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 Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 2:26 am
"Aha! Another Anniversary Ball pair!" Jerard's eyes fairly glittered as he eyed the two seated in front of him. It had taken the two quite a while to make their way to his office, but they were here now, and he had used the additional time to look further into this particular pairing. "Looks like the ball was a success, at least, though the Shinigami-sama shaped ice cubes got me into quite a bit of trouble..."
The headmaster's voice trailed off as he abruptly realized his thoughts had wandered off topic. "So." Glancing down at the open file in front of him, Jerard cleared his throught as his eyes roved over the page, skimming through the necessary information. "A Kusuri-Gama and a Fairmont, hmm?"
He leaned back in his chair to better study the two seated on the other side of the desk before continuing, "an interesting combination. I wish the both of you the best of luck during your time at SHIBUSEN - not that luck will be necessary, but it is a good thing to have nonetheless." Flipping the file closed, Jerard waved one hand towards the door of the office. "The two of you are free to leave; I've assigned Ashley to be your guide during your introductory tour of the school. She should be waiting outside by now."
With that, Jerard turned back to the computer, quite obviously having put the pair out of his mind as he resumed the tedious administration chores that were the downside of his position at SHIBUSEN.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:15 am
{ Mytha Grenville } Tristan was standing by the time that the Headmaster had begun shooing them from his office; he'd had enough such dismissals come his way that he could sense them coming by now. Mytha remained seated, ankles crossed casually, and Tristan glanced over at his partner and arched an eyebrow.
'Partner, right,' thought Tristan, as Mytha rose from her seat as though from the lotus position, brushing easily by Tristan and leaving the other to shake his head after her. 'Not exactly interested in communicating, is she?'
And almost immediately, as her hand twisted open the polished brass doorknob, Mytha decided then to speak up.
Mytha, for her part, had been as quiet as always; this time she was watching one person instead of many, trying to puzzle her way through the maze of Tristan's persona. Although given what she'd seen so far, maybe it was less of a maze and more of a solid cement wall.
Tristan wasn't exactly warming up to her, as far as Mytha could see. True, she'd left her mom and dad a cheerful message saying that she'd found a Technician and now all would be well, but...
Mytha didn't want to call her parents later and have nothing to say besides, "Well, my partner seems to be tired of me already, and we haven't even done anything yet."
Mytha had then reviewed that sentence in her head, decided that it sounded wrong, and tossed it out. Now she was occupied with something else, namely that the Headmaster had said ' a Fairmont' rather than just 'Fairmont,' or maybe 'a Fairmont.'
Out loud, Mytha asked "Is your family well-known here?" and opened the door as she did so.
Tristan's expression changed to flat-out surprise. "You mean," he asked, as they stepped into the corridor, Tristan one step ahead of Mytha, "you've never heard of the Fairmont line?"
'Clearly,' thought Tristan, keeping his eye-rolling on the inside, 'they've never met Mother and Father, or by now she'd know the entire family tree.'[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:40 am
Ashie had the slightest of frowns upon her face as she eyed the pair now coming out of Jerard's office - while for once, she knew exactly who was who (the boy was Tristan, and the girl was Mytha) - she also wasn't entirely sure how to approach them with Axie's warning still echoing through her head.
"You may not know who the Fairmonts are, but they are quite well known at SHIBUSEN, so play smart, okay?"
Smart. Meant no giggling, no silly jokes or smiles, right? Maybe she could do it... Well, if Axie had asked her to, then she had to try.
The frown stayed in place as she pushed off the far wall to move closer to the pair. "Heya!" She gushed, before remembering the warning, "I mean.. Hello. I'm Ashie." Her voice came out slightly flat as she tried to suppress her usual buoyancy, and the frown began to take on a confused appearance as her inner bewilderment leaked out. "It's very nice to meet you both... ah, darn it!"
All pretense of the 'smartness' Axie had requested fled as Ashie simply gave up, reverting back to her usual self. Giggling, she raised one hand to her lips in a timeless gesture for 'secret' before leaning in closer and dropping her voice. "I really can't seem to do this serious thing, but don't tell Axie, okay?" She waited a beat before standing up straight again, turning to face the end of the corridor and pumping one fist in the air. A light-footed skip in the direction they were headed accompanied a second cheerful giggle before Ashie paused, turning her head to eye the pair. "You two ready?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:51 am
{ Mytha Grenville } Tristan blinked. He knew who she was; after all, who wouldn't? Except maybe people like Mytha, apparently, and how many of them could possibly be at SHIBUSEN? After all, a place like that was--
Dammit, no time for wandering thoughts! Although if he'd realized beforehand who would be their tour guide, he would have thought to brief Mytha on the basics of the SHIBUSEN world. Like who everyone was. Including himself.
