DWMA Stairway

[Lady Warlock]

DWMA: Stairway

The DWMA stairway is a workout in and of itself for many of the academy’s students and they need to climb it every single day that the set foot in the school. It’s also a great place to meet up with friends either to leave school together or to go into school together. Not quite as commonly, but quite possible, it can also be used as a fighting ground for sparing matches - all of which require instructor supervision to continue.​

 

[Lady Warlock]

Kassana Silverstream

Kassana only had one hope as she headed to the DWMA on the Friday of the first week of classes and it was a relatively simple hope. She wanted the class schedule to get back to normal, she wanted to be able to train in the morning like she’d planned to do all along and she also hoped to see Dakota again. It had been a while since summer when Kassana had last worked with a partner and for the first time in that long, Kass was inclined to think that working with Dakota had gone fairly well all things considered. She wondered if they would be able to train together even if they were in separate classes. She hoped they could, actually.

As Kassana was heading towards the DWMA with a knapsack on her back, she had a change of clothes for a morning work-out with Ivy. It was something they’d planned to do for ages and to make a routine because Kassana wanted to get stronger. Unfortunately, life had inhibited it for quite some time now, but she knew that Ivy, Demetri, Honey and Igor had returned from their mission yesterday so she hoped everything could continue as planned today. She’d even sent Ivy a quick text on her new cellphone to let Ivy know she planned on being there. Hopefully that was enough.

‘Ivy’s probably here working out every morning anyway,’ Kassana thought to herself. She didn’t think anyone not showing up would be a problem at all.

Being proactive, Kassana jogged up the steps that led to Death Weapon Meister Academy and was out of breath by the end of that little exercise. Anyone who looked at her would wonder why she even needed to work out, actually. Kass was skinny enough to be mistaken for anorexic, her skin was pale as pale could be, and exercise just didn't’ look like it was supposed to be the first priority for her. However, anyone who told her that would promptly get scolded by Kass herself and she would show them how she had no muscle which clearly meant that exercise was needed. At least, in her eyes, that’s what it meant.

Even with as early as she arrived, Kassana still wasn’t early enough to miss the note on the door and as her eyes skimmed it, she sighed quite dramatically. Kassana had no idea if the change in class schedule would inhibit yet another morning work-out and it disappointed her. Also, if Ivy had been summoned to meet with Lord Death, then how on Earth could she train Kassana at the same time?? Ultimately, it looked like things were going to be messed up yet again, but Kassana still had every intention of heading to the locker room to change and hopefully, there would be at least someone there to work out who would be able to help her figure out a routine.

All she could do was hope.

thatonespacytallgirl

Stairway: Friday of Week 1

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jack Trinity ​

Stairway: Friday of Week 1

Steadily climbing the steps up towards DWMA, Jack Trinity made no move to quicken his stride despite all the people that had passed him in the last 30 minutes. He wasn't training. Nor was he trying to delay his arrival at DWMA. It was simply that he'd rolled a 2 on his level of effort in climbing the stairs.

Below average.

Not the critical failure of a 1 (he wouldn't even bother climbing the stairs in that case), but the slow pace of a student struggling to make their way up the long staircase. Therefore, hands in his pockets, Jack took one step. Paused. Another step. Paused. The hat-wearing boy would repeat that cycle over and over until he reached the top. Several times he had been tempted to simply hurry up the steps, so he could reached his destination sooner, but that hadn't been what his die decided.

Turned out his die hadn't been stolen by the foul gremlin plaguing Death City after all. It had been "found" on the floor of the NOT classroom and taken into Professor Rudolf's custody until Jack could return to reclaim it. In the end, he had underwent that horrible, horrible mission for nothing. It had taken four to five showers to remove the stench of the factory from his skin. His clothes had to be burned. Not the mention the mental duress he had undergone when he thought the little bugger had a bomb.

Sighing, Jack removed his glasses as he slowly trekked up the stairs, wiped the lens with a handkerchief, then placed them back on his nose. They no longer blocked soul perception. While the lens could be repaired, any magical properties the item had been indued with seemed gone forever. The last few days had filled with headaches as his eyes adjusted to the many, many souls around him. With nothing to block out the noise, Jack had to learn to do so himself. He couldn't depend on the glasses his father had given him any longer.

Jack suspected foul play. Stolen items. A runaway gremlin that the teachers could've easily caught on their own. Heck, as far as he was aware, Rudolf was simply spending time with his fiance during the days when classes were canceled. But, of course, Jack had no proof of an ulterior motive except for the pleasant smile on the NOT teacher's face as the man gave Jack back his die.

Scowling at the memory, Jack barely noticed when he finally reached the top of the staircase. His eyes roamed over the announcement posted on the school doors, an eyebrow raised. Regular classes were still canceled. At least that meant he wasn't late. Still...was there any point in showing up at DWMA then? The required special seminars wouldn't be available until later in the afternoon. Not only that, they had three of these seminars to choose from. Three options. Lifting a hand from his left pocket, Jack pulled out his die, tossed it up and down in his palm, before letting it slide onto the ground.

6.

Professor Misaki's Soul and Resonance Theory class it is. Picking up his die, Jack pocketed the cube and texted Kalin his choice. Hopefully Kalin knew how to work the new Death phone Jack had bought him. Phones, especially in this day and age, were invaluable tools and well worth the chip of his weekly allowance.

Besides, what sort of guy doesn't have a phone nowadays? Kalin really needs to stop being so frugal.

"Jaaaaaack~You're late."

The fifteen year old was startled when the school doors suddenly opened and he found himself dragged down DWMA's hallway by his cousin before he could protest. A half-zombie's strength was no joke.

