Magical Teacher Professor Landry! - Episode 4: The Lady in White

[Bard The 5th LW]

Sean stood over Diana's shoulders, eyes locked on the unfolding battle between the suspiciously familiar giant and the two Shuyins. "Come on! Let's go!" he suddenly urged her. He leaned forward to grab her arm.

"- one way." Sean couldn't avert his eyes. The axe fell. The pavilion followed. Black light came cascading from it, it felt warm, like a relief from the stress of the battle until now.

---

Sean threw off the blankets around his bed and hopped to his feet, feeling wide awake. He swiftly threw on a black shirt, tan slacks, and a pair of dark brown shoes. The clock said 5, but he felt surprisingly well rested. He stretched his arms and legs a bit before continuing his morning routine.

It was on his way to brush his teeth that it all came crashing down on him. The dream, Diana, Shuyin, everything.

"Oh God," he muttered putting a hand to his head as the nightmare came back. He staggered a bit. What could have inspired something like all that? He shuffled back over to his closet, and examined his wardrobe. There it was, the tux his father had bought and enchanted for him before Sean had departed to Amaranth. It was cut up in places, what with Sarah's "enhancements" to it.

But... the damage matched up with his dream as well. Even moreso, he remembered giving Diana the jacket after class on the first day. Ugh... Diana. The spooky girl. That dream didn't do much to lessen the sense of unease she gave him.

This wasn't going to be an easy day.

---

Sean had left the dorm before he had a chance to talk with Johanna. He sort of stumbled through the day. He noticed two new classmates but he couldn't remember their names. One was related to Dal or something. He tried to avoid looking at Diana who was sitting behind him.

The news of Shuyin's trip to Cambodia came as a surprise. A pleasant one actually. The nightmare had sorta made him decide to skip the duel, and now there wasn't even a duel to skip along with the canceled one that Jay had started. And maybe now he wouldn't have any reminders of Shuyin's fate in his dream since he wouldn't see the guy in the halls.

Sean's general interest in the rest of class sorta faded. Something about the Greeks. He couldn't focus on it while remembering the events of the nightmare. It was just a nightmare right?

---

After class, Sean had a bit of a debate with himself over what to do next. He didn't want to go near the field at all, but he decided to go through with it to perhaps confirm to himself that it was just a dream.

There was a decent amount of people when he got there. Was this a park or something when duels weren't going on? The first disturbing he noticed was that it looked just like it had in the nightmare duel.

'Relax, I probably saw it during orientation.'

The second disturbing thing he noticed was a tea party of one. The particular member of this tea party was the same girl who had kicked his ass in the nightmare duel. He was a decent distance away, but he could faintly make out what looked like her talking to someone. Was she talking to the thugs around her? Sean briefly bit his lip, standing near the opposite end of the field. He didn't really want to go, but what would he gain by doing nothing?

He began to walk towards her at a slow pace, arms hanging casually at his side. He practiced what he was going to say in his head, hopeful to avoid stuttering. He waved weakly as he approached the small tea party.

"Hello!" he greeted, putting on as polite a voice as he could, slowing as he neared the two large fellows who accompanied Hannah. Jack's scream of pain was still surprisingly fresh in his head. "Would you mind if I join you for a moment?" Hopefully he wouldn't regret this.

[Girasol of Chaos]

With a mighty crunch iron smashed through the final pillar, shattering it to splinters. Chou turned her face to watch the pavilion collapse, but instead her vision was filled with a horrifying sight-she watched as some great *thing* beheaded the bluenette.

Other figures were there too- a girl in pink and the fae from before, but as the blood poured forth from the professor's neck her mind didn't focus on the smaller details. Not a heartbeat later the structure collapsed, crushing all of the individuals inside and the area exploding with blood.

A flood of darkness, it felt like water, engulfed her afterwards, sealing the demise of the professor and her allies in her mind. It was a welcome embrace, but she couldn't shake the utter wrongness of her actions entirely.

***

Chou woke up in a cold sweat. The nightmare was extremely vivid and was full of individuals she had no knowledge of. Remaining in bed, her hand grasped the thick notebook on her nightstand and cracked it open in a fluid motion, passing several pages worth of notes and settling on a blank page.

