Etheriest Role-Play

Zorlias Corporation -- 7:22am

The drive back to his office is long, but he is happy to see Rae's face when he reaches the small office that is placed just before his own.  It's nice to be home; oddly enough, it feels as though he's been gone for half a day, but it's actually only been a short few hours.  

As he passes Raelyn at her desk, she smiles sweetly to him, "Good morning, Zorlias.  I trust you slept well and had a good trip with Kyo?"

Zorlias says, "Certainly, thank you."

He enters his office, almost ready to enter into his private home via the secret entrance way to the underground elevator.  The two doors are close, so he doesn't bother to turn on the light.  Instead, he's ready to open up the wall as he turns to his left and moves up to the decorative painting that Raelyn placed up on her first day as his employee.  

However, a movement from the corner of his eye catches his attention and his eyes shoot into the central part of the room and he changes direction to get to the lights.  Turning them on with a swift flick, he is surprised to see a woman sitting there, waiting.  She looks back at him over her shoulder, her back towards him as she sits facing his desk.

He is ready to call out Raelyn's name, summon security...anything.  Yet, her gaze holds him and he doesn't react.  He's stunned.  For some reason, he's simply...intrigued, rather than alarmed.  There's just something about her...  With a slow movement, he moves closer to her, nearing around the side of his desk as he gazes upon her with curiosity alone.  

Her jet black hair is pulled away from her, though a bit of her bangs hand at the sides of her face.  The woman's eyes are as dark as her hair, almost looking black, and her lips are painted a soft red to compliment her pale complexion.  Adorned with big, hoop earrings, a white, turtleneck shirt, a short, business skirt of a blue-black sheen, and red heels, her attire is very professional.  By appearance alone, she must be in her late twenties or early thirties.

Awkward silence has grown and it takes a few seconds for Zorlias to realize that he and she are simply sitting and standing there...staring at each other.  He's still partially standing behind her and this must be hurting her neck.  

Intruder:

Suddenly, Zorlias feels embarrassed.  He's never lost his cool like this before.  And why is this woman in his office in the dark?!  How did she get in here?!  No one gets past Rae, and he had locked this place up before he left...and he's certain she wasn't here before he left.

Clearing his throat, Zorlias moves around his desk and sits in it calmly, hiding all emotion that he is able to.  He tilts his head to the side slightly as he gazes at her, resting his elbows upon the desk as his hands clasp together under his chin so that they can support the weight of his head.  Leaning forward, he speaks in a soft, hushed tone.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Ember,"  she replies, equally soft and hushed, "Ember Arturas."

"Arturas?" Zorlias thinks to himself, his eyebrows scrunching from mild confusion.  That's why he froze--she looked so familiar somehow, but...she's not anyone he's met before.  It can't be anyone related to Kilder or Piper.  He's met their whole family and they'd have mentioned any additional cousins and such.

"Very well, Ms. Arturas,"  Zorlias says, "Perhaps you can regale me with the story of how you got into my locked office."

Her response is simple, nonchalant.  "You hide the key in a slot that is added to the very base of the door."

"And who told you that?"  Zorlias inquires almost immediately.  He hides his frustration behind a slow drink of water from a bottle he had waiting for him on his desk's corner, opening it patiently as he stares at her calculatingly.

"Oh, my brother told me.  Surprising, I expected my sister to know it, rather than him."  She says with a small smile, "You know Kilder and Piper."

Zorlias isn't amused anymore.  He places the bottle back on the desk and looks at her with disdain, "I know them quite well, well enough to know they don't have any siblings.  Just what are you trying to accomplish with this ploy?"

"No, they have a sister," Ember replies matter of factly, "They just don't know that I exist."

CETE Building - 8h30AM

(ATTN : Kris/CETE offices)

**This is a collab with leah ;D**

Walking toward the reception, Kyo approached both of the guests at the reception and started typing on his phone and he then show them the message with a warm smile. ''Sorry for the wait, you can both follow me now. Thank you so much for coming, it's appreciated.''

The guests that await Kyo's summons are vastly different from each other.  One would not expect to find one with the other on an ordinary day.  The receptionist sees Kyo typing up a text on his phone and smiles at the two visitors, saying "Oh, this is Kyo.  He doesn't speak.  He's writing something up for you, so we appreciate your patience."

The man nods his head in understanding.  He is the first of the two, towering at a good 6'2 in height with broad, toned shoulders and a built up torso and arms with well defined muscles.  His hair is short with grey strokes and he's clearly an older gentlemen around his late thirties.   He's wearing a big necklace on the outside of his black t-shirt with a massive Keltan symbol on it.   It looks heavy.  

His pants are also black, with various side pockets and his shoes are thick, black boots.  However, he has a short, black beard with streaks of grey that add character to his face, but his stoic expression still makes him look...angry, somehow.  His arms are covered in tattoos, but these are red.  The part of him that stands out the most is his eyes, which are a deep blue.  

When Kyo holds out his phone, the man reads it aloud so that his companion can hear what it says.  When he speaks, his voice is deeper than most, surprisingly smooth despite its depth.  

His companion is a thin, short girl.  She's about five feet tall with pale, smooth skin and a sharp jaw.  Her face is elegant and her clothing consists of a simple, green dress with very little decoration on it other than a few, light frills.  However, this girl stands out greatly in comparison to her male companion due to her eyes and hair.  Both of them seem to glow with brilliant lights--as if they cannot decide what color they should be.  Hues of purples, pinks, and blues all mix together and there are small, white spots that resemble stars.  

One could look at her hair or look into those big eyes and feel as though they are looking into a deep galaxy in space.  Her eyes are bigger than most human's eyes should be and her irises are ridiculously small.  Her movements are graceful and slow, and although she looks like a young child barely in her teens, her eyes seem to carry a wisdom that look right though you into your very core.  

Both of them stand after the man reads Kyo's text and the girl smiles pleasantly.  She doesn't speak, but the man does speak as they move to follow him.  "I'm Deego.  This is Reela."
As Reela stands, hair length becomes more apparent.  It is braided into four thick braids, all of which are made up of smaller braids.  The hair, while braided, falls down to the back of her calves when she stands up.  Reela takes Deego's hand as they follow Kyo to the conference room.

Kyo nods in appreciation for the presentation and write a quick ''I'm Kyo, nice to meet you both. My partner, Kris will join us shortly in the conference room after we get there.'' He give them time to read and starts to walk them to the conference room he prepared for this.

As they get there he says ''You can make yourselves comfortable. Would you like anything specific to drink before we start ?''

Deego looks to Reela, hesitating a moment.  Reela shakes her head and he turns away to look at Kyo, instead.  He says, "I'll have some coffee, if you have any--black.  Reela's good."

Kyo nods and writes ''Alright, I'll be right back then. '' He leaves for a short while to go make some coffee for his guest. But before that he shortly stops at Kris's desk to see how she was doing. ''They're in the room. I'm going to make some coffee for one of them. Are you ready ?'' He asked her.

Kris has brushed her hair, brushed her teeth in the bathroom, downed a second cup of coffee, and prepped another cup of coffee for herself.  As Kyo comes out, she smiles at him and nods her head.  She has her cup of coffee in one hand and the case file in the other.  

Kris says, "I'll head on in.  I won't start without ya."

Kyo nods with a smile. ''I'll be right there.'' He writes before heading out to the cafeteria to make a coffee. When he's done he goes straight back to the room and close the door behind him so they may have a bit of privacy. He sets the coffee in front of Deego and go sit down next to Kris.

While Kyo is out, Kris walks into the room, setting her things on the table and pulling up her own chair across from the two guests.  They look odd...it takes a moment for her to take the girl in.  

She finally introduces herself, "Kris, CETE Agent.  Nice to meet  you."

"Deego,"  the man says, pointing to himself.  Then, he points to the girl, "Reela."

Kris nods her head in acceptance and silently, but awkwardly waits for Kyo to come back.  The room is so awkward that Kris starts to feel uncomfortable.  Both she and this guy have this weird "resting bitch face" thing going on while the kid just sits there smiling politely.  

The ironic part is that Kris is relying on Kyo, of all people, to end an awkard silence.  She clears her throat as her savior finally makes it in and closes the door behind him.  As he sets coffee down before Deego, Kris takes a drink of her own as her shoulders finally relax.

"Okay,"  Kris says softly, "I have a case with a dead Keltan and an anonymous tip said that you two, specifically, would help me.  The Keltan Embassy wouldn't help me at all, so...why is it that you two can help where they couldn't?"

Deego takes a deep drink as Kris speaks, but the girl seems to be listening intently.  Then, after the inquiry is spoken, she looks over at Deego expectantly.  He shuffles in his chair with discomfort.  "Well, because we are the only ones willing to risk being kicked out of the island, I guess."

''I'm sorry to hear that. I hope we can settle matters without this being necessary. I thank you both again for coming though, we're determined to resolve the case and find the one responsible.'' He wrote, hoping his compassion would get through. He really didn't want them to have to be kicked out of the island. It is rather sad.

Deego read the text and then nods his head appreciatively, "Yeah, me, too.  Okay, so...you're about to think I'm crazy, but I hope you'll at least humor us and investigate what we tell you, first.  In other words, find evidence that we are wrong about this before you count us out...alright?"

Kris raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.

"You guys know we are excellent wolf trainers and tamers."  Deego says slowly, "Most Keltans really are.  You also know we have a history of letting a lot of wolves live on our island.  The things is...some of those wolves weren't just wolves.  They were Ether Beasts--and yes, I'm saying that Ether Beasts are real."

Kris looks over at Kyo for a moment, but Deego continues talking.  She's not sure where this is going, but she dosn't like it.

"Your murderer is one such wolf.  An Ether Beast.  This wolf is targeting Keltans and is taking them out one by one."

Kyo listens carefully and nods. ''I see ! To be honest I think I believe they do exist. If we have etheriest why would we not have animals with powers too ? I mean I never saw one myself, but I think it's logical that they do exist. Although... why would it go after keltans though ? I'm not exactly sure I understand that one.'' He writes and wait for an answer.

Deego looks at his companion with an uncomfortable expression on his face.  He doesn't say anything, but looks at her expectantly.  Finally, the girl speaks.  Her voice sounds...so otherworldly, as if her voice echoes through one's bones.

"Ether Beasts are intelligent beings, as smart as you or I.  Just a human can choose to kill, so can she."  Reela replies, "but she does not like being hunted and she has been hunted by the Keltan for a long time."

Due to Kyo's words, Kris is taking the conversation more seriously, but now she is curious, "Why do they hunt her?"

Reela speaks again, "She has killed Keltans in the past, as well as other sacred animals of her own kind....these deaths were the result of major disagreements.  Those arguments of old have passed, but the hunt for her has not.  Now, she simply tires of humans and wishes to be left alone.  Sadly, the Keltan will not stop their hunt."

Kris sighs, "And they won't stop hunting her, because...?"

"She is a blasphemer to them, to their customs."  Reela explains, "They do not approve of her use of her power."

Kyo listens again carefully and then writes ''Sorry if I sounded rude, didn't mean to. I simply didn't know. And yeah I can see where they come from though won't hunting her provoke her to do even more things ? Isn't there a way she could be somehow convinced or is there really nothing to do about it ? '' He asked trying to somehow see if there could be a neutral solution to this. Then again if they fought over some stuff for so long he didn't really thing something could be done at this point. Although hunting the wolf themselves will be quite difficult.

Reela speaks with a sad tone, "I do not foresee any way to convince the Keltans to stop their hunt.  That is where the problem lies.  Even if we managed to break peace with her, ourselves, we could not hide her away forever.  Wolves require freedom."  

Kris crosses her arms over her chest and leans back in her chair in a relaxed pose.  She ponders a bit before responding, and although she isn't convinced that these two aren't nuts, she will look into these claims, regardless.  

"Well...if someone did get the wolf to agree not to kill any more Keltans, we could uh...fake her death."

"This is possible,"  Reela says, "Her feelings for the Keltan are of...disdain and displeasure.  To her, we are all weak.  The Fire Spirit has abandoned us and she knows it."  

Kris doesn't move, but her thoughts are clear.  This girl is nuts-o.    C'mon!  First, Ether Beasts, but now--a fire spirit?!  Really?  This kids has been smoking some strong stuff, even if she doesn't smell like it.  Probably has some magic to remove the smell or something.  It would explain why her eyes are so dilated.

Kyo shakes his head. ''This is kinda sad, although the idea of being a peace with her and faking her death could be the most neutral solution. But how possible would it be to do so and what could convince her to not hurt anyone anymore giving that she feels disdain. That is the issue I think. Although about the fire spirit stuff, I think it could be nice to know a bit more to have a better idea of where we're going. And also could give a better understanding of her as well. Although my negociating skills might be slightly limited it'd be nice to try and understand her frustration by knowing the roots of the problem and the source of it in a deeper and more elaborated form. '' If he was truly honest though, he was also really intrigued and interested about the subject.

Kris can tell that Kyo is incredibly open minded.  She likes that about him.  Although she thinks this is going a little far out into fantasy land, she's glad that she has Kyo to help her.  Otherwise, she'd only have Bran and that girl would probably have called these two nutters like she almost did.  Regardless, things are different and she has someone who's willing to listen, so she's going to listen, too.  

"I have a way to...tell her we wish to meet."  Deego says, "My necklace--the symbol on it.  If we were to place it up where we would know she could see it, then she's certainly know that we wish to communicate.  The problem is figuring out where to put it where she would see it.  Otherwise, we'd be sitting under a weird symbol for a long time and we'd probably be stared at by the public...the whole time."  

"Okay," Kris says, "So if I can figure out a good spot to put it...we all just go and sit and hope a wolf shows up?"

"Yes,"  Deego and Reela reply at the same time.  

Welp, this is weird.  This is not at all where Kris thought this case would end up going.   Weird.  SO weird.

Okay, so Kyo and I will work on finding a good location for the symbol.  In the meantime, we can set you up in a hotel and provide you with a list of good places to eat and we will stop by when we've got it figure out.  Does that sound okay?"

''This sounds like a good plan, though I'd still want to know more about your story if you have more free time later today. I want to be able to understand everything. It's okay if you don't want to though. As for finding a good spot, we'll work on it.'' Kyo wrote and showed his response with a small nod and a smile.

Reela nods her head sweetly, "Of course.  You are welcome to stop by after we are settled any time.  Here, if you give me your phone, I will add my number."

Kyo nods with a smile and gladly exchange contact info with her. ''Thank you, I have some classes in the afternoon so I'll most likely try to contact you in the evening maybe. ''
 
Kris gestures for the two to follow and heads out into the main office.  There, she introduces the two to Va'an and gets them set up for food and lodging services through the department.  Afterwards, Va'an takes over and she can return to her desk.  

"Thanks, Kyo.  I appreciate the help."  Kris says.

Kyo nods ''You're welcome. I'm glad to be able to help. You're still doing okay by the way ? You're awake enough ?'' He asked worried about her even though he might be feeling worse himself.

