A pane of glass, the soft sounds of a light, steady rain beating gently against it, and outside was a blurred world of semi-darkness. It wasn't early morning like most would assume. It was actually closer to lunch, but the dark clouds hid any hints of the noon sun. Staring out of the large, rectangular pane was a young girl whose reflection showed her resting her cheek in her palm as her golden eyes stared blankly at the field outside. Her brown hair fell messily around her head and shoulders, reaching somewhere down her back, all in its usual tangles and curls and stuck up strands. Her expression was near-nonexistent, as in, she was not intending to make one. Her mind was too distracted for such a thing as that. Truth be told, even the students running around in the training fields outside were not the focus of her empty gaze.
Her eyes, mind, and attention were on something entirely different. In her head, as she sat lazily at her desk, she was running through the last several months again, as she had done repeatedly as of late. The beginning of her seven month journey was back in January, when she officially started as a student at the wielder academy known as Olirian. Much and more had happened since arriving there. There was Anita Caswell, her partner, and the first real friend she had in the last ten years of her life. The odd girl named Mana Key was the second, sort of, but her attention always seemed more focused on Anita over any of her other companions. Then there was her training, learning how to fight and how to utilize the powers she possessed as a wielder, a sort of off-branch from humanity that were created for war, and are born with abilities that people would consider to be superhuman.
The most heartbreaking, the most regretful memories, however, were of the killings that had been taking place throughout the year. At first, there were only two of them, both of which seemed to be placing her as the culprit. She had to admit, the evidence was so damning, she could understand how most of her classmates would believe she was guilty. If not for Anita, she might even have started to question her own sanity, and potentially began to believe that somehow, she was the murderer after all. The key words were, ‘at first’, since in the last month, the time since their week-long vacation ended, there were two more attacks. One that took the lives of two other students the week they came back to school, and another just a few days ago, bringing about two more student deaths. These were the things that occupied Ferain’s mind the most.
It was suspected at first that the killer was staging up the killings for Ferain to take the blame, but now, they appeared to be running wild, upping the game, killing without an apparent purpose. To some extent, deep beneath the horrible feelings of guilt, she felt a terrible sensation of shame and selfishness. This was due to her belief that she was a target in all of this, and all of it was therefore her fault. Now, she felt stupid and self-centered for thinking she was at the root of this. And now, there was a guilt that was eating her up inside for her helplessness in putting an end to this case. Even if she was not the cause for the killings, or the target of the murderer’s schemes, she felt too involved now to let it go. She was too involved, she knew that perfectly well. A shifting from the desk in front of her caused her to snap back into reality, at least enough to notice the blurry figures running through the field outside. The constant rainfall against the glass was impairing her ability to see clearly through it, but her lack of focus and her blurry vision were primarily caused by her wandering brain, and her drifting eyes.
“I thought they would have canceled PE classes in this weather.” came an energetic, light hearted tone, one that belonged to a lively sixteen year old girl.
The voice had a very faint nasally characteristic to it, but it was never bothersome enough for anyone to say it was annoying or disruptive. In fact, the more disruptive nature of her came from her personality more than anything else. Ferain shifted her eyes to the corners so she could just barely see the girl in her peripheral vision. It wasn’t like she didn’t know what the girl looked like anyway, so a full on glance wasn’t called for at the moment. She wasn’t ready to break her concentration on her recollective ponderings, and her thoughts on how to move forward for the remaining few months of the school year.
The girl in front of her had a young looking face, even for those of similar age. It made her look two or three years younger in a way that was entirely different from Ferain’s own childish similarities. Where Ferain had a short body, shorter than most others her age, anyway, and a thin frame, this girl just appeared younger. It sort of reminded her of Lilipa Nierro, another of Ferain’s friends, and one that was stuck in the body of a nine year old due to her wielder abilities. This girl had honey colored eyes that were wide, round, and full of a childish innocence and naivety, though that was really just a foolish trick from whatever mold she was created from. Due to these eyes, her easily found grin, and her youthful face, she almost always appeared lost or out of place, like she was a bit… slow, somehow. It wasn’t the truth, obviously, but it did appear that way from time to time. As for her hair, it was a lighter brown than Ferain’s, and had tinges of red mixed in it as well.
