Takeshi Ueto's Story

"Vesper huh?" She said as she let down Fucuello's hoof. "I think I went there on a holiday once, very beautiful place. The air is much cleaner there than where I come from. "

"In my back, hoof Trista." Fucuello turned and lifted his hind hoof to her. She bent down and sure enough, a pebble sized rock was there lodged between the frog(middle sensitive section of the hoof) and outer rim.

"I'm from a small city, near the border of Orientalis and Aquilonis. My mom worked in a textile factory in the inner city, but we lived in the suburbs so the smog wasn't as bad." Trista struggled a little but dislodged the pebble and stood straight, cracking her back. She looked down to see Ash's dragon watching her. "Winter's were the worst though, I hate snow."

"Huhmm, quite. It's nice to meet you, miss Trista. I am Sir Liath. But you may have the pleasure to call me Liath." Trista smiled at the dragon. She found him absolutely adorable.

"It's nice to meet you to Liath."

"Good day." She heard Fucuello's contemptuous greeting to the others. They are a bit strange. Don't mind me if I speak hardly. He said through their connection. Trista glared at him and gave his flank a little swat.

Don't be rude! She thought back. At least introduce yourself.


"Sssssssss" his companion hissed after his questions. What was wrong? Did he really say those questions that loud? What was this he sensed from his partner? Regret! BlueJay turned he puppy eyes on Saga. Did Saga not want him for a companion anymore?

Instead he just laughed. ”I’m just kiddin’, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Relief swept through the little dragon.

"Hi BlueJay." The partner of the grey dragon, who was for some reason giving him scared looks, said. " I'm Angel. This is my companion Reechi." Angel and Reechi, those were nice names. Saga then introduced the other two of the group who hadn't seemed as bothered by his outburst. The human was Riley and his dragon was named Razeth. He was about to reply that he thought their names were really awesome, some other boys amongst them started to hit and yell at each other! He'd only ever heard something like that once, when something else with big flapping instruments had come near. His mother had roared much more terrifyingly than the boys and chased the other thing away. But not before there had been some terrible ripping, tearing, and hitting sounds. He didn't know which scared him more though seeing the fight, hearing it, or the words that came out of the gargoyle's mouth.

Then again Saga didn't notice so maybe it wasn't important.

The comotion and jostling only stopped when they had stepped into a huge and empty hallway. BlueJay did not like how the ceiling went up and up and up without a seeming end. The sky didn't have an end but instead enveloped you in its landscape. This however was a black hole that looked like it could suck you and everything else in. The things lining the wall were cool though. Big metal things that looked like a human could wear and walk around in.

”isn’t there something wrong with the picture here?” asked Saga. What picture? BlueJay looked to where his companion did. Why were Angel and Reechi hiding behind them, or trying to?

”He's going to kill us." Angel hissed while watching the gargoyle with a wary eye. "And then he'll stuff us and put us up on display to show to the new students next year. And if he doesn't taxidermy you he'll use you as a chew toy and oh damn I am way to precious to die-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”"

BlueJay could have jumped into the air and flew if he needed to in that moment for the monster that had jumped out of the heads of one of the big metal thing's had not only scared Reechi and Angel but him as well. He clung on to Saga's shoulder with all his might and tried to shove his head down his companion's shirt! He didn't want to see it, he didn't want to see it! It was scarying and loud and he did NOT want to see it! In that moment BlueJay decided, all gargoyles were scary monsters.

So what was Saga doing? A sound was coming from him, one the little dragon had never heard. It rolled up and out like a ripple. Was his companion, laughing? Was he laughing at this misfortunate event that had become of him, Angel, and Reechi?

” They'll be the death of me. Look at those beady eyes and that stony skin and those TALONS." BlueJay nodded his head fervently in agreement.

"So scaaaaaaarryyyyyy." he moaned, caught a glimpse of the head gargoyle and hid his head in Saga's shirt again. He didn't yell this time though. Already he could feel himself draining of energy again. Especially since the recent scare had seemed to suck all his remaining strength.

”Ah, wouldn’t you think it’d be better to play ‘Another one bites the dust’ by Queen?” Saga replied, ”Ah, but don’t worry. I’ll collect Dragon Balls for you and revive you!" Dragon Balls? This peeked his interest.

"What are Dragon Balls, Saga?" He asked and yawned.

"Men, I give you our lounge!" The little dragon looked around sleepily. It was a warm and pleasant place, he liked it much better with the hall. The fire across the way made him want to crawl over and curl up and take a nice long nap. "Okay, listen up! Over on that table is a list with everyone's name on it. It shows your name and the room you're in!"

”bye Angel. I’ll talk to you later Riley,” Saga waved to his friends so BlueJay thought he would to.

"Bye, Bye." He stood on his hind legs and waved with one sleepy paw, his second bye caught in another yawn.

”What a pain,” There was a comotion as his Ryder tried to get to the papers. BlueJay didn't like it either, all he wanted to do was sleep and they were making that impossible. He snapped at one boy who came to close for comfort. The aforementioned papers were white flat pieces with black scribbles on them that apparently made some sort of sense to Saga because from their he got their room.

When Saga and him were finally heading to their room he took out a f'lipping device and started tapping buttons.

"What are you doing?" He asked and yawned again.

Finally they came to their room and BlueJay waved to their roommates and didn't even care what the rest of room looked like. All he saw was the bed. His bed, as he hopped of Saga and plodded over, crawled in and in five seconds was sleeping deeply.

Reechi’s ears fell flat against her skull as Bluejay screamed out questions; hopefully he wouldn’t be like this all the time. It’d seriously hamper the relationship between herself and Saga, and with Bluejay himself. She crawled down to Angel’s shoulder, reaching forward and attempting to pin down Bluejay’s maw so he’d stop talking, but at the last second Angel turned her away from him, and she looked up at him with a half pout half frown. Her tail thumped against his back to show her discomfort with the banshee to their right. Other than that she made no other sign of dislike towards the A’Ris dragon, and churred at Rowan’s ear, standing on her hind legs with one paw up and rubbed her head against his ear before climbing back up onto his head.

It was then that Rowan introduced them, "Hi Bluejay, I'm Angel. This is my companion Reechi." She then felt his finger press against her nose, which she promptly wiggled in response, and looked back at Saga’s dragon. She blinked once before inclining her head fractionally towards him in greeting with a small grin, only because he was quiet at that moment.

However, the body underneath her suddenly moved to the right, and she crouched down a bit lower to keep her center of gravity correct and not fall off of his head. It wasn’t hard, he had just caught her a bit off guard while she was in thought. Degore then began to yell curses at some other boys nearby, the reason of Rowan’s sudden movement, and then he promptly swept in to separate them. ”Reeps, cover your ears, I don't want you developing a tongue like that!” She grinned as he pressed her ears down, pawing at his head. ”’Course not! I’m more refined than that, and in any case, it’s much more fun using silly words than those unsettling ones.”

As they then moved along towards the boy’s section of the Academy, Rowan began to act a little peculiar, to which Reeps glanced down at him with her head tilted to the side, he seemed to be… hiding? She immediately looked up at Degore with narrowed eyes, catching on by his moods and thoughts. Reeperchi pressed her paw pads into his forehead a bit, blowing a small bit of cold air at his hair as she exhaled. ”Something the matter, Rowan?”

Suits of armor filled the hallway they entered next, to which Reechi’s eyes widened a bit towards the shiny bits. Degore then spoke up, having to add his own little bit to the tour, ”That there, boys, was Sir Ryan. He had come here to try and kill Draconem, obviously, he failed." She rolled her eyes with a slight grin, but was then distracted by Rowan moving forward to whisper into the ears of Saga and Riley, "He's going to kill us." Reechi smacked his neck with her tail, ”Get a hold of yourself! Degore’s more civilized than you give him credit for, and he’d be in deep trouble with Draconem should he injure one of the students here. Besides, I’m here too, you know.”

Something suddenly piqued in her awareness of the surroundings, her eyes focusing on the suit of armor before them, a small growl forming in her throat, ”Rowan-“ However, she didn’t get to warn him of the smaller gargoyle’s presence as it flew out, causing Angel to jump back wildly in surprise with a loud yell, Reechi clinging onto his head with her tail curled around his neck to try to keep her balance. A look of immense irritation and threatened menace flashed across her facials, aimed at the small gargoyle before Rowan detached her from his head to hold her before him.

Saga then laughed brightly at her Ryder, causing Reechi to turn her head towards him and give him a small huff of air. She really liked the sound of his laugh, just not where it was aimed. Her attention was then grabbed by Bluejay, who seemed to be just as startled as Rowan, and her thoughts of him immediately enhanced as he commented quietly as well. ’So he’s not loud all the time. Great!’ She blinked with a tiny smile perking the tips of her mouth up.

"Reeps, they're everywhere,” He suddenly shifted her to his cheek, looking around, ”They'll be the death of me. Look at those beady eyes and that stony skin and those TALONS." She pushed at his shoulder gently, trying to gain his attention before he tenderly held her out in front of him once more. ”Rowan, relax, they’re not out to get you. Besides, they’re nothing but stone, and stone cracks easily under harsh temperatures.”

