Fantasy Conatus - The Great War

[Edric Yuma]

Conatus
​

"Teacher, teacher!" A short ninth grader in twin pigtails and bounded up to Maxwell Riedl's desk, a confused look on her face. Maxwell peered up from the book he was reading and glanced down at her.

"What is it, Sarah?" The eighth grader held up her paper to Maxwell and pointed to a problem. "I don't understand this question. Who is Svengali?"

Maxwell straightened his glasses and read the problem again, wisps of his peppered long hair falling in front of his face as he leaned forward. After a brief moment, he laughed. "Ah... Sarah, you worked ahead again. Remember, our opener for this class was only one question, and I can see you've already gone... seven questions over that. Don't worry, we'll talk about him today." He placed a hand on her head and smiled. "Why don't you head back to your desk? I think we're about ready to start today's lesson."

He continued smiling as he watched her sit down. It was a blessing that this generation's biggest problem could be not knowing who an individual was. To think think that fifty years ago his father had fought for his life where he was teaching today....

Maxwell stood up and walked over to the chalkboard. As he got close, he pointed his palm out at the piece of chalk at the bottom of the board, and it flew out from there and into his hands. He turned back to the students. "Okay class, who remembers what we talked about last time? Okay... Rob."

A brown-haired kid with soft freckles across his face stood up. "You told us about your father, Marcel Riedl, and how he had fought a war that led to the peace we have today."

"Excellent. But it wasn't just any war. Historians today called it the 'Great War.' It was a war that ended all wars and gave us the long period of peace that continues on today." Maxwell peered around at the class, a slight smile on his face. As a history teacher, he had never seen his class so attentive before - it seemed as if finally learning about the great war their parents always spoke of gave them great interest.

Maxwell scribbled "The Great War" on the chalkboard and underlined it. "The Great War almost toppled the Planetary Government, but the surprising thing is that it was a war between two sides of the same government. The people who finally ended the war, however, was a specific group of four, exceptionally talented individuals. This is their story...."

 

[Edric Yuma]

Humble BeginningsMarcel Riedl strode through the hallway of Titan Academy with purpose, his long cloak swaying behind him as he headed towards the examination room. Today was going to be a busy day, as were the next three days. The students waiting for the exam to start parted around him as they saw him approach, his long leather boots clicking against the stone floor as he walked. Many were in conversation, using the topics of their discussion to keep their minds off the upcoming exam. The morning sun peaked through the thin, elongated windows, illuminating Marcel's lengthy black hair and thick goatee as he passed by. He tipped his wide-brimmed hat to the students as he passed, a warm smile on his face as he examined their expressions with his auburn eyes. Some were of apprehension as they watched him pass, but others were scrutinizing, as if trying to garner information from Marcel's facial expression. With a small chuckle to himself, Marcel remembered back to when he was a student at the academy preparing for his own final exam. He had been just as nervous, if not more. But now, as the youngest instructor of Titan Academy, he was judging the final exam, and he could only hope his smile gave the students some sort of relief from the stress they had to be feeling.

After passing through the hallway of students, he turned a corner to the much emptier row of instructor offices. On both sides of the hall were long, marble walls with metallic arches supporting the loads in between. Doors dotted both sides of the hall as Marcel walked through them.

In one of the offices he spotted a fellow instructor where he always was in the morning, in his office performing his daily ritual - an elaborate handstand that only used a single arm. "Ah, Terrik! Hey there." After greeting with his signature drawl, Marcel slowed his stride, glancing down at the instructor's shaved head. It was gleaming with sweat, but he somehow managed to make the handstand look effortless. As if his body had become a flowing stream towards the ground, his right hand was connected to the floor, and his left hand was held to his muscular chest, two fingers extended towards his head as a focusing tool for his meditation. Out of all the instructors' offices, Terrik's was the only one empty - Marcel had heard he liked it that way. Upon hearing Marcel's voice, Terrik opened his eyes but remained in his position.

Terrik spoke in a slow, calming manner, a steady smile always on his face. As one of the oldest instructors at the academy, his presence brought calm to students and instructors alike. For Marcel, it was no different. "Greetings, Marcel. May wisdom be with you today."

The younger instructor nodded. "I know I'll need it." This was going to be his first time judging the test, and Marcel wanted to be as fair a judge as he could be. Today was the first of four days that the exam would be held, with seventy students from the graduating class being assigned to each day. A large percentage of the students had already decided not to take the exam, which meant they could graduate but not become a Titan. Marcel didn't blame them - he also had decided being a Titan wasn't fit for him a couple years into his cohort.

As he reached the end of the long hallway, Marcel looked at the large, metallic double-doors that led to the training arena where the exam would be administered. In a city as crowded and busy as Onyxport with its factories, apartments, and shops, there was very little space for large open areas like the training arena, but the government had felt it was necessary enough for the training of Ern users that it made space in the city for an arena. When Marcel reached the doors, he paused, turning to the side and glancing out one of window slits in the walls at the city below.

The academy was suspended on stone platforms above the rest of the city, held up by tall, reinforced marble supports and a series of steel buttresses that formed a spiderweb around the buildings of the academy. Below, a colorful assortment of stones and bricks formed magnificent marvels of architecture, with each building hosting its own personality and function. Gleaming, golden spires towered into the sky, challenging each other in a race to the top. Factories hissed as they worked, emitting smoke and steam into the sky as its workers worked to create new vehicles, robotic helpers, and more. As he watched the people below go about their business, walking along the polished cobble roads, he realized how fortunate he was to be living in such a time of peace. The Titans helped ensure that it would stay that way, and Marcel remembered the first time he had stepped back onto Academy grounds as an instructor and how he had vowed to keep training the Titans to be the best elite fighters they could be. Now, he would see if his instruction had been effective.

Turning back to the doors, Marcel pulled the lever to the right of them, stirring up loud, continuous grinding sounds as gears turned against each other to open the doors. An occasional hiss of steam would emit from outside the walls as Marcel watched the doors slowly open up to reveal the large, domed atrium that was the training arena. The top half of the dome was made entirely of glass and thin beams, allowing the morning rays to shine in from above. At the very end of the arena was the seating for spectators: a small platform elevated four meters above the arena floor. That was where they were going to be doing the judging. The rest of the arena sides were surrounded with solid marble walls, but the floor itself was filled with dry, dusty dirt that softened the impact of falls in the event that Titans were sparring. There were already two figures just past the doors, waiting, and Marcel recognized them both: Zawadi Habib and Astrid Jansen. They were going to be his fellow judges for the examination.

Zawadi always carried an imposing presence wherever he went, and for good reason: he was a member of the number one S-rank active Titan cohort. The Titan Academy had invited him back for the week to judge the potential new recruits, which was an honor a Titan rarely declined. Zawadi had buzzed, black hair and wore a sleeveless black shirt that clung to his chest, exposing a toned figure. The bottom of his shirt was tucked in to a pair of baggy gray trousers held up by a thick, leather belt. Unlike Terrik, who was a man whose muscles Marcel would bet were bigger than any other instructor in Titan Academy, Zawadi had a toned figure, and the muscles of his back flexed and bulged against his dark skin as he turned to look at Marcel. He would have cut a more intimidating figure if it weren't for his rounder face, soft smile, and circular wire frame glasses that gave away his playful personality. "Ah, Marcel! Long time no see, eh? Ready to judge your first exam?"

Marcel tipped his hat with a sideways grin. Zawadi had been one of his good friends back at the academy - it was a shame he had passed the final exam a year earlier, or he was sure they would have been in the same cohort. "Wouldn't be able ta do it without my favorite Titan." With that, he glanced over in Astrid's direction and gave a small bow, taking of his hat and putting it on his chest. "Commander Jansen - lovely as ever."

Astrid bowed back. "Please, drop the formalities. We are coworkers at the moment."

Unlike Zawadi, Astrid was much older than Marcel. Her short brunette hair had grown peppered gray, but a sharp jawline and the sparkle in her emerald eyes still revealed the fierce nature of "Astrid the Relentless." As a former Titan, she had been a mastermind leader within her cohort, completing assignments faster than other cohorts through delicate planning and brilliant execution. Upon retiring, she had been transferred to the Titan Headquarters, the place where missions were planned and given to the Titan cohorts. She quickly rose through the ranks and became a commander, one of the few figures who had the authority to change the tasks given to Titans based off of sudden changes of circumstance. The uniform jacket she currently had draped around her shoulders was an indication of her rank: it was white with golden buttons and embroidery lined across the sleeves of the uniform. The top of her left sleeve had the insignia of the Titans sewn in - a circular badge of a gigantic paw, claws facing outwards and poised to attack, and her single left pocket had the symbol for her rank sewn in - two silver gears. Aside from her jacket, however, she was dressed in the most casual outfit Marcel had seen her in - a gray button-up shirt, white leather gloves, and solid brown pants.

Marcel smiled. "As you wish. How long had you guys been waitin'? You make me look bad - I'm the only one who actually works here."

Zawadi chuckled. "Punctuality was never a good trait of yours, my friend. But do not worry, we've only been waiting for a few minutes, yes?"

"A few minutes too much. Let's head over to the spectating platform and get set up. The first student enters in twenty minutes." Astrid began walking ahead, leaving Marcel and Zawadi to exchange a look, smirk, and follow along. As they walked, Zawadi slung an arm over Marcel's shoulder. "How has instructing been treating you, brother?"

Marcel fished his metal pipe out of his back pocket, packed some tobacco in, and lit it with his fingers. After a deep inhale and slow exhale, he responded. "Not too bad at all. You've got some problem students here and there, but it's always fascinatin', seein' what people can do with their control over Ern."

"Problem students...." Zawadi used his arm to give Marcel a little shake, his smile widening. "Reminds you of a certain someone, no?"

The instructor grinned, removing the pipe from his lips. "You got me there. What about you? I hear you've become the number one cohort, so ya'll gotta be sittin' pretty with all that publicity."

"Ah...." Zawadi removed his arm and scratched his head. "You know I don't like that kind of stuff. I'm there for the money and for the help we provide. Publicity, recognition... I can't deal with all that. That's what my other teammates do."

The steel platform where they would be judging from had been repurposed for the exam - its normally open viewing area had been covered with a cage to protect from potential hazards, and instead of many seats there were only three set up behind a table. Next to the table were boxes of files, each with the information for a student that would be taking the test. As the trio boarded the gear-powered elevator and began their ascent, Astrid looked over at the other two. "It seems you two still haven't lost your bond. Unfortunate that the two of you had not been in the same cohort - you probably would still be a Titan, Marcel."

Marcel gave a small cheering gesture with his pipe, raising it at Astrid. "Maybe. That don't mean I ain't enjoyin' this whole teaching business, though."

After they reached the top, the three of them took their seats, Astrid in the middle, Marcel and Zawadi on the sides. Zawadi had already judged one Titan exam two years ago, but Astrid had seen many more - she was by far the most experienced of the three. As soon as she was seated, she pulled out the file for the first student - Mateo Rivera. As she read through the file, Marcel checked his pocketwatch - the exam started in five minutes.

At the top of the platform, the Arena layout for examination was on display in its entirety for the judges. Unlike most other tests, this one had no real format - it was just one demonstration, and it was up to the students how they wanted to showcase their abilities. The room was filled with equipment and obstacles: swords, guns, mechanical testing dummies, large wooden logs, a pool of water, radios, and much, much, more. Before the test, students for each day had been asked what kind of gear and terrain would help them best showcase their abilities, and the things in the arena reflected the requests of the seventy students for the day.

"Ah, fire specialization. Someone like you." Astrid handed the file to Zawadi, and after he read it, handed it to Marcel. "He requested nothing but a couple of testing dummies." Marcel glanced over it, but as the only instructor judging, he knew more about the students than the other two did. "Yeah," Marcel replied. He didn't say more, but he had a suspicion Mateo wouldn't pass. The man had high grades, but his mind wasn't in the right place.

With one last puff, the instructor cleared his pipe, dumped the ashes on the floor, and shoved the pipe back into his pocket. As he did, one of the other instructors, Liandra Silkthread, walked into the room. "Are you three ready?" She asked.

"Send the first one in."

With that, Liandra walked out, and in came Mateo- strolling confidently, hair slicked back and chest out. He wore dark lenses to shade against the sun and a bright red cloak, beaming with his hands on his hips. "Hellllooooo judges!" Mateo shouted. Marcel sighed inwardly.

