Dawn of Chaos < IC >

[Alexis]

WELCOME TO CLAWFED ACADEMY

Within a forest that can't be seen by normal humans, lies a large castle that houses the secondary student elemenatlists, so that may control their powers and learn to use them as efficiently as possible, to help them grow as people and to help them in all their endeavours. With every generation of elementalists, the Elders strive to make the world a better place for everyone, even if there is a rivalry between those that are considered non magic folk and those that are elementalists.

Clawfed Academy is a prestigious school and the only one of its kind. It caters to people from all around the world, however since elementalists are currently a rare breed, a lot of classes are sacred among those in different age groups. Below is a schedule that must be followed at Clawfed Academy. You may be starting anew this year as a freshly branded sixteen year old, or you might be returnign after having spent a year or more at the school already. Whatever the case, the rules must be followed and all else will fall into place.

Have a pleasant year and don't forget that magic is to be used for good, and nothing else.

S C H E D U L E

8:00 - 9:00 :: Breakfast for all
9:00 - 10:00 :: First period on your timetable
10:00 - 11:00 :: Second period on your time table
11:00 - 12:00 :: Electives
12:00 - 01:30 :: Lunch
01:30 - 3:00 :: Element training
3:00 - 6:00 :: Free time for any activities
6:00 - 7:00 :: Foraging and survival skills
8:00 - 9:00 :: Dinner
11:00 :: Lights out


N O T E S

- Electives are not in separate age groups. Those that choose an elective all go for the elective together. Electives do not have to be set in advance. You can change your elective and try new things each day. Electives available include :: Field sports, Duelling, Potion making, Trekking, Mining, Pegasus riding, Mentoring
- Element training is also done together and is usually done in pairs set by the teacher. It is mainly to help you work well with all the other elements.


IMPORTANT NOTICE BY THE HEADMASTER

@Spectre of the Fade @kelsen

Since it is everyone's first day back, first period today will be cancelled and the second and third periods will be switched out and instead, for those two hours you will have an orientation of sorts but without teachers involved. They will preside over you all in the main hall where tables and chairs have been pushed aside, leaving more room for you all to move around. Use the time to mingle, catch up and get to know the new students as well. After this session is over, lunch will take place and then we will proceed straight to elemental training for the day.

Welcome once again to Clawfed Academy.

Yours,
Cain Ignatius Lorken

 

[Alexis]

⌜ R O N N I E ⌟

LOCATION : MAIN HALL

MENTIONS : N/A

INTERACTIONS : N/A

It had been three months since Veronica walked the hallways of Clawfed Academy and quite frankly, she was happy to be back once more. It wasn't that being at home was horrible or anything -- no, that had been the case for the past few years up until she turned seventeen. Those had been years of struggling at home when they didn't have enough money, mostly because her stepfather didn't care enough to work and it was her step brother who had to hold up the family. He did a good job of it. Or at least, for taking care of Ronnie. Not once did the smile leave her face while she was at school, and if it ever did, it was never because lf the things that were happening at home. As far as that was concerned, she was a pretty private person, though nobody would ever think it upon seeing her.

Since her stepfather passed away, she had been staying with her older step brother who was barely around because he was still busy working to keep the two of them fed. It was why she liked being back at school because she knew if she wasn't around, he could afford to relax a little and he didn't have to work as hard to get twice as much money. He just had himself to worry about and that was easier.

Ronnie missed him of course, but now that she was back she was more excited than anything to be meeting her old classmates, meeting other friends of hers and of course, making new ones. She read the letter that was sent to all the students before arriving, talking about the little orientation, and she was on her way to the main hall at that very moment. She had arrived a couple of hourse ago by the tram and she had tossed her luggage into her room. She hadn't felt the need to unpack just yet. She had the whole night to do that. Besides, she was too full of beans to actually sit and organise her closet.

