Young Writers Society

Jen Preacher, Dorms A block, 1:44pm

A/N: This post takes place after Kyllorac's post below

Jen poked her head into room A1 to find... nothing. Or rather, no one. Alright. All the better to settle in then. Better to take advantage of the lack of roommate while she could, after all. Someone screamed. Jen froze. What, now? Trouble? Trouble wasn't good. Trouble tended to be bad. Particularly when it sounded like her possible neighbors. She thought briefly about what it would be like to spend the semester living next to people who hated your guts and winced. Not goo--

"Aaaaagh!"

Okay, that's... freaky. She took a step away from her door, briefly wondering if she should go out and investigate or not. Images of the stupid blonde getting hacked up by an ax flitted through her head and she discarded the notion. Still, the screaming wasn't a very calming sound... even if it did seem to be dying down a bit. She continued to stand there for a few more moments, staring at her door. Welcome to the academy, she chimed in her head, where people are murdered right next door. The screams eventually stopped, and she starred at her door some more. After a few moments, she tentatively opened it a notch and peeked outside. Hallway was empty. Taking a breathe, she stepped outside, intending to knock on her neighbor's door to see if they knew what was going on. Any questions she might have asked were cut off by their doorway.

On the floor was a red-faced boy with his hands tossed over his eyes.

"Woah," Jen said, "What happened to you?"

The boy stiffened, then seemed about to say something when Jen saw the bite on his leg.

"Woah!" she said again, "Jesus, what did happen? We need to get-- Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Here, get up," she said, bending down to grab one of this arms. He groaned and shook his head furiously. "Why not?" she demanded, "You! What did you do to him?"

The girl in the room raised her eyebrows at her. "Excuse me? He may have harmed my familiar. I did nothing." She went back to petting her snake. "What do you care, anyway?"

Jen let go of the boy's arm long enough to push her hair back, then grabbed it again. "It just so happens that he is my roommate! I think. You're the guy in A1, right?" She tugged harder and his body moved an inch further into the hall way. He also shouted.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," she apologized before tugging again and turning to the snake-chick in the room. "That thing isn't poisonous, is it?" she asked. The girl didn't dignify the question with a response. She gave his arm another tug and he shouted again. She let go once more to push her hair back a second time, and put her hands on her hips.

"This would be a lot easier if you would just stand up and walk, you know."

He gave her a withering look.

"Hard to do when someone's ripping your arm out," he growled as he made an effort to get up. "Are you sure we're roommates?" he asked.

She wrapped her arm around his ribs to support him as they made their way down the hall. "A1?" she asked again.

"Great," he replied, grunting when she stumbled and knocked the leg with the bite. She held back another apology as they rounded a corner, nearly bumping into another student as they did so.

"So..." she began after a couple of minutes, "Where's the hospital?"

Corda - Room A2 - 1:33 PM

Once the boy had stopped flailing, Corda got off him and picked Sylvester up from the floor, cupping him in her hands and crooning at him. Once she was satisfied that he hadn't been injured, Corda tucked Sylvester into his pouch in her sleeve and quietly warned him to stay put or else.

She sat back on her heels and looked first at the now-silent boy and Nolan before asking, "How long will that last?" She abruptly shook her head. "Never mind. We need to find a doctor, and we need to come up with a story." Corda bit her lip, thinking rapidly. "How about, we don't know what happened to him. All we know is that he came staggering into this room, confused and in great pain, before collapsing in a fit of screaming. We were able to calm him down before one of us, I'll probably be the one, ran to find the doctor. If anyone asks if we have an idea where he was bitten, we could say that it looks like he's an archer. Perhaps it was at the practice field." Corda looked up at Nolan from where she was still kneeling on the floor. "Does that sound plausible?"

Note: This is written with the fact that Nolan doesn't know who the others descend from in mind. Also, here we see Nolan can't take back what he said.

Nolan Lehnsherr - 1.45 PM, Dorm A2

Nolan felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, felt his jaw clenching. She ignored him and ran off with the little boy.

No one ignored him. She was going to pay.

"Um...Nolan? We've got less than five minutes to come up with a good excuse. She's taking him to the doctor."

