Clockwork Souls [IC]

Aix · July 11, 2015

Elizabeth waited to the side of the school gates for a while. It was still half an hour early, the freshmen were supposed to be there at 2 pm. She did not get bored, however, as her attention was focused greatly on Daedalus College itself; the campus was massive, and Elizabeth did her best not to look too excited as she tried to get a look into the layout of the College. As she waited, more and more people gathered, and Elizabeth peered at each of them curiously; it was such a diverse-looking cast. She was about to walk over and approach one of them when the large clock by the school gates struck two and a tall, handsome, black-haired man dressed in a butler's uniform appeared before on the other side of the gates; Elizabeth didn't even notice his arrival, there seemed to be a gust of wind and he was just there. Then came the sound of clanking behind him as twenty gun-toting, butler-uniformed automatons marched over, standing in two lines of ten on each side of the man. Further beyond them, ten more butler automatons stood ready, and past that was a large gathering of various people and automatons. Elizabeth cocked her head, the butler automatons all seemed to be controlled by this one man, she could sense a very thin continued flow of Anima into each of them originating from him. A mere butler was able to control thirty automatons? Although the butler automatons were programmed very simplistically, it was a rather impressive feat, and it didn't look like he was going to run low at any time, his use of Anima was brilliantly efficient; only using it to make minor adjustments to pre-programmed orders and routines.

The butler smiled as he looked upon them. Also controlled by Anima, the gates slowly rolled open. "It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all to Daedalus College. My name is Sebastian, and I am the butler." He paused as he saw excited looks on the students. His expression turned devious. "I'm sure you are all very excited. If you would all follow me into the entrance hall, you will all be officially considered our precious students, and will receive the full hospitality of this most illustrious institution."

When he finished saying that, the automatons on each side of the gate began firing their guns at irregular intervals. They were rubber-coated bullets, but had the potential to cause serious damage if it hits the right spot, and if not, they would leave a very nasty bruise on impact. The butler then turned and casually walked past the barrage, each bullet missing him by a few centimeters.

[divider1]

"Our new recruits this year seem quite promising!" declared the tall, blonde-haired woman that stood at the head of the group inside the College. This woman, giving off the air of power and nobility, was none other than Victoria Wallace, the current Headmistress of Daedalus College. She was nodding in approval at the rubber bullets trial, although she recalled it was done before not so long ago. There was nothing wrong with doing it again, of course, as Daedalus College greatly encouraged tradition. Glancing at the gathering of teachers and senior students around her, she spoke again. "Oh, we'll be implementing a Mentor System this year, so I'd advise you watch carefully."

The other people were startled. The Headmistress had not mentioned this to anyone, and they all quickly turned their attention to the incoming freshmen. They didn't know how this supposed Mentor System would work, but there was no time to question that now, and she didn't seem inclined to elaborate.

One teacher, however, was already examining the students, her droopy eyes filled with light. "Ahhh, what cute kids... how shall I ship you~?"

Sethera · July 11, 2015

If you perused the crowd of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed students, there would be quite a few unique individuals that would catch your eye. Perhaps the slightly tall blonde in the teal overcoat, or the ponytailed Oriental, or the dapper blond man in the snazzy blue vest, or even the pigtailed girl in the denim jacket.

One in particular, a lanky man with most of his tomato-red hair obscured by a brown skunk-striped hat, slouched somewhere near the outer right of the crowd. While it miffed him to rub elbows with the filthy rich, he comforted himself with the knowledge that there seemed to be almost as many commoners in the mass. After all, most of the folk here got in through scholarship, he thought. What I wouldn't give to be here on me own merits myself.

His name, Attwell O'Donogh. What he was--a commoner. What he wasn't--a scholarship student. Not that it mattered. He was still here to learn, to succeed. Glancing down, he patted the pouch that held his brass telescope. That telescope, his life's treasure aside from the Anima Stone in his glove, was what inspired him, kept him going. When he looked at that telescope, he saw his dream. To be an explorer and go on legendary expeditions.

He chuckled. For sure, I really am one of the crowd. I've got a dream, after all, same as them. His eyes sharpened. Though...I'm also here on business. Should be on the lookout for "friends." With that in mind, he turned to the nearest person and was about to speak, when the fancy clock by the gate tolled the time--two o'clock in the afternoon exactly. The sound caused a flock of white birds near Attwell to take flight. He glanced at them for a second, and when he looked back, a butler had appeared, coattails lifted slightly from a gust of wind. Beside and behind him a troop of butler automatons clanked into place, giving off a very professional and intimidating atmosphere indeed.

The butler gave a closed-eye smile that reminded Attwell uncomfortably of a cat looking at its prey. Actually, everything about that butler made him uncomfortable. He was too put-together, too clean. There wasn't an ounce of dirt anywhere on his clothes. Just like Antony, the redhead thought, making a sour face. What is it with these folk and their unnecessary neatness? Plain unnatural, if you ask me.

The gates rolled open at a turtle's pace. He knew; he had seen a couple down by the wharf. Immediately afterward, the butler took that chance to speak. "It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all to Daedalus College. My name is Sebastian, and I am the butler." Attwell sweated when his expression turned even more feline. "I'm sure you are all very excited. If you would all follow me into the entrance hall, you will all be officially considered our precious students, and will receive the full hospitality of this most illustrious institution."

And then, right before the boy's eyes, the previously-still automatons whirred to life and began firing bullets. Despite all his efforts, Attwell couldn't detect any sort of pattern in their actions. Professional smile still in place, Sebastian turned on his perfectly-shined heel and walked back unhurriedly, as if stepping through a cloud of mist instead of a cloud of bullets. And yet, despite the casual stride, each step must have been calculated. For none of the bullets so much as even grazed him.

Attwell decided, then and there, to never get on Sebastian's bad side. Even in the worst of the Underground, you would be hard-pressed to find such skill. That person was one hell of a butler.

Was it time then? For them to enter? And through bullets? The crowd had started moving, separating as people either surged forward or held back to avoid the bullets. Was this a test then? Those that made it through the bullets dropped their luggage by the ten butler bots in the back. Attwell paused to admire their skill for a second before running through himself, using his above-average agility to get by with minimal damage (that was quickly healed with his Anima) before dropping his own trunk off next to one of the butler bots and following the others inside.

Professor Bartholomew Edward Stanley, or just Bart, Barty, or Professor Stanley to the kids, was standing with the throng of teachers observing the freshmen. The alchemy teacher, he specialized in the application of Anima to substances, thereby changing the energy levels, causing reactions, explosions, liquefaction, etc. If you wanted to know more all you had to do was ask the professor and you would get your answer in spades.

The professor, a thin man with lank brown hair and matching brown eyes, was leaning forward on the balls of his feet. While rather tall at 180 cm, he couldn't help but try to stretch taller in his excitement. He looked the picture of a Victorian gentleman from his brown vest and beige trousers to the top hat with the mechanical belt looped around. A pair of wire rim glasses nestled on the bridge of his slightly beaked nose. However, the charred edges to his clothing, and the stains he got from various potions, made him look unkempt instead of dapper.

"Our new recruits this year seem quite promising!" this came from Headmistress Victoria Wallace, a deceptively youthful blonde with piercing aqua eyes. Not only respected, but also liked, by most of the staff, she cut an imposing figure in her plum-and-white silks and fierce demeanor.

"Quite right, quite right," Bartholomew agreed. While his heartfelt reply would have come across as hearty in most, the slight squeak to his voice and twitchy demeanor made it sound panicked instead. Not that he could help it. It wasn't his fault he was nervous around women! Oh all right, it was, but still. It wasn't as if he could do anything about it. Oh no, he was far better at science than dealing with people. Why was he out here again? Oh yes, one of his colleagues had dragged him outside to look at the new students.

Speaking of the new students, hadn't they looked quite promising? Oh yes, Headmistress Wallace had already mentioned that, and he had already agreed. Ahh, why wasn't he back inside? Oh yes, because--

His circular train of thought was cut off when the Headmistress spoke once more. "Oh, we'll be implementing a Mentor System this year, so I'd advise you watch carefully."

