Snippet #2645929

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In the Mess Hall
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As Sienna led her companion through the cafeteria, she strode with her arms behind her back. Her sharp features and cold gaze should have been intimidating to the younger teacher, but the auburn-haired woman kept striding forward as though she weren’t in the presence of one of the most dangerous Huntresses in the world. Her black-haired companion trailed a step behind her, allowing herself the space to be able to both listen, and to survey the eating space. Her eyes scanned as a machine would have, taking in the more notable faces of the first years as she passed them. Her heels clicked on the cement floor as the tables around her would whisper of her coming, some of them in awe and others in fear. Sometimes, she couldn’t actually tell the difference. She had often noticed that teenagers were harder to read than most people.

“I’m telling you,” Sienna gushed. “That team is going places.” Her darker haired companion frowned and furrowed her brow a bit.

“I agree,” she stated in a quiet, yet authoritative tone. "Although, you shouldn't play favorites." Sienna looked back at her, a patient smile ever present on her features.

“Team PWTR is a gem,” she repeated, the pride evident in her voice. “They’re a very well coordinated and balanced team, and that is rare among first year students.”

As the two of them continued walking, a commotion drew their attention to the edge of the cafeteria. Both of them looked on, one in slight indifference and the other in irritation, as the members of team IVRY and team JADE faced off in a verbal confrontation. Or, at least what looked like a verbal confrontation that had yet to turn physical.

Of course, Sienna had turned the corner so to speak, her smile and patience both gone in a flash. The older woman at her side couldn’t help but raise a brow slightly as she watched the young teacher fume about in her way. It was then that the two of them noticed Kamar, another colleague, breaking up what would have soon turned into a violent and destructive deathmatch. Sienna was noticeably calmer at the sight of him, and turned on her heel to leave the cafeteria as Kamar escorted team IVRY away, leaving team JADE behind to talk amongst themselves. The older woman stood, looking quite uncomfortable and awkward, her black hair twisted into a tight, braided bun, and her heels suddenly feeling less stable than they had a moment ago. She crossed her arms, her yellow eyes following the six figures that disappeared behind the doors of the mess hall entrance.

She was well aware that the students were watching her. She was tall, very tall with her heels, and quite intimidating with her broad shoulders and hardened muscles. Her jaw clenched as she exhaled sharply through her nostrils, causing a few of the nearer teens to flinch, and she made her way outside and into the hall to find Kamar and Sienna confronted my Merkur, who had idiotically drawn his weapon. She waited for the inevitable, and stifled a quiet snort of irritation when it came.

“How dare you draw your weapon on campus, Mister Quinton,” Sienna scolded. He frowned, looking quite taken aback.

“Wha? I was just-”

“A-bup-bup,” she interrupted sharply, holding a single, accusatory finger inches from his face. “I don’t care what you were doing, Merkur. You know the rules! Teacher nor student is ever allowed to draw their weapon on campus unless in sanctioned areas.” She scowled when he refused to respond, lowering her hand and placing it on her hip. “I think you should come with me,” she said, leading him away by his ear. By this point he had put his weapon away and was complaining that she was pulling too hard. He was hunched over as she led him towards Ijsbrand’s office, making him look rather pathetic.

The three delinquent students of team IVRY stood not far off, two of them watching with amused faces as Sienna and Merkur eventually walked out of sight. It was then that the older woman approached Kamar quietly, his gaze shifting to her as she moved to his line of sight. He smiled to her.

“Ebony, hello,” he greeted with a wave and a forced smile. “I see you’ve returned,” he remarked, gesturing to the small travel pack that hung from her left shoulder. She grunted. “How did everything fare? The job went well, I presume?” She shifted the bag a bit and looked away before answering.

“About as well as it can go when the only thing your patron wants you to do is gather the bone masks of dead Beowolves. It was rather disgusting, actually,” she spat, bile rising in her throat. Kamar gestured to the bag.

“I assume that’s what lies in there?”

“Yes,” she deadpanned, her stare just as blank and expressionless as her words. Kamar laughed before he turned to look through the windows at the clocktower that lay on the other side of the courtyard. “Ah, I should be going. Classes will be starting tomorrow, and lesson plans are always a good thing to have. I’ll see you later, Ebony.” He nodded his farewell to her as he turned, heading to the largest winding staircase a little faster than was necessary.

Ebony turned, catching the eyes of Indu, Viridian, and Raven. She cocked her head at them for a moment, and the largest of them spoke up.

“Ebony? As in, Ebony Azoth?” Viridian asked, almost sounding impressed. Almost.

“Indeed I am. You would do well to remember that while in my class,” she remarked. She shot a look at each of them in turn, her eyes lingering on Viridian before she followed in Kamar’s footsteps, making her way to the central staircase of the Academy.

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In the Dorms
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Phen collapsed onto her bed with a heaving sigh, while T’wulf sat by her with a much less audible one. Wynn and Regalia both inspected their side of the room, looking at the knick knacks that had been used to decorate it. There were several writing utensils scattered on dressers and desks, and many packets of unopened paper. Both sides of the room looked as though they had been poorly prepared for their new inhabitants, and it was visibly irritating the four of them. They had all expected a nicely kept room with four beds, not two. Regalia turned to Phen and T’wulf.

“These rooms seem a little small for four people, don’t you think?” she asked earnestly, twirling one of several ownerless pens between her fingers. Phen shrugged.

“I’d say it would be reasonable for two people, maybe three.”

