*COMPLETED* Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Kurui wasn't even completely sure what she had run from. Obviously it was Black... but it was more than that too. The sounds from downstairs made her feel the same twinges of nothingness she had felt after impaling him with her crystal, he was no threat anymore and she KNEW that... but yet she was still scared. Maybe she didn't KNOW... that was really the problem throughout this whole thing... that so much she thought she knew about her life and so many other things had warped into something horrible in only a scant few days. Maybe Black himself wasn't scary anymore... but he was a reminder of just how wrong she had been about so much. Could she ever feel safe again? She felt safe at the RMA before all this started and that was a stupidity of such recklessness that it almost got her killed and put her through the worst humiliations of her life. Could something like this happen again? She had no way of being sure it wouldn't that she could trust anymore... This was perhaps why she so badly just wanted to be home right now. Home in a world she could trust. Here she only felt completely lost to doubt and uncertainty and fear... here her world view meant nothing and she felt as if a huge chunk of her own self had been taken away.
“It's not all gone... it's not. I can trust Rythe... and I can trust Lafton. This much is true for sure... it has to be. I can work from there and be OK... I just need some time. Nothing bad is going to happen now... and if it does it will just put me out of my misery faster. Calm down Kurui... it's going to be OK... it's all going to be OK.... it's going to get better.”
A few more deep breaths and Kurui was able to stop her trembling hands and find her voice again.

“I... I would like that.” Kurui replied after a few moments to Lafton's offer. There was some hesitation in her voice... she really wanted to go back to her own room at the Academy. It was the closest thing she had to home here, however she didn't want to deal with the academy staff who would no doubt have questions for her. She was in no state to talk to them right now. This, more than even the possibility of any danger (slim as it probably realistically was), made her not want to seek refuge there.
“Just for a few hours... I'm not going to quit now, not after all this... I just need a little bit to... I don't know...”
Kurui let her thought drop there. Trying to explain was too difficult and too exhausting anymore. Instead she focused on getting herself back up to her feet for the walk back. Before she left she remembered enough to give her thanks and bow to the members of the Order, although it was obvious she was forcing herself through the motions. It wasn't out of any lack of respect, but simply because she was at her limit now... that she could even do this much and spent the effort on it meant a lot on it's own.

~~~~​

On the trip back to Lafton's, Kurui's eyes again darted to any sounds she heard, but not so much as before. With Black gone and the sun killing off most of the dark places they passed, she was able to keep herself more composed...
“So much for being brave and strong and showing that bastard I wasn't as worthless as he thought I was...”
This would be the only thing she would speak on the trip back, in a low mumble barely above a whisper and expecting no answer. The rest of the time she kept her head down and kept quiet until she arrived with the others at their destination.

As soon as Kurui and the others walked through the front door, they were approached by one of the manor's servants. Although there was no prying, no misplaced curiosity or questioning, Kurui just wished she would go away. The water major was in no mood to have strangers around her. Even the mere presence seemed to stress her out and drain her energy. She was grateful when Lafton dismissed the servant after only a short exchange. She was even MORE grateful a moment later when Lafton mentioned that he was heading back to the Academy.
“Of course... someone has to let Jarelin know we're not all dead... let the rest of the staff know what's happening. Even if they have questions for me later, this should satisfy them enough to dispel any super strong urgency... they won't be out looking for me. I'll get a little bit of time to myself...”
“T-thanks...” Kurui gave a weak word of gratitude that she wouldn't have to be the one to go back and report on anything that happened, but she kept her eyes down and missed Lafton's smile before falling silent again for a few moments. Only as Lafton turned away to leave did her mind come up with anything worth saying.
“Wait! Do me a favor while you're there, please! Just... take a little bit of time and see if you can spot Sienna around. I... havent actually seen her at all since before yesterday. I want to believe nothing happened to her... I don't think Black was lying to me... but if you happen to see her... please tell me. I... should be doing this myself... but...”
Kurui let her thought trail off again, once again at a loss for words. She had no right to ask anything after all the help she had gotten already, and even less right to express that her attention was in some way focused on someone else right now... but she felt compelled to ask anyway, even if she felt shame at doing so. However if he agreed, however casually, she would bring her gaze up to meet his and the slightest bit of a truly grateful smile would show up on her face, although she lacked the energy to react any more than this.

With Lafton on his way, Kurui, with Rythe by her side, found her way up to the room she stayed in last night. A soothing sense of familiarity washed over her once inside... maybe not as strong as if it had been her own room at the academy, but enough that she was grateful for the feeling. Once the door was closed, it was like she was in her own little world inside the room again. There was no outside world to worry about anymore, everything was safe.
Finally she could relax. Within seconds she was collapsed on the bed with her eyes closed. She wasn't asleep, it was too early in the morning for her to manage that, but even just laying there awake felt like an amazing reprieve. She could practically feel her body thanking her for the moment the rest after everything she had been through... as if she had run for miles today and only now had a chance to stop. For a few minutes she just laid there and soaked in the feeling before finally speaking.
“It's not over... but for now our part in it is... I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this.”
Kurui's tone was more at ease than before. With just Rythe there and no other sources of stress, the water major would finally be able to talk about things a little, as long as nothing too harsh or accusatory or needlessly negative drove her back into her shell.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Lafton stopped and turned around in order to respond to the girl's parting request. "Huh? Oh, right. Of course. That's the uh, blonde Wind Major from Class 1-A, isn't it? Do you want me to bring her back here? I know she probably has classes and all, but, I can... uh, I can try," he offered.

Rythe raised a brow before remembering that he wasn't quite familiar with their friend. While he was generally well-liked among the other male students, Lafton didn't have a wealth of experience in talking to females, and so it went that while he did see Sienna in passing, often alongside Kurui, he had never been formally introduced to her. The lightning mage held out a hand for him to wait, then produced a piece of parchment from her bag and took a moment to scribble a paragraph upon it before folding it in half twice and handing it to the noble. "Here, just give this to her. This way she'll know it's me, so that way she won't be suspicious or anything if you do run into her."

Lafton took the note with a nod, then gave a quick wave before setting off, though not without looking over his shoulder a few times to check the girls' expressions as they watched him leave, particularly that of Kurui's. Her smile caused a noticeable blush to show up on his cheeks, and he could only respond with a mildly awkward grin, nearly colliding with the doorframe as he failed to watch where he was going.

"Agh! Ow. Uh, heh, b... bye for now." He looked as though he wanted to say something else to her--as he often had in the past day or so--but ended up missing out on the opportunity once again. Though it would be difficult for Kurui to hear him, he mumbled under his breath to himself after departing. "Way to go, Lafton."

Once the front door was shut, the other girl placed a hand on Kurui's upper back and and guided her back upstairs. "Let's go up," she urged in a gentle tone. As they walked, Rythe found herself rambling a little about the situation, perhaps not so much to comfort the Water Major as it was to ease her own mind. "By Erion, I hope Sienna's alright. I mean, she has to be though, now that Black's put away and in no position to give out any kind of order. It's... it's going to be okay." It almost seemed to be some kind of mantra at that point, given how many times she had said as much before, but if nothing else, it did help to keep the brunette relatively calm. Kurui could feel that Rythe too had been shaken up deep inside by the recent turn of events, and despite the Lightning Major's normally impressive composure, it was easy enough to see the cracks in her emotional armor. It reminded her of the magnitude of what she had just survived.

"It... it's okay," she replied, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "Not that any of it was really your fault, if you think about it. When, um... you know when they welcome us to the Academy, how the headmaster usually goes on this whole speech about how we're the next generation of mages to pass on the knowledge of Elynsor's proud magical tradition, and all that? I remember how a lot of people were laughing a bit since they say it's the 'easy life'. We don't have to work on farms, or worry about being on the front lines as much, or struggle as much with money... that kind of thing. I never thought I'd ever have to use a spell to actually hurt anyone else. The mock duels aside, that is. Did you know I've never even gotten into so much as a confrontation before the standoff with those delinquents? I hear a lot about how some people freeze up during their first fight and such. With those guys, everything just happened on its own--the things I said to you guys, the cantrip I cast. I still barely remember it right now. But now that I look back on it, I just think, 'wow, did I... really do that?' So hard to believe that it was me. It's the same way for what we've just been through. Not that it's anything I would ever brag about to my future children or any of my other friends, as much as I might want to. In fact, I think you're one of the only people I can talk to about all this."

Taking a deep breath, she paused after her rambling spell, looking around her. "I can't wait for this all to just blow by and be over with. Hopefully they figure out what went on at the mines... because I think I'm pretty much done 'adventuring', or whatever one would want to call it, after what we went through. Anyway, I don't mean to depress you by going on about this, but I just had to get it off my chest that... wow. We just survived something like this."

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

“N-no, it's fine, don't tell her anything except that I'm OK. I'll... I'll tell her everything when I'm back at the academy... no need to get her all worried.”
The truth was, Kurui had no idea how she was going to tell Sienna about any of this. She knew it HAD to be done sooner or later and that stalling probably wasn't helping anything, but right now she just didn't want to deal with the issue, for better or for worse. While she didn't get a good look at what had Rythe had written as a note for Lafton to pass on, the water major hoped it was in line with this... and also hoped her wind major friend wouldn't be too alarmed by any of this...
“Who even knows what's going on at the Academy right now? Surely everyone's noticed Black is gone, does the Academy have any kind of reason to give them? Are a bunch of the other staff busy discussing everything that happened? Maybe there are tons of rumors already... and I was already here all of last night even after telling Ciley to tell Sienna to find me. If she hears I'm OK from Lafton and gets insistent on coming back... I don't think he'll stop her. Maybe he shouldn't.... but then where I even begin with telling her that a knife was being held over her head because of me... or what happened to me and how I almost died just because she was used against me like this...”
Kurui was distracted from her thoughts only by the sound of Lafton hitting the doorframe on the way out, which made her jump a little. Regardless of what might happen an hour or two from now, it was clear she needed a break right now.