"Just promise me you'll play 'Bang Bang You're Dead' at my funeral." She stared straight into his eyes, tilting her head to the side before bluntly stating, “I don’t know what-“ Rowan suddenly replaced her onto his head as Degore flew over them to gain their attention, "We want to make it to training before the ladies, don't we?! Then let's go!"

"Don't let them take me-" Finally, someone else came over and verbally smacked him down a bit to get him to pull himself together. Angel finally decided it was true, and then rushed to make it back to Saga and Riley.

They finally entered the lounge, and Reechi gazed up at the immensely tall ceiling, a pleased look glancing along her features as she considered the possibilities of how to use it to her advantages. Angel brought her out of her planning with another comment towards Degore, "I hope he's not in here all day.” She simply shrugged, ”The first day, yeah, probably, just to show us around, but I dunno about the rest of the time.”

The pair moved off towards the table to find their room number, Rowan’s irritation spiking for just a moment as he looked upon his name, finding it to be labeled under his first one. Reechi hooked herself onto his shirt, leaning forward and running a claw through the name ever so lightly so as not to rip through the papers underneath it, but to still mar the image. Afterwards they took off in the direction of their room, arriving within a few minutes.

As Rowan stood before his door, she sat up, looking expectantly at it, waiting somewhat impatiently for him to open it up. "Ready Reeps? Behold, our humble abode!" And with that announcement, he twisted the knob and flung open the doors, revealing a large, spacious room. She gazed around as he entered their living space, "Reeps, check it out!" He held his arm out for her, which she quickly scuttled onto and across to leap from his hand into the basket to admire its comfortable blankets and gentle swaying motion. However, almost as soon as she had gone in, she leapt out to go scamper towards Rowan’s boxes and bags to snuffle at them and investigate, her tail swishing along the ground as she did so with wide eyes.

However, Rowan soon arrived on the scene, and she darted away to give him his belongings, and went to go look at what she had received from Draconem. Among the plethora of mentally stimulating items, there were a few things that stood out to her. A small tree sapling was among those, to which she sniffed at for a small bit of time, shifting backwards as it seemed to grow just slightly before her. She sat down and looked up towards the high ceiling. ’Well, there’s definitely enough room for a tree in here.’ She grinned lightly before continuing to dig through her new stuff.

There also seemed to be a box that was taped shut, to which Reechi quickly stood on her hind legs to place her front legs on top of it, her eyes scanning over the letters along it. She turned her head towards Rowan, pausing for a moment to watch him set up his own stuff before dipping into his mind as he looked over his posters which had the same kind of letters. As he read them, she paid close attention, easily translating and gaining, before turning back to her own box to read it.

Do Not Open Unless Emergency She tilted her head, ’Well, that’s not foreboding atall.’ After having looked over her stuff, Reeps quickly scampered over to Rowan, leaping forward and clinging to the sheets he had just put down, crawling up them quickly and pausing as her form sunk down a bit. Her left ear fell over a little bit as she tilted her head, blinking and wiggling her nose with wide eyes, one paw frozen in mid-step, before she put it down. Her paw squished down on the material before sinking down as well. A sound similar to a little higher pitched, Ooh escaped her maw as she began to walk experimentally along the strange material, a look of high entertainment and an open mouthed smile on her face as she did so. She shifted her weight up and down, finding that it caused her to bounce back up a bit.

A mischievous look now filled her face as she bounced, going higher and higher until suddenly-
Reeps froze, her eyes locked dead center onto the pillow at the head of the bed. She quickly jumped along forward towards it, stopping in her antics to circle it and sniff at it. It smelled a lot like Rowan. A feeling of affection flooded through the connection between she and her Ryder, and she quickly climbed up onto it, circling before curling up there with her head tucked towards her stomach. Reechi then looked up at upside-down Rowan, caused by her head position, and smiled up at him with a small little chirp of a laugh as he smacked his head into her basket. "Like the room Reeps? What'd you get from Draconem?" He then sat down next to her after changing out of his shirt and switching pants to look at her. Her tail thwapped along the edge of the pillow and the mattress. “Lots of stuff, mainly dragon care I guess, but there were a few things that stood out, I suppose. You’ll have to look at them later.”

The door suddenly opened, and none other than Takeshi Ueto sauntered into the room. ”Wow…Angel…did you sneak in here to seduce me? So lewd~” Chi laughed aloud, righting herself on the pillow to sit down with a huge grin. “SAGASAGASAGASAGA!!!!!” She announced loudly, a look of content cheerfulness on her face as her ears perked up and her tail wagged a little bit. It was most excellent that he would be their roommate, it was an idea that Reechi was definitely fond of.

The Saga guy introduced himself and then they were on their way.
He noticed 'Angel' was kind of hiding behind them, sneaking fearful looks at the gargoyle. Riley had to resist from chuckling, because it was the funniest thing seeing this tall, buff dude cower behind him.

They walked down the hall, seeing the different signs with all the classes. Riley nodded in appreciation at the signs that said Swords and Hand to Hand.
At the sign of Magic, he winced.
"Hey Razeth, can you back me up on that? I remember Colette teaching me an introductory course, but it just never stuck with me."
Razeth eyed the door wearily. Will it make you feel better if I say yes?
"Yeah....."
Then yes. I'm a Magic wizard. They both grinned at each other.

”Isn’t there something wrong with the picture here?” Saga asked as he raised his hand high in the air to represent the varying heights of the boys.Riley chuckled in response. So he noticed too. Angel leaned over the two and whispered into their ears.

”He's going to kill us." He hissed bluntly, watching the gargoyle with extreme caution. "And then he'll stuff us and put us up on display to show to the new students next year. And if he doesn't taxidermy you he'll use you as a chew toy and oh damn I am way to precious to die-"

”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Everyone laughed loudly when Angel got scared by the gargoyle in the suit of armor. Riley tried to contain himself, but it was impossible. He laughed, taking out his cell phone from his pocket and taking a sly picture of the dude. He never was really one for blackmail. Maybe, memories was a better term.

” They'll be the death of me. Look at those beady eyes and that stony skin and those TALONS." Angel exclaimed, and Riley stuffed laughs between his teeth. Saga patted him on the back.

Riley looked back to where the gargoyle's companion was and saluted him. "You're awesome, dude!"

"Just promise me you'll play 'Bang Bang You're Dead' at my funeral." Angel half-joked.

”Ah, wouldn’t you think it’d be better to play ‘Another one bites the dust’ by Queen?” Saga replied, ”Ah, but don’t worry. I’ll collect Dragon Balls for you and revive you!" he joked around but continued, suddenly becoming serious" So…I’m not spending money on your funeral, I’m broke.” he laughed.

Riley was having a good time with these guys, joking around with them.
"How about Knockin' on Heaven's Door?", he suggested.

Then, they got to the lounge, and Riley whistled appreciatively.
"This place is wicked cool!"
He saw some guy dump a wrapper on the floor.
"Well....maybe not for long...", he commented, irritated. "Hey, pick that up, bozo!" The guy, looking scared, complied and dumped it in the garbage.
He noticed the largeness of the room, and admired the furniture.

When the awesome ass gargoyle said they could go find their rooms, Riley waved goodbye to the boys, who were also departing.
"So long, see ya later."
He made his way to the front, pushing people out of his way.
"This is ridiculous", he muttered. "Glad I went to that mosh pit that one time to impress that chick."
He checked people's shoulders, and Razeth did his part by swinging his tail everywhere, which had grown considerably larger.
"Teamwork, dude." Riley grinned, and found the room he was in.

"Eh....", he entered a hallway, going with his gut instincts.
He went all the way to the end of the hallway, stepping around people and ducking their companions.
"This is fucking absurd."

He found his room number, and entered. The room was very large, and he saw his boxes from home there, along with a little bed for Razeth to sleep in, and some other presents. Draconem had to be loaded, or he had connections. How'd he get everyone so many presents?
He saw a guy in there, putting away his stuff.
Hey, it was the guy from earlier with the gargoyle!
"Hey dude, I'm Riley.Aren't you that guy from before that scared my friend with the armor? That was fucking brilliant, even though he wasn't too thrilled about it." He chuckled a bit.
He went over to his stuff and ripped open a particular box he had marked with blue paint,and opened it. There was his box of snacks, with many varieties of chips, powdered donuts, soda, candies, chocolates,cookies, and his sister's annoying nutrition bars.
He picked up a bag of his favorite chips, opened it, and put one into his mouth.
He noticed the guy had two piercings under his lips, and he had that emo-swishy haircut.
Eh, I'm not gonna judge a guy. He doesn't look depressing.
He pointed to the box and chewing, asked, "Want some?"

Angel

Angel chuckled slightly as Chi discovered the springiness of the bed, adoring her cute antics all over his pillow. He hoped she wouldn't take to it like that at night- he really wouldn't mind sharing it, or even giving it to her, but it was always a comfort to have.

