Mansion of Fate

Hana Itami

It was all too much. First, shattered wrists and ankles, then screaming, flying tables, more screaming, blood, screaming -- all briefly broken by spells of calm emitted from Fate who explained to them their destinies. Her Sign, if all of this was true and not some sort of drug-induced coma, would explain her awkwardness starting at her first year of school. Hana DID hold vasts amounts of information, she NEVER forgot -- it made her slightly uncomfortable. She remembered the rights and wrongs of many she interacted with and, as such, could hardly forgive trespasses made against her. She was partially excited to be part of this group, this special group, who was lead by someone who would understand her and her abilities... someone who could understand all of them. It was a shame that each child was acting out so viciously; it sure was irrational. Not that it made much sense to throw children into a war, but from what Hana could tell -- Fate was no mortal being, her sense of time could be utterly skewed. She, Fate, even stated that the children would need practice and training -- certainly this wouldn't take place in mere weeks, it would take time.

She sighed, rising from her chair as Alex, the Lion, began his own rant on the war. He had been unceremoniously tossed to the ground numerous time and, not wanting to retrieve his fallen chairs, chose to sit in an open chair each time he stood. Hana blinked at him as he lost his momentum, bending to the weight of the situation, and mentioning the families of those children still present. Hana didn't have much of a family. Her parents doted on her, sure, but she was closer to her books and classes than she was to her parents. They toted around her successes and wore her much like an accessory -- "My daughter is smart. My daughter graduated. My daughter is at the top of her class. My daughter, my daughter, my daughter." She would be much more useful here, besides, being able to harness the knowledge of all of those before sounded fantastic. Another voice brought Hana to attention, Ari -- a lithe woman traveling the walls of the room -- spoke. Her head tilted to the side as she pondered her words, "The mind must work in tandem with others of like thinking to change the world, a mere wish will not accomplish a goal -- this group does not, unfortunately, contain many like minds. I'm certain that, if these powers of ours are true and are exercised to perfection, we would have the power to accomplish something great." Her mind drifted to the girl who had left the room in a fit of rage and let loose and audible sigh, "Perhaps that kind of responsibility is too heavy for some of our shoulders."

Lain Arnith

She didn't care what she was. She didn't care what she could do. Lain just wanted everyone to go away. There were too many strong emotions within the room -- anger, hatred, regret, pain, disbelief. Everything was clouding her senses and Lain no longer had the ability to think straight. She brought her knees up against her chest, tucking her heels onto the front of the chair, wrapped her arms around her legs, and buried her head against her knees. Tears escaped the corners of her eyes as her hair drifted around her tense frame -- emotions coursed through her body and she was sure that she was going to break, shatter into a million tiny pieces. It was then that the anger broke and sorrow filled her. She looked up from her knees to see the room in disarray. A table had been overturned, chairs were missing, numerous individuals stood and sat at different places in the room -- even on the floor -- while one girl in particular stood at the doorway with tears brimming in her eyes and her fists clenched at her side.

The sorrow built within Lain and she looked to the girl at the doorway, hand clenched at her chest as the feeling hollowed her out. This was horrible and stressing. Lain hadn't felt this much emotional charge for a very long time, she was exhausted, empty, and now, now Lain was worried for this bleeding girl at the door. When the woman tore from the room, Lain immediately stood, her chair screeching across the ground as she ran after the girl. The girl was fast, however, and Lain lost track of her numerous times. It took her a little while, but the residual anger, sorrow, and pain that Akino had experienced, eventually lead Lain to her. She opened the door she felt the emotions throb behind, finding the limp form of Akino within the sheets of the bed. Lain, fearing that blood loss and exhaustion may be causing horrible damage, rushed to the bed -- closer inspection, however, revealed that Akino was sleeping.

