[System]
Nickname: Avary
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Powers/Skills: Standard demonic powers and swordsmanship
Species: Half-demon
Appearance: [Later]
Crush: Nobody
Relationship: None
Personality: Can get along with people if he tries, but he doesn't so he's a bit closed off.
Likes: Protecting Shadow, cats, and pie
Dislikes: People seeking to harm the people he loves
Other: Hates his father for, reasons
History(optional): TBR
Sexual orientation(Straight, Bi, Gay or Lez): Straight

Name: Shadow
Nickname: No
Age: 8
Gender: Female
Powers/Skills: Umbrakinesis
Species: Shadow-Embodiment
Appearance: [Later]
Crush: Too young
Relationship: Same as above
Personality: Bubbly and playful to those she knows and likes, but shy and timid around others.
Likes: Food, being with Avary, reading
Dislikes: A select group of people, spiders
Other: Avary does not know much at all about her.
History(optional): TBR
Sexual orientation(Straight, Bi, Gay or Lez): Straight

[User]
Arin was watching the waves on the beach as usual and sighed happily. He wondered if he would finally befriend someone other than his girlfriend who hadn't arrived yet for once. He was kind of tired of almost always ending up with someone attacking him for no apparent reason. Let's hope some of that will change.

---

Salvotor was in his own secret place that no one but him knew about or at least not yet. He would make himself known in due time. For now, he would remain hidden. He looked at a corner which held a chess table. He would often play by himself which would be how he came up with ideas which he had none of at the moment. I need to find someone who's easy to rile up, but not yet. He grinned at the thought as he sat at his chess table and moved some pieces.

---

Guitar in hand, Price decided to go to the park today and play. He sat on an empty bench as soon as he arrived there. He began to softly strum the strings of his guitar, not caring if anyone came by to listen or not.

---

Zackary decided it was time for a nice swim before grabbing his swimwear and heading out to the beach. When he got there, he noticed someone else near the water, possibly watching the waves. He walked over to him. "Hey there. I'm Zack and you are?" He asked with a smile.

---

Someone came up and greeted Arin and he turned to the person before responding. "Hello, My name's Arin." He said as he returned Zack's smile.

[Assistant] Soon after he began his tune, Price might take note of the fact that he already had an audience. Isa's head poked up from the far side of a stone bridge, turned so as to better position her ear toward the sound. She ducked out of sight again, soon appearing in the dark tunnel formed by the bridge passing over a walking trail. Way to sneak, she congratulated herself, even as she cast a very distinct person-shaped silhouette against the bright scenery behind her.

[User]
Tiffany held her younger brother's hand as she strolled to the grocery store. Glancing down on her hand, on which she noted down on her shopping list, she sighed. Somehow anything she bought run out in less than 3 days.

They entered the store and bought the needed products: eggs, milk, bacon etc.

---

Alastair winced as his sister dragged him. Damn her for being strong physically. Once they entered the store, she let go of his hand. He silently followed Tiffany and from time to time he glanced at the products- mainly at the sweets. Grabbing Tiffany's sleave, he looked down.

'I'll force her to come to the park with me' he thought.

[Assistant] Yume liked the forest. She sat on the branch of a large oak, humming quietly to herself. She held her mask in her hands, twirling it about and paying little attention to the world around her.

[User]
Avary was walking through the downtown with his hood up, a shopping list in one hand, his younger sister's hand in his other. He looked up and saw the store and walked in with Shadow. They were there for the bare essentials; food, water, sleeping bags, light, and fire starter. They planned on leaving the town as soon as possible.
Shadow walked with her head down. When they walked into the store she saw a girl the same age as Avary, and a boy that was a little older than her. She gave a small wave to the boy then continued following Avary to find food and such.


[System]
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Home: Washington State, USA
Partner: (Fill out later)
Soul:
Allisa's soul appears as covered in steel armor, carrying a slightly sad expression.

Technicals
Special Talents: Alissa is highly resistant to attacks against her soul. The armor around it is similar to a witch's "Soul Protect".
Unique Traits: When she transforms into a weapon, her blade is sheathed. So far, no Meister she's partnered with has been able to remove the sheath.
Skills: Allisa has trained in hand to hand combat and Ninjutsu techniques from a young age.
Weapon Form: A sheathed shortsword

Optionals

Likes:
-Quiet
-Training
-An honorable fight
-Baked goods
Dislikes:
-Chaos
-Slackers
-Sour candy

[User]
Soul Eater SCAR
Episode One: Meet and Greet,
A New Class at the DWMA?!

"Hiya, how's it going? Starting today, you're going to be enrolling in the highest specialized class the DWMA has to offer! Alongside your classmates, you're going to train hard so that you can defend Death City during an attack. Remember, always be prepared! Now, off to class with you, c'ya!"

SCAR Class. This is where you'll be spending the rest of your time in the DWMA. The classroom looks exactly like every other classroom in the building, but you can feel something more to it, as if the air inside is pressing on your soul. Somehow your abilities are being reigned in, pushed back. Before you can really worry about it, a tall man walks in with a folder under one arm.

"Sit down, it doesn't matter where. I'm taking attendance." He opens the file and starts calling off names without even pausing between long enough for anybody to respond. When he gets to the end of the list, he shuts the folder with finality and drops it on the desk at the front.

"My name is Kain. You will adress me as Kain, or if you must, Mr. Kain. I am one of the two teachers you will have in this classroom. I expect everybody to be on time, in their seats when I walk in the door. Any questions so far?" Again, without waiting for a response, he turns to the chalkboard and writes four words on it.

Special
Cases
Assisting
Reinforcement

"You are the SCAR Class. You are being specially trained as a last line of defense for Academy City. I will teach you the skills you need, and you will take those skills and forge them into a shield." He drops his chalk onto the desk and finally pauses in his lecturing.

"Do you have anything to add?"

[Assistant]
Kalinda headed to class, noticing that it was a new room, and that while it looked the same as any other classroom, it felt...different. She didn't know if she liked it or not, but she hastened to a seat, sitting down and looked down at the desk in front of her.

Kalinda didn't even notice that there was no space to announce that she was hear as Kain spoke.. when she heard her name, she just went "Here", without even looking up from her desk. Her red hair fell over her face, like a curtain, hiding it really. She was here, because she needed to be, and that was all.

She wanted answers.

As the teacher continued on with the lesson, Kalinda lifted her head, watching as he wrote on the board. It seemed like an old practice, that writing on the board. Wouldn't it just be easy to speak? She shook her head, keeping her opinions to herself. What did she care? She looked about at her classmates, to see their reactions to the class so far.

She sighed softly, looking back to the front, and as Kain asked if anyone had any questions, she raised her hand, and said without waiting to be acknowledged "What's with this room? It feels different to our other classrooms" Her voice, when she spoke like this, slightly louder then normal volume to be heard, was clear, and just slightly demanding, as if she wasn't so much asking a question, but trying to pull the answer out of the teacher. When she spoke, there was a slight accent to her voice that could have been half a dozen different accents.

[User]
Regan stepped cautiously into the room, when she did enter. She could tell something was strange, standing at the threshold. Like she was about to step into a room with someone playing inside. As she crossed the threshold, she became aware of a muffling over her... what did they call it? Soul Perception?

She sat down promptly, letting the man who was to be their teacher take charge. The man left no room for responses, so Regan gave none, except when called for roll. Replied with a "hai" and a raised hand. When at last he did motion for anyone to speak, a classmate spoke. "You noticed it, too? The strange presence in the room... no, of the room."

"I have my own question, as well." Her English is careful, but clear. She sounds just a little German, actually. "NOT students were selected for this class, right? To be specially trained to be the City's emergency defense? Why?"

[Assistant]
The teacher raised his hand, two fingers up. Lowering his middle finger, he said "One: This room has been built specifically for this class. The air is laced with Kyukon water, which steadily drains your soul wavelength. Most of you should have no issue with the low concentration, but if someone blacks out and I don't notice, tell me immediately."

Raising his finger again, he added "Two: Each and every one of you was hand picked for this class. Whether you were in NOT or EAT, it doesn't matter, Lord Death saw something about you that makes you special. You don't have to be strong, you have to become strong. That is why I was chosen to teach you."

Lowering his hands to the table again, he gazed over the classroom. "Anybody else?"

[User]
Dimitri quietly took his seat in the second row of the seats available. For a few moments the teen fidgeted uncomfortably in the chair as he awkwardly attempted to work out a way to fit his bulk comfortably in the piece of furniture before finally settling for just being able to actually sit at all. He like the other students did not get the chance to answer for roll call, however this didn't particularly bother him. Dimitri remained silent until the teacher had addressed the questions of two students and, seeing an opportunity to actually ask something he considered important, gave a soft cough. After the cough Dimitri raised his hand a bit uncertainly, "Um...if I may ask..." he began in a tone much softer than to be expected of someone of his appearance, "What exactly will we be acting as a defense force against? Also, how will our meister and weapon teams be assigned?".

Dimitri slowly brought his hand back down onto the desk and proceeded to twiddle his thumbs together and stare at the teacher's shoes rather than make actual eye contact with him, only an occasional glance upward was made to ensure that he would actually have his question addressed. Interacting with anyone that wasn't his mother, father, or trainer was a bit nerve wracking. It was at times like these that Dimitri wondered what on earth his father had been thinking to have sent him all the way to Nevada of all places. The old man's intentions had been good enough, but the sudden change in scenery and the unfamiliarity had only served to exacerbate Dimitri's social anxieties.

Fearing a bit of backlash for what could potentially be considered a stupid question, Dimitri offered up a meek apology to Kain for wasting his time, though he still quietly hoped that his questions would actually be answered.

[Assistant]
Ju-Long

Walking casually with his usual energetic smile, Ju-Long walked to his new classroom. Wonder why the change of class he thought.
Think they know?
But brother has been protecting us. His even helped us strengthen our souls and also compress our wavelengths.
It will be fine, I'm here for you right?
Brother will take care of things, we will be right beside you bro!

His soul was projecting as always, larger than he needed to, if he were ordinary. As he reached the classroom he paused. Kyukon water. Don't worry about compressing your soul waves. Wouldn't want you guys to be harmed because of it. I know we use it a lot to help you guys, but just be alert A suddenly serious tone echoed in him. Are they going to do something bad to us?
Don't worry Ya. Everything will be fine.