The pen scribbled ferociously as meticulous notes of everything she could remember of the nightmare were documented- individuals, actions and even some of the little things, hoping for answers. A note at the end scribbled angrily, scolding her second half for not documenting anything from the first day of class. Perhaps Shin had a rough day, and the sheer exhaustion of it passed consciousness in the middle of the night.

The human charm in place again Chou got up and settled her hair-she refused to style it similarly to her counterpart, and detested the mohawk. It was brushed down and out of her face to drape around her shoulders as she readied herself for class. It was bright and early, she had time to adjust to her surroundings. The room would need to be..decorated later, barely anything was unpacked yet. She readied some jeans and a light blue shirt to wear, regarding the orange kimono- a gift from her parents - with sadness. She'd need to get it repaired one day. Wasn't that in her dream, too?

***

Chou introduced herself to her roommates, Kit and Teanne. She cautiously apologized for her lack of memory and revealed her mental illness, citing that they deserved to know if they were going to live with her. Both agreed to keep it a secret, a gesture the oni was very thankful for, and Kit confirmed that it was the second day of classes.

Teanne was having herself a hot mug of green tea and offered Chou some - a warily obliged offer that seemed to cheer the oni up after the drink. The tall Asian was elegantly dressed in purples that reflected in her grey eyes, causing a stunning effect.

Chou had no difficulty recognizing her other roommate as a kitsune, however she had difficulty determining the sex of the individual that was cooking, orange tail swishing from under the apron strap. Paying it no heed she thanked them for their generosity and went to class.

***

Chou arrived early and took a seat in the far back corner of class, hoping she hadn't sat in anyone else's spot. Two "new" students were introduced, and several announcements concerning class president and Shuyin occurred. Head cradled in her palm Chou watched with fascination as many of the students-even the professor, had been in her nightmare. Perhaps the information was carried over from Shin?

Regardless, Chou tried not to take her assumptions from her nightmare and allow them to carry over to the real world, even though it seemed accurate. Her handwriting kept up with the lecture as her new classwork book began to require filling.

***

Opting to stay neutral for the day, once class was released Chou headed towards the cafeteria. Pleased to see that there was quite a variety of options, she took her roast beef sandwich and began to look for a place to sit. Another figure from her dream, she recalled the name Adeline, was alone and seemed distressed.

The girl was angrily engaging in warfare against her celery stalk, lost in thought. "Excuse me, Adeline?" Placing her platter across from the girl Chou smiled weakly, "Do you mind me sitting here?" Perhaps it was time to start answering the questions that Shin's lack of communication caused.

[SinrXIII]

Shuyin's veiled pavilion fell to the ground, shattering. From the rumble, three simultaneous thunderclaps of darkness exploded. Then, like a javelin, a great mass of seething darkness burst upward from the ruins, impacting the golden sky far above, and spreading outward. The golden radiance of the field dimmed, as the pillar expanded. New flares of darkness burst into the air, as Diana, Sao, Chou, Sean and Kohana quickly vanished into its flowing depths...

Koh sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He was at the foot of Sieg's bed again, shivering. He sat up, rubbing his face and running a hand through his hair. "It... was a dream? Shit... I feel like I've been asleep for a year..." Under his head was a neatly folded pile of fancy clothes, a gift from his Elder, though these remained out of mind as he dragged himself into consciousness.

He slowly, carefully, moved to his feet and made his way to Sieg's closet, pilfering a pair of pants and, after some consideration, a white button-down shirt. These he set to the side as he dove back into the closet, coming out once he'd grabbed a pair of tomahawks with wooden handles and polished steel heads. A small box also came with him, and these he set aside as well.

After tugging his (Sieg's) pants on, and the shirt, he gathered his axes and box and hopped out the window, into the dark. His feet took him directly to the woods off campus, and after a few hours of asking the spirits for direction (and one Willow Meralde for permission), he was relaxing in a very peaceful glade.

------------------------

Steam rose from a large pool of murky faintly green-tinted water. Happy yips filled the modest clearing, raising from the small black wolf pup dog-paddling happily along the hotspring's surface. The only other shape in the pool was the muscular, tanned, form of Kohana. The youth's clothes lay folded in a neat pile at the edge of the pool, and his long hair was unbound, leaving his triangular dog ears to twitch gently in the open air.

