First Meeting (open)

[Rikka]

The dorm building had under gone major changes. Most people had been given new roommates and those who had been at the school long enough were allowed to have single rooms. Several though after the Corruption attack chose to have roommates they could rely on while other chose to have random roommates chosen for them. One random pairing happened to be in the male half of the dorm. It was no secret that some students in the school were gender-less but they usually roomed with others of gender-less preference. On the door of one room were the names Manco and Clover. A girl about 5'9'' with shoulder length black hair, Bright blue eyes walked down the hall and opened the door as many of the boys stared from their doorways. They decided that the girl in a black form fitting tank-top with bright green letters that said 'Kiss me! I'm Irish. ;)' and short jean shorts that hung on her hips had to have been a transfer student and didn't realize she was on the wrong half of the dorm.

Her bright blue eyes looked around as she unlocked the door with her free hand because the other had a closed box and stepped inside. Turning she winked at a couple of the boys before entering her room and shutting the door behind her. Laughing she entered the bedroom and looked around. Her roommate must have moved in while she was out. His half which was empty earlier was now stocked with several new items like the mini fridge and a weapons rack. Shrugging she set the box on her bed and opened it up before setting out all the new puzzles near a mini bed that looked just like hers and a cat bed which housed about 27 sleeping mice. Smiling she gently ran her fingers over them before heading over to her chair and flopping down into it.

Clover turned on the TV and kicked off her sandals before leaning forward to grab a controller and start up her gaming device. Picking a racing game she often played with the twins she started the game and sat playing. Relaxing into her chair she felt Apple sleeping and thought about catching an hour of sleep herself. She didn't need sleep but it was interesting to say the least plus it helped to allow her cells to just relax like that. Stretching out her legs she played the game for about a half hour before she heard the door to the dorm room open. Twisting in her chair she looked at the door to see if it was her new roommate. It didn't occur to her she might look like the girlfriend of someone who was supposed to be here since everything on her side of the room was gender neutral colors.

[Sabata]

Most of the heads that poked out of their rooms when Clover walked by retracted into their rooms as a red haired boy came through the hallways a few minutes after Clover. Manco had a bit of a reputation after last year, so most people didn't want to bother him or even come close to getting on his bad side. He wore his usual clothes, the coat, the sarashi, the pants, the boots, they were all there, though he'd now taken to carrying his sword at his side rather than in a belt. Manco strolled into the dorm room that had been assigned to him then made a B-line for the chair on his side of the room, tosses his coat off into his side of the room.

He sat down on the chair, and noted his roommate at least appeared to be female. Something had to be up with that though, they would probably sooner give a freshmen a separate room then put him in a room with someone of the opposite sex. Manco decided not to bring up the issue. "I'm not much of a gamer, obviously you are." Manco commented, going with the assumption that this girl was his roommate, although it seemed weird. She obviously had free access to the room, so it wasn't like she was just a friend of his actual roommate or a girlfriend since if they were, the roommate wasn't there to let them in.

Manco reclined in his chair, leaning the sword up against the chair. The racing game didn't seem to have much point to him. If someone wanted to race, why not get up and actually find a place to do it, whether it was go-karts or just running. It didn't really strike Manco as something that needed to be simulated. He'd played a few fighting games at arcades before, now those were fun. They were something Manco could get into.

[Rikka]

As the boy walked into their room she looked at him and blinked as she recognized Manco from the lake. He was definitely a fighter. A grin escaped to her lips as she thought up all the training she would get while sharing rooms with him. Leaning back in her chair she finished up the race in record time as he apparently tried to figure out why she was here. As he spoke she looked over at him as she crossed the finish line. He obviously came to the assumption she was his roommate. There went some of the fun. Oh well. Maybe she would stay in this form for the next couple of weeks to see what would happen.

