped after the dark-haired boy, and entered the male locker rooms. She ignored the weird looks and the calls for her to get out and go to her own changing rooms. Running her fingers along the lockers, she stopped in front of the one she had used the previous year, smiling as she combination she entered opened it. Putting her bag inside, she started to change, absently noticing one of the other boys, already changed, run out with a slightly red face. He had probably gone to get a teacher about a "girl" being in their changing rooms, but Nova wasn't really paying attention and likely wouldn't draw that conclusion. She had used this room last year after all, nothing was wrong with it, right?

Humming to herself as she finished changing, she shoved her uniform into the locker as well before closing it and skipping out of the changing rooms to where the teacher was waiting. "Hi Mr. Nakajima!" She was curious about what she would be learning this time. Although, she didn't seem to recognise any of the other people who were gathering outside. 'How... Odd...'

---

Lucien had thought that he had gotten away. He sensed more than saw the girl follow in after him, although it was more her emotions than her gender that bothered him, and as such he didn't protest. Although he noticed one of the boys next to him flee with a red face, presumably the girl had started changing.

Selecting a locker in the middle of the room, it wouldn't do to be trapped in a corner after all, Lucien easily memorised the code on the piece of paper, shoving it inside his bag just in case. That done, he quickly changed into the sports clothes, frowning as he noticed his scars were on show. Shoving his stuff inside his locker, Lucien set about wrapping them up with some bandages that he had taken to carrying around with him. Perhaps he would request a longer sleeved shirt at some point.

Scars successfully covered, he closed up his locker and stepped out to where the teacher was waiting, quickly noticing the annoying white-haired girl and standing as far away from her as he could while still being close enough to hear the teacher. If he were the sort to feel, he would probably be slightly nervous about the lesson. Instead, he leaned against the wall, trying to stave off the headache that was pounding inside his head.

It didn't take much longer for Kosei to finish up what he was doing, and shut the locker's door quietly, locking it again before turning in time to see a boy running out red faced. What was he so embarrassed about? Was someone teasing him?

Not thinking about it too much, Kosei turned and began heading out to where Nakajima was waiting for them. He paused for a moment at the light switch of the locker room, before he placed his hand over it, feeling a small surge of energy in his chest, and then he went on his way. It seemed pretty relaxed outside, with their teacher talking to a student who seemed to have several questions, and the other student talking amongst each other in small groups.

The emotions of all of them were varied, excitement, nervousness, neutral expressions, and all sorts of other things. Kosei himself was in the...paranoid group, as he made his way over to a spot somewhat nearby the class's teacher, waiting for him to begin.

Several minutes later, it seemed everyone had finally made their way out, and as Nakajima took notice of this, he clapped once. Gathering their attention. He cleared his throat, and then began speaking.

"It seems we've all found our way out from the dressing rooms, finally..." He mumbled the last part, looking through all of them. "Good. Now, this shouldn't be too hard to understand. We're going to be testing your abilities, whether they're newly found or not. I'm sure all of you are on different levels of control right now, some worse than others, but even so, any training you've had before now likely wasn't 'proper,' or was just you yourself testing out what you could do. That isn't going to cut it. Your idea of control probably isn't the same as mine."

"But again, for today, we aren't going straight to the whole learning part. We're just testing things out. I'd like to see what level you're at, and the best way to do so would be through a small sparring. One on one, that's all I'm asking for." He paused, thinking for a moment. "We'll go through a couple rules. Some may be repeats, but all the same, they're good to know.

"First, while this class may include fighting today, I'd still like to keep it as injury free as possible. That is...nearly impossible, with what we're doing, but that doesn't mean we have to go all out on each other. A couple scrapes, maybe a bruise or a cut or two? That's okay. But gaping wounds and gashes, head injuries, all of that other lovely stuff that's much harder to deal with? Avoid those.

"Second, don't give the guards a reason to get involved. If you haven't already noticed, we've already got two of them hanging around just over there." He gave a small, almost unnoticeable gesture with his head over to where the two of them stood, leaning against the fence of the tennis court a little ways away. "And those two just so happen to be Yutaka Ueda and Arata Saeki. Please don't let them get involved. They're a nightmare to deal with.

"Third, if you think you really can't take control of your power about halfway through the fight, then do your best to shut it down. If you can't stop it, call me out, and I'll come help.

"Fourth, if you have a serious reason for why you can't use your power, such as...it could seriously injure someone or yourself with simple attacks, or...it messes with your personality and mental control while in use? Come talk to me, and we can figure something out. Otherwise, you all need to participate.

"Fifth, once I've come around and watched you for a little bit, to get a feel for where you're at in control, I'll let you know you're okay to stop, and that isn't a request. I don't want us dragging these fights out for too long, because that never ends well."

He paused for a moment. "That's all I've usually stuck by rule-wise while doing this." He said. "I don't want to have to add anymore, so do take care during this whole thing." He looked through all of the students. "Go ahead and pair off with whoever you'd like for today, and find a spot in the field. You can start whenever you'd like." He said, waving them off before he made his way over to the field himself, walking past Coach Tsunematsu's class who were currently running around the track for the fourth time.

Kosei stood where he was for a moment, listing down all of the rules that Nakajima had explained, and then turning back to look at the crowd of students that were already finding themselves partners. He looked around nervously, trying to spot his classmate Alfred who had offered to pair up with him, hoping that he hadn't found someone else already. Who else would Kosei pair with?

---

Alfred gave a smile at Kosei, doing his best not to press what limited social boundaries he had set up for himself to survive what would inevitably be an onslaught of forced social interactions with the other students. Seeing as he seemed agreeable to what Alfred had to offer in terms of partnering up, Alfie set about changing out of his clothes into the preferred gym garments. They were standard issue he supposed, not really caring about the look of them one way or another...until a rather odd student seemed to burst in. Well, to put it bluntly, a female student it seemed. Alfred paused halfway through putting his shirt on to stare at the newcomer with more than just a little bit of undisguised confusion. What was a girl doing in the men's change room? A kid darted out of the room blushing and Alfred knew why. He felt like he should say something, but at the same time he didn't feel like being that guy who started rocking the boat unnecessarily.

Once he finished getting changed, casting one more glance at the girl...boy...person, he wandered back out onto the field. He gave a quick jog, his angels falling in behind him as he did so, rotating together clockwise on their own volition. Once everyone had more or less fallen in line, Alfred listened to the spiel that Mr. Nakajima gave out and grinned inwardly at it. Alfie wasn't prone to violence, but at the same time he had never fought another ability user before. This would be a good test of his skills, maybe impress a few people, feel proud of himself for a few moments before realizing his ego was getting large and chastising himself for it once more. Alfred listened intently to the rules, most of which seemed self-explanatory save for the guards section. Alfie let his eyes drift to the guards with an inquisitive glance. Were they here to protect the students or keep them in line? The more he heard about them, the more it seemed like the latter.

