Juliana was an avid reader. Thanks to her aristocratic upbringing, she became interested in books of various complex subjects and topics from an early age. These included, but were not limited to, memoirs and biographies of famous people, ancient Valkyur civilization, and Europan diplomacy. The family library back at the estate was a personal sanctuary, where she could take a respite from her busy life and keep to herself within the subdued space. The school library was the closest thing to the family library, though she preferred to do her reading within her dorm room, where nobody would bother her.
Like anyone else, she could only read complicated books for so long until she needed a break. She shrugged her shoulders and closed a book about stoicism.
While Juliana often berated Lotte for the rag she published, "The Lotte Insider", she sometimes read it out of curiosity. Sure, it was tabloid journalism, but it was good light reading. Most of the gossip she didn't take seriously, although she was curious about the hooded figure wandering around campus. She'd look into it herself, but she was hesitant about looking like a fool. That was the sort of thing Avan would do.
She looked out her window and noticed Avan passing by, holding a stick in one hand and a flashlight in another.
What was he up to?
Wait a moment, she realized.
It was night-time on campus. Most of the students were asleep within their dorm rooms, except for Avan, who lurked within the darkness. Tonight was a good opportunity to put his Scout training to good use, to deal with his restlessness. It sure beat staring blankly at the ceiling in his dorm.
While Avan was known for being a loud and rambunctious person, he knew his way around. Keep to the shadows when possible and keep noise to a minimum. He shined the flashlight for anything appearing suspicious. The last thing he wanted to do was to jump some random person by accident.
Sightings of the hooded figure during the daytime was one thing, when the encounters were coincidental. Actively seeking it out was another story. Lower vision during the night provided an additional challenge.
He didn't know how long it would take to encounter the hooded figure. If it got too late, he'd end the search, slip back to his room, and get what little sleep he could. There was class the following morning, but he was going to be tired anyway.
He noticed something unusual about the R&D building. The doors were left wide open, when they were normally locked at night. He steadied the stick in one hand, held the flashlight in the other, and slowly walked into the building. It was too easy to bump into the various objects inside, so he turned on the lights. In an attempt to draw out the hooded figure from hiding, so he knocked one of walls several times. Fortunately for him, it emerged from a tank hatch. He rushed toward the hooded figure before it could climb down and reach the floor.
"Gotcha." Avan grabbed the hooded figure. "Let's see who you are." He took down the hood, revealing a silver haired girl with red eyes. "Wait, whoa." It was the Valkyria girl from the other day, who promptly bit his arm.
He yelled.
She took his stick and ran away.
Dejected, Avan sulked back to the dormitory.
"Avan, need me to keep you awake?" Zeri asked out of genuine concern. While his red-haired friend was not known for his punctuality, he usually didn't space out like this.
"Probably, Zeri." Avan yawned, slumped his head, and brought it back up. "For once, I wish I slept as well as you do. I mean, you sleep like a log."
"I'll teach you some techniques later. What were you doing, anyway?"
"Wasn't able to sleep, so I looked for the hooded figure. Y'know, the one you, Cosette, and me see around campus. Turns out it was the Valkyria girl all along. I almost got 'em. Wish you were there." Avan slurred his words ever so slightly, running on fumes to form coherent sentences.
"The Valkyria girl we saw back in Arlem, who destroyed the tank."
"That's the one. I have a very good idea where the hooded figure hangs out during the day. Rumor has it the girl hangs out with Erik, but nobody believes a word he says. They go, 'oh, it's no Valkyria, it's probably a young girl who happens to have red eyes and silver hair.' Y'know…" Avan trailed off and lost his words.
Zeri patted Avan on the shoulder. "Take a good nap once we're done with class. I'll knock on your door to wake you up and bring you coffee. In the meantime, I'll fill Cosette in on everything since she'd want to join in."
"I didn't know you were a coffee drinker."
"Nah, I'm still a tea person."
Zeri, Avan, and Cosette went to the shaded area at the corner of the courtyard, the location of the rumors.
It didn't take long for Zeri and Cosette to witness the identity of the hooded figure.
The girl lowered her hood, revealing her silver hair and red eyes. Immediately, she pointed back at Avan and shouted, "You're the red haired meanie who chased me the other night!"
