Chapter Text
It'd be a lie to say this was her first time waking up to complete darkness. It would also be a lie to say that this was the first time something was chasing her to set her on fire. However, Elyune was, begrudgingly, a relatively capable half-blood. Sort of.
She says 'sort of' because if she were a capable half-blood, she should have seen this coming. The half-blood life was never nice, or predictable. But she'd at least think that getting trampled by horses in the streets of New York to be quite ridiculous, which led her to her current dilemma. Crouching on the top of bookshelves in a magical library, spying a small monster running around and trying to flame her. Elyune positioned herself above the monster, ready to strike her knife into it's neck, when a long rope lashed onto it.
"Fngyah! That hurts! What's with this rope?" it screamed.
And it spoke Japanese, for some reason. Elyune had to thank Kokichi-sensei for teaching her. He was the only teacher that had yet to actively try and kill her in school yet.
"Consider it tough love." the man holding the rope replied. "Now, tell me. Where is this troublesome master of yours?"
A half-mask resembling a raven's beak concealed his face and only revealed two eerie golden orbs. His ears were pointy and he had the nicest wavy hair she'd seen in a long while. The crow man wore a greatcoat over his suit that had thick black feathers curl out from its blue-collar, while the tips of the coat are cut in a way that resembled two bird wings. He wore black gloves on either hand, with golden claw rings over each of his fingers that she was sure could stab someone's eyes out. And he had many, many mirror themed accessories.
She quietly made her way across the shelves while the other two occupants were still arguing, jumping down and dashing out as quickly as she could. The door was left open at her behest but thankfully, it hadn't made much noise. Elyune silently thanked the Gods, perhaps her abysmal half-blood luck was turning better as compensation for the earlier unlucky events. She had no doubt that the man would notice soon, he was searching for someone and knowing her luck, it was her.
'Dear dad,' she prayed while running. 'If you're hearing this, please let me get out of