He raised his eyes as he heard the door opening, watching amused as Saga took on a strange expression and threw himself back against the door.
“SAGASAGASAGASAGA!!!!!”
”Wow…Angel…did you sneak in here to seduce me? So lewd~” The teen said, wrapping his arms protectively around himself.

Angel grinned, posing dramatically with one elbow on his knee, balancing his chin in his hand and trying to look comically seductive, obnoxiously flexing the other arm.
"Lewd? How is this offensive? Is my seduction not working?" He joked, switching poses to both arms behind his head and a duck face.
"Seduction~" He changed poses again- "Seductionnn~" Another change. "Oh the art of seduction!"

Finally he dropped the act before it could become to creepy, (though his own opinion he could work as a model if this Ryder thing didn't work out) and grabbed a muscle shirt, shrugging it on.

"and I didn't sneak in- looks like we're gonna be roommates." He grinned and stood up slipping back on gym shoes and raising his hand for a high five. "Party rooooom."

He took in Saga's unpacked boxes and a sleeping BlueJay on his mattress. "Need help unpacking anything? We should get to training as soon as we can."

Angel was, despite appearances, a good student. He was serious about school and didn't like being late for anything. Everything taught was something worthwhile to learn, especially 'training'. Any fight technique's would be good to learn, since he only knew hand to hand. Even with his ability in fist fighting, he didn't exactly know martial arts. He had more of a boxing, dirty street fighting style.
He moved back to his own bed, making sure Reechi got his mindset about class. They weren't going to be tardy ever, if he could help it. Whatever they were doing today in classes was bound to be important introductions, considering it was the first day. He held out his arm to let Reeps climb up, and was about to grab his cigarettes off the night stand, when he paused.

"Oh yeah- Reeps, Saga, do you guys have problems with cigarette smoke? I can be sure not to smoke inside if you do." He paused and pet Reechi. "Or I can stop if you don't like it Chi."

Stopping would be easy- he wasn't addicted or anything, and knew it was bad for his lungs, but liked how it, well, tasted. It was like the air he'd grown up with, and no one in his city ever had problems with smoking since they practically lived in smoke anyway. It had always been a habit, and a fun way to calm him down before a fight.
He noticed another door on the wall by the window, which was still closed. Angel 'oohed' and hopped over, not having noticed it before and threw the blinds open, looking out at a grassy enclosure.
"Well this is nice," Angel said, mulling over the area. All this grass and such today was new to him. He'd grown up in a pretty industrial area of Orientalis. He'd lived on the outskirts of a city towards the center of Fayoak, an area that had long since been cleared of any farmland. His own city, Estesen, was covered by factories, mostly electrical. His parents had worked in an electric factory, and they'd lived nearby in a small stretch of homes. He'd preferred to run on the polluted streets, which could get plenty violent and fun.

"Where are you from?" Angel asked Takeshi curiously. He guessed either Orientalis or Vesper, but one could never really tell by appearance.

"Lewd? How is this offensive? Is my seduction not working?" Angel joked, switching poses to both arms behind his head and a duck face. For a second Sagas acting fade faltered as a slight chuckle escaped his lips. He turned his head to hide the chuckle and then looked back. Bluejay left him to go retreat to his bed and Saga fell to his knees in desperation.

”Nooo, come back BlueJay!”

"Seduction~" Angel changed poses again- "Seductionnn~" Another change.

”Help me!” he cried over-dramatically and fell onto his side, reaching up to his dragon. One hand on his heart, he acted like he was dyeing.

"Oh the art of seduction!" Angel exclaimed.

”I’m…I’m at my limit,” he burst out laughing as he rolled onto his other side and looked up at Angel. Their weird funky bro reunion was over. Saga sat up and spread a leg out while the other one was being held close to his chest. Angel shrugged on a muscle shirt and Saga waved kindly to Reechi and burst into a small fit of laughter at the way she called out to him. It reminded him of someone he knew, someone VERY crazy who had the weirdest laugh and was just…strange. It made him feel more at home, joking around with Angel and Reechi.

”Hey Reechi, aren't you cute? Haha” he said quietly, trying his best to tone it down since his dragon was sleeping. He really wondered how much his dragon would grow. Saga turned his head to see the bed his little guy was lying on and blinked. The bed was 10 times his size! Saga pointed and had a astounded look on his face. His mouth agape he said, ”Isn’t that way too big?’ he covered his mouth and laughed lightly.

"And I didn't sneak in- looks like we're gonna be roommates." Angel grinned and stood up, slipping back on gym shoes and raising his hand for a high five. "Party rooooom." Saga grinned back just as happily at Angel and pressed his hand against the floor to push himself up. He brought his hand back in the air and then slammed all 5 against Angels hand.

”Yeah, awesome!” he nodded his head roughly and then held his head high, flipping his hair back with a backwards motion of the head.

(His boss expression)


"Need help unpacking anything? We should get to training as soon as we can." Angel said as he took in Takeshis unpacked belongings. Saga stared back at them, he only had a few boxes.

”Naw, it’s fine. I’ll unpack quick” he took out a pocket knife from his pocket and flipped it open, stabbing his box with it, he tore it open. He slid it back into his pocket and took his clothes out. They were folded nicely but were quickly ruined as he just shoved them into his dresser. Some were still folded but now were slanted weird. He felt bad that he was ruining his mothers good work… After that, he reached deeper into the box to take out a couple notebooks and shoved them under his bed. Lastly for this box, he took out all his hair stuff and make-up and put it in-between his bed and dresser in a small basket. The next part of packing was the hardest for him, this one..he actually took his time on.

"Where are you from?" Angel had asked while he was unpacking.

Saga picked his bass up in its case and laid it on his bed for now, than grabbed his amps and lined them up against the bottom of his bed. He had a small, medium, and large amp. Repeating the same motion as before, he opened a smaller box that was about half the size as the bigger one. In it were bass and piano composition and music theory books, CD’s of his favorite bands such as: LUNA SEA, U2, Vamps, and a few others, also other things like a bass strap and much more other music related things.

Wyvernbourne, in Vesper. you?" he replied. He set these things aside for now and went to the largest object of his stuff. It was already taken out of its box, but it was wrapped in white plastic. Tearing it off, it revealed a beautiful black piano. He wanted to move it in-between the two beds under the window.

”Hey, could you help me move this? I want to put it under the window, if that’s alright?” he asked.

Takeshi LOVED music. He and his friends had started a small band back home, but because of his leave a lot of things were put on hold. It was a bit disappointing to all of them but they all understood where he was coming from. They agreed they could still practice through electronics (video chat) or even meet up on weekends when he wasn’t training. Possibly get some lives in there if things went well. He truly wondered if he would have any time for that but he wouldn't give up on music. Even if apart, he will still practice.While waiting for Angels response, his phone started to buzz. Wow, his sister actually replied! He wondered whether she had sent a positive or a negative response......

Open text.....

reading....

reading....

"Psh!" he covered his mouth to hide his laughter. He texted back, enjoying his bickering with her far to much.

You're calling ME an ass?Come on....do I look like a donkey to you? No! I'm gorgeous!

P.S.
Alright, and in all seriousness...be good!



”E-eh? No, not at all. her cheeks flushed a bright pink as she waved her hand in front of her and shook her head. ” Honestly, it’s perfectly fine,” She remembered her conversation with Trista and how she had done the same thing. Wow, this was getting weird. Aya’s eyes shot in the other direction, looking down, and then looked up cutely when she felt Colettes eyes on her. She resembled the shrek character Puss in Boots when he was begging. She clenched her own hands tightly together.

There was an ackward silence, and she was relieved to hear her phone buzz. Saga! Saving her in the nick of time. She took her cell out and read his message, smiling to herself.She texted back.

Saga….you will never believe this, but I think I just met my twin. Theres this girl and she…she is just like me!! So weird!!

”I hope we can eat soon..... I'm getting a bit starved, to be honest. I woke up early, and it's been hours since my last meal." Colette mentioned, a slight grumble emitting from her stomach. Aya giggled softly.

”Wait here,” Aya stuck out her pointer finger and then walked off to one of the vending machines. She took a couple bucks out of her pocket and inserted it into the machine. She got protein bars, chips, and 2 water bottles and walked back over.

”Here, I’m sorry it’s not much….” she held out a water bottle and a handful of protein bars along with a bag of chips. Estabel peeked over Ayas shoulder and slowly inched her face closer and closer to Ayas and before…snatching one of the protein bars.

”Ah! Esta! No!” Aya snatched it back.

”I’m hungry,” Estabel hung her head down sadly. Aya sighed and unwrapped the protein bar Estabel had taken. She held it out.

”Ask next time, and here. You can’t eat it when it has a wrapper,” Aya stated. Estabel neighed happily and carefully took it from her human companion’s hand. It was yummy! But not very filling.

As Ash walked out of the hallway and looked around with a blank expression on her face and slightly wide eyes, the Great Gryphon decided to speed things up. He went around and told everyone in the lounge to get ready to leave. He then went down the hallways and stopped in each room to let people know they were going to be leaving soon.

