Astronomika - Shooting Down Falling Stars (IC)

[Verg Avesta]

Alexstrasza Lockhart & Prushka
Location: Pinefall High - Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"You're Subaru, are you not? I remember you from orientation. You seem... different, though? Have you done something with your hair?"

The girl who was Subaru Iburi blinked in surprise, before flushing a bit red on her cheeks. At the same time, her eyes were drawn to her lap were the tiny dog was happily munching on its prey of the morning. While twiddling her fingers - and being too embarrassed to even look at the older blonde girl - Subaru tried her best to contain her stammering as she forced out a reply.

"O-oh, please, do not... do not make fun of my hair. I tried my b-best to tame it this very morning, since I wanted to make the best of impression to my new classmates... but alas, as you can see, it simply refuses to listen to my orders, no matter how much mousse I use!" Subaru replied, sounding quieter and quieter with each word that fell from her lips. "It simply... seems to stick up like this, and I have no control over it..."

To punctuate her little tale, Subaru let out a tiny sigh and closed her eyes in regret.

Some people had strange problems, huh...?

"I-in any event, yes, I am Subaru Iburi," the girl said, bowing a little in Alexstrasza's direction. "And you are---"

"...morning."

It was at that moment that another person joined their table. Another girl of short stature, and one with a rather grim expression on her face. Just one look at that face made the dog on Subaru's lap stop eating, and instead let out a worried whine, accompanied by a tilt of the head in the tiny girl's direction. Subaru, on the other hand, blinked at the new arrival... and at the same time, her eyes were drawn to the clear slap-mark and a bruise on Prushka's cheek.

A worried expression rose to Subaru's face almost immediately.

"...you had a rough night too, huh?"

"U-umm...!" Subaru suddenly interjected, focusing her attention on Prushka. "I-if I may be so forward... but I cannot help to notice that you seem to have hurt yourself. N-now, this might be needless worry, but, erm..."

Leaning down a bit, she picked up her backpack from the ground and opened the zipper slightly.

"If you are in need of something to alleviate the pain and the sting, I have this salve with me..."

She left the words hanging in the air, clearly worried if she had stuck her nose somewhere where it didn't belong.

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Your Room
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

“Yeah…” He stared down at the locket. “There is no answer… that’s right. Sometimes, people die, and there really is no reason for it. My whole life is the product of that truth, isn’t it? And here I am, getting ready to make a business perpetuating that.”

Colt pressed his hands into his eyes, twisting them and rubbing away the wetness. With his eyes shut he became all the more aware of the sounds of normal life, or at least the normal that he had established this week, proceeding in the hallway. A normal that felt like something he didn’t belong to.

Letting his hands fall idly to his side, Colt leaned back. Resting his head against the cold, hard wall of his shower, he kept his eyes shut tight and relived it all again. A shudder went down his spine, but he kept himself still.

Where did insanity bleed into reality? Or should he be asking the opposite. What use was there to think about it? Here he was, back to the wall, breathing, living.

And what were those loud noises outside, trying to drag him away from his lament?

He opened his eyes and glanced around in annoyance.

“You think I’m gonna sit in here and cry like a baby?” From the floor he rose and walked into his shower, pajamas still on, and turned the water on, setting it to as cold as it could go. The frigid shower mixed with what was left of his tears, washing them away as he stared into the showerhead. “I don’t see any crying.”

Fingers clenched into fists, he kept staring without blinking.

“None at all.”

[---]

Colt stared at the back of his door. There hung the jewel of every morning and night, a Playboy swimsuit calendar. It wasn’t unusual for him to stare at it before heading out. It was almost ritualistic. Wake up like a corpse reviving from the dead, crawl into the shower, get dressed, check out his girlfriend of the designated month and circle the current day. In that sense, he had followed the morning routine flawlessly today, perhaps a little too literally in fact.

But the details were all a bit off.

He really had been a corpse, and this time he wasn’t staring at nearly naked women in provocative swimsuits. For once, he really was looking at the date.

September 7, 1994.

That was the current, unmarked day. So said his calendar, which with great diligence he doted on every day.

“… I really have lost it all, haven’t I?” After contemplating the reality in front of him for long enough, he pulled out his red marker and gave the day a big fat X, rather than the usual O. “I can’t take this anymore. I need something to eat. Something to drink.”

With a gulp, Colt opened the door. Beyond this barrier lay a world he feared having seen before. A world where he might run into her, come face to face with his killer.

He wanted to stay in, lock his door and ignore it all. Run away from it and never have to think about any of it again. Maybe he would, after breakfast. Just grab his keys and hit the road. Disappear from Road’s End…

But before any of that, his stomach grumbled.

Something a bit more personal than the cafeteria… something he might not recognize, because seeing the same scene as last time play out might make him vomit. So the kitchen.

[---]

Unaware of just how ghastly the look in his eyes truly was, Colt stared without any subtlety at the mess that the kitchen had become. Having arrived just in time to witness a familiar face, Lucille, being offered an unholy, godforsaken mess pretending to be a sandwich, the boy stopped in the doorway.

“You gotta be kidding me…”

[Frantic Author]

--- Alexstrasza Lockhart Date: 07.09.1994. Location: Road's End Phase: Morning Phase Weather: Partly Cloudy ---

How kind. It's almost droll, how kind this girl is to others. It's almost unrealistic, how kind this girl claims to be to other people. Of course, I am not naive enough to fall for such ludicrous feints of affection; her devious stammering will not unlock the key to my heart.

And yet, I empathize; to play such a role is most unbecoming of a girl such as Subaru Ibari, who I can only suspect is akin to a Child of God. As someone with such access to the heavens, is it not unnatural that she has both feet firmly planted on the ground? And yet, I cannot help but notice it --

This girl is not the Subaru Ibari I met last week. This is an entirely different person. An entirely separate existence; unique and yet wholly her own, as of yet untarnished by my lies, by my tapestry of fakeness that rests so gently on my shoulder.

I smile, spinning the food around on the plate, not taking a bite.

"Ah, I mean nothing by it, Subaru," I said in reply, tapping my fork to the side of the plate. "I was simply making an observation. I am Alexstrasza."

I turned from her, to the smaller girl, and stare at her for a moment, unblinking. I look at her and try to see this person, this existence who claims that I have had a rough night in any manner. What a ridiculous observation.

"Ah, no thank you. I am perfectly happy with my meal," I replied to the girl, tapping my uneaten food. "It is merely a reaction to a... night terror, I suppose. Death dreams are always a bit... terrifying, wouldn't you say? After all, it is not every morning one wakes up after being run through by knives."

My smile died.

Knives.

Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?

Who among us carries the Der Nagel? Who in this school craves my head removed from my neck? Who here could it be? What were my tells? Although I would never call myself proficient at this pretense, as I most certainly did not grow up 'pretending' that the arcane forces around us don't exist, but who knows?

I cannot ask.

As She told me, I am but a child, am I not? I was too arrogant by half, too drunk on my own beliefs to notice my surroundings. Is that a way to live?

Is that a way to change?

And yet, friends are a weakness I simply cannot abide. I cannot trust. I cannot give my heart out and expect nothing in return. To do so is to forfeit part of myself for nothing, to give up in exchange for meaningless accolades. I cannot. I will not.

Ah.

