Vitam et Mortem IC - Altsoba School of Sorcery

Eva would go and get the professor, who was already making their way down to their little group. "Very good." He complimented, obviously surprised. "You two work well together." Eva would beam under the praise. Their success in class would help her move through the day, despite the occasional comment that she only managed to do so because she was partnered up with Nito.

She ignored the comments.

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The next day in group, the students were partnered up with someone else. This time Eva was partnered with someone who wanted to control the entire thing and their waterfall never formed properly and she ended up completely soaked, leaving her in a grumpy mood for the rest of the day.

The rest of the week? Went by very quickly. Eva spent a lot less time with Nito as extra practices were ordered for the Dueling Team, which meant she only really got to see him during lunch and a little bit in the evening--this is when she would tell him that she would be gone for the weekend ("We're going to a Duel in South Africa, but we will be back early Sunday..."), not that she needed to report to him. She... just thought he should know where she was going to be.

The underclassmen had defensive spells added to their spells classes.

The self-defense classes of both magical and physical variety were the most brutal. Every day they were partnered up with a new person, and Professor Topp pushed the entire class, hard. Every student would leave the class sweating and several would leave injured. There would be a nurse present in each class patching up the easier injuries and sending students to the infirmary with the more traumatic injuries (like Harrison who had his eyes moved to the back of his head with a particularly nasty curse). The students were encouraged to use every self-defense mechanism and offensive strategy that they had been taught. It was all in reaction to the news about the Hunters.

Eva had never been so exhausted in her life.

Sophie had never felt so bruised in her life.

Anthony had officially been declared missing.

History of Hunters was set to resume Monday.

When Friday morning came, Eva was thrilled about the plane ride because it meant she could sleep.
 
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Klaus and Cassie did manage some progress after they finally put an end to their childish behaviour and actually focused. The week was busy and super rough, Klaus got a broken knee at one of the defense classes and had to leave early. But he was honestly glad, because they were being absolute hell. He barely got time for himself and when he did, instead of seeing anybody, he'd just nap or read or something that allowed him to relax. Once the weekend started he didn't care if he missed breakfast, he wouldn't get out of bed until goddamn noon.
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Ishade wasn't actually angry or upset that the classes were becoming so rough and the teachers so exigent. It helped him keep busy or in pain and forget other, different kinds of pain. Also when he was busy time flew by, and before he could notice and after hanging out with Gregori a couple of times... it was friday. And even though he wouldn't be joining the Duelling team on their first tournament this one time, he decided to go see them off before they left.
 
The rest of Anna's specialisation classes for the week went surprisingly well, considering that on her own she wasn't much to write home about. She felt that the only thing that was holding her back from being the best that she could be was the exhaustion. Duelling Club training was practically constant. Any break she would have usually had was swallowed up by the infinite toil. She could feel herself getting better though, especially in the self defence classes. In the magical class she found herself able to disarm some of her much stronger friends. In Gym class she was admittedly pathetic. It was sheer luck that she didn't break anything.

She had a big bruise on her cheekbone on Friday morning, one which she didn't try to cover up with makeup like she might normally do with such an unsightly thing. She was pretty sure that any makeup she put on would just be sweated right off. She stood where the members of the Duelling Club had gathered, waiting for her friends to come around so she could say bye to them.


Mia's later attempts at sculpting were better. By the end of the week, she and her partner - a fellow instrumentalist from her band - managed to create a clarinet. It might have worked too, if they'd had a reed for it. She still got teased about that first attempt, though. She'd never been that good in Gym, but she definitely wasn't improving. She ended up with a full on broken arm from one nasty session. Her left arm was in a cast, and Maxine was the first to sign it in neon blue Sharpie.

There was another newspaper on the pile of sorcerer disappearances. This one was nearby. Someone from the school, though she'd never spoken to him and she didn't think she'd even seen him before. It was worrying. The piles were only getting bigger, and Mia needed someone to validate it. To tell her that she wasn't going crazy. So, when she heard that Professor Bell was back at work, she was the only person she could think to tell. She packed up the newspapers into her messenger bag, though she couldn't take all of them.

She went to his office, though unsure if he was going to be there. She knocked quickly on the door, the weight of the newspapers making her lean a little slanted.
 
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Nito didn't bother trying as hard with his other partners in the days to follow. Of course, he would do his best to pass, but most of his peers seemed to blame themselves rather than throw shade at the fellow student that was reported to be half a genius and half a sociopath. Even when he knew the occasional mishap could be no one else's fault than his own, no one would every say a word. Not to the professor anyway, and on the rarity they did get...mouthy...a glare was normally about all it took.

Half of the waterfalls ended in success. The other half ended with Nito being soaked to the bone. Either way, he didn't care. The class was over soon enough each day. Time seemed to fly by when Eva wasn't by his side.

And as the week went on, he saw less and less of her. It was...grating, to say the least. Other than the time dilation effect her presence had on his perceptions, there were other things he missed about her...Not just 'other things'. Everything. He missed everything about her.

