@neogreggory Get some sleep, we prefer good posts over rushed ones.
@GrafRoy Zeppeli Are the characters having classes today already? @Musoka says we are, so I'm curious. And do we build our own schedules, or do we get assigned them?
And also, I already stated what our dorm was like, but do we all live in the same building or what?
Nicknames/Titles: 'Phoenix' is probably the most commonly used. Has been mistaken for many existent gods, called an angel, and the inspiration for some non-existent deities.
Age: When asked about her age, Iravis probably responds with fire in her eyes, her voice rising in volume. "I have received offerings, laughed at Christ's resurrection, turned Latium to ashes, been a companion to Charlemagne in his conquests, and led Tancred over the walls of Jerusalem. I have lived over four thousand years, and am a goddess worthy of worship!"
But her eyes drift downwards after that explanation, her voice suddenly quiet. If she trusts you, she might continue. "I've lived in a cage, a curiosity. Now I've practically become a pet. The most violent thing I've done recently is set fire to the curtains. I just turned seventeen years old..."
Gender: Female Race: Phoenix
Sexuality: "As a bird, I've always found eagles strangely attractive!"
Year: N/A
Powers: The Goddess has received many over time, but these are the ones she has currently.
Inferno As a bird of flame, in most of her lives Iravis has been gifted with the ability to wield and manipulate fire. Although able to target an individual, her spells are most useful as an area-of-effect sort of attack. Additionally, the more fire that surrounds her, the stronger she is. This means that fighting in a city grants her an exponential power curve as she burns more of it down. Additionally, it means she is much stronger in deserts and during the day when the sun is out.
Lacrima As in the legends, the Phoenix is renown for her legendary power of healing. Not only can she never truly die, but her tears are capable of great healing. She also heals faster than normal, having the ability to heal very minor wounds in a few minutes despite having tears. She has never figured out how she respawns, but her dreams are only memories of previous lives.
Phoenix And of course, she can turn into the phoenix. She hasn't done this yet this life, but she will eventually. As of now, she has to be very frustrated (not necessarily angry) in order to perform the transformation which exhausts her. Lyssa's laptop is currently the only reliable method for this. In both human and bird form she has enhanced vision and hearing. Lastly, her nails in human form are very, very sharp. Like talons.
A massive winged beast, colored orange with the tips of it's wings becoming first red then leading to blue ends that seem to dance like fire. Its eyes were sapphires, the deepest blue of the Nile.
A storyteller could spend a thousand other lines describing the beast's majesty, the bird's divine presence.
Smite Honestly, she's never fired the spell. She has no idea what it does.
Strengths: Both of her magic has extremely high potential in both human and bird form. Very few have been able to surpass her, and around age 300 she reaches a nearly unstoppable peak of strength. Additionally, it is very hard to actually burn her.
Weaknesses: Both of her magics are also uncontrollable. If angry, surrounding fires will begin to rise uncontrollably. Her tears of healing can be taken through beatings, allowing her worst enemies to heal from her power. While around 135 she is able to control her full mana at will, but up until then it usually leads to disaster.
Catalyst: She is awaiting an offering from a mortal.
Inventory: Typically whatever she has been offered. In this case, the dress featured in the picture.
Master: N/A
Squad Name: N/A
Personality: Being praised as a goddess in her dreams, Iravis sometimes forgets that she isn't all powerful. Her mood often depends on what she remembered the night before, leading to a strange randomness where she experiences happiness, sadness, horniness, fear, and all the other emotions throughout the day as she copes with the memories. Iravivs' sarcasm is legendary, largely due to the fact that death is really, really meaningless for her. Although in this life she tends towards being weak and submissive, some days she is extremely confrontational and argues with dragons.
A wise woman told her it was alright to be afraid, but not to let her fears control her. Despite the fact that she firmly believes she is strong, she thinks that if your being overwhelmed, it's okay to ask for help if you aren't ready to face those things yet. In a way, it's her first step to confronting a problem. On the flip side, she tends to depend too much on champions to fight for her causes.
Although Iravis believes it is one of her duties as a goddess to help another even if it causes her own suffering, the Phoenix thinks that it should be done so anonymously and without pride. The less people who know of her kindness, the less who will come begging, after all.
She believes conviction is what lends strength to a person, and one without conviction in any form has no true strength at all.
Backstory: Born some time before 2000 BC, an Egyptian girl entered an argument with a man who claimed he was a god. Turns out the man actually was Ra, Egyptian bird God of the Sun. As punishment, she was cursed with the inability to die. Her memories rarely go back this far, so she knows very little about her initial life as a human.
Appearing many times in history, she has always favored the Greeks and the Egyptians. But as with humans, she always follows the one she loves first. Her death usually is caused by her love one way or another in the end, but the Phoenix never got angry about it. She believes a few times she has actually approached her ex-lover in the next life and had nice conversations. Henry VIII had her three times, which she thinks is the currently held record.
In this life, for her youngest years she was held captive by a group of corrupt mages, literally having the tears beat out of her. Kept in a room, she was taught about language, math, history and many other things by her captors. Iravis never figured out who was benefiting from her healing magic, and never could figure out why her captors didn't throw her in a literal cage.
Eventually, a group of mages from Liseranna rescued her and brought her to the place she calls home now...
The red haired fourteen year old looked up from the book in her hands as her keeper entered the room, but her eyes quickly drifted back downwards towards the pages. The girl saw words on the pages, but her mind had stopped reading as she heard the footsteps approching. Even though it happened every day, she never could get used to this portion of it.
"It's time" She heard her keeper pull out a small bottle. The girl lifted herself from the bed, moving towards a metal chair next to it. The bottle was thrust into her hand as soon as she finished lowering herself onto the uncomfortable throne.
Lifting it to her eye, the red haired girl allowed tears to fall into it. After years of practice, she had managed to be able to cry at will. Once it was about halfway full, the tears slowed and eventually came to a stop. She couldn't force that many out at once. A slap delivered across the face managed to summon a few more, but it wasn't enough to reach her quota.
"... Please ..." For the first time today, she looked into the keeper's eyes in an attempt to beg him to stop. Just not today. A moment later she remembered why that never worked as a fist crashed into her face.
"That's the last time you beg. I want double today."
A look of shock ran across the fourteen year old's face. "I can't..." A punch to the stomach made a few more fall into the bottle, but some of them fell to the floor. As she noticed a hand raised in the air, she instincivly raised an arm in the air to defend herself. A mistake.
An hour later the girl slumped to the floor in a bloody mess as she was finally freed from her bonds. She apologized, but that only earned her a final kick. Animals weren't meant to speak.