Instead Tristan settled for another blink, and reminded himself that this twin was still preferable to the other twin. Brr.
And people thought Tristan was cold?
Mytha, on the other hand, smiled in return. It was a little subdued, true; it wasn't exactly shy, but then again it wasn't bursting at the seams with energy like Ashley's smile. Still, it was nice to see someone who seemed... well, nice. And relatively uncomplicated, at least at the moment.
SHIBUSEN really had an interesting cast of characters in attendence.
Mytha nodded, giving a little wave with one hand and then tugging her sleeve - slightly over-length - down over the black-and-red wristband on her left arm.
Mytha glanced over at Tristan, who looked ready to facepalm, and she had to resist the urge to smile more broadly. Or, you know... Laugh. If her partner was that important then Mytha knew she shouldn't make him dislike her even more, but right now Tristan and, er, Ashie resembled an over-dignified terrier and a cheerful parakeet.
Mytha said nothing, but she tilted her head in a way that Tristan was already becoming familiar with, arching an eyebrow right back at him. Why stand in the hallway, right?
Tristan briefly resisted the urge to stay put, just to be stubborn, and mentally shook himself back to normal before glancing back up at Ashley and nodded, with a slightly shrug.
"Why not?" he said, proceeding down the corridor, hearing Mytha's light, half-walking half-skipping steps behind him. "Can't stay here all day, right? Besides, Mytha probably hasn't seen much of the campus."[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:08 am
Glad that her reversal back into her usual self had caused no terrifying ripple, Ashie was all smiles and cheer. The pace she set wasn't too quick, but it wasn't slow either due to her continuous half-skip steps, reflecting her current good mood. Now, if only she had an ice-cream or something!
Tristan's comment brought her back to the present and out of her happy daydreams, but didn't faze her in the slightest - rather, one could say that it didn't clue in at all - as she agreed cheerfully, "definitely not all day! There are better places for that, like the ice-cream parlor or... Oops!" Ashie flashed a sheepish grin as she tried to point her thoughts back in the right direction. "So anyway," she began enthusiastically, pausing at the point where two corridors met, "where do you guys want to see first?"
Waving one arm down to the left, she rolled her eyes up and shrugged. "There isn't much to see down that way, except dorms and such, but the other way leads to the missions area?" She stuck her tongue out as a way to express her puzzlement as she shrugged again. "The pairs I take around always seem to want to see that, for some reason." The confusion was genuine as she considered this for a good three seconds before grinning happily. "Well? I mean," she continued, barely giving the pair a chance to respond, "if you don't know where to go, I can just take you to the important places..."
Ashie's voice trailed off again as she once more resumed the 'come closer, I have a secret to share' pose. "Axie made that list, and it's veeeery important." Blue eyes were innocently wide as she made that pronouncement, clueless to the fact that the list had been made solely for her.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:17 am
{ Mytha Grenville } Missions area. Well, it was probably going to be the cornerstone of their experience... and their training. As far as Tristan was concerned, that automatically made it the most important place in the school, whatever Ashley's list might say.
(Secretly, a part of Tristan was kind of surprised that Ashley would have made a list. That part was simultaneously justified and un-confused when Ashley mentioned... What Tristan assumed was her sister's name. Ah. Now that made sense.)
Anyway, missions area. Seems like a good place to start, or so Tristan thought and would have said, had Mytha not answered before he had the chance.
"If you have a list, we should probably follow it, right?" said Mytha, before smiling a little, the corners of her eyes crinkling a bit. "Or, you could just show us your favorite place first. You probably know all about finding fun places here, right?"
Tristan was a little surprised that Mytha had spoken up as she did; Mytha was just looking forward to looking around. To her mind, anything necessary would have to be covered eventually; better to get the bird's-eye view, so to speak, of the school-grounds from someone who seemed to know it well.
