Code Lyoko: Digital Destiny [[Started // Not Accepting]]

[Saiba Aisu]

To view the OoC Planning Thread for this RP, please click [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/236309-code-lyoko-digital-destiny-ooc-started-not-accepting/#entry4935342]here[/url].

===

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Kadic Academy[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Kadic Academy]A gold- and red-tinged dawn rose slowly over the shining city of Paris, distributing its brilliant glow across the graceful architecture of the buildings below, catching the sparkling curves of the river Seine as it wound its way slowly in and out of sight. A fresh autumn wind blew under bridges and through the streets, bringing with it the promise of change and adventure. As the sun climbed steadily higher into the cloudless blue sky, Paris and her inhabitants came alive—in the streets, vendors arranged their wares attractively and began to call out softly in slightly hoarse voices; cars and buses dotted the streets as commuters made their way to work; students of all ages, still soft and dreamy in their half-sleep, moved with unerring purpose to their schools. Only a few miles from the heart of the city, situated closely to the [i]Quartier des Musiciens[/i], the ringing of bells could be heard among the ancient, time-worn spires of Kadic Academy as the residential high school roused itself in preparation for the new week. Slowly at first, but then with greater confidence and numbers, students began to weave in and out of the various buildings within the gated campus, until the very air seemed to pulse with the murmuring sound of their voices as they trampled grass and sidewalk alike underfoot.

Deep within the interconnecting, labyrinthine halls of the school, on the floor generally reserved for third-year male students, Dominic Greene slung his bookbag over his shoulder and turned the key to his door, making sure that it was locked before stowing it carefully in his pocket. He was a slight but serious-looking young man, with intense brown eyes, a deeply pensive expression and a shock of short dark hair. Taking comfort in the fact that first period didn't begin until 7:00, he gazed determinedly through the wide glass windows that lined the corridor at regular intervals, his thoughts focused upon the cause he had sworn himself to last night, as well as the incredible and almost unbelievable discoveries he had made on his own within the past few days.

[i]Today's the day[/i], he vowed silently to himself, his heart beating faster as he reviewed the plan he had decided to put into action. [i]No matter how difficult or crazy this entire situation might seem, I have to get them to understand[/i], he continued, turning and making his way down the flights of stairs. Crossing the marble lobby of the Boys' Residential Dormitory, he moved purposefully towards the Student Commons, a small transitory courtyard situated near the heart of the Academy which was a popular morning meeting place, due both in part to its picturesque location and its snack and coffee machines. Even though he only had a few specific candidates in mind, Dominic was confident in the fact that he would find several other students there who would be willing to hear him out. However, as the white cobbled, green-shrouded courtyard came into sight, packed with students of all kinds, he paused uncertainly, his eyes flickering from individual to individual, unsure of where exactly he should start.[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Okay everyone, here is the first GM Post for this RP. I know it doesn't accomplish much in terms of action; rather, it's supposed to help set the tone for the first few interactions between your characters, as well as provide of sense of Kadic Academy's tone and architecture. In other words, to make things more simple, Dominic has just entered the Student Commons, a popular social gathering place throughout the day where students of all kinds get together for any number of reasons. Your character should be somewhere in this mass of students; for now, be sure to present your character in an introductory fashion—there will be plenty of time for additional exploration later on. The next GM Post will be made once everyone is done introducing themselves; in the meantime, you are encouraged to interact realistically with one another, although fighting is strictly prohibited.[/spoiler]

[Vector Nightmare]

It was doubtful that anyone in the entire Academy woke up with such minute precision as the young man going by the name of Basil Clives did. Strictly at six every morning, he would wake up, have a solid portion of breakfast, meticulously brush his teeth, and then go to the Commons. That early in the morning, relative peace and quiet reigned, and Basil would spend the hour before the first class reading.

A variety of subjects interested him. Today, it was ancient Greek literature. There was always a lesson to be learned in what someone else wrote, even if it could not be discerned at first. Oedipus Rex held many such valuable lessons. The foremost was - ignorance was not an excuse. You could not be forgiven for a wrong you committed for 'not knowing', because 'not knowing' was a sin as well. Basil kept that well in mind.

Basil was a man of comfortable height and slender physique that did not lack muscle, honed by his tendency to often engage in martial training. He seemed perfectly in-line with the all-too-precise infrastructure of the Academy. From his suit, which was clean without even a hint of a rumple, to his carefully combed lustrous black hair, to his serious expression as he read through the text he held - everything about him screamed a stiff formality, too uncomfortable to be approached casually.

The youngster's searching black eyes did not fail to take note of the arrival of a student in the Commons, surprisingly early in the day. However, he was almost immediately analyzed and dismissed as someone of no importance to Basil. He began reading a new verse of the tragedy. There was always a lesson to be learned.

[---------------]

Ceodore was already awake and walking into the Student Commons, heading straight for the coffee machine. He seemed to be developing an addiction to caffeine, but he didn't put much attention on such a matter. He inserted a dollar and out came the little cup, with fresh, hot coffee pouring into it. He picked up the drink and, despite it's heat, drank it in one attempt. He had been up all night, unable to sleep from the all night back-and-forth emailing with Abel. Not a good idea in retrospect.

