A Witch's Tale IC

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel Denethar steps forward into the entrance hall. This will be the start of her second year at Naturia Circle Academy, a boarding school for weavers of powerful arcane magicks. She only managed to make a few friends during her first year here, and she didn't particularly impress anyone with her test scores or her extra curricular activities. Will she choose to stay hidden behind her bangs for another long and lonely year, or will she step forward and make the effort to make friends, study hard, and participate in clubs?

Rachel glances around for anyone she might know, but she is unable to spot her friends in the large sea of heads. The students all gather together in the Grand Hall, where the Headmistress steps forward to speak.

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"Welcome back, to everyone who is returning to our humble home. And to the freshmen, I hope you are all more excited than nervous. I am the headmistress, Fiona Scarlet. Naturia Circle Academy is home to many wonders. We keep magical beasts here so that students may learn how to tame and breed them. We craft mighty constructs and powerful homunculi so that students may learn the responsibilities associated with creating and maintaining artificial life. Whether your interests lie in alchemy or ring-forging, teleportation or deception, white magic or black...you have a home here."

She raises her gaze to the crowd. "This is a place of learning, and as such we do not tolerate any sort of discriminatory behavior, no matter the subject. Some magicks may seem disturbing to you. Some may seem downright wrong. However, just because a subject is distasteful does not mean we should be ignorant of it. If your classmate seems interested in necromancy, compulsion, malconvocation or even defying death itself, that is not for you to judge. And in return, none shall judge you."

Fiona steps back. "And with that, you may all relax and enjoy your meals together. Have fun everyone!"

Her speech concluded, the headmistress evaporates into thin air.

Rachel considers what she should do next. She has a few companions she might want to meet up with. Maybe she should try looking for the girl who was nicest to her last year? Or...she might step out of her comfort zone and sit with one of the boys in her class. Or, she could try and find her little brother before he gets lost. Of course, sitting alone is always a tempting option. She could get more reading done that way.

[Diachronos]

As everyone begins to scatter after the headmistress' speech, Rachel starts looking to see if she can spot her younger brother. While he might be embarrassed to have his big sister effectively holding his hand on his first day, she recalls all too well how lost and intimidated she'd felt on her first day at this academy. It's not an experience that she wants her brother to go through, even if he can be a bit hard to live with at times.

She looks at her raven, Sebastian. "Can you take a look and see if you can spot him?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The raven flies up for a moment and gazes around, before dropping down onto Rachel's head and tilting it so she looks a certain way.

There she spies her younger brother, Ciel Denethar, sitting alone at the end of a table.

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Ciel is a white mage, a wizard who studies the way that positive energy can be transferred from person to person using conjuration magic. White mages are capable of restoring vitality to others, similar to a divine caster. Ciel learned a lot of what he knows about conjuration magic from Rachel, and has managed to enter the school with fairly good entrance exam scores.

He looks up as he sees her approaching. "Ah, Rachel? What are you doing here?" he asks, glancing around as several kids at his table start whispering about the upperclassman who decided to approach the boy.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles at her younger brother. "I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright on your first day. It can be a lot to take in at once."

[NeoSeraphi]

A red flush spreads across his cheeks. "Geez...I'm already fifteen you know. I can take care of myself!"

He scoots one seat over to make room for her and starts eating. "Um, so what the headmistress was saying...there are really necromancers here?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel sits down with him. "Yes. The school has strict rules, though. Nobody's going to try to do anything bad to you, and even if they do the staff will step in as soon as they find out."

[NeoSeraphi]

He looks surprised. "That's scary...but, you're not studying anything like that. Are you, Rachel?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel shakes her head. "I'm focusing on conjuration magic to summon creatures and create objects."

[NeoSeraphi]

Ciel nods and continues talking with her for a while. The two of them finish their meal and Rachel walks Ciel over to the Alpha Dormitory. Ciel looks a bit uncomfortable with the whole affair, but he says nothing and waves goodbye when his sister leaves.

Now on her own, Rachel turns to walk across the concourse so she can reach her own dorm, the Construct Dormitory on the east side of campus. As she walks, however, she feels a set of eyes on her back. Rachel turns around to find...

Roll a d6 in the OOC to determine the encounter.

1 - Her best friend

2 - The captain of the fencing club

3 - The intimidating beauty of the Vampire Dorm

4 - The lead singer in the school band

5 - The genius potion student

6 - The idol of Naturia Circle Academy

[Diachronos]

Rachel trembles a little, and slowly turns around, only to find herself staring at one of the students from the Vampire Dorm of the campus. "Oh, h-hello..."

[NeoSeraphi]

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The girl frowns. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting your little midnight stroll? I just happened to overhear you talking with some freshman kid at dinner...you got a problem with necromancy, sweetie?"

A serpent peeks its head out of her collar. Rachel can see the head has been sewn back on from a hole in the snake's neck. "Easy now, Sebastian."

Sebastian? Their familiars share a name! What a strange coincidence.

[Diachronos]

Rachel blushes and shakes her head. "N-no, of course not! I... my little brother is studying healing magic and he hasn't heard much about necromancy other than the bad reputation that necromancers tend to get. I was just... letting him know that... y'know, that he doesn't have to be afraid..."

[NeoSeraphi]

The girl crosses her arms. "Hmph. Look, I don't know what you think you know about black magic, but you don't. There are a lot of us here at the school and we're just looking for a way to practice our trade safely and learn from some of the best teachers in the world. So don't go filling anyone's head with nonsense about us being 'dangerous'. Got that?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel gulps. "R-right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give him the wrong idea..."

[NeoSeraphi]

The girl nods and wanders off.

Rachel continues on her way to the Construct Dorm, where she finds her room and settles in for the night.

In the morning, Rachel heads to her first class of the day, which is History of Magical Monarchies.

She arrives in the classroom first and sits down, opening her book up to the correct page. Rachel rather enjoys esoteric classes like these, and she always does well when people ask all sorts of trivia questions or obscure facts from long ago.

The teacher, Mr. Ferrerus, walks in and sets his books down.

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"Welcome class. My name is Azure Ferrerus, and I'm the history expert here at Naturia Circle. Now, who can tell me what about a monarchy makes it 'magical'? We have had several kingdoms, queendoms, duchies and the like in our world, and nearly all of them employed court mages. Why then, do we distinguish some of them as magical and some not?...Rachel."


She has no idea!
A magical monarchy is a term historians use to distinguish a period of time where the monarch themselves had impressive magical power.
A magical monarchy is a term historians use to distinguish a period of time where the monarch themselves had impressive magical power. Altogether, there have been about ten important magical monarchies in the course of history.
A magical monarchy is a term historians use to distinguish a period of time where the monarch themselves had impressive magical power. Altogether, there have been about ten important magical monarchies in the course of history. Rachel has already read ahead in this book, and therefore knows the three specific monarchies that Mr. Ferrerus plans to cover this term: the Wahashi, the Funlich, and the Zair.

[Diachronos]

Rachel takes a deep breath; why had he called on her first? "'Magical monarchy' is a term historians use to distinguish a period of time where the monarch themselves had impressive magical power. Altogether, there have been about ten important magical monarchies in the course of history."