~~~~~​

Upstairs Kurui finally had her chance for a small break; and after just a few minutes of being able to lay back and not have to worry about anything except breathing, she was already starting to feel a lot better. She was still far from OK, and not sure if she'd ever be fully “OK” ever again, but she wasn't scared right now, or in pain, or crying, or having to worry about any immediate weight or life-and-death decisions on her shoulders. For now she was content to lay back and let Rythe on the edge of the bed sit and ramble.
Kurui recognized what her friend was doing... or at least thought she did... rambling to calm nerves. The water major had wanted to do it herself and get out the full story of what had happened to her in the mines, but she found herself holding back at surprise over at how much the brunette had been affected by even just the most recent of events. There was no need to turn this into a competition over who ended up getting the worst of it... or depressing Rythe (and herself) any further by rubbing in more negativity. Instead she tried to focus on something that would make a better distraction.
“Heh... I actually though that speech was a super big deal and stuff when I first came to the academy.” her voice was tired... but at ease now. “Maybe I'm selfish, I probably never would have had it too bad anyway... I'd have ended up balancing books in some remote part of Veltria most likely... but I wouldn't have starved or anything. Magic was my way out of that, my chance to get so much more out of my future. I guess I'm pretty greedy, huh?” at this Kurui gave a small laugh, as if to show, despite Rythe's indirect mention of how many others had it worse, she wasn't seriously feeling guilty about wanting a better life for herself. After all, she still handn't done anything to ever hurt anyone else or take away what they had... not unless what Octavian and Black had said about the kingdom was true, and she wasn't ready to concede even that scrap of victory to them. This was happy story time.
“Did I ever tell you how I got into the Academy in the first place? You probably gathered that I read a lot back home. My parents wern't around much because they were always so busy, like I think I've mentioned before. They also didn't really think it was proper of me to spend too much time hanging out with most of the other kids my age because there were none at the manor and the ones who wern't were a bad influence, not proper and all that. Reading was all I really had. There wasn't much in the way of places to get books aside from traveling merchants passing through every so often, and the books they had were always expensive and a rare commodity... but the manor had a huge library and I was allowed to read whatever I wanted from there. I didn't get to keep the books, but I could borrow as many as I wanted.
I mostly spent my days reading adventure stories and stuff like that, but there were also some old spellbooks in the library, beginner ones that still had plane crystals in their spines. Even though magic wasn't a big thing in Veltria and there was nobody to teach me, I was fascinated by the enchanted stuff merchants ad traders had sometimes and I wanted to learn anything I could about any kind of magic in general. Besides, the instructions were easy enough to follow. Sit there and focus on the crystal while chanting and try to “feel” where it came from... feel where it came from and draw from there until you form a gate. I hear it's easier to learn magic if you can have another mage open a spellgate for you and learn to feel and draw from a plane with that because it's energy is so much stronger than what a crystal gives off... but this was the best I had. It actually took me months before I could produce anything, part of me thought it was impossible, but I didn't exactly have anything better to do and it wasn't hurting me to try. I went through lots of those spell books, every element I think, but water was the one that finally stuck. One day after lots and lots of trying I was able to open a gate just large enough to get some mist through. It wasn't useful, and it drained me really quick, but it was real... it proved that the whole thing was possible, I was excited like you wouldn't believe. Within a few days I was even able to do it consistently. I showed my parents of course, but they didn't think much of it. I'm not sure if they even thought what I was doing was real magic or just some kind of street trick. It was disappointing, but it didn't kill my enthusiasm. I kept practicing. It was just me doing it all on my own though, the thought of something like the Academy never crossed my mind as a seriously possibility back then, but then one day that all changed..."
Kurui paused for a moment as if to plan what she was going to say, even though she was just saying everything as it came.
"That special day I was sitting there alone with the water spellbook open, practicing like usual... then I got lucky, did something I had never done before. I managed to make my spell gate that was only giving off mist give off a burst of water, like an entire pitcher's worth. It only lasted a second, but I was practically shaking with excitement... until I discovered all that water had fallen right on the book. A second later I was freaking out, the water had ruined the paper, made it look trashy. The book wasn't even mine and I had no idea how much it even cost and it was probably rare and valuable... and I had ruined it. I just sat there with the worst feeling in my gut, afraid that I wouldn't be allowed to borrow books anymore, dreading having to admit what happened.
However, I also dreaded keeping it a secret and getting discovered later even more... and so that night, practically falling apart with nerves, I slipped downstairs while my parents were gone and told Lord Vernan what had happened as apologetically as I could. A few moments of unbearable silence passed but then no anger... instead he just asked me if I thought I could do it again. When I said I wasn't sure her merely told me to keep the book, it was still readable even if the pages were all water-wrinkled, and practice for a few days. Surely enough, a few days later he calls me to the dining hall one night, a place usually reserved for the nobles and stuff, and my parents are there and everything and he asks me to repeat what I did. I was nervous, but I HAD practiced and I was able to do it again... at which point I was stunned to hear him then turn to my parents and tell them I ought to be taught how to make use of this. Sent to the RMA to be trained as an actual mage. I still have that book back in my room at the Academy right now actually, buried in the back of one of the bookshelves...
Anyway, when what I was hearing finally sunk in, and after my parents finally agreed to it, it was the happiest day of my life. Up until then I had just been floating through life doing nothing. Now I had a future, something to actually look forward to and call my own. Even better when I found out my first year here that I was pretty good at it... although I suppose that didn't show too much alot of the times you've seen me, huh? I still remember getting tackled while you kept your cool in that delinquent fight earlier.” Kurui gave another small laugh, the memory she just mentioned being fond rather than embarrassing or scary in this context.
“You did amazing even with this, handled it a lot better than I did, for sure. I'm here being a wreck and somehow you still managed to keep focused on the important things the whole time...” at this Kurui's voice trailed off for a moment and she appeared to be lost in thought again.

For a few moments Kurui just appeared to be zoned out, then her eyes started to water and all her attempts to not think about recent events collapsed, in one quick movement she practically lunged at Rythe for a hug as fresh tears flowed.
“Oh gods Rythe, I would've been dead if you wernt there! Everything I've done, my chance at a future, all of it! All of it would have been gone if I had tried to do this by myself! I would've gotten myself killed and thrown it all away for nothing!” Kurui was trembling a little as she spoke, though her story before had been meant to ease her mind, it seemed her mind had slipped for a second... because of the story it had become acutely aware once again of how bad things had almost ended. “I'm a terrible person for drawing you into this, I know that! -but I'm so glad you were there! I really really am no matter how bad that makes me!”
For a few minutes Kurui just kept her embrace squeezed tight and cried it out, but for once it was actually doing her some good. When she finally stopped and wiped away she the tears she actually felt a lot better than before.
“*sniff* -Sorry. I'm OK now, I promise. I actually feel a lot better, I think I need that. Sorry to have that come out of nowhere like that. I'll be fine now though... I'm a bit dizzy, but I think thats just because I'm hungry. It was stupid of me to skip eating this morning... Hey, up to going downstairs and grabbing something really quick?”
Although Kurui's voice still sounded exhausted, it sounded almost happy in a way. Perhaps it was because she had enjoyed sharing that story about her earlier life... or perhaps in the same way it had made her slip for a second a remember how much she had almost lost, it had also made her remember how much she still had and how, despite everything, it HADN'T been taken from her yet. Either way, she was doing a lot better now, even from just the short time she had to lay back and de-stress. Rythe was free to comment on her story or anything else and Kurui would probably be fine... the lightning mage could probably get away with talking about the events of today even. The worst of what Kurui was feeling had passed and been released, a fact made obvious by the fact that she was actually up to eating, something she hadn't even been able to do much of in the morning earlier that day.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

"Really?" asked Rythe in response to Kurui's admission about the speech that was made back on the Academy's opening day for their class. "I guess that makes... well, at least two people who did. And if you think that's an indicator of you being 'greedy' or whatever you call it, then I'm sure a fair amount of us would be right there with you," she added with a shrug and a slight smile, making it somewhat difficult to tell whether or not she had caught the hint that the other girl was kidding.

"I know Sienna's in here because of having to carry that whole tradition with her family and such, what with her older sister and all. In my case, I guess you could say I AM the oldest sibling in my family, but I'm not nearly as talented as Sienna's sister or anything of the sort. I've just always been fond of books and magic 'cause, well... I was just never that interested in anything else, to be honest. No one in my family is really magically inclined, but they scraped together the money to get me a tutor, because my mother thought I was going to be famous or something. Kinda silly, huh? I swore I'd pay her back for all of that, somehow, so here I am. Pretty much why I try not to fool around in class unlike some of the others who have it all and can afford as many years here as it takes. I'm still glad for that much though. But anyway, wait..." While she could have gone on and on, Kurui's next words piqued the Lightning Major's interest. "No, you never told me!" She shifted from talking to listening, only giving her input as needed.

After hearing the story of how the Water Major developed her own interest in magic and cultivated her skill thanks to an otherwise lonely childhood, Rythe's expression took on a rather impressed look. "Wait, so you seriously taught yourself all of that? Geez, that is a lot more impressive than you think! Even if it did take you that long by some standards. I mean, I think I would've just given up if I were in your position and was stuck with only texts to go off of, especially since some of the concepts are pretty complex. I didn't really learn anything terribly substantial until I had it all explained to me by someone who actually knew what they were doing."

"Besides, most people who knew anything about magic before coming to the Academy are the same way--they got guidance by some kind of family tutor or parent. So... yeah, that's pretty amazing that you stuck it out for that long!" exclaimed the girl. "Plus I'm really glad that the lord--err, Vernan, was it?--was okay with all of that. I think he definitely knew that what you did wasn't an everyday thing, at least for Veltria, if my facts are right. It's just big on mining and stuff, isn't it? I know most of the students come from here in Elynsor City... that or Garalin Fiefdom."

"Either way. When it's safe for us to go back, I really wouldn't mind taking a look at that book you have, the one that started it all. Could even show Sienna, too, if... you haven't already," added Rythe in a lighter tone. "And don't worry, you actually came off as pretty smart to me, if a little cold like. Though I've been told the same thing before. It's not like I don't keep track of the test score rankings myself--I know you're up there! And I already know better than to judge you based on that stupid fight we had with those delinquents, especially after what you did to Black. Like I said, I'm almost positive that nobody would believe any claims we made about beating him the way we did. Not to mention, you're the one who had to go through all of that stuff in the mine. And you... u-uh..."

She grimaced, turning her gaze downwards. Rythe was afraid to say it out loud, but the other girl could tell what her friend was getting at. The experience of being Black's doll, of being at the mercy of his desires. Kurui had managed to survive such a harrowing ordeal, and there was something to be said for that as far as the Lightning Major was concerned. "I think it's safe to say that you're the strongest one of all of us," she said in a quiet voice before unexpectedly feeling the other student's embrace.

Rythe was silent during the hug, but as Kurui pulled away she caught her wiping away some tears of her own. "I didn't realize how alone you were in all of that. But knowing that now, I'm glad I was there too. If that means anything. I just wish the whole class knew that you... well, all of us, practically saved them from something really, really terrible." She gave her classmate a sincere look and a nod. They hadn't known each other for very long, but the trials they endured together ensured that there was at least something they had in common. "That wasn't out of nowhere. We just survived something that most wouldn't have! I can still hardly believe it myself."

The prospect of food visibly lightened her expression, and she nodded a few times at the Water Major's proposal. "That sounds good to me. No way I'm passing up the opportunity to enjoy such good food while I'm here," she replied, standing and helping Kurui up if she needed it.