"Yeah. I have many games. Racing, Fighting, rescue, survival, and just plane outdated arcade games. If you ever feel the need to play games go a head." Grinning at him she switched games to Fusion Frenzy which what a fusion of all the things she had listed above. "I've turned the living room into a practice room so if you have any complaints say them now or forever hold your peace." Clover looked at him with bright blue eyes that held amusement before moving back to watch the screen and pick how many stages she wanted the game to last. She only chose 2 stages because afterward she would go practice her staff work and maybe some blade work. Plus she needed to check out some of her staffs and see which ones needed oiling and some work.

Thinking on questions she needed to ask she decided the most important questions should be asked first. "Okay First things first. What's your sleeping schedule and how easily do you wake up? Also how do you feel about your weapons being touched?" A grin broke out on her face as she realized her last sentence could be taken two ways. Oh well.

[Sabata]

"I've only ever played fighters in arcades. I've never tried anything beyond that really." Manco replied to Clover's list of games. "You've obviously never seen me around before or heard my name if you have to ask. Of course it's fine." He then decided he should confirm his roommates name. It was some kind of flower. He needed to think before it came to him. "Your name is Clover, right?" Manco asked. He had thought that it was a little strange as a boy's name before, and now he knew why. "Name's Manco."

Manco watched the game. It was weird and seemed to be everything Clover mentioned she had at once. He'd heard of games that fit multiple genres before, or even games that didn't seem to fit in a genre, but this was ridiculous. "My sleep schedule varies. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. My guns are fine, touch them all you want. My sword's off limits though. It's one of kind." Manco replied to Clover's questions. For emphasis, Manco pulled out the rather worn and beat up pair of revolvers and offered them over to Clover. "I've been thinking of getting new guns those, those 2 are getting more than a little beat up." Manco commented. He'd seen a double barreled semi-automatic the other day in a gun shop in Savale. Maybe he'd go and see how much it cost. He'd need to take new ammo into account as well. "Hm? What's that grin about?" Manco asked.

He was still trying to figure this girl out and why she was roomed with a guy instead of a normal girl. Is she a pre-op transsexual maybe? Manco asked himself.

[Rikka]

As he spoke up about his history with games she sighed and knew she would have to introduce him to her online gaming lists. There he would have his choice of whatever fighting game he wanted to try out. Some of them were even 3-D. "Yup. Clover Udikne. Nice to meet you Manco." Finishing stage one in the lead she quickly started on stage two. Hearing about his sleep schedule she nodded her head. That meant she could practice whenever she wanted. Another question occurred to her as he answered her questions. How did he feel about mice?

The moment he pulled out his revolvers she hit pause and was quickly running her fingers over them. They were definitely worn but that just meant they were good weapons. Popping the cylinder out she gave it a spin with the thumb before popping it back into place and aiming at the wall behind the tv. "Very nice. They are a bit beat up but if you want you could take them to a girl named Rikka Soul. She has a suite with her little sister and she could repair them good as new." Holding out the revolvers to him again she looked at the sword which was leaning against his chair. Too bad he had told her not to touch it and that meant he probably valued it like she valued her Glaive. "How do you feel about mice?" She completely skipped over his question about the grin as he went back to trying to figure her out. This was gonna be fun.

[Sabata]

"Nice to meet you too." Manco replied to Clover. He was still trying to figure her out. He couldn't really tell if his current theory had any basis. Maybe a genderless shapeshifter? Manco wondered. He had heard there were a few of those around, so that made the theory a bit more based at least. Of course, he wouldn't just come out and ask Clover. That seemed like it would be a bit rude. If she felt like telling him the truth, she would tell him the truth. Or at least Manco assumed.

Manco watched Clover examine his revolvers. She certainly knew her way around a weapon, that was for sure. Hopefully, Clover wouldn't be as boring as his last roommate. He was an all work no play type and certainly never wanted to spar. Clover seemed to have quite a bit of potential though when it came down to a potential sparring partner. "Rikka Soul . . . I'll have to remember that. I might end up replacing those as my main fire arms, still it'll be nice to have someone who could work on either those revolvers or whatever else I get my hands on." Manco said. "Thank you." Manco took his revolvers back and put them back in their original resting place.