Stepping in, Ju-Long had his soul expand, but it was dampened by the kyukon water in the air. In the end, it was the same he found his seat and waited quietly, with his "enthusiasm". The teacher walked in, his name was Kain. He gave a roll call, with no time to reply by the students. Nonetheless the students replied, Ju-Long did likewise when his name was called.

Question time came, the other students, two girls, asked Kain about what was going on and why they were chosen. Kain answered succinctly. Another person asked a question, he was behind Ju-Long. A big, and well built guy towered behind Ju-Long, but his tone was soft. Either kind or not very good at socializing He commented about the guy behind him.
Ju-long then asked a question "Hey Kain! Why the Kyukon water in the air, and will the concentration increase as lessons progress?" He had an answer to these questions, but he wanted to be sure. Gonna be using more Kyukon at home from now on you two, okay?
Yes brother!
Sure
The two obediently agreed and answered at the same time.

He waited for the teacher to answer and move on from question time. While waiting, he leaned back and looked up to the guy behind him. "Yo! Name's Ju-Long. Nice to meet you! Hope to get along!" Ju-Long spoke in his usual energetic and carefree manner. He waited for a reply, and eventually, leaned back forward and looked at the teacher.

[User]
Kalinda sighed softly, and leaned back in her chair, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that they were being affected with kyokun. Instead, he closed her eyes as the other students continued on with the questions, seeming to absorb it all. She didn't particularly care why she was here, but the fact they were using Kyokun against them, seemed to show that they had either a slight fear of the students, or they were trying to get them use to such things.

She didn't waste much time thinking about it. She heard some whisperings, and could only assume that some of the students were talking among themselves. that didn't bother her. For now, she was just happy keeping her own company, and figuring out just what she was meant to do. Later, she might try and talk with other students, not that that had ever worked well fo her.

She opened her eyes, glancing about at the other students before asking "What are we going to be taught here, then?"

[Assistant]
Katsuo Masahige

 Finally, today's the day, Katsuo thought as he paused at the door to the class.

 Inside he gleamed a man holding a folder. His voice was deep and commanding as he carried on uninterrupted with a string of commands and questions. Katsuo swallowed the large ball of anxiety that had been growing in him since yesterday. No, perhaps even further back then that.

 He sighed out the anxiety into the conditioned air and finally opened the door. He strode in as a girl was asking a question about what they were going to be taught. The girl had bright red-hair and though she gave off maturity in waves, he couldn't help thinking she looked like someone's youngest sister. When he turned his vivid emerald eyes onto the teacher, he bowed slightly and introduced himself.

 "Masahige Katsuo," he said as greeting. "I'll be attending your class and the world from here on out." He renewed his straight posture before smirking. "Now, where should I sit?"

[User]
Kain pointed a spot on the floor next to him. "You will sit here, next to me, because you figured it was cool to show up late. Since you weren't here when I said it, I'll repeat it for you. I do not tolerate tardiness. I expect you to be punctual and driven. Slacking will be punished."

As he turned back to the rest of the class, he brought a jar from underneath his desk. "Kyukon water has had many uses over the decades, ranging from torture to rites of passage, but by far it is more useful as training equipment for the soul. In low concentrations, it can be used to drain a person's soul wavelength enough that when it regenerates, it comes back stronger. As your tolerance for it grows, we will be adding higher concentrations to the air here, and eventually we will give each of you a jar like this at your seats."

"As for you, Mr. Holmes, you shall each be choosing your own teams. When nobody has any more questions, you will be free to converse amongst each other."


[System]
Personality: Hair triggered with a penchant for violence. He is unafraid of playing dirty and will use every trick in the book. (Plus some outside it!)

Bio:  Born to Mr. Hare, a ridiculously wealth and ridiculously uncaring man who lived in Stalac Heights, Mr. Hare had no time for his son and pushed all responsibility to his butler, Nelson. Nelson taught Ash reading, writing, pretty much everything. Young Ash responded with standard problem child behavior, crying and violence and the such. Nelson attempted to help, but was not well versed in the area, and Mr. Hare just threw money at the situation. Ash grew up resenting his father, frequently building "death devices" that would kill his father in odd ways, but almost all were given up on in the planning stage, the only one ever making it to prototype was the "Drillsaw." Eventually, Mr. Hare died of "mysterious circumstances." Some say he died of old age, some say he was murdered. Only Ash and Nelson really know.

Relations:
* Eyeclopsiel - Emotionless, unfit ruler that is trying to steal the proverbial crown away!
* System - Ally for hire, could be used to 'investigate' Eyeclopsiel. Ash swears he's seen her before though...
* Angel - She covered Mr. Hare's death. She refuses to pick a candidate. Keep a safe distance.
* Mr. Hare - Dead.
* Nelson - Ah, good ol' Nelson. Ash's assistant and caretaker. Also helping with the campaign!
* Dorkle - Ash's 'supplier.'
* Nicena - Childhood friend.

Skill: Surprisingly intuitive and creative. Also, commands with ease (That is to say- bossy.)

Weapon: Rusty Drillsaw [Essentially a giant sawblade that's hollow in the middle. Ash can hop in and propel it in any direction with his fire magic.]

Armour: Torn Cape

Fight: Though Ash can attack with his Drillsaw and fire magic, his true strength comes in using actions that don't require weaponry .He can throw sand in the opponents eyes [Cuts to another attack similar to the Sans fight], Trip the opponent, [Halves move-speed for current attack], Throw a rock [A rock falls from the top of the box during the current attack] and use the environment [Depends on his battleground]. His fire magic also reduces Invincibility frames. Luckily, they're orange, so as long as you're moving, you're safe.

Genocide
Ash understands how powerful the human is, and refuses to even give them a chance. Every time his combatant selects the ATTACK command, Ash will throw sand in the humans face so he can attack before they can. He will use at least one trick per turn and after the first few, he'll start using double tricks. His rock throw turns into a knife throw dealing twice the damage, and drops slightly faster. He can use his blue flame burst after some attacks, and his orange fire is now powerful enough to cover the entire screen as well, ensuring you have to be moving at all times during the attack.

But of course Ash will get tired eventually. After ATTACking 10 times, Ash admits hes out of time. He lets the human attack. He disappears and the text box displays YOU WON!

"NICE TRY ***HOLE!!!"
Ash throws sand in the opponents face, trips them, throws a knife at them, and uses the environment all at the same time. He then Orange Flame Bursts, forcing the human to run and run, lest they be cooked by his magical flames. Then he abruptly throws sand in their face and Blue Flame Bursts, forcing the poor soul to stand idly in the licking flames. He very quickly switches between these two attacks, orange, blue, orange, blue, orange... until he's out of time.

"Nelson... Dad... so many regrets..."

Act:
[*Check] 10 ATK 25 DEF. He looks a little peeved, frankly.
[*Flirt] First time he spends a turn being flustered. After that, his attacks get faster. If used after nudity, possible date unlocked, possibly.
[*Nudity] GOD D**NIT HE'S NOT NAKED, OKAY?
[*Vote] You say you're going to vote for him. ATK reduced for one turn.
[*Dead] You pretend to be dead. He doesn't buy it. If used after Turn reaches 5, successfully tricks Ash.

If you have campaign buttons in your INV:
Ash Campaign Button - A frown can be seen on his face for just a split second. Reduces ATK for 3 turns. Can instantly Play Dead.
Eyeclopsiel Campaign Button - His eyes glow a sickly blood red. Raises ATK for 3 turns, If turn count is above 5, set turn count to 0. If it is not, lower it by 2.

Mercy:
Ash must be alone. Can let anybody think he's a loser!
There is a special "Turn Count" bar that goes from -2 to 5. It starts on 0, and any time You take an action, it raises by one. Once it hits 5, [*Dead] now successfully tricks Ash into thinking you've died. But before he leaves, he needs to make sure. He charges up a 'special attack', Blue Flame Burst. It's a cyan attack that fills the entire box. As long as you don't move, you won't get hit by it, and Ash leaves thinking he's won.

Main Theme
Battle Theme
Date
Genocide Battle

Finally, Papyrus's fabled 'blue attack, is
Wait.
I forgot what color it was. Green?

[User]
♥ - Eeeeeeeeeeee
'oh wow, thank you. youre both very helpful, and kind. and winkey. okay, ill do those things, then.' I'm sure I'll be able to keep that in mind, so long as I don't get too excited.

---

♥ - Rodney Colton Smith
And then, with little warning, everything goes back to normal. Normal colours, normal (low, rather- and it's quite noticable, come to mention it) lighting, and the ghost- oh. That's still entirely black and white, then. Literally, now that I think about it, its outside edges and the edges of its eyes are coloured black, and as I noticed before, its entire body is weirdly pixellated. Strange. But I guess at least its colour makes sense, in some weird cartoon-derived manner? Still... I suppose I should be civil, now that it's not being somewhat lethal. I put the empty gun back in its bag, sealing that up as needed, then try to recall the layout of the cave... I think it was only Skylar who was in trouble if she sidestepped? With that in mind, I begin shuffling forward, toward the ghost. "Eeeee", I think Skylar called it?

'So, uh, look,' I say, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck, 'I'm real sorry that I took shots at you... uh, maybe you noticed, maybe not, but we're not that capable of seeing in the dark or anything... um. Do you think you could lead us somewhere with more, uh, light, Eeee? Please?'

'oh yes, i can do that,' the ghost responds, heading toward what I presume is an exit. 'anything for two helpful people like you humans! but i need to say, my name is eeeeeeeeeeee, with twelve eeeeees. it needs to be that long.'

'Right...' I respond. I kind of understand why the other... hang on, it said something about other people. That bears being topical about at some point, if they're all as non-human as him... why they don't like him much. Aside from his unintentional verbal violence and all. I sigh, then begin shuffling in the appropriate direction, turning back for a moment to say cheerfully 'Well, no time like the present. Let's get going, Sky. Don't forget about the hole next to you.'

Angel Haruki

[Assistant]
♥ Ash Hare

Ash coolly slid his arm off of Nina's shoulder as she wiggled uncomfortably. He could take the hint, certainly. Hopefully they weren't being filmed. That really wouldn't look good on camera. For him, at least. Anywho, after a brief pause Lorelei answered positively. Yes! This was great, now they had time to prepare for the myriad of questions to be thrown at them. It wasn't a ridiculously large amount of time, especially since Ash wanted to spend a day allowing Nina to get acquainted to the city. Still, it was better than nothing.