Her breathing wasn't labored, she didn't show signs of vital weakness... her hand was still bleeding, though. Frowning, Lain retreated to the connected bathroom to find a first aid kit. When she couldn't locate it, however, she went for the next best thing she could come up with -- an extra sheet for the bed and a cup of warm water. She ripped the sheet up, fighting with the durability of the sheets themselves for a few moments before identifying a nearby sharp corner on some furniture to complete the job. Some of the sheet she used to fashion a cloth to dip into the water and cleanse the wound on the girls hand -- Lain would have normally found herself sick while she plucked the glass from the girl's hand, but the pulsing emotions from Akino left her feeling too tired to feel sick. Another part of the sheet was used to create a bandage of sorts to wrap around the wound and protect it through the night, or day - as it should be.

Lain sighed as she finished her work, curious that Akino had remained fast asleep, albeit slightly restless, while she mended her injury. The poor girl must have exhausted herself entirely, not that it was much of a surprise (she'd managed to exhaust Lain). Wrought with a mixture of unexplainable guilt and understandable worry for the girl's condition, Lain stumbled to a small chair across from Akino and sat down, bringing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. She was determined to remain sitting there until Akino woke up.

Xen wondered why the boy was telling him as well as the girl to not do anything, he thought it was strange because he wasn't doing anything besides stopping anyone else from making the boy's mistake. Fate then told everyone what sign they were born under, so Xen had been right about the snake thing and when the powers were explained slightly it basically explained why he was usually not seen when around shadows. Then people threw tables, other's started yelling and some went out of the room. Not wanting to have to deal with all this he simply said one thing before disappearing into some shadows, "We all said 'yes' ourselves, we might not have known what would happen and we might not exactly remember why, but each one of you and myself said yes, we weren't forced to so don't try to blame it on someone else, take responsibility for your own actions. Fate and destiny do not control us" and he was gone.

Xen could always ask Fate questions later so he walked out of the room unseen and unheard by any of the others still in there, once he was out of the dining hall and had turned a couple of corners he unshadowed himself. Xen had no idea how big the mansion might be and didn't care, he chose a direction and started walking, after a few turns here and there and walking past some butlers and maids and looking into a few rooms he came across a room with a couch, for no real reason he just decided to sit up on the back of the couch, carefully balanced. It meant if anyone walked in he would probably be considered weird, which in some points was good because weird people usually weren't expected to do as much and could do more stuff without being noticed.

As Fate watched the room fall into chaos, she could only sigh. It had been over a thousand years since she had so much as spoken to another human being, much less be in tune with the subtle emotions of others. Even so, she should have expected for the children to act as such, even with the numerous chances she had given them for civility. For a moment, she thought about forcefully quieting them and bending them to her will. No. She couldn't do that, it would only distance them further. Besides, she wanted to give these humans another chance. She wanted to believe that these children, her last hope, could see that she was trying to help them. I suppose my lack of tact didn't help any....

Patience is the key. She would wait for them to come to her, without anger and without malicious intention. Then, she could speak with them calmly, and perhaps they would understand. She certainly didn't expect them to take it in stride, but she had no choice......there was so little time. So little time, before Destiny makes his move....

"Let's get to the point. You think we're gonna fight a war. Who are we fighting against? And what 'signs' are you talking about? And what's more, what's gonna happen to the wolf girl, the one that ran out?"

In response to this question and others like it, Fate said, "No harm will come to Akino, as long as she doesn't try to leave. Even so, the guardians of this mansion will not to harm her, but I cannot guarantee her safety from them should she insist." Fate stood. "We will be fighting against those who aim to destroy humanity, and even life itself. They seek to rip apart the space/time continuem, and to make for themselves a new world. A world...we will not be part of, because if they succeed then we will be dead. The Signs have long been a symbol of prophecy, but I cannot speak any more of it."

Fate bowed, the began to walk to the door, her clothes rippling. Before she left, she turned around and looked at Alex with a gentle smile at his soft expression. "As Fate, a harbringer of life and death, I swear this unto you all; I will protect your families, with all of my power, until our task is complete." As spoke these words, they seemed to flow with tremendous power, binding her to her promise. This power could be felt throughout the room, even to those who didn't have the gift of empathy.

"Now, I will take my leave. For those of you who can be calm, you are free to follow me as you wish. If you cannot...then please feel free to wander the mansion as you please, until you can be civil. Heed my warning, young ones; I will give to you the same as you give unto me. If you do not understand, then simply look at Rin as an example." And with that, she gathered her clothing and walked through the doorway.

