Freesia Academy: A School Reborn From The Ashes [IC]

[FauxHorseMen]

One Month Later

The students milled around the new grounds of the school, some reunited with their friends while others waited around for the memorial to start. The Headmistress had informed everyone that prior to classes starting there would be an assembly and a memorial to morn those who had passed during the fire. The memorial was to be held outside on the new school grounds. White chairs were placed in rows in front of a small stage and white lilies could be seen everywhere. A memorial had been erected behind the stage; a marble statue of a phoenix taking flight with the names of the fallen carved into it’s wings. The bell tower began to ring, signaling the start of the memorial, and the students took their seats. The Headmistress, along with General Hanson and the faculty, proceeded onto the stage. The Headmistress took her spot at the podium at the center of the stage and the rest of the faculty sat behind her.

“Welcome new and returning students to the new Freesia Academy. It had always been my dream to one day open this school and that dream has finally become a reality. Sadly this dream only came about because of the tragedy that occurred one month ago. By now many of you have heard what happened that night, some of it true and some of it rumors, but due to the overwhelming differences in things I have heard I feel I should tell you what truly happened that night. Many of you and your families have expressed your concerns for your safety, but I assure you we have taken precautions to further your safety during your stay with us. To make it clear, what happened that night was not a deliberate attack on our school, but an accident caused by one of our students. This student, who many of you have already discovered, was Blake Silverstein; a promising young man who sadly was unable to control the gift he had been given. Though he was the cause of what had happened that night, he is not the one to blame. Many were lost to us that night and it only seems logical to place the blame on him, but in truth we are the ones to blame. It was our duty to see that each student received the proper resources to learn to understand control their gifts, but in the end we failed to do so and cost so many young people their lives. I would like to take this moment to express our sincerest apologies and to mourn those who have passed.”

Murmurs and cries could be heard from the students and after the moment had passed the Headmistress continued.

“Originally when I had established the Freesia Schools my goal had been to recreate as much as possible a normal schooling experience for everyone. It seemed unfair to deny those with gifts a chance to experience what others your age were experiencing. This idealism had worked in the beginning, but I see now that I was going about it all wrong. Everyone should get the chance to experience what it is like to be normal, but in truth we are not normal; we are so much more. Why should you spend your time learning mundane things, when you could be learning how to master your abilities and experiencing things that normal people could never dream of. They wish to deny our existence, sending us away so as not to have to face what is really in front of them. More and more of us are being born each year and it is only a matter of time before our kind out numbers those without abilities. We are the future and that is something they will one day need to understand. With this in mind, the curriculum at Freesia Schools has changed. By now each of you has received a good enough education that we feel it is unnecessary to continue teaching you things that aren’t relevant to your individual talents. What is the point of teaching a person the laws of physics when they can easily break them or give a lecture on weather patterns when they could just change them. For now on you will be learning to fully understand and master your abilities and to learn skills that are more relevant to your survival. One day the world could view us as a threat and if that day ever comes we need to be ready. Enough of that for now because there are other pressing matters I need to address."

"With recent events and the new changes to how the school will be run a need for tighter security is required. Many of you may have already noticed the increase of guards and other personnel around the school. They are here to look after the safety of the students and to prevent anything from happening to the school."

"New rules have also been put into place and will be strictly enforced. For now on students will be forbidden to use their abilities in any way that may harm another student or this school when outside of class. I know in the past there have been students who wished to duel one another after hours. This will no longer be tolerated. You will have plenty of opportunities to use your abilities against one another while under the supervision of faculty and during other special events I will be discussing shortly. There is also a new curfew under effect after midnight for all students. There is no need for any student to be roaming the halls at that time of night. If a student is in need of aid or there is an emergency there will be a guard stationed at each of the dorms for you to seek help from. Lastly, students are forbidden from entering the forest surrounding the school. I have been notified of unsafe conditions within the forest and students are not to enter it without faculty supervision. Any students who decide to break any of these rules will be punished and possibly expelled. I will not tolerate anyone putting theirs or anyone else’s lives a risk."