Nearby, a slim caramel haired youth reclined leisurely on a suspiciously chair-like knot, near the base of one of the surrounding trees. His violet eyes faced into the surrounding forest, and a sketchpad resting on his lap. A small box of coloured chalk lay in the grass beside his feet. His hands moved busily over the surface; he was drawing the likeness of a nearby fern.

They’d been here most of the day.

"Sieg. If you never believe another word I say, please take this to heart; that fucking dream was real. I swear it was. It happened." The small box he'd taken that morning was open, and a long thin pipe rested in Koh's hand. Smoke trailed lazily into the air, giving off a faint, sweet smell. Koh's eyes were half-closed, and he took a very slow hit from the pipe. "I can't prove it, but somehow, I just know it. That dream happened. Are you sure it's only our second day here?"

He grumbled, setting the pipe down on it's box, and stood. The shaman picked up a towel that Sieg had the foresight to bring, and died himself before pulling his pants and shirt back on. His wolf companion barked at him, climbing out of the water and shaking vigorously to dry himself before laying in the grass near Sieg.

Koh picked up his axes, testing the weight of each. The leather grips around the wooden handles were worn, and falling apart in places. The wolf-boy smiled, though the expression faded as a flash of an ice monster and a beheaded teacher flashed through his mind. He shook it off, and tightened his grip on his axes. He began to step and twirl, swinging each axe in turn as he started his dance.

His eyes closed, body moving on its own, as he slipped into meditation.

[Steel Shadow]

Water hit the basin in a rush, the tap turned up to full blast. The hiss of the rushing liquid didn't quite drown out the raised voices outside the bathroom, but Diana pretended it did, just so she could find space in her head to calm down. Carefully, her hands - No blood, there wasn't any blood shutupshutupshutup - cupped under the downpour and splashed her face. The cold was unpleasant, but it helped.

Right.

Well that was... Something. First time she'd ever woken up screaming. - Dead, he was dead, all that blood on your hands-SHUTUP! -

Di splashed herself again, then started rubbing her face, making absolutely sure she was awake now. The last thing she wanted was for one of the creatures from her dream showing up here. She was home. She was safe. She had not just seen someone die. More than that, she had not just tried to kill someone. God, was this what all nightmares were like? How did people cope?

Diana, as a rule, never remembered her dreams. At best, she'd occasionally awake with the vaguest feeling of boredom. And since it was generally 8ish hours of dull blankness, Di tended to avoid sleep until she had no other option.

Well, now she had a new reason for doing so. What the hell was that?! It was... It was...

Whatever it was, it would have to wait as she looked up, finally seeing the mirror for the first time, and for the longest moment, didn't recognise the person in it.

She managed to hold back a second scream, just, but it was a close one.

"Get a grip, Di," she growled at her reflection - it was her reflection, right? Right. - "It was all in your head."

The voices outside the bathroom door grew louder. You'd think it was Sarah who'd been sleeping badly, listening to her. What was with her, anyways? Adeline had been living here longer than Di had. Getting fussy about her now was a bit late, wasn't it?

She sighed again and splashed water on her face again - No blood. Just a dream. No blood. -, before shutting it off and walking away. Hopefully she could calm her room-mates down before someone came and complained about the noise.

At least they wouldn't be complaining about her singing this time.

---

As it turned out, neither Di nor Adeline went back to sleep that night, though after a lot of talking Diana had managed to get Sarah to calm down enough to go back to her room. The Director had actually been worried enough about her friend to drag her to the Nurse's office as soon as she found it's opening hours. Losing a month's memory was a classic warning sign! Well, maybe not classic.

It hadn't amounted to much though. After showing Sarah the school's official records, which quite clearly showed that Adeline had been their room-mate for months, the Nurse had offered the girl a tranquillizer, which was refused. Apparently Sarah decided to stop arguing after that. Not the perfect result, but good enough for Di!

Class had actually been pretty calm afterwards, despite almost being late. It was definitely a change from the craziness of the day before. There were no axes being waved around, for one (aside from one close call incident), and Professor Landry, aside from her early ranting about Shuyin - Deadbloodstopit -, was mostly sedate. After the night Diana had had, she wasn't going to complain.

The only notable parts of the class were the two new students, Morgan and Antonia. Di added both to her mental list of classmates that would need interviewing, and gave Antonia a warm smile when the girl chose the seat behind her.

Sean's case of the jitters that began when the Camera girl arrived in class and sat behind him caught her attention briefly, but she figured he had a cold or something and forgot all about it.