[NeoSeraphi]

"Brilliant," Mr. Ferrerus says with a nod of approval. "Now I know, ten monarchies sounds like a lot of memorizing to keep things straight, but lucky for all of you we will only be focusing on the three most relevant monarchs. Now, open your books to page 47..."

Rachel answered correctly! Rachel's Expression has improved.

Answering questions in class, as well as performing certain other tasks, can improve Rachel's Expression, Courage, or Knowledge.

Expression is Rachel's ability to speak in public without getting nervous. For every four points of Expression she earns, Rachel receives a +1 bonus to her Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate checks (no cap).

Knowledge is Rachel's understanding of the class material. She generally builds this by answering particularly difficult questions or by studying. For every four points of Knowledge she earns, Rachel receives a +1 bonus on Knowledge checks made while in class, and checks made during an exam (the bonus to exam checks resets after each exam period ends).

Courage is Rachel's ability to face her fears and talk to people she finds scary. For every four points of Courage Rachel has, she receives a +1 bonus to all checks while talking to a character she can Romance.

In addition to the static bonuses each score provides, there are regularly checks where Rachel will pass or fail based on her current Expression, Knowledge or Courage. These checks are a simple minimum, for instance Rachel might need 2 Courage to introduce herself to a boy. Until she has 2 Courage, she will always fail this check with this particular boy, but once she has it she can pass and talk to him.

Each score starts at 0. Rachel's Expression is now 1, her Knowledge is 0, and her Courage is 0.

[Diachronos]

She relaxes as the attention of the class is drawn back to the lecture. I hope this doesn't become a regular thing this year...

[NeoSeraphi]

After the class, Rachel heads outside. There she is met by one of her friends, who speeds up to walk beside her.

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"Hey Rachel! Did you have a nice vacation?" she asks with a smile. "That feast last night was delicious, but I couldn't find you in the crowd at all."

The woman walking next to her is Yvette Storm, an evoker who spends a lot of her time in the library. The two of them had met last year when they reached for the same book. Rachel was going to just let her have it and walk away, but Yvette smiled and asked if she wanted to read it aloud together.

It was a bit childish, but the two of them took turns reading the book aloud to one another, and they made comments about the story and implications of it, and the ways that magic work inside it. Then they met at the library again, and again. Yvette learned that Rachel enjoys doing research, not just reading fiction, and started helping her learn all sorts of little things about the world. Thanks to Yvette, Rachel branched out into subjects she never considered studying before, like geology and weaponsmithing.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles at her friend. "My vacation was great. How about yours?" When the topic of the feast comes up, she rubs the back of her neck. "I wanted to make sure Ciel was settling in alright on his first day."

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette tilts her head. "Ciel? Who is that?" she asks. "My vacation was pretty good. I went to the beach with...um, well, some people. We had a good time."

[Diachronos]

"Ciel's my little brother. He just started studying healing magic here."

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette smiles. "Aw, I didn't know you had a brother! Introduce me next time, I'll look out for him when I see him."

She points to the Village, a small cafeteria in the center of the school. "I'm heading off to get some lunch. Want to come?"

Will Rachel spend her lunch with Yvette?

Generally speaking, if you don't spend lunch with the person who invites you, something else will happen during that time period. It's up to you whether you go for a more consistent and predictable way to improve your relationships or if you want to spend more time grab-bagging by going for the random encounters.

[Diachronos]

"Sure!"Rachel heads to the cafe with Yvette. "Say, do you happen to know who that scary black-haired girl from the Vampire Dorm is? The one with the undead snake?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette thinks about it for a minute as they walk. "I'm not sure. But I would keep my distance from the Vampire Dorm girls if I were you. The boys there are bad enough but most of the girls are spoiled rotten. They all come from rich mixed blood families and their magic is the real deal. I've even heard some girls are sorcerers, and they're only in this school pretending how to learn magic when really they were born with it."

[Diachronos]

"I'll keep that in mind." Sorcerers? In Naturia? That can't be true, can it?

[NeoSeraphi]

"So, how was your first class? Who do you have on Mondays anyway?"

Today is Monday. Each day you have a different class with a different teacher.

[Diachronos]

"I had Mr. Ferrerus for History of Magical Monarchies. How was your class?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"Oh, lucky...at least you can stick your nose in a book all day and he wouldn't care. I have Catreus for Mandragora Maintenance. It's going to be a long semester..."

[Diachronos]

"Come on, it can't be that bad of a class, can it?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"Hah! I would rather chop my own ears off than listen to another ten minutes of that screeching..."

They sit down and begin eating together. Yvette begins talking about a book the two of them promised to read over the summer. This fills Rachel with relief. Finally, she's back together with someone who understands her.

But...there's something nagging in the back of Rachel's mind. Maybe she should try connecting with her friend more instead of falling back into their usual slump immediately?

She seemed hesitant to talk about her trip to the beach earlier. Maybe Rachel could get her to open up about it?

If you choose to try and talk more about the beach trip you will need to make a Diplomacy check. Failure will increase your Rivalry score with Yvette. A Rivalry score symbolizes a rift between Rachel and her friends. If the characters Rivalry score meets their Affection score their base attitude becomes Indifferent. Exceeding the score by 5 makes them unfriendly, they may turn hostile if provoked at 10 or greater.

If you don't want to make the check Rachel can take the safe route. Safe routes will preserve her friendships, but never deepen them.

[Diachronos]

After a moment, Rachel decides to take the plunge. Nothing ventured, nothing gained... "Did you enjoy your trip to the beach over vacation?"

[roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette frowns and shifts a bit in her seat. "I said it was fun. It's not anything particularly special. Let's just talk about the book, okay? What did you think about it?"

Rachel gets the feeling Yvette is hiding something from her, but it's probably best not to press too hard right now. Maybe if she had more Expression...

After lunch, Rachel heads back to her dorm. It's a little early in the semester to hit the books, but Rachel pretty much lives inside books, so she'd be happy to study. Alternatively, she could sneak out of the dorm and explore a bit, but she would get in trouble if she got caught by a teacher. Or, she could just go to sleep early tonight.

[Diachronos]

Studying can wait, and Rachel's confident that she'll do well on her exams this year. She decides to head out and see if anything has changed around the campus since they'd all left for vacation.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel wanders around in the dark for a bit, checking out the classroom buildings, the forest, the edge of the grounds and the dorms.

After thirty minutes she finds herself directly behind the Vampire Dorm. She hears a rustle of the grass. Someone is walking towards her! She has to hide!

[Diachronos]

In a panic, Rachel finds a dark corner to squeeze into, hoping that nobody will spot her.
[roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel successfully manages to hide. She sees someone walk into the back yard. It's that girl from before!

The girl sits down and lets her snake crawl down onto the ground. She draws a pentagram in the grass with blood and begins to chant. A sinister power begins gathering in the pentagram. A black magic ritual!

[Diachronos]

Rachel gulps. She shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be seeing this. How will the girl react if she catches her? Will she be reported to the headmistress? ...Would she even live that long?

But with where she is... she can't move without the risk of being seen. And if she's spotted, it could break the girl's concentration and cause some kind of backlash with the ritual.

