[center][b][u]The Academy's Embrace[/u][/b][/center]

Aeris' wings beat furiously, pushing her quickly forward. She could already see the Academy's main building in front of her, and the iridescence of her blue eyes brightened. 

To say she was excited was putting it mildly.

She dropped from the air to the ground with a soft [i]thud[/i], and entered the Academy, taking in all that was around her. Once she was inside, however, a woman in a security uniform stopped her. "Ma'am, do you have identification?" The woman's voice was polite but stern, and Aeris, distracted by the ornate beauty of Master Melody's had to pull herself out of her thoughts about the architecture before she was finally able to answer.

"Mm? Ah, yes! One moment." Aeris voice was light and happy as she began searching through the inner pockets of her hoodie. After a moment or two, Aeris pulled out her ID and watched as the security guard used a device to scan it.

"Everything seems to be in order... please proceed." Aeris heard the woman speak, but she was already halfway down the hallway searching for the ballroom. 

The room itself wasn't particularly hard to find, considering the amount of music that was coming from it. Little Kasio stood outside the double doors for a bit before finally pulling one slightly open and slipping inside. The music that hit her when she entered caused her to pause. [i]Wow[/i]. She thought to herself, listening to the combination of all of the students' instruments. All save for one. In the middle of the ballroom, there was a boy, dancing with a woman. A woman who Aeris recognized immediately. 

"Hazumi." She said almost wordlessly, "She's looking beautiful as always." She smiled to herself as she complimented the Motherslayer, making her way closer to the dance floor.

Hazumi laughed at the boy's flushed cheeks. “You feel privileged? Pity you weren’t born some 200 years ago, back then you could’ve held me in my full glory. I wonder what you’d have done with me then, Timmy?” She grinned. 

As the words flew from her mouth and into his ears, Timore almost stumbled again, his face flushing a much deeper red as they danced. His eyes darted down her, up again, unable to help, but look at her. Her presence was intoxicating somehow and he could even hear Metentis quiet down and feel the wonderful flow of essence that practically dripped from her being. Apparently the instrument though her delicious...and Timore couldn't help but agree, though in a different sense entirely. [B]"I...um,"[/B] he bit his tongue slightly and winced, looking away and then back several times before laughing nervously. [B]"I-It's hardly my place to say such things,"[/B] he said nervously, his eyes barely locked with hers and his heart pounding even faster in his chest.

“It was just curiosity.” Hazumi chirped non-chalantly. “You don’t have to answer. But back then I would have offered myself to anyone who asked for it. And not only to the good guys." She winked. “Be careful, power is intoxicating. It makes you arrogant and reckless.” 

"Like a certain Lord we both know, Hazumi?" Aeris chimed in, only catching the last bit of the conversation as she walked toward the woman. "And by that I only mean the arrogance part." The vampire clarified with a coy grin. 

Her eyes fell on the boy with whom Hazumi danced, and she smiled at him in greeting. "Hello, nice to meet you." Her voice was soft and musical as she spoke, still partially engulfed in the beauty of the music around her. 

“Aeris!” Hazumi exclaimed as her spin gracefully brought her dress to a stop in front of the young woman. 

Little Kasio smiled as Hazumi spun toward her and stopped, curtsying to the woman politely. "Seems the ceremony is going well, I'm sorry for being late," There was a pause as she tried to think of what she wanted to say. Deciding on telling Hazumi the truth she smiled a little wider, the happiness of her almost oozing from her body, giving her a slight glow. "I found Mairyell."

Hazumi's eyebrows rose in surprise and she felt tempted to inquire about the details. It wasn't often when she overlooked an event and that wasn't just any random meeting. Still, there were more important things right now and plenty of time for curiosity later. Smiling again, she gestured to her dance partner. 

“Tim, meet one of your future teachers. She’s got quite a story to tell. One of dark castles and distant wastelands~” She grinned at Aeris. Something about the way she said ‘waste’ made it sound terribly like ‘west’. “She’s travelled to the end of the world and back, you could say.”

