"Tiyaaaaaaaaaa!" I called out to my sister, dragging it on so she would be more likely to hear it. Spinning around on a doorframe just before she came into my field of vision.
"What do you want, Lari? I am busy right now." she said back to me in a grumpy tone. A grumpy tone I would have wanted to fix had I not been focused on someone else right now.
"Have you seen Ninno-Nin? He was not in his room or on the roof."
"Why would he be on the roof...? Never mind, but yes, I have seen him. The Head of our House was speaking to him about something." she told me before her finger pointed in the direction he was supposed to be in. Her finger having been extended artificially because of her ice magic.
"Thank you!" I responded back with before I went down the path she had laid before me. Coming to a halt when I finally began to hear the signs that he was nearby.
"My progress is awful...? Yeah, no shit, no teacher wants to do their job when I am around. Everyone mocks me and attacks me and you expect me to just get through all that and still have a healthy development in my ability to read and write this gods-forsaken language of yours on top of magic!? Get out of my sight you piece of shit!" I heard him growl out angrily to what must have been our House Head.
"I don't care what you are dealing with, I made sure the City-Guard cannot bother you within the confines of a building. So the least you can do is actually ensure your enrollment!"
"DID YOU EVEN JUST LISTEN TO ME!? NO ONE WANTS TO HELP ME YOU DENSE PIECE OF IRON! IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN... I AM AN OSIBINDAH!" Nin roared out with enough force to shake the nearby walls. Walls I was currently pressed up against.
"You are running out of time, so make sure you get a passing grade. I won't remind you of what will happen if you don't." our House Head said to Nin calmly and flatly before he walked off. Likely leaving the building and perhaps it was a good thing, too.
"YOU JUST DID!" Nin had then shouted after smashing what must have been the table in that room they were in. But, I did not let it at all bother me, so I made sure my smile was clear and present and I went into the room. Joyfully waving at the man trembling in anger and fury before he steadily calmed down. A half-hearted wave coming from him before he sat down.
And broke the chair because he went down on it too hard.
"I think you can get adjustable chairs from the Academy if you ask nicely." I teased him with before I dropped to the floor and crossed my legs. Maintaining that smile I had until his expression had lightened up. Even if I did not like how he was like an underwater volcano in calm seas. Just because the water was calm did not mean he wasn't ready to go off again.
"Not like they'd give me one..." he muttered quietly before looking away with a blast of hot air leaving his nose.
"So, are you not likely to get a passing grade?" I asked him as one hand of mine moved to rub one of his. Shuffling slightly closer just in case he wanted to answer me in a quiet tone.
He shook his head, "No... He even has... Concerns... That I won't even get a passing grade even with the joint application thingy this place does." he explained somewhat sarcastically at first before getting serious. My spare hand rubbing my chin as I thought on that last bit.
"Joint application?" I repeated to myself, "Ah! I remember. The score sharing you can apply for before you do your exam. Have you already applied?"
"No... The people I might have applied to it with don't care anymore. So I am on my own."
"I don't believe you." I said with a tilt of my head. His own snapping up slightly at the misinterpreted comment of mine.
"Are you...?" he began to say as his eye twitched.
"No, I am not calling you a liar, I just think you are wrong about no one wanting to help you."
His head looked down, "Yeah, right. The people whose lives I had saved on several occasions want nothing to do with me anymore. If I can't even keep them on my side what chance do I have!?" he said to me while getting increasingly upset.
"I don't think that is the case, I think they are just busy and stressed out. Just give them some tim-"
"TIME!? I DON'T HAVE ANY IF YOU CAN'T TELL YOU STUPID GIRL!" he then roared in my face which left me frowning. His teeth having got dangerously close to my face.
"Please don't shout at me." I told him quietly, notably upset by what he had just done. An upside-down smile having formed in the process. And thankfully, he was quick to notice it and apologize for it, not verbally. But with a small gesture, one that was enough to put a smile back on my face.
"So what do I do then? Hm? What do I do... Because even with your help regarding my magic, I am not going to be getting anywhere anytime soon."
"Do you know how many people can be signed on together?" I then asked him as I did not know. Me and my sister were going to sign up together later in the year as per the wishes of our family. But, if I can, maybe I can attach us to Nin? Or him to us if we can't get too many people on board.
"I don't know, I assume two because Frihdeicalkbr's example was two lovers going here together. Something about how their magic was designed to bounce off of each other in his example."