The colourful haired teen pushed through the large wooden doors of the main hall to see it full already and almost immediately a smile crept up onto her face. She had no idea where to begin. She saw a few familiar faces here and there, and another familar sensation was her being the midget in the crowd, but that was something she had long ago gotten used to. Since she couldn't see over people, she figured she may as well walk through the crowd and see if she could find anyone she knew.

⌜ CODED BY ALEXIS ⌟

⌜ A N D Y ⌟

LOCATION : MAIN HALL

MENTIONS : N/A

INTERACTIONS : N/A

Anders had come onto school grounds much earlier than most and that was mainly because he fought yet again with his father at home. He just didn't seem to get that once Anders chose his element, there was no going back. And he wouldn't go back even if he could. He didn't want to be water elementalists like the rest of his family when he knew he was going to excel with fire. For him, doing what he liked was enough but he and his father ahd very different views related to that. He had wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible and he didn't even have his siblings to back him up, mainly because his older brother supported his father and his older sister, who sometimes took his side, was busy planning her wedding to -- yep, you guessed it, a guy who happened to be a water elemental.

In school, and away from his overbearing family, Anders could pretend he had a normal life. He didn't want the riches or the family herlooms. He didn't care about the material stuff, he just liked learning new things with his powers, and reading all kinds of books and basically just doing as he pleases. In school, he could do most of that. It was why he was making his way to the main hall with The Odyssey in hand. Greek Mythology had always sparked his interest and while he had read the book before -- and thanks to his eidetic memoy, memorised it too -- he always enjoyed rereading it.

He knew it was probably very anti-social of him to bring a book to a mixer where he was meant to be mingling with other students, but that had happened last year too and he hadn't really been very good at the whole 'making friends' thing. Sure, he was funny once you got to know him, but getting to know him is a bit hard since he's kind of a dork and he had a tendency to make a ton of blunders while speaking to someone new. He would definitely try and talk to someone new but if it looked like it was going nowhere, he would just take a seat and read in the hopes that someone might have similar taste in books.

As soon as he walked into the main hall though, he already felt overwhelmed. He was energetic and he loved to talk, but when it came to new people, unless he had something to actually say to them, he was unable to make the first move. So, he went with his secondary plan and found an empty bench among those that lined the walls. He managed to saunter over and sit down cross legged on it despite his very long legs and once he was comfortable enough, he pulled out his book and turned to the last oage he had been on befroe beginning to read.

⌜ CODED BY ALEXIS ⌟

 

[kelsen]

Here comes the sun (dodododoo)​

Harlow Rhea Johnsson

Location - Main Hall

Tagged - @Alexis

It had been three beautiful months full of sun and sea and Harlow had a hard time deciding whether she missed it or if she was too excited over the coming year. Her summer had been busy - filled with road trips to San Diego and San Fran, days spent at museums, and weeks filled with lazy beach days. Sure, sometimes the dry heat had been a little too much, but a hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit tends to be overwhelming. At least it wasn't humid. Harlow was so thankful that SoCal is nearly always dry.

It was always nice to come back to Costa Mesa and see her family again. Her mom cried when she walked through the door, as she does every year Harlow comes back from school, and her dad made her a cake which they all ate right then and there. At ten in the morning.
It was lovely.

But now her summer adventures had come to an end, and Harlow was back at Clawfed Academy, ready to go on new adventures. And experiment with magic of course. She was nearly vibrating as she got to the large wooden doors, opening them carefully so that they wouldn't creak. The hall was bubbling with people, and after a quick glance Harlow spotted an unmistakable head of colorful hair.

Veronica Janssen, or Ronnie as she'd heard her be called, was someone that Harlow had always wanted to get to know. Everyone's heard about her passionate nature - especially when the environment was involved. Harlow digged that: anyone who cared about the environment was a good egg in her book.

Harlow figured she might as well use this 'orientation block' or whatever it was called to make new friends. After all, there was no guarantee that her other friends would share classes with her, or that people would be interested to getting to know some California beach bum with outrageously ripped jeans. Though, usually Harlow doesn't have any problems making friends, so she probably won't now either.