As the angel of death flew off, a deep sigh escaped from Ash. Finally, she was gone. Ash's shoulders dropped into a lax position. That took a lot of him, but now, hopefully, they weren't being filmed. Still, you never knew what was going to happen, or if she had really even left. Ash really needed to get back to his home. He began walking towards the city. "Once we get to the city, you should put your hood on. Unless you wanna be assaulted."

---

♥ System

"No problem." System said, in reply to Dorkle's thanks. She quickly began to work on the photocopy version. She cleanly printed both sentences on the top and bottom of the paper, and began tracing a drawing of a human. She had assumed she was doing decently. It might not have been the worst idea to mention that this was just the general idea of a human...

Once she had finished, she handed the paper to Dorkle. "I hope that seems good, but I really have to be going now." She explained, before leaving. She had left the shop for a half an hour to an hour. That probably wasn't very good for business. She quickly made her way back home, it's familiar "Closed, return soon <3" greeting her. Nobody was waiting in front of the shop, luckily, so she took out her key and walked inside. Once there, she quickly checked her answering machine. There was indeed a message. Another job from Lorelei about Ash. She was going to delete the message before it even finished, but the word "human" caught her interest. She listened to the message in full after that. That certainly seemed interesting. She quickly dialed the idol's number. "Hey, Miss Lorelei, I'd like to take you up on your offer. My regular rate is fine, yes?"

[User]
~ ♥ Nina Sari ~
Three days. 5 pm. Certainly enough time to get her story straight. Nina gave a small wave as Lorelei left, glad that the bird lady was gone now. Once she was certain that the celebrity was far away enough not to hear her, she sighed. "That, isn't gonna happen too often is it? People just randomly coming up to you and being so..." She had to pause a second to think of a word that wouldn't sound like an insult, "Flamboyant?"

Nina started walking alongside Ash as he took off again. She couldn't help replaying the scene in her head, worrying about what she'd said and how she'd acted. At the time she'd thought she was doing well, but... She'd messed up somehow. She wasn't sure what it was, but she felt like something just went wrong. Maybe she was already becoming paranoid from their little act. Maybe she'd been paranoid from the beginning.

She almost didn't hear Ash, or at least, the words didn't register right away. She nodded and put her hood up, she might've forgotten later. They walked a little while in silence, but that only left Nina to her thoughts. Suddenly she remembered something Lorelei had said, and decided that now was later enough to ask about it. "Um, mind if I ask somthing that's kinda bothering me? Earlier Lorelei said something and, it hadn't really occurred to me before... most of the monsters I've seen weren't wearing anything, the one I got this jacket from was the only who had... Maybe it doesn't matter to monsters but, are you naked except for that cape?"

[Assistant]
Ash snickered to himself as Nina commented on Lori. No one in the underground was as bad as her, certainly, but the Underlake was absolutely full of colorful characters, himself included. He hoped, for both of their sakes (though mainly his), she could adjust quick. Things happened pretty fast in this town, especially since it was election time.

The two walked a little while in silence, leaving Ash to his thoughts. Hopefully they didn't screw themselves over too badly. The shoulder situation certainly wouldn't look good. Him threatening Lori was a bit up in the air. Lori would certainly use it as evidence of his hair trigger, but Nina would probably look great. Taking control of the situation and providing a nonviolent solution.

But then she pushed the button. That button. The clothes button. Ash stopped dead in his tracks for a second, before his breathing grew noticeably heavier and quicker. His grip on the Drillsaw tightened so much it threatened to bend under the pressure. Then he exploded. "GOD D**NIT! I'M A F**KING SKELETON! DO YOU SEE ANY BITS? I HAVE TO SUMMON MY JUNK! THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING TO F**KING HIDE! AND ALSO DO YOU SEE MY CAPE YOU DUMB MOTHERF**KER? BOTH OF THOSE FACTS COMBINE TO REVEAL THE FACT THAT I. AM. NOT. NAKED! ARRRRRRRRGH!" He roared, before chucking his weapon so hard it lodged into a tree.

He was silent for a good few moments, attempting to catch his breath from his yelling. Beads of sweat seemed to appear on his forehead from nowhere. He sighed, cleared his throat, and then looked at Nina. "I own a pair of pants. If it makes you comfortable, I can wear them." he offered in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. Normally, he was not this generous, but he also didn't flip out so much about the clothes thing before. Lorelei had escaped his wrath last time, so he blew up a little louder than average. Hopefully no one heard that.


[System]
---

---

Main
Jinn (Jonin)
Natsuko Rinha (Genin)
Kazuhiko Taketori (Genin)
Tetsuba Zaisette (Genin)

---

Supporting

---

NPC's
Gakuro - ramen shop operator near ninja school's front gates

---

---

[User]
Genin all around the courtyard's main entrance turned towards an unsightly disturbance. Whispers and sighs echoed silently between the students as one of the village's Jonin found herself trudging through the front gate, uncomfortably pulling at something that slowed her to a crawl. She jerked and huffed irritably, prompting several chuckles. What in the world was she doing? A few moments after her apperance, it became painfully clear as she tore a boy from behind the courtyard's frontal wall.

 "Quit pulling," Jinn grunted, with her newly assigned student caught firmly in her grasp. Tetsuba pulled and yanked as hard as he could, struggling to escape Jinn's vice-like grip to no avail. "Quit it." It was rare to see any shinobi putting on such a defiant display the way Tetsuba had with his assigned sensei, but what little reputation he had made it somewhat believable for any who'd recognized his name. Jinn scanned the courtyard silently while the boy continued to struggle, spotting her other two students a few moments later, to her relief. She released Tetsuba's wrist, and let him tumble backwards. In a clumsy display of stubbornness, several Genin found themselves toppled by Tetsuba as he careened towards their small group. A Chorus of grunts and angry shouts rained upon the boy as he stood himself up and scrambled back towards Jinn. Clumsy idiot, reckless jerk, why is he even here? Jinn shook her head and waved to both Kazuhiko, and Natsuko. "Hey, kids!" She called out. It was a little early for her to arrive, but Jinn hadn't ever found herself in this position before. Teaching Genin? The Hokage wasn't exactly clear on when, or how her duties were supposed to be carried out. So, in a shameless display, she'd rushed to find all three of her pupils, starting with the most difficult of the lot. Tetsuba spun around and dusted off his cloth pants, and bare chest. The boy's appearance was curious, but it hardly drew as much attention as his bitter attitude. As soon as his composure returned, he looked over to the two Genin that Jinn had called towards them. He didn't recognize either of them, why should he? What he did notice though, were Kazuhiko's pale eyes. They resembled the famed Hyuga eye coloration, an appearance that Tetsuba found a strange comfort in. For one who's own eyes were unusually pale, it was nice when others shared his problems. Though, to his knowledge, the Byakugan was not frowned upon in Konoha, and the Hyuga was dearly respected, much unlike the Tetsuba clan.

 "We're not supposed to-"

 "Hush!" Jinn hissed, spinning towards Tetsuba for a brief moment. He flinched, but stood his ground and shrugged it off. There really wasn't any point in trying to run off again. He'd already been publicly humiliated. What more harm was there in just... Going with the flow? He set his eyes back on the two that Jinn waved over and sighed. The small silvered Genin wasn't looking forward to any of this.

[Assistant]
A commotion in the crowd drew Natsuko's attention away from Kazuhiko as her eyes sought out what the noise was about. The crowd parted just as a feminine voice called towards Natsuko and Kazuhiko. Frowning, Natsuko looked between the female ninja and her very unwilling travel companion in confusion. Who were they?

Kazuhiko, however, was already up and moving. It didn't take long for him to put two and two together and figure out who the odd pair were, and the boy crossed the distance between them just as quickly.

"Jinn Kokono, correct?" he asked, coming to a stop beside the Jonin. Flicking his eyes over the shirtless boy on the ground, Kazuhiko frowned. While the boy's eyes were light in color, they lacked the most notable colorations or traits that graced the Village of the Hidden Leaf, thus alluding Kazuhiko. And Kazuhiko hated being in the dark. "Are you Tetsuba Zaisette?"

In the time it had taken Kazuhiko to ask his questions, Natsuko had sprinted over to the now-trio, skidding to a halt beside the Taketori as she eyed the shirtless boy in amusement. "Tetsuba Zaisette" had just about met all of her requirements for "teammate that she would mess with," as Kazuhiko had automatically been ruled off the list due to his standing as both the genius and heir of the Taketori clan. However, formalities came before fun, and Natsuko tore her attention away from the pale boy to focus on her team leader, a Jonin with a fierce pair of scars running along her jawline.

"Natsuko Rinha," Natsuko said, bowing respectfully to the jonin. "Thank you for taking us under your wing!" Introductions with the authority figure out of the way, Natsuko turned her attention to her other teammate that she was sure would open up to her with time. After all, she didn't ask for much—just a few personal details here and there, perhaps, paired with nagging attentions if they weren't forked over. "Nice to meet you, Tetsuba Zai-set-te," Natsuko said, sounding his last name out one syllable at a time. "Are you by chance foreign? You have a rather odd name."

The question caught Kazuhiko's attention, and his eyes flicked to his female teammate in momentary shock that quickly morphed into exasperated amusement. Only the likes of Natsuko Rinha could get away with such an upfront and rude question, and by "get away" Kazuhiko meant "be accepted for" because he was sure that even the Rinha herself knew that she probably wasn't going to get much out of the boy so quickly. His eyes flicked to Jinn's face briefly before focusing on the scene around him—lost and confused genin trying to match names to faces and faces to teams. He'd have to start now too, Kazuhiko realized. After all, it was team against team during the chunin exams.

---

[User]
Jinn nodded and turned to Tetsuba, who'd seemed a little shocked that somebody had addressed him by name. The young boy glanced at Kazuhiko and nodded, while still cleaning specks of dust off of himself. "Call me Zay" Tetsuba muttered, "I prefer Zay." He'd liked Kazuhiko from the start. It had more to do with his eyes than anything else, really, but something about the boy was more respectable than most he'd met, even if they hadn't even exchanged more than ten words. Jinn turned back to witness her third student rushing over. Zay looked up, far less excited, especially when she started asking questions about his name. "Yeah, foreign," Tetsuba barked, answering her question briefly and looking back towards Jinn for guidance.