Astrid gave Marcel an expectant look, causing him to clear his throat. As per protocol, he read from a document, ensuring each student got the same test instructions. "Welcome to the final exam. You have access to any of the equipment before you. Please demonstrate an ability, or set of abilities, that you believe best showcases how you would benefit a Titan cohort of four. Your demonstration should prove why you would enable your cohort to effectively and efficiently complete a task. You have a maximum of ten minutes to do so, but you do not have to use all the time. Begin whenever you are ready."

"Alrighty!" With that, the three watched as Mateo jumped on top of a log. "Here I go - it's hawk time!" Suddenly, flames erupted from both sides of his back, flaring outwards and coalescing into a wide set of wings. Mateo jumped into the air, and the fire wings angled downwards, propelling him higher and higher until he was at the top of the Atrium. Once there, Mateo looked for the dummies, and, upon spotting them, grinned and winked at the judges. "They're gonna burn."

He turned back to the dummies on the ground, his flame wings keeping him suspended, then put his two hands together, palms pointed outwards. With a shout, a gigantic column of flames burst forth from his palms, pummeling the dummies and surrounding area. Even though the spectating stand was about fifty meters away, Marcel could feel some of the heat on his face. As the flames died down, the dummies were charred, and Mateo descended to the ground, his wings vanishing as he landed. He was sweating and breathing heavily, but there was a massive grin on his face. "How was that?"

Marcel cleared his throat again, reading once more from the paper: "Thank for your demonstration. You will receive the results of your exam in one week by letter. If you pass, your letter will also include your assigned Titan cohort. Please exit through the metal doors and give us five minutes to discuss your demonstration before sending in the next student. Have a good day."

Mateo left with a frown, crestfallen that he hadn't heard his results immediately. As soon as the metal door closed, Marcel turned to the other two. "Well?"

Astrid glanced at Zawadi. "How long was the demonstration?"

"One minute."

"That's what I thought." Astrid leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. "One minute and he was already out of Ern. In short, he demonstrated a monumental, inefficient waste of energy and how to become a liability on the battlefield. Marcel, can't you also fly?"

Marcel nodded. "I just create fire beneath my feet and hands, though. I neva' used it outside of reconnaissance; no point in flyin' when defendin' teammates."

Zawadi finished writing his critiques on Mateo's file, then spoke up. "Mate, I just think the fact that he announced everything he was going to do was excessive. Why forecast what you will be doing for your enemies?"

"That can be fixed, as can his boastful personality, but his taste for extravagant, wasteful techniques cannot." Astrid wrote a brief sentence on Mateo's file, then handed it to Marcel. "I'm going to go ahead and say he fails."

"Agreed."

"Same here - he'd be better off using them skills for performance." With that, Marcel slid the file back into the box, "FAILED" stamped on the top of it.

"Alright, let's get ready for the next student."

 

[Fred Colon]

Spoiler: Rena's Test

Rena stepped out into the arena and shut her eyes. She took a deep, calming breath, like Terrik had taught her. She opened her eyes and affixed them on the judges.

When she came to the middle of the Arena she powered Missy and Mister on, the huge metal gauntlets she fought with.
She hadn’t asked for anything else. She bet the judges were wondering what she was going to do. She cracked her neck and couldn’t quite conceal a smirk.

She didn’t know what the other students were going to do. That was a problem. She had to be better than them. Show every single one of them up. How was she supposed to do that if she didn’t know what she had to beat?

But she’d found a solution. It was a pretty simple one. She just had to make sure it wasn’t possible to top her. Easy.

"Welcome to the final exam. You have access to any of the equipment before you. Please demonstrate an ability, or set of abilities, that you believe best showcases the Ern specialization you have trained in for the past four years. You have a maximum of ten minutes to do so, but you do not have to use all the time. Begin whenever you are ready."
Instructor Marcel. He was a nice enough guy. That didn’t count for all that much with Rena, though.
“Thank you judges!” Rena roared, grinning. “My performance for today will be knocking the stuffing out of one of you! I don’t care who it is, I challenge one of the judges to a duel!”

Marcel looked over at Astrid with a shrug. "Yeah, this was one of the problem students I was talkin' bout. Don't worry, I can go down and-"

"No." Astrid rose from her seat, eyes narrowed. She unbuttoned her jacket and threw it on the table, walking over to the elevator. "If she passes this test and becomes a Titan, she'd be under my command. She needs to learn some respect." As the mechanical elevator descended, Zawadi glanced over at Marcel, a grim look on his face.

"Mate, Astrid has the highest Ern capacity out of the three of us. She's been training it ever since she became a Titan, and her control over her abilities are second to none. I hope she doesn't just crush the poor student and give her nothing to work with."

Marcel scratched his chin in thought. "Yeah. Astrid can't underestimate Rena too much, though - she can pack a punch when she tries."

The elevator cranked to a halt and Astrid got out, her toned arms and confident gaze defying old age and the wrinkles forming on her skin. Marcel and Zawadi watched as she into the middle of the arena, a few meters apart from Rena. "I'm Astrid Jansen, one of the current commanders at the Titan HQ. You want a duel? You got one. Since I already know about your abilities, I'll tell you about mine - my Ern specialization is in electricity. Whenever you're ready, come at me."

“I’m always ready,” Rena put a fist up in the air. When she was on the streets she would have let out a roar or a howl. But now she just sucked in a deep breathe and then exhaled in an effort to impose a calm on her quickly beating heart and still her emotions. But she couldn't help the grin that curled across her face like grasping Ivy. “I'm not here for small talk. I'm here to win. I'm excited to have a challenge.”
Rena kicked a ruined training dummy left by one of the previous students after making it weightless, sending it careening towards Astrid. Then she leapt into the air, removing the weightlessness of the dummy giving its full momentum back, all the momentum headed towards Astrid. She applied gravity to herself, in the opposite direction it usually went. Up. She leapt twenty feet, thirty feet, forty feet in the air. Then she shifted all her gravity in a downwards vector, straight at Astrid. She put out Missy and Mister in front of her as a sort of attack, sort of shield, the raised gloves protecting her from Astrid’s lightning while also being a pair of big honking metal fists hurtling towards Rena’s opponent. It would be an absolutely devastating blow that would literally crack the earth if it were to hit Astrid, but it was also choreographed and easily avoided.

At her response, Astrid smiled. "Likewise." She watched as the training dummy was kicked towards her, an attack she easily ducked under. "You know-" Astrid removed her right glove, revealing a sleek, black leather gauntlet with a thick, metal padding in the palm area. "-we're not so different, you and I." With that, she walked over and stood next to a rusted vehicle.

From the viewing area, Marcel frowned. "Why is she wearin' her electromagnetic gauntlet to judge? Was she expectin' a tussle?"

Zawadi laughed. "Her boots are on, too. You think this is the first the judges have been challenged to a duel, eh? A lot of graduating students believe their youth gives them an advantage over seasoned Titans. This happened the last time I judged as well, and there Astrid was also wearing her gauntlet. I think she likes sharpening her claws from time to time."

At that response, Marcel chuckled. "Guess it makes sense, then. Can't exactly zap a student with electricity without risking serious injury."

Below, Astrid reached out with her left hand, the gloved one without a gauntlet, and sent a small bolt of electricity towards Astrid's gauntlets as she put her gauntlets in front of her, realigning the electrons within the metal into a strong magnetic field. The car behind her shifted slightly in Rena's direction, signaling to Astrid that it had worked. In a quick, simultaneous motion, she zapped the car with electricity, turning it into a magnet, and transferred electricity to her electromagnetic boots, repelling her off the car and away from Rena's trajectory. As she leapt high through the air with the help of her boots, Astrid turned and watched as Rena continued her direction towards where Astrid had once been. Her gauntlets and the car were now strongly attracted to each other, and if Rena didn't do something fast, she would soon get a facefull of metal.

Rena smashed into the floor of the stadium, the force from the impact shattering the ground, the soil coming up in a great puff in the air. Rena grinned. Astrid had dodged, just like she's been hoping. Well. Not exactly hoping. She would have been happier if she'd punched Astrid, but at the very least she'd expected to miss.

She turned to face Astrid, opening her mouth to speak when suddenly she heard the creak of metal. Rena's eyes went wide and she ducked just in time to avoid the car. Or at least, she thought she did.

The car swerved, as if homing in on her, smashing into Missy and Mister and pinning them to the ground. Rena quickly ejected her hands, hissing with pain, from the metal gauntlets and whirled to face Astrid again.

"Nice." Rena snarled, still wincing. "That wasn't as graceful a landing as id hoped. But I was done with those already, don't need em anymore, see?" Rena hooked a thumb upward. "I'm not so dumb as to think a big ol' meteor smash like that was going to get you. I just wanted to loosen the ground up a bit."

Rena reversed gravity in the area in between her and Astrid, and the floor, once packed earth and dust, was looser now and responded to the change, a swirl of dust rising into the air and obscuring Rena. Rena fell silent and dashed to the right of the cloud. As she did, she reversed gravity again, the cloud of dust suddenly 'falling' straight at Astrid. Rena launched herself forwards. More than any Ern this is how she liked to fight. With her fists.

Astrid smiled. "I see." She watched as the dust in front of Rena floated upwards, obscuring Astrid's vision of her. "Interesting...." The move was a clever one, but Astrid was a step ahead. In the brief moment before the dust flew at Astrid, she set out a small electric field and closed her eyes, concentrating on the disturbances within the field to locate the only moving disturbance - Rena. As the dust flew at her, Astrid kept her eyes closed and jumped back from Rena's attack, dodging it with a couple of inches to spare. Had Astrid sent out her electric field any slower, it would have been negated by the swirling metals in the dust.

As she dodged backwards, Astrid landed on her hands and used her feet to aim a well-timed kick at where Rena's trajectory indicated she should be. After that, she back flipped backwards away from Rena, landing on her feet, and spit out some dust that had gotten in her mouth. As she straightened, however, something in her back popped, and she felt a sharp pain along her spine, causing her to wince and put a hand on her back. "Oi, Commander!" She heard Zawadi call. "Don't injure yourself, now! You're not as young as you used to be!"

"Shut up, flappers!" She snapped in his direction. With that, she turned back to face Astrid, muttering curses under her breath. "I hate old age."

Up in the judging stand, Marcel laughed at Zawadi. "Haven't heard ya get called that in quite some time. Guess Astrid's still got her old spunk."

As Rena rushed through the cloud of dust, she swung once, twice, thrice all in rapid succession, but met only empty air. The old woman as faster than she thought. Then a kick connected, a foot planted directly into her chest, causing Rena to grunt. A solid kick, but nothing like Terrick’s blows. Not worse than the many injuries Rena had given herself in her haste to master her powers, not just her Ern, but her body as well as she considered it just as much a part of her strength as her manipulation of gravity. She reversed Gravity and forced the dust down so she could see again, still rushing forward. Astrid’s kick had galvinized her. This is how she liked it. Her Ern was useful, but what Rena loved was the tensing of muscles, the sublime pain of trading blows, the rush of adrenaline that you just couldn’t get when an opponent was downed by a trick as you stood by watching, bored. She’d once asked one of her professors if she couldn’t just crush someone with gravity and he had answered that no, she could not. Another persons Ern would prevent that from happening. It would protect them.
She’d said, at the time, that that was ‘lame’. But now she realized that she was happy that was the case. Fights would be so boring if that were the case. She hated easy victories almost as much as she hated losing. What was the point of winning if you didn’t feel anything? Rena wanted the exhilaration of proving that she was better than an evenly matched opponent.
So when Rena saw Astrid wince in pain, from a hurt that Rena hadn’t dealt her, she felt angry. Angry that the old womans body wasn’t functioning at full capacity, that it was cheating Rena of the test of wills and mettle that she imagined a straight fight like this would be.
Rena stopped.
“Sort that out so I can hit you.” Rena said, a few feet in front of Astrid. She tried calming herself, like Terrik had taught her, but she couldn’t. She wanted to FIGHT.

Astrid chuckled and straightened. "Getting charity time in the arena from a student... guess I really am getting old." She moved a little, testing her joints, and, determining that she was good to go, turned back to Rena. "That wasn't necessary, but I appreciate your concern."

She knew doing anymore crazy stunts like a back flip would probably result in more back pains for her or worse, so Astrid figured the time for fighting with just physical attacks was over. She needed to end this quickly, or her powers could risk seriously injuring a student. If that happened, the Titan academy would never invite her back. She thrust her left arm outwards and concentrated, electricity visibly moving from her boots upwards through her body to her left arm, slightly frizzing her hair as it moved. In a few seconds, a long pole of electric energy had emerged in her hand, pointed at the end.

Up top, Zawadi leaned forward to get a better look. "Oi, mate, she's getting serious."

