The Coming Darkness

Silver rolled her eyes at Artur's comment. Keeping an eye on her? If he ever gets that close to her again, she won't hesitate to beat him up. The only reason she didn't this time was because she was too tired. She saw him scuttling away, and he seemed unsure. "Go on, you can go find one of the teachers now and ask for help. We're a bit busy here," she told him as she crossed her arms. He'd be fine out by himself anyways, since he's on school grounds. Right?

That was when she overheard Voltaire's explanation to JD. "The man who killed your family? No, you can't do that. Voltaire, no! Trust me, it won't end well." He at least shouldn't go alone. If Silver remembered correctly, the man he was talking about was her grandfather. Silver figured, she being as powerful as she is currently, he must be 10x more powerful. Wasn't that usually how it went with family and magic? The older you are, the better?

He jumped a little and quickly turned his head after hearing Silver telling him not to go. "And what would you know about that Silver!?" "What the hell did she hear? How could she know something I don't about this...I know her and montesque spoke, but what did he tell her that he didn't tell me? How is she even involved." He quickly grew frustrated and gave a look that demanded she explain.

Artur nods earnestly at the clear indication and quickly trots down the hall and away from the peculiar group. He only slows down when they are out of earshot. He turns a corner and begins his search for a teacher.
"This school is so big and creepy .." Artur notes to himself.

The school is in fact quite large and gloomy to him. He is unused to such modern things and it all seems a little overwhelming. Artur can feel his chest almost compressing upon itself in anxiety and he hangs a right to the nearest exit.

Artur finds himself in a lovely courtyard. Possibly meant for students on break. It was empty, which was normal considering it was the late evening. His lungs practically sang when he gulped in the fresh air. It felt better outside. He sits down and exhales slowly. Artur looks to his lap and begins to sob.

Silver looked down, almost shrinking back into herself. "Um..." Should she tell him? She figured there wasn't any harm in it.. But perhaps this wasn't the right time or place to tell him. Would he hate her for it? Did he even know anything about her past? She was unsure, so she looked away and started playing with her hair, hoping JD would decide to take her away in that moment.

As JD stressed his words, she began to understand the seriousness of his visit and her eyes grew detached from the conversation - nodding. "I know, I know..." Even though he had taken his leave, she knew he would come back again ready to say the words she wasn't ready to hear just yet.

But would she ever be ready?

Rubbing her neck, it seemed not just JD but everyone would suddenly take their leave. As she watched various bodies make their way through her door, the ominous glow of the pendant came back, shining brighter with every second.

"I hate being alone..." She whispered to herself, before realizing one figure had remained quiet in the corner of her room this whole time. "Oh!" She blushed at the sudden realization, trying not to seem like a downer. "Well, uh - with everyone clearing out like this... what do ya say we get started?" Eos smiled, as charming as she could be, even though it wasn't real.

Sasha had nearly begun to fall asleep, as she held no interest to what was happening before. She jerked awake, eyes widening a little, "Wh-uh-" Registering Eos's question, Sasha straightened herself, coughing a little, "S-sure, if y'don't mind..."

He groaned and raked his hand through his hair before calming down then putting his attention back to JD. "God- ...Excuse me JD. Silver, may I speak to you?" A lot was going on around Eos' room and he didn't want to attract too much attention...he figured he must figure out what she knows, then finally step out.

Silver frowned, clearly not excited for the chat they were about to have. She wanted to ask if she had to, but the look on Voltaire's face answered her question before she even asked it. She sighed and stood up, slowly walking out of the room and into the hall, leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

"Why should I trust you? Explain what you mean by that. I know you and Montesque talked. What I would like to know is, about what? You apparently know something I don't." He faced down, he was too frustrated to look her in the eyes and he didn't want her to feel too guilty by giving her a demanding glare throughout all of this.

"I.. Um... Well, don't be mad... I just.." She spoke in a hushed tone, unsure on how to word this.

"...During the chat Montesque and I had, he told me he was my uncle. His sister was my mother, and my father wasn't part of the family, so my grandfather told them to abandon me..." She looked up at him to see if he figured it out yet. "Meaning, my grandfather.. Is the one that killed your family, Venciersio." She frowned and looked away, hoping he wouldn't hate the blood that ran through her body. "I-I'm not even sure if I believe it or not.. Though, Montesque did show me a photograph... They had named me and everything, a-and I do look a lot like my mother..." Even so, it didn't excuse the fact that they abandoned her and left her to die. Ultimately, it was their fault she had gotten hurt, and it was their fault she was in the position she was in. She clenched her fists, wishing she had never talked to Montesque at all. She didn't want to bring up how powerful she thought Venciersio was.