Her body was nearly as small as Fera’s in practically every way, which was one of the main reasons Ferain suspected they got along. They knew what it was like to be so different. And, on top of their appearances, they had other reasons that made them instantly hit it off with one another. Ferain, shifting her eyes back to the glass, gave a lazy shrug of her shoulder.
“They always do what they want, Maple. Maybe they think a bit of rain will make us tougher in the end.” Fera said, her voice quiet and as soft-spoken as ever. To some extent, as much as she hated it, it could at times be mistaken for a whisper. It was the result, or so she suspected, of the many years of scarcely using it, having lived in near-complete seclusion for ten or so years.
“It will make us all sick instead. You know how quick a cold can spread in a school. It will be all over everybody like wildfire.” said Maple, before letting out a grim sigh. She rested her elbows on Ferain’s wooden desk and then put her chin in her palms. This made Fera finally break free of her unfocused watching of the rain and turn her head to meet eyes with her friend. “You’re distracted again, Fera.” Maple pointed out while grinning.
“No I’m not.” Fera quietly, and lazily, argued. She started watching the rain again, knowing full well that this wouldn’t stop her over enthusiastic, and quite frankly, nosy friend.
“It’s the news, isn’t it?” asked another voice, this one belonging to a male student that sat to her right.
He was a large fellow, though even that word might be an understatement for his size. Victor Crimson was easily one of the largest students in the academy, standing at nearly six and a half feet, and having the body that would make even the meanest bull jealous. His powers only fed into this, as he took in another wielder’s physical attacks and turned them into an energy that strengthened his body even further. She had fought Victor in the advancement test a little over a month ago in order to achieve her newly acquired lvl-2 status, and this very power was the reason she lost that fight. Her attacks simply had no effect on him. Besides for his overwhelming size, he was actually pretty average looking, and his personality was a far cry opposite to the way he looked. He had messy black hair, and his eyes had a mixture of black and red, though the red glimmers could only be noticed in brighter lit rooms. Anything too dim, and the black would swallow it all up.
“What news?” asked Maple, teetering in her chair as she had it balancing on the rear two legs. She was good at doing this, and could hold it for a good while even without having her elbows on Fera’s table to keep her balance. She suspected Maple was just naturally gifted with a perfect equilibrium.
“You don’t know?” gasped Victor.
“The killings.” Fera murmured, just as Maple was about to speak. Both of her friends looked at her solemnly, and to some extent, awkwardly. Fera had joined their class just after their vacation ended and she received her new lvl-2 schedule. Because of this freshness in their friendship, and perhaps because of Ferain’s inability to let this situation go, her grim outlook and attitude was a bit of a hill in their relationship that all three of them were still attempting to navigate. Fera, knowing this, sighed as she looked back at Maple, making sure to keep eye contact. “It’s all over the news, how could you not know about them?”
“I never watch the news.” Maple answered, before smiling. “They never have anything good to say except for the weather sometimes, and if I wanted to know that I could just stick my head out the window.”
“She does have a point, Lightning Bug.” said Victor.
“Thanks for being on my side, Vic.” Maple said, beaming, and causing the large boy to blush a bright shade of red. He was always like this around Maple, who, despite her appearance, loved to tease just about anybody, though Victor was her primary source of enjoyment.
“I-it’s not that I’m on your side or anything, just that you do have a real point. In terms of the attacks, it’s not really good news, and that’s all they talk about, so…”
“Not really a need to go into detail, big guy.” Maple said, interjecting herself in the pause and brief silence that Victor left. “I think we all get the point.” she quickly added, snickering teasingly for a moment.
“It really isn’t something to make light of.” Fera said, coolly. “Death isn’t a joke.” she continued, and her tone was so cold, one could imagine frost escaping with the words, freezing the very air around them. Fera didn’t do this intentionally. It’s just that she had experienced death and the heartache it can cause. To her, that pain, that nearly uncontainable grief that always threatened to consume her completely, couldn’t be farther from a lighthearted jest.