Biting her lip, Rachel settles in to wait, figuring that it would be safer to risk moving after the girl has completed her task.

[NeoSeraphi]

The girl chants in a dark language that Rachel has no knowledge of, and a small creature with a spaded tail appears in the circle.

The two of them speak together in that strange language for a time, and then the creature disappears.

The girl stands up and yawns, heading back inside. Rachel rushes back to her room and rests for the night.

[Diachronos]

Rachel sighs with relief as she sits down on her bed. "That was too close..." She gets ready for bed, taking a few minutes to trim her nails. The accursed things grew in quick and sharp, and she'd learned from a young age to keep them managed so she wouldn't hurt anybody. It didn't help that they were tough and resistant to being managed...

What was that girl doing? Some kind of deal with an outsider or other dark being? And for what purpose? She sighs, suddenly wishing that she'd focused more on the common outsider languages than the unusual languages that few people ever speak. She could always just ask, but... no, that's a stupid idea. Then she'd have to admit that she was (unintentionally) spying on the girl, and how would she prove that she hadn't understood a word that they'd said?

Then there was the matter of Yvette... It had been probably the best way for her to learn that she really doesn't know anything about talking to other people about things other than shared interests. I guess I'll have to find something to help me learn better social skills...

[NeoSeraphi]

The next day, Rachel gets up and heads to her class.

Rachel's class on Tuesday is Mathematical Formulas and Complex Somatic Components. The class is designed to teach newer students (she's only in her second year) how to carefully perform the somatic components of spells. Her professor, Mina Azlanti, steps into the room.

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"Welcome to Mathematical Formulas, witches and wizards. My name is Mrs. Azlanti and I'm here to instruct you all on how to properly cast and maintain spells even when they are particularly...strenuous." She smiles and walks over to Rachel. "Miss Denethar! So happy to see you in my class this year. Would you kindly demonstrate the proper technique for casting a detect magic spell?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel pales a little, and hesitantly stands up. After taking a moment to clear her thoughts, she goes through the motions to cast the spell.

[NeoSeraphi]

Everyone watches her, and as all eyes are on her, Rachel gets nervous. But she fights through the stage fright and successfully casts the spell.

A few students clap approvingly, but most just shrug. It's not that hard, right?

"Now I'm sure many of you have already mastered this spell, but what is important is being able to cast spells not simply practicing in your dorm room, but under the pressure of battle. We cannot simulate that here for you today, but Miss Denethar is a particularly shy young girl and she still managed to show her skills flawlessly. Well done!"

Rachel has managed to grow a bit as a person! Her Courage increases!

[Diachronos]

She sits back down once the lesson continues, wishing that she'd picked a seat at the back of the class where she wouldn't have to feel everyone's eyes on her.

[NeoSeraphi]

After class, Rachel starts walking to lunch. She pulls out one of her favorite books, The Hero of Time, and picks up where she left off. Ooh, she's at the best part! The evil lord has appeared, having captured the princess, but the Hero of Time has managed to find the legendary sword which will slay all -

*BUMP*

Rachel walks smack dab into something. Ow! What is this...a wall? She gazes upwards...and upwards...and upwards.

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Not a wall. The rock hard chest of an upperclassman, who stands nearly a foot taller than her.

"Oops. Sorry about that. You okay?" he asks with a smile.

[Diachronos]

Rachel's cheeks turn beet-red as she looks up into the young man's face. An upperclassman, and a handsome one at that! WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?! It takes a few seconds for his words to register in her mind; when they do, all she manages is a tiny nod. "S...sor..."

[NeoSeraphi]

"What? No, you don't need to apologize. I wasn't looking where I was -"

"Hey Lance!"

"Lance, hurry up!"

"We can't practice without you, Lance!"

He turns behind him and waves. "Be right there, guys!"

The boy turns back to Rachel and smiles apologetically. "I need to get going. But it was really nice meeting you. I'm Lance. Maybe I'll see you at the fencing club sometime, if you or one of your friends joins. We're always looking for new members."

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods. "I'm... Rachel..."

Maybe she should join the fencing club this year... Dad has been getting after me to get a little more exercise... That's a good enough incentive, isn't it?

[NeoSeraphi]

The boy shakes her hand and runs off.

Rachel eats lunch alone, her head still spinning after that encounter. When lunch ends, she thinks about where she should head next. She could go see Yvette and try to apologize for what happened at lunch yesterday. She could go find Ciel and see how his first day went. Or she could wander about for a while and see what happens to her.

[Diachronos]

Rachel figures that Yvette may want a little space after what happened yesterday, so she pushes that idea aside for now. Ciel might be having a rough time, so she should probably go see him... but would he be upset over her for that. Maybe I'll give him a couple more days to settle in before checking on him...

She heads to see what clubs are being held on campus. Rachel had avoided them last year, so she doesn't know what to expect.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel finds a sign that reads "Club Recruiting Drive - Second Tuesday of the Semester". Seems like the clubs need a week to prepare before they're ready to accept new members, but Rachel will likely be able to see all the clubs on display next week. She'll have to remember to skip lunch and come here instead.

As she walks, Rachel nearly fails to notice a toad standing in the grass. She almost steps on the poor thing, but stops herself in time. The toad gazes up at her. "Ribit." It turns around and hops away, towards the forest.

[Diachronos]

Rachel watches the toad leave. Something seemed off about it... she scans it with detect magic.

[NeoSeraphi]

The toad is a magical beast, likely someone's familiar.

[Diachronos]

Rachel kneels to pick up the toad. "You shouldn't be on the ground like that, little guy. Somebody might step on you." She smiles at the little familiar. "I can take you back to your partner, just point the way."

[NeoSeraphi]

The toad gestures to the large forest ahead. The Covenant Forest...it's said that a group of hag witches own that land and that is why the students are forbidden from setting foot in there. But there's no way a crazy rumor like that could be true.

[Diachronos]

Rachel hesitates. There's no way that they'd let hags reside on the Academy's campus, right? That would be crazy! Then again... they let her in, and she's half-hag.

She carries the toad toward the forest. I'll go in, drop off the toad, and come right back out. Quick and simple!

[NeoSeraphi]

As Rachel approaches the forest, she can hear a weak voice crying out.

"Help? Help...help...please someone help," it calls faintly.

The toad ribits urgently.

[Diachronos]

Rachel gasps and hurries forward. Someone's hurt! "Hello? Hello, can you hear me?!"

[NeoSeraphi]

A girl her age is lying on the ground with a twisted ankle. "P-please...someone...is there anyone there?" she asks, looking around.

[Diachronos]

Rachel walks up. "Are you okay?" She sets the toad down while she checks on the girl.

[NeoSeraphi]

She sits up suddenly. "Yes! I'm okay! Who is there?" she calls, looking behind her and past Rachel.

[Diachronos]

Rachel blinks, and waves her hand in front of the girl's face. "My name's Rachel, I'm a student at the Academy. What are you doing out here?"

[NeoSeraphi]

https://littlecloudcuriosity.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/black-bullet-episode-10-14.jpg

The girl is about her age and wearing a pink jacket. A massive blindfold covers her eyes. "So we're still near the Academy? Good. Where is Bertram? Bertram, where have you run off to?"

