Kirche waited just down the hall from her rival's door. Behind her was Flame, her salamander familiar. Her reason for being there was simple. To tease the pink haired girl and put a little more fire into the girl's heart. She was after all so very fun to tease. And that wolf was quite beautiful in its own right.

She had nothing against the girl she called Zero, aside from all the explosions that ruined her clothes and hair. Seriously it was good that the girl didn't back down and always tried, but she REALLY needed to learn to stop trying to do magic demonstrations.

However it would seem that despite her latest explosion Louise actually got her desired effect. Though it wasn't everything she claimed it would be, it was an impressive creature.

Kirche smiled broadly even as her own familiar rumbled behind her. It was probably just a little tired. It was a little while after the start of breakfast after all. It was around now that the smaller girl would start to awaken. And since the redhead had let the pinkett have a whole day where she could get to know and bask in the beauty of her familiar, Kirche planned to do some friendly teasing so as to remind her that there was always better. Which would likely cause the girl to argue and flair up in that cute little manner of hers. She giggled even as her familiar gave another rumble

However before she could turn around to pet her familiar and try to wake it up a bit more, the door down from her opened, and the girl she was waiting for walked out looking more than a little disgruntled. It was probably from the early hour. Perfect.

The Buxom student started to walk forward and lifted her arm in a wave. "Louise, good morning." She said in a cheerful way that was perfectly measured to be a bit obnoxious.

However the reaction she received was not what she expected.

The smaller girl puffed up as she turned around much like Kirche expected. However the salamander once more rumbled which caught the other girl's attention. After staring at the red lizard for a moment then looking down at her own wolf before looking back up at Kircher's face.

"Kirche, I'm tired and hungry. Our FAMILIARS are hungry. And you want to waste time bragging in the hallway, when you could easily do the same over a hot meal, while our familiars are able to relax and eat in the courtyard? Then again what else could one expect from a Von Zerbst than such conceit and shortsightedness?" the little Valliere said before turning away and starting to walk off.

Kirche was completely caught off guard. However she couldn't just let the other girl walk away. Especially after a statement like that. "Wait, how do you know Flame is hungry?" she called out causing Louise to stop and look back at her over her shoulder and stare at the buxom student as if studying her.

"Seriously Kirche? It's in the tone of his rumble and the posture of his stance. Is the only thing you know about him the species and rarity?" the girl asked sounding actually a bit startled. "We were supposed to have spent some time getting to know our familiars by now. Getting accustomed to them. Did you honestly just decide to skate on by like you ALWAYS do? With the familiar that suppose to be under your care?"

Kirche said nothing in reply. It was mostly out of shock for the conviction behind those words than any truth they contained. She hadn't COMPLETELY ignored the salamander. She just figured she could take her time to understand the creature. It was to be her lifelong partner after all. And it was a fire element like her so…

Louise seemed to take her silence as her answer. "Come on Flame lets go set you up with some food along side Shiranui. After all it looks like all your master's nutrients really did go to her chest." Kirche was again taken aback. There was more than the usual amount of venom in those words. None of the begrudging respect one gave to their rival or mortal enemy. She was even more shocked when Flame ACTUALLY walked by her to follow the pinkette.

"Your welcome." the girl said in answer to a low hiss from the red lizard.

It took a couple of minutes for Kirche's brain to restart enough for her to chase after them. She had been completely outdone by the zero. Humiliated. And she may have lost a lot of points in the other girl's eyes. Seeing how they were bitter enemies… she didn't know why that thought hurt as much as it did.


Louise leaned back in her chair with a contented sigh. A cup of tea and a saucer held in her hands as the noonday sun bathed her in life giving warmth. It was a beautiful day to have tea in the courtyard, as she was sure her fellow students would agree. She brought the cup to her lips, taking a deep breathe of the aromatic steam before taking a small sip. This was just what she needed after the excitement of yesterday. If only that was all it had been.

With a far less contented sigh the pinkette felt her mind go back over the previous day. What started with the strangest summoning she had ever heard of just got weirder with every minute. It said something about her day that the fact that she summoned a goddess from another world was the TAMEST thing of note about it. She took another sip of her tea, letting the warmth of it fill her body and act as an anchor for her mind. She was going to need it.

She was a scion of Valiere. A daughter of a powerful family of mages. The lineages of both her parents were filled with great figures. Her own mother was considered the strongest wind mage of the country, if not history. Each was a loyal follower of the church of the founder. And here she was, envoy for a goddess of a faith that didn't exist here. She now had the responsibility to spread the name of her FAMILIAR around. A name that was suppose to have power. And in exchange she would learn how to use her own.

She huffed into her tea as her eyes searched out for the troublesome she-wolf. She wasn't hard to find. After all there was only one wolf in the courtyard. Let alone a wolf escorting a maid while effortlessly balancing a tray of cakes on its back. She wasn't quite sure how the supposed goddess was pulling that off, but it certainly looked impressive. Not to mention handy. The maid certainly seemed to appreciate it.