----

Which brings us to lunch time, as Diana found herself at the bottom of the staircase leading to the Field of Bloo-Field of Honour. "Come on," she muttered under her breath. "I've been here before. I know it wont be... That place. It was just a dream." And it was just a dream. She knew that with certainty. The knowledge just didn't seem to be helping any. "I am going to go up there, and it will be flowery and have nice scenic views, and then I will feel silly for letting it get to me this badly."

And so, game face on, Di set out to do the task the same way she did everything: At great speed and with a camera in her hand. She reached the top only slightly out of breath, and everything was exactly as she had been telling herself it would be. There were no tiled floors, no towers covered in flames, no strange tea houses, and no mysterious white doors. It was everything she'd been expecting. But that didn't stop the small breath of relief she let out.

'Well...' she thought, wandering around the field slowly, 'Now what? Clubs don't start for another hour or two... Interviews, maybe?' It would be easier for her to do if she'd taken note of where any of her classmates had disappeared to once Landry let them go, but it wasn't beyond her to track them down...

[Dracorion]

Just calm down. Whatever happens, happens. You'll have to be more cautious now, and never ever show off in class or intimidate heart-ripping bitcheswait what? Ugh, dumb thoughts. Get it together, just talk to Jo... and Mom and Dad.

Jackson left his dorm in a hurry, after feeding the torn scraps of the letter to Dean's dragon behind his back. Filia, was it? It was probably an overkill way to deal with it, but he was more than a little freaked out by the whole thing.

Unfortunately, Jo and Mom and Dad would have to wait. He'd have to take today to get caught up with his clubs. Maybe tomorrow he'd actually ask where he could look up school graduates. Sighing, he set off to the Band Club room. He knew the letter and the crazy dream would take up his thoughts for the rest of the day, but there was no way around it.

Still, today might actually be a more normal day than yesterday.

***

Yawning, Jackson climbed up the steps to the Field of Honor. It sucked that he had to wake up early today for no good reason, since the duels had been cancelled. A chill seemed to creep up on him shortly after he left the Mystery Club, since he had decided to inspect the Field before calling his parents. Strangely enough, no one else seemed to feel the need to wear anything for the cold.

His heart seemed to beat faster as he made his way up, like it was trying to escape his chest, and the old scar there itched annoyingly. He raised his right hand to scratch it, noticing the starburst-shaped scars on it as he did. He remembered they were from when he first started experimenting with wind magic.

He recalled the air wrapping around his hands, curving, and then expanding outward like tendrils, tentacles, before they burst an-

Wait no it wasn't like that seriously stop thinking stupid.

He finally reached the summit of the Field and looked around. Just a few groups of students lounging around, pretty much, except for-

His heart pumped faster suddenly as the scar on his chest throbbed painfully for one moment for subsiding a bit. Why did he have to have a dream about bitch girl who challenged his classmate to a duel ripping his heart out? It happened years ago, a javel- Okay no seriously bad thoughts just ignore her.

Good Lord, he hoped the dream didn't mean he was falling for Hannah. He seriously might puke.

As he passed by her to inspect the tree in the northeast corner of the Field, though, he noticed she was talking to the empty cushion and steaming tea cup in front of her, even as one of his classmates, (Sean, was it?) sat down to talk to her. He stopped for a moment from the sheer weirdness of it, before going back to steadfastly ignoring it, and he made his way to the target tree, running a hand along its trunk.

Nope, nothing. No holes made by wooden darts anywhere. He breathed a sigh of relief at this reassurance that his dream was, in fact, just a dream and how could it be anything else anyway? Regardless, he still had one more check to make. He remembered from his dream the spot where the choir or robots rose from the stone floor, and he made his way to the other end of the Field to inspect it.

He knelt down, checking the entire west area of the Field of Honor while going around the groups of students in the way, looking for grooves or creases or hinges, occasionally knocking on the stone to look for any kind of hollow sound. Nothing.

With another relieved sigh, he stood up and made his way back to the stairs heading down, before taking a moment to look up at the stars, a faint smile on his face. For the moment, he could lose himself in the sky, and stop worrying about dreams or letters or professors or accidents. Just for a little while. Or he would, if the throbbing in his chest had stopped at all, acting as an annoying reminder of all his troubles.

