[center][h1]Weathering Innocence[/h1] [h2][b]Characters:[/b] Olivia & Aluvia [b]Location:[/b] Master Melody’s Academy, Loom [b]Time:[/b] Just Before Midday [/h2] [h3]Contributors:[/h3][@Sundered Echo] and [@Fallenreaper] [/center] Olivia's head darted to the side table where her things began to pile. Granted she appreciated the thought, even if it was temporary, as she waited patiently. Her head shifted idly to the clock positioned in the far wall in front of her while second ticked away slowly. Likely by now Ris' class was almost over, the girl slightly sighed. After their conversation at the headmaster's office followed by the embarrassment with Rex, Olivia and Ris had gotten her school uniform as oppose to walking around in her current state. The bad part it had taken a lot of time to find something which fitted her well among the vast size selection. By the time the woman had a moment to look, the free time between her and Olivia was gone. Not wanting to keep her sister from her class, Olivia suggested she take her belongings to the room and they could meet up later at the lunchroom. It would've given her a chance to explore her way through the school, learning her way before joining on any classes, without getting Aeris in trouble. There little likelihood she was going to leave the school unattended... if at all in the next few hours. In truth her brother had been inching his way into her mind, a fact which had started to wear on her. Talking to Aeris help push that guilt away but it was only a temporary fix. Now she began to wonder [i]why[/i] he hadn't shown. Anxiety started shortly when the mental images of Hank were replaced by Emmet's wide eyes, shocked expression and sudden he crumbled to the ground causing her to shiver slightly. Her thoughts were distracted when the woman pushed four uniforms at her. Olivia quickly rushed to keep the blouses, skirts, socks and other garments from falling onto the floor as the woman muttered something about paying attention. The girl just sighed, seriously missing Ris right now. It was odd wandering a new school alone after everything that happened and her mind needed someone to distract her. Too bad she felt so lost and alone. She noted she was being waved off, giving a shrug and nod then twisted about to the door and into the hall. Most the classes were currently in progress as the hallways were empty, eerily quiet. Olivia’s feet had to stop every few moments, her shirt or another item slipped from her thin arms, and forced to crouch down to snatch it up again. Sadly the more she tried to snatch up her clothes, the more she ended up dropped. Several meters behind the young girl stood an angel with partially furled wings, wings that seemed to glimmer almost as though they were on fire. Already arrayed in the academies uniform, Aluvia stood and watched, making no move to help or hinder. She knew neither if she should simply leave, or why she should help. This place was foreign to her. Everyone and everything in it was foreign. Not merely in the way of people not yet met, but in terms of this being something she had never experienced in any way. She had no memory of being around other people that didn’t either pretend she didn’t exist or outright want to kill her. This was alien to her. Her wings burned with pain. The flight here had been hard, for her wings were not the great expansive sheets of white she remembered them being. They burned with the pain of extended use, and with the pain of memory. Red clawed at the edges of her vision. Despite it she stood still and unbowed. It was not so unusual to see her vision blur under the weight of memory. “You’re not doing very well.” She stated coldly, if for no other reason than to try and begin a dialogue. She did not really understand that what she said would likely be construed as rude or cruel. She did not understand anything about social conventions. Olivia felt one of her skirts slip from her grasp and fall at her own feet, the fabric crumbled and stepped on causing her nearly fall forward. She managed to slam her knee into the hard hallway floor as she lost the rest of her uniforms. Her head jerked backwards, spying the speaker, a pretty angel with white wings that seemed to be outlined with gold and flickering red, making her frown slightly. Darius’ fatherly lessons about being polite flooded her head causing her sigh softly and like an obedient child didn’t raise to anger. Instead the girl tried to pick up what she could, speaking in a cheerful and unbothered tone. “Well, could you help me, please? Else I’m going to lose the only clothes I have currently.” “Help… you?” Aluvia said slightly surprised. She had never been asked to help anyone with anything before. She stepped towards Olivia, keeping her wings as far unfurled as the corridor would allow, not the most comfortable way of moving with wings but the least painful for her right now. Her movement was stiff, for though she was unbowed by the pain, it did make grace impossible. The few others that had spoken to her before had seemed to consider names important, so she decided to try asking that first. “What... is your name?” Olivia had been busy trying to pick up what she could as her eyes missed the confused look on the angel’s face, forced to refold her skirt on the ground one handed and balance her two remaining shirt and one skirt. This was a pain for her to say the least. Her head lifted up causing her expression to narrow with concern at the woman’s tone, finally noting the way her wings were held outright and awkward way she moved, far more stiffly than other angels. Realizing she was staring, Olivia quickly averted her eyes back to the ground when the question finally reach her. “Olivia… Olivia Matthews. Umm, are you alright? You don’t look so well.” Aluvia stared for a moment, then bent to help gather the sprawled clothes, her wings shifting backwards to keep her balanced. She did not fold them though, not realising she should. “I don’t?” She said with genuine surprise. Not so much that her pain showed, she did knew she could not hide it all, but more that someone cared enough