Regardless of his thoughts on the matter, he had more important issues at hand. When they were told to pair up, immediately Alfred started combing the area for Nao before he remembered his promise to a certain blonde hair kid. It felt weird calling Kosei a kid considering they were the same age, but it generally felt that way. Alfred rubbed his chin and made his way over to Kosei, placing a light hand on his shoulder. "Kosei, lets get to work shall we?" Alfie stated with a smile as his angels flew over and bobbed at his shoulders. He gently lead Kosei out onto the field, taking up a place with a fair amount of distance from the students. The facility was large enough to allow them to do so, of which Alfred was grateful. "Tell me, have you ever fought anyone before?"

Kosei quickly shook his head. "No, not yet." He said, looking down for a moment. "I actually haven't even used my power more than...three times now." He gave a sheepish smile.

Alfie rolled his shoulders slightly, giving a nod. "Fair enough, just wanting to know what kind of level of action to expect out of you. Guess we'll start low and work our way up, right?" Almost in tune with his sentence, the angels stopped bobbing in place and instead went completely still in the air. Going for ten percent power here guys, play it light, let him decide the pace. Alfred ordered his angels, who took off at a moderate pace towards Kosei. Nowhere near their maximum speed, but still enough to probably make the kid backpedal. Instead of immediately attacking, they surrounded him, hovering and circling like vultures over a fresh kill. A few moments later, one of the orbs lashed out, striking Kosei in the shoulder. Once again, the power was scaled back, allowing the hit to undoubtedly cause some amount of pain and push Kosei back, but nowhere near enough to worry about actually hurting him. After that first hit, every few seconds another one would lash out, then another and another. Every single one most likely inflicted some pain, but that was simply the nature of the course.

Alfred stood on the other side of Kosei, his arms crossed and simply watching everything unfold. He didn't display anything akin to a smile or a frown, but more of an inquisitive glare that made him look more like a teacher than a classmate. "You need to fight back Kosei, that's what this class is all about. Don't be afraid to hurt or strike them, they can take whatever you dish out."

---

A bit startled by Alfred suddenly placing his hand on his shoulder, Kosei gave a small jump, but that was it. He turned to look over at Alfred, and then nodded, offering a small smile of relief. Thank god he hadn't been left. Hopefully Alfred really didn't mind partnering up with him, though..."Yeah, sure." He said, and followed Alfred to where he wanted to go for the sparring.

At his next question, Kosei quickly shook his head. "No, not yet." He said, looking down for a moment. "I actually haven't even used my power more than...three times now." He gave a sheepish smile.

"Guess we'll start low and work our way up, right?" Alfie's response came to Kosei's ears, and he gave a small nod, unsure of what to expect from Alfred. He guessed that the orbs had something to do with how he would fight, and figured he was right when they started moving towards him. He quickly moved back a couple of steps, his eyes moving back and forth between all three of them before he found himself surrounded, each one hovering just above him. Unsure of what to do, he froze in his spot.

It wasn't much longer before one of the orbs struck out, smacking him right on the shoulder. "Ow!" The sudden pain in his shoulder, though it wasn't too bad, was enough to make him flinch and stumble several steps. The cycle was repeated for some time, before he spotted Alfred a little ways away, watching him as he pathetically let the orbs beat him around. The gentle expressions from before were replaced by a new glare, which threw Kosei into a loop of confusion. Had the way he acted before been an act? Or was he just like this when fighting?

"You need to fight back, Kosei." Alfred said, before Kosei felt another strike on his shoulder. "Don't be afraid to hurt or strike them, they can take whatever you dish out."

Kosei stared at him for a moment, processing what the red haired male had said. Fight back? The thought echoed in his mind for a moment. He guessed that if he didn't, he'd get stuck with being beaten around by metal orbs for the rest of class, which didn't sound all that great, but Kosei still couldn't really control how much he released at once, and he didn't want to accidentally...

He shook his head, biting his lip he quickly grabbed the bands around his wrist, tossed them to the side and took in a deep breath. Finally, several sparks jumped off of himself, and then, a sudden release of electricity. The volts struck out in almost all directions, though a majority of them sprung out at the metal orbs, striking them head on.

---

Alfie was worried that he might be overestimating the kid, or maybe he was being too rough. He wasn't a combat teacher after all, and he himself had never formally been trained. Was this how they normally did it? Wasn't there usually some kind of orientation? Alfred was flying by the seat of his pants to be honest. When Kosei seemed to be in distress, Alfred was caught between wanting to stop and also trying to force a reaction out of him. The only way for him to move past being nervous, was to eliminate the reason for being nervous entirely. In the end, Alfred deemed that 'fight or get hit' method was the best he could come up with at the moment despite not liking it at all. Alfred put on airs, trying to act like the combat teachers had seen in the movies and tv shows and felt like it didn't really suit him. Yet he remained strong, he had to be if he wanted to help Kosei move forward.

Finally, Kosei seemed to clue in that he needed to push back and Alfred gave a small smile. That's it, cmon! Alfred thought to himself as Kosei grabbed the bands around his wrist and ripped them off. Inhibitors? was Alfred's thought a moment before static seemed to surround the kid. Electricity? Oh that's neat...wait.. The thought that his angels were made of a liquid metal came a moment too late as they were struck by several bolts of man made lightning at once, and Alfred's head kicked back as if he had been struck in the face.

His vision became spotty, his ears rang, he smelled burning as if his very brain was on fire. His tongue and mouth went numb and so did his legs as he fell to his knees, barely getting his arms in place before crashing to the ground in a heap, barely holding himself up as he literally gagged and struggled for air. Everything was one fire, a headache...no a massive migraine had filled Alfred's sinuses so quickly everything in his stomach threatened to decorate the ground as he did his best to supress it. He couldn't see, was he blind? The ringing in his ears, like someone had clashed cymbals right beside them. What was burning? Why did it smell like burning? His head pounded worse than an African drum as he sat there for a moment dry heaving despite his mental protests to stop.