The frog hops up to her and nuzzles her hand. She smiles and picks him up.

[Diachronos]

Rachel grabs onto the girl's arm. "Can you walk? I'll help you get out of here."

[NeoSeraphi]

She limps along slowly. Her ankle is very messed up.

[Diachronos]

Rachel supports the girl as much as she can as they head out of the forest. "What were you doing out here?"

[NeoSeraphi]

They walk together slowly. "I was on my way to my Natural Magic at Naturia class and I must have gotten turned around. You see..."

Her cheeks turn red and she taps her fingers together for a moment. "Um, it's really embarrassing, but can I tell you a secret?"

[Diachronos]

"Yes. I won't tell anyone, I promise."

[NeoSeraphi]

She leans up to a space about four feet away from where Rachel's ear would be and whispers, "I'm blind,."

[Diachronos]

Rachel blinks. "Blind for real, or blind because you're wearing a blindfold?"

[NeoSeraphi]

She gasps. "Ah! I forgot I was wearing this! Noooo, now everyone is going to know I'm blind! Bertram!"

The toad croaks.

The girl grins and gives a thumbs up to her left. Rachel is on her right.

"It's okay! Bertram says my blindfold makes me look mysterious and cool. Anyway, yes, I'm blind 'for real'. I wear this to cover my eyes so that people don't think I'm staring at them."

[Diachronos]

Rachel absently reaches up, touching the bangs covering her amber-colored left eye. "I have an idea of what that's like... Your ankle doesn't look very good, do you want me to escort you to the nurse?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"We have a nurse?" the girl asks. "Um, yes. That would be great, thanks."

The two of them keep walking.

"I'm Sherry, by the way. Sherry Veltez."

[Diachronos]

"I'm Rachel Denethar. Nice to meet you." She looks up at Sebastian. "Can you fly ahead and let the nurse know what's going on?" Hopefully the Academy's medical staff knew Elven, otherwise getting that message across wouldn't be very easy...

[NeoSeraphi]

Sebastian flies to deliver the message.

Sherry looks down. "So, um, Rachel. Are you...a freshman?"

[Diachronos]

"This is my second year at Naturia. How about you?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"Oh, um, yesterday was my first day. I got a little lost on the way to class, but I met a nice boy who helped me out," she says with a smile. "So, what kinds of magic do you like?"

Sherry seems just as shy as Rachel, but she's happy to direct the conversation. Probably because she doesn't have to waste time watching Rachel's eyes to see if she's still interested or not. Rachel might be able to learn a thing or two about conversing from her.

[Diachronos]

"Oh, um... at the moment I'm focusing on conjuration magic. My little brother Ciel is, too, but he's aiming for healing magic instead of summoning."

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry gasps. "Ciel is your brother? Oh, that's the nice boy who helped me yesterday. And now you're helping me. I guess he learned how to be kind to others from you." She smiles. "Well, I'm studying transmutation magic. See, when I take on the form of another creature, it gives me a brand new body. And that new body has perfect eyesight. At least...in theory. I'm not really good enough to cast any full transformation spells yet. But I will be!"

[Diachronos]

Rachel can't help smiling; of course Ciel would take the time to help somebody in need. "I'm sure you'll get there someday. And when you do, I hope that your theory is right."

[NeoSeraphi]

They arrive at the nurse's office.

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"Oh dear, it looks like you've been hurt pretty badly. Here, let me help you onto the examination table and we'll take a look."

Sherry's face turns pink at the voice. "Oh, uh...yes sir," she squeaks.

The nurse smiles at Rachel. "That was a very nice thing you did for your fellow classmate. Would you like to take a seat in the waiting room? It shouldn't be long before you can see her."

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods and takes a seat, gently scratching Sebastian's head. "How do you think she ended up out there in the forest, Sebastian?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"(Elven) It's probably because she's blind, Mistress," Sebastian replies helpfully.

After a few minutes Sherry comes out with a small ice pack wrapped around her ankle. She's walking slowly and carefully.

The nurse turns to Rachel. "Do you like helping others? I've been thinking about hiring an assistant to work for me part time..."

[Diachronos]

Rachel blushes and averts her gaze. "I do, but... I-I'm not very skilled with medical knowledge."

[NeoSeraphi]

The nurse grins. "That's okay! It's not like we have to do surgery or anything major here. Drop by whenever you need to earn some cash, and I'll put you to work. I'm Rick. Rick Schultz." He shakes her hand.

Rachel can now work at the nurse's office during the 2nd period of free time (Lunch, 2nd, Dorm Room) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

[Diachronos]

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Schultz." She gives him a shy smile. Well, she at least has a reliable way to make some money now.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads back to her dorm. Now what should she do? Should she head out again tonight? Study up a bit? Get some early sleep?

[Diachronos]

After last night, Rachel decides to go to bed early. Better to catch up on the sleep that she lost than to push her luck with another late night out.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel's early sleep gives her time to think. She realizes that even if she upset Yvette with her prying, Yvette wasn't opening up to her for a reason. There might be something wrong and she might need to talk about it, even if she doesn't want to. She resolves to try again today.

Benefits of a long rest: Rachel can reattempt her previously failed Diplomacy check. She receives a +4 buff on the check today only.

[Diachronos]

Rachel decides to try talking to Yvette about the beach trip again. If nothing else, she should at least apologize for prying. She'll check in with Ciel as well to make sure he's doing okay, and to let him know about the nurse's need for an assistant.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads to her next class. It's Chemistry in the Modern Age, a class all about how to brew potions and create alchemical extracts.

This class is taught by Alred Firestar.

http://orig12.deviantart.net/7391/f/2013/214/f/9/singed_wallpaper__coloured__by_placidwhale-d6gd0hb.jpg

"An unfortunate aspect of potion-brewing is the potential for serious harm to the brewer. Sometimes chemicals can become volatile and spill out. That is why it's best to protect yourself with all kinds of facial gear. Mr. Thresh, will you please distribute laboratory safety equipment to the class?"

A young man enters and starts handing coats and masks out to everyone.

http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_small/11/112943/1682538-gnome.jpg

"This is Varsuvius Thresh, a senior at our school who has been approved to become a new teacher after he graduates. A brilliant young man with a strong passion for alchemy. He will be assisting me with the class this semester in preparation for his new job."

The gnome bows to everyone.

[Diachronos]

Rachel sits quietly as the gnome passes out the protective gear for the class. She hadn't expected to start working with dangerous things on her first day in this class. Judging by the instructor's bandages... had he learned first-hand how dangerous alchemy could be? It wouldn't surprise her, he had to have experienced at least a few mishaps in his time if he had become a teacher.

[NeoSeraphi]

The gnome stops by Rachel's table as she works. "A simple question for you, Miss Denethar," he says, checking the class roster to learn her name. "What is the most dangerous aspect of potion-brewing to the brewer? Is it chance of explosion, exposure to toxic fumes, or possible ingestion of poisons?"

[Diachronos]

"Um..." Crap, why hadn't she studied this? She should know this! "I guess it depends on what they're brewing, doesn't it?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The gnome adjusts his glasses. "A trick question. The threat that is more severe or more likely to occur is irrelevant. Every threat is present, thus the brewer must take precaution against all three equally. My job is to help you learn potion brewing in a safe and fun environment, so neither of us can afford to think in such small-minded ways as 'which is worse?' Any harm is unacceptable. Okay?"