I blinked, releasing my fork from my hand, letting it fall to my plate in a clatter. I had nearly drawn blood from my hand. I stare at it for a moment, examining my near flawless skin before I placed my hand under the table, peering at the small girl across from me a bit longer.

"But, there is no need to fret. If one happens to dream of a blade cleaving them asunder, of a man ripping them in half - of an executioner, coming to call in the dead of night. For when we open our eyes once more, in the light of the sun all the nightmares and demons in the dark are banished to the other side of reality, unable to interact with us for a time. If I happen to see it again, then that is what must happen."

I smiled.

"Of course, if I do see it again, I might have a more... violent response to such a sight."

There's no mistaking it. Before I was lax in my duties. I was arrogant. I thought I could do many things at once, instead of doing one thing well.

I only have objectives, such as it was when I was a child. Of course, they have advanced as my age has marched ever forward. Before it was so simple, wasn't it? Raise your status. Claw your way forward. From one end of the table to another, reach for something higher. Something better. Achieve it. Move onwards. Nothing is impermissable.

Kill.

I'll kill them.

Gaap.

The executioner.

I'll rip their souls from their bodies so thoroughly that their mana will be entwined with mine. I'll carve their very essence out of reality and absorb it. Remove them from history, if need be. Violence is not an answer, but it does prompt a question -

- How does one respond to their own murder?

The answer, of course, is natural.

By murdering their killer.

[Katie]

Lucille Faraday
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Kitchen
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

For once, Lucille is perfectly okay with being offered one of Sakura’s monstrosities, even if she doesn’t particularly want it. In fact, seeing Sakura so clearly alive and well is all that matters. A part of her had lingered on it being premonition—but if it were premonition, Sakura would still be dead, as her death happened overnight. So, with that inconsistency out of the way, Lucille can only tuck the idea back into her mind as just a nightmare.

Lucille walks up to Sakura and pulls her into a tight hug. The action suddenly makes Lucille recognize the sheer difference in height between the two, but despite how uncomfortable it might be she decides letting go isn’t worth it.

“I had the worst dream… It was about Michael and not really… We woke up and it turned out Cesarina was dead and then we found Colt dead and everyone just kept disappearing and Elise told me Elaine probably killed you and you were gone and then I died with Vier and please tell me where you’re going because if everything goes terribly like that I want to know if you’re okay…”

Her words are rambling and mixed with sobs. The feelings pour out of her like a torrent, and in that haze of emotion Lucille fails to recognize that people are coming into the kitchen, for better or worse.

Probably for the worst.

[Ayakashi]

... who are you...?



<<< Oh, but I am you. The you of today, the you of yesterday, and the you of tomorrow. >>>

<<< It was empty at the end of the road, wasn't it? You claim to walk a path, you claim that you will go on and follow the trail no matter what... but what was there, at the end of that path? >>>

...

<<< Did you find happiness? Satisfaction Fulfillment? Of course you didn't. It is a meaningless journey after all. it is Void. It is Hollow. >>>

I don't care.

<<< Don't, or cannot? >>>

...

<<< You could not care in the face in the face of the little one's death, you could not care in the face of Alex Terrot's demise, obvious or not. You wanted, but you could not. All that you achieved from this paradoxical desire, from this longing of a long gone, long lost memory... is simply more suffering, more of this asphyxiating vacuum that has suffocated you for the past years. A cesspool of misery for you to drown in. >>>

Drown...?

<<< Drown in... yes... >>>

Drown...!?

<<< DROWN IN IT! >>>

A memory.

"... So drown in your dreams and die."

A very fresh memory. So fresh that one can feel all of the pain from it as my body crumbles to pieces. There is no blood left, no breath. My time is at an end... yet...

<<< Right... where were we already? Some sort of dreadful situation, wasn't it? >>>

Not we, me. I don't need you.

<<< Oh, but you will. You always will. Where did all of that week bring you after all, if not... back to me. >>>

I... what is... where...

<<< Fret not girl. It was all but a bad dream. Or so it would seem. You are about to awaken, in this all too familiar place... this twisted game has been reset. >>>

---

Vivienne Bianchi's eyes shot open. She lay in bed, having awakened from what one can only assume as a nightmare. She hadn't had one in a very long time, in fact, it was supposed to be impossible for her to have these kind of things anymore. Yet it had happened... but did it all happen as a dream, or was all of this that she had gone through reality?

The date spoke for itself. The song spoke for itself too. It was the very same as back then...

... so there was only one way to elucidate all of this : go out and investigate. A shower, a bit of of hair combing and tidying her appearance up out of habit, and off did Vivienne Bianchi go to go meet up with people that may know more about this.... or that was her plan, had she not noticed something strange as she swung the door of her room open; greeted with two strange anomalies. Vivienne Bianchi is a very attentive girl, thus... the name 'Liana Skye' replacing the one of a certain Adelaide was quite obvious. As equally out of place as that, was the person who was in front of Cesarina Feroce's room... someone that Vivienne had never seen before. Was she a member of the faculty, some student that had escaped her attentive eye?

There was only one way to find out.

She walked up to the young lady with her typical blank, empty face.

"... hello."

And did her greeting in the same bland fashion that had become her signature.

Of course, she also drew something on her trusty sketchbook, for what would be first impressions of Vivienne Bianchi without being graced with her art?

Vivi's hello!

---

Vivienne Bianchi
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Your Room
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Your Room
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

As she strolled along the corridor, she spotted a certain Colt Davin making for the same place she was.

He was also dead last she recalled.

But so was she, so who was she to judge.

Distantly, Elaine wondered if she was taking this whole time-warp thing too lightly, but crying and wailing and freaking out isn't going to solve anything, and the things that would make her freak out were probably not going to show up and get in her face.

Probably.

"Mornin' Colt, you doin' alright? Look a bit out of sorts."

She smiled a bit, "I'm feeling a bit under the weather, too, not 'zactly in the mood to go and mingle with the herd this morning just yet, but might get something social going anyway."

She ambled on a bit further, making towards the door that he was lingering in, poking her head in at the sound of crying, concern welling up.

“I had the worst dream… It was about Michael and not really… We woke up and it turned out Cesarina was dead and then we found Colt dead and everyone just kept disappearing and Elise told me Elaine probably killed you and you were gone and then I died with Vier and please tell me where you’re going because if everything goes terribly like that I want to know if you’re okay…”

Elaine blinked, slowly, at the outpouring of emotion and grief from the slightly taller girl and suddenly felt a very intense desire to leave and go somewhere else.

But, she was hungry, and the smell of food filled the smallish kitchen, so, may as well seize the day.

She took a few more delicate steps into the kitchen, clearing her throat, "I, uh, I don't think I've killed anyone, S-sakura looks alright to me..."

I stumble over my words as I lay eyes on the girl who died by my hand.

"It sounds like a really horrible dream, Lucille. I'm sorry."

It also sounded very familiar.

Elaine made an attempt to smile soothingly, "But it looks like it was just a bad dream, Sakura's here an' she looks fine and chipper as she was yesterday."

The tall, athletic blonde nodded at the shorter girl, trying to distance her from the masked killer.

Her empathy was genuine, going through a nightmare like that would be hard on anyone, even she was desperately trying to keep her mind occupied and not dwell on things.

Living a nightmare makes one more used to it, after all.

"Losing a friend is one of the hardest things."

She shuffled a bit further into the kitchen, "But it's a new day, and no one's dead, everything's fine, right?"