The only positive in his mind to her not being around as much was the fact that he had privacy again, solitude to practice his craft in any manner he wanted. Which meant pushing himself far too hard on more than a few occasions during the week. But some nights he went back to his dorm early. To work on a project he'd inherited from his father after his death. A project that had been passed down to Benedictous heir, one after another, one that if he did not complete it in his lifetime, would be passed down to his firstborn.

Friday came up soon enough. He hadn't slept yet. Having stayed up all night, pouring over a ruined, half-destroyed tome until the light of morning began to peak through the blinds on his window.

Morning. Food. Coffee.

With less than eight hours of sleep under his belt for the last seventy-two hours, Nito would get dressed and start for the lake, almost staggering. But he'd find Eva first. Send her off before her trip. If he didn't pass out between here and the dining hall, that was.
 
The week leading up to Friday for Heinrich had been tough, a lot of things had changed after the murder. Anna seemed to surround herself with people after the incident. Not wanting to be alone, to be safe in a group. That was fine with him, he preferred her safe, away from any danger. Yet he didn't share her need to surround themselves with people, it was only the opposite. Fire practice didn't help his mentality, as it was difficult with another person. Heinrich's own personality overtaking the other students and the whips would continue to fail. It frustrated him to no end, He could do the assignment by himself. Why did he need to work with another to conjure something so basic? Basic fire was beneath him, he wanted to excel beyond such simple things.

He would begin doubling up on his training throughout the week, going to the meadows any chance he could. Heinrich would practice his Gift as hard as he could, bringing him to pass out a few times. It wouldn't have been a problem falling asleep in the woods, as he was used to doings so, yet the snowy weather and cold air would chill his bones awake.

He made it into his usual clearing, snow lightly dusting everything in sight. He didn't mind the snow, it was just a bit too cold for his liking. His breath would cast small ghosts as he exhaled, walking into the center of the clearing. Focusing his breathing, he would begin slowly swinging his arms out in front of himself. Drawing his hands closer to his body, he would form them into fists one on top of the other. His stance would widen slightly, bracing himself for the next part.

Staring into his hands he would begin creating a flame spike in his hands, elongating into a straight bar no bigger than a yard stick. The flames their usual green, excited to be alive and exposed to the open air the flames waved and flickered wildly. As he began focusing the licking flames would start standing at attention, pointing towards the tip. Gripping the flaming stick Heinrich imagined the object in his mind, thinking on it as clear as he could. The flames getting hotter and brighter as he focused. Sweat would start beading across his forehead, the stick continuing to get more intense. The air around him soon picking up static. his hair beginning to lift from his eyes.

The flames getting hotter and hotter, soon electricity begin sheathing the blade before replacing it all together. The electricity would soon thrash wildly, trying to escape his stiff grip. The arch wild at first, soon straightening out under his command. With each passing second the bolt would crackle and snap loudly yelling at its captor. Unphased by the cursing of the bolt, Heinrich quickly gripped harder, forcing all that he had into it. The bolt began squealing in a burst of energy, picking up heat and intensity. The electricity exploding the gasses around them, the blade in his hands would soon take shape. The saber was stiff, no longer the wild untamed arching of the electricity before. It was a beam in his hands, humming as it shone in the darkness. The green light almost neon in the night air, alive only for a brief moment before popping out of existence, knocking Heinrich onto his back a couple feet away.

He began laughing hysterically, feeling triumphant. It wasn't much yet, but he was on the right track. After a few seconds of laughing, he would pass out with a smile across his face.
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The room was dark, at first. Eyes slowly adjusting to the abyss around her, the only light source in view was a lamp on the desk next to her, dormant. Silence around her broken by the constant slow drip of a faucet. Plip - - - Plip - - - Plop - - - Plip. Her head pounding with the beat, she hadn't thought she drink too much that night. Her mind and memory were hazy.

She was at the club right?
Where was Bea?
Weren't they walking back home?
Where was Vivian?
Where was she now?
Why was she laying,
and why couldn't she move?

Her thoughts trailing at this point, Marie strained to lift her arm and wipe her hazy eyes, something was preventing them from moving. She had something over her, a black jacket still around her, Vivian's. She was still wearing it, but where was everyone else? She tried calling out but her voice wouldn't sound, only silence. Did she even move her mouth? Panic starting to set in, the slow realization that something was wrong sinking in further. Marie tried trashing against what was holding her down, her arms seemingly unresponsive. Nothing seemed to be able to move, her eyes the only exception. Swiveling in her skull, trying to make out anything. Something that might help her.

Slowly as the darkness around her lessened she started to notice the objects around her. Strange tools, books with various runes and symbols written on them were lain across the desk joining the lamp. The drips echoing in the room pounded her ears in the emptiness they broke, she tried calling out again, "Bea? Vivian? Anyone? Whats going on? Can Anyone Help me?!" is what she wanted to say, but nothing, her voice mute. She wanted to scream it, but silence came out, her mouth resisting her commands. That's when she heard it, steps coming closer. Clicking on tile floors drawing closer to the table on which she lay. She couldn't make out the figure in the darkness, or from the angle in which she lay. Her head unable to assist her gaze, she could only wait for the figure to get closer. Her heart wanting to pound out of her chest, escape from its current confines. "Ah, I see you have finally woken up," she recognized that voice, "perfect timing as we were just about to begin." Vivian's voice calm, cool, detached. Marie was confused, what was going on, why was Vivian there, Begin what? So many things didn't make sense in her mind. She tried calling to Vivian, but still no words could be formed.