He smiles.

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods. "R-right." She should've known that...

[NeoSeraphi]

Her chemistry class finishes up and she heads to meet Yvette for lunch. The two of them sit down and talk a bit before Rachel finds her opening to ask about the beach trip one more time.

[Diachronos]

"Yvette, did anything bad happen on that beach trip? You seemed off when you brought it up the first time... I'm here for you if you need to get anything off your chest."


[roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette seems annoyed. "This again? Who are you, my mother? I told you nothing happened and that means nothing happened. Just drop it, okay?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods and doesn't say anything else aside from a timid apology. It's probably best to not bring the subject up again.

[NeoSeraphi]

After lunch, Rachel heads towards the Alpha dorm to meet with her brother.

He comes out of the dorm and sits down with her. "Hey Rachel. How are you?" he asks. Ciel is in a much better mood today, something good probably happened.

[Diachronos]

"I'm doing okay. You seem to be in a good mood. Is everything going okay?" Why is she asking, of course everything's going okay for him. He's a lot more social than she is.

[NeoSeraphi]

Ciel smiles. "Oh, I just made a couple of friends. I bet you're doing really well in all your classes though."

Yeah, she probably would have studied last night if she wasn't thinking about L - fencing.

[Diachronos]

"I'm doing alright, yes. I hear you've been helping some of the other students around campus, too."

[NeoSeraphi]

Ciel looks surprised. "You heard about that already? How? Are you having me followed or something?"

[Diachronos]

"She'd fallen and twisted her ankle. When I was taking her to the nurse, we got to talking and she'd mentioned that you'd helped her get to class."

[NeoSeraphi]

Ciel frowns. "A twisted ankle? Is she okay?"

[Diachronos]

"Yes. The nurse patched her up and she should be fine. But Mr. Schultz is also looking for an assistant to help out. It could be a good way for you to learn and practice healing magic."

[NeoSeraphi]

Ciel smiles. "Thanks Sis. I really appreciate you always looking out for me. I'll be sure to return the favor someday."

Ciel's Affection has increased!

The two part ways and Rachel heads home. Maybe tonight is the time to finally start hitting the books? She might find something new if she sneaks out again. Last night's sleep was really refreshing though.

[Diachronos]

After her lack of insight earlier, Rachel decides to spend her free time studying up for tomorrow's class. Better to get into the habit of studying now, rather than waiting right before an exam.

She thinks back to her encounter with Yvette earlier that day. With how defensive she'd gotten, it sounds like the beach trip hadn't gone well... or that something embarrassing or private had happened that she doesn't want to talk about. Either way, Rachel's done prying for now. If Yvette wants her to know, she'll say something.

[NeoSeraphi]

In the morning, Rachel wakes up to find her beloved raven has gone missing!

[Diachronos]

"Sebastian? Where did you go?" She scours the room for him, and reaches out through their empathic link. If he's within a mile of her, she should be able to sense him.

[NeoSeraphi]

She feels a sense of satisfaction and happiness.

[Diachronos]

Rachel gets dressed and heads out, trying to pinpoint her raven's location using the link.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel follows the link for a few minutes until she finds a small clearing where Sebastian is chirping happily.

A girl is sitting under the tree singing beautifully, and plenty of birds have gathered around her.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e7/23/2c/e7232c416559d8a2c60cdfcfd65faaf3.jpg

"I was broken from a young age
Taking my sulking to the masses
Writing my poems for the few
That looked at me took to me, shook to me, feeling me
Singing from heart ache from the pain
Take up my message from the veins
Speaking my lesson from the brain
Seeing the beauty through the... " she sings with an intense beat.

[Diachronos]

Rachel approaches slowly, not wanting to scare the girl. "Um... excuse me?"

[NeoSeraphi]

She glances up at Rachel. "Good morning!"

The girl doesn't seem 'scared' at all. Quite the opposite actually. "You were listening to my song? What did you think?"

[Diachronos]

"I liked it. Sebastian seems to have liked it too, judging by the way he flew off."

[NeoSeraphi]

The raven hops up into Rachel's hair and nestles down.

The girl giggles. "Seems like he's happy to be home though. I'm Maya. Maya Fey. It's nice to meet you."

[Diachronos]

"I'm Rachel Denethar. It's nice to meet you too, Maya." She smiles at the girl.

[NeoSeraphi]

"So, do you like to sing too?" Maya asks. "Or play any instruments? You know, music is an important part of magic. The verbal components we use for spells flow together so well, it just makes me want to write an entire sonnet with them!"

[Diachronos]

"Well... I like music, but I've never had much practice at it. My dad couldn't get my nose out of a book long enough to learn an instrument when I was younger."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya smiles. "Creating music isn't for everyone. Many people would rather listen than play, and that's fine! But if you ever get the urge to try and learn how to play, please come visit the school band. We meet on Tuesday and Thursday starting next week."

Even if it's only to hear Maya sing again, Rachel will probably want to visit the band at least once.

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods. "I'll be sure to stop by and check it out." Just then, she realizes something. "Oh, crap, I'm late! I'll see you later, Maya!" She runs to her next class as fast as she can.

[NeoSeraphi]

Thursday's class is physical education, and the instructor looks sadistically thrilled when Rachel runs in. "Ah, Miss Denethar! So kind of you to join us! Now you can demonstrate for the rest of the class what running ten laps around the track looks like!"

Not a fun period.

Afterwards, she has to decide what she would like to do for lunch. She's met a lot of interesting people over the last few days, maybe she could find one of them to sit with?

[Diachronos]

Rachel heads to see if she can find Lance. Maybe she could get to know a little more about him than just that he's on the fencing team...

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance is sitting in the dead center of the cafeteria, with six other people at his table. The group is chatting, laughing and smiling. There are no empty seats at the table, even if Rachel was somehow brave enough to walk up and ask to sit down. But she can likely sit at a table nearby and...eavesdrop, if she's that curious about him.

[Diachronos]

Rachel heads to a nearby table and sits down. While she eats, she tries to listen in and see if she can catch anything being said by Lance.

[NeoSeraphi]

For a group that seems to be having so much fun, Rachel notices that Lance doesn't speak very much. His male friends say something, then his female friends laugh at it, and then his male friends keep talking. Every time Lance tries to cut in with a comment of his own, usually a joke or friendly insult about what is being said, he is cut off rather quickly.

[Diachronos]

He seems like a quiet guy... It's similar to what she'd experienced before, where she couldn't get a word in. Is this a normal situation for him?

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance seems pretty agreeable and soft-spoken for the most part, until one of the girls tries to sit in his lap playfully. He firmly puts a hand on her shoulder and stops her. "Come on, Lea. That's not cool, we're in the middle of the school."

The other boys nod in agreement and the girls wilt a bit. It seems like they were mostly there for Lance, not his friends.

[Diachronos]

Rachel blushes a little. Does that mean he's not interested in any of those girls? Doubtful, he wouldn't hang out with them if he didn't like any of them...