He listened carefully, but slowly began to look back at her. Montesque and Venciersio is related to Silver? Venciersio is the reason her parents abandoned her? He was not only sad for Silver he was even angrier at Venciersio. He had a feeling she may not have wanted him to go at this alone, but now he felt that she was involved a lot more than he originally thought. He paused a moment to collect his thoughts then looked back at her. "Silver, I hope you excuse me attitude from earlier...I never knew...I'm not mad. I just didn't want to bring anyone else into this. But, I guess you do have a part here. If what Montesque has told you is true, then I guess...you can come with me on this one. If you so chose, Montesque is outside he school waiting for me. I'm going to take my leave now before I get in trouble. I'm already shocked we haven't caused any attention. I'll wait for you outside." Ending his sentence he waved in the direction of JD and the others in the room. Warping away and reappearing under a tree outside the window, walking outside the courtyard.

Silver stood there, a bit shocked. He was going to take her with him? She looked back into the room, seeing everyone who was still there. She couldn't just leave them. Plus, what if he came back? He would get upset if she left again. Perhaps she should explain that situation to Voltaire as well? She wondered what he would say. She didn't really want to leave JD there waiting for her, either. But, then again, she figured he probably wouldn't miss her that much anyways. Hmm.

She strolled back into the room over to JD and stood next to him. "Thanks for the offer of walking me back to my room, by the way. Something came up, and I gotta take care of it real quick." She leaned down and pecked him on the cheek, showing her thanks, and of course blushing. She had never done anything like that with anyone before, and she hoped he felt special. She glanced around the room real quick, putting her hands behind her back, and muttered, "I'll probably be in my room later though, I mean, if you get too worried about me." She smiled innocently before turning and walking out.

She made her way to where Voltaire said he would be, to find him waiting. "Um, before you say anything, I actually kind of um..." Why did she want to tell him again? "I just want to tell you why I was so hurt earlier. It's.. Kind of the same reason I don't think I can go with you."

He leaned on a tree, his hood was already over his face. "Something's stopping you..?" He thought about it. What could be stopping her from leaving? And if it tied to her being so hurt it was making it lean towards someone was stopping her from leaving the school. "Some kind of prefect stopping you from leaving school grounds? Lemmie guess...that "Ling" guy?"

"Ling? No, no.. Not him." She found his answer to be a bit amusing. Silver didn't completely trust Ling to begin with, but it was obvious Voltaire disliked him. She got a bit closer to him, gesturing for him to lean over so she didn't have to speak as loud. "It's the one who raised me," she whispered.

She took a step back, putting space between them again. "I thought I lost him a long time ago, but it turns out he had just been.. Watching me wherever I went. When we ended up in.. The other place, he couldn't see where I went, so he got angry." She held up her hand, showing the ring on her finger. "He wasn't too happy about this either. He doesn't have as much control with this." She frowned and looked down. "I'm.. I'm afraid if I left again, he'd find me and do worse. What happened today was nothing compared to what I've received from him in the past. A-And I don't really want to get anyone else involved, because I don't want him to kill them.. I'm not even sure if I should keep in contact with anyone, really. He knows things, he knows who I have ties with. He considers them weak, a disadvantage to me." She paused again, biting her lip, almost as if she was fighting some strong emotions inside.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this. He's too powerful, if he were to come across you, I-" She stopped, putting her knuckle in her mouth and bitting it. Clearly the thought was making her nervous. She had never told anyone about him before, but since everyone saw her in such a condition today, she felt she should at least tell someone. She figured it would be a good idea to tell Voltaire since he wouldn't be around for a while, too.

He pulled her into a reassuring hug. He kept it tight but quick, understanding she may be watched right now. "Never mind me." He said pulling back. "This man...even if he were to encounter me. I don't fall too easily. I don't care if it meant my Virus finally overtaking my body. As long as he didn't let you suffer more, it all would have been worth it. I just wish I was there sooner. You don't have to come, I sorta prefer you don't...stay here with the others. I don't think they should have two friends leave, you know? It's late. Go back inside and rest, you went through a lot today and I bet you had a lot of courage saying all this. I'll be fine...I'll even promise my return. You can tell everyone else that...if they care I mean." He turned back and started walking into the forest next to the school. He stopped and turned over his shoulder. "I'll get all your answers you deserve. I promise you, Silver." He continued walking into he was no longer in view and ran into Montesque again. "Silver is taken care of?" "Yes...but she wouldn't come with us." "It's fine...she's still my niece and I wouldn't want her getting hurt by her monster of a grandfather. Shall we depart?" Volitaire nodded, and at that moment they disappeared into a blue rift.

