Jaywalking was often frowned upon in organised society.
Traversing a corridor or a busy street immersed in something else was a recipe for disaster.
The object of immersion is often considered to be physical, but it need not necessarily be, strictly speaking.

So, considered objectively, this was Ren's own fault.
Had he not been daydreaming, he might not have tripped and dropped all his books.
He sighed. He needed both a map and a bigger pouch. Looking over his notebooks, scattered across the dusty sand, as if they were shards of broken dreams, he got to working picking them up, mindful that a stray gust would only blow them further out of reach.
It was tough to believe that somewhere this hot could be so close to a tundra. It had made the trip difficult to prepare for, but he'd managed to trump frustration with enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, that same enthusiasm had left him lost in his own world, wondering about what he might find there, and so a stumble had caused him to drop all his books down into the valley.
That wasn't a problem, strictly speaking. He was going down there anyway. He would have just liked to do it in a more respectable fashion than overturning the contents of his satchel into the hole.
One by one, Ren picked up the notebooks and slipped them back into his satchel just as his fears were realised.
A light breeze suddenly picked up, and three of his books suddenly took to the air, leaving the small boy to run after them as quickly as he could through the sand.
"No, no, no, no! Stop!"
His cries were totally ignored by the wind, and the books continued to fly, occasionally rising or falling in the breeze.
Today was not turning out how he'd hoped.
 
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Renya finished her rounds on the earthen golems allowing them to crumble to dust at her feet. The sun was still high in the sky and she decided to head into the nearby towns to get something to eat and to keep an ear out for any news about the neighboring city's nobility. How many days have past since she had skewered Farvette with his own dagger? She could still feel the vigorous thrust of the knife into his gut and the fluttering sensation in her chest when she felt his life's blood coat her nimble fingers.

That feeling was the only reason why she picked up a sword, heart racing, and her blood drumming in her ears she couldn't help but feel disappointed that the sensation couldn't be recreated through a simple arena battle with Vivi. Flying through the air and hitting the dirt ground, stabbing upwards at the fast approaching nekomata as fire engulfed both of them, leaving herself as the victor by a hair's breath. There was no true danger to anyone's life, no unknown of if there would be a tomorrow, just the dull thrum of adrenaline in her blood.

Assassination, a Rogue's specialty, should she really be interested in flirting with death?
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The winds seemed to shift in a new direction, delivering the books into the hands of another young man. "Oh? What is this?" Kheire seems to be listening to someone before looking directly at Ren. "So these books are yours? Interesting... Would you be interested in a proposition I might have? If so, follow me. There is no time to talk, as I must get home." He smiles brightly, hoping you follow.
 
Ren blinked, lowering his arms that had been spread to catch the books.
As soon as his newly-appeared saviour showed his face, he turned to leave.
This wasn't right. He was being spoken to, so he had to talk, right?
No, that was the number one thing that he couldn't do. Even if this new person was friendly, that sort of thing was...

They had spoken to someone else first, but nobody seemed to be there...
A spirit, maybe?
He'd taken an interest in his notes too. This all seemed too good to be true.
That did it. As anxious as he was, he couldn't pass something like this up. If nothing else, it was a chance to find out something new. He also needed his books back.
Ren's feet patted the ground beneath them a few times as he desperately worked up the courage to follow, and then hurried after the boy, his face glowing a faint white that only intensified as he caught up.
 
Kheire glances at him, his smile never fading. "I'm glad to see you made the right choice. I am a student at Schism Academy, a place for gifted nunhumans. I will put in a good word for you with the headmistress. Even if she doesn't accept, I am keeping you as my assistant. She can't decide who I appoint to that position, headmistress or no. So what do you say to that? Oh, pardon me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Kheire, and I aim to be the greatest craftsman that will ever have existed. What is your name?" He turns to face him.
 
