Young Writers Society

Ruby Wayne

I had been lugging my suitcase around for ten minutes and still couldn't find my room - I was beginning to think it didn't exist.

"Excuse me..." I called to the person down the hall, but they turned the corner last second. I looked down the hall, wondering if they didn't hear or if they had just ignored me, and there it was - my room!

Dragging my suitcase behind me, I closed the distance between me and the door in a few long steps and pushed it open.

"Hello?" I called, leaning against the frame and peeking in to se if my roommate had gotten there yet. I guess not. Taking first pick of bed, I heaved my suitcase on to the bottom bunk and then turned on my heel to leave the room. If there was no one in here why would I stay? I could either sit and wait for my roommate or go out and explore the campus. It wasn't a difficult choice.

Closing the door behind me, I turned quickly only to slam in to a hard wall. But why would a wall be so close to the door? No, it wasn't a wall. It was a person!

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, scrambling off the ground and offering them my hand to help them up as well.

"Oh!" I said, guilt dripping from my voice when I noticed the scrape on their leg.

"meht laeH" I recited, directing a hand towards their scrape that now disappeared, "I'm do sorry! I wasn't looking!"

Tahl

She left her brother when they reaches the dorms. A part of her wanted to see if she could walk in and check out some of the male students, but she figured not everyone would even be there yet. Better to save that exploration for later. Besides, her backpack was getting heaving.

Room 101. She kind of liked that she and her brother where both in the "first" room, even if they were on different floors. Pushing the door open she immediately glances to see if her roommate has showed up yet.

Much to her surprise there were actually two people in the room. Taking up both beds no less.

"Well hi."

The boy looked up. "..Hi." His eyes slid up and down over her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tahl," She said, hands on her hips. "And I figure you're on my bed, since you won't be staying here. So shove over."

The girl looked up too now, both books disappearing from their laps.
"Was that an order?" She asked, a hint of smile playing on the guy's lips.

Tahl shrugged, refusing to react to the suddenly invisible literature. She headed over to "her" bed whether he moved or not. "It's mine."

He got up, seeming to turn intangible for a moment before more or less merging with the girl. "That was not very nice," she said calmly. "I'm Dyre."

"You can't have both beds is all," she said, extending a hand cautiously. This...person clearly had some interesting powers.

"Mm...” Dyre shook her hand with a strange expression. "I didn't want both beds, I was just curious how you'd react." She shrugged. "And you can take the wardrobe, I don't need it."

"Yeah? Why not?" regardless she moved to put her bag in there. Meanwhile she decided to try checking on her brother.

/What's your roommate like? Is he cute? /

/Go away, I can't tell with you bugging me/

She smiled. Typical.

"Why I don't need it?" Dyre raised an eyebrow. "I just don't. My clothes are what I want them to be." She got up, walking to the wardrobe and leaning on its side. "What can you do?"

Tahl raised an eyebrow of her own. "So you're actually naked?"

She smirked. "You didn't answer my question."

"It’s more what I am than what I have," Tahl replied, flopping on the now empty bed. "I breathe water. I'm stronger and faster and whatever. Especially in water. Then there a little hydrokineses, telepathy, and...I think that’s it. Oh, and my blood burns."

"...Your blood burns?" She smiled for a moment. "And no, I'm not naked. My clothes just change as I want them to. I could change yours too if I wanted to." She stayed silent for a few seconds, then asking as if we were roommates in a prison: "What brought you here?"

"The SeaWorld incident," said Tahl, matter of factly.

"Oh?" Dyre's expression stayed unchanged. "What did you do?"

"We didn't actually do anything there. We got caught that time. It was here or someplace more severe. Or back where we came from."

She stayed silent for a while now, seeming somewhat lost in thoughts. "...who's /we/?"

"Oh. My brother Jorah. He’s upstairs."

The institute was still a looming threat. They had escaped once, but there wasn't any guarantee it would be so easy again. She hadn't really thought of that went they went on their little spree vandalizing random aquarium, stealing the weirdest things, and releasing creatures. Fortunately Jorah hadn't simply left her to deal with the consequences.

"I see." Dyre's eyes narrowed slightly. She walked back to her bed, sitting on it and crossing her legs.

"So do you have a twin to, or what? What was that earlier?"

"I can just split into two." She sounded almost a bit wary. "Among other things. I don't have any siblings."

"Well that's cool. Doesn't have quite so many downsides." Tahl touched her mask self-consciously. She hoped it wouldn't be too difficult finding somewhere she could actually breathe, but the tech seemed to be still working well so she wasn't desperate.

"It has no downsides," Dyre answered calmly. "But I'm guessing it's not the same with you. What's the mask about?"

"I can't breathe air. Not for long anyway," She took the mask off for a moment to demonstrate, wheezing.

"Interesting..." She looked like she was trying not to smile. Tahl hurried to put the mask back on. "Unexpectedly interesting, actually. Is your brother the same?"

"Exactly the same. We're pretty much genetically identical, other than that y chromosome." Dyre was pretty interesting herself. It wasn't often that she met intriguing people, not that she'd had much chance to be social at all.

She chuckled slightly. "That's amusing... When I split in two, Dy and I are pretty different." She shrugged. "I suppose it's not bad to know someone in here already, though, even if you're the same... which classes are you taking?"

"Ah… Physical training, history of justice, backstory and anti-villainy." Tahl had to change gears pretty quick there. Her thoughts had been off somewhere else completely.

"Antivillainy... What do you think that'll be like?" It was hard to tell what she was thinking about. "You think we'll be learning about the villains of the past too?"

Tahl shrugged again. "I don't think they'll want to glorify them. It’s probably all about how being a villain is bad."

She smirked. "Right... That ought to be fun." She eyed her curiously. "Were your parents called villains too?"

"I don't actually have any. But generally I'm linked to the 'good guys'."

"I see...” She played with a golden strand of her hair. "...what happened to them?"

"I don't have any. Jorah and I aren't related to anybody. We're test-tube babies." Tahl pauses to think about this and surreptitiously try and check if her roomie seems freaked out. "If we do have actual parents there enough else going on science wise. And there are no names available."

"Oooh...” She looked more intrigued than freaked out. "That's unusual... right?" She frowned slightly. "Are you mortals?"

"Um...Yeah it’s considered pretty weird. And I think we're mortal. No reason to think otherwise."

"Mm...” She turned to look through the window, still frowning slightly. "What's your world like?"

"It's boring,' Tahl said, lying down. “Nothing special."

After a moment of quiet, supposedly Dyre was waiting for her to elaborate, Tahl got up again. "I'm going to go see if I can find the pool here. I'll see you later."

Without waiting for an answer she sauntered toward the door.

Isaac | Headmistress's Office / Outside Room 103, then inside 202- Boswer's Hall:

Isaac stared the headmistress down. Wonder Woman, he thought, scowling at her. How...lovely. He could already tell that his time at the Academy was going to suck. Big time. Oh, how he despised his Mother for this. She just had to insist on the Academy For Heroes In Training. It's not like he was that much of a delinquent. It was only the one time! Okay, maybe more than once.