“We know that.” Victor assured her, but Ferain was already looking out of the window again, her attention starting to drift once more to things that could not be changed or predicted.
It was easy to do this in this new class of hers. For the most part, Fera’s schedule remained the same. She kept the same teachers for her physical education class, history lessons, and other academic courses. The primary change to her day was that instead of being with the other lvl-4s in Sara Yakuma’s class, one of the teachers that taught the lower level students, she now had classes under the not so watchful eyes of Mr. Pita Haris. Professor Haris was not a very concerned man when it came to his student’s education, or so it seemed to Ferain, in any case. She suspected this was due to the skills of the students themselves, as they did not really need as much work on improving their abilities as lvl-4s or lvl-5s. Still, seeing as they were not yet lvl-1s, she assumed that there was still room for improvement somewhere. Otherwise, what was the point of having the class in the first place? They could easily just give the students another elective or maybe a free period.
What Fera quickly gathered from her short time in this class was that from now on, their improvement would be up to the effort of each student individually, and on their own personal time at that. She didn’t know if the other lvl-2 teachers were like this, but in the case of Haris, she was left to her own devices if she was to reach lvl-1 by the next year’s advancement tests. While her mind began to drift again, she could hear that her friends were talking, but could not make out the words clearly. That is until Maple leaned in close to her right ear and whispered something that instantly caught her attention again.
“So, have you two kissed yet?” came the wicked tone, which was accompanied by the image Fera conjured of Maple’s evil smirk.
It was easy to do so, seeing as Maple flashed it whenever she attempted to make Fera uncomfortable with anything ‘naughty’, as Maple loved to put it. While it did make Fera blush, she had to admit that just simply kissing wasn’t all that naughty in her opinion, but the thought of it being with Anita did make it fall more in that category than she liked. ‘Naughty’ things always made Fera blush, just as much as cursing or eating a cheeseburger rebelliously made Anita grow scarlet in the face. It simply wasn’t her forte, this sort of topic.
“Kissed?” Fera gasped.
“Kissed.” repeated Maple, snickering quietly. “Lock lips, share tongue, you know… kiss.”
“Ummm… N-no, w-we haven’t.” Ferain stammered, playing with some of the hair that fell over her shoulder. She twirled it in between her thumb and index finger back and forth while avoiding a direct confrontation with Maple’s glistening irises of soft, light amber.
“See, I told you that would fix her.” Maple said, grinning at Victor, who was shaking his head. “Sooooo, you haven’t kissed, then?” Maple then questioned, leaning forward on Fera’s desk again, making sure to get as close as possible to prevent Ferain from running anymore.
“I told you! No, we didn’t!” Fera said, much louder than she anticipated. Her eyes were closed, her voice was shaky, and her face was so hot, cooking an egg on her forehead didn’t seem entirely out of the question. When she opened her eyes and saw the whole class watching her, Maple with her wicked grin, Victor with his face in his hands, and the others all wondering about the commotion from the quiet strange girl in the corner, she knew that she really could cook an egg with her own heat.
“Okay, calm down. Do you want the whole school to know?” asked Maple, crossing her arms over her flat chest and donning an extremely satisfied expression.
Fera’s eyes narrowed angrily and she gave a short ‘Hmph’ while turning her attention away for a final time. She was done with Maple’s games, and she was tired of being in the class for the day. Any longer here and she might actually jump from the window and run away to her dorm. However, just as she was thinking that this might truly be a good idea, she felt herself lifted out of her seat as if she was some sort of puppy in need of assistance to move elsewhere. Again, she felt the student’s many eyes glued to her, and she knew why. Victor had this uncomfortable habit of throwing her over his shoulder whenever she was feeling down or distant. In his mind, he probably thought he was helping to bring her down from whatever strange journey her mind was traveling along, and for the most part, he was right. The second the bell rang and they were leaving the class, she forgot all about her worries and her guilt over the attacks.
