"Good morning to our two newest students!" A grinning blonde woman greeted Violet and Alex as they found their seats in the reserved car for academy students. The blonde wore a school uniform of a sort. She hadn't elected for the skirt most women wore during class, instead wearing a more practical outfit for travel through the mist. It was also more than a little worn, with various patches and stitches struggling to maintain the outfit it had once been. "I'm Charlotte Robinson, the TA for your homeroom class and your escort for the ride. You can call me Charlie."
Alex stood to introduce himself but Violet had her own ideas. She hopped to her feet with the energy of an excited rabbit to greet the other woman. "Hiya, I'm Violet Asher! I'm eighteen, I like cats and reading, and if I were a fruit I'd be, hmmm," she paused, putting one neatly manicured finger on her lips in thought before brushing a few strands of deep purple hair from her eyes and finishing "A cherry, I think." The five other students in the car gave her looks ranging from amused to annoyed. Alex stared at her with wide eyes and a furrowed brow, as if she had announced that she had been born and raised in the mist.
"You're certainly a lively one!" Charlie responded, a hidden anxiety washing from her face like soap in a shower. None of the students she was escorting had ever traveled through the mist before, and she was spending emotional energy like she would never run out. If she didn't maintain her faked cheer, any one of them could panic and cause an incident. She hated escort duty; a few students almost always died on the way to the academy. She was, however, one of the few TA's with any success keeping new recruits calm on the trip. It was, however, exhausting. A girl with energy like Violet Asher would help the atmosphere tremendously and, consciously or not, bear part of Charlotte's responsibility. "And your friend is?" Charlie asked, redirecting her attention to the confused face of the homely boy.
"I- I'," he started but again Violet stepped in before he had the chance to introduce himself.
"This is Alex Jiron. Don't mind him, he's a bit nervous about the mist. But he's nineteen himself. He likes woodworking and pretty girls, and if he were a vegetable I think he'd be a carrot," she suggested, leaning forward with her hands clasped behind her back and smiling at Alex.
"Because you like how stiff he is?" a relaxed man, maybe in his mid-twenties, joked, eliciting a half-hearted chuckle from the man beside him and a glare from Charlie. Violet rolled her eyes internally but outwardly smiled and cocked her head as if she was confused.
"Huh? I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. He's a little anxious but I would call him stiff," she replied, not a drop of irony or insincerity in her voice. The vulgar man looked at her in confusion for a moment then opened his mouth to explain his joke. The look of kind innocence in her pale blue eyes gave him pause and he changed his mind at the last moment.
"I, uh, forget it, it's nothing," he blushed rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Charlie beamed at Violet, who simply shrugged before retaking her seat, uncomfortably close to Alex. Alex looked like someone had spun him in circles with a blindfold on and struggled to catch up while Violet rested her head on his shoulder. Charlie wondered if the two actually were dating. That could be trouble when they reached a waystation. If they valued each other over the group, someone really could die. She decided to take the two aside after introductions were done.
"Right, well it's a pleasure to meet the both of you, Alex and Violet," Charlie said before pulling what looked like a chalkboard out of its straps on the wall and rolling it to the center of the aisle. "Now, as you all know, the trip to the academy can be a tricky one. We have to count on each other to watch everyone's backs, particularly when we stop at a spiritual waystation. Now that all the recruits from this sector are on board, I'd like everyone to share their calling, attributes, and abilities on the board here. If we are going to rely on each other, we need to know what everyone can do."
"Isn't that like, private?" a pretty redhead in the back asked and Charlie's smile wavered for a moment. She took a moment to police her expression before responding.
"Yes, typically. But not at the academy. Too much can go wrong if we don't trust and understand each other, so everyone's status is part of a public record," Charlie answered and the redhead scoffed.
"Um, excuse me? I didn't ask to go to the stupid academy, you all made me get on this train, now I have to show you my private information?" she protested.
"I understand it can be a bit of a shock when you are drafted, but many of us are in the same boat, er... train. I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable but I promise, it's easier if we know what everyone can do. No one wants to feel alone when we get to a waystation," Charlotte answered, trying to remain calm and polite.
"Uh, yeah. Fuck that," the redhead dismissed, "I trust all of you less if you know what I can do, not more."
"Isn't that just because you're useless?" the vulgar man prodded, drawing the angry woman's glare to him.
"Why don't we find out?" she challenged and the man grinned.
"I'll go!" Violet suddenly volunteered, bouncing to her feet, and happily slapping her left hand against the center of the board. Her exuberance and the loud slap worked in harmony to quell the brewing fight and Charlie sighed in relief, again thinking any god she could think of that Violet had boarded the train. Maybe all the new recruits would make it to the academy alive this time.
It's an interesting thing, the silence that descends when someone displays their status. It requires a good deal of vulnerability and knowledge is power. No one wants to miss someone's status when it's offered. This is why the train car quieted as all eyes focused on the board. Charlie's were curious, the vulgar man's were greedy, and the redheads were annoyed, but they were all focused. One quiet boy, maybe sixteen at most, even took out a notebook as the text burned itself into the board. It flickered for a moment in a way Charlie had never seen, but she didn't think much of it as she read Violet's name above the branches of information circling the glove.
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Violet Asher
Ninth Degree
Calling: Surgeon
Strength: 18
Dexterity: 32
Charisma: 29
Vitality: 22
Mentality: 26
Violet allowed everyone to study her status for a minute, then a flare of light pulsed through her glove, and the statistics erased themselves. New text quickly replaced them, displaying one ability instead.