[Bloble]

Prushka
Location: Pinefall High - Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"..."

That Lockhart girl sure said some ridiculous things, huh? Didn't take her for much of a talker.

Then again, with someone like that, you can't ever tell what they're thinking unless they blurt it out. Maybe she's the type that doesn't understand how to talk to people.

Can't laugh at that. I'm that type too.

"You a poet? Gotta be, if your nightmares are half as flowery as you make 'em sound," I respond. "Me, I'd just call that a rough night. Ever trying being grumpy? Always helps to let loose instead of bottling it all up behind a painted-on-"

"U-umm...! I-if I may be so forward... but I cannot help to notice that you seem to have hurt yourself. N-now, this might be needless worry, but, erm..."

"Eh?"

The prelude to a half-assed lecture is interrupted.

Subaru? Wait, I didn't notice it earlier, but your hair looks a bit...

"If you are in need of something to alleviate the pain and the sting, I have this salve with me..."

My mouth curls up on its own as this goofy-looking girl starts stammering while offering help.

I forgot that too, huh? Just how much of a good person Subaru Iburi is. And how distressing it must have been for her to see someone hurt in front of her.

How irresponsible of me. I'll have to apologize. For this, and for her apology as well.

"...ow. You mean, uh, this?"

It curled up too much! Even smiling hurts right now! That's why I was frowning the whole day! And it hurts even more because I can't un-smile, just like Lockhart!

"W-well, I was planning on letting it sit like this as a reminder of how not to make friends, but if you're offering... thanks, Subaru."

I can't turn down that kindness. Dream or reality, past or future, even if nothing makes sense, it's impossible to ignore what's in front of me.

"I'll owe you one though. As thanks, and as a 'sorry' for making you look at this stupid bruise on a morning as nice as this one. So this is your last chance to take it back before I repay you by helping fix that bed head."

[Mellon]

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Pinefall High - Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

It was bizarre.

A reflection of a reflection. From a logical perspective, there were already too many deviations for things to play out as they were in Anna’s memories. Pelltier wasn’t here this time, for one. She had no idea where the unassuming girl was, but that was already enough for her to question the validity of her own memories. Davin was also here last time to pull that stunt with the coffee, but Anna hadn’t spotted hide or hair of the brown-haired doofus.

It was different… And yet… and yet... Ramia’s words were too similar, just identical enough to send the chills running down her back.

"You look like hell. Didn't get any sleep?"

“…mhm?” It took a second for the Estonian girl to collect herself before rubbing her head in slight exasperation. “Yeah, I suppose you can say that. Loads of spotty sleep mixed in with half-assed bizarre dreams. Loads of the latter”

Wry amusement crept into her voice, as she raised the coffee mug to her lips.

“Though you look like you’ve been run over by a truck yourself, so I hardly feel like you’re in a position to criticize my lack of beauty sleep, no? Seen any bad dreams yourself, lately?”

"... hello,"

“Hey, hey.” Anna gave the boy an easygoing smile and a wave. “You’re Gabi, right? I’m Anna. Nice to meet you.”

And there he was. The boy who had killed her in her “memories”. Well, in a way, at least. Yet despite that fact… Anna didn’t feel a particular feeling of anger or betrayal against his actions. In the end, much like the others during that day, he was simply yet another victim of the tragedy, much like all of them had been. Just a boy, whose mind was too brittle to handle the sadness that befell him. Well, her opinion of certain others may not be as high and she still didn't know if she could restrain herself if she ever saw that worthless excuse of a “mother figure” again, but…

But not now. She needed to get her bearings and only then could she figure out what she should do. Or what she should think of others.

"I was just about to tell Gabi and Elise here about this one time I almost ate a scorpion that had sneaked into my burger."

I was just about to tell Gabi here about this one time I almost ate a scorpion that had sneaked into my burger."

For a brief moment, the Ramia from her “new” memories and the Ramia in the present seemed to overlap in almost perfect harmony and everything, from her voice even to the smallest gestures of in the dusky-skinned girl's body language, melded together in an intense burst of déjà vu. She had heard this sentence before, said in an almost identical fashion in an identical manner, but...

This made the dissonance even more confusing. Where the hell was Pelltier? Why was she not here?

Anna closed her eyes for a second as she seemed to take another sip of her coffee before they flickered open with a wry glint evident in those crimson orbs.

“Did you now, Indiana? Let me guess… You bit into it like the utter goof you are and then ended up having to throw the burger down as fast as possible to avoid getting stung by a very angry and pissed off poisonous arachnid?"

[Airen]

Liana Skye
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - In Front of Room 114
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

---No answer.

"Ah well, guess she got up earlier than normal-!"

Smiling to herself in spite of the light sense of disappointment, the dark-haired young woman had truly meant to do as she had previously planned, simply glide on back down the hallways on her board, down the stairs -if she could manage it- and then out the front doors to the world outside, but-!

"Oh, hey~!"

It seems someone had taken an interest in her-!

Let's see... This was... Vivienne, right?

Yeah.

She was pretty sure that was the case-!

She had done her best to memorize their names yesterday after all-!

Her expression was about as blank as she remembered, but that was fine, some people don't like showing their emotions off as easily, or find trouble doing so-!

"You're... Vivienne, right?"

In either case, she'll just do her best to be as warm as possible for them both-!

Yes.

Smilingly gently not to herself, but rather to Vivi, the young woman leans forward slightly to better inspect the artwork she's being presented with, and-!

And-!

And-!

"Cute drawing~"

Comes to a somewhat startling conclusion?

Of course it's not a lie, it's the sort of drawing she was used to seeing, delightfully childish in a way she could certainly appreciate, like a kid going out of their way to give you something they had drawn when you came home-!

Stepping off her board now -it was rude to just stay on it- the dark-haired woman chuckles a bit to herself before-

"Sorry if I got your name wrong, I'll memorize everyone's by the end of today, I swear!"

-continuing on like this wasn't a strange thing to say.

"You having a good morning? Excited for school?"

Yes...

It's an almost amazing sort of cheer on display-!

[Spinach]

Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Kitchen
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Colt stared at the sight. It felt awkward, walking in on it. But it wasn’t what he saw, but what he heard. The things Lucille recalled in her babbling. Hearing someone else, in their own words, say he had died felt like a giant, frozen hand had grabbed the back of his head and was squeezing it tight.

"Mornin' Colt, you doin' alright? Look a bit out of sorts."

“No… I’m not feeling too hot right now. I had my own… bad dream. But thanks for asking.”

Frozen stiff in the doorway, Colt wiped sweat from his brow as he watched things unfold. Did it all really happen? Was he not crazy? Or maybe Lucille just happened to be on that exact same, slightly insane, wavelength. Or maybe yet, it was all real. Maybe Lucille had lived it all too. Maybe.

He leaned into the doorframe. His empty stomach fell silent as the grip upon his mind tightened.

"But it's a new day, and no one's dead, everything's fine, right?"

“Nobody’s dead… not anymore. Or at least, not yet. Everything’s fine. Or at least, for now.” Colt pressed his palms into his eyes, blinding himself, and sighed deeply. “I can’t take this…”

[Daneel Rush]

He is swallowed by the Nothing, and becomes Nothing himself. The fate of Mercedes West loses all meaning, for there is no room for thought in the absence of self.

The last thing he saw…was it…what is…Hope…?