It was a long few seconds before Alfred's sight started to return to him and the ringing died down. The symptoms, save for the headache seemed to more or less dissipate. He slowly stood to his feet, his blurry vision returning to normal to see a very worried and panicked looking Kosei staring at him. Alfred rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead, feeling the thick coat of sweat that covered it so thoroughly that his bangs had been nearly instantly soaked. He gave a laugh as he started to piece together what had happened. Electricity plus metal plus mental connection equaled a horrible time. "Good one Kosei! Really...got me there." Alfred's words came out slurred, almost like he was drunk as feeling slowly returned to his mouth. He looked to his angels, giving a nod. Ground yourselves.

Instantly the angels morphed, becoming more like rods as they connected to the floor. "Again! And don't hold back! Like I said, I can take anything you can dish out!"

---

Somewhat relieved about finally getting his ability out and striking the orbs, Kosei stayed still where he was, letting out a quiet sigh as he watched the metal stiffen, but he was quickly caught by surprise as he heard a thud close by, and looked over only to see that Alfred had collapsed onto the gound.

His heart stopped for a moment at the sight, and panic and fear took over Kosei's mind. What had happened!? He hadn't struck Alfred, right? Only his orbs! So why was he dry heaving on the ground, as if Kosei had really hit him?

"Alfred!" He suddenly blurted. "Are you okay!?" When he didn't get a response, he stopped breathing. What have I done? Oh god, this can't be happening...not again...no way...no way..."

When he'd nearly began running over to Alfred past the stiff, metal orbs, when he began to rise up on his feet, looking rather shaky, and then looked back at him, "Good one Kosei!"

The blonde wasn't sure if he considered knocking Alfred down onto the ground like that a "good one." In fact, it was terrible. He hadn't even been nearby his classmate and he'd done that much to him, getting the red head to collapse onto the ground, and now having trouble to even speak clearly.

"Again!" Kosei's heart sank as Alfred called out again, his metal orbs even returning to his side and then sticking themselves in the ground. "And don't hold back!"

Stuttering through his own words, Kosei barely managed a quick head shake of refusal to his partner's commands. He couldn't do that again. He felt like he was going to get a headache just thinking about it. "N...no, no I can't." He stammered. "I can't."

Before Alfred could say much of anything, their instructor approached, holding a clipboard in his hand, and a pen between his fingers. "That's enough, you two." He said, looking between the both of them. "You can go ahead and stop now. I've already seen enough of your abilities to know where you guys are at." He nodded, and then turned away to start heading to the next group. "Go ahead and find your way back over to where we first met, by the dressing rooms. We'll talk more there."

Overwhelmed with relief, Kosei quickly nodded, and then searched around frantically for his bands, before finding them laying in the grass a little ways away. He quickly slipped them on, and paused for a moment, glancing over at Alfred several times before he slowly approached him.

"I...I'm sorry..." He said, his voice barely loud enough to hear. "I didn't mean for that to...do anything to you." A frown had appeared over his lips, and he kept himself staring down at the ground the entire time.

Alfred looked over at Kosei, and after a moment of contemplation gave a soft smile and walked over to him before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. I told you not to hold back, if anyone's to blame here it's me. I didn't know how strong you could be." Alfred stated, making sure that Kosei actually heard him. "It's something we'll work on, and knowing what you can do I can plan accordingly. We'll get your ability under control and working in your favor soon, don't you worry." Most of the color had returned to Alfred's face as he smiled and led them both back over to the designated area.

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Natalia Elwyen
LOCATION ║ Sports Facilities
CURRENT TIME ║ 7:20 AM
DATE ║ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023

#B1346B ║ #244101
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬This morning had been a rather quiet, but relaxed one, if Natalia did say so herself. Despite the early morning bell, she had woken up perfectly fine, and gotten ready for the day well enough, with her typical hairstyle of leaving it down and free, and throwing on the cream sweater, black skirt, and black leggings. Of course, she had to replace the wrapping around her hands and arms, just like any other morning, though most of the cloth on her arms were covered by the sweater this time around, and she was perfectly fine with that.

Now, Natalia was sitting inside of the small English classroom within the academy, near the back corner of the room, a window to the side that she was lucky enough to grab for the first day. While Natalia stared outside through the glass, Miss Maes stood at the front of the room, giving the class her own first day introduction, though most students already knew who she was.

Having already heard the introduction before, Natalia kept her attention on the view outside from the second floor's window, while the gentle, warm rays of the sun kept her somewhat relaxed. Her eyes moved towards the academy's entrance doors though, as they opened, soon revealing a class full of what she guessed were newer, tenth year students. Spotting Mr. Nakajima in the crowd after several moments made it clear that this crowd was the class for power and ability control.

Ah...look at all of them. I wonder how they'll do. It is their first day with that class. Or at least...it looks like it is. Natalia thought to herself, scanning over each of them. From what she could see, most of their espressions looked pretty nervous. That was the dead giveaway to the fact that they were first years.

As they continued to make their way down the path, Natalia suddenly spotted a student with them who had a familiar short height and white colored hair sitting atop their head. Her eyes widened for a short moment, and she quickly sat up, before looking around the classroom. Ah! Nova was supposed to have this class with me, but they still aren't here! They're with the first years! What're they doing!?

Suddenly impatient and almost nervous, Natalia shifted around in her seat, watching as Miss Maes began to come to a close with her introduction. Once the woman was finally finished, Natalia's hand shot up into the air, almost catching the English teacher off guard, especially with her expression.

"Natalia?" She said, looking over at her in confusion. "Are you okay? Do you need something?"

"Huh? Wait, yes, yes I'm fine." Natalia quickly said. "But, um, can I please be excused for several minutes? It's kind of urgent."

Miss Maes stared at her for a moment, and then gave a small nod and a smile. "Sure, but please hurry back. Class has just started. I don't want you missing things already on the first day."

"Thank you!" She quickly said, before standing up from her seat, and hurrying out the classroom door, several stares following her from behind. If she didn't hurry, who knew what kind of trouble Nove would get into. Or, perhaps she shouldn't worry so much, but she couldn't help it...they were like a little sibling to her.

Moving quickly down the staircase to the first floor, out the front doors and then down the path, she soon spotted the sports facilities just a little ways away, and Mr. Nakajima standing there, talking with someone she recognized as Nova no later. She could hear the man talking to the white haired student who'd found themselves in the very wrong class.

"Nova? You aren't in this class this year. Where are you supposed to be right now?"

It seemed that she'd managed to catch them at a good enough time. They hadn't done anything too...bad yet, had they? She sure hoped not.

"Nova!" She quickly called out, before she had arrived by the both of them. "What're you doing here? Don't you know you have English with me first?"

"Ah, Natalia. Wonderful timing." Nakajima said, looking between Nova and her. "I was worried I'd have to leave my students to guide Nova back to the right class, but it seems you've got it figured out."

