Collab: Grey and Meirin (Also Zaad).
Meirin opened her eyes as the sunlight shined on her face. For once she managed to wake up in the morning instead of later in the afternoon, which meant her medication was working. Shortly after attending her first classes at the college, her narcolepsy became a real bothersome issue. She was given some medication to control her sleep cycle, and some theraphy to deal with her nightmares. Now a days her sleeps are dreamless, but the cold emptiness was more appealing that the constant thoughts of horrific things. It has been some time since she had such a good night's sleep.
Meirin got out of bed as quietly as she could. She wasn't sure if Aruna was up yet, and didn't want to wake her up if she was still in bed. The morning air felt cold and made Meirin shiver, but it also reminded her of her old home back in the mountains of Djarkel. It was a comforting cold. After putting her bedroll away, she decided that she would warm up with her kotastu before she left her room. She set the table up and put the quilt in place. As she waited for it to heat up, she stripped out of her nightware and into some more casual winter attire. She had some clothes for the weather, though they were heavy and rugged, meant to be able to survive a tumble down the mountains while also making sure she could use her technquies without her movements being impeded. Once she was dressed, she sat underneath the warm quilt of her kotatsu. The hot air escaped the confinement of the quilt and flowed onto her clothing, which soon began to heat up and warm up Meirin. It was heavenly.
Meirin was tempted to fall back asleep underneath the kotatsu, but after warming up she knew she should at least try to head towards the dinning hall for breakfast. Before she left, Meirin went to her closet and dug out a bottle containing yellow pills. Energy pills used to make sure Meirin would be lively during the day. Good for twelve hours, but she only be eaten once every few days. She didn't ask what the draw backs would be under the idea that she'd only take one everyone two or three days, or at least on days where she would be expected to be active for the entire day. Popping one pill into her mouth, Meirin made her way to the dinning hall, braving the winter weather.
Alright, that little bastard can't hide forever! Grey thought as he barreled down the hallway. He had been after Khan's shadow demon, Zaad all morning and he was certain that the thing would be this way. In all honesty, his job was just to keep an eye on the little bugger, but he was also certain that the miserable bastard had been screwing with him. He'd seen shadows move and twist all over the place, and one time when it happened particularly suddenly he slammed into a wall. Good thing his shoulder took the blow or his nose would be quite flat right now.
He hadn't gotten any real assignments since he'd arrived, but he had at least proved that he was adept at following instructions and keeping the peace, usually. Still, he wasn't allowed anywhere near underhaven, for obvious reasons. Strangely enough, there were quite a few teachers he hadn't met, most notably the necromancy and Psychomancy ones. He was told by various students that the Psychomancy one was best avoided however. In any event, he had proven that he was tough, reliable, and polite. It was all going so well, and to his eternal gratitude he hadn't had to deal with any vampires either.
Unfortunately, he wasn't the luckiest person in the world. His frantic sprinting through the halls led him to round a corner, and almost smack right into someone. "Whoah!" He shouted as he tried to change his course. Thankfully, he missed the girl, but slammed right into a pillar, and managed to knock it over, causing the decorative vase to shatter over his head. Slowly, he picked himself up, coughed a few times, and dusted himself off. "ZAAD! WHEN I FIND YOU I'LL PUNCH YOU SO HARD YOU WON'T COME BACK FOR A MONTH!" He shouted at nowhere in particular. it was then he remembered something important. "Oh, uh... Sorry, Ma'am. This demon's proven to be quite tricky, and I'm, um, a litte frustrated..." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Nice going, you've slammed into a wall and thrown a hissy fit. way to make a first impression...
Meirin was minding her own business, breathing into her hands thinking that it'll help keep her fingers warm, when one of the guards run right around the corner. Meirin was quick to get out of the way, but instead the made crashed into a pillar, causing a vase to shatter on his head. "Whoa! Are you alright!?" He than shouted about someone named "Zaad" and how he'll enact his revenge on him when the guard noticed Meirin. Apparently he was chasing down a demon, but more importantly, was unharmed with his recent incident. At least enough that he hasn't registered the fact that he just ran into a pillar and broke one of the college's vases. "That's... Bad to hear. This demon, Zaad, was it? Does he belong to anyone in particular?" Mei never had high opinions of demons, but as long as they were bound she figured that her opinions didn't matter. If this demon were an escaped one, however, well... She'd need to do her part to protect the college.
