Fantasy Vehemen Academy - Academy of Hunters

[PixelSymphony]

~Frederika von Eisenhart~
-- Vanguard in Retreat --

Status: Lightly wounded (facial knife wound)
Wearing: Vehemen Academy School Uniform, female
Location: Vehemen Academy, General Science classroom

---

A few steps' pace before the door to the classroom, Frederika finally slowed, the adrenaline from the fight and the power from sigil beginning to peter off. "Ich bitte dafür um Entschuldigung," she apologized to the girl she had been carrying like a loaf of bread, setting Usami down as gently as possible before returning her walking stick. "We have safely extricated ourselves. As for why we have," she said, glancing looking around for a particular shock of blue hair, "that I cannot speak to yet. I would advise we conduct ourselves with discretion for the upcoming class and save our discussion for later." She cracked the door open for the girl, closing it gently behind her with a protective glance down the corridor once her battered form had passed through.

She moved quickly into the room to collect her materials before making her way down to her customary seat, sitting in silence until the professor began his lecture. He made no statement indicating any particular knowledge of the events of the cafeteria, and, perhaps prematurely, Frederika began to wonder if maybe the professor was unaware of anything. But as she sat, she could feel the penetrating gaze of Professor Mitra wash over her; silently fixating on her face before he continued on. What was he looking at? she wondered momentarily.

“Anyone who wishes to see themself to the infirmary is free to do so,”

Her hand shot up to her face. ...oh. Her earlier presumption of the professor's naivety had been clearly fool-hardy, the slowly coagulating wound she'd taken serving as clear evidence of some manner of difficulty during the lunch period. Discretion would be a pipe-dream at this point. She looked down in response to his question, and in an oddly quiet voice, her eyes still averted, muttered simply, "I will decline."

The class itself contained a wealth of necessary information, and while her note-taking was as precise and organized as ever, even Frederika would not claim that her concentration was solely upon the lecture. Her hand unconsciously flitted more than a few times to where the knife had struck her, each time timidly probing the ragged surface of it. It was rather odd: compared to the goring she'd received yesterday, this cut was shallow enough to warrant little concern, and yet it clearly stung her very being far worse. Perhaps it is the recognition of what it represents, a populace who has chosen to bare their teeth at our very existence..." She winced slightly as a slight twinge of pain shot through the cut. ... or perhaps it is merely the steak juices, she discounted her thoughts with, not wishing to continue the nuances of her first thought any further.

The topic of Lux broke her from her internal monologue; this must have been what Miss Ceciline had retrieved from the beast they had fought the other day. Just what exactly they were researching with these Lux would be a question for a day in the future after she had read up more on the subject. The lecture came to a close soon after that, and as they still had time before they were to be shuttled to this much talked about assessment, Fredi took the opportunity to check in on a few items that were still bothering her. She made her way up to the back of the classroom; this time far less assuredly than last, and gave a small nod to Hanna. "I am glad to see you survived the melee, though I see neither of us came away unscathed," she remarked, glancing towards her roommate's well-worn knuckles. "I am left wondering just what more will this school throw at us for our final engagement of the day, much as it has been talked about."

"Speaking of engagements," she said with a turn in subjects as well as a literal turn towards Hanna's front-most neighbor, "Kiyoshi, why did you pull us from the fight? We seemed to be well engaged with the enemy; did something occur?"

---

Mentioned: Mitra ( Nano )
Interacting: nios , Nessi , vxnilla

 

[LoliCowboy]

Nora Glass
"Why struggle?"
​

​

location: the Academy: classroom

condition: tired

outfit: baggy sweater, sweatpants

Nora wandered into class feeling very keenly out of place. She glanced back at the hallway, wondering if she should return to the dorms for her uniform, but decided against it. She had little desire to brave the tidal wave of bodies in the school corridors. Most of them thought her some sort of monster now, she supposed. And while her newfound abilities might protect her from notice for the most part, she didn't think that people would ignore someone bumping into them, and her lanky figure and generally uncoordinated nature made avoiding that difficult. She sank wearily into a seat at the back of the room, eyes focused on the wood grain - real or fake? who knew? - of the desk in front of her. Her gaze darted up briefly towards Usami, hoping the girl was alright. She wasn't entirely sure what had possessed her in the cafeteria. Was it simply the inherent need to protect someone who reminded her of her sister? How fair of a comparison was that, anyhow? Their situations were entirely different. She didn't know what caused Usami's need for the cane. Was it something more predatory than protective, then? Was it the knowledge that she had an ability someone else didn't, the knowledge that she was suddenly strong, suddenly good at something, that had propelled her forward? She hoped for the former, and feared the latter. She had spent so long wallowing in her own mediocrity that she was afraid of getting drunk off of this sudden surge of power.

She crossed her arms on the desktop, burying her head betwixt them. This, at least, was familiar: lectures, easily slept through. However, the subject matter kept her awake. How could it not? It was like sitting down in your social studies class and receiving an expose about how all the politicians currently in power were Reptillians. Fantastical subject matter was discussed so matter-of-factly. It was bizarre. She longed for the familiarity of the fantastic she was used to, the kind that could be left behind with a sequence of button pressing. The kind you could file away into a save state and walk away from. She wanted to be immersed in the real, the normal. However, she was stuck here now, it seemed. So she might as well take it all in. It was a matter of life and death now. She fervently hoped for something akin to a math class, some sort of literature study maybe, that she could sleep through. She hadn't gotten anything really resembling rest since the night before this had all happened. She found herself tightening her jaw, grinding her teeth. This was all too damned much. And after this was some sort of... assessment? As the lecture wrapped up, Nora rolled her stiff shoulders and groaned. It wasn't as if using her power was effortless, after all. She felt a stiffness in her muscles, in the very core of her being. It was easier to stay solid, now - she almost laughed at the thought. She had anticipated a wealth of problems in life, but those usually boiled down to income and taxation, not supernatural abilities that could cast one into limbo - but the cost of remaining in one piece was the constant pressure she felt in her joints, as if her body desired the freedom of her mist form. She cracked her knuckles and glanced at the doorway. Such an eventful day, and still so much to go. She couldn't say that she looked forward to it.​

codedbycrucialstar
mentions: Usami ( nios ), Mitra ( Nano )

 

[OldTurtle]

Frederika ran surprisingly quickly, burdened by Usami as she was. Adrian found himself having to pick up his pace in order to follow in the footsteps of the blond bulldozer. As for why they were moving so quickly, he had no idea. The dark haired boy exchanged a glance with Usami, who appeared to have given in to Frederika and stopped resisting being carried so embarrassingly, and shot her a look of condolence. Things had definitely been worst for her today. All he'd lost was his overcoat, a meal, and some coffee while she'd suffered much worse.

Finally, they escaped the crowd and arrived at their next class, general science. An odd name, for sure. It didn't give any information about what the contents of the class was or why they had two science classes. The classroom was, thankfully, a refuge from the rest of the student body. One of the positives of their classes being limited to only the Third Generation Otherworlders, Adrian supposed. It meant no pointing and no whispering about what had happened earlier. No doubt word had spread already, given how many people were witness to the violence and the relative fame of the Otherworlders. Fame turned infamy in the span of a single day. Adrian groaned and slumped against the wall next to his desk, wishing he could melt away into it. What possessed him? What sort of mental lapse did Adrian have that led him to attack another student in public? It wasn't like him to do something so conspicuous. Really. What an idiot.

As Adrian berated himself, the remainder of his peers filed into the room and took their chosen seats. Realizing that class would start soon, he reached for his notebook, only to find it nowhere in sight. Ah. Of course. His notebook was with his overcoat, forgotten during the chaos in the cafeteria. Great. Heaving a sigh of regret, Adrian rose from his seat and retrieved a new notebook from the desk in front of their teacher, then headed back to his seat. At least he still had his pen, which he summarily removed from his right pocket.

When the clock struck one, their solemn-faced teacher finally broke the eerie silence in the classroom, subtly instructing the injured students to seek medical treatment. This was probably meant for Frederika, who, Adrian now realized, had a nasty gash along her cheek. Quickly moving past her subdued response, Mitra mentioned that he was to take them to their "assessment", which still sounded just as bad as the first time Adrian had heard it. And then he began their actual lesson, a quick breakdown on Poex - the frankly strange name for the monster Adrian and the others had fought when the first arrived - as well as a different creature called Faex. Well, that was unnerving. To think there were so many different monsters and so many categories. The more Adrian listened, the more his nerves frayed. Insanity. They were insane or he was insane or something was insane. He ran a hand through his mussed hair, releasing a silent groan of frustration.

So, this class wasn't general science, was it? At least, not if this was the topic they were to learn about. Unless, of course, this was just one part of their curriculum and they were to actually delve in more general sciences. Having successfully distracted himself from thinking about the various deadly beasts that he was expected to fight, Adrian finished scribbling into his new notebook and closed it loudly.

"Speaking of engagements, Kiyoshi, why did you pull us from the fight?" The familiar voice of Frederika broke the silence. "We seemed to be well engaged with the enemy; did something occur?"

So it was Kiyoshi who urged them leave? Now curious in hearing the blue haired boy's answer, Adrian turned around in his seat to face Kiyoshi.

Mentions: nios PixelSymphony vxnilla

 

[vxnilla]

hashimoto kiyoshi

scroll! ​

If nothing else, at least his words were heeded. In the moments immediately after Kiyoshi issued his suggestion, he was afraid that the din would simply grow louder in response, everyone that much more inclined to throw themselves into their fight because he'd come off as too controlling, but thankfully, it seemed that none of his companions were too terribly inclined to keep the fight going.

Maxwell, who'd stayed out of the conflict so completely that he had time to finish his lunch and clean up after himself, even agreed with him. He was as neutral as ever, nothing beyond an "I concur—let's go," but Kiyoshi was grateful for whatever support he could muster.

Even Frederika and Hanna—who while justified in their anger were the ones that he was most worried about in disregarding him, if only because they were both competent warriors and seemed the most... zealous, perhaps—didn't argue. Frederika actually picked up Usami before she bolted, which was considerate of her, although it couldn't be comfortable for either her or the girl tucked under her arm. (But you would never know it, looking at the speed with which Frederika moved.)

