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<12/20/1971 ~ 08:45 | Dakota Training Academy, Fronas, Gulop Region, Sprawn Valley>
An entire day passed into Monday, where Danny and Taylor both took themselves into the Dakota training facility again for a more intense purpose. The walk towards the facility was short lived since it wasn't far, and Kain never made his appearance around them after what happened yesterday. Arriving at the facility again, Taylor noticed how many more people arrived here. There were only a couple students visible entering the front of the building, but she could sense many more inside. People must gather from other towns in the Gulop region all the way to Fronas just for this kind of eventful training.
Danny was with her, planning on entering the class together and fulfilling his promise to at least try out Leray training. He was still in disbelief that he was even allowing himself to set foot into this for a day, but if there was any hope of protecting Taylor, this was it. Besides, after all said and done, Kain only offered to initially spend money on a two-day admission session, meaning it was still technically temporary. Upon entering the building in the first front room, they both came across the admissions counter at the front desk. Only one adult was running the place there, but he did not seem very busy at the moment. Checking to see the status of both their class registrations, Danny and Taylor walked up to the counter to get their info.
"We're here for our first day of admissions," Danny explained. The man at the counter in front of him appeared to be on track of anything that was going on, and he opened a small notebook to check for new recruits.
The man cleared his throat, reading the names on the list at the bottom of the most recent page. "Are you Danny and Taylor?"
"That's right," Taylor answered.
"Kain came by yesterday and set you two up." It quickly made sense to them now how the admissions works. It's really not a pain at all, short and simple. "You are both registered for room 706 today. The class there will be your permanent one until you graduate."
706? Danny knew that number sounded familiar, but couldn't determine why right now. It didn't matter though. After today's session is over, they can freely leave Fronas to Junon. Despite not wanting to see Taylor suffer, she would likely agree to leave too knowing his disposition.
"Thank you," Taylor complimented. "Come on, let's go check it out." Taylor was now talking to Danny, who was paying attention enough to know what she meant. He wasn't spacing out today, his perusal attention active for the school. Danny nodded his head and began to follow her walking down the hallway. It seemed that admissions was easier than most made it out to be. Payment, registration, name, rank, and room number. After that, everything is set.
It took a few minutes to find the right room. They passed by several other students on the way who seemed focused on something internally. By the time Danny and Taylor found it, they heard muffled voices talking from inside of the classroom. There were already people in there, a current class session already going on. Danny was not the person who liked to interrupt and make a scene, but Taylor eventually opened the door anyway, forcing him to continue in this situation.
Just as the door opened, Taylor noticed that the teacher at the front of the room stopped talking. Now suddenly all eyes and ears were on the both of them. New students, the mark of new and interesting ways to learn more about people; this already seemed like a tough crowd. Everybody was staring at them both in silence thanks to their late disruption. Taylor heard some soft, unclear murmurs between some of the other students. Most of them were about the same age as she was, with a few exceptions up and down in age groups.
Danny felt uncomfortable immediately, attracting so much attention before even introducing himself. They had interrupted class because they were apparently a little late, and now the teacher would have to do a lot of the talking off topic. It was the whole reason he didn't want to open this door. Oh well, it's not like these people will matter in a few more days.
"Well this is a surprise. New students?" the teacher asked.
"That's right." Taylor was already very nervous, but she hid that in her voice and response. Nobody could tell for sure what she was thinking or feeling.
"From a rumor I heard, I was expecting two new arrivals. Though I never guessed they'd show up here. Anyway, glad to have you both join our class. Please." The teacher pointed to three empty desks in the center of the room, indicating that the class quota of twenty-four kids had not yet been met. There were a lot of them filled so far, thus, this probably filled the room up right there. "Take a seat and feel free to introduce yourselves. My name is Eliza."
Danny twitched from the resurgence in memory. He had heard about her from the other teacher Lisa yesterday during the tour. Eliza was said to have the very next graduation day sometime soon. That means she probably won't slow down her lessons very much. Room 706! That is what was familiar about it. Lisa said that Ms. Eliza is in this classroom, but the rest of the details feels hazy. Danny was walking carefully to his empty seat in the left side of the center of the room, but he could not shake the sensation of being watched. Since he was new, he was being probed by every single student in here. They were evaluating everything about him. His looks, his stance, his age, knowledge, everything.
