[center][h2][color=#c9a0dc]Ankaa Liu[/color][/h2][/center][right][sub][color=gray]Interactions:[/color] [@samakama][/sub][/right][hr][hr]
When the matches were all completed, Ankaa went to line up with the others, waiting orderly for the professor’s proclamations. She raised a brow when he quipped that he couldn’t expel them all. [color=#c9a0dc][i]Does he expect us all to be at the Miracle Seven’s level?[/i][/color] she wondered. On the one hand, it would be helpful if he pushed them to accomplish more, but on the other, high expectations like that led to exactly the radical decisions Class C witnessed next. 

All but 13 of them were expelled. [color=#c9a0dc][i]If all he wanted to see was mana control, why did he have us fight in the first place?[/i][/color] she shook her head in disbelief. She’d enjoyed it, and found it to be as good a practice as ever, but if their instructor wasn’t even going to bother to give out commentary…

[color=#c9a0dc][i]Well,[/i][/color] she sighed. [color=#c9a0dc][i]At least I know that expulsion results in a return of one’s tuition.[/i][/color] That was a bit of an odd point, admittedly, since she’d thought this place was all about personal responsibility. Besides, if expelled students regained their tuitions, would the same be done for those not managing to graduate? [color=#c9a0dc][i]Mm, doesn’t matter right now,[/i][/color] she decided. She was in for now, so she didn’t need think of the ‘what ifs’. It was a shame for those dismissed students, but such was this institution. 

Someone also raised an issue with Misaiya, and having observed their fight, Ankaa could understand those doubts. However, the professor was correct; strategy was essential in warfare. Admittedly, she’d not looked at the matches as a genuine battle, but it was a valid interpretation. One that professor Nyx seemed to favour, apparently.

She also contemplated the ‘sever the dead limb’ phrase. Certainly, if a person’s leg was gangrened, it was often best to simply cut it off. But could whole humans really be talked about this? How could one showing tell the professor that those students weren’t effective enough to be included? Or what if any of the Festival’s events were geared to including a larger number of students? Ultimately, it was irrelevant to speculate, however.

Ankaa blinked at Nyx’s parting inspirational sentence. [color=#c9a0dc][i]Even flowers…But is the warren wasteland Class C or the academy as a whole?[/i][/color] From what she gathered from their instructor, she wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter; her respected very few, and probably wasn't impressed by anyone below his ability or status.

Liu turned to go to the dorms, and was heading out of the courtyard when she was stopped by Misaiya. The agreement to go see the arcane painters’ club had honestly somewhat slipped her mind – or rather, Ankaa had assumed they would not be going after today’s exertions. As such, she nodded when Misaiya had approached her about the matter. [color=#c9a0dc]“Agreed. Some other time, then,”[/color] she replied.

It took a few minutes longer than she’d thought to get to the right dorm, since the hallways and rooms were so very drably similar – the plaques with their names the only unique characteristic of this particular stretch of walls and doors. Ankaa smiled when she saw that she’d room with Misaiya, someone she was already familiar with. When she entered the room, she was bemused to find him asleep on the floor, while her other male roommate – Caelum – was napping on the couch. 

[color=#c9a0dc][i]He’s definitely going to get a crick in his neck,[/i][/color] she thought as she gazed at the long-haired boy. She seemed so soundly asleep that she really didn’t want to wake him up, however. [color=#c9a0dc][i]He won’t feel weird about it if I carry him, right?[/i][/color] Since there was no one to answer her doubts, she simply approached Misaiya, crouched down next to him, scooped him up in a princess carry, and heaved him up with a huff. Ankaa walked the short way to the bedroom, and deposited him in one of the beds as gently as she could. His body still thumped a bit against the mattress, and Misaiya ended up sprawled on it a bit awkwardly, but at least he wasn’t on the floor anymore.

That done, Liu took a few minutes to stretch her own body, then went to fetch her own belongings. She had but a meagre bag of possessions; some spar clothing, a sewing kit, and a bunch of studying and writing materials. The martial artist missed the intended function of the wooden partitioning, however, as she simply settled herself on the same side as she’d put Misaiya, simply claiming the empty bed next to him. She set her bag against the bed’s frame, then settled in for a nap herself.