"I need a meister to help me check out my form. My last mission has made me aware of how much I still need to work on."

"You know I already hav--"

"I know, I know. Your partner's a real cutie~ We won't do anything too intimate. I just need a moment of your time is all~"

mentioned: Deadeyelee

 

[DonquixoteDoflamingo]

Honey and Igor ​

“Okay Igor, Ivy and Demetri won't be there but you and I are going to get back in the habit of working out again.” Honey told the hulking mass of muscles she called her partner. The two of them walked together to the DWMA, Honey holding a tight grip on the man’s giant hand. Even though holding hands would not deter the psycho in the least, it made Honey feel as though she could prevent the events of yesterday from repeating themselves.

Honey was determined to get stronger, tougher, to maybe even gain respect from people. The mission she had gone on with Ivy, Demetri, and Igor just once again proved how weak she was. Everywhere the four of them went the three got respected but what did she get? Pity. Honey was so sick of always getting pitied! Oh how badly she wanted to be like Ivy! Ivy gets respect! Ivy commands respect! Ivy is the strongest woman Honey had ever met, she wants to command respect just like her.

It's not just that, she wants to be stronger in general too. She was like a newborn child compared to her friends! She looked up at Igor as they walked. He was just looking all around with his eye from behind his mask. This giant walking pile of muscles. Honey gave a small sigh before looking away. She knew it was impossible to be at Igor’s strength level but maybe Ivy- no, Ivy can actually spar with Igor, granted Igor tones it down slightly. Maybe getting to Demetri’s great strength would be a good goal.

These thoughts filling her mind the little girl walked at a slightly faster pace toward the steps to the DWMA, pulling her psycho along with her. Igor kept right along side his little friend, not even noticing her pace had changed as he watched the approaching mountain of steps. Igor glanced down at the girl, Honey’s face showed nothing but determination as they reached the foot of the stairs.

“Okay, I can do this.” Honey cheered herself on as she began to climb the steps.

Igor gave a heavy sigh. He knew Honey wanted to climb the stairs herself, he also knew she would take forever doing so. Feeling the boredom of waiting for her already approaching Igor tightened his grasp on her hand and flung the girl over his shoulder, her head facing behind him.

“IGOR PUT ME DOWN!” Honey commanded as she pounded and kicked the man’s back and chest.

Igor laughed at the girl’s wimpy struggle against him as he jogged up the stairs. She pounded and fought against the him the entire way until he was about ¾ of the way to the top.

“I don’t want to be carried the whole way.” She pouted causing Igor to slow his jog until he stopped. He lifted her off his shoulder to look at her face. He cocked his head upon looking at her confused face before looking at the top of the stairs. “Igor, what are you thinking?” Honey questioned, concern in her tone. Igor looked back at her upon hearing her voice. Although Honey couldn’t see it, she could feel the man’s face morph into a smile behind his mask as he began to move his foot. “NO, Igor, NO! NOT FLY TIME!” Honey pleaded.

Igor nodded his head and pulled his foot back. “FLY TIME!” He shouted before letting the girl fall from his grip. His foot collided with her small body, punting her up the rest of the staircase. He put a hand up to his eye as he watched her fly in the air yelling. With a loud crazy laugh he ran up the stairs after her.

It all seemed to happen so fast for Honey, one minute she was in Igor’s grasp, the next in pain and in the air. She braced herself as she saw the approaching pavement at the top of the stairs. There was a person on the pavement. Someone was walking up here. It was Kassana! “KASSANA!” Honey screamed as she plummeted toward the unsuspecting girl. She closed her eyes as she knew it was too late, she was going to hit her, she hoped she wouldn’t hurt her!

Honey collided with something, a person, but they were much too large to be Kassana. She frantically opened her eyes to see the laughing, happy form of Igor. The psycho had shoved Kassana out of his way to catch her. When they first met Kassana Igor tried to eat her, now when they meet yet again, he shoves her out of the way. Scrambling she jumped out of Igor’s grasp. “KASSANA ARE YOU OKAY?!?”

Lady Warlock
thatonespacytallgirl mentioned

 

[Refaulted]

Zyra Harriot
​

Zyra sat at the top of the stairs, smoothing her long skirt over her legs so no one could see up it, looking over the pages of the book in her hands while jotting down notes for her classes. After their failure of a mission, Zyra had been unable to stop worrying due to Daemon. After the incident in the sewers, he had become mostly unresponsive once he calmed down, keeping himself wrapped up in his jacket, his head lowered. She couldn't imagine what he had seen, but from what she could tell, it may have probably been something about his father before he had been taken in by her family.

She shuddered at the thought. When she had found Daemon on that day, back when she was only five, he had been covered in scratches and scars all over his body, but it was all covered with blood. Blood that wasn't even his own. As far as she knew, her grandfather had sent people to the houses in those rural plains of Montana to find his family, but she had never been told what happened. Only that after a few days, Daemon would be living with them. And that she would be his closest friend and caretaker. And three days ago, she had failed the person she saw as someone as close as family.

She felt a tear begin to form, and she quickly wiped it away. She couldn't cry about it now, not at school. As soon as they had gotten back to their hotel to pack their things, Zyra had gone back on her promise to never use her familial ties again, and phoned her and Daemon's maid from their childhood to come and take care of her Meister partner. Before they had even arrived home, she was there, moved in to their living room and ready to care for Daemon. Since then, she hadn't seen either of them based on her Nanny Natalia's orders. She could only focus on school for now until Daemon was better.

Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she looked back at her messages, opening the one she had gotten from her brother. He had told her that he and his partner would be coming by to stay with them, and hopefully to make sure Daemon was okay. She was thankful for them, but she didn't want them to come. If they came, then that would mean that her grandfather would try to contact her. Or even worse...her parents.