Location: Pinefall High Dormitory – John Dove’s Bedroom (Room 106)
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Eyes open to a mockingly familiar ceiling.

His body is taut, not rested in the slightest, but there is no ache. The cessation of being brings no pain, and neither does its resumption. His body has no complaints. It is his mind that feels in the brink of a meltdown.

TheDisembodiedManMercedesIcouldn’tdoanythingforher ColorsintheSkyADoorHadtoescapethroughthatdoorTheDi rectorMeMeUnforgivableMeBrandofDeathMyburdentobear ElaineWintersThatwasn’tsupposedtohappenRamiaRamals aqrSheknowsandUbonisdeadandSakuraisdeadshekilledAl exstraszaAlexstraszaAlexstraszaAlexstraszaCesarina FeroceAcorpseintheschoolbuildingColtonDavinInaciow aswithhimWherewasJakeBriggsafterallEliseMarieShehi desthingsTheyallhidethingsandsodoI—

His body rises like a reawakened corpse, lungs drawing air as if everything depends on it.

What is this? Where is he? Who is he?

Wait.

One thing at a time.

“I am John Dove.”

The words are a mantra. The assertion of the self is the safety ring float that rescues him from the stormy waters of his own thoughts. What is John Dove? A man who refuses to let the hollow world rule over him. The slave of a pair of moonlit eyes.

“The most pathetic man in this world,” he murmurs, and he sounds almost proud of it.

It is only at this moment that he comes to awareness of the music blaring obnoxiously throughout the halls of the dorm. He recognizes it, and a glance at the calendar confirms his suspicion—he already visited the distant future. If anything, going back to the past is a lot more convenient--, but it is only now that he really pays attention to the lyrics.

“…well fuck you too, music.”

He will have to apologize to his cousin’s grave. Looks like John Dove and music simply cannot get along, after all.

It is Wednesday, September 7. It means he has to work out. Being trapped in some sort of purgatory is no excuse to abandon his healthy routine. John walks over to the window, taking it the fresh air of the morning and the picturesque scene of the American Northwest as far as his eyes allow him, basking in the reality of it.

This is real. Just like that week was real.

He might have been able to dismiss it as a disturbing dream, except for one thing.

She was there.

His longing. His shackles. The one who can fill his heart, whether they like it or not.

She was there, and She was real. Her presence made his soul burst into song in a way he could have never imagined, nor his dreams ever conjured.

She was real.

And She killed Elaine Winters and Ramia Ramalsaqr.

“Well that’s not good for me, is it?”

Looks like he is still save for the time being—both of them know where he sleeps. If either of them chose to go on a warpath, they would already be there in his bedroom. In the first place, why is he assuming either of them came to the past with him?

No, if this is the morning of Wednesday the 7, he will talk to Elaine Winters for the first time in a few minutes. And then Ubon…

“…hmm.”

He thought of using his jogging time to collect his thoughts and decide on a course of action, but will that even be possible with the enthusiastic Thai girl there?

John ponders it for a moment…and realizes that basking in the overbearing presence of Ubon Sĕeklêun doesn’t sound that bad at all.

Two minutes later, he is clad in his “workout clothes” and ready to leave the bedroom, only to pause as he realizes the conspicuous absence of an empty cardboard box labeled “FUCK BOX” on the corner of the room. A second later, he decides he will not need that this time, and locks the door behind him.

Looks like he does have some fucks to give after all.

[Ayakashi]

"You're... Vivienne, right? Cute drawing~"

"Mmm."

A quiet sound of acknowledgement, and perhaps of thanks as Vivienne nods her head. The black haired girl has energetically greeted her and was now trying to start a conversation. She didn't seem to be bothered by the unusual approach, but then, for some reason most of the people that Vivienne had met here or... well.. had yet to meet were never really bothered. Thinking about it, all of them had laughed it off or ignored it, pressing on to chat about fun topics or simply wishing to learn more about Vivienne herself. The first few days... the times she shared... Alex, Prushie, Hisa, Ubon, Pyry, Travis, Ramia, Sakura... now that she found herself standing here once more where it had all begun, Vivienne could only reminisce about the developments that 'had' transpired, on how everyone, including Muse, had tried their best to help Vivienne regain what she had lost.

And that help did indeed matter, unlike some naysayer's claims. Some of it did come back. Or well... Vivienne realized that it had been there all along, hiding, lingering inside Vivienne's heart. A drop of water dangling on top of an expanse of nothingness.

Lost in recollection, Vivienne falls silent. To Liana, it may appear that she may have simply been unsure of what to say, or perhaps that Vivienne's mind had wandered somewhere else -- but eventually, Vivienne herself caught onto what she was doing, and the silence was broken.

"... sorry... didn't sleep... very well..."

Her first spoken words were an apology. As her empty voice spoke, it may have struck Liana why the girl before her introduced herself with the childish, badly drawn, but most importantly very honest picture. Vivienne Bianchi, was a girl that had problems with displaying emotions. Many knew this... but perhaps now Liana was the 'new first'. It had been reset after all, had it not? Or was it a dream? A very vivid, real dream?

Now was not the time to think about it. Liana was being quite energetic, and to let her down on such a cheerful, amiable first impression that she was trying to give wouldn't be fair, would it? But then, she did ask a question that didn't resonate with Vivienne too much.

"You having a good morning? Excited for school?"

"Mmm... somewhat? I... have to talk to some people... "

People... when she first came here, Vivienne's answer may have been different. Perhaps not as paused, not as pondered on before being given. After all, classes were the last priority for her right now -- she had a mystery to solve, and the classes would be of no help in that matter... on the very contrary they were some sort of hindrance.

Anyways, onto the main reason why Vivienne had approached her:

"Are you... part of the faculty? Don't remember... seeing you before..."

For the entire week, Vivienne Bianchi indeed had no recollection of a person like Liana Skye existing... Vivienne didn't even know her name! Perhaps it was time to fix that right now, and find out what she could finally call this mysterious individual...

"Me... Vivienne... Bianchi... what about... you?"

A subtle hint at that she was curious to know more about the black-haired girl. It was all delivered in the characteristic blank tone, lacking any degree of emotive behavior, but of course, one eventually gets used to such things and instead note when she actually shifts into something resembling a normal human being.

... when did she have time to draw this other drawing?

Confused Drawing...

---

Vivienne Bianchi
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Floor 2 Hallway
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

[Airen]

Liana Skye
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - In Front of Room 114
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"... sorry... didn't sleep... very well..."

"You too? Sorry to hear about that..."

Letting her smile shift a bit from pure warmth to natural sympathy, the raven-haired girl's response is about as animated as her first impression would imply, even as a certain black cat moves -digging claws lightly into skin- from one shoulder to the other-!

Her smile never fades.

"I had a bit of a bizarre dream myself last night... It's probably just the jet lag, or well, I guess in our case it'd be the bus lag! They do say that your dreams are a bit more vivid when you're tired, you know?"

Of course, bad dreams are not so easily assuaged, nightmares plague people for a reason, but seeing as how this avenue of conversation had opened the other girl up, even if only a little bit, she decides to keep pushing forward nonetheless-!

"Mmm... somewhat? I... have to talk to some people... "

Although this wasn't quite the expected answer, she could certainly empathize with it. This school was a bit strange, definitely strange, undeniably strange, so a bit of hesitance was perfectly natural, of course...

Talk to people, huh?