"....I need a nap."  She admits.

Kyo nods ''Yeah I wouldn't say no to one myself.'' He chuckles a bit. [/color]

Kris laughs, but then winks at him, "Alright, alright.  I'm headed home, then.  I got a big bed--if you wanna join me."  

Kris doesn't wait for his reply, though.  Rather, she turns around and walks towards the exit in the most sultry manner that she can manage.

Kyo was surprised by what Kris had just said to him and stayed there without moving for like a few seconds and then he went after her. ''Um, I do appreciate the offer although I think if you have a couch, I'll take the couch. I mean ... I don't want to invade your private space and stuff. ''

Kris smiles with confidence, "Alright.  My couch is fine, too...but, if you change your mind, my bed has a lot of space in it and I've been told I'm a pretty badass cuddler."

Kris opens the door and steps outside into the bright day.  She is definitely looking forward to that nap.  With this new lead, odd as it is, she at least feels like she has time to sleep, for once.

Kyo blush slightly and says ''I think I'll be good with the couch.'' as he follows her. A bit of sleep before class sure will help though at this point he probably would need a full day of sleep.

Delacroix University ~ 8:00 AM

[Attn: Open/ Kilder's Office]

Kilder's desk, freshly dusted and shiny, with organized piles of paper in the corner, a simple single sheet in the middle, accompanied by a single pen off to it's right, and in front, his immaculately clean and brilliant name plate sat. There was not a spec of dirt or dust on the desk, everything was placed upon it with nigh perfect symmetry, even beyond what could be seen, even the contents of the drawers were completely in order by date and importance. Looking at this desk now, one might have never known who sat behind it. It looked.... well, kinda perfect. You might also never know who sat behind it, at least without a bit of effort, due to the oddly shaped mound of paper, that believe it or not, was organized at one time. In fact, it was, to put it lightly, all over the room, as if a tornado had chosen to attack this office, but lift it's skirt across the desk. Pictures on the wall had fallen down or were crooked at best. The window was also still open, which likely didn't help seeing as there was a nice breeze coming through today (luckily the desk had paper weights). One might ask themselves at a sight such as this... "Could this have been one's attempt to organize everything gone horribly wrong?" in which case, yes, they would be exactly right. But how something so catastrophic could happen to everything but the desk? That's a question that's actually pretty easy to answer if you know who Kilder Arturas is.....

Footsteps and the sound of chatter ring through the hallways. Although the door to the office is closed, it can still be heard quite loudly within. Kilder's Office is still, though. His desk the isolated plateau untouched by the rest of the calamity that has unfolded in the rest of the office. If it weren't for the overbearing amount of sound from the outside and the wind and birds chirping through the open window, you could likely hear the dust settle.

*BRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIII-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-INNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!*

"errgh.... UNNnnhhh....."

The sound of rustling papers.... All of a sudden, the dune of paper in the room shifts and opens up as if it were a sinkhole.... a single hand pops out, feeling around frantically, and then finally rests upon the edge of the desk...
Then, in a small explosion of 8 x10 confetti, up pops a person.... dazed.... and also lacking in vision... the papers slowly rain about the room...
The items that were once firmly placed upon the desk begin sliding off now, as if they were suddenly on an incline. The man quickly notices as his before unmentioned glasses sliding across his desk start getting away from his other hand, and clenches the desk more tightly as the sliding items suddenly stop before they fall off....

*phew...* he sighs... grabbing his glasses and snapping to just as he notices the mess and the sounds around him....

....

"SHIIIIIIITT!!!!"

[PAUSE: Kilder Arturas, for those who are just joining us. First day of classes for the new semester at Delacroix University. This guy IS A TEACHER HERE..... has been for a good few years now. Oh, and he was put basically IN CHARGE in the dean's absence to get the school ready for classes this past week. Just let that sink in......]

Kilder quickly <(this adverb will apply to everything in the next few paragraphs, reallly) hand wiped his face, hand brushed his hair a bit, and started gathering papers, frantically <(This one too) pushing them into piles. He had actually had them largely sorted the night before, yet in his exhaustion had knocked the piles over when he passed out and gave up on life for the day. There was no time... Classes would be starting in just under.... 10 minutes now.....

"OMM OMM OMM!!!" he pulled open all his desk drawers... All full.....

"Eeeeekk!!" He ran to the small storage closet and started stacking the piles in it. At least that would be a place to get them out of the way for now..... "WAIT!!! I got it!!" he said aloud to himself. "But it may take a bit more concentration..... or... a lot..." he thought in reply to himself.

The floor was now clear of the bigger piles of paper, but a bunch of single sheets still covered the floor. He grabbed his desk, activated his power and pushed it aside..... this alone took a lot of concentration since he had to up the friction on the top and attempt to lower it on the bottom. It luckily worked out, but he almost lost it. He could normally do it okay as long as he wasn't too out of sorts, which he clearly was now.

Next he scooted the paper at his feet out of the way and put one hand on the side of his desk, and the other on the floor. Holding the desk against the wall, he activated frictionless powers to the floor, and then blowed the paper towards his closet door at the other end.

Of course this all completely backfired...

The paper suddenly slid around the floor as if it were soap on melting ice, and barely any of it in the proper direction. A few did manage to go in, a few slid out, and more explosions of paper started happening, as Kilder had forgotten to shut the window still, and that slight breeze had a bit more power than his breath. His file cabinet on the wall beside the closet also decided it was to hard to stand there, and fell forward with a crash.

 "WORST..... IDEA..... EVER..."

He deactivated power, and got up. He took a deep breath... First he walked over and stood the file cabinet back up. Then  he picked up all the papers and caught the few in the air, which was much easier to do when he increased the friction on his hand enough to be adhesive. In a few minutes, he actually had all the papers up and stuffed in the closet, and was finishing up straightening his other things. The office didn't look great, but it didn't look like the post apocalypse anymore, at least.

Now how to sneak to the bathroom to tidy up and the break room for coffee?

He could use the spider man trick for the break room again, but the bathroom? He couldn't walk out in front of students and other faculty like THIS!! And no windows.... He looked up to the ceiling... "A ventilation duct.... hmmm... NOPE, NOPE!! STOP KILDER, NOT THAT AGAIN! It was a bad idea the last time, it won't be any better this time, no matter how many stealth video games say it is..."

The bathroom was pretty close... but still down the hall a bit... too many people though..... He peeked out the crack of the door.... "Just as I thought.... they're EVERYWHERE!!"

!

The first logical thought of the day popped into Kilder's brain.... he picked up his office phone and called the receptionist.

"Heeeeya, having a great morning so far? So... uh, yeah.. I know it's the morning of class and they start in roughly ....a minute ago, but I have a BIG favor to ask of you. See I had a very important errand I had to run this morning regarding the very FATE of this institution and I just now got back. I won't go into details, sensitive info and all and it's been tough with Jenia gone, but!... I digress! So if you wouldn't mind running into my classroom really quick and telling the students I will be just a FEW minutes behind today, I would greatly appreciate it!!"

"Umm... Yeeeaah... Sure thing Mr. Arturas, it's no trouble at all...."  she replied. "I know he has important things going on but does he have to make such an elaborate excuse every time?"

The hallway was empty now.... Make or break time. He skated with haste and silence to the bathroom like a ninja on a mission for personal hygiene. Then after tidying up, he simply walked to the break room for his coffee. He didn't have time for the scenic route, as much fun as that could be.

"I am SO GLAD it's just syllabus day!!"  he thought as he walked into class.

"HELLOOO, MY STUDENTS!! Sorry I'm a bit.... tardy.... In light of recent events of which I'm sure you have all heard, the school board ate my home work! Haha! And on that note, you only get that excuse once per class here!"  

He always liked opening with a lively attitude and a dumb joke. It often put the students at ease anyway.

{Attn: Open}

After her jog, she returns home and takes a shower.  After that she makes some breakfast. She goes through her mail, excited to find the passes to the con.  She loves conventions.  All the costumes and people wanting the pictures to be taken.  The Coldrion one is very opening to photographers offering an open room.  She was lucky to get time in there.  

She opens her computer and gets to work on her portfolio.  Not that she has any interviews planned.  She is thankful for the severance package, but she wants to find something soon. Not only for the money issue.  She is bored as well.  She is only realizing how busy she was working under Torrin.