She snapped back to reality as she heard someone squealing through the air, and turned up to the sky to see a small girl flying above her, soaring like a...football, would be the best analogy. Frankly, Zyra was too stunned to even say anything, and watched as she began to descend to the ground to the unsuspecting Kassana below, only for the latter of the girls to be shoved out of the way and a large, uh, slab of meat to catch her and begin laughing.

Quickly getting over her shock, she shut her textbook and placed it in her bag, and stood up, brushing dirt off the back of her skirt and walking briskly over to the students. When she was close enough, she noticed the one who had been flying had actually been one of her and Daemon's classmates, Honey. Once she was close enough, she knelt down next to Kassana. Despite not knowing the girl that well, she considered herself well enough acquainted to worry about her health. "Kassana, are you alright?" Looking up to Honey, she tilted her head to the side. "And you as well, Honey?"

Lady Warlock DonquixoteDoflamingo

 

[Lady Warlock]

Kassana Silverstream

Although she’d decided that she was still going to try and work out despite knowing no routines at all, Kassana was still studying Lord Death’s note a few minutes later because she couldn’t help but get the feeling that there was more to the note than the note actually said. Even after those few minutes, she couldn’t quite figure out what it was, though, and she felt mildly disappointed in herself for that. There was nothing she could do about it, though.

What she could do was go back to paying attention to what was happening around her, though. As she turned her head, Kassana was shocked to see two students disappearing through the doors ahead of her and she’d completely missed her opportunity to say good morning to them. Here she’d thought that she was getting better at this whole socializing thing, but apparently she wasn’t. A social person would’ve noticed them and said hello. Kassana hadn’t done that. She was just staring as one was dragged by the other through the main doors of the school and surely that wasn’t the action of a social person.

The thought occurred to her after the fact that she could’ve chased after them to catch up to them and say hello, but she never actually got the opportunity to give that a try. However, that part wasn’t her own fault and even Kassana - a person drawn to self-blaming - realized that.

After all, how could she have changed the fact that her whole thought process had been interrupted by a loud scream that came with Honey sailing through the air and heading straight for her. Kassana’s eyes widened and if she’d had any reflexes at all, she probably would’ve jumped out of the way, but reflexes came with training which she didn’t exactly have so instead of doing the obvious thing, Kassana just stood there, terrified. Something odd happened, though. While Kassana was crashed into quite abruptly, she didn’t move in the direction Honey’s landing should’ve sent her sailing in. Odd right? The first thing Kassana’s mind went to was physics and how they’d been broken.

But really, they hadn’t been broken. Igor had just appeared from nowhere and knocked her to the side instead of backwards. This time, it was probably good that she didn’t have reflexes because she didn’t try to catch herself. Instead, she just crashed onto her side, grimacing as concrete scraped against her skin and threatened to tear it in quite a few different places. Well, that’s what it felt like, at least. In reality, it really was no worse than scraping a knee after falling off a bike except that it happened to both her shoulder and her elbow.

Immediately, it seemed, people were asking if she was ok and Kassana painfully pushed herself upright again. “I’m so stupid,” she muttered, more to herself than to anyone else. “Why couldn’t I just get out of the way?” She really wished she had the first clue what she was doing at the DWMA in the first place. She clearly wasn’t making any progress in getting stronger.

Sighing, she picked up her head and nodded at both Honey and Zyra. ‘Wait? Zyra?’ Kassana wasn’t sure where she’d come from. “Have you been here the whole time?” Kassana dared to ask, knowing that if it was true, it was just further proof of her own inadequacy.

Even thought that was one of her concerns, she took a moment to inspect her arm that she’d landed on and notice that it was bleeding in a few spots. Nothing terrible, but it was visible. “I’ll be alright,” she answered rather somberly. Kassana really didn’t want anyone hovering over her, though, so she decided to try changing gears. “Did you guys see the note? Any idea what that’s all about?” If she could figure out what was going on, maybe she’d feel a bit better about how this morning was going.

Refaulted DonquixoteDoflamingo

DWMA Stairway: Friday of Week 1

 

[Solarknight]

Suraya Pippin, Igor, Kassana Silverstream and Honey Mitskuni
Honey stared at Kassana; she was obviously not alright but she made it seem that she was. “Kassana you are not okay! You’re bleeding!” She accused the girl. After shooting one last concerned look at her, Honey turned to Zyra. “I’m alright; I’ve been through worse but what note is Kassana talking about? I haven’t seen a note.”

Hearing Honey’s question, Kassana pointed towards the door leading into the academy, meaning to point out the note she’d been talking about. “That note.” However, by the time she pointed, there was something else going on.

There really was no accurate way to describe how Suraya Pippin appeared on the DWMA Stairway that one fateful morning because even she didn’t know how it worked. She didn’t fall from the sky although it had felt a little like falling while she’d been transporting. She didn’t fade from invisible to visible because she hadn’t ever been invisible to start with. The only safe description anyone could offer was that one minute she didn’t exist at all in that time. The next minute, Suraya Pippin both existed and was standing somewhere between a big burly masked man and a small skinny girl who was sitting up and… and bleeding.

All things considered, it really was an odd situation to randomly appear in the middle of.

Suraya had to wonder if it was really even real. It seemed too crazy, to chaotic, to be the past. She was told, after all, that there was no war yet in the time that she was being sent to and this situation… well, it looked an awful lot like a very small battle. Very small, but a battle nonetheless. Luckily for Suraya, her instincts didn’t really require any excess effort to kick them into gear.

One minute she wasn’t there. The next minute… POOF! Suraya existed.

