Aelius Cedomir enjoyed the peace and solitude his room provided during the initial part of the trip to Eden. With Ingram Pagos practically beating every lesson he taught Ael into the young blonde's body as they roamed the vast lands of Remnant during their training, this was one of the rare moments when he could just slouch off and enjoy some much needed rest. He'd only been home briefly to pack up his stuff in preparation for his schooling in Eden, so he was trying to make every second of rest count...
However, Ael was absolutely brimming with energy. His mind was a wreck but his body always felt like a million Lien whenever the first vestiges of daylight appear on the horizon. Even if he wanted to sleep, he just was having difficulty doing it during the day compared to most people.
"Sometimes, I hate how convenient my damn semblance is." He said to nobody in particular before sighing exasperatedly. "Well, since I'm already here, I might as well associate with my fellow classmates. It's better to get on their good side sooner rather than later."
With those motivational words said, Ael hopped off from his bed and exited the room. Immediately, he bumped on a girl wearing strangely familiar, and excessively revealing clothing. Upon realizing who each other was, Ael's face paled in horror while the lightly dressed girl's face beamed with glee.
"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! AEL! Is that you? Holy Goliath! IT IS YOU! I can't believe it! I won't believe it! No I have to believe it! Nobody dresses up in such a shiny armor like that other than you!" The girl exclaimed in an excited voice before glomping the Ael in a cross between a tackle and a hug.
While most people would expect the eccentric girl with messy white hair to have a seizure at any given moment, Ael knew how much of a bundle of energy Windia Milkyway was. He first met the girl when his training expedition with Ingram landed them on the frozen mountains of Nysa. It looked like the old man and Windia's folks go way back so they stayed with her family during their training session in the icy kingdom.
One of the things that initially intrigued Ael about Windia was her seemingly boundless energy. It seemed like the girl was in a perpetual sugar rush as she would pretty much do anything in an excited, and enthusiastic manner. The other thing that intrigued him was how she could stand Nysa's chilling, frostbite-inducing weather by wearing clothing that barely covers any of her skin.
"Well, yes... It's me. And seeing that nobody dresses with such little clothing that they could easily be mistaken for an exhibitionist, then I would assume you're Windia, right?" Ael jested.
Suddenly, he felt Windia's elbow hit his gut, which was pretty impressive since he was wearing his armor.
Windia remained smiling though one could also see that her face was twitching as she tried to maintain her awkward smile.
"Ael.... you know how much I despise being called by the "E" word, right? Would you like to be re-educated about what happens when somebody calls me by the "E" word?" She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that fails to hide the malice in her intentions.
Needless to say, the first time he called her that didn't particularly end well for Ael. Aside from having several broken ribs, a broken arm and a broken leg, she managed to knock him out cold during the day, which was a first. Although he really wanted to get some sleep, he wasn't tempted to go through that hellish experience again because this time, she might actually put him in a coma. It's amazing how such a cheerful bundle of joy could easily turn into a sadist with just a flip of a switch.
"Umm.... No... that would be most unpleasant."
"Fufu. Great! Since this is the first time we've met in such a long while, I'll give you a free pass! I'm just glad that you're here. Why are you here anyway?" She asked inquisitively.
Ael was about to answer when he suddenly felt her shove her hand over his mouth rather forcefully so he ended up saying something in the likes of "Ahm goving fu fif a sduden iv Ivin" which translates to "i'm going to be a student in Eden" in no-hand-gag language.
"Don't tell me that you're going to be a student in Eden too?! OH EM GEE!!! I hope we become classmates! No! Not just classmates! Teammates! Nope. That's better but not quite yet. OHH! PARTNERS!" She looked absolutely thrilled at the idea as she smiled from ear to ear, possibly imagining all the chaos and destruction the two of them could cause if they became teammates.
He feared the implications their partnership could cause for not only their team, but to the entire school, and possibly the entire kingdom.
Or perhaps Ael was just exaggerating and overthinking stuff. Sure, Windia's a very eccentric person, and it could take a while to get used to her company but he knows that she's also a good person and that she's also a very skilled huntress-in-training.
"Uh-huh. As I was saying, I'm also going to be studying in Eden from now on. And there is a possibility that we're gonna be teammates.... or not. I don't know, there are a lot of people here, and you're the only one I've talked to extensively. I was on my way to socialize with some of them and get to know them when I accidentally bumped into you... so..." he let Windia figure out what he was trying to say. Ael wasn't outright rejecting her company, though he had to admit that getting acquainted with everyone would get really complicated with her tagging along. Still, knowing her, she'll definitely want to tag along with him, specially if it's about meeting new people.
"What a coincidence! I was just about on my way to meet new friends too! Until I bumped into you, specifically that armor of yours. Why are you wearing that hunk of steel here, anyways? It's not like a Nevermore would suddenly attack us, rip the fuselage to shreds destabilizing the pressure of the aircraft, sucking everyone out due to the vacuum it created and sending people on a surprise skydiving session, right? CAUSE THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN!"
*clank*
The sound of Ael's gauntlet lightly tapping against the top of Windia's head could be heard followed by the "Owie~" she inadvertently let out as she winced in pain. Even though Ael was surprised Windia knew the physics behind aircraft more than he ever did, her uncalled for enthusiasm about the most peculiar of things dismissed any awe he could ever feel towards the girl. The phrase "there's a thin line separating genius from madness" perfectly applied to the white-haired girl.
"Don't jinx us, goddamit! No, that wouldn't be fun. In fact, that would be the opposite of fun! People plummeting to their deaths isn't fun, Windia. Some of us would go splat like a pancake if we free fall several thousand feet in the air without parachutes while you gently glide down the surface with that semblance of yours. Anyways. let's try to meet some more people and make some new friends while I'm still in the mood shall we?"