[Rin Suji]

With everything going on, Rin only watched without a word. After all, he had been acting the same insane way just a few moments ago, and he was still on the verge of reverting back to it now. Rin closed his eyes. War...signs....destruction.....a new world.... To Rin, it sounded like something off of a crappy sci-fi movie. Even so....would he really be here if Fate was joking? She had healed him with but a touch, and crushed him like it was nothing. No, there was no way she was mortal, and she certainly didn't seem the type to waste her time on anything.

"As Fate, a harbringer of life and death, I swear this unto you all; I will protect your families, with all of my power, until our task is complete."

Rin could feel the strength that those words had, the unspoken contract. And so, because of that, he knew it to be true. She would protect Ben...Ben would be safe, especially so with someone like Fate. As if a giant wieght had been lifted, Rin sighed in relief.

"Heed my warning, young ones; I will give to you the same as you give unto me. If you do not understand, then simply look at Rin as an example."

Rin glared at Fate for the comment, then sighed. When he thought about it, it made sense. He did attack her first, and he had certainly meant to do what she had done to him. Luckily, even thought she could have killed him, she had only broken bones and even healed them after.
Even with the way he had acted, Rin still had questions that needed to be answered. And so, he decided to do his best to stay calm and follow Fate. Rin stood up and went over to the doorway, reaching it just as Fate passed through. Rin followed to see her walking down the hallway. He caught up to her.

"I'm....sorry. I was...worried, about....Ben." He quietly said to her as he walked beside her, a little tentatively. Fate smiled kindly at him.
"To be honest, child, I wish I hadn't set such a display of violence. I apologise. Ben is your younger brother, is that right?"
Rin frowned. "...yes. Where....is he? He's got....nowhere....to go...."
"I have placed Ben out of harm's way. I'm sorry I can't tell you his exact location, but rest assured that he is safe."
"..........."
"I know it isn't much, but I really am sorry."
"It's okay."
"What do you mean?" Fate asked, curiously, as they continued walking.
"I'll see him...again. No matter what."
At this, Fate smiled.

"......Perhaps that kind of responsibility is too heavy for some of our shoulders."
Ari smiled cheerily at the girl who had responded to her own wondering. She stopped tracing the faults of the walls and walked slowly towards her, offering her hand uneasily.
"My names Ari, it's nice to know someone else who has strong shoulders." Aromatically Ari's shoulders straightened, mentioning them sent them into a reaction of reassuring her that they were indeed in existence. She was still in her night clothes, a thin cotton blouse and pastel pink shorts, her bare feet curled their toes into the floor with a touch of anxiety.
In the background Fate continued to try and reassure the other children, Ari had given up paying attention. She Had accepted her fate here, with any yes or no question comes consequences and responsibilities, she hadn't been aware of them, but she was willing to accept and fulfill them. Either way what were her choices, to rest her luck with these hormonal hurricanes and centainly die, or try to fight back and isk dying instead. Risk seemed the better option.
"For those of you who can be calm, you are free to follow me as you wish." Fate's words rang out like the violin symphony and Ari turned to watch her as she effortlessly glided out of the room. Ari's curiosity burnt deep within her and her eyes pulled from their sockets trying to follow her movement. Her hand moved from a shaking offer to an invitation and she smiled to the girl calmly. "Shall we?"

Fate spoke again, much more had happened in just the past minutes. Some even ran off, not that Akemi didn't mind...the less of the crowd, the less she felt trapped. Fate spoke of the people they were expected to fight against, they seek to destroy humanity and create a 'new world'. This intrigued her, the new world. Of course, she was part of humanity...meaning she would be killed. There was point of lingering on the idea anymore, so she simply brush it off her shoulder and chose to forget about it. Fate continued on speaking, "As Fate, a harbringer of life and death, I swear this unto you all; I will protect your families, with all of my power, until our task is complete." Some how Akemi felt the emotion put into that sentence, even though she despised her family. It still made her some what...glad that she would put such effort into protecting those that 'seemed' close to them. After speaking such warm words she left out the door way, offering those who would be calm to join her if they wished. Akemi would naturally stay behind to investigate the castle further, although she was quite calm and wasn't looking to start a fight.