Reaching out to see if things were actually real, Suraya poked the big burly masked man and found out that he was, indeed, real.

Igor’s mind was clouded as the scent of Kassana’s blood filled his nose but his thoughts of food were interrupted as a person just….well….existed in front of him. He flinched slightly at the sudden appearance of the girl but not only did she have the nerve to startle him but then she reached out and poked him as well?! Igor let loose a deep growl before jumping off the ground and lunging toward the girl.

“Oh shit,” the newly present girl muttered as she realized she was quite literally being charged. It only took a second for her to properly react, though, because she’d been in worse situations before. A wall of glistening violet energy suddenly appeared in front of her, stopping the momentum of the lunging psycho.

Igor didn’t understand. She was there...the girl was still there. Why couldn’t he get to her? He struggled harder against this force, throwing his weight onto it but still it refused to budge. He growled again, this time louder. SHE WAS RIGHT THERE!!

The wall only stood for about a single second and then…. POOF... it was gone.

Suddenly the force was gone. Igor was falling. He stared as the girl got closer to him. His smile widening behind his mask. He did it! He beat the force! In an instant he smacked into her, crushing her beneath his weight.

Usually when people hit the wall, they stopped. That was Suraya’s experience. That wasn’t how it worked this time, though, and by the time she realized that, it was too late to step back. She was gonna be crushed by a falling psychopath and that was just the way it was gonna be. She flinched as he impacted with her, but it wouldn’t stop what happened next, a loud thwack echoed as her head hit concrete… hard. “Ow!” And ‘ow’ didn’t even begin to describe it.

Honey was stunned at the scene before her. This poor girl just appeared, and instantly Igor was causing a problem. Being in too much shock to try to prevent Igor tackling her to the ground, Honey leapt to her feet when she saw him raise his right hand. “Igor! No, STOP!” She pleaded as she ran over and grabbed the man’s hand before it could transform.

Meanwhile, Kassana’s hand fell from where it had been pointing as she just watched… trying to make sense of the scene. People weren’t supposed to appear out of nowhere. It had never happened in any of her books anywhere. How could it happen now? Lost in confusion, she completely forgot that she was bleeding. It probably wasn’t a bad thing, overall, because it was the kind of wound that would heal on its own anyway.

And then beneath Igor, Suraya - the new girl - was struggling against the weight of the massive man, trying to get herself some point of freedom and failing epically at her attempt.

Igor felt something grab onto his arm and turned his head to discover Honey. She looked upset with him, but he wasn’t sure why. He looked back to the girl beneath him who was struggling to get free then back at Honey. With another growl he got up from the girl, clenching onto the girl’s head with his left hand he lifted the girl back to her feet. He turned back to look at Honey who seemed mildly pleased with his actions.

“Okay, Igor.” Honey praised the Psycho. “I’m so sorry! Igor didn’t mean to! He just doesn’t like surprises!!” She frantically tried to apologize.

Suraya’s first instinct in her situation was to try and fight back because generally things that attacked once tended to attack again and again and again until they won. The instinct to fight for Suraya wasn’t an instinct of desire; it was an instinct of self defense. However, she wasn’t used to this oddity of a much smaller human defending her opponent. Her eyes actually took in Honey’s rather frantic state with no small amount of confusion. “This is so not normal…” she remarked, really unsure of what to do next.

Honey smiled at the girl. “I understand. My life isn’t very normal.” She joked with a glance at the psycho behind her.

For the first time since her appearance, Suraya smiled. “Neither is mine. I just…” Then everything about her froze because she realized something. She didn’t know if she was supposed to say where she was from… or more specifically, when she was from. What else could she say, though? She didn’t even know where or when she was.

“Hold on. Where are we?” she asked. “When are we?”

“STAIRS!” Igor suddenly shouted with all his might.

She took a single second to glance towards Igor, who was still a bit too close to Suraya for comfort, and then she looked back towards Honey. “What is he?”

Honey stared blankly at the girl for a moment, not sure of what to say. “Uh...yeah. Um.” She glanced back at her partner with a smile before turning back around. “I’m pretty sure he’s human….not entirely positive though...” She trailed off.

Suraya shook her head, a bit concerned that this person didn’t even know whether or not the man was human, but at the end of the day, it was probably the best answer she was going to get. Instead of asking further questions that might not give her real answers, she went back to her original questions. “So… I get that there are stairs, but where, exactly, are we? Like… where in the world?”

“O-Oh yeah..you just...kind of….existed. Well, uh...we’re at the DWMA.” Honey responded, almost forgetting that this girl just...appeared.

It was another first for Suraya that morning. She turned and actually looked at the school they were standing in front of, her features suddenly overtaken by a resounding sense of awe. “This place… it actually exists!?” She didn’t really wait for an answer on that one, though, because obviously the answer was yes. Even Suraya realized that by this point.

“Uh-yeah..it does…” Honey grew more concerned as she watch the girl. “D-did you hit your head too hard, lady? Also...who even are you?” She wondered.

Suraya looked back to Honey a bit confused. Her hand reached up to rub the back of her head which surprisingly wasn’t all that sore and slowly she started shaking her head. “I don’t think I hit it too hard. My name’s Suraya.”

With a smile at things starting to go slightly more normal Honey introduced herself. “I’m Honey, and this here, is Igor, my partner.”

Nodding along as though she heard everything, Suraya was intending to go and explore the school that didn’t exist in her time. However, there was one thing that she heard that struck her as rather odd. In fact, it was too odd to ignore. Looking down at Honey, she asked, “Wait a minute. That… thing is your partner?”

Honey sweatdropped. “He is both my friend and my partner. I mean I didn’t exactly WANT to be his partner at first but I was the only one that could really resonate with him. But we’re good now. We make it work…..I make it work.”