Well, the girl hadn't run off or anything, that was good. But he wasn't that sure if that was definitive proof that she didn't think he was a psychopath. "Uhh, yeah, I'm alright. Doesn't hurt all that much really." Grey said. Say what you want about him, Grey was remarkably tough. She asked who the demon belonged to, and he didn't really see any reason not to tell her. "Khan." He said simply. "Zaad isn't dangerous, but he is an obnoxious jerk." He said. Mostly, his job was to make sure that Zaad didn't bother the students. He was familiar with this assignment, and Zaad was exceptionally good at fooling him. Or maybe Grey was easily fooled. Probably the latter. He then suddenly remembered something relatively important; he had forgotten to introduce himself. "Oh, My name's Grey by the way. Grey Onyx." He said as he extended his hand.
Meirin raised and eyebrow when the guardsman mentioned that the demon belonged to Khan, the headmaster. She had remembered hearing that he was a demonmancer, but was it safe to have one of his demons roaming freely in the college? It seemed that the demon himself needed a guard if that's what this one was suppose to be for. And the fact that he was here instead of with the demon did little to ease her rather small worry. Than the guardsman exended his hand and told her his name. She knew the gesture was meant for greeting in these lands, so she extended her own hand and gave him a firm shake, while also bowing her head on impulse. "My name is Meirin Kurenai. Sir Onyx, do you need any help finding Zaad?" She was wondering what she would do for the rest of the day. Aside from getting breakfast, she figured she'd go back to her room, work on some Weaving forms, maintain her weapons, so forth. This little demon hunt would be fun.
Meanwhile, from on high up in the rafters, two sets of red eyes watched the pair doing introductions. His face seemed to twist into a rather wicked grin, namely because of the fun possiblities he could do with those two. Though he was shortly discovering how borning it was to just sit and watch. Without wasting farther time, he melted back into the shadows and appeared just a little ways from the hallway's end as he appeared to move around the corner. It was only to get the pair's attention, not that either of them could miss a large, shadowy like demon floating down the hallway after all.
"Well, I'm not sure you can, I'd have to talk to the capta..." Grey began. He wasn't really sure if he was allowed to ask for help, and he didn't really want to drag this nice girl into this wild goose chase. However, he trailed off when he was SURE he saw Zaad at the end of the hall. "There he is! Quick!" He shouted as he tried to get into a run. He didn't get very far as he slipped on a piece of broken vase and landed on his back. With a groan, he slammed his fist on the ground to his side as he prepared to get up and resume the chase. Maybe I do need help... he thought idly as he rose.
Meirin's head jerked towards the direction Grey pointed at. She saw a large shadow dask past the corner. She couldn't make out what it was, but certainly it could be anything. Grey fell on the vase shards, but by the time he would have gotten up Meirin was already turning the corner. The chase was on, and against all logic, she was determined to capture the demon. But it seemed like every time she managed to get to the next bend, the demon was already turning down another hall. She couldn't keep chasing him by following his path; she'd need to intercept him. Meirin didn't know the college area well, but she did know that she could traverse it in ways some others cannot. She did not have wings to fly, but she had the strength and grace to reach places unaccessible to most on foot. When one of her turns took her to another hallway with a few open windows, Meirin jumped out of a window only to turn and grab a ledge. She carefully got herself onto it and ran across it as though it was solid ground.
When she thought she was getting close, Meirin jumped through another open window, hoping to grab a hold of the demon. But all she managed to get a hold of was a bit of shadow and air. "What!? I was sure he was there just a moment ago..."
As Grey was getting up, he noticed Meirin was already giving chase. "Mathix'll have my heart on a pike..." Grey said to himself as he gave chase. While stronger, and thus faster than Meirin, Grey couldn't corner nearly as well. or jump or anything of that description. He couldn't quite keep up, but he did notice Meirin jump out through a window. "Hey! Sonuva bitch went this way!" He shouted. Too late though, she was gone. The slippery bastard was far too agile for him, but he wouldn't tire anytime soon, and every second Zaad spent fleeing Grey was another he wasn't harassing students.