The footsteps stopping within arms reach, Marie couldn't make out any details, only a shadowy figure looming above her head, just gold colored eyes glowing in the darkness. The desk lamp awoke abruptly and blasted her vision in white, washing away everything within view. "Sorry about the light, but i do need to see what i'm doing. Don't want to mess up and loose all this progress." Vivian voice just above her now, behind the light. Marie's eyes widened as everything came back into focus. "Unfortunately I won't be able hear anything you say just yet, the runes inside the jacket paralyze and silence you," Vivian talking casually, unaffected by the scene, "I have tried tweaking them so you could talk as well. Conversation is so much more enjoyable when it isn't one sided, but i guess we will have to wait till after its all finished."

Marie watched as Vivian walked around the desk grabbing some of the various things lain across. She looked methodical as she grabbed each object, carefully laying things back down. Vivian began drawing something, and placed a large jar in the center. She worked quietly and swiftly around Marie, setting things up. What was she doing? Why was she here? Why did Vivian need her? "This will be over in a short bit, just have to get it all set properly. Everything must be precise after all." Vivian continuing a conversation Marie clearly couldn't be a part of. Maybe this was just some prank, Bea clearly would be behind this. Looking around to see if she could make out anything overly obvious like a camera, but couldn't. She didn't recognize anything about this room, "You know, this week had been pretty stressful to say the least. Going out was actually pretty enjoyable, I might have to do it again sometime. And you, dear. Bea had no idea how good of a kisser you really were. Shame for her." Her tone softened, "It really was unfortunate she never saw how special you really were, how great you could truly be. But no matter, that is her loss now isn't it."

Marie's head was spinning, where was Bea? Where was she? Why couldn't she wake up from this nightmare before her? She would continue to strain against the jacket, with zero success. Vivian finishing up her preparations on the desk, filling the jar with different colored liquids and waving her wand above it. The drawing underneath the jar began to glow blue, lighting up the glass vessel making the jar glow a iridescent green. "Seems the runes are all activated properly, all that's left is you." Vivian would stare Marie dead in the eyes, her gaze piercing into her very soul. It was almost as if she wasn't even looking at Marie, but through her. Vivian soon began walking around the table once more, stopping above where her head lay. "You won't feel a thing," pausing, "Well, physically at least." She would add. Vivian would wave a wand above her face and everything would go fuzzy, she could vaguely hear Vivian mutter some words. It didn't seem recognizable to Marie, More chanting and incantations.

Vivian stared down at Marie, sticking out her index in a pointing manner. Marie couldn't see if she was holding anything, but before she knew it Vivian would touch it to her temples and begin sliding it across her forehead. After that the world would go black.

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Adrian

At breakfast the young fauna sorcerer quickly spotted Sinclair and took a seat across from him, pulling his tray close to his face as he started to eat. He was tired from the long week and the way they'd been exerting their energy in class. Ever since that first day in class, partnering up with Sinclair, Adrian had been sitting with the other fauna student at breakfast and lunch. He often skipped dinner to go try and hit on some of the grade 11 girls, but he never got very far. "Hey," he greeted after a few bites of scrambled eggs. "How's Cecil?"

Zachary

The young wind sorcerer was dragging. He was glad it was Friday, all he was missing was his human based classes. Not that he would have minded missing anything else, dueling was a grand time and he loved the tournaments. Easily the best part about high school.

His bag was slung over his shoulder as he plodded on down to the front of the school where they were supposed to meet Professor Topp. Passing through the court yard, he caught sight of Eva and Anna and gave them a wave, moving on. They were saying bye to friends and he was pretty sure Eva was slipping Anna a potion. He made a mental note to see if she had anything to help him sleep during the flight.

Eva

Eva was, in fact, offering up Anna a bit of Sleeping Drought. Something to help her get a little sleep on the plane, but actually feel rested when she woke up. On the house! "Just take a little," She warned, "Otherwise you won't be awake by the time we get to the tournament. She had been comparing their plane tickets and learned that they would be sitting next to each other on the plane and had immediately offered. There was enough in the bottle for everyone on the team, as long as she didn't get caught by Professor Topp. Sneaking it past airport security was a non-issue.

When she looked up next she saw Nito staggering toward her. Her eyes found him immediately that it took her a second to see her other friend, Ishade. She waved them both down, though her eyes were crinkled in worry. She felt bad that she hadn't been around as much this week, but Professors kept pulling her aside to say that she could take a minute, if she needed time to deal with Anthony's disappearance. She had to stay on top of her homework and then dueling practice increased every day, though Professor Topp kept insisting that she didn't have to go to the tournament. Everyone kept giving her pitying looks in the hallways. She felt guilty, but honestly the past week had been the best of her life since meeting Anthony, because he hadn't been around.

