A View Like Home

Having just coming from the shore Vera felt a great relief that she was able to make it to the island. However, she seemed to have forgotten her old rule of not sacrificing one thing for another anymore. She couldn't help it, the man seemed like her needed much information, but it also seemed like a great opportunity to be nosy, and Vera liked being nosy. Taking a deep breathe as she reached the cliffs edge she thought of where she would look next. With a grin she looked over her shoulder and spotted the castle in all its glory. What secrets really lied there? It seemed like such a big place and seemed impossible to be able to go through the castle to find even one secret. She would just have to keep her eyes open.

Looking back out to the sea Vera sat on her knees and closed her eyes. Perhaps a quiet meditation would clear her mind. She had to remember that she was here to try and make herself a good person like she was when she was a baby. It would be hard though. Ever moment she felt like something was tugging at her to bring chaos where ever she went. Vera shook her head and sighed, "Calm down, Vera.....you must relax and cleeeaaaarrr your mind...." Taking in one more deep breathe Vera relaxed and was caught in meditation as the setting suns rays shown across basking her in its fading warmth.

((^^ Sugars idea: Note to self color is Firebrick))

Luppa was not usually accustomed to straying so far from the castle walls. After all, he had a duty he was sworn to do, which was basically to follow the requests of others. However, he found himself at large with nothing to do. Using his ill-witted judgement, he decided to go for an evening romp around the academy's 'back yard'.

Spring had already settled on the vast plains of the island, bringing with it an assortment of dandelions and buttercups decorating the usually plain landscape. Luppa squealed at how the colourful petals painted the grass, much like a mosaic. He followed their trail, bundling as much as he could in his arms, stuffing some down his coat as well.

It was during his trip that his wide, unassuming eyes laid sight on a much more magnificant flower. It had so many colours, standing right near the edge of the cliff. It was still, and Luppa had no reason to assume why it would be a living creature rather than a plant. "Floowweerrr," he cackled with mindless glee, unfolding his coat into a pair of wings. With a tiny leap, he floated towards Vera's head, aiming to wrap his arms around it in some sort of hug.

The time meditating was paying off and she smiled at the reward of comfort and silence. This place was very nice and she enjoyed the weather, though it seemed to be more on the wet side more often than most. This was alright though rain was welcomed in Vera's mind. As the sun continued to set she found the shadows around her grow and the temperature begin to drop. Vera stood up slowly, hesitating only once to fix her boots fitting. Standing all the way up she felt something hit her back and cling onto it. Her face and all mental comfort went to hell at that point. She turned quickly only to still feel the little thing attached to her abdomen.

Looking down she noticed what looked to be....bat wings? "Oh great Tenji what have you thrown at me!" She yelled as she took her umbrella and attempted to whack at the thing on her back. "Get off you....uh....." She paused to think of what the words were then shook her head and tried whacking at the thing once more, "VAMPIRE! You and your american folklore get away from me!" Spinning near the edge of the cliff she managed t keep balance, but it seemed like the ground around her wasn't caring for the abuse of her boots and their twisting motion.

Tenji- Ten 天 means sky and jin 神 means god or deity.

Luppa was more than ready to cling onto his unlucky victim and gnaw on their hair when he found that his target had stood up instead and he was instead cradling their backside. "..." He didn't even understand the transition, and the whacking on his head certainly helped little with his concentration. It was then he looked up to spy the umbrella which was currently trying to rid of him. "Umbrella-ella-ellaaa..." he drawled, trying to lick the umbrella each time it came near, with little success.

As she called him a vampire, his grin only widened. "VAMPIAAHH!" he squealed, chewing on the fabrics on her back. He hardly seemed aware of Vera's imbalance, as he determinedly clung onto her back.

Vera's attempts to rid the little thing seemed impossible as it just wouldn't come off. She then suddenly felt a sudden pull on her clothes and when she looked down she noticed the little creature gnawing on her dress. This just made Vera more furious as she continued to whack at the vile thing. As she did this she soon found her balance at a lose and went falling to the ground she went. Landing on her side she threw her head over her shoulder, " Anata chīsana akuma!" She yelled as she placed one hand n the darned things head and tried pushing it off. "What do you want from me!!?"

First day on the island and she was already been labeled as a meal it seemed. How could anything else go wrong? She shook her head, she didn't want to know. All she wanted was for him to get off. Atleast a nice introduction before being eaten would have been nice she figured in her head. "What? You like this?" She questioned as she held the umbrella up with the other hand while her one hand was still attempting to force her off.

Despite being battered by the umbrella, Luppa stubbornly clung on, resisting the blows with his eyes tightly shut. He hardly even noticed when she fell over, snuggling to her back like it was some sort of chew-toy. However, after a bit of pushing, the dilemma turned his attention to Vera's hand instead, letting go of her back. "Bwuuh," he smiled, drooling, reaching for her hand like some absent-minded toddler. When she mentioned the umbrella, he looked up to it, crossing his eyes.

