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 Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2015 8:35 pm
Andromeda couldn't really remember when he'd come to the Academy, just that his parents had come to Asphodel on a trip and he ended up staying behind... right? Was that how it happened...? The memories were so fuzzy... but he was sure they wanted him to learn lots and lots, so that was why he was here! But... He did wonder why they hadn't been writing him back. He'd sent at least four letters, none of which had gotten a reply. Things were starting to get very discouraging... Maybe they were busy?
He decided he was going to write one more letter, for sure. Maybe he'd gotten the address wrong or something? He just needed to find someone who was also from the Winged Isle, to make sure he was writing it down correctly... Not that he didn't trust his caretaker, but they were a demon who'd spent all their life in Asphodel, maybe they didn't know the right address, either!
So, after carefully constructing a letter to ask how they were doing and why they hadn't responded, he set out to find a fallen instructor, or staff member, who knew the proper address to at least get it to the Wing Isle. His parents were well known! They'd be able to find it then, right?
He'd heard there were two teachers that were "pure" fallen like he was, but he didn't know where they were from... He decided to start with Miss Illya, he'd heard that she was a senior teacher and talked a lot about the war so she would probably know a lot about addresses. He managed to find her classroom, after the class had ended, and peered inside... she seemed a little occupied with gathering papers but... He rapped on the open door to signal his arrival. "Um, excuse me..?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 10:13 pm
 Illya was new at the Academy. She almost felt a little out of place here--many of the teachers had attended Academy in their youth and knew this place top to bottom. She had attended Asterion, but not the Academy. And that had been way back in the day, before Asterion had started its program for the Alcyone cache children. Yes, there was no doubt about it--Illya was old. And yet...the people here were very welcoming. It was almost a Baphometish attitude, one of acceptance. Though considering whose capital Alcyone had once been... She chuckled to herself and continued gathering the papers from quizzes. Ah, yes, grading. This was a whole new scary world for her! Almost made her miss basic. Almost.
She'd decorated her classroom with flags from the various Nightmare nations, as well as the Daydreams. Posters depicting battle flags, medals, and uniforms covered the walls, interspersed with maps of the major engagements of the Fifty Year War. It was that conflict, and that conflict alone, that she had to teach. Or so she had thought at first--
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a knocking on the open door, followed by a child's voice. She set down the papers on her desk and turned around to see a young Fallen standing at the door. She smiled. Her class was not one for freshlings, but she'd made sure that none of her decorations were inappropriate for a freshling to see. She had no problem with them poking their head in between classes. "Yes, young man?" she asked. Her voice was crisp, clear, and direct. It just barely verged on being loud--an old holdover she didn't care to train out of herself.
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Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 10:28 pm
In the brief moment it took her to realize she'd been addressed, Andromeda found himself completely taken in by the decoration in the room. Oh, there were a lot of flags! And medals! She must teach a very interesting class.. Suddenly he found himself wanting to take it very, very much. His parents loved history, they used to tell him all kinds of things about the stuff they were writing about-- but oh the memories were so fuzzy now... He could barely remember the sounds of their voices, let alone their faces in perfect detail. He really wanted to send this letter.
He snapped back to reality at the volume of her reply, he hadn't really expected that! But she didn't sound cross, so he hadn't done something bad. That was good! "Um... I was wondering if maybe you could tell me if I have the right address on my letter...?" He shuffled into the room, letter clutched in his hands. "Um... I was wondering if maybe you could tell me if I have the right address on my letter...?"[b]"I think my letters are getting lost so I wanted to ask someone who knows a lot about other places to double check, if that's okay?"[b/] He shuffled a bit closer, wings fluttering nervously as he suddenly felt a worrisome pit grow in his stomach. Something felt.. wrong, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it...
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 7:10 pm
Illya smiled as she watched the youngster look around her classroom. He seemed very interested. It was good to see a child with an interest in history. Some children had no interest in it at all, but she could tell from the way he looked at his surroundings that he was fascinated. Perhaps when he was older, he would take her class--then she could explain the significance of every object in the classroom. "I teach a history class," she explained. "I am Ms. Hilael. I'm a little new here."
She looked at the freshling's hands and saw that he was clearly carrying something in them. It appeared to be an envelope. She took it gently from his hand and turned it over. "I can't guarantee I know the place," she said. "I'm better traveled than most Fallen, but that doesn't mean I've been everywhere. But upon seeing the address she frowned--for two reasons. The first one--or rather, the second one--was that she did indeed recognize the address, or at least the city it was in. It was on the Winged Isle--her own home. She hadn't visited in a few years, but she knew every major city's name by heart. She was certain she'd visited every city on the island at least once in her life. This city, furthermore, had friends in it. She could ask them to verify the address for her!
