Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Location: Lot C
Interactions: Suzu, Emira
Mentions: N/A

Sara noticed the odd scythe's defensiveness when she had approached. She didn't care. She didn't have the energy to care. But as she saw Emira look at her, there was some kinship; understanding; camaraderie. She was confused, she can smell it. Yet, she didn't have the energy to answer the unspoken question that lingered around her.

Yes, she found others she can count on within this group. Her own Madness sapped all her energy, yet she could at least see it. Yet, she didn't react to it as well as she could. She heard Emira's words that were meant for Suzu's and she gave a soft smile on one side of her face before it immediately fell. Sara knew that she wasn't alone, yet it didn't stop the overwhelming loneliness she felt from it anyway. The idea that she wasn't alone didn't aid her like it normally would. Where were they? Did they give up? Did they not want to be around her?

Either way, she was spiraling out of control.

Sara didn't reach out to her, as she didn't want to be rejected. To spook Suzu. To lose out on desperate help she needed. She just hoped Suzu reached out for her instead. She heard Suzu move in front of her, sounding like she was shuffling. Then...

Warm arms.

An embrace.​

Sara's sniffling started up, a sudden shaky breath in as she was surprised to feel comfort. The Madness that tried to swallow her soul started to lose out finally, her kind of Madness only really going away with a friend's help. The fact that she's never felt it in so long because Noah was always there scared her that she'd have to figure out how to fight it alone.

But not anymore.

Suzu's gentle words came to Sara, entering her ears and then her heart as she felt the warmth becoming uncomfortably tight in her chest, but it left her almost smiling. Then she felt her ears being held down.

A soothing bell rang out. Whatever had plagued Sara's soul had fell away. She felt her energy come back as the darkness that robbed it regurgitated what it took, leaving her free from the captivity of forever loneliness. Between Sara trying to fight her own Madness and Suzu being there for her along with her wavelength, it helped fight back the Madness to a degree that Sara felt normal. Looking up to see her savior, those words that she'll be there for her made her lips quiver as she smiled, the bright light that constantly exuded from her soul and the happiness always present in her amber eyes came back from their dull shine.

With quick arms, she let her legs drop to her knees so she can propel herself to hug Suzu's upper torso and under her arms, pulling her in for a hug and being careful to not squeeze her too hard to cause discomfort. Her tail wagged excitedly and her ears still pinned back as she sniffled, but now with a smile on her face. She even rubbed her ear against Suzu's cheek in a sort of nuzzle.

"Th-tha-thank you so much, Suzu... You will not re-regret that... You will have my promise in wo-word and soul that I will be there for you no matter what." In a much quieter voice, she sniffled and murmured. "Thank you for being my h-hero. I thought I had to be back on that bed again, struggling with my Madness and bloodlust. You are perfect for me. We'll resonate well, I promise. Maybe even becoming best friends. Oh, hehe, I'll even share with you my coveted pocky that I don't give to anyone else, not even Noah."

The strength in her voice came back as she continued to speak before she finally lessened her grip to let Suzu back up, her face still wet. But now there was a thankful smile, a much happier Sara due to Suzu's efforts. "C-... Can we resonate? Please?" She held out her hand, a determined, sweet smile on her face as she tried to hold back the happy tears as much as she could while her soul spoke out to Suzu, asking to wield her like she should have earlier when Sara first approached Suzu.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

The Skies Have Cleared​

Lot C | March 7th, 2067 | 0948​

The moments had passed. The soft, kind ones with the weapons. The harsh ones with the Meisters. The dangerous ones with the Madness. Cyrus was, if anything, efficient, and the quick actions to dispose of Kasper and his Madness prevented everyone involved from either worsening or becoming touched. Gauss, while worse for wear, was clear of Madness--no doubt in large part to Prudence. Zari had calmed down. And, it seemed the rest of the pairings had finally came to some type of solidification.

"Alright, Group A-01, now that we have moved past that little fiasco, it's time we actually get on to the main event. Everyone here is clear and all excess personnel have left. Before we progress, I do want to make this clear: this project was not my idea, nor was it executed to my liking. Project F.A.T.E. is the passion of Lord Kidd. He made it abundantly clear he feels too many individuals trained up by the DWMA have lost their way; and, that we could have prevented that. Whether it be Madness, defection, or just a life of mediocrity and depression. I see this as a massive expenditure that could be used elsewhere, and even then I don't believe pairing you up amongst yourselves is a wise decision. My suggestion was to pair each of you with a stable Meister, but unfortunately there were not enough volunteers for one-on-one pairing. The mentors you're receiving now were at my demand for some type of guidance, else this would likely all be chaos," Cyrus explained to them. He stood in front of all of them as composed as he was in the beginning. While he still suffered from the Rejection he forced earlier, he had recuperated enough to at least appear normal. His arms crossed, eyes as cold as ever, blue hair being wafted by the light breeze. In front of the group stood likely its most intimidating drill sergeant. For now.

"On the topic of mentors, you have met one: Midori. He is an autonomous weapon, and specializes in assassination. Don't let his poor performance with my death fool you; I'm alive on my own merit. I won't bore you with more details; if he feels like sharing, he can do so later. The individuals assigned to his team are as follows: Adrastreia Chandrice, Adrian Hackney, Azariah Vasher, Jarvis Briseis, Zosar Raith. Your other mentors have yet to be revealed, but that will be amended now:"

With that, Cyrus waved his hand down, revealing yet another large ball of light from the air. It floated down to the ground and deconstructed itself to reveal a white-haired man in a white button down and a woman with blue hair, resting bitch face, and a military uniform. Midori at this point stood beside Emira to the far left of Cyrus while the floating ball had settled down to his right.

"This is Emmett James, Meister, and Zelda Zemo, weapon. Both Three Star Agents. They might have actually given me trouble had they tried to fight me, so do respect them accordingly. Their team will consist of the following: Daniella Ethalyn, Noah Wiley, Raspopova Semyonovna, Prudence Pontmercy, Sara Middleton, Takada Suzu, Thaddeus Thales, Xander Shino. I have no doubt these two will guide you in both your personal development and becoming better as pairs. Or, in the case of Xander, keeping his collateral damage minimal," Cyrus explained, going over the two newest members presented to them.

"Most importantly, with that, my role here is complete. Direct any and all questions to your new Mentors. What happens from hereon in is at their discretion," he told them before slipping his his pockets and walking over to Midori and Emira, whispering something to both of them, then simply walking away from the field at a leisurely pace.

Notes
Prizzy Kriyze and Merciless Medic will now act as mentor characters for the characters above mentioned.
The pairs are as follows: Zari; Jarvis, Sara; Suzu, Zosar; Adra, Gauss; Prudence, Noah
Mentor character CS's may now be posted
​

Merciless Medic Sir Les Paul Huntertabbysandshark3 EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Mqueserasera QuirkyAngel Sybil Prizzy Kriyze Mineczka The Regal Rper Kyuubey
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[Prizzy Kriyze]

Azariah "Zari" Vasher
Azariah was too beat to respond, but gave Jarvis a smile for all his words. He seemed like a cold type, which made his very slight words of support all the more meaningful. Zari smiled for real. It seemed like maybe, he did have a chance at getting along with someone now.

Then, he was surprised as he felt Jarvis tug him from the ground, supplanting his smile for confusion. Still, he let it happen. He didn't think he needed any more medical attention than just time and breathing space, but it'd been a longer time than he could remember since someone gone out of their way to look out for him. It was nice, at least while his wavelength refused to burn. Come to think of it, why wasn't his wavelength burning? The only times he managed that was when he'd been paired with someone for several months without straining them to death. Was it possible that-

An exasperated "Ah!" escaped his mouth as a spiritual soundwave struck him, his soul, and his hearing. With blank surprise and momentary incapacitation, he fell backwards off of Jarvis to land flat on his back in the dirt again. How many times today was he going to eat shit? The thought was only fleeting, as he suddenly realized how much worse for wear Jarvis was. Without a moment of hesitation his hand went to where his knife should've been, had he not left it on the edge of the field at the beginning of the exercise, and turned towards the origin of the sound with murder in his eyes. Suzu. He didn't know Suzu. He wanted to incapacitate her for hurting his partner, but he was forced to concede when he saw how happy Sara looked. He couldn't make that trade.

Instead he just got down next to Jarvis and held his shoulder, unsure of how to react in this scenario. "What... what's happening?"

 

[Merciless Medic]

Emmett & Zelda
Lot C | March 7th, 2067 | 0950

Potential. Disappointment.

At least, that was what the militarized Weapon saw as she stayed within the invisible orb of light hovering over the field, hidden from view until the game was over. She didn’t know what to think about everyone, besides obvious sympathy and pity for those who struggled with their inner demons and disgust to those who picked fights with one another over pride and disillusioned dignity. She watched with some interest as the Ice-Blooded demi-giantess tried to get some semblance of order, only for everyone else to do their own thing. Take the ball, get rid of the ball, fight each other, stay out of it… All very interesting, yet not very cohesive.

“Amazing…” She heard her partner say. Emmett’s eyes were focused, and he exuded an air of curiosity. She turned her head to look at him, and found that he was preoccupied with discovering every nook and cranny of the invisible ball that they found themselves floating in. “This must’ve taken forever to develop! To perfectly avoid the senses of everyone involved.”

Letting out a peeved exhale through her nose, Zelda watched her partner fondle the ball’s surface. She knew the Magitech was likely fascinating to him, but it was starting to get rather annoying. “I know you’re enamored with the tech, but can you at least pay attention? This is no time to be making love with someone else’s gadget.” While disdain was clear in her voice, she didn’t move to pull him away. “Of course! Just let me…” While she may have patience, Zelda wasn’t a saint. She quickly grabbed at Emmett’s collar, dragging him back until he was standing beside her, her tone cold. “You may look at it later. Not now.”

Emmett’s unruly shirt tightened at the tug and with mild confusion he looked down at the field he’d been forced towards. Then he smiled, pulled his hair back out of his eyes and offered an apologetic smile as he tapped her arm as if to say ‘I give up’. “Alright, alright. Passionate as ever, you are.” With an irritated, hooded gaze and a click of her tongue, she held back her retort and let go of him, putting her hands behind her back once again.

Honestly, it was a surprise to her that the pairing process of such troubled people happened as smoothly as it did, minus a hiccup. Still, the hiccup was a foreseen circumstance the mentors and director themselves should have expected. They were dealing with those who were touched and sensitive to Madness. The officials did their duties as they should, and the pairing process wrapped itself up like a rushed, yet neat little bow on a present. Perfect.

“Oh dear, they’re really going at it, huh?” Emmett dodged away from the range of any interruption from Zelda’s part as he fished a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. “Someone really should've taught those kids some sound mind training~” With his smile growing just a little mischievous, he bobbed his eyebrows at Zelda. The woman merely glared at him, yet there was a hint of a smirk that quickly vanished as she tightened a fist to keep herself from outright punching him. “Oh? You think it’s my job that I’d teach them? Might as well with the group we’d be assigned. With how rowdy they all are, it’s going to be… Interesting to get any of them to settle down enough for any kind of meditation.” But that won’t stop me from trying. A more hopeful thought crossed Zelda’s mind, a hint of positive hope that this’ll go smoothly. But things never were so smooth, especially within a program for misfits and castaways.

“Aah, you know I’m just fucking with you.” As he smiled widely at her a cloud of smoke dispersed through his somehow infallibly white teeth, Zelda curling her nose at the bittersweet yet familiar smell. A hand went up to his face as he corrected his glasses and glanced back at the messy aftermath. More than a handful already know it.

Zelda was expecting someone to kill another. She was expecting a battlezone. But all she saw were lost, tortured souls trying to find camaraderie or treating this as a business to keep their emotions out of it. Zelda and her partner had their work cut out for them, especially with Cyrus reining in everyone, making sure they all stood in that line.

These were kids, not soldiers. Their thoughts echoed in harmony. Still, these kids had been in the DWMA in one form or another, so she expected some form of discipline. It was time to pay them back for their time suffering with their ailments and grief. She did not share the same sentiment with Cyrus, but she told herself to keep her opinions to herself. However, Cyrus made it very aware that he didn’t like the program, which was most likely going to cause those who were already weak-willed to not continue trying, and those who were stubborn to double down. They needed an opposition in opinion. To show that not all staff of DWMA think this was all a waste of time and resources. Emmett clicked with his tongue in obvious dislike.

As Midori’s group was announced, Zelda looked to Emmett to make sure he was paying attention or was at least aware that they’ll be introduced soon, but he didn’t take his eyes off the field. Good. Cyrus then waved down their own ball of light, sending them towards the ground in an even motion to the right side of Cyrus, where the floating glowing orb soon faded. Zelda stood tall, her hands clasped behind her back with her feet together as she looked down at everyone with her chin up, dwarfing Emmett with her impressive six-foot-eight thanks to the heels. Cyrus introduced them, to which Zelda nodded as her name was announced. Taking mental notes of who their new students were, she can tell they had some interesting cases under them - all of which she’s read over their files. A Monster Cat who would like to spend more time pranking than getting better at his own self, a depressed bell, an over-excited werewolf runt, an over-ambitious rich kid, a bland shield, the resolute giantess, the constantly-angry bubblegum sword, and a lost, nihilistic electric staff.

As she turned her gaze to watch Cyrus direct attention to them and leave - head unmoving - she returned her gaze to the group she was assigned and thought: This is going to be somewhat of a nightmare. Things should go smoothly.

Then there was Emmett. Shirt askew, hair in a mess, hands pressed hard into his khaki pants pockets, and an angry, disdainful look with a cigarette clenched between his teeth. Unbeknownst to those around, he’d completely zoned out as he scanned and analyzed each of the students he knew was going to be part of his group. As his eyes left the last and final student, they slowly shifted downward until he saw the burning tip sticking out of his mouth, and with momentary embarrassment and surprising speed he pulled it from his lip and threw it behind his leg where he stomped it out in the grass with an awkward chuckle and an expression much the same.

Then, as if nothing had happened at all, his face softened as he produced a cup of coffee out of… somewhere. “Zelda, would you like to start us off?” The woman merely looked at Emmett, disregarding the coffee he likely materialized out of nowhere but choosing not to ask. Seeing that she’d be taking the duties of talking - which didn’t surprise her - she took a step forward, addressing her new group when everyone was nearby enough to do so, voice crisp and carried well with authority.

“As you’ve heard, I am Zelda, and this is my Meister, Emmett. You may have heard of me as I’ve been deployed to deal with several MIBVI outbreaks since the young age of fourteen and was sent to Eastern Europe to deal with a rogue band of Outlaw Witches. I have also worked with the military and DWMA very closely since before any of you were born. Unlike the Death Scythe, we have a more positive outlook on this program that we think could benefit you all for the future, just as long as you work towards it. Otherwise, you’d be left behind.”

Though Emmett appreciated Zelda’s hard-handed nature, he was also fairly certain that a group of delinquents like this was going to latch onto any weakness shown by a person like her. For example, the student Jarvis was older than her. They’d probably find a way to turn that on her, notwithstanding that he was - in fact - not one of their students.

He held up a hand. “What the lovely Zelda is trying to say, is that we can’t help someone who won’t help themselves; which is why I’m so happy to see that so many signed up for F.A.T.E of their own volition.” The hand fell back to his side as he took a sip of his coffee, then immediately spat it back out into the cup and emptied it over his shoulder. “Wow. Cold. Right.”

“You have all come here for your own reasons, maybe learning to control your powers, proving something to yourself, or perhaps wanting a fair chance at rejoining the DWMA system, and we are ultimately here to help you with that.” The matter of the fact was he’d read and memorized whatever files they’d had on each of the students, and when the files proved poor or incomplete he’d done his own research. They had sickening amounts of baggage. There was no use in trying to sympathize with them, because he simply could not imagine the pain they were going through. He wasn’t sure if he’d have been able to swallow his pride enough to join a program like this, ever.

Zelda was aware of the baggage, as well. She poured through those statements and files any chance she had. She was also very well aware of people finding holes to poke in her cold exterior, to see who else she was or to see her crack under pressure. She welcomed the challenge. With their attempt at assessing her, she’ll use their actions to make her decisions. These people needed direction, not sympathy nor pity. Thankfully, direction was something she could give. With that thought of their issues, she regarded them all with a more neutral gaze than the cold one she’d been sporting since her arrival. “We are aware of why you are here, and you all are struggling together. Find camaraderie amongst yourselves. It’s easier to fight your own personalized wars and find your own inner strength when you have a friend who covers your back.”