Kiyoshi scanned the lunchroom one last time for anyone they may be leaving behind, and finding no one who wasn't already on their way out, he too heeded his own advice and ducked out of the lunchroom, making his way to their next class. Keeping his head down, he moved quickly and with purpose, endlessly thankful that none of them had to put up with whispered comments or hostile side glances for the rest of the day. At least Vehemen was considerate enough to put them in their own classes.

He slid into a seat with some time to spare, having grabbed another notebook from the pile at the front of the classroom. After all, as someone who took copious notes, he wasn't completely sure that he could fit material from multiple classes onto one notebook, especially since they had no idea how long they'd be here for, and there was a lot of information that the Otherworlders lacked simply by virtue of not growing up in Lumen.

Professor Mitra was—strange. Not necessarily in a bad way. Really, when it came down to it, Kiyoshi trusted him and Professor Kikuchi the most, but nonetheless something seemed a little off in his mannerisms. Maybe things were different here, but as far as Kiyoshi knew, it wasn't customary for a teacher to simply stand, unmoving and silent, until the bell rang to begin class. They'd sit at their desk, or shuffle papers, or walk around the classroom, or even issue greetings, but the utter stillness that had characterized Mitra seemed odd.

Other things stood out to him, throughout the course of the lecture. The use of the word designation as opposed to name, the monotony of his tone, the stoicism of his expression, the tracking of class time down to the last second. There may have been more things Kiyoshi missed, but similar to its predecessors, this class had a lot of information, and it took all his concentration and fine motor control to transcribe all the information he thought was pertinent.

Which ended up being close to the whole lecture. If there was one thing he'd resigned himself to long ago, it was that his academic strategy leaned towards "better safe than sorry;" if he were ever unsure about writing something down, then he'd play it safe. Writing something down that you didn't need was much more preferable than the reverse, in his opinion.

The Poex they'd fought was level C? They wouldn't have escaped that fight alive had it not been for outside intervention, and there were at least two more levels more powerful than that—not to mention the Faex, and their respective classifications of X, Y, and Z. He didn't know how he'd handle it, if they had to come up against something like that.

Still, when he looked up at the pictures of the Bestial versus Magus monsters, he rather thought he'd take his chances with the Bestial than the Magi. Not only were Magi apparently more dangerous, but the way that one in the picture looked... It made a chill ride down his spine. Hopefully, though he knew it was a far-fetched hope, they wouldn't have to fight anything for the rest of their stay here.

" ...until it is time to leave for your assessment.”

At the reminder of the assessment, Kiyoshi's heart plummeted. His mind wandered back to Cleo's words, how she'd said that the professor in charge liked to make things harder than they should be. And after the lunch that all of them had—no, he could say quite certainly he wasn't looking forward for this class to end at all. But he supposed it didn't make sense to dwell on it; what will come will come, so he neatly capped the pen and closed his notebook, eyes drifting around the room. They landed on Ravyn, who gave him a wink and a smile.

He blinked. Did she need something from him? Maybe she missed something in the lecture, and she needed to copy it down? Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Kiyoshi held up his closed notebook in question, mouthing, Notes?

Before that mystery could be solved, however, his attention was caught elsewhere, by Frederika turning in his direction and calling out his name. Instinctively, he made an abortive movement, like something that he caught just in time before it could become a fully-fledged flinch. In his experience, being singled out in this kind of setting never boded well, and usually only came after he'd made some kind of mistake and was about to be reprimanded for it. He didn't think Frederika was going to degrade him, but he'd been long conditioned to expect it.

Instead, she asked, "Kiyoshi, why did you pull us from the fight? We seemed to be well engaged with the enemy; did something occur?

Without checking, he could tell that there were at least a couple of others who were watching this interaction. He wanted to wilt under the feeling of being watched by multiple people. It briefly crossed his mind to use his minor ability and simply go invisible, but he entertained the thought for less than a second before banishing it. Though tempting, it was highly immature and wouldn't resolve anything at the end of the day, so instead he took a second to compose his thoughts before replying steadily:

"Besides the risk to our safety, the fight simply wasn't contained. There were many other students close by who could have suffered injuries simply by virtue of being there, even though it wasn't their fight. As it were, we came too close to risking that." He thought of the table, and how if it hadn't crushed Hanna, it could have easily injured bystanders, and of the cutlery storm that didn't seem to care whether it hit Frederika or someone else. "And... I don't believe we were endearing ourselves to our peers, which I understand isn't a priority when they'd attacked one of ours—but this transition has been difficult enough on us all without cultivating a hostile environment that we'll have to suffer through, day after day. Had we kept on going, we would have invited more scorn, more resentment, and more reason for others to provoke us like they'd done today."

He kept to himself that he thought they may have already taken the first steps towards becoming some kind of social pariahs. It would sound like pointing fingers, which wasn't his intention at all, and he didn't think that it was an observation that would help, anyway.

Pilgrim59 xXx.lovely.xXx PixelSymphony Everyone​

 

[SilverBlack]

Cleo Donovan
Location: Back alleyway / Townsquare​

Behind the bar in the dark back alleyway, the air would gradually thicken from the smell of mint tobacco. The silver-haired girl bent forward from the dry wall she was originally leaning against as her eyes glued upon her phone screen. Under her was a man lying unconscious on his side, several strands of burnt hair remained on his fairly beaten up face, somewhat burnt. Cleo sat on him mindlessly, allowing a thin stream of smoke to escape from her mouth as she gritted down on the cigarette held between her rows of teeth.

Damn, she missed out.

The so-called “Otherworlders Fighting in School Cafeteria!” videos had already been released onto different social media platforms. Cleo watched as the couple of people she’d begun to grow familiar with engaged in quite the fierce fight with three juniors from the academy. Forks flung, table thrown, some fire here and there. Coffee spilled, silverware broken. To conclude, it was quite the mess. Even Elise was involved, to Cleo’s surprise. One of them must have really pissed her off.

Different versions of the same fight were uploaded by different students who filmed it differently. It took quite some time for Cleo to find one who filmed it pretty early on, and actually captured what the junior students did--and said--to them first before they got engaged into a fight themselves, with Hanna being the first one to respond after being provoked. Unfortunately, that video did not yet have too many views, and was already overwhelmed by the rest when the fight formally broke out wild.

With people judging the otherworlders from mere short clips that they decided to watch, they were already coming up with their own versions of what happened without getting the whole picture first. Cleo’s eyes rested upon the blond male, leader of the bullies, who feigned victim as he fell onto the floor, satisfied with the pitiful glances people had begun to throw his way. She swiped down to the comments, filled with mixed opinions.

‘F*ck the Otherworlders already acting like we owe them something.”

“He deserved it...They shouldn’t hav picked a fight with the otherworlders in the first place.”

“LOL can u imagine. The otherworlders actually being the ones to ruin our academy reputation instead.”

“Rolvel probably won’t do shit tho and just let them go cause they sPeCiAl.”

“I don’t get why ya’ll r being so mean to the otherworlders, this is legit their first day and these juniors were clearly the ones who picked on them first and yanked one of them onto the floor, give them a break...”

“Give them a break? F*ck them! U actually think that girl with her broken leg can do shit--”

Cleo turned off her phone screen, took the cigarette out of her mouth, and quietly sighed.

The leader of the trio, the one who acted like the victim on the ground--Richard Dickson. He was the only son of the Dickson family, a family known for their wealth and influence across many businesses and institutions. The academy itself was also dependent on them in one way or another, and Richard probably used his family as an excuse for his arrogance behavior. His two little buddies, also coming from a fairly rich background, were probably just clinging onto him too in hope to get some benefits out of establishing some sort of connections.

Typical. It’s just how lots of the upper-classes work.

“Look like your new buddies are caught up in some troubles already,” at the sound of a husky voice coming from a distance, the girl looked up just to see the local bar owner popping up from the direction of the bar’s backdoor. Cleo stood up from her spot, patting the dirt off of her body as the man she was originally sitting on groaned a bit.

“They’re not bad,” Cleo replied with a shrug. “Fought back. I like that.”

The bar owner furrowed his eyebrows together as his gaze then settled onto the man on the ground. “And what’s this?”

Cleo blinked, stepping away from the man. “Ah, him? Ya know, the man you said had my gun. Turned out he did have it--until he sold it, at least, probably just moments after you spotted him,” she crossed her arms as she spoke. “But he wouldn’t tell me who he sold it to or where that person went, probably to someone illegal I bet, so I put some effort forcin' it outta him.”

The bar owner sighed. “So who did he sell it to?”

“Faciete member.” Cleo answered bluntly, before she snorted. “Who else would want my gun?”

A brief moment of silence, and she could hear the man clearing his throat. “Anything else he said?”

Cleo shook her head. “Nah, he fainted too easily. Oh well, at least I got something out of him. That faciete member couldn’t have gone far yet too. So Imma go now, see ya.” Stretching her arms, the white-haired girl yawned as she began to walk away, though she only made a couple steps before the bar owner called out from behind her. “Wait, you’re just gonna leave him here? You’re really not scared of being reported and getting expelled, huh.”

Upon hearing the words, there was a pause before Cleo turned her head around. A newly lit cigarette already dangling between her lips. Her eyes stared toward the man, then down at the unconscious body, before a chuckle left her throat. “Pfft,” she laughed. “Don’t worry, the VA won’t do shit. Ya know why? Because we’re Otherworlders.”

“As long as they can hide it, they’d prefer hiding it. Ya really think nobody reported me to the academy yet? I’m sure there were a couple.” Cleo paused. “But none blew up. There’s nothing good out of ruining Otherworlders’ images to the public right now.”

“Nothing good comes out of expelling us, either, because the academy is probably the best place to keep an eye on us while forcing us to become useful for them. Where we gonna go if we get expelled?”

She could hear the bar owner grunt behind her, but by that time Cleo was already walking away, saying nothing much else left except leaving sarcastic remark just as the bar owner was about to comment more: “If ya worried about me then turn him into a frog so he can’t talk--isn’t that yar ability--”

When she walked out of the alleyway again, she would be hit by the sun shining down onto her without any shadows for protection. It was a rather hot day for autumn, but once in a while, the chill breezes would still make its way to remind people of the season. The streets are filled with people scattered and walking about. Cleo checked the time. It’s already a little over the end of lunch.

Her clothes had gotten a bit dirty after dealing with the man and sitting at the back alley earlier, but was overall clean enough. Although she’d prefer hunting down the Faciete member who was just there--getting her gun somewhere near the bar just some times ago--Cleo believed she had time. Instead, she made her way to the townsquare, where she promised earlier would meet with Elise to deal with the whatever assignment they were told to do.

