Dormer Academy

*He turns to Nick.* What's your name child? Controlling wind is a simple thing for me.*Stick being his usually grumpy old man self to hide how much he cares and likes for people, releases Liza when the other child ask him about controlling wind, as Liza gently lands back on her feet, he leans in closer to both young girls studying their faces and then suddenly taps them both on the head with his staff.* It's rude and not very princess like to keep people waiting without telling them before hand, I expect better of you next time child. *Now that he's done making his point he kneels down and picks up Liza's bear and hands him back to her, then patting both girls on the head.* Princess you need to control yourself and think about others before you act, you know my time in this realm is limited before I have to return. *Finally he stands up straight, slipping his his staff behind his back.* I only wish to spend as much time with you as possible Princess, so we will try this again tomorrow...Today go take your friend to you mother and try to stay out of trouble. *He tries to look at her sternly but he can't help but smile at her before he walks away.*
 
{Jirro's eyes locked in on the boy that showed up late but it was fine, to his friends and family he may seem rather stiff in his teaching style but to anyone else he's not such an hard ass, especially not on the first day, nodding to the boy.} It's fine, just don't make a habit of it. Now I have a few rules before we get started, the most important one being. No one is allowed to handle a real sword in or outside my class without my permission, to do so is an automatic fail. There are 4 steps to getting permission to used a real sword. Showing up on time is the first one, getting your body in condition is the second, getting your mind is third and finally I must see growth in your skills. {On the ground there is a steel girder probably weighs close to a ton Jirro picks it up with one hand and slams it into the ground sinking it deep so that it's standing straight up on it's own.} In my class this will be your final exam. {He stands only a few feet from the girder, with his hand on the hilt of his sword, suddenly there is a flash of the blade as he did his flash draw. Then he walks away.} Do you know when you're a master swordsman? {He snaps his fingers and the girder falls to pieces.} You're a master swordsman when you have to remind your enemy that they've been cut. Now any questions before you're assigned your swords? You will be given a sword that fits your style, I prefer the Katana, it's what I was born to use, however I understand not everyone likes the elegance of the Katana, some of you prefer the brute force of the broadsword or claymore, maybe you're a fencer or prefer the rapier, we have practice non-lethal versions to fit all your personal styles and no matter that style I will teach you to master it. And if you ever need help please feel free to ask me in or outside of class.
 
Nick watches as Liza is lowered to the ground, then looks at Stick, "I'm Nickkie, though I prefer Nick. I would offer a last name, but that's pointless seeing as I don't have one." she said with a shrug, then she smiled as she continued to talk, "I can control wind and water pretty good... but fire is a bit erratic for me, and earth is unreachable... unless someone needs to be healed." she said with a quick nod. She knew she had a lot to learn, but the fact that she had learned to control two of the elements (she's no where near being a master) on her own did make her happy.


Suddenly both Nick and Liza were hit on the head, she reached up and quickly rubbed her head with her free hand, she looked at Stick with wounded sapphire eyes, she hadn't expected it, and she also didn't like being hit. Then she sighed some and the look went away, though her eyes were slightly darker than they had been when she was talking about her powers. She understood that since both her and Liza agreed that she was part of the reason Liza was late that it was only fair for her to get hit as well. She glanced between the two, wondering why he only had a limited time, but she decided it wouldn't be a good idea to ask currently. Then he was walking away and Nick glanced at Liza, arching her silver eyebrows in a silent question of what they would do now. Nick wouldn't hold it against her if she did want to go and learn with her master, she could probably find her way to Faith's class.


 
"Your mama didn't want you?" Liza is horrified, this being a thought that is inconceivable to her. Although she had, while existing within Faith's head, experienced abuse from Faith's parents, she herself had always still believed they loved her regardless. "That's so mean! How come they didn't want you? Were they bad? Did you kick their ass?"


To Liza, ass-kicking is the expected default to go to if someone is bad. Surely if they are ass-kicked, they will come around and be good again.


When Nick shows interest in Stick's wind act, Liza shrugs, unimpressed. "I can do wind stuff too. Not that good yet though...Mr. Stick, you shouldn't oughtta hit Nickkie!" her mouth drops open. "But you know what Nick, he does that to my mama and daddy too 'cause he says they're dumbasses. Which is a bad word but he says it anyway. And Mr. Stick, I still wanna do wind with you. Come on, I'll be good. I won't even get in trouble probably. Can I? Please?"


When he walks off, she scowls, now returned to the ground, and crosses her arms. "I guess we gotta find my mama then....let's do it the fast way."


Then she grabbed hold of Nick's hand, picturing Faith in her mind, and teleported out with her, with no warning whatsoever.


**


"Had a friend, she was sort of a zombie...without the shuffling, lobotomy, and weird craving for human flesh," Faith shrugged in answer to Ezra's confusion. "Long story, short on time."


Hearing his description of his existence, Faith grows quiet, her brow furrowing slightly as she considers his words, her expression thoughtful. She does know, though not in the literal sense of the word that Ezra had. As a teenager, she had often felt herself to be so uncared for and unappreciated, so useless to the world and its acknowledgment to her, as to be completely invisible at times. She does not explain this to him, but instead gives a short nod and reply.


"I've felt that, yeah. Though I never went totally see-through in the process. So...look, we can maybe do a trial basis, all right? I let you stay...though why you'll need a room or bed if you can't even sleep or, like, have possessions, I don't know...you tag along to classes and see what you can do. Someone else will have to fill out your paperwork, I take it-"


Just then Faith jerked, almost dropping the child that had suddenly appeared directly in her arms- her daughter, she saw quickly. Liza, having dropped the hand of the child now beside her, smiled up at her mom, her bear dangling by one arm in the hand not wrapped around Faith's neck.


"Hi Mama. Can we fight? Nickkie wants to."
 
Izzy allowed her class some time before starting her rounds, watching each one fire off a few rounds before moving on to the next. She strayed longer at Sheena's post, watching her cousin with slight admireation. The girl obviously knew what she was doing without any sort of instruction or prompting, and Izzy was impressed with where her shots ened up hitting on her target post.


"Nice Sheena, very nice..." she gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, before continuing on, this time stopping behind the DeSanto girl. "Katarina is it? Do you prefer Kat?" she tilted her head to the side and studied her silently for a moment, before motioning the girl to continue with a tilt of her head. "Well go on then hun, let's see what you can do..."