She spies her bag lying on her desk.  Maybe she should go out and take some more pictures.  It would not hurt to broaden her portfolio.  She has a lot of pictures of people.  Adding still life will show more dimension.

~~~~~~~~~

Ellie thought she was late for class.  She quietly opens the door and peeks in.  She is luck the professor is not even in.  She sees and empty seat and begins chatting with the people around her.  

Just in time too as the professor comes in.  Kilder Arturas, he is known to be a bit of a goofball.  An easygoing, laid back, and most of all fun.  Her roomie had him last year and learned a lot from him.  Anything to make the morning class worthwhile.  

She feels her phone vibrate in her hands, not paying attention to Professor Arturas.  It is the first day, noting happens anyway.  She messages her friend back and puts out a tweet about her class.   First day back at the Uni after a glorious victory.  Morning classes are torture.

Kris's place/9h30 ish

(ATTN : Closed)

**This is a collab between me and Leah7**

Kyo followed Kris into her car and she drove both of them to her place. He went at least twice at her place now during the crazy week. In about fifteen minutes, they had reached their destination and once the car was parked, Kyo got out of it and walked up to the door and then waited for her.

Kris' two bedroom apartment is small, but simple.  She isn't the kind of girl to keep knick-knacks and other such belongings, so she owns very little.  That makes the smaller space much more spacious, as well as a lot easier to clean.  As she parks the vehicle and steps out, she groans at the sun.  Too bright out today and she forgot her shades at home.

With a slow pace, she steps up to the door, pulling out the correct key, and unlocking the door to the small duplex.  She pushes it open more quickly with a swift kick and walks on in.  Back into the living room; home sweet home.

The couch, chair, small table, and single bookshelf took up little space, at all.  There isn't a TV or anything like that.  Just books and emptiness.  She does, however, have family pictures up on the wall.  That's about the most life she has showing here.

The kitchen is a small thing with an island at the center of the tiled floor with a mini-fridge and freezer mix, an unused dishwasher, and all of the usual amenities.  Old take-out containers are stacked up in the trash and paperwork is all over the table in the living room, but that's about the most of the mess.

She takes her shoes off as she enters, placing them into the ridiculously large slotted case that is built just for them, which is conveniently placed right at the entrance.  There are no less than forty slots for shoes, here, but only four of them are used.  She points to the couch before she heads back to her bedroom.

"You know where it is,"  Kris says, dropping her old clothes she had warn the day before into the laundry room floor as she passed it down the halway to the right, which was a sharp turn just after the shoe rack.  Those will just have to wait until later to be washed.

Kyo smiled and wrote ''Yeah I do.'' And he then removed his shoes as well to place them into the slotted case as well. He then adds ''Btw if I have a bit of time to help you with anything here, I can help you a bit later. I'll leave around 1h top since my class is at 2h. ''

Kris nods her head after reading, "you got it.  Sleep well."

Kyo nods and head over to the couch. He sets up an alarm for 11h on his phone so he doesn't oversleep and then lay down on the couch. Kyo falls asleep the moment that he close his eyes.

Kris heads to bed, laying down and passing out.  She doesn't take the time to change or shower...but, she'll have plenty of time afterwards.  Regardless, all she can think of is sleeping.  That's what matters to her at this point.  Then, it'll be back to work.

Kris's apartment/Kyo's apartment/school ground ~ 11h-1h30

(ATTN : Closed, except on school ground)

**This is a collab between me and leah**

It was completelly silent in Kris's appartment, both of them were sleeping tight and trying to recover some lost energy from the tough times they've been through. Till Kyo's alarm started to ring on his phone, however he was sleeping so tight this time that he wasn't waking up to it. It rang and rang non stop.

When the alarm went off, Kris ignored it.  And ignored it.  And continued to ignore it.  Until her restless eyes snapped open with the glare of a thousand deaths.  Shifting up from her bed like that of the zombie that felt no heartbeat, she swiftly moved forward towards the bane of her sleep.  When she reached the phone, she wanted to smash it, but instead, she turned it off.

With a lift of her leg, her foot lands down on the sleeping boy's leg with a swift kick, not even realizing that the shirt and panties were her only currently clothing for coverage.  However, that didn't matter.  Sleep mattered.  And sleep is not what is being had.  It is a deep crime against her very soul.

Kyo suddenly woke up from intense pain on his leg and he exclaimed a small ''AAH !'' as he did. He was a bit confused at first and then made a few connections in his head about his alarm and the fact that she was here looking like a mad zombie. W-wait... she was wearing only panties and a shirt. He suddenly turned completelly red as he realized she was in panties and he looked away embarassed by it.

Kris whips out her index finger, poking him in the arm with a gentle, yet ominous poke as she calmly speaks one sentence before turning and walking back to her bed:  "Your phone almost died today."

Kyo felt a poke on his arm and heard Kris's words and he just nod not turning back for now as the panties were very intimidating, yes the panties. He tried to take his phone without looking and found it on the table, took it and looked at it, it was closed though. He then forced a very low whisper of a ''Sorry'' since he knew she would want to go back to bed quickly and couldn't really write a sorry at the moment. He re-opened his phone making sure to turn off that alarm.

After Kris cooled her jets and re-dressed, she came back out with a giant cup of coffee--because, yes, her coffee maker is in her bedroom.  "Want some?"

Kyo is still kinda embarassed even when she comes back, though he was also a bit confused, he thought she would go back to sleep. He turns back at her slowly hoping this time she was fully dressed, thank god. He gently nods thinking it would be good even if he often finds its too bitter. He usually put a lot of milk and sugar in his coffee in the rare times he takes any.

She pulls out a cup and takes it back to the room, returning with it filled for him.  She sits down, kicking her feet back over the arm of it while pointing to the kitchen:  "Sugar and creamer is in the kitchen.  Might be a bit old, I don't really use it."

Kyo nods and smile as a way of a thank you and he gets up to go toward the kitchen, he did twitch for a second there however. His leg gave him a signal of pain from when she kicked him. He just shoved it aside though and went to the kitchen in search for what he needed. Thankfully the creams were still okay but getting a bit borderline and sugar was okay too. He came back with a very pale coffee and sat back down on the couch and took a sip.

Looking down at his cup, she cringes at the color.  Still, she somewhat shrugs it off.  The silence grows for a while, but she doesn't care.  It's always comfy with Kyo and she just hopes he's not bored as hell without a TV or anything to entertain himself with.  She sighs, eventually, and then decides to have a little fun with some evil words.

"Woah," Kris says with an evil grin, "You're dad's gonna be so proud.  Got to spend a morning in a chick's house and you got to see her undies.  Real progress, my dude."

Kyo had almost finished his coffee then and he turned completelly red again. He then start writting. ''Please don't tell my dad, I'll never hear the end of it.... though I'm sorry about earlier again for both the waking up and erm... seeing I mean.... y'know.''

Kris laughs as she read his text, "No worries, Kyo.  I'd never do that to you.  I just had to poke fun, I couldn't resist.  Everything is cool."

Kyo relaxes a bit and then smiles as he writes. ''Thanks. He tried to educate me enough about perverted stuff before, thank god Jenia was there most of the time to stop him, because he started to try to have those conversation when I was so young, it was a little scary. '' He makes a small face of annoyance as he remember some of the other times he tried to hook him or else.

Kris bursts out laughing, her hand moving over her stomach as she finishes the last words, "OH GOD.  Your sister is a God-send.  I really do need to get to know her."

Kyo nods and writes ''That she is. '' He smiled and then was about to write something else and that's when his stomach went completely berserk letting out the most desperate growl ever. He remembered that the last time he ate was breakfast and even that was kinda smaller than usual. Although he still had gotten everything he needed, it may not have been in enough quantities.

"Oh, damn," Kris says suddenly, "You must be famished.  I got some cereal and burgers."

She realizes a lot of her food is just leftovers and crap.  She usually orders in a nd she never cooks.  She doesn't do kitchen stuff.  "Uh, we could also go out.  I could take you somewhere.  They got some good places nearby."

Kyo nods and writes ''Yeaaah... sorry about that... oh and yeah we could go out to a restaurant, I would have also suggested going to buy stuff and me cooking something, but I don't think we'll have enough time for that before my class. Or... we could go at my place too, I got plenty of food there and its right next to school. '' He tried to come up with a few suggestions.

Kris says, "'Kay, whichever is good for me.  Which do you want?"

Kyo smiled and wrote ''Let's go to my place then, I'll gladly cook something up for both of us.''

Kris smirks, "Hell yes.  You are a badass, you can take care of yourself, you're not a shitty person--and now you cook.  You're moving up in the awesome book, my friend."

She stands up to go pick up her keys, "Then I can give ya a ride to class, if you need it.  I wouldn't mind, if it spares you a short walk."

Kyo chuckles and get up typing ''Sure thing, would be nice and would also give us a bit more time to eat.''

And so they moved over toward Kyo's place, although Kyo had to give some guidance to Kris since it was the first time she was coming to his place. When they were finally there, he took out his keys and left the car to go open the apartment. He was living on a second floor. He opened the door to let her in first and then came inside, closing it behind them.

The place wasn't really big, but it was well thought. There was a nice wardrobe at the entrance and a small hallway going to the other rooms. The kitchen was a bit small, but it was big enough to have a small table for two in the opposite side of the oven and all the rest of the kitchen tools were. The tiny living room was right before the kitchen and both were counted as one room since there was no wall separating them. He had a small, but cute bathroom and a medium sized bedroom with a queen sized bed. There was a few pieces of drawings or wood art exposed in some places as well as some pictures that were dear to him. Like a picture of when him, Zorlias and Jenia were younger. He had barely just joined the family on that and so he looked very reserved and shy back then. Another thing she could see would be how a lot of walls are painted in blue shades of color.

He wrote to ask her ''Well, make yourself at home, there's chairs in the kitchen or a small couch in the living room. I'll go check what I can make, though any preference ? Like what do you feel like eating ?''

She looks around the house casually as Kyo typed up his text.  She's pleasantly surprised, the place is very homey.  Much more than hers, but shje's lazy, anyway.  After leaning over his screen to read his unspoken words, she pulls way with a pondering expression.

"I like meat.  Lots and lots of meat.  With more meat and other things."  Kris finally says.

Kyo chuckles and then writes again. ''Alright meat it is then, I will prepare veggies on the side too. But I'll make sure to include a good portion of meat. '' He then heads over to the kitchen and check in the fridge what he had. Oh perfect he did buy steaks yesterday, it'll be perfect. He grabbed that and a few veggies to cook as a stir fry on the side. The piece of meat looked pretty generous.

Without wasting time, he started to cut veggies pretty quickly and prepared a pan to start cooking those.  He then started to prepare another one for the meat. Though he walked quickly to Kris and asked ''How do you like your steak usually ? Sorry I forgot to ask.''

Kris was still walking from wall to wall, viewing the objects of Kyo's personal life.  She's trying not to be too nosy about it, but she is curious.  When he returns with the glowing screen again, she grins from ear to ear as she says, "Steak!  My dude, I can eat it any way and it'll still taste amazing.  As long as it isn't mooing, I'm good to go!"

Kyo nods and smiles before he return to the kitchen and start preparing it with spices and cooking it to go for a medium. He also added more spices to the veggies to give it more flavor. He really couldn't wait to eat, his stomach was growing more impatient by the minute. It was almost ready though.

Kris was relatively quiet as Kyo cooked, but it wasn't too long before she exclaimed with a loud voice, "OH, MAKER" before lifting up on the ground with her metallic tails that shift into existence.  Looking down upon the floor beneath her, there is a huge, fat spider with yellow spots upon its back.

Kyo heard Kris freak out and noticed that her power activated and he wonder what was going on. He made sure to lower the heat so the food would not overcook and went to look. He just exclaimed a ''Oh ! '' before he quickly went to the kitchen, found a small container or something to go and get it out of the apartment.

Kris almost murdered it mercilessly.  However, since Kyo wanted to see it, she stopped herself.  What if it's a pet?  OH GOD.  IF IT is his PET.  He's one of THOSE loners.  Shit...

Kyo came back with a container, trapped it inside of it and then went by the window and threw it outside. He then placed soap and water inside the container and washed his hands before he went back to his cooking like nothing ever happened.

"Oh, thank the Maker," Kris gasps aloud, "It's not your pet."

Kyo shake his head to pretty much say not it's not. He start preparing the plates and then bring them over the table. He writes ''Yeah sorry about that, it's just I usually just grab that container there to try to catch them and throw them out'' He then add ''Oh and food is ready, hope you'll like it.''

"You are the shit,"  Kris says as she seats herself, "I'm sure it's delicious."

She noms the food, inhaling what she can while still maintaining some of her composure.  She really likes her meat.  After finishing her plate, she gets up to wash her dishes.

"That was delicious, man.  You're pretty damn good at this."

Kyo nods and smile. ''Glad you liked it and I do love cooking, which is a good thing considering the amount of food and complex diet my body needs. ''

After washing up quietly with Kyo, Kris' mind wanders to various things.  Kris decided a while ago that she wanted to pursue him.  He's a good man.  However, she still also feels like she knows so little.  She's never been so involved in his life, other than at work.

Although she doesn't normally flirt, she's taking that step with him, now.  It must be strange to him and she needs to give him time to adjust to that.  However, what's most important is that she learns to understand him outside of work.  This is nice.  It's a step towards that.  She doesn't usually "hang" with people.  This is sort of hanging, isn't it?

Finally, she sighs, "Welp, I guess we need to get you to that class of yours.  What class is it?"

Kyo finishes washing his stuff and place it back where it needed to be. ''I'm in a program that follows etheriest powers and history. The class I'm going to this afternoon is about the convertion of energy around us and how it affect our powers or the world in general. It's kinda more on the scientistic side a bit, it's interesting. I took another program before around computer programming and stuff and I usually help set up the server for the school too to give a hand to Jenia as well. But yeah once I finish that one I might take another course, I love learning new things a lot. I'm just not sure what I'll do next if I do another one though. Oh sorry that might have been a bit too long of a text, I tend to get a bit too excited when I'm talking about school.''

"That's really amazing, Kyo,"  Kris says happily, "I miss my school days.  What do you do when you aren't in class?"

Kyo thinks a bit and then writes ''I either help out at CETE, sometimes I help my bro as well or hang out with him or other peeps. When alone I like drawing, reading or those wooden carving things like the ones on my walls. I do play games from time to time on my laptop though, but not always since I'm pretty busy usually.''

Kris says, "You seem really different from your siblings.  Like, your bro was all...stiff and anti-people.  And your sister was sweet, like you, but she just seemed...more reserved."

Kyo scratched the back of his head and smiled. Then he started to write ''Yeah, we are indeed all different from each other. Although I can be pretty reserved too sometimes with some new people. Depends on the people I guess. I'm glad to be part of their family though. ''

"I guess it's so hard to see you as reserved or shy, anymore."  Kris says with a shrug, "I've pushed you around for so long and you've never had a problem with chatting with me recently."

Kyo chuckles and writes ''Well we did work together intensly for the past what two weeks ? And although you're someone who's strict and stuff, you're a very good person so I don't really feel like I should be uncomfortable around you. Anyways, we should go I have a class I can't miss. Also I'll get more info on the Keltan culture tonight, I'll keep you posted on that when I do.''

"You got it," Kris says, "Take notes, man."

Kyo nods. ''Will do''

Kris pulls up to the school building and stops at the curb, careful to avoid the students walking about as she pulls to a stop.  

Another CETE member is walking in as they park and he waves at both of them eagerly.  Kris nods her head back at him rather seriously, but waves at Kyo goodbye.

Kyo waves at the guy and goes to school, he made sure to change back into normal clothes before leaving home since he was in his uniform before. He walked toward his class, hoping that Jenia was still doing okay today. He would have to go see her after his class.

Coldrion park 9:30 ish

{attn: Open}

Sophie is on a mission.  This time she is not photographing people, but other objects.  It has been a while since she’s done this.  The only question is what to shoot?  She finds herself in the park.  She unpacks her camera looking around.  People are out walking their pets, feeding the pigeons and other animals.  It is perfect.  The people love looking at animal pictures.

Unlike some she doesn’t have to crouch too much to get the perfect picture.  She will start with the woman feeding the birds.  Pigeons are so beautiful when the light hits their wings perfectly.  Sophie only hopes to capture that on film.

Cynric is in the park, sitting on a park bench in his uniform with a bottle of water in one hand and a pencil in his ear.  There's no paper here, but for some reason, it's there.  Sitting to his left, a slight, scrawny man with dark hair and a nasally voice does have paper, as well as a pencil of his own.  

As he is talking to the scrawny man, who's name is Reese Jackman, his eyes fall upon the fair-haired girl taking photos in the park.  She looks lovely.  Looks too young, though...still...flirt fun potential if she's still around after this interview.

Cynric is saying, "...that we can't do this, but I've been here proving them wrong every day on the job.  I mean, look at this, Jackman--the statistics make this controversy clear:  Our response time is on par with the local police force when it's not better.  We get in there fast and neutralize the Etheriest with swift, legal protocols, whether this is a something as big as a bank robbery or as small as a domestic dispute.  

We don't and won't give up on this, no Sir.  CETE is here to stay to protect Coldrion's citizens.  And when we go big--because we will go big as we continue to save lives, we will expand."