As Hazumi disengaged and spun over to the newcomer, Timore found his heart set alight once more as another beauty entered his sight. [I]'Man...I'm going to have a damn heartattack at this rate,'[/I] he thought to himself as he tried to figuratively swallow his heart so it'd get out of his throat and back into his chest. [B]"Um...hi there, Aeris? I'm Timore,"[/B] he walked over, smiling with a mixture of awkwardness and nervousness in his eyes and posture. He wasn't entirely sure how to conduct himself around them, so he figured he'd just do his best to act as confident as possible --as difficult as that was.

Meanwhile Metentis [I]slithered[/I] and [I]hissed[/I] in his mind. He actually felt the instrument shift a bit on his wrist causing him to put his arm behind him, appearing to bow slightly to Aeris in a show of respect. However, his arm stayed behind him after the bow, making him look slightly distinguished. He didn't want Metentis giving anyone a bad impression of him --especially since most of those impressions would be lasting due to them being the first ones.

As Hazumi introduced her to the student she was with, Tim, she turned her glowing sapphire eyes on him, their warmth brightening the glow slightly. "Ah, Tim? Well, it'll certainly be an interesting year that's for sure." The girl blushed a bit as Hazumi played up what she had been through to make it a little less... [i]dark[/i], mentally thanking her. 

"Oh, it's Timore? What a wonderfully interesting name." She blinked as he seemed to bow, curtsying in response, her Brisn casting a faint blue aura around her body as she straightened herself. The boy seemed nervous, to which she mentally laughed. It was kind of cute.

Returning her attention to Hazumi the girl's embarrassment returned slightly. "Ah, Hazumi, I was wondering, is the library that [i]he[/i] once owned still around? There are some books that were there that I'll need for my class." She spoke, obviously trying [i]not[/i] to say the Western Lord's name out loud.

Hazumi nodded with understanding, a tinge of seriousness crossing her face. “Many of the books have already been transferred to your suite. Some others which seemed a little bit more harmless are in the common library.” She glanced at Timore before she suggested. “Would you like me to take you?”

Timore blinked several times at her responding curtsy, and then smiled a bit wider, seeming pleasantly surprised that she'd returned the gesture. However, when Hazumi questioned him, Timore turned to her and tilted his head, looking slightly confused. [B]"What do you mean?"[/B] He asked he, wondering what the woman meant. Meanwhile Metentis was practically fine dining on the emotional essence emitted by the two beauties. If it had had a face, there would have been a wide cheshire grin upon it, with manic green eyes to suite.

In short instrument and musician were both enjoying themselves, because of the same people, but for different reasons. Still, Metentis wanted more, always more. [I][U]'Timmmmoooooreeee!~[/U][/I] The boy winced and then glanced away from Hazumi appearing to smack his arm and kill a fly, even though there was none. [B]"Pesky bugs,"[/B] he said before turning back to the two with a slightly apologetic air about him. Internally he responded to the serpent, [I]'Yes Meten?'[/I] he thought with a slightly annoyed tone. [I][U]'Feeding time soon. Soon...Soon...SOON. NOW. Hurry child, we must have our prey. Draaaaiiiiiiinnnneeedddd. Let me drain the-...[/U][/I] Timore wanted to grind his teeth, but made sure not to, his face displaying the same smile and slight confusion even as his internal voice snapped at the serpent. [I]'Quiet! You know we can't right now,'[/I] the serpent quieted, but within the confines of its instrumental form, filled with the myriad essence that had been devoured by its personality, the being hissed.
[I][U]Very well,[/U][/I] the serpent thought away from its musician's mind, where he could not hear him. [I][U]It seems I'll need to discipline you again, little human,[/U][/I] the black holes on the flute that now masqueraded as a bracelet, lit up with a stirring green light before dimming to an almost black green. No one defied Metentis, especially not Timore, his little surrogate.

Tim's question confused Hazumi. Replaying her actions she wondered what had caused his reaction. It must have been the glance she threw him. Obviously it was just a non-verbal question if he'd excuse her if she showed Aeris to her room. It was after a whole second when her brain reminded her of the other meaning humans put into visiting each-other's rooms. It made her lips twist upwards and she had to tighten them to prevent them from splitting into a knowing grin. However the atmosphere quickly changed as Metentis gave Tim his warning and despite not hearing it well, Hazumi had no doubt about their communication. 

"Careful." She said simply, her eyes piercing the snake. 

