Note: I don't own Homestuck or Negima. This last title will make sense if you read on.
At breakfast on Saturday, Vriska introduced the kids to Mr. Captor, the Tech teacher.
"Jutht call me Thollux," he said. He frowned. "Thollux…Tholl…Th…"
"Sollux," Vriska said.
"Thankth," he lisped.
"You're the one who crashed Mr. Vantas's computer!" John said.
"Thanks, man," Dave said. "Saved me an hour or so of boring lectures and stupid literature."
"No problem. I'm glad to hear he didn't take out hith fruthration on hith thu—thu—pupilth."
"Nah, he wath—was pretty lax about it." Dave blinked; Sollux's lisp was sort of contagious, like an accent.
"If by lax you mean he threw an electronic device across the room and facedesked in a fit of 'doneness', then yes, he was 'pretty lax'," Rose said. Sollux laughed in delight.
"I with I could have theen that. I knew I thould have hacked the thecurity camerath, but I wath in a hurry…"
"CAPTOR!"
The kids flinched and busied themselves with their meals as their exceedingly angry English teacher stormed between the tables to their own, his face a picture of rage. Sollux pushed his two-coloured glasses up his nose and sauntered off across the room towards the high table, and the empty seat next to Feferi.
/
There were no classes, but Jade wanted to continue work on her robot and Rose had some knitting to do back at her room. Dave wanted to play basketball, but John really wasn't in the mood. He let his friend go off to shoot hoops on his own and meandered around the grounds for a while, until his mind was made up.
Room 8A was on the first floor of Building E, and John had no trouble locating it. He knocked politely, received a warm "Come in!", and pushed open the door.
Inside was a well-lit room, faintly yellow in hue, with a brown reclining couch like those seen in psychologist offices in movies. There was an ugly potted plant in the corner and large, solid wooden desk with a computer, and old-fashioned ink blotter, and yet another spidery plant in a small vase. A small, ornate crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Aranea rested her hands on the desk in front of her and smiled at her guest. "John! It's nice to see you. Are you here to chitchat, or is this something more serious?"
"It's about what you told us."
"Oh. Please, take a seat on the couch and tell me all about it."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not."
"Then come in, and close the door. What about it is bothering you?"
John did as he was told. "Well, yesterday, in third period, there was a girl—"
"Yes, I heard about that. A pity, really, and very bothersome."
John fidgeted with his hood. "I'm afraid that one day, a note will come, and it will be me or Rose or Jade or Dave that the headmaster wants. And I don't know what to do."
Aranea's smile became bittersweet. "John, I can understand your worry. I've lost friends to that man. But until we come up with a more permanent solution, we can only hope for the best, and trust in luck. In fact, I think I'll give you something. Come closer."
John did so. Aranea reached behind her neck and unclasped a small silver chain. As she drew it forward, a small pendant emerged from her neckline and fell forward. She cupped the pendant in her hand and held it forward. "This is my lucky necklace. Where I come from, it is a symbol of a brighter future. I've found that whenever I wear it, my life is protected by luck. That's not to say that I'm unlucky if I don't wear it, but…let's just say things are a bit brighter when I do."
John held up his hands. "I couldn't accept that!"
"I insist, John. You need it more than I do. When things die down—if they die down—you can return it to me, if you wish. That necklace needs to go where it's needed."
John hesitated. Finally, he held out a hand. Aranea placed the necklace in his palm and curled his fingers around it. "Keep it safe, and it will keep you safe. And if you have any other worries, I'll be here. Now, go out and enjoy your Saturday!"
"Yes…thank you," John said.
When the door had closed behind him and he was back in the cool, clean air of the Northwest, John took a closer look at the pendant in his hand. It looked like the horoscope symbol for Cancer, he thought. He put it on and hid the pendant in his uniform, his hood fully concealing this new accessory.
/
"Aren't you going to sit down with us, Dave?" Jade asked at dinner. The blond boy was hastily shoving a ham sandwich into his mouth.
He shook his head and finished chewing. "I can't. I have to practice my combat skills if I want to pass that class any time soon. I'll see you guys tomorrow." And, with the rest of his sandwich still in hand, he rushed out of the dining room.
Rose shrugged. "I won't be with you very long. I thought I'd take the time to examine the library here, once I'm finished with my pasta."
Jade was still puzzling over Dave's behavior. "Yeah…"
"I wonder why he hasn't told us what his first period class is?" John wondered aloud, turning a statement into a question.
"Perhaps it's something 'uncool', like band or interior decorating," Rose joked.