Wait, what?! A mentor system?! What? Bartholomew's brain short-circuited and he let out an involuntary moan. "Oh no, I hope that doesn't include me." He was horrible at dealing with people, women in particular, but people in general tended to make him nervous. At least with alchemy he could slightly predict what they would do, but people? Oh no, they were unexpected, and had a nasty habit of yelling at him for "yammering on," or "holing yourself up in your laboratory." It'd be just his luck to get another such busybody.

Wringing his hands together, the professor stared at the assembled students with mouselike eyes. But before he could start panicking about his impending doom, he started panicking at the bullets. "You're shooting bullets at the freshmen?!" he shouted despite himself, and then paused. "Oh wait, wasn't this done before? Couple years ago, wasn't it? Less than?" he shook his head before remembering his top hat and rearranged it. "What did we do last year then? Nothing? How sad. Then again, memory's a bit fuzzy, oops, that doesn't mean I have a bad memory, just that I don't remember. I'm not going senile! Not that anybody said that, but just in case, you know."

Dad · July 11, 2015

Claire Ingham

She was shuffling through paperwork, making three neat stacks for completed, in progress, and new work. An automaton wheeled into her room silently, startling the woman. "Madam Ingham!" it roared with a brief pause. She was easily startled, tossing the final few papers in her hands into the air as she turned around in shock. "The freshman students of the year are now present! You should address them as soon as possible!" For whatever reason, Mortimer--who's name did not dictate a voice such as this--sounded a bit like a mechanized war cannon. He could not speak at a typical level of voice, but was always yelling. His voice was deep, and he sounded as though he was prepared and anxious to commit obscene acts of violence.

"Mortimer!" she said with a soft yell. Scrambling to pick up the papers she had just dropped, Claire stood up and neatly stacked them back on her desk. Straightening her hair and blouse, Claire sighed. "You scared me. Again. I thought I asked you to knock?"

Mortimer tilted his head, and straightened it back again. "Forgive me Madam! I was merely reporting for your own sake! Headmistress Wallace has already spoken with some of the new students! She also mentioned something of a Mentor System!" Claire nodded. "Thank you Mortimer," she said stepping out into the corridor behind her. "Shall we?" she asked, holding a hand in the direction of the campus' main doors. Mortimer led the way, and Claire was in toe behind the automaton.

Drawing closer to the campus entrance, she could spot students funneling into the doors, ducking and dodging the rubber bullets that showered down over them. One smart alleck decided to use the flat side of an enormous and rather impractical axe to shield his head in an umbrella like fashion, deflecting the bullets backwards. He also strung along several rather heavy looking bags of luggage, with absurd ease. "That's. . .unusual," she chimed, softly. Mortimer remained silent, carefully observing the freshman as they streamed into the building.

Oswald Vanderbilt III

A rather stiff looking gentleman waited at the doors of the college. From what Oswald could tell, there was a very real chance this man was controlling the automaton nearest him. That was pretty neat, in and of itself. Oswald observed carefully, as the automatons fired bullets into the air at spread intervals. He smiled in anticipation. This was a great opportunity, and the welcome was quite wonderful.

With a hop in his step, Oswald flung Gertrude over his head, casually stepping into the hail of bullets with excitement. With his free hand, he lugged a chain of bags. One under his arm, one in his right hand, and the other strapped to Gertrude's handle. As an automaton stuck out a hand to receive his luggage, Oswald shook the machine's hand with glee. "No thanks, pal!" he said with a smile. "I can handle it!" Oswald strolled inside, making himself at home right away. Before him were a plethora of students and teachers, scattered automatons, and stuffy clothed staff. So this was Daedalus College huh? He had heard they were prissy, bourgeois, and all of that. Is this the type of place he was being sent too? Oswald ignored it for now, as he scanned his surroundings. He took a deep whiff of the air, and sighed. Pulling up his pants with luggage still in hand, Oswald's smile still brimmed.

Love of Ghibli · July 12, 2015

Tristan Knight of Whispers

Tristan had quite a busy morning keeping his ears open for the gossip the latest dish and dirt, but it was a very important day. The day that all of the freshmen get inducted to the academy. This was most likely something the Headmistress would organize once again. It was nice to work for someone who was "enthusiastic" about selecting the best candidates for the school. Tristan was naturally with a lot of the other staff members as the students were greeted by automatons and Sebastian. The automaton professor raised his eyebrow as he wondered what could they possibly use such a large amount of resources for. A slight chuckle came across his face when he bore witness to the special kind of induction that the new students were going to have to do. Well this is different. He watched on as the students proceeded to deal with the barrage of rubber bullets. I must admit they are definitely handling it better than I thought a bunch of children would. Maybe this is to be expected of the great Daedulus College. As for mentorship...I welcome a private protege. Though I must ask what is the goal for the children here? Are they simply to survive this assault for an extended period of time or are they supposed to make their way to some kind of checkpoint?

Maeriberii Haan · July 12, 2015

It was most unpleasant.

As Erina went up close to the academy's gates, she was greeted by the sight of butler-like automatons firing projectiles towards the aspiring academics that would be admitted to the prestigious college. She was, of course, quite in a shitty position. She was bound on her wheelchair, and she was still pretty dizzy from the trip here from her countryside house, which would make using anima to have herself gain the function of her legs for a rapid dash wouldn't work really well. Not to mention that would mean she's leaving her wheelchair behind. Retrieving it would be pretty annoying for someone that wouldn't be able to move her legs by then.

Stopping for a moment to look at how the others were doing, Erina decided to try finding an inspiration for how she would pass the bullets. Most of the ones that had managed to get past the obstacle were ones utilizing anima on their legs to gain extra agility to be able to maneuver through the bullets with little to no direct hits on them. Seeing those people only made Erina's mood worse. Well, there's also that one girl that seemingly tried to brute force her way through the bullets. getting hit a lot of times in the process. Was she a masochist? Erina didn't know, but in a way she admired the girl's sheer hardheadedness to brave through the bullets like that.

However, her irritation started to become bigger and bigger as she realized that that masochistic girl was far younger than her.

"...Ugh...why am I losing to these people anyway? I am a proud soldier, and there's no way I should be losing to these kids!"

That sight ended up making Erina's blood boil in frustration. She was reminded that she had been into a far worse situation, and to see those far younger than her passing through the butler automatons without much trouble while she was just looking there helplessly was a complete travesty. If a little girl could recklessly brave through the hail of bullets like that, then why couldn't her do that too? That was what Erina thought as she wrapped herself with a seatbelt on her wheelchair and tied up her suitcase on her lap, before she took off her gloves, revealing her automata palm with the steam exhausts opened. Making sure that no one was in her way, she then fired up the excess steam from her arms' operation from the holes on her palm as highly pressurized air to create a big enough thrust to propel herself and her wheelchair forward really fast. She didn't pay it any attention as the bullets started to hit her and her wheelchair as she kept on moving forward. The physical pain she felt from the bullets didn't really mean anything more if compared to the shame she would feel if she was one-upped by those who were younger than her.

Half a minute later, she was on the other side already, getting bruises all over her body and her suit was pretty much in a whack due to the rubber bullets raining down on it, but she displayed a proud smile in the meantime, feeling delight due to finally passing through the obstacle.

"...Rubber bullets again, seriously?"

Meanwhile, on the rooftop of the academy, a blonde-haired young woman was watching the commotion happening below using a binocular with a slightly unamused look on her face. Even if the method of delivery was different, it was still the same old rubber bullet tradition of the academy, and Caeil started to pout as she was reminded of the accident she had two years ago during the same opening obstacle. However, she had to admit that it was indeed far more amusing to watch the new kids getting mowed by the bullet hell rather than having herself be on the receiving end. That was probably the only solace she had right now. Shifting her sight from the mess directly below towards the area around it, Caeil decided to see whether this year there's someone using some form of flight once more. Half due to her still reserving her annoyance for a certain incident of ages ago, and half due to her wanting to see someone who might be shaping up to be a worthy rival to her, or at least a pupil she could order around.

