Spirits of the Earth

It used to be only on rare occasions that Classroom 818-b actually had students inside. The room, which was located in a dead end corridor near the library, was more of an abandoned coat room than it was a place of learning. Dusty old robes lay haphazardly across the unoccupied desks. Ancient staves leaned against the walls, sparking dangerously. Strange, half broken devices were strewn across the the floor, some still whirring and clicking rhythmically. The classroom was notorious for being a mess, and many a teacher had threatened to make students clean it they misbehaved.

Naturally, this meant that Classroom 818-b was the perfect place for Professor Summers to hold her prestidigitation class- or at least, it was according to the Magistarium. Getting the room clean enough that students had room to sit down had been a chore, as had been clearing enough space for the small stage at the front of the room. She had somehow managed to pull it off in time however, finishing mere minutes before her first class was to begin. Smiling to herself, the magician sat at her desk and waited for students to arrive...

There were not nearly as many students as Summers would have liked. Those who arrived didn't seem particulary enthuesiastic either- the first child to arrive barely mumbled hello before taking a seat in the back of the class and falling asleep. The small number of students who followed weren't much better, most seeming confused as to what the class was even about. Summers sighed quietly, a bemused smile on her lips. "Alright Dorothy, let's show these kids some real magic." 

After she was sure that all the students had arrived, Professor Summers stood up and clapped her hands together. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she exclaimed as she strut onto the stage. "Boys and girls! Those who believe, and those of little faith! Welcome to prestidigitation class!" The magician beamed at her audience. "Now, I should start by going over the class curriculum and expectations, but that's boring- I'd rather start by showing you what this is all about." She scanned the room. "For my first trick, I'll need a volunteer..."

 "No one is volunteering" Vesyll grumbled.

"If you want to see what happens, why won't you volunteer?" Ria' suggested, in whisper.

"Oh, come on" the gnome groaned, rolling her eyes. "I wouldn't be able to see the demonstration if I'm participating."

No one raised their hand, and the professor didn't call anyone up. Vesyll's patience ran out, as she turned back towards the vain mage. "I dare you to volunteer."

"What will I get from it?" he whispered back. He had to look after his own interests, after all - what if the demonstration crumples his robe?!

"I know a supplier who can get you Thanati silk."

Ria's hand went up before she even finished whispering.

Dorothy looked out at her audience intently, growing less hopeful by the second. Students shifted uncomfortably in their seats, silently daring eachother to raise their hands. A few whispered quietly amongst themselves, ignoring the professor entirely. The boy who'd fallen asleep in the back of the room began to snore. "Tough crowd." the magician thought with a grimace. "I suppose I'll just have to- Oh!"

Just as Dorothy was about to pick a student at random, a very fancy looking boy with elven features raised his hand. The magician clapped her hands together excitedly. "Perfect! Step right up to the stage, young man!"

As the student took to the stage, Dorothy pulled the sheet off of the table behind them, revealing a pitcher of water and six silver chalices. She gestured for the boy to pick one of the cups, and made a big show of pouring water into the one he selected. "The goal of this trick," she said as she picked up the chalice from the table and swirled it in her hand. "Is to show you all just how easy it is to manipulate water without magic." Reaching into her dress pocket, she pulled out a large umbrella and handed it to the boy. "You may need this, you're gonna get wet."

Now looking rather nervous, the boy would attempt to unfurl the umbrella- only for the rest of the class to start laughing at him as the umbrella's canopy slid off of it's frame. All eyes were on him at this point, and even the sleeping child had opened one eye so as to watch what happened next. "Damn!" the professor exclaimed as the laughter died down. "Well, so much for that! Looks like we won't be using water after all."

Before the boy could object, the magician tapped on the chalice twice with her wand and dumped it's contents on his head. "Annnd... Presto!" she said as the boy was covered in a cloud of glitter. "The water was boring anyway." The classroom broke into applause, and Dorothy gave her volunteer a thumbs up. "You may return to your seat now."

 While Ria' acknowledged that it was possible to manipulate water without magic - like pouring something into a cup, he was curious why would it be taught at Wyrdwood Academy? It was like a master smith teaching her apprentice how to embroider: while certainly a curiosity and considered worth learning by some, it wasn't what he expected.

But all such philosophical thoughts disappeared from his head when the professor mentioned getting wet. He didn't sign up for this! His robe was only to be dry-cleaned! If something happened to it, would the Academy reimburse him the cost? He opened his mouth to protest, but was shut up by an umbrella. Thank goodness - his magical shielding was not good enough to block water! Although this colour didn't agree with his complexion...

A most undignified squeak escaped his throat as the professor unceremoniously poured the water onto him. "Not my hair!" he cried, bringing his hands up in a vain attempt to shield himself. To his surprise, nothing wet happened. He brought his hands down and looked: to his surprise, they were covered in glitter.

Now, this was something he could get behind!

"Heck yeah!" he called, spinning around and trailing some glitter behind, like a pixie. "Now I shine like the star I am! Woo! Gah- what- ow! Fuck!"

Some glitter got into his eye.

"Shit."

Her initial amusement at the boy's enthusiasm turned to dread as he accidentially got glitter in his eyes. The rest of the class began to snicker, and a pit formed in her stomach. "This is a disaster!" she thought, a bead of sweat rolling down her neck. "My first class will be ruined!"

Taking a tenative step forward, Dorothy would place her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "It was an accident, I didn't mean to..."

  "Noo! Not my eyes!" he cried out, falling to his knees and covering his face, against the common sense of 'if a foreign body is irritating your eye, do not rub it in!'. "They're too pretty to be damaged by glitter! Fia said they're more enchanting than a sunriiiiiiiiseeeee!"

"I said no such thing!" an indignant voice came from the back of the class. "And calm your tits, for Kia's sake! Any apprentice can cast a spell to remove this stuff!"

"My tits shall not be calmed!" he yelled, shaking her fist in her rough direction. "What if there's permanent damage?! I don't want my eyes to turn red! They won't fit my new roooobeeee!"

Professor Summers watched the spectacle unfold, eyebrows raised. "Good god, really?" She glanced towards the rest of the class anxiously, and saw something that made her heart sink- a few student had stood up and were beginning to leave.

"No no no!" Dorothy thought, panicking. "The other teachers already think I'm a joke! I can't let the students think so too!"

"How is that boy in the back sleeping through all of this?" a smaller, more easially distracted thought asked. "Is he wearing earplugs?"

Eye twitching, she turned to the sparkling boy. She crossed her arms. "To your seat, now." the magician said crossly. "See me after class."

 Looks like all this crying managed to dislodge the glitter from his eyes - or perhaps the glitter itself realized that it was about to damage his perfect beauty, and left immediately rather than commit such a horrific act. He smoothed out the wrinkles on his robe automatically. Did all this crying make his eyes red? He was about to ask one of the classmates if they had a mirror, but the professor spoke first.

Most students his age would probably snicker and make a rude joke. But his mind was far from this immaturity! Unlike most teachers who wore boring robes, Professor Summers was dressed in quite a snazzy outfit. Clearly, she had a sense of fashion, and decided to invite him for a nice professional discussion about style and fashion. How thoughtful!

"It would be my pleasure!" he exclaimed. "Now then, do you need me for anything else, Professor, or should I come back to my seat?"

"Your seat." Professor Summers said, eyes flashing dangerously. "Now." Stifled laughter could be heard from the rest of the class, but Dorothy paid it no attention. "You've done enough already."

 Proud of his achievements, Ria' power walked back to his seat. Some of the glitter began to fall off to the floor, to his disappointment. It would be nice if it stayed - maybe he could ask the Professor to douse him again after the lesson. He would close his eyes this time, of course.

"So, about that Thanati silk-"

"Later" Vesyll shot him down. "Don't worry, I will deliver. You definitely... exceeded my expectations."

Ria' puffed up proudly and sat down.

The rest of class passed without further incident, but the boy's dramatic outbreak had soured Dorothy's mood. Rianharr Thalance, as the attendence list revealed his name to be, had effectively ruined her first class. Nobody wpuld remember Dorothy's trick- just how he had reacted to it.

As the bell rang and students slowly filed out of the room, Dorothy sat at her desk with her legs crossed. She looked at the two sudents who remained- the drama queen, and the sleeping boy. She sighed, shaking her head at Thalance. "I suppose you have an explination for your behavior in class today?"