The keeper left the room whistling, three bottles clanging against eachother cheerfully as the door closed behind him. He'd be getting a large paycheck today. Selling immortality was profitable, and many were willing to pay a high price for it.
Arthur Wick had found the place. Stepping out of his car he looked at the manor that stood before him. A rather ornate, if aged, affair. A perfect place for such a lair.
"Could you stay in the car please? I'd prefer to go in alone. I'll call if I need help." the man said as the closed the door behind him and started walking across the grounds to the entrance
It was a nice enough looking place. Tall building, simple architecture, a stone tower junting from the side that could equally house an observatory or an medieval armory. Likely a basement filled with long maze like tunnels. Arthur smiled, this could be fun. He walked onwards towards the door, his hand held out to touch and trail along some trimmed hedges growing along the cobble path.
Gall had remained silent most of the ride to their destination. He, had wished he could have used a more efficient form of travel, but Livia had insisted he take the vehicle with Arthur, as much as it displeased him. So while Arthur drove, he simply remained in the back seat, silent for most of the trip unless Arthur spoke directly to him. He wasn’t here to socialize after all. Livia had sent him to watch. Livia couldn’t make it herself, so it was up to him to make a decision here. Act as her eyes and ears.
That was his job, after all. Always had been.
“The Headmistress tasked me to help you.” The undead replied, his otherworldly voice echoing just a bit as he stepped out of the vehicle. “So I will be accompanying you whether you want me too or not.” He followed Arthur up to the front door. If he was capable, a small frown would have formed on his lips.
“You intend to barge in the front door?” The reaper sighed, obviously displeased. “Perhaps a more…stealthy approach is best, here. We do not know what we are up against, and if Sorcha is correct…this...pheonix not the most welcoming sort.”
Of course, he was referring to his skill with Circum magic, and his natural ability to travel between the realms of life and death. He could easily put them right inside without even knocking.
Arthur huffed before retorting, "Come on, liven up a little."
Gall simply stared emotionlessly at Arthur. His eyeless sockets could have probably sent a chill up even a dragons spine.
Arthur walked up the steps to the door before giving a few solid knocks. After a moment the door opened a crack and a man peared his head out slightly before asking, "What is it?"
"Yes, I was wondering, have you any ancient fire birds on hand? Seems I ran fresh out."
A moment of panic ran across the doorman's face. Then his corpse fell to the ground.
"You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" Arthur said staring down at the dead man.
“We’re not here to have fun.” Gall replied from inside the house. His scythe had almost sliced the man in half. “We’re here for business.” He continied, his scythe disappearing back to wherever the reaper kept it. "We shouldn't keep the Headmistress waiting." The reaper then turned, walking back into the house.
"Who says business can't be fun?" Arthur muttered as he stood there, the reaper turning to go further in. "Oi! Wait up. Better yet, how about we split up. Cover more ground. I'll search the mansion, you search the grounds. Sure, that'll work right? Arthur said as he walked into the manor.
The reaper turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at Arthur from inside the house.
“It would be more efficient to stay together.” The reaper replied. Of course, he had his reasons for staying so close to Arthur. Livia had told him too. What reason, he couldn’t imagine. Perhaps she simply didn’t entirely trust him. Perhaps she was afraid he’d simply burn the place to the ground, which was bad considering he was here also looking for…information.
“But…if you have issue with my presence…I shall look upstairs, and you may look down here.” And with that, the reaper was gone. A shadowy cloak enveloping his being until he disappeared completely from view, appearing on the second floor only seconds later - likely surprising anyone had they been up there.
And with that Arthur was standing alone. "Well, I suppose I have a bird to find." Arthur went through the first door he found, walking into a game room, billards table, a few arcade machines, a small bar. And also about six goons, who all turned to look at the pyromancer. "Why hello there. Don't suppose any of you know where I can get my hands on a eternal firebird?"
If Gall was surprised to find the room empty, it wasn’t able to be shown on his skeletal face. He was rather pleased, though. This would be easy if there weren’t many obstacles in his way. No doubt the Pyromancer would be making a ruckus soon enough which would serve as a much needed distraction. He’d be able to do his job quite easily in that case.
Arthur thought they were here subduing some dangerous creature who fancied themselves a god. Which was true, they were. But Livia also wanted to know what exactly she had been up too. A god like the phoenix didn’t stay silent all these years without some sort of plan. With luck, they’d be able to capture the fire bird and stop whatever she was planning.
But on the off chance they weren’t, and the phoenix or Arthur, burned the place down Livia wished to know what she was planning, so she could possibly stop it if it was anything malicious.
The reaper moved silently across the second floor of the house, carefully looking for any signs of life or anyone else that might be up here. He’d end them silently and quickly, before they even knew what happened.
The red haired girl heard some commotion outside the room despite the soundproofed walls. What... ? Her arms shook as she raised herself to her knees off the red stained tile. Suddenly she heard the door slam open loudly, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the teenager as she ducked behind the bed trembling in fear. ... did I do something wrong? Does he need more than three today? She didn't have any tears left to express her fear, so she remained shivering there silently.
Arthur stood in the door frame. He had burnt his way through the guards, most of them could barely be called mages. Finding the key on one of them, along with three bottles that Arthur assumed were important and grabbed, he was adventuring he was allowed to loot, he looked into the room.
It was the deepest room in the manor, past the basement and through a few mazing tunnels. It was a good thing those blokes were defending it or else Arthur may have never found the door. The room itself was rather simple, some books on a shelf, a chair, a bed with a quivering form hiding behind it. Wait one moment.
"Hey there, you alright?' Arthur asked as he walked over. It was a girl, couldn't be older than fifteen. Red hair, covered in bruses and blood.
The teenager didn't look up, still shaking on her knees. She simply nodded yes silently in response, not looking up at him. She wondered for a moment if her keeper had sent someone else in to apologize for him. That seemed unlikely to the red haired girl ... She didn't know why, but she felt a slight comforting ... fire ... appear in her chest.
"Alright. I'm Arthur Wick, who are you? Can you speak? Stand?" Wick asked, he may have been there to find a firebird and capture her but he could hardly let this poor girl alone, she needed help.
The girl managed to stand up, a slight tremble still running through her limbs. She wondered if this was an elaborate test from her keeper to make sure she'd learned her lesson. The red haired girl simply shook her head no in response, thinking that was the safest route.
Arthur stepped up to the girl, and after half a second of thought picked her up in his arms. She couldn't speak, she was beaten and bloody. She barely stood. "For Artemis' sake, I came here to find a bird but I can't leave you here can I? Let's get you out of here, hopefully Gall is having more luck then I am." Arthur would then start walking towards the door to leave. The red haired girl froze in animalistic terror as she was lifted but remained silent in her confusion.