But all that aside, Ceodore reached into his bag and pulled out his schedule. It wasn't the first day of school, but he never remembered the order of his classes, let alone the room numbers. His next class was Gym. Great. His [i]favourite[/i] class [/sarcasm]. He thought to himself for a moment. He's definitely not in the mood or condition for physical education, but if he missed class again he'd get detention. Exhaust or detention? Easy choice. For the moment though, Ceodore put another dollar into the coffee machine.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair sighed as he locked his room's door, his bookbag slung over both shoulders. [i]First day of classes[/i], he thought to himself. [i]Might as well make the most of it.[/i] He put his key into his front left jean pocket and walked down the hallway towards the Student Commons. "Alright...let's see...," he said to himself as he rummaged through his backpack for his schedule; he was still walking to the Student Commons just outside. "Latin at 7 and then Literature at 8:30. Sounds interesting." Alistair placed his schedule back into his backpack, not bothering to look at what classes he had later in the day.

Alistair is 6' 7" tall, a giant of a 17 year old. He has Gigantism, unfortunately. He takes it quite well however, as he would smile, laugh, and move on to another subject of discussion. As he now entered the Student Commons, he noticed people staring at him. Too often, as Alistair found out all too well, he makes other people unintentially resent themselves intimidation-wise due to his height; at least, until Alistair gave the gentlest of smiles, as if he was saying, "Don't worry, I may be a giant, but I'm gentle." Alistair looked around the mass of students. He placed his left hand in his pant pocket and started walking by himself, noticing that many people were still staring at him; he was hard to miss, after all.

After the attention on him went away, Alistair walked up to a nearby vending machine. He took his wallet out, removed some cash, and placed it in the machine. His drink then came out with a *clunk!* and he drank it after opening it. Alistair sat down at a nearby bench, his backpack to his left, and he looked around, the sunlight bringing out the contrast on his casual black and white collared shirt; his blue hair glistening in the sun. After finishing his drink in about a minute, Alistair flash-backed to the first day of his last weekend of his vacation, the day he returned to Kadic Academy.

[i]"Now remember to visit us every break, okay, Alistair?" his mother requested as she drove the car. "I will, mom. Just remind me every now and then before I forget, but don't call me everyday," Alistair replied. "Okay, son. Just remember to let us know how you're feeling, okay?" "Yes, mom," he said quite annoyed just as the car arrived at the student drop-off. His mom turned around in the driver's seat. "Don't let everyone get to you just because you're tall. One patented Relentius smile should do the trick," his mom said, winking. "Alright mom." Alistair took his luggage out of the car's trunk and walked into the Academy.[/i]

He got up from the bench, taking his backpack with him, and went to the trash can. He threw his trash away and then noticed a boy about his age looking around. [i]I wonder who he's looking for.[/i] Alistair thought to himself. [i]Probably doesn't concern me anyway,[/i] he thought as he shrugged. Alistair continued walking around the Commons, greeting with a smile the occasional student who waved at him, and then he abruptly stopped in his tracks to lean against the back of a bench. He was still the tallest student at Kadic Academy, towering over the average student. He sighed again. He closed his eyes and touched the cross around his neck.

[encapturer]

"Thank you for finding this for me!"

Estelle Rays stood in the Student Commons, handing another young woman a notebook. The other student lost it the day before, and asked for help finding it. Naturally, Estelle volunteered, and with the information given, found the notebook that very day. Fortunately, Estelle was able to find the student here, before classes, and thus was able to give her the notebook she was searching for.

"No problem," Estelle said, smiling. "Just be more careful with it, okay?"

"Alright, thanks," the girl replied before running off to meet her friends in the hallway leading out of the Student Commons. Watching her go, Estelle could not help but wonder how someone could lose track of something so important, leave it in their first class, and not even bother trying to look there. Estelle was doubtful, but she really hoped that the girl would get better at not losing her stuff.

Since she had a bit before her first class started, Estelle sat down on a bench and just watched students pass by, having nothing in particular she wanted to do... or needed to think about. As boring as it was here, it was better than being at her parents house. She'd take having to deal with foolish classmates over anything dealing with Thomas, any day.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine glanced blearily at the clock next to her face. Its red numbers spelled out 5:46, but she didn't really want to believe it.
She sat up with a grumble, pushing the simple white blankets off her body. She felt a chill as the draft cooled the sweat still clinging to her body and huddled up a little closer to herself.
Was it a nightmare, again? She couldn't remember, after all. She never remembered her dreams, though she figured that was a good thing. Sleeping well was a luxury she was rarely afforded, as long as she could remember anyway; it was a mental disorder of some sort, though she couldn't be bothered to figure which.

She gave another pitiful sigh, and got up. There was no going back to sleep after you woke up once, after all. Luckily, she was used to being up earlier than anyone else- it had a certain set of benefits, she guessed, even if it did mean you were wandering around while you waited for things to get started.

Heading over to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth quickly and showered. Though she shared the bathroom with two other dormrooms, nobody had been up yet to waste the hot water and take too much time, which she appreciated. It took a bit of time to properly wash her hair, given its length; if she didn't, it was liable to clump unpleasantly, or sting her eyes, and generally made a nuisance of itself.