A temporary repair, she knew that well enough, but it was a welcome one sometimes. She rested her elbows on Victor’s powerful back while softly bouncing to the rhythm of his enormous steps. Her chin found her palms and she took on a lazy expression while watching Maple trail happily behind them, holding her own bag as well as Ferain’s.
“Do you know where he’s taking me today?” Fera questioned, and she really didn’t know. Sometimes he took her to the roof, sometimes the headmaster’s office, knowing that they had a friendly relationship, and sometimes, with it being time for lunch, he would take her to the cafeteria. Some days, it would just be a random location on the school grounds, but that was rare. He did always try to take her somewhere that would help lift her spirits in some way.
“Don’t know.” admitted Maple, shrugging her shoulders briefly. “You can always ask him. Oh, and while you’re unoccupied, can you have a look at my latest drawings?” she asked, and before Fera could even reply, Maple was pulling a green covered book from her bag. It was like an ordinary notebook, but Fera knew that the pages inside had no lines, as they were for the sole purpose of sketching.
“You know I don’t like looking at those.” Fera said, somewhat reluctantly, because she already knew what was about to come next and she was never ready for it.
Maple’s large eyes began to glisten and actual tears started welling up in their corners. “Y-you mean, you d-don’t like… I can’t believe you hate my art, Ferain. I guess I really am worthless, huh?” she sobbed, and while Ferain knew that, one hundred percent, without a single doubt in the world, it was fake tears falling down her cheeks, she could never not feel guilty when she saw them.
Perhaps it was a form of blackmailing, and maybe it was not the best thing for a friend to do to another friend, but Ferain often forgave it for a couple of reasons. One, Maple was a friend, and Fera’s supply of those was still woefully small. Two, she knew that if she really didn’t want to look at them, Maple would drop the act and let it go. She did it as a joke, something to lighten the mood, and she never once tried to force anything Fera didn’t want onto her. An overexaggerated sigh later, Ferain was skimming through the new ‘art’ Maple created. The reason why Ferain was always so reluctant was because, while kissing wasn’t really something naughty in Fera’s opinion, everything in those drawings definitely were. Maple had a tendency to be a bit dirty minded, as it was a hobby of hers since middle school. According to her, she found an adult anime book, and ever since then, she found her purpose in life.
It was a bit too risqué for Ferain’s somewhat innocent self, and the drawings always made her feel uncomfortably frustrated, but she did it anyway, and she supported Maple’s hobbies. Anita might be her special partner, her closest friend and supporter, but she treasured all of her other friends as well, including Maple and Victor despite them being new acquisitions to the group.
“New, but very welcome.” she thought, watching her friend stride close behind.
She still clearly remembered their first encounter. Maple, she had come to learn, was like her in a way. She, like Ferain, did not have a popular reputation among the students. She was known for fighting wild and dirty, and her powers helped with this, making her undefeated in every fight she participated in. Fera didn’t know this until after they met, but it didn’t take long for Maple to open up to her. The second she walked into the classroom on the first day back from break, Maple waved her over and invited her to take the open seat behind her. At first, she thought it was a joke, but there were no other seats that anybody would actually let her take, and Mr. Haris was not inclined to help her find one. This left her with little choice but to accept the offer and the first words Maple ever spoke to her stunned her enough to form a connection between them.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Guess we’re in the same boat, huh, Prodigy?” Then, after closer examination, she continued. “Wow, you’re kind of cute. Thought you would be uglier up close”
Fera couldn’t help but laugh at this, and that was an instant bond formed, like how Anita’s friendship had come along. It was almost like fate. As for Victor, he sat beside them and was already a friend of Maple’s. Plus, he respected her after their fight during the advancement tests, so naturally, he quickly joined in on their conversations. This made the change in scheduling an easy one for Ferain, but there was a small hitch in the new class, and it wasn’t the lackluster teacher. Raven, who had previously been lvl-4, also advanced to lvl-2, and she happened to be put in the same class as well. In the end, she wound up trading Marrow in for another student that hated her just as much, if not more than her older bully.