Depending on the first impression she had with the flier, if she saw any, she might just shoot the damn thing down using her automaton just to be spiteful.

Leaning her head on the front door of the campus was a tall, blonde woman wearing a fancy suit and a mask, seemingly overseeing the entirety of the greeting ceremony the campus had at the moment. Some of the freshmen that went past her tried to greet her, though she didn't really seem to even notice them as her attention was still seemingly completely locked to the commotion before her. She didn't say any words, nor did she budge even an inch from her position. Some of the freshmen that saw her might see her as having a menacing or imposing aura with her, as if she was some sort of...something. Some might even thought that she was a humanoid automaton that was assigned as a gatekeeper, and that she could very well attack them without any warning.

However, it was quite a shame that no one so far noticed the fact that a snore could be heard from behind the mask she wore.

Cosmo. · July 13, 2015

Charlotte arrived at the gates of the college to see total chaos! "Oh Dear me!" She said.

Rubber bullets were raining everywhere while every freshmen tried to get through the storm, one used an axe, some jumped around like bunnies, and one..... Shot herself like a rocket.

"Why this?! I have 3 luggages" she said as she started crawling under all the bullets with all the luggages.

She finally got inside with a bunch of butlers that were taking luggages to the respective rooms. She could hear people talking about some mentor system of sorts "let's hope my mentor is nice..."

She left her luggages to the butlers and then looked around for students with whom she could introduce herself.

Not-so-Radiant Arin · July 13, 2015

Amongst the crowd of freshman students, Lena stood beneath all of them. Her slim figure and short length did her no favours, as she sunk down in between two tall men standing right next to her on either side. In the palm of her left hand was a book; it was of no significant importance to her, as Lena had read it probably a thousand times already. It wasn't exactly her favourite book, either. It was just a book. Nevertheless, her gaze was fixated down on the book, with her luggage in the other hand. Lena traveled light, seeming as how her weapon could fold up into a small space, and she wanted to stand out in the crowd by wearing her own special uniform. White and blue, her uniform contrasted highly with the other students, who appeared to all be wearing black. Black is in style, Lena figured.

She glanced over to the side to hear the sounds of walking automaton. The sounds they made were jarring, each step their own cataclysmic rampage to Lena's ears. There must have been about thirty of these machines, all lined up together side by side. What was really interesting was the fact that they all held their own special rifle. Lena stood on her tippy-toes to get a better view, and a fraction of these automatons reached the entrance to the gate of Daedalus College. These ones did not have any sort of firearm on them, and appeared to be the more charismatic and comfortable type. At the head of these soulless automaton, however, was a sort of butler-esque figure. The massive portcullis to the entrance of the Daedalus College swung wide open, and the atmosphere grew tense...

"It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you all to Daedalus College. My name is Sebastian, and I am the butler."

The loud booming voice seemed to echo throughout the courtyard. There were whispers among the students as the last remaining automaton formed a long line, with the guns perched over their shoulders. Is this a 21-Guns Salute? But no, there was one person missing in order for it to truly be a 21-Gun Salute. Lena became worried, thinking about the possibilities of what could happen next.

"I'm sure you are all very excited. If you would all follow me into the entrance hall, you will all be officially considered our precious students, and will receive the full hospitality of this most illustrious institution."

At that moment, barrages of gunshots enveloped the courtyard, and chaos broke loose. Everyone was tripping over themselves to get away from all of the automaton that were firing at them and trying to make it to the entrance. Lena, with her short figure, was almost trampled over by some of the other students. Lena needed to move out of the way so that she wouldn't get shot at, but in a confined space like she was in now, her anxiety rose. She was never comfortable with enclosed spaces. Regardless, Lena took the hardback book that she had and held it in front of her face, towards her right. After all, the shots were primarily coming from that side of the courtyard. Holding the book close to her and protecting herself, she maneuvered past the students and automaton, but not before suffering a few bullets to the book. Good thing she didn't care that much about this particular book. But now she also understood why so many students dropped out of this college. If this is what it was like just to get in, it's no wonder there's such a high dropout rate.

But Lena had something she needed to do. She needed to find out what happened on that day that her father burned down their own home, maniacally screaming the same thing over and over again. It was like a record in her mind, playing back constantly on loop. But the drive is what made her push forward at the last minute and reach the entrance to Daedalus College, along with a few others. There was a man with a pouch hanging from his belt, a blue-haired girl that was absolutely riddled with bullet marks but was somehow miraculously still able to stand, and a red-haired older girl that was bound in a wheelchair, and had also suffered her fair share of bullets.

The smoke billowed up from the courtyard from the constant firing of the bullets. There were still screams of chaos in the courtyard, but it didn't apply to Lena. She looked down at her battered book, riddled with bullet holes. It was nigh unreadable now, with tears, holes, and scratches everywhere in the binding of the book and the actual pages. Lena tossed it to the side with a sigh, and looked on as a few more students came blitzing through the gates.

Daedalus College...what is its secrets, Lena thought to herself...

Admiral_Stalfos19 · July 14, 2015

As she walked briskly down the hallway, Stellar Fitzgerald adjusted things in her backpack, that had clearly been chucked inside as if she were in a rush to get somewhere. The backpack was as organized as one would expect from a woman's purse, with pencils and sketchpads and library books all over the place, and the resulting layer of leather was so jagged that Stellar wasn't surprised to note that it was digging into her back this whole time. Still, Stellar had somewhere to be today; specifically to ask a favor from a certain teacher. So she made her way to the teacher's classroom and knocked on the door. Then, literally a second later, she decided to help herself into the room.

Except there was actually no-one there. Stellar was expecting her favorite Anima Teacher inside the classroom alongside her trusted automaton. It was then that she clicked onto the fact that the teachers and senior students were meant to meet at the entrance of the school, so she rushed there and found who she was looking for. However, before whatever it was she came here to ask could escape her lips, something else had caught Stellar's eye entirely. She gazed out the courtyard, and she could see that Sebastian and the other butlerbots were doing the very same trial on this year's freshmen as they did many years before. It was almost becoming somewhat of a tradition. In any case, Stellar watched on as the freshmen dashed around the courtyard. Some of them had come up with really creative ways to get past the turrets that had been firing rubber bullets at everyone all this time. More had taken advantage of the turrets' incapablities, and others just failed miserably.

But Stellar still had to commend this year's freshmen for not having the stupidity to try and do what she herself had done back in the day. She was never proud of this so-called "bright idea" she had of walking straight into the line of fire, and truth be told, she was only able to tank all those rubber bullets because of her inability to properly feel pain. Not so much the case for any of the others. Regardless, Stellar snapped out of Memory Lane and turned her attention to the other woman to her side.

"Excuse me, Ms. Ingham?" asked Stellar, "Can I ask a favor?"

"They're shooting at us? Seriously?" Julius Conray scoffed as turrets began to open fire onto the crowd that he'd been a part of just a few seconds ago, before picking up a bullet that had rolled over to him and examining it closely, "Ah, of course; rubber. That'll be a piece of piss, then."

Tossing the examined bullet behind him, Julius calmly made his way just outside the courtyard, only to gather some of the students that had stayed behind, and pay them to help him up to the rooftops. Here, he could see the courtyard in full view... including all the panicking students that had tried their best not to get bombarded by rubber. Julius briefly shook his head at the poor saps below, but then immediately decided that now was the time to make his move. After all, even if whoever was in charge of this farce hadn't thought of freshmen using the roofs, it'd only be a matter of time before they figured that they missed one of them.

So, Julius aimed his flintlock rifle at the barrel of the turret that he could see. He always wanted to see how much penetration power the rifle had, and if he could make a big enough dent into the barrel, then in all likelihood, the turret wouldn't be able to fire anything... and perhaps it'd explode in the attempt or something. If not, then more powerful bullets would definitely have to be on the shopping list, and in the meantime, Julius would just have to come up with a Plan B. And in his experience, Plan B would work without the slightest hint of failure. Regardless, Julius lined up and made his shot, supposing he'd figure it out from there.