"Yes, yes, I'll quickly get Nova back to the right class. Thank you Mr. Nakajima." Natalia said, giving a quick nod. She then turned back to Nova, giving them a somewhat stern expression, though it quickly melted into something cheerful and relieved.

"Didn't you know that your first class was English this time?" Natalia said, tilting her head slightly. "You left me all alone in there, you know. I was wondering where you were." Letting out a quiet sigh, Natalia gave a quick shake of her head. "Oh well, it's okay now. Let go get you changed back into the uniform so we can get back to the right class, shall we?" She said, offering a small smile, before she began to move over to where the dressing room entrances were, gently guiding Nova. "Now...which one did you decide to use this year?"

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023 || Location ~ Sports Facilities
Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF
Mr. Nakajima had explained what they were doing for the class, leaving Nova even more confused than before. First she didn't recognise anyone and now they were repeating what they had done last year. She blinked a couple of times, head tilting to the side as a confused look flitted across their face before the man turned his attention to Nova, asking why she was in the class. 'Was I not supposed to be here?'

"Nova!" Perking up at the familiar voice, she turned around, face brightening up as she spied Natalia approaching. She went on to ask if Nova had known about having English with her, and then Mr. Nakajima greeted Nova's sister too. He sounded rather glad for some reason.

"Yes, yes, I'll quickly get Nova back to the right class. Thank you Mr. Nakajima." As the teacher turned his attention to those students he was actually supposed to be teaching, Natalia turned her attention to Nova. A stern look from her older sister prompted Nova's eyes to widen, puppy eyes silently begging Natalia not to be too mad. Maybe. Hopefully. Thankfully she didn't seem too annoyed as her expression soon turned cheerful, and Nova smiled brightly too.

Natalia asked if she knew if English was her first class, tilting her head as she spoke. Nova frowned a little in confusion before shrugging and tilting her head as well. "You left me all alone in there, you know. I was wondering where you were."

She shrunk in on herself slightly at this, awkwardly toeing the ground as she mumbled apologies. But Natalia seemed to shake it off and lead Nova back over to the changing rooms with a small smile.

Skipping alongside her sister, Nova smiled as well, happy to be with Natalia again. Although at the taller girl's question, Nova merely giggled in response before entering the male changing rooms, waving at Natalia as the door closed behind her.

She trailed her fingers over the lockers as she made her way around to hers, looping around the entire room and finding it empty besides her. Reaching her own locker a minute later, she entered the combination before pulling her stuff out. After changing back into her uniform, the white-haired teen shoved the sports clothes back into the locker and closed it. If she wasn't supposed to keep it then she could return them another time.

Humming to herself, Nova stood herself in front of a mirror, taking the time to redo her hair and slide the red pins back into place one more. She gave a bright smile once she was happy with her appearance, adjusting her skirt slightly before grabbing her bag before heading back out to meeting with Natalia again.

Opening the door slightly, she peeked out and gave Natalia a mischievous grin before stepping out completely. Making her way over sister, she smiled a little as her gaze flickered over where the other students seemed to be starting the practical part of their lesson, she could vaguely remember flicking marbles at her partner the entire time and giggled at the memory.

Once by Natalia's side, she looked up at the dark-haired girl and smiled. "So, I totally lost my timetable." This admission was accompanied with a laugh as Nova bounced in position a couple of times. "You said English right? You sure we have to go? It's boooring."

Despite her protests, Nova still turned to head in the direction of the school building, walking with light movements. Her gaze flickered to Natalia's hand before she looked up at her sister's face again. Were she not so afraid of contact it was likely she would have latched onto Natalia by now. Instead she hovered close to her sister, simply enjoying being near her for now.

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Natalia Elwyen
LOCATION ║ Academy Building
CURRENT TIME ║ 7:40 AM
DATE ║ Monday, Sept. 11th, 2023

#B1346B ║ #244101
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Nova waited quietly outside of the dressing rooms, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, watching the students outside just beginning their fighting in the field, just a little ways away. A quiet laugh escaped Natalia's lips as she stared for a moment, remembering the first time she'd been in that class. Ah, look at all of them. I remember my first time doing that. It didn't exactly...end too well... She glanced down at the wrapping around her hands, before her head moved up to see Nova making their out from the locker room. She stood herself up from the wall, and brushed off her skirt a bit, as if something had gotten on it. As she turned to look at Nova, she paused for a moment, blinking several times as she realized that they were wearing a female uniform, not a male uniform (she had expected that after seeing them move into the male dressing room), before she let out another happy laugh.

"So you chose the female uniform this morning, then? You look really pretty in it." She nodded, keeping her smile on her face before she turned to begin their way back to the school's building, where they were supposed to be. Of course, it wasn't too far away, so it wouldn't take them too long to get back into their class. Hopefully Miss Maes would realize what Natalia had been doing once they arrived. She hoped to avoid any kind of punishment (though it wasn't all that likely with the American teacher; she was quite tolerant with the students).

"You lost your schedule?" Natalia said, glancing back with a slight frown on her face. "No wonder you weren't in the right class this morning. You probably had no idea we had English first." She gave a quiet sigh, and then looked up at the doors of the school, opening one and holding it open for Nova to pass through. "Well, that's okay, no big deal. I'm sure everyone will understand. It's quite easy to lose those things." She shrugged, before looking down the hall that lead to the office instead of the stairs to their english class. "Alright, how about instead of going to English right away, which yes, we have to go, we instead go to the office and get you another copy? That way we'll know what all your classes are after English, and you won't end up getting stuck with another one of Mr. Nakajima's classes, okay? Don't want him to have to call me back or anything." She gave a quick laugh. Besides, we should probably compare both of ours to see what classes we have together this year. Let's really hope that we've got a lot of them together again like last year, yeah?"

Glancing up at the clock that hung in the hall as she waited, Natalia let out a quiet "oops," and then looked back down at the floor. Hm...Miss Maes might be upset by the time we get back. I probably took a lot longer than she thought I would... She had been gone for about fifteen minutes now, nearing twenty with each second they spent walking through the halls, and that most definitely wasn't just a quick "several minutes" outside of class. Oh man...please let us off the hook just this time, Miss Maes!

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 || Location ~ Academy Building
Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF
Natalia's suggestion of heading to the office to pick up a copy of her schedule saw Nova eagerly nodding. If it got her out of sitting through a class as boring as English she would have agreed to nearly anything. With a wide smile tugging at her lips, she walked alongside her sister, humming a quiet but out of tune lullaby. Although it was hard to make out, it seemed to be Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, but Nova had butchered it enough that honestly it could have been anything at this point.