Marcel nodded. "Better hope it doesn't get out of hand. I don't think you or I would be able to stop her if she begins throwin' electricity all over the arena. That spear alone takes a ton of Ern to control - electricity is one helluva violent power. I don't think there's any other electric specialist out there who could pull this move off."

After the brief pause, Astrid got low to the ground held the spear forward with her left hand, preparing to throw it. She flexed her left bicep and cocked the arm, her body trembling from the Ern coursing throw her body and preventing the electricity from exploding outwards. With a sudden yell, she threw the spear, directing a couple meters to the left of Rena.

As she did, she loosened her control on the electricity of the spear, directing it forwards instead of restricting it in place, and the spear accelerated through the air. Suddenly, she reached out again with her left hand, and the spear quickly changed course, barreling straight towards Rena from a different angle. Astrid had initially thrown it to the left so that it had more distance to build up speed, and now it was zooming towards Rena at speeds no human could throw at. It wasn't undodgeable, but if Rena did Dodge, Astrid could change the spear's direction again to keep following the student.

Rena saw the spear change direction, that meant Astrid could manipulate it. If she wanted to dodge it, she had to find a way to make sure she couldn't change its direction and simply hit her wherever she had moved. Fortunately, Rena had something for that already. It was desperate, Astrid had still hit her before, but it was the only way she could see out if this situation. Rena reversed the gravity around her again, sending the dust into the air a second time before dropping flat to the ground.

Astrid watched as the dust in front of Rena flew up once more, concealing her location. Because this was the second time Rena had done this, Astrid knew a physical attack would be coming from a direction again, and recalled her spear back to her hand. She glanced behind her, quickly calculating the distance between herself and the other two judges, and dove into the floating dirt, eyes closed. Astrid didn't need to see for her next attack, but Rena did. "Time to end this," She muttered.

From the distance she had observed earlier, she was now in the middle of the atrium, the only place she could safely do what she was about to do. Eyes still closed, she further concentrated the electric energy that was in the spear, turning it into a ball of restrained energy. In a quick movement, she held the ball of electricity above her head envisioned the size of the arena in her mind, and released the electricity. At once, the electricity pulsed outwards, an ever-growing bubble of power expanding until it almost touched the sides of the arena; as it got there, however, Astrid called it back, directing it back to her hand in its original form of a spear. It was a weak shock due to how much area it covered, but it was enough to knock an individual unconscious if they were caught in the blast.

Rena dashed out of the dust to find Astrid gone. She'd plunged into the dust

"Goddamn it." She said,her plan had worked but there was still nothing to hit. She just wanted to PUNCH something. She whirled around, and began channeling her Ern to squeeze the dust into a single point using her gravity. She couldn't affect Astrid, but she could press the dust she had so foolishly entered into into a sort of box. A coffin. She hadn't wanted to rely on tricks any longer, her Ern was begging to run low, but maybe this would slow Astrid down enough to let her get a blow in.

But as the dust began to converge, there was a faint sound, almost like a pop of electricity. Rena felt her body seize up, her muscles no longer willing to move as she demanded of them. She fell to the dusty floor of the Arena with a thud, and then everything went black.

Astrid heard a thud just outside of the dust, but when she breathed she inhaled a breath full of dust, causing her to cough. It seemed as if the last thing Rena had tried to do was encase her in a coffin of dust. When the dust had (literally) settled, Astrid looked around, covered from head to toe in dust. She spotted Rena on the ground, rushed over, and felt her neck for a pulse, breathing a sigh a relief when it was still there. Luckily, the electricity had not been powerful enough to stop the heart. She shouted over at the other two judges. "Call the medics!"

As the medics arrived, carrying Rena away on a stretcher, Astrid dusted off what she could, got back in the mechanical elevator, and returned to the judging platform, smiling. Marcel looked over and smirked. "Looks like someone enjoyed herself," he said.

Without responding, Astrid walked over and slowly sat down in her chair, breathing out from the relief the chair gave her legs. "We've got a good bunch of recruits this year," she stated, the smile never leaving her face.

Collab between me and Edric.

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Aveline was practically shaking. There had never been a time in her life that she had been more scared than she was right now. Maybe that was a bit far-reaching but she could feel her heart beating out of her chest and it was not a pleasant feeling. Each step she took toward the testing room felt like she had lead weights attached to her feet and they were only getting heavier the closer she got. Aveline shook her head and sucked in a breath. One step in front of the other. You’ve got this Aveline, this is all you’ve ever wanted. Another breath and another step took her even closer but the sound of the doors clanging open caused her to stop in her tracks. A stretcher rushed past her, and even though she only got a brief glimpse of the girl atop it, she would recognize her anywhere. All of the confidence Aveline had built up over her walk disintegrated in a moment. Aveline turned and watched as the people huddled around Rena’s stretcher flew down the hallway. She watched until she couldn’t see them anymore. What the hell? How had that happened? Aveline shuddered. Even if she didn’t have the best opinion of Rena, she never wanted to see her on a damn stretcher. Aveline took in a shaky breath and turned back toward the door. This was stupid. Aveline was strong. She could take whatever they had in there that had done that to Rena. Rena was headstrong. Arrogant. Aveline wasn’t. Another breath and Aveline was off again, a much more confident stride to her steps. This is what she wanted. She would not fail. She couldn’t fail. Aveline had nothing else if she failed. The second she opened the doors a blast of cold air hit her face and she was suddenly sucked back into a memory.

Zedric’s face stared back at her with a childlike mirth alight in his eyes. The stars were shining above their heads as they stared at the light in the distance, cast by the main part of the city. They sat in an empty field, the grass was wavering around their ankles, tickling Aveline’s bare feet. They had snuck away from the slums for a moment of fresh air, and an escape from the man after Zedric for snatching his dagger. Zedric cradled the thing in his arms now like it was a child. Aveline stared at the way the light reflected off it’s incredibly polished metal and let out a low whistling sound. Zedric had only taken the thing because he thought it was pretty, neither one of them knew how to use one but Zedric was now determined to learn. He jumped up from the grass and started slashing around clumsily like he was fighting some invisible opponent. Aveline laughed breathily as she watched him prance around like a fool.

“You look ridiculous.” Aveline admonished him and Zedric turned to her with a scowl but sat back down in the grass anyway. He pointed to the city in the distance with the tip of the dagger.

“You won’t say that when I’m a Titan.” Zedric informed her with a grin, “I’ll graduate from the Academy and I’ll come and cut off your head just for saying that.” He slipped the dagger back into its sheath and tucked it into his pants. A dreamy look crossed his face, only for a moment before it was replaced with his normal cocky smirk again. Zedric wouldn’t let himself think about the fact that his dream may not come true and Aveline had always found that a difficult task.

“Sure, Titan Zedric.” Aveline laughed him off and laid back in the grass, disappearing in the thick of it, “I’m sooner to become a Titan than the likes of you.” And just like it had come the memory faded into the back of her mind and Aveline was stood in front of a panel of judges in that very same Academy. She had been wrong, this wasn’t her dream, it was his. Aveline was only here because he wanted to be. If Zedric couldn’t follow his dreams because of Rena’s reckless leadership, then Aveline would follow it for him.

Aveline shook off her memories and simply nodded to the judges, not feeling the need to speak. She was here to impress them and her words would most definitely not do so. But her Ern, that might do it. Her demonstration itself was also serving to make Aveline exceedingly nervous. It wouldn't show on the outside as she strode confidently toward a table at the end of the room. On top of it was a simply made pipe bomb, something that wasn't going to cause too much harm too much harm should it explode. She really hoped it wouldn't explode, that would mean that she had failed. Aveline took the pipe bomb in her hands carefully before walking over to a solemn looking man standing in the corner of the room. He looked up as she approached and Aveline pointed to a handgun laying near him. If this went off without a hitch it would mean Aveline had successfully disarmed a bomb and jammed a gun at the same time. She had trouble extending her Ern to more than one thing at a time, but perhaps the threat of real danger would do her some good. There was nothing wrong with a burst of adrenaline spurring your Ern into action after all.

"When I start the clock on this thing just try and shoot me." Aveline said simply and the man nodded. Turning on her heel, she made her way back toward the center of the room. Aveline knelt and placed the bomb on the floor, turning back to the man once more and allowing an amused smile to cross her face, if only for a moment before her nerves overtook it once more.

"Aim for the head." With that Aveline turned her head to the judges, "A minute." She said simply and went to work setting the timer on the bomb. Within moments the timer was ticking down. In the silence of the room, Aveline could only hear the sound of her own heart beat and the clicking back of the hammer of the gun aimed steadily at her head. Aveline's left hand pointed in the mans direction and when he pulled the trigger the gun clicked uselessly. Jammed. Rusted from the inside out. The man was quick to reach for another but it only resulted in the same thing. Aveline's other hand cradled the bomb, a much more delicate process than the jamming of the guns. She had to rust out the right parts to assure that the thing wouldn't go off. Her eyes were closed as she extended her Ern into the the device, trying to feel out the right spots. All while the man in the corner was still trying to shoot at her. With her eyes closed and the judges blocked out by darkness, she felt her heartbeat coming to a slower pace. The seconds ticked by and Aveline counted along in her head, thirty seconds left. Twenty. Ten. Five. She was doing this on purpose, waiting for the right moment. Four. Three. Two. Now. The clock ticked over to one and stopped. She had done it. Thank god. Now to deal with the gunman. Aveline was up in a flash, moving across the room and using her physical strength to disarm the man and point his own gun back at him.

"Blam." She winked at him and sat the gun down on the table before turning back to the judges. Picking up the now defunct bomb, she held it up and dropped it from her height. The thing broke into pieces at her feet, a simple demonstration of its disarmed state. Aveline bowed deep to the judges and spoke one last time.

“Thank you.” With that, Aveline turned on her heel and made her way toward the doors that she had just seen Rena being wheeled out of minutes before. Aveline walked out of them, holding her shoulders high until they shut behind her and she was out of the judges vision. Her shoulders sunk and she let out the breath she had been holding from the moment she walked into that room. The nervousness pent up in her body escaped and her hands clenched themselves into fists. She could only hope that had been enough. Aveline’s Ern wasn’t flashy or overly powerful, there was nothing to be proud of. There was nothing elegant about death. About decay. It was simply something to be used simply and sparingly. She could only hope the judges felt the same.​

 

[Enolx]

"Now move through movement four through nine of lightning form," Rosaria's brother, Elearond, directed as he blocked blows from Rosaria. After blocking all the attacks, Elearond cut a deep wound in his arm that caused it the fall limp beside him. "You have twenty seconds to heal this and use water stance second form to block my next attacks." Rosaria attempted to heal his brother but found that his Ern was fighting against his healing, his brother grinned. Rosaria instantly pulled back and let a silver flame form in his hand over the wound. Soon the injury repaired on his brother and formed on Rosaria causing blood to soak into his already red shirt, and make his sword arm fall limp beside him. Rosaria, now only having his dagger hand, fell into water stance. The form was designed for combat with short weapons and a practiced hand was used to block relentless attacks from his brother. "Your powers must never stop you from being able to function on the battlefield," He explained as he hacked with two-handed overhead strikes. "Never. Is. An. Atavanti. A. Detriment. What is our creed?"

"Station, Service, Supremacy," Rosaria answered as he blocked and deflected ever-increasing attacks.

“Who do you represent,” Elearond yelled as he kicked Rosaria in his chest sending him backward.

“I represent generations of elites who came before me,” Rosaria answered as silver drifted from his arm as he raised it sword in hand, healed.

“Will you fail them?”

“Atavani do not fail.” Rosaria then jumped forward.



"Young master," a man with glasses, long grey hair, and a long pointed nose spoke, "Your father wishes to see you."

Rosaria instinctively stood up straighter at the proclamation. "Yes, please lead the way." The pair walked through the daunting white, red, and gold halls to a grand set of red Hemdal doors. Carved with their family sigil, Rosaria could feel the oppressive weight that these doors protected him from oozing through the few gaps the dense doors had. Rosaria took a deep breath and nodded to the master-servant, Bittlesworth, that he was ready. The man knocked on the door twice and after announcing who was at the door, they received an answer to enter.

The room was darker in coloration from the outside due to the fact that each instance of white was removed and replaced with black. His father sat in his parlor at one end of his Titan table and motioned for Rosaria to take a spot across from him. The Titan Table was a large ornate table designed to but used while playing the game of Titan. When a terrain card was put int the center slot, the table would transform to depict the entered terrain. The common players would have to have terrain pieces and build the terrain they chose from those. A Titan Table was just as much proof of your wealth as the rest of the game.