Besides, Mytha didn't really know who Ashley was either, but she seemed friendly and Tristan was being polite to her. Mytha therefore deduced that Ashley must be someone important, or at least who outranked them-- So Tristan wouldn't go against Ashley if she took them on her own route around the campus.[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:33 am
"You think so?" Ashie's blue eyes were bright with excitement as she turned to face Mytha more fully. "Nobody's ever asked me to show them my favorite place before..." Her voice trailed off as she considered this suggestion seriously, all thoughts of following the list evaporating from her head as she ran through the places she loved the most in SHIBUSEN. "Hmmm... I spend the most time in .. well." A mischievous expression crossed her face as she lifted one hand to tap a finger thoughtfully against her cheek. "Classroom #7 it is, then!"
With one quick 'follow me' wave towards the pair, Ashie headed down the corridor to her right, voice trailing cheerfully behind her as she continued to speak. "I don't think I'm supposed to be showing you the classroom, since it's not on Axie's list, but Lucien and Z are there, and Lucien likes to meet everyone so I'm sure he'll be super glad to see you guys!" She walked on, until reaching the first in a series of sturdy wooden doors inset with a glass pane. "These are the other classrooms, they go up to classroom #6, though #5 is never used for classes."
At this point, Ashie paused for long enough to turn, and give each of the pair a considering look. "Do you guys know why? Axie won't tell me, and everyone sort of just avoids the question every time I ask..." A small pout appeared, to dissappear just as quickly as Ashie's train of thought took her elsewhere. "But I know about Classroom #7 and Axie doesn't, so I guess that's fair!" Giggling, she resumed her erratic route down the corridor before coming to a full stop in front of the one room whose door was made out of solid wood.
"This," Ashie raised one hand to knock, the sound echoing slightly as she continued to speak, "is classroom #7. It's definitely my favorite place in SHIBUSEN! I mean, they have a pool table, and Lucien always makes the coolest drinks..." There was, unfortunately, no response from the other side of the door, and Ashie slumped sadly against it. "Looks like L & Z aren't in."
"Well," temporary sadness fleeing, Ashie tilted her head quizzically as she regarded Tristan and Mytha before her. "I guess now that we're so close to the Missions area, I can take you there next?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:44 am
{ Mytha Grenville } Mytha sped up a little to keep even with Tristan, and was somewhat gratified... and amused... to see that her partner was having to increase his pace as well to keep up with Ashie. A part of Mytha's mind wondered just how efficient that might make Ashley in battle; of course, Mytha had no idea if Ashie was WEAPON or TECH, but either was it must serve her well.
And all this energy, of course. As Ashie cycled through a set of emotions in a matter of minutes, Mytha watched, somewhat enthralled: It was like watching shadow-puppets, or maybe a kaleidoscope, and probably not the oddest thing she'd see at this school.
Then again, said school was about kids who turned into weapons and the people who wielded them, so...
"Missions area sounds great," agreed Tristan; he noticed, from the corner of his eye, that Mytha had seemed to drift off again, and the interjection of his voice had apparently brought her back to Earth. Reflecting that they'd definitely have to work on Mytha's concentration when they trained, Tristan went on.
"It's kind of a major part of SHIBUSEN, isn't it? After all, our reputations will basically be made or unmade by the assignments we get, and the way we complete them." Brushing a stray dandelion-fluff from the sleeve of his blazer, Tristan glanced up again and prompted "Besides, like you said, it's right by here."
Tristan, of course, wanted things to get tied up quickly. He was already familiar with most of the campus, at least the parts that counted in his view... but he could already tell that Mytha was determined to play tourist until the end. Well, fine. Tristan could wait it out.
Mytha was looking at him now with her mismatched eyes, and Tristan pointed off in the direction of the mission area, saying as he did so, "That way, right?"[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:00 pm
"Major? Really?" Ashie latched onto Tristan's words with the innocence of a child. "It doesn't seem that way to me, though Axie sure acts as though it's suuuuper important..." Her voice trailed off as she considered this, though she quickly became distracted once again. "Right! So, let's go!"
Pushing herself off from the door she'd been slumped against, Ashie headed down the corridor once again, though this time she walked backwards in order to continue the conversation. "It's reaaaaaaally close, just around the corner-- OUCH!" And Ashie smacked into said corner as she forgot to look behind her as she walked. Wincing a little, she raised one hand to rub on the shoulder that had impacted with the wall, giggling softly before giving the pair a rueful shrug. "That happens to me, a lot. But anyway!"
Moving into the new corridor, Ashie pointed towards the first door, a solid (and rather imposing looking) one. "That, is Axie's office. When she keeps her door closed," blue eyes pinned the pair with faux solemnity, "she says it means she doesn't want to be disturbed. Though... You can probably go in anyway. She always lets me do it!"
