Fandom Soul Eater: The Perfect Order

[Pariah Stark]

Codename: Discord


Partner: N/A


Classification: Weapon [NEW]


Location: Ice Cream Social Aera


Tagged: @Hanarei


@DaughterofAthena


@Arkytior

"You gotta do a lot to win me, so many want me after all seeing how amazing I am."

​

At this point, it finally dawned on Ikeda that Aiko was toying with him. He obviously wasn't trying to 'win' her, but that thought didn't immediately occur to him. It honestly required him listening to her banter - really reading between the lines - to understand that she wasn't entirely being serious about it. It wasn't necessarily that he was bad at reading others, either; he was completely thrown off by her initial reaction to his simple introduction. If he was the type to scrutinize, he would have felt it was unneeded, but his bashful nature took over and caused him to immediately flush up and shy away.


This was actually a situation that Ikeda had ran through his mind a couple times. He was a true dreamer at heart. In his free time, maybe even while gently resting before bed, he would let his mind wander in the infinite possibilities that could arise. Like any guy his age, one of these possibilities was interacting with a girl. While he had absolutely no idea how to react initially, his mind had cleared up just enough to remember that, at some point, he had thought of countless things to do. Admittedly, he wasn't exactly trying to court Aiko, but he was definitely going to play along with this little game. Before he got to reply, he was granted an even excuse to calm down and think.

”U-um...hello…!”

​

It appeared that someone else - another girl - was trying to greet them, but before Ikeda had a chance to retort, Aiko had already grabbed his arm and proclaimed him as hers. Ikeda wasn't without that persistent blush, but at this point, Aiko was laying it on so thick that it didn't have the same profound effect on him. He could see right through it, and he intended to keep it going. As she tried to tease confirmation out of him, he let slip the same line as earlier, albeit this time with significantly more confidence: "She's not wrong."


Ikeda allowed a faint smile to appear on his lips as he stepped back, at the same time, transforming his arms. The quick, blue energy from his transformation allowed him to slip right out of Aiko's grip. Ikeda was beginning to focus far more, mostly because he intended to play a little tune. His left arm molded over with a silver metal and around his wrist formed a scroll and pegbox while running down the rest of his arm seemed to form a short neck. Underneath his head was the tip of a blade, like a single claw poking out, but that was secondary to this arm. HIs entire arm glazed over black before reaching a silver shoulder piece that contained a set of fine-tuners and a tailpiece. To anyone not musically inclined, this arm would appear to have turned black with partially weaponized metal plating. His right arm would seemingly confirm this as it turned black up until the elbow joint, then shot out a short sword, extending a few inches past his normal arm length. While one side was bladed, the other side was actually blunt with a curved end. Again, it simply appeared to be a unique partial transformation, but it still more intricate than most.


"In fact, I was just about to play My Miss Aiko a little piece," he said. In that same instance, bright blue strings glowed from the tip of his blade arm to his elbow joint and four more lit up to string his right arm from the scrolls to the tailpiece, immediately tuning itself. This wasn't a guitar. It was a violin. It didn't have the same effect as his guitar, but it could still play a beautiful sound. If such existed, Ikeda would have had a purely mental smirk sprawl while he closed his eyes. 'I'll just have to prove how amazing I am if she thinks she's all that,' Ikeda thought to himself. And then, he played.

[media]


​

[/media]

 

[Lady Warlock]

Jayce “Pharaoh” Hammerkin

Classification: EAT Weapon

Partner: Alessa Wolf

Location: Ice Cream Social

Mood: Apprehensive

Tags: @Arkytior @Pariah Stark @Hanarei​

As Aiko grabbed at the blue haired boy standing near her, Jayce’s face became a sea of confusion before he finally informed her, “Um… I don’t think Alessa meant to take him from you. She’s just tryin’ to meet new people, I think.” His eyes flickered to his meister for a moment, concerned that he may have been wrong in his clarification although he didn’t let it bother him for too long.


And he honestly felt that was enough of a response for the blue haired boy’s statement as well; that was, until the boy pulled a partial and began playing music. MUSIC! Of all things somehow, this boy was a musical instrument. It was a bit much for Jayce to wrap his head around and even his face showed his awe and amazement. Yet despite all of his amazement, he paid no attention to the actual song Ikeda was playing. He was more concerned with the fact that an instrument transformation even existed in the first place.


“How are you… where… why…. how is that even possible?” he stumbled through his words, not even trying to contain his slight sense of awe. He was a weapon himself, but for him, his transformation was quite literally just a weapon. “Do you transform into a full violin too?” Nudging Alessa, he looked to her and said, “Isn’t that so cool!?”

 

[Keanehandiam]

Keanehan Diam

​

Nickname:Tinker


Status: EAT Student


Classification: WEAPON


Partner: N/A


Mood: Curious


Location: Ice Cream Social


@Zenaida @sonicfreak101 @Pariah Stark @Violet Obsidian


Loud, lively,colorful, and tantalizing. The Ice cream social was something to behold, in Keanehan's eyes. Not much had ever captivated him in such a way. As he watched the young woman next to him lose her words as they fell from her tongue, he took note of the young man known as "Evening Star". His name perplexed Keanehan, considering in every book he read they had been exterminated. He was obnoxious, overzealous, and a bit of an egomaniac, but even that seemed to hold some sort of charm with the amber haired boy. Without much change in his physical appearance, Keanehan began to play closer mind to the crowd.


A woman with green hair and he smaller less structurally secure friend seemed to be openly disgusted with Evening Star. It appeared that Evening Star had placed his being where it should not have been entered. They then proceeded to place names and hurtful phrases onto the boy's meager reputation. This didn't seem to deter the boy very much and in being un-phased he allowed himself to be sucker-punched. He seemed to crumple neatly on the ground. With little effort, the green haired woman placed Evening Star on the bench and proceeded to finishing her conversation.


'She is well made, indeed. If she is, in fact, one of the strongest Meisters then maybe she could resonate with me. Although Physical strength does not equate to soul aptitude. And from the looks of the conversation I would have to say that the smaller male was her partner.' With that thought in his mind he let out a small sigh which made him touch two fingers to his lips in curiosity. 'How odd.'


His eyes then slid to the young man who now sat resting on the bench. 'Another for the Dispensary?' Before he could act on his thoughts the young woman next to him managed to stutter out something resembling a sentence. He turned to her with his same deadpan expression and replied. "You needn't worry yourself. Try taking a few breaths and thinking. I will be more than willing to converse with you when you are ready."


As he finished speaking, the sound of a violin penetrated his ears. While it was loud in the social, it seemed to get ever so much quieter as the performance drew on. Each note and chord played resonated with Keanehan, internally. His eyes grew a bit brighter as he listened. And as the performance came to a close the young man rolled his neck in absentminded pleasure. He stopped the motion abruptly and grew wide eyed for a split second. 'What is that?' He wondered.


Lord Death wanted him to take a more active role in the academy and his peers. If every event was this interesting and this yielding of information, Keane would relent in his reluctance.

Emotional Key

King's Crown

Queen's Crown

Emotionless
​

 

[The Succubi Queen]

Deryn Renoir and Keanehan Diem

Deryn's Speech


Keane's Speech:


Kings Crown


Queen's Crown


Emotionless

Deryn walked into the room where the ice cream social was taking place, bandages wrapped around her white head and her uniform a mess, and sighed with relief as she spotted Keane, holding her ice cream. But he was talking to someone. Wonderful.


She edged her way towards him and the girl he was occupied with, trying not to interrupt or eavesdrop, while still indicating to him that she was there.


Keanehan had taken notice to Deryn’s being there and was admittedly embarrassed. Thinking that Nadia would’ve taken longer with her screening was a mistake on his part. Keanehan stood and bowed, with bowl in hand. “My apologies, miss. I thought Ms. Nadia would take a bit longer with your screening.” Straightening himself back out, Keane handed her the bowl of ice cream. “I hope that four scoops are satisfactory.”


“Oh, no, I assure you, I am as healthy as can be. Well, except for the head.” She frowned slightly, but quickly switched to a smile as she took the ice cream from him. “Thank you, although, there’s no need to bow, it’s merely a bowl of ice cream- did you say four scoops? I’d say that’s more than enough. Did you not get any for yourself?” She asked, taking a spoon from the nearest table and taking the smallest bite of the ice cream.


Being asked about having gotten any ice cream for himself was something that taken him off guard. “No ma’am. To be honest….I don’t have much experience with ice cream, or sweets for that matter. My diet doesn’t leave much room for confections of any kind.” Keanehan looked at the ice cream in Deryn’s bowl, his head cocked to one side.


“Uh…” She looked to him, and then to her bowl. The ice cream had already started to melt, but she could tell this was way too much for her to handle. “Would you liked some? This is more than enough for me to eat, we can just grab another bowl and I’ll pour the excess in there. Unless you want another flavour?” She raised an eyebrow, more questioning herself than him- was she really offering half her ice cream to an almost stranger? This morning she was startled when someone else spoke to her, now she was sharing her dessert?


“If you are certain you cannot finish it, then I shall assist you.” Though he didn’t know how to show it there was a sense of guilty pleasure from being allowed the opportunity to try ice cream. He made his way to the table and grabbed a bowl and spoon before heading back and receiving his portion from Deryn.


Keanehan looked at it with mild curiosity. He looked to Deryn as he scooped up a bit of the ice cream, almost as if asking her if it was safe to eat. Before long he put the sweet in his mouth, unfortunately he hadn’t expected the cold on his teeth and his face twitched ever so slightly before he swallowed the confection. He then let out a deep breath, watching the cool air leave his mouth. Upon seeing it a small grin tugged at his lips. “How curious”.


Deryn bit back a small giggle. “Yeah, it’s beyond me why cold and sweet is such a good combination, but there you have it- wait, you said ice cream was against your diet, you’re not allergic or anything, are you? Have I just compromised your health?” Her eyes widened in fear as she talked. How fast could she get him back to Nadia if he got sick?


Her worry was both amusing and confusing to him. “No, no...you see I use diet in the sense of what I eat regularly. I typically eat lean foods. This would be the first time that I’ve had something purely made for comfort rather than sustenance.” He assured her in his usual monotone way, although there was something unusually airy about how he said it. Almost as if he were enjoying himself.


“Well, I mean, Ice cream can’t be that unhealthy- it’s a dairy product, after all, right?” She asked between bites of her own rapidly melting ice cream. “There’s also new trends like frozen yogurt that are actually pretty popular with health nuts.” Her eldest brother was rather health conscious, and she had never understood his obsession with frozen yogurt.


“Well as human beings we no longer require milk after our toddling years. Granted there are benefits such as Calcium and Vitamin D.” Keanehan continued eating the minty fresh chocolate mix in front of him. In all his four years at the academy this had to be the only conversation that Keane had ever seemed to enjoy.


“Oh. Well, I guess that is.. true.” She took the last spoonful of her ice cream, and searched around for a disposal. “Um. Shall I see you around?” She asked, a sort of informal goodbye that seemed a little strange to her.


“If you ever have need of me, you can find me in the Dispensary.” Keanehan responded curtly. He too finished his ice cream and disposed of his materials before parting ways with the young lady.


((Collab with @Keanehandiam))

 

[CincoSomberGrey]

Max

Her fingers tighten over the strap encircling her shoulders. Each step she took on the many stairs leading to the DWMA front doors was another missed beat in her rib cage. She stopped frequently, taking a calming breath, scolding her inner nerves. She shouldn't be so scared, this was nothing. Max reached the top of the steps at a slower pace than normal, staring at the school in front of her. For some reason, the butterflies leaping around inside of her quelled, a shroud of calm settling over her. She let the strap go, placing her hands at her sides. This was her new life.


Max took a step forwards, towards the entrance...and realized she had no idea where to go.


She rolled her eyes, mostly at herself, for not remembering what the letter had said. She was, after all, a bit late to the schooling party. Glowering, she adjusted her bag and walked inside. Her eyebrows raised at the sudden lack of people inside the building.





"It's supposed to be a big school...so...?" Max said to herself, twisting in a slow 180'', checking down adjacent hallways.


She blew out a breath. The sudden airflow caused her bangs to puff up off of her forehead. She looked down, tracing the hallway floor pattern with her eyes.





"There must be tons of weapon pairs out doing jobs...great."





Max shouldered her bag and started walking down the hallway, her lone footfalls echoing off the empty walls. Each step she took made her eyes darken, her past fish-hooking her, reeling her in taught. Max just walked, not sure what direction she was headed, but certain she would run into at least one person.

 

[Sergeant Sass]

Alexander “Xander” Traynor

Classification: EAT 1-Star

Partner: None

Mood: Angry

Location: DWMA Halls near Social Area

Tags: @CincoSomberGrey​

Xander’s feet had eventually carried him back to the DWMA where he peered into his locker before making his way back to the area outside the ice cream parlor. On his way through the halls, he realized he wasn’t exactly sure why he was even going back to the social in the first place as that was where everyone he hated was gathered up anyway. Ivy, her stupid weapon partner, Aeryn - Xander rolled his eyes as the name of his sister’s new friend popped up on his list - and then of course, there was Lexie herself. As far as Xander was concerned, every time he got into trouble here within the DWMA, it was her fault. She was the reason why he was there in the first place so why would it not be her fault.


And the more he thought about it, the more his steps went from steps to stomps as his anger slowly rose inside of him. Xander hated them. He hated them all and one day - as soon as he had a weapon partner who would actually listen - he would show them everything he had ever learned. He would unleash everything his father had taught him.


Walking, quite aimlessly at this point, Xander didn’t even see the girl who was lost within the halls of the school before he ran into her. It was enough to give him a fright although with Xander, having frightened him was not exactly a good thing. Sparks of a troubled flame leapt from his hand as he prepared his soul wavelength although, luckily for Max, he actually looked before he jabbed out with his palm prepared to attack. His soul wavelength fizzled slightly - still there, but not quite violent - as his eyes bore into her. They were full of judgement, full of distrust.


“What are you doing here!?” Xander snapped as his eyes became even more and more accusatory. “No one’s supposed to be wandering the halls right now - didn’t you hear? There’s ‘ice-cream’.” Xander didn’t sound happy about either fact that he informed her, but that didn’t matter. His eyes gazed upon her suspiciously wondering why exactly she would happen to be wandering the halls at the exact same time that he contemplated his hate; and even more so, why she was there rather than with all of his most hated.

 

[CincoSomberGrey]

Max

Max was about to give up and take a nap in the hallways when she heard something, the sound of forceful stomping. Out of habit she tensed her shoulders, moving her feet underneath her body. The sound came from a boy around her age, marching angrily in her direction. It didn't seem as though he noticed her.


--Better chance than any to get some answers...-- Max thought, relaxing.


"Hel-" she raised her hand sideways in a, what she assumed, was a greeting. It ended up resembling a karate-chop.





When flames erupted from the boy's hands, Max fell back into her stance. Her arm extended outwards, blending into a violent white light. A red and orange blade peeled out of her sweatshirt, arcing around the boy. She let it stop when the tip nearly touched the small of his back, ready to kebab him at any moment. When his hand pulled back, she let a moment of shadow pass her eyes before retracting her arm. It shrank, the same light illuminating the hallway before it faded, her normal arm hanging at her shoulder. She adjusted the strap to her bag. When the boy got accusatory, Max felt a pang of disappointment.





--This is what they're like then. People...-- She let her eyes size up the boy, and let out a small sigh.


Ignoring all of his anger and questions: "Do you know where I can find a professor or someone who can help me?" She said, allowing little emotion to flow in her words. This boy didn't deserve kindness if he was to give none in return.

 

[Sergeant Sass]

Alexis "Lexie" Traynor and Deryn Renoir

Collaboration With:

@The Succubi Queen
​

Even throughout the conversation that Lexie was listening to, she kept occasionally glancing over at the body that Ivy had dumped on the bench, wondering if Warren was really ok or not. It got to a point where Lexie knew she would never be able to address her concerns unless she went to check on him for herself. Giving Aeryn’s hand a gentle squeeze, she muttered, “I’ll be right back,” before she freed her hand from his and walked over to the bench, her eyes looking down at the unconscious Warren although she honestly wasn’t sure how to tell whether or not he was actually ok or not.


Deryn tossed her ice cream in the trash, looking around for someone else to talk to.. wasn’t that Warren passed out there? She vaguely recognized him from his morning, and there was girl with him- wasn’t she one of those twins? “Hey, uh, is he gonna be ok?” She asked Lexie, leaning over Warren. “Or did the idiot do himself in?” She wouldn’t put it past Warren to have attempted some grand stunt and killed himself, although she had only known the boy for a few minutes.


Lexie glanced up at the newcomer’s voice and she shrugged her shoulders slightly. “I honestly couldn’t say,” was her answer to that although she did feel for a pulse, recalling that there was a spot on the neck somewhere. “Although I don’t think he quite earned what came to him,” she added as an afterthought.


“Well, that is a bit of a surprise.” Deryn responded with a slight frown. “Mind if I- oh, here, let me. It’s always easiest to use the wrist, the neck has too many weird muscles..” She grabbed Warren’s wrist. Upon feeling a pulse, she dropped his wrist, looking back to Lexie “He’s alive. So there’s not really anything to worry about. If I may, what exactly did happen to him? Did he pick a fight with someone stealing his spotlight or something?” She rolled her eyes, a wry grin on her face.


Lexie looked up to Deryn, trying to recall if she had met the girl before. Although she had seen the face, she couldn’t remember the name that went with it. It was a question for a different time, though. “Um… he picked a fight with Ivy,” she gestured to the tall girl with green hair who she had previously been conversing with. “And Ivy won. Ivy usually wins.”


“I have heard such rumors about Ivy.” Deryn said. Heard being the operative word. She hadn’t really spoken to many people before today. Seemed this whole disaster thing was giving her newfound courage. “Should we just leave him? It’s not a good idea to move him in this state, and I think someone will tell the nurse eventually. Right?” She wasn’t a medical expert like Keane was, but she knew some basic first aid stuff. Her adopted parents considered it the duty of a meister to know the basics of everything that might be useful in the field. “Uh, Deryn, by the way.” She thought it apt to introduce herself. She didn’t exactly have any sort of reputation. She doubted anyone who wasn’t a professor had known her name before today.


“I’m Alexis,” Lexie introduced herself right away realizing that introductions had previously been forgotten. “Nice to meet you,” she smiled at Deryn before her attention turned back to Warren. “I… I suppose we can just leave him. I honestly just wanted to make sure he was still, ya’ know, breathing and stuff.” After the glance at him, she moved herself around the bench so she could better talk with the new person, absentmindedly deciding Warren didn’t need or deserve any more of her attention. “So, you’re a new student, right? What do you think of things so far?” she honestly doubted she’d get a good answer based on the dressing wrapped around Deryn’s head although it was the one way she could think to spark some conversation.


“Well.” Deryn said with a cold laugh. “I have a head wound, which thankfully isn’t too bad, I’m probably going to have emotional scarring, and I finally got a partner, only to majorly mess up and end up solo again. So yeah, I completely love everything minute of being here.” She looked Lexie up and down, taking her in. “What about you- was your first mission everything you dreamed it would be? Did you feel cool and heroic? Or did you feel as useless as our lab team did?”


Lexie winced slightly at Deryn’s statements. Deryn’s experience certainly didn’t sound like it had been a pleasant one and the following comments only hit Lexie in all the wrong places. Lexie herself had messed up on the only partner she’d ever had so it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. There were some things slightly out of place, though, and those Lexie could correct. “That actually wasn’t my first mission… well, not technically. But no, I wasn’t the hero. I actually got held outside although it didn’t turn out quite as bad as it seemed at first.” The girl smiled a bit, recalling that out of all the things that had gone wrong, she also had a date. “Quite honestly, though, that sounds a lot like my first mission,” Lexie offered in addition to her prior statements.


“Did it not? How pleasant.” Deryn said simply. “What was your actual first mission like then, if you don’t mind my asking?.” Deryn wasn’t really sure what to say to this girl. It felt like Lexie wasn’t saying the whole truth, but Deryn wasn’t sure where to begin her inquiry- what was with that little secret smile, to begin with? What had even happened with the other team? She couldn’t get a clear read off this girl’s behavior, which was a bit discomforting to Deryn.


Just like that, Lexie’s entire demeanor shrunk from a point of being entirely cheerful, to one of total sadness, if such a thing was possible. Her first “mission” had been to lead the DWMA to her father and her brother as both had managed to cross a line that they shouldn’t have and it was a moment that, while it may have saved Lexie’s own life, also forever destroyed her connection to her brother, creating something that Lexie would never stop fighting to get back no matter how impossible it seemed to be. “Umm…” was all she could manage to say.


Deryn looked at Lexie for a moment, before her mouth formed a perfect circular “O” shape. She began to speak rapidly, thoughts colliding and running out of her mouth in an almost nonsensical fashion “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, did I cross a line there- I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or dredge up bad memories, oh goodness I didn’t- I hope- are you ok?” She finished, her eyes wide and her lips in a worried frown. She had a bad habit of saying cruel things, she had learned, but she hadn’t thought she’d crossed a line this time- then again, she never did.


Lexie took a moment. No, she took several moments. Several moments before she made eye contact with Deryn again, several moments before she registered the apology that had been offered and as soon as Lexie heard that apology, her posture straightened out again. The same didn’t happen with her expression although she did manage to mumble, “It’s ok. You didn’t know…”


“Ehh” Deryn made a whining sound that seemed very disjointed from her previous behavior. “I’m sorry, sorry sorry, I still shouldn’t have brought it up, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, oh my gosh, are you gonna be ok?” She pressed her hands to her face over her nose and mouth, and meaningless gesture since she continues talking through them. “I didn’t like, bring up anything too tragic and awful, did I? I probably ruined your mood, oh gosh, I am soooo sorry.”


“I’ll be alright. Honest.” Lexie finally managed to force a smile onto her face. No one would ever find any sincerity within it, but it was there nonetheless. “I bring it on myself, anyway. It’s not your fault.” Reaching up, Lexie grabbed Deryn’s hand and pulled it off of the girl’s mouth, trying to get her to calm down a bit. “You know, here in a moment I’m going to be apologizing just as much as you are if you don’t calm down.” Lexie even managed a chuckle.


Deryn’s hands fell limp in Lexie’s grip, revealing her doubtful frown. “Sorry.” This apology was more for almost being hysterical than it was for her previous infringement. “I- I don’t think you bring it on yourself, though. That’s an unfair burden for you to bear, truthfully. You shouldn’t blame yourself for not wearing long sleeves when people poke your wounds. And you shouldn’t fake a smile when they’re reopened. That’s what the Re- what my parents used to say.” She said, with a small encouraging smile. “It’s my fault, there’s no need for you to excuse my rudeness like that. I just need to be more careful of what I say.”


Lexie gave Deryn another once over as she heard the same thing that she had heard over and over again from countless people and it was one of the few things that she very often argued with. However, it was a day where she didn’t feel like arguing. “I fake a smile because it helps me to make a real one,” was finally her reply. “It helps me remember better things and then I can actually smile for real.” And once more Lexie smiled - this time it was for real.


“Oh, well then.” Deryn said, at a loss for anything to say. “That works, I suppose.” She’d never heard that one before. Everyone had their own ways of dealing with trauma, she supposed. “I’m sorry for whatever it was that happened.” She said, unsure of where to go from here. How did one talk to people?


“I am too,” Lexie sighed. “Anyway, we don’t have to worry about that now. You had mentioned you didn’t have a partner?”


“Nope- I was assigned one this morning but..” She touched the back of her head, where the cut on her head was. “It didn’t work out too well. So, I’m in exactly the same spot I was yesterday. It’s not really too big of a deal. Arthur and I didn’t even manage to actually fight together, so I can’t even fully claim that we were ever partners. But, if you went on a mission, you must have had someone to fight with, and I’m sure it went better than my disaster of an exploit.” She gave a short laugh, but it lacked any real emotion.


“Not really…” Lexie mumbled as she nearly sunk into the same hole that took her away the first time. There was a happy point to keep her sane, but it was hard to say it like she was going to. “I had someone fight for me, but it’s not the same thing.”


“At least you didn’t have someone fight.. with you?” Deryn replied, not sure how to prevent the girl from returning to her bad mood. “My partner managed to infect himself with madness, and well- he nearly killed me. Not many things are that bad, I can wager. Having the person who’s supposed to protect you hurt you like that… That’s going to be a lot of fun to tell my future therapist about. What, did some pig decide he was going to be chivalrous and keep you from actually doing something during the mission?” She joked.


Lexie chuckled, not at the first part, but at Deryn’s questions. “Chivalrous, yes. They didn’t actually keep me from fighting though… From there it gets… hard to explain.” Lexie was telling the truth in that part. “Anyway, are you a meister?”


“I am, indeed. I’m not sure how good I am of a meister, but I’m decent with a weapon, and have a lot of basic knowledge about a lot of things that pertain to serving the DWMA.” Deryn said this almost robotically, as though she’d learned to recite it from memory, in preparation for introducing herself. “Why do you ask?” She had already inferred that Lexie had a partner, considering she hadn’t denied it when Deryn had asked.


“Finally,” was Lexie’s first remark. “I haven’t been able to find a decent meister for an entire year. I’m a weapon and breaking the rules really isn’t my forte. Sometime later this week, you think you’d want to see if we can get anything to work… trial run type thing?” She stared at Deryn for a moment before she realized she forgot to mention one thing. “I’m a weapon by the way.”


Deryn blinked. “Wait- wha- oh, uh, yeah, sure. I mean- Of course, if you don’t mind pairing with a first year or anything- what kind of weapon are you, if I might ask? I have a bit of problem using certain things, unfortunately.” She had a sneaking suspicion things with Arthur might have gone better if she wasn’t terrified of loud noises. “I’ve rather severe Sonophobia, so if you’re a gun or a chainsaw or anything loud of that sort, it might be best not to chance it.”


“No worries there,” Lexie laughed her last comments off. “I’m a bo staff so I can’t make a single sound unless you hit something with me. And if you decide to slam a bell, well, I can’t do much about that. Other than that though, it shouldn’t be an issue.”


Deryn’s eyes grew wide, a look of almost relevance. “I actually know how to use one of those. I’m trained in staff fighting. Yes, I absolutely would love to attempt a partnership with you, thank you for offering. I might not be fully able to fight for quite a while- I’m actually not sure how much rest I should be getting with head wound.” She said, with a small frown.


“Well,” Lexie shrugged, “we should at least be able to see if we’re compatible. And after that, we can wait on your recovery if things go alright. No biggie!” Lexie smiled at that.


“Oh, my wavelength shouldn’t be a problem, I’ve used a wide variety of weapons in my training, I’m rather flexible in that aspect of myself.” Growing up used her siblings to train, as well as other weapon children growing up, Deryn had learned to alter her wavelength just enough to interact with a lot of weapons. While there were a lot of people she didn’t think she’d ever get on with, Lexie didn’t strike her as someone outside her bounds. “It doesn’t hurt to double check, of course.”


“Agreed,” Lexie nodded before she glanced back to the group she had left behind. “I’m gonna head back now, but tomorrow morning maybe we can give it a whirl?”


“Yes, absolutely!” Deryn nodded her head vigorously, already making plans for the next day.


Lexie turned and walked back to her group, sliding her hand back into Aeryn’s before she even said anything to him although when she did look back, she smiled. “I may have found a partner.”


@Pariah Stark @sonicfreak101 @DaughterofAthena @Violet Obsidian

 

[Zenaida]

Dakota Eimear

​

Code-name: Echo


Classification: Meister


Status: NOT


Partner: N/A


Location: Ice Cream Social


Mood: Slightly Calm, Flustered, Uncomfortable


Tags: @Keanehandiam @Cephalo @Kyra

Dakota stayed silent, listening to the conversations spinning around in the air. Her nerves were still running rampant, but she was beginning to calm down once more. The boy beside her turned towards her again, and she also turned to look at him. He seemed more calm than 'Evening Star' had been, and she managed a faint smile.