 His behaviour? Ria blinked. Did she mean him volunteering? Well, it was true that he was no nerd and only spoke up in class to chastise a particularly unfortunate choice of clothing of a fellow student or a professor. Today's events only came about because Vesyll promised him Thanati silk - and he still had to catch up with her. But it would be rude to leave Professor Summers now, and if his experience with people taught him anything, it was that honesty was never appreciated. Better to give an answer less direct than 'my friend dared me to'.

"I am a star, Professor! It is my duty to shine in the spotlight - or, in this case, glitter in the spotlight!" he exclaimed, striking a pose. "It was my duty to volunteer and be a good example to others!"

"I mean the hissy-fit you threw!" Professor Summers snapped, her left eye twitching. Realizing she'd risen her voice, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Look. It's hard enough getting the other teachers to take me seriously, and now all that students will remember about my very first class is me getting glitter in your eye." 

The sound of muffled snores drew Dorothy's attention to the back of the room. "Incredible." she murmured. "How can one person sleep through so much?"

Shaking her head, she pointed to the sleeping boy. "Wake him up." she instructed Ria. "Then I want you two to make this room sparkle- no magic, only elbow grease."

 That wasn't a hissy fit! He had all the right in the world to react to his lovely eyes being threatened. He opened his mouth to protest, but his gaze fell on the sleeping boy. He didn't want to wake up the poor child - even if his voice was one the angels could envy. That is, if the boy even existed to begin with. It wouldn't be out of place for Wyrdwood to adorn one of its classrooms with a lifelike homunculus, or a charming illusion of a sleeping student. Just a few days ago, he was tricked by some older students into hitting on a lady who turned out to be a golem! He couldn't trust anything here!

The Professor demanded that he wakes up the poor boy and now he had a dilemma: what should he complain about first? Her cavalier attitude towards student safety (most of all, his safety)? The demand to interrupt the peaceful sleep of this poor child who probably wasted his youth studying hard night after night? Fortunately, soon a third option presented itself and he took it with relief.

"Elbow grease? Well excuse me, Professor, my elbows are not greasy!" he assured her with genuine indignation. He even rolled up his sleeve to demonstrate.

Professor Summers looked at Ria, eyes twitching. "You... you..." she sputtered angrily, fuming. After a few seconds she threw back her head. "Ugh, I don't have time for this nonsense!" With a huff, she strode towards the sleeping boy...


Arthur ran through the halls of his house, gasping for breath. His father's necktie had decided it wanted to be worn, and the pillowheaded boy was the nearest human it could victimize. Not yet willing to wear adult clothes, the boy had fled. "Gotta... get away..." the boy mumbled breathily as he ran. "I can't..  liook fancy yet..."


A sharp poke in his arm caused Arthur to stir from his rest. He looked around groggily. "Wha... wha's goin' on?" 

Professor Summers sighed, lowering her wand. "You're in detention for sleeping through my class." she said, clearly exasperated. Turning on her heel, she began to walk to her desk. "Get to work you two! I want this room spotless!"

 The poor boy, he didn't do anything to deserve detention. Then again, Ria' didn't think he was at fault either - he even volunteered, for Kia's sake! Was it one of those tall poppy scenarios? Well, at least he'll be getting some Thanati silk out of it, provided he could get ahold of Vesyll.

And now he was supposed to... clean. At least he'll be trying something new - he never had to do it in his life, that's what servants were for. What was it even about? How was he supposed to go about it? The place -looked- clean to him... well, maybe the sleeping boy would have a better idea.

He looked at the pillow-bearer. Etiquette demanded introductions, especially since they were about to work together. "I'm Ria' Thalance. I don't suppose you know anything about how to clean?"

Arthur looked around the room slowly, blinking groggily. He was supposed to clean? It seemed absurd, but at least it was better than the punishments that new hag professor doled out. Last time he fell asleep in Magistrix Fen-Breath's class he was turned into a sloth for the rest of the day!

The boy looked at his companion- the fancy looking boy from the beginning of class. "Arthur..." he mumbled. "Arthur Clearwater..." Stretching his arms with a yawn, the pillowheaded boy squinted. "Uhm... Back at home we had servants do the cleaning... Do we need, like, brooms and stuff?"

 "No, brooms are for flying. I'm pretty sure" Ria assured him. One of his friends ordered a spiffy outfit for flying on a broom - she liked skirts, but didn't like the idea of everyone below getting to see her underwear. Now that he thought about it, he frequently saw staff in his father's mansion carrying brooms. Was it how they got fresh food from the market so quickly? How clever of them!

"Oh.... right...." Arthur said, sounding unsure of himself. He had always assumed that the brooms his family's servants used were for cleaning, but now that he thought about it... "Yeah. My house has a high ceiling, the brooms must be how they dust up high!" he said. The boy's eyes suddely lit up. "Oh! A duster! We need one of those feather duster things!"

 That was an amazing idea! Feathers would go lovely with his robe! "Brilliant!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands. Of course, he hadn't the faintest idea of how to use it - his father always said that it was ungentlemanly and unbecoming of a noble to leer at serving girls, so Ria' usually didn't give them a second glance. But how hard using a feather duster could be?

Of course, finding one should be the first step. Ria' looked around, his gaze falling on the cupboards in the back of the class. He could check there!

Dorothy watched the two boys converse, growing more aggrivated by the second. She cleared her throat. "Ahem... do you not see how cluttered the floor is?"

She was right- while cleaner then it had been when she had come in today, the floor was still cluttered with old textbook, dusty robes, and broken magical devices. Dorothy crossed her arms. "You two can sweep and dust after you put this junk in the closet!"

 "Cluttered? You mean, this isn't supposed to be there?" Ria blinked. It was a very appropriate question on Wyrdwood. Moving stuff without the consent of its owner, knowledge of its purpose, or common sense could be lethal - like this time he decided to rearrange Vesyll's runic stones into a more aesthetically pleasing pattern and the resulting explosion burned off his eyebrows. Or that time he helped a friend move a chair that turned out to be bonded to the classroom because apparently removing furniture from its proper place was a problem. Or that other time... this was quite a frequent occurrence, actually.

He picked up a small rod and looked at it, questioningly. Arthur looked none the wiser, so he decided to consult the glitter monster professor. "So..." he began, turning in her direction. "Where, exactly, should this be placed?"

Dorothy's eye twitched. "I just told you, put it in the closet!" Standing up , the magician walked briskly to the door in the back of the room and opened it. "See? In-"


Upon opening the door, an avalance of clutter seemed to pour out of the closet. Dorothy barely managed to get out of the way so as not to be crushed under the mess of schoolbooks and parchment. Arthur stared wide eyed- a rare occurence, normally his eyes drooped even when he was excited.  "Whoah..." he said. "Do we need to clean that up too?"

 "Why do we have to clean it up? We weren't the ones who made this mess" Ria grumbled. He didn't really expect her to acknowledge it and let them go - if there was anything he'd learned at Wyrdwood, it would be that it's best not to touch stuff unless one is sure, some people thought orange was an acceptable colour to wear in public, and that transforming the sun into a frog is an endeavour more likely to succeed than convincing a teacher.

Well, better to finish this cleaning and get his Thanati silk! He picked something he didn't care to identify from the floor and put in the cupboard. He picked up another thing that was barely holding together. Was it always this repetitive? He was getting bored already! Perhaps next time he gets to go home, he should ask one of the staff how could they make an entire living out of something so... dull!

As Dorothy walked back to her desk, Arthur lazily began to pick up clutter from the floor and toss it into the closet. A worn invilibility cloak that merely made you transparent, a fractured crystal ball with mist leaking out, and a school journal full of demonic sigils were all thrown haphazardly into the cabinet...

"Wait..."

Yawning sleepily, Arthur crawled into the closet to retrieve journal. He began to flip through the pages, blinking slowly. "Uh... guys? I think this book might be kinda... illegal."

 Aha! A reprieve from boredom! Ria' immediately dropped what he was holding - fortunately, it didn't break or open a portal to an evil dimension. He leaned over to take a look. It didn't appear to be illegal. "So... illegal means it's been overdrawn at the library?"

That was a serious problem. No one wanted to mess with the librarian, and while most would return someone else's overdrawn book without a second thought (after copying the important passages and making a few more for friends, of course), the perspective of being lectured, should there be something wrong with the tome, was very unpleasant. Ria' shuddered at the very thought! He fixed his eyes on the sigils - was one of them looking like the library stamp?