[Krylo]

Dark. Pain. Fear.

Dal's breath released in a silent scream of agony as he shot up in the bed, his body wracked with pain. The pain of being crushed under tons of falling rubble as everything faded to blackness. The pain of... death? A foreign and uncomfortable idea to the fae. One so foreign that, as the pain subsided so did the idea, banished from his mind like a lecture on the finer points of accounting from the mind of a five year old, and the fae found himself whole and alone in his bed. The events of the night before nothing more than a particularly clear dream.

Sleepiness and lethargy had already been banished, as waking up with a jolt with phantom pain wracking your body is want to do, and soon the fae was on his feet, rolling his shoulders and stretching his body, working out some lingering soreness. He had probably just slept wrong. Perhaps he had rolled over on one of his wings. The dream was strange though, it nagged at him, pulled at him. Particularly the creation of life. The addition of chaos and freedom to an ordered world.

...Chaos and freedom.

The fae stepped into the shower with a smile as he remembered he was free again. Well. Mostly, but he could take care of 'mostly' in time. Perhaps that dreams a portent of things to come. Beautiful things. As for the rocks? Well, this time, he wouldn't allow anything to crush him. Even if all the world fell about his head he'd find a way.

* * *

The dream flitted in and out of his consciousness as he made his way to class. His mind having trouble tearing fact from fiction. Most likely a side effect from being with so many humans after being locked away for so long. All their emotions and dreams and life overflowing around and through him, marking themselves onto his fae mind and burning themselves into his dreams. Dreams which were already so much like reality for the fae, dreams which he danced through as real and physical as the sunshine on your face or the grass beneath your feet in ages gone by.

He tried to push it from his mind, and was aided immensely when his cousin smiled at him. Smiled.

Not staring at her throughout class was nearly as difficult as concentrating on Landry's rants about the duel being cancelled--disappointing but hardly enough to draw his mind from Morgan--to her rambling on about ancient greece--entirely boring. And, with every glance, especially when she'd catch it and smile back at him warmly, he became more convinced that something was amiss.

Convinced enough that as class ended he hovered in the hallway near the door until Morgan left as well. And then, with a nonchalant stride followed after her. He kept himself looking passive, tried not to overtly stare at her much, and kept a decent distance from her. He'd prefer others to not realize he was following his cousin, though he was certain she'd spot the tail. He wasn't particularly trying to hide it, as he merely wanted to talk to her.

And yet, she entirely ignored him.

Something was definitely wrong. Something... he could even begin to see. Though he couldn't be sure.

After a few hallways and turns Morgan turned into the Art room, apparently having decided to go there immediately after class, and Dal entered after her a few minutes later.

Taking stock of the sparsely populated room, and quickly finding his cousin painting a picture. She didn't seem to notice when he approached her. Perhaps focused on her painting? Though that didn't make sense, didn't match with anything he knew of her.

"...Morgan?" he asked, his voice low so as to avoid disturbing the other students, or drawing their attention, as he came up behind her left shoulder. "Why are you so... cheery? Is there something I should know? I believe the last time you smiled at me, well, suffice to say it wasn't pleasant."

[Riin Whitewind]

Trying to relax, Sao let the warmth of the hollow soothe her.

"Thank you, Willow." Despite the horror in her vision last night, Sao addressed the woman across from her with a nervous, but steadfast, smile. Fear weighed heavily on the young swimmer's mind - the curse she had seen, blackened and roiling like a stormcloud over her classmate, had spread to her just for dreaming of curing it. Being forced to remain in her human form was the least of her worries.

Her mug of tea cooled between them, forgotten. As courtesy, she had taken a sip when it was presented to her, but her vision prevented her from truely enjoying it. She was thankful that it at least was not green tea, the antagonist's weapon of choice. It would be a wonder if she could stand the scent of warm tea again.

"Just say the word." Unconsciously, Sao leaned forward to mirror her elder's pose. "I will do everything in my power to oust this..." She hesitated. Curse didn't seem like the right word - magic, benevolent or malevolent, didn't have feelings, emotions - and whatever haunted Diana had hated her. She'd felt it like a blow, despite a lack of empathic talent. She decided on, "presence."

The undine pressed on, "Will our preparations harm your own All Hallows working? You are being gracious to offer your time and power to aid me, I have no wish to interfere with your own stewardship."