"You needn't worry yourself. Try taking a few breaths and thinking. I will be more than willing to converse with you when you are ready."


Soon after he finished speaking, someone started to play a violin. Dakota only half listened, but it sounded like it was well played. She was rather focused on calming down, and took a couple hesitant but steady breaths, and let her mind calm down a bit, before trying to work through the thoughts and emotions pilling up within. However, her period of peace screeched to a halt as another girl came skipping up with and ice cream cone and sat down in the free space to Dakota's other side. Though the girl hadn't spoken or done anything yet, the simple fact that she had come over to begin with set off Dakota's panicked and startled state again. When the girl turned and grinned at her, she forced a very, very faint smile in return.


"You remind me of wisterias. The flowers? But more like wisteria vines, you seem kind of droopy. But they're very pretty and they're purple, so they're like you,"


The girl spoke, suddenly causing Dakota's panic to spike, though it changed from panic to flustered confusion within a few seconds. She struggled to understand what was now going on, her mind throwing out idea that totally did not make the situation any easier. She stayed silent, her face most likely reflecting her confused state.


"Let me show you what I mean!"


The girl finished, then suddenly there was a wisteria bouquet resting in her hands. Dakota's eyes shifted to the flowers, puzzled beyond return, then back tot eh girl. 'What...?' Was one of the various thoughts circling in the endless mass of emotions and awkwardness and more emotions that was her mind. She struggled through her thoughts, trying to come up with a decent reply so she wouldn't make a fool of herself yet again today. However, her efforts drew to another swift halt as yet another person came up. This new girl spoke, more towards the one with the bouquet then Dakota.


“Mind if I enjoy the show?”


'Show?' Dakota thought, turning her puzzled gaze to the new girl for a second before looking back at the still extended flowers. 'What does she mean...?' She continued to think, pondering this new development mentally. Eventually, she worked through the mess in her head enough to finally react.


"Thanks... I guess..." She murmured, her voice faint and only just barely loud enough for those close to her to hear. Her statement was spoken as more of a question. She hesitantly accepted the flowers, her eyes drifting to the girl who had offered them to her for a second. She was still shaking slightly, and was still flustered, and quite uncomfortable with the number of people suddenly next to her.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Arc One: COMPLETE!!


The Aftermath: OPEN!

 

[Pariah Stark]

Lexie & Aeryn

A collab between

@Sergeant Sass and Pariah Stark
​

Lord Death told Aeryn to attend class in the morning. He was officially a DWMA Student again, and even went through the registar the day before to make sure it was all sorted out. Death told nothing less than the truth about having the paperwork all sorted for Aeryn. He had a mock-up ID in no time and was even in the system as a One Star Meister. The class, however, was absolutely dull. They were remedial at best, and apparently the short-term cirriculum was mostly meant to introduce new students, buffer returning ones in and teach the fundamentals before actual classes. Aeryn was also fairly sure it was to keep the school open most of the year so it could accept new weapons since most of them were young and sent to the DWMA just to learn to control their latent abilities.


It wasn't exactly the class he was excited about, although he did finally get to see most of the other students. Apparently, Aeryn had to introduce himself formally alongside other new students, and they did trickle in. It felt odd to introduce himself when a handful of them already knew him and he probably knew even less about himself. Nevertheless, the class drug on and he was growing anxious as the material in it never interested him. He was far more focused on his date afterwards with Lexie, and the dull class only made the anticipation for it that much stronger.


Once the bell for the class finally rang, their instructor held them just a few minutes longer to finish a demonstration, and then released them. Simple as that. The classroom itself was as much as prison as Death's room if that was the subject matter. While the bodies of other students poured out of the classroom, Aeryn waited patiently for the crowd to thin so that he could rush up to Lexie. Kassana had been half-dead for the duration, likely from her training with Ivy, and she seemed about as bored by the class as Aeryn. Seeing Lexie was easily the highlight of his day.


As Lexie stood up from her seat, she pushed in her chair before she closed her notebook and slid it into her backpack along with her pencil. She knew she was going to regret it later, but her notebook didn't actually contain any notes from the day's lecture. She had been too busy checking the clock every two minutes, wondering why time wasn't going by faster. Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, Lexie turned around, peering through the crowds of people that were pouring out of the classroom although she herself didn't follow the other students; she usually did, but not this time.


Finally, as the students grew sparse, she saw Aeryn and Lexie's smile was incredibly bright when she did. She didn't blush, not this time, although it was very obvious that she was happy to see him especially as he rushed at her. "That was the longest class ever!" she remarked as soon as he could hear her, holding out her hand to him as she spoke.


Aeryn immediately grasped her hand with no second thought. Rulebook only read no PDA during class, but on campus, it apparently was fine within reason. He was a stickler for the rules. He darted a smile back to her before he replied, "You are absolutely right it was. I can't wait for real classes when we go over real topics. This might as well be an intro course." Aeryn noticed her backpack and thought of it as a strange little bag. Not something he had seen much before today, yet apparently everyone had one. He made a mental note to ask about them later.


With the majority of the crowd cleared out of their way, Aeryn gently lead them forward through it. It was a playful tug, mostly just assuming there was no reason to stay in the classroom. He looked back to her with a quick glance from his green eyes, seeing if she was coming. It did occur to him to see if she had anything else she wanted to do. Dating surely must have changed so much since he was last around. Did she want to drop off her bag? Go get lunch? Or, maybe change? Aeryn had no idea and almost no one to ask. He also had no idea how to work this 'internet' thing he was told about.


"Anything you want to do before we go?" he asked Lexie, mostly because of his general oblivious nature in regards to this type of thing.


Lexie followed Aeryn as he took the lead, nodding along when he agreed with her comment although she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to start regular classes again just yet. Those tended to be even longer and having a day where she took no notes could be almost fatal in those classes; here on the other hand, she was fairly certain she could make do. Lexie wasn't quite so confident as to think revisiting remedials would be a bad thing.


When Aeryn spoke again, she stopped for a moment to think. "I should probably drop my backpack off at the very least. My locker's not far," she answered. "Anything you need to do?" Lexie raised her eyebrows, turning the question back to him.


"Not really, no. I didn't bring anything with me, honestly. I don't tend to take notes. My rule of thumb is if you can't remember it in your head, you won't remember it for a test," he replied. He was simple and short explanation, although a hard one to agree with. Aeryn almost never took notes. He had a firm belief that strong focus during a lecture would help memorize everything said, then one could merely go back and research material after. It was a remnant of the older educational system.


"Good thing. It would be terribly annoying to have class here and a locker in a different wing," he added, mostly just teasing with small talk. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before just letting her guide them.


And then Lexie led the way. There were a few twists and turns along their path, but it was nothing she hadn't committed to memory so long ago that it mattered anymore. She knew here way around well enough. Her walk was brisk at first although the more steps she took, the more her pace quickened. She was excited as well and it showed.


Lexie was almost running by the time she finally came to a sudden hault in front of a locker that seemed to be hers, and it seemed to be hers because it was. Her fingers spun the lock around three times although she fumbled it once, casting a brief glance in Aeryn's direction to see if he had noticed, before she had to reenter the combination to finally get it open. The inside of her locker was quite bare. At least, it looked that way for the short amount of time that it was open. She slid her backpack off her shoulders before sliding it in. It was almost a perfect fit.


Closing the locker quickly, Lexie spun the lock once to ensure that it was really locked and she gave the locker a single tug, a double check, before she turned to Aeryn and muttered, "Ok, that's done!" Her smile was just as bright as it had been the first time and she held out her hand to Aeryn once more, having pulled it away only when she had taken her backpack off. "We were going to the gardens, right?"


Aeryn tried not to watch her too terribly closely. Lockers were something even he remembered, although it seemed the DWMA had upgraded quite a bit from the wooden lockboxes that were once standard. It was definitely for the better, although admittedly Aeryn had no idea how a combination lock worked. He actually wondered why a lock was needed at all; most of the students could probably tear through that thin metal with relative ease. He knew he definitely could, likely without even using Soul Force. The use was lost on him, but it was a small thought to shove away for now.


Aeryn thought for a moment before answering her. He wondered if he should do something sweet.They were in a fairly secluded hallway, so he wouldn't embarass her. Mostly, he just wanted to spark something before their journey off to the garden. He darted her another quick smile before replying, "That was the plan, but I could go anywhere with you, Lex." He ultimately decided against it. He wasn't for sure yet what was too much and what wasn't. Better to play it safe than lose before anything even begun.


"Hmm" Lexie mulled over his comment, a slight blush starting to show in her cheeks although she tried to hide it just because she felt like she had already been blushing a lot around him. It wasn't something she was used to, not at all. "We could go to the gardens first, and then maybe afterwards we can grab lunch?" she suggested. "I'd really like to go to the gardens though. I don't get around there very often and they're just gorgeous this time of year," she exclaimed although Lexie had to add on an afterthought. "At least, they were last year."


Lexie glanced down both directions of the hall. For a brief moment, she had completely forgotten where she was, lost in her excitement and just a small tad of nervousness. As she started to head one way, saying "This way," she actually wound up spinning around and facing the other way as she once again remembered where she was and she laughed at her own silliness. "I don't normally get lost here, I swear it," she stated, blushing more as she began to realize that she was right and that had to mean it had something to do with Aeryn.


Aeryn just let her talk for a moment. He thought she picked the gardens because they were a pretty place that would make for a good first date. After hearing her, he realized that she picked them because she wanted to go herself and now she had someone to take with her. She wasn't just picking a place to go, she was taking him to a place she personally enjoyed and he felt that meant just a bit more. Maybe he was just a little old-fashioned, but the entire idea just made him smile. "I don't mind going there every day after school, if we have nothing else to do... and we go together," he replied to her. By that time, she was already tugging him along.


She did seem to lose her sense of direction for a moment, though, and Aeryn couldn't help but laugh. Before he followed her, though, he tugged her back to him and pulled her into a gentle hug. The slight delay was just long enough for his urge to do something sweet to overcome his better sense of judgement. In that moment, he held her close - no gap between them - and peered right into her eyes. His green met with her blue for a brilliant display. "It's fine, Lex... I don't mind getting lost anywhere with you," he said, still holding her.


Lexie was breathless. Not only could she not remember ever being as close to someone as she was at that moment, but she also couldn't remember a time where she had ever been as happy as she felt at that moment in time. Nor could she remember ever having such a strong urge to trust someone as she did with Aeryn, and that was a rare thing.


Lexie had tried to be the girl who always had something to say. She tried to be the one who seemed entirely open, entirely friendly, entirely eager to be at the DWMA and to be making friends, but that was just to avoid the questions and to get away from everything else. And for the first time, it wasn't working. For the first time, she didn't know what she was supposed to say or what she was supposed to do because all she had ever known had been the complete and total opposite of this moment. She had known invisibility; an arm's reach always keeping her away from everything.


And it was for that reason that for the seemingly frozen moment, Lexie just stood there, her hand still in Aeryn's and her other arm instinctually wrapped around him. There weren't words. However, it was within the realization that there weren't words to say that Lexie realized there was another way, another way to convey to him exactly how she felt right now - to convey exactly how lost she already was and exactly how much she forever wanted to stay that way. Lexie reached up with her free arm, gently putting her hand on Aeryn's cheek as she established the soul bond that up until that point had only ever been initiated by Aeryn and Lexie didn't stop anything from flowing through it.


Aeryn could feel her wrap her arm around him. It was a single, fluid motion that flowed perfectly with his gentle tug. The embrace couldn't get any more perfect, and for Aeryn, there was absolutely no one else he would rather have felt this with. For a brief moment, Aeryn wasn't worried about who he used to be. No memories shot through him, either, so maybe he didn't have a paramour in his previous life. Either way, what was certain was that this single, absolute moment was entirely dedicated to Lexie. He didn't really care who he used to be because right this very second he was the person that got to hold Lexie.


When she placed her hand on his cheek, he could feel the connection between them spark. He thought she was going to kiss him at first, and honestly, he felt it was just a bit early, but this connection was something entirely different. It wasn't like before: simple messages back and forth. It also wasn't like his with Kass. It was this powerfully passionate connection that seemed to only share an overwhelming warmth between them. Even her hand felt warmed than it should on his skin, and it radiated through him. There was no specific thought about this; it was a direct connection of their feelings, all bridged in this moment.


Aeryn knew a better way, though. Bonds were powerful, but there was a way to make them closer. Aeryn closed his eyes and leaned in, resting his forehead on Lexie's. This was a more direct connection, a closer one, a tighter one - it shared all that he could. He wanted to show her that in this moment, the only thing he focused on was her. She was anything but invisible to him. He saw the specks in her bright blue eyes, noticed every various hue of red in her hair, and could see the difference between her forced smiles and the ones she couldn't help. And, now, all that focused was shown to her.


The warmth that Aeryn felt was even more powerful within Lexie as his forehead rested on hers and for a moment, all she could do was soak it all in, absorbing each little image, each smile, each detail that even she didn't see in herself, not because she didn't try, but because she hadn't ever had time to pay attention to it before. She was most certainly not invisible.


And Lexie collected her own thoughts, her own memories. She remembered her own surprise when Aeryn had first offered her his hand only a day ago now. She remembered her panic at feeling unseen and her surprise at his voice echoing through the confines of her mind for the first time. Lexie remembered her concern for him rather than for her own brother as the two of them wound up in the dirt. Even as they stood their in tight embrace, Lexie could close her eyes and she knew even in the blackness, she would still be able to see him standing there in front of her, with his arms around her and his red hair just barely concealing the emerald green of his eyes.


Through the bond, Lexie sent it all back before she opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling once again as she whispered, "You know, we haven't even technically been on one date yet." There was a smile in her voice as she said it, light and soft, carrying a lighthearted chuckle along with it.


Aeryn could only chuckle at her response. She was right. They hadn't even been to the gardens yet, and somehow they were already in each others' arms. "Well, then I guess we better get going," Aeryn replied, "Unless you want to stay here until someone catches us." Of course, the latter half was rhetorical, but nonetheless was an option. Not one he intended on enacting and he was sure that Lexie wanted to go to the gardens, too, so there was no fear that they would actually stand there until another student stumbled by.


Aeryn pulled his head back, then loosened his grip enough for her to easily escape. With the same gentle smile he wore all the time when he was around her, he said, "Lead the way, Lex. I don't think I'll find a flower there prettier than you, but I'm sure you'll look so much better there than in these hallways."


Lexie smirked at his offer although she too started to pull away afterwards, twirling out of Aeryn's grasp although she kept her hand in his while she once again was left to consider which way was the right way to go. Hearing his last statement, Lexie looked back at him just to show him how much she was blushing, how much she truely couldn't stop smiling. After merely a moment's glance, Lexie found herself leading the way through the DWMA hallways once again. She no longer felt the need to run. Any moment spent with Aeryn, even if it wasn't spent in gardens, was worth it.


Pushing open a single door that led to an outside courtyard, suddenly they were outside as sunlight rained into the gardens that littered the open area. Each flower had a different color. Each had its own hue. And Lexie's expression, previously having been one of simple yet uncontrolled happiness, transformed to something of great awe and amazement. "I don't even remember coming on this perfect of a day last year," she remarked.


"I don't remember this place whatsoever..." Aeryn replied. The garden was indeed impressive. The iron gates behind them created an atmosphere Aeryn was actually familiar with, which was actually odd. In all of Death City, Aeryn felt like he only remembered certain elements of the architecture and the roads. So much had changed since he saw it before. But, these gardens... they seemed to set him back. He had never seen them before, but the thing about nature is that it didn't really change. Not much. These plants were almost the same as they were then, so this garden was like a step back into his time, but at the same time, it was amazing it its own right.


The flowers themselves were of several different species, and they created these brilliant hues along white, picketed walls of wooden posts and some in shrubbery around them. Every vibrant color he saw was obviously planted there with an intelligent, keen eye. Some groundskeeper really knew what he was doing here, and it was gorgeous. Each color contrasted the others, they flowed together into an indescribably gorgeous scene that could have only been compared to Gardens of his time that were considered cultural icons - pinnacles of agriculture. And, with these gardens, it felt like it was all in his back yard.


Even more impressive than the first sight, thought, was the fact that it kept going. There were several amazing scenes like the first one. The huge, green pathways created an artistic labyrinth for them to walk through, holding the others' hand, but also gazing at the different arrangements. Aeryn would have never guessed something like this could be created in such an artificial city like Death City, but the world had come so far to let nature - something so universal he could relate to it even after centuries - grow inside it so beautifully. Aeryn was in awe, probably more so than any of the technology he saw before this. And, through his hand, Lexie would be able to pick up on every little bit of it that he felt.


"Hmm?" Lexie mumbled when she first heard Aeryn's comment, stopping before she even started to lead him along her favorite walkway in the entirety of the school, and, in fact, the entirety of the city itself. However, her attempted inquiry answered itself soon enough as she could feel his amazement at each fine detail, each small effort, every thought that went into making the place as remarkable as it was.


Lexie was a bit surprised at his amazement, a bit overwhelmed that his awe of the place seemed to almost, if not entirely surpass her own and for a moment, she let some of that amazement wash into her. She took in the sights as he saw them, noticed the little details that she quite honestly would have missed without him and without even realizing it, she was looking at it through the lense of time that he saw it through.


Finally, she couldn't hold back her comment. "Have you... have you never been here before?" It was curiosity and purely that. However, Lexie was more relieved now than ever that she had chosen to bring him here. The gardens weren't a sight that she could imagine a person living and never seeing.


"Not once," he replied. He couldn't recall ever seeing a garden as impressive as this either. Oddly, there was a small inkling in his mind. A memory, maybe, but hazy. Maybe he had seen gardens before, but it wasn't something clear enough for him to remember, so he ignored it. He was with Lexie now, anyway, so it wasn't really a time to go exploring although he definitely would later.


"I'd never seen anyone like you, either," he added, stopping as he told her. The grabbed both of her hands and looked right back into her eyes, the same locked gaze from the hallway. "You'd have been blushing, then, too, if you knew what I thought the moment I saw you," he explained. In an indirect way, he was comparing her to all the sights, knowing she had felt what he did. More directly, he was completely confirming that she had impressed him just as much.


Lexie's cheeks were already as red as could be. All that was left was for it to spread to the rest of her face, the sheepish smile that spread on her face only further confirming that she completely understood what he was saying and what he meant. Lexie realized she wasn't even going to be able to count the times she lost the words to say or the times that he took her breath away and it seemed more and more that the emerald's staring into her own eyes were focused on her and her alone. It hadn't been something she had wanted to believe at first.


"Well," a soft whisper escaped her lips. "I'm blushing now." She could feel it. She could feel the warmth of the redness that flooded her face and she was beginning to realize that she didn't care about it anymore; there was no reason to hide it.


"I know, and it's adorable, Aeryn replied. He could only smile. There wasn't another facial expression he could come up with while so close to Lexie. His own cheeks sprouted a light, red hue, but mostly just because of the intensity of the moment. He wrapped his fingers around her hands and held them tighter. His eyes dialated some, forcing the gold specs in his bright green eyes to dance as they kept their solid lock with Lexie. And, through a slip in their bond, he let slip the thought, 'damn, she's beautiful.'


The moment Lexie heard it, her entire gaze slipped out of his, her head turning to the side almost seeming like she was trying to hide herself. One hand went to her hair, tucking a stray lock behind her ear, while the other remained lying in Aeryn's own hand as she sent one clear thought through to him. 'I'm going to have to get used to not being invisible.' It wasn't a bad thing, not by any measure of anything, but it was the truth.


"You most definitely are," he replied, "A bit like a purple iris among daisies. You most definitely draw my attention... and you're nothing less than gorgeous." Aeryn lifted one of his hands to cup her cheek, trying to gently guide her back so he could see her eyes. He did enjoy them. But, he also wanted to return to the sensation of touch. To being close. Their connection didn't need to be that telepathic bond. It could be entirely natural.


Lexie heard him. She heard him and as his hand went to her cheek, her own free hand went to his, gently cupping hers over the top of his before she actually turned to look at him again, her smile still present although the red in her cheeks had started washing away. It seemed as though she meant to say more, or even something entirely different, than what she did wind up saying as she reached up and brushed Aeryn's bangs out of his eyes. "We still have more garden to see. Since you haven't seen them, I've really gotta give you the grand tour." As with every other thing she had said to Aeryn throughout the course of the day, it was soft and gentle and this time, it was her offering a gentle squeeze to their hands that remained intertwined.


Aeryn smiled back, although this time he was at a slight loss for words. Yet again, she was right, but it was just down she darted from these situations that seemed interesting. She wasn't running, he felt. She was prolonging them so that they would happen again. Or, maybe she sincerely wanted to see the rest of the garden. It was fairly large, and he was sure there would be more impressive places. Not to mention, they hadn't even reached a place to sit or any fountains. Aeryn was sure a garden this magnificient would have something along those lines. So, he simply replied, "Lead on, but I already know what my favorite flower is in this garden.


Slipping away from him once more, leaving only their fingers intertwined, Lexie continued walking along the path that had been set out for visitors to follow, her arm losely swinging at her side while her other gently guided Aeryn along, remaining linked to him both physically and spiritually. For the time being, Lexie's eyes wandered through the vines of flowers that were elegantly laced along the labyrinth, creating a stream too beautiful for the eyes to ignore as they wove their way through the entirety of the piece that was the garden itself.


Even the cobblestone beneath their feet was designed to add to the flow of the elegance, spindles upon spindles of lines overlapping, flowing like water from one stone to the next. And with each step that Lexie moved forward, with each step that Aeryn moved forward, they came ever closer to the sound that soon reached their ears. The sound of water rushing through air only to splatter back into a pool of itself. This was a part that Lexie very firmly remembered and as she turned around, watching for Aeryn's reaction, she got just close enough to the fountain that she could feel a light spray of water rush through the wisps of her hair. "I remember visiting the gardens before, but this is the part that always brings me back," she commentated briefly, curious to see what Aeryn would think.


Aeryn knew it. There would be a fountain somewhere. The subtle nuances if the area around them created a powerful atmosphere. Some details weren't precisley so small, however. The white marble of the fountain was chiseled with a keen eye, as it kept a perfect trim around its transitions with several different marks alongside the DWMA symbol. It had deep groves and beautifully sculped protrusions making the entire piece unique. The cobblestones below them that led up to it were even grouted into it, making the transition seemless. Everything around them was centered not only on the flowers, the vines, the trees, but the man-made pieces to bring the entire area to life.


But, the appearance alone wasn't the entirety of the event. The water that splashed on them was cool and refreshing, which was only made even more rejuvenating by the shade that was created by the treecover on the path to the fountain. The entire area was cool, lush, and relaxing. Oddly, it was remote, too. Aside from the chirps of birds and a few bugs, it was as if they were alone inside Death City, and that was just amazing.


"I can see why," Aeryn replied, "I feel like more people should appreciate this, but I bet so many students never even think to come to this place once they get to the DWMA. I didn't even know it existed." Aeryn smiled again, warmly, sincere; he was smiling the whole time, really, but this one was far brighter. He turned to Lexie and said, "I am glad I met you, Lexie. I would have never came here or seen any of this without you..."


"Many students don't think of it," she offered, a memory sparking within her own mind. "I tried bringing Xander here once, to show him..." And then Lexie realized she was talking about the wrong things, the wrong memories, the wrong people. 'He didn't even look. He just walked right through it like it wasn't even there,' she finished, sending him the stray thought although it was nowhere near a complete thought nor was it a complete memory. Perking up, almost forcing herself to refocus, Lexie added, "I'm glad I got to come here with you, though. It's like I'm seeing everything for the first time."


Aeryn listened to her. The entire speech about her brother. He could only feel parts of it, but he could feel how much she still cared for him, too. Like he was broken. It was hard to explain, but it was like he was a broken toy that she didn't want to throw away. Aeryn couldn't remember siblings if he had any, so he wouldn't know how to really interpret that bond. Maybe it was stronger. Maybe she just didn't want to explore that feeling while on a date with Aeryn. Either way, the thing about it was that anything that was broken at some point wasn't. Aeryn saw Xander as this jerk that abused his sister and just had a generally poor disposition about everything, but Lexie didn't. Aeryn had no reason to question that.


Aeryn tugged her over to one of the wooden seats out of the way of the water. It was a little far off, but that was probably to avoid it getting too wet from the fountain. Aeryn wanted to sit, so he patted the spot beside him. He wanted to do more than sit, honestly. He wanted to talk. Lexie probably had no idea she just shared how she felt about her brother to Aeryn, but he intended on making it known. "I know Xander is important to you... I can feel it," Aeryn said. He paused, though. His lips mouthed a word, but he actually didn't know how to go about this. It was an awkward silence, but there was definitely more to it. "He wasn't always like he is, was he?" Aeryn asked. It was up-front, blunt even. Unfortunately, it was the best he could come up with.


Lexie sat down next to Aeryn without even thinking about it, not realizing how much had actually slipped through her partial memory, her tiny strand of thought. Then she heard the question and it hit her. It hit her hard. Lexie could do nothing but just sit there for a moment, actually glad at this point that they had sat down in the first place. By this point, her smile was gone because this was something that no one seemed to understand and it wasn't something she liked to try to explain, if for no other reason than the fact that no one understood it.


"No." At first, that was all she said. It answered the question by all technicalities and it was really the only immediate answer she ever had prepared for such a question. She tried to look up at Aeryn again, tried to guide her blue eyes to his green ones because within his gaze was such a good place to be; it took everything else away. At the same time, though, she was afraid of what she would find within his emerald eyes.


His eyes were just as passionate as they were a moment ago. Outwardly, it seemed he was just as sincere about this conversation as he was when he called her beautiful. There was no lack of conviction or confidence within him, and that could have been seen without her ever touching his hand. "I want us to be real... not just to be enamoured by a pretty face. I see so much more in you. So, I want to know how you feel. If he's important to you even after all of that, I want to know what happened. I want to have some reason to just let everything he does go for your sake. And, maybe, someday I'll get him to admit he approves, if only to keep you happy," Aeryn explained.


Lexie met his eyes again, understanding what he meant, where he was coming from, why he was asking. It was because he cared and unfamiliar as she was with such a thing, it also brought back the perfect memory, the perfect place to start. Lexie knew what was going to happen. There was not another living soul who knew it all, who knew everything she had been through - everything that she AND Xander had both been through - and here she had found someone who was actually willing to listen.


For a moment, Lexie held her memories in. She looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his, as she sent him a single thought, a though not pertaining to their date or what she was about to share with him. Rather, it was request of comfort as her hesitance came through in her gestures. 'Will you hold me?' It was a very hesitant question and she tried to make it very clear what she meant. She just wanted to feel his arms around him, to feel the warmth of him while they shared in the memories she had kept locked away for so long.


Aeryn snaked his arm behind her shoulder where she sat, then pulled her in close. In that warm moment under the summer sun, sitting across from the marble fountain and surrounded by nothing but green leaves and beautiful flowers, Aeryn held her close. It was just them. Just silence. He didn't intend on saying anything else; he just wanted her to feel him and take her time. He was there for her no matter how long it took.


Lexie's hand brushed against his as she was lying in his arms and although she had no plan as to what would come next, she did have a start. It was a simple memory, a brief memory, a memory she was lucky she remembered at all, and Lexie knew that. Perhaps it was the reason she held it so close. Her and Xander had been little kids, both probably something like toddlers although she didn't have a time to match with it to be certain. And they were playing leap frog. It was just the two of them, just hopping over each other one by one until they got to the end; then they turned around and came back. They were both smiling, they were both happy, and at the end, they gave each other a hug, both happy that they had made it to the end and back again.


