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Worthington School of the Military Arts (SIR Shadow IV...Esquire und his lackey, Solvitus Maxus V)

Sol

Sol

Brahsol
-Names subject to change .


-Possible group RP shift.


-RP to test waters, hence not serious enough.


-More to add as RP goes.






Well then, the Worthington School of the Military Arts was founded by the great general Maxwell Worthington Eldritch ESQUIRE THE THIRD R KELLY. Knowing the name of the founder of this great institution is a must. This school has been producing one of the finest breeds of soldiers our great nation can hope to achieve and have been making daily breakthroughs in military science and tactics. Why the "Zeppelin" airship was invented by one of our very own students. Sure it needed the refinement but the core idea was hers, now her brainchild is a mass produced weapon that safeguards our borders.


The School was a long history that stretched back to the first great war which split the old empire into two separate factions that have long since been at each other throats but have only engaged in open conflict only a scant few times. This is mainly due to the arcane abominations that the court wizards of the old empire conjured, they harass both nations. These beasts have been breeding quickly and come in different variations but our weapons are more than enough to slay these beasts. However, a weapon needs someone to wield it, those of you who join will be trained to utilize these weapons to defend against the remnant of the old empire and the abominations left by the old empire. Their time is over.


The House Lanshire and Echeverry have been two ruling houses that have long since vied for power in the imperial court. One house held sway over the western half of the empire and the other holds sway over the east. The blind and deluded Echeverry family of the west seeks to restore the old ways and rebuild the old empire, they fight us who choose to forge our own path. We do not need kings or queens, we needed men and women who care about the nation not their dynasties. Lord William Lanshire had been the person who had organized our nation into what it is.


The School provides training in a myriad of specializations. One could opt to be a saboteur and learn exciting new ways to toy with the Echeverry soldiers and citizenry. One may also choose to be train to be an engineer who is well-versed in all manner of war machines that make up the nation's arsenal. A grenadier for those who wish to master the explosion powder. An aviator, who is responsible for flying and manning the fledgling zeppelins, this is a fresh field for those who look for a fresh start or exciting possibilities through the clouds!









  • Molotok_Sledge_Wrench_Fullview_by_VladislausDantes.jpg



    Standard repair tool of any engineer, doubles as a painful bludgeon. No Runes are present.









Being a military academy, most of the courses offered to aspiring cadets have something to do with combat or subterfuge or applied engineering. Every applicant must go through a selection process that involves a physical fitness test as well as a written test, an applicant need not pass both but must pass one of the two in order to be accepted. This is the first time anyone would have exposure to the Worthington Grading System, a number based grading system wherein 5 is the highest and 1 is the lowest possible score, 0 means that the student has failed and needs correctional sessions at once.


Here at Worthington we believe in equal opportunities for everyone, rich or poor, noble or commoner. All are welcome to this school but they must at least show that they are either mentally or physically capable before they are accepted. We believe that we can make well rounded students but they must at least show competence in something. Just because we are military academy does not mean we are all combat, there are several non-combat specializations our students can work to become. Regardless of specializations, students can expect to stay here for 5 years.


In fact, we have so much confidence in our faculty that each Academic year, when a new batch of students come in they already form a single large cohesive unit that can and will graduate alongside each other subdivided by Classes. Each Class is composed of members of different specializations, each class also has a Class Head who will serve as the Class's commander in the field. The Class Head is responsible for his or her Class and thus goes through a special course on top of their specialization. Now each Batch has a Batch Leader who coordinates all of the Classes in it. Batch Leaders and Class Heads all have a higher rank than their peers upon graduation, their position will be translated into an appropriate military rank. On average, a Class is composed of 20 to 30 members and each Batch has at least 4 Classes in it.


Students do not receive specializations until their 3rd year in the School, they are known as Cadets until given a specialization after which they are addressed as their respective specialization. At the end of their 2nd year, Cadets undergo aptitude tests that define what specialization they would belong to. It is a long and rigorous process but it will help one find that calling which will allow them to better serve their nation. Aside from being given a specialization, a Class Head is also chosen during the Aptitude Test based on results of the test.


It is during their 2nd year that they are sent on patrols around Lanshire territories to safeguard the people against the Formido and Echeverry skirmishers but mostly against the Formido. Even during training the students are already being forged in the fires of combat but during the second years they are accompanied by a Lanshire guard squad to ensure some element of safety. It is during the 3rd year and onward that students are left to their own devices, headed by no one except their Class Head and, in some rare cases, Batch Leader. Though no instance has happened yet, should Echeverry forces stage an invasion, 3rd year students and above are called and required to aid the Lanshire Guard protect the people and the nation.


Appropriate Punitive Measures are meted out to Students who would seek to shame the School or tarnish its name. The Punitive Measures can range from simple verbal reprimands to expulsion to execution. The last has never happened due to the fact that dire conditions must be met, one example is desertion in times of conflict, we hope that it would never happen at all. No one has been expelled from the academy either because of the discipline and camaraderie that we instill in our students. Verbal reprimands are the most common and are usually for minor offenses. Correctional Sessions are also used to those who have repeatedly committed several minor offenses or one major offense, these sessions are used to point out to the student what they are doing wrong as well as an avenue for the student to come to terms with whatever is causing him or her to commit such acts.


Offenses to the school come in three flavors, minor, major and dire. Dire offenses are usually dealt with expulsion or execution. Major offenses are addressed by Correctional Sessions. Verbal reprimands are for Minor offenses. Now Dire offenses would involve acts of treason and betrayal to the school or the nation. Major offenses are those that involve destruction of school property, cheating and the like. Minor offenses would include class disruption, inappropriate or unauthorized use of school property or facilities and offenses of such nature.









  • Appearance:


    ME0001358657_2.jpg



    Age:


    33


    Gender:


    Male


    Year Level:


    Faculty/Lieutenant


    Specialization:


    Gunner


    Loadout:


    Sparrow


    Mercenary


    Folded Knife


    Background:


    "Sir Maximum Bullshend. Lieutenant Maximum Bullshend. Professor Bullshend. This somewhat lecherous man goes by many names and is the faculty in charge of handling Class D, our class. As of now he is a reserve officer of the Lanshirian Shock Corps, which is what gives him the time to teach and handle a class of cadets. He isn't just any officer but as decorated one, which is very hard to believe given his nature handling the class. Supposedly he lead the charge that allowed Lanshire to reinforce a crumbling southern front and was even able to lock it into a stalemate. Of course none of the class choose to believe it and we haven't exactly been in a situation where he had to overrule Millicent's command of Class D yet. We'll see what comes from this 2 year teacher and 5 year war veteran. Yes, the one who can't seem to keep his hands to himself in relation to anything remotely female, thankfully the man has enough sense not to touch Zylphia for another 2 or so years. "


    -Aster





 
Aster found himself inhaling the pure clean air. It wasn't always that he had this opportunity after all. The practice grounds were miraculously clean every early morning. The kind of morning where the sun was not yet up. These were just one of the days where decided to forgo sleep in exchange for squeezing in more study time. It was a very nice convenience that the library never closes and so his night began with reading about treatises on human psychology by a number of important authors. That night ended with him sparring against lifeless wooden dummies in the practice grounds.


It was nights like these were felt most alive. He would simply have to compensate for the lack of sleep another time. It was easy enough to accomplish with his network of informants, as he'd like to call them, providing him information about today's classes at the end of the day. Aster would just need to worry about his attendance as the professors were quite strict with that and was already nearing the amount of allowable absences for this term. It was very inconvenient but it was an inconvenience he had to live with, such was the life of an aspiring scholar in the art of war.


He could see it in his mind's eye. He led a decorated unit into battle and occupied the last of the remaining Echeverry lands, ridding the land of ignorance and uniting it under Lanshire rule. It brought a smile to his lips as the sun crested over the horizon, darkening the immediate landscape into an inky black mess. That sun rise was a sign, he just knew it.


Aster stood up and dusted himself off. He was sure the clingy perspiration on him had dried up, though that did nothing to stop his clothes from smelling like perspiration. He would deal with the problem after he had properly broken his fast. If the sun was rising, the cooks in the cafeteria would be stirring from sleep as well. Perhaps he could squeeze a simple meal out of them for free as usually does when he pulls an all-nighter.


