Serenity [Closed]

It was silent here.

She liked that.

There were no noises to fill her head, nothing to echo and scare her out of her wits of the onset of another person entering the room. She was such an introvert... Sticking to the innermost part of the group to avoid detection, keeping her nose turned down to avoid eye contact. All the while, focusing on her classwork and trying, trying to focus on pushing these thoughts out of her mind.

She had been at Beata for almost a year, and was still struggling with something as simple as blocking out other's emotions. They were like little ants, crawling over her skin and threatening to bite her if she tried to swat them away. Why couldn't she just block them out?

Taking in a deep breath of the clean, cold air, Iovita sat at the edge of the lake and slowly removed her shoes and socks, letting her toe touch the ice-like liquid. The chill it sent ricochet'd up her spine, zapping her even more into the dream-like reality of being alone. It was surreal, but she liked the feeling. Although, instinctively, she drew it back to the soft grass beneath her.

Her hazel eyes were still adjusting to the darker area, although what little sunshine soaked through the now-changing leaves above, sparkled across the water in a beautiful display. It captivated her gaze, distracting her from her many worries. It was a serene sight, disturbed by nothing else but her toe that had dared to graze the sun's stage.

Taking the black hairtie from her wrist, Iovita let her feet dangle into the cool water as she mindlessly brushed her hair over her shoulder, parting it to braid the long locks. If she planned to relax here for the rest of her evening, she might as well put one worry out of her mind.

Otherwise, she would just soak in the glory of being alone.

ooc;; i'm sorry this took me forever to get to. Q_Q

Students in the hallways always praised the forest for how it was the perfect safe haven if someone desired long periods of solitude, the endless mazes and possibilities of getting lost in the spacious, densely-packed trees that nobody knew the exact way through. Even if many people seemed to have decided to come out that day, the chance of running into another human being was all too slim. A solace, a place for a bit of peace and quiet after unbearable lectures from teachers who didn't seem to know what they were talking about or the useless and pointless nonsense that one's peers may be bringing up, the latest chatter and gossip of whatever very true rumor was spreading like a virus from mouth to mouth.

Not that much of it was of any real significance to him. He knew what happened or how these grapevines continued to burgeon and flourish - he spent most of his time watching what others were doing in their spare time -, but that was only for the sake of knowing more. None of it was anything more than significant nonsense. And thus, he had decided to leave the academy campus temporarily to avoid any of it. Just a few hours was enough.

More importantly, there was something he had to test out.

Thud!

Another tree trunk fell down cleanly with a swift slice, leaves rattling out of place and onto the blanket of reds and oranges and yellows. "Hmm..." The scythe was still working as fine as always, fitting perfectly within his hands, as though a match made in heaven. His fingers hovered above the horns protruding from his head, sliding down the rough, brittle surface. Interacting with the physical world and actually having a corporeal form was something he found out a long time ago when he decided to practice his so-called gift. A flicker of red emitted at the tip of his finger nails, dying themselves pitch black. A flick of his wrist and it flung away, straight towards the lake with a plop! next to a person, whizzing past them before skipping across the transparent crystal clear glass of water.

Ah, so the likeliness of running into someone might as well increase at the brink of twilight. He knew that girl. She was from the rooftop on his birthday, wasn't she? Everything was blurrier than necessary, so he couldn't be sure, but she seemed a familiar presence.

"You again," Hieta uttered, slipping one hand into his pockets while the other kept a firm grip on the scythe, leveling it scarcely above the ground.

The last thing Iovita had expected was a projectile. She was all alone, in her mind and in truth. Her toes were dipping into the pure water.

But when it flew past her, she jumped out of her skin. A shocked wail pierced the otherwise rather still air, mixed in with a desperate gulp of air. Her hand snatched the blazer beside her, standing quickly as she quickly looked around for who it was whom had decided to cause such a shock to the young woman. It took very little time to detect them. They stuck out like a sore thumb.

Iovita's memory and mind raced. Her mind reaching out for any sense of emotion, only to find what seemed to be the ghost of one. It puzzled her, but confirmed her suspicions. She did know just who this was. The spring Prefect whom she had ran into at the top of the school. The soft hazel eyes scanned his features swiftly, taking in the differences.

The horns were, of course, the first thing that drew her gaze. They were captivated momentarily, before eventually withdrawing. Oh.