She made her way towards Veronica(Ronnie? Is it okay to call her that if she doesn't really know her yet?) who, despite being even shorter than Harlow, was easy to spot through the crowd. The hair, man. Gotta love the hair.

"Hey, Ronnie, right?" Harlow asked once she had gotten to her, giving a bubbly smile. Meeting new people was always a fun thing, especially if they seemed cool, like Veronica. Would she love impulse adventures? God, Harlow hoped so. Her last impulse-adventure-friend finished schooling at Clawfed and had moved on to the next place, and Harlow wasn't going to make it through the year without impulse adventures. "I don't think we've met before, but I've heard about you here and there. I wanted to tell you that your hair is hella dope, dude."​

 

[kelsen]

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me​

Sixten Kjeld Lövgren

Location - Main Hall

Tagged - None, Open for interaction

Looking up at the place he would be stuck at for the next nine months of his life, Sixten was tempted to just turn around and go home. If he really wanted to, he could. But his dad would be so pissed. His sisters so disappointed.

Heaving a big sigh, Sixten dragged his feet as he made his way inside. According to the letter they had received, the first period had been cancelled (thank god), and second and third exchanged for some sort 'orientation'. Sixten was really looking forward to meeting new people who wanted to stick their fat noses in his business. Totally.

He figured he could just do what he always did, which was sit in a corner and read until his few friends arrived. Some might see that as 'sad'. Sixten saw it as having a difficult entrance process to the exclusive club known as "Sixten Can Stand Your Presence 80 Percent of the Time". SCSYP80PT for short, or as Sixten like to call it; Sexy Poopt.
It was admittedly still a work in progress.

His summer had been rather nice this year. Sure, there were the expected bitch fits from his sisters and himself, and the inevitable week long grudges before teary heart to hearts over laundry (teary on his sisters' parts, he would like to mention), but those were so commonplace by this point in his life that it was like water off a duck's back. They had flown back to the motherland to visit family, so that was nice.

The returning to Sweden thing, not interacting with his grandparents. Well, his farfar and mormor were chill, but farmor is as stubborn as a goat. Him, his father, his mother, and his farmor in one room for too long did not a pleasant scenario make.

Pulling out Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Sixten resolved to finish this infernal book once and for all. It was wonderfully written, and the analysis he had was several pages long, but it was so heavy and just plain difficult to get through. Pen in hand, however, Sixten read on.

*farfar = father's father
mormor = mother's mother
farmor = father's mother

​

 

[Spectre of the Fade]

DELANEY - THE POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Location: Main Hall ♣ Bothering: Sixten (@kelsen)

Setting her bags down in her room with a soft puff of air, Dee glanced around the place before eyeing the time. Nine fifty two. Nine fifty two, and she'd just barely arrived. She was so glad first period had been canceled, otherwise she'd have been hella late, and wouldn't that have made a great start to the year...As it was, she just missed breakfast, and that she could deal with.

The story behind her late arrival was simple. Disappointing and simple. She'd spent the summer with her father for the first time since her parents separated, and Calvin was a very well meaning and kind person but he was absolutely terrible at keeping his word. So, the night before she was set to go, Dee had fallen asleep early to make sure she'd wake up well rested. She'd checked her bags no less than three times, she'd checked her room for anything she might have missed at least twice, she reminded her dad a few times, she went to bed with reasonable confidence she'd get to school on time. Her father, however, stayed up far later than he should have working on some "emergency tax paperwork" and passed out three hours before she needed to leave to make the first train. Dee didn't leave without him though she did think about it. Stacking all her bags on her motorcycle didn't seem very safe, and she wasn't enough of a douche to take her dad's truck and leave him without a ride 'til he could pick it up. So, she was stuck waiting. Calvin finally woke up after her fifth attempt to wake him, tired and apologetic, and they got underway.

