Meeting of Fate

by Kairos Fateweaver

A role play with a friend, that turned into a story about magical girl's and their fights against each other and the hardships they face.

26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Kestrels' Way

Following on from a restful night's sleep, morning came. Sadly, there were no unexpected guests in Kara's bed this morning. The sunlight pouring in from between the curtains indicated that it was going to be a very hot and sunny day, perfect for what lay head at school.

There was sounds of activity throughout the house, so it was likely that everyone else was already up and ready for the day ahead, meaning that Kara had slept in somewhat. Nonetheless, she wasn't late in getting up that much, perhaps only by around ten minutes at most.

The sunlight was pouring in form between the curtains. While there were sounds of activity throughout the house. She tossed and turned for a while trying to ignore the noise so she could sleep in a little longer. But soon had to wake up ten minutes later she climbed out of bed and began to get ready for school.

"Who's else could be up right now?"

Kara left her room to go see who it was making the noise.

Kara attempted to ignore the sounds outside her bedroom but didn't have much luck. Eventually, she decided that it was better to just get up as she couldn't go back to sleep. Heading out of her room to prepare for the day ahead, Kara looked to see what all the busy sounds were about. The housemaids were going about the daily cleaning and routine tasks. In addition to that, the rest of the Sera girls were likely up and about as well, considering the housemaids were tidying their bedrooms and making their beds.

Kara saw the housemaids moving in and out of the bedrooms. She was still looking around for the other Sera sisters not really caring who she ran. Into this morning anyone of them would do. She stopped by the twins room to peek inside to see if they were there. Then stopped by Lilly's room to see if she was there. Her search ended bad and neither any of the girl's were in their rooms. Kara still needed to get ready and headed towards the bath to take a shower and once she reached the door opened it and walked inside.

Kara looked inside each of the bedrooms of the other Sera girls to see if they were present in them. As previously expected, she had no such luck in her search and decided to continue on with her day, heading to the first bathroom she was closest to.

Kara pushed open the door to the bathroom and was met with an escape of nicely scented steam. This bathroom was occupied, it seemed.

"Did you just hear the door open?"

"I thought I locked it?"

"Meh, whatever. Not like it'll be anything bad."

"Easy for you to say..."

Those sweet voices could only belong to...

"Oh, hey there, Big Sis."

"Morning, Big Sis."

When the steam cleared up enough to see through, Kara instantly realised she was in the Twins' bathroom. Haley was currently kneeling in the bath, leaning against the outer rim of it while resting her chin on her folded arms. Holly, on the other hand, was sitting on a stool just a short distance away taking a shower. Naturally, the pair were completely naked, yet even Holly looked uncharacteristically calm, albeit sporting a faint blush.

Haley pushed up from her resting position, extending to the height her arms allowed her to, displacing the water in the bath with a small splash. Her lower regions were still hidden behind the side of the bath, yet Kara now had a clear view of her nipples and upper body. She had a pleasant smile on her face.

"Why don't you join us? Make sure you wash up first, though."

"There's another shower and stool over there. Feel free to use it."

The bathroom Kara had entered just happened to have someone inside it. Both twins were busy bathing with Haley kneeling in the bath. Followed by Holly sitting on a stool a short distance away. Kara could clearly seeing Haley's nipples and her upper body. She looked at it for a few moments before regaining her train of thought.

"G.. good morning you two."

Kara greeted them while Haley asked for her to join them.

"Okay, if it's okay with you both."

Kara started to get undressed and then walked over to the other stool. She sat down and turned it on waiting for the water to get warm enough. Once it did she started to wash her body down before joining the others in the bath.

"How are you two doing this morning?"

Kara opted to join the twins in the bath. It would be a bit of a squeeze fitting the three of them in there, but certainly still possible. Holly finished pre-washing a little before Kara did. The pair then joined Haley in the bathtub. Holly positioned herself on the far left side of the bathtub while Kara slotted herself in on the opposite side. Haley was, at first, in the middle of the two directly central in the bath. Shortly after Kara got in, Haley re-positioned herself to just in front of Kara, sitting between Kara's legs while resting her back against Kara's chest. General chatter then commenced while they soaked in the tub.

"I'm not really looking forward to school today. I'd rather do normal lessons instead of this Sports Day stuff."

"I'm actually happy that we won't do book work today. It makes a nice change from sitting in a stuffy classroom. Besides, the weather's great for spending time outdoors."

It was a tight squeeze once Kara joined the others in the bath. Holly sat on Kara's left as she sat in the middle of the bathtub. Haley used the chance to sit between Kara's legs with her back resting against Kara's chest. Who placed an arm around both Haley and Holly soon chatter broke out between them.

"Why is that?

After Haley finished speaking an idea popped into Kara's head.

"Hey, Haley wanna do a challenge today during one of the events?"

"I'm bad at sports and days like this just make it all the more clear. It's bad enough that we miss a couple of days of lessons for the actual Sports Day event. We don't need to miss another day to practice for it."

Kara prompted the idea for a challenge during the events to Haley.

"Depends on what it is and when we do it. I'm curious to what you might be planning."

"I'm sure there's something you're good at, I'll help you find out what that is?" Kara offered. After seeing that Holly appeared upset with the turn of events today. She then answered Haley's question.

"I was thinking of something along the lines. Of a race during one of the events whoever wins the race has to do something for the winner?"

"Anything and everything sports based I'm bad at. That's all there is to it. I'm just not compatible with physical exercise aside from basic things."

Kara explained her ideas for a Challenge to Haley.

"Simple and straight forward. Guess we'll see how the events go and then pick the best one for it."

There had to be some sort of sport that Holly was good at. She tried to think back to the Sports Day that she had done with the others back in the old world. Trying to think of if there was anything that Holly had been good at?

"How are you at swimming?"

Kara sat there for a while longer.

"Whatever works best."

Kara tried to think of any subject which Holly might have been good at in the previous World's Sports Day practice. Try as she might, all she could remember was that Holly wasn't good at any subject in particular and was barely passable at them. Sports was just not her thing, it seemed. Unless this World's Holly was different, or the activities today were different, she'd not do well at any of them.

"I'm okay at it I guess. I struggle a little in deep water but I can do breaststrokes and backstrokes."

The twins had just about finished up their bath and were now just staying for the conversation. Time was ticking on, though, so they'd need to make a move sooner rather than later.

Trying to think if Holly was good at any sports was only making things worse. All she could remember was that Holly wasn't good at any and barely passed some of them. Yet Kara wasn't going to give up she'd help making sure to find something Holly might be good at. Kara heard what Haley had to say and had finished her own bath. She got out a short time later and started to dry herself down before getting ready for school.

The trio finished their bath and dried themselves off before heading out of the bathroom and back to their bedrooms. The twins quickly dressed in their P.E Clothes and went downstairs for breakfast.

Back in her room, there was a notification on Kara's phone from the KiraApp. Putting that aside for the moment, Kara also readied herself for the day ahead and got dressed in suitable attire for the activities coming up.

After finishing up getting dressed for school and back in her room. Kara saw a notification on her phone from the KiraApp. She reached over and took hold of her phone to see what it was about. Once that was taken care of Kara then went downstairs for breakfast with the others as she was feeling hungry.

Wondering what the KiraApp notification was about, Kara checked it out before anything else. The pretext in the notification was 'You have a new request!'. Double tapping the notification icon opened up the app and directed it to the 'Requests' Screen. Much like the pretext had pointed out, Kara did have a request from a customer. The request was a booking for 'Shift Start' later that day, which potentially meant 15:45pm to give Kara a chance to get to the Cafe and get changed into her uniform. All the information from the customer in the request was: "You're interesting...". Thankfully, the App flagged them up with a name and it was made apparent that Sierra was the one who issued the request. The booking slot was a 30 minute one so it shouldn't be too taxing.

After confirming the details of the request, Kara headed downstairs for breakfast.

Kara checked her notice to see that it was a notification. That she had a new request looking to see what it was. It turned out that request came from a customer who wished to meet with her. Kara looked to see who had sent the request and found out it was from Sierra the small girl she had met before. Once that was all taken care of Kara then left her room rejoining the others and saying 'hi' to everyone.

Kara joined the others for breakfast and engaged in their discussion about what the day ahead held for them. Much like in the previous World, groups would be based on family first, then friendships, then skill level. Older students were there to help younger ones, or their siblings, and more skilled students were aiding those who might need a little more practice with their abilities in the sport at hand. Five events lay ahead of them, punctuated by a 20min break and a 1 hour lunch, yet what they were doing, and in what order, would be explained further at school.

According to the others, there'd be 20 students from both Kestrels' and St Jules joining in with the Students from the Host school, namely the one that the girls attended. Combining the guests' numbers together, they'd have 40 extra students milling around the Academy. These guests will be of varying age groups, but none would be younger or older than the students who'd normally attend Evergreen. The students from the Host school were, of course, expected to be polite and courteous to the Guests so as to not sully the reputation of the Academy. Everything seemed to be tallying up with Kara's prior knowledge of the event, despite it being held a day later.

When Breakfast was concluded, now came the journey to school.

While eating breakfast Kara learned about what the day ahead held for her. Much like how things went in the old world. Kara would be grouped with her new family together her and Lilly would help Haley and Holly. Or even other students if the need arose, five events lined the day and Kara could pick one of those events to have a race with Haley in. Kestrels' and St Jules were also joining the Students and Kara was happy to be seeing Mikan again.

After, learning everything Kara asked the others if they. Wanted to stop by the Cafe later and have a snack with her. Which was agreed upon by the others and breakfast came to an end and they now headed for school together.

The group arrived at their school ten minutes early. Quite a few of the students were there, though, and they were all dressed in their P.E kit, likely prepared for the day ahead. The only bag the students had on them were their sports bag. The Guests were set to arrive just before the school day started, so the Host school had time to ready themselves for the influx of additional students.

The quartet whittled time away around the entrance to the school when, around five minutes before the school day started, a Coach pulled up just outside the gates and students from St Jules and Kestrels' began filing out of it with some accompanying teachers.

The group had arrived at school already there were quite a few students. Kara and the others used the remaining time to small talk amongest themselves. At about five minutes left a Couch pulled up by the games and students from the other two schools began filing out with some of their teachers. Kara watched the students and looked to see if there was anyone she knew among them.

Ever the curious one to find familiar faces, Kara watched as the students from the Guest Schools began to leave the Coach they arrived on. Firstly, it was the St Jules students. Kara didn't really recognise any at this moment in time however, when the Kestrels' students came out, Kara spotted both Rya and Mikan among them.

The Guests remained outside of the Coach awaiting further instructions from their accompanying teachers. It looked to be that one teacher from each school came along and were responsible for their school's students.

Kara spotted both Rya and Mikan among the guest students. She tried waving to them to get their attention. While the others were busy gathering by the Coach Kara used the few moments that she had left to get her sisters attention. "There's something interesting I found out yesterday, while I spoke with Mikan that I could use your help with."

Kara waved to the two students she recognised. Rya wasn't paying that much attention to what was going on around her so she didn't notice. Mikan, on the other hand, gave a small wave of greeting back before merging with the other Kestrels' students as their teacher briefed them on the day ahead.

Kara then suddenly requested the help of her sisters with something she wasn't exactly clear about.

"Eh? What?"

"There's not really a lot to go off there, so..."

"I'm not really sure we want to agree to help with anything we don't know the first thing about. Can you tell us what you need our help with?"

The others wished to know what Kara was trying to get at.

"First of all I'd like to ask if Mikan and I can use the training grounds to help with her training?" Kara asked. She waited for a moment then began to speak again. "It turns out that Mikan is an Empowered One just like us, however her power allows her to transform into a cat. She only discovered this recently while she was home sick and would like help in learning to control this new power of hers. Or more importantly allowing herself to transform when she wants to rather then only when she sneezes."

Kara let the others take all what she just had said.

"She's pretty new at this whole thing and while I've shown her part of what I can do. That I can use Wind Magic I was thinking that if you three could help me and her out. That we all could help her learn more about this whole new world of magic."

Kara explained her findings in regards to Mikan.

"I think I get the gist of this now. You want to know if it'll be okay for her to train back at home, don't you?"

"I wonder if it'll be okay to pet her... Ah! Um...yeah, what Lilly said. Can she talk to cats as well when she changes form?"

"Dunno what I could do to help, but if the others are okay with it, then I'm fine with it, too."

Holly sounded to be more interested in how nice it would be to pet Kitty Mikan. Haley appeared to be fine with it either way and the only one who wanted additional reasons was Lilly. The sudden declaration that someone was an Empowered One in these times where Empowered Ones were being targeted likely had Lilly dubious about the whole affair.

"If you've finished your little talk about a new cat on the block, then I've a proposition as well."

Erys' sudden interjection looked to only be heard by both Kara and Haley.

"This...'Sports Day' thing. Would you say it will be a fun day? I'm curious as to how one may turn a whole day of academic learning into Physical Exercise, but I digress. What I would like to request is if you'd both lend me a portion of your Power to manifest myself in a Physical Form so I can partake in this 'Sports Day' as well? I would need to stay close to at least one of you, though, at all times today to maintain it. If you're concerned with other people wondering just who I am, fret not. I've ways of making sure that I am as unremarkable as any other student who is here today."

"As long as you don't cause any trouble, then I don't mind. The more the merrier, after all."

When an accord was reached between the trio, Erys contacted the rest of the people present, namely aiming her conversation at the other Guardian Spirits.

"Hey, Foxy and Glowfly. Why don't we all join in with today's events? I can make it so we blend in with everyone else. I'm sure you're curious about how these Mortals go about their recreational activities."

"What makes you think you have the right to call me, a Truthguard Valkyrie, a 'Glowfly'?!"

"Now, now, girls. Let's not fight, okay? I'd like to join in, if I may. If we all do it together, it'll be much more fun, won't it?"

"See, Foxy's got the right idea. Why not lay down your fancy sword and armour and just relax with everyone? Your Mistress will have more fun if she's got her friend with her."

"If you will be manifesting yourself, I must do so as well to ensure that you will not sow chaos and cause untold trouble."

"Remi might be saying that, but I can tell she'll feel lonely if she's the only one left out. We can all have fun together."

"Things will get real busy with seven of us. Shiro's sensible enough to help the others out, so, sure. Why not?"

"Yes, that is one of the reasons why I've asked is it okay?" Kara asked before she also answered Holly's question. "I don't know I never thought about asking her." It seemed like everyone agreed on it was okay but Kara was still waiting on Lilly's answer. It was after that Erys spoke up about Sports Day.

"I'll leave that answer to you when the day is over. I have nothing against you joining it just try not to cause any trouble please."

Kara agreed to help let Erys join in on Sports Day when then the other Spirits were spoken to. "Glowfly that's a good one." Kara giggled as Remi's new nickname. She had nothing against them wanting to join in if they so wished to do so. Yet Remi might be a problem though at some point.

"They can join, but I'd like to ask if Remi we can work together today and try and have fun. While not getting on each other's bad side today?"

"Is this 'Mikan' here today? Before I agree to anything, I'd like to see for myself what kind of person she is and if we can trust her. With everything that's happening now, safety is more important than trusting a stranger."

At present, it didn't look to be either a 'Yes' or a 'No' from Lilly.

The discussion between Guardian Spirits ended in everyone saying they could join in so long as they didn't cause trouble.

"When have I ever caused trouble for you? If anything, the reason I need both of you two's Power to manifest is because I lack followers to do so by myself. I'd rather not let the others know of this, so keep it between us. If you'd been dutifully converting the misguided masses to me, then I may not have had to request that of you."

Unlike before, Erys had directed her previous comment at Kara alone.

"In order to not displease my Mistress I, regrettably, have to comply with your...demands. However, let this be known that I still do not trust you, nor your 'Guardian' Spirit in the slightest."

"I guess I'll have to keep an eye on both you to make sure you're not clawing at each other..."

Time had ticked on while the group had been conversing and now the school day was starting in earnest. The group hurried along to their classrooms to stash their belongings safely away. Much like in the previous World, the changing rooms were booked out and occupied by the Guest Schools. The lesson plan written on the whiteboard was the exact same as how Kara remembered it:

Lesson 1: Swimming Practise

Lesson 2: Gymnastics Practise

Break Time - 20 Minutes

Lesson 3: Shot-put and Javelin Training

Lunch - 1 hour

Lesson 4: Indoor Sports Practise

Lesson 5: Outdoor Sports Practise

With this in mind, the students of Kara's class began removing their P.E clothes and putting their Swimsuits on. Lilly just took off her clothes and already had her swimsuit on underneath them. When everyone was dressed in their Swimwear, the class reconvened with the rest of the school and the guests by the swimming pools.

"Oh. Swimming first, huh? Guess you get to see my perfect body in all its glory~"

"Well...I'm not really fond of swimming, but I'll join in."

"By your leave, Mistress, I will manifest myself in suitable attire."

"Wah! Wait a sec! Don't all come out here. Let's hide behind the storage shed so you don't stand out so much."

Holly's logical deduction was spot on and the four headed to just behind the storage sheds to allow for their Guardian Spirits to manifest in physical forms.

"She's here today I just said good morning to her a few moments ago with a wave." Kara told Lilly. As she was planning on letting Mikan know what had been talked about just now later on today.

Erys then used the chance to speak to Kara alone.

"I'm having a hard time trying to do that, if you could help out there. It'd be nice it might not be something I'd totally agree with but if it get's through that faster for you the better off things maybe."

Remi next spoke up.

"That's fine just behave yourself too."

The lesson plan for the day was just like Kara remembered it. Everyone started getting changed and Kara followed suit. Using this chance to lend Erys some of her power so she could fully appear.

Lilly - "Good, she's here at least. Just point her out to me when you see her and I'll decide for myself whether she's trustworthy or not."

Erys (Telepathic) - "It won't really be you doing the conversions if I did it for you. Try to do them yourself first and, if you really can't get anywhere, I can be...'persuasive'...enough to get them to worship one of the True Gods of this world."