to ask. Why would they? “I am Aluvia. I am Cerria.” She said then, completing what she understood to be the ritual name exchange. It was only after she had spoken that she remembered the confusion the others had seemed to suffer at the way she presented her names. It wouldn’t really surprise her if it confused this new person too. It was confusing even to Aluvia. When Olivia finished folding, sloppily, the shirt uniform she flopped it hastily overtop the mess she had manage to keep from the floor. Her eyes shifted to see the angel just grab up the shoes, socks, and remaining shirt in one scoop. Normally, Olivia wasn’t this clumsy but after kidnapping and her mind continually drifting to Ez, it was harder to focus. She had practically had to stop herself from rushing to the nearest pay phone, dialing his emergency and shift uncomfortably in place with a prayer he would answer. The girl swallowed her anxiety when she heard the student question her comment. Her face narrowed in thought about her next words, only to catch the dual name being spoken. Olivia blinked a few times and looked curiously at Aluvia/Cerria. A few moments passed when her head tilted, her eyebrow raised and mouth pulled upward, wrinkling her nose a bit at the introduction. “Uh? Do you have two first names, or is Cerria another name you go by? Is it a last? Which do you prefer I call you?” She almost had another question pop out when it dawned on how many she had spoken already, all without giving the angel a chance to answer even one. Olivia flinched inwardly and had a sheepish expression fill her face when she apologized, “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.” Taking a soft breath, Olivia started again as she pulled her arms forward with clothes piled on top. If ironing the uniform never tended to be a pain, she would’ve bundled them under her arm otherwise but better to save herself some work in the end. She gestured for Aluvia/Cerria to place the garments on top, “Could you put them on top please? Also which name do you prefer I call you or would you mind if I called you AC for short? You can call me Liv for short if you want. Most of my old classmates did before....” Olivia let the thought trail off before the emotion threatened to overwhelm. Last thing she wanted was to be crying in front of someone else, especially someone could she be friends with since Aluvia/Cerria seemed to be as much out of place here as she was. At least she looked it. Aluvia placed the crumpled clothing where indicated. Just like before, this person had also asked about her name. “I don’t know.” She said slightly exasperated. Then she took a breath and tried to explain, both to herself and Olivia. “I remember both names. I was Cerria… Before I was killed. Now I am Aluvia, but I only remember being Cerria.” She paused then and sighed. She wished this would become clear to her. “Call me whatever you like.” She added in a neutral tone. she closed her eyes then and fought to stave off memories. With memory came pain, and the memory of her death brought many kinds of pain. Olivia’s face soften, her eyes looked at Cerria/Aluvia and tried to imagine the pain of what she spoke. She was surprised to find how difficult it was to relate and any hurt that surface only seemed to feel hollow, unreal. This made her realize relating wasn’t possible. Then something about the angel’s words clicked as Olivia stared, her skin pale and confusion spilled over her face, “ Killed?!? That doesn’t make sense, you can’t be here and dead. I don’t know much about angels but I do know if they are killed, they don’t hop back and shout boo… do they?” “It is confusing for me as well. I remember distinctly being impaled, I remember Luciens sword and the blood… The terrible blood…” She shuddered, reliving it once again. “And yet here I stand. In a different body, with the same memories.” She fought back a tear of pain. “It hurts to remember that day.” “That’s strange, impossible I think.” Olivia’s eyes tightened before she realized the pain she caused. She felt terrible, her mouth opened to apologize immediately, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I was curious and didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ve never met an angel before especially with wings like yours. Most the ones I’ve seen were grey or almost white. Could what you told me is what made them like that…” The last sentence was spoken softer and more to herself, Olivia after all did not want to cause the woman anymore grief because of her wandering mind. She stared a little longer at the delicate yet fiery looking appendages. Then brushed it away when she returned to a better subject, “Are you new at the school?” Aluvia was glad of the change of subject back to more recent memories. There was less pain there. “I arrived in the night.” She stated, not choosing to elaborate on the journey itself. “They told me they could help me to remember.” She said, not daring to hope it would be true. She desperately wanted a purpose to call her own. Then she glanced back at her wings, still burning as they always did. “They used to be white. But when I remembered they changed. They hurt so much.” Her voice was sad as she spoke. To her her wings were not pretty, they were not useful either. She couldn’t fly with them - not properly. They were just painful. Like so much else. “I wonder what happened to do that?” Olivia asked more to her self then Aluvia/Cerria, feeling upset to know the woman was in pain. Not really caring if her clothes were wrinkled anymore, she tucked them under her arm and would be dealing with the fact she would need to iron them later. She let her head tick with ideas on how to answer but felt anything she said was pointless, mainly as she couldn’t take the pain away. “Aluvia..err, Cerria… oh crap,” she started, then finally gave up and referred to her nickname, “AC, have you tried to tell anyone? The school nurse or teaches to see if they could help with the pain?” She looked at the woman with empathy, hoping the idea of her suggestions had merely not been considered. “No… It always hurts. I’m used to the