She sighed again, though this time it was with a small smile creeping onto her lips. It hadn't taken long for Shiranui, it was easier to think of her with that name at least for now, to notice the over-burdened maid, and seek out to assist her. With her blessing of course. She WAS the master of this arrangement, despite circumstances. Though she was very much sure, based off of what she had heard from the caretakers after breakfast and her own observations, that the creature was helping just as much for the possibility of a sweet reward as she was out of the goodness of her heart. The woman in wolf's skin was quite the glutton apparently.

The smiles faded away again as she thought back on the circumstances for all this. After all it would appear she had inherited more than just a sword from her predecessor. She now had a duty. A purpose in life. A purpose that came with instincts on how to fulfill them. To some extent at least. Instincts that, to her great annoyance, only seemed to trigger for specific reasons. Has she found out when the maid… when Siesta had told her that fairytale.

She wasn't sure what it had been about it that had sparked her creative impulses. One minute she was getting petty revenge against her familiar. The next she felt this great need to draw. Not to mention her behavior. She was thankful to the founder that no one else had seen how she had acted. The mockery that would have caused. She didn't want to think about it. And yet, that hadn't stopped her at the time. At the time all she had thought about was how she needed to be nice to her… her muse of the moment. Yeah that had been what she had thought of the girl at the time. A muse. There had just been something about her and the story she had to tell. Even now she felt a kind of respect for the maid. She didn't see the other girl as a equal of course. That would be absurd. No, it wasn't like that. It was… it was hard to explain. She just knew that she had to treat the girl well, and if she did then she would be rewarded in turn with the return of that spark she had felt.

However that infuriated the young mage. That she needed a commoner and their fairytales to feel that spark. She had tried to recapture it herself just last night. Thought of one of the tales about the founder himself, grabbed some paper, and sat down to draw. And yet… and yet, despite it being scripture, despite it being RIGHT, she couldn't draw anything. Even when she recited the stories out loud it felt… wrong somehow. No wrong wasn't the right word. Hollow. It had felt hollow. The stories of the founder she had remembered didn't carry the same warmth as Siesta's fairytale. Then again according to Shiranui it wasn't a fairytale. It had really happened. Which only made it even more frustrating. What had Siesta's tale had that the story of the founder didn't? Was it because it talked of her familiar in a roundabout way? Was that it?

With a small growl she gulped down the rest of her tea. She set the cup on the saucer and the saucer on the table. She tried to do so calmly, but the slight clinking of the porcelain was a testament of her failure. This was getting her nothing but more frustration. If only there was some way to work it off.

"LIAR!"

Louise looked up at the sudden shout at a large crowd that had formed while she was lost in her thoughts. Walking away from that crowd was none other than Montermercy along with a first year girl. Both looked betrayed and angry. That could only mean one thing.

"You mongrel! How dare you harm the hearts of such pure maidens!"

Yup there was Guiche. Well ask, and you shall receive. She couldn't help but let a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth before she schooled her face. It was time to pull her familiar out of the fire, and burn off some stress.


Amaterasu frowned to herself. There were suppose to be limits to how idiotic people could be. Was this Guiche really so conceited that he honestly could not see a flaw in how he acted? Even Susano realized his mistakes and shortcomings. She let a growl emanate from her throat at the accusation. This fool needed to be taught some humility.

A comforting hand was placed upon her head, and the smell of home filled her nose. "Please sir, I don't think you can blame Shiranui for this. She was only trying to help out." Siesta, such a sweet child. Definitely someone her 'master' needed to get to know better. Give her someone to relate to.

"Are you going to take responsibility than?" Guiche replied with a sneer.

"What? But I-"

"It is obvious that you were jealous of what Monmon and I had. You wanted to break us apart, so you caused this."

"WHAT!? No. I di-"

"Silence, you guilt is plain as day. For such you shall be punished." Guiche was now smiling like he won some great prize.

The sun goddess leaned back and pressed herself to the ground in preparation for defending the kind girl beside her. A growl came from her throat as she focused her full attention on the whelp before her. He would harm the girl over her dead body, and she had PLENTY of food in her astral pouches.

"The only punishment that needs to happen has already been done." a voice called out. All eyes turned to the speaker in time to see the petite pinkette walk through the crowd. Her face were blank as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I would appreciate it if you ended this farce now."

"Zero. This is none of your business."

Her master looked across the crowd. Taking in the details. Then their eyes met and weakened goddess gave a small nod. She was slightly amused when she saw the miniscule smirk reach the girl's lips.

"Well seeing how that is MY familiar you were yelling at. Not to mention I was the one that sent her to help that maid. So that means it IS my business. You going to throw some of that blame my way now?"