 "Forgive his manners," Jinn cut in, with a humble nod, "Tetsuba- Ehm, Zay here isn't very social, from what I've been told. But there will be plenty of time to fix that!" Zay huffed at Jinn's confidence, and looked over his new teammates once again. Kazuhiko seemed more astute than Natsuko. His posture spoke worlds, and the way he observed his surroundings was rather telling. A thinker, was it? Or just another dog to the Hyuga name? Zay didn't care either way, it was a respectable type of composure! Tetsuba couldn't relate. Then again, he didn't have a family reputation to uphold at all, let alone one that mattered nearly as much as the Hyuga's. That girl on the other hand...

 "Admittedly, I'm new to this whole, uh... Leader, teacher-type business. I've always been more of a soldier.." Jinn croaked, unsure in how exactly she was to approach training the children before her. Zay toned it out and focused on Natsuko. She seemed so much more care-free than the other boy in his group. The way she approached them, the look on her face, the way she sounded out his name... It all bugged him, more so than her question had. Tetsuba wondered if anyone here even knew what being a shinobi entailed? Whether they were a loyal prodigy, or a peppy go-getter, the point of all this training remained the same. Zay's eyes drafted away from Natsuko, and he began to look over the crowds. Genin glared at their group, both with jealousy, and pity. Paired with him? Good luck! Zay wasn't fond of what their eyes implied, but shrugged it all off with a hearty yawn. Jinn's eyes darted towards the boy, but she cleared her throat and kept speaking.

 "That being said, I haven't had much time to prepare a lesson plan, or anything along those lines. So, considering the current uh, Dynamic that we've been gifted with," Jinn paused and glanced at each Genin briefly, "I imagine that getting a little more acquainted with one another would be an excellent start to our morning! But, as much as I love being surrounded by excited young Shinobi, I think it would be wise for us to set a much more reasonable meeting place, for today, and the future." Jinn smiled and rose one arm, pointing it towards the courtyard's exit and starting her way away from the academy. "We'll have plenty of time to talk as we walk- Ah, incidental rhyme!.. Ahem."

 Zay immediately turned away from his teammates and shoved his hands into his pant pockets, lazily trudging after Jinn with his back held unusually straight. Zay had always been the lazy sort, but posture was of utmost importance to him! Especially since he rarely ever wore a shirt in the summer. Nobody needed to stare at a crooked spine, the mere thought embarrassed him more than any tumble through the dirt ever could.

[Assistant]
Natsuko liked Jinn. While the Jonin was clearly a lot more well-versed in the world than Natsuko herself, she had a sense of humor to her that didn't say "I'm-a-broody-teen-don't-mess-with-me" like the aura around "Zay" did. But, sadly, she'd have to make do with the mysterious white-haired boy that didn't seem to be from any major or minor family in Konoha. No, Natsuko was pretty sure he was either from some ambiguous family that had lived in the village fringes or simply from another village altogether — the second of which was more interesting.

"No problem. Maybe we could just walk around and grab an early lunch," she suggested to Jinn with a grin. "Worst comes to worst, we can just meet up here and head elsewhere every day."

Beside her, Kazuhiko snorted lightly, but Natsuko paid him no mind. Instead, she skipped ahead to keep in pace with "Zay." "So, Zay," she said, a mischievous grin on her face as she looked him up and down, "where are you from? Who are your friends? How old are you?" Ignoring the second light snort from beside her — Kazuhiko, the stiff — Natsuko grinned at the boy she'd been hurling questions at. "All I know is that you're not from around here — I know all the boys in the neighborhood, and none of them have a head of hair that's half as pale as yours."

"Oh, there's a great ramen place just down the street to the left," Natsuko said as the quintent neared the end of the street. "Not that Kazuhiko-san has ever been there — or bothered to try — but it's pretty good." After a brief discussion — slight protest on Kazuhiko's end — there seemed to be no better ideas, so to the ramen shop they went.

"Natsuko! I see you've made new friends," the wrinkled noodle maker said, lines accentuating his delight in some customers — new customers, to boot. "How can I help you four today?"

"The usual for me, Gakuro," Natsuko said, a grin on her face as she hopped on to one of the barside stools. Kazuhiko followed hesitantly, eyes flicking between the shopkeeper and his menu hanging on the back wall.

"I'll get the udon with chicken broth," he said at last, fiddling with the chopsticks in front of him.

"Mother would approve," Natsuko sniped as the others placed their orders, thanking Gakuro as he passed her a ceramic cup of steaming tea.


[System]
Age:
16
Gender:
Male
Appearance:
A 5'9 teen of an average - if kind of wiry physical complexion with scruffy hair, Rowan looks like your average white trash type from Verthaven's Iron District. From a glance it's clear he's not a heavyweight and even if he was a little meatier he wouldn't be too imposing at that height. Unkempt, his hair is a dirty blonde whilst along his jawline is a thin veil of blonde stubble that one day threatens to turn into an equally scruffy beard and he possesses a set of sharp, blue eyes
Attire:
When he's not wearing the uniform - which is often the case, he'll lean towards wearing a jacket for the colder Alaskan weather as well as a pair of cargo pants and working boots.
Skills/Talents:
Growing up in a rough neighbourhood in a broken home's taught Rowan a couple of delinquent skills, from cracking simple locks to getting into cars (the older ones, at least) without setting off the alarms and so on. Also, whilst it's not exactly a quality one could boast about, Rowan has a rather high level of endurance and is capable of taking more than a couple punches and still pulling himself back up to his feet. Years of physical abuse have conditioned him with a somewhat higher pain threshold than your average teen and it also translates to a psychological effect - no matter how beat he is, nothing will pull him down if he's set his mind to something and he's more likely to break than bend.
Brief Backstory:
Hailing from the poorer districts of Verthaven, Rowan was another textbook case of a kid coming from a broken home, the only difference being that this kid had powers and their family happened to Iron Cross. To be specific, Rowan's father had very close ties to the group from his time in prison and throughout upbringing of his son he'd attempted to embed a similar set of bigoted views through years of domineering and abuse. His mother also suffered the same treatment if not worse, leading the two of them to endure years of abuse under the old man's roof.

It wasn't until after he hit his early teens that it came to a head - the old man had come home drunk yet again after another night out with 'his brothers of iron' and had taken a disliking to his demeanour and started hurling abuse. When Rowan shot back, this made him angry and he looked ready to throw the bottle at him until his wife intervened, instead becoming the new target of his ire as she took a heavy beating for it.

Then something snapped. Years of abuse and resentment came bubbling to the surface - Rowan practically threw himself against the old man and laid into him blow after blow, until the stress of the situation 'activated' his powers and in a rage caused him to unintentionally send a metal frame flying into the old man and fatally snapping his neck.

It didn't take long for the authorities to realise what had happened, especially when he tested positive for the metahuman gene. NEST quickly took custody of him after the truth of his circumstances was revealed and given the duress he'd been under, it was determined that he had not intentionally killed the old man and was in clear need of a stable environment. Initially, he was supposed to attend the academy in Verthaven but it soon became apparent that this left him open to being approached by elements of the Iron Cross or worse and he was often seen outside of education, doing anything but learning.

In the end, as a drastic but ultimately necessary measure he was sent to Academy 218 in secluded but stable Alaska, far away from his troubles back home where he couldn't run away from his issues, and a fresh start.

Power Information
Power Class:
Elemental
Power:
Electromagnetic Manipulation:

Rowan can generate a rather powerful electronic field in order to manipulate his surroundings. Magnetised metallic objects can be moved around and have force exerted upon them at will, whilst he also has an overall sense of directiin (like a living compass) and can detect other magnetic fields. In addition to this, he's capable of 'seeing' the path of electrical currents and interfering with electronics by manipulating said magnetism.
Limits:
For one, there's a limit to the strength and radius of the fields he can generate and manipulate. He wouldn't be able to lift a truck off the ground, but with the proper focus and training he could learn to generate more concentrated fields, allowing him to deflect metallic projectiles.
Weaknesses/Drawbacks:
Excessive use of his power to the point of overexertion can cause him to suffer intense migraines and nosebleeds. If he pushed it even further he'd pass out from exhaustion. Also, being encased in a faraday cage or a similarly insulating enclosure can hinder the effectiveness of his powers. Oh, and unshielded CCTV cameras don't seem to like being around him.

Relationships

Family:

Dynamics:
Tess Campbell | Good | Mom | "I miss her. Wish those fuckers had let her come with me."|

Other
* It's not a major concern just yet, but Rowan's had a growing reliance on painkillers to alleviate the migraines he suffers as a result of the stubborn overexertion of his powers. Just something to be noted for future reference.
* Whilst he's nowhere near the die-hard bigot that his old man was, Rowan's upbringing leaves a little something to be desired when it comes to people of other ethnicity or sexuality. That doesn't mean he'll recoil in disgust at the sight of someone of a different race and start spouting white supremacist chants, rather he'd just find himself acting awkwardly or uncomfortable with the situation if there is a problem. He's a work in progress for NEST, but yeah.

[User]
Rori Aherne

Rori looked up from where they had been sitting as the door opened, automatically going to stand up. Well their room mate was certainly... tall. But maybe it was just Rori who was small. Or it was a bit of both. Probably a bit of both considering it was a sizeable difference between them. A smile appeared on their lips, though it was something that was often just stuck there. Rori was a surprisingly happy person.

"Nice to meet you, Kai," Rori responded cheerfully. They took a note of the nickname, discarding the name Kiri from their mind. They would be the last person to not respect what someone wanted to go by. After all they hated their birth name. Thankfully the school had them down under Rori. It often made things easier and gave them a lot less to explain. "I'm Rori, though you probably already know that since you would've got my name. I'm pretty sure that's what my name is under at least..." They shrugged as they realised they had continued without meaning to, smiling again.

It took them a while to notice how the room was growing colder, a bitter chill causing them to move over to their newly unpacked clothing and pull out a scarf to help with the warmth. Well that certainly was odd. Good thing they had plenty of warm clothes. "I'd like to become friends too. It's always nice to get on with people, and there are quite a few in the school who would rather avoid socialising." They glanced back over at Kai. "So I'm glad that you're friendly." She then shook her head slightly. "I have clothes suited to Alaska, so I can just put on a lot of layers to keep myself warm. And the feathers help with that. It would hardly be fair to kick you out of our room!" Though it was getting quite cold. But Rori was sure Kai would learn to control this more, or something, and if not they could deal with it.