"Okay," Jackman says, nodding his head with a small smile, "I hear you.  A lot of our reader's are still really concerned, here.  One of our biggest arguments is that we're just fighting fire with fire and that with more fire, we'll burn the whole forest down."

Cynric replies immediately, "That's a silly notion.  We aren't fighting fire with fire, we're fighting fire with water.  I don't send a fire mage out there to face an arsonist.  I send out a water-based or air based Etheriest that can nullify the flame.  Common sense, am I right?"

"That seems like a bit of re-direction,"  Jackman states, "In the end, you're still putting more Etheriests out there.  Why not equip the local police force with the tools to fight Etheriests, instead, so as to mitigate the amount of possible magical damage to properties, environments, and other such factors?"

"Two arguments.   If you want to go after an Etheriest, you have to understand an Etheriest--we understand each other on a level that your local police force cannot currently offer.  It gives us an edge and allows us to not only anticipate a criminal's course of defenses, but also to out-think them and out-maneuver their tactics.  Secondly, this technology already exists--but the cost for having this equipment is significantly higher and to use that as your only defense against them isn't monetarily sound.  Besides, I like to have more than one ace up my sleeves against these criminals.  If we fall into a crutch where Ether Tech is our only line of defense in law enforcement, those criminals will turn the tables on us, resulting in higher crime rates and more injuries and fatalities."

Sophie is a bit frustrated.  It is nothing like taking pictures of humans who you can pose.  However that is part of the thrill too.  To find the perfect picture of the animal.  She hears a dog barking behind her and sees it running to a ball.  The dog’s golden fur is flying in the wind.  She goes ahead and takes some action shots of it as it gets to the ball.  After the prize is caught she goes to the nearest tree.  She leans against it and checks to see if any of the pictures are salvageable.  She loves the digital medium for this.  It is so easy to discard the lesser quality pictures.

She finds one that has the dog’s tongue hanging out.  The fur is framed perfectly around its face, and its eyes show the dog’s delights.   She chuckles lightly knowing that is one of the keepers.

Jackman writes down some notes furiously while keeping the recording device up close to the chief with his other hand.  The overall balance of the paper on his knee while he holds up the device and writes with just the one hand is some talent, for sure, especially against the occasional wind.  He says, "Okay, Chief Delacroix, just one more question from one of our readers and we'll wrap this up.  Reeda Morgess asks: 'Do you support the Suspicious Etheriest Act that they are trying to pass and why or why not?'"  

Cynric shakes his head adamantly, "Politically speaking, I'm against SEA--forcing someone to sign a registry for a perceived danger implies that they are dangerous and paints them as potential criminals.  Who decides what abilities are 'nefarious?'  Where does that stop?  What will stop an employer from basing their hiring protocols on registry names?  What are the odds this could cause discrimination or effect sentencing times in all court trials?  Every type of act that functions like this sounds benign, but hardly ends benign.  Politicians and bureaucrats often have the best intentions when they propose a bill, but it hardly ends that way.  

Additionally, what prevents this bill from expanding down the road into a registry for all Etheriests?  It creates a divide--a line in the sand, if you will-that will only further open into a chasm between us that will ultimately lead to fear, hate, and violence.  The last result that we want is an 'us' and 'them' mentality in any bill or law that we pass."

Jackman nods his head, "Alright, thanks, Chief.  I'm really hoping that, after I type this article up, that the boss'll give me front page.  I want this so bad, thanks for helping me on this."

Cynric laughs, "Anything for my boy.  Hey, why don't we get a picture for your front pager?  I bet the nice lady over there would be more than happy to take one of us interviewing or what have you--she'd get paid, too, right?  If it's good quality?"

"Oh, yeah!"  Jackman says, hopping up from his chair, "I'll go ask, just stay there."

The scrawny man happily jaunts over to the pretty girl and waves at her politely, "Excuse me, miss?  Care to do me a big favor?  I'm working on an article for the newspaper and my interviewee is pretty confident we could hit front page.  If that happens...well, I think a strong image to offer the boss will go a long way.  You'd get paid the standard photographer's fee if you helped.  Interested?"

Sophie stops herself from jumping when she hears the man’s voice.  She was in her ‘photographer’ zone, so she didn’t notice him waving at first.  She looks and listens at the man, obviously some kind of reporter.  She looks over at the other man still sitting at the bench.  For an older gentleman he is not bad looking.  There is something about him that is recognizable though, but she cannot place what.  He is obviously CETE.   “What kind of picture are you looking for?  We may have to change venues based on the message you want to convey.  Sorry, what I meant to say is that I would love to do it.”  She bows politely, not taking her hands off her camera.  “My name is Sophie Chiodo.  Which newspaper do you work for?  I may have the standard release form already in my files.”  Torrino has worked with the newspapers from time to time and guess who had to keep the forms on file for him?  He is an excellent photographer, but can be a bit flaky otherwise.  

Jackman says, "Nice to meetcha!  I'm Reese Jackman, I work for the Coldrion Times.  I'm really not sure what kind of photo we're looking for--to be honest, I've never worked with a photographer before...I usually only get small panels on the other pages.  Our topic is covering the newer success of CETE and how they have improved as a law enforcement and whether or not they should also supported by the state when they expand."

“Oh the Times, yes I know I have the agreement here.”  Sophie smiles at Reese.  “Let me handle the picture.  It has to be perfect, seeing that it may be on the front page.  Why don’t I talk to interviewee to see what he thinks.”  Sophie lets the camera drop around her neck.

“Hello, sir, I am Sophie Chiodo.  Reese has asked me to do the photo for his article.  It will be my pleasure.”  She bows to him as well.  “As I was telling him, based on the image you want the picture to portray, the park may not be a good venue.  I am thinking a more professional location.  Is there a particular location you want this picture to be?  You can trust me, I am a professional.  Up until last week I was Torrino’s assistant.”

"Ricky," Cynric says charmingly, "A pleasure, Ms. Chiodo.  I want something to express that CETE is for the people--why don't you and I work together for a PR photoshoot and then we can all three swap contacts and make some magic happen?  I'd love to get some on-the-job shots of some of our agents for a possibility.  Plus, it'll take a couple of days for Jackman to get his article complete, is that correct?"

"Yes, Chief Delacroix," Jackman says eagerly, "I'd really love to have a few options, too."

“Chief Delacroix, it’s an honor to meet you.”  Sophie blurts out.  She studies the man quickly.  That is why he looks familiar, he is Zorlias’ father.  He didn’t seem suspicious of her.  Maybe Zorlias didn’t tell him?  *Quit fooling yourself, the man doesn’t have time for one little girl.* She thinks to herself.  Besides she should not judge him by his son’s actions.

Sophie kneels down and removes the back pack from her back.  She opens it up.  If the gentleman look they can see the different photography paraphernalia neatly stored in it.  She finds a small spiral notebook and a pen.  She writes down her name, and her mobile number.  “I do apologize, my cards are still being printed.  The best way to get a hold of me is by texting first.  I have a tendency to get into a zone when I am taking pictures.  My schedule is flexible now, so I will work around both of yours.  Reese, I will have the release paperwork printed up.”  She is thrilled to get this job.  It may be small, but it is a foot in the door.  Now she will have to try to make this look professional.

Cynric takes the information with pride, happy to have a pretty, young girl in his contacts.  Jackman is on top of things, as well, he notices, writing with an unbelievable speed to give her his information, as well.  

Lazy, as always, Cynric simply texts the girl with "This is Cynric Delacroix.  Feel free to add me to your contacts.  I look forward to working with you!"

After Jackman hands over his own info, Cynric claps the smaller man on the shoulder with a reassurance of familiarity to his good friend, "Don't you worry, Jackman.  Front page material, I assure you."

Jackman smiles slightly, "I do hope you're right."

Sophie checks her phone and takes Jackman’s information.  “Excellent, I guess we will be in touch.  Don’t worry, I only supply the best photographs.”  She winks at Jackman.  She is happy but leery at the same time.  The money and the foot in the door will be good, especially for Coldrion Times.  Who know if they like this, she may get more work with them.  However, working with another Delacroix worries her.  He seems like the polar opposite of his son though.  “It is a pleasure meeting you both.”

She gets a smirk on her face.  “Since you are here, why don’t I get a picture for the People of Coldrion book?  I am a contributor for the book series?”

"Woah, it's our lucky day!"  Cynric says jovially, "You know what, I think this is gonna be a good day."

Jackman looks at Cynric as if he is nuts, his arms crossing over his torso as he shakes his head, "Good day....it's the first day of school!  I got classes this afternoon.  Ugh, it may start good for me, but--"

Ricky smiles, "Heh!  Boy, you appreciate that learning!  I didn't have any good schools--back in my day, you learned ether abilities by scorching the crap outta your best bud!"

Sophie watches the two and raises her camera.  She talks while taking the pictures.  “My sister is a student at the University.  I am not an etherist, unusual I know.”  She looks at the pictures she got.  “I got some nice ones.  Both of you are very photogenic.  I offer a copy of the pictures free of charge too.  But I need you to sign the disclosure, you can add a little blurb if you want.”  She digs the sheets out of her bag and hands them to each man.  “I will pick them up when we meet up next.”

"Thanks!"  Cynric says happily, "I'll look forward to our next meeting, then!  I'd love to see your work!"

Jackman waves goodbye, walking away rather quickly.  He's surprised at his good luck for the day, hoping it continues.  What are the odds that a professional photographer ends up just where the interview is?  Did Ricky set that whole thing up??  Surely not...

After Jackman has made his getaway, Cynric says, "I do have some cleanup crew assisting with the University clean up--there was an explosion there, I'm sure you've heard.  Great moment to get some pics--I mean, they are all in uniform and everything...just the less nice ones."

“Thanks for the tip.  I suppose I won’t need any special clearance to take pictures there now at least.  Chief Delacroix, it’s been a pleasure to meet you.”  Sophie smiles.  She packs up her stuff and bows again to him.  She is thankful he didn’t demand a handshake.  

She will go to the university, but use her long throw lens.  That way she will not have to be too close.  It appears he wants to get some candid pictures.

Jenia's Office l 8:25am
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Jenia looks up from her desk as a man rushes in, dressed fully in haphazard clothing that was obviously put on in a rush.  It's Officer Pierce, it would seem, looking frantic and on edge as he looks around her office with wary eyes.  She raises an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms before her chest with a critical expression and resisting the urge to give him a hard time over this entrance.  After all, she's in her work place, now.  Professionalism is always best, especially here.

"Officer Pierce, what a coincidence,"  Jenia says, "I was just going to call you."

Sure ya were, Braedon thinks to himself skeptically, "Oh, yeah?  What for?  Ready to give your statement, now?"

Jenia smiles, "I am very busy with work today--being the first day and all.  However, if you'd like to set up an appointment for this afternoon, when a lot of the bustle and noise has calmed down, I'd be happy to give you a statement."

Braedon is surprised at her sudden willingness to talk, his expression making that apparent.  He crosses his arms over his chest, as well, still skeptical.  Something is fishy here...and where is the woman that was supposed to be in here?  It's only been twenty minutes...

"And Ms. Rochelle Bitch, where is she?"  Brae asks.

Jenia's arms spread out to gesture widely to her office, "Not here, obviously.  If that was all, then I'll see you again this afternoon around five.  I hope that isn't too late for you?"

Braedon glares at her.  She was here.  He knows it.  However, he'll grill her at this stupid appointment, if that's how it is going to be.  She can procrastinate from the interrogation he is going to give her if she wants, but it won't stop it from coming.

"Okay, Ms. Delacroix.  I'll see you then."  Braedon says pointedly before taking his leave of her office.

As the Officer leaves, Jenia sighs, pulling out her cell phone and scrolling to Kyo's name in her contacts.  She shoots a text his way:  "Need to see you."

Delacroix University/1h30~4h PM

(ATTN : Open for class/school part - closed for the psychologist part)

**This is a collab with Leah7**

Kyo had taken everything he needed to walk to class and although he did have a good nap, he still felt like he didn't sleep at all. He hoped he would hang on in the class, he doesn't want to miss any information, but his body was at its limit. And he wouldn't be able to sleep till much later since he asked the keltan girl if he could meet with her later to get more information. He was starting to wonder if he should give in to energy drinks just for today but wasn't sure on how his fast metabolism would react to it... could be scary.

His thoughts were interrupted by a vibration of his phone. He took it out and checked to see Jenia wanted to see him. He wrote back ''I need to go to class for now, but I'll be free around 4PM. Is that okay ?'' He left the fact that he had to meet up with his psychologist too after his class. Though it never was really long. It was usually just about half an hour as the psy wanted to check on him mostly.

He got a reply almost instantly with just a ''k''. He wondered why it wasn't longer, then again maybe she was busy or something. He didn't overthink it, his brain was too tired. He began to walk toward his class of convertion of ether energy and co. God, he really hoped he would be able to stay awake. Reaching his destination, he saw that there was attribution of seats based on names and went to sit where he was supposed to. It was near the window around the middle so it was a fairly good seat. He tried to keep himself busy by drawing something a free sheet so he wouldn't wait and do nothing while waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Professor Borgesse zipped into existence, leaning up against the door of the classroom with an overly dramatic flair while trying too hard to look casual. She asks if the class missed her before zipping on and into the class even more, vanishing and reappearing behind her desk with a wooshing sound.

She speaks with such speed that her words seem to flow into one. This used to be far faster in the past, but a speech specialist helped her to slow it down well enough to be understood. It took her years in that class to be able to slow down enough to do some teaching.

As she sits in her casual pants and long, scientist coat--which is obviously not in the dress code--she places her feet up on the desk, like usual. "Well, class, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to learn about some more sciency things! Everyboy's got the textbook, riiiight? We'll be learning something off of the syllabus today, because I'm not supposed to teach it. Now, before you get your panties all up in a bunch, yes--I do have Dean Delaxroix's permission, I just don't have the permission of the government."

After her quick speech, she picks up a giant mug of coffee and slurps from it rather noisily.

Kyo almost stepped out of his chair when the teacher suddenly appeared. And this teacher was talking so fast that his poor ....slow brain was having trouble to follow. He took out his textbook and pushed away the drawing he was doing. Syllabus.... what was that again ? Well... he'll just go with the flow and see. This teacher should not drink that much coffee, she talks fast enough as is.

"So!" the Professor asks, "Who here knows what the fundamental difference between an Etheriest and non-Etheriest is? ...anybody? Anyone? C'mon here, kids, start raising hands or I'll make class a torture chamber for you."

Kyo raised his hand as he knew the answer. He had something special usually given to him to speak up his way and have the class see it still. He wrote on a tablet that was connected with a screen in the front. He always kinda felt bad that he had that huge special treatment, but was also greatful. ''The etheriest will have a different aura and energy flow then that of the non-etheriest. The etheriest will also take energy from around them to produce reactions and thus their power being activated and coming out.''

"Precisely, Kyo, thank you." She said pointedly, giving the other classmates a dirty look, "Etheriests have reactive auras. Now. Recent studies have shown that the reason why Etheriests are more reactive in their auras than others is because of Energy X. At least, that's what they are calling it. The government has brushed aside all scientiest studies regarding this and we have been forbidden to continue researching it. What is Energy X, you may ask? That's what we want to know.

Energy X is an energy we have found within a person's aura that is actually not entirely the Etheriest's own. Aurists say it is ancient--perhaps as ancient as the planet Aria, itself. The question is--what is it, where does it come from, and why is it connected to us?

For a bonus on your overall class grade, write an essay on your theory of what Energy X could be, where it originates, and why it still remains such a mystery."

Kyo listened to the rest of the class, trying to keep his attention on the fast talking teacher, he tried his best to take messy notes at the same time to try and not fall asleep. When the class was finally over, he was surprised that he managed to somewhat stay awake.... his brain was marshmallow at this point though. Following that teacher sure was hard. He gets up and pick up his stuff to place it back into his bag and then walks out of class. He needed to go meet with Dr.Gregor. Kyo walked toward his office.

-- Dr.Gregor's office/3h30 --

Kyo knocks lightly on the door waiting for the doctor to tell him it was okay to come in.

Dr. Gregor presses the button on the intercom to his secretary, "Lelianna, my dear, please tell Kyo that he doesn't have to wait at the door anymore, and if he should wish, he could open the door."

"Yes, Dr. Gregor," Lelianna replies from her desk. She stands up and moves to the door to open it, but she does not repeat the doctor's message. His intercom is so loud that there is no way Kyo didn't hear it, himself.
Lelianna's office is a small room that separates the doctor's office from the rest of the campus. It includes a waiting room and many, many filing cabinets. There are magazines and small knick-knacks on the tables.

"Would you like a drink, Kyo? I got three new types of teas in this morning. Perhaps we could enjoy them during your session?" Lelianna asks.

Kyo smiles as she open the door and when she mention the tea, he sure didn't refuse. He nods and writes ''Sure, that'd be great. '' He also obviously heard the intercom so he took note of it. Also the we could enjoy a cup of tea ... oh right she likes those teas too.

Lelianna nods her head happily and moves to the station to make Kyo, the doctor, and herself some nice tea. As she does this, Kyo can see that the doctor's door is already open. It is usually closed in most cases, but since it is just the first day, things are slow on campus for him.