“Ok then.” There was still evident disbelief in her tone, but Suraya had too many other things on her mind. Wanderlust took over and Suraya started towards the DWMA, curious to see for herself exactly how real it was.

As Suraya disappeared through the double doors, it would seem that Kassana finally found her feet because she walked over to Honey and tapped the young girl’s shoulder. “Uhm… Honey? I think that girl just broke… uh… just broke space.”

Honey turned to Kassana with a perpetual smile on her face. It was actually a rather scary face for her to make. She grabbed onto her friend’s arms. “I don’t know what's happening.”

Collabed With: Lady Warlock and DonquixoteDoflamingo

 

[Kiyoko Tomoe]

Senya & Hinako
"We're almost there, Senya," Hinako said to her sister as they walked alongside on another. To be more specific, Hinako walked with Senya clung to her arm, Senya's eyes closed and her resting against Hinako as though she were a walking pillow. After a few minutes of walking, the two had made their way to the base of the staircase. Slowly, Hinako came to a stop, Senya stopping in time to not walk ahead of Hinako. "Here we are; the staircase. Are you ready, Senya...?"

Lifting her head from where it resided on Hinako's shoulder, she gave a nod. "I-I'm ready..."

Slowly, Hinako took the first step up the staircase, leading Senya to do the same. After a few steps guided by Hinako, Senya got down the height that each step went up, as well as how far back each step went, allowing her to walk up the staircase with nothing more than the holding of her sister's hand. They took their time with this task of ascending the stairway to the DWMA, but it wasn't of real difficulty. The most difficult part of it was getting Senya readjusted to the steps every time they reached a landing of sorts, as they had to walk forward on flat ground a little bit two or three times on their way up.

On the way, the two began to talk. "It's been two years since we were last here... Are you nervous...?" Hinako asked Senya, not even needing a response to know her younger sister's answer. Senya merely clung to Hinako, nodding silently as they proceeded onward. "To be honest... I am... I'm scared... E-even after recovering... and all our practice... W-what if I'm not good enough...? I-I might not be allowed to stay..."

Stopping mid-walk, Hinako almost caused Senya to trip and fall into the staircase, though Hinako caught the girl before such could even come close to happening. Following which, Hinako pinched Senya's cheek before placing her forehead against her younger sister's. "You're gonna be fine. You don't have to prove you're as good as everyone else to be accepted; in my book and theirs, you're already a more experienced Meister than just about everyone else here."

"More experienced... but still not as good..." Senya said in a depressed tone. "Don't think like that," Hinako said as she wrapped her arms around Senya and slowly directed her to walking up the stairs once more. "You're the strongest, most talented Meister there is. It doesn't matter what other people think; you're the best there is."

Eventually, after a long and tiresome discussion about whether or not Senya was a good enough Meister for the DWMA, they reached the top. During their time spent climbing, several individuals had passed by them going up or down (whichever way they may have been headed). One particular pair; or rather, one individual from said group, Honey, alongside another stranger, Kassana, whom Hinako hadn't seen pass them on the staircase, resided in conversation. Having been gone from the DWMA two years now, Hinako decided it'd be best, although very repulsive an idea for Hinako to think of, to ask for directions from these two.

Senya close by her side, Hinako walked over to Honey and Senya,clearing her throat before arriving and speaking. "Would either of you be able to direct me and my sister to the Death Room?"

Lady Warlock Solarknight

 

[DonquixoteDoflamingo]

Demetri Voclain, Kassana Silverstream, Honey Mitskuni and Igor
It wasn’t often that Demetri found himself without his meister. Not that people would necessarily call the two of them clingy but they just never found a need to do anything on their own. Which was why Demetri hadn’t thought to bring his cane with him. Not that he usually needed it for navigating the school anyway, he had been at the DWMA for three years now and knew the place pretty well. But he had been gone for sometime and had to concentrate to remember where things were so he didn’t run into a wall like an idiot.

This wouldn’t be a problem if Ivy was with him but she insisted on meeting with Lord Death by herself. Not because she didn't want Demetri there, but she needed someone to tell Kassana and Honey that their training wasn’t going to happen until later. It didn't mean that Demetri had to like it though, as he staked through the hallways with a sullen look on his face and his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

As he made his way to the entrance, he could sense multiple people standing on the top of the stairs. Thank god for his soul sense otherwise he would run into people as well as walls. Demetri could sense the incredibly messed up soul of Igor as well as the much more normal souls of Kassana and Honey. There were three other people on the steps that Demetri wasn’t familiar with though. Great, strangers. Demetri thought. He hated introducing himself to new people. It meant having to listen to their empty pity over his lack of eye sight. Whatever, maybe he could drag his friends away before he was forced into any awkward introductions.

“Hey guys.” Demetri drawled, his voice lacking any interest whatsoever. “What are you guys doing standing around out here?”

“Oh hi Demetri!!” Honey greeted happily. “I was just about to direct these ladies to the Death room but actually...hey, you’ve been here longer than I have. Do you know where the Death room is?” She questioned hopefully.

Demetri winced at the happiness in Honey’s voice. He cared about Honey a lot but this was too much cheeriness for him. “I’m actually not too good at directions.” Demetri answered, resisting the temptation to gesture towards his sightless eyes.

Honey blinked silently for a moment as she processes his words. Then it hit her. “OMIGOSH IM SO SORRY I FORGOT!!!” Honey apologized in a high pitched tone rather frantically.

The sudden high pitched tone of his partner’s voice grabbed Igor’s attention from a daydream about meat. Looking over, he noticed that Demetri had joined their group. With a pounce, he latched his arms around the smaller man. “SAD FRAGILE!”