In the hall that lead to the office, Nova heard Natalia mumble something, although despite how close she was she couldn't make out what it was the taller girl was saying. Shrugging it off she skipped a little down the hall before turning back and calling out to Natalia. "Come on!" A giggle followed this up, the white-haired teen spinning a couple of times on the spot before continuing down the corridor.

Ahead of Natalia by several paces, her sister wasn't close enough to stop her. And so the peaceful office was soon disturbed by the door slamming open, a white-haired girl with both hands in the air clearly having been the one to enter.

"Hello? Hi! I'm here to get a copy of my... Uhh... What was it again?" She blinked a couple of times, glancing back at Natalia before remembering suddenly. "Oh! That was it. I lost my schedule and need a copy. Please?" She was polite. Sometimes.

Bouncing in place, Nova's eyes roamed over the office before spotting a window nearby. "Oooh, it looks pretty." Distracted already, she skipped over to the window, peering outside with an expression of wonder on her face. It was just more of the academy, something which Nova had seen plant of times in the past, although this particular view was new to Nova and she was determined to get a good look at it. 'Would look nicer in red though...'

For the time being it seemed as if she was oblivious to the rest of the world. The view from here was more important than a schedule anyway, right?

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023
Location ~ Academy Dormitories → Academy Building
Speech ~ #666999 || Thoughts ~ #A8A5A6
Purple eyes opened before briefly closing again as harsh rays of light poured in through the window. It may have been a school day, but Shizuka wasn't really feeling up to classes. The fact that she had passed out from blood loss the previous night and hadn't awoken until now was proof of that. She didn't need a clock to tell her that she was late, the sunlight and lack of noise from her fellow students told her that much.

Having now adjusted to the light, she allowed her eyes to open fully before lifting up her left hand to inspect the cut from the previous night. The movement hurt, and the scab over the wound split slightly, more blood starting to leak through the wound. If she had been anyone else she may have been slightly unnerved from the wound, but she was well used to this by now. While it stung, the cut certainly didn't bother her as much as it had when she first started doing this.

Hand dropping down to her side once more, Shizuka turned her head to stare at the wall next to her. Stuck to it were sheets of what once was plain white paper, although there were now various symbols scrawled over it in what looked like a reddish-brown paint. Shizuka, however, knew that it was her own blood. She had spent the previous night experimenting with her runes, trying to make an illusion that was more sustainable than her current one. The fact that she had passed out in the middle of writing the last few symbols was proof enough that she had failed in that endeavor.

She let out a soft sigh before sitting herself up, body stiff from the awkward position she had been in on the floor. That done, she glanced down at herself only too see that her shirt hadn't survived unscathed. Dry blood was now splattered across parts of it and by this point it would likely take quite a bit of effort to get the stains out. Shizuka took the shirt off as she stood up, throwing it into the bin. She wasn't overly fond of it anyway.

After cleaning the reopened cut and bandaging it, she set about getting ready for the day, making her way around her room unsteadily. Every time she turned or moved to quickly the room seemed to spin in front of her. It was a rather slow process, and by the time she was done the first lesson of the day was likely half way over. Still, as she finished brushing her hair she found that she didn't really regret the night before. Well, maybe that her experiment had failed, but certainly nothing more.

Grabbing her bag in her bandaged hand, Shizuka made her way out of the dorm, following the path to her first lesson on instinct. English wasn't a subject she disliked as such, but she often found her attention wondering on in those classes. Honestly, she was rather glad that she had brought a couple of small sketchbooks with her. She could pass the time that way if needed. Shizuka found herself rather relieved upon reaching the academy building and spying a clock that stated she was only twenty minutes late for class. Perhaps she wouldn't get in too much trouble after all?

Passing a couple of girls who seemed to be heading in the direction of the office, Shizuka hurried up the stairs towards the classroom and open reaching it she knocked timidly before opening the door. She hadn't looked in the mirror that morning, but her skin was pale enough that she looked sickly, although that was due to the amount of blood she had lost the previous night rather than any sort of illness. Shizuka bowed a little before murmuring out her apologies. "S-Sorry I'm late Miss Maes!"

She maintained the bow as she waited for the teacher to respond, although the stinging of her left hand told her that the cut had reopened once more. Even with her bag in that hand she could see the blood starting to seep through the bandages once more.

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Natalia Elwyen
LOCATION ║ Academy Building, Office
CURRENT TIME ║ 7:59 AM
DATE ║ Monday, Sept. 11th, 2023

#B1346B ║ #244101
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Natalia walked closely next to Nova as they both made their ways down to the office, where hopefully the woman who usually sat at the desk would be so kind as to give them a newly printed schedule, as well as some kind of paper for an excuse as to why Natalia took much, much longer than just several minutes.

Maybe I should have accepted that offer from Mr. Nakajima. It sure would be helpful now, with how this is going so far.

As they finally got to the office, Natalia watched, and almost panicked as she watched her white haired classmate suddenly swing open the door, and loud enough that it echoed all the way down the hall, catching one classes attention as one of the teachers peeked out from the room in annoyance, looking right at the dark haired female and making her feel rather guilty, even though she hadn't been the one to do it. She muttered a quick, "sorry, didn't mean to disturb your class or anything," the instructor's way, though they probably wouldn't have heard it anyways. So, she awkwardly slipped into the office where Nova was, shutting the door quickly, but quietly behind them.

She came in just in time to see Nova ask for a new schedule, and then stroll over to the window to go look outside. Natalia quickly walked over to the desk, down at the woman who was typing something onto her computer, likely searching for Nova's schedule. Most of the staff knew who Nova was, the they didn't even have to give their name...which was nice, because it seemed that Nova have forgotten to give it before they'd been distracted by the view outside.

Waiting several moments as the woman began to click several more things with the mouse that sat underneath the palm of her hand, Natalia finally spoke up from her spot, "excuse me, do you think Nova and I could get a note so we don't have to explain to Miss Maes why we took so long to get back to her class? Please?" Natalia said, hoping that the woman would be lenient, or perhaps just wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Hm? The woman looked up from the computer screen, and then gave a nod. "Sure, I'll write one out for you two. Just give me a little bit."

Natalia gave a long sigh of relief, feeling the weight on her shoulders suddenly being lifted, and she felt herself relax. "Thank you very much."