Afterwards, she headed downstairs with her friend to where the dining room waited. Though it was empty, a maid soon peeked out from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Oh, hello," greeted the servant, drying off her hands with a small towel. "Master Lafton's guests, right? Would you like something to eat?"

"Er, ahum... yes," said Rythe, only to let her growling stomach finish the sentence. "We'll have whatever you served this morning! Or, just whatever is available." She looked to Kurui. "Are you in the mood for anything in particular?"

"We just did some groceries lately," responded the woman in the maid uniform. "So we do have enough ingredients for whatever you might like. The vegetables we have are beans, onions, and beets, while in terms of fruit we have apples, pears, dates, limes and oranges. Almond pudding, Garalin cakes, ember day tarts, gingerbread, pear compote are all easy enough to prepare, if I might make a recommendation..."

"Ooh, I'll try those Garalin cakes," the Lightning Major chimed in, allowing Kurui to make her own selection, or suggestion, afterwards.

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Kurui merely nodded confirmations to Rythe's question. After finishing her story, she was lost in thought about the lightning major's previous comments. Kurui realized up until this point she hadn't actually heard much of anything about the brunettes life. She had only guesses based on observation... most of them regarding her frugal behavior. Now however, some of those guesses would prove to be correct, their reasons plenty easy enough to understand.
Kurui felt a slight pang of jealousy at the whole story, not entirely different from the jealousy she felt towards Sienna for having sisters. Rythe's parents had had supported her interest in magic... even went to great lengths and sacrificed a lot to make sure she would get a chance to really make something of it. Meanwhile the water major's own parents had shown little interest or enthusiasm for Kurui's own attempts at the art, not even taking seriously until someone else made them see how special her efforts were. Such thoughts had never bothered the water major before... but the contrast now caused a strange feeling to bubble up.
Perhaps jealousy was the wrong word... no Kurui couldn't be jealous of Rythe after everything that had happened... couldn't bring herself to be spiteful in any way. There was always going to be someone better off... always. Worrying about it did nothing except turn a person bitter and petty. Besides, the lightning major herself seemed impressed by Kurui's accomplishments... by the fact that Kurui didn't have to worry so much so about money, even if she wasn't rich. Impressed by the fact that a noble like Vernan had taken notice of her efforts, impressed that she had the willpower and intelligence to self-teach herself some level of magic basics...
“She'd probably have traded places with me in a second before all this, and here I am feeling like fate hates me again...”
With a bit of effort Kurui pushed the whole train of thought out of her mind. Compared to what she had just been through, this wasn't something even worth thinking about. It stupid that she was feeling this way to begin with. Time to focus on happier thoughts.

“-I hope they never find out!” Kurui blurted out catching Rythe's comment about the class. So much for happier thoughts. Perhaps the lighting major had been right about how alone she had been feeling... but still... Kurui didn't want any recognition or appreciation. She still didn't feel like she would have deserved any of it. Even if she had beaten Black now, that didn't make her a hero... no an actual hero would've stayed with everyone else and died trying to protect them. She was still a coward and she knew it. A coward and a whore and it wasn't hard to figure out.
“They're all going to find out... aren't they...” she mumbled more to herself than Rythe. “If anyone else survived the mine... they're going to talk about what happened. I have no right to ask them not to... Even if they all died... which I'm a horrible person for even thinking about... their families deserve to know what happened, right? No matter what it feels like to me, everyone in the class deserves to know what almost happened to them... they'll figure it out... figure out why I'm the only one who made it back when all the details surface. The Academy wont care what it feels like to me... if anyone else survived they'll probably hate me too much to care... and I don't even deserve to be worried about what happens to me anyway...”
The water major's eyes started to water again for just a second before she rubbed them on her arm and stopped herself.
“I'm worrying too much about things that haven't even happened yet. One thing at a time. Right now is time to eat and wait for Lafton to get back with news.” she mumbled before heading towards the stairs, this time aware that Rythe could hear her.

Reagrdless of anything Rythe said, by the time Kurui got downstairs she didn't look as if the inner conflict that had faced her just a few seconds ago had ever happened. Whether she had really reached a resolution with her declaration to take thing ones step at a time or whether her friend had said anything to calm her down... or whether she was just putting on a brave face... wasn't clear. Either way, any traces of it were gone by the time she got to the dining room.
Even at such an odd time, the selection of food available was impressive. Not that it was unusual to Kurui at all, the manor back in Veltria had cooks available at all hours of the day as well... although not ones that were there to cater to someone like her on a whim. She still felt weird being served like this, even starting to bow a little upon being addressed. Even as a guest, Kurui didn't want to feel like a burden, and part of her wondered if the woman attending her an her friend could tell. Her plan was just to ask for something simple be quick about it, but it seemed Rythe had other ideas.
“uh- Garalin cakes?” Kurui was surprised at the selection... and a little hesitant. The sweet cinnimon'ish tasting pastries required some preparation, something Kurui was trying to avoid imposing. Furthermore, while they wern't exactly a super rare delicacy or anything, some of the ingredients were pretty expensive.
“Of course Rythe wants those... they're probably not something she has very often. Who cares if they're expensive or take some time to make, right?
Then again... maybe I'm worrying too much. Rythe didn't grow up like I did, never had so much humility and etiquette pounded into her or ever had to worry about being around nobles. I can't get mad at her for that, right? It's not like being that way has done ME much good recently... besides... Garalin cakes do sound good... it can't hurt to indulge just this once. Besides, it'd be more rude to ask for two different types of dishes to be made now, right?”
With a look halfway apologetic but also a bit eager, Kurui affirmed her friends request.
“Garalin cakes do sound good right now, thank you. Sorry for the trouble.”

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

"N-No, I didn't mean for them to know about... that!" Rythe replied in an instant to Kurui's outburst. "I just... nnnh. By Erion, it would just be the most awful thing if everything you had done up until now had just gone unappreciated. I can't help but feel that it has already, and it'd be a shame for nobody but us to know, is all," she huffed. "But I understand, if you don't want anyone else to know because of the questions that would be raised," added the Lightning Major before her friend started going off on a tangent of her own.

At this, Rythe could only put on a worried look and shook her head. "It's not as if you're the only survivor, period. A lot of us made it out and still have no idea what went on in there. Not like we were thinking 'oh, that Kurui, wonder how she made it out?', you know? I overheard some people... I think they were just glad to be out of there. Odetta was the only one who even remembered that you were in the same group as Anisse."

When Kurui made her last remark for the time being, Rythe nodded in agreement. "You're right, though--this is all speculation thus far. Probably not going to do us much good worrying about it so much. Maybe getting some food in our stomachs will help."

Despite the Water Major's internal struggle about the Garalin cakes and the amount of time or effort that might go into preparing them, the maid exhibited no hesitance about carrying out her visitors' orders. It was, after all, what she was accustomed to, whether the person to be served was a master of the manor or someone they valued as a guest.

"That's it?" asked the woman, a somewhat surprised look upon her face. "Very well. And it's no trouble at all, really," remarked the servant. "The Garalin cakes will just be a few minutes, though," she added before retreating to the kitchen.

Rythe was fairly quiet, as if afraid to trigger another episode of worry from her friend, and simply waited patiently, trying to stay optimistic. Of course, food was one thing that the brunette could always look forward to, and the hint of a smile appeared upon her face as the aroma of cinnamon and sweet frosting wafted through from the kitchen area to the dining room in which the girls sat.

Not half an hour later and the maid emerged from the kitchen with a large platter full of round cakes done in a spiral-like pattern. The Garalin cakes had cinnamon and sugar evenly distributed amongst their spongy interior, were freshly baked, and as Kurui soon found out, absolutely delicious, whether she had a sweet tooth or not. It was almost enough to make her forget all about her worries from just moments ago, and for a few minutes, the blue-eyed mage was free to indulge in the taste of this rare treat. There were more, if she was hungry for seconds, as the amount that the lady had set on the table was sufficient to serve four or five.

"S... So good," mused the Lightning Major aloud before going for her third cake.

Kurui was then left about as full as she wanted to be before a few clattering noises could be heard at the front entrance. The muffled jingle of keys then clinked a few times, and the heavy wooden door swung open. As expected, Lafton's voice echoed through afterwards.

"I'm home," he announced, pocketing his keys. Not one, but two sets of footsteps made their way to where Kurui and Rythe sat, and when Lafton entered the dining room, a familiar form lingered not too far behind him. It was Sienna.

"Oh, wow..." said the blonde in wonder, her eyes having wandered about the home's rustic but finely decorated interior, before settling upon the faces of her friends when she entered.

"Hey girlies! Got your note," she greeted with a hint of her usual cheerfulness, though her smile seemed a bit half-hearted due to her apparent confusion with regards to the situation.

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Though Rythe's words helped calm Kurui a little, she was content to follow the lightning major is saying nothing more as their food was prepared. The water major was a wreck right now and she knew it, she was probably just as likely to trigger another small breakdown of hers with her own words as anyone else was now. Everything should have been over when they beat Black... but it wasn't, it was far from over yet. Reality wasn't as neat and tidy as all the storybooks.
“Don't think about it. One thing at a time. The worst is over, right? Yes, stop thinking about this, just blank out and try to stay calm... worrying isn't making things happen any faster.”
Every minute still felt like forever...

Things became considerably easier awhile later when the food was done. It was amazing just how quickly even the most serious of worries melted away under baser concerns like hunger and the smell of food. The first bite was the best thing Kurui could remember having tasted for weeks. Perhaps being hungry warped her perceptions... but it was more than that, these were definitely better than even the ones the Academy sometimes had. Kurui hadn't remembered feeling THAT hungry before, having suggested food only because she knew she probably needed it regardless of how she felt... but all that changed though once she started eating. The sugary treats wern't exactly a balanced meal or probably even all that healthy, but they were quick energy and spread a comforting warmth through her body as she ate. Even thinking seemed to take less effort with the new boost of energy. Her body craved it to the point where she was able to match Rythe's appetite, downing a whole three cakes before finally feeling content, even if her stomach was starting to protest a little by then.

“-Huh?!” Upon hearing the sounds at the front door, Kurui sat bolt straight without even being completely sure why. Something in her head was still in a mode of hyper-alertness... of thinking every unknown sound might be a threat and making her jump at it... even if the voice that followed a few seconds later didn't belong to any threat at all.
“I-it's just Lafton...” Kurui sighed, trying to forget how much she had jumped. Something was still off though. “Two sets of footsteps? Is Jarelin ba-”
The water major's train of thought completely shattered when she heard the voice belonging to the second set of footsteps. She felt frozen, not even sure if her own heart was still beating... but time kept going and before she knew it she was staring right at Sienna like a startled animal.
Everything was happening too fast, Kurui hadn't even had a chance to pray she misheard or mistook the voice before proof that she hadn't was right there in front of her. A wave of nausea passed through her and suddenly regretted eating all those Garalin cakes. This wasn't what was supposed to happen, she had specifically said to NOT bring Sienna back! Her eyes drifted over to Lafton with a panicked look of betrayal... even if bringing Sienna back WAS probably the safest thing for her. With some effort Kurui swallowed hard to try and quell the nausea and get her nerve back, only to have it replaced with a few moments of dizzy mind-racing right afterwards. What was done was done now anyway, there was no going back...