She paused to consider the red strands as the suds were washed from her body. She wore her hair long -down to her ankles, around five feet in total- far more so than anyone she'd ever met. It was heavy, got in the way all the time, and was far past the point of any general aesthetic value- short was in style at the moment. It was almost ridiculous, really. Why did she even bother?

[i]Why did she?[/i] That really was the question. She cut her hair so rarely- and barely a foot each time- that it was obvious she liked it that way. But she didn't- it was a horrible style, but...

[i]Who was it that liked my hair like this?[/i]

She shook her head sighing to herself. What was with her in the mornings? Being introspective like that at random had to be unhealthy.

She stopped the flow of water, got dressed quickly and left for the school proper. The entire floor was still empty, like she expected, but the morning rays of the sun started creeping in, adding a dimension of light; students would be pouring through soon enough, she realized.

Still, hours didn't start for hours. She shook her head a little- it was almost bizarre to have to actually wait for classes. When she went to Saint Augustine, she'd been late almost every day for a variety of reasons; most of which having to do with her dad.

A grimace. If there were two things she liked about Kadic over Augustine, it was the lack of uniform skirts, and the fact she didn't need to interact with her father any more. The diverse kinds of students didn't hurt either; she was tired of being known as the 'English Girl'. Here, she could just blend into the crowd; nobody noticed her, and nobody bugged her. And if they did, they didn't for long, after she responded.

The Commons had a couple students wandering around, but it was still early, and people were trickling in still. Though the benches were covered in the morning dew, it was relatively peaceful and a fair place to wait for class to begin. She found her favorite bench near one of the edges, and huddled up with a novel she'd picked up earlier; it was in French, like most of the things she read, but by now she was understanding Paris' language almost as well as her native tongue.

[Saiba Aisu]

A cool and refreshing breeze swept across the Student Commons as Cerce entered the courtyard, closing his dark green eyes briefly in appreciation of the sensation. He was a slender young man, with flashing eyes and dark hair that was arranged artfully in a series of bangs. Even among the many different kinds of students thronging the complex, Cerce managed to stand out somehow—perhaps it was his bright, self-assured expression or his clothes, which, while far from flashy, still managed to complement his natural good looks. In any case, only a few seconds passed before he was approached by another student, whose entire purpose in life seemed to be to draw as much attention as possible.

"Hey Cerce!" Jae crowed, strolling over and clasping his shoulder in a friendly manner. His dark eyes gleamed under his shock of blond-black hair, which contrasted sharply with his porcelain complexion. "It's good to see you man, I still can't believe you didn't hit up that party this weekend!" Jae's tone was petulant but teasing, a sly grin played across his Asian features and the sunlight caught the shine of the many studs in his ears as he accosted the other boy.

Cerce rolled his eyes in an expression of mock-exasperation and laughed. "It's good to see you too, Jae... but we already had this discussion! There was a Varsity Gymnastics competition that night and I'm the captain, there's no way I could have ditched on the others! You'll be happy to hear that we scored almost double the amount of points they did, though."

Jae shrugged his shoulders, as if Cerce's athletic commitments mattered little to him—which, in fact, they did. "Alright man," he replied casually, "you do what you gotta do.. I'm just saying that you missed a really good time, some of my friends managed to get hold of some booze and loads of people were asking where you were." The Asian boy's grin widened exponentially as he mimicked a drinking motion, tilting an invisible beercan up towards his mouth. "You should have seen some of the girls after they had a few drinks, it was crazy! Anyways we're planning another party for this Saturday at the warehouse off La Condamine street, we've rented it out for the night and it's not far. There's gonna be some sick music, you should seriously consider checking it out!"

Cerce nodded noncommittally, he wasn't much for the partying scene because of the alarming frequency with which they were busted and he didn't trust Jae very much—however, a rented warehouse sounded pretty legitimate. And of course, it had been ages since he'd taken the time to let loose and have a good time. "I'll think about it, alright?" he replied, moving past the Asian boy and heading towards the benches that lined one side of the courtyard for some last-minute studying. "Keep me posted!" he called back to Jae, who nodded and flashed him a thumbs-up before disappearing among the other students. Cerce sank onto the wooden bench and opened his notebook, flipping through several pages filled with complex-looking characters. He stopped, however, as a long shadow was cast over him; tilting his head upward, he saw an extraordinarily tall young man with blue hair towering above.

Cerce cupped a hand to his mouth and called out in a mock-loud voice, "Hey! How's the weather up there?" He lowered his hand and laughed softly, indicating his joking was meant good-naturedly. "It's Alistair, right?"

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair heard someone shouting to him.
"Hey, how's the weather up there?" he heard. He looked down and saw a boy about his age. "It's Alistair, right?" he heard him say.
"Mhm," he replied simply, and with a smile. "Alistair, the Gentle Giant, at your service," he said, managing a smile as he stood straight up, the back of his legs aching a bit after leaning on the back of the bench for so long. "The weather's great up here actually," he said, chuckling; the wind blowing his long blue hair across his eyes.