Although his tiny mind finally registered that Meirin was trying to intercept the demon. He had noticed that their paths intersected, and decided to try her route this time. Although unfortunately, he wasn't near as graceful. His boot got caught in the windowsill as he jumped through, and he fell forward and landed right on top of the poor girl. "Wha... soft..." He said incoherently. His head of course, had smacked against the ground a bit hard. and then he realized where he was. "Wha, AH!" he said as he scrambled off the poor girl. "I-I-I'm s-so sorry m-ma'am..." he barely managed to stutter out. He hoped he hadn't hurt her.
Zaad's hearty laughter echoed through out the hallway's walls. The sound vibrated and seemed to come from every direction, in no sense giving his location away to the fallen pair. It was too clear he was enjoying the chaos his little stunt had caused and couldn't help adding insult to pain. "Get a room you two, last time I checked it wasn't apportiate to make out in public."
The tone was mocking while he floated down from the rafters. His form behind the pair who had vaulted out the window and had ended up in a small, two people dog pile. He stuck this tongue out at Grey, then glided away, heading the opposite way.
Meirin fell to the ground, though mostly unharmed. It wasn't until Grey decided to follow her that she felt the cold hard floor hit her face. A mix of anger and embarassment overcame her, but she kept it to herself. Obviously what Grey did was an accident and she didn't need to overract to it. Soon the demon Zaad came down to mock them, which also did not provoke her. When Grey finally managed to get off of Mei, she simply got to her feet and looked as the demon skipped off down the hall. They needed a better plan than simply chasing him down. "Wait Sir Onyx. Chasing him down like an animal won't get us anywhere. I have a plan, if you're willing to listen."
Grey finally managed to put himself together, and sincerely hoped that miserable bastard was the only one that saw that. He decided not to scream at Zaad this time, as yelling and shaking his fist had little success. However, Meirin seemed to have a plan. Grey rose to his feet, and dusted himself off. "Anything that keeps that from happening again..." He said, mostly to himself. "Alright, just tell me what I need to do." Grey wasn't exactly the best when it came to solving problems without relying on brute force, but anything was better than more sprinting.
"Alright, it's obvious that Zaad is faster than either one of us, and can see us coming from a mile away. So here's what I suggest..."
A little bit later, Meirin, from her hiding place, saw were Zaad was last seen. From what Grey had told her, Zaad seemed to have some sort of shadow-based ability, so she set a little something up to try to migitate his powers. As for Grey himself, Meirin discovered that he didn't quite have the cunning necessary to do anything that required subtlety. So she relied on the fact that Grey was predictable, and that Zaad would know that. Now Meirin just had to wait until Grey made the signal...
Grey was in position, and was at least glad his part was uncomplicated. All he had to do was rush the sonuvabitch when he showed his ugly face. It was about ten minutes of waiting before Zaad showed up, and it was go time! With a mighty roar, Grey charged forward with his shield raised. He made sure to put extra effort into this one, and ran as fast as he could. Which was, to put it scientifically, really fucking fast. Thanfully, the hall Meirin chose was quite long.
Right on time, Zaad showed up when he got a lingering sense his game might've come to its end. He didn't like that idea. Not one bit, he rounded the corner once more just to spot Grey charge at him! Zaad sighed, thinking how idoitic the man looked when he roared and came bolting full speed at him. Naturally the shadow just stood there. Closer, closer thought the demon while it seemed in mere moments Grey was about to flatten him into a small pancake before the demon merely...sidestepped. His guess, namely cause in this moment Grey had him thinking of Khan's dim witted Heus, that the man wouldn't be able to turn very sharply. However, he was still on the alert as he had been wrong before. His sand molded into a small leg aimed to trip the man.
His back was turned to a little window and unaware.
