Multiple Settings Anima Studies

[Solirus]

The Sun Sets​

As the students went along their ways, the course of time passed. Each day of the week delved slightly deeper into the lessons taught in the first class, leaving the rest of the week uneventful if not informative for the most part.

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Unexpected Instructions.​

Date: August 13th, Sunday​

The brilliant sun rose again, lighting the halls of the academy. In similar fashion to the rest of the days, the students would hear the tolling bells of the school, but instead of the same voice that had instructed them in previous days, they instead heard a different but familiar voice. "Hey students, I know it's Sunday, but today you'll be heading to the main entrance of the academy instead of the classroom, see you there in like an hour or so or however long you take to get yourselves ready." Jaquie's voice echoed in their heads before briefly cutting out.

In the large space of the main entrance, Jaquie could be spotted leaning with a chair checking his phone with an annoyed expression and a flow of anima to match. "Fuckin' dickheads" the man spoke under his breath.

Juju November Witch Yakov011001 jmann seasonedcat Tiguidi Verite Spoiled Bread Silent Child _Yua Watanabe_ ​

 

[November Witch]

Mariana Mirror

Status: Literally asleep

Mariana spent the rest of the week doing normal school things. Attending the class, working diligently on her work and assignments alone due to how she thought everyone felt about her. Besides maybe Marianne, but she had a study group to run, so Mariana made sure to leave her alone. She probably had alot on her plate. Mariana would ask the teacher, or Crimson if she had any questions or needed help, but she was mainly quiet and kept to herself, for better or for worse. The assignments would slowly get more difficult, but the girl was no stranger to challenging objectives and would work diligently to complete the tasks she was given. Mariana would also start her day off with a run now, and work out towards the middle of the day, as physical training was suggested by the professor. Well, and Crimson. In fact, her demon had told Mariana she should start before the professor did. But being told by the teacher made her really get on it.

Hearing the teacher echo the sentiments of her demon only made the girl feel as if she could trust Crimson more than she had previously thought. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as Mariana had thought she might have been. Speaking of her demon, she’d given herself the name Crimson, in order to avoid confusion and make things easier. After the interaction between Mariana, Crimson and Nik, Mariana had asked Crimson to not show herself to anyone else at least for now. In order to avoid any more negative interactions with the others… Who she felt already had a negative opinion of her. During her free time, the girl would hide herself in her room with her demon, and work on her online job. Something she was finding harder and harder to get time for as the school life really kicked in. But she didn’t want to let down those who were depending on her. Plus, it was her only source of money, and she still had bills to pay! Who else would pay for her phone or gaming addiction?

…

Days later as the weekend came, Mariana was looking forward to doing her own thing and sleeping in, among other things. She had finished her schoolwork, and stayed up long into the night working, only to fall asleep in the morning of the next day. Mariana was awoken mere hours after she fell asleep and rolled over in her bed. She was too asleep for it to fully register in her mind and wake her up. But Crimson didn’t have to sleep. She had heard it as clear as day.

‘Get up.’

‘Mmno.’

The demon sighed. Mariana opened her eyes and finally sat up. But her eyes weren’t the normal purple color.

“What an idiot…”

Crimson muttered to herself, talking about both the professor who failed to mention the night before that they would have an event, or maybe even a full class today. If he had been responsible, Mariana would have gotten to bed on time like she always did. But instead, nothing was said, so she assumed it was just the weekend. Though, Mariana was also an idiot. Just push through it and get up already! But she could feel the girl still desperately clinging to sleep in her mind. Crimson guessed she would just have to get Mariana there and remember what was said, and relay that to the girl, whenever she woke up.

The demon would stand and get dressed. She’d brush Mariana’s teeth for her, as well as her hair. She’d make sure to get a snack from the kitchen as well, instead of the vending machine Mariana normally got her breakfast from and head off to the designated area. ‘Mariana’ would arrive holding a half-eaten banana and stand off to the side, silently. Awkwardly. She rocked back and forth on her heels and toes as she waited. The demon had gotten good at mimicking how Mariana acted. She felt like she shouldn’t, and that Mariana should wake up already, but she still stubbornly kept herself asleep.

‘What a baby…’

The demon thought.

‘I’ve dressed you, fed you, cleaned you up, and got you to your class… I’m not supposed to be your mother.’

She angrily said to the other, only to receive no response. She sighed, wondering where the others were. Crimson swore she was the most mature one there, and she was a demon. Well, it made sense. They were just puny, lowly humans after all. Always fighting and squabbling amongst themselves. She would make sure her host didn’t turn out as barbaric or idiotic as the rest of them. She took another bite of the banana and would look around, absorbing her surroundings as she waited for the others to trickle in… And for her host to stop being such a baby and wake up.

 

[Yakov011001]

“Fuck!” Nikklaüs shouted as he took a strike clean to his left side, right up on his largest scar. The force made him tumble over onto the floor. Hoisting himself up—sinking Zantetsuken into the ground in assistance—he looked to his opponent. He was in the sparring room with Jaquie, as this Friday afternoon was his day for ‘tutoring’. See, Nikklaüs had suspected a few things about the qualities of his Anima Arte, but in order to confirm his theories he needed to play defense to Jaquie’s overwhelming offense as a veteran in his practice. Even with Nikklaüs being a veteran in his own way, he was rusty from nearly a year and a half out of practice. He was a patient fighter though, and even though he would end up slipping in his defense and taking a heavy shot; Nikklaüs was confident in his ability to keep Jaquie out for the most part. A violet vignette came over his vision with each strike he deflected, and he would soon be ready to finish his experiment. Having fully reset and taking to his preferred pflug stance, Nikklaüs regarded his teacher.

“Alright, again!”

“Okay, here I go.” Jaquie responded with a grin in his face, but he did not go in immediately, instead slowly pacing around Nikklaüs, waiting patiently. In an instant, Nikklaüs could feel Jaquie’s anima morph completely and the man dashed towards him in a savage assault, throwing a singular straight punch directly towards him.

With a well practiced familiarity, Nikklaüs simultaneously sidestepped right and rotated the blade so the point was down. He swatted the fist to the side and used the momentum of both his step and his guard to start a fade slash that would hopefully connect towards the end of the blade where the momentum was highest.

“Good counter” Jaquie calmly commented, raising his arm to block the incoming attack.

“How the f—” Nikklaüs started, Jaquie having blocked an attack that would’ve otherwise broken someone else’s arm. Not expecting to have his strike deflected, he pulled his blade in defensively and approached with a modified version of the ox guard in which the blade was perpendicular to them as opposed to pointed at Jaquie. He rushed in and attempted to tackle Jaquie with that guard up.

Calm and composed, Jaquie waited for Nikklaüs to get as close as possible before delivering a powerful jab directly on Nikklaüs’s blade. The punch itself was quick, but it had enough weight and power behind it to send a grown man flying.

Nikklaüs had expected a rather direct strike in that manner, and with the impressive strength he’d expected from Jaquie at this point. However, he hadn’t expected its speed; having planned to swipe outwards on contact in a way that would counter hit him at a speed even he couldn’t hope to prevent, instead Nikklaüs mistimed his answer. He ate that hit head-on, sliding back on his toes for a good ten feet before the momentum stopped. His stance had been broken by it, and he fell to his knees. The force that swirled within Zantetsuken at this moment was becoming overwhelming, and he could feel it try to force its way into his body. Something he imagined would be just about as bad as taking 420V at 120A to the chest.
“Jaquie, I need a target that isn’t you, real quick.” His voice quivered at the strength he was holding back, almost unable to see beyond the vignette that took over his sight.

“Why not?” Jaquie questioned in slight bewilderment.

“I’m not sure—” He raised himself into a deep Iaijutsu stance, his eyes now enveloped by that violet glow that looked almost like lightning firing out from the edges. “—that this would be safe against even you.”

“Nikk please,” Jaquie said, slowly walking up towards Nikklaüs, placing both hands in his pockets, “You’re weak.”

“Weak?” Nikklaüs parroted in disbelief, quickly resigning to the idea that he’d be okay if he accidentally killed his teacher.

With a violent, frenzied, and almost reckless fervor, Nikklaüs rushed down his teacher. His hands did not leave the blade at his side, and on final approach he dipped down into a low, wide lounge that kept his left leg overextended.

Jaquie hardly reacted, instead simply pulling out one hand from his pocket and pointing directly at his own neck, leaving himself completely open.

Nikklaüs was ready for Jaquie to have eaten the bait he laid with his overextended leg, but when he didn’t do anything, he wasn’t ready for it. What now? It wasn’t safe for him to draw into a raw Iai slash, he needed a set up. Last second, Nikklaüs changed his mind. Instead of unsheathing the sword, he used the wide lunge to create momentum for a flying knee to Jaquie’s chin. Like this, he could surely bait out whatever option he planned to deal with the attack, surely.

“C'mon” Nikklaüs could hear as his flying knee was dodged, however he could not spot any sort of movement coming from Jaquie, his pose was identical, his hand pointing directly into his neck. “Slash my neck, c’mon.”

It was just enough. Jaquie had pissed him off just barely enough to get past years of ingrained combat reasoning, enough for Nikklaüs to finally say:

“Fuck it.” Flicking the blade up just barely with his left thumb, the seal was cracked open just the smallest bit. The rush was overwhelming, rushing out like water from the floodgates moving to fill every corner of his being. In a single instant almost imperceptible to his own self the blade left the sheath and viciously tore the air asunder. The speed having vacated the path of its travel, creating a vacuum that filled itself with a loud clap.

The blade crashed against Jaquie’s neck unable to travel any further. The wind created sent flying by the blade managed to knock Jaquie’s glasses off, however he himself had not moved a single inch from his position. With the same hand he used to point at his neck, he moved it to grab onto Nikklaüs’s blade.

Nikklaüs could only sigh, that was the most power he’d ever felt in his life. How still could it not compare to his teacher just fucking sitting there waiting for it?

“My name is not Nikk,” Then his eyes snapped open with rage again. He dismissed Zantetsuken, shattering in Jaquie’s grip. Hopefully having caught him off guard at this close of a range, Nikklaüs shoulder bashed him with a Tetsuzanko. “My name is Klaüs you fucking bastard!”

“Alright, that’s good enough for now,” Jaquie calmly side stepped Nikklaüs’s shoulder bash, “Take a short break”

“No,” Nikklaüs started, having returned to a natural posture. Seemingly unfazed by his Tetsuzanko whiffing. He didn’t even turn to look his teacher in the eyes. “I’m done. I got everything I needed,” He walked back in the direction of the exit. “These weren’t my only plans for today.”

“You’re very stubborn” Nikklaüs could feel the ground slowly losing friction until it was as frictionless as ice. “You’ll leave, when I let you leave, ok?”

Nikklaüs stumbled on the ‘ice’ before quickly adapting to it and returning to as close to a normal standing posture as he could.

“What more is there to do? I’m not gonna be your punching bag all day, Jaquie.”

“I want to talk to you about this tutoring session and ask you a couple questions as well.” Jaquie walked up to Nikklaüs unaffected by the frictionless floor, “For now, you’re weak, but that’s okay, we all start somewhere, so you shouldn’t feel insecure about that.”

“I already put in my time. I’m done being weak. I’m not insecure, I just need to progress faster.”

“You’re already progressing fast enough. By the end of the year, you’ll be a rank III arcanist.”

“Maybe.” He conceded, dropping to the floor and laying on his back. In the three days that it had been since he signed up for tutoring, he hadn’t had even three hours of sleep. Pouring over book after book from the library, whatever he could get his hands on. He was almost fully fluent in Runic and was learning fundamental Anima theory. Today, he had planned on picking up some dedicated research material on demons, maybe a compendium or otherwise something to help him understand demon types, classifications, or any other important information he’d need to understand demon slaying. He could feel the fatigue looming in him, but still he couldn’t find the time to nap when there was so much to be done. He can sleep when he’s dead.

“Say, do you know about ranks?” Jaquie asked, his glasses flying back to his hands.

“Marianne explained it to me the other day, I think. There’s what, five ranks? And the bell curve is weighted towards Rank II Arcanists.”

“Correct, do you know what rank you are?”

“I don’t know, one? Maybe even zero, honestly.”

“You are in fact Rank I, and do you know how long it takes the average arcanist to reach Rank II?”

“Uh—” Nikklaüs sat up, now facing Jaquie. “—six, maybe eight months?” That was his best guess. Nikklaüs knew that a great deal of the Arcanist population—his guess was nearly 65%—was Rank II. It must be pretty easy to reach that rank, right?

“3 years, 3 years can you imagine that, it’s honestly mind-boggling to me, only those with potential can reach rank II in less than a year and you’ll be reaching rank III in a year.”
“No. That can’t be right,” He dismissed with a hand wave. “I hardly understand what the fuck I’m doing.”

“Oh please, you’ve only been here for less than a week, do you really expect to understand everything immediately?”

“I mean, I guess not. I just don’t have the time to slow down y’know? Marianne, Jessie, they’ve both got headstarts on the lot of us. I need to close that gap if I want to be worth anything in the—uh—demon slaying industry?”

“... Look, as an arcanist you will have the power and abilities to slay demons, they are a problem which a lot of arcanists decide to focus their lives on. However, an arcanist doesn’t have to devote their life to it. The reason you’re in this academy is not to make you a killer, but to learn to defend and control yourself. Think about it like that one quote that goes ‘with great power comes-’”

“You’re funny,” Nikklaüs cut off the quote. Defend himself? He wasn’t worth all that, it was so he could protect others. “Alright, comes next? This short break is getting a little long.”

“Alright moving on” Jaquie cleared his throat “I did want to ask you, have you been losing control of your actions recently?” It was a question that confused Nikklaüs, scrunching up his face in thought.

“Uh, no? F—what’d’you mean?” He finally stood up from where he was sitting, crossing his arms seemingly thinking on the question even though he’d already answered it.

“Just wondering, because by the end of the sparring, you were different.”

Nikklaüs thought back on it, in the past week he couldn’t say he could think of anything like that. The closest he imagined was that one interaction with Mariana, but that was an action he made of his own accord—though, he wouldn’t be able to say for what reason he did. To this point, nothing else he could consider an example.

“Nah, I’m sure that was nothing.”

“Alright then. I’ll let you go do whatever else you had planned, before you go, though. I have one assignment for you to work on outside of lessons. Get 8 hours of sleep from now on, or else I’ll knock you out.”

He could only chuckle at the thought. Whether or not that was a threat Jaquie was willing to follow through on, Nikklaüs didn’t want to get too testy. Still—

“Sorry, bossman,” He took to the door, ready to bolt and get back to his studies. “If it was my decision, you wouldn’t be able to see these bags,” He tugged on his bottom eyelid with his index finger as a visual aid for his point. “But I would appreciate the sleep aid tomorrow!”

 

[Juju]

• Week review
• private tutoring
• Dorm Room
• Sunday

• Other than her private training and a trip to the estate, Marianne's week was mostly uneventful. She held the Study Group every day after classes, and towards the end of the week began a new study method introduced to her by Rook; Flashcards. The concept was new to her, much to her embarrassment when she was told this was a fairly common study method in schools across the world. It took her interest quickly, and before long she began to create cards for her club members.
  
  In the evenings, she held her dance practices with Annamarie and focussed on improving upon what she had been taught in class and her private session. By the end of the day she found herself exhausted both physically and socially. Back at the estate, she had hardly even a fraction of the social gatherings that she did while hosting the study group, but she found herself strangely content with it all. Burnout threatened her energy reserves, but for the time being she fully devoted herself to her now bloated schedule. For better or worse.
  
