bruises & bunnies

The rap of Giovanni’s amazingly IMPOSING pencil (by which his imagination had simply sharpened the end of the pencil to be as sharp as the end one wrote with, looking for all the world like a little spear, which was ‘why’ it was so imposing in his childish mind) halted in it’s rhythmic, bored drumming against the side of his desk - he shone well when it came to doing such stuff as writing about the powers of creation, so his notes had been written quite early, as a surprise as that may have been to everyone who knew him - on noting one of his classmates finally show their face: wasn’t that stranger the sibling of one of the older folk at the school who hadn’t been suddenly teleported here? Yeah, he was SURE he’d heard the guy’s name around because he was one of the more experienced guys here!

Being a TOTALLY bad and imposing guy himself outside of class, he didn’t miss the obvious signs of someone who’d also had a bit of roughhousing on the other’s countenance. He’d be pretty blind not to! Ah….so a fellow tough and rumble type, huh? He admired folk like that who knew how to have a bit of fun training or fought for something they believed in like him, so when the teacher requested he share his notes, he flipped his spear-pencil around in his fingers to tuck it behind his ear with a smile and geniunety that matched his sheer boisterous-levels of grinning. “Mwahaha - I’m completely fine with sharing notes.” After all, people that were rough-and-tumble BAD GUYS and trouble-makers stuck together, that was like, the number ONE rule of bad-dude - or he guessed in this case it would be bad-dudette, unless she didn’t mind the prior phrasing - code!

The pink eyes of the ‘top bad guy leader’ were alight in obvious delight and the knowledge of that shared secret - granted, he wasn’t QUITE so dumb to go blabbing out about their shared trait in front of the teach, but he felt sure that he probably had obvious signs on his own person what a certified awesome trouble-causer he also was that the other could easily note. With a loud noise (he sadly was incapable of being quiet even if his life depended on it) his desk was shoved closer so they could read, his notes written in bold, childish scrawl that was - if dramatic- thankfully easy to read because of said boldness. Ooh, looks like she brought her bro’s dragon with her, maybe? Kinda made sense, he’d take his boys around everywhere with him too, they were like a family to him as much. Though, his attention was shifted to the stranger in front of him at her whispered thanks, that boisterous grin flickering to something less over-the-top as he whispered (as close as he’d ever get to a whisper) back: “Hey, no need ta thank me. I get wanting to throw down and challenge yourself to training pretty well, being a rough-houser myself, ehe.” WAIT, NO, he was a BAD guy. He was NOT secretly nice, so that softer smile flickered away as swiftly as it had come, that more boisterous look returning. “If ya ever need a good sparring partner who can throw down with the best, I’m your guy! The great Giovanni Potage - hey, uh, if ya REALLY want ta say thanks, do you know where I put my cool spear-pencil, actually.” ….it was still stuck behind his ear. Pretty obvious to see too. Goodness. Sometimes he was dense.

Whilst she’s in a mood — that’s perhaps the best description for it, girl put on the defensive and too focused on how she’s perceived — she doesn’t take notice of Giovanni’s strange choice of writing utensil. She doesn’t notice much about him at first, actually, not wanting to meet his gaze in a furtive manner, but when he responds to her gratitude she flicks her attention to him momentarily anyway!

“...Mmh.”

A quirk upward of her eyebrows; the way he says it makes it seem as if he’s being genuine, not making fun of her, so she doesn’t immediately raise her hackles at his innocent comment. It’s not like it’s not obvious what had delayed her to class, bruised and mussed up all over, but that doesn’t mean she wants judgement from others.

The short lived expression on his face reminds her, somewhat, of how Colin might look at her, so she raises her chin to look upwards at the ceiling, softening her own mood somewhat.

“...Have enough people lining up for tha’, thanks. Wasn’t like I wanted to get into’a fight so soon before class,” she says, opting for a more neutral response, though it still comes across quite combative nonetheless without effort.

“Spear-pencil? Is tha’ what it is?”

—A genuine attempt at conversation. Even in her quick look-over, she’d noticed it; she’d liken it more to a dog’s chew toy, perhaps, the way the end of it’s been whittled away, but she can respect the idea of it once she’d heard the concept. However, she doesn’t quite get how he’s missed where it is.