That little window turned out to be much bigger than it first appeared. Meirin assumed that, having powers based in darkness, more light should make it weaker. So when Zaad was distracted with Grey, the window behind Zaad opened and allowed the sun's full rays to shine on him and the surrounding area. Whether or not that would have any effect wasn't the main part of the plan; the main part was when Meirin tried to smash Zaad with a giant snowball. "Snowball", however, might have been too inaccurate. It was more akin to a Snow Boulder, like what you'd use to make the base of a snowman. She couldn't very well try to kill the demon, but hopefully smashing a compact ball of snow onto his form wouldn't hurt him too much, but at the same time stun him and keep him daze. And in case that one wasn't enough, Meirin took the precaution to make another one, which she briefly left Zaad to get.
Grey noticed the sidestep, and he noticed the leg. NO. He was not getting tripped again! He leaped up a bit, not high but enough to clear the leg. Rushing forward, he kicked against a pillar, transferring his momentum and launching him in the opposite direction. He noticed Meirin had got him with the snowball, so he leapt up with a scream, and clubbed the bastard over the head with the shield. "THAT'S FOR TUESDAY!" He roared, before hitting him again. "AND THAT'S FOR NOVEMBER! ALL OF IT!"
Zaad started to laugh when Grey was about to run into his leg, the larger man leap up in an attempt to clear it and only managed to clip it. That's then the Demon's body was shoved forward when something impacted his back, his head turned to the window as he felt the wetness seep in after the white snow melted. It was quickly absorbed much to his dislike. Where the dampness was, his form had a clumpy and slightly more solid texture which make it easier to grasp. Already the woman was making another to his dislike as the brute force plow came back for a second round. His eyes looked around but to his bitterment, there were no large shadows nearby.
That only meant one thing. He would have to take the hit, which would allow him an escape and possibly some fun. His body ducked down and instantly felt the impact of the shield. It hit him once, twice but the third time Grey wouldn't feel the soggy lump make a connection with his makeshift weapon. Instant it hit the floor. A floor now wet with a puddle which quickly iced over due to the cold weather and would likely be rather slick for Grey's footing. The Demon had used the man's own desire to pummel him to create shade against the sunlight and make a shadow to escape with.
"Thank you lunkhead..." Zaad's words were said from a very shady patch of the hallway behind Grey.
Meirin came back only to see Grey bashing his shield against the floor. Before she could ask any questions she heard Zaad's voice down the hall, where it was darker. Determined to win their little game, Meirin tossed the snowball high into the air as she herself jumped into the hall. Time slowed down as Meirin's mind went over the motions she learned during her stay at the college. She had been practicing her Weaving with various others, and of the various forms she knew, she had one for Vitamancy, Aeromancy, and Hydromancy. Her body moved in very practiced and precise movements, her arms kept strait but flowing, cutting through the air like swords. By the time the snowball was around her head high, she had finished her Weaving of wind. From her hands was a blast of wind, strong enough to launch the snowball towards Zaad at great speed. However, the technique left her quite winded and was made to take a knee to rest, hoping that the snowball hit it's mark and Grey could try to get Zaad again.
As Zaad taunted him, Grey had finally really snapped. Far too enraged for screaming, Grey simply whipped around to charge the bastard in the hall. He had however, miscalculated (or completely forgotten) that Meirin was also trying to take him down. Though the slippery floor didn't hinder him, the snowball was his undoing as he rushed the shadow creature, he felt a rather large snowball impact his head with extreme force, coupled with his momentum, it launched him into a nearby pillar, with an almost sickening crunch.
Zaad managed to catch a glimpse of the woman after he felt the wind gather and shot forward, the energy died upon reaching him. Just afterwards, she fell to a knee as her magic left her weakened, nothing new with Novices in the earlier stages within their lessons. Sadly as Zaad knew, if she wasn’t careful then likely this game would turn from fun into a life and death matter within a heartbeat. Something he didn’t look forward to at all.
The demon sighed in annoyance at Mei’s over exertion, something he found distasteful, then turned to dodge. That was Grey turned himself about on the wet floor and once more, quietly this time, charged right at him. Zaad could see the result a mile away which only made his confidence rise when it did happen. He watched the man veer into the nearest pillar with a sound crack, though the Demon doubted it hurt much because he had seen the man take harder hits and still rise. He couldn’t help the burst of laughter that rattled his insides as it was thrown against the hall and its wall in loud, long bellows. It was so bad his hand had to brace himself on a wall just to keep from rolling upon the floor in a giggle fit, his breath short and raspy in result of his mirth.