Just like a new student in a tough competition for popularity, Taylor could feel herself sinking to the bottom before even saying anything. Worse than that, she and Danny both were expected to introduce themselves, their names and anything else. The teacher was silent, simply waiting for them to sit down before having them tell the whole class anything about themselves. Taylor knew that the truth about their past would not be a great idea to start with, and she thought of what else to say quickly.
Danny finally made it to his seat, and he waited there for a short moment. After eying Eliza's expression towards him, it became frighteningly clear that she really was waiting on him right now, waiting for him to tell everyone about himself. With a short pause and the clearing of his throat, he braced himself to be ready for anything. "My name is Danny Mason. I'm new here to Fronas, but I'm ready to learn Leray magic."
Taylor thought about what he said. His response was short and simple, so mundane that it left no lingering questions. Taylor also studied the population of the class. There were about 19 students other than Danny and herself. Half of them were girls, and half of them were boys; an even split in gender proportions. One group over in the corner were whispering to each other, likely unrelated to anything so far. Taylor then noticed that the eyes in the room were now stating at her, which was her cue. "I'm Taylor. Taylor Feer. I'm also from out of town, and new to this magic stuff."
"Taylor. Danny," Eliza repeated. "Nice to have you both in class. Now students, we all know the drill with new recruits. We will have to slow the pace just slightly. But I promise, it will only be for one day." Several of the other kids were already moaning and grumbling to the news they were expecting. The silence in the room had long since passed already. Taylor and Danny were already blending in, despite being the cause for some of the distress.
"Now, now," Eliza announced. "We will make this quick and painless. Anything learned again is simply a refresher, and we can all use refreshers from time to time. Danny? Taylor? We all have yet to demonstrate any official magic skills or glyphrings, so don't worry about slowing us down. We've barely begun."
Danny nodded in response, after which Eliza immediately continued with her lesson as if the interruption had not even happened. Danny felt like he was supposed to be taking down notes, but the things she was already saying were interesting enough to remember.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Cremona ~ Paul Dinletir (ASCAP)
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"Before one can learn to use Leray magic, one must first understand what Leray magic is. Where is it from? What else does it do? And what is the history of all Leray magic? Take notes if you need to, because we will be starting with history first. As you should already expect, Leray magic did not used to exist in the past."
It didn't? Danny figured this was a constant for Sprawn Valley. But if it used to be like any other ordinary place, then why was the location so specially designed for the art?
Taylor was hearing every word echo in her mind. Though she had no writing utensils, she did not need them at the moment. Every sentence Eliza was speaking was precious to her, in that it was both interesting knowledge, and things Taylor had not already known. This allowed her to get over her shyness to the class very quickly, and she could only assume that Danny was feeling the same way about all of this.
Eliza continued the long lesson since she heard of no subtle interruptions. "Though only known in the scriptures of the legends, the magical aura that first came to exist originates from the power of the moon. More specifically, the light reflected down here from the moon."
Danny was already intrigued, unable to think about anything else. Moonlight is responsible for the source of Leray magic? If that were true, then why is it only affecting this country? And do the phases of the moon affect people who do use magic as well?
"But moonlight alone is not magical, despite the energy signals sent down to us. The mages of the past, as they were known to be - were persistent in experimentation with the glows of the moonlight. They worked year after year without much impediment, and one day, the scientist known as Agies Fardran was suspected to be the one who created the first of many natural moonlight amplification devices. Making use of naturally built inactive volcanic structures in Sprawn Valley, he made the experiments work towards his manmade scopes and mirrors. This inventor found a way to amplify the energy from the moonlight at specific times at night using such machinery. Then to contain that energy, he compressed its essence using a light breaking barrier to infuse that energy into our commonly known lunar crystals."
Taylor still had little idea as to what some of these references were, but she never would have guessed that Leray magic comes from moonlight.
"Known to store tons of pure lunar energy, these types of fluctuation fields were studied deeply by the mages. Magic was always attempted, but never successful. Any who attempted to use lunar magic in its purest form were always unable to. That was until a form of conversion therapy was invented; a method of skills and concentration fields that could virtually convert pure lunar energy into separate types and forms of magical auras. Known to us as Leray energy, such fields were harnessed and projected back into tested magical skills, thus proving to be more successful than the purest form of lunar power. Since Leray magic is an impure form of lunar energy converted from the source to be used by the mages, the crystals were still just as valuable and scarce. Many mining expeditions scavenged crystal shards from all over the world until enough of them were pieced together to contain additional lunar power and capacity."