"Roger that!" was Windia's enthusiastic reply complete with a military salute that didn't particularly match her gleeful smile.
Ael grabbed hold of Windia's hand immediately, before she could do anything to cause the plane to make an emergency landing, then trudged off towards the lounge with her in tow.
He scanned his surroundings, hoping to find some people that are relatively safe to interact with. After being sucker-punched by Fate with a sudden meeting with Windia, he was hoping to interact with some hopefully peaceful and stable individuals. After all, Windia was already a nuclear reactor, and he didn't want to be around when she comes across another nuclear reactor.
He saw what looked like a gangster and a pirate bickering about something while a faunus-girl tried to prevent the two from murdering each other... yeah he doesn't want anything to do with those three.
Then there was a deer faunus trying to comfort a seemingly distraught girl. Nope. He was gonna let Rudolph have his moment. Ael really dislikes NTR in general and he certainly doesn't want that to happen to him in real life. "Do not do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you." was one of the most basic philosophies of mankind.
There was also a masked guy and a cloaked girl though the guy gave off the vibe that he really didn't want any company at the moment.
He saw another seemingly cheery girl interacting with a guy with an awkward look on his face. Again, he didn't want to commit the grave sin that is NTR so he steered clear of the two. And with Windia in tow, it seemed like a really bad idea to get her anywhere near another potential nuclear reactor.
Moving on, he saw a girl with platinum blonde hair reading a book while two guys seemed to be in an awkward conversation. Ael thought that their presence would make things more awkward. Besides, the blonde and Windia probably won't mix very well. Pass.
Then, two guys bonded over surfing. Ael knows at least what surfing is but he hasn't tried it yet so it seems unreasonable to join in on their conversation. He also didn't want to get in the way of a budding bromance... Meanwhile, Windia would just ramble on about shipping the two guys with each other. A definite no, for Ael.
There's also this blonde guy talking to what looked like a military officer while two girls were trying to inch themselves away from the two. Looks like trouble so he decided to let them be.
Finally, he spotted what seemed like a samurai girl, a guy handing out cards, and a girl wearing a Naval Officer Uniform radiating the essence of the Atlesian standard of "a prim and proper lady." about to play a game of cards. That seemed simple enough. And the folks looked peaceful... or at least relatively stable.
He decided to go towards their direction for their first interaction with their fellow students.
"Hey there! I see you guys are playing something, though I don't exactly know what. Whatever it is, I'm hoping the two of us could join you in playing... Both of us are fast learners so I think we'll quickly pick up on the rules-"
His introduction was cut short when he suddenly felt the lack of Windia's hand on his own. Desperately scanning his surroundings, he saw the white-haired girl bounding cheerfully towards the WORST POSSIBLE group of people she could associate with for the time being... the pirate, the gangster, and the faunus. He couldn't exactly blame the white haired girl. There was one other thing that impressed Ael about Windia... it is her conviction to protect faunus and her dream to create a world wherein faunus and humans see each other as equals. She probably went to that direction to ensure the faunus girl was alright specially when two scary-looking dude's are about to go nuclear around her. He can't possibly go after Windia for two reasons... First, stopping her now would be stepping on her desire to protect faunus. Secondly, it would be awkward to leave now that he already introduced himself to these people.
"Oh... looks like it's just me then. I'm Aelius by the way. Aelius Cedomir. And that's my friend Windia, heading towards certain death over there. Though don't worry about her. Chances are, she's the one who'll be dealing the certain death if one of those guys piss her off. May I know your names?" Ael asked in the calmest voice he could muster as he desperately tried to maintain his composure around the three students.
Meanwhile, Windia had just arrived at the location of the gangster and the pirate. She visibly saw how the faunus was trying to diffuse the situation despite how visibly terrified she was. Who wouldn't be? On one hand you got a seemingly handsome, younger version of Captain Hook twoering above you, complete with the pirate eyepatch and the ginormous hook for a hand. On the other, you've got someone... who's honestly less intimidating when he has to stand over an arm rest to stand on equal footing with the pirate. But he looked like a gangster and that meant the mob so this guy, who looked more cute, than intimidating, is actually quite intimidating as well now that she thought about it. Yes, any normal person would be terrified if they got caught in the crossfire between these two... Luckily, Windia was far from a normal person.
"Ahem..." After clearing her throat to get the boys attention, Windia began to speak.
"I'm sorry for interrupting you gents, but could you perhaps take it down a notch.That girl's really trying her best so you two wouldn't punch each other's teeth out despite really being terrified of your little exchange over here so please just chill and relax. Besides, we should all be friends if we're going to be fighting Grimm together." Windia told the two guys in her usual bubbly and enthusiastic manner.
She then redirected her attention to the girl.
"Are you alright? You aren't hurt or anything, are you? " She asked, and for the first time, her enthusiasm was replaced with genuine concern.
"Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright! I'm Windia, by the way. Windia Milkyway. And it's nice to meet you." Her enthusiasm returned to her voice as she reassured Mona that everything was going to be fine.
After making sure she wasn't injured, Windia shifted her attention back to the boys.
"I'm telling you guys. Break it off right now and let's just enjoy the plane ride to our new home. Otherwise, everybody's going to have a really bad time. And we don't want that, right?"
Despite being very worried about her safety, there was a third reason why Aelius Cedomir didn't go after Windia Milkyway right away when she bounded off towards the two guys.
In the worst case scenario, when shit hit the fan and push came to shove... Windia would probably do better than Ael in a situation like that.
@Everyone (since I'm too lazy to tag everyone individually)