"Hold a moment, Arthur..." Galls voice rang out, as he appeared in the doorway. It was difficult to tell, but his black robe was stained with blood in several places, though the reaper didn't seem to mind. Instead, his head was turned towards the child, his emotionless gaze not betraying his internal debate.
They were here to kill or bring this creature to Livia after all.
“This child…is the one we were sent to…dispose of.” His gaze turned from the child, back to Arthur, obviously waiting to see the pyromancers reaction. Her amber eyes widened in response.
Arthur meanwhile looked down to the girl he was holding, up to the reaper."You're telling me?" Then he looked down at the girl again. "You're the phoenix?" Arthur asked the girl, who didn't respond.
She honestly wasn't sure what was going on. But she doubted it was good based on their conversation.
"Well then. Hey Gall, a question. How combustable are you? For curiosities sake." Arthur asked the reaper as his mind put the pieces together.
“Try it…and your skull will end up as a paperweight on my desk.” The reaper didn’t make a move, however. He had no intention of actually harming the girl unless it was necessary.
"Hey hey, I didn't say I was going to do anything. I was just curious." Arthur said as he took a step forward, "Don't suppose you could move though, I need to get past."
"And what do you intend to do with the girl?" Gall asked, as he stepped aside.
Arthur shrugged best he could without disturbing the girl in his arms, "Get her out of this manor." Walking past the reaper and the burnt corpses Arthur began to make his way out of the tunnels.
The red haired girl finally managed to gather a small voice. "... stop ... I can't leave ..." The red haired girl started to try and push out of his arms, but there wasn't enough strength to dislodge herself from him. Her keeper had told her before that if she left her life would become very miserable.
Arthur stopped moving, the girl was fighting against him, meekly, but she was. "And why not?" the pyromancer asked, a look of equal concern and curiosity in his eyes.
"Keeper said ... he'd ..." Despite her current state, a few tears started falling from the Amber eyes. The teenager started to struggle a bit more, but with any amount of effort the man holding her wouldn't lose his grip.
Gall was going to reply to Arthur, but before he could say anything the girls’ tiny voice interrupted him. He fixed the girl with an eyeless gaze. That probably wasn’t going to help her condition much…but well, there wasn’t much he could do about that, now was there?
“Worry not child…everyone who was residing here has been…taken care of.” With that said, he turned back to Arthur, though made no effort to stop him. “Livia will wish to see her. We should bring her.”
With a sigh Arthur continued walking, "Don't worry, your 'keeper' isn't here anymore. I'll protect you. What's your name? Arthur asked as he walked up some stairs into the manor above.
Eyes still looking downwards, she was surprised to hear that piece of news. ... did he sell me? What happened? After a second, she realized the commotion outside her room had probably been fighting. Were these two going to use her now? The girl shook her head in response to his final question. "... don't have one ..."
Arthur shook his head, "That won't do, how long have you been here?" Arthur asked, a girl without a name. Walking past several more charred bodies the group slowly made their way towards the exit. Flames from the ealier battles were begining to catch, within the hour the manor would be aflame.
Gall mentally sighed. Well, as long as Arthur didn't attempt to flee with the girl he wouldn't do or say anything. One whiff that he might, and his head really would be used as a personal desk ornament. So for now, the reaper simply followed silently.
The trio had just stepped out the door before Arthur stopped, saying "Oh right one more thing. Gall find anything interesting? Because if so I hope you brought it with you." Arthur would then awkwardly adjust his hand so that it was pointing towards the building without upsetting or dropping the girl, and then a torrent of flame poured out, quickly engulfing the front of the building. "There, no evidence that anything happened here, no crime nor crime scene, and no survivors. Now let's go to school"
“Vials of Phoenix tears.” Gall replied. He was reasonably sure that was what they were, at least. He could sense how much…life, was in them. Livia would certainly be interested in the few vials he had collected. “Nothing else important in such a place.” The reaper then watched silently as the pyromancer burned the place to the ground. He wasn’t sure how Livia would feel about that, it could go either way really, but there was no way he was stopping it now.
“We should leave before any curious onlookers see the blaze.”
It had so far been a quiet night, though a bit of uneasiness filled her even if it didn’t show on her face. She had sent Arthur on a rather dangerous mission. Even with Gall present, she wasn’t sure if the two of them alone could handle a creature such as the phoenix. At least, not if it was as powerful as Sorcha claimed it was.
She leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of the tea she was holding in her hand as she waited. Her office was rather large. A plush dark blue carpet covered most of the floor, along with several bookcases a few shelves and things displaying some odd trinket or two. Her desk was sitting against the far wall, purple curtains were drawn over windows behind it. A fireplace was also built into one of the walls.
As uneasy as She was, she was also confident in her familiar and Arthur. She wouldn’t have asked them to do it otherwise, but well, there was always a small chance something could go wrong. Her information on the phoenix was incomplete, after all. She only had one source of information on it. A dragon who had an obvious grudge against the phoenix.
It was a reasonable grudge, though, and one she was inclined to help her friend with.
Hopefully they would return with good news soon.
Arthur stood outside the door, the girl standing next to him and Gall not far behind. Arthur could only see this ending well as he gave three swift knocks on the door.
Well, what a timely arrival. Livia mused silently. She placed her teacup on the desk in front of her.
“It is open.”
The door swung open to reveal Arthur, who stepped in. "I found... her. But I'm pretty sure she isn't what you were looking for Headmistress." Arthur would then step to the side, to allow Livia a whole view of the girl standing near the pyromancer.
The red haired girl had been following Arthur ever since they left the mansion. She had calmed down a little, but still didn't know anything that was going on. She looked up for a moment to examine the new room, but the teenager's eyes returned to the floorboards after a few moments. Wearing a vastly oversized T-Shirt as a dress, she was not the definition of divine in any form of the word.
Livia remained silent as Arthur entered the room. Gall decided walking wasn’t necessary, and had elected to use his Circum magic, appearing behind her. Upon seeing Arthur with the girl, Livia simply picked up her tea once again, taking another sip of it.
“As…Arthur said, there has been an…interesting development.” Gall replied, moving to the desk silently. Livia looked at the girl. This was definitely not what she was expecting. She had been expecting to see some regal looking creature of legend. Not some…child dressed in some over-sized t-shirt.
A few silent words were whispered between the Reaper and Livia, too quiet for the Pyromancer or child to hear, though the reaper did pull a vial out of his robes, and showed it to Livia before she waved him off, disappearing as suddenly as he appeared.
