Dorian Roberts's Story

"Right," Dorian said, clearly not believing her. It seemed kind of plausible, but that didn't really explain laying outside like she'd been, or where she'd disappeared to earlier. But, then again, it wasn't his problem, and the thinking about the whole month warrior thing made sense. It was a lot to take in, and Dorian had been putting off thinking about it for a while now. And he would keep at it for as long as he could, thanks.
But she was shaking now, and, like he'd thought before, what she was doing out here was not his problem. But he did feel a little sympathetic since he'd been the one to cause her to fall into the water...
"Here...." He took off his coat- one he'd bought on Aires. The Earth one was safely tucked away in his bag- and held it out to Tallyho.

Tallyho narrowed her eyes slightly. Although it was pretty obvious, she had to ask anyway, “You are giving this to me?” She took the coat and wrapped herself in it. As she did she stole a glance at each side of the courtyard, taking special time to look to the west where the forest was. She then returned her gaze back to Dorian.
“Thanks… earthling,” she said quickly.
Flushed red, she turned around with a slight grunt and quickly walked over to the east with her wet, bare, feet slapping under her. Although, she did have to make an embarrassing U-Turn when she realized that the girl’s dorms were on the other side.

"Yes," He affirmed, an obvious answer to an obvious question. With is coat missing, he could feel the mountain chill more than before and he really wondered how Tallyho could stand just being in that dress earlier, even before she fell into the fountain.
"You're welcome, Airian," He deadpanned and watched her wander away. At least that answered where the dorms were. He just had to go to the opposite one and- oh, Hell.
Dorian had just noticed that there was something missing, a very important something. His cellphone. It seemed stupid, but, after changing into dry clothes, he'd irrationally checked for a signal. Of course there wasn't any- they weren't even at telegraph on Aires from what he'd seen, let alone cell phones. Then, when the dinner bell had rung, he'd slipped it into his pocket out of habit. But now, somewhere between his walk to the dining hall, it must have fallen out of his pocket. He let out a little sigh. Great. Now he had to go look for it. It wasn't because he needed it, but, well, it was comforting to have it, a reminder that, yes, he'd once had a normal life and texted people, taken pictures, and occasionally made phone calls. It was a tether to Earth, to his family, to his life.

That's how he ended up getting lost and still cellphone-less. If he was honest with himself, he should have given up twenty minutes ago when he could still find the exit. But now, here he was in the heart of the Academy. All of the hallways tended to blend into each other in an endless maze, the doors all just similar enough that he couldn't tell them apart. His mission had long since turned from a search for his phone to a search for the nearest epic. He had yet to find either. Had he been here before? Oh, Lord.
Dorian sighed, stopping after another ten minutes' wanderings. It was another hallway with another door, but this was was a bit bigger and made of a stronger material. He had three options now. One, he could stay here until someone found him, which would be embarrassing and who knew how long that could take. Two, he could keep wandering and hopefully find an exit, but with his track record, he might get even more lost. Well, it seems like three was the best option. He opened the door.
This was, he realized the moment the door swung open, the armory. There were swords and bows, armor and lances, daggers and maces, all sorts of weaponry lining the walls or on shelves like a bloody library.
"Hello. What're you doing here?"
Dorian jumped and turned. In front of one long line of shelves holding armor was a man in his early twenties. He was a few inches shorter than Dorian, but still rather tall and thin as a whip. To be honest, though, he looked like he'd seen better days. His brown hair was a spiky mess, sticking out every which way, one brunette lock hovering over his forest green eyes. There was a spatter of something that was most likely blood on his right cheek bone, smeared and fresh enough that it had yet to fade into a rusty brown color. His clothes were in a similar stated of raggedness; a dark green shirt that had seen better days and brown pants with a few patches that had been repaired well but still stuck out. Even his shoes were worn from constant use. But he was wearing a smile, enhancing his boyish good looks.
"I was just looking for something," He said quickly because he honestly wasn't supposed to be in here.
"Then you got lost, right?" The stranger said sympathetically. Seeing Dorian's surprise he continued. "No worries. New students get lost all the time. Give me a moment and I can help you out, yeah?"
Dorian nodded, not one to turn down a free offer of assistance he desperately needed and watched as the young man disappeared into the aisles only to return a second later with a sword tucked into a sheath around his hips.
"Sorry for the wait. What were you looking for? Well, besides an exit."
"Well, it's..." It was kind of hard of hard to explain a cellphone to someone who'd never even seen a telephone and he hardly knew where to start. "It's a black sort of rectangle..."
"Oh! With glass on the front?" The stranger beamed and, from his pocket, pulled out Dorian's cell phone. "I found it on the floor earlier and was going to ask Ryou about it, but... Well, here you go."
Dorian took it gratefully, glad that he'd finally found it and even more pleased that someone was kind enough not to mess with it.
"I'll take you to the exit then, yeah?" And Dorian only nodded, a small smile playing on his lips, before following the stranger. He took him through the winding halls as if he knew the way like the back of his hand and soon enough they were once more in the chilly night air.
"There you go. All safe and sound."
"Thank you," Dorian said and he really meant it. But there was one thing... "By the way, you've got a bit of blood. Right there." He pointed on his own cheek.
"Oh, Hell. Really?" The stranger huffed, rubbing at it with the back of his hand and only managing to smear it worse.
"Here." Dorian held out his handkerchief(something he was never without)- it was the least he could do.
"Oh, cheers," The young man beamed, wiping off the bit of blood. "I'll just get this washed and I'll bring it back to you later, yeah? Have a good night, kid." The strange man began to wander off.
"It's Dorian. Dorian Roberts," He felt the need to add. Who knows how long they'd be here? Might as well make one ally.
"Well, then, good night, Dorian, Dorian Roberts," The man laughed and strolled away.
Dorian found his way back to the dorms without enough ease, but he lingered in the hallway, not keen on going into his small room, and not wanting to go back outside since the building provided some warmth.