Rosaria sat at the table, his posture impeccable, and his features stoic. No words were exchanged, as Rosaria knew never to address his father first, as he was his lesser. “We will play with an Ern capacity of one hundred at true wager rate. You may select the terrain and time of day will be chosen by me. Reveal your general.”

“Of course father.”Rosaria answered as he pulled out his deck and flipped over Astrid the Relentless.

The game of Titan is just as much a history of the Titan order as it is a turn based strategy card game. Tailored towards the wealthy, the game is expensive because the cost of premium cards that have advantages that more common cards can’t match, that and the fact that Titan is a betting game. Ern that is used in game is actually the bet that the player is placing. So if you bet more money, you have more Ern to use in game to beat your opponent. This was done to try to mimic real life Ern capacity, that will differ between individuals. While most set limits to keep the game more fair among common folk, the true version of the game is played with no limit and and a high Ern buy in. Even regions and council positions have be won and lost at a Titan Table. The game Rosaria was at now played by the old rules, and the financial cost of the game’s hundred Ern was thirty million medallions on each side.

“Ah Astrid,” Rosaria’s father said as he saw the card “A favorite of yours. Fine woman, it was a shame I could not bring her into the family. I will be playing Leavold, Eater of Regions.”

Rosaria groaned internally at his fathers reveal. Leavold, was a great General to play and a prized S-Rank card among collectors. The cards of Titan follow the order through its history. Though it began with only S-Ranked titans, more cards were added to increase player base, collectibility, and the amount of history the game could record. Now whenever a new Titan joins the ranks a card is made of them and circulated. This process is repeated with every rank you gain, and is sometimes done after a person accomplishes a great feat. The cards of course get more abilities and stronger attributes as the actual person grows in skill and notoriety. The cards themselves also become more ornate and are printed less. Both Rosaria's and his fathers cards were cased in metal and glass causing them to be slightly thicker than normal cards. The border around the card had moving gears that would show the cards movement, power, defense, and abilities. Since the cards were so old and rare special care had been taken with them. His father spared no expense for his collection and Rosaria did the same.

Rosaria placed the rain forest terrain card into the table and after a moment the table shifted and metal trees and rivers formed on the table. "We will begin at night time, first move is yours." Rosaria nodded, drew his hand, and placed the other members of his cohort. After the first few turns of the game his father began to talk again. "I have begun to set plans into motion," He explained casually while still flawlessly dodging Rosaria's attempt to flank using the river "It is time for you to show yourself and bring more renown to the family. I have arranged for you to take the Titan Academy final examination. After that you will become S-Rank like your brother was and I will then have you moved into the position you need to be in like I did with him."

Rosaria bit down on his tongue as his father sacrificed three of his cohort to activate Leavold's ability. "Of course father," Rosaria answered as he retreated his cards away from the advancing Leavold. Rosaria only realized his error after he moved and his father spent twenty energy to block off his escape with exploding columns of lava. Rosaria bowed his head knowing this was his loss.

"Well done knowing you lost. You should have used a double retreat with Astrid's ability earlier. You should have seen the sacrifice and the cut off coming and used her ability to make it to the river rather than just moving away from Leavold. You would do well to read through the fourth and seventh volumes of Astrid's manuscripts. We will play again after you have done so. Leave now, the test is tomorrow."

"Yes father," Rosaria said as bowed before picking up his cards and exiting the room. "Bittlesworth, can you have-"

"Your father told me this morning to have the fourth and seventh volumes of Astrid's manuscripts packed and ready to go for you. Was there anything else you needed?"

Rosaria stopped in the hall and closed his eyes tense at the words he had heard. "Will I always be that man's lesser," He said to himself.

"What was that young master?"

"Nothing Bittlesworth, thank you, that was all."

Once back at his room Rosaria found is bag already packed and ready to go. He picked it up and threw it over his shoulder before heading to the garage. His motorcycle was already waiting for him outside the building. The machine was white and red with overly large tires with no parts at their center so you could see through them, and a sleek all metal frame. Rosaria threw his bag towards the back of the bike and it stuck to the bike as he hopped into his seat. After a deep breath Rosaria channeled himself and the bike roared to life. His bike had two different motors, the first ran on the liquid from the thermal pores like many machines, but the second, ran off of his Ern. As a child Rosaria had used his ability to recover the animals he would ride so they could move longer. His father, realizing the use of what he was doing, sent people to work on a motor with which he could do the same. A few years later Rosaria was being warned about the dangers of the engine before riding down the dirt roads of Terranthea anyway. After years of riding everyday for increasingly long distances, he rarely needed to use the thermal engine. He was told that they upgraded the engine, but Rosaria had asked them if they could make it less efficient so he could continue using the bike for training. Now he had two bikes, one for training and one for missions. Each cost around 200 million medallions to produce and around 20 million a year to maintain. He of course was riding his training bike.

The freedom of the ride was one of the moments that Rosaria lived for. Him, the road, wind, and his bike working together. Riding was a form of meditation for Rosaria and just like the many trips before, he found himself surprised when he arrived at Onyxport. "Damn, I really wish our regions weren't as close as this," Rosaria said he sat up from where he was laid over the fuel tank "I probably could have gone a reasonable speed too. He pulled up to the families Onyxport vacation home and left his bike on the path in front of the door. A guard opened the door for him, and he entered the home with his bag in hand. He made his way to the sitting room and started striping off sashes and armor as he walked across the room. The fading light of the sun entered through the myriad of expansive windows and a cool breeze rolled off the nearby Medusa. Rosaria plopped down on a sofa and pulled a folder out of his pack. It was information on the test and the different students who would be taking it. When he saw who would be judging he lit up. "My first time out alone and I have this to look forward too," Rosaria said as he threw the folder into the air sending paper all over. Rosaria then laughed as the papers floated to the ground like snowflakes "I will have to make the most out of this."

The next day, Rosaria pulled up to the academy in his full family garb. His file had a layout for the building, so Rosaria knew exactly where to go. After a short walk, he arrived at the large doors he was looking for. A woman at the door bowed as Rosaria approached. "Everything is as requested and they are ready for you." Rosaria gave the woman a nod and motioned for her to open the doors.

Inside of the area were various obstacles and on the ground were four other people. The woman handed him a medical kit which he opened and removed of most of its contents, putting them inside of various pouches on a belt hidden inside of his sash. He then walked to the center of the arena and faced the judges.

"Welcome to the final exam. You have access to any of the equipment before you. Please demonstrate an ability, or set of abilities, that you believe best showcases how you would benefit a Titan cohort of four. Your demonstration should prove why you would enable your cohort to effectively and efficiently complete a task. You have a maximum of ten minutes to do so, but you do not have to use all the time. Begin whenever you are ready."

"Before I begin, I have a request of the three of you," Rosaria declared "You three will be apart of this exam along with these four others. "Madam Astrid, you will play the part of my ally. I will need you to open your Ern to me. Mr. Zawadi, you will be an unwilling ally. Some where that is visible on your body, you will need to cut yourself. Make it noticeable to the others around you, but other than that how deep is up to you, do not open your Ern to me. Then you, the other one, you are my enemy. You don't have to do anything but talk to the others about your experience. That is all. Rosaria then turned and walked to the side of the arena across from the other four in the room.

"What about us," One of the four asked.

"You all will be fighting me," Rosaria explained "You can use this as a chance to further impress the judges. Come at me with everything you have, it will hurt less if you do. We will begin now." Angelo then sprang into action and charged at the boy nearest to him. While they were chosen at random, he knew all four people from his reports. Talib, was a user of earth. Darnel's Ern was creating bright flashes. Sam Brigum, could fly and make other things fly, and Sasha had control over magnetism. He caught Talib with a spinning kick to his jaw and crumpled the boy instantly. He closed his eyes and ran towards Darnel jumping over obstacles he memorized as the woman used her own Ern. The only people she blinded was her own team, and Rosaria used that chance to grab her and break her ribs with a knee. Still blind Sam attempted to float. Rosaria raised his bracer and after a gunshot a pointed spiked chain shot from his wrist through Sam's shoulder. As he lost control of his powers and crashed back down to the floor, Rosaria retracted the chain back into his bracer. Sasha was just getting herself back together, but was panicking after what all she just had heard. Rosaria simply walked up behind her and put her in a sleeper hold until she passed out. The whole fight took thirty seconds.

With the fight done, Rosaria went to Sam and laid a hand on him. Some silver drifted from the man and soon the only thing that showed that he had had a cut in his shoulder was his ripped clothes. He then went to Darnel and took a knee next to the screaming woman. "If you open your Ern to me I can heal you," He said "It is easier for both of us if you comply." The girl nodded and Rosaria put a hand on her chest. After a short time, Darnel sat marveling at her own unlabored breathing. For Talib, the boy was still unconscious so he felt around the boys jaw. Rosaria reset his dislocated jaw and put a cold compress in his hand before throwing water in his face to wake him up. The boy jumped awake and instinctively put the compress to his face. Back at Sasha, Rosaria just waited in front of the girl for her to wake up, which she did moments after he returned to her. "Good." He then walked back to the position he was at when he started the fighting. "Now we will do it again. This time I recommend that you act like a team."

The cycle of beating, healing, and lecture continued for nine minutes. During that time Rosaria had went through every weapon he had on him which included a rapier and main gauche, spear, daggers, long barrel revolvers, and a rifle. He had inflicted different injuries with every combat and healed each with mundane methods or by taking the injury on to himself, whichever was best for the injury. By the last minute he had healed and fought with an injury on every spot on the body. He also managed to turn the four into a decent team. "I promise I did not forget about you judges," Rosaria declared as silver flames began to form around him. The fire moved out from him and washed over everyone in the arena like a wave. Two off his opponents who were hurt began to heal while inside the fire, while one said they were hot and the other said they were cold. For Astrid, he felt around inside her body and healed the various issues he found. Nothing was too bad, but he did find some back and knee trouble. For Zawadi, he let his flame land on the cut the man made and repair it. For the last man he let his flames burn hot enough to make the air around him shimmer and wave. At exactly ten minutes everyone but the man he didn't know stood healed including himself as he used the last thirty seconds to regenerate and replenish himself. He bowed to Astrid and left the room. On the other side of the door he smiled and pulled out his Titan card staring at it before resting his head on the cold door and looking up at the detailed ceiling. "She was just like you said Mother."

 

[enterelysium]

she feels her heartbeat in her throat, her eyes darting around the waiting room. waiting to be called into the test chamber. She hears her name called, and exhales, willing her heart to calm. Her face falls into serenity, her eyes go blank. Not sullen, but not betraying any emotion. The way it has to be. As she opens the large doors into the arena she softly blows her snow-white hair out of her eyes. The sensation triggering a memory.

Her mother tucked her hair out of her face and behind her ear and smiled that sad, sad smile that she always did when going to work. She was only 30, but the age-lines on her face betrayed the hard life that the woman had lived. she wore a long peacoat, but Elyse knew what she wore underneath it, she had seen it. Lingerie for some creepy old man, probably some rich fucker in the thriving mining industry around town. She didn't trust it, her stomach twisted into knots whenever her mother went out. She did it to get Elyse a better future, she really did. but the tiny studio apartment they lived in betrayed how well that was going. At this rate, she was going to be sucked into the same line of work, one that no one escapes from around here. She had met her mother's manager, a slimy man, whos eyes hid cruelty thinly veiled. She had heard her mother crying at night when she thought Elyse was asleep. This was the last night she ever saw her mother. The last time her life had even been vaguely normal.

She stepped into the chamber, her back straight and her poise regal. she scanned her seemingly-uncaring eyes over the judges, before nodding at them and drawing her saber. She rolls up her sleeve and displays a latticework of scars on her arm. These aren't scars that were done to hurt herself, they're carefully plotted, like a blueprint. She presents her arm to the judges and stabs into it unflinchingly. Her face twists into a subtle snarl as she traces one of the scars, the rigidity, and purpose she does it with betraying the rehearsed nature of it. She turns back to the judges when done, her blood trickling down the saber, and more of her lifeblood gushing out of the wound on her arm. She looks into their eyes, fishing for any kind of reaction, before announcing out of the blue, her voice sharp and strong.
"Blood makes for the strongest crystals."