The second reason, or the first, depending on how you counted it, was the names that the envelope was addressed to. She'd seen those names somewhere. Written down somewhere, she was sure. Was it in a book? or a newspaper? She was certain she'd read those names before, but she was equally certain that she'd never met them. "Are these your parents?" she said.
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Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:16 pm
He blinked, then nodded. "It's very nice to meet you Ms. Hilael. I'm Andromeda." He smiled a little, offering the letter for her to take. He waited while she read it, eyes glancing off to the side to get another look at those medals on the walls... They were so shiny! He wondered what they were for... Vaguely he remembered his parents having something like this back home... Oh, he wished he could force the memory to focus. Everything was just so blurry! Why did it have to be so blurry?
He looked back to Illya, blinking himself out of his temporary distraction. "Oh, yes! My mom and dad are still back home. We came to visit for a little bit but they decided to leave me here while they were working." He nodded, easily repeating what he thought.. no, he definitely knew it to be true. There wasn't any other explanation! "I just wanted to make sure that I have the address right because they haven't responded to my letters before... But I guess they could just be really busy!" He nodded, smile growing on his face again. "They study a lot so maybe they even lost it in their papers, hehe."
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:15 pm
Hm. That...didn't quite sound right. It was one thing to send your child to school while you were working, and quite another for a Islander to send their child away to the other side of the world. And then not send him letters! Because even if they hadn't replied to his letters, surely they should have sent some of their own... Illya had only just heard this mystery, and she already wanted to sink her teeth into it. There was something going on here, something that didn't make sense, and she wanted to know what it was. Who were his parents? Why wouldn't they write their son back? Why did she know them?
"I'm sure they must be busy," she murmured. She held up the envelope. "Andromeda, I am pleased to meet you, and I would be happy to look up your parents' address for you. I have a friend who lives in your hometown--she should be able to find out for me what address your parents live at, and if they have moved, where they have moved to." If they've moved at all... Oh dear, she would have to talk to someone about this, this was getting worse and worse by the minute! "But I warn you, it might take me a couple days. I'd like to have the information back to you in a week, but finding your parents' address might take a little longer than that. Is that alright to you?"
Illya started making notes about what she'd have to do. Check her files and books to figure out where she'd heard the names. Call her friend on the Isle--it was the other side of the world, so she was probably asleep right now. And ask Kirket, the school counselor, how to break bad news to Andromeda gently--if bad news there was. Her gut was telling her that this was about to end in tragedy.
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:26 pm
Something was telling him that she was not pleased... But aside from the small frown, he couldn't really tell if she was upset or not. Oh, he hoped he wasn't being rude or anything... But the mention of her friend perked him right up again, a wide smile crossing his face. "Oh, really?? Thank you so much Miss Hilael!" He clapped his hands together, wings fluttering in his excitement. He'd be able to hear from them, finally!
He nodded to her next question, of course, it would take time, he expected that maybe it would. But still! This was progress, more progress than he'd made in the last few months. "Yes ma'am, I can wait! Should-- should I come back here or wait for you?" He tilted his head. The excitement from this completely overshadowed the growing pit in his gut that this was a bad decision and he really shouldn't have asked someone to actually seek out his parents.
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:12 pm
The young man brought up an important point--how should she contact him? Oh. Right. She was a teacher. Heh. Yes, that made things more than slightly easier. "It's not a problem, Andromeda, really it isn't. It's my pleasure to help you out in any way I can. I'll contact you when I have the information. That way you don't have to come back here every few days." With that, Illya ushered Andromeda out the door and set to work unraveling the mystery.
A few days past, full of books, papers, and phone calls. Part of the mystery was easy--the familiarity of the names. It turns out that Andromeda's parents were historians. They had published papers in a scholarly journal she was subscribed to. They had studied pre-war history, which Illya had occasionally had reason to read or to research. Neither of them had published in several years, however, which could be suspicious--or it could be a sign that they were busy writing their next big work. But too busy to write their children?
When her friend called back with information a couple days later about the address, Illya's worst fears were confirmed. She needed to talk to Andromeda--and to Kirket. She arranged a meeting between the three of them to take place in her classroom after school got out late one afternoon. She sighed and crossed her arms. This was going to be a very ugly afternoon. She made sure she had plenty of boxes of tissues hidden behind her desk. She didn't want to tip her hand too early...
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:24 pm
Kirket had a rather large build up of files to look at-- none of which he was particularly pleased to snoop through, but one that he had been made very aware of was Andromeda. The child had been taken in after the brutal murder of his parents - which he had witnessed firsthand. The memories were so terrible that he'd repressed them and made a new story up for why he was present at the Academy... Kirket had been advised to watch him and prepare for the worst.