Then this brilliant, awesome, magnificent idea hit him. Oh yes, she was going to pay. Dearly, he might add.

"You're right, Corda," Nolan finally said. "We saw him stagger into the room, dazed and confused. Screaming in pain. But that's not the only thing we saw."

"It's not?" Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

Oh right. She wasn't immune to his power either. He better choose his words carefully or else this entire thing could blow up in his face.

"It's not. That girl, she - she was behind him, and she was smiling until she saw us. Then she lied, demanding to know what we did to him. She's going to frame us, Corda, and she'll probably succeed because I descended from a villain."

Corda's expression changed into one of fury. "And I'm also from a villain so..."

Nolan hoped she wouldn't mind his tweaking her thoughts. It wasn't that he wanted to; it was more like he couldn't help it. He still remembered the time he sarcastically told his nanny that he might as well be a little girl. He shuddered. Five long months before mother came home and told the nanny he wasn't a girl and to stop putting him in dresses.

Corda was seething now. Nolan was almost afraid to find out what she was going to do, but Liam shifted closer to her, drawn to excitement. Too late now. He couldn't take back what he said even if he wanted to. And truth be told, he kind of did.

Mother always told him not to go looking for trouble. He always said that trouble naturally spilled out of his mouth whether or not he wanted it to. And he was right.

Corda - Room A2 - 1:47 PM

Great. Roommate. There goes that perfectly good story. She grabbed Sylvester and shoved him none-too-gently back into his pouch, drawing the mouth of it closed so he couldn't escape again. Once they were alone, she would have to have a severe talking-to about his disobedience.

She calmed herself down with a deep breath and looked up at a seething Nolan. "Um...Nolan? We've got less than five minutes to come up with a good excuse. She's taking him to the doctor."

His expression suddenly smoothed over, shifting into a small but vicious smile. "You're right, Corda. We saw him stagger into the room, dazed and confused. Screaming in pain. But that's not the only thing we saw."

"It's not?" Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she wondered what he could possibly have up his sleeve.

Nolan seemed to check himself before replying, "It's not. That girl, she - she was behind him, and she was smiling until she saw us. Then she lied, demanding to know what we did to him. She's going to frame us, Corda, and she'll probably succeed because I descended from a villain."

Corda could feel Nolan trying to influence her. She was aware of it, but she couldn't really do much to resist it, and that made her furious. "And I'm also from a villain so..." So if he kept messing with her head, she was quite capable (and not at all squeamish) about inflicting some major harm upon him. Quietly, of course, and only if absolutely necessary; she was wearing her favorite dress, and it would be a shame if it got ruined.

But then Nolan shuddered, and Corda began wondering if he influenced people involuntarily. If that were the case, then it wouldn't do to make an enemy of him. It still rankled though, and there was no guarantee he'd tell her the truth, but at least she'd be aware of it if he did. And as far as the issue with the girl and little boy went, Nolan's plan was sound, and if there were problems, he'd likely be able to talk the both of them out of it.

Corda stood up calmly, brushed her skirt out, and looked Nolan in the eye as she said, her tone coldly level, "Tell me: do you make a habit of influencing people whenever it's convenient, or can you not control it?" Nolan looked take aback and she explained, her arms loose by her sides, "I'm not blind. I saw what you did in the cafeteria, and you got Sylvester to let go and the boy to stop screaming just by talking to them."

Corda stood, wary of Liam, tensed and ready to dodge, as she awaited Nolan's response.

Nolan Lehnsherr - O Week, 1:48 PM

"Tell me: do you make a habit of influencing people whenever it's convenient, or can you not control it? I'm not blind. I saw what you did in the cafeteria, and you got Sylvester to let go and the boy to stop screaming just by talking to them."

For a split second Nolan panicked, but then he regained his composure. It was all right. So she knew. It wasn't as if she could absolutely resist him.

"I can't turn it off, if that's what you're asking." He graced her with a smile again. Surely she'd warm to him. He didn't do it on purpose. Besides, it was a completely plausible lie, much better than hers.