Smirking deviously she began to explore the mansion, everything seemed amazing...as if it was from a story book she had read as a child. How that brought back memories of the good times in her past. Then she came across a window, even the glass looked perfect. Akemi felt more at home then she felt in her own home, if that even makes sense. " Hmmm, purple bitch...if I am correct. Akion is under the sign of the wolf, which is a dog. She is female...so wouldn't she be the technical term of a bitch?" giggling at her thought, it brightened her mood up. What the day could bring, they were suppose to receive training at some point it seems. It all seemed exciting, but...just not a expected life for her. She always pictured herself ending up stuck in her house...for the rest of her life. One could say just like Cinderella, but...mix the story up with more psychotic actions and just mix in some insanity in there. In the end though, it would have been a terrible life in her opinion. Now she is expected to...'save the world!' It just didn't seem like the thing she would do, but it had to be done...right? The only issue was that she wasn't sure what they were up against, how strong were these people? Would they ever be able to master these so called 'abilities' they have? Will she ever discover her own ability? So many question, but she would wait to question Fate later.

Well, I suppose it won't be to bad to save the world. Only because I am part of it...I have to keep myself safe. Right,right, only because I am part of humanity. she claimed it was just for her, but truthfully she also cared about humanity. Akemi was now staring out the window, lost in thought...with a emotionless expression. Pondering on what would happen next and what awaited her and the others.

As Lain wait for Akino to awake it was… already in a way a lost cause. The wolf had been awake for a while, just letting the other treat her. Slowly letting her eyes slit open to spy on the girl, grey eyes staring at her frowning just slightly. Not sure if the other had seen her ‘awakening’ or not, it didn’t matter to her. Slowly she sat up, straining though making no sound and just watching her. Wriggling on the spot swinging her feet over the edge of the bed to stare.

Why did she look so tired? She wasn’t flipping out in the room, she shouldn’t be tired. “Who are you... why are you here?” Meaning the room of course, not the mansion as it was obvious why they had been taken there. Like it or not. Turning her gaze slowly to her hand, her frown faltering just a little bit before murmuring, “Thank… you.” Blushing just slightly at her… everything. The small hollowed out feeling coming back as the anger seeped away from her, leaving absolutely nothing. No friends. No family. It was like hitting the ultimate reset button and she couldn’t figure out why she did.

But she hadn’t, it had been Fate. Forcing her to agree for some reason but it was all an unimportant blur in the past. Didn’t matter now.

Akino stared at Lain, the only person that bothered to follow it seemed, and sighed. “Sorry… Just… a little…” There was really no reason for what she had done. If this girl hadn’t appeared it worried her just what she might have done, to herself. “ Everything.” As if that was an explanation the small wolf sifted back onto the half bloody bed, ignoring the fact she might have been getting blood on her clothes. Staring at the sheets, in an … awkward silence.

Hana managed a smile as the other girl approached her, offering her hand in greeting. "It's nice to know someone else who has strong shoulders..." Hana's small smile slipped into a grin, shaking the hand that Ari had offered her. "It's nice to meet you Ari, I'm Hana." A formal introduction brought a sense of calm to Hana, such a relief in a room filled with such anger previously. Lost in her thoughts, Hana caught only the ending of Fate's sentence -- she did, however, fully hear and happily accept Ari's invitation to leave the room and follow after Fate.

As they left the room after Fate, Hana's eyes wandered the halls -- her mind was busy creating a mental map of the parts of the mansion she had already explored. Unlike some of the others, Hana would never find herself lost in this maze of white hallways seemingly ever expanding. Hana's line of thought was similar to Ari's, though this idea remained unspoken between the two except for the shared words earlier -- she remembered speaking to Fate in her dreams, accepting her invitation to her mansion. Fate promised to keep her family safe, the warmth and power behind the pact from earlier reverberated within her chest as she remembered it, and that was all Hana could really ask for. After all, some people are destined for greatness and if Hana was destined for greatness, then who was she to spit so boldly in the face of destiny.



