Ridley rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his hands, not bothering to suppress his wide yawn. Heâd only slept ten hours the previous night, which while great for most people, was throwing him off a little and giving him the feeling of sleep deprivation. There was an extra heaviness to his limbs this morning, but then he supposed that could just as easily be the fact that he knew what was coming. The people at DWMA had asked himself, the kid walking just to his left, and a few other older students to go mingle with the incoming freshmen today.
Of course, there was more than just a desire for academy unity underlying this action. There was always more going on, and as sharp as he was, Ash hadnât missed it. Dropping his arms back to his sides, he pushed his glasses back up his nose with an index finger and glanced to the youth beside him.
Tennyson was one of those people Ridley didnât mind so much. He had enough courtesy to slow his speech just a little when he was talking to the weaponless Meister, but not so much that it came off as condescending. It made reading his lips considerably easier, and he was even picking up a few basic sign language things, which was apparently easy for someone who talked so much with his hands anyway. He also apparently didnât get offended when Ridley was only half-minding him, such as right now, lost in his own thoughts as he was.
The two passed Ridleyâs preferred nap location, and the half-Japanese teenager had to exercise rather extreme effort not to veer off his course and park himself in the tree where heâd spent many a lazy afternoon. His was a silent world, save for the vibrations, and those didnât have sound so much as
feel to them. Like he was a bat, and his soul perception a kind of sonar. It was why he could sense the faint traces of corruption in Teoâs soul, those that he tried so hard to suppress. It was why he knew there was more to the story when a couple teachers had dropped by and asked them to do this.
They were hoping heâd resonate. Unlike Teo, whoâd lost his partner a while back and was only now prepared to deal with the process of acclimating to a new one, Ash had never had one to begin with. That was partly because of Estelle, partly because of his reputation as a useless layabout, and partly because the unique frequency of his soul just didnât match any of the other studentsâ. Hence his present predicament.
How inconvenient⊠he let the thought trail off, as the grand hall had come into sight.
They were there just slightly earlier than the wave of freshmen, and positioned themselves on the side of the room. Tennyson went immediately for the coffee, returning with a cup of the stuff and handing it to Ridley. âYouâve got to be at least a little more awake to get through this,â he joked with a grin. Ridley read the words on his lips and frowned, but took the coffee anyway. Some part of him
did want this entire endeavor to be successful, it was just usually overtaken by the cynic that told him itâd never work properly. He was practically a defective human being, to say nothing of how he was as a Meister.
Tennyson watched the less-than-enthusiastic reaction of his Meister friend and shook his head sadly. Some days, it seemed like there was no helping Ash. It was almost like he didnât
want to resonate with anybody, and Teo put that down to the fact that he never had. He still remembered doing so for the first time incredibly fondly. It had brought his soul to the precipice of disaster, and ultimately, it had made a kishin out of dear Celene, the best friend heâd ever had.
But he still couldnât bring himself to regret it. Because there, then, with her, heâd been more himself than heâd ever been before or since. Unlike the other young man here, he was hopeful that today would bring a taste of that wholeness once again. Heâd mourned Celene for a long time, and spent even longer grappling with the fulminating darkness in his soul, but it was time to seek the good again, and he was confident that theyâd succeed.
Perhaps that was his hopeless optimism speaking, though. The two watched the fresh-faced new students file into the grand hall, and Tennyson realized that he didnât really care if he was being too hopeful. Just
looking at the lot of them was enough to bring a smile to his face. They looked like good kids, all of them. He knew that, in all likelihood, he and Ridley would end up with partners younger than themselves by a couple years, at least, but there was something to be said for having experience on oneâs side. He had a considerable number of kishin souls under his metaphorical belt already, the product of Celeneâs unceasing diligence and ambition. Ridley was quite a skilled combatant even on his own; he suspected a Demon Weapon would only make that more true. That said, all new pairs started on even footing when it came to resonance, and that was the most important thing.
âSee? Just look at âem. This wonât be so bad, Ash!â Heâd had to turn his head to speak to his deaf companion, so heâd missed the fact that anyone was paying any attention to him in particular.
Ridley just huffed a breath in response, apparently rather stubbornly unmoved to excitement, and Teo rubbed at the back of his head. No pleasing some people, he supposed, but he was willing to let it drop. Adjusting his hat so it fit better over his inch-long hair, he was suddenly struck by an uncanny feeling. It was⊠similar to the one heâd gotten when heâd met Celene, but most definitely
not the same. It was like something was getting under his skin and setting off his nerve endings, drawing his usual warm calm into something more invigorated, like a cool breeze on a summer day.
âQuâest-ce?â He murmured to himself, trying to pinpoint the reason for the sensation. Eyes the color of the sky at night alighted on a young lady fiddling with the straps on her luggage, and his smile widened. That had to be her; there was no mistaking it.
Why was she frowning, though? Was it possible she was displeased to be here? Or perhaps he was mistaken somehow? Tennyson shook his head. Now was not the time to go doubting himself. Heâd just go make introductions and see what happened. Everyone here today had good reason to be nervous, and chances were, that could explain her unhappiness. Time to go see what he could do to help, because even if he was wrong and they were entirely unsuited, that was the kind of thing heâd never consider it a waste of time to do: cheer somebody up.
Approaching the girl, he cleared his throat softly. âExcuse me, miss, but is everything all right? You seem to be having some trouble.â Despite his best efforts, heâd never been able to rid himself entirely of his accent: a little bit Moroccan, a little bit French, the whole thing ended up sounding a smidge like⊠well, he wasnât sure. His mother had always said it was honey and vanilla, but those were flavors, not sounds, so who was to say? It was understandable, at any rate.