"If you ever try that stuff on me again I won't forgive you so easily." Sylvester tensed and bared its fangs.

But really, it only did that because it didn't know how big Liam was, how Liam could easily swallow Sylvester whole.

Nolan's smile didn't even waver. "I'll try to avoid lying near you in the future."

A blast of wind crashed through the hallway, sending papers and smaller objects flying, and a blur of red sped through. Another one of those speed demons. Then came the giant chicken.

God this school was weird.

"I TOLD YOU I DON'T HAVE THE OTHER ONE!!"

"Really? Because this kid Nolan told me you do!"

A giant chicken crashed through the hallway and the red-haired boy dashed into the dorm room, slamming the door behind him, completely oblivious to the tension in the air.

"Oh God, you've got to save me from that crazy chick riding the chicken!" gasped the boy, his back to the door. Then he saw Nolan and his eyes widened. "Hey..."

Kiat, 1:43 PM - On her way to her dorm.

The strange girl was in a coma. Kiat slunk out of the medical office, back into one of the wide hallways.

I might as well go back to my dorm, since there isn't much else to do now.

She figured, scooting quickly across the floor. The hall was now empty, since everyone else had accompanied the hedgehog in taking the girl to the medic. Kiat started hopping again, finding it faster than walking. After rounding a few corners and walking through a couple halls, she reached the A block. Up ahead, she heard screaming and quickened her pace before seeing a girl drag a red-headed boy out of one of the dorms.

That's my dorm!

She froze and watched as the girl struggled to pull the boy towards where Kiat had just come from. Kiat hurried along past the girl, turning and pushing the door to her dorm the rest of the way open. Inside was her roommate and some other girl, both of them with snakes. They were both muttering, as if planning something; though the girl looked somewhat confused.

"What happened?" Kiat squeaked, interrupting them.

Orelia- O week, 1:20 pm

After we got the girl to the medical wing, I sat, confused. How had that man- a teacher?- known about my powers? And why on Earth had he brought them up there? He was creepy- but to be honest, I kind of liked him. He didn't seem to be like all the other teachers. Maybe he wasn't truly loyal. I heard some screams near the A block, but I honestly didn't care. I walked back to my dorm in B. I was still hungry, but I ignored that. I had brought some food anyway, I would finish unpacking. I walked down the hallway, hoping to meet someone. I was getting quite lonely.

Thanks for keeping me active. Even if you all refer to my familiar as a giant chicken. xD

Kumo (1.46)
Kumo sat astride Pez, glaring at the closed dorm door. The events of the past twenty minutes were a hazed blur of anger, but she was sure that fluffy red-haired kid called bart was holding out on her. They were her father's gifts to her, and they were precious, considering how quiet her father was. He only ever talked to her about training, and her materia were her reward, and keepsake, for doing him proud.
Kumo heard someone come from down the hall, and backed Pez into a corner, wary of the teachers. If they took her chocobo from her, Kumo was done for. Pez was her only friend, and her only chance of keeping up with the numerous speed demons that plagued the school.
It wasn't a teacher, instead it was kiat, who opened the door to reveal the scene within. Kumo couldn't hear the conversation, because at the sight of that mop of red hair, blood rushed and pounded in her skull. She gripped her sword tightly, trying not to think about the annoyances of the last twenty minutes, and keep control of her anger.
Through her rage Kumo registered Kiat's surprise, and thought she saw fear in Bart's face. Whether it was the others inside who saved him or kiat herself that caused the fear, Kumo wasn't sure.
Pez 'kwehed', sensing his rider's anger.

Bart-1:50


Okay, so I was stuck between a chicken, a sword, and two snakes, while some pink thing walked around it all. And so far this looked to be like a normal day here. I didn't think I'd like it much. Considering the reason one was trying to kill me at the moment was the cause of someone right here, who would';t admit to it either. I knew it had to be in here somewhere though, and if she was gonna kill me, I might as well be guilty.