• (Collab with Solirus )
  
  Ever since her previous conversation with Jaquie, Marianne had been eager to begin the private tutoring session. She had picked one of the earliest dates, and yet even still she felt restless. Her own personal training with Annamarie was adequate, but it wasn’t enough. If she wanted to improve, she would need to test both of their limits. Perhaps it was time.
  
  Side by side, the Montgomery twins entered through the door. One held a look of faint indifference, while the other already had a light scowl on her face.
  
  “I’m here.” Marianne announced, her footsteps echoing off the boundless ground.
  
  Marianne’s voice echoed, but there was no response, it seemed like Jaquie hadn’t arrived yet.
  
  Was he seriously late? It wasn’t exactly surprising, but it made it no less annoying. Marianne let out a sharp sigh and crossed her arms, glancing to the left and right as she scanned the horizon for an umbrella or at least a spark of anima.
  
  “Where is he…” she pondered aloud.
  
  Going down the list, Marianne glanced upwards into the vacant sky and noticed something peculiar. A speck of anima was hurtling rapidly towards her. Following her action, Annamarie glanced up at it too, her red eyes dull and unimpressed.
  
  Marianne quirked a brow, “You can’t be serious…”
  
  She couldn’t really see if it was Jaquie or not, but she kept her wits about her. Knowing the professor, any moment could turn into a dangerous one.
  
  The unidentified object eventually crashed in front of the twins causing a powerful gust to push them back. Upon recovering and laying eyes on it, they only saw Jaquie’s umbrella standing upright.
  
  “Good job spotting that” Jaquie was standing right behind the twins with his arms crossed, proud that she’d been able to spot it while also amused.
  
  ‘Good job at being punctual’ is what Marianne wanted to say, but she held her tongue. There was no point starting off the session with quips, especially when the professor was here outside of schooling hours. It was for her benefit, afterall.
  
  He had a weird look on his face, something like amusement, but not quite. Was he mocking her? Pushing it down, Marianne stood her ground and shrugged dismissively, “It’s nothing to be praised for, really. I’d be negligent if I hadn’t noticed it.”
  
  “Alright then, I suppose we should start the session now. First, you’ll do your dance, I want to get a good look at it.”
  “You’ll have to be more specific than that,” Marianne sniffed in a matter-of-fact tone, arms still crossed, “You cannot expect a waltz when you’ve asked for a quickstep. You need a tempo first. What shall it be, then? Evasive, offensive, defensive?”
  
  “Offensive.” Jaquie’s expression appeared uncomfortably serious now.
  
  Marianne glanced from left to right, seeing no training target in sight, “On what target?”
  
  “Me” Jaquie responded calmly, arms still crossed.
  
  “As you wish.” Marianne nodded.
  
  She then turned to her twin, holding out a hand for the doll to take. The other was tucked behind her arm, just like the beginning of a ballroom dance. “Annamarie? Künstlerleben.”
  Like clockwork, Annamarie mirrored her twin and they both faced the professor, offering him a curtsy. There was a brief pause, as if to wait for the curtains to fully part, before they began. The two twirled away from one another, yet in the space created by their parted hands a giant pair of scissors had formed. Its blades were open, yawning like a set of iron jaws.
  
  As if acting like one set of hands, the two lunged forward with the blade balanced between them and snipped it closed.
  
  Jaquie observed their maneuvers, and just as the scissors began to close, the professor bent backwards, displaying surprising flexibility and balance and narrowly avoiding the blades. With his arms still crossed, it was evident that Jaquie was unimpressed.
  
  The two continued onward without pause. Blades parted as the twins did, spinning away as if born from the same arc of motion. Annamarie took the scissors and tossed it like a spinning disc of blade towards Jaquie, while Marianne looped around him in preparation to catch it after its ricochet and make an attack of her own from the opposite direction.
  
  Swiftly returning upright, Jaquie finally uncrossed his arms and with elegance and efficiency Jaquie used the spinning momentum of the blade to fling it directly upwards, maintaining the pose after the fact. His face remained stone-cold and uncaring.
  
  Marianne frowned, eyes following the blade as it was sent directly upwards. This was entirely unprecedented, something an inanimate training dummy or her usual targets could never replicate. Annamarie could not dispel and re-summon the blade in a short period of time, and without a weapon they would have to remain on the defensive, which was not the purpose of this exercise. Yet, perhaps there was another way? It was experimental, but was that not the entire purpose of this school?
  
  She ran towards her twin and quickly called out, “Annamarie!”
  
  The doll held her hands together, leaning down enough for Marianne to place one foot onto her cupped porcelain hands. With inhuman strength, she tossed Marianne upwards, sending her flying up towards the scissors. Her outstretched fingers caught the airborne blade as she turned mid-fall, angling the closed blades down like a sword as she plummeted down at Jaquie.
  
  There was a sudden shift in Jaquie’s anima and as Marianne plummeted to strike him, the professor was able to catch the tip of the blade with his fingers. “Nice experiment, however you’re stuck falling, meaning if I was an enemy, I could’ve put Annamarie in danger.” effortlessly holding both Marianne and the blade up.
  
  Marianne was jarred and almost completely lost grip on the scissors as the motion came to an abrupt stop. The scissors practically froze in place while she did not. Her eyes widened in surprise, but thankfully she had enough strength in her to hold on and save herself from slamming down onto the floor.
  
  She let go of the blades and dropped down beside Jaquie, straightening the folds of her dress and sleeves that had gone askew from the manoeuvre. Her eyes flicked over to Annamarie, motioning for her to stop the waltz.
  
  “You’re right. It won’t happen again, sir.” she said tightly, disappointed in her own judgment.
  
  Jaquie twirled the blade around before lightly tossing it back towards Annamarie, “I’ve been meaning to test something out as well. I want Annamarie to sit out the next fight and to simply observe as best she can. You will be fighting alone.” Jaquie turned to face Marianne, “And secondly, try to ignore what I say during the fight.” he gave a lighthearted grin after saying that last part.
  
  Annamarie caught the scissors with a hand, twirling them just like she had seen Jaquie do before gently resting them against the ground, daintily propping her wrists onto it like some elaborate cane.
  
  Marianne glanced at Jaquie, taken aback at the request. She wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting at with the last part, but the rest made her a little uncomfortable, “Without Annamarie? And do you mean without a weapon as well?”
  
  “Depends if you plan on picking up a tool or not in the future. But I won’t use my umbrella” The umbrella remained upright, unmoving, unfazed.
  
  “I can’t say it's something that I considered much, if at all,” Marianne admitted, looking a little uncomfortable. “In combat training, I’ve only used Annamarie’s blades. Any unarmed techniques my family taught me are strictly for evasion and defence, purposed for their sigil arts. If it’s offence you want, I’m afraid I cannot do so while unarmed.”
  
  “Can you use all three with a blade then?” Jaquie questioned motioning Annamarie to hand over the blade.
  
  “Yes, I adapted the techniques to work with our blades.” Marianne explained, a little self-consciously. Her grandfather had called it butchery once, but it was all she had. “Since my family primarily rely on sigils over tools, I used outside sources and working with Annamarie. Well, and some tips from my gran.”
  
  Annamarie made no motion at Jaquie’s gesture, merely staring at him blankly. It wasn’t until Marianne gave her a nod that she handed them to him, flipping it over so he could take the handle.
  
  Jaquie took the blade without looking and tossed it into the air directly above both of them. “When you catch the blade, we’ll begin”
  
  Annamarie stood to the side, hands clasped in front of her, as she watched Marianne move to catch the sword. Marianne did not like vagueness, especially in social interaction, and yet that is what Jaquie left her with when she was forced to look away from him in anticipation of the blades’ return.
  
  “You still haven’t said which one!” Marianne blurted, her hands catching the ringhandles as she brought the closed scissors down in front of her like a sword. Annoyance flashed in her eyes, making her more on edge than she already was.
  
  Without hesitation, Jaquie sidestepped to Marianne’s right side and threw out a left hook towards her arm.
  
  His fist slammed into the blunt of Marianne’s blades, which she quickly brought up and supported with both hands. It was a clear enough answer. She shoved the blades to the side, redirecting the blow away from her and freeing up her blades, which she whipped towards Jaquie in an outward slash.
  
  “Sloppy” ducking the slash, Jaquie closed the distance, delivering a quick jab directly on Marianne’s gut.
  
  Marianne winced from the blow, but forced herself to remain standing. Controlling her breaths, she adjusted her footing and backed up in an attempt to create more distance between herself and her teacher.
  
  The ache in her abdomen wasn’t nearly as distracting as his words. Wasn’t it obvious? Why did he think she was here? Her anima flared up, white-hot and sharp. Once more, she tried to land a blow on Jaquie.
  
  Jaquie dodged the blow with efficiency, following with a kick to her ankle, “your footing’s off, I thought you already had that sorted.”
  
  The pain only added fuel to Marianne’s growing agitation. She only let herself stumble, regaining her footing even if it brought pain. If anything, it was compensation for her sore lack of skill. While she recalled his warnings over combat banter, she was unable to ignore it. She agreed with everything he said. What she had was inadequate to protect anyone, let alone herself.
  
  Marianne returned to the offence with a feint and a lunging sidestep, her tempo increasing. No matter how much pain she had to endure, she would perfect this.
  
  “Slow down, won’t you? The faster you go, the quicker you’ll end up failing.” Jaquie spat out with a cocky grin as he shoulder bashed Marianne with his entire weight behind it.
  
  Marianne fell to the ground, but she didn’t stay there. Using the blades to prop herself up, she was back on her feet in but a moment. Her eyes narrowed with focus, studying his patterns with each and every failure. In her concentration, she wasn’t fully listening to his words for once.
  
  The world was tunnel visioned, boiling down to nothing but herself and this desire for a single perfect strike. The vision of it burned in her mind, driving her forward even as her limbs cried with pain. Once again, she brought the blade up for another strike.
  
  Observing Marianne attempt a final strike, Jaquie’s expression appeared impressed, “Alright, stop” he calmly stated, uncaring whether Marianne halted her movement or followed through with her strike.
  
  There was a moment’s delay between Jaquie’s words and Marianne’s reaction. The word stop broke through her concentration, throwing her off her stance and causing her to abruptly stop her strike. The blades stopped in front of Jaquie and soon her own movement did too. She blinked, a little surprised, and lowered the scissors and watched him silently, waiting for him to say something.
  
  In the meantime, she glanced at Annamarie. She had done remarkably well in staying put, even under the condition that her twin came under hard. Context was sometimes a blur. The only change in the doll was that she was no longer standing with her hands clasped, instead they were at her sides and one of her feet were in front of the other as if made in a tiny step.
  
  “All right, tell me what did you do wrong in our short exchange?” Jaquie questioned, unfazed by how close the blade had gotten.
  
  “Poor footing, pacing, slow reaction, lapse of concentration.” Marianne stated blandly, staring at the ground beside her.
  
  “Your real problem was that you were letting my banter get to you.”
  
  Marianne sighed sharply, her eyes narrowing at the lifeless floor, “I’ll do better next time, Lawphel sir.”
  
  “You don’t realise it, by the end you were doing amazing, you’d focused entirely on the objective and yet you had enough awareness to know to stop. I don’t need you to do better right now, I need you to remember that feeling of pure focus and to repeat it.”
  
  Marianne’s eyes flicked up to Lawphel, attempting to study his features for any hint of insincerity. If it was there, she couldn’t see it. She frowned a little, unsure of what to feel right now. The unexpected praise caught her a little off-guard.
  
  She shifted her grip on the intricate scissors they rested on, “Right. I will do my best to replicate it going forward. Thank you, for your insight and your time.”
  
  “Good, I’ll be seeing you later then, stay in one piece.” Jaquie responded with a grin, the umbrella flying to his hand and in a single instant, he seemingly vanished from Marianne’s sights.
  
  Marianne blinked, still unaccustomed to Jaquie’s unique anima art. She had thought about it several times since the semester started, yet she still couldn’t figure out how it worked. Whatever it was, it was truly exceptional. No wonder her grandfather was green with envy over his family.
  
  Just the thought of that stuffy old man finding out a mannerless Lawphel could likely outpace any sigil-craft he could manage brought an unexpected burst of bliss to her heart. As much as the professor irritated her, the thought of the family patriarch getting upset over it made her feel a petty joy.
  
  She thought again of the praise she had been given and let out a weary sigh. Pain shot through her ribs at the action, a tell-tale sign of the bruises quickly forming. Now that everything had calmed down, she could feel the exhaustion and pain creeping in.
  
  With soft steps, Annamarie stood beside her, staring at her twin with wide, ruby eyes. She tilted her head and pointed at the giant scissors still held beneath Marianne’s hands.
  
  “Oh, yes, please dismiss these. Thank you!” Marianne said brightly, watching her twin turn the scissors into sparking motes of red anima. She then smiled and placed a hand on Annamarie’s soft white hair, “Well done today! Why, you hardly moved an inch this time!”
  
  The doll only returned a blank stare towards her beaming twin. Her head tilted again, causing one of her pearly strands of hair to fall onto her shoulder.
  
  Marianne took the doll’s hand into her own and led the way to the exit. “Come now, Annamarie. Let’s return to our chambers. After we get cleaned up, I’ll fix us up some tea. Today I’m thinking hmm…jasmine? What do you say?”
  
  The doll nodded her head.
  
  “Splendid.”
  
  
• (collab with Yakov011001 )
  
  “Marianne, Annamarie!” Nikklaüs had just returned to the dorm room from getting his ass thoroughly kicked by Jaquie in their ‘tutoring’ session. He was starting to feel sore from it all, his Anima seemingly doing nothing to help him. Didn’t Marianne say that’s how this worked? Why the fuck am I still in so much pain? He rubbed the back of his neck, setting his new book down on the island: Classification of Demons and How They Develop. “I’m back!”
  
  Marianne was in the living room, sat on the sofa with a book held up in front of her face. It was a leather-bound tome that looked far older than she was and bore no label on either its cover or spine.
  
  She lowered the unmarked volume to peer over the edges of its yellowed pages, giving Nikklaus a mildly annoyed glance, “Is there any reason you’re shouting?”
  
  Sat across from her, Annamarie was busy snipping some paper with a miniature version of her iconic scissors. She appeared to be dividing standard sheets of paper into much smaller portions, her blades running perfect, exact lines through the parchment.
  
  “Sorry about that, love. I didn’t expect you two to just be out here already,” Nikklaüs moved from the kitchen to sit at the end of the couch opposite Marianne, letting out a pained groan as he did so. “My bones are screaming.”
  
  Marianne clicked her tongue, her expression souring as her eyes sharpened into a glare. She was acutely aware that she was the only one he annoyed with such flowery language, and frankly it was getting old. “Enough with the ‘loves’ already. Bloody hell, you sound like the stodgy old men at charity banquets. If you think you’re being clever, you’re sadly mistaken.”
  
  Nikklaüs could only chuckle at it. If he was getting under her skin, it was enough for him. Even if he wanted to stop: “Eh, unfortunately it’s a habit at this point.” He shrugged.
  
  “Received a proper thrashing from Lawphel, I take it?” She stated primly, flipping a page in her book. “Good. Pain is just weakness leaving the body.”
  