Must have been a lot busier than she had been making friends last night... Ah well, she'd make up for it later-!

Those are the sorts of thoughts Skye had been having, simple, cheerful, warm, and now-

"Are you... part of the faculty? Don't remember... seeing you before... Me... Vivienne... Bianchi... what about... you?"

-confused?

"Eh? Faculty? No, I'm a student. Liana Skye! We met on the bus yesterday..."

Yes.

Certainly confused...

Was she that forgettable? Had she made so little of an impression on the others that they would erase her from their memories? It's somewhat of a haunting thought, a sudden sense of disappointment that almost causes her smile to flicker, but...

Then again...

Everyone had been tired yesterday...

She couldn't be too disappointed if they had forgotten her name, she was trying her best to remember all of theirs after all-!

So, after a brief moment of thought, of leaning over again to examine the new drawing, when-

"Uh, hi! I'm Elise!" began Elise with a wave to the two of them, before turning to Vivienne, "Vivienne, right? Nice to meet you, neighbour! And, uhm-"

She stared at the tall purple haired girl, and continued, "Uh, I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name during introductions..."

-someone else... Elise...

Didn't remember her either huh...

Well... Keep a smile on, Skye!

Everyone was just tired!

"Well, guess I'll do my introduction again~" with a wink at the new girl, she straightens her back slightly as she regards the two of them now, "Okay! My name's Liana Skye, but you can just call me Skye if I can call you two Vivi and Eli! My hobbies are skateboarding, videogames, and trying out new recipes, and my hometown... Well, I move around a lot, so I guess I don't really have one?"

She laughs.

"I'm definitely not a local, but this town seems nice! I'm not used to these old-timey sorts places, they really have a different sort of feel to them than the big cities!"

[Thalraxal]

Elise Pelltier
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Elise's Room
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Her eyes snapped open as a familiar song blared over the PA system. She blinked. It was a strange sensation. Having eyes. They were already adjusted to the dim light of her room, but the last thing she remembered seeing before they were evaporated was that all too bright, all consuming light that she was certain had left her little more than radioactive dust in its wake.

Or, at least, that's what she remembered.

Now she was seemingly whole and hale. The pain that had wracked her body in her final moments was gone. Breathing was easy, and all her ribs felt like they were in their proper places. Her left arm that had been shattered as she tried to block the oncoming blow of the Mad Colossus who had once been Pyry was as good as new. More importantly... that piece of her soul she'd surrendered for the opportunity to save Mercedes was back. Or, rather, it felt like it was never gone at all.

Her bloodstained clothes were gone, having been seemingly replaced by her pyjamas. She could still feel it. The bits of Cesearina still clinging to her, stuck in her hair. Her own blood oozing out of her wounds. The blood of some unknown individuals that had stained her hands, even though she scrubbed that off vigorously what felt like hours ago. It didn't matter if it had happened or not. It was still there. She could feel it.

She groaned as she rolled out of bed and spared a quick glance around her room. A Certain Book was missing from her nightstand. So was a juice box that had been sitting on her desk... was it Asparagus and Cane Sugar flavour? She couldn't be sure. She hastily made her way to her bookshelf. Grabbing her copy of The Eye of the World she gave it a shake. The class list she'd written and hidden in there was gone, or perhaps never existed at all.

Elise turned with trepidation to face her dorm room windows. They were enshrouded in curtains, letting only a small amount of light into her room. She cautiously approached the curtains that hid her windows and pulled them back. The morning light poured into her room, but it seemed so faint and dull compared to the Light she'd seen what felt like just moments before. Still, her window was clean, and free of any of that awful slime trail left behind when some demented lunatic had decided to lick the window. The memory of the dirt and copper-like flavour haunted her mouth. The tree outside the dormitory swayed peacefully in the breeze. She pulled her curtains shut.

There was a part of her that wanted desperately to believe that everything had just been a weird dream, and never happened at all. She had evidence, well, spiritual evidence, that it had never happened at all, and yet... She had absolutely no doubt that what she'd experienced had been real. That all consuming light that had become her entire existence in her final moments had been all too real. Too vibrant. Too impossible for her to believe it had been something simply dredged up from the strange depths of her own imagination.

She took a deep breath and tried to put her thoughts in order.

I should try and find Hisa. She's probably just as confused as I am, if not-

The image of Hisa, her dagger aimed at her own throat, ready to take her own life, came back to the front of her mind. Elise felt a wave of dread wash through her at the memory.

She's fine. I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm sure I'll see her in class. Or- or the cafeteria! She was there, wasn't she? thought Elise, Right now though? Right now, I need a shower. I need to stop feeling like I'm still covered in gore even though I never was.

Location: Pinefall High Dormitory
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Elise emerged from her room, feeling, at long last, fresh and clean. It was a brand new day and Elise felt utterly unprepared for it. It promised to be a strange and busy day as she got her first real day of class at Pinefall. Again. She proceeded down the corridor where she passed the intersection, spotting two figures in the hallway out of the corner of her eye as she passed.

She paused, and then took several steps backwards to the intersection and stared down the hallway for a moment. She recognized Vivienne Bianchi from class, who was holding up her sketchbook to the other girl. The purple haired girl though... she seemed completely unfamiliar. Elise took a moment to stare at the unfamiliar girl as she tried to recall some memory of her. Part of her urged her to hasten on. To make her way to the cafeteria where copious amounts of bacon and breakfast awaited her, but then she realized that she'd lingered for too long at the intersection.

Oh, no. Not again.

"Uh, hi! I'm Elise!" began Elise with a wave to the two of them, before turning to Vivienne, "Vivienne, right? Nice to meet you, neighbour! And, uhm-"

She stared at the tall purple haired girl, and continued, "Uh, I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name during introductions..."

[Mormarth]

Elaine Winters
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Kitchen
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Elaine frowned at the guy in distress, "If you need a hand or something, I'm here, alright? No one's going to be dying around here if I've got anything to say about it."

She grinned, a bit of self-recrimination in it, "I'm a superhero, after all. It's kinda my job!"

Then she winked, chuckling a bit before trailing off.

"No one dying in my dreams, just the standard horrible screaming night terrors. They were better than usual, actually. Must be a good omen."

Then she frowned.

"Although, I did end up naked in front of some people, it was pretty embarrassing."

A small pause.

"And bare-assing."

[Ayakashi]

"Eh? Faculty? No, I'm a student. Liana Skye! We met on the bus yesterday..."

The sound of glass breaking. No glass actually broke of course, but rather it was a fissure of the glass web that was Vivienne Bianchi's 'reality'. She had barely stepped out of her room that suddenly, not only were things different, but it turns out that what she was quite certain used to be her past had become... altered? Her recollection of what had occurred before this day was now supposedly different than what should have actually happened...

... what the hell was going on? A normal person would have panicked, flinched and let out a 'huh'... but all that Vivienne did was stare at Liana for a moment as she made her statement. One hand with her index finger pressed against her chin, the other folded against her chest, the quiet girl was left in quite the pensive state.

This person... was supposedly someone who Vivienne had met on the bus... but Vivienne knew for a fact that this was the very first time they were meeting... was this someone with schizophrenia perhaps? Could it be that overnight, Adelaide had suddenly transformed into Liana Skye? No, Adelaide was around, even during this day... thus the obvious question should be asked...

"Miss Skye... did you know...Adelaide? She... used to live... room you occupy now..."

