Supernaturalis Academy: Waging War Against Human Hunters [[NoH & Periodical]]

[Nine of Hartz]

-=STAFF Character Profiles=-​

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Malice Mizer

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Professor - Survival Tactics
• Age: 90ish (born before WW2)
• Eyes: Vermillion Red
• Hair: Jet black
• Species: Blood Demon
• Sexual Orientation: Pansexual/Polysexual
• Personal Background:
  • Alona Zielinski led a happy life as a human child with her twin sister and brothers in the late 1920's - early 1930's. Born to Jewish parents living in Poland, life was peaceful until the Nazi party spread across Europe. Taken to a death camp before the age of 10, the girls were separated from their parents and other siblings. Being held for experiments being conducted in the camp, she endured torture from scientists and soldiers, outliving her sister who quickly succumbed to the harsh treatment. When her body was no longer of use, she was tossed into a mass grave. Lying with the bodies of other experiments and her rotting twin, her soul shattered. Wishing for a swift death, the young girl’s pleas were heard by something far worse. A darkness rose from the pile of death beneath her, drying her tears and filling her body with strength fueled by pure malice. As the sun fell and darkness fell across the camp, she emerged from the mass grave permanently changed, walking in the skin of a mortal with the soul of a beast, calling herself Malice Mizer.
  • After roaming Europe for decades and fighting in various world wars, Malice was recruited by the Academy due to her ability to persevere in the worst of circumstances. For the last fifteen years, she has worked as a Professor of Survival Tactics, training young supernatural adults how to survive in a world of humans intent on bringing their demise.
  • Due to her unique ‘conception’, Malice walks a fine line with her appearance. Typically donning the skin of a middle-aged mortal, she appears as normal as the next person aside from her vermillion red eyes, permanently darkened nails, and dagger-like teeth. The various scars from her torture in the concentration camp and bouts in the wars are also a distinctive trait, often hidden by coats or long-sleeved shirts. On her inner left arm, she still bears her concentration camp tattoo, which serves as a permanent reminder of the evil humans are capable of.
• Reference Pictures

Assertive​	Melancholy​	Bestial Demon Form​
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Vera Audrey Hemlock

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Professor - Herbology | School Nurse
• Age: Turned at 22, Approximately 100 years old
• Eyes: Green
• Hair: Ginger
• Species: Vampire
• Background Information:
  • During World War 2, Eleanor Roosevelt urged women to rise up and help with the war. Moonlighting as a pinup model to help her struggling family while in high school, Vera enlisted in the United States Navy when she turned 16, becoming a nurse. Serving in Europe, she saved dozens of soldiers and lost more than she could bear to count.
  • While in a transport convoy, her unit was ambushed. Awakening with several injuries, she used her remaining strength to try and save the soldiers who had survived. As she collapsed from blood loss, a man whispered into her ear: "Your resolve will be rewarded, Little Dove." That was when she felt her head being lifted and the bite on her throat. A bloodied wrist was forced to her lips, and everything grew dark. Awakening in a shallow grave, Vera emerged beside her Sire and has lived as a member of the Hemlock Coven ever since.
  • After increasing hostilities with humans, Vera and the other surviving members of Hemlock Coven were forced to flee to save havens. She found refuge at Supernaturalis and began to work as a nurse, but quickly took on additional duties. She teaches courses on field medicine, herbology, and serves as the coordinator of the blood donor program.

Casual Friday​	Formal Events​	Business Casual​	Field Work​

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-=STUDENT Character Profiles=-​

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Abigail "Abby" Turner

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 19
• Eyes: Blue-Green
• Hair: Blonde/Strawberry/Brown (Susceptible to moods)
• Species: Witch (Unknown elemental alignment)
• Sexual Orientation: Homoflexible
• Familiar: Adonis - Black Hellhound
• Personal Background:
  • At the age of 3, Abby began to suffer from physical ailments. Constantly seeing specialists, she was eventually diagnosed with an unknown autoimmune disease at age 5. Physically struggling to be as active as Dean, Abby lived a more reserved life, turning to books to keep her mind occupied. This led to her becoming the smarter twin.
  • At the age of 13, she walked home from a tutoring session with a classmate. Cornered by a group of boys much older than her, she struggled to defend herself from their attacks. Falling to her hands and knees as they circled her, Abby screamed so loudly it caused everyone's ears to bleed, including her own. A large hound emerged within the alleyway, lunging after the boys and mauling them. Dragging Abby away from danger, the hound spoke his name to her, Adonis. After that day, the large beast has kept watch over her, serving as her familiar.
  • Prior to graduating from middle school, Abby received an acceptance letter to enroll within Supernaturalis Academy. Having not applied, she later learned that Adonis had submitted an application in her name. Earning a full scholarship to the school, she enrolled upon the condition that her twin brother also be accepted.
• Reference Pictures

Starting University 1​	Starting University 2​	After Power Awakening​

Power Manifestation Idea 1: Elemental Awakening​	Power Manifestation Idea 2: Demonic Awakening​

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• Reference Pictures - Adonis

Normal Appearance​	Hellhound Appearance​

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Dean Turner

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 19
• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Blonde
• Species: Doppelganger
• Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
• Alternate Form: Werewolf
• Personal Background:
  • Growing up, Dean's parents always teased him that he was Abby's 'little shadow' without knowing how right they were. Born with the genetic material of both their parents and Abby, Dean emerged as a male infant with XXY chromosomes. While officially diagnosed with Klinefelter syndrome, Dean shows no signs of the disease, his body growing and developing normally like any young man's would.
  • Dean discovered his gift as a Doppelganger during his first sexual experience. After ingesting the semen of his friend, he uncontrollably changed form. After that moment, Dean knew then that he was different than most people. None learned of freak incident, due to the other teen's unwillingness to admit to their homoerotic experimentation. Dean never forgot he was different after that day, and avoided forming close bonds with anyone aside from his sister.
  • He avoided using his power until after Abby was accepted into the Supernaturalis Academy. Requesting Adonis's aid, knowing they were going to be leaving the US, Dean began to strengthen his body to protect his weaker sister. When prepared, Dean consuming the blood of her familiar and suffered through the horrific transformation as the demonic genetic material entered his veins. Taking on a form that resembled a werewolf, Dean revealed himself to Abby only to be shocked by her unconditional acceptance.
  • Dean reluctantly followed Abby to the Supernaturalis Academy, hoping to find a new future for himself. The two remained inseparable during their high school years and plan to remain close now that they are entering the University section of the school.
• Reference Pictures

• Reference Picture - Alternate Forms

Werewolf​	Placeholder​	Placeholder​
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Turner Twin Origin Story​

When Mrs. Turner discovered she was pregnant, she was overjoyed due to struggling to conceive with Mr. Turner. Like any expecting mother, she went to the doctor to verify her baby was healthy. Learning she was carrying a girl, she prepared for the new life about to join their family. After an usually long pregnancy lasting 10 months, she elected to let the baby come naturally rather than forcing the birth with a caesarian. During delivery, complications occurred, forcing her to focus on staying alive rather than embracing her daughter after she was born. The doctors panicked, detecting another heartbeat on the monitor. As Mrs. Turner continued to experience labor pains and contractions for another full hour, she screamed until a baby boy emerged. The doctors were baffled by the second child, having never detected the heartbeat prior to the delivery. Dismissing the second baby as a "hidden twin", the doctors allowed Mrs. Turner to embrace her two babies whom both appeared to be healthy and happy.

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Ryuko "Shade" Kamui

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 21
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Black
• Species: Telekinetic
• Sexual Orientation: Undisclosed
• Favorite Weapons: Sai & Throwing Knives
• Personal Background:
  • Born into a family affiliated with the Inagawa-kai Yakuza, Shade started fighting at the age of 6 so she could defend herself from rival groups.
  • At the age of 14, her telekinetic power manifested when she entered puberty. Unable to understand her powers, Shade's parents consulted the "Big Boss" on what to do with her mental instability. It was then that she was sent to Korea to train at The Institute (a sister school of The Academy). It was there that she adopted her alias "Shade".
  • Her late awakening led to a delay in her enrollment, which caused her to graduate from "high school" three years late.
  • She was accepted at The Academy and has enrolled to refine her skillsets further, with the goal to use her ability to further her standing within the Inagawa-kai Clan.
• Reference Pictures

Casual​	Training​	Formal Wear​

 

[Periodical]

~~Periodical Profiles~~
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~Gwendolyn "Gwen" Wilson~

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 18
• Eyes: Blue
• Hair: Blonde
• Species: Shapeshifter
• Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
• Personal Background:

Gwen is carrying significant amount of trauma with her. At age 4, her mother was killed in a robbery gone terribly wrong. Afterward, she picked up the tiny remnants of her amazing life with mom and moved across country to live with her father. Her father abused her, both physically and sexually which caused Gwen to live in a state of perpetual fear of the man. While Gwen would never tell anyone, she honed her odd talent. She found in moments of extreme emotion, she could change her form. It was little things at first, but the more she practiced the better she got. She still can't hide a birthmark on her shoulder while transforming, but she's getting better and better. Eventually, at age 12, she put together a plan to rid her life of her father, and one evening she did just that. She stole a gun from her good friend's house, changed into someone she saw on television, and waited for her father after work one day. Police described the scene as "an act carried out by pure rage" and the manhunt for some poor soul halfway across the country began. It was then that Gwen was found by Supernaturalis Academy and has been there ever since. She has no where else to go. Gwen covers up her inability to trust people and her extreme insecurities by pulling pranks and joking all of the time. She does have a want/need to be loved, but she hasn't had much success with those in her life outside of Supernaturalis.

Reference Pictures:
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~Isabella Bianchi~

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 18
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Species: Vampire
• Sexual Orientation: Lesbian
• Personal Background:

Isabella comes from a lush and lavish life. She is an heiress to a major fortune and a host of international companies. She has often been in the local limelight, while staying off the grid. She is a spoiled brat who is used to getting whatever she wants. She acts like she is better than most people, because in her mind, she is. There has never been any major roadblocks or obstacles in her life, that is, until one fateful encounter with Malice. If was luck, pure luck. One day, Isabella found herself cornered in an alleyway by a small, local gang of hoodlums. It was clear their intentions were not the best. As she cowered in fear, eyes pressed closed and in a near fetal position, she could hear some commotion. By the time she opened her eyes, her problem had been resolved. From that day forward, Isabella would always be in debt to Malice.

Reference Pictures:

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~Elizabeth Atherton~

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Professor
• Age: Unknown
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Species: Werewolf
• Sexual Orientation: Unknown
• Personal Background:

Prim and proper, not much is known about Professor Atherton. Her history remains a mystery, as do her credentials, but the president of Supernaturalis Academy seems to trust her almost implicitly. What is known about her, is that she is usually quite calm and collected. It is known that the plucky brit is a werewolf, though no one has ever seen her transform, even during full moons. In truth, after murdering her partner many years ago after a transformation. The scariest part was, Elizabeth could tell exactly what was happening, but she couldn't control her body. Elizabeth had to watch in agony, in the best seat in the house, as she tore apart and ate the mangled body of her soul mate. Elizabeth dedicated her life to learning how to control the transformations. She developed a potion that allows her to avoid the transformation during a full moon, and linked her transformation to her emotions. She's been at Superastralis for some time now, and she loves it.

Reference Pictures:

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~Jin Sato~

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Student
• Age: 20
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Black
• Species: Elf
• Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
• Personal Background:

Jin comes from a large colony of elves situated on another continent. He was mistakenly left behind from a family vacation when humans overran their hotel. His parents and siblings were able to make it home, but in the shuffle, Jin was lost. He has had to learn to survive on his own, living on the streets and moving from area to area. Some call him a common thief, others have a much nastier name for him. He is often ashamed of the fact that he is an elf, so much so that he hides any features that may show through. He has the long life span and the slow aging. While his actual age is unknown, he appears and acts like a twenty year old. He finally saved up enough money to apply to the school and was accepted at a fairly young age. He went to Supernaturalis Academy as a high schooler, where he met the Turner twins, and has been inseparable with Dean ever since. He is grateful to the Academy but has developed an unhealthy hate for humans.

Reference Pictures:

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~Duke Rossi~

• Occupation/Role: Supernaturalis Academy Student
• Age: 26
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: Brown
• Species: Warlock
• Sexual Orientation: Straight
• Personal Background: Duke is, in short, a duke of all trades. He is a very quick learner, and aims to extend his craft in whatever means necessary. He has learned to summon familiars at will, and being part demon, he has the ability to read minds when he chooses. From a young age, he found a sacred book which he keeps secret, however, his obsession with the book has caused him to tattoo pictures and runes from the book all over his body. His body is covered in the sacred text, and he often hides his form with long robes. On the side, and in secret, he practices many of the forbidden types of magic. He is a senior at Supernaturalis, though he is fully expecting the head master to hire him to some position given his prowess in many things. He is one of the more promising up and coming warlocks known to Supernaturalis. He is a master potion brewer, and often times experiments in ways that are frowned upon

Reference Picture:

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~TBA~

• Occupation/Role:
• Age:
• Eyes:
• Hair:
• Species:
• Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
• Personal Background:

~TBA~

• Occupation/Role:
• Age:
• Eyes:
• Hair:
• Species:
• Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
• Personal Background:

 

[Nine of Hartz]

True Name: Supernaturalis Academy | Human Alias: Saint Michael's School for the Gifted | Location: Private Island within the Caribbean
Total Staff: 250 | High School Staff: 175 | University Staff: 75
High School Student Population: 364 | University Student Population: 172
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STUDENT DORMITORIES​	PROFESSOR DORMITORIES​

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[Nine of Hartz]

Approaching the microphone on the center stage, the vice president of Supernaturalis Academy smiled brightly. “Good afternoon, students. Welcome to your first day at Supernaturalis Academy!” Clapping firmly as he spoke, the man smiled bright at the sea of students staring back at him. “Now, some of you may know one another from your previous years at our high school, but I can see the new additions out there.” Smiling warmly, the vice president placed his hand over his chest.

“Regardless of whether you are old or new to our Academy, our goal is to create a safe home for each of you so you may develop your supernatural skillsets. Learning how to survive and remain hidden within a world of Humans is critical to our survival.” Pausing momentarily, the vice principal lowered his head mournfully.

“I know our kind have fallen due to the zealous acts committed by Hunting Organizations. Due to this unfortunate reality, the Academy Board of Directors has voted to change our training protocols. Now, all first-year students are to be paired up with their mentors so you can begin survival training immediately.” As the vice principal paused to take a breath, the cluster of students erupted in a swarm of chatter, many looking at each other and reacting to the statement. Raising his hands, the man whistled sharply to stop the chatter in the audience.