Danny was impressed by the history of this place, more so that this was just the short summarized version of it. Some people around him were taking notes, even though they probably have heard of this all before. He studied the expressions of everyone else. He and Taylor appeared to be the most impressed by the knowledge so far, indicating that this lesson is a repeat.
"Though it was very unpopular at the time, the Leray mages wanted to share their magic with the rest of the world, and devised a very special tower to project the Leray energy fields from very far distances. The near immortal properties of being engulfed in a Leray energy field were discovered before the great veil projection and the Leray barrier field. But that discovery was the most likely cause to push the veil over the entire valley of this continent."
While his teacher was spraying the most incredible story Danny had ever heard, his eyes were still wandering around the room. They stopped instantly to his left shoulder, just over which was an interesting girl. Appearing to be slightly older than Taylor, she sat in her desk staring straight forward with her eyes shut, and she was wearing an interesting two-layered dress with a skirt top covered in symbolic designs. It was not unfashionable, but it was still unusual clothing colored in the darkest black shade of Goth aside from the symbols. Her long jet-black hair that matched her gloomy outfit worked wonders entrancing his focus onto her further. Yet despite that, she looked like she was fazed off in her own little world. That was until she woke up and glanced over at Danny.
Danny quickly turned his head forward, trying not to attract unwanted attention to himself. Apparently, she wasn't that far out of it. Danny counted in seconds while drowning out the lesson Eliza was giving about Leray history.
Taylor did not stop listening to the information. She tried closing her eyes, trying to imagine the entire scenario as if she were there to see it herself.
"Despite what people think, and despite the benefits of the protection field, the population of people who wanted to use Leray magic spells for their own purposes grew," Eliza progressed. "Other than its practical uses for traveling the valley and defending one's self, there were, and still remain several undiscovered mysteries and properties to Leray magic."
Danny figured that enough time had passed by for the other teen girl to grow less suspicious of him. He turned his head a shoulder again, finding the same girl folding her arms in her chair, but only glancing forward. Based on her facial expression, she seemed angry or upset, maybe just bored? Perhaps she was just a mean person. She could not be bothered at all by this lesson, and that's what made her so curious. Does she dislike Leray magic more than he does? Is there something about this that is just wrong? Before Danny knew it, the girl was staring directly into his eyes. Danny pretended to veer his head away, but returned it swiftly again. Without any breaks, the female student was glaring at Danny intensely. Her bright green eyes were intense on him, contrasting with her hair beautifully. Danny couldn't deny how attractive this chick was. Still, he had just been caught staring a second ago, and that can't be good. From the corner of his peripheral, he could see her staring back at him non-stopped, as if to wait on him to return his gaze again before calling him out. Feeling little other options, Danny stared back at her on purpose, hoping she would be the next one to stop this and look away. Having to leave Fronas soon anyway, it won't matter if anyone thinks he's strange.
Danny's plan however failed to follow his imagination. She must know that Danny was giving her looks, and must now be trying to intimidate him for his mistakes. Or she simply didn't care about any of this. Danny was not certain what was going through her head right now, but he did not stop staring at her either. Who can she be anyway but to engage in making things more awkward? Those deep green eyes of hers sent his heart rate up quickly though, her glare was a bit scary with how intense she was making it. Does she even realize what she is doing herself? For as long as he thought he could go on, Danny realized that he was missing out on the lesson Eliza was giving him, which must be important. Danny decided quickly to look away, blushing from the thought of being caught staring at a pretty woman like that. He told himself over and over to not look back.
Eliza gave her voice a tiny break, and it seemed to her like the current lesson was over with. "Now that we're up to speed, I would like to discuss the importance of our next major lesson tomorrow. New or not, you will want to study the information that comes next in order to become a successful Leray fighter. It's not as simple as it sounds, and training is constant around here." In the middle of a new lecture, Eliza turned her head to one of the students in the crowd, shortly distracted by their needs. "Yes Jane?"
