[h3][B][I]Alistair and Vail (Sort of)[/I][/B][/h3]

Alistair felt his spirit sink when Elliot’s strike failed completely. He should have expected it, and was surprised he had so much confidence in her. Elliot was enthusiastic and acted with the force of a hurricane, and it was not that he should have had no confidence in the young girl, but Joux had so much more experience and had fought against threats that paled in comparison to anything Alistair even knew existed, let alone anything he had fought against. Although he should have seen it coming, Alistair was always the optimist, and would have loved to see a young upstart knock a little humility back into Joux. Still, it was more than interesting to see how each of these newcomers fought, and Alistair watched intently from the side-lines, wincing every time someone suffered an injury that might take more than a night to shake off. So many bruises and broken bones.

When Joux announced that Alistair and the currently-absent Vail would be the new teachers for Elliot and Maeve, Alistair’s only response was a deep breath, followed by a long, exhausted sigh. He was entirely happy to take on new students, and he looked forward to the opportunity to impart some wisdom on these two young ladies… he was just worried about what Vail might do to the poor things.

“[COLOR=f6989d]They’ll be in safe hands, Joux,[/COLOR]” he said, bowing his head in a brief nod as the man turned and vanished. A familiar smile crossed his lips. “[COLOR=f6989d]They’ll be Chrono Asylums before you know it! And luck will have nothing to do with it![/COLOR]”

The asylum waited patiently for his two new wards to approach, his smile still wide and his hands crossed over, resting on the handle of his umbrella which stood upright, and used it to support his body. Alistair’s vision fell down to the umbrella he held, and then trailed across the ground to Elliot’s sword, which had been made only moments ago from Alistair’s umbrella that the iron alchemist had cannibalised only moments prior. It sat there, unmoved, although the blade dented from the fall. Alistair had made no attempt to reclaim or repair his old umbrella, clearly, so what on Earth was the identical copy that he was currently holding?

Alistair chuckled.

When the two stood before him, Alistair stood up straight, head held high, and he cleared his throat to speak. He towered over the two women, especially when he stood with perfect posture. “[COLOR=f6989d]Where do we begin? Well, first of all I believe introductions are in order! While I may have gone through this process myself a moment ago, I believe another, more formal attempt is required now that Joux has designated me as your teacher! My name is Alistair Julius Delacour, also known in some Asylum circles as Doctor Jekyll, and I am Asylum fifty five. I am one half of the Asylum team Pendulum, and I am going to be teaching you today! Isn’t this all so exciting?[/COLOR]”

“[COLOR=f6989d]First I think we should go and retrieve Vail, lest she find herself in even more trouble than usual, and then we shall see what we can do about helping you harness the power of your alchemic drives prope-[/COLOR]”

He had not even notice that Maeve had wandered off, weaving in and out of the sparse crowds of people as she made her way to the opposite side of the cafeteria. She appeared to be following the terrified wails of some other lost soul in the cafeteria, and only when he followed the trail that she followed did he see the source. A young boy had phased through the floor and appeared to have gotten himself stuck. Alistair followed Maeve’s footsteps, weaving in and out of the crowds to his destination with more grace than a man of his lanky proportions should reasonably be able to manage. He arrived to Maeve helping a terrified young boy, no older than twelve or thirteen, and could not help but be amused by the scene. What an interesting change of pace for the Celtic warrior woman, who he had assumed might lack a gentler touch.

When he arrived beside Maeve he slipped his hand into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled the red handkerchief from it. With remarkable finesse he brought the material up to Maeve’s forehead, dabbing tenderly around the injury on her head, wiping away the blood without ever touching the open wound. He held the square at a distance for a while before tossing the blood-soaked rag aside onto the floor, discarding it. [I]Much better[/I], he thought. He had noticed just how badly the woman was bleeding until she walked away, and at least now the blood was not positively everywhere. He tried his best to ignore what blood had fallen onto the floor.

Having finished tending to Maeve, who was in turn tending to the young boy, Alistair knelt down just as she did, and examined him intently. The blond haired boy seemed to have had a small problem with his alchemy and was stuck half-way in the floor, but Maeve heaved him out of the ground almost effortlessly. For an alchemist who had yet to graduate, she had remarkable control over her powers. [i]She will go far[/i], he thought, [i]unless Vail has any say in that[/i].

“[COLOR=f6989d]Are you okay now?[/COLOR]” Alistair asked to the young boy.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but another voice called out from behind him, berating the young boy for snivelling over his failed alchemy. It was another student, seemingly around the same age, with a disinterested expression on his face and a disinterested tone to his voice. [i]He seems like delightful company[/i], Alistair thought, although the tone he used to think up such a thing was so thick and fierce with sarcasm that for a moment he wondered if he had actually said that out loud.

“[COLOR=f6989d]There’s no need to be so rude. I thought it was rather impressive! Phasing through solid objects is something most veteran alchemists struggle to manage, and he even succeeded in making a fine recovery! Or at least I think he did. I see no pieces of rock protruding from his body, nor do the cavities his body appear to have filled with concrete… That can get very nasty.[/COLOR]"