On her way, she met Jun, who came back from his crepes, and together they would meet with Elise.

“I saw the fight,” Cleo said first thing upon seeing her, a mischievous grin hanging on her face as she bumped her with her elbow, waving her phone screen at her as to indicate that the lunch incident was already blasted across social media. “You can be pretty fierce at times too, huh.”

---
Interacted: Nano Mentioned: briefly @ everyone

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Frederika von Eisenhart~
-- Vanguard in Retreat --

Status: Lightly wounded (facial knife wound)
Wearing: Vehemen Academy School Uniform, female (missing gloves)
Location: Vehemen Academy, General Science classroom

---

Frederika was visibly taken aback as she was informed of just how bad things looked from outside of the fracas. "I see," she said dully, slowly lowering herself into an empty lecture seat. Perhaps it was for the best that the Otherworlders had been isolated from the general populace; from what her opposite here had just stated, the next knife that threatened her was likely to come from a direction she would never see. Nonetheless, there was at least some small satisfaction in that her earlier hunch while in the middle of combat had been correct: Kiyoshi had indeed spotted a massive oversight that she and the other combatants in the cafeteria had overlooked in their vigor to defend their classmate. That made for two critical insights he'd made since she'd known him; at the rate he was going, she wouldn't be surprised if he ended up their leader when it became time to formalize roles. "Very well, I concur with your decision then. As much as I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard, doing so at the expense of the Studentenschaf is unacceptable."

"As for the subject of endearing ourselves to our peers," she continued with a sigh, "I do not like admitting this, but that is very much a battle I am ill-equipped to fight. Even in the years where I possessed some degree of high regard it was... not due to social aptitude." Her eyes broke contact as her words prevaricated as bluntly as ever. "So what are do we do then?" she asked, slowly spinning her chair around to gaze out at the rest of the Otherworlders. Her arms crossed in some furtive attempt at emotional self-defense as she hoped one of them might have a spark of inspiration at how to handle this unpleasant situation they'd been thrust into. "How does one wage a war of the immaterial?"

---

Mention: Everybody
Interacting: vxnilla

 

[Nessi]

Hanna laughed when she heard Fred ask how one fights a "war of the immaterial". It was a cold, dry laugh, with no real emotions behind it. "it's ridiculously simple, change people's perception of otherworlders, which is us" Hanna said blandly. " At the moment, we are seen as ruthless brutes who attack people trying to leave the scene, and because of golden boy's golden performance, He has everyone believing that's just what we are." Hanna sighed while clicking her pen. "So, we change that by action, because words are worth shit in our situation" Hanna said while closing her eyes.

"But, at the same time, we can't be petty about things, at least, I won't be petty," Hanna continued, opening her eyes and sitting up straight. "the way how I see it, hate is the type of thing that eat's you up inside, the stuff that makes you do something you may regret, or get others hurt." Hanna paused, and looked at Fred. "A wise man once said that vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Lived by those words for a while, and they've been some damn good words to live by" Hanna finished.

She slumped back down into her chair, and put her head down. She had used up all of her energy giving that entire speech. She could use a nice nap, but she still had that test to do. hopefully it was a contest to see who could nap for the longest, because she could be a champ at that.
PixelSymphony

 

[nios]

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[div class=img1] [div class=mentions][div class=scroll] [div class=tag]location[/div] vehemen academy, mitra's classroom
[div class=tag]mentions[/div] Pilgrim59 , vxnilla , PixelSymphony
[div class=tag]interactions[/div] OldTurtle
[div class=tag]mood[/div] apologetic
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[/div] [div class=role]third generation[/div] [div class=name]usami[/div] [div class=nameo]usami[/div] [/div] [div class=body][div class=scroll] Usami sat quietly in her seat as their professor left them to their own devices. The others had risen from their seats, including Maxwell who sauntered over to the professor to ask about far more in-depth questions about the lesson. Usami was left alone in her row as she picked at the dried remains of mashed potatoes and other food items that smudged the front of her uniform. Usami always made sure to take care of herself well, and although many had sought her out as incredibly lazy, she was nowhere near a slob. People always seemed to get that mixed up, or perhaps it was just another way to chastise her for her lack of productivity. Usami normally carried around an extra set of clothes when she used to attend school, but this uniform was the only set Miss Ceciline had given her when she arrived at the school this morning.

Usami pulled herself out of her seat and rounded herself to the desk in front of the class. Usami couldn't stay focused during the lesson so all information flew from one ear and out the other. Her face twisted into one of skepticism as she read through the paper's contents. The outline listed the characteristics of each category of the so-called Poex and Faex. The skepticism Usami had was less for the fact these monsters existed. Even if she hadn't experienced a battle against one like the others had, Usami couldn't deny they existed- that was left to ignorant fools could and Usami was nothing of the sort. No, her skepticism was directed to the school and to herself.

Usami couldn't block the conversation that transpired in the back of the room. Their voices were the only ones that filled the room. There were many valid points made, and Usami couldn't deny she was impressed that these people do have a sense of logic. If Usami were more vocal, she would have openly agreed with Kiyoshi right away, but she was not the type of person to speak her mind. That much was obvious. The incident was just as Frederika had said. It was immaterial, a word that meant that the entire incident should not have become an incident at all. It was blown way out of proportion and had the Otherworlders walked away from their aggressors, the attention toward them wouldn't have been so hostile. Usami figured more people would have taken their side if they remained sensible. Live today, fight tomorrow... or better yet, don't fight at all. You could say this was Usami's motto.

As Usami twisted around to return to her seat, her eye caught Adrian sitting alone. His attention also seemed to be glued to the group at the back. The coffee stain on his once-white shirt could not go unnoticed. The look he had given her when the coffee launched itself on him brought a terrible feeling of guilt over Usami to the point where she had the urge to make it up to him. Usami was not a terrible person after all... She knew when an apology was due.

Usami grabbed another outline and made her way to Adrian. When she stopped in front of his desk, she bowed slightly with the outline outstretched in her hands. On top of the outline was written the words, [div class=dialogue]"I'm sorry"[/div] in small, neat handwriting. Usami knew this was a poor excuse for an apology and has every intent to come up with a better one, but this was all she had at the moment.
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[xXx.lovely.xXx]

Kiyoshi saw her. She had been spotted. He thought she wanted notes. Ravyn shook her head with a slight smirk, trying to hold in a snicker. Oi, he was so naive and adorable.

"Speaking of engagements, Kiyoshi, why did you pull us from the fight?"

Ravyn mentally groaned. Could they just let this go? From what Ravyn had seen of Frederika, this probably wouldn't be the last 'engagement' between her and the blasphemous and cowardly idiots encountered at lunch. The red haired girl turned around in her seat to listen in and possible join the conversation happening behind her.

"...could have suffered injuries simply by virtue of being there..."
"... we were endearing ourselves to our peers..."
"...cultivating a hostile environment that we'll have to suffer through..."

The 'virtue of being there', 'endearing ourselves', 'cultivating a hostile environment'?? He sounded like Ravyn's AP Lit teacher...

"... I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard..."

What the fwuh?? Ravyn was very confused. Were they even speaking English??

"Studentenschaf"

No. The answer to her question was no. The German girl looked around expectantly, as if wanting an answer to something? There was a question to be answered somewhere hidden in her strangely wordy speech?? Hanna, apparently understanding Frederika's ramblings, answered the question at hand. At least someone speaks her language. Colorful too. Nice.

" vengeance is a motivator, not the motive"

Wise words, if Ravyn understood the context in which they were motivated. It wasn't like she didn't have the mental capacity to understand the conversation (even though that's how she outwardly appeared), she just didn't particularly care to try. She finally gave her input to the conversation, obviously confused.
"Ok, hold up, what?? Can you guys like, not talk like you're presenting your ten page essay on World War Two to your English class? "
She tried (unsuccessfully) to mimic Frederika's accent, sounding more Russian than anything.
"I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard..."
She returned to her normal dialect.
"What is that even supposed to mean? Am I the only one not getting this??"
She looked around with a slight frown on her normally smiling lips. Always playing dumb. Then you can undermine them by actually not being an airhead. If she ever needed to. She probably never would. Just stick with what you're good at: being a disappointment.

vxnilla PixelSymphony Nessi ​

 

[vxnilla]

hashimoto kiyoshi

scroll! ​

Frederika seemed visibly surprised at his answer, which led Kiyoshi to wonder if she'd truly not noticed. But she was above all reasonable, and she accepted his explanation readily, voicing that she'd wanted to exact retribution but would never at the expense of others.

He'd managed to answer her first question passably, but what she asked next had him at a loss. Kiyoshi had never actively climbed to the top of any social ladder; in his life, he'd been neither popular nor unpopular. He was quiet and for the most part stayed out of people's way, doing his best to help if asked but not wanting to impose himself otherwise. People liked him, but only passively, in that fleeting way you liked someone who held open a door for you once and then never thought of them again.

Vaguely, he noted how Frederika had framed her question in terms of combat, appreciating the insight that gave into her thought process. A war of the immaterial, she'd phrased it. Tactical, efficient.

Hanna cut in then, saving him from having to spend even longer to come up with a decent answer. She brought up good points about the significance of actions and curbing hate and, most importantly, changing the students' perception of them. At the end of the day, that was what likability boiled down to: perception.

"I'm afraid I don't have a fool-proof answer to that, moving forward," he confessed. "Some of us are more extroverted than others; what works for one of us won't work for another. But I believe we should be careful in choosing our conflicts and, after this has died down, take steps to... bridge the gap between us and the other students."

He had no clearer plan at the moment than that, which was vague at best, but so much relied on judging the current atmosphere towards Otherworlders. Ravyn spoke up then:

"Ok, hold up, what?? Can you guys like, not talk like you're presenting your ten page essay on World War Two to your English class? 'I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard...' What is that even supposed to mean? Am I the only one not getting this??"

Although not given to irritation easily, Kiyoshi was—slightly miffed at Ravyn's tone. While her concerns were of course valid, the way in which she voiced them nettled him enough to bring a slight frown to his face before he smoothed it over into a display of careful neutrality. He'd familiarized himself with English first through its literature, and since the written language possessed a more formal register than the verbal one, he'd kept the sophistication even as he learned to speak it. Not to mention that his parents employed only the most professional of tutors, who'd sooner fling themselves out a window than teach him slang to use.