Kyo moves toward the doctor's office and wave toward him as he enters to say hi. He sits down on one of the chair and writes ''Hello, it's been a while. Sorry I postponed it, things were a bit too busy.''

Dr. Gregor says, "Understandable. How far within the stages of grief have you progressed in regards to Jenia's assault?"
Lelianna moves forward as she has finished setting up her tea kettle, pushing the door to a close out of respect to guarantee Kyo complete privacy.

Kyo nods and then writes ''Well... its still difficult seeing that we still haven't managed to keep the one responsible behind the bar... however I'm glad she's at least doing better. I'm mostly worried for her safety still as if something happens depending on the time she might not have protection or be able to escape. It's also hard to see her on wheel forcing a smile when I know she's frustrated with her situation. I only wish I could help her a lot more, even if I know I'm already doing everything I can do within the possible limits.''

Dr. Gregor listens, writing notes on a paper in his lap, "Do you want revenge or retribution against your sister's attacker? Feel free to use emojis to express your feelings, Kyo. Just the text can make it difficult to read your tones, sometimes."

Kyo shakes his head and says in text again. ''I did at first, I won't hide it. Though now it's more a thinking of I'm worried that this criminal will make others suffer as well in the future. I'm also worried she might still come after my sister when she's vulnerable. But yes... the person in question seems to be the type to throw tantrums and she doesn't seem to control well her power either... so I think she should be taken in by the justice system. If I could find a program that could help her better control both her ability and temper I think it would be the best course for the person. So yeah in short, I feel more like I want to help possible future victims and the person who committed the act... otherwise I feel like the person will never get out of the current loot she's in. Maybe I'm not making any sense though. '' He hoped it was clear enough for the guy, he's not used of adding emoji so... he kind of forgot to add them in it this while writing.

"It is healthy to show concern and empathy with others," Dr. Gregor says with approval, "It's good to see you reach out and I am glad that Jenia is doing well. I paid her a visit once, she was not happy to see me--she thought I was there on the job."

With this last, Dr. Gregor laughs, his hand moving to stroke his beard in amusement. His eyes glistened with nostalgia as he remember days in his past of the young Jenia he knew while growing up. She never enjoyed being psycho-analyzed, because it made her feel naked.

Kyo chuckles. ''Yeah she doesn't like when anyone speak toward her own emotions and stuff like that. She gets annoyed and tries to change subject. '' Kyo smiles on the thought. ''I wish she could open up a bit more when things aren't going too well.''

Dr. Gregor pondered on that, but sadly he was more worried for her brother. Zorlias has avoided him at all costs--and the doctor is quite convinced he needs him far more than Jenia ever could.

Still, he should get back on topic, "How have things been at work?"

Kyo pass his hand in his hair quickly before he start writting about work. ''Best way to describe it is .... crazy. Been pretty busy working a case that's been giving me and my current partner a hard time, thankfully things are starting to fall into place. Though... erm ... my partner started to act a bit... different ? I dunno if it's because we were together that much or something. I'm not fully sure how to fully react to it.... I just...'' Kyo just blush getting a flashback from this morning. He wasn't even sure how to continue writting at this point. How should he explain this ?

"Has she been distant?" Dr. Gregor asks.

Kyo shake his head. ''No... more like she went from normal friendly to um.... more than that and being rather shy nature with those situation I um... don't know how to deal with it, I'm not exactly sure where I stand in the situation or rather relationship. I mean I don't mean it like something happened but... AH ! Sorry if I'm not making any sense ! '' He somehow was struggling to say that she obviously seemed to have done some flirting with him, but he felt too shy to get along with it. Also he blushed even more at this point.

"So...she flirted with you," Dr. Gregor said with a smirk.

Kyo tries to hide his face as he could feel the blood rising there, he was obviously a tomato at this point. He wrote a quick ''yes....''

Dr. Gregor asks, "How do you feel about her?"

Kyo writes trying to avoid eyecontact this time, the slight shade of red still in his face. ''Well, she defenetly a nice person and although she's usually more cold to a lot of people, she's really sweet on the inside and she's been pretty sweet to me usually. And I do respect her a lot, just the sudden flirting is um...sudden. I'm also kind of afraid of dad's reaction to all this if he does hear about it... omg I'll like never hear the end of it. '' Kyo shudders at the end of that text.

Dr. Gregor laughs, "Boy, you got to stand up to your old man, sometimes. The man is pervert, but if you show him what for, he'll respect your boundaries.

...but how do you feel about her? Do you like this girl?"

Kyo sighs at the first answer and start writting but then hear the question and he freeze for a few seconds and then continue writting. ''It's kinda hard to stand up to him when he speaks without breathing and just drag me into his perverted education.... as for her I um... I do appreciate her, but I don't know fully yet.... if it's y'know ... toward that direction. I'm kind of.... new at this. Though it's probably the first that ... I didn't straight out run feel like running the other direction when she did um.... flirt... then again it's not like when dad tries to hook me up with someone either. '' Man this was all embarassing to talk about.

Dr. Gregor nods his head, "Perhaps, then, you should let it be. Yes, you're uncertain, but time will reveal how you feel about it in just the right way. What matters most is that you are honest with yourself and with her when those feelings become clear. Until then, I'm here to bounce your feelings off of."

Kyo nods and writes ''Okay, I'll let it flow for now then. '' As Kyo relax from that part being done with, he rubs his eyes a bit. His body pretty much reminding him of the lack of sleep. Maybe he should drink the tea to get a bit more of energy. He takes a sip and then drinks some more because it was so good.

After a pause of more scribbling from pencil upon paper, Dr. Gregor finally looks up and smiles, "I'll find a discreet way to have a chat with your father regarding his...habits towards women when he speaks with you. I'm his best man, he'll hear me out."

Kyo smiles and writes ''That would be helpful for sure. Thank you.''

"Okay, we'll cut today short, then," the doctor says, "I can read that you're exhausted--I've calmed you as much as I'm willing, for now. Why don't you treat yourself to something good today? Something you'll enjoy. That's my homework--and sleep doesn't count."

Kyo chuckles a bit. ''Yeah I am tired, I won't try to hide it. As for something nice... mmm... I'm not sure what, but I'll think about it after I go see Jenia. She wanted to see me for something. Maybe I could stop by the bookstore and see what have... though I wouldn't be able to read it right away. But yes, I'll take the homework seriously, been working myself a bit over my limit so.... I think it's a good idea.''

-- School hallways --

(ATTN : Jenia/Open)

Kyo then walks toward Jenia ofice while he writes ''Coming over now.''

{Attn: Open outside university 12:30ish}

She doesn’t like being at the university, and she hopes she does not get caught by anyone.  It is a job though, so she will do it.  There was another reason for her to take the job for the newspaper.  Maybe, just maybe it will be her foot in the door as well.

She finds the area where the damage happened and takes out her camera.  She isn’t hiding, but she isn’t that close as well.  She set up her tripod and sets her camera on it.  She begins to take pictures of both the building and the people working on it.  They have gotten a lot of stuff cleaned up already.  She is not surprised out efficient they are working together.  

As she takes pictures of the building itself, she wishes she would have been here right after it happened.  The progression of the work done would be a wonderful story.  So much can be told through photographs.  

She sits down and takes out her computer.  She fires it up and slips the memory card into it.  The first rule of being a photographer is always back up your pictures.  It may seem odd, but she always has a backup drive and a cloud account to store her pictures on.  Of course she had to erase anything that was Torrin’s.  Her father and brother even made a solar charger for her laptop.  It works great and has saved her ass a few times when they were on location.

Lost in her work she forgot where she was and starts to work on editing the pictures.  Maybe she will drop them off at the CETE station later.

A Collab between The Lovely JerriLeah7 and I.

Delilah had trekked her way through the mud, the mire, the endless winding paths of cement and paint. She had walked, and walked, and walked, if her feet bore blisters, she did not notice them for she, she had a mission, and that mission was safely tucked away in her pocket- the yellowing picture of a man, smiling, form ages long past. A man she knew not the name of, but she knew she needed to find.

Her journey had been a long one, but she knew the direction of the city.

Coldrion City.

A strange name for a strange place, she soon found out, looking upon its shining, towering buildings, its flashing lights- she had never even known there were so many people in one place! - but, most of all, its noise. For someone so accustomed to the quiet melodies of the forest, the incessant noise grated on her ears, but it did have a strange allure, once she grew accustomed to it.

She could feel people looking at her, at her strange garb, at her staff. To her, they were the ones in the strange clothes, women with vibrant hair, men with holes in their faces, who were ‘The Smiths’? They must have been important, she had seen many people with their name on their shirts. Very, very important.

She started across one of the strange, dark cement paths, which broke up the other, smaller paths. This city couldn’t be so big that she couldn’t find this ‘police station’ on her own, could it? Surely with enough looking she cou-

The air was knocked from her, and the next thing she knew she was laying prone and starry eyed on the ground. She heard a few people scream.

“Holy shit are you alright?” A man’s voice.

“Should I call the paramedics?” A woman’s voice.

She blinked, realizing there were now a gaggle of people looking down at her with concern. She heard an awful shriek, punctuated by a man shouting ‘ASSHOLE’ at the top of his lungs.

This was a very strange place indeed.

“I am fine, thank you- could you?” A number of different hands reached down to help her up, and she thanked all of them profusely.

“I can’t believe that guy hit you and just sped away!” One man said, with Delilah looking as the silver machine that had hit her sped off around a corner.

“Haha, yes…” She smiled at him, not wanting to acknowledge that she had no idea what whoever that was had just hit her with. A few people around her went on, asking if she needed help, or a ride to the hospital, or for them to call the police-

The police!

“Actually,” Delilah interjected. “Would you mind giving me directions?”

—

Standing at the front facade of the police station, Delilah could not help but feel…nervous, somehow. She had trekked for many, many miles, just to be here; and now, if she went it, what would she say? ‘Hello, I need you to find this man’? What if he was dead? What if they could not recognize him?

Her brain clouded itself with what ifs, but she quickly waved them from her mind. She had come too far to turn back. She needed to take what might be the first, or last, step of her journey.

So she steeled herself, gripped her staff tightly, set her jaw, and ushered herself in the door.

The head officer behind the desk looked up as the strange woman came in.  He gestures towards his front desk, as he does with anyone that walks in and looks lost.  Some cosplayer of some kind.  

"How can I help you today?"  The officer asks.

Delilah looks at the officer with determination that only comes when one is nervous. She moves towards the desk with stiff, yet confident strides, pulling a picture from her pocket, holding it out to the officer, careful to not just shove it in his face.

“I am looking for this man.”

"Do you wish to file a missing persons report?"  He asks.

“I….I do not know his name. Or how old he is. Or when his birthday is. Frankly, I do not know if he’s even still alive.” She was hit with the possibility that she may never find him. A city this big, and she didn’t even know if he was here, didn’t even know his first name.

The cop raises his eyebrow, "You're looking for some random guy you don't know?"

“No, not- not random.” She was beginning to realize how weird she must sound, shoving a photograph in his face with no other information to go on. “He…he’s my father, you see. I have nothing from him, know nothing of him, except this picture.” She stopped, feeling the sensation of potential failure, the realization she might never find him, sinking down through her stomach. “Please, I have walked many, many miles to come here. I know what I’m asking must sound crazy, but I cannot possibly find him on my own.”

"OH, I see,"  He says, "Well, you can still file a missing persons report, it just won't be a full report...we won't be able to do much beyond that, though.  We'll run his picture through the system, search for your DNA...but that will only help if he's IN the system, like if he committed a crime.  Regrettably, that's all we can do, unless you try CETE or a PI."

“C-E-T-E? What is that? Detectives?” She remembered the old detective comics a backpacker had once given her, smeared with the visages of strong jawed men, in trenchcoats and stiff hats. PI, she knew that term at least, Private Investigator? If this C-E-T-E couldn’t help her, then she supposed she’d just have to find one of them; though it was hard enough just getting here. A private investigator might enjoy staying private.

"CETE.  It's like the cops, except they are specifically filled with Etheriests for employees.  So they deal with Etheriests, too--but they have people there with abilities that specialize in finding missing people."  He replies.

“Well, where can I find this ‘CETE’?” Delilah tucked the photo back in her pocket, resigning herself on another goose-chase around the city.

"Oh, I'll jot the address down for ya.  They are relatively new, so it's rough for most to find 'em right now.  Your GPS will want to g right on--wait, no.  Agent Pierce is here in the back, right now, collecting some files.  I can ask him to give you a ride over.  I'll go back there and let him know and hell be right out."

“GPS…” Delilah muttered softly, barely audible, semi-desperate confusion in her voice. “Oh, yes, please, thank you.” Whoever ‘Pierce’ was, it was awfully rude of his friend to offer her…what, a piggy back ride on his back?

After a short period of time, the officer came back, dragging back a man in an entirely different uniform.  He looks rather serious and tired as the man points at her from afar and the CETE agent nods his head in understanding before his makes his way up to where Delilah waits.

"Ma'am,"  Braedon says in greeting, "You need an escort to CETE quarters, I hear?"

“Yes, thank you, unfortunately it is very easy to become lost in this city.” Delilah smiles at him before a solemn expression crosses her face and she leans in, attempting to be discreet. “However, your friend offered ‘a ride’ on your behalf, do not worry, you do not have to carry me.”

Braedon laughs, taking her line as a joke, "Appreciate that, ma'am.  I'm Agent Pierce, what's your name?"

Delilah smiles, giving a chuckle, even though she doesn’t understand what was funny. “Oh! I am Delilah, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Agent Pierce.” She offers out her free hand for him to ‘shake’. She knew handshakes, at least.

He shakes her hand appreciatively and then opens the door for her, "Alrighty, right this way, Delilah.  He said you're looking for our Search Specialist--that would be Agent Reid.  When we get to CETE, I'll help ya find him."

He leads her out into the parking lot and moves to the passenger side  of his convertible and opens the door for her before gesturing politely for her to sit.  "Get on in, I'll be sure to put the rooftop back up."

She nods appreciatively as he holds the door open for her, only to stop, befuddled, staring at the large mound of machine before her.
”Er, Agent Pierce? What is…this?” She gestures to the entirety of the car with both hands before sliding into the passenger seat, minding her staff. She examines the interior with curiosity, her head bobbing about, surveying the dash, the backseat, the handle itself. She carefully closes the car door once she’s sure her staff won’t bang into it.

Braedon smiles, "This is a Christler 300, my pride and joy.  What car do you drive?"

“Oooooh, a car!” She smooths her hands over the dashboard, her face softening in joyful discovery, before scrunching at the memory of her little ‘collision’ earlier. “So that’s what that was…”

Braedon raises an eyebrow, confused as he hops in and starts the engine.  As the hood slowly starts to come up on it's own after he pressed the button, he yawns, "Okay, this'll only take about ten minutes."

Delilah ducks her head at the sound of the whirring overhead, clutching both hands onto her staff, looking up at the reclining cieling with eyes as wide as saucers. “Do….do all ‘cars’ do this?” Her initial panic subsides as she raises her head, watching in mild awe as it recedes back ever so slowly.

Braedon has resisted before, but this time, he HAS to ask:  "You've enver seen a car before?"

“No.” Delilah responds, pulling her eyes away from the receding roof, looking at him with a smile. “Well, yes? On my way here I was hit by one. But I did not really see it, and it sped away too quickly for me to get a good look. I supposed you could say I have come in contact with one?”

"WHAT?!"  Braedon says, glad he hadn't pulled out, yet, "You were HIT by a car??  Are you okay?  Did you go to the hospital?"

Delilah’s eyebrows shot up at his sudden outburst, but the smile did not leave her face. “Yes, yes, aaand no. I did not think it was necessary, and I wanted to get here as quickly as possible. It was very sturdily built- but, so am I. Tell me, do all cars make that god-awful screeching sound? Or is it only after they’ve hit something?”

Bradeon shakes his head with disapproval as he exits the parking lot, but he taps the steering wheel, "Not this baby.  She's new.  Most don't, if they take care of it."

“In my admittedly uncultured opinion, it is a very nice car. The cieling reclines, it doesn’t screech, I can tell you take care of it….I haven’t collided with it’s nose…all pluses!” She goes back to examining the interior. “Does everyone here know how to ‘drive’ a car?”

Braedon laughs again.  Just who is this lady?  What's with her clothes?  He said she was a cosplayer, but maybe he was wrong...she look slike some kind of tree hugging hermit lady.  

He says, "Ah, yeah, most--if they are old enough and pass the test to do it."

“Is it hard? How old do you have to be?” Delilah cautiously bends her head down to examine the buttons and switches on the door, resisting the urge to prod them. Which would be terribly rude, especially considering how much Agent Pierce seemed to love his ‘car’.

"Oh, um, gotta be sixteen to get your liscence for driving,"  Braedon says, "So you should definitely learn to drive one and take the tests, if you're gonna be around the city, now.  Do you have family in the City? Someone to teach ya?"

She smiles almost sadly, shrugging her shoulders. “Maybe? That is what I’m trying to find out by coming here. I’m looking for my father,” Delilah considered pulling out the picture, but decided it better to not distract him while he was driving. “I believe he might be in this city, you see. However,” She looked at him, seriously, for a moment. “I do not know if he drives.” She couldn’t help but crack a smile halfway through her last sentence.