Dorian couldn't decide if he was surprised or not when Falke entered the first floor of the dorm. On one had, he had been gone for a while and Falke didn't seem the type of idly chatter for forever, especially with the odd-ball group that made up the month warriors, but he hadn't expected to see anyone back just yet. Well, at least it was one of the teammates he could stand.
"Hey," He said in greeting, rubbing his eyes tiredly. The events of the day were just hitting him, between not sleeping well last night, arriving at the Academy, dealing with his teammates, and literally jumping off of a waterfall, he was ready to go to bed, uncomfortable rooms or not.
"I'm going to go to bed," Dorian said in an attempt to not just walk off. Then, after another thought, added, "Your room's to your left. The door's open." And with that he retreated to his own room, hoping to get some rest before the next day. Who knows what Ryou had in store for them?

The next six days were nothing short of pure torture for the unskilled, untrained month warriors. Ryou had definitely not been lying when he said he wouldn't be giving them special treatment. From sunup to sundown, the new month warriors were put through a series of physically demanding exercises, running up and down the Academy's mountain, climbing steep rock walls, sparring(and always, always losing) with higher-ranked Academy members. The activities were occasionally modified for different month warriors- mostly by making things a little easier for Maris since she was so small- but not by much. There were group activities as well that collapsed within the first ten minutes because none of them managed to work together.
Ryou was not impressed. He didn't give up on them, didn't berate them, but he was clearly not pleased with what he had to work with. They were flabby, weak, and spoiled Earthlings in comparison to the hard-working students already attending the Academy. Even Dorian, who did have some fighting abilities and was one of the more physically fit of the group, could barely finish most of the exercises, so it was impossible to imagine any of the others doing much better. Some people collapsed on the mountain runs, some refused to climb or do the exercises, they refused to work together and, when they did, it dissolved into petty squabbles and people refusing to listen to each other.
At the end of the week, no one had improved much if at all. Really, half of them refused to do what they were told, so there was no surprise there.

Dorian was exhausted. Not only that, but he was sore, his very bones seeming to ache after the physically demanding week, and he was almost completely fed up with not only this training but most of his so-called team. There wasn't much time for bonding since, after the first day when that had dissolved into an argument and then an awkward silence Ryou had called it off for the week, and they were all generally too tired at the end of the day to do much more than finish dinner(where they were given some sympathetic looks by students since they'd all been where the month warriors were) and go to bed. There were a few people he kind of liked. Tallyho, Nia, Autumn, Falke, maybe one or two others... But, on the whole, he hadn't really gotten very close to anyone. On another note, he hadn't seen the man from the armory since that night.
On the morning of the seventh day, Dorian pulled himself slowly to his feet, body aching, and made his way to the court yard where Ryou was standing. Ryou, surprisingly, seemed more relaxed today than he had been since the first day of training.

