Trista Lea Ronvox's Story

”Oi, you are suppose to play dumb and say how handsome I am back,” he laughed
and leaned more onto Angel. The guy was comfy and at just the right height for Saga to use as something like a side chair. His muscles were not making him any comfortable though, why did he have so much muscle!? No matter how much Saga worked out his body would never get like that. He could only become toned. How frustrating. He put his hand on Angels stomach, about to make a joke when he got goose-bumps.

Eyeing the two girls, he noticed the electricity riding on the wind between them. The air felt polluted with girl drama and he thought he was going to be sick. It seemed his little guy thought so too because his dragon had woken up and tried to hide himself in his shirt. Shoving his whole head down there and apparently aiming to get the rest of himself in. He used his free hand to pet his back and calm him down. His dragon was so cute! He had never once felt like awing over something other than his little sister. Getting back to the bigger picture here (literally) He should had done what Aya did and scrammed! He couldn’t even make a joke and just stood there in silence as the girls were having a full out stare-down.

Saga wasn’t stupid. He may be a guy, but he could read women. Tristas reaction to Solara barely grazing Angels looks with her eyes was flat. Out. Jealousy. The woman was merely trying to see who the people were around her, so what if she thought he was cute? Girls…he didn’t like how females always showed two faces. With men, it was one face and once face only. Two faces was just too much work. Men got along easy, take Angel and himself. All the guys didn’t have a problem with each other! Guy problems were always solved fast too.

Still as much as he found Tristas reaction surprising and a bit annoying, she was good for his little sister. This showed that the girl had a backbone and would stand up for Aya if someone tried to mess with her. And he liked that about her, but at the same time….. Argh! He was getting a headache. He was done thinking about this.

"I personally think I have nothing to say sorry. You ran into me, not the other way around. Plus I'm not responsible for what going on behind me or else I would have eyes on the back of my head. If I will apologize for anything it would be for sounding rude in the beginning.” Saga cocked his head to the side, looking up at his buddy with raised eyebrows. His expression saying, are-you-hearing-this? "So for that I am sorry, but you really should watch out for where your going honestly. Now if you'll excuse me I have some training to get to." Wow. Talk about harsh. Although…at least she apologized. It looked like it took her a lot of effort, almost like it was painful.

"Well, shall we go join Aya?" he was about to rejoice in the fact to move on till he saw his dragon hopping off, following Reechi. No! Not a good idea! He will get squished!

”Sorry guys, I’ll catch up with you later! Bye bro,” he waved goodbye and rushed off to follow his dragon. Pushing past people and ducking some fists to make it.



This girl may be taller then Trista, but she was NOT taller than him. Fucuello stared down at the girl menacingly. He tried to look as dangerous as possible, blowing out of his nostrils, shaking his head side to side. The two of them were having a sentimental moment, and she had to come and ruin it! He was getting the attention he deserved! And she took it!!!

He stayed out of Tristas way, but was dyeing to interject between the two. She had started the fight, and Fucuello had been scolded more than once by her father to let her finish a fight that she started. When Trista had finally blew her off, ending the conversation, Fucuello stepped in front of Solara. Cutting off all ties with the two. It’s not like he didn’t like the girl, but she had stolen his attention. He was not a happy camper. He rested his head on Tristas shoulder and rubbed his nose against her cheek.

Wait a second. He quickly looked down to see Angels hand around Tristas waist. He had been so preoccupied by the girl that he hadn’t noticed this! He glared at the man, and slowly lifted up his hoof. He was touching Trista. He was stealing his attention! His looks would be recognized!!! BAM! He jabbed Angel in the side with his hoof, pushing him away from Trista. His tail flew violently side to side.

”Watch where you put your hands buddy,” he neighed roughly.

"I don't accept your apology."

She had never said those words before to someone; at least not that she could remember, but she meant every word. Her righteous anger was almost ruined however when Saga and Angel, trying to calm the situation, came to Trista's defense. Saga's companion trying to hide within his shirt further weakened it. She had just about recovered it when Trista's companion thrust himself between them. It was further ruined when the unicorn, jealousy coming off in waves, kicked Angel and told him to back off.

Laughing outright now she smiled and with a considerably lighter tone "Sorry, I was merely hoping to get by you when you suddenly stopped in front of me. The only reason i wanted an apology was because it was your fault for suddenly in the middle of a busy section." Calming herself visibly she then smiled more naturally. "If you wouldn't mind, would you like to spar with me some?"

This was as much a peace offering as it was a way for them to work out their anger. It also bought her time to calm her companion, who at the time was all for attacking the woman on the spot, damned the consequences. There was also a third purpose of allowing her to size up the woman, and see if she was someone she could stand.

Angel

"Oh no I haven't met this girl till just a moment ago, when she rammed straight into my back."
If Angel didn't think literally face palming would be a bit awkward definitely would have smacked himself. Oh. So that was what he'd missed when not paying attention. Speaking of not paying attention, why was Saga prodding his stomach with an annoyed and slightly longing look? He poked to asian back, noting he should make him train with him- his abdominal muscles put up seriously lack resistance to his poke.
Now though, Angel turned his attention back to the two ladies. He felt extremely awkward. Trista was obviously annoyed that this girl expected an apology when the Amazon woman seemed to be the one who'd caused the problem. Then again, Angel hadn't exactly been paying attention.
Even so, his face split into a completely expressionless poker face as Trista smoothly delivered a swift and harsh counterargument to the girls expectant look. He met Saga's shocked face with a blank look not wanted to show favor or distaste to what the girl was saying.

"So for that I am sorry, but you really should watch out for where your going honestly. Now if you'll excuse me I have some training to get to."

Angel admired that she had back bone; the raven haired girl really hadn't done anything to severe to deserve the seemingly demanding attitude of this girl. She almost seemed to have a superiority complex if she thought this was that big of a deal-

His eyes widened in surprise as Trista's unicorn was suddenly was to close for comfort, then let out an 'oomph' and fell backward, away from Trista, clipping Saga and barely avoiding falling. He rubbed his side as he regained his balance, glaring at the unicorn who quite promptly glared back and snorted violently at him.
"Watch where you put your hands buddy,”
"You watch were you put your hooves!" Angel complained, overreacting because, he'd decided he wasn't to fond of Fucuello at the moment. Literally, the unicorn had whacked him hard enough to bruise and his side felt tender. It was one thing to take a punch- it was another to be jabbed violently with a pointy, hard hoof completely unexpectedly.
Another unexpected turn of events- Reechi had scampered off with BlueJay and Saga soon in tow. Angel blinked and sheepishly smiled at Trista and the tall girl (Though it switched to a comical narrow eyed evil pout to Fucuello.) He didn't want to be alone in this tense womanly issues thing- he was glad Trista seemed to have in mind that they would take their leave. Soon. Now. Immediately.

Or the tall girl could speak to her again, causing Angel to stop in his tracks where he'd been discreetly backing away, not wanting to leave without Trista.