Arthur shook his head, shuddering. "I... I think it's demon related, man..." he said nervously. "Like, look at these pentagrams! That's gotta be bad, right?"

"What's this now?" Professor Summers had walked over, gently taking the journal from Arthur's hand. Her face paled, mouth thinning. "Whoah..." she muttered quietly. "Good find, Clearwater." She absentmindedly ruffled the top of Arthur's pillow hat, cauing the normally pale boy to flush a deep red. "Looks like it's dated from only a year ago... initialed 'O.B.'..." 

Closing the journal, she handed it to Ria. "Could you two take this to the lost and found for me? That seems like the easiest way to find out who wrote it." The magician flashed a brilliant grin at the two boys. "I'll drop the detention if you do~!"

 Demons? Ria' didn't know of any demons that attended Wyrdwood. Then again, he didn't know how to tell a demon from non-demons either. Maybe the professor herself was a demon trying to blind all the students unfortunate enough to attend her classes. That would fit - she would be concerned about competition.

"Aha! I know where lost and found office is!" he grinned. He used it before, to search for his needles that some meanie stole. Probably Aahva Chatterjee, that guy looked like the type to steal someone's sewing tools and later stab someone with it. He didn't even get the needles back, but at least knew where to go.

Arthur nodded, still blushing. "Y-yeah, I can take it!" he said, looking very determined all of a sudden. "You can count on me- erm, us."

The pillow-headed boy scratched the back of his head. He'd never actually been to the lost and found before- normally if he misplaced something he'd try to mooch off of his brother to get a new one. Good thing Ria seemed to know the way!

Arthur would step out of the classroom, holding the door open for the fashionable student. "Um... you lead the way, 'kay?"

 Ria' puffed up proudly and marched through the door, his steps hitting a triumphant rhythm. "I will!" He slowed down almost immediately, remembering that Arthur had rather shorter legs. It would be impolite to force the poor guy to jog, when he just replenished his energy with a nap. Granted, he could be quite a sprinter like Vesyll who could easily keep up with most humans, but courtesy never hurt.

He peered at the staircase. "Ugh, the twins trapped the stairs again." He pointed at the barely visible faint runes on the underside of the stone railing. "We better not go there, unless you want your lovely hat to be turned into a frog or worse. Those idiots really should be more careful - whoever their little feud is with, isn't the only person using those stairs. Oh well, we have to take the long way around after all."

Arthur tagged along behind Ria, head filled with thoughts of his Professor Summers. "Oh Kia, she's so hot! I can't believe she rubbed my head like that" The boys cheeks flushed pink at the thought. "Maybe if I find out whose journal this is, she'll do it again! Or kiss me on the cheek!"

Ria's words broke Arthur out of his daydreams. He looked at the stairs, sighing. "Could be worse, I suppose..." he said quietly, eyes drooping. "I'd take those two over Aahva and Beatrix any day. Did you hear what they did to Susie?"

 "No, I didn't" he admitted, heading back into the hallway. The juicy gossip always excited him, although he usually preferred to discuss people's clothing rather than their actions - unless those actions linked back to his preferred topic somehow.

"You said they 'did something', so it probably was more than just yelling and the usual Aahva... vocabulary." Sometimes, Ria' was truly impressed by the effort that boy put in inventing insults. And sometimes he was just plain indignant! How could anyone hate on his hair after he even dyed it purple!

"Yeah, it was worse than that." Arthur said, looking rather uncomfortable all of a sudden. Aahva cpuld be mean, but sometimes his actions seemed a bit too calculated- asif his strings were being pulled by somebody else. "They stole her hackysack and she was never able to get in back. She, like, needs that thing to cope with her stress."

The image of Susie Rainfeather curled up in her bed sobbing flashed through Arthur's mind, and the boy slowed his pace. "I feel really bad for her. I wanna help, but I don't know how..."

 "Hackysack?" he blinked. That was something he hasn't heard about. Was it some kind of a bag? Like a lucky item to handle? "Well, if it's something sewable, perhaps I can help - I'm a bit of an amateur tailor. I could make something for her - or if it has to be this one specific sack, then we can sneak into Aahva's dorm and pick it up."

"You don't know what a hackeysack is?" Arthur asked, looking rather shocked. "Huh... Maybe it's just a Verdan thing." He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it's like a tiny cloth bag with beans in it. It's would be really simple to make one I think!"

The boy looked at the strange journal in Ria's hands. "We still gotta return that though...." He shook his head. "Hey, maybe we could enchant the hackysack too! I bet Susie would love one that sparkled and stuff when you kick it!"

 "Must be a Verdan thing" he agreed. Now he was growing curious - it seemed that there was quite a lot to learn. What kind of hackysacks did Verdans use? Were they like lucky charms to carry in one's pocket, or more like an accessory to add to one's looks? He was getting excited just thinking about the possibilities! He would have to pay a visit to Miss Rainfeather, perhaps Arthur could introduce them and explain the intricacies of Verdan culture.

Oh right, they still had to hand back this book. He almost forgot. It would be awkward to forget about a detention, especially if he were to deal with the professor again. And he'd rather not burn bridges with someone so well-dressed.

"Are you good with enchantment?" he asked. Making a hackysack sparkle nicely didn't sound too complicated, but it could be surprisingly hard. If there was anything he learned here, it would be that every simple-sounding thing could easily turn into an ungodly complex nightmare.

So it was just a Verdan thing! Arthur could remember just how shocked he was after coming to Wyrdwood and finding out how different his province's culture was from the rest of the Serendipity. They didn't even do butterfly kisses to greet each other here! So weird...

Arthur shook his head at Ria's question, pursing his lips slightly. "Nah." he said softly. "All I can enchant are people." His magic was something he hated talking about- for how marvolous it supposedly was, all it ever did for him was get him stuck at a school he didn't want to attend.

The hallways began to crowd with people as more classes began to end, and it was soon difficult to keep Ria in view. "Hey!" Arthur called to the boy. "Isn't there, like, a secret passageway we can take or something?"

 Enchanting people sounded interesting, and led Ria' to wonder about potential applications of it. Was it like enchanting items? Could he perhaps ask Arthur to enchant his hair so that it wouldn't get messed up? That was a brilliant idea!

But before he managed to voice his hopes, they were interrupted by a sudden onrush of fellow students. Ah yes, the biggest downside of regulated class schedule. Ria' personally preferred those professors who held their classes in a more whimsical manner, with little regard for order and organisation. It added colour to the student life, and functioned as a lovely excuse. After all, if a professor could call his students in the middle of a night for a random practical, then the same logic should apply to Ria suddenly getting a flash of inspiration and working at late/early hour, no matter how loud it was!

Students were annoying. He kept glancing around, making sure that he didn't lose Arthur - granted, the pillow hat was rather hard to glance over, but the boy was rather short. Maybe he needed a bigger pillow. "Secret passageway?" he blinked. "Well, we can- Excuse me- Please move over-" He pushed through to the window and peered down to the courtyard below. "Good, looks like the gravity enchantment hasn't expired yet."

"Seriously?" one elf commented, having overheard his comment. "Well, good to know." Without even taking a moment to test the situation, she hurled herself outside. Her fall slowed down considerably a few metres above the ground, leaving her with plenty time to shout warning. "Move aside!" she called, almost landing on a dwarf.

"That's some shortcut" he agreed. He quickly turned around to see if Arthur was still around. Getting carried away by a rabid crowd of students was the second greatest danger at Wyrdwood, after being turned into a frog.

Ria had stopped to look out the window, but the crowd seemed intent on preventing Arthur from joining him. "H-hey, let me through!" the pillowheaded boy yelped as he was jostled further and further away from the fashionista. "I need to be over- huh?"

Somebody's hand had gripped onto Arthur's shoulder, and began to lead him through the crowd. Startled, the boy looked up to see a horned girl he'd often saw hanging around his older brother. What was her name again? Patience? Arthur couldn't remember, but it was something strange like that.

Being brought out of the flood of students and stopping at the windowsill, Arthur gingerly stepped away from the creepy looking girl. Timidly he looked at Ria, an odd grimace on his face. "Um.... thank you miss..."

The tiefling beamed. "But of course!" she said sweetly. "You're Percy's brother, so it was my pleasure."

 Ria measured Arthur's new girlfriend with his well-honed fashion sense. Most of the time, making holes in a perfectly fine hat was a travesty, but the shape suited the texture of her horns and gave her some sort of a roguish charm. She passed the fashion muster, at least for now.