The next few weeks definitely took a toll on Tallyho. Being as slender as she was the exercises for the seventeen year old weren’t the best, especially the ones involving jumping and running and—just plain everything.
But she was grateful that water hadn’t come up again. Aside from that, she spent the week in a daily routine. When she ate her meals she ate with Dorian because that was the only other warrior she had spoken to since she arrived. Although, she never showed up for dinner. When the sky started to get dark she went into the forest to have dinner with Luc, the mysterious young man who, for whatever reason was living in Ryou’s forest. But she always made a point of coming back and sitting on the fountain before lights out. As far as she knew, her absence wasn’t even noticed because no one came to her about it.
The blonde made her way to the courtyard, wrapped in the jacket she received from Dorian. She approached ryou with a lack-luster gaze because couldn’t help but feel like he was going to give them another task as impossible as the waterfall.

Jackson didn't want to get up. He wanted to die. He collapsed every single time running was involved and his chest started constantly hurting, but no way would he tell anyone. He liked the sparring exercises sometimes, but he always lost and didn't like that. Most of the time he was too tired to act on any of the plans he thought of on his most miserable days. He thought that was their exact purpose, but if he didn't get up and go out today maybe he wouldn't have to worry about that. That was a very tempting thought, but the idea of starving once again raised its ugly head. Sometimes he felt like he was starving anyway with short rations and all kinds of torture throughout the day. He still needed access to places and food though to make his final escape. Groaning, he finally rolled out of bed and dressed. He couldn't hideout forever anyway. Depending on whatever horror the warden planned, he might have a chance to sneak off. That sounded good, and gave him a bit of strength which he took to the courtyard.

Rajani considered herself fit and strong and she was, physically but emotionally, she was tearing to pieces. The longer she was away from home, the harder she was managing. She hardly had time to pray and was constantly worrying about her brothers and everyone else, especially the younger ones including that bratty Jackson kid. She's seen him collapse more than once and tried to help him up, but he snapped at her when he was able to, and other times she couldn't finish the task herself. "I don't know if I can do this anymore." She curled up and tried not to cry, but she wasn't strong enough for that. Scrubbing her face with long sleeves, she pulled out of the tiny room and walked the hall, knocking on doors, to see if the other girls were ready, like she did every day, but most were gone because she was running late herself, which just made her feel worse when she finally arrived.

To say that training was brutal would be an understatement.
Nia never considered herself to be out of shape, and weighing in at a measly 109 pounds it wasn't like overweight either. Despite that fact, she felt a small part of her die on the inside every time Ryou issued out a new challenge- so yes, even though she was slim and considered herself to be pretty agile (thank you papping in New York City!), she had the hand-eye coordination of a goldfish and found herself barely keeping it together. Suddenly catapulting off of a cliff seemed like child's play compared to the constant training they were in.
Paired with the fact that nearly everyone else was in the same position and they didn't know how to work together at all it was, to say the least, a shit show.

So yes, maybe Nia was a little too outspoken and sassy at times, and maybe she did have a habit of leaving her belongings scattered about, but if there's anything she wasn't, it was a quitter. If life had taught her anything, it was to keep going on, keep moving forward. After all, she was here for a reason, something she was reminded of every day when her gaze fell upon the scars that had decorated her body for the past nine years.
And she wasn't about to give up, not when only a week had passed by and things were bound to get even harder.

Legs aching and muscles throbbing, Nia pulled herself out of bed on the seventh day. While the tasks weren't getting any easier, she still found herself getting into a rhythm- crawl out of bed, train, scarf down some of the meager portions they'd been given, and pass out. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Finally knowing her way around the Academy, she found her way to the courtyard without much difficulty, Dorian, Tallyho, Jackson, and Rajani already there.

When everyone had finally gathered, Ryou looked over them for a second before speaking.
"Today you won't be training." Even if no one spoke, there was a flood of relief that washed over the month warriors. After six days of torture, six days of relentless exercises, six days of aches and pains, they finally had a day off.
"Instead," Oh no, "You'll be getting a history lesson."
"Your teacher will be one of my five elite students, so it'd be nice if you could show her some respect," He said with a grin. No wonder he was so relaxed- he got a day off from dealing with them. "So, follow me so you can start your lesson."

Ryou guided them through the Academy, winding through halls and corridors until he finally stopped in front of a simple wooden door.
"This is your classroom. I'll see you all later. Remember, show some respect and have fun," Ryou said and in a moment he was gone, leaving the students to enter.