As she watched Kat, she tried not to make it obvious that she was sizing the young girl up. It surprised her that Bucky would have taken such an interest with someone so young, and a human at that. Izzy had been surprised when she found that the girl had even been approved to this place. Not that she had anything against humans, she just didn't know how safe she'd be with all these different supernaturals around.


"You have good form," she finally offered the girl, tucking a strand of hair behind one ear. "Keep your legs steady, and breathe out before you take your shot...take your time when you aim, focus on your target..."


Nodding, she continued on, turning to look for Bucky who stayed at his spot from the start of class, trying not to appear to obvious as he mostly focused on Kat.


((sorry so short, brain's on the fritz after the mega long bus ride...))
 
~5:30 AM


By the time most people had began to wake up, Mel had already been up for about an hour jogging around the academy. Though in her current state, any attempts to increase muscle mass was impossible, she didn't see these early morning sessions as pointless at all. During the last two months, after Lilith and a good chunk of the school had a jolly good time screwing her over, she had been slowly getting used to the doll body she had been forcibly sucked into after the glorified sl*t stole hers. Two months of not being able to reach the top shelf or fully kick someone's a** or even playing her instruments other than that ukelele she was starting to hate. And now, it was broken so she couldn't even play that. Granted, she should've expected it not to hold after smashing spiders . . . and people . . . with it for a good hour or so but that was besides the point.


Anyway, Mel spent the better part of two months very irritated. Though her mood and opinion of this place was slowly improving. She still hated the place but now it was almost tolerable, which was actually a lot coming from her. She at least found out that the headmaster was tolerable though she had yet to get to know the rest of the staff. Plus she had a plan for dealing with Lilith if the winged b*tch would do something worth doing something about already! Mel was not particularly patient when dealing with people. But according to the rules, she either had to wait for the angel to act out or lure her off grounds. Both actions didn't seem like they were going to happen anytime soon and that p*ssed her off.


Still lost in thought, Mel failed to notice the sun slowly creeping up over the horizon. That is until a stray sunbeam hit her in the eye, making her swear and fall over.


~~~~~


About half an hour until classes started, Mel sat in her room with Vash brushing her hair since the run messed it up again. She had already given him time to go eat before helping her get ready so they weren't strapped for time. In fact, she was sort of bored right now. Vash wasn't talkative today, something that was odd for him, and was fixing her hair in silence. It was weird. Usually you couldn't shut the idiot up. Finally having enough, Mel quickly twisted around to look at him. "What's with you today? Why aren't you saying anything?"


Vash jumped back as the blonde hair in his hand disappeared and Mel stared him in the eye. In all truth, he was forcing himself to keep quiet in fear that the doll would blow up at him again like yesterday when he brought up the subject of Riff. He still didn't know why she was ignoring him and it was just eating at him inside. He just wanted the two to make up. Partly because he wanted all three of them to be like a family again, but mostly because taking on Riff's chores as well was too much for his usually lazy lifestyle.


So much happened in those short months at the Academy. Things Vash never thought he'd see. Mel was defeated by Lilith, granted she cheated and outnumbered them but still. And now Mel was angry at Riff for whatever reason it was. Those two had been together for five years and now he was cast aside. Vash was still fairly new so he really had to watch what he said around her. He didn't want to be alone again. "Sorry. I just want to be yelled at first thing in the morning. Plus you like quiet, don't you?"


After hearing the white haired demon's answer, Mel huffed and spun around again. "I don't have that much of a temper. But whatever. You're right. Silence is better."


~~~~~


Riff had once again found himself up early with nothing to do that morning. He had grown accustomed to waking early to take care of Mel, but she didn't allow him near her now. So these days, Riff found himself with much too much time on his hands. He had considered making friends but socializing was not his forte. Especially when he was still associated with Mel. Many students still did not like Mel and by association, didn't like Vash or Riff. It probably didn't help that he was a demon with a history of violence either.


After eating in the dining hall, he spent the remainder of his time aimlessly wandering the school grounds until it came time to go to class. The question was which one? Riff was not accustomed to either guns or swords so the Mochizuki classes were out. And he still wasn't entire clear on what Macal taught, so it would probably be best to not rush in without knowing what he was getting himself into. The only class he had signed up for so far was Faith's but she wasn't having one today. The only thing he wanted to improve on was his self defense after all. Though a demon, he still had the strength and speed of the average human. His endurance was improved greatly with the transformation though. Still it would be wise to improve his own skills before taking on an actual weapon if he should choose to do so. Growing up, he was more likely to rely on his own fists to solve his problems. Though these "solutions" often got him in more trouble than he was in initially, not that he had cared back then.