“A seedling of trust goes a long way in becoming truly strong, and I hope you’ll find it with us.” Emmett added. “But for now, after that intense and no doubt confusing exercise, we’ll be letting you off for today. Good job finding pairings so quickly.” His stance was so casual, like he’d just woken up and was talking to someone at his door. “But before we reconvene tomorrow, you have a single homework assignment.” Emmett held out a single finger for the students to see. “Find one or more positive traits that you appreciate about your partner, so you can tell us about it tomorrow.”

He let the sentence hang in the air for a moment to mature in their heads. There was no doubt in his mind that quite a few of them would find this exercise stupid or ridiculous, but it could really force them to use a different perspective - even if only briefly. In reality, each and every one of these students were leagues beyond what he himself was capable of at their level of education. What they lacked was not strength, but the ease of mind to realize their potential. Regardless, whatever their answers ended up being, it would speak volumes about their outlooks in the class.

Without ever really noticing, his face had turned ever so slightly more serious. “It may be something as simple as how well they fight, but do take this seriously; it directly relates to how well you’re able to master yourselves and your power.”

Then he stepped back and resumed his casual qualities. “If you’ve got any questions we’ll be here to answer them, or you can find my number on your devices at a later time.” With Emmett’s last words, Zelda eased herself out of her erect stance, relaxing a little as her hands returned to her sides as they concluded their speech. “We are your resources. Use us wisely.” With that parting word of advice, Zelda turned slightly to face Emmett, leaving the children to their devices.

Collab with Prizzy Kriyze
Mentions: Everyone
Interactions: Nadia, Dani, Noah, Gauss, Prudence, Xander, Suzu, Sara (The rest who are nearby but aren't directed towards them)
Sir Les Paul Mqueserasera EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Location: DWMA Lot C​

Watching the proceedings and keeping a light touch on Dani before letting her go, Nadia watches with a sense of detached amusement as the Wolf girl seemed to have a bit of a meltdown and teary-eyed reunion with the weapon, she had at first discarded for the very reasons she was now accepting her for. Though would it be wise to prod the beast? No, she was likely far too dangerous for that, though this did show how to deal with her. Hearing the sound of a bell, rather loud and close in range, Nadia turns her attention to Suzu and Sara at once. It did not threaten her eardrums but was akin to a church bell or an aircraft engine, no doubt getting the attention of anyone and everyone. Nadia watched how it seemed to affect the moods of those she considered to be madness inflicted, even she felt a slight twinge from it, the influence reminding her of when magic was cast against her or she deactivated a rune, something about this was connected to the soul, or wavelength and pulled at her own. "Curious."

Smiling thinly at that, she seems to have a look of contempt to her face as she mummers some form of curse or dismissive remark, her attention quickly shifted towards the bloodsucker and his partner, something had happened there, the madness induced assault from Zari was obvious, but something else seemed off with this situation. Ultimately the outsiders intervened, and the situation was calmed and resolved. Still, she could not help but to stare for a bit as she watched the lazy bloodsucker carrying the other. What was the deal with those words he had yelled before? He was madness inflicted for sure, but was there something more to it? And why had the Vampire suddenly dropped him, was it the influence of the bell?

Had her suggestion helped or harmed the two of them? Had she partially made a problem or a solution? Regardless of that, the bell did seem to affect him more than the rest, that girl would be useful if they ever needed to deal with a bloodsucker, hopefully not one here, but what else could it do?

"Huh." She was unsure, but it would be a situation worth looking into later on in both cases. And then that left just one, or rather two. The Chain from before and the man she was now sure to be some sort of assassin or something even more troublesome. They had no choice but to work together, something they both came to agreement over the fact they were all that was left, with the Meister being more confident of the pairing than the Weapon, which was to be expected.

Soon thereafter, Cyrus would call them all to attention, as two more figures joined the Fray, it seemed Lord Kidd was not in that light and more importantly it was hidden from them all for so long, a man that looked easier going and a woman that looked like the sort Nadia could deal with, though there was something about this woman, a fleeting glimpse, a distant memory, unpleasant. While the reputation was known, Nadia felt as if she had seen this one before and it brought up unpleasant memories. Gritting her teeth, a little Nadia banishes the thoughts from her mind in the here and now as Cyrus went over what he thought of them and this, scoffing a little, she wondered why they left him over it at all, still he had some good points.

It was then he announced their team and reminded her of her ire for the last one of note.

Daniella Ethalyn, Noah Wiley, Raspopova Semyonovna, Prudence Pontmercy, Sara Middleton, Takada Suzu, Thaddeus Thales, Xander Shino. What a mess.. Will they be useful or get in the way? And how Ironic that the bell and the bloodsucker weren't on the same team, well maybe not so Ironic if she could harm him so easily.

She now had names to go with the faces, but her own name was butchered, and her official name was listed, rather than her legal name that was Americanized. Had he done that on purpose? It was no matter, she would explain it later, and now she knew her thoughts on Dani's name was confirmed. Still, she could make use of this. Turning them over to their handlers and telling them they would be let go, Nadia has little to say as she listens to the two.

Narrowing her eyes at the remark on it being by choice most of them were here, that implied not all in this program was as it seemed, studying the faces of all those here, she waited to see if that remark would betray any emotions from those in the group, it also seemed this pair was more, positive minded towards the group and program. Though the homework both bothered her and seemed reasonable enough, the day wasn't so easily over, they are being told more or less to hang out with or get to know the partners they had picked somehow. While she may be interested in speaking to the mentors later on, more so she wanted to know where she had caught a glimpse of this woman before, for now her attention was on Dani.

"Raspopova Nadia Semyonovna." She says in short order as she looked at the girl, before repeating; "Raspopova Nadia Semyonovna. That is my Russian birthname, for Western nomenclature and by my US Registration, Nadia Semyonov is my name. Nadia is what I prefer unless you wish for me to call you Daniella. Also, I think we shall have that meeting much sooner, as in today. Who knows, maybe we live in the same place. I would like to say that is a joke, but with this day I would say more like what god watches us has it in for me."

Interactions: EmperorsChosen
Mentions/observations: several.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | DWMA | Lot C

Suffice to say he had expected that kind of response. At the very least, she hadn't absolutely shot him down before giving him a try. It was the ringing, much like everyone else that had heard it, that stopped Zosar from continuing the conversation with Adra much like it had gotten on her nerves in general, it was the noise that drew him to look up at Sara and Suzu.

The ring, made him squint over in the Bell Weapon's direction. The first thing that had struck him, was the sudden change in the weight on his shoulders. Madness had its own way of making itself aware in his presence. With Adra it was the tingle on his arms. With Zari it was the weight on his shoulders. Now though, he felt none of that. The keen sense that something had just hit the air and was having an effect on them all did not go unnoticed, especially after Adra's comment.

"Another unique wavelength," he reasoned. Looking around to see what had happened to the others. The annoyance and frustration, the disbelief, and suffocating doubt, these were the things that had been plaguing him- but just like that- they were gone. Well, not gone gone, but the barely audible whisper that popped up since his Madness had awoken, the nagging suspicion that slipped into his thoughts to be ever cautious, had certainly simmered to nothing.

The other effects it had on the others as well, that was certainly not something he could miss. The way it had impacted Jarvis especially was something he took notice of based on the way the Bloodsucker's soul seemed to recoil as if it'd been struck. Jarvis himself falling weak. It made Zosar ponderous as he watched Zari's understandably defensive reaction considering what he had been eavesdropping on the two's interaction given that Jarvis had been carrying Zari over. The Bell was certainly an interesting one.

Flexing his palms, he had also noted how his own wavelength, something he'd grown used to mentally suppressing as second nature at all times, had dimmed- leaving him feel oddly...lighter...

How...interesting mismatched colored eyes narrowed.

As if to test what had just happened, he flared his wavelength to his finger tips, could visibly see it rush towards the left hand he was directing it at within his limb. Though at the same time he noticed how what he would have normally called upon, was not as much as it should have been.

Eyes moving to stare at Suzu with a sense of keen interest and wonder, Zosar wondered now- if Sara had not been so sensitive to Madness, had he taken her like he'd considered before- would Suzu have been able to help him with his own unique soul?

A darker though emerged also: Was she also a precaution for if he ever turned rogue? Undoubtedly, that had to be on the table also. He couldn't doubt it. He didn't like it- and now he knew that he'd possibly missed a chance. At gaining access to a resource that could have been used against him, it was a missed opportunity- though if he were being honest, aware of Adra's current state and seeing the state between Suzu and Sara, even Emira- he had to say he was somewhat glad he didn't go up there. Some part of him recognized that their partnership was a good thing.

The pragmatic side drowned this out though, cursing his own luck and misfortune. However it was not something to dwell on for long. A missed opportunity was a missed opportunity and no excuse and no blaming would change that. It was his own fault to say the least, not to have been more greedy- and to have allowed himself to be too distracted by trying to get a read and connect with everyone. There was some clarity in all of this, and that was the keen awareness he had been shoving down, that he did want to at least make some worthwhile connections with the others. Though as he eyed Suzu, Sara and Emira the possibility at being able to dip into the well of power he so rarely had the chance at even scratching or touching lest he cause more harm than good, was something he could not ignore. Could having her have really made things different for him? He'd never know. Perhaps it was better he didn't.

At least there was always the fact he could become her friend. Sara on some level seemed to like him so far, and while he wasn't sure if she was two-faced, he could sense the genuineness in their interactions. In time, he could connect with the Bell Weapon also.

Speculation will only get me so far though and so he let it go. Either way, Cyrus' call for attention brought focus back on to what everyone was really here for- and so Zosar did nothing but follow along with the others as they went through the motions.

As the deal had been, once the evaluations were done, Adra transformed and he took hold of her. True to his beliefs, just like he'd suspected- they were compatible. Her Weapon form was in dead a chain-whip, the blades at the end something he took note of as he eyed her form. It was an old habit, something he'd always done since he was a child. When his own mentor that had helped him train his control had been a Weapon himself, it was hard not to want to pay attention to the unique differences in every Demon Weapon's own form, even if they all fell under a category or type. Each form was a representation of the Demon Weapon's personal self in its own unique way. And while one hand gripped the handle, the other checking her thong and carefully avoiding the little spikes that were on Adra's whip itself, he lifted the arm holding her handle up, noticing the sense of weight to her. As light as she looked and frankly should have been with all his experience, she was heavy. Not terribly so, but there was a weight to her he hadn't entirely expected. New partnerships always had some hiccups. Maybe there was an extra sense of weight, maybe the way moving with your Demon Weapon partner didn't feel as right as it should be or it slowed you down a tad during movements, maybe it was something else- with Adra, there was a clear sense of weight there he now knew. And the longer he held her- the more noticeable other things became. The fact he could feel her soul through their link, but feel how weak it was also- like they were connected by a hair thread ready to snap at a moment's notice, did not go unnoticed to him.

He didn't like it. Not one bit. And with this kind of link, there would be no open shared thoughts or spirit telepathy between them without the other's consent. Not even a full minute had passed as he'd held her, and already he knew that their partnership was incredibly fragile.

Today, it seemed, would not be either one's lucky break.

Regardless, she was his- he, hers. Cyrus giving them the pass meant they were now partners, and just like every other partner in the past, he was not about to let minor hiccups be the set back to all the effort and time spent on this one moment. They'd make it work until it was unsalvageable- and only then would he let it go once it was truly unsalvageable. That conviction made, he released her and then with a genuine smile, said: "I look forward to getting to know you better."

Not: I look forward to working with you, as the difference between these two lines, were key.

There were some things he wanted to bring up- to talk about with Adrasteia. Though it was obvious from her demeanor as she changed back, that this might be better done in a more comfortable space.

With evals done, the next step were further introductions. From Midori, to the two new mentors- Emmett and Zelda. With the groups decided and the teams split, Zosar turned his attention over to Sara and said: "Aye yo, Sara, Noah- good luck to you both eh! I'll catch you guys on the other side, whenever that'll be!" He gave them a thumb up of approval in a cocky smirk. "Same goes to you too Dani! You and Demi over there take care of yourselves." He said to them both.

With all that said he put a hand on his hip and glanced back to his respective teammates.

Midori was going to have his work cut out for him. He didn't envy the guy in the slightest.

Mentions: Mineczka

Interactions: Sybil EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis - DWMA, Lot C

Pain. That was what the monster locked within Jarvis’s soul felt and it echoed throughout his body all the same. Even with his hands covering his ears—which blocked out some of the Anti-Undead Wavelength traveling by sound—it was impossible to block out all of it. He could still hear it—the music produced by Suzu’s soul. For some, it might be soothing, harmonious sound— one that drove away the madness and darkness in their hearts. However, for Jarvis, was loud and agonizing, stirring chaos within his soul. He and his madness were one and the same after all. It wasn’t even really ‘madness’ in the way that DWMA seemed to categorize it. It didn’t come from an outside source like the virus. It was something that had been born when the magic of the ritual twisted his soul and gave him a new body; A new life.

It strove to protect him. To protect them.

Right now Jarvis was being attacked…and the beast was furious, writing and clawing its way out to take over. Only Jarvis’s will kept in the box. Reason kept his feet planted to the ground even though every bloodsucker instinct he had was telling him to move. Fight or Flight. Those were his options for survival. Jarvis wasn’t human. He didn’t need his wavelength to blitz over to the source of the sound, the source of the Anti-undead wavelength, and shut it up. Just his fangs…assuming the collar didn’t get to him first, of course. Or the teachers. Or the other students. He’d never liked to fight anyway.

Jarvis’s first impulse was flight. Just leave the vicinity of the noise causing him discomfort. Whether it was anti-bloodsucker charms strung atop doors, Anti-undead magic/ward, an exorcist’s wavelength, Anti-demon wavelength, priest with cross/holy water (didn’t actually work unless the cross/holy water was a demon weapon), etc, Jarvis had learned of the many things that could pose a risk to his immortal life during his 6-year journey with Elvira. His reaction was always the same. Just avoid it. Why deal with the hassle? If people wanted him out of their doors, they only needed to ask. If they put up holy signs that told him to keep away, he kept away. He saw no reason to trick himself into a house just to get a drink like some bloodsuckers did…though there seemed to be plenty of ways to do so. Saw no reason to go where he wasn’t wanted either.

The short-haired girl’s wavelength gave him that vibe. It told him to keep away. Or, rather, it was a wavelength that drove others of his kind away, urging those who’ve already passed through the gates of dead, back to the land of the dead. Regardless, under normal circumstances, Jarvis would’ve just left Lot C. Zip outta there. Why face the sun when you can just avoid it and go back to bed? Alas, Jarvis’s reason for staying was the same reason he’d taken the risk to apply for the F.A.T.E program in the first place. Atli’s voice in his soul, Elvira’s annoying-ness should the 600-year old bloodsucker learn he’d ditched class on the very first day, and—oddly enough—the hand on his shoulder reminding him of where he was.

So Jarvis gritted his teeth and endured. Fortunately, it didn’t last very long. The wavelength was widely dispersed and didn’t seem to be targeted at him in particular either. Jarvis breathed a sigh of relief, letting go off his ears when the sound echoing loudly from her soul finally ended, his hands trembling slightly.

Loud noise Jarvis could take with his durable eardrums, like he took the magical flashbang in the face earlier, but the anti-undead attribute of Suzu’s wavelength was a different story.

It didn't just strike at his immortal body. It struck at his soul.

“...I’m fine…” Straightening, Jarvis stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Hurts like a bitch, but she wasn’t trying to kill me…I don’t think…”

Wavelengths echoed the sounds and intentions of the soul, so Jarvis could generally tell when someone using their wavelength was trying to murder him. What would’ve happened had she continued to blare out her wavelength was anyone’s guess. Would he have fainted before his bloodlust took over? Gone feral? Would he have actually died? Jarvis didn’t know. He never really considered himself to be suicidal, but eternal slumber didn’t sound that bad all things considering…

The young bloodsucker let out another long and weary sigh. He didn't feel like carrying Zari anymore. “Let’s just get going. You'll get your chance to apologize to the Shield Girl next time.”

Fortunately, the rest of it went by peacefully. Zari’s madness seemed abated. There were no apparent objections to his partnership with the boy either. Finding a spot under the shade to rest, Jarvis pulled out a packet of blood (like one you’d find in hospitals) from his pockets, and sucked on the tip as another pair of teachers descended from the sky via glowing orb. It made him wonder just how many people were secretly watching them. The new pair at least gave better speeches than the Blue Reaper did. Telling a bunch of kids that he thought they were a waste of money seemed a bit unnecessarily pointless parting gesture in his mind, but he couldn’t care less about the Deathscythe’s opinion in that regard. People thought what they want him. He was already long passed the age where he cared.

