Dawning of a New Age

[[red].Raven]

It was early morning at Twilight Moon Academy, and it would seem that one of the students had beaten the sun. A lone figure was seated on the edge of the school's rooftop, legs dangling limply over open air; it was a long way to the ground. A girl with shoulder-length auburn hair stared intently toward the horizon with strikingly deep, oceanic blue eyes. She was slender, skin very fair but also healthy with color. She wore a simple dark, solid grey tank top with sandy capris and no shoes to speak of; a delicate silver chain twinkled around her neck, the charm hidden behind her shirt. Her expression was strange. One may almost describe it as empty, but there was a hint of something behind the vacancy. Something troubled, but hopeful; distressed, though filled with content. A light sigh escaped her just as a cool morning breeze brushed past her. The sun would reveal itself soon.

In Daylights, In Sunsets

In Midnights, In Cups Of Coffee

Had she really been here that long? The memory of first arriving at Twilight Moon Academy felt so very distant, but still so very clear; as far away as the rising sun, but just as vivid as its blazing light. It was brilliant, watching warm, golden rays creep their way across distant land, and then over distinguishable school grounds. .

In Inches, In Miles

In Laughter...

As memories of her time at the Academy came rushing into her mind, a faint smile graced her lips. And it was with these memories, and those of the current time, that the sunlight seemed to illuminate a single crystal tear inching down her cheek.

...In Strife

It was Rei's birthday today.




((Alright, I'm going to request that only those who are more than just acquaintances with Rei (Rhyme, Estrik, Damon, etc...) are to join me. Please and thank you :] ))

[Creator]

A faint breeze drifted by, carrying an invisible cloud stretched through the air a safe distance above the building. Damon was floating lazily, using the excuse of "getting used to staying in smoke form for extended periods of time." He knew Rei was sitting on the roof below, but wasn't sure if he should drop in on her or not; she seemed pretty engaged in staring at the horizon. As he slowly passed her by, his conscience told him that he was heading down a lonely path of isolated training and anti-socialism, and that was probably bad. So he turned against the breeze and drifted down, gradually becoming a visible purple cloud. As it touched the roof, it hissed and began to blow away, leaving Damon standing there behind her.

"Ever hear about the photographer who went completely insane trying to get a close-up shot of the horizon?" He stepped forward, hands in his pockets, and sat down nearby. "How's it been? Any problems from Sergeant Fluffy?" Sometime between his appearance and his sitting down, Berstunic had gotten onto his shoulder from whatever shadow he'd been hiding in. "Why're you up so early, anyway?"

[demonfire]

The light 'thuds' of footsteps began a crescendo that led up to the door leading out to the Hideaway. Estrik had gotten used to memorizing the number of stairs after small awkward falls and bruises; but, like all good trial and error processes, he got back up and kept going. The blindfolded teen held his hands behind his back as if he were holding a present for Rei (which indeed he was).

His tragic flaw had shown itself once again. He had been in Rei's head before and had picked up random pieces of information, one of which was her birthday (and another was her shoe size, go figure). How he knew Rei was up here you may ask? Well, a magician never reveals his secrets, at least not all of them.

The constant blue markings of Rei and Damon were all he could see. Had Estrik seen the sunrise, he would have marveled at it, partly because he had never seen one before, and partly because he had realized somethings in solitude.

"Let me be the first to officially give you a 'Happy Birthday', Rei," Estrik said as he reached her and handed her the prize he had kept hidden from the world. It was a single flower with a plastic bag filled with water tied on the end to keep it healthy. It seemed as if it hadn't been touched with human hands. The flower petals glistened a gold-red hue as the sunlight struck it and the rest of the flower. "All I could get," Estrik said as he pulled out the pockets of the jeans he wore and shrugged, "Broke." Nevertheless, his smile was warming and joking.

[[red].Raven]

The arrival of Damon did nothing to drastically alter Rei's mental state. She wasn't surprised, or happy, or scared, or anything at all really. There was only that single tell-tale smile and tear that would have given anything away, both of which remained in place. The girl blinked slowly, clearing her vision enough so that she may look at Damon. Her smile reflexively became just a tad more convincing, if only because she didn't want people asking questions. Shrugging lightly, she answered him with a distant voice. "I don't need to sleep as often as you do, so I was already up." Feeling her one tear's companion on its way, Rei looked back to the blazing sun. "And no, I haven't heard that joke before." Swinging her legs gently in some sort of subconscious fidget, the girl was silent momentarily before speaking once again, looking back at Damon rather abruptly. "How did-"

Before she could finish, Estrik made his appearance, and Rei's 'I'm-smiling-so-no-one-asks' smile returned. She nearly winced in actual pain when her birthday was mentioned. When presented with the brilliant flower, Rei took it delicately and held it up as though comparing it with the actual sunrise; she now had her very own personal sun. The gift announced the arrival of a second tear. Arching her back as best she could to turn around, Rei looped one arm around Estrik's shoulders and pulled him into a gentle hug. "Thank you, Estrik, it's beautiful." Sighing softly, she released him and began to delicately trace the edges of her flower's petals, almost like she was making a point of occupying herself.

[demonfire]

"What's pullin' you down?" Estrik asked when she had released him. "Or, at least, I hope those are tears of joy. It's not everyday you get to see a face as good as mine," Estrik said in a mocking fashion of his own features, even going to the extent of putting his hand behind his head in a supermodel way. The question remained, however, how did he know about the tear? He wasn't in anyone's head at the moment, and his dragon wasn't present to provide him with any true vision. His left arm noticeably twitched at being immobile for such a 'long' period of time. "And plus, you seemed bummed and bored. If this was any day but your birthday, I'd probably already be up in your head poking around," he said with a smile.