"What would be on today's agenda? Shall I just sleep my problems away? Ah decisions, decisions."
 
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(I am in for this RP if that's ok with you.)


Name: Malcolm McGreggor


Age: 22


Gender: Male


Looks(descriptive as I am on mobile): Tall and nimble guy who relies on agility over pure strength. He wears a standard green uniform an a red beret, covering his short red hair. He has a small mustache under his nose, that he takes care of.


Personality: Malcolm is a reliable guy, who wants to fight for his country. He has an easy time making friends as he is really trusting, sometimes too trusting. He is brave, and ready to to do anything as long as the purpose is good enough.


(Hope this is good enough.)


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
 
As the break of dawn blew through the thin cover of curtains guarding the room's window, Lufio Knot was woken abruptly in the boy's dormitory. "Damn it," he cursed, squinting extremely against the sudden bright light. A low and paranoid groan escaped through his teeth, as with effort he pulled the blankets over his head. They didn't help either; they were just as thin and cheap as the curtains.


Low grumbles emerged from another bed, signaling the shared complaint and annoyance of other sleepers. The small boy's dormitory room was rapidly filling with light - light that left no blind spots. There was no escape from the sun, from dawn, from a new day.


"Damn it!"





Lufio tossed the sheets from his bed, carrying away his pillow in the process, and stalked half-dressed out of the room. His hair was a tidy mess of bleached locks curling around his ears, sticking out the back of his head like spikes, falling lazily down in front of his eyes. Bags were clear to be seen under the boy's eyes as well. He continued to grumble incoherently, rubbing the stubble along his chin, as he stumbled through a hall, then towards a bathroom. A large and prolonged gape passed through his open mouth as he entered into the room.


It was a mere 15 minutes before Lufio was changed, showered, and (slightly) more awake. He made his way out of the dorms before any of the other students, stumbling a little still amid a cavalcade of yawns. "Damn sun . . . damn early sunrise," he mumbled on repeat, nearly failing to make it over the raised step before the dorm's front door. One way or another though, Lufio made it outside without dying, and from there, the chill morning perking his senses, he made it towards the cafeteria with more bodily coordination. Hunger was, naturally, Lufio's first priority; it mattered not how early it was or if the cooks were ready yet. The way he figured, it was the curtains' fault for not blocking out the sun, thus the curtains' fault for his being up so early. 
((@IllusiveShade, Sol and I are "testing", if you will, this RP idea, but we plan to make it public in the near future. For now we're not accepting anyone, but if you like, once the actual RP has been posted, I can send you a link. :) ))
 
((Ah, sorry 'bout that. I would love to go further into it if this becomes a public RP. I wish you both the best if luck.))
 
(Thanks for that IllusiveShade, we'll notify you when this is ready for public consumption xD )


Aster made his way to the mess hall to go harass the cooks, weasel out a free meal from them and all. That was his agenda for the morning and then maybe try to get some semblance of a nap afterward. He could pull all-nighters but it was difficult for him to stay awake throughout the day after doing one, his body wasn't conditioned for it and the times he does stay up all night are too erratic that his body just can't condition itself for it.


He had taken to trying this new drink from another land, it was called "Kafe." It was rumored to keep a man awake for an entire day. The ingredients required to brew this certain drink are only local to the land it came from. Even the secret to successfully brewing it was only kept in the land beyond the seas. What the Lanshire family does is that they import these ingredients over to our lands and simply have our resident culinary experts try to brew the drink or make something out of the supposed beans that were key to making this Kafe. The beverage is made but it supposedly doesn't taste like the one's locally brewed overseas. Still it did it's job of keeping Aster awake for half a day at least. He was thankful that the rumors had some grain of truth though he would like one day taste the authentic beverage overseas. The cooks in the mess hall would have already pre-made the Kafe the night before and all they needed to do was to reheat it. They say it is a drink best served hot and Aster agreed with this notion.


He idly wondered about what kind of meat he could squeeze out of the cooks in the mess and if their Kafe was any getting any better or still tasted like powerful horseshit. Not that Aster had ever tasted horseshit but he had some idea of how it would taste like, it would be shitty at least.


His idle musings had blinded him, which almost caused him to plow straight through a young man who also seemed to be headed toward the mess hall. Perhaps it was Yuri or Saul, since those two were always early birds and too overeager. Aster stopped himself and thought it proper to greet whoever this cunning soul was. For they were to accompany him in getting not one but two free meals from the resident cooks of the Worthington School of the Military Arts. Aye it is a mouthful but it the Lanshire's own mouthful! Ah but Aster was surprised to see that the boy in question was Lufio Knot otherwise known as Sir Least Likely to Wake Up at Any Given Time. A smile crept on Aster's lips as he addressed the groggy young man in front of him.


"Good Morrow, Sir He Who Does not Wake Up! You have woken up and are just in time to see me weasel out a free meal from the Mess Hall. Do not worry, I'll squeeze one out for you. How does that sound, a free meal to start the day?!"


He punctuated the "free" part with a nod, a wink and a smile. Aster found himself much too happy for today and he had no idea why. Perhaps the horseshit in the Mess Hall's Kafe finally rot his brains. Still it was a surprise to see old White Hair to be up so early in the morning something bad was just waiting to happen, Aster was sure of it.


(I'm suddenly considering switching Aster's gender so I don't get confused with the shitload of "he's" that I changed to "Aster" when he caught sight of Lufio xD )
 
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"Good Morrow, Sir He Who Does not Wake Up!"


Lufio's head turned abruptly in the direction of his companion's voice, knowing it immediately to be Aster's. His slightly blurred morning vision caused him to squint at Aster, and although his friend's comment annoyed him, at the same time he couldn't help but smirk. "Salute, Sir All-Nighter," Lufio replied in turn, wringing each of his hands.


"You have woken up and are just in time to see me weasel out a free meal from the Mess Hall. Do not worry, I'll squeeze one out for you. How does that sound, a free meal to start the day?!"


"Bf-f-f-f, ah-ah-a!" Lufio cried with laughter. "Somehow this situation is familiar to me," he muttered, scratching the back of his white-haired scalp, chuckling. A sly smirk still upturned the corners of his mouth mischievously. "The chefs must be on to you now. Go before their sleepy heads think twice about breakfast orders! Get an extra mug of Kafe too."





Lufio moved to take a seat in the cafeteria - the usual one. Some regimes he slipped into more easily than others, despite preferring to be fresh and new each day. Sitting in the same chair in the Worthington cafeteria every morning was a prime example of this. Funnily enough though, Lufio never gave a second thought to it, and neither did the classmates that typically joined him.


He lightly pulled on his frizzy hair, forming it into some kind of makeshift ponytail behind his head and brushing away the loose strands from his forehead. A large yawn forced its way out of his mouth as he folded his hands on the table before him. Food sounded good, but sleep even more so. How he cursed that damnable early morning sun.
 
Lufio wasn't used to the concept of waking up early in the day. That much was obvious to Aster, there were only a few who could handle waking up early. The Myenne siblings are a prime example as well as Yuri, then again those three came from the same town. Aster didn't need to include himself in that bracket or any bracket since he knew for a fact he was adaptable despite most preconceptions about nobility, the preconceptions Amanda herself seemed to embody.


Still, Lufio was one of Aster's first and staunchest friends. He gave Lufio a mock-confused look as the other broke out into laughter. There must have been something terribly wrong with his friend's mindset during early mornings, still Aster couldn't help but smile along. Lufio had that effect, if Niels was the tactician, Lufio was the head of the class, everyone listens him.


"This situation should be familiar to you. This is what I do almost every morning!"


Aster just had to point that out. Everyone in class knew what he was capable of doing.


"Hmm, I'd get you that meal but I'm sure you have a better source of Kafe. If you don't know who or what the source is, I feel very sorry for you and h- I mean the source."


He was sure that Lufio had already taken his seat in mess hall, all Aster needed to do was smooth talk his way past the cooks. He staggered into the kitchen, acting as hungry and malnourished as he could. There was just no way the cooks wouldn't take pity on him, they had already begun cooking this morning's meal because rest of the cadets would be filing in for breakfast very soon. The aroma in the kitchen never failed to lift his spirits, of course with his head down he couldn't exactly see the cooks but he knew they were. He had to keep one hand clutching his stomach to maximize the effect.