Dee spent the entire trip, from the car ride to the train trip, trying to figure out exactly how late she was going to be and what excuse she could use because throwing her dad under the bus didn't feel like the right thing to do. Even if he'd earned it. She'd be the first to tell you, all that kind of put a damper on her excitement for the coming year.

She pushed away the morning's concerns for the moment, jogging down the stairs and making her way towards the main hall. She was here, she was just early enough for second period, she wouldn't suffer long term consequences. A soft smile of relief appeared on her face as she walked through the courtyard and looked around at the familiar buildings, tension draining out of her straight posture. It was fine. It would be fine. She was here. With those thoughts in mind, she walked through the doors into the main hall, pleasantly surprised by how many people were there already. She held the door open for a moment, letting in a gaggle of sixteen year olds chattering away in an excited fashion, then turned her attention to the room. It wasn't easy to see through all the people, and it was even less easy to find anyone she actively recognized. Still, she came across a familiar face after only a few minutes of looking.

"Grumpy!" Dee exclaimed when she was close enough for Sixten to hear her, energetic like she'd had the best morning of her life. It was easier to put on a happy front and panic later. "Long time no see. How has my favorite rain cloud been doing?" she asked, her tone teasing and grin fierce as she took a seat next to him. In the corner, of course. Six was not the most social or welcoming or friendly of people, and while she didn't know if she'd go so far as to call the two of them friends, she'd been a consistent nuisance to the poor light elemental for years now. Especially when he was reading. "Reading at the mixer, huh? I see you're starting the year off with a bang, as usual."

 

[Spectre of the Fade]

DORIAN - THE GEARHEAD
Location: Main Hall ♠ Interaction: Anders (@Alexis)

Summers usually sucked for Dorian. He usually spent those three months, such precious free time to other students, attempting to avoid his mother's pity-filled gaze and his father's near constant disappointment in his younger child. His parents made it troublesome to leave his parents' extravagant (excessive) manor house in upstate New York during the day, what with their condescending remarks about how he should try not to get arrested if they caught him trying to sneak off to town. But, it was hard to stay at home, too, since his mother was a near constant presence and sometimes it was worse dealing with her pointed questions and her passive aggressive comments than it was dealing with his father's angry silence. So, he spent his summers holed up in his room with his laptop and his books, practicing his magic and avoiding his family. It, suffice to say, sucked.

This last summer had been different, though. Jessica had (hesitantly) offered him the spare bedroom in her little apartment in Phoenix, since her roommate wasn't moving in til the fall semester anyways, and he had (hesitantly) accepted. The rough friendship they'd been working on building up was new. So, both were wary about spending so much time together, what with the delicate nature of the relationship between them. Even with that risk, the summer had gone surprisingly well. Dorian had spent it exploring Phoenix and doing fun things with his air magic and fixing up cars, including Jessica's. He'd even bonded with her some over Marvel and they'd worked in a Netflix marathon or two into her busy student's schedule. All in all a decent summer, for once, though he was still glad to be back at Clawfed Academy.

Dorian burst into the main hall nearly five minutes past ten o'clock, clothes something of a rumpled mess with a couple of leaves from the trees that populated the Academy's grounds tangled in his curls. First period - or the vague time slot where first period should have been - went by fast, what with Dorian busying himself re-exploring the grounds and trying to find new features in them. He'd only remembered that there was a thing planned for second period when he was halfway across the massive field and had to run all the way back, thus his state of disarray. That was fine, though. "Rumpled and vaguely dirty" was Dorian's go to look. "Tanned" was likely a new addition to that list, now, since he'd spent the summer in the desert and actually went outside.