It was the same for the boys, but with more of a harsher tone. "Hurry your asses up! I bet the girls are working faster then you guys!" He yelled at everyone in the longue who was sitting around them decided to make his way done the hallways and personally yell and curse at everyone who was just sitting around or changing. He went into everyone yelling "Hurry up, you maggots!" then continued to curse at the few men who were just sitting around talking. "Why are you just sitting there?! We have training to get to and girls to beat! Hurry up!" He would say as he hurried everyone along.

Most of the guys were scared of what would happen if they didn't listen to the gargoyle that was bigger then most gargoyles. They all came into the longue and waited for instructions. "Alright, maggots! Listen up!" Degore yelled in there faces and went around to slap a few people on the back of their heads for laughing, talking, or being on a cellphone. He then scolded them all and turned to the door. He opened it and flew out, the men all following him as he did so. He walked back down the hallway and out a door to the enclosure where a bunch of equipment was set up. There was targets with bow-and-arrows, mats for wrestling, an obstacle course with tires to run through, a climbing wall, a slide to run up and climb down, and other things. There was martial arts area, gymnastics, swords fighting, and then, for the companions mostly, special abilities. Sitting behind all the obstacles was noneother than Draconem sitting up straight. His tail was laid out behind him and went all the way back to the forest and mountains then out of sight. Beside him was a group of Pegasus, though more could be seen grazing in the pasture, and a small group of shirtless men with goat horns wrapping around there heads, revealing that they were Pooka in the shape of muscular men.

After scanning the sight, Degore smiled hideously, though he was truly proud, they had made it there before the girls. But, not so long after he thought that, the Great Gryphon can up, his beck twisting up slightly into a smile, knowing that he just ruined Degore's little moment. Degore crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Great Gryphon. Upon seeing this, Draconem let out a hearty laugh along with a few of the Pegasus and Pooka. He found the tension between the two funny, part of the reason why he choose the two to become dorm leaders for the year.

Meanwhile, Ash and Jay ran into each other as both groups seemed to become one. Jay kept bumping into Ash as Slayer kept wrapping Liath's tail around his neck like a scarf and saying in his demon-child voice "Oh, look at me, I'm gay!" But, at the sound of that, Jay flicked him in the nose. Jay liked joking and messing with his cousin as much as Slayer enjoyed bothering Liath at the moment, but one thing Jay did not tolerate was homophobic jokes for the fact that it was not only making fun of Ash but most of his friends as well. Ash crossed her arms over and chest and looked up at Degore and the Great Gryphon, Jay did the same. Slayer and Liath sat on their shoulders and kept bickering and messing with each other as their Ryders waited for something to happen.

((Sorry, PC messed up & posted twice))

Angel

Angel watched Saga unpack, bouncing on his toes in eagerness to get out to training. None the less, he didn't mind waiting, and let out a low whistle at the lines of music equipment he was producing. Angel glanced back at his own side of the room, which was decidingly bare when compared to his roommates. He thought of the similar style of his room back home, clean cut and non expressive; he really needed to get some hobbies.

"Wyvernbourne, in Vesper. you?"
Angel glanced back,
"Oh, Orientalis, Fayoak... Vesper must be nice huh, clean air and all that,"

He shifted to help move the piano, almost scared to touch the glossy surface, lest he smudge it. He paused while waiting for Saga to text, giggling like a schoolgirl while he did so. Angel watched him with an amused expression, finding it cute.
They lifted the piano without to much difficulty and positioned it to Saga's approval. Angel pushed back the cover on the keys to poke at them before carefully setting it down again, having absolutely no musical talent.

"You're really into music huh? That's cool-"

Whatever compliment Angel was about to make was cut off by his own strangled squeal as Degore shoved the door open, barking at them to hurry up before disappearing, leaving the door swinging. Angel leaned over the piano in a stereotypical depressed pose, groaning.
"I don't think I can do this. I swear... stupid gargoyle."

He straightened up, clearing his throat and heaving a sigh. He was going to have to seriously get over this dislike of gargoyles. Not that Degore was helping much, with his violent displays but still.
Get ahold of yourself man.

Ignoring Takeshi's amusement, probably at his squeal- which had caused his voice to break- he scooped Reechi up, transmitting excitement about the dragon getting to practice her abilities.

"Come on now Saga, we mustn't be late." Angel said in a sophisticated voice, holding the door open and bowing dramatically.

They exited and were swept into the rowdy crowd down the hall, where Degore was whacking people and swearing and Angel tried his best not to openly show his dislike.
They were ushered out and Angel surveyed the space, looking for weights, noting the 'martial arts' area. He was a kickboxing type of guy, and could handle himself pretty well. Unfortunately, he was severally lacking in gymnastics, archery and sword fighting. Maybe he'd head to one of those instead to try and pick up on a few things.

Now though, he was itching for Draconem or one of the guardians to give them instructions. He wanted to get a warm up run in if there was time and watch Reechi do special abilities- because, hey, a storm dragon was kind of super awesome.

Angel glanced around, noting the girls and guys had merged together. He tried to look around for anyone familiar but since everyone seemed to be talking, he thought screw it and decided to stick with Saga and whoever he went to talk to.
Meanwhile, he just sang songs in his head and thought asked Reechi about her opinions on this training thing

"Thank the Cree that is finally over!"

The speaker, a tall girl with shoulder length, brown hair, sighed as she collapsed on her bed, her white eyes closed, and breathed deeply, like her guardian had taught her. She hadn't seen why she had to attend the welcoming ceremony with everyone else, as she'd have been just as happy to watch the Ryders choosing their companions instead. Reaching up she fiddled with her ears pulling earplugs out of them, glad for her foresight against the inevitable screaming that Draconen always seemed to startle from the newest Ryders. Solara had even gone as far as to accuse him of enjoying the mortals screams of terrors, to which Draconen had laughed and changed the subject, something that had annoyed her at the time.

"you would think the Ryders would try and check on who was serving as their headmaster" A slight bit of humor colored the tone of a tall, red-headed woman who watched Solara, though her face was hidden behind the fox mask she wore all the time. Silent in her kimono and sandal-ed feet, she startled Solara causing her to start in surprise.

"Ravi!" Shouting in surprise, solara glared at her friend and companion. "How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?"

Ravi, or rather, Ravian, giggled at her. "More times then either of us can count I'm sure, but I digress, your going to be late for your first class."

Glancing over at her watch Solafa jumped out of bed in one smooth movement, and landed in a crouch. "And its a class I like too!"

Running out of the room that she called her own, Solara, followed closely by Ravian, jogged and then slowing, walked to where the other girls where heading, till she ended up walking behind two girls, one with a unicorn following her, one with a fairy riding on her shoulder. Other girls were there as well, one with a grey dragon, and another with a second black unicorn.

"I hope you are ready to have some fun."

"I think you need a new definition of fun Ravi."

When the stony-butt-ugly gargoyle came bursting into his room he backed up against the wall, avoiding his piano. Practically morphing into the wall. Wow. he couldn't keep a straight face for long though. At angels squeel, he covered his mouth again in laughter, he’d never heard such a muscular guy scream so high-pitched. He cast a half-serious and half-joking glare towards Angel.

”oi, watch the piano man.” He patted it gently, "This is my lady," Once the evil being had finally left the room, both relaxed. Once again, not for long. It seems Saga was paired with an early bird, great. he oculd hear his sister now, 'that's good for you, maybe his responsibility will rub off on you.' Angel had rushed out of the room ready to go(although more out of fear) once Dregore once gone but Saga wasn't ready yet! he hadn't even changed! He threw his clothes off in random places of the room, dug into his dresser, grabbed some sweats, a shirt, shoes/socks, a paper bag, and scissors. he sprinted to the door and then made a sudden stop.

Oh, Bluejay!

He swooped Bluejay up, throwing him on his shoulder and had his pants halfway on as he left the room.

"Wait up Angel!" he yelled as everyone filed out in the hallway. His journey began.

Alright..I'm going to finish putting my clothes on before I get to Angel...Ready...Set...Go!

He put his shirt on in one smooth motion. Turn. Push. Dodged a rebellious kids elbow coming his way. Now, he hopped on one foot as he put on a sock and shoe. Brushed past a few more people. Left foot. He hopped on his left and did the same routine. He made a mental note to put his guitar up later. Finally, Saga reached Angel in the nick of time, it was right before they were heading out the door to the enclosure.

Score! He stared off into space, imagining loud applause for his great accomplishment.

Already, Saga was not paying attention. If he was going to be on time, matter-of-fact- early…he was most likely not going to pay attention. He started cutting eye and mouth holes in the paper bag he had brought and put it over his head. He jabbed Angel in the elbow.

”He’ll never recognize me in this,” he grinned stupidly. He hadn’t taken in ANY of the obstacles or activities he would be doing. If he knew, he would start thinking up all the reasons he couldn’t do it or wimp out. Instead, he decided to joke around until he was forced to go to a certain area. THEN, he could worry.

You need to get over this, ‘worry’-crap..if you don’t, how will you accomplish your dreams of protecting our family?

Ayas words rang through his head.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Well. That was creepy. He read his text and felt genuinely concerned(in a brotherly way...which means he is going to be sarcastic right about now).