Her eyes were then instantly drawn to the large weapon being leveled. With her blazer now tucked in the crook of her arm, it reached behind her back and defensively grabbed the gun slipped into her belt loop. Her fingers naturally curved around the handle, defense riddling throughout her stance. Hopefully, he wasn't trying to kill people for the heck of it. Even though she doubted his intentions, the fear still riddled up her back.

"Oh. Hello."

once again, super duper sorry that i took forever to finish;;
The other girl had cowered back temporarily, her hands reaching towards a weapon placed expertly, hooked around her belt. For a few moments, Hieta found himself unable to fathom as to why she seemed to have withdrawn after her seemingly prolonged attention towards his less obvious human-features, but the reminder of the weight held tightly between his fingers suddenly dawned on him. Of course. He still had his scythe on him, and if that wasn’t enough to convince her that she was going to kill her, then it had to be the blatant fact that he was a demon - gifted or not. Practice session cancelled, then.

Without so much as lifting his finger, the double-sided sickle-shaped blades were enveloped in an almost liquid-like black substance, its consistency seemingly similar to oil, and then it vanished into thin air. Whether or not that was enough to convince her that he was most definitely not going to try and attack her or not, he wasn’t sure, but best to believe that was the case before she decided to fire. His figure disappeared from the normal eye as he reverted back towards a more familiar and stable form. The absence of the horns personally made him more comfortable, though the professors were beginning to scold him for slacking off when it came to practice his powers; they were never something that he had to utilize, so it didn’t seem all that necessary to put the time and effort towards it.

He wasn’t eager when it came to lessons and classes, preferring independent studies and it didn’t matter since whether he attended or not, only Destiny knew if he was present and she was the only reliable source to tell the faculty that he was there, and he was the last person to put a hand in towards missions. Why did any of that even matter? If the world couldn’t fend for themselves, that was their problem, not anyone else’s. Survival of the fittest. In the end, friends come and go, nobody can keep their relationships forever, and if it befitted, they could take advantage of said bonds to further themselves. People only bother with their own well-being, and all of these sappy attempts in trying to be invisible heroes to the world was getting bothersome.

Crimson red eyes glanced towards the weapon the brunette was holding, boring into them with an intense fire, unable to be restrained by the furnace it was being held captive within. There was no mistaking it. That was, without a doubt, a gun. Using his more strategic position of being invisible, Hieta went behind her, physically manifested, and took the firearm from her belt, inspecting it as he broke the silence he had brought upon himself. So much for not manipulating his powers. Out of the corner of his eyes, he looked back at her, and spoke: ”Guns are prohibited unless formed by your gift.” Sure, he wasn’t a prefect anymore - not that he ever understood how and why the staff decided to assign him as one, all things considered -, but he had always been a rule stickler.

”Consider this a warning,” Hieta continued, slipping the weapon into one of his jacket’s large pockets. ”If I see you with one again, the principal will hear about it.”

The vision of what was unmistakably a scythe being doused in oil and then evaporating made the girl do a double-take. It'd still take getting used to, seeing the variety of powers at this school. She observed some of the seniors whom were pretty much phased by nothing at this point. How that could happen, she had no idea. No matter how long she spent at the school, she was positive something would still take her by surprise. After all, her gift purely dealt with emotions. Mentally shaking her head, she still held her fingers around the gun, lowering it slightly. At least the bullet would hit the ground and not him if she were surprised into firing. One thing was that Iovita didn't have a "twitchy finger," so that risk wouldn't be too high anyways.

The gun was lowered just a fraction more at the student taking a more 'normal' appearance, but the unease still riddled through her. She didn't have the comfort of reading his emotions to be able to detect any hint as to what his true intentions were, which made her rather jumpy. Speaking of jumpy.

The sudden invisibility of the ex-prefect caused the brunette's body to tense, and when she felt her only method of defense stripped from her, it caused her to jump. Spinning quickly to face him, a jolt of panic swept through her gaze as she tried to reach for her gun, only for it to be slipped into his jacket's pocket. "Hey, give that back!" Crossing her arms, she didn't exactly push to get it. Stepping away from him, her arms crossed as she let out a sigh, initially attempting to reset her demeanor. "I'm well aware of the fact that they are prohibited, but when a projectile is flung right in front of your feet, it's a justified method of defense." That'd probably be the longest she'd speak for awhile.