It's not that she wished an ill fate on him, just... she couldn't find it in herself to be sad. "Hey," she greeted softly. "Go... find Gregori, okay?" Because he needed someone to tell him to stop. He needed someone to tell him to take a break. He needed someone to tell him to eat. She debated snagging a passing underclassmen to go find the earth mage to ensure that someone was looking after Nito, but the elder student was bound to notice something... He lived with his cousin, after all.

Eva's smile extended to Ishade as the fauna sorcerer caught up to them. "Hey," She greeted. The worry did not lead her eyes, because her other friend was hurting, she knew. He'd been eating and finally getting back to classes, but there was something sad about his eyes. "You, make sure you eat." Both the instruction to Nito and the one now given to Ishade was given in a stern tone, taking care of her... friends. Classifying Nito as a friend was... strange, but they weren't... and he wasn't...

She sighed. Something to worry about some other day. She gave Ishade a hug and then... hesitated with Nito, because the only time she'd touched him was when she'd helped him after finding him on the lake that day, and then when he held her hand in Banff. After another second's delay she threw her arms around Nito in a tight, but far too short, embrace. "I'll see you Sunday," She whispered. When she let go she gave both boys a hard glare, "Take care of yourselves this weekend."

She figured Ishade would be walking the rest of the way with her to see the rest of them off, but she needed to do a bag check and make sure she had everything before she tried summoning half across the world.

Professor Bell

Professor Bell had sent out the message that classes would resume on Monday very early in the morning. He was surprised when there was a knock on the door, but completely unsurprised to find that it was Mia. She was his star pupil, eagerly soaking up knowledge and everything that has to do with Hunters. He'd been half expecting her, if he was being honest, once the news about what had killed Hayato had broken.

When he saw the bundle of newspapers in her hand, he sighed heavily. She would be one of the few people to notice. "Good morning, Miss Al-Hashim."
 
Max slumoed forward onto the breakfast table with a groan, his left hand in a basket of croissants as the table jumps a little bit when his head forcibly collides with the desk, earning a half hearted slap on the shoukder from Monique. He was tired. He was so, so tired. He should not have tried to keep his morning graining schedule as well as work on his fire coursework.

The sheer wmount of planning and practice needed to pull off the flame whips had left him drained, and by the time he was finally passed by his teacher that work alone made him feel like he needed a week long nap. That coupled with the fact that he has been progressing in his training at a rapid pace and his commitment to the duelling team left him little more than a husk that slept through any classes he could afford to.

He was tempted to get a focusing potion from the girls, but he also knew that growing a dependence upon them would be likely im his state. He even toyed with the idea of approaching Nito, who seemed like he could eat this workload for breakfast. Speaking of breakfast...

Max, his head still on the table, pulled a croissant towards himself and tore it open with practiced motions. Then his hands reached for the nearby maple syrup, unscrewed the cap and promptly dumped the contents on his plate. It would do horrible, horrible things to his complexion but at this point he just wanted sweet things and Monique was tired as well.

Which was probably why she was also dabbing at his lake of pure sugar.

For the next hour and a bit, he simply sunked the light bread into the maple syrup and ate, drinking if he had to until the rush hit him. When it did however, he realised that he had severely miscalculated as his arms and legs refused to stop shaking, his body continuously tapping as the (now hyperactive) illusion looked around, ready for the day.
 
Anna looked down at the potion, curiosity lighting up her exhausted, bruised face. Excitement took over that when she found out what was in it, immediately taking it from Eva. She uncorked it and took a subtle sip, making sure her back was to Professor Topp. She handed the potion back to Eva, careful that she didn't spill any or drop the bottle. Anna had tried to make a Sleeping Drought once, using just her sisters directions. She accidentally spilled it on the porch when she came out to show her sister, and in the morning a bird had drank what had spilled and died. That experience was enough to make Anna pour the mixture down the drain and put her off trying again.

She said goodbye to the people that had come to see her. Multiple girls offered her different products to cover the bruise up, but she stuck to her guns. None of them had the skill to pull of a concealment spell that would last the whole time, so all they could do was leave it. The meeting ended up with the kind of big, overdramatic group hug only teenage girls could give, and the girls left Anna on her lonesome. She turned around to look for Eva - she would be the one she stuck with for the day, she decided - and saw her talking with one of the scariest people in the year group. Of course, she'd heard the rumours about the two of them, but she had also assumed that sociopaths didn't have feelings. Also, as far as Anna was aware Eva and Anthony were still a thing. Even if he was missing.


Mia smiled politely at her professor, but it didn't meet her eyes. "Good morning, professor," she began. "If you're not busy, I have a few...concerns." Concerns was one hell of an understatement. She caught the sigh and held back a wince. "Of course, if you don't have the time or if you don't want to, then you're under no obligation to," she added.
 
Nito was surprised, and stumbled a bit, not quite ready to catch such an embrace. "O-Oh..."

