"EVERYONE TO THE BRIDGE, NOW! I MEAN IT! GET HERE NOW!" Vadei screamed through the airship's speaker system. And when we all properly registered it in our heads, we bolted out of the cafeteria. Larishazza was the only one who tried to keep her food with her but she quickly lost it.
"What's the problem!?" I asked immediately once I was done tearing up the floor when I came to a sudden stop.
"That..." Vadei answered as her baffled face pointed towards the large screen she had brought up. And when I saw it, I felt like I had gone a bit cold because I was not expecting that at all.
"Oh..." I let out with uncertainty as I stared at the contents of the screen. It was a crowd, a very, very large crowd and it was gathered at the hanger. We were never going to sneak back in undetected, so we decided on going in with our heads high. But, none of us could have accounted for this.
"Why are there so many of them!?" Liadanann hysterically asked as this likely made her very uncomfortable. But, I would not say it to her face, because that was underselling it by quite the magnitude.
"D-Do we stick with the plan?" Einervaene gulped out as she started to hide her face. The other one, however, did the opposite, instead, she went outside. And soon we were watching her land before the crowd with a dazzling display of magic.
"Yes." I said quickly and simply as I screamed on the inside at what we were about to experience. But, once Larishazza's magic had stopped blocking our view, I noticed something odd. They were cheering... They were all cheering...
"Okay, any changes?" Vadei let out as her hand trembled on the button that would let us land properly.
"We aren't getting out of this..." I groan quietly before I found myself latched onto. Liadanann was practically shivering in fear and I would have to try my best to comfort her.
"Okay, let's go." Einervaene said once she had finished breathing in and out. She then went on ahead and was noticeably pale as we walked.
"Wait!" Vadei let out as she chased after us as the ramp began to lower itself. And, like with Liadanann, those two moved closer to me as we exited the airship. It was there we truly grasped the scale of everything as well. Because the moment we stepped outside, we were barraged by sound and flashes.
"COME ON, COME ON! GIVE US A GOOD SHOT OF HER!" someone with a camera screamed amongst others doing the same as Liadanann set everyone off.
"Got anything you aren't telling us!?" I loudly and awkwardly joke to my friend as she shivers against me.
"G-G-Get us..." she couldn't even finish before I heard whimpers leave her.
"Okay, let's try and get you to the dorm..." I told her, hoping it would reassure her. But, my plan was instantly grounded because the Academy's security forces were hovering about. So, instead, we were forced to walk through the opening in the crowd. And, in a way, I felt like the Equilibrium and his fearful son, because Liadanann was acting like him.
She was trembling under my cloak and she was shaking as if she was being shocked. It did a lot to make me forget my own worries, but, now all I could think about was her. To say nothing of the careless disregard some people had to my privacy when they tried to tear at my cloak. Liadanann was pretty much in tears before we had even got past the first few people.
"YOU TWO!" I roared as I clutched onto my friend protectively before a magic barrier suddenly appeared. It had given us the room we needed to move and I took advantage of it. So I picked up my friend and ran with all the haste I could back to our dorm. I didn't even open the door, I just smashed it down and dashed upstairs into my room.
Which, now that I remembered this place, might've been a bad choice given its...
"Why're there so many of them!?" Liadanann managed to get out as she broke down crying before me. Before I answered, however, I took hold of her and held her as a stampede headed towards us. I wasn't sure what we could do about it. So I waited for the others to arrive, well, with the exception of Larishazza.
"My word, what's is wrong with them!?" Einervaene asked us as she as lightning began to flow from her hands as she guarded the door. Vadei, meanwhile, made sure all the other entrances were sealed shut.
"Come on now, quiet, it's alright." I cooed to Liada as I moved her closer. Stroking her hair carefully and I made sure I could hear her in case she was mumbling.
"I-I'm sorry if this is my fault..." Vadei was quick to whine presumptuously. Features, like usual, began to go down or stay still. But, there was no need for them to do so.
"We don't know what's going on out there. Hopefully, we can squeeze an explanation out of the staff..." I say with uncertainty as I began to think of harsh their words were likely going to be... We stole an airship and interfered with their business, they were not going to be happy...
"They were very... Aggressive in their curiosity." Einervaene commented as she turned back to look at me and Liada.
"Yeah... Something is very wrong. I can get them knowing that we'd be coming, but, how would they know that Liada here was there? Were we scanned or something, Vadei?"
"Not that I picked up, no!" she was quick to answer before her body lowered itself down in apology.
"It must have been something we had no way of preparing ourselves against, then." I say as I turned my attention back to Liada. She needed all the help she could get right now as while I was nervous along with the others... She was terrified, she was, indescribably terrified. And it's a shame I knew why...
"So many... Humans..." she quietly whimpered as she trembled on my lap.