"Mice? I guess I don't have anything against them really, as long as they don't get in the fridge or anything." Manco replied to Clover's question about Mice. Did she have mice as familiars or something? She must have, why would she ask such a strange question, otherwise?

[Rikka]

Clover finished off her game as the champion and set about shutting off the system while he thought over things. Though her thougths were on his revolvers. She would have to take them to the gym for some target practice as some point. Well she would ask first.....possibly. She could leave a note. Yeah a note. Happy with the idea she placed the controller ontop of her game system and switched the tv to a music channel. "Your welcome." Standing up in her chair she stepped onto the back and jumped off heading to her Dresser and opened the left door pulling out a tackle box. Opening the tackle box on her bed she rustled through it making sure everything was in one piece.

As he spoke up about the mice and what they weren't allowed to get into she looked down at the cat bed which had an increase of mice. "Did you hear him? Stay out of the Fridge. If you need food ask Manco or I." Silence greeted her before a unanamous "AWWWWWWWW!" was heard from the hidden side of her bed. Suddenly they erupted into 45 tiny squeaky voices as they tried to figure out ways to get offerings to their god. How were they supposed to do that if they weren't allowed to enter the fridge or stuff?

Clover chuckled over their squeaks and ideas. She would fill a bottom cupboard with things they could get into later. That would solve it plus keep them out of trouble. "I'm going to move to the Practice room if you have any questions feel free to follow. Between moving in and trying to get things sorted out because of the corruption I have had a chance to check my weapons this week." She always kept her weapons in top condition and made it mandatory she clean them at least once a week. Some of her staffs had mechanisms in them that needed to be cleaned or they wouldn't work properly when she needed them to. Grabbing her cleaning box she headed to the practice room and set it in the middle of the floor as she looked at the large weapons rack. Grabbing four staffs and her Glaive she placed them in a line on the floor within her reach before sitting down.

[Sabata]

Manco glanced towards the source of the multitude of voice but didn't give it much thought. They were obviously Clover's familiars, no need to question beyond that fact. At least Clover was more interesting than the boring guy who had been his roommate last year. Manco had heard the guy left the academy after the first year. The chorus of voices was a mild annoyance, but nothing worth bringing up. He did wonder what the "god" they kept referring to was. It would be interesting to find out at some point what "god" mice prayed to, or at least what god these mice prayed to. Maybe different mice prayed to different gods. Maybe there were a multitude of different religions for mice. Who knew? It wasn't like one got to regularly talk to mice and learn such things.

Having nothing better to do (and not being a gamer) Manco picked up his sword then followed after Clover to get a grip on what she could do. "Be sure to give a good show. You're already a step up from my last roommate, but I still want to see what you've got." Manco stated, making his way over to the couch. He plopped down in the middle, laid his sword across his lap, then spread his arms across the back of the couch. He wouldn't participate unless he was really impressed by what Clover could do. Hopefully she'd make a good sparring partner, or he'd have to go around the school looking for people to fight again, and that's why he was repeating a year.

For now, he'd just have to watch Clover cleaning her weapons. The glaive seemed like a nice weapon, though he decided not to comment.

[Rikka]

Clover saw him glance toward where her mice were hidden as she had headed toward the living room. Opening her box she grabbed her favorite Staff and checked it over. Running her fingers over it she popped a section of the staff up and checked the quality of her poisons before oiling the hinges and springs a bit before popping the section closed again. Looking up at Manco she grinned and moved her left hand along the staff till she hit a grove that had been worn away from years of practicing and sparing and hit a hidden button. A split second after the click was heard daggers shot out of the ends and split into 5 metal spikes each.

Looking back at her staff she hit the button again and listened to the gears that only her ears could ear clicking like they were supposed to. Happy that the new gears were working right she oiled the wood and set it next to her before going through the rest of her staffs the same way she noted the third one needed a couple of new parts and put off oiling it so she new it needed to go to Rikka. Picking up the fourth one she stood up and ran her fingers along the wood which was old with age. She had gotten this one when she was really young and had added the blades herself. The would appear once the staff was in motion so it was an interest surprise to her opponents. Especially when they went to block the staff with their arm and all of a sudden a thin but lethal blade popped out of the wood that only looked like it was cracked with age.