“Hmm…perhaps you should explain, Arthur.” Livia replied.
Arthur shrugged before saying, "Went ot the place, found more then a few unhappy people. They attacked me, I burnt them. After a bit of fighting found a room in the basement, inside was her. Beaten, bloody. A tool for their gain. She doesn't even have a name. Arthur sighed as he looked at Livia. "I don't think your source was very accurate Headmistress."
"Are you suggesting my friend has been lying to me, Arthur?" Livia mused, a small smile appearing on her lips. “And how many times must tell you to call me Livia, hmm?”
Blushing slightly, and moving his hand up to stroke his beard in an attempt to hide it the pyromaster would state, "I am suggesting, Madam, that things are rarely what they seem at first glance. This girl was trapped in a basement being used solely for others profit."
“Madam? Now I’m feeling like an old woman.” Livia pouted, just ever so slightly, though she was mostly just teasing.
“On a more…serious note…Gall has informed me. Likely they were harvesting her tears, correct?” Livia frowned, just slightly as she set her tea back onto the table. “That is…indeed a problem.” She leaned back in her chair, fixing Arthur with a cool gaze. "Gall mentioned you burned the place. Care to tell me why?"
Arthur thought about it. "To be completely honest, I don't really have a good reason. I can tell you that nobody that was involved in the girl's situation survived. Unless somebody was gone that day. Or was fireproof. I suppose you'd prefer the manor not burnt to a crisp? Arthur asked, the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
“Well,” Livia sighed as she reached into her desk and pulled out a rather expensive looking bottle of wine and setting it on the table, pulling out a glass to go with it. “From what Gall said they deserved their fate. However, now we have no chance of finding out who was using the tears and for what purpose.” She poured a glass of the wine. “Of course, it was a rather beautiful manor as well from what I was told. But more importantly...how is the child?”
"I'm pretty sure she can answer for herself." Arthur said as he looked over to the poor girl. "It's alright, Headmistress Livia here is a good person, she just wants to help." Arthur said as he started to lean against the nearby wall.
The red haired girl's eyes darted across the room as she raised them slightly. "... I'm alive ..." She wasn't exactly sure why they were asking, or what was going on. Why did they care?
Oh dear. The poor child looked completely out of her element. Livia frowned slightly, before getting up from her seat. She should probably be sent to bed soon, but she was hesitant to let the child out of her sight at the moment. She trusted Galls judgement that she was in fact the phoenix they were looking for. She must have reincarnated at some point Sorcha didn’t know about. It was hard to imagine what could have killed a powerful creature like the phoenix, however.
“Aha, being alive is very good, isn’t it?” Livia replied to the girl with a soft laugh, taking a seat on one of the sofas. “Perhaps you should take a seat? I have some wonderful tea here, if you want to try some. That offer extends to you as well, Arthur. Unless you’d prefer something stronger?”
The red haired girl slowly moved towards the couch obediently, shaking her head in response to Livia's question. She sat down as far as possible from the strange woman, placing herself against the armrest. It was a comfortable chair, at least.
“Ah…no tea? Tsk. Ah well, I’ll drink it later. Anything for you, Arthur?” Livia replied, no making any attempt to move towards the girl. No need to put more stress on her then she was currently feeling.
Arthur stepped over, sitting between the two women as he said, "I would love some tea. Thank you.'
Without another word, Livia got up from the couch and walked back over to her desk, pouring a cup of tea for Arthur, and grabbing her own wine glass. She brought Arthur the tea, before taking a seat on the opposite sofa, right across from the red-haired girl. She mostly wanted to keep an eye on her. Having Arthur between them wouldn’t exactly help with that.
“So,” She said, taking a sip of the wine. “You do not have a name, child? We can’t very well keep calling you child. I suppose I can simply call you Roux since you have a lovely shade of red hair, but that seems a little silly.”
The red haired girl blushed slightly, curiously looking into Livia's eyes. That compliment wasn't a lie, from what the teenager could tell. They were being ... kind. The ambers soon returned to looking at the floor though, too nervous to hold that gaze.
Something told her that these weren't terrible people. The idea that this was an elaborate ruse set up by her keeper moved towards the back of her mind. "... What's going on? ..." The words hardly left the teenagers mouth, probably barely audible to Livia across from her.
“You are safe, child.” Livia replied simply, resting the wine glass on the table between the sofas. “Those…people that have been…keeping you, have been dealt the punishment they deserve.”
The red haired girl nodded, but more questions popped up into her mind. The sort of questions it would take her years to answer. She decided to ask the one that affected her right now. "... And ... And what now?" The teenager couldn't see how they benifited from this.
Arthur sipped from his tea, looking over to Livia, "That is a good question. We can't really let your... friend learn that she is here can we Livia? Arthur then took another sip, "It's hard to talk about people without names. So how about, I and Lady Fiore here figure out where you can stay, and you answer the second most important question in many RPGs, what is your name? No need to be hasty." Arthur said, directing his comment towards the girl next to him.
The red haired girl nodded slightly. She wasn't exactly so sure why they were so insistent about naming her ... her keeper earlier had said she didn't deserve one. But if they decided she needed one. "... You named me Roux though ..." Livia stifled a small chuckle upon hearing this.
"Called, she called you Roux, not named. It is important to know the difference." Arthur chimed in without even thinking.
“What? I think it’s cute.” Livia replied, a small smile gracing her lips. “Hmm…Rouxia Allete?” she continued after a moment of thought. “Roux for short. Not terrible fancy or anything, but if the child likes it I see no reason too not at least give her that.” She brought the glass of wine to her lips before adding.
“Unless you wish to confuse this poor girl further, Arthur?” She fixed him with a rather cool gaze as she spoke.
Arthur nearly jumped before saying, "I... suddenly..." the look his boss was giving him had Arthur on edge all of a sudden. What's the worse she could do though? Kill him? At least she couldn't read his mind. "I find that choices are best, more so when they are few in number but completely obvious. Rouxia Allete, or perhaps Ari Collins?"
The red haired girl rotated her head slightly as they both started shooting out suggestions. It wasn't helping the situation.
Ari…collins? Livia snickered a bit, placing the wine glass back on the table.
“My, I pity your children…or pets, Arthur.” She teased, giving him a friendly smile as that cool gaze of hers completely left. “But really, confusing the poor girl any more won’t help her any. She’s probably tired as well, so it is probably good we should settle this quickly.” She fell silently for a moment, before turning to the redhead.
“Which name do you like, child? It will be yours, so why not have you choose it?”