"S-spare some food a starving cadet?"


Aster stumbled toward the cold storage unit, his fingers wrapped around handle. Glorious food was on the other side of cold steel door. Of course, the cooks were already used to his antics and no doubt had some kind of meal prepared for him. Even if he never pulled all nighters, he was still the first to arrive in the mess hall. It was time to drop the act, the hand clutching his stomach dropped and raised himself up with a big grin on his face. He had made his plight known and the cooks would aid him!


Aster walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray with two plates of some sort of steaming poultry breast and just one cup of Kafe, which was also steaming hot. He set the tray on the table where Lufio sat and took his seat opposite his friend.


"Don't be so mad that I only got Kafe for myself. Lissa should already be up and brewing right about now, you'll get yours too, Lufio."
 
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"The source?" Lufio restated, questionably eyeing his friend before he scurried off. His tired and groggy head couldn't fathom what other 'source' he could get his Kafe from. An idea of a market overseas came to him, but that was sheerly impossible, and Aster would never assume Lufio visited the black market. He had to admit his own tiredness and inability to comprehend the simplistic, so for what was the time being he let it go.


A sweet and savory aroma of breakfast cereals, porridge, and other typically uninteresting foods floated out of the cafeteria kitchen in wafts of air. Lufio breathed it all in with great mirth, his dying stomach awaiting it most eagerly. Hunger was the best spice for food, as they say, so regardless of the cafeteria cooks' typically bland cooking, any and all food sounded marvelous to Lufio right now. His head buzzed excitedly. A wonderful man you are, Aster, he thought. Knowing you, you'll bring two full courses of charming breakfast foods out. Ah-h-h-h.





Aster was dependable; everyone in his and Lufio's class agreed. Not only that, but his playfulness and occasional boyish acts made him pleasant to be around - never a bore or disappointment. And he was hardworking and good at what he did. A fine saboteur, second to none in Lufio's personal opinion. Even now, poaching food from the cooks before it was officially the breaking of fast showcased just a minor example of his skills.


As Aster returned with the two trays Lufio clapped his hands together and gave a "thumbs-up". "Bravo!" he exclaimed, greedily eyeing the smoking poultry breast on his tray. "Hah! Poultry! No porridge, eh? Grand!" He picked up a fork and knife, instantly ready to tear into his meat and eat happily, when a key element to his pleasant meal revealed itself missing.


"Don't be so mad that I only got Kafe for myself. Lissa should already be up and brewing right about now, you'll get yours too, Lufio."


"What?"





Lufio cocked his head to the side, looking at his friend with puzzlement and mixed annoyance. Presently, his tired mind granted him an epiphany, and all at once his vision cleared. The "source" - Lissa Milley.


"There you go again," Lufio muttered, sighing as he rolled his eyes, acting with that sudden burst of annoyance that people usually do when they realize something obvious. "I should have guessed your antics already. You never let up, do you?" He pointed accusingly at Aster with his fork as he chewed a piece of poultry, spitting a little on accident. Swallowing the meat hard, with knife and fork he then cut another, placing it in his mouth as well before resuming the accusing stance of his fork pointing towards Aster's throat.
 
"What antics? I'm only considering other people, Lufio. Hush now and enjoy your food."


Aster used his knife to bring down the accusing fork Lufio was pointing his way. Lufio did need to hide his embarrassment more, a hint of red looked like it was blossoming on his cheek. Perhaps Lissa may not be in a one way avenue after all, there may just be some hope for the girl. He gave his friend a mischievous smile as he tore into the piece of chicken or some other poultry in front of him. It tasted like any other cut of chicken, but beggars couldn't be choosers after all, though he would have preferred choice cuts of beef or a rasher of bacon.


"I mean, this...chicken? It's enjoyable is it not?"


As if to drive his point across, he took another bite and tried to look at least somewhat satisfied with the meal. Aster held his breath and took a gulp of the kafe next to him. It didn't have any aroma whatsoever neither did it taste good at all and it seemed a little bit watered down. Well at the very least the horribleness of it would keep him awake for another hour or so.


The smile never left as he brought a hand up to cover his yawn. A little idea sprang into his head and the grin on his face threatened to shear it in half. He took another bite of the chicken and savored the tastelessness of it all, surely there must be some spice out there that would make this breakfast a little more bearable. Aster leaned forward as if to study something nonexistent on Lufio's face, his eyes squinted despite his glasses.


"Lufio? Is that a hint of red I see in your cheeks? Do you, perhaps, have some attraction to Lissa? Ah! Speak of the devil!"


Aster pointed to the entrance of the Mess Hall which was directly behind Lufio, which mean that the door would never be in his friend's line of sight. His smile was wide and he peered over Lufio's shoulder as if he was looking at the door and waving at it. He needed Lufio to believe she was there. Coincidentally, Lissa did step into view after a few seconds of Aster's pantomiming. A momentary flash of surprise rolled over his face as the girl made her way to them, with two cups in hand. Aster sat back into his seat and fixed Lufio with a triumphant smile, again.
 



  • Age:


    18


    Appearance:


    500px-Felix_Cowley.png



    Gender:


    Male


    Year Level:


    3


    Primary Specialization:


    Sniper


    Standard Loadout:






    steampunk_sniperrife_3_28.jpg







    il_570xN.487097689_p004.jpg



    ​


    Personality:


    Years prior to joining the school, Lufio was a rebellious boy, preferring to go solo and independent rather than listen to authority or rely on others. Often he'd charge hotheaded into conflict, bloodying his nose later as a result. Though his mistakes have aided him in life, Lufio has never truly learned the lessons of his mistakes, and as a result, he continues to repeat them from time to time. Even now at the school his hotheaded, rebellious, nature will come out on occasion, taking over the more reasonable side of him.


    Now, Lufio is an outgoing individual, easy to approach and always friendly towards his peers. He maintains a peaceful and approachable aura constantly, though sometimes he can be rowdy, and finds himself the happiest when surrounded by others. Not much of a "family man", he seeks comfort and solace with others to make up for this.


    Specializing in stealth and sniping have beaten out a different side to Lufio's personality. Patience isn't one of his best virtues, but when he has a mind for it he can be surprisingly patient and calm. He has also become hard and calculating, always thinking ahead to the next step, and will act with the survival instincts of an animal. These traits, however, are mainly unique to combat and when in the line of duty, pertaining less to Lufio on a regular day-to-day basis. Consider it another "half" of Lufio's personality - one that is turned on more involuntarily than not.


    History:


    Lufio Knot was son to a wealthy family, considered "nobles" due to their success in the merchant world and their supreme wealth. As a boy, Lufio became fairly spoiled and used to kind and over attentive treatment, which in turn led to his more unruly nature later on during puberty. His father, of course, yearned for the typical pattern of "son succeeding father in business", aiming to make Lufio his heir with the hopes that his son would take over the Knot company one day and continue to expand the family wealth. Events could not have taken a more unexpected turn . . .


    As a teenager, Lufio was the very definition of a rebellious teen. Instead of being the formal and proper boy that his father wished he was, he hung out with lower-life kids and boys who belonged to poorer classes. Together they'd form bands and gangs, practically wasting away their time with whatever game came to mind. Often times this involved playing pranks on their rich elders, eventually earning them names such as "mischevious," "undesirable," "shameful," and "wretched" little children. None of it mattered a bit to Lufio though, who found the entire thing highly entertaining. His father though was not very pleased when his son would come home, fine clothes dirty and face smeared with blood from a fight.


    The father and son problems never really stopped though, and eventually, surprisingly enough, it was Lufio's father who gave up and consented to send Lufio to Worthington School. By this time, better manners had been established in Lufio, but what really turned him around was his first year of school. His first year at Worthington he officially claimed the title of "trouble-maker", certainly living up to it. Getting into fights and receiving detention as a result weren't uncommon for Lufio. Thus it took a very hard first year, and even part of a second year, before he truly "manned-up" and became a decent, honest, and hard-working boy. Since he has striven to be nothing less.




 
"Hush now?" Lufio laughed in the middle of a bite. His friend's antics truly were therapeutic for early morning risings - especially those that were most unwanted. Just as hunger was therapeutic for the bland and otherwise uninteresting food Lufio and Aster both were subjected too. It was free, so who could complain, but even so, sometimes Lufio would think back to the days at his father's manor, and the delicious gourmet food he had taken for granted. "M-m-m," he murmured, finding spice in the delicious memories.