"The last thing I would like to discuss before I send you on your way are some new traditions I would like to start here at Freesia Academy. It was common knowledge that students over the years have snuck out after hours to hold their own secret, what is the cultural reference everyone uses, “Fight Club”. The faculty had allowed for these innocent sparing matches to take place, even though you all though you were being clever and hiding it from us, but after recent events we can’t afford for anyone to lose control or hurt anyone. So I would like to announce that Freesia Academy will be holding two tournaments every year that students may participate in. These tournaments are not mandatory for all students, but it is encouraged that you participate. We found that those who participated in the duels formed stronger bonds with one another and helped some learn to better control their abilities, which is our overall goal here at Freesia. Each tournament will have a different set of rules. The first tournament, which will be held this winter, will be between teams. You will be informed of your teams tomorrow because they are the same teams you will be in during your abilities training class. The second tournament, which will be held in the spring, will be between individual students. The winner of this tournament will also be given the chance to go head to head with one of the faculty. That faculty member will be none other than me. You may laugh now, but I assure you I will not be an easy opponent and just because I am your Headmistress doesn’t mean I will go easy on you."

"I would like to welcome everyone once again to the new Freesia Academy and hope the rest of this year proves to be our greatest yet! You are all free now to go back to your dorms or join us in a banquet to celebrate the opening of the new school. Everyone is dismissed!”

[Vestige Warrior]

(As said before, anything written with Italics are his own quiet thoughts. Detectable with telepathy but not spoken aloud.)

It was a rousing speech, despite the mournful overtones and muffled sobs. Ezra listened intently while studying the other candidates' reactions to the Headmaster's words. Emotions were mixed at the gathering, leading him only to more questions about his future classmates. He did, however, find the answer to one question that had been on his mind since the day he left Nome. His parent's suspicions had been confirmed; this was not simply a school for gifted young people, it was a training ground, a place for them to hone their skills and gain control and strength, mastery even over the elements they wield. They were right, after all. This was the place he needed to be, possibly the one place in the entire world well he could become his own master, no longer a slave to the abilities that had embedded themselves in his DNA who knew how long ago.

Confident that he had, indeed, found the right place, Ezra shouldered his back pack at the end of the speech and took a look around as people stood to decide the next few minutes of their lives. Old friends reunited with handshakes and hugs, with shoulders for crying and chests to bump. Sprinkled about the area were a few like Ezra, new students to had not the advantage of finding old acquaintances, and were therefore relatively excluded from those groups. Ezra guessed that would change before long, as cliques would form just as they had formed everywhere else. Those of similar ideas always flock together, no matter the environment. Normally Ez preferred to remain on the sidelines, but being away from his family brought on a renewed sense of freedom that he hadn't experienced in a very long time. It was enough to make him want to be social, to just walk up to some people and introduce himself, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, a floating rule, was pulling him back, beckoning him to retreat.

"Rule number 6: Keep no friends. Study, sort, and move on. Nothing familiar."

Whatever semblance of a smile he bore on his young face faded away, hidden under a mask of uncaring eyes and stoic facial expressions which he covered by drawing his hood over his head and casting his gaze low to the ground. Perhaps he could pass off as a mourner, in case anyone decided to pay closer attention to him. With backpack firmly looped over his shoulders, Ezra located the first guard that wasn't already busy and asked to be directed to his dorm. It took some finding; the building was new and the guard assisting him was not entirely on top of that particular request, but they managed to locate it eventually. Another guard waited for them at the entrance, who traded places with the other and allowed him to return to his duties back at the party.

The inside of the dormitory was much larger than it seemed on the outside. Sparsely decorated, obviously a job left to the residents, a restroom with several usable spaces, and a living area for times of conscious activity. It was there that he decided to set down his things, on a bunk in the middle of the group, then left it to test the comfort and functionality of the day spaces. The whole room reminded him more of a barracks than a school living quarters, but perhaps it wasn't the worst of scenarios. It would practically force the tenants to get to know each other, and that's exactly was he was meant to do, as per Rule Number 3. Ezra both loved and hated the rules, for they gave his life a fluid safety that also bound his thinking, and therefore, his actions.

Ezra hated being restricted. It was his prison, as well as his most basic need for survival.

[Camelpaks]

As Aiden listened to the speech his paranoid side came out, he was suspicious of the headmistress' meaning behind her words. she's making it sound like were better than regular people, hell she's making it sound like were preparing to fight them, "only a matter of time before our kind out numbers theirs" she sounds like she's lost it.. As the speech went on Aiden felt a sharp pain thinking about the events, he was surprised when he found out Blake had died, he didn't know him that well but they had a few encounters. Aiden felt as though he could relate though as he had no control either.