With that question, Vivienne's eyes peered deep into Liana's own. Realities weren't aligning, but which one should Vivienne reject? Her own, or the one that was being presented to her suddenly here--

"Uh, hi! I'm Elise! Vivienne, right? Nice to meet you, neighbour!

Someone else joined in on the conversation. Vivienne had heard a door swing open behind her, but the case of Liana Skye was currently holding her absolute focus, so her attention had never left the pony-tailed, black haired woman... but hearing that voice and seeing that person that joined in... at least it seemed like part of Vivienne's 'reality' had been validated, that not everything was different. Well, out of all the nameplates, only Adelaide's had changed... so Elise Peltier walking out of Elise's Peltier room was in the end, logical. It cemented that Vivienne wasn't the anomaly here, rather the person before her was.

"Hello..."

Vivienne gave the same greeting to Elise as she had given to Liana, even showing her the drawing again and trying to pose as charmingly as she could. This was the first time that they were properly meeting too but... unlike Liana, Elise Peltier was someone that existed in Vivienne's reality. She was on the bus. She was here 'yesterday', she is here 'today', and she would still be here 'tomorrow'. The two girls had simply never done anything together due probably to both luck and... well, both making their own circles of friends and having their own separate ventures. But now, this was already changing, neighbors were talking to each other... for the first time... of the first time. As nonsensical as that was.

What had happened to Elise on Sunday, Vivienne had to wonder?

"Happy to meet you... our rooms... next to each other...?"

It was less of a question and more of a confirmation.

"Sorry... not very good at emotions... also had... bad sleep... strange dreams... Miss Skye too..."

Yes, Skye did indeed also have a 'bad' sleep. Though Vivienne's reality did not 'accept' Skye yet, the fact that they had a 'bad' rest seemed... strange. Elise too, while all cheered up and trying to be as warm as possible seemed like she may not have had the best of evenings. It was just a hunch that Vivienne Bianchi had, but as words were uttered and time passed, it slowly felt like the pieces of a puzzle were being conveniently laid out before her.

A puzzle?

Right.

There was that one time when Angelina spoke about these ominous things... in fact.... didn't she essentially predict the entirety of how it all ended? That was something to keep in mind... and something that definitely should be explored with Pyry, Hisa and Prushak eventually.

But that would come in time, back to the case at hand:

"Miss Skye... took Adelaide's room... I think... Adelaide left? Was asking if... Miss Skye knew... anything about her..."

Seeing Elise's reaction to this question, to the fact that Adelaide had gone missing... this would most likely further clue Vivienne in on the 'reality' behind Liana Skye's existence.

---

Vivienne Bianchi
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Floor 2 Hallway
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

[Thalraxal]

Elise Pelltier
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Floor 2 Hallway
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"Well, guess I'll do my introduction again~ Okay! My name's Liana Skye, but you can just call me Skye if I can call you two Vivi and Eli! My hobbies are skateboarding, videogames, and trying out new recipes, and my hometown... Well, I move around a lot, so I guess I don't really have one?"

Liana Skye? Elise mulled over the unfamiliar purple haired girl's name after she introduced herself.

She struggled to place it in her memory, but the name rang exactly zero bells in Elise's head.

"Nice to meet you, Skye! Sorry about blanking on your name there. So many new faces yesterday, right? It's a lot to take in all at once!" said Elise cheerfully in an effort to brush off having absolutely no recollection of the girl from the previous day at all.

"Hello..."

Vivienne held up her sketchbook to her, and showed her a drawing depicting what Elise took to be a smiling image of the artist, on a sunny day, with a bird and a friendly looking 'Hello' in cursive script.

I don't get why there's a spider dangling above her head though..?

Elise smiled and waved back to the artist, "Hello to you too! That's a very nice drawing."

"Happy to meet you... our rooms... next to each other...?"

Elise nodded, "I think so? You're in 112, right? I'm in 116, which admittedly might not sound like they're next to each other..."

She glanced at the number on the door beside her. 113. Mercedes West. Elise wondered if she'd made it out of the forest safely or not.

These side halls make the room numbering really confusing.

"Sorry... not very good at emotions... also had... bad sleep... strange dreams... Miss Skye too..."

With Vivienne's comment, the weight of the previous day came crashing down on Elise once more.

"Oh, uh, don't worry about it, we've all got things we struggle with, right? It's-it's what the Oceandrop Program is for. We just have to be there to help each other where we can!" began Elise struggling to maintain her own cheerful facade, "Bad sleep and strange dreams though? Uhg, count me in for that too. I feel like I got hit by a truck."

Bad dreams is an understatement... I didn't see Vivienne on Sunday at all, she was one of the students who we couldn't find in the morning... did she also-? Skye wasn't there at all, so maybe...?

"Miss Skye... took Adelaide's room... I think... Adelaide left? Was asking if... Miss Skye knew... anything about her..."

"Adelaide?" asked Elise as Vivienne's next words snapped her out of her recollections of the previous day.

Elise considered Adelaide. She'd never had a chance to talk to her last... week, but now... She stared back at Liana Skye for a moment.

Maybe... maybe Adelaide just looks really different when she isn't wearing a dress? considered Elise, And somehow has a different hair colour, and personality?

"Yeah! Yeah! I remember her. Blonde hair, she always wore dresses, right?" began Elise, "That's awfully soon for someone to transfer out though."

Nope. Not a chance. This is going to be Elizaveta again, isn't it? Please let this just be a weird misunderstanding somehow...!

[Airen]

Liana Skye
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Floor 2 Hallway
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

"Miss Skye... did you know...Adelaide? She... used to live... room you occupy now..."

---Skye certainly takes a moment to think about that question, even though she was pretty sure of the answer from the start.

The young woman in front of her seems to believe that this room had belonged to an Adelaide person, but that was pretty much impossible, she had spent most of last night putting up her things and fixing her board to make sure it would roll right outside...

As far as she knew, this room had always belonged to her, or rather, it had done so since the start of the school year after all, and Adelaide...?

She doesn't recognize that name at all, of course the eyes staring into her own are somewhat expecting, so she has to awkwardly close her eyes and chuckle in the face of it as she prepares to apologize, yes...

"No, I don't remember any Adelaide... Of course, this is just the second day, so I could have missed her maybe...?"

Unlikely.

But she doesn't want to imply anyone else is crazy either...

Of course, the other two have a bit of talk time to themselves after that, neighbors coming to terms with neighbors, which was probably a good thing-! This gives her a bit more time to ponder what they're saying, noting that Elise also seems to remember this "Adelaide," person, and-

"Yeah! Yeah! I remember her. Blonde hair, she always wore dresses, right?" began Elise, "That's awfully soon for someone to transfer out though."

-yes, that's a bit troubling...

She doesn't want to think she had forgotten anyone...

"I... Don't remember anyone like that at all," smiling apologetically in the end, the young woman's eyes nevertheless try to believe what she is hearing, "Sorry... Far as I know that room was always assigned to me."

Yes.

This is a fact, her memory wasn't that bad, she was pretty confident she would remember someone moving in and out of the room she herself was using, but-!

"But if the two of you do, that's something special right?"

She does her best to smile gently.

"Maybe you're destined friends, sharing your dreams or something~"

It's a bit of an awkward answer, but it's all she really has-!

"I'm a bit jealous if so, mine was some sort of... Monster dream, school life dreams would have been a lot more fun..."