Ren's eyes widened. This was all very sudden.
Was there something particular about his notes that had stood out?
They hadn't been anything particularly formal, though... He wondered if this person had seen something else in him.
He didn't seem to exude much of a presence, which only left Ren wondering about what sort of power he possessed.
Could they both have been here for the same reason?

Kheire turned to look at him, and he realised he had been staring. Looking down at the floor anxiously, his face lit up even more, and he moved his sari to cover it.
"R-Ren..." he mumbled.
His lack of social skill infuriated him. He must have been coming across as unbelievably rude if he looked so reluctant to even give his name.
 
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Vivi appeared from her room quickly and barged into Renya's, picking up the neglected capricorn and leaving a small note saying "fuck you, fight me." to Renya. after leaving her note on the bed, she goes back into her own room to continue her potion making.
 
"Hey, don't worry. I used to be just as socially awkward as you. Kinda still am... But a few good friends helped me out of my shell and I am sure the same will happen to you. Now, do you have a home kid? You don't look the type. I should know, I was the type myself when I was younger. Either way, you have a new home now, kid. So, Ren, do you have a last name? Perfectly okay if you don't, I don't quite like my own. Sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious about my new apprentice." Kheire grins down at him and gently ruffles his hair, thinking his blush is kinda cute.
 
To have figured out that much just from a first glance... He was certainly sharp.
Ren wondered slightly if he was safe.
But being petted, he couldn't help but give a little smile through the silvery glow of his flush.

He was silent for a moment, hesitating for a moment. A second went by before he simply said what instinct told him to.
"Vedas," he replied quietly.

Wait, backtrack.
Apprentice?
What exactly had he gotten himself into?
No, more importantly, first things first.

"Um..." he shuffled awkwardly, "...P-please may I have... my books...?"
 
"Of course, here you go." Kheire hands the books back to him, thinking his glowing blush looks interesting. "You might not want to read while we walk, though, as the desert is fraught with ways to fall and die. I'll try and take good care of you." He walks along a path he can see by memory, avoiding the traps and pitfalls he has memorised the location of and keeping an eye out for new problems. He comes upon an impasse, and rather than go around, he lifts Ren over the sandtrap of a large worm monster, unfurling his wings to go over and avoid the trouble. He looks back, stopping. "I hope you don't mind, but I just noticed this wasn't a sand worm, as I first thought. I would like to harvest it. Would you mind waiting a minute for me to do so?" He lowers himself to the ground after setting Ren down in a standing position and lets his fairy dust mix with the sand slowly, in a nearly unnoticeable manner.
 
Ren watched as the dust sparkled in the glaring desert sun.
"Um... I'm not completely sure that's a good idea..." he said quietly, gazing down into the huge pit.

He had been to deserts before.
Most of them were too dry to sustain much.
The ones that hosted more than the odd cacti and scorpion often had inaccessible water beneath their surfaces so as to breathe life into the sand.
This meant two things.

Firstly, that anything bigger than an insect lived underground.

Secondly, that it was always, without fail, much larger than an insect.

He clutched his books, bracing himself for what followed.
 
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The Selkie smiled to herself, listening to the monster commoners talk among themselves. There was something innately soothing about listening to others speak of mundane topics, the change of pace was a welcome solace from the academy's constant action. The voice telling her otherwise was most certainly not of importance. Maybe she should take a leaf out of Kheire's book and sell her sculptures, news of Farvette's death either hadn't been uncovered or hadn't spread, either way she would have to play the waiting game to claim any rewards.
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Vivi, who had been wondering around the academy, had on a lovely black a red dress, a nice blood red ribbon wrapped around her waist. When making a turn to the gate that lead to town, a quick one tailed white fox came from the bushes and stole Vivi's bow. 'GOD DAMNIT NOT THIS AGAIN, I THOUGHT I ESCAPED THIS!' was her last thought before she ran towards the fox that ran off into the towns maze like corners, Vivi quickly following behind. At one of her turns, she had stopped and saw Renya for a brief second before turning away and continuing her chase.
 