"Do you kow why you're here?" Wonder Woman asked, leaning forwards in her seat. Isaac leaned back, arms crossed firmly over his chest. When he didn't immedately answer the question, she sighed and leaned back. "Look, I know you don't want to be here--believe me, I did talk to your Mother about this and she was insistent on your attendence here--but you need to let it sink it." She smiled, dropping her gaze to the papers on the desk in front of her. Isaac watched as she began to shuffle them about. "Now, I know you've been having a few...issues, but I promise you, you'll like it here, Isaac. Just give it a chance to grow on you."

"I told you before, Ms. Prince," Isaac said, a touch of annoyance colouring his voice. "I'm not here to make friends. I'm not here to play nice, and I'm definitely not here of my own free will." He leaned forwards, uncrossing his arms and planting both hands on the desk. "I'm just here to get Her off my back."

Ms. Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, blinked at him. "I understand, Isaac," she said, tapping the papers together and placing them on the desk. "You're not the only one. All I ask is that you try to find a way to fit in here, to belong. Your mother wanted you to make friends, so do so. I believe the Academy will be good for you, and so does she."

Isaac exhauled and pushed himself up onto his feet, pulling away from the desk. "Sure you do," he said, grunting as he took the piece of paper she handed him. "Whatever she told you, I'm sure she thought was in my best interest, but to be perfectly honest with you?" He glanced back, gaze narrowing. "I really don't care."

Ms. Prince just looked at him for a long moment, then she pointed to the paper in his hand. "On that is your schedule and your dorm room number. Do try and be on time, Mr. Lawson." She smiled, pushing her chair back from the desk. "And while you're at it, please head over to Room 103 in Boswer's Hall and tell Narcissus to come up here. I forgot to tell her something."

"Whatever," he muttered, and stalked out the door, shoving hair back off his face. He let the door slam behind him and turned to find his way over to the dorms. On his way, several people tried to talk to him. He ignored most of them. Even the chirpy--and kind of cute--guy with dirty blonde who said hello to him. Of course, he'd never tell his mother about his opinion on both genders. She probably wouldn't understand, what with her being very insistent on him having children. He wasn't going to tell her that he'd probably outlive her, and all of his cousins. "Room 103, right."

He made his way to Boswer's Hall and headed for where he thought the girl's section of Boswer's Hall was. He found 103 pretty easily and paused long enough to shove his schedule into a pocket. He'd check it out later. Instead, he knocked on the door and stood there blinknig when it was yanked open by a strange-looking young lady who was obviously not very happy about being disturbed. Isaac blinked some more where he noticed that she was, uh, stark naked. She glared at him, which had him jerking his gaze upwards. Girls didn't do much for him, if he was being honest.

"What do you want? I'm busy," she snapped, tone bordering on hostile. Isaac blinked at her a bit more. She was definitely pissed off about something. That was when he noticed she was also drenched. He raised an eyebrow at her, eyes darting down and back up again. She had probably been taking a bath or something when he knocked on the door, but why wasn't she even attempting to cover up? He swiftly dismissed it and coughed. "Isaac?"

"How do you know my name?" He cocked his head, frowning.

"We've met before. I'm your cousin?" She gave him a meaningful look. Isaac shrugged. He had no idea who she was. Suddenly, she leaned forwards and kissed him softly on the lips. Isaac blinked once and then stared at her.

"Ms. Prince wants to speak with you," he told her, stepping to one side and leaning against the wall. "Didn't ask why, but it seemed important. Do with that what you will."

"Ugh. Tell her I'll be there."

Isaac pushed off the wall as the girl swung the door closed and turned to walk away, pausing long enough to loudly add, "Oh, and you might want to put some clothes on." With that, he smirked and walked off, headed for the stairs. He didn't turn back to see her reaction.

On his way upstairs, he noticed several of the people he'd seen earlier, including the boy who had said hello to him. He ignored him as they passed eachother on the stairs. The blonde was followed by a dark-skinned kid whose name, if he was overhearing them correct, was Wade. He smirked and kept going, stopping infront of room 202. He tried the door handle and found it unlocked. After glancing up and down the hall, he shoved the door open and entered his room. There were two beds, one wardrobe and one window. And was that a desk? Isaac shook his head, looking around. There was a book on the bed on his right.

Isaac frowned. "That's...odd," he mumbled, moving over to it. He picked it up and blinked at the title. "Hammer of Thor; Norse Mythology and Legends? Seriously?" Isaac sighed and put the book down again, pacing over to the other bed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked around again. The room really was kind of empty. Isaac turned towards the door, then the bed, and then promptly sprawled out on the bed, shoving hs hands behind his head. "Nothing for it, then. I"ll just stay here." With that, he stared at the ceiling for a bit, and eventually closed his eyes.

Kikuka | Dorm halls

Kero was flying overhead if only to provide a certain amount of cover as Kikuka alternated between checking the map and looking around. Not like he was fairing much better, as the several "whoa!"s and "hey slow down there you could kill somebody"s indicated. Sie looked up after the second of the latter and noticed a student had just flown by; that explained it.

"Haven't these people ever heard of walking?" he said, going down closer to hir head.

"Said the flying creature."

Sie grinned as he levelled her another glare. "I'm too small to walk like this— hey will you look at that."

Kero stopped midair in front and slightly above some potted plants, and it took a minute, and a few steps towards them, to see a... person hiding there, slowly looking up at the hovering Kero. Sie figured it was best not to assume any gender because Clow knew how often people did that to sir.

Sie stuck hir hand through the plants, getting the person's attention. "I'm Kikuka!"

A dazed blink at hir hand, followed by one of the lightest grips Kikuka had ever felt. "Um. Ashley. Or Ash. Or Ashy. It doesn't— it doesn't really matter. I like all three."

Sie smiled and retracted hir hand, putting them in hir lap before remembering pronoun introduction had to happen. "I go by sie, or sir or... let me get my cards."

"Oh. Um. I actually don't— I know pronouns." Sie paused as they cleared their throat, hands still in hir bag. They moved their own bag to their chest. "I go by ve, ver, vis, vers and verself. I... kind of researched most sets before picking. I know the sie one."

"Oh!" Sie continued going through hir bag, finally grabbing the cards and offering them. "These have ve, too. You can have some if you want. I brought lots!"

Kero sighed from about hir head. "Of course the first person you meet needs those..."

Both of them looked at Kero, although sie was mostly unimpressed while ve was nervous. Ve stood which drew hir attention back to ver, just as ve accepted the cards. "Oh. Thanks."

Kikuka looked at ver and tried not to do an up and down, even though vis outfit was probably one of the best androgynous ones sie'd seen; sie didn't know if ve'd appreciate outfit comments, yet, so sie avoided making them.

"What dorm are you in?" sie asked, stuffing the remaining cards back in hir bag for something to with hir hands. "They put me in the girls' dorm."