“L-lets go in the other room.” Kurui finally answered when she found her voice, before getting up and heading to a room closer to the foyer herself before the others could object. She wasn't even sure why... maybe because it seemed like she would be farther out of ear-shot of the servants for what was to come (as if they probably hadn't accidentally overheard any of her crying or explanations the previous night)... or maybe the room felt open and less stifling... or maybe it just gave Sienna a quicker way to the door if the wind major decided she didn't wana be anywhere near her after this - and despite how much that would hurt Kurui, felt she had no right to stop it if it ended up that way.
Once in the other room, the water major practically collapsed in a chair and the waited for the others to find seats of their own. She was surprised she had even managed to walk that far as her whole body felt numb and unresponsive now. Still, the hardest part was over now, all she had to do now was talk and form words... explain. Maybe the hardest part WASN'T over yet.

“Sienna... I never wanted anything bad to happen... but they almost did because I was keeping secrets... from you...” Kurui hadn't had any time to rehearse this or even think about how she was going to explain it, so what followed was a clumsy ramble that cut (maybe a bit too directly) right to the point.
“Remember a few days ago... when my class went on the mine trip and there was that cave in that got a lot of us? That... that was all a lie!” frustration made Kurui say the last bit in a raised voice, but it quickly died down right after “The whole thing was planned from the start. Black... Black was with the Redclaw Syndicate, it was a trap so that we'd walk right into the hands of their slavers! Even some of our escorts were in on it!” again her voice raised as if on the edge of hysteria but then died down again “It happened to my group... I didn't escape like you think I did. The only reason I'm here is because...” a small pause, as if Kurui were finally thinking about her words instead of just stumbling forward. “You know all the rumors about the horrible things they do when they capture someone they "like"? The rumors all they teachers and the constables and everyone tells us don't actually happen? Well... they do. The only reason I made it out is... because... Black... wanted to keep me for himself...” Even as Kurui tried to keep some semblance of composure, her voice cracked and her eyes watered up at this, proof that she wasn't just making all this up as a joke... not unless her acting skills were prodigiously amazing. “I-I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to die in that pit or get thrown to others... so I... agreed. I kept telling myself that if I played along I would get a chance to escape and do something... but then he told me that If I told anyone he would have... made sure I regretted it. He would have... went after others he knew I cared about... like you.” A few more sobs, but Kurui had to power through with this to the end now. “I played along for a few days... I thought I could deal with it... but it was too much! The shame and the guilt and the humiliation hurt so bad I kept thinking to myself that I would have been better off just dying back there! I... I had to do something... and I did.” finally, it was almost over, a few deep breaths “I spent my time gathering proof of what happened... and this morning we got help from the Order of St. Lisle to arrest him. I should have told you... but I didn't want to put you in even more danger! I did though... because if we had messed up... we almost did mess up... It was stupid of me but I scared and confused and couldn't live with myself! When I couldn't find you yesterday I though something had already happened – that me hesitating had let something bad happen to you! ...just like with the others back in the mine...” at this Kurui's voice trailed off and she drew her knees in and curled herself up on the chair.

The water major hadn't mentioned that if she didn't do what she did it might've meant that Rythe could have ended up the next victim to something like this, or that the others from her mine group might even be dead, or exactly how many times Black had “used” and humiliated her... all things Rythe knew; but somehow not important-seeming anymore. Minor details that didn't change or justify anything. When she tried to speak again all that could muster were pathetic inhuman-sounding sounding wails, her guilt so heavy that begging for forgiveness felt like a luxury she wasn't worthy of anymore. Forgiveness wasn't something you asked of someone after lying to them and holding the rope to a noose around their neck that they didn't even know was there... no matter how what was on the other side of the scale.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Sienna set eyes upon the other two girls with a somewhat vacant grin upon her face. Her eyes gave the impression that she was missing some kind of inside joke, considering all the questions she must have had for them--'what was going on' and 'why are we at Lafton's place' likely near the top of her mental list. Still, she was glad enough to see them, and wasted no time in looking to join her classmates sitting at the table.

Lafton caught the look Kurui gave him, unable to help but frown slightly. While it probably wasn't the first time he upset the Water Major in the past few days, it obviously didn't please him to see her in such a distressed state, and he awkwardly proceeded to try and ease her concerns. "I just, ah, I ran into her on campus and ended up telling her some things, because... knowing that you're back here and worrying so much about her is just... I wasn't sure what to do, so I just brought her back. For your uh, piece of mind, and what not," he explained, shrugging.

"Ahaha, seriously--I thought you were tryin' something at first, but then I saw the note and was like, 'that's totally Rythe's handwriting!' sooo, yeah. Guess it turned out alright, didn't it...?" Sienna chimed in, her tone more cheerful than what might perhaps be considered appropriate. That was nothing out of the ordinary for her, however, and wasn't always a reliable indicator of the blonde's true feelings towards a situation, as Kurui knew. Despite the way she came off, Sienna wasn't entirely dense, and quieted down, responding with only a solemn nod when the Water Major made her suggestion to take the conversation to a different room.

"S-So, what's up?" She held a slightly nervous smile, finding it difficult to sit still while plagued by the anxiety of whatever secret they were keeping. What WAS going on? She had a rough idea about the hard time Kurui was having with the mine incident... but beyond that, little else. Was it related? While there was so many questions Sienna could have asked right away, she instead opted to read her trembling friend's expression and simply listen.

Then came the first part of Kurui's admission. Whether or not she cared to look her friend in the eyes as she revealed the truth, little by little, it was easy enough to see the Wind Major try to process it all in her mind as she furrowed her brow ever so slightly, trying to make sense of it all. "S, Secrets, huh... I mean, I always thought you'd been acting kinda funny lately, but I figured anyone would after the mines thing," she responded, naturally trying to cover for the other girl even at such a moment. Naturally, the hindsight bias would kick in, and Sienna tried her best to decrease the impact of it all by making it less unexpected, in her own mind if nothing else. Still, any thoughts of betrayal or unfairness weren't considered. Sienna just wanted to know what it was that troubled her friend so greatly, and so she continued to wait for the rest of the story to go on, albeit with far more of a need to hear it than before.

She allowed Kurui to finish completely, and the usually talkative blonde, for once, found herself speechless. Her stomach churned as she internally tried to make sense of it all. Was this real? Her first response after looking up at Kurui was to turn her gaze to the others, Lafton and Rythe. The other students simply gave her quiet, solemn nods. They had witnessed first-hand what had happened with the arrest, as Black himself practically admitted everything. If this was some kind of joke, it wasn't a very good one, and it wasn't the kind that any of them would play on each other.

Ultimately, Sienna had no real reason to doubt Kurui other than the grand scale of her recollection of the past week's events. She swallowed hard and bit her lip as the truth dug into her. To think that her friend, someone she looked up to as much as she did, had gone through all of that, without her knowledge... it hurt, no doubt.

"But... why? Why for me? I-I don't know why you agreed to all of that... you should have ran! Forgotten about me and just... l-left, I don't know," she started in a wavering voice, fighting back tears. Her initial suggestion was outlandish, and she knew it, but she couldn't help but blurt it out anyway. To think that Kurui had gone through all of that, for her sake no less, was a hard fact to swallow. This was the ice-cool Water Major who had the nerves of steel, enough so to stand up for her against Teague in public and then some... wasn't it? Kurui would've done the same against anyone who was a Redclaw member! Or so, Sienna would have liked to think. But as her logical side settled back in, she did realize that even the most headstrong of Academy students wouldn't have been able to stand up well to a full-fledged professor, let alone one as esteemed as accomplished as Black. Kurui had suffered, immensely no doubt, and she was part of the reason.

It was easy to see at that point that Sienna was upset, unsure of who to blame for it all. "You should've told me! I could've helped! I would've done... s-something," she said in a raised voice, only to let it die down to a whimper towards the end. Realistically, there probably wasn't a lot she could have done, but it was comforting to think that she'd even be able to repay the immense favors that Kurui had done for her.

"The Kurui I knew wouldn't have put herself through all of that for some... useless Wind Major who can't even get good grades, or keep a guy around, or..." she went on, in her stressed tone, releasing her frustration. "You didn't have to do any of this," Sienna added, only to embrace Kurui with tears freely rolling down her cheeks. "I can't believe you," she sobbed. Why the Water Major had to suffer so much, and for her sake at that, she might never understand... but it was clear to her that she had a much better friend than she initially thought. She probably had all the reason in the world to be mad at Kurui for being so stupid and reckless--and she kind of was--but even Sienna wasn't so foolish as to overlook the significance of what the Water Major's did for her. She squeezed the other girl tightly.

After a good cry over the course of a minute or so, she finally let go and wiped her face, huffing, trying to manage a smile again like the usual Sienna. She could only do it halfway, but at least knowing that everyone was here safe and sound was a point of comfort that she was keen to focus on. "Anything else you wanna tell me? I mean... this is all over, isn't it?"

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Sienna's words of confusion sounded muffled to Kurui... far away, as if she were under water. Curled up with her head down, Kurui was able to avoid eye contact... it seemed as if her brain was trying to do the same thing with her hearing, so terrified of having it's worse fears confirmed that the stress was being focused to drowning out anything that could carry such news. It wasn't a perfect defense though, and what she could hear only got her mind imagining what this was all like for Sienna... thoughts that made her feel worse and fueled her hysteria until the entire room felt like it was spinning and churning. She felt like she was going to pass out... or maybe it was a dream, maybe she would wake up and none of it would have happened. No... it was real, she knew it was.
This was it, she had messed up big time, no time to prepare, everything admitted horribly... she should have lied, this was unforgivable, even with Black beaten she was still going to lose mor-

“-!?!”
Suddenly a new sensation bombarded Kurui's world of fading sensation. Touch... embrace... things that signaled forgiveness! Like a diver surfacing and gasping for air, her mind desperately sucked down details, allowed her to actually make sense of what she had heard earlier. Over and over again it ran back over things, checking and double-checking that this was really happening. Kurui knew what she did was unforgivable... and yet she was being given a second chance. For everything she had done wrong, everything she had messed up and done to hurt Sienna, she was still getting a forgiveness she didn't deserve. If their position had been reversed, Kurui wasn't sure she could have done the same thing... but she should have known better about Sienna. The wind major had always been better at coping than she had been... Kurui was envious, wished she could be more like that. For as much as Sienna looked up to her, the water major was the one who most needed someone to look up to right now.
Kurui's body felt stiff, her limbs cool compared to Sienna's warm touch, as if the water mage's body had started to go into shock, but the feeling was waning now and she managed to look up and nod a confirmation that everything was over before making an attempt at words.
“Stop talking like that... I-I'm the one who keeps messing up lately.” Kurui's voice was still shaky and a bit awkward, as if she had forgotten a little how to use it. “I-I didn't tell you because I thought it would keep you safe. Nobody was supposed to know, not you, or Rythe or anyone else... but everything got out of control... it was too much for me. I never meant for any of this to happen!” Kurui took a pause, then some resolve entered her voice, a far cry from the self-depreciation she had shown so much of around Rythe and Lafton earlier. “You're wrong though... I DID have to do this... I already lost too much when I was doing nothing, I wasn't going to lose any more!” This bit of nerve seemed to drain the last of Kurui's energy, but she got out one last bit with a weak smile. “You said I wasn't a bad person... even if I might have died, someone who wasn't a bad person had to at least try, right?”