Sadly, that was one of the few good memories she had, unclouded by the things that had decided to go wrong and untainted by fear. There was the night, the scream. Her and Xander had been hiding in their room, lying in the same bed because they were so afraid, when their father came in and told them it was time to leave. Even in such a bad memory, though, Xander and Lexie left hand in hand, twins they started and it seemed that even in fear, twins they remained. Although now, they were twins on the run from some unknown thing neither one of them dared to ask about. Their father became the only other person they knew and although bothe children knew his actions were wrong, neither one did anything. He was their dad; they loved him and they were afraid for in the back of their minds, both knew who they had heard scream that night. Running continued for much of the memories and time blurred over what Lexie offered.


One moment marked the change of things and although that lone moment had a whole lot of other circumstances to go along with it, the moment was the only thing Lexie remembered. She had learned how to transform into a weapon. It was a gene from her father; it was a gene he was glad to see had not repeated itself in his son. Forced into a partnership out of their father's desire for power, slowly but surely, their father flooded Xander's mind and slowly but surely, his care for Lexie decreased. Lexie couldn't remember the first time Xander had actually hit her or the last time that he had offered her a comforting embrace because the truth was that they overlapped. Somehow, Lexie had endured even as her father taught her brother she was just a weapon to be used.


But she could only endure so much. Memories washed together again. Simple slaps began to leave marks, bruises became broken bones and the constant presence of her brother in her mind became a nightmare that the memories of the past could no longer counter because things were becoming all too terrifying. She had fled. In the middle of the night Lexie had managed to do the one thing her father never thought she would do because he was fully aware that she still cared. Unsure how she got there, Lexie had found the DWMA and begged for their help, to which they were more than willing to comply although it had to be her to lead them back. And she did. In a single move, her father had been imprisoned and her brother very nearly was as well; Lexie's mercy and pleading had saved him as she said he could get better, he could be fixed.


And yet he blamed her for all of it. He blamed her, branded her a traitor, and to this day, all of it continued. Everything she had tried to run from still flowed through Xander, uncured by the DWMA and Lexie could not fight back because she still believed what she had said on the day that she had led the DWMA to him. She had to. As long as Lexie held on to the first memories, she had to.


Her head practically buried in Aeryn's chest by the time she was finished, Lexie could do nothing but cry, her tears soaking into his shirt as her hand held onto his, her grip tight against the memories of her own pain, and even worse, her own sorrow.


Aeryn understood where she was coming from. He didn't have the ability to relate, but he understood. Maybe not as much as someone whom had went through something similar, but he got it. It was a lot to take in and the darker, depressing aspects of it were somewhat what he expected, but honestly, he couldn't expect everything. He couldn't have known about her father or his mentality or what Xander had become because of him. He saw how someone had oversaw her for Xander, how she was objectified. How she wasn't really treated as a person. She wasn't invisible to Aeryn, but she wasn't a weapon, either. She was her own person, and right now, she was trembling and upset. He held onto her tightly, his arms entirely wrapped around her. All he whispered was, "Let it out..."


It wasn't even clear whether Lexie heard him or not although she did seem to stop trying not to cry. Whether or not it was because of what Aeryn said never really came out. And though she could barely manage to squeeze breaths in between her sobbing, somehow she managed to squeeze out a statement, entirely jumbled in her sea of emotions although her hand still held onto Aeryn's which made the words clear enough. "I just want him back..." She felt horrible for thinking it, terrible for saying it, but in all reality, if she could have had one wish in the world, it would be to have her brother Alexander back as the person she remembered him to be. And afterwards it was only more tears, more sobbing, more saltwater draining along the sides of her cheeks.


Aeryn could feel her despair. Her desire. She was clinging to a forlorn memory of someone that might not even exist anymore. Aeryn had no idea if Xander could ever go back to the man he used to be. The soul... the soul was a unique thing. It was the culmination of the body and the mind. It was the spiritual essence of a person; everything they ever thought, everything they ever done, every feeling they had and action they commit to. Changing a mind may be difficult, but not impossible. Maybe... maybe there was a way to get Xander back. Aeryn had no clue, honestly, but if he could have moved the Heaven and the Earth, he would have shattered every barrier between them to do so for Lexie at this point. Changing the soul, though, was next to impossible. Once a soul had been corrupted, there was no ritual, no wavelength - no power in the world that could cleanse it. Not if it had been corrupted for too long. Lexie had to dig so deep for these memories of her brother that Aeryn wasn't exactly confident that Xander could ever return his soul to that point. Not much was more pure than the soul of a child, and Xander wasn't some little boy anymore.


Instead, Aeryn nuzzled his head into her hair and let her continue crying. He held her close and just let her pour everything out. Every little thing she held in. Every emotion that no one else listened to. She didn't need words. She didn't need to explain it. It was right there out in the open, and Aeryn was there for all of it. He didn't care if Lexie wanted to stay there in this exact same position for the rest of the evening or if she calmed down in the next few minutes. Aeryn was going to be there for her. Missing a single meal at lunch was a small price to pay if it meant something so important to Lexie.


And it was there that the two of them sat, Lexie lying in Aeryn's arms on a bench in the gardens of the DWMA. Time was irrelavent and over the passing of seconds and minutes, Lexie quite honestly didn't notice as any amount of them came or went on by without anything changing. However, there did come a time where the tears began to slow and her breathing slowly calmed though she still laid in Aeryn's arms, not precisely because she needed to anymore, but because it was simply where she wanted to be.


She didn't know what to say. She didn't know how they moved on. She didn't know if things even would move on. Lexie had never shared any of her memories with anyone before so the more she laid there, the more anxious she became. He hadn't said anything and she didn't even know where to start. For the time being, she decided not to, rather than to say something that would mess the whole thing up. Instead, she reached out, grabbing a strand of his bright read hair as she absentmindedly began twirling it within her hand, wondering if he would notice; wondering what he thought; wondering if after all this, he would still want to walk through the rest of the gardens with her.


Aeryn didn't mind the time as it passed. He could feel everything radiate through her. Every emotion. He knew she was exactly where she wanted to be. Bar Xander returning to his old self, it felt like she wouldn't want to be anywhere else with anyone else other than this exact moment, and Aeryn had no intention on ruining that. He would let that moment be as long as she wanted it to be. As long as she needed it to be, really. He let her be her own person, and be that person with him. He felt the peaks and high points of her despair, but he could also feel her slowly calm down. He could feel the storm inside her pass. The transition from a roaring tiger to a mewing kitten. Once she began to twirl his hair, he let out a smile. He hoped that this wouldn't just help her now, but it would be something that would help her period. While he didn't want to break the perfect silence of the moment, he wanted to tell her that it didn't have to be just one moment. It could be as many as she wanted...


Aeryn let his emerald eyes gently fall back onto hers. He wasn't sure if she was looking at him yet, but he wanted to see her. He let his thumb glide over her cheek to wipe away the last trail of tears left, and he hoped her eyes weren't too red from it. She had the most amazing blue eyes he had seen, although at this point, he was easily baised. He was baised about a lot of things at this point. He wanted to somehow calm Xander down, to make him more amiable, if only for Lexie. At the same time, he couldn't stand anyone treating her or Kass poorly. He had a lot to think about. A lot to consider. He likely already burned his bridge with Xander, so he had no idea if he could ever do anything for Lexie in that regard. He had so many ideas, yet in this moment, the thing he wanted most was to see her eyes again.


As Aeryn's hand brushed her cheek, Lexie's head turned up to look at him, still flooded with anxiety because he still hadn't said anything, and in her face, that showed. Her eyes were reddened from all the crying, all the tears, yet the blue still remained as she found her gaze drawn to his eyes. It gave her a lot to consider as she met his gentle stare and for the moment, she also forced herself to consider that he was still there, he still held her in his arms just as she had asked him to. Continuing to spiral his hair around her fingertips, not even realizing anymore that she was doing it, Lexie was lost in his eyes, lost in her own.


Finally, though, her anxiety got the better of her and her hand reached out to grasp at his, sending him a single coherent thought which she really tried to make clear even though her mind remained a sea of swimming emotions. 'Say something... please. I... I don't know what to say...'


"Smile for me," he replied. He was a simple request, but it broke the silence. He smiled to her as well, never breaking their gaze. He squeezed her hand, too. Ran his thumb over it gently. Everything about his reply was absolutely gentle, from the softness of his voice to how he wanted nothing more than to see her smile again.


And it was hard. His request was a hard one for Lexie to meet, no matter how much she wanted to. Her own mind was flooded with sadness, with darkness, with pain and here out of the blue she had been asked to smile. Yet the more her eyes stared into Aeryn's own, the more she realized that even though her mind was in such a state, he was the one person who she actually had reason to smile for. Even in the blackness of her mind, he was a point of happiness, a point of light. And so it was that Lexie asked, "Is that all?" Her words guided a soft smile onto her face, her lips curving slightly as she continued to keep his gaze.


"Heh... you know, Lex, the very first moment I saw you, I let go of Kassana so that she wouldn't know how beautiful I thought you were. I wanted those thoughts to be mine because, well... it'd be easier to handle if you rejected me," he explained. He was trying to change the subject, to make her smile brighter, to transition into a whole new chapter of their date. "I saw you while you were teared up sitting down, face all red and puffy just like right now. But, I couldn't believe how gorgeous you were despite that. I don't care if you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to; it won't make you an ounce less beautiful to me," Aeryn explained.


"And I remember how surprised I was when you first walked up to me... when you first spoke to me," Lexie added. "I had no idea who you were and you didn't know a thing about me, but you still saw me. Even when I was afraid you didn't..." Pausing for a moment, Lexie thought about what else was running through her head and what else there waas to say. "I'm still not used to it, you know. I still feel like I'm gonna fade away again..." Lexie was lost in her own thoughts, not even knowing the sense behind her own words. She knew Aeryn saw her; that much rang out every time they touched, everytime they spoke, everytime their eyes met. "And then part of me just wants to stay here forever, and it's like back in the hall; we simply can't."


"But we can always come back," he told her. He couldn't pull her in closer; she was already laying on his chest. But, he could hug her just a little tighter. She wasn't going to disappear on him. She was worried about fading away. About him just not noticing her. Aeryn was far more worried about her actually not being there. The thing was, Aeryn would notice her. Every day. If she was gone, he would likely be the first to notice. The first to worry. The first to ask questions. Aeryn actually had no qualms about going directly to Death himself regardless of what he was doing to find out where Lexie was. Nothing would stop Aeryn if he really wanted something.


"It's only been a couple days... give it time. Give us time. I promise it'll be better. You can count on me being there every day after class to take your hand. To walk you to those silly lockers. To go with you wherever you want to go in all of Death City. I would go anywhere for you, Lex," Aeryn said. Admittedly, it was a bit melodramatic. Granted, everything Aeryn said was just a tinge melodramatic. But, in this particular case, he was intentionally pushing it over the edge solely to emphasize it to Lexie. Aeryn was completely mesmerized by her.


Lexie lifted her head off of his shoulders for a moment, and only for a moment. It was merely a movement to free up her own arms and allow her to return his embrace, the embrace that she had been lying in for so long as so many things became clear. With her arms wrapped around him, Lexie smiled at him, this one brighter than the previous she had managed, before she put her head onto his shoulder completing the embrace. "Every day..." she repeated. It wasn't a question, wasn't a clarification. She understood what he meant. She just wanted to taste the words for herself because she couldn't remember the last time she had been able to count on someone.


"Wherever I want to go... anywhere..." It was all new to her. New tastes, new sounds, and as she repeated each word while her arms were still wrapped around them, her hold on him only grew tighter because she knew that eventually she would have to let go, if only for a while. Finally, though, she knew she had to let go, her grip loosening just enough to allow her to lift up her head without colliding with his. "Does lunch count as anywhere?" And once more she smiled because she was pretty sure it did.


Aeryn realized that Lexie was contemplating everything he said. He hoped it would strike a chord when he said it. That it would resonate within her and inspire her with new ideas. Or, maybe shed some old ones. Really, though, he wanted to reassure her that she would be one of his main focuses. That she would most definitely be important to him. It seemed that Aeryn did exactly that, and as she hugged him tighter, he hugged her right back. Of course, the bright smile that she shined him most definitely cemented in the fact that he had done something right. Of course, he did have to prove it to her. He was sure it wouldn't be too difficult. Mostly make sure that Kass was aware he would meet Lexie, but those were thoughts for later.


"It sure does. Anywhere in all of Death City," he told her. In all reality, he didn't know any places to eat within Death City. There was the cafeteria, but how romantic was that? Death Robbins was just for ice cream. This was another moment when his outdated views somewhat presented a problem. However, he was pretty sure that Lexie had somewhere in mind. And, if she didn't, he was sure she could come up with something. If anything, they could just stroll through the city until they found a place that looked nice; Aeryn wouldn't have cared either way.


Lexie was the one who ended their embrace, gently freeing herself from his arms wrapped around her as she stood up from her spot on the bench. Part of her regretted it - breaking the embrace. Yet another part of her rememberd that it wasn't forever, and she was sure she would find herself back there soon enough. "I think I know of a nice little place," she commented. "And I think you'd like it too." She offered her hand to him, the small gesture being something she didn't even need to think about anymore because there was no reason not to do it.


"There's a little cafe," she explained. "It's just a small place on a little corner in the city. They have little tables outside, umbrellas for when the sun's just a tad too bright, and there's always a song playing just soft enough to exist."


Aeryn got up and took her hand with nothing less than delight in doing so. At this point, grabbing her hand was becoming second nature to him. He honestly wondered if Lord Death had ever considered what would happen by letting him out of the room. He also wondered what would happen if Lexie ever figured out what he was. Again, more thoughts for later. Aeryn followed right behind Lexie wherever she would lead them, mostly at this point listening to the description of the place. "The only thing it's missing is a girl as beautiful as you," he replied, "but, I think we're going to fix that."


--------


Arriving at the quaint little shop, the sun was just starting to sink from the sky although the streetlights kept the sight of the city bright enough. Four tables lined the sidewalk outside the little corner cafe and a single row of flowers was potted in the windowsill - the glass opened just enough to let out the slightest tease of the aroma that dwelled within the confines of the place. Even then, though, even with the sights of peacefulness and the gentle tease, the little place appeared quiet enough for it to also be a nice stop for the two students who happened to push open its doors.


Aeryn took a long look around the place. It reminded him a lot more of his time than some of the other places he had seen in Death City. Small, simple tables made of a furnished wood, chairs just as simple, although the umbrellas were something he hadn't seen - but not too different from the tarps used to shade stands and tables back then. Of course, he was comparing this little place to others that had sharp corners, bright neon lights, glass tables and awkward looking chairs, serving things like coffee and odd cakes. So, yeah, this place was comfortable for him.


Considering all the tables were vacant, they could sit wherever they wanted. This time, Aeryn guided them down to a table just barely closest to the flowers along the windowsill. Those same flowers merged into stone planters that had simple little shrubs with little white blooms, and by this time, Aeryn had grown a fondness of shrubbery. A little bit of it, also, is that he wanted to sit outside. He still remembered the long weeks trapped inside Death's room and how boring that was, so the sense of freedom of just being outside made him more comfortable than any four walls.


"This place is nice," Aeryn told Lexie as he pulled her seat out for her.


"I'm glad you like it," Lexie replied. "I thought you would." She took the seat he had offered as she spoke, realizing that she had to let go of his hand and that simple fact saddened her ever so slightly and so it was with reluctance that she let go. She did, however, move on, proceeding to open up her menu and examine the contents inside.


"So, what do you like?" Aeryn asked. He had opened up his menu as well, but honestly, it took a little bit to figure out. He understood how prices worked; Death explained that some time back when Aeryn asked why everyone was using the little cards and paper bills. But, the layout of a menu wasn't something he was quite accustomed to. Not to mention, a lot of the things on it... he didn't even begin to recognize. He was probably just going to order whatever she did.


Lexie's eyes perused the menu before they fell on exactly what she intended to order and she answered Aeryn's question without hesitation. "Last time I had chicken parmesan and it was fantastic," the delight in her voice was obvious. "And the best part isn't even the chicken parmesan itself. They bake bread fresh everyday so the garlic toast is just delectable." Glancing up from the menu, she watched Aeryn for a moment before asking, "And you? See anything you like?"


Aeryn couldn't resist the urge to reply, "I see you."


Lexie's instinctual response was nothing short of laughter. Although she tried to keep her face serious for a moment, it failed. It failed utterly and completely.


Aeryn chuckled with her. It was good to see a reaction like that after she spent most of the evening crying on his shoulder. "In all seriousness, I have no idea what half the things on this menu are. So, I'll just order what you do. You haven't disappointed me yet."


"Really?" Lexie was left in brief confusion for a moment as she calmed down from her small fit of laughter, opening her menu back up and glancing over the contents that she hadn't quite paid attention to before. She didn't really think anything the cafe had to offer was that out of place or really even foreign at all. However, she really couldn't think of anything else to offer him because as far as she was concerned, the chicken parmesan was the best. Really it was the only thing she had had off the menu, though.


As Aeryn was about to reply, a guy right about their age came up to them in a simple apron with a pad and a pencil. With a quick, professional smile, he asked, "You guys ready?" and looked at both of them. Aeryn gave him a quick grin and replied, "Sure. I'll take tea and whatever she's having. Unsweetened, pelase." The waiter then turned his attention to Lexie after jotting down the drink, oddly putting the pressure on her.


"Strawberry lemonade, please, if you still have it," Lexie requested. "And I'll have the chicken parmesan, please, with the bread just a little crispy." She added in her own preference on the end with just a bit more emphasis. For a moment, she thought she was done although she recalled one final comment, "And can you go easy on the ice in the lemonade, please?" That was really the end of it though as her gaze quickly left the waiter and turned back to Aeryn.


The waiter was quick to jot down what she said; they were all simple amendments to regular menu items with a few extra instructions. Nothing he didn't hear daily. And, of course, lemonade was popular in the summertime; strawberry lemonade wasn't a big step from. All in all, it was a pretty quick order and since he would be personally making their drinks, he just made a mental note of the ice. He turned to Aeryn and asked, "Sir, would you like your chicken prepared the same way as well?" to which Aeryn gave a quick shrug and said, "Sure."


Right after that, the waiter darted off to hand the slip to the kitche and make the drinks. Meanwhile, Aeryn reached his hand over the table to offer it to Lexie. He then made the quick comment, "I don't think there's a luckier student here."


Lexie reached out and took his hand as he offered it before she grinned and asked, "Luckier than me, you mean?"


Aeryn shook his head and smiled even brighter back to her. While the sun was going down, it hardly dimmed his grin. "Not a soul here luckier than the gentlemen hold your hand, miss," he replied, playing on her words.


Lexie's smile softened, not shrinking persay, as she looked straight into his eyes and nearly whispered, "I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, then." It was said playfully, her grin growing afterwards and once again their eyes were locked.


Aeryn didn't quite get to come up with a witty reply before the waiter returned with the drinks in hand and sat them in front of Aeryn and Lexie. With a quick nod, he said, "your dishes will be out shorty," then darted off. Aeryn picked up his tea for a quick sip, admittedly being quite parched. It was a warm summer day and he hadn't drank since one of the breaks from class. Of course, this most definitely made it hard to sustain any eye contact.


As the waiter walked over, Lexie nearly jumped, having forgotten that she and Aeryn weren't exactly alone anymore although she did regain composure quickly as he set down their drinks. Her eyes flickered, breaking the gaze, as she glanced at her hand, still locked in his on the top of the table, before she too took a sip of her drink, savoring the taste of the tiny strawberry tidbits that floated around inside.


Setting the glass down on the table, Lexie once again glanced at Aeryn as she wondered what she should say next or what he would say next. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that while he knew a lot about her, she honestly knew very little about him. Lexie wasn't sure where to start though, which question to ask first. She felt that as close as they were, she should have known more than she did. Suddenly, she realized it didn't matter what she asked first because they had every day; Lexie would have all the time in the world. So she just said the first one that popped into her head. "What's your favorite color?" It probably seemed like the most random thing ever, and she realized that.


Aeryn was honestly enjoying his drink. He almost felt bad for the slight cut off for Lexie, but he could only go so long without something. His glass was half-empty by the time he sat it down, and once he did, he realized Lexie was enjoying her drink far more thoroughly than he was his. Admittedly, Aeryn hadn't quite come to the realization of how much sweet things were openly and frequently enjoyed. It was probably one of the things he was adapting to slowest.


When she asked what his favorite color is, Aeryn had to honestly think it through. That wasn't a thought he had considered in a long, long time. Favorite colors, really, were an idea that stemmed mostly from childhood, and Aeryn couldn't even remember his. While most people would immediately recall what their favorite color was, Aeryn had to honestly think it through. The look on his face also told the story. He was obviously trying to think it through and the contemplation was plain on his face. "I would say... blue. It's a cool color. Like water. It's almost always peaceful," he explained, "but, most importantly, it's the color of my two favorite things in this world."


It took a moment for Lexie to realize what he meant. She saw that he had to think about it and at first, that made her curious. She had never considered it to be too hard of a question. However, as he finished his answer and Lexie thought about it, she came to understand and her face flooded red. She tried to remain inquisitive and continue on with her question, "Oh?" but she couldn't do it. She would've finished with, 'And what might those be?' but she already knew the answer and she couldn't manage to finish.


Aeryn watched her as she blushed. As soon as it dawned on her what he was talking about, she lit up brighter than the sunset that was just behind them. He let out a soft chuckle before he added, "Red was a close second... your hair... that blush. But, neither one of them hold a candle to your eyes."


Lexie's blush settled into a smile that grew on her face although her eyes narrowed on him, filled with mischief, inquisition, curiosity. "There has to be more to you though, more than me..." It wasn't quite a question the way she said it although her eyes conveyed the question for her, gently, softly, but still asking nonetheless.


The question she was asking was one he asked himself all the time. Just who was he? Before this, it consumed him. Figuring out who he was. Why he was bound to those others. Not only that, he wondered how they would react tonight in The Dark Korner. This was entirely new to him - to all of them, and if it wasn't, he had no clue. The point still stood, though, that he would have to dart around this question because, well... he didn't know.


"You could say that it's a lot simpler place where I come from. I unfortunately don't think Lord Death would like it if I explained so quickly... he pulled me aside for a reason. It's just..." Aeryn paused for a moment. It was incredibly difficult to capture what he wanted to say into words. Or even make a coherent sentence. "It's just that I never knew the world had so much to offer. The DWMA has opened me up to more than I ever imagined in my wildest dreams. It's even where I met you."


As he mentioned Lord Death and being pulled to the side, Lexie remembered something - something both she and Kassana had both been very concerned about that happened only a day prior. "You..." she was hesitant to actually ask the question. "You had mentioned you thought you might get locked away again?" This time, she said it as a question.


"When I first got to the DWMA, Death insisted on watching me close. The best way to explain it is... that I'm unique. I've never really done anything wrong, but there's potential. Potential quite a bit worse than anything Xander could do. So, I spent a few months as Death's roommate - quite literally. I watched some of the students, he asked questioned, we played a lot of chess. He cheats, by the way. Point being, yesterday was the first day that I stepped out of his room since I got here," Aeryn explained. Technically, he was tellling the truth. Realistically, he was warping the truth until it barely resembled its actual form. He danced around the question because he didn't know what he was allowed to explain.


All of a sudden Lexie was afraid. It wasn't the same fear that had plagued her last time, not the fear of not being seen, of fading into nothing. She realized she should have been afraid of the opposite now. Fear that he could be taken away from her. And there was something else as well. Something about the way he said it, saying that he could potentially be worse than Xander, terrified her. It brought back some of the memories she had only recently admitted she had - earlier that day, in fact. It brought back memories of how bad things had really gotten for her, stuck with her brother, even though she hated admitting that it had really gone that far.


She couldn't bring herself to say anything, though, not as she reminded herself that they were in a public place at the moment. Lexie wanted to reign in her emotions, to not break down like she had last time because this was different - a different place and a different fear. Instead she squeezed Aeryn's hand tightly for a moment, sending him the panic that had just barely started to flood into her mind.


Aeryn received that panic, but he remained calm. While he didn't know what he could say about himself, he was sure a moment like this would come. He hadn't precisely prepared for it, but he was in the right mentality to address it. "Do you know why people date, Lexie?" Aeryn asked. Rhetorical, obviously, but it was to set the tone of the upcoming conversation. "A long time ago, it was a long, tedious process of courting. It rarely was as simple as a quick question. Men would do these extravagant things to try and win affection, especially from a girl as beautiful as you. There were these things that were expected of them. Gifts, maybe poetry - just so many steps before anything was even considered. Thing was, a lot of the time, it didn't matter. Parents arranged marriages for whatever reasons they wanted, so you might not even get to date. Weird thought, huh? Aeryn continuned explaining, still rhetorical.


"Things have changed a lot since then. You get to choose who you want to be with based on your happiness. Who you think is best for you. No one else. We're dating to get to know one another, to see if we're that person, and this is only our first date. No one, not even Lord Death himself has any idea how things will go. Thing is, that's true for any relationship and right now I'm telling you that there's just one extra chance. If it bothers you too much, we can just try being friends. But, I wouldn't like that. I've got a lot of things to learn about the world. I didn't even know about electricity 'til I got here. I think it would be so much better to learn them with you. So, what I'm really saying is that this is all just to test out if we can make each other happy, if we might be end up being worth something a bit bigger than just a few dates," Aeryn tried to explain. Honestly, he was getting somewhat upset with himself. He didn't know what direction to take this. It wasn't like things with Kass. She was his weapon. His partner. Lexie was, well, the girl he was dating. It felt different and it seemed so much more stressful. Aeryn was scared of losing her. "I guess I should say you've made me a lot happier than I was for as long as I can remember, but I'd understand if you felt it was too big of a risk..."


As Aeryn spoke, their connection remained. Each and every one of Lexie's reactions was readily available to him if he wanted them and this time, Lexie was aware of that. In fact, she hoped he would receive them because she didn't exactly have words. First there was confusion as he started talking about another time. She didn't understand how it was relavent, why it was important. Other things began to come together though. He had never been to the gardens, he didn't know the menu and just the way he looked at everything... 'One extra chance... one extra chance that what?' This thought - this thought in particular was an actual question in her mind. He had referred to Xander earlier and although Lexie didn't want to let her mind wander in that direction, her entire body shivered briefly as she recalled the last time he had decided to strike her. It wasn't something she intended to let slip through, but as she recovered, she realized she might have. She did, however, recover quickly enough to cringe at the word friend. Friend, to her, was just a person who pretended to see her when they really didn't.


Then Lexie finally managed to allow another thought to flood into her mind as he started to talk about it. He did make her happy. Sure, she understood that it was only their first date, but from the moment she had met him, he had managed to make her happy. He came back though, back to the point that scared her now moreso than the thought of losing him. It was the memory and the thought of something 'worse'. "What risk exactly?" she finally managed to say out loud, her voice quivering under the weight of her thoughts.


Aeryn sighed. The reality bore down on the situation when he had to answer this question. He knew it would carry weight with Lexie, but the sad reality of it was that it was absolutely true. Aeryn replied, "That I'll become someone I don't want to be." To Aeryn, this meant that he might give in to the Will of Saren. Or be forced to become Nariel. He didn't mind Szar, but that was beside the point. Aeryn ran the risk of at any time becoming someone entirely different, and honestly, that's the fear Lexie seemed to have. The Xander she remembered wasn't the one she saw now. The difference for Aeryn was quite literal, thought. Xander was still the same person, just sculpted by events. Aeryn, however, was literally shifting into different people. That wasn't something he could explain. Not yet. Not easily, either.


There was one thing in her mind at that particular moment that nothing he said, nor anything that happened would ever be able to change. That fact was simple and it was simply the sheer happiness she had felt at every moment she had been with him so far up until this exact one. And that fact only combined with the fact that she didn't want to go back to being invisible again. Sure, she wasn't used to being seen, but that didn't mean it was something she wanted to eliminate.