Although they moved back over to pull on a hat, just in case it got even colder, Rori continued to talk. They did like talking. "How did you find the boat journey? It was quite busy, wasn't it? I'm looking forward to meeting all the new people this year." It was easy enough for them to make some kind of talk to Kai. If there was one thing Rori was good at it was being friendly.

Allen J

---

Max Diaz

Max decided that it was probably the best idea to give her room mate the benefit of the doubt. When the person entered the room Max's first impression wasn't bad. At least the other girl didn't look like some goody two shoes that would try and stop Max from getting into trouble. She had been worried that whoever was in charge of the rooming would try and pair those here for good, productive reasons up with those here because of stupid NEST and it's dislike for teens with powers who were also criminals.

"Yes, I'm Max, unsurprisingly. I'd rather it was Max than Maxine." Her full name was far too girly and stupid, and the only people who called her that were ignorant shits. Mostly teachers or her uncle. She looked at Pink closer again, noting the incredibly pink hair. Max wondered what the other girl would do if her hair was ever not pink. Change her nickname? Something like green didn't seem like such a good name. She noticed that Pink didn't seem to be entirely human. It didn't take long to work out what. Shark. Well that was good. Max had a better control over those kinds of powers and was unlikely to accidentally replicate Pink's. "Pink's a far better name than Abigail, so I'm quite happy to call you that." Abigail was a bit of a mouthful. Like Maxine.

Max then noted the guitar. Well... She hoped that Pink wasn't planning on playing that till insanely late hours. Max had had to deal with enough music in the week Rori had been staying around. Her cousin's instrument was far less cool, however, and she guessed a guitar wasn't too bad. A violin, however, was horrible. It was all pretentious classical music.

"So what you think this hell hole is going to be like? Apart from shit, of course, which is a bit obvious."

Allen J

[Assistant]
Allen J

Serena  Jones

Serena offered a light wave towards Wendy and uncrossed her shoulders in response. "Yep that's me. Serena Jones. And you're just the type of person I expected from the name. " She replied, only half serious. Why does everyone have to be taller than me? She thought to herself, sighing. Oh well. She was probably stronger than a good portion of people there, or at-least she hoped so, so her height didn't bother her much. She watched her curiously, the girl was obviously a bit put off by someone being in the room before her, or possibly by people in general. Serena wasn't entirely sure why, but she was certainly interesting. She watched as she meticulously organized her books on the bookshelf, Wendy was quite clearly a neat freak. Oh the ways Serena could mess with her room mate..

Soon the question was posed about her liking books. Serena shrugged, "I read occassionally, yea. Though, obviously not as much as you. I mean, you carry a whole damn library with you. Sheesh." She replied. She honestly hadn't met anyone that carries a miniature library of books around so casually like that.
------

Melissa Wright

Melissa had almost fallen asleep by the time Chloe had arrived, the soothing warmth of the room was a stark contrast to the piercing cold of the boat, and it was very well welcomed by her senses. "Hey" she told her as she walked in, she didn't lean up, however she did roll over in her bed to face Chloe when she sat on her own bed. "Uh, no. Why? You don't have a pet snake or something do you?" She asked her curiously. While, she wasn't afraid of snakes, she slightly disliked them. They always looked a little off just sitting there staring at you motionlessly and flicking its tongue in and out ever so slightly. Shoving that thought aside she simply returned to the topic at hand, which was figure out how talkative Chloe was.

[User]
Damian Alexander-Ahote Mallory

As Damian walked towards the lounge, he happened to see a familiar head of red hair making it's way towards the cafeteria. Seeing as he had nothing better to do and how she seemed to not be preoccupied with anything, he decided to chat it up with her for the time being. As he walked over, he pulled out his phone to check a few things, mostly to see if his little pet project was progressing at all by using the notification software he'd added to the system. But, as usual, no significant progress could be seen. He let out a sigh, turning the device off as he came with in speaking distance of her.

"Hey Diana," He said with a slight wave, "What'd you think of the Boss Lady around here? She seems nice enough, for a NEST agent at least. You meet your roommate yet, or did you do what I did and just drop your stuff off. I've had enough of staying in one place after that boring boat ride, so I'm thinking of exploring the school and see what scenery I have to look forward to for the rest of my tenure here."

Stretching his arms with a bit of a yawn, he scratched at the back of his head as he fell in step with her, hoping he wasn't bothering her too much with his presence. "Oh, and if you're heading to the cafeteria, I suggest getting some of their desserts. I had some not to long ago and it was mind-blowingly good. Say what you want about this place, but at least they spared no expense on the luxuries provided."

Allen J

[Assistant]
"Oh good, that's a relief." Well, that was one potential problem dealt with, considering her lack of control she would never wish herself on someone with a snake phobia. Since Melissa was her roommate explaining her power and the problems she had now would hopefully make things less strange when they act up. "Its my power, I can turn into snakes. I don't have very good control when i'm sleeping so you might make up one morning and see a cobra or something in my bed. So, uh, don't worry, its just me."

Good, now that was out the way hopefully she could get to some normal topics. Though the fact she found the other girl laying on the bed might mean she was tired, Chloe didn't want to be a bother if she was. First impressions here hard.

"Hey, I was planning to head down to check out the student lounge. Did you want to come with? I'l see you again later if not."

[User]
"Wouldn't put it past 'em, this place is like a maze." Rowan answered with a somewhat dismissive tone, dropping back against the metal frame of the bed with a firm thud. It took him a few seconds to notice that the aryan (the kind his old man's crew loved to pretend they were) with the german accent was offering to shake hands and after a moment's hesitation he figured he may as well get it over with. Idly leaning forward, he sluggishly returned the gesture and shook Copen's hand. "I'm not Victor. No idea where he is, probably eaten by a kid who looked like godzilla or something."

He snorted half-heartedly at that last one, before leaning over to unzip his bag and retrieved a short pile of spare clothes which he quickly popped in a drawer adjacent to his bed. It was clear he had a few other things, but he didn't feel like getting them out right now; not until he had a feel for the place. Instead, he glanced towards his german roommate with a bored, inquisitive expression and asked, "So, what's your story?"


[System]
Age: 13
Hometown: Ecruteak City
Appearance (pic preferred):

Starter: Torchic
Bio: Shiranui had developed a fascination with fox-like Pokémon from watching the Kimono Sisters performing during his childhood. His favourite Pokémon are Espeon, Umbreon, Delphox, Zoroark and Ninetales. He is generally kind, but has a low tolerance to those who speak ill of his likes. He had been inspired to go on a Pokémon journey ever since he spotted Ho-oh taking off from the Bell Tower at age 8, later catching it during his journey through Johto along with two of the three Legendary Beasts.

Having experienced the wonders of the Kalos Region, Shiranui had conquered the Kalos League and was added to the local Hall of Fame after defeating their Elite Four as well as the local champion Diantha.

[User]
"Our next contestant is #13! From Ecruteak City in Johto, Champion Shiranui Tsukiko!" The audience cheered as Shiranui walked out carrying what looked like an ancient scroll, but was in actuality a prop. He opened the scroll and started reciting what was written on it. "私は古代な守護霊呼びます。ゴルーグは起きて。" A dark illusory fissure opened up on the stage floor and a Golurk (Zoro in disguise) slowly rose out of it. The audience was awestruck when they saw the ancient guardian. "Shadow Ball, Night Shade and then Fling!" A shadow Ball was conjured and Zoro used an illusory Night Shade to make the ball look like something evil. He then used Fling to send it flying and the dark Shadow Ball soon started ricocheting around the stage. "Hang on, you're not the ancient guardian!" said Shiranui, throwing some play acting into the appeal, "Reveal your true form!" Zoro dropped his Golurk guise and put his speed to work dodging the dark Shadow Ball. "I should have known it was you, Zoro," Shiranui continued, feigning disappointment, "Use Night Slash!" Zoro stood his ground and as the dark Shadow Ball bounced towards the Zoroark from above, Zoro slashed it and the ball exploded into dark sparkles.

"Now that is a performance worthy of Poké Star Studios."
"Zoroark are remarkable!"
"Your Zoroark is very well trained."

10
9
8

Shiranui noticed his total score was equal to Liam's.

[Assistant]
After Shiranui, a green haired boy did an appeal. He was introduced as Drew from LaRouse City. His appeal featuring a Roserade a combo of Petal Dance, Synthesis, and Grasswhistle. Drew got a near perfect score. with that, the top eight co-ordinators were announced and shuffled into the following matchups:

1 RP vs RP
2 Shiranui vs Drew
3 RP vs RP
4 RP vs Liam

The first battle was a young boy dressed in a tux, while wearing makeup to look like a skeleton. He used a Haunter, whose appeal included juggling his eyes, as well as a few random items it grabbed with psychic (including Joy's hat). It defeated the opposing Nosepass.

[User]
Shiranui remembered the eye juggling from the time he and Liam sheltered in a haunted house south of Laverre City. It was soon time for him to face Drew. "Go Roserade!" Several petals flew out of Roserade's Poké Ball and coalesced into the Roserade Shiranui was up against.
"Zoro, I choose you!" From Zoro's Great Ball, lots of little red, blue, yellow, white and orange petals flew around and coalesced into a Florges. The timer started and the battle was on.
"Roserade, start with Grassy Terrain!"
"Zoro, Springtime Petal Dance!" Roserade covered the stage in grass and Zoro conjured an illusion of a forest of cherry blossom trees, adding an illusory Petal Dance in the form of pink and white petals floating about. The audience reacted with awe when they saw the display and Drew lost some points.
"Roserade, Magical Leaf!"
"Zoro, Protect!" Castle walls rose out of the ground as part of the scenery bordering the whole contest hall as Roserade sent two iridescent leaves flying. The leaves tried to slash the petals, but it was to no avail as the petals were illusions. They zeroed in on Zoro afterwards, but the crafty Zoroark shifted into a Shield Forme Aegislash and blocked the leaves, costing Drew more points.
"Roserade, Energy Ball!"
"Zoro, Double Team!" Lots of Sheld Forme Aegislash appeared in various places. Some were the copies produced from the move, some were illusions and one was the real Zoro. Roserade threw an Energy Ball at one of the Aegislash and scored a lucky hit, causing Zoro to lose his Aegislash guise and costing Shiranui some points.
"Roserade, Sweet Scent!"
"Zoro, Taunt!" Zoro disappeared and was soon spotted peering over one of the castle walls. Putting on an outrageous Kalos accent, the Zoroark delivered a nasty taunting that only Roserade could understand and finished it by blowing a few Razz Berries. A good percentage of the audience erupted into laughter from that move and Roserade was furious while Drew lost more points. Time ticked into the final minute.
"Roserade, Magical Leaf!"
"Zoro, Night Slash!" Zoro leaped high into the air and zeroed in on Roserade with claws glowing a darkly colour. Roserade threw more leaves and both attacks landed. A cloud of dust obscured the Pokémon and both coordinators lost points. Time had expired before the dust cloud could clear and Shiranui was deemed a clear winner.