宇佐見蓮子@C94 · July 14, 2015

Aegis McAllon

"...and that about sums it up. Were you listening to me at all, Aegis?"

"Huh? O-oh yeah, sure. Yup, yup, I gotcha."

"Your communication skills are still poor, but alas. Even your capability to lie is not up to par. I really should have had you attend more etiquette classes."

"...."

Under the blazing summer sun of Britannia was a carriage. A motorized one at that. Judging by the noise and sound, it appears to be a steam-powered combustion engine of sorts. The two tenants of said carriage appear to be a young girl, with bright blue hair and a clothing style that is, to say the least, unheard of in that country. By contrast, the middle-aged man standing across her was dressed prim and proper, proudly wearing the uniform of Brtiannia's army. The emblems on his chest indicate his rank as general. Though one would not have guessed it by looking at them from afar, these two share the bond of "Father and Daughter". Or, to be more precise, "Adoptive Father and Adopted Daughter".

The girl, Aegis, mindlessly stared out the window as her father droned on and on about the carriage's destination, Daedalus College. To her, his words might as well be mindless drivel.

"What's so great about that college, anyway?"

Thoughts like that passed through Aegis's mind. After leaving her war-torn hometown for the capital several years ago, a lot has changed in her life. Well, none of that matters for now. It has been decided that she is to attend Daedalus from a military-sponsored scholarship. Her daydreaming mind wanders off into who-knows-where as the carriage makes its way towards Daedalus College...

Some 30 minutes later, Aegis arrived at the campus's complex. A rather late arrival, it seems. There were many, many people gathered already. It certainly doesnt fit the image of a school with 90% dropouts she had in mind, but not that it really mattered anyway. She grabbed her belongings and hurriedly jumped out of her carriage, anxious to see what kind of welcoming party awaits her. With her explosives, Heimdall, and spare parts safely stowed in her backpack, and her necessities in a briefcase, Aegis looked towards the crowd with confidence. She rushed off to the gates with haste...

...Only to be called back by a familiar voice.

"Aegis! You forgot your snack!" Her father called out from the carriage, which caused Aegis's running figure to suddenly halt in sheer embarrassment.

"Y-yes, of course..." She begrudgingly walked back to the carriage and retrieved her homemade snack for the day; A slightly buttered loaf of toast.

"Well, I'll take my leave now."

"Try not to cause a ruckus."

"Of course I wont, father!"

With their final piece of conversation over, Aegis rushed off to meet her fellow freshmen, with the piece of toast in her mouth. Meanwhile, Aegis's father is busy silently rejoicing that his adopted daughter finally called him "Father" after all these years. His look of joy certainly doesnt befit his tall, gruff appearance, that's for sure.

(GigaDrillBreaker) · July 14, 2015

Roy Westlock

Standing beside, or rather leaning against, the Oversized Terrapin automaton, was Roy Westlock, veteran of the Brittanian military. Of course, his position was far different from the typical soldier. Technically speaking, he was a knight-engineer, but he didn't bother with all the engineer. No, that was the job of the girl sitting atop the Large Tortoise he used as a wall at times like this. Morgan took care of all the messy little details, while he jumped in and broke shit. It really was an effective system, an Unstoppable Force and an Immovable Object, or at least that is how he viewed.

Yawning as he watched the freshmen come under rubber bullet fire from his own boring point of view, he heard a voice come from the girl perched upon the Sizable Chelonian, "It's a weird feeling to watch the new students come in; we were on the other side of those gates once before. You haven't changed much since then, have you?" At this question, Roy just about doubled over, clutching his sides as he let out a laugh with such volume that the freshmen below could probably even hear his outburst. This resumed for several seconds, before he finally managed to stand upright again, wiping a tear from his single eye.

"I haven't changed all that much? I mean, I suppose my basic skillset was around the same. You are the one who has grown on the years." At the word "grown," Roy made a special effort to look up at the woman who, even just standing, was noticeably taller than him, and was further elevated by Massive Loggerhead. "I managed to get through without being hit a single single time," chuckling to himself, Roy stretched his right arm outward, mockingly inspecting his fingernails, "as I recall, you weren't so lucky. But hey, not everyone could really jump past all the automatons, and I am sure your 'moving target' plan spared some of the others in our year some abuse, right?" Roy had trouble pushing down the awkwardness brought up by mention of their class, gulping audibly. Though their class was large, and many of them graduated, as great deal were lost to the war, with a few just disappearing entirely. Morgan was actually the only other member of their class who he currently knew the condition of.

Hearing the mention of some sort of mentor system, Roy quickly decided to pay closer attention to the goings-on of the "entrance exam" that they put on each year. After all, it would seem that it was more than just a matter of entertainment, he would be best off knowing who would be the prime cuts of this class, should he get the opportunity to choose who he mentors. "Wait. Does that mentor thing apply to me? Morgan, are we students? I can't remember..."

Stirling Rookwood

Stirling had been holding back, further away from the gates than the majority of students as they gathered, each of them just as unaware of the upcoming twist as he was. Having been relatively pampered to enter into this school from a young age, he had certainly heard rumors about intentional violence within the school, but nothing could have prepared him for the sudden onslaught brought down by butler-like automatons. "So the butler is also the doorman. Sounds like fun," Stirling grumbled to himself as each of the automatons trained its weapon upon the would-be students and pulled the trigger.

~A Little Heart to Heart~

Luckily for him, the combination of his distance from the shooters and the large number of alternative targets between himself and those who would like to riddle him with bullets he could only hope to be made of rubber allowed him the split second he needed to jump backward, rolling over another unwitting student's back (seeing them take a rubber bullet to the gut in the process) so that he landed in the street, flush to the curb, which was heightened by a few inches in front of the school, likely as a security measure. Reaching inside the rim of his scarf, he pulled his mask up and over his head, blinking as his vision shifted into the tinted view threw the lenses. "Now then, time to see what we are up against..."

Lifting his head slightly over the ledge of the street curb, well behind any of the others, he surveyed the area to count out assets, "It would seem that the ones who have already made it across are those that simply let themselves get shot all over. I suppose that may work as a final plan, but it really isn't what I should want to be doing..." Stirling's mind raced as his eyes darted back and forth across the entrance area, muttering to himself "It would appear that the butlers don't really take much note of use once we are past them... could the solution be a mad dash?" Just as he finished posing the question to himself, he saw the answer directly in front of him: a young, blue-haired girl who had charged forward the moment the gates allowed them to enter, was shot in the ankle, immediately brought to the ground.

Ducking back underneath the his small cover, Stirling heard the whizz of another rubber bullet fly close above his head. "Yeah... no, I am not in the mood for getting shot." Laying down on his back, Stirling thought of this given situation under context of a battlefield, "There weapons are rubber bullets, or at least something of similar nonlethality, which, in effect, can be thought of as low-calibur fire. Now then, how to stop low-calibur fire? My clothing will hold it off to an extent, but that presents two issues. The first is that I will still be heavily bruised by the ordeal, with the second being that just walking around letting myself get shot is not going to be a good demonstration of my ability to whomever may be watching."

Glancing over the curb once again, he caught sight of a metal garbage can beside the gate, remembering seeing it be emptied as the students all waited. Making a clicking sounds with his tongue against the roof of his mouth, two small mechanical spider automatons climbed out of the cuffs of his sleeves, scurrying along the ground and narrowly avoiding the rifle fire as they made it up to the can. "Now then, time to solve this puzzle." With another click of his tongue, the two automatons leaped onto the trash can, using their mandibles to cut out a side from it, the piece falling down to the ground with a crash.

MEDIC!