All in all, he would rather have not heard Ravyn imitate Frederika's accent. Malicious intent or not, it reminded him all too keenly of interactions with native English speakers who would relentlessly mock the clumsy, rounded way he'd pronounced words, back before he'd rid himself of his accent.

"My apologies," he said evenly. "The way I speak English is indicative of how I learned it, and sometimes I forget it can be very—stiff, and ceremonious. I'm not versed in speaking it casually. But it isn't my first language, as I assume it isn't Frederika's"—here, he cut an inquisitive gaze to the girl in question, inviting her to correct him if he'd guessed erroneously—"and I think there was room to ask clarification without being insensitive of that."

Save for what he'd said to the bullies, this was perhaps the harshest thing he'd said since his arrival in Lumen. But while he indeed tried his best to be prudent and diplomatic where possible, he'd spent too much of his life being a pushover to let that trend continue. And well-hidden as they might be, he—like anybody else—had his sore spots.

PixelSymphony Nessi xXx.lovely.xXx​

 

[OldTurtle]

"Besides the risk to our safety, the fight simply wasn't contained. There were many other students close by who could have suffered injuries simply by virtue of being there, even though it wasn't their fight. As it were, we came too close to risking that. And... I don't believe we were endearing ourselves to our peers, which I understand isn't a priority when they'd attacked one of ours—but this transition has been difficult enough on us all without cultivating a hostile environment that we'll have to suffer through, day after day. Had we kept on going, we would have invited more scorn, more resentment, and more reason for others to provoke us like they'd done today."

When he said it like that, Adrian could only feel worse about his actions. It wasn't as if he was ignorant about the situation. Rather, he'd disregarded any care for his surroundings when he took the chance to dive into combat, paying no attention to the danger to himself and others that they posed. Luckily everyone was unhurt. Well, mostly, he remembered, glancing at the cut across Frederika's cheek. But like Kiyoshi said, it could have been so much worse. Thankfully, he seemed to have some sense and stopped them before the fight could get any worse. Adrian scraped his fingernails across the surface of his desk and frowned. They'd all definitely have to be more careful after this.

"I see. Very well, I concur with your decision then. As much as I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard, doing so at the expense of the Studentenschaf is unacceptable. As for the subject of endearing ourselves to our peers, I do not like admitting this, but that is very much a battle I am ill-equipped to fight. Even in the years where I possessed some degree of high regard it was... not due to social position. So what are do we do then?" Frederika turned and faced the others, folding her arms. "How does one wage a war of the immaterial?"

"At the moment, we are seen as ruthless brutes who attack people trying to leave the scene, and because of golden boy's golden performance, He has everyone believing that's just what we are. So, we change that by action, because words are worth shit in our situation," Hanna replied with a cold laugh. "But, at the same time, we can't be petty about things, at least, I won't be petty. The way how I see it, hate is the type of thing that eat's you up inside, the stuff that makes you do something you may regret, or get others hurt." The dark haired girl turn to look at Frederika. "A wise man once said that vengeance is a motivator, not the motive. Lived by those words for a while, and they've been some damn good words to live by."

Were they all doing speeches now? Three of them in a row now. That better not be expected from everyone, because there was no way Adrian was going to say anything like that in front of anyone. He did admit, however, that Hanna's response was smart. Smarter than he'd given her credit for. Offering a mental apology, Adrian eyed the girl thoughtfully. He'd have to reconsider his idea of the type of person she was.

Usami's approach interrupted the boy's observation of the conversation. He turned to face the girl, who bowed slightly and proffered a sheet of paper silently. Confused, Adrian's eyes flicked between the paper in her hands and her face repeatedly. Slowly, he reached out and took the paper from Usami and read the small words written on it. An apology? Adrian looked at Usami again. But for what? His brow furrowed in confusion until he remembered a massacred lunch and a spilled coffee. Oh. Right. That happened, didn't it?

"It's, uh... fine. Yeah, um, there's nothing to be sorry about." Adrian struggled to find a proper response to something like this. An apology note? And for something so minor in comparison to the rest of the day's events. He scratched at the dried stains on his shirt absentmindedly and attempted a tight smile. Feeling very out of his depth, he tried to rush past this awkwardness. He placed the outline in his notebook and stood up quickly, noting the state of her attire, which was magnitudes worse than her own. "And are you... okay?" He started with a wince. "You-"

"Ok, hold up, what? Can you guys like, not talk like you're presenting your ten page essay on World War Two to your English class?" The loud voice of Ravyn interrupted his words. She adopted a terrible, heavy accent in some sort of imitation of Frederika. "'I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard...' What is that even supposed to mean? Am I the only one not getting this?"

Adrian left his sentence unfinished as he stared at the redhead. The outburst was... unexpected, to say the least, though that wasn't saying much given that Adrian hadn't bothered to pay much attention to her state. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. Her words were entirely uncalled for, in his opinion. It wasn't as if any of them could have missed the fact that Frederika didn't speak English as her first language - the accent was too telling - and Ravyn should've already known Kiyoshi was from Japan.

"My apologies," the aforementioned boy said evenly. "The way I speak English is indicative of how I learned it, and sometimes I forget it can be very—stiff, and ceremonious. I'm not versed in speaking it casually. But it isn't my first language, as I assume it isn't Frederika's"—here, he cut an inquisitive gaze to the girl in question, inviting her to correct him if he'd guessed erroneously—"and I think there was room to ask clarification without being insensitive of that."

Oh my, the imaginary movie-watchers in his head gasped. The classroom, despite being so sparsely populated, was filled with tension so thick Adrian could probably cut through it with a chainsaw. Adrian kept his eyes glued in the scene. This was the first time he'd ever seen his new roommate anything close to angry and there was no way he was missing a second of it.

PixelSymphony nios vxnilla xXx.lovely.xXx Nessi

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Frederika von Eisenhart~
-- Vanguard in Retreat --

Status: Lightly wounded (facial knife wound)
Wearing: Vehemen Academy School Uniform, female (missing gloves)
Location: Vehemen Academy, General Science classroom

---

Frederika stared at Hanna silently, taking in the words she espoused before committing herself to an impromptu nap atop her desk. Vengeance is a motivator, not the motive… The words echoed in her mind as she fought to reconcile her own beliefs towards this concept; to Fredi, vengeance was a dish best served cold, and as recent activity had reconfirmed, she took great relish presenting it absolutely frozen. But she could not simply dismiss out-of-hand what had been said by her roommate. Hanna was neither an idiot, nor a polyanna; she had risen to the defense of Usami much as Fredi had. Indeed, she had acted before the Prussian girl had, so clearly no stranger to the realities of conflict was she. So she remained silent without response, needing to meditate over what had been said. Very likely, she would have to speak to Hanna at a later time when she had sorted out her feelings on the matter, complicated as they were. But for the moment, she would err on the side of caution for any future combat, loathe as she was to allow neer-do-wells to simply roam about unchallenged.

Kiyoshi spoke similarly on the issue: “I believe we should be careful in choosing our conflicts and, after this has died down, take steps to... bridge the gap between us and the other students.“ Succinctly spoken, and admittedly the only solution that would work, but to Kiyoshi's own admission, this still left out the details of how exactly the Otherworlders would go about doing this, not that she had even the slightest idea herself. As she had somewhat alluded to, in pretty much all social (read: high-societal) occasions she had been required to attend, where reputations and the honor of family lineages were inevitably on the line with every word spoken, she tended to be relegated to background duty: to be seen and not heard, a living sculpture in effect. So she was woefully incompetent when thrust into a situation like this, where she was now going to have to defend her self in the realm of the public eye. Frederika had just begun to open her mouth to respond when Ravyn finally broke her silence.

"Ok, hold up, what?? Can you guys like, not talk like you're presenting your ten page essay on World War Two to your English class? 'I desired to valiantly hoist that wastrel upon her own petard...' What is that even supposed to mean? Am I the only one not getting this??"

Upon hearing her words being mocked, the first emotion that passed through Frederika was surprise: surprise that someone she thought was an ally was now attacking her. The next knife truly did come from a direction I never could have seen, she wryly noted as feelings of anger and betrayal began to well up inside of her. She turned slowly to face Ravyn, a scowl plastered across her face and brows knitted as fiercely as ever. Where Kiyoshi was even-tempered, Fredi was rapidly approaching boiling, her words coming out thick and dark even as Kiyoshi spoke. “was Fällt IHNEN-“ she spat out, each word increasing in volume as she begun to stand to her full height-

Hate is the type of thing that eats you up inside, the stuff that makes you do something you may regret, or get others hurt.

She stopped halfway up, and suddenly, awkwardly sat back down, her head in her hands as realization slapped her in the face like a swung hand. Mein gott, this is what she meant. Three sentences from a classmate and I’m ready to create the next bloodshed for the front pages. Nein, nein nein this is not correct, I have learned nothing. She took a moment to breath deeply as Kiyoshi finished his words, her heart still pounding. When he finished, she gave the air time to clear and fade into silence. And when she spoke, she spoke slowly and strained, as if fighting off the burning urges to seek retribution. “Ravyn… Kiyoshi speaks true. English is not my mother tongue. It is at best a studied language, at worst, a pale imitation of communication. And right now I am deathly afraid that any word I inevitably misspeak will be twisted against me, but I cannot remain silent in a situation like this.”

“If… what Kiyoshi says is true, right now we are in danger of becoming public enemies two days into our first semester, whether due to the rest of the school’s misgivings of us as otherworlders or due to what is sounding like an aggressive effort to make us look like-” She struggled a bit for a phrase that wasn’t so overly formal. “-the bad guys at school for defending one of our own. And if we don’t do anything to change that perception,” she said, carefully using the word Hanna had chosen, “we will be in danger every time we step out into the hallways. Nobody can survive that… not even someone like me.”

In an odd inversion of their usual roles, while Kiyoshi stood firm on his point, Frederika, with both Hanna and the blue haired boy’s words still ringing in the back of her head, and no small amount of mounting fear at spending an additional four years ostracized from her entire school, attempted to bridge the gap. “So I am just trying to ask for help with a situation I do not know how to handle. That is all. I am just looking for help with dealing with people who don’t like us, who… don’t like me,” she forced out with a pained expression. “Is this something you can help us with, Rayvn?”