Staying where she was for a moment, until she turned to see Nova still looking out the window, Natalia made her way over to her sibling, and stopped next to them to look out the window as well. It seemed to go on for quite a ways, the school's campus, but outside of the walls was miles and miles of forest. That was something Natalia quite enjoyed. The view was beautiful, especially from her own dorm room. They weren't actually allowed to go outside of the walls of the campus, with the forest being plenty dangerous, especially alone, but from students in the years above her, as well as from experience of her own that occasionally, they went out as a class trip, for either science or physical education. Though, she'd caught rumors that power and ability use class occasionally went out.

"I heard that Mr. Tsunematsu is wanting to take some of his classes on a small hike sometime soon. Wouldn't that be fun?" Natalia said, offering a small smile down to Nova. "I mean, we haven't been in a while, or at least I feel like we haven't been." She herself quite liked going out. It got a bit boring to be stuck within just the campus all the time. A change of scenery was nice every so often.

"Your things are ready, Nova, Natalia." The woman called out to them, setting two papers out on the front of the desk. One, a full schedule of Nova's first term, and the second a half a page of a note for them to be able to get back into class without having to deal with detention or some kind of other punishment for "skipping class." "I do suggest you're quick to get to class...it's going by a lot faster than you might think." The woman gave a quiet laugh, before turning back to the computer and starting to typing again.

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023
Location ~ Sports Facilities → Academy Building, Classroom
Speech ~ #C5612A || Thoughts ~ #C5992A
The moment he and Nao were acknowledged by Mr. Nakajima, Lucien turned and headed for the designated meeting area without even glancing back at his sparring partner. Now that the adrenaline from the little match had vanished, he was starting to feel the emotions of everyone around him again. It seemed like he had gotten a little blind to the outside world during the fight. Something he wasn't keen to repeat.

As the teacher spoke up, Lucien wasn't ashamed to admit that he stopped paying attention, although the sudden spike of embarrassment from a red-faced student caught his attention for the briefest moment. Still, it wasn't enough to drag Lucien completely from his mental post-fight review.

Looking back he could easily see the things he had done wrong, one of them being the level he had raised Nao's annoyance too. If he faced her again in the future he would keep that in mind. Although he was hoping not to do so anytime soon.

Dragging himself from his thoughts, he blinked as he noticed that he was in the changing rooms, several other people changing back into their uniform around him. Looking down he saw that he had his own clothes in hand and set about changing into them.

Once dressed and covered to a decent level, Lucien set about unwinding the bandages from his arms. For now his shirt and jumper would cover the scars, and the material was still in a good enough condition to reuse if needed. Now completely ready, Lucien shoved the sports clothes into his locker, closing and locking the door to it afterwards.

As Lucien went to leave the changing rooms, he caught a glimpse of a pale bruise forming around his neck. It seemed Nao had used a tighter grip on his neck than he thought. He shrugged it off for now, however. If it ended up showing more later in the day then he might take the time to wrap something around it. Either way, until it was gone it would serve a reminder to not be so careless in the future.

Finally exiting the changing rooms and getting away from the emotions of his classmates, Lucien headed in the direction of his next class. Not particularly looking forward to this one either. Now he would be stuck in a room of emotional teenagers for however long, rather than being outside where at least he could get away from them if needed.

Still, his expression betrayed none of his thoughts, and the dark-haired teen soon found himself stood outside of his next class. It still seemed to be in session when he arrived, so Lucien waited until the class finished and emptied of people before ducking in, nodding to the teacher in greeting before finding a seat in the corner of the room. Perhaps this time there wouldn't be anyone coming over to annoy him.

---

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Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 || Location ~ Academy Building, Office
Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF
Nova perked up as her sister mentioned something about a hiking trip. 'A trip? I might be able to go this time?' That thought soon had a wide grin threatening to split the white-haired teen's face. Nova's counseling session had clashed with the last trip and she'd had to stay behind and talk about weird stuff to the doctor while everyone else was out having fun. It wasn't fair! But, maybe she could go if there was one?

With her thoughts floating around about a trip outside, Nova barely noticed the receptionist calling out their names, although she did see the paper get put on the desk in the reflection. Red eyes squinted a little as she tried to read her timetable without actually going over to pick it up. Although she quickly gave up on this, attention wandering back to other things. Like the forest beyond the campus grounds. The green looked pretty too! Not as pretty as red but still...

Nova waited until Natalia was distracted with the papers before opening the window, and jumping onto the ledge. The glass pane had barely opened wide enough, but the small teen managed to squeeze through and end up on the ledge the other side.

Laughing loudly, she turned to stick her tongue out at Natalia and the receptionist before sliding off the ledge, onto the ground and taking off at a run. She wanted to visit the forest now!

---

---

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023
Location ~ Academy Building, Classroom → Hallway
Speech ~ #666999 || Thoughts ~ #A8A5A6
Thankfully Miss Maes didn't seem too annoyed at Shizuka turning up late, one look at the purple-haired girl's sickly face probably took care of any arguments the motherly teacher had. Shizuka straightened up from the bow and turned to go to her seat near the back of the class, although she was soon ducking her head as her cheeks flushed from the glances her classmates spared her.

Still, she got to her seat without further incident and took her notebook out to start taking down the notes she had missed. Although she barely had time to lift up her pen before Keiji ended up in front of her desk.

Shizuka blinked as he spoke, but by the time what he said had registered he already had her hand in his and was unwrapping the bandages, and of course the blush that had faded was now making itself known again. His comment that she would need stitches saw Shizuka frantically shake her head, but Keiji carried on by standing up and asking her to take off her clothes. 'W-What did he just say?'

With her face perhaps redder than it had been in a long time, Shizuka's breathing picked up a little as she stared up at Keiji with wide, unblinking eyes. Although this lasted all of a few seconds before one of her female classmates called the male a pervert and knocked him to the floor after a book hit his head.

Snapped out of her embarrassed daze, she listened to their teacher ask Keiji something, and his clearly flirty response. But his gesture in her direction along with the comment of her needing to get stitches and volunteering to take her to the nurse's office just saw Shizuka shake her head before shrinking in on herself as several of her classmates spotted the cut across her left palm.

Keiji's reply to Miss Maes not letting him accompany her to the nurse's office did manage to get a small smile out of Shizuka. But since she didn't really want to stay in class and her bandages were useless now that Keiji had taken him off, she quickly shoved her book and pen back into her bag before grabbing it in her right hand and hurrying out of class.

Keiji would likely be pleased to note that the blush he had provoked still lingered on her cheeks.

Out in the hallway once more, Shizuka allowed herself to breathe normally once more. It was cooler than in the classroom and the air allowed the teen to try and take control of her blushing once more, although she didn't have too much success on this front.

Once Shizuka felt more composed, she started to head in the direction of the nurse's office, although she stared at her feet to keep those few students still wandering the hallways from noticing the blush on her face. The curtain of purple that her hair provided did well enough.