Diving into the throng people people clustered around the hall's entrance, Dorian kept his eyes out for any familiar flashes of short-and-brightly-colored girl, somewhat taller-leather-jacket-girl, or...or that head of familiar sandy brown hair he caught a glimpse of along one of the walls. Dorian bared his teeth in a tight grin when he got another look and confirmed his suspicion of who it was. What with his practice at dodging, ducking, and shifting around people, he made his way over to the bench where Anders was sitting alone (again) and reading (again) in hardly any time at all. The book Anders was reading was somewhat surprising, though Dorian couldn't figure exactly why it surprised him. Maybe because he thought he had a good grasp on Anders' tastes? Maybe because he figured he'd seen every book the other guy had? Eh. Something to wonder.

"I didn't know you read Homer," he said by way of greeting as he flopped down onto the bench beside his friend, careful to maintain a little distance between them but not nearly as much as he'd maintain with someone else. Sure, that was probably an odd way to start a conversation and sure, he could have done the usual "oh wow hey andy been a while how was your summer" spiel but...nah. Usual meant overdone and Dorian made a point to avoid that kind of shit. Plus, he was curious now. Why the Odyssey? "I like the Iliad a little better. Tragedy is kind of my thing."

 

[Alexis]

⌜ R O N N I E ⌟

LOCATION : MAIN HALL

MENTIONS : HARLOW [ @kelsen ]

INTERACTIONS : HARLOW [ @kelsen ]

Veronica spun around when she heard a female voice and there was already a smile on her face because that rarely went away no matter what she was doing. It was one of the reasons why people were drawn to her. It was hard to be in a bad mood with her around. She usually never let it happen either. "Hey!" She said to the other girl with a cheery grin. She loved meeting new people. "Thanks, I'm thinking of changing it from blues and purples to blues and greens. Kind of like the sea," she explained with a heavy British accent, despite the fact that she had never actually been to a beach before. She spent her summer in the dank hills of Scotland. Houdini, the cameleon she had snuck in was perched on her shoulder and partially hidden by her hair but he had come out of hiding, curious to see who she was making conversation with

"But yes I'm Ronnie. And this is Houdini. And you're Harlow, right?" Since they were close in age, they had shared a couple of classes the last year though Harlow was right, they had never properly spoken to each other before. She wondered why though because his girl seemed lively and energetic and just like Ronnie so she had a feeling they'd be close knit pretty soon.

Without thinking, she raised a hand to Harlow's ear and a white lilly slowly blossomed, perched behind her ear like an accessory. "Sorry," she said after a moment with a slight chuckle. "I tend to do that a lot. I never really think about it unless someone's allergic." She then seemed to realise that she never even thought about allergies.

"Oh God you're not allergic are you?" She was wide eyed now. "Do I need to get one of those injections or something? Because I had to do that one other time and it was not pretty."

⌜ CODED BY ALEXIS ⌟

⌜ A N D Y ⌟

LOCATION : MAIN HALL

MENTIONS : DORIAN [ @Spectre of the Fade ]

INTERACTIONS : DORIAN [ @Spectre of the Fade ]

Anders looked up from his book when he heard a familiar voice and he saw Dorian sit down beside him on the bench he was on. He smiled, happy to see a familiar and friendly face. It was the first one that day because he didn't really have that many people he considered very close to him. Dorian was one of the few he knew well enough to put down the book and sit and talk to him all day if he could. "It's nice to see you again too, Dorian," he replied with a small chuckle and immediately closed his book after taking note of what chapter he was on. He put it aside on the bench and focused on his friend. Three whole months had gone by since he saw him so he was sure there was a lot to catch up on.

"I've read both," he told Dorian in response to his question about The Iliad. "I love them both but I just recently read that one so I wanted to go with this instead. There's a ton more back in my dorm room and I'm hoping the library has some new additions this year," he grinned,clearly excited about that. In his years there since he was sixteen, he had probably read every book in the library cover to cover at least once. He wanted new material desperately.

"And I think you could do without tragedies for a while," he added with a slightly crooked smile, tapping his fingers against his knee absently. "How was your summer though? I spent most of mine arguing with my father and basically trying to get away from home as much as possible." He was very honest about that with whoever he met. Pretty much everyone knew about his back story. He didn't care much for what people thought about it.