Crystals erupt from her arm and blade, coming from the blood like a twisted plating of armor. One of the Erupting blades of crystal strikes her ear, which begins gushing blood too. She flinches from it, a mistake, she had practiced this, and she made a mistake? FUCK FUCK FUCK EVERYTHING WAS GOING WRONG. More crystals begin thrusting out from her bleeding ear, covering the wound. She drops to the floor, breathing heavily, panic surging through her body. She lies there for a few seconds, willing her heartbeat to slow again, and stands up. She grips her saber with shaky hands and begins performing a carefully rehearsed kata. Step here, slice here, guard here. The rhythmic dance comforting her, her saber cutting through the air in careful sweeps. after finishing the kata, which takes roughly two and a half minutes, she walks over to one of the dummies and wheels it out into the middle of the chamber in front of the judges. She strikes it with her saber, still covered in crystals, Leaving a nasty jagged cut, crystals embedded in the false flesh of it. She does this a few times, displaying her strength and discipline, before placing the blade in the dummies' hand and activating the training function. In a flash It begins cutting at her, doing its best to injure and maim, but she blocks with her crimson crystal-covered arm, being pushed back with every hit by the strength of the dummy, her feet skidding along the floor.

The blade impacts again and she grabs it with her free hand, the dummy tries to pull back, biting into the flesh of her hand, crystals erupting, trapping the blade, and with her crystalline arm, she wheels backward, preparing to punch it. Her crystal-covered fist rockets forwards, biting into the false-flesh of the dummy and sending it backward roughly 10 feet, the crystals shattering off of her arm like shrapnel, shredding the dummy like nothing, her arm underneath showing no signs of being cut except the ever-present scars. the saber clatters out of its hand, and its figure is too bent out of shape to continue fighting. She winces a little bit at the price of the now destroyed machinery but does her best not to show it.

She walks over to her saber and picks it up off the floor, preparing for the final phase of her presentation. The grip is slick in her hand, sweat drips from her forehead, and her heart rate increases. She angles the saber towards her target and pierces it. Red hot pain erupts from her body at the saber sticking into her heart and out the back of her, she collapses to the floor, gasping for air. The saber still sticking out of her. She barely hears someone calling for a medic and laughs a little bit at that. The saber is pushed out of her chest at a velocity, clattering to the floor a few feet away. She feels the hole in her chest being shored up by the crimson minerals, crystals pushing out of the wound at odd angles, beginning to cover her entire upper body. their comforting warmth spreads over her entire body, and soon she cannot move or see, a sphere of crystal surrounding her like a shield. She wills it to melt, to shatter away so that she can leave the room with dignity after her performance, but feels herself losing consciousness, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to stab herself in the heart.

Enolx KingofAesir Fred Colon Edric Yuma

 

[Edric Yuma]

In the aftermath of Astrid's battle with Rena, the judges called for a brief break in the testing so that Astrid could grab a change of clothes. She personally hadn't really minded the dust, but Zawadi insisted she change in order to maintain "a refined presence" and not distract future students. When they had all gotten seated again, Marcel turned to the other two. He preferred to hear the other judges' thoughts first, as they were the ones who were judging the test without any bias. "Thoughts 'bout that demonstration?"

Zawadi crossed his arms, frowning. "Mate, I'm not quite convinced. Someone like her doesn't seem like the type to work well in a group. While she might have the combat skills necessary to become a Titan, she could become a problem when it comes to communication and listening to orders."

Marcel looked to Astrid, whose expression was unreadable as usual. Her emerald eyes gazed past the others and into the now empty arena. Medics had just been there earlier, carrying Rena out. "It is of little matter if she has some attitude right now. I had attitude when I started as a Titan, and it was because I knew I could do a better job than the commanders at that time. She might not be at my level -" Marcel smirked "- but she does have the fighting sense to back up her attitude. If it becomes a problem in the future, I can always smack some sense into her again. I'm voting yes on this one."

Her quick voting decision surprised Marcel - she had decided without hearing Marcel's opinion. It made sense, though; as he had learned in the past, Astrid was rarely wrong, and that was because of her intuition and ability to read others. It was how she devised her plans - by reading the opponent and recognizing what move they would make next. "Okay. For me, I guess I share your concerns, Zawadi, but not enough to fail her. As one of her instructors, she's a speedy learner, and though she seemed overconfident on the surface, that lass worked hard to get to where she is today. She ain't dumb enough to throw it all away 'cause of a small disagreement with her cohort."

Zawadi leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. "If she learns quickly, how has she still not gotten rid of that attitude?"

"That's the one thing she can't seem to shake off. She's improved a lot, though. Shoulda seen her when she got here." Marcel chuckled.

"I'll have to go with no on this one, mate. When I judge, I think about whether or not I'd be successful working with that person, and this one just seems a bit too hard to complete missions with."

Marcel nodded. "I hear ya, but it'll still be a yes for me." Zawadi nodded, took Rena's file, stamped 'PASSED' on it, and slid it back into a box.

"Astrid, she's your problem now."

"I've seen worse. They all work out in the end, because I chose them and know they will."

~​

After ten more students came and left, it was Aveline's turn. The judges watched as she simultaneously disarmed a bomb and stopped a gunman. Upon leaving, Marcel again turned to the others. "Thoughts?"

Astrid nodded. "Works for me. She is someone who would excel alongside powerful fighters and enhance their abilities."

"She's efficient, man." Zawadi added. "Not powerful, but it gets the job done."

This time, it was Marcel's turn to frown. "Ya'll are just givin' nice ways to say she's weak. She's weak, and there's no getting around that."

In response, Zawadi chuckled. "Spoken like the flamehead you are, mate. She has potential. You saw how nervous she was coming in. To pull something off like that without mistake probably means she had practiced a lot or is naturally talented. Either way, her choice of demonstration and how she executed it shows she knows the tactical function of her abilities within a cohort. I'm voting yes for her."

"Same here."

Marcel sighed. "Outvoted again, huh." He stamped 'PASSED' onto Aveline's file and slid back into the box, but not before throwing a small jab at Zawadi. "Flamehead? You're lucky Astrid's here - I ain't trustin the vote of an airhead."

Zawadi smirked and Astrid laughed at his remark.

~​

The next few hours or so of judging went by pretty slowly for Marcel. Talib Almasi: failed. Janet Guo: failed. Sam Brigum: failed. The time dragged on and on, with each student giving what Marcel felt was subpar performances. At the end of a particularly bad attempt at turning a bunch of scrap metal into a workable vehicle, Marcel sighed, stared through the glass ceiling of the atrium at the now afternoon sky, and took a long swig of water from his flask. It had become pretty warm in the arena as they basked under the sunlight, and all of the judges had some degree of sweat coming down their foreheads. "Please tell me the next student has potential."

Zawadi glanced at the file. "Uh... Alias Fenwick. Crystallization? That's an interesting specialization, it's been a while since I've seen someone try that."

As Zawadi flipped through the file to read more about the student, Marcel grinned, still staring at the blue sky. Clouds had begun forming, partially blocking the sun and giving them a short reprieve from the heat. "Crystallization, huh? I don't think I've taught Alias before - that'll be fun to watch."

The judges watched as the student walked in, glanced over at them, and then cut into herself. Astrid cocked an eyebrow, then slowly lowered it as she watched crystals form along her cuts and up the saber. Within the demonstration, Astrid caught a brief mistake, but the student quickly recovered from it and continued her demonstration. Towards the end of it, though, Astrid watched as Alias began angling the blade towards her chest. With a reaction trained from years on the battlefield, Astrid grabbed Marcel's arm, eyes still fixed on the student. "Call for medics. Now." She would have done it herself, but she had to see the end of the demonstration to fulfill her role as lead judge.

As Marcel shouted for medics and rushed for the mechanical elevator, Astrid watched as the student impaled herself. Blood began spilling from the wound, soaking the student's shirt, but suddenly crystals began sprouting and coalescing from the wound, stopping the bleeding in its tracks. The crystals continued growing, and by the time medics had arrived, the student was unconscious but completely encased within a crystal structure. Her bleeding appeared to have stopped.

A brief moment of silence passed as Astrid and Zawadi watched the medics take the student away while Marcel ascended back up to the judging stand. Astrid was the first to break it with a chuckle mixed in with a sigh. "Well, that's one way to make a statement."

When Marcel reached the top, he glanced at the other two. "The medics said that she should be fine with Titan Academy's advanced medical services."

Zawadi gave a relieved smile. "There are always reckless students, but I don't think I've seen a self-inflicted fatal wound until now. But she proved her point. I was a bit concerned with how reckless her abilities require her to be, but she showed that even if she is compromised she won't have to rely on teammates to get her out of the situation - at least for a while."

"And resilience," Marcel added. "It takes a lot of guts to stab yourself in, well, the guts."

"She's got my vote." Astrid stated, and Marcel and Zawadi voiced their agreements. With that, Astrid stamped 'PASSED' on the file and slid it back into the box.

~​

In the late afternoon, the judges saw the last of the students. Marcel got up and stretched, ready to call it for the day, but then he looked over at the other two judges and frowned. They hadn't moved yet - in fact, Zawadi was getting out a separate, much smaller package of envelopes. "What's that?"

"The files for examinees outside of the Academy."

At this, Marcel raised an eyebrow. "What? People can do that? How come I didn't know?"

"Because you shouldn't. Only past judges know, because if everyone knew, then we would have idiots who want to skip the Academy education and go straight to the final exam." Astrid looked through the files - there were only three of them. "Titan Academy education is essential. The only individuals allowed to skip it are those whose training methods are proven to have equal - or better - results than the ones the Academy produces."

Marcel sat back down, staring at the arena floor. Long shadows were beginning to grow along the objects of the arena as the sun began its descent. As someone who had learned so much through the academy, Marcel found it doubtful that another system was better at training Titans. As if reading his mind, Zawadi said, "You'd be surprised at the number of S-rank Titans who came in this way, mate. Astrid is one of them."

"What?" Marcel glanced at Astrid in surprise, who calmly nodded.

She brought up the first file, and on it Marcel read "Rosaria Talim Atavanti". "This one's from the neighboring region, Green Spire. He manipulates his body, and others', on a cellular level for healing capabilities and more."

As they watched Rosaria enter, Marcel felt like he had an inkling of how a system of training better than the Titan Academy's two hundred something years of experience could exist. Rosaria was dressed in the attire of someone with prestigious status, and he carried an air about him of well-practiced conduct. He knew he had recognized the name Atavanti, but after seeing the insignia on his garb it became clear that Rosaria was from a long line of elite Titans. If he had those people to train him his whole life, then it made more sense that they wouldn't need Academy training.

At the beginning of the demonstration, the three judges were called down from the stand to participate in the demonstration. Marcel felt slightly offended that he was the only one whose name Rosaria did not know, but he knew the names of Zawadi and Astrid carried much more recognition than his. At Rosaria's instruction, Zawadi nodded, and he brought his hand down on his leg in a chopping motion, emitting a powerful blade of air that pierced his thigh. Without acknowledging the pain, Zawadi turned back to watch Rosaria's demonstration, the blood from his thigh beginning to stain his trousers.

As the three judges stood on the floor, they watched as Rosaria effectively trained four students who also took the test to become a better team while simultaneously injuring himself to heal the others. And when Marcel thought that was more than enough for Rosaria to pass, he continued demonstrating his powers by healing something within Astrid, making Zawadi's self-inflicted wound vanish, obscuring Marcel's line of sight, and finally healing all the wounds he inflicted on himself. With that, the man bowed directly to Astrid, who tilted her head in acknowledgement, and left the room. The other four students he had used for the demonstration left soon after.

When it was just the three of them left in the room, Astrid did a back flip, this time landing without issue. She grinned. "My back pains will probably come back eventually, but it was nice to do this again."

Zawadi gestured to his leg. The blood staining his trousers was still there, but the cut itself was not. "Yeah, he healed me without me opening up any wounds again."

Marcel felt like a discussion wasn't necessary for the judges to make a decision, but he spoke up anyways. "The cells he put in front of me were hot, distorting my view, and I could feel the heat radiating onto me."

They spent the next minute or so talking about the other things Rosaria had demonstrated, such as his fighting prowess and his high level of self-regeneration. No one mentioned what their vote was going to be, but Marcel somehow knew that they all agreed Rosaria had passed. It was as if Astrid and Zawadi were already expecting him to pass. As they headed back to the platform, Marcel pulled Zawadi aside. "Are the rest of the outside examinees going to be like this?"

Zawadi smirked. "If by 'this' you mean demonstrations that are powerful and unnecessarily extravagant, mate, then yes. In the one hundred and fifty-something years since Titan Academy started offering testing to individuals outside of Academy instruction, only one person has ever failed the test through this method."

"Don't be surprised if everyone testing this passes," Astrid added over her shoulder. She strode in front of the other two at a faster pace - a habit likely picked up from being Titan commander. "Us seasoned judges like to call them the 'testing royalty' - they generally come from bloodlines of great and storied Titan fighters."