Upon entering the room, the first thing Tallyho noticed was the overwhelming wave of warm air that engulfed her as she entered. For once she felt that she could take off the coat. She made her way to a wooden desk near the wall, and hung the coat on the back of the seat casually before taking a seat.
By the time everyone was seated, in came a young woman who didn’t look much older than Tallyho herself. Her dark hair was hiked up right above her neck into a loose bun. Her eyes, which were far-set, and slanted, held little emotion, yet her face as a whole radiated a particular serenity. Tallyho noticed that the young woman was shrouded in what seemed to be at least three layers of pastel colored robes.
Tallyho was surprised when the young woman stood at the front and did not move—a strong suggestion that she was the teacher. She executed a nice long scan around the room. Her eyes traced the faces of each warrior carefully, before she drew her lips into a gentle smile.
“My name is Ji Na Chae,” she said. Her voice reverberated throughout the room. It was not harsh, and reminded Tallyho of melty butter.
“I have been training here since I was a child. And by the time I turned seventeen I was awarded the privilege of being the first grandmaster apothecary to rise in this academy. Healing is not an easy skill, after all. Today I will be explaining Aires to you. Geography, history… It is all important. When you travel, it is rude to go to a new place blindly without trying to learn the language, or learn the culture. Not only will you be rude, but you will be ignorant, and find yourself in troublesome situations. So shall I begin?”

Dorian took a seat, his sore body relaxing slightly, in the front row half way between the middle row and the row of seats next to the door. He could understand the need to know about Aires- about being a month warrior. They were stuck here and any help they could get to keep out of "troublesome situations" the better.
Ji Na was a bit of a surprise, if only because she was the first elite that any of them had met, even the first elite that they'd seen. She didn't have the intimidating presence and was more soothing than anything else. He didn't quite understand her credentials, having no idea what a grandmaster apothecary was or how difficult it was to become one, but he did understand what they stood for- respect.

Falke greeted Dorian in turn with a simple, "Hello." Stifling a yawn himself by biting his lip, feeling just plain wrung out by the events of the day. As the other mentioned heading off to bed, he dipped his head slightly with an acknowledging nod and a simple, if non-verbal way of bidding the other boy goodnight. The words following the last statement, surprised him enough that he blinked blearily stunned. Okay. That was... He felt his shoulders drop suddenly, relieved. Even though he particularly disliked his disability if only being slightly noted verbally most of the time, he wasn't one to throw a fuss and truthfully he was thankful that Dorian helping out. "Thank you, and... Good night." He hummed softly, politely. Turning to the left, walking through the open door and gently shut it behind him. Before flopping down on the uncomfortable floor, hoping for some rest before the 'morrow came, and the 'real training' began....

The last six days where absolute terror, and nothing short of it. His lack of gracefulness, coordination, and knowing exactly where he was going by sight, played a part in sometimes not being able to finish the tasks they'd been given at times or mostly just finishing them barely (after running into things, or tripping and falling a great many names, or...). But despite the near constantly throbbing and aching of bones and muscles, he believed himself to be doing a little better each day, or at least had to believe that to keep his sanity this far into the game (completely ignoring the fact so far that their so called 'team', wasn't able to function as one, or any time soon at that it seemed). On the seventh day, Falke awoke early just like he did every other morning, no matter how late it had been or how much stressful work they'd gone through he just woke up right on dot. He slowly got dressed, struggling on a shirt and stuffing on a pair of leather boots he'd bought in the town a week ago exactly, as he waited quietly in his little room for others to start moving and start heading out before he himself followed to the fountain they met at every morning before going out to complete the brutal training once again for the seventh day in a row. However he was surprised, if feeling mildly relieved, when they where told that they weren't doing a training lesson today. Okay, fine. The catch? Ah. A history lesson didn't sound too bad, and well, he was all for getting to know Aires a little better, and keeping out of those 'troublesome situations' that could pop up with the natives, all the better for keeping alive certainly.

Falke sat in the first seat he ran into upon coming through the door. Yes. Literally. It wasn't that he was trying to be defiant and not sit up closer to the front, or at the very least besides some of the more tolerable of the group's members, and/or wanted to sit in the back being a loner, it was... It was just easier that way. Simple as that. As he eased down into his seat, he tilted his head listening as the door re-opened and a person with a soft, elegant tread strode in and up to the front, stood their for a moment (likely, he assumed, sizing up the lot of them), before speaking. He listened quietly, politely, and most of all - respectfully. It was nice to have a break from the grueling days of work, but he was keen on still learning this history lesson, and quite possibly using it to save his neck later on.