Really, only one thing was holding her back from ignoring this whole thing and going back to the simple serenity that she knew existed when she was with Aeryn. It wasn't simply fear. It was more specific than that. It was a fear that she would have to endure more pain than she had already had to face because the pain was something she remembered all too well. However, it was also something she had survived. Lexie had even escaped it once before, too.


Her blue eyes narrowed at him as she said with full sincerety, "You won't. I'm not going to let that happen, not again."


Right in time to ruin their perfect moment was their waiter, carrying the two plates of parmesan chicken and a single basket of fresh garlic breadsticks with just a little extra crisp to them. He first placed the basket between them, then slid each plate in front of the other. "I hope you enjoy! Tell me if there's anything else you need," he told them before politely walking back to the cafe. Aeryn looked down at the dish, then back up to Lexie.


"Maybe Lord Death will let me explain more some day... but I'm going to do everything I can to stay the person you want me to be. That I want to be," Aeryn said. He was trying to be serious. He was. But, the succulent aroma of the poultry dish was wafting right below his nose and he was admittedly so very hungry.


Lexie gave his hand a gentle squeeze as soon as the food was set in front of them, realizing that she was also hungry and that she wasn't going to be able to continue her current train of thought, not while such a scrumptious looking plate of food sat right in front of her. Content for now, Lexie released her grip before she offered him a fresh smile along with the comment, "I hope you like it," while referring to the dish that sat in front of him before she began enjoying her own plate.


Aeryn unrolled his utensils from the cloth napkin they were rolled into, then laid them out to the left of his plate in order of largest to smallest. Afterwards, he picked up the knife and fork and began to tear into the chicken. It was odd. He was obviously hungry, but he was eating with a type of restraint. It was just another remnant of his past, and really it hardly slowed him down. He was incredibly hungry and what was on his plate vanished in minutes. He even used the garlic bread to sop of the remainders. For just this particular moment, Aeryn was far more focused on his food than Lexie.


Lexie was also busy focusing on the meal in front of her, though, so Aeryn's lack of focus on her was not an issue by any measure. Her eyes flickered up to him once and from what she could see, he was enjoying her favorite dish which wasn't something she intended to interrupt. She took the opportunity to enjoy her meal although she wasn't moving nearly as fast as Aeryn was.


Aeryn had finished probably just a bit too quick, but it wasn't a big problem. He was hungry enough. He waited for Lexie to finish her meal and nibbled on some of the leftover bread, which was delicious on its own. After a short while,though, he did decided to spark up some conversation. "So, Lexie... after today, do I get to call you my girlfriend?" Aeryn asked.


Lexie looked up at him, his question sparking enough interest to tear her attention away from the final bite of her meal. She tapped at her chin thoughtfully and playfully for a moment, wondering if she would be able to hold him in suspense over such a question. She took the last bite of her meal, deliberately chewing it slowly before she washed it down with a sip of her strawberry lemonade, all while her eyes were focused on him. Offering two words, she aimed to keep it that way for just a moment longer. "That depends..."


Aeryn darted her a quick smirk as he replied, "On what?"


"Do I get to call you my boyfriend?" She finally said after another moment's pause, lacking the motivation to try stringing things out any further although it was a fun thought. There were things she didn't know, risks she didn't quite understand, but in this decision, Lexie's happiness ruled over all other things and for the first time in a long line of memories, she was happy.


Aeryn chuckled for a moment. The brief pause she allowed to permeate the air actually put him on edge for a moment. He wasn't quite sure how she reacted to the former conversation they had, nor was he sure she had recovered from his long explanation. But, when she finally asked that question, he could feel the relief pour over him. "You and no one else, Lexie. Promise," Aeryn replied.


"Good," she smirked slightly, holding her hand out to him once more. "Because if you're my boyfriend, then I'm your girlfriend." And that was all that mattered to her in that moment in time.


"I wouldn't have it any other way," Aern replied. He grabbed her hand and darted her a quick smile. Aeryn chuckled as he realized it was completely dark around them. They had spent the entire day together, basically, and now it was nearly at its end.


Lexie returned his smile and glanced down at the table before she too glanced out the window, her gaze drifting up to the stars. "I didn't realize how late it was..." Lexie mumbled softly. "We should probably get going." Her voice made it sound as though she didn't entirely want to even though she was probably right in that regard.


Aeryn waved over the waiter, and he promptly returned with a little black wallet that contained their receipt. Aeryn pulled out a few bills, including a tip, and handed it back, then smiled to Lexie, "All done. A gentlemen always pays." He sighed lightly, though, realizing she was stuck in the moment still, staring at the starry sky. "I know, I don't want to, either... but if we stay out too late, we'll regret it tomorrow. Class is early," he told her before he stood up. Instead of offering her his hand, he offered her his arm. "We'll have plenty of other dates..."


Lexie nodded to Aeryn, agreeing with his statement before she wrapped his arm around his as he offered it. "So, are you going to walk me home?" she wondered out loud, her voice soft and gentle.


"I do believe so," Aeryn replied. He guided them outside of the eatery, but then hit the realization that he had no idea where Lexie stayed. He stopped for a moment, pausing, then looked to her with a quirky grin and asked, "Where... to?"


Lexie smiled at him, chuckling a bit as she too realized he would have no idea where her home was."I live in a small little complex right by the academy," she replied. "It's just a small little place and for now it's only me, but it's home." Lexie seemed happy as she talked about it as she started walking alongside him, content to be the one to lead the way as long as he was with her.


It wasn't a long walk even without maintaining a brisk pace and they arrived at a small apartment complex. Lexie stopped in front of it before unwinding her arm from Aeryn's and turning to face him. "So... I'll see you in class tomorrow?" It wasn't even a question she needed to ask, but she didn't really want to say goodbye which seemed to be the only other option.


Aeryn nodded, smiling at her as they stood in front of her complex. He took her hands into his, standing right in front of her for the moment. It was the last moment they would share that evening, so he intended on making it as sweet as he could. "Well I hope so. Seeing you after class is the only highlight of being stuck in that room," he told her.


At his comment, Lexie blushed brightly for a moment, her smile remaining. "Surely you have something to look forward to?" She said it teasingly although she also knew he was trying to be sweet and she appreciated it. Lexie lightly squeezed both of his hands with her own as he held them before pulling on them slightly, using the momentum to bring herself towards him and wrap her arms around him. One last hug before she had to leave; that was her thought, at least.


Aeryn hugged her back just as tightly, holding her close for a moment. The air was getting a slight chill; even in the summer, the nights could be cool. But, in this embrace, he felt the warmth between them, and it was nice. He leaned in to her ear and whispered, "I look forward to seeing you smile every day, if that counts." Aeryn stepped just a little closer, giving more room for Lexie to wrap around so that the hug could be just that little bit tighter.


Lexie let out a small breath at his whisper although he would feel the sides of her face curl into a smile as she squeezed him as tightly as she could manage when he took that slight step closer before she let herself pull away and look into his eyes, her hand sliding back into his for a brief moment. "Well, until tomorrow..." she muttered softly before she turned and started to walke towards her home, leaving her hand in Aeryn's until the distance between them became just barely too great.


Aeryn smiled and finished her last few words, "Until tomorrow, Lex... until tomorrow."

 

[Pariah Stark]

Collab Post

DaughterofAthena & Pariah Stark


Kassana & Aeryn


Duo (Red Streak)


Woodlands near the Gymnasium


No tags
​

Aeryn was waiting in the wooded area outside the courtyard that bridged all of the different areas for physical education, such as the track court, sports stadium, gymnasium, etc.. The more rugged terrain of the woods made it significantly less upsetting to the groundskeepers when it was destroyed, so students often went there for more intensive training. That much had remained the same for hundreds of years and the entire area had scars left on it from generations of students practicing there. It was odd, really. Despite the devasting attacks and intense training that occurred there, it was teeming with life. Trees that had been slashed in half, shrubs that were likely annihilated at some point, all regrown and as thick as ever. Life found a way there in the form of the dense foliage.


Aeryn was already practicing a few simple moves, basic kata of the standard DWMA martial arts from years ago. They were shared arts from the Hoshi family before the Star Clan ever existed and the worry that assassination techniques could ever cause problems. Aeryn was no expert, but they were the most fundamental basics he knew. Hard slams of open palms against the thick trees over and over. It was a simple routine, but he wanted to do something until Kassana arrived. He told her to be there by four thirty, which gave about an hour for both of them to do whatever they needed to after class. For Aeryn, that meant a quick walk through the garden with Lexie. He had no idea what Kassana was doing in that time; probably a light snack. Nevertheless, this was their first weekend to train as partners outside of the classroom, which was limited.


Kassana walked up to the wooded area, her hands crossed anxiously in front of her because she wasn't quite sure exactly what they were going to be doing although she did look around, taking in what their was to see. For a moment she just stood there watching Aeryn practice. She didn't want to interrupt him because she remembered how much concentration things like that took. She had seen Ivy run through something similar and she had even tried to learn, although she hadn't had much success so far.


"Umm..." Kassana hummed softly as she contemplated exactly how to let him know that he was there. "A-Aeryn?" She tried to be louder, tried to get his attention, but she wasn't doing so well at that. Her words were just a tad too soft which left her standing there for a moment, still watching him.


Aeryn continued to bash his open palms into the trunk of the tree. He wasn't as strong as Ivy, but his hands were tearing through the bark as if it were butter. It was a slow, gradual process, but it was also two-fold. With each concurrent hit, Aeryn allowed just a little more of his wavelength to seep into his strike. He was practicing control. He was practicing muscle memory. Each strike was being burned into the muscles of his new body while he also made sure he could control the exact amount of his wavelength he was using. Each hit was faster than the last. His body adapted quickly, his wavelength itself was as dangerous as ever. Before it even became visible on his hands, it was enough to make his open palms carve into the trunk of the tree like knives. This tree wasn't the only one, either. Surrounding him were four other debarked trees with similar markings, making it notable that he had been at this a while.


Kassana's eyes continued watching, perhaps even envying his intense concentration. She could tell he hadn't heard her because he hadn't even turned to look. Kassana took a few hesitant steps toward him before repeating slightly louder, "Aeryn?" Her voice was far more firm this time, although it still wasn't too loud. This time, she realized that though. She said it one more time, louder than both others. "Aeryn! W-we were g-going to meet at 4:30...?"


Aeryn heard her that time, but he was quite deep in the moment. He wanted to burn through this momentum he built up, so he started pounding into the tree faster. Harder. The force behind each strike was enough to cause shivers of pain into his arms that he forced himself to push through. After a few more hits, he drew back and peformed a spinning motion with an open-palm, ultimately created a wide-arced chop at the tree. This time, he didn't hold his Soul Force back at all, creating a bright, blue hue around his hand. Before his hand hit the tree, however, he stopped just an inch short, halting all momentum. His Soul Force did not halt. It continued on and broke directly through the tree, causing it to buckle under the intense force. As it cracked and began to fall, Aeryn kicked off the ground and into a mid-air flip, only to then kick off the trunk of the tree as it fell to force it to fall further into the woods. He landed back on his feet and looked toward Kassana.


"You're right, we are," he answered. Aeryn clenched his hands which were notably red from all of the strikes and waited for the tree to come crashing down behind him so that he could easily be heard. "I've been here waiting for a while, so I decided to train some without you. Normally I don't like actually killing the tree, but it won't matter just once," he explained. He then walked forward to Kassana with a simple grin. "Sure you'll be fine training with Ivy this morning and me now?" he asked.


Kassana's eyes watched with some amazement as the tree collapsed, her eyes being stuck on it for so long that she actually missed Aeryn's backflip through the air. When her eyes did turn back to him, it was obvious that she was impressed.


"I think I'll be alright," she replied quickly to his question. "Ivy and Demetri both knew I'd be working with you tonight and I think Demetri convinced Ivy to go easy this morning. I'm not quite as sore." She glanced down at her legs which still cramped just slightly, although there wasn't anything that she couldn't move at the moment so she didn't see any problems. "Besides, there's no point in all that training if I don't know how to work with you, right?"


"Good," Aeryn replied to her. He didn't want her to be so exhausted that any benefits she picked up from their training would be pointless. Aeryn intended on training her abilities more than her body, so she would need a sharp wit more than a hard body anyway. A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Aeryn wanted to expand her mind and empower her soul while Ivy was working on honing her body.


"I want to start off by transforming. We need to practice in your weapon form before we can do anything notably complex," Aeryn said. She was a weapon, so she needed to be in her weapon form. Plain and simple. Ivy was training her normal form, so there was no need to even begin to work on that. Aeryn wanted to be able to control their wavelength just like he did his own. He wanted to be able to calculate the exact amount of power was in each shot instead of always using their maximum ability.


Kassana nodded. Quite honestly, that had been what she was expecting and by now she had come to realize the importance of her weapon form although she still wasn't the happiest about what it actually was. "Mhm." Kassana mumbled it just slightly before her body started to glow in the process that she knew but tended to avoid. Slowly but surely, her weapon form took. Her body spilled out silver streams as the light began to grow brighter before it was so bright that the transformation took hold and left her slingshot form spinning in the air.


Aeryn was quick to grab Kassana in her slingshot form out of the air, then inspect her. He heard that if a weapon made a drastic change in their personal form, their weapon form would reflect it. Kassana might not have been training for long enough or it simply may not have been true. Either way, Aeryn really couldn't tell a difference. 'You remember how it works. I pour in my wavelength, you match it with yours, then its at its strongest to launch,' Aeryn said within their mind.


Aeryn then held her up and pulled back on the drawstring. 'That means one of us will be the limiting factor in how much we can pour into a shot. Or, we will lose control of the energy when it's fired. Either way, we need to figure out our limits, Aeryn explained. He then began to pour his Wavelength into the leather holder, creating a bright red ball of energy. He put in a large amount, but not overwhelming yet. He intended to increase it in increments until one of them couldn't do anymore.


'Yes, I remember,' Kassana confirmed. She recalled the time they had attacked the witch; it had seemed instinctual for her then. It had honestly just happened without her feeling like she needed to do anything about it. However, Kassana could already tell that this training was going to be different. She felt it would actually require her active effort, although that wasn't a bad thing. It was just different.


'One of us will be the limiting factor...' Kassana' s mind echoed. She didn't like the sound of that because if anyone was going to hold them back, she had a fairly good guess that it would be her. It seemed that no matter where or how she focused on getting strong, there was always something she was forgetting to work on, or just didn't have time for. 'I'll do my best,' she added in briefly, not wanting to say exactly how she thought it although Aeryn would likely know.


As Aeryn began to concentrate his soul wavelength into her weapon form, Kassana let his wavelength soak in while she worked on spiraling her own wavelength around it. Together, both wavelengths would be much stronger than they would be apart, and she knew that quite well. As the final combination coiled in the leather holder of her own weapon form, her silver wavelength had diluted it's pure red although it wasn't quite enough to leave it pink.


Aeryn could feel her match his wavelength with relative ease. It was quite impressive, actually. The power radiating from his hand was more than he could muster up alone, or at the very least without having taken a notable beating to empower himself with his wavelength. Kassana had matched his wavelength the first time almost the first try, so whether she knew it or not, she had some level of skill with this. Their work was half cut out for them.


Aeryn then began to steadily add more of his wavelength into the coiled bolt of energy stored in the leather holder, and he was hoping she would as well. Instead of putting in a bulk, it was more of a steady stream that slowly made it expand. 'Match my wavelength in the bolt exactly. No more, no less, Kass.' he instructed her, making sure she knew that meeting his exact stream would be necessary.


Kassana was briefly confused as she continued to wind her own wavelength around each wave Aeryn sent to her. 'I-I have been... I th-think,' she stutted softly to him while she continued doing exactly what she had been doing before. The resulting helix of their wavelengths slowly flowed into the holder, building its strength.


Although she didn't quite understand what he had asked, Kassana tried to watch what she was doing precisely. She made sure her own spirals didn't out do his although she didn't even think she was capable of such a thing to begin with. Every time Aeryn poured more of his soul in, Kassana could feel it, she could sense it and she could see it.


Aeryn continued this process for quite some time. Their bolt of energy continued to expand, however, it eventually reached a peak. Instead of growing larger, silver strands began to wrap around it and constrict it down. The more of his own Wavelength that he poured in, the more of the silver from Kassana that wrapped tightly around the ball and forced it to shrink in size. At one point, it was a large ball nearly the size of a softball, but by the time it was completely wrapped, it was down to the size of a golf ball.


Aeryn began to sweat and focus intensely on keeping the stream going. It was becoming more and more difficult. Not only for him to provide more, but for him to maintain it. In a split second, the ball that was completely surrounded by a silver, silken layer lit up a bright red as if it were a piece of molten iron being struck by a smith. Aeryn felt his hand become scorched by this immediate flare, and he released the bolt instinctively. This red streak traveled through the air at a far greater pace than the previous bolts they fired, creating a bright neon trail in its path.


Aeryn immediately looked down to his whelping hand, however, in the second moment after the release, he was knocked directly on the ground from the backlash of the bolt. He intended on firing it at the tree he knocked down, but instead, it hit an entirely different trunk significantly closer to them. The bolt bore right through the thick wooden trunk, then exploded violently inside it, causing it to topple backward and resulting in a shock wave that knocked Aeryn off his feet.


Kassana had to admit she was entirely confused. She had been able to feel the power of the bolt that had been fired although, having nothing to compare it to, Kassana had been unable to realize just how strong it was. She could feel Aeryn's wavelength begin to slow and that confused her even more. She didn't understand how he could've been tired when she wasn't.


Even furthermore, Kassana was shocked when Aeryn was knocked to the ground and when his shot missed. 'What happened?' she asked, more curious than anything else. She wanted to understand what had went wrong because she didn't see where she could have messed up at all.


'That was the apex... the bolt couldn't store any more power. I couldn't wield it, to be most precise,' Aeryn said as he dusted himself off. He looked down at his hand and could feel the burning sensation, but it honestly wasn't that bad. He likely did worse to Xander's face. It might sting, but it wouldn't be enough to halt their training.


'When we mix our wavelengths, I can't use Soul Force. I have no resistance to that, so it has to be under absolute control. When it turned red, that's when I lost control. It backlashed on me, not you. I had to let go because the only thing keeping it in place was you,' Aeryn further explained. Kass had a very surprising trait to her. Aeryn, for all of his training, couldn't match her natural affinity with her Wavelength. Maybe if he was empowered, but not normally. Aeryn was the limiting factor for their bolts.


Kassana was unable to contain her surprise at his explanation. 'You couldn't wield it?' she inquired curiously. 'Was it really that strong? I was holding it in place while you could not?' All of these things, the things that he had said, were not quite what she had been expecting to hear. It didn't seem that she was the limiting factor and Kassana didn't understand how that could be the case.


Kassana also noticed something else. Her perception of Aeryn was growing just a bit and she could sense that the backlash hadn't entirely been pleasant for him. 'Are you ok?' she added one more question onto the list she had so quickly fired at her meister.


'I'm fine. Stings, but we're far from done here. If you want to know how powerful it was, then you should take a look at the path of trees we cleared. The downside is that using such an ability in combat isn't practical. Staying still for that long would get us killed, so it's just for training," Aeryn responded to her before living her back up to aim at the initial fallen tree he intended on targeting.


'What it means is that you can hold more energy as a weapon than I can control as a Meister. It's not a huge surprise, either. Weapons amplify the wavelengths of Meisters, but Meisters are the source and the control. In our case, you amplify my wavelength, add to it and act as the medium. It only makes sense that at some point, I can't control the same energy you can,' Aeryn tried to explain. He felt it was lackluster, though, so he tried again:


'I hate to use this analogy, but think of it like this: if weapons are tools, then I'm doing manual labor. What I do 'by hand' per se, you will always be better at doing because you are built to. Every tool has a function, and your function makes you a lot better at holding our combined energy than me. In terms of raw power, I'm the one holding us back,' he added. He hoped this additional explanation would do better. He hated comparing her to a tool, but Kassana was a smart girl. He was sure that she knew that simple tools affected the output of force highly effectively, and that's the comparison he was trying to make.


Kassana paused for a moment, considering everything he had said. She did glance out to see the damage they had caused and was entirely surprised by what she saw. Then she contemplated another thing - the fact that it wasn't practical. Kassana actually understood that part, recalling how much time it had taken her to concentrate her wavelength around his own; it hadn't exactly been the fastest thing she'd ever done. 'So what is practical?' she wondered, not quite sure how they would actually work in a fight.


Again Kassana continued to mull over his words. She had never thought of herself as someone designed to hold a lot of energy and it was an interesting role to contemplate herself fulfilling. While Aeryn's comparison made sense, she still didn't believe the thought that she could possibly hold more raw power than him and although she said nothing about it, that thought likely slipped through. Instead, because she did understand his explanation, she asked a different question. 'So, what now?'


Aeryn poured a tiny sliver of his wavelength into the leather holder, creating the faintest red glow. The amount he created was actually incredibly small and without focus an inexperienced individual could miss it with Soul Perception. 'Match it. No more, no less,' Aeryn replied to her. This was a new test. He knew their limits, but he wanted to practice control. He wanted to get her familiar with matching blasts. He didn't want her to have to calculate it; he wanted her to do it naturally - without thought. That's what this next exercise was about.


Kassana could barely feel the amount of Aeryn's wavelength that she now held. It was there; that much she couldn't deny. But she couldn't even manage to perceive how small it was, and there was no way she could match something without knowing how small it really was. However, for once, Kassana managed to remain slightly calm despite her lack of knowledge and she listened. Kassana stopped and listened to the wavelength, thinking that perhaps, by guaging the sound, she could match it's volume. Slowly, the faintest amount of silver mixed with his, blending almost perfectly - almost. She had offered a bit more to the blast than Aeryn had and she also realized one other thing. It had taken her too much time.


Aeryn could feel her exact amount of energy, and he added to it just the tiniest amount to match it. He then release the bolt, allowing it to just barely hit the trunk he fired at. The force behind it was a little less than one of his empowered punches, but was impressive considering the amount of energy in it. 'You were off, Kass. Your Soul Perception needs work, but that's not what I want to focus on," he explained.


Aeryn poured a significant amount more into this next bolt. Enough for Kass to get an easy read on it. The bolt was now an easily-distinguished bright red and floated effortlessly between the leather ends he held pinched together. She had matched a similar amount of energy before with relative ease when they were chasing the Witch, so he hoped this would come naturally. This bolt, however, had a fair amount less energy than the last. Weaker bolts would extend training, and that was the goal.


Kassana could feel that he had to add more, that she had added too much of her own wavelength into the blast. As she felt it release, she wondered how she could get better. There had to be something. Of course, the answer looked her right in the eyes - practice. 'What do I need to focus on, then?' she asked Aeryn briefly, feeling as though his statement was left unfinished.


However, she didn't wait for a reply as he prepared another shot. Sensing the wavelength much more clearly this time, Kassana began to meld her own wavelength into the shot, watching it weave its way around Aeryn's. Again, it was slow, though not as slow as before since she didn't have to contemplate how to go about matching a wavelength she could more accurately sense. However, unlike last time, she did manage to match the wavelength to perfection.


'Consistency,' Aeryn answered her. Once he felt her match his wavelength perfectly, he released the bolt. It flew through the air like the red streak it truly was, and created a large impact in the trunk he fired at, cracking off an entire section of it and causing splinters to fly out. Aeryn then quickly poured the exact same amount of his Wavelength into the leather holder, then added, 'Again.'


Kassana watched their shot as it shattered the bark while she listened to Aeryn's reply, considering different ways to work on this. She truly did want to improve. As she felt more of Aeryn's wavelength flood the holder, she sensed it again, realizing it was the exact same as before. Kassana relied on her previous amount, concentrating that exact same wavelength into her weapon form's leather holder and although she was faster relying on their last shot, she knew that it wouldn't always work like that because it wouldn't always be the same.


Aeryn released the bolt, launching it at the next portion of the tree he chopped down. The resulting explosion was the exact same as the one before it, but by the time the bolt had actually hit, Aeryn had already refilled the leather holder. He simply spoke, 'Again.'


Kassana didn't even get a chance to watch their resulting shot because by the time she had felt the energy's release, there was already more coming in to replace it. Caught slightly by surprise at how fast they were going, Kassana found herself getting just a tad bit jumpy and as she watched streams of her wavelength flow into it again, she quickly lost track of whose wavelength was whose. Her own wavelength flooded into the holder for just a moment too long and the moment she cut it off, she could sense that it was too much. Kassana was thinking too much, but she didn't quite realize that that was the problem.


Aeryn yet again could feel her pour too much of her wavelength into the holder. His focus was as intense as it was when he was practicing the same strikes against the tree over and over, each with the exact same amount of his wavelength until he decided it was time to build up. In this case, Kassana was having difficulties just repeating the technique in quick successsion. He was sure, however, that Kassana would likely get hurt if he fired the bolt with an unequal amount of energy, and he didn't intend on teaching 'the hard way', so he met her energy difference with his Wavelength, then fired the bolt. Once it hit the tree, that little difference was enough to blow a significantly larger portion of the trunk off, if anything a testament to the proportional difference in strength mixing wavelengths made.


'Kass, you aren't focusing. I can almost feel your mind. You were watching the explosion instead of focusing on your energy. From now on, ignore everything around us. You need to practice before you can split your attention; it's just like when I told you to only focus on Hiro. Ignore what the bolts do. Instead, only focus on my words and the amount of energy you feel,' Aeryn told Kass. He then poured the exact same amount of his energy into the leather holster and waited. 'Don't think about it. Don't worry about making mistakes. Don't feel bad. Focus. Now... again.'


If Kassana could frown, she would have. She had known she had messed up and Aeryn's words only further confirmed it. 'Ignore everything?' Kassana didn't like the thought of that because it contradicted things she knew she would have to do eventually. When he had told her to only focus on Hiro, just a few days ago, he had also told her that eventually, she would need to be able to focus on multiple things at once. And Kassana wanted to be perfect.


However, before she could think of what to say, how to respond, Kassana could feel Aeryn prepare another shot and Kassana stopped everything in her mind except a single thought to Aeryn, 'One moment.' She remembered how she had been able to focus on Hiro and only Hiro. It had been a state of almost total serenity and she thought she could get there again. Maybe that would help.


Slowly, Kassana listened to the thrum of Aeryn's wavelength, hearing both the sounds that came from him as a person and the wavelength that she now held in her weapon form. And she knew she just had to match the sound. Her own wavelength shifted slightly before it joined in with Aeryn's, matching the energy he had sent in. She didn't know exactly how much of her own wavelength she had added in. All Kassana knew at that moment in time was that she could hear her own soul just as well as she could hear Aeryn's. Their volumes, at least, were in harmony.


Aeryn released the bolt, resulting in the same red streak that flew through the air before, creating yet another identical hole in the trunk. This time, though, Aeryn could sense what she was doing. She was hyperfocusing in their wavelength, which itself would be useful for this exercise, but it did present a slight problem. 'I know what you're doing. If you would have done that the first time I created a tiny sliver, you could have matched me. The problem is that you're focusing too much. The entire purpose of this training is so that you get comfortable with these techniques to the degree you don't even have to think about making these weak ones. It will come naturally,' Aeryn explained.


He then poured another equal amount of his wavelength into the leather holder, allowing it to sit there. 'You need to be able to know exactly how much that is without even trying.' Aeryn said. He then poured in a little more energy. 'If I do that without telling you, you need to feel that it happened and add more on your own, Aeryn continued. He then even took a moment to concentrate and began to siphon off his own wavelength from the bolt - a significantly more complex task than adding to it. 'Even if I do that, for whatever reason, you need to know I did it, then do the same. I know you don't know how to yet, but you will,' Aeryn said.


Aeryn then took a moment to inhale deeply, pop his neck with a slight roll, then exhale. A moment really to pause and let it sink in what they were doing. 'The best way to do that is practice. So when I say again, try to do it as quickly as you can with as little effort as possible. This needs to be completely natural for you before we can come up with trickshots,' he told her. 'Now, he said after a brief pause. His tone had changed to a more serious one as well. 'Again.'