Didn’t bother to hide the relief on his face when he was grouped separately from Takeda either. Jarvis couldn’t blame the short haired girl for her Anti-Undead Wavelength any more than he could blame Zari’s for the boy’s soul-sucking one. All the same, he preferred to stay away. Hackney was the name of the boy that won the little introduction game. Raith was the one that seemed to need special eyes on him…and his chosen partner, Chandrice, was the insane-looking chain whip he’d almost worked together with. Delightful.

Finishing his packet of blood, which healed any injuries the Anti-undead wavelength might've left, Jarvis stuffed the remains in his pocket, glanced at Zari, then slumped his way over to where his assigned ‘Mentor’ stood. He had no idea what he was supposed to learn from the assassin. No idea what to expect. Aside from the fact that the Star Clan member smelled of death, was very fast, and seemed to like cats (Jarvis wasn’t blind to the lip-locking that went on behind Cyrus, though he paid it about as much attention to the reasons behind it as he did the Gauss and Zosar fight), Jarvis couldn’t say he’d formed a very solid opinion of Mr. Star Clan either. The fact that he outright attacked the Deathscythe suggested he wasn’t a much a rule follower…but then again, he’d responded fairly quickly to the Deathscythe’s orders as well. Concern had been shown when he checked on Zari.

Maybe.

Mind-reading wasn’t a skill Jarvis could say he possessed. He could hear Zosar saying his farewells to Sara and some others as well, but Jarvis didn’t feel the need to do the same because one, he barely knew them, and two, hellos and farewells were a troublesome waste of energy. Jarvis yawned, hand covering his mouth. You’d think after the whole debacle with the madness and medics coming in, they’d be done for the day…but apparently not.

Apparently next up was the ‘Main Event’.

Jarvis sighed, his hands still in his pockets as his red eyes flickered between Midori and Emira. He'd seen the Deathscythe whisper something to them, but unless it involved himself or the people he knew, Jarvis could honestly say he didn't care. His heart wasn't big enough to worry about strangers. Unnecessary knowledge was sometimes a hassle as well. “Please tell me whatever we’re going to do next involves a nice rest...”

Prizzy Kriyze Sir Les Paul

(mentioned: Mineczka Mqueserasera The Regal Rper )

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Xander
Interaction: Merciless Medic Mineczka
​

Xander right now was just… a little confused as to what had just transpired his question not exactly being answered and the boss man more or less told them to fuck off and that reeeeaally wasn’t helpful leaning on the bladed cane Xander waited idly by for something to happen and unfortunately for xander… it did, a ungodly loud noise thst for normal people would hurt a fair bit but for xander’s sensitive hearing it was excruciating. The monster cat tumbling over and falling into the grass as he cupped his ears.. the ringing continued to the point that Xander was sobbing due to the pain form confident if not annoying to now curled up on the grass in pain his tail wrapped Around his torso crying into it somewhat mostly due to the shock of the situation as his ears kept ringing. “What… the.., fuck” xander mumbled. He had no clue what had happened but frankly the monster cat was PISSED did someone drop a bell tower or something? He‘d look raise his head looking around and wiping the last tears from his eyes with his tail, he couldn’t hear he felt to dizzy to get up, but he could see the source that werewolf girl.. and a bell? “WOW REALLY FUCKING FUNNY YOU CAN GIVE SOMEONE PERMANENT HEARING DAMAGE” Xander yelled unsure of how loud he was being sure one might think it karma for him blasting that one girl with a flashbang but it wasn’t with the chance to disable someone indefinitely, and due to this he’d not even bothered hearing the 2 new instructors content on just with a puff of pyrotechnics becoming a small snow leopard and curling up on the grass till the ringing stopped

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Various / Autonomous Weapon
Rank Two-Star

Location Death City, Lot C
Mission A-01 Meeting
Status Focused into emotional

​

Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze The Regal Rper Sybil QuirkyAngel Kyuubey @Myself

What a unique collection of individuals he had on his team. The traitor, the former teammate, the vampire, the gangster. Adrian, the Autonomous Weapon, was somehow the most normal. Emira would be there, too, but he wasn't her mentor, so for the first time since the meeting started, he wasn't factoring her in. Everyone there would have their own unique challenges, although that probably wasn't a huge surprise given the nature of the program. Nonetheless, having a Bloodsucker and an individual from the Paean Program--more specifically one he had served beside--was quite the surprise. Bloodsuckers in the DWMA were rare to begin with, and he didn't exactly end things on the best terms with Adra in their last meeting. This would be a definite challenge moving forward.

Midori didn't exactly have a lot of time to contemplate it. It was a very brief transition from the time he learned his group up to the current moment, and the fact he had been given Adra of all people to mentor was a surprise that caught him off guard. Aside from that, it's not like he had a large amount of time to really piece together how to approach the potential pairs. Between two agents that were 'excused' from the program and the delightful ringing of the bell known as Suzu after that, he was quite strung out. Her Wavelength... was something. He would actually loved the chance to inquire about its mechanics from her directly; he was sure the dossier on her didn't do it justice. What paper described as "suppression" really meant ear-splitting pressure shot through the air followed by a feeling of nausea and vertigo. Calm Mind training wasn't going to jack shit against that. The only method he could think for himself to counter it would be to try and reinforce himself with his Wavelength, but if his Wavelength was suppressed as a side effect, then just how effective would that be? He wouldn't know unless he tried it, and that wasn't something he was terribly eager to try out--nor would he have the opportunity. The thought through his mind for it was that she was an extremely effective counter to Wavelength Suppression. Without the Old Ways, suppressing one's wavelength would only make hers hurt that much worse, and even with the Old Ways, that factor was only minimal reduced. Who would of fucking thought a giant, stationary bell would make such an effective counter to an assassin.

He had to digress from his own thoughts. He focused on the only words he had heard from any member of the group thus far.

"A rest? You could say that," Midori answered with a somewhat quizzical tone.

"Before that, I'm a fan of introductions. You all know my name, but probably not much else. I'm a Two-Star Autonomous Weapon, although I do on occasion step in as a Weapon if a mission calls for a ranged weapon. My forms include a bow, twin swords, and a bident. Not necessarily multi-form. I originally only had two; the swords would merge together into the bow. I couldn't transform into a bident until much later, but I'll explain that in a moment," he started off with his introduction. He seemed to have picked up a fairly focused tone, light and swift. Not unlike what one might expect from a young professor before years of soul draining effort to get tenure.

"I'm sure virtually all of you are either curious or have some strong opinion about my... dynamic entry. Long story short, a few years back, I was boasting around our beloved Shinigami about finally using Self-Resonance, and the speed boost it gave. He told me I still had a long way to go before I was half as fast as a Hoshi Meister, and as a result challenged me to even strike Cyrus once. He said if I could, he'd promote me. Well, you all saw what happened when I tried to now, and I'm faster now than I was then. As it stands, I don't expect that I'll ever get fast enough to actually hit the man; he'll probably start getting old and slowing down before I ever catch up. Silver lining, Lord Death told me I could keep trying as much as I want, so you bet I do," Midori explained, this time with a focus on why he 'attacked' Cyrus.

"To avoid you stumbling onto my colorful history, I'll go over that now. I am technically not human. I am a golem made by some Mad Sorcerer from the remaining soul fragments of the original Midori Hoshi. Furthermore, said sorcerer used me to spy on the DWMA and when he was caught, essentially had me turn on my allies, killing two, before falling. Lord Death saved me from, well, death by replacing the part of me the sorcerer took when he severed all ties, but well..." he continued on, trailing off before letting out a deep sigh.

"Listen guys, I been where you are. No one trusted me. I didn't trust myself. I didn't know who I was or what I wanted to do. I didn't know if the DWMA was for me, alright?" Midori explained to them with a sudden shift in tone, more sincere and somehow making that more formal tone he had prior seem like a façade.

"They don't trust you because you're not human? Same," he said, eying down Jarvis. "They don't trust you because you've hurt your friends? Same," he said, shifting his focus to Zari. "They don't trust you because you were a traitor? Oh boy, same," Midori added when he looked over to Zosar, although to some degree the Meister already knew. "And, Adra, we both had dangerous abilities that hurt others, you know that; we were in Paean together, and I'm sorry for how that went," he said, eying her now with a shift to a sullen look on his face.

He then looked at Adrian and silence hit the air. "I never hurt my allies out of ignorance, so I guess I can't really relate to you, but we're both Autonomous Weapons, so same," he added, as if just trying to find some reason to add in Adrian.

"My point is, I've been where most of you are. I've been alone. My entire life has been a string of fuck-ups I've had to recover from, but for the most, I have. I didn't get recruited to become a mentor, like Emmett or Zelda. I requested it. I'm an Autonomous Weapon, chances are I'll never become a three-star unless I give it up and pick a partner which isn't considerably easy given most Meisters around my skill level are taken, so I'd have to start fresh with a new Meister. If Cyrus had his way, that's exactly how this would be. Anyway... what I mean to say is I probably won't climb the ranks. But I can help. Lord Death is a forgiving soul and he insisted I at least get a second chance instead of just imprisoned as some liability--and trust me, there were a lot of folks out there that would have seen me dead on principle alone. Yet, here I am, still helping out, thirty-two successful missions since that incident, and still improving. Each of you deserve that chance, and I want to be there for it. For a while, I didn't have anyone, and it sucked. I don't want all of you to have to go through that," he explained to them. His tone was breaking. It was clear that when he said he was alone or even just with the gratitude toward Lord Death, the slight wavering in his voice made it seem far more sincere. He tried to remain composed, at least in the beginning, but he failed.

He then had a deep inhale, before a brief exhale. "That's me in a nutshell. I would like all of you to now share something about yourself and why you're here, then we can get on to the next thing I have planned, and I'll give you the rest of today and tomorrow to do as you please. I'll send a text for Tuesday night with instructions for Wednesday," he said, transitioning from his previous somewhat emotional explanation to explaining what he was actually expecting to do here.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Lot C
Mission A-01 Meeting
Status Exhausted, irritated

​

Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze Merciless Medic Huntertabbysandshark3 Mqueserasera Huntertabbysandshark3 Mineczka EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

"I don't like your assignment,"​

Gauss announced out loud, almost in a defiant tone upon their instructions.

He wasn't in a terribly good mood. Sure, he didn't have Madness, but something irked him insofar that Prudence never confirmed it after. Noah was incredibly useful, but that god damn bell tone just completely fucked over their resonance. Absolutely shattered like frozen glass on a winter day. It didn't just hurt. It made the pain from the feedback of the rejection in his arm hurt far, far worse. Just as it was improving from the Healing Wavelength, Suzu slammed her fist on his new Rejection PTSD bell with that suppression. Not only was it painful for his ears, it it worsened his state at the time. Of course, he didn't want outwardly express this feeling given that Suzu was now on his team, but he was certainly not looking forward to that again. He could still feel the dull aches in his arm and the shattered resonance that occurred when Noah reverted back to his human form. By Death himself, it was awful.

Weirdly, Gauss didn't attribute any of his frustration to Suzu. He was irritable, sure, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her for her wavelength. He always considered his own a blessing; that he was lucky to have it. Her Wavelength was likely one of the reasons she was here given she otherwise seemed tolerable as a person and didn't seemingly piss anyone off earlier. He wanted to be angry at someone, but the odd internal morals of the man could not bring himself to prescribe an ounce of anger to the girl. It just... wasn't her fault. Not to him, at least.

But, this did leave the Meister with some residual anger and nowhere to go with it. When he heard this assignment, he projected that anger onto it.

"I don't need an evening to list you a dozen qualities I like about my partners, and I have double the work load. Prudence is a fantastic shield that synergizes with my fighting style, is pleasant and agreeable, and I shouldn't have to mention how her soul somehow prevented Madness from seeping into mine. Death-damn am I grateful for her. And, Noah? Healing Wavelength was amazing. When he was in my Soul Space, I could tell how much he appreciated my internal traits. Dude is humble, too, so I don't have to worry about butting heads. I couldn't ask for better partners, really," Gauss explained, somehow delivering compliments with a clearly pissy tone as if still scrutinizing his mentors.

"But, that's not even why I don't like this assignment. It's shallow. Superficial. I'm in therapy for fucking using people and you're asking me to pick qualities I appreciate about two people I hardly know. How is that helpful? My therapist literally tells me how degrading it is to look at a weapon and only value them for their form, but I don't know much more about Prudence. All you're doing is making me feel bad because I appreciate something she was born with. Same with Noah, really, when it comes to his Wavelength. How can I really tell two people I appreciate them on any meaningful level if I've known them for all of an hour? Or hell, all of a day by the time this assignment is completed," Gauss explained, giving the actual logic as to why he disliked the assignment.

"Oh, and you forgot the fucking cat! Xander doesn't have a partner, the fuck is he supposed to do? List ten things he appreciates about himself?" Gauss asked with an ever-ramping amount of frustration.

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Daniella Ethalyn | DWMA Lot C
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
​

While waiting for everyone else to come in line, Dani too both heard and felt the toll of the bell. She let out a deep breath as the melody played and her expression softened. Her body rocked a bit, paralleling the ringing of Suzu's wavelength. Normally, such a loud disturbance would have irked the pink-haired girl to no end. Yet, the nature of the bell's wavelength seemed to soothe even Dani's rage. It seemed that not everyone was so appreciative, however.

Notably, Jarvis, the blooodsucker, didn't take too kindly to it. Sure it was loud, but that sort of reaction befit something that attacked him at his core. Perhaps it had multiple properties to it.

Then, there was the cat, who curled into a little ball of fluff after the noise started. Perhaps he had sensitive senses or there was some other aspect to the melody that affected them. Regardless, Dani glanced at the shrieking feline with a somewhat soft expression.

"Ear ringing or a stabbing? Because I'm pretty sure she just saved someone's ass from the latter."

Looking at their surrounding, it seemed the various crazies, like her, had calmed down. The Demon Bell obviously had some kind of a wavelength that soothed. Dani was "recovered" enough that, barring a severe incident, one didn't really have to worry about her going nuts and stabbing an ally. Who was to speak of the levels of everyone else though?

Listening to Cyrus, he made the final introduction of the program. She was unsurprised by his sentiment. He was capable, Dani was sure. From the way he dressed to the way he carried himself, he was absolutely a Death Scythe and one wielded by Lord Kidd. However, hearing how little faith or interest he had in them all was somewhat demoralizing, even if she partially agreed.

Better spent elsewhere... He's probably not wrong.

He then introduced Midori, who was supposedly a mentor. Dani didn't hold much confidence in them choosing an assassin, let alone one that attempted open homicide in front of all of them, acting as their role model and advisor. Thankfully, the mentors would split the group, with this Midori not being her mentor.

Finally, her group's mentors were announced as a meister and weapon pair. One seemed easy-going and lackadaisical, the other his counterpart. Dani's eyes narrowed a bit as she analyzed them. Oh, how Mikey would've loved to stir the pot now. A three-star meister and weapon who appeared, in their roots, wholly different, which meant they were likely all the stronger for it. They were the exact type he'd have wanted to show up. Fortunately, Dani didn't share half the ambition of her late sibling.

Giving a motionless wave to Zosar, she was relatively receptive to his socialization. Perhaps that was a result of Suzu's wavelength. Regardless, now she turned to their own mentors.

Their introduction was rather standard, or so Dani thought, save for a few things here and there and--Emmett, generally. The woman was succinct and cold, which wasn't exactly a turn-off for Dani. She was much the same and straightforward in saying that they actually believed they could help and aimed to. Even if Dani had her doubts and didn't want to be "fixed", it gave her a better impression than the dandy man.

Still, it seemed that was going to be their strategy. Having read their files, of course they would want the pod to turn social with each other. Comradery--That was unlikely. Dani had no interest in forming any connections. Maybe some of the others were lonely and wanted friends, but Dani still saw this program as a Suicide Squad of sorts. Everyone here was going to die at some point, and when that happened she didn't want any tears or any pit in her stomach. Still, while having identified their strategy, or believing to, Dani was still taken aback by their so-called homework.

"...Hah?" She hummed with a deadpanned expression.

Waiting to process that, Nadia spoke to her and clarified her name. Dani took a few moments before understanding. That moonspeak was Nadia.

"Ah... Yeah, I'm not going to try pronouncing that, no offense," She stated honestly before scoffing. "I guess we don't have a fucking choice. What is this, kindergarten?"

However, it seemed Dani wasn't the only one displeased with their homework. Turning an eye to his outburst, it was surprising given what Dani had seen of him previously. Using people, so was he a Type A? Regardless, she wasn't sure why he was flipping out to this extent. They said list a positive thing, not a meaningful thing. Dani hypothetically could just state she thought Nadia was pretty or strong, neither of which were lies.