Lain's eyes opened wide in surprise as Akino sat up, she hadn't expected the girl to be awake so soon -- residual emotions had left Lain feeling drained, she couldn't imagine how the girl herself felt. Her legs dropped to the ground as Akino turned in the bed to inspect her, her hands drew to the edge of her skirt and grasped the material tightly, wringing it about her fists. She was, at first, frightened that Akino may turn her anger on her -- it was obvious that turning one's anger on Fate was ineffective, to say the least. She visibly relaxed, however, when all Akino did was ask her who she was and why she was there. Lain issued a small smile and bowed her head in a greeting of sorts, "I'm Lain. I... well, I followed you." Lain's eyes shifted to the side, now worried that she, perhaps, sounded like some sort of creepy stalker. The worry slightly dissipated, however, when the Wolf muttered a 'thank you'.

Lain's smile grew slightly, a blush tinging her cheeks as she waved her hands in front of her. "No, no need for a thank you. It wasn't a problem, honest." Her smile dropped, however, as she felt the emotions drain from the room. Akino emanated emptiness; emptiness was one of the scariest emotions to experience, in Lain's eyes, it was on par with self-loathing or utter hopelessness. Nothing good came of emptiness. When Akino apologized, Lain shook her head. "You don't have to apologize." Her voice dropped, just above a whisper it would seem, as she frowned at the girl sitting across from her. "We were all just kind of thrown into this... it's okay to be angry, upset, sad, whatever. It's good to feel, to feel something, anything."

Lain stood from her seat, padding across the small distance to the bed and lowered herself onto the mattress next to the Wolf. The closer she drew to the girl, the more of those hidden emotions she could feel. The greatest was a sense of emptiness, like losing everything, being completely numb. There were underlying emotions, however, the greatest of those seemed to be fear, anxiety, and sorrow. Lain frowned again, worried for the girl who seemed to have taken her arrival in the mansion the hardest. "Hey, can I get you anything? I could change the sheets, maybe a glass of water, something to eat, a change of clothing.", her eyes shifted to the side again, worried that she may be talking to much. "If you do need anything, I can get it for you, kay?"

Alexander quietly sat in his chair. Fate had promised to keep their family safe, so he didn't have to worry about them. She still didn't specifically say who there were to go to war with, only responded with a bullshit answer "We will be fighting against those who aim to destroy humanity, and even life itself. They seek to rip apart the space/time continuem, and to make for themselves a new world. A world...we will not be part of, because if they succeed then we will be dead. The Signs have long been a symbol of prophecy, but I cannot speak any more of it." A bunch of secrets wrapped in mystery with a nice layer of enigma on top, perfect. Because if he was going to risk his life, he wanted to it blindly. Alex kicked at a broken plate that laid at his feet.

Then... He started to laugh. Of course he was going to risk his life blindly. That was how he did things. He wasn't eloquent with words, no, he wasn't a mastermind thinker, nope. He wasn't even the man who made plans before hand. He did things brashly, roughly, and he got it done damn good. He was an immovable pillar when he sat his mind to it. He kept his family in high spirits, and never budged a minute when Fate and Destiny began to encroach. Why in the hell should it be different now that he had actually met Fate herself? "The sign of the Lion," Alexander repeated to himself. The Lion, a proud, strong, and stubborn beast. Fit Alex like a glove.

"The mind must work in tandem with others of like thinking to change the world, a mere wish will not accomplish a goal -- this group does not, unfortunately, contain many like minds. I'm certain that, if these powers of ours are true and are exercised to perfection, we would have the power to accomplish something great."

Alex looked over to the girl with glasses, Hana, the Traveler, and nodded. She was right. She was wordy about it, but she was right. Alex always liked the smart girls... Although he refrained from winking at her and flirting. Things were serious now and such things were unseemly. Their whole world was flipped upside down, and he didn't want to seem like the disrespectful one by trying to get into the purse of the nearest girl. Tasteless. Instead, he merely kept his seat as Fate and a couple of the girls filed out. He sat quietly and thought. Thought longer and harder than he ever did before.