She sighs, then...

"But if you want to tell me more about this Adelaide person, maybe it'll ring some bells for me? I don't remember any blonde girl in various dresses, but I might have just been too tired to see her... Either way, I'll listen if something's troubling you two, so please feel free to rely on me a bit, even if we've just met~"

Ultimately says this with an energetic nod-!

"Maybe over breakfast or something if you guys want?"

[Verg Avesta]

Vier Wolff
Location: Pinefall High - Music Room
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 06.10.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Oh? Someone got here before me?"

The door of the music room quietly opened, causing what remained of the dust on the shelves to take off in flight, clear on the rays of the sun streaming through the clouds and the windows that lit up the room in the absence of electrical light. There was a shuffle of shoes against the wooden floor and someone entered the music room, yawning heartily and looking around, searching for the source of the music... that turned out to be Vier.

The girl was then greeted by the sigh of a green-haired youth carrying a guitar case, waving a lazy morning greeting to her.

"Good morning," Inacio Ilusão greeted Vier, looking like a fresh breeze of air straight from the showers. "I hope I'm not interrupting?"

It wasn't even an exaggeration. The boy had that fragrance you can only get from freshly applied soap, shampoo and deodorant and his hair was glistening in the sun in all manner of ways that should've been slightly impossible. With a little spring in his step, Inacio walked over to an empty seat near the wall and sat down, setting up his guitar case on his lap.

And as he opened it... something interesting was revealed form within.

------ C.F. Martin 000-28EC with a pleasant burnt-orange color wash.

"Figured I'd get some practice in as well, you know, before the lessons start," Inacio said with a smile and plucked a few notes. "But it looks like I wasn't the only one who got the same idea."

---

Lucille Faraday, Elaine Winters & Colt Davin
Location: Pinefall High Dormitory - Kitchen
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

“I had the worst dream… It was about Michael and not really… We woke up and it turned out Cesarina was dead and then we found Colt dead and everyone just kept disappearing and Elise told me Elaine probably killed you and you were gone and then I died with Vier and please tell me where you’re going because if everything goes terribly like that I want to know if you’re okay…”

Sakura let out a loud yelp as she was suddenly pulled into a hug by the taller girl, her hands raised so the mayo-covered left hand or the butterknife-wielding right hadn't didn't touch the clean clothes or the blonde hair of Lucille. For a moment the shorter girl could only blink owlishly at the sight of the blonde bawling and sobbing against her while recounting a tale that truly sounded like a nightmare. Not only that, but at few points her eyes darted around in an almost worried manner, with an undertone of "Eeeh!? We're letting the cat outta the bag now, already!?". It was the look of a thief that had been caught with her hand deep in the cookie jar.

But, eventually, that didn't matter. When the rambling, mixed with sobs, continued and it became apparent that Lucille Faraday wasn't just shocked by some nightmare... Sakura Tsukioka's expression and demeanor changed. She slowly put down the butterknife onto the table and quietly wiped her other hand to the nearby rag. Gone was the look of an older teen bubbling with life, and in was the look of someone older... someone who watched the taller girl hugging her with a sense of sisterly affection - almost maternal.

"Come on now, Mistress..." Sakura said quietly, wrapping her arms around the blonde and letting out a quiet hushing sound. "... A lady should never cry like that in front of strangers. Not to mention you are just the sobbiest sob there ever sobbed. It's good to cry from the heart if you need to, but it ruins the effort you put in your smile."

A subdued smile on her face, Sakura patted Lucille's head the best she could, hushing her almost like she was dealing with a kid sister who had been awakened from her sleep by a nightmare. And in a sense, perhaps she was?

Then, Sakura looked towards the two who were standing in the doorway.

"I, uh, I don't think I've killed anyone, S-sakura looks alright to me... It sounds like a really horrible dream, Lucille. I'm sorry. But it looks like it was just a bad dream, Sakura's here an' she looks fine and chipper as she was yesterday."

The brunette couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her lips as she nodded.

"Indeed! I'm as alive as can be, and so is Colt, so chin up! As horrible as nightmares might sometimes be, at least they're always banished when the dawn comes, no?" Sakura asked encouraginly. "I know a new situation like this and a new environment like this can sometimes get the better of anyone's nerves. It happen to the best of us, sometimes! But you're alright now, and so is everyone else, so don't let the nightmare drag you down when you've already defeated it!"

"Losing a friend is one of the hardest things. But it's a new day, and no one's dead, everything's fine, right?"

“Nobody’s dead… not anymore. Or at least, not yet. Everything’s fine. Or at least, for now. I can’t take this…”

"If you need a hand or something, I'm here, alright? No one's going to be dying around here if I've got anything to say about it. I'm a superhero, after all. It's kinda my job! No one dying in my dreams, just the standard horrible screaming night terrors. They were better than usual, actually. Must be a good omen. Although, I did end up naked in front of some people, it was pretty embarrassing... And bare-assing."

For a moment, Sakura studied the two who were standing in the doorway. Her eyes scanned their expressions, their own eyes and the way they held themselves. She seemed to take in the odd aura and atmosphere that was resonating from all three and melding together to create a sense of surreal relief and panic... and understand that while she did not understand what was going on, she needed to act. Hence, without waiting any longer, Sakura gently guided Lucille to one of chairs around the table and pulled it back so she could sit down. Then, after finally slipping out of the blonde's arms, the brunette turned her attention to all three of them at once: Lucille, Elaine and Colt.

"Alrighty, you lot! Looks like move to a new place and a new environment has got us all rattled with something... but lucky for you, you have a secret weapon! In other words... me! And while I may not know what it is that exactly got you all to a such a solemn mood, I do know one thing..." Sakura said, before pointing at the table where building blocks of a Holy Food War were still present. "... Eating a good breakfast always helps, no matter what the problem. So you three just sit down for now, while I make you all sandwiches to fill up your tummies. And yes, you can ask me for seconds. Guaranteed!"

Grabbing the butterknife again, Sakura snatched a whole loaf of bread from the kitchen counter, spun it around and just sliced it in half... using nothing but the aforementioned butterknife.

Truly, the skills of a chef of her caliber where something to be feared.

"So just relax, eat and don't worry 'bout none for a while," Sakura added, smiling warmly at not just Lucille, but Colt and Elaine too. "The nightmares of last night always seem closer than they actually are with an empty stomach. So let's fix that."

It was clear, looking at her.

Sakura Tsukioka wasn't acting like this because of some lofty reason.

No, she simply saw three people in front of her who were feeling rattled, shaken for some reason, as if something was wrong with the world. And though she did not know what exactly had gotten to them all so much, at the same time... she didn't care. All she cared about was that there were three people with a problem, and she had a way to help them. It was just that. The act of helping those in need if she could.

Very simple, yet at the same time... surprisingly rare.

"Alright..."

Sakura muttered quietly under her breath as she quickly tied up her hair in a ponytail and stared down at the ingredients on the table (with the one ready sandwich already set before Lucille so she could start eating and gather her bearings.

"... It's Maid Time."

And with that whispered more to herself than anyone else, Sakura Tsukioka assaulted the armies of ingredients and condiments on the table, determined to bring back worthy war loot for both Colt and Elaine.

Though...

... How could someone prepare two sandwiches at the same time, one with each hand?