She returned to her current space and time, feeling the gentle sway of Victor’s massive steps down the corridor. All around them, students were stepping free of their path, some because of the boy’s unnatural size, but mostly because they were the outcasts, and people were afraid of them. The level-4 prodigy, the giant first-year, and the cheating vixen, all bundled together to form some sort of new terrifying group on the school grounds. It also didn’t help that some students, though admittedly not as many as before, still thought Fera was guilty of the murders, despite her having alibis for the last two attacks. This little tidbit of information only dragged Victor’s and Maple’s reputations down even further too, which she did feel pretty guilty about. They weren’t popular beforehand, but now, they were sometimes outright shunned.
The usual mutterings were whispered around too, which she was unfortunate enough to catch some of as they passed by.
“Murder.”
“Family-killer.”
“Disgrace.”
These were just some of the insults thrown her way, but she had learned to ignore them for the most part. After a while of walking, and Ferain’s flustering look-through of Maple’s latest creations, they made it to the cafeteria. Anita was waiting in their usual spot, and she had guests sitting with her. One was a boy that looked and acted older than he actually was. He had short black hair, eyes that were as red as rubies, and a slim figure that was fairly strong for its size. This boy was her mentor when it came to learning how to use her abilities, and his name was Yarin Olira. He was a little older than Ferain, though only by a few months. Beside him was his partner, Kiko Mihari. A lazy, black haired youth that always had a weary slouch in his posture and a dissatisfied expression plastered on his face. Even at the table, his hands were stuffed in his pockets and his head was lying left cheek down on the table, while his dark colored eyes were half-closed, giving the impression that he was close to falling into a stupor.
The final occupant, besides for Fera’s silver haired partner, was Lilipa. Like the others, her hair was black, though it reached her ankles and remained in a spiky mess no matter what form she took. Three red ribbons were tied at intervals in the ponytail she kept her hair styled in, and on the last one were tied two golden bells, which always gave her away with each step as they jingled merrily. Her feet didn’t reach the floor, as she was sitting on a bookbag in order to have more visibility over the table. No matter how much time Fera spent with her, she never got used to how Lilipa, a sixteen year old high school girl, was only about four feet tall and had the face of a girl nearly half her age.
“Ah, the guest of honor finally arrives.” said Anita, who had a lovely grin creasing her pinkish lips. Her storm gray eyes and long, straight hair of fine silver were as beautiful as always, especially when lit perfectly from the ceiling lights above them. Though, Fera knew that she always looked better when the sun was gleaming off of her features. It was natural lighting that made her the prettiest girl in the academy, or so Ferain thought anyway. “Thank you, Victor, I was wondering where my little wolf wandered off to.” Anita added.
“No problem, Anita.” Victor said, setting Ferain down and lightly shoving her forward.
Ferain stumbled, straightened her white button-up shirt, and glowered back at her large companion. “One of these days, you need to stop doing that. I can walk, you know.” she stated, firmly.
“I wouldn't turn my nose up at a free ride.” came Maple’s enthusiastic chime.
“Neither would you, Kiko.” said Lilipa, her feet kicking back and forth excitedly underneath the table. “Maybe you should ask nicely and he’ll take you to your next class.”
Kiko’s eyes opened slightly and his head shifted from resting on his cheek to his chin as he grimaced at Lilipa. “Maybe you should ask him to climb onto his shoulders. Maybe then you’ll finally be able to see over the table.”
“You little…” Lilipa snarled, but she stopped as Yarin snapped the book he was reading shut.
“Both of you, quiet. I am trying to read.” he snapped. He always had a calm sort of tone to him, distant and cold, but underneath his rough exterior, he had a caring heart, in spite of how he sounded.
“He started it.” Lilipa pouted.
“Liar.” Kiko muttered. Both looked as if they were going to keep going, but at the crimson glowing hue to Yarin’s eyes, they both went silent at once.
“Always a lively bunch.” Maple murmured, before reaching out a hand to Ferain. “So, what did you think about the drawings?”
Ferain relinquished the notebook with rosy cheeks and a concerned grin. “They were… nice, I guess. But Maple, some of them looked sort of like me and An…” Fera instantly stopped, her eyes darting to her partner and then back to Maple, who only replied with a knowing smile that was full of trouble.