“Do NOT call me that.” Demetri growled, trying really hard to be threatening but having no effect on the brutish man. “And really Honey it’s… fine.” Demetri told the young meister. If it had been anyone else, he would have made a snide comment about how it was hard for him to forget he was blind, but he didn't have the heart to be mean to one of the few friends he had. “Now if you could please get your dumb muscle to stop hugging me that would be greatttttt.”

As all of that unfolded, Kassana just stood beside Honey, watching things and looking rather lost at the whole situation. She should say hello to Demetri because that was the polite thing to do when a friend came out, but she really didn’t want to interrupt… whatever this was. That would be rude, wouldn’t it? She was fairly sure interrupting people was rude. Finally, though, there seemed to be a moment where she might be able to get a word in. One, maybe two words. “Hi,” she muttered in her typical soft tone.

Demetri turned his head towards where he heard Kassana’s voice come from and lifted up a hand in a lazy wave. “Hi.” He said bluntly. “Ivy wanted me to tell you that she’s meeting with Lord Death and she’s going to ‘whip those wimps into shape’ later.” Demetri air-quoted, looking incredibly grouchy especially since Igor refused to let him go.

“Igor, let him go.” Honey complained. “Wait...Ivy called us wimps? B-but I thought I was doing better after the mission.” Honey trailed off more disappointed in herself than upset at Ivy.

While Honey might have thought that she was actually improving with training, Kassana stood alongside her feeling the complete and total opposite. “Not me. I almost feel like I’ve been losing muscle all this time…” Her head hung in a rather depressed manner that she hadn’t displayed since her last mission.

Igor suddenly shoved the smaller man away, almost offended. The pile of muscles slammed his fists into his hips and puffed out his chest. “IGOR NOT WIMP!” He shouted proudly.

“She wasn’t talking about you, idiot.” Demetri huffed before turning to the other two. “And Ivy calls everyone a wimp. Ya get used to it. And you won’t be losing muscle mass for long, not while you’re training with Ivy. You might lose your will to live though. She’s very… intense.”

“YAY! Isn’t Ivy the best!?” Honey seemed almost starstruck for a moment before she realized that there were still three other people standing by the group. “I’m sorry I got distracted! I-I can’t remember where the death room is.” Looking for support from her friends Honey looked between her friends when her eyes landed on Kassana. Her eyes grew wide as she remembered something important. “OHMIGOSH KASSANA YOU’RE STILL BLEEDING! I’m so sorry I forgot!! We need to get you something! Um...UM..!” Honey frantically looked around as she tried to look for something that would help her friend but there was nothing in sight.

“Kassana’s what?!?” Demetri exclaimed, walking up to her and grabbing her by the shoulders. “What happened? Where are you bleeding?” Demetri asked, unable to assess Kassana’s condition with his useless eyes.

Honey’s sudden proclamation very nearly made Kassana jump because it seemed to come out of nowhere. Not to mention, the silver haired girl had nearly forgotten that she was injured herself. It really didn’t hurt all that much, but upon further inspection, she confirmed Honey’s note that she was, indeed, still bleeding. Demetri’s sudden concern also caught her off-guard although for different reason. It really didn’t seem like him. However, the answer to his question came to her right away. “Igor happened. It’s just my elbow, though. Nothing too major.”

“Damnit Igor!” Demetri yelled, as Igor waved at him. “Well even if it isn’t serious we should still take you to the nurse’s office. I can really do anything when I can’t see the problem.” Demetri sighed, inwardly cursing his uselessness.

Honey instantly threw her hand up into the air. “I KNOW WHERE THE NURSES OFFICE IS! I’ll lead us there!” Honey shouted. She ran over and grabbed onto both Demetri and Igor’s hands before starting to attempt to drag them to the building. The sudden tug of Honey caused Demetri to thrust his arm out in an attempt to grab Kassana. He waved his arm a bit before finally locating the girl’s hand and grabbing it to drag her along with them.

collaborated with: Lady Warlock and thatonespacytallgirl

Kiyoko Tomoe Refaulted

 

[Lady Warlock]

Keziah Swan

A smirk decorated the long black-haired meister’s face as she made her way out of the library, sensing the increase in power radiating from the librarian as she was drawn to the noise that the students had been making. While it amused Keziah to sense the power, she was glad she didn’t have to actually see it when it happened because she knew that the librarian could be quite terrifying at times. Then again, even the demon librarian probably didn’t go too harshly against a few NOT students.

However, given the text on her phone, it was probably best that she’d gotten out of there when she did. She still hadn’t answered it yet and she knew that her… well, her friend wouldn’t be happy if she delayed replying for too too long. All she needed was a quiet place to figure out how to answer.

Unfortunately, quiet places weren’t easy to come by when all the classes for the day had been cancelled. The absence of classes meant that all the students were running amuck practically everywhere and Keziah couldn’t understand how Lord Death actually managed to deal with such a thing. It would’ve been so much easier to hold the seminar classes right away in the morning and then dismissed everyone after that. That’s how she would’ve done it were she in charge. Then again, Keziah had no doubt Lord Death had his own silly reasons for everything. She just couldn't’ fathom what they were.

There wasn’t really any one place that had no one there and therefore, no place was as quiet as she needed it to be. That didn’t mean there was nowhere to go, though. The stairway, at least as far as her soul perception allowed her to sense, was actually quieting down and she didn’t doubt that almost everyone who was going to show up for the day had already made their way inside. That meant the stairway was where she was heading. It was nice to be walking outside.