Everything that needed to be said had been said, and at this Kurui closed her eyes and took in the rest of her friend's embrace. Even after it was over she didn't move much, taking a few moments to let the blood flow back into her limbs and let her body wind down from the encounter. The water major wished she could recover as fast as her friend, able to put on a smile even while everything with Teague was going on... while Kurui was better at dealing with immediate stress, her coping mechanisms after a moment had passed were alot less effective. Still, she was looking better now than even just a few minutes ago. For as much as Kurui was used to handling things alone, this had definitely been good for her, despite feeling like Lafton had terrible judgement for the choice earlier. Her own judgements about what were best for her probably wern't the most sound right now anyway. This had to be faced sooner or later, and getting it done with was a tremendous peace.
“Thanks... I needed that...” she mouthed in the fire major's direction at the first chance to do it unseen by the others.
The water major didn't say much else while she was recovering, not wanting to waste the effort. If there were more explanations or specific questions to be had, she would leave answering those up to Rythe. When Kurui finally did uncurl herself and start feeling normal again, she had questions of her own anyway. Even though this WAS over for the most part and all the danger had passed, there were still a few loose ends that needed to be resolved.
“So...” she finally asked in Lafton's direction “I after I made you go all the way back on your own, I should probably ask how things are back at the Academy, right?"
Kurui wasn't sure what kind of answer she was expecting, whether it was the Academy staff wanting to see her herself, or a confirmation that they had gotten help for the others in the mine, or even if others were trying to defend Black... but Lafton had made it back OK with Sienna so the Academy wasn't full of enraged Redclaws poised for revenge as her worst imaginings might have made it out to be. Whatever Kurui needed to do next, even if it was just taking some time to recover, it was still best for her to at least catch up and get on the same page first.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Sienna wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded in response to her friend's explanation. "I... I know, I just... geez Kurui, of all people, why'd I have to be the last one to know, though?" Her gaze momentarily moved to Rythe, then Lafton before returning to the girl in front of her. "Okay, I mean, I get it, but next time I'll be the first, okay?!"

She huffed, trying to act normal in spite of the obvious stress of the revelation. "I've already caused enough trouble for you already. You know I wouldn't have let you do all of that alone, if you'd have told me," assured the blonde, only to realize the hole her own argument afterwards. "But I guess that's why you didn't say anything in the first place, huh..." she trailed off, continuing to sort it all out in her head. "And here I thought we were going to get even at some point, but now there's no way I'll be able to repay you for all of this. Especially not after... um, well, you know," added the Wind Major, biting her lower lip afterwards and exhibiting a hesitant look.

Even Sienna wouldn't spill the beans on the Teague incident, though she came close to doing so unintentionally. While it wasn't a subject that she was usually keen to bring up in her thoughts, she couldn't help but do so once more when considering what Kurui had done for her. It was rather overwhelming to think about everything she owed the dark-haired Water Major. But on the other hand, it was somehow reassuring in its own way for Sienna to know that someone could care for her that much, and above all, it was a confirmation that her feelings of friendship were returned with interest. In Kurui she had a person more important to her than family, and a friendship that she would never relinquish.

Rythe and Lafton couldn't help but overhear, though it was clear that they had little to no idea of what Sienna was talking about. To someone missing the context of what was being said, it could have meant just about anything. The lightning mage blinked a few times, her ever inquisitive mind unable to help but ponder what 'you know' meant in that sense. Lafton could only manage an awkward smile at the warm reunion, noting the prolonged contact that lingered between the two friends. After catching the words Kurui mouthed in his direction, he placed a hand behind his head and tried to look in the other direction, turning his face away slightly so as to hide a blush.

Given their relative proximity, it took Lafton a few seconds to realize that the target of his admiration was actually talking to him and not to the girl in front of her. "Oh! Uh... right," he started, clearing his throat afterwards. "About that, everything seems alright. I went to the headmaster's office and talked to him a little about the whole situation. Considering who my father is and all, he wasn't afraid to hear me out. I only gave him a summary but, in short I told him that Black's in jail right now, that the class doesn't have an instructor for the time being as a result, and that the mine incident needs to be investigated more thoroughly. He told me that he'd look into it right away. I guess he's going to speak to my father as well, so... all we can do for now is wait. He told us that our class will be getting the next two days off while they try to tap a replacement professor."

"No class?! Lucky!" quipped Sienna. "I still have to go, though, bummer. I'd skip a few days though, if it meant making sure that everyone here's safe. I'm not going to miss out on anything again!" she said firmly.

"Believe me, after what we've been through, it's really the least they could do for us," commented Rythe. "It might even take me that long to digest everything that just happened..."

The blonde responded with a concerned look, but took a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm just glad everyone made it out of that safely! I mean, delinquents are one thing, but a full-fledged professor?! Uhf..." She noticed the uncomfortable looks on the other students' faces, and was quick to change the subject. "Oh, and anyway, I gotta thank you for having us over, and helping out," Sienna added, turning her attention to Lafton. "I mean, I think I've seen you around before, but I didn't know that you knew my Kurui! That or she's just been holding out on me about you," she teased, looking between the two of them.

"W-Well, that's..." Lafton stammered in response. "Not a problem. All of you can stay as long as you need to in the meanwhile..."

"Good," replied the blonde. "Cause I'm staying where my girls are," she declared.

The rest of the day was spent in relative comfort at the Fire Major's manor. Sienna was never terribly far from Kurui in terms of proximity, and though her near-constant tendency to seek a lighter conversational tone might have been annoying at times, Rythe didn't complain. The atmosphere of positivity that the cheerful girl brought proved rather infectious and was a welcome change from some of the cold, awkward moments of silence made when only Kurui and Rythe were in a room alone. It was still something of a strange feeling for the Water Major, with the friend whose sake she had been fighting for trying to be the one to keep morale high, but that was Sienna, and something told her that it would always be. Good food, friends, and a warm bed to sleep in for the night; it was as much as Kurui could ask for, and though there were many fairly fresh emotional wounds from recent events, knowing that Black was put away and Sienna was with her helped dull the pain as much as humanly possible.

~~~~~​

When the next day came and the resolve to finally return to campus and her dorm had sunk in to her heart, Kurui would do so accompanied by Rythe and Sienna, as the latter wouldn't have had it any other way. A note was tacked onto her front door, sealed by the Academy's official crest. Despite that, it was a fairly simple message that read:

"Kurui Ouna,

Your presence has hereby been requested by the Headmaster of the Royal Magic Academy as of Trehnsday, 932 A.R. Please gather at the Central Spire Office as soon as possible."

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Kurui would've blushed at Sienna's teasing under normal circumstances, but her face was already red from crying seconds earlier... and she had been through such an emotional roller-coaster already that it was hard for anything to get the kind of normal physical reaction it would normally get from her anymore. She did have enough emotion left to return the compliment with a joke of her that only Sienna would understand though, although her voice was still clearly worn and tired.
“I haven't been hiding anything. It just turns out I had a second secret admirer on Red Day. I guess you can say things have moved pretty quickly since then.”
This was a notable difference from how Kurui usually answered these kinds of quests – that was, always with a denial, especially when caught by surprise with the question. This time was different, but she didn't do anything else to emphasize it, instead moving right on to the concerns at hand.
“Good, at least the Academy is listening to us. I was a little afraid that they'd... y'know, not believe us or something... go down to the guildhall and demand that their staff be released, especially with him being a noble and all. Not that I think the Order would actually do that or anything... but it's good to know the Academy isn't going to be fighting us on this. After everything earlier, it's weird to have everything go right for a change... not that I'm trying to jinx it or anything.”
“This also means Black was lying about there being other Redclaws at the RMA... or if there are, then they don't consider him worth helping. If Lafton made it there and back just fine, maybe I WON'T get attacked the moment I step outside again. Maybe...” Kurui thought to herself quietly afterwards, still keeping that little detail a secret to avoid worrying anyone... and to keep herself and the others safe. “Maybe they do exist... but they wont know Black mentioned mentioned them at all if I act like he didn't, right? If they do exist, someone else can be the hero this time. I never wanted any of this...”

Kurui spent the next small stretch of time just trying to calm herself down. For the first time in a few days there was nothing big to worry about anymore. No worrying that tomorrow was going to be worse or that she needed to keep secrets anymore. It was still obvious she wasn't completely recovered from everything either though. While she was normally very quiet and not much of a talker, she would spend much of the remainder of the day engaged in conversation. If none of the others had anything to talk about, she would start rambling on topics of her own, mostly random memories and stories from her childhood. Most of these stories would new to Rythe and Lafton, but to Sienna who had heard them before and knew Kurui wasn't usually this talkative, it would be obvious to see it was some kind of coping mechanism. Perhaps even Rythe and Lafton could see it too, as anyone who even just knew her from around class would know this wasn't normal for her. Still, it seemed to calm her down, help her forget how much she hurt right now and get a break in which to build up some strength for recovery. She only hoped hoped everyone would let her carry on without voicing TOO much concern.... time seemed to pass mercifully fast this way and she didn't want anyone to make her stop.
After a few hours, an early dinner would come and break this cycle. Despite how early it was, Kurui found herself worn out and tired after she ate. Excusing herself from the others, she took a quick bath and was then went upstairs to pass out. For a moment the time she had to herself allowed the hurt to start to creep back in, and she sobbed quietly into the pillow for awhile... but sleep soon followed and came with dreams of cozy times at home, curled up near the fire on a rainy day with a new book. Perhaps this too was some form of coping... or perhaps she had just gotten lucky to avoid nightmares. Either way, she would sleep contently through the night, waking up for nothing.