He'd wrap his arms around her, squeezing back hard. Not quite sure what to say. Or how to respond. It was unknown territory for him. But he did have one thing to say to her, whispering it in her ear. "Come to the lake when you get back...I'll need to talk to you then. And I mean as soon as you get back...okay?" When she pulled away, the ice mage would reach after her, reluctant to release her, a frown set on his face. "Be careful...And come back safe..."

And then he'd turn to leave. He'd done what he had wanted to do. He needed sleep. Or coffee.

Then maybe some more practice? Or research...

...

...Sleep could wait...
 
Sinclair looked up as Adrian sat down across from him. The guy had apparently decided that sitting there was here new calling as he did it everyday. A book on joining rune systems sat in front of Sinclair as his breakfast sat nearly untouched if not for the efforts of Dot. Then, Sinclair realized what Adrian had asked.

"Her name is Ceril, not Cecil." Hearing her name be spoken, the tiny black cat poked her head from the black mop that was Sinclair's hair. "She's doing well, why do you ask?"

For a moment, as the words left his lips, Sinclair thought about what had happened that week. He had been making considerable progress with the great Dane both in and out of class. Of all the groups, him and Andria were the first to correctly summon a Great Dane. Of course, being the frightened nut that he was, Sinclair had ended up practicing on it himself every night. In fact, he could conjure up a large Husky by himself.

Though, this paled in comparison with his work on the runes. He had managed to perfect the foundation pieces in the first three quarters of the week. Wasting about fifty rune pieces, Sinclair was finally able to create them. In fact, only the previous night, he completed the tenth foundation piece. Sinclair was convinced that he could regurgitate the entire dictionary of Nordic runes from memory alone at this point.

As suddenly as they had left, Sinclair's thoughts returned to the present.
 
Hazel nodded in agreement at Sophie's words, shifting restlessly. "It's just so freaky, now that someone's been killed... Well, none of us are really safe, are we? Even Altsoba isn't safe anymore! It could be anyone nex-" She was cut off abruptly by the bell ringing, and the three of them got up and hurried to their next class. The week crawled by slowly, and Hazel could barely focus on anything. The self defense classes were brutal, and although they were sort of fun, but she was bruised and sore in places she didn't know could exist, and by the end of the school week, she was just about ready to die. She sat down on the bd, shoving some of her things aside and glancing at Sophie. "Hey, should we go down to get breakfast? I'm kinda hungry and they've probably made stuff already," Hazel said, tapping her fingers absentmindedly. Ugh, never have I been so grateful for weekends, she thought. No more self defense classes for two days? Hell yeah! Wish it'd come sooner, though...
 
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Hazel

"Ugh. I mean... I guess?" She was sore. Moving hurt. Breathing hurt. Getting up and getting dressed for breakfast and then class... it would all hurt. "I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm going to sleep all freaking day long." She stretched out on her bed and groaned at the pain. They didn't have any magic classes today, but there was still self-defense.

"Hey, do you think if I took a nap during algebra you could just... take notes for me?" She was getting up, slowly. Ever so slowly. Only because her stomach had growled, loud. Disappearing into the bathroom with a change of clothes over her arm, she changed quickly. Grabbing her cloak and backpack she looked to her roommate, "Ready?"

Adrian

"Sorry, I don't know why I keep thinking it's Cecil." he shrugged a little and smiled at the animal as it poked its head out. "Don't you feel bad keeping her cooped up in there all the time? They generally like to roam free...." Adrian shoved a mouthful of eggs in his mouth and glanced up at Sinclair.

Eva

The dark haired sorcerer was a bit surprised when Nito didn't let go right away, not that she was exactly complaining. "Okay," She agreed in a whisper. She probably would have sought him out regardless. Before she was out of earshot she called over her shoulder, "Go find your cousin." She was getting anxiety knowing that she wasn't there to... care for him. She doubted that he would listen to her words now, but she had to say something.

She reached the front entrance of the school, catching up quickly to Anna. She was already looking drowsy. Before she got close to the other kids she took a quick sip of the Sleeping Drought and then passed it on to Monique or Max, whomever was closer. They often took a bit of the potion before getting on the plane. Professor Topp gave them a quick run down about traveling and how they would be traveling with Normals and for them all to be on their best behavior. Honestly, Eva tuned out most of it.

Not long after that they were headed to the airport and soon thereafter quietly nestled into their seats. Eva leaned over to chat quietly with Anna as there were others sleeping nearby. "Feeling ready? Because I feel pretty beat up after this week."

Professor Bell

"Concerns," He nodded. "Something to do with those, I'm guessing?" He nodded to the batch of papers in her hands. He wondered if she had all the same articles he did, or there were some she had that he might not. Or vice versa. "Come on in, Miss Al-Hashim. I've always got time for my star pupil." He pulled up a chair for her, a bit of a twinkle in his eyes as he asked, "This wouldn't have something to do with Hunters, would it?"
 