“Well, I imagine we’re in for an interesting day,” she mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else, as she stepped outside. Keziah did take note of the other students standing around, though. She was surprised that Zyra wasn’t with her partner and she wasn’t sure what was going on there, but there were other things that demanded her attention further than that. The sisters who looked lost definitely needed a bit of advice so Keziah walked over to them and eyed them closely.

‘Sisters,’ she realized, sensing it in their souls. Keziah didn’t recognize them, which meant they were probably new. “Well, it’s definitely an interesting day to be new here. I imagine you’re looking for Lord Death? Guessing from the note he left, I’d guess he’s meeting with some other students right now. About what, I have no idea, but…” Even Keziah wasn’t sure where she was going with that. “Professor Rudolph might be able to help you. He’s in the cafeteria.”

Finding the cafeteria was easy. Follow the smell of food.

Having explained that situation, Keziah walked closer to the building and lounged back against one of the pillars. Pulling out her phone, she texted back. ‘Things are slowly falling into place. A little longer.’

Refaulted Kiyoko Tomoe

 

[Kiyoko Tomoe]

Senya & Hinako
"So... Where'd all the sane students go?" Hinako wondered out loud as the chain of people began flying toward the school building. On her face was an annoyed and puzzled expression, having been completely abandoned by her fellow students to search for the Death Room on her own. "Fine, fine... Guess we'll find it on our own."

Just then, however, a new individual approached them.

“Well, it’s definitely an interesting day to be new here. I imagine you’re looking for Lord Death? Guessing from the note he left, I’d guess he’s meeting with some other students right now. About what, I have no idea, but…”

“Professor Rudolph might be able to help you. He’s in the cafeteria.”

"An interesting day, you say? Well, I guess we wouldn't know much about that," Hinako said in acknowledgement of the individual's shared information. "Two years away does make one lose touch of the happenings here though," she added on out of spite toward the part about being new.

"Well, looks like we've got a teacher to meet up with. Maybe they'll be one of our former teachers," Hinako said to Senya as the two walked over to the entrance. "T-the name sounds familiar," Senya said just before Hinako brought them both to a sudden halt. She had noticed a message plastered on the doorway.

"I'm guessing this is what was meant by it being an interesting day," Hinako said in an uncaring nature. "Classes are cancelled, and all students are supposed to go to a seminar this afternoon. How fun."

After taking a moment to decide which seminar would be best for the two of them, Hinako opened the doorway. "Only one way to find out if we know 'em or not," Hinako said as the two of them walked inside.

Lady Warlock

 

[Refaulted]

Zyra Harriot
​

Zyra stared in confusion at Kassana, who seemed to be more worried about Zyra than herself. "Not for too long. I was actually here on the early side, discussing Daemon's situation with the teachers. I'm unsure if you met him or not, but he's the short brown-haired boy with red eyes, always wearing that over-sized coat. He, uh..." Zyra paused, then shook her head. "Long story, I'm sure you aren't interested. Not many usually are. Anyways, shouldn't you worry more about yourself?" Zyra then looked to the note on the DWMA door. "As for the note, I'm not too interested on why it is there. As long as some sort of class is happening, I'm content. Though, I would love to go to each of them if it were possible."

Then, another very confusing situation happened. Suddenly, there was a girl standing there, and the giant student, Igor, was rushing her. For a moment, he was stopped by something, perhaps a barrier of sorts, but he somehow managed to get past it and tackled the girl. Zyra could only watch in mute fear and awe as Honey ran over and tried to stop her insane partner, feeling a sense of familiarity to the scene before her. However, she decided to not get so involved with what was happening, instead standing up and brushing off her dress again.

Suddenly, more students showed up. First was Demetri Voclain, someone Zyra didn't talk to much due to her normally busy schedule. Then, two girls who seemed to be students showed up, asking the group Zyra was standing away from for directions to Lord Death's room. Finally, she saw Keziah Swan walk out of the building to give the two lost girls directions.

Zyra frowned, feeling like she should get involved in the conversation somehow, but suddenly her phone rang. Pulling it out from inside her dress, she saw it was the number for her maid. Quickly answering it, she walked out of earshot of most students. "Khoroshega dnya, Nana. Is everything okay?"

The voice that answered was a gentle, yet husky, voice, speaking in a Russian accent. "Ah, vnuchka! Very good, my phone is working. Yes, yes, everything is going good, good indeed. Finally, Master Daemon has fallen into sleep, yes. I only wished to call you to let you know you can go out tonight, I am able to watch him and take care of all he needs. So you can go out on a, uh...what is the English word for svidaniye, my dear?"

Zyra thought for a moment, and then her pale face flushed a deep color of red. "No, NO, Nana! That's out of the question. Why would you say that? I don't have time for those, I have to make sure Daemon is looked after, and there's always schoolwork that needs to be done, and I have to start looking for a potential part-time job when I don't have a mission for school, and, and-"

"TISHINA, vnuchka! I take away your responsibilities tonight, so go find someone and go and have a good time. Do not come home until late late late at night. Do what teenagers must do and vecherinka, live life. Do not call back unless a designated driver is needed. Proshchay, vnuchka." And before Zyra could even say another word, the phone beeped, signifying the end of the call. Zyra just glared at her phone, then let out an exasperated sigh, putting the phone back and picking up her school bag. Zyra's cheeks were still flushed, but she knew her grandmother was right. She just wished she thought through her words better.

Turning back around to the entrance of the school, she now only saw Keziah standing there on her phone. Zyra meekly walked up, trying not to look directly at Keziah. "Heeey...sooo...Keziah, would you be able to help little ole me with something? Of course, if you have the time! I don't want to bother you if you don't want me anywhere near you or something! I just, uh, want some guidance from someone older than me who might have...experience in the field I'm looking into, yeah! That's it!" Zyra finished speaking with an embarrassed smile on her face. She stood awkwardly for a moment before quickly crouching low to the ground, her head in her hands. "Oh, that was way more embarrassing than I thought it would be."