Smiling, Braedon nods his head, "Gotcha, gotcha.  Well, Agent Reid will help you find him, no doubt.  He's good--I mean good.  That kid is mostly self-taught, too, didn't go the University like the rest of us."

“I will trust your judgement, then, Agent Pierce.” She pauses, looking at him curiously. “University? Like police university?”

"Oh, no," Braedon says, shaking his head.  He's loving this woman's lack of knowledge, it's cute, "I mean Delacroix University.  Finest school for Etheriests in the whole city.  You wanna learn a gift, that's where you go to get it done quickly and properly."

“De-la-croix.” She sounds out the strange name, it sounded fancy, whatever it meant. “Pardon my complete lack of…well, knowledge I suppose, but what is an Etheriest?” She had a ‘gift’ she supposed, even though her mother had always just told her she was ‘special’. Like Superman, or Wonder Woman.

Braedon blinks.  Yeah, this old lady is definitely a hermit.  "An Etheriest is a person with an Ether Ability...like...the ability to read minds or turn invisible."

“So this…Delacroix University would be like Xavier University, from the X-Men, right?” She might know nothing about the outside world, but the backpackers had always been giving with their worldly knick knacks.

Braedon grins, nodding his head, "Precisely.  It's a great place.  I love it there--but they offer degrees for non-Etheriests, too.  It's a great school, all around."

Finally, they reach the CETE building and he parks it in his assigned slot.  It's only a short ways to the front door...besides, assistants have to walk further, so he's grateful.  

"Well, you got your dad...but no one else?  You got a place to stay, Delilah?  I'm gonna feel really terrible if you don't have anyone to help you out around here if you don't have anywhere to go."

Her fingers nervously scrape at the cloth wrapped around her staff. “Well, not..necessarily. I did, my mother…..passed.” Her breath hitched in her throat slightly, it was only a week ago she was howling in her cabin, tossing the place in anguish over her death. “Her death was the reason I came here, to find my father. To live alone, with no family, no one to share your life with, it’s a terrible thing- to me, at least.” She smiled at him, righting herself. “You have no need to feel terrible, Agent Pierce, you have already been very kind to me, suffered my questions, driven me here, offered to help me. There is no need for you to worry about me.”

Braedon got serious, "Shit.  I'm sorry, Delilah.  I'm sorry for your loss."

He got out of the car and walked towards the door, "I'll get you to Reid ASAP.  After that, if...if you need a place to stay, you come to me, alright?  You're not gonna end up on the streets."

Trailing after the Agent, Delilah considered his offer. She knew nothing of this place, and Agent Pierce seemed kind, but she felt like that would be taking advantage of his kindness. “I appreciate your consolatory words, Agent Pierce, and I will be sure to keep your offer in mind. Thank you, for all you’ve done already.” She remembered all the backpackers her and her mother took in, all the strange wanderers that ended up on a mattress in their house with nothing to offer but their company. Maybe Agent Pierce was a kind soul like her mother was.

As they get in, he takes her to a separate office away from the main lobby.  The office is small, but when they get to it, he knocks at the open door and smiles at the man on the other side of the desk.

"Reid, this is my friend, Delilah.  She's needing your help with a search."  Brae says.

Reid stands up to shake Delilah's hand, "Nice to meetcha, Deliliah.  Why not have a ist here and we'll get started."

{Attn: Open outside university}

As Sophie is working on the photos, a shadow covers her.  Her head jerks up and she sees a blonde haired girl laughing.  “How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that.  I am going to have a heart attack one of these times.”

“That is what you get for working outside.  I was shocked to see that it is you.  What are you doing on university grounds, you never come here?”  Elliana waits for her to clear off the bench.  “Ugh first day of classes are so boring.”  She plops on the bench next to her.  “I got a dirty look from Professor Arturas for checking my messages during class.  Like the first day matters.  So what are you doing on campus anyway?  Are you thinking about attending?”  

“Never, actually I am on a job.  Nothing official, but hopefully it can lead to something more.”  Sophie packs up her bags.  “I am done now, I was just saving stuff.” .

“Actually I do have a favor to ask, and maybe it can lead to something else too.  The photography club has not gotten back to me yet, but we would love to have some pictures from tonight’s game.  Any chance that you are open?  I promise you will have plenty of space to take the pictures.  If you want I can poke Braedon to get you into one of his game as a photographer too.”  Elliana puts her hand together pleading her.

“Ellie, breathe, I don’t have any plans tonight and I was planning on going to the game anyway.  I just need to drop this off at my client first to give him a preview.”  Sophie laughs at her sister.  Elliana has a way to cheer her up no matter what mood she is in.  It is not even an ability, it is just her.  “I will be happy to take some action shots of the game.  It will be great to have in my portfolio.”

Ellie claps her hands.  “Thank you so much.  I don’t know if we will be able to pay you, but I promise I will get word out about you.  I still think it sucks that Torrino fired you.” Her voice softens to a whisper.  “I am glad that your ability didn’t get out.”  Her voice returns to normal.  “Don’t worry you will find something soon.  I am showing everyone I know your work too.  Well I have to get going, I have a class in 15.  See you tonight at the game.”  She rises off her seat and does a quick wave before heading out.

Sophie chuckles as the watches Elliana leave.  She quickly catches up to another student and starts up a conversation.  Sophie turns her attention back to her bag.  She takes out a piece of paper and writes a quick note.  She puts the drive in a protective case with the note.  She writes Chief Delacroix’s name on the front of the padded envelope.  Then she pulls out her phone and finds where CETE is located.  

She walks to the address.  It doesn’t look as intimidating as a police station.  There are signs, so she knows she is at the correct place.  She walks into the lobby.  It is oddly welcoming with big windows, of course there is a desk with a receptionist.  She walks up and sets the envelope on the desk.  “Hello, I am Sophie Chiodo.  I was tasked to take some pictures for Chief Delacroix.  May I ask that you get this please.  It is a USB drive with the pictures. Thank you so much Ma’am.”

The note inside says:

Dear Chief Delacroix,

I had the opportunity to take the pictures you requested.  The preview pictures are on the enclosed drive.  Please take a look at them and let me know which ones you like.  I hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards,
Sophie Chiodo

Agent Reid invites the older woman into the chair across from his desk.  Smiling pleasantly at her, his music playing from his computer is a bouncy, happy tune that his body is lightly moving to from enjoyment.

"Okay, ma'am, your name is Delilah,"  He says, beginning to write that down on paper.  "Do tell, what can I help you with today?"

Delilah takes a seat, eyes occasionally flickering to the source of the noise in curiosity. She likes this man; not as much as Agent Pierce, but he seems friendly, upbeat, energetic.

“Yes, and you are Agent Reid. I was told you would be able to help me.” She scoots forward in her chair slightly, her posture proper, back straight, but leaning forward slightly. Not enough to invade any personal space, but her intensity was clear. “I am looking for someone,” She pulled the yellowing picture from her pocket, holding it out to show it to him. “My father, the man in the picture. I do not know his name, what he does, how old he is…or even if he is still alive. These all seem to be very important details, I apologize if this makes this more difficult.”

Taking the photo from Delilah, Agent Reid looks down at it with curiosity.  He smiles at it, looking back up at her momentarily to chuckle and say, "Good lookin' guy, ain't he?"

He then looks back down at the photo and his eyes start to glow as he inhales deeply, the bright purple of his eyes shining against the room's yellow lights.  He says, "Mmm"

A pause as he continues to gaze at the picture for a few seconds more.  Then, his eyes return to normal and he looks at her with a nod of his head and an encouraging smile.

"Well, he's alive, that's for sure.  I can track him with my ability, but that will take me some time.  I'll also need to verify that you two are related by blood before I tell you where he's located or who he his, when I find out.  Would you be willing to give some of your blood to compare the two samples when I find him?"

Delilah looked awed, her eyes widening and her mouth making a small, subtle ‘o’. She realized such a look might make him uncomfortable and quickly dragged it off her face. Was this the ‘ether’ ability Agent Pierce had mentioned earlier? It was most impressive. Could this be what she had? This seemed more…tame. Safer. Less apt to terrify.
At his statement, that he was alive, her father was alive she beamed, her eyes glittered. She felt a swelling in her chest, the sails of her adventure to a different world now filled with the winds of hope that it was not all for naught.
“Of course, of course.” She assumed he would take it from her hand. She had seen strange men come through where she and her mother lived, cutting open their hands for strange purposes. She had always thought it weird, but who was she to judge the customs of others?

"Excellent!"  Reid says, pleased, "I'm super glad your dad is alive, ma'am.  We have a lab here that's going to take your blood.  Then, when that's complete, I'm gonna head out and start tracking.  I'll probably get some assistants to help; I usually do.  However, I absolutely cannot say how long this will take....it really depends on where he is located and other factors.

So, if you're willing to give me your contact information, I can email or call ya as soon as we get some progress done and as soon as we find him and verify your relation, we'll be happy to set you on the path to a family reunion!"

Delilah beams, smiling ear to ear, nodding along to what he was saying, even though she might not understand some of it.
“Yes, yes, of course.” She nods, before leaning in, face scrunched slightly. “What is an ‘ee-mail’?”

Reid blinks, "E-mail.  Electronic mail sent through the internet..."

The man looks at her oddly and then says, "Well, since you don't have an email...why don't you give me your phone number and I'll call you on that, instead?"

Delilah gives another slow nod, realizing she should, for all intents and purposes she should know what these things are. “What is a…er- I-I do not have one.”

Reid hesitates, "...oh.  Um, okay, what's your mailing address of where you live?"

Delilah, realizing there was no way to soften what she was about to tell him, or beat around the bush, answers him with a completely serious expression. “I live in the woods.”

Reid laughs for a moment, but when he realizes she's being serious, he stares at her.  Then, he presses a button on his desk and a woman's voice pops out of it after a soft beep.  

"Yes, Agent Reid?"  The woman says.

"Yes, Karen, could you please get Agent Pierce in here for me?  I need to ask him for some advice."  

Karen's floating voice hesitates, "...um, sure.  I'll have him pop in for you."

"Thank you, Karen,"  He says.  Then, he smiles encouragingly back at Delilah again, "I'm sure Agent Pierce will have some ideas of how we can meet up to keep you updated with our progress on our search."

Delilah wasn’t an idiot, she full well realized the plight this situation was, and what an oddity she was to them. She wasn’t ashamed, by any definition of the world. She did, however, feel guilty that she seemed to be making their jobs even harder. She looked curiously at the mechanism the agent was using, blinking at the floating voice, coming seemingly from nowhere.

She nodded with a smile at Agent Reid, who she was beginning to feel increasingly bad for.

Reid waited for Pierce with a positive expression, his head bobbing to and fro as he sang along with the bouncy song in the background, enjoying the music.  He swivels in his chair from the left to the right, back and forth, back and forth.  Finally, Braedon returns to the office door, opening it up and leaning up against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.  His opposing foot lifted up against the frame while he stood on the other.

Brae asks casually, "Sup, Reid?"

Halting his singing, Reid says, "Okay, since you found her, are you filing the B-84, or am I supposed to do it?  I'm uncertain how the procedure works for this."

Braedon raises an eyebrow, "B-84?  What?  No.  She's not a hobo, Reid."

Reid clears his throat, his hands going up defensively, "Woah, I didn't say hobo, but she lives in the woods."

"No, no,"  Brae says, shaking his head, "She'll be staying with me until she finds her old man.  You just call me or come see me in my office when you make progress and we'll do it that way.  I'm not sending her to a shelter."

"The protocol states that when we assist with a case involving homeless persons--"  Reid starts.

"No,"  Braedon says again, "I'm not putting her in a shelter.  She says her old man is here, you'll find him.  No big deal."

B-84? A hobo? Delilah knew what a hobo was, at least. A homeless person, even before Agent Reid had said it. But she had a home! It had no address, no post office, most people didn’t even know it existed. But it was a home. She listened as Agent Pierce came to her defense. Insisting that they weren’t going to stick her in a ‘shelter’; which, despite not knowing what exactly it might have been, she was grateful for.

She wanted to pipe up and say Pierce didn’t need to worry about her, that she was fine, that she didn’t want to impose. But with Agent Reid there, she felt it was a discussion meant for another time. It was touching, seeing the way Agent Pierce, a man had met only an hour ago, came to her defense. Maybe it was just because he was a good person; but it was still touching to see that such goodness existed in this world, no matter how strange it was.

Delilah cleared her throat. “I am sorry if my…should I say unconventional situation makes this situation more difficult. I seem to be throwing wrenches into many things today.” Had she used the metaphor correctly? She looked between Agent Reid and Agent Pierce, merely a passenger in the conversation that was taking place about her.

"It's no problem at all, however, we still need a blood sample." Agent Reid looked to Delilah with a smile, standing up. "Would you follow me, please?" His gaze shifted to Pierce. "You could also come along, if you'd like."

Delilah looked back to Pierce, raising her eyebrows as if asking him to. Thankfully, he chose to tag along, trailing after Reid and Delilah as the former led them to the lab. Delilah was surprised by the whiteness of it all, how sterile it seemed. It barely even looked lived in. Agent Reid told something to a woman dressed in a pressed, blue uniform while Delilah was distracted. The girl in uniform led Delilah over to a chair, gesturing for her to sit, to which she obeyed. The woman cleared her arm, and wiped it over with a strange, orange substance. Delilah watched intently as her arm was 'cleaned', occasionally looking up to Agent Pierce to make sure what was happening was perfectly normal. The woman reached over, pulling out a very long, very silver, very pointy metal object.

"Now, Ma'am, this is only going to hurt for a moment," The woman said in an almost discomfortingly chipper voice.

'Oh no,' Delilah thought. 'They are going to jab that thing into my arm.'

The tip reminded her of a porcupine.

She had bad experiences with porcupines.

She looked up at Agent Pierce, trying not to seem panicked. "Agent, this might seem silly, but would you mind if I held onto your arm?" Her tone held no shame, it was if she was asking what the weather was like outside, expecting him to respond with news of an inclement hurricane.

Pierce raised an eyebrow, but offered out his arm, which she readily clung onto with her free hand. Delilah closed her eyes as the needle grew closer and closer and closer to her arm; until-

"Aaand we're done!" Her eyes shot open, her head perking up from leaning into Pierce's arm for fear of the pain.

"That's it?" She looked to the woman, then to Agent Pierce.

The woman nodded. "That's it! We'll let you know the results of the samples- well, Agent Reid will."

She looked between the three, her grip loosening on Agent Pierce as the woman bandaged her up. She stood, being led back to Agent Reid's office, the woman in uniform, going in first, handed him something on a clipboard, which he promptly signed. Pierce reassumed his prior position in the doorway.

"Again, sorry for any trouble my ...unique situation might be causing." She was already putting Agent Pierce in a disadvantageous position, now she was probably causing more work for everyone.

"Oh, it's no problem," Reid says, smiling, "Agent Pierce will take good care of ya.  I already have his info, so as soon as we get something on your father, you'll hear from us, okay?"

He stands up and holds his hand out to shake hers and Pierce straightens his stance to exit the doorway.  He waits for Delilah to be ready to leave and then leads her out of the building.  They are just about to walk out when someone yells back at him, "Brae!  Where you goin'?"

Brae stares blankly and simply replies with, "Out!"

Then, the door is opened and they are headed back out and into the parking lot.  He squints against the sun, wishing the afternoon would just go away.  He doesn't want to go back to work, but at least he has his meeting with Ms. Delacroix soon.

"Okay," Brae says, pulling out his keys, "Now, I can take you to my place and help you get settled--but do you have...additional clothes and stuff?"

Delilah politely shakes his hand, nodding her head once more and smiling. She quickly follows Pierce out, waiting for a good opportunity to tell him that he most certainly did not have to take her in and that she did not under any circumstances want to impose.

Then clothes got brought up. Why would she need more than one pair? She had summer clothes, winter clothes, but she didn’t think to bring them. After all, it wasn’t winter was it? “No..” She said slowly. “Why do I-“ She stopped, eyes lighting up. “Wait, hold on.” She rummaged through her bag, walking as she went. She pulled out what had to be the ugliest, most lopsided sweater to ever grace the fresh air of the city. It was old, and frayed, the hems were drooping, and the original, already ugly, color was fading, it was pilling all over the place. The sweater had a large, bright ‘D’ knitted into the middle of it. Delilah looked at it as if it was a masterpiece. “I have this sweater! Though, my mother made it for me. And it is for special occasions.”

It was nice spring day, the birds were chirping, the sun was out, the students were running around the track. Yes just a normal day. Alyssa thought to herself watching the students do there rounds on track. She did run with them for a little bit, but decided to save her workout till after she was done teaching. When the students were done with there laps, she had them line up so she could count them off.

"1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4" She counted telling them a number. Today they would be playing some flag football. She counted them off into teams of four. There two places set up to play on the field. Some of the students were placed with who they wanted others weren't while there were some that didn't care which team they were on. All in all they once the counting was done and the students had grabbed their flags, the games began. During this time Alyssa would join in on one of the teams that was losing to help them win. After another half hour or so goes by the class ends, having been about an hour and thirty minutes that went by. Once class is over they all head back to there respective locker rooms of men and women each. Once everyone reaches the locker rooms they start to take showers to wash off all the sweat, muck, and grim from playing flag football.