Timore's smile faltered for a moment before he nodded, "I'll do just that, Hazumi. In fact, if it's just leading her to her suite or the library I could help her with that. After all, I don't have any friends here and I'd love to escort two beautiful ladies." He smiled again, and winked, his awkwardness fading very quickly. What he was not entirely aware of was Metentis fueling his emotion.

Aeris watched as Hazumi's face changed to a more serious one, and she offered to lead her to her suite. "That would be wonderful!" She chirped softly, her head tilting to the side for a moment when she heard Timore offer to lead her as well. To this, she smirked slightly. 

Though, there was a blush to her cheeks as she started to speak, "Oh? Well, I'd be much obliged if you would be so kind. There are a couple of things I haven't gotten the chance to see in the Academy. One of them being my room, and the other being the Library." She giggled a little looking at Hazumi with a warm smile.

The boy was definitely more confident than before, which she found rather interesting. Absently, she wondered what he would be like when classes picked up. As she stepped back to allow the two to guide her she gave a small smirk, looking toward Timore. 

She wasn't sure she had seen someone go from being ridiculously nervous, to an almost Casanova in a matter of seconds. And if she had, it was long ago. 
Curiously she thought back to Mairyell, wondering how he was fairing on his side of things, and what he would think of this particular situation. She even wondered if he would drop into her class the first day for some support. She would definitely need it.

Hazumi grinned at both children, happy to see them interact in such a friendly and civil fashion. It might seem natural for most humans this day and age, to be less presumptuous of the other races – to the point where some were evidently ready to court a demon as lightheartedly as petting a poodle. And just as carelessly, mind you. In the minds of the old ones, though, the ones like Hazumi and Aeris themselves, this treatment was a privilege they wouldn’t have deemed possible sometime prior. This brief interaction was the fruit of over a hundred years of hard work for the Academy. Through much diplomacy and no less bloodshed, this institution had become a safe haven for any individual of any race, and its influence had spread even outside the building. It had spread to the hearts of many and Hazumi couldn’t be happier. 
 
“Your room is in the East wing, Aeris.” She said, throwing the girl a knowing glance over her shoulder. Although she only knew the briefest outline of Aerises experience in Hell, she had personally made sure to get her a room further from either the west or the south wing. Timore’s offer to escort them amused her greatly, mostly because of the mystery of how exactly [b]he[/b] knew where they were supposed to go if it was only his first day as well. "I can show you to your room as well, Timore, if you remember the number." She joked, implying that he should sleep in his own room tonight, no matter his desires.

The boy rolled his eyes at Hazumi, one hand still behind his back to conceal the faint glow that was being emitted by his instrument. "I had every intention of doing so, Hazumi, but thank you for the offer," there was something of a challenge in his tone, but the majority of his demeanor was respectful, with the exception of the slight shifting in his stance as he subtley rocked from one foot to the other. This betrayed his nervousness somewhat, as it [I]was[/I] in fact still present, despite the fact that it seemed to have fled. The human was not as in control as he appeared to be, and it was more thanks to Metentis and his own adaptation to the situation, which had facilitated the gradual change from nervous to confident --which was closer to his norm really. "Anyways," Timore said, giving Hazumi a look, "I only intended to escort her to the library, since I'm not entirely sure where her room is myself," he said, his smile turning a bit sheepish as he refrained from rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

It turned out that he was trying not to betray the somewhat drastic mood swings that he sometimes suffered because of his [I]companion[/I]. While he was not entirely successful in this, he figured, it did him well to keep up at least an appearance of continuity in regards to his personality and mood, at the very least for the benefit of others. That was his opinion on it at least and while one might've thought so, Timore saw no problem with this, thinking that it was entirely natural. He of course was not naive to the fact that other people didn't seem to rapidly swing between emotions, hence his...cover up, but he never really thought much of the fact that he was --in a way-- manipulating how people saw him via tempering the changes he himself suffered. It was something of a problem, though he didn't yet know it. Perhaps someone else would notice someday and offer some advice, but who knew what could happen.

Aeris smiled intently at the two that stood near her, her eyes intently changing between their faces. It had been a while since she'd actually been treated as if she were Human. The last person who had done so, ended up just wanting to use her for what she was and thought that was the best way to get at it. It would have been true if she hadn't figured it out. For a moment her eyes trained on Timore, she vaguely wondered if he could sense things that weren't Human. Surely the Academy would teach him if he couldn't, right? 