pain.” A short moment passed, then she spoke again, eagerly. “Do you really think they could take it away?” She [i]was[/i] used to it, but the prospect of remembering without feeling like her every molecule was on fire was quite enticing. She was feeling a little more comfortable with the idea of talking to people now instead of killing them. The others had seemed like they were sizing her up for a fight… This one seemed to care more for the sake of caring. She didn’t understand why someone would do that, but it was still good. “Why are you here?” She asked bluntly, curiosity surfacing again but about something other than herself for a change. “We can try at least,” Olivia sounded hopeful. In truth it couldn’t hurt any and if wasn’t possible, she at might at least make a friend. At being asked why she was here, her mind flickered with Ashley’s image as well as the man’s chest, the man who ordered her kidnapping. She shuddered some before answering honestly. Everyone would likely know sooner or later anyway, though from what the principal said this was only a temporary situation until they were sure her kidnapping wasn’t a one time thing. Shifting a bit uncomfortably, she replied, “Someone ended up coming to my school and tried to take me. In the event, I was stupid enough to cry out for help and…” Mr. Findley’s image flashed before her eyes causing her hand to rise up, stifling a sickly sensation at the back of her throat. She held it there for a bit until she was sure she wasn’t going to vomit then gave a weak smirk. “It didn’t end well. I was grateful Noel came along and helped me. Else I would’ve still be in that woman’s hands and who knows where. Then Aeris, and her brother Mairyell, came to retrieve me and that’s how I ended up here.” Deciding it was best to move and talk, she gestured for AC to follow her. “Oh.” Was all Aluvia said. She didn’t really know what to think about that. Yet another thing she had no memories to clarify. One thing did stick out to her though. “They told me that this place was for learning… You make it sound like you are just here to be protected though. Is that something else this place does?” She was slightly skeptical as she asked. “I guess, I don’t really understand myself. I only talked with the headmaster a bit ago and my stay here is only for a few days, at least until other arrangements are made.” Olivia stated as she began to lead the way to Aeris’ room, “At least since I don’t have any magic. Though one thing bothers me… My brother didn’t pick me up, instead someone else was sent,” [i]And killed[/i] said the small, guilty voice in the back of her mind, her head shaking a bit to clear it away, “and now I’m scared something might’ve happened to him. He’s never late. Bad part, I can’t go and find him. I don’t even know where the pay phones are to call him. It’s rather frustrating over all.” She sighed slightly, looking a little depressed though she didn’t expect any sympathy as she had the feeling the woman wouldn’t have the slightest idea how. “Oh.” She said again, though this time different emotions were sparked. She remembered the man who killed her. Lucien had been his name. He was like a brother to her. She didn’t remember what it was, but she knew she hadn’t been there for him when he needed her most. She knew she had done what she thought was best at the time. “I’m sure he was just doing what he thought was best at the time.” She said slightly shakily, unsure of herself and whether she should talk about that or not. For once, remembering that day didn’t bring back nearly as much pain. Olivia shook her head, though she knew her brother best and that AC’s words rang true. Her brother always did what he thought best for her, even if she disagreed with it. A fact she sometimes hated him for. Keeping her mind partly on their direction, she continued, “He’s never failed to be there for me though. Never. I’m scared something might’’ve happened to him and I’m just stuck here while he needs me most.” She was struggling not to cry feeling the guilt wash over her heart and threaten to drown her, worsening her situation. “Worse part, I’m so angry which I know I haven’t any right. He’s my brother and I know he does what he can, but he’s suppose to be there for me. To help me when I need him…” Her palm came up to wipe away the dampness starting on her cheeks as they drew close to Aeris’ and her room. While in her attempt to hide her tears a tie slipped from her notice and floated on to the ground causing her stop abruptly to pick it up. Feeling bitter and ashamed, Olivia looked at AC with a questioning look, “I’m being childish, aren’t I?” “I’m sure he wants to be here with you right now.” Aluvia said, not sure if she was defending this person's brother or her own remembered actions. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say after that. “I’m sure he’ll come back to you as soon as he can.” She repeated. “It’s hard to see anything stop Ez. He’s never done this before without prior notice. I can’t help feel like I’m letting him down by ignoring my gut instinct that something’s wrong,” Olivia admitted, her eyes noting they had arrived at her room. Realizing for the first time she was seriously under dressed, she turned on heel and made a request, “Can you wait out here for me? I’m going to change and I’ll be right back out, okay?” “Alright.” Was all she said. She was eager to get to someone who could help her remember, but she also wanted to stay near this person that cared. It was strange to have someone care about her, and she wanted to make the most of it while it lasted. “Thank you and I appreciate it. I hope we can be good friends,” Olivia smiled warmly, her body vanishing behind the door. [center]~~~~~~~~[/center] Several minutes she emerged, ensuring Lisara didn’t follow her outside, she closed the door tightly behind her. Still smiling she gestured for her new friend to follow as she decided to seek out a payphone. It was time she tried to call her brother and see what had happened, even if her stomach twisted into knots because of it. “Come on.” With two simple words, the pair were off.