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 Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2015 10:21 pm
Tobias's presence against him was comforting, and he was relieved to hear the other boy state that The Scary Woman was making a mistake... He didn't particularly have an attachment to these people, but unjust punishment was never okay. Ever... Though, Elena's words struck him to the core.
This was the Real World?
This was what he had to expect outside of the academy walls?
He'd already lived through that up until his arrival here, and he was reassured time and time again that what happened out there was not normal and it was not okay. He'd only just started to believe it. Really, truly believe it and then this woman had to come in here and insist that it was normal... and talk about it as if it were okay.
No, it... it wasn't okay. He glanced at Ava, oh, she still seemed mad. Really mad. That meant The Scary Woman was wrong, right?
"But-- but it's NOT!" He squeaked, voice rising sharply and suddenly as his anger finally broke through. He'd never felt quite this angry before, this was worse than in the cafeteria... this was consuming. The fur on his tail, arms and legs puffed up as he readied himself to speak again... "It's not normal...! W-we don't do that here...! It's n-not right and it's n-not okay...!" He breathed in deeply, ears folding back as his temper died down almost as fast as it had sparked.
"M-Myles said they w-w-wanted to take all of us back with y-you but who-- who would want to live somewhere like th-that... Where sc-scaring kids and c-c-calling it the "real world" is n-normal... A--and where you punish kids like a-adults...! I'm r-really mad that she l-lied and that thr--threatens our access t--to um.. our c-culture but she shouldn't be t--traumatized too.. It's not right." By this time tears were starting to blur his vision. He scrubbed at his face, wiping them away and then refocused his stare on Elena.
"You're j-just a bully. Y-you're not really making a-anything right at all..."
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2015 2:55 am
 Ryuuichi had grabbed Athena? Zahneel certainly hadn't seen that part! Still...
"Even if you were afraid of him hurting her, which I don't think he really would have done, you still could have let him talk to her. You could have not dragged him off without his cane," she said in a soft, accusing voice. "And there were little, little kids in there when you went in and took Mr. Ryuuichi. Whatever you think the 'real world' is, it was wrong to do that in front of kids too little to understand."
She felt her hackles bristling again at Elena. How could this woman preach about safety and protecting children when she'd single-handedly just traumatized a bunch of kids?
"Neither of them did anything wrong," she murmured sadly. "It's not wrong or bad to want to be free to see the rest of the world and learn. It's wasn't wrong to give Myles' pack hope that there were more Grimm out in the world than they thought."
She marveled a little as Neptune spoke up so passionately. Granted, she hardly knew him, but the little she'd seen of him would never have led her to beleive that he'd be so willing to take a stand. He and she might not be Pack, but she was ready to burst with pride at how he stood up to the nixie woman.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:52 pm
 She struggled to keep her tail from flicking, instead watching the woman with mild disdain. Without meaning to, the smallest of bewildered snorts left her, eyes widening as Elena claimed she had shown the children the real world. This was how those from the war viewed life; as right. As it being only normal for children to exist within a hostile environment. No. This was not real life. Wherever this woman came from suddenly left a sour taste in her mouth.
'Safety should always come first.' Ha! Safety! Who was she to preach? Ava stepped closer, eyes flicking back to Ryuuichi before she rolled her gaze over to Zahneel. Perhaps she should censor what she wished to say.
"He would not have harmed her further." She finally spoke, glancing back at the older man. No, he was not the type, this was obvious. That and what was he expected to do? Calmly stroll up and state how frustrated he was? That she had effectively made him a traitor? Probably ruined his life? What was that about 'this is the real world?' What happened to kids being tough enough to handle conflict? The Demon barely contained a disgusted scowl as she glanced back at the Nixie woman.
"Perhaps you should receive all the facts before lunging after someone. Or, maybe, actually, you should consider the area you're in. Maybe, where you're from, it's acceptable to grab a parent from his child, arrest them in-front of her, and practically drag him as children stare in horror, but not here." Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth, head cocking to the side as a hand settled on her hip. "And last time I checked, my school was left open for someone to stroll in. Your friends are proof of this. And no, I'm not happy about it, before you ask."
Professionalism was lost as the blue Demon just glowered at the Nixie woman, head tilting back to view her students. Reign it in, Ava. Reign it in. "What I'm suggesting is probably, next time, if there is one, you evaluate the situation. Plenty of my children are distressed, as you can see. And this isn't what the real world is about. They do not need to be thrown into hostile situations because it suits you, and because you believe they're adults. They aren't. They are children." Perhaps she preferred Ryuuichi as ambassador. No. She did. She honestly did. This woman was no better than refuse.