[Astral Harmony]

Astarte turned around just to see the inky darkness erupt forward and devour her. Believing she was going to perhaps be killed again, she instead felt herself wrapped up in something...warm...and somehow comforting.

Her hands were pressed up against something solid that she couldn't see. Almost instinctively, she knew that her palms were smashed up against the inside of her sarcophagus. Applying a little of her undead strength into her hands, Astarte pushed open the cover and stepped out. It was one of the supply sheds where she lived. Had she actually been dreaming the whole time? What the hell kind of dream was that?

Astarte fumbled around in the dark and found her digital alarm clock, the only electronic device she had. Five in the morning, it told her. Astarte didn't want to go back to bed, and so went to her other room to prepare for the day.

Astarte was a little disturbed throughout the morning. She had been looking forward to the duel between Landry and Shuyin, even having gone as far as to sketch a good picture of the epic confrontation, but unfortunately both Shuyin and her friend Vanilla had gone to Cambodia. Astarte had never known that Vanilla was associated with the royal family over there, but it made sense given Vanilla's noble bearing.

The rest of the news wasn't really noteworthy to the mummy girl. Hannah and Jay's duel was cancelled. Meh. Adeline was made the class president. Next. Two new students joined the class, a native american girl named Antonia and a girl who kinda looked like Dal named Morgan. Astarte filed that information away for a day that it might matter.

More importantly, something was off and it was nagging at her, kinda like having a nosehair people can see. She felt like she had wanted to ask mom about something, but couldn't for the life of her remember exactly what. It was something important, like a piece to a puzzle Astarte discovered that didn't finish the puzzle, but helped reveal just what all the mysteries were adding up to. Well, maybe she would think about it later when she had time to use her brain or lack thereof for subjects not related to classes.

[Overcast]

Jay's hand smacked into the wall with just enough force to cause pain. He yelped, grabbing his abused fingers, jammed trying to catch a katar that wasn't there. His mind pulled him away from where he used to be, and slowly reunited him with reality. He was in his bed, and nothing was trying to kill him.

Jay raised his injured hand up to his head, feeling at a scar where in his dream the katar had pierced before he woke up. In any other world he'd have thought that was proof the vivid picture of his last night was true, but in this one it only caused him to remember his past.

To remember California, pain, and his father.

He put it from his mind and tossed off the covers, starting on his way to the bathroom to get ready before tripping over a bag of bats he had prepped for his duel today. His mind flashed back to the Hannah he had faced before, her immense power and skill still itching his skin. He wondered for a moment if his nerves were so on edge that he had conjured up such a fearful image of her and her compatriots. Or was she really so dangerous?

In Jay's mind he went back to what Landry had told him the other day, same time she gave him the uniform he planned to wear for the fight. (Half of why he knew the dream was a dream, he was just wearing his regular uniform for that one. The other half being how impossibly insane everything was.) But his memories were being all clogged up by that damn dream. He shook his head roughly, trying to wake up a bit more and finished his trip. He didn't care how powerful she was, or how strong her bodyguards were. There was no other choice to be made here, he would win today.

Or he would die trying.

-----------------

Of course that was before he got to class. As it turns out there would be neither winning or death today, the old man had decided that good manners be damned he would not follow through on a properly scheduled duel and would instead prance off to Cambodia to tutor their royal family. By extension, and due to rules that jay had not bothered to look up, his own duel with Hannah had been canceled. Just as well, he'd signed up for that fight because of the implications of the Landry duel anyway. The class was decidedly more boring that day than before, which he found jarring because they had even gotten some new kids that Landry had not yet graced with the horror of her special effects team. Still Jay took all the exhaustive notes he would need to pass a test from her ramblings on the Ancient Greek. Because you never know.

--------------

After class he was already off to the field of honor. The whole of today had left him wanting, so many things he'd expected had just fallen out, and honestly he was bored. The trip was meant to let him take a seat of comfort in the sun, let him work out his negativity, replace it with anticipation and music, and as he lept from the summit of the stairwell the warmth of the location washed over him like a dream.

All that negativity from the dream was practically burnt in the raylight.

His hand forced the headphones over his head, and tunes they did bump from these miniature speakers. Life was good.