As they boarded the elevator to climb back to the top of the judging platform, Marcel marveled at the high passing rate of the testing royalty. He had assumed Titan Academy was the best place to learn to control Ern, but now he wasn't so sure. As someone who had grown up poor and worked hard to get into the Academy, to see someone pass through the test so efficiently and effectively due to superior instruction didn't feel right to him. Astrid and Zawadi, however, didn't seem to mind. Marcel knew Zawadi had a rich family, and even though he had never asked Astrid about her past, the fact that she had become a Titan the same way Rosaria had told him enough. That privilege was only extended to a certain type of individual. As Astrid stamped 'PASSED' on the file and put it back in the envelope, Marcel lit a cigarette and blew an 'O' into the air. "Alright, let's get the other two over with. I'm ready to go home."

~One Week Later~​

Unlike the rest of the buildings on campus, the dormitory was built with a focus on maximizing functionality instead of focusing on architectural embellishments, turning the focus of design away from ornamentation and onto the form of the building itself. It was a single, towering building with walls made up of reinforced concrete slabs that slanted inwards, capping at a smaller square for the roof. From afar, it gave off the appearance of a concrete pyramid whose top had been cut off, creating a balcony for student activities. The inside floor was tiled with large, granite slabs that had a pink tint to them, and a window dotted the building in orderly fashion every few meters. Normally, the spacious halls outside of the dorm rooms had a general hubbub of student conversation, but today the hubbub had grown into a roar of voices as many more students populated the halls, deep in discussion.

"Decision day", students liked to call it. The dorm was abuzz with students chattering amongst each other - although some wealthier students moved out of them by their final year, most stayed because the academy gave them free housing. Housing in Onyxport was expensive - it was a wealthy trading city whose buildings sold for billions of medallions. This was the day when the results of their final exam came in, and students were either excited that they passed, disappointed that they didn't, or not surprised by their results. Either way, the results had become a catalyst for conversations.

"Ah, man... I had a feeling I failed." A pair of students walked through the hallways of the dormitory, passing by crowds of other students. One of his friends placed a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry, man. Besides, you'll have a safer and better-paying job as security guard, right?"

"Yeah, but think of the glory I could have gained...."

The conversation continued as the pair walked past crowds of students discussing similar topics. Some shouted loudly to each other from across the hall - "Man, I was really hoping I could get stationed away from my parents, but I got so unlucky-" while others spoke softly alongside their friends - "My mom's going to be so disappointed in me, she had been so proud when I got into the academy."

For students who had failed, the letter they received contained instructions for finding employment outside of becoming a Titan. For those who had passed, each one received a similar letter congratulating them on their acceptance and assigning them a cohort and stationing location. For Rena, Aveline, Alias, and Rosaria, the letter they receive is entirely the same outside of who it's addressed to:

To Rena/Aveline/Alias/Rosaria:

It is our pleasure to welcome you into the ranks of the Titans. As a Titan, your duty is to protect citizens of the Planetary Government and uphold peace by completing tasks where others have failed.

Your assigned cohort is as follows:
Rosaria Talim Atavanti
Aveline Beck
Alias Fenwick
Rena Tollman

Your cohort number is 00157. This is used for identification purposes. Cohort 157's starting rank is D.

One month from now, your cohort is to be stationed at the outpost in Dagonpoint, Phynxfire to quell wild animal attacks. Further instructions will be available upon arrival. Transportation is available upon request. Let us continue to uphold the prosperity of the world and our government.

Titan Headquarters

~​

The burning tobacco in Marcel's pipe flares as he inhales, releasing a puff of smoke out his window in the Academy. He reads through the list of new cohorts in his office as the morning light streams in, illuminating his mahogany desk and reflecting off the marble floor. The past week had been exhausting for him - four days of testing was much more straining than he had expected. Some tough decisions had to be made, and knowing he was the reason some students would be devastated the following weak only worsened the stress. Now, all he wanted to do was kick back and relax as the Academy took a break from its instruction. The students in the dorms were sure to be receiving their results by now; Marcel hoped those who wanted to make it but didn't were not too disappointed. As his eyes continued scanning the page, he paused briefly on a certain cohort number. "One fifty-seven? Where have I heard that cohort number before...."

~One month later: Dagonpoint, Phynxfire~​

Unlike New Ironhaven, the populated neighboring region where Onyxport is located, Phynxfire is relatively wild and untouched due to its abundance of untamed, vicious animals that fight back to protect their territory. Its dense jungles remain largely intact; for as long as its existed, Phynxfire was only home for small settlements with large fortifications and daring adventurers. However, as land began growing more valuable due to population increases and expanding cities, there has been a push to deforest and further settle Phynxfire. Pressure to increase settlement of the land has been encouraged by both Phynxfire citizens and neighboring regions like New Ironhaven, as the jungles currently defended by wild animals have an abundance of untapped resources.

The government transportation provided to Dagonpoint was an airship that departed from the Titan outpost in Onyxport. Upon takeoff, a series of perpendicular turbine engines along the smooth, metallic hull of the vehicle begin spinning all at once, pushing off the ground and elevating the aircraft vertically into the sky. The interior of the hull was designed with utility in mind, and most of the hull is designed for storage of bulk supplies. The passenger section of the hull has one common room built with tables and small snacks alongside a well-lit general seating area. The aircraft is generally used for transport of large numbers of soldiers, but at the moment, only the Titans from cohort 157 are present. The windows are small holes in the side of the hull that allow for the viewing of the ground below. From liftoff to landing, the total travel time between Onyxport and Dagonpoint is roughly five hours.

As the airship descends back down from above the clouds, a canvas of greens opens up below, revealing the wild jungles of Phynxfire. A man-made clearing lies in the midst of the jungle, allowing for the small settlement of Dagonpoint to be set up - a grid of identical, single-story wooden buildings surrounded by large walls protecting its inhabitants. To call it a town would be a mistake: at the moment, the only people living there are scientists and soldiers, and the only mode of transportation to Dagonpoint is by aircraft.

The airship descends onto an open patch of soil in the middle of the settlement, blowing away small sticks and debris as it lands. As the passengers exit the airship, soldiers began rushing up to the ship, unloading necessary supplies for Dagonpoint and refueling the vehicle for takeoff in the near future. Once all the Titans are gathered, a man in his mid-forties walks up to greet the cohort with a smile. Even in the humid heat of the jungle floor, the man is dressed in a white button-up shirt and black pants. A large pair of round, black goggles cover his eyes, and he pulls them above his brown top hat to reveal warm, hazel eyes and a pointy nose. "Greetings, cohort one fifty-seven! Thank you for your assistance in our research. I am Dr. Shuren, the lead scientist in this base, but you can just call me Shuren. Please, follow me! Our Titan outpost might be small, but we are confident it has what you need."

Dagonpoint is fairly active. Researchers walk by, deep in discussion as soldiers patrol the borders by walking across the walls. Outside, however, the general buzzing of bugs, birds, and other creatures overpowers any sound occurring in the base.

As they walked, the scientist continued talking in an excited tone, gesturing with the clipboard in his hand as he spoke. "You have no idea how many times we've requested for Titan assistance before it was finally granted. You see, it's hard to send troops into the dense jungles to defend our researchers against various dangers: strength in numbers doesn't exactly apply when no one can see each other."

The Titan outpost is indeed small - in fact, it looks exactly the same as the other buildings on the outside: linear in form and composed of wooden planks. The inside has one room, a large table surrounded by many chairs, and the walls are covered in maps, images, and files related to the surrounding area. At the middle of the table is a long-distance radio with a series of antennas, a device that could connect the outpost back to Titan headquarters if needed. An advanced coolant system powered by liquid energy whirred on the outside of the building, keeping the interior sheltered from the sweltering temperatures outside.

"Each of you has lodging prepared nearby," the scientist explained as he entered the room. "The cafeteria is communal - just find the only building that looks different from the others. The armory will have any equipment you need: short-distance radios, weapons, armor, and more. This room is for you all to meet and have discussions; copies of all intel we currently have can be found in here. It's not much, but I hope it can help in some way."

Shuren began pacing around the room, talking quickly. "Essentially, we've called you here because our researchers keep being attacked by vicious beasts as they leave the base. We've already had to send a few home due to extensive injuries. The Government has assigned us the task of determining all the locations where settlement would be possible - but we can't even do that because we are still trying to map out the surrounding area. It's hard to draw a map when beasts are hindering our progress."

Shuren paused, and he turned to look back at them worriedly. "Ah - where are my manners! I was so thrilled by your arrival, I forgot to make sure you were comfortable. You must be tired after the travel - why don't we meet again after dinner? You can ask me any questions then. If you ask anyone around the base, they can show you to your bunks. We eat in about two hours!"

With that, he left from the building, his baggy pants flapping hurriedly as he strode out the door.

 

[Fred Colon]

Rena snarled and attacked the wooden dummy, savagely striking it’s outstretched arms as if knocking away the blows of a real world opponent before laying into the core of the dummy. Rena was supposed to stop after a set number of blows, but she just kept striking. The barely healed scabs from her training session yesterday broke and began to bleed. They were really just scabs that had broken open from the scabs she’d accrued the day before that, which were scabs she’d broken open from the day before that, and so on since her miserable showing at the Titan Test.

“You don’t seem terribly focused, Little Badger. You’re striking the Mu Rehn Zuang like the angry little girl you were when you first came here.” Terrik said, stepping into the dojo that doubled as his office. “Silence the anger. Anger is useful for spurring people into action. But it is not useful for fighting.”
“Put that in a fortune cookie and stuff it.” Rena hissed, not letting up. She wasn’t using her Ern, but the hardened varnished wood was beginning to crack and splinter. “It doesn’t matter. I’m fucked. Everything is fucked.”
Suddenly her legs were swept out from underneath her and Terrik’s knee was on her chest. Her hands lashed out like snakes, but Terrik batted them both away, and the only thing she managed to do was flick blood onto her teacher and the ceiling.
“Calm yourself.” He said, his voice infuriatingly calm, he ignored the spatters of blood on his cheeks. He wasn’t one to be distracted.
Rena went for a groin shot with her knee, but Terrik trapped her leg with one of his.
“Not a very honorable strike.” He said, amused. “Not like when you allowed Astrid time to recover. Calm yourself.”
Rena continued to struggle, but Terrik had too much leverage and the advantage of being on top of her. Eventually Rena stopped, shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Her beating heart slowed, she set her anger adrift, away from her, and she began to feel the pain in her knuckles before she distanced herself from that, too.
“Good. Now, I have-” Rena brought her head up and tried to headbutt Terrik. Terrik realized a split second before the blow landed and twisted off of Rena. “You need to work on your breathing technique again. You don’t seem terribly calm.”
“Nah. I’m calm now. I just wanted you off of me.” Rena said, dusting herself off and getting back to her feet. She could sense her anger still. It had been buzzing around her head the entire week. But now it was apart from her. She could look at it, analyze it with the cool rationality Terrik had taught and cultivated in her. But she knew there were other emotions hiding inside the anger. Shame, sadness, regret, fear, hiding like coiled snakes, and decided not to. She would just keep it apart.
She walked to the other side of the room and used her sweat towel to wipe up the blood and then began to apply the bandages she kept in her satchel. Soon her knuckles were wrapped in white cotton slowly shading to red as they soaked up blood.
“It always amuses me how aggressive you are even when you’re calm, Little Badger.” Terrik said, the corners of his mouth quirking upwards, but Rena just grunted, not rising to the bait.
“I don’t need all your fancy training anymore.” She took another calming, steadying breath. This time not because she was angry. “I’m going back to prison, probably. That bitch Quickswitch only said I’d get out of my sentence if I became a Titan. Obviously I failed at that.”
“How sure of that are you?”
“I lost.” Rena said. Her anger was swelling, but it couldn’t touch her, yet. “Losers don’t get to be Titans.”
“Ah, Little Badger, you’ve quite a bit to learn, yet.” He held out the letter that contained the judges decisions. Rena hadn’t gone to pick hers up. She’d thought she knew what it said.
“Did you read it?” Rena said suspiciously, snatching the letter out of Terrik’s hand.
“Of course. I needed to know if I’d need to run for cover when you opened it or…”
Rena tore open the letter and read the contents. A few moments later her eyes widened and a smile split her face almost down the middle. She tackled Terrik, bearing him to the ground, laughing.
“Or if I’d need to brace for a hug.” He finished, squeezing Rena’s shoulder.