When Aeris heard where her room was located, she let out an audible sigh of relief, her face calming even further. She was glad she wouldn't have to be reminded of her stay in Hell every time she went to her room. Absently, the vampire looked around the room, noticing all of the students and their parents, it was a little overwhelming, but her excitement was still prominent. Her head tilted at Timore's strange behavior. Once again his demeanor had changed... odd. "Hazumi? It's all right for me to bring Lisara to my room when I move, isn't it?" The girl questioned The World, her hands folding in front of herself as she tried not to play with her own hair. [i]Nervous habits,[/i] she thought to herself, starting to balance on the heels of her feet.

"Oh! Timore, I was wondering, how old are you?" Her query was mostly innocent as she was trying to gauge the average age that her students would be. However, there was another motive behind it, one she would be unlikely to share until the end of their tour.

Not ignoring how quickly the little Romeo turned competitive, Hazumi checked Aeris’ expression to see how she was taking it. Timore’s subtle mood-shifts told her that he wasn’t any real threat should he desire Aeris’ company in out-of-office hours, and so she didn’t really deem it necessary to pursue the issue. Furthermore, it was very rare that major offences happened between the Academy’s walls and so their rules about more… human practices were pretty lax. Unless someone took someone else out, of course. Be it due to a swollen eye or a swollen belly. 
 
Then Aeris came back to and asked if she could keep her pet, the Hell-hound she had heard about. She waved a hand in a dismissive gesture and reassured: “Of course, as long as it doesn’t eat any of our lovely students, feel free.” 
 
Watching Timore battle with his nervousness and Aeris utterly ignoring it, put Hazumi in an interesting predicament. She could either ignore the boy, leaving him feeling misjudged and slightly offended, or trying to comfort him. Grinning, she chose the third option of attempting to completely throw him off-balance and patted him on his back in a strong, almost manly gesture. 
 
“Why, I think you should come with us all the way. After all, one of your first jobs here is to make friends, right? What better way than knowing your way around the place. God knows when you might need such knowledge!”

Smiling back at Aeris as she presented her query, Timore laughed lightly, submitting to the impulse to rub the back of his neck a bit before returning it to his back, making it look as if he were clasping his wrist behind him comfortably. "Twenty one, why do you ask?" His response was polite and somewhat curious, though it did not show any significant change in his demeanor. However, he did note the various emotions in Aeris' voice and aura as she asked him, he decided not to think much of them. Granted, it did not help that his synesthesia was being pressed quite heavily due to the multitude of people in the room.

If it hadn't been for the fact that the majority of the stimuli was positive, he'd already have a rather severe migraine. Instead, he only felt a small pressure building behind his eyes, as he had for the last while. It didn't seem to get any worse unless he started really focusing on the essence around him, which he was making a conscious effort not to do. "Oof," Timore exclaimed before giving Hazumi a bit of a rueful smile and then glancing back at Aeris and nodding, "Sounds like a plan, haha. I suppose it'll help me get a better grip on the Academy's layout." His eyes twinkled a bit as he seemed to relish that idea about as much as he enjoyed being in the presence of two beautiful women. However, it was also the mention of a certain [I]Lisara[/I] and while he didn't know who that was, he got the distinct impression that whoever they were happened to be a demon. This didn't seem to bother him at all as he hardly reacted.

Metentis however, still concealed behind his arm, seemed to flare slightly in a mixture of interest and disgust. The being tended to react this way in regards to other demons, specifically hellions. The musician had yet to figure out why.

They were walking down the main hallway. The ceiling was at least 3.5 meters high, the floor was covered in a lush purple carpet and the walls were entirely covered in dark wood. There were no windows here as the hallway cut across almost the entire length of the Academy but the soft dim glow of a hundred wall lamps made the space feel cozy like a winter night by the fire. The doors on each side blended in with the wood and only the details of the ornaments and the golden labels set them apart. 
 
The walk through the halls of the Academy would be quite a long one, given the size of the building, so Hazumi filled it with chatter. She hadn’t expected to give a tour around the castle-like school but didn’t particularly mind either.
 