"What's so bad about band?"
"Never mind, John."
/
The library was nearly empty when Rose got there. A few older students were already studying for tests in AP classes, and a small black cat with two white, eye-like spots above it's real eyes, were the only visible occupants.
It was the first time that Rose had had free reign in a library. Usually, her mother would simply buy books for herself and expect Rose to enjoy them, too. But here, to read or not to read was all up to her.
She went straight for the fantasy novels, and when she'd narrowed it down to about five, she went to the classics, and then the psychology. With her arms full, she rounded the corner into the poetry section and nearly bumped into someone else. As it was, she lost her grip on her books, and several of them tumbled to the floor.
"Oh! I am so sorry, young lady. No, please, don't bother to bend down and get them, it is my own fault. Here, allow me. You have quite a lot of books there, if I may be so BOLD as to say so. I do not mean to be rude. Oh, f*ddlest*cks." Somehow, the man was able to convey asterisks in his speech. "Now I've dropped my broom. Ah! Language! So sorry, miss. Here you go! That's the last one!"
As the man, who was blocked from Rose's sight by the large stack of books, placed the last tome on the top of the pile, the entire stack collapsed. He slapped a hand to his mouth.
His mouth was, really, the only facial feature visible. He wore a strange mask—or was it a helmet? Maybe a hood? Or something?—with goggles, and his horns—for he was a troll—stuck out though holes in the top. It gave a strange impression, like a bug or an astronaut, or maybe a skull. Rose wasn't quite sure.
The man was now crawling around on the floor, simultaneously retrieving books and accidentally smacking them farther apart. All the while, he kept up a constant stream of apologies and mild, censored 'curse' words, which never got much worse than 'heck'. There were also a lot of horse puns.
"Perhaps it would be better simply to gather them up in a neat cluster, sir, and organize them later," Rose suggested, picking up a few of the nearest books.
"Yes, yes, that would be more efficient…"
Rose went down the aisle a bit to retrieve the runaway novels. When she turned around, the man was puzzling over a neat pyramid of books.
"Oops. I guess I got a bit carried away. Hard to rein in when I'm off full gallop, ha, ha." His laugh came out more like a whinny, if it was possible for a human—er, troll—to whinny. He scratched the back of his head, even though it was covered by his helmet.
"That's fine. Thank you for your help." Rose placed her pile next to it. "Would it be troublesome if I left them here while I look around this aisle?"
"Not at all, miss."
Rose glanced around. The bookshelves towered over her, up into the rafters. The library had been built like a mini skyscraper, and was an add-on that ran behind the two dormitories, with exits on every floor into the dorms themselves. The dorms were each eight floors tall; the library, however, was nine.
There were huge, old trees that must have been there since before construction, and had simply been incorporated into the floorplan. Each tree was ringed with benches to sit on and read by the light of Chinese lanterns that gave off much better light than they should have. Plants grew on the shelves, and there were a couple of waterfalls, too. It reminded Rose of the library she had once seen in a wizard manga, Negima.
Her eye caught on a thick book on the seventh shelf, well out of Rose's reach. She tapped her foot and tapped her lip, trying to devise a method to safely obtain the book.
A strong tap on her shoulder derailed that train of thought.
"Excuse me, miss, but I could not help noticing that you were looking at a book that is higher on the shelves. Would you like me to help you get it down?"
He was much taller. Rose nodded.
"Up we go, then."
He grabbed her around the waist suddenly and lifted her into the air. She found herself kneeling on his shoulders, just on level with the shelf she needed, but well to the right of the book. She looked down; the man was also pointedly looking down, presumably so as not to see up her skirt. He needn't have worried; Rose liked to wear shorts under her skirts.
"Could you perhaps move to the left a bit, sir?"
"What? Oh, yes, of course."
She wobbled a bit as he repositioned them. He went too far, though, and the book was just out of her reach.
"A little to the right, please."
He barely moved. Rose hooked a finger on the top of the book's spine and tugged a bit to loosen the dusty tome. When she was able to, she grabbed the spine and pulled it out.
There was a heartstopping moment when her leg slipped and she teetered, one arm holding the shelf. Then her other hand lost its grip on the smooth wood of the shelf, and she fell backwards, a small, surprised yelp escaping her lips. She closed her eyes and braced for impact.
Instead of the floor, though, she plopped into the man's arms, the gold-plated book landing on her stomach and knocking the wind out of her so effectively that she began to panic.
"Easy there, miss. Breathe in, and out. In, and out." When Rose's breathing had returned to normal, the man placed her back on her feet and patted her shoulder. It sort of hurt.