“Haha! I fucking did it!” She said, and then leapt back to her feet. Terrik stood up as well, and Rena, unable to contain her excitement hugged him again. Then she stopped and took a few steps away. “But why? I freaking lost. I didn’t even touch her.”
“Because, Little Badger, Astrid is better than you.” Terrik said, “Part of that is because she’s perceptive. And since she’s so perceptive, she saw what I saw. That you’re clever, strong, indomitable and, despite yourself, a sentimental fool who hugs her teacher when she’s happy.” He smiled. “A perfect match for a Titan.”
“You think she’s better than me?” Rena said, straightening.
“Yes.” Terrik shook his head smiling. “But that is not exactly what I wanted you to take away from that.”
“Fine. Maybe she is. But not for long. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
“Somehow I don’t doubt that.”

She looked down at her letter. “Alias and, oh, hey, Aveline. I know them. But who the fuck is Rosaria?”
“An examinee who didn’t go to the academy. They tend to be from wealthier families who have their own training regime and then apply to become a Titan from there.”
Rena’s face twisted.
“So I’m going to have to babysit some rich snot?”
Terrik shrugged.
“Perhaps. But I wouldn’t be so dismissive. This Rosaria, from what I’ve heard, is quite skilled.”
“We’ll fucking see about that.”
“Rena.” Terrik said sharply.
Rena looked up. He only called her Rena when he was being serious.
“For some I would worry about them being too deferential to someone so high in the social structure. But not with you. You know you are strong. You know you are skilled. And you know that if you work hard you can match anyone. What I do worry about is that you will dismiss other talented, skilled, hard working individuals out of pride and the arrogance that the two of us have been working so hard to keep under control. It is your greatest weakness as a member of a Titan Squad.” He spread his hands out and shrugged.
“The simple fact of the matter is that you are not good at working with other people. However, if you can’t work with others you will fail.” He put his hands behind his back. “But I trust in you, Rena. Trust that you will be able to see and understand the value of a team. Trust that you can learn to be a part of one.”
“I was in a freaking gang. I know how to work with other people.”
“From what you’ve told me you knew how to order other people around. Working with them is quite a different matter.”
Rena sighed,
“Yea. Yea. I know.”
“You can do this.”
“Ha! I know that too. Not a doubt in my mind.” Rena said,
They stared at one another for a moment and Rena softened.
“Thanks. Terrik.” Rena said after a moment, scratching absently at the shaved side of her head “For putting up with me.” She coughed into her hand and her usual bravado returned. “I could have done it without you, of course, but you made it hell of a lot easier for me.”
“Of course. Come visit this old man once and awhile. It would be my pleasure to show you that I can still beat a Titan silly.”
“Well if that’s a challenge I’ve got to come back.” Rena grinned.
“I look forward to it. Now, you should probably meet with your new Cohort members. Maybe use this next month to relax. You’re going to need it, if they’re sending you out to Dagonpoint.” Terrik said, “Good luck, Rena Tollman of Cohort 00157.”
Rena left, a spring in her step and only the vaguest of intentions to meet her new cohort members and no intention at all of relaxing. She had so many things she needed to get better at before she left.
She couldn’t help but hum. She wanted to break something, but in a good way for once.

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Her head was killing her. Like something had made it's home burrowed deep in her cranium and was currently burrowing it's way through her frontal lobe and across her parietal lobe. She could feel it's digging little paws poking through her occipital lobe, soon, it would break into her temporal lobe. Aveline knew that this creature crawling around in her head was fear. It was a feeling she knew very well and she had many fear tunnels carved through her brain. Aveline had been afraid a lot in her life, never of anything physical, but always of the unseen. The unknown. Aveline hated not knowing. Not knowing what people thought. What people knew. Who was good and who wasn't. It was more than fear, almost a sort of nagging curiosity that the longer it festered the more it grew in to a tantalizing feeling that something must be wrong. If she did not know, she always though the worst. Aveline leaned forward and place her head in her hands, trying desperately to shake out the creature of fear that had taken root. It wouldn't go, it wouldn't go until she knew where her test had left her. Aveline had nothing else. She didn't want to be stuck following some rich snob about as a body guard, or become a simple soldier mucking about in some fort with no sense of purpose. Aveline didn't even know if she wanted to be a Titan. This had been Zedric's dream, not hers. Why was she here? Why had Aveline come so far in someone else's path? Because he couldn't. Because he was dead. Because some hothead had cost him his life. Aveline was living for him. It didn't matter if this is what she wanted or not because it wasn't for her. Everyday Aveline spent in this damned place was for him with some deep seeded hope that he was watching. She just hoped he wasn't watching now as she sat on the edge of her bed in the dorms with her head in her hands. Had she passed? Had she failed him? The sound of someone talking lowly about disappointing their mother outside her door caused Aveline's head to shoot up. The letters. They were out. Aveline was quick to stand up, feeling a bot light-headed as she pulled open her door. Her body floated down the hallway seemingly on its own, she was far too busy locked away in her own head. Someone cursed at her as she blew past them, ramming her shoulder into theirs, but she payed no mind. A man with letters in his hand was in sight.

It was so close. Soon she would know.

Aveline shoved her way up to the man with no care about those around her. She didn't have time to wait in a line. The creature in her head had broken through into her cerebellum and soon she would be paralyzed. Her hand thrust forward and her name slipped, almost too quickly to be audible, off her tongue. The man didn't seem to be too interested in the other students clambering behind her complaining about her rather rude intrusion. He simply flipped through the letters in his hand until he landed on hers and handed the thing to her with out so much as a glance in her direction. Aveline took the letter carefully as if it was some fragile piece of valuable treasure. She practically cradled the thing as she rushed back to her dorm to open the thing in seclusion. Aveline didn't have many friends and besides, this wasn't something she felt like needed to be shared anyway. This was hers. Aveline sat back down on her bed and it creaked rather loudly causing her to flinch at the loud interruption to her throughts. Damn piece of old shit. No matter. Aveline ran her hand over the front of the envelope before turning it over and carefully pulling open the tab, not wanting to tear it. She pulled out it's contents just as carefully and held it in trembling hands.

Her hands were trembling as she pressed the end of her shirt to Zedric's open wound. Everything around her seemed clouded and distant as she sat there with her friend spluttering blood in her arms. It was times like this were Aveline wished she had a different Ern specialization. What was the use in death in times like these when all she wanted was life? There were salty tears pouring down her face and pulling up and mixing with Zedric's blood as they sat there. Aveline didn't know what to do. The gash that had been torn into Zedric's abdomen was far too large for her to cover completely and there was no one else around. By the time Aveline had gotten to this place, everyone else was dead or dying. There was no sight of the Diamonds. There was nothing else she could do. But Aveline was too stubborn to give up. Zedric was fading in and out of consciousness and Aveline was trying desperately to keep him awake. Someone had to come. Someone would come. Rena, or fuck anyone. Please. Someone. Aveline couldn't save him.

"Stay awake, god dammit." Aveline pleaded with him, "Zedric, look at me. Please. Stay awake." She felt Zedric contort under her hands as he let out a quiet laugh. Why was he laughing? How was he laughing right now?

"You look like a fucking idiot. Stop crying, dumbass." His voice was harsh, tinged with pain, but he was smiling.

"Shut up. You're bleeding out, quit laughing." Aveline growled at him, but Zedric's smile did not waver.

"It's too late. Aveline, please don't cry." Zedric placed a weak hand on Aveline's. His typically handsome face was marred by blood and dirt and everything in between. He looked like hell. Aveline reached up and moved his entirely too long blonde hair out of his eyes with her free hand. "I want you to leave. I don't want you to see me die."

"Are you crazy? I'm not leaving you." Aveline blanched at him but her eyes quickly became soft again, "I just got you back, I'm not losing you again." Zedric looked up at her and for the first time, Aveline could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. Zedric never cried.

"Avey, please." Zedric pushed Aveline's hands weakly away, "Go. Go away from here and don't come back. Promise me that you won't stay in this place." Aveline tried to return her hands to their place on Zedric's abdomen but he stopped her, "Fucking go, Aveline. GO!" He did his best to shout at her. Startled, Aveline got to her feet, but remained wavering for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I promise."

"Goodbye."

And Aveline ran, she ran and she didn't stop until she was in that same field that she and Zedric had escaped to so many times before and it was there that she broke down. Collapsing into the grass and letting herself go.

Aveline snapped back into reality and suddenly she was back in her dorm room with a letter in her hands. A tear had slipped down her cheek and onto the paper in her hand, she wiped at her face and sat up straight again. She didn't have time for memories, especially those kinds of memories. No longer able to wait, Aveline unfolded the letter and read it over carefully. Her reaction was a bit delayed and she had to read it twice to be sure she had seen it right. She had passed. Aveline laughed and clutched the piece of paper to her chest. She passed. This time her tears were happy.

"Would you look at that." Aveline looked up at the ceiling, "Did you see, Zedric? I fucking did it. I did it." Aveline looked back down at the letter and read over it again, except this time she stopped on the names of her cohort. There was Rena's name staring back at her. Well, wasn't that an interesting development. Aveline sighed. No she wasn't going to let the past mess this up for her. She was a fucking Titan. That was all that mattered. Aveline fell back on her bed with a laugh and a huge grin spread across her face. The fear that had once been lodged in her head dissipating with her laughter. A Titan. Fuck.

~A month later on the ship~

Aveline had always been a bit of a loner. She preferred to keep to herself most times but she figured she would soon have to get over that. Right now she was stood on the ship that would take them to Dagonpoint. She was alone, the rest of her cohort had yet to arrive but Aveline was glad to have a moment alone before they were thrust together for five hours and longer. She was standing at the edge of the passenger area, staring out of one of the small windows situated there. Her eyes were glazed and cloudy as she lost herself in thoughts, as she did quite frequently these days. It had been a month since they'd gotten their acceptance letters and it had been a month of Aveline pacing back and forth across the roof of the dorm building, trying desperately to figure out what to say to her cohorts. What to say to Rena. She wondered if she even remembered who Aveline was, they hadn't left on the best footing that last time they'd seen each other back home. Aveline had been angry and that had been alarmingly obvious with the way she had yelled at Rena. Every one of her words had been accusatory because, after all, she blamed Rena for everything that had happened. She still did to some degree. Only now they would be forced to get along or they could get themselves killed. Aveline wasn't too worried about the rest of her cohort. She'd only seen Alias once or twice around the academy and she had no idea who this Rosaria guy was, no matter, she was sure it would be fine. She was only worried about Rena and her butting heads.

Aveline could only hope she had become a little less hotheaded in her time at the academy and that Aveline herself could learn to like her again. Or they might have a problem. A cohort was supposed to be a working unit, working together as one, and if they couldn't get along they could jeopardize there newly acquired Titan status. Aveline would try her best and she could only hope that everyone else would too.​

 

[Fred Colon]

The Airship, One month later

"Goooood evening Cohort 157! Star Batter Rena Tollman has entered the stadium. I like that look in her eye fans, she looks like she's ready to knock one out of the fucking park!" Rena roared, kicking the door open. She looked around the empty room and frowned. Then her eyes alighted on Aveline.
"Ah fuck. I was hoping more of us would he here for my big entrance. Heya, Avey, baby." She said, walking over to the snack table, throwing her bag onto a chair, and then setting down a nondescript wooden case down next to it a bit more carefully.
She grabbed a handful of crackers and sat down next to her stuff.
"What do you think would be cooler, Avey. Like, lounging insouciantly when the other come in? You know, just give em a little nod. Or should I just, like, ignore em until later on in the trip? Project an air of mystery and aloofness and such? Oh, man, but we gotta be team mates so I probably have to introduce myself..." She draped herself across two chair and kicked her legs up on another chair across from her.
KingofAesir

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Of course, Rena was the first one of her cohort to arrive. Aveline shouldn't have expected anyone else with the huge amount of luck that she totally had. It didn't matter thought, it was fine. Aveline was fine. The others would be here soon, maybe if she just...Avey. Aveline frowned at the nickname and decided right then and there that it probably wasn't the best idea to ignore Rena's ramblings. Indulge her, Aveline. You're teammates. The past was the past. Aveline had to get over it at some point right? Right. She needed to make an effort right now or she might never. Rena already seemed pretty comfortable on the ship, far more so than Aveline. This meeting would be easy for her. For Aveline, not so much, she was entirely to nervous-hearted for any new things to be easy for her. Maybe there was something to learn from Rena.

"I think you would be incapable of being mysterious." Aveline joked, "It might be better if you just introduce yourself. We are teammates." Aveline finally turned away from the window to actually look at Rena, "I don't know the the other's well. I've seen Alias maybe twice." Her eyebrows drew together in a frown as she thought about Rosaria.

"I don't even know who Rosaria is." She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, "How well do you know them? If at all."