His breath gasping, he again did in Zaad fashion, added his two cents in. “I….hahahaa, suggest you…oh god, that’s fucking funny as hell...ahaaa. Just...see Sam!”
The demon had managed the last sentence merely because he made it short and sweet to ease the struggle with talking.
Meirin felt tired, but she wasn't out of the fight yet. Unfortunately Grey had intercepted the snowball meant for Zaad, who mocked them with great laughter. This annoyed Meirin, and found a new energy within herself to keep fighting. She knew she had neither the time nor energy to use another Weaving Spell, so she ran forward, scooping up snow from Grey's back. Balling it into a tight wad, she tossed the orb of snow right at Zaad, which was shortly followed after by Meirin herself. But she wasn't planning on just tackling him; she wanted to shoot right past him, to block his exit and sandwich the demon between her and Grey.
Grey was tired, disoriented, and in considerable pain. Judging by the fact he couldn't move his arm, he guessed it had broken. Whatever, it didn't take long for stuff likethat anyway. At most he'd have to wear a brace for a week. This was as close as he had ever gotten to catching Zaad, but to be honest he was about ready to call it quits. Meirin, however, had other ideas. She rushed forward and past Zaad, but he could see there wasn't much point. He rose, and secured his shield to his arm, before making sure the broken one wasn't too serious. This was likely the first actual injury he'd sustained here at the college, he wondered how much quicker a fleshmender could get his arm fixed. First things first however. "Mei! You might as well give up! If we could catch him that last trick woulda worked!"
Zaad was trying to get his shit together, but it was rather hard after the incident and how well these two worked as a team. It was impossible not to double over, letting his body melt into some shadow before he suddenly felt the familar wetness of snow plop right into his face. He had turned his face up just into time to be blinded by whiteness. He snarled in surprise as his fingers tried to claw away the wetness which had seeped into his eyesight.The demon couldn't see, it would be clear to both Mei and Grey, and in the end, he was easy pickings.
"Damn it..stupid, white shit." He cursed a bit as he missed Mei dart pass and attempt to sandwich him in. Zaad had even been distracted enough to miss Grey's comment.
"Don't give up Sir Onyx! This plan isn't over yet!" Meirin was unaware of Grey's injuries, but despite all that has happened she still had hope that they could capture Zaad. She had no idea how to detain him, knowing that as a demon he could likely overpower or and Grey alone. But despite this, she never gave up. Meirin scooped a small handful of snow from the window and jumped onot Zaad, smacking a handful of snow in his face while also trying to lock up what seemed to be his arms. She had no idea if Demons share a basic anatomy with humans, but still she tried to put Zaad into an armlock of sorts, pressing his fingers against the top of his hand while bracing his elbow between her breast to ensure that he could not release it easidly. "Now is your chance! Don't let it go to waste!"
Godsdamnit, Meirin was right! Grey would not allowhimself to be defeated! He was going to catch this joker, and prove his usefullness to everyone! Grey ran forward again, in an effort to grab a hold of the demon, as he dived and slammed to the ground, he noticed he had not caught his target. Instead, he felt something... soft. it was then he noticed that Zaad had just... vanished and he had instead captured... Meirin. at this point, he simply rolled off and groaned, a noise that was a mixture of rage, dissappointment, embarrassment, and defeat. However, after he thought it over, this whole debacle was kind of amusing in a way. So, he began to laugh. Slowly at first, but it picked up. At the end however, he sat up and said "We never really had a chance, huh?"
That was too close. Zaad though as he had finally managed to clear the snow just enough to spot a shadow. He was likely the bitch hadn't pulled another stunt of making more light or he never would've been able to shift out of there, his form softened as he had sanded right out there. It wasn't easy. And now, his mind shifted in guilt to the memory of the large pain in the ass's broken arm had made his usually cold heart thraw just a little. Not in the gooey sense or lovely dovely, disgusting one either. It was more that there was no fun in picking on the wounded guy even if he liked to mock, make fun and more.
Naturally a familar voice popped into his head: Rathel's. Weed boy of course had to get his digs in after sensing the Shadow's guilt and just be a plain stupid jerk about it, his voice smug in that irritated way. So...how does it feel to know a pile of cat litter beat a small female student and a man whose arm is broken?