"Enjoyable? Why, just imagine an empty belly, then it is," Lufio smirked, winking at Aster. "And be thankful you have Kafe." To emphasis his point he let out another large yawn, showing the evident lack of the beverage in his body.


Presently, Lufio felt Aster squinting at his face, and in lady-like defense Lufio raised an eyebrow. It was early in the morning, so of course he wasn't kept, but Aster above all other people should know that best. He wanted to point out who was the one that pulled all-nighters without even a shower before hand, but Aster was faster to dispel his suspicions.


"Lufio? Is that a hint of red I see in your cheeks? Do you, perhaps, have some attraction to Lissa? Ah! Speak of the devil!"


Lufio began to spit and sputter, making the mistake of turning his head far too quickly the moment Aster exclaimed and pointed towards the entrance. At first there was nothing, and a small sensation of relief trickled down through Lufio's stomach, but having counted his blessings too soon, Lissa appeared. His eyes widened.


"Damn it Aster!" He locked his friend's head in the crook of his arm and pulled him down to the table, whispering powerfully in his ear, "Are you trying to make a fool of me this early in the morning?!"


Chancing a glance back up towards the Mess Hall entrance, he couldn't find Lissa. Once again he cursed, still holding Aster down, and whispered in his ear again, "She's gone! Dammit!" If his cheeks weren't rosy before, they were now. Perhaps not for the reasons Aster hoped though.















 

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Aster could tell that Lufio wasn't genuinely mad at him but he was genuinely flustered. It was amusing to his friend like this at all, it was really hard to get mister outgoing so flustered like this. He wasn't like Millicent or the others who seem to have a cool head on their shoulders but Lufio was something like them, he could calmly deal with any situation as if they were nothing or at least any attempt to fluster him and put him on the spot did not have the desire effect.


Aster made a point to keep Lissa in mind the next time he decides to try and put Lufio on the spot. She seemed to work like a charm after all if what Lufio did was any indication which was to try and quietly scold him and what he's done. Except his quiet scolding wasn't that quiet at all, it was the flustered ramblings of a man caught off guard. When Lufio disengaged to glance back at the entrance, Aster saw Lissa already standing behind Lufio, well standing in Lufio's blind spot. She was red all over and looked to be confronting her own problems.


It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Lissa heard everything.


"I wasn't intentionally trying to, Luf-"


Aster was cut off when his friend had swore and mentioned that the girl was gone. The girl in question being Lissa, the girl standing behind him with two steaming cups of what could either be boiled water or Kafe in both hands. He was just about to remark on her when Lissa had won the quickdraw of words, it seemed as though the exotic beauty was aware of what he was capable of. He had to applaud her but she could still be just flustered and acted impulsively.


"W-who's gone, L-lufie? O-oh, yeah this morning was cold and I thought that may be you know, you sorta kinda wanna have something warm to drink. I-I brewed this f-for you."


Lissa extended her hand and offered the steaming mug to Lufio. Aster somewhat expected a better performance from the class's flirt, but then again she hadn't been so flirty when she realized just what she felt for Lufio or Lufie. Still though, there was way too much stuttering but it was kind of adorable in her own way. He would have to grab Lissa after class to show her the tips and tricks on how she could do better with what she had just done. Aster was confident he could have Lissa make Lufio dance on the palm of her hand at will, all she needed was some confidence building and a cheat sheet of words to say.


That could have gone better, Lissa. Still well done on making the first move, you even failed to notice me. Now, how shall you respond Lufie-boy?
 
Lufio felt ridiculous, had by Aster. Whether he was heard or not, most of the mess hall probably took notice of his actions at the least, and Lufio wasn't very hard to spot in a crowd in general. But the moment he took note of the look on Aster's face, the subtle glance over his shoulder, and the stir of someone else behind them, he knew that his freak out had cost him. Lissa's voice only confirmed it.


It was a moment of extreme indecision and embarrassment. Lufio, who scoffed at embarrassment and hated falling into its stingy clutch, let alone being made a fool of in general, could only think how to save the situation . . . and get Aster back in the process. Anyone could say that Lufio took this far more seriously than he ought, but that wasn't an original thought either. As calmly as possible (which was far too jittery to be calm) he swiveled around 180 on his bench, coming to a halt directly facing Lissa. The rest of the cafeteria was obscured by her form, standing tall and worried before Lufio, though somehow, to him, she was the very definition of 'ominous'. He gulped, cracking open his mouth slightly to squeak out a half-thought excuse, when the cups Lissa held in her hand finally kindled a flaming burst of registration in his head.


"Kafe!" Lufio exclaimed excitedly, genuinely reacting instead of having to fake a cover-up. He had undoubtedly missed most of what Lissa had just said, being too wrapped up in his own brooding thoughts.


Lissa extended the cup to Lufio, who replied in turn, "GOMENESAI." who eagerly accepted the gift and beamed up at the girl. He blinked for what was a moment's puzzlement, then emitted a small ah as Lissa's question came back to him. "Oh, r-right," he chuckled nervously, a nervous wreck on the inside. "Eva," he began again, unsure where the thought was going but rolling with it anyways, "was just here, and eh . . . " A flame sparked behind Lufio's eyes, and with a mischievous smile, he suddenly averted his gaze to Aster. "Considering its common knowledge by now, I might as well tell you that Aster and Eva are head over heels for each other. But," he laughed, "I personally want nothing to do with their love connection, and yesterday being at the same table with them was really awkward, so . . . " He made the gestures for hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Take that, Aster.
 
It was very much amusing to see Lufio flounder about like a fish out of water in face of Lissa. It was doubly amusing since Lissa was practically the same, yet considerably less obvious about it.


Aster played spectator to their little exchange of words and cups, well he and a few others who were already filing into the cafeteria. He wondered just how long he had already been here, he could have sworn that no one else would be here for another half hour or so. Aster wasn't superstitious in the slightest but he had this odd feeling that today just wouldn't be any normal day. Evidence to support this were the number of students who were already awake at this hour and lining up for their breakfast, still another piece of evidence was to find Lufio awake so very early. Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, he continued observing the spectacle in front of him.


What Lufio did say earned him a chuckle from Aster. Aster never thought Lufio would be the kind for jokes but then what kind of person does it take not to seek laughter and joy? He was sure that even Millicent had her own brand of humor, despite her demeanor. It was absurd to think that Eva could stand any living breathing male that wasn't her father, she does hold quite the furious dislike for men after all. It was a shame actually, Aster had chanced upon her in a more docile state and she was quite adorable to behold, any man who could break through her seething wall of hate was a fortunate one indeed.


"I have heard many jokes, but that one seems to top everything, Lufio. Well done, I say! Oh yes and good morning to you too Lissa Knot, I mean Milley."


He sat back on his chair and gave Lissa a bright smile along with his greetings. He was able to counter Lufio's hollow and weak counter but it didn't exactly feel so fair dragging Lissa into all of this. In any case, Aster thought it was time to check in with Millicent or Sir Bullshend on the agenda for the day. Aster had his fill of breakfast and laughter for the morning, and stood from his seat across Lufio. He ushered Lissa to his seat across Lufio.


"Lady Milley, I bid you take my seat across sir Knot for I must go check in with Lady Cartla or Sir Bullshend for Class D's agenda for the day. I bid you both a good time together."


With that Aster left the cafeteria, headed toward the school's main hall.


"That was very...Aster of him. W-was my kafe to your liking, Lufie?"
 
Lufio felt perplexed and shameful in defeat, all because Aster managed the prettier light show. Naturally, Lufio's frustration showed well on his face, but in a certain sense you could say it looked cute. He was rather worked up for so early in the morning, especially from Aster's antics (which you'd think he'd have a suitable counter for by now). One would have to ask what a peculiar day could hold in store, especially because it drew away so far from the Worthington norm - being, that is, the regular passing of events throughout the day. What came in the morning was certain to continue on through the day.