Focusing too much, not focusing enough. It seemed that no matter what Kassana tried, she couldn't quite get it right. Coming out of her intense concentration, Kassana sighed. She understood exactly what Aeryn was asking her to do. The problem was, she didn't know how to do it. 'Practice... we're practicing now and still I'm doing it all wrong,' she mumbled slightly into their shared mindscape. 'I'm trying to go faster. I know it's too slow...' She wasn't trying to argue with him although that's what it may have seemed like at first. Kassana was just at an utter loss.


Aeryn cut her off mid-thought inside their mindscape. She was beginning to dissolve, and he was going to allow that. 'Frustration, blame, guilt - they are thoughts. This is training, you're not meant to get it right and it won't matter if you don't get it right the next hundred times as long as you eventually do. Stop thinking. I slammed my hand into a wooden dummy thousands of times so that my body would do it instinctively. It hurt. My hands bled. I had splinters and fractured bones. But now, I can land those strikes without thinking and I don't think twice about what I hit. It's a thoughtless process. So, stop thinking. Focus. Focus without thought. When I say again, I want you to become a machine that does one thing: measure the amount of wavelength I put into that ball, then make it equal. Nothing else. One step at a time, and this is the first step of many."


Aeryn let out another exhaled before he finished: 'Now... again.'


Kassana listened to what he said and the first time he told her to stop thinking, Kassana felt like her entire world had turned. She was very much a thinker when it all came down to it. She read her books, she paid attention in class, she listened, she watched and everything that ran through her mind was a thought. 'Stop thinking...' It was never something that had ever crossed her mind, and frankly, she didn't even realize it was possible.


Spending a moment thinking about what it would mean to not think, Kassana then returned her mind briskly to the task at hand as she felt the strength of the wavelenght the slingshot now held and moved to match it. Her mind was empty aside from that. She didn't quite know if an empty mind aside from the task at hand meant that she wasn't thinking, but it was the best she could come up with. Her wavelength pouring into the holder, slowly the silver had woven its way along side every strand of red before she stopped.


Aeryn released the bolt, yet again fire another equally powerful blast at the fallen tree trunk, now blasted nearly in half. While the bolt was flying through the air, he had already poured the same amount into the leather holder and once more said, 'Again.'


Before he had even said the word that Kassana knew would come, she had already begun to match it. For every ounce of his wavelength he poured, she added the same amount exactly, except this time, she added at almost the exact same time that he did if only a moment behind.


Aeryn release the bolt again, and now the process became monotonous. At this point, it was simply Aeryn repeating 'Again' over and over despite Kassana having the system down. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Bolt after bolt after bolt until the entire trunk was obliterated, left nothing but wooden splinters and chunks on the ground. The real test was after that. If Kassana could keep her focus while doing more than just repeating the same action. Aeryn jumped into the air, landing on a tree and aiming Kassana at a new tree near the base. Aeryn charged another blast, this one significantly larger than the last several - enough to tear through the entire tree to make more for target practice. Hoping that Kassana stayed on point with the training, Aeryn once more said, 'Again.'


Kassana was slightly jostled by their movement and for a single split moment, she was curious as to what was going on now. Then, just as quickly, she realized she was thinking. Quickly shifting back to whatever wavelength Aeryn gave her, Kassana started adding her own soul into the mix. Although hers wasn't adding nearly as close to his as it had been during some of their more repetative shots, it was still faster than it had been in her first few tries altogether. Kassana also quickly picked up on the fact that this one was a lot more powerful than the others, and she didn't quite know how she knew it. She hadn't exactly been measuring the past few bolts, more trying to add at the same time that he did because that required less thought. She could feel the power of it, though. That was the best way to put it.


'That's better, Aeryn commented before he released the shot. The red streak fired far faster, enough to completely blast down the trunk of the tree. Aeryn quickly kicked off the trunk he was on now to kick the falling one down, pushing off it so that it would land in front of him and he could gently glide back down to the ground far enough away from their new fallen target as to avoid splinters. 'You matched it. It was iffy at first, but you caught it in the end. Now, let's do it faster,' Aeryn told her before filling the leather holder with a completely different amount of energy from the other two sets. 'Again.'


Kassana had been momentarily caught up in what Aeryn was saying and when he started to pour out more of his wavelength, it caught her off guard again, but again she rushed to match it. However, it wasn't any faster than it had been before. It wasn't that she couldn't match the speed, but spending a brief moment listening to what he had to say - or think - had been a distraction that she still hadn't quite figured out how to deal with just yet. Kassana could feel her wavelength match his, though and even before he could say anything or release the shot, Kassana commented to him, 'My bad,' before her mind went back to waiting for the next shot to be prepared.


Aeryn allowed the last bolt to be launched at their new target, easily tearing a chunk of it out. After that, he poured yet again a completely different amount of his wavelength into the leather holder. He began to vary the amount he poured so that she couldn't get familiar with one certain amount, making the task significantly more difficult. As soon as he finished, however, he told her, 'Again.'


Once more, Kassana had already started melding her wavelength in before he said 'again' and this time it was almost as though she didn't even hear it; it never registered in her mind as something she heard. She could feel that the wavelength was different, however, her actions continued just the same. Only a moment after Aeryn began adding his own wavelength, Kassana had started adding her own. Then she stopped only a moment after he did.


Aeryn released the bolt again, devasting the tree once more. With Kassana now able to consistently match his wavelength at varying intensities, he began to fire over and over. She was matching him faster, beginning when he did, stopping when he stopped. Her focus made allowed Aeryn to begin filling the leather pad faster - not just in sync - but actually pushing his energy to be merged with hers at a significantly higher rate.


This training, without the halts, pushed them through tree after tree, cutting them down with bolts as they went. Aeryn eventually transitioned their practice to begin bouncing around their target, firing at different angles while moving, all simply to make sure Kassana could handle it. She needed to be ready for more than just the aiming while standing still, matching him with a simple focus; she needed to be prepared to be on the move. A few stumbles here and there, but ultimately, they created a large clearing of trees and craters in the ground.


As the sun began to set, Aeryn realized just how much time they had invested in this training. They had spent nearly the entire day basically deforresting a portion of the woods. Not like it mattered, there were still acres and acres of woodland left healthy. The point was they spent the last few hours practicing this one technique, matching their wavelengths, all while only repeating a single word. At one point, Aeryn didn't even need to say it. He stopped since Kassana had started to match his wavelength as soon as he started.


'That's enough, Kass. You can return now,' he told her. He panted slightly, recovering breath from previously jumping around. The laughing sun above them slowly sank in the now orange and purple sky and Aeryn decided Kass should see it instead of just clearing out the path even more.


'Ok.' Kassana's mind gave a single reply before the slingshot Aeryn held started to pour out a glowing silver that slowly took on the shape and figure of Kassana's human form before the remainder of her features settled in as well. And the moment she was standing again, the moment she was fully herself, Kassana realized how exhausting all of that training had really been. Her body didn't feel exhausted; it wasn't like training with Ivy where her muscles were constantly screaming at her, telling her that enough was enough. There was no pain with this. Just pure exhaustion if that was even possible.


Kassana wanted to fall over, to go home, lay down and just sleep forever. And as her eyes looked at Aeryn, she wondered if that was the plan now. Her eyes followed his to the setting sun for a moment and she supposed it could have been something people could enjoy watching, but at the moment, she just didn't have the energy for it anymore. Her posture slumped noticably as she let out a single long breath.


"You seem half-dead," Aeryn joked. He could see she was significantly more exhausted than he was. His endurance could have kept him going hours longer, but Kassana was new to this entirely. Not to mention her morning exercises with Ivy likely only compiled onto her exhaustion. "You came a long way since a few hours ago," Aeryn told her. He was leaning against a tree, watching the sun go down while she seemed close to passing out right on her feet.


Kassana forced a half smile at Aeryn's first statement. The way he said it was a joke, but in reality, it was the truth - maybe not the half dead part, but she was entirely exhausted. Kassana stumbled backwards just once although she didn't quite fall and she found a tree nearby to lean against. Her eyes widened though, at his comment that she had come far and she once again smiled although this one was not forced. "I didn't think it would be so exhausting," she breathed out.


"Each bolt used part of your soul," Aeryn explained, "and you can't get much more exhausting than that. A sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Using your soul will take a toll on both your mind and body. You'll need to improve both to push yourself further." If Aeryn had anything, it was endurance. He could have went on likely all day, continued training probably past the point of absolute exhaustion in others. Unfortunately, this was also a danger to him. If he could train until he died, he just might if he didn't know when to stop. Sometimes surviving was knowing when to stop instead of just pushing on through.


Kassana nodded at Aeryn's explanation. There was one line in what he said that she had read over and over again in all the books that she had to read for schoolwork, and now once again, it was coming back. "I'll remember that," she commented. There, she realized though, that she was doing something right. Training with Ivy would improve her body and reading her books would expand her mind.


Aeryn kicked off the tree he was leaning against then started to walk back to the DWMA. Whether Kassana liked it or not, her final exercise for the day would be going down those stairs again. Both of their appartments were located just outside the DWMA, but still down those stairs. Half of the facilities were intentionally separated up and down the stairway just to increase its traffic. It was no joke that Death intended to keep his students in shape using that staircase. "C'mon, Kass. I'll take ya back to your place. You need a good rest after all that," he told her.


Kassana didn't object. Instead, she merely started to follow Aeryn back towards the academy, nodding briefly. Normally, she would've tried to talk about something, but she just didn't have the energy for it at that point in time, especially knowing that once they did get back she would get to rest for as long as she needed. The following morning was the one morning when Ivy wouldn't be expecting her.

 

[Pariah Stark]

Miyako & Aeryn

A collab between

@Arkytior and Pariah Stark
​

Aeryn spent most of the class recalling his date with Lexie the evening earlier. The class material itself was dull, yet again. Mostly the fundamentals of Soul Perception, and by fundamentals, it seemed to quite literally be what Soul Perception was down to a tee, not even its application. These classes seemed to only cover the bare material, but that's what Aeryn was beginning to expect from these summer classes. According to Death, they weren't designed for EAT or NOT, but more or less a way to handle students for a couple hours and cut a paycheck for the teachers. This left Aeryn daydreaming most of the class, sitting in the back row and ignoring the droning on.


Once the bell finally rang, Aeryn waited for the students to just clear out. Most of them rushed out of there like it was a drag race and the last one to leave had to clean the classroom. He intended on meeting up with Lexie, whom seemed to be waiting for him like she did the day earlier. He had spent some time with Kass, talking about some training this weekend together, and she left on that note. Aeryn was pretty sure she was going to rush off to the library or maybe a quick shower since she had trained with Ivy that morning. Either way, it left Aeryn just sitting there as the crowd thinned and thinned.


"Aeryn, can you stay back a moment?" Miyako called from her desk, having seen the boy wait for the crowd to thin out. While she was pretty sure he wanted to leave with Lexie, she knew this introduction needed to get out of the way before he could continue on with anything fun.


Having been debriefed on his unique...situation by Lord Death, she felt it would be best if they both kept things out in the open.


Aeryn looked down to her from the top rung of seats and gave a quick shrug. He hadn't been formally introduced to Miyako yet, but he was aware of who she was. Significantly more strict that Hiro - although Aeryn questioned if he would even be a professor without Miyako - while also being the archetypal mother hen of a teacher. Or, that's what Aeryn came to think. He hadn't watched anyone for long.


"Yeah, sure," he replied to her. He walked down through the rows and stopped by Lexie. He gave her a real quick whisper, telling her that he'd be by the staircase when he was done. If they had to go anywhere, they'd have to walk by the staircase anyway, so he was hoping this would work for the better. Once the rest of the crowd left, a few stopping to ask questions or idle chat, Aeryn made his way down to her desk and just waited. He had no idea what to expect.


Starting off with a bright smile, Miyako stood from her desk and moved so she stood before Aeryn, holding out a hand in greeting. "While it is a tad late, I figure it would be best if we introduce ourselves properly. I'm Miyako Hoshimura and when the new school year starts, I'll be your teacher." she explained. "So if you have any problems, feel free to come talk to me about anything."


"Now, on a more serious note, to make sure there are no false pretenses between us, I wanted to inform you that I know about your...situation, and Lord Death has me keeping an eye on you for now."


At first, she seemed to just be introducing herself as a regular teacher. Considering there were several hundred students, many of whom opted to just skip these classes entirely, Aeryn felt this was particularly odd. Before she even alerted him to the fact she knew about his situation, he was fairly sure that was going to be the topic of this conversation, and he felt particularly uneasy about it. Not only becasse it wasn't a topic he liked, but because it caused a buzz with the others inside The Dark Korner, which was never pleasant. Once Saren got stirred up, it was often hard to concentrate.


"I didn't think he'd let me in the DWMA without a leash," Aeryn replied to her. He was being quite blunt, but he was somewhat strung out already. It killed the normally sharp edge of his wit. "Are you the only? I was told to avoid informing anyone," Aeryn asked.


"Oh I wouldn't consider it a leash. It's a just a precaution if you will." she told him. "There are many students here, and Lord Death - along with myself - just want to ensure the safety of everyone. You seem like you don't plan on causing trouble, so I wouldn't expect anything to come of me keeping an eye on you." she smirked slightly, thinking of how he spent his time with Lexie. "And to answer your questions, yes. To my knowledge, I'm the only staff member who knows about you."


"Good," Aeryn replied to her. From his words alone, it was obvious that he didn't really care about the rest of her explanation aside from the answer. That much was true. Aeryn, and the entirety of Saren for that fact, wanted to know just who knew about them. He didn't like being watched, but he understood why. Still, he didn't like the idea of being treated like he was an experiment still. This was his first taste of the outside world after being locked up in Death's room with him for what felt like ever. Technically, it was forever for Saren up until that point, but that was irrelevant.


"The others don't come out often. One roams a bit at night to stretch his legs, the other likes to read in the library. It's just me here in the DWMA, and I'm the only one that handles Kass or talks to Lexie," Aeryn told her. While at first he was giving her a mild explanation, his tone transitioned to a more authoritative one. It was likely odd coming from a student, but it was meant to really to reassure himself more than anything. If he told Miyako one thing, Saren would be less likely to break that later. He'd bitch about it, sure, but now the precedent was set.


Nodding, the red-haired professor offered him another smile. "Thank you for telling me." she told him. "This shouldn't last very long, and even if it does, you won't be treated any differently. I'll make sure of it. Now go on," she said, nodding towards the door. "I'm sure Lexie's waiting for you."


Even with her final line, Aeryn wasn't quite fond of this conversation whatsoever. Aeryn probably wouldn't be at ease around her, either. Aeryn had enough problems blending in, especially given just how different this world seemed to be from the one he remembered growing up in. He had plenty of things to learn and deal with, and the idea of being under a watchful eye - even though he was sure they were there beforehand - didn't quite appease him. Aeryn offered her a quick nod before he started to walk out of the classroom. At the very least, she didn't want to meet Nariel or Szar.

 

[LavenderRain]

“Smoky” Skyler Emerson and Nadia Voltaren and Jessyka “Bullseye” Volontari

Collaboration with

@AnnoDomini and @DaughterofAthena​

Skyler’s eyelids started to flutter slightly. A small ray of light that entered through the window landed on Skyler’s left eye, making him slightly grunt and contort his face. His left hand went up, then fell on his face, making a slight ‘slap’ sound as it impacted with his face. He opened his right eye, looking around. Trying to raise up, he let out a grunt. “Ah! Ghhh!” With a swift motion, he managed to pull down his cover, to reveal a large stitched wound on his chest. His eyes clenched and he let out another yell, as he fell backwards on the bed, his hands gripping the covers, and his teeth gritted as he tried to fight back the pain, but it was simply too much for him. “Ah! God! AHH!”


Nadia’s head jerked up to her last remaining patient in the dispensary and she was actually quite glad that he was the only one left. It meant she had more time to dedicate to his recovery. Jumping out of her swiveling chair, Nadia waltzed over to him, placing her hand on his arm so that he would know she was there although it was a place that would not cause him any pain - or, any further pain.


“Lie still, Skyler,” she muttered softly. “You survived something that most probably wouldn’t have.” Her eyes trickled to the IV embedded in his arm and Nadia turned to the bedside table, pulling out a syringe of morphine which she carefully connected to the tubing before she slowly started to push the medication into him, hoping to relieve some of the pain.


He felt some of the pain go away, opening his eyes a little to see the nurse. Because of the pain, he couldn't really speak, only breath heavily, as he felt it more bearable."Guh… J-Jess… Ah..." He heard what the nurse said, as he slowly remembered something. The pain, the scorching pain, and then, nothing.


Still pushing the IV morphine, her eyes half watching the clock, Nadia caught the sound of one semi-coherent thing. Jess. Nodding curtly, she replied, “She made it back alright although she’s been terribly upset. She should be here soon, I think. She’s been coming to visit you every day after lunch. I think you gave her a right good scare, though, Skyler.” Nadia wasn’t trying to imply anything by what she was saying, not really. If anything, she wanted Skyler to be prepared for whatever happened when Jessyka did come in.


Skyler heard what the nurse said again. The pain subsiding, he let out a sigh. He smiled a little when he taught about it, but then again, giving her a scare was the last thing he would’ve wanted to. His eyes went to the nurse, and with a small sigh, he began speaking. “S-Sorry for the headache… I-I’ve been here more times than I wanted to. C-Can I please stand a little u-up? Or not?” Skyler asked, his trademark smile gone now.


Nadia shook her head briefly. “You’ve been out for three days and you had a highly intensive operation. And now I’ve gotta make sure you didn’t tear any of the stitches,” she explained. “You’re going to be on bedrest for at least a day yet, Skyler. Your job for today is to try and resume an oral intake.” While she spoke, Nadia unrolled the covers briefly, her eyes running up and down the length of the scar on his abdomen as she examined each stitch.


“W-Will I be ab- Three days?!” Skyler said, his mouth open in awe. “I-I need my training… I need to…” Skyler stopped and looked at the nurse who was inspecting his wound. Unwillingly, he started to blush and looked away, his eyes pointed towards the window.


Deciding that none of his stitches had been torn, Nadia covered him back up and went to raise the head of the bed, effectively sitting him up in the bed. It may have been slightly painful for him, but the morphine should’ve been helpful and she knew he would be more comfortable sitting up than lying flat. “You need to stay here and recover.” As she said that, her voice was firm. She wasn’t about to let him leave before he was ready for the worst possible situations simply because it was her job to make sure he didn’t get worse.


Turning around, Nadia disappeared behind the curtain for a moment before reemerging with a styrofoam cup with a spoon in it. She offered a spoonful to Skyler; it was just ice chips for starters.


He looked at the cup then at the spoon, still blushing. “Can I t-try and eat myself…? I don’t like to feel powerless…” Skyler slowly tried to raise his hands, but then he just looked away, still blushing and he took the spoon of ice chips, closing his eyes shut as the cold started to fill his mouth.


Nadia smiled at him briefly, actually glad that she had an eager patient. That meant it would be easier to get him out of bed when it came time to do so; it would be easier to convince him to get all of his exercises done. Holding the cup out to him, she said, “Here. Just go slow. You’re body will need to adjust to having an oral fluid intake again. If that goes well enough, you can try to eat dinner tonight.”


Skyler nodded slowly, his blush fading away. “Does that mean I can’t d-drink water? S-Sorry, never been this b-badly hurt… Mostly just, extenuation or a s-slight broken something… A-Anyway, y-you’re the doctor, y-you know better…” Skyler said, his eyes opening again and looking at the nurse, smiling a little, although it seemed like it was a sad smile at best.


There was a gentle knock at the door and then it opened to reveal a face that had been a common sight throughout the dispensary over the past few days. She didn’t have anything with her, likely having stopped by her locker before coming to visit. It was Jessyka, Skyler’s meister. And as she saw Skyler, eyes open, her eyes just watched him, her expression looking like she could either burst into tears or burst into a fit of rage.


Skyler looked at Jessyka, a slight smile on his face, but then, his expression turned to dread as he saw Jessyka's reaction. His eyes shifted at the nurse, the back at Jessyka. "S-Senpai? Jessyka ?" Skyler briefly said.


Jessyka nodded, her expression not having changed a bit. “Smoky.” Jessyka’s voice was very even. After another moment of standing there, Jessyka broke her gaze with Skyler and walked over to the chair that was sitting closest to his bed.


Nadia watched the two of them cautiously for a few flickers of her eyes before she returned her attention to Skyler for a moment, answering the question that remained. “Finish the ice first, and then we’ll try water,” she commented.


Skyler noted Jessyka’s tone. He sighed and looked at the nurse, sheepishly nodding. “C-Can you leave us two alone for a bit, p-please? I won’t run o-out, like the other t-times…” Skyler’s eyes were fixed on Jessyka, as his heart started to pound faster, like she reminded him of something. Something that frightened him.


Nadia nodded at Skyler, turning her eyes to Jessyka for a moment. “He’s not allowed to get up and he shouldn’t be sitting up any further, either,” she informed the meister. “I know if nothing else, you can make him listen.” She glanced between the two of them briefly before she walked into her office and they could hear the door close behind her.


Jessyka nodded at the nurse’s comment, smiling a bit at the thought that the nurse believed she could keep Skyler from doing anything too reckless although she wasn’t quite sure she had confidence in the nurse’s belief. As Nadia walked out, Jessyka stood up from her chair and walked up right next to the bed, putting her hand on Skyler’s although the contact only lasted for a brief moment and then she pulled it away, her entire expression curling into a tight grimace. “I could’ve beaten it, you know…”


Skyler looked at his hand, then at Jessyka’s. Looking up, he let out a hard sigh, trying to not look into her eyes. “Jessyka… Maybe… You should f-find a new weapon. L-Look at me. I’m… a s-shell of something…” His entire face went to the window, trying to hide his tears.


Jessyka’s eyes widened at him as he spoke, her face curling into an even tighter pained expression that couldn’t entirely be described. “No!” at first it was more of a squeal than anything else. “You KNOW that wouldn’t work!” The more she spoke, the more assertive her voice became. “I-I just… why did you… NO! You’re NOT leaving me without a partner. You had the good sense not to die now even though you decided to be an IDIOT and I’m not about to let you be an IDIOT again!”


Skyler turned to Jessyka, showing his crying face. Cold tears were rolling down his red cheeks, and his hands were gripping the covers. He slowly lifted them, trying to swipe his tears away. “What’s the point in having an idiot useless weapon?! Do y-you know what happens to useless weapons, like me?! We get killed! I don’t want you to see me die! You understand?! These past, days, my dreams… I just, didn’t want you to die… but in truth… I d-didn’t want… to see you get hurt, in any way.” All those words were spoken between sniffing, his yell could be heard through the walls. “The point is… I care about you, Jessyka.”


Jessyka’s expression remained entirely panicked. In fact, it seemed to get worse with every word he said although she still had the energy to scream back at him. “I am your MEISTER, Smoky! That means it’s MY job to keep you from dying!! Not the other way around… a meister is USELESS without a weapon! I WON’T see you die… you haven’t yet.” All of her objections were things she had been fully prepared to say. Her entire past few days had been preparing her for this discussion because she had known it would not go well. “And I CARE about you!” Her retort was heavy. “Why else would I be here sitting by your bedside when I can’t even hold your hand in comfort!?”


Smoky’s mouth slowly closed itself, as his eyes went to the floor. His breath slow, his hand went to his scar, slowly touching it. The sting was visible, as his face contorsioned. “Y-You saw what happened in the lab… I’m saying… Your trust might be just wasted on… on me. I can’t even train to h-help get better. I can’t sleep tight because of nightmares-” Skyler realised he said something that he didn’t want to say, and his eyes went to look at Jessyka. In his eyes, some could see the eyes of a defeated man, a man close to giving up.


Jessyka’s hand went to grab Skyler’s, pulling it off of the scar that she didn’t want to see. When their hands touched, no matter how briefly, Skyler would feel her shaking. Looking at her, he would see the signs he had seen before - rapid breathing, pained expression, body shaking. A shiver ran down her spine as she set his hand down on the covers, rather than on the scar that lined his abdomen.


Slowly, she started shaking her head. “No, my trust was not wasted. It just failed. I wasn’t strong enough to protect you, to sense that something was wrong before it all compounded.” Her voice had become softer now, but that might have been because she was breathing heavily now and her breathing could no longer support her screams. “It’s my fault, Smoky. I couldn’t protect you and I’m gonna train and get stronger until I can because YOU are my weapon partner and that’s not about to change because I know my trust in you is not wasted. It can’t be because we can’t let that much go to waste.”


Skyler looked at Jessyka’s hand laying it down, slowly. “Y-You… you actually t-touched my hand for t-that much…?” Skyler soon felt something else. Something that made him regret all his lashing at Jessyka. She had no fault for his mistakes. “P-Please Jessyka… senpai… It is not your fault. I should’ve just turned into a weapon and allow you to kill that… that…” His hand remained on the cover, gripping it as tears started flowing down his cheeks again. A small grin appeared on his face. “... I sure am dumb… aren’t I?...”


Jessyka grabbed a tissue off of the table next to the bed and used it to wipe away some of Skyler’s tears while she chuckled slightly. He could still feel her hand shaking through the kleenex, but it was calming down now. “But you’re my dumb…” she whispered. “You’re my partner, Smoky, and that means we protect each other and make each other grow stronger because of it.”


Skyler let out a small laugh, looking at Jessyka. Her face, oddly, didn’t remind him of the terrible dream.“If you d-do not mind a stupid careless weapon… I’ll always be at your side.” Skyler said, looking at the door. “I’m still wondering w-what my dinner w-would be…”


Jessyka shrugged at his comment. “I’ve always had a stupid, careless weapon… it hasn’t stopped me yet,” she cast a gentle smile at Skyler, hoping he would realize she was just playing along. “As for dinner, I just had lunch so I wouldn’t really know… or be hungry for it, yet.”


“A-And you d-didn’t save m-me some… S-Shame s-senpai.” Skyler says, smiling as he looked at Jessyka, his eyes still red from all his crying. He held his right hand open. He closed his eyes, as he felt his heart beating faster still. ‘Huh… I still can’t tell her…’


“Nope. Nurse’s orders,” Jessyka replied. “You’ve gotta get better because I’ve been bored to death without a partner.”

 

[Pariah Stark]

Lexie & Aeryn

A collab between

@Sergeant Sass and Pariah Stark
​

Class began as it normally did; students poured into the classroom bit by bit, taking their seats and waiting for the bell to announce the start of class. The professor took attendance, reading down the list in a semi-robotic manner because it was more of a formality than anything else. And for what seemed to be the fourth day in a row, Alexis Traynor was not in class. The professor didn't seem to think much of it, merely moving on to the next name on the list. Just as they got to the end of the list, though, there was a small creak in the door and she walked in. She was late and she looked at the teacher before muttering, "I'm sorry I'm late."


Lexie didn't move to sit in her normal seat. She usually sat in the middle, amidst everyone. Today, though, she made her way into the corner and she didn't seem to notice that anyone else was there. Or if she did, she didn't acknowledge them. Lexie pulled out her notebook and laid it on the desk, sitting slightly on the edge of her seat for no apparent reason and her eyes focused on the lecture which wasn't too much more interesting than anything else that they had covered so far during interim.


The lecture itself dragged on although she didn't seem to be paying too much attention to the passing of the time. Lexie jotted down notes whenever their professor put anything on the board and, tucked away in the corner, she didn't really notice anything else.


Aeryn lit up once he saw Lexie. His eyes had a sparkle they hadn't in quite some time. He spent nearly all of last week with her visiting the gardens and learning more about each other. While they didn't spend nearly as much time in the gardens, they did eat and she had caught on to his absolute ignorance to technology and culture. She spent an entire part of the weekend before just teaching him things and laughing at what he didn't understand. It was a genuinely good time with the only intermissions being class, his own personal training here and there, a few bits of training Lexie decided to do on her own, and of course the ocassional evening with Kass spent working on fine-tuning their bolts. He had grown accustomed to seeing her every day in class, at least meeting up with her after class for a quick chat, and a few dates weekly...