As the speech ended Aiden got up from his chair and slung his bag over his shoulder, it's been a long day. He looked around for someone familiar, specifically Alice, Caim, or Oscar, as they were really the only people he got to know at Freesia. He couldn't find them though so he decided to just hang around for a bit, there was no use going to the dorms yet, it was still fairly early and he wasn't eager to see the new dorms, the way they've been described sounded more like military barracks than a school dorm. In Aiden's mind the whole place started sounding more and more like a prison or a military school. Aiden didn't know why but as hard as he tried he just couldn't trust the school, their words always seem to have hidden meaning. What if this school really was planning on fighting regular people, Aiden had his fair share of discrimination from them but he felt fighting them would just lead to even more problems.

Aiden got to deep into his trance and decided to stop thinking about it, he walked near a tree, sat down, and leaned his head back to relax, if anyone wanted to talk to him they could come up to him he thought. He started thinking about the things in the new school, he learned about tournaments, he was curious about them but ultimately knew he couldn't participate, but he was going to be a part of a team and he didn't want to let them down. Speaking of teams he wondered who his partner would be, they never had a chance to announce it. In a way he was looking forward to having a partner but also dreading it, afraid he could accidentally hurt them or even worse they might be afraid of him, and look at him with those familiar eyes of fear, a look that makes you feel like a monster, he felt like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

[WhyNotFly]

Two guards to the left of the stage, two guards to the right. Two more at the entrance to the school, three ringing the banquet and one stationed by the door into the dorms. Depth flicked her eyes about, assessing her situation with trained precision. She was beginning to get a little bit worried. She didn't realize this school was going to be so heavily contained. Arksas could be after her, trying to track her down and bring her back, any one of these guards could be an agent of his. She was surprised how easy it had been to escape, now every day she was coiled in preparation, ready for anything that could possibly come at her. It was painful to wait, but there was no way he just let her go. Unless she was right where he wanted her.

Depth shook her head. These kinds of thoughts weren't constructive, it was obvious why this school needed security. She was completely shocked by the number of kids sitting in the crowd, how did this many people have abilities and no one on the outside really knew about it? How were there not more reports or news stories or circus sideshows? Plus, one of them really had gone nuclear, exploded and took the whole school down with him. These "kids" were obviously a dangerous bunch, no other way to approach them. They were so young and so powerful, probably easily controlled by emotions. As likely to punch someone who annoys them as to make them drown in their own saliva, or tear their heart out. It was too easy for them. Depth was a little bit upset as to how well she would fit in.

Depth stood and began walking, the best way to avoid the eyes of the guards would be to blend into a crowd. Not that they wouldn't recognize her, she was wearing the blindfold Arksas had given her, and if they really insisted she still had her dogtags around her wrist. She hadn't been able to take them off. So not to the banquet, too many guards, but not to the dorm either, she'd have to pass right by one. She began to wander the field a bit and suddenly happened on a boy sitting next to a tree. Very casual, low sight lines.

Depth crouched down next to him, leaning back against the tree. Act natural. Right, how does that work in a school of monsters? "H-hello," she managed to say.

[Scottie]

Alice had her hands clapsed infront of her, her face was a paler white than normal and she was staring at the ground. She tried to block out the Headmistresses words, she didn’t want to think about that night any more, it had past quickly in a blur of smoke and fire. She didn’t want to think back to the pain that had truly pierced her very soul. When she looked up at the Headmistress, her eyes were dull and lifeless, she stared through the woman standing on the platform before her. When Blake was mentioned, she tried not to whince, she knew that the boy had perished in the fire, she tried not to think about how she had seen him just hours before he left this world.

She dropped her head suddenly in a soft prayer to Blake and those who passed. When she snapped her eyes open again, she raised her head to notice two guards watched her curiously. Instead of flashing her normal smile, she stared through them as if they were just smoke.
New rules and regulations, Alice knew it was expected but the way the headmistress talked made her frown and sigh. The upped security and new curfew was going to be new. The next piece of news made her look up suddenly, anger flashing through her eyes. How dare the headmistress forbid her from entering the forest. Unsafe conditions hah! That was one rule she wasn’t going to adhere to. She stared at the woman before her and raised her eyebrow, if she was expelled then there was no problem, but she couldn’t be without her forest.