Still, the two were uncomfortable, and Ava wasn't going to leave them to dry in her halls despite how the woman had behaved around her students. "Would you care to come to my office, then? Or maybe the art room. That might be closer." That and the bigger the room the more people she could fit into it. She had every intention to call some guards to keep an eye wherever they were. Enough kidnapping promises had been given, and she was not about to turn her back on any of the visitors.
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:00 pm
Neptune was beginning to consider just going back to his dorm to crawl under his bed for the next month. Yes... that would be nice. No more yelling, no more fear, no more Scary Woman. He'd just about tired himself out with that spiel, but oh he was relieved to hear Zahneel speak up as well. It made him feel less alone, less like he'd taken things too personally. It all just seemed to align with before a little too much. Or at least, similarly enough that his buttons had not only be hit, they'd been smashed beyond repair.
His ears flicked towards Ava as she finally spoke... oh good, she agreed. She really did agree! It wasn't the real world, this wasn't right! Relief washed over him like a cool stream of water, starting from the tip of his ears down to the end of his tail. Oh, thank the Nine he wasn't wrong. If they were going to her office, or the art room, would they be allowed to follow?
Did he even want to follow?
He looked back to Tobias, and forced himself to speak quietly, "D-...Do you want to f-follow..?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 8:09 pm
 Tobias was so tired. This had, honestly, been one of the worst days of his life. No. No, this trumped the day Draven tried to steal his Big Sister. This trumped all the other days. This was, indeed, the absolute worst.
And then Ava spoke.
He had, for the time being, begun to slink away from the group, contemplating just hiding someone dark and small. This wasn't the 'real world'. He had spent most of his life at this academy, and all of those years he had considered it home. The place that cared for him. The place that opened their arms. He wasn't sheltered, no. He had, for years, faced the fear of perhaps never understanding his kind and the grim fact that there might be no past for him. There was nowhere he could look to for an example of who he is, or what. And yet, it had been okay. The academy held his hand as he faced the tough truth. The truth that had briefly sent him almost running into the arms of the strange Grimm who had recently made themselves known.
Yet, it was Ava who reminded him where he belonged. With his pack. With his friends. With his family. Not wherever those two Grimm came from. Not with the Nixie who believed the world was a corrupt place. No. That wasn't the real world! This one was! The world where children were protected from the monsters who tried to tear them apart. The world where it wasn't acceptable to pass off trauma as the "real world".
So, when Neptune spoke to him his head snapped, claws lacing together as he composed himself. Of course he'd come. He had to. "I'll go anywhere they do!"
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 10:31 pm
 Elena simply listened, frowning as she shook her head. She didn't agree with them, not one bit. Whatever, their loss. They'd learn one day, probably the hard way seeing how they reacted. They hadn't listened much, had they? "I'm personally not affiliated with the Grimm. Them coming was their choice, not ours. The Nixie cannot restrain them as they run themselves, and frankly the majority of us tolerate Kestrel." She frowned, adjusting her stance again as her hip barked. "Clearly we have a difference in world view." She wasn't really going to push it with Ava or any of the others, not if it meant she could sit down somewhere. "As long as I have somewhere to sit, I do not mind." There was a slight shrug, though her eye twitched a bit in pain as her skin began to complain. "Soon preferably."
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Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 10:56 pm
 He gently dabbed the corner of the towel on his face and neck while he listened to the two women bicker. This was getting nowhere fast, and he wasn't in a position to really do anything about it. He adjusted his weight and grimaced a bit, a soft sound escaping from him. He was too proud to accept the help of any of the kids in supporting his weight, and it was one of those times he wished he'd taken slightly better care of himself in the last few years before his knees had gotten to the point they were at now. No one to blame but himself really.
He rolled his eyes slightly and while he had to agree with Elena's stance on Kestrel, it would be far better to actually sit and discuss what was the real world what wasn't, Kestrel and the rest of this mess. He absently wondered if anything cared what he thought, but he just kept his mouth shut. Elena was still in a position to use anything he said against him.
He just wished they'd stop talking about sitting down and actually do it!
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 3:13 am
Golden eyes narrowing in dislike Zahneel watched Elena and thought to herself that she really did have a strong resemblance to Athena. But the longer she watched and listened to this woman, the further from her mind the idea of her being Athena's mom went. This woman just seemed too cold and awful.