The red haired girl's face only had a more confused stare on it as her gaze looked to Livia's face. She didn't want to offend either of her new keepers. She sensed that Livia was the dominant one, but Wick ignited something within her. As if her tired mind decided that it was overloaded, eyes closed and her breathing slowed as her head landed into Wick's lap.
Livia simply sighed, though a small smile still graced her lips. Such an outcome wasn’t unexpected. The poor child was likely completely exhausted.
“Well, that decides that.” Livia replied as she stood, wine glass in hand. “Arthur, I do believe we should let her rest. I’ll have one of the staff bring some blankets.”
Arthur sat there, still as he could. "So.. should I stay here? Or... Help?" Arthur asked as he stared down at the girl's head nestled in his lap. This was not what he was expecting, and he really wasn't fond of it, but he could hardly move and disturb this tired girl.
“As I said…we should let her rest. We have things we must discuss, unless you want a certain dragon finding out about our new guest.” That was a bit more than a suggestion, judging from her tone. Livia was standing near the door to the office now. She had opened it just big enough to speak to a maid standing outside of it. A brief conversation followed, and the maid left to get blankets as she turned back to Arthur.
“Oh, and if you wake her when you get up, I’ll have you work in the cafeteria as an oven~” It was difficult to tell if that playful smirk was being serious about that. As if to make Wick's life harder, the red hair girl wrapped her arms lightly around his waist as she had memories of a life long past.
It had been about ten minutes until Arthur, through great effort, managed to free himself. It was a long siege, give and take, until he was standing, and the girl was sleeping upon a heap of pillows brought in by a helpful maid.
Arthur now stood just outside the room, with Livia, so that they could talk without disturbing the girl. "So, what are your thoughts?" Arthur asked.
“That I was looking forward to some special Arthur Wick cooked pastries and now I won’t get any, tsk~” Livia teased, though the small smile left rather quickly as the conversation took a more serious turn. “More seriously…we should discuss my dragon friend.” Livia replied with a sigh, as she started walking away from her office.
"You know, if you wanted me to cook you something all you needed to do was ask. But yes, your friend. What exactly do we need to discuss?" Arthur asked as he followed but a step behind the headmistress.
Oho, she’d hold him too that offer, then, but now wasn’t the time for such pleasantries.
“Well…that girl obviously is the Phoenix.” Livia replied. “Sorcha would know that immediately if she ever met the girl. The problem is…That girl can barely be over 13 years old. She can’t possibly be the same girl that was responsible for the atrocities Sorcha has mentioned. At least, she has reincarnated since then, and I am not one to believe the sins of her past lives should fall on this girl….Roux….Allete, whatever we decide to name her. I do not believe…Sorcha would be of the same mind, however. Dragons are fickle creatures, and when one has a grudge…well…I shouldn’t have to tell you.” Livia sighed, stopping where she was walking, just outside the door leading out of the building. She was going to see Gall after this, though she should probably use some sleep herself….
“My point is,” She turned to face Arthur with a cold expression. “Sorcha has been my friend for almost thirty years, while I do believe she is a good person at heart…this curse that was placed on her and the grudge could…cloud her judgement. It would be in our best interest if Sorcha never finds out about the child. I will arrange a room for her in a quiet part of the campus where she won’t find her. It also means we’ll have to refrain from having too many people visit her.” She paused for a moment, before narrowing her eyes dangerously at Arthur.
“If Sorcha finds out about the phoenix, as much as it pains me to admit…I may require you to come out of retirement.”
Arthur would follow along, listening silently as they neared the exit to the building. "Understood. I'll be ready. So... do you want some kind of cake or?..." Arthur asked with a bemused smile on his face.
Livia frowned. Now was not the time for such shenanigans.
“I do not believe you are taking this seriously, Arthur.” She replied, walking towards the door. “If Sorcha approaches you, you are to tell her that the phoenix she is looking for wasn’t there. If she doesn’t believe you, then you are to tell me immediately. I will deal with her.” Livia sighed as she finished speaking, though turned back to Arthur.
“However, if you are serious…a cake would be wonderful.”
"I'm rarely ever not serious. Trust me, I understand the situation, and Sorcha won't learn about the girl's existance here. That manor was empty, just some goons smuggling drugs." Arthur said with a smile. "Now if you don't mind, I have a cake to bake." As Arthur said that he stepped out the door, to make the walk to the town.
The teenager's eyes were shifting back and forth as they ran across the words before her. She found herself reading on a bed again as she had done most days in the manor.
Four days ago Livia had brought her to a small two story home after she had woken up from her rest on the sofa. Two full bathrooms, two bedrooms with plenty of bookshelves and a desk. A living room and a small kitchen along with a sitting area. A balcony faced outdoors to overlook a backyard. After assuming that this was Livia's home, she was told that it was actually belonged to her now.
Coming fully furnished, it only had one major issue. Chairs. It had taken the teenager almost ten hours to move the eight objects, but she managed to stack all of them outside in the front lawn as far from the door as possible. She hoped her new keepers wouldn't mind her tossing them out.
So, she found herself reading a book on ancient egyptian costuming and tailoring that was already on the shelf. The redhead wasn't exactly sure why, but the topic interested her. Luckily, it proved to be relevant.
Honestly, Livia was probably enjoying pampering the redhead just a little too much. She had never had any kids in her forty seven years of existence, and perhaps it was a little much…but well, she couldn’t exactly deny it was a little pleasant.
…aha, if her younger self could see her now…
She shook her head, smiling softly as she approached the door to the home and entered quietly. Or at least, she would have if she didn’t notice a stack of chairs sitting as far away from the door as possible. This caused her to pause, trying to figure out what exactly the girl had been doing with them. Did she simply not like chairs? After a few moments though, she simply sighed, and continued into the house.
“Hrm…well, at least their stacked in a semi-artistic manner…” Livia mused as she entered. She’d have the chairs moved elsewhere before the weather damaged them. For now, she had more…important business to attend too. Now, where was the little roux at?
After a few moments of searching, Livia found her in her usual spot. Reading a book on a rather exquisite bed, if she did say so herself.
“Ah…little Roux,” She called out, knocking lightly on the door to the room to announce her presence. “You are doing well today?”
The one called Roux was startled despite the adequate warning she had been given. Amber eyes lifted up to see Livia knocking on an already open door out of courtesy. After a moment the teenagers eyes dropped slightly as her head nodded in afffirmation. Without her old keeper there, the old bruises had healed for the most part at what would normally be considered an unnatural rate. The red haired girl felt more ... alive. Roux closed her book, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. A small glass of water and a small bottle filled with some liquid sat on her bedside table. She lifted up the bottle, nervously holding it out for Livia to take.