Sanitize:
Perfectly clean an area or object of no more than five square meters. Use 'Sanitize' to clean wounds and create a safe area for surgery.
Once everyone had read everything Violet smiled and removed her hand, clapping it together with her other. "Well, that's me! As you can see, I'm a surgeon! I even have an ability, although it's a little embarrassing since it's only good for cleaning, but it comes in handy. I gain spiritual energy when I help the wounded, I think. I'm trusting you guys, so please take care of me!" she announced. As she scanned the faces in the car, her calculating eyes didn't match her disarming smile. It was working. Everyone but Alex seemed to trust her. Her dexterity and charisma attributes were higher than average for her degree and her mentality was nothing to scoff at either. Aside from the lackluster ability, everyone likes a doctor when their lives may be on the line.
"A surgeon! That's a great calling, we'll keep you at the center of our formation. Thanks, Violet, for sharing. Would anyone else like to volunteer to go next?" Charlie asked as Violet happily took her seat next to Alex. She was already whispering in his ear and Charlie had to suppress a groan. They were totally dating. She could only hope Violet did more good than bad. It was a liability having a team with a romance, but it was a single trip, and having any kind of healer along would be helpful, even if she was only a ninth degree.
"I'll go," the vulgar man volunteered. He strutted to the board like he owned the train before smirking and pressing his white glove to it. Unlike Violet, all ten runes on his glove were glowing brightly. He'd need to be fitted for a yellow-tier glove soon. His information was soon displayed in the same way as Violet's, and everyone was soon introduced to Jared Parker: Metalmancer. He had fairly average attributes, all around twenty-five for a tenth degree. The redhead clicked her tongue as his ability was displayed: metal manipulation. He wasn't the first with this ability so everyone knew it was excellent for combat and he would likely be a frontline fighter at the academy.
With that, the ice was broken. Once multiple people had freely shared their status, it was much harder to decline on principle. As such, everyone was introduced. The party consisted of seven people in total. There were six white-tier members including Violet Asher: ninth degree Surgeon, Jarod Parker: tenth degree Metalmancer, Alex Jiron: ninth degree Lumberjack, Andrew Cobb: eighth degree Tanker, Keely Anderson: ninth degree Banshee, and Daniel Young: eight degree Truthseeker. Finally, there was the only green tier, the twenty-second degree Commander: Charlotte Robinson.
They were an interesting group, and not one that would willingly work together. Alex was oddly silent, unwilling to make eye contact with the bubbly Violet who insisted on taking all of his attention. Jarod was arrogant and didn't think he needed anyone else, not in combat, anyway. Andrew was quiet in a disinterested way, while Keely was simply angry. She had been drafted like Violet and Alex, and she was furious at the loss of her old life. Daniel, well Daniel was enamored. Violet was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, and she was friendly too. His entire focus was on impressing her. Charlotte was just trying to keep everyone alive.
"Thank you, everyone, I appreciate the cooperation," Charlie said as introductions finally ended. "When we get to a waystation, Violet and Daniel will remain in the center as our healer and scout. Everyone else will make a perimeter as the frontline fighters. I'll hover between the two so I can help anyone on the frontline who needs it and shout out commands. Don't worry everyone. Trust me, do what I tell you, and I can keep you all safe."
"You want me on the front line?" Keely immediately protested and yet again an argument broke out. Violet didn't hear most of it. When Charlie looked to her seat, hoping for help diffusing the situation again, it was empty.
Violet scowled at the lavatory mirror. She'd been in a bad mood since displaying her status. Her ability had worked, but it had flickered. If that continued to happen, people would notice. People would start to ask questions. She already had to worry about Alex. He was dazed since getting on the train. He feared the mist and the thought of going to the academy paralyzed him. But eventually, he would start to talk. Violet had shifted her public persona even more when she left her old life, and Alex wasn't going to keep quiet about it forever, no matter what she said.
That wasn't a problem on its own. People died on the way to the Academy every year. She never planned on letting Alex live long enough to tell any tales about Violet as a child. But then Daniel showed up. Daniel the truth seeker, with two abilities. 'Scout' and 'Analyze'. She could care less about Scout. It was a hiccup but one she could work with. Analyze was the real problem. Its description said he could, without an empathy glove, read the status of anyone at or below his degree. He was an eighth degree, which meant Violet was safe for a while but... her spirit only grew one way, and his would be growing constantly.
Either Alex or Daniel wouldn't be a problem but both? She needed to be careful. In frustration, she put her hand on the mirror in front of her. Again, it flickered before displaying her status as a Surgeon. She clicked he tongue in frustration before releasing her ability and allowing her glove to display the truth. The lie she had shown the group earlier faded away to be replaced by the reality she needed to prevent Daniel from ever reading.
Violet Asher
Ninth Degree
Calling: Ripper
Strength: 26
Dexterity: 61
Charisma: 29
Vitality: 6
Mentality: 0
Bloodlust: 91
Abilities
Obfuscate:
Manipulate the output of your empathy glove. Special attributes can be hidden, standard attributes can be changed, while ability names and descriptions can be altered. This ability can hide itself.
Erase Evidence:
Perfectly clean an area or object of no more than five square meters, removing any evidence you were ever there. Use 'Erase Evidence' to avoid leaving any trace of your actions.
Notes:
Violet Asher has the special attribute: 'Bloodlust'. This attribute affects the growth of her other attributes, especially 'Mentality'. Other effects are currently unknown.