"Shut up..."Zaad said begrudgingly, his hands placed into formed pockets. "Fine, you stupid ragweed. I'll do it."
The last thing Zaad heard was Rathel's winning chuckle before he puffed out his cheeks then spun around back towards the hallway. He had to make sure everything was ready so while Grey seemed down casted and defeated, Zaad had rised quietly to the rafters then situationed himself directly underneath the largest source of snow gathered near the roof's edge. He hoped Mei or even Grey would notice it and come up with the idea. Even if they didn't, he was determined to allow the large man to catch him then send Grey off to the medical wing.
"Ow!" Somehow, Zaad had escaped. One moment she had him in an armlock, the next Grey was crashing into her. The pain of hitting the ground made it difficult for Meirin to realize what sort of compromising prosition they were in, and by the time she had her facilities in check Grey was already off of her and spoke about what he thought. "Hey, there's always a chance. Even if it's only one percent, we can make that to a hundred as long as we take it. Besides that, it's not as- Oh gods, what happened to your arm!?" Meirin just now noticed that Grey seemed to have dislocated his arm at some point in this scuffle. Guilt came over her; she was so concerned with trying to capture this Zaad that she hasn't even bothered to make sure Grey was safe.
Though Zaad did soon return, Meirin's attention wasn't towards him. This was no time for fun and games. "Grey, we need to get you to the infirmary quickly! Can you stand?"
huh. She seems concerned... Grey thought. I mean really, it was just a broken arm. It's not like it was serious or anything. I mean, without healers the most this would likely due is keep him in bed for a week. But now that he had healers that would do it for free, he wasn't worried. Not that it didn't hurt, but a little pain never harmed anyone. "Well, sure. My legs are fine." He stood up, and at that point he noticed Zaad. "Just go do whatever it is you do, we don't have time for this." he said. He took a moment to remove the armor on his left arm, and after inspecting it found that the Humerus had been almost snapped in half.
"Hey, there's no rush. Everything's gonna be fine" He said. Simply having Mei panic wasn't really good for anyone, Grey or her. "But, you're right. No sense delaying a trip to the doctor, huh?" He added.
Meirin's face became serious when Grey tried to downplay his injuries. "Do not try to act tough for my sake, Sir Onyx. Strong people have died of more minor wounds, this one will no doubt cause much more damage. Let's go see if the vitamancers could try to mend this." Meirin and Grey would soon leave to go to the Infirmary, but not before one more thing. Meirin had finally noticed Zaad and his location, and she suspected that he wanted them to give chase again. Instead she picked up a handful of snow and packed it tightly, until it was almost like a rock. Than she threw it at Zaad... And missed him. But she did also hit the snowbank above him, causing it to fall. Meirin then took Grey to the infirmary to get his arm fixed up.
Grey really wasn't sure why Meirin was so concerned. Even if people had died of lesser wounds, he certainly hadn't. Nevertheless, he didn't argue. It was at that point he noticed her get ready to throw a snowball at Zaad. With a sigh, he was about to tell her not to bother but it was too late. At least she didn't give chase again. On the way, he finally had time to ask this question that had been floating around in his head. "So, uh, where are you from? I don't think I've ever heard that accent before..." He asked the girl. Really, everything about her, her mannerisms and such, her appearance, she was pretty odd.
Zaad watched the pair walk off. His form not wet and cold thanks to the snow ball hitting the large collection above him, then drenched the demon completely. His face was sour but made no snide comment. Instead he grew irritated at the bellowing laughter rocketing off his skull's interior thanks to Rathel. The ragweed seemed to have found the whole scene, namely the end, amusing beyond words. Zaad could even see the large plant wannabe rolling on the snowy ground with mirth.
"Yeah, yeah. Just go eat some flies, you walking much pile." Was Zaad's remark as he turned to walk away from the pair disappearing down the hallway. They wouldn't notice the light hearted smirk the shadow gave in their wake, knowing what might come from this little event and then vanished into the nearest wall shadow. Leaving a damp spot behind him.
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I could try to channel your energy elsewhere. :P Like running for your life from a bunch of fangirls, monsters or worse.