Then all of that stopped abruptly as of the beginning of the week. She didn't come in Monday after having seen her Saturday. No word from her. No news. No one knew anything. If it went on much longer, Aeryn probably would have marched into Death's office personally to figure out what happened. That Monday, Aeryn waited by the staircase in unfortunate melancholy and he met the same sullen fate at the gardens hoping he would find her. Tuesday was just as forlorn, doing the same motions before checking on her apartment which seemed empty. By Wednesday, he had told Kassana about his worries and they both checked her appartment after class, politely knocking and hoping she would answer to no avail. Lexie seemed to drop off the face of the Earth.


Aeryn noticed that once she finally returned, she didn't really return to normal. She went to a completely different seat. Oddly, it was actually closer to him; Aeryn normally sat in the back rows since the other seats were often taken because he spent most of his time chatting with Lexie while standing. Kassana normally sat further up and sometimes she held a spot for him, if it didn't involve confronting another student. Aeryn wasn't for sure what happened, but he couldn't stand knowing that something had done something to make her vanish and become so reclusive. He could feel it, too. Without even using perception or asking, he could just feel something was wrong in how she hung back in the corner.


During the first, brief intermission of the class, Aeryn quickly darted over to Lexie in the corner, but he wasn't quite so bold as to how he approached her. He wasn't for sure what to say, especially while surrounded. Plus, the intermissions were only fifteen minutes long; just short enough for a drink, snack or restoom break. Once Aeryn finally neared her, he said, "I miss you, y'know..."


Lexie's head jolted up from her notes. She hadn't even been paying attention to the people walking around; instead, she had been drawing something although it remained an unfinished sketch at best. Her eyes met Aeryn's for a brief moment and then they darted away, remaining focused on the side wall instead of on him. She didn't smile. She just nodded.


So much was different about her. Normally, she was calm, laid back and relaxed, but now everything about her looked tight and tense. Her hair wasn't fluffed like it normally was, either. In fact, she was wearing sweatpants which was entirly out of the ordinary... or, the ordinary that Aeryn had become accustomed to. Gray sweatpants and a simple long-sleeved black shirt that hung loose around thin figure.


Aeryn could still see that she wasn't her normal, bubbly self, but he wasn't so much worried about that as he was that she just didn't want to speak - especially to him. He wanted to comfort her. Class was pointless as it was, anyway. "Y'know, I looked for you every day... waited by the stairs, roamed your favorite places in the gardens. Asked about you where we ate. Kass and I even stopped by your place once to check on you," he told her. He smiled at her and took a seat in front of her, but turned around in it. His tone made it pretty clear that he just wanted her to know he put forth the effort. That he did what he promised.


Aeryn then offered her his hand and said, "If you don't want to talk..."


Despite not making eye contact with him, despite hardly looking at him, Lexie did listen to him. She nodded at his words, her eyes flickering when he said he had been at her apartment, almost as though it brought a thought to her mind although she still didn't say anything for the moment.


Then Aeryn offered her his hand and Lexie's face contorted ever so slightly. Her gaze dropped to it although her hands remained curled in front of her as she just shook her head, still not meeting his eyes. "I'm fine," she stated although it was very obvious by the way that she said it that that was not the truth. It was almost as though she was speaking through gritted teeth. Actually, she was.


"I guess our neighbors will just have to here the sweet things I have to say, then," he told her before leaning in. Despite saying that, he did switch to an obvious whisper. She didn't really make eye contact, but he tried. At least somewhat. "Even if you don't look at me, I still miss those bright blue eyes... and I don't care what you wear, I still think you're beautiful. My heart dropped the moment I saw you walk in the room, and it would have rather you wore a little black dress or those baggy, elastic pants," Aeryn told her, just audible enough for her to hear.


He kept his strong smile, too. If she wouldn't smile for him, he would smile for the both of them. He wasn't sure what had her in this shape, but the best he could do was offer her the same affection he did normally. "I know this is a terrible place to talk about anything, but there is no place in this school I'm ashamed to tell you I missed you, Lex. You can tell me all about it some other time, when you feel more comfortable. But, this second, it's the first time I've seen you in days, and it's just a huge relief to see you. Can't it be the same for you?"


Lexie looked down at the drawing she had been working on, still hearing everything he said. She didn't remark to his first comments about what she was wearing and she was actually kind of glad for what he had said. She had her own reasons for her choice out clothing for the day and they weren't things she particularly wanted to share.


However, at his second statement, Lexie did finally look up at him again. Her eyes looked at his smile and they softened when they saw it because she knew he was telling the truth. There was never a smile of his that had lied to her. "I missed you too," she whispered to him. It wasn't quite clear whether or not she said it because she meant it, though, or because she felt obligated to. As she said it, her eyes had returned to the notebook in front of her and as she said it, the teacher had also called for everyone to return to their seats.


"Gardens today?" Aeryn asked before he slowly slanked away from the seat in front of her. The class was slow to get back to their seats, so he had a moment to at least hear her reply. He hoped she would be more open at the gardens than she was in the middle of the class, which made sense given the environment was surrounded by hundreds of students neither of them exactly knew. Plus, the gardens had became their go-to stop over their time dating, so it was their default place of comfort.


Lexie's reply had taken a moment and it hadn't been much of a reply. She looked up at him and nodded briefly, deciding that it was better for her and for him if they discussed things elsewhere. She still didn't know how much she actually wanted to discuss though. That was where the problem came in. How much could she discuss... she didn't even know. And it dwelled on her mind for the remainder of the class period.


As soon as the bell rang, Lexie was the first one out of her seat and she walked at a brisk pace out of the classroom, not waiting for Aeryn because she didn't want to talk to him around all the people who had been in class - not at that particular moment at least. She didn't wait for him outside the classroom either. Lexie just made her way to the gardens right away and meandered through them, stopping to stare at a single flower that appeared to be drooping while she waited for Aeryn, knowing he would get there eventually.


Aeryn noticed her darting out of the class. Normally she waited for them and they held hands going to wherever they intended. He saw no real reason they couldn't have done that anyway, but Lexie was obviously quite upset by something, so he just let it go. He wasn't in nearly the rush Lexie was, but he was sure she wouldn't be there waiting for him. Something told him she was running off to do something before going to the gardens. His intuition, however, was proven quite wrong when he saw her waiting at the entrance, which made him feel bad, especially considering he made a real quick trip to the market before heading there.


Aeryn carried a brown, paper bag at his hip and once he neared Lexie, he pulled out what he had in it. It was a set of gloves, simple as that. One for him and one for her. Aeryn tossed her a pair once he got near and with a quick smile, he said, "With these, you should be able to stop our mental bond if you don't want it. It's not really strong enough to go through the gloves like some students. I just wanted to hold your hand again," he told her. Aeryn at that point was already slipping on one of the gloves; both were red with black trim. If anything, Aeryn was a romantic. If she wanted to keep her mind and feelings hidden, that would be fine. But, he still wanted to be close to her.


Lexie caught the gloves as they were tossed to her and she listened to his explanation, very unsure of what to do. She took a single step towards him, still holding on to the gloves although she hadn't quite put them on yet. Lexie wanted to tell him what had happened, but she was afraid of what his reaction would be. She finally looked up at his eyes and her blue ones stayed there for moments longer than they had the last time. She slid one of the gloves on to her hand, realizing that as much he wanted to hold her hand, she wanted him to as well. Lexie then held her hand out to him without saying a word.


Aeryn was quick to grab her hand, too, and he locked his fingers tightly between hers. Once he felt her grip, he leaned in just a bit closer, but stopped. He wanted to embrace her in a tight hug, but he wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that yet. He had no idea what happened or if she even wanted to be close to anyone, although she did offer him her hand, which had to mean something. Aeryn locked his eyes with hers in that moment, deciding that just getting a glimpse of her brilliant blue eyes was worth the wait for the hug. "You don't have to explain it right away," he said, mostly just trying to ease the air. "We can just walk through the gardens enjoying each other. I won't let anything happen to you while you're by my side..." he added.


Aeryn's decision not to embrace her had been wise. As he leaned in, Lexie had leaned away, almost flinching at the thought of his arms around her, although her grip on his hand also tightened. It was an odd thing. She didn't want to be held in one way, but that only made her hold him tighter where she was ok with it.


At Aeryn's words, Lexie nodded and started their walk, actually walking so close next to him that her arm was brushing against his with each swing while their hands remained linked together. She wanted the closeness and as she set the pace of their walk, it was terribly slow and her eyes didn't seem to be focusing on the garden. Instead, they were lost in a daze of thoughts that for the moment were only her own thoughts.


Finally, as they were walking, Lexie said something to him. "I really did miss you," she mumbled. "I'm sorry I worried you. I-I... I couldn't - not back there - not in class..." She struggled, trying to find the words and the more she spoke, the more her expression began to wash to one of sadness, sadness and one other thing that she still seemed to by trying to hide. Finally, realizing there was no other thing to do, Lexie pulled her hand out of Aeryn's and slipped off the glove, throwing it and watching for a moment. Then she offered him her hand again; actually, she offered him both of her hands.


Aeryn could only smile as she finally started talking to him again. It wasn't his initiative this time. It was hers. She wanted to talk to him, apparently. She wanted to explain it. She wanted to open up. All Aeryn had to do was be patient and listen, and he had no qualms in the whole wide world doing either of those things for Lexie. Once she pulled off her gloves, Aeryn realized she was getting more comfortable. The class environment really must have put her on edge. He slid his off as well, although he didn't throw them. He just stuffed them in his pocket. He took her hands once she offered them and just let the emotions settle for a moment.


"I promised you that every day I would wait for you. That I would be the first person to notice if you weren't there. Not a day went by that I didn't worry, but you don't need to apologize for that," Aeryn told her. He offered her his gentle smile, the same one he had offered all day, but this time it appeared to be warmer. Aeryn had perked up considerably once Lexie had opened up to him again, and it was evident in just looking at him.


Into their link, the moment it was established, Lexie concentrated and focuse a single thought. She had just one request before she fully and completely intended to tell him everything although a more apt description would be to show him. 'Will you hold me again? Like the first night... no matter what happens?' She was trying really hard to keep the rest of her thoughts out of it. Lexie knew precisely what would happen, but she didn't want him to let her go when it did. She didn't care about it.


Aeryn could feel her internal struggle, albeit not very clearly. Lexie was trying to hold back something, probably something quite important, but ultimately, she broke down and made a simple request to him. Or, at least, it was simple to him. It was quite easy to guide them through the grove until they found the original marble fountain, although he doubted she cared that it was the exact same place. While they walked, Aeryn replied to her audibly, "For as long as you want."


Lexie kept her hand in his as they walked, doing her best to keep her mind calm even at a time where it most certainly was not, and when she saw the fountain again, she remembered the first time they had been there. She remembered walking through here with him many times actually, and all of them were memories she cherished closely. She hated it, hated that even though they were at the best place she could ever remember being, she couldn't quite be happy because she was too busy being afraid.


Without letting another thought scare her, though, Lexie wrapped her arms around Aeryn and pulled him into a tight hug. "I heard you come to the door, you know," she muttered to him. "I wanted tell you I was there, that I heard you, but..." Her face curled into a grimace.


Aeryn hugged her back tightly, his own arms finally collapsing around her for the embrace. He let her explain everything she wanted to him, but he also intended on letting there be a pause. A delay. Not because he couldn't answer her, but because he just wanted to hold her for the moment. He had missed her so very much in the last few days, worried about her plenty. If there was any emotion radiating from him, it was that he just wanted ot hold her. Just the embrace.


"I knew you were in there anyway... Soul Perception. I didn't tell Kass. I just thought you needed time. I don't know what this is all about, but I just wanted you to know that I was there. Any time you need me, I will be there. You could have came to my apartment whenever you wanted and just sat with me. You wouldn't need to explain yourself... I just wanted to know you were okay," he explained to her. While his outward words said one thing, all his body told her from their connection was that he was glad to be holding her again.


And yet, despite having asked for this, for their embrace, Lexie flinched at the feeling of his arms wrapped around him. It wasn't that she didn't want the embrace; rather, the embrace literally pained her.


"I wasn't planning on coming back today, either," she continued. She wasn't crying, but her voice was soft, and her teeth gritted together. "But I couldn't stand the thought of making you worry anymore." And with that, Lexie opened up her mind to him, letting everything that had happened flow through their link although it all came at once. She made no attempt to organize it because she herself didn't want to see it again.


Xander had been frustrated. He still didn't have a functional partner and he had been seeing her so happy because she had both a partner and she had Aeryn, someone who Xander never made any attempt at concealing his open detest for. And all of that rage had come out onto Lexie... it really wasn't something Lexie wanted to show in its entirety, but she at least let the explanation slip through. The pain that radiated through her slipped through as well, although she thoroughly wished it hadn't.


Aeryn didn't have any words for her. He knew she didn't want anyone to speak or even think poorly of Xander, but what he did brought forth genuine disgust within Aeryn. Even Saren and Nariel found themselves detesting what Aeryn felt, and neither of them were invested in Lexie like Aeryn. He held himself back and just held onto Lexie. His warm embrace was the only thing that was left after she shared her experience. He didn't break the silence with words. He didn't explain anything to her. Aeryn simply felt an overwhelming desire to protect Lexie, and if he shared anything with her, it was that.


Lexie could feel it, too. His desire to keep her safe, and she didn't object to it at all. If anything, it was nice to have someone she could tell about it, someone who, at least to her belief, would keep it to himself because she was quite literally terrified of what would happen if Xander found out she had told anyone.


That thought coming into her mind, Lexie allowed her first memory with Xander to flood through her mind again, holding on to it briefly while she merely held on to Aeryn. Into their link, she sent him a single thought. 'Thank you.' With her head on his chest, Lexie laid there for a moment, thinking of where they went from there. She really didn't want to walk through the rest of the gardens because quite frankly, walking hurt just the slightest bit. 'I don't think we can keep walking anymore. Can you just walk me home now?' Her thought to him was saddened. She really wanted to spend more time with him because she had missed him, but even his arms around her, something she couldn't stand to be without right now if he was near, was unpleasant.


Aeryn had a quick, simple reply to her. A single question that summed up the only thing he really cared about at the moment: "Will you be safe?


'I don't know' was the only honest reply Lexie could give.


Aeryn replied to her, "Then stay with me. I won't let anything happen to you and I'll make sure Lord Death approves."


Lexie wasn't sure what to say at first. 'Are you going to tell him?' A slight panic flooded in with the thought. By 'him', she meant Lord Death and she didn't know what would happen if the Grim Reaper found out about what had happened because this honestly wasn't the first time.


Aeryn looked to her with his emerald eyes, this time as sharp as the bits used to cut gems. "I assure you of this, Lex. I have been in his room, I know what he sees. Chances are, he already knows. You missed class three days and showed up wearing clothes to cover bruises. Do you really think he isn't aware?" Aeryn asked.


Lexie's demeanor shrunk slightly. Aeryn was probably right, but it didn't help the situation at all. Instead of answering his question directly though, she offered a new question. "Can we just go home now... somewhere not here?" She didn't precisely care where 'home' was; Lexie just wanted to go somewhere where she could get off of her feet and somewhere where she could put ice on her back without anyone asking why.


"We will go to my appartment, get you ready, and then I'll go to Lord Death myself and request you stay if only for the night. He'll probably find you safer quarters later, since I doubt he'll let us room together... dating," Aeryn explained. His eyes soften up considerably, mostly because she had basically consented to letting him protect her. He then asked, "Does that sound okay? We can go to your apartment tomorrow to move, probably skip class, too."


Lexie nodded and finally pulled herself out of his embrace, uncoiling her arms from around him and offering him her hand, no longer trying to keep the pain out of her face because she knew that he knew it was there anyway. "Ok," she answered.


As Aeryn rose to meet Lexie, the Will of Saren had a whole new intent. Xander would not hurt Lexie again. Aeryn wouldn't let it happen and Saren just wanted to hurt Xander. If anything happened, Aeryn had full intents to move Heaven and Earth to fix it. He just had to show that to Lord Death.

 

[Ticci Toby Rogers]

Blue Bloods Dyed Red

Location: School grounds, outside.


Identification: King of Hearts and The Hooded Terror


Colab with @Chara Angel of Death
​

Arthur held out his hand to his new partner, as to be able to help her off the floor when he stood. He smiled at her, but was distracted by a series of bells, also know as his fairies. He tilted his head to look at them, and began talking to them once again. “Juliette... No… She’ll be fine! She’s a big tree she can take care of herself! You worry too much Ophelia…” He looked at Akahana again, before groaning, as his fairies began talking to him again. “Juliette, you’re too young to understand….” He waved his fairies away, and spoke to Akahana. “Would you do me the honor of accompanying me, to ease young Juliette’s mind… She’s a rather young fairy, and does not understand that the dryads can take care of themselves…”


Akahana watched as he appeared to have a weird conversation with himself… Someone named Juliette? Probably one of his people. She did a weird, crooked smile as she was helped to her feet. She listened to the request, and shrugged,


“Sure, I don’t mind doin’ some shit, your Highness.” She said while stifling a chuckle.


Arthur nodded, and began to lead her out of the school. He walked past the ice cream social area, and tried to avoid the teachers there. He pulled Akahana along, ingnoreing the trrongs of students all over the place, as he walked with his new partner outside.


Arthur pulled Akahana over to a large oak tree near the edge of the school grounds, and explained, "dryads can live anywhere there's wood... They protect the trees, and the creatures who live in them... Their homes and neighbors..." He placed a hand on the tree, and said, "Akahana... This is Dianna... I'm not too fond of women... But I take my people as an exception.... Dryad's are beautiful... Elegant... Trees... They don't hold such a ghastly unnatural shape, as a human woman, no offense..."


Akahana let out a surprised yelp as her hand was grabbed, running along with him as she felt her heart pounding. She knew this was going to happen a lot, but she was thoroughly entertained. She enjoyed her new partner, and would happily play part in his delusions.


She stared vacantly at the oak, more so at the leaves. She's seen trees but... They were dead and scratched up. Seeing an actual living tree just silenced her.


"I... Its... Alive..." She stuttered, her voice extremely shaky, "Are trees supposed to look like that?!" She pointed wildly.


Arthur nodded, and said, "So long as they have their dryad... When the dryads leave, with no intention of coming back, then the tree will die in a matter of years... If they stay then they die with the tree..."


Arthur looked sadly at the tree, and rubbed it's bark gently. "It's sad really... How flimsy life is.... I don't really think about it too often, but it's sad... The only thing you ever know for certen is that your going to die.... It's sad... One second your a happy little tree, tussling your leaves about, and the next you're being eaten alive by termites... Humans have the most fleeting life of all, simply because they waist it so.... They get this notion in their head that they'll live forever, and die with so many things left unresolved... They put off too much, and wait till it's too late... That's why I prefer my people over humans... They know how short life is, so they live each moment as if it were their last.... Hell, at least one of my fairies drops dead every day, because some ignorant fool stops believing they're real... It's sad... But also intriguing.... To know that someone's life could be shortened or ended in an instant by you...." He chuckled. "Very intriguing...."


Akahana felt her heart flutter as he spoke. She never has met someone who spoke like this, nor has she ever thought of life like that. Before now, she was the angel of death, the decider of fate... The killer of many... But right now, she felt small. Small that there is governing force and consequences to her killing, and small that life was more than she thought.


"Thats... Yeah..." She mumbled, seeming extremely flustered.


Arthur looked back at Akahana, and said, "It's hard to think that 100 years from now, no one will know who we were, but that's the thing about life... We're all going to die and be forgotten some day, and that doesn't really bother me... I'm ready to die, but I have to try to stay alive.... For my people if anything... And you of cores..."


She suddenly struck her partner with a glare.


"Tch, forget about ME? Not in a million years. I'm going to go down in fucking history.." She barked at him, "I've done unforgettable things, and soon the world will know!" She was bent on laughing madly, but she stopped herself, plopping back down into a sitting position.


"I keep forgetting I can't fucking do that.."


Arthur chuckled, and said, "for some strange reason I can see you refusing to die until you're a legend... Like you'd be immortal until you were sure no one will forget you..." Arthur laughed, and sat down next to Akahana. "You can laugh if you want... I like it... Sounds like mine..."


Akahana slowly looked at Arthur.


"Your Highness... Let me tell you something..." She muttered, "I used to be the decider of fate.. The angel of death... In my old village. It was kill or be killed in there, and I was the queen." She began to laugh lightly, "I killed everyone, I even made a list. I was going to be done..." She had a crazed look in her exposed eye, "But that FUCKER refused to die!" She suddenly tightened her fist, "Hah... Thought he could kill me!" She finally broke out in laughter, pounding her fist to the floor.


Arthur laughed with Akahana, and said, "I've only killed nurses in the asylum... You know, the whores that thought they were better then me because they didn't see the world I saw...."


Arthur smiled sadly, and held one hand out to let one of his wisps hover above it. He giggled and let the spectral flame tickle his palm.


Akahana casted a large smile at Arthur.


"Y-you're not mad? That's great! Everyone who i've told said that I was an evil child for killing an entire town..." She whispered the last few words, putting a hand to her face, "I'm not evil, am I?"


Arthur looked at Akahana and said, "the world isn't divided into good and evil... It's divided into those who rob and those who are robbed.... You protect your own... Mans justas is just a sham any ways... You can't afford to believe the lies of humans.... Humans lie without compunction.... Of course that applies to us as well..."


Akahana twisted a lock of her brown hair, humming gently as she listened to him.


"Trust me, I know..." She mumbled, "Hilarious that the one who taught me the ways is the one I have to kill now. Oh how fate tangles..."


Arthur smiled at Akahana and said, "now you're one of the ones I protect...." He began to pet the wisp in his open palm, appearing to be only petting air.


Akahana looked to him, but seemed to puff in anger.


"I don't need protection..." She seemed to suddenly cut off the connection they had, "I.. I don't need anyone looking out for me but myself. It's been that way since I was young and it'll be that fuckin' way now!"


Arthur looked at Akahana sadly, and said, "My apologies... I did not intend to insult thee so... All my life ever amounted to, was the protection of myself and others... Thou art my friend... Like all of my people, I care for your well being... If thou were to be robbed from me... And I could have provented it... But didn't... Your blood would stain my hands... And I fear yours would not wash away...."


Akahana merely released a gentle snort, got up, and began walking away.


"Call me when I can cut through some motherfuckers." She said in a rather upset tone.


Arthur watched his new partner walk off, and let out a long sigh. He turned back to his little wisp, and said, "she's the first woman I've ever met, who didn't hurt me... But she's also the first who didn't need me... She really is different... Does that answer your question?"


Akahana headed off towards another part of the campus, releasing a sigh as she slipped her mask, and then finally her hoodie on.


"What an idiot..." Of course, she didn't mean her partner, she was referring to herself...


(Coding and colour changing, unavailable due to technical difficulties.)

 

[Pariah Stark]

Collab Post

@Hanarei & Pariah Stark

Aiko & Ikeda

Duo (Crescendo)

Training Grounds

No tags​

Aiko's hand gripped tightly upon the handle of the strange looking short sword. She spun the blade around in her hand briefly in an act more of show rather then of actual technique before she began to swiftly strike out with the blade. The girl's body spun around, throwing out a round house kick fullowing her blows of with a swim of the blade as she moved quickly around the small open area she had decided to use to practice with her new partner.


She did a swift backflip before falling to her knees. The form of the blade shifted as it grew longer, turning into its guitar form. The girl struck a sudden riff as she posed back dramatically in fashion. Her long side ponytail falling back as she bit her bottom lip as if attempting to amplify the moment that much more. She ended her pause relaxing as she jumped back to her fear looking upon her blade.


"Nailed it!" She spoke out in a dramatic fashion, looking to her new partner with a wide grin. It wasn't hard to tell she was taking their 'training' far from being serious. Aiko had a rather bad habit of relying far to much on her own natural talent when it came to weilding a weapon. It was something she was adamant about bragging on, even quicker to be shut down when someone mentioned the aspect of Soul Resonance.


'Now if only your guitar lessons were so impressive. You still can't even land an E chord,' Ikeda replied inside their mindscape. Aiko still insisted on speaking aloud when they could share a space inside their mind telepathically. It was somewhat frustrating, especially when they were doing the same song and dance with their training. Sure, she was good; incredibly fast, even, but she was hardly utilizing him to his fullest.


'You aren't even trying to match your wavelength with mine. You might as well be using a standard sword. If you at least tried, we could cut through solid steel,' Ikeda tried to explain, but honestly, he and their teacher had tried to explain the same thing. She was held back by not even trying to make a basic soul link. It didn't even need to be resonance, they just needed to actually be on the same level.


But Aiko? Aiko and her entire wavelength was this spiky, energetic frequency that Ikeda couldn't even try to keep up with. He could try to increase his own wavelength until they matched, but he couldn't match hers on his own. She would have to meet him half-way and over the past few days, it felt like she wasn't even trying to. He was just a piece of steel to her at this point.


Aiko heard his voice, shrugging a little bit. "Hmmph... I thought I did good! Its not like I know how to play guitar, I'm just so awesome to learn it as quick as a did." She gloated a bit with a grin, tapping him lightly against her shoulder, doing so carefully in his guitar form. Her cockiness had not eased at all since she came to become partners with him. It was hard for her to really allow that down.


The girl seemed to show a sign of uneasy hearing him mention the aspect of wavelength. The girl looked to the side, letting out a nervous laugh. "Me? I can cut through steal without needing that kind of thing! You know how awesome I am!" She spoke out attempting to keep her cocky attitude, all while doing a poor job hiding her unease about what he said. It was a weak spot for the girl that always left her feeling frusterated. She was far from the type to admit she had an issue with something.


Ikeda was quick to see through her little game. He had seen through it in the days prior using his musical perception. She always hid her insecurity under layers and layers of pride, and she did have a lot of capabilty. But, Ikeda probably more than anyone at this point knew what she hid and why. She was on the road to becoming a solo Meister like that kid Paul who used no weapon. Right now, there was virtually no difference in her using Ikeda and a regular bastard sword, and Ikeda knew it.


'Prove it. I'll let you get any regular sword you want, and I'll parry it with my own soul as a partial transformation. I'm literally risking an arm just to prove you can't. If you want to keep being weaker than people like Ivy, then you can keep pretending that you're awesome, but the reality is, you're just some cute little girl pretending to be someone like her when you're not. Not yet, anyway,' Ikeda replied.


Aiko looked at Ikeda hearing his voice. She wasn't at all pleased by his words. "Don't talk to me like that! I'm not just some weak girl... I know I'm not the best there is but I ain't just somw weakling!" She spoke out seeming quite upset. She dropped him as she crossed her arms walking a little away seeming rather upset. The girl glared back at him looking towards him.


"You don't know anything about me... or anything about the school or anything! You don't know anything, specially about me!" She spoke jumbling a bit her words as it wasn't hard to see how much she disliked what he had said. The girl looking in his direction remaining headstrong in her stance. Even ifshe wasn't completely oblivious to her own weaknesses, she didn't like the fact he was pushing her about it.


ikeda glowed a bright blue as he reformed into his regular self when she threw him. He let her walk away, pouting like a miserable little schoolgirl. Ikeda was beginning to believe more and more that he may have made a poor choice in his partner. For all of her strength, she had no teamwork or humility, and it was growing frustrating. She - and Ikeda by extension - would never grow if she couldn't admit to her faults to work on them.