“Glad you liked them.” Maple sang, before stuffing the book back into her bag. “Well, Victor and I have somewhere to be so we’ll leave you all to chat.”
“Where are you going?” asked Anita.
“Our history teacher, Mr. Roan, asked for a paper from Maple yesterday and she’s supposed to turn it in by the end of the day.” answered Victor.
“Professor Roan?” choked Anita. “That angry lizard? I guess you better get on it then or he might roast you over a fire and eat you whole.”
“Sounds like a good time.” Lilipa joked.
“She’s being serious.” Yarin stated. “I have him as well and he even concerns me sometimes.”
“You?” Lilipa gasped. “Impossible, Yarin, you’re not afraid of anything.”
“I said he concerns me, not that he frightens me. And there are a few things that petrify me, I can’t deny it. He’s simply not one of them.” Yarin said, opening his book again and attempting to make progress in it.
“I guess you’re going to have Victor give you all the answers, then.” Anita said confidently.
“Actually, I thought it was a perfect time to tutor the big dummy.” said Maple, who, despite her attitude, had some of the best grades in the school.
Victor, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was a scholarship student, like Ferain, and also similar to her were his test results during the admittance exams. His was only slightly above her own, though that wasn’t saying much as she had intentionally got the bare minimum score in order to avoid standing out. Due to her past, she wanted as little attention drawn to her as possible when applying for and attending this school.
“Well, best of luck to you guys.” Ferain said, giving a brief wave of farewell in accompaniment.
“Bye-bye.” Anita called out, grinning and waving, and Lilipa waved as well, since her mouth was full of food and she was unable to speak properly.
Yarin raised a finger in a lazy salute, too busy focusing on his book, and Kiko simply laid there, burying his face in the arms he folded atop the table. Ferain moved to take a seat across from Anita, and in between Yarin and Lilipa, when she noticed her partner’s face twisted in what might have been a grin, or maybe something more sinister if Ferain knew her as well as she thought she did.
“So, Maple’s drawing art of us now, hmm? Tell me, did you give her permission? Did you… maybe… do some modeling for her at some point?” teased Anita, and before Fera could answer, as she was too flustered and stunned to reply quickly, Anita continued. “I mean, because I would have loved to volunteer. Especially if it's nude modeling. You know, for professional reasons, obviously.”
“Yuck.” Lilipa groaned, making a feigned choking sound while sticking out her tongue. “Get a room, you two, or at least get out of my sight. Always flirting with each other and stuff, it’s disgusting, really.”
“Did you hear something, Fera? I think I heard a fly buzzing somewhere nearby.” Anita said, looking around curiously, but intentionally avoiding Lilipa’s narrowed, furious leer.
“Not a fly, just a lost rat.” Kiko murmured, his voice muffled due to his buried face.
“You two are going to pay for all this someday, you hear me.” Lilipa growled.
“Hmm, indeed.” Anita said, sarcastically, giving a dismissive wave of her hand.
“Yes, you’re real ferocious, aren’t you?” Kiko muttered, raising his head enough so his dull eyes could meet Lilipa’s. “How about you climb off of your booster-seat and bother somebody else for a change?”
Yarin’s book closed shut again, and this time, black and red currents of sparking electricity crackled around him. His scarlet eyes glowed brightly, even in the room’s already well lit space. “I told you to be quiet,” he said coolly. “If I need to repeat myself one more time, it won’t be kindly.”
“Sorry, Yarin.” both said in unison before falling silent once more.
Yarin gave a snort and Fera swore she saw smoke leave his nostrils. Afterwards, he opened his book again, but he seemed to be having a hard time focusing on it. It only took a few more seconds to realize that this was the case, since he slammed it down on the table and sighed.
“I can’t get into it again. Lilipa, come on, we’re leaving.”
“You got it.” Lilipa sang happily, jumping to her feet and collecting the bag she was sitting on.
“Where are you going?” asked Kiko.