..........One is enough....send her back to where she came from!

Jay was slightly confused, yet relieved, once the two girls and their freaky black unicorns left. Thank god. Jay thought, relieve setting in. He looked up cautiously at Riley as he took the chips. Honestly, he was a little scared the guy would hit him or something. What a scardy cat.

He was relieved to here Riley just apologize about earlier. "Nah, man. It's fine." Jay replied, a small half smile appearing on his face. Slayer still had a frown on his face and was lazily laying on his stomach on Jay's shoulder. He let out a small chuckle as he heard Colette, apparently, question Riley about blowing up. He found the way the two interacted to funny, though he was still a little new at meeting new people, if that even makes any since.

Jay gave Colette a smile and tipped his chin up slightly to her in greeting, his usually greeting instead for saying hello. Jay looked back at Riley as he said his name and he raised his eyebrows as the guy said he was going to fight Colette in hand-to-hand combat. That sounds...amusing. Maybe Ash would like to see that. Jay thought as he smirked to himself. "Sure, I'll go with just because I wanna see if this skinny girl can actually kick your ass." He said to Riley, gesturing to Colette.

Just as Jay was about to go get Ash so she can have a little fun seeing some guy getting his ass beat by a girl, Draconem decided to get things going.

"Now that everyone is here, we can finally get training going! As you all can see, we have different stations for you all to try out. You can go to any station you want and you don't need to go to all of them, but keep in mind that you will have all of these as classes throughout the day. At each station, the leader of that station will either be one of the Pooka or one of Pegasus. If you have any questions, just ask them. I know allow you to socialize and go start some training!" Draconem preached before leaning back and talking to Degore, the Great Gryphon, the biggest Pegasus there, and the oldest looking Pooka.

"Well, I gotta go get someone that would also just love to watch some ass beating. Be right back." Jay said quickly then turned around and ran off to where he'd Left Ash. Luckily, she wasn't that far away with Liath on her shoulder, his tail going down to the ground and the fluffy part at the end flipping up off the ground. "Ash!" He yelled as he ran up. Ash looked at him like he was crazy, she didn't even have time to question him before he was pulling her along with him by her wrist. Before she knew it, Jay was walking right up to Riley and Colette. Ash's eyes widened slightly and a smile broke across her face. "Aight, let's go see some ass whopping!" Jay said as he dropped Ash's wrist. Ash didn't know what to say so she just smiled shyly up to Riley and Colette.

Angel

So busy peering around at the training stations, Angel didn't notice Saga's arts and crafts project until he was being jabbed in the elbow, and turned to meet Takeshi's sparkling eyes- through holes in a paper bag.
"Er..."
”He’ll never recognize me in this,"
Angels face lit up, chuckling slightly, considering for a moment stealing the disguise. Then, he thought better of it, settling on just chuckling as he popped on his toes to peer around for anyone he knew.
"Oh Saga, that's a brilliant mask- really brings out your eyes~"

He'd already made up his mind to hang out with Saga,but that didn't mean they couldn't join others. Angel had originally had the idea to stick with the charismatic boy when it came to finding a group, but Saga honestly seemed kind of distracted. While he had been to busy examining the stations, the Asian had been to busy, uh, not. Now he was even typing on his phone.
Angel snorted slightly- he hadn't even brought his phone out with him; it was probably still in the pocket of his discarded jeans. Much better to focus on what they were doing then have a distraction like that, but Angel supposed Saga was the type of person who would be distracted none the less, even without the phone.

Angel's eyes widened happily as he spotted a group of familiar faces, about to head over with Saga in tow, when he balked, watching one of the boys start flailing and yelling before a few other figures took their leave.
Okay... maybe we shouldn't head over right this second....

Luckily, Draconem started talking, so Angel decided rightly that they could put off mingling until they were given instructions.
He grinned when the great dragon said they could go to whatever station they wanted, but each would be in a later class. That meant he could maybe get some instruction on the things he was unfamiliar with now, so he wouldn't be a total loser later. He would avoid martial arts for now then. It wouldn't be a good idea to just jump in the fray thinking he was the best either.
He didn't like losing, and some of the kids here were doubtless martial arts masters. Angel could more be described as a kickboxing prodigy- since it was based off martial arts, he might stand a chance, but honestly he didn't know how fights would take place here. Having never had any official martial arts training, after all. He was more used to underground illegal business, with sneaky, dirty moves that would get called out at once anywhere half way decent.

Anyway. He figured he'd get someone to at least show him how to hold a sword this morning.
Meanwhile though, Draconem seemed done speaking and was dismissing them, so Angel wanted to at least check and see where the other group was heading. He stood back on his toes a moment to search briefly and easily over most peoples heads, spotting a raven haired beauty with little difficulty, and the group she'd left behind. Less distinct next to Trista was Aya, and their unicorns of course.

Angel snagged Saga's sleeve, tugging him along behind him with little resistance. "I found your sister and some other people,"
He explained briefly, hoping he'd pick up some energy to be moving at the mention of Aya.
On their way over, they passed by another small group, enthusiastically talking about ass whooping. Angel raised an eyebrow as they moved past, saying
"Hey Riley,"
Nodding with a naturally charismatic smile at the two girls who he thought were named Ash and Colette, if he remembered this morning well enough, and a shaggy dark haired boy Angel didn't know.
He paused slightly so Riley could answer back but didn't wait to long since their group seemed busy. In stead, he set Trista's tall form in his line of fire and made his way easily through the crowd, still guiding Takeshi behind him, not wanting to lose his paper-bag-headed-roomate.
When they got to the girls, it was a little tense; Aya had a kind of pale look about her, but was looking at Trista like she was a life preserver in a sea of uncomfortableness.

"So, where shall we begin? You pick." Trista was saying warmly, and Angel popped in with a slightly embarrassed look, pulling Saga in to make a circle with the girls.

"Hey ladies, sorry if we're interrupting the party!"
His grin might have been slightly flirtatious, not that he'd admit anything but his face grew more worried as he noticed that Aya hadn't just looked uncomfortable but really did seem to be reeling from something.
He gave Aya a slightly concerned look at her pale face, bending slightly to get eye level with her. She felt like part of his family already- maybe Saga being a natural best friend and Angel's new bro gave the illusion of bringing Aya into the family too- and so he for some reason felt responsible for her.
So, naturally, like he'd do with his own sister Carmella, he ruffled her hair slightly- affectionally but not enough to completely mess it up.

"Hey short stack, why you looking so down?"

He raised his eyebrows in a generally concerned way, hoping she wouldn't take offense. Then his brow furrowed slightly as he quickly straightened up, reminding himself that she wasn't his sister and it was probably awkward for him to do something like that. Better not to make connections before they existed- might come off on the wrong foot, especially to a certain tall girl next to him-
Who he turned to for a second with an appreciative glance at her height, taking in her appearance with a slight grin before refocusing on the group as a whole.
Of course, he gave Aya his full attention for the appropriate time, but when she and Saga had a moment of reconnection, He turned slightly to Trista, but not fully so as the siblings knew he still had his attention on them.
"So where did you want to train? Mind if we join you two?

There were advantages for not being known in a group of people, Something Solara knew well as she moved from behind the group of two girls and guys (riley and that group) passing close to them with an soft "Excuse me." when she accidentally brushed against Colette, to follow Aya and Trista and the two black unicorns.

She followed the two for only a few moments however before she turned and headed for An obstacle course, wanting to warm up before she started to really work hard. Ravian walked behind Solara easily dodging people and companions as they stumbled, walked, tripped, and flew into her path, causing her to be constantly ducking, sidestepping, and dodging the others.

Solara herself was still heading for the obstacle course she could see over the heads of the mob the Draconen called students, and making progress. Or was until Trista stopped suddenly in front of her. This caused Solara to stop suddenly as well, but before she could back up, Ravian slammed into her from behind, shoving her into Trista.

Reechi watched with humor as Angel took up on the silly comment, starting to flex all over the place. The dragon watched with content, a little smile to her maw as the two interacted and also getting to know more about how Angel acted. They certainly were a pair meant to be, that was for sure.

After the little exchange, Rowan pulled on a shirt, talking about the fact they’d be roommates now. Reeps had no problem with this at all, since Bluejay didn’t seem to scream all the time and had a sense about him, and she simply liked Saga. Suddenly her head shot up as Angel addressed her through their connection, making points about class to which she gave a slightly grudged nod of understanding. She rolled over onto her feet and crawled up his arm, settling down on his shoulders.

"Oh yeah- Reeps, Saga, do you guys have problems with cigarette smoke? I can be sure not to smoke inside if you do, or I can stop if you don't like it Chi." Reeperchi shrugged her shoulders, pawing at his shirt distractedly. “I don’t know, I’ve never experienced it before. It doesn’t sound too pleasant, but we’ll have to see I guess.” She peered over at Takeshi, who seemed to be distracted staring at the bed provided for Bluejay. Isn’t that way too big?” She blinked a few times. “Most of the companions are probably going to continue to grow as we go along. We’re mostly the sizes we are out of choice or for convenience.”