It warmed Amaterasu's heart to see that grin vanish and be replaced with a frown. It really did. It was the frown of a fool realizing their folly. Though the way his eyes went from Louise to herself and back again had her worried. The return of the smile more so. What was he planning now?

"Well than there is only one way to settle this then. I declare a duel is in order." he decreed grandly.

Louise sighed, rested her forehead against the tip of her fingers on one hand, and closed her eyes. "Guiche, you know that duels between nobles are forbidden."

"Yes, but that is no noble that is it?" Guiche replied with a dramatic point. A point that lead directly towards the goddess in disguise. That caused a great stir among the children watching. A murmur rippled through the collected youths.

The young user of Ku opened her eyes and just stared at the blonde. Then those pink eyes met her own and they shared a look. He must really be desperate to be declared innocent. It was… kinda sad really. The worst part was that he didn't seem to realize what he was doing wrong.

"You want to challenge… an animal to a duel?" the pinkette asked in mild amazement. "An animal, that while intelligent, wouldn't know of the concept of a duel, and couldn't accept such a challenge on its own?"

They could see the moment when the knowledge that he made a huge mistake dawned on him. However they could equally see that he wasn't about to back down. "Yes, unless you have no faith in your familiar that is." The idiot had the audacity to smirk at that. Actually smirk like he was the one in the right.

Her master approached her and ran a hand along her back. This had the consequence of having her hand brush against Siesta's since the other girl had yet to retrieve her own during this exchange. The little squeak and light tightening in grip was amusing.

"Oh I have faith in Shiranui. It's in the nature of the duel that I don't have faith in. That is unless you are proposing a match between BOTH of our familiars?"

The blonde almost physically recoiled at that. Clearly he had not expected that. In fact if his paling face was any indication, that was something he REALLY didn't want. "What do you mean?"

"My wolf versus your mole. Isn't that what YOU meant? After all there is no honor in a mage dueling a wolf is there? So you obviously have faith in your mole defeating my wolf. Don't you?"

The wolf goddess snickered to herself as the blonde floundered for a bit. His turnign red with embarressment as his mouth couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to say. Then he huffed before he turned right around and started to storm off with a mumbled "I don't have time for this." Her little apprentice had done well. A statement she made sure to make clear as she looked up at the girl as the crowd dispersed. Which earned her a return smile and an ear scratch.

They stood there like that. Just watching as the other students either wandered back to their tables, or headed into the academy itself. It was a companionable silence. One where not a word needed to be spoken for everything was understood.

"Thank you my ly lady." Siesta said , breaking the silence and taking away her hand in order to curtsey. "You didn't need to do that, and you have my thanks that you did. I must get back to work however."

"Then Shiranui and I shall help you." Louise replied. Siesta reacted with shock and opened her mouth to replied only for the younger girl to hold up her hand and continue, "Everything may have worked out, but Shiranui was still the cause of all the trouble. As her master and a noble I have to take responsibility, and I will not allow Guiche or any of his friends to try something while I am gone. So I will accompany you for at least a little bit." The goddess watched with silent amusement as the maid did a land stuck fish impression before nodding.

"Besides," the pinkette continued, "If I'm pretty sure the glutton will want a sweet reward after this, and if I'm not there to pull her away she will puppy eye her way to eating all the cakes. And we can't have that can we?" Amaterasu huffed at that even as it brought a smile Seista's face. She wouldn't eat ALL the cakes. Just most of them. How dare she imply otherwise.

The wolf glared up at her 'master' who just smiled teasingly back before turning the smile back onto the poor maid. "Now then let's get this over with, shall we?"

"Alright my lady."

"Please you may call me Louise. At least when it's just the three of us."

That once again took the poor dark haired girl by surprise and brought a light blush to her cheeks. "Isn't… isn't that a bit too familiar?"

Louise waved her off "You already shared something personal with me, and Shiranui has taken a liking to you. I don't see a problem with this small concession. Do you?"

Siesta shook her head and Amaterasu nodded to herself. It seemed she didn't have much to worry about when it came to the girl. She was going to do just fine. As the two girls went to collect dishes from the abandoned tables, the goddess took the time to observe her young summoner.

She certainly did remind her of a younger Issun. Brash, loud, and a bit arrogant. However underneath all the bluster was a soul that wanted others to see it for its own accomplishments. Someone desperate to be seen and heard, and who truly cared for others. Just like that young poncle, Louise had to be guided and shaped into her potential, so that she herself could see it as well. See what she is capable of. See that she didn't need to struggle alone. That by bringing peace and happiness to others, she could achieve it herself.

Though she first needed to let go of those hollow stories that she desperately tried to draw last night. She needed her own stories. Something to embrace with passion and love. Oh well, she was bound to figure that out on her own. Eventually. Hopefully.

As plates started to be placed upon the tray on her back she shook herself out of her revery. Those thoughts were for the future. Now was the time for the present. A present that would soon contain cake. And that was what was important. Even if she had to share some of it.