"You bit my arm, you're the mean one!" Avan shouted back.
"You were going to hit me with that stick!"
"You were spooky, like a ghost! You give my stick back!"
"It's mine now!" The girl made a face to taunt him. Avan made his own face to taunt her back.
"Avan, are you really arguing with a little girl? Honestly." Zeri wanted to facepalm. Avan arguing with Juliana was one thing, but this was embarrassing to see.
"I can get her to calm down," Cosette said. Avan, realizing his arguing was going nowhere, let her take over.
Cosette waved to her. "You seem like a nice girl. We should get to know each other better," she said as she smiled.
The girl was hesitant and gave the impression like she didn't know how to be around other people. She raised her hands into pushing-away motions.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Cosette opened her palms. "See, I have nothing."
"H-how can I trust you? Please, don't come near me."
"Everything will be okay," Cosette said, as she slowly approached her.
The girl looked surprised, that Cosette actually meant no harm. "Really, you mean it?"
"Yeah, they're my classmates. More important, they're my friends."
With Cosette's reassurance, the girl became calm.
"I'm Cosette, and I'm a student at Lanseal. The red haired guy is Avan and the blue haired one is Zeri."
Avan pointed a thumb at himself, while Zeri waved slightly.
The girl beamed up. "I'm Aliasse! Can we be friends?"
"Of course, let's be friends," Cosette said.
"Yay!" The girl looked so happy.
Avan approached Aliasse and petted her head. "Yo, sorry about earlier," he said.
"It's okay!" Aliasse said.
Zeri was impressed at Avan and Aliasse's ability to shrug off whatever happened between them and then immediately get along with each other. To be fair, Zeri wasn't the most sociable person. He didn't usually approach people, they were drawn to him instead. While it made him appear distant, he accepted it as part of his personality.
He was never good around children because he often felt awkward and didn't know how to interact with them. Then again, he then thought about the time he stood up for the Darcsen child about the watch. The child was thankful toward Zeri, so that had to be something.
For a moment, Zeri forgot Aliasse was a Valkyria. He recognized the reason why the other students said she wasn't a Valkyria was simply to snub anything Erik said. In this moment, Aliasse looked like a regular young girl. Maybe by observing Avan and Cosette, he could get a good sense of how to interact with Aliasse.
Zeri's contemplation was cut short when he noticed an older woman in a lab coat show up. They exchanged cold stares, though the intent behind them were different. He looked at her and noticed the lack of emotion, while she looked at him with an analytical eye.
Zeri considered himself a stoic, but she felt different. He barely felt humanity from her. In those moments, he understood her on a level far greater than which he felt comfortable. He sensed disregard for humanity. Did she ever believe in it, he didn't know. Sure, Zeri felt detached from his own humanity. The difference with him, was that while he wanted to understand humanity as a whole, his own humanity eluded him. She appeared to have abandoned hers.
"Hi, mama!" Aliasse turned around to greet the older woman.
"Aliasse, we have stuff to do." Without exchanging a greeting, she grabbed Ali by the wrist.
Avan was having none of this. "You deserve an explanation about yourself." Gone was his playful demeanor, replaced by seriousness, the kind which left no doubt about the purpose behind his words. "I've seen you around these places. I know most of the faculty, except for you. You're as much a phantom as the girl, well, before we got to know her. Who are you, and what are you doing here at Lanseal?"
"Clementia Förster. Just call me Dr. Förster. I work with and oversee the infirmary. It's all you need to know." She looked annoyed by Avan asking basic questions. "Also, this girl is under my care. Don't ask me questions about her, I won't answer them. She has more useful things to do right now than to be around all of you."
Zeri, Avan, and Cosette noticed Aliasse's swap from the disappointment in going away from her new friends to the willingness for her mother figure to acknowledge her. She never had the chance to say goodbye, as the two of them walked away.
They had so many questions to ask. What was up with Clementia? Why was she so cold toward them all? Why was she protective of Aliasse, yet so cold toward her? They wanted to know Aliasse better. She was a Valkyria girl, yes, but she was a girl happy to have new friends.
Hopefully Zeri would get the chance to actually interact with her.