Reading Under Fire

[Fell]

It was well past noon, but December had only just woken up. He hated the daylight hours and made a point of sleeping through as many of them as he reasonably could, but there came a time each day at which he had to wake up. There was only so much sleeping one could do, after all.

Today December had woken earlier than he normally did. It was only 4 hours or so past noon, and the sun was still high in the sky. The black-haired cait sith wrinkled his nose delicately at it as he walked towards the training grounds. Though he could have stayed indoors, the day was cool and damp enough to temp him out. Summer was coming; it was Spring even now. December wanted to make the most of the last nice days there were.

With that in mind, December had risen, grabbed a book from his personal library and headed out. His first class today started at 6, so he had a couple of hours before he needed to be anywhere. Reading was always a good passtime.

The obstacle courses might have seemed an odd choice, but they were one of December\'s favourite places. Nothing there was quick enough to actually hurt him, even if he was reading, and there was shade besides. And the occasional burst of screaming... but that was a bonus treat. December\'s lips curled into a smile. He could always hope.

The master settled himself under a tree, near where a dart trap was. December had seen it set up the previous day, so he kept half an eye on its status. For now, though, all was quiet, and he could safely immerse himself in his book.

[DivineDarkness]

The sun was low in the sky, tinging the sky with light blues and oranges. Soon enough it would darken into red, purples then blues and Makia was becoming impatient with waiting for it. Only when it was dark enough could he slip past with no one noticing, well, that wasn\'t quite true either. Maybe he just favored the night over the day. Makia gazed out at the training grounds, and he couldn\'t help but notice several ditches had formed in the ground from a recent mock battle in the vicinity. "Wah....scary." He muttered as he crept around the holes, making sure to eye them for any suspicious behavior. His blonde-green hair was loose from its usual ribbon, spreading along his back in a soft waterfall of silken hair. Why might you ask, was his ribbon wasn\'t....in his hair? He had lost it.

Makia knew he could be a bit of an air-head but this was ridiculous. It was shameful to think he hadn\'t notice till an hour later that his hair was all over the place. He groaned deep in his throat, his chest rumbling. So, which is why he was here, solemn, green eyes darting every which way. "Where is it?" He muttered, his tone sounding a bit whiny as he twisted his fingers together in a nervous habit.

He gave a sigh before he began to mutter to himself, "Mind as well look from a better view."

Makia tilted his head back, body giving a light shudder as he released the stability of his physical body. His form shimmered in a soft glow before seemingly going transparent, his feet already leaving the ground. He flexed his ghostly fingers with a sigh before lifting himself up higher in the air. Once again he resumed his search, he settled down for a landing when he noticed a spot of black near a patch of grass. Closer inspection said it was a person. A male at that. Makia didn\'t really consider himself a people person, against popular belief. He didn\'t usually associate with others and he didn\'t want to start now.

He tried to inspect around the other\'s area without getting too close. Makia was starting to believe just going up to the other would be preferred. With a exhale of breath, he returned to his physical form, feet landing on the ground. He cleared his throat as he cautiously started to approach. "Excuse me, sir! Have you seen a white ribbon around?" He question, the small braids on either side of his face brushing each cheek as he moved.

[Fell]

December knew it the minute the boy got close. Spirits were a fae\'s specialty, after all, and the master was more than familiar with them. This one he paid little mind, however. If it wasn\'t able to hide from him, it almost certainly wasn\'t able enough to do him any real harm. Even so, December kept a lazy ear on the thing as it circled around. Looking for something? he wondered, the thought quickly pushed to the side by more interesting things - like his book.

When the spirit became corporeal and walked over? Then December deigned to pay attention. At least the boy knows respect, the cait sith thought as he eyed the other. That was a good sign in this school, where many of the students seemed to have forgotten their manners.

"Get a new one," December said simply. It was rather silly to try so hard to find the old one when a new one was only a short walk away. Besides, he had a book to be reading. The black-haired man glanced up at the youth again, wondering just how he\'d managed to go from spirit to corporeal. It wasn\'t easy; he would know. "What are you?" the master asked. It was a simple, direct question. December wasn\'t trying to charm anyone right now.

[DivineDarkness]

Makai\'s eye gave a sharp twitch as the other blew off the ribbon with a, \'Get a new one\'. He didn\'t want a new one. If he did he wouldn\'t be looking for this damn ribbon so hard. He chose to say nothing except huff and was about to turn his back on the other to stare over the ground to see if he saw a flash of white, but thinking better of it, he merely placed his hands on his hips. "What are you?" He heard the other\'s voice crawl into his ear before he finally decided to look back down at the other. An interesting question. One he didn\'t care to answer, especially strangers that rudely blew off his ribbons.