The mention of Axie reminded her of the warning she'd had before going to meet the pair and begin the tour, and her face fell momentarily as she realized she'd completely stopped trying to be smart. There was a entreating quality in her manner as she looked up again, cocking her head quizzically as she asked, "You guys don't mind that I'm not being all smart and stuff, right? Axie told me to, but it's haaaard!"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:15 pm
{ Mytha Grenville } Tilting her head slightly in surprise, Mytha sent a discreet glance of inquiry to Tristan... who responded with a slight shrug and a nonchalant expression that didn't help at all. Wasn't, er... Ashie supposed to be an instructor or something? After all, her sister had an office and everything. Were all the instructors here so... child-like?
"It's, um... Okay," assured Mytha, seeing that Tristan certainly wasn't going to help clarify things, and Ashie was resembling a sad puppy at the moment. "You don't have to be..."
... Smart? Wasn't that an insult? Hm. This was harder than Mytha had thought, but she didn't want to hurt the woman's feelings, especially when she was being so nice and all. Nodding encouragingly, Mytha grinned a little, with a shrug.
"You're doing a good job as is, right? So don't go out of your way or anything."
Tristan normally wouldn't feel the need to back anyone up, particularly in something as inconsequential as 'it's all right that you're not much older than twelve, personality-wise.' But Ashley did outrank him, and... Well, Mytha was trying too hard. It was kind of embarrassing, even if Tristan seemed to be the only one who noticed.
"We don't need to bother her now anyway, right?" added Tristan, blue-grey eyes flickering towards the door. It definitely gave off the aura of 'KEEP OUT,' albeit in a cordial and neat kind of way; still, Tristan had heard about the other half of the twins from others who'd been partnered earlier, and he'd seen the formidable-looking woman around once or twice. If she didn't want to be disturbed--
Having a run-in with a superior wouldn't be the best way to start off his newfound TECHNICIAN career.
Almost as an afterthought, Tristan added "Are you okay? You hit that wall pretty hard."[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:30 pm
The puppy-dog expression cleared from her face almost as abruptly as it had come, once the pair had given their reassurances. She hated to get into trouble with Axie, since she loved her soooo much, but if Mytha and Tristan said it was okay, then it was okay, right? "Okay!" Her usual cheer was back in full force as she resumed walking, heading further into the missions area.
"Let's see... Axie's office, the Classrooms, the Training area, the Board... OH RIGHT!" Another pause, mid-stride as Ashie turned to regard the two with excitement. "The Board is just up ahead, and after, I can show you the Training area! It's a reaaaaaaaally cool place, though the Board is sort of boring. It's just a big thing with pieces of paper on it. I don't get why it's a big deal --" The Death Scythe continued her rambling speech as they neared said big board, stopping only when she ran out of breath. "So yeah! This is it! You pick up missions and such from here, though the staff member that accompanies you isn't assigned usually until you've agreed to take on the mission."
Without giving them time to inspect the thing further, Ashie continued on, past the board. "The other Mission Staff offices are here too... but those aren't as interesting. And the Training Area is just up ahead! There's indoors and outdoors, depending on what you want to do. Sometimes the Staff train here too, but lately I've just gone to the gym." She giggled, remembering her last encounter there with Michael, "Hehee, it's fun!"
"Hmm..." The giggle subsided slowly, as a thought suddenly occurred to her. "I've just been taking you to random places, so before we keep going, are you suuuure there's nowhere you absolutely want to see?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:00 pm
{ Mytha Grenville } "No, not really," said Tristan, just a fraction of a second before Mytha started "How about--"
Pausing for a triumphant grin, Tristan shot Mytha a look; his partner was now pouting slightly, an unusual sight on a face more often carefully studious than anything else. Oddly enough - or maybe not so oddly - this just made Tristan feel better about his 'victory.' Of course, he soon realized that gloating over his 'win' was about as immature as a five-year-old throwing a temper-tantrum... Or, he added mentally, like Ashley apparently was by nature.
Attempting to regain his usual coolness, and hoping that neither of the two women had noticed his temporary lapse into childishness himself, Tristan tugged his blazer straight... not that it really needed it. Running a hand through his hand, Tristan did his best not to sound either victorious or impatient, and he succeeded as usual, although Mytha was eying him with some unreadable expression.
Mytha was, in fact, surprised. For a second it had felt like being ten years old again and trying to out-shout her friends for the shotgun seat. She hadn't expected that Tristan would be... or even could be, given his typical brisk attitude... so, well, something-like-normal.