---

Interacting: xXx.lovely.xXx
Mentions: Nessi vxnilla

 

[Dawnsx]

Once class time was over, the students would be led to the academy’s basement. At the observation room of assessment room A, they would find Eiichi waiting there instead of Vince. To the more observant eyes, it was clear that his usual stoicism was cracking at the edges as thinly veiled weariness seeped through.

The past hour or so was a flurry of bad news and hasty phone calls. Earlier, Eiichi received a text from Vince, who got held up by VHA related business and asked him to cover the assessment until he could return. That wasn't an issue, considering that Eiichi had planned to observe the assessment anyway. Then, he was informed by Ms. Ceciline that Nora Glass reappeared, which, despite the complications it caused, was good news. The problem was that they'd have to ask the girl at some point where she'd been for the past ten hours. Though, considering that there was no sign that she had broken out of school premises, and that she turned up without shoes, Eiichi already had a guess of what might have happened.

She had some sort of ability to assimilate into the air, and if she'd somehow lost control of her powers...

Well, Eiichi was no stranger to getting trapped inside his own ability, and his heart went out to the girl. He'd have to find a countermeasure against it, or simply make sure Nora gained enough control before the same scenario could happen again. Just another thing that he'd have to discuss with Vince. Joy.

Anyway, Nora was apparently sighted exiting the dorm building and rejoining the Otherworlders during lunch. Lunch. That. That was where the problems arose. The Otherworlders getting into a lunch fight on their first day was exactly what they needed.

Eiichi pinched the bridge of his nose. He first found out when he spotted video clips and posts of the "crazy lunch fight at school!!" online (contrary to popular belief, Eiichi did use social media, courtesy of his unruly students.) Just as he was about to dismiss it as some scuffle between hormonal teenagers, he got a glimpse of Elise (of all people) in the thumbnail of one of the videos. He'd honestly expected Cleo to be the epicenter of the chaos, but it turned out that she was already out of school by the time that the fight began. After that, he and other staff members rounded up witnesses and security footage, and somehow managed to piece together the details of the incident.

Bullies. Insecure, overgrown children who tread all over others to inflate their own egos.

Anger simmered beneath the surface, but Eiichi smoothed out his features and faced the students.

"As you all should know, you are here for an assessment to test your current abilities, but before that. The lunch fight," Eiichi leveled a solemn gaze at the students, "Let me first say that I do not tolerate any form of bullying. Poex-hunting is a team effort. People who put others down to lift themselves up put a wrench into the works, and those people are not fit to become Hunters," he said lowly. His hand twitched, but tamped down the impulse to reach up at his face. "I will ensure that the instigators of the fight receive fitting punishment. Most of you will likely get away with a slap on the wrist, but Nora and Adrian, your actions didn't fall into the realm of self-defense. I can't guarantee that you won't face any consequences."

Eiichi sighed. Really, none of them will be getting away without any consequences. Of the trio, the student with the muscle augmenting ability received second-degree burns to the left side of his face. The girl was found with several lacerations on her face (even healing abilities wouldn’t remove the possibility of scarring, apparently,) and a few cutlery embedded shallowly in her upper body. The leader received blunt abdominal trauma and was left with a cracked rib. The Otherworlders? Aside from the cut on Frederika's cheek, most of their injuries (if they even had any) would likely heal within a week. The bullies were severely outnumbered, not to mention one of them had been trying to walk away. It didn't paint a flattering image, and the media gobbled this sort of stuff up like hungry raptors. Unless Rolvel did something to cover this up (which Eiichi doubted he would, or could), the Otherworlders' reputation would be tarnished even more.

"With that said, I will explain the process and rules of the assessment," Eiichi said, and gestured to a door opposite to the exit, "Once you enter the assessment space, a combination of magic and technology will create a different, hyperrealistic environment. It's akin to what people in Ningen call 'virtual reality,' if I'm not mistaken. The difference is that you will be completely immersed into the new environment, in that you will be able to physically feel whatever you interact with. This also means that whatever damage you take will actually be felt too. But rest assured, there won't be any actual damage dealt to your bodies.

Your task in this assessment will be to find two gems hidden within the assessment space. One will be in a mansion, and the other in a forest. Simulated Poex will serve as obstacles, and how you deal with them is up to you. This assessment is meant to examine the scope of your abilities and how well you work together. You will be timed, but there won't be a time limit, so don't get hasty. You won't be graded, but the results will determine the direction of future combat lessons. If you sustain too much damage or receive a lethal injury, your body will glow red to indicate death. Upon your third simulated death, you will be pulled from the assessment. You may also withdraw from the assessment at any time." Eiichi finished with a subtle tilt of the head at Nora. The last part was mainly directed towards her, since he didn't know what condition she was in after her disappearance fiasco.

Eiichi tapped the table next to him, where a neatly-folded pile of clothes, sneakers, and two earpieces sat.

"You may change into these gym clothes before we start, and they're for you to keep. These earpieces can be used for you to communicate with each other. How you want to distribute them is for you to decide as a group."

 

[SilverBlack]

Assessment Loading. . .Complete!

Once the group is ready, they would step through the door that would lead them to the simulated world designed specifically for the assessment. They would find themselves standing just a meter outside a set of dark, wooden double doors, somewhat ornate in design with hints of decay along the door’s edges. It was nighttime, with only a pale white moon hanging on the starless black sky. Its soft glow being somewhat powerful enough to light up their surroundings to a certain extent.

An old mansion loomed over them, standing probably around 3 stories tall. It was elegantly built, an old-fashioned Georgian style building that was slightly ramshackled. Ivy and fern grew alongside the red brick walls of the exterior, which had several crack lines, indicative of the mansion’s old age. However, despite the ancient, abandoned atmosphere that the mansion seemingly gave off, it was still grand and majestic. From the windows, they could see that the lights are already turned on from the inside, as if beckoning them to come in.

Turn around, and they would see that the mansion would be facing a forest. From this distance under the night sky, the trees seemed to be more densely packed than usual, and the air around it seemed to be much thicker than from where they’re standing now. It is hard to see through the trees from this distance to figure out what may be lurking within. Though right now, it’s as still as it is quiet, as if no living beings reside within those trees, which wavered and brushed against each other only from the hints of the powerful winds.

That aside, the weather appeared fine. A bit chilly, but overall there were no hints of possible rain.

The most noticeable thing for the group however, aside from the mansion and the forest, was a sheet of dark fabric that was laying on the ground near them. On top of it, several options of weapons and some tools and objects were placed neatly by each other’s side. The weapons were old and dull, if not somewhat already worn-down, but still sharp enough for them to be usable. There was a longsword, a Japanese katana, two daggers, some throw-knives, a huge axe and a small axe, and two handguns with 16 ammo’s on its side. Right by these weapons are mere objects and tools, consisting of a pair of old gauntlets, some winter gloves, a water bottle filled with water, a lamp, a small leather backpack, some matches, some crackers, a bag of coffee beans, and an old, blank notebook with a pen by its side. However, there were no additional earpieces except for the original two that Professor Kikuchi had handed to them previously. Whether all objects or weapons are to be taken, or just a few that they deemed necessary, would be up for them to decide.

There’s not much, if any, directions to guide them further. However, from how it appeared to be, these weapons or objects are free for them to take and use to aid them during the assessment. Here, right outside the mansion, the atmosphere was cool if not peaceful, and they should have plenty of time to discuss among themselves what to do and take what they want without feeling any type of threat. If anything, there were no signs of Poex yet that Professor Kikuchi had previously talked about here, only them alone.

 

[xXx.lovely.xXx]

She screwed up. Royally. Why didn't she think?? The one time 'perfect' little Ravyn doesn't think, she pisses people off. Was there any connection from her brain to her mouth?
"I--"
Frederika's glare caused all the color to drain from her face and the words died in her throat.

“was Fällt IHNEN-"

As Frederika stood, terror built in Ravyn's core and played out on her face. That girl could snap her neck like a toothpick, and Ravyn wasn't entirely sure that she would have the restraint to let her be. She quickly scooted back, pressing into the desk behind her. Then the German girl sat back down. Ravyn would live to see another day. She relaxed slightly, still a little shook. She could have ended up in a choke hold like that girl at lunch and she didn't have the power to hurl a knife and stop her. Close encounter.

She listened to Kiyoshi and Frederika earnistly. She needed to right this wrong. Once they finished, she nodded slowly and let out a long breath.

" I am really sorry. I never meant any offense, there just wasn't really a connection from here to here..."
She gestured from her head to her light pink glossed lips.
"That was really rude of me. I'm truly sorry. I've just been feeling so... tense."
For a split second, the happy mask slipped, revealing how thoroughly pissed at this entire situation. The fight. The steady stream of hate comments filling up her DMs. This school. The unprepared Poex battle. Being an Otherworlder in general... Ravyn just wanted to go home...

The mask snapped back into place before it was too noticeable. Back was the bubbly, flirty, airheaded Ravyn that everyone had come to know.

" I am just looking for help with dealing with people who don’t like us, who… don’t like me, Is this something you can help us with, Rayvn?"

It seemed to be a pain just to ask for help. Poor girl.
"Well, normally, I rely a lot on first impressions and being nice to people, but since we've all screwed that up--"
Her phone pinged and she checked it. Each of her words were sharp with repressed rage. As she spoke, the rawness began to shine through and she became more and more passionate, yet she never rose her voice.
"Oh how wonderful. Another person found my Instagurami account just to tell me I suck and that Otherworlder trash like me isn't welcome. That no one will ever like me. That I'm a glorified nobody who isn't worth shit. Isn't this great?? I wasn't even involved and I'm taking the hits with the rest of you.
I never asked to be a part of this, but if you want my advice, here's what I'd do. I'd ditch all of you. FInd new people who won't destroy all chances of ever being popular, or even liked. I thought this would be a new beginning here, where I could be who I wanted to be and just climb the social hierarchy like I did back home."
The mask was off now. Ravyn was just speaking her mind, not caring about what anyone thought.
" So yeah. That's my two cents. I'm ruined by something I wasn't even apart of. I never asked for this. I don't want to be here."

Ravyn let out a sharp breath. Her hands were shaking. Then the bell rang. Saved by the bell. She quickly got up and shoved her things into her purse. She turned back to the other Otherworlders.
"Sorry, just had to get that off my chest."
And with that, she turned and strode to the door and out of the classroom. She walked quickly through the halls, keeping her head down. She didn't need to see the looks thrown her way to know they were there. All she wanted was to be liked here and she couldn't even get that. Great.