Ikeda then walked back to a weapons rack in the sparring room. It was one of the many areas located around the giant track field for physical activities normally used for sports. He quickly grabbed a sword slightly longer than himself as a blade and tossed it into the ground. "Pick it up," Ikeda told her in a stern tone. He then transformed his right arm, causing it to turn black from the shoulder down and grow a long blade from its tip with the same barb on it. "I'm going to show you the difference between my self resonation and a regular weapon," he told her.


With a quick glare, he added, "Then maybe you'll understand the power you lack."


She looked at him as he dropped the blade. She shook her head as she ventured over. She grabbed a second blade, grabbing the one he dropped. She looked at him still quite angry. She gripped the blades looking at him. "I'm not some brute either... I'll show you..." She spoke looking to him seeming frusterated. The girl spun the blades as she held them up. Her eyes fixating on him.


"No," Ikeda said as he saw her grab a second blade. He lowered his arm and allowed it to revert to normal. "This isn't about how good you are; it's about a skill you lack. You're not going to knock me on my ass and think you've proven a point. You won't prove anything. Drop that second blade and swing it at my arm. Don't play games. Don't make excuses. Stop acting like a five year old," Ikeda added, now standing perfectly still with his arms crossed despite her running at him.


Aiko heard his voice as he protested against her use. She looked to him staring a bit angrily at him. "I've trained everyday to become how I am! I didn't need to rely on others to get where I am. Erica... Erica understood my flaws and worked with me as a partner, not as some pushy know it all! You're new here and yet all you do is seem to think your some expert. I know I don't got it all and more so you aren't at all! I don't see someone like you ever going anywhere. Your just some two bit weapon who isn't likely to go anywhere!"


She dropped the blades walking away. The girl was rarely ever angered to such an extent. His comments had only fueled a flame that lingered in her mind she kept suppressed. Her hands trembled as she made a fist, walking away from him. "Erica was a better partner then you could ever be. She was much stronger... but most of all she didn't pretend she knew the answers to everything." She stormed away not giving much of a chance for him to respond to her.


"Maybe because Erica didn't know the difference. I may not know everything, but I know the difference that a proper bond can make," Ikeda replied to her. He was growing more and more frustrated because he knew precisely how powerful a weapon could be. His sister required two entirely different Meisters to be utilized properly because of how complex it was to use her different abilities. She was part of a five-person team; the most complex squad in the entire DWMA, probably. Two Meisters, both utility Meisters and three weapons. Either Meister could wield the two other weapons, but his sister was a Scythe that required both hands or immense focus as a musical instrument. While the other pair was dual-wielded to make the best use of utility meisters, Misaki was an incredible force to be reckoned with on her own.


His sister had fought and killed Contracted Ones in her group. His sister hunted down Witches and collected Kishin eggs. So many that she nearly made her two weapon companions Death Weapons, too. His sister was the pinnacle of teamwork and if he ever wanted to accomplish that, he needed his Meister to do more than just swing him around like a piece of cold steel. "You may have trained, Aiko, but you've been coddled because of it. Sure, you're fast; fast enough to be a Two Star Meister. The way I see it, all you've done is get yourself in a position where people will understand your faults and think they're justified by your strengths. Don't you dare tell me I don't understand. I understand your flaws perfectly fine. The thing is, you can be better. You don't have to do it alone."


Aiko shrugged his words off as she left the room. The girl was angry and upset. She crossed her arms leaving her new partner alone. The girl was fuming in frusteration with him. Talking like some teacher... acting all high and mighty... I bet he hasn't even experienced a real fight... how dare he go on saying such to me and treating me like a child. Her mind ventured to him while in truth she knew it was more then that. She was frusterated mostly with her ownself.


He watched her walk off. He was getting frustrated himself. Just a few days ago, she was absolutely enthralled to have him as her partner. He was unique, her style of weapon, and he was smart. He wasn't exactly happy about being as social as she was, but she pulled him out of the shell he had and pushed him into the world. It wasn't something he did naturally, but it was something he did with Aiko. Yet, when it came to trying to tap into his power as a weapon, she did nothing. Aiko had the potential, too. She could forge a bond with him. He felt her do it the first time she used him as a weapon. But now? Now he felt heavy and dull every time she picked him up, and it was taking a toll on him.


As she walked away, he could feel his frustration seethe through him. He wanted to explore what he could really do, and he was so sure Aiko could help him do that. She just didn't want to. Ikeda felt as if she would push him into these odd, awkward situations he hated, yet the moment he wanted her to try something outside her comfort bubble, she refused. All this frustration was rooted in a single memory. The first time she held him. It wasn't even a serious; she picked him up as a joke, but in that moment, he felt like he'd known her forever. He felt like she could understand him in ways no music could express. Everyone he felt revolved around that first time, and it frustrated him to no end.

 

[Keanehandiam]

Nickname:Tinker


Status: EAT Student


Classification: WEAPON


Partner: N/A


Mood: Curious


Location: Wooded area outside the DWMA


With: @DaughterofAthena

Keanehan Diam And

Nadia Voltaren
​

The time after the Ice cream social was used by Keanehan in the most efficient way possible. He jumped from mission to mission; completing what he could with as little overhead as possible. Unfortunately for him the number of missions he had taken on as well as his lack of rest between them had taken a certain toll on his body. Although this was to be expected. As durable as he was it didn’t mean he was indestructible. Yet and still, he insisted on training with Nadia. So long as he had energy he was going to use it.


They had decided to work on partial transformations this time. This differed from their usual medical training, which was all well and good considering that Keanehan would soon have to have a partner. More combat training would help him in the long run. Both he and Nadia were out in the wooded area just outside of the academy.


“Ms. Nadia, how is it? Only using part of your body for combat, I mean? I’ve done it before myself, but for me it feels natural due to it being only my hands.”


“Honestly, I’ve never fought any other way. They tried to teach me full transformations, and it didn’t take. I don’t have a full weapon form,” Nadia explained. “I’m sure you’ve read about autonomous weapons somewhere or other, Keanehan.”


“While I have, I just never thought of it as something that was commonplace. Then again…” He looked down at his feet for a moment in silent appraisal. “Well, do you think that you could get the hang of it now that you’re much wiser than before?” Keanehan turned his left hand into it’s gauntlet form.


“It’s not that I don’t know how, Keanehan,” Nadia repeated. “I legitimately don’t have a full form. It - it doesn’t exist.” She was getting ever so slightly snappy at him because she could’ve sworn the definition of an autonomous weapon was in the textbooks. Apparently he hadn’t read them. “Now, would you like to start training or are we going to turn this into another lecture hour?”


“I didn’t mean to detract from our original task, ma’am.” Keanehan made himself ready and took in a deep breath. ‘As much as I know about them, it still begs the question, if one could manifest their full form? While nothing has yielded evidence supporting my hypothesis, one would still think that it could still be a possibility.’


Nadia huffed for a moment before she directed Keane towards a tree nearby. “I want you to hit the tree. Concentrate your wavelength into the blow, but DON’T knock down the tree.” This was a drill designed to work on control. So many students focused on raw power, but if a weapon was ever to be paired with a meister, control was far more important. “Hit it over and over again. But whatever you do, don’t let it fall. You must be able to control your power.”


Looking at the tree, Keanehan took a few steps toward it and then placed his feet firmly beneath himself. “To hit the tree without letting it fall…” Before punching he switched his footing and turned his right hand into a gauntlet in place of his left. With a small amount of time allotted to charging his soul wavelength, he slammed his fist into the tree, shattering the bark under his fist. It hadn’t fallen. Again he punched, but on the third time he managed to have it topple. “It would appear that I was less than successful.”


“So try again,” Nadia replied. “I don’t care how much power you have. It does you NOTHING without an ability to control your wavelength. You need to know how to hold it back. How to measure a precise amount of it. You need to become so familiar with its sound that you don’t even need to think about controlling it; it will just do what you want it to.”


Nadia approached a tree herself, her hand transforming into a small silver blade and around the blade, it almost appeared as though it was coated with a glowing blue aura. She swung her entire arm at the tree with incredible force and yet it didn’t slice through the tree. It barely left a dent. “I can use my wavelength to dull the blade just as easily as I can sharpen it,” she explained.


“I see.” The boy looked at her work with his purple eye closed. Trying to analyze what she had done. He went to a tree of his own and tried copying what she had done. His hand was coated in the glow of his soul. As bright orange as it could be, but he dimmed it to a low glow before striking the tree. This time less bark had come off of the tree. Again he struck the tree with his right hand. Only a few bits had flown off. On the third time the tree only partially splintered.


He kept smacking at the tree until it had finally fallen over. “I must say, that control is much more difficult than I thought it’d be. How would you maintain that kind of focus in battle?”


“Lots of practice,” Nadia replied, her answer seeming almost too simple. “The focus shouldn’t be focus. It will become second nature. You shouldn’t need to think about it. You should just know what needs to be done and then your wavelength should comply. It’s like muscle memory. Soul memory.”


“So practice makes permanent, then.” Again he moved himself to another tree and continued. His arm was beginning to tire, due to his lack of rest between missions, but he kept it up. His wavelength making a gradual cushion between his fist and the tree. “So if you wield your wavelength with a certain intent then it will do as you ask of it?” As he asked the question, his concentration and splintered the tree. A deep sigh left him as he let his fist fall to his side. “Oh, how unfortunate.”


“With practice, your wavelength will learn the difference between each intent. Instinct will take over,” Nadia responded. “Without practice, it will never do what you ask it to.”


Keanehan went to lift his arm, but felt the muscle lock up. It was almost shameful to him, that he couldn’t keep going. “I’m sorry, miss. It would appear my lack of rest has caught up with me. Do you think we could stop here for now?” His question had more layers than one. He was actively avoiding his left hand. ‘Could I manage to keep it under control?’


Nadia mulled it over for a moment. “If that is your wish,” she stated, sounding slightly disappointed. “Remember, though, this training alone will never be enough. One must have a sound soul, mind and body to truly master anything. And rest is a part of that.”


Keanehan kept thinking on his left hand and decided it best to at least give it a try. He switched to his left hand and let the purple wavelength seep out. He took a deep breath and slammed his palm into the tree, and with that one strike the tree came apart. “How tedious.” He undid his arm, walked to his instructor, and bowed. “I’m sorry, ma’am I don’t believe I’m rested enough for this exercise.”


Holding his left hand in his robes he walked away. ‘I’ll have to rest if I want to control that.’ He gritted his teeth as he thought on his poor decision.


‘That’s no fault but your own,’ Nadia wanted to reply. However, she held herself back and instead said, “You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others, Keanehan.”





Emotional key


King


Queen


Emotionless

 

[Miyu]

Remi & Eve

A collab between @Chibii and Miyu
​

It was around 11 AM, Remi was walking towards the DWMA, looking around Death City, the girl sighed, she overslept. "Great ...” the girl spoke, rubbing her eyes, she then put her orange glasses on, starting to walk a bit faster, she then ran as quickly as she could. ‘I should go apologize to Lord Death …’ Remi thought to herself, arriving to DWMA, she looked up at the gigantic academy. She then took her first step inside the academy, and her first fall in the academy, right when she took her first step, she seemed to trip, falling down on the floor. Remi sighed, looking around, sighing in relief that no one saw her, she then continued to walk around the academy, it was so big, that she quickly got lost in it. Remi took a deep breath and exhaled. ‘Ugh … Now I’m lost … Just great …’ She thought to herself.


Remi then continued to walk around, getting even more lost, Remi got a bit angry but calmed down pretty quickly, she then decided that she would go find some help, she ran around the hallway, trying to find anyone. She then quickly got her glasses of just in case if anything would happen to her like if she would trip again, she continued to run, until she found more of a tall girl with black hair, she couldn't see her face properly but she just tapped the tall girl’s shoulder. "Uh … Hello there, miss. I’m new here … can you please tell me where Lord Death’s room is?” The girl asked as politely as she could.


The black haired female whipped around, her bright blue orbs sending Remi a glare before giving her a quick scan. “Coincidence, I’m heading there too.” She said, her eyes softening as her lips curved into a half smile. “I’m Eve. Eve Penchant.” The black haired girl introduced, “Follow me if you want. Though I might seem a bit lost too… It’s my first month, still getting used to it.” She added.


Remi followed the girl, known as Eve Penchant, she stared over at the tall girl. ‘Why do I have to be so short!?’ Remi thought to herself, looking down at her feet. She looked back at Eve, walking next to her, just thinking random things to herself. She stooped for some seconds but quickly catched up to Eve, trying not to trip again like she did some minutes ago. She continued to stare at Eve, making a soft smile.


“Here we are.” Eve said, sighing a bit as she pushed open the door. The two females walked towards Lord Death, their footsteps quickening as they approached the Reaper himself. “Ah, you’re here!” Lord Death exclaimed, hands moving excitedly. “It seems you two have found each other already! Eve, this is your new weapon, Remi Kita.” He said, his hands gesturing toward to redhead. Eve’s eyebrows raised in surprise, her face breaking out into a grin as she faced Remi. “Well, at least she doesn’t seem stupid…” Eve said, loud enough for the others to hear. Soon after, Lord Death sent them off, the two had already missed first period, but they had excuses.


“So, Remi… What weapon are you?” Eve asked, glancing at Remi.


Remi looked over at Eve as she asked her a question. “I’m a flamethrower … Well, more of a modern type of flamethrower. Why did you ask?” Remi sighed, smiling, she had no choice but to talk to her new meister, the girl was interesting for her after all, and they found each other pretty fast. Remi was still kind of confused, shaking her head a bit. With that, Lord Death wasn’t what she seemed he would be like, she thought he would be a lot scarier and evil-looking. Remi giggled a bit.


“Oh, no reason… I just like to know what I’m working with…” Eve replied, she slowed to a stop in front of a classroom. “Well… This is it… 2nd period.” Eve grinned, opening the door and entering. The classrooms here were spacious, Eve took a seat and took out her book, reading silently as Remi sat down next to her.

 

[Sergeant Sass]

Alexis "Lexie" Traynor, Alexander "Xander" Traynor and Ren Ichisayame

Collaboration With:

@Arkytior​

Lexie looked down at her tray for a moment. It certainly wasn't the most interesting lunch she had ever had - chicken and rice with a side of green beans - but it was better than nothing and she had never been one to be the pickiest of eaters. She took what was given to her without much complaint. Turning, she looked at the lunchroom which was already filled with students and her eyes scanned the tables for an empty seat, not really paying much attention to who was around because it shouldn't have mattered. Seeing an empty seat right next to a group of girls who looked like they were having an interesting discussion, Lexie did not hesitate to start making her way there.


The group was secluded in a corner and although Lexie didn't know any of their names, she recognized some of their faces and she figured she could get to know them pretty easily. In fact, one of them glanced her way and smiled at her, beckoning her forward. However, Lexie never quite got there because another voice called out to her and her head turned violently at the sound of her name.


"Hey Lex!" It was Alexander. "Did you forget where home was amidst all your frolicking and romancing!?" He sneered his words out in a nasally yell. "You know, I am your brother..." he continued, his voice soft for a moment and it almost sounded sad. "Don't you think that family ought to come first? Certainly at least ahead of your STUPID BOYFRIEND!!" And he was yelling again.


At the table beside the siblings, Ren was trying to take a midday nap before Hotaru came along and dragged him to some other class. Despite how good he was at tuning people out, he was finding it difficult with the two nearby.


Letting out an aggravated sigh, the raven-haired male slowly cracked open his eyes, running a hand through his hair, barely having any interest in the actual conversation. All he cared about was going back to sleep, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. Swinging his legs over the side of the bench he stood and made to brush past the two only to stop as he finally started to listen to what was being said.


Eyes narrowing slightly, he paused a few feet away, hands resting loosely in his pockets. "And if the family is worthless?" he asked, placing himself into the conversation.


Lexie's eyes flickered to the newcomer curiously although her body remained tensed after hearing Xander yelling at her. She honestly didn't know how to respond to anything he had said; she even felt bad because she HAD been ignoring him - more or less.


Xander, meanwhile, turned his full attention to Ren before he rolled them in annoyance. "Stay out of it, asshole!" Xander sneered, his arm waving at Ren dismissively as though he wasn't of any importance. "Family is NEVER worthless!"


Lexie watched the encounter and her eyes never left her brother. She flinched every time he spoke and she even started to interject, "Xander... stop..." but she didn't quite get around to finishing what she had been about to say.


"That's surprising," Ren commented, unaffected by the other male's reaction to him. "You should be happy that you don't have my mother in your family. There's a certain line that once someone crosses it, they lose all meaning." he explained. "You sure you don't have someone like that in your family? Almost everyone has someone whose left out."


Lexie's eyes lit up for a moment at the black haired boy's comment although they quickly sunk again into sadness. His words were too much of a reminder of the truth that had become her life all too often. Her mom was dead. Her dad was in prison and rightfully so, and there she stood still trying to save her brother from the same fate as her father. None of it really should have made any sense at all, but every piece of it did.


Xander, meanwhile, looked as though he had been slapped in the face at the comment because he was not immune to memories either and he didn't like to admit that they existed. "You STAY OUT OF IT!" Xander was yelling again and all of his attention was now off of his sister, at least for the moment. "The ONLY reason why our family doesn't work is because of THIS STUPID PLACE! And now you're only proving how terrible it is!"


"Struck a nerve, huh?" Ren offered, shrugging his shoulders slightly as if saying 'what can you do'. Shifting his gaze from Xander to Lexie, he paid attention to how she seemed to sink at both his words and her brothers. "You're quiet." he told her, now ignoring Xander. "How do you feel about this? He was screaming at you earlier."


Lexie seemed surprised at his question to her, and at his comment as well. It actually made her flinch in a sense; she did everything she could to try to NOT be the quiet one, yet Xander always seemed to make her sink into that state. "He's my broth..." She didn't get to finish what she was going to say - again.


"Yeah, you struck a nerve! Who do you think you're talking to, asshole!?" Xander was clearly not happy. "She's MY sister and I can scream all I want!" Xander had actually moved to place himself between Ren and Lexie although the expression on his face made it clear that he was not protecting Lexie; he was defending his own pride. "Shut up and stay out of MY business!" It was unclear whether he was yelling at Ren or at Lexie with his final statement although his hand started to spark in pure rage.


Lexie reached up and put her hand on her brother's shoulder only for him to slap at it hard, making her jump back, dropping her tray which she had been precariously holding in one hand onto the floor where it splattered onto her shoes.


Raising a brow, Ren reached out as Lexie's lunch fell, shoving Xander out of his way. Stepping into the space where the younger male had just been, he glanced over at him. "Good job." he replied sarcastically. "I can definitely see how you view your family that you claim is never worthless." he said, nodding slightly towards Lexie.


"You definitely treat her with great respect." he mocked before once more ignoring him. Turning to fully face Lexie, he sighed softly, glancing down at her shoes. "You okay?"


"She'll get my respect when she EARNS it!" Xander snapped in reply, quickly turning on his feet and recovering from the shove Ren had offered him before he charged at Ren, his hand practically flaming while sparks of his wavelength continued to jump from it while he drove his fist forward.


Lexie never got a chance to reply. Her arms merely rose up in front of her, afraid of seeing anyone get hurt because of her.


Watching as Lexie seemed to instantly shift into a form that could offer the most protection in her position, his eyes narrowed. Turning on the balls of his feet, Ren quickly dodged the fist flying towards him, grabbing Xander's forearm with one hand and jerking him around so that he was facing the other side of the cafeteria. Pulling the younger male's arm up behind his back, Ren leaned down slightly, hissing into his ear. "I strongly suggest you leave."


With a harsh shove, from the middle of his back and right below his neck, Ren watched as Xander stumbled, his weight shifting forward although he regained his balance before he landed flat on his face. He turned and glared at Ren once although he did as he was told, sparks still leaping off his hand while his eyes glared at anyone else who dared to meet his gaze.


It was only after that that Lexie was finally able to answer Ren's question from only a moment before. "Yeah. I'll be ok," she stated. It sounded like something she had practiced over and over again.


"You don't sound okay," he told her. Sighing, he looked around the cafeteria, noticing that practically everyone was now watching them. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he gave them a blank stare before turning back to Lexie. He sighed again. "Come on." he muttered, gently grabbing her arm. "Let's get out of here, I'll buy you something to eat somewhere else..." he told her, leading her towards the exit.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Jayce “Pharaoh” Hamerkin

Partial transformation: right arm. Jayce’s arm became a curved blade the likes of which many saw in his weapon form. It glimmered gold in the light of the sun and he hacked at the tree in front of him, driving the blade into the trunk and denting it in various places over and over again. Never once did he put enough strength into the blow to cut the tree. His blade was certainly sharp enough to do it, but he didn’t particularly enjoy destroying the forest. From what he could see, more than enough students did that already. Every time he meandered down here, a new tree was lying on the ground.


Very quickly, Jayce shifted his transformation. The blade washed off of his arm like water, leaving his normal human form behind while he drove his fist at the tree as hard as he could. It wasn’t enough to really do anything; Jayce wasn’t exactly the strongest there was and he didn’t try to be. He knew well enough that he was a weapon and that was good enough for him. The practice was more to ensure that he could turn it off in time to prevent someone or something from getting gutted.


Partial transformation: left arm. Again, Jayce’s arm transformed into the curved golden blade of an Egyptian sword and again he drove it into the tree again and again, leaving hash mark after hash mark in its bark. It lacked the same amount of strength as his right arm and Jayce realized that he really should train more often in order to fix that, but his mind was too clouded right now to realize that simply stabbing the tree over and over again would not help matters any.


I couldn’t… I wasn’t strong enough. Kyrsten is dead. Alessa was terrified… I’m just not strong enough to protect my meisters. Even as those thoughts flooded his mind, Jayce’s slices at the tree grew harder and faster. Two years without a partner. I’ve forgotten a lot, I’d imagine. I’ve gotta catch up so I can protect Alessa. Every time he thought of Alessa, though, it wasn’t her face that flashed inside his head. It was Kyrsten’s. It was like no matter how much he tried to escape his guilt for what had happened, she continued to haunt him. “I’m sorry Kyrsten…” Jayce mumbled softly, his voice rinsed by the continued pounding of his blade into the tree.


Little did he realize, Jayce had actually been pounding at the same spot over and over again and the tree was about to give way. The boy just kept slashing at it. And, sure enough, the tree tottered on a single point before it collapsed, falling away from Jayce and crashing into the nearby forestry. Birds flew out of the area nearby and Jayce drove his bladed arm forward one more time although as it impacted nothing he fell forward, spinning on his feet and landing on his backside in the grass.


A single teardrop ran down his eye and he had to admit he was glad no one else was around to see it. He didn’t need to feed more kindling into the belief that he was a coward, especially not when he was beginning to believe it himself.

 

[Pariah Stark]

Lexie ,Xander Traynor, and Aeryn

A collab between [/I][/COLOR][COLOR=#FFFFFF][I]@Sergeant Sass[/I][/COLOR][COLOR=#FFFFFF][I] and Pariah Stark

​

Xander tossed his backpack into his locker none too gently, slamming it shut as he made his way through the hallways of the DWMA. It was early, too early for many other people to be roaming the halls just yet. Anyone who was there, was probably either studying or working out. Xander happened to be there for the latter of the two reasons. He couldn't care less about his scores on his exams.


Xander didn't do much to draw attention to himself as he made his way to the locker room. Even as he walked through, Xander didn't stop for anything. He was already changed into running clothes and as he stepped outside, onto the track, the boy didn't care that it was just a bit too cloudy or that the air was slightly more humid than ought to have been normal given the desert that surrounded Death City itself. He didn't even seem to notice. Instead, Xander just started running.


Xander's mind was closed. Nothing got in and nothing left it. He didn't want to think; he just wanted to run. Circle after circle, the boy continued running on the path that the track of the DWMA laid out and the more he ran, the more the repeated images of the setting he kept passing by flooded his eyes. More of the school, more of the academy, more of the place he hated with a passion. Angry now that he had chosen to run at such a terrible place, Xander's feet turned him off of the track as he ran around the school, down the staircase and made his way onto the streets of Death City.


At least in the city, there weren't constant images that reminded him of all the things that had tendencies to make him mad. At least in Death City, the images weren't the same things over and over again. Xander's feet continued to pound onto the cobblestone ground as he continued to run. No destination every crossed his mind. He was just running to run.


It had been nearly two weeks since Lexie came to Aeryn crying. Two restless weeks of worrying about her. At least, for Aeryn. The reality was that it had also been two weeks of Saren gaining greater and great animosity towards the boy as more stories about him and his rude behavior circulated the school. Saren himself didn't care that it was upsetting Lexie; it was the audacity of this boy that thought he could get away with it. The Will of Saren seethed into Aeryn and over these days his protective nature over Lexie had began developing into a latent aggression towards Xander.


Szar was out for his morning walk once he noticed Xander. The boy was just running, and Szar decided to run beside him. Szar was just as intent on protecting Lexie as Aeryn, although mostly out of his kind heart. This, however, was the Will of Saren. Saren wanted Szar to follow Xander. Saren wanted to figure out just what this boy was doing. Cats were natural predators, really, and Saren was just playing on those instincts. To Szar, Xander became prey to play with. Szar followed Xander through Death City until they reached some of its more narrow alleyways - cuts through the city from an outdated era that simply hadn't been rennovated for more current times.


Szar followed this path and waited until a significantly longer alleyway came up, then dashed ahead of Xander with his feline agility to drop off the roofs and transform into Aeryn via a bright red streak of energy resembling that of a weapon transformation. Aeryn closed his eyes and could feel Xander nearing, and once he was just close enough, Aeryn slid out of the alleyway and opened his bright, green eyes. Sharp as a cut emerald, they were filled with the intent from Saren more than anything at this moment. Xander was prey to Szar, but now he was subject to Aeryn. That was the mentality shared by all of the inhabitants of Saren.


Xander did notice the movement. He saw someone step out, getting close to the path he was running along. However, in his current mindset, Xander honestly didn't care enough to get a good look at who it was or to recognize the face. Xander merely swerved his way around the person stepping out in front of him as he continued running. What kind of idiot is waltzing around at this time of morning anyway? he did briefly wonder once he put the person behind him although he didn't turn to look.


"Is that what you do, Xander?" Aeryn asked. Mostly a rhetorical question, as the tone of his edged speech implied, but more clarified by his next sentence: "Run away from your problems. Because that's what I am to you now - you should know." Aeryn then let his wavelength spike up, mostly preparing himself from what might come, but also to communicate his dominance. To let Xander know, if his voice hadn't already informed him, just whom he was now dealing with.


Xander froze although it took him a moment to actually turn around and look at the voice that had called out to him. "Excuse me!? You're a problem!?" Xander seemed baffled by the mere suggestion of it. "You think I'm running from YOU!?" Xander took a few steps towards Aeryn, not at all intimidated by the wavelength the red-head emitted. "You really must not listen to a thing my sister says if you think I'd ever run from you!" Xander's own hand started smoldering with his soul wavelength as he spoke.


"From me specifically? No. You never run from a fight, Xander. Even I know that. You wouldn't run from Ivy if she wanted your head, and trust me, I know what she can do," Aeryn replied. He was now chuckling at the thought he had Xander's attention. He was fairly sure this was the only way to get it. Now that he had it, he relaxed - at least outwardly. He was sure Xander would attack at any moment, so his guard never went down. He leaned against the brick wall behind him and crossed his arms, treating this now as a nonchalant conversation.


"I'm not necessarily here to fight. But you are running. From the past, that is. I've seen a lot of it, so I wanted to talk. Not exactly for the reasons you expect, either," Aeryn added. "You're right about the importance of family. I'm somewhat envious in that regard," Aeryn admitted to Xander. His tone had changed. He was theatrical with his words, more elegant with them. "You see, my entire family is dead. You could say... I can hardly remember them. And that saddens me, Xander. That saddens me because Lexie remembers you. She remembers who you used to be and she clings to that thought more than she ever clings to me. She clings to who you were. Not who you are. Who you are is pathetic in comparison. I didn't come here for a fight, Xander. I came here because I don't want you to lose your family. You're still important to her. More than she cares to admit - even to me. I don't want her to lose that, but you can't keep doing what you're doing to her."