"I knew watching that movie with you was a good idea," Shiranui commented to Zoro.

[Assistant] It was down to Liam and Shiranui again. Liam stood on his place. "Blissey! Let's go!" Liam called as he tossed the ball up. The Happiness Pokémon emerged and took her place.

[User] "Zoro, I choose you!" Shiranui tossed a Great Ball and it opened to reveal his Zoroark.

[Assistant] "Docs Blast!" Liam called.

[User] "Counter Shield!" Using a combination of Night Daze and Incinerate, Zoro conjured a shield of fire and darkness to try and counter whatever attack was coming his way.

[Assistant] The Focus Blast was stopped by the shield and Liam lost a few points. "Sing and Power up Punch!" Liam called. Blissey released the notes into the air. She hit them with a barrage of Power up Punches, each being stronger and the sending the note with more force, and being harder to evaded.

[User] "Make like a ninja and Fling!" Zoro dropped his counter shield and rather than try to evade the notes, he caught them, infused them with dark energy so they looked like note-printed shuriken and threw them back at a greater velocity.

[Assistant] "Safeguard into Attract!" Blissey was saved from the sleep inducing notes and then winked at Zorro as hearts flew toward him.

[User] "Zoro, give Blissey a nasty Kalos Taunting!" The Zoroark sprung into action and with his outrageous Kalos accent, gave Blissey an earful. The hearts shattered while some of the audience burst into laughter at the silly act Zoro was putting on.

[Assistant] "Dazzling Gleam!" Liam ordered. Blissey fired the blast of bright pink light after gracefully leaping forward and landed on one foot.

[User] "Night Daze!" Zoro conjured a dome of darkness and the attacks soon met in the middle. It was a literal battle between light and darkness as each attack tried to overpower the other.

[Assistant] "Metronome!" Liam called. Blissey bega to wag the free hand back and forth while it was glowing white. Signal Beam fired off from the free hand. The attempt was to hit Zorro with it so that the Night Daze would fall and the Fairy move would hit.

[User] "Feint Attack!" The Night Daze shattered, costing Shiranui some points, but Zoro was nowhere to be seen until the illusionist reappeared right behind Blissey with a fist at the ready. Half the time had expired.

[Assistant] "Power Up Punch!" Liam called. Blissey was hit, losing Liam some points, Blissey countered with a super effective hit.

[User] The hit may have been super effective, but Zoro laughed it off and Shiranui lost a small amount of points. "Zoro, use Flamethrower!" The Zoroark donned the guise of a Delphox before pulling an ebony stick out and saying what passed as an incantation. He pointed the stick at Blissey and flames of a rainbow of colours issued forth.

[Assistant] "Ice Beam!" Liam called. The frigid attack met the Flamethrower dead on. The attacks were at a standstill dead even across the arena. The attacks quickly canceled each other out and since Liam initiated the display, Shiranui's points dropped a little bit.

[User] "Zoro, Attract!" The Zoroark performed his species' courtship dance while conjuring an illusion of cherry blossom trees in spring. Lots of pink hearts flew out and made a Beedrill-line for Blissey.

[Assistant] "Power up Punch into attract!" Liam called. Blissey started punching the hearts, making them shatter and dropping Shiranui's points. Blissey fired off her own hearts.

[User] "Night Slash!" Zoro's claws glowed with dark energy as he slashed the hearts in two, causing Liam's points to drop.

[Assistant] "Ice Beam!" Liam called. Blissey began shooting the attack toward Zorro's feet, hoping to freeze him in place, while making pillars of ice shoot up in the process.

[User] "Feint Attack!" When the ice formed around Zoro's feet, the stricken Zoroark vanished as it was a decoy illusion while the real Zoro reappeared behind Blissey ready to strike. Time ticked down to the last minute.

[Assistant] Liam smirked as Shiranui fell into the trap Liam placed. "Flash now!" Blissey emitted a bright light, which reflected off glaciers in an attempt to temporarily blind Zorro.

[User] "Substitute!" Zoro conjured a decoy that was immune to the light and made his escape.

[Assistant] "Charge Beam!" Liam ordered. Blissey fired off the electrical attack. She hit one of the ice pillars, making it shatter, trying to hit Zoroark with the now, electrified shards of ice.

[User] "Night Daze!" Zoro conjured a dome of dark energy that made the shards disintegrate into sparkly powder.

[Assistant] "Attract!" Liam called. Blissey sent off the hearts again.

[User] "Fling!" Zoro caught the hearts, covered them in dark energy and made them into purple heart-printed shuriken before throwing them in various trajectories. The timer was on the verge of expiring.

[Assistant] "Hyper Beam, go!" Liam ordered. Blissey fired off the powerful beam. There was an explosion that obscured sight of the Pokémon, but showed that Liam and Shiranui both had an equal amount of points remaining. Assuming neither was KO'd, they would continue until one side successfully landed a hit on the other. The smoke cleared and Blissey had taken a knee, but was still able to fight.

[User] Zoro was in a defensive pose and still able to battle. The sudden death round had begun. "Zoro, Double Team!" The Zoroark made illusory copies and the whole group of them shifted to the forms of the whole set of Eeveelutions.

[Assistant] "Soft-boiled!" Liam called. Bliss's egg began to glow yellow and she was enveloped in the light as well. The glow healed her injuries.

[User] "Time to get busy, Zoro! Scratch that Blissey!" The Eeveelutions charged at Blissey with claws at the ready.

[Assistant] "Doubleslap it!" Liam called. Blissey attempted to grab Zorro by the outreached scratching claw and give it a few good smacks across the face.

[User] The Glaceon that Blissey grabbed vanished into a series of sparkles. "You missed, Blissey," said Shiranui, "Zoro, Hidden Power!" The Espeon stood its ground while the other six ran around until they turned into glowing orbs of energy. Zoro dropped his Espeon guise and fired off the attack.

[Assistant] Liam had Blissey use Light Screen to try and stop the attack. While it was hindered, it still managed to make contact and hit Blissey, giving Shiranui the win. Blissey walked over to Shiranui and with hand gestures indicated that she would patch Zorro up.

[User]
"Thank you Blissey," replied Shiranui, "Zoro, Blissey's going to take care of you." Zoro ambled over to Blissey and allowed the Happiness Pokémon to perform her work. He felt grateful for the care his friends were giving him.

"Liam, that was the closest battle we've ever had," stated Shiranui.

[Assistant] "It sure was." Liam replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Blissey run by with the first aid kit he kept in his bag. Blissey used a Neosporin-like product made from Orren Berries and some bandages. After that, Blissey used Soft-boiled.

[User] Zoro felt a lot better after the treatment. "Zoro, I think it's best if you stay off the battles until those bandages come off," Shiranui suggested. Zoro nodded, accepting his trainer's suggestion. He needed a good rest to get his mind back into shape.


[System]
Age: 18

Gender: Male

Nationality/Birthplace: Fire Nation, Khimori Village

Current Residence: Republic City, Panther Lily Residential District

Appearance:

Occupation: Thief, Avatar

Elemental Affinity: Fire

Theme: Thief - Imagine Dragons

History:
 Katsu's birth presented a bit of a conundrum for the Order of the White Lotus; an Avatar born in an era of peace wasn't needed quite as much as before. What should they do then? Take him from his home? Or leave him be and let him grow up in a normal life. It was a hard decision, but a choice needed to be made and ultimately a compromise was reached. Katsu would indeed be trained, but in the comfort of his own home village rather than being whisked away. His parents liked the idea, and initially Katsu had no problems with the arrangement. As he got older however he began to have quite a different opinion on the matter.

 How was he supposed to keep his identity as the Avatar a secret when these strange men followed him everywhere? His family wasn't well off and yet he had escorts, was waited on like nobility and provided for whatever he needed. Any other child may have been enamored with the treatment and yet Katsu came to resent it immensely. He had no autonomy like this, and it was near impossible to get away to have some time on his own. Pretty quickly being in the comfort of his own village meant little, it was every bit a prison as moving away would have been. The only solution in his mind then was to leave, abandon the Lotus' training and his parents in favor of a freer lifestyle, a lifestyle he would find in Republic City.

 It was an ideal plan on paper, but upon arriving in Republic City it became quickly apparent he hadn't thought things through entirely. Here he was, hundreds of miles from home, with hardly a coin to his name and nowhere to stay. What little money he'd saved up over the years had near all been spent on the boat ticket, so now Katsu found himself in a dilemma. He unsuccessfully tried getting jobs here and there but was turned down constantly, and returning home was not an option. At the age of 13 he settled on doing the only thing he could in order to survive: theft. Republic City certainly had its fair share of criminals, so he would only be one amongst the crowd. Or he might have been if he didn't have something of a superiority complex. He was going to be a thief, but he wanted to be the thief. He would join whatever group he could find and work his way up, and from there he'd be somebody. He'd live life how he wanted, do what he wanted, and get what he wanted without the meddling of the Order of the White Lotus.

 Much as he might have resented the White Lotus he had to be grateful for all the training they had given him. With both bending and martial training of the highest caliber he was an exceptional fighter, a fact that helped him climb the ranks of the gang he eventually joined. Nimble, strong and a capable bender he ascended to the second hand of the gang within two years, and not long thereafter he succeeded the previous leader. Granted… The gang had all of twenty members, many around his own age, but he still managed to succeed them all. Renaming the gang the Khimori Bandits after his hometown, Katsu began a life of "luxury". The Khimori Bandits amassed a fair fortune in a matter of a year, and yet Katsu kept very little of the coin for himself. It was never the money he was after, he'd argue, but the thrill and delight that came along with the act of theft. Even now he remains one of the poorer members of his gang in spite of being the leader, and he tends to carry out as many jobs as his best associates.