  “In that case, maybe I want to keep the weakness,” He thought over the tutoring one more time. She’d signed up before him, and in turn would’ve been before him in the queue. “How about your session, how was that?”
  
  Marianne paused, as if thinking over her words. In the end, she offered a lukewarm shrug, “It went about as well as I imagined it would. Professor Lawphel was kind enough to point out my mistakes, and gave me insight for improvement. That, and a fair amount of bruises.”
  “I can’t imagine why I thought for a second you’d be immune to the lashings of Lawphel,” Nikklaüs shook his head, taking his phone out. “Say, you showed me the UAA the other night, but are we even able to take contracts as students?” Having gained the understanding of Zantetsuken he needed, Nikklaüs thought that maybe he could take a job over the weekend. No time to slow down, and all that. Jaquie may have threatened to knock him out if he didn’t get any sleep, but part of him was willing to take that risk if it meant faster progress.
  
  “Why on earth would you think that of all things?” Marianne lowered her book onto her lap, giving Nikklaus a strange look.
  
  Did he seriously think she was somehow on par with Jaquie, or was that sarcasm? With him, it was difficult to tell. The tome made a dusty whoosh as she closed it, listening to his question about the app. His mere suggestion of taking a job earned yet another click of her tongue and a disapproving look.
  
  “Didn’t you just winge about your sorry state, and here you are trying to take on a mission?” she rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, “Even if you were daft enough to consider such a thing, rank 1 contracts are reserved for schools, institutions, and arcanist families. It’s nigh impossible to register for one as an individual. The only available contracts would be rank 2. And before you get any death-wishing ideas, we as students are not allowed to participate in anything above rank 1.”
  
  “Are you fucking kidding me!?” Nikklaüs had an unexpected flare of anger at that, before he sighed and stood up to retrieve his book from the island. Also grabbing a root beer he’d kept in the fridge, he opened the book in his left hand as he returned to his seat and cracked the can open in the other. “Arcanist families, huh? Does that mean you could take one?” He asked rhetorically, skimming the table of contents for what all he’d already learned in class so he could skip to new material. Demons v. Devils, page 113. Devils? Haven’t heard that one before.
  
  Devils are a subset of demonspawn born under unique conditions. While demons exist as a manifestation of one negative emotion festering in a community or other populace, devils apparitions of one person’s full range of negative emotion. Once considered theory, urban legend, or otherwise, proof was found of their existence, but to date the only examples of such demons are created by Arcanists: intentionally or unintentionally.
  
  The entry had him tilt his head in confusion, or rather speculation. He glanced over at Annamarie, who was now staring directly at him from across the room. After his angry outburst, she had halted her work and watched him vigilantly. Devils, huh? He took a long sip from his can, the eye contact feeling rather awkward. Why only Arcanists though? I wonder. It was something that provoked questions he wanted to ask Marianne, but he refrained. He’d already asked her enough, him pestering her for stuff and almost nothing else since he’d walked in the door. It made him feel guilty.
  
  “Hey, Marianne,” It was almost a whisper. He shut his book with it, he stifled a yawn from the sleepless nights peering over his shoulder. “I know you said I’m free to ask you anything I need to know, but I wanted to apologize for just how much I must be a bother to you.”
  
  Rather unusually, Marianne had been silent even after Nikklaus’ outburst and comment regarding her family. She sat staring at her book, lips pursed. Judging by the all too familiar sour expression on her face, something he said must have been on the more sensitive side of things.
  
  Despite her brooding, she looked up expectantly at her name, listening for yet another question. Much to her surprise, it was an apology. For once, Marianne wished he was being obnoxious instead. She tried to hide a look of shock by staring down at the closed book on her lap.
  
  “I’ve told you, it is my responsibility to share what knowledge I can. Only the insecure and pathetic would withhold wisdom from those with less experience.” she stated firmly, though she began to fiddle with the book a little uncomfortably as she spoke, her voice softening a little “And you’re not a bother… I’m glad that I might provide some measure of help to someone.”
  
  Nikklaüs found a small bit of solace in that he was only getting on her nerves in the ways he intended to, but he wasn’t fully satisfied.
  
  “Even still,” He raked his hand down his face, placing the can onto the coffee table. “I just feel like there’s more to be doing, or that I’m not doing enough. That maybe if it weren’t for the restrictions the school has over us, I could be out there getting the hands-on experience I need to progress. That if it weren’t for my limited knowledge, I could be doing something to repay you for all the help you’ve given me,” He sighed, running his hand back through his hair and slouching deep into the couch. “I wanna—” Nikklaüs pushed a frustrated exhale through his nose. An embarrassment washing over him. “I wanna be able to do something for you too, y’know?”
  
  He quickly disregarded himself, slapping his palm over his eyes and shooting to his feet. Snatching the can off the table, he walked back to the kitchen chugging the can as he moved. Finishing the can, Nikklaüs whispered just barely loud enough for the twins to hear: “I ought to actually go buy some liquor.” He chucked the can into the trash bin situated in the cabinets just underneath the island, before moving to the fridge again in search of food this time.
  
  “But unfortunately I don’t really have anything to offer anyone as I am now.” Nikklaüs finished his thought.
  
  Maybe that was the long and short of it for him.
  
  “The restrictions exist for a reason, so you’d best get used to them.” Marianne sniffed, crossing her arms and giving him a disapproving look.
  
  Once again, bewildered surprise sparked in her eyes at his eagerness to repay her, despite her insistence that what she was doing required no favours in return. Was he actually serious? It was annoying to think that her act of helping him was causing useless stress, but at the same time, it was oddly… touching? She felt a warmth in her chest before it twisted into guilt.
  
  She remained silent as he returned to the kitchen, at least until she overheard the mention of alcohol. “Absolutely no alcohol. This is a bloody school, not a pub! And, quit your fussing, will you? I’ve already told you I don’t need anything in return. If you really want to repay me, you can start by doing a lot less bemoaning.”
  Her words were sharp, but there was a softness to her gaze. She couldn’t recall a time when she had been subject to such gratitude, especially as stubborn as that offered by Nikklaus. Even now, she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. His fixation on repaying her was beginning to heighten the discomfort in her chest.
  
  She glanced back at him from the side of her eyes, voice tentative as she added, “Actually, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Pardon me if this is prying a bit, but it’s obvious you’re working at a breakneck pace to improve. Even if it might be harmful. Your desire for improvement is akin to, no, beyond that of most students with arcanist heritage, and yet you don’t belong to any major family.”
  
  Marianne turned to face him, her gaze intense and piercing as she studied him, “Why?”
  
  What an honest question. Marianne was a very straightforward person, but he didn’t think she would be to that extent. Nikklaüs had nothing to hide; well, not here. Not from her.
  
  “Money,” He offered simply. “My parents are very important people, and in turn are always working. I haven’t had the time that I wanted to spend with them, and it feels like we all started doing our own things too soon. There’s a lot to be earned in this industry; hopefully enough to finally line them up for a proper retirement. Like that, maybe that will repay them for all they’ve sacrificed for my sake.”
  
  So that was what it was all about? While Marianne couldn’t empathise with this particular struggle in more ways than one, she could understand its significance. At least, she attempted to.
  
  Marianne gave a nod and then looked away, her eyes holding a faint look of dissatisfaction, “I see. Well, if you seek to maximize profits, it would be most prudent to stick with mid or low ranking contracts. Higher tiers are less frequent and have a disproportionate fatality rate. You’d be more likely to fund your funeral fees than any retirement funds.”
  
  Honestly, Nikklaus struck her as exactly the sort of arcanist to be lured in by the bounties inflated from casualties. He certainly had the thick skull for it.
  
  “Still, it’s a noble goal. You and your parents must be close.” It was more of a passing observation than a question, judging by the lukewarm way in which Marianne expressed it.
  
  At this point, she was interrupted by Annamarie, who had stood up and poked her twin’s shoulder. She gestured to the stack of neatly trimmed papers, earning her a bright smile from Marianne, “Ah, Annamarie? All finished, I see? Splendid! These will make excellent ‘Key Cards’, as Rook called them. Would you like to help me fill them out?”
  
  Annamarie nodded.
  
  “Key cards? Oh, for self study material?” Nikklaüs was confused by the use of ‘key cards’ as opposed to maybe ‘flash cards’. It could be some other wholly unrelated thing though.
  
  Marianne blinked, her face reddening as she realized her mistake. She cleared her throat, “Ah, y-yes I recall they were indeed called ‘Flashcards’. Made for key concepts.”
  
  Nikklaüs had to cover his mouth in a vain effort to stifle his laugh as he looked back at her from the fridge. Nothing he was hungry for by the way.
  
  “You’re really getting into this, I’m glad you can be excited over it.” And he genuinely was glad, it was just hard to tell under that devious grin. But it gave him an idea! “Oh! Oh! That’s it! Maybe I can do this for you.”
  
  With his words, he brought up his hands to make hook shapes with his index fingers pointed at each other. Nikklaüs then twisted his wrists to point his curled knuckles at Marianne.
  
  “I could teach you ASL. It’s a very practical form of communication even outside of your situation,” He referred to Annamarie’s muteness, whether voluntary or not. “I think it would be nice if she had the option to communicate with more than just you, if she wanted to, that is.”
  
  Marianne glanced at Nikklaus, suddenly looking quite apprehensive towards the current topic of conversation, “I, well, I’m not so sure how useful it will be…”
  Her eyes shifted over to Annamarie, who had tilted her head at the familiar word and watched Nikklaus sign in ASL. It was unclear what she was thinking, but she seemed to be following the peculiar movements with interest.
  
  “Well, it doesn’t have to be useful, I suppose. Think of it as—hmm— knowledge for knowledge’s sake. We can start small, and decide further in whether or not you think it’s worth continuing.”
  
  Nikklaüs couldn’t help the little smile that crept onto his face when he noticed Annamarie’s apparent interest.
  
  “Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt…” Marianne muttered hesitantly. She had also noticed her twin’s interest in the matter, though didn’t seem as eager. “Would you like to give it a try, Annamarie?”
  
  The doll nodded her head up and down slowly, still watching Nikklaus’ hands as she waited for more of the strange movements.
  
  Nikklaüs tried to maintain some level of professionalism in the exchange, but there was an underlying excitement in it he couldn’t hide. They way he sped around the island with his posture swaying almost 45-degrees, and jumping on to the couch from a little farther away than he should.
  
  “Right, so first we need to cover the most basic of fundamentals, the alphabet. The thing about American Sign Language is that you can transcribe its words in fingerspelling using the American English word. So even if you don’t know a word, as long as you’ve memorized the alphabet, you can still communicate any word in the language. In fact, there are a lot of words that don’t yet exist in ASL that we just fingerspell until whatever smaller circle we’re in effectively creates the word if repeated use makes a necessity.”
  
  Nikklaüs fingerspelled the alphabet as he explained, mirrored in each hand as admittedly which hand the twins considered their dominant hand was maybe of the two things he didn’t pay attention to about them.
  
  “Alright, let’s go down the list.” He restarted from the top, saying each letter as he signed. As he held each letter, he would specify important notes on each. “Now, it’s important for the letter ‘A’ for your thumb to be situated on the side of your fist and not over your fingers as to be confused for the letter ‘S’.”
  
  Annamarie held up both of her hands and easily mirrored Nikklaus’ gesture. Just as he had instructed, she kept her thumbs to the side of her fists.
  
  “Come have a seat, Annamarie.” Marianne urged, patting the spot on the sofa beside herself. Her twin obliged, still holding up her hands and carefully watching Nikklaüs. Marianne then frowned, eyes flicking between the two. “Is it typical to fingerspell with both hands? I had the impression it was only one.”
  
  “Oh, no. You only really fingerspell with your dominant hand. I just wanted to provide you with an example with both hands, since I don’t actually know which hand is yours,” Nikklaüs then realized how he must’ve caused Annamarie some confusion, reminding himself he must be as specific as possible. “You only need to use the one hand, teacup. Your choice of which, though.”
  
  “She doesn’t really have a dominant hand.” Marianne explained with nonchalance, which quickly became a hiss of annoyance at the persistent moniker, “And for the last time, enough with the nicknames!”
  
  Annamarie tilted her head at Nikklaüs, then lowered her right hand. Nikklaüs threw both his hands up in surrender.
  
  “I’m sorry! It’s just so hard!” He brought his left hand up sideways in a closed ‘C’ shape and imitated the stirring of tea with his right hand like he had a little spoon between his index finger and thumb. Then he brought his left palm up and clapped the letter ‘C’ over it with his right hand. “Unlike my Japanese and my Russian, my ASL was something I learned out of necessity. When you talk to people in ASL, it gets pretty annoying pretty quickly trying to fingerspell someone’s whole name every time you refer to them,” He demonstrated by fingerspelling the twins' names, one in each hand simultaneously. “Nicknames help cut down on that time, and I guess it just carried over into my speaking.”
  
  Marianne crossed her arms, thoroughly unimpressed by what she saw as a poor excuse. Sarcasm dripped from her voice, “Is that so? Well, I’m positively sure that ‘love’ and ‘teacup’ were the only options available…”
  
  As usual, Annamarie was oblivious to her twin’s annoyance and continued to mimic every gesture Nikklaus made with precision. When he swapped to spelling with two hands, so did she.
  
  “Nope! Just the most fun!” Nikklaüs retorted shamelessly. “Besides, this is just as much for you as it is for her. Pay attention,” Nikklaüs followed up with an unexpected authority, almost aggressively so. He noticed she hadn’t made even one sign herself. “ASL doesn’t use articles; subject-verb direction and also prepositions work much faster than they do in speech. Additionally, it is a fully silent method of communication. These things make it a very practical form of communication for an Arcanist, I think.”
  
  “I have been paying attention.” Marianne spat, her eyes narrowed at his change in tone. “I was waiting for something more practical. As you said, I won’t be spelling out entire words in ASL when I could say it or find a gesture with a more condensed message.”
  
  “Don’t ignore the fundamentals.” He said simply. “You will in fact be spelling out words: you won’t have very strong vocabulary for a long while, so if you need to communicate something important to me that you don’t know how to sign yet, you will be fingerspelling it won’t you?” He quickly rotated over to Annamarie before Marianne could answer. “As for you—who seem to be picking up on this fast—this will become a more passive learning experience for you. The first step to learning a new language is listening, or in this case watching. I’ll just be signing as I speak whenever you’re around, emphasizing certain words to assist in making the connection for you. Your pattern recognition skill will fill in the rest.”
  
  “I’m not sure if it will be as useful as you think,” Marianne added hotly, crossing her arms again. She glanced at Annamarie, who continued to stare blankly at Nikklaüs with an unchanging expression. “But I suppose it can’t hurt. Perhaps if I pick up the basics it could help her learn it…”
  
  “Don’t forget to think about yourself,” Nikklaüs added passively, not looking at her as he said it. He stood from the couch and walked towards his room before thinking on something at the mouth of the hallway for a moment. “Actually, I think I have something else that might work.” He whispered to himself.
  
  Excusing himself from the living room for a minute he came back out after a moment with something strange. It was a felt board with a bunch of necklaces hanging from it. Something he’s picked up from home earlier in the week when he’d gone for all the basic necessities he’d forgotten.
  
  “Here,” He stood the board up on the coffee table. “I’m hard pressed to find a way to get rid of them as fast as I make them, so if you want one…”
  
  There were twenty-five necklaces total, each made with an identical thin chain. Each pendant however depicted something different: the moon, the sun, a chalice, a sword, and it didn’t look like there were any duplicates.
  