She was swept away as Angel moved over towards the window, pulling aside the blinds to reveal an enclosure. She gazed at it in awe, making definite plans on using it. The two began asking about places of origin, to which Reechi listened to a bit to gain more knowledge of the people she’d be living with for the next while, when Degore suddenly flung the door open, causing it to slam against the wall.

"I don't think I can do this. I swear... stupid gargoyle." Reechi shot her Ryder a look, a disgruntled appearance on her own face towards the event. Once more Rowan slid over to the door and with a, "Come on now Saga, we mustn't be late." in a fantastic tone, they were off. They soon conglomerated with the large mass of other male students towards the training area, with Saga nowhere in sight. He soon popped up, however, and Reechi turned to grin back at him. It faltered slightly into a good natured smirk, scanning over his shirt.

“Your shirt’s on backwards, Saga.” She chirped cheerfully before turning back to look ahead to where they were going. As soon as they entered the large area, Chi looked around with large interest, taking in all of the different areas for training. She was a little confused towards how they would find time to use all of them, and still get training in with both Ryder and Companion, but she figured it’d be explained soon enough. ”He’ll never recognize me in this,” She turned to see Saga wearing a bag over his head, and she laughed at the display. Rowan chuckled too, and she churred lightly with bright eyes.

As Angel made a step towards one of the areas, a loud yell reverberated through the immediate area, and Reechi’s ears fell back against her skull and she crouched a bit more into herself and closer to Angel’s neck. The outburst quickly subsided, and Draconem spoke out to all of them, talking about the leaders and the classing schedule. She grinned, ready to begin already as Rowan pulled their small little group along, taking a moment’s pause to give a brief greeting to Riley and then continue.

Once they approached Aya and Trista, Reechi’s eyes immediately fell onto Takeshi’s sibling, who appeared to be pretty shaken up. Rowan picked up on it too, and he leaned in to try to make her more comfortable. As he did, Reeps crawled down his arm onto the girl’s head for a moment before sitting on her shoulder and looking up at her with big, worried eyes for a moment before it shifted into that of a more cheerful look, her tail curling and uncurling along her back. She placed a paw on the girl’s neck, trying to figure out what was going on in her mind, but finding herself unable to do so. What Reeps did know for certain was she was highly uncomfortable as well as spooked. She rubbed along her neck for a second before returning to Angel’s body and up to his shoulders as he began speaking to Trista as the twins began to converse and figuring Takeshi would know what to do.

"So where did you want to train? Mind if we join you two?” Reechi grinned brightly, reverting back to her previous thoughts on getting prepared and training. ”You should probably work on what you’re not used to, or are terrible at. Being well rounded is important so you have no blind spots when in a fight.” She spoke to Angel before a new, unknown girl stumbled into Trista.

"The Hell! Trista yelled. Who bumbed into me?! I already have to go train and crap I do not need some idiot running into me! Help me up Fucuello. Once on her feet she whipped around to the intense looking girl who had shoved into her and the dog thing she assumed as the girl's companion. The dog looked to be the perpetrator since he was still stable on his feet. "Watch were your going." She warned them both and turned her back to them. She Aya asked her where she wished to go first.

"Hey ladies, sorry if we're interrupting the party!" Upon hearing that voice however Trista's mood perked up immediately. It was Angel, dragging up Takeshi by the sleeve, with BlueJay still conked out on his shoulder, though the little blue dragon did seem to be gradually waking. Angel's grin, which was slightly flirtatious, grew serious at the sight of Aya so down. He bent to eye level with her and affectionately ruffled her hair, like her father would when she was down. Reechi crawled across the momentary link and onto Aya, Probably trying to comfort her.

"Hey short stack, why you looking so down?" Trista's stomach twisted in slight jealousy, which she quickly threw off. Nope, jealousy was not what she would feel. Angel was concerned for Aya, she was as well. That was the matter at hand and she wouldn't let a stupid growing crush get in the way of any of that! She quickly placed a hand on Fucuello to steady herself, he was here, she had no need to be jealous.

Though now another thing made Trista's gut twist in worry. Would Aya take the hair ruffle as it was, affection, or as a violation of her personal space. Angel seemed to think along the same lines as he straightened up, Reechi returning to his shoulders, and turned to Trista. She smiled happily in response to his grin. Don't just smile at him like a ditz, say something! However all words that she could have said, flirtatious or otherwise, had ran out the window laughing at her expense. Ugh why did he have to be so good looking, why did his name have to fit him so well? Thank God he spoke first.

"So where did you want to train? Mind if we join you two?" He said.

"Not at all." Trista all too happily replied. "You guys can decide where to go first, I don't really care." She looked to the series of obstacles available. One did catch her eye. Swordsmanship, her dad specialized in heavy weaponry. I wonder if that's what he began with?

"Sure, I'll go with just because I wanna see if this skinny girl can actually kick your ass." He said to Riley, gesturing to Colette.
Colette smiled at him confidently. Skinny? Actually kick his ass?
She laughed, remembering some very good fights between the two in ninth grade.

Draconem finally decided to speak, arising from his seat. There were some more screams, and Colette rolled her eyes.

You think you would've screamed back when he wasn't moving much, too.

"Now that everyone is here, we can finally get training going! As you all can see, we have different stations for you all to try out. You can go to any station you want and you don't need to go to all of them, but keep in mind that you will have all of these as classes throughout the day. At each station, the leader of that station will either be one of the Phooka or one of Pegasus. If you have any questions, just ask them. I know allow you to socialize and go start some training!" Draconem preached before leaning back and talking to Degore, the Great Gryphon, the biggest Pegasus there, and the oldest looking Phooka.

"Well, I gotta go get someone that would also just love to watch some ass beating. Be right back." Jay said quickly then turned around and ran off to where he'd Left Ash.
"W...Where is he going?", Colette asked wondrously after him, seeing Jay dodge through people to some unknown location.
"I...have no idea. This is, however, the most animated I've ever seen him." Riley responded.
Jay returned, dragging someone behind him.
It was Ash. Colette, amidst being introduced to practically everyone from everywhere, had almost forgotten about the girl with no regard of personal space from earlier.
"Aight, let's go see some ass whopping!" Jay said as he dropped Ash's wrist. Ash smiled shyly at them.
Colette laughed at Jay. "I enjoy your enthusiasm. You should place bets." She wasn't normally so at ease to laugh among people she'd just met, but that remark was very humorous.
"The smart money's on me." Riley teased, and Colette punched his shoulder. Riley rubbed it, grimacing.
Colette smiled at the two next to them. "Just a sneak preview." She winked at them, caught up in the humor of it all. "Let's make our way over, then?"
"Hey Riley," A boy smiled at him, Jay, and the two girls. There was also another guy, distracted with his phone, trailing behind him. Oh, yeah, the guy whose egg was hatching. How could she forget? But the other guy......
Who is he? I swear I've seen him before, but I don't know where......
He paused slightly so Riley could answer back, and Riley nodded in that hey-bro-what's-up kind of way that boys do.
"Who is he again?", she asked him.
"Don't you remember? That's the Angel guy. Nice guy, unfortunate name."
"Oh yeah. He was there in the morning."
Colette had met so many people her brain was getting mudded.

Colette and Riley led the way, shouldering between people who were chattering and moving excitedly.
God, there were so many people.
She shuddered once, an instinctive thought invading her brain.
Is someone following us?
She shrugged it off. Of course, Jay and Ash were following them.
"Let me die." Quinn groaned, as she just nearly made contact with a dragon's tail that had been whipped at her by some girl turning around quickly to chat to her friends.
"Ah, don't worry Quinn, just a few more hours and we'll return to the peace and quiet."
"I could be beheaded in a few more hours. Are you the type of person that says 'a few more hours' to refer to more than two hours? Because I would prefer if you were not."
Colette laughed, and Riley looked at her.
"What's so funny?", he asked grumpily.
"Oh, lighten up Riley. You can't expect everyone to be okay with you being overly friendly with them, can you?"
Riley looked at the ground, gritting his teeth, and then chewing on his piece of gum again. "I guess not."
"She looked so scared though. Like, I mean yeah, some people could be uncomfortable, but is it courteous to just take off? Not a very coordinated response to a social situation, if you look at it in a clearly objective, third-person view, of course-"
"Just stop talking about it, ok?", Riley barked, and Colette rolled her eyes again.
Touchy, touchy. Someone was going through some major mood swings.

"So, after witnessing the brutal smack-down of a lifetime, where would you like to head next?", she threw this over her shoulder to Ash and Jay. It'd be very rude to just lead them everywhere they wanted, and not give them a chance to speak up over where they wished to train.
They approached a Phooka near the hand-to-hand combat area.
"Hello there, my friend and I would like to go against each other in hand-to-hand combat. If you wouldn't mind, could you please tell us how this works?", Colette asked as she craned her neck up to view the face of the Phooka.
Riley snorted at her severe politeness.