He decided to play dumb. He showed this display by giving a curious tilt to his head. "Me? My name is Makai. And you are?" He said, giving a razor-sharp smile.

[Fell]

December\'s tail twitched in annoyance even as his mouth curled itself into a dangerous smile. Playing dumb? As though I can\'t tell, the master thought. It always irritated him when students tried to pull such paltry tricks on him, especially the ones that smelled like mortal. December was quite sure there was more to this one, yes - but that didn\'t stop the smell. At least it wasn\'t as overpowering as a true human\'s.

"Had I wanted your name," December began, his voice taking on the quality of sharp steel covered in the finest of silks, "I would have asked." The master\'s eyes slid up to meet the boys, though December didn\'t put any real effort into doing anything with them. "But if you\'re going to insist upon playing dumb, I suppose I shall have to phrase my question more explicitly: Were a human to procreate with you, what would be the other half of its bloodline?" the black-haired man asked in the same slow, sensual, dangerous manner. Whether or not December would bother giving his name would remain to be seen.

[DivineDarkness]

Makai kept that childish expression on his face of complete idiocy before he felt the other\'s voice travel over his body, causing him to shiver. Scary~......The guy really did know how to phrase his questions. Makai maybe would have spoken in a more polite manner if he knew who December was and what his position is.....but he didn\'t. "Talk about intimidating...." He muttered before smiling and crouching down beside the other. Makai\'s eyes traveled over the smooth face, and the beautiful ebony hair that brushed along his neck.

Such eyes. But he avoided from looking into them. He placed his chin between his hands as he smiled at the other. "Sorry, sorry.....Well if you want to know Mister I-dont-have-a-name-and-don\'t-care-about-lost-ribbons, I\'m a Bergsra. Do I look human to you? A lot of people say that. And-"

The solemn, green eyes suddenly widened when he saw a movement of black. Tail and ears....black tail and ears......black, cat tail and ears. "....so cute...." He mumbled out of his mouth, now fully staring at them with utter fascination and admiration. Makia\'s fingers twitched, wanting to feel the soft fur under his fingertips. One of Makai\'s little ticks was that he really liked to touch people\'s hair and furry appendanges.

[Fell]

The boy muttered as though December couldn\'t hear him. Really. As though sound weren\'t the specialty of his house. It would have been insulting if the other had known December\'s station, but the Master was almost positive he didn\'t. If he did, he would behave differently, December was sure.

"Intimidating? Perhaps," the black-haired man responded smoothly, though he was certainly secretly pleased. Outside confirmation hadn\'t been a necessity for December for quite some time, but that didn\'t mean it wasn\'t nice from time to time.

December couldn\'t say he liked the playful tone the boy gave to him, and his eyes showed his sentiments quite simply and clearly. They flashed cold and hard a moment in a silent rebuke, but December said nothing more about it. The "so cute", however...

The master cleared his throat. It was a subtle but noticeable sound, one that was meant to interrupt whatever thought processes Makai was going through at the moment. "Yes, you do look human. Are Bergsra a born race or a created one?" he asked coldly, ignoring the all-too-familiar comment for the moment.

[DivineDarkness]

He was distracted from his imagining of his fingers brushing along the smooth furry ears and tail, eyes blinking in a daze before he looked back to the other\'s face. "Yes, you do look human. Are Bergsra a born race or a created one?" He gave a meek smile in apology for what he said before he considered the other\'s question. It was an interesting one. "You could say....both. From what I\'ve gathered Bergsras, such as myself are usually humans to begin with. I am the only one of my kind in this place, so I have only read things in books. Humans that die with a horrible emotion that make them cling to their bodies, and not move on. They become reanimated but they are both spirit and human. Die yet alive." He said with a light sigh, eyes drooping down in thought before his eyes flicked open.

Makai quickly slipped up his smile once more before shrugging, "But i\'m not sure. You see, Bergsras are very rare creatures. In most parts of the world, I am considered only a myth." He said with a light laugh.

[Fell]

"Aren\'t we all," December murmured softly, his lips barely moving through their faint, winter-y smile. Makai wasn\'t the only one who wasn\'t... common. There were several at the academy, but their world was a largely standard one. It might have been unfortunate if December didn\'t have the Courts to return to.

That wasn\'t important at the moment, however, so December put such thouhts from his head and continued questioning the boy. "So, a created race. You died, then?" the master asked. It was a very direct question, but a valid one given what Makai had said. If that was how they were made... Well, it would be interesting to hear his explanation. December was especially looking forward to hearing what he was doing in an assassin\'s academy.