Kheire grins as an enormous ant emerges from the pit, a trap set for those who do not watch their step. "I have been looking for one of these, they're hard to find as one of the few types of ants that don't travel in groups at all times. They are loners, but for a reason. They are sufficiently strong as predators for this environment, so they hunt alone and take the fruits of their labor to an underground hub at the center of their cave system. Stay at a safe distance and don't move, they will sense the movements in the sands and target you." He glides, circling the tank-sized ant using matter surfing while channeling energy into his runic tattoos, unwrapping his bandages and shooting small, rapidly fired energy needles. He was checking for weaknesses in the exoskeleton in the usual places, the underside, chinks, etc. After shooting the eyes he gets a screech for his trouble, and his grin turns a bit malicious, rewrapping his arms. By the time he finished he had a blast of sand the size of himself hitting him like a small truck, blasting him back a few meters and covering him in bruises and small scratches. He looks over to Ren, "I'm okay! Could've been a lot worse."
 
Ren almost called out, but caught himself.
He was grounded.
Therefore, shouting would only get him turned to mincemeat.

He desperately looked around for something, anything, to help Kheire.
It wasn't that he didn't trust him.
But the risk was too great to ignore. He'd been hit once, after all.

And yet――

――――――――you can't do anything――

Those were the words that passed through his head.

His mind froze, unable to do anything but look on at the battle in awe and dread as Kheire faced down the ant.
 
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Kheire rose up and used his matter surfing to slide around above the ground to avoid its senses, strafing. He charges up one of the shield discs from his gloves, rotating it and condensing it, trying to get a clear shot. He deploys one of his pets, Tankh, by throwing his core over it to draw his attention. Tankh is aligned to Earth and has high defensive capabilities, he should be fine. When the ant snaps its head towards Tankh, Kheire launches the disc, able to cut through a good portion of its neck, giving a vital opening in its armor for him to fire off sharp, cutting attacks through his tattoo conduits, going through its neck to effectively decapitate it from the opening created by the large gash. He called out to Ren, "If it isn't dead, it is definitely close. Luckily this one was young, wouldn't have been nearly as easy otherwise." He waits a minute for the ant to finish its death throes before approaching its corpse and harvesting the core, checking the strength of the Halophage as well. "I think I'll use this... mind waiting a little bit for me to harvest the Halophage?"
 
Ren blinked in astonishment as sand ant sprayed everywhere.
He wasn't entirely sure what to make of the gruesome sight, but slowly averted his eyes and focused more on the core.
"Um... Can I help at all?" he asked.
If he was there, there wasn't much point in him just standing around being useless, especially seeing as how he had already just done that.
 
"Well, hm. Do you know how to harvest the carapace? If not, come closer and I'll teach you. You can be doing that while I absorb the Halophage into one of my bonded spirits." Kheire smiled at him from inside the sand ant, having had to dig in to get to the core. He motions for Ren to come closer as he climbs out slowly, using minor air manipulation to blow the insides off of his clothes and body.
 
Vivi traveled back to the dorms with a white baby fox in tow, frowning as she entered. Again, no one was home. 'Why is everything so lonely now a days...? I don't want to do this mission anymore...' She had thought sadly to herself. Kheire was off somewhere doing his craftsman stuff, Renya was out somewhere in town still, most likely avoiding the silence of the dorms, and the rest...most likely dead in her opinion. Turning off all the lights, Vivi went and sat on the couch, hugging the white fox and nuzzling its furry head. 'just another few days and i'll go back...just a few more days.' was her final thought before she fell asleep.
 
Ren gulped nervously at the sight of the innards, but he wasn't so easily deterred.
Sheepishly, he made his way over, picking up a nearby rock to weigh down his satchel, sari, and ackhan as he stripped them off in preparation.
"I won't need to worry about any venom, will I?" he asked. Neither any ants nor desert monsters he had encountered before were poisonous, it was probably best to make sure regardless.