[Teal Mage]

As Sean neared the site of Hannah's tea party, one of her tuxedo-clad bodyguards moved to bar his path. In response, the Canadian slowed to a stop. Ignoring the glaring youth in front of him, Sean raised his voice in a polite and cheerful, "Hello!" He began, "Would you mind if I join you for a moment?"

Ending her one sided dialogue with the empty cushion in front of her, Hannah glanced back over her shoulder, green eyes curious. After a moment, her lips parted in a soft smile. "If you want to," she replied, before turning away with a shrug, "sure." There was a short pause as she set her cup down on the grass in front of her and began to move the second one closer to herself. She glanced back again, "You can take the second cushion if you like, Sean." Her smile turned wry, "But the tea's for someone else, I'm afraid."

The blond turned her away again, before lifting her own cup of tea in both hands. She sipped delicately. The tuxedo-clad bodyguard at her back offered Sean a slight nod, before stepping aside. Hannah's second guard was still lounging with his book several paces away, seemingly unconcerned.

Sean's path to the tea party was now clear.

And, it appeared that Hannah was waiting for him to continue the conversation.

* * *

"Excuse me, Adeline?"

"Hm?"

Mouth full, the newly appointed Class President raised her gaze from her lunch. Her two-coloured eyes were wide with surprise for a moment, before she recognized the speaker - Chou. The muscular girl had laid her lunch tray on the varnished wood of the table and was standing awkwardly beside one of its plastic chairs. Chou offered a wane smile, before hesitantly adding, "Do you mind me sitting here?"

Adeline swallowed, before nodding. "Sure," she replied, "go right ahead."

While Chou was slipping into her selected chair, her brunette lunch-partner picked up her ceramic mug and took a sip of whatever liquid it held. Adeline's gaze flicked from Chou's soft dark hair, to her vivid blue eyes momentarily, before she nodded. "You're Chou, right?" The Class President tilted her head to the side, studying the girl across from her carefully, "...are you Shin's twin or something?"

The collective noise around them made it unlikely that any one could listen in on their conversation - at least, not without being easily visible themselves.

* * *

"No." Willow breathed a soft laugh, and shut her eye, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her bright emerald eyes opened, and her smile broadened kindly. "No Sao, helping you will not trouble me at all."

Her long fingered hand closed around the rough surface of her mug and she leaned back, posture relaxing. "And, as for our sibling's parallel ritual..." She trailed off, taking a sip of the overly sweet tea, "…you are the weakest of the campus's greater spirits." Willow offered a soft, sympathetic, smile. "I hope it does not wound your pride when I say, your presence is not likely to be missed." The mug was set down on the stone table with a soft click "Even in the event that something unexpected happens -" She chuckled again, shaking her head, "- and I suppose something always does - your Headmistress is unusually skilled at..."

Willow trailed off, turning her gaze toward the hotspring. In the distance, a third figure had appeared, and seemed to be speaking to Kohana. The young artist who had been drawing nearby was approaching the pair with considerable haste. After a moment, Willow turned back to Sao. "…she's unusually skilled at coming up with contingency plans." The elder spirit resumed, shrugging. "For a human, any way."

"Now then, we ought to discuss your training." Willow lifted her tea once more, sipping it delicately. "Obviously, we will need to go over the ritual in further detail," the woman gestured dismissively with her free hand. "but that can wait."

"More important is the fact that it will need to be performed deep in these woods, near a large source of water." Willow nodded to herself. "I have the location in mind already, of course. The trouble will be getting there." She offered Sao a soft smile. "Even assuming my own ritual is flawless, the spirits of the dead will not be without the ability to harm you." Willow shook her head softly, "And, if a particularly powerful spirit comes through the veil, or heaven forbid, my own ritual fails completely, you will need to be able to defend yourself - and the Black as well."

She sipped from her mug, shutting her eyes. "For this reason, I recommend bringing a handful of allies you can trust. And, as well, you will need a spell or two to banish, repel, or otherwise deal with the spirits of the dead." Willow opened her crystalline eyes, lowering the mug to her lap. Once again, she watched Sao seriously. "Have you any thoughts on either of these matters?"

* * *

Clad in nothing more than a simple white summer dress and a pair of brown leather sandals, Morgan sat before an easel. Her black hair cascaded down her back, extending a little past her shoulder-blades and shimmering luxuriously in the bright white florescent lights that now lit the wooden floored Amaranth Art Room. Beyond the light's low hum, there was little sound.