  “You made these yourself? Why, they’re beautiful! Really! This is some proper craftsmanship.” Marianne exclaimed, peering down at the assortment of pendants. As she examined the details her eyes glimmered in recognition and a pleased smile spread across her face. Her voice was wistful, as if she had fully forgotten about how irritated she was towards him. “Ah, the major arcana and the symbols of the minor, yes? My nan had a deck or two around the old cottage. She told me it was all nonsense. ‘Rubbish’, she said, and yet she insisted on entertaining her guests with readings once the wine got to her.”
  
  As if to mirror her, Annamarie also leaned over to peer attentively at the intricate pendants. It was unclear if she recognized any of them, yet her eyes scanned them as if in an attempt to understand why they triggered such a reaction from her twin.
  
  “So many to choose from. Oh hmm…” Marianne hummed, placing a finger under her chin, “it appears one is missing. The Reaper? Or, Death, I suppose it was also called?”
  
  “Yeah. Sorry, love.” He pulled one from where it had hid underneath his shirt. “Decided to keep that one for myself,” It was a little fox with several scythes for tails, lying atop a large skull with ‘XIII” carved into its forehead. “My mother’s family was a lineage of metallurgists. So they started up early by teaching me how to make trinkets, and now I don’t know how to stop.”
  
  “Metallurgy you say? Well, this seems like a splendid hobby, especially with its importance in your heritage.” Marianne praised, so engrossed in admiring his handiwork that she did not seem to notice Nikk’s usage of her least favourite nickname.
  
  She picked up a pendant in the shape of a fan, tilting it in her fingers so that the gemstones would catch the light. Grey eyes flicked to Nikklaus, “Are you certain you aren’t asking for compensation? I could at least cover the material fee.”
  
  Beside her, Annamarie picked up one of the remaining pendants, lifting it so it was level with her glassy red eyes. Once again, she seemed to be copying her twin.
  
  Nikklaüs arched a brow at her. Gave her a look that said ‘really now?’ at the remark she made about the material fee.
  
  “The seven horns of revelations and the apocalypse: Judgment,” He gave it a preamble. “There’s a finality to it. Interesting.” He remarked on Marianne’s choice before turning and seeing that Annamarie had picked on up as well. One of his more intricate pieces: two people embracing, caged in a sharp helix with rose quartz at each vertex. “Crossed stars, two destinies inextricably linked despite how destructive it is for the both of them: the Lovers.” He introduced her pendant in a similar way. “I see a longing in there, that drew you to it. You two would look beautiful in them. Did you need help getting them on?”
  
  Marianne looked pleased with the description provided for her choice of pendant. She appraised it with a look of solemn pride, as if she were exchanging a knowing look to a comrade. She seemed quite content, but this didn’t carry over with the pendant chosen by Annamarie.
  
  A pang of sadness passed over Marianne’s features as she listened to Nikklaus’ narration and watched her twin blankly stare at her chosen gift. It bled so deep that even her anima quivered from it. Annamarie glanced at her, tilting her head in her familiar inquisitive manner. Marianne couldn’t hold the gaze.
  
  “That will not be necessary. I’ve put on plenty of necklaces by myself, thank you.” Marianne dismissed the offer, her voice snippy but lacking aggression. As if to prove she wasn’t bluffing, she effortlessly placed the chain around her neck, fastened the clasp and adjusted the pendant to its proper length. Nikklaüs couldn’t help but be a small bit disappointed in that, he kinda wanted to do it himself. Not for any particular reason, mind you.
  
  “Come now, Annamarie, your turn.” Marianne took the pendant from her twin’s hand and walked behind her to place it around her neck. After it was fastened, she took a few steps back and gave her twin a smile, “It looks lovely! Now, let's give Nikklaus a thank-you, shall we?”
  
  At the reminder, Annamarie gave Nikklaus a curtsy and then went back to staring down at the pendant around her neck. As for Marianne, she gave Nikk a tentative glance, “Come to think of it, what is the ASL gesture for ‘Thank you’?”
  
  “Dominant hand open, flat, fingers tapping the chin before coming forward from the elbow,” He demonstrated with a smile, glad to see that—even if only a little bit—Marianne was engaging with his lessons. “Be careful not to start underneath the chin or to bend the fingers at all because—well—that’s—that’s just rude,” His pronunciation of ‘rude’ had a closed R up against his teeth and a more open throated U sound indicative of the Russian accent he normally keeps hidden. “Well, I still need to have my self-study session for the day, so I think I’ll go back to my room. I’ll leave the necklaces out here, feel free to swap out or nab any more you’d like. Consider it a communal thing, yeah?”
  
  Marianne did her best to replicate the gesture, though she was less accurate than her twin had been. The slip of accent didn’t escape her notice, but she didn’t bring it up. She recognized it as Russian, but didn’t think much of it. Knowing him, it could just be another ill-conceived attempt to mock her.
  
  She did frown at his mention of self-studies, “Off to work already? Hmm, suppose it would be hypocritical of me to tell you rest is a better alternative.”
  
  Returning to the sofa, she picked up the book waiting for her and lifted it up so that her face was hidden behind its yellowed pages once more. “I can’t say if I will have a need for so many pendants, but I appreciate the offer nonetheless. If anything, they will make an interesting centrepiece.”
  
  “Maybe I’ll think about—” Nikklaüs interrupted himself with a yawn, his accent getting thicker with each word. “—opening it up to some of the others in class then. Also, don’t be too concerned if you don’t see me at all tomorrow. But if you need the reassurance you can check if I still have a pulse in the morning.” He offered cryptically. Then, just before leaving, he repeated a sign to her. The one he started with: the two hooked fingers coming to point her way. “My gift to you.” He explained, tapping his own pendant before disappearing into the hall and back into his room.
  
  Marianne rolled her eyes at his comment about checking his pulse, “I think not. The last time I tried that, it caused quite the fuss. Besides, I’m not your nanny.”
  
  Annamarie mimicked Nikklaus’ gesture, while Marianne simply gave him a crisp nod of thanks. “They are indeed fine gifts. I wish you luck with your independent studies. Now, if you excuse me, I have my own work to continue.”
  
  With that, she returned to reading the dated journal in her hands. She flipped her current page, beginning a new statement written in faded black ink. Like all the other entries in the journal, it was a record of a demonic possession case. Written at the top was a statement number, general description of the victim, date of elimination, and various other classifications associated with the demon.
  
  This particular case was of a child in Cold-War Germany. Just like all the other records in this volume, the victim was a null. Marianne sighed in frustration, tried her best to ignore the execution log, and continued on to the next entry. Surely someone in her family had encountered a possession case involving an arcanist?
  
• 

  

  
  Solirus November Witch
  ━ ◦ ※ ◦━​
  Marianne was up long before Mr. Lawphel’s voice graced the school with its broadcasted presence. She and Annamarie sat at the table, sharing a cup of tea before the day’s practice. Whenever she heard the familiar voice, Marianne looked up from the journal she had been studying and gave a frown. Why on earth was Jaquie the one in charge of today's announcement? At first, she worried something was amiss, but the casualness of it spoke otherwise. Still, she got the distinct impression that today would not be a usual class.
  
  “Could it be a field study, or another aptitude test perhaps?” Marianne pondered aloud, taking a small sip of tea. She glanced across the table to Annamarie, who had tilted her head in confusion as well.
  
  “And did he just say an hour or… however long? What sort of scheduling is that?” She fumed, “How on earth does he expect anyone to be punctual with that lenient of a time? Is it so hard to choose ‘quarter past’ or ‘quarter to’? Even on the hour would do.”
  
  Despite her discontent, Marianne finished reading the journal’s current entry, placed a bookmark, and closed the journal. The professor might not care if she arrived on time, but she certainly did. She hadn't seen Nikklaus that morning, but sticking to what she told him previously, she ignored his closed door and made her way out of the dorm.
  
  

  ---

  
  The Montgomery Twins arrived in the entrance at the exact hour mark, heels clicking in sync as they strode side by side. The darker of the two glanced around the wide entrance hall, taking in the current occupants.
  
  As usual, Jaquie was slouched to the side of the scene, tending to his phone with a familiar unhappiness. She noticed that this happened frequently after class and sometimes before it, which made her curious as to what could possibly get under the skin of their mellow professor. She had some theories, but for now she kept her nosiness to herself and left it open to interpretation.
  
  “Good morning, Professor Lawphel.” Marianne greeted her teacher, Annamarie giving a small curtsy in turn.
  
  Mariana was also there, but unlike Jaquie there was something off. The chaotic stain of demonic anima clung to her, and her eyes were a different colour. Now that she had been reading through her family records, the symptoms were much more painfully obvious.
  
  “Ah, and hello demon.” Marianne sneered, crossing her arms. She gave the girl a cold glare from the edges of her eyes, “Bold as ever, I see.”
  
  Frankly, it worried her to see Mariana under the demon’s possession in such a calm atmosphere. It was more understandable in the case of bodily harm, or intense physiological stress, but this meeting was neither of those things.
  
  Annamarie stood to the side, keeping her eyes on the girl as she waited patiently on standby.
  

 

[Solirus]

Isaac


​

• Anxiety Inducing
• Odd Attendance

• 
  
  Isaac nervously stared at the door leading to the sparring room. He regretted even putting his name in the form, but he somehow managed to stop himself from erasing it. The thought of confronting the professor even when he'd done nothing wrong was nerve wracking. But not as bad as when he saw the names of the other students appearing in the paper itself when they signed up. Meaning, they saw him appear first, making them think he was insecure in some capacity. Was he insecure, perhaps, and that seemed to bother him enough to enroll into this tutoring.
  
  Finally, Isaac forced himself to open the door, finding Jaquie seemingly taking a nap on his chair. What sort of behavior even was this, it was already time for the tutoring and the professor was sleeping? Isaac felt that he should be offended, but instead he only grew anxious at the thought of having to interrupt the professor's nap. Slowly and carefully, Isaac walked into the sparring room, its apparent enormity and emptiness giving him a feeling of other worldliness. That awe was removed when he could clearly hear Jaquie's loud snores. The man really was out cold.
  
  "...Um Mr. Jaquie?" Isaac tried asking, but the man remained seated, fully asleep. "Hello... HI!" Isaac tried raising his voice, but to no avail, as the snore's made Isaac's voice seem quiet. Perhaps a small tap would do the trick to awaken the professor, and so Isaac, carefully moving, extended his arm to tap Jaquie's shoulder.
  
  Instead of tapping his shoulder, Isaac saw Jaquie's arm extend seemingly on its own, trapping Isaac's wrist. Frantically, Isaac tried to pull back to no avail, his anxiety spiking.
  
  "Oh you're here" Jaquie spoke up, raising his head slowly and staring Isaac straight into the eyes, letting go of his wrist causing him to fall. "Get up"
  
  Isaac scrambled back up into his feet, his heart rate still increasing, "I um, sorry about that" Isaac struggled to say, even when it wasn't his fault he felt the need to apologize. This apology was only met with silence, leaving Isaac even more nervous. Had he messed up in something, was this all part of some secret test?
  
  His thoughts were interrupted by blunt impacts of bags from a distance, laid out, side to side. "Shoot them, you're overflowing in anxiety."
  
  Isaac hesitated but concurred, pointing his finger at the bags. Was he posing weirdly, did he look stupid doing this? Isaac thought, holding his fire.
  
  "Shoot goddammit!" Jaquie ordered causing Isaac to shoot at a bag, causing it to explode on impact. Isaac had never dealt such a powerful attack before, a fact which made him rather proud.
  
  "Your anxiety helps you intensify your attack, keep it up" Jaquie responded almost as if he'd just read his mind. In essence Jaquie seemed capable of doing that, everyone was capable of it by reading the anima of each other. Using his vision, Isaac noted how his anima felt like a powerful cascade that was slowly receding as he calmed down.
  
  "You know I think I'll record this for the others" Jaquie pulled out his phone, pointing it directly at Isaac to record. The heavy cascade became a crushing one at the thought.
  
  "Please don't share it with anyone" Isaac said, clearly uncomfortable.
  
  "Just shoot, we'll be here for a while anyway, you'll forget you're even being recorded" Jaquie calmly stated. The session had only just begun.
  
  
• 
  
  Jaquie's voice echoes through Isaac's head, a certainly unpleasant feeling, as the boy moved towards the marked door. He hesitated for a second, wondering his the professor was already there waiting. Isaac brushed away the thought, realizing it didn't matter too much.
  
  The main entrance door creaked open and from it Isaac walked into the academy, quickly shutting it behind him, so people couldn't catch a glimpse from where he'd come from. Surprisingly, Jaquie and other students had already arrived, students he personally didn't want to talk to. Thinking on it, however, Isaac didn't really want to start any conversations.
  
  Thus, Isaac remained an observer noting in his head how Mariana's anima was completely off, confirmed by Marianne somewhat exposing the demon. Although the demon didn't seem to be hiding. Jaquie too seemed odd, his anima giving a clear feeling of annoyance. Isaac felt weirdly good about identifying Jaquie's own anima, but he figured that the reason for attendance wasn't just to identify Jaquie's own anima.
  
  

 

[Verite]

Valerie Vu - Academy Entrance
Interactions: Silent Child Tiguidi Solirus

​

The rest of the week passed by smoothly enough for Valerie, especially since there was no repeat incident like the second day where a giant, gross insect suddenly popped out to scare the skin off her bones. For her part, she was only vaguely aware of the study group that the others had formed with each other. A part of her would have liked to get in on that just to get in everyone else's good graces, but on the other hand, the thought of putting a chunk of her free time into studying more than she had to made her grimace. The way she saw it, there wasn't any need to focus too much on studying right now anyway. It was only the beginning of the year, so it wouldn't do to stress herself out with the class material already, and she figured she already grasped the lectures well enough anyway. Yeah, Val could worry about studying and cramming later.

Ignoring that this was what led to her dropping out of college to begin with. One could be inclined to call this "hubris."

"Mmrgh..."

In the early Sunday morning, Valerie groaned softly as she was stirred awake by the magical microphone that channeled Jacquie's voice into everyone's minds. She was totally counting on nothing going on today; nothing ever happened on a Sunday after all, so her momentary irritation -- the first primal emotion she felt when she woke up -- seemed to be doubled today, but at least there didn't seem to be too much of a rush. Still, it wouldn't be a great look if she was the one who held everyone up, would it?

Even though she was roommates with Isaac, it seemed that she took a little longer to gather her bearings and make her way to the entrance. She had her own ritual for getting ready in the morning, from washing her face and tying her hair to applying just a little bit of makeup to at least look presentable and getting dressed, before getting to the most important part; looking at her phone.

Briefly scrolling through any messages or e-mails she might have missed while asleep, she proceeded to pull up the group chat she'd made after wringing Cobalt's and Leo's numbers from them over the week, swift fingers typing up a message to them.

"omgggg what does he wanttt. he's so unserious "

She typed this with a completely blank, deadpan look on her face. Once she'd sent that message, she pocketed her phone and lightly slapped her own cheeks with her gloved hands as was her morning ritual, psyching herself up for the day ahead.

"Okay. Let's get the show on the road!"