Whistling Clover looked toward the bed room door as forty-five mice popped up by the door shouting. "HAIL OUR GOD!" Smiling she put the butt of her staff against the floor. "Alrighty I need a circle. So Blue Plaid today!" A grey mouse with white underbelly jumped forward excitely and raced forward as it stripped its tribal clothing. When it got to Clover it squeaked then turned into a blue plaid ball of....goo. Quickly it rolled around in a 3ft diameter circle before shifting back into a mouse. Jumping with excitement the mouse giggled as Clover reached down and rubbed his head. Standing up again she watched as all the mice scurried over to the couch and jumped up sitting on either side of Manco watching happily.

Slowly Clover began some twirling excercises. Bending both elbows and keeping them at her side she stood with her feet together and dipped the top end of the staff toward the ground to her left by twisting her forearms and bending her left wrist. Turning her hips and shoulders to the left as well. Next, she swung the tip of the staff back up toward the center where it started and then continue with the momentum of the swing to bring the tip toward the ground on her right. At this point, her forearms crossed as her left hand got closer to the ground. Twisting her hips and shoulders to the right as well. As she continued to twirl the staff left and right she pick up the speed and soon the light was glinting off flashed of metal that had not been there before.

[Sabata]

Definitely familiars. Manco thought as the mice began revealing themselves more. Either that or this was the weirdest case of someone coming across a land of tiny people that he'd ever seen. It was like that book, "Gallagher's Travels" or whatever it was called.

Clover's equipment was impressive. She certainly had an affinity for hidden weapons. Manco had something of a distaste for hidden weapons, but figured that his methods of fighting didn't need to work for everybody and everybody else's methods of fighting didn't need to work for him. They just needed to work. As long as Clover didn't try anything too underhanded, Manco saw so reason she couldn't hide some blades or projectiles in her staves.

"You might want to keep a few staves just as normal staves. A staff works because its a solid piece of wood. It lowers the striking force if you start hiding things inside of it." Manco commented, just trying to be helpful to clover. Not that it seemed she needed advice, she certainly seemed more "skilled" as a fighter than Manco. Manco didn't really have a skill for fighting outside of just discovering what worked for himself.

[Rikka]

Clover slowed the swirling as as decided it was working alright. When he staff had come to a stop she sat back down and started to oil the wood to keep it in good condition. It probably wouldn't be too long before she retired the staff and made a new one but she would wait till it broke. Looking up at Manco she placed her now well oiled staff next to the others. Hearing his advice she grinned. "Don't worry. These are ones I have built myself and are my babies. The others are all normal. Well, The rest have Pia Lamnia metal cores."

Grabbing her Glaive she looked it over and pulled out a sheet of paper before gently running it across the blade. It didn't take even an ounze of pressure to cut the small square of paper. Satisfied she didn't need to sharpen it she polished the metal and oiled th ewood before putting the cleaned weapons back. Grabbing the weapon that needed repaired she leaned it up against the wall closest to her door. Grabbing three normal sparring staffs and her sword she placed them on the floor and gave them all the same treatment. Her blade though got polished rather then oiled. Looking at Manco she got a rather serious glint in her eye. "How well can you spar? Cause I don't feel like having another deadbeat roommate. It no fun when I am constantly fighting against the twins. They know most of my patterns by now." She still had two guns to clean but they could wait a bit longer. Plus she would have to get them out of her room. Quickly she set about putting her weapons back on the rack and picking up her cleaning supplies.

[Sabata]

"A metal core isn't a bad idea." Manco commented. It certainly couldn't hurt the amount of force generated by the staff. Clover's enthusiasm about her weapons and training kind of got Manco pumped up, and a familiar grin spread across his face. It was only slightly less broad than the one he wore when he was in an intense fight. Manco already knew Clover would be a fun roommate. Finally, someone who he could enjoy as a sparring partner. He'd felt like he had to go out and pick fights to have any fun at all last year. Maybe that was why he was now repeating. His roommate was unable to quench his thirst for battle, so Manco looked to quench it elsewhere.