More than a score of easels were arranged in a semi-circle around the chamber, facing toward its east wall – and the front door. Of these, Morgan had selected one near the south-east corner, and was, at the moment, moving a medium sized brush in slow strokes over her canvas. A pallet of paint, pot of water, and a colour stained rag rested on the floor near her feet.

She didn't seem to notice when Dal walked in.

Other than Morgan, the room had only two other occupants. One, clearly older than the other two, with thick blond hair, pale skin, was wearing in a frilly white top, which might have been a size too small in the chest. She sat behind a large wooden desk, near the room's north-wall with gold wine-goblet was nestled loosely between the fingers of an up-raised hand. Expression bored, she barely glanced at Dal when he entered.

The second occupant was younger and dressed in a lacy black dress with an equally dark beret capping neck length, dirty blond, hair. Unlike the other two women, this one did peak out from behind her easel – set almost directly across from the room's door - when Dal walked in. The irises of her eyes, unnervingly, appeared to be white. She smiled widely, showing off a set of dazzling teeth, before ducking behind her easel to return to her work. A soft, high-pitched, giggle followed.

Doing his best to appear causal, Dalbhach approached his cousin.

"...Morgan?" He began, his voice hushed as he swung around, to come up behind her. "Why are you so... cheery?"

"Hm?" Morgan lowered her brush and glanced over her shoulder, curious. She'd only painted the top-right corner of her canvas. It was mostly purple with spots of red and blue blended into it. A handful of arcing streams, gold and green in colour, overlaid that. It was vaguely familiar…

"Is there something I should know?" Dal prompted, sounding mildly nervous. "I believe the last time you smiled at me, well, suffice to say it wasn't pleasant."

Morgan chuckled softly, before leaning down to dip the tip of her brush into her water jar. "Fortunately," She replied casually, "I know how to get blood out of clothes." Morgan sat up, bringing the rag with her, "And anyway, you survived." She added, now cleaning her brush's head.

"And frankly," Morgan went on, tone light, if mildly biting, "after having to wear a cast over my leg for most of the summer, its hard not to be happy about finally being able to get rid of those crutches." The girl shrugged, before leaning down once again, and collecting her pallet.

"Really," she went on, voice softer now, as she dipped into the dot of violet paint, "you’re the one acting out of character." Carefully, she leaned up and began to slowly fill more of her blank canvas with smooth, steady, strokes. "Since when do you shadow me out of concern?"

She paused, before glancing over her shoulder again, frowning. "...did you do something I should know about?"

* * *

Leaves rustled. There was a muffled impact to Kohana's right. On the uneven moss covered and root riddled forest floor, a figure had appeared. It was a girl. A soft giggle rose as she uncoiled smoothly from her crouch. Brown eyes fixed themselves on Kohana and the girl clasped her hands behind her back. A cheerful smile appeared on her deeply tanned face. "Hey there, Koh." Hie offered, cheerfully.

Her outfit was almost identical to the one she had worn in the dream - a loose knee-length white shirt and an identically coloured sleeveless top, tied off above her tanned midriff. Her blue patterned bananna was tied around her throat today, revealing her, boyishly cut, sandy hair fully. A pair of sheathed daggers hung from her dark blue belt and her feet were bare. In fact, save the position of her bandanna, only one thing was different about her.

She was missing her ears and tail.

Steps nearly silent, Sieglind appeared a few steps behind Kohana. Unlike the girl in front of him, he'd chosen a set of clothes that differed from his dream persona's. A pair of tanned hide pants, the seems hidden beneath purple, flame-like, embroidery covered his legs. A pair of darker brown, laced, leather boots encased his feet. Red, purple and gold wisps of embroiled fire spread out over the upper chest of his loose, clingy, white shirt. Several feet behind him, his sachel, box of pastels, and sketchbook lay abandoned. At the moment, violet eyes watched Hie warily.

Hie returned his stare cheerfully. "Looking good Sieg!" Hands clasped over her head, she stretched like a cat. "So~" She drew out the word, before grinning brightly, "This isn't a date, righ - hm?" Her brown eyes shot to the black puppy that had suddenly interposed itself between her and the two boys.

...it was growling softly.

"Awh!" Hie knelt, waving to him. "Don't remember me boy?" She smiled brightly, before giggling softly.

…puppy did not seem to share her sense of humour.