I hadn't done this in awhile, but it wasn't too hard. All I had to do was spin, and act fast. And I did just that. I became a tornado shaped blur, my hands tearing at everything they came past, searching for the orb that I might be joining soon. I tossed beds up, drawers around, and some other stuff that probably made me two new enemies. Eh, Screw it. I finally had gotten the room to its messiest level, with no luck, so I did the obvious thing, I checked Nolan, and it was in his pocket. Idiot, why didnt I go there first? Eh, I would have trashed the room anyway.

I threw the ball in the air, showing it to Khumo, before running off out the window, and toward the..well I didn;t know where then, but apparently to the stables. About half way there, something began to catch up to me, which was something I wasn't used to, A Light blue blur began running next to me, and I slowly made him up, it was the hedge hog thing from the Cafe. "Give back what you took!" He yelled at me. Pfft, I wanted to have some fun first.

Zeke: O-Week, Monday, 1:45pm

"So she should be ok?" Zeke asked for the umpteenth time on the way back to the dorms.
"Yes!" Dierdrie almost shouted. "You heard Chris, he called her parents and they said it tends to happen. She usually wakes up after a few minutes."
Zeke shrugged and kept walking. In a few minutes they were stepping into the dorms, to a scene they hadn't imagined they would find.

One of the dorm rooms was wide open, and something was tearing the innards of the room apart. It looked as if a cyclone and a typhoon had mated. Just outside the room was a white-haired girl with a sword that looked much too big for her and a small pink balloon-looking... thing. Zeke would have been more surprised at the... girl's?... appearance, but at that moment something raced out of the dorm in a blur, knocking the pink thing into Dierdrie. A shiny round object flew into the air before it rejoined the blur, which rushed outside.
"My Materia!" the white-haired girl shouted.

Zeke pondered for a second. Try and straighten things out here, or go after the speedster? (Of course there was the option he'd normally take, "hide under bed", but since making an actual friend and helping an unconscious girl to safety, he was feeling a little less inclined towards it.) The choice was pretty simple - he hadn't had a good race since the last day he'd spent on Angel Island. He spun his legs and followed the blur outside.

He followed the small trail of destruction on the way to the stables, and managed to catch up to the speedster, a teenager with wild red hair and cradling a shiny round object.
"Give back what you took!" Zeke shouted at him. In response the kid simply accelerated. Zeke followed suit.

Bart-2:00

So, someone who was up to my speed, nice. It might have been fun if he hadn't been chasing me, trying to take me down, that made it a bloody freaking brilliant fun time. First I had to test this guys limit, if I couldn't out run him, I would need to think a bit out side of the box. A stabbing pain went through my legs as I ran, the cackle of electricity with it. That was the problem with my powers, they might seem to make sense, be good together, but they weren't.

Not totally though, the electricity could act like a power boost sometimes, and that's nice, I like it. But when I run, and my body needs all the power and energy it needs, it gets a bit out of control. Its like a bomb, and at any moment, I might just blow up. Not literally explode, with chunks of me everywhere, no one will have Bart on their backs, but there will be a boom. Back to the chase though.

I was at the max speed , which was really risky, for reasons I just said, I didn't want to keep this speed up for too long. And I wouldn't have to, luckily. This little blue dude was fast, he must have been used to having to run like this, wherever he came from. Creative time then. I waited till the dude was just about to pass me, and put the brakes on. I was still for about a second, and had tuned to my right, and kept on running. I don't know how long it took him to realize I was gone, but he didn't take long to get back to me. Somehow he made it over to me, and got in front of me without me noticing him, sneaky little hedgehog.

"You’re fast dude, but fast isn't enough to beat me," I yelled to him over the wind around us. He gave me a mostly serious look, but there was a small smile there, way down deep. I laughed, this may have been fun for me, but he seemed serious about getting this orb for Kumo.

I threw my self into the air, and did a back flip, landing behind the blue dude. I grabbed onto him, and let my legs float in the air behind him. Even with the weight of me, and my legs acting as wind catcher, he was fast as all hell. He stopped short, and I launched my self up. I ran in a circles for awhile, keeping him trapped, while he waited to move. I could have done it all day, except for a nasty, sneaky, fast chicken.