"A friend of yours, Arthur?" he asked. He would have offered to let her through to jump out, but people were usually wary of letting the others see what was under their robe. His golemancer friend, Arien, kept all the secret tools of the trade there.

"Umm..." Arthur looked up at the girl, who was now studying Ria with mild interest. "Y-yeah, I guess she's a friend..." The boy had never really thought about it before- is the friend of your brother a friend of yours as well? He supposed so, but it felt odd to say.

"Of course we're friends. Don't be so apprehensive." the tiefling said. She turned her head, now smiling at Ria. "Hey dude, could I see that book you're holding? It looks familiar..."

 "Oh? Sure" Ria handed her the book without a second thought. Was she the owner? That would sure be useful - then he and Arthur didn't have to go all the way to the office. Or he could do the juvenile thing and just run away, leaving her with the responsibility of delivering the book. But even if he was tempted by it - and he totally wasn't! - Arthur's legs were shorter, and unless he was hiding an athletic talent, the girl could probably catch up or even risk throwing the book at the assumed owner.

While she examined the book, he glanced back at the boy. "Shall we go visit Susie after we deliver it, or does she have a class now?"

Obedience took the journal, hastily flipping through it. Sure enough, it was one of hers- she had misplaced it a few years back. "Yikes. I was sloppy back then." she thought, grimacing. "Those pentagrams are aligned horribly!"

She smiled. "Lucky~!" she said in a sing-song voice. "This is my journal- you can just leave it with me!"

Arthur sighed in relief, then looked at Ria. "Well, that worked out!" he said, a small smile on his lips. "I think Susie has a study hall with that Professor Zinc guy right now- maybe we could help her sneak out?"

As the boy spoke, the tiefling's eyes narrowed. "Help Susie..." The image of a crying redhead popped into her mind, and Obedience's lips curved upwards. "No. That's no good at all..."

 "Excellent! Now we don't have to go all the way to the lost and found!" Ria' exclaimed, pleased. Granted, it wasn't such a great chore, but he liked to enjoy the small conveniences of life. Perhaps it was Kia's attempt to make up for the glitter googaloo.

"Oooh, I didn't attend any of Professor Zinc's classes yet" he observed. "Is he super boring?" But then again, it was study hall, so it was probably okay to get someone out of it. He was ready to go, completely oblivious to villainous mastermind plotting something right next to him.

"All of his classes are study halls!" Arthur exclaimed as he began down the hall,giving Obediencea backhanded wave as he left. "I think he has a subject, but he doesn't bother teaching it. He'll let you sleep in class if you want!" The pillowheaded boy beamed. "He's amazing!"

He paused. "Um... so we're on the first floor, and his class is on the sixth..." He hung his head in disappointment. "Man, I don't wanna climb that many stairs! What a drag..."


The tiefling watched the two boys depart, clutching her journal tightly to her chest. After a moment she began to walk away in the opposite direction, a glint of cold determination in her eyes. "You won't get far." she thought, a smirk growing on her face. "Susie will succumb to her dispair. I'll make sure of it."

 Ria's opinion of the professor swung violently from one extreme to another. "Now this is a teacher with a good approach to his subject!" he proclaimed. Every smart person knew that shoving something they loved down the throat of unconsenting minors would only make them hate it just as passionately. If only all the professors at Wyrdwood knew this kernel of wisdom...

"We should get someone to enchant you a mattress to fly on" he decided. It would fit the pillow hat well, and Arthur could use it to sit on as well - a great asset in those classrooms that didn't have enough seats for all the students. "Well, I don't know any other shortcuts... Do you have any timekeepers on you?" Miniaturised orrery, captured spirit of time, anything would to. If it was past three already, that meant Plutonius' broom practice was over and he could go bother him about stairs.

Arthur's mind wandered at the thought of a flying mattress. It sounded like an awesome idea- that way he'd be able to sleep on the go! He'd need to conjure up an autopilot enchantment though, maybe he could get Percy to do that bit?

Ria's question shook him from his brainstorming. "Um, yeah, hang on..." Rummaging through his pockets, Arthur managed to dig out a circular device, almost like a pocketwatch. Multiple small hourglasses took the place of the numbers- the twelve and the one had already depleted, and the two was almost empty. Once it was, the three would begin it's countdown.

"It's 2:56." the boy said. "Susie's class should end at 3:30. That doesn't give us much time..."

 Ria grinned proudly. "Oh, this will be enough. Plutonius is so fast, we'll be there faster than if we teleported!" Not that he could teleport - or, for that matter, would. Alain Moore tried it last week when he woke up almost late to class, but he miscalculated and ended up in the wall. They had to dissolve it with one of those stinky alchemical concoctions, and Ria would rather stay stuck than be subjected to such indignity!

"Well, we still need to go down" he commented. The crowd was still there, but perhaps if they timed it well, they wouldn't land on someone's head. Good thing Ria' was wearing his best underpants. "A flying mattress would be more useful in this situation, though."

"Plutonious?" The image of the most popular student popped into Arthur's head, and the boy's eyes lit up. Would he really help them? Almost immediately afterwards, all of Plutonious's clingy friends also popped into Arthurs head. "Ugh. This is gonna suck, isn't it?"

Peering through the window, Arthur searched for a gap in the crowd. Finally spotting his chance, the pillowheaded boy lept out of the window, landing in between two upperclassmen. Both gave him dirty looks, as if he'd interrupted something. "Sorry..." he mumbled. Looking up, he waved to Ria. "C'mon! We gotta hurry before his friends totally surround him!"

 Ria nodded. It wasn't surprising that Arthur knew who Plutonius is - his friend was quite an useful litmus test to tell apart real Wyrdwood staff and students from ill-trained spies. It was practically impossible to live here and not at least have heard about Plutonius.

He made a graceful leap down the building, legs primly held together. It was a habit from that one terrible time all his matching underpants were being laundered. Right now, he had nothing to be ashamed of, but it was  good to practice this skill in case Aahva had more stupid dye traps.

He landed, almost kicking someone in the head. Maybe they did need a special landing zone, at least until the spell wore off. He automatically smoothed off his robe, even though there was no wrinkles left. "Alright Arthur, let's go!"

Arthur nodded, walking quickly in the direction of the Wyrdwood's playing field. He heart pounded with excitement, a large grin spreading across his face. Would he really get to spend time with Plutonious? Arthur had always felt he was too insignificant for the older boy to notice, much less talk too!

Soon the field was in sight, and Arthur stopped dead in his tracks. Plutonious was there all right- and so was his circle of rich friends. They crowded around the broomstick racer, nearly shielding him from view. "Um, excuse me?" Arthur said, taking a tenative step forward. "Could I please talk to-"

A green-haired student looked over his shoulder at the pillowheaded boy. "What? Ew!" he scoffed. "Get lost, twerp. Plutonious is our friend."

Arthur looked at Ria nervously. "Um...what do we do now?"

 Ria puffed up with pride and indignity, striding to face the green-haired boy. "Move away, fool! And what in the name of all that's holy is wrong with your hair? It looks like it's been washed with puke!"

There were some muffled giggles, but most of the others reacted with excitement at the upcoming verbal smackdown. The offended party didn't just let it slide either. "You're one to talk, violet! You look like one of Aahva's victims!"

That meant war. "Do you need someone to take you to the nurse's office?" Ria asked, glancing at the other boy with concern. "Something must be wrong with your eyes - clearly, my hair is purple."

His opponent faltered for a second, but pressed on. "I can see it, dyejob! What is this purple even supposed to be?!"

"Obviously, it's to match the robe" Ria sighed, his expression conveying volumes of suffering. "What else was I supposed to do? It's bad enough that Wyrdwood forces those hopeless uniforms on us..."

"What the heck are you even talking about?!"

Arthur watched the confrontation, eyes wide. He couldn't wrap his head around it- how could a anybody, let alone two people care about clothes so much? The pillowheaded boy only ever wore what he thought looked comfortable to sleep in, although his father had made him wear dress robes a few times when politicians came over the house. Why anybody would sacrifice being comfy for looking good on a day to day basis was totally beyond him.

And then, just as it looked like the green-haired boy was about to draw his wand for some kind of hex, a voice spoke from the center of the crowd.

"What's going on guys?"