“The gym. I have that class next and I figured I might as well get a head start on training.” He rose, grabbed his own bag, and started walking away before stopping to glance back over his shoulder. “Seeing as I can’t get a lick of reading done, there’s better uses for my time than dealing with your bickering.” His eyes next found Fera and she gave him her full attention, because if she didn’t she really would regret it. “How’s your training coming along?”
“Pretty good, I think.” Fera answered, sounding unsure now that it was Yarin asking her about it. For the most part, since he started letting her train on her own, she felt fairly confident in herself and what she’s accomplished. Now that she was being put on the spot, however, she felt a little less certain of her progress.
“You think?” Yarin asked. “We’ll have another lesson tomorrow night at the gym by the dormitory. Don’t be late.” he said, before continuing out of the room with Lilipa trailing close behind, skipping merrily in his wake.
“What about you, Kiko?” asked Anita, and Fera did not fail to notice the annoyed look on her partner’s face. She didn’t mind Kiko, but she didn’t really enjoy his company either. It wasn’t entirely unfounded, seeing as Kiko was, well… he was Kiko. In general, he was a hard person to make conversation with, given his low energy and unhidden lack of motivation to participate in pretty much anything.
“Might as well leave too, I suppose.” he said lazily, before groggily rising to his feet. He scooped up his bag, slung it over one shoulder, and stuffed one hand in a front pocket of his pants. “Three’s a crowd, after all, and I do despise being a part of those.”
“Aren’t you always in a group of three people?” questioned Ferain.
“My point stands, Sparky, it’s why I hate my life so much. Take care… or don’t, I don’t really care.” Kiko said, giving a one handed salute, and walking towards the exit.
“Alone at last.” Anita stated, watching him go without a hint of remorse on her face. In fact, she looked relieved. “You know, we don’t get all that much alone time at school anymore, do we?” said Anita.
“We have home for that.” Fera replied, taking a bite of some diced potatoes that were on Anita’s lunch tray. “Besides, it’s kind of nice having more people around.”
“You think?” asked Anita. “Ehhh, me personally, not that into it. And stop eating my food!” Anita called out, lightly swatting Fera’s reaching fingers away from her diminishing pile of potatoes.
“But I’m hungry.” Ferain said, giving a slight tilt of her head and smiling as brown hair fell messily over her face.
“Errrr… fine.” Anita slid the tray into the middle of the table and Fera hurriedly reached down and picked up another small cube. “Why don’t you go get your own food?”
“Because I know you’ll share with me. That, and Victor brought me here, not to the line.”
Anita looked across the crowded interior, with its tiled floors and patches of nature that were scattered along the lower floor. The upper, second level was only a walkway of sorts, large enough to fit tables and such, but it wasn’t a full sized floor. One could lean over the railings and gaze down at the lower level. There were also skylights over the few trees and planters but due to the stormy weather outside, no sunlight was cast through them.
“Yeah, the line looks pretty backed up too. I guess asking you to deal with that would be a bit much, huh?”
“Just a little.” Fera said. “I’m getting better with crowds and stuff, but I still don’t feel that comfortable around a large group.”
“It’s only your first year here, there’s still ample opportunity to grow.” Anita stated, stabbing a plastic fork into a piece of meat that was on her tray as well. “So, how are your powers doing today?”
“My powers?” asked Fera, her hand stopping halfway to her mouth with a potato held in between her fingers.
“Yeah, your powers. You know, because of the storm.”
“Oh, they’re doing fine.” Fera answered, finishing her stolen bit of food and reaching for another one.
“I do want some of those.” Anita said. Fera giggled and took her hand away, allowing Anita to stab one on the end of her plastic utensil.
“Anyway, I’m not always bothered by the rain. There’s barely any lightning and thunder out there, if any at all. I don’t really feel it at the moment so I think I’m in the clear.” Fera then pulled down her lower eyelid a bit and leaned closer to Anita. “Any glowing?” she asked, smiling.
“No… and ewww. Don’t you dare touch my food with that finger again.” Anita went silent and stared for a time at her partner, giving her a curious examination. “What’s wrong, Ferain?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. What makes you think anything is wrong?” Fera replied.