As she continued to watch, she listened to Ava speak and found herself nodding in agreement with the Headmistress' words. Though she hadn't really been out in it, she was fairly sure that the 'Real World' wasn't as bad as Elena suggested. And the suggestion of the Art room was a welcome one. The bigger the room, the better the chance she could stick around.
"I'd like to come too, Headmistress," she said. "I can help Mr. Ryuuichi on the way so he won't get hurt worse. I'm stronger than I look and you know I can run fast."
She felt a tiny twinge of amusement as she said the words and wondered if Ava would understand why. Certainly, she'd covered the distance from the Cafeteria to Ava's office in near record time. And really, she couldn't feel hurt that the older nixie wasn't leaning on her. She supposed he was trying to remain dignified. She could still be helpful.
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Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 11:11 am
Clearly they did have differing views, and Ava was briefly grateful the argument abruptly halted there. It wasn't because she lacked the retorts. No, she could keep arguing for days if it meant the safety of her children. No, she was far more interested in getting this woman out of her hallway. The less she was seen by the even younger kids, the better.
Zahneel's comment caused bright green eyes to snap her way, a quick nod of the head following. Fair enough. She already had heard the two Grimm mentioned they'd follow. She wasn't a fan of allowing them around this drama, but it was a part of their future. This event was for the Grimm, and not herself. She was not the one who lacked information. Who had been raised with shrugs of their shoulders and gentle reassurances. The Nixie were a part of this, and while she honestly wanted to sit down and start demanding answers as to where the Nixie had been, she had other priorities.
"Then we'll go to the Art Room." She announced, briefly glancing back at Zahneel. If they needed assistance she knew the pup could run fast enough to get it, and yet Ava felt as if she was betraying the small Grimm. She was here to protect, not to have the children protect her. Maybe this was what families were? One couldn't always hold the power.
Turning sharping on her heels, the woman headed straight for the Art Room, keeping her pace slow for the elderly Nixie behind her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:27 am
Elena was glad to finally be on the move, though wasn't far too pleased with the slower pace. Couldn't they start walking faster? The faster they walked, the faster they'd be able to sit, and that meant that her hip could stop twinging with each step. Maybe they were just going to torture her like this on purpose, the Demons were the ones who had set the Above upon the Grimm without mercy, why would they stop there? Of course they'd be demeaning to the Nixie as well, but she already knew what she was going to report to the council. At this rate, she saw no reason to continue any contact with that of the outside world, not with how hostile and demeaning they were. Things had certainly started out fine, but now...Now all she wanted to do was take the other two of her race back to where they belonged. What Kestrel did was up to him, though perhaps she'd have to put in a suggestion to kick him out...No one would object, of course. Head held high, Elena wasn't about to let even the pain of each step take away her dignity. That was reserved for the traitors, prisoners who had endangered their culture and way of life. Though what was this about them knowing her? She didn't understand at all, they'd never met. She lived far away from them, she had no family they could possibly know. When she had awoken that early morning, surrounded by doctors with no inkling of what her past was or where she'd come from, they had told her she was probably from a city that had recently lost some of their hunters to a group of sharks. It made sense, she had the body at the time to be one of them. No one there had even given it a second thought, and neither had she. Maybe the two were just mistaken, surely she hadn't ever crossed paths with them... Deciding the line of thought was futile, she abandoned it, continuing to walk.
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:55 am
Finally. Ryuuichi limped along just in front of Elena which put him between her and the Demoness. While he appreciated the slow pace, he wished they'd speed up, just a touch. He was about to mutter it hopefully so that only Ava would hear him, but the entered another building and entered a large studio room. Well at least it hadn't been far as promised, he limped over to a chair and carefully sat down and stretched out the knee he'd landed on and rubbed it awkwardly trying to ease the pain. His barbels twitched as he eyed Elena as she sat down as well.
He was so conflicted when it came to her. His heart said yes, but the way she was acting...Elena had never been so cold. Then again he hadn't always been sullen, okay as sullen. He wished for a moment Elena would at least try to see reason with Ava. She wasn't absolutely horrible, just protective of her territory. How were they any different really? The children he'd seen seemed...well they were children, headstrong and intelligent enough. Wasn't that what they taught their children at home to be? He was starting to think that contact with the rest of the world wouldn't be such a bad thing. Not that anyone cared what he thought right now.