---

Anna Vandemeel
Location: Pinefall High - Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

“Did you now, Indiana? Let me guess… You bit into it like the utter goof you are and then ended up having to throw the burger down as fast as possible to avoid getting stung by a very angry and pissed off poisonous arachnid?"

Ramia guffawed loudly and slapped her knee, descending into a dorky chuckle that rang loudly in the cafeteria.

"Damn right! Nearly clipped me me on the tip of my nose as I threw the burger away, so there's that," Ramia explained with a wide grin. "I mean, I get where the stingy-thingy was coming from. The burger must've been pretty nice and fluffy place to sleep, and it's not like it could expect people to just start chomping on it while it was exploring the insides. Still... nasty creatures though. Though when it comes to venom, not as nearly as dangerous as snakes. Most in my unit hated the latter more than the former, since they tended to be lethal more often."

Still chuckling to herself, Ramia plopped a piece of bacon in her mouth and started chewing, something content and amused look on her face like she was actually enjoying this morning's going-ons and mundane topics at the breakfast table.

"Never had problems with snakes myself, though," she added, mouth full of bacon. "We get along pretty well actually."

To follow up the bacon, Ramia skewered a piece of fried egg on her plate and stuffed it into her mouth, happily munching away on it like someone who knew that every decent meal was a blessing - and very unlike Gabi, who was still nibbling on that same piece of toast that he had been for the last fifteen minutes or so.

"Oh come on, you need to eat more," Ramia said after seeing this display. "Here you go, I'll just go get more so you eat the rest of that..."

Before Gabi could get a word in edgewise, his plate (which had carried only that one single piece of toast) was filled eggs, bacon, hash browns, bacon, some sausages and even more bacon. No, scratch that, most of his plate was covered suddenly in bacon. Then, giving a grin and a quick 'I'll be back' with her best Austrian accent, Ramia skipped over to the breakfast line where she began filling up her plate with... bacon and waffles?

Meanwhile, Gabi stared in quiet horror at what his plate had become.

A look that was then turned to Anna.

"... umm..." he started, unable to speak louder than a mouse. "... help...?"

--- The message here was quite clear.

There was no way this one tiny person could finish all this, not without Ramia's apparently endless appetite.

---

John Dove
Location: Pinefall High Field
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Running, or jogging, truly was a good way get settled with your thoughts and empty one's mind to make sense of a bizarre situation they were thrust into. The clear outside air, the sounds of the deep woods and all its birds nearby, the wind rustling in the sycamore trees and the signs of life of the small American town not so far away... it was a rather picturesque environment to be in, alone, with one's thoughts.

Of course, in John Dove's case, he knew that he wouldn't be alone for too long.

Perhaps suspecting what might happen in the near future had put him on more alert mood, because this time, he heard the sound of rushing sneakers on the track before he heard the yell.

Though, the other reason might be...

... Elaine Winters, for some reason, was not at the track tonight?

"Watch your right!"

As John had more or less expected would happen, something zoomed past him, leaving behind an after image of bright green and vibrant cyan. His nose got a good whiff of sweat, adrenaline and what must've been boundless energy as the person in question practically rocketed past him, sprinting so fast that it was hard to get a good look at the her. Though that excited form and the vibrant short hair... there was nobody else it could be.

Again, she must've been going at some 30 feet per second, as when she tried to slow down and turn back to talk to John, there was a screeching sound coming from her sneakers and a smelt of burn rubber accompanied the earlier cavalcade.

"Whoop!"

Letting out an odd sound she stumbled forward, launched herself into a jump and caught the track withher hands, propelling into a somersault that caught some magnificent air. That person then stuck the landing in perfect T-pose, bouncing on the soles of her feet to adjust to that sudden stop they had come to.

It was a ridiculous show to be honest - coming from just about anyone else, it would have been a disgusting moment of showing off.

... But when this heaving mass of sweat and excitement turned to look at John, her eyes showed nothing but sincere cheerfulness and happiness at spotting another person on the track, glad that there suddenly was a new running partner for this morning showcase of athleticism.

"Hiyas, Johnnie!" the girl that was currently so thoroughly soaked that her clothes were practically see through. "How'zit hanging?"

Ubon Sĕeklêun, who else?

A girl who was practically vibrating out of her skin thanks to her runner's high, looking like an over-excited dog that didn't know what it should do due to pure joy of being, well, a dog.

Only Ubon wasn't a dog.

She was just too caught up in the joy of being Ubon Sĕeklêun.

[Verg Avesta]

Alexstrasza Lockhart & Prushka
Location: Pinefall High - Cafeteria
Phase: Morning Phase
Date: 07.09.1994
Weather: Partly Cloudy

Suddenly, a small frown appeared on Subaru Iburi's face.

"Of course, if I do see it again, I might have a more... violent response to such a sight."

Out of nowhere, the tiny girl set aside the dog that had been eating on her lap. The tiny creature was plopped onto the table so that Subaru could rise a bit up from her chair and lean over the table itself to look at the blonde girl in the eyes. And while she was much shorter in stature and while her hair looked ridiculou, at the same time she held her gaze locked into Alexstrasza's eyes without a hint of the meekness from before.

"I apologize if I sound I am talking about something I do not know of, Miss Lockhart, but that kind of thinking is just no good. First of all, a violent response changes nothing. If it the answer is just always to hurt the one who hurt you in an equal measure, it hall become a loop that will never end. A-and do not think I mean something akin to simply 'turning the other cheek' as it were, here, either. There is nothing wrong with responding to force with force, but it should be force with responsibility and thought put behind it. Wanton violence helps no one after all," Subaru explained, gaining more strength in her voice as she continued. "And that is even more so if we apply it to what you just said - that is, having such a terrible dream. There is nothing wrong with being shaken and feeling afraid after a dream like that, but please do not lash out against people out in the waking world because of it. After all... I am willing to bet we are all some degrees of nervous and afraid today, no? This is a new start in a new, unfamiliar place to all of us. It is just to be expected."

Having said all this, the tiny Japanese girl sat back on her chair and sighed a bit, as if realizing she had talked a bit more than she realized. This was followed by a momentary redness on her cheeks, one caused by the fact that now both Prushka and Alexstrasza were staring at her. Still, the black-haired girl couldn't help but for a momentary smile to appear on her cheeks, one that she directed at Alexstrasza, as if trying to encourage her.

"I am sure that things will be just fine, and nightmares shall be just nightmares that fade away," Subaru added. "And if you are feeling nervous, just remember... everybody else is feeling nervous too."

Well, that was certainly... unexpected?

When had the girl gotten this headstrong?

"...ow. You mean, uh, this? W-well, I was planning on letting it sit like this as a reminder of how not to make friends, but if you're offering... thanks, Subaru. I'll owe you one though. As thanks, and as a 'sorry' for making you look at this stupid bruise on a morning as nice as this one. So this is your last chance to take it back before I repay you by helping fix that bed head."

A small, gentle smile continued to play on Subaru's lips as she reached for her backpack, and emerged with a little wooden box that she slid over the table over to Prushka.

"Oh, do not be silly. My hair may make me look ridiculous, b-but that's about it. I can certainly live with that!" Subaru protested, before nodding towards the box... and her dog walking over to it and nudging it with its nose towards Prushka. "If you really want to 'owe me one', however, then you can simply repay me by taking care of that bruise, because it certainly looks painful."

Subaru punctuated her words with a little wink.

"In other words, you have nothing to be sorry about."