Danny glanced around, trying to learn the names of people here. He had a rocky time making friends back in middle school, and he did not want to mess this one up. Though learning more about Leray magic would be more interesting, and the teachers here might not tell him everything by asking. To his surprise, the one designated as Jane was the same person he just had an embarrassing staring contest with. She was now standing up with her hand raised for the teacher. Please don't make a scene!
"May I exit the room and engage more in my training?" Jane asked the question as if it was not her first time trying to escape. The pitch in her voice was slightly a tone level below Taylor's, but she spoke with an unseen confidence.
"Yes," Eliza responded. "Class will be out in just twenty minutes more."
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With that status update, Taylor thought about the comparison. The time difference with a regular school compared to this facility was much different. Despite all there is to learn about Leray magic, this sure was one short day.
Danny watched in awe as Jane casually began walking out of the room. She did not look anybody in the eye, nor did her head wander around aimlessly. She seemed very determined to get out of here and train, if that was her real intention. Danny couldn't help but wonder if it were his gaze that simply scared her off. The way she stares at him makes Danny tremble like he's about to die. Then again, something else seemed off. Danny returned his face towards the front of the classroom again, but he still had Jane in his head. She was strange, but somehow just as interesting as this lesson is.
Danny found it a little odd too. He was suddenly aggravated by the fact that Jane was leaving. Did he have some crush on her? No. That can't be it. It didn't feel like that is what bothered him. But who is she anyway? This Jane was simply allowed to walk up and leave just like that? Doesn't class matter to her at all? What is it that people do around here? What kind of stuff is everyone into if not magic training? And if she really is into that, what does she know that merits her the discretion of coming or going whenever she pleases?
Taylor took notice to Jane, who only sat two seats away from her. She found it a bit odd that she would just happily get up and leave like that, as if she was too good for the class or something. Only a minute passed before Taylor was distracted again. Even though the class was a bit interesting to her, she could not help but look around and get to know the faces of her classmates better, but Danny was about to cause a scene, trying to signal something directly to her.
Taylor did not read lips, nor was she good at improvising the meaning behind hand signals. Danny pointed behind his head, towards the door, and then put his fist into the palm of his other hand. Believing to finally get an idea of what he wanted, Taylor raised her hand next, hoping her guess was accurate. "Miss?"
"Yes Taylor?" Eliza was addressing Taylor now, distracted once again. "What is it?"
Taylor immediately replied just as Danny had also stood up in sync. "Danny and I would like to leave a little early if that's okay. We would like to try some training as well."
"Very well," Eliza granted. "Just remember that our dark room is off limits after five."
Danny's eyes opened wider in surprise. That was a lot easier than it would have been back home. Eliza must be used to letting kids leave whenever they want, or she just doesn't care. She was probably being paid either way no matter how the learning time was spent. And what was this about a dark room? Never mind that! Danny had something he wanted to do outside of the class. Sorry about this Eliza.
Taylor got up and slowly headed for the door with Danny. So far, he did not appear to be upset, nor was he sending any signals after which. She walked out of the classroom right after Danny did, closing the door behind them as it was before. Once they were clear of the area, Taylor found herself and Danny back in the hallway, but she was more focused on Danny's reason for leaving. Wanting to keep it between them, she kept her voice to a whisper. "So what was that for?"
"Follow me and find out," Danny responded.
Taylor did not want to find out, but there was little choice now since Danny had already brushed passed her in a bit of a rush. He seemed to be searching around in the hallway for something, also in a desperate manner of haste to figure it out. "What is this about?" Why promise to take a whole class on Leray magic and duck out just as Jane did?
"You know that strange black hair girl? The one who left class before we did?"
Taylor wept herself backwards with a grin. "Aw! You have crush already? That was really fast!"
The accusation mixed with Taylor's change in her voice really annoyed Danny far, but he was not giving up the search for Jane. After all, Taylor wasn't correct in her reasoning. "No, I just want to know what her deal is. She didn't look like she cared about the lessons at all." And why stare at me so intensely, like she was about to scream into my face at any second? Who the hell are you Jane? What do you know?