Warmth. Tristas loose embrace brought an unfamiliar feeling to Aya. She was hugging her just enough to where she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and if she did, she could push her away. She was taking her feelings into consideration again. She blushed. Had she ever hugged a friend before? Had she ever had a friend? Her brother’s goofy, childish friends flashed in her head. No, they were more like brothers.


Kick. Kick. Spit! Kick. Kick. Spit!

Aya curled up into the fetal position, covering her head. Her stomach ached, her arms ached, her back ached, everything hurt! Laughter bubbled around her as three kids took turns beating her. Girl. Girl. Boy. Girl. Girl. Boy. Laughter. She bit her lower lip.

“Gonna cry Aya? Oh right, this doesn’t hurt you does it?” A blonde girl said as she blew up a bubble with her gum, popped it, and sent a hard kick into her stomach. Aya groaned. ”Little miss tough now, aren’t we?”

“Bitch!” the boy growled and kicked her in the back as the other girl spit in her hair. Why were they doing this? Why didn’t she get up and sock them in the face? Show THEM who was boss? She gritted her teeth, because she knew if she did it’d get worse. And she didn’t have her brother here to protect her. She had to be strong. She had to suck it up. In the distance she heard the sound of a teacher. Curses and whispers were spat before they all ran off.

“Tattle tale on us again, and you’ll get it!” the friend of the blondes yelled as they hurried away. She wanted to cry. So, they were expelled because she tattles taled on them cheating AND bullying on someone else. Why couldn’t she just mind her own business? She lifted herself up. Right…’keep going on with your pure heart’ her brother said. Stupid….She started limping to the front of her school and called her brother to come pick her up.

---

Meeting her at the entrance was not only her brother, but his friends as well. Shou, Hiroto ,Tora, and Nao. She hung her head low, why were they here? None of them said anything, except Saga.

“I’m gonna beat those little shits!” he growled, he was going to march right in there and have a word with that shitty principal. Aya hung onto his arm.

“Please don’t! It’ll make it worse!” Aya begged, ”What will that solve? Will it really make you feel better?”

“Yes. Yes, it will. Punching their face in will make me feel GREAT.” Saga emphasized. Shou put his hand on Sagas shoulder and he whipped his head around, eyes flashing in Anger. Shou shook his head. Her brother took a deep breath. ”We need to talk to an adult about this!” Takeshi urged on. His friends watched, wondering what they could do. Tora was cracking his knuckles; honestly…he sort of wanted to punch them too. No one picked on his friends.

“Please..I just..i just want to go home, ok?” she looked up at him with pleading eyes and he sighed.

“Fine…but tomorrow,” his voice trailed off as he turned around and hopped onto his bike. She got on as well and everyone rode home quietly. The boys went to a mall, and bought some new clothes for her to wear while she got the spit out of her hair. Saga wanted to beat their faces in till it was blue and purple. Hell, he wanted to break their bones! Why did everyone pick on his sister? What was WRONG with the world? When she came out of the bathroom, Shou wrapped himself around her loosely to give her a hug. Then Hiroto, then Tora, then Nao, and then her brother. They all hugged her, she cried right then and there.


----

She lifted her arms up, everything felt like it was in slow motion right now. She gripped Tristas back tightly and pulled her in closer. Burying her face into her body. She wouldn’t cry, but this hug meant a lot to her. At this moment, Aya could accept this.

"Say Aya, about earlier, when you left for your room, was something wrong?" Trista said out of no where, Aya just remained silent. What was she talking about? "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it, though." She added afterwards. She stopped the hug and looked up at her friend. her eyebrows furrowed as she asked.

”What are you talking about?” there was nothing wrong with her then.

”Girls are more sensitive Aya, they get all emotional at just the weirdest things. Like how you put up a barrier, they feel that. Guys don’t give a crap, as you can see” Saga said just as Nao came running and pulling Aya into a tight hug. She groaned in frustration.

Oh…was it that?

”I don’t know what I did but…I’m sorry if I hurt you.” Aya bowed deeply, she didn’t want to lose Trista. She wasn’t ready to admit it out loud that she was her friend yet or even talk to her about it. But, maybe things like this just sort of happened. She didn’t know how Trista did it, but she broke past her barriers. She had a feeling it must have to do with Saga and his opinion of her plus the fact she was just a kind person and wasn’t useless. She could be independent and take care of herself, and Aya liked that. At that, the headmaster began to speak and she turned her attention to him. Turning her body to face him and give him the attention until he was done talking. Trista turned to Aya.

"So, where shall we begin? You pick." Trista suggested. Aya was about to say she wanted to start with the swords, to get a better understanding of them until Angel and her brother came in. Saga! She had completely forgotten about him because of Tristas dear affection.

”Hey ladies, sorry if we're interrupting the party!" Angel exclaimed, dragging Saga along with him. Saga took his arms out of his sleeves and turned the shirt around to its proper place. Man, so he hadn’t completed his amazing challenge. Man! She stared blankly at her brother, noticing what was on his face. She shook her head.

”What…is…on..your head?” she cocked her head to the side cutely, her hand on her chest. She was still trying to re-program her breathing. Saga was right! She was a robot! She tried to force herself to smile and laugh but she didn’t have the energy too. She was starting to feel a bit better though. Trista helped a lot, and her brother just being here was reassuring her. Angel, she was still getting used too. He gave Aya a slightly concerned look at her pale face, bending slightly to get eye level with her. What was this weirdo doing? Why was he looking at her like he was worried about her? Wow. WOw. WOW! WHY IS HE IN MY SPACE!? GOD! GO-

”Hey short stack, why you looking so down?" Angel asked, and ruffled her hair lightly. She blushed and stared at him in a bit of shock. Oh, oh she knew this action. Who did he remind her of? Oh! Tora! That tall, gentle, tiger, giant back home!

Tora slumped down next to Aya as they waited for the others to show up, Saga had run off to buy them some drinks. She was down about not being able to participate in the school festival. Tora ruffled her hair and grinned at her genuinely.

”Whats wrong shortie?”

”Don’t worry about it, I just…I’m better now,” Reechi crawled down Angels arm and started to rub her face against hers and put her paw on her back. Everyone, they were being so nice. She looked around at them all, and smiled warmly like autumn. She could see it. They weren’t BSing her. They weren’t gonna stab her in the back. She brought her gaze back to her brother and he grinned at her. Angel backed off to let him take over the wheel.

”Wow, you look like shit,” he laughed and she punched him in the arm. He brought her into a hug and rested his hand on her head. She wrapped her arms around him and just stayed there. ”We’ll talk about it later, for now, let’s train!”

”Wow, to hear my brother encourage this…I’m touched, are you really my brother?” she looked up at him with a more relaxed expression. She felt comfortable around everyone. Even though she hardly knew Trista, Angel, Reechi, and Fucuello..they all felt like family to her. She never thought she’d have friends again. Today was a good day. Even with the major…anxiety attack she had before. He nodded.

”Yes, I’ve under-gone a transformation. I am now…BAG MAN!” he pretended he was holding a sword and jabbing the air. ”And I will protect all of you from scary Gargoyle!” she kicked him in the shin, ”Ow! Aya!” he whined and she just smiled.

”Stop being an idiot…” she scratched the back of her head and looked around at all the stations. She saw Riley at hand-to-hand combat and already felt her heart-rate picking up. She was going to go as far away from him as possible. ”Maybe…the swords, I want to freshen-up on them a bit…” that was good. It was all the way on the opposite side of the area Riley was at and it was something she wanted to do.

About to say sorry, Solara blinked in surprise as the girl whipped around and glared at her accusingly.

"Watch were you are going!"

"Excuse me?!"

Straitening and brushing dirt off her clothes Solara glared at the woman, none of her feelings of irritation showing on her face, though a soft growl could be heard from Ravian as she picked up on Solara's tension. Speaking softly but with great force, Solara still managed to promote politeness in all that she was saying.

"I believe that the word you should be using is 'sorry.' After all, you are the one who stopped without warning to anyone."

While she waited for the Trista's response she took a moment to study the her, and the other three, with her.

Trista was slightly shorter than herself, forcing Sola to look down to meet her green eyes. Long, strait black hair framed her face Lanky, but not skinny, her body structure told Solara she was confident in what she could do. Solara looked over at the girl next to her looking her over next.

The other girl was even shorter than the first. almost a head shorter. Cute, yet small, she had brown hair that framed a face with dark brown eyes glanced at her briefly without seeing her. she wore comfortable clothes obviously prepared for the day ahead.

The next, a boy, caused her to blink for a moment as she took a moment to realize that indeed that was a guy she was looking at. He stood a taller than the second female, but shorter than the first rude one. His hair was brown as well, while his face bore a remarkable resemblance to the second female. "Brother and sister?" Solara asked herself as she continued to look him over, noting black clothes, and tussled haircut. And a backwards shirt.

As she turned her gaze onto the forth person of their little group, she was momentarily stunned. "that is alot of bling." she commented within her mind before she could take in the rest of him. Earrings flashed in the sun as he tussled the second girls hair, till it looked somewhat like his own. Green eyes flashed out from under his bangs. About the same height as the first woman, he had a well developed body that showed.