As she arrived at the dreaded assessment, her fears only grew. She was hoping that this would be something along the lines of 'ok, here are some objects, what can you do?'. Not a full fledged combat simulation. She was a cheerleading for craps sake. The only weapon she knew how to handle was pepper spray, and the fact that they'd be facing more of the nightmarish Poex so soon... she wasn't sure she could do that again. In short, Ravyn was screwed. At least she wouldn't be alone. Actually, the other Otherworlders probably hated her too now, so maybe that wasn't such a good thing.

When the time came, Ravyn wordlessly grabbed the gym clothes and strode to the curtained areas to change. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail with her scrunchie and neatly folded her uniform. Once she was finished, the red haired girl walked out and hung back from the group, still somewhat embarrassed and scared for her well being. At least it wasn't the Vince person she'd heard about running the assessment. That apparently was worse. She didn't really say anything, didn't step up to lead. She didn't know what to do. This was totally foreign territory, and Ravyn was terrified because of it.

PixelSymphony vxnilla @.everyone​

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Frederika von Eisenhart~
-- Vanguard in Retreat --

Status: Lightly wounded (facial knife wound)
Wearing: Vehemen Academy School Uniform, female (missing gloves)
Location: Vehemen Academy, General Science classroom

---

Frederika sat in silence as Ravyn spoke, first in interest to what solution she could come up with, then in utter shock as Ravyn finally let loose. If there was an question of how Ravyn was handling being thrust into a world of monsters and unexplainable special powers, no longer was it up for debate. As the bell rang, all that Fredi could do was watch as the incensed girl stood, gave a small apology, and left the classroom post haste. It wasn't until Ravyn well well on her way to the next class that the blonde girl released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, her shoulders slowly falling as the now far darker reality of their situation fell upon her like a leaden cloak. She turned, slowly, to Kiyoshi, a dispirited look upon her face. "I do not believe Ravyn is interested in our current plight right now. From what she has said... I cannot blame her." Shame hung thick in the air as she wordlessly collected her things, then stood by as she awaited the others, cautious of passing through the halls in anything less than decisive numbers. "We should be off. Our assessment awaits us."

Professor Eiichi's presence in their assessment class was surprising; from what Frederika had heard earlier from the Second Generation, she fully expected to be meeting this Vince character that they had been advised to prepare for. However, any sense of relief was quickly vaporized as for the second time that day, a professor indicated their knowledge of what they'd done at lunch, Eiichi leveled a solemn gaze at the students, "Let me first say that I do not tolerate any form of bullying. Poex-hunting is a team effort. People who put others down to lift themselves up put a wrench into the works, and those people are not fit to become Hunters," he said lowly. His hand twitched, but tamped down the impulse to reach up at his face. "I will ensure that the instigators of the fight receive fitting punishment. Most of you will likely get away with a slap on the wrist, but Nora and Adrian, your actions didn't fall into the realm of self-defense. I can't guarantee that you won't face any consequences." She was pleased to hear that their opponent would face justice, but now she grew concerned for those students who had specifically been named. Still, if they were still going through with the assessment, somebody must have still thought they were useful, and if her suspicions were correct, all signs so far continued to point towards the man who seemed to have far more influence in this school than Frederika ever could have even imagined.

There is little you can do to influence the situation at present, Frederika; concentrate on the trial you are about to face. She brought her attention back to the present as Eiichi laid their task before them. "Your task in this assessment will be to find two gems hidden within the assessment space. One will be in a mansion, and the other in a forest. Simulated Poex will serve as obstacles, and how you deal with them is up to you. This assessment is meant to examine the scope of your abilities and how well you work together. You will be timed, but there won't be a time limit, so don't get hasty. You won't be graded, but the results will determine the direction of future combat lessons. If you sustain too much damage or receive a lethal injury, your body will glow red to indicate death. Upon your third simulated death, you will be pulled from the assessment. You may also withdraw from the assessment at any time." Eiichi finished with a subtle tilt of the head at Nora.

Two locations, two gems, and a time incentive she mulled over with a bit of a frown upon her face, which deepened as their replacement assessment instructor motioned towards what they would be wearing. And now two earpieces. There is no doubt in my mind; we are intended to split up. The task of determining exactly who would go in which team would have to wait until later though; for the moment, she needed to occupy herself with other concerns. Plucking up a gym uniform, she followed Ravyn (at a fair distance) towards the changing rooms. Much like the classroom uniform, the gym outfit fit her oddly well, far better than it had any right to given her, ah, proportional tendencies. She emerged clearly far more in her element, tapping the toes of her sneakers upon the ground to ensure they were seated correctly. Ironically enough, her hair was similarly pulled into a high pony tail, albeit she chose to forgo the decorative scrunchy in lieu of a high retention hair tie; given the active moment she was very nearly guaranteed to have to endure, she had a suspicion she would need the additional hold.

As she awaited the others, she began to stretch, hoping to bring some shred of familiarity to the ordeal that was soon to come...

---

Interacting: vxnilla

 

[Nessi]

Hanna was almost tempted to lift her head up to respond to Ravyn's rude comments, but she couldn't be bothered, she was getting close to sleep. She coughed a little at the horrifying German impression, which sounded more Russian if anything. Hanna would lift her head when she heard Fred raise her voice, and stand up to her full height.

"was Fällt IHNEN-"

Fred stopped, she looked like something had just crossed her mind. She sat back down, and used her words instead of her fists, that made Hanna smile a bit. But of course, Hanna's smile faded when Ravyn said that she wanted to ditch them so that she could go back to being popular. Hanna almost laughed, almost, but didn't, that would be too mean. Because Ravyn was human, just like Hanna. She was probably scared of the future, and if the future involved fighting large beasts, then she would be scared too.

Hanna went into the academy basement like she was told to, and listened carefully as Eiichi explained the assessment to everyone. They were to fight virtual Poex, and would feel real pain, but no wounds would be inflicted onto them. Hanna nodded her head when Eiichi finished his explanation, and got changed into the gym cloths provided. "I'm ready when you are all" She said, Hanna had no intention of stepping up and becoming a leader.

 

[nios]

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[div class=img1] [div class=mentions][div class=scroll] [div class=tag]location[/div] vehemen academy, assessment room
[div class=tag]mentions[/div] OldTurtle , PixelSymphony , Dawnsx
[div class=tag]interactions[/div] xXx.lovely.xXx
[div class=tag]mood[/div] curious
[div class=tag]outfit[/div] [div class=outfit][/div]
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!

[/div] [div class=role]third generation[/div] [div class=name]usami[/div] [div class=nameo]usami[/div] [/div] [div class=body][div class=scroll] The journey to where the assessment will be held was awkward as tension seemed to loom over the group like shadows. This was in no doubt due to the down spiral of today's events. Usami hobbled along with the group, her gaze stuck to the back of the person in front of her. She blocked out the commotion of Vehemen students surrounding them. The prickling stares brought unwarranted memories of her past in Ningen... Speaking of unwarranted, Usami stole a peek at Ravyn. Ravyn's choice of words was unexpected and all the same harsh, but Usami couldn't find it in herself to blame Ravyn for her distressed behavior. Usami had to be frank- she wondered why she hadn't broken down either. It was like a ticking time bomb, slowly closing into detonation and then suddenly being reset on the last second. Usami wondered how long she had before all of her patience wore out. That would be a sight to see...

She showed little to no ounce of curiosity when Professor Eiichi came into view upon the Third Gen's arrival. This so-called man named Vince was no were to be found as Professor Eiichi was the only one waiting for them. His speech caused Usami's neck and cheeks to become warm as she and the others were reprimanded for their disgraceful behavior. Even though Usami didn't want to bother playing the blame game, she couldn't deny the sickly feeling of guilt weighing upon her. She didn't dare peek at Adrian, especially, as his actions were linked to her own.

After the instructions were given, Usami took a pair of gym clothes and followed the others to where the changing stalls were situated. She was glad to be out of the uniform and into a fresh set of clothes. The gym clothes consisted of the same magical properties as her school uniform. What once was extremely baggy on Usami transformed itself to better suit Usami's thin frame. She exited the changing stalls and regrouped with the others. She then began to ponder on the instructions that were given to them. Looking ahead at whoever was preparing to enter the simulation, Usami counted an even number of two groups of four, including herself if she decided not to withdraw... Simulated Poex did not sound too bad, but the mention of feeling actual pain gave Usami wariness. Plus, becoming a leader was out of the question.

Usami moved to stand beside Ravyn out of habit. She did not want to get in Frederika's way as she stretched, which brought the question of whether Usami could reach for her toes. Usami opted for taking a seat on the ground as she had already experienced what that was like to get in Frederika's way. She believed it was best to rest her legs if she were to go forth with the assessment, her curiosity overlooking her laziness. Without needing to look, Usami nudged Ravyn with her walking stick and patted the spot beside her. Usami would turn a deaf ear if Ravyn snapped at her.

[div class=dialogue]"If you're going to sulk, do it while sitting,"[/div] she thought.
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⠀♡coded by uxie♡

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[LoliCowboy]

Nora Glass
"Why struggle?"​

location: the Academy: assessment room

condition: tired

outfit: baggy sweater, sweatpants

"Nora and Adrian, your actions didn't fall into the realm of self-defense. I can't guarantee that you won't face any consequences."

Nora heard this and frowned. The teacher was definitely right, which only nagged at her suspicion that her actions had been more self motivated than anything else. It was... an uncomfortable feeling. She was used to, admittedly, being rather self serving, but that generally translated to isolation and a lot of money spent on new books and games. No one had gotten hurt. Until now.

She had just been so angry.

"You may also withdraw from the assessment at any time." Nora caught Eiichi's gesture here, and her frown deepened into a scowl. He may not have outright said that he didn't think her capable, but her own stubborness refused to interpret it as anything else. She crossed her arms and muttered "I'm fine." Her voice was kept so low and quiet that he likely wouldn't be able to hear it, but it was more to convince herself than anything else. She still felt somewhat unsteady. It was like diving to the bottom of the deep end of a pool, a sense of pressure all around her. It wasn't a sensation that she was at all fond of, but it was one she was determined to endure. The tension that had saturated the group certainly didn't ease her nerves either. This was all so frightening, so new, it made sense that cracks were forming amongst them.