Silver stood there as he hugged her. Wait, he just hugged her. She was too shocked to hug him back, and when she realized that's what he was doing, he stopped.

Quote:

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I'll get all your answers you deserve. I promise you, Silver.

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She simply watched as he walked away. She wasn't expecting that sort of response at all, though she wasn't sure what she had been expecting. A tear or two managed to slip down her cheeks as she watched him walk away. She wiped them off quickly, though. Rest.. I need rest... Yeah...

Silver wandered back to her room, entering and not even caring about how different things were. She closed the door gently, leaving it unlocked. Wandering over to her bed, she flopped down on it and curled up, clinging to her pillow. She didn't really feel anything, she just hoped Voltaire would be okay. Instead of dealing with her feelings properly, she put her pillow over her head and groaned into it, before throwing it back to it's place. She laid there, staring at the ceiling, wondering what would happen the next day.

Voltaire’s words rang bitterly, and JD had to pause to find a suitable response to what he spoke of. Yet unfortunately he couldn’t voice those sweet little sentences because the conversation barreled on without him and inevitably ended with both Silver and Voltaire’s disappearance. “Hm- well- some common courtesy would have been nice. But nooooo- ‘JD’s an asshat we won’t give him that because our family drama is so much more important’.” Those words glowered from his lips as he in turn frowned.

Suddenly he was alone.
He had wanted to tell Voltaire something- well a lot of somethings- but found his pleas on flaccid lips. Part of him had wanted the other not to go on this journey and to stay with Eos, and always make her happy; while an entirely different spectrum was all beating its’ chest and hollering ‘good riddens’. When had his thoughts become so conflicted? JD had always been one of moral assuredness, and he had never faltered on his beliefs before. Then again Eos had never found herself infatuated with a boy before, and had never had to deal with those emotions.

It was then Silver bobbed her head back in to get him a rather curt kiss on the cheek and an inevitable invitation to her abode later that evening. If anything was any more illegal it was probably that, and unfortunately that interested JD on multiple levels. “Do have fun with your ‘cloak and daggers’ chat.” He replied in his common fashion.
Those eyes wandered over to Eos and he considered spilling out everything Voltaire had told him, but Sasha was still there- and by the nine hells he was going to let that poor Russian girl get some sort of solace in her life.

Instead he bid a good day to Eos- promising to come back early and inform her of Voltaire’s supposed ‘suicide’ mission so she could get her grieving over with and they could move on with their lives. By the time he closed the door- he caught the figure of Silver reentering her dorm.
JD stood there for a moment- all pensive- before he slowly made the way to her door and rapped on it. It wasn’t his usual motif to engage in anything that was outside his ‘plan’, but honestly he was also tired of being the infernally awkward third wheel to everyone’s fancy little pairing off. “Silver- is everything alright?” He spoke into the door, and his eyes swept left and right in hopes of not being caught out in the hall of the girl’s dorm.

JD had kindly closed the door behind them and the two stood in the quiet confines of her room. "Before we get started, I've got to ask you..." Eos reached out her dainty hand for Sasha's and pulled her over to sit on the bed.

"I've got to know. Why so suddenly interested in being a girly girl?" By all means did Eos love a good make over - plus, Sasha was lucky and gifted with beautiful feminine features that were being hidden under boyish clothes and unstyled hair. Making her look physically feminine would be the easy part, but it was the schoolyard bully personality about her that would be hard to break.

A tiny grin curled on her lips as she decided to venture a guess herself, "Is it because of Enzo?"

Sasha was pulled, and sat on the bed, crossing her legs, "Go for it," she said, not really knowing what this question was.

After hearing it though, Sasha felt a bit perplexed. Why was she so interested in becoming more feminine? The more she thought about it, the more it confused her.

"Is it because of Enzo?

At this, an unexpected flush came on to her cheeks, and Sasha's mind went into overdrive for the second time today, "Wh-what?! Because of that idiot?! N-no way I would do something like this for him. I was simply...curious, that's why!" she nearly shouted.