And with that, she was off, arriving at the Academy Entrance not too long after Isaac had appeared. In contrast to his attempts to go unnoticed, Valerie gave a bright smile as she always did, waving silently to anyone who gave her a glance and seemingly oblivious to the tension between Mariana and Marianne. Yeah, it was pretty weird that the former's anima looked a little different than usual, but Valerie didn't really put two and two together immediately on what that even meant anyway.

"Morning, all! So, uh, what's going on here? What's on the agenda?"

 

[Tiguidi]

COBALT ULAR
​

• Tutoring with Mr. Jaquie
• Sunday

• 
  
  Location: Sparring Room
  (collab with Solirus )​
  
  “Sparring room, sparring room...”
  
  Roaming about the school’s hallway, Cobalt finally stopped in front of the doors that would lead him to his destination. He had previously reserved a tutoring spot for Friday in the evening, though he had expected it to take place inside the classroom, hence him being almost late. Now of course, whenever a sparring room would be mentioned, combat or anything similar would follow so he had to be ready for that.
  
  “Whoa...”, the young man let out when he entered the sparring room -he hadn’t been into it yet, and definitely didn’t expect the endless void on the other side of the door. “Uh...” He took a step back outside to glance at the plaque labeling what this place was. “Okay... yeah, that’s the sparring room alright...”
  
  Looking back into the room, Cobalt could spot Jaquie sitting down on a pillow with a vacant pillow right next to him, “Good you finally arrived, take a seat” Jaquie said tapping on the pillow.
  
  “Uh, right!” Walking over, Cobalt sat down on the other pillow, his eyes still glancing around the sparring room. “I know that the range of things we can do with anima is large but I didn’t think we could have an entire, uh, room like that...”
  
  “Pretty cool right?” Jaquie glanced around the room before his attention returned to Cobalt, “Alright onto the practice, I’ve noted that the emotion responsible for your anima art is Calmness, so to practice that I want you to start meditating.”
  
  Cobalt slowly nodded. “Ahh, I see, that makes sense... I admit I didn’t think much of which emotion I used during class and went with what felt natural. But if I focus specifically on that, my results could be better.” He shifted into a more comfortable position. “I’ve had trouble suppressing my anima.”, he commented. “Hopefully that’ll help.”
  
  “Don’t worry too much about suppressing anima” Jaquie commented, “Just relax, close your eyes, and take slow methodical breaths.”
  
  “One step at a time, right...”, Cobalt sighed. Raising a hand to adjust his ponytail, he closed his eyes and followed Mr. Jaquie’s instructions. Breathing through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. It was obvious he never did this before but Cobalt wasn’t one to be disturbed or distracted by wandering thoughts.
  
  “Good, now visualize your fire in front of you like a campfire, try to imagine its warmth even if it doesn’t produce any.”
  
  Cobalt furrowed his brows in mild curiosity but did as told. He tried to imagine his anima separated from him, burning bright, a few feet in front of him. He slowly nodded, quietly indicating that he saw it.
  
  “Good, now imagine a leaf falls from a tree and catches on fire, the burning leaf falls further and the ground beneath you erupts into flames. The fire slowly surrounds you and eventually, you become enveloped by it.”
  
  It probably took about a minute for Cobalt to successfully visualize that one. But, trusting the teacher’s words, he finally got it after a few tries. His anima came to life as he got the vision locked in, the supernatural fire silently burning around his body, as calm and gentle as the times before.
  
  “Now open your eyes slowly.”
  
  Still following the directives, the young man opened his eyes. After controlling his breathing and relaxing, he did feel a lot calmer than before, the small stress that came with getting tutored now dissipated.
  
  “Alright, good, all calm now? Try to summon your fire now, maintaining that level of calmness, you should notice its intensity having increased.”
  
  Letting out a hum, Cobalt glanced down at his open hand and focused on his anima, like he did all the time to summon his flames. Now obviously, it wasn’t the first time he conjured his power -a part of him didn’t want to believe that a simple three-step meditation program would be what it took to increase his flames’ potency.
  
  And of course, he was wrong. While the fire in his hand looked exactly the same as what he was used to, Cobalt could easily feel the raw power hidden under the gentle flames had increased substantially. “... Whoa, that works better than expected...”
  
  “Don’t get too excited now, remember to maintain calmness, lose that calmness and the fire is likely to extinguish itself.” Jaquie explained. With a gesture of his hand a box came flying down from above landing just a few meters away from them. It made a loud noise and even cracked a bit. “Try to see if you can throw your fire in some way to hit that box.”
  
  The flame in Cobalt’s hand flickered briefly, the loud noise startling him, though it soon regained its intensity after a second. Nodding toward Mr. Jaquie, Cobalt repeated the motion he did back when he fought the smaller demons a few days ago; a flick of the wrist with his flame-engulfed hand, which sent the fire crackling in his hand flying forward. While the flames did hit the box, lingering for a few moments before extinguishing themselves, the box itself was undamaged after the impact.
  
  “Quite convenient. Now just have a little fun, toss as many of those fires as you want towards the box, move around with it, just experiment.”
  
  “Right.” Glancing back at the box, Cobalt fired a few projectiles in quick succession, most of them hitting the target, with a few fireballs landing on the ground. It wasn’t long before Cobalt started feeling some pain in his wrist, with him continually doing a flicking motion to attack. Taking note of that, the young man tried instead to aim at the target with his hands outstretched, instead conjuring and firing the flames directly from his palms. Results didn’t seem much better with this method, with many motes of flames missing the box. “Mh, I guess that’s on me since I relied a bit too much on me cloaking myself with fire and punching the demons...”, he commented with a disappointed sigh.
  
  “Don’t worry too much about that, I was thinking of sparring with you for a second or two, but I think instead, I’ll let you go for today, consider this an early dismissal to the tutoring. But, I do have an assignment for you. I want you to think of creative uses for the fire, anytime you’re bored, summon the fire and throw it at an object, maybe find other things to do with it. Just remember to stay calm and only do this when no one’s nearby, that flame may not hurt anything physically, but it’s a very nasty thing regardless.”
  
  “Yeah, if anyone got caught with that, they’d be in a world of hurt.”, Cobalt dryly chuckled, stretching his arms to the side -he’d have to rest his wrists for a bit after all that flicking. If anything, his first objective would be to find a more reliable way to fire projectiles. “Thanks for the help, Mr. Jaquie.”, he added with a small bow. With nothing else to do regarding this training, he headed toward the sparring room’s exit. With classes and training, his brain, body and soul were all tired.
  
  
• 
  
  Location: Dorm Room -> Main Entrance​
  
  Throughout the weekend, Cobalt had kept Mr. Jaquie’s words at heart, randomly lobbing fireballs at everything he could think of inside the dorm. “I promise that’s not me being a weirdo.”, he had told Rook. “Mr. Jaquie recommended that I threw fire at objects to practice. Nothing will actually burn, promise. Uh, unless you happen to jump between me and my target.”
  
  For now, he still hadn't thought of useful applications outside of projectiles and his fiery cloak, which were the first two techniques he learned with his Anima Art. A part of him wanted to perfect what he already had instead of branching out into many different techniques, which actually didn’t seem that bad an idea; thanks to the meditation tips Mr. Jaquie gave him, he had noticed the general output of his soulfire had dramatically increased since last week -well, he thought his output had increased since he didn’t actually use his Anima Art to damage anything ever since the first day here.
  
  He had actually prepared to experiment with his soulfire during the morning, though Jaquie’s message echoing in his mind more or less ruined his plans. “Oh come on, really...?” He sighed in mild annoyance. Oh well, if the teacher had something planned at the entrance, surely it would mean doing something different than the endless lectures. With classes, the study group and now the private tutoring, going outside would probably be better, after all.
  
  He glanced toward the small desk next to his bed, noticing a notification on his phone. “Bet 5 bucks it’s Val commenting about having classes on a Sunday...”, he mumbled to himself, stretching a hand to grab the device and read into the group chat. “Annnd yep, sounds about right.”, he snorted.
  
  “Always expect the unexpected with Mr. Jaquie.", he replied in the group chat. "See you there!”
  
  Arriving at the main entrance about one or two minutes ‘late’ (judging from the announcement, the teacher probably wouldn’t mind much), Cobalt furrowed his brows in curiosity as he noticed Mr. Jaquie sitting nearby. Judging from his anima, it looked like something was off. Something with the higher ups, maybe? Cobalt remembered the teacher not really liking them.
  
  “Hey everyone.”, he greeted those present with a wave of his hand. “Glad to be having classes on Sunday.”, he added in a faux-jovial tone. “Ahhh, jokes aside, I wonder what we’ll do -probably not any normal class.”
  
  

 

[November Witch]

Mariana Mirror

Status: Still asleep.

‘Mariana’ watched the professor, waiting to be scolded for being in control, and for questions about where Mariana was and why she wasn’t the one doing the piloting. The demon knew she’d have to explain herself. But she assumed it would be to the teacher, and not another student. Not first, anyways. But it seemed she was wrong, as Marianne, the worst of all the students at the moment. She’d yelled at Mariana on the first day, embarrassing her in front of everyone. If it was up to her, she’d simply just not speak to the girl and ignore her. Actually, if she could have it her way, she’d just kill the girl. But that was obviously out of the question. But she knew she’d have to make sure not to interfere in any negative way with Mariana’s relationships.

“So are you.”

‘Mariana’ said back to the prissy princess. Quite bold to base everything on assumption. Her voice was distorted, sounding like multiple voices speaking at once.

“If it weren’t for me, she’d still be sleeping. Mariana stayed up late, under the assumption that it was the weekend. She was working until 5am this morning. But someone decided to only give us warning of an unscheduled class an hour before it starts.”

The demon scoffed and crossed her arms, giving the professor a glare, before turning back to Marianne.

“So, I’m here until that idiot wakes up. She refused to get out of bed no matter what I did. I thought about taking my own form and carrying her here. But I then realized how humans tend to act without thinking. I wouldn’t want to be attacked while bringing a limp, sleeping Mariana here. Not everyone here can hold themselves back from acting on their emotions like you can.”

The demon replied. She’d been able to see just how many emotions Marianne cycled through in some of her interactions with people. All the emotions she would feel but push down or suppress. It certainly interested the demon… Even if she hated the girl at the moment.

“So stop looking at me like that. I’m just here to get the information for her until she wakes up. Then I’ll pass on what she missed, and she can handle the rest.”

The demon then started to mumble under her breath.

“I try to do one good thing for her and suddenly I’m the bad guy…”

Her eyes would track the others as the trickled in, but she would remain silent for the moment, only speaking up if directly spoken to.

Solirus Juju

 

[Yakov011001]

"Fuck meeee." Nikklaüs droned, checking his phone for the time: three AM. I suppose no matter how much sleep I've lost, it's going to be damn near impossible to sleep any more than twenty-four hours. He just hoped that Jaquie didn't find out how early in the morning he was up, or that he would see fit to knock him the fuck out. Even then, he was up now. He would need to find a way to pass the time.

---

Nikklaüs had decided to focus on his studies again, though this was after some hours of failing to fill that time with other things. He'd heard Marianne and Annamarie leave their room, but he decided he'd greet them a little later. Right now he was focused on a particular section of his current book. Compendium of Named Demons. Admittedly, this was more self-interested study than anything. Having finished reading the compendium of common demon classes, Nikklaüs was sure he wouldn't be running into a demon powerful enough for a name. Not for a long while at least. Flipping through, he noticed the format deviated from the first compendium in several ways. It was structure along the lines of: name, epithets, description, first hand accounts of encounters, number of known and confirmed casualties. Most interestingly was the final part at the bottom of each page, only reading one of two things: escaped exorcism, or presumed exorcised. Presumed exorcised, huh? It was a very careful and sterile wording. Each page had only been skimmed over, Nikklaüs noticing the disparity between some entries and how many accounts there were or were not. But it wasn't until one particular entry caught his eye that he decided to commit to reading it in full.

Typhon, God of the Rancor

Description: A large pseudo-vulpine monstrosity plated with scales instead of skin or fur. All accounts to date claim multiple tendril-thin tails, but the number is inconsistent. The seams between each scale are said to seethe a violet glow that only becomes more intense as Arcanists attempt to subdue the creature.

Account of Rank IV Arcanist: Vincent Vance (circa. 7/12/55)
It had stayed away from the general populace for a while, ravaging endemic life out on some of the trade roads between Greece and Turkey: we hadn't seen what it was truly capable of, not yet. The Central European Arcane Commission put together a team of nine Rank III Arcanists headed by me with the purpose of intercepting it after it had reportedly left its territory and began to move Northeast very fast. Meriam and I were the only survivors—

"Hey students, I know it's Sunday, but today you'll be heading to the main entrance of the academy instead of the classroom, see you there in like an hour or so or however long you take to get yourselves ready." Nikklaüs clicked his tongue at the announcement. What the hell does 'an hour or so' mean? Checking his phone—7:27 AM—he decided if he was given an hour, he'd take an hour. 8:30 would be plenty of time. He returned to the book.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to track it down for some time, and it had torn through a few cities on its way up the Adriatic Sea. We managed to catch it on its way through Velika Gorica, Croatia, and were able to divert it away from the capital city. But its speed. God, its speed. Andersson wasn't able to keep sight of it long enough to procure his paralysis, and I think it knew what we were trying to do, because he was the first: skewered by the beast's tendrils. We never got him back, it took him with. Serafino was next, I suppose it found him annoying as the only one who managed to get any potshots off on it. But for each arrow that made contact, it only glowed brighter. It had become a lightning bolt that cut through the rest of my team before I could spin a web large enough to quarantine the area off. I was only able to save Meriam, and by a hair: our Artes together just barely enough to slow it down long enough for us to break chase. This one might be above me, fellas.

Known and Confirmed Casualties: 2158 Civilians, 113 Arcanists.

Presumed Exorcised: After Special Arcanist Squad 'Fox Hunters' consisting of Rank V Arcanists █████████, ████████, and ████████—

What the fuck? Redacted? That was annoying. His reading was interrupted though by the sound of the dorm room door opening and closing. Oh, fuck. Nikklaüs rushed out of his room and out into the kitchen to find that the twins had left already.

"Fuck. I had something for them," He sighed. "Ah, whatever, I'll pass it to them when I rejoin the class." He resigned, returning to his room to get ready.

He was so glad to hear that there were no uniforms here, he wasn't sure he could deal with looking the same as everyone else. He fished out what would be his outfit for today, not super dissimilar to what he'd worn on the first day, same palate and shape but shuffled up. Crimson red skinny jeans; white, tight-fitting V-neck; long, ankle-length, black cardigan. On top of that though were two new additions to his tarot collection: a pair of rings. One he place on his middle finger depicting a lion with the roman numeral XI etched into the forehead, and the other depicting a set of scales held up by a sword the number VIII carved into the crossguard. Before he left to catch up to the rest of his peers, he stopped at the oven to retrieve a pan he'd left in there until the twins were ready for them.

---

"Aye!" Nikklaüs called out to the crowd that congregated at the main gate. "Hope I didn't keep y'all waiting!"

As he walked out, he locked on to Mariana and Marianne. Just who he was looking for. Unfortunately it looked like they were getting abrasive with each other again. Which at this point he only expected from the both of them unfortunately, at least he did from Mariana's demon.