Stirling dove forward toward the scrap of metal, rolling into it and landing in a kneeling position beside the blue-haired girl he saw get shot. "Let me know if you learn how to outrun bullets, I will be waiting inside." With a smirk, he moved up slightly into a crouch, inching forward slowly as the rubber bullets continually assaulted his make-shift shield, though the greatest damage done was tiny dents as the pair of automatons he sent out crawled from the interior of the metal scrap where they had hitched a ride, back to their designated locations in his cuffs.

Stirling continued his gradual advancement, making sure to stay at angles where his trash-can shield was between him and any of the butlers at all times, until he was able to inch backward through the door, tossing his savior scrap back outside for anyone else clever enough to make use of. Glancing around himself to survey the entrance hall, he made not of those who had already made it through, before casually telling the butler that his bags were delivered beforehand.

Dad · July 14, 2015

Claire Ingham

The variety of students who both casually and not so casually entered through the large entrance doors was quiet interesting to see. Claire couldn't help but smile with excitement as she wondered who would be entering her class this year. Claire pondered to herself what each student could be like in terms of personality, thought process, and speaking mannerisms. Despite some occurrences she regarded with oddity, Claire was heavily investing herself into her students ahead of time. This of course, was the mark of a good teacher, because every student matters. Folding her arms, Claire watched in anticipation as she studied the students one at a time. One surprised her immediately as he crashed through the entrance with a trash can attached to him, causing quite the ruckus. Claire stifled a giggle as the young man tossed the trash can piece back outside. Innovation and quick thinking was always a plus. And just beside this one was a much more flustered, less round-a-bout girl whose exasperated sigh ruffled Claire's mood a bit.

The girl tossed a book a side, as it had been riddled with bullet holes. "Rubber bullets again this year, huh?" she said softly to herself. Claire was in agreement with whoever this student was. From her perspective, teacher or student, a loss of a good book is devastating. But what was even more surprising was the next student who quite literally, rolled through the entrance. She was handicapped, and a bit older in appearance, but it was never too late to learn a thing or two. But what intrigued Claire the most, was the proud smile this lady wore. Despite her circumstance, her head was held up, and she had a good look in her eye. A determined look. She had been beaten up a bit by the hail of rubber bullets outside of the entrance, but she had worked and earned her way inside with the many others. Claire continued "browsing" through students, when she was approached by one of her favored students.

"Excuse me, Ms. Ingham?"

It was Stellar. This girl, having already made a great impression on Claire, was always full of questions, answers, and an interesting point of view to share. Claire turned around quickly, recognizing that voice anywhere.

"Can I ask a favor?"

Claire's smile greeted Stellar, and an obvious and expected "Of course," came from her lips. "That's a great way to start the day," Claire added. It was still relatively early, and Claire was of course eager to get her first learning session of the day underway.

Raine · July 15, 2015

[spoiler=Letter to Pavi]

Dearest Pavithra,

From my own childhood, I recall the bustling industry and freighting presence of Scholomance. To the mind foreign to its interior clockwork, it can seem as distant and imposing as a world alien to our heartland. Never forget that each of us, no matter how far you are from your humble beginnings, are human. I say this so you can remember it is okay to panic, cry, enjoy, and challenge yourself as well as construct the same image to your co-inhabitants; they’re just as worthy and emotionally fleeting as yourself. You may hide form me the truer nature of your life outside of my home, the various personas you’ve created and used in the harshness of this world underneath God, but I trusted you. You know what’s right, and have a heart of a lion to act for the betterment of others. Remain strong, and I pray for you always.

Love,

Sister Adkins

Pavi was flush red, the nun always had such a way to make her feel warm and fuzzy. This wasn’t exactly the mindset she hoped to have prior to the starting ceremony; nevertheless, time marches on.

Basking in the cold sun of England, the plaza was occupied by the elite select of Britannia eager for their taste of the glory promised by school’s illustrious rapport with the populace. Surely the nightmarish mythos surrounding the school was partially false, Pavi thought to herself, even in an expansive empire where the sun never sets somethings have to be exaggerated for effect. She had trouble persuading herself of this, her recent ventures into the main isle have shown her a metropolis of metal and steam far removed from the rural ancient roots of her home. Pavi stared down at her feet, furnished in new but uncomfortable dress shoes bought and paid for by the generosity and blind ambition of her province’s governor, God bless his heart for being her patron. Her entire get-up was outlandish; she felt less like a student and more like a bourgeois prisoner.

The crowds around her was varied by primarily Caucasian and caught into their own worlds, she could smell the creeping anxiety that pierced into the weaker one’s mind. It smelled like piss. Someone pissed themselves. “Great,” she sighed to herself, she was merely ecstatic that she wasn’t among that like. If the people here were so pampered and breed for nobility or aristocratic lifestyle that the notion of anxiety caused them to vacate their bowels, perhaps her time here would be easier than she anticipated.

“-excited. If you would all follow me into the entrance hall, you will all be officially considered our precious students, and will receive the full hospitality of this most illustrious institution."

The last muttered words of the entrance speech came to an end. In her self-reflection and position at the back of the crowd, she had not heard the ceremonial and it had come to an abrupt end. A flash of panic blinded her, she was fairly certain she didn’t miss anything beside the prolonged ramblings the Britains were so fond of. Suddenly, breaking her train of thought once more, the disturbing and consuming rhythm of gunfire filled the air in an instant causing her to jump feet into the air.

She was petrified as she witnessed the butler-esque character wander carelessly into the hail of bullets emerging unharmed. Nope. Pavi surrendered her disbelief in exchange for utter rejection. Nope, people can’t do that. Pavi was 150% percent super mega ultimate sure that people, human people, under no set of circumstances short of standing between two naval ironclads could walk away from that. It’s a magic trick! YEAH! It’s a magic trick, she thought, it was some illusion. Some test to validate the bravery of everyone, it must be some foreign cyber-steam mechanical illusion powered by steam engines or some nonsense. Surely that’s the only explana-

People ran into the gunfire. Pavi’s face froze into a dumbfounded smile. F***. “Oh,” she quickly observed that the students who were hot headed enough to charge into death’s claw were not struck to the ground but discoloration of black and blue. They were rubber bullets. She continued her observations watching a variety of strategies execute; bulldozing through, slow methodical dodging and weaving, blocking and enduring, etc.

Pavi opted for her own plan, she coined it, screw this. Pavi had no intent to be shot by even rubber bullets, she was invited for her mind not her combat ability. She gracefully strolled to a wall adjacent and began a rather difficult climb to the top and over. She was a student, not a soldier, she preferred to think her way out of issues where the issue is bullets, and the thinking is, not being in their way. She felt like she cheated a bit, but she struggled greatly to be discreet and merge back into the crowds hanging over their luggage. Her fellow classmates had usually elaborate large chests contrary to her own patchwork cloth bag, it wasn’t too homely looking but it wasn’t near the quality or image of the others.

Her next steps took her to the inner gate, where the lavish interior was revealed to her giving Pavi a sense of awe as well as another dose of sheer overwhelming imagery she had been bombarded with since stepping foot off the boat. At last, the cast of older gentleman and ladies were in site, no assumption was necessary to know this was the teaching staff. Pavi shied off into the crowd, she wanted to know the next insane step into this school’s initiation before moving aimlessly.

Admiral_Stalfos19 · July 16, 2015

Unfortunately, Julius' shot didn't hit the mark at all. The bullet had bounced back off the turret like it was nothing, and now all of a sudden, it'd caught that turret's attention. So much for waltzing into the courtyard undetected. He'd just lost about 100 pounds getting up to a decent sniping position, and now in all practicality it was useless since the turrets would now know where Julius was, especially if he were to shoot again. Against his better judgement, he decided to stick with it; he wasn't gonna abandon ship that easily. After a long hard look, he noted that there was a properly vulnerable point on the turrets after all. He aimed straight for it, and then...

BANG!!

Accuracy for the turret was now out of the question. Julius then aimed at two more relatively close turrets and shot them in the same place for good measure, before dropping down. Now that he was certain that he wasn't gonna get shot, Julius whistled a tune that happened to be in his head as he casually walked along the courtyard. Soon enough, he found himself in the same area as the teachers and seniors had been watching from, without even a scratch on him.