"Sorry, I was merely hoping to get by you when you suddenly stopped in front of me. The only reason i wanted an apology was because it was your fault for suddenly in the middle of a busy section. If you wouldn't mind, would you like to spar with me some?"

Angel took a step forward, leaning over to whisper to Trista (Not close enough for her unicorn to spaz at him of course,)
"Awe, your gonna make me find someone else to teach me swords?" He hushed jokingly over her shoulder and then gave the other crazy tall girl a tense smile.

"We can figure out sparring partners over by the swords, yeah? We should get a move on,"
He turned and made his way towards the swords, slow enough so the girls could catch up. Phew. He was glad to be away from those tense chicks. Why couldn't they just get along easily?!

He spotted Aya looking at a badass Katana thing, holding it with knowledge that hinted she knew how to use it. Of course, the tiniest of the people he'd met today would have bad ass ninja skills. It made perfect sense. Maybe she'd help him if Trista decided to spar with the tall ger, who Angel either hadn't heard the name of or had forgotten, so he was just going to refer to her as Amazon from now on. Like those crazy Amazon warrior women.
He called out to Aya,
"Short stack, we're baaaaack~ Miss me?"

He walked into the assortment of weapons whistling. He didn't know how to use any of this stuff, but it couldn't be too hard right? He picked up a pair of cool hook things, waving them around inexperiencely.
"Woah these are cool,"
He continued wiggling them around in the air, until he turned and almost succeeded in whacking Amazon with one. He immediately pulled back before it was even close to her face, grimacing.
"Oh sorry! My bad!" He dropped the hook-swords back on their rack sullenly watching as everyone seemed well aware of what they were doing.
He was definitely going to have to work on this stuff on his own time.

(This describes her outfit better)

"Short stack, we're baaaaack~ Miss me?" Aya raised her head to see the immensely tall people gather around her. Their inhuman height reflecting in her chestnut eyes. For the first time in a couple of months, she was beginning to feel a bit claustophobic. They were like sky scrapers, intimidating and posing a difficult challenge to her fighting capabilities. No worries though, she would just aim for the legs. She had to crank her neck completely back to have them plus the amazon woman in eye-sight. She was sure that sooner or later her neck would get stuck like this. But it was rude to avoid eye-contact though, so for now she could only hope she would recover from it quickly when it did happen.

”No,” she stated rather harshly, she hadn’t missed them. Was it wrong to be that honest? They were only away from each other for a few seconds, and she had been completely focused on her task and in the moment. If anything, they interrupted her train of thought. She exhaled softly, the thing she couldn’t remember was just on the tip of her tongue before Angel and the rest had arrived. She waved sheepishly to Trista, pressing her katana against her chest with her other hand.

"Hi..."

Be nice. Be friendly.

She encouraged herself. Ok, she had missed Trista a bit. But she wasnt going to say that out loud. She bowed to the new girl, showing her respect even if Trista had not. Aya didn't like conflict, that's all she's ever had at school an she would prefer to avoid it. Whether she liked a person or not, respect and peace were required. There was no other option.

"I'm Ueto Aya, nice to meet you." she rose from the bow and caught a glimpse of her companion. A kitsune! She put her hands together and bowed deeply to the fox. "I pay my respects, sorry about earlier." she said softly and genuinely. Once she finished paying respects to what she called a spirit back home, her attention went back to Angel. She raised an eyebrow at the pathetic display of his handling of swords. He really wasn't joking. He sucked at this.

"You really.... don't know what you're doing, do you?" she placed one hand on her hip and leaned more on her right leg. No wonder Saga and him got along, both weren’t quite at her level. She blinked. Wait. Now that she thought about it... where was her brother?

"Angel, where is my brother?"





Keeping up with Bluejay was honestly…tough! For a small fry he was darting back and forth dodging legs and tails and hoofs. Saga was only human, and running in the middle of a large crowd was definitely strange. And slightly difficult. But he had too. He didn’t want to be separated from BJ, he just had this bad feeling deep in his gut. Like, he would die or get squished or kill himself somehow. He shivered, the dragon mothers words ringing through his head.

I warn you, he’s a late bloomer.

Crap. He hoped she didn’t mean what he thought she did. BAM! Saga heard a yelp ahead of him off in the distance. When he caught up to where the sound had come from, Bluejay was already off scampering to Reechis side. Saga didn’t stop, but he caught a glimpse of the woman who had fallen. Messy brunette hair and a warm smile, he could feel her free-spirit all the way from here. He turned his head back around and debated with himself. Should he turn around and help her up? But what about BlueJay? He peered over his shoulder to see if the soldier was still down.

Nope.

He watched her shoot up to her feet and dart off, racing her rabbit companion. He smiled stupidly; she was a gentle girl. He made a mental note to himself that the next time he saw her, he would apologize properly. Maybe even get her name if he was lucky!

---At the companion station----

In the middle of the companion area was a large circle, about the size of a gym. Other sizes were placed around it for other battles. A phooka stood in the middle of each, ready to address a battle and judge. Reechis claws dug into her skin, and she pointed out that the dragon should grip her mane. Below her, Bluejay bolted around her legs. This area was filled with all kinds of scents: sweet, enchanting, disgusting, horrid, and shocking. Estabel jerked her head back at the sound of a feline roar.

”Come on youngins, to scare to fight an old man?” Kirk taunted. He stood in the middle of the biggest circle. Head high, teeth bared, and the hair on the back sticking up slightly. His white fur glistened in the sun to the point where he almost appeared transparent. Esta was captivated by his beauty. His eyes reminded her of the open sky.

Saga heaved and flung himself over Estabel. Hanging onto her to keep himself up, he sounded like an old man wheezing. Saga had never run so much in his entire life. He was sure he had a couple bruises on his sides from all the elbows he failed to dodge. Stupid dragon, Saga cried in his head. Estabel hung her head to the left, peering up at Saga though the corner of her eyes.

”Saga?”

Solara shook her head and gently took the blades from Angel. "Hook swords are not for beginners to use, and even harder to master. Perhaps we should get you something better for you?" Looking over his body with an appraising eye she then turned to the rack of weapons and spying a long sword, handed it to him. "Walk over there and try a few swings." He could talk over there.

When Aya bowed to her, Solara returned the bow her expression one of surprise. Oh, she knew the proper greeting of people from where she was from, the bow of Aya's to her companion, telling her. "It is a pleasure to meet you miss Ueto Aya, My name is Arnlar Azamanin; but you may call me Solara. This is my companion Ravian Solariat, who does prefer you to call her by her last name."

Spying the katana Aya held in her hands, Solara smiled and pointing to the blade asked, "May I?" Meaning to inspect the blade that she now held in her hands, as much as she wanted to see how one felt to be held though her forte lied in the use of the rapier and an art of sword play called fencing.

Angel

Angel couldn't help but grin at Aya's slightly harsh response, not really offended. They hadn't been gone for too long and he'd meant it more as a greeting then an actual question; still, she would have come off a little friendlier had she used a more sarcastic tone, but Angel decided she was just a blunt type of person. Still, he resigned to slight sulking as the short girl seemed a lot more friendly to say hello to Trista. Of course, she then turned to him with a kind of critical look, making Angel almost feel guilty for daring to pick up the cool hook sword things.
"You really.... don't know what you're doing, do you?"