"...You could try fucking talking to them, or don't and make some easy shit up. They said to pay them a compliment, not write a fucking poem," Dani chimed in, glancing briefly over to the cat. "And have him skip this homework then, or don't and find something positive about everyone since he'll be working with everyone likely. Out of everything that happened today, this is not the shit that's worth blowing up about, especially if it keeps me from finally exiting this clusterfuck of a lot."

Interactions: RedArmyShogun Sir Les Paul Huntertabbysandshark3 The Regal Rper (Briefly)
Mentions: Everyone in Dani's group

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Emmett James

Emmett gave a nod and a sideways glance of acknowledgment to Zelda, but kept his attention on the group. Gauge the dynamic, consider the variables. In a way, he definitely approached the job of a mentor much like he approached any engineering problem. If he was to be fair and honest, he knew that he was born talented at fixing things with his hands. This wasn't something he could fix with his hands, but he'd damn well try.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that Nadia wasn't immediately opposed to the challenge. Or, well, it didn't noticeably rub her the wrong way, which was good. She was a competent natural leader and powerful enough to impress on the more jaded members of the group, so as long as she was open to their mentoring then they had a leg in with the rest of the group. Emmett knew her story, that of her previous partner and the events of her childhood. She respected power. A tiny smirk barely danced at the corner of his mouth. He supposed he should be thankful that the DWMA had such high standards for three-star meisters, or she might've been able to knock him on his ass right here. He would never have gotten this strong of his own volition.

Xander seemed to be in a worse state. He shouted at Suzu before comforting himself by curling up in the field. It made sense, a cat has sensitive hearing and Suzu's powers were very intense. In fact, her wavelength was of particular interest to him. If that could be recreated in a lab-setting with similar technology to the madness inhibitors, they might be able to make breakthrough advances in non-lethal containment magitech. Of course, he hoped to get a moment to discuss her willingness to be examined at a later date - it was impolite to ask someone to donate their body to science on the first meeting, after all.

But Emmett's attention remained with the cat on the field. To be honest, his behavioral issues seemed well within standard deviation, so he wasn't completely certain why he was in F.A.T.E of all places, but he certainly wasn't about to complain about having a sorcerer to support the team, especially when it was such a fuzzy kind creature. It was likely the result of someone misattributing his past to malignance rather than just the natural experience of being, well, a cat. He was about to take a step away from his partner to go look after the cat when a voice caught his attention. Thaddeus.

He wasn't satisfied with the assignment. Emmett was ready for an outburst, and he did agree with a few of the points that Thaddeus made. He himself would just have agreed to the assignment and never carried it out; but that wasn't the point in the first place, and it was clear Thaddeus didn't see the point for himself. Explaining it further wasn't very important, but just from the length at which Thaddeus described his dislike had already made the assignment worth it for Emmett. It was nice to meet someone with their heart on their sleeve. Honesty was a great step in the right direction, regardless of where the need for his complaints laid. All the same, it would be unprofessional of Emmett to react emotionally.

Even more surprising, Daniella was the one who'd snapped back at him. Her history was interesting, to say the least. Emmett was quite confident that a lot of her issues could be alleviated with the right magitech, but most of that technology was experimental or purely theoretical as of now. She had what he would call a charming bitch face with mad no-shit-taken energy, but of course that vernacular was scoffed at in civilized society, and Emmett had to play his part. The sarcastic tone at "homework" didn't faze his smile in the slightest as he respectfully looked at her for the extent of her input.

But he wasn't about to disrespect Thaddeus by first addressing a third party. He'd been asked a question and he would respond. With his hands in his hoodie pockets and a faint smile on his lips, he addressed him with a slight shake of his head. "I don't think any of those qualities are shallow, Thaddeus. Perhaps you ought to consider why it is that you find those wonderful qualities lacking of a deeper meaning to you?" He stabilized his gaze and confidently met his eyes. "Well spoken, though. You are a utility Meister, naturally talented in reaching a stable resonation with most if not all types of demon weapons. I could see your frustration, but we are starting from grassroots here and I didn't want to put any real workload on you all so soon. Stable resonation takes time."

"Very good of you to bring up Mr. Shino, as well. I was just about to get to that." Emmett made a point of speaking directly to people, instead of discussing someone in front of someone else. Everyone deserved equal attention, and if he couldn't hold himself to that standard then he didn't much deserve to be here. "Xander? I held off on your part as I wanted to ask you personally, but I was hoping to pair you up with Thaddeus, Prudence, and Noah for this exercise, if that sits right with you? It'd keep the numbers nice and even, but you're free to make your own call, since as Daniella here pointed out," he looked to her and nodded, "you will be assisting the whole of the group."

He turned his head to locate Prudence and Noah as well, then looked back to Thaddeus. "Might I suggest that you four take a trip to the infirmary after? They've got state-of-the-art equipment for helping with your arm, Thaddeus."

EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul Huntertabbysandshark3 RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Mqueserasera Mineczka (briefly)
​

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

Location: Lot C
Interactions: Gauss ( Sir Les Paul ), Emmett ( Prizzy Kriyze ), Dani ( EmperorsChosen )
Mentions: Xander, Suzu

What's that infernal noise???

It shook the inner space of his soul, the noise blasting his ears as he lost concentration with Gauss. A sudden pang of rejection flowed through his entire body as he tried to cut the connection so he may protect his Meister from even more of the effects, but he wasn't fast enough. He can feel darkness within the light of Gauss' soul closing in on him before he was rocketed out, his form reverting to his human state as he fell on the ground, holding his ears. His body shook from the rejection, but he's felt this stinging nettle pain shoot through his entire body before. It was a similar feeling when Sara nearly transformed while she was still holding him, her werewolf soul becoming impossible to resonate with.

A ringing was still in his ears as he slowly stood up, shaking his head a bit to get rid of the odd sensation clouding his head, but it just made him wobble unsteadily. Thankfully, he was still able to hear the new mentor's introduction and their little speech. After a few moments, he recovered from the ringing noise, but he was then met with a new noise. Xander's yelling. He looked up to see the poor cat man yelling at them for possibly giving someone hearing damage. He kind of felt bad.

The Weapon, as he was recovering more from his unsteady balance, stood close to Gauss' side as he critiqued the assignment. Noah knew where Thaddeus was coming from. He was just as upset that their resonance was broken. He wasn't even done helping his new Meister yet and the rejection they both received - Noah knew - must have had a negative effect on Gauss enough than just a bad mood. Suppressing and redirecting anger was something Noah was good at, but he can tell the Thales kid was absolutely irritated.

That was when Noah took a moment to look at Gauss with some surprise as he spoke about them. The praise he received from Gauss made him feel good, but he completely smashed down the feeling, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked away, mumbling under his breath but with Gauss' proximity he might hear him. "Yeah, yeah, butter me up, why dont'cha...?"

But the rest of Thaddeus' statement he agreed with. He stood resolutely beside his new partner, giving the two mentors a disbelieving scowl. Then he brought up the cat, and Noah scoffed, finding it funny that they somehow forgot the cat man. Though, this gave Noah time to think. Rich kid's here for usin' people? Huh, interestin'.

That was when Dani spoke up, the bubblegum resting-bitch-face who also gave a good point. Noah's scowl softened some. "Tch, damn..." He muttered under his breath again.

The problem with Noah however, was not the assignment. It was the mentors. He couldn't bring himself to trust any one of them. He was left seething on the inside, internalizing his frustration in a stark contrast to Gauss. Seedlin' of trust? With 'em? How? They had a hand in stoppin' the MIBVI, so why didn't they do a better job? Why didn't they save my family, or my city, when Portland needed 'em?

Of course, Noah was one of those with the opinion that likely no matter what anyone did, it still wouldn't have been enough and he'd still be seething, what with how little he's grieved about his own parents and family.

Noah watched with growing distrust as Emmett did what he could to de-escalate the situation. Emmett did have a point, why was all that praise shallow? What other deeper compliment did Gauss even think was worth his time saying? At least this man made sense, but he had a tough time thinking he should put trust in these two mentors with how silly this guy was. Then the calm man asked for Xander to join their group. Noah scoffed, Xander joining them giving him that flashback to that embarrassment he had with the cat man earlier. He hoped Xander picked a different group, but then again that tail...

No, he won't get distracted by some floof. He then suggested that not only he and Prudence, but Gauss and Xander go to the infirmary. Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, he slouched and shrugged, his scowl looking far worse as he turned away his gaze from the man who seemed way too easy-going for his own good. "I don't trust 'em." He mumbled to Gauss and Prudence as his body turned to face them, his legs already wanting to take him to the infirmary so he can get away from everybody else.

"I don't like it either, but we should at least try'n get this over with." He sighed, exhaustion evident in his tone. He stopped short as he just passed Gauss, voice low for his and Prudence's ears only. "And if ya think those compliments're shallow, bud, they're still nice to hear from an asshole rich kid. Though, I'm a bit concerned what kinda compliments that meet your expectations for bein' meanin'ful. Kinda makes it harder for us to compliment ya in turn. Don't pigeonhole yourself or alienate us. At least I'm not a pushover, so I'll shock ya back in line if ya try anythin' manipulative. Don't worry, by comparison, it feels far better than rejection, we won't stop resonatin', and I won't give ya as much of a shock as I did that blonde bitch back there." He smirked, a bit of a playful look before it dropped to being neutral as he started his trek for the infirmary, his gait slow and lazy as he waited for the others who are supposed to be following him. "I think we're done here." He said in passing, really just dying to leave the group unless someone stopped him.

 

[Sybil]

Adrasteia Chandrice

Adrasteia would quietly go through the motions, only speaking when spoken to as to avoid complications. It was annoying…. But it was necessary to continue. Better to let it happen.

Once that was over, it was now time for the worst part of her day. Compatibility testing. If they were compatible? More problems. If they were not compatible? Even more problems. The list of them was too long to waste time on it, so she transformed fully for the first time in years. Her oil-like appearance of the chain and their small spikes along with them, the poison she normally exuded was repressed by her collar which made them little more than sharp small metal bits. Her flagrum-like being at the end of her chain length, three smaller chains with a knife at the end of each. She had a length to her, her length reflective of the longer melee range she provided.

That was the positive. The negatives showed themselves when one felt how heavy she was at such a low level of cooperation. She was practically unusable as a whip at this weight, the speed needed for striking being unreasonable. The next issue was the distancing between their souls she kept. Adrasteia’s soul was almost unreasonable, simply moving the goalposts and keeping their connection a moment from being nonexistent.

The final negative, however, was that her soul was inhospitable. A momentary bond was awkward at most. A real attempt that was for the future? It would be shoving Zosar’s arm into the briars of her defenses. It seemed obvious any partner of hers would practically have to sacrifice their energy to just be able to sustain focus. She seemed to practically demand more effort, demanding the partner like she was consuming the soul. Hunger for strength. Thankfully Zosar didn’t touch that, but it would be inevitable.

With their test done she transformed back, her eyes never meeting Zosar’s as she faced away with crossed arms. She wasn’t ignoring him though, a sigh leaving her lips as she prepared to speak after he spoke. “…. We will see.”

Their conversation would be limited by their own interests but cut even shorter now by the mentor.

Ah. That is right. It’s the one that was so childish as to attack others for disagreeing. Wonder what smart shit he will do now….

Her thoughts would be surprisingly proven somewhat off. Years can change a person, and the monologue slowly began to show that. She would never have guessed the old Midori would ever apologize… and yet here he was. Two years late practically…. But then again she wouldn’t have accepted one back then. They didn’t reply, instead of giving Midori a soft sigh and more direct eye contact to acknowledge the issues and similarities they shared. She wasn’t pleased to see him still, but at least now she could more or less give him a chance as a mentor…. As long as he didn’t push it.

As Midori ended his speech, the floor was left to Adrasteia and her peers. The autonomous bastard who made fake objectives, the weapon who almost teamed up with her during their game, and one of the meisters that went to fight that had all the tattoos… this was definitely a group, and what little insight the mentor gave made it definitely seem like they were a group of rejects.

One reject had to go first, and she would make it herself if not to just get it over with. As close to painless as it could be. She raised her voice, speaking up with a hand indicating at herself. She didn’t exactly look thrilled though.

“Adrasteia Chandrice. I’m out of DWMA from assaulting my partner and spent years' worth of time in residential madness care. I am here because I want to become stronger.” She let her hand drop back at her side and into a pocket, looking at the group for the next likely unenthused introduction.

coded by: @s e v e n​

​

Interacts: The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul
Prizzy Kriyze QuirkyAngel​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | DWMA | Lot C

To have the full picture came with both its own rewards and costs.

Midori truly had suffered something unique. The day they'd met he had elaborated very little on the similarities between them. The one note being that the Weapon too had been a spy, just like he was. The difference between them: one had been willing, the other had not. He'd made it clear that was the key difference. Now learning of just what Midori had meant by that, was quite frankly sickening.

It disgusted him in a way he could not even describe, but it was not the result, but the fact it had happened at all. That something like that was even possible. To strip the soul of it's natural independence and turn the individual into a complete subservient puppet.

All the pieces were now in place. He now had a clear understanding of why Midori's soul felt so strange, so unique, and unlike anything he had ever felt, seen or sensed before in his life.

There was no sympathy on Zosar's face but calm anger. Anger specifically directed at the Mad Sorcerer responsible for the pain, tragedy, and suffering his friend had endured. Yet, the anger was quick to calm, as though he was mad- the Meister understood that in spite of it all- in spite of all the struggles Midori had faced, he had still managed to overcome. To make a comeback, to find purpose, to find peace, even if there was still lingering naysayers, that evidence- the proof despite the unique similarity in their situation, was something that sparked the tiniest fragment of hope in Zosar somewhere deep inside. Not something he even was aware of- but it was there. It had been sparked. And only something truly horrendous, could snuff that spark out.

He took a moment to digest all that had been said, and in return found himself listening to his potential partner, Adrasteia speak.

To others maybe the assault might have been something new. To him, it was old news. He'd heard the gossip, seen the rumors, and been around the circles that had been chatting about it. The event hadn't been particularly long to when he even joined the DWMA with his own entourage. It'd been only a few months prior to it in fact. So he knew all about the incident, though hearing her admit to it, while not disturbing to him in the slightest, also confirmed other things he had been detecting based off his research on the incident.

Like for one thing, Adra clearly would not allow herself to be pushed around. From what he recalled, Samsen had done that quite a bit. A lot of bragging and showboating, using Adra to get that extra polish the whole time or when it suited him. How could he not do his research on a incident like this? When he'd just entered DWMA a few months prior to it, there had always been things to learn, even if they had been able to get all the information they could ever want from simply interacting as new students and what they had been provided before ever entering Death City in the first place. It helped to also know people who knew the duo back when they had been one.

It was something to take note of, coupled with the fact she had Madness and the current state of their very partnership, Zosar knew this was going to take time. Coupled with what Emira had said about her own uniqueness making her something that a individual had to train to use, he was in for a ride, that was sure.

It's a good thing I don't shy from challenges.

With Adra done, Zosar took the opportunity to speak up next.

"I don't know how many of you were in EAT some four., almost five years ago- but back then I went under a different name- Jacob Straugg. My real name is Zosar Raith. Probably doesn't even need saying but," he shrugged and continued. "As Cyrus pointed out, as Midori just hinted, there's a reason I'm under watch. I am a traitor" he said with a nonchalant shrug, a nod, but in truth saying it hurt just a little. It hurt because it was not the DWMA he was thinking of when he said it- it was the friends he had made here he hurt, and it was the long time friends he had known among the Enlighteners that he had abandoned, that hammered the point home for him even more than any soul on the planet could be by yelling or reprimanding him, punishing or isolating him.

There was a pause. Maybe for dramatic effect- in actuality, for him to consider what he was going to say next.

"When I came to the DWMA, I came prepared. Essentially four years ago, I came here with allies on a specific mission. We had learned everything we could from the structure of the hierarchy to the city's layout itself. There's details I'm not allowed to talk about, but yes, I am, as Midori said, a traitor." Though to which organization, only Zosar knew that one. "I was a spy, and I got caught because I made the biggest mistake no spy should ever make, especially not in the big finale scene, where they are planning their escape." he explained to them. "I got attached to the people here." he took a few steps up, no real expression to note on his face. Then there came the frown after a second. "You'll come to learn, while working with me, I am someone that has a very strong personal code. I'm sure we've all got that, in our own way. Just like most of you, I am stubborn about mine. I will never budge on that. Nothing, no one, no god or kishin" he stated casually, but the finality in it was clear, "will ever force me to do something against it. I will follow that to my death- as it is what I was raised up on, and it is what led me to this program. Following my own code, one of them, to never leave a friend in peril was what led to my capture specifically. I stuck to my own personal code at the worst opportunity, abandoned my team, and even though I knew that if I were captured the chances of the friends I made here remaining with me was slim, I still defied reason, chose essential death, and risked everything. And yet, I can't say I regret it. I'd do it again. Even if I still ended up like this." He sighed, heavy, deep, regretful. Eyes glancing to the device on his arm. That one act, said it all.