"So sorry, miss, for dropping you like that."
"It's fine, thank you."
The man smiled. "You are welcome, miss. Just doing my job."
"And what is your job, exactly?" Rose asked, curious.
"Janitor, actually, but I double as librarian. It's refreshing to meet a young filly who enjoys reading so much. Too many young ones these days don't appreciate fine literature."
"I know what you mean." So this is Horuss? Rose thought. For some reason, perhaps because of the name, Rose had expected an Egyptian man, not a troll. And definitely not this. He didn't seem the type of person to be a janitor.
Horuss looked as if he might have said something in reply, but he suddenly shut his mouth and hid behind the pile of books he had created. Rose looked behind her casually, as if looking for another book.
A female troll stepped into view and stopped. She turned her head and met Rose's gaze with pure white eyes and a blank expression. Then her eyebrows arched downwards and her round, red lips curved up in a sinister grin, and a hiss of laughter escaped her throat. She was a grown woman, but she wore an Asian schoolgirl uniform and way, way too much make-up.
Rose averted her gaze, pretending to go back to looking at the titles of books. After a few minutes, the woman walked away.
When the coast was clear, Rose gave up the pretence and Horuss stood up.
"So sorry," he whispered. "Damara Megido always worries me. She's not the same as—" he clammed up. "Never mind. I can help you check out your books, if you are ready, miss."
Rose nodded, but her mind was elsewhere.
So, that's Damara Megido…
/
Early on Sunday morning, Jade woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. It was still dark out; the buffet wouldn't be open for a few hours. Restless, Jade silently dressed in a T-shirt, a hoodless sweatshirt, and jeans, slipped some warm socks on, and grabbed her boots. She crept out into the hall, taking every pain not to wake Rose, and pulled her boots on before tip-toeing down the hall, descending the stairs, and sneaking out the doors into the chilly morning air. Jade immediately regretted not taking a hat.
Perhaps she would explore a bit. There was some space behind the library that was so far out of the way that no one ever went there, and Jade was curious as to why. Perhaps there was some deeper reason? But if there was, surely there would be a rule about it?
Whatever the reason might be, Jade was curious, and when Jade was curious, it was hard to persuade her to leave the matter alone. Head held high, she rounded the dormitory and walked along the wall, fingertips brushing the stone to guide her. Eventually, after what felt like ages, the stone ran out, and her hand was fluttering about in midair. She found the wall again and crept along behind the library.
It was getting lighter now, the cold, bright white of a cloudy Washington morning. There was enough darkness, however, to raise Jade's suspicion when a hint of candlelight caught her eye.
Up ahead was a small chapel, not very tall or wide. It had dusty stained glass windows and wooden timbers, with stone steps leading up to the firmly-shut wooden doors. Jade tested the handle and found it was unlocked. Or maybe there was no lock; it certainly looked old enough.
The hinges creaked as she pushed the door open and peered in. There were four rows of pews, crammed against the wall to make a decent aisleway. At the head of the church was an ornate, carefully-crafted fresco of a mother and child, ringed by a halo of brilliant light. Candles burned in three-pronged holders on either side of the fresco. A faded red carpet covered the aisle and led up the steps to the platform which held a small wooden altar, a few holly bushes in pots, and a small, green something.
Jade slipped in and paused. The something was muttering under its breath, and hunched over as if praying. Perhaps it was praying. But the thing looked more like a demon from where Jade stood, and she wasn't sure demons prayed. She wasn't even sure how one was supposed to pray; her grandfather had never taught her.
The carpet muffled her steps. She was able to creep up behind the thing at the altar and tap it on the shoulder. The creature spun around.
Its eyes were large and scared. Its cheekbones, or what Jade assumed were cheekbones, protruded, made even harsher because the thing seemed to be a sort of skeleton creature. It had little green swirls on its cheeks.
"Please! Don't hurt me! Don't look at me!" The creature covered its face with its claws and huddled into a protective ball on the steps. "Please!"
"I won't hurt you," Jade soothed. The thing just seemed so pitiful, how could she ever dream of harming it?
One eye peered out from between the creatures fingers. "You promise?" it said, British accent more pronounced.
"I promise. What's your name, little guy?"
"Girl. I'm a girl." The creature turned away from Jade. "My name is Calliope."
"What a pretty name! I'm Jade Harley. Are you a student at SBURB, too?"
Calliope shook her head. "I wish I could be, but it will never happen."
"Why not?"
"I'd rather not talk about it."