Sighing, Lufio raised his hand in farewell to Aster, though it was more to shoo him away than to say "good-bye". Thankfully, for him at least, once his friend had left the table he felt more at ease, and Aster's teasing didn't bare any mark on his conversation with Lissa. "Ah, thank you for the kafe," he said, beaming as cheerfully as he could for early in the morning. "It was good . . . at least, considering what ingredients they give us here." Then again, it was doubtful the students had tasted the beverage outside of the school grounds, as they seldom went away from Worthington. Lufio, however, was always of the opinion that a better, or more 'enhanced', version of whatever the school mess hall served was out there somewhere. As his conspiracy theory went, Worthington bought their food supplies in bulk, thus the quality was lessened, and their preparations simply involved heating the food up, instead of thoroughly cooking or seasoning it. His poultry was as good a testimony as any to that.


A large thud and yawn made Lufio stir in his seat, as none other than John Coltraine joined the table. Lufio sent a questioning glance at Lissa, then looked back to John, purposefully hitting him a hard slap on the back and giving a halfhearted greeting. John didn't react much, but gave the pair a lazy smile, yawning some more before he said "G'mornin'."


"Breakfast will be over soon, John," Lufio started, pointing his fork at his classmate. "Are you going to get anything to eat?"


"Eh-h-h-h," John drawled. He stuck a thumb behind his back in a generally vague direction, saying, "Ms. Zylphia is doting upon me."





Sure enough, the prodigy of the class was struggling near the kitchen, attempting to balance two overly stuffed trays of poultry. Both were for John.


--





Fully dressed, groomed, fed, and perky, Millicent Cartla stalked the halls, class handouts and paperwork in hand, and the most impromptu important face you could possibly imagine. Her eyes were attentive and quick, darting back and forth from side to side in an attempt to spot any of her 'idle' and 'lazy' classmates. Thus she deemed them, for as far as her knowledge served her, she had been up and ready before any of them rolled out of bed. Now she was just looking for the perfect candidate to help her attend to a class project when . . .


A young man sporting glasses approaches.


"Ah!" Millicent exclaimed, a sly smirk painting her face. "God has graced me today. Oi! Asterrrrrrr!!"





She began a hastened jog towards the boy, advertising the papers she held in her hand over her blonde head.


She called his name again. "Aster! Hey!" Her footfalls slowed as she approached him, the still sly smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. "You're just the man I wanted to see."
 
Aster had left the cafeteria and was making his way to the main building to deal with either Millicent or Sir Bullshend. Either of those two would prove to be quite a handful seeing as neither seems to ever take their respective jobs seriously. One is the Class Head and ropes everyone she comes into contact with from our class into her schemes. The Other is a decorate reserve officer that had so many accomplishments it was hard to cohesively narrate one from the top of his head on account of two or more anecdotes overlapping at one point or another. It wasn't that they were irresponsible, it was just that they were irresponsible when it wasn't exactly important.


And asking about today's schedule was never important to begin with.


He had begun making second thoughts when his Class Head had spotted him. She seemed to be preoccupied with the stack of papers in her hands but she seemed more like she was on the lookout for someone. It wasn't a hard guess who she was trying to find, which was probably anyone who smelled like Class D to her. Aster cursed under his breath as he made eye contact with Millicent, which launched her in his direction all the while waving to him with the papers in her hand and calling his name quite loudly. He was a little too late in avoiding the Class's predator and he was at her mercy. To turn her down meant calamity.


Before he could even compose himself, Millicent was already very close to him. She stopped being a bullet and started walking normally like any other human being. However, there was shine to her eyes that he didn't like at all. Something is about to happen and Aster had no idea what that event would even be. He could only pray that he wasn't the only one roped into another shameless scheme.


"What do need of me, Lady Cartla?"


He addressed her in the most courteous manner he could muster with regards to his lack of sleep. A swift bow and then he was back to meeting her blue eyes, the ones that scream angry ocean rather than serene seas. It didn't hurt to indulge her superiority complex every now and then but Aster had a feeling all this would simply go into her head and just make her attitude a little more unbearable. In all honesty, Lufio should have been head, he performed admirably during the aptitude screening. Instead he didn't feel like becoming head and the title went to our class's second best.


"Are you two up to something? Can I join?"


No one in this entire class can ever mistake that voice laced with enthusiasm. The voice came from behind Aster but he didn't have to turn back to know that Derreck Wesley was the one speaking. He was surprised that he couldn't hear Wesley's somewhat heavy footfalls, it almost seemed like he was stomping every step of the way. Perhaps it was the fear that gripped his heart that came from Millicent. Whatever she was planning, it wouldn't be so good at all.


"I do not think Lady Cartla would turn down our help, Derreck. Though I fear that I know nothing of our dearest commander's plans."


____


Niels Tullworth was already lining up for his food from the mess hall staff. He took note of the equally red couple known as Lufio Knot and Lissa Milley seated at Class D's usual spot. He saw John Coltraine plop in beside them not long after.


Despite his grogginess, Niels had always been proud of the fact that nothing can ever disrupt his awareness. Nothing at all, which was why he was probably one of Class D's strategists. Sure he didn't have enough weight to supersede Millicent but that did not stop him from voicing his opinions.


He turned back to face his tray loaded with today's meat. Which happened to be some sort of poultry. It was hard to distinguish chicken from duck from a normal bird with the overall quality of the school's food. It tasted unremarkable but held some sort of nutrition for the cadets like him. Still, it wouldn't hurt for them to at least make whatever this meat is swim in sauce or soup or broth. Niels was sure that if this piece of meat was swimming there'd actually be some semblance of flavor or saltiness to it. He couldn't complain, however, he was just a student here.


Niels spied the young Zylphia Dunagan, the class prodigy and little sister, struggling with her order of food. It wasn't surprising to see that the young girl wished to grow in size like her upperclassmen and what could be a better way than to enjoy two orders of some tasteless meat packed with nutrients from the Lanshirian Scientific Society. Would it have killed those geniuses to add some flavor to their newest product or was this not the work of the LSS and simply low quality meat bought cheap by Worthington? In any case, Niels left his tray at the counter, effectively holding up the line for a bit, and walked over to Fia, a name everyone or almost everyone agreed to call her.


"Allow me, little sister."


Niels took the tray from her apparently shaking hands and brought the food over to Class D's usual spot. It seemed as though not everyone was up yet but the other tables were almost full. Then again, Class D was one of the stranger classes to grace this school's hallways. Niels wasn't bothered by the fact at all, as long as they could put on a better show than all of the other classes. He set the food down and gave the short girl a pat on the head as he went back for his own tray which he left at the mess hall counter.


Niels returned not long after and took his usual spot in Class D's table.


"So, I suppose nothing important is happening?"


For all his outspokenness and tactical logic, Niels had absolutely no idea how to start a conversation with a table that held him, a little girl, an obviously sleepy person, a red girl and equally red guy who looked very annoyed. Perhaps this day itself woke up on the wrong side of the bunk bed, perhaps it woke up on the floor?
 
Millicent simply beamed as the two boys presented themselves before her boot to scrub the dirt off the tasks she wished to assign. Aster couldn't have had more impeccable timing for weaving his way down the hall, and Derrek also fell into the Class Head's definition of 'luck' for the morning. She gave them both a sly smile and placed her hands on her hips, knowing full well they knew full well that she knew full well that they knew full we-- well, that they knew she had something up her sleeve.


"Boys!" she chimed cheerfully, and following in accordance with Aster's mannerisms, addressed them both "Sir Wesley and Sir Aster!" She didn't comment on forgetting Aster's last name. "Today brings us some experience in the field. That's right, a patrol. So . . . " Her eyes glanced down to the papers she held in her hand briefly as she sorted them. " . . . I need you both to help me take stock of the necessary provisions, ammunition, weapons, and class permissions forms! Bullshend is busy, and I can't do it all by myself."





The reaction Aster and Derrek were to both give her was easily anticipated, but Millicent didn't care a bit how disdainful they might be. In her mind she was doing the Class Head's duty properly and functionally, with the added benefit of pleasure for annoying her peers. That did make her happy.


It was pure luck that when Eva Reynolds began to set foot in the hall, upon seeing Millicent, she backed up and took cover before the girl could notice. She let out a slow sigh of sweet relief, knowing her fate would not have been so fortunate if she crossed Cartla's path so early on in the morning. It was a bad omen - everyone knew it. Somehow though, despite their efforts, Millicent had a way of "conveniently" showing up. The class was just too big to avoid each other in passing, so avoiding the class predator was pointless to begin with.