Kumo picked my up with ease, she had grabbed the collar of my shirt perfectly, even at my speed. "Heh, finally caught me, huh?" I said and was laughing my butt off. I looked insane, hell I felt insane. I had not freaking idea why I was even doing this at this point. My motives were never even clear to me, I wasn't really thinking. I wasn't going to start the though, not with a sword at my back. My shirt had been burnt by stray sparks while I was running so the Swiss cheese want-to-be shirt tore away when it had to hold me up.

"Here take the freaking orb you psycho," I said, and threw the blue thing to her. "I was just trying to have some fun, maybe you should calm down and try and have it."

I ran away with those words, as fast as I could. At this point my body wanted to collapse on itself, so it was no surprise to me when this happened to me It started with my body feeling energized, and awake, and I could have went around every planet in the universe and had enough energy to go again. I knew that was bad, but I didn't have to time to do anything before it went off. I felt it first, the heat came, and strangled my legs, then the force blew me into the air. My body spun down to the ground, my body felt numb, and in pain at the same time. And then I just had my body drag/roll across the ground, right back to my "dramatic" exit spot, with Kumo and the blue hedgehog.

(Eep. Guys, we ought to stop referring to Gratian and Bart as redheads. I'm getting confused.)

Nolan Lehnsherr - Dorm A2, 2.07 - 2.40 PM

That idiot tore up the room. Nolan's room. And touched Nolan with his filthy hands.

Liam was coiled, ready to strike. Nolan quivered. Look at the room. LOOK AT IT!!

"...Nolan?"

He could tell Corda was tempted to poke him but she refrained. Luckily.

That red-headed speed demon was going to pay. Big time. He won't escape the school year without any scratches. Nolan will make sure he'd be beaten half to death by the time the school year ends, and when he came back next year Nolan would make sure he suffered. AGAIN.

"Nolan?"

Nolan smiled, but he knew that no matter how hard he tried to keep it polite, it had to have come out vicious. "A moment, Corda. Would you kindly give me a moment?"

"Er...um, okay." She seemed unnerved by his anger and stepped out of the room. "I'll be out here...in the hall if you need me."

Thirty minutes later Nolan had taken a bath and rearranged everything, including Kiat's side of the room. Whether or not she'd be able to find her things would be her problem. He did her a favor she didn't deserve by rearranging her part of the dorm. He would most certainly not help her search for her things.

He stepped out of the room feeling as murderous as ever. "Corda. You waited." He couldn't hide his surprise.

"I told you I would, didn't I? Where are you headed?"

Nolan paused. Where was he headed?

Ah. But of course. One of the teachers. To report a thief, or maybe even a new cause for the other boy's unfortunate condition.

"Plans have changed, Corda. The other girl didn't cause the little boy's snake bite. The speed demon did." He saw her eye gleam. She definitely wanted to blame this one more than the other one.

"So who are we telling?" She raised an eyebrow.

"The first teacher we find." He strode down the hall and people avoided him, keeping at least a meter away because Liam was snapping at everyone they approached.

Finally, they came across a classroom.

"Anti-Villainy Counselling," Corda read out loud. "This ought to be good. He'd sympathize with us even more. If, of course, you're a villain's descendant."

Nolan just smiled and opened the door to reveal a small classroom with a wizened old man sitting at the desk in front. "It's perfect," he murmured to Corda.

There was a brass plate in front of the teacher that said: Isaac Dawno. He saw the two of them, glanced back at the files on his desk and gave them a wicked grin.

Isaac got up, straight-backed like a general was. Odd. If he stood straight what the hell was the cane to the side for? "Welcome, Mr. Lehnsherr. Good morning, Corda. How can I help you today?"


First meeting with teh evil one.

Corda - Room A2 - 1:50 PM - 2:40PM

"I can't turn it off, if that's what you're asking." Nolan smiled, completely recovered from his brief panic, and Corda softened a little. Her head wasn't being fogged up, so he was telling the truth.

Still, as Sylvester the escape artist stuck his head out of her sleeve and bared his fangs with a hiss, she felt obliged to warn him, "If you ever try that stuff on me again I won't forgive you so easily."

"I'll try to avoid lying near you in the future."