~~~~~​

Despite having fallen asleep earlier than everyone else, Kurui would wake up about the same time as them the next morning. The sleep had done her good though, and despite being welcome to stay as long as she wanted and not having any class to worry about, Kurui didn't feel proper imposing anymore, especially with Rythe and Sienna tagging along. Some small part of her mindfulness of manners and being proper remained. After breakfast and another quick bath, she worked up the nerve to head back to the academy.
“I'll be OK, really. The sleep did me a lot of good... besides I can't just curl up and hide here forever, right?” she explained on the way back “When we get back, tell your father I'm sorry for for so many sudden guests last night... no offense.” she quickly added with a look towards Sienna and Rythe. “Anyway... I know nothing is going on today... but... I just need a little bit of time to myself. You can check up on me later though... I'm not really up to going anywhere else yet...”
Kurui would part ways with Lafton once she reached her dorm building, then do the same with Sienna and Rythe when she made her way up to the floor her room was on. As she approached her door, she would then see the note tacked on it.

Kurui wasn't sure what the sensation she felt course through her was when she read the note. Excitement? Fear? No... neither of those. It wasn't as if this was good news... or even bad news... or even something all that surprising, given the circumstances. No... what she felt was the same kind of nervous anticipation she had always felt when being addressed by someone important. After everything that had happened with Black, she thought that reaction to be completely dead, but apparently it wasn't. Even now, the natural urge to be the utmost respectful and proper reawakened in her brain, even if she didn't know much about the Headmaster. She knew him to have been here a very long time, to have started as a fire major but now be able to use at least 3 elements with the proficiency of an expert... but everyone at the Academy knew these things. For all that, like most others at the Academy, she had only really seen him during school events and the like... never any situation that was personal or anything like that.
“Ok... Ok... he's really old... maybe he's nice like Vernan back home was... right? Or maybe I messed up so bad I'm going to be kicked out of the academy personally. ” For some reason the second part of that thought should have scared her a lot more than it did. Compared to what she had just been through, getting kicked out by itself would have been nothing. If anything, the thought of disapproval from someone so prestigious bothered her more than the potential consequences themselves. Not enough to be painful, but enough to make her stop and consider how she proceed.
"OK, I've still got time. It's early and nobody knows I'm back yet, I can take a few minutes. No way I can go like this anyway, need to wear something better at the very least. Least someone from a family mine can do is look grateful to be here in the first place, even if it might not be for much longer if I'm unlucky.”
Kurui slipped into her room for a second to change. For a meeting with someone so important, her choices consisted of a new academy uniform, in much better shape than the one she was wearing from yesterday, and her more formal dresses from Veltria, just as she was going to wear to Blacks before losing the nerve and shattering her mirror days before. Her first instinct was to go for the latter, something about the uniforms bugged her now... never before had she minded the short skirts or parts that showed skin, always she had chalked those kinds of complaints up to girls just whining because they didn't take care of themselves well enough to make it work. Now however, she didn't wana show off, even indirectly... didn't wana even halfway put herself on display...
“And what happens when I do that? I'm already showing I don't belong here anymore if I can't even show enough respect for the academy to wear the uniform. First it starts with this, then I'll keep letting it get worse and worse until I'm wearing a blanket like a nun or one of the wives of those religious freaks in deserts over in Duen... I'm just over-reacting, that's all. The sooner I get over it, the better. Besides, he can't be like Black... no, he's too old for... that... right?”
The water major's attempt to psych herself up worked, if only because she knew this would be over soon either way. Dressed in a new undamaged uniform, complete with a new cloak and all, she made her way to the academy's central spire, to the main office that lie within, swallowed hard, then softly knocked on the door.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

"It's fine, really!" responded Lafton, shaking his head and raising his hands at chest level in an attempt to ease Kurui's lingering concerns about rudeness. "I uh, wouldn't blame you even if you did want to hide away for a while, considering... a-and no, I understand."

The Fire Major's relative inexperience shined through as he conversed with the subject of his admiration for the past year or so. For him, all of this was still so... surreal, especially when his previous interactions with her were limited to the smallest of small talk, like due dates for assignments or whether or not she had studied enough for the next test. Now, she spoke to him casually, and he did the same towards her for the most part--not to mention he gained a much larger piece of insight as to what kind of person Kurui was by listening quietly to the various stories she rambled on about from the previous night, in an attempt to get her mind off of things. Despite all that had occurred, he didn't find himself less fond of her in the slightest, and this showed in his body language.

"I'll see you later then, I guess," said Lafton, giving his farewell for the time being as they came upon the entrance to Eirene Hall.

After a brief march up a few flights of stairs, the other girls saw Kurui off as well.

"Alright then. Take care of yourself," Rythe urged her. "I need to go find Renn. Don't worry though, I won't tell him any more than he needs to know," she added, a bit of hesitation in her voice.

Sienna, of course, lingered about for a little while longer, commenting once the lightning mage took her leave. "How'd I know," she quipped, sighing with a faint smile upon her face. "Anyway, don't be a stranger, okay? I don't... ever want to be left out of the loop again," urged the blonde before giving Kurui a light hug and seeing her off. A slight air of melancholy could be felt about her as she left, hinting that even the cheery Wind Major wasn't completely immune to the stress of recent revelations.

Kurui was still given ample time for preparation; after all, the note didn't even specify a time, only the place and day. She knew the Central Spire Office to be the Headmaster's very own office. Few people she knew ever went in there--after all, if they were talking to him, it was serious business indeed. What Kurui knew about the situation with Black, however, certainly counted as such. It was said that if one stayed out of the spotlight enough during their time at the Academy, they could go on without ever seeing the Headmaster until graduation.

~~~~~​

The trip there was simple enough, as the central spire, largest of them all, was just about impossible to miss. It took a climb up at least three flights of stairs to get to the main office, which had two large, potentially intimidating doors serving as its entrance. It was difficult to tell if the rapping of Kurui's knuckles upon the hardwood even made a sound that could be heard from the other side. But surely enough, she heard a voice from within seconds later. "Come in."

As Kurui entered, she would find the large, circular room to be conservatively decorated, mostly consisting of bookshelves and stands with various curios lining the walls. A rectangular desk stood at the very center, highlighted by the sunlight coming in through the series of windows upon the far wall. Right behind it was the headmaster; a rather unassuming, balding, bespectacled man, older in appearance than any professor she knew thus far. The patches of hair crowning the sides of his head were a wispy white, and he possessed a modest beard. If the girl was expecting a tall, intimidating sort of figure, then what she got was almost the opposite. He was barely even taller than she was, as opposed to the towering Black, and possessed a soft, warm gaze in contrast to the sharp, cold one that her latest instructor often held.

But he wasn't alone.

Across the desk from him were three familiar figures; Reius, Dinn, and Anisse. Of them, the Earth Major still had fresh bandages covering parts of his body, though the apparent injuries didn't take away from the way his eyes lit up when he turned to see Kurui. The normally stoic Reius also perked up after spotting the newcomer. Even Anisse's visage shifted from an initially concerned look to a relieved one when she saw Kurui apparently alive and well. Though from the looks on their faces, Kurui could guess that none of the surviving trio knew the details of what happened in the mines. Each of them looked as though they wanted to speak a novel's worth to Kurui, but none of the students could manage to get anything out for the first few seconds.

"Kurui!" exclaimed Dinn, breaking the stunned silence that seemed to have a hold over the trio upon first seeing their classmate.

"Ah... sorry it took us so long," remarked Reius quietly.

"I'm just glad everyone made it," Anisse followed, suggesting that Colt was also well despite his apparent absence. This was, after all, Academy business, at least for the time being.

"Ah, welcome. Kurui, is it? Good timing," pronounced the headmaster, intent on keeping the issue at hand clear. "These three made it in just a few hours ago, and we've been discussing the situation ever since."

"I'm sure the four of you would like to get caught up, but don't go on leaving me out of the loop just yet," quipped the elderly scholar. "It appears we've had some troubling news as of late for the Academy, yes? I've been told much about it by Lafton of House Jarelin and these three, though I will still need written statements of everyone's accounts in order to help speed the legal procedures along. Really a shame that such an esteemed professor would be involved in such a scandal, especially with the rise of Syndicate activity as of late... I understand he is in holding right now?" The man looked to Kurui for confirmation.

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

The large room was impressive as Kurui entered, both in size and the way the sunlight highlighted everything in it. In contrast to the room though, the headmaster himself wasn't nearly so overwhelming in appearance. This was fine by Kurui though, it even put her at a certain kind of ease. Even though she had seen him before at school speeches and stuff, this was the first time she had seen him up close. Already her mind was sizing him up, he was old and small, an opposite to Black, if he grabbed her or anything, she was quite sure she could get him off... even if he was a man, she was young and healthy and strong. None of this took into account, of course, that he could undoubtably outdo her when it came to magic... but the part of her mind running the instinctive threat-assessment was only worried about more simplistic primal matters.
The water mage wasn't even sure why she was thinking these things, but she couldn't help it... not after everything that had happened. The mans appearance wasn't intimidating, his eyes showed warmth and harmlessness... she tried to calm herself down. It wasn't working, she was missing something. Just then she became aware there were others in the room as well, and with a panicked jerk turned to face them. There was to be no threat from these others either though, in fact it was good news, Din and Reius and Anisse from her group back in the mines, they had made it after all! It was only upon recognizing Anisse though that her mind could calm itself enough to make out the other two.

“Y-you! You all made it?!” Kurui could feel tears welling up in her eyes, despite having come here with the intention of being formal. “I didn't think... it's been so long... I was trying to get help but I was in so far over my head... gods the last time I did was that stupid thing with the lightning...” the water major's voice was as rushed and choppy as everyone else's as she couldn't make her mind on what to say first. “I- I'm glad you're OK. I-”
Kurui was cut off by the headmaster before she could continue. Of course, business and the important things had to come first, that part didn't bother her... yet SOMETHING did... something hit her like a slap across the face.
“Shame...?” the water major's voice was devoid of emotion, as if trying to wrap her head around some foreign concept.
“Everything that's happened and it's a SHAME?!” Her voice was rising now. Surely Lafton or Jarelin had told him what happened to her. So what was this now? Mocking? Patronizing? Did he simply not care?
“We almost died because the Academy let us walk into a pit with a bunch of Redclaws! A bunch of Redclaws who wouldn't have thought twice about raping me and Anisse before we died! But I guess none of that mattered any, huh?! Because Black did it to me anyway as soon as we got back! The only fucking shame here is that I didn't bite hard enough to make him bleed out!
None of that matters though cos he's important, right?! It doesn't matter that he's an inhuman monster who doesn't even deserve the time he's got left until they execute him! Or is he gonna work his way out of that like everything else so far?!?
This was my future! What am I even here for, what did I even waste all that effort on?!”
Kurui wasn't even sure if she believed half of what she was saying, but it was clear the scars of what had happened to her wern't nearly as dulled or under control as she thought they were. What was supposed to be a nice calm meeting with the headmaster to make sure everything she done wasn't in vain had ended up a big group meeting with everyone on different pages that was too much for her handle. Had she stopped to think about things, it might have occurred to her that Lafton and Jarelin hadn't mentioned certain things to spare her pain... or that the headmaster was doing the same or trying to play things off lightly to make everyone else feel better... but none of that occurred to her and her only instinct was to lash out uncontrollably. She no longer cared for who she was speaking to or what was proper, she was done with all of this, and after all her yelling turned around to make a straight line for the door... getting halfway there then freezing in her tracks.

“you know how fast rumors spread, especially in huge schools like these, and I'm pretty sure that at least a bunch of the boys will think I'm a total slut or something”
Out of nowhere the words jumped out of her memory.... and with them a whole new terrifying interpretation of the situation.
“...do you think I wanted this?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper at first, but quickly grew.
“I didn't want this! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!” with her back turned to everyone she couldn't even tell if they actually were looking at her... but it didn't matter, the idea had already hold.
While Kurui herself didn't believe for a second that she had ever wanted this... didn't believe for a second that it was her fault... she had no way of knowing if anyone else looked at it that way. Indeed, if they didn't then it might explain their behavior. A wave of nausea overtook the water major. She wanted nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible, but her body wouldn't move, the whole room was shaking now and she felt dizzy... suffocated, No matter how hard she tried to breathe it wouldn't help... all she remembered next was the sensation of falling, barely having time to put her arms out in front of her before everything went dark.
It had all been too much, Kurui's mind hadn't been able to deal with with it all, shutting down until it could restart itself was the only way it could cope. While she wasn't actually hurt, at least not physically, it would be a good 15 minutes or more before the young mage's hysteria would be subdued by the dreamless stasis and she could begin to make her way back to consciousness... maybe longer if nobody tried to wake her.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

As Kurui made something of a short, inadvertent ramble about the events in the mine, the trio showed a collective, relieved smile as well as a few out-of-sync nods towards her, halfway sharing in her astonishment regarding the unlikely reunion. From the eager looks upon their faces, any one of them--even Anisse--seemed ready enough to speak a novels' worth of their own experiences in response to their classmate's verbal recollection. But before any of them could actually do so, the headmaster interjected just in time to deliver his brief speech about the legal proceedings... as well as the 'shame' of Black's fall from grace--just in time for the Water Major to react. He did pause for a moment after hearing Kurui's slight outburst, one that soon developed into a much more emotional outpouring and a frightening confession of recent events.

Kurui could feel the atmosphere change around her at key points in her rant. For as automatic as the outburst might have been for her, its impact was easily noticeable. 'Black did it to me anyway?' The expressions of Dinn, Reius and Anisse changed quickly enough. While the former tried to make sense of the statement in his head for the first few seconds, the latter two knew what she meant. In their faces, previously telling of anticipation in catching up with Kurui to tell stories of their adventures, now lay only shock. Of course it had happened--it was practically the inevitable outcome of spending any amount of time alone with a Redclaw member, if Julius and Octavian's behavior from the caves was any indicator. But the refusal to believe that it did happen to one of them in the end, despite all their hardest efforts, still lingered in their minds. They continued to stare at her in sheer disbelief, as if waiting for the cue that it was some sort of joke, banking on the remote chance that it could perhaps mean something else.

It didn't. When they saw that it was anything but, with Kurui's tone and expression as serious as anyone had ever seen it, the others' brows furrowed as their looks shifted to those of something else... of pity. While the other students' reaction was as automatic as their classmate's outburst, it was a look Kurui had never seen out of them before, at least not towards her. She might not have been the popularity queen in class, but she had always commanded enough respect from everyone who did interact with her, as well as apparent admiration from some. The fairly successful student had never been an outcast or anyone who gave reason for others to feel pity towards. But now, it was hard to make out what they did think of her. What did those looks even mean? For someone in as distressed a state as Kurui was in, they could've meant just about anything--including the interpretation that came to her after Sienna's words rung through her head.

Dinn could be seen fidgeting, struggling to find the right words to say, while the others withheld anything they thought of blurting out. In the end, there was only silence. It may as well have been deafening to the distraught Water Major. It wasn't difficult for her to turn her back on them as quickly as she could, as it broke the shared gaze between her and the trio of shocked students. Still, it didn't immediately remove the lasting image of the way they looked at her, and the pressure that went along with it was as heavy as ever. Far too heavy for someone in Kurui's emotional state to carry all on their own, and so her legs gave out along with her consciousness. "Kurui? Kurui!!" A jumble of concerned voices calling out her name was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