The other kids fell silents as Plutonious, the coolest person to have ever lived, stepped into the fray. All eyes that had been on the quabbling students were now on him. The boy's robe twinckled brilliantly, and a confused smile rested on his lips. "Man, you guys shouldn't be fighting! You both look good!" he said warmly, spreading his arms. "We're all friends here, right?"

This." Arthur realized. "This is why people put effort into their clothes."

 Ria shook his head in a practiced motion that expressed his frustration but did not ruin his hair. "Why do you hang out with those less fashionable than us, I cannot say."

Another of Plutonious' friends opened his mouth to retaliate, but the purple-haired adept refused to give him an opening, his brain finally reminding him what they were here for in the first place. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "But I did not come here to police fashion choices - for once."

"Thanks be to Kia for this small mercy" someone muttered.

"Arthur here and I need transport to Professor Zinc's study hall" he began explaining. "And there's no faster guy in Wyrdwood than you, whether by magic or by broom!"

Plutonius frowned a bit at Ria's comment- he wanted to be friends with everyone, even ugly people. Still, his eyes lit up at the boy's request. "You want me to fly you there! I can do that, totally!"

The green-haired boy scoffed. "Pluto, you're really going to waste your time with these plebians?" He pointed at Arthur, who shrunk back timidly. "Why, Clearwater doesn't even have good grades!"

Plutonius gave the boy an odd look. "That's fine." he said, walking over to the pillowheaded boy and placing a hand on his shoulder. "I don't have good grades either, so we should get along fine!"

Plutonius would lead Arthur away from the crowd of posh student, beckoning for Ria to follow. "I'm really sorry!" he said once they were out of earshot. "I don't know what's gotten into them! They're always nice to me..."

 Ria' bristled at the fashionless uglyster's daring. "You dare tell Pluto who not to hang out with? The gall!" The hypocrisy of the situation clearly didn't occur to him.

The other guy just stared at him and made the wise decision of not getting himself involved with the purple-haired weird any longer. As they walked away, Ria' muttered something unflattering about professors with no fashion sense having no right to judge his genius. But he couldn't stay upset for long, and so he quickly changed the subject to something more fun.

"Oh right! Pluto, isn't Arthur's hat really awesome? It truly contrasts well with his Verdan skin! And it's, what was it that Vesyll said... A safety precaution! He won't get hurt if Aahva knocks him on his head!"

Pluto looked Arthur up and down, hand on his chin. "Hmmmmm..." The boy tilted his head slightly. "That hat is nice, yeah. Very chic. The rest of the outfit is missing something though...."

Arthur crossed his arms. Did they really need to talk about this now? "Guys, come on! We need to find Susie!"

"A cape!" Plutonius blurted out. "He needs a blanket cape to match the pillow hat!

 Ria pumped his fist in the air victoriously. "Yeah! It would fit perfectly and keep him warm! I was trying to convince Arthur to get an enchanted floating mattress - this way he wouldn't have to worry about getting tired by walking, and it would suit the rest! We would have to find someone who can enchant stuff - Arthur can only enchant people and a mattress, as much as one might wish otherwise, is not a person." Maybe he should ask Vesyll if there was anything she could do about it.

Arthur appeared to be giving them a 'there is time for helping Susie and there is a time for fashion brainstorm' look. He wasn't exactly wrong, it so just happened that the best way to define 'time for a fashion brainstorm' would be 'always'. But the boy didn't look good with a pout on his face, and so, Ria was willing to wait for later.

"Oh, I still don't have a broomstick of my own" he quickly interjected. It was hard to find something that didn't look goofy. And unfortunately, he didn't have Plutonius' gift of looking cool on even the most pathetic pieces of wood. "You'd have to get us- well, maybe not us. Do you have anything flying, Arthur?"

"Umm..." Arthur shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Flight was an expensive power- enchanting an item with even the most basic of soaring charms could cost up to twenty gold suns. Most broomsticks these days were outfitted with the "improved levitation" charm, which was far more affordable. "Ah, no. Sorry..."

Plutonius grinned. "Pffft, you guys don't have to worry about that! I can carry you both with me!" The boy lifted his hand into the air, and with an odd buzzing noise Arthur was pulled towards him. "I have, uh, pulling magic!" he said, ignoring the pillowheaded boy's shock. "I don't know how it works, but it does!"

 "I know" Ria puffed up proudly with confidence that bordered on obnoxiousness. "Your magic simply takes advantage of the natural desire of every sensible person to be in your awesome presence, and brings them closer! It's wish-granting magic at its finest!"

He let Plutonius pick him up. He wasn't worried about his robes getting wrinkles or dirtied - there was a protective enchantment on the fabric, and his friend was skilled enough not to ruin the awesome clothes. "Let's go!"

Plutonius nodded, a confident smirk on his face. Mounting his broomstick, the boy outstretched both of his arms. Arthur and Ria would find themselves pulled towards him, as if his hands were magnetic. "Alright guys! I'm kicking off!"


Arriving at the sixth floor's balcony, Arthur was released from Plutonius's grasp. Almost immediately the pillowheaded boy doubled over, desperately trying to not vomit. Plutonius had insisted on taking detours to show of his tricks, and being dragged along for that many loops and corkscrews had taken it's toll on Arthur's stomach. "Th-hrk-thanks Pluto..." he said quietly, choking back vomit. "I appreciate it..."

Plutonius beamed. "No problem guys! You need anything else before I leave for my next class?"

 "Woo-hoo!"

Ria spent the entire aerial journey cheering loudly until all breath in his lungs was spent. His behaviour probably only ended up encouraging Plutonius to show off even more. That lengthened their journey, but probably the only one concerned was Arthur - after all, they had plenty of time!

As they reached the balcony, Ria waved at Plutonius to release him and landed gracefully on the ground. "Thanks, Pluto! You're the best!" he grinned. He sneaked one hand into a well-concealed pocket of his robe to pull out a small comb and immediately began fixing his hair. Perhaps he should get a protective enchantment for it as well.

He peeked over the balcony. There were already some people gathered underneath, cheering on Plutonius' display and waving at him. Some girls were shouting lines like 'Take me along too!' and while Ria didn't mind some well-deserved attention, too much noise could make Professor Zinc even crankier than he already was. "I don't mind, but it looks like some of your fans want to see more."

Looking over the balcony, Plutonius's eyes widened. The young man hopped onto his broom, standing on it as one would a surfboard. "Alright!" he said, grinning wildly. "My fans need me!"

With one final wave goodbye, Plutonius sped off to the adoring cheers of the crowd. Arthur slowly stood up, looking even more pald than he usually did. "Okay... I think I'm..." The boy covered his mouth and gagged, a pained expression on his face. "I think I'll be fine..."

The pillowheaded boy slowly began to make his way to the hall, beckoning for Ria to follow. "C'mon, we can't watch Pluto's tricks all day!"

 Plutonius really looked good on his broom - the adoring fans were in for a treat. Once again, Ria wondered what was his friend doing with his hair - it was a miracle that it never got knotted or ruined. He should totally ask him about it one day.

Arthur's voice brought him back from the reverie. Right - he could admire Pluto's skills later - it wasn't like he would suddenly lose his virtuoso gift with the broom. He broke in a jog to reach the pillowheaded boy - he doubted that he was about to be left behind, but they were still inside Wyrdwood - they could be about to be separated by a crowd of just released students! And what would he do then?

When he reached the boy, he noticed that Arthur was still looking a bit green. "Why won't you enchant your stomach to be... stronger?" he asked. "Isn't this within the limits of your people-enchanting magic?"

"Um..." Arthur's walking slowed. "N...no. That's not what it does."

Arthur's magic was a touchy subject for him- as he saw it, the ability he was born with was the cause of all his woes. Had he simply been normal, he would had never had to go to this stupid school, his father and brother wouldn't be breathing down his neck at every waking moment, and the boy would be free to do anything he wanted.

The soulshaper clenched his fists, anger rising in his chest. Why was this boy even asking about it? It wasn't fair, he did nothing to deserve this! The boy looked at Ria, yellow eyes piercing. "I can't talk about my magic." he said sharply, likely coming off as meaner than he'd intended. "I just can't okay?"

 Well, that sucked. He accepted it, but then Arthur looked offended, and Ria had no idea what went wrong. But he knew better than to act defensive - whatever happened, he knew it was related to Arthur's abilities, so he knew what subject to avoid in the future.