Ji Na was rather pleased. Though she had heard the worst of the group from the other students and Ryou himself, it was nice to see that they weren’t a complete disaster. At least yet.
“I suppose that the first things I should go over are the continents of Aires. Well there are eight to be exact.”
She took a wide scroll from the desk, and casually held one end, letting the other end drop to the floor. On the withered paper was a crus map of Aires drawn with ink with thick lines for the edges of the continents and idle waves for the oceans.
“I will start with the rose kingdom,” she said as she pointed to a continent that was tucked on the top left corner of the map. “The rose kingdom has a very grassy, smooth terrain. And while there aren’t really mountains, there are plenty of hills. As for the gender roles, women tend to have moderate power. But in politics and general custom, men are considered superior. The people there usually have very white skin, with birdish noses. They tend to have lighter hair colors, like blonde and red, and their eye colors can range from blue to green. Politically, the R.K is a strict monarchy, and economically the continent is one of the most well off, being every wealthy. Next there is Constance,” she pointed to a smaller piece of land immediately superior to the rose kingdom. “Constance is extremely wet. There are multiple small bodies of water, and swampy grasslands. An interesting note on the gender dynamic in Constance is that women tend to have a larger significance than men. When people trace their ancestry, they follow their mother’s line rather than their father’s. The people there also tend to be people of mixed ancestry between the R.K and solace. With tan to olive skin, and multiple hair colors including dark ones. However unlike the R.K, officials are chosen through election. Economically, Constance has a moderate standing.”
Ji Na pointed to a large body of land that had a tornado-like shape, “Solace has flat land and high, dry grass, with a few mountain ranges. This is where we are now. In Solace men and women tend to be equal because this is an agricultural place. The people here are either immigrants from the rose kingdom, natives from here with tan skin and long, black hair, or ancestors of both of those heritages. The government and the church go hand in hand, as the head of the church is also the head of the military. The economy here is also quite moderate.”
Ji Na then pointed to a small continent right beside Solace and Constance, “This is Hales. It is pretty cold, and it snows often. It also has a drastic change in landscape because there are both high mountains and very flat land. Men and women tend to be equal here also. People here tend to have pale skin, sunken eyes, dark eyes and hair, and long noses. Hales is also a monarchy, and the economy is moderate.
Next the young woman pointed to the smallest continent—a small cluster of islands located most centrally on the map. “This continent it the called the Trading Islands because it has the best geographic location for all peoples around the world to come and exchange goods. The area is basically a series of extremely small sand islands with manmade docks expanding them. Because of the high pirate activity, men and women have the right to do just about anything, making them equal, and also makes their government totally free. The native people there tend to have deep brown to very light skin. However most have fine black hair and tend to be rather petit. Because merchants from other continents circulate currency and goods to other merchants from other places, and the Trading Island does not have a government to implement taxes, the economical standard there is well under average.”
Ji Na pointed to the long continent towards the top right of the map. “This is Noman’sland. Nomans’land is heavily populated by thick, tropical rain forests. The weather is often hot, and humid. Men are particularly dominant as they rule the tribes, but women still have respected roles as medicine women and village elders. The people tend to have dark skin, with full features. Their hair is black usually though sometimes people may have brown hair, and in almost all cases their hair is extremely curly. The western part of Noman’sland has been “civilized” by the Rose kingdom. So the people there follow the laws of the Rose kingdom and follow the monarchy under the supervision of ambassadors sent there. The eastern part of Noman’sland still follows its true customs and uses the setup of tribes, with their own alliances and wars, and whatnot. On the eastern side there is no metal currency, as the tribes only utilize trade. “
Ji Na then pointed to the far east, “Then there is Eastern Isle. I’m not sure if you’ve met Mr. Vo, but of us are from this are from this area. Eastern Isle is collectively mountainous, and riddled with jungles. As for gender roles, the women are generally submissive, while the men are dominant. The people there have skin tones that range from tan to very light, and most, if not all of them have thick black hair. While Eastern Isle does have an emperor, he is a figurehead, as the continent is actually run by the military. Economically, the continent is very wealthy; however that is mostly in the north. In the south, the people are mostly laborers and in poverty.”
Ji Na sighed. She finally pointed to the last continent with was in between Hales and the Eastern Isle. “Finally we have Ira. Ira is very dry, with plenty of deserts. Men are aggressively dominant there. The people there tend to have brownish skin, long ears, and dark eyes. The people are all rather tall. Ira actually has a total of three different monarchies which causes internal strife. However collectively, the continent tends to remain rather wealthy.”
Ji Na looked over the group, hoping that they didn’t fall asleep.
“Any questions?”