Upon having the obvious bottle of phoenix tears up to her, Livia only sighed. Really, was she just…trained to cry like that? Livia shook her head, a bit upset, though it wasn’t at the girl. At least those injuries of hers had healed.
“Child…Roux,” Livia walked over to the girl, careful not to make any movements that would startle the girl. She would have grabbed a chair, but they were busy being a new piece of modern art outside. Instead, she opted to sit next to the child. She had hoped she had gotten to the point where she was comfortable around her. Roux moved slightly away, but she didn't run off or panic at Livia's approach.
“These are your…tears, correct?” Livia asked, gently taking the bottle as she sat. She of course, had no intention of taking them. “Hmm…may I ask why you are giving them to me? Just becasue I'm probably considered an old woman to most doesn't mean I need these~”
After a quick nod to confirm they were her tears, Roux's legs kicked back and forth slightly as she responded quietly to the next question. " ... You're my keeper now ..." To the girl, she was surprised why the older woman didn't ask for more. With four days to produce them, two more were sitting in the cabinent drawer in case her new keeper demanded extra. She decided not to mention those.
After a few moments the young girl wondered if she had accidenly insulted the older woman. That wouldn't be a good thing. Did she not want to be old? Was her present not adequate? Roux closed her eyes as she looked away, instinctivly preparing to be hit for her failure.
Oops.
Looks like she may have chosen the wrong choice of words there. Smooth Livia. She sighed inwardly. She had no intention of actually hitting the girl of course, despite how she may have been flinching.
“Rouxia, I am not upset.” She replied softly. “I simply have no need of your tears.” She continued, studying the bottle with a small smile, before holding it back out towards the redhead. “Neither I, nor Arthur have need of them.”
It took a few moments after Livia spoke for the girl to stop her internal panic. Seeing the outreached hand, the red haired girl took the bottle back nervously, legs kicking back and forth as they had been before. A short time bit of time went by and she decided to hold onto it rather than put it away, placing the bottle into her left pocket. After an awkward silence, the amber beads looked into the headmistresses' eyes curiously, head tilted slightly and red hair running over her right shoulder.
It was hard to tell if the girl was wondering why they didn't want the tears or if she was wondering what the purpose of this visit was today.
Well, that was settled. She hoped the girl understood that she didn’t need to force herself to cry any more here. She might have to be a little…firmer with her words If she didn’t, as much as she feared that might upset the child. At least she wasn’t completely put off by her now. She was able to look her in the eye now, without feeling threatened.
“At any rate,” She said, standing up as she gave the roux a small smile. “I would like to take you shopping today. I will not be having anyone under my care dressing in such rags. We need to buy you some proper clothes.”
The one called Roux looked down again to the floorboards again, a little bit nervous about leaving the house. She considered these to be nice clothes. But she nodded, pushing herself off the bed and nodding in confirmation. If Livia felt like playing dress up, the red haired girl wouldn't complain.
As the pair headed towards the mall, the red head found herself caught between some combination of curiousity and terror. She found herself looking around for a few heartbeats, taking everything in she could possibly see. Then the amber eyes would look back toward's the ground at Livia's feet, following them obediently a from a few steps behind.
Eventually the girl named Roux found herself being guided up a staircase into a small store, The Vetement. Clothes racks consumed most of the store's space with only a single article of clothing in a single style hanging from its racks. A long wallside wooden desk along the left side had several chairs pushed into it along with sketchpads and colored pencils scattered across it's surface. In a small clearing towards the right side of the store were two circles with various symbols etched in them. A tone that tried to sound irritated, but betrayed a sense of welcoming echoed from a counter just beyond the circles. "What brings the headmistress here today?" The man's deep voice boomed.
“Ah, Le Clothe.” She greeted the man with a friendly smile. “Normally I’d be here spoiling myself, but I have someone else who’s getting spoiled today.” Thankfully, the little roux didn’t run off anywhere, though Livia was hoping she might actually at least try to…interact with her surroundings a bit.
"This girl? Don't spoil her too much, she'll only grow out of them." A sigh and a more gentle tone escaped his mouth as he addressed the teenager. "Fine, run along the racks and find something you like. Just be sure to look through the racks for a sample you think is cute or draw something out in the sketchpad. The more detailed, the better." After some hesitation, the girl named Roux found herself looking up to Livia as if seeking confirmation.
“Well you heard the man, Roux. Whatever you want,” A small smile formed on her lips. “Someone will end up paying for it~”
The redhead headed off to the racks. The teenager searched slowly at first, as if not wanting to insult either one of them by dismissing anything too quickly, but eventually she had mastered the art of shopping and dissapeared into the forest of clothes. "You know, I am a little jealous of you."
Livia knew the story. The man's adopted son had suffered a lifelong ailment that had forced the thirteen year old to be bedridden most days. Even the school's head nurse had tried to cure the sickness, but all she could do was lay off the symptoms for a few days. Every time his child returned though, the illness would only appear faster than the previous one. A trained eye would guess that the bedridden child had a year to live.
“Oh?” Livia laughed softly as she watched the redhead disappear into the clothing, attempting to find something. “I suppose I am just rather lucky.” Livia replied with a sigh, a sad smile appearing on her lips. It was well known to the man that she was in fact, unable to have children of her own. It was simply a topic that had come up once when discussing his son – he was probably one of the few people who knew. “The redhead…has had a rather difficult life.”
Not that she had ever really wanted children, but age does make one regret things they had never done in their youth.
Fall in love and have a family, for example.
“I shall do my best, but…I’ve never done this before and I fear I may not be up to the task of raising her.”
The man's tone approached something resembling sincere. "Allow me to offer you one piece of advice. I've always think it's best to trust your instincts. You can always put up an act of fancy words, but it's the small things that affect them. If someone's stopped on the side of the road, do you pull over to try and help them? Or do you continue on your vacation, and enjoy yourself?"
Realizing he was rambling, the tailor regained his pride and his voice returned to something along the lines of sarcastic. "A thousand kid's lives you run, and you are seriously worried about this redhead? Surely others have had worse lives." It wasn't clear or not he was talking about his own child or others in the world.
“Aha, you are correct, but my relationship with my students is different. Most don’t really…well, know me, you could say.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I am most certainly concerned for all of them, but for the most part I’m probably not even a normal part of their day.” She turned her heads to the clothing, eyes scanning for signs of the redhead.
“This little Roux, however...I can’t say her life has been worse than any others because I do not know all my students on a personal level.” She replied, giving Le Clothe a small frown. “However, little Roux here…after hearing from Gall and another teacher what she went through…you could say I feel a little…I suppose I simply wish to protect her.”