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance stands up with his friends and starts to move. He's leaving. But that means she has a chance to speak to him if she's brave enough to approach.

[Diachronos]

Rachel starts to get up, but shakes her head and sinks back into her chair. She'll wait until she can get him alone; trying to talk to him in front of all his friends is too intimidating at the moment.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel considers where she would like to go after lunch. She could visit the library and look for a new book to check out, or go by the student center where most of the kids hang out together after class.

[Diachronos]

After some thought, Rachel decides to head to the student center. Maybe she could meet some new people there?

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads over to the student center. As she enters, she hears a loud cheering crowd, and a bunch of pop music playing. Seems something is going on in the auditorium area.

[Diachronos]

Rachel heads toward the auditorium, trying to stay out of the crowd. She stops one of the students to ask them what's going on.

[NeoSeraphi]

The student stares at her as if she's lost her mind. "Are you kidding me? Risette is performing right now! She's up there on stage!"

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/p4a_risette_5802.png
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m224/misty1993/rise.jpg
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTlu4dhU1NYHA8qI7zjBbbTZ6dKfku4Y Is_43VrX_MJj0OwaRtw
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ5dWYjyGnEv-ZdCO5H28V0XOCQklIH3oSwfkjbP6LX3k4Rm8l4

The woman on stage looks kind of...cheap. Rachel isn't the best judge of beauty, of course, but the woman on-stage looks like she's just put on a flashy outfit and covered her face in makeup. She's not truly 'beautiful' the way Maya is, and her voice is kind of...

"Love in the crossfire!
Set in my sights!
Get you tonight
Love in the crossfire
Ready aim fire!
Feelin' alright
Squeeze you so tight
Love in the crossfire
Ready aim fire!"

The lyrics don't mean a whole lot, and her singing isn't deep or emotional. It just seems kind of happy and peppy, the kind of thing a bunch of guys would eat up. Who is this girl?

[Diachronos]

Rachel shrugs. She's... alright, I guess. She has no idea who the singer is, or why so many people would be this enthusiastic about her performance. Maya, and probably anybody else in the school band, would put on a better performance. At the very least the lyrics would be better.

[NeoSeraphi]

The show ends after a bit and Risette signs a few autographs. She makes some heart signs with her hands at the boys and they all cheer for her. Blowing them a kiss, she asks that they continue to support her, and they all scream loudly that they will.

The girl comes off stage and notices Rachel in the crowd.

"Oh. Um...a girl. Hey, did you like the show?" she asks, looking like she already knows the answer.

[Diachronos]

"It was alright." That's being a little generous, but she'd rather not hurt the girl's feelings. Especially not in front of a large crowd of her fans.

[NeoSeraphi]

Risette can tell she's lying.

"Well, you know - someone's gotta keep the boys happy around here. I'm Risette. I'm an idol. You...look like you might not know what that is, and I'm not trying to be rude. So, an idol is a girl who dresses cute and sings, poses for pictures, basically represents the school the best way she can. All of the boys who don't have a girlfriend can cheer for me and I try to make each one of them feel special and important. You know?"

[Diachronos]

"I see..." All of that's supposed to be an excuse for not making the music good?

[NeoSeraphi]

Risette winces and offers her a hand. "Okay, let's meet up on Sunday and I'll talk to you more. You can find out all about what it's like to be an idol!"

Everyone in the crowd gasps in jealousy and shock.

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods and hesitantly shakes Risette's hand. If she has a free moment she'll stop by on Sunday, but... does she really want to be an idol?

[NeoSeraphi]

Risette waves and goes back to her fans.

It's getting late, so Rachel heads back to her dorm. Will she head outside, sleep early, or do some studying?

[Diachronos]

Rachel decides to go out for a walk. Some fresh air will do her some good.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads out for a walk and she spots Lance sitting alone in the branches of a tree, looking up at the stars. He's outside the Vampire Dorm, so that must be where he lives. He doesn't see her.

[Diachronos]

Rachel cautiously approaches him. "It's a... nice night out, isn't it?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance glances down at her. "Oh...it's...Rachel, right?"

He drops out of the tree and stands up. "Did you get lost on the way back to your dorm? I can show you the way."

Rachel realizes with embarrassment that he might think she's a freshman because of her...height.

[Diachronos]

She blushes. "N-no, I'm just out for a walk. But thanks."

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance nods. "It is a nice night. Nice and quiet. I like to come outside when no one's around just to enjoy the quiet for a while."

[Diachronos]

Rachel leans against the tree. "You like peace and quiet too, then?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance looks surprised. "Well, I ... I'm not that one-dimensional, I guess. I don't just like one thing and dislike the other. There are plenty of things I like, and some I like more than others. So I usually prefer hanging out in large crowds but being alone at night is nice too."

[Diachronos]

Maybe she shouldn't have put it like that. "Oh... I didn't mean that you disliked crowds, just..." Her cheeks redden a bit. "I wasn't sure because you seemed really quiet at lunch."

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance nods a few times. "Yeah, I ...wait, how do you know what I was doing at lunch?"

[Diachronos]

Why had she brought up that lunch period?! "I-I was sitting nearby and... I overheard bits of the conversation."

[NeoSeraphi]

Lance recoils from her. "You were spying on me? ...Tch. And here, I thought you were just a friendly girl. Good night, Rachel." He turns around and heads back into his dorm.

[Diachronos]

Rachel sighs and sits under the tree. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? Now he likely wouldn't trust her at all, even as just a casual acquaintance.

After a while she gets up and heads back to her dorm, heading to bed.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel considers that perhaps her mistake wasn't admitting that she spied on him, but perhaps the spying itself. Distancing herself from the reality of her actions and decisions won't help her grow as a person.

....

It's Friday morning! Rachel heads to her class for the day: The History of Women in Magic. As she enters the classroom, Maya spots her and waves. She points to an empty seat next to her.

[Diachronos]

Glad to see a friendly face, Rachel comes to sit beside Maya. "It's nice to see you again, Maya. I didn't expect us to have a class together!"

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya nods. "Yeah! Well, I don't really like history or anything, but I took this course because I think I'll be able to learn more about my grandmother's life that way."

[Diachronos]

Rachel blinks. "Your grandmother?"

[NeoSeraphi]

The singer nods. "I don't like to brag about her or anything, but my grandmother was a very gifted witch in her own right. Someone told me that she was mentioned in the newest version of the Women's History book that was printed this year, so I decided to join the class."

[Diachronos]

"What was her name?" Has she heard of the woman before?
Knowledge History: [roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

"Misty Fey," Maya replies.

Misty Fey is regarded as one of the greatest soothsayers of the modern era. She was so well-known as a diviner that every country reached out and befriended her. She never chose a side other than peace, and would alert one country about the impending attack of another even if both were her allies. She also offered consultations to unsolved murder cases, speaking with the dead and reaching through their memories to find information about their killers. Contemporary authors have stated plainly that Misty Fey has revolutionized the utility of divination in the minds of wizards today.

[Diachronos]

Rachel's jaw drops. "You're her granddaughter?!"

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya nods. "Y-yeah, but it's not all that great..."

[Diachronos]

"People probably expect you to follow in her footsteps, I'm guessing?" In a way she could relate; some were expecting Rachel to end up becoming a hag like her mother.