“Please, I know this is surprising, but the Board believes it is the best thing for our youngest and most vulnerable adults. You must trust us.” Motioning at the staff waiting outside the section of first year students, the vice principal smiled proudly. “Once this morning’s debriefing is concluded, please approach our staff to be given your assigned placements.”

As the lecture droned on, Professors lay in wait outside of the large auditorium. The booming lecture could be heard through the open windows of the building. Professors clustered around in different places around the building, avoiding the doors when they eventually would open. Scattered about in differing spots, some came together to pass the time with idle conversation. Off in the distance was a sulking woman beneath a tree, unbuttoned the top of her shirt to fan herself.

“Ugh. I hate dealing with first years. They are so squishy...and weak.” Groaning loudly, the fair skinned woman fanned herself more, wiping her pale brow. Her vermillion eyes roamed across the field, staring at the other professors waiting outside the auditorium.

“You were spoiled with the talents of the last batch, Malice. It was high time they left the Academy and ventured out into the world. Before you know it, you will grow fond of these young ones, just as you were with the others.”

“Tch. Shaddup, Old Man.” Shaking her head firmly to the voice within her head, Malice leered at a professor approaching her with a fist full of different colored handkerchiefs.

“Ah, Professor Mizer, I have your flag for you.” Thumbing through the colors, they withdrew a lavender handkerchief. “Your team will make their way out shortly. Be sure to have this clearly visible so they, and your partner, can identify you.” Handing it to Malice, the man flinched as she snatched it from his hand aggressively.

“Yeah, yeah. I read the staff memo.” Speaking with a hiss to her words, Malice stuffed the handkerchief into the pocket of her black jeans. “This isn’t my first rodeo, y’know.”

“Ah, of course.” The man nodded lightly, scooting off toward the next professor waiting to receive their flag.

“Goddamn idiots. Soft and squishy idiots...” Crossing her arms again, she leaned against the tree and returned her gaze to the auditorium. “Why is it so goddamn hot all of a sudden?”

“Because we are on an Island...in the Caribbean...”

“I told you to shaddup!” Grumbling and growling to herself, Malice stiffened spotting a lavender handkerchief in the hand of a professor approaching her. “No way...” Pulling herself away from the tree, Malice instinctively unsheathed one of the karambit knives secured to her belt. “They couldn’t have set us up together...” Twirling the knife anxiously on one of her fingers, Malice narrowed her crimson gaze on the woman approaching. “Well shit...”

 

[Periodical]

The world had changed before their very eyes, and in Elizabeth's humble opinion, they hadn't done enough to prepare for the coming changes. Like almost anything, things began quite slowly. There was a time where their kind and humans lived peacefully amongst one another. A time where a vampire or a werewolf could be a respected and revered member of whatever community they were apart of. The supernatural were always in the minority, but they made up for it with their tact and their strength. As with anything, a few bad apples spoiled the opinion of their kind. One thing lead to another, and the humans made hunting them open season. They had won some battles here and there, but with little organization and little strategy, their kind began to become wiped out. Their numbers dwindled, and what population they had left were forced from their homes and driven into the wastelands. In a world where magic existed and was shunned, those that were most gifted were put on public display. Burned at the stake or worse yet, made into a sideshow. It had taken them years to recover, and those most in the know were unsure if their kind ever would.

Life was much simpler back then. The races never had much for any borders, most could be assimilated into everyday life. Elizabeth herself came from a once respected family. One that served almost as a bridge between humans and everyone else. She had been proud then, though some would still argue she was quite proud, but even their family faced turmoil and death. She remembered it like it was yesterday, looking out from her family's balcony to see her father's most trusted liaison leading a band of mercenaries and townfolk into their grounds armed with pitchforks, torches and worse. Her father was struck down in the courtyard after assuring the family he would smooth things out. Her mother, killed in the foyer, trying to get Elizabeth's little siblings out of the burning mansion with a silver tipped arrow to the back. Humans were such cowards, gathering in numbers and destroying anything they didn't understand.

As much as Elizabeth wanted to turn and fight, she knew it was best for what remained to get out where she could. After travellling in the wilderness, eating rats and whatever else they could get their hands on, they came across a great man, who had an idea to unite their kind, at least to a greater degree than they were. With little other option, Elizabeth accepted the offer to come along.

A roar of applause from the auditorium pulled her from her trance. She had been staring down at her brooch, the Atherton family crest, a symbol of her once great family. She would never forgive the humans for ruining what she once held most dear, but for now, she had little other choice than to sit and wait. She remembered the events of that fateful night like it was yesterday, yet, the years at Supernaturalis Academy seemed to be flying by. She kept up with some of her old students where she could, but it proved tough sometimes. There was always something to do here.

"Elizabeth." The headmaster said as he handed her a lavender handkerchief. "Are you ready for another year?" He said, a large smile growing across his face. Of course, he was met with almost no response from her. Her brown eyes scanning the rest of the professors to see who she had been paired up with. Not everyone had their handkerchiefs yet, and as she shifted her glance back to the headmaster, she could see an identical handkerchief still in the bunch. "Right..." The headmaster said as he nodded farewell and made his way to the rest of the staff.

Taking a brief moment to straighten herself out, smoothing her perfect white blouse and black pencil skirt, and quickly styling her hair into a neat bun, she caught the sight of the handkerchief in the distance. Malice. Of course she was paired up with Malice. Elizabeth didn't mind Malice per say, though the last time they had worked with one another was explosive to say the least. The clearly didn't see eye to eye on most things, and they were both pretty ingrained in their individual ways. Still, Elizabeth wasn't intimidated by her like most of the other professors seemed to be. With one last breath, she embarked, making her way across the field towards her new partner.

"Well." She said as she arrived. "It appears we have the luck of the draw once again this year." Elizabeth said, her voice filled almost with a slight amusement. Her eye followed the spinning blade, yet she made no motion towards the rapier hanging from her hip. "Perhaps this time we can make it through with a full cohort, hm?" She said with a small smile.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Apparently...” Malice continued to twirl the karambit knife on her finger before catching it, avoiding making eye contact with Elizabeth. Holding the blade still for a few moments in her palm, the black-haired woman began to spin it again once Elizabeth mentioned losing their previous student. “You know, about that... It wasn’t your fault.” Catching the blade in her hand again, Malice clenched it tightly as she slouched.

“I failed to teach them to be more aggressive when fighting humans. It’s my fault we didn’t have a full cohort.” Shifting her vermillion eyes up to Elizabeth’s brown ones, Malice locked her gaze with the woman. “I’m going to change that with this batch. Even if I must make them run laps until they pass out. This batch will be more resilient and less...soft and squishy.”

“It was not your fault either, Malice. It was an unwinnable situation, and you should not blame yourself for the loss.”

Flinching uncontrollably as the voice within her head spoke, Malice growled loudly as her pupils tightened into slits. “Ugh! I told you to shut up!” Yelling loudly as she smacked her temple with the round ring of the karambit knife in her hand, Malice yelped lightly from the force of her own strike. Holding her temple, she gave Elizabeth a firm glare before turning her head to hide the embarrassed blush spreading across her pale cheeks.

“And yeah, before you ask, I still have the Old Man rolling around upstairs.” Sighing loudly as she pointed at her head as she continued to avoid looking at Elizabeth, Malice tucked the knife back into her holster. “Man... I am not looking forward to explaining this to them, at all...” Wiping at her brow again, Malice slowly faced Elizabeth and eyed her hair up in the bun. “Now why didn’t I think about that?” Tugging her ebony hair up into a high ponytail, Malice tied it in place. Fanning herself lightly, she stared at the auditorium as students began to emerge from within.

“Here we go...” Standing up straight so she was at her full height. With the boots she wore, she was a few inches shy of six feet in height. Resting her hands upon her hips so she had a more imposing stance, her vermillion eyes drifted over toward Elizabeth. “You’re good cop again this year. You know I can’t pull ‘good’ off without a bottle of schnapps.” Chuckling lightly, Malice grinned with her sharp teeth, looking at the handkerchiefs off in the distance.

 

[Periodical]

The comment while coy gave Elizabeth mich more information than she was searching for already. It was information she was going to be able to use, but perhaps it was far more than she could handle. Her face was stoic as she watched Malice deal with the voice in her head, and she shook her head, offering a reassuring hand to the shoulder.

"What had happened was little more than a freak accident." She said, her voice rather calm. This was her normal demeanor. She was less of a good cop and more of a stable and steady influence. These were kids after all, most of them anyways, and mistakes were going to be made. It was why they were hear, to learn and better themselves to the best of their own individual abilities. Elizabeth could only hope they were all going to make it and be successful, but due to the climate of the current world, Elizabeth knew the hope was unrealistic. That was the thing about Elizabeth, some called her pessimistic, Elizabeth just considered herself as realistic. She wasnt interested in lies.

"Hunters were bound to find us eventually and the fact we only lost one student I think is an accomplishment. If it was truly your fault, you'd have been fired for your indiscretion." She said, realizing that her words likely sounded less reassuring than she had intended them to be. Even as Malice yelped from the force of her own hit and explained she still had a voice in her head, Elizabeth just closed her eyes and bowed her head. "You mean that voice of reason you carry around with you?"

The professor's voice was draped with a heavy British accent. For the most part, it wasnt very noticeable, especially because Elizabeth tried to hide it. If there was one thing she was afraid of, it was someone finding out about her past. She hated talking about herself, and she swore herself to a code of secrecy. Still, when her emotions tended to run high, her accent would return. It tended to be the tell tale sign that something was wrong, ag least in her head.

The doors to the auditorium swung open, and Elizabeth turned to face the students who were flooding out of it. They were lavender this year, and while she was excited to meet their cohort, she hadn't seen anyone appear as of yet. Students were flooding out and meeting their professors and even though it took a moment, Elizabeth finally caught sight of a familiar looking handkerchief

 

[Periodical]

The bearer of the handkerchief In question was one Isabella Bianchi. She had the handkerchief tied around her neck, and she stopped as soon as she found a place where she wouldnt be trampled by the rest of the student body. It only took a moment for her to scan the area and locate the same handkerchief. It appeared her professors were two older women, who almost looked as though they could be sisters or something.

While most students fought tooth and nail, sometimes literally, to get into the Academy, Isabella was almost forced. Her father had pulled some strings with the headmaster to get his little girl into the prestigious academy. After he had found out what had happened to her, and found out what she had become, he couldnt take the risk of potentially losing his precious Isabella. He was one of the few humans who didnt resent the mere existence of their kind. Even before Isabella had turned, he often did what he could to aid vampires, werewolves, and whatever else he could. As far as he was concerned, the almighty dollar was the almighty dollar regardless of where it had come from.

The Bianchis had their grubby little hands 8n many industries across the world. From large power plants to manufacturing anything from children's toys to pharmaceuticals, the Bianchi brand was synonymous with the high life. Isabella had been seen in public, though she doubted anyone around here would know who she was just by looking at her. She viewed the trip to the school as little more than an extended vacation. She wasnt going to learn anything here, and even if she did, she wasnt going to be able to use it. She didnt know why her father didnt just hire her a couple of bodyguards and call it good.

She was dressed for the weather. She wore a hot pink sundress that was a little on the short side and a pair of flimsy sandals that would do almost nothing in terms of actual mobility. Her white and gold purse was hung over her shoulder. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her demeanor was that of a dainty girl, mainly because that's what she considered herself to be. She didnt have any weapons on her person, and a quick search of her purse would lead to nothing as well. Again, this was a vacation for her. She was going to just enjoy life in the Caribbean and call it good.

That was, until her eyes fell upon one of her teachers. The first lady Isabella had seen during check ins, but she certainly recognized the second lady. Rushing over to her, she nearly couldnt help herself as she through her arms around Malice, drawing her into a hug. "I cant believe you are here! You never gave me an opportunity to thank you properly." She said, completely ignoring Elizabeth. "Where did you go?"

 

[Nine of Hartz]

Malice uncontrollably laughed as Elizabeth referred to the voice inside her head as her 'reason'. She quirked her brow at the brunette, leaning toward her slowly as she stared at her face. "You know damn well it's the demon inside me." Playfully flicked the air at Elizabeth, Malice refrained from actually touching her. "Just because I am brasher sounding than he is doesn't mean he's always right, y'know?" Chuckling to herself as she pulled away from Elizabeth, Malice hooked her fingers into her pockets and swayed side to side seeing one student walking toward her.

"Haha! Look, we got a live one." Narrowing her vermillion eyes at the girl in the hot pink dress, Malice leaned closer to Elizabeth again, speaking lowly. "Looks like a squishy one."

"You really are stupid at times, Alona."

Freezing as the voice filled her head, Malice hissed darkly hearing her dead name. Her vermillion eyes automatically went to her bare arm. Due to the heat, the sleeves of her grey button up shirt were rolled up to her elbows, allowing the preserved tattoo on her inner arm be visible. Clawing at her skin as memories of being trapped in a Nazi death camp filled her mind, Malice's attention was diverted as a pair of arms wrapped around her.

Blinking in shock as she was touched, the tall woman began to squirm, trying to pull away. Taking a step back, the girl's scent filled her nose and Malice stopped, looking at the girl holding onto her. "No way..." Lowering her arms to her sides, Malice gently gripped the young woman's shoulders, pushing her back so she could look at her face. Her vermillion eyes darted back and forth, gradually recognizing the girl's features as her scent triggered her memory of the day they met. "Holy shit, you got big..." Spinning Isabella around so she could fully inspect her body, Malice poked and tugged on her as she continued her assessment.

Being so engrossed in Isabella, Malice completely ignored Elizabeth for several moments until she realized she was being watched. Pulling her arms back from Isabella, she quickly crossed them and resumed her imposing stature, her face hardening to hide her genuine curiosity of the girl. "Uh, well, I worked here. So... I had to go back to work?" Speaking with a cool tone, Malice attempted to act nonchalant as she finally responded to Isabella's question. "Really, there's no need to thank me for what I did. Humans were going to hurt you and I couldn't let that happen." Her eyes darting toward Elizabeth hesitantly, wishing she could get a read on the woman's stoic face. That was one thing about the reserved woman Malice struggled with - her calm demeanor. It made Elizabeth harder to read and intimidate, which always left Malice feeling unsure of herself.

"Well, looks like we got our first one..." Motioning from Isabella to Elizabeth a few times, Malice continued to act cool and collected. "That's Elizabeth, the other Professor who will be training you." Catching a glimpse of lavender out of the corner of her eye, Malice straightened her back and stepped forward, allowing her own to be seen. "There's another!" Speaking loudly and pointing as the girl approached them, Malice motioned for Elizabeth to deal with her. Using the momentary distraction to her advantage, Malice turned to face Isabella, whispering so Elizabeth wouldn't hear. "We will talk later, I promise. Just, not here." Giving the girl a firm nod, Malice returned her gaze to the approaching students.