He shrugged in response, and after a few moments changed the subject to something much less significant, some simple small talk as the two passed their time.
Little Red went around the store, choosing various long dresses off the shelves, and a few knee length ones as well. She ended up sticking mostly to the colors of green and red, along with one or two in white. They matched her hair well.
Eventually though, she seemed to be looking for something that couldn't be found. Roux headed over to the long desk, hesitating upon seeing the chairs. She spent a little time mustering her courage, but she started to stack the chairs on top of eachother towards one side. The red head intended to use the other side for planning out a design in one of the sketchbooks. The tailor simply rolled his eyes. He'd seen stranger habits in his time.
She was having a fairly pleasant conversation with Le Clothe. She was a bit thankful it had moved on from something less serious. However, she had to raise an eyebrow at what she noticed the little redhead doing. She didn’t wish to startle the girl, but well…stacking chairs like that could be a bit dangerous, and at this point she was fairly certain the redhead wasn’t stacking them for fun. She excused herself from conversation with Le Clothe, and walked over to the redhead.
“Hmm…I would complement you on your impeccable chair-arranging skills, but I doubt you are trying to make some form of modern art.” Livia quietly spoke as she approached the child. “Roux, what exactly are you doing?” Her voice was soft, trying to be as non threatening as she could manage.
The one named Roux jumped slightly, despite the tone. She lowered the chair she was holding to the ground. She knew what she was doing was ridiculous when she thought about it, but the objects were a painful reminder of a life that was her experience less than a week ago. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she instead opted to look at the ground, embarassed. '... I ..."
She put two fingers together, clearly deep in thought. It took her a minute, but she finished her sentence. "... don't want them near me ..."
Livia quickly put two and two together, and gave the child a small smile. It was obviously something from her captivity. However, as much as she’d like the child to simply not have to deal with this…that was probably not a good idea in the long run. She wasn’t much of a psychologist…but she could do her best here.
“I understand.” She replied simply, and after a moment, the older woman knelt down to the child’s level. “Being afraid of something is okay. I can’t say I have things I’m not afraid of either, especially when I was your age.” She gave the redhead a small smile. “But, losing to your fears is never a good thing, Little Roux. You are strong, I do not think there is anything you can’t face if you wish. You’ve endured a lot to be here now, haven’t you?” With that said, Livia stood giving a small sigh. She hadn’t expected to deal with something so…serious at the moment, but she couldn’t say she minded.
“Besides, if you ever need help with anything…all you have to do is ask someone who cares about you, do you not?” She offered the Roux another smile, before moving over to the chairs herself, lifting one with relative ease, and brought it over to the place she had been stacking them.
Little Roux lowered her eyes, believing she was being lightly scolded by her new keeper. But any fear the teenager had promplty disappeared as Livia decided to help her move the remaining chairs. After the two stacked the chairs up, the red headed girl walked briskly to the other side of the desk, distancing herself from the evil objects as much as possible.
A few seconds later and an assortment of artistic supplies were spread before her, and the redhead assembled a face of incredible concentration as she bit her lip focusing her thoughts. A second later, a small grin spread across the girl's face as she started to draw.
It was probably the first thing resembling a smile she'd given off in a long time.
The only thing surprising about how she drew was the speed at which she did it. It wasn't as if her hand moved at a supernaturally fast rate, but rather that she never had to turn the pencil over to erase a mistake. The sort of skill that one spent lifetimes perfecting - which unknown to the red head, she had.
A few minutes passed, and a detailed image assembled itself on the page. A larger, taller version of herself was featured, perhaps a few years older than she was now. It wasn't out of the question, but it was obviously a little idealized.
A knee length dress of red on the top, suddenly trasforming to black as it passed the hips and had cuts up the sides to allow movement. At the very bottom of the hemline, thin curves of red headed up from the bottom which gradually dissapeared as they approached the top. Black thighhighs were added, along with extended gloves for each arm. A black collar with a thin red stripe through the middle provided additional support to the outside straps that supported the dress. A few finishing details and several red wavy belt things added later, the girl appeared satisfied as she eyed her handiwork with a critical eye.
Livia was glad that was over with. She hoped she had done well in explaining things to little roux, but…well, that was that. She seemed happy, so that was enough for now. Onto the dresses, then.
The headmistress kept quiet as the girl started drawing. Well, she was certainly good at it. In fact, if she wanted too she could probably become an excellent artist judging from how well she was drawing. She wondered if some of her skills from her previous lives were kept between them. Would memories do the same, then? That might…be problematic if she remembered Sorcha.
Well…she’d deal with that if it happened. For now, she needed to get her some proper clothes.
“My, you certainly can draw well. Is this what you want, then? It’s certainly…ah, unique.” She replied. Not that it was bad, really. It was just something she hadn’t seen before.
After a moments hesitation, the shorter girl nodded. Grabbing a rather full basket of various garments, the two headed up towards the counter. "... Fire-resistant fabric..."The tailor nodded, raising an eyebrow at Livia to make sure she was ready to pay for this. After recieving a confirmation from the headmistress, he informed little Roux to head to one of the circles and wait.
After Roux obediently headed to one of the circles on the floor, the tailor pulled various boxes of cloth onto the other as he observed each sample of clothing.
He pressed his foot down onto the floor and instantly the girl's clothes changed on her body. The sweatpants and T-Shirt fell into a neat pile on the side as a long red dress appeared on the headmistress' adopted daughter. After yelping the first time in surprsise to a stifled laugh from the tailor, it became a routine as various bits of cloth dissapeared from the bins only to find themselves clinging to her a moment later. Some articles of clothing took more than one time as the tailor 'trimmed' them to perfection, but eventually they worked through all the sample pieces.
He observed her drawing, raising an eyebrow. A gruff voice came from Le Clothe's throat. "Well, I'll be damned. This girl actually can draw. You'd be surprised how much 'interpretation' I have to do with some of them." It still took the tailor several tries to create what the girl was requesting, but eventually he finished. "You know the rules. Bring the old articles back and I'll give a fifty percent materials discount. She should grow quickly, so I want you to remember that." He headed behind the counter, handing the headmistress a reciept. The twenty dresses ended up costing around ten grand. The girl was wearing her personally designed dress now, looking more than a little pleased with the outcome.