As they were dismissed, Alice sighed deeply and glanced around her. She couldn’t see any familiar face and she felt a worrying pang in her mind, what if her friends had chosen not to return to the school?
She stood and surveyed the group. After a few moments, she moved to a park bench and rubbed her head. Sighing again, she lay down on the bench and closed her eyes, letting her mind loose. She could hear students passing her but she kept her eyes clamped shut.

[Amythelovelyelf]

Thea stood in the back of the audience listening to the speech but growing restless. When came the time to mourn she closed her eyes and spoke a quick quiet prayer. She had lost a friend, one of the first friends she had made in a long time. They may have only known each other a few days but it stung no less, Blake's sister left the school completely and no one could blame her at this point. She wasn't the only one...Thea's parents wanted to possibly take her out of school but after a very short argument they let her return. It was simply because they all knew there was nothing to come home to yet, Thea was not ready.

What struck her into stunned stillness was when the head mistress said that "mundane" classes were canceled. She whispered, to no one in particular." How are we to learn our abilities if we do not understand the theory and laws behind them?" Physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, even art...these are all invaluable in the curriculum. If that wasn't saddening enough the coffins held people she knew...and some of those people had families who had to mourn without the bodies.Moreover, it wasn't just the school and peoples belongings that burned away, there were hopes and memories threatened. Luckily Thea was able to get some clothes back home and give some to the kids who needed them if they came with her into town, but she had never suffered a tragedy like this...To add insult to injury she had come home to say goodbye to her dog and after hearing all the new rules Thea had a strong feeling she would not be allowed home for visits ever again. This academy was starting to feel more like a military prison than the school she left.

"Forbidden forest, big castle, tournaments, strict schedules, all we need now are uniforms and less of a superiority complex and I'd say we went to Hogwarts..."sigh When the speech was over she went back to the gates, they were already posted with guards that blocked her way out." Guys please I'm only gonna say good bye to my friend and you'll have me forever." One guard, seemed new, raised his eyebrow, "Please sir. She's right there."They confirmed with each other and he shook his head."please? she has my jacket..." It was too late Alex rose and throwing Thea the jacket and Thea's bookbag, blew a kiss, and got back on her motorcycle and sped off. It wasn't chilly but she put it on anyways and felt a piece of paper in the inside pocket. A smile flickered over her face but she continued on back to the courtyard. Waving down Greyson,chatting with Carson of course, Thea greeted them and went ahead to find the dorms. If Blake was here he would have explored with me... Maybe someone would later, but flashes of the adventure they had to find the roof went thru her mind and Thea felt like being alone for a bit.

It was important to see Alex this morning, she left early the night before to meet her at work and spend a couple hours catching up. Alex was somehow the least comforting an the most comforting person at once and they hadn't spoken since Thea moved to the High school dorms, miles from home. Passing into the main building Thea looked around for information table and spotted the secretary from the old school. Cheerily Thea approached the table and careful asked" Good morning ma'am. Good to see you are alright," the woman looked up surprised, as if no one was supposed to notice her there," Is there a map..or any guidance you can give me to the new school layout?" The woman nodded passing a folded chart. she opened it and drew an arrow and a circle around the word Girl's dorms and Gymnasium. She remembers me! Thea thought proudly. "Thank you Ma'am" Thea took a few moments, configured the map in 3D in her mind and walked along where the map pointed her.

Sooo a left, walk straight, another left, double doors on the right she pushed them open and walked into a large common room with books and a few tables and couches, chairs placed along walls or at desks.Interesting... she continued walking further in, a door to the left? Communal showers and bathroom stalls. The door to the right? A room filled with cots, minimally decorated and in the round Thea walked to see where the windows looked out and picked one they looked out across the courtyard. Looking at her watch, she noticed a box under the bed and pulled it out. "A uniform! It's the whole package..." she laughed reading the dress code regulations. She put down the box kicking off her sneakers, took out an alarm her friend lent to her the night before and flopped onto the cot. "I'll worry about that later, 20 minutes..." and like that passed out.