---

-=15 Minutes Earlier=-

"Man, I cannot wait to get out of here. It's way too crowded." Dean spoke lowly as they stood clustered with other first year students, waiting in line to get their issued handkerchiefs.

"You're telling me." Abby spoke softly, her head only coming up to Dean's shoulder. "I can't wait to be outside in the sun. I feel like we've been in this auditorium all day."

"Well, we kinda are." Laughing lightly, Dean helped guide Abby forward through the sea of people, finally reaching a staff member with a clipboard in their hands.

"Name?"

"Abigail and Dean Turner." Speaking firmly to the staffer, Abby pushed her large glasses up her nose. Watching the man nod as he found their names on the list, he handed over two matching handkerchiefs.

"Looks like you two are lucky. You've been assigned to the same team."

"How is this possible?" Abby eyed the matching handkerchiefs, immediately looking to Dean with a puzzled look. "We are specializing in completely different things."

"Yeah, that's noted here." Tapping at the paper with their names, the man read over the notes. "Oh, I see why. Dean's primary mentor is Professor Mizer. Yours is Professor Atherton."

"You can't be serious!" Dean yelled loudly, almost pushing Abby over as he stepped toward the staffer. "Those two got a student killed last year. It was the talk all around campus!"

"Yes, the loss was unfortunate, but as everyone was informed...it was a freak accident. Nothing could have prevented it. If they had been found guilty of neglect, they would have been dismissed, promptly." Waving his hand at Dean and Abby, the man turned to a new student. "You two should scuttle off. There is a line behind you, after all." Dean immediately clenched his jaws at the remark, pushing his way forward again until Abby stopped him.

"He's right. I need fresh air. Let's go outside, Dean."

"Fine..." Wrapping his arm around Abby's shoulders, Dean led his twin sister outside while grumbling beneath his breath. Stuffing her handkerchief into her shirt pocket, Dean continued to grumble as he shoved his into his pants. "This is stupid."

"Stop, you're making things worse." Once out in the sun's rays, Abby smiled with relief, her strawberry blonde hair looking more golden in the bright light. "See? It's already better out here."

"Yeah, sure." Pushing through the crowd of students, the pair eventually reached a clear spot. "Okay, we gotta find the rejects and see how much of a disaster this is going to end up being."

"Don't call them that." Smacking Dean as hard as she could, Abby walked ahead without him. "You're such an ass sometimes."

"Yeah, well you can be a bitch too, y'know!" Huffing loudly, Dean turned back to the sea of students, disappearing as he looked for his best friend to see what handkerchief he ended up with.

"Adonis?" Abby spoke softly, knowing that her familiar would hear her regardless of where she stood. "Come to me?" Walking past the students, Abby's mixed eyes spotted the dark hound darting through the crowd, his unnaturally pointy ears flicking toward her as he spotted her. Barking loudly, the hound ran forward until he was beside her, panting from the heat. Abby automatically pet his head for comfort, pushing the sleeves of the oversized green shirt she wore up to her elbows. "We were paired up with Professor Mizer and Professor Atherton. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes. Off near the trees." Speaking within her mind, Adonis continued to pant as he walked beside her. "There seems to be someone with them."

"You're right." Staring at the two professors and a girl dressed in hot pink, Abby unconsciously tugged at the ends of the green shirt flowing past her sides, the button up fully open and revealing the tank top beneath. Stepping into the shade, Abby withdrew her lavender handkerchief, holding it up for the two older women to see. "Professor Atherton, Professor Mizer, I believe this color matches yours?" Seeing Malice motioning for Elizabeth to handle her, Abby's eyes stared curiously at the foreign girl dressed in hot pink. Turning to face Elizabeth, Abby cleared her throat lightly. "I was told you were my primary mentor, Professor Atherton."

 

[Periodical]

The professor watched as her partner seemed to break character. This was not the reaction she had expected Malice to have in response to a student. Elizabeth could remember many times when Malice would resort to simple threats rather than actually acknowledging what was going on. Still, she seemed to be quite interested in the poorly dressed student, enough so, to force Elizabeth to take note.

Part of the Professor told her to report the fact that the two seemed to know each other. The simple relationship made Eilizabeth a little uneasy. She had seen things like this before and in Elizabeth's experience, it almost always led to trouble. The other part of her, told her to let it go. After all, if anything were to break Malice out of her hard shell, perhaps it was this.

When Malice introduced her, the professor responded with a nod. She ear twitched as she could hear Malice whispering to the student. While she couldnt make out exactly what she was saying, her heightened sense of hearing and smell told Elizabeth another story. Before she could fully process it, she turned towards the new student. Curiously, her eyes watched as the boy she was with disappeared back into the crowd.

"And you must be Ms. Turner." Elizabeth said with a smile. "And your familiar." She said, glancing down at the hellhound. It was quite cute if she did say so herself. Elizabeth normally spent the week before going over the files of all the incoming students. While she didnt know everyone, she at least liked to be somewhat familiar with who they were and their background. "And by process of elimination, that boy must be your brother." She said, simply stating fact. She already knew.

"Well, it's a pleasure to have you." She said with a smile. "You know, I was hoping you'd be in our cohort, and here you are!" Elizabeth said, putting her hand on Abby's shoulder. As a matter of fact, she had wanted to train Abby so bad that she stormed into the Dean's office and demanded that Abby be one of hers. There was just something about her that drew Elizabeth to her, though the professor couldn't possibly put her finger on why. As they spoke, a few more students trickled in, each of them wearing the same, matching lavender handkerchief. Turning, Elizabeth greeted the other students, two more females and a male. They had about five total, and Elizabeth was expecting somewhere around ten. With Dean, they had six. It meant there were four more somewhere in the large mass. Luckily enough for them, the large mass was starting to dissipate.

A few more students would join them, two more males. Around that time, Dean reproached them. He smiled, putting his arm around Abby. "I guess this is us, huh sis?" His voice said with a smile. Elizabeth glanced at the new student. Her eyes narrowed for a brief moment.

"Tell me Dean, how did you get that strange scar in the short time you left and now?" Elizabeth asked, drawing attention to a slim scar down Dean's right eye. It almost looked as though it had been drawn on by a pencil, and it went from the top of Dean's eye down to the middle of his cheek. "Perhaps that had always been there, and even your sister hadn't noticed it?" Elizabeth mused playfully. "Or, perhaps you aren't as flawless in your craft as you perceive yourself to be. Welcome Gwendolyn." Elizabeth said with a smile. She had called most of the students by their full given names, curiously, save for Abby.

Slowly, Dean shifted into a girl with a much smaller stature. His blonde hair turned into brown hair with blonde streaks, tied into two ponytails that draped across her front. His eyes opened up and widened, and his high cheek bones seemed to mellow out a bit. Within a few moments, Dean was gone, and standing next to Abby with her arm draped over the girl, was another student. "For your information, it's impossible to change the birthmark." She said, a little embarrassed she had been caught in the act so quickly.

Professor Atherton shook her head. "Only for those who are inexperienced." She quipped quite quickly.

"Yeah... well..." Gwen said as she struggled to come up with any semblence of a comeback. She knew she had gotten caught, and while it likely seemed like a small joke to the other students, it really had hurt her pride. There was no point in being a shapeshifter if she couldn't do it right. The birthmark across her eye was going to give her away every time. She would be useless and easily sought out.

The professor could see the shift in her demeanor, and shook her head. "Darling. That's why you are here. No one is perfect when they set foot on campus. If you were, you need not be here." Elizabeth said, trying to reassure her new student, though the words seemed to have little effect. Already, the professor was drawing her own conclusions and judgements about the students, and she had already pegged Gwen as a student who was going to take a little more care than the others. The other student she had pegged was Dean. Elizabeth had read his file, and while things seemed to be in order, something seemed off about him. Pessimistic to say the least.

The shapeshifter withdrew her arm from Abby by this point, and had taken a few steps back away from the group. Her eyes trained on the ground, and her arms crossed low under her bust. Her shoulders had drooped, and her posture was quite terrible. It was also clear she hadn't been listening to a word her new professor was saying. That was Gwen. She was bipolar to say the least, though depressed was likely a more fitting word. Professor Atherton could do little about the situation now, and she had to prove she would not tolerate any tomfoolery. At least not on the first day.

By now, Isabella had rejoined the group of students, and Elizabeth took a step back next to Malice.

"Welcome to your cohort. For the next four years, you will be trained and taught by Professor Mizer and myself." She said, addressing the cohort she had in front of her. "If you need anything at all, please, try to use your resources before coming to either one of us. Our job is to teach and train you, not to coddle you. No one will get any preferential treatment" She said, pausing after the last word, unsure if that was even true, though she didn't bother glancing towards Malice. "That being said, welcome to your new family. Professor Mizer." Elizabeth said, taking a step back, and allowing her teammate to chime in with anything she needed to.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Yes, Professor Atherton.” Abby was quick to smile and nod to Elizabeth. Her fingers pushed her glasses back up her nose as she straightened, looking at the taller woman with confidence. “His name is Adonis.” Smiling warmly to her familiar, Abby’s hand gently pet his onyx colored fur, causing the large hound to sit by her side. His ears flicked toward Elizabeth once Abby’s hand pulled back from his head, his ears flicking curiously at her before whining loudly. Abby stared at him curiously, about to speak when Elizabeth mentioned it being a pleasure to have her in the cohort. The compliment made Abby’s face turn pink with embarrassment, her hands immediately folding behind her back as she stood meekly.

“The pleasure is mine, Professor.” Speaking modestly with a hint of shyness, Abby stared up at Elizabeth. “I also hoped to study beneath someone of your stature.”

“Academics...” Malice groaned loudly, drawing the young woman’s attention. Abby’s blue eyes narrowed on Malice, peering above her glasses. Adonis responded in kind, turning his head to stare at Malice as well.

“Mental discipline is not a weakness, Professor Mizer.” Speaking boldly, Abby straightened herself. Malice responded similarly, her frame much more imposing than the Abby due to their height difference. Staring at each other with a heated glare, Abby slowly moved her hand back to Adonis’s head, caressing his smooth fur. “I look forward to studying beneath you as well.”

“You say that now. Wait until I have your running laps.” Laughing loudly, Malice smirked smugly before giving Elizabeth a playful wink. “Ain’t that right, Professor?”

“Laps?” Abby’s face dropped at the threat, the color fading in her face slightly so her freckles stood out more on her cheeks. She parted her lips to pop off a retort when Dean startled her by wrapping his arm around her. Her eyes stared at him curiously before her face furrowed with frustration, still irritated about their spat earlier. As she went to speak, she froze hearing Elizabeth address her brother. Her eyes widened as the imposter changed shape, her body stiffening as she watched in awe.

Adonis was unable to hide his reaction to the change as smoothly, his feet carrying him backward a few steps as he eyed the girl appearing beside Abby. His head moved back and forth, the hair on his ruff prickling upward. Eventually his jaws opened, breathing heavily and sitting back by Abby’s side. She resumed petting him as Elizabeth continued with her conversation, keeping her eyes on Gwen as she stared at the girl in a continued state of shock and awe.

Leaning closer to Gwen as Elizabeth moved closer to Malice, Abby spoke lowly. “What you did, that was incredible. I thought you were my brother.” Giving Gwen a genuine smile, Abby turned back to look at Elizabeth as the real Dean stepped beside Adonis. Shooting him a glare, she reached out to punch his arm, causing Dean to grin smugly at her lack of strength. Standing at attention as Elizabeth spoke, both twins nodded acknowledging before looking toward Malice. The tall woman’s arms were crossed stubbornly, her vermillion eyes darting between each student’s face.

“You heard Professor Atherton. We are not here to coddle you. We are here to teach and train you. That means we expect you to work hard. If you don’t, well, you are running more laps than your comrades.” Lowering her hands to her hips, Malice removed one of her knives and began to spin it on her finger again. “It’s my job to toughen you up and ensure you survive a fight.” Letting her eyes go toward Abby, Malice’s pupils tightened into a narrow slit before drifting to Isabella.

“Even if you aren’t physically tough, you can still kick ass.” Catching the blade in her palm, Malice sank the tip into her left palm, wincing lightly as her blood began to run down her fingers. “If you want to truly be strong, you must find your hidden strength.” Removing the knife from her hand, Malice flexed her bloodied fingers. Her blood immediately began to lift up from her hand into the air, twisting into shimmering wisps defying gravity. “Strength isn’t just brute force - it requires a strong will.” Flinging her hand toward the tree she had been leaning against earlier, the blood wisps flew toward it immediately. The crystalized blood cut into the bark of the tree trunk, shattering upon impact to leave deep gashes visible. “See? No physical strength required.”

Chuckling darkly, Malice looked at her hand as it continued to bleed. She shifted her vermillion eyes to Elizabeth, a twisted grin curling up her lip before turning to face the students once again. Stepping forward, she held her bleeding hand out. “Since we are a ‘family’ now, as Professor Atherton so eloquently pointed out, we need to make it official.” Motioning her hand at the students again as they reacted in shock, Malice’s grin grew to one more sadistic. “Each of you needs to taste my blood. It will let me track you, should something inadvisable happen.”

“Are you serious?” Dean spoke bluntly, shaking his head at Malice. “Isn’t that reckless?” His blue eyes went to Elizabeth immediately, shaking his head in disbelief at the request.

“You can elect to not participate, boy.” Malice spoke venomously, her sharpened teeth somehow becoming longer in her mouth. “All of you can choose not to, but don’t come crying to me when you’re bleeding out in the forest and I can’t find your pathetic asses.”

“Adonis.” Abby spoke firmly, approaching Malice without hesitating. Dipping her fingertips into the pool of blood within Malice’s palm, she extended them to Adonis. The hound immediately licked at the blood until her fingers were clean. Abby smiled softly before taking her other hand, holding it over Malice’s palm. Her eyes rose to lock with the imposing woman, both women exchanging a firm glance. “What side effects will this have on us?”

“Fever, chills, nightmares, nausea, bloodlust, rage, horniness, hallucinations, sedation, enhanced smell...” Malice grinned approvingly at Abby, her eyes glowing brightly. “It all depends on how your body handles demonic blood, little witch.”

“I see.” Dipping her fingers in as Dean tried to stop her, Abby elbowed him hard in the rib so he was forced back. “I am a grown woman, Dean.” Glaring at her brother, Abby smeared the blood over her tongue, licking her fingers clean. Her eyes widened at the surprisingly sweet taste, licking at her fingers more. Dean immediately paled seeing the blood in Abby’s mouth, stepping backward and shaking his head multiple times.

“No way! I’m not doing it...”

“Suit yourself, boy.” Moving her hand to the next student, Malice motioned for volunteers. “Well? Who’s next?”