Taking another look at his watch, the blond rushed off. Even if Faith wasn't having a class, he couldn't just do nothing all day.


~~~~~


After Vash finished fixing Mel's hair, the two started walking down the hallway toward one of the doors leading outside when Mel suddenly veered off. "Mel? Where are you going?" "To the library." The white haired demon raised an eyebrow. Was Mel planning on skipping class? She wasn't one to do something like that. Despite her lack of respect when it came to the staff . . . or anyone, she never ditched a class before. Even when the class would openly pick on or snub her. Not to mention, why was she so open about it? The two had different classes now so if she walked toward hers and left halfway, he'd never know.


"But we have class . . . " "Yeah, but today all classes are outside and you know how I feel about the sun. Besides, none of those classes can teach me what I need to know now." "And what's that?" "It's none of your damn business. That's what it is."


Vash opened his mouth to say something but sensed the irritation in the doll's voice. He may not be a genius, especially when it came to people, but he at least knew that now was not a good time to say anything. The school could be on fire and it would still be better to stay quiet about now. "Uh . . . Okay then. Bye?"


He didn't bother thinking too much into Mel's actions. Mostly because doing so usually gave him a headache but he also knew that she was a big girl now and could take care of herself. Most of the time she took care of him instead of the other way around. But now he wanted to skip class too. He had even forgotten who's class he had now. But he supposed he'd have to go. First he'd have to find out and then he'd go. Maybe if he ran into a class outside, he could see whether or not he was supposed to be in that one.


Well, that plan sounded good until about half an hour later, when he realized . . . he had gotten lost . . . Awkward. Wandering around in what looked like a forest, he couldn't see any part of the school building. He couldn't see any sign of civilization either so he couldn't have been too far out, right? Still, all he could see were trees, trees, and a squirrel.


(I'll add more later. Chemistry has got me braindead for now.)
 
Nick shrugged some, she was used to the idea of not having parents and had given up the idea of finding either of them a long time ago. "I guess they didn't want me, I was a baby when they left me at the orphanage, so I do not know why they left me." she said. She laughed some, though not at Liza, more at what she had said, "As I said, I was a baby, there was no way I was going to be doing any kind of 'ass kicking'." she said. As Liza talked about the wind she couldn't help but smile, Nick obviously loved using that particular ability and talking about it was also something that she liked. "Maybe we can practice together sometime." she said, sounding hopeful. When Liza talked about finding her mother the 'fast way' Nick tilted her head, wondering what she meant, suddenly Liza grabbed her hand and they vanished.


-------------------------------


Ezra watched Faith, waiting for her answer, when she said that she understood some of what he was going through he couldn't really be glad, considering that to be ignored wasn't a good feeling at all, but he was glad for the understanding. When she said that she would give him a chance he suddenly smiled widely, "Thank you so much." he said happily, he looked like he would hug her if there was a way for him to do so, though that would be difficult for him, and probably strange for her, so he stayed where he was. He listened as Faith started to talk about paper work, but suddenly cut off as a child appeared in her arms, and another appeared standing beside her. He jumped some, though he was dead, and a ghost, he still wasn't really used to any of this supernatural stuff, and watching people appear out of nowhere was certainly something he would have to get used to. "Um....?"





Nick couldn't help the surprised gasp she gave when they appeared somewhere else, it was certainly something she hadn't expected and she would have liked a warning. She had managed to keep a hold on Donnie, though as soon as Liza let go of her hand she slowly raised her free hand to her head, looking kind of dizzy. Though she did still catch what Liza was saying, "I would like to learn to fight." she elaborated, then she sat down right where she was, "Though right now I think I would like to sit for a bit." she said, closing her eyes.
 
Sheena is able to block out everyone around her, all the noise they make and their movements out the corner of her eye, with ease, focusing only on eyeing her target, on the proper stance and hold of her gun, and of her aim. She is able to narrow her world with every shot until only she, the target, and her gun exist, and when she pulls the trigger, she knows that her marks will hit.


She is startled out of her self-imposed reverie when her cousin comes up behind her, praising her. With genuine pleasure Sheena smiles back at her in response, ducking her head only briefly before lifting her chin again, accepting the compliment. She's pretty pleased with herself as well. Once she would not have been able to look at the gun, and to hold it in her hand would have made her feel physically ill. Now it seems only an extension of her hand, to be respected, of course, but nothing to fear.


For Katarina, this is not the case. Before her time in the academy she has never touched a gun, and the thought of doing so made her vaguely anxious, not so much as because she was afraid of it, as she did not trust herself to be able to use it without causing unintended damage. Katarina had had little confidence that she could effectively use weapons of any sort, and even now there is a tentativeness about the way she holds the gun in her hand, though her posture is straight, a nervous flitting of her eyes from the gun to the target before each shot. She does not seem to "mean" the shots or to be confident of their hitting the mark. Nevertheless she tries, licking her lips unconsciously a few times as she continues to try to adjust herself to improve.


When Izzy watches her, she is distracted, a warm flush spreading over her cheeks, especially when she realizes that Bucky is watching her too. Izzy's calling her "hun," casually as it was thrown out, flusters her further; when did ANYONE ever call her something like that, who wasn't a guy trying to work his way into her pants? She tries even harder then to adjust herself as Izzy told her to, wanting to prove herself even as she tries not to show that she's taking the mild corrections as seriously as she is.


Adrian, though not shooting as effectively as Sheena, is nevertheless showing some talent. Once he was able to throw his mind off of his sister to focus on the target, he found the shooting to be oddly enjoyable, even relaxing, and automatically took on a posture that aided his shots. He was even smiling as he paused between each shot to aim again.


**


"Liza," Faith exhaled, rolling her eyes upward as she readjusted her grip on the child, arranging her into a more comfortable position on her hip. It is obvious, with Liza's head almost even with Faith's, how closely they resemble each other. They have the same wavy dark hair, though Liza's is held back into messy pigtails, the same hazel eyes, and though Faith is not currently smiling, if she were, it would be clear that both also had dimples in both cheeks. "Rewind. Remember our little talk this morning?"


"My daughter," she said by way of introduction to Ezra, waving one hand towards him. "Liza, this is Ezra. Ezra, Liza."


"Hi...you're a ghost," Liza announced, in a rather matter-of-fact way that conveyed no surprise whatsoever, unlike her mother, at this observation. Turning back to Faith, she said in answer to her question, "Uh huh, I remember, Mama. Do you remember Nickkie? She wants to learn to fight like me-"


"Hi, Nick," Faith interrupted her, giving a quick smile to the little girl swaying beside her before turning her attention back to Liza. "Do you remember the part where I told you that if you went to eat alone, you would go straight from there to class and that's it?"


"Oh yeah, that part...I forgot," Liza shrugged again, unbothered by this. "But we're gonna go to class with you instead 'cause Mr. Stick hit us and then he said to go with you. Do you-"


"Liza, remember our many, many conversations about how you don't just teleport on top of people?" Faith interrupted her again before looking back to Nick, observing her dazed appearance. "And...Nick, did she just teleport you here without warning you?"


"Maybe," was Liza's cagey response as her eyes shifted away. "But Mama, we wanted to fight and-"


"Looks like we're gonna need to have that talk again...and again," Faith sighed, before putting Liza down on the ground, turning to Nick. "You all right? I'm Faith, you might not remember me since we only met that one time before when I had to fill out your papers and get you hooked up with an adviser and everything. I can show you how to fight, if that's what you want, yeah."


Looking up to Ezra, she adds, "I guess you can observe if you want...we can get around to paperwork later."
 
Ezra looked between the two, able to see the resemblance, even though Faith wasn't smiling, he tilted his head, he had never really expected to see a child teleporting anywhere, there were still many things he had to learn. He looked at the other girl as she sat down, he noticed the silver hair and wondered if that was normal, he had never seen a child with silver hair, nor anyone really with that exact color. He looked up at Faith, and at the child in her arms, "Nice to meet you." he said, he didn't seem too bothered by her knowing that he was a ghost, he figured that must run in the family, being able to tell what others were.


As Faith said hello to Nick she gave a small wave, she remained quiet until Faith asked if Liza had just teleported her without warning, "Well, yes, she did. Though... she did mention taking the 'fast way', I guess for her that was a warning." she said, though she hadn't understood what Liza had meant at all until they suddenly appeared next to Faith. "I'll be alright." Nick said with a smile, she didn't want Faith to worry about her. Nick stood slowly now that she wasn't feeling as dizzy, "I remember you. I have a good memory." she said with a nod, then she smiled again, seeming to get a bit more excited, "Yes, I do want to learn how to fight." she said, she walked away from Faith and set Donnie down where he would be out of the way, she didn't want him to get hurt, she figured that eventually she would have to stop carrying him with her, but that wasn't right now. Nick turned to face Faith, wondering what would be first.