"Ladies..." Julius tipped an imaginary hat and bowed to some of the female seniors briefly, before going about his way.

"I was just wondering..." Stellar paused briefly, taking some time to run what she wanted to say through her head again, before looking around to see if anyone else was watching them, and then speaking to Ms. Ingham again in a significantly lower voice, "I've been doing some research on Anima, and I noticed that it can be used on dead bodies as well; I believe the term is called necromancy. But I haven't been able to find anything about it in the library. The only place I haven't looked is in the forbidden section, so... could you please try to find some books on the subject, and if you can, get them out for me? I'd greatly appreciate it."

Of course, Stellar didn't exactly have high hopes that her request would be followed through, but it paid to ask someone, and Ms. Ingham was highly trustworthy

Astolfo · July 16, 2015

Zeta

Looking around, despite having seen this massive college multiple times as he walked by, he couldn't get over the excitement that it was finally the day. Striding through the gates, Zeta flinched in surprise when a butler-esque figure suddenly appeared on the far side within the blink of an eye. As he looked around the new presence, he found thirty automatons that resembled butlers as well. The only difference being these ones carried massive guns. Tensing up, Zeta could barely hear the welcoming speech. The thirty were all controlled completely masterfully, flawlessly efficient. The man who controlled them must be immensely skilled. When the machines inevitably ended up firing, he immediately jerked his body out of the way. It was unlikely it would be live ammunition, but he needed to check. Judging from the people behind him with a quick glance. It appeared to be nothing more than high-speed rubber bullets.

Glancing side to side to see if there was anyone that seemed friendly, Zeta spotted a cheerful, tomboyish violet-haired girl a little ways back. Sidestepping the bullet hailstorm, he made his way over to her side. Waving and offering a delighted grin, he stuck out his hand.

"Nice to meet ya! You can call me Zeta. What's your name?"

Icarus

Meanwhile, a loud, thunderous noise could be heard growing in volume. Within seconds, it revealed itself to be a blond-haired feminine figure charging with mad pace through the front gates. Bursting through the crowd, she appeared to be completely exhausted from her short sprint. There was no time to rest though. While they were bent over and catching their breath, the next volley of bullets came her way. Panicking, she bolted upright, running around as best as she could while avoiding getting hit. Obviously tired, it was a miracle she could manage to avoid that single round. The next round was soon to come though, and with a small "Eep!", something marvelous happened.

Four vibrant, feathered wings materialized out of the girl's back, two from her shoulder blades and the other two from her lower back. The first pair was a brilliant dark blue and purple mix while the latter was a lighter version of the first, almost glowing with brightness. Flying up quickly, they carried her out of the way of the next volley. What she didn't expect, or rather, hoped to not have to face, were that a few of the butlers immediately aimed upwards instead, unleashing another wide salvo.

Flapping frantically, she tried to maneuver in the air to avoid them, but alas, the wings were not built for speed. Twisting and turning, the wings took the brunt of the bullets, breaking away into glass-like shards that dissolved away into the air. Losing altitude quickly, she plummeted towards the ground. When the rising air blew up her rather less-than-concealing top, the girl immediately turned a bright pink, scrambling to cover herself while figuring out how to land.

With nothing but the ground, she closed her eyes, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much. Within the next few seconds, it would definitely result in a painful crash-landing if no one helped.

"Uwaaaahh!!! Heeeeeeelllllllppppppp!!!"

Maeriberii Haan · July 16, 2015

"Huff...huff, that was far more taxing than I thought."

Letting her two automaton arms to cool down for a bit while she check around for damages on her wheelchair, Erina then looked around to examine the people that had passed through the bulter automatons more closely. It seemed that some of them, which included a blue-haired boy with a smug exterior that managed to get Erina's ire as he passed through her, managed to get past the obstacle without suffering any scratches. It seemed that some of the automatons had been felled too. On the other side of the spectrum, there's that girl (?) that tried to fly over the butlers but ended up getting shot down. Erina'd help her if she could, but with her arms still overheating as they were right now, what Erina could do was to look away from her before she could see the girl crashing into the ground.

It seemed that there's quite the amount of freshmen that had successfully passed the obstacle, either way, and with Erina still not being sure about where she should go next, she ended up deciding that she should go ask around to get to know where she should go next. Scrambling around to look for the nearest person she could ask, she noticed the presence of a cheerful-looking salmon-haired girl not far from her, that had just given her luggage to a butler, presumably to bring it to her room, even though Erina's unsure whether the rooms had been decided right now. Then again, she didn't know anything regarding what she should do now or something like that, so she definitely had to ask the girl about things first. Struggling to move her overheated arms with Anima so she could get her wheelchair to move, Erina then slowly approached the girl.

"Ah...hello there. My name is Erina, and I'm a freshman too here. Do you know what are we supposed to do right now or where we should go next?"

She definitely would prefer that she find out the answer by herself, but Erina at that moment was not confident that she could do just that. Waiting for the girl's answer, Erina then continued to have her arms let off some steam as her attempt to cool them off to be properly usable once more proceeded.

Caeil couldn't hide her laugh as she looked at the girl (?) that had just got shot down after she was trying to fly over the rubber bullets. She was originally going to shoot her down by herself, but it seemed that this time, the automaton bots had been retooled to be able to fire upwards, so all that Caeil had to do was to watch as the girl got her wings clipped by all the rubber bullets. It was quite satisfying to see for Caeil, who had some personal vendetta against those who use wings-like automatons other than herself due to a past accident involving crashing into one.

However, having fun as she was, seeing the girl crashing down just like that in the middle of the chaos below did incite some pity on Caeil. And she was getting a bit more interested in maybe teaching the girl some more things regarding tinkering with and using wings-like automaton, and not to mention Caeil was a bit intrigued by the girl's wings. She wasn't sure yet about why, but even if they're really frail, she knew from a glance that they're really well-crafted, and it looked very sophisticated and artistic. If her hunch was right, then maybe there's some things from the design that she could try learning about herself, and that prospect of getting to upgrade her own automaton was definitely something Caeil wouldn't miss.

Wasting no time, Caeil activated her own automaton and summoned her own wings, which she used to glide down from her position on the rooftops. Not going to risk getting hit by the bullets by accident if she flew straight to the girl's crash location, Caeil decided to fold the wings almost immediately as soon as she landed on the ground, and proceeded to use her anima to reinforce her legs and body, increasing her speed so she could dash straight towards the girl, while the arms from her automaton forming screens to protect her from stray bullets. As soon as she was in the girl's location, Caeil immediately used two of her automaton arms in addition to her own arms to grab the really scantily clad girl, before putting her on her back as Caeil ran back to the safe zone out of the butler automaton's firing zone. Caeil felt that the girl was ridiculously light even for her height as she carried the girl, though she didn't heed it much mind as she felt that it was just due to the girl being really really thin.

Once they're in a safe position, Caeil dropped the girl on the ground unceremoniously, before proceeding to take a better look on her, since for some odd reasons, her wings had disappeared completely, and even Caeil couldn't find what's left from the automaton around her assuming it was completely wrecked by the bullets. It was...more than peculiar, as even when Caeil turned her body around, she couldn't find obvious parts where her automaton should have been. Maybe the wings were an illusion and the girl was flying using other means of flight? With what she saw right now, it was a possibility. However, she must make herself sure whether the sophisticated wings she saw were an illusion or not. Not bothering to see her surrounding as she prepared herself, Caeil then started to physically search around the girl's body for any sort of traces of her wings. The fact that she was wearing barely anything made it easier for Caeil to do a full body search.

"I know you're still awake. Don't resist, this won't hurt. I just want to know more about your wings~

We'll talk more once I'm done."

Dad · July 16, 2015

Claire Ingham

This was far from what she expected. A brand new semester and Stellar was attempting to study anima reanimation. Claire's interest was piqued of course, but being taboo, she couldn't openly discuss the subject. Even Mortimer turned to hear her reply to Stellar.