Kero came down and sat on hir shoulder, paw under his chin. "You'd think they'd have dorms for people who aren't either, for a school this big."

Ve swallowed and sighed, fishing vis room card out of vis pocket. "Men's. I don't— I don't think I'd be comfortable in either." Ve scratched at vis jaw with what looked like mildly shaking fingers, but sie'd been wrong about things like that before. "They say 'most like males', but they don't even know my birth sex and..." Now it was vis turn to look down at vis clothes. "I don't know, I'd say I'm a pretty even cut."

Sie broke out into a grin, hands back in hir lap and face back to being more like an emotocon than anything. "It's cute!"

For the first time since they started talking, Ash actually smiled. "Oh. Thank you."

As soon as sie noticed, hir grin got even bigger and hir shoulders dropped some of the tension. "Welcome!"

Kero looked between the two a few times. "Maybe you two could ask Wonder Woman if there's an extra floor somewhere, for enbys."

Kikuka turned hir head to look at him, pushing hir lips together. "That's actually a good idea."

He leaned back on the air. "Of course it is."

Sie dropped hir head down for the second time today and sighed, unable to be mad at him when that had actually been a good idea.

Ash shifted, looking past hir shoulder. "I... I can't promise that I'd do much— much talking, but..." Ve smiled again, one side of vis mouth pulling up more than the other. "I think that's a good idea."

Kero lifted up from hir shoulder, flying just out of reach. "Don't worry, Kikuka's got a motor mouth for ten people, let alone one."

Now it was time for a glare. "I am not a motor mouth!"

Ve chuckled quietly, getting their attention— a much needed distraction, considering Kikuka's balled fists and Kero's tongue sticking out. "So do I, once I've warmed up," ve said.

Sie's demeanour returned to smiling, the only sign sie'd been holding hir breath a slight puff of air. "Well, we can go try! I just came from there. I... think I know the way."

Kero puffed his chest out. "I do."

"Fiiiiine. Kero, lead the way."

West | L201

West took Walter by the shoulder, the height difference made it somewhat awkward, but West was not about to back down. “Before we start our adventure, there is one thing you need to know about me.”

Walter looked down at West, slightly concerned. “That would be?”

“Wait, I take it back,” West said, hands dancing in the air as he spoke. “There are several things, but we’ll stick to the basic three.” He pulled his arm off Walter, it was starting to get a bit painful to reach up there. “First off, call me West, no one has called me Wade since the third grade. Second, well the second one would be easier to show you, and I don’t feel like unpacking just yet. Third thing, I like to be blunt with the third thing, so people don’t think I lied to them, which is honestly a ridiculous idea, like I never lied to you, the information was just never required. If anything I should be offended because of how they just assume, but that is a whole nother topic of conversation, which you probably don’t care too much about.”

Walter broke into the conversation. “Excuse me, um West, is this going somewhere?”

“Right! Sorry, I tend to get off topic, major motor mouth. The third thing, is that I am gay. Which I know might be slightly confusing, what with me calling your mom a babe and all. Figured it might be a good ice breaker, get you talking and all that fun stuff.”

“Oh. Okay.”

West tilted his head. “Most people tend to react stronger to it, or, you know, react.”

“It’s not my place to judge, or react in this case.” Walter shrugged. “I mean, thanks for letting me know, but no need to make it a thing.”

West nodded his head slowly. “That’s one way to look at it.”

Walt started walking ahead, the topic dropping instantly. “Maybe we should check out the gym, I wonder what kind of equipment they have here.”

There was a brief gust, as West popped in front of Walter, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “While I do not doubt the amazing possibilities of a Super-Friendly gym, I think you are missing the point of this adventure.”

Walter smirked. “Then please, share this greater purpose with me, and the meaning of life while you’re at it.”


“I laugh at your question. The meaning of life is Pizza, for any man who touches the molten-cheesy goodness knows the feeling of God’s loving embrace. There is no such answer to your first question though, only the journey will show you the way, the shining shimmering splendor, so on and so forth.” West strode ahead, pushing the door open into the Luigi Lounge. “And that journey, my Padi-walter, is high school socialization.”

Victor Shang | Headmistress's Office and Luigi Hall Room 203

Victor scratched the back of his neck as he read the paper in his hands. Lovely. He had Spanish. Why, oh why, did they not have German?

"So?" the old lady in front of him said, a kind smile spreading across her face. Somehow, Victor had trouble imagining any superhero as old, even if the great ones he always heard about on the news were only aging further. "What do you think?"

"It's alright," Victor said. He'd meant to sound kind of cool, but his voice broke, and he ended up half-wheezing the 'alright' part.

Wonder Woman laughed slightly, shaking her head. "Well, I hope you can get along with everyone here. Most of your peers will be older, and well... may not have had the same, civilian lifestyle you've had growing up."

Nodding, Victor hoped for the same. He also wondered if he'd meet any of the Avengers' children. Those kids were internet-famous already, and rumors about their top-secret appearances and whatnot spread like wildfire the moment they were born.

"Also, you'll have to try to keep an open mind here," Wonder Woman added, "There are many people around who aren't from the same universe as you. Their cultures, norms, and even appearances will be very different from yours."

Again, Victor nodded. He looked down at his paper again and wondered if "Liu Miyazaki", his new roomate, spoke Japanese. It would be very entertaining if he did, Victor thought, because then they could have jokes about translating between Japanese and Chinese, and compare characters and etymology.

"Ready?" Wonder Woman asked. Her wrinkles seemed less obvious than most old women. Maybe it was the active lifestyle and smiling. Victor wondered if that explained his eighty-year-old a-gong's fairly young appearance.

For the third time, Victor nodded. He leaned over the cushy chair in front of Wonder Woman's desk and gripped his hands around his dufflebag. Lifting it onto his lap, he squinted at his paper again. It was room 203 he needed to find, right? As he stood, he faced the headmistress again. "Uh, thanks for all the warnings, Ma'am," he said stiffly.

"You're welcome."

Ten minutes later, after getting mildly lost while listening to radio fuzz that promised reception outside the building, Victor stumbled onto the second floor of Luigi Hall. Wondering if he'd see any of the 'differently appearing' people Wonder Woman had mentioned, he swept his eyes around the wide hallway. No aliens yet. What a disappointment.

"Hi, I'm Walter," someone said to him suddenly. Victor blinked for a moment to focus on the tall, blonde person in front of him. He looked very suspiciously like Captain America... Victor couldn't help his jaw dropping to stare in awe. He forgot to say anything back though, and the Captain-America-like person left, sighing.

Victor sniffled, staring after him, but shrugged and went back to searching for his dorm. There was 205, right there, so 203 had to be just one door down on this side... aha! There it was. Cautiously, Victor turned the doorhandle and pushed the door in. Inside sat a boy who, though obviously older, looked very much like a 'Miyazaki Liu'.

"Um... hello," Victor squeaked. He hadn't meant to squeak, actually, but his nerves seemed to be getting the better of him. "You're... Miyazaki Liu? Or do you use the Western order and go by Liu Miyazaki?"