Was he trying to make her feel better? She hadn’t noticed this guy around before ( must be a newer arrival, they come and go all the time, so she doesn’t tend to take notice unless they make themselves known ), but the way he’s so over the top, that can’t be how he normally is? Though, it’s not like she’s one to judge about eccentricities. 

‘One could say that. Storybooks could certainly do justice… Even with machines and high tech stuff. Like magic crystals called dust that make the elemental magics possible. Can be weird. Oh and then you got the giant murder monsters called Grimm.’

This place was down right docile for her taste. No war, no monsters… Just dragons, magic, and multiverse shenanigans.

'Power.’ she was blunt, even when gently rubbing the now full dragon’s back. Said dragon yawned, spitting a small seed out after.

'I have a few things back home that I am not yet strong enough to handle alone.’

Meyha gives a quirk of her head, tilts it to rest against her left shoulder as Neo responds. She doesn’t quite get it — then, it’s got more modern technology as well? Or, is it even more modern than she’s used to? — but there’s more interesting things to unpack in that sentence.

“Giant murder monsters?”

Girl catches on to the most predictable part of it, curiosity growing as Neo speaks. Meyha seems to notice herself leaning forwards, so gives a little awkward cough and turns her head to look away in an almost exaggerated manner.

She doesn’t react much to the revelation of motive, though she flicks her eyes back to Neo. 

colin’s probably not surprised at all ! and if allowed might be helping out at some of the event areas as a student assistant?? since he’s also love minor! 

The pros of being born and having lived near the Sunlight Academies your whole life include being able to see your family anytime. The cons of being born and having lived near the Sunlight Academies your whole life include being able to see your family anytime.

For example, if you’re out shopping for a super secret present, or maybe an embarrassing book, or even some cute hobby supplies you’re trying to keep hidden from a prying younger brother — the specifics of what don’t matter here, just that it’s something you definitely don’t want that younger brother to know about — and said prying younger brother just happens to be walk right past you in the shopping plaza…

Well, you can forgive a girl for freezing up momentarily, before grabbing the nearest unlucky stranger to hide behind them. 

Meyha doesn’t think, a primal panic instilled in all siblings threatening to overwhelm her. She doesn’t look to see who she’s grabbed, not until she’s behind them and pulling them into a nearby store to get even further out of Paulie’s sight. 

Once she’s stopped, gathered her breath, back against wall of the store she’d chosen, she finally notices that she’s grabbed someone and dragged them along with her. Girl freezes up slightly, looks them over — a strange looking boy, who she vaguely remembers seeing around School before — with a stricken expression, mouth opening and then closing like a fish until she finally settles on a very emotive “...Fuck.”

Purple bruises peppered around knuckles, barely scabbed over bottom lip, it’s definitely not a mystery why Meyha arrives in class an hour late, shoving her seat out so that she can flop down into the seating, backpack slung from one shoulder; Gale, the head teacher for Life Magic, doesn’t question much other than express concern — they themselves sometimes sleep in late, so they’re not going to be too harsh — before asking the student sitting next to Meyha if they’d be happy to share their notes on what they’d covered already.

“Giovanni, would you mind sharing your notes?” with a smile, a bit less strict than their spouses but just as filed with care for students.

Girl clicks her tongue under her breath, eyes glued to her desk with a curled expression— oh, even if they don’t say anything, she’s sure they’re laughing. As much as she’d like to fight back against her perceived judgement, she’d promised to herself that she’d do less to worry her family, that she’d make an effort, that she’d at least try. 

...She’d already fucked that up, of course, gotten caught up in a mess and been late to class, but... The boy next to her agrees with the teacher, offers a a loud smile and laugh, turns his head to look at Meyha full of a strange enthusiasm and moves his desk closer to hers so that she can see what he’s written.

First instinct is for finger nails to dig into palm, avoid his gaze, but from the backpack resting on her lap comes a gentle snore and rhythmic  breathing and the girl flickers her gaze between it — it’s modified slightly, to be comfortable, and it’s rather large... Her twin familiars rest inside it, though her dragon partner’s stayed back at the dorm — and the physical reminder of why she’s making this effort is enough to prompt her into straightening up a bit, leaning back on her chair. She doesn’t quite meet Giovanni’s gaze, give a response yet.

Lesson continues, and attention returns to teacher. 

“... Thanks.”

Beloved as his younger sister is by family, Colin finds himself worrying about how she gets along with others; she can take care of herself, of course, but she conveys herself in a contrary way and despite tough attitude can be surprisingly naive at times. 