 

[Periodical]

The interaction between Abby and her colleague struck Elizabeth as being quite odd. For someone so frail, she certainly had quite the brain between those ears of hers. Whereas Elizabeth tended to ignore Malice's brash comments, they seemed to light a fire in young Abby. A sly smile crossed her lips, perhaps Malice was not as intimidating as she made herself out to be. Quietly, she continued to drink in her surroundings, and opened her mouth to speak when Malice mentioned laps. Then again, she surmised, it wouldn't necessarily be the worst thing for some of them. While none of them were grossly overweight, Elizabeth was willing to bet there was one, maybe two students in fighting form.

At her comment, Gwen muttered a soft thanks under her breath, but even Abby's comment didn't hide the shade of embarassment strewn across her face. Of course Professor Atherton has seen through her little charade, but her imperfection certainly made her think twice about changing anytime soon. When Malice stepped up to speak, Gwen could hardly pay attention, stuck in her own head about her own shortcomings.

After Malice showed off her blood magic, some of the students were certainly impressed. Magic was very real, and each student would likely need to grasp it to some degree if they wanted to succeed and survive. Strength and brawn would do little when outnumbered forty to one. It was clearly a tough pill for some students to swallow. A particularly muscular male student shook his head. "No way man, that's disgusting!" He said from the back, the lavender handkerchief standing out like a sore thumb against his black leather clothes.

When Abby stepped forward to taste the blood, the rest of the students and Professor Atherton watched her. Again, Elizabeth's analysis of the young girl was proving more correct the longer she got to watch her, and when she tasted the blood, Elizabeth was hardly surprised. Still, the rest of the students watched Abby with renewed interest. If she could do it, why couldn't they? Many of them wanted to see what was going to happen, of course, but when she seemed fine they each had a decision to make. Already, two students were out, and Jin who had joined to cohort with Dean shared a similar reaction to his friend. Just seeing her ingest someone else's blood was enough to make Jin nearly sick to his stomach.

It was odd, Jin, who in his own right was skilled with daggers and being an assassin hated the sight and smell of blood. Couple that with someone wanting to taste it was enough for him to nearly lose his lunch. His own face paled as well, and he excused himself from the cohort to find a nice, quiet place to vomit.

For a moment, a lull spread among the cohort as they continued to watch Abby. Unsurprisingly enough, the next to step up was Isabella. The caramel colored Goddess stepped forward, meeting eyes with Malice before she took some blood in her own hands. Isabella was clearly drinking in the whole situation, and quite honestly, drinking blood was not something that was particularly new to her. If Malice wanted to know where she was, Isabella would be more than happy to give her that power. She felt indebted to the Professor, in more ways than anyone else could know. If it weren't for Malice, she probably wouldn't be standing here.

Licking the blood off of her finger, Isabella had to admit that the blood tasted much differently than the blood she was used to drinking, though she couldn't put her finger. It wasn't bitter or spicy, no, and while it had a hint of sweetness, it wasn't enough for her to actually consider it sweet. It was almost intoxicating for Isabella though, and she felt more connected than ever. A few other students stepped forward, another male and another female, but the four seemed to be Malice's only hits. In the back, Gwen broke her odd trance just enough to watch the weird ritual before determining she didn't want any part of it.

"As a cohort, our dorm will be Rosary Pea. Your rooms have already been assigned. You are free to roam the campus as you like. Curfew is 10 PM. Classes will begin tomorrow. As freshman, you will take all of your classes together as our cohort. As you get older, there will be some variation available, but your core classes will remain mostly the same." She said, before she stopped. "One last warning, you are free to roam the island and have your freedom, but make sure you are able to live with your choices." She said, almost in an ominous tone. "You are dismissed." She said, leaving the students to their own devices before glancing towards Malice.

"Should be fun." With those parting words, Elizabeth sauntered off to mingle with some of the other professors, walking past Jin who had regained some of the color on his face.

As he made his way to Abby, he smiled a toothy grin, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You've got some balls kid." He said, standing with the twins. He had known them for the longest, and as many people do, he tended to gravitate towards those he knew.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

"Balls?" Abby stared at Jin and raised her brows, crossing her arms. “I don’t have balls, Jin. I have ovaries, and tits.” Smirking as she squeezed her breasts, Abby laughed seeing Dean shake his head and cover his eyes.

“Jesus Christ, Abby!”

“What? Afraid I look hotter than you?” Laughing lightly, Abby tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear, pushing her glasses up at the same time. “And, you know, it wasn’t what I was expecting. It tasted nothing like it should have. It was...sweet?” Shrugging lightly, Abby leaned into Jin’s side, tugging at his shirt. “Are you feeling alright? I can go with you to the nurse’s office if you need some stomach medicine.”

“Sheesh, Abby. He’s fine.” Dean spoke roughly, crossing his arms as he glared at her as she leaned against Jin. The tips of his ears turned red with frustration and embarrassment, his tell that he was jealous that someone was getting closer to Jin. Abby immediately recognized the sign, pulling away from Jin’s side so Dean would relax.

“You don’t have to be such an ass, Dean.”

“Yeah, sure Abby.” Ruffling up his sister’s hair, Dean laughed watching her attempt to fix it. “We might want to run off and claim our rooms before someone else gets there.” Looking at the others students with lavender handkerchiefs, Dean stepped closer to Jin. “We don’t know what they will be like, after all.”

“Everything seems to have changed this year.” Speaking softly, Abby turned to look over at Gwen and the other students curiously. “Why didn’t they tell us we were moving dorms?”

“They probably moved our stuff for us with magic.”

“I will go check.” Pulling away from Dean and Jin, Abby walked with Adonis by her side, leaving the group of students. Walking with a steady step, Abby let her loose shirt flow behind her as she crossed the lawn. She shifted her blue eyes to where Elizabeth had walked off too, watching her talk to professors. Purposely keeping her distance from the woman, Abby gripped Adonis’s ruff as a shiver coursed through her body like electricity. Uncontrollably gasping, she fell to one knee. Pressing her hand to her chest, Abby felt her heartrate begin to increase.

“It must be the side effects, Abigail.” Adonis quickly pressed his cool nose to her cheek, whining loudly. “Can you breathe?”

“Yes.” Inhaling slowly, Abby rose to her feet and dusted her knee off, tugging at her shorts. “Come on.” Walking forward again, Abby kept her fingertips pressed to the side of her throat as she took her pulse. Her heartrate remained elevated, her body feeling warmer in a way that wasn’t from the sun. “Fever...”

“It is similar to when we joined.”

“I know.” Blinking firmly, Abby pushed her glasses up her nose as she passed the group of professors talking. “I knew what I was getting into when I tasted Professor Mizer’s blood. She is a demon.”

“And you are a witch. Demons are an integral part of your craft.”

“I know.” Biting the inside of her lip, Abby continued to walk toward her old dormitory in the high school area of campus. “Maybe being paired up with a demon professor will help my craft awaken, finally...”

“Perhaps.”

---

Malice answered questions of those who had approached her. Standing stiffly while her hand still bled, she answered each question with a quick retort to try and dissuade a full on conversation from beginning. As the questions failed to stop, she held up her hand, some of her blood running down toward her elbow. “Listen, we will answer more once classes start. I would suggest going off to your rooms for now or loiter around on the lawn.” Shooing the students off, Malice began to walk away from the group. Passing Gwen, Malice’s vermillion eyes stared at the girl, recognizing the expression on her face. As she passed the girl, Malice used her clean hand to lift her chin up, bringing their gazes together for a moment.

“I see you. Do not give up on yourself, not yet.” Squeezing Gwen’s chin as she spoke with a tender tone, Malice pulled away from the girl and resumed her strut through the group of students. Turning her head toward Isabella, Malice jerked her head to the side so she would follow along. “Miss Bianchi, come with me. I need to resolve an error with your registration paperwork.” Her voice was back to being firm and snappy, not waiting for the young woman. Walking straight toward the Rosary Pea dormitories, Malice ignored the professors and students staring at her bleeding hand, leaving a trail of red drops behind her.

Once out of earshot of everyone, Malice turned her head down to look at Isabella. “We have to be careful here. Something you learn when you get to be my age is that there are enemies everywhere.” Her voice had softened again, motioning for the young woman to follow her along a path that led into a small forest beside the dormitories. “Humans have brought many species together to work in harmony at this school, but those rivalries are still present with some of the residents of this school.” Standing in a dark area of shade, Malice collapsed happily on her rear, crossing her legs.

“I hate this goddamn heat. I don’t know how you can tolerate it.” Tugging at her shirt, she immediately began to undo the buttons. Pulling it off with care to not get blood on it, she dropped it on the grass beside her, sitting with just her bralette covering her chest. Leaning against the tree she was beneath, Malice closed her eyes and panted heavily as she tried to cool down. With the shirt gone, her scarred body was fully visible to Isabella. Claw marks ran down her throat, various stabbing scars across her ribs and belly, and black twisted scar poked out from between her breasts from where the demon had merged with her as a girl.

Slowly peeling one of her eyes open, Malice’s eye locked on Isabella. Raising her bleeding hand to the girl, Malice motioned at her. “You should feed from me. It will reinforce our link.” Continuing to pant from the heat, Malice dabbed at her chest with her shirt so she would be less sweaty when Isabella touched her. “By the way... How did you end up here?” Opening her other eye, Malice remained still so Isabella could take her hand if she chose to. “I thought you returned to your human family to live a human life? I’m honestly surprised to see you here.” Eying the hot pink dress and sandals the girl wore, Malice’s gaze eventually returned to the girl’s face. “You’re clearly not dressed for training...”

 

[Periodical]

At her reaction, Jin almost looked lost. The look on his face was that of sheer confusion. How could she not quite understand? It was a common phrase, right? "Balls... like." He said, almost completely at a loss for words. "Like.. you have guts." He said finally after finding the perfect word to explain it. His explanation was lost by the twins bickering and Abby's generous offer to take him to the nurse's office. He had figured by now that most of the color had returned to his face, but perhaps he was mistaken.

The elf was about to open his mouth to decline the offer, but another exchange between the twins nearly caused Jin to back off. He knew how Dean got sometimes, and he wouldn't be caught dead on Dean's bad side. With the doppleganger, things mostly went one way it seemed. He could dish out a joke, but he always took jokes coming his way a little too seriously. The conversation turned towards the dorms, and he shrugged as well.

"I bet the dorms are nicer than those God awful high school ones." He said, thinking back. The high school dorms at Supernaturalis were little more than barracks. They seemed as though they were just rows upon rows of bunk beds. There weren't many students Jin could think of that didn't attend college at Supernaturalis. After all, the grade level a person had to maintain just to continue going to the school would have put them at the top of the class at almost any other high school when compared to other students. Add in the fact that the high school teachers seemed a lot stricter, made for quite the academic experience.

As Abby sauntered off, Jin glanced towards Dean. "You should really cut her a break you know. She hasn't exactly had the easiest go of things." He said, figuring his friend would accuse him of going soft.

---

Across the lawn, Professor Elizabeth was mid conversation when she saw her new favorite pupil cross the lawn and drop to one knee. Almost no one else seemed to notice, and while Elizabeth had, she was curious as to what would transpire. It had been quite odd that the demon blood had taken so long to take effect. Out of the other students who had tasted it, Isabella seemed perfectly fine which was quite normal, but the other two had already disappeared to the nurse's office. Demon blood was no joke, and while Elizabeth found herself using it almost as a drug sometimes, she was well experienced in handling it's side effects.

Excusing herself from the conversation, Elizabeth made her way towards Abby. Her small and dainty hand found Abby's shoulder. "You should probably rest." She said slowly. "Malice's blood can have quite the effect on young and inexperienced witch's." She said before she began to lead Abby towards the dorms with a light but commanding touch. "Let me help you to your room."

---

The shapeshifter was stuck in her own world, she had hardly noticed everyone else around her had almost fully dispersed. What did catch her by surprise was Malice approaching her, and the tone she took with her. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words got caught in her throat. Eventually, she was able to squeak out a "Yes Professor." Before she watched as the girl in the hot pink sun dress and her new professor sauntered off. She figured she needed to get ahold of herself. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she was making it out to be? Turning, she made her way towards the tall asian elf and the only other doppleganger. Approaching awkwardly, she put on a smile, though she wasn't sure if she even believed it. "I saw your guys' handkerchiefs." She said, motioned to her matching one tied up in her hair. "My name is Gwen."

She wasn't sure what they were talking about, but she seemed to be interrupting something. "I'm sorry for butting in, I." She said with a pause. "I just figured I'd introduce myself since we are supposed to be family now." Glancing towards Dean, she got straight to the point. "You are a doppleganger, right?" She asked him slowly. "I always wondered what makes us different." With that, she began to shift form once again. After a few moments, there was another nearly exact copy of Dean standing with them, save for her trademark birthmark.

---

The girl nodded. Her legs moved as fast as they could, and even then they struggled to keep up with the stride of Professor Malice. "But. But Professor. My father ensured the paperwork was filled out correctly." She said as she trailed behind. She walked as quickly as she could until the Professor mercilessly stopped. She was about to open her mouth and inquire about how they were going to make the corrections here, before she heard what Malice was saying. "Who?" She asked, looking back towards the lawn. While no one could hear them and likely see them now, Isabella was on edge. When she mentioned the heat, Isabella just shrugged. Ever since she was a girl, she liked things a little bit hotter. While the heat didn't bother her, the humidity most certainly did. Pulling a Bianchi crested handkerchief, she dabbed at her own forehead before offering it to Malice.

It took Isabella a moment when Malice took off her shirt. Reaching out, she ran her fingers along some of the Professor's scars. Isabella had never been one for physical barriers. Her eyes snapped from the scars to Malice's face for a brief moment. "Father thought I should get some real training." She said before Malice mentioned her dress. "I.." She said trailing off a little bit. "I like to look cute." She said, though it probably wasn't the answer her professor and savior was likely looking for.

Taking Malice's bleeding hand in both of hers, she brought it to her lips. "How much should I take? I don't want to hurt you." She said, looking from her bleeding hand and back at her face. She figured Malice would tell her when to stop. Opening her mouth, she bit down on Malice's wrist, letting the warm blood run over her tongue. Her eyes seemed to almost glaze over as she began to drink from her professor. Malice didn't have to tell her twice.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Abby knew what you meant. She said that shit on purpose to get under my skin.” Crossing his arms, he shook his head lightly. “Maybe she’s PMSing again. Though, she has been moody all summer long...” Shifting his blue eyes to Jin, Dean shrugged as he thought. “I don’t know what’s going on with her. Maybe it’s some kind of ‘witch’ thing.” Pausing for a few moments, Dean looked up at the sun, pushing his hair back from his face. “Look, Abby can handle whatever it is. Just because she won’t tell me doesn’t mean she’s not fine. Unless you know what’s going on with her.” Eying Jin curiously for a moment, Dean shook his head nonchalantly. “Nah. You probably have no idea either.”