"... could you please try to find some books on the subject, and if you can, get them out for me? I'd greatly appreciate it."

Claire pushed her glasses up with two fingers, and a sly smile crossed her face. Placing her hands on Stellar's shoulders, she leaned in an whispered. "I'd be happy to try and find some studies for you," she said quietly. "Meet me after hours today, and hopefully I'll have some materials for you. And if not, there are a few tidbits I'd enjoy sharing. But no more about for now, okay?" Standing up straight, Claire gave Stellar a hug. "You always get me thinking!" she said excitedly. Looking over her student, Claire smiled. She let go of Stellar at last, turning back to the freshman who were still making their way inside. "So. Do you think you'll be a mentor this year? The program is sure to be a success with the Headmistress behind it." This much was true, and even Claire was excited about it. Who would she get to take under her wing, if anyone? She had a passion for teaching, and it rivaled Mr. Tristan's. This was something she was proud of. For now, she browsed her own thoughts carefully regarding reanimation and anima. It wasn't something she had discussed often, outside of with other teachers of course.

How taboo. It was a rather nasty topic, mostly in regards to the general subject of death. Disturbing the dead was not something that was. . . common. But theoretically, it was of course, possible to reanimate a body with anima. It was rather difficult, however. With that in mind, Claire was never not excited when talking about or studying the effects and properties of anima. She was always learning something new, and she enjoyed sharing it with her students and co-workers. Now that she thought about it, there were a few books in the forbidden section of the library regarding reanimation, but she hadn't read them in some time. Were they still there? Claire would have to take a look some time later today to check things out more closely.

Meanwhile, the freshman were busy being shot out of the sky and causing as much of a mess as possible.

Oswald Vanderbilt III

People were nearly collapsing around him, throwing trash cans, luggage, and books in frustration. He initially paid it no mind, even as the rather interesting guy beside him made his entrance guarded by the thin sheet metal of the previously mentioned bit of trashcan. This made Oswald smile. Innovation was an incredible thing, even if he didn't always agree with what it was behind. Catching the guy off guard, Oswald dropped his bags beside him and stuck out a rather intrusive but genuinely excited handshake. "Nice entrance, friend-o!" he said with an almost child-like excitement. "Name's Oswald, of the Vanderbilt family. You're a freshman too, I take it? I'm looking forward to working with you."

Oswald clasped Stirling's hand tightly. Not on purpose of course, he was used to lugging around ol' Gertrude on his shoulders, so if he squeezed to hard, he was likely to break a few bones. But he was careful, only offering a manly handshake to this guy whose entrance was very manly. He was a man's man. A manly man. Manly.

Not-so-Radiant Arin · July 16, 2015

Lena looked up after tossing the book to the side. She looked up towards a window that seemed to have two suspicious characters standing talking to each other. One of them had such an ugly look about them: a tall monstrous looking girl wearing just a simple miniskirt and a tank top, and then what looked to be a teacher. Lena didn't like the feeling of being watched, being oppressed. It was this sort of feeling that sent her out on this manhunt in the first place.

Lena's thoughts were broken when there was a cry for help in the air.There was one such figure with four wings that was falling to the ground at a rapid pace. If that person had wings, why would they be falling? Perhaps it might have been due to the fact that the rubber bullet trial had hit one of the wings on this person, causing them to fall. Still, however, the fascination of wings on this child might be something to look into. Those wings would probably be handy in combat, not to mention getting around faster, easier. The girl, or what looked like to be a girl, came falling down at an incredible pace, but what was more despicable was the fact that no one was stepping in to help her. Lena glanced around quickly to see if there was anyone that would be willing to help, but no one would. Until there was one person who came swooping in to save her, then taking her to the front step of the college. Lena was interested in finding out who exactly this person was, and what the secrets of their wings were. Lena remembered reading something once that said devils only have black wings and angels have white wings. So was she a devil or an angel, or is it just simply the work of automaton magic?

Not wasting any more time, Lena side-stepped off, away from the crowd and into a spot of recluse. She looked up at the window again, to find the same person staring at her. Lena already loathed this person, and didn't want to come across her any time soon. The entirety of Daedalus College reeked of suspicion, but if she was going to accomplish what she originally set out to do, she would need all the help and support she could get. Lena continued to observe the crowd of freshman, some who were younger than her, some who were older than her. But none of these people would be potential candidates of uprooting the entire hierarchy of the Britannian government. Lena looked up, skyward, absorbing the sun and pondering in thought...

Love of Ghibli · July 16, 2015

It seemed as if most of the students were actually doing fine on their own. Tristan noticed as various children developed various countermeasures to the assault of the rubber bullets. Very impressive he thought to himself. He decided that he had spent enough time watching and was sure that headmistress would inform him of the student she thought would be best suited to be his mentor. With that being thought it was time to take his leave of this display and make his way to his "classroom." As he was walking down to a massive hangar filled with automatons he would pass by some students and think about their prospective futures. Such nice young students, using all of there resources in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence. They should definitely be commended.

As he entered the hangar he made his way to his desk and he noticed a bunch of letters. Well I have mail....Good, very good. I thought I was going to have to get violent today. He opened the letters and it was a plethora of information and dirt on the current officials in power. All waiting for him to use and manipulate to his advantage at some point. What a great way to start the day.

Cosmo. · July 16, 2015

The girl that rocketed herself Inside the hall decided to talk to Charlotte. "Ah...hello there. My name is Erina, and I'm a freshman too here. Do you know what are we supposed to do right now or where we should go next?" The girl in the wheelchair said. " I honestly have no idea, i just gave my luggages to the nearest butler, they were too heavy to carry for me, i see you're struggling a bit with your wheelchair, do you need any help?" Charlotte said "My name is Charlotte, i am a freshman, or better said freshwoman, too. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said with a big smile on her face. She just arrived and already met a new person, which seemed really nice, her studies here would have been wonderful!

Maeriberii Haan · July 17, 2015

"I honestly have no idea, i just gave my luggages to the nearest butler, they were too heavy to carry for me, i see you're struggling a bit with your wheelchair, do you need any help?"

"Uh...shouldn't you try be more careful with handing your stuffs to someone, especially since we might haven't get our rooms yet? Also, thanks, but I'm doing fine right now."

Erina definitely was not a fan of the girl showing her pity like that. Having living with people saying that to her for quite a while as if she couldn't handle herself at all really made Erina loathed it, and while she managed to hide it well, she almost exploded in front of this girl due to it. She knew she meant well, but she felt that she might need to get a point across that she's fine on her own. The girl really looks like she's still quite innocent, and she's definitely really cheerful for getting to her first day in the academy. That expression was something that Erina quite envied. She wished that she could still feel as excited as the girl about this.

"My name is Charlotte, i am a freshman, or better said freshwoman, too. It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl said with a big smile on her face. Not wanting to ruin the girl's mood by acting grouchy like what she wanted to do, Erina decided to put up a smile too in response to her sentence.

"Nice to meet you, Charlotte. Should I call you Char?

Anyway...can you tell me more about yourself?" It's really just to make her come across as polite, though then again it's a nice way for Erina to spend her time while her arms are still cooling off with all their steam, and waiting for the next thing that they should do or go to as freshmen...well, freshwoman.

"As for me...I'm just someone that got it rough on the battlefield and decided to try my luck here as an academic."

Cosmo. · July 17, 2015

"Nice to meet you, Charlotte. Should I call you Char? Anyway...can you tell me more about yourself?" "As for me...I'm just someone that got it rough on the battlefield and decided to try my luck here as an academic." Said the girl on the wheelchair. "Well, my backstory is certainly not as interesting as yours, but to sum it all up i come from Holland, i moved here not long ago, i decided to join the academy to honor my deceased father who died on the battlefield.oh and you can call me however you please!" Charlotte still had a smile on her face even when talking about her father, she cried for him for too long. " anyway, do you already what lessons you're looking forward to? I'm really looking forward to Alchemy class." Charlotte said.