Ezra blinked, wondering why a child so young would want to learn to fight, but he didn't have much else to do, so he nodded, "Sure." he said, he would watch, and maybe he would learn something, even though he wasn't sure he would be able to do any thing until he learned to move things without so much trouble.
 
*Somehow Alex managed to get to Jirro's class on time, he stood in line and listened to to his Sensi..yes Alex still considered Jirro to be that, even tho he hasn't been one of Jirro's students for a couple of years, not since they left the island that The Gates were on, where Jirro had his ninja camp. There both him and Sheena were granted the honor of the only Non-Asians to learn from a master like Jirro. Alex had already earned to honor to carry a real sword in Jirro's classes but he didn't want the others to think he was receiving special treatment, so instead of bringing the sword Jirro had made for him he, took a practice sword from the swords Jirro provided. Then took his place back in line and continued to listen. He couldn't help but look around to size up the others so when it came time for sparring he'd have a good idea what he was going up against.*
 
{While everyone went to the table to select their weapon Jirro walked around looking at their choices, when he reaches Alex he steps in front of him, he looks at him confused.} Alex, isn't this class beneath your current abilities? These lessons are for the novice swordsman. I've trained you in the way of the sword already, you will not learn anything new from this class, I'm afraid you're wasting your time here, however I do not currently have an assistant so if you're interested the job is yours.


{Jirro could hear the gun fire in the distance, he smiled as he looked in the direction of the firearms training it was a little over 2 miles away but he could clearly lock in on his wife Izabella, instructing her students, he could feel through their bond, she was happy, teaching is something that suits her well and she has a lot to offer her students, they are lucky for her time. He knows he needs to try harder to become close to her like they used to be but it's like an invisible force is keeping him from her, scratching at what's suppose to be an unbreakable bond. But he will not allow their relationship to suffer any longer.}
 
"Uh huh, that was a warning to Nickkie, Mama. She just didn't get it is all and that's not even my fault I think," Liza informs her mother, exhaling.


Faith rolls her eyes, though she knows Liza doesn't understand why she is doing so, and then turns to Nick, her smile softening. She remembers the girl; shy, clearly intelligent, and very young, she definitely has interest in her and her potential. It's not very common for them to get students under ten years old, and it usually indicates that the child in question has great power and ability and will be able to be shaped more quickly and fully into a skilled warrior as they so choose.


"Well, we aren't fighting in the hallway," she tells her, motioning for her to go into the training room. "I meant to have a class outside but it looks like that will be put off a while. Ezra, if you want to come in with us..."


She motioned for the girls to go ahead of her, then turned to Nick, asking her, "So you haven't practiced at all with anyone? Do you know what your level of strength is?"
 
Once Faith mentioned moving out of the hallway Nick instantly scooped Donnie up off the floor and went into the training room with Ezra following everyone else in. He planned to watch and maybe learn a few things about those around him from watching. Nick quickly went to set Donnie down where he would be out of the way, giving the bear a gentle pat on the head before walking toward Faith. She tilted her head at the question, then she slowly shook her head. "Most of the things I've learned have been self taught. I learned how to control the air by feeling out the ability, same thing goes with water. I have never actually tried fighting, mostly if I need to I use wind to knock someone back and run. I don't want to be like that anymore, I want to be able to take care of myself." she said, she stretched slowly, closing her eyes. It seemed as if the cheerful joy had faded from the young girl, she obviously grew more serious considering what she was about to learn.


"I do not know what my level of strength is, I'm pretty sure I would be considered weak because of the fact that I haven't had training in fighting, and because of how young and small I am. The only thing that I have had formal training in is meditation, which is part of the reason I was able to learn how to control my abilities." she said as she looked at Faith with dark sapphire eyes.


Ezra blinked as he watched the change in the young girl, she was certainly a bit strange, especially for one so young, he tilted his head. He wondered if the children around there could all go from acting like normal children to suddenly calm, serious, and calculating, it was a thought that could make you uncomfortable, but then again, he figured there wasn't much that could hurt him being a ghost.


 
The moment she realized that she was awake, Evan knew she had slept in. The absence of the blare of her alarm was only the first indicator, the second being how much of the sun had made its way into her room. While she had never been much of a morning person, she was somehow wide awake with shock and not-so-gracefully flew from her bed, letting out a loud string of curses as she leaped over to her closet and yanked out a pair of jeans and a tank top, not really bothering to see what they looked like.


It didn't take long for her to shuck off her pajamas and jump into her clean clothes and within five minutes, her hair, all over the place from her tossing and turning in the night, was scraped back into a sloppy bun. She pulled her boots on quickly and raced out of her room and down the hall.


“Sh** sh** sh** sh** sh** sh**!” Evan hissed under her breath in time with the pounding of her feet on the floor, silently berating herself for lying down in her bed to do her reading the night before. She should have known that this would happen! Why didn't she just work at her desk like usual?


Of course, the answer was simple. Combat training the day before had left her back a little sore from one particularly hard smack on the ground. The thought of sitting upright in any desk had been completely out of the question, but still!


When she spotted Faith with Liza and two other people she didn't know, her heart rate seemed to pick up even more. Weren't that supposed to be outside? Oh god. How was she screwing up already?!


Half-skidding to a halt, she hunched over, hands on her knees while she tried to catch her breath, way too frazzled to be embarrassed just yet. “Oh my god!... I... I am so-so sorry.” She paused there to take in a deep gulp of breath, “I forgot to set my alarm last night. I didn't miss class, did I?”


Once she was able to pause and take in the presence of the two strangers with her adviser, she felt her cheeks heat up and a nervous smile etched across her face. “Hi... I'm interrupting something, aren't I?”
 
(Part 2 of what was supposed to be my opening post. :P )


After another half hour of wandering aimlessly, Vash realized that this wasn't helping his situation one bit. No matter where he turned it was more @#$%ing trees and goddamn squirrels. He was honestly starting to wish he had his phone on him or at least a compass. Not that the compass would be of any help. Vash's powers had just begun to expand and evolve over just plain metal manipulation. One of his new powers being control over magnetic fields. Although it was cool that he could now move some metals without touching them, it also meant that as long as he couldn't control it, he was a human, well demon, magnet. The pull wasn't strong enough to send weapons and random junk flying toward him. But it was pretty much strong enough to mess with things that functioned by magnetism, like compasses. A compass to him would be like a compass to anyone else . . . at the north pole.


Just when he had just about lose any hope of making it out before noon, Vash spotted a small clearing ahead. Maybe it was the way out. Vash ran forward but stopped in his tracks right before exiting the trees. He still hadn't seen the school. It was only a small clearing. A sense of disappointment flashed by but that wasn't the reason he had stopped. It was the noises. The sounds of giggling . . . and suction cups? Either giddy octopi were wrestling or there was a couple here getting . . . suction cuppy.


And true to his suspicion, or at least the second one, there was a couple kissing nearby. Now normally, Vash would turn away to avoid any awkward situations. He had watched enough tv to know that you do not keep looking. But there was something familiar about the blonde girl . . . !!! It was Mel. Er, Lilith. It was Mel's body but it was Lilith. The thought of it still confused Vash a lot but about seven weeks ago, Lilith had stolen Mel's body and now she was having flings with other students?!


Vash shot a link from his shackles at the couple, barely missing the head of the boy who dared to touch Mel like that. "Don't touch her, a**hole!" The nameless boy fell back in surprise and looked up to see Vash glaring down at him. Scared, he ran off as fast as he could.


Lilith took the situation more calmly, and even laughed a bit. "Well, he was a weak kid but I didn't expect him to be such a wuss." She walked over to Vash and placed a hand on his chest. Looking up at him with Mel's signature deep blue eyes, she flashed a flirty smile. "You, however, look like you could take a hit or two. And there's something about that look in your eye. What do you say? You like this girl, don't you? And I need a guy who can . . . keep up with me. It's a win-win situation."


Vash slapped Lilith across the face without any hesitation, sending her back a few steps. "W-what was that for?!" The white haired demon stayed silent for a bit. How dare she?! How could she even propose something like that?! Like he'd be lured in with cheap candy as that. Anger filling him, Vash began shouting at the angel. "Do you think I'm an idiot?! It's not the same! You're just an old hag with expensive plastic surgery! Don't suggest something as disgusting as that!"


Lilith was stunned. An old hag? Disgusting? He was actually using those words to describe her?! She hadn't been so humiliated since her defeat at the hands of Mel, eight nearly nine years ago. "Fine! Have it your way! But you just lost a huge chance! You think your little master would ever look in your direction?! Ha! Even if you were the only person by her side, she'll never think of you as anything more than that burdensome idiot that tagged along after watching his little sister burned!" And with that, she ran off.


Vash's fists clenched as he watched her disappeared into the trees. Then as his anger began to dissipate, it dawned on him. He could've asked her for the way out of this! Or at least followed her . . . Damnit . . .