Turning to look toward the group of students still loitering around, Dean smirked confidently. “Listen, you can’t go soft on Abby or anyone else, not now. We just got into Supernaturalis’ college. We all have to step up our game, especially once we start getting real missions.” Dean eyed his best friend, gently clapping him on the shoulder. “Aside from Professor Mizer, you’re the toughest person in our whole cohort. You have a reputation to uphold!” Smirking playfully, Dean gently jabbed Jin’s side with his elbow. “I’m going to have to train extra hard to keep up with you two.”

Laughing lightly, the blonde pushed his hair back on his head, spotting the foreign girl approaching them. His blue eyes immediately looked her over from head to toe, his gaze landing on her eyes. As she spoke her name, he smiled lightly. “I’m Dean. This is Jin.” Motioning at the elf, Dean hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his pants as the girls apologized for butting in. “It’s fine. You’re right, we are all ‘family’ now. Might as well get acquainted.”

As Gwen changed, Dean stepped back in shock seeing a mirror image of himself appearing before him. “No way!” Yelling in disbelief, he touched his face before touching Gwen’s identical one. He noticed the scar across her eye, gently touching it. “Oh, that’s interesting. It stays with you?” Releasing Gwen’s face, Dean adjusted his shirt and closed his eyes. His body immediately morphed into Abby. Blinking curiously, Dean gawked at Gwen realizing how tall he seemed to Abby. “Jesus! I didn’t realize she was so damn short.” Speaking in Abby’s voice, Dean looked at his changed body then Gwen’s. Closing his eyes as his form reverted, Dean adjusted his shirt and made sure his clothes still fit him correctly.

“You asked what makes us different. Well, I can’t become anything or anyone I see. I have to consume their genetic material to be able to change.” Looking at his hands, his expression seemed to become sadder. “I am limited to my form, Abby’s, our parents, and a hound-like form I obtained after consuming Adonis’s blood. I haven’t tried to become anyone else. That’s why I refused Professor Mizer’s blood. I know I can’t duplicate Adonis’s form perfectly because he’s a demon. Who knows what I would turn into if I tried to copy Professor Mizer.” Dean lightly shivered, his mind immediately going to a variety of demonic creatures.

---

Abby continued across the lawn as she headed toward the older dorms, her fever causing her senses to be overwhelmed easily. Adonis’s ear flicked toward Elizabeth as she approached, the hound’s head turning. Panting at the approaching Professor, Adonis whined as he tried to stop Abby but failed. The strawberry blonde didn’t stir until Elizabeth touched her shoulder, causing her to jerk to the side. Her blue eyes had fear in them from being startled as she met Elizabeth’s brown gaze.

“Professor!?” She blurted the words out uncontrollably, averting her gaze in embarrassment as she turned red. “S-Sorry! You startled me...” As she was directed toward the new dorms, Abby protested lightly. Trying to go to the old dorms, she found herself unable to pull away from Elizabeth’s gentle yet firm grip. She furrowed her brows, her physical inability infuriating her and causing her to lightly punch herself in the thigh.

“I was trying to go to the old dorms to make sure our things weren’t still there...” There was a stubborn note to her voice as she spoke. Pushing her glasses up her nose because they were constantly slipping down, she sighed loudly. Allowing Elizabeth to continue directing her to the new dorms, Abby continued to hold onto Adonis’s ruff. “I suppose you already knew that they moved our things to the new dorms, huh?” Shifting her blue eyes back to Elizabeth, Abby continued to walk beside her, swaying slightly as the fever made her head spin. “Did they do it while we were in the assembly?”

It took a few moments for Elizabeth’s remark about Malice’s blood to register in her mind. Abby squeezed her free hand tightly, so her nails pressed into her palm. “I knew what I was doing...” Speaking stubbornly, she shifted her blue eyes to Elizabeth, pointing at her chest. “Just because I’m the weakest member of our cohort doesn’t mean I’m not smart. I’ll prove that I can be useful if I have to.” Her word were growing bolder, her defiance born from years of being inferior to her classmates, but that wasn’t all there was to her voice. The haziness in her eyes and elevated temperature were tell tale signs that the side effects of the demonic blood were just getting started...pushing her current mood to be more brash and bold like Malice.

---

“Your father, huh?” Shifting her gaze to Isabella, Malice watched the girl touching her scars. She wasn’t ashamed of her ‘trophies’ but she had made a habit of trying to stay covered up after multiple staff complained about her showing off too much skin during training sessions. Her shorts and bralettes had been upgraded to work out pants and tank tops, which seemed to suffice for the time being. The last thing she needed was more paperwork to fill out. “Well, at least he has enough sense to know you need training.”

Closing her eyes again, Malice rested beneath the tree as Isabella took her wrist. “With time, you will realize who your allies are and who will stab you in the back when you’re not looking. Watch yourself around those you don’t trust and keep an eye on those trying to come into your life. That will help you determine who is and is not a threat. Trust your instincts or follow my lead if you’re really unsure. It’s Elizabeth and I’s duty to keep an eye on you lot, so it’s also up to us to figure out who may be out to start something.”

The teeth sinking into her wrist caused Malice to wince lightly, but she bit back any verbal sign of discomfort. She was quite accustomed to pain from training and fighting but being bitten was an experience she hadn’t been too actively pursuing. Supernaturalis Academy was well equipped with blood dolls and willing donors to feed the undead, so she had grown accustomed to the luxury of being well fed and not having to suffer from her blood thirst.

“You will know when to stop yourself. You will feel full.” Malice continued to keep her eyes closed to show her confidence in the young woman. As Isabella continued to drink from her wrist, Malice smirked as her body finally began to cool off. “There are blood dolls and donors at the school. I would advise remaining well fed. It will help your strength increase so you can defend yourself.” Opening her vermillion eyes, she shifted them toward Isabella. “You should study Elizabeth. She acts refined and proper, but she’s a force to be reckoned with once crossed. You could use that to your advantage, given your desire to retain a ‘cute’ appearance.” Laughing lightly, she looked down at herself, poking at a large scar on her ribs. “Not everyone can manage being a brute like me.”

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Kuso! I’m going to be sick again...” Leaning over the bed in the infirmary, Shade grabbed the bucket that had been left for her, dry heaving as nothing came out of her body. “Maybe not...” Groaning as she lowered the bucket, she collapsed on the sterile looking bed. Squirming as her body ached, she thrashed lightly before rolling over onto her side. “Why the hell did we do this?” Her strained eyes drifted to the other student squirming on a bed beside hers who had also tasted Professor Mizer’s blood.

“They say the first time you ingest demonic blood is the hardest.” Vera smiled reassuring at Shade, approaching her swiftly with a damp rag. Handing another to the other ill student, she pressed her cool hand to Shade’s forehead. “You still have a fever. I fear you may have to ride this out.”

“There’s nothing you can do?” Shade’s eyes widened, staring at the red-haired woman with an angered look.

“I’m afraid not. Most of the medicine here will temporarily dull the pain. And by temporary, I mean a few minutes, possibly an hour.” Reaching her pale hand to shade, Vera felt her pulse while listening to the irregularity of her heartbeat. “You seem to be metabolizing it faster than most. I suspect the sickness will subside within a few hours.”

“Then I will be fine?”

“I imagine so. I doubt Professor Mizer would be turning all of you into her childer.”

“Childer?” Shade stared at Vera, shivering on the bed as she suddenly felt cold. “Did you mean children?”

“In a way, yes.” Smirking lightly, Vera pulled a blanket over Shade’s legs. “Childe is a term to refer to a newly created vampire.”

“You mean that woman was a vampire!?” Shade felt overwhelmed with nausea again, reaching for the bucket as she dry heaved. Vera simply sighed, rubbing the young woman’s back as she failed to puke.

“No, Professor Mizer is not a vampire. She is some type of demon, from what I am told.” Her green eyes drifted to the other student in her care, watching them groan in a delusional state.

“You mean you don’t know?” Shade pulled away from the bucket, rolling over to face Vera as she hugged the blanket to her chest.

“No, I’m afraid not.” Folding her hands together, Vera frowned lightly. “There were many things that happened during the war that were unexplainable.”

“The war?”

“Yes, the Second World War.” As Vera spoke, Shade immediately froze, nodding and averting her gaze. Vera immediately recognized the discomfort in the girl’s face, touching her arm reassuringly. “I promise you, those times were long ago. I hold no grudge against any people descended from the Axis countries.” Smiling at Shade again, Vera turned hearing the other student starting to yell out something. “Excuse me.” Darting to the other student’s bedside, Vera began to restrain them as other nurses came to assist. Shade remained on her bed, watching curiously as a witch came to calm the student’s mind, putting them back into a slumber.

“Incredible.” Her brown eyes shifted to the large windows overlooking the lawn outside, using the pillow to prop her head up. “Seems like there are many creatures here I can observe.”

 

[Periodical]

"Agreed" Jin ceded as he listened to the wise words of his best friend. "But they aren't going to send us on a mission in our first year, right? Right?" He asked, a little unsettled that neither really knew what they were getting themselves into. He knew Supernaturalis liked to trained their students but he was unsure how. Anyone he had known who had transitioned from the high school to the college didn't like to speak about anything they did. It was almost as though they had changed. All he knew was that professors follow their cohorts until graduation, then they take on the next freshman cohort. Professors were there for their full time in the college. Of course, they would have classes with other professors, but Professor Mizer and Professor Atherton were going to be there with them for the long haul.

When Dean began to clap his shoulder and tell him he was the toughest, Jin shook his head. "Maybe Abby was right, you are a dickhead." He said, playfully pushing his best friend away. Before he could escalate things any further, they were met by a new girl who introduced herself as Gwen. She seemed to have much more in common with Dean than he would have thought. When he was introduced, he nodded at her. His eyes went wide when he saw a near exact copy of Dean standing next to the real thing.

When Dean touched her face and ran his finger along her scar, Gwen pulled back a little bit. It didn't hurt, but she wasn't exactly the biggest fan of her only imperfection. Jin looked back and forth between the two between Dean changed into his sister. As Dean explained the main differences between them, Gwen changed back into her much smaller, normal feminine form. As they spoke, Jin's stomach let out a loud grumble. "Whelp, I'm starving." Jin said, looking towards Gwen and then to Dean.

"Let's go grab a bite to eat from the mess hall." Mess hall had become his nickname for the cafeteria when they were in high school. Back then, it seemed like they were served gruel, slop, and other disgusting combinations of the two. He only hoped the food on the University side was much better. "Did you want to come with us Gwen?" He asked quirking his brow.

The invitation seemed to brighten Gwen's day. Her face lit up and a smile grew across her face. "Really? I mean, I would love to but I don't want to intrude." She could feel herself start to ramble, but luckily enough Jin raised his hand.

"We are family remember. Of course you are welcome." He said, throwing one arm around Dean's shoulder and the other around Gwen's before setting off towards the campus. He didn't know exactly where the cafeteria building was, but he imagined they would find it eventually.

--

Even as Abby jerked away, the Professor's stature remained stoic. She liked meeting the new freshman and she liked getting to know them and watching them grow up before her very eyes. She had taken such an interest in Abby because no one knew what she was capable of at this time. In Elizabeth's experience, those students tended to be the most volatile when they realized exactly what they could do. Of course, every student had their own place, but Elizabeth had a mind that was always working. She was one of, if not the most analytical Professor at Supernaturalis. She was always trying to think at least three steps ahead, and she had gotten quite adept at predicting what people were going to do. With Abby, however, she was unable to get a good read on the student, and that was what made the young woman so particularly interesting to the Professor.

"Of course" She said, her calm voice unwaivering as she took note of the stubbornness in Abby's voice. "I think they moved them right after the assembly started, yes." She said with a smile. "Don't worry, all of your stuff will be there. I oversaw the transition myself. I don't have any desire for any personal effects you may have." At Abby's outburst, Elizabeth stopped and looked at Abby out of the side of her eye. All the Professor could do was to smirk at the outburst of pure emotion. Often times, emotions were the most telling feature about someone. A person could have a good "poker face" and hide much about what they were thinking, but an outburst of emotion was often times candid and uncontrolled.

"And just what exactly are you trying to prove?" Elizabeth asked, challenging her new student. "Or, what are you trying to convince yourself of? I never once said anything or eluded to your strength relative to your cohort. Neither did Professor Mizer. Besides, you don't even know where you stand in relation to any of them besides perhaps your brother and his friend." Elizabeth said. She didn't mind the fact that she was pushing Abby a little harder than she would have most students on the first day. As far as Elizabeth was concerned, Abby was pushing herself. "You have to have some intellegence, otherwise you wouldn't have been accepted into the University." Elizabeth continued.

Stopping when they were closer to the actual campus and away from the rest of the freshman and professors in the field, she turned to look at Abby. "If you don't believe you belong, you are more than welcome to drop out. Many before you have. It's not shameful. Otherwise, you need to convince yourself that you deserve to be here. No one else is going to do it for you." She said finally. "It's a decision you should make once you have calmed down a little bit." The professor met eyes and held Abby's gaze before continuing. "I'm not interested in teaching you or anyone else that is on the fence about where they stand. Either you know where you stand or you are looking for compliments to convince yourself."

----

The vampiress had closed her eyes as she drank from her Professor's wrist. After a few moments, she released her bite on Malice's wrist. Her pupils had dilated just a little bit, and her brown eyes flashed a shade of crimson before returning to their normal color. Using her tongue, she wiped up a little droplet of blood. At the mention of blood dolls and donors, Isabella was almost a little bit upset. She liked hunting humans, and she liked feeding from them fresh. A blood doll or a donor almost took a little bit of the thrill out of feeding.

What Isabella had told Malice wasn't exactly a lie. Her father had sent her here in hopes to train her so she could exist in the humans' world. What she hadn't told Malice of, was the string of missing young women that popped up in her hometown. Isabella had a few bad habits, but her worst by far was going out to a night club, dressed in a usually very sparkly and skimpy dress, finding the most beautiful girl she could get her hands on, and taking her home. The next morning, her butler would find a naked woman in Isabella's room, usually drained of their blood. The first few times, her family had been able to cover for her and no one ever suspected anything. After a month or so, the general public knew they had a vampire in their midst. Isabella had been sent away for training and her own safety.