"But then why do you care about what she doesn't care about?" Taylor's question sounded more like a parabola making little sense. Danny simply shook his head to ignore it completely, but still answered the question in his own mind. It didn't matter what Jane cares about, but something was far off about that girl. She defiantly dismisses all subtleties wherever she is. However, her potential knowledge on the secrets of Leray magic are more important. She might know something that would make her hate magic, just as others do. If she is someone who doesn't involve herself in magic, learning why would certainly be worth skipping class for.
Before long, Danny and Taylor found Jane together. She was standing in a hallway, holding her hand out in front of her. Jane immediately noticed the presence of Danny and Taylor, but disregarded them entirely.
Taylor watched Danny's expression change as he loosened up watching what Jane was up to. Taylor decided to join him, folding her arms and studying why Jane said she was training when she was really just standing around with her right arm holding itself in front of her.
Then out of nowhere, Jane's concentration began to form a large and bright glowing glyphring blue in color like the one Danny had seen before. She formed the glyphring around her wrist, making it rotate in place, and then she just held it there for as long as she could. Danny did not see, hear, nor detect any magic coming out of Jane's glyphring, but he would be standing in its path if there were an imminent spell. Still - he was frozen at the incredible sight of magical build-up in front of him. Jane was literally using magic right now, despite being enrolled in basic training.
Jane was not just lying about leaving the class to train. She was training on Leray magic right now, in the middle of an empty hallway. Maybe she knew what she was doing after all. So much for secretly disregarding the use of magic. Her attempt to create and hold a glyphring indicated that nothing was supposed to emerge from the magical glowing ring. Why was she training in the hallway of all places? Isn't that what the dark room was for? Wait, Danny pondered. Why do they call it a dark room?
After keeping the glyphring alive for seconds on end, Jane opened her eyes and gently allowed the spinning ring to fade away into nothingness. She then saw that Danny and Taylor were both standing in front of her at the end of the corridor, but she did not talk to them or acknowledge their presence. Instead, she shifted 90 degrees and pulled something out from her belt. The belt she was wearing looked a lot more like a very thin supply attachment around her waist, hiding under the hem of her over-skirt. After reaching down, Jane pulled out two small blades with both her hands. At first they appeared to be knives, but studied more closely from the shape and size of each blade, they were actually combat daggers. Jane had no regard for the reactions of the two watching her. She took her daggers, slanted down into a fighting stance, and practiced swinging her blades into the empty air in front of her.
Taylor watched in amazement as Jane was now practicing some kind of combat technique in front of them. She slashed the open air a couple of times with her hand-sized daggers, then she shifted around, kicking and punching in different directions. It was as if she was fighting off people who are not really there, and she was incredibly focused on her style, putting traditional martial artists to shame.
Danny was just as impressed, and he slowly crept his feet closer for a better look. There was some discomfort in the unexplained fact that students here were allowed to carry their own weapons. Talk about safety procedure... Danny felt Taylor inching closer behind him, keeping an eye on his moves. Obviously, it was dangerous to get close to Jane while she was practicing fighting like this, but Danny wanted to see what this was all about. He always figured that Leray fighters only use magic, but apparently, the use of physical weapons and close combat styles are just as important, at least to Jane they are.
After a few seconds of inching ever closer to the training teen, Jane performed a cartwheel, spinning straight in the same direction where Danny was standing. Taylor was a bit further behind him, but not totally out of range either. Jane's move seemed intentional based on her quick speed and direction as the back-flipping cartwheel continued. Just when it seemed like she was going to crash into him, Danny shifted his face backwards in the nick of time. Jane came back to her feet, and shoved both of her daggers as close to Danny's throat as possible without hitting him, the humming echo of vibrating metal singing throughout the halls.
Keeping that stance, Jane was now at a knife lock with Danny, but she was not attacking him yet. It was intimidating, watching Danny be teased into fear like that while metal blades were too close to his throat. Taylor could not believe how crazy this person was right now.
"So?" she spoke up to his face. "Are you two here to stalk me, or are you just so impudent for our honor?"
Danny didn't dare move a muscle. He was leaning back with the knives at his throat, just an inch away from Jane's face. Her deep green eyes seemed to be fired up with her temper. She studied his expression carefully, making him feel much less comfortable about it earlier. "We're not stalkers! Put those things down!" Is she crazy, threatening his life in the hallway like this? Does Jane not realize that Taylor could simply scream for help right now? Jane would be expelled!