"Alright, alright" he promised, raising his hands up. "I won't ask about your magic any more." That sounded rough - was it some sort of a secretive power, the kind that grew weaker the more people knew about it? He's heard of it, but it would probably be best if he didn't ask. He didn't want to get his new friend in trouble, after all.

Arthur blinked, taken aback by Ria's reaction. Usually telling people that he couldn't talk about his ability would only encourage more questions, but this was totally new to the boy. His ears went red. "Sorry..." he mumbled, clearly feeling embarressed. "That was kinda mean, huh?

 "Hey, there is nothing mean about being honest and directly asserting boundaries!" Ria assured him. "I'd be just as angry if someone asked me what's my 'real' hair colour was! 'Real'! As if such a thing existed! I'm not a philosopher - and thank Kia for that! - but I know that their definition of real is vastly overrated! My hair is purple now, and that's what makes it real!"

Arthur stared at Ria, a single eyebrow raised. So it was dyed- he knew the shade was a bit too vivid to be natural. Still, he supposed it didn't matter. "Yeah." he said, offerring the boy a smile. "Thanks for understanding." Nodding to one of the rooms ahead, Arthur sighed. "There it is. Come on, let's go."


Susie sat alone at her desk, silence only broken by Professor Zinc's snoring and the sound of her quill scribbling on the parchment. She was the only student in class this period- most students didn't even bother taking the subject. Susie had heard that Zinc would let you use his class as a study hall if you asked politely however, and opted to take the elective for that reason alone. Heavens only knew how much she needed the quiet time.

The girl looked at her paper a somber look on her face. Magistrix Fen-Breath was nice, but the hag seemed intent on pushing Susie's writing skills furthur and further with each assignment. This paticular paper on parasitic jinxes had to be at least three grades abover her reading level! With a sigh, the girl would dip her quill into her ink vial and begin to write...

 Now that this awkward moment was behind them, they could continue to the classroom! Ria followed Arthur until they stood in front of the door. He could hear Professor Zinc's droning voice from inside and winced in sympathy. He owed that to this Susie girl he's never even met before to rescue her from that.

He turned to the pillowheaded boy. "What do we do? Can we sneak inside? Or do we need a distraction?" While he never minded being the centre of attention, some remaining vestiges of common sense whispered to him that making a scene and getting Susie in trouble might be a dick move.

Arthur snorted. "Nah, we don't need anything like that." he said, resting his hand on the door handle. "It's Zinc, remember?"

The boy pushed the door open, walking inside. The dimly lit classroom was empty save for two people- Susie; who was working on some kind of assignment, and Professor Zinc himself; who had his head on his desk and was snoring loudly. The pillowheaded boy smiled- he and the professor were kindred spirits.

"Susie?" Arthur said quietly as he approached the girl. "You wanna hang out with me and Ria?"

The girl flinched, he head jolting in Arthur's direction. She gripped her quill tightly, her body almost seeming to go stiff. "M-me?" she stammered. "You want to h-hang out with me?"

 Fair enough.

Ria followed after the boy. His gaze was drawn immediately to the professor, snoring away. Apparently he didn't even prepare for the class. He wouldn't look good with a pillow hat like Arthur's anyway, but the least he could do was to keep a pillow in his desk for later use.

He looked around the class. There was no other students - they probably left, unwilling to endure his snoring. Why was this Susie girl still around? Ria could come up with so many ways time was better spent. Maybe he should suggest some.

He looked over the girl, committing her appearance to memory. So that was Susan Rainfeather? Oh, this was one awful hair colour. She didn't just need a hackysack, she needed a dye job as well! Perhaps Ria should offer to share his stash with her.

He frowned at her question. Why was it even something that needed to be asked? Arthur was clear enough in declaring their intention. "Well, yes" he confirmed. "Unless you happen to be a shapeshifting or illusions student that is masquerading as Susie Rainfeather. Is that you, Doctor Ayleward? I hope not."

Susie blinked, lips trembling. What was going on? Ria was noble-born, and Arthur was the High Justicier's son! Susie was the child of a poor mining family, why did they want to hang out with her?

"Y-yeah, I'm the real S-Susie..." she stammered, beginning to hyperventilate. "W-what do you want? Is.. this isn't one of Aahva's tricks, is it?"

Arthur turned to Ria, a look of concern on his face. "Um..."

 Ria pouted with displeasure. "I am not a trick!" he declared, his voice almost loud enough to wake Professor Zinc from his more or less deserved nap. "And I am most certainly not here because of that wet burlap! As if I'd ever cooperate with a trick of someone so unfashionable! And does he ever have his robes ironed? They look like Magistrix Fen-Breath's face! I do understand that the great equilibrium of the world requires people like him to balance out icons like me and Pluto, but the least Kia could do is plop him in the middle of Hyoite or some other nowhere!"

Susie began to quake, tears welling up in her eyes. Why was he yelling? What did she do wrong? "B-b-Burlap?" she squeaked, shaking her head in dismay. "W-what are you t-talking about?"

Arthur put a hand on his hat. "Susie, it's okay! Don't cry!" he said, panic in his eyes. "We just thought-"

"Wait... Do I have students this period?"

Both Arthur and Susie looked to the front of the class in shock as Professor Zinc groggily rubbed his eyes. The man blinked a few times, yawning. "What's all this about? I didn't forget to grade your homework again, did I? You all pass."

 Ria could sympathize - sometimes, the very existence of both burlap and Aahva was enough to bring him to tears as well. He was pleased to meet someone with a keen sense of fashion, even though he wouldn't have expected it, considering her robes.

Professor Zinc woke up before anyone managed to come up with an answer. Usually, Ria wouldn't be pleased to have boring staff interfere, but extra credit was always welcome. "Great!" he grinned. "Well then, Professor, we'll be leaving you to your nap!" He would have to sign up for Zinc's class for the points to count, but he could handle it later.

He turned back to the Verdans. "Is there anything I should know?" he asked. He didn't want to be repeat of the apple incident. "Is any specific textile considered unlucky in your province? Should I avoid it?"

"Oh... very good then." the professor said sleepily, seemingly satisfied with Ria's response. His eyes closed slowly, and soon his head was resting on his desk once more.

Once the man's snoring had resumed, Arthur looked back at Susie. "We heard about what Aahva did to your hackysack. Ria knows sewing, we thought maybe we could make you a new one?"

Susie's face, while still red and a bit teary, perked up somewhat. "R-really? You mean it?" she asked, slowly standing up from her desk. "I-I don't care about the fabric, but c-can you make it red with black speckles, like my old one?"

 He nodded, his mind already distracted by the variety of fabrics he could choose for the hackysack. "Like a ladybug? Do you want polka dots or something more complicated? And what size should it be?"

Susie nodded. "Yeah, like a ladybug! And there was a salamander embroidered on one side, like on the Verdan flag!" The girl's mood seemed to be brightening by the second, and a rare smile was beginning to appear on her face. "My parents bought it for me at the solstice festival a few years back!"

"Um, we should probably leave the room for this..." Arthur said quietly, glancing at the sleeping professor. "Ria, where's the sewing equipment? Is it in a classroom, or did you bring it from home?"

 Ria was no embroiderer, but he couldn't say he never wanted to pick up the craft. It seemed to be one of the logical extensions of the craft, just like hatmaking or cobblery - but something that stank less and involved no toxic substances. A much safer, and essential job - sewing something was just the first step in the grand process into turning it into a fashion masterpiece.

He would have to ask around about the Verdan flag - he couldn't picture it off the top of his head. He was never a geography buff or someone particularly interested in province drama, and those crazy patriotic people usually stayed in Verde to begin with, so he never had to witness something as monstrous as some disaster wearing a flag on their head!

"Oh, I'm not using the local sewing machines. The pace of my fashion revolution will not be dictated by trifles such as availability and schedules!" he declared. "I had three luggages' worth of equipment brought over. They're in my dorm."

Arthur exhaled through his nose, grinning. Why didn't that suprise him? Ria certainly didn't seem like the type to spare expenses on anything fashion related, that was for sure.

Susie, on the other hand, seemed more that a little shocked. "I, um, well, okay!" she stammered as she stood up from her desk. "Um, lead the way!"

 Ria' left the classroom, waving goodbye to Professor Zinc - something that was neither necessary nor even seen, considering that the teacher was off to the land of dreams. But it was still a habit he was not willing to break. As they walked down the hallway, he chanced a look outside, just in case Pluto was still around and willing to give a lift to three people, but the skies were empty. Looked like they would have to walk like the commoners.