With the four girls hiding behind the Storage shed, Kara and Haley offered up some of their Power to help Erys manifest in a physical form. It felt...horribly disorienting. The world began to blur and spin around the two of them as they felt something tugging at their very essence, funnelling their power into forming something which would be counted as Heresy to nearly all religions aside from the darker ones. Essence became flesh, flesh became a body, and a body became Erys as her consciousness moved from the crystalline blade that Haley carried into this synthetic vessel that stood before them now. When their vision cleared from the aftereffects of the ritual, they could now see what Form Erys decided to inhabit.

Erys' present form didn't look much different from what Kara saw when she first entered this alternate timeline after hopping Worlds with Eiko. However, instead of having pale skin, Erys had opted for a light tan to her skin colour, painting her as if she'd spent many leisurely hours sunbathing on a beach. There were no tanlines or blemishes, it looked to be one perfectly even tan that every teenage girl dreamed of getting over the summer holidays. It was complimented well by her dark black hair and deep brown eyes. In the very centre of the irises of Erys, Kara could faintly see the crystalline markings of Erys' empire.

Erys was naked for little over a few seconds before a black one-piece swimsuit was crafted from the leftover essence used in her manifestation.

Erys - "So, what do you think? Am I everything you could've dreamed of?"

In a much less showy fashion, Remi was the next to materialise in a physical form.

Remi's human form wasn't much different from her spirit form, except she now had blonde hair and blue eyes. Although Guardian Spirits could choose what age they appeared to be, Remi, much like Erys, had gone for the same age as their Mistresses so they blended in better with the rest of the students. Unlike the flirtatious Erys, Remi already had her swimwear on before materialising, leaving her standing their in a pure white one-piece swimsuit.

Finally, Shiro materialised in her human form looking not much different from her Spirit one either. Her white hair was now a light brown, with small tufts sticking up either end of her head reminiscent of her fox ears. Her eye colour had not changed at all and she'd taken on the apparent age of thirteen, placing her on equal standing with Lilly and Kara. A standard navy blue swimsuit covered her body, with small breasts giving volume to the upper torso of it.

Now that the group was all assembled, the rejoined the rest of the students for the Swimming Lesson briefing.

"When the time comes I'll point her out to you." Kara says.

Erys next spoke up.

"I'll try to see what I can do."

After feeling a little sick for a few moments after helping Erys enter the world. Kara saw her once again in human form. Kara looked at her naked form for a moment before the swimsuit she had covered her body.

"Not bad, it will take some getting used to seeing you like this. But it's something I can come to enjoy given enough time."

Remi and Shiro both appeared in human form as well.

"You look nice Remi and you too Shiro."

After that all the girl's went back to rejoin their class.

Kara ogled Erys' naked human form, remembering just how deliciously smooth and soft it felt from their previous 'intimacy' in the old Timeline. The slender curves of her body, her sumptuous peach-shaped rear, the twin peaks of her special place and the delicate pinkness of her nipples. Sadly, her view was cut off when Erys put on her swimsuit. Perhaps she knew that Kara would stare at her naked body and that's why she left some time between materialising and donning her swimsuit.

Erys (Telepathic to Kara alone) - "We both know this isn't the first time you've seen me without clothes on. If you're a diligent little subject, then you may be 'rewarded'."

Erys (Normal) - "Remember, no touching unless I say you can."

Kara's blatant comment about Remi looking nice caught the Spirit off guard as a blush formed on her face.

Remi - "St-staring's not allowed! Avert your gaze!"

Holly - "I think we need to work on your choice of words, Remi. You don't talk like a kid would."

Despite the harsh rebuttal, Remi didn't seem opposed to being complimented in such a way.

Shiro - "Why, thank you. A Swimsuit's a little embarrassing, but I'll get used to it."

When Kara joined up with the rest of the class, she felt something strange in the air...

There felt to be imperceptible ripples of power in the surrounding area. There was a tug at her energy, but not the kind she'd felt earlier with Erys. It almost felt like it was resonating with another Power. She sensed several other sources of Power around here, mostly coming from the other Sera Girls and their Guardian Spirits. Strangely enough, she could also pinpoint Kiki's location as well. Could she be sensing other Empowered ones?

Disregarding all the girls she knew of, Kara thought she could sense a similar feeling coming from among the Kestrels students. It could be Mikan, but something felt different...

Before Kara could ponder what it was any more, the lesson briefing demanded her full attention.

Erys (Telepathic to Kara) - "Oh, that's interesting. You felt it, too, didn't you? Has our little kitty cat finally fully awakened as one of us. However, I don't think it was her. I can't place why, though."

"You're such a little tease, I'll behave for now and wait for whatever that reward will be."

Seeing Remi blush at her comment brought a smile to Kara's face. So, she stared at her for a little longer before looking away. "I like this side of you." Kara then turned towards Shiro. "You'll get used to it this is your first time wearing one isn't it?"

Back when she was with the full class. Kara felt ripples in power from the surrounding area like there was a tug at her energy. She could sense several others sources of Power around her coming from the other Sera girls and their Guardian Spirits. She even felt where Kiki currently was. As she looked over at the Kestrel students she felt power coming from there as well.

Kara knew one of those was Mikan and yet something felt different about it. Kara paid attention to the lesson briefing before Erys spoke to her again.

"Yes, I did I've only known Mikan was one of us for a day now. Who could the other person be I wonder?"

Kara tried to sense just who this other newly awakened person was.

Kara approved of Remi's tender side and wanted to know if Shiro had ever worn swimsuits before.

Shiro - "This is my first time wearing one. I've never had a need to put one on before now."

Shortly after answering to Erys' observation, Kara attempted to pinpoint the exact locations where she'd sensed the Aura from among the Kestrels' students. She managed to triangulate it down to somewhere in the middle of the Year 7 group, however, she didn't know exactly who the Power belonged to. There were too many people present for Kara to get a full lock-on at the moment, but she was certain that it must be from someone in Mikan's year group. Maybe Mikan might have noticed something off with her Year Group?

Erys (Telepathic to Kara) - "There's too much interference to pick out who it is, but it's definitely not the Kitty Cat. We could wait for them to disperse and then try again?"

The lesson briefing tallied up to the past timeline as well. The Older Students were to help the younger ones practice their swimming, or teach them how to swim if necessary. Groups were broken up once more into batches of four or five people. This left Kara's little group to be split down the middle somewhat. However, they had gained both Rya and Mikan in the process, totalling at Nine people.

Rya - "Fancy seeing you here today, Kara! So, this is your school? Seems like a nice place."

Mikan - "Um...I'm not that great at physical stuff, but I promise I won't hold you all back."

Rya - "C'mon, Mii, no need to be like that. Let's just have fun!"

The group decided amongst themselves as to how they should split. A preliminary suggestion was offered:

Group 1: Older students - Kara and Rya, Younger Ones - Erys, Haley and Mikan.

Group 2: Older Students - Lilly and Shiro, Younger Ones - Holly and Remi.

Shiro - "Does that sound okay to everyone?"

Kara couldn't quite find out where the new Power she was trying to find. Was coming from it was somewhere between the Year 7 group. It was mentioned that Mikan might have noticed something or not Kara wouldn't know unless she asked her.

"Should we warn the others do you believe this newfound power might be friend or foe?" Kara thought about trying again. "We can wait until everyone moves apart."

Rya and Mikan joined the group after the briefing.

"Hi, Mikan, Hi Rya, yes this is my school it's a nice to be seeing you two here." She turned to look over a Mikan. "Were here to have fun, Rya and I will help you and I'm sure the others will too right?" Kara looked to Haley and Erys. "How is everyone's swimming abilites?" Kara asked.

Shiro offered a group suggestion.

"I'm okay with this but do you know how to swim?"

Erys (Telepathic) - "It's too soon to say, so let's not concern the others with it. We don't want to give away that we know, otherwise it might spur them into action if they do harbour malicious intent. We need more information like who they are for starters and what kind of Abilities they may possess."

Greetings were exchanged among the group as everyone confirmed that the drafted out grouping was acceptable. It stayed with the requirements of Older-to-Younger student ratios, as well as keeping the Guardian Spirits with their patrons.

The smaller groups split off slightly to give the others room to practice in their assigned section of the pool. Kara asked those in her care if they knew how to swim.

Haley - "I've got the basics down, but anything more than that I can't do."

Mikan - "Does floating count as swimming? Probably not..."

Erys - "I'll be fine without help. Just help out the other two."

Rya - "Swimming is one of my most favourite hobbies! I can do all sorts of things~! Just leave it to me to help Mii and the lil' ones."

From the group's answers, only Haley and Mikan might need some help. It wasn't much of a surprise that Erys could swim, but perhaps that didn't extend to the other Spirits?

Taking a quick glance at Lilly's group, Shiro appeared to be a competent swimmer, likely because of how mature she was. However, Remi wasn't that good. She talked up big game to begin with, but the truth came when she stepped into the pool. Remi appeared to be on par with Holly's 'like a rock' observation. Lilly and Shiro had their work cut out for them this lesson.

The rest of the students had all split off into their respective groups, leading to much smaller pockets of people to assess for who's Power Signature came earlier.

"Does sensing other magical powers only work for me or can the others also do it as well?"

Kara returned her attention to her group. "How about we each start with one of the lil' ones then switch off. So that we each get a chance to work with one of them?" Kara suggested. Then looking at the other three she asked another question. "Who would like to work with me first?"

The rest of the students split up into smaller groups. Kara used this chance to try and find out where the Power Signature was coming from starting with her own group.

Erys - "Anyone who's Empowered can do it. It's simply down to whether they feel the need to or not. I'm thinking that you only sensed it because you actively passed across a portion of your Power to give me a physical form, and you're still channelling that now. Using your Power will open up your senses to those who are also actively using their Power, or have used it recently."

The group agreed on the suggested help rotation, although Erys insisted that she'd be fine on her own without the added help. Kara offered the opportunity to help whoever wished her to first. Mikan decided to have Rya help her first, leaving Haley with Kara. Erys just went about her own practice swimming the length of the pool completely submerged. She only came up for breath when she kicked off from the opposite end of the pool to start making her way back.

Erys - "Hey, Glowfly. I thought you said you were the best at everything, yet you're floundering around over there like a fish on land."

Remi - "You stay out of this! I-I can swim! I just need to get accustomed to it, that's all."

Erys - "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. See you at the other end of the pool, 'Miss Perfect'."

With a parting taunt of sticking her tongue out at Remi, Erys swam another lap of the pool.

Leaving the bickering Spirits to their argument, Kara attempted to find the source of Power she'd sensed earlier, starting with those in her own group. She was immediately able to pick up on several Power Signatures, but none of them were the one she was looking for. Kara kept checking each group in turn while helping Haley get warmed up ready to swim. The first three groups past her own had absolutely no trace of Power in them. Hopping groups once more, Kara finally picked up on an Empowered Signature, yet it turned out to be from Kiki's group two pools down from where Kara was.

Kiki was evidently not the one Kara was looking for, but just as she was about to move on, a different Signature came into her senses from Kiki's group. Triangulating the source down to the group the next lane over from Kiki's one, Kara pinpointed the source, but who they were was currently out of view.

Erys - "Female, age 11. Power Types of Creation, Misdirection, Nature and...Destruction? What an unusual combination. Creation seems limited to just making whatever Weapon Type she uses and Nature is more of a thematic flair than actual power usage. That just leaves Misdirection and Destruction. Misdirection is...currently in use? My, how strange."

It seemed that Erys shared senses with Kara at the moment. This was more than likely a side effect of the Power she'd used earlier.

Erys - "Perhaps we should pay them a visit?"

With Kara left to work with Haley, she did her best to help Haley improve. On what she already knew and help her out with. With a couple of advace moves she took things slowly and tried her best to be a good teacher. Going as far as to answer any questions Haley might have to even showing her again on how to do what Kara just did.

Erys and Remi had and little spat between themselves and Kara stayed out of it. Yet she did say something to Remi.

"Would you like a little more help on learning to swim?"

Kara returned her attention to Haley and even watched to see how both Mikan and Holly were doing. When she had a free moment tried finding the new Power she had felt. She did pick-up Kiki and soon pinpointed the power coming from near where Kiki was. Erys then spoke up again with some small info about the girl.

"So, she can create weapons and uses Nature, I don't believe I've ever heard of Misdirection before and Destruction sounds new to me." Kara went silent for several moments thinking on something. "That sounds like a good idea, though I do have a small request, may I use your eyes for when we meet her. We might be able to gain more information?"

Kara's training with Haley was going relatively smoothly, aided somewhat by Haley's trait of being a quick learner. Holly was being helped out by Shiro, while Lilly was aiding the stubborn Remi. Upon hearing about Erys' taunts to the other Spirit, Kara offered to help out as well, but Remi declined. Holly wasn't doing too badly and Shiro looked to be a rather good teacher, which was helping Holly out no end. Mikan was progressing slowly but steadily and had already moved from just floating to swimming around with help.

Erys - "Not really. I'm only picking up a single Armament which she can create. As I said, the 'Nature' part is more of a theme than actual power type. Her only dedicated power types are Misdirection and Destruction. Misdirection is a lesser form of my Mistress' Illusion Powers. Where Illusion alters the perception of others, Misdirection draws attention away from the one using it. I think they're using it to hide something rather than hide themselves. Destruction is the only concern. That name speaks for itself."

Kara wanted to go and meet this other Empowered One and requested to use Erys' perception enhancing powers to gain as much information as she could.

Erys - "Nice thought there, but it wouldn't be wise to use that at the moment. The Backflow of power it creates would likely shatter all but the most stalwart of Minds. You're channelling energy into me to give me this form, so if I pushed some of that back to enhance your vision, the energy flow would be forcibly reversed, which would prove dangerous. I can go along with you if you'd like, but you'll have to come up with the excuse as to why we're taking this detour."

With everything going well and each girl learning slowly. Kara had thought of suggesting a race to Haley from one side of the pool to the other in the shallow area. But waited there was still other events through out the day so she wanted to see what else there was first. Partway through the lesson Erys spoke up to the questions that Kara had asked her.

"What could they be hiding I wonder?"

Kara thought about what she could be hiding coming up with no ideas.

"I can always say I need to use the restroom and you can come along. Since I'd need to show you where it is, or we can have a race from one end of the pool to the other if that's easier?"

Erys - "That won't work. The nearest toilets, to my knowledge, would be in the Changing Rooms, which are in the opposite direction to where we need to go. There is one possible solution, but it's success is down to how you explain it. If you're good at lying, then you could blag that Kiki wanted to speak with you about something, and that's why you're heading over to her. You might be able to get that past my Mistress, but I'm not sure about the Kitty Cat and her talkative companion."

Stealthily talking to someone sounded easier than it was, it appeared.

Erys - "Hold on a sec...She's getting closer..."

"Well somethings got to be thought of quick, as I'd rather not lie to Haley. Mikan and Rya on the other hand I'm not really sure."

During this time Kara suggested to Rya that they should switch teaching the little ones. So that both of them would get a chance to teach the other one then asked if Haley and Mikan. Were okay with this idea, this also gave Kara a chance to tell Mikan some things. But it turned out the one girl was getting closer to them.

"Where is she can you point her out to me?"

Kara didn't want to lie to anyone, so she opted to think of other solutions. During this time, the pairings were swapped so Kara was now helping Mikan, and Rya was helping Haley. Erys was still doing her own thing in the pool while relaying information and conversing with Kara.

A potential solution to the conundrum of approaching the mysterious Empowered One presented itself. Kara requested to know where they were.

Erys - "Heading down the walkway by the far fence towards the Changing Rooms."

Erys' description was very vague, but thankfully they had a mental link open between them, so Erys was able to take a mental snapshot of what she'd seen. Disregarding the deeply crystal-tinted filter that covered the image, Kara was able to pick out a few details about the person in question.

Like the rest of the Kestrels' students, they had the standard issue wine-red school swimsuit on at present. Their outline kept blurring and distorting, even with the Snapshot effect, making their finer details indistinct. However, from the angle that Erys had seen them, the Empowered Girl was just about to be passing Lilly's group. If Kara was quick enough...

Kara helped Mikan with swimming around the pool. Now that they were along Kara could mention what she needed to tell her.

"I've spoken to the others about training at the Manor and offering to train you to. They are all okay with it but Lilly would like to meet you."

Erys then told Kara where the Empowered One was.

They were headed for the Changing Rooms. Not wanting to miss this chance Kara turned to look in the direction Erys had told her. Wishing to see the girl with her own eyes.

Kara explained Lilly's conditional offer to Mikan.

"Um..okay." Mikan responded, wondering why this was bought up now of all times. "Break time might be best for that, as we might not be in a group together for the next lesson."

Hoping she was quick enough, while disguising her glance as just checking on the others, Kara looked towards the fence to the side of Lilly's group. Just moving into view now was the one whom Erys had indicated. Kara managed to get a brief glimpse before she suddenly found her vision of the person blurring. Everything around them was still as clear as normal, but only the space they were in was blurred. This must be the Misdirection effect that Erys had mentioned. In the split second view she got, Kara only managed to get their hair colour and eye colour. Their hair was a gradient brown, being lighter at the tips and on the crown, but darker elsewhere, and their eyes were also a deep brown. They looked...undeniably cute. Well, at least what Kara had seen of them before the Misdirection took effect.

The girl continued on her way into the changing rooms, leaving Kara's line of sight.

Erys - "The Misdirection only seems to work when you're looking directly at her. If you're just catching her out of the corner of your eye, or during a general look in her direction, then it doesn't take effect. She's trying to conceal something on her, not herself as a whole. I'll create a reason for us to head on in after her."

Erys (Aloud) - "Hey, Kara. Can you show me to the toilets? I'm not sure where they are."

Kara agreed to let Mikan meet up with Lilly at breaktime. Before going back and focusing on the lesson at hand. That was by helping Mikan once more when Kara had tried to find the girl she only got a brief glimpse before her vision became blurred. Misdirection was at work again but Kara was able to make out their hair and eye color.

An idea was formed on how to go after her.