"Honest! He's telling the truth!" Taylor defended. "We just came out here to see what you were up to." Taylor was very close to screaming with how nervous she sounded. If she did scream however, Jane might really do it!
"What a shame," Jane replied. She looked away from Danny with a soft long blink of her eyes, and she drew her dagger blades away from Danny's face. Her calmer manner immediately had Danny and Taylor sighing in their loss of tension. "I meant what I said about leaving class to train. Did you really doubt my intentions?"
"Well, no." Danny eased up his muscles and his breathing. In just one short second, Jane scared him half to death with those blades. Was she trying to do that on purpose just to be intimidating, or did she actually mean to cut his throat? "We just... We wanted to see if you wanted any help. You know, help training." That should work. Danny forgot the real reason he wanted to track her down here. He thought it amazing to even get a full sentence out. But contrary to his thoughts, Danny's shaken voice made it easy to detect that he was just making up an excuse for following her around. There won't be a need to develop a new excuse ever again. Can I go home now?
Taylor nodded with Danny, agreeing with his idea since it was better than any alternative that would have likely made Jane more upset.
"If by help - you mean, lower my skill level ultimately to nothing, then no thanks." Jane folded her arms, and she seemed disappointed with them both. "I couldn't possibly benefit from target practice with a wimp like you." Jane was aiming her body towards Danny to show whom she meant the insult for.
"What?!" Danny's body expression changed quickly. Being called wimp by an older girl on the first day was not his idea of getting acquainted with the others or learning about magic. While she was the one wielding knives like a maniac, nothing gave her the right to insult him.
Jane however was not done talking yet, turning towards Taylor to give her a piece of her mind as well. "And a rookie such as yourself is in need of a lot more help than I am. You should both go back to class and learn the basics, if you have the skill level for that anyway."
Taylor backed up a step, in shock at Jane's attitude towards them both. She noticed that Danny was even more frozen by the insult than she was. "Hey! We're not even deep into this school yet. We're new to this Leray magic stuff."
"Yeah, ease off will ya?" Danny joined. He didn't want to push it too far, not with those knife things in her hands. Being in Fronas might mean being immune to getting stabbed to death, but Danny still couldn't take anyone's word for it just yet.
Danny's reaction to her threat seemed a bit unnatural. He really seemed to be in fear of his life, instead of trying to fight back or stay calm. Jane gave them both the edge of her quick loud breath, silencing them both before saying a word. "Hmph! Who are you anyway?"
"I'm Danny, Danny Mason."
"And I'm Taylor Feer. What about you?"
Jane studied their faces intensely, but she did not change her stance. Folding her arms like that only revealed that she was still annoyed with the both of them. "Jane Venn. And I wouldn't consider yourselves in anything, unless you mean trouble. You two love brains may be new to this school, but that does not mean you should take training as a joke. The last thing I need here is some frail peach accompanied by an arrogant whinny boy too ostentatious to simply stay out of important subjects."
Danny and Taylor both glanced at each other, disturbed slightly by Jane's match making of them both. Taylor did not even address that part; she was already furious with the attitude. And what is with the big words? Jane really thinks she is so smart? Danny is twice the person she is. "You've had more time to get good. We don't even know how to invoke magic yet. Some argument you have."
"Yeah, well that doesn't matter." Danny was beginning to raise his voice at the new girl, finally deciding that she just needs some discipline. "Magic or no magic, I can probably whip your butt in a battle any day." Danny couldn't understand what inside of him made him this determined to fight a crazy girl with a pair of knives, but Jane did insult the both of them. Calling him a whinny boy and Taylor a frail girl? Who does she thinks she is anyway? It makes sense that two new people have more to learn than a person like herself. Is that so hard to accept? She doesn't know either one of them!
"Haha-ha!" Jane laughed at his remark, and briefly waited for him to continue.
Taylor could feel her anger building even more. Jane thought that she was funny. "You think you're so tough? Then how about I challenge you to a battle right now!"
"Ahaha!" Jane's laughter amplified and continued from Taylor's determination to fight her. Jane's voice pitch had increased since her laughter was lingering right on the back of her throat. "That's rich! I won't fight you though." Jane waited for the both of them to flinch at her unexpected response. She already knew how they were going to react; two young newbies who know nothing except for how to get into trouble. "Leray battles are supposed to be fun anyway. There's no fun in it for me trouncing weaklings. Maybe if you somehow get better though, I'll give you the humiliation of defeat you desire so much."