“The look in your eyes, the odd way you’re acting, and Victor carrying you in here. It’s been a month, Fera, even I know that he only does that when you’re feeling blue about something. Is it the news, the attacks?”
Fera averted her eyes as she rested her arms on the table, trying to avoid looking directly into Anita’s piercing stare. “It’s nothing.” Fera forced herself to say.
“No, it’s not.” Anita stated. Her expression softened tremendously, in the way it always did when she was in ‘consoling mode’, and Fera couldn’t help but look up to see it. “It’s not your fault.” Anita stated.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t be beating yourself up so much over it. Ferain, what’s happening, you’re not responsible for it. You have nothing to do with the killings, and you haven’t even seen one happen. It’s not like you were at the scenes of any of them or something.”
“I just feel like it still has something to do with me.” said Fera, somewhat stubbornly.
“Because of Mana and Agent Key?” asked Anita.
Fera gave a slight nod and looked sternly into her partner’s face. “Why else would they be here? Why was the murderer trying to pin the murders on me if I wasn’t somehow involved? And, in case you have forgotten, we both were at the scene of the first murder.”
“The team game.” Anita muttered.
“Yeah, exactly. I know it might be crazy or paranoid or even selfish of me to think, but I have a feeling that I’m closer to this than we know. I’m… I’m thinking of offering my help to Agent Key and Mana. I want to help with this case, to help with catching this monster that’s killing everyone.”
“I suppose I can’t dissuade you? It’ll be dangerous if you get any further involved.”
“There’s not anything to dissuade me from doing just yet, I still haven’t decided. I wanted to hear your opinion about it, as well as Headmaster Hakamura’s. I don’t know how much help I’ll really be, but…”
“But you might be of some assistance.” finished Anita, before sighing wearily. She pressed a finger to her forehead and shook her head slowly. “I’m going to be honest, I don’t think you should do this. It’s not your place, not your responsibility. I don’t think Mana should be helping out either, she’s too young… all of us are, for that matter.”
“I’m getting stronger now and–”
“And what about the other students, Ferain?” asked Anita, interrupting her. “Do you think they were weak? The last pair were both lvl-2 students. They weren’t the strongest second-years but they were up there. And that’s another thing, Fera, they were second-years. One of the other victims was even a fourth-year student, you know, graduation year. I’m typically fairly confident in my prowess as a fighter, and I know you’re getting a lot better, but I think this is too much for students to handle. I love you, Ferain, I will always support you, but in this matter, I simply can’t. I want you to stay safe.”
“Love?” Ferain silently questioned, going over the word in her mind. “Sisterly, of course.” Fera thought, before shaking the word from her head and pressing forward. She knew Anita would not budge, not when she was this far against the idea, and to try would only serve to upset her further. Fera knew at once what she had to do, and besides, it wasn’t like she was lying. She hadn't decided on what she wanted to do yet, so telling Anita what she wanted to hear wouldn’t weigh too heavily on her conscience. “Alright, Anita. I’ll stay away from it for the time being, okay?”
“Thank you.” Anita softly said.
“Of course.” Fera replied, before reaching out and taking one more potato from Anita’s tray. “I’m going to use the bathroom. With Victor rushing me over here, I didn’t have the chance to go.” Fera reached down for her bag and her eyes went wide for a moment. “Hmm, Maple must have taken my bag with her.”
“Guess you’ll have to track her down before lunch is over. They’ll probably be in the library on the third floor. That’s where I would go for some private studying.”
“Why?” asked Fera.
“Because, it’s lonely and quiet up there. A good place to be alone with somebody.”
“Right.” Fera said, not fully understanding why Anita had said that in her sly, playful tone of voice. “At any rate, I best get going, then.” Fera said, rising to her feet and stretching her arms into the air. “See you in a few classes.”
“Alright, pup, later.” Anita said, giving an adorable wave of her hand as Fera turned to leave, pondering the use of the odd nickname out of nowhere. Fera reached the doors to the cafeteria and let them swing shut behind her as she left the building behind her.