She started holding her necklace, hoping for a good year.

Admiral_Stalfos19 · July 19, 2015

Stellar wasn't expecting Ms. Ingham to comply with her request, but a smile came across her face when she was told to meet her after hours. That was certainly something she could do. Next thing she knew, Ms. Ingham had hugged Stellar... which was a situation the latter never knew how to handle. Finally...

"So. Do you think you'll be a mentor this year?" asked Ms. Ingham. Stellar paused for a moment, before she gave her answer.

"Unfortunately, I don't see myself as much of a mentor," she replied, "Socializing with others has always been difficult for me, and trying to do the same with people I don't know only compounds the difficulty. I'm aware that's part the job, but... I'd rather stick to learning things, if you don't mind."

That said, Stellar looked back at the courtyard where students were still being shot at by the turrets. However, she saw someone watching her for a brief second, before that someone had ran elsewhere. Stellar had to wonder how long she was being watched for, as well as what the watcher wanted from her. However, perhaps her best move was to leave the scene. She already had a place that she could be in mind.

"I've seen enough; I'd best prepare for the first class today," with that, Stellar turned to leave.

Maeriberii Haan · July 19, 2015

"Anyway, do you already what lessons you're looking forward to? I'm really looking forward to Alchemy class."

"Alchemy, huh?"

Erina went silent after her short remark about what the really cheerful girl asked to her. To tell the truth she didn't really know much about what to look forward to in the academy aside from learning the obvious engineering and anima control. Since she wouldn't need to reapply for her mandatory service in the military anymore, she shouldn't really focus her effort on things more related to that, and rather focus on something that might benefit whatever path she decided to choose for herself right now.

Though, she didn't really have any ideas about it, really. She's really just going to go with the flow and try finding something that might interest her that she could reliably do. Unlike Charlotte, whose future seemed to be as bright as her attitude, Erina's not really that optimistic about how she would face her future right now. And this is still not factoring in her desire to not be overshadowed by her father and more capable sisters. It was, in a way, quite irritating that she's this aimless even as she's in the prestigious Academy's building. She knew that without something to strive and fight for here, she'd be in the 90% that would be eliminated from this competition. She didn't want to fail again. She couldn't afford to fail again.

But she still couldn't decide on what she's actually going to do there.

"I...think I'll just wait and see. I'll probably get to find something to be quite the subject for me to learn.

Say though, why are you looking forward to study alchemy, Char?"

"Ugh....what's with all these ruckus?"

Grumbling as the sound of bullets being fired and crashes finally gotten to her, Violet finally grumpily woke up from her short nap at the front door of the Academy building. She took off her sleeping mask to clear off her eyes for a bit, before looking around to discern the current situation. It seemed that she had missed most of the freshmen passing through this year's version of the rubber bullet trial and now recovering from it while some of them were interacting with each other, maybe. She could see a blonde-haired young woman doing something perverted to a young girl not far from where she was standing. Violet felt that she should know the identity of the young woman and that she should step in to stop the indecent public act, but decided not to in the end since she couldn't be bothered enough to do so. Turning her attention around, she saw the tall senior Stellar were talking with Miss Ingham. They looked slightly suspicious, and really, Stellar herself was someone really suspicious in general due to who her mother was, but once again Violet didn't really feel like barging in to hear what they're talking.

Other that that, she didn't see much topic of interest at that moment. Victoria mentioned something about a mentorship program sometimes before she fell asleep, but Violet didn't really know much about it to pay it any minds right now. Tristan was thankfully not around, but even then Violet knew that he'd know about stuffs anyway if she's not careful. it's not that he'd act out on his knowledge anyway, but that feeling of being always watched always annoyed Violet to no end.

Not seeing much else to do for now, she decided to walk outside to find a better resting spot before the true ceremony starts. It took her quite a bit to find her usual spot of recluse...to find someone else was there, looking through a window. This young, fancy haired girl kind of struck Violet's interest a bit due to how she acted so far, and since she's already there anyway, the teacher decided to approach her to ask her some questions.

"Hey, you're supposed to be a freshman, right? Not fancying to enter the building just yet? Or are you just intimidated?

Either way, just come in. No one'll bite.

Probably except me."

It was a forced attempt of humor, but then again it's not that far off from the truth. Still looking at the girl before her, Violet's smile widened, as she tried to analyze the girl more and more as each second passed.

Not-so-Radiant Arin · July 19, 2015

Lena surveyed the area around her. The front of the Daedalus College might have looked like a stereotypical entrance to a school or college, but the entire backside held an entire network of metal bridges, architecture, and spinning cogs that were abnormal. Lena had read about the prospect of schools when she was little, but she didn't ever think she would find a school of this magnitude. Lena decided to hop up onto the small wall that surrounded the entrance of the school, and surveyed the area beyond. The Daedalus College was utterly massive. More massive than Lena had first realized. It might actually take a while for her to actually find what she needed to.

"Oh, it's so pretty here...I wish I had a good book to go along with it."

Lena absorbed herself into the surroundings. It was away from the bullets and gunfire, so that no shots could be heard. A dove flew near Lena and sat perched on the wall, just a few feet away from Lena. She thought she was just here to do a mission: to really find out what happened to her father and why the Britannian Empire is keeping everything under wraps. But for the first few moments that she was here, she really felt connected to this place. She didn't know if she would fit in, given how secretive her motives were, so she wondered if her warm smile and courageous attitude would be enough to charm her way to the things she needed.

"Hey, you're supposed to be a freshman, right? Not fancying to enter the building just yet? Or are you just intimidated?"

Lena didn't realize the person that was looking at her from down below. It was another female, one who looked like a teacher. Though, given how her hair was unkempt and that her wardrobe was pretty much only a nightgown, it wouldn't surprise her if this female standing before her was another automaton. Though, it is capable of living and breathing, so it couldn't have been an automaton, right? Lena tried not to think too hard and looked at the stranger below.

"Either way, just come in. No one'll bite.

Probably except me."

Lena giggled at the last remark. "I don't think biting me is a very good idea; I'm sure I don't taste that good!" Lena giggled again at the thought of a fellow student or teacher biting her in a playful manner. Lena brushed her hair back in the wind. "Who are you? I'm Lena, and yes, I'm a freshman. And I just wanted to get a good look at the place I'll be staying for the next few years. You understand, right?"

Raine · July 19, 2015

At last, the tiles of Daedalus lay beneath her. Her long journey across ocean, and ocean, and more ocean, and terrible port authority had finally come to fruition. Pavi would finally be able to be the sassy, elegant student by day and masked vigilante ravaging the city’s underbelly in pursuit of her mother’s killer and the best Indian food by night. Pavi only seriously meant one of those things, the Indian food, she was sick that the British boiled everything.

In all honesty, the momentary spur of awe had simmered down to a mellow anxiety and, after enough time, tanked like an Archimedes’ submarine to an annoyed angst. The sheer crowd was a monkey on her back; no, at least she could talk to a monkey. Pavi made a mental note to name her first primate companion Phillip. Her angst was stemming from the tag team wonder twins of disorganized management that had the lot of them sticking their thumbs up their butt and social anxiety aided by lacking confidence of her English-speaking ability. Side note, Pavi was sure that her Englishw as fine but she learned and spoke to only one person regularly who SPOKE it. Reading and comprehension is one thing, but nonsensical fears that perhaps the Brittanican… Britanicites… Br… whatever, spoke somewhat oddly sent an ill-defined lump in her throat and developed a case of the… umm… laryngitis? *cough cough*.

Screw it, I’ll steal some s***. Pavi used her sleight of hand to rummage through the people adjacent to her, the loose clothing only and only preoccupied people, no reason getting caught on Day 1. Her rewards was numerous was worthless, she got some loose change, a cheap pocket watch, cough drops… wait, no, quinine pills? Someone has malaria! Pavi rolled down her sleeves and scuttled back to lean against the wall. She didn’t see anything.

Sign In

Clockwork Souls [IC]

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Archived