"Ah, a good morning to you Kami." Stein exhailed his cigarette smoke to the side politely from Kami's face and she bowed her head in return.
"Im glad that you sound like you're having a good morning." She looked over her shoulder gesturing to Spirit who was oblivious to her infuriation. Stein adjusted his glasses and put a hand out to Kami.
"Well, I had the most peculiar start actually. Would you like to hear?" Kami glanced behind over at Spirit again and figured it would give her an excuse to ignore him.
"Why not, fire away."
"Well, I got up quite early this morning and had my morning cup of coffee, made by Marie of course, and took a step outside to light up a smoke. While I was outside, a little crow came up to me with a damaged wing."
"A crow? Any animal would have to be stupid to approach you." Stein nodded and took in another drag.
"I know right? Well, the little thing hopped up to me, I'm guessing it wanted food or something so I picked it up and took it inside. Doesn't look like your average American Crow which had me piling up some questions." Kami found herself loosing interest quickly but kept listening, or at least tried to look interested.
"Don't all crows look the same?" Kami threw out in the open, trying to convince Stein that she was paying attention. Stein lifted a finger to silence her.
"Not at all! Yes, the majority are a metallic black, but you can also get crows of different sizes, eye colours, calls and also some white rarities. This crow had white feathers scattered across it's body, defiantly from overseas. I'd say it's a Hooded Crow, Collared Crow or even possibly the believed extinct Pied Raven, which is unlikely but still a possibility."
"An extinct bird that stumbles to your door?" Kami cocked an eyebrow unbelievably. "Are you smoking something else in those cigarettes of yours?"
"Now, now Kami, I am all just guessing here. For me to know for sure, I'd have to take blood samples or…dissect it." He seemed to trail off into his own world after mentioning 'dissect', making Kami somewhat uncomfortable in his now menacing presence.
"Y, you don't still have this bird right? I hope you've handed it in to some wildlife shelter or reported it!"
"Nope, you're the first person I've told, funny that." He butted out his cigarette under his shoe and fiddled with his bolt. "Well I'd better get back home to experiment on my new feathered friend, so I'll see you later. I hope you have fun with your training today, Spirit surely looks psyched." Kami watched him head off in a half skip towards his 'den' and rolled her eyes as Spirit instantly appeared next to her.
"I thought he would never leave…he is a dangerous guy and will experiment on you if he gets the chance." Spirit shuddered as flashbacks of surprise experimentation had been performed on him over his previous years working beside Stein. Kami inwardly swore.
"Oh so that's why you stayed away! I should have to talk with Stein more often so you'll keep away from me."
They were met up with both Sid and Nygus inside the school's indoor courtroom for their 'special training'. Sid placed a firm grip on Spirit's shoulder as Nygus spoke quietly with Kami.
"Behave yourself you hear, the more you retaliate, the longer this all will take." Kami nodded in stern features, however inside she felt reluctant to continue. But it was true, the longer it took for them to successfully be able to fight side by side, the longer she would have to put up with him.
"Got it."
"Now Spirit, if you stay poker-faced, clear your mind of all ill-thoughts, treat her as a good friend, this will all go dandy ok?"
"But I've slept with her."
"And most of the female residents of Death City, so what? Pay attention here. I was a ladies man when I was alive but surely not as bad as you." Sid crossed his arms and shook his head. Spirit thought for a moment and whispered to Sid.
"But now your dead, so how are you with the ladies now? I'm curious…" Sid leaned in closer to Spirit so the women couldn't hear him speak.
"Well for starters, I can't get the blood flowing…"
"PAY ATTENTION YOU BOTH!" Nygus called out firmly, getting both Sid and Spirit's attention. Both women rolled their eyes simultaneously at the men in disappointment. Nygus and Kami strode to the centre of the room, joined by Sid and Spirit where she stopped and turned around so that she was facing them. Sid took his place beside Nygus leaving Spirit and Kami by themselves together.
"Now you two. We are going to try this synchronization training firstly with a simple activity that I am sure you are both familiar with." Sid gazed at them both and placed both of his hands behind his back and stood straight.