~~~~~​

Kurui slowly opened her eyes, her gaze settling upon a somewhat unfamiliar ceiling. Unlike the cold, hard floor she had collapsed upon, however, she now lay upon a softer mattress. It didn't have quite as much give as the one at Lafton's manor, but it did have covers, which were neatly spread over her, up to just below her neck. A look around, either by shifting her eyes about or sitting up, would tell more about her immediate surroundings; bookshelves, cabinets of medicine, a desk on one far end of the room and a window on the other, through which sunlight poured in. She was in the nurse's room at the Academy.

A woman, dressed in healer's garb, soon turned from one of the cabinets to look at Kurui, noticing that she had risen. She had chestnut brown hair pulled back into a bun. Glasses framed her pale face, which also had a small smattering of freckles. The Water Major would recognize her as Miss Silani, the attendant of the school infirmary.

"Oh! You're awake," she said aloud, stating the obvious. "No need to overdo it, though! The headmaster said that you should take as much time as you can today, as you appear to have been through a lot."

Meanwhile, the faint murmur of several voices, both male and female, could be heard just outside the door.

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Even before opening her eyes, Kurui's head pounded... everything rocked and swam. The water major's trip back to consciousness would not go as smoothly as it did for more benign routines like waking up each morning or coming back after a quick nap... nor would it come with any of the refreshing clarity and energization. Instead there would only be disorientation and sickness as her body and mind tried to come back all at once from it's earlier shutdown.

“Nnn... where...am I?”
At first, Kurui had no memory of what had happened, only that it had been bad. A sort of panic started to take a loose grip in the haze and alarm made her sit up to take a look around. Perhaps it wasn't the smartest choice, her body hadn't completely gotten used to itself yet and protested the attempt with a renewed wave of dizziness. It wasn't a complete waste, what she saw before collapsing back down into her laying position was enough to ease any immediate panic. Her surroundings she recognized as the academy infirmary, as well as the attendant in the room with her.
Despite having not really spent any great deal of time here, Kurui's mind equated it with somewhere safe as she listened to Silani's voice. Something about the healer put her at ease, assured her that there was no threats, no judgements even, nothing to be worried about... most healers had that effect on her. Though most healers were trained by the church, and Kurui took no particular comfort in religion or anything like that, most healers still came off as embodying the best parts of it. Unlike the preachers trying to scare people into behaving, unlike the priests and all their scoldings on what couldn't be enjoyed in life, unlike any number of the church's members who seemed to be following rules more than anything else, healers always seemed to genuinely want to do good and didn't care about any of that other stuff. Maybe she was being too harsh though, even if she didn't like the churches rules, even the non-healers had never wronged her... would never hurt anyone. It was something to think about another time though.

“Try to remember...”
Kurui closed her eyes and tried to recall everything that happened before. It all came back surprisingly quick actually. Conscious again and out of shock, she was recovering a lot quicker than it felt like she would when she first woke up, each heartbeat seemed to clear away some of the haze and sickness as blood flowed where her body needed it and got things up and running again.
“Thats right... I freaked out in front of everyone. Fucking old man had to have everyone there when I'm already falling apart here! No... don't get mad again. Nobody told him... of course they didn't, I wish they had instead of making me go through it again... and he thought I'd want to know everyone made it out OK, right? Or maybe I should have just never said anything to begin with... fuck I don't even know anymore!”
It was as that moment that Kurui became aware of the voices outside the door.

“They want to see me, don't they?” the young mage inquired looking in the direction of the source. Truth be told, she had no desire to speak with anyone who wasn't Sienna right now, but she remembered why they had all been called together in the first place.
“Come on Kurui, just get through it! You already left written statements of what happened with the guild earlier, and all of your evidence. All you have to do is catch everyone up on the same page and make sure one of them makes sure the archmage is on that page too. You're not some wounded soldier fighting without a limb or arrows stuck in your back, just take 5 minutes to get through this then you can collapse back into self pity for however many hours it takes before you can function again. If not for yourself, then do it to spite Black, don't give him any opening when we're trying to prove him guilty! If we're all on different pages we'll come off as making stuff up even if we aren't!”
The attempts at psyching-up weren't very effective, but they were enough, just barely.
“You can let them in... but please just for a few minutes, then come back and have them leave, OK? I'm not...” how much did the healer know about what happened, had anyone told her. It didn't matter, Kurui's mind crushed the train of thought before it got out of her control. “I'm not up to having that many people around for too long right now...”
No effort had to go into making the request sound real, despite not explaining the reasons why in detail. Even though, Kurui felt like some pitiful less-than-human thing, making requests she had no right ask of a real person... and getting away with it only through secrets that made them appear the same.
“Stop thinking like that... it's not that bad... it's not...”

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

"Yes," replied Miss Silani. "They've been waiting outside for quite some time. Though, if you are still feeling ill, I could always have them come back tomorrow," she added softly. Despite her having said as much, Kurui did just enough to mentally prepare herself for the conversation with who she might guess to be Reius, Dinn, and Anisse.

At the Water Major's approval, the nurse nodded. "I understand," she responded, before standing up to walk towards the entrance and open the door. Silani stepped out halfway, whispering a gentle reminder. "She is still unwell, so only for a few minutes."

And with that, a trio of light footsteps could be heard shuffling in. The care with which they moved was noticeable, as if emulating their caution in not upsetting Kurui further. However, it wouldn't necessarily dull the suffocating feeling that the emotionally fragile girl might suffer in the face of three of her peers. She had once been something like an equal to them, and of the entire incident, none of the trio had suffered the way she had. It didn't seem fair in the slightest, but the guilt from that showed upon their faces.

Dinn was the first to speak up. "Hey... uh, was just checkin' if you were okay, I guess. I didn't know, err, about all that. And there I was all acting like it was fine. Man, how embarrassing..." he trailed off, placing a hand behind his head and releasing a bit of awkward laughter. "But you've alive, right? I mean, that's gotta mean something. I mean, damn, to make it that far by yourself says a lot!"

Anisse frowned at the Earth Major's choice of words. "I'm sorry, Kurui. I wish you'd have stayed with us somehow. But I am glad you got Black arrested and everything. Now that he'll face trial, my father will make sure that him and everyone else responsible for this will pay," she assured firmly in a darker tone.

"Take care of yourself," was all that Reius decided to say.