"I'll help you." Kara offered.

Kara made sure to tell her group where she was going and that her and Erys. Would be back shortly heading out of the pool and helping Erys out. They both headed after the girl towards the Changing Rooms.

Erys' ploy was enough to allow both herself and Kara to pursue their target.

"Thanks~" Erys responded as she got out of the pool.

The two then set off in the direction of the changing rooms, following along as quickly as they could without arousing suspicion. As they crested the turn into the changing rooms, Erys' swimsuit suddenly dissolved off her body.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot that thick stone blocks the flow of Energy." Erys commented, uncaring that she was now completely naked. "This is why I need you to come along, otherwise I'd lose my current vessel."

The girl they were looking for wasn't in the changing room's main area, so she must've been off in the toilets. Erys set off in the direction of the toilets, ensuring that Kara wasn't too far behind.

"It's convenient being a synthetic vessel. I can fill up whenever I want to." Erys informed Kara. "It's not really a lie when I actually need to pee, is it? You'll need to wait in the toilets while I'm 'taking care of business'. With some luck, she'll be out before I am."

Sure enough, one of the four cubicles currently had the door to it closed, so Erys occupied the next one along.

Kara and Erys rounded the corner to the changing rooms, following along. After the girl once the turn was made Erys dissolved her swimsuit. "So, that's why you're naked again?" Kara asked taking notice of this. She didn't look too long behaving for once as they had more important matters to take care of.

Once inside Erys headed to use the Toilets while Kara waiting near them. "Do, you miss being like me and the others being human that is?" she waited along to see what would happen next.

"Yeah, kinda. To make it easier on the two of you, I'm borrowing energy for either my Vessel or my Clothes from whoever's closest. As only you're with me, I've chosen to drop my clothes rather than my Vessel. When we get out and back to the poolside, then my Swimsuit should come back." Erys explained en route to the toilets.

Kara took up position waiting by the entrance to the toilets. To pass the time, she asked if Erys missed being human.

"Not particularly. I prefer being an all powerful God. Who wouldn't? You've all got simple lives now, but back when I was Human, things were much different." Erys vaguely answered.

After a minute or two of waiting, the pursued girl left the cubicle she was in and moved over to the sinks. She was oblivious of Kara's presence at the moment. With the Misdirection still being in effect, Kara couldn't directly look at her without triggering the blur effect.

"I wouldn't know, I've never been a God before, how different were things then?"

The girl left the cubicle and headed towards the sinks. She had not seen Kara yet who looked her way out of the corner of her eye. Trying to gain as much information as she could, here and there Kara would look away. Pretending to grow bored waiting on Erys to finish her business not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"It'd take too long to explain and, frankly, I'd rather not explain it."

Kara tried to gather as much visual information as she could about her target, but everything visual about her had apparently already been gathered. She wasn't concealing any weaponry or items of any kind, and, if it hadn't have been for Erys picking up on her signature, then she'd look just like any other girl. The only noteworthy feature Kara picked up was the reflection of a necklace chain in the mirror. Girls do like jewellery, so it wasn't uncommon for it to be worn, but wearing a necklace while swimming was just a little strange, though not unheard of.

The girl finished over at the sink and dried her hands at the blow dryers near the door. Kara was presently pretending to act a little bored with waiting for Erys. The girl cast a sideways glance at Kara's 'acting' and just shrugged her shoulders. By now, Erys had finished in the toilet and went on over to the sinks as well. The sound of Erys' cubicle opening drew the girl's attention, but she quickly faced away from Erys when she saw that the smaller girl was completely naked.

After her hands had dried enough, the girl started to head out of the toilets, but was stopped as Kara was currently blocking the doorway somewhat. The girl quietly excused herself as she slipped past Kara.

Anything else that Kara was able to pick up was the fact. That the girl appeared to be wearing a necklace of some sort. Kara tried to see what the necklace looked like by it's reflection in the mirror. After a short time the girl headed over to dry her hands. Then Erys left the cubicle and used the sinks as well. The girl started to head for the exit and slipped by Kara who moved aside to let her pass.

"She's wearing a necklace of some sorts."

While passing by Kara looked lower with her eyes at the necklace before the girl was fully gone.

Kara tried to view the necklace in the mirror but from her current angle she couldn't see low enough to make out anything but the chain. When the girl headed out of the toilets, Kara tried to view the necklace on her person, but discovered that there wasn't anything around her neck at all. The chain should've been there and she could vaguely see the clasp of it underneath the girl's hair in the mirror. Was that what she was concealing?

"What necklace? I don't see anyth-"

Erys' response was cut short as the girl slipped past Kara. She felt the girl's hand momentarily brush past her before a sudden jolt of pain caused Kara to stumble slightly. Everything was tinted blue and looked to be blurring into nothingness. Through blurred vision, Kara saw Erys rush on over to her before the view of the toilets was gone and replaced by fleeting images hued in blue.

The inside of an apartment, numerous silhouetted bodies littering the flooring, a single figure standing amongst the carnage, the outline of some firearm in their hand pointing directly at their head...

"C'mon..."

Suddenly, Kara was back inside the toilets, a concerned looking Erys shaking her.

"What the hell happened? WAKE UP!"

"It's around her neck here let me get a better v-"

Kara saw the necklace wasn't around her neck at all. Yet she could clearly see the chain underneath the girl's hair. But her response was cut short. When she felt the girl's hand brush past her but a sudden jolt of pain caused Kara. To stumble slightly, her vision, was all tinted blue and looked blurry. She did see Erys rush over to her before her view was replaced.

Kara saw the inside of an apartment, numerous bodies littered the floor. A single figure stood in the middle with an outline of some firearm in their hand pointing. Directly at their head before Kara found herself back in the toilets.

Erys was shaking her giving her a concerned look.

"I.. I don't know she did something to me, I suddenly felt a jolt of pain when. She walked past and saw the inside of an apartment, there were bodies everywhere. A figure stood amongst the carnage with a firearm pointed at their head."

Kara was still dazed and confused about what happened to her.

"Oh, good. You're not dead at least."

Kara tried to explain her case, but it only served to confuse Erys further.

"There wasn't anything on her which would've caused you to suddenly turn pale and nearly fall on your face. I didn't sense any kind of Power go off and neither did I see any kind of Weaponry on her. Hold on a sec and don't get too excited."

Erys pulled herself up so she was nearly eye-level with Kara and, without any further warning, Erys closed her eyes and placed her forehead against Kara's.

"Hmmm... there's definitely something up with what happened. Let's see...oh! That's odd...Too old for modern stuff so maybe...that's gotta be it."

The whole process took only a few moments before Erys pulled herself away from the position she was in.

"Ancient Powers similar to what that Wolf-girl has. It didn't come from our little friend that passed you by, but contact with her must have triggered something. Anyway, we've been in here long enough. The others will get suspicious if we hang around."

"Well, she did do something I just can't explain it any better then I already did."

Erys moved to eye-level with Kara and pressed her forehead against hers.

"What are you doing?"

Kara didn't know what Erys was trying to do at first. But it was then told to her about what had happened to her.

"What should we do, I'd like to find this girl again, however, I want to know. More about what it is that I saw in that vision?"

Kara and Erys headed out of the Changing Rooms back towards the pool.

"If our little renegade is with the Kestrels' lot, then we'll certainly run into her again at some point."

As the pair headed out of the changing rooms, Kara mentioned that she wanted to know more about the vision she had.

"Judging from the kind of power that it stemmed from, that thing you saw has either already happened or will happen at some point in the future. At a stretch, we may even say that it could be happening at this very second in time. Stuff like that even I, in all my omniscience, can't fully grasp. You're better off asking those who've dabbled in that stuff before. All I know is that you've been marked, and some annoying Demi-God is trying to make you into their tool."

Just as they turned the last corner and the pool came into view, Erys' swimsuit materialised back on her body as if it had been there all the time. Kara and Erys rejoined their group and continued the lesson.

"Do, you want to be with me again when we run into her again?"

Erys answered Kara's question.

"Can this be like the one vision I had the other day about, the girl that I saved from the speeding girl?" Kara asked. She didn't really have any idea of who would dabble in this sort of stuff but there might be someone she could ask for help. "I think I know someone who might be able to help us, who's this Demi-God?"

They rejoined their group and Kara went back to helping both Haley and Mikan for the remainder of the lesson.

"If I've gotta blend in with the other students, then I'll need to join whatever group those teachers say I should join. Don't really think I've got much choice in the matter."

During the last segment of the Swimming Lesson, Kara asked about the Vision she saw and wondered if it was similar to the one she had a few days ago.

"You'd know that better than I would. After all, you've seen both of those visions. If you know someone who might be able to shed more light on the situation, then by all means go and ask them. For now, you needn't concern yourself with that Demigod. It's too soon for you to do anything about it."

The remainder of the Swimming Lesson went by uneventfully and concluded without incident. The students were debriefed and then sent off back to their classrooms or the Changing Rooms to dry themselves and get changed ready for the next lesson, which was Gymnastics.

"Maybe we will be grouped up again to make things easier."

The remainder to the lesson went by and concluded. Everyone headed back to the various rooms to get ready for the next lesson. "Haley, do you want to have our race next lesson or wait?" Kara asked her.

"I will, I will."

Kara thought about trying to get into contact with Charon.

Erys - "Maybe we will, maybe we won't. We'll have to wait on that one."

At the end of the lesson when the group was returning to their designated changing areas, Erys and Remi going along with the twins, Kara asked if Haley wanted to have their contest in the next lesson.

Haley - "I don't know how we can hold a contest in Gymnastics. If you've got any good ideas, then we'll see if we can do it."

When the older girls split off from the younger ones, Kara started to wonder whether she should get in contact with Charon or not about the recent developments. Lilly, Kara and Shiro reached their classroom and Lilly was the first to head on in, with Shiro just a few steps behind her. As Kara was about to follow along, she noticed a door where a door shouldn't be. On the wall to the left of the classroom's door, a strangely decorated ornate looking doorway was slightly set off from the wall. Kara felt like she'd seen this doorway before, yet why was it there? A gentle weight was soon felt in her right hand. Looking at the source of the added weight, Kara found the small white key she'd used before to enter Charon's office. Could that unusual door...?

"I'll need to see what we will be doing in Gymnastics before I can come up with any ideas."

Everyone split off from each other with the younger ones, going into their own classroom. As Kara followed behind the others she noticed a door to the left. It looked like she had seen this door before and felt a gentle weight in her right hand. Looking down Kara saw she held the small white key to Charon's office. Kara moved over to the left and placed the key into the doorknob and unlocked the door and walked inside.

Kara unlocked the White Door and headed into the blinding brightness that spilled forth from it. Her vision faded to the illumination for a moment before she found herself sitting in Charon's office. The person whom she wished to speak with was just across from her.

"For you to come here of your own accord can only mean one thing. What has made you lost in this maze of life?"

Kara then remembered that she hadn't changed out of her swimsuit yet.

"Perhaps this might not be the best time to talk for you? After all, you appear to have been in the middle of something before happening upon the doorway between dreams and reality."

Kara realized that she had forgotten to change out of her swimsuit.

"I'll be one moment."

Kara quickly left the office returning to the Changing Rooms. To fully get changed into her P.E clothes again and returned back into the office moments later.

"To answer your earlier question, yes something has indeed been on my mind."

Kara took a deep breath and then started to explain.

"I've had a couple of visions that I can't really explain, the first was a girl who was about to be hit by a car. The second was only a short while ago while after being touched by a girl Erys and I were watching. I saw a bunch of bodies inside of an apartment along with a girl with a gun pointed at her head." Kara explained the best that she could.

She didn't say anything else for a couple minutes letting Charon. Think it over for a while before asking her question.

"I don't understand what this all means."

Kara explained as best she could the vision she'd seen. However, she could not utter Erys' name again, instead, she said 'a friend' when she tried to speak the name. The details were extremely limited, providing she'd only got snippets of whatever was going to take place.

"That sounds like a manner of Divination. Are these visions of the past or what is yet to come? The first one you mentioned, I take it that happened a short time ago. This more recent one, however, sounds troubling. While the first may have been aimed to allow a more positive resolution to the event, the second one sounds like it might not end so joyfully."

Kara clarified that she was unsure as to what it all meant.

"Someone, or something, must be triggering these 'visions' as you call them. Divination is a school of Power in which the Wellstones are better versed than any other person. If these are indeed visions of the future, then seeking their help may be more beneficial than wondering what to do next. I cannot directly help you, as you must walk whatever path you choose of your own volition, but I would advise you to consult the Wellstone House in these matters. As we are unsure when this second vision is set, time is of the essence if you wish to change the future portrayed by it. Gather as much information about the event as you can before seeking counsel with the Wellstones. Maybe the person you were following are key to the events that had been witnessed?"

"The first one was of what was yet to come, but I don't know about the second one." Kara explained.

Charon went on to say his own thoughts on the matter.

"Is there a chance I will see more 'visions' in the future?"

Kara gave some thought about seeking out the Wellstones for their help. It sounded like a very good idea Kara needed all the help that she could get right now.

"I will seek out their help when I've gathered all the information that I can get. Would speaking to Elle or one of the other House's members help?" there was some silence and Kara spoke again. "The girl my friend and I followed is still currently at our school. However there is one thing I forgot to mention. When I try to stare at her directly all I get is blurred vision she seems to be using a power called. 'Misdirection' I can catch glimpses of her out of the corners of my eyes."

"It would be dishonest to say that I am not intrigued by how you have attained a Power that only those born into a certain Bloodline possess. If you have witnessed two of these Visions, then there must be some reason behind you having this power. Until whatever that reason is has been resolved, then I believe that this may just be the beginning of it."

Kara agreed to seek out the Wellstones once she'd gathered some more information. However, she was unsure of who to contact.

"Elle would be the best contact you could speak with. After all, she's a prodigy among even the venerable Wellstone House. I cannot say for certain if she would accept or decline the offer, but it would be best to try."

Kara explained about the 'Misdirection' effect that her target appears to have on them.

"Misdirection, at its core, is a lesser form of Illusion Powers. You have a stronger practitioner of that school of Power among your new family. You could ask them for ways around it, but do choose your words carefully if you do. Alongside them, you have their opposite, a practitioner of dispelling any and all falsehoods regardless of what they may be. They would have ways of bypassing the Misdirection and allowing you to see this person for who they are. However, that method is not without its downsides. The person it is used on would know that their power has been dispelled, so it is not exactly a secretive method of overcoming that obstacle. Choose whichever one you believe would be best, but keep an open mind for alternatives as well if those do not take your fancy."

"I-I don't know if I even want a power like this, sure it would allow me to see future events. Even going out of my way as to help save the lives of those involved. But I'm only one person and know nothing of this sort of power at all."

It was agreed that Kara would seek out Elle's help.

"I won't know until I tried so, it's best to try."

Charon explained about 'Misdirection'.

"You mean Haley and Holly, getting them involved might be a bad thing. I don't want them targeted or harmed in any sort of way. Though I don't know if the girl I'm following would try any of that sort of thing. I think it'd be best of I discussed matters with my friend before letting the others know."

"Are they not already involved due to your relation to them? While it may be wrong of to say, you are not exactly the most subtle of people. Just by looking into this further you may draw their attention. If that is the case, then it would be best to voice your concerns to them so they may be able to prepare for what might come. I would agree that you should discuss things with your friend before taking anything further."

"Other then my friend we are the only ones who know about the girl." Kara said at first then she remembered. Lilly was concerned about the recent murders of Empowered Ones around the city.

"I do know Lilly is involved in this a little bit she's very concerned about. The murders of Empowered Ones and fears that they might target Haley or Holly."

Kara let Charon think on that for a bit before asking her next question.

"Have you heard anything about these murders at all?"

Kara made no attempt to hide that she knew about the recent attacks on Empowered Ones.

"So you know of them, do you?"

It was almost indiscernible, but there was definitely some small change in Charon's usual indifference.

"It would be best if you do not get involved in those any further. There are reasons behind the Council's decision to keep them out of public knowledge. Regardless of how you came across such information in the first place, you should leave them to the Empowered Council to correct. We do not wish for more needless bloodshed which could have been avoided."

"Only bits and pieces of what I've heard around work and at home."

Kara noticed the small change that had come over Charon.

"But am I not already involved in this matter, what if the latest vision I've had. Has something to do with the attacks on the Empowered Ones?" Kara didn't know yet whether or not the vision was about such a thing.

"There is still the opportunity for you to not press this matter any further and leave it to those who are more adept at dealing with such things. Even if these Visions you're having may be linked to the cases, we cannot, in good conscience, involve the general populace in these matters. It will be for your own good, and that of your family, if you do not look into these events."

Charon seemed insistent that Kara should just leave the Empowered Attacks to the Council and their own enforcement groups. There was truth in his words that, if Kara actively got involved, she'd place great risk towards herself and her new sisters.

"Now then, let's leave that as it is. Have all your questions been answered?"

Kara felt like trying to argue her point on the matter. While Charon seemed insistent that Kara shouldn't get involved. She didn't want anything to happen to Lilly and the others but innocent lives were at stake if the attacks kept happening. Maybe the visions that Kara had been getting could be used to save lives. Much like she had done for the one family the other day.

"My questions have been answered for now."

Kara arose from the chair she had been sitting on and left the office.

"Then I hope that this has proven useful in helping you find your way again. If you find yourself lost once more, just do as you did before and you shall find your way back here."

Kara left Charon's office and appeared back in the hallway at school. Time must have slowed down while she was in that space as the next lesson's warning bell sounded out mere seconds after she'd returned. The students started milling around once more and headed to the Gymnasium for their next lesson.

With Kara back in the real world the next lesson's warning bell sounded. She quickly hurried towards the Gymnasium for the next lesson. Arriving in a hurry once there she looked around for her small group and headed over to them. "Sorry for taking so, long." Kara said to them when she reached them.

Kara, believing she was running late for her next lesson, rushed on over to the Gymnasium while the other students made their way there at a more regular pace. She joined up with the others and apologised for taking so long.