"We will have you both dance." Nygus stated.
"WHAT?" Both Kami and Spirit screeched together. Spirit glanced around the room and remembered that they had shared their first dance here in their teens while attending the Academy, grinning inwardly while still in a somewhat pleasant shock; he was going to enjoy this, even though Kami wouldn't very much he was sure.
"Ah already you are both synchronizing your thoughts, well done!" Sid remarked sarcastically.
"Dancing requires both partners to be working in the same line of thoughts and body movements, so that they flow righteously without fault. Many new Weapons and Meisters do this to increase compatibility and even fighting technique, so it's nothing out of the ordinary." Kami snorted disagreeably to Nygus's words and crossed her arms.
"You have to be kidding me." She grumbled.
"This is for the sake of DWMA's forces and the security of innocent people. We need both of your co-operation."
Kami turned to Spirit and sighed. Spirit tilted his head and watched her approach him to dangerous levels; scared if she'll beat him.
"When do we start? Do we at least get some music to kill this mood or what?" Kami yelled out angrily, getting a thumbs-up from both Sid and Nygus. Sid walked to one side of the court-room and lifted a cloth from an old gramophone and the pin onto the edge of the record; emitting a very nostalgic jazzy atmospheric tune throughout the room. Nygus joined Sid at the corner of the room and observed beside him.
Spirit took one of her hands into his own and slipped his other hand over her waist, taking the lead straight away without further discussion. Kami felt like punching him but tried to keep her cool and put that aside for when the day's training was over. She placed her free hand over his shoulder and rested it in the crook of his neck, slowly following his steps in an uncomfortable manner.
"Looks awkward don't it?" Sid whispered. Kami was watching their feet; more that it looked like Kami was watching Spirit's feet to make sure he didn't step too close to hers, and where to strike if he did. Spirit was taking the lead and was actually doing quite well, as expected of a man who can court more than one lady a night without even trying.
"It's not working at all…" Nygus sighed. "She just isn't trusting of him."
"LET HIM LEAD YOU! HE WON'T STEP ON YOUR FEET!" Sid called out over the music. Kami spun her head around and glared at them both, earning their silence.
"We should go and come back later, I'm sure we are part of why they aren't doing so good." Nygus nudged Sid's side and pointed to one of the exits.
"But they might see it as an opportunity to ditch each-other and go, one of us should supervise." Nygus cocked an eyebrow and placed a hand on one of his arms.
"They aren't little kids, they are more mature than that. Come on, let's go." Sid followed Nygus quietly across the room while watching the others dancing slowly. Spirit pulled Kami closer as the music slowed down pace to a saxophone solo, shuffling in an almost hugging embrace. Kami flustered a little at his quick progression, hiding her face into his chest so he wouldn't notice; feeling ashamed of being so close. Spirit felt a smile working it's way onto his face as he felt her cuddle in closer to him, remembering his first dance with her many years ago in this same room.
"Actually looks like they are improving, looks more natural now." He whispered, exiting through a door behind Nygus.
"I told you, they won't be going anywhere. They just needed to open up a little is all."
At the click of the door Kami pushed away from Spirit and power-walked to a different door, leaving Spirit standing by himself confused.
"Hey, where are you going?" Kami held the door open and turned her head back to him and gave a half smile.
"Pfft, it's not like they'll know I've ditched you, just leave the music on and they'll think we're still here, but I'm so outta here regardless!" and with that she was gone. Spirit stared over at the door she had just left through for a good thirty seconds before lowering his head in disappointment. He strolled over to the gramophone and scribbled a note down for Nygus and Sid.
'Sorry but this idea failed. Spirit'
Kami walked fast-paced down the many corridors, keeping a sharp eye out incase either Nygus or Sid appeared, and headed for the quickest way out to freedom. She stopped when she heard footsteps and slipped behind a statue to let whoever pass without spotting her.
"Ah, just a student playing hooky." She stepped out and approached the student. "Hey, go back to class now!" The student flinched and quickly bowed.