I let out a long noise of thought, "Wait right here, okay? Do not even get up!" I tell him before springing to my feet. Dashing off along the route the Head of our House likely went before finding myself outside. Going into a brief moment of just thinking before dashing off again. Sliding to a stop along freshly made mud, stopping right before my target.
"Can I help?" he asked me as his eyes focused on where my magic was most concentrated.
"Yes, the... Joint point thing for the entrance exams, how many people are allowed in it?"
"The system was designed for two-people."
"Oh..." I found myself saying as my expression almost became foul.
"But, there is no limit to how many people can join and share points. It just wasn't added to the legislature."
"So as long as I can get someone to agree to join in then I can bring in lots and lots?" I asked with growing excitement.
"Ye-" he began to say before I shot upwards into the sky. A light shower of bright blue water raining down from me before I landed. Large splashes of water coming from me until I went back inside with a large smile on my face.
"WE CAN HAVE AS MANY AS WE WANT!" I yelled in happiness as I came back to the room Nin should have been in. A trail of slightly muddy footprints having followed me on the way in. A sheepish grin overtaking me as my eyes met my sister's as she was just by the entrance.
"Clean this u-" she began to say before I locked the door behind me. Humming a tune before a bewildered and floor-based Nin as my sister banged on the door. A frustrated sigh leaving her before she disappeared.
"As many as we want!" I then repeated to Nin with a smile.
"Right... And who is willing to help?"
"Me, obviously!"
"At this rate, I am going to need more than just you."
"What about that sparkling you look at a lot?"
"Einervaene? No, she is one of the ones I was on about earlier." he said to me grouchily.
"Alright, that's two, now, let me just ask my sister!" I said to him, opening the door and going up to my sister so I could get her in on it. Only to slip up on some ice and bang my head.
"OW!" I cried out as I clutched the back of my head.
"Now you know not to run around soaked in your magic!"
"You're so mean to me..." I cried out with fake tears before getting up and going up to her.
"What?"
"Can you please join me and Nin in sharing our exam points so he can get into the Academy and not risk being shot for doing nothing? Remember, a noble is meant to always be generous in both wealth and effort! You have a responsibility to help those less fortunate than you!" I began to ramble on as she looked on at me blankly.
"Alright." was all she had to say. Something that left me making a noise as my mouth opened wide in joy.
"Thank you!" I sang out before dashing off to another part of the building in hopes of getting others on board. Then, when that was done, I would solve Nin's issues with Einervaene and get her on board. Soon hopping to a halt as I found two others I could ask regarding it all.
"Put some clothes on." Quinshuu commented while he sat at the kitchen island alongside Tiya's Errakurdish friend. The one who had helped her learn ice magic, even though he was a user of fire magic! I had no interest in the theory, I just found it funny my sister learnt cold magic from a hot source. His name was Omb Ur-Nace and he was a big boy with a big gut.
"Can I ask you two something?"
"Is it related to food?" Ombbo chuckled out before he took a bite from a pastry he had in his hand. Its fatty juices dripping out onto his chin before it then hit the napkin he had on.
"It will be if you accept my offer." I said to him with a grin.
"Very well." Ombbo said as a curious hand drummed his belly.
"What is this even about?" Quinshuu then asked as he got up and walked over to me. His body stern in its movements until he loosened up upon stopping in front of me.
"I am looking for people to help Nin pass the entrance exam by sharing their points."
"Sharing points?" Quinshuu repeated.
"Yeah, you don't lose any, your spare points that go past the passing grade just get added on to the one who might not have passed and it helps them get through."
"I see, and who is Nin?"
"My friend! You are usually drinking your milk when I make him breakfast." Ombbo clarified to him.
"Ah, the bug."
"So will you two help?" I then asked.
"Sure, be nice to see what a bug might find tasty." Ombbo said to me, reassuring his previous answer. Quinshuu, on the other hand, said nothing, he just moved to leave.
"I will see him first, take me to him." he ordered, something I was happy to comply with.
"You aren't going to cause any issues are you?" I asked him before I began to guide him, however. I did not want him causing any trouble with Nin.
"I seek to inspect him, to see how he compares to the stories and tales the others of this land have of his kind. I wish to see if he is worthy prey."
"I just implied that I did not want you causing issues."
"Relax, Harlot, I do not want to fight him. Not now at the very least." he explained before he began to follow my water trails. And soon, we were in front of Nin and he was in the process of getting up.
"Well...?" Nin then asked expectingly as Quinshuu began to walk around him. Much like how a more nimble predator might circle something it might be able to kill.