[NeoSeraphi]

"...Yes, but I -"

The professor enters the room. "Women have had many great impacts in the world of magic. While men have become masters of creating and using spells, women have turned magic into an art. Their creativity is mimicked throughout the world. Rachel Denethar! Can you tell the class who invented the very concept of metamagic?"

The inventor of metamagic is Sharon Osworth, an eleven woman who discovered that by giving up more energy than normal, she could extend the duration of her summonings by a significant amount

[Diachronos]

Rachel takes a moment to find her voice. Why are all of the teachers calling on her? "It was Sharon Osworth. Her first knowninstance was when she discovered a method for extending the duration of summon spells."

[NeoSeraphi]

The professor nods approvingly. Maya makes a quick note.

Maya's Affection increased!

After class, Maya asks if Rachel wants to get lunch with her.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles. "Sure, that sounds like a great idea."

[NeoSeraphi]

As they walk, Rachel notices Maya taking steps to avoid as many people as possible. She doesn't look at anyone and she doesn't speak to anyone. When they sit down for lunch, Maya smiles at her. "So, how's your first week back going?"

[Diachronos]

"It's going alright. How has yours been?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya nods. "Things are going well. I have a bunch of interesting classes and I've been writing a few new songs. Maybe you'd like to hear one of them?"

Sebastian caws with approval.

[Diachronos]

"Yes, I'd love to hear another one of your songs." It'll be a lot better than what she'd heard Risette singing the day before, that's for sure.

[NeoSeraphi]

She closes her eyes and hums a beat to herself. After a few moments she starts singing.

"You can go
You can start all over again
You can try to find a way to make another day go by
You can hide
Hold all your feelings inside
You can try to carry on when all you want to do is cry

And maybe someday
We'll figure all this out
Try to put an end to all our doubt
Try to find a way to make things better now, and
Maybe someday we'll live our lives out loud
We'll be better off somehow
Someday"

She opens her eyes and smiles. "Something like that. It's about trying to do what you can with the time that you have. Living your life with no regrets."

[Diachronos]

Rachel listens with intent interest. "That was really nice, Maya. I'm sure it'll be even better once you've finished writing it."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya nods. "So, what kind of message do you want to share with the world?" she asks.

[Diachronos]

"I...I've never really thought about it..." Does she have a message to share?

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya raises an eyebrow. "Surely you don't think the world is perfect as it is right now?"

[Diachronos]

"Well, no, but..." She blushes. "I never put much thought into it. I figured that nobody wanted to hear me."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya snatches up Rachel's hands and squeezes them. She looks her right in the eye. "I do. I want to hear you," she states honestly.

[Diachronos]

Rachel's blushing intensifies. "I-I..." She bows her head. "I don't know what my message would be, Maya..."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya sits back and nods. "That's not such a big deal though. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. And when you do, I'll write a song just for you."

[Diachronos]

"Y-you don't have to do that." She feels almost like the girls in fiction likely felt, when someone is devoting some piece of art to them. It might be less awkward if it weren't coming completely out of nowhere.

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya shakes her head. "Everyone deserves to have their voice heard. That's what my grandmother believed. The dead. The innocent. The lost. She read their thoughts. Saw their actions. Predicted their movements. She shared information with the entire world through her magic. I want to do the same with my music."

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles. "With your singing voice, I don't think it'll be very hard to get people to listen to the information you want to spread."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya smiles. "Aw, that's sweet of you to say. A lot of other people who listen to me sing like it, just not as much as someone like Risette."

[Diachronos]

"I can't imagine why, your music's better than hers in pretty much every way. She doesn't seem to put much passion into her singing."

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya shrugs. "She's pretty, she's sweet, and she's got an entire image. I'm just a singer. It's not a big deal."

She seems genuinely unconcerned about her relatively low popularity.

[Diachronos]

Rachel shakes her head, but doesn't push the issue. "What kind of magic are you focusing on this year?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Maya's eyes widen and she chokes on her spoonful of soup. After forcing it down and chasing it with some water she abruptly stands up. "Sorry, Rachel! I just remembered I'm...late for band practice! Gotta go, lunch was fun, let's do it again next week bye!"

She runs off.

[Diachronos]

Rachel blinks and watches as the girl runs off. Did I say something wrong?

[NeoSeraphi]

Lunch has ended, so now Rachel needs to decide what she wants to do today. It's Friday, so she could go work at her nursing friend's office. She could check the library to see if there are any books available. Or she could go visit one of the other dorms and see if anyone's having a welcome back party or something.

[Diachronos]

After some thought, Rachel heads to see if her help is needed at the nurse's office.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel heads to the nurse's office and speaks with Rick. He smiles as she enters. "Good afternoon, Miss Denethar. For today, I'd like you to scribe a few scrolls of remove paralysis. You can scribe scrolls, right?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel nods. "Of course, sir. I'm not familiar with that spell, but... I think I can manage it."
Spellcraft: [roll0]
Spellcraft: [roll1]
Spellcraft: [roll2]

[NeoSeraphi]

She manages to finish the three scrolls by the end of the day. Mr. Schultz pays her 500 gp for her work.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles at Mr. Schultz. "Thank you for giving me the chance to work here, sir." She heads back to her room to get some studying in before bed.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel's Knowledge improves!

Rachel wakes up on Saturday, ready to face the day with a smile!

...But it's raining like a tsunami outside. Her poor raven...

[Diachronos]

Rachel frowns as she looks around her room for something to use to keep dry. Finding nothing, she casts a shield spell and has the disc hover overhead. It's not a very fancy job, but it should at least keep her and Sebastian dry. She heads out for class.

[NeoSeraphi]

Saturday is the class Rachel needs to pay the most attention in: Intermediate Conjuration I. This is a class where Rachel actually learns more about her specialization.

The professor enters the room with a sigh. "Today, we will be discussing our goals for the semester. Next week is when we get into the nitty gritty. I expect nothing less from any of you than your absolute best. Conjuration is by far one of the most difficult disciplines, in part because of how versatile it is. Miss Denethar! Please remind the class of the five different sub-schools of conjuration."

[Diachronos]

Rachel gulps; not this again! "The five subschools are calling, creation, healing, summoning, and teleportation."

[NeoSeraphi]

The professor smiles in satisfaction. "Excellent work, Miss Denethar, and a nearly perfect delivery. Now then, let's begin with a study of the darkness spell...[/color]"

Rachel's Expression has improved!

After class, she has lunch. Who should she try and sit with today?

[Diachronos]

Rachel looks around for Sherry, wanting to check up on the girl and make sure her ankle's okay.

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry is sitting under a tree, eating a sandwich. Her leg is still in the ice pack wrap that Mr. Schultz gave her.

[Diachronos]

Rachel walks over. "Hey, Sherry. How are you doing today?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry gasps. "Bertram! ...Don't move. There's a voice inside my head!"

The frog croaks.

"What? A girl right in front of me? Don't be silly, Bertram, if she was right in front of me why couldn't I see h- oooooh, right."

She stands up. "Hello, Miss. I'm doing well today. How are you?" she asks, offering her hand to a space about seven feet to the right of Rachel.