He 'hehed' in a sheepish way, shaking his head, even as Solara took the swords from him with a look. A look that made him slightly uncomfortable. He was used to preppy girly girls checking him out back home, but this wasn't so much as a 'checking out' as a hmm-whats-this-loser-capable-of.
"Hook swords are not for beginners to use, and even harder to master. Perhaps we should get you something better for you?" She plucked a long sword from the rack and Angel took it, holding it in a way that just screamed ew-maybe-I-should-rethink-this. None the less, he made off towards the area the girl had pointed him towards, never one to skip out on practice. However, he paused to answer Aya.

"Uh, your brother..." He waved his sword, using it to point in the general direction Saga had gone running off in after the two dragons and unicorn. "He's over there somewhere. He said he'd catch up later, so he's bound to show up at some point in time,"

He thought his own statement over then nodded, assuming he was probably right. Saga didn't seem like the type to never let his sister know what he was doing. Then he moved over to the dummy's, adjusting his grip on the sword. It wasn't that hard to hold. Despite his inexperience, it was a simple sword and holding it wasn't rocket science. The handle was wrapped with what felt like leather and was large enough to grip with two hands but also comfortably with one. He decided to go for a one handed approach. He felt a two handed would be too much unnecessary movement- but he liked the sword. If he wanted to add another hand for extra strength, he could.
Angel grinned, experimentally slashing at the dummy. The sword was seemingly dull- he assumed Draconem didn't really want any students mortally wounding each other. Though, he figured thrusting would work just as well and impaled the dummy with his sword just as Trista walked up.

"Hey Angel, I'm sorry about Fucuello's behavior earlier. He's the jealous type, and if I don't say sorry for him he never will." She looked out of place slightly, rubbing the back of her neck, a habit Angel found he had as well.

"It's fine really, I'm not really mad," He said quickly, watching as she began swinging at the dummy next to his. He glanced at her footwork- despite what she'd said earlier, she had to know at least the basics of swordplay. "He just caught me off guard is all."

"It's really not his fault though. I've really been the only good thing in his life since his mother died when he was a foal."
Angel frowned, pulling his sword from where it was sticking out of the dummy. He couldn't help but compare an emotion of loss to when his father had died.But at least he'd been able to grow up with the man; seemed the poor unicorn had grown up under the eye of humans, found a new family. Like his friend Ashton.

"You took him in then?" Angel asked, trying to stray from a grief trip. It wasn't like he had an aversion to talking about feelings or something. He just didn't want to get started on losses, because that would inevitably stir up emotions of his father.
His death was my fault.
Angel turned a small smile to Trista, ignoring his own thoughts.
"That's incredibly kind of you, I can see why you're so close." He paused and contemplated, not used to feeing so socially inept. What was one supposed to say to that? His face turned incredibly serious for a moment, remember the nurturing Ashton had required when they'd brought him into the Paladsky family. Animals took longer to build up trust too. He felt respect for the girl and turned his serious face on her.
"Trista... you seem like a really good person."

He coughed and flushed slightly, returning to his sword and dummy, practicing new and comfortable ways to wield the blade before freezing, brows furrowing. He had suddenly become overwhelmed with dread. Why?? Was he physic or something? Was this a sign that he'd been incredibly not smooth with Trista? Was the world going to end-
It was Reeps. Definitely Reechi. What was wrong?! Angel suddenly felt panicked calling out aimlessly in his mind, unsure where she'd gone off too. He figured she'd be safe, since she was with Estabel and bluejay and Saga apparently, but maybe she'd angered one of the bigger companions- oh lordy lord could she even defend herself!? Who was going to protect his baby!
Just as suddenly as the feeling had come it was gone.
No.
Was she dead!?
Angel wanted to whack himself in the face. He could tell very well the dragon was alive, and though it was still biting him what was wrong with Reeps, he was content with the fact that she was okay.

Fucuello could not have felt worse.

As he watched his companion leave his side and walk over to the swords with the girl she had just made up with and the boy he had hit, a feeling of, emptiness swept over him. The shoulder where she had slapped him stung, not because it had hurt him, but because it was her who done the damage. Those final words she had said swam round and round in his thoughts.

That was not ok.
That was not ok.
That was not ok.
That was not ok!
That was not ok!
That was not OK!

What was not ok?! All he had tried to do was protect her! Trista had no idea what Angel's intentions were! What if all he wanted was to- to- to-. No, he couldn't say it, couldn't think it. He didn't want it to be true he really didn't! But he had to be sure, he had to be! Or else she might turn out like....

Like his mother...

No that was ridiculous. The stallion gave a flourish of his main and began to trot over to the companion portion of the training ground. What kind of nonsense was he thinking. Trista was strong, beautiful, and most if all his companion. That meant that no harm would ever be fall her. As long as he existed, she would be protected. From her mother, from Diablo, and from any smelly man or boy who tried to put their filthy paws on his companion.

But what if....

No, no he would not listen to that wretched voice of doubt.

But what...

No, there were not 'buts' when he was around.

What if....

No! There was no way-

What if-!

NO! NEVER would be EVER let ANY harm come to his companion and that was FINAL! He stamped his hoof hard against the earth, earning him a few looks from nearby Ryder's. He shrugged them off. No matter, they were of no consequence to him, but he did give them a seething glare to get the message across he did not enjoy their attention. A commotion drew him for a second, but it did not appeal to him to grace them with his presence. He would much prefer solitude right now. The dummies he had seen other companions attacking seemed his best bet at training right now.

But....doubt creeped back into his mind on cat's paws, taking advantage of his distraction ..... What if?

He had sensed affection towards the young man from Trista.
What if she fell for the boy?She would have no need for him, now would she. He would be forgotten, alone.

He aimed his horn at one of the straw dummy.STAB

She had defended the boy and had not shown an inkling of remorse for him.
What if she hated him? What would he do then? Would the be forced to part ways?

STAB!

Trista was angry at him. She didn't understand his purpose for his actions.
She doesn't care.
She doesn't care!
He ruined it, ruined it all!

STAB!STAB!

Put his filthy paws all over his companion!
His companion of all people let him!

STAB!STAB!STAB!

Why?! Why?! Why?!
Why won't she understand that all he was trying to do?!
Was PROTECT HER?!

STAB!STAB!STAB!STAB!

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!

We'll talk about this later.

He blinked, red haze retreated from his vision. The dummy had torn off the post and was stuck on his horn, hanging limply over his face. Fucuello stared at the straw body for a full minute then quickly and efficiently slid it of his horn and onto the ground. People had begun to stare again. Yes he knew he was strong and powerful but did they really have to stare, so rude. When the attention had died down the words echoed once more.

We'll talk about this later.