Corda was about to thank Nolan for his consideration (it never hurt to be polite, after all) when a red blur blazed past the open door, whipping open Corda's portfolio from where she'd dropped it on the floor and scattering the papers all over the place. And as if that weren't bad enough, the mutant Oocca came running along after, trampling the sheets, leaving them a crumpled, foot-printed mess.

Corda was most displeased.

"I TOLD YOU I DON'T HAVE THE OTHER ONE!!"

"Really? Because this kid Nolan told me you do!"

On closer inspection, the mutant Oocca looked more like a giant Cucco, but this line of musing was abruptly cut off as the bane of Corda's writings dashed into the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Oh God, you've got to save me from that crazy chick riding the chicken!" he gasped, his back to the door. Corda raised an eyebrow, sorely tempted to open the door and invite the girl with the giant sword inside, even as she wondered what a chicken was.

The boy noticed Nolan. "Hey..." he began, but was interrupted by the door being shoved open as the pink puffball with disturbingly large eyes squeezed its way inside.

"What happened?" it asked as Corda surreptitiously edged away. She had the most uncanny feeling that, if she got too close, the thing would devour her. Besides, the girl in the doorway with the giant sword was just behind the puffball, and she looked angry enough to kill; the more distance between Corda and the girl, the better.

She was about to ask what exactly was going on when seizure boy started spinning and grabbing at everything in the room - including her. Corda flushed with mortification as the red whirlwind felt her up, and she flushed even harder as the wind he generated blew her skirts above a modest height. It was all she could do to keep them from flying up over her head. Corda was glad to see him finally go out the window; at least, until she realized that he had escaped, and now she'd have to catch up with the crazy speedster to inflict her wrath upon him. Seeing a turquoise blur dash after the whirlwind didn't help Corda's mood, either.

At least the room, though messy, was finally quiet. Corda looked over at Nolan and found him shaking with rage, with Liam equally agitated. "...Nolan?" she asked, hesitant. She reached out to touch him on the arm, but thought better of it; Liam looked angry enough to take off her hand. When he didn't respond, Corda called his name again.

"A moment, Corda," he said through teeth gritted in a vicious smile. "Would you kindly give me a moment?"

"Er...um, okay." Corda cautiously backed away into the hall, chewing her lip nervously. "I'll be out here...in the hall if you need me." She closed the door behind her and leaned heavily against the wall to one side of it. What a day, and it wasn't even over yet. Corda sank down onto the floor and idly petted Sylvester as she tried to relax and regain her rattled composure.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been sitting there, half an hour, at least, she supposed, before the door began opening. Corda was on her feet in an instant and found herself unexpectedly pleased as Nolan's expression changed from murderous to surprised upon seeing her. "Corda. You waited."

"I told you I would, didn't I?" she said with a small smile. "Where are you headed?"

He paused a moment to think before stating with an undercurrent of smug vengeance, "Plans have changed, Corda. The other girl didn't cause the little boy's snake bite. The speed demon did."

Now that was a plan she'd quite happily agree with. She could hardly wait, but there was one very important question: "So who are we telling?"

"The first teacher we find."

Corda didn't think that the best idea, but Nolan didn't give her a chance to object as he strode off, leaving her to decide whether to keep up or be left behind. She decided to catch up, something quite easy to do with the wake Nolan had left in his path.

It wasn't too long before they came across a classroom. "Anti-Villainy Counselling," Corda stopped in place to read the sign aloud. She smiled. "This ought to be good. He'd sympathize with us even more. If, of course, you're a villain's descendant."

If there was one thing Corda had learned about Nolan, it was that he was the opposite of patient. He opened the door without a moment's hesitation, murmuring "It's perfect," as he passed her and entered the classroom.

Corda lingered outside the door, and felt quite justified when the teacher grinned wickedly and sat up straight. She remembered passing by him on her way out of the cafeteria, and he had had a completely different air about him.

"Welcome, Mr. Lehnsherr. Good morning, Corda. How can I help you today?"