[User]
"Well, yeah... I beat most of those creeps, so I protected you," Katsu retorted, frowning when he saw Siku's dao, "And you're bringing a sword with you..." There was no reason to have a weapon on them, not when they were all benders. Bending could be used for defense or offense, sure, but it wasn't always as lethal as a sword. What was the point in bringing along a blade anyways when the way they fought was likely to put them at distance from their opponents? Siku tried to justify her having the dao but he wasn't a fan of it still, frowning and letting out a huff before shaking his head. "If they get close then you can still bend, it's not like you lose bending in close quarters," the Avatar said, "Besides... If someone else is chasing us with a weapon can you really use it that well? If they're using one then they're bound to be really good with it, can you match them?" Made more sense in his mind to just put distance between themselves and their attacker and keep bending.

This was going to be one abysmal trip, if only because they had just begun and were already exhausted. Katsu hadn't slept terribly much the day earlier to begin with, having been busy on a job, and today hadn't allowed him more than a moment's reprieve. Much as he wanted to take a break and settle down he didn't want to be the one to say it, both pride and reluctance playing into it. When Siku mentioned taking a quick nap he tried not to jump at her decision, giving a small shrug instead. "We can do that, we've come a decent ways already," Katsu remarked, stifling a yawn with his hand before rubbing at his head, "Planning would be good... Don't want to wander around aimlessly." He had a few places in mind he might be able to go, places which would be easily accessible had they a vehicle; ferries and cars had gotten him around before, this would be the first time he really had to do extensive walking. The thief wasn't going to complain, he didn't mind the exercise, but it sure did make traveling take a bit longer.

Taking to the cover of the trees, the trio had sought refuge along the tall vegetation, just barely out of view from the road. They could have gone in deeper if Katsu hadn't objected, wanting to be able to keep an eye on the road to know if anyone was on their way up. Finding the only clearing they could, bedrolls were laid out and everyone got ready for a brief if much needed respite. Siku and Asha had fallen asleep fairly quickly, as had Koinu, yet Katsu found himself sitting up and awake for some time longer. There were too many thoughts swirling around in his head, too many concerns and ideas that things would only get worse from hereon out. It was probably lack of sleep and stress doing this to him, but for a good while he could only sit and stare down at the road, a bit paranoid that someone was going to come up on them while they slept. Eventually however his eyelids grew heavy and he found himself drifting off, and when next he'd open his eyes he would hear Siku's voice calling to him.

"Nnn... 'M up... 'M up..." the Avatar grumbled, already having been half awake by the time he was called for. Groaning as he sat up from his spot he raised his arms above his head in a stretch, popping his back before glancing down at Koinu, smiling as his companion woke too and greeted him with a happy yip. Scratching at the fox's head he moved over to join Siku and Asha, glancing down at the former's map curiously. "Gung-Li... Never heard of the place..." Katsu said through a yawn, sitting down on his rear and scratching at Koinu's fur habitually, "If we can get a ride there then let's get one there, no sense in more walking, right?" If they could find a ride then they'd make far better time, and more importantly put more distance between themselves and anyone that may be chasing them. If given the chance to get their own vessel should they take it? He'd been on boats before, sure, but he'd never actually piloted one on any kind of journey. Siku could water bend, Asha could air bend, so they'd have an easy enough time of making it he figured. "It might be better to get our own ship, come to think of it... Less people know about us that way and we're not relying on anyone else. If we're trying to keep out of view then we should avoid making any kind of transaction, you know?" he asked, smirking as he glanced at Siku and Asha, "I know something about flying under the radar, we should be fine."

[Assistant]
"Well," Siku started, pointing to a small island off the Fire Nation. "This is Iwa here and Gung-Li is... Here," She moved her finger to a peninsula where the city was marked, about a few miles from where they were now. "It's not exactly on the coast closest to the Fire Nation, but it's on the Eastern front of this peninsula here, so they might have some way to get there. However, it might be faster to find something to get us closer to the south-western border and cross there..." She mused, scrutinizing the map. "We'll have to see what options we've got when we get there and decide then."

She looked at Katsu when he mentioned getting on their way privately and she nodded, "On the other hand, if we go like that, then there's a more specific trail to follow. If we take a public route with lots of people, at least there will be witnesses and other people there to follow us in case something goes wrong. It'd be harder to track names, at least." The girl made sure she had all of her equipment before rolling the map up again and rising to her feet. "Alright, well... I guess we won't know until we get there, at least, yeah? So let's move."

Siku shouldered her pack and rubbed her eyes again. Four hours was not enough, no, but hopefully it would last her through the night. They needed food even more, though. "When we get there, I'm gonna eat... and eat... and eat..." She said as they found the road and started walking once more. "I'm so freakin' hungry... We could have planned our food and this walk a little bit better, I suppose."

A thought occurred to her as they walked and she looked at Katsu, "Wait... Katsu... In the sewers... You only used earth and fire bending..." She noted, furrowing her brow, "Have you tried air or water yet... at all?" It still baffled her that he could even think of having the power over all four and not at least have a grasp on all four.

[User]
Asha just listened to her two other companions as they decided the right route to take. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with all the zig zags swirling around the map, the brunette took to gathering her things up and placing them neatly in her backpack. She walked back over when it sounded like the two had settled on things and clasped her hands behind her back, "So, have we decided how we are doing things?" she asked, remembering she overheard something about their own boat...how were they going to buy their own boat? Weren't they expensive?

She giggled at Siku when the other girl mentioned food and how she was going to gorge when she was in sight of some; their food supply wasn't much since they had decided to pack light and with the older girl talking about food, made her tummy grumble in agreement. Asha held her stomach in slight embarrassment and laughed a little, "Sorry, guys. Guess I am hungry, too!"

The brunette looked over at Siku when she mentioned to Katsu that she had only seen him use Earth and Fire bending. She blinked when Siku asked the Avatar if he even knew how to use Water or Air. That would make sense as to why he hadn't used either or...but maybe he just didn't like them as much as earth and fire.

Either way, his answer was sure to startle the both of them.

[Assistant]
Whichever way they decided to travel it was going to take some time, Katsu knew that much. They had a destination, getting there was another matter entirely; shame he didn't have something like a flying bison, they could make the trip in no time at all. Koinu couldn't even carry him, let alone the three of them, so riding an animal was out of the question. The fact they were going to have to rely on public transit, a boat of all things, hardly thrilled him. What Siku said about it made sense, that being in a crowd might help obscure them. Yet the opposite might be true too, they could stand out in a crowd like a sore thumb. Not only that, but being in a mass of people it would be almost impossible to tell who might mean them harm; if they chose the sneakier route, then anyone they came across would more likely than not be against them.

"However we do it, we should do it soon. Nothing worse than sitting around while someone's searching for you," Katsu said aloud, frowning as he rose to his feet, "So we'll head to Gung-Li, and worry about getting to Iwa when we get there." If he'd learned anything in life, it was to be flexible. Even the best laid plans could be ruined by just one instance, so better to prepare to change than to stick to some routine. Improvising was something he was particularly good at, yet goodness knows if the same might be said for Siku or Asha. Giving Koinu's head a gentle rubbing, the Avatar began following alongside the Water Bender, smirking somewhat amused when she brought up food. "You'd never survive in the kind of life I've lived, you're too spoiled," Katsu teased, placing a hand on his stomach, "I can go for a while without eating, I guess it pays to be poor sometimes." Not that he was particularly poor now, but he had been for a while.

He would be fine without food, but Katsu did worry about Koinu. Still being a pup he really should eat regularly, and without any food really packed for travel, there wasn't much for his furry friend. Worst case he supposed he could go and hunt something, it wouldn't be the first time he'd done so. Glancing over to Siku when she started to question him, the Avatar's cheeks flushed slightly at what she had asked, looking away abashed and clearing his throat. "Well... Uh... No... Not really," he admitted, scratching at his nose casually with his index finger, "Never really had a chance to learn, or a teacher. Most of what I know now is self-taught too." He didn't really bend all that often, there was typically no reason to do so. It wouldn't be totally unfair to say he was out of practice, not that he'd ever admit such a thing.

"But hey, I can get on just fine without those two! I mean there's no big apocalyptic event going on, or some war threatening the world, it's just me running from some oppressive jerks. I don't see a reason to need all four elements for that," Katsu continued, grinning as he reached over and put an arm around both Siku's and Asha's shoulders, "That's what I've got you two for, right? My water princess and my little air nomad, you can make up for what I didn't learn." More than anything he just really had no desire to learn. Learning another element was difficult, that went without saying, and also immensely time consuming. It could take up to a few weeks to even grasp the basics, depending on his teacher, and longer still to have some semblance of a mastery. Much as he'd like to think they could teach him, Katsu had serious doubts about his companions being good teachers.


[System]
Age: 24
Height: 6'-0"
Weight: 170lbs
Allegiance: Aspirian Royalty
Distinguishing Traits: Wherever the party is, Cas is bound to be there also. He's a free spirit with a tendency to act without thinking through the consequences, although due to his cushioned upbringing and high status, he rarely has to face them. Despite his wild lifestyle, however, he has a soft side and has been known for taking in stray and injured animals he finds in the streets of the capital city.

Short Bio: As the son of the reigning king, Atlas Maydestone, Caspian has lived the entirety of his life in the capital of Aspiria. He was born with a silver spoon in hand, enjoying the finest luxuries the country had to offer even when he was as young as five years old. This experience shaped him as a person. He grew up seeing the glass half-full and believing Aspiria was every bit as perfect and amazing as his father wanted him to think it was.

As a child, he spent most of his education being groomed to take over as the next king but never really took his future duties seriously. In his mind, it was so far off, there was no reason to worry about it. That is, until his father's health took a sudden decline when he turned eighteen. Suddenly slapped in the face by the reality that he was actually going to be the next leader of an entire country, he began to pay more attention to his teachers and did his best to understand all the different jobs he would have when his father died. However, the more he studied, the more he realized how unqualified he was for such an important role.

To deal with his rising sense of insecurity, Cas delved back into any and every social event he could find around the capital city. Partying and drinking with friends took the edge off his fears and helped him to forget about the impending future of his kingship. Deep down, he knew his coping strategy wouldn't change anything, but for now, it was good enough to keep him from getting absorbed in the weight of it all. He would just continue to put it off until he had to face it, the same way he handled the Scourge.