"Umbrellaaa!" he squealed in apparent excitement, still on the floor, waving his arms around like broken window sweepers. "I have umbrella, blue, blue, pretty bluuee!" He giggled, although it sounded more like a disturbed cackle. "Never trust the umbrellas, they take you places, great far places." He glanced at the distant academy for a very brief moment before looking back at her umbrella.

Vera had enough trouble just standing the strange look that this creature had when staring at her possession, let alone the fact he said strange things about them. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the academy in which he was staring at. Vera sat up and admired the building and its size. She began to wonder how many students may even be able to fit in this location. Either way she still had the little vampire creature n her mind. Looking back at him and his cooky little face she couldn't help but smile as he clung onto her hand like a child. She loved children and one day wanted one...but she had hoped none looked like this little one, else wise she might pass out and never make it back to the earth.

Turning her whole body towards him she smiled and patted the little things head. "Look you just scared the hell out of me. I don't mean to freak on you. Your actually pretty cute for a... uh whatever you are." She smiled nervously for a moment then shrugged. "Uh my name is Vera....I come from Japan and I'm here to change my life. I don't see how this is such a strange place though, its really pretty.......I wonder if there are any cute boys....." Wandering off in her thoughts she forgot about her little buddy who was still next to her. Shaking her head she came back t reality and giggled, "Excuse me...I tend to daydream quite a bit. I can't help it as its a habit from how much time I just have on my hands these days. Anyways whats your name....and what exactly are you?"

Inspecting his strange being's hand, Luppa whipped out his tongue to give it a big slobbery lick. Nail polish. He spat the taste out.

Squeaking as he was patted, he looked up towards her face with unfocused eyes. Most of her lenghtly sentences seemed to flow directly over his head, his hearing a little less than capable. However, he did seem to get the basic jist of it. "Dilemma," he garbled, grinning stupidly. "I'm a dilemma! Luppa! Luppa!" He stumbled forward to tug on her leg. "Vera. Vera. You are a Japan Vera? You must see academy! I do very good work there, very good, I'm servant, I do good things, I work very hard. Inside is much admissible!" He tried to pull her along, with force equivalent to a gentle breeze.

Vera smile had turned to a questionable expression as the little creature had tried to talk to her. It took her a little to fully understand everything he said, but after a moment she started to understand his way of talking. He was like a small child that was lost yet wasn't scared of the things around him. If anything he was very approachable and kinda had that I want to hug you effect. Looking up she saw the academy and smiled at it once more. So he was a servant of the place, that would help out for when she would ever need to find anything. Looking down she smiled, "Well why yes, I am Japanese and that is my original land of origin, however I have traveled all over the world." Looking up once more she felt the slight pull on her and she acceptability walked forward with the strange creature.

((sorry so short, i just got worse while here in the hospital and typing to long kinda hurts.))

Pleased that Vera had accepted his invitation to follow, he tried to tug her along, cackling excitedly. He couldn't wait to show her his room, or at least, that two square foot closet he called his room. She was soft, he noticed; she didn't seem to repulse him at all.

"I travel too!" He pointed to the clouds. "Up up up! Floooat high up. Where the wind takes me!" He spread his blanket-like wings to signal this. Unfortunately, the light breeze caught on his wings, and he tumbled, managing a backwards somersault before landing on his front. "Heh. Oops." Feeling it was his immediate duty to act like a lawn mower, he began munching on the grass. Tasted like lettuce. He grinned up at Vera, blades of grass poking out from between his teeth.

((That's okay :CC ))

Vera smiled at the words of her new friend Luupa, and the idea of floating to new worlds seemed fun! Especially if you didn't know where they might take you. Though having been alive for 180 years Vera still had not seen every location on the globe and until now she never thought so hard about it. She wondered when she would actually take the time to look at every landmark and location even the ones that no one has ever seen with their bare eyes. She shrugged as she turned her attention to the now flipped Luppa who laid on the ground. She chuckled at the sight of grass in his teeth and recalled a time when she was small and curious. Maybe this one would become immortal no? Either way Vera turned and picked up the small creature and held him on her side like a mother would a toddler. She was glad that he was lighter than air and didn't have any kind of animal smell. "Well Luppa just so you don't float away to another land and leave me, lets go to the castle attached to one another!"

Luppa let out a startledl chirp as he was picked up, squirming slightly. He hadn't expected any contact, but as she held him, he quickly settled, a wide, drooling smile on his face. "Clever clever," he giggled. "Big tall person has big tall smartness." He tucked in his wings, buttoning them up at the front. He held out a twig-like finger, pointing in the direction of the castle. "Away ho to Lillegard! Many much of big tall, yes. Many of much friends!" Clapping his hands excitedly, he quickly began clinging to Vera again, rubbing his face against her side. He'd always appreciated being carried.