"Oh thank the Cree, there are tall people here."

"Oh thank the Cree, there are tall people here." Saga inspected the tall beauty, admiring her height. Dear God, she was tall. He looked down at his little sister, who seemed unphased. Looking at her more carefully, he noticed that she was the shortest person here. She resembled a middle school next to all of them. But it made her cuter, you know? This made him chuckle, and somehow, Aya had known what he was thinking about and smashed her heel onto his toes. He growled and tugged at her hair. She stuck her tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes. He took it back. So. Not. Cute.

”Sorry Aya, you’re excluded,” he patted her head mockingly and she just stared at him with a dead face. She pushed herself away from him. He contemplated that the new party member had made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Either it was the height difference, or that this was too many people. Ah, he almost forgot his sister was obsessed with being the best. Erase the other thoughts! He knew his sister better then this. She was dyeing to get started!

”I’m going to go ahead and check out the weapons, I’ll meet you guys there.” she gave one last look to Trista, waved goodbye shyly and ran off. Estabel followed behind her. Wow! His sister waved goodbye! He was so proud of her! The second he had met Trista, he knew they would be good for each other. He grinned as he returned his attention to the big chick and Trista.

”Come on everybody, let’s be nice. It’s the first day, give each other a break.” he put his arm around Angel, ”I’m Saga and this good looking man here is my buddy. Angel,” he introduced their companions, BlueJay and Reechi as well. Were all Rydners ridiculously tall? His poor little sister….haha




The first thing Aya had noticed when she had gotten to the swords, was the Katana. She ran her fingers over it, memories of her home and her sensei back home. Early mornings, about 6 am, birds chirping, a cool breeze, the cherry blossom willows passing a refreshing fragrance. She missed home. But, she didn’t miss the people. She picked the sword up with her hands open, one hand on the scabbard and the other on the hilt. The ray skin covering the hilt was like back home. Her petite fingers cascaded down the swords scabbard until it reached the edge of the covering. With ease and elegance she unsheathed the sword as memories of the history went through her mind. Her senseis voice ringing through her ears.

An onna-bugeisha (女武芸者?) is you, Aya. Did you know, in the past, they were a type of female warrior belonging to the Japanese upper class? Many wives, widows, daughters, and rebels answered the call of duty by engaging in battle, commonly alongside samurai men. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war. They also represented a divergence from the traditional "housewife" role of the Japanese woman. Aya, do not dishonor this image. Women were just as strong as the men, take Tomoe Gozen for example.

Aya opened her eyes to witness the beauty of the Katana, shining brilliantly in the sun. She turned it to its side, and could see her determined eyes in the reflection. She was sucked into her memories again, staring deep into her own eyes.

The Genpei War (1180–1185) marked the war between the Taira and Minamoto; two very prominent and powerful Japanese clans of the late-Heian Period. During this time, the epic Heike Monogatari was written and tales of courageous and devoted samurai were recounted. Among those was Tomoe Gozen, wife of Minamoto Yoshinaka of the Minamoto clan. Gozen assisted her husband in defending himself against the forces of his cousin, Minamoto no Yoritomo. During the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, Gozen rode into the enemy forces, flung herself on their strongest warrior, unhorsed, pinned, and decapitated him.[2] In the Tale of Heike, Gozen was described as being "especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swords-woman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors. That, was a true Onna bugeisha, even her husband recognized her.

Tomoe Gozen-san…Aya breathed in through nostrils, closing her eyes, and then exhaled. She was her idol. Aya raised the sword upright with one hand, and then gripped it with her other. Clenching it so tight you could hear the sound of her skin creating friction with the rays skin. She held it out, eyeing the blades length. It was greater than 60 cm (23 1⁄2 inches). Aya was more familiar with the Onaa begeishas primary weapon, Naginata, but she has always been intrigued with the katana. She had learned a few things about it, and the basics of it, however rarely used it.

In her village, the art of swords was called kenjutsu. Which kenjutsuists relay on the conditions of the ground, light source, as well as the opponents' capabilities before implementing a practical attack. The attack is not set on any particular weapon or move to capitulate. Nor is there a predisposed target or trajectory - any exposed part of the opponents body is a possible target. She started to spin the sword around, over her fingers, her shoulders, getting used to it’s weight. How were you supposed to be effective with kenjutsu again? Oh!

To be effective, a kenjutsu strike/or counter-strike is a composition of several techniques: feigning, cutting, jabbing, thrusting, parrying or binding, footwork, choice of weapon, and even knowing the opponents weapon.

She smiled to herself, that’s it Aya! You’re remembering. Estabel gazed at her in awe, Aya was so smart! She remembered things so vididly, and the way she appeared when doing something she loved was..beautiful. To Esta, her human companion was glowing.

”Aya, how do you remember all this?” Estabel asked. Aya stopped suddenly with
a sharp motion. Her left hand was in the air, her blade facing down. Her right hand held the scabbard, and with poise slid the katana into its case.

”I practice, I love my culture. I love learning, so why wouldn’t I remember it?” she turned to Estabel and pointed over to the companions area. ”Why don’t you head over there and work on some things? I don’t want you to get hurt, or be bored.” Aya suggested. Estabel stomped happily and made her way over to Aya, rubbing her face against the adorable Asian ness. The black unicorn was relieved that Ayas spirits had picked up.

”Alright,” Estabel agreed and backed away from Aya. One step. Two steps. Estabel was a bit sad to leave her side, but she knew that everything Aya thought and did, she would know. And so she would be safe.

”Let’s try our best together,” Aya reassured and with that, Estabel nodded and galloped away. Aya took a deep breath, time to review. She looked around, analyzing her surroundings. Who could she ask to fight? It would help her remember more about what her sensei had told her if she did it instead of just thinking about it. She still felt like she was forgetting something.

Angel

Angel's worry diminished bit by bit as Aya insisted she was fine and smiled at them all with a snow melting grin. He was distracted slightly from Trista as Saga begun thrusting an invisible sword,
"I am now…BAG MAN! And I will protect all of you from scary Gargoyle!"
The tall boy chuckled,
"Good,sounds like your willing to be bait then!"

At his question on joining the girls and where to start their training, the black haired beauty eagerly responded.
"Not at all. You guys can decide where to go first, I don't really care."
”Maybe…the swords, I want to freshen-up on them a bit…”
Aya threw in and Angel grinned, clapping his hands together in a let-get-down-to-buisness way.

"Sounds perfect, I wanted to head over there anyway. I don't suppose any of you would be willing to help me though? Can't say I've ever even picked a sword up,"
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, rightly assuming that his all around training in general was lacking compared to these three. Heck, he didn't even know anything about Cree or Ryders history, aside from the basics he'd learned in school and what he could pick up from books he'd read.
Aw well. You always had to start somewhere. Besides, Angel already planned on spending a lot of his free time studying or training, so he could always catch up to everyone else. Eventually.
He was about to set off towards the sword station, hoping to corral everyone along, eager to learn, when another voice broke his plan.

"Oh thank Cree, there are tall people here."
Angel turned around slightly in surprise, then blinked. Alright, This new girl was certainly tall. Very, very tall. Towering over him and Trista, so probably a giant to short Aya.
"Sorry Aya, you're excluded," Saga joked, and Angel stifled his chuckle with the back of his hand resulting in a strange half laugh half cough sound.
A few seconds later, the short girl took her leave, saying she'd meet them over by the swords and ran off before Angel could say see you later.
He made an awkward turtle face, as he sensed the slight tension between this new girl and Trista. Saga seemed to notice it too, unless he'd seen something Angel had missed whilst focusing on Ayas.

"Come on everybody, let’s be nice. It’s the first day, give each other a break.”

Angel laughed slightly then raised an eyebrow as Saga's arm shot across his shoulders.
”I’m Saga and this good looking man here is my buddy Angel,”

"Awww, Saga," Angel said with a good natured grin. "You think I'm good looking? I'm so touched," He pressed his hand over his heart, and made a comical i'm-about-to-cry-but-not-really face.

Then he pulled his hand off himself and wrapped it around Trista's waist to continue the side hug thing that Takeshi had started. As Saga introduced Reechi and BlueJay, Angel briefly hoped the girl wouldn't be freaked out by his nonchalant touch- him and Saga had already hit it off and it fit natural but he realized it might be a bit uncomfortable for her. Either way, when the companions were introduced, Angel jumped in,

"Why, aren't you forgetting the lovely Trista? Or are you two ladies already acquainted?"

He said it with a raised eyebrow, kind of wanted to know the story behind the tension. If they were going to elaborate or not, he wasn't overly curious, but still felt like he'd missed something.
For a second though, he felt kind of bad for the tall girl; here they were being all friendly with each other, and she was obviously the odd one out. Well! No one said they couldn't invite her along as well- though he wouldn't be the one to do it, just in case Trista had a problem with her. But Saga probably was thinking the same thing anyway. So they would leave it up to Trista to invite her obviously.

Ah, silly girls and their tensions. Oh gosh, speaking of tensions- Angel prayed his hand, still present in a solid but gentle position on her waist, wouldn't cause problems.