[Diachronos]

Rachel walks up and shakes her hand. "I'm fine. Is your ankle doing any better?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"My ank- oh, you must be Rachel! It's good to see you ag- er, you know."

[Diachronos]

"It's nice seeing you again too, Sherry." She takes a seat beside the girl. "Are you enjoying your time here so far?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry nods. "Yep! Bertram says everything is so pretty here."

The toad croaks.

"Bertram! That's so rude!" She touches Rachel's shoulder. "He doesn't mean anything by it. I'm sure your feet are perfectly sized for your height."

[Diachronos]

"Wait, what?" She looks down at her feet; what was wrong with them, exactly?

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry doesn't notice Rachel's reaction. "Oh, you know, I heard a rumor that you might find interesting."

[Diachronos]

She raises an eyebrow. "A rumor? About what?"

[NeoSeraphi]

"Do you know Mr. Ferrerus, the history teacher? I hear he's spent every day this week rushing to the library during lunch. Seems like he's desperately looking for something."

[Diachronos]

That's something out of the ordinary for sure... "Any idea what he's trying to find?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry shakes her head. "Sorry, I don't."

[Diachronos]

Maybe I should stop by and see if I can help him? Rachel puts her hand on top of Sherry's. "How come you're eating out here by yourself, if you don't mind me asking?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry turns to her. "What are you talking about? I'm not by myself. Bertram's with me. And so are you, Rachel!" She smiles.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles back. "I guess you're right." She sits down to eat with Sherry.

[NeoSeraphi]

Sherry's Affection has increased!

As lunch ends, a pair of upper class boys pass by Sherry and Rachel. Rachel overhears their conversation.

"Hey man, are you going to the welcome back party at the Vampire Dorm this afternoon?"

"Is Risette going to be there?"

"Man, you are obsessed. That's not healthy."

It seems like a big party is being held at the Vampire Dorm for the students. If Rachel goes there, she'll probably run into Lance again...

Maybe she'd be better off wandering campus instead?

[Diachronos]

Rachel decides to go to the party. If Lance is there, she'll have a chance to apologize for eavesdropping on him.

[NeoSeraphi]

Rachel arrives at the Vampire Dorm and is let inside. She hears loud music playing from a set of speakers in the back of the room. Everyone is standing around talking with some drinks in their hands, and a few students are dancing together. The stairs are blocked off, likely so no students go back to their dorm rooms together. A teacher is supervising the event.

Rachel can see a few students playing Darts, a game where you have to aim your projectile spell better than the other players while you all shoot at a very small target in the center of a board. It's good practice for any spellcaster, but evokers in particular get a huge kick out of it.

There's also a few students playing Don't Drop It, a game where the object is to keep a small ball in the air for as long as possible. You pair up in groups of two and use all your force and sonic spells to knock the ball back, but if you touch it with any part of your body you are disqualified.

All in all, it looks like a very lively scene. Rachel's dwarf friend is even here!

"Oh, hey Rach! I didn't think this kind of thing was your scene. If I had known you wanted to come, I would have invited you myself," Yvette says with a smile.

[Diachronos]

Rachel smiles, sticking close to Yvette. "I thought I'd try something new for a change." I didn't think there'd be THIS many people, though...

[NeoSeraphi]

As Rachel sticks close to Yvette, she hears a sharp intake of breath.

"You."

Oh crap.

Rachel turns to see the student who performed a black ritual behind the dorm a few days ago glaring at her. "What are you doing at this party? Do you see any books around, egghead?"

Yvette steps in front of her. "Screw off, she didn't even say anything to you."

"Maybe not, but this is my party. I can kick out whoever I want."

[Diachronos]

Rachel gulps. "I, uh..." What had she done wrong? Why is this girl so angry at her?

She shakes her head and puts a hand on Yvette's arm. "It's okay. If she wants me to leave her party, I'd rather do what she wants than make a scene."

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette shakes her head. "No way. You finally came out of your shell a little bit and I'm not going to let some Vampire princess ruin it for you."

The black-haired girl narrows her eyes. "What?"

Yvette grins and points across the room. "Darts. All three of us. If I win, she gets to stay at the party. If you win, both of us will leave. And if she wins, you have to become her friend."

The girl gasps in disbelief. "Ridiculous! Me, friends with her?"

"What are you so scared of? If your royal blood makes you so damn special, losing to her shouldn't even be a possibility, right?"

The witch scoffs. "Hmph! Fine then!"

They make their way over to the Darts board.

[Diachronos]

Rachel pales when Yvette starts making bets with the girl. "D... don't I get a say in this?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette grins and pushes her forward. "Come on, you first! Show her how awesome you are."

[Diachronos]

Rachel takes aim and fires an orb of acid at the target.
Hit: [roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

The black-haired witch frowns and fires a blast of electricity at the target.

Then Yvette steps up to the plate with a confident grin.

Black-haired witch - [roll0]

Yvette - [roll1]

The witch sighs. "Alright, you're pretty good. ...Sorry I yelled at you, Cyclops."

She turns around and walks away.

"Oh, Cyclops! I get it, because you always keep one eye covered. Hey, that's a pretty cool nickname! I think she likes you."

[Diachronos]

"What in the world gives you that idea, Yvette?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette grins. "Come on, it's just a bit of hazing obviously. She's bullying you because she's testing to see if you're worth hanging out with. I think you should talk to her next time you see her."

She gasps and jumps behind a wall. "Hide!"

[Diachronos]

Rachel blinks. "Hide? Why, what's going on?" She turns to look around.

[NeoSeraphi]

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y7COLc-FUCY/TA8JLs1-MbI/AAAAAAAAAOM/8xvbzm1o7uk/s1600/PZO9406-FireGuy.jpg

A tall, shirtless orc male with a hairy chest and long green fingernails approaches Rachel.

[Diachronos]

Rachel squeaks and darts into the crowd, doing her best to hide amongst them and get away from the orc.

[NeoSeraphi]

The orc follows her. "Pardon me, Miss. Would you happen to be Rachel Denethar?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel swallows as the orc follows her. "Y-yes... can I help you?"

[NeoSeraphi]

He smiles. "Pardon me for interrupting your evening. My name is Grak'thor the Destructor, and I am looking for an acquaintance of yours. Her name is Yvette. She speaks very highly of you. Is she here this evening?"

[Diachronos]

Rachel gulps. "I-I don't know where she is, sorry."

[roll0]

[NeoSeraphi]

The orc nods. "I see. Well, that is unfortunate. If you do see her, please let her know I'm looking for her. Good night."

He walks on. After a few minutes, Yvette emerges. "Thanks for covering for me."

[Diachronos]

"No problem... but why was he looking for you, Yvette?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette's face turns red. "Um, well, because...he's kinda my boyfriend..."

[Diachronos]

"...Wait, seriously? You're dating him?"

[NeoSeraphi]

Yvette nods. "Yeah...I knew you'd react this way. That's why I was keeping it secret from you. We met at the beach during the summer and I just...I've never felt this way about a guy before."

[Diachronos]

Rachel decides to not comment on Yvette's choice in men. "But... if you two are seeing each other, why are you hiding from him?"