The rebellion (better known as the Scourge by everyone who lived in the capital) was the other big, glaring problem he tried not to think about. To make the enemies seem less imposing, he and his friends would make crude jokes about them and discuss all the creative ways the king could punish them for treason when they were eventually defeated by the state, but secretly, he was always on the lookout for anyone who seemed suspicious. As the crown prince of Aspiria, he'd heard the threats the rebels spat about himself and his family, and he was concerned about what could happen if they ever managed to get inside the stronghold walls.

He just hoped the military was strong enough that he would never have to find out.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

[User]
Caspian could hear his heartbeat drumming in his ears as he stood before the whole of Aspiria to send his father off to whatever sort of afterlife awaited him on the other side of the funeral. It was far from the first speech he'd ever given to the people, but it was the first without any oversight or follow-up from the man inside the casket. Although the advice Jacob had given him had been good, it hadn't completely mitigated his anxiety, and he had to take a few long breaths on his way over to the podium before he launched into the address he'd written earlier.

As he began to speak about Atlas, cementing his memory as one of the country's most powerful leaders by reminding the audience of the laws and decrees he'd enacted during his reign, he felt oddly detached. It was as if he'd split into two separate versions of himself: one who was delivering the message to Aspiria and another who was observing the event from a distance. He was aware that his lips were moving and words were pouring forth, but at the same time, his mind had wandered away from the sentences written on the paper in front of him, preferring to listen and critique as he went along.

Maybe it was the start of his processing or maybe he just had so many stopped-up feelings that they were too overpowering to keep forcing down, but talking about his father as a heroic figure in that moment made him feel like a hypocrite. Their last conversation had been a massive fight over Atlas's decision to have him institutionalized because the monarch couldn't believe that his son would take someone else's side over his. Even before that argument, they'd rarely seen eye to eye on anything. His father had withheld praise and encouragement to the point that if he ever spoke a kind word, it was dumbfounding. In his personal life, the king wasn't someone he looked up to, so each laudatory word that he spoke over the crowd felt tainted.

The worst part was that as he continued to describe all the ways Atlas had bettered Aspiria, he felt cheated. His father had been harsh and critical on him, but when it came to their country, he'd slaved away until his dying breath to ensure that their people—or at least, the high borns—and the nation as a whole was prosperous. He'd diligently upheld relations with Aspiria's allies, funneled money into the borders to defend the kingdom from both internal and external threats, made public appearances to assure the people that he was still a capable leader even in his ailing health, and made financial decisions on behalf of the county that had made the richest citizens even more wealthy. He'd dedicated everything to his duties as the king, and in consequence, ruined his relationship with his own family.

In spite of it all though, Cas couldn't say that he hated his father. He knew he was too empathetic for his own good, but he also understood that ruling an entire country was demanding work, and there was a part of him that still respected Atlas for everything he'd done when he'd been wearing the crown. Because of that, he forced himself to put his own conflict with the monarch aside until the speech ended, the audience applauded, and he stepped off the stage to take up his seat at the front of the crowd while a minister took over to finish the rest of the funeral.

Afterwards, Jacob upheld his end of their deal and palmed him a flask as they headed back to the car, the cemetery and then finally to the palace. Some of the reporters and guests had tried to ask him about the funeral and offer their condolences for his loss respectively, but the guards that had come with him fended them off until he'd made it safely past the barriers at the edge of the estate. Once he was alone, he went back to his room and shrugged off his suit jacket, sitting down on his bed and fishing his phone from his pocket. It was half past nine o' clock, so he had about thirty minutes left before he could expect any calls from Iris. It was a much-needed breather though. At the end of a busy day, he was just glad to have some time to himself, especially since his coronation was set to happen tomorrow at noon.

Taking a swig from the flask he'd borrowed from his security guard, he bent down to untie his shoes and then swung his legs up onto the mattress to lay down on his back. It was still hard for him to believe that in less than twenty-four hours, he was going to be crowned king. The ground had yet to settle over his father's grave, and he was going to be taking over the reign of Aspiria. He shook his head at the thought, fixing his gaze absently on the ceiling as he sipped at the flask again. By now, most of the whiskey inside had disappeared. He didn't know exactly how much he'd drank, but he could definitely feel the effect of the alcohol coursing through his bloodstream. It offered a pleasant numbness, and he closed his eyes with a slow exhale, letting his mind wander to less stressful things.

Almost reflexively, he found himself thinking about Iris, wondering how she was doing since he'd left the Sunset Veil in a rush that morning and wishing he could go back to see her. Even though the timing hadn't been great, he didn't regret running off to the resort with her the day before. Knowing that she was in a safe location for the time being gave him some peace of mind, and he'd also enjoyed spending the night with her for the first time. Memories of the previous night flitted through his mind, and he smiled to himself. He'd only told her to call if she needed anything, but he did hope that she would reach out even if she didn't. When everything else in his life felt like it was moving too quickly for him to keep up, hearing her voice was always a welcomed reprieve.

[Assistant]
Iris had watched the whole speech her eyes never leaving Caspian as he stood and addressed the country about the fallen King, his father. Listening to Cas only reaffirmed her belief on him being a good leader, the fact that he addressed everyone just hours after finding out with to her what seemed like confidence was astounding. There was no way she could have done anything like that, whether she had been trained or not she knew she would never have had the courage to do such a thing. Coupled with the fact not all memories had been great with her own father and she knew that Cas had experienced a bit of a rocky relationship also, but he had spoken about the triumphs his father had done. Not that she agreed with everything he had said.

It was strange to think how only last night his father had arranged for him to be sent to a mental institution because he was certain his son had something wrong with him all because Cas had stuck up for her and the life he had seen beyond the Capital. Now Atlas was dead, and she knew she would be lying when she said she was sorry for that because truthfully deep down she was glad he was dead. Sure, it had been the wish of the rebellion and she had wished it too, because the King had not once thought of the districts and not once bettered their area for the good. Not a dime had been thrown their way, so of course it was no wonder the people had rebelled and the only thing she was sorry for was the fact that Cas had lost his father as that was a blow no one could understand unless they had experienced it themselves.

Even though she had lost her own father it was still different circumstances, her father had been crazed in the end and lost his mind. There hadn't really been a father daughter relationship between them for quite sometime and it only took until recently for her to admit that fact. It was partly her being naïve to it, that her father wasn't obsessed with the rebellion and rising above his station. Shaking her head as the speech was over, she settled down on the sofa watching the clock, it wasn't ten yet, but she couldn't wait to finally call him and make sure he was okay. Iris would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't worried about him, they had been through so much recently and she didn't want this to be that final nail in the coffin for some sort of mental breakdown. If she were to list everything down that had happened, she wouldn't even believe it herself.

Tapping her fingers against the edge of the sofa she mumbled to herself waiting for the time to pass, "Come on…" It felt as if time was going by so slowly now that she was clock watching, the day had passed by in an alright fashion, but this last half an hour was almost torture. Standing up from the sofa she began to pace around by the kitchen glancing from the time to the phone on the wall and then finally to his number. Would it look to eager of me to call dead on ten? No… surely not. Though maybe? Letting out an exasperated sigh as she picked up the paper in her hands that contained his number she glanced once more back at the clock feeling her heart do a little leap seeing it had finally reached ten o'clock.

Without hesitation she dialled the number into the phone feeling her heart race as she waited for the other side to pick up, hearing the rings she started to doubt herself on if it had been the right time to call. Hearing the line connect she smiled relieved that she could finally hear his voice, "Hey Cas, how are you? Is everything okay? Well… stupid questions really, you don't need to answer that… I'm sorry." Amidst the excitement of calling him she had completely forgotten that he probably wasn't okay, and it was a silly question to ask him, but she was glad she could at least talk to him. Grateful that this phone was in the hotel room.

"I don't know why you were ever worried about being a leader, you should be proud of that speech. To get up there and address everyone after what has happened lately. You did good. I watched the whole thing." Iris knew she was already rambling, he probably didn't need her to ramble but she had been worried about him throughout the day and the mind numbing TV programs hadn't helped.

[User]
Caspian didn't know when he'd dozed off, but sometime after he'd laid down on his bed, the combination of the emotional exhaustion and the effects of the whiskey overtook him, and he fell asleep with his phone resting limply in his hand on the pillow next to him. He slept for a while until the pulsating sound of his phone's buzzing drew him back to wakefulness. With a yawn and a weary stretch, he opened his eyes, taking a moment to orient himself. Not long had passed, so he was still tipsy on the liquor in his system, and it took him a few seconds to draw connections between the source of the noise and the reason why the device was going off in the first place.

When it finally struck him that he'd been waiting for Iris to call, he hissed a curse under his breath and sat up quickly, grabbing the phone in the hopes that he hadn't missed her. Fortunately, the call went through, and he relaxed again when he heard her greet him over the line. He'd been looking forward to talking to her all day, but somehow, hearing her voice was even better than he'd built it up to be in his head. "Hey, Iris," he said to her in return, his own voice slightly raspy after having just woken up. Clearing his throat to ease it, he smiled to himself when she asked how he was doing and then immediately backpedaled as if she thought he would be offended by her concern.

"I'm doing better now," he replied in spite of her effort to tell him not to answer the question. "It's good to hear your voice again… Also, one of my guards, Jacob, gave me some bourbon to drink after the funeral. Both are helping." He chuckled to himself and laid back down on the bed with his phone still held to his ear. It was the first time he'd ever tried the 'long distance' thing with someone, and he could see why most people agreed that it wasn't sustainable for a long time. Already, he missed having her beside him and wished they could do more than just chat over the phone at night. It was still better than nothing though, so he would just have to be grateful that they could talk at all and keep looking forward to a time when they could be together in person again.

Her flattery of his speech made him feel a twinge of pride. He hadn't been sure how it had been received by his audience, since he still didn't see himself as a charismatic leader like his father had been. Knowing that she thought he'd done well gave him some peace of mind. "Thanks," he said, fixing his eyes on his ceiling to passively study the texture in the paint. "I'm glad you think so. You have no idea how terrifying it is to speak in front of the whole country like that… I almost didn't go through with it, so it's good to know I wasn't a total train wreck."

With a sigh, he changed the subject, curious to know how she had been since they'd parted that morning. "I'm really sorry I ditched you at the hotel, Iris… How have you been doing since I left? Have you had anything to eat since breakfast?" He paused briefly before adding: "And don't try to lie to me. I'm getting good at spotting your tells."