~~~~~


In the back of the academy's library, Mel was flipping through the pages of some of the books she had found. None of them had the exact information she needed but there was at least enough that she could string together. If the school and staff couldn't provide her with what she needed, she'd have to get it herself. And it looked like it'd be easier than she thought.


Mel liked the silence of the library, or quiet in general. It was relaxing. It made it easier to think. But most of all, it made it easier to hear people approaching. "Stop hiding. I know you're there."


Lilith stepped out from behind a bookcase. "You know, it's kind of creepy that you can still hear when that doll doesn't even have fake ears or anything." Mel didn't bother looking up from her book. She had better things to do than look at how the angel must've ruined her hair with all that bleach and dye. "It's kind of creepy that you're so obsessed with a teenage girl."


"That attitude of yours is pissing me off. But I'll have the last laugh in the end. I'll have you taste the worst Hell has to offer." Mel looked up at Lilith. "You already have my body. Aren't you already done? Congratulations. You won." she said sarcastically. The doll had no intention of letting this sl*t win. "And how are you going to let me 'taste the worst of Hell'? I'm a doll now. I don't feel pain anymore."


Lilith let out a chuckle. "You may not. But those servants of yours sure can. That Vash kid is so cute, don't you think? I wonder if he's just as cute in pieces." Upon hearing this, Mel jumped from her seat and shoved Lil into the wall. It was a rather odd sight though as she was currently nearly a foot and a half shorter than the angel, but that was beside the point. "You lay a hand on them and I will rip you to shreds." Lil pushed Mel's hollow frame away easily and just laughed at the doll now on the floor.


"In your current condition, I'd like to see you try. I mean if you could kill me, why haven't you done so already? Is the little princess trying to follow the rules?" Mel stayed silent. The angel was right. She had been waiting for Lilith to do something to justify Mel killing her. It was the most she could do and still comply with the rules of the academy. It didn't take long for the angel to figure it all out. And when she did, she couldn't stop laughing. "Seriously?! Mel, princess of Lucifer, queen of catastrophe, murderer, is trying to be a good girl this time around? Oh, this is priceless." "Shut up! Once I find a good enough reason to kill you, I will!" This only made Lilith laugh even more. "And what I've already done isn't justification enough? Tricking a good chunk of the school to attack you. Stealing your body and forcing you into a sh*tty doll. All that isn't enough for you to kill me?! I am really liking this school."


Having fulfilled her need for entertainment, Lilith left the library, laughing. Mel, frustrated by all of this, punched the floor and threw a book across the room. She was so weak in this goddamn body. Lilith brushed her aside like she was nothing! But the worst part was that Lilith was right. Did none of the things she had already done counted? The wait for her revenge was killing her and if the bleach blonde skank didn't act soon enough, Mel would. Who cared about the consequences? It's not like she had much to look forward to here anyway.
 
Listening to Nick speak, Faith's eyebrows raise unconsciously. She has never heard an eight-year-old speak with such formal and correct grammar, let alone such serious maturity- hell, she herself doesn't. And for an eight-year-old to be training herself alone, without prodding or guidance from anyone? Obviously, this kid was something else, and with Faith being so used to Liza, she seemed all the more strange to her.