How indeed? And would Mr. Idawno's definition of "help" be the same as ours? Corda couldn't help wondering this as she looked to Nolan and hoped that he knew what he was doing. She, for one, would remain silent and watch.

Gratian's got brown hair, so that's that solved. (Also, not that I'm in the scene or anything, but isn't it Isaac Dawno, not Isaac Idawno?)

Gratian - O-Week, 2:00 pm - Outdoors/Infirmary

"So…" she said after we had been walking for a while. "Where's the hospital?"

Oh, that was great.

"Maybe if we ask at the admin building," she said. "Hey, what's your name? I'm Jen Preacher."

I stared at her.

"Come on. We're roommates," she said, and narrowed her eyes a little. "Do you want me to tell someone at the desk that you didn't give me your name?"

"Gratian. It doesn't hurt that much, you can stop holding me," I said, trying to show my annoyance as much as possible.

"What, seriously? That thing is horrible!"

I felt a twinge of pain now that she mentioned it, but no, it didn't hurt. Obviously.

"It doesn't hurt," I repeated.

Annoyed herself now, she let me go, and we walked across the grass to the admin building.

"Hey, do you know where the hospital is?" Jen asked. The receptionist looked up from his book and pointed at the sign clearly on the wall. I snorted.

"You didn't see it either," she said. The guy looked at me for a second, then went back to his book. Jen pulled me along in the direction of the sign, and I felt a little pain again.

We reached the hospital, and I was received by the doctor almost immediately.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Banner. What seems to be the problem?" He beamed at me.

"Nothing," I said, not meeting his gaze. "It doesn't hurt!"

Jen barged in.

"Ah, you aren't exactly allowed in-"

"Check under his right pant leg, he got bitten by a snake. He's trying to deny it, or something," she said. I bit down on my lip.

"Gratian, right? Are you trying to hide something?"

"No."

"Maybe you could lift your pant leg for me a little?"

I stared at him.

He sighed. "Gratian, if you-"

"Alright, alright," I said. Whenever grownups got that tone with you, they weren't going to let up until you were crying or they had won. I slowly revealed my leg. The bite didn't look any better.

"Oh, whoa! How did you get that? Doesn't it hurt?" he asked, and seeing my puzzled expression continued. "Does your power involve anesthesia? No? That looks really bad…"

"It- it does?" I asked, feeling kind of odd.

"Definitely."

"Should it… hurt?"

"Well, if it doesn't that's not exactly a bad thing, but-"

"Aaaaaagh!" I yelled after a brief period of fogginess, and suddenly felt the sickening pain of the bite in my leg. "Oh, man! Oh man!"

Dr. Banner and Jen both looked very taken aback, but Dr. Banner composed himself quickly.

"We'll… we'll see about that later. Can I take a look at that bite now?"

Kumo, After the race, approx 2.06pm

Kumo stared down at Bart, her orb clutched firmly in her hand. With its replacement, the events of the last hour swamped her, and she felt the anger drain out body, taking the stiffness out of her spine. Her forehead fell against Pez's neck for a moment, out of pure emotional exhaustion.
A worried cough caught her attention. "So, ah. Do you think you could...help me out here?"
Kumo looked down to see the short blue-ish hedgehog tugging at bart's limp body. "Oh."
Kumo slid down. "Right. Um. Put him on Pez." At the hedgehog's expression, she bent down and picked up Bart. "I'll put him on Pez. He is pretty tall, I guess...Where's the infirmary?"
"This way. Um. My name's Zeke."
"Kumo."
They walked in awkward silence for a few steps. Kumo stared at her materia before hiding it safely beneath Pez's wing. No-one went near Pez without permission. His beak was the length of her hand.
"Zeke, thanks."
"No problem. I might like this hero stuff. Maybe. What he had- it was important?"
"Yeah. They were my father's. Besides the fact that they, you know, have magical properties and stuff. They are basically compressed knowledge from my world."
"Oh. And how did this guy get one, if you treasure them so much?"
Kumo winced. "He's my roomate."
Zeke laughed, then stopped abruptly. "I'm sorry, that must be very awkward."
Kumo grinned. "Not yet, he hasn't tried to sleep in the same room as me yet."