Listening to Ji Na speak was easy enough, but Dorian wondered if he would ever remember all of that information. With so many different countries and cultures to suddenly hear about, he almost felt as if he should be taking notes like a lecture in school. It was strange, though. Despite the fact that Aires and Earth were completely different worlds, he could draw up similarities to places on Earth. Hales was similar to Russia, the Rose Kingdom was like Europe, Eastern Isle to Asia, Noman'sland to South America...
When Ji Na asked for questions, Dorian stayed silent, not even sure where to begin.

Dorian thought over the options for a moment, going over the continents that he could remember. Some of them he could remember well, but only a few stood out as possibilities. He was pretty pale himself, so quite a few of the countries wouldn't do since there was no way he could pass as a native of, say, Ira. And his hair was dark, so probably not the Rose Kingdom. Well, it had better be...
"I think I could say I'm from Hales," He offered finally, leaning back in his seat.

Ji Na listened carefully to each of the teen’s choices or origin. She looked at Rajani. “Well, I’m just going to say that at a stretch, you would probably be from Ira,” the young woman hummed.
“Now… I suppose I can go into the classic foods that are found on each continent. First there is Solace (here) which has things like…Ah… Corn! Corn, peaches, and lots of wheat. This is an agricultural nation, remember? There is also an odd plant that is specifically characteristic of Solace called banya, which is commonly put in deserts for sweetness. Then there is the Rose Kingdom. The Rose kingdom has more extravagant foods such as floral (specifically rose) jellies. Strawberries, pies, and cinnamon. Constance is also very well fed. They make very good banya pudding; the people there love to eat beef. They make very good strawberry cakes, and they eat a lot of fish and cabbage soups. The trading islands have lots of rose-and seasalt wine. Boiled fish—lots of fish, corn soup and peach pudding. Noman’sland is extremely organic with Cocoa beans, bananas, fruit juices, and as their meat, the natives often eat snake. Back in my homeland, we have lots of rice and fish. Very large shrimp, and bamboo soups and stews. I’m not a huge fan of some of Hales’ food. They eat a significant amount of pork, and bear-meat stew. They also have a little desert called slush which is basically rum mixed with snow. And as a vegetable they have cabbage stew. Finally there is Ira which has very classical foods. Bread, imported grapes, boiled cactus, and pomegranate.”
Ji Na let out a sigh of relief. “I tell you this because if you are ever on your adopted continent and you notice a food you don’t particularly, you won’t be surprised. And now that you know, I would highly suggest that you eat what you are offered or they may suspect your legitimacy. While Aires is very versatile in trade, there is international political tension going on between certain areas.”

Dorian couldn't help but feel disappointed by Hales' typical food choices. Maybe he'd never tried bear before, it wasn't something you just picked up at a store, especially in New York, but he knew that he wasn't a big fan of pork and a dessert that resembled a rum snow cone didn't sound particularly appealing. But he'd deal with that when it came, and instead just let Ji Na continue on with class. The less questions she got, the sooner they got to enjoy their day off from training.

Dorian really didn't have anything better to do all day expect for staying in his tiny room or getting hopelessly lost. So, the offer of going to a spring seemed rather tempting. He might not go swimming, but it was something to do.
He followed Autumn and Tallyho out into the court yard, but didn't say anything as he waited for Ryou to show up. However, he did see Autumn's attempt at conversation with Tallyho. That would be interesting if nothing else.

Then, like an angel sent to deliver the group from their collective social awkwardness, Dorian spotted Ryou jogging over to them. Like he'd noticed that morning, the golden-haired man seemed a lot more relaxed when he didn't have to train them and deal with their bumbling antics.
"I hope you all had a good history lesson and treated Ji Na well. And I'm glad so many of you showed up," He said with a bright grin. That he was kind of surprised went unspoken because, honestly, these kids weren't the voluntarily socializing type and, in typical teenage fashion, seemed to resent anything and everything.
"Well, let's get going shall we?" With that, Ryou started off in one direction at a brisk pace, but slightly slower than normal. That may have just been him taking into consideration that none of the kids were at their best at the moment.

Oh thank god. Autumn wouldn't dare say it in fear of sounding rude, but she was more than grateful that Ryou had showed up to break apart the lack of conversation. Autumn followed Ryou happily, elated that his pace was slow enough that her legs didn't ache with every step. Well, they hurt a little, but not as much as usual.