"So, do you live up to the tales I hear of your kind?"
Nin looked about nervously, "What tales...?"
"Of how settlements were swallowed into the earth. Of how a formerly triumphant battle turned into a disaster because of a well-timed ambush. The tale of the creature so determined to survive that it lives on despite efforts to utterly genocide it."
"No..." Nin said with a lack of certainty, however, he was slightly jumpy at the first bit.
Quinshuu then turned to look at me, "You want me to help this creature become a student here, at no detriment to myself?" he then asked with that same hard, seemingly blank stare of his.
"You can only benefit from it." was all I really had to say and it was true! You did not lose points to another, you merely had your disposable points added on to a struggling someone.
Quinshuu breathed in and out deeply, "I will make my decision, after seeing what he is capable of."
"You want to fight me...?" Nin asked hopelessly.
"No, I want to see you fight what you have hunted before. If you are in need of being polished or sharpened, I have no issue with that. But, I wish to see what your kind is capable of with my own eyes." he said as he walked closer to Nin. His unyielding stare making Nin back away despite the size advantage he had.
"You are going to be disappointed..." Nin then muttered.
"I will be the one to determine that, not you. Besides, if I wanted to be impressed, I would seek demonstrations elsewhere."
Nin's brow went down before he began to walk away, "So is that everyone we are likely to get?" he then asked me as he came to a stop. However, he quickly backed off into the room upon seeing something beyond me. And, as I was curious to see what caused him to do that, I turned around.
The soft-tail and the mother, it was.
"Can you two come here for a second!" I then called out to them with a smile as I skipped on over. Bouncing up and down as I stood before them. Much to the delight of the child in the hands of the mother on my right. But, the child was easily distracted and soon wanted the soft tail waving near it.
"What do you want?" the one with the soft tail asked me cautiously. The mother, however, did the opposite, she straightened up and gave me a soft smile.
"I am here to ask if you two will be willing to help me with something."
"Don't you have a sister you can ask?" the soft-tail said to me, her tone implying certain things I wasn't going to focus on.
"And she has agreed to help, but, I need more help with it."
"What do you need help with?" the mother said with a raspy voice, a quiet cough leaving her shortly after.
"You two aren't bothered by Nin are you?" I then asked the pair, the one with the tail getting who I was on about. But the other did not get it, she seemed a little confused.
"Nin...?" she whispered to her companion.
"Bug." was all her companion said, something that was more than enough to make her back away shaking her head. Her hands clutching her son protectively as she began to panic.
"Hey, it's alright." I then said to her as I went up to her and held her close. Humming a gentle tune as my magic aura wrapped around them to help ease them. My gentle tone along with a strong magic presence should have been able to keep her calm. Luckily, it did.
"So what is this about the H- Nin?" the other one asked while I was cradling the mother and her son.
"I am looking for people to join the entrance exam point-sharing thing."
"We wouldn't be able to, anyway, we signed up with someone else."
"Oh..." I found myself saying in disappointment before dancing away a little. My mind stuck on the topic as I was hoping to get a wide variety of people. Not only would Nin be more likely to pass, but, so would everyone else!
"Have you tried asking those from other dorms?"
I shook my head, "No, it would not work, it seems Nin is not very popular. I was lucky so far, I guess." I said with a shrug. My face rather blank as I tried to think of people who I could get on board to help us out. Then, I remembered we had at least two potential people.
The friends he had a falling out with.
"We really have to get going..." the soft-tail then said before I then sprang in front of her.
"Wait! I want to know your names first!"
"I'm Vadei and that is Dandel'lhia, now, if you'll excuse us." Vadei said to me as she tried to get past me. But, I would not let her, I just kept scooting in front until I had said my name.
"And I am Lari-" I began to say before a loud bang caught my attention. That bang bringing me back to Nin who was once again in a state of violent anger. Quinshuu, however, was looking on with that same stare. Had he provoked him while I was gone?
He better have not!
"Hey, hey!" I said to Nin as I came up to him and brought his face towards mine. A smile on my face contrasting the glare on his until it warped into a more acceptable expression.
"Now what?" he then asked me before I turned to Quinshuu.
"Can you go and get us a training room prepared? We'll be along shortly." I said as I grabbed Nin's hand and brought him upstairs. Coming to a stop once we had reached them before I then moved away. Knocking on a door before opening it and walking out as no one was there.
"You are looking for Einervaene?" Nin asked me, his mood fouling again before he went into his own room.
"Do you happen to know where she might be? I want to speak with her."