How could he? How could he let his emotions and jealousy get the better of him? How could he scorn Trista like that?! He was no better than her mother! Of course she struck him, the boy was becoming her friend in her eyes, and she clearly had affections for Angel. The boy still shouldn't have his filthy paws all Trista but, perhaps it was right to make such expectations known in front of her. Clearly it hurt her. What kind of companion was he if he hurt his companion in such a way. Of course she cared, they had been together their whole lives pretty much. What a silly unicorn he was, sometimes.

They would get back to their dorm later, talk it over, and everything would be ok.

Right?



Scary. That's what this thing was.

But what was scary? Was it his heartbeat that was so loud the others could surely hear it? Was it how big the thing was? Why was he so big? What was he? What was his name? Why was his heartbeat slowing back down, the more questions he asked?

A force sent him tumbling gently over his back and onto his stomach. Huh, had the thing pushed him? It licked its lips and made a sound, that bounced with deep and rich tones.

”Hey little guy, far from your nest are you not?” BlueJay marveled at the thing's voice. It was lovely to listen to, like the booming one from the darkness. It came up through the ground and settled in his stomach. Made want to listen with rapt attention. He didn't care that he had no idea what a nest was, he just nodded. ”Will you be challenging me? What’s your name?”

Name.... Oh, name! The dragon gathered himself onto all fours and answered. "BlueJay! Who are you?" He waited for the thing's response before considering it's other words.

Challenge, challenge, what was a challenge? It sounded big, like something hard to do. But he couldn't wrap his head around the whole of what might a challenge might be? He looked up at the white thing. A word popped into his head.

Play.

As if on an accord both his own and not, his feet began to dance. Here, there, over, under, hop, skip, jump. All around the towering thing he pranced with a big grin showing his little sharp teeth. He would stop for a second as if to let it get him then dart away at the last minute. Sometimes he would jump at it and tap it with his claws or tail, never doing any real damage. Zip, zip, zip, it was like when he had gone of to follow Reechi! The ground had no substance and the wind was his friend, only one thing was different. This time it was....

Fun.

The girl seemed suprised when Aya bowed to her, but nevertheless returned the bow.
"It is a pleasure to meet you miss Ueto Aya, My name is Arnlar Azamanin; but you may call me Solara. This is my companion Ravian Solariat, who does prefer you to call her by her last name."

Aya smiled at the formal, but familiar greeting. She has just expected a weird look from the girl, but she liked that the girl, Solara, had returned the custom. It brought back a little piece of home to her.

Spying the katana Aya held in her hands, Solara smiled and pointing to the blade asked, "May I?"

Why can't you get your own?, she thought, but forced herself to be nice, because she didn't want to break her promise to herself so quickly.

"Of course", she said through gritted teeth, practically throwing the beloved katana towards her.

At this time, Angel decided to answer her question about the whereabouts of her brother.

"Uh, your brother..." He waved his sword, using it to pointing in a general direction."He's over there somewhere. He said he'd catch up later, so he's bound to show up at some point in time."

Aya fretted over this as Angel seemed to nod,as if trying to discern if assuming this was correct.
Of course he's alright. Why wouldn't he be? He probably just wanted to explore, or check on Bluejay.
Still, she felt her instincts telling her to go look for him. There was no time to pretend to want to be friends with people.

"If you'll excuse me", she said to Solara as she departed.She didn't try to speak to anyone else, as Angel and Trista looked preoccupied in other things. She walked in the direction Angel had pointed in,and didn't really hear anything until she heard a shout of enthusiasm over to her right.

"Hell yeah I wanna go!"

Aya looked towards the yeller, and found herself face to back with none other than Colette, her hair glowing with fairy dust easily recognizable. She also saw a girl from the bench earlier, and the boy that had approached her,
Colette and Riley before she had run away.
What is she doing here? And why is it that I feel like I know that name, before I even met her?

But Colette wasn't the one that had screamed. Of course, it was Riley. Obviously since she was here, he was sure to follow. Aya felt her stomach grow queasy, which she assumed was because if her loathe and disgust for him. Trista was right. He was creepy.
Aya walked quickly now, not that it mattered, as they looked ready to head in the opposite direction, and Colette was blocking her anyway.

Good. I don't want to see him.

But she looked back,once, and caught the boyish smile on Riley's face.

........!!!!!
She went into an almost run, and the group escaped her view. She took deep breaths and closed her eyes for a few moments, and then walked on, remembering she was looking for her brother.

She tread the path until she got to the stations for companions, and she saw him right in the middle of a huge disarray.
On one side, Saga was clinging to Estabel, and on the other, little Bluejay was being challenged by a menacing tiger who looked like he would rip him to shreds.

Aya watched, horrified, as Saga just sat back, scratching Reechi on the head.
Why isn't he doing anything?!

Then, she saw Bluejay begin to dance around the tiger, playful and unafraid. Aya admired his technique, and, now calm that her brother was not in danger, sat next to him.

She supposed this was to teach the little dragon a lesson. "Tough love, huh?" She commented as Bluejay continued whatever he was doing.

Solara was surprised at the hesitation and was just about to tell her that she didn't need to, to keep things smooth when Aya all but shoved the sword into her hands. Solara herself was merely wanting to inspect it, as she herself preferred a Rapier. Drawing the blade she whistled in appreciation of how the weapon felt in her hand. About to turn and remark on the beauty of her home locations blades, she blinked as she watched Aya run off looking scared and worried.

Frowning in worry she sheathed the blade and held onto it, meaning to give it back tonight when the ryders gathered for dinner. Placing it into her belt she turned to the rack and drew out another rapier. Solara meant to practice, and if she couldn't with someone she would with her companion.

"Are you ready for this Ravi?"

"Our normal practice then?"

Solara nodded as she assumed a ready position with her left hand's fingers laced behind and into one of her belt loops, her right held the sword so the point of it pointed at Ravian's chin. She held the blade loosely, so that it looked like it would fall out of her hand at any moment. She held her right arm out to her right, as if she was trying to clothesline someone, bent at the elbow to about 90 degrees. Her body and stance she shifted until her head faced towards Ravian, and her body was perpendicular to hers. Solara's feet spread till they were shoulder width, and her right foot was facing towards Ravian.

Ravian herself assumed no pose, as she didn't need to. She was planning to use her own magic. Summoning several balls of fire, she held out her hands and, after waiting for Solara to assume her pose, something that took her all of 5 seconds, caused them to fly at her. The rules of the practices were simple. Ravian had to dodge the balls, or hit them with her sword. This would cause them to reflect and come again. She could attack them, or defend, it was up to her, but if she succeeded in touching them with her sword 5 times the balls would disappear. However, she was not able to be hit by one of the balls once or she lost.

This practice served to sharpen Solara's abilities.

Fencing, a sword skill used with rapiers, generally was used for piercing not slashing and used only a few moves. Solara used some of them now to dodge the balls, and to attack them. Yet the entire time she did not move the tip of her sword from pointing at Ravian.

Trista quickly decided that Rapier's were not her thing. Heck even swords might not be her thing, they were long heavy and hurt her wrists. Solara seemed to already have a handle on this stuff though which was cool, because somehow she had managed to get her Rapier stuck in the Dummy's torso. She placed her foot against the straw of the dummy and tugged. Oh come on you piece of crap!