⌜ CODED BY ALEXIS ⌟

 

[kelsen]

Here comes the sun (dodododoo)​

Harlow Rhea Johnsson

Location - Main Hall

Tagged - @Alexis

"Omigod that would be so pretty, you totally should!" Sea colors were the best colors in Harlow's opinion - you could never go wrong with a good ocean palette.

Harlow ran a hand through her messy hair, careful not to catch on the various small braids and hair-wraps she had. The hair-wraps were in various shades of blue and red this time, with pretty sea green stones and beads tied in. She was particularly proud of this set, and the ache in her arms from doing them all in one go had been well worth it. Because they were made only about three days ago, Harlow reckoned they'd last about three more weeks before she'd have to do new ones.

Movement from Ronnie's bright hair drew Harlow's eyes to the chameleon perched on her shoulder. Were pets allowed at the school now? Could she bring Taro then? She missed her Rainbow Lorikeet. The bird always kept her company and made her laugh. He can't fly - his wings were clipped - and he was generally well behaved.

Ronnie introduced her cute little guy as Houdini. It was an absolutely brilliant name for a chameleon. Where did one even go about getting a chameleon? She didn't think she had ever seen 'em at PetSmart or Petco.

Harlow was about to ask about how Ronnie managed to bring him to the school when Ronnie made a flower bloom behind her hair. All Harlow could think about was how cool that was. The possibilities for accessorizing with flowers wasn't something Harlow had ever thought about before. Shrubbery was what she was accustomed to in California, and when she came back during the summer it was usually too hot for most flowers.

"Dude, chill," she said, giving a sunny grin. "All I'm allergic to is strawberries. And douchecanoes," putting her hands on Ronnie's shoulders in what most considered a rather grounding gesture. It was still a bit early for Harlow, so lazy breeze was a rather apt description for her right now. "The flower thing is so cool though. If I asked sometime, could you decorate my braids with flowers?" Her eyes grew big and round, and Harlow pouted - just slightly.

Over the years, Harlow had perfected the puppy face to the point where it has a success rate of ninety percent. The trick was to not make it so obvious that you're playing the puppy face card. Being a single child gave you two parents with undivided attention to devote your practice to. How else did you think she was allowed to name the bird after one of her favorite drinks? Right! The pet thing!

"Oh! And how did you manage to bring Houdini to school? It breaks my heart every time I have to leave Taro at home."​

 

[kelsen]

Teenagers scare the living shit out of me​

Sixten Kjeld Lövgren

Location - Main Hall

Tagged - @Spectre of the Fade

Hearing the voice of someone he was begrudgingly familiar with, Sixten suppressed the sigh building in his lungs. Of course. Delaney. The occasional bane of his existence and occasional friendly competitor. He wasn't really sure what one could label their relationship as, but friendly enemies seemed rather apt.

Sixten kept reading, making notations in his notebook every now and then. "Dee, You always bring me so much joy - as soon as you lose or leave the room," he greeted in return, not even bothering to look up at her. There was probably some sort of smug grin on her face, he could feel it.

Despite all this, Dee had actually made it into a somewhat exclusive club called "Sixten Doesn't Totally Hate You", or SDTHY. Sixten wasn't entirely sure when or how he'd subconsciously allowed her onto that list, but it happened and once you're in, you're in.

Besides, the banter was usually more entertaining than most, even if he didn't usually succeed in pissing her off. That was made beating her so much more rewarding. They were both fiercely competitive. There had been more than one memorable occasion where they had competed over the smallest of things. They even had a tally sheet somewhere of who is in the lead win-wise. Sixten wasn't exactly sure where it was, or who was currently leading, but he knew they were close. They always were.

Sixten made a mental note to add one tally to himself for getting to school before Dee for once.

But when they weren't competing, Dee tended to enjoy bothering him. Like now. Yes, he was reading at this banal gathering. Did he particularly care? No. Was he interested in pretending to be polite to people he didn't give a shit about? No. Definitely not.