Alistair looked down while flipping his hair out of his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then looked back at the boy. "Your name is Cerce, am I correct? I believe we have the same Literature class together."

Alistair took his backpack out, rummaged through, and found his schedule. "Latin at 7, Literature at 8:30, Mathematics at 10 with lunch directly afterward," he read off his schedule.

"Heh. Looks like Literature will be fun. Let's hope people don't poke fun at me if I accidentally forget to stoop and end up hitting my head on the top of the doorframe," he said to Cerce as he placed his schedule back into his backpack. He looked at his watch. "Geez, time is slow today. Sometimes I wish it would go faster, don't you, Cerce?"

[---------------]

Ceodore took his fresh coffee and leaned against the wall near the machine. He turned his attention to two overkill eye grabbing students talking out in the open, not too loud but still understandable from a distance. He hated when kids act cool. No one is cool. No one. They only act cool to be perceived as cool by other people they perceive as cool. They may do it subconsciously, but still. Become self aware and you'll realize the futility of being 'cool'. But such rantings aside, Ceodore realized he hadn't touched his coffee yet. He took one gulp, eliminating half of the warm, caffeine infested drink. Ahh, much better. Class was going to start in a while. He needs to change into his gym clothes soon, too. Suddenly, detention didn't seem too bad. That's when Ceodore realized he subconsciously drank the rest of his coffee. He didn't have a other dollar on him. Plus he needed to go to the bathroom. Nothing was keeping him there anymore, except for maybe the few minutes between now and class. He was torn between room and class. Meh, he'll just go to the bathroom after physical education...

(OoC: When's Dominic gunna ask?)

[Saiba Aisu]

[center][IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG] [b]GM Post: Kadic Academy[/b] [IMG]http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv219/GXCyber_Ice/XanaSymbolPosts.png[/IMG][/center]

[spoiler=GM Post: Kadic Academy]"The Gentle Giant?" Cerce repeated quizzically, chuckling in spite of himself. "I certainly hope so; I'd hate to get on your bad side!" He smiled with genuine warmth at Alistair; after all, it wasn't often that he spoke to someone that could take a joke. Most of the popular students at Kadic Academy were far too concerned with their own images and reputations—they couldn't afford to take things lightly. He laughed again as Alistair recited his classes off his schedule at top-speed. "Yeah," he replied easily, "I'm pretty sure we have literature together, although I don't think I see much of you in there.. But that's probably because we don't sit near each other."

Cerce looked back down at his notebook and sighed slightly before he resumed flipping through its pages. "I'm not sure about time moving too slowly today though," he muttered darkly. "I could definitely use some more time to study for my first period Japanese exam! I'm fine with speaking the language, but writing it is another story.. These new kanji are awful, I don't understand why any language would ever need so many complicated characters!"

Cerce continued his animated discussion with Alistair, unaware that Dominic had been watching both of them steadily from across the courtyard for some time now. Dominic glanced down at his watch—only a few minutes before the start of first period, it was now or never. Taking a deep breath in preparation, he strode across the complex and came to a halt in front of the benches and the several people occupying them.

[i]Here goes nothing[/i], he thought to himself briefly, before clearing his throat, catching Cerce and Alistair's attention immediately. "Excuse me," he said, raising his voice so that the other occupants of the benches—Estelle, Devine, and Basil—could hear him. Of the five, the latter two looked up from their respective books with faint curiosity. "Uh, I know this is quite irregular," Dominic continued, blushing slightly under their combined gazes, "but it's crucial that you meet me at these benches after school today, okay? There's something important that I need to talk to you about, it concerns the safety of everyone that lives in this area."

Fortunately for Dominic, the warning bell chose that moment to ring, indicating that only five minutes remained for students to reach their respective classrooms for the start of first period. He didn't have much time to register the reactions of the five before he jumped slightly at the sound; as if by magic, the crowds of students within the Student Commons began to disperse rapidly. "So, yeah," he added lamely, grasping desperately at a way to end the conversation without failing pathetically, "it would be great if you could do that."

[i]Oops[/i], he thought to himself, cursing his social inadequacy. [i]Too late[/i].

Cerce raised one slim eyebrow inquisitively before getting to his feet and closing his notebook in an extension of the same movement. "Uhh, alright, person-I-don't-know," he said shortly, stowing it under his arm. "I might be busy after class but I'll see what I can do, okay?" The dark-haired boy nodded to Dominic and the others on the benches before moving towards the eastern edge of the campus, where the Foreign Language building was located. He waved briefly in farewell to Alistair, calling out, "I'll see you in literature, Gentle Giant!" Then he turned and vanished from sight.[/spoiler]

===

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Atman, I'm not gonna lie when I say that your post was pretty pointless.. Remember, Dominic is talking to the five Lyoko Warriors at this point. You're free to observe their interaction but your character isn't part of the group just yet. Okay everyone, the above post introduces Dominic's request to meet you at the benches as soon as class ends. Evidently, he has something important to discuss with you. For the time being, you're free to RP your way throughout your classes for the day; in fact, I encourage you to try and do so while sharing at least one class with another PC, it will provide a useful chance for interaction with your fellow writers. However, don't go into ridiculous amounts of detail, a few posts should be more than enough.[/spoiler]

[encapturer]

((I'll put Estelle in PE for first period, then))

Estelle was lost in thought as she watched others go by. At this rate, she'd have to run to her first class - Physical Education, but since she's wearing pants today instead of a dress, she'd be able to run if need be. Fortunately for her, Dominic began talking to snap her out of her trance with his request.