"Marianne," He regarded her. "I didn't get to share these before you'd left," He held up a large sandwich bag, inside were several muffin-esque that looked like they'd been hollowed out at the center. "Yorkshire Puddings, thought you might enjoy them. They might not be the best, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing and I didn't get the chance to chill the batter like I wanted to." Then he turned to 'Mariana'. "Scarlet, you're still joined? Something keeping her?" He interrupted himself with a dismissive wave. "Doesn't matter, but I hope you don't share a stomach like that. I made some for the both of you two as well." He offered one to her as well.

Juju November Witch

 

[Solirus]

Arrivals​

​

Jaquie seemed to ignore the arrivals of the students, purely focused on what appeared on his phone. The professor's face shifted from annoyance to disbelief, disgust, and anger. Swiftly, he would type into his phone until something halted him. Quietly, he stared into the phone, quickly getting up from his chair and slamming the phone into the floor with enough force to shatter the phone into tiny pieces and leaving a dent on the floor. "FUCK!" Jaquie would shout, slowly pacing back and forth from the open space, breathing deeply before giving out an exasperated sigh, removing his glasses for a second to rub his eyes.

The flow of anima calmed within the professor as did his emotions turning his gaze to face the students, "right, right ok. Looks like we're missing a few students..." Jaquie commented quietly counting each student while pointing at them, "Yeah, definitely missing a couple. I'll give them some more time to arrive, then I'll explain what we'll be doing."

Jaquie's attention moved towards Mariana, or more specifically Crimson, "Hey Crimson, do wake up Mariana if you can, if you can't, I'll do it myself." Jaquie commented unfazed and uninterested at the comments previously thrown his way. "Oh yeah, and another thi-"

"FORTUNE HAS FAVORED THIS ENCOUNTER!" a voice roared in what could only be described as joy and bravado. A man in ornamental armor could be seen approaching from a hallway, his steps filled with energy and his anima overflowing from his body.

Spoiler

​

"Volume" Jaquie responded immediately as the man approached, stopping right in front of Jaquie. The man appeared much larger up closer, easily towering over the professor. The towering man however after a second gave Jaquie a courteous bow as a form of respect.

"Apologies, but I couldn't contain my excitement, Great Grandmaster." the man responded, "This is my first encounter with the first years, and it is all from pure fortune."

Giving out a sigh, Jaquie turned to face the rest of the students, grabbing the man's shoulders so he would face them too, "This is Roderick, he's a second year and your senior, treat him with respect."

Roderick responded with a bow to the rest of the students, "It is a pleasure to meet you all." Roderick bowed down. Nikklaüs would be the only to notice that he wore a different set of armor, and he appeared significantly taller.

"Why are you here?" Jaquie questioned directly.

"You need not worry, Great Grandmaster-"

"Jaquie."

"Great Grandmaster Jaquie. I was already joyful, for I have been granted the opportunity to partake in the trial to ascend to the fourth rank, and they are to arrive here soon."

"Oh shit, good for you man." Jaquie seemed pleasantly surprised by the response.

"But now I must remain vigilant for their arrival, and once I succeed the trial I shall be a master worthy to teach a squire of my own."

"Well, in that case you might as well get to know the first years more closely, maybe give them some words of advice." Jaquie suggested.

"Ah yes" Roderick cleared his voice, "With the Great Grandmaster, always expect the unexpected."

"That's awful advice." Jaquie responded immediately.

"So Crass! But it is true, you're as volatile and unpredictable as the popping of corn."

"You know what, if anyone wants advice, they'll just ask you for advice" Jaquie rubbed his eyes again annoyed, however this time he didn't hold resentment or anger, instead almost finding Roderick's mannerisms fun.

"Very well, Great Grandmaster... Jaquie" Roderick would place both hands on his hips and turn to face the main entrance, vigilant but willing to grant valuable advice to any who asked.

 

[Juju]

Solirus November Witch Yakov011001
━ ◦ ※ ◦━​

The deflection of Marianne’s own criticism earned only a narrowing of her eyes and a short ‘hmph’. It was clear that she did not consider their respective ‘boldness’ to be one and the same. When the demon spoke of past events, a shift overcame the coldness of her glare, flickering into a look of both shock and bafflement. Marianne could hardly believe what the demon was saying, enough that she very nearly dismissed it as a total lie. She turned to face ‘Not-Mariana’ fully, her sharp grey eyes prying as if to spot a hint of a bluff. A hint that the girl before her had not just willingly given up control over her body.

The more ‘Not-Mariana’ explained the situation, the more horrified disbelief crept into Marianne’s eyes. How could this be possible? Was Mariana naive, or had she been coerced in some way? To offer up the sanctity of will just to prolong sleep?

Loath to show any signs of discomfort in the face of a demon, Marianne kept up a practised visage of porcelain. The very same tactic that the demon soon… complimented? Was that a compliment? Marianne raised her brows in brief surprise. If this was some attempt to lower her guard with honeyed words, it certainly wouldn’t work. And what was that it muttered just now? The sheer gall!

Marianne tapped her fingers on her arm, voice cool despite the pang of fury in her chest, “In my family we have an old saying, ‘One sin and a hundred good deeds’. For you, I daresay it is the reversal. Perhaps next time, you shouldn’t be so quick to applaud your mediocre attempts at philanthropy.”

Annamarie kept her eyes on ‘Not-Mariana’, even when Nikklaus loudly announced his arrival. She continued to stay very still, posture tense and yet contained. Waiting. Marianne, on the other hand, gave a sigh at the irritatingly familiar voice and turned her head to watch Nikklaus’ gleeful approach. Someone was energetic today.

She blinked back surprise as Nikklaus approached with a bag filled with goodies. Even before she was given one, she recognized them immediately as Yorkshire Pudding. “Ah, you made Yorkies?”

Realizing she had referred to them in a rather non-formal and childish way, Marianne cleared her throat as she took the offered pudding. She glanced up at the baker, “Yorkshire Pudding without properly setting the batter? Nikklaus, that’s the most crucial step. They don’t rise as tall, nor do they have the same fluffy texture. Hmm, even still… for a first attempt they turned out relatively well. This was quite thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

She stared down at the pastry before her, breaking a piece of it to inspect the fluffiness. It was a far cry from the ones her grandmother made, but she appreciated the effort nonetheless. Before she could partake of the delicacy, Jaquie loudly swore. Marianne couldn't help but flinch, turning her attention immediately to the front. Intently, she listened, until a man wearing elaborate and completely historically inaccurate armour arrived. His voice boomed off the walls so loudly that even Annamarie broke her gaze from Not-Mariana for a moment just to assess whether the sound was a threat.

Marianne stood, albeit a little awkwardly, with her Yorkshire pudding in hand. Considering a surprise guest speaker had just arrived and was now giving out ‘advice’ she was unsure if eating would be considered disrespectful. Just holding the uneaten snack made her feel on edge, as if Jaquie would somehow break his slack demeanour to punish her for food in a class setting. It had been a week, yet she still was not accustomed to his lack of any real structure. Actually, she felt a little embarrassed for breaking the nonexistent rule.

Uncomfortable with leaving the booming man without questions, Marianne thought it was polite to at least request something, even if it was small. A little hesitantly, she asked, “Well, for starters, do you have any advice on rising above the third rank? Most arcanists stagnate there, after all.”

 

[Silent Child]

​

"Aww, how precious!" Valerie's shrill exclamation of joy and surprise echoed through the air, a symphony of delight that reached Leander's ears like a sweet melody. In response, a quick and satisfied smile played on Leander's lips, his eyes reflecting the genuine happiness that Valerie's unexpected outburst had brought him. Reacting swiftly to her excitement, he gracefully crouched down in front of her and the cat. As Leander assumed his position, the atmosphere was charged with an undeniable warmth. The cat, sensing the positive energy, began to saunter closer, its curious eyes fixed on Valerie. There was an immediate connection, an unspoken bond forming between the creature and the delighted woman. The cat, seemingly drawn to Valerie's infectious joy, displayed an affectionate demeanor, as if it had already found a kindred spirit in her. "Hmm, I dunno. I've never been so good at naming things. I suppose it's out of vogue these days to name it like, Mittens or something, right?" Leander chuckled at Valerie's straightforward response to his query about the cat's name. "Mittens," he repeated with a grin, finding the simplicity of the name oddly charming. "I rather like that. Thanks," he added, his appreciation evident in his warm tone. His attention shifted back to Mittens, who, directed his gaze towards a new arrival. Leo might not have noticed Cobalt's approach until Mittens, alerted him to the presence of the approaching figure.

“Ah, sorry for the intrusion. I was on my way to the dorms but heard people inside. I didn’t know pets were allowed here... I’ll see if I can remember to ask Rook if they have one -never hurts to have a bit of life inside the dorms.” Cobalt's words flowed with a warmth that suggested an immediate fondness for Mittens. Leo couldn't help but feel an additional surge of joy at the realization that Cobalt, too, had quickly formed a liking for the cat. "Oh, heya. Yeah, I think it's a stray, only just showed up earlier this morning apparently," Valerie, demonstrating her quick wit, managed to beat Leo to the explanation. However, before he could begin to speak again, Cobalt responded with another question, his inquisitive nature showing. “Found it... here in the school?” In response to the ongoing exchange and perhaps feeling a bit outpaced, Leo decided to forgo further verbal response. Instead, he expressed his agreement and acknowledgment with a simple, resigned nod.

“You two seemed in a hurry when the lesson was over, is everything alright?” Without delay, Cobalt delved straight into a serious question. Although a certain satisfaction lingered in hearing someone else express concern, he couldn't shake the notion that had he not arrived early, Valerie would still be grappling with stress. "Y-Yeah, all good here. I just had to get outta there 'cause that demon really freaked me out, and Leo just wanted to make sure I was alright. Isn't he quite the gentleman?" Valerie's swift transition from a nervous voice to one of confidence caught Leo by surprise. The change in her tone revealed a resilience that he hadn't anticipated. However, her final question left him with a subtle blush. A gentleman? It prompted him to reflect on his actions and demeanor. Well, he certainly tried to be one, and the acknowledgment of that effort brought a modest yet pleased warmth to Leo, evident on his face as a blush appeared. "But yeah, I'm all better now. Sorry if I made you worry too!" “Not at all. I suppose it was a bit of a shock. I’m sorry again for prying. Mr. Jaquie’s classes are far from being typical ones like what we have in, uh, regular school. I kinda predicted we’d have lectures, written tests and the occasional practical exam and the even more occasional fight against demons to test ourselves. Funny how the very first thing we did was fight, while in the second class, we got face-to-face with a... what was it again, a rank III demon? Marianne was not happy about it, though...” Cobalt's relaxed demeanor was evident in his casual posture, leaning against the table with an air of ease. His animated hand motions added emphasis to his words, creating an atmosphere of lively conversation. Witnessing Cobalt's comfort was a small relief for Leo, who found himself gradually easing into a more relaxed state as well. Despite the outward calm, Leo couldn't shake off the lingering tension he sensed outside the room, a reminder of the others who might not be as open with each other as would be hoped.

After a round of idle chitchat, Leo gracefully excused himself, opting to retreat to his room. Interestingly, Mittens decided to accompany him, displaying a nonchalant disregard for any potential objections from others. The feline's selective attention, focusing solely on Leander, became apparent as Mittens unapologetically ignored everyone else.


⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘


Throughout the following week, Leander remained largely detached from social activities, engaging only in sporadic interactions with those who actively sought him out. His focus was primarily channeled into diligent notetaking, transitioning from casual sketches in his sketchbook to a more formal record in a dedicated notebook. Despite the initial appearance of his notes resembling chicken scratch, there was an underlying organizational structure, adorned with accompanying drawings that added a unique flair to the seemingly chaotic arrangement.

Post-class, Leo retreated to the solitude of his room, dedicating an average of an hour to transcribing and refining his notes. In the process, he inadvertently let slip tutoring sessions, sparring commitments, and even the study group, as his solitary pursuits consumed his time.

It wasn't until halfway through the week that he discovered the freedom to return home at will, a realization he embraced without hesitation. Leo's parents warmly welcomed his afternoon visits, quickly forming an affectionate bond with Mittens, who, despite roaming freely in Leo's presence, remained relatively undiscovered by the rest of the classroom's members. From an external perspective, it appeared as if Mittens mirrored Leo's social interactions, adding an intriguing dimension to their shared dynamic.


⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
"No way- you got a Turkey?" Leander's mother exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat in surprise at the bowling alley near their home. Her son had just gotten his first turkey within the same game as her first, and she was 25 years older than him. "Didn't you just get yo-" "Shush. I don't want to hear it." His mom pouted, clearly disturbed by Leo's talent exceeding her own. Leo was smiling- at least until he heard a voice in his head. "Hey students, I know it's Sunday, but today you'll be heading to the main entrance of the academy instead of the classroom, see you there in like an hour or so or however long you take to get yourselves ready." Leo shook his head to get the echo out. School on Sunday? He wasn't expecting this. "Everything okay sweetie?" His parents didn't know about the whole telepathy thing, so he came up with another way. "Teach just sent out an email, there's a lesson I have to attend at the school. I've got roughly an hour." His mom looked only slightly disappointed but shrugged it off. "Well, you're winning, lets finish this game, then you can go. I'm sure if it takes longer, I can explain to your teacher family time matters." Leo imagined the embarrassment that would bring him, assuring himself that wouldn't be necessary. His pocket vibrated from a text. "Oh- Val-" He had forgotten she had his number. Seems it was a group chat, paired with Cobalt.

"omgggg what does he wanttt. he's so unserious "

“Always expect the unexpected with Mr. Jaquie." "See you there!”

Cobalt replied pretty quickly in response, similar to their first conversation together, leaving Leo to be the last one to respond.

"Bowling with my mom. I'll try not to be late."

His text seemed so bland as he contemplated sending it, his finger hovering over the button. His touchscreen seemed to register that as a press however and there the text sent. Looking in disbelief for a moment, he shrugged, telling himself it would be fine, and put his phone away to resume the bowling game.


⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
The sound of rushing feet echoed across the halls of the school as Leo re-entered the campus from his magic door once more. He held Mittens tight as he practically ran. He had no time to put Mittens in the dorm, and this would be the perfect opportunity to reveal the pet to the professor. Much to his surprise as he breached into the courtyard though, he found the majority of the class, standing in wait with another figure who had just arrived. "FORTUNE HAS FAVORED THIS ENCOUNTER!" The resonant voice echoed boldly across the courtyard, bouncing off the school walls, capturing Leo's attention and drawing a smile from him as the man settled into place near recognizable faces. His gaze lingered on Mariana, perhaps for a moment too long, as he observed the shifting hues of her aura. The overpowering red now dominated the previously seen purple, as if the shadows had gained ascendancy. It aligned with the rumors he had heard about Mariana's demon, a fact seemingly confirmed by Jaquie's words just moments before the man's arrival. Despite the unsettling revelation, Leo's shudder was brief, and he didn't feel threatened. Nevertheless, he instinctively shifted away slightly, a subtle response to the newfound knowledge. The professor and Leo's senior engaged in playful banter for a few moments before opening the stage to questions. Fascinated by the mysterious armor, Leo found himself raising his hand slightly, eager to delve into the enigma that had piqued his curiosity. "Is your armor purely ceremonial, or is it also battle-ready?" His question, laced with genuine interest, revealed a fascination akin to that which anything medieval might evoke in him. Leo's eyes remained fixed on the mysterious armor, eager for insights into its practicality and purpose. Amidst his curiosity, a subtle hope lingered that Jaquie wouldn't draw attention to his belated presence, allowing him to seamlessly blend into the class who stood there already.


⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
Mentions: Verite Solirus Tiguidi November Witch

 

[jmann]

Rook
Solirus Juju Tiguidi

the fc isn't saved
on my new laptop :[​

Through the week, Rook had worked on exploring the halls and courtyards of the enigmatic school. As much as they were expecting cryptic tombs and labyrinthine hallways they found only simple classrooms and courtyards. Despite the evident age of the school, it was in stellar condition; an ode to the work of the strong janitor who repaired the classroom. During the week Rook had still not found the janitor's closet, despite keeping a close eye for it.

Occasionally, when Rook found something particularly interesting and isolated enough, they took out an old camera and recorded just enough to save the moment. Rook believed a place or thing's quale was only real so long as it was observed and appreciated. The “blueness” of the sky was only as blue as the observation of it. By recording the clear sky Rook could take that feeling, something ephemeral by its very nature, and make entire new experiences out of the collage of qualia they collected. The blue sky, birds nesting in the shade of old trees, a long hallway that seemed to stretch forever. Then the videos took a turn. A different experience, a new story. Silk bedsheets, oak bed frame. The shower’s water pressure was the hardest to capture; Rook ended up filming a close up of their head as the water buffeted their hair around. The shower was more than that, though, it was clean and bright, an entirely new luxury Rook hadn’t known they lived without.

Next was Marianne greeting the camera in her characteristic over-formality, almost nervous to make a mistake on video. It was kinda funny. Annamarie’s lack of response was characteristic enough. It was classic Annamarie and that was everything Rook was trying to capture. Next was Cobalt who had to be coaxed into showing their face. It was cute. Rook had never had friends so shy when he was in real school, certainly never any who came from money. Perhaps there was a correlation there.

The last shot was Rook’s bedside lamp turning off and on and off and on again. Then Rook’s voice saying “we made it”.
That was the Saturday night before the thirteenth. The following Friday, the eighteenth of August, would mark Rook’s mother’s birthday. They couldn’t celebrate in person so a tribute video was about all Rook could muster.

---

Sunday morning found Jaquie’s voice droning in their skull like a drill. They were to meet at the main entrance in however long they would take to get ready. For that Rook ensured they took an hour and two minutes. As they came out from the main entrance the deafening shout of the armour-clad knight shook them, briefly halting their continual flare of anima.
“What the fuck?” Rook blurted. They cursed themselves for the outburst and hurried to join the others. People were asking questions, decent ones at that, there was just one thing Rook could not get past.
“What’s with the whole…” Rook put their spread hands above their head, thumbs touching their hair miming Roderick’s antlers.

 

[November Witch]

Mariana Mirror

Status: Still just asleep.

Mariana’s fists balled up and her anima flared. Her eyes were alight with rage as the people around her continued to berate her for nothing. Nothing at all. All for trying to think of Mariana first. Be considerate. Do things for the human, not herself. But it seemed like no matter what she did, people would just berate and insult her! The thought to just go out with a bang crossed her mind, though only momentarily until it was pushed down. Well, if they were going to treat her like this for attempting to be considerate to Mariana, something even they weren’t doing, then what was the demon supposed to do?! This is why she hated humans. They made no sense and only stirred up conflicts. She turned to Marianne, as she attempted to push her anger down. The rage in her eyes and blatant frustration on her face were gradually replaced by confusion.

“Philanthropy? What are you talking about?”

The demon had absolutely no intention of being philanthropic in her words. If it came out that way, she didn’t mean for it to.

“Fine, if my efforts mean so little to everyone here, just take her already, fuck!”

The demon blurted out. Mariana’s eyes closed, and she swayed before falling towards the ground, in the direction of the twins and Nik. The demon hadn’t even acknowledged Nik or his offering. After all, he’d yelled at the two yesterday as well so the demon felt no need to do anything anymore. Mariana was still unconscious. If someone caught her, it would be clear that she was sleeping. Soft, slow breaths, closed eyes and unresponsive until someone woke her up.

Solirus Juju Yakov011001

 

[Solirus]

'Advice'

Juju Silent Child jmann ​

Roderick turned to face Marianne, the first to approach the towering man and seek advice. Her question put Roderick in a rather thoughtful pose, "’Tis true, many arcanists stagnate in the third rank. The fourth rank is a great filter which divides the great arcanists from the truly masterful one's. The path to reach such a goal is treacherous and for some it is unfair. The sad reality is that most individuals simply do not have the potential to surpass the great hurdle and must make do with what they are given. However, worry not my dearest first years, for all of you present have the potential to become of the fourth ranks in due time. Through diligence, motivation, AND THE MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE OF FACING THE PHANTOM OF YOUR SOUL TO FIND YOUR TRUE SELF!" Roderick roared once again before clearing his throat, "Mine apologies... volume."

"Yeah, just be consistent and find some motivation to keep you going. Ignore that last one, though." Jaquie added almost appearing concerned for Roderick, "Now Roderick, tell me what motivates you? You seem to have found some real motivation to move you forward."

"Right, one motivation is to be equal to Violette, one of the second years, she is a dear friend of mine who managed to attain the fourth rank in her first year. An incredible feat which proves her to be a talented and terrifying monster. However, for all her accomplishments I shall not allow myself to be outdone I shall be her equal even if it means chasing shooting stars. And the second motivation is to be a proper master and thus attain the proper title to train my soon-to-be squire!" Roderick exclaimed proudly, anima overflowing once more from his self with no sign of slowing down. "I do hope my advice was helpful..."

"Her name's Marianne, additionally to the motivation part, it's good to have a motivation that aligns with your main emotion." Jaquie said helping out Roderick.

"I shall remember that for the future, my thanks Great Grandmaster Jaquie."

The next to step forth was Leander, wondering if his armor was ceremonial or battle ready, "A silly question indeed. This armor is both ceremonial and battle ready, it is durable and light." Roderick explained, "I am like a knightly oyster, with powerful legs and extremely toned arms. It shall be more than a match for the upcoming trial."

The last to ask him was a curious fellow who, based on hand gestures and movements, wondered why the armor had antlers, "Quite simple: to gore my opponents in a glorious head charge." Roderick explained uncomfortably eagerly. "And because I like antlers too." the last part he explained in a more tame manner.

Meanwhile, Jaquie turned his attention to the falling Mariana, waiting to see if anybody would react to it first.

 

[Verite]

Valerie Vu - Academy Entrance
Interactions: November Witch @Open

​

"GYAAAH!"

Valerie involuntarily gasped out, or perhaps it was more of a surprised shriek, as the roaring voice of an unfamiliar, armored man seemed to ring throughout the room, greatly startling the young woman. If she wasn't completely alert then, she certainly was now. She instinctively began to channel her anima, convinced that Jacquie had sprung a surprise enemy on them to fight again, only for the figure to quickly assert himself as a friendly figure from the sound of it. An upperclassman, even. Well, alright then. At least that meant she could recover from that mini-heart attack in peace.

Even after she'd gotten used to his presence, she still winced a bit from the utter volume of his casual speaking voice as he spoke with Jacquie, and then began imparting his senior wisdom upon the rest of the class with the answers the others posed toward him. It wouldn't even be as bad if Valerie had been awake for more than twenty minutes, but now she could at least understand what it felt like to have a hangover.

Valerie hadn't even known that there was apparently a good amount of arcanists who struggled to surpass a certain rank. It probably made sense, but did that mean Valerie herself would end up in a similar bind if she were to dive deeper into this world? It sounded like no matter where she went, between the normal and the supernatural world, climbing the career ladder was a grueling challenge that persisted in everyone's lives.

For her part, Valerie didn't have any questions for Roderick, at least off the top of her head. Not that she'd get much chance to think on it before she saw Mariana suddenly begin to collapse like a sack of potatoes.

"!"

Sliding forward right behind Mariana, Valerie caught the falling girl in her arm, managing to support her up without too much trouble like they were two coordinated stage dancers. Valerie had no illusions of being someone's Princess Charming, but hey, that was pretty smooth, right?

"Whoa there! Are you okay, Mariana?! ... Mariana?" She breathed, before realizing that the girl wasn't even conscious. More than just being asleep, Valerie thought that Mariana was wholly conscious earlier and only just passed out. For her part, Valerie only seemed vaguely cognizant of Crimson's existence, much less that Marianne seemed to have quite the distaste for her, having not much of a chance to really socialize with Mariana over the past week. Truthfully, that was something Valerie wanted to rectify. She seemed like such a nice, sensitive girl after all!

Valerie gave a sheepish look toward the rest of the room, at anyone who might have been looking at her, before directing her gaze back down to the asleep girl, gently shaking her with her arm. "Hey, uh, Mariana? It's okay, you don't have to be freaked out. The armor guy isn't that scary, he's a friend actually!"

She completely misread the situation, having missed Crimson's quarrel with Marianne here as her attention was fixated elsewhere, but she liked to think she had the right spirit.

 

[Juju]

Solirus November Witch Verite
━ ◦ ※ ◦━​

Marianne was unfazed by the demon’s temper tantrum. She would not have chosen such barbed words if she did not intend to wound it, nor did she care for its swearing and melodrama. In fact, there was a certain delight in knowing that she had found a way to upset the creature. It was only fair, considering all the crowing it had done on the first day. Perhaps the demon would think better of it next time.

Like an adder struck back by a bitter taste, the demon released its hold on Mariana. She fell limply, but thankfully Valeria was quick to come to the rescue. Annamarie lost interest the moment the demon retreated, and Marianne glanced at the two only long enough to ensure that Mariana was safe. Then she turned her attention back to the front of the class.

She would talk with Mariana later, but for now a senior student was sharing his wisdom with her. His booming voice was starting to make her head hurt, but she powered through it with a neutral expression. Most of his words were diluted with dramatic flair, but there were some useful nuggets hidden within. Thankfully, Jaquie was there to translate some of Roderick’s more eccentric ramblings.

Align your motivation with your anima? Marianne thought, visualizing the dark core of emotions that drove her forward in a razor sharp line.

Her reason to fight, to exist, was something she had come to terms with ever since she was a child. This motivation was one of the few unchanging things in this world. On the other hand, after her session with Jaquie she could not help but feel a little uncertain about her anima. What had once seemed so in sync had now been left muddled by one interaction.

An intense desire for perfection was the basis of her anima, and yet in her training Jaquie had not nourished it as her previous instructors had. If anything, it was almost like he had purposefully directed her away from the needle-points. Since then, she had tried to summon up the focus he had talked about, but it was difficult to separate the revelations from what she had always relied upon.

“Yes, it was most helpful. Thank you.” Marianne said politely after Jaquie kindly introduced her name to Roderick. She took a mental note of the name Violette for later, curious to know how this girl ascended up the ranks so quickly.

She then stood with her Yorkshire Pudding in hand, wondering when would be the best time to eat it without being rude or sloppy. This predicament was causing her a lot more stress than it probably should have. The smell was making her more hungry than she should be.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Sophia Hughes
Location: Entrance
Anima: Vermillion aura that flows like wind around her

The marked door that connect Anima Studies and Sophia's residence suddenly bursted open. From beyond the door Sophia charged forward without stopping, slamming the door behind her. Unlike her usual polite attire, she was wearing much more casual jumper skirt with a wide straw hat on her head. Slung across her shoulder was a duffel bag with a bunch of fishing rods jutting out and the head of a small shiba inu peeking outside. Despite all the rush the girl was having, the dog remains calm and seemingly enjoying it.

"Woof!"

Upon arriving at the main entrance, she let out a relieved sigh at the fact that it didn't seems their class had started. Though looking at the presence of a fully armored guy and her classmates various expression, it seemed she just missed something interesting. Well, there's nothing she can do about that.

"Apologize, professor. Hope I'm not late." Sophia let out a sheepish smile at the professor.

 

[November Witch]

Mariana Mirror

Status: Flustered, nervous and sleepy.

Even with the booming voice and Valerie speaking to her, she would slowly come to over the course of a few seconds. She wouldn’t be jolted awake. It seemed like she was really in a deep sleep. Her eyes would slowly flutter open, and it would take another few moments for her groggy mind to wake up and process everything. First, she noticed the most obvious thing. A face not far from hers. Valerie, if she remembered correctly. One of the people who had been in the room where she had her argument on the first day. Someone who hadn’t stepped up for Mariana. She was one of the many people she already had a bad opinion of.

Next, she would notice she was not in her bed in her room. But being held up by the other, and in a different setting. It most certainly was not her room. Then where was she? She looked around, nervous, until she saw everyone and the teacher here. Plus, an armored man she hadn’t seen before. His voice was also loud. Loud enough for her groggy mind to not like it. She winced, cringing as the sound caused her to almost immediately form a headache. It might have been alright if she was fully awake. But being assaulted by a loud noise as one was stirring was never a pleasant experience.

Then, that voice in her head again. Mariana was incredibly thankful as it told her what had transpired. She’d decided to sleep, and it had gotten her ready for the day, had her eat, and showed up on time for her. Only to be criticized for it. It made Mariana mad hearing it. But she was still too tired and groggy to feel anything but lethargic. The girl had bags under her eyes, and definitely seemed pretty tired. She hadn’t really heard Valerie’s words as she had still been waking up, so she just saw a girl staring expectantly at her and didn’t know what to say.

“Uh, th-thank you…”

Mariana mumbled, blushing a little and averting her gaze from the other… Another few moments passed before she spoke up again.

“I think I’m okay, so can you let me up now please?”

Once the other girl let go of her, and Mariana stood up, she moved to the back of the group awkwardly and leaned against the wall. She didn’t like being unconscious in front of everyone. But she supposed it was her own fault for not waking up on time. But how could Marianne be so rude to Crimson when she actually took it upon herself to make sure Mariana didn’t get in trouble? She got her ready and here before anyone else. Demons seemed much less demon-like to Mariana. Sure, demons that couldn’t think were bad, because they would attack no matter what. But ones that could think for themselves and reason. Was there a reason they hadn’t? Had no one thought of it yet? Or was something keeping it from happening?

‘That’s what I’m wondering. Well, I never really thought of it before you just brought it up. It’s probably because the humans are just so imbecilic that they never thought of it. The insects that they are…’

Only silence followed for a few moments.

‘Well not you idiot. You thought of it, so you’re obviously not like them. If anything, you’re like us. Outcast, and always criticized. Looked at differently. It’s why we’ve got to stick together.’

More silence.

‘Hey! Wake up! Do you hear me?! I’m not going to get yelled at again for taking over if you’re asleep!’

The demon yelled into her mind, causing Mariana to jolt, wide awake.

‘Sorry sorry sorry!’

Mariana looked towards the front of the room once more, focusing on the voice of the demon in her head criticizing her. The girl giggled a little bit as the demon kept nitpicking and telling her what to do. She sounded like an older sister to Mariana.

Verite

 

[Tiguidi]

COBALT ULAR
Location: Main Entrance​

Cobalt winced when Mr. Jaquie threw his phone on the ground in a brief outburst of anger, completely annihilating the poor device. ’Always expect the unexpected with Mr. Jaquie...’, he thought to himself, mirroring not only his text from earlier in the group chat with Leander and Valerie, but also the words of the new person that... suddenly arrived.

The arrival of a man in ornamental armor was definitely not something he anticipated. “I’m so confused...”, he mumbled to himself. This Roderick was apparently a second year? Cobalt shuddered -if someone had decided to wear this kind of armor and speak like that after more than a year attending Anima Studies, what will he be like a year from now...?