As expected, Eos was nearly blown over with Sasha's response. She quickly grabbed a pillow from behind her and held it out between the two - just as a precautionary buffer. (Also because the blonde couldn't help but giggle a little at how easy flustered talking about him made her). This kind of reaction only made her want to pry more, to hear all those mushy gushy feelings that are so clearly bottled and up. I wonder if she even realizes how she feels?

Hopping off the bed she threw the pillow back down and put her hands on her hips. "Alright then, so let's play makeover!" Eos giggled before opening the door to the bathroom and turning on a steaming hot shower. "Get in there and soap up, I'll get ready out here!" Without hesitation she began digging around for her blow dryer, hair clips, make up bags and everything else that would horrify a tomboy like Sasha.

Argh!

Sasha swatted her thoughts away, her cheeks going back to their normal color.

Both these twins...what are they hinting at...?

She frowned, tilting her head a bit as she stood to get into the shower, "Alright..."

Sasha stripped, and stepped into the shower, feeling the droplets of hot water soak against her skin. She played with it a little, shifting them to and fro as she shampooed and conditioned, scrubbing at her head, then finally rinsing it all off. Sasha stayed in the shower for a few more minutes, then finally turned the shower off, grabbing a towel and wrapping herself in it, "I'm done...?"

Silver heard a knock at the door followed by a familiar voice. She got up and walked over to it, pausing before opening it. She saw JD and smiled. "Oh, yes. Everything is fine." And by fine, she meant she was extremely worried about Voltaire and feared for her life as well as the lives of everyone around her. At least she was pleased to see JD there. Something about JD and Eos made her feel a bit more comfortable, but she couldn't place what it was.

For some reason, Enzo didn't feel safe. Like someone was coming after him, with a vengeance. He looked over to see both Kenji and Enki sleeping already. He figured he needed cold air, and got dressed in some of his usual clothing. He snuck out of the dorm room, stuck his hands into his pocket and walked out of the dorm. Eventually, out of the building, too.

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When he reached the entrance, several snowflakes began to fall, then came plenty. Enzo grinned, this place was much more peaceful at night. As he continued walking, he heard someone.. crying? He looked around, to see a ginger boy, who seemed quite upset. Enzo took it upon himself to help out however he could.

He approached the boy, and asked "Are you okay?" His voice was full of concern. Few people could feel concern for complete strangers around here. "What happened?"

Snow flakes pile onto his back. His hands cover his face and he slowly breathes into them to keep his frost bitten nose warm. He's going to get a cold if he stays out any longer, he's already snot ridden and sniffling.

Artur looks up to see a curious onlooker and he replies with a forced smile.
"Ahh nothing, do not concern yourself please."

Enzo tilted his head, and crouched down to his level. "Sorry if i'm intruding, but I can't just leave someone alone out here, crying, even." He said. He's.. pitiful.. just like me.. He frowned at the thought. At first glance, he could already tell the two were alike in some way, if not most.

Artur gives him a bemused look. "Well of course you can, everyone else seems to be fine with it, why should you care?"
He rubs under his eyes and sighs.

"Because," Enzo stood up. "I'm not like everyone else." He reached out a hand for the boy to grab. "Let's be friends." He said. A calm smile on his face.

“Really-? Because your face reads differently, and if I know anything about Voltaire it is that his jokes are as serious as eulogies and his seriousness is as bleak as death itself.” JD stated and waved a hand towards her. “But I heard what he said- suicide mission and all that. Didn’t much like the fact that he missed out on telling Eos anything about it because I think she had a right to hear it just as well. But don’t get me started on how much that man-boy is an enigma.” It was then he run a hand through his hair and offered a bright smile. “I- on the other hand- am an open book m’dear so feel free to scour through my pages.”

JD laughed somewhat after that. “That sounds like a terrible pick up line- doesn’t it?” It was then he looked into her room, and then directly at her face. “So may I come in- or are you having some private time?”

Artur looks up at Enzo, his expression was doubtful and his eyes wavered with his thoughts. Seconds tick by and he hesitantly reaches out to Enzo's hand. He pauses and grasps the other's hand.
"Best friends." Artur corrects.

She frowned at him when he started to talk about Voltaire and his, as he called it, suicide mission. She didn't want to think that was what it was, but in reality that's probably exactly what it was. She sighed.

Then he asked to enter. "Oh! Right, sorry. Come in!" She stepped to the side, holding the door open and waiting for him to enter.