"You took him in then?" Trista glanced at Angel and nodded.

"In a sense, yes." Ssssssshhhhk- She stumbled a little as the sword finally came loose from the frame of the straw.

"That's incredibly kind of you, I can see why you're so close." She heard Angel say.

"Well it was my father who found him and brought him home to me. He put Fucuello under my care since he didn't have the time. Honestly I kind of failed at taking caring of him first but after a while we grew to be just like siblings…" Trista trailed of and bit the inside of her lip. A burn had began to smolder in her chest.

"Trista…" The girl looked up to meet Angel's serious face and blinked in surprise. Woah. Behind his eyes was a respect she hadn't ever seen from anyone her age before. "You seem like a really good person." A soft smile spread over the Raven girls lips.

"Thank you." Her reply was soft. The boy coughed and turned back to his dummy, earning small giggle from Trista. She could have sworn she saw a slight blush flash across his cheeks but that was just her wishful thinking.

"I'm gonna go get a new sword," She said looking down at the Rapier. "this one isn't wor- Hey, are you ok?" Angel's face, it suddenly looked so freaked out like the world was going to end. Trista waited for his answer then walked over to the swords, examining each one. None really stood out as something she could use.

Ugh! Trista placed a hand against the rack. The burning in her heart had seared into a roaring flame. It receded for a second then came back worse, ten times worse, then receded, then came back, receded, and came back, over and over again each time worse. She collapsed to the ground, clutching her heart from the pain. What the hell!?

We'll talk about this later.

Then it subsided, a warming feeling replaced it. Fucuello, he was being upset and throwing his little hissy fit probably. Though yes he had the right considering that he most likely thought that he was protecting her. She got up and brushed herself of with a sad sigh.



"Heh, gotcha." A pressure clamped down on his tail. Kirk set himself down on the ground, bat the little dragons head, and released him. BlueJay wanted to continue, to again jump around and feel the same glee that had overcome him. However Kirk's voice captured him again. This his eyes captured BlueJay in his gaze."A challenge is more a fight, not so much a game."

So that was what a challenge was, a fight! But what was a fight? He racked his small brain for some inkling or notion of the word. Fight? Fight? Fight? "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Silence!" A voice boomed. This one rumbled through his darkness from below and slithered into his ears. "Let the Lady speak."

"I have no quarrel with you! Leave my territory neither I nor my mate have done anything to wrong you." It was his mother, she was close.

"Hmmmm, that is of no consequence to me. I like this territory and it would be good for me and my clan to have it." The voice slithered.

"Well you won't have it!" Never before had he heard his mother use such a voice. It cracked with a screech that split the darkness in half.

"Then how bout a deal, a fight to the death. If you win my clan leaves and bother you no more. If I win I get the territory," there was a pause. "As well as your precious egg."

BlueJay shuddered, the rest of the memory had been horrifying. There had been terrible noises he never wanted to hear again. Ripping, writhing, screaming, roaring, it was all so awful. The darkness had been jostled about with the turmoil, he had felt the dizziness of moving and then gone Thump! He couldn't think straight but had heard a distinct Crack! somewhere. Then he was being lifted again, moving again. It had gone on a long time, very slowly, throughout it all he'd heard his mother making terrible noises. Wheeeeze. Flap. Wheeeeeze. Flap. Wheeeeeze. Flap. When the dizziness had stopped he had been unsure if he ever wanted to leave his egg.

The little dragon looked up at Kirk. He wanted to fight. Which entailed whatever had caused those terrible sounds had been. He wasn't if he wanted to partake in such things, they sounded terrible. Plus what was death? And what did fighting entail, how did someone or something fight?

Little did BlueJay know he'd said this all out loud.

Angel

"I'm gonna go get a new sword, this one isn't wor- Hey, are you ok?" Angel looked up, disregarding the momentary feelings Reechi had been bursting with, content that she was okay.
"Oh, yeah I'm fine," He said, scratching the back of his head while examining his own sword. He actually liked it; it was rather long and thick bladed, but that was fine with him. Perhaps he'd go into swords, with more attention to the art then his other classes. Of course, hand to hand was always something he could do on the side, but this, this seemed like something he could like.
He slashed at the dummy a few times before turning to see what Trista was choosing. To his shock, she collapsed as he turned. Shoving the long sword into the dummy, he jogged over, not sprinting, because she seemed to be standing, but a pace fast enough to express his worry.
Angels hands closed on her shoulders as he kept her at arms length, looked her over squinting. "Whats wrong?! Are you okay?!" He removed his hands awkwardly but continued surveying her, searching for some injury. When she responded and he realized it was a more, surprised, emotional reaction he sheepishly cleared his throat and glanced around the area. He was glad she was alright, but he was really starting to have a tendency to be awkward- perhaps it was all these new people. Back home, he'd been smooth with everyone, not hesitating to flirt or throw out a compliment, but here, he felt a pressure to be held in good regards to these people.
But seriously, he was feeling very socially inept at the moment. Deep breathes Angel, calm down. Just get used to everyone, get focused on school, THEN you can be totally charming.

His eyes were attracted by bright flares of light- he glanced over, only to witness Amazon- er, Solara- expertly dodging and tapping flaming balls, thrown from her companion.
"Ooooh," Angel cooed in slight awe, admiring her abilities. The girl seemed to use no effort or conscious movement. In fact, she hardly seemed to move at all, but no ball touched her. If only he was half that graceful- that exercise would be fun, though he doubted his new favoring of the claymore wouldnt be so well suited to it.

"Maybe we should go to her for sword help, eh?" He said, half serious. Whatever pointers the girl had would probably be helpful, but since her sword choice was different from his, Angel didn't think she'd be much help to him. But Trista had had a rapier to begin with, so he figured the two girls might get along well. Well... Angel paused his thoughts. They had seemed to make up after their initial bad first impression but...
He wouldn't try to understand girls. Who knew if they were okay or what, even if they had seemed friendly on their way over.
He turned his attention back to Trista.
"You're sure you're okay?? You didn't hurt yourself when you fell?"
It wasn't that the girl looked particularly delicate, he was just naturally protective, and that included worrying about others. Which explained the hint of worry in the back of his mind at what would happen if Amazon- SOLARA- got hit with the flames. He didn't think her companion would truly let her come to harm, but still.
He glanced over as she finished her exercise, applauding enthusiastically. A few other kids, who hadn't drifted off to other stations yet, glanced at him and joined in the clapping, before becoming disinterested and going about their own business. Ooh, which, there was also quite a few other interesting ways of training going on behind Solara... but Angel tried not to get ahead of himself, and instead gave the girl a cheesy grin as she acknowledged his clapping.

"I'm going to have to practice and train hard, I feel incompetent compared to her." He noted to Trista, already thinking about how he would plan out his schedule in his head. He'd need time for training every night. He'd have to factor in how much energy each class would take too-so maybe every other night, depending how much work they did in class. speaking of which, when would they have to report to the next class?