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"Yeah, ready. And don't worry, I'll cover you," Hazel said, striding out the door with her friend. "Have someone sitting closer to you jab your shoulder if the teacher walks by, don't want her catching you," she added. They walked down the hallways for awhile before reaching the lunchroom, where Hazel and Sophie stood in line for food. They sat down at the edge of the table, and Hazel and began wolfing down on her plate of food. She'd skipped over dinner in favor of sleep the previous day, so she was absolutely starving. She glanced to the side and saw the boy she'd talked to earlier and waved at him.
"Hi," she said, offering him a small smile after she swallowed her food. "Julian, right? Oh yeah, what did you think of the self defense classes that they started? Kinda freaky, especially since that implies... well, you know, that we're not really all that safe."
 
Anna had her feet pulled up on the seat, and had covered herself over in a small silk blanket she'd pulled out of her bag. Her head hadn't stopped drooping since she'd taken a sip of that potion, so she'd rested herself against the wall beside her. Just as she was about to drift off, a voice shook her out of it. She was a little bit miffed, but she turned her head to look at Eva. She smiled sleepily, eyes half shut. "You tell me," she whispered, lifting a hand to point at her cheek. "Someone punched me in the face," she explained before the other sorceress asked, because most people asked.

She rubbed some sleep out of her eyes. She wanted to roll over and catch some z's, but it wasn't just manners keeping her awake. She wanted to ask about Nito, but the general idea of him was putting her off it. She was always hesitant to gossip about people like that, even amongst her best friends. It was like those kind of people had ears all over the place, and they'd just wait for the right moment to jump out and stab you if you said something bad about them. Like Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies. She decided not to say anything, even though her friends would have jumped at the sight of fresh gossip, right from a primary source.

Anthony came back into her mind. How was Eva so...okay? She was a good actor, Anna would give her that. She reached out and gently put a hand on the water sorceress's shoulder. "I'm sorry about Anthony," she whispered. "You're being really strong about it, but I just want to let you know that I'm here to talk, all the time." She said this despite being pretty sure that Eva had plenty of people to talk to. "Someone'll find him, soon."


Mia seemed to glow at being called a 'star pupil', face flushing. She stepped into Professor Bell's office, slipping her messenger bag off her shoulder and setting it by her feet. "Thank you for having me, professor," she said. She nodded. "I'm afraid so. I've noticed some worrying incidents, going back as far as the beginning of the year, at least. It could be going back even later, but I've no way to check this, not at the moment." She reached into her bag with her good arm, pulling out a roll of newspapers. It was wrapped up in red elastic bands. She tentatively dropped it on the table. "These are articles I've found on deaths that could be linked to hunters, either by a long stretch or by a short one."

She pulled out two more bundles, one in purple elastic bands and the other in yellow. "These are disappearances and these are other events that could also be linked." She looked up at her favourite professor. What was she doing? He probably already knew about this stuff, didn't he? It was probably a hobby of his, if not part of his job. "I'm sorry professor, it's just..." she looked at the bundles. "There are a lot more articles I could have brought, professor. Frankly, it seems undeniable..."
 
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Sinclair, without looking up from his impromptu studies, responded to Adrian, "She happens to be an indoor cat, so it's alright." Sinclair was busily trying to formulate his Rune Matrix. Maybe the focus in the center, with the gatherers at the four corners? The foundation runes should definitely be spread out equally around the matrix. Maybe five around the bottom, four between the gatherers, and one above the focus? Yep, that should work.

Sighing, Sinclair looked up at Adrian. "Hey, how are you with potions?"
 
Eva was probably the one person who wouldn't ask, but she knew how brutal self-defense classes had been all week. More so than normal. "If you want to hide it, I know a pretty good concealer spell. Personally I think you should keep it. Makes all the humans look at you funny and you'll look super tough when we get to the school." Eva nestled into her seat, ready to drift off when her seat partner was.

The comforting words were appreciated, but completely unnecessary. The longer Anthony stayed gone, the happier she became. No one needed to know that, though. Everyone expected her to be breaking down, missing him. "I'm sure they will," I hope not "I'm just trying to take it one day at a time."

____

Professor Bell was walking to the close in his room and when he opened it up it revealed more of a second room than a closet--there was even a desk!--and stacked everywhere were newspapers from all over the world. The walls were plastered with article, things circled in red. It looked like the room of a crazy person that they show in the movies. "... that hunters are back," the professor finished Mia's sentence. "Yeah. It would seem that they never left..."

"You should be getting to class, soon. Leave these here," he indicated the closet, "and after classes end today, come back to my office and we can discuss."

____

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. There were stares from the humans at the slightly odd group that wandered around D.C., but for the most parts the students ignored them and simply disappeared into a sorcerer building nestled between an IHOP and a bank. The Magical Transportation System of the West Coast. Magical transportation was a delicate art and traveling across large distances with a large group of people took some time and effort. It was not something that Professor Top could do on her own. The MTS houses different rooms run by a team trained sorcerers who help to transport other sorcerers to places all around the world. The students were all shuffled into their room when it was their turn and then they were surrounded by the Transportation Team and some minutes and a bout of nausea (for some) later, they were in South Africa. Just like that.

Eva couldn't wait until she was able to use magical transportation.
 
Anna smiled and nodded. "Just keep going the way you are. He'll be back soon," she said. Sleep was finally starting to get a good hold on her, and she could barely keep her eyes open. She slipped her hand away from Eva and rolled over to face the wall, curled up in a ball with her feet on the seat. She was gone a few seconds later, totally dead to the world.