"What?" Liu asked, sounding very angry and yet very confused. Somehow, his questioning glare made Victor feel small and awkward, like being a sixth grader all over again.

"Nevermind," Victor said, still sounding stupid. He wondered if there was a 'Western name order' where this person came from.

Tahl

Tahl left her clothes in a tidy pile at the edge of the pool, with her mask hidden at the bottom and her boots on top to weigh everything down. Ever since she had been in in charge of her own wardrobe, she'd been careful to keep some sort of swim wear on underneath her regular outfit. It kept her from ruining so much when she simply had to get in the water.

He brothers voice finally trickled into her mind while she was diving in. / He's fine. A little strange./

/Your roommate? Same here./ She thought back, smiling to herself. /That's alright. All the best people are different. And I include us in that./

There was a ripple from the other side of the conversation that Tahl had learned to interpret as a mental shrug. The were some who mistook her brothers silence as a sideeffect of being able to speak telepathically, but he was just as quiet in his head. That was just the sort of person he was.

She spent a few minutes doing laps near the bottom of the pool before pushing the conversation further. She admired the way they kept the temperature just right. Being to cold or too tepid was the one downside to being free in the ocean or a lake or something.

/What are you doing right now?/ She prodded Jorah.

A moment of silence followed before he bothered replying. Tahl held her breath and bobbed above the surface for a moment.

/Sleeping/

/Sleeping or talking to me?/

/Yes./

Tahl laughed softly, swimming to the side. /It's nice though, isn't it?/

/Yes. It is./

Aurora Ayers - Chemical stupidity

"Watch where you're going, eyortha!" the girl yelled

"I'm terribly sorry!" I said immediately.

I get to my feet and help the girl up, "I'm sorry I didn't see you there I was just-"

"Just watch where your going next time alright?" she huffed before turning off and walking away.

Not the best way to make friends, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and then headed for the door myself still wanting to talk to Wonder Woman about switching my roommate in for a totally different one. But before I can the door to the hall opened again and in came a guy- no a man who was handsome and had muscles his eyes were beautiful. I suddenly became hyper aware of what I was wearing. Baggy black sweats and a long sleeve shirt that didn't show anything beyond my hands, neck, and head.

"Excuse me do you know who this belongs to?" he asked.

Hanging from his hand was a string and on that string was a blood red crystal that looked like mine. My hand went to my neck and I didn't feel my necklace that was always there.

"That's mine how did you get it!?" I said ripping it from his hand.

"Woah calm down Miss, I found it outside and it looked like crystallized blood so I came to return it," he said.

That's when I see the string that held it around my neck had been broken I knew it was getting old but I had refused to replace it for a long time. The crystal was a gift from my father for my 14th birthday, he never did tell me where the blood came from.

I shook my head now, "I'm sorry but thank you for returning it," I said.

"Any day Miss, my name is Walter Roger," he said.

"Aurora Ayers, and ain't you Captain America's son?" I asked.

"Yes, why?" he said.

"Just making sure, I'd just imagined people like you to be more I don't know, egotistical?" I said.

He gave a small laugh at that, "I have no doubt the fame has gone to some heads, but it didn't go to mine." he said.

I was unaware of the fact that I had been twirling a lock of my heart. Oh no what is wrong with me exactly? "So um, I guess I'll see you around then," I said.

"Later," he said going back for the door and it closed behind him, it's when I realized I had forgot to check his aura to see if it was any shade of black. I took a deep sigh what exactly was wrong with me? now I couldn't go to Wonder Woman because he would just think I was following him. I did the only thing I could do and that was go back to my dorm room.

Ryou Shiki
I excused myself and left the room when I felt myself starting to get tired. I wasn't sure if it was a sign of anemia, or just the fact that I was up and about during the day, but I wasn't going to take any chances. I knew there had to be some kind of kitchen, or at least a place with a fridge to let people store whatever food they might want for later, and I hoped they'd have glasses and some water there as well.

So far, this place wasn't too bad. My roommate was tolerable, and no one had bothered me about anything yet. I might actually like this place. For once I was actually in a good mood, which hadn't happened for years, and I felt like I might be able to act nice even if some commoner did bother me. So far I had only two reasons to complain. 1, the classes were during daytime - which meant I'd have to turn my day rhythm around completely. 2, I didn't know where the heck I was supposed to get live blood. I needed it. Not quite yet, but in a week or so I'd start growing weak and tired, and the blood tablets could only stall those symptoms for a certain time. Maybe I should've asked the principal if I can snack on the teachers.

I did indeed find a small kitchen, with microwaves, a fridge and a cupboard - in which I found a clean glass that I filled with water and dropped two blood tablets in. As I swirled the water around the tablets dissolved slowly, turning the water first pink and then sanguine. It doesn't smell like blood at all.. Doesn't really taste like it either. I could feel the scent of something though... I kept swirling the content of the glass around while I listened. My sense of smell was still quite good, albeit not as good as it used to be, but my hearing was barely any better than that of a human.

I took a small sip, frowning slightly at the taste. "It's quite rude to creep like that," I muttered, turning around to face the girl who was watching me. I swallowed some more of the solution - it really isn't fit to be called blood - and then licked my lips as I watched her and waited for an answer.

She just shrugged. "I wasn't aware there was a rule against creeping around freely."

I raised an eyebrow. I'm not sure if I'm annoyed or amused. Probably annoyed. "I didn't say it was against the rules, I said it was rude." I guess having no privacy is part of the whole experience. "Mind introducing yourself, or should I just pretend I didn't notice you?" Her scent was odd, just like most of the other students' scents were, but it wasn't the smell itself, but rather how it instinctively made me wary that I found odd. "Another half human, I presume?"

She frowned slightly. "Half..mortal, I suppose. What about you?"

"Half mortal as in, one of your parents were human but had some kind of powers?" I finished the rest of the solution, licking my lips again before rinsing the glass in cold water. "I guess I'm kind of the same as you then." We weren't the same, probably not even close, but having a gifted human parent and a something else probably counted as at least slightly similar. Or maybe it doesn't. I put the glass down and turned back to her. "Are you new here as well?"

Judging on her expression, she wasn't thrilled with the idea of someone being the same as her - but when she spoke again, she sounded genuinely curious. "What are your parents, then?" I wonder how many times I'm going to ask and answer this question while I'm here.

I tried to keep my voice from sounding cold, but I didn't quite manage. I didn't like talking about my parents. "My father's a vampire, and my mother's a.. Well, she could control water. And blood." I had always wished to be a waterbender, like my mother, and I had always felt like I had an affinity to water, but of course I had to get most of my father's powers instead. Surprise surprise. My father ruins my life in every way he possibly can. "And yours? You have an interesting scent.. I guess you get that from the parent that isn't human."

"Oh, my father is a god. You might be picking that up." She glanced at the glass I drank from. "Was that.. blood?"