"Quickly! Check your face, Dee - I just found your nose in my business!" He exclaimed, shaking his hand with his thumb between his pointer finger and middle finger - referencing that childish game of stealing others noses. "I'm not going to pretend to care about ninety-five percent of the people here for two hours, when I typically don't even do so for two minutes." Sixten continued, returning to his typically disinterested attitude.​

 

[Spectre of the Fade]

DORIAN - THE GEARHEAD
Location: Main Hall ♠ Interaction: Anders (@Alexis)

Dorian's attention flipped to Anders when he registered the sound of a book closing, dark brows furrowing down as he met his friend's eyes. It was still a strange concept to have people who gave him their full attention, still odd to call more people than just Dee friends. The novelty of it all hadn't quite worn off; he still took note of who gave him their full attention. The fact that it was Anders paying so much attention to him this time had the additional effect of inspiring this fluttery feeling in his gut, but that? That he wasn't going to dignify with an analysis.

"Of course it's nice to see you," Dorian responded with an impatient tone like it was an established fact of the universe, one hand lifting to wave dismissively. The list of people he could tolerate was less than a couple dozen. The list of people he would willingly approach and initiate conversation with? He could count them off on the fingers of one hand. He was sitting here, completely of his own volition, and he wasn't dropping sarcastic comments left and right. Wasn't that a testament as to how much Dorian appreciated Anders? Hm. Another thing worth pondering. Later, though. Anders' grin as he brought up the prospect of new books in the library brought a soft smile to Dorian's face, his eyes slowly dragging back out towards the crowd.

"My summer was sadly absent of tragedy. And fathers, actually," he responded to the direct question, idly reflecting on how similar their relationships to their home life was. Rich families, opposed their family's normal elements, generally bad relationships with their fathers. Huh. "I went home with my sister. Spent the summer in Phoenix, doing interesting things for once. Museum trips, hiking excursions. Jess even let me tear apart her car, which, wow, I would not have trusted me that much." He rolled his right sleeve up to the shoulder with quick, precise movements, so he could show Anders the stark tank top tan line there. After a second, he quietly admitted, "It was nice to spent the summer outside, for once."

---

DELANEY - THE POSITIVE INFLUENCE
Location: Main Hall ♣ Bothering: Sixten (@kelsen)

Sixten's sarcastic response, without even a glance up in her direction, inspired a strange sense of relief in Dee, as odd as that sounded. Her home life was hectic enough. Returning to school to find that everything and everyone had changed there, too, would just be too much. Stable was good. Lack of change was good. Comforting, even. So, Dee's grin widened, instead of fading like one might expect. Her first instinct was to lean over and bump his shoulder with her own, but she curbed that impulse before she'd gotten halfway through the movement. Six didn't seem like the type who would appreciate her tactile tendencies. She made the extra effort to restrain her touchy feely-ness around him, same as she tried to do when around Dorian.

Sure, Six wasn't her friend, exactly, but he was a worth opponent and he'd earned that much respect at least. Sure, he had something of a point about the pointlessness of pretending to care just for the duration of the mixer. Social people, such as herself, might enjoy something like this, but Six tolerated other people at very best. Was she one of those people? Maybe. It was hard to tell, what with all the sarcasm, but she'd like to think there was some level fondness in their rivalry. Still, she would only admit that he had a point or that she was even remotely fond of Six under pain of death.

"You say that like I can put my nose somewhere else," she joked, settling for bouncing once in her seated position instead of the shoulder bump she'd nearly gone for. "Well, I could go bug new people, I suppose, since I actually care about meeting new people and making new friends, but...who would take my place in completely wrecking all your attempts to read? Speaking of, what are you even reading?" she asked, leaning over again, this time to try and see the book in his hands. It didn't look too familiar, which was kind of surprising. "Is that yours or did you sneak that from the library?"