"There are no exceptions to school violations except in extreme circumstances," he retorted, his eyes narrowing dangerously with a crimson glare against the black sclera. Though she made a decent point about the projectile and how it was most likely the closest reaction anyone would give to pull out a weapon under the guise that they were in danger, that didn't excuse her from her actions. Hieta knew he was partially at fault for not inspecting the area just in case people were roaming around the murky forests at the brink of twilight, but not only was it late into the night, it was past the curfew that students were allowed to be outside. She should be in her dorm right now, not out in the middle of nowhere.

Leaning onto the closest tree available, Hieta only crossed his own arms, whether it was in mock imitation of Iovita was debatable, moving his gaze away from the live person in front of him and towards the shining lake surface where the stars and moon shone their light rays onto. Almost as though he were flustered, he began speaking, voice a tiny bit shaky, "I should have been more cautious about where I was practicing." It was a simple observation, that's all. Nothing more, nothing less. He shut one eye closed. "Justifiable method of defense or not, it is not a weapon that students should be carrying. Do you not have a more appropriate weapon?" He spoke with a didactic tone, like a parent lecturing their child on the rights and wrongs to keep them in line with the rules. "There is no excuse to be carrying this when there are several spare weapons located in the gym storage."

More and more students seemed to breaking the rules nowadays... It was expected from the Autumns, as rule-breaking was something they knew like they knew the back of their hand, but their influence was growing out of control. "This is disregarding the fact that you should be in your dorm at the moment." Iovita was a Winter student. Better was expected from her.

Frustration ran behind the winter student’s mouse eyes, her nails digging into her near-alabaster skin. There would definitely be marks left, and hopefully they would fade before her return to the dorms. What didn’t count as an extreme situation? Nearly being murdered? She did her best to not let her frustration show through, a level demeanor radiating from her posture. Although, there were faults in how she held herself, a rather uneasy stance could be seen to a well-trained eye. Letting out a soft sigh, she shook her head.

“I’m well aware of the fact that a gun is not a weapon to be held by students. However, I know for a fact I am not the only one to carry one, just so happens I’ve been caught. As for an appropriate weapon, unless you count reading emotions, it seems I am at a loss.” Her eyes were narrowed as she began to speak, the furrowed brows relaxing as her tone went from firm to gentle. It certainly didn’t fit her structure of words. As for his suggestion of the gym storage, she let out a slight chuckle. “Most, if not all, weapons in the storage are of unusable state.”

Iovita began to turn away from the other student, when his last retort caught her attention. Yet again, another chuckle. ”By that logic, shouldn’t you be as well? True human or not, you are a student.”

Hieta cursed under his breath, half-wondering what the current prefects were doing and how much they seemed to be slacking on their jobs. Rules and regulations never seemed to be enforced much, but this current term in particular was spiraling out of control with its stairway leading straight to hell. The other part of his mind only let him roll his eyes in response to her slight jabs, his fingers strumming against the side of his arm. Times like these were the ones where he wished he hadn't relinquished his position as prefect so that his words held some power behind them; too many of his peers didn't respect the laws established in the slightest bit. "So there are more students holding guns," he stated simply, as though to reaffirm what exactly Iovita had said, giving a nod of understanding. "I shall watch the other students and report the infractions to the office later then. Thank you for the information."

He blinked, the straight line that had shaped his mouth moving its corners downward. "Are they now? I was not aware as my sister had mentioned they were in fine condition," Hieta insisted. She sure was chuckling a lot. Did she not grasp the fact that she was still violating the rules? She must have misunderstood. Any and all misunderstandings must be corrected. "The school requires training with traditional and medieval weapons in order to hone combative abilities. Your empathetic gift is not an excuse to avoid this in hopes of gaining favor for a more modern weapon."

Perhaps she was expecting to catch him off-guard or surprise him by throwing back his own violation of the rules, but his shoulders raised up in a half-shrug, shaking his head with a sigh. "Consider focusing on yourself first. I was granted permission to be outside after curfew to practice." It wasn't like they could regulate his actions anyway, considering basic bodily functions such as sleeping were ones that he didn't need to do. Nicola had pointed that out to him, telling him he could easily break the rules and take advantage of whatever situation he wanted since he practically had two gifts in one package, but it wasn't to his tastes.