I wish. "No, just a very inadequate substitute. I don't think I'm allowed to drink live here." Wait, did she just say that her father is a god? I frowned. I didn't know anything about gods, not even that they were real. Had there been gods in my world as well, or did they belong to all worlds? "Not a very nice god, is he? As in, he's the type mortals should be careful around?"

She shrugged. "More like misunderstood. Mortals should be more careful and less stupid in general, though, gods or no gods." She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms on her chest. "Why is it inadequate?"

I shrugged slightly. I didn't quite know why it didn't work as well on me as it did on the other vampires from my father's world, but I had always assumed it was because I was half human. After all, humans that were turned into vampires often rejected the pills completely. "It probably has something to do with my mother being a human." She sure asked a lot of questions, and I couldn't tell if the reason behind it was a good or bad one. I was hoping to find someone who likes vampires.. Maybe enough to donate some blood. Could she be such a person? "So, is it a god I've heard about? And doesn't that mean you're immortal? Or are you more like your mother?"

"I am nothing like my mother," she snapped. Yeah, we all keep telling ourselves that. "Or nearly nothing. So then, do you have some powers too, or just the unfortunate need for draining people of their blood?"

"If you were nothing like your mother you'd be a god, and you're obviously not," I muttered. I took it from her reaction that she was mortal like her mother - but then again, I might have interpreted her reaction wrongly - but I didn't want to keep telling her things if she didn't answer my questions. Tit for tat, and all that. "Why don't you tell me about your powers first?"

She smirked. "My powers?" She appeared to be thinking for a bit. "Very well.. I can split in two. I got that from my mother, amusingly enough."

"And what else?" I wasn't really managing to keep my voice pleasant anymore, as I was starting to get annoyed. I should go back to my room. "I'm guessing you at least got something from your father? Or is it that you're not actually the daughter of a god, and you just made that up?" I couldn't help but smirk slightly. It might be amusing to get her angry. "Or is he a secret god, and you can't tell anyone his name?"

"I don't know why you think you can talk to me that way," she said in a surprisingly calm voice, "but I'd advise you to stop now. I have inherited powers from my father too, but I see no reason why they'd be any of your concern."

I shrugged, trying to keep my face neutral. I can talk to you however I please. "Then how come you expect me to tell you about my powers, when you won't do the same for me?" That good mood of mine was gone now, but at least it had lasted for a whole minute. It had to be some kind of record. I should definitely get back to my room. "Anyway, have fun with your secret power and secret father. I'm going back to my room." I was just about to leave when the glass I had put in the sink suddenly shattered into pieces. I looked from her to the glass and back again, raising an eyebrow. "Ooooh. Am I supposed to be scared?"

She frowned at the glass for a bit, turning her eyes to me the next moment. "If you keep annoying me with questions, maybe. Then again, everyone in this world seems to be acting like an idiot, so I really don't care enough to waste my powers on you." She narrowed her eyes at the glass slightly, watching it as it slowly returned to its previous state. Oh, look, she can actually control it. "Do answer me one thing, though. What exactly is stopping you from just taking blood from living people anyway?"

"If I was back in my father's world I would, but I'll probably get expelled if I do that here, and I don't want to take that risk." Actually, I wasn't sure if I was even strong enough right now to take what I wanted, at least not from the students here. They all seemed to either have powers or walk around with a bunch of weapons. "Have you ever considered that you might be the idiot, and not everyone else?" I said with a slight smile. It wasn't a friendly one, but it was at least a smile. I hadn't quite made up my mind on whether I should make her angry or just be polite. Being polite had worked with my roommate, at least.

"Mm.." She leaned her head to a side, watching me. "No. I don't call others idiots for no reason, you know. But weren't you leaving? I'd like to go do something more interesting if we're done.. like staring at a rock for a couple of hours."

I couldn't help but chuckle. It sounded like something I would've said as a kid. "Aaw, that hurt." I tried to make my voice sound annoyed, but I mostly sounded amused. "Seriously, that's the worst thing someone has ever told me. Little did I know that people could be so mean to each other." I chuckled again and gestured at the door. "Go on then."

She slowly smiled instead. "Interesting..." She walked past me, stopping before walking through the door. "I doubt you'd tell me what's so bad in your homeworld that you'd hate to get expelled from here - although you obviously don't really like it here - but living on.." she glanced at the glass, "..whatever that was, instead of at least demanding to somehow get what you need, if not just taking it..? It's kind of sad."

Don't patronize me. "Is that so?" I cocked my head to the side. "I don't think you'd appreciate it if I just took what I wanted, no?" I shrugged a little. "I guess I'll have to talk to the principal eventually.. In a week or two. But I was really hoping that I'd be able to convince someone to give me a little blood instead. I've heard that people in some worlds adore vampires, so.." I let my voice trail off, shrugging once more. I really didn't want to tell her that I got weak when I didn't drink. I didn't like sharing that detail with anyone, especially not someone who also refused to talk about their weaknesses.

She shrugged. "I don't see why anyone would mind, it's just blood. Unless you drain them completely or take powers along with it or something, it's ridiculous it'd take a lot convincing." She flashed me a not quite friendly smile that I didn't understand the meaning of. "Have fun searching for people who adore vampires. I'd suggest you to start with those who lived among humans."

Did she mean that..? No, it couldn't be that easy. "Are you saying you wouldn't mind if I asked for some of your blood? Somehow I can't quite believe that." Maybe it was because of her scent, or simply the way she spoke, but I felt like I'd be doing a big mistake if I let myself trust her in any way.

"Why would I mind?" She raised an eyebrow. "I've seen and done weirder things.. " She smirked. "That's not to say I mightn't ask for something in return, though."

I rolled my eyes automatically. "Of course you do." But this is still far better than going without blood. "And what exactly is it that you want?" As long as I didn't have to kill someone I was alright with most things. Unless she wants some kind of servant. I'm not doing that.

"Oh, I don't know." She sounded strangely cheerful all of the sudden, which did nothing but worry me. "Nothing special right now.. just knowing you owe me something for things I do for you would be enough for now, I suppose." She grinned. "So how does the whole thing work anyway?"

I wasn't completely sure that I should be agreeing to those terms, seeing how she could probably ask me to do all kinds of stuff, but then again.. I could probably refuse if it was something outrageous. "Depends on you. Can you heal yourself if I bite your neck? If you can't then I guess I'd go for your arm or shoulder." This was weird. I couldn't remember ever having to tell someone that before. "I don't want you to bleed out, 'cause I'm pretty sure it'd get me expelled."

"Of course I can heal myself," she muttered. "Will it have some consequences, other than possibly bleeding out - which you don't need to worry about?" She leaned against a wall again. "And you won't get expelled.. Though I don't even see why you'd be so against that."