"You were ready long before I was, so I'm not sure why you think you took long."

Kara was actually dressed in half the time it took Lilly to get ready. Everyone else, except Erys, all looked to be confused on why Kara believed she'd taken long.

"Disappearing off somewhere got you confused on what the time was?"

Erys' telepathic communication was directly solely at Kara. She seemed to know something.

"One moment I could sense your presence in the Hallway outside your classroom and the next I suddenly lost track of you. Slip through a dimensional gap or something?"

Kara was actually the first one ready other then Erys. To be ready as it took the others half the time she used to get ready. Erys then wished to know about where Kara had disappeared to.

"A little."

Yet Erys seemed to know something.

"Yes, I used that time to try and gain some answers to the questions I needed answers to about these visions."

"Interesting..."

Eventually, all the students reconvened in the Gymnasium as the teacher explained the goals for the lesson. Because Gymnastics was usually graded on how complex a person's freestyle routine was, there were no clear-cut structure for the lesson. They were going to be taught basic stunts and poses often used in Gymnastics for the first part of the lesson and, once that was over, they were to devise their own routines using whatever stunts they knew or objects available in the Gymnasium. The routine creation was the bulk of the lesson, taking up half of the lesson slot. For the final quarter of an hour, the groups the students were going to be split in to were to perform their routines to the teacher and the others, to which they'd be graded on as if it was for a mock Gymnastics test.

It sounded pretty straightforward, but lacking in the regard that the students could basically do what they wanted so long as they had a routine to show at the end of the lesson. Even so, once the explanation was done, the lesson started properly and the class were shown basic Gymnastics poses and stunts they could do.

"I'll tell you everything later as we need to discuss somethings first."

Everyone moved onto the Gymnasium where the teacher explained the goals of the lesson. So, basically there was no real clear-cut structure for the lesson they'd be show basic stunts and poses. For the first half followed by being about to do their own routine's for the last half having to come up with something to be graded on.

After everything was explained the lesson began.

"That's assuming we get the chance to. We still don't know if we'll be in the same group."

Following along with the first quarter of the lesson, the class were taught some poses and stunts they could incorporate into their routine. While they were given the freedom to include what they wished into their routine, the teacher had to stress the importance of health and safety before splitting the students into groups. The class were warned to not do anything too complex that may put them at risk and to only do stunts that they felt comfortable and capable in doing.

After the mandatory warnings, grouping was decided. Each group was to consist of no more than five people and no less than three. This meant that Kara had to be split from some of the others she was grouped with before due to the group size.

Lilly had her own group with Shiro, Haley, Erys and Mikan and Kara's group ended up consisting of Rya, Holly, Remi and...the girl she was tracking before!

"Yay! We get to be a group again! It's a shame Mii can't group with us, but I'm sure she'll do fine with you sisters and their friends."

"I'm not that confident about my ability with those stunts and stuff. I just hope that we won't do anything too difficult."

"Don't use this as an excuse to get hands on with my Miss-...I mean, Holly and myself."

"There's breaktime after this lesson we can talk then if were not in the same group together?"

The first part of the lesson, the class was taught what they'd be doing with some poses and stunts. Then after the mandatory warnings, about safety and health were issued. Everyone was placed in groups of five. Kara's group turned out to be Rya, Holly, Remi and the girl she had tracked before?

"At least things shall be easier to go with having you around to help out."

Kara looked over to Holly and Remi.

"We shall take things at an easy pace and will help you anyway we can." Kara tells Holly. "Would you like to go first Remi I'd like to see just what you can come up with?"

Lastly, Kara gazed at the other girl.

"Hello, what's your name I'm Kara."

Kara spoke with each member of her group in turn.

"Just leave it to me!~ We're gonna ace that test thingie at the end if we all work together."

"Maybe it would be best if I sit this out. I'll only bring you all down if I stuck around."

"C'mon, don't be like that. You're worse than Mii whenever she's gotta do stage stuff."

"I am not well versed in this 'Gymnastics'. Is it a form of training? It would be unwise for me to act without knowing what is required."

"Um...you kinda talk a little...proper? No need to be so formal around us. Gymnastics isn't training, it's stuff you do to keep your body flexible."

While Rya was open to talk with the others, the new girl acted a little distant as if she wasn't really a part of the group and was just there because she had to be. She was nothing like that St Jules girl from the previous timeline, she almost seemed like she didn't want to be noticed, and that wasn't just her Misdirection power. In fact, Kara could actually clearly see the girl now, almost as if her power had been cancelled out by something.

While Rya was dressed in the burgundy polo shirt and black and red checked skirt of Kestrels' academy Summer P.E Uniform, the other girl was dressed in a burgundy long sleeve track jacket and trousers combo. That was probably the winter kit for Kestrels'.

Attempting to be polite, Kara introduced herself to the new girl.

"Lia." The girl responded in regards to her name being asked. "Guess we'll be working together this lesson."

"Let's just first see what everyone's good at than work from there."

Holly wasn't really up for the idea.

"Where's the fun in that, you might even be good at this sort of thing. You won't know if you are or not unless you give it a try?"

Rya went on to speak with the others while Kara was left with the new girl. For the first time Kara was able to see the girl clearly. She was dressed differently than Rya was and soon gave Kara her name once she was asked.

"Guess so, are you any good at gymnastics?"

"I don't want to bring the group down. I know I'm no good at physical stuff."

"Guess we've got two Mii's here today. There's lots of stuff that isn't too hard to do, just do what you feel like you can do. We'll all support you however we can."

Leaving Holly to a pep-talk from Rya, Kara asked if Lia was any good at Gymnastics.

"Never tried." Lia responded.

Rya must've been listening in as she paused her Holly pep-talk to interject with Kara's conversation.

"You're from the class that does P.E with Mii's class, right? Don't you normally have notes saying you can't do P.E or stuff? How come you're doing this today?"

"Nosy..."

"And why're you dressed like there's a blizzard outside?! Aren't you boiling in all those layers?"

"...forgot my Summer Kit."

"Then what're you wearing under that jacket? I don't think it's your school shirt. And don't even try and lie that you're going bare under it."

"You ask too many questions."

Lia looked to be avoiding eye contact with Rya while answering her questions.

"You won't bring the group down, remember what we discussed last night. About me helping you finding an activity today you might be good at. What if gymnastics is what you're good at you won't truly know that unless you give it a try?"

Kara looked over to Remi.

"Don't you want to see Holly succeed and have fun."

Lia had never tried gymnastics before and Rya started to question her.

"Whatever she's wearing under the jacket is her own business, if she forgot her Summer Kit. Oh, well there's nothing we can do about that. Let's just try and focus on the lesson instead of playing 20 questions?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

"If she does not feel like she can do it, then we cannot force it. It would be wrong of us to put her through undue stress that she does not want. I know Mis-...Holly will do what she can, but do not force her to do any more."

Naturally, Remi is always on Holly's side. At least she was being relatively polite towards Kara, possibly to keep with what Holly had requested of her earlier. Even so, she really needed to work on speaking more naturally rather than how she was.

After Rya's barrage of questions, Kara requested that the matter was bought to a close and that they got on with the lesson.

"Fine...But don't say I didn't warn her if she gets heat stroke."

"You're too trusting. You can't tell me that her wearing thick winter clothes is just a fashion statement. Aren't you the least bit curious what she might be hiding under them? No...don't even start with you libido talking. I mean concealed weaponry! If you can get a clear look at her, see if she's got anything out of place on aside from her weird taste in clothes. And, for the love of all that is unholy, don't make it obvious that you're looking for stuff!"

"Oh...one more thing. Our Link allows me to see what you can see as you're feeding me energy to remain corporeal. That's how I know you're with her."

"I'm not trying to force her into doing this, I'm trying to help her out here."

Kara was doing her best to try and help Holly out anyway she could. She wasn't trying to force Holly to try this out more like just give it a try.

Erys spoke up after Rya was done.

"I am curious as to what she's hiding under them, if I can find some way for her to remove her jacket then I'll suggest it. I'll see what I can find and don't worry I've got enough things to worry about here."

Kara then went on to start her own routine.

"You probably already know this, but her Misdirection is down. The Glowfly and her Mistress must have a passive aura or something that removes all forms of visual trickery. Guess living with my Mistress has gotten the Glowfly a little paranoid about illusions."

Keeping in mind what Erys had said, Kara got started on her routine.

"Hold on a sec. We're meant to be performing as a group so we can't all go and do our own things. We need to plan out what kind of routine we wanna do and then work towards that. Strategy meeting!"

Sure enough, the teacher did say that the group would be graded on their routine and not the individuals. Kara would have to work with the others to come up with a routine.

"I suggest we all do a Cheerleading routine. We can include the basic poses of Cheerleading along with some of the stunts that we were shown, like forward rolls, flips and maybe even some Cheerleading stunts. Basic poses are easy enough for anyone to do, and I know who'll be best at being Top during the stunts."

"That sounds embarrassing...I don't want everyone to stare at me."

"I am not sure what Cheerleading is, but if it means we can get this done, then it's a suggestion I will take into account."

"Okay~ That's two for, one against and two undecided. Any more votes for Cheerleading, or any other suggestions which we could do?"

"I don't care." Lia answered. "Whatever wins, wins."

"I noticed that, if that's what's got her so worked up then it works in our favor."

Kara practiced her own routine for a few moments trying to warm herself up. To get the blood pumping yet Rya soon called the group together. Followed with suggesting an idea that they should all try out.

"Let's try the Cheerleading routine."

Kara was all for the idea, it would also be easier for Lia to remove her jacket. If everyone was all moving around and working out.

Kara pitched her vote to the Cheerleading routine that Rya had suggested.

"Then it's decided. We'll do a Cheerleading routine. Listen up, 'cause there's a lot I gotta explain about who's doing what position when it comes to the stunts."

Rya explained about the basics for what she had in mind which the group should do. After lots of convincing and further explanation about the role, Holly reluctantly agreed to be the 'Top' during the stunts. According to Rya, who's at Top is based more on height than weight, and as Holly was the shortest among the group she would fill that role. The other roles were explained and taken accordingly, leaving Kara to decide being either a 'Base' or the 'Spotter'.

"In short, the 'Spotter' makes sure that everyone's in time with one another and also ensures the safety of the 'Top' during the stunts. Those in the 'Base' role support the Top and Spotter during stunts. We won't be doing 'Towers' as they're advanced level stunts and we don't have enough people to do them."

"Don't let this excite you too much, but if you're the 'Spotter' then that means you'll have Holly's tender place pressed against the back of your neck during the 'Shoulder Straddle'. If you're the 'Base', then she'll just be standing on your thigh for a bit and that's all. What do you think sounds better?"

When the roles were dished out and decided upon, Rya took the group through some basic Cheerleading choreography, poses and stunts. Things seemed simple enough to grasp.

The Cheerleading routine was what they'd be doing. Rya then began to explain the basics of what the group would be doing. Holly agreed to be the 'Top' during the stunts which left Kara to be either a 'Base' or a 'Spotter'. Kara thought about which one would be best for her to be as Erys spoke up.

"I'll go with being a 'Spotter'" Kara told Rya.

Kara wasn't thinking about how Holly's tender place would be placed against the back of her neck. She was thinking about how she could try and help Holly enjoy this lesson let alone the routine they'd be doing.

"I'll admit it does sound exciting but I'd rather focus on the routine and Lia." Kara told Erys.

"Fine. Suit yourself there. Let's hope your mind remains that clear when it actually happens."

Now everyone had their role and Rya had devised a simple yet nice looking routine, now came the practice for the Stunts. Being the 'Spotter', Kara was the main one who'd be involved in the stunts Rya had in mind. Her routine for the climax had them all Leapfrogging off Kara into the Double-Base thigh stand, to which Holly was to transition off into the Shoulder Straddle for the final finish into what would've been Holly front flipping back down to the ground for the last pose. However, things didn't go that smoothly.

The trouble came with the final stunt that Holly had to perform. Being not very athletic, Holly naturally had trouble with the front flip which meant that the final part would need to be switched up a little to something which she can do. Several ideas were suggested until eventually Rya switched up the middle from leapfrogs into forward rolls, which left the finish to Holly doing the leapfrog off Kara. To add some flair to the end, Rya still kept the flips in, but only herself and Remi were to do them before the final pose.

Once everything was finalised, the group had one last practice session left before it was time to present.

While they started on the practice routine. Kara kept an eye on Lia here and there when she had a couple of free moments. She looked to see if Lia was indeed hiding anything on her person. Before doing her best to help Holly through the routine yet things weren't going smoothly for her. Kara tried to give Holly some encouragement and took things slowly as Rya switched the middle from leapfrogs to forward rolls.

During the practice sessions, Kara kept a close watch of Lia to see if she was hiding any form of weaponry on her. Despite her best efforts, Kara's search yielded no results. Aside from Lia's strange choice in P.E Attire, there were no signs that she was using it to disguise weaponry of any sorts. The jacket and trousers weren't that baggy on her so trying to hide something under them wouldn't be easy. Maybe Kara was just being too suspicious of Lia when it was not needed?

The final practice session for the group went pretty well. Holly had managed to tough out the strenuous activities rather admirably and still looked to be able to perform. However, it was clear that she was steadily losing stamina so hopefully she'll still be able to go through the routine one last time. At least she'd have somewhat of a break while the other groups performed.

When the last quarter of the lesson approached, the teacher requested that all the groups stopped what they were doing and gathered up in the centre of the room. Each group was told to line up their members behind their elected 'group leader'. The group leaders were requested to draw a strip of paper out of the box the teacher had to determine when their group would perform. As Rya had devised the routine, she'd opted to be the 'group leader'. Each group drew their lots and discovered when they were to perform. According to Rya's number, her group would be the fifth to perform, which was the second to last group spot. Lilly's group, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky as they were to perform third.

With turn order decided, the groups which weren't performing were to gather around the back of the room to watch the other groups do their routines.

Nothing came from her search of Lia as it yielded no results. Though there was one other way Kara could check to see if Lia was hiding anything. That being using Erys' eyes upon her like she had wanted to do earlier. Though Kara still watched her when she had the time between the routine going on and all. Kara did notice that Holly wasn't faring to well during the group practice.

After they were finished and Rya went to pick the group's number. Kara went over to Holly and spoke to her. "How are you holding up?"

Concerned for how Holly was doing, Kara asked how she was when Rya went to draw their turn number.

"Too much...moving around..."

Aside from exhibiting signs of basic exertion, Holly was relatively okay. It was obvious she avoided most forms of physical activity and her current state attested to that. There wasn't anything to be concerned about and Holly would likely get better over the course of the upcoming break.

The groups' routines were shown. The first group to go up did some basic gymnastics poses with little other content. They included some of the props, like balance beams and vaulting horses, but overall it was just a showcase of the bare minimum needed to get a passing grade. Rya looked unimpressed by it but she didn't voice her disapproval of the lacklustre routine.

The second group were a bit better than the first one. They looked to be trying to push the boundaries of their own limits and were actually doing quite well. However, to the trained eye there were lots of flaws with their routine but the group looked to be enjoying themselves. They'd attempted to do synchronised stunts but they weren't exactly that much in time with each other. Nonetheless, their enthusiasm was good so they were marked more on that than their execution.

Next up was Lilly's group. According to them, Mikan was the one who came up with the routine they were to be doing. The way they'd organised the props they were using was mostly on par with the assault course Kara had taken part in during the previous World's training day. Each group member lined up, from shortest to tallest, at the start of the Assault course and looked to be challenging each other for the best time to clear it. It fit along with the rules the teacher had set across earlier as they mentioned nothing about stopping internal group challenges. Each group member tackled the course in their own way until everyone had run it. It was likely not unexpected to those in the know, but the winner of the course was Erys as she clocked the best time. Kara knew that Erys was just showing off with her victory and had likely done it as an indirect challenge to Remi for who could perform the best in the Class. Haley came as a close second, though, being only seconds slower than Erys.

Remi had evidently fallen for the bait that Erys had thrown her way as she was looking more than ready to go up there and perform the routine. However, there was still another group to go.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

Holly appeared okay and would soon feel better with a little rest. Then it was time for the groups to begin their routines. Kara watched as the first two groups went about their business she watched what they did. Once that was finished up next was Lilly's group which started with an assault course. Which had been placed together with the props they had been given. Mikan was the one who'd come up with the idea.

Kara watched and part of her would have liked to be on Haley's team. This would have been a nice chance to have done their little race. It didn't bother her at all to see that Erys was showing off against Remi. As they were still waiting their turn she walked up to the small spirit.

"Are you ready to show her who's boss?"

Once Lilly's team had finished their routine, the next group up moved to take centre stage. During this time, Kara stoked the building fires within Remi to motivate her to perform at her best in to attempt to best Erys' performance.

"Nothing would bring me more joy than to show that fiend the error of making an enemy of Truthguard Valkyries."

"This isn't a battlefield! Don't do anything which would put others at risk. Friendly competition, not war! Beat her with good sportsmanship and not with weapons or anything dangerous."

Perhaps the fires were already too hot. Either way, it was Rya's group's turn at last.

"Remember, big smiles. Cheerleading is about being cute. We're here to get everyone else to do their best, so we need to look happy."

Everything was set up as Rya had wanted it. Starting up the backing track to their routine, Rya and her group took up their starting positions and began their performance. Everything went as well as they could hope. All their training and practice had paid off and Rya's natural leadership made it much easier for everyone to be in synch and perform at the best of their ability. The only one who was not quite giving it their all was Lia, whom simply went about the routine without putting much feeling into it. Thankfully, Rya had factored in for such a thing and the rest of the group managed to keep the attention on them rather than their less motivated member. The final climax stunts were performed as they had wished however...

...Kara's attention momentarily shifted to Holly's tender parts pressed against her during the shoulder straddle and the leapfrog dismount. This partially caused her to lose focus on the performance but not to a degree that would prove problematic in the short part of the routine that remained. Even so, the thoughts of such a thing lingered into the final segment and even after the closing poses were performed.