"Meditation? You taught yourself meditation?" she repeats. This part is even more impressive to her than the rest. Macal had tried for years now to teach her meditation, but Faith's natural tendency to want to always be thinking, always on the go, meant that she could hardly stand to sit still for a few minutes, let alone fully relax herself as was required in meditation, and she knew from experience that Liza was as unable to do so as she was without simply falling asleep. "Sounds like you're already off to a good start, then. Alright, if you haven't fought at all, then I'm definitely not just throwing you into a stand off with Liza, she has a hard time holding herself back against less experienced people, so we'll start you off with just getting a general assessment of how strong you are."


She motioned towards the back wall, where many weights were lined up, and to the exercise bench. "See which of those barbells- that's the one that looks like handles on the end- you can comfortably lift. Then we'll see what you can bench. Don't worry, I'm gonna stand over you to make sure you won't drop anything."


Her eyes cut to Ezra wryly. "Something tells me you're gonna have trouble with this part of things."


"I can lift a lotta weight," Liza announced. "A whole whole lot. 'Cause I'm strong. Really strong. Wanna see? Wanna watch?"


No one has time to answer, because just then Evan practically flies through the open door, gasping for breath and sputtering apologies. Faith turns her head, a hint of a smirk curving her lips at the girl's flustered state. The girl was one of the older students, and her general manner of expressing herself- often in this sort of disorganized, expressive fashion- never failed to amuse her. And it definitely was entertaining to mess around with her strange memory sometimes.


"Evan, actually we were supposed to be meeting on the roof today. Special lesson, learning how to fly with these special wing things that Macal got for us," she said with a straight face, but as she watched the girl's expression, broke into a grin. "Psyche. You're fine, I sorta postponed class. You can stay or go or whatever, I'm just helping her here." She nodded to Nick. "This is Nick."


"Hi Evan," Liza waved. "Mr. Stick hit us with sticks 'cause we were late for class."


Faith's lips twitched at this comment, and her eyes shifted quickly to Evan to take in her reaction to that.
 
Nick knew that she was strange, at least according to all the other children that she had been around, that was one of the things that made her stand out, and made it harder for the people that adopted her to keep her or to even understand her, or that was what she guessed at least. She was fine with being strange, it meant that she was her own person, and though she knew that it made her harder to be around, she didn't plan to change herself. She smiled some and slowly moved her long braided pigtails over her shoulder, "No, someone else taught me that, though I have been putting the skill to good use, it certainly helps to have a clear mind when learning to control an ability... Thoughts tend to just clutter your mind and make it harder to figure out how you have to react to something." she said. She moved over to the weights and looked at them with her dark sapphire eyes, looking a little unsure about touching them, she slowly reached out and poked one with a finger as if checking something before actually wrapping her small hand around it.


Ezra tilted his head as he watched those around him, he couldn't help a small smile as he watched Nick slowly poke the weight that she planned to pick up as if it might bite her. Then he quickly looked at Evan as she came running into the room, he blinked, though couldn't help shaking his head some, it seemed that the girl got lucky that class had been cancelled. "What happens if you are late to class?" he asked, he couldn't help voicing the question that just popped into his mind considering that this girl had just come running in here as fast as she could.


Nick had just picked up the weight when Evan came running into the room, she hadn't expected it and turned quickly, dropping the weight. It seemed as if it was heading straight for her foot, though before it got near her foot it seemed to suddenly stop, she was looking down at it with a look of concentration, she took a step back and suddenly it fell to the floor. "H-hello." Nick said to Evan, she seemed a little bit more nervous since more people were showing up, but she knelt down and picked up the weight that she had dropped. Nick wasn't very strong and it became obvious pretty quickly. She was thin, she looked as if she had never really had to bother with trying to become strong and she only really practiced her powers, though never in a fighting situation.
 
"Someone, huh? Must have been a pretty impressive someone, still," Faith remarked, still crossing her arms. "Were they like you, or did they have different powers?"


It would make sense to her if the girl's particular race or abilities lent her better concentration powers to achieve the meditation skills, as well as her serious nature.


She suppressed a smile as Nick gingerly poked at the weights without actually touching them, saying casually to her, "You know, Nick, those things, they pretty much aren't gonna hurt you unless you do something dumb like drop them on your toes."


Even as she says this Nick nearly does so, but it's not this that catches Faith's attention, but rather the way she had managed to cause it to hover in the air for a few moments before letting it drop. Though the weight she had levitated was not very heavy, for a girl her size and age it was more than Faith expected.


"Good," she started to say, though Liza didn't seem to agree.


"I can do more than that," she informed Nick, not in a bragging way, at least in her own mind, but simply in a factual tone. "Lots more. I can teach you to do more I bet. Plus also I wouldn't drop it like that. 'Cause you coulda hurt your toes and made them black. Or squished them flat like bugs. Plus also-"


"Looks like we're gonna have to start with some strength building for you, help you get stronger before you can fight," Faith cut her daughter off before she could get too side-tracked and "helpful." "Come here, Nick, let me show you what you can work with here to build up some of your arm muscles. If you build up your physical strength I bet the rest of your powers will be stronger too."


Smirking over Nick's head to Evan and Ezra, she adds, "Well usually when people are late I kill them on the spot. But since you're already dead, Ezra, I guess I'll have to be more creative."


She's sarcastic, of course, but Liza frowns, taking her seriously.


"You do not either, Mama. That would be bad."
 
((Okay, so this isn't as good as my original post, I had been typing one when the page went back to my threads list and I guess this new set-up doesn't save posts as you go so....sorry if this seems rushed, or hard to follow, I can try editing it later. Also, just doing Izzy for now, I'll work on Bucky after I get some sleep :D ))


Before she knew it, her first class was over and Izzy watched over them as her students cleared up their spots on the range, making sure each of them returned their guns and leftover ammo to their cases before seeing them off. The noise that came as each student had fired their gun had been distracting enough that she hadn’t even realized how fast the time had gone by. Smiling softly, she watched as one by one, they all started to file back up the hill towards the main campus, and gave the range another once over before starting to head back herself. Bucky was no longer in sight, but she had a strong feeling that he had followed that Kat girl back. She wasn’t too sure how she felt about that just yet. He was easily ten years older then the girl, not to mention the fact that Bucky really seemed to want to be able to teach here. She wasn’t sure how either of the Cords would feel about that since Kat was a student…a human student at that.


Sighing softly as she came over the hill, she looked down at her watch and saw that there was still a few more hours to go until lunch break so she decided to head back to the suite and try to unpack a few more boxes that had come in a few days back of what remained of her and Jirro’s belongings from their home in the Gates. As she moved through the halls, she hoped to run into Faith, but figured she must still be off at her class like the others, or off helping to admit more new students. Izzy had heard that one of their new admits was a ghost, and was rather curious to meet him. She had never come across a ghost before, although sometimes she felt like there were many of them in her life.