This afternoon, he’d been staying late in his classroom for love magic, discussing the latest thing they’d learnt in classs alongside two of his peers, one who he knew as Micah —Misca was snoozing, as usual, ignorant of anything but sweet dreams of blossoms— when Meyha had burst into the room, arms crossed with stern expression and a parade of an flowering dragon partner and wispy bunnies familiars following after her. 

As it turned out, Colin had left his umbrella at home, and it was already starting to storm outside. She’d hunted him down to deliver it, alongside a set of hand warmers, worried that Colin might catch a cold, but that was embarrassing to admit in front of his classmates, so she’d tried to play it off as something else, though it really only ended up leaving her more flustered.

Once she’d left, Colin let out a soft peal of laughter, shaking his head gently. Smile had never really left his face throughout the whole thing, even as sister went off on a short tirade, and generally seemed non affected by the situation.

“Sorry about the interruption,” he said, still with smile on his face as he rearranges his now present umbrella on his lap.  “We can continue our discussion now, if you’d like.”

Unfortunately, one of their classmates, Siesel, excused themselves, obviously a bit put off by the whole affair. That just left Colin and Micah, and Colin offered another apology—

Poison was, perhaps, a strange choice of class for Colin; when his previous classmates had heard he was changing his major and minors, poison was the one that brought them to a pause. His second choice, Love, was received with much more nods of agreement. 

Colin was, at the core, a person who helped others — no matter whom if they were strangers or enemies or similar — so the idea of the warm hearted boy studying the magic that is primarily used to harm was quite a clash of dissonance. 

( His siblings, of course, met the idea with understanding. Perhaps it makes more sense to they who had known him longer? )

Nevertheless, Colin had picked up the subject and with his knowledge from his previous major in Life providing him with a more solid understanding of what poison magic was borne from, he was one of the better scoring students in his grade level for it, alongside his classmate, Hilda.

Who, coincidentally, he had been paired with for today’s ‘test’! As much of the situation fits the word, with their teacher Raven’s idea of a ‘test’ being much closer to ‘throwing students into deadly situations and see who survives longest without needing rescuing’, of course. 

“Hilda, right? We haven’t worked together before, I don’t think...”

Despite the circumstances, Colin seems rather relaxed, greeting his partner with a smile and soft introductions. He’s leaning against the wall of the test area they’d been placed in, seperate from the other students who’d been placed in their own areas with their own partners.

“I’m Colin,” Jovial introduction, and the boy turns his head slightly, to look at his dragon, a blooming life dragon with soft  fluffy grasses growing on their back. “...And that’s Misca, though, they’re likely to nap through this whole event.”

“It’s nice to officially meet you.”

Sleepy caramel lizard lifts their chin, their tongue flickering out as they smell their surroundings; grass and flowers bloom on their body, marking their origin as a dragon borne from life, thoroughly out of place in the Sunset Academy’s square compared to all the astral dragons. 

“It’s a bit different, isn’t it, Misca?”

Dragon does not seem worried, though, slightly larger and more well grown than the youngest, but still smaller than some of the eldest. They let out a small yawn, disinterested, before turning their head to their meet their partner’s gaze with lazy response.

“Too loud. Not enough... sun.”

Human partner of the dragon gives a warm, closed eye smile, amused by dragon’s words. He doesn’t respond verbally as of yet, but instead, crouches downwards unto his knees to run his hand over Misca the dragon’s grassy back, who arches upwards into his touch.

“I suppose you’re right, hm? But, we’ll get used to it soon enough. I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends, as well,” he soothes, before scooping his partner up into his arms. Misca’s getting too big for this, of course, but it does not stop either of the pair from doing so anyway. “Look, there’s another Life dragon, over there. If you’re so homesick, we can go say hello.”

Misca offers a hum in response, warm but noncommittal, and Colin hails a student who’s accompanied by a Life dragon with a smile and small wave, approaching them softly! It’s likely they’re just visiting from their own campus, as opposed to being a full time transfer like Misca and Colin, but nonetheless, it’s nice to see another dragon similar to Misca around.

they’re both sla setting ocs, so they’re familiar with the world and magic, and have been attending since they were children, though meyha’s a delinquent who hasn’t progressed much and colin’s changed majors recently so he’s starting from almost zero there. colin can help new people out around, if they need it!