If Kurui remained silent, then Silani would intervene. "That's enough for now. She needs her rest," she would say as a thinly veiled excuse, ushering the concerned students out of the room. Afterwards, she'd turn to the resting Water Major. "Stay here for as long as you need, but when you are well enough to walk, you have permission to take the rest of the day off according to the Headmaster. He sends his apologies, and will meet with you in private at another time when you are ready. In the meantime, I can prepare some nauterwort tea if you wish. It does help with headaches and stress."

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Kurui felt like she was looking at strangers as the others entered the room.
“When I passed out earlier... they probably had to move me... probably had to TOUCH me...”
The thought brought on a momentary revulsion... but a moment later the only thought in her head was a bitter empty laugh. She no longer had the energy to care anymore, whatever she had felt when she passed out earlier had completely burned her out, been the last of what she could feel for awhile without a dull misery washing it out... for better or for worse. Even as the others spoke to her, all she wanted was to be left alone. Their words meant nothing, had no weight... how could they when she felt so alien to their speakers now? Black had taken something from her, killed a part of her... that the others who were still whole were even talking to her was a cruel joke... even if she couldn't figure out exactly why.
Even the water major's urge to get some kind of revenge or ensure some kind of justice almost felt like a wasted effort... almost. Everything had been so easy before, staying alive in the spur of the moment... but now that all that was done, a realization was setting in that nothing she did now was going to make everything OK again. Still, some small part of her wouldn't let go... either out of stubbornness or some kind of desperation to believe that she was wrong.
“After I got back, I spent the days gathering proof of what Black was. The Order of St Lisle has it now now. See it for yourself. It's all going to come out at the trial anyway, so just go, just go and get it over with now so at least we'll be prepared.”
As she spoke, her eyes avoided contact with anyone... and after she was done delivering her message, she said nothing more and buried her head in the pillow until Silani had chased the others out.

After the others were gone, Kurui had wanted to thank the healer... but no words came naturally. Instead all she could do was weakly nod at the offer for tea, not even feeling worth enough to voice an actual request. When she got her cup, her stomach turned at the thought of swallowing anything... but once she took a sip she ended up quickly finishing off the rest, similar to how someone who hadn't eaten for hours might not think they're hungry until they actually take a bite of something. The tea helped, shook “awake' part of her body that still hadn't woken up from her passing out earlier... and it reminded her of the Honraise tea she had with Rythe a few days prior –a comforting thought she mistakenly believed she was beyond feeling right now.
“T-thanks... I won't take forever... I mean... maybe just... lie down for a little... only a few hours...”
It wasn't exactly a proper thanks or typical of the water major's usual politeness, but it was still more than she thought she could have gotten out before the tea.

For the next hour or so, Kurui found herself just lying back and listening to the sounds of the birds outside. It was a calming sound, one that let her mind blank out... or at least get as close to it as possible short of sleep. No matter how much Kurui wanted it, sleep would not come, it was still too early in the day for that, despite how much she had come to abuse it as an escape recently. Still, the calm of being in a safe and quiet place allowed her mind to handle things in small chunks, not get overwhelmed so easily, and even feel something resembling emotions for more than just brief moments.
“It's going to be OK... it has to be. I'm just hurting right now because it's fresh. Thats all... it has to be that. Sienna went through something just as bad and she's OK... right?”
The thought brought tears to Kurui's eyes, although whether the tears were from fresh pain or soothing, or something that seemed like a glimmer of hope, she wasn't sure. Whatever it was though, it would be enough to finally get her out of the infirmary bed. She had not forgotten that she still needed to pay a visit to the headmaster later... but she didn't care. Sienna was the only person she wanted to see right now, the only person who wouldn't feel alien to her. The headmaster could wait.
After somehow putting on a convincing enough face to look well enough to get past the infirmary receptionist, the water major found herself heading in the direction of her friend's room... a strange type of anxiousness or anticipation drowning out anything else from the outside world on the way over.

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Kurui's notably empty demeanor didn't go unnoticed by her peers, but despite them making their worries apparent, Silani cut them off before the awkward moment went on for any longer. The Water Major only needed to bury her face in the pillow for less than a minute or so for the others to leave, but despite the momentary relief she could still sense a lingering awkwardness of sorts between her and her former group. Perhaps there always would be.

However, Silani was as understanding as anyone could ask from a healer. Nodding, she prepared the tea for Kurui to enjoy and left the girl to her own devices for the most part--that is, unless anything else was asked of her, in which case she would gladly carry out the requests within reason. The woman asked no invasive questions nor made any forcible attempts to be a sounding board. It was said in Erion's teachings that wounds of the heart only healed given enough time, and Silani took such a lesson very seriously.

"I won't be far. Just call out if you need me," assured the nurse before moving into the next room.

Kurui had as much time as she needed to be alone with her thoughts. It proved to be a bit more than she might have wanted, as she was out of bed and on the way out of the infirmary before too long. Miss Silani stopped her, but only to check her vitals before saying, "Do get well, and may Erion be with you." With the woman's approval, the water mage was on the fast road to Sienna's dormitory room.

As she walked past, she would find the weather to be what many might call 'perfect', with a faint breeze keeping her from overheating due to the sun's warm rays. It was something that the Water Major might have appreciated more had her mind not been so cluttered with the worries of recent events. As if to drive this point home, a small group of students chatted happily amongst themselves as she hurried towards her destination. Did they not know about the missing groups? Or did they simply not have any friends among those who were still trapped in the cave? Time might have slowed or stopped for Kurui at some points over the past few weeks... but for others, it kept right on moving.

When she arrived at her friend's door, Kurui would find that a few knocks produced no answer.

Then, a bit of shuffling could be heard from within followed by a few deep, audible breaths. Seconds later, the door opened with a click, and surely enough, there was Sienna's familiar face, forcing a smile that Kurui knew all too well. The blonde sniffled briefly before stopping herself. "Hey! Didn't expect to see you here," she exclaimed. "Come on in! Is everything okay?"

Upon entering the room, Kurui would find something rather unusual--that the Wind Major's room was, for the most part, clean, lacking the assorted clutter and mess that it had when she first observed it.

 

[Kat]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

The silence that met Kurui when she had finally reached her destination seemed to drag on forever. All of a sudden the water major felt stranded, far away from anywhere safe... even though her own room wasn't all that far away. On the way over, she had a goal that made it easy to block out the outside world... but if she had to turn back now, that wouldn't be there anymore and suddenly the outside world felt like something dangerous that she had been lured into.
“I did knock, right... yeah, twice... I think. Or was it three times now? Or none? No, I know I did. It's fine, Sienna's probably just in classes or something... no, she shouldn't be right now... but it's not like she's gonna spend all day in her room, right? Hnff, dizzy... I shouldn't have ever left the infirmary, what if I pass out again before I make it back to my room...”
Kurui put a hand on the doorframe to steady herself and bring her nerves back under control, and by some mercy luck the effort actually worked after a short moment. It was just then, before she was ready to head back in the direction of her own room, that she heard some sounds from the other side of the door in front of her.

“W-wha...?”
The sounds Kurui heard were a mixed sign. On hand, they confirmed that Sienna was indeed here... but the sounds were deep breaths and sniffles, sounds that indicated something was wrong. Was her friend still trying to digest everything that had happened... or had the silence been because the wind major was hurt and betrayed and had been trying to ignore her... or was it something else entirely? A few tense later the door finally cracked open and seemed to discredit the second of those, partially at least.

Sienna's demeanor threw Kurui off, even in her current state, the water major could see past the forced smile. The clean state of the room was also unsettling, it's previous clutter had been something familiar to Kurui... something comforting in it's own strange way. Kurui didn't like that it was different now.
All of this should have made the water major's emotional state worse; but as if by instinct, she suppressed letting it get to her around her friend. The water major wasn't sure if it was a protective instinct towards the girl who had become like a sister to her now that fueled her along, or simply the fact that she needed answers and breaking down probably wasn't going to help get them... probably both.

“Yeah, yeah... I'm fine.” Kurui lied... terribly. Her voice sounded anything but fine, and her expression was probably no better at hiding anything than her friend's forced smile... but it didn't matter. Kurui had come here for sanctuary... come here for somewhere safe where she could get her feelings out. That wasn't going to happen while she didn't know what was going on. She still hurt inside, still longed for someone who didn't feel alien to her to help her feel like some how, some way everything was going to be OK; but right now that would have to wait, lest she make everything worse by being selfish.
“Sienna... what's all this? Is everything okay with YOU. I mean... I heard you through the door, and this room... this isn't like you. Is something wrong? Or... are you... mad at me...”

 

[Takimaru]

Re: Elynsor's Royal Magic Academy (Kat) GMed by Takimaru

Perhaps by reflex, Sienna responded with a smile, though the expression wasn't quite as opaque as she would have liked it to be. "Oh, this? Well, y'know, um... eheh, I just, was, ah, doing some cleaning," she stammered, trying her best to form a coherent sentence as tears formed once more at the corners of her eyes. Her attempt at holding it in whittled by the second as she softly closed the door behind them. "Guess I just can't hide anything from you, huh?" she admitted in a quiet voice, her smile fading to a smaller, albeit more genuine one. "It's... it's stupid, really. I probably don't even have the right to complain about anything like this when you're the one who's put everything on the line and then some, and for me at that... I mean, if anything, I should be the one helping you out with YOUR problems, you know? I already owe you tons as it is," conceded the Wind Major. "I couldn't stay mad at you if I tried, so... it's not... i-it's not that."

"But about the mess, or uh, the lack thereof... I just needed to distract myself from everything for a while, so I ended up cleaning for once. Even though it'll probably go back to being a huge mess again in about a week. I was actually hanging out with Rythe earlier, until she left to go be with her stupid boyfriend." The blonde huffed, taking a seat at the edge of her bed. "So it left me alone again, something I've been trying to avoid for the past few weeks, and I got back to thinking about relationships... and how probably no one would ever..." She paused, sniffling. "Would ever actually want me if they found out what happened with Teague and them. I know you said you took care of him or whatever but, you know his friends and stuff. When I was tied up on that desk, t-there were..." Sienna choked on her words before cleaing her throat. "Just so many, and I just kept thinking about what would happen if they told other guys at the Academy. I know I made a big mistake by believing that asshole to begin with but... is it something I should have to pay for, for the rest of my life? Am I going to have to worry every single time I meet a guy that he might know about what happened? I feel like it's... just going to follow me everywhere, Kurui..." She stifled a sob and wiped her eyes with a partially-soaked handkerchief she had apparently hidden in her grasp.

"It's really amazing how you keep it all together," Sienna went on to say. "I try my best to hang on, but I guess you can tell that it comes back to bother me from time to time, so I can't hide it as well as I want. So... sorry. For making you listen to all of this."