"That was almost three years ago. In a month or so it'll be three years since that moment." And then he was looking back at them. "I could lie and tell you I'm here for insubordination, or something else along those lines, deflect the truth and fabricate a story but there's no point in lying to any of you. Not when Midori or the miss could call me out on my bs at a moment's notice." He stated matter-of-factly. "I'm here to try and earn my way out of the pit trap I've found myself trapped in. So I hope most of you will have the decency to not treat my like immediate garbage, as I've had to deal with these last three years from any and all that inevitably within the DWMA that have found out or heard the rumors of my circumstance. Though, kindred spirits I suppose, have a way of throwing curve balls, so I look forward to getting to know all of you." He finished, without a smile, but a humble nod, then stepped back next to Adra. Waiting for someone else to continue.

Mentions: Sybil Kyuubey Prizzy Kriyze QuirkyAngel

Interactions: N/A

 

[Huntertabbysandshark3]

Xander
Interaction: Merciless Medic Prizzy Kriyze​

Xander ears kept ringing as he could hardly hear things still the calls from others about the situation fell on the cat's deaf ears since he really couldn't hear at the moment literally. after a little while his ears stopped ringing Xander did not return to his human form and just looking around awkwardly he’d missed out on most of the previous situation there where new um? Teachers? Mentors? a woman pretending to be a fish? Where did he get that one form? It seemed like there was some kind of argument or aggressiveness from that Metal slinging dude? and talk about homework? something something nice things about partners and he lacked one so that just made xander more pissed then he currently was his disorientated state he’d just missed ALOT noah going on a rant towards the Gauss guy was that his name? about shallowness and manipulation cool and all but Xander didn’t care all too much for it not his problem tho the dude teacher said something about him getting dumped with Noah prudence? And a guy called thadeus least he knew one of them noah. “Uugh um ok… I guess god my fucking head..” Xander mumbled the small snow leopard seeing noah begin trudging off Xander got to his feet wobbly he‘d manage to catch up to Noah jumping up onto Noah’s back the catsboys front limbs wrapping around Noah’s neck so he was all snuggled up against the annoyed weapon tail wrapping partly arounf noah torso the end brushing against his face. “Carrry meeee please noaaah your all comfy…” xander mumbled sadly just taking the easy way and letting the poor guy drag him along hopefully he wouldn’t protest.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Location: Lot C, right when the two mentors have arrived because we are doing this time thing weird af and wrapping this little wolf ding-a-ling stuff up before we move on.
Interactions: Suzu
Mentions: Those who had a problem

Sara heard the issues that the ringing resonance had caused for the others. But she didn't care. Well, she did care slightly, her ears picking up the irritation and frustration from the others from her resonance. But it helped her. It helped her when she needed it. Suzu helped her.

Sara had scented out she was making Suzu rather overwhelmed, so when she saw the rose tints on her cheeks and the strange tears that pricked the corners of her eyes, Sara had realized what Suzu had really wanted. Needed, even. A friend.

With an easy smile, Sara took Suzu's hand in hers, only for her form to suddenly transform before her very eyes. The rope that she held was comfortable and long, and the other end held a bell. A bronze bell. Peeking in, she saw a violet soul, shaped like a bell. Sara giggled and hugged the bell, then she realized her wavelength as they tried resonance.

Sara's own wavelength was that of a forest with occasional storms, the trees swaying back and forth in a spring breeze as they showed off her easy-going nature. The occasional storms were from her negative emotions and bloodlust, but for right now, no storms touched Sara's soul, nor that of Suzu's. As she felt for Suzu's wavelength to resonate, she realized Suzu's wavelength was like that of a shrine. Eerie, yet dilapidated; in need of repair. Yet, while it was a little creepy, her wavelength was very peaceful. It set Sara's own soul at ease, the prevalent storms that encircled her forests, begging to infest her own positive safe space with negative emotions, were kept even more at bay.

Despite the fragile connection they have created, Sara took in Suzu's wavelength with care. She can sense Suzu had quite a few partners who neglected her, so Sara took it upon herself to carry most of the workload in their resonance. It was something she's done with Noah before in the past. With a resounding voice of her inner soul and talking out loud, she tried to soothe the nervous bell. "I'll do what I can to take care of you. I won't let your shrine get into an even worse state. I'll protect you with my forest."

With that, Sara encircled Suzu's own wavelength and soul, protecting it while giving Suzu a chance to see Sara's own inner soul and reside herself within the safe space Sara had, yet still giving her the space to not completely overwhelm her new partner. It was like a bubble she had for Suzu, a space to facilitate their connection without Suzu having to completely put herself in Sara's soul while her own soul was just mere feet away for Suzu to do the rest of the work, which was rather minimal. Sara was stretching herself thin, but she was doing this for Suzu. They would be alright.

"Alright, we should go to the others. I'll carry you while you're like this so we can get the hang of each other resonating." She wrapped the rope around her shoulders and held the bell near the top, being careful not to swing her around too much to cause too much of an issue as Sara got up. It didn't occur to her that for there being no clapper and no will for Suzu to ring herself, that there would be no sound, no matter how much Sara swung Suzu around. For Suzu being as light as she was, it meant that they were doing a damn good job at resonance. With a bit of a bubbly giggle, Sara looked at her new partner as she caught up with those in their group with their new mentors.

"Isn't this gonna be fun? Can't wait to start training and going on missions with you." Sara already had quite a few ideas, those of which were probably shared within her soul space with Suzu at the possible fun they could have together. They ranged from fun downtime activities like video games to fighting alongside each other during missions. She can feel her own wavelength amp up in speed, so she caught herself before going down to a more even pace for Suzu to catch up with. "Ah, let me know if I'm overwhelming you. My soul tends to get kinda fast, and I don't wanna burn you out."

Then she heard they were to be split into groups and felt a pang of sorrow that she won't be in Zosar's group. That's upsetting.

 

[Mqueserasera]

PRUDENCE PONTMERCY
Location: DWMA - Lot C
Mentions: Emmett ( Prizzy Kriyze ), Zelda, Sara( Merciless Medic ), Dani ( EmperorsChosen ), Suzu ( Mineczka ), Nadia ( RedArmyShogun ), Jarvis ( QuirkyAngel ), Xander ( Huntertabbysandshark3 )
Interaction: Gauss ( Sir Les Paul ), Noah ( Merciless Medic ), Zari ( Prizzy Kriyze )​

Spoiler: FLASHBACK

The child’s frame was thin, fragile, and yet apparently well-fed, decently dressed. She displayed little color about her. Her aura was rather timid. There was something in the way she moved about that made evident a coordinated diet and a strictly-taught manner. In a tailored black dress, long sleeves to hide an unsightly pallor, she made as little sound walking down the stairs as her black Mary Jane allowed. But there was haste in her carefully placed steps, haste to just avoid tardiness, just enough to offset a hint of reluctance.

In a ready state of mind, the child entered the living room. There was her mother on the couch, half-reclining, fingers running the length of a column of numbers on a worksheet, in her other hand she held a pencil. Though perfectly absorbed in the task, it didn’t take longer than a second for the woman to notice her daughter. She was a sharp person, too sharp at times.

“What is it?” she asked, the irritation of being disrupted in the middle of an important task was on full display.

“My piano lesson,” Prudence said evenly.

The mother threw a customary, uninterested glance at the hanging clock on the wall. “Right,” she shrugged. “You don’t have to go there anymore." Then to further address her daughter’s visible confusion, “I already told Mrs. Price to cross your name off the attendance list this morning.”

A second of silence, then: “I don’t have to go to my piano class anymore?” the child asked cautiously.

“No.”

The finality of that simple word had a violent effect on the child. She recoiled, almost unconsciously. Her left hand reached to her other arm, and was placed lightly, momentarily, on the side of her bicep, as if to remind herself of the hurt that was still there. But it dropped almost immediately. She had to gather her courage in so short a time. Pathetic courage that was born out of fear.

“No!” she stammered and did not breathe for a while as she spoke, “I-I promise I will practice harder. I can do it. I know I can do it. I will try harder, mother! I know what I did wrong last time now—I know what to do now—Mrs. Price told me. She told me I—she said I was getting better—it’s not…”

“Keep quiet, Prudence,” the mother overrode her. She sighed. “I’m saying that you don’t have to do it anymore. Actually, I spoke to my analyst yesterday. Apparently learning the piano is not all that vital to your development as the magazines claim. She said that a few extra, elementary classes of applied science would be a better use of your time. The Magitech industry is all the rage today, so possibly,” she shrugged again, “physics, mathematics and soul study, if we can find a competent teacher for you. We are still working on a sensible curriculum.”

The conclusion was bland and simple, and definitely was not up for arguments, or opinions, for that matter. And Prudence knew that.

Her shoulders slumped, only somewhat. “Yes, mother.” She turned away, and started walking back to her room. There was not much relief in her steps. The stiffness had not been at all removed. She was used to this. If there was supposed to be a joy, a thing that was worth celebrating in having an unexpected break from the grueling practices and pressure she had been subjected to, she did not feel it. The numbness took hold after the first flight of stairs. Her left hand, her healthy hand, gripped the railings, so that they were whitened, and she seemed in desperate need of it. She had begun attending piano lessons since the beginning of the month. Whether an eight-year-old child’s talent for the piano could have been revealed in the short time span of three weeks, she had no idea. But her uselessness, or laziness, had been cited many times over as the reason for her lack of development under the best teacher and best learning facility in the city. She could not feel it. Maybe she did have no talents after all. Every time she sat down on the bench, she could only feel tension wracking her nerves, and her heart would beat wildly in knowing that watchful, haunting, hawking eyes were bearing down on her back. Her fingers would tremble and, sometimes, they would ache. And when her parents were convinced that her lack of motivation was the reason for her lack of growth, they made it perfectly clear to her that she had better take this seriously, put some serious mind into it, or else. She simply could not do any better. She had a notion that perhaps it was not only her that hated music, but music, and the piano in particular, also hated her just the same. It was a mutual hatred. Then there were punishments. Then she could not lift her right arm for three days straight, which didn’t help at all her fear for the terrible noise-making device. But she didn’t have to do it anymore. Her mother’s analyst had said as much. But.

But.

What was the point of all that then?

She closed the door to her room behind her, softly and tightly. Then she walked over to her bed and sat down. She sought within her heart a joy of relief as she sat there, back straight and hands placed evenly on her laps. In spite of herself, against her better judgment, Prudence felt as if there was some injustice in the air. She had feared, she had been desperate, she had wanted nothing more than getting better at playing the piano to please her parents and save herself from further punishments. But now that was all gone, she wondered if she had deserved all that. There had been a long and grueling afternoon, that she could still distinctly recall, when her parents had sat her down and explained to her the benefits of music, most of which she couldn’t understand. But she was not about to contradict her parents. If they said it was good for her, then it was good. She only had to do what she was told. There was something comforting about it. That regardless of the punishments, the suffering, and the fear, she knew, knew and believed at heart, that they were just doing her good. Perhaps the piano lessons would help her greatly, and soon enough she would recognize a great many good things one could earn from it, provided that one put sufficient effort into it. And if she couldn’t go through with it, then it would be her fault and no one else’s. But the way her mother had ended it. So simply as though nothing more than a failed experiment. And if it was, then for a whole month, she had been stressed out, had suffered dark beatings, had lived in complete fear and nervousness, all for the sake of an ambiguous experiment. One that certainly no one but some magazines could tell if it was really needed. Before, when she had been convinced that there was a purpose, a point to it all, she had been able to endure it. But now she was told that it was all for nothing. Then what was the point of all that?

The door suddenly jerked open. Prudence almost jumped. Her mother was standing there with an inquisitive look. She said nothing, just stood there. So Prudence too did not utter a word. She cast her gaze downward.

“Why are you just sitting there?” her mother asked, quietly and meaningfully. “Why aren’t you doing your homework?”

“I will do it right away.” Prudence fixed her eyes on the floor, somewhere by her feet. She dared not look up when her mother slowly came closer.

For a few seconds, her mother was just there, while the daughter was holding her breath.

“Prudence,” she said, again, very gently, very slowly, “are you upset? Do you think it’s unfair that I punished you just to tell you now that you didn’t really have to learn the piano?”

“No, mother.”

“You think I was wrong, don’t you!” Abruptly, she seized Prudence’s shoulders. She shook her. She screamed at her. “You’re an ungrateful child! You’re upset! How dare you! Do you know how much money it cost me to get you in that class? Do you know how much all of it went down the drain when I dropped you out of it? All of it, just for you, and still you got nothing out of it! All of it, and you dare sit here thinking you are wronged somehow you brat! Look at me! Look into my eyes and say it!”

Prudence gasped, terrified. Her mouth was ajar when her whole body was being shaken so violently, and yet no sound could escape. All of her summoned willpower could not drag her eyes to meet her mother’s. Her palish complexion had somehow turned even whiter under the dim-lit light in her bedroom. Every bone in her body was stiff, every muscle tensed to the snapping point. She could not breathe. But she knew she would be in even much more trouble if she did not speak up soon.

There was only one way she could do it. The only one that she knew of. There was nothing to fear, she told herself. Nothing at all. I am not hurt. I am not scared. I am not frightened nor do I want to scream and run and run and run as far away as I can. There was simply nothing. Nothing at all that happening to me. She who is being punished—the girl sitting right there is not me. Just some girl also named Prudence. What a foreign-sounding name! Some girl I don’t even know very well! She’s just there, suffering. But she is not me. Mother screams at her. Threatens her. But she is not me. There is nothing to fear. Nothing to be frightened of. I am not here. I am not her. And she imagined herself floating somewhere close to the ceiling, looking down upon the scene of a mother and a daughter. She did feel pity for the girl. But there was nothing she could do for her, wasn’t there?

So that girl brought, slowly and gradually, her eyes up to look at her mother. And the moments her mother looked back, searching, she found them to be almost unreadable. It was as though there was nothing at all behind these eyes. Only blankness. Nothingness. Almost. By then it was not completely so. It was still wavering, imperfect. Despite her utmost effort, Prudence could not cast away all her fear, nor could she completely detach herself from her being. She had not fully mastered the art yet.

“No—no mother,” she spoke up, and there was still a tremor in her voice. “I am—I am not upset.”

“You’re not upset? You don’t think that I was wrong?” The mother brought her face closer.

“No,” she answered with trembling certainty. “I am not upset. I have no reason to. You did nothing wrong.”

“Do you really think that?”

“I do. I am not upset. You did nothing wrong.” She repeated. And she knew with confidence that she could go on and repeat those words again and again and again, and really believe they were the truth too.

“Good.” The mother let her shoulders go and moved back. “Now go do your homework.” And then she went away, all very pleased that her daughter had not become a rebellious child.

"I don't hate you!"

"I don't hate you. I don't know you! I-..."

"I could though, if that's..."


Prudence was in rigid silence as the tattooed boy stammered for words. What did get out puzzled her. She could not understand his problem, only that he seemed to want to convey that what she felt radiating from him before, that intense waves of hatred, was not real, not true. So what was he trying to do back then, giving her a scare? It could not be a symptom of his Madness only. She had not heard of a Madness manifesting so singularly against one person like that. Deep down, he hated her, she knew. A hatred so real, and now he wanted to retract it all. Could something like that be retracted so easily? Surely not. Yet he had made a clumsy attempt to do it. Make up your mind, was what she wanted to scream at his face. But she didn’t. She did not care. She had no right, no reason to be angry or scream at anybody.

Before she could answer him, the ringing of a bell echoed about her. It assaulted her like a wake-up call. There the sound of warning as if from high heaven of a revelation, of brought-back time and eased-up feelings, of good old times and youthful days. Where did it come from? The men fell. The bloodsucker, the tattooed. Noah jerked violently off Gauss as their resonance broke. All about her, things collapsed. There was something, something tense and on the verge, on the border of overflowing—now snapped and severed like the inevitable erosion of awkwardly-glued-back fragility—now like a dam had burst, had announced the coming of repressed, murdered, exiled, memories. And come it had. Flooding in.