He groaned softly as the pain started to ease a bit and he started on the other knee. He wanted to see is daughter. Hell, he'd even settle for that boyfriend of hers. Athena to get the story out of her, Myles for his ridiculous, no...not ridiculous, the boy meant what he said, he'd keep Athena safe and make her happy...
He sighed audibly and gestured as much as he could with one hand. "So, can we get on with it, already?" he muttered.
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:11 am
Zahneel had openly asked to come along... so surely them trailing after shouldn't be a problem? He looked back to Tobias, then towards the two Nixie, and then finally at Ava. Once they started walking, he maintained a fairly decent distance between them... they seemed... hurt? Ryuuichi he'd known about, but The Scary Woman... He watched her carefully... that walking pattern was familiar... Still, she'd said some really mean and scary things so he wasn't about to bring it up for the others to know about.
Once inside the art room, he scooted around to the side to make sure there was plenty of room for the others... What was it they were getting over with? Ryuuichi's question confused him.. unless The Scary Woman was going to do something and they'd just interrupted it... that was a possibility. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything even more scary... Ava was around, she wouldn't let that happen... right?
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Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:21 pm
Well at least the Towels where mostly well received. Yue had stayed where she was between the young Grimms she was looking out for and the adults. She could tell they wanted to run off and back down… but it gave her a little smile that right when she was certain they’d run. They would stick up for what they wanted. As for the conversation that was going on. The neutral expression on yue’s face dropped and she ended up scoffing before she shook her head… that was a load of vespercat poop.
Real world… yeah incidents like that did happen in the real world but it wasn’t from any one decent. A person was generally decent and there were enough people out there that wanted to make amends and try to do right. Couldn’t they see that just alienating the youth of all the other races was just another way to breed resentment…? Just another way to set up wars where children like Tobias and herself where born. Where they didn’t have any family and struggled being surrounded by people that either didn’t quite get or didn’t know their culture at all?
“I don’t know your species very well because obviously this is the first time people have gotten a chance to see the nixie….but they’re walking like I would walk if I was hurt and didn’t want to show it. Maybe we can speed up a little bit? Maybe the world is like Miss Nixie over there but it doesn’t have to be and while we believe they’re in the wrong, we can show them that here we’re trying to create a better world where we dont have to act like that?” Yue spoke up. She had started following them as she wasn’t going to leave behind Tobias or Neptune and she did want to see what was going to happen after all.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2015 11:54 pm
She felt utterly humiliated when the Geist behind her brought up her ailment, scoffing quietly. She didn't need help. She was fine. She didn't need to see any more of this world of theirs, all she wanted was to get her prisoners and go home. Home meant humidity, security, and that wonderful pool in her housing that was heated...There had been days all she did was lay in it, hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would heal her hip for once and for all. Of course, she could only stay in it for so long, otherwise she'd become numb to the therapeutic heat. The chairs in the room couldn't come soon enough, though she retrained herself, choosing one close to, but not directly next to, the other Nixie. She didn't think he'd try to run, and if he did, well...she'd go after him. Sitting down in and of itself caused a tiny sigh of relief as she straightened up, eyes on everyone else in the room. She wasn't quite sure what they were to discuss otherwise. She just wanted to get everything done. Adjusting the towel on her shoulders, she frowned, looking at the headmistress, waiting for her to start this. It was, after all, her turf.
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:18 am
Once Yue mentioned Elena's odd gait and the possible reasons for it, Zahneel wanted to smack herself between the eyes for not noticing sooner. Though, if she were completely honest with herself, it was hard to feel sorry for the nixie woman. Even if this lady were the rightful ambassador, she was so cold and aloof. Weren't ambassadors supposed to be a little friendly?
Too much to think about. She was as relieved as the rest and watched the two nixies sit. Yes. That tiny sigh of Elena's was a pretty clear indication she was hurting. Silently taking the towels they still had, she headed for the sinks (bless the need to clean sticky, paint covered hands and brushes, she thought) and soaked the towels through again. Carrying one to each nixie, she lingered a little in front of Elena, watching her with thoughtful, sad eyes.
It must be terrible to think the rest of the world was an awful, evil place. Really, it was odd how different Elena and Athena's reactions to the world were. Traders' tales had made Athena willing to take a dangerous risk just to get out and learn. It seemed that those tales had had the opposite effect on the older female. And as she bustled about quietly, glancing to Ava hopefully, a single thought worked it's way up to the forefront of her brain.
She really wanted to meet those traders and belt them one upside the head for giving the nixie race such weird ideas about them.
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