He glanced at his large sword where it stuck out of the dummy. "Do you think we should keep trying to work this out, or you think this free period will be over soon?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Trista gave a pained smile to Angel, thankful for his concern. The boy seemed a little awkward thought, glancing around and not making eye contact. Then again they had just met, one couldn't expect him to be completely comfortable around her, especially since she just collapsed for what he could know was no reason at all. She suddenly felt a little guilty, it was just a little pain. Did she really have to collapse?

FWOOM! FWOOM! Bright flares of heat and light caught Trista's eye. Woah! That's awesome! Solara was a boss! The girl was expertly dodging and parrying balls of fire with grace and speed. Something that Trista knew she lacked. For some reason she had always been a slight klutz and always managed to blame it on her hight, but now it seem that excuse had just been torn up and tossed out the window.

"Ooooh." She heard Angel coo. While she had to agree, it didn't help her self esteem at the moment. "Maybe we should go to her for sword help, eh?" To this Trista's thoughts decided to make a fork in the road. One took the road No! That girl will catch his eye, besides she never really accepted your apology, I mean really nag nag nag the other said Oh, hush! The girl really does have impressive skills and it can't hurt to learn. Trista decided to take the higher rout and nodded.

"Yeah, might help to make sure I don't make a fool of myself." She laughed. It would be silly to start something again. She wanted to, but she had enough drama for today and-she didn't think she would ever say this-honestly just wanted to train. Solara finished her exercise and many, including Angel, began to clap. Trista gave the impressive show its dues in her own personal awe.

"I'm going to have to practice and train hard, I feel incompetent compared to her." Angel noted. That was very true. Now that she thought about it she was grossly unprepared for this. What would her dad think if he came and she was still waddling around like a duck? Though she knew her fate probably did not lie in swords, she did spot a few other things that might work better. "Do you think we should keep trying to work this out, or you think this free period will be over soon?"

Trista blinked, not quite sure how to answer. Angel seemed suited to sword, especially that claymore he had been using, but at the same time she didn't want to separate off and go on her own. She was actually enjoying training with Angel. So even though the pole weapons at the other end of the field caught her eye, she decided to give that Rapier another go. "I don't know when Draconem is going to end this, I assume in time for dinner. But for now," she took back the Rapier with a motioning glance to Solara. "Lets go see what we can learn."



"Death, means a person or thing is gone forever. They are never coming back." Kirks words had only just reached his ears when his entire being turned cold. A harsh cold that burned and froze his innards. His mother, had she... had she made the slithery voice...die? Made a thing like him and her be gone forever and ever. Something about that was big. He didn't see completely why, but whatever it was made him cringe. If thats what fighting was then he didn't want to do it. "And that will happen to your Ryder, if you don't learn how to fight." No! He didn't want Saga to die! They just met, and Saga was his companion!

A foggy but new idea began to form out of the ice that held BlueJay's heart. To fight, for the ones you love. The thought hurt the dragon's head.

"Boy, I will teach you the first lesson of fighting, if you wish," Kirk said.

BlueJay couldn't think, he just knew what his answer was. "Yes."

A burst of applause caused Solara to startle in surprise and look around to see what the commotion was; however, when she could see that they were applauding her she blushed in confusion.

"W-what's going on?" Solara asked embarrassed by the attention.

"They are in awe of what you can do with the blade."

Solara blinked and glanced towards Ravian for a second before turning to see Angel, and Trista approaching their swords in their hands with the same look of awe. Solara ducked her head till she got her face emotions under control before she raised her head to look at them. Solara hadn't meant to make a scene after all she had just be practicing as she always did, though the main difference betweeen the two was that she usually practiced after everyone had gone inside for the academic portion, or for dinner.

Angel still carried his claymore while Trista, with a glance to the staffs, carried her rapier like she was afraid to let it go. Looking them both up and down Solara smiled slightly before speaking.

"How does the claymore feel Angel?" Her voice was slightly breathless, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her brow and arms, but her eyes were steady as she studied Angel and his response.

She then turned her head to look at Trista. "And how does the rapier feel to you?"

Angel

Angel, despite having been distracted by Solara's impressive display, felt a weight lifted off of him when Trista insisted she was alright. He glanced her over critically, afraid there was some injury she wasn't expressing, then decided Fucuelo had gotten into trouble and her pain had been mental. Satisfied, she seemed alright, the tall boy hoisted his claymore into a comfortable position, flat side leaning on his shoulder.
"I don't know when Draconem is going to end this, I assume in time for dinner. But for now," she took back the Rapier with a motioning glance to Solara. "Lets go see what we can learn."

Dinner. Angel ignored the awkward rumble from his stomach. Food. Food. Food was amazing. Food was his first lovee~~

Angel paused his thoughts and tried to refocus. Train now, food later. It was his fault for not eating a bigger breakfast, and skipping lunch.
He nodded encouragingly to Trista, glad she seemed to be sticking with the sword. If she's wanted to go elsewhere he would have probably followed, preferring her company, but it seemed she was giving the rapier another try. Angel had already made up his mind at some point though- he liked this claymore thing, and was going to train with it as his primary weapon. Hand to hand could be a backup.

A chuckle burst from his lips as he noticed Solara glance around with a baffled expression before composing herself and moving over to them.

"How does the claymore feel Angel?" Angel noticed she seemed a little out of breath, but for the most part, he assumed she was an active woman.

He patted the blade on his shoulder. "Feels great- Might not even need to try anything else actually." He grinned giving her a thumbs up. "Good choosing!"

She had been the one who'd shoved the sword in his hands after his inexperienced flailing of hook swords had almost skewered her. The Amazon said something to Trista, but Angel was otherwise distracted now.

What. The. Fudge. Was he feeling from Reechi.
He could almost feel the contain on his chest, the struggle to breath, not physically but mentally choking as Chi felt full blown panic, sending the waves through they're mental link.
But aside that was fury.
and aside that- someone was hurting her.
Who the hell dared to lay a hand/tooth/nail/claw or finger on his darling.

His expression was literally scary calm but his eyes looked furious. Why had this happened when they weren't together!? Why was she facing dangers on her own! This was his fault- he'd let her run off. Even if she was a dragon, she was newly hatched and he's ignored that, ignored that she still knew nothing of fighting or defense or anything and-

"I have to go." Angel said to the girls through clenched teeth, interrupting their conversation. His hand shifted on the sword, debating if he should whack someone upside the head with it, before twirling it and stabbing it into the dirt ground. Reeps no longer seemed in immediate danger but she was still angry and was still probably confronting the threat-

"Like right now. I'll catch up with you two later."

Then he was off, not waiting for a response, tacking the more direct route of getting where he needed to be by not dodging or threading through the crowd, but plowing straight through. Elbows out, straight past irritated faces.