Millicent, oblivious to Eva's sudden entrance, thrust the papers into each of Derrek's and Aster's hands and trotted off to who knows where. "Catch you in class!" she called over her shoulder before disappearing. Her timing was spot on so that neither Aster or Derrek could complain about the work before she left. Cunning, as she often said, is intercepting complaints.


Eva brought herself out of cover once the Class Head had sounded her victorious charge in the opposite direction. She approached the boys and linked her hands together behind her back, standing on tip-toes to look over their shoulders at Millicent's assignments. "Oohoho," she cackled, dropping down to her heels and shooting Aster an impish grin, "look who's the lucky one today?"


--


"Allow me, little sister."





Zylphia's head shot upward on its neck to find the speaker, though she was certain by the voice who it was. "Niels!" she exclaimed as, before there was time to protest, the boy lifted the trays out of her hands. She wasn't always entirely happy that the other students would help or stick their necks out for her, but she couldn't complain about their kindness either, for even if her ego demanded some level of independence, their help couldn't be disregarded. In this case though, tired even as a typical early bird, Niels aid was most welcome, and the girl softly padded behind the larger boy as he approached the newly designated "Class D" table. Just by looking at the group gathered there now, it was doubtful any other students would approach to mingle. John was often the tip for that sign.


"Thanks, Niels," Fia called after him as he returned to the food line for his own breakfast. She seated herself down with a little plop right next to Lissa, straightening out her skirts as she did, and grimacing slightly as the sound of John ripping into his food reached her ears. "M-Mornin', everyone," she said.


"Morning," Lufio replied brightly, jumping at the opportunity to turn away from the reminiscent remains of his kafe. His attention had been focused more solely on eating after John joined the table, and this seemed an effective strategy for Lissa too. She was pretty hot, but he would still become uneasy when she tried getting too close. Not that that was happening now, but Aster had sowed the seeds of worry and doubt in Lufio's head.


As Niels rejoined the table, John finally relieved his mouth of tasteless meat and swiveled his head around to find Zylphia. "Ah," he exclaimed, spotting her next to Lissa, "thanks for the food."





Lufio, on the other hand, greeted Niels accordingly, and replied without much enthusiasm, "No, doesn't seem like it." He shrugged, sighing a little at the same time.
 
Millicent was predator, time and again she had proven that fact. Once her fangs sink into your flesh, it would take a miracle to remove them. It was a shame that miracles never happened, would never happen, aren't happening right now. Aster found himself at the mercy of Millicent and he tried his best to keep shut and wear a blank expression on his face while their commander went about detailing today's agenda. He had gotten what he wanted, at least, it just came with a hidden fee. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing him annoyed. He would not bow.


Millicent handed the papers she was holding to both him and Derreck. The stack wasn't so thick when it was split into two but the amount of work dictated by these scraps would eat up both their mornings, assuming they worked together. Still it was a surprise that their class was given a patrol job so early into their third year. Aster had expected that they would only be doing drills or a run a few simulations or even just spend the day discussing theory and strategy. It was a conflicting feeling, on the one hand this was their first time into live combat without supervision from a veteran squad of guardsmen and it excited him. On the other hand, he had this creeping fear that he might not live through the day after all. However, he did push the idea out of his head seeing as he wouldn't so much as allow himself to die without first pairing everyone off and then getting a girlfriend and then leading a decorated unit into battle.


Aster glanced over to Derreck who seemed very much unfazed with the amount of work or the agenda for the day. A smile crept on his face as enthusiasm incarnate wished their glorious commander a good day. This boy would be very instrumental in keeping morale high, at least that was how saw it.


Before either of them could get another word, Eva had made her appearance. It was heralded with a cackle which made Aster turn and come face to face with her. It was a shame this one hated men with a passion, she isn't even hiding the fact that she's gloating about not being tethered into work. No doubt her superiority complex just boosted tenfold with her achievement. A few years ago, he may have been irritated with her disposition but now it was as routine as eating breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, a stray thought rooted itself in his mind with regards to Lufio's unoriginal joke. It was highly unlikely but perhaps this could be some way to break through that armor of self-superiority.


"I highly doubt it is you or me or Derreck over here. I'm pretty sure it is Millicent."


"I don't mind the work. In fact I'll just go ahead and check in with the quarter master for the provisions and the like. I'll see you two later."


With that, Derreck continued down the hall way and disappeared around the corner. It only left Aster and Eva. There was no better way than to situation for him to get to the bottom of Lufio's joke. Lies did have half-truths in them and it stood to reason jokes could also be based off facts. He was hoping Lufio was wrong and all this was just a baseless joke. Aster opted for the direct approach, it was the easiest and quickest way to confirm or deny Lufio's words. He hooked his free hand around her waist and pulled Eva closer to him, he was given the class affairs form so he had the lighter stack of papers. Clearly the girl was not expecting anything and had her guard down. He brought his lips down on her and just brushed it, a light and fleeting touch then fixed her with a crooked smile.


"Eva, I have a question for you. A little white-haired bird chirped this morning about a certain someone who has, how shall I put this? A romantic interest in me. That certain someone had three letters to her name and is from our class. Would you help me ascertain the validity of this...chirping after I finish doing this?"


He let go of her and made his way toward the Faculty office to get Bullshend to sign these forms to the registrar could approve their class's patrol later today.


____


"Oh my, Aster, you are quite the bold devil."


"I did what I had to do to get to the bottom of Lufio's joke earlier this morning, Amanda."


"You don't need to justify anything to me. Poor Eva though, she looks quite flustered with what you did."


Amanda never held eye contact with Aster who had passed her. He kept walking as he spoke and was soon out of sight. A smirk was on her lips as she spoke. She did bear witness to what Aster had done mere seconds ago. She did respect the man for going after bigger fish, after all, Eva did hate men with the fury of a thousand suns that even Amanda could not comprehend. Perhaps this little act would simply elevate that hate to higher heights. In any case, it had nothing to do with her and she made her way to the cafeteria to break her fast along with the rest of the class.


Soon enough she found herself in it with the Myenne siblings and Yuri in tow. Despite being raised on a farming town on the fringes of Lanshire territories, these three seemed quite groggy so early in the morning and Amanda, being the great shepherd that she was led the sheeplings toward the Mess Hall so they could all have breakfast. Hopefully most of class D had already assembled so it'd be easier to tell them all what exactly is going down later today. Unfortunately that was not the case, but still 8 people not including her would know more about what the day's plan was.


Amanda took her usual seat in Class D's table. She would make her announcement before she would get her food. The plebeians should be honored that their goddess was a merciful one.


"Everyone, I have announcement to make. I have overheard Mr. Wesley, Mr. Lyndon and Ms. Cartla discuss today's activities. We are to be going on our first patrol for the year later today. As I speak, they are already working on getting everything in order. Now I shall be getting my food."


Amanda stood from her place and let what she just said sink in with those gathered in the table. Hopefully, with a little bit of money, she could squeeze a better meal out of the cooks. It was worth hoping for, at least.
 
Eva raised a lazy hand to bid Derrek farewell, accompanied by choice words of parting. "Go knock yourself out, pretty boy!" she called after his diminishing figure. Within a moment he had vanished entirely from sight, leaving Eva alone with Aster.


For the first year or so that Eva had known Aster, she always found herself extremely flustered in his presence. She could never fathom the reason or make sense of the burning sensation in her cheeks, and even though she had taken vows to fight all men until the bitter end, day by day the young girl found herself tailing Aster's shadow. He intrigued her, while the rest of the male side of the class evidently disgusted her. "Disgusted" was a harsh word, but Eva would often make a point of proving she meant it - hence the dislike and annoyance rounded up against her by a fair portion of the class.


But in the end Eva gave in to her emotions.


Although she would never, ever, admit these bottled up feelings to anyone, Eva found she really liked Aster. Even despite his unfortunate manifestation as a male in the womb, Eva revealed feelings for him that were supposedly locked deep within her soul. The feminist falling in love with Aster, the matchmaker? It seemed a bad cliche, yet some part of her would click, ring off like an alarm, whenever the man was near. At first it had flustered her, angered her, and altogether fueled her crusade for women, but now she allowed the feelings to settle deep within her heart. She found some level of comfort and relief by nurturing these emotions and admitting them to herself.