As much as she wanted to forget the incident in class ever happened, Shizuka's mind wouldn't stop replaying the whole scene from the classroom. Of course, by the time it replayed for perhaps the third time, she managed to shake her head to clear it from her mind...

...And walked into someone in the process.

Stumbling backwards a couple of steps from the sudden collision, Shizuka looked up to see the dark hair and eyes of one of her classmates, Abel Coelho.

If she had to pick who she preferred over Keiji and Abel, Shizuka's answer would likely by Abel, if only because he perhaps flirted a little less than Keiji did. Still, both tended to say things that prompted her blushes and the girl was sure that one day she would pass out from the blood rushing to her face.

Blinking, Shizuka realised two things at once. One, she had been staring at Abel for a few seconds now. Two, she likely looked a sorry state. She still had an almost abnormally pale tone to her skin accompanied by slightly flushed cheeks which seemed to grow redder with each passing second. There was also her hand to consider as well, although her clenching it into a loose fist merely prompted the blood to slowly trickle between her fingers.

"Oh, um. Sorry. I'll be going now." Completely embarrassed, Shizuka looked down once more, the floor very interesting all of a sudden.

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Natalia Elwyen
LOCATION ║ Academy Building, Office
DATE ║ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023

#B1346B ║ #244101
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬Natalia quickly took the papers off the desk, giving the receptionist a quick, "thank you," before turning around, just in time to see Nova jumping out the window through the small opening. Her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the two sheets of newly printed paper onto the ground.

"Nova!" She quickly yelled out as she ran for the window, stopping right by the opening but already knowing she was much too big to even try and fit through. "Stop it! Where are you going!? Come back, we still need to go to English!" Though, it seemed that Nova wouldn't be listening to her, as they continued running on...towards the gate to the forest.

No! I shouldn't have even mentioned it! Now look what I've done! There's definitely no way we'll get to English now...Miss Maes is going to kill us!

As quickly as she possibly could, Natalia set the papers down on the desk. "I'll be back to get those, thank you!" She said, and then ran for the door, swinging it open almost just as loudly as before, which got her another harsh glare from the teacher in the classroom, though she ran too fast for him to catch her and say anything...which she was much thankful for.

Nova Nova Nova...you really better not get me in trouble! A feeling of frustration but worry came to her mind. She knew Nova didn't exactly...understand what this might do, but Natalia really didn't want to have to deal with a long lecture from Miss Maes about missing class, and possibly an hour of detention after school ended...

Turning around a sudden corner and continuing her run through the halls, she nearly found herself running right into two familiar people from her grade: Abel and Shizuka. Her eyes widened for a moment, and she quickly moved to the side, taking several hops back, before putting forward her hands and waving them a bit. She closed her eyes tightly in embarrassment, feeling her face heat up. "I'm so sorry! I was moving too quickly! Sorry sorry!" She quickly said, before turning around and running off again. She didn't really have enough time to stop and have conversation with them at the moment...not when Nova was trying to escape the school grounds.

Oh...oh! What about the guards!? If Nova gets into trouble with them... She shook the thought out of her head. They'll be fine!

She quickly opened the heavy front doors of the academy before she came running out again, and she spotted Nova's head of white hair not horribly far away, but enough that she would have to push herself harder to catch up. "Nova! Wait up! Stop!"

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023 || Location ~ Academy Building, Hallway
Speech ~ #666999 || Thoughts ~ #A8A5A6
Shizuka was started to wonder why she had even left her room this morning. She escaped from one flirt only to find herself in front of another. Abel had started off fairly tamely, tilting her face up and making comment that prompted her blush to brighten, although thankfully he carried on as if he hadn't embarrassed the purple-haired girl.

The taller teen asked why she wasn't in class and Shizuka was about to reply when he trailed off. Following his gaze, she noticed the blood from her cut was now dripping on the floor. 'It wasn't that bad a minute ago, right?' She opened her hand from loose fist to reveal that the cut was now fully opened again, blood seeming to flow freely from the wound.

Abel saying that he would get it was enough to have Shizuka looking up at him again, just in time for the bird on his shoulder to take off in the direction of their classroom.

And for Abel to take off his shirt.

She was already blushing from his earlier comment, but this action caused her cheeks to grow redder until they practically glowed. To make things perhaps worse, Abel carried on as if he hadn't just revealed his chest to her. Him asking if the wound hurt brought the slight stinging of the cut to her attention, although the only sound that left her lips was a stuttered "I... Uhh..." Still, she collected herself enough to hold out her hand to him.

The wide smile he gave her though, was enough to daze the shy girl completely. Shizuka's eyes rolled up as they closed and she stumbled forward a couple of steps before collapsing as if she were a puppet whose strings had been cut. She had thought it might happen at some point, but it seemed as if Shizuka really had passed out from embarrassment.

---

Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023 || Location ~ Academy Grounds
Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF
After a minute or so of running, Nova had decided to skip her way to the gate instead. Humming a little as she did so, the white-haired teen heard Natalia call out for her to stop, though she merely looked over her head and stuck her tongue out as the gate appeared in her range of vision.

Eyes widening in glee, the girl picked up her pace and upon reaching the gate proceeded to climb it, after dropping her bag at the bottom of course, she could levitate it over afterwards. Although climbing perhaps wasn't the easiest of tasks given that she was wearing a skirt. Maybe trousers would be better? But her dorm room was so far away from here...

Barely two feet off the ground, Nova clung to the gate not unlike a monkey as she pondered the decision, silently judging the distance between the dorm, herself and Natalia before pouting a little. 'So, no forest today?' Lowering herself back to the ground, Nova crossed her legs and dug through her bag, pulling out a small pouch a minute later.

Smiling widely, she poured the marbles onto the floor and proceeded to have them make funny shapes as she laughed at them. The fact that these 'funny' shapes were stars, houses and trees didn't deter her in the slightest. "Big Sis! What sorta shapes should I make next?" She called over to Natalia as the marbles made a big smiley face. Even if she hadn't gotten to go to the forest, this was still fun, right?

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Date ~ Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 || Location ~ Academy Grounds
Speech ~ #FF0000 || Thoughts ~ #00ECFF-------------------------------------------------------------
Nova looked up at Natalia as she came to a stop beside her and sat down. She was clearly out of breath, likely from the run that had left Nova herself still feeling full of energy, then again, Nova always seemed to have energy to spare. Especially after eating and... 'Why does she want me to say sorry to Miss Maes?' Natalia then rambled on about how long they had been gone for and how much trouble they were going to be in.