"You aren't a brute." Isabella said, looking down at her professor. "I think you are very pretty." She said with a smile. She owed everything to Malice, and in many ways worshipped the very ground the Professor walked on. "I'm very happy I ended up in your cohort." Isabella said, offering the professor a wholesome smile.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

Jin’s stomach growling immediately made Dean’s respond in kind, the blonde grinning happily to the idea of going to the mess hall. “I’m hungry too. Those assemblies are way too long man...” When Jin offered to have Gwen join them, Dean nodded eagerly, his eyes uncontrollably drawn to the scar on her eye. When she expressed discomfort of intruding, he smirked playfully. Watching Jin offer her his hand, he nodded in agreement as he referred to them being ‘family’.

“You know, Jin may not be considered the ‘talkative type’ of person, but he’s right when he does speak up.” Chuckling lightly as he was pulled in closer to Jin, Dean flashed Gwen a reassuring smile. “We are a cohort now, which is like a big family. Hell, for all we know, we are going to be in barracks like the last ones.” Laughing nervously, Dean shot Gwen a firm glance. “They were really shitty. We lived on bunk beds an they crammed at least four of us together in a room. No privacy what-so-ever.”

Walking together like they’d known each other years, Dean instinctively pulled on Jin to guide them to a different set of buildings closer to their new dorms. “Our new mess hall is going to be close to our new barracks. Now that I do remember from the assembly!” Laughing under his breath, Dean looked to Jin then Gwen. “I sure hope the food is better. I could really go for some steak right now.” Rubbing his stomach as it growled, Dean’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Hey, Gwen! What do you like to do for fun when we aren’t training?” Pointing at himself, Dean grinned like a typical teenaged boy. “I really like action movies and have a ton. I know Abby doesn’t like them very much, and says they aren’t really a girl’s thing to like, but... Well... If you’re into that sort of thing, we can always do a weekend movie marathon and you can join us.”

---

Abby had been floored hearing the remark come from Elizabeth’s lips, but her fever-induced state was unable to process the remark logically. Instead, she reacted instinctively with a knee jerk quip. “I never tried to accuse you of stealing!” She whined loudly with an irritated tone to her voice, gritting her teeth lightly. A thin layer of sweat was forming on her brow as her temperature continued to climb from the fever. Looking up at Elizabeth, Abby’s eyes were a mix of fear and anger from the remark. “Obviously you’re too nice to do such a shady thing!” Blurting out again, Abby shook her head angrily and looked to the ground, walking forward with a wider stride to show her frustration.

As they continued to walk together and Elizabeth questioned what she was trying to prove, Abby’s irritation quickly died. With each new thing the taller woman said, Abby felt a growing sense of insecurity building within her stomach. Elizabeth seemed to see right through her in that moment, pinpointing that deep down she worried she didn’t deserve to be placed in a cohort. Biting back tears, Abby tried to not cry as a cold wave of shame washed over her, keeping her head down to try and hide her face.

Adonis, being shorter than both women, continued to look back and forth between them as they walked. Occasionally he would whine between his pants, his tall ears adjusting their stances as he listened to the conversation. When Abby began to cry, he instinctively pressed against her as they walked. It was clear from the expression in his eyes that he was worried about the girl as she suffered through the after-effects of ingesting new demonic blood.

Remaining silent until Elizabeth stopped close to the campus, Abby wiped her face to dry what tears had escaped her eyes. Hearing the words ‘more than welcome to drop out’ hit her like a bag of bricks. Her blue eyes trembled as she felt shame and rage boiling deep within her. Clenching her fists tightly, she shot Elizabeth a bold glare. “I won’t drop out!” Pointing at Elizabeth, Abby stood as tall as she could, refusing to back down. “Sure, I feel insecure sometimes. I’m sure you do too. It’s part of being alive.” Lowering her hand, she continued to stare at Elizabeth. “You’re right, no one is going to convince me I deserve to be here. I have to do it myself and I will.” Inhaling deeply, Abby opened her mouth to continue speaking before she froze. Gripping the side of her head as she winced, she reached for Adonis to steady herself. Once the pain passed, her hand released Adonis and reached for Elizabeth.

“Professor, can you help me get to my new dorm?” Speaking in a calm and rational tone that was more like her typical self, Abby eyed Elizabeth as her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. “I think it would be best for me to lay down while I continue to experience these side effects, so I don’t humiliate myself in front of anyone else.”

---

As Isabella licked at her wrist, Malice smirked lightly as it tickled. She forced herself to remain still until her hand was released, looking at the dainty puncture marks. Her vermillion eyes glowed as she stared at the marks, watching them immediately heal over. Shifting her gaze to Isabella as she was called pretty, Malice tilted her head in curiosity. Watching the girl clad in pink for several silent moments, she slowly broke her gaze to look at her bloodied hand.

“I see.” Her response was short on purpose, not wanting to discuss the thoughts rolling around in her head. Holding her hand to her face, Malice began to lick at the dried blood on her skin, cleaning herself up. Her tongue worked expertly, rubbing the blood and leaving no trace of it behind. Licking directly over the cut she had made, Malice paused once the scab was visible to Isabella. “If you remain well fed, you can heal yourself rapidly.” Lowering her palm so the girl could see, Malice healed the injury within seconds, keeping her eyes on the girl’s face. “This is an important skill to have, but it will expel some of the blood you have consumed. This is why you must remain well fed.”

Pushing herself up from the ground, Malice grabbed her shirt. Shaking it out to get grass off it, she pulled it over her arms but left it open. “We are a little different, you and I, in how our power manifested itself. But, I am glad to see you in my cohort as well.” Looking at Isabella, Malice reached her hand out to help pull the girl to her feet. “There are vampires here that can help answer those specific questions you may have, but I will do my best to teach you what I know, incase you are unique due to me being your Sire.”

As they stood side by side, Malice pointed at the scars on her body, lifting her fingers to the claw scars over her throat. “I want you to understand the importance of being well fed.” Dragging her fingertips along the scars on her throat, Malice’s dark nails extended into obsidian claws. “I was unable to fully heal these injuries because I did not have enough blood within my body.” Lowering her hands, Malice closed the buttons on a few spots of her shirt to cover most of her scars. “These scars are permanent reminders of harder times in this world. Times we hope to avoid repeating by training you and your classmates to survive.”

Leaving the bottom and top open to stay cool, Malice guided Isabella out of the small grove. Making sure no one was around to see them emerging together, Malice continued her strong stride toward their new barracks. Tugging at her high ponytail to tighten it, Malice turned so her long black hair moved like a tail behind her head. “You know, there could be a possibility we could share our thoughts, if we continue this... You feeding from me...” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she watched Isabella, her sharp teeth exposed from behind her lips. “Maybe you’ll even hear the Old Man talking!” Pointing between her breasts at the black mark nestled between them, Malice snickered darkly. “After all, he’s responsible for you becoming what you are. Well, both of us. Maybe I should start calling him Gramps instead of Old Man?”

“What a horrid suggestion.”

Laughing uncontrollably at the voice in her head, Malice stared down at Isabella with a fonder expression. “I think it’s something we should try, after you get some proper clothes.” Waving at the dress, the tall brute shook her head lightly. “You can’t train in such nice things. They’ll get ruined.”

 

[Periodical]

The walk from the field to the cafeteria proved a little bit longer than Jin had been expecting, though he wasn't complaining. For one, he liked walking, and the longer he spent on campus the quicker he would memorize it. For two, it offered him a chance to get to know his new cohort member a little bit more. When the conversation shifted to their old rooms, he shook his head, finally letting go of Gwen and Dean's shoulders as they walked in a line. "Did you have the misfortune at staying in them too?" Jin asked, only to receive a short shake of the head. "Holy moly. There was no carpet, no amenities, and in the bathrooms, there were no dividers or anything. Just a big room of toilets." The asian elf said exaggerating their old living quarters quite a bit.

As Dean altered their path, Jin shook his head. "I'm glad someone was paying attention." He said as the threesome reached their new mess hall. Reaching out, Jin grabbed the handle, pulling open the door and standing aside so Dean and Gwen could enter. Inside, there were already quite a few students sitting at tables on one side. On the other were anywhere between ten to fifteen manned stations offering various styles of cuisine. There was one for most of the major styles of cooking. In the middle of the room was a cold bar for salad, salad fixings, and fresh fruit. There was a counter inside the dining room itself that boasted most of the condiments anyone were to need, as well as soda machine and juice machines.

"I heard vampires have to go to Nurse Hemlock to get their blood when they need it." Gwen said slowly, still a little awestruck about the dining hall. She was unsure why she thought to mention that fact, it didn't really apply to any of them, but Gwen had always been a little awkward. It didn't matter too much though, after the initial shock of seeing the vast cafeteria for the first time, Jin was gone. He had never been one to mince words.

It took him only a few moments, but he was the first one to find a table, boasting two plates mounded with various foods. He had an omelette, some fried chicken, pizza, sushi, Chinese noodles, and clam chowder. He didn't really believe too much in vegetables. By the time Gwen had reached the table with her much smaller plate of salad, Jin was already devouring what he had. When Dean arrived, she thought for a moment. She wasn't sure how to answer what she did for fun. "Well, I normally study quite a bit, so I haven't had time to find any hobbies." She said, unsure if the two boys could even hear her over the sounds of pure carnage from them ripping through their plates. "I would like that." She said with a small smile and a nod.

----

The Professor meant what she had said back on the lawn. Their job was to teach and train the students, not to coddle them. If a student wasn't one hundred percent sure they belonged, Elizabeth was not interested in convincing them. She only had so much patience, and everyone got a little allotment before Elizabeth changed her demeanor towards them. Fortunately for Abby, this conversation occurred a few times with different students every time they got a new cohort. Even for those who had gone to Supernaturalis Academy for high school, there was quite a bit of pressure as they transitioned to university. She wasn't sure where it came from, the application committee looked into everything they possibly could when analyzing an application. If a student wasn't good enough, they wouldn't be accepted.

Pulling out a different handkerchief than the lavender one that signified their cohort, Elizabeth offered it to her. This one was white and much more ornate. A floral design lined the outside, and in the corner was a very detailed A complete with a picture of a turkey straight from the Atherton family crest. Clearly it was Elizabeth's personal handketchief. "Of course everyone feels insecure." She said, agreeing with the young witch. "How it manifests and how to deal with those feeling are something we will work on through our training." She said, happy that Abby seemed to have doubled down on her commitment. She would have hated losing such a student so early on, and she shuddered to think about Abby's fate should she have left them.

As Abby reached for her, her hand moved around Abby's back, planting itself against her side and offering the smaller girl a little more support. "Of course." She said as she began to lead her to the dorm. From where they were, the walk was short to their dorm room. "You haven't humilated yourself at all. These are normal thoughts for incoming freshman, especially after ingesting demon blood." She said, opening the door and leading Abby to her room before setting her down on the bed.

It was dark in the room, and Elizabeth headed towards the door. "I want you to keep that handkerchief. Anytime you doubt yourself, or feel insecure about anything remember that feeling of determination you got after I challenged you. Remember how angry you got that I would even insinuate that you didn't belong here." She said before standing in the doorway. "Don't ever give up." Elizabeth said, almost more as an order than anything. With that, Elizabeth reached for the door handle. "Good night Abagail. I look forward to working with you." Closing the door behind her, Elizabeth sauntered upstairs to her own room.

----

The young heiress was already learning so much from Malice, it was really quite astounding. She doubled on the fact that Isabella needed to remain well fed, and Isabella thought back to the days after she had drained fed from a human. Perhaps that was why she had seemingly gotten addicted to it. She always felt much better on mornings after feedings than she did normally. She always wondered what that had been from. She wasn't dumb, she knew that she needed the blood to live, but she could never explain the extra feeling. Once Malice pulled her to her feet, she took a few moments to brush herself off. "I wouldn't have imagined this any other way." She said with a smile.

Following her professor out of their little grove, she thought for a moment. "I would be open to that." Isabella said without much hesitation. Being a childe and knowing her Sire was close was an odd, but fulfilling experience for the girl. It felt as though she had some direction, someone to watch over her like she had never had. Of course, her father had watched over her back in the city but he didn't understand some of the things she went through. Malice would know. She could relate and give guidance when Isabella didn't know what to do. She wasn't hearing anything additional, at least not yet, but she had only fed from Malice the one time.

The girl nodded. "I wouldn't want to ruin this dress, I like this dress." She said with a giggle. Isabella was very much a girly girl. She liked the color pink, and she liked pretty things. She liked things that made her look cute and sexy. She normally tried to keep a bubbly demeanor and hated when her emotions made her feel unhappy. Sometimes she couldn't deal with things the right way, and she also knew that she made bad decisions when she was upset or angry.

Unable to help herself, Isabella glanced towards the field. When she came to the conclusion that no one was watching them, she threw her arms around Malice once more, pulling her into another quick hug. "I'm so glad I found you!" She said, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of Malice's physical body and familiar aura, as well as her scent. She let go of the hug before she lingered for too long. "You can feed from me anytime."

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Yeah, I’ve heard that too.” Dean spoke as he stared at the dining room, staring at the large assortment of food. He turned to look at Gwen, giving her a playful nudge. “She may seem a little scary, because she’s a vampire, but she is actually very sweet. She’s not hard on the eyes either, if you catch my drift.” Winking suggestively at Gwen, Dean followed after Jin to the rows of food. He primarily focused on plain cuts of meat, targeting beef, lamb and chicken being served at the different stations. He added a few pieces of fruit to his plate before grabbing a bowl of ice cream.

Sitting across from Jin, Dean settled in beside Gwen to help her feel more welcomed. Cutting his meat into more chewable pieces, he lifted one of the rarer pieces of steak to his lips and chewed happily. “Oh god, this is so much better than the high school food!” His eyes lifted to Jin as he chewed, motioning at the cafeteria. “We’ve died and gone to heaven!” He continued to devour his food, pausing in his wolfish chews as he heard Gwen speak. He could tell that she as hesitatnt with her responses, prompting him to reach out and squeeze her shoulder re-assuringly.

“Hey, we can help you study if you need it. But, I expect we are going to be studying training skills more than books now that we are out of the main school.” Releasing Gwen’s shoulder, Dean offered her a wide smile. “You can come watch movies with us anytime! I am sure we will have access to a TV in our common area.” Pausing for a moment, Dean looked across the table at Jin. “We will have a common area again, right?” His eyes became unsure of their new residence, his eyes shifting toward the door of the school. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he withdrew his cell phone and checked for a text from Abby. Seeing nothing there, he sighed loudly and stuffed it back into his pocket. “If we don’t, we are going to have to figure out how to steal a TV from one of the storage sheds.”

---

Abby had wrapped her arm around Elizabeth’s side the taller woman responded to her request for help. Squeezing the woman’s shirt in her fingers, Abby held on tightly so she wouldn’t collapse. Leaning into Elizabeth’s side, Abby slouched as she walked forward in a haze. The fever was causing her body to grow heavier, which made walking more difficult. Her embarrassment wasn’t helping the situation either, her cheeks bright pink as Elizabeth said she hadn’t humiliated herself. She firmly shook her head but kept her mouth closed, concentrating on walking instead as she continued to press herself into Elizabeth’s side.