Jade knelt next to Calliope. The green girl turned her face away.
"Don't do that, Calliope. You don't look that bad."
"I'm hideous."
"No, you're not. There are so many things in the world that are worse. Please?"
Reluctantly, Calliope turned her head.
"Oh, you're cute!" And Jade meant it. The little swirls added a touch of adorable to the skull-like face. Calliope smiled, making her even cuter.
"You're just saying that…"
"Not at all!" A thought occurred to Jade. "If you asked anyone else, I think they'd agree."
Calliope turned away. "I can't ask anyone else. No one should even know I'm here. I never leave this place."
"Then how do you get food?"
"Well, there was this girl, Roxy, who used to show up three times a day with food. But she stopped coming a while ago. Do you know why, perhaps?" Calliope's eyes widened.
Jade hesitated. "Um…I think she had to go somewhere. So nobody brings you food anymore?"
"Oh, no, occasionally someone drops a basket off. I don't know who, because they leave the basket by the door, and knock. But they always make sure to give me only vegetarian meals. I don't really like eating meat."
Bright light was filtering through the stained glass. If Jade didn't hurry back, she'd have a lot more explaining to do. "I'm sorry, Calliope, but I have to go. I'll try to bring you food sometime, okay? And it was nice meeting you!"
"It was nice to meet you, too, Jade. And please, don't tell anyone about me. It's safer that way."
"Alright, I promise."
/
The coconut-white light filtered in through the blinds, bathing John's room and making it much too bright to sleep. John fumbled for his glasses and rubbed the sleep from the corners of his eyes before getting dressed in a T-shirt, a green jacket, and jeans. He combed his hair, brushed his teeth, and yawned profusely.
When he left his room, he found Dave sleeping on the couch.
Dave hadn't returned from the armory when John had turned in for bed last night (which, admittedly, was pretty early), and John hadn't heard him come in. He must have been exhausted if he's chosen to sleep on the couch.
Dave looked really, really cold. It was hard enough adjusting to the Washington climate, but when you were from Texas, it was worse. And Dave had fallen asleep with his shades on, too tired to close the curtains to protect his sensitive eyes from the light.
Deciding it was probably best not to wake his friend, John instead grabbed a blanket and draped it over him. He noticed a folder in Dave's hand; most likely, it held instructions on correct form and other combat-related things.
When he was sure Dave was comfortable, John left for breakfast.
/
When Jade got back from her adventure, she found Rose sitting on the couch, tapping her foot.
"Excuse me, but where were you at this hour, young lady?" Rose asked, eyebrows raised and expression set halfway between suggestive and skeptical.
Jade had prepared an excuse. "I just fancied a walk. The air here is nice, if it is a bit cold." Okay, so it wasn't really an excuse, but it held truth, so it wasn't a lie, right?
One of Rose's eyebrows looked like it planned to escape into her hairline.
"It's true!"
Rose ran her gaze up and down her roommate. Jacket, boots, fully clothed…well, it wasn't exactly the attire of someone sneaking out for certain late-night activities, was it? Not that jade owned anything of the sort, as far as Rose knew…
"Okay, I believe you. Please forgive me for acting like a mother."
Jade giggled. "No, it's fine. I've never had a mother, so it's sort of nice knowing there's someone to worry about me."
Rose stood up and offered an arm. "Shall we proceed to the dining room?"
/
Dave joined his friends halfway through breakfast, sloppily dressed and with tousled, unbrushed hair. A few of the more gutter-minded students snickered as he passed.
"Sup, dudes," Dave mumbled as he plopped a tray of apple juice and eggs down. He yawned.
"Late night, hmm?" Rose said suggestively.
"It takes a lot out of you, fighting does," Dave said. "Not that you'd know, Rose. Seers don't get much combat training, do they?"
"Dave was so tired he couldn't even make it to his bed!" John laughed.
Dave scratched the back of his head. "Did I wake you up? Sorry, dude."
"Nah, you were fine. I just noticed you this morning."
"Oh. Thanks for the blanket, man."
"No problem."
/
The kids spent their Sunday casually, alternately doing their own thing and hanging out. Vriska was busy most of the day; apparently, she was already failing at least three classes.
At dinner, Dave started the conversation.
"There's a church service after dinner. Anybody else going?"
Rose raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you were religious, Dave."
"When you live in the South, it's hard not to be."
Rose returned to her tea and crackers. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Dave, but I'm atheist."
"I'm Jewish," John said with a shrug.
Dave turned to Jade. "What about you?"