"How well can I spar?" Manco parroted back to Clover. He simply laughed, a loud, wild, jovial laugh. A fire ignited in his eyes. "I can fight well, I'm not sure about 'sparring' though. I might want to get a wooden sword so I don't wreck this room like I did mine last year." His room from last year was about the only amount of damage that didn't add towards the fact that he was now repeating. The rooms could essentially be repaired, removed, or ripped to shreds by the Headmaster as he saw fit. "Or you could let me try one of your staffs, I guess. I understand if you wouldn't want me too. You take good care of your weapons and I tend to be rough on them."

Nonetheless, Manco stood up and walked to one side of the living room, though it was a practice room now. It was a great idea. The room between them had everything needed for entertainment. More chairs could be brought in for guests, why not do something productive with the living room like turn it into a training room. Manco would have to keep the idea in mind next year.

[Rikka]

Clover finished picking up her cleaning supplies and set it on the couch where it quickly became more seating for the watching mice. Hearing him parrot back her question she looked over at him as he laughed loudly with wild joy. A grin jumped to her own lips as she noted the fire in his eyes. Oh yes. She was going to have fun with this roommate. Wonder how he felt about being ambushed. Yes definitely needed to have that happen. Listening to him she moved to her rack and debated on which weapon to use. Deciding on just her normal staffs she picked one up and gave it a twirl. Yes. This one would do.

As he tried to figure out what weapon to work with she chuckled as he asked to use one of her staffs. "Well you can if you like." She moved out of the way and allowed him to look at her staffs. He probably didn't know about Pia Lamnia though. It synced up with the user and was light but hit heavily for the user while if anyone but the owner picked it up it became rather heavy and hard to handle. Keeping quiet she placed one end of the staff on the floor and leaned against her staff as she waited for him to choose one.

[Sabata]

Manco nodded and looked over the staves, picking one up that looked a bit newer. It looked solid, and appeared to have been carved from a slightly reddish hardwood. Maybe red oak, maybe some other tree native to Clover's home nation. Either way, it looked the best of what appeared to be the basic staves with no add-ons. He gave it a few spins. He didn't entirely like the weight, and he wasn't used to staff fighting, so it wasn't a great choice, but it would have to do for the moment. He did get one idea. Instead of holding the staff like a staff, he brought his hands down to the end and held the staff like a very long, straight, sword. He stood at the ready, holding the staff up at a 45 degree angle with his arms fully extended downward. This would be interesting practice, he didn't think that he had ever tried training with a sword that was this long before. Hopefully, it would be good practice about it.

"I'm ready when you are." Manco said. It would be better if Clover started, for no other reason than he wanted to see if he could get an upper hand, if it would effect any advantage that Clover might have on him. Fighting at a disadvantage or with an advantage could be very, very fun. He had a feeling Clover may have seen him fight before, but Manco didn't remember having seen anything of Clover's fighting style. He at least needed a small look at it before he did anything particularly rash and accidentally give Clover the upper hand. If Clover refused to go first though, Manco would initiate, if for no other reason than to get things rolling. Nothing was worse than standing around, anticipating a fight and doing absolutely nothing about it.

[Rikka]

Clover watched him as he looked over her Staves and picked up a new one. She had that one imported last year from pandora. Pandora had the most amazing colors concerning the wood. A chuckle came from her as he decided to try and use it like a sword. He was going to be interesting indeed. As he stood at the ready she took a spot opposite him with plenty of room to move. She smiled before becoming rather serious as the right side of her body slid back a bit putting her at angle.

She knew he was waiting for her to strike first so she did. At a rather quick speed she darted her staff forward into a jab meant for his stomach. At the last moment she curved her staff to the right and down trying to sweep his feet out from underneath him. Quickly she jumped backward a bit before darting in with her staff toward the butt of the staff in his hands trying to disarm him.