Mytha wrinkled her nose a little at having spoken second, which in this case might as well have been last. She could have sworn, for just a second, that Tristan had looked as though he was about to say something along the lines of "Nyah-nyah!"
He didn't, of course. That would have been too weird, and he would also have probably been possessed or something. But, thinking it over... Well, Tristan was probably bored. It was all new to Mytha, and she liked Ashie, but Tristan was probably champing at the bit, having seen this all before. And it probably wasn't good business to make your partner stand around and roll his eyes because of you, right?
A part of Mytha wanted to do so just because of that, but then she reminded herself that she was supposed to be getting along with Tristan, not annoying him. She'd wanted to ask about a library, or maybe an out-of-the-way courtyard to practice in, but instead she nodded agreement to Tristan's suggestion and tried to ignore his look of surprise.
She'd just get Tristan to show her around later on.[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 11:31 pm
"Okay then!" Ashie's voice would've been just as enthusiastic had they requested to see other parts of the school, as either option was fine to her, though her short attention span had already caused her thoughts to wander elsewhere. "I think Axie mentioned that you," she pointed at Tristan with a slight frown, "have already been at the school for a while, so other than the Missions area, you know where everything is, right?"
"If that means we're done here..." She shrugged cheerfully, tossing both of them a wink before going back the way she'd come, "maybe I should give Zoe a call to see if she wants icecream with me!" The last was said partially to the pair behind her, and partially to the slim baby blue cellphone she'd just pulled out of her back pocket. A slight niggling of responsibility caused her to turn back, however, one last time.
"I guess that means I'm off, then!" The words were belated, but that hadn't occurred to Ashie at all, considering it was the norm for her to lose track of and refind threads of conversation. "Any questions, feel free to ask any of the staff! Good luck at SHIBUSEN, guys!" And with one last cheerful wave, Ashie disappeared around the corner.
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:49 pm
{ Mytha Grenville } Mytha couldn't help a slightly brighter smile, waving after the woman although she knew well that Ashie couldn't see it. Honestly, Mytha wouldn't have been surprised if the other had simply forgotten all about what had just happened, tour and all, particularly in favor of ice cream... But somehow it didn't really irritate Mytha.
Mostly, it was kind of funny.
Glancing to her left, Mytha had to hide a grin; Tristan was staring after the other woman with a slightly thunderstruck expression, as though he'd been picked up by a cheerful whirlwind. Maybe she didn't do such a good job, though; Tristan glanced in her direction and seemed to be attempting to stare her down, although the effect was marred by the slight bewilderment still lingering in his body language.
At last, Mytha glanced away to run a hand through her hair, tugging slightly and frowning at a wind-blown knot.
"So," said Mytha, as Tristan relaxed slightly, minor confrontation blowing away. "You're going to show me around, right?"
Tristan exhaled in something that would probably have been rude if it had been any louder, then eyed Mytha with a mixture of skepticism and exasperation.
"We just escaped the mandatory tour and you want to go wandering around again?"
"Do you want your partner to get lost on our own campus?" retorted Mytha mildly, pushing back her sleeves until her wristbands were in plain sight: One red on her right wrist, one blue on her left. Tristan subsided, looking as though he were re-thinking it, and Mytha helpfully added, "You could fill me in on how things work around here. And who I should know.
"Your family's important in SHIBUSEN, right?"
Tristan paused, and finally he smiled in self-satisfaction. "That's one way of putting it," Tristan allowed, brushing back a blond forelock in a gesture that Mytha already recognized as a signal that a happy medium had been reached. "But not the most important. It's a good thing someone like you has someone like me to show them the ropes."
"Of course," murmured Mytha, in a way that would have been sarcastic - and Tristan's eyebrow did twitch, ever so slightly - had she been a little more deadpan. "I'm certainly lucky to have you as a partner."
Tristan shot Mytha a look, and in return he received a completely neutral expression and an impatient little sway. He'd take this up later, he promised himself, but for now...
"We may as well start with the training grounds," Tristan said briskly. "We'll be seeing a lot of it very soon."
"Sounds like fun," commented Mytha, stepping past Tristan, and the Fairmont shot her another look, one unseen, and this one a glance of surprise.
Mytha hadn't sounded anything but sincere.
... Huh.[ Tristan Fairmont ]
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Syusaki generated a random number between
1 and 100 ...
94!
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Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:01 pm
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Reply