The dorm room looked like a complete disaster. Like most of the noble adepts, he was given a single chamber he didn't have to share with anyone else, for a low price of covert donation to Wyrdwood from his father. It was a good choice - few people would be able to stand this mess. There was not a single floorboard that wasn't covered with rubbish - notes, colourful pieces of fabric, old boxes and empty bottles... It was a minefield most people would be wise to avoid.

Ria just charged in, heedless of the mess, stepping on the items that littered the floor without even a thought. He began to rummage through a colourful pile in the corner, waving at the other students to let them know it's safe to enter. "Come in! Feel free to sit down on... whatever's there."

Susie was quiet as followed the two boys, smiling softly. People never payed this much attention to her! "Is this what it feels like to be a noble?" she wondered, eyes twinkling. "It must be! Oh, this is so awe- ew!"

Ria's room was an absolute pigsty. Scraps of fabric and thread littered the floor, as if the boy never bothered using his wastebin. Even worse was the smell- the cologne wasn't able to cover the musky smell of teenage boy, and the two mingling made Susie want to puke. "Don't we all get brooms here?" she thought, gingerly sitting on Ria's bed. "He knows they aren't just for flying, right?"

Strangely, Arthur seemed unbothered by his surroundings. He sat down on the floor, placing his hands on his knees. "Nice crib!" he said cheerfully. "I wish I could've gotten a single..."

 Ria grinned, his pride pleasantly tickled by Arthur's words even though he's done nothing to really earn the single room. "Do you want a single room?" he asked. "I imagine it would be hard to build a pillow fortress with a boring roommate ruining your fun. I used to live with a few before my father got me a single room, and they were all terrible!"

He got to his sample chest and began picking scraps of fabric from it. They were all covered in black spots varied in size, distribution and even shape, all on varying hues of red. The differences didn't just stop with the appearance - the texture was also distinct for each piece. Every time he found something that fit his imaginary criteria, he tossed it to Susie.

"Pick the one you like best!" he declared. "Oh, and don't worry about how much there is" he quickly added, anticipating her concern. "Those were just leftovers my fabric suppliers sent me as samples, not the actual state of their warehouses - or my coffers, as a matter of fact. I think I have some bolts of those just under the bed..."

"You have no idea." Arthur said, rolling his eyes. "My roommates are so loud that I can't even nap when they're around!" The boy puffed out his cheeks a little. "I guess Kana's ok though. He'll at least play Monster Mash with me..."

Susie, who'd been obsessively comparing two of the patterns, flushed bright red at the mention of the Duhjari boy. "You- you're Kana's roommate?" she asked eyes wide. "Does, um, he ever, you know..." The girl looked down, picking at her fingernails nervously. "T-talk about me?"

The pillowheaded boy stared blankly at her, blinking. "Uh..."

 "How dare they bereave you of your beauty sleep!" Ria gasped in a show of hypocrisy or just plain ignorance of how much noise his sewing machine made at night. "File a complaint! Or just curse them into silence." He really didn't know how to do either, though, so his help ended there.

He might not have the sense to know when someone doesn't want to be lectured about their clothing choices, but he noticed the awkward atmosphere between Arthur and Susie immediately. He didn't really know who this Kana person was, but the circumstances allowed Ria to infer enough - and to realize there probably wasn't a good way to answer the question.

"Well, is Arthur really the best person to ask?" he commented, plopping next to the underclassmen. "I mean, if I had a roommate who didn't let me sleep, the extent of my interactions with him would be telling him to shut up! Provided I'm not too tired to talk, that is. So if you want to know about this Kana boy, I would recommend asking someone who would actually listen to what he says."

Arthur visibly relaxed as what had been a rather uncomfortable situation was resolved. "Yeah, we don't really talk much apart from cards." he said hastily, silently thanking Ria for the save. "I sleep through the rest, really."

"Kinda want to sleep now. This is getting stressful..."

Susie blinked, then sighed. "Oh... okay." she said sadly, parsing through the fabric once more. "I just thought that... maybe he said nice things, is all..."

Suddenly the girl's eyes lit up. "Oh my god! You actually have it!" she squealed excitedly. She held up a scrap of cloth triumphantly. "This it the exact same pattern!"

 Ria grinned proudly, feeling vindicated. Not only he managed to defuse a tense situation, but also had among his endless supply of samples just the perfect piece of fabric! That was a big win! He leaned over to take a good look. "Oh, I remember this one! The warehouse manager told me it was imported from Atlas Verde - that would explain why it looked familiar. Maybe it's popular over there."

Susie nodded vigorously, heart pounding with excitement. "Yeah! It's flag colors, so we use it for a lot of decorations and stuff!" The girl rocked her feet back and forth. "At my house we even have curtains and tablecloths, like, for special occasions!"

"At my house..." Feeling just a little homesick now, the girl turned to Arthur. "You're, um, from a noble family right? Do you..."

Susie trailed off as she realised the boy had fallen asleep. She looked at Ria in a panic. "But- but he's not even lying down!" she hissed, eyes wide. "W-was I being boring? I'm sorry!"

 "Flag colours? Of the province? That's quite patriotic of you!" Ria commented. Or perhaps it was the tailor who made it that was responsible for this choice. He could only hope that all of their clients had the complexion and style that went well with such colours.

Arthur was sleeping! Ria could sympathize - being caught in a sticky social situation could make a person want to escape, and it would be very hard for anyone to follow him inside the dream. But it looked like Susie didn't share the positive impression - she appeared to be quite worried about having been boring. He had to intervene!

"No, if it was being boring, then I would fall asleep too" he quickly pointed out. "I could hear you just as well as Arthur, and I'm not sleepy at all! Maybe he had a busy night and now it's catching up to him."

  He pressed on quickly, before Susie managed to poke holes in his hasty explanation. "Say, what size hackysack would be perfect? I'm not Verdan, so I'm not as familiar with it."

"Um... yeah, right..." Susie mumbled, not entirely convinced. "That makes sense, I guess..."

"They don't really want to spend time with you, Susie." a voice in her head chided. "You're such a loser, why would anybody bother? It'd be better if you just disappeared."

Susie swallowed, shaking her head. "Um, it's like, the size of an apple?" she said quickly, eyes wide. "It's- if you, um, don't have enough of the fabric, it's okay. I... don't need a new one..."

 "Oh, not at all!" Ria exclaimed. "I just can't let the opportunity pass me by! I have never heard of this Verdan custom, so this is a great chance for me! Most of my tailoring forays have been into the realm of clothing, but I shouldn't let it distract me from new and exciting prospects! If you don't need it or don't like what I'll make, you can always give it to a friend."

Speaking of friends... He should probably speak quieter in order not to wake Arthur up. He tried to remember what the pillow boy said. So he would be providing a cloth outer shell to later be filled with... oh right. "He said it's to be filled with beans - is it some kind of special Verdan beans too, or would any do?"

Susie blinked, face awash in uncertaintity. "Am I overthinking?" she thought nervously. The girl scratched at her wrist. "Ah, they can be, like, regular beans." she said. "I don't think we grow many beans back home..."

The girl suddenly gasped, as if only just registering what the boy had said. "Wait... you mean you've never played hackysack? Like, ever?"

 "Well, I'm not Verdan" Ria explained. "The way Arthur described it, it was something unique to your province. What kind of games can be played with it? Since no one mentioned any sort of elastic fabric or beans, I assume it doesn't bounce the way most of balls do..."

Susie blinked. She'd never realized hackysack wasn't played throughout Serendipity! It seemed so much more mundane than something like Spirit Stones or Rangers!

"U-um... no, no bouncing." she said. "The goal is to keep the ball in the the air as long as you can." The redhead held up her arms, as if to demonstrate her next point. "But you can't use your hands, that ends the game. You gotta use, like, your elbows and knees and stuff to wack the hackysack back into the air." A small, proud smile began to show on Susies face. "My record is four minutes y'know. My dad told me that's really good!"

 "That sounds impressive!" Ria admitted. He didn't know anything about hackysack or playing it, but he could take a Verdan word for it. "I wonder, do people with extra limbs or shapeshifters are allowed to play it normally, or is it cheating? Since they have, well, more elbows to keep it in the air."

Susie furrowed her brow. "Um... I'm not sure! I mean, Kana and Liam share a body, so having an extra head could definately require some kind of handicap..."

"Oh Myyla, what if I could get Kana to play hackysack with me?" the girl thought, cheeks flushing pink. "Maybe if I did, he'd finally notice me!"