To Roderick’s credit, he was much better at actually speaking to others than Cobalt was. He found himself paying attention to what the armored man was saying -Marianne had shown to be very helpful during the study group sessions but words from someone with much more experience were valuable. “Motivation, hm...?”, he repeated, pursing his lips in slight perplexity. He wasn’t even sure about that. Wanting to learn more about his powers -his curiosity, was what brought him to this school in the first place. While it served as good motivation on the short-term, he doubted that would aid him if he wanted to actually get stronger as an arcanist.

“Whoa, nice save!”, Cobalt commented when Valerie slid behind the falling Mariana to catch her. “It’s the second time she’s collapsed just this week.”, he remarked in a mumble, glancing at the possessed girl moving toward the back. “Well, whatever, can’t really imagine what it’s like to be, uh, periodically possessed by a demon.”

Keeping an ear out for whatever Roderick or Mr. Jaquie would say, Cobalt turned his attention to Leander, not having noticed him arrive. “Oh, hey. You said you went bowling with your mom? How’d it go?”, he asked, stepping over to the other quiet boy and greeting him with a wave of his hand.

Solirus Verite Silent Child

 

[Solirus]

The Freak Show
Juju November Witch Yakov011001 Spoiled Bread Verite Tiguidi Silent Child jmann ​

"Nice catch!" Roderick declared, witnessing Valerie swiftly catching the falling Mariana, "Most pleasing to see this class looking out for each other. And as for you, you are very welcome." Roderick turned to acknowledge Marianne, giving an exaggerated thumbs up. However, at the arrival of Sophia, his attention was grabbed by the dog, "A creature of fluffiness and goodness? Are pets truly allowed on school grounds?"

"As long as they take care of it" Jaquie answered Roderick's question, "Also you're not late."

"This is news to me, perhaps I should bring Tulip too!" Roderick exclaimed in an excited tone.

As Jaquie was about to respond, the door to the entrance clicked once more, slowly opening, four individuals walked into the academy. Three of them wore simple black suits, while the fourth wore a black long sleeved t-shirt, with a simple belt and darker dress pants. Overall a far simpler outfit, but professional and clean nonetheless.

​

"Ah, that must be the supervisor" Roderick approached the man while the other three suits remained still and Stoic, like guardian statues. "Greetings, I am Roderick Gwynfor, I pleasure to meet you good sir."

"The name's Percival Richter, the pleasure is all mine." Percival responded, checking his clipboard for a second.

To those more accustomed and knowledgeable in arcanist society, the name Richter would be immediately recognizable. One of the oldest and the most influential family in all arcanist society. The Richter family are the enforcer's of arcanist society, managing order and ensuring secrecy. They are the judges and executioners, the ones who ensure the laws binding arcanists are not bent nor broken. The Richer's represent a great authority few can trifle with.

"Why are you here?" Jaquie questioned Percival, his eyes intensely staring at the man.

"I thought it was obvious, Mr. Lawphel. I am here to act as Roderick's supervisor." Percival responded, staring back at Jaquie.

"Last time I checked, you weren't even close to meeting the requirements for a supervisor, did your daddy gift this position to you for your birthday?"

"Please, Mr. Lawphel, no need for such childish provocations, I am more than qualified for this position." There was a moment of silence between the two.

"You're aware how I feel about Richter's sticking their noses where they don't belong." Jaquie said, breaking the silence.

"I was the only available supervisor working to help Roderick out."

"Bullshit"

"It's true, us Richter's are honest and strict to a fault, I am merely here to fulfill my duty as supervisor." Percival stated, but paused for a second, "Although, I suppose there is another more selfish reason I am here. You've surely seen the news, people have already heard of the new batch of students brought to Anima studies, and me being the curious fellow, I decided to visit, so I might have a chance to see the freak show for myself." Percival explained, "And I must say, this year appears especially grotesque." Percival continued running his mouth, glancing around the students, his anima exuding hints of disgust.

Jaquie remained still for a second, almost shocked that this man had the gall to say all of this directly in front of him. Jaquie's anima appeared utterly unreadable as he slowly walked closer and closer to Percival, his umbrella flying directly into the palm of his hand. "You better shut your mouth before I send you back home in a coffin." Jaquie said, uncomfortably close to Percival.

Percival grew visibly worried, taking a step back, "Jaquie please be reasonable, I merely jest. No harm done, so no need to get so antsy." The three other arcanists who followed Percival into the academy appeared nervous struggling to maintain composure.

"Please, Great Grandmaster Jaquie, it's not worth it to start another pointless confrontation. He's worth not your time nor effort." Roderick attempted to reason with Jaquie who simply kept staring at Percival.

 

[Juju]

Solirus
━ ◦ ※ ◦━​

As the attention shifted away to the discussion of pets in campus, Marianne took the opportunity to sneak a bite of the Yorkshire pudding she had been offered. It wasn't the same as the ones her grandmother made, but it was scrumptious regardless. She held a hand up to her face, covering the happy grin she made as she ate. While it was poor manners to eat quickly, she had to make use of what little time she had until the lecture began. Besides, it was delicious and far more filling than the measly oatmeal she had for breakfast.

Her innocent indulgence was halted almost instantly whenever a familiar name floated above the assembly of students. Marianne quickly opened her bag, wrapped her unfinished Yorkie with a handkerchief, and hid it back in the bag. Compulsively, she checked the state of her dress, flattening the cloth with her hands in a hurried manner as she scrambled to ensure that she looked absolutely presentable. Even her posture straightened, smile wiped clean into cold indifference.

Of course, the supervisor had to be a bloody Richter. Typical, yet unwelcome nonetheless. There was hardly a doubt in her mind why he was here, even before Jaquie had the stomach to actually ask the bastard about it. Just the act of the man's eyes passing over her made her feel filthy, and for a moment she wanted nothing more than to return to her dorm and take a shower. Without even consciously thinking about it, Marianne reigned in her anima, cloaking it tightly around Annamarie like an invisible mask. It flickered with fear, laced in a bubbling of rage at what he said about the students.

Compared to other insults she had heard, Percival's idea of a slight was elementary at best, but that didn't mean the sting was any less. Marianne was well-versed in holding her tongue, so that is what she did. Grey eyes sharply watched him as he spewed venom, powerless to bite back. Out of habit, she grabbed onto Annamarie's hand and braced herself against the familiar shower of disgust.

Let the crows have their pound of flesh, she recited to herself like a mantra.

Marianne had to do a double take whenever their professor not only confronted Percival on his opinion, but openly threatened him. She could scarcely believe what she saw or heard, only capable of staring at them both in utter shock. Did he seriously just jump to their defence? Her head just couldn't wrap around it. Sometimes she wondered if the reason Jaquie was so angry at his phone was because he was forced into being a teacher for the most hated and feared branch of arcanists. No arcanist's reputation would survive after something like this, so she completely understood. Perhaps it was punishment, and he resented it all. Yet, despite all that, it was times like this that challenged her perception.

It was easier to believe this to be nothing more than a personal vendetta towards Percival, so that's what she tried to do.

As much as Marianne would love to also threaten the smug prick, as an onlooker she could see the error in Jaquie's approach. People like Percival wanted them to be violent, to prove they were the monsters they made them out to be. The more you fought back, the more ammunition they had to shoot you down. As her own proverb went, Never bite the hands that beats you. Proverbs and analogies aside, their professor was very close to doing something brash. While she didn't fully believe he would kill a man over an isult, at least she assumed so, the implications of this confrontation reflected not only on him, but everyone present. A violent approach would brand everyone here, from Rook to Nikklaus, as vicious beasts in need of muzzles.

Roderick was already urging Jaquie to step away, but Marianne decided to take a more direct approach. She had no idea what possessed her to go against her better judgment of biting her tongue. Was it the instinct to protect herself? Shield her peers, unaware of the consequences? Or perhaps Jaquie's headstrong defiance towards someone nearly untouchable had stirred her.

"Pardon the intrusion, Mr. Richter sir, but wouldn't you agree that there are far better uses of association time?" Marianne spoke up, both tone and posture cool and composed. Doing her utter best to follow everything the professor taught her on suppressing anima, she wrangled down the ball of fear clawing desperately against her chest. "I may be just a student, so feel free to correct me, but I distinctly recall the supervisory guidelines of rank trials. Of course, a Richter of all people wouldn't be involved in a Conflict of Interest breach...especially not one openly admitted to. As you put it, 'strict to a fault'? Perhaps it would be prudent to move along with today's schedule, if you please?"

 

[Yakov011001]

Nikklaüs clicked his tongue at Crimson, beginning to tire of her contrarianism just for the sake of it. He had half a mind to catch Mariana, but he didn't. Crimson needs to learn that her actions have consequences to the host body and herself in turn. I won't pity her for what she decides to put herself through. Instead, he looked down at her with disgust and condescension. Wait, whoa, what the fuck? Fortunately for her, Valarie seemed to be much more forgiving, swooping in last second for the save. Nikklaüs simply turned the other way. Hold on now! I should've caught her, why didn't I? Easy, my hands are full with these puddings. Nikklaüs could start to feel a headache come on.

He returned to Marianne's side, noticing her wrap her pudding away for later. He could only shake his head, maybe he'd give his two pence later. Surely she was tired of it by now. Him though, he understood the value of enjoying oneself regardless the social implications. Well, only within the degree of indirect disrespect to others, he was rude but—like—not that rude, y'know? With that thought, he bit into a pudding of his own. He watched on as Jaquie seemed to be arguing with a new face, but in that real tense 'the bureaucracy is what keeps me from killing you' kind of way. Who is that though? Percival Richter. How do I know that? There's always some part of me that's paying attention. I don't envy the people that invite conflict just by having a recognizable last name. Almost as if on cue, Marianne stepped forward to assist Jaquie.

"—Perhaps it would be prudent to move along with today's schedule, if you please?"

"I think I agree, Jaquie," Nikklaüs approached. "I'm curious as to why you called us all out here on our day off. Besides, you don't have to worry about that guy," Nikklaüs waved a dismissive hand at Percival. "Supervisors are just people who watch and get nothing done. Remember that you're the one in control here, bossman," He reached into his little paper bag and placed a pudding in his hand. "Food helps calm the nerves. Think of it as a thank you for Friday."

Nikklaüs quickly turned on a dime, feeling he needs to play catch up for all the things he missed when his brain turned to mush earlier.

"Roderick! What the fuck is good, bruv!" Nikklaüs offered a hand to dap him up. "Look, if I knew you were coming, I'd've made extra puddings. Don't worry, I still have one extra if you want it."

Solirus

 

[Verite]

Valerie Vu - Academy Entrance
Interactions: November Witch Tiguidi Solirus Silent Child @Open

​

"Hmm? Oh, right! Of course!"

Blissfully unaware of what Mariana's internal thoughts might have entailed about her, Valerie maintained a friendly smile as she obliged the other girl and helped her stand upright again, before taking a step back to allow her some personal space. She took a moment to ponder over whether she should say something more, ask if she was truly alright, but as she heard Cobalt and Roderick compliment her swift movement, the young woman couldn't help but give a toothy grin and rub the back of her head as a sign of modesty.

"Aah, well, all in a day's work!" She exclaimed, before looking curiously at Cobalt, taking in his words regarding Mariana. "Wait, she's...? Huh. Is she really? Since when? Like, this entire time?" Valerie whispered to him underneath the continued banter between Roderick and Jacquie. Well, that explained a lot, probably.

After a solid week, Valerie was finally up to date with everyone else.

The young woman tried to visualize what that must be like; that certainly explained the differences in her anima that Valerie occasionally recognized but paid little mind to, still being a complete novice to this kind of world, unlike Marianne, who seemed to be less than comfortable with the notion now that Val was putting the pieces together. One could practically see the gears turning in her head as she gradually caught up to everyone else.

Valerie was never a particularly superstitious person before all this, but even she had absorbed from cultural osmosis the idea of demons being inherently evil. Even so, Mariana seemed like such a sweet thing! Maybe if she were given more of an opportunity, she might be able to open up to the rest of the class more, and if no one else was up to it, Valerie didn't have any issue with it. Besides, it was only right, to make up for that night, but who knows? Maybe she didn't even remember that.

And then, before she could act on her thoughts, that was when trouble walked into the room. Being completely oblivious to who was considered this side of royalty in the world of arcanists, the name of Richter meant nothing to Valerie, but despite this, even she could feel the heavy weight of his presence, imposing enough that it was able to stifle Valerie's own bubbly aura. She narrowed her eyes uneasily at the man, but said nothing, even when the man took some sort of potshot at the class and provoked a sharp response from Jacquie. For some reason or another, it seemed he had a problem with Jacquie and whoever associated with him. The notion was foreign to Valerie; being someone who had said or done nothing wrong to whoever this guy thought he was, yet still seeming to earn his ire just for being in Jacquie's proximity.

As Richter and his entourage walked out just as quickly as they arrived, Valerie silently stuck out her tongue at them, before muttering under her breath, just loud enough for the others near her to hear, mostly Mariana, Cobalt, and Leo. "Sheesh, what a piece of work. Not sure what his problem was, but I guess Teach managed to nip it in the bud."

She couldn't help but shudder a little. And here, she thought she was on Jacquie's bad side, the way most other college professors who looked like him resented ever having to come in, but it turned out she didn't even know the meaning.

Deciding to move on to something a little lighter, Valerie shifted her attention back to Mariana, crossing her arms behind her back as she leaned toward her direction. "By the way, you sure you're okay, Mariana? Not enough sleep or anything? I mean, I totally get it. Never been a morning person even in the best of circumstances, but Sundays are just not for waking up early, you know?" She idly said, trying to give her best million dollar smile as she spoke.

 

[November Witch]

Mariana Mirror

Status: Nervous & sleepy.

Slinking to the back of the group seemed to backfire now. As new people entered the room, Mariana would instead be in the middle. Her classmates and teacher looked towards the newcomers and the new people looked towards them. Mariana was now between both sets of gazes. She hugged herself and stayed as still as possible, trying to not draw any attention to herself at all. It was as if she was prey hiding from predators. That is what it felt like, having such strong anima all around her. The newcomers, her teacher, the man in the armor. It was all a little scary to the girl.

Still leaning against the wall, Mariana would try to stay awake, only for the voices laced with threats and anger to do a good job at keeping her eyes from closing. It made her nervous and on edge. The voice in her head, as always, chastised her for being scared when nothing was about her. Even if she was being chastised, it was comforting. Knowing someone was always there and aware how she felt. Mariana didn’t know who this person was and wouldn’t bother getting involved. She would let the adults work things out, and those who knew what was happening. As she had no idea whatsoever.

Mariana would jump though, as Valerie had made her way through the group to where she had retreated to. Did Valerie still want to talk to her? Or did she want something for catching her? Mariana hoped not.

“Uhm…”

She spoke in a small voice, in response to Valerie’s question. She didn’t want to get yelled at for getting in the way of whatever the adults were talking about.

“I didn’t know we would have class today… S-So I just stayed up too late.”

Mariana admitted, looking towards the ground. She was embarrassed to admit it, for whatever reason. Mariana wouldn’t have done it if class had been scheduled for today. But she hadn’t heard anything like that, so she didn’t sleep when she should have.

“I can wake up early. I just have to know when to wake up. But he never told me.”

She said, referring to the teacher.

Solirus Verite