He saw a bit of a commotion going on by the Special abilities area- he went straight past that, following some sense that led him too-

"Reeps! Oh my poor baby what happened!?"
He couldn't help the affectionate talk one often took on with animals- but he talked to Chi like another human, not the baby voice people often had with their pets. His face had fallen when he saw his companion settled among the branches of a shrubbery-

Preening slahes on her side.
He felt violent for a moment, force ably shooting a
"Who hurt you." Through their link as he settled down next to her. Though the more appropriate thought was, who should I kill.
He felt guilty and it wasn't completely masked by anger. This was his fault for not being there. Just like last time. Just like the fire.

He hadn't been there. He should have been there.

Angel sighed and reached out to gently tracing the scratches and removing blood.
"Sorry Chi. I'll be there next time, I promise."

"W-what's going on?" Solar glanced around in confusion when she noticed everyone around her clapping. Aaaw! It was kinda cute to see that expression on such a cool face. Shame it disappeared in a few moments as Solara composed herself."How does the claymore feel Angel?" Her words were slightly strained, she must have still been catching her breath.

"Feels great- Might not even need to try anything else actually." Angel said while patting the blade and gave her a thumbs up. "Good choosing!" He should be giving us that thumbs up! OOOOOH MY GOOOOSH! Would he jealousy just shut up already! Really, this was no time nor place, she was here to train! Even as much as she disliked the activity it was still something that needed to be done. Ugh!

She then turned her gaze on Trista, who quickly swallowed the bile that had congealed at the base of her throat. "And how does the rapier feel to you?" To which the girl decided to answer wittily, if only to hide her still heavy heart and green gut. The stabbing was gone, and now replaced by a slow throb. Her stomach was still set on being vengeful towards Solara. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get used to holding grudges... All this turmoil was making it smiling a bit difficult.

"Clunky with a side of awekward, I have no clue how to use this thing. It's different than my dads swords. But you seem to have great feel for it!" She smiled to Solara, "Perhaps if you help me we can have that sparing match you wanted?"

"I have to go." Trista whipped around the Angel. His jaw was tight and body tense with his hand firm around the handle of his claymore.

"What's-" but Trista wasn't able to finish.

"Like right now. I'll catch up with you two later." With that he began to plow straight through the crowd. Trista watched in slight awe, Angel's serious side was very intriguing if not a little intimidating. Thought she did have an idea of why he might have left so suddenly.

"His companion must be in trouble." She muttered. The same expression had come across his face back at the dummies. Her stomach only twisted with more worry. To it she just shook her head. Now Trista why are you worrying about Angel, don't you have enough to bother you with Fucuello? Besides he can take care of himself and his companion just fine I'm sure? She turned back to Solara. "So tell me, what's the trick with a Rapier?"



What? What had happened? Why wasn't he zipping around tearing up the monster anymore? Why was Kirk pressing down on his wings?Woah! Now why was the thing sticking BlueJay with his white sharp things?!

"I'm impressed." Kirk said. What did that mean? What's impressed anyways?! Where was Saga? He's hurt still he can feel it. That sharp pain in his side. Saga! He squirmed around to spot his companion on the ground with Aya over him, leaking water from her eyes. He could feel something wet at the corners of his eyes as well.

"Saga! Saga!" The little dragon only struggled more to get out of Kirk's grip.

"BlueJay, I'm ok!" Yelled his companion. Who stopped struggling for a few moments, till he heard the wince and felt an increase in the searing burn. No, Saga was not ok. He continued to struggle and finally managed to squirm away, running to his companion. The dragon almost pounced but decided not to, and instead trotted over to Saga's neck and nuzzled the teens cheek and face like the two had been reunited after a long absence from each other's company.

"Clunky with a side of awkward, I have no clue how to use this thing. It's different than my dads swords. But you seem to have great feel for it!" Trista smiled at her, "Perhaps if you help me we can have that sparing match you wanted?"

"I have to go."

Angel spoke tersely, his jaw clenched tight and body tense with his hand firm around the handle of his Claymore as he interrupted Solara before she could speak.

"What's-" Trista began before he spoke again.

"Like right now. I'll catch up with you two later." With that Angel turned and began to plow straight through the crowd while Solara watched his back with a slight frown on her face as she tried to figure out what could have caused him to take of so suddenly.

"His companion must be in trouble." Trista muttered.

Ah, that explains it Solara thought.

"So tell me, what's the trick with a Rapier?" Schooling her features again she smiled before looking at the woman and the way she held the weapon.

"Well, first, it isn't going to fly away, so you can release the death grip you have on it." Solara's voice had a twinge of humor to it, as she noted Trista's over tight grip on the handle of the rapier. "Second, the rapier isn't a slashing weapon, but a piercing and parrying one instead."

Almost as an after thought, she added, "then I guess i should watch out that you might be better that me when this is through."

After they got Saga to the medical chamber to get better, Draconem had decided it was enough. This was suppose to be training, no one was suppose to get hurt like this. But, what can he do now? They only thing he could do was use his magical powers to ease the pain of all the students who got hurt during training and heal faster. Draconem seems like such a saint, don't he?

After this, is was time to begin to plan the feast! Draconem had planned to have a feast for all the students after a day or two of being at the school so that they may meet their roommates and become better acquainted with their companions. After a while of preparing, it's finally ready. The grand hall is big enough for Draconem to fit in and curl up at the end behind where the teachers and such will be sitting at a long table facing the tables where the students will be sitting. The tables are long and decked out with a red and gold stitched table cloth that brings out the gold in the bricks of the floor. The bricks of the wall are a devein mix of red and gold with large red and gold stitched drapes that go all the way up to the ceiling that is a glass paneling with a black rim that lets in natural light. Yet, every three feet down the long tables is a magical golden candle that lets off a brilliant blue flame.

Set out on the tables is all kinds of food. There's the normal food in which humans usually eat as they are easy to get for humans. There's turkey, chicken, fish, wheat bread loafs, tomato soup, red and green apples, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, white cake, and the list goes on. But there is also the food that other beings, less likely humans, would it. Like for the dragons there's coal, lava rocks, flying fish, and fireflies (literally fireflies) and then the various human foods. For the fairies there sweet honey, cookie crumbs, sweet jam, nectar, and pieces of the various human foods that can be pinched off of. For the unicorns there's golden apples, golden carrots, orange long carrots, and then the various human foods. And then it goes on to magical apples that are a purple color and can change a humans appearance to a random companion. Draconem put this out there to see how many students wouldn't know what it was and eat it. The effects wouldn't last that long. Only a couple hours or so.

On top of all of this, Draconem also had a friend, Aquarius, and his minions to bring the beautiful northern lights or Cree into the grand hall of Ryders Academy. So, now our scene is set and ready with red and gold walls, floors, and tables. Glowing blue golden candles. Tables decked out with all kinds of food. And now with the open sunlight coming from the windows on the ceiling and the northern lights being right inside, only made brighter and more pink by the light coming in. It was perfect. All that was missing was music. Some kind of music. He got all the little elves together and put them in a little group off to the side of the grand hall, their whole tiny little orchestra. Not only were they tiny to him, but they would've been tiny to humans too. Yes, they were about as tall as a fairy, usually an inch or two taller, but still around the same height. And there was a great amount of them so that their music could fill the whole room, which it did, with the help of Draconem putting an enchantment on them to make them louder. At Draconems go, they will play.