Rules weren't meant to be broken.

So the ex-prefect was going to haunt the school looking for other student's guns. Iovita couldn't resist shaking her head slightly, a smile still curving the edge of her lips. "Sure, not a problem. Not like I really care, all the other students give me is a migraine." The last sentence she spoke was more of a mutter. It wasn't a lie, either. Being in a school filled with teenage hormones, emotions ran high. Being able to detect every single one? It wasn't something she directly enjoyed.

On the contrary, Iovita hadn't understood one bit. She may have been quiet during school hours, but she paid attention. "I'm well aware of the reasoning for the school wishing students to use other weapons. However, I'm simply stating a point- I'm at a disadvantage compared to many other students." Leaning against a nearby tree, she let her gaze wander. "I have to make up what I lack in gift with combat ability. And lets face it, not everyone out there will be using the same tools that we do. They're most likely to have guns and things of a much higher technical caliber. Might as well learn what levels out the playing field." Again. Words spoken in monotone, and a chuckle.

That chuckle continued upon his next remark, and her eyebrow raised. "My apologies for not knowing you were an exception to the rules. Yet I find it ironic how you're asking someone whose gift is dubbed empathy to focus on herself." Man, she never talked this much. "Even if I'm breaking curfew rules, I don't think the teachers particularly care about me in any way. I don't participate enough to matter as it is." It was true. Even if she had to stay in her dorm and not attend any classes, she had no problem with it. She wasn't a fan of being around people. One or two people she could handle, any more was a literal struggle.

ooc;
it's official, Iovi is going to be blunt (and a little sassy) around Hieta. all because she can't read his emotions and can't exactly give any damns about what he's feeling.

Clearing his throat - why exactly, he wasn't sure, considering he didn't actually need to do so; maybe it was just a habit he had hung onto after death -, Hieta had to refrain himself from prompting to repeat whatever words she had mumbled under her breath. It could be a curse, it could be a simple statement, it could be anything else, he didn't know. Why even bother voicing internal thoughts out loud quietly if they didn't want it to be heard? Either keep it to themselves, or if they want to say it, speak with a good amount of clarity. But whatever floated their boats, he wouldn't question it. Not his problem in the end. There wasn't anything that he could regulate with that anyway.

And as fair as a point Iovita made, he refused to release the claws digging into the earth for his position. As odd as it seemed that the academy was having everyone train traditionally when weaponry was only advancing further and further, never mind the fact that technology around the campus was terribly outdated as well, whatever rules that the faculty wished to establish, they should be respected. "And combat ability is honed not with a weapon where you simply pull the trigger but through the actual movements of a fight." Eyebrow taut, Hieta glanced out towards the lake, observing the surface, before turning back to face her. "Simply do the training you are required to and do not break the rules again. That is final."

If he had any use for veins or the sort, one of them would have popped on his forehead. "Excuse me? I had asked for permission and was granted it. Perhaps if you had an excellent record, you would be given the same privilege." He never found himself talking this much, only because he never actually managed to interact with anyone. Was this even considered a conversation? "I can easily put in a few words about you if you would like to be watched consistently. I could watch you myself, and you would never realize I was there."

Hieta's response did cause a prickle of anger to rush up her spine. "Who was to say I wasn't? There's a reason why I know those weapons are out of shape, I only carried that thing off of school grounds." Which for the most part was true. She had it expertly tucked away at her belt most of the time, so even then most teachers wouldn't notice if it was on her. A few close calls had left her to leaving it in her dorm a majority of the day, though. She placed emphasis on her past-tense form of carry, considering the weapon was no longer in her possession. "To back up my statement, I would gladly handle a 1-1 combat session... Under supervision, of course." A wink accompanied her words. After all... gotta follow the rules.

"I'm just being honest here. I wasn't aware you had permission. Even then, I don't think the teachers could exactly track you... Certainly not the Headmaster, considering my greatest strength is detection." Oh, so he knew of her record, eh? Which consisted of... nothing. She had yet to be caught for her little 'outings,' which only allured her to do it further. "Alright. I'd feel awfully bad for you though, it'd limit you on your privilege. After all, you'd have to be watching me for my offense, no?" It was true. If the reason Hieta was assigned to watch her was because of her sneaking past curfew, it'd essentially limit his ability to do so.