As testimony to the change that overcame Eva's personality at the beginning of Class D's 3rd year, she now stood alone with Aster in the hall entirely at ease. Nowadays, even though she can get flustered from time to time and can be timid, she's calm with Aster. Her sweeter side shows more. And standing there next to him, only a few feet away, the girl managed a warm smile. Breakfast was on her mind, contradictory to what Lufio had told Lissa earlier, and she was about to part from Aster when a sudden warmth sprang to life around her waist. Eva's eyes opened wide and an expression of shock enveloped her face, as she slowly craned her neck upwards to look at the boy's eyes framed by their glasses. She felt undeniably hot, like her entire figure was melting in the heat of the sun as blood rose to her neck and cheeks. At the same time a freezing chill ran the length of her spine. She tried to take Aster's hand from her waist, but the attempt was weak and futile as she stared speechless into his eyes; her lower lip began to tremble as she stumbled for something to say.


Suddenly, Aster's face was a mere inch from her own.


Eva's world froze as his lips brushed against her own, as for a fleeting moment they kissed. She was torn on feeling happy, shocked, or altogether outraged, as her feminism began to reveal itself. But it was all over in a moment, and Aster said something the girl could never forget.


"Little . . . white-haired . . . bird?" Eva gasped with realization as Aster's hand left her waist and he made his way down the hall. "Wait-- what? A-Aster-- Lufio? I . . . er . . . "





Aster kept walking.


"DAMN YOU ASTER!!"





--


"A patrol?" Lufio asked warily as Amanda made it her business to inform the Class D group before scurrying off for her grub. "So a legitimate, actual factual patrol without supervision?"


"No," John retorted sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "we're definitely going to leisurely idle in a tank as Bullshend does all the work." He didn't seem very phased; on the contrary, it was like Amanda had been a ghost.


Zylphia shuffled in her seat a little warily at the mention of Bullshend's name - like the teacher and Lanshire war veteran was more unnerving than the idea of a first-time patrol. Bullshend's overly flirtatious nature and touchy relationships with the other girls in class put Fia on edge (though not nearly as much as it did Eva). Her nature and attitude towards her classmates simply contradicted with the teacher's in every possible way, making it hard for the girl to possibly feel at ease when around him. Bullshend on the other hand seemed to be simply waiting until Fia was of age.


Presently, a gentle hand was placed on the girl's shoulder.


Zylphia swiveled her small head around to find whoever had placed themselves behind her, finding that she gazed up and into the eyes of Keeshan Scott - the so-dubbed class "scholar".


Before she could speak, Keeshan had already opened his sly mouth. "Bullshend worrying you more than a patrol?" he chuckled, though the tired expression on his face was far from mirthful.


It seemed by the chorus of reactions from the table that until he spoke no one had noticed Scott, and that was just as well. Everyone seemed to be having a less than desirable or average morning, but Keeshan's face topped it all. He looked more brooding than any could describe; his glasses were placed crooked on his face, his hair was the result of static electricity, his mouth drooped into hideous frown, and his eyes screamed bloody murder. Tumbleweeds seemingly rolled in the distance as a hush fell over the gathered company.


The girl prodigy was the first to speak and bring the eerie atmosphere to a close. "Oh, no, that's not it . . . " She quickly piled some food onto a fork and placed it into her mouth before elaborating, her mouth slightly full. "I'm shocked about the patrol as much as everybody else--"


John coughed as if to proof the statement false.


"--but I guess Bullshend's name can just tip me a little on edge . . . "


Keeshan seemed to give a mildly understanding smile with the others before settling himself down at the table as well, a tray of food already with him. He shortly fell silent however, engaging his food with a purpose everyone other than John lacked. The tasteless food rendered no change to his unnerving "morning" face.


Lufio, back to his fairly normal self thanks to the gathering of other classmates, less awkward and shy of Lissa, shifted his gaze to her and cocked an eyebrow. "Bullshend is a category of man all unto his own, but a patrol? Isn't this sudden?"
 
"Well thankfully for you, Fia, Bullshend doesn't have a hand in this operation. This is entirely run by Millicent, or the two boys she wrangled into doing her job for her to be precise."


Amanda returned to the table with steaming hot serving of whatever it was everyone else is having for the day. It was strange that almost everyone was here at this time in the morning. Usually, everyone would be sleeping in or grappling with other morning routines. She took a seat in a corner, a peculiar spot for one of her standing but she found it easier to observe people when she wasn't being directly observed. She may be prideful but she isn't always seeking the spotlight. Everyone was engaged in conversation but she felt that it was important to clarify and verify her peers' presumptions.


"As I've said before, Bullshend has nothing to do with this beyond approving it. Millicent must have already had this in the works for some time what with the amount of paperwork I saw her shove onto Aster and Derreck's hands. The patrol happens later today and those two boys are busy requisitioning provisions as well as getting the remaining authorizations from the Registrar. What I don't know is where we'd be patrolling and if all of us are coming along as well as what we'll be up against. We'll have to wait for Millicent for that. It is too sudden is what it is, Lufio. In all honesty, I'm rather concerned with this plan. We've only just begun our third years and yet we're already getting a patrol without formally learning how 'strategy' works. I have my pocket money on Millicent losing a bet with another class rep, probably an idiot from Class C."


When she finished her piece, Amanda sliced her food into neat strips and began chowing down with "grace," something that not everyone seemed to know about. The meat was tasteless and she wished she had some sort of spice she could use to give this dead dish more life. Even at just the thought of death, Amanda grew quiet. She was used to such a thing during their second year when they had a large influx of patrol and peacekeeping that had Batch 15 and 14 busy with work. A few people lost their lives here and there but they became soldiers the moment they applied for Worthington. Hopefully, Millicent did not rope them into anything too dangerous. Word was that somewhere down south a certain pack of abominations have gotten bolder and bolder, hopefully they didn't have to face anything like that for now.


Her attention was caught by Niels who had seemed to finished his food and announced that he is retiring to his room to sleep some more. Flipping through a mental notepad, it was clear that Class D had nothing to do for the day. Just a minor class by Bullshend later in the day, but that would have to wait another day if Aster got the whole operation authorized.


"In any case, I'll just go to my room. Have a nice morning.....Good Morning Anais and Richard!"





The equally outspoken one was gone. It was strange that he had nothing to say about this sudden patrol when she knew he wasn't the kind to just let these things slip under him. Regardless, Anais took Niels's place on the table and Richard took his spot beside Amanda. Yet another anomaly in her life, it was as if Richard was taking every possible opportunity to get closer to her at least physically speaking. They have not exchanged anything more than obligatory greetings and farewells. Despite that, all these anomalies that would normally dominate her mind are pushed aside with the thought of this sudden patrol.


"So what are we all talking about? What's with this subdued atmosphere and all?"


The boy beside her deigned to open his mouth but Amanda let it slide. It was too early in the morning to start reprimanding people and generally being herself. She didn't answer him, since someone else would answer him anyway. Amanda was surprised at how much this upcoming patrol was unsettling her. Still she ate and ate because that was what all she could do for the time being. As her father once told her.


Amanda, if you have time to worry then you can worry while moving forward. It is better than standing still and achieving nothing.
 
Fia strained her neck to get a look behind upon hearing a female voice. "Oh? Amanda . . . "





The girl sighed a little, forming a smile on her face in light of the good news. She was sympathetic toward the two boys Millicent enslaved, but just about the entire class had felt that pain before. They were good sports for helping out, she thought.


Lufio had his hands cupped together before him, pressing slightly against his chin as he fixated his gaze on Amanda, showing the common fashion with which he addressed anything of a serious nature. His mouth was lingering on a slight frown, but his eyes said a lot more to the concern that began to well up inside him at Amanda's words. Presently he was nodding too. "You're right," he said, "though this might be more than silly banter between Millicent and her unsavory peers. Think, even as she may be, would Millicent risk our lives for any trivial matter?"





Zylphia dropped her fork, turning paler than the normal shade of her skin. There wasn't time for any intervention before she had risen from her seat and rapidly excused herself, scurrying off to the bathroom or who knows where.


It was then Keeshan's turn to roll his eyes at Lufio and fix his unsettling "morning face" on the boy. "You certainly got straight to the core of this, didn't you? Bravo for making me think of this as my last meal."