She was so focused on walking that she didn’t realize Elizabeth had taken her into the dorms until she was sitting on her new bed. Her hazy eyes looked up to Elizabeth as she was addressed before looking to the handkerchief that was in her hand. Abby’s eyes widened as she looked at it, not remembering when Elizabeth had handed it to her. Her hand reached toward Elizabeth as the tall woman bid her goodnight and shut the door, causing the blonde to sigh loudly.

“Damn it!” Squirming on the bed, Abby swung her legs over the side before Adonis barked loudly at her.

“You need to lay down and rest as your professor instructed.”

“But she left this here.”

“She told you to keep it, Abigail.” Adonis stared at Abby from his plush dog bed, already having drug it into a vacant corner so he could watch the door. “She also told you to not give up and that she looks forward to working with you.”

“Well, at least one of us remembers the conversation...” Kicking her boots off, Abby pulled herself up the bed and collapsed against the pillow. “I feel like I’m burning up.”

“It is the fever, surely.”

“Yeah...” Looking at the handkerchief still in her hand, Abby ran her fingertips against the embroidered parts slowly. “Why did she give this to me?”

“She asked you to keep it as a reminder of the conversation. That, when you doubt yourself, remember how angry you became when she challenged you.” As Adonis’s voice filled her mind, the conversation immediately played back in Abby’s mind like a recording.

“Oh, you’re right...” Looking at the handkerchief, Abby pressed it to her forehead. Inadvertently touching her nose with the small article, her eyes widened as a strange scent filled her nostrils. “What?” Sniffing at the handkerchief again, Abby stared at it with a puzzled glance. “Does this smell strange to you?” Holding her hand out over the side of the bed, Abby watched Adonis sniffing at the handkerchief.

“No. It simply smells like the professor. Why?”

“It smells...so good...” Staring at the handkerchief in disbelief, Abby held it to her nose again. Inhaling deeply, she felt her head begin to spin. She melted against her pillow, her eyes fluttered shut, her breath slowing as she fainted.

---

Malice shifted her vermillion eyes to Isabella as she giggled and commented on liking the dress. The young vampire was clearly more feminine and bubblier, an ironic contrast to Malice’s rough and grumpy persona. A slight smirk crept across her lips as she walked across the lawn, her eyes darting down to Isabella periodically. “So, you like the color pink?” It was more of an observation rather than a mental link that tipped Malice off to the fact. She saw the girl looking at the dress repeatedly and that was enough of a tell. “I will ask for some things to be sent to your room. I am pretty confident I can guess your size. And I will request that they have pink in them if possible.”

As she was embraced, Malice froze mid-step. She lifted her arms up and stared at Isabella curiously. Clearly the girl was more comfortable with expressing herself than the taller woman. Shaking her head lightly, Malice mumbled softly. “Innocence.” Lowering her arms, she squeezed Isabella and gently rubbed her back as her claws retracted into normal nails to not tear at the delicate fabric of the dress. “Yes, it seems it was in the cards, us being reunited.”

Lifting her head from Isabella, Malice spotted a group of high school students staring at them. Her lips immediately curled back to expose her sharp teeth as she barred them. Squeezing Isabella tighter to her frame, Malice snarled loudly as the white in her eyes became as dark as a void in space. The students shrieked and ran away in terror, prompting a dark chuckle to rumble from Malice’s chest.

“Do not hesitate to intimidate those around you.” Stepping back from Isabella, Malice lifted the girl’s chin with her hand so she could see her changed eyes. “Sometimes, the mere act of hostility can intimidate your enemy and weaken their resolve.” Blinking so her eyes returned to their normal look, Malice forced Isabella to continue staring at her vermillion eyes. Her pupil began to twitch before tightening, creating a narrow slit. “Regardless of our differences, we are both damned. This makes us formidable opponents.”

Releasing the girl’s chin, Malice gently gripped her back and resumed leading her toward Rosary Pea. As they reached the three storied building, Malice motioned her hand at the lower floor. “Your male comrades will be stationed on this floor. Your residence is above, on the second.” Leading the way up the exterior staircase, Malice moved slower than her typical power walk so the shorter woman could keep up with her.

“I believe this is your door.” Malice tapped the large door with her darkened nail, sniffing at the handle. “It must be Elizabeth. Was here, along with the witch.” Shifting her eyes from the door to Isabella, Malice motioned for her to go inside. “You will find your things in one of the rooms. Go ahead and unpack.” Pointing at the floor above, Malice gave the young woman a soft smile.

“I live above on the third floor. You’ll know which door is mine because all professor residences have our names printed on placards.” Stepping away from Isabella, Malice waved lightly. “If you need anything, come upstairs. Otherwise, I will see you in the morning when we gather everyone for breakfast.” Bowing her head formally as she pressed her hand to her chest, Malice took a step backward and turned on her ankle, walking away from the young vampire.

“I am feeling rather parched...” Her voice was a grumble, walking up the stairs quickly by skipping every other step with her wide stride. “I hope they moved my stash of blood along with my weapons.” Reaching the third floor, Malice read the placards on the doors until she spotted hers. A soft grin crossed her lips seeing that they had elected to use the same one she already had, the dents visible in it brining back fond memories. That’s when she saw it, the second placard above hers.

“What!?” Her voice exploded from her throat in a gravelly growl, immediately glaring at Elizabeth’s name written on the same door. “Those bastards didn’t, did they?” Shoving the door open forcefully, Malice marched inside as her boots clanged against the floor of the apartment. Her pupils became slits seeing boxes with both of their names written on it.

“BLOODY FUCKING HELL!” Screeching in a voice that could only be equated to that of a rampaging demon, Malice kicked the door shut behind her. Strutting inside, her nostrils flared as she smelled Elizabeth’s fresh scent in the space. Gripping the handle of the fridge, Malice tugged it open and snarled seeing it was empty aside from one blood bag. “Where is my food!?” Snarling again in frustration, Malice took the blood pack and slammed the fridge door shut.

Kicking her boots off at the door, she lunged for the couch and perched on the back of it as she continued to growl unhappily. Sinking her teeth into the ‘straw’ of the bag, she bit off the tip and began to suck the liquid into her body. Pulling up for air, she sneered loudly. “Did you know about this, Elizabeth!? Or did they fuck you over too with this stunt?” Growling as she waited for Elizabeth to emerge from wherever she was within the apartment, Malice went back to sipping at the bag, her body arched like a cat.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Miss Kamui, can you hear me?”

The voice filled Shade’s mind as she struggled to wake up, her eyes slowly fluttering open. “What?”

“Miss Kamui? How are you feeling?” Vera spoke with a soft voice as she took Shade’s pulse, her warm fingertips gently pressed against the inside of the young woman’s wrist.

“Tired?” Sitting up groggily on the bed, Shade looked over her shoulder to see how the other student was faring that had come in with her. Seeing that they were fast asleep with multiple IVs connected to their arm, she looked to her own and found an IV of liquid also attached to her. “What is this?”

“Fluids and electrolites. Remaining hydrated will help with the side affects you are experiencing.”

“I see.” Shade watched Vera releasing her wrist, staring at the red-haired vampire as she checked her vitals on a machine attached to her finger. “I heard vampires are always averse to technology, but you don’t seem to be.”

Vera smirked widely as she tapped at the screen, switching her view of Shade’s vitals. “Well, some are averse to it but I am not one of them.” Smiling playfully at Shade, Vera pulled away from the monitor and withdrew a cell phone from her pocket. Unlocking it with ease, the vampire opened an app on her phone and immediately began to skim through information. “See? Nothing to fear.”

“Huh.” Shade leaned over the side of the bed, trying to look at what Vera was pulling up. The text was so small she couldn’t read any of it, her eyes curiously returning to Vera’s green ones. “What is that?”

“Your dossier.” Vera smirked lightly, tucking her hand into the white doctor coat she wore over her ornate lace blouse and skirt. “I am verifying what dormitory you were sent to. It appears you’re living in Rosary Pea.”

“Why do you need to know where I live?”

“Because I am going to take you there once you are ready to be discharged. I need to have a word with Professor Mizer about the other student’s reaction to her blood.” Shifting her green gaze to the student in the bed beside Shade’s, Vera’s face showed clear signs of concern on it. “I require a sample of her blood for further analysis. The student appears to have had a severe reaction to something. I need to rule out if it was from the blood or something she ingested.”

“Ingested?” Shade stared at Vera with a confused expression, staring at her face.

“Yes. Professor Mizer requests exotic blood as part of her regular dietary requirements. There is a chance the student is reacting to that instead of her blood in particular. I won’t know for certain until I take a sample for analysis.”

“That makes no sense. Why wouldn’t it be her blood causing the reaction?” Vera looked to Shade as she spoke, slowly leaning against the side of the bed. Her green eyes locked onto Shade’s brown ones, searching for something. After several moments of uncomfortable silence, Vera eventually broke their gaze.

“Professor Mizer shares similar properties to vampires, due to requiring blood for sustenance and storing it within her body. Once a month, she comes in for a live feeding of an exotic breed. And, once every week, she receives a transfusion administered intravenously.” Vera gently tapped the IV in Shade’s hand. “Because of this, her blood is ‘contaminated’ by other factors. While unusual for students to react in such a severe way, I suspect the child has an allergic reaction to antibodies from whatever Professor Mizer last ate.”

“So, they’re having an allergic reaction to whatever Professor Mizer ate? Weird.” Shade stared at the student before looking to Vera as she walked to the foot of the bed.

“Indeed.” Squeezing Shade’s toes lightly, Vera offered her a warm grin. “I want you to stay for another hour or so until the fluids are in your system. You are feeling better, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I am, actually...” Shade touched her head, realizing she no longer felt nauseous.

“Excellent. I will escort you to your dormitory later. Until then please continue to rest.”

 

[Periodical]

Dean and Gwen may as well just been alone at the table. Jin had been so focused on his food, he wasn't listening to any of the conversation that was going around him. Elves didn't have to eat everyday. As a matter of fact, they could go months and months without an actual meal. When they did finally get a meal, there was an old saying about getting between an elf and their food. Jin was no exception. Bits and chunks of various foodstuffs flew everywhere as his eyes seemingly glazed over. He ate fairly quietly, but every so often Jin would let out a breath before he continued. After his first two plates were done, he disappeared back into the kitchen. It only took a minute or so before he returned with another two plates.

If she was being honest, she hadn't been that hungry. After seeing Jin, what appetite she had left had certainly fallen by the wayside. She pushed her salad around on her plate a little bit before turning and glancing towards Dean. When she squeezed her shoulder, it took every fiber within her not to jerk her body away. She certainly wasn't used to being touched quite this month, and she knew that some people were just more physical than others. She listened to Dean as he spoke, and she nodded her head. She had never been much of a fighter, she always figured herself to be a little more on the cunning side.

When Dean asked Jin if there was a common area, he paused, shrugged his shoulders, and continued shovelling food into his mouth. It was almost quite impressive, though disgusting was a much better descriptor. When Jin finished his fourth plate, he let out a loud belch before sitting back in his chair. "Okay, break time." He said as he patted his stomach. If his friend let him, Jin could eat for hours and hours. Due to his elvish metabolism, he could eat and eat and not see any change on his actual body.

"I think there is a T.V in the common area." He said finally, further proving that while he was eating he was solely focused on his food. "I think classes are set to start tomorrow or maybe next week." He said, thinking to himself. "What should we do after this? Got any ideas Dean?" Jin asked, sitting forward.

---

When Malice squeezed her tighter, Isabella didn't make much noise. She couldn't help the sound of air being squeezed out of her with a low grunt. She could feel Malice's laughter against her. Glancing away, Isabella kicked at the dirt with her shoes."I'm not really an intimidating person." She said almost meekly. In reality, she had a little bit of a dainty voice. She had no doubt she would look formidable if she wanted to, but she hardly ever wanted to get to that space.

As they made the dorm room, they walked up the stairs to the second level. Nodding, she gave Malice one last hug before disappearing into the dark room. It didn't take her long to find a door with her name on it. Running her fingers along the placard, she pushed the door open before closing it behing her. Inside, she found all of her things, mostly packed up. It was a little frustrating for the woman, now she had to unpack everything and get it organized. That was going to take forever..

---

As Elizabeth left Abby and made her way up the stairs, she smiled as she saw the placard on the door. Twisting the handle and watching the door swing open, she shook her head. Before, each professor had their each living space, now, it seemed as though she'd be sharing a living space with her co-Professor. She didn't have too much time to dwell on it. Grabbing a box with her name written on the side, she moved it into her room and began to unpack. Luckily enough, she tended to pack light. Most of her material possessions destroyed when her home fell a little while ago.

It didn't take long for Elizabeth to hear the aftermath of Malice discovering what their lovely headmmaster had done. She had just gotten done with her second box, and while she still had a few boxes left, most of what was left were things she liked to give to students. Poking her head out, she gave Malice a tiny smile before she shook her head. "If I knew about this, do you honestly think I would have chosen this?" She asked, though she could certainly understand Malice's frustration. Their living quarters were similar to the students, though they had less rooms to contend with. Elizabeth watched as Malice drained the blood bag.

"What do you think of this year's cohort?" Elizabeth asked, getting straight to business. Walking slowly, her body seemingly gliding along the floor, Elizabeth closed her bedroom door. There wasn't anything special inside, and she knew better than to keep sentimental items at her dorm room. She did have a few, but they were locked away. Her desk was a bit of a mess, strewn with papers and folders from this year's batch of students. She also had a few extra rapiers in case hers were to break. Each of them meticulously kept the same, with the same exact specifications.

Her kettle began to whistle, and she glanced back. "Tea?" She asked, pouring herself a cup before making her way to an armchair in the main living area. "Well?" She asked, pushing Malice to answer her. When she wanted to, Elizabeth could be one pushy bitch.

 

[Nine of Hartz]

Dean was accustomed to Jin’s antics, for the most part ignoring his ravenous eating. But he noticed Gwen taking notice, and lightly shook his head. Leaning closer to the newcomer, he whispered into her ear as Jin belched. “Forgive him. He’s kind of...weird...with food.” Smiling lightly, Dean shrugged a little before nervously laughing. Tugging on his long blonde hair, he pushed it over half of his face as he finished with his plate of food.