"I, I, I'm sorry, I won't do it again Miss, umm, cya!" the young girl quickly went back the way she went, leaving Kami proud with her achievement. Then she thought about how hypocritical she had just been; feeling bad about her actions.
"Wait, I'm playing hooky too aint I? Pfft, well unlike her, I haven't gotten caught, so it's different!"
"Havent gotten caught doing what?" A moderately mid-height blonde woman approached her from behind, holding a beaker that had an aroma of strong coffee cupped in her hands.
"Oh shit, Marie…Hi!" Kami stepped backwards against the wall in shock, making herself appear furthermore suspicious. Marie squinted her eyes at her and turned her head to the side.
"What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to be with Spirit today for…"
"We are taking a break for now! May I ask what you are doing?"
More suspicious behaviour.
"Well I'm taking Stein his coffee because he ran out at his lab, and I went to fetch some food for a bird he found this morning; it's quite peculiar and kinda cute. I just hope he hasn't cut it up by the time I get back…Shit I'd better go before he does something cruel to the poor thing, good luck with Spirit hey? Cya!" Kami stood by herself once again in the hallway and let out a guilty sigh.
"It's too late to go back now, I guess I'll go get some lunch then."
"Oh shit I am so screwed. Shit, shit, SHIT!" Inside a cage paced a black and white bird as it cursed quietly to itself. "I didn't know I would get locked up like this! In a cage with THREE pad-locks! Why can't he just put me in a normal bird cage, with a lock I can push open? Fuck, shit, shiiiiitttt…I underestimated him." The bird stopped talking when it heard a door open and dropped it's wing so it looked injured again. Marie approached the room the bird was in and placed her beaker of 'coffee' on Stein's work-bench, and then headed to the cage with the bird inside.
"Hello little guy, I got you something! She pulled a small plastic bag out of her coat pocket which looked to have some raw meat substance inside. She opened it and handed a stripe through the bars. The bird haunched back against the wall and opened it's beak, emitting light hissing noises to her actions. She pulled her fingers back through the wire and placed the meat on the table; placing her hands on her hips.
The bird moved to the cage door and started pecking the pad-locks insistently.
"Hopefully this woman can get my hints and let me out so I can escape…" the bird thought to itself. Marie watched the bird and clicked her fingers in realization.
"You want to get out Sweetie? You must be scared in there all by yourself, I'll find the key for you, just wait there…"
"It's not like I CAN go anywhere you stupid woman…" the bird said in it's head. It watched the woman wander off and search through draws and lift up papers, finally finding a set of keys. The bird looked around to spot an open window; perfect.
"Ok, I'll let you out now…Oh, the window is open, don't want you getting away with that bad injury now do we?"
"Fuck…"
Marie closed the window shut and headed back to the cage, unlocking each lock and opened the door. The little bird stepped out and wandered around the desk, carefully looking for another exit such as a vent. Marie picked up a bird-book that Stein had lay open and looked at the pictures.
"So you are a passerine…haha I don't even know what that means." The bird momentarily looked at her and continued to hop along the bench-top, letting it's gaze set on the coffee left by Marie. "You look like a Pied Raven like Professor Stein says, but that is impossible…"
"I am you idiot woman…" The raven hopped onto Stein's chair and fluffed up in defeat.
"So you must be someone's pet. I wonder what your name is…"
"Vorona." Marie looked up from her book and turned her attention to the bird in shock.
"Wait, did you just speak?" The raven shuttered as the woman's eyes had fallen upon her instantly.
"Fuck, how could I let that slip…" she thought to herself this time, making sure to not mess up again.
"I heard you speak, or I must be getting old." Marie skim-read some paragraphs from the bird-book and found a passage. "Ah, it says here that crows and ravens are talented at mimicking and even capable of forming words. So you must be someone's pet!"
"Ha, thank god she is an idiot, that's saved me." The raven felt more at ease now and pretended to fall asleep, only to have Marie wander over closer to her to examine her further.
"Say something else. Can you say any more words? Or just your owner's name?" The raven opened one eye and stretched one wing, giving up on convincing this woman that she was asleep.
"My name is Vorona." Marie sat back in amazement.