Slipping inside,she headed back down one of the hallways of the suite towards her bedroom to change, Izzy caught sight of herself in a mirror on the wall and paused, leaning in close to study herself. Her reflection started back at her just as blankly, and her golden eyes widened then narrowed as she noted the fading dark circles under eyes. She hadn’t really been able to get too much sleep that night…or the night before, or even the night before that. For weeks, since the return of her memories, Izzy couldn’t recall a single night that passed where she wasn’t haunted by nightmares of her time in the dungeons, of the countless months of hellish torture she had endured. She was starting to consider her memory returning to be more of a curse then a blessing as everyone else referred to it as.


Mumbling curses, she tugged at her cheeks, and tried to stretch the skin there and around her eyes. She hadn’t realized how drawn her face had become, how ashen. The events from the past year and a half had down some serious damage to her body, and it was taking a lot longer then she expected for her body to fully return to the way she had been before. She felt hundreds of years older than her twenty seven. Her bones felt like they creaked when she moved. She could still feel the faint sting of silver beneath her new scars…it was almost as if her body was still pulled back in her past.


Frowning, her eyes wandered lower, stopping at the ends of her hair which fell past below her chest. The edges were jagged there, and no matter how she tried to style it, the split ends were visible. Running her fingers through a few strands, she glared at her reflection one more time before marching into the bathroom across from the bedroom, searching around in the vanity mirror until she found the cutting shears.


Grasping the hair on one side of her head, she started to cut, then moved to the other side, hair falling down in chunks at her feet, forming small piles of dark strands, being cut off in inches. Izzy didn’t stop until all the ends were even, her dark brown hair now stopping right below her chin. It spiked out a little at the bottom (see profile picture, I love Angelina like this) and made her face look less hollow. Now, she smiled at her reflection, giving her head a tiny shake, watching as it fell against her cheeks.
 
Nick blinked, tilting her head at the question, "He was human... didn't have any abilities, though he was good with a sword and would have started teaching me more, but that was when Kep left me and I didn't get to go back." she said quietly, then she closed her eyes, "I have no idea what I am, so, I wouldn't exactly know if someone was like me..." she said with a shrug.


After she dropped the weight and Faith started to talk she looked at her, then at Liza as she instantly started. Nick couldn't help but feel a bit bad that she wasn't further along and slowly bowed her head, she closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed. She shook her head and slowly looked up again, the look of hurt that had crossed her young face was already gone, she knew that Liza obviously had teachers, as seen by Mr. Stick coming to fuss at her, Nick had been on her own, she didn't want to feel bad for something that had not been in her control. "I will learn with time." she said, even if she had to teach herself to use her abilities. She walked over to Faith, "Even if my powers don't get stronger because of that, they should get stronger the more I practice with them." she said with a small smile.


Ezra tilted his head, he caught the sarcastic tone to her voice easily, though it seemed to sail right over her daughter's head, but she was young and probably wouldn't really understand sarcasm until she was older. Ezra smiled some, "Nah... if you killed them off I'm sure there wouldn't be so many here, and there would be more ghosts like me wandering around." he said with a small chuckle. "Seriously... I'm guessing that you make them go to detention or give them laps to run or something?" he asked, he was curious and he wouldn't be satisfied until he got an answer that wasn't dripping with sarcasm.
 
Evan stares at Faith with abject horror as she tells her about the flight lessons. Despite the fact that a girl with no memory should, ideally, live without fear, heights were never really Evan's cup of tea. There was something about them that just made her squeamish, and although she trusted that the academy had her safety as its main priority, in the moments between Faith telling her what she did and admitting that it was a joke, she had seriously doubted her adviser’s competence.


Her shoulders relax when Faith smiles and she shakes her head, letting out a nervous laugh and bounces on the balls of her feet absently, committing the fact that class had been postponed to her memory as best as she could.


She follows Faith's gaze toward the small girl beside her and smiles, waving, “Hey. Welcome aboard, I'm Evan.”


Now, confusion has always sort of been Evan's strong suit; having swiss cheese for a memory bank makes at least some state of confusion each day an inevitability. But when Liza mentioned a Mr. Stick and being beaten for being late, her eyebrows furrowed, face pulling up into a pit of wrinkles, completely lost. She couldn't remember there ever being a Mr. Stick, and knew full well that Liza took after her mother sometimes, when it came to messing her, but of course, how could she be sure.


“Mr... Mr. Stick?” Evan's eyes flit over to Faith, expecting to see some sort of anger, or outrage, but instead notices that Faith is watching her almost as intently as Evan had been planning to observe her mentor. Faith's lips twitch and and lets out a halfhearted laugh, raking her fingers through her hair and clears her throat. Her own lips curling upward at the corner, she tugs playfully on one of Liza's pigtails and shakes her head.


She watches with obvious interest as Nick levitates the weight and smiles broadly, “That's cool! You know, weirdly enough, even surrounded by this kind of stuff, I still get really stoked when people can do stuff like that. I'm so boring compared to some other people here.”


Her eyes meet Faith's when she jokes about killing people for lateness and her cheeks flush red, “Yeah... sorry for making a scene, by the way.” She let out another nervous laugh and transferred her weight to her other foot, hands in her back pocket. “I'm going to get breakfast. I'll see you later, Faith.”
 
Faith doesn't know who Kep is, but she figures he must be the guy who taught Nick what she knows, possibly her former guardian. From the girl's expression, and her reluctance to share details without being asked, it seems that talking about him might be painful to her, and so she refrains from asking anything further. She has her ways of finding out information as needed later on, without having to talk to Nick herself about it.


It seems though, from brief, disappointed posture of Nick as Liza babbles on about her abilities, that she is upset with herself for not doing better than she currently is. When Nick looks up again, reassuring herself as much as Faith that she will learn in time, Faith smiles back at her, ignoring her daughter, who is currently scampering around the training room, still talking to herself more than anyone else.


"Nick, you're doing great, all right? You're, what, seven or eight or something? You haven't been here long and you haven't had people work with you much, you've got tons of time to learn. And I'll make sure you will, so don't worry about it."