"Seems your mind's slipped to perversion once more. Thankfully, you kept yourself under control this time around. So, how did they feel? Were they as good as you thought they'd be?"

The group's performance was one of the two performances so far that received a noticeable round of applause. Mikan's group was the only other group that received such a thing when it ended. It was soon made clear which two groups were to be given good reports. All that remained now was for the final group to do their routine and the lesson would be over.

"That's the spirit Remi a nice friendly competition is always a good thing."

Their turn had finally come and everyone moved onto the mat where. Rya gave one last pep talk and they began their performance. Kara gave it her all down the routine just like they had practiced. She saw that Lia wasn't giving it her all which upset Kara but she didn't show it. During the final climax of stunts, Kara's lost focus when she felt Holly's tender parts pressed against her shoulder straddle and leapfrog dismount. The feeling felt nice and soft apart of Kara longed for more of this. But she had to regain her focus which she did at the end.

"They felt soft, I'm did enjoy the feeling."

"I can make her do it whenever you want, if you so desire. However, I would ask for something of equal value in return. Keep it in mind should you ever wish to experience that feeling again."

The final group went through their routine and eventually the class was gathered together once more as the teacher debriefed everyone. Evidently, only Mikan and Rya's groups got the best marks out of the lot. The second and final groups to go received honourable mentions due to their attempts, but the first group was outed as being only a halfhearted attempt, which only just scrapped the passing grade.

Finally, it was time for a 20minute Break before their next activity. Kara's little group of siblings and Spirits reconvened once more.

"But if things go that far Remi would become aware of it. I'd rather not upset her further then she already is against me."

It was now time for Break with everyone gathered together again. Kara thought it was best to relax but also use this chance as a means to fully. Talk with Erys about all she had learned while speaking with Charon. "Erys do you have a few moments?" Kara asked.

"Who cares what she thinks? Are you really going to let somebody else decide what you should do? If you want something then you do everything you can to get it. That is how it has always been. If you want to let someone else control what you do, then go ahead."

During the break, Kara wanted to discuss what she had learned about their current situation and target. She wanted to speak privately with Erys, but due to their large group it didn't look possible to do it openly.

"Let's go somewhere less crowded than here."

"Um...on the way, can we stop by...you know..."

"She is requesting a moment of respite in a private place. Let us head there."

"Remi, don't put it like that."

Following on from Remi's blatant outing of something which Holly may have wanted to remain rather euphemistic, the group headed out of the gymnasium and stopped by the nearest toilets to wait for Holly. Remi had disappeared off inside the toilets with Holly, leaving just Kara, Lilly, Shiro, Erys and Haley outside.

"I doubt we're going to get any time to ourselves so why not just go through it all like this? Nothing can overhear or intercept us this way."

Kara didn't say anything back to Erys' first question. She was having conflicted thoughts about whether to go through with what she wanted from Holly. Or not doing so and having Remi's wrath to deal with. Kara wanted to try and smooth things out between them not create a bigger rift between them.

"I'll think more on it."

The group all headed to the restroom and Remi and Holly went inside.

"We can do it like this, about the visions I've just started getting recently. It appears someone or something is triggering them. We don't know what's causing them but the visions seem like a form of Divination, I was told to seek out the Wellstones for more information and help learning more about this as they specialise in this sort of thing. Also Lia might somehow be triggered to these events just how she is I don't really know."

Kara let Erys take that all in.

"I also asked about the recent Empowered One murders and if this latest vision. Could be apart of it, but the only answers I got in return were not to get involved any further in this matter as it could lead to bad things happening to me or my new family."

Kara added in.

Kara engaged in private discussion with Erys about her recent findings.

"There's only one individual who might be responsible for triggering that Power in you. Best to steer clear of them otherwise it might get worse. I'm not sure how much help the Wellstones would be, but, whatever you do, don't tell them everything. Keep some stuff on a 'need to know' basis otherwise you might just become a puppet to them.

"Lia's that girl we're tracking, isn't she? Did you find anything out about her? You had a whole half of a lesson with the girl so you must have found something out. If you haven't got the slightest bit of information about her after that long, then I question just how useful you'd be."

Kara mentioned about the recent murders in the local area and how she was told to not investigate them any further.

"And that total ban is not the least bit suspicious to you? Forgot about what you were told, it must be really important if the higher-ups are demanding that you steer clear of it. Again, I'll ask you, are you really going to let others control your actions? You want to know more about them, don't you? How their Sigil looked to be completely depleted of power when they were found? Don't look so surprised, you're an open book. Seriously, you need to get better at keeping things secret."

Before Kara could answer back, Holly and Remi had finished in the toilets and everyone headed off to find someplace to spend the break time.

"Could the person who triggered this power in me the CR? I haven't seen them at all since we entered this new world. I wouldn't want to try anything against them, neither do I know if the Wellstones will be helpful or not but they're the only people who can currently help me with explaining a bit more about this power."

Erys asked about Lia next.

"Yes Lia is her name, she seemed rather odd to me like I'd seen her somewhere before perhaps in the old world. From her choice of clothes, it looked like she couldn't have been hiding anything under her clothes. When Rya questioned her earlier Lia appeared to avoid eye contact with her and mentioned Rya was asking too many questions. She's never done Gymnastics before and usually has notes that let her out of P.E."

Erys then spoke up about the murders Kara told her about.

"Of course it is suspicious to me, they clearly know more about it then what I've been told. No, I don't want that and yes I want to know more about them and their Sigil. Then it's best if I started looking into this matter more. As for right now, I'd like to use your eyes on our little friend over here."

With Holly and Remi having returned the groups were starting to break apart. Kara had only one more chance to see if Lia was hiding anything or if she could gain any other info on the girl before they parted ways.

"Erm..who? If you mean that walking pile of Cogs and Gears then, yes, that's the one."

Kara explained her findings on Lia.

"I think I'd remember seeing someone as weird as that girl. I don't think we've met her before coming to this variation of existence. I take it you've never heard of DigiGear if you think weapons would show up underneath clothing. You, yourself, should also know that weapons can be summoned and dismissed as appropriate. If you think you can instantly see if someone's armed just by looking at them, then you're sorely mistaken.

"She sounds like a lazy person if she avoids doing all kinds of Physical Exercise. However, I don't think that's the full story. You'll need to look deeper into it if you want to know everything. Avoiding eye contact with people could mean several things, so best not to overthink it unless you've got skill in reading a person's body language, which I'm almost certain you're lacking."

Despite Charon's warnings, Kara fell to the temptation that Erys had offered her.

"For starters, I've already said that I can't allow you to do that right now. The backflow of Power would likely fry your tiny mind before you even got a glimpse through my Sight. While I've nothing against doing it even with a near certain chance of it happening, I'm sure that some people may think differently. You're on your own in that regard. Time to test how well trained you are at information gathering."

While the seven of them found somewhere to spend the break, Kara confirmed that she wanted to know more about the Sigils and what their meanings were.

"Listen closely because I'm only explaining this once. Each Empowered One has Sigil which represents their Power and is used as a conduit for channelling it through their body and into the physical manifestations you fight with. This Sigil is normally shaped after what bought about the power or, in some cases, the Crest of the Bound Guardian that bestows the power unto the person.

"In the World we know, they were usually located in a place close to what the person Sacrificed to gain the power. Take the once-mute girl, for example. Her Crest was located on her neck in the previous World because she sacrificed her Voice in order to gain the additional Power and Summon the uppity Glowfly as her Guardian. The Pyromaniac has her Crest located just above where her reproductive organs were because she Sacrificed the ability to conceive children in order to gain her power and revive my Mistress and her Sister.

"If you look a little to your right, you'll see what I mean."

/Assuming instructions were followed.\\

Going with what Erys said, Kara looked to her right and her gaze fell upon Holly. Focusing a little more closely, Kara could make out the Sigil of a Shield on Holly's neck that she'd seen on her before in both the previous World and this current one.

"That is Holly's Sigil. It's the main source of her power and the Symbol of her pact with the Glowfly. My Mistress has a Sigil as well, but her's is a different shape and in a different place. The next part is really important, so make sure you're paying attention.

"It's a forbidden practice and outlawed by all walks of Empowered Ones, but there is a way you can forcibly drain the power from an Empowered One and take it into yourself. You'd have to either kill them or weaken them to the point where they cannot even hope to fight back before you can do it. To drain their Power, you simply need to place your hand over their Sigil and effectively drain their very life essence from them through their Sigil. Naturally, practitioners of Darkness Powers have this innate ability anyway, so it's much easier for them. Once you have done that, you should see their Sigil eventually lose its glow and fade to nothing more than a fancy tattoo.

"The Power you gain from them would be the one they possess closest to your natural affinity if they are in possession of more than one School of Power. There is a way to choose what Power you take, but that takes some more...'focused' draining. Not a lot of people have the ability to do it, so it's nearly unheard of. In addition to one of their Powers, you also drain a fraction of their essence, taking some of what they were good at in life and adding it to your own Physical and Mental aptitudes.

"Because you tend to act before you think, I shall repeat this once more: doing this is Forbidden and Outlawed by all Empowered Ones with the penalty being death on sight. If you thought to do this, then you'd best be great at hiding things and make sure that nobody else saw what you did. You'll be a wanted person by every Empowered Household, so it's pretty much a one-way ticket to the Underworld."

Erys explained her thoughts about Lia and about using her eye sight yet again. Following up with explaining how Sigils worked and how their power was used. Kara knew that she had gotten Beltran's, Chanki's and Erys own sigil upon her own body. "Normally a person would only have one sigil like Lilly or Holly for example. But wouldn't I have more I've got my own from Beltran but wouldn't I've gotten one from you and Chanki to a degree?"

Kara looked to her right and her gaze fell on Holly. Where she saw the Sigil of the shield on her neck which was in the same spot. Like in the old world Erys then went on to tell Kara more about this and she paid extra attention to what was told to her.

"So, Haley and I would be able to do this sort of thing if we wished. But I don't want to go around killing people or beating them to a near death. Just to steal their powers, I mean sure I'd or whoever else did this sort of thing would get stronger but the risk isn't worth it. You know I'm not great at hiding things and I don't want everyone coming after me."

"Instead of adding more Sigils to the body, being bound by multiple entities would actually merge each one's Crest into the Sigil. I don't think you bound with the Feather Snake in this world, but the Feather Duster's Crest should still be somewhere on your body merged with mine."

For once, Kara saw sense in Erys' warning and opted to not engage in draining people's powers.

"Draining Life Essence is one of the few things that all Darkness users can do. While powers like the Glowfly's and Holly's are aimed at healing others without Sacrifice, Darkness users choose to drain the life from their enemies to sustain their onslaughts. However, it's not impossible for practitioners of other forms of Power to gain some manner of Draining another's Life Essence. Whomever is carrying out those attacks must have that Power if their victims are being Drained."

The group had reached a relatively suitable shady area in the main courtyard and chose to spend the remaining fifteen minutes of break there.

Kara didn't know if she was bound to Chanki in this world. Like she had been in the old world she'd need to test that out at some point. She gave her body a once over to see if she could find her own Sigil. But she wasn't able to find it at the moment and would try again later.

"Is there a chance this person could come after me?"

Kara wasn't looking forward to having her powers drained. If it came down to it she might have to drain the attacker of their that'd only be a fully last resort if nothing else worked against them.

With the group in a shady spot Kara took a seat.

"There's a chance for everything in this world, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. You'd need to have something they'd want before they'd even consider you as being a target. From what we already know, they seem to be picking people off in Rank Order, so there's a better chance that my Mistress and her Sister will get targeted before you."

"Anyway, we'd best start acting normal now otherwise people might get suspicious. We'll have to cut this discussion here."

Upon arriving in a suitable area, the group rested up for the lessons to come. According to the activity list, Shot-put and Javelin training were coming up next. As it relied mostly on strength, Holly wouldn't be that good at it. However, it may be the perfect opportunity for Kara to have her little competition with Haley if she didn't want to wait until the later lessons.

"The best method would be to trying to get a copy of the rank order. Then find out the name of the last person who was attacked that way. We can form some sort of future plan against the person doing these attacks whether they be against another Empowered One or Holly and Haley."

They now had to act normal which Kara began to do. She spoke with the others about random things. Told Remi she performed really good during their routine, then asked Haley if she'd be up for their little competition next lesson. Seeing as how it was shot-put and javelin training that was coming up next.

"Yeah, good luck with that."

The evident disinterest Erys had in potentially procuring a copy of the Empowered Ranking Charter just further illustrated that it will be an impossible task, considering no one aside from the highest Ranked Empowered Ones could ever get their hands on the Charter.

In order to disguise their private discussions, Kara engaged the others in random conversation for the remainder of the Break Time. Her compliment to Remi helped to further stoke the fires of competition between the Valkyrie and the Pseudo-Succubus, though more out of friendly rivalry rather than war. Haley had no objections to their little competition during the next lesson. Eventually, the break was over and the group had to head over to the rear field for their next lesson.

The break time came to an end and the group headed towards. The end of the field for their next lesson. Haley agreed to the little competition which would take place. As they were walking Kara decided out of the blue to try out something similar with Remi. Just for the fun of it and hoping Remi would agree.

Kara offered up the chance of a similar competition to Remi, yet the Spirit wasn't as interested in the prospect of it as Haley was. It seemed that Remi's sole goal was to prove herself better than Erys, so competitions with other people wasn't on her list of interests.

When the class had gathered in the designated location, the teachers began going through general safety warnings in regards to the content of the lesson. The javelins, while sharp enough to only stick in the ground, could still prove dangerous if thrown with enough force. The shot-puts, on the other hand, were solid balls of metal, so they were potentially more dangerous than the javelins if used improperly. After the safety warnings were given, the teachers demonstrated the core content of the lesson.

Students would be graded based on how far they throw the items and, at the end of the lesson, group totals would be tallied to see which group had scored the highest during the lesson.

Remi wasn't as interested in Kara's offer as she had her own goal of proving herself. To be better then Erys and Kara let her have that. When the class gathered again the teachers explained the general rules about safety and that all the students would be graded based on how far they could throw the items at the end of the lesson.

After the demonstrations were finished, the groups were decided once more. Kara's group of five consisted of: Haley, Erys, Kiki and Mikan, along with herself. It was unusual that Kiki would be taking part in the lesson, considering her condition, but nonetheless she was assigned to a group likely for observation rather than participation. From the look of Kara's group, most of the points for the grading would likely be coming from herself, Haley and maybe Erys. Mikan didn't exactly look that physically strong.

The first quarter of the lesson was dedicated to the students learning how to properly throw the Shot-puts and Javelins without potentially causing harm to either themselves or others. Following on from that, the remaining three quarters were for test throws and being graded on. Kara's group, while only have three of the five members potentially being effective at it, would still likely score higher than some of the other groups.

The groups were decided once more and Kara ended up with Haley, Erys, and Mikan. Yet she had someone new joining the group that one turning out to be Kiki. But one could the outcome of Kiki being there was it gave Kara then chance to ask her something. But Kara needed to think of how best to go about it.

As the first part of the lesson was given over to how to throw the shot-puts and javelins. Correctly Kara walked over to Haley when things were finished up. "I was thinking of handling things of whoever can throw the shot-put and javelin the furthest wins."

Kara suggested a way in which her competition with Haley could be graded.

"Any other rules, or are we just seeing who can throw the furthest? No 'best of three' or anything?"

While Kara discussed the competition with Haley, Erys and Mikan did a couple of test throws. It was clear that Erys was holding back a lot but she still managed to throw the objects a decent distance. Mikan, on the other hand, looked to be struggling with just lifting the shot-put, let alone throwing it. She was a little better with the javelins, but her throwing distance still left a lot to be desired.

"No using magic at all we will go with our own physical strength. A best of three sounds like a good idea. Depending on how many times we are able to toss the shot-put and javelin we can create a small scorecard between ourselves with 1 point. Like for example if you threw the javelin the furthest say three times you'd get 3 points for each throw."

Kara let Haley think that over as she went to test out the javelin throws herself.

Kara clarified the potential loophole that Haley may have been trying to get in to.

"Fine, I guess. I think we get to throw as many times as we want as long as we rotate between group members."

Kara did a few test throws of the Javelins when they were available. Throwing a Javelin seemed to be equally as reliant on how Dexterous as personal was as well as how Strong they were. Nimbleness made it so the Javelin landed point-down onto the ground, yet pure physical power determined how far it was thrown, regardless of whether it impaled the ground or not. According to how the teacher had been scoring, the place where the tip of the Javelin originally landed would be the distance they'd record it being thrown to.

Kara did a few test throws with the javelins. While throwing them she picked up on how they were reliant on how fast she was along with how strong as well. From what Kara knew was that this should be a fairly close match. Kara knew how fast and strong she was, but also knew that Haley was just like her. But was just a little faster but Kara wasn't going to let Haley win she'd give this everything she had and more.

After a few test throws, Kara now had a rough feel for how the competition may play out. Haley was indeed very Dexterous, even more so than Kara, but she was pretty much on par with her in the realms of Strength. Kara may be at a very slight disadvantage when it comes to the Javelin throws, but they would be evenly matched with the Shot-puts.

According to the rest of the group, Kiki will act as the judge for their little competition as she will not be actively participating in the actual throwing of the objects. Mikan and Erys will take their throws alongside the duelling pair, as the rotational rules insisted, but they will not interfere with Kara and Haley's bout. When the two were ready, they just needed to let Kiki know and the competition can commence.

Kara knew while she might not be able to match Haley in the javelin throws. She might be able to make up what she missed when it was time to use the shot-put. With the rest of the group spread out with Kiki as judge and Mikan and Erys taking their turns beside them. Kara was ready to go and went and told Kiki she was ready she was just waiting on Haley.

Kara informed Kiki that she was ready to start the competition and, after a few more test throws, Haley was ready to do the same. The next round of throws came along and Kara stepped up to try her luck with the shot-put throw.