[Camelpaks]

Aiden looked to see a girl with a blindfold greeting him, "Hey" Aiden scooted over to give her a little more room. Her blindfold caught his curiosity, he wondered if she could see but then realized she must if she was able to find him and sit next to him.
"My name's Aiden, I haven't seen you around before, what's your name?" Aiden smiled trying to be friendly.

[Hikari]

It was one of the rare moments that Hikari actually managed to stay awake and get somewhere on time. She couldn't help but feel a little proud, but when the service started, any feelings of delight was erased. This was serious. She couldn't act happy, not with the depression in the air.

She listened intently, her ears pricked, until the memorial was over. She had a lot to think about, but she couldn't think about anything at the moment before finding her best friend.

Griffin Silverstein.

Hikari and Griffin had had a brief encounter just before the fire, and the cat mixture couldn't stop worrying about her friend. She had also known others; Greyson, Thea, Oscar, Alice, Aiden, Caim, Rose and Hazel. They had all gotten through the fire and survived. Of course, others had to, and all of the rest.. they were either missing or known to be dead. Her heart clenched at this. So the fire was all of the staff's fault?

She pushed the thought away. No Hikari, find Griffin. You've got to find Griffin. She looked through the crowd. Where is she? she thought, frowning to herself. She wanted to comfort her friend, because she knew that Griffin's brother was lost in the traumatic experience. She didn't want to bring it up, but she wanted to do her best to be even more better as Griffin's friend.

Hikari finally realized that Griffin was no where in sight. I'll find her a little later, she's sure to be here somewhere, she thought determinedly. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to approach her other friends. She was shy at the moment. So she decided to wander away and get to know the new school. This was when she understood the intensity of the moment. How will people react to the deaths of their loved ones? How should I react? This was the staff's fault, for allowing Blake to lose control of his ability. How would students feel now knowing it wasn't the student, but the staff themselves who was responsible for this whole mess? What if those who were grieved started a riot of some sort?

She shook her head. "I won't think about that," she muttered to herself. She was about to go down the dormitory when she remembered that this was an entirely new school. She needed to get new supplies. She went up to the desk, her tail quivering with a new found excitement. She was handed all of the necessities; a map, her new dorm key, and even a uniform, which surprised her. Uniforms, even? she thought with glee. She wasn't surprised when the person at the desk had the same effect as the previous one. This one looked away as soon as she caught sight of her eyes. They must have lit up in the spur of the moment. And when cats' eyes lit up, it was well known they were about to do something menacing.

Hikari hurried away as soon as possible, going to her new dorm room. As a cat, she just had to smell this new room, because it looked so fresh and new. She smiled to herself. "I'm this room's first resident!" she squealed, running around the room and smelling it childishly. She looked around some more. Since she was going to do some wandering, she decided that she would put on her new uniform. She read the paper that went with the uniform. "Black blazer with the school logo, red blouse, red skirt, black shoes," it read. She had come to school in a pair of black boots so she decided that was what she would wear. She slipped on her uniform, looking down at herself in pride.

Her things were already in the dorm room. Everything except one thing. She put the old key from the old school on the desk beside her bed. She, although having been at the school for one day, found the old Freesia Academy to be precious to her. She didn't want to leave the key to her old dorm room behind, so she took it with her as a souvenir.

Mission: find Griffin! she reminded herself. She hurried out of her room and into the halls, looking around as she did so, looking at the map she had taken with her to identify which place she was in. She kept her hopes high on looking for Griffin.

[WhyNotFly]

"Depth" Depth replied, settling back against the tree, a little bit surprised about how friendly he was. She stared at his smile rather than his eyes and wondered how many people this friendly, smiling boy had killed. She hoped he hadn't killed any, she didn't want him to have that on his soul.

"I'm new," she continued, explaining, "I guess you've been here before then? Is this advanced security new too?" Her tone was a bit sarcastic.

[Camelpaks]

Aiden chuckled "Not quite, I was here for a day before the school burnt down security was pretty relaxed then from what I could tell though."

Aiden sat there, and he looked at the girl next to him, he sensed a familiarity with her but couldn't quite pinpoint why. Finally curiosity getting the better of him he asked "Why do you wear a blindfold? I can tell you're not blind." Aiden mentally smacked himself, he didn't mean to come off so bluntly about a matter that was likely sensitive.