That does it! Danny clenched his fists and teeth up tightly. He felt like he was about to explode from the arrogant behavior in front of him. But before he could let out another word, the bells inside of the entire school tolled everywhere, indicating the end of a school day.
Jane appeared to be smug after making all of those remarks, and now she would just be able to leave with her verbal victory for antagonizing Danny and Taylor. "Well, I've got to go home and do even more training. See you novices tomorrow, if you think you can handle it." Keeping her smug expression, Jane put her daggers back in their slots under her multilayered skirt. She soon walked off into the growing crowd of kids pouring into the hallway from the earlier chime of the bells.
Danny and Taylor both felt hopelessly tense, with no comebacks to say to her or anything they could do about it. School was already over for today, and neither one of them got to pitch in any kind of training. Taylor felt unaccomplished for a moment, but her anger of meeting Jane returned with her quickly, staying inside of her boiling blood.
Danny and Taylor walked casually towards the entrance of the building, which was also the main exit as well. Though blended in with the large crowd of people here, both of them (especially Taylor) were silent, hiding their feeling deep until the right moment. Jane had disappeared already, probably gone towards her home. Taylor was interested in knowing where she lived. Nobody makes fun of her like that and gets away with it. Though it was unlike Taylor to actually do anything about helping herself, she still used to get mixed in with school drama back in her home country.
Danny was feeling a little bit helpless, as if he would never be able to learn as much Leray magic as Jane could learn. But in retrospect, he never did see Jane shoot anything out of that glyphring like the people on the VCR video did. Still, Taylor didn't have to get that angry at Jane. Now she'll always seem like the tougher one of them both. Jane's type is obvious - she's a bully. Danny regretted going to find her himself. He really shouldn't have said anything to her like that, and neither should Taylor, but even now, he felt it in himself and in Taylor that some kind of revenge would have been sweet. People who talk down to others like that deserve to be smacked around a little. If there was ever anything wrong with magic, it might not be the process at all, but rather the people who chose to flex their power over others as if it's a god given right. While pondering what all of this Leray magic fighting stuff meant, he and Taylor made it back outside. It was a heavy reminder of how bright outside the daylight was at this hour.
There were hundreds of other students walking on their own path; many of them were all heading towards the northern path in Fronas towards Blue Port Town. Danny seemed to have forgotten just how many people were enrolled here. The crowd thinned out swiftly, and Kain was spotted standing a bit further away on the path just outside of the Dakota training facility. Taylor seemed to have spotted him as well, and she sped up to try and talk to him. Danny hesitated however, wondering why Kain would even be waiting on them. Doesn't Kain realize this makes him an official creep?
Kain saw that Taylor and Danny were finally out, and approaching them on purpose. As expected, he was going to get his first status report about whether Danny and Taylor were fond of this magic after all. "Hey you two. I bet you didn't know that today's class would be this short."
Taylor disregarded Kain's greeting, and cut right to the chase. "When you paid for our enrollment, did you pay for a full term?"
"Why, I most certainly did," Kain remarked.
He did? Danny didn't recall that being the same thing Kain told him this morning... Yet another lie.
"Don't worry about my funds though. If you drop out, I get a full refund for all future dates you don't attend. The both of you can either choose to stay there and learn Leray magic, or turn tail towards the airport and get out of here as soon as you can. After what you have seen firsthand today, perhaps you've made up your mind?"
Danny was already here as well, considering every word Kain had to throw at them. He wanted to stay and learn the magic after all, but was uncertain if he really could. How many differences exist in people with their learning level? Was he really that hopeless? Wait a second. Before today, he didn't want to stay here at all. How did this happen? Is Leray magic really this interesting? Danny wanted to reflect more on it, but that Jane girl was still looping in his thoughts moreover.
"Good!" Taylor pranced. "I'm staying here to learn as much Leray magic as I can." The tone in her voice proved to Danny and Kain that she was still upset and angered.
Kain however saw this as major news opposed to Danny's reaction. "My word. What has gotten into you?"