She briefly pats her shoulder before beginning to show her several exercises designed to build her upper body strength at a level she could manage. Watching Nick go through several repetitions, she again compliments her before moving on to Ezra, who is still watching. "I don't think today's the day for it, but later if you want to meet me by yourself, I'll see what I can come up with for a ghost. This might be something I'll have to ask my husband about, or Stick, do some research on, because honestly, right now I don't have a clue. I heard about something like this happening with this guy Spike a few years back, but that was a curse or something, and he was a vampire too and already dead anyway, so that was kinda complicated. You didn't have powers before this whole ghost thing, right?"


She deflected his question about tardies with a shrug. "Run laps? Detention? Dude, do I look like a drill seargent? Hell, half the time I'm the one who's late to my own class, I'm not going to jump down people's throats over it unless it ends up putting people in danger somehow or is like a daily thing."


She is barely listening to Evan, and only throws her a casual wave and nod goodbye as the girl mentions going for breakfast. But Liza, hearing Evan's nervous concern about Mr. Stick, lifts up her head, calling out to her. She is currently hanging upside down from a weights machine and her face is flushed, her pigtails waggling back and forth as she sways slightly.


"Mr. Stick is kinda like my daddy's daddy only not, like my daddy is kinda Sheena Legs's daddy only not. And he's old and yells a lot but he really likes me. He likes to hit with sticks but it don't hurt much. And if he really likes you a lot he calls you a dumbass."


"Liza, get off of there," is Faith's only comment to that, gesturing for her to dismount, which Liza does reluctantly. "You go lift weights too, it's about time you work off some of that energy already."


Liza piles every weight that will fit onto the machine she just leapt off of and starts pushing it forward seemingly effortlessly, still talking as she does so.


"Bye Evan!"


On second thought, Faith realized, maybe this was a bad idea. Not the best way to make Nick feel good about herself. Too late now.


**


As she wrapped up the training session, then dismissed the children to either play or go to their next class or activity, she personally deposited Liza at the stables on the grounds outside to, under the supervision of those in charge of caring for the horses, help groom and care for the one that was assigned to Liza. Liza didn't have classes for a while, and Faith didn't want her with her when she went to check on Izzy.


She had been concerned about the other woman since she and Jirro returned, although they had not had much of a chance to talk about it. The moment never seemed right to simply be with her as they had when they were younger; hell, the time barely existed for them to be together, with all the responsibilities to others they now both held. Still, Izzy would have breaks between her classes now, so maybe it was a good time to drop in on her.


Izzy didn't answer the phone when Faith texted, so she decided to drop by her living quarters, knocking on the door. "Iz? You there? It's Faith."


**


With the class's conclusion, and about an hour in between her next class, Sheena split apart from the other students and went to search for Alex, knowing he would probably be out of Jirro's class soon enough. She has found herself spending more time with him than usual lately, automatically gravitating towards him when they have had time apart, but even as she walks towards Jirro's class, it occurs to her that perhaps she could take advantage of this time to see Izzy, as Faith too had thought. Since Izzy's return, her relationship with Sheena had improved over what it had been either before or immediately after her disappearance and return, but they were still nowhere near as close as she and Faith were, or as close as Sheena would like to be to her cousin. She was still reluctant at times to trust Izzy, to let her come near enough to try to reform their relationship, but maybe it was time to make a move first.


She turned the corner of the halls towards the Mochizuki living quarters as well, some time after Faith has already done so, after she has already been addressed and likely admitted in by Izzy.


**


Class had gone much better than Katarina expected, though she is still fixated on her mistakes as much as her improvements. Still, she had gotten a lot of attention from Izzy, which pleases her; she admires the woman as much as she does Faith and longs for her to approve of her, though she would never have been able to say something so embarrassing out loud. Practicing her shots with the others, she had almost been able to forget how different she was from all of them, that she was not special or unique at all. With a gun, she was on more even ground, able to be just as good as them if she would just try hard enough.


She notices Adrian lingering, as she was, after class, waiting to see what she would do, but she ignores him again, staying close to Bucky. It's probably too bold to outright ask him what he was going to do now, to even assume he would welcome her near.
 
Bucky had kept himself amused for a majority of the class, helping a few students when asked, but mostly stayed in the same spot, keeping a close eye on Kat as she practiced shooting at her target. The looks coming from her brother made him feel slightly uncomfortable, like he was doing something wrong. But in truth he really hadn't done anything...yet.


Running a hand through his messy curls, he tried his best to ignore Adrian glares and watched as Izzy moved about the arena, smiling softly. He was happy to see that his old friend was finally seeming to be back to her old self, all things considered. He knew teaching these students on of her passions would be good for keeping her spirits up. After everything she had gone through in the last year, she deserved nothing less.


As the class came to an end, Bucky waited until most of the students had filed off before going to catch up with Kat. It was funny, how suddenly drawn he felt towards the human, he hoped his intentions didn't come off too strongly.


"Katarina..." his arm slipped in between hers and he grinned down at her. "Did you enjoy your first class?"
 
<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_04/BA67cctCYAAg0gb.jpg.dee4746424e26269183e9d4b60c1894f.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="96" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2013_04/BA67cctCYAAg0gb.jpg.dee4746424e26269183e9d4b60c1894f.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> He was touching her. He was touching her, when he didn't have to, when there was no real reason to other than that he wanted to. He was touching her, and it was all Katarina could do to keep from breaking out into a silly grin in response.


"Hi, Bas," she said, trying to keep the smile away but worried that she wasn't succeeding. "Yeah, it was kind of fun...I sort of liked it. I mean, I'm not any good yet, but..."


She shrugs, dismissing herself easily, as is her usual mode, and then let her eyes flick over to Adrian, who is still watching. She smiled at him, even gave him a slightly sarcastic wave before turning to Bucky again.


"Um. My brother...not that we're doing anything, or...you know...just...he's sort of nosy. And when he gets mad, he kind of has a tendency to...well...set things on fire, so maybe we should..."


She lets the implication trail off, glancing back at Adrian again, and notes that he is unconsciously popping his knuckles. Why does he have to automatically dislike EVERYONE she likes?


For his part, Adrian isn't yet committed to hating Bucky, but he's fully prepared to, given cause. The guy's older, Lycan, an assistant teacher, and no doubt could hurt Katarina, badly, in more ways than emotional. If he ever lost control around her, he could kill her in half a second. Not to mention, what if he turned her? What if he made his sister some sort of crazy wolf like he was?


It was better if he headed this off now.


(you didn't respond as Izzy? lol)

 
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