And what a request it was. It was vague, yet sounded important enough, assuming he wasn't blowing it out of proportion. Estelle was wary; often there was a inconsequential task another wanted done... and acted like it was a matter of life and death. [i]Of course[/i], Estelle reasoned, [i]there would be no harm in hearing him out, would it?[/i] Before she could ask for more information, the warning bell sounded.

"I... can see if I can be here then," Estelle said, now speaking quieter than she did with the students earlier. She didn't want to get him needlessly angry, after all. With that said, Estelle quickly stood up, and ran off towards the gymnasium on the ground level, where her first class was being held, almost ignoring the other people Dominic was speaking to...

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair listened intently to the student. [i]Safety of the people in this area?[/i] He was utterly confused. He heard the student request a meeting with them after school. "Sure, I can do that." And with that, Alistair and his ground-shaking footsteps lumbered over to Latin class.

Alistair was still perplexed by the fellow student's request as he arrived at his Latin class. [i]Safety of the community? Why would he want to meet me and a group of kids after school today for something like that?[/i] he wondered as he held the door for his Latin teacher with a genuine, kind smile. She had arrived late due to last minute class preparation. "Thank you, Alistair," she said as she walked into the classroom.

Alistair stooped under the doorframe to avoid hitting his head. He found the classroom to be full of students. They stared at him, curious at the giant of a student. Alistair just smiled back. He noticed that there was a seating chart on the nearby overhead. One problem: It was in Latin. Not the Latin usually learned in the class, but full-on, ancient Roman carved, Latin. "Um...Ms. Braddock? Where would my seat be?" "Oh, I'm sorry, I typed up the seating chart in Latin by accident. Sorry, Alistair," she said apologetically. "You sit in the back seat of the middle row; right in front of the window." "Thank you, Ms. Braddock," he said as he walked to his desk, his footsteps thundering. He completely blocked all sunlight coming in the window.

"Okay class, pop test!" Ms. Braddock said enthusiastically. Everyone groaned except Alistair.
30 minutes passed. Alistair turned his paper in, and his teacher graded it in front of him. 100. Alistair smiled and went back to his desk. He waited for the rest of the class to finish, but it took them the rest of the period to finish. Alistair just read a book he had in his backpack to pass the time. The bell soon rang, and he headed over to Literature.

He held the door for everyone when he got there. When the last person went in, he closed the door behind him...until he hit the doorframe with his head.
"Ow...,"he said, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He looked around for an empty seat. He found one...right next to Cerce, who was grinning. He walked over and sat down. "Thanks for saving me a seat," he whispered to him. "Alright class, let's begin," he heard the teacher say. Alistair enjoyed the lesson on Edgar Allen Poe. A little too much, in fact, because the teacher decided to call on him to recite "The Raven" in front of the class. Alistair got up and read from the Literature book.

"....Quoth the crow, "Nevermore."
"Beautiful Alistair. You can return to your seat now." He did just that, his footsteps shaking the ground.

After Literature was over, Alistair and his naturally thunderous footsteps walked on over to Mathematics. He remembered to stoop below the doorframe this time. He had arrived relatively early, and he figured there was no seating chart, so he sat down in the seat closest to the door. Other students were staring at him when they arrived, except for one pale girl, who had very long red hair that went down all the way to her ankles. [i]I wonder how she's not tripping over all that,[/i] he wondered to himself. When she actually did look at him, he just waved back and smiled. (OoC: Sharing a Math class with Devine)

Mathematics went by without a hitch for Alistair. He aced the pop quiz near the end of class, and when class was finally dismissed, he went straight to the cafeteria for lunch. He was surprised by the food selection, but he controlled his desire for all the delicious food and ate what he needed. Halfway through his meal, he saw Cerce. Alistair waved at him to get his attention. "Hey, Cerce! How'd your classes go?"

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine rolled her eyes and looked back at her book as the uncomfortable kid stopped talking. "Right, crucial. Which is why it can wait till after class," she muttered, but she intended to go anyway. Not for any particular reason, mind you, but she didn't have much else to do that day, and if nothing else it could provide her with a couple laughs.

The bell rang, and stretching the morning stiffness from her limbs, she put her book away and headed for the eastern part of campus. She was faintly surprised to see the guy that had been talking earlier was walking the same way; it took a few moments to realize they had Japanese together.

Devine never spoke much to the other students -why bother, at any rate?- but she did like to brush up on foreign languages. Her mother had managed to impress on her the necessity of being at least bilingual, and knowing most of the trade languages was a benefit. Kadric didn't offer a course in Mandarin until fourth year, so she figured she'd supplement her knowledge with a similar eastern.