((Sorry it's short, didn't know what to write xD))

Vera smiled when the little thing called her smart and cuddled up close to her. She was glad that she met this....dilemma, though at first he had startled the heck out of her. Either way she was fine now and he was glad to point the way out to the castle where many more people were at it seemed. Vera sometimes couldn't understand the little ones English, but she believed to get the gist of it somehow. Walking for awhile with the little one clung to her like a clingy child they had finally reached the castle and Vera looked up at it in awe. She was happy that she finally made it, but really how many people were here? This place was huge and it reminded her of the old Japanese towers back in her home country. With a smile she looked at Luppa and tilted her head, as she placed him back on the ground gently, "So Luppa, where do we go now? Do I need to sign in anywhere?" She asked in a curious tone.

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A cliff. The second Leon spotted it from the dirt road he released his wings and flew directly for it, all memory of the conversation he had with the formal man who evidently was named Fort, forgotten. He landed light as a feather on one of the only flat surfaces he could find on the cliff. He was glad that it was open to the sky and faced the sea. The sea was something he hadn't even had by his cliffs back home. He was tempted to lay back and let his wings soak in the warmth of the sun, but was almost afraid that, coupled with the sea breeze, Scotland's sun would feel different on his feathers than that of Rosewood County's.

He sat at the edge of the outcropping allowing his feet to hang over the side. He could picture himself flying over that ocean, the sea breeze blowing through his hair. But he didn't want to fly here. He didn't want to be seen by these people, the word "people" being used lightly. Funny how here, it was actually okay to fly. His father wouldn't have greeted him on his way home with a lecture for flying here. He was supposed to be more free here. But instead, this school was a prison. He lay back, hands pillowing his head, and spread his wings out wide, doing his best not to breath in the fresh air.

Larita walked slowly up the hill towards the tops of the cliffs. She had switched to the only pair of flat shoes that she had brought with her, but even those were difficult when walking around the campus grounds. At least her heels weren't sinking into the ground anymore, but she dearly missed her red pumps and would switch back to them as soon as she was inside again.

Usually, Larita hated the outdoors. But this place made her need a good breath of fresh air, away from all the strange people. This place wasn't anything like what she had expected. She had wanted so desperately to come here when she found out she was special, but now that she was here, she wasn't so special anymore.

Her hair was tied in a loose braid, rather than down as was her usual. And she was wearing one of her designer dresses with a short-sleeved shrug over her shoulders. Near the top of the hill, she noticed the boy, his large black wings spread out across the ground. The sight made her start a bit. She still wasn't quite used to such strange creatures, even though she guessed that she should be by now.

Suddenly she wished that she had worn her heels. She hadn't expected to see anyone out here, and she felt at a disadvantage without them. Still, she stuck her chin out confidently and strode up to the boy. "Counting Clouds?"

Leon looked at the girl. He wasn't sure how to respond. For a second he thought he should just throw himself of the cliff side and fly away, without having said a word. He still had the feeling that he didn't want people to see him fly, however. The girl seemed fairly normal, though. If he had seen her at Rosewood County, he wouldn't have given her a second thought. Still, he had come to the cliff for express purpose of avoiding other people. This girl would be the first person here he met and all he could think was that she'd better not give him a hard time otherwise nothing could stop him from attempting to make the flight all the way across the Pacific and back to Rosewood County.

How had she even gotten up there? It was quite the hike on foot. And who would go hiking in a dress? He registered the gleam she had to her eyes in contrast to the self-conscious way she had her feet turned inwards. Other than her feet she held herself confidently as if seeing any random with wings sprouting from his was something perfectly normal to her. Then again, if she had been here any long then he had, then maybe she had gotten used to it.

Leon mimiced her tone, gesturing to her feet, "Collecting blisters?"

Larita looked down at her feet. There were definitely some blisters forming where the edges of her shoes met the tops of her feet. "Damn," she said. "Well, I don't know why they make it so difficult to walk around here anyway." She pouted as bent her knee, lifting her foot up behind her so she could examine her heel. Yep, there were blisters there too, big and full of liquid puss. "Ugh, gross."

She dropped her foot back down to the ground and looked again at the boy. It was possible that he didn't want company at the moment, but she didn't really care about that. There was no way she was going to make the trek back down the hill with her feet all blistered. So, she plopped herself down next to him, sitting cross-legged and looking out over the sides of the cliff onto the ocean. "This place is nothing like what I expected," she whined, resting her elbows on her knees and placing her chin in the palms of her hands.

Leon sat up and moved, slightly uncomfortable, when the girl sat next to him. He wasn't used to people intentionally getting close to him. Moreover he hadn't expected her to take his own snide comment as an invitation. Somewhere along the line it dawned on him that the girl was fairly beautiful, though he had learned not to allow such details to distract him. It was always the pretty ones that were the most dangerous.