The short girl would stick by Eva for the rest of the day, from the moment that they got off the plane to when they entered the MTS. She was pretty disappointed that they didn't go into that IHOP, because a stack of pancakes would have suited her quite nicely. But maybe it wouldn't have, because that nausea she got after being transported was killer. She took a few sharp breaths to try and calm it down as she shuffled out of the room. She sighed as the feeling faded, shuffling out into the South African street. She giggled. "It's so cool," she tittered to Eva, a big grin slapped across her face. It wasn't quite clear if she was talking about being in a different country, or the whole idea of magical transportation.


Mia wasn't shocked at the look of the closet. Frankly, she was a little impressed. She could see some articles she recognised from her own collection, and some that she hadn't seen. She looked at the professor, holding the three bundles of papers in her hands. "Yes, professor," she said with a nod. She walked quickly into the room, carefully setting the rolls on the desk so that they wouldn't be mixed up with any of the other papers.

"Thank you very much for having me, professor," she said as she picked up her bag, slipping it over her shoulder with her good arm. "I'll bring more articles after classes," she promised, though she wasn't sure how many she would be able to bring without using both arms. She quietly left the room with a polite goodbye, excited for the end of the day but actively dreading self defence, which she would have to get through first.
 
That afternoon when Mia returned to Professor Bell's office, he introduced a colleague of his visiting. "This is Molly Sanchez," My mentor. She was also the first name on the textbook Professor Bell used for his class. Together the three of them would spend the evening going over Every. Single. Article. Many of the events could be tossed to the side as unlikely to be hunter activity but the pile of "definitely yes" and the "possibly" piles were growing larger and larger. And the articles? They weren't just in the past few years, they dated back over fifty years.

The articles plastered to the wall were increasing in number and soon all three of them would be covered in ink and high lighter. "When they finally deigned to take a break, Professor Bell explained a little further. "Molly and I have been looking into this for a few years now. I first made the connection and got together with her. She was easier to convince than I had expected--"

"Well, I never really thought they were gone," Molly jumped in, looking up from her bag of chips.

"Right." Professor Bell continued, "But you've started recognizing another pattern. They're so organized, every attack and theft..." He shook his head.

That is how they would spend the weekend. Pouring over articles. A few times, both Molly and Professor Bell tried convince Mia that she should be doing some of her homework, but it was in vain. They saw in her the same thing they had. The need to know, to dig deeper. It was almost an addiction.

_____

Eva was nauseated but she certainly agreed with Anna. All of it was cool. The international travel completed in just minutes, the whole being in another country thing. She loved dueling tournaments, and this year she was determined to do as well as possible.

By the time their small group reached Lethabo's School for Sorcery (named after the very first headmaster), their headmaster was standing outside, a bright smile on his face. Like Altsoba, the actual school was a bit away from the town, away from the locals. "Welcome, welcome." His arms outstretched in welcome. There was another group of students approaching behind the Altsoba students. Eva turned to look and her anxiety spiked. The newcomers were from Moscow Sorcery School; they were ruthless and known for cheating, and getting it by the judges. Anything to win.

Even their Professor looked vicious. Evan found herself moving closer to Anna, Monique, and Max. "Sarah," He greeted Professor Topp. The woman offered him a tight lipped smile back, "Professor Ivanov. I didn't think you'd be able to make it this year with all that... unpleasantness over the summer."

The Russian professor's smile faltered, just a slight, "Ah, well. It all ended in nothing." Eva made a mental note to find out what thatwas about and then Headmaster Viljoen stepped forward.

"Shall we go?" He waved a hand behind him and the barrier that kept the school hidden opened enough for them to file in by twos... which had the Russian students lined up next to the Altsoba students. One of them stuck out his leg to trip Max and him and the girl behind him laughed.

Eva felt sick with dread and when the pairings were announced for round 1 and 2, she was terrified. Round one was against Emil Kotov, from the Russian school.

It was a terrible round; she won the first round of three but lost the second two and by the end of it she was pretty sure her broken rib had not completely healed. Following that she did much better, winning all but one other of the seven rounds split between Friday and Saturday. She and Max both made it into Octo-finals and Quarter-finals where they both lost.

Max won a style award, 9th place out of 10. Anna got 7th in that regard.

The ride home wasn't completely down trodden; as a school they had performed well, even if Professor Topp was disappointed they didn't have bigger trophies. Overall Eva was mostly satisfied with how things had gone. She would have preferred, of course, a first or second place trophy but it was only the first tournament of the year.

There was a bit of a euphoria felt by the team as they headed to meet up with the bus that would take them to the South African Magical Transportation building. None of them would notice the people who passing them by, the vaguely familiar faces that peppered the streets. It wasn't until they were on the bus, en route, a few humans with them, that anything happened.

Eva was chatting animatedly with Anna about how much of a cheater the Russian's were. Zach was dozing off when suddenly... He woke up with a sharp gasp and when he looked down there was a large hunting knife jutting out from his chest, right in the heart. Just like that; it had happened so quickly without warning. The man that had been 'sleeping' beside him had already released the knife and had thrown another toward Anna. A shield was thrown up in front of her erected by Professor Topp. The woman was already standing, wand directed at the hunter who now froze.