Well. The worst had come. Illya had contacted him about Andromeda asking to mail a letter to his parents... It seemed there wasn't any delaying this - Andromeda needed to confront the reality of why he was at the Academy, and it was not going to be pretty.
So, he'd arrived at Illya's classroom a little before the designated meeting time and prepared himself for the worst...
Andromeda had been so, so very pleased when Illya had agreed to confirm the address for him. He tried his best to wait patiently while she tracked his parents down, but ohhhh it was so hard! He wanted to know now! Never mind the increasing nagging feeling that this was wrong, he didn't have a reason for feeling that way so naturally-- naturally it was best to just ignore it... Right?
But, when the day finally rolled around, the feeling seemed to disappear entirely as he ran down the halls to Illya's classroom. Normally he wouldn't be so disruptive, but he really, REALLY missed his parents!! Once he was within a few doors of her room, he slowed to a walk and straightened himself out before he entered the room...
"I'm sorry if I'm late Miss Illya---" He started to speak, and then trailed off as he spotted a new person in the room... He'd never really spoken to Kirket, but he knew who he was from his Health and P.E. classes, and... he also knew why Kirket was really at the Academy... "Oh! H-Hello Mr. Numuel... Did I come too early instead...?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:41 pm
Illya could hear Andromeda's footsteps running down the hall. She was prepared then, slightly before Andromeda opened the door. Right. Back straight. Deep breath. She'd written letters home informing families of the deaths of their children and spouses...if only it got easier with practice. It didn't, of course. And this one was going to be all the harder for the age of the recipient and the fact that they were face to face. When Andromeda came in the room, Illya pulled out her chair from behind her desk. "Sit down, Andromeda. Don't worry about Mr. Numuel, I invited him here this afternoon."
Illya sighed. She waited for him to get settled, took a deep breath, and spoke. "Andromeda, I regret to inform you that two and a half years ago, your parents were murdered." Her voice was unusually soft and quiet. "I am so, so sorry, Andromeda." She fell silent. She was certain that nothing she said or did could help the situation--only make it worse. She crossed her arms again in front of her chest and flicked a glance over at Kirket, pleading. She'd read the reports, when she'd requested them. She didn't have the heart to tell the kid that he'd seen it. That was...well, either it was unimportant information, or it was Kirket's job to tell him. After all, Kirket was the shrink here. Illya...was not. She was merely the bearer of very, very bad news.
Was there something she could do? She didn't know. She wasn't used to comforting people. It wasn't one of her many talents. All she could do now was wait for Andromeda's reaction, and prepare for whatever storm was to follow.
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 9:51 pm
Andromeda blinked in confusion...She'd invited Mr. Numuel to come? Why? He did as he was told, though, and settled into the chair she'd pulled out for him. Worriedly he glanced between the two of them before settling his gaze on Illya once she started speaking. No.
No no no! She was lying, right!? He turned his gaze to Kirket, panic clearly showing on his face as he struggled to reconcile his mental picture with the reality he was being given -- he'd come here two years ago! He'd been writing them!! They were just busy! That was all.
"That--... That c-can't be right, maybe you got the wrong names!" He shifted his gaze back to Illya, face contorting into a forced smile as he struggled to maintain a cheery disposition - surely she was wrong. Surely she'd just gotten the names wrong. Maybe he'd misspelled them!
Well, Illya had a way for going straight for it, he had to give her that. Rip the wound open quickly, like a bandaid. Sort of. A hurtful bandaid. It was clear that Andromeda was not going to accept this news, though. Kirket moved from his spot a few chairs down to come kneel next to Andromeda, but refrained from reaching out to him just yet.
"She's not wrong, Andromeda... I checked the records to make sure. I'm so, so sorry..." He spoke quietly, softly, voice full of compassion. Still, the little fallen child only shook his head hurriedly, refusing to accept the information. There wasn't much Kirket could do about that immediately, but it was only a matter of time until he came around... For now, he glanced back to Illya, noting that she also seemed to be in distress.
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 10:00 pm
Illya was rubbing her face. Honestly? This was exactly the reaction she was expecting. She would have been shocked--shocked--if Andromeda had just blithely accepted it. He was a child. Just a child. Of course he would deny it. It was the obvious reaction--even if it was the one that made things difficult. Some things were too difficult to understand. To accept. Some things could never be accepted. Not at this age. Not at this stage of life. Illya sighed silently. What could she do now? How could she deal with this? She'd somehow thought that Kirket would--what? Wiggle his ears and Andromeda would calm down? Now it was up to Illya to figure out how to calm him down, or help him cope with the horror of what she'd just told him.
Maybe she should have been more delicate?