He didn't follow Fate because he felt like he didn't need anymore answers. He knew he was going to have to fight later, or die now. Simple. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and he couldn't leave, so why try? One would think that the boy born under the Lion would be the first one to try and leave but he didn't... Somewhere, deep down inside, he felt this was more important than going home and doing nothing. He should and needed to be here, otherwise Fate wouldn't have called upon him. He was chosen for a reason.

Alex sighed and leaned on the chair. So complicated. So strange... And so fast. Last night, he was just a normal boy, and now he was a chosen one. Felt like those video games he played, but this was real. He shook his head. A thought came to mind. A little bit of useless trivia he remembered from somewhere. It had to do with his name... Alexander. In greek, Alexander meant 'The Protector of Man'. He never realized how literal that it would turn out to be. "Well, hell... If I ain't livin', then I best get to dyin'," Alex said before leaving his seat and following Fate. Fate, who had left a while ago... He was going to have to hunt her down.

Before long, he caught up to Fate and the two girls behind her. Alex remembered the two girl's names... They were perhaps the most memorable to him. Hana, the Traveler, and Ariana the Flame... And he was pretty certain Ariana had a screw or two loose. Alex slowly walked up behind them, catching Hana looking around the halls. He spoke, gently as to not startle the two girls, "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked them, himself looking at the iced walls and crimson decor.

Akino didn’t feel a lot, to her it was good. Even if it felt like her body weighed twice as much as it should. Leaving her rather weak showing such would be even worse, so Akino just frowned at the other waiting. Blinking in surprise when she was met with a rather strange smile and the introduction she had wanted… along with warning of a stalker? Instead she blinked, rather stunned that anyone had bothered to follow her at all. After her fit that she was so regretting, or would have regretted if she hadn’t simply spoken her mind in a not so subtle way. Setting the girls name aside finding that perhaps this one was different than the others that… hated her so.

The Wolf stayed rather silent as Lain spoke, just piercing grey eyes bore into her while still pondering what she was doing following her. Easily a trick by Fate to try and get her to join the strange army. Maybe.

Sending forth a small flush of anger that vanished just as quickly as Lain kept talking more confused at the strange words. “to feel something, anything." Snorting softly flicking at her hair with her hand, wriggling on the bed not sure to what to make of this female. Or any of them, hardly used to being with the same sex in any mater, not even her mother had bothered to teach her the necessities of females.

Lain came closer and Akino felt herself prickle at the close proximity, along with wondering if she had hit this girl with the table she had thrown. One would, or should generally stay away from someone who could do that at any moment. “I’m… alright. Just tired. I’ll live though I don’t run on much sleep at all.” Moving a hand to below her eye that held the darker bags, tugging at one with a weak smile. “If you haven’t noticed. And the bed, well it isn’t mine so I don’t think we have… or I don’t have to worry about changing the sheets. I don’t even know if this is someone else’s bed. “ Akino hoped not, as if she needed more enemies after the freak out in the Dining Hall.

Standing the wolf grumbled softly, touching her stomach wondering if she could still get food. Sleep wasn’t needed but the small female ate an awful lot for someone of her size. “Come on, Lain… I should… go say sorry or something. And I’m guessing you don’t want to stay in a bloody room?” Turning back to Lain giving the blonde a slightly more ‘real’ smile than before. It was always hard to lose something, more so to the wolf. When you had almost nothing, it was harder to lose than having many things and being able to still hold something close. Or that’s how she saw it. Just maybe she could make something else now, if they really could never return to what was.