Lady Warlock

 

[Lady Warlock]

Keziah Swan

Although she’d been quick to move on to her intended tasks after giving the arriving sisters the directions that would be more helpful to them than the insanity of the train of people they’d encountered first, Keziah’s attention didn’t completely leave them until after they’d vanished into the building. She caught on to the sarcasm of Hinako’s tone when she commented on the fun quality of the seminars. Keziah wasn’t quite sure why, but it wasn’t a reaction she would’ve expected.

Then again, she hardly knew either of them. One glance at a soul wasn’t enough to truly be able to guess everything that comes next. She tried not to be too harsh on herself, but she knew her soul perception needed work.

After the sisters had vanished into the massive academy, though, Keziah found that she had more than enough time to respond to the text message onto her phone and lounge around rather lazily while she did it, too. Leaning back against one of the pillars that held up the school, she found shade, and more importantly, she’d found some peace and quiet from all the chaos that ran rampant when no one was in class. That quiet would only last for so long, but while she had it, it was beautiful.

Hearing her name called out, though, she knew that silence was up for now and she sighed at the thought of it. The black haired two-star meister wasn’t really one to make friends here at the academy, but she was a two-star meister so most people knew her name at the very least. Not having friends made it hard for her to know what people might want from her, though, and that was a rather unfortunate downside to having to keep her private life private. She made a habit of learning names so that she could try to carry out conversations at times, though. It was a lot easier at the DWMA when you were at least capable of talking to people.

Pushing up off of the pillar, Keziah’s feet lazily carried her closer to Zyra so that neither had to shout. She heard the weapon girl’s… rather odd… lead in to a question that sounded like a favor in a way. Eyebrows narrowed, Keziah asked, “What are you looking for help with?”

Her question wasn’t necessarily an answer. She wanted more information before she said yes or no.

Refaulted

 

[Refaulted]

Zyra Harriot
​

Zyra looked up from where she squatted at the ground to the girl. Zyra's pale cheeks were flushed a light shade of pink, and she quickly stood back up. She wasn't sure why, of all people, she decided to confront Keziah. Mostly, she was the closest person around that Zyra somewhat knew, and...

"Well...you're pretty. And you have this cool aura about you, in my opinion. I just thought you could help me with this, if you could, of course." Zyra sharply inhaled, then let out her breath slowly before continuing. "This is probably going to seem rather childish to you, or bother you in some way, but I was wondering if you could give me any pointers on...being attractive? Recently, Daemon, my partner, got involved in an incident where he needs to stay home, and needs constant care, and I normally look after him. However, my grandmother is here watching him when I'm not home, and my brother and his partner are coming to see if they can help as well, and my grandmother said she won't let me come home tonight until I go out with friends, or...well, she wants me to go on a date, but I have no experience."

Zyra quickly held her hands up in front of her. "Most of my time is devoted to school and Daemon, I never thought I would be able to date until I was older, but now I don't know what to do. I'm not good at making friends, really, either. The closest person I might have aside from Daemon might be Kassana or Honey, if you know either of them. But even then, that's just barely. I don't know how to be very social with others my age. So, I thought, with you being a little older and maybe being more popular due to your status, you could help me in some way. I won't make you, though." Zyra took a meek step back. "Even just a single piece of advice is enough. What should I do to get along with the others? How could I ask them to go out with me after school? Or should I try to find a d-d-date?" She said the last word very quietly, pushing the tips of her index fingers together shyly.

'Oh, good, Zyra. You probably seem like such an idiot to this person you barely know, and who probably doesn't think much of you as well. This was a bad idea, such a bad idea.'

Lady Warlock (Sorry, I know my quality in writing hasn't been good lately.)

 

[Lady Warlock]

Keziah Swan

When Zyra called her pretty, Keziah’s nose crinkled a little bit. No one had ever called her pretty before, actually, and she’d never considered whether she was or wasn’t, either. Beauty wasn’t something Keziah honestly cared about at all because it wasn’t something that was necessary to meet any goal she’d ever set for herself. Everything she wanted to accomplish in life could be accomplished with skills that were actually trained; they didn’t require any amount of inborn… well, anything, really. She wasn’t even sure if she liked being called pretty.

Despite that whole internal dilemma, though, Keziah listened to what Zyra had to say. She was respectful enough for that, at the very least.

“You know, I’ve never honestly thought of myself as pretty in the slightest. No guy’s ever walked up to me and complimented me and that’s probably because they’re afraid I’d punch ‘em in the gut if they ever so much as tried. You could always settle for being happy that you don’t have that problem…?” That was the gist of Keziah’s initial suggestion, but it still didn’t feel like enough for how much Zyra seemed to be serious about her question.

“I do know how to talk to people, though, when the situation demands it. I suppose that’s the first step in anything at all when it comes to making friends or getting a date or whatever else you might want to do with other people in the world. Does your partner have any friends? Perhaps you could take a day and have this Daemon introduce you to a few people that he knows.” To Keziah, it was only logical that having someone familiar around would make it easier to talk to people.

While she didn’t have many friends herself, Keziah could say that she’d seen quite a few different groups of friends interacting with one another so she knew the basic principles behind how it worked. “I’m sure there’ll be a group or two heading to Death Robins or something after the seminar lessons today. Maybe you could tag along with one of those groups and try talking to a few people?”

Finally, on the end, she added, “I dunno anything about dates so I’m sorry, but I got nothin’ there.”

She could only hope that something she said accomplished something.

Refaulted