Thinking like that didn't help anybody. Illya rubbed the scars on her left cheek, then pushed herself away from the desk to stand next to Andromeda. "We checked, and then we double-checked. News reports, official records, obituaries..." She sighed, audibly this time. "Andromeda, I know this isn't easy. This is the worst thing to ever happen to you, and it will probably be the hardest thing that will ever happen to you. Healing...isn't easy. For anyone." She put a hand on his shoulder, preparing for it to be shrugged off. "But we're here for you. You are not alone. You never will be. We're here to help you, if you'll let us.
"If you don't want us to help you--if you'd like to be alone for a while--then just let us know, and we will give you time to be alone. But know this--our offer for help and for support will always be open. It will never expire." She looked over at Kirket. Something like that, right? She wasn't very good with young children. No experience, no practice.
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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 3:59 pm
But... but it couldn't be true... he looked from one adult's face to the other, vision blurring as tears filled his eyes. But he remembered them sending him here... He re--
There was shouting, it was hard to see but someone was angry and he didn't understand -- he'd been sleeping, right?
The door was open just a crack, his mother was arguing with someone -- just a peak out into the room wouldn't hurt, right?
He reached up to hold his head, wings curling around his little body to shield himself from the world... What was that? He didn't remember... "I don--......I don't u-understand..." He shook his head and then scrubbed at his eyes, drawing in a long, shaky breath. "I r-remember them sending me here..."
Kirket nodded along with Illya, she was correct, he had a support system that would always be there for him... But sadly children did not always comprehend what that meant, or even really knew who to reach out to. "Andromeda, here..." He shifted to move himself into Andy's line of vision, sensing that he was starting to remember small bits of what he'd repressed.
"Why don't we go somewhere a little more comfortable... I have a nice, quiet place to go talk... and there's beanbags to lay on and plushies to sit with... We can talk about this there, okay?" Finally, he risked reached out to place a hand on the child's knee. The little fallen nodded slowly, though it really didn't look like he wanted to move...
"Alright... Let's go do that, then." Kirket pushed himself up to his feet, and held a hand out to take hold of Andy's, but instead the little fallen slid off of his chair and latched onto his leg. Well... this was a predicament. He couldn't very well move just yet and technically it was frowned upon in his line of work to have physical contact with patients - something he'd already ignored in favor of patting Andromeda's knee....
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:42 pm
Oh dear. There didn't seem to be an awful lot left for Illya to do. She couldn't soothe Andromeda's heart--she didn't have the training. That was for therapists like Kirket to do. She gave Kirket a nod. Sh wasn't going to get in the way of him doing his job. This was what he was here for. Instead, she simply gave Andromeda's shoulder a squeeze. She wanted to hug him, but somehow it didn't seem appropriate. It seemed...well, intrusive at the very least, possibly inappropriate at worst. The only thing she could do to soothe him--and herself--was that squeeze. She let him go when he got up, then smiled as he latched himself to the hybrid's leg.
"Would either of you like my help?" She had grading to do, but she could--and would--set that aside if Andromeda needed it. This was more important. Her students would understand. And if they didn't, then they were selfish little--ahem. She put a hand on Andromeda's shoulder once again. Maybe it would convince him to let go so that he and Kirket could walk away...? Or would she need to bring those plushies and beanbag chairs over here? She gave Kirket a questioning glance, willing him to understand how much she was willing to do to help. She was the one who had gone down the rabbit hole and opened the can of worms. The least she could do was see it through.
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 4:58 pm
All he wanted at that moment was a hug. Or something similar. They were grown ups, right? They could pick him up? He was still small, just a little bird like his mom had-- oh... He buried his face into Kirket's side to muffle a small cry as his wings attempted to curl around him-- but Illya's hand was blocking one. Illya's hand on his shoulder, a form of connection in addition to holding onto Kirket...
They both seemed to want to help - but how could they? This was the worst thing in the entire world... but... but it would be rude to turn them down - to make them go away so he could be alone... He didn't even really want to be alone... "C--can... w-we go to the b-beanbags..."
Kirket frowned, ears dropping completely... Well, this was a rather unconventional school, he was sure Ava would not disapprove. He'd have to break protocol for this one. "Of course. Do you want to hold hands?" He tilted his head in question, eyes sliding towards Illya as he spoke. The little fallen nodded against his leg and then slowly let go, then rubbed at his eyes before shuffling to Illya's side.
"Alright, Illya if you'd come along at least for the walk... it's not far from here." He smiled softly. It was nice that she wanted to help- and he was sure that Andromeda would appreciate it a little more later, when he wasn't so caught up in the news.
Once they were situated, he turned to slowly led them out of the room and down the hall toward his office to start the actual therapy.
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