"It's nice to meet you Ari, I'm Hana."
Ari smiled relieved, she had prepared herself for another let down, another person only seeing her strangeness and not looking beyond at the person within it. Ari's eye's glistened with pride as the pair followed Fate out of the carnage that was once a dinning hall, feeling they had both been brave enough to stand up to the challenge Fate had set them. As they wandered the halls, following the ripple of fabric with their toes, a strange calmness overcame Ari. Her eyes alone were sufficient and she almost forgot that her body even had fingers. Hana's acceptance had magically numbed the nerves that went to those outer extremities. Ari's eyes traveled the walls, the paintings, the crimson carpets a rich Wooden doors with amazement, realizing in some sense by inviting her here, Fate was offering them to her, sharing them with all the children that they might call this place home. It was beautiful.
A gentle voice tickled her ear. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Ari turned to see that Vega had caught up with them. She nodded softly in response to his answer, sending waves of pale blonde, almost grey hair flowing into the air.
"There is no saving of time when faced with a masterpiece, each corner, each shadow begs for understanding and praise." Ari said sure of herself for once, not really looking to the boy as she spoke but caressing the walls lovingly with her gaze. She crept along them, over the floor and they now fell on Fate, expect something, perhaps an insight to the mansions origins. The building in all is beauty was still deeply shrouded with mystery.

Hana Itami

The two girls walked along side each other with a mixture of pride and confidence in their steps as they followed the flowing skirt of Fate through the halls. She felt comfortable with Ari, though she couldn't perfectly explain why -- perhaps it was their awkwardness or perhaps their intelligence. Either way, Hana enjoyed walking the mansion with her. She was startled from her map-making and thoughts of the girl she had just met by a voice; though soft-spoken, Hana still tensed and turned to face the keeper of said voice. Her eyes fell upon Alex, the Lion who had winked at her earlier, and a blush seeped into her cheeks as she glanced over him. Her eyes shifted back towards the ground in front of her as she rubbed the hem of her shirt in between two fingers.

"It's quite... enchanting, yes." She replied, after Ari had spoken her piece. She adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat, willing the blush to dissipate; however, the stubborn condition refused to go.

Lain Arnith

Lain listened patiently as Akino explained her sleeping habits, or lack thereof, and how the room wasn't her own. She nodded, frowning when Akino tugged at the bags beneath her eyes and shrugging when she mentioned the bloody bed. When Akino stood, Lain followed quickly, though her hands remained clasped together in front of her and her eyes darted around the room apprehensively. She released a deep breath when Akino invited her along and a smile spread across her features. Easily recalling the hand on her stomach from mere second ago, Lain nodded enthusiastically, "We should get you something to eat, too. If you don't sleep very much, you have to get your energy from somewhere." Lain waggled her finger at nothing in particular and paced towards the door, stopping to look back at the bed. Another frown crossed her features as she thought of the owner of the bed and what a mess they would have to clean up. "I guess we can just tell Fate about the room? I'm sure she can... fix it up." Her eyes shifted to the side, hands wringing together once more.

Lain easily felt awkward, if she wasn't apologizing or worrying, she was usually worried about making sure she apologized for anything she said that MAY offend someone. In all honesty, she lacked any sort of brashness, bluntness, or confidence in most situations.

Sky decided to follow Fate. It wasn't that she wanted to; she just thought it would be a little better to get on Fate's good side. She stayed away from the other two girls and the boy who were all following Fate like stray puppies. It was kind of weird that they didn't seem to be bothered by what happened just now. In fact, they all looked pretty comfortable.

Lion, huh. But why us? How did any of us have anything in common? What did Fate expect? Where are we, anyways? And where are we even going?! How can these people stay so CALM?! And I seriously need some chocolate right now! The girls in front of her seemed to be getting along pretty well. She didn't want to intrude, so she hung back. The other Lion, Alex whats-his-name, was busy talking to them. With his looks, it wasn't too hard to see why people might like him. Too bad for him, it didn't work the same way on redheads. Or maybe it was his attitude.

The sound of Sky's footsteps were muffled by the thick, soft carpet. The more she thought, the louder they grew. She didn't notice until she crashed into a table and nearly toppled over a vase with flowers in it. "Crap..." A wave of embarrassment washed over her and she felt her face grow warm.

Fate noticed when three girls and another boy joined her and Rin walking down the hall. As the last girl almost broke a vase, Fate stopped for a moment and turned to her. "Are you alright, Sky?" Fate addressed her, "Do not fret about anything you break. Also, should you have any injury, come see me and I will heal you." She was genuinely concerned for her well-being, for all of the children's well-being, but she certainly wasn't the doting type either. And so, she turned away and continued walking, prepared to stop again should Sky need any assistance. As for the other two girls and the one called Alex, she let them converse among themselves as they went along.