“So this is the main hallway. It connects the ball room, the library and the refectory. Those are all on your left handside, in order. Then on the right we have some function rooms for students’ events, some computer rooms and a little movie theater. Above us, on the second floor, are the classrooms. Then, on the third one we have all the archives, the administration and the storage rooms. We also have a basement and a courtyard, where you’re allowed to have picnics or romantic walks at night. It’s entirely enclosed within the Academy’s walls.” She explained, taking a right turn through a door that proved to be a masked walkway. Passing through another door they found themselves in another hallway, parallel to the first one, aside from one wall of it featuring tall windows. There was a pair of doors right in front of them, grand and majestic, covered in a myriad of tiny woodwork scenes. Hazumi pushed one of them open and revealed the courtyard – a beautiful mixture of stone and green. “As you exit through the main doors in the middle of the building, which are these, what remains on your left is the gymnasium. We have two – one is this one, the other one is the special training gym underground. On your right you’ll find the student dorms, and straight ahead – the pool and the spa.” She threw Aeris a glance and winked. “As for your rooms, they are right this way.” Even though they looked closer, the dorms proved to be quite a walk away through the courtyard, however no one really minded. It was still warm and the scent of the last flowers and the first dying leaves was filling the night air. The woman led them through one of the multiple doors to the dorms and to a door that had a golden label with Aeris’ name on it. 
 
“I hope you enjoy the interior. Timore, yours will be just a few doors down, the first one without a name on it.” She grinned meaningfully and Timore had to wonder if that was a real coincidence. 

As they walked through the school, Aeris' eyes gazed upon everything with a whimsical sense of wonder. "Whoever built this place had exquisite taste." The vampire mumbled to herself as Hazumi began to tell the two where everything was in relation to the main hallway. Admittedly, the layout of the school sounded confusing, but she was sure it wasn't too bad in practice.

The longer the walk took, the more Aeris' mind wandered back to what this would have been if she were Human. She probably would have needed a break if she was the same as back then. The image that appeared in her head at this thought caused Little Kasio to softly giggle. To be honest, she was mesmerized by the building in which she found herself.

When they reached the door to the courtyard, Aeris probably seemed to lose a few years on her age as she stared in wonder at the beautiful garden-like area before her. The Gymnasium Hazumi mentioned seemed relatively small in comparison to the buildings that surrounded it. Though, anything as simple as a square brick building would have looked small in contrast to the extravagance of its surroundings.

When Aeris heard there was both a pool and a spa, she let out a wistful sigh, smiling warmly at Hazumi when she winked.

Absently, the vampire's blue eyes traveled over Timore, trying to read his reaction as they neared the dorms. She was still wondering what he thought when she saw her name on something in her peripheral vision. 

The door to her room.

Little Kasio went from confused to beaming. She reached for the handle of her door, however, as she opened it. she paused. "Timore, I have a request." She spoke softly, warmly, as she turned her head to look at the boy once more before she went inside. 

"Tomorrow, don't ruin my fun." She flashed him a playful smile, winking at Hazumi as she stepped inside her room with a gasp. 

Her hand released the doorknob, allowing the door to shut softly behind her.

[i]Holy [b]shit[/b][/i]. Was the only thought Lisara heard. 

As they strode through the Academy, Timore's eyes were lit up with interest and, to some degree, wonder. The place certainly lived up to its reputation. In fact, the first two words that came to mind were lavish and extraordinary. Still though, at the end of the day they were just a series of buildings. Despite the gradual decrease in interest, Timore's eyes remained on Hazumi as he made sure he did his best to memorize the layout. It'd be good to know his way around as he rather hated getting lost.

Part way through their fairly long walk Timore noticed Aeris' eyes on him, but he made an effort not to meet them. She seemed to be gauging his reactions, he could tell by the look in her eyes and the colors around her. However, it wasn't just those thing that notified him of her activities, it was the fact that her actions were ones to which he was quite familiar.

When they finally arrived before the girl's door, and she made a request of him, he smiled lightly and nodded, though with a slight confusion in his eyes. He watched her enter her room, the door shutting behind her, before he glanced to Hazumi, bowed his head, and departed. He didn't feel the need to stay any longer, in fact, he needed to be gone --Metentis demanded it. As such the boy entered his dorm room, changed into some less conspicuous clothing, and then departed the academy, to which he would not return for the majority of the night. Metentis needed to be tended to, and Timore could wait no longer, that was simply not the way of things...unfortunately.