Even as Aeryn's attitude shifted, Xander's entire being remained tensed and prepared to fight. His wavelength did not quiet and sparks began to leap off of his hand. One thing that may not have been apparent, however, was that he was listening to an extent. He didn't make any moves at first either - not to attack, not to continue running, not to do anything. One thing changed all that, though. One word made him flinch and all of any composure or concentration Xander had was gone in a snap. Pathetic.


Xander charged at Aeryn in a blind fury, words spurting from his mouth flooded with the anger he now felt as his wavelengths sparks turned to little flames. "Who I am is pathetic!? NO! Who I am is strong... ten times stronger than anything my sister remembers! She's WEAK and you're weak for caring about her!" Xander drove his sparking wavelength straight at Aeryn's face.


"Strength has no point if you're alone," Aeryn replied. It was his only reply. Aeryn knew Xander was rushing in, so he didn't waste time with a long retort. Xander wasn't holding his wavenlength back, either. This wasn't like their last encounter. This was more dangerous. Nothing was holding Xander back. The sense of danger sent a spark down Aeryn's spine, energizing him in a way that only a survivor could be. With his adrenaline spiking, his heart rate raising and his blood boiling, all Aeryn had to do was move.


But he didn't. Not at first. Xander was sloppy. He dived Aeryn against a wall with a straight foward punch. Aeryn wasn't about to let himself get hit by that again and he wasn't about to let such poor positioning go unpunished. Once Xander closed the gap between them, Aeryn stepped forward off the wall, then tossed a knee into where he predicted Xander would be in the next moment he tried to punch the wall. His hope was for Xander to bust his hand against the brick and for him to land a devasting hit to Xander's core, all of which would help him out if this became an all-out brawl.


Things played out in a matter of seconds, moments, instants. Xander's speed carried him forward although the moment Aeryn stepped aside, Xander realized his mistake. He always seemed to make mistakes. Quickly, Xander spun on his feet which carried him sideways as his body crashed into the wall with his back impacting first since he hadn't had enough time to stop himself. The one good outcome was that he avoided Aeryn's attempted blow to his core. That was about it, though. He was still now backed against the wall and his impact still hurt to a significant degree.


Xander didn't let that stop him though as he pushed himself off of the wall and kicked forward, his kick aimed for Aeryn's middle. Aeryn could sense this immediately. His Soul Perception was specialized just for this. High-detailed, fast-paced perception at the cost of his long-range abilities. Aeryn flexed his core tightly and allowed Xander to land his kick right into Aeryn's gut. There was a quick grunt from Aeryn, but the same motion allowed Aeryn to grasp Xander's leg.


Aeryn couldn't take many more hits like that to his gut, but it gave him the key advantage of charging his wavelength and having Xander at a complete lack of defense. Xander was mid air and Aeryn had the only leverage on him. Once Aeryn absorbed all of the momentum from the kick into his body, he phsyically tossed Xander like a rag doll into the brick wall behind them, attempting to grossly slam his body into the and possibly through the hard surface with the strength he was gaining as the fight went on.


Xander winced as his back was once again smashed into the wall although even as Aeryn had grabbed onto his leg, Xander had already begun charging his soul wavelength in his hand again. The boy threw his hand forward in an attempt to zap Aeryn's grip on his own leg, his wavelength glowing with the same fire it had been before.


Aeryn wasted no time letting go of Xander. He had already slammed him into the wall behind them, which had to hurt far more than the kick Xander landed. Aeryn stepped back and charged his own wavelength in his hand, allowing it to glow a bright blue. The blue began to warp, though. Aeryn could feel the rage and hate of Saren pouring into him, flooding him with the intense desire to just hurt Xander. This wasn't about protection anymore. This was the Will of Saren. The blue wavelength around him became a solid, visble, violet hue that radiated off of Aeryn in a violent, jagged pattern.


"I will show you how pathetic you are... and then you can think about the rest of what I said later," Aeryn snarled at Xander.


As Xander was freed from Aeryn's grip, he grimaced at the pain that flooded his body, radiating from his back which had now been smashed twice in this encounter. However, even with his grimaced expression, his eyes filled with anger. He wasn't going to stand there and be called pathetic over and over again and he wasn't going to back down from a fight.


Xander's wavelength sparked dynamite embers off the palm of his hand and he lept forward, swinging both of his arms at the sides of Aeryn's head. His goal was to smash Aeryn's head between his two fists - one of them sparking aggressively with his soul wavelength as both of his fists made their way straight for Aeryn's ears. Xander was beyond thinking now. His body was completely open, both of his arms gone to attack leaving nothing back to defend, but that was the way of his blind rage. All of his training left his conscious thought, but his wavelength intensified even further, sparked to intensity by the purity of his rage. "You're the PATHETIC one around here!"


There were no words from Aeryn. No replies. No witty comeback. Aeryn was being consumed more and more by the Will of Saren, and that only meant more and more aggression. Aeryn could feel the intense radiation that came off of Xander, the sparks flying off his brazen fists. To Aeryn, it didn't matter. It didn't matter if they landed. It didn't matter if he dodged. All that matter was that Xander hurt. He intended on making the boy bleed.


Aeryn took a defensive stance, prepping himself to block the punches in the gap between them. Once he could feel the heat pouring off of them, he lunged forward, tossing down his arms and throwing his red-haired skull into Xander's face. His counter wasn't to dodge, dive back or sidestep. It was a headbutt forward in the gap Xander left undefended, and his weapon of choice was the intended target of Xander.


Xander was driven backwards by the impact of Aeryn into him. His own hands clapped together behind Aeryn's head and Xander's soul wavelength, charged in his hand, dispersed into the air in a violent yet oddly contained explosion of embers and sparks still heated with the fury his wavelength contained. That explosion expanded in all directions it could, nicking the back of Aeryn's neck in it's burning heat.


The reaction of his hands went completely unnoticed by Xander. His attention was a bit busy being consumed by the oddity of Aeryn's attack against him now and Xander didn't have an answer to it. He was driven backwards once again, full awareness of the wall behind him dawning on him as his body tensed, bracing to impact it yet again in the moments before his back once again smashed into the brick wall and Xander's teeth gritted together in response.


While Aeryn had dodged the brunt of the attack, he hadn't escaped it. The explosion behind his head hit hard and put him in a short daze. His hair singed and vision blurred, he was forced to step back to collect himself. While this would have been a perfect opportunity for a counter attack, Aeryn was in no shape to do so. Not without fighting as blind as Xander was, and Aeryn was still quite far off that level of rage.


Aeryn hung back near the other wall, creating a gap between then. His wavelength was charging, sure, but he was still knocked off his original footing. The Will of Saren still surged through him, allowing the purple wavelength he had to still radiate from him, but it wasn't as jagged as before. It smoothed over, became more reclusive. While Aeryn turtled into a defensive stance, his wavelength reflected that.


Aeryn's step back gave Xander one thing that he hadn't had since he had first charged in - a moment to recover his feet. They hadn't fully been beneath him since the first time he had charged at the red haired meister and after a moment of arching his back, contemplating how much damage he had actually taken, Xander could once again put his full speed into a charge. "Don't you DARE hold back!" Xander's rage flooded into his words and even though he had a moment to think, there was no amount of thought that Xander could take that would ever convince him to stop a fight against someone who insisted they were superior to him.


Wavelength flooded into his palm again; it wasn't quite as strong as before. The concentrated explosion upon the impact of his hands had taken a lot of the fury out of it although it was still heated, still burning and still intense as he once again charged straight at Aeryn. It seemed like the same head on attack that he had started with; it didn't look like Xander had much more of a plan than to wildly punch, just as he had been doing the entirety of their duel so far. However, just as Xander started getting close, his speed shifted. This time, at least, he was prepared for Aeryn to dodge. Xander wasn't going to run into the wall another time - not on his own.


Aeryn released a visceral snarl as Xander got up. The hit to his head only made him come to and fall into the aggression Saren was pushing onto Xander more. Saren wanted his headbutt to break Xander's nose. Saren wanted his blood to seep into the ground. Saren wanted to bring this boy to his knees. Saren wanted Xander to grovel below Aeryn and by proxy him. Saren wanted to show Xander how far beneath him he felt Xander was. And, through Aeryn, he intended to make that happen.


Aeryn charged his purple wavelength into his hands, causing them to set ablaze with a dancing, violet vortex of his wavelength. It was aggressive. It was fanciful. It had no rhyme or rhythm, it was the will of two souls poured together into a chaotic brew of prideful aggression and a pure misunderstanding stemmed from the concern of another. It wasn't meant to blend perfectly. In fact, it didn't. His power came from the Will Saren had over them, and right now, that was the driving force of his fight.


Shifting from the last-moment bursts of speed that Aeryn was using for the fight, the new plan was simple: meet Xander head-on. He wouldn't dodge. He wouldn't counter attack. It was going to be a contest of will. Aeryn grabbed at Xander's balled fists as they flung at him and took a rigid horse stance, intending to completely stop Xander in his tracks. His own wavelength braced him, covering his hands to at least mitigate some of the burns that Xander would cause while at the same time emitting a force unlike the headbutt. This was Aeryn's Soul Force. This was Saren's Soul Force. This was a whole new game.


Even seeing Aeryn prepare for his coming attack, Xander did not stop. Full speed or not, he drove his fist forward, straight into Aeryn's waiting fist which somehow, Xander had failed to notice. One wavelength met another in an instant's clash. The bright red sparks from Xander's wavelength were only empowered by the violet vortex from Aeryn's, causing an immediately bright flash of crimson to scorch the air. Neither Aeryn or Xander were left untouched by that, both receiving noticable burns and having their hands and arms drastically damaged by the force of the clash. Once they met, however, they settled, and Aeryn gripped Xander's fists so that he couldn't easily withdraw while also attempting to press him back into the wall behind them, which itself was left with black burns from their clash of fists.


"Show me everything you have, Xander. Then I'll show you more," Aeryn barked at Xander as he tried to push him back, proving his dominance in this power struggle once and for all.


"You CAN'T show me more!" Xander snapped an angry reply as his hands started charging more wavelength, slowly fizzling out every last spark he had in him as he forced it at Aeryn while their hands were still connected. "You know why!? Because you care too much! You cared about that stupid girl, you care about my sister and you know what!? I don't care about any of them! That's why I'll always have more leverage than you'll ever possess!" Xander's words snarled out of him.


Aeryn let out an audible laugh at Xander. It wasn't really Aeryn anymore. It was Saren at this point. And, fact was, Saren didn't give a damn about Lexie. "Let me show you how wrong you are," Aeryn replied as he poured even more of his Wavelength into his fists. Xander was burning his hands, true, leaving marks on his skin from the sparks, but for the most part, he was protected where their hands touched. Regardless, the strain on his hands for using Soul Force for so long, so aggressively, was enough to fuel himself. Aeryn was being empowered by the Will of Saren and his own will to survive, his own pain.


Aeryn bore down every ounce of pressure he could on Xander, intending to either push him back into the wall or push him down onto the ground. "Do you think I'm here for her? I would've been, if you would've listened. But that's not the case anymore," Aeryn said, funneling Saren through his body and radiating his own dominance. "I'm here to hurt you. To bring you down. What you don't realize is that it's not your body I want to hurt. It's your pride," Aeryn shouted at Xander.


At this point, Aeryn really wasn't there and in fact the power from his Survivor's Wavelength dissapated. That was gone. This was Saren and everything from herein was Saren. His green eyes even glossed over a dull yellow, although it was unlikely Xander would notice that. "You will kneel to me," Aeryn added to his rant.


Despite all the pressure, all the energy and all the soul force Aeryn poured into Xander's body trying to drive him down, Xander's knees held. Thus the only place left for his body to go was backwards, deeper into the wall as he winced. Bruises on his back from previous smashes were forced even deeper and Xander's wavelength was fizzling. He had used up most of what he had and the pain drained the rage. "There's only one person I'll ever kneel to, and he IS NOT you!"


Xander's fists unclenched as he pushed forward with his hands. There wasn't enough strength there to drive Aeryn back at all; in fact, Xander's efforts probably only served to drive his own body deeper into the wall. It also did another thing though, something Xander did intend. His body absorbed all the wavelength that Aeryn was radiating and Xander's consciousness began to fade. He'd rather pass out than find himself fully aware and on the ground in front of anyone.


Aeryn could feel Xander weakening beneath him, but backed into a wall, there was no way for the idiot to kneel. While it felt like Xander was dwindling, Aeryn let go of one of Xander's fists to quickly grab his forearm and toss him again into the middle of the alleyway, releasing him from the power struggle and the wall. Aeryn, specifically Saren, had no intention of just letting Xander get away without submitting in some way, but he didn't want to kill him, and that's what Saren felt like he would do. If Xander got out of this just by passing out, Saren wasn't sure if he could hold back that type of rage. It would have reminded him far too much of the witch that got away weeks ago, and that still ate at his ego.


"Then let me give you another option," Aeryn replied to Xander. "Run like the weakling you are. Run like you do from all of your other problems. You lost here. You are pathetic."


"The only way I lose is by submitting to YOU!" Xander retorted, spitting at Aeryn rather pathetically. He didn't take a step back and he did not falter even though at that point, Xander knew he had nothing left.


"You're an idiot, Xander. An absolute fool. You say that your strength comes from how little you care, yet I put you in your place. Yet I toss you around like a petty, little insignificant doll," Aeryn replied, letting the ego of Saren shine through. "You are the meager pest waiting to the be stomped out, Xander. You are the whom comes around when you're not wanted picking on people who won't fight back. But me? I came to you. I tossed you onto the ground and beat you senseless. I didn't do that for Lexie. I didn't do that so that you could become a good brother. I did that because I wanted you to know your place... beneath me."


"I think you'll regret placing me there," Xander sneered as he once again started charging at Aeryn. He had no wavelength left. He had no strength left. All he had was his pride and he wasn't about to lose the one thing he did have. For Xander, the only way to lose his pride was to give up. Which made charging in again the only option left.


Aeryn had no remorse for Xander at this point. No one in this alley did. With his fist still full of his wavelength, although significantly weaker and admittedly drained compared to before, Aeryn rushed right back at Xander with the quick decision to take whatever Xander intended to throw at him and meet him with a quick haymaker to the jaw.


Xander's fist connected with Aeryn's gut at the full force of his speed although it lacked the wavelength that would've really driven the connection home. At the same time, that attack sealed Xander's fate as Aeryn's attack connected and sent Xander flying backwards, landing for a final time on his back. This time, he did not get up.


Aeryn looked down at Xander and waited. Silence began to permeate the air while Aeryn waited and the unconscious Xander was incapable of reply. "I suppose this will do," Aeryn muttered to himself. With the ego of Saren satiated, he began returning to his normal self. "He may not be kneeling, but I think he understands his place now," Aeryn added before hovering over the unconscious Xander to check he was breathing.


He was alive - for better or worse. Saren wouldn't have cared, but Aeryn definitely did. Panic and fear began to fill him as he realized just how bad of shape Xander was in. Both of their hands were burned out quite severely and would likely be bruised purple and black for a week from the backlash. Aeryn wasn't sure, but he may have made bruises on Xander's back big enough to ooze out blood. Aeryn fought with himself over whether or not to leave him there or take him to the Dispensary. There would be consequences either way, but ultimately, Aeryn ended up picking the lank body of Xander up and tossing him over his back. To the nurse they went.

● ● ●

​

"So, Lord Death, all I could do is make sure he didn't hurt anyone. He asked to talk about Lexie, said he was sorry, wanted to go on a walk. So we did. I thought he meant it... I told him that I was envious, y'know. All my family is dead, but he still has Lexie. I don't have anyone. I didn't know he'd do this. Once he got me in the alleyway, he said he was going to make me pay for taking Lexie, then show her she couldn't get away since he was stronger. All I did was knock him out, I swear. I didn't touch him once after; I took him right to the nurse," Aeryn pleaded to Lord Death, trying to explain the situation. At least, explain it in his favor.


Aeryn had already dropped Xander off. He was still out cold by the time Aeryn arrived, and even then Aeryn refused the notion of him staying there for the nurse to look at his arms as well. Aeryn had a different intention. Aeryn made his way to the Death Room with a plan. No one saw them. He wasn't going to lose Lexie. He wasn't getting locked back up inside this room. Aeryn was about to seal his fate with Xander, but he couldn't let the influence of Saren cost him everything.


Lord Death's eyes trickled down to Aeryn's hands. Some part of the Shinigami was actually surprised that Aeryn actually looked like he had been in a fight although he had glimpsed through his screens at Xander to realize that the other boy was far worse off in the current situation. The only problem, really, was to figure out what to do with the two boys who had gotten into a fight in the first place.


"Well," he sighed. "I can't do too much about it now. I'll have to wait until he wakes up, at the very least." He contemplated the things that Aeryn had said and remained silent for a moment. He had seen Aeryn bring Xander into the Dispensary, so he couldn't argue with that and everything else sounded accurate enough. It honestly didn't surprise him given everything that had been going on between Aeryn and the twins. Instead of commenting on the situation further, he remarked, "Are you sure you don't need to see the nurse as well?"


"My body will heal, Lord Death," Aeryn replied to him. He could cut the tension in the room with a knife. So much was running on this, and Aeryn had to remain cool. Aeryn had in fact played games of strategy with Lord Death before. He was accustomed probably more than any other student to trying to keep a straight face. But, this was entirely different. This wasn't a game. And, even if Aeryn got away with this, he would have to deal with Saren later. Aeryn couldn't let Saren just go beating people down because his ego was hurt, even if Aeryn personally being bothered by this added to it.


"What won't heal, at least not as quickly, is trust. Lexie is going to be so upset with me, but I only even tried this for her. I told him things. Things that were true. You can ask him when he wakes up; he'll tell you that he's aware my family is dead. He doesn't know why or how, but I told him I envied that he had family. Then when he fought, he just used that against me. It was so hard not to just pummel him... but I held back so that maybe you and Lexie and the rest of the students here could trust me. My body will be fine... but I brought him here and came right to you because I didn't know if I'll be fine," Aeryn explained in a rather lengthy addition to his first answer.


"I can't force other people to trust you Aeryn. Trust is something you have to earn from them and each person will expect different things. I am not going to lock you up because of one fight. If I did that, half the student body wouldn't exist," Lord Death chuckled slightly at his own comment. "However, my expectations may not match up to the expectations of others. I will be talking with Xander when Nadia decides he is able to because his actions have been getting worse and they need to be addressed. You, for now, need to avoid getting into more fights. I don't think that should be too hard, do you?"


"The only fights I'll be in are on missions or with a DWMA sponsored observer," Aeryn replied, bowing out some. He felt a small victory come from Lord Death's reply, although he was far too hollow to let himself chuckle at the remark about students. "But what I mean is... is a lot of people have faith in you, Lord Death. If you don't trust me, then they have even less reason to. If I disappoint you, they know. Even if its just the faculty. Maybe I don't treat you like the figure I should all the time, but even I'm not blind to how high most people hold you. You were the first person I met in this world when I thought everything was new... I just didn't want to become a regret of yours later." Aeryn explained.


"You don't want to become a regret of mine." It was merely a repeat of Aeryn's words - not a question to clarify like it may have initially sounded. "If that is true, then watch your step and stop putting me in difficult situations. I won't lie to you; I don't take too kindly to seeing one of my students in the condition that Xander is in regardless of what he may have done and it is not your place to correct the actions of another student." Lord Death paused. Then he added, "While you still have my trust and you are still one of my students same as everyone else, you also have many watchful eyes on you, Aeryn. Even moreso now."


"As I expected," Aeryn replied. "But, I wasn't correcting anyone. If that was my intention, he would be in worse condition and it wouldn't have happened now - it would have been the moment I heard what he did to Lexie, which put her in no better shape than he is now. I thought we could mend things. Lexie still remembers him like he used to be. Maybe I was stupid for thinking he could be that again," Aeryn added. He then actually stepped back and offered a respectful bow. "If you permit, I would like to go tell Lexie... if she's going to be upset with me, I'd rather see it. I want to know what I have to fix. I know some of this is my fault for being naive," Aeryn asked.


Lord Death nodded. "Very well. You are no prisoner. You're allowed to leave."

● ● ●

​

While Lord Death had told him he was no prisoner, he still felt like a felon. He lied to Lord Death, put Xander in the worst shape he's ever seen him in and now he had to go tell Lexie. If he was ever found out, he would be in even more trouble than if he would have just said he started the fight, not to mention his entire discussion about trust. Aeryn had a lot on the line, primarily because of Saren. And, at the moment, Saren seemed to be reveling in the fact Aeryn was such a good liar. Saren simply never knew Aeryn had it in him, but to bring out such a dark side in Aeryn brought some odd type of twisted joy to Saren that only seemed to bring Aeryn inner turmoil.


Nevertheless, Aeryn turned up at her new appartment only to find it empty. Generally meant Lexie was out having coffee at the local shop, so that's where Aeryn headed off to. He would have been so much significantly more comfortable in private, but that probably wouldn't be an option. Lo and behold, fifteen minutes later and he found her in Deat City sipping on whatever her favorite combination of coffee, cream and sweeter was - coffee being served as it was happened to be something complex and confusing that completely derailed Aeryn the first time he tried to figure it out, so he just plain didn't understand what people drank.


With a deep sigh, Aeryn walked over to her table and knocked lightly on the wooden frame, mostly to grab her attention. He flashed her a fake smile before he simply said, "Hey."


Lexie's head jerked up; she had been reading through her notes from class over the past couple weeks, making sure that there wasn't anything major that she didn't understand. The minute she saw Aeryn, a full smile flashed on her face before she noticed something that scared her - Aeryn's hands. They were burned red and it did not look at all like something Lexie had expected to see on any given morning. Her smile faded, turning to concern as she stood up from her seat and asked, "What happened? Are you ok?"


Aeryn watched her jump up and he slid back, withdrawing his hands quickly. He hadn't ever considered the damage done to them to be such a dead give-away and he wasn't putting much thought into his actions now. Aeryn let out a quick sigh. In this particular moment, he realized he couldn't lie to Lexie exactly how he lied to Lord Death. Lexie would be able to feel his feelings and see some of the images and memories he felt if she touched him and he couldn't avoid that forever. He had to warp the truth considerably for the sake of this moment and the future before he dealt more damage than he already had.


"I'm fine... hair's a bit singed, my hands'll be bruised and some of these burns might scar a little, but they'll go away. Might not even scar with the right balm," he answered. The biggest give-away was honestly that he met her this early. They had came to the agreement that a little space to do things like study and train was needed, so they either got together spontanteously or on pre-planned dates. Something like this out of the blue was almost immediately amiss.


"I guess I shouldn't dance around it. I got caught up with your brother in an old part of town this morning. Tried to talk it out with him, honest. I told him he was right. You're both right. Family is important. All of my family is dead - I told him that, too - and I'd give almost anything to see at least one of them again. It's been so long I hardly remember anyone... but none of that mattered to him. He threw the first punch, kept screaming that he was strong because he didn't care. Not about you or anyone. After a quick brawl in the alley, I knocked him out and took him to the Nurse. Talked to Lord Death... told him I'd tell you personally. I feel terrible, Lex. I tried to keep this from happening, I swear. I know... I know you just wanted your old brother back, so I tried." Aeryn explained in a long, guilt-riddled rant.


Lexie listened. If anything could be said that differentiated her from her brother, one of them - but not, by any means, the only one - was that she listened to the whole rant, even beyond the part that upset her. Sure, her frustration showed in her expression, but she did everything she could to let Aeryn finish what he was telling her.


When he finished, though, Lexie wasn't about to let him go again. She had too much to say and too much to express. "Why did you fight back!? What... why... what were you THINKING!? You could've been hurt! He's probably worse!! NO!!!" Lexie's words and thoughts were a jumbled mess flooded with panic, concern and some small amount of anger that she couldn't quite figure out what to do with. "I don't care if he threw the first punch!! He's... he's MY BROTHER!! I... I never asked you to try and save him! I could've told you it wouldn't work! Don't you think I've tried!?" Lexie's expression was a mess and every word she spoke only garbled it more before she winced as she realized how truly terrible this was.


Then, without another word, Lexie set her coffee down on the table, not caring that it was still full or that her notes were still sprawled out over the table as well, and she took off running as fast as she could. She needed to see Xander. To see how much damage had really been done. She needed to see it with her own eyes.


Aeryn realized how bombarding her with that information may have been a mistake considering her frantic nature. He had to do something. He had to curb the problem. He had to explain his side or at least get her to understand. As she ran off, he grabbed her hand. She was quick, but so was he. If she wanted to see her brother, Aeryn was going to show her something she didn't want to see. A fragment of the truth. A single, quick memory of his fight with Xander. Aeryn had to use the truth to his advantage. As he grabbed her hand, he prepared to flood her mind with one overwhelming memory that was still fresh in his:

"You CAN'T show me more!" Xander snapped an angry reply as his hands started charging more wavelength, slowly fizzling out every last spark he had in him as he forced it at Aeryn while their hands were still connected. "You know why!? Because you care too much! You cared about that stupid girl, you care about my sister and you know what!? I don't care about any of them! That's why I'll always have more leverage than you'll ever possess!" Xander's words snarled out of him.

"That's why, Lexie. He threw the first punch, he knew you would get mad at me and he knew you would be worried about him. He knew you would come running to him because now he can't get to you. This is his leverage and this is exactly what he wanted," Aeryn told her. He wasn't entirely lying. In fact, the only thing he was lying about was what he was falsely assuming Xander meant. Aeryn was torn to shreds by this thought, but it's what he felt needed to be done.


As quickly as Lexie saw the memory, her mind started trying to force it out. She brought back her own memories of Xander from long before any fighting had ever started, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough because with the old memories of Xander came the more recent ones and with those memories came the pain. Not just the physical pain. There was more than that. There was the intense emotional pain that came with the memory that Aeryn had just showed her. As much as she wanted to deny it, Lexie also knew that that was exactly something her brother would have done.


Lexie was crying now as she started to cling to Aeryn's hand with her own while she spoke, "I still have to go see him..." she muttered softly. "I - I know it's not good for me and I know you don't want me to, but I have to go see him. He's my brother..." Lexie looked up into Aeryn's green eyes, and it was clear from her expression that despite everything, she still wanted what she said she wanted. "You can come with me... to make sure I'm safe, but I have to go see him!"


Aeryn realized he couldn't fight her on this. She would see him one way or another, on his terms of hers. This became an opportunity for Aeryn. He hated it. He hated this game so much. This lie. He hated every little thing about it, but it's what he had to do. He had to repress his own memories and slowly alter them. If he created this fabricated truth and told it to himself enough times, it would become his memory. His reality. But, for now, he needed to work with hers. Aeryn held her hand, albeit not as tightly as she did. His hands were in fact still sore and he'd probably have them looked at by the Nurse once they got there. What he did do was hug her. He held her closely and whispered, "Fine. We'll go... together."


"But there's something I just... just want you to know. My family is dead. All of them. And, it's been so long I don't remember any of them. You, Kass... Lord Death. You're the closest thing to family I have. I don't want to lose you just as much as you don't want to lose Xander," Aeryn explained to her. His green eyes were dulled. His entire body was, really. Kassana was exhausted by their training because of how much of her wavelength it used, and the it was the same for Aeryn to a lesser degree. He felt like he could sleep for a week, and it wasn't even past noon.


Lexie returned Aeryn's hug, dropping his hand so that she could wrap both of her arms around him even as she heard him whisper to her and his mention of not wanting to lose her only made her squeeze him tighter. "You're not going to lose me, ok?" Lexie looked up at him, not quite smiling because she still wasn't happy with the situation regardless of how much she hadn't been able to blame Aeryn for any of it. "We'll go together. We'll go everywhere together if we have to."