After a moment of looking everything over, he called for the students to come. Once all the students were outside of the grand big door to the grand hall, Draconem opened the door and nodded to the elves, signaling they to play. As the first Ryder stepped foot in the door, 6th Symphony Pastoral started playing from the elves and filled the room brilliantly. "Please, come in and take a seat wherever you like." Draconem said with a smile to the students and watched as they all filed in the room. Once they were all seated, Draconem perched behind the teachers table were a few Pegasus, Degore, and a few Phooka. "Let the feast, begin!" Draconems voice rang out over the grand hall and the students began to eat and talk as the music continued to play. "Oh yeah! Food!" Jay yelled in excitement and grabbed a chicken leg and began eating, Slayer did the same with a small "Yay!" and grabbed a turkey leg. Ash rolled her eyes at her cousin and grabbed a red apple.

One thing was for certain.

"Stop it! Stop it this instant!"

Things were back to normal, at least between her and Fucuello. Her and the unicorn had made pease after training over some apples, a long ride, and the agreement for Fucuello to give Angel a shot of Trista could prove that he wasn't bad. That would take a while but they still had what years left. She could get it through his thick skull by then. A content sigh escaped her, the only thing wrong right now was that her companion was getting himself soaked right before a feast, and his butt kicked by a plucky little pony. Thank God one of her gifts from Draconem had been a magic quick-dry towel that she thought she would never use.

"Fucuello, stop horsing around, we need to head down to the feast soon!" The pun would provoke his unicorn pride enough to get his attention. She was already ready. In a loose button down shirt with slightly tattered edges and rolled sleeves, skinny jeans, and tan combat boots. Trista had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail with a small clip to hold back he bangs, she didn't feel like pulling all the stops out today. She retreated inside to retrieve the towel to dry off her soaked companion, nudging aside her weapon, a Sovnya, to get to it. "Stay outside." She called to him. "So you don't track mud in here."

Once she had dried of his body and head and preened his feathers she patted his flank and headed inside. "Oh stop your pouting, your feathers will be fine. Besides water hasn't killed them before, it won't kill them now." She threw the towel on the bed and straitened herself up in the full body mirror she had hung on the opposite wall of her bed. She'd situated quite nicely to her side of the room, even though her side wasn't all that embellished yet. Living in the barn for the past few months had accustomed her to such a style. Fucuello would not take any 'strange images that watch you sleep' on his stable walls.

"K ready?" And with that she was on her way to the feast. A feast, it sounded so grand! She hadn't heard much about the decorations but what she had heard had sounded extravagant and beautiful. And everyone would be there! Trista paused, everyone would be there. The friends she had made in the past few days, already they were burrowing into her heart even thought she had known them only a few days. It was strange but exciting. Aya, Takeshi, Solara in some ways, and Angel. Speaking of Angel, I wonder if he's already at the feast? Maybe we can walk there together. and with that she was off to the boys dorm.



"C'mon little guy, time to eat up." BlueJay groaned and yawned but ignored Saga. He was simply too comfy and warm. Saga could go down without him. The dragon yawned again and shifted so he lay on his back with his four paws sticking in the air and fell back into slumber.

Until another rude kick awoke him. "Ready yet, Jay?"

He grumbled a "No" but rolled out his comfort and out the cold floor. A shiver ran along his scales and tingled his nose, oh he hated it when he had to wake up, it was so tiresome. The little dragon picked himself up and stretched like a cat. He was getting bigger, slowly but surely, and now almost reached Saga's knee at the shoulder. Another yawned escaped him as he hopped up Saga and onto his shoulder. BlueJay could still sit on his companion's shoulder but couldn't hide in his hood anymore, which sucked.

"Ooh, look at that candle. That's a nice candle. Ooh, look at that blue flame. That's a nice flame. Ooh, look at those lights in the sky. That's some nice lights." Jay went on and on about how nice everything was, and Slayer went along just as well, crossing his little arms and nodding his little head with his extremely huge eyeballs. Ash just rolled her eyes at the pair. It was bad enough she had to be at this place with him, but with him just bothering her like always, it was a hell. Not the type of hell Diablo came from with all the flames and the rock and the devils and all, but the type of hell where no matter what you do to get away from someone that annoys the hell out of you, they just wont leave you alone.

Though, it was Jay's idea to come here in the first place, and Ash being the one to tag along. But, that being said, she kind of brought it on herself. Sighing at the thought, Ash put her elbow on the table as she looked around. Everything was so big and elegit and everyone was wearing nice clothes, even herself in a little white dress that stopped an inch or two before her knees. Jay, on the other hand, was underdressed. He wasn't completely underdressed as he usually would be, but he was wearing skinny jeans and a tee-shirt with a navy blue blazer over it and sneakers. Slayer wasn't even wearing a thing while Liath wore a small bowtie around his neck.

Jay went on, saying how nice everything was. "Ooh, look at those people. Those are some lookin' people. Ooh, look at those unicorns....I hate unicorns." Jay said the last part forwarding his eyebrow as he glared at the unicorns that were around. He had a fear of black unicorns, but a hate of normal white ones. A shiver went down his back before he turned to Ash and started telling some random story. As he told this story, Slayer sneak off, ready to set a prank. A large smirk strangely made it's way across the small gargoyles face in a rather creepy way. He flew over and around people, poking their calves with his little claws, pulling their hair, pulling the tails of their companions, and even scratching the bellies of some of the people. All the while laughing in a little demon-child laugh that would scare the ba-jeeb-ious out of people.

He flew on over to where the little elves played and smiled down at them in a way that would tell a person he had an awfully bad plan coming up. Looking around, Slayers eyes narrowed and his smile faded as he thought of the plan at hand. Letting his mind work as he looked around, his brows forwarded and the chaotic smirk returned to his face as he knew what he was going to do. He flew all the way up to the ceiling where the long, long curtains were hanged. The chaotic smile on his face grew ever more larger. He ripped his claw out in a way that resembled that of Freddy Krueger ripping out his bladed hand. Slayer then sliced the curtain and it feel down in big heaps landing onto the elf orchestra, ultimately stopping the music that filled the large room and drawing the eyes of the students.

Ash and Jay were two of the many that looked over. Jay stood up on the chair he sat in and looked over the heads of the students. He could see Slayer hovering slightly above the incident laughing his gargoyle ass off. "Damnit, Slayer!" Jay muttered before jumping off the chair and running over to the incident, pushing people out of his way as he ran. Ultimately tripping over peoples feet who try to be 'cool' and trip him, though that doesn't work as he simply just jumps up and around everyone. Once making it over to where Slayer was and seeing the curtain dropped onto the elves, who were beginning to crawl out from under it. "Damnit, Slayer!" Jay repeated, a bit louder, as he jumped up and grabbed Slayer out of the air, holding him tightly as the little gargoyle complained as he tried to scrum out of Jay's grip. Ash had walked up and was standing by him with her arms crossed and shaking her head slightly. "You're such an idiot." She said, and Jay nodded at her in agreement.