The test throws from earlier must've been a warm-up for Kara as she was able to throw the shot-put a considerable distance. When it came to her turn with the Javelin, however, she fell a little short. She'd managed to get the power in there, but her balancing of the javelin's shaft was completely off as it skewed sideways, the tip impaling the ground a disappointingly short distance when compared to her previous throw and the shaft rolling across the ground due to the lack of impaling into the soil.

Next up came Mikan's turn. She hadn't gotten much better when compared to her earlier throws so she still had ways to go before being even half as good as what Kara had done.

Haley's chance came after Mikan's turn. Her throws with the shot-put didn't get her very far as she miscalculated the force of her throw, causing the object to land after having next to no flight time. She didn't let this get her down, though as she took up a javelin and launched it a good distance. It wasn't quite as far as Kara's shot-put throw but it did put Kara's javelin one to shame. So far they seem to be tied with 1 all, as Kara threw the shot-put well but messed up the javelin one and Haley did the opposite. According to Kiki's scoring system, in order for there to be a clear winner someone would need to throw both their Shot-put and Javelin further than their opponent.

Erys took her turn, barely even putting in effort with her throws yet still managing to cause them to travel a good distance and soon enough it was back to Kara's turn once more.

Her luck with the javelin throw was upseting as Kara had fell a little short on her throw. With only having the power there and not the balance. Haley's throw was much better then Kara's own and when it came down to the shot-put throws Kara was able to turn things around. While Haley had fallen short. They were tired at 1 all and with Kara's turn once more she picked up the shot-put. Only to then launch it with everything she had she wasn't about to lose this match to Haley.

With the scores presently tied, round 2 started off looking to be in Kara's favour. Her Shot-put throw was just as good as her last one, landing at a similar distance to it, and her Javelin one was a little better this time. Unlike before, Kara managed to get the Javelin to land a decent distance point-first, allowing her score to be tallied accurately this time. Haley would have to perform impressively well to win this round.

Moving along the turn order as before, Haley's turn came up after Mikan's. Her throw with the shot-put, while better than her last one, didn't gain much distance and only went half as far as Kara's did. Trusting in her Javelin throwing prowess from before, Haley hoped that this one would at least make them even again. Putting as much strength and aiming as she could into the throw, Haley's Javelin flew past where Kara's landed and claimed a new personal best for her. The scores were locked in another close competition as the final round loomed closer.

After Erys' turn came the last round of Haley and Kara's competition. The true test of how good they are at throwing objects. Kara stepped up to the line to throw her shot-put once more and...

...fumbled it. She released her grip too late in the throwing arc, causing the spherical object to slam into the grass a short distance away from the throwing line. That wasn't a great start at all and would likely cost her the competition unless Haley made an equal or worse mess up. Placing her last hope in her Javelin throw, Kara released the projectile. Thankfully, she did much better this time and the Javelin covered quite a good distance before plunging into the grass. She still had a chance!

Mikan's turn came once more and passed over to Haley. She took up a shot-put, placed all her strength into the throw and...

...managed to get it to go a considerable distance! It wasn't as good as Kara's previous throws, but it was one of the better ones for Haley. Things weren't looking to be in Kara's favour for winning this competition. Haley's last javelin throw arced forward pretty well and landed mere centimetres further than Kara's one, leading to Haley's victory.

"I win! That was kinda close a lot of the time, but I guess that last Shot-put throw really messed up your chances, huh? If it hadn't have been for that, I'm not sure I would've won."

Things were looking better for Kara at the start of the second round. She did better at her javelin throw and her shot-put throw was just as good as her last one. Yet Haley was able to keep pace with her. When Kara next had the chance that's when things turned sour she misjudged her shot-put throw and fumbled it. The sphere fell short much to Kara's surprise this upset her. She placed her remaining hope on the javelin throw and did fairly better. But Haley was able to snag victory with her own one landing just a few centimetres ahead.

"I didn't think, that would of happened to me. I gave it my all during that shot-put throw I guess I just made a simple mistake. I agree with you things were pretty close I don't know if I could've won even if I did great on the last throw."

Kara while upset that she lost was still proud of how well things turned out.

The playful competition between Kara and Haley was concluded in Haley's favour. Kara was disappointed in the fact that she lost, despite how well she'd done, but was also proud that it was a success for the pair. The girls' competition lasted a good deal of the lesson and they now only had around ten minutes left before their lunch break.

The teacher had been grading each of the groups for the duration of the lesson and, at present, Kara's group was sitting in first place for distance scores at present, which wasn't that much of a surprise for certain members of the group as they knew what was allowing such a performance.

The final ten minutes of the lesson passed by fairly quickly and the class was called together for a debriefing.

With the final ten minutes of the lesson the groups gathered together again. Kara having not witnessed much of how Lilly's group had done. Went over and asked Lilly just how things had turned out for them. Since she'd been so focused on her match with Haley, after that was taken care of Kara went back to her group.

Once the lesson was concluded, Kara asked how well Lilly's group had done. They had done pretty well, considering their line-up of members, and had managed to be in the top 5 groups. When Kara had her answer the group of sisters and Spirits merged once more and headed back to the school grounds for their lunch break.

With the group back together for lunch they headed. Back to the school grounds for the entire lunch break Kara used this chance to small talk. With each of her sisters spending an equal time with them. Following chatting a bit with both Mikan and Rya and lastly trying to spend a little time with each of the three spirits before the break was finished.

Kara attempted to spend her lunch splitting her available time between all of her sisters, their Spirit Guardians, Mikan, and Rya. It was tough going, but somehow she managed to do it. It wasn't an ideal way to spend her lunch, but it was what she wanted to do.

Following on from their lunch break, the class headed back to the gymnasium for Indoor Sports.

With the lunch break, coming to a close Kara and the others. Headed back into the gym for indoor sports. As she waited around she wondered if she'd ever get to be on a team with Lilly as she had yet to get the chance to work with her at all today.

In the time between their Gymnastics lesson and the current Indoor Sports lesson, the Gymnasium had been reorganised to squeeze in four courts and an area for netball/basketball. The lesson introduction covered the overall layout of this particular lesson, and partially that of the next lesson as well. For the last two lessons of the day, the students were able to form their own groups and partake of whatever available sport they wished to.

In the case of Indoor Sports, the available games were: Netball, Volleyball, Badminton and Basketball. The main limitation was that only two groups of people could be at each of the activities at a time. The groups could play the activity for as long as they liked, providing they do not monopolise a particular court. Scoring will be down to the groups themselves to determine. The role of the teacher for the lesson was to ensure that the students weren't misusing the equipment or slacking off.

Once the lesson overview was given, the class was permitted to go off and form their own groups for the activities the lesson had to offer.

For their last two lessons of the day the students were able to form their own groups. While they could take part in any of the available games that were in use. Looking around the Gymnasium Kara decided that she wanted to play Badminton first and told the others this. She also asked if anyone wanted to form a group with her or if they should all be apart of a group.

Kara's first choice of the activities available was Badminton. She asked if any of the others wanted to form a group with her or if they should all just merge and become one full group. It was suggested that they'd unofficially be a group but still trade members between each other over the course of the lesson so everyone got to experience each activity. The main reason behind this was the fact that they'd potentially be the biggest group with either seven or nine members depending on whether they got Mikan and Rya to join. The only activities which a group that large would work at would be basketball and netball.

The unofficial group spread its members among the activities and agreed that Basketball or Netball would be the last activity they did when they could all join together into an official group.

For the first activity at hand that being Badminton. The teams for this turned out to be Kara and Remi against Haley and Erys. While a weird choice for teams it didn't take long for the two competitive spirits to go at it once the game started. Each one trying to outdo the other, it didn't help matters that Kara and Remi were having a hard time. Working well as a team together Haley's team started to rack up a high score. While Kara's team wasn't doing so well as they were just arguing with each other on who did what.

Kara's round of Badminton did not go as she might have hoped it would. The teams ended up rather imbalanced, having two people who work well together on one, and two who do not on the other. This made it quite difficult for Kara to get any sort of lead over the power duo that was Erys and Haley. Even with their smaller size, the pair were able to shoot towards victory while Kara and Remi argued between themselves.

Due to the lack of teamwork, Kara and Remi lost the first badminton match. They could go for a rematch or move on to the next activity in store.

Kara and Remi both went for the rematch yet this time things turned out. To be different yet somewhat similar to how the first game went. Kara and Remi were arguing once again between themselves. But had managed somehow turn things around and by a strange turn of fate, they were able to match Haley's team. But the game still was won by Haley and Erys and Kara challenged Remi to a game of Netball.

After another loss at the hands of Haley and Erys, Kara challenged the Spirit to a game of netball. Because of the size of the court, all of the sisters and their Spirits could participate in the game. The teams may not be fairly split, being four against three, but technically Holly and Haley counted as a package deal.

The teams ended up being Spirits vs Sisters with the starting serve being Spirit Side.

The teams for the next sport were Spirits vs Sisters. The four sisters before the game was to begin went about discussing which positions. Would suit everyone Kara thought to give Haley an attacking position followed. By suggesting that Holly have a defensive role and someone should help her out. Lastly there was still the center position that needed to be filled. She let the others think this over. If they wanted to they could change what position they wished to play as.

Determined to win against the Spirits, Kara organised her team into positions which she believed would best suit them. They had the upper hand with numbers, but the Spirits were stronger and faster than they were so they would need to really pull together to stand a chance at winning.

The Spirits side had the first serve with Erys heading the attack and Shiro on defence. Remi was left to flit between whatever positions remained, with Shiro joining that strategy when she had the chance. Erys started with a full powered serve that Haley was barely able to bonce back. The Spirits team looked to be the better competitors but will they remain that way?

It all came down to team work as the Sera sisters worked well together. That being Haley, Holly and Lilly while Kara felt a little felt a little left out. Kara had not worked together with the other three as long as Lilly had been doing. It showed at first with the Spirit team gaining an early lead. But Kara changed tactics and switched to all three roles helping. Out each sister when they needed help.

The Sera team started to come back and even took the lead. With a well placed full powered serve from Kara that accidently bounced off of Remi's hands. The Spirits came back and almost took the lead but a well teamed save by Holly sealed their fate and Haley was able to score the final point with some help from Lilly giving the Seras the win.

Despite the odds, the Sera Sisters managed to claim victory over the Spirits. It was a hard fought win that required impeccable teamwork between the four. The slight animosity between Remi and Erys may have had some impact on the outcome as well, as neither of the two wanted to be shown up by the other. Shiro had to focus on her role of defence as well as make sure that the troublesome duo were playing as a team and not opponents.

Naturally, neither Erys nor Remi wanted to admit that it was their own fault they lost, so they claimed to have gone easy on the Sisters. Shiro took the loss in stride with good sportsmanship, which was the exact opposite of the other Spirits.

The three games that Kara had played had passed the time to nearing the end of the first third of the lesson. She still had a fair amount of time to try the other available activities as well.

The next activites that Kara was willing to try out was basketball. For this one she needed to once again form teams. The teams were soon decided and Kara was placed upon a team with Remi and Shiro. While the other team was Lilly, Holly, Haley and Erys. With the disadvantage in people it didn't bother Kara too much. But first she'd need to try and work together with Remi again seeing as how their earlier teamwork was really bad.

Kara's next choice was Basketball so the group moved over to the courts near the back of the gymnasium. In a bold move, Kara formed a group with Remi and Shiro. Even though her earlier teamwork with Remi wasn't great, Kara still tried to push past the boundaries of Remi's dislike for her and try to make a workable team. The opposing team had the greater numbers and the greater teamwork, consisting of all the Sera Sisters along with Erys. Victory may not be as easily in reach as it was in the netball game.

The team of four started off very strong with Erys leading the attack, Haley supporting her and Holly and Lilly on defence. Erys was evidently not holding back against the other Spirits, determined to best Remi if she could.

Remi wasn't about to let herself be bested by Erys again. Meeting Erys' attack with her own counterattack. This left Kara and Shiro playing on defense but Kara still had to work twice as hard to make a workable team with Remi. Both Shiro and her seemed to work well together being able to block some of the shots here and there. Though the opposing team got off to an early lead. Kara's own team made it's own comeback Kara switching to an attacking role against Haley and Erys. It was a friendly rematch with Kara wanting to best Haley so she could get her own win.

The teams were pretty evenly matched once Kara got serious and started to switch between roles. Remi and Erys had gone into their own little match against each other whenever they had the ball. This made it a little harder for both side's teammates to get any kind of lead up once either of the two had the ball. Eventually, Erys started working with the rest of her team and pushed forwards to claim a lead once more. The scores were close and so was the end of the first match of basketball.

Just as the crunch time of the match approached, Haley had managed to tackle the ball from Remi's clutches and swiftly duck and dive it around the rest of the opposition as Lilly dashed closer to the net. With a feint pass to Lilly, using Erys as a interim, Haley was able to pass the ball to Lilly, whom dive-dunked it into the net, scoring the last point just before the game time ended.

The first match went to Haley's team Kara wasn't about to let end there. A second game was played and at first started much like how the last game was handled. Haley's team got a early lead but Kara's team was able to come back and keep the score close. Kara was serious throughout the game she switched roles here and there. To help out both Shiro and Remi who was now working as a team with Kara.

Yet Kara had a plan at first she was attacking both Haley and Erys. Doing everything in her power to make it much harder for them. However near the middle of the game Kara suddenly switched targets she went after Holly. Which worked out and let her team take the lead in points.

Kara didn't want to stop after her first loss. She requested a rematch, which was accepted by all participants. Haley was confident she'd win again, but that confidence could be her downfall. Holly, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about whether they'd luck a win again or not. Erys and Lilly were both content to let the game decided who'd win and who'd lose.

Lilly's team claimed another early lead in points but Kara's team managed to enact a comeback and even the odds once more. The game was close yet again, and both sides looked to be playing with everything they could to win. Kara kept the pressure on both Haley and Erys, ensuring that they had to keep their focus on attack rather than defence. This allowed an opening in their forces to be exploited as Kara suddenly changed targets to Holly, which left the twin threats to be scrambling to reposition for defence, which ultimately resulted in Kara's team taking the lead in points and eventually claiming the victory.

Claiming a victory filled Kara with joy she let the other team. Know that they played very well and told her team mates she was proud of them. Thanking both Shiro and Remi for their help even going as far to let Remi know it was nice working with her for a change instead of always aruging with her. Kara then let the others decide on the final game they could play for the lesson.

Kara relished the victory she achieved, expressing her thanks to her teammates for helping to win the game. Kara also expressed her preference for working alongside Remi rather than having the two at constant odds with one another. Remi, of course, took it as a person of her type normally would, with a rather Tsundere attitude and a barely audible "It's not like I want to get along with you or anything."

Now the scores were tied for how many games each team had won. The only remaining activity which they hadn't done was Volleyball. Volleyball teams could be made of up to four members, so they may be able to split teams once more.

The last game for everyone to play was Volleyball. So the teams needed to be picked Kara didn't really care on who was on her team. Yet she ended up on a team with Erys, Lilly and Shiro while the other team was Haley, Holly and Remi. This gave Kara the chance to see how well she could work together with Erys. The game began and for the most part was a fairly close game. Yet in the end Kara's team just managed to pull out a victory.

The final game of volleyball ended with a victory to Kara's team after a rather close game between them. Kara's team did have the advantages of both numbers and Erys, so they may have been an influencing factor to the outcome. Nonetheless, the game still had the potential of being won by either team until Kara's team claimed the victory. After that game, the lesson had just about reached its end and the class were called back to the centre of the gymnasium for a debriefing before their next lesson took them outdoors.

The Outdoor variation of this class, as the teacher had mentioned before, was very much similar to the indoor version but just with different activities. Again, the class was given a basic rundown of what was expected and then left to form their own groups and partake of whatever activities they wished with the resources they had.

The final lesson for the day everyone gathered outside. Then was told by the teacher of what they'd all be doing. They were given the chance to form their own groups and Kara looked around for Mikan and Rya. Thinking it might be fun to try and form a group with them. If they were not in a group already.

Kara decided to group up with Mikan and Rya for the last lesson of the day. Naturally, the pair were together but adding more members to their group wasn't an issue.

Kara and her group tried the various activities that were available for participation in. There were some wins, some losses and some draws but overall it was an enjoyable experience for everyone. The last hour flew by in the blink of an eye and, soon enough, the class was called together for the final debriefing before being allowed to gather up their things and head on their way.

The Guests headed back to the changing rooms to collect their things before lining up outside the school gates for the bus to take them back to their school. The students from the hosting school returned to their classrooms to gather up their belongings and start on their way back home.

Having finished up with their final lesson for the day. Everyone headed back into the changing rooms. Where the guests gathered their stuff and headed off to the school gates. Kara let everyone know that she had enjoyed competing against them today. Before she and the others headed to the classrooms to gather their belongings. Kara knowing she had to work this evening asked the others. If they wanted to come with her to Cafe Kira for a little bit.

On the other side of town a certain young girl was heading towards Cafe Kira. Across her shoulders she was carrying a small bookbag. She was in a little bit of a hurry as she checked the time upon her phone. Knowing that she needed to reach the cafe before Kara did so she could put her plan into action.

Once the group had finished collecting their things, Kara asked if they wanted to head on over to the Cafe for a short while. The others didn't object to it, but they did say they'd head home first to get changed out of their P.E kit before going to the Cafe.

When the rest of the classroom had vacated, the Spirits returned to their ethereal forms once more, content with the experience they had throughout the day. Everyone was soon ready to head off out of the school and to their destinations.

Kara agreed that she would meet up with the others. Once they were all finished changing at home later at the Cafe. They all walked out of the school together before parting ways with Kara heading off to work. Not really sure on how much time she had Kara hurried to Cafe Kira to get changed for work. Yet also to see if anything else was planned for her that day.

The group walked partway back together before splitting off and going their separate ways for now. Kara hurried along to Cafe Kira, unsure of how long she had left before her shift started. She arrived at the cafe with just under ten minutes before her first booking, which was Sierra.