After the students shower, then change, they all head out to the other classes they have or back home or their dorms, it doesn't matter to Alyssa. This is all a normal day and part of what is expected of her at work. Of course she does care for all of her students, especially those that are in etherball as well. Alyssa then heads out to her car after she showers and puts on her cloths. She does have another class to teach, but that isn't till later in the day. So for now Alyssa starts to drive back to her apartment to get a her gym cloths to head over there and start working out. She likes to do this at least three to four or five times a week, but it doesn't always work that way with jobs and etherball.

Jenia's office/Teacher Lounge Delacroix University - 4~4h45 PM

(ATTN : Jenia/Closed)

**This is a collab between me and leah7**

Kyo walked toward Jenia's office after his meeting with his doctor and as he reached the door, he knocked gently to let her know he was there and waited for her to say it was okay to come in to do so.

"Come in," Jenia says, not even looking up from her paper.

Kyo comes in and close the door slowly. He then walks toward Jenia's desk and writes ''How was your day ? Did it go okay ?...'' He was worried it may have been a bit hard to work in her condition and hoped it had gone smoothly enough.

Forcing a smile at her brother, Jenia points to the seat from across her desk, "My day was okay.  However, it's about to be bad.  I have a meeting in an hour and I need your help with it.

I'm going to get to the point here, Kyo...I'm about to ask you to do something that you don't want to do.  I'm sorry for that.  However, although I can't tell you why right now, I hope that you'll be able to trust that I'm doing it for the right reasons."

Kyo wondered what this was all about, but his guts were telling him he sure didn't like the sound of this. ''Okay, well... I'm listening. What is it ?'' He asked kind of anxious of what this something was.

"Agent Pierce will be here to get my statement,"  Jenia replies, "I'm going to tell him that I don't remember what happened.  Now, he's not stupid, so he'll know I'm lying...but I need you to convince him to accept my answer."

Kyo heard Jenia mention what she just did and it took him a good 30 seconds to process that piece of information. He just could not believe what she just said. ''What ?!... so you're gonna let someone who can't control their temper nor ability loose in the nature where they could very well do the exact same thing again and cause more victim like you go free ? This girl is dangerous. What's telling you she won't come back again for you while being still free ? Or did she already do something ?'' It showed at this point that Kyo wasn't exactly happy. He had a mix of being extremelly pissed off and worried. Although he did try his best to stay calm, it did show that he wasn't happy at all with all that shit.

Jenia sighs, "Kyo...I have my reasons."

Kyo sighs too, still extremely frustrated. ''Well I know I won't be able to change your mind since you're super stubborn usually. Though I won't be able to sell a flat lie, I'm a terrible liar. So I'll just say you won't talk and refuses to change your mind. I know you won't want to answer as much as I'll ask what or why. However I do want to know the how do I know you're truly safe ? Cause I don't think I'll be able to sleep properly knowing that she could still attack you at any given time. And I'm honestly not convinced she won't try again regardless of you refusing to talk. She could very well react with some sort of impulse again and do something without thinking.'' He finally finished typing and was still trying really hard to stay calm. Though honestly he felt like hitting something, anything. Plus all the work Braedon had gone through would go scrap as well. It was all so frustrating.

"I understand,"  Jenia says, "but I cannot change my decision.  I can't afford to.  I hope that you'll understand someday."

Kyo sighs heavily. ''Should I call dad to give you extra protection at least for a while ? I mean it's not like I can gauge the danger here as I don't know everything. But you're not exactly reassuring about your safety. As for understanding, maybe one day when you tell me your entire side of the story I will, but right now it's kind of hard to understand your choice. Came so suddenly too, I'm wondering if something really did happen and if your safety truly isn't going by the window. Can you at least tell me, without any doubts or secrets that you are truly fully safe 100% ? I don't know what I'll do if anything else happens to you. I want you to have the needed protection if you are still into a bad situation.'' He was still frustrated, but also mostly worried and anxious here. He was also worried she would lie about her safety and put on her usual strong wall and not tell him the truth... Kyo honestly didn't know what to do about this whole stuff.

"I can tell you that I am, in fact, very safe,"  Jenia says, looking sadly at her fingers, "However, I think you should check on Braedon's house--discreetly.  To make sure he is safe...."

Kyo nods and then writes. ''Okay... I  don't know how much I can be present or not, but I'll tell him to not ask question on the source, but to watch his back carefully and ask for possible backup. Or I could ask dad for the backup part personally and just tell him to watch his back. I think that'll work better. But thank you... for letting me know of at least that. I'm glad to know you're okay... though if any danger were to arise again, contact me right away alright ?''He tried to soften up a little at this point although he still felt the volcano that was about to erupt inside of him.

Jenia clears her throat, her eyes watering, "I will, Kyo.  I promise...when this has come to a close and things can be done about our...enemies...I will come to you and we'll deal with it together, rather than apart."

Kyo sighs and get up to go behind the desk and he gives her a hug and he doesn't let go to give her a chance to at least cry it out. It's the least he could do even if he felt like a useless piece of crap right now. However, regardless of how angry he was inside, he knew she didn't take that decision alone, it was most likely because something happened. He was more angry about whatever situation he didn't know about that made her into such a mess emotionally than anything else. He knew very well how she was feeling as well due to his own past he could not speak of and the way he might have to hide it under the covers for his entire life when he just would want to reveal it all. Why was the world such a messed up place sometimes ?...

After holding Kyo for just a little while, she pulls away and smiles a little, "You always did have the best hugs, Kyo.  I really wish I didn't upset you like this, sometimes.  I don't like to see you angry."

Kyo nods and writes ''It's probably the only thing I can do for you right now, so I'm happy to help. And just to clear it up, I'm not angry at you directly, but I'm angry at whoever would make you get into an emotional mess like this. I also know the feeling of being trapped into a situation you can't control.... so I won't hold a grudge toward that either. I'll do my best to make sure Brae is safe, so cheer up a little alright ? As for being upset.... It'll pass...''The mix of angry and tired was borderline giving him a headache though. He just hoped the Keltan girl wouldn't read through him too easily later. He just didn't know how transparent he would be to her and the other guy.

"Okay," Jenia says, "Thanks.  Thank you, Kyo.  Why don't we get some snacks before Braedon gets here?  We could just...chill."

The idea of chilling in the current conditions was just.... so hard. He would have preferred to talk to Braedon in private.... He just really felt like going away to Zorlias and ask there was something he could smash in one of the safe rooms.... well then again that would be if he had the energy to do that. He was just so exausted and also didn't eat as much as he should in the past couple of days that he wasn't sure how he would hold up. On top of that he had a bunch of things to do tonight and tomorrow he had to wake up early for school. He felt so anxious inside at the moment he didn't know what to do. But he just answered with a ''Yeah... I should probably eat while I have a chance to. I didn't have a chance to eat or snack on anything since noon ish..... And although I was home for a bit, I didn't have time to prepare extra food either.''

"Okay, I got the lounge,"  Jenia says, rolling away from her desk and brightening slightly, "Let's get something simple."

Kyo nods and follow her to the lounge, he's been there on rare occasions before so he remembers it slightly. Though it might have gotten remodeled after what happened depending on how bad the damage in it.

Most of the room is pretty remodeled, but a lot of the coloration is still the same.  She had asked that it all be as much like the original as possible, but a lot of it is still obviously new.

Opening up one of her personal snack drawers, she pulls out a few nuts and mixes of the like before leaving it open for Kyo and rolling over to the fridge to pull out some orange juice.

"Dr. Gregor wants me to go see him,"  Jenia says uneasily, "It's weird.  I don't want to go."

Kyo looks around and do notice a few changes and the smell of everything that was brand new. Kyo looks into her snack area and does grab a bag of nuts too although he wasn't sure on how much it would calm down his stomach. He then walked behind her to go see what was in the fridge and wrote an answer on his way there. ''You should go see him though.... he may just want to be sure you're okay after the experiences you've been through. I'm sure he's only worried about you as well.''

Jenia groans, "I know.  I just....ugh.  He's gonna analyze me.  I don't want to be analyzed.  I just want to be left alone."

Kyo shakes his head and writes. ''He knows you, he won't force it if he knows it'll create more harm than good. Don't worry too much... I know you don't like it, but you should still go... '' Kyo goes through the fridge while he lets her grab his phone to read and he finds a couple of fruits and also saw a leftover of pizza. He takes it out and looks at her in a way that  pretty much asked if he could have this or not. He just wasn't sure if it was claimed by anyone already.

"Take it,"  Jenia says with a smile, "Unclaimed.  Hey, while you're here.  Did you know, I had a weird dream last night.  It was about a girl with beautiful purple and blue hair with the most captivating eyes.  Just being around her made me feel weightless."

He nods and took a piece of pizza to go heat it up a bit and placed the rest on a table nearby for the time being, grabbing back his phone to answer her. ''Oh ? That does sound interesting. What did her eyes look like ?''

"Like...." Jenia says, looking out into her memory with a dazed expression, "...a galaxy.  Like a whole galaxy shrunken down into them.  They were so beautiful; it felt like she was looking through me."

Kyo looked a bit surprised and then wrote. ''That does sound beautiful. Though a bit creepy at the same time. But that may be just me.'' He wondered if he should contact Zorlias... though maybe he should wait till he see Brae to make sure he has room to go see him. He was still rather upset and anxious inside.

"Yeah, I guess so,"  Jenia says, shrugging, "I certainly slept better after that--better than I have in over a week.  It was nice."

Jenia talked a little more about the first day of classes, though not much could be said, since most of the day was spent doing paperwork and dealing with worried parents of the newer students.  After that, it was close to time for Braedon to show up and a nervous pit of frenzy rolled up into her stomach.

"Guess I should head back to the office,"  Jenia grumbles, "Let's get this over with."

Delacroix University/Jenia's Office~hallways - 5h~5h15 PM

**This is a collab between me, Leah7 & Juliet**

(Inside Jenia's office = Closed/Outside Jenia's office = Open)

Braedon steps into Jenia's office, looking in to see the woman in her wheelchair sitting behind her desk, munching on some small gummy worms with the sun shining through the windows where the shades aren't completely pulled down.  

The sun's light flashes down onto her back with such contrast that her face is shadowed and hard to see.  So is Kyo's face--but he recognizes the kid instantly as he is standing next to her, leaning against the window's panel in the distance.

"Hey, hey,"  Braedon says in greeting, "Do you have somewhere that my friend here can wait?  Delilah.   Uh, Delilah, this is Kyo and Dean Delacroix."

"Hello, Delilah, a pleasure to meet you,"  Jenia says calmly, "Why don't you sit in here with Officer Pierce?  We won't take too much of his time."

Braedon raises an eyebrow, "You sure about that?  I mean, this case is pretty personal, I really don't want to..."

"It's perfectly fine,"  Jenia says quietly, "Please.  Have a seat."

Kyo nods at their entrance and wave toward Brae and his friend. He didn't strike him as someone who would bring a friend to a job though so he thought it was a bit weird, but he didn't say anything. Although he didn't smile like usual either. He was trying his best to stay neutral, but deep down he was still frustrated and didn't know what he could tell Brae to be convincing about the fact she won't change her mind. He also still felt extremelly tired.

Delilah smiled, giving a little wave at the two.

“Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you both. Agent Pierce has told me very good things about you, Miss Delacroix- oh, sorry, Dean Delacroix.” She had no idea who the other male was, ‘Kyo’? “And it is a pleasure to meet you as well, ‘Kyo’.” She thought it was a strange name. Then again, most things sounded strange to her at this point, but she was getting used to it.

“If you would like me to leave at any point, I would be happy to wait outside.” Her grip nervously tightened on her staff. Is this what they call a ‘professional environment’? If so, she decided to keep any questions about the wheelchair quite tightly to herself.

Jenia sighs, "Agent Pierce, I didn't see who caused the explosion.  I don't remember anything.  I guess I must have hit my head too hard--"

"Ms. Delacroix."  Braedon interrupts her.

A pause.  And then Jenia continues, "During the fall or something.  There was a lot of rubble and I fell hard enough to break my legs, so I mean, it's no surprise I'd have some memory loss."

Braedon stands up, "Please tell me you don't expect me to believe this."

Kyo sighs, he couldn't believe she was saying it like that either. He started to write up something on his celphone ''I'm a terrible liar, so I'll just say she made up her mind and won't change it. As frustrating it can be, but she assured me that she was currently safe however.'' He walked toward Brae and showed his answer to him first, but then to the other two as it would be rude to exclude them from his ''speech'' although he knew his sister probably wouldn't entirelly like his answer... that was the best he could come up with.

Jenia speaks as Kyo is typing and as he shows his screen to Braedon, "I don't expect you to believe it, Agent.  I expect you to write it down and submit it as my official statement towards my attack in your file.  It is my official statement."

Braedon shakes his head with disbelief, "You're...you're going to leg this bitch walk after she tried to set you on fire?!  That woman is insane.  She's going to crisp someone else far less lucky than you, Ms. Delacroix."

Jenia nods her head, "I'm aware of your opinion on this matter.  I don't need to hear it.  What I want you to do is to submit my statement.  That's your job, so that's all I ask."

Delilah furrowed her brow as she looked at the screen, looking back up at the Dean quizzically.

“But, if you don’t submit a statement someone else could get hurt- I, uh, ma’am.” She knows she should stop talking. She knows this is not your business. But looking at the situation she couldn’t morally remain silent. “The way I’m seeing it, off the record, the only reason you would be saying you have amnesia would be to either protect someone, or because you want to, as my mother would say, ‘handle it your damn self’. I’m in no position to tell you what you should do, or to criticize you, as I am an outsider in this matter; but I can’t help but wonder, even if I am wrong, what could make you retain your silence.” The only other option she could think of would be ‘trying not to incite a mass panic’, but it seemed the situation was already documented enough for that point to be moot.

She pauses, taking into account Pierce’s outburst. “Off the record, again, ma’am. Could it be you do not trust the police with the situation at hand?”  

Braedon is pissed, now, but he just looks from Jenia to Kyo, back and forth, frozen in hesitation.  He's completely confused and he hasn't a clue what is going on with this woman or why she'd be doing this..  

Looking at Kyo, he says, "You're just gonna let--"

Stopping himself, closing his eyes as his fist moves to his lips to physically silence his disbelief, he turns around and walks to the door, reopening it.  Gesturing to Delilah he says, "Alright, Delilah.  Time to get ready for the game tonight.  Let's go."

He keeps his back turned to the two as he waits for her to go first before he even moves to walk out.  Jenia doesn't say anything and Kyo can't, but it's fine.  This is just apparently how it's going to be.

Kyo looked down and he was heavily frustrated and pissed inside himself. He hated the whole situation. He decided he would wait for Braedon to leave to probably text him quickly.

Delilah looked from Pierce, to Kyo, to the Dean, opening her mouth and then closing it.

“Yes, of course.” She looked at Kyo, then the Dean again. “It was a pleasure meeting both of you.” Though she wished it was under better circumstances. She walked out the door, her hands wringing on her staff. He was angry, frustrated, she could tell. She debated whether it would be worth asking about it later.

He nods toward Delilah when she speaks toward him and Jenia, but Kyo waits for them to be out of the room and then he quickly text Braedon. ''Sorry man... to be honest I don't know much more then you do, I just know she's stubborn as a mule and won't change her mind. However I was able only to make her talk about her own safety and your own. She may be okay.... but you should watch your back in case. That's all I could get from her earlier... I just thought I would at least share this much. Be careful alright ? And don't hesitate to call back up if you have a bad feeling.''

He then sighs again, not really knowing how he would react on this one since he was already gone and pissed... but he turns toward his sister and writes ''I'll need to go myself.... will you be okay ? You still have someone that helps you go around when you need it right ?''

Jenia nods her head, "I'm fine.  I have my nurse and she'll be by shortly to get me.  No worries."

Kyo nods and writes ''Alright... take care then.'' He let her read and then he start heading out. Immediatly his reflex was to text his brother. ''Hey... um I know this is sudden, but are you free ?... and could I use one of your testing room to like I dunno punch something really hard ? ''

Zorlias texts back, "Yeah.  C'mon over."  See you soon."

Kyo smiled slightly at the text and started to walk toward the exit slowly.

{Attn: Open At Etherball stadium – towards the end 18:00}

After dropping off the drive Sophie decided to go back to her apartment.  She wanted to get the pictures finalized for Chief Delacroix.  She also needed to get her gear ready for the game. As well as get some food.  She is not the best cook, but she can make meals for herself.

She decides to take her padded bag so she will have enough room for her lenses and protection.  After the bag is packed, she starts on the pictures.  She sets her alarm because she knows how she can get when working on pictures.

Ellie was actually ready for the gym class being fun.  She loved playing flag football.  She only wishes she was able to use her ability, but nooooo.  Instructor Steele would not allow it.  She leaves the locker room, glad to have a break before the game tonight.  It should be and interesting one it is against themselves.  She heads to her room to relax before the game.  She is done for the day finally.  Tomorrow, her classes are later.  Maybe her and Braedon can do something after the game.  That means she will have to pack something cute.  A nice little skirt to show off her legs and a pair of sneakers.  She goes to her closet to pick out the perfect outfit.  