Didn't she have an exam today? It registered faintly in her head. Right, Japanese exam. She mentally reviewed a bit- Kanji were difficult, but she was good at memorization. Next period she had Latin, which she found absolutely useless (what's the point of learning a [i]dead[/i] language?), and third was Math (which she was good at, but disliked).

[Saiba Aisu]

After he bid farewell to Dominic and the others, the rest of Cerce's day passed by fairly quickly and uneventfully; he even managed to do well on his kanji test, despite his earlier concerns. It was only as he was turning in his exam paper to the instructor ([i]Shiken wo dashite kudasai![/i]) that he realized that one of the girls from this morning shared this period with him—although he didn't quite remember her name, he immediately recognized her distinctive flowing red hair, which fell all the way to her ankles. A few periods later, he also caught a glimpse of Alistair at lunch but wasn't able to talk to him for very long. Throughout the rest of day, between his remaining lessons and transitions to other classrooms, he managed to pick out some of the students from the encounter on the benches, moving past him in the throng of students in different directions.

[i]It's weird[/i], Cerce thought, packing up after his last class and exiting the classroom, [i]I don't think I would have noticed most of them if it hadn't been for this morning[/i]. His feet carried him steadily towards the Student Commons; despite the fact that he had a fair amount of homework and studying to do for tomorrow, his curious nature had won out in the end—in spite of himself, Cerce was intrigued to see what that strange boy wanted to discuss so urgently with them.

He came to a halt in front of the same benches from this morning and sat down, tossing his hair as he did so. For the moment, it seemed as if he was the first one there—still, he didn't mind, since he could use the extra time to start studying. Cerce rummaged through his bookbag briefly before he pulled out a well-worn Japanese textbook and began flipping through its pages, running his hands through his hair as he did so.

[spoiler=OoC. Please read!]Okay, I feel like that's enough classroom interaction for now. For the moment, get your characters back to the benches in the Student Commons so that Dominic can make his announcement![/spoiler]

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair talked with Cerce for a few minutes, but they couldn't talk for long. After Cerce left and Alistair had finished his lunch, he looked over the rest of his schedule. "Okay...AP Biology is next, and I end the day with Creative Writing. Sounds good to me." The bell rang, telling students to go to their next class. With that, Alistair gathered his things together and went to the Science Hall. The class, unfortunately, was so boring that almost everyone fell asleep. Alistair kept himself awake long enough to get the notes down. After his AP Biology, he went to Creative Writing, where he ended up writing an introductory paper about himself. Everyone presented it, and all the students had a blast. "This is why I want to be a writer," Alistair told a nearby classmate. "Writing gets you out of the box. I'm glad the day ends on a high note."

After classes were dismissed for the day, Alistair went back to his dorm, dropped off his backpack, and hurried back to the Student Commons, his strides literally shaking the hall as he ran. As he arrived, he saw Cerce sitting on a bench; he seemed to be studying. Alistair went to the nearby vending machine, got himself a drink, and walked up to the same bench Cerce was sitting at. He placed his feet on the seat of the bench, right next to where Cerce was, and he sat down on the back-rest portion of the bench. He leaned forward to avoid falling backwards, placed his elbows on his legs, and folded his hands casually, his drink in between his grip. He looked down for a moment and then back up. He saw the same girl he had seen earlier in the morning, when that one student told them to meet there. [i]Oh wait, that's right, she was here this morning as well.[/i] he thought to himself. Alistair glanced over Cerce's shoulder to see what he was reading. The book itself seemed quite old. [i]So that's Japanese.[/i] he thought curiously.

Alistair, along with a few others, continued waiting for the one student that told them to wait at the benches after school. He took a sip from his drink.

[encapturer]

The rest of Estelle's classes beyond physical education went by in a flash. Calculus, Chemistry, Computer Science, Political History... it was all a blur. Perhaps a big reason was that no one wanted her help with anything. She couldn't even do a group lab in Chemistry, since it was not a lab day. There was even one student in Political History was having some problems after class. But when Estelle went to ask about it, the response surprised her.

"It's okay," he said, "I'll do it myself. I don't want to trouble you more than I have."

Estelle was stunned. It was nice for people to actually learn to do things themselves, but she could not help but feel a little hurt that she wasn't needed. Her thoughts wandered to her family's head, Thomas, who told her that she needed to marry his son. She could not even remember the boy's name, but Thomas was the one person that she did not want to help, yet... she has no choice. Desperate to take her mind off of the man, she remembered what happened before first period; someone asked her and a few others to return to the commons after school. Since it was now after school, Estelle began to head down towards the commons, cursing herself for nearly forgetting the appointment.

Fortunately, it does not seem like she was late. There were a few of the others there, but no sign of Dominic, the one who called them there. She was angry that he wasn't there, ignoring the fact that she almost forgot herself. Still she can't just come out and say that, but she could not stand waiting idly.

"So..." she said to the others who were there. "What do you think he wants us to do?" Her voice was subdued, though she tried to speak loud enough for everyone else to hear. She half didn't expect a response, but at least now she was waiting for that, instead of merely idling.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce looked up from his textbook at the soft sound of Estelle's voice, his thoughts swirling with verb conditionals from the Japanese language. He was surprised to see Alistair sitting nonchalantly next to him while the girl hovered timidly nearby. "[i]Gomen ne[/i], I didn't see you guys!" he muttered, closing the textbook and stowing it back in his bookbag. He gave the girl an inquisitive look, taking in her appearance and gentle demeanor with a single glance.