Lufio looked flustered, but he didn't retort. Others at the table were equally perturbed, even if they didn't voice their minds so openly, and it was clear that the table's atmosphere had been butchered. C'est la vie, Lufio thought to himself as he emitted a sigh, lowering his hands to the table. There was some shuffling before he had made it from the table and briskly set course for the Mess Hall kitchen, most likely to dispose of the meager leftovers that haunted his plate. Kudos, Scott. This morning . . . geez . . . I don't even know what to make of it. Aster . . . I'll find Aster.





Soon the white-haired bird was gone.


John Coltraine, throughout all of this, held his tongue, spending his time chowing down a meal. Uninterested, focused, bored - the three emotions that seemingly made up his character more often than not. Whether the patrol really did bother him or not there was no telling, as his mechanical eating routine took hold of his entire being. However, the moment Richard's question was posed to the quiet table, John made up for his own silence. "Patrol," he said flatly, giving man's best explanation. "Millicent rigged some gig for us by Bullshend's consent. If paperwork is signed, we'll be packing out later today."





Immediately following his words, John went silent once more, finishing up his tasteless meat and skipping a beat over to the kitchen in Lufio's footsteps.
 
"Oh okay....wait what?!"


"Must you be so noisy this early in the morning Richard? Some of us still have an aversion to noise and waking up in general."


"Sorry, it's just...a patrol? Now? We've only begun our third year."


"Go ask Millicent if you want to know why. I personally think we'll all do well later on today. Though in all honesty, I hope that if Aster would be incompetent once in his life, it'd be today so we don't have to do this."


Everyone was already leaving the table because of a certain white bird who'd been too blunt with his words. The bird in question had also fled the scene. The one who probably wasn't taking any of this too well would be Fia, she's just a young girl and the youngest in the class. Surely she was entitled to another year of life. Millicent may be fond of roping everyone into her schemes but this is taking it too far. It just couldn't sit well with Amanda. Not all of them have combat experience after all.


She had already finished her food when she loudly cleared her throat. It was time for her to show these plebs just what it meant to have an elite on their side. Amanda had to step up and try to salvage the atmosphere like any good noble, despite that fact that that was more of an Echeverry thing to do. She set her utensils down and made her plate as neat as she could.


"Look, everyone, if we let this get to us so early in the morning what was the point of saying good morning to other people then? We'll have a good morning, we'll even have a good day and we're all going to get out of this alive because I'm here. Because we have a lot of capable bodies in our ranks to pull us through. When push comes to shove I have full confidence that Richard over here is going to do his best to keep me alive. I have the full confidence that all four medics of ours will do what they can to keep us all breathing and that our sharpshooters like Mr. Know, who had just left, would keep the pressure on our enemies from afar. We just need to believe in our own capabilities and have faith in the person seated next to and across us as well as though who still haven't found the will to get out of bed."
 
Keeshan's eyes gave a run of the ceiling before falling lazily to the floor - the most interesting floor. It became so interesting all of a sudden that he was almost able to tune out of the radio proclamation of a motivational speech, but he inevitably heard most of it. Amanda, Amanda, he tutted to himself, feeling inclined to shake his head. He wouldn't dare though, for such an open sign of annoyance would surely grant him Amanda's death sentence. She needed her spotlight for the moment it seemed, and as far as Keeshan was concerned she could have it, so long as his head remained intact.


About this time Clem, the sore thumb of Class D (what with his bright hair), entered Amanda's bubble, wearing a tank top and baggy pants. The words "We just need to believe in our own capabilities and have faith in the person seated next to and across us as well as though who still haven't found the will to get out of bed," reached his ears just as he arrived, and needless to say his interest, as well as his fears, were perked. "I gather you're saying," he began, standing beside her, "that we have everything we need . . . if we just believe?"





Someone spit out their kafe and coughed, being Keeshan. "Damn," he said, recovering, "isn't it rare for you to crack a joke."


"Ted's snoring put me on edge," Clem replied matter-of-fact. A telling yawn opened wide his mouth as he gingerly rubbed the bags under his eyes. He removed and cleaned his glasses briefly.


In the background John passed the table on his way out, hands thrust into his pockets. Briefly he waved to Anais before disappearing completely.


--


Lufio, troubled by the news, still remorseful over his kafe, and ticked off by Aster's previous actions regarding Lissa, trudged the halls in search of the matchmaker. Surprisingly his senses were fairly keen and alert for the time of morning, and piecing together the bits of information he had gathered at the mess hall table, his conclusion was that Aster would be loitering somewhere around the Faculty office, where Bullshend must be. Even if his first guess was off, he could easily predict where else to search. But as he walked his steady pace and prepared to round a corner, something heavy hit him square in the chest. Thud.





Lufio found himself lying on his back, gazing at the ceiling lights. "Lord," he grunted, straining to lift his head and see what had hit him. Just a few feet ahead of his boots ((see what I did there? ;D)) lay none other than the feminist, Ms. Reynolds. Red in the cheeks, clutching her chest, and small beads of water welling in her eyes made her look quite the pitiful picture. The boy's immediate instinct was to throw himself up and help her, but he reminded himself of the intense caution a man had to have in her presence. Even if she was hurt, and he only meant to help, any physical contact could be considered perverted, unethical, monstrous sexual harassment. Staring too, just holding eye contact, could be considered harassment.


"Watch where you're walking," the femme fatale snapped, beginning to push herself to her feet, cheeks redder than ever.


Lufio was caught off guard by her sudden and piercing words, failing to apologize without stuttering and tripping over his own tongue. To save his life he had to throw his body weight to the side as the woman began to stomp past him, but he did manage to call out one question to her. "Are you alright?"





She stopped, and the silence that ensued was chilling. Her head turned slowly, reluctantly and forcefully toward Lufio, greeting him with a gaze that was enough to melt rock. Her teeth were clenched, and the water that was welling in her eyes began to stream out and down her cheeks.


Instinctively Lufio took a step back, holding up his hands in defense as he gulped. The storm was coming.


"I WAS KISSED BY ASTER!"
 
"You have any brighter ideas, Clem? Because, honestly, I don't like our chances in actual combat right now, we're too green and our dearest commander has a god complex. What's left to do if not try to boost morale and take everyone else's mind off the fact that Millicent is the one calling the shots and not some seasoned veteran who knows what he's doing and didn't sign us up because she most likely lost a bet?"


Amanda huffed at the end of what she had to say. It seems the plebs have little interest in idealism and optimism but what bothered her more was that she had to waste spit and breath trying to keep spirits up. She made it a point to keep things realistic whenever she had to address the plebs. Such was the change brought about by the Lanshire regime, a new world order where the plebs have access to more knowledge than they had in the past among other privileges they could not enjoy in the old rule.


"Well then if any of you have any lick of sense in your rotted brains, I suggest brushing up on combat and take a few shots in the firing range just to check if your eyes and hands work as they should and pray to whatever old deity if you realize that you can't seem to shoot straight. Oh and it'd be worth mentioning that everyone in Class D is trash, I'm sure you can figure out the consequences of such knowledge."


She gathered her belongings and left the cafeteria to go practice what she preached. A good session in the firing range to reacquaint herself the Mastodon would do her a world of good. Assume everyone, enemies and allies, is trash and on yourself and your wits. She had meant the sentiment, Class D was overall the worst class of Batch 15 ever since Class E was wiped out the year prior when they had been assigned a Formido extermination job as auxiliaries to three trained Lanshire Guard Squads. Amanda would be damned if she would be turned into a feast for those beasts before she could bring recognition to her family's name.


Having arrived at the firing range, Amanda had signed in with the quartermaster and requisitioned the necessary items for her session. Several magazines full of blank bullet cases were filed on a desk beside her, she slotted the magazine into her worn Mastodon and braced the butt of her rifle against her shoulder, going into a firing stance. A bell rang once and four targets of different distances away from her popped up from wooden pieces, cut in a variety of shapes to simulate terrain, and began moving from left to right at erratic speeds and switching directions whenever it felt like it.


She kept her sights trained on one, keeping her aim just a little bit ahead of the target. She pulled the trigger and three bullets zoomed out of the barrel only to miss the target she was aiming for.


Assume everyone is trash, including yourself.
 
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