Nova tilted her head to the side as she watched her sister lay down. Surely it wasn't that bad? "Forty-five minutes?" She blinked as a confused look appeared on her face. "It's not that long, right? Why are you worried? She wouldn't really kill us, right?" An almost scared look appeared on Nova's face for a moment before she started to giggle, doubling over as she full-on laughed.

It was Natalia mentioning the principle that made Nova stop, blinking once before freezing into place. The principle was a scary lady and Nova didn't want to be near her either! Turning, Nova looked down at her sister, reaching over as if to touch her but pausing several inches away from her sweater instead. Natalia seemed annoyed, and Nova hoped that it wasn't because of her.

It was an apologetic look that flashed onto Nova's face next, accompanied by wide eyes that seemed to be starting to tear up. "I'm sorry... Didn't mean to make you angry..." She quickly retracted her arm, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them tightly.

As the first couple of tears escaped, the marbles rearranged themselves to turn what was just a moment ago a smiley face into a sad one, complete with tears of its own.

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Natalia Elwyen
LOCATION ║ Academy Grounds
DATE ║ Monday, Sept. 11th 2023

#B1346B ║ #244101
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬So the principal seemed to have caught Nova's attention, and Natalia looked over at them, letting out a quiet sigh. They shared the same dislike of the principle, the two of them, which of course she had already known. The woman had a strange feeling about her, not to mention the fact that she was rather scary looking...

Natalia put her hands over her face for a moment, closing her eyes and then shaking her head. Miss Maes probably thought she was lying and just trying to get out of class now, not to mention what all of her classmates would say. "Natalia's such a bad student!" "I can't believe she did that." "Wow, I didn't know Natalia was such a delinquent!" They were definitely going to have a visit to the office, and she didn't even want to start thinking about the detention that would follow...

She quickly shook her head and forced the thoughts away, clapping the sides of her face gently. She quickly sat up and looked over at Nova, but before she could even get anything out of her mouth, she noticed the tears. She blinked several times, and her expression quickly changed to one of panic.

"Nova! Why are you crying? Is everything okay?" But Nova apologizing caught Natalia offguard. She hadn't meant to make Nova cry! She'd only thought that she was letting them know that they would probably be in trouble...though she had acted annoyed...had she been rude? "No! Don't apologize! You didn't do anything wrong... I'm sorry for being so rude!" She would have put her hands on Nova's shoulders, or maybe hugged them, but she knew better. He probably wouldn't like that, as much as she wanted to...

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." She sighed. "Okay, how about we head back to class now? At least catch the last ten minutes of class, yeah? And then we'll see what Miss Maes wants us to do after class, and deal with it together, okay? Does that sound alright?" She offered a warm smile, hoping they wouldn't be nearly as upset now.

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Elias Emerson
LOCATION ║ Academy Dormitories -
Academy Grounds
DATE ║ Tuesday, Sept 12, 2023

#FF7F50 ║ #DA5222 ║ #794044
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"Wakey wakey~" There was a knock on the door, but Nova had already opened it and stepped into the room. Elias gave the shorter teen a half-hearted glare from his position in his bed.

"Nova, it is-" he paused here to glance at his clock "-not even three in the morning. May I ask what you are doing here?"

The albino blinked a couple of times, tilting his head to the side as he seemed to think about his response. "I wanna play! I didn't see you at all yesterday..."

Elias sighed a little, pushing himself into a sitting position. "I believe that a few days ago I mentioned that I would not be attending classes yesterday." Being woken up before it was even three in the morning wasn't Elias' ideal way of starting the day. That especially became the case when it was Nova breaking into his dorm to drag him out to "play".

Nova threw himself down onto the end of Elias' bed, arms crossed and clearly pouting. "I know. Doesn't mean I don't wanna play now."

Frowning a little, he watched the older student for a minute as he sulked from his position. 'Looks like I'm not getting out of this today. Not as if I'll be able to get back to sleep with Nova here anyway.' "Very well, just give me a little bit to get ready, ok milord?" Nova visibly brightened up, a wide smile stretching across his face as he sat upright.

"Okey-dokey~"

Huffing a laugh, Elias untangled himself from his covers before grabbing a set of clothes and heading into the bathroom to change. It wasn't his uniform like Nova seemed to be wearing, but he figured that with the current time he would be able to change again before classes were due to start.

---

Half an hour later found the pair in the forest that bordered the academy grounds. It wasn't a place that was often visited by the students, partly due to the fact that it was out of the way and the rumours of a couple of the more dangerous students frequenting the area. Elias was sure that Nova visiting this section at least once a week was enough to put some of them off. His classmate was something of an acquired taste after all. Not many seemed to be able to put up with him in small doses, let alone the longer periods of time that Elias had resigned himself to the first time they met.

Elias took his time stretching, even as Nova bounced on the spot, clearly having the energy to spare. Once he was ready, Elias conjured up the knife that Nova seemed to favour, taking care to ensure that it was blunted and wouldn't cut the skin, before conjuring a sabre of his own and ensuring it was in the same condition.

This was something they did perhaps once a month; a game that resembled hide and seek and tag, although more dangerous given the weapons involved. The two of them would take turns at hunting each other down in the forest, and while Elias would have preferred to do this on more than an hour's sleep, it would at least wear Nova out enough that he shouldn't kick off much during the day. Something that people would likely end up being thankful for in the end.

Sharing a smile with Nova, he dashed off deeper into the forest to find his own hiding place, Nova's bright laughter following him.

---

It was nearing six in the morning when the pair re-entered the dormitories, Elias about ready to fall asleep and Nova nearly looking as awake as he had been to start with.

The pair stopped outside of Elias' room, Nova's the next door along. "See you later?" Elias looked over at his friend, nodding a little and resisting the urge to laugh as Nova's expression lit up before the albino teen dashed into his room, likely rushing through preparations for the day with as much energy as he normally used.

Stepping into his own room, Elias closed the door behind him before getting ready for the day, ensuring that he had the right things before stepping into the bathroom to shower and dress.

When he stepped out again, Nova was sat on his bed, waiting impatiently although dressed with his bag on the floor by his feet, Elias' bag had ended up there too. Elias sighed as Nova noticed him, the other boy instantly jumping up and grabbing both of their bags before throwing them at Elias. "Hungry. Let's go!"

He huffed a laugh as he caught their belongings, thankful that nothing had spilled out of them. "Lead the way then, milord." Elias followed Nova as the other student skipped out of his room, silently wishing he had gotten more than an hour of sleep. Hopefully the cafeteria would be open, he would likely need some coffee.