"I was about to ask the same thing, didn't that kid say for everyone to meet him right after classes? He could and least try and be punctual, don't you think..?" Cerce shifted his weight and tossed his head back, stretching luxuriously for a moment before sitting up properly. "Speaking of which," he continued, "do either of you actually know that guy? I swear, this morning was the first time I've ever seen him around here!"

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair nearly fell backwards off the bench when he heard Cerce suddenly speak. He heard him talking about the student from the morning before classes started.
"First time I saw him was this morning when I arrived here at the Commons. He was looking around, as if it was quite important." Alistair pushed himself off the bench, landed with a *thud* on the grass, and threw his trash away at a nearby trash can. "I figured he was looking for someone else, but to think that he was looking for a random group such as us is beyond me," he said walking back. Alistair sat back onto the same spot on the bench as before and then rubbed his legs. "I'm still trying to figure out what it is that is so important that he would walk up to random people who happened to be sitting in the same area."

Alistair glanced at the girl who was standing in front of him and Cerce. "I'm sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name's Alistair. Alistair Relentius. Tallest student here at Kadic Academy at your service," he said, ending with a smile.

[Vector Nightmare]

Without interest, Basil shifted his gaze away from the person who had addressed him. He had not taken the boy seriously, of course, and quickly put him out of his mind as he went to attend the day's classes. Philosophy was, as always, enjoyable, and Basil had time to meditate on what he had studied.

[i]There is always a lesson to be learned.[/i]

Irritably, he pushed unnecessary thoughts out of his head. Classes had ended, and he was just about to return to his quarters. But, with the corner of his eye, he caught two of the people that had registered within his notice earlier - one of them was hard to miss, being a giant - walking towards the Commons, conversing casually with each other. It couldn't be - there were actually some who were seriously adhering to that boy's absurd request?

Despite himself, Basil followed them, not caring at all if he appeared conspicuous as he stalked the pair down. Shockingly enough, a small crowd was already there. Basil hastily identified them all as people who had been addressed by their strange fellow student. He did not join the lot, naturally - he simply stood nearby, still as a statue, his textbooks all but forgotten within his bag, hanging from his left shoulder.

[encapturer]

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Estelle replied, shocked that she herself could forget such simple etiquette. "I'm Estelle Rays," she continued, now blushing in embarrassment. There were no hidden thoughts here; she holds herself up to the same standards she sets everyone else, which does often cause her to get frustrated. She then turned to the other boy who was studying Japanese earlier. "And - And you are?" she asked, trying to regain her composure. She wasn't doing a good job at it; she was still fidgeting in place and could barely look into his eyes.

[Saiba Aisu]

Cerce smiled in a soothing manner at Estelle's apparent nervousness and ran a hand through his dark brown hair easily. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, "I'm Cerce Ontarre, it's good to meet you." The green-eyed young man looked up at Alistair's imposing physique and then back at Estelle; a conspiratorial expression appeared on his features. "I'm sorry that I don't have a catchy slogan like '[i]Gentle Giant[/i]' or '[i]Tallest Student of the Academy[/i]' to go with my name, though."

At that moment, Cerce became aware of another individual standing nearby to their left, dressed severely in a suit, formal dress shirt, and tie, despite the pleasantness of the mild early-fall weather. The young man seemed frozen in place, his intense black gaze trained upon the group, his features emotionless and failing to betray any of his thoughts or reasons for doing so.

Cerce turned slightly in his seat and tossed his head as he addressed the newcomer, "Can I help you with something?" he asked, giving him an intense up-down look. "Are you waiting for that kid from this morning too? Weren't you standing somewhere nearby when he made that weird request?"

[---------------]

(OoC: Well, plotwise pointless posts build character. Literally. Literally literally. (cwutididthar?) )

Hooray. Survived another round of PE. Fortunately Physics and Music Theory balanced out all the struggling. Ceodore hastily put his Theory books back into his bag as he walked back to Student Commons, almost falling over in the process. Need coffee. No! Must resi- oh forget it. Ceodore walked over to the machine and pulled out a- dammit, no money. Well, at least the lack of dollars forces him to resist. Well, guess it was time to return to the dorm. His physics teacher gave him some homewo-

[I]"-at your service."[/I]

At my service? Get me a coffee. No! Must resist! Ceodore turned to see the source of the voice. Across the open area was a slightly louder than normal introducing himself to a group. And he was tall. Very tall. Goddamn he's tall. Steroids? Gigantism? Cookie that says 'Eat me'? Whatever the case, isn't a little late in the school year to make acquaintances? He could hear the rest of the group making plain, awkward conversation with each other. One nerd looking kid with black hair coldly ignoring the others. Dude, someone's trying to befriend you for some godforsaken reason. Take it. Then another girl, clearly shy. Light blue hair. Kinda cute.