Jade fidgeted. "I've never been to church…I mean, I celebrate Christmas and all that, but living on an island, there aren't exactly many chances for Sunday mass." She looked up. "But I'd like to go, to see what it's like."
Dave smiled. "There's no harm in trying. After dinner, you might want to change into a dress or something, and I'll meet you outside your dorm, okay?"
"Sort of an odd first date, isn't it, Dave?" Rose said. Jade blushed discreetly.
"Haha, very funny, Rose."
/
"So? What did you think?" Dave asked on the way back.
"I liked the singing parts. But I spent more time reading the Bible than actually listening to the sermon," Jade said, feeling a bit ashamed of herself.
Dave laughed. "That's what I did when I was younger. I was more interested in the stories than what they meant. Would you go again?"
Jade nodded. "I think I could get used to it."
From behind, a voice cursed hesitantly. Jade and Dave turned around and saw the crippled boy that Vriska had tormented, trying to unstick the wheels of his chair from a rut in the ground. No one was helping him.
"You go on ahead, Dave, I'll catch up," Jade said. Dave nodded, and Jade went back to help.
"Here, let me," she said, and bent down carefully. The rut was full of mud, and her blue dress got covered.
"Um, you don't have to, your dress is getting all, um, dirty," the boy stuttered.
"It's okay. Man, you really are stuck, aren't you? Maybe try leaning to the right a bit?"
He didn't respond. Jade looked up.
The area around them was deserted, save for a lone figure about six feet away: Damara Megido.
The boy had gone rigid with fear. Jade felt her hands start to sweat under the blank white gaze of her former teacher. To her dismay, Ms. Megido began to close the gap between them.
"Um, good evening, Ms. Megido," Jane said. "Lovely night, isn't it?"
The Japanese teacher said nothing, but pulled the chopsticks out of her hair menacingly.
"Ms. Megido…?"
The woman was three feet away when an Australian-accented voice yelled, "Damara!"
Ms. Megido's gaze left the children and moved up and to the left. Jade turned around to see her savior.
A troll with large wings and horns was walking towards them, having left the church a bit late. He wore a large smile, but it seemed somewhat forced, as if he wasn't sure if a smile was the right expression.
"What are you doing out here? It's late."
"私がなりたい場合、私はここにすることができます."
"I know, but it's cold, and there's no reason to be scaring the students like this."
"だから？おそらく彼らはそれに値する。私はこの女の子が好きではありません。彼女は私のクラスを落とし、彼女はサック次第です。"
"Please, Damara?"
She hesitated, and Jade thought her eyes might have flickered to the boy in the wheelchair; it was hard to be sure when the woman had no pupils or irises.
"ファイン。" Ms. Megido sheathed her needles/chopsticks in her hair again and turned on her heel.
"You look lovely tonight, doll!" yelled the troll as the Japanese teacher walked away. She stopped for a second, then with a shake of her head continued at a faster pace.
When she had gone, the man turned to Jade and the boy. "You'll have to excuse Damara, dolls. She's got a bit of a temper. I don't believe I've seen you in my classes," he said, poking at Jade's shoulder playfully.
"I'm Jade Harley."
"Ah, the Space player Damara was telling me about. She's always a bit tetchy when someone drops her class." He smiled at the boy. "Tavros! How's that Spanish coming along?"
"Muy bien, Señor Rufioh," the boy replied with a grin. Jade noticed that when he spoke Spanish, all the hesitation and stuttering went out of his voice.
"Good to hear! Keep up the good work!" He noticed the wheel that was stuck. "Let me help you with that, kids."
When Tavros was unstuck, Señor Rufioh waved goodbye. Tavros and Jade walked back to the dorms together in an awkward silence. When they parted ways, Tavros apologized again for Jade's 'ruined' dress, even though Jade insisted that it would be easy to clean. He was a bit exhausting, actually.
When Jade entered the shared room, Rose had gone to bed. There was a note on the kitchen counter, along with Rose's cell phone. The note said:
Dave called to make sure you got home okay. You might wish to text him and let him know you did.
Jade did. Before she had walked away, a new message popped up.
Good night
-Dave
/
Okay, if it bothers anyone, just know that Damara's form of Japanese is literally the shitty kind you get when you run text through Google translate. No complaining, okay?
Translation:
1) I can be out here if I want to be
2) So? Maybe they deserve it. I don't like this girl. She dropped my class and she's a suck-up.
3) Fine.
Yeah, so my headcanon is that Rufioh has an Australian accent. But he doesn't use a lot of Australian slang.