"If you want to get expelled, then why don't you just do something bad.. Like tearing down a building or something? Personally I prefer staying here to being in my father's house, it's as simple as that." I didn't need to worry about her bleeding out? It didn't sound very convincing. "There are no consequences, no. You won't turn into a vampire or anything, and you won't lose your powers. You might get anemic, but apparently I don't need to worry about that.. Other than that it's nothing." I smiled a bit, a somewhat nice smile this time. "And it won't hurt, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." She frowned a bit, looking away. "I don't want to get expelled, I just don't want to be here in the first place." She turned almost transparent for a short - very short - moment, before a boy of nearly identical features appeared next to her. "You even get to pick which one you prefer, if it makes any difference."

I looked between them, probably looking as surprised as I felt. When she had said that she could split in two I had thought she meant two identical versions of her. You can drink more from a guy than from a girl. "Are you sure you can heal yourself? If I bite into your jugular and you can't, then you'll probably die before I can get you any help."

"I'll be fine," the guy said, and she nodded. "Even if something happens, we'll just merge again and it'll be alright." He looked around, seeming a bit puzzled, and smiled at me as he looked back. "Am I supposed to just.. stand here?"

"Yeah. Try not to move." Even though I didn't feel that burning thirst that the other vampires from my father's world did, I still felt a craving for it, and it grew stronger the longer I went without real blood. It wasn't driving my crazy or anything, but it was still annoying, and I couldn't think of any type of food that tasted better.

I stepped closer to him, grabbing onto his hair with one hand and tugging at it gently to make him tilt his head to the side more, and then grabbed the back of his shirt with my other hand, in case he tried to move. When I put my lips against his neck I hesitated for a moment, wondering what exactly she'd ask in return, but then I closed my eyes and let my fangs sink into his neck anyway. The relief was almost immediate, as that craving disappeared and I felt my strength and the sharpness of my senses come back to me. It didn't take long until my hearing was good enough for me to catch his heartbeat, and I listened carefully to it, so I'd know when I had to stop.
He didn't move, keeping his breathing quite calm. I could hear her walking around us, observing but not saying a word. I appreciated the silence, as it made it easier for me to enjoy the taste and the feeling of life and energy that spread through my body. My head felt heavy when I pulled away, licking my lips before letting go of him and taking a step back, but keeping my eyes on his bleeding neck during the few moments before they had merged into one again.

"Are you alright?" She looked alright. She wasn't especially pale, and she wasn't bleeding. In fact, there weren't even any marks on her throat. Is it bad that I want to have more? Actually, the craving that I still felt was slightly different from the usual one. Different and stronger, but at the same time subtle. Now you're not even making sense.

She was silent for a moment, eventually nodding. "Completely." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "What did it do..? Do you now have some spectacular power or something?"

I smiled a bit as I listened to sounds of the people in the rest of the building. I couldn't quite hear everything, but as good as. "I can hear your heartbeat, and the sound of your blood being pumped around.. And I can hear two guys on the floor above talking about food." I took a deep breath, just enjoying the feeling of being energized and strong for a change. "I'm stronger, faster, my senses are sharper." Please, stop blabbing and smiling. It's creepy. I wiped the smile off my face, forcing myself to turn serious again. "So, when are we doing this the next time?"

She raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "It's been quite a while since you last did something like that, hasn't it?" Her smile widened. "It does sound like quite a change.. I suppose we can repeat it whenever you wish, as long as it's rarely enough for me to not lose too much blood." She shrugged casually. "Do I now get to see you do something with those powers of yours?"

Was that one of the favors I owed her? Using my powers a bit doesn't seem too bad though. "I haven't had any live blood in almost three months, so yeah, it has been a while.. And sure? I guess I can use those abilities. What do you want me to do?" I had a bad feeling about this, but I needed the blood, didn't I?

The paper gripped in his right hand burst into flames.

The woman before L sighed. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes," L said, clenching his fist. The flames extinguished, obeying the command of a simple thought. All that was left was ashes and he extended his fingers, letting them fall to the ground of Wonder Woman's neat and tidy office.

With a wave of her hand, the headmistress had her printer print him another schedule. "I feel that these classes are best for you, Liu."

"It's L, lady. And no, they aren't best for me." L growled, snatching the paper from her wrinkled hand and shoving it into his pocket. His blazing blue eyes never left hers. "You really feel that putting me in a class with that dreadful Captain America will do any good? And you put me in Luigi's hall, of all places. Are you planning something or are you just ignorant?"

"You'll hold that tongue of yours, boy, lest I cut it out for you," Wonder said sharply, leaning forward in her office chair. "Your classes and rooming is final. Please leave. I have other matters to attend to."

L rose to his feet and left without sparing her another glance. The chair burst into flames as he left the room and a wicked grin split across his lips when he heard her cry of surprise.

That grin quickly evaporated when he entered Luigi's hall. Cheerful heroes with cheerful grins and cheerful attitudes were roaming about and he gave them all a look of disgust. They parted like the Red Sea for him and he made his way to his room, ignoring the whispers that began once they saw his black clothing and the way heat radiated off of his body and danced in the dark pits of his eyes.

The door to his room was thrown open and he closed it with a bang, taking in the scene. The two beds and two dressers had a fair amount of distance between them, he noted with relief. At least he wouldn't be responsible for yet another death of a roomie. Those who sleep in the same room as him are subjected to burning to death from a wildfire he unconsciously starts when having a nightmare. Which is often.

L noted that the room was equipped with sprinklers and groaned. He had no doubt that his roomie would opt to flood the room versus burning at the bedpost.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. The door opened and L's fists tightened, which was a definite unwelcoming gesture. The foolish male nonetheless said his hellos and asked for L's name. Half listening, L simply barked at him and made the man flush in anger, then continued to glare at him as he made his way to his side of the room.

"L."

"Huh?" the genius asked.

L grit his teeth in frustration, feeling his hands start to heat up. "L. My name is L."

"Okay... L," the man mumbled. "Name's Victor."

"Pleasure," L said shortly, then turned to his bags and unpacked them without another word. Victor did the same and they were silent for a whole minute before Victor cleared his throat. L sighed.

"Is it true you can light stuff on fire?" he asked, his voice holding a twinge of awe.

L turned to his roomie and pointed a finger at his face, the grin returning. "Wanna find out?" he hissed, his voice happy for the first time since he left the Fire Nation.

Isi/Heading to the Headmistress's Office

I pick myself up and dust myself off, ignoring anything the idiot girl planned on saying to me.
I make my way down the halls, trying to figure out which way to go. I lick my lips, and being completely parched, I decide to go to find a kitchen and some sort of water. I find one, with a couple of people hanging around it. I recognize my cousin, Dyre. She asks the man to do a trick for her and I roll my eyes. Neither of them seem notice me. I find a glass, fill it with water and open cabinet doors to find some salt. Finding a carton filled with it, I happily empty a half cup into my water. Swirling it around with my finger, I take a long draught and sigh contentedly, settling back for an amusing performance.

Anything can happen here with Dyre and Rye. But since I don't know what's happening yet, I'll edit that part in later.