Livia simply observed silently. She was quite used to the process herself, so it wasn’t anything new to her. She simply waited for the process to complete, and for the little Roux’s dress to be completed. Thankfully, it didn’t take Le Clothe long to finish. As usual, he was very good at his job. Now, there was only the matter of the bill. When Le Clothe handed it to her, the headmistress simply sighed. Wow. Okay, that was not the amount she had been expecting. She knew it was going to be expensive, but...Well…
“You like the dress, then little Roux?” It was obvious the girl did like it. She had to admit, it was a fairly pretty article of clothing. “Then I will pay for it, since I think this is a special occasion.” She replied, a small frown forming on her lips. “But next time, you will chose something cheaper, or pay for it yourself, understand? And I do not mean with those tears of yours, either.”
Little Roux looked down as she was scolded, nodding in response to Livia's statement. The tailor gruddingly wished them a good day as the two headed towards the door after paying. Just before they finished leaving though, the footsteps behind Livia stopped in their tracks.
“Hmm, I was thinking we could get some lunch while we were out as well, any preferences, Roux or-?” Upon noticing the girl had stopped following her Livia turned to see what the little girl was doing.
The teenager was reaching into her the sweatpant's pocket as she searched for the bottle of phoenix tears. She had overheard parts of their conversation, and had realized during their small talk that the tailor had a dying son. Grabbing it firmly, little Roux reached out as she seemed to contemplate leaving it on the window sill for the tailor to find as he did his rounds at the end of the day.
At first, Livia was a little confused. She didn’t even notice the girl had brought the bottle of tears with her. There really was no reason for them to be here, after all. The headmistress frowned, unsure of what to say or do. The Roux looked like she was contemplating something, but Livia didn’t know what…unless she had heard the conversation earlier involving Le Clothe’s son.
“Your tears?...” They…well, they could in fact help Le Clothe’s son, couldn’t they? Phoenix tears could heal almost anything. “You want to do something with them, Roux?”
The one called Roux barely in response. She felt most people would recognize that they weren't human at first glance, and an alchemist would probably realize what they were fairly quickly. After tilting her head for a moment in thought, she nodded with a bit more conviction.
…ah, being a parent was a bit draining, wasn’t it?
“Well…they are your tears, Roux.” Livia replied. “And your tears are indeed special. They can heal almost anything. I cannot force nor make you leave them. That is up to you, dear.” Livia paused for a moment. She considered Le Clothe a friend, and she’d have given him the tears herself…she had a few vials Gall had brought back, as well. They could do something good for once and save someone’s life. So that just boiled down to what little Roux here wanted to do.
“Do you want to use them to save someone, Roux?”
Roux paused for contemplation after hearing the headmistresses words. The teenager understood suffering better than most, and if she could end another's at the price of a little time and some painful memories, she felt she should. The girl nodded again, getting on the tips of her toes as she placed the vial onto the window sill, looking at them for a moment before returning her eyes to the ground again.
“You are a good child,” Livia smiled gently. She was even more convinced now that the roux wasn’t the tyrant that her past life could have been.
“So there is no need to constantly look at the ground.” She continued with a small laugh. With that out of the way then, the Headmistress turned her attention back to Le Clothe. The girl may have had good intentions, but she should probably at least tell him about it in the most subtle way she could, before someone else came along and grabbed it.
“Aha, sorry for taking up space in your store, Le Clothe.” She replied with a slight bow. “The Roux had something she wanted to ask.” She gave him a friendly smile. “And I think…there is still hope for your son to recover.” She made a small gesture towards the window with the bottle sitting on it.
“Come along then, Roux. We don’t want to waste any more of Le Clothe’s time.” She continued before he or Roux could say anything, and ushered the girl out of the store.
The tailor later put two and two together. Any time the 'Little Roux' returned to the store, she mysteriously always recieved a 90% discount to account "for the honor of allowing a goddess to wear his garb".
The phoenix woke up with a smile, which dropped slightly as reality slowly set in. Iravis dreamt the previous night of a time when she was being praised as a deity. She couldn't exactly tell what year it was, but she guessed the memory was either in Greece or Alexandrian Egypt.
While the Academy certainly had treated the red haired creature nicely for the last three years, it wasn't the same as laying on a couch in the Pantheon with servants feeding you grapes, attending to one's every need and desire. The five room suite she lived in currently had many of its cooking and cleaning services provided for her. The phoenix didn't realize it, but these accommodations were a luxury to most of the students at the academy.
Today, she was going to be moved out of her suite to the dorms. Iravis didn't have many personal possessions, but her passion for history and religion led to a constant stack of books on her bedside table from the library.
For the most part, the red haired girl hadn't interacted much with the campus. Most of her days were spent looking around the campus from high towers, reading books, and sleeping.
Some days teachers or upper level students would come by and speak with her, seeking to learn about fire magic or hopping to meet the legendary beast. While flattered, for the most part the phoenix sent the students home disappointed. While Iravis certainly was talented in handling flames, it wasn't the mastery that some professors like Wick had learned throughout their lifetimes of constant practice, studying, and training. And while her memories were certainly entertaining stories, Iravis couldn't even answer if she was the only Phoenix in existence. Like most others on the subject, the Phoenix learned most of her information on her past lives from posthumous biographies about herself.
Even after seventeen years, she couldn't piece together her history from the hour long memories she experienced every night. But they influenced her in subtle ways.
But for now, she was supposed to be looking for a master. A professor had stated it might provide her with better control of her abilities, and also implied that she wasn't supposed to remain here forever without one. Seeing her initial reaction, the professor tried to convince her to keep an open mind on the subject.
It could be viewed as a master familiar relationship, but Iravis preferred to think of it as a Goddess Champion one. The girl grinned, eager to acquire a few worshipers among the population.
Three Hours Later
Despite being a goddess, Iravis knew it was wise to follow Director A's orders. Her animal instincts screamed that this man was simply dangerous, perhaps more so than his reputation. The phoenix forced herself to repress a blush at Director's A comment about the paired couple, but after checking her room assignment and the school map, she headed over to the female dorm immediately and entered the suite before her housemates.
Except, it wasn't a suite. It was a small room with a queen sized bed pressed against the left and back walls, and a bedside table occupying the remaining width between the right side of the bed and the right wall. The front of the room was practically taken up by a large desk attached to the wall with a bookcase hanging above it. Three wheeled chairs were currently pushed beneath the thing.
After a moment of panic, the crimson headed girl checked the only other door in the room, which led to a small bathroom with a shower/tub combo and a sink.
I guess I can live here ... Wait. There wasn't even a key to the door. Her eyes slowly drifted to the three chairs, then back to the her assignment. The phoenixes' face paled. They are living with me!?
Suddenly, the girl thought she knew what the rumors were talking about when Director A said he liked to mess with his students' lives. Unfortunately, she was only learned the beginning of it.
The goddess quickly jumped on the bed, burying her face in the sheets.