That's when another kid approached them. Mr. Attention Grabber from before addressed him. Weird request? Meh, why not. Time for eavesdropping.

[Yang Xiao-Long]

Alistair saw Estelle's reaction after he introduced himself. He could tell she was quite flustered from his sudden introduction. Cerce said his name to Estelle, and soon afterwards Alistair noticed the same person that Cerce began talking to: a young man formally dressed in a neat suit, his black hair neatly combed, his bookbag slung over his shoulder. Alistair figured that he was the stern, formal type; quite literally, the "fancy-pants" type of guy . Alistair decided to stay out of that conversation.

Alistair felt his mouth getting dry, despite already having finished a drink. He got off the bench, told Estelle and Cerce that he'd be right back, and he went to the same vending machine he did before. He noticed that it was out of drinks. "Well that's just great," he said, slightly annoyed. "Might as well drink coffee." He walked to the coffee machine, happening to see another student already there. Alistair could tell that this student didn't have enough money. Alistair took his wallet out, took out a few bills for himself, and got himself some coffee. While waiting for it to be dispensed, he walked up to the moneyless student, gave him a few bills and smiled a gentle smile. "Here you go," he said gently. Alistair grabbed his full cup of coffee carefully, and he walked back to the bench cautiously, carefully avoiding any spills. Instead of sitting on the top of the bench, he leaned back onto it, turning his upper body in a way that would allow him to watch any discussion that Cerce was going to have with the student who was only a few meters away, just watching them. He turned to Estelle, who was now just watching Cerce. She somehow reminded Alistair of his older sister, a graduate of Kadic Academy a few years before.

"You know, Estelle," he began. "You remind me of my older sister, Anna. Albeit she doesn't have the same color hair as you, as her hair is brown while yours is light blue, but I feel that the two of you are quite similar. She is a bit shy, like you, but she's also very kind, just as I saw from you this morning when I saw you return that girl's notebook," he said with a genuine smile, the sun happening to be behind his head, although he didn't notice this. "Well, that and you're both about the same height," he added with a chuckle before he took a sip from his coffee.

[Hydra of Ages]

Devine always felt exhausted after class. Though she was a good student and could keep up with the lessons, the difference between the public and private school systems was self-evident, and it was a relief when she could finally turn off her brain for a little while. Her day finished off with French Studies, possibly her least favorite class, given that it assumed the students would be familiar with most of the general history of the country, and relied a lot on the subtitles of the language. Devine was a quick learner, but even she needed to crack open a french dictory, or google up seemingly simple concepts that were quite literally foreign to her.

But then again, she didn't complain. Many of the students here were foreign, given the school's prestigious reputation; you could always tell them from the natives from how rich they looked. While the pretty much every student there was of a high-income family, the foreigners were the children of high-wheelers and international businesspeople. They always seemed stuck up to her, though maybe that was just sour grapes, and she never got a chance to tell them so.

It wasn't until she wandered to the Student Commons to get a can of cola id she remember the odd kid from the morning telling her to stop by the benches. It was meaningless and she wouldn't have even considered doing what he said, if she didn't already see a few people there. She had but to smile; some people would do anything anyone told them to, even if it was stupid.

As she reached for the can, she noticed one of the people get up; it was the ridiculously tall one. She vaguely recalled hearing a rumor about him a while back. He had some sort of disorder- gigantism, was it? He gave some money to a kid who'd forgotten his wallet and sat down again. Devine vaguely wondered how many starving children could be fed with the amount of money the rich students threw around, but stopped herself before it went too far. If there was one line she did want to dry, it was to stop criticizing people for the crime of having more money than her.

Sipping on her cola, she walked over the benches almost without thinking about it. She really didn't have anything better to do at any rate, and there was a guy audacious enough to wear a tie to school when it wasn't required just standing around. Comedy gold, really.

"What, no suit?" she snickered largely to herself, though without bothering to be quiet. "Dressed a little casual for the occasion, you think?"

[---------------]

Ceodore watched in horror as the giant made his way towards him. Quick! Act natural! Naturally, Ceodore attempted to pull out a dollar for some coffee, but, well, you know the story. Coffeeless and moneyless, he leaned against the wall next to the coffee machine, where luck had sent the giant. Great, just pretend you're waiting for someone. That when he heard a 'Here you go,' and looked to the giant, who was now handing him money. Wait. Money? Money?! Why? Just for being coffeless?! Well, thanks, but...

Ceodore stood motionless for a moment, not knowing how to react. Nonono! I can't take his money! That's just... No! Ceodore rushed over to the giant, who was back in place talking to the cute girl. "Hey!" Ceodore yelled to him, until he reached the bench, where he lowered his voice. "Hey, I'm sorry, but... I can't accept this!" Ceodore handed him back the bills, but then took one back. "Except this one. This one I can accept." Ceodore rushed to the coffee machine, grabbed his coffee, and rushed back. So... Say thanks? Awkwardly leave? Lets try door number one. "So, thanks for the coffee," Ceodore said, taking a sip. "I'm Ceodore." He then held out his hand, waiting for either another hand or a 'jerk' for taking that one dollar after the whole 'I can't accept this' ordeal.