I resume my search for the headmistress's office and sigh with relief when I stumble upon its door. Without knocking, I march in.
"Zac said you wanted to see me?"
Ms. Prince lowers her glasses to look at me. "Yes. Your father just sent in a message to you." She unlocks a drawer and hands me a piece of vellum. Typical. I glance down at it and turn to leave, but the headmistress's voice stops me. "Narcissus, I would like to see a bit more respect from you. Your father communicated that you were having a hard time, but we do have rules here."
I turn around and glare at her. "My father communicated? I have one of those?" My voice is bitter, and I curl my lip. "He's never been a part of my life. Next time you want to know something about my life, ask me, headmistress. Not my father." I walk out, slamming the door behind me. After cooling down, I head down to the pool to read my letter and hopefully swim.

Narcisscus,
I have had a barrel of seafish delivered to your room in the Academy. Enjoy them. Remember not to walk around skyclad or kiss the men there, daughter. It is not the proper greeting.
I expect you not to sing and maintain a sense of dignity. I would like a letter in return from you. I will send a messenger in a day's time.
I have heard rumours that some of my brother's children will be there. Keep an eye on them, but befriend them. They are your cousins. You may have even met them.
Lastly, I have communed with the sirens and have made the choice to declare war on them. I expect you to support me in this, daughter.
-Father

I re-read the last sentence of the letter.
I have communed with the sirens and have made the choice to declare war on them. I expect you to support me in this, daughter.
It wasn't my imagination. My worst nightmare had some alive.

I wait for the tears to come, but my face remains dry. My breath comes faster and faster until my voice responds and it becomes a scream. High and terrible, it shakes the building- literally. The walls shake, and puffs of white powder cover the room. I finally stop when I can go on no longer, when my grief is so great it cannot be expressed. A girl in the pool pops up and stares at me. I pant for a second and storm off to my room to cry in peace. The rule beaten into me since childhood pounds in my head. Show no weakness, no feeling, no pain. I had just shown all three. Perhaps I could wipe that girl's memory later tonight.
My conscious mind still calculates threats and keeps my face blank, but behind it all is a curtain of despair. My family, my friends- everyone I had known will be killed beneath my father's hand. I grip my syrena necklace, a huge sapphire on a silver chain that hung around my waist, to try and hear sirensong that I could sing to ease my pain, but to no avail. I am not focused enough to hear a sirensong. Only one thing repeats in my mind: I have to stop this. I will stop this.

If you can't tell, Isi caused a minor earthquake.

Luigi Lounge Restaurant

"Do you have any idea," Bea announced, striding into the lounge, "just how hard it is to get into the bottom floor of the Bowser building travelling only by treetops?"
She gazed at the only patrons currently in the establishment, a pair of young guys at a nearby table, each with a half-eaten slice of pizza in their hands.
"No," said one eventually, "I can honestly say I don't."
"Well," said Bea, sitting down and helping herself to a slice, "it's no picnic, let me tell you. Heck, I'll tell you even if you don't let me. Now this pizza," she continued with her mouth full, "this is good stuff. This is a picnic. I mean, strictly speaking it would be a picnic if we were sitting outside on a chequered blanket with baskets and ants and a big stick to fight off Yogi with. By the way, I'm Bea. You can call me Bee if you want."

She swallowed the pizza she'd been chewing and watched the duo opposite her, waiting for a response. One of them seemed completely dumbstruck; the other, though surprised, seemed to be taking all this in while chewing his pizza with astonishing speed.
"Wade," he said, gulping his food down, "but call me West."
"And I'm Walter - Walter Rogers," his companion said with an awkward smile, having gotten a grasp of the situation. The three sat there, Bea still nomming her innocently ill-gotten lunch and the boys glancing at one another, not really sure what to make of this odd girl and her abrupt joining of luncheons.

"Mmh," Bea murmured, finishing her slice, "that was good. Hey, I got the next round."
She flagged down the nearest staff member. "Yeah, I'll get a cherry soda - hold the bubbles, and… give us a large peri-peri turducken, uh… crispy base, with barbecue sauce. Oh, and throw some marshmallows on there, 'kay?"
"Uh, miss, I'm the janitor -"
"Hey, why do you want me to call you West?” Bea asked, rummaging through her pockets. She extracted a bundle of bronze and gold coins and handed them to the janitor, who shrugged and walked towards the kitchen.
“It’s my last name,” West explained; Bea’s ears perked up. “Mom says there’s no connection between me and Kanye West, but I don’t believe her.”
“You’re a West?” she exclaimed, hopping onto the table and staring at him. “Are you related to Adam West?”
“I… don’t think so?”
Bea pouted and sat down where she was, narrowly avoiding the turducken pizza the janitor-slash-impromptu-waiter had brought out.

“I beg your pardon, miss.”
A somewhat ruffled-looking man in a rather tatty suit stood imposingly at the end of their table. The word “manager” shone from the badge on his lapel, directly under the word “Fawlty”. He placed Bea’s coins back onto the table.
“I’m afraid we don’t accept these,” he said haughtily.
“Wh-what?”.
“We don’t accept this currency, for lack of a better term.”
“You don’t accept mesos?”
“Ah,” said the manager sarcastically, “the penny’s dropped. Ideally, you would have had your… may-soes exchanged at the front office when you came in, but evidently, despite those grotesquely large eyes in your bulbous head, you somehow failed to spot the exchange counter. Perfectly understandable.”
It might have been Bea’s imagination, but she got the feeling this gentleman was trying to subtly insult her physical appearance.

“Sorry, but your waiter didn’t tell me when I gave him the money…”
“Well, he’s hopeless, isn’t he?” Fawlty snapped, shooting a nasty look at the janitor, who slinked away. “You might as well ask the cat. Anyway. We’re going to need our payment.”
At this point Walter reached into his pocket and drew out some notes. “This isn’t worth the trouble,” he said, holding them out to Bea. “Let me get this one.”
“Nah-nah-nah, I got something.” Bea reached deep into her pocket and pulled out a bright orange jewel, which glowed as if a miniature sun was at its centre. “All I have is a Flaming Desert. Can I leave this here for collateral while I go get my mesos exchanged?”
Fawlty’s eyes bulged out of his head as he took the gem and squinted at it. He was entranced for nearly a minute before Walter cleared his throat and brought the manager out of his reverie.
“Er… yes, yes, fine,” he spluttered. “Er… in fact. Never mind about the - the mesos - I mean the monies. You can - you can just leave this here, this will do just fine… It’s not worth quite the price of the meal,” he added, lying through his teeth, “but we’ll let that one slide this time, yes? Ha ha!”
“Oh, no,” Bea protested, wide-eyed, while the boys rolled their eyes. “I don’t want to rip you off! I’ll get the money.”
“No! No, no. Please, don’t trouble yourself!” the manager gibbered desperately. “It’s - oh! It’s that kind of mineral! How silly of me. You imbecile, Fawlty!” He slapped himself across the head. “This is worth exactly the price of your meal. You see? Nothing at all to worry about!”