But there were others moving...
 
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“What the hell?!” Cries Max as he ducks down in his seat, pulling his wand out. He had been sitting closer towards the front, with Monique just behind him (the seat hog) and near Professor Topp as he discussed how it went when suddenly the professor was standing and people were moving.

Peering over the top, Max eyes are drawn towards the splash of red further back. He sees with horror Zach’s condition before ducking down again with a cry as a brown haired woman saw him and reached her arm back.

A knife thuds into the wall behind him as Max quickly realised that if he was going to get out of this, he would need to fight back.

Casting a protection charm, he stays between the seats as he looks through the cracks. Finding the woman once again he licks his lips, before standing up in a flash and grabbing the nearby knife.

Standing back he tosses the knife up into the air and points his wand towards the woman. The moment the knife comes within range he lets out a force spell, ripping the chairs from where they were bolted down and sending them (accompanied by the knife) careening through the air, down the aisle and towards the woman.
 
Mia's interest was becoming an obsession.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad. But it was going to become that way if it got any worse. She ate, slept, and breathed newspapers. This was more than any textbook could tell her. It both fascinated and terrified her. She spent more time in Professor Kenneth's office than she did in her own room, or in any other class. Every article on the pile was more reason for Mia to research more.

She came back to her room one night, and the smell of baked goods was practically dizzying. Maxine smiled at her, holding a plate piled high with big fat chocolate muffins. She'd been doing this for a few weeks, bringing food back from her classes. "Hey, Mia!" She chirped, immediately holding out the muffins. "Home Ec was really cool today. We made these - they should be the best we've ever done!"

Mia took one, taking a bite. Maxine hadn't been lying, they were delicious...but there was something about them. Something a little bitter. Mia didn't mention it, not wanting to cause a fight between them. Maxine had been angry with her ever since she found out that she'd been researching hunters as diligently as she had been. So, any moment of peace, Mia was glad for. "Thanks Max. It's nice," she said once she'd finished the cake.

She returned to her room, perching on her bed. She was exhausted. She'd been working really hard the whole day, but this was something more. Something...something...more...

Her head hit the pillow. Out for the count.

Hours and hours later, Maxine slipped out of her bed, not caring to be quiet. The taste of the chocolate muffins still lingered in the back of her mouth, as it would in her roommates, but for them there would be another, harsher taste. They wouldn't wake up for the end of the world, Maxine had made sure of that. Sleeping drought might have been expensive to buy, but she'd managed.

She dressed in dark clothing, slipping on the boots she'd ordered, runes drawn on the soles that muted her sound and sped her up. Maxine wasn't smart enough to figure runes out, and she'd spent serious money on them. The amount of money she'd spent on this little trip was unbelievable, but she needed to do it, full stop.

It was a new moon, so the night was dark. All of it carefully planned out by Maxine, because if anyone saw what she was doing and asked about it, she knew she'd slip up and say something she wasn't meant to. So, it was better to avoid people overall. She made her way to the lake, walking quicker with the aid of her boots. She didn't stop moving until she came to that little alcove, using her hand to find where it dipped in. She hadn't been able to master a night vision spell in time.

She pulled her wand out of her boot, whispering incantations under her breath to pull water out of the lake and into the crack. A minute later and there was the sound of the earth shifting. A hole opened a couple feet away, leading down a steep incline, though she'd still be able to walk down it. She'd just have to be careful she didn't slip.

She arrived in Banff a few minutes later. She checked the time on her watch: 01:12. She'd said in the letter ‘twenty minutes past one’, so she was on time. She walked down towards the park.


Anna came out pretty disappointed. She hadn't even made it into the octo-finals, and her dad (who was in the Duelling Club, 'back in his day') had said they were so easy to win, he could have done it with his wand tied to his side and his eyes covered. She didn't mention it out loud however, chatting along with the other members of the duelling club about the various other winning.

She was nodding along with what Eva said. Anna had been lucky enough to avoid having to fight against any of the Russians, but she'd seen the damage that they'd done. Broken noses, ribs, the whole works. Those Russians had thrown sportsmanship to the wind, and Anna dreaded to think what would have happened if there had been no rules, or no judges to call the match, or no paramedics there to fix people. She was just about to say this when she heard a sharp ringing sound, like metal on metal.

She turned her head, and saw the knife fall to the ground and slide down the bus aisle. It all went downhill from there. She saw the man who'd thrown it, but more importantly, the boy beside him. Poor Zach, who Anna had only ever known as nice, now had a knife sticking out of him. She drew her wand, but now that she had it she had no clue what to do. All around her, more people were either drawing their wands or drawing deadly weapons, sharpened to points. She brought up a shield all around her and Eva, hoping that it would give her enough time to think. But it didn't. Her mind was frantic, and she looked over her shoulder at Eva with tears in her eyes. "What do we do?" She whimpered, struggling to keep her breathing under control.
 
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