Checking the rest of her schedule while getting changed, Kara did have a couple more bookings with some Customer's she's worked with before, but they were not private requests. Looking at her colleague's bookings, Chloe was also going to be in the Cafe around 5pm for a booking with the Squirrel Twins. Mary and Tama were also on the clock for around two hours a little later to fulfil some bookings of their own. Overall, it was looking to be another busy day.

Arriving at the cafe Kara hurried inside greeting everyone as she saw them. She went and changed into her work clothes. While learning that she had a few other bookings, with other customers other than Sierra. Learning the Chloe was to around later give Kara a chance to try and ask her if it'd be okay to set up a meeting with her sister at some point. With the time remaining Kara went over how to make a better impression with Sierra.

Around five minutes later after Kara arrived at Cafe Kira Lilith walked inside. She took a seat at an empty table.

Kara hastily changed into her work clothes and left the changing rooms to ready herself on the Cafe Floor. She went over the training she'd had with the experienced staff members to ensure that she made a good impression on Sierra. Following along with the Cafe's usual 'Topic of the Day', Kara learned that she'd be looking further into the strange events going on around town under the guise of 'Supernatural Experiences in the Local Area' to supposedly help with a 'Class Project'. Kara knew that it was just a facade to hide the other side of the Cafe's business, as this was the first she'd heard of any class project.

Prior to her booking arriving, Kara was called over to help out at the Purple section. From the looks of things, Xion had once again put off a toilet break and was shifting around rather overtly while trying to maintain her usual persona.

Kara learned of what the 'Topic of the Day' was yet was also the first time. She had heard about any sort of 'Class Project'. However, seeing that Kara was in a much busier place and with the various topics, Kara had heard. Spoken about at random she kept an ear open for anything else that might catch her interest.

To start things off for the day Kara was called to the Purple section. Seeing the Xion was in need of a toilet break. Kara watched as she shifted around a bit then acting professionally allowed Xion to leave as she took over for her.

Kara filled in for her desperate co-worker, going along with how Xion played off her desperation as nothing, claiming that her 'Dark Lord' was calling her elsewhere and that her current situation totally wasn't what people thought it were. Xion's customers didn't question the young girl's claims, knowing full well that it would likely embarrass her.

Putting her Purple Skills to the test, Kara was able to successfully cover for Xion until the girl got back from her toilet break. There was a silent exchange of bashful thanks from Xion to Kara when she returned to the table. Kara handed off the customers back to Xion and then returned to the main floor once again. In the time she'd spent covering, there was less than a minute left until her first booking.

Kara was able to successfully cover for Xion. The girl came back a few moments later and a silent exchange of thanks went between the two girls. Kara then left her allow and returned to the main floor. There was only a minute left until her first booking. She used this to try and locate where Sierra might before heading over to her.

Kara looked around for where Sierra might be and lucked upon finding her just claiming a table for herself. Her attire was still pretty outlandish, with her monochromatic cat hoodie on over a completely mismatched pink t-shirt and a set of purple cotton shorts. According to the Cafe Clock, Sierra was spot on for her timed booking.

Kara spotted Sierra who looked just as outlandish, has she had remembered her. Kara walked over to her and greeted her. "It's a pleasure to see you again, is there anything that you desire perhaps something to eat or drink?" Kara asked. She knew she had made a mistake the first time she'd met Sierra in this world. By not asking how she liked to take her drink, Kara was prepared to turn things around and get that right this time.

Kara was determined to turn around the bad impression she made on Sierra earlier that week. Being as professional as she could, Kara approached her booked guest and greeted her. Sierra remained as stony faced as normal as she regarded Kara.

"That's...not Purple...or Pink." Sierra responded. "Are you...Navy Blue today...I wonder?"

Despite Sierra pondering what role Kara was filling, she still answered the follow up question.

"Green Tea. You remember...how I take it?"

Sierra was just as Kara remembered her to be.

"I just did Purple moments ago, I'm not sure about that yet." Kara answered.

Sierra followed up with a question.

"Yes, you like your Green Tea with a dash of honey, unless you'd like to try it differently today?"

Kara remembered and recited to Sierra how she normally took her Green Tea.

"So...you remembered. That's good." Sierra replied. It wasn't easy to see, but perhaps she was a little happy that Kara remembered? Reading her emotions seemed to be quite the difficult task.

"Then...fulfil my order..and come back here. I will be...waiting...I think."

Kara couldn't tell if Sierra was happy or not that she had remembered. How Sierra normally took her Green Tea. "Is that all you'd like?" Kara asked again not wanting to mess up just in case Sierra wished for something to eat. Once she got what she needed Kara left and went to place the order a few moments past and Kara then returned with the Green Tea.

She placed it upon the table in front of Sierra. Then took a seat at the table with her "Is there anything that I can do for you or you wish to talk about?"

"That is all...for now...maybe..." Sierra confirmed when Kara asked if she wanted anything else.

Kara fulfilled Sierra's order and returned to the table to further serve her, asking if she could do anything else.

"Tell me...about the incidents..." Sierra responded. "You seem...interesting...and linked...I wonder..?"

Sierra wanted to know about the incidents.

"I don't believe that would be a good idea." Kara answered. She wasn't going to deny anything about it. But revealing what she knew would be a bad idea and Kara didn't know if she could trust Sierra or not.

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" Kara tried to change to topic of conversation.

"Why not? That's the topic today...I think." Sierra responded. "Aren't you meant...to ask questions about it...I wonder?"

Instead of answering or trying to bluff her way out of it, Kara opted to change the subject. However, that didn't work on Sierra at all.

"Questions come from the guest...not the requested. That is how...the Cafe operates...isn't it?" Sierra countered. "The only topics...that Cafe staff discuss...is the question of the day. That's...what I've observed."

"That is the topic of the day," Kara answered. "Yes we are meant to ask about it."

Kara tried to change the subject but that didn't work. This left Kara with little else but to have to speak about the topic of the day.

"I only know bits and pieces from others, someone's going around murdering people. Why they're doing this I don't know." Kara went with trying to keep what she knew a secret. "Have you heard anything about this?"

Kara gave as little information as she could about the recent murders in the local area. Sierra's expression did not change in the slightest and she simply continued to sip at her tea. Kara then requested if Sierra knew anything about it.

"If you knew of the powers that they're aiming for...then you'd know what...their goal might be, I think." Sierra answered. "There's also...some connection to another...issue."

"You...know more... I can tell." Sierra interjected.

"I'd rather not speak about that other 'issue' due to personal reasons." Kara says.

Kara still didn't know the full truth with how deeply she was connected. Sure she'd had those two visions but had yet to trully find out what she had gotten them. "How is it that you believe I know more?" Kara asked.

Sierra looked momentarily perplexed when Kara said she didn't want to talk about the other issue for 'personal' reasons. Kara then continued on and asked how Sierra believed she knew more.

"You're...an open book." Sierra replied. "I can see...how you're acting...and trying to keep things secret...I think."

"Why, why are these things so important to you, other then it being about the topic of the day?" Kara asked.

Sierra was always a mystery to Kara who knew next to nothing about her. She always seemed to know about everything in some odd way.

Kara pushed for answers from Sierra in regards to why she'd want to know this information.

"It's interesting..." Sierra answered. "Doesn't everyone who lives here...want to know what's going on...I wonder? Everyone high up...is hiding stuff from us..."

Sierra did have a point. It seemed the higher ups in charge were trying to gloss over the truth of matters with fabricated stories regarding the incidents.

"I wonder how...the Artisans are taking this?"

"That depends on whose interested in learning more about what's going on," Kara answered. She herself wished to know more about what was going on. Yet was reminded about her earlier talk with Charon about not investigating this matter further. "I'm sure they have their reasons why they're trying to keep this hidden. If everyone was to learn the truth it might cause everyone to panic?"

Sierra seemed to know about those higher-ups in charge were hiding things. "Artisans, do you mean those who are committing these crimes?" Kara asked.

As Kara waited for an answer, she thought of trying something. She wanted some help on this matter and tried to ask the best person she could think of.

"Mistress can you hear me, I could use some help on a certain matter."

"Maybe so, but nothing...can always remain secret. Especially when it's happening...so frequently." Sierra responded to Kara's view on why the incidents are being covered up. However, she misinterpreted what Sierra meant with the term 'Artisan'.

"You are...not that good at...finding stuff out, are you?" Sierra questioned. "The Artisans are...another name for the Wellstones."

Instead of try and read Sierra all by herself, Kara decided to ask a more potent entity to do so.

"Huh? Oh, it's just you. Anyway, what's got you so intent on asking me stuff?"

"Given time I'm sure others will find out more about it. Something like this can't stay quiet forever." Kara answered.

Sierra then pointed out another name for the Wellstones.

"I'm still fairly new at this sort of thing, so of course I'm not the best. Would you be willing to help me out on if we can come to an understanding?"

Erys then spoke up.

"It's about the girl I'm currently speaking with her name's 'Sierra'. There's something about her that appears strange to me. I was wondering if I could use your eyes to get a read on her?"

"Why would I...help you out? Isn't your job here to gather information...I wonder?" Sierra answered, pondering how Kara got her position at the Cafe if she couldn't gather information.

As Sierra was still proving to be an insurmountable wall hiding bountiful information, Kara explained her situation to Erys in hopes of having her assistance in this matter.

"So...you called on me because you can't do your job properly as an information gatherer? I suppose I could help you, but my services won't come cheap. After all, you have plenty of other people nearby whom you could ask for pointers."

"Yes, it is but as you pointed out, I'm an open book when it comes to keeping things. Private and was just wondering if I could get any other advice or pointers. On how to overcome that problem." Kara told her.

Erys answered back.

"I only asked for a read on her, Sierra just seems strange to me with how she acts and what. She says when she speaks about things."

Kara took a deep breath then took the chance to look at Sierra. She tried to pick up on anything that might have stood out about her. Like the way she moved or just how she acted around Kara at present.

"You've got others you could ask...I think. I can't help you...it seems." Sierra responded to Kara's question. "It wouldn't be...in my best interest to help..."

Kara insisted to Erys that she only wanted a read on her.

"You'll never improve if you have others doing everything for you. Work on your own skills and, if it's still not possible after that, then it's acceptable to ask others to do it."

Intent to prove Erys wrong, Kara tried to get a read on Sierra.

Nothing outwardly appeared to be unusual with the way Sierra carried herself. Her calm and calculated behaviour was equal to someone whom was totally relaxed and did not feel threatened or pressured in any way. From what Kara had experienced, though, that was odd in and of itself compared to other Guests, whom often showed small signs of either nervousness or uncertainty.

"I am getting taught by two other girl's here." Kara pointed out.

She wasn't able to see anything outwardly unusual with Sierra. She still thought something was different about her. What Kara tried next was looking over Sierra to find anything that stood out. Something which Kara could use to try and get some more information about Sierra. Like did she something from the school she went to on her clothes like a pin or emblem. Did Sierra currently have her book bag with her at the table?

Kara tried once more to get some information on Sierra by looking for any object which may indicate scholastic affiliation or other means of concrete ties which she might be able to use to her advantage. Despite how thoroughly Kara looked, she couldn't spot any School Crest or other means of identifying what Sierra did outside of her cafe visits.

"You couldn't be...more obvious if you tried." Sierra remarked. "You should focus more on...being less oblivious to your actions...rather than questioning others."

Even if Sierra was trying to be helpful Kara still found it odd. She couldn't find anything that would help her in learning more about Sierra. So sitting there in silence Kara tried to think of some sort of way to get a read on the girl. She tried to picture how she could go about it but was drawing a blank.

"You're a mysterious one."

"Mysterious...is an understatement." Sierra answered.

A quick check of the time showed that Kara had another 15 minutes left in the booking with Sierra. She could attempt to pry more information from her if she so wished, assuming that Sierra would be willing to answer.

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked.

With 15 minutes left in their booking, Kara went with. Trying to gather more intel on Sierra even with trying to think back in the old world. How she acted which was pretty much the sameway as how she was acting now. "What is it about the Cafe that made you decide to start coming here?"

"That...you probably already know." Sierra cryptically responded.

Determined to gather some useful information, Kara tried one last ditch question while remembering how Sierra acted in the previous timeline.

"If I said...the atmosphere...would you believe me...I wonder?" Sierra answered.

From what Kara remembered of Sierra in the last timeline, the seemingly harmless and curious girl sitting across from her was actually a hardened assassin who could singlehandedly hold her own against multiple trained opponents, disarming them with such accuracy that they took little to no damage in the process. Whether the Sierra here could do the same or not was yet to be determined.

"Have you always been like this?" Kara asked.

She couldn't really help but wonder if Sierra, was ever. Like other girl's her age where they would act and speak normally not remind Kara of emotionless girls in anime. From what Kara remembered of Sierra in the old world was that she was a hardened assassin. Or so that she knew only after having seen that small video.

"I don't know, maybe over time I might believe you."

"What else would I be like?" Sierra replied. "I think I've always...been like this."

Kara was still wondering whether this Sierra was anything like the previous one, or if she was actually more like a regular person. It wasn't easy to tell, but maybe this seemingly emotionless appearance of Sierra was not her true face? Perhaps, just perhaps, she was like any other person. If so, why was she acting in this manner?

Kara wasn't entirely sure if Sierra was being truthful in her reasoning for attending the Cafe, but without any means to prove otherwise, that would likely have to remain as being a partial truth. The booking itself had ticked into the last few minutes left before Kara had other duties to attend to.

"Someone less mysterious, it would be nice to get to know the 'real' you." Kara answered.

While Kara didn't know if this Sierra was like the previous one. It was just hard to speak to her about anything really Sierra was hiding something that was for sure but why? She couldn't prove that or even prove Sierra being truthful for attending the Cafe. With the booking in it's last few minutes Kara asked one final question.

"Do, you ever get lonely?"

"The 'real' me. I'm...not even sure myself." Sierra answered. "Is there a 'real' me...I wonder?"

Wishing to get one last bit of information out of Sierra, Kara asked a rather probing question.

"Loneliness..." Sierra began. "I wonder if...I do feel..that way."

While Sierra's answer was just as confusing as her other ones, something, at last, stood out. It was subtle, but there was somewhat of a flicker of emotion that shimmered in her eyes.

Sierra was left thinking about if there really was a 'real' her. Yet with Kara's next question while the answer she got was just as confusing as the others. Something, at last, stood out with Sierra that Kara noticed the small flicker of emotion. That shimmered in her eyes it meant that perhaps there was more to Sierra. Then random act she was putting on she must have her reasons for doing so.

"You don't have to be lonely," Kara told her.

She let Sierra think about what she had just said. While it might be too soon for Kara to try and befriend Sierra she'd first need to get her to open up more. Kara watched Sierra seeing what would happen next.

"But...I'm not lonely." Sierra responded to Kara's comment.

Kara assessed the flicker of emotion in Sierra's eyes. There was definitely something abnormal about her seemingly emotionless behaviour. She recollected how she was once told back in the old World that the eyes were the doorway to a person's soul. With her limited experience in this field, Kara could determine that maybe Sierra's 'Soul' and her 'Body' had their communication severed, if that was even possible? The 'real' Sierra may be somewhere inside that cold exterior, but where?

"Oh my. Someone's not exactly playing by the books it seems. That's quite old, but also still powerful. How intriguing."

For Erys to take interest in it without being asked, something must indeed be amiss with Sierra.

"I'm not so sure about that." Kara answered.

Thinking back to the old world and what she was told. About a person's eyes Kara with her limited experience was able to determine that 'Sierra's Soul' and body. Had been severed somehow she wasn't really sure how something like that could actually happen. Yet the real Sierra had to be somewhere within the current one before her.

"Is there anyway to reach the 'real' her?"

Kara consulted Erys for any information on breaking Sierra free from whatever had control of her.

"Unlikely, unless you are somehow miraculously stronger than whomever placed this...'affliction'...on her. You'd also need to know what it was, how it was cast, and what conditions it was set to follow before even considering how to go about removing it. Good luck finding those out."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin. With trying to find out all of that and I don't believe Sierra going to be giving that sort of information out willingly."

It wasn't like Kara planned on giving up in on this matter. She just needed to form some sort of plan and gather more intel before trying anything out. With her booking with Sierra having finally come to an end. Kara bid the girl farewell and headed off to her next task.

"She won't, but that doesn't mean that you still can't get it. You can take your time risking everything by pursuing it, or..."

Whatever the 'or' Erys had in mind was, it was certainly not all it seemed.

"For a small price, I can get you all that juicy information right now. My terms are negotiable, to a certain degree."

Kara was left to think over the offer as her booking with Sierra came to a close. The two of them said their goodbyes to one another as Kara continued with her daily working hours. She had a short while before her next booking of the day which she could spend working in whatever manner she wished. A quick survey of the current happenings in the Cafe left her with a fair few options:

The Sera girls were presently occupying a table near the middle of the Cafe Floor. They'd already been served by another Worker there during Kara's booking. She could idle some time away with them until her next booking.

The Navy Blue section was fairly occupied, but there were some workers that were milling about assisting others. Kara could help out there and perhaps learn a thing or two from the workers in regards to interacting with Customers as a Navy Blue would.

The Green Section was as bustling as ever, but that could just be the workers themselves. Kara could go over there to see if she can help out, but she probably wouldn't be requested by Customers due to mismatched traits. Spending time with the Greens wouldn't all be for nothing as she could potentially pick up a thing or two about effective ways of creating a good reputation with Customers. It'll be observation work only, though, so it wouldn't be that interesting.

Finally, in Kara's immediate vicinity, she saw how laid back the Yellow Section was. Sure enough, there were customers abound in that section, but it wasn't nearly as outwardly busy as the other sections. The calming feel of the Yellow Section may help Kara to be more relaxed in her interactions with Customers, however, it would take her some focus to not give in to the Charms of the Yellows and spend a little too long there.

If none of these took her interest, Kara could go looking around the other sections to see what they had to offer.

Erys offered Kara the chance to get all the details on Sierra then and there. For a price or she could wait and do things her own way.

"What would your terms be?"