“That was really convenient!” Bea said happily, hopping gleefully as they left the restaurant.
“Don’t you think it was a little too convenient?” West said. “That manager was really shifty, Bea."
"And why did he have the waiter - or janitor, or whatever - bring the food out at all if he wasn't going to accept the money anyway?" Walter asked, casting a suspicious glance back at the building.
“Oooh! Glad I'm not the only one who thought he was creepy,” Bea said. “But it’s okay! We’re all square with the Luigi Lounge, and I made a fort out of your empty pizza boxes. Everybody wins!”

Rose

"Bye then." I'm not really sure if I was talking to my dad or the TARDIS. Probably the TARDIS. It wasn't her who had the brilliant idea of naming me after my dad's, well whatever Rose Tyler was to him. Still, even traveling around saving everyone would be easier than starting at some stupid hero school. I'm not even sure I want to be a hero. Not that I'd ever become a villain, but look at my dad. He spent his life saving the universe and then a group of people kidnap his best friends' daughter and make her try to kill him.

Anyways I don't even bother to watch as the TARDIS disappears. What's the point? I'm still going to have to stay here. What's the head's name again. Oh right, Wonder Woman. Sounds like her parents were even worse with names than mine is. I glance around as I walk to the office.

As I enter her office she smiles at me. "Good morning. Rose isn't it?" "Yes that's me," I respond, noticing the smell of burnt wood. I trace it to her chair. Seems like not everyone is happy to be here. I might go see if I can find that person. We exchange some more conversation, then I leave the room with my schedule. Someone has already taken my stuff to my room, but I want to look around. Lets see; I don't want to sneak into the teachers' areas yet. I know, I'll go to the guys dorms.

I enter the hallway. Curfew hasn't started yet so no one bothers me. Except for some guy who tries to hit on me. I just flip him off and keep walking. Guys like him aren't worth talking to. He swears at me then heads off, probably to the girls' dorms. I can smell smoke coming from another room and enter to check it out.

There are two guys in there. They both look over at me and the one lying on the bed glares at me. I could hear the conversation about him being able to light things on fire from the hallway. Looks like I found the guy who set the headteacher's chair on fire. Well that was easier than I thought it would be. "What's this about fire?"

Mia

Mia looked up from where she was carefully unpacking her bags. "Oh, you're back quick!"

Her roommate shot her a dark look and crossed to her bed, landing on it with a thump. Mia watched her glare at the ceiling for a moment, but it was clear she wasn't going to reply.

Mia rolled her eyes, flicked her wings and turned back to her work. Honor students. Who needs 'em. She began humming to herself as she folded her socks into her drawers. She felt the glare hit the back of her head, and started humming louder and extra cheerfully.

Eventually, Aurora cleared her throat. Mia span around, quickly arranging her expression into something more innocent. "Did you want something, Aurora?"

"I want you to stop that infernal humming."

"Hehe, would you feel better if I was humming something not infernal?"

"What?"

"Well, because it's a song from hell, you see..."

"Oh." Aurora rolled her eyes. "Just stop humming." Silence fell, and the two girls stared at each other for a long moment. Aurora broke the stare first, redirecting her glare back at the ceiling.

Mia turned back to her bags, passing various items to bubbles, who tottered around nervously putting them away. Aurora unsettled him even more than usual, that was for sure. Before long, though, the silence was broken. "What kind of songs do they have in hell?"

Mia smiled to herself. Mortals couldn't contain their curiosity, proven fact. "Well, this one was the school anthem of my last school, Evil Academy. It wasn't a good fit for me, obviously. Still a catchy song, though."

"Oh." A long pause, then; "You went to an evil academy?"

"Yep. Best school in the whole Netherworld! The honor students are something to behold. You'll never find lazier, more self-serving or greedy students anywhere else."

Aurora paused thoughtfully. "I don't know about that..."

"What?"

"Nothing. None of your business."

Mia shrugged cheerfully. "Okay! Do you wanna go get a shake or something?"

Aurora rolled over, so Mia could only see her back. Mia laughed. "I guess that's a no. Alrighty, then. Bubbles, let's go!"

Again, Mia left without checking whether the prinny was following. He dropped the armful of text books on the ground and tottered after her, flippers flailing in panic. "W-wait, dood!"

The prinny ran into the back of Mia's legs. Mia was standing, staring quizzically at the floor.

"What's happening, dood? Why did we stop, dood?"

"Something doesn't feel right."

Then the earthquake hit, sending Mia to the floor. She grabbed Bubbles, clamping him tight to her chest. "What's happening?"

"I d-oon't kno-o-o-ow Do-o-oo-od!"

Evatt Elric

It had only been over an hour since Evatt had left his things in his room, and when he'd done so, his roommate had not arrived to do the same. It was for this reason, and perhaps a few anxious reasons in addition, that Evatt was particularly cautious about opening his dorm room door.

It was with that apprehension that Evatt balled up his fists and recited information memorized from the registrar. It just so happened to be that the ground was...shaking...as he recited said information.

"First name Hebi! Last name Terumi, though only recorded due to father's records! I am your roommate and classmate in each of the academy's allotted subjects chosen in happenstance by the two of us most likely at differing times! My name is Evatt Elric! I am from the Amestris Universe, the son of Alphonse Elric! I have not met you, but I'm certain we can become great fr--"

The door opened, revealing Terumi Hebi, seeming highly amused. "Man," he said, stifling a giggle, "I read the manga of your universe, and I have to say--you definitely have your uncle's social skills!" Hebi let loose a hearty laugh and moved aside to let Evatt in. He was overwhelmingly embarrassed. The ground continued to shake.

"Well," Evatt attempted a retort, "my universe doesn't have television yet...or video game consoles." He pursed his lips. "But I'm sure that, if we did, I'd have a smart remark for you!"

Hebi smirked. "You don't know the half of it. In fact, most pe--what are you doing?"

Evatt was in the process of removing his remarkably 1920s boxer shorts when he stopped at Hebi's question, looking up. "I'm getting changed! Science club starts soon and I have to be prepared!" He began removing his shorts again, and Hebi covered his eyes.

"I'm guessing nude anxiety isn't really a thing in your universe." Everything was trembling mildly. Mostly an annoyance, really.

Evatt thought on the question, scratched the stubble on his chin, and pulled up his lab pants with a quick zip. "I suppose not. Why would you be nervous about something so precious and irreplaceable?"

Hebi uncovered his eyes, thinking on it for a minute. "Well, sometimes guys just feel...anxious. Because of things."

Evatt's head tilted to the side as he fastened his lab coat at the sleeves. "OH!" It suddenly clicked. "Don't worry, friend. My dad says that it's perfectly natural for some people to genetically not have hair at all! Just be happy you have some on your head, right?!" Evatt laughed so remarkably innocently--it should've been a crime.

Hebi twitched thoroughly at the missed point.

Evatt pulled goggles over his eyes and flashed an enormous grin to his friend and roommate, classmate, and otherwise. "Would you like to join me in Science Club?! I hear there's also a division for Magical Engineering, which seems a bit weak, but who can complain?! It's science!"