The gym clothes that she changed into felt incredibly light in comparison to her normal thick, baggy clothes. They were certainly somewhat more fitted, making her thin frame stick out. Well, she reflected, it would stick out if she didn't fade into the background again. She went to stand with the others, rubbing her nose between thumb and forefinger as she thought. Her eyes swept the assembled students, and settled on Frederika. The girl was certainly formidable and intimidating to someone like Nora, but she arguably stuck out as one to take a leadership role. Nora edged her way over, finding her voice still raspy from shouting, fighting, and of course her unexpected dissolution last night.

"If it's all the same to you," she said, "I'd prefer to go with the group headed into the mansion. More comfortable using my ability in an enclosed space."​

codedbycrucialstar
mentions: Eiichi ( Dawnsx )
interactions: Frederika ( PixelSymphony )

 

[Nano]

Elise Friedhelm.

Elise’s every step fell heavy with the sound of defeat nipping harshly at her heels. A slew of uncharacteristic swears were unintelligibly muttered under her breath, though her tagging of the trio with the title of “filthy vermin” did little to assuage the heavy guilt burdening her heart. She didn’t need to scroll through social media pages to know of the abusive words being carelessly pelted at everyone involved in the prior altercation. The whispers and caustic stares she received as she walked through the mildly crowded hallways were proof enough of their disapproval. Ever quick to cave under the pressure of their judgemental gazes, her initial reasoning of “it’s okay if they don’t understand” slowly regressed back into her usual cycle of defeatist thoughts.

It wasn’t wrong to defend the honor of her late allies. Even in the midst of a cloud of doubt, she remained resolute in her desire to protect what was left of their damaged legacy. However, could she still wholeheartedly say that she had made the right choice when her actions had aided in dragging the third generation students’ names through the mud? If she had just stopped to cool her head and think, could she have directed the situation into a different outcome?

Had one of the more mature members of the past second generation been around, their skillful words and persuasive power could have easily crushed any attempt to make them appear as the fire starter. In the first place, if Cleo or Jun had been there, she had high doubts that the trio would have approached them with such swagger in their steps. Even if someone were to make a point that the fight was inevitable, Elise hadn’t even managed to do her one job properly. Her role in that brief engagement had been to protect Hanna—a single person. Yet, in a critical lapse of judgement, she hadn’t been able to accomplish that simple task on her own, requiring an underclassman to cover for her. She had failed both as their defensive support and their senior. In the end, she still couldn’t understand why Luri had thought it was worth sacrificing her life for her sake.

“Even if you specialize in defense, why are you so useless that you can’t even handle a single smallfry on your own?”

“Anyone can block a few hits. Heck, they can just dodge. Are you really needed?”

Even now, there was nothing she could say in response to the various criticisms concerning her capabilities. Luri had once reassured her with a bright smile that “It’s only because I trust that you’ll keep me safe that I can concentrate on making full use of my own abilities. Even if you can’t fight, we all have our own niche, and you should be proud of it.” However, in that crucial moment, she had failed her, just like she had failed Hanna. Placing blind faith in her best friend’s abilities and being incapable of seeing the obvious signs, she had abandoned her friend on the battlefield. Her only remaining service was placing white lilies on cold stone.

Suddenly, Elise was jostled out of her thoughts when a bump and a rough shove sent her lightly crashing into a wall. She heard a voice, dripping with disgust and irritation, roughly yell, “Watch where you’re going!” before the sound of angry footfalls gradually diminished into a barely audible echo down the halls.

“Sorry…” she murmured while rubbing her shoulder, though she knew the boy was already too far to hear her response (nor did he probably even care for one). Before her hand raised to push the door to the outside open, she noticed a familiar flower sitting on the floor. With a hint of panic written on her face, she reached up to pat at the very much empty spot of hair on the left side of her head. Though, while stooping down to retrieve her hair ornament, she secretly sent a thank you to the rude individual who had bumped into her just seconds ago.

Wipe your tears. This is why you’re called pathetic.

Elise pinned the flower back into her hair and gave her cheeks a quick slap before resolutely marching out the school doors. She didn’t quite agree with Luri’s motto of “Que sera, sera,” but, at the very least, she had to live up to Luri's sacrifice. For starters, she couldn't let Cleo and Jun worry over her, like how she'd often let herself be coddled by Alder and Luri in the past.

---

The smile on Elise's face quickly contorted into a frown when the first thing Cleo greeted her with was mentions of her involvement in the fight. Her bus ride to the townsquare had been largely dominated by thoughts of the VHA and whether or not their report would be as difficult to write as the history report they had all failed to write. Thus, her otherwise placid mood instantly soured the moment she was reminded of the trio’s vile words.

“If I’d known we would get in trouble anyway, I would have hit that brute’s face with a lunch tray,” she said bitterly, “Maybe it would have even helped align his nose and eyes in a prettier way.”

Finally noticing Jun, who was casually munching on a crepe, standing behind Cleo, Elise coughed awkwardly with pink dusting her cheeks. “Umm, I meant... I-I’m sure his parents still love him all the same.” she randomly blurted out much to her regret. Somehow, it was easier to reveal her more aggressive thoughts to Cleo rather than Jun, perhaps due to the girl’s more rough manner of speaking.

“Shall we go?” Desperate to change the subject, Elise tugged on Cleo’s sleeve once. “The Third Generation should be in their assessment by now, so we should work hard, too.”

SilverBlack​

 

[OldTurtle]

"Most of you will likely get away with a slap on the wrist, but Nora and Adrian, your actions didn't fall into the realm of self-defense. I can't guarantee that you won't face any consequences."

Adrian winced silently, shuffling his feet awkwardly and pointedly avoiding Eiichi's gaze. While the frigid tension weighing heavily upon the group had almost been enough to forget that brief transgression, it seemed that it wouldn't be so easy to escape it. He couldn't deny the claim or any punishment imposed upon them, so this was shaping up to be perhaps the worst First-Day-Of-School-In-Another-World-You-Got-Randomly-Transported-To in history. Well, saying it like that made the situation seem even more alien. How was he or anyone else managing to not have a mental breakdown at all this? Looking back at it, they'd all adjusted to their new surroundings remarkably quickly. That train of thought quickly fell off cliff as Eiichi spoke again, drawing Adrian's attention back.

"With that said, I will explain the process and rules of the assessment," the teacher continued. "Once you enter the assessment space, a combination of magic and technology will create a different, hyperrealistic environment. It's akin to what people in Ningen call 'virtual reality,' if I'm not mistaken. The difference is that you will be completely immersed into the new environment, in that you will be able to physically feel whatever you interact with. This also means that whatever damage you take will actually be felt too. But rest assured, there won't be any actual damage dealt to your bodies.

"Your task in this assessment will be to find two gems hidden within the assessment space. One will be in a mansion, and the other in a forest. Simulated Poex will serve as obstacles, and how you deal with them is up to you. This assessment is meant to examine the scope of your abilities and how well you work together. You will be timed, but there won't be a time limit, so don't get hasty. You won't be graded, but the results will determine the direction of future combat lessons. If you sustain too much damage or receive a lethal injury, your body will glow red to indicate death. Upon your third simulated death, you will be pulled from the assessment. You may also withdraw from the assessment at any time." Eiichi motioned to the items on the table next to him. "You may change into these gym clothes before we start, and they're for you to keep. These earpieces can be used for you to communicate with each other. How you want to distribute them is for you to decide as a group."

Adrian gaped at Eiichi, stunned by the level of technology behind the assessment. He may have called it 'virtual reality' but this was far beyond anything anyone on Ningen was capable of. His mouth snapped shut as he registered the remainder of Eiichi's words. Brow furrowing, Adrian remembered a massive beast as tall as a house and with claws and fangs capable of rending a person in half effortlessly. He didn't like the idea of fighting Poex again - not so soon, at least. Christ, how did they expect them to fight when they had proven that most of them could not only a few measly hours ago? Simulated though it may be, Eiichi himself had said that the pain of any injuries taken would be felt in full. Adrian had never experienced what it felt like to be torn to bloody shreds by some monster and he certainly had no desire to ever do so.

But regardless of his thoughts, the assessment would be happening and given that he'd already gotten into serious trouble, Adrian didn't want to put himself in a worse position. It would be better to just comply with this and hope it goes well. Releasing another sigh, he followed the others to the table and received a gym uniform and shoes, then headed towards towards one of the unoccupied changing stalls. If nothing else, it would be nice to be able to get out of his stained shirt. Dressing himself was a quick affair, the clothes and shoes an exact fit for his body, much like the school uniform he'd stripped himself of. If everything in this world was so convenient, then everyday life would be wonderful. Adrian ran his still-gloved hands across the surface of the fabric, unable to find whatever mechanism made changing its shape so easy.

Giving up quickly, he tugged the curtained entrance to the stall open and exited. Most of the others were already dressed by this point, so he quickly joined the gathering crowd. As he waited for the remainder of their group, he paced back and forth, trying to adjust to the feel of the new sneakers he wore while keeping a wary eye on the others for any signs of another argument.

 

[vxnilla]

hashimoto kiyoshi

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Ravyn was nothing if not sincere in her apology (even if Kiyoshi disagreed with her assessment that "there just wasn't really a connection from here to here"—there was not a single person among their number that he would consider unintelligent), and he inclined his head silently in acknowledgement.

As his initial vexation faded, he felt a vague kind of discomfort prickle at him. It was easy to get swept up in the moment, but now that the moment had gone, he was more than alright with fading back into the background; it'd been naive of him to expect that he could handle prolonged amounts of attention on him at a time.

Besides, there was nothing else to say on the matter; he'd said his piece, and Ravyn and Frederika theirs. They could move on from this.

Things, of course, were not so simple.

Although contrite for her misstep, Ravyn clearly had a lot of bottled up emotions that chose this opening to break forth, like a dam. A barely-checked anger strained at the edges of each one of her words, which were harsh but perhaps not unwarranted. Ravyn had not been involved in the altercation, and indeed had even done her best to diffuse the situation from what he could remember, but her reputation had suffered the consequences regardless.

After the red-haired girl left with the chime of the bell, Frederika turned to him. Kiyoshi blinked—he hadn't thought he'd still been considered part of the conversation. She said, "I do not believe Ravyn is interested in our current plight right now. From what she has said... I cannot blame her."