Eventually, they came to a door. It was just like any door, except for two things that differentiated it from every other door in the mansion. For one, it was at the very end of the hall, not on the left or right like the other doors. For second, the very edges were inlaid with mother-of-pearl, giving the illusion that the other side was filled with light and that it was being leaked out through the edges of the door.
"Children." Fate turned to the ones who had followed her, grabbing the doorknob with a hand. She turned it, and opened the door.

What lay beyond could only be described as magnificent. It was a library of sorts, with pillars and columns as far as the eye could see. However there were no bookshelves, as the pillars and columns themselves were the bookshelves. Each and every column and pillar were filled with books, all the way to the very ceiling. In front of the door and inside the library, however, there was a large space without any columns or pillars; instead there were several tables. Beyond those was a wall, with a door and large windows on each side of it. On each side of the wall, the room continued farther than the eye could see, with all the pillars and columns in thier slightly-dusty glory.

"And now, I welcome you, Children, to my sanctuary." Fate smiled, a bit nostalgically, "I hope that someday this library will become a sanctuary to you as well. But, for now, let us sit and discuss things a little further." Fate went over to a seat, Rin following, and sat down. Rin sat beside her.

Ari's mouth fell wide open as the mysterious doors were opened, unfolding in all their splendor to a marvelous library. Like almost everything that had unfolded today, the library itself was as unique and glorious as the rest of the house and quite strange. The books teasing her eye's as they climbed up the never ending hall of pillars. Ari gulped a breath of air, her mouth still hanging limply open for all the world to see down her throat.
"It's the most beautiful place in the world." she finally managed to gargle in awe.
Ari's eyes followed as Fate and Rin took a seat at one the many tables dotted about the open space, dwarfed by the great pillars of knowledge. Ari shuffled forward, her neck awkwardly tilted upward as she took in the space, feeling as though she were an ant surrounded by glorious information, pages and pages of it. She couldn't wait to get started. Surprisingly her hand had not started twitching, the pure beauty of the place had seemed to numb her nerves. Ari sat silently, a smile of ecstasy painted across her face.

"I hope that someday this library will become a sanctuary to you as well. But, for now, let us sit and discuss things a little further."
Ari swung her feet beneath the table cheerfully and smiled to Hana. Her mind wandered hopefully into the future, cuddled against a pillar clutching one of the library's books, Hana scanning through one herself not far from her. Ari's smile grew before she snapped back to the present and to Fate's dominate stature at the end of the table.
A though broke into Ari's mind and she looked at Fate seriously. "Your sanctuary? What do you come to hide from?" Ari brought her elbow onto the table and lent into her palm. Up until this point Fate had been to her, a symbol of utter power and calm. Now she saw that Fate too had her demons, demons that she fled from and fought with books.

Akino nodded slowly, leading the way back silently trying to catch sigh of the red carpet that had originally led to the Dining Hall. Glancing back at Lain every now and then to make sure that she was indeed following, not that her talking wasn’t enough indicator. ”Food would be nice… I didn’t actually eat anything before…” Following the others gaze into the room before snorting, nodding her head at the mention of making Fate clean it up. “We should tell her. She can deal with it or the person whom owns the room can. Everyone seems every capable.” Not able to hold back the small flick of anger that stirred up in her chest. Obviously Akino still didn’t think much of the woman yet. Or perhaps she never would. Taking her from her only home, her only friends wasn’t something to start a great relationship with anyone. And the show of her power was intimidating, but hardly the best to way to keep her in line. It just prompted Akino to do everything in her power to not fight. What did she have to fight for? If they could never go back… what was the point?

Slipping into the hall once again muttering something under her breath, glancing at the small array of disaster around the hall. “Dammed. I hope… I didn’t do all of this.” Before it was just such a blur that she really couldn’t do anything but wonder if she had cased everything. Fighting back a groan Akino turned to Lain again. “How do we get food?...” Trying to avoid the clutter… if at all possible.