“Four is a stretch, though,” Wynn finished for her. He turned to face them as well, gazing around the room as a whole. “Classes start tomorrow, sure, but how are we supposed to wake up on time if we can’t even sleep?”

“That’s a good question,” Regalia agreed, humoring him. “We can’t share beds can we? It would end up being quite awkward because of the one boy we have on our team,” she said, gesturing passively to Wynn, who nodded his agreement vigorously.

“I’d rather not be bedded on the first night.” He waggled his brows, causing Phen and Regalia to laugh.

“It’d be easier if we had the correct number of beds, too,” T’wulf added, causing another round of laughter. Wynn smiled.

“I’m only hoping that IVRY has accommodations as annoying as ours,” he joked.

“Wynn.” His eyes shot to T’wulf, who had spoken rather quietly.

“Yes?” he questioned, forcing them all to become aware of the deafening moment of silence T’wulf had caused.

“What was with Yale?” She cocked her head to the side curiously, as though she were a dog. “He seemed to be very impatient towards you.”

“I know him. He’s a real prick, that one,” Regalia answered for him. “Like I said, he’s racist. Dislikes Faunus to his very core.” T’wulf frowned, and so did Wynn. “But I’ve never heard of someone getting so irritated by a faunus so quickly, not even Yale.” Phen nodded.

“It seems to me that you in particular are more maddening to him,” the redhead observed. “Maybe he knows you from somewhere?”

“Or maybe he’s just bitter,” T’wulf reasoned quietly, her eyes sliding to the window and drinking in the night sky carefully. Wynn watched her for a moment before looking to Phen quizzically.

All she could do was smile and wave his unspoken question aside.

“I’m sorry, I can be a downer sometimes,” T’wulf apologized, freeing her gaze from the moon. “Just comes with the lack of social skills, I guess.”

“Nah, you’re not as bad as some people I’ve met,” Regalia reassured her. “Despite it being the first day, I’ve noticed a lot of people already talking about you.”

“Who, me?” T’wulf said incredulously, sincerely confused.

“Well, you are a looker, and you seem to have a following already,” Phen answered, nudging her with a playful elbow. Regalia, Wynn, and Phen all laughed at T’wulf’s innocent blush.

“That’s not funny, Phen,” she sighed with a light and exhausted smile, placing her head in her hands. Phen patted her on the back.

“Aw, Cub. Don’t worry about anything. We’re all kinda awkward on the first day.” Phen kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder as T’wulf looked up at each of them in turn.

“No more fanclub jokes,” she insisted, shooting a glare at her longtime friend. Phen laughed.

“Alright, Cub. Alright.”

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Central Tower
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Ebony looked over her papers, studying the name and face of each first year student. Her eyes scanned their profiles systematically, only shifting from paper to paper every so often, and lingering on those she found intriguing. As she finished, she quietly swiveled in her chair, taking in the night sky through her large office window. She took a deep and calming breath, standing from her chair to move soundlessly closer to the glass, her heels having been long discarded underneath her desk. Her bare feet thanked her every step, and she curled her toes as she stood before the open expanse of the autumn forest. She placed her fingers upon the cool surface, leaving nary a fingerprint behind as she studied the land outside, as she had done thousands of times before, before allowing her eyes to find their favorite sight: the moon.

She contemplated the day to come as the clock struck midnight and let it’s chime ring throughout the campus. It’s melody reminded her of her own first night as a student, feeling both fear and anticipation of what was to pass. Her eyes softened as they found the silvered light washing over her as a cloud moved by. Her heart beat in the rhythm of the clock tower’s song, and her teeth chattered every time a new note was struck. After what seemed a rather enjoyable eternity, it ended. The tune echoed for several seconds afterwards, leaving her with an empty thought of sleep.

She didn’t outwardly react to the shuffling she heard, instead allowing it to continue for a moment longer before acknowledging it. Shaking her head to rid it of tiredness and turning it slightly to see behind her, she regarded Sienna with little more than an exhausted grunt.

“You seem tired,” the younger teacher remarked, stating the obvious as she stepped around Ebony’s desk to join her by the window. Her words were met with silence - an occurrence that was not uncommon when talking to the world-weary huntress. For most, the silence would have been awkward and uncomfortable, but Ebony knew that Sienna didn’t mind it. “I know you turn it down every time, as you have ever since I began working here, but my offer for a neck rub still stands, you know,” she spoke with a noticeable tone of mirth, breaking Ebony’s quiet stupor. The older of the two allowed her eyes to meet Sienna’s for a moment, fully acknowledging her for the first time since she had entered the room.

“When have I ever said yes to your neck rubs, kid?” she replied, demonstrating her rare sense of humor. Sienna laughed.

“I knew you’d say no. Just thought I’d continue my routine of checking on you to make sure you aren’t being all broody.” She turned, her socked feet making hardly a sound against the marble floor of Ebony’s office.

“Those notes you left,” Ebony whispered suddenly, yet quietly. “You want me to use them, correct?”

“Yep,” Sienna affirmed with a nod, not turning to look back as she opened the door with a slight squeak. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ebony. Or rather, today,” she whispered, throwing her a smile as she shut the door behind her with a soft click.

Ebony looked at the black lacquered door for a moment before she returned her gaze to the vast expanse of dangerous forest and hillside. She listened through the glass to the howls of Beowolves and the screeches of Nevermores.It was shaping up to be an interesting year - in more ways than one.