"You understand human speech? Amazing! Stein would love to dissect you!" The raven's eyes almost popped out of it's head and she started to flap her wings, petrified. The front door opened, the raven flying towards that direction and slipping out just before it closed again. Stein stood at the door, unsure of what just happened.
"Marie, was that the crow?" Marie stood like a statue as Stein gave her a fierce look of disapproval. "It was, right?"
"Y, yes it was Sir."
"And why was it out of it's cage? I was going to dissect it you know, and now I can't." Stein walked over to the cage and picked up one of it's feathers, lifting it up to his eyes and adjusted his glasses a little to examine it better. "Women take away all the excitement in a man's life…"
"I't could speak Professor! It told me it's name!" Stein sat on his wheely-chair backwards and spun it around so that he was facing her.
"And what was it's name?"
"Vorona."
"Ahh, Russian for 'crow'." He snapped the end of the quill from the feather and discarded the rest onto the floor, just missing a small bin. He rolled backwards from his living quarters and into his 'lab', placing the quill-section into a vial. Marie followed him and stood behind him curiously.
"What are you doing with that?"
"I am doing a DNA test. I am getting samples from taxidermy specimens to determine what kind of bird I…had in my possession." He emphasized 'had' to make Marie feel even guiltier. "But I have a feeling that this isn't just a bird on our hands Marie." Marie thought about what he was going on about in puzzlement.
"I don't understand."
"There have been a number of our student's disappearing and a rise in witch population. However, the public doesn't know that the witches have hidden themselves, blended in far greater than they had before. I have come to the conclusion that this may just be how the witches are doing it. That 'crow' may have just been a witch Marie, and you let her escape. Why else would foreign animal, just appear on my doorstep?" It all made sense, well sort of.
"But if taking the forms of animals now let the witches blend better, why didn't they do that before? The witches just enclosed their wavelengths and could walk as people before." Stein boiled the quill in some water, releasing a light yellow liquid that floated to the top of the vial it was sitting in. Stein removed it from the heat and placed it into a small freezer and waited.
"I'd say they are resorting to staying in an animal representation because our students have been trained to suspect people to be witches. Who would suspect an animal?"
"You…" Marie crossed her arms and leaned back against a bench behind her.
"But it is clever. Even if my theory is correct, we can't exactly cull off animals in suspicion, though I spose we couldn't do that with human either, unfortunately." Stein reached into the freezer and removed the vial, which had cooled down slightly. "And I have a feeling, that bird was up to something, and it involved me somehow."
"Did you want me to warn Death about this?" Stein shook his head as he extracted the yellow liquid from the vial with a syringe. He placed it into a tube and sealed it off with a lid, labeling it with a marker. "What is that?"
"Lipids. No, not until I am certain. Until then, I want you to check all of my paper-work and documents to see if any were stolen. And make me a cup of coffee." Marie sighed, remembering the coffee she had made which was probably cold by now.
"Right away sir." She headed back into the other room and grabbed the beaker. She thought of whether to tip it down the sink or to place it over a Bunsen-burner to heat it up again to save her the trip to the school to get more coffee. "Argh I'll just heat it up…" she grumbled.
"Good, she is still going to give it to him." The raven sat at the window-sill watching from the outside. Satisfied, she flew off.
Stein came out of his lab and snatched the beaker from the tri-pod, slightly burning his fingers from the heated glass. He then tossed it onto the floor and headed back to his lab.
"Wha? WHAT THE HELL?" Marie yelled at him angrily. She glanced at the broken glass on the floor and the coffee that was defiantly going to stain his floor.
"You had a potential witch in here, I'm sure it would have dropped something in there. Even if it wasn't a witch and just a bird, they have a tendency to shit in my beverages. So go make me a new one please." Marie grumbled a line of curses under her breath as she left the Stein's and headed outside into the sun.
"Men get so fussy as they get older…"
*There is a reason why I haven't given Vorona an accent in this chapter. I haven't gotten lazy with her dialect so don't worry. The next few chapters will resume back to the other characters so I hope it hasn't gone too off topic for you guys. Thanks for reading my story so far.