Spoiler: FLASHBACK

Far back, the ringing faded. The sky cracked open and there were the time-worn yellowing pages of a certain year, a certain day, a certain street, outside a certain subway station, overlooking a certain river. Prudence’s back was against the bridge railing. She was only leaning on it. Eyes cast up and down the crowding street in the rush hour of the day. She wasn’t absorbed in people watching or such idle things one does when one is waiting. There was only one person she was searching in the sea of unfamiliar, vague, abstract faces. That person she could tell by as little as a stray lock of hair loosely hung over her brows. Or the clear voice as pleasant as the gentle trickling of an unspoiled stream, though in no way could be lost, not to Prudence, no way drowned out by the sound of communes, honking abounded, hundred—thousand of walking-by conversations, humming engines flocking traffic lights. She could hear it and she was hearing it now. Her name was called out.

Muriel emerged from a cab in a rush. Excited, energized, overly so, she tripped over the pavement, regained her balance, then rushed again. In the slanted afternoon sunlight, a picturesque glow enveloped her wind-swept golden locks. So she ran. Face beet red and heavy breath. People parted away as she came like a wild-pretty animal. Her unbuttoned cashmere coat floated from side to side following her messy jog. One could hardly tell she was a professionally trained Meister.

“Oh Death, Prudence!” She stopped short just of crashing into Prudence.

“Pont de Al’ma!” she cried, then repeated the words a few more times as if the mere sound of it had caused her to lose it. “Pont de Al’ma! And in my head, all this time, all this time, Bonne Nouvelle! They don’t even sound even that close. How, oh Death! Maybe they do though, right, I mean—hah…”

She caught a moment of silence to regain her breath. She stood, slouched, face raised to the sky, so close to yelling at the sun’s shit-eating grin. “I’m all spent,” she added, “phew!”

“It’s a few stations to get here,” Prudence said flatly, “you didn’t have to take a cab.”

“Not! I must, of course,” Muriel shook her head, “And you sent me the location through the map app too! I should’ve read it over once more, but in my head it was just Bonne, Bonne and Bonne. Then I got there and I waited and waited and waited. You! You could have texted me sooner. Oh Dawd!” She brought her wrist to her face, almost touching it with her delicate nose, to check the time. “One whole hour! I made you wait one whole hour. What manner of idiot would misread the meeting place and make their date wait a whole freaking hour!”

“It’s alright.”

“Of course not!” She slapped on her damp forehead with her wristwatch-wearing hand. “I’m feeling so terrible right now. I’m terrible, just terrible. You must be so upset right now! I’m sorry, sorry, sorry. I’ll make up to you, of course. Now that’s something I can do—but what can I do?”

“It’s alright. I’m not upset.” And it was true that she wasn’t. For years her anger, though only rarely had she ever gotten angry, had never been visible to others. She had no right to it. And there was something so old, so deep-rooted in her, that had made it so she never felt she was the one being personally wronged. Every single annoying thing had only ever happened as though to someone else entirely.

“Certainly you do! How can you not? Now what to…”

“Listen, Muriel,” Prudence interrupted, then there was a marked break. “I’m not upset. I have no reason to. You did nothing wrong.”

“No!” The violent reaction caught Prudence off guard. The blonde had taken a step back and, while staring intensely at her girlfriend, gasped with her mouth wide open.

“What’s wrong?” Prudence frowned.

“Why on earth would you say that I did nothing wrong…” she said almost abstractly, “Oh my, I knew this day would come…”

“What are you talking about? Muriel?” She approached the girl in hesitant steps. A chill in her bones had shaken her calm surface. “Muriel?”

“You hate me now! You hate me now for real! I knew it. I knew I would do something so unforgivable and—”

What is this girl talking about now?

She sighed. “I don’t hate you, ok? I don’t think I’ll ever hate you. You’re being unreasonable.”

“For real?” The blonde apparently had recovered rather quickly from what seemed to be a great shock just seconds ago.

Prudence nodded. “Though I must say, it hurts somewhat that you should think so lightly of me. So you really think I’m capable of hating you so easily?”

“Hah? Of course not, haha,” Muriel stammered and looked away, “I mean, well, sometimes I can’t read you at all. I mean, don’t! Don’t frown at me like that! I promise I’ll never think like that again, never!”

“I believe you.” Prudence took a step back and again leaned on the bridge’s guardrail, then with her arms folded, she raised an eyebrow. “What possessed you to think I hated you anyway? I know you’ve always been quick to jump to conclusions but even that was a bit much.”

“Hmm?” The blonde grinned sheepishly. “I thought there was no way you weren’t being angry. So it had to be that you wanted to ignore me completely, and treat me like some poor stranger, or some poor, poor stray animal that has nothing, nothing to do with you. That’s how you treat someone you hate, yes! By ignoring them! Because you don’t want to deal with someone so you can’t even be bothered to get upset! I mean that kind of insane graciousness should only be reserved for strangers. We are more than that, right? Right!? I thought you’d hated me for real!” And she launched herself at Prudence for a hug, tight and unrestrained in all ways.

“If you were some poor, poor animal, you’d be an overly emotional guinea pig…,” the hugged girl grunted, “Now can you let me go? People are looking and I know you’ll get mad at me later for not reminding you.”

She could already see a blushing, reddened Muriel calling her a big cruel meanie for letting the blonde do something so embarrassing in public.

“But you must promise, promise, promise, to never again be so cold!” said Muriel, “You must get upset alright? So I know you still care! Still care enough that you would get upset with me!”

“I don’t understand you sometimes.” She pried herself out of the blonde’s embrace. “But I promise, okay?”

“Um!” Having been removed from her girlfriend and somewhat satisfied with the situation, Muriel proceeded to fix her disheveled hair with her fingers, then straightened her coat, then buttoned it. “If so then tell me now that you’re upset, and tell me why,” she demanded.

“Now?”

“When else? Go ahead while I fix the nightmarish me. Do! Say it!”

“Well, I’m upset,” Prudence ventured. It took a while of serious thinking, not without difficulty, but finally, it got to her: that feeling of irritation, of having been wronged and unfairly treated. It was not a very nice feeling, but as it swelled in her throat, it felt as though her chest had been released of a heavy weight that she had not consciously been aware of until then. She said, “You’re one silly girl, Muriel. I waited here a whole hour, tired and weary. I thought you had forgotten our date, and I was prepared to wait until night came! What’s more, Bonne Nouvelle reads nothing like Pont de Al’ma! How could you make a mistake that bad? And always check twice the address someone sends you—not doing that is just irresponsible!”

“Eh—isn’t that a bit much…” the blonde whimpered.

“It is?” her face twitched, and she drew back, “I’m sorry, I’m just…”

“Aha, no, nope,” the merry girl threw her head back, laughing. Even her devilish laugh was pleasing to the ears. “Just kidding, it’s not. I like your fiery side so much.”

It flooded out again. Prudence flared, and the words, just like that, came out. “That was a stupid thing to do! You shouldn’t joke like that! I…” That lump that was about to shoot out like a cannonball was suddenly caught in her throat, one that was too weighty and unshapely to travel smoothly from the heart to the lips. But there was no way to swallow it down now, and she knew it. “I-I don’t like that. I don’t like it when people criticize so easily, then just retract it as if it was nothing. It makes me feel horribly uncomfortable, it—it brings back memories. I hate it. I really hate it.” She spoke faster and faster, and there was a wildness in her tone, her quick-fired words. “I don’t say ‘hate’ lightly. I don’t just hate. Hate is a heavy word. I felt horrible when you thought I hated you. I don’t. So please don’t use that terrible word so lightly.” She broke off to catch her breath, and looked away from Muriel’s widened eyes. “What on earth am I saying, I don’t know anymore. Just don’t joke like that, or say I hate you, because I don’t. I can’t bear even the thought.”

Then she was pulled into a hug again. Another shamelessly tight and loving hug.

“I’m—I’m sorry.” Prudence gritted her teeth, the tremor in her voice was almost visible, and her heart wrenched—what had she done? “It just—it just came out like that, I didn’t mean to…”

“No!” cried Muriel, “That was good! That was great! You did a great job, scolding me like that! I’m so happy, I do!”

“You’re not…angry?” she asked timidly, “It’s not right to not get upset when someone says horrible things—you said it yourself—”

“No—no!” the blonde protested, “this is different. I’m happy because you opened up to me. I’m happy like crazy because you are angry with me! I did something wrong, and you told me off instead of letting it slide like you would a stranger. I know I’m saying a lot of silly things! But I do feel like that! I’m happy, I’m happy, I am!”

Again, she pried open the blonde’s embrace the moment it had loosened somewhat. Then she stood looking away, abstractly in the direction of the river. A vague smile presented on her face—faint, almost invisible, but certainly it was there, was noticeable, to Muriel if no one else.

“Twice is enough, people are staring you know? We’re causing a scene.”

The blonde’s head turned around, just as curious bystanders’ eyes darted away. But no doubt just moments before all unoccupied heads nearby were turning to the scene of two girls hugging, raising their voices, then hugging again.

“Whoa, this is crazy!” she cried, not very loudly, “What’re we doing in the middle of the street! You should have told me, you big meanie!”

But Prudence was already walking away. It took no longer than a brief moment for the blonde with energetic strides to catch up with her quieter counterpart.

That was done, and was fine. Muriel was satisfied for real this time. So they went on with their business before daylight was spent. Side by side, they walked away from the subway station, along the bridge and towards the busy street. Carefree as Muriel was, there was still awkwardness in the air. That was inevitable. Prudence didn’t say much, as always. Her girlfriend did all the talking.

“Our schedules don’t overlap much these days,” said Muriel during her endless rambling. “And I was hoping that we could spend all summer together before returning to DWMA.” She sighed, rather dramatically. “Now the summer is almost over, and yet—speaking of, we are supposed to take our first field mission soon after the break, aren’t we? Ahhhh, now that was something both exciting and worrying, but I guess we performed well enough during the last exam… If anything, you will protect me from all harm, right? Right?”

“That’s about the only thing I’m good for,” replied Prudence, “I’m not much good for attacking, and I don’t have any useful utilities to rely on during combat. All I can do is help you defend. It’s not too far off the mark to say that I’m pretty useless as a weapon.”

Muriel didn’t protest that remark. “Hmmm, I guess it’s fitting though. A no-good Weapon and a no-good Meister. It’s like we were born for each other or something!”

“You are taking this lightly again. You know one misstep and we can be seriously hurt right? This is no joke.”

“I’m not joking though, not this time. I know if anything happens, you will be there for me!” And Muriel, the lighthearted angel she was, gave her girlfriend a smile. Prudence hadn’t the best view due to the failing daylight, but it hit her, and it hit her unlike any resonance she had done with the girl. She need not see it. She could feel clearly the girl’s heart, her intentions, her pure thoughts and feelings, as if it had touched her deep down where she was most vulnerable. It caught her off guard.

At that time, in a certain year, a certain month, a certain day, with a certain person, Prudence Pontmercy was struck with the sudden revelation that she, who had never before wished for anything, was then wishing with all she had, more so than her own life, more so than this whole world, to always be there to protect this girl from everything and anything. And that with her, Prudence’s life had now a purpose, a reason. That without her, she might as well cease her pathetic existence in this world. And so she had wished.

Prudence staggered. The flashback had swept by her only for the duration of the ringing of the bell. She had rejected it and had failed. Now she must suffer for her failure.

Now.

What an idiot that person was. Wishing–what the hell? Wish? You? Someone like you? How very ridiculous. You’re but a failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure. Failure.

BLANK.

Prudence woke from her stupor and found herself on the ground, but there seemed to be no physical aftereffect. What was that? Her mind was all rather fuzzy.

She tried to look for the source of the ringing sound, and following the gaze of some people, she found two people in a tight hug: the dog-eared girl and the shy girl who had volunteered to be Thaddeus’s partner from before. And there were tears also.

What on earth?

As she stood there she saw the pair of Weapon and Meister on the ground. For one heartbeat, she wondered who they were. And then she recalled her brief encounter with each of the two. With Jarvis, the bloodsucker, it was a hellish experience, a nightmare in its full sense. But it was fine. She had prepared for it, had tried to punch above her weight. But Zari. She stared at the tattooed boy. He had managed to get a reaction out of her. And had done what she hated the most: retracting his own intense hatred—as if it was nothing. But it was fine. It was all right. It had so happened that the most recent flashback had reminded Prudence of who she was. And the person she was now, if that girl could still be called a person, was incapable of anger, of feeling—should be.

“You two alright?” She made a step closer to the pair, and said, flatly, “About what happened, just don’t worry about it. I’m not upset. You did nothing wrong.”

---

Prudence looked over to the people she would soon share a team with: the pink-haired girl, the shy one, the…cat? were the ones she hadn't had the chance to interact with. Daniella seemed like a difficult person to deal with, or rather more to her concern, to please; Suzu seemed mostly all right, provided that she didn’t go on making unpleasant noises every hour like a church tower. The cat person was just there. The white-haired Meister, the dog-eared one looking to be a perfect headache. How far could she go to avoid mingling too much with them? They were both Meisters of course. And as things went, she might have to work with them should something happen to Thaddeus.

Then came the mentors. Prudence observed them closely. They would be the key to her success or failure at the end of this program. And, ultimately, utterly, they seemed, for want of a better word, normal. They were no Cyrus, the intimidating figure he was. And certainly weren’t of the same breeds as Midori and that girl Emira. A slacker, or so the Meister looked, and the opposite of him as his partner. Though she suspected that their brand of eccentricity could very well be lying deep beneath what met the eyes.

For a while after the assignment for the day was given, all she did was take notes. Important business. She was, obviously, the reactive type. The more she understood the behaviors of her teammates, she could blend in and be personable.

She took note of Thaddeus’s rant. One, he liked to curse. Two, delivering compliments while you are ranting about something else is one genius way to flatter people without sounding like you are trying to earn their favor. Now that was one useful tactic she could learn from him. He was certainly a Meister full of surprises. Very clever indeed.

Daniella was of the same opinion as Thaddeus. What was his opinion again? Right, he didn’t very much approve of the homework they were given. At any rate, the pink-haired girl’s Meister was more interested in getting to know her Weapon. Noted.

The voiced opinions were then addressed by Emmet. Note: People pleaser?

Now all that left was to deal with her new partners: Thaddeus and Noah. It had already been established that Thaddeus was, as far as what she had seen demonstrated, the ideal Meister for her. And even after the little incident with Kasper, her evaluation of him hadn’t changed. His only fault was bad luck. And Prudence knew better than anyone what living a life full of misfortunes is like. She doubted that his lot in life could be much worse than hers. His compliment she didn’t care much about. She could hand out compliments like candy if she were to benefit from it. He could think of her however he wanted. What mattered was his skill as a Meister.

Noah on the other hand, was a surprising element. She was certain that he was the dog-eared one’s partner. Did something happen? A fallout perhaps. Things were beyond chaotic the last thirty minutes. But she chose to keep her pity for now. He didn’t seem too downcast about it, which indicated that they had parted ways on good terms. The most important bit though, was that he seemed and sounded like someone who minded their own business. Her type of people.

“We don’t know them well enough to trust them,” she answered Noah’s remark about the mentor. “And I’m looking forward to working with you—to us working together.”

She followed the Weapon as he walked away, trying to match his pace. As she went she looked over her shoulder and smiled a passing-by smile at Thaddeus, “I appreciate the compliment by the way. It means a lot.”

And that was it. She had fulfilled her role, what was expected of her to go on living. Observe, take note, blend in. Live. Live until the day of death. Thaddeus, Noah, and millions, billions of people out there were just all the same. Passing, insignificant faces. And utterly replaceable.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Lot C
Mission A-01 Meeting
Status Intrigued

​

Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze Merciless Medic

"I never hurt my allies out of ignorance, so I guess I can't really relate to you, but we're both Autonomous Weapons, so same,"​

Out of everything that everyone said, this resounded with Adrian the most. Of course it did. It was the only thing aimed at him. These words would have carried weight with him even if he had been more interactive, even if he had sparked a few other conversations. How he hurt his allies being summed up as ignorance. Oh, he had been yelled at plenty. Scolded over and over, reminded he was warned, guilt-tripped beyond belief--and all well deserved; Hell, the man actually genuinely felt bad. They didn't have to fucking guilt trip him, he felt guilty all on his own, but they did all the same. He had been called reckless, stupid, dangerous, told he was selfish, single-minded, that he suffered one of the worst cases of tunnel vision the higher ups had ever seen. A disappointment, even.

But, never ignorance.

What was ignorance? Adrian was a smart guy, sure, but he wasn't a walking dictionary. He didn't know what Webster defined ignorance as and he wasn't exactly from Oxford. What he knew is what ignorance meant to him. Ignorance meant that someone just didn't know something. Ignorance meant you said or did something without proper information. It meant you weren't educated on a topic. Ignorance was at times, and often actually, forgivable. Ignorance wasn't stupidity. You could fix ignorance most of the time with a library trip or a Google Search, but you couldn't fix stupid.