He felt a pang in his chest at the crestfallen look on the Otherworlder's face; Kiyoshi had always been quick to take others under his wing, and these circumstances—a fight with some kind of monster, being thrust into a completely different world, and the struggles of assimilating when their every move was placed under scrutiny—did nothing to tamp down his natural protectiveness. His comrades were all suffering in some way or another, and he was at a loss for what he could do to lessen their burden.

Still, he met Fredi's eyes, offering what reassurance he could. "But neither should you blame yourself," he offered. "This is difficult—but so too was our battle with the Poex, and we came out of that alright. I have faith we will do the same here."

Having already packed most of his things away, it didn't take him long to rise from his seat and join the others in leaving the classroom and finding where the assessment would take place. It would be a lie if he said he was unbothered as they traveled through the halls: Kiyoshi had felt uncomfortable with (debatably) positive attention, let alone negative, but if nothing else he was at least fairly certain no one would be starting fights with them anytime soon. He didn't love the pointed whispers or side glances or occasional bold jostle, but they wouldn't kill him.

He was surprised to see Professor Kikuchi there. He winced internally when the man made it clear he knew the details of the fight, but thankfully, he was nothing if not professional, smoothly changing the topic to the assessment at hand. The virtual reality here, Kiyoshi had no doubt, was far more advanced than anything he had experienced back home; he didn't relish the idea of feeling every injury he might sustain, but he could appreciate the attention to detail. It'd keep him careful, at the very least.

After changing, Kiyoshi regarded his new outfit with a slight frown; the uniform was at least not too terribly different from what he normally dressed with, but these gym clothes were—significantly thinner and more casual to what he was accustomed to wearing. And although beggars couldn't be choosers, he would really feel more comfortable going into this assessment with something that offered a little more protection. He wouldn't ask for a full suit of armor, but neither would he complain.

Still, he wasted no time in slipping out of the stall and regrouping with the others, all of whom had also changed. Nora spoke up: "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to go with the group headed into the mansion. More comfortable using my ability in an enclosed space."

Kiyoshi paused—he'd never considered the implications of Nora's ability. From what little he knew, it must be alarming to dissolve and find yourself at the mercy of all those outside elements that wouldn't pose a threat in a corporeal form. "Of course," he said, doubting that anyone would begrudge Nora this. "We can further decide groups after we've gone inside?"

His eyes flickered to the two earpieces lying untouched on the table. If no one moved to get those before they stepped into the simulation, he made a note to grab them before he followed.

xXx.lovely.xXx PixelSymphony LoliCowboy​

 

[PixelSymphony]

~Frederika von Eisenhart~
-- Student-Athelete Once More --

Status: Lightly wounded (facial knife wound)
Wearing: Vehemen Academy Gym Uniform, female
Location: Vehemen Academy, Combat Training Facility

---

"If it's all the same to you," Nora said, "I'd prefer to go with the group headed into the mansion. More comfortable using my ability in an enclosed space."

In the midst of an extended leg stretch, Frederika realized that Nora had been speaking to her; not wishing to interrupt her routine, and seeing as how Kiyoshi seemed to respond first, she completed her warmup before replying in kind. "Well, I certainly have no reservations about it either. Asking for a repeat of your earlier predicament seems... unwise. But yes, as Kiyoshi has stated, these are questions best addressed once we are slightly more cognizant of our theater of operations."

She straightened up, and begun to make her way to the assessment "room", scooping up both of the earpieces in a single motion and tossing one to Kiyoshi without any break in stride. "Here; I assume you are to lead one of the groups. I would give the other to another of us who was willing, but," she paused, glancing at the others collected there in the dim basement, "I believe volunteers for such a position are few and far between at the moment." She tucked the earpiece into a jacket pocket, intending to deal with its operation later. "Now then... we have tarried long enough. Whether it is victory or defeat, our fate shall be ours to forge. Let us see what awaits us in this assessment."

With a sharp squeak of her heels, she made her way into the simulation proper, pushing the doors open with a forceful shove and being deposited into a dark, moonlit night as her reward. The mansion seemed to stretch upwards to the very limits of her vision, very nearly blocking out the pale moon that hung silently in the inky black sky. Behind her, the forest stretched out to infinity, its rustling branches an ill omen even if no beast seemed to make its presence known. Both were equally foreboding, and Frederika had little doubt that this would truly be a test of their abilities, both supernatural and interpersonal.

The bevy of weapons placed neatly upon the tarp nearby immediately caught her attention, and almost counter-intuitively to their current situation she breath a sigh of relief. "Finally... we will not be walking into a fight with nary but stones and sticks to throw. Fortune already begins to smile upon us." With a slight smile, the blonde girl began to inspect and manipulate the selected armaments as she awaited the others; truth be told she had certain preferences, but as she laid eyes upon the gargantuan axe a lone "ah" escaped her lips. As the others entered, she held the humongous blades aloft, pointed vaguely in the direction they arrived. "I believe I will do all of you a great favor and relieve you of this particular implement from our selection. Now then, arm yourselves, we are certain to cross paths with the Poex in our trial."

---

Interacting: LoliCowboy , vxnilla , and everybody else.

 

[Pilgrim59]

S. Maxwell
Simulation Forest, VHA
PixelSymphony​

Before Maxwell realized it, he had skimmed through the entirety of the day. It was as if he had left himself off on automation. He wondered if he was just a robot at times. But robots do not harbor sentiments of doubts and guilt, he digress. Brushing these thoughts aside, he got his gym clothes and got to changing into them. Having been briefed by what he was to expect, the assessment seems to be quite a niche aspect of it. It was different from what the old world had to offer, to say the least. For now, its best to not hold up in awe. He went with the others, but made sure to keep a certain distance behind the stalls. His beautifully grotesque wounds would only make the others uncomfortable. It was a good thing that his pants were long enough to cover the scars on his thighs. It was quite ironic for someone, whose principles were of a nonchalant posture, would be inclined to concede to what others perceived of him.

Maxwell inhaled sharply before taking a step through the entry point that granted him access into the virtual world - reminiscent of his arrival here on Lumen, sparing the minute details of being ran over by a truck prior and such. Overall, it was something appealing to the eye. It occured to Max here and there that something else can be done with this virtual realm. One could even create their own kingdom in a world like this. Max eyed his surroundings, making sure to take note of the environment. He even went as far as trying to climb one of the trees to test the simulation's integral mechanics.

He lent ear to Eisenhart's words before scrutinizing the arsenal at their feet. A gun would prove useful to the ex-soldier, but there he pondered upon the instructions given unto them prior. Even he himself was curious to what he could do with his so-called abilities. Even then, he had little time to get acquainted with it prior. There was no better time than now, he settled. Max took the old notebook and pen without much thought, and quickly got to work. Referencing the first time he used his abilities by materializing a couple of flying daggers at his pursuers via contact with a piece of paper, Maxwell concluded that the notebook was a weapon made specifically for him, rather than a random ledger for notes. After all, this was an assessment of there abilities, not a note-taking course.

First, a blank page. He quickly gave focus to it, engraving a certain picture in his head, then ripping the page off. It was just a blank page. Nothing happened. Then came a certain tingling sensation upon his quivering hand. He gave it a thought to decipher his failure to conjure the weapon of his choice.

"You've got to be kidding me..." he muttered softly beneath his breath. There was little time to lose. Especially when the others would come about with their weapons of choice. Surely, they would have at least an idea of how to use them.

Maxwell on the other hand, had only a few minutes of experience to deduce his own abilities. A vague overview of it at least, followed by a certain surge of enticement that drawn him to pick the notebook and pen. Using his deductions based on his experience so far, it seemed a certain factor was not put into consideration - sentiments.

"Flippity floppity, ignite, my menagerie!" he exclaimed with more emotions this time, accompanied by a low-effort rhyme to boot.

The second page glowed this time, and a swarm of fireflies came forth. They donned the colors of the faded parchment in ivory white, with black stripes on them resembling that of the notebook's ruled lines. After about thirty seconds or so, the fireflies would dissipate into thin air. Maxwell dwelled on the matter. It was a success but at the cost of his dignity. It was quite awkward for him to put in emotions by spouting summoning lines like that of a Role-Playing Game character. He placed his hand over his face and turned away from the others, hoping that no one caught what he said. It was too embarrassing to bear with the fact that he had to make rhymes to usher forth his weapons. He did not complement those words before when he materialized the daggers. There has to be another way to go about doing this without spouting one-liners like that. He then turn slowly towards the pen.

Maxwell quickly got to it again, putting his ability to use by sketching a sword. He gave it focus, before materializing a sword into his hand. The whole process culminated in a dramatic ripping of the page upon the completion of his sketch. Despite his usually calm demeanor, Maxwell was excited to see his thesis came to fruition. Where his visage protrayed a stoic man, his inner persona were exploding with euphoric sentiments. He inspected the blade before tossing it into the air, causing it to fade away with the calm simulated breeze.

(This has proven most intuitive. There will be endless trials and errors ahead. I wonder if I could create life with mere paper and ink? An ambitious project for another time, for now... this'll do.)

Max grinned slightly, lowering his face where his bangs would cover his eyes. He then got up and leaned back against a nearby tree, awaiting the others to arm themselves.

 

[Nessi]

Hanna would watch as Fred tossed kiyoshi an earpiece, and she walked into the simulation once Maxwell went in. She was almost amazed at the weapon selection, but upon closer inspection, the weapons weren't of the highest quality. Hanna shook her head, at least they had weapons, which would be much more useful then some broken broom. She went over the selection of weapons, and her eye's went towards the katana. She stared at it for a while before taking the weapon for herself. "Guess it's time to embrace my inner Japanese" She muttered to herself.

Hanna's mother did Kendo before she had her, and tried to teach Hanna a bit, but never got far. Hanna didn't really find interest in swinging around a wooden sword, but now she wished she had payed attention to her mothers lessons, which would have been pretty useful. "Alright, you got this Hanna, we were able to do a lot of damage to a poex, and that was without a weapon." she told herself. Now they would all be armed with somewhat proper weapons.

Hanna walked up to Fred, and smiled, "I see you went for the Axe, great choice" Hanna said, watched Fred lift the giant axe with ease. She watched in awe as Maxwell use his power to create a sword, she hated to admit it, but Maxwell's power was pretty cool. Hanna would turn her attention back to Fred, "So, where are you heading, I'm going to the forest, so I can use my power more freely" Hanna said, a bit of a smirk on her face.
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