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

Rena looked up and grinned at Aveline.
"Same situation as you, except Terrik told me that Rosaria is some fancy pants rich kid that skipped training and went straight for the test. I don't know much about Alias except they've got some sort of crystal power. Hell, I don't even know you that well any more. You should regale me with the exciting life of Aveline since she left the Nose Busters."

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Great. A rich kid. Aveline didn't even know that people could skip training. It was probably just a privilege thing anyway and spirits knew that Aveline was far from privileged. She wondered briefly if he would be as annoying as his rich background would entail. Perhaps not, she shouldn't judge before she even meets the guy. Besides, she had Rena to focus on right now, her thoughts about her other teammates could wait. Even if she had an inclination to let them carry her away. The mention of Rena's old gang pulled Aveline right back into the conversation and she realized she was still standing. Aveline sat down across from Rena, complete opposites as Rena lounged about and Aveline's spine was almost too straight. It would relax soon, it was just her nerves getting at her again.

"To be clear, I technically wasn't even ever in the Nose Busters." Aveline rubbed at her chin, trying to think of anything worth telling Rena about, "I just wanted to get out of that place. I was by myself for a little and legged it to the city. The good thing about being actually mysterious," She winked at Rena, "Is that no one knows you. They let me into the Academy and that was that. You know the rest." Aveline finally leaned back a little more.

"What about you? I don't know what happened to you either after I booked it out of there." She honestly was curious. Before Zedric's death, Aveline had liked Rena, maybe she could learn to again.

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

"I can be mysterious if I want! I just don't wanna be." Rena grinned. "And, heh, you totally were. But maybe it wasn't a bad idea to get out. I, uh, spent a year or two in prison after the guard got involved in our little... Spat with the Diamond Eyes. Things got... Nasty at the end." Rena's face hardened when she said the word 'Diamond' but the she shut her eyes and took a deep breathe and the anger faded. "Ah, nothing to be mad about. I'll go back and push all their skulls in one of these days and get all our old crew free."

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Prison. Aveline frowned, she hadn't known that Rena was in prison. Damn. That meant the remaining Nose Busters were too. Shit, a lot really had happened since the night Aveline ran off. She had to wonder if she would be in prison too if she had stayed. Suddenly, Aveline was more grateful than ever than Zedric had told her to leave. Maybe he had seen it coming. Maybe he just didn't want her to die too. Aveline shivered at the memory and turned her attention back to Rena. Now that she was a Titan it was possible that she could get them free without having to break anyone's skulls. Aveline thought that maybe it would be something the cohort could help with. That was all rather iffy though and Aveline was never one for thinking too far into the future. But Aveline was curious about one thing.

"How the hell did you get into the Academy if you got locked up?" Aveline questioned, "Don't tell me some grand prison escape tale either, because that would be entirely unbelievable." Aveline actually laughed, a rare occurrence these days it would seem.

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

"The guard that nabbed me saw me using my Ern." Rena said, shrugging."Apparently she was impressed when I naiked one of her guys in the nadgers with a gravity enhanced knee or something. But she said I still had to wait to be old enough, so I hung around in prison till I was eighteen. When I could apply for the academy she reccomended me and I got in."

"How's about you? I didn't figure your for a Titan aspirant. That was always your buddies bag. Zedric." Rena scowled. "I got the guys that did for him, you know. That squirrley shit Greby, if you remember him, ran when the fighting started so he knew the faces of the guys that hit Zedric and the others. I don't know which of them did it specifically, so I just killed all of em when we found em. Punched one guy so hard his chest caved in." Rena gave a short, savage laugh. But then she shook her head, as if clearing it of flies.

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Lucky. Rena had gotten lucky. Aveline was glad for it. It would have sucked to some how find out that she was in prison, even if Aveline didn't much care for her at the time. So, yeah, she was glad that Rena's Ern had helped get her out of there, if only a little. Besides, if she hadn't gotten out Aveline wouldn't have anyone close to a friend on this damn team. She was glad for that too. Aveline simply nodded along as Rena told her about the guard that had gotten her out and only stopped when she changed the subject to Aveline's reasoning for being here. He relaxed posture disappeared and she was back to the straight-backed position she'd been in earlier. She hadn't heard anyone say his name for a long time. It was weird. A little off-putting. Aveline was quiet as she soaked in what Rena had just said. She had been so caught up in being angry and Rena that she hadn't even thought about the guys that actually killed him. Rena had. Aveline frowned and looked down at the floor for a second before pulling her head back up and sucking in a deep breath. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

"It was his dream, yeah. That's why I'm here. Cause he can't be." Aveline ran a hand through her hair and frowned deeply, "I was there, you know? He was still alive when I got there." She could feel herself tensing up as the memory was brought to the forefront of her mind, "He was losing too much blood, shit, I didn't know what to do. He told me to run. So I did." Aveline sighed, "I was real angry for a long time. At myself for running away, mostly." Aveline nodded resolutely at Rena.

"Thanks. I'm glad they're dead." She sighed again and leaned back into the chair, "He wanted to be a Titan more than anyone I've ever met. The world never treated him too well, he wanted to be it's hero anyway."

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

Rena frowned. Damn it. Why had she brought this up? Now they were both sad.

Rena shifted awkwardly. It was a failing of hers, perhaps, but she couldn't imagine living a life for anyone except herself. Taking on someone else's dream was an alien concept to her, she had her own dreams to tend to. But Terrik had taught her that she needed to understand that other people were different and their ways of life were just as valid as hers. It was a difficult lesson to learn, and she didn't quite believe it yet, but Aveline had stiffened again all of a sudden at the name of Zedrick. She had to... Say something encouraging. She wasn't sure if she could even do that.
"You're doing good. Zedrick would be stoked if he knew where you were now. Hell, maybe he'd be here with us, or in another cohort. I was, uh, mad as hell when I heard about it. I can only imagine what you must have felt. I'd always thought Zedrick was an idiot with his head in the clouds and only a toe on the ground," Goddamnit, now was not the time for honesty, Rena heard Terrik say in her head. Though Terrik probably wouldn't have said 'goddamnit' so maybe it was just her own brain showing uncommon good sense. She quickly got to her main point, "But I liked him for all that. He was a good kid, and smart and pretty tough. And, and, uh, you know. He had that face that was kind of handsome and, like, he usually listened to what I said which was cool. And he was a pretty good poker player." Rena wracked her brains for other nice things to say about him to make up for her misstep. It wasn't an excercise she was usually engaged in. Positive adjectives for people other than herself was a section of her vocabulary that was dismally underused.

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Aveline could tell this whole thing had made Rena kind of uncomfortable. It was kind of funny, honestly. She wasn't a very sentimental person and that was obvious. Aveline couldn't help but smile as Rena tried to back track on herself after calling Zedrick an idiot. Rena didn't notice the smile and kept going on about whatever random things that came to her head about him. The poker thing actually made her laugh, which Rena definitely heard. Zedrick was ass at poker, the only thing he was good at was cheating. Aveline found it funny that Rena didn't know that or was pretending she didn't. It was alright though, Aveline was glad she was making an effort to make him sound a little better than he was. Zedrick wasn't a saint. Far from it. He was smart, but he was a liar too. No getting around that. But that didn't mean he wasn't a good friend, it was just his line of work.

"He was terrible at poker, Rena." She grinned, "The only reason he ever won anything was because he cheated." Aveline chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Rena, "Did you not know that?"

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

Rena froze. She had not known that.
"Goddamnit I lost a lot of money to that fuckwa.. Erm. I mean, yea, sure. I knew that probably. I didn't play with him much, you know, but I heard other people say he was good. They probably didn't know he cheated." Rena paused and stared at Aveline, who was still smiling. Rena didn't think she was buying it."Alright, yea, I had no idea. And a good thing too or he woulda lost a tooth."

Rena sighed.
"Those were the days." She said, shaking her head. "Shitty, terrible days where everyone was in constant fear for their lives, but the farther away I get, the more fondly I remember them. It's pretty stupid. I know those days sucked, but part of me hasn't gotten the memo."

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Aveline felt a weird sense of nostalgia remembering times with Zedrick. Aveline didn't like gangs, didn't want to be part of them but, Zedrick was and she would've followed him anywhere. In some weird way, Aveline was glad that she'd helped out Rena's gang, even if it had only brought her pain and suffering. Those small moments when everything was alright were worth it, even if they were few and far between. Rena seemed to have the same sentiment as she spoke about missing those times. Aveline couldn't disagree. It was good to have friends for a little while, she didn't often have too many of them. Maybe that was her own fault. But she was too damn afraid of losing more people, like she'd lost her mother and Zedrick. If she didn't get close to anyone, she wouldn't lose them. At least that was her own line of thinking. Maybe it was stupid, what was she kidding it kind of was. Aveline hadn't had a true friend in a long time. So of course she missed having people who at least resembled friends.

"It's not stupid, at least not to me." Aveline reassured her, "Even if we were always fighting and always on death's doorstep, they were friends." She frowned momentarily, "I always had one foot out the door though. I don't think I ever really fit in, but, it was nice having friends. I don't have too many." Aveline laughed sadly, "I never have, I don't think. A true lone wolf, I am."

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

"Ha! Yea you were awkward as fuck. Do remember that time with the mailbox and the fire hose..." Rena realized that that wasn't the route she wanted to go down if she wanted to make friends and shut her mouth.
" But your in good company. I didn't exactly have friends either, you know? More like terrified supplicants. Heh." Then, "I kinda liked it that way, though." She said half under her breath, and only half kidding.
"Well, you seem to be stuck with me, and I with you, so maybe the asshole in the sky writing the play is telling us we've got to be pals. Either that or mortal enemies. I'm working on the friend thing, so I can't promise I'll be a good one, but I'll try. If all else fails we can try the mortal enemy thing."

And Rena realized that she didn't want to be mortal enemies with Aveline. Usually she was totally fine with picking up mortal enemies, but she'd known Aveline since she was young, she was the only familiar face from her old life. And Avaline had never kowtowed to her like the others had. She was a little bit of a lone wolf. Rena could respect that.

Plus, she wanted an ally in case the fancy pants rich guy turned out to be a jerk.

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Mortal enemies. Aveline laughed, because she really did find it funny. A month ago Aveline probably wouldn't have had a problem being mortal enemies but that month had been spent trying desperately to figure out how not to be so at this point it would be kind of counter productive to just hate Rena forever. It wouldn't be so bad to have someone to rely on anyway. As long as Rena kept up her end of the whole not being mortal enemies thing, Aveline was alright with it. She didn't think she could ever get over Zedrick and blaming Rena for him dying but she could sure as hell try. That's the only choice they had anyway, they couldn't work well together if they were mortal enemies after all.

"If we wanna move up from D rank I think mortal enemies would kind of be a detriment to that." Aveline smiled, "Anyway, this play kinda sucks already. What is it supposed to be? A tragedy? A comedy? And the dialogue is awfully sappy. I just hope they don't throw some kind of weird forbidden romance in like they always do." This wasn't so bad. As long as Aveline had a friend, things were gonna be fine. Even if the other two were jerks.

Fred Colon​

 

[Fred Colon]

"I know, right? If I was writing the play it'd be a lot more fun. Explosions, action. A lot less sitting around and waiting for things to happen. We'd skip over the airship and get right to the part where we fight giant animals in Dagonport. Maybe you can have a secret romance with the rich guy, hiding it from his parents because they wouldn't approve of a gutter rat like you---" she realized that could be construed as rude. "You know, cuz were both gutter rats. Not just you. And then he's got to pick between his family and you and he picks is family, but then at the last second he realizes his mistake but it's too late. Your already gone on to greener pastures."
Rena stopped.
"Maybe I should write a play."

 

[KingofAesir]

Aveline
Rena should definitely not write a play. Aveline shivered and wrapped her arms around herself at the thought of canoodling some rich snob. Some rich man snob. Ew. Aveline leaned forward to grab a cracker because she suddenly felt very nauseous and felt the need to settle her stomach. But instead of eating the cracker, she decided it would be funnier to just throw it at Rena for having the audacity to suggest such a thing. Aveline was aiming for her forehead but it went off mark a little and straight into her eye. Woops.

"That would be extra weird because men are gross, no thanks." Aveline had the forethought to grab a pillow before she got something thrown at her too, "It would be way better if you and him got together." In the true fashion of the child that was still inside her, Aveline started making kissy noises at Rena, "Oh yes, Rosaria give me all your fancy money, oh lala." She broke down into a fit of giggles behind her pillow shield to protect her from any projectile food that she may come into contact with.

Fred Colon​