Did he really hurt the people around him out of ignorance? Did he do it from some lack of knowledge? No... Adrian knew better. He was warned. If his time in therapy did anything for him, it was to own his actions. Adrian didn't hurt his allies out of ignorance. He should have known better. He did know better. He knowingly disregarded every bit of instruction he was given. He was not ignorant. And, in that moment, he was stupid. So, incredibly... stupid.

Maybe this new mentor of his meant what he said in a different way. Adrian could tell he was trying to connect with them and his story felt as genuine as they came. From what Midori described, he was ignorant. "Taken over" by some Mage. He didn't have control. No wonder he couldn't relate. He didn't fuck up so bad he impaled his allies. It wasn't of his volition. All the sympathy in the world didn't mean he understood what it was like to run your allies--your friends--through with the cold steel of your own body. Adrian wanted to take these words of sincerity from Midori, but at the moment, he just couldn't. Perhaps it was the fact there was some lack of connection between him. He listed off a valid one for all of the others. Or, perhaps it was just one ill-placed word. It didn't matter. In either case, Adrian would have to store that speech for later to digest.

Right now... he just couldn't. He felt stupid. He wasn't ignorant, he was an asshole. And the memory of impaling his teammates just ran through his brain.

If he could make Suzu ring again right now, he would in a half a heartbeat. Anything to drown at that memory. Adrian wasn't precisely used to feeling pain. He could impart it on to others, but his fighting style included a lot of defensive measures. He was durable, sure, but his pain tolerance... wasn't there. Ironic for an object of torture, right? Perhaps if he had a better tolerance, he wouldn't have fallen prey to Zari so easily earlier. Not exactly the food for thought he wanted, though. No, he felt a different kind of pain now. One he would happily trade for that wave of pressure and drum-splitting agony Suzu shot through him. He hadn't felt anything like it before. It was unlike even what Zari did. That burnt. Suzu, the pain she caused was also in his skull, but it was like being hit by linebackers from all sides of his skull. Disorienting. Brief. Intense. And, outside of the pain, it made him feel weak. As if he couldn't transform or even control himself. It was terrifying.

And, it was something he would subject himself to over and over it it drowned out the memories of his own fuck ups.

At the very least, he wouldn't be stuck on this thought for too long, though. Everyone else went on with their stories. Adra assaulted a teammate and had Madness. Dangerous, for sure, but she spent years working on it. Zosar was a traitor. He went on a speech nearly as long as their mentor did, but he had a fair bit to explain. Adrian almost scoffed at the moral code he presented. Never leave someone behind. It felt like some speech out of a movie. On a mission, agents might run into a situation they can't handle. Retreat is an entirely valid tactic. As competitive as Adrian was, he knew not to fight a losing battle. Leaving someone behind could easily be a logical choice. There was something admirable in doing it for the DWMA when he was some type of spy, but that admiration was quelled by the raw ideology behind it. Adrian wouldn't be too quick to get on board. If Zosar was in a spot Adrian couldn't save him from, the weapon knew he wouldn't die trying.

He reflected slightly, though, feeling some type of guilt correlating the fact he would leave an ally behind given he was already here for hurting one. A logical choice, sure, but the haste he came to reaching that decision made him feel as if he didn't put enough value on them, and that thought just looped back to how his disregard hurt someone. It was a vicious cycle. What broke him away from this thought is the awkward silence that lingered in the air. Jarvis had yet to provide any type of answer and neither had he, probably because he was seething over that comment regarding ignorance.

Even Emira didn't break this silence. Only shooting Midori some type of look and for him to shake his head. How those two communicated was beyond him. But then, Midori was the man whose introduction was an assassination attempt, so if that was how he said hello, then questioning how he did anything was half-pointless.

"I guess I'll go," he said aloud, breaking that awkward silence. His tone was dry, a little sullen, and despite the lengthy explanation from Zosar, he didn't have the ambition to match. Half of him wanted to compete, but that half was drowned out by the guilt, and quashed by the half of him that hated explaining this.

"My name is Adrian Hackney, stage name The Maiden. If you haven't pieced it together, it's because my weapon form is an Iron Maiden. Purely stationary, means I fight autonomously or not at all," he explained in a bland, matter-of-fact tone. "I'm here basically because I don't listen. A year or so ago, I was on a mission in the Mojave fighting a scorpion we had no hope of beating. I didn't care. I self-resonated as a last ditch effort, but it still didn't work and nearly got me killed. I defied the orders of our leader and when they tried to save me, one of my teammates was stabbed through the thigh with one of my spikes while I was frantically trying to get out of the way. Wound was bad enough they said he may not have walked again, but that luckily wasn't the case. Point is, that wasn't the first time I defied orders. Or disregarded instructions. Or, even just told a leader to straight fuck off while I did my own thing. My entire track record is full of it, that scorpion was just the straw on the camel's back," Adrian went on to explain. He took a different approach as to explaining his presence. He gave the fundamental reason, then the event that led up to it. His therapist made him focus on these reasons, though, not just looking at the individual errors. Wording it like this meant more to him because it was how he communicated his actual issue.

"I guess I'm here because the rest of the DWMA didn't want me hurting them and thought making you guys pin cushions was a little more excusable," he said. It wasn't a joke. There wasn't a line of humor there. It was self-defeating.

"I'm working on it, no promises yet, but I don't particularly like hurting people--unless I'm supposed to," he added, almost as an afterthought. He didn't intend on saying anything else, but something in him pushed him just that extra bit further to not end on that macabre comment.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Nadia Semyonov - Location: DWMA Lot C​

Watching the madness unfold a few things got her attention, firstly was the cat man that seemed to be in pain from the bell ring. "Heh." She almost wanted to say good, it was about time he got a taste of his own medicine, next was the boy who's name oozed rich, which did not strike as any sort of surprise as she rolled her eyes, then was the Wolf and her bell seemingly having struck one another to emotional tears, or near enough to it.. Exploitable, or may hap dangerous, she would have to wait and see about that, but the wolf girl was far too emotional for Nadia's own liking or the girl's own good, then it was the shield, she had a distant look to her eyes, if not for an instant, a look Nadia knew well, before defaulting to the too willing to serve persona she had shown a time and again, which would have caused her to roll if not for how the girl had shown up in the first place, was she a toady, a doormat or something else?

It was then as she made these internal observations that she listened to the words of Thaddeus and her own partner was quick to offer her own opinions on the assignment, followed quickly from the 3-star, someone worth humoring at least, and then Noah as well adding in. All in all it was difficult to process all she had seen and heard given the simultaneous nature of it all as she scoffed a bit at what she considered the most important;

"Debil.. Here you are saying you are here for your nature of treating others and offering such words, but as... Dani, here said, the purpose isn't to say just make up superficial things. It is to learn about them. Though with all you said do you Trust them with your life, all so easily from one interaction? What are they here for? What will make them break? What will make them run? What inspires them? What are they good for? How low will they go and how far will they reach? Do they, or even you have what it takes when things are bad?" Nadia says, rattling off a number of questions that showed her own thoughts on this to a point. Pinching the bridge of her nose and massaging around her face with her right hand she looks up at the sky briefly before lowering her hand, a different and less caring gaze upon her face, internal thoughts hidden from all else.

Worrying about the weak will just lead to the past. It would be better if they all just went away. Will you really repeat those mistakes when survival is what counts? What do these people even know of such? Strength is what matters... Yes?

But what is strength...

The voice went along in her head, to the theme of her own thoughts but as if to debate with herself. It was no matter, and it was all starting to make her head hurt. Turning her attention to Dani and the instructor she shrugs a little. "I have nothing I could say about her from a brief talk and a failure to resonate, so some shallow words at best. If I am to make use of her then some ground must be established with us. Which I have old tradition to do just that.. Then I shall see what worth she is. As she will in I, I think.. But I rather be about my way. Was there anything else?"

With that she looks at the two mentors then makes a jerking motion with her head, as if to call Dani over, it seemed she clearly had something in mind at least.

Interactions: Merciless Medic Kyuubey EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul Mqueserasera

 

[QuirkyAngel]

Jarvis Briseis - DWMA, Lot C

Jarvis played with the fuzzy rim of his hood as he listened to the introductions of the other members of the ‘Midori Team’. Well, four of them anyway. Including their mentor, there were only six of them divided into a group to work together—for whatever reason. Midori Hoshi kicked it off, as to be expected of an instructor, revealing more detail about himself than Jarvis really wanted to know, but the bloodsucker wasn’t going to complain. The autonomous, 2-star weapon being a golem certainly explained why the Hoshi Clan member smelled like death to Jarvis…as no normal human could pass through the gates of death and back unchanged…but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen stranger things. Nor did he really care. From werewolves, to monster cats, to whatever ghosts or zombies roamed the halls of DWMA, none that belonged to the Reformed Monster Houses were human. He knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to try and rejoin DWMA as one of the few—if not only—bloodsucker aiming to work for Death.

Meeting Midori’s brief look in his direction with a shrug, Jarvis’s expression remained unchanged as the assassin attempted to draw up whatever connections he could between himself and the other students he was in charge of…though it was nice to hear that someone had gone through a similar experience he supposed. Trust having to be earned was something Jarvis knew better than most and, as much as he liked to complain about the added difficulties, it didn’t bother him as much as Midori’s statement seemed to imply. Most that took the path he did tended to be on the sinister side anyway.

Adrasteia Chandrice’s introduction was nice and brief, revealing that she’d attacked her partner and that she was under intensive care for madness. Zosar Raith’s was a little long-winded, as if to match Midori’s jaw-dropping tale, but explained clearly why he had the Blue Reaper’s apprentice keeping an eye on him, as well as his own strong adherence to his own personal code. Not leaving a friend in peril was something Jarvis could get behind…though no god or kishin stopping him from doing so was probably pushing it. Truth be told, Jarvis didn’t know what he would do if he was put into such a situation until it happened. Whatever actions he took—whenever he decided to take them—tended to be on instinct…like in the case of the ball game.

That was the kind of guy he was.

Prior to meeting Zari, who reminded him (a bit) of Atli at that one moment, Jarvis would’ve been content to make an early exit out of the program on his own. Even now, as he was listening to them all talk about their issues and reasons for being here what he felt was mild apathy…tinged with maybe a bit sympathy and respect for what they went through…but that was it. What was he supposed to say? Every Tom, Dick, and Harry that applied to F.A.T.E probably had their own personal problems. Was he supposed to care about all of them? The more he knew about people, about humans, the more he cared about their lives…and that was exhausting. Caring that is. Getting involved with others, more than necessary, was a hassle he generally wanted to avoid—especially since becoming a bloodsucker.

At the moment, the only one in the group he really cared to learn about was Azariah…but he supposed that if he were to work with the others, getting to know them would make doing so easier. Maybe. Partnerships weren't permanent and he didn't know who he might have to work with in the future, after all. As the Iron Maiden finished admitting his faults in his depressing story, Jarvis removed his pale fingers from the fuzzy lining and slipped it back into his pockets as his crimson eyes danced from face to face.

“Don’t got much of a choice, do I?” He yawned, revealing his fangs. “Once again, my name is Jarvis Briseis. I was a student here some 21 years ago until the MIBVI outbreak when my partner got affected. I left school in order to find her, underwent the ritual to become a bloodsucker, killed her, and have been living in Siberia—where it is very cold—for the last 10 years…so I ended up learning Russian to make living amongst the natives there a bit easier, ponimat'? I find the change in climate since moving here very troublesome. Otherwise, I like sleeping, eating, and playing video games.”

Jarvis scratched his neck, his eyes rolling to the sky as he tried to think of what else to say. He didn’t feel like delving into memory lane to give them all the dirty details of his choices and, truth be told, it was 16 years ago so it wasn’t as if he had an especially good memory of what he’d been feeling at the time anyway. Anger? Sadness? Grief? Now, he just felt nothing. “I’m here because my vampire parent thinks I’m wasting my eternity by lazing about, doing nothing all day…and I guess I kind of agree with her I suppose…”

Though he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a lazy part of him that wanted to just lie in bed and forget it all. Jarvis shrugged. “…There is nothing else I wanted to do with my life anyway...so here I am. Reliving my 12-year-old self’s dream of becoming a Deathscythe...”

And fulfilling the promise he’d made to his first partner in hopes that it would fill the void her death left behind—possibly regain the passion he’d lost as well. In all honesty though, he really just had nothing better to do. Nothing else he wanted to do…except for the voice in his soul that told him to finish what he’d started. Head tilted, Jarvis looked towards Zari. "Your turn."

Sir Les Paul Prizzy Kriyze Kyuubey The Regal Rper Sybil

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Azariah "Zari" Vasher
Jarvis was putting up a strong front. Zari didn't believe him, he didn't look as alright as he was saying he was. Even still, he didn't even know how to act or what to say then, only that somehow his wavelength still didn't try to steal from him. He wasn't actively burning him. A momentary image of how Jarvis fearlessly stepped out onto the tightrope in their souls before he'd burst it played by in his mind. Maybe.

As Jarvis went to leave and urged him along, Zari only managed to take a couple of steps after him before he heard that sound behind him again. His hearing was careful at best, apprehensive at the prospect of being assaulted again by more loud noises, but the hollowness of the sound was too scary to miss. He looked over his shoulder and turned to face Prudence, carefully eyeing her as her sound - like a lonely gust of wind down an abandoned hospital corridor - washed over him. Why, why did it have to sound like them?

In spite of his uncertainty, his back was rigid and straight in expectation for what she had to say. Punishment was to be faced head-on, not cowardly shied away from. Even if he told Jarvis it wasn't his fault, that was referring to the outburst of madness and not the consequences they brought. He'd had in mind to contain it, keep it from Jarvis, keep it from the world! But clearly it slipped through. THAT WAS his fault. Nothing else. Nobody else's. His weakness. Yet still, her face was not stern. Not any more so than it had been, before. Her words were evenly spaced, empty. Was he mistaken, had it been somebody else's voice?

No way. He was far too good at hearing. Why the hell did it feel so familiar?

There was a tightness in his chest when she was done. No harsh reprimand, no lashing for his trespass, no pain to help forgive himself. His fists were clenched hard, reawakening the dull throbbing from where he'd previously pressed his nails through his skin, but his face showed little but disbelieving fear. Why couldn't she make this okay? Even? Her back was turned before he'd finally managed to chip a sentence out, and he didn't know if she'd heard it. All the same, this was a far realer punishment she'd left him with, and he did not have the right to speak.

"I did bad... I was weak."

Back at Jarvis' side in the shade of his tree, he made a tiny grimace at Jarvis' sippy drink. "That's blood. Bad for your health." He muttered, but flanked Jarvis closely when he returned towards Emira and Midori. Admittedly, HE didn't know it was human blood, but he'd come across stranger people with stranger eccentricities before. Midori was just about to begin his speech, and Zari took to crouching down next to Jarvis and hugging his knees throughout the monologue. His eyebrows were furrowed deeper than usual from the previous interaction, but even if his eyes were sternly set on the ground he was paying careful attention to what they were being told. Midori's long life of trials, travails, treachery and betrayal was enough to pique his interest, but he didn't know what to make of it. It was his story, and Azariah had absolutely no idea what kind of person he was. He didn't have anything against Midori's speech, rather he was unable to understand it. Why he needed to know it. Why he wasn't just handed another assignment or mission to carry out.

"They don't trust you because you've hurt your friends? Same."

Slowly, Zari's eyes had crawled up to look at Midori - but he did not know that he was being spoken to. The glance he was given only brought more confusion. There was no one that didn't trust him. Not any less than they would any stranger, as far as he knew. He hadn't hurt anyone. He had only murdered them, quick and painless mostly. There was no one left to be mistrustful of him. He made damn sure of that. No siblings to come and haunt the future he carved for himself. It was sad, but better that way.

Finally, when Midori asked them all to share a little about themselves, Zari's fingers pulled at the fabric of his pants and his gaze turned hostile. It was nobody's business, what went on inside his head. Maybe Jarvis', or he wouldn't be getting any better. His therapist was pretty nice too, they got to know things if they asked. These other ones, Emira, Midori, Zosar and Adra, he didn't know if they were nice. They didn't always seem it. Unfortunately, it seemed they had different plans in getting through this. Like a defensively curled up animal, he watched each of them with a subdued animosity as they introduced themselves.

Adra went first after a moment of silence, socially urging the rest of them to fall in line. She was a traitor and infested with madness, but most of all she was weird. She wanted to be here to become strong, but she sounded so angry for this entire ordeal. Anger breeds instinct breeds sloth. His assessment was rubbed in a more negative direction due to his mood, and it in turn made him feel guilty and made his mood even more sour, but he let himself take a single breath deep enough that his chest moved to slow the thought. She could be determined, even if she sounded so conflicted. He didn't know. He couldn't know.