Kara was left to think things over and looked around the shop. As she had a fair amount of time until her next booking. As she looked around the Cafe Floor she spotted the Sera Sisters sitting at a table and looked over at the Navy Blue, Green and Yellow Sections. To see what they had to offer. Each of the sections Kara saw offered her a chance to learn. Better ways to try and interact with Customers.

Kara held off visiting the Sera Sisters, this was a chance. It would be best to actually work and slowly start to build up her own ways of doing work here. Kara decided to head over to the Navy Blue section to see how she could help out here. While she did have more experience in this section. Kara didn't really know the best ways to really act like how a Navy Blue person really should act.

But Kara also made mental notes to try and visit the others sections. To see what they had to offer in helping her out.

Lilith had been busy keeping to herself she had spent some time watching both Kara. And working on some school work as well. When she noticed the other three Sera Sisters having arrived and took a seat at a table. Lilith watched them for a bit and reached into her backpack. She took something out of it and placed it in her pocket before. Turning her gaze over towards the Serving area which she started watching.

"Now isn't the time or place to discuss this. We require somewhere more...private. That intrusive glowfly wouldn't stand for it."

Kara chose to spend some time with the Navy Blues, hoping to learn something from them before her next booking.

Once her next booking came around Kara left the Navy Blue section, her help greatly received by them, and headed towards the table her next booking would be at.

Kara helped out and tried to learn something from that section. She spent some time there and soon left when her booking came around. She headed towards the table where her booking would be and spent a fair amount of time there with a few customers. Kara tried to use what she had learned in the Navy Blue section to help her out in her booking. Time past and it came to an end freeing Kara up to go about her next task.

Lilith who had been watching the serving area rather closely. Waited until not many people were around using this chance she cast a small spell upon herself. To hide from the view of others and walked over looking around she spotted a tray with a few drinks upon it. Learning that it was to be taken over to the Sera sisters table.

Reaching into her pocket Lilith pulled out a small bottle. Opening it up she dropped some of the contents into one of the cups. Watching as the contents worked their magic inside of the drink. What Lilith had placed inside of the drink was 'poison'. She moved away from the serving area and watched as one of Kara's coworkers took the tray. Over to the Sera table and set the drinks down.

The drink that had the 'poison' in it had been placed next to Haley.

Kara worked among the Navy Blues and observed how they acted around Customers. Due to her focused observations and her natural affinity to the Navy Blue colour, Kara was able to learn a good deal from it and felt herself become more skilled at communicating with people.

Once her next task came around, Kara put her newfound skills to the test and made it a successful booking. Once that Booking had concluded, Kara had a small amount of free time before she was expected to do back to back bookings. Looking around the Cafe, Kara wondered what she should do next:

The Sera Girls were still gathered at their table engaging in conversation between one another. Kara could still join them.

The Pinks were rather busy right now as well. Considering she has some affinity to the Pink Colour, Kara may gain something from working with them, along with solidifying her relationship with Eve and showing customers that she could fill two colour roles if required.

Chloe's booking with the Squirrel twins had just started, so Kara could request to sit in with them as well, increasing her friendship with Chloe and the Twins. However, her mismatched colouring would mean she couldn't really assist in the booking, along with the fact that it was a private one.

The Teals were slightly overrun with customers so any help would be appreciated. Due to her completely mismatched Colouring, Kara wouldn't be much of an asset aside from just sitting in for those with 'more pressing' concerns. It'll be hard going, but should help her get on better with the Teals.

Finally, the Browns were looking rather busy as well. Kara wouldn't be a bad match to it, but she also would probably not gain much aside from standing with her peers.

Alternatively, she could look for other options.

Kara was able to learn quite a bit from her time spent helping out. With the Navy Blues, she felt at home here. But still had a lot to learn from the more experienced members of this section. Once her time was finished and her booking was a success having used her newfound skills. Kara had some time left until she was back to bookings yet she also had a break time coming up.

Kara looked around the Cafe Floor she saw various sections. In need of help with the top three being Pink, Teal, and Brown. Kara made a mental note to spend time with the Seras while on her break time. She had thought about spending some time with Chloe and the Squirrel twins but thought it best to let them have their time alone together.

Kara headed towards the Pink section.

Kara opted to help the Pinks and started off in the direction of that section. Naturally, the Pink tables had a much higher Customer-to-Worker ratio than the other tables, but even the usually attention-seeking Pinks were slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers. The ratio was changed slightly to having two Pinks per table to accommodate for the volume of customers.

Concluding her time with the Pinks, Kara had her double booking approaching. She did have a break after it, though, so she only had to hold out for another hour before having time to herself.

During her time of helping out the Pinks Kara worked extra harder. Since the Pink tables were a much higher Customer-to-Work ratio. Yet the Pink's were slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers and Kara. Went about going to the areas where she was needed but also paying attention in trying to learn a thing or two.

With her time with the Pinks finished Kara headed to her double booking.

Kara helped out among the Pinks as best she could. Playing a Pink was a lot harder than a Purple or Navy Blue, but it was decidedly more fun. She could act as spoilt and demanding as she wanted and the customers were happy to comply. She learned a good deal when working with the Pinks and also felt closer to them all, including Eve. However, she still had a fair amount to learn before she could improve her ability to work with customers.

Just before she finished with the Pinks and went off to her next bookings, Kara was taken aside by Eve to one of the recently vacated tables in the Pink section.

"You seem to be catching on pretty well to the work here. I've noticed that you've started to get your own little following of regulars, one of which seems to be giving you quite the run for your money. She's a cute one, I'll give you that, but a little hard to get any kind of read on for the untrained.

"Lucky for you, I think you're ready to get started on working out how to truly find out what she's got going on under that calm look on her face. I think we've both got a break at the same time today, which is beneficial for the both of us. I can teach you the basics at first, but you'll need to work on your overall ability to talk to people before I can teach you any more."

From the sounds of it, Eve may be offering something which could really help Kara with figuring out Sierra. However, it would take the majority of her break today in order to learn it.

"Just come and find me at break if you want to get started."

With that, the two returned to their active duties.

While working with the Pinks Kara found that it was a lot harder. Then acting like a Purple or Navy Blue. Yet it was just as rewarding since she could spoiled and demanding, and customers were happy with that sort of thing. She felt like she had grown a little closer to both Eve and the other Pinks. But still had a lot to learn before she could use it while working with customers. Just before her time with them came to an end Kara was pulled to the side by Eve who offered her some help.

Eve had taken notice of Kara slowly starting to get her own little following. Though it was only Sierra for right now, Eve went on to say that she was willing to help. Train Kara in some basic ways for her to able to get a better read with finding out what was going on under her calm face. Though it meant that it would take up most of Kara's break time. Kara thought it over a little bit she had wanted to spend time with her sisters. But missing a chance to learn how to increase her own skills with some help. Was a bad idea so Kara come to a decision on what to do.

"I'll join you on break, thank you for helping me here."

Kara agreed to spend her break learning from Eve.

The two parted ways and Kara headed to her Double Bookings. Once again she used what she had learned in both the Navy Blue and Pink sections. In helping her out with talking with customers. Which turned out to be a success but there were still a couple of bumps along the way. As Kara still was new at this sort of thing soon enough her booking times flew by and it was time for break.

Kara used this chance to stop by the Sera table to say 'hi' before. Moving on to looking for Eve which she soon found.

When her break came around, Kara stopped by the Sera table to greet the girls before heading off in search of Eve. Once she met up with Eve, the two got started on Kara's training. It was incredibly confusing at first due to how unusual a manner of reading someone it was. Instead of looking for obvious body language, it had more focus on the small intricacies which may trigger whenever someone is not being completely truthful. As her training partner was Eve, it was made even more difficult but Kara managed to figure out just what to look for.

The Training took nearly all of Kara's break time to complete and she now only had a couple of minutes left until her break ended.

The start of Kara's training was incredibly confusing as it was an unusual manner. In reading someone instead of looking for body language. She had to focus on the small intricacies which may trigger when someone wasn't being truthful. With Eve as her training partner is was even more difficult but Kara. Managed to figure out just what to look for. The training took nearly all of break time, once it was done Kara thanked Eve for the training and left to spend the last few minutes.

With her sisters just to enjoy spending some friendly time with them. Her break time then came to an end and Kara left to get back to work. She headed over to the Teal section to see if they still needed any help.

For the last segment of her break, Kara spent some time with the Sera girls. When her break time came to an end, Kara wanted to go and check if the teals still needed help, however, she was now meant to be front of house on door duty. Thankfully, she only needed to do this for twenty minutes while the person on door duty was having their break. It was a rather boring twenty minutes with the only salvation being she could watch the Younger Cafe staff have their bookings with supervision. Concluding her time on door duty, Kara was now free to work as she wished for the last forty minutes.

Mary and Tama were going to have their booking in ten minutes so she could spend time with them and then supervise them through their booking. Supervision looked to be a simple enough task as she only had to make sure they stayed focus on their work and no 'mishaps' happened.

Alternatively, Kara could just get started on tidying up the empty tables so everyone can finish a little sooner. With how it was coming close to closing time, not a lot of things were happening at present.

Kara wasn't able to help out with the Teal section as she had wanted. She was stuck on door duty for twenty minutes. Which was rather boring though she was able to watch the younger cafe staff have their bookings. Soon enough it came to an end and Kara was now free to do as she wished for the last forty minutes. What Kara did first spend the time helping out Mary and Tama with their booking. Spending time with them but also supervising them through their booking. Making sure they stayed focused on their work.

Once their booking was done Kara began to help. Tidying up the empty tables so that everyone could try and leave early.

Lilith had stayed and kept watch on both Kara and the Sera's. She had seen how Haley had drunk her drink with the 'poison' in it. But even with it now in her system, it wouldn't go into effect until Lilith. Went through the last part of her plan she took out a small thumb tack-like ring and placed it upon her finger. Now just waiting for the time to make her move.

Kara's supervision of Mary and Tama took up the last 30mins of the day, so Kara started tidying just before going over to help them. Due to how short she spent on tidying, it wouldn't shave that much off their finish time, but every minute counted.

Supervising the younger ones wasn't as taxing as it was made out to be, but Kara could understand how different it would be for say, supervising more than one Green at a time. Mary's calm personality helped to keep Tama in check most of the time, so there was only a couple of occasions where Kara needed to nudge Tama back to work focus rather than play focus.

When closing time came around, the Customers that remained were politely requested to leave so they could close up shop. The Sera girls agreed to wait outside for Kara so they could all head home together.

When it was closing time and everyone was asked to leave. Lilith used this chance to blend in with the other customers. As there was still a fair number of them and they all moved outside. She kept an eye out for the Sera girls and was able to spot them. As they stood off to the side waiting for Kara to finish up. Moving along Lilith shifted her gaze to Haley and walked right past her with several other customers.

But not before using this chance to prick her hand. Lightly as she past by and then was lost among the crowd. Now that Haley had been pricked the 'poison' within her would slowly begin to work it's magic.

Kara arrived outside a short time later having finished changing back. Into her normal clothes and taking care of any last minute business that was needed in the cafe. When it was all said and done she linked up with the Sera girls. And they all started to head home together as a family.

Through the throngs of people leaving the Cafe, Haley felt something prick against her left arm. Reflexively, she pulled her arm back to check what it was and noticed a small pinprick sized bead of blood where she felt the sudden pain. Believing it to be nothing more than a small nick against a badge's pin or something, Haley dismissed it as an unfortunate incident before heading out with the others and waiting for Kara.

After Kara had joined up with them the four girls started to head on home, with Haley in the lead to start with and Holly trailing along by Lilly's side. All seemed to be normal, for now, until Haley started lagging a little in her lead. She suddenly started to feel a little lightheaded and she was not sure why.

With everyone heading home Kara stayed up with Haley. Who was in the lead, yet she took notice when Haley started to lag behind a little and stopped turning around. So the others could catch up to her. "Is everything okay?" Kara asked to Haley. Once they had started walking again.

Haley's bout of feeling lightheaded passed after a short while, yet Kara still noticed the sudden change. Naturally, Haley tried to play it off.

"Yeah, everything's fine. No need to worry."

Despite her outward confidence, Haley wasn't exactly sure what was wrong. Did she eat something she shouldn't have? Or did she have a little too much cake and sweets? Either way, Haley continued on home, attempting to pass off all concern with regular behaviour.

Little else happened to Haley aside from a persistent headache and a slight feeling of pain in her stomach. She didn't feel that well at all but she didn't want to worry the others either.

Kara let the matter slide for now, yet kept an eye upon Haley. She decided to try out what she had learned from Eve upon Haley. She had to focus on the small intricacies and Kara was only doing so, because she was a little concerned.

They soon arrived home.

Kara didn't think that Haley was being entirely truthful yet she didn't want to push too much. Instead, she tried out the new things she'd learned from Eve earlier that day.

Kara was now certain that Haley wasn't being completely truthful with her. It was clear in the way that Haley didn't want to meet Kara's gaze and how she kept trying to dance around the subject rather than face it head on. Kara wasn't sure about how deep the untruth was rooted, but she could make an estimated guess.

When everyone arrived back at home, Haley started to head upstairs. Her condition had taken a turn for the worse and now she felt extremely ill. She doubted she'd be able to hide it from the others much longer, but she would at least try.

Kara had a small stroke of luck when, she learned that. Haley wasn't being completely truthful with her. Form what Kara could gather was that Haley didn't wish to meet her gaze and kept. Dancing around the subject and Kara wasn't sure how deep this untruth was rooted.

When they all arrived home Haley started up the stairs. Kara went over and helped Haley to her room. So, that she could lay down while she still didn't know what was fully wrong with Haley she was still concerned. Doing her own best not to make things worse than they were starting to get.

Before Haley was even able to reach her bedroom she had to take a near immediate detour to the bathroom opposite. She bolted down the hallway and practically threw herself into the bathroom. There was no hiding it now. Nearly everyone nearby could hear how she was emptying her stomach's contents into the toilet. This worried her, not just with how she was violently ill now, but also with how suddenly this latched on. She was perfectly fine throughout the entirety of her time at the cafe, regardless of how many cakes and other sugary treats she consumed.

Kara was about to help, Haley reach her bedroom when she took. A detour to the bathroom running down the hallway. Kara remained where she was she could hear as Haley, emptied herself into the toilet. Kara was at a loss on what to do, she had no idea just what could have caused Haley to have gotten so sick. When she was working she had spotted Haley several times and she looked like her usual self all healthy and fine.

"What happened to her?" Kara asked herself.

"Unusual, and a little worrying. I hadn't detected any change in her until shortly after she left the Cafe. Even then it was so faint that I could scarcely detect it."

If an entity like Erys hadn't the slightest idea how this change had come about, then it was unlikely anyone else would. The concern was not exclusive to Kara and it had already passed to Haley's sisters, whom were worried about how suddenly Haley took off.

Even Erys didn't have any idea how the change came about. Everyone was now worried and concerned for Haley's well being. Once Haley was finally finished using the toilet to empty everything from her stomach. Kara entered the bathroom to check up on her to see just how she was doing. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Kara asked Haley.

Unsure of how she could help out Haley in her current state, Kara waited until Haley was no longer indisposed and went into the bathroom to check up on her. Naturally, Haley was in tears, sobbing as she remained hunched over the toilet in case more waves of sickness hit. Kara likely wasn't going to get much sense out of the distraught girl.

Applying some logical thought to the situation, the best remedy which should hopefully help would be for Haley to get as much rest as possible. If it is just a random bug that latched on to her, it should pass after a day or two. It was uncertain whether it was contagious, so other measures may need to be taken to ensure that the rest of them don't get infected. Though this was likely far worse for Haley than anyone else, taking risks and getting the worst outcome would just increase the problems.

Once for the moment that Haley was done. Kara went to check on her and found her in tears she didn't get much out of her. But Kara remained with her for now, not really putting in much thought for her own safety in case whatever made. Haley sick was some how passed onto her. So, in the end Kara decided to sit next to Haley on the floor. And did whatever she could to show Haley some moral support.

Kara remained with Haley for a little while longer, providing as much support as she could. Even so, Haley won't get better without proper rest, so, regardless of how much she might not want to, it was in Haley's best interest to head off to bed once her stomach had settled.

Haley was taken to her bedroom and provided with some 'just in case' supplies along with a sealed beaker of filtered water. Kara assisted Haley with getting changed and remained alongside her until she eventually fell asleep. It was nearing the other girls' bedtimes as well so, hopefully, after a night of rest Haley should be better.

It finally came time for Haley to get some much-needed rest. After helping her get changed and gathering some supplies. Kara remained with her until Haley fell asleep seeing as it was nearing everyone else's bedtimes as well. Kara left the bedroom to get ready herself and changed gathering. Her own pillow and blanket Kara returned and set them up a short distance from Haley's bed.

Kara decided to remain with Haley even after helping her fall asleep. As was the usual way with the twins, Holly had gone off to sleep in Lilly's room as three people in the room wouldn't help much with sleeping arrangements. Haley looked to be a little pained while sleeping as well, potentially an aftereffect of the sickness from before, but at least she was resting. For now at least...

Around three times during the night, Haley was woken up and proceeded to make use of the 'just in case' supplies as the sickness struck her again. Each time she woke, her nighttime protection was drenched through as well, more so than would normally happen with her nocturnal accidents. Thankfully, it didn't leak out onto her bed, but it wouldn't take another full release, that was for sure.

This on and off pattern of sleep continued through the night until, eventually, dawn broke through the clouds once more.

With Kara remaining with Haley that evening, Holly spent the night with Lilly she could have stayed having three people in the same room. Wasn't much of a problem with Kara seeing as how she picked the floor near Haley's bed to sleep at. Kara stayed up a short time later, keeping an eye on Haley just to see how she was fairing. Before finally falling asleep herself a couple of times during the night. Kara was awakened when Haley had woken up and used the supplies for when her sickness struck again.

Kara once again helped Haley the best she could. Before the young girl would fall asleep again a couple of hours later they would repeat it once again. Until finally Kara fell asleep right until morning rolled around again.