Hearing the question about what they should do next, Dean shrugged lightly. “I’m not sure, to be honest. We could check out our new dorms or roam around campus? Gwen here is new, after all. Or we could go swimming or watch a movie.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Dean unlocked it and began to type a message to Abby. “I am down for whatever, as long as it doesn’t involve Professor Mizer and her strange ass demon blood.” Laughing lightly, he clicked send on the text message, placing his phone on the table. If Gwen had been curious to glance at the screen and its large font, she would see the message sent to Abby written out.

Hey, are you still pissed at me? If you are, fuck you. If not, come on hang out with us. You’d like this new girl. She’s serious like you.​

“Hey Jin, since we have nice food now, do you think you could stop trying to freak out the new kid?” Dean spoke lightly to Jin, a playful grin across his lips as he pointed at Gwen. “You can eat more often so you aren’t such a hyena once you finally sit down with food. At least for a little while?”

---

Malice’s vermillion eyes locked onto Elizabeth once her head poked out of her room, following her as she glided across the room. She remained still for several moments, still sucking at the blood bag until it crumbled within her grasp. “No... I suppose you would have chosen to live with someone less messy.” Her eyes drifted to her boxes piled outside the door that must lead to her room. Leaping off the back of the couch like an animal, Malice tossed the emptied blood back across the room, watching it land into the trash bin by the fridge.

“The cohort?” Malice grumbled lowly, still agitated by their living situation. She paused in thought, her fingers scratching at her chin as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her lips were moving silently, as if she were having a conversation with herself. In reality she was grumbling back and forth with the voice in her head, electing to remain silent to not bother Elizabeth with her rambling.

The offer of tea stirred Malice’s attention, causing the woman to curl her nose to the offer. “No thank you. I try to avoid eating plants whenever possible.” A devilish smirk crossed her lips as she spoke, her eyes remaining fixed on Elizabeth as she moved back into the living room. Opening the door to her room, Malice hissed seeing the boxes inside. Leaving the door open, she ripped through the tape with her nails as they became claws, turning the box upside down so her clothes spilled out onto the bed.

“Well, they all need work, that’s a given.” Speaking loudly from within her room, Malice withdrew a tank top and tossed it into the living room. Digging through another box of clothes, she turned it upside down and withdrew a pair of tattered shorts that had once been black jeans. Removing her clothes with a few tugs, Malice pulled the shorts on over her hips and buttoned them shut. “The Asians are the strongest.” As she spoke loudly, she emerged from her room topless, picking the tank top from the floor where it had landed. “The one that puked has a squeamish stomach, but that’s not surprising. He is a damn elf, after all. They’re always pompous assholes. As for the one who tasted my blood, I’m not entirely sure what her gifts are, but she is clearly human born.”

Turning to walk into the kitchen fully topless, Malice’s back was fully exposed to Elizabeth due to her hair being held up in the ponytail. Trailing down from her hairline to her tailbone a stripe of spots, small shiny scales protruding from the blackened skin. Scars from being whipped were spread across her shoulders, along with a few larger scars. As she turned into the kitchen, Malice turned the water on cold in the sink. Dunking her neck underneath the running water, she tried to cool herself off as she continued to speak loudly.

“The female shifter? Now she has potential. She just needs to train beneath someone who pushes her in the right direction. The doppelganger on the other hand, not sure what to do with that one. The vampire’s instincts appear to be weak but that’s to be expected given that she’s been surrounded by humans. I will have to teach her how to properly hunt so she doesn’t kill her prey outright every time she feeds. I suspect I’ll need to ask a vampire professor to teach her other things, such as compulsion.”

Turning the water off, Malice leaned up from the sink, sighing loudly with relief. Tugging her tank top on over her head, she allowed the fabric to absorb the cold water dripping down her torso. Leaning against the counter the sink was in, Malice locked her gaze on Elizabeth. “The other student who took my blood and got ill, I have no read on them. We’ll have to see what happens after they come out of the infirmary.” Pausing for a moment, Malice began to grin uncontrollably.

“But the witch?” Malice flashed her sharp teeth at Elizabeth as she grinned, her vermillion eyes tightening into slits as the whites in her eyes darkened. “She had balls!” Clenching her fist, Malice continued to grin widely. “I never expected the weakest in our cohort to step up like that! The girl’s got leadership potential.” Stepping out of the kitchen, Malice sat across from Elizabeth, perched on the back of the couch again as her eyes became normal. “I can’t wait to see what happens after her craft awakens. Or...” Tapping her chin with her dark claws, Malice's smirk took on a sinister look. “Perhaps she is the type of witch that will surrender her virginity to a demon to attain their power?” Crossing her arms, Malice shook her head lightly as she chuckled. “Perhaps that’s why she was given to us, given that I made a similar choice.” Cackling evilly, Malice raked her claws against her face, letting Elizabeth see the cuts they created before healing over a second later.

 

[Periodical]

"I mean, if there is an all you can eat buffet, you know I'm going to go in." Jin said, his tone almost as though he needed to defend himself. "I'm sorry that you guys are offended, maybe I'll just have to eat on my own." He said finally before the subject changed towards what they could do. He thought for a moment, and he shook his head when Dean mentioned their new professor. She certainly was an odd one, though then again, who here at the school wasn't? Everyone had their own little quirk. As a matter of fact, he was an elf who was living among humans. From a different continent, a different plane completely. He certainly wasn't one to talk.

Part of him still missed elvish culture, but there was almost no going back now. Of course, it was always something that hung in the back of his mind, but he couldn't very well bring himself to leave his new life. He glanced around the table. "We have all week to explore campus." He said finally, though going for a walk after pigging out like he just had, didn't seem like a particularly bad idea. "Why don't you take the new girl around, and I'll see you back at the dorms tonight for a movie?" He said, offering little time for a response before he excused himself from the table.

The girl watched this interaction between friends. Her eyes watched as Jin stood before disappearing into a crowd of students who were just coming into the dining hall. Glancing back towards Dean, she offered a weak smile. "I'm sorry if I offended him." She said finally. "I guess I just never looked at food that way." She said as she stood. "If you wouldn't mind, a tour around campus would be nice. You have been here for some time by now, right?" She said before walking her plate towards the washtub and setting it inside.

----

When Malice had mentioned how messy she was, Elizabeth did mumble something under her breath. Of course she would have, though it wasn't like she had many personal affects to be messy with. She watched as Malice processed how to put her things away. She was the complete opposite of herself, though she supposed that much was a given. She wasn't sure how they were going to live with one another, but the fact that they had two seperate bedrooms and two seperate bathrooms was certainly a plus. After all, Elizabeth didn't think she was going to be spending much time in the common area.

As she sipped her tea, she listened to her colleague. She let out a little laugh at her analysis of the asian elf they had. "That much is true, though I'm not sure I agree on the strongest. Everything is quite relative right now." She said, sipping again at her tea. She hadn't quite gotten a decent read on the other asian, at least not yet. Ryuko was it? She had glanced over the female's file, but still hadn't gotten much of a read on her. Besides that, she was only there for a few moments before she was being helped to the infirmary. It didn't say much about her, but Elizabeth hadn't observed anything.

The professor didn't look up, taking note at how comfortable Malice seemed already. She didn't even think about saying anything, this was her living space after all. "If I'm honest, I think she's going to drop out." Elizabeth sasid in regards to Gwen. "I'm not even sure why she's here. I don't think she's every going to be able to hide that birthmark or scar she has, which makes her unique talent quite worthless." Elizabeth mused for a second. "Maybe if she wore a mask or something, but even then, if her face is hidden, there isn't much she's going to be able to do besides train in hand to hand combat and survival skills. She certainly doesn't need to be here to do that." Elizabeth offered before Malice moved on.

The prim and proper Brit didn't offer much about the other student who had gotten sick, and Elizabeth glanced towards Malice when she mentioned Abby. "For once, I agree." Elizabeth said before setting her tea down on the counter. "I think she has the most potential out of any of them. She can already maintain a familiar, and she hasn't even unlocked her full potential yet." Elizabeth said as she met eyes with Malice for a moment. "We can only hope that she doesn't choose a similar path to you." Elizabeth said quite candidly. "She needs to be able to make her own decisions and not be..." A pause. "Influenced."

Leaning forward and grabbing her tea, Elizabeth's eyes watched as Malice self harmed herself. Her face didn't move, she didn't seem too impressed. "What about the vampire? You seem to have history with her." She said finishing her tea before setting the empty cup on the table. "If you know her previously, I'd like to know about it." The professor said finally, her voice a little more firm now. "I won't have a conflict of interest derail our entire cohort."

 

[Nine of Hartz]

“Ah, come on, Jin!” Dean protested as Jin made his comment about the buffet, motioning at Gwen. “I’m just asking for a little slower chewing, that’s all.” Chuckling lightly, Dean kept his gaze on Jin. Watching his friend point out that he should show Gwen around, his face curled into a frown. “You’re not coming with?” Watching Jin rise from the table surprised Dean, prompting him to start standing too. “Jin!?” As his friend walked off, Dean looked to Gwen, hearing her apology. Shaking his head firmly, he sat back down.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Jin is a little odd. But, if he’s going to be mad at anyone, it’ll be me.” Grinning as widely as he could to try and reassure Gwen, Dean turned his attention back to his food. Eating in silence, he paused mid-bite as Gwen spoke again. “Really, don’t worry about it. Jin is an elf, or part elf? He’s been that way the entire time I met him. I think it’s just an elf thing?” Shrugging lightly, Dean cleared his plate and nodded as Gwen asked for the tour of campus. “Yeah, I’ve been here for a couple of years.”

Rising from their seats, Dean followed Gwen to the bin for dirty plates, placing his inside. Motioning for her to follow him, he led her outside into the sunlight. Stretching happily, Dean pointed at the building behind them. “So, this side of campus is the university, while that side is the high school.” Pointing across the way, Dean smirked lightly. “That’s where I lived up until today. Jin exaggerated a bit on how crappy the food was over there, but this is way better.” Turning to look at the various school structures, Dean waved his hand before pointing at the auditorium. “That is the ‘torture house’ because it’s where we have to do all those damn lectures. I hate assemblies, meetings, classes...anything where you have to sit and listen really” Laughing a bit, he tucked his hands into his pockets, walking across the lawn.

“There are lots of trees and forest everywhere. There are traps sometimes in them, due to kids practicing their skills, so be careful if you go wandering about. The area next to our dorms should be fairly clear though, because it’ll be reserved for our class to train in.” Pointing at Rosea Pea, Dean squinted as he tried to count the stories of the building. “That’s where we are living, that building right there. God... I hope we aren’t in bunk beds again. I had a bunk mate that snored all night long. And I don’t mean small snores. Like...bed rattling snores.” Shaking his head more, Dean reached out and grabbed Gwen’s arm, dragging her toward a cleared area of the lawn where a cement jetty created a small ‘bay’ of water.

“Hey, look! We can swim there!” Grinning happily, Dean pulled Gwen along with him, walking along the cement jetty. He stared down at the clear water, watching it grow darker in color as it became deeper. “See that fish!” Licking his lips playfully, Dean looked back at Gwen. “Do you like to fish? We can do that sometime too.”

---

“Well, we will put them through the ringer soon enough. I know I’m looking forward to fighting them individually. It’ll be the first task I give them, once we can start mentoring them.” Malice tilted her head curiously at Elizabeth hearing the dismissive tone in her voice when speaking of Gwen, shaking her head in disagreement. “That mark hinders her camouflage ability, sure. But have you ever cowered from a shape shifter who could become a beast? Or a fucking dragon? No!” Malice pointed at one set of scars on her thigh that were too large to have been created by a person. “Trust me, beasts can be quite lethal on the battlement.” Removing her hand from the scars, Malice shifted on top of the couch. “I will train her, since you think she’s ruined by her scar.” Growling possessively, Malice cracked her spine as her body took on a primal stance.

“As for my ‘influence’?” Malice moved her clawed fingers in air quotes, speaking sarcastically as she glared at Elizabeth. “I made my own damn choice without influence. The witch can too. It’s her choice who to screw, not ours.” Snorting loudly, Malice rubbed the dark spot between her breasts. While it had not been why her contract had been made, the purity of her body had amplified the power of the blood demon. Should Abby choose a similar path, she too could become formidable in her own right.

“What about the vampire?” Malice spoke gruffly as Elizabeth grilled her about Isabella, staring at the women’s calm face with her vermillion eyes. Her face twisted into a scowl as Elizabeth continued, referred to there being a conflict of interest, immediately crossing her arms defensively. “There won’t be no damn conflict of interest! Sheesh...” Growling lightly at Elizabeth, Malice held her ground for several minutes. Elizabeth remaining unafflicted by her attempt to intimidate her only frustrated the dark-haired woman, another loud grunt escaping her throat.

“FINE!” Shouting at Elizabeth, Malice leapt off the couch and began to pace back and forth in the living room, grumbling incoherently as she struggled with her words. “I met the kid a long time ago. I can’t remember how long...” Pacing some more, her vermillion eyes darted out at Elizabeth, still infuriated that her ‘resting bitch face’ didn’t react to her imposing nature. “She was getting attacked by humans. I intervened to save her ass. That’s it!” Pacing through the kitchen and living room now, Malice kept roaming erratically trying to break Elizabeth’s stare. When the woman’s silence continued, Malice flailed her hands about her sides, snarling loudly. “Look! I had to feed her my blood. It was the only way I knew how to heal her. I knew she was human born, sure, but that’s never made a difference before when I’ve been fed from.” As she spoke frantically, Malice wheezed for air, panting as her hands were held out toward Elizabeth.

“I didn’t realize I would turn her into a damn vampire! I had no idea it happened until she showed up here. I swear, this has never happened before!” Looking at her wrists and the dark veins popping up in them, Malice snarled loudly. She visibly winced, almost falling to one knee as she held her temple in agony. Her head jerked back and forth a few times as if trying to shake a thought or something in her skull before her body became less agitated. Standing with a more relaxed stance, her slowly parted, speaking with a deepness to her voice that sounded too...calm.

“The child was born with darkness in her heart. It is the only logical conclusion.” Lowering her hand from her head, Malice’s head lifted, locking her blackend eyes on Elizabeth. Moving across the living room with a slow, deliberate stride, the demoness sat down on the cushion of the sofa instead of the back. With her dark eyes remaining locked on Elizabeth, Malice took on a pose far too sophisticated for her ‘normal’ self. “The vampirism must have been triggered in the girl after Alona gave her our blood. It is the most logical conclusion, given that our ‘embrace’ has never turned a mortal before." With each word leaving Malice's mouth, the skin around her fingers grew darker as if she had been rubbing charcoal on herself. "Believe me, Alona is quite fond of infecting humans with our blood. She finds it...amusing..." The same phenomenon began to appear around her changed eyes, the mark between her breasts also appeared to be expanding. "I believe you are aware of how...perverse...she can be. Especially with her stunt earlier today with the new cohort.”