Danny knew exactly what's gotten into her, as the same got to him as well. Consciously aware of the need to get back at that black hair coot, Danny realized the difference between staying behind just a bit longer to destroy Jane just for a week, and leaving now. There would still technically be enough time to make it to the airport if one week goes by. Even if he couldn't use magic, Jane is going to pay for the things she just said today. Kain's punishment will have to come second. "I'll ask you once more," Danny stiffened. "Is Leray magic dangerous in any regard when it is used?"
"As long as people use magic responsibly, no harm should come from it."
It figures Kain would give a slightly loaded answer back about it, but something about his testimony seemed genuine this time, as deceptive as the man clearly was. It went against everything Nyar has told him so far, against his own nature of what he felt was right. But Danny knew that his enrollment status also holds the fate of seeing that girl again, which was defiantly going to happen tomorrow since her house location would be a mystery. Maybe with Taylor's help it will be more plausible. Danny couldn't figure out the motivation in himself to continue this action right now, but he decided it was good enough so long as he could protect Taylor at the same time. "It appears Taylor has a rival to deal with."
"Taylor? A rival? Already?" Kain seemed surprised by something Danny had announced. "That was rather quick."
And there is was; Kain was only impressed by the speed. Obviously in Danny's perspective, rivalry of Leray wielder vs. Leray wielder was to be expected, but Jane had to be the nosiest, most bratty one at the entire facility. "Anyway," Danny proposed, "You can sign me up too. I've got a bone to pick with the same person." Danny smashed his right fist into his left open palm to gesture that he means business.
Kain didn't expect this at all. With the way things were going, Danny had been transforming into another person who simply hated all magic in its forms. He was sharp enough even as a fifteen year old to see Kain's own intentions to try and expose him to the material, but now it's like he's a totally different person! What bully could have triggered all of this?
Danny's aggression deteriorated quickly by a realization. "Kain? I'm not so sure if I can learn Leray magic as good as anyone else can. I'm just too new to all of this stuff."
"Don't be so quick to give up," Kain warned. "It may look difficult, but all you need to do is concentrate. Focus, and believe in your own capabilities. The history stuff might be boring, so instead focus on the strategic matters of an official Leray battle. Once you know how to battle, I think you will be more than inclined to try harder."
"If you say so." Danny waited for Taylor to say something, anything else at all, but she sure took her time.
"Good," she spoke. "Danny, if you're in this with me, then we will both become great Leray fighters. Once that happens, we'll knock that Jane down to size."
"Wha—" Kain croaked. "You're rival is Jane?!"
Taylor's focus was immediately sent to Kain's reaction. He must know her. "You know that woman?!"
Kain cleared his throat nervously. Even he had trouble just talking about her. "Typically, she is no bully, but she is a very proud Leray wielder in training. Her session is just as incomplete as yours is, but she is a bit more popular around these parts. It's because she trains almost harder than anybody around."
"Great," Danny whined. So she really wasn't bluffing her strength back there. If Jane can use magic and trains all day long, she'll be tough to get back at in any regard. Then again, her popularity didn't seem all that noticeable back in class.
"It goes without saying that if the two of you want to beat Jane in a battle after graduation," Kain suggested, "then you might want to put one hundred and ten percent into your efforts. Train harder than she does, and try your very best every moment that counts. She is no push over when it comes to her learning capabilities. Jane is by far the most determined teenage girl around these parts, and is very passionate about Leray magic."
"I don't care," Taylor swung her arm. "I'm going to show her that I'm not just some wimp." Taylor knew she wasn't going to let this go. In previous situations, it was as easy as wrecking someone's reputation or credibility, but to give a hit to Jane, she would need to use magic against magic.
Danny nodded in agreement. After all, Jane made fools of them both, and threatened to take his life... Or essence energy? However that works around here, she shouldn't be flipping her blades at people like that. Even if he could just deliver a cleaver rebuttal, that may be enough. Graduating may not be necessary nor is that an affordable commodity, but the less Kain knows about that, the better.
Kain nodded his head with a smile, but he did not say anything else. Danny figured that this behavior from Jane was quite common on other people as well. If you are as great of a Leray wielder as advertised, then one could afford to be arrogant and pick on the lower ones. Danny had made up his mind in sync with Taylor. He was not going to be a rookie forever. After all, if he could learn a thing or two about magic, then he could give Jane a run for her money as well.