"Why, what'd you expect?" Music began to play in the back of his head, 50's stuff. He would provide only what was needed to keep conversation with the girl. It was what he always did whenever he had to talk to someone. What he wasn't going to do was allow this girl to chase him away from his ideal spot. If anything, he'd move higher up to where she couldn't possibly hike to.

Leon muttered some words under his breath and, in response, his wings retracted and disappeared into his back, leaving two burnt out holes in the back of his t-shirt.

Larita smoothed her skirt down over her thighs and began playing absentmindedly with a few strands of hair from the base of her skull. The pull was comforting. She sighed. "Well, I didn't expect to meet so many rude people. Not you, of course. But the others. I don't know if you've met anyone else, but they have no respect!" Her brow furrowed as she spoke, obviously bothered. She didn't tell him that she was usually the one to start the arguments, but that was because she was willfully ignorant of her own attitude.

She gasped as his wings retracted into his back, leaving the boy looking a little more normal than he had before. She dropped the strands of hair and pressed her hands against the grass, using them to support her weight as she leaned sideways towards him, trying to get a good look at the burn marks in his shirt. "How on earth did you do that?! You must never be able to buy a nice shirt!"

Leon laughed, "I stopped caring. I'd rather be able to fly as often as I want to then worry about having holes in my shirt." He didn't mention it, but another reason he laughed was because of the naive way she believed that he wasn't rude. Being polite wasn't necessarily something he cared enough to do. She hadn't known him long enough.

Leon reached for a backpack that he had set aside. In it he had two different hoodys, a windbreaker, and an english to latin dictionary which, had anybody seen him pack it, could have gotten him killed. He was well aware that the people who had condemned to this school didn't want him practicing magic. He took out one of the hoodys (the one that didn't have any holes) and put it on. He didn't want the girl to see the charred skin on his back. His wings were pure energy and burned pretty much everything they touched. Though it healed quickly, he flew so often that they were rarely ever completely healed.

Larita raised her eyebrows. She didn't understand how someone could stop caring about constantly getting holes in their new shirts. She leaned back so that she was sitting in her own space again and looked out onto the ocean. She watched up out of the corner of her eyes as he put on his hoodie, and it made her realize that she was a little chilly. The breeze coming off the water was stronger than she had anticipated, and the warmth that her body had created from exercise was beginning to wear off.

She wrapped her arms around herself and began to rub her skin in a motion that was intended to be as obvious as possible. She wasn't sure what else the boy had in his bag, but she still thought that he should give her the hoodie off his own back if that's what he had to do. It's what any gentleman would do, really.

Leon watched her out of the corner of his eye as she began to shiver, so obviously asking him for a hoody. He wanted to burst out laughing but kept it contained. Part of him wished he had opted for his windbreaker which also had holes in it. This was the only good hoody he had and he didn't know when he'd be able to get a new one if he ruined it.

The girl continued to shiver and Leon could feel an awkward silence coming on. Finally he sighed, "Fine." He took the other other hoody from his backpack and dropped it next to her, "It has holes in though," he warned. A fashionista like probably wouldn't stand for it and Leon wondered if she would even accept it. All the better if she didn't. He didn't want his flying hoody to smell like perfume later.

Larita scrunched her nose at the hole-y hoodie. She had hoped that he had something nicer to offer her, but she guessed not. She considered for a moment whether or not she should accept, and eventually did, without saying thank you. But once she had the thing in her hands, she realized that she didn't want to actually wear it. Pulling it over her head would surely do not such nice things to her hair. So, she just laid the shirt on her lap. At least she could keep her legs warm.

For a moment, she sat in silence. Conversation was not something that was usually hard for her, but she was also used to the other person seeking her voice, not the other way around. This guy seemed to say so little and when he did it was a short, burst of a sentence.

"So.." she said, her voice a little bored. "Don't like to talk much do you?"

Leon smiled a bit at her stating the obvious. Evidently the girl had expected social person to be hanging by himself at the edge of a cliff. He didn't have much to offer in the ways of conversation, though. Half the time when he did speak all he said were lies. Lies about his personality, his family, his life in general. Here at Lillegard, however, there was no need to lie. This girl wasn't an angel. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure how to begin telling the truth.

"Well," he began, "I've made enemies with two gods because I've... basically killed countlless angels for my own personal gain. Because of that I was punished by being sent to," he waved his hand in the direction of the castle, "this place, and if I dont 'learn my lesson' here I'll lose my powers, age faster than a meth addict, and most likely die a pathetic old man like any other human." He paused there and his face became a bit solemn. He quickly collected himself though and continued, "Other than that, I'm a cold-hearted asshole that couldn't give two shits about anything." He said this last bit with a slight smile on his face.