Pushing herself off of the back of the tree and pulling on her Winter house blazer, she walked closer to the ghost-Spring. "If you're keen on that though, I wouldn't complain. Maybe I'd have some decent company." She shrugged, brushing her brown locks back with her fingers.

Okay, so maybe he should have been a bit more selective with his word choice. Or perhaps leave less room for her to argue back by tossing out every statement and rule there was, reciting them perfectly through each clause and verse. Either way, Hieta found himself sighing, waving off what she said with his hand at first but keeping one ear listening, in the case that she brought up an interesting point. That didn't take very long, at least. "First off, the forest is still considered school grounds." Every initiate should've known that after their first week at school, never mind a student placed in a house having been around for what could've been years. "A duel would be nice, but I am not fond of becoming a demon in front of other students unless necessary." He rolled his eyes when she winked, despite the almost lack of visibility there was at the current time.

"Hmm..." He found himself at loss on how to respond. There had to be some way to bite back without giving her anymore leeway into arguments, but he didn't exactly know what that was supposed to be. "I do not mind that. It would only be around nighttime anyway, and some sort of company would be nice." Not that hanging out with his sister was boring, to say the least, but she didn't do much except plot how to kill a Flashlight of some sort or cuddle with Lulu and watch old-school movies all day. "Worth it so long as you end up not breaking the rules again."

ooc;; sorry, the post is shorter than I wanted it to be, but lack of inspiration atm. @_@;;

Even if the forest was still considered school grounds, it was mostly known that it didn't quite have the same protection as the rest of the school. Whatever charms had been placed on Campus, it was much weaker here. That was something she had learned from the other students, and even if it was just a rumor, she'd rather air on the side of caution. School grounds or not, I'd rather air on the side of caution. Iovita highly doubted that he could read her thoughts. "So... I'll take that as a polite decline."

She couldn't help but give a questioning glance as he didn't respond to her right-away. Considering up until now, he had always been able to fire back at whatever she said. Then again, it seemed that the conversation centered around school rules. "Agreed. Although I can't help but wonder what my dorm-mates will be thinking when I'm talking to someone they can't even see." Which was a good point. While he was visible enough, there was still a haze to him that made Iovita struggle to focus on his form. Even with the illumination from the moon that was reflected off of the waters surface.

Iovita couldn't help but wonder if he was actually considering this. "I'm honored to be deemed worthy company, in that case. Even if it's because I've bent the rules a time or two."

"My bad, I chose my words incorrectly." That was a bit poor of him now, wasn't it? It wasn't that he didn't want a fight as he was rather eager for one after practicing in secret for so long, but there was something about fighting as a demon against a human that sounded terribly unfair. Perhaps he should seek out Devin or Leo as a partner for sparring instead. At least then, it'd be on more even grounds. "I was not declining or anything of the sort. I was just..." Hieta contemplated just taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't the most visible person on Earth at the moment and walking away. He wasn't against socializing with others, but something about this was telling him it was lasting for too long. "I would prefer not having any unfair advantages." Damn, that sounded like an excuse...

... Oh well. Iovita did bring up an interesting topic, however. By this time of the year, he'd been around long enough for students to know that there were ghosts haunting the academy. "Tell them that the local ghost is coming to pay a visit," he replied plainly, shutting his eyes closed. "Though you are mistaken - I would like to keep an eye on you. That's all."

ultimate tsun tsun

Chose his words incorrectly? She offered a shrug in response, not particularly caring either way. She had extended the offer to spar, and he declined. The way he worded things made it sound like he was chickening out in a way. Had he not wanted to spar, a simple no would have sufficed. Oh well, in due time hopefully they could. It would be interesting to see what critiques he would have to offer.

'The local ghost...' She let the title roll around in her head a bit, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was rather fitting. Anyone who had been at Beata long enough to know that he had been a prefect knew that he wasn't exactly alive. "Alright."

As the night seemed to progress though, the Winter had to admit that it was growing increasingly colder. Shivering, even with her blazer back on, she glanced around. "Considering the colder-growing temperatures, I best be heading back to the dorms. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of it." She gave a polite dip of her head, scanning the area momentarily to make sure there hadn't been anything else that she was forgetting. Once Iovita was sure there wasn't anything for her to retrieve, she started making her way.