~~~~~~~~

Sophie barely hears the alarm blaring.  She quickly saves and backs up her work.  She changes into some jeans and a long sleeved T-shirt with a black pair of gloves on her hands.  She grabs the bag and heads to the etherball stadium. .

Elliana meets her outside in her uniform, but not all the gear.  “I knew you would be on time.  Thank you so much for doing this, stupid photography club.”  She dangles a lanyard in front of Sophie and waits for her to take it.  “This is the media pass and it will get you to the court level.  They may check your bags still.  Come I will bring you inside, but then I have to get ready.

Sophie parts from Ellie and heads into the stadium.  She flashes the pass to the security person and he gives her directions.  She hates navigating her way through the crowds.  There is just too much risk of someone accidently touching her.  Finally she gets to the area.  Wow she is really close to the sidelines.  At least with etherball, she does not have to worry about getting crashed into.  She begins setting up her equipment when her phone beeps.  She looks at it and there is a text from a number she does not recognize.  Maybe it is a job.

We need to talk – Z

It takes a few moments for it to register.  When it does, a chill runs down Sophie’s spine.  She deletes the message,  and goes back to her business.  She will look into getting a new number tomorrow.

{ATTN: OPEN}

Alyssa heads from the school to her apartment. Once she reaches her apartment she grabs her gym bag and sets the alarm on her phone to go off an hour and thirty minutes before the game starts. She then packs her gym bag and heads for the gym in her car. At the gym she trains and uses many of the machines and weights. Alyssa checks the time on her phone. 4:00pm, I should head home now, so I have time to play some games she thinks to herself. She packs up her gym bag and heads out for her home.

After reaching her apartment Alyssa gets undresses and takes a shower. She then decides on what game to play checking the time again, but before she can the alarm goes off on her phone, signaling to her the time. She turns off the alarm and goes to play a game picking out Overwatch. She plays that for a bit, she then remembers to change her cloths for the etherball game. She puts her PS4 in rest mode, just in case a game needs to update while she's gone, and puts on her blue and gold referee outfit. Her referee outfit is blue and gold since that's her school colors, each school's referee outfit matches that of the school's colors. She then puts on black pants, she then decides to also takes the stuff out of her gym bag since she should wash her gym bag. I guess I'm not going to go to the gym tomorrow She thinks to herself. Weeellll, at least not for my own training purposes she thinks to herself again. She checks the time on the clock above her TV, 5:15pm. It was getting close to 6:00pm. "I should head out soon," she says to no one in particular, as she lives in her apartment alone.

She would put up ads in the newspaper, or on websites letting people know that she could and would like to have another human being in the apartment with her, but she would always forget and never get around to doing it. She has told her friends about it and some of her students might know. She never could stop talking once she started, she was an extrovert like that. She did know when to stop, it's just kinda hard to once she got started. That's probably why I can't get someone to move into my apartment with me, she thinks to herself as she heads out the door. I'm just too much of a talker, that must be why I no one wants to, she continues to think to herself as she heads to her car. Or it's just the fact that I never put up anything letting people know that I'm looking for another person to live in my apartment, she thinks as she drives off towards the game.

She arrives at about 5:33pm. She wanted to be early to get good parking spot near the front. Even though she wouldn't get to walk very far. She knew that once the game ended and she helped clean up afterwards that she would want to go to bed as soon as she as she got home. She heads to the game room, on her way there she passes by many doors leading to various classrooms. When she reaches the game room she checks to make sure that the control panel for the game is set up and ready. She gets the grid shot up and running for the game, she then heads to mattress pit below the grid and makes sure that it's ready for people to land on it. While doing all this she tries to come up with some sort of pep talk to give to her team, it had to be something inspiring and totally not something she got off of the internet. She knew how she would start it off, she just wasn't sure where it should go or how it should end. After making sure it was all set up and ready, she headed outside to wait for people to show up and greet them. Maybe have a little chat about the game and what the coming games would look like. She may not how the game would end, but she did know that her team would give it their all.

{Attn: Open At Etherball stadium Part 1 of 2}

Sophie can feel the energy in the crowd as the stadium begins to fill up.  She brings up her camera to test it for the proper lenses.  The field looks great all lit up.  She is actually glad to be taking pictures of the place.

Ellie is in her full uniform now and does some stretches along the side lines.  She looks over the crowd to just to check things out.  She barely sees a white sign in the distance.  Someone has some fans.  She waits for the announcements and introductions to begin.  

Braedon, sitting out in the crowd, sort of fidgets, but he's still glad there's enough space on the bench he chose so that he and Delilah can spread out while she holds the other end of the massive sign that they created.  He made sure to pick a high enough of a seat so that they don't block anyone's view...he plans to wave it around.  A lot.  He's suddenly really glad that he listened to Delilah's advice on it.  

"Delilah, how do you like the stands?  They aren't too rough on you, are they?"  Braedon asks, moving up closer to talk to her and closing up the sign temporarily.

Delilah looks like a deer in the headlights. Too many people. Too many noises. She was sure she'd get used to it and-
It was almost exhilarating. The environment, the lights, the sense of people coming together; it was if some energy had swelled up in her chest like a balloon. That was what this game was, wasn't it? Terrifying and exhilarating. She quickly looked up as Pierce talked to her, taking a moment to register what he said.

"Oh, no, they are fine! Thank you for asking. So; what team is Ellie on? Blue and gold?" She leans in to speak to him so she doesn't have to shout; well, too loud.

Braedon points, "She's eleven, blue team.  I made sure to ask the coach before I came here.  Texted her, but I actually didn't expect her to reply so last minute like this.  Figured she'd be too busy.  Anyway, yeah.  She's so cute, isn't she?"

"Alright guys, I want a, good, clean fight," Alyssa starts off her not so incredible speech. "The main thing is that we have all of you try your best and hardest out their to win. In fact I have a great idea, how about I treat the winning team to pizza or something from a restaurant that's not to expensive. The winning team MUST agree on ONE place, and like I said, it can't be the most expensive restaurant. I, in fact, don't want to go broke because of this. SO, what do we say to this arrangement?" Alyssa pauses, hoping that this will inspire both teams to try and go at it. She was also hoping that this was a good speech.

Ellie nods and looks at her team.  “Sounds good Coach.  Don’t worry the Blue team will choose something affordable.”  She looks at the rest of her teammates. “Let’s go Blue!!”  She cheers awaiting for the ok to take the field.

Sophie starts taking pictures of the team in the dugout.  She loves the camaraderie of the team.  Of course Ellie is playing the cheerleader.  She knows they are just absorbing the cheerful energy.

Delilah squints, barely making out a blue '11'. "She...is certainly blue." She couldn't even see her. "I am sure she is very cute, and I'm sure I'll actually be able to see her later after the game."

"Good evening, everyone, and welcome to another night at 101.7, Etherball's Coldrion Radio Station!  Varik here with Chaz, say hello, Chaz!" The announcer's voice booms throughout the stadium.

"Hello, Varik, we've got quite an event going on tonight and it's going to be great.  It looks like we're just about ready to start."

Varik says, "Oh, yes!  Our Coach, Miss Alyssa is getting her voice magnified by her Etheriest, right now and we're just about to start.  We've got a great crowd to night at Delacroix University's stadium for the blue and gold game, everybody, make sure you have set your bets!"

Chaz continues, "That's right, everyone, set your bets and remember:  If you bet the winning color, you get your money back--no loss!  If you bet on the losing color, however, your money goes to the team to help them with away games.  Thanks for coming out tonight, everyone, we love your support."

"Ok then, let's get this Mario party started!" Alyssa says, trying to make the mood very light and fun. She enters the stadium, dressed in her blue and gold referee outfit. "Ladies and Gentlemen, are you ready for the etherball game?" she waits as the crowd begins to cheer announcing that they are in fact ready for the game to start. "Well, as it just so happens we have an etherball game tonight, and in this very stadium, but of course, you all knew that already. I mean why else would you be here?" she continues. "On one side we have the Blue team of Delacroix University ," she waits for the entire team to come out before she continues with "And on the other side we have the Gold team of Delacroix University," again she waits for the team to come out, "Get ready... get set... GO!" she announces signaling for the game to begin. She knew she was going to have her work cut out for with this game.

"Alright!" Varik says, "Here we go, Coach has started and the teams race to the center to see who throws first.  What do you think, Chaz, who's gonna throw a crystal in first?"

Chaz replies, "Oh, man, that's a tough one. Between Ellie Eleven and Kennan Five I think--those two always get it in there first, let me tell you--"

"OH!"  Varik cuts in, "Look at that, it's Brodie in there first, that is a first, isn't it?  He's thrown in tough and the team scatters, but no one falls through as the blue team has already lost in a good five squares on their side.  That's gonna limit their movement there."

"GO ELLIE!"  Brae yells at the top of his lungs, flailing his side of the sign.

Delilah is taken aback by Pierce's sudden scream, jumping slightly at the loud shout right beside her ear; she looks at him in confusion before following his lead. She gives a loud, enthusiastic towards the feel 'WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO', not even knowing why. But accepting it as part of the game.

Shit, shit, shit that was not expected.  No one expected Brodie to strike first.  It doesn’t discourage Elliana though.  She gets back in as aggressive as usual.  

Chaz laughs, "Oh, man, look at 'em go, they are pushing up good and the blue side's already in front of that hole, I don't think it'll be much of a problem."

"Oh, Korrin Nine, Ellie Eleven both have Teague Eight in a corner--AND he's down!  First out, gold team, everybody!"

"Okay, okay, looks like Reign Two is hanging onto the ledge and she's pulling herself up, now we gotta wait for Coach to decide if she's out or if she's in--man!  I did NOT see that coming, She just barely jumped from the fall after losing five squares under her, that took a lot of ether energy, my friends," Varik adds.

Chaz says, "Alright, watching the Coach's signal, let's see what she says..."

Sophie’s finger is moving against the button on the camera.  She LOVES taking action shots like this. It is much different than just watching the game.

Aylssa thinks for a moment deciding whether or not to let Reign be in or out. She decides that since she made the effort to try and stay that she should in fact stay. She knows that if she does this for one person on one side, she'll have to allow it on the other. Alyssa signals that Reign is in fact still in the game.

Ellie cannot believe it.  Reign was clearly out.  She can hear some boos from the crowd too.  It is only the first game, they can still get this.”