Zosar came next, and he spoke for so long. Things that didn't matter, things that mattered too much. More of the same, seemed a group of traitors had been gathered. But Zosar wasn't a traitor. He'd stayed loyal first to his clan then to his new friends. He lied about being a traitor in one breath and spoke of his personal convictions in the next, the same that he'd stayed true to even now after his forced detainment in F.A.T.E. It was pitiful. His words were that he'd be loyal to his friends, but the only thing keeping him from reporting vital information that could come to hurt his friends was the DWMA. It sounded much more like he was escaping accountability and repercussion. He was no man. He was little more than a cowardly sense of self-pity, parading around as something more.

Adrian was next, and Zari hoped this would ring better as he buried his face against his knees. At least he was a good fight. But no, as it turned out he couldn't follow orders from his superiors. Not him either. It wasn't as contradictory to Zari's sense of morals as the previous statement from Zosar, but it frustrated him all the same. Why must it always be like this, that his comrades could not think or act in ways that would just let him like them? Or was that the aftershock of the monster in the back of his head, telling him they were all nothing? They were wrong and he was right? Like he'd been right, ever? Making no decisions to fall into all the same pit traps at someone else's behest?

The testimonies made him feel hopeless, and he was on the verge of tears. Unfamiliar, strange wetness that never seemed to quite pierce through. Then, Jarvis spoke. So simple, so simply directed. So unoffensive. So much easier to deal with hearing. A want to protect. A will to sacrifice for it. Slowly he turned to face him, still stern, but not quite so scared. He tried to hold himself together for his potential partner. Compose yourself, take a breath, hold it, exhale.

I am in control and if I wait the feeling passes.

Then Jarvis turned the attention on him. Shit. He couldn't be cross with him for it, but he didn't like it. Still, it wouldn't do well to not try at all just because his mood was ruined, so he shifted his gaze towards the rest of the group. Tired, angry. Only his eyes were visible behind the knees he held so close, and they were intensely aimed at Zosar and Adrasteia. No real reason. No excusable one, anyway.

"Azariah Vasher. Fake name. I... searched for this place. Knew something was wrong when I cried for plucking dad's eyes out." As his mouth worded the sentence seemingly of its own volition, he finally realized that it was his anger taking hold again, and with a guilty conscience he returned his attention to the dirt from the pair he'd been staring at. "I needed help. Everyone is dead." He mumbled. And I killed them. He managed to leave out. "There's nothing left. This is... ehm, this is it."

And I'm scared.

Mqueserasera Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper QuirkyAngel Sybil

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Midori☆Hoshi​

"Dark Star"​

Species Death Golem
Partner Various / Autonomous Weapon
Rank Two-Star

Location Death City, Lot C
Mission A-01 Meeting
Status Composed

​

Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze The Regal Rper Sybil QuirkyAngel Kyuubey @Myself

A unique collection was an understatement. It was one thing to read the issues of these individuals on a sheet of paper. Dry prose written by some bureaucrat behind a desk that wasn't directly involved or was compiling statements. It was another to hear what these people had to say. To hear their voices quiver, the shift in their tones as they tried to explain what brought them here. The flares in their souls as they brought up these memories that plagued them. The obvious outlier here was Jarvis, but then Jarvis was Type E for a reason.

Adra said she wanted power, but Midori didn't that was entirely accurate. Power is something every Agent strives for, sure, but when it remains your focus, it's almost like shouting you want a sense of normalcy. It was normal for an agent to pursue power. A "normal" goal probably helped things feel normal. Zosar could learn a few things from Adra in the field of being succinct. Ironic coming from himself, he was sure, but it was still a thought in his head. Zosar wanted to dig himself out of the hole he dug, which was both something Midori could relate to and would be a daunting task. He would probably face scrutiny for the rest of his time in the DWMA for that, to varying degrees. Midori knew he sure did.

Adrian, if anything, seemed like he benefited the most from his therapy. Midori had no way of knowing if the others were using Soul Perception, or if they were how clear emotions were to them, but inside Adrian was guilt. Guilt and some type of frustration. It wasn't precisely just his feelings that indicated this. The way he worded the things he did made it sound like he was a poster boy for applying coping techniques most of the DWMA therapists tried. Adrian was there, arguably, for the most recoverable issue. Just stop being an asshole. Marking him as a "fate" agent at such a young age was questionable, but there was no doubt his issues were habitual.

Jarvis provided about as much information as Midori expected. Jarvis was here basically on principle of being a Bloodsucker. The stigma against them was real, and arguably for valid reasons, but as someone who was scrutinized for that same type of "non-human" hate, he couldn't help but think giving him this Fate Agent title was just as unfortunate as Adrian, if not more so. Zari was an entirely different topic. If Jarvis was incredibly cold earlier, Zari burnt quite hot. His soul was in turmoil just as Adrian, but his reason for being there was... more valid. His feelings seemed more intense. This man genuinely felt like this was his last lifeline in the world.

Zosar may have been a traitor, which Midori could relate to; Jarvis wasn't human, which he could relate to. Adra and Adrian hurt their allies, which he could still relate to. But Zari? Zari needed this. In just those few words from the Meister, he convinced Midori that he was the one who deserved an a damn break. Seeing the agents in front of him and how those two weren't even given a fair shot in the DWMA before being assigned to this program, to Midori, seemed like an affront. Zosar, Adra, and Adrian all at least had their first chance. It was shit that this was the only chance those two were even given.

These thoughts would require a lot of deliberation later. What Midori determined as fair and just clearly wasn't shared within the rest of the DWMA. He had to remind himself that what was an affront to him was considered absurd by some others. He had to reign in his perspective on things. He was there to help them, not question the system that put them there in the first place. Even if he wanted to improve it, he alone was powerless to do so.

"This is it, you're right. It's it for everyone. And, I'll my damnedest to make sure you all succeed," Midori responded, piggybacking off the last line given by Zari.

"I intended on going through the basics of Calm Mind training with you, but I believe we've done enough. The first major step in Calm Mind training, outside of just meditation, is learning how to enter your own Soul Space. Weapons can do this, too, we just typically don't learn how without a Meister. I could go on some lecture about how this is done, but I expect all of you know how you learn best and there's a whole school full of people and books that explain it better. So for now, I'm giving you all free time to do as you please. As I said, I'll send out a text with instructions tomorrow night for the following day. I do suggest in that time at least doing some research as furthering Calm Mind training is going to be a goal for everyone," Midori told them, explaining things going forward. And, of course, releasing them to do as they pleased.

"If you have any questions, just give me a shout. All of your contact lists should have me updated on it when you refresh your phones. So I guess... do whatever it is you do," Midori added, although he didn't really have a good segue into just telling them to do whatever. He was almost sure Jarvis and Zari would go off on their own, either together or just alone. Knowing Zosar, he was probably highly likely to continue with Emira. Given Adra was paired with him, she might stay. She also might not. If she did, now that Midori thought about it, he did want to revisit. Make sure any bad blood there was settled. Adrian was more of a wild card. Not sure what he would do. He formed a small kinship with Zari earlier, but he might also be interested in two Autonomous Weapons.

What this lot did with their free time would at least give some insight into their priorities, at the least. So, he would soon learn.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Lot C
Mission A-01 Meeting
Status Exhausted, irritated

​

Mentions: Merciless Medic Mqueserasera

The explanation Emmett provided was less than satisfactory. At least, in the moment. Fact was, it wouldn't have mattered what Emmett said; he wasn't going to satisfy Gauss. The Meister had more than a fair amount of pent up frustration and presently no real outlet. This was only compounded by the dull ache in his arm and the residual static in his soul. The redeeming comment that redirected Gauss' wasn't about the assignment. It was the reminder of the infirmary. Noah helped considerably, but between the Rejection and Suzu's Wavelength, Gauss was undoubtedly in pain and far from at his peak. Could he stand? Sure. Walk even. If he needed to use his abilities, he could, albeit not at their full capacity. Feeling a modicum better than he did a few minutes ago still didn't mean he was at his best.

That was a feeling he didn't like. In his mind, he would never improve if he didn't start at his best. The rather lengthy walk to the on campus infirmary would result in treatment that would actually get the instability in his left arm manageable, and ideally alleviate the pain. Might also score some pills, depending on who was working.

Gauss glared at Emmett, then just turned around with his back to their mentors without any other acknowledgement of his answers. What Gauss heard in grass roots was interpreted as an absolute waste of time. Gauss was a Utility Meister, sure, but the resonance wasn't what initially bothered him about the issue. Gauss was captured in a vicious cycle of these negative thoughts, festering with his growing frustration.

The comments from the others held little weight with him in his current mind state, either. Dani, in specific, would have only added fuel to the flames. She clearly didn't understand the point Gauss was making. To him, she whined like a grade schooler upset a kid reminded the teacher of homework. That wasn't entirely accurate to his issue, though. It wasn't negligence that was his issue here, it was how inept the assignment was at what saw as its purpose. Even if everyone shared their life stories all day, all they would be doing is exchanging anecdotes. Gauss' point, at core, was how well could you really know someone after one day and then comment on them? It wasn't that simple.

He would have walked away entirely. Ignored Noah and Prudence, even. Gauss wasn't in his prime and regardless of how understandable as to why, he did not like to be seen as he was presently. He wasn't composed. He was hurt. His soul was disrupted. He was weak. This isn't the image he wanted to give off. This isn't the imagine he wanted to see himself as. He hated it. Gauss absolutely would have walked away alone until he could return in a way he accepted as presentable.

He would have if he was the man he was a few years ago. Gauss was hardly the best at compliance with his therapy, but he was aware of how hurtful and toxic his behavior was. He was forced to see it firsthand and come to terms with what his actions did. There were rules he was willing to bend and break, if he saw fit. In this moment, his issue wasn't with Noah or Prudence. It was with the stupid assignment given to them, which itself wasn't as much the issue as it was the series of unfortunate events that had befallen him before just building up and compressing into this spiteful irritation he had no real direction for. So, just like Suzu wasn't to blame for her Wavelength, he rationalized that Noah and Prudence weren't to blame for these feelings, nor his current state.

Perhaps, too, this wasn't some internal rationalization alone. Perhaps the words of Noah sank in and held some value. Perhaps the kind smile of Prudence meant something. Noah had healed his soul to some degree, which he was grateful for, and the admiration he had for it fed the ego of Gauss to a point where he probably prescribed and unjustified amount of value to his words. And, while Prudence was already mentally filed in the depths of his mind as off limits, her simple warm smile was enough to impart at least some level of compassion onto him. Perhaps, Gauss didn't reach this transition alone.

Gauss walked a little faster to catch up with his wea--Noah and Prudence--as they walked on.

"A compliment would have been more akin to saying your grey eyes catch light in a dazzling way," Gauss said, responding first to the last thing said in the conversation. "What said about you two wasn't flattery. It was the truth based on everything that has happened up until now," he explained, providing some insight as to what he actually perceived his words as.

"I set the bar as high as I can in everything I do, even a trivial assignment such as this. The point is to show appreciation, yeah? The first thing I think of is what would either of you actually care if someone appreciated. I hardly know either of you well enough to piece that together, but I know this. I've used a million lines on countless people for the sake of flattery, and apparently that was one of my problems. I don't intend on following the same path that got me here," he went on, this time in response to the first comment made by Noah.

"It also doesn't matter if we trust them, they're our superiors. We came back here willingly; questioning them now would just be wasted effort in a program to get us back on track. Didn't you hear Cyrus? He thinks this is a waste of funding. The DWMA wouldn't have put resources into us if they weren't genuine in their intentions. They have more money than they know what to do with, but they don't have a surplus of high ranking agents to act as mentors. More importantly," he said, shifting the conversation onto the shared agreement they had made. He had a different perspective on the matter, if only because he was looking at this program as a business decision.

"I'm making the executive decision to trust both of you. As much as I bitched about not knowing you, I'm not going down the path that trust is earned. Call it stupid if you want, but I'm not going to make either of you jump through hoops to have my support. I'm here to succeed, to get stronger even, and barriers like distrust won't stand in my way," he told them both. It was hard to focus on either one of them, honestly. Walking beside them through the forested path to Lot C made it somewhat difficult to just just look at either one of them when the focus on the conversation might have demanded it, so instead, he walked forward talking to them, only gesturing to either one slightly whenever he specifically responded to something one of them said.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Zosar | DWMA | Lot C

Both Jarvis and Zari's 'confessions', were listened to.

Out of the two, it was Jarvis' that drew a pinch of understanding. Seeking purpose again, at least from what he took it, that was something the ex-merc could understand. He'd indirectly killed a personal friend that had been part of a small group of the Enlighteners before, and directly played a role in that specific one's capture with other members during the hunt. Someone that had been part of a de-facto team of people that were selling the real identities of some of their members after a rogue group within the city of Graz. He may not have been able to empathize with the fact Jarvis had undertaken the task of killing his own Meister, but he respected the fact he had been willing to go so far, essentially ostracizing himself in the process. Even if he was apathetic about it all, whether it was a state of depression or a symptom of it, or just some form of mental state he'd adopted from the misfortune of that event, the Bloodsucker had just unintentionally earned a smidge of Zosar's respect with this revelation.

Zari however, did not earn anything, but sympathy. Already he had an inkling of an idea of what 'Azariah' was saying. He had fled from somewhere, suffered heavy losses, and personally saw the death of his father. Under other circumstances he would have been heavily critical of Zari in that moment, its what he would have done in the past at least- but he was older now. Older and had more knowledge not to be so quick to bare his scorn at someone who gave him the signs of being a murderer.

Experience on some missions in EAT had given him the chance to dig into investigations on certain cases where more information was needed. It had been something of a learning experience also. Where he wasn't being let loose to simply give chase to the vermin that needed to be executed for the harm they were causing. Not yet at least. Clues had to be pieced together before the target could be properly found in some cases, and appropriately dealt with. It had definitely been different than what he was generally accustomed to. So in the moment that Azariah had confessed to personally plucking out his father's own eyes, Zosar's brows had not furrowed down, but rather one had went up in curiosity. He'd seen his fair share of gruesomeness before DWMA, lived it even, Zari's admission, and then confession of personally seeking this place out told him there was a story there. It would have to wait for another time for him to ask about it, probably after Zari had learned to be less nervous about talking in general with how hesitant and out-of-place he seemed to get whenever he tried talking from what he had observed.

With Midori's following statements and the announcement that they were now free to roam, the meister addressed his partner. "Give me a sec Adra", shortening the name down to a bare- simply, and easy nickname for now. "I need to ask Midori and Emira a question on a few things, just give me a bit, once I'm done with them we can head back." Waiting a moment or two for any kind of response, before he began moving in both the instructor's presence.

"Yo Midori, Emira" he nodded to the latter, "I figure this is the perfect opportunity as any to ask." Though in all honesty, if he was going to get some time with Emira to get some answers, he figured maybe Midori could get a chance also to talk with Adra. Apology or not, it was pretty clear to him that one apology wasn't going to get those two to talk and observe how it went. Wouldn't be doing him any favors if Adra held resentment towards Midori and that only made their partnership more complicated by extension.

"So here goes. Earlier, you guys mentioned anyone that would request to wield Emira, would need to train to be able to do that." His eyes, violet and indigo, honed in on her, a questioning gaze in them. "Why? I've never heard of anyone needing to train to wield a Demon Weapon before. Unless," and now the pieces were starting to come together as he spoke. "Unless, she's also got a unique soul or wavelength that makes wielding her a problem?" He gauged the reactions of both with a curious brow, then continued. "Either way, I'd like it if you could explain or at least show me what it is I'm dealing with here. Adra's great, we just need to train to become exceptional" he stated with a tone that said he believed it, and said it in a way that would ascertain his new partner would hear him when he said it. 'Train' would be equivalent to working on their relationship in this case- and in his mind, that was a must, not something done solely for the sake of just mere training to get stronger, but to make their very bond stronger. In the same way, Emira would just be like his new partner here in the same sense. Ground zero, then slowly leveling up.

"For you though, I'd prefer it if you could show me what I'm dealing with." He said to Emira in specific. Watching and waiting. "However you need to do it, I'm open to it. Let's just get started and we can go from there."

A hint of impatience in there. The curiosity to see what her soul was actually about had been bugging him quite a bit. Now that he had the chance, he certainly hoped she would give him the opportunity to get a feel for what was going on with what he was seeing. At the very least, it'd satiate his curiosity.

Mentions: Prizzy Kriyze QuirkyAngel

Interactions: Sybil Sir Les Paul (Midori) Kyuubey