"Um..." Susie stammered. "Maybe we'd need to blindfold one of them? Or something?"

 "Makes sense. I wonder what would happen if they both wanted to play. Maybe they should get a remotely piloted golem body for that" he suggested. There were probably artificers in Wyrdwood who could get it done.

Still, he was never the kind to spend time thinking of game rules where there were more interesting things to waste brain energy on. "Where do Verdans usually get their own hackysacks from when there is no gorgeous and fashionable wizard to help out?"

Susie's face scrunched in confusion. "Um... a remote piloted golem body?" she repeated, blinking. "I... I don't think... what?" The girl shook her head. "Uh, we, ah, can just buy them at any general store or toy shop, really."

"What does that even mean?" Susie thought, scratching her chin. "Are we cutting off one of their heads and putting it on a golem? Is that even possible?"

 That could be a thought. While Ria would never want to get rid of his gorgeous body, he could imagine most people wouldn't say no to a golem that does not need sleep or food. And there probably were mages capable of detaching someone's head without further harm.

"That could work" he admitted. "Although that wasn't what I was thinking about. I've heard a golemancer brag about how she can build a creature she can control with her mind. Isn't that how a body works? I think, and my arm moves."

"Um..." Susie said, now thoroughly confused. "I... I guess? I'm not sure-"

"No, man."

Arthur had woken up, and was now rubbing his eyes groggily. "To control a golem like your on body, you need to put your own soul in it. That process is, like, not reversable most of the time. Easier to just program a normal golem, really."

Susie blinked in shock. "I-isn't soul tampering i-illegal? Should we be talking about this? What if somebody hears and we get in trouble?"

 "Oh! Were we too loud? Sorry" He was always a boy who had his priorities straight - even if he was accused of soul tampering, nobles were allowed to wear whatever they want to their execution. But if Arthur decided not to hang out with him any more because of this rude awakening, who would Ria make the blanket cape for? No way would he be able to convince Vesyll to wear it.

Susie looked more concerned about the soul part - no wonder, he was yet to meet a girl who would want to wear the kind of prison attire those lower born had to contend with. "Then we can stop talking about it" he offered. "No worries."

Susie shot Ria a thankful look, but Arthur wore a disappointed expression. "Aw..." he said dejectedly. "Nobody ever wants to talk about soul stuff with me..."

The redhead stared at him, eyes wide. "Yeah. Because it's illegal."

"Yeah but, but that doesn't mean it's theoretical applications can't be talked about!" Arthur said, clearly beginning to get defensive. "Maybe it shouldn't be illegal!"

Susie began to rock back and forth, lips trembling. "Arthur, stooooop! We could get in trouble!"

 "What is exactly forbidden? The soul shaping or talking about it?" Ria asked. A clarification was necessary, although it would be really stupid if talking about it was illegal as well. This way even Susie would be a criminal for telling them to stop. It sounded unlikely. He quickly realized that just discussing the problem further would make her panic even more, and he did not want to be the kind of a person who made his underclassmen cry.

"If you want, we can discuss souls later" he offered to Arthur. Ria liked to both have his cake and eat it too, and in this case, it would be achieved by simply not involving Susie in such a discussion. "Maybe when you come back for the blanket cape fitting."

"C-can you do that? P-please?" Susie whimpered, seemimgly on the verge of tears. "It's not worth f-fighting over..."

Arthur threw back his head, an exasperated groan escaping him. "Ugh. Fine." The pillowheaded boy looked at Ria expectantly. "How's the hackysack coming?"

 Ria shared in Arthur's frustration. There were no tattletales like Beatrix around, and he was pretty certain that just talking wouldn't get them in trouble. Even if it did, they weren't just some helpless idiots - his father could bail him out, Arthur's family were big shots in Atlas Verde, and since she got here, Susie probably had a noble patron to protect her as well. But he kept quiet - if he upset her, she might decide that he was too unreliable, and not let him make the hackysack! How would he grow then?!

Fortunately, it wasn't a big sacrifice to make. He grinned with pride, showing the chosen scrap to Arthur. "We've picked the fabric I'll be making the hackysack from! As you might notice, it isn't enough, but I will place some new orders soon. What do you think?"

Arthur smiled, nodding sleepily. "Yeah, that looks-" The boy yawned abruptly, cutting himself off. "-looks good. My brother had one like that I think..."

"Oh no!"

Susie stood up, a panicked look on her face. "I completely forgot! I need to be at Magistrix Fen-Breath's classroom in like, seven minutes!" The girl looked at the two boys with an apologetic grimace. "I-I need to go now! I'm sorry!"

 Oh no indeed! Especially since Plutonius wasn't anywhere around to give her a lift. That was a problem - the magistrix, unlike Professor Zinc, actually wanted students to attend her classes. Ria never would have guessed that this thought could come to one's mind without a trace of irony, but in the end he agreed that there were things some teachers could learn from the Master of Disenchantment.

"Do you know how to get to the classroom?" he asked. It sounded stupid without context, but he was not questioning her ability to remember where the class was held. Upperclassmen dorms were in a different building than underclassmen, so unless she had some interesting escapades no one was privy to, she would have to find her way out.

Susie held her head in her hands, muttering under her breath. "What if I'm really late? What if Magistrix Fen-Breath decides to make an example out of me and turns me into something horrible? Will I be able to turn back if she does? What if I get there and class is already over and I fall behind? Could I flunk out of class because of this? What if-"

The girl shook her head violently. "Ahh!! I don't have time!" She bolted out the door, eyes wide. "Sorry!" she called back as she left. "T-thank you for helping me!"

"What if they're mad at me for leaving so soon? Oh Myyla, I'm such a mess-up!"


Arthur stat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. "Man..." he mumbled. "She's almost as fast as Plutonius, huh?"

 Ria' chuckled, clearly amused by Arthur's words. He wondered what would Pluto say to that. "Man, am I glad not to have classes with Magistrix Fen-Breath" he admitted. She looked scary - what if she turned him into a toad?! He wouldn't fit into his robes! And it would do such horrors to his complexion!

He put the scrap of fabric chosen by Susie atop his very cluttered desk so that he wouldn't forget about it. As he placed it carefully on one free square of space, something poked his wrist. Oh no. Not this shit again.

'This shit' was a small time spirit bound in a hourglass the previous occupant of the room left. It didn't take a long time to guess why - it was incredibly obnoxious. Ria has made the mistake of telling it his schedule, hoping to take advantage of its affinity to time, and now the blasted thing kept bothering him. It was clearly displeased with its imprisonment so it took its frustration out on him by droning endless reminders about his next class - it was fifteen minutes and thirty four seconds until his lesson, it was fifteen minutes and twenty nine second until his lesson... He ended up bribing a dwarf classmate to get a silencing spell from her, which partially solved the problem. Now that the spirit was silenced, it could only grab at whatever was in range - in this case, his wrist.

"One day, I will just throw you out of the window and get some peace of mind" he grumbled. Perhaps he should do it right now, but as he reached for the source of his frustrations, a ray of sunlight fell on his hand. If the sun was shining through the window, it meant that the time was- Oh no!

He promised Vesyll they'd meet for lunch! While the gnome was not the kind of a person to hold being late or even not showing up against him, she also wouldn't keep a seat for him forever. He would have to hurry if he wanted to make it! "I made plans with a friend for lunch" he began to explain the situation to Arthur. "I have to go soon. Do you want to come by later to discuss the blanket cape? You could pick what you want it to be made from, the colour and all the fun things!"

"Ok! That sounds- *yawn*- sounds great!"

Arthur sleepily pushed himself up. He stretched his arms, yawning as he did so. "Yeah, I gotta go to. Promised my brother that I'd help him him with one of his, uh, school projects." The boy meandered out of the room, waving goodbye. "Nice meeting you! Let's talk at dinner!"


"Oh Myyla, I'm going to be so late!"

Susie barreled down the halls, moving as fast as her legs could take her. The speed at which the girl could move often came as a suprise to others, and a few of her friends back home called her "Featherlegs" because of it. Turning a corner, she barged into Magistrix Fen-Breath's classroom. "S-sorry I'm late!"

The hag craned her neck to look at her, smiling. "Just in time! Go on, take a seat." Susie sat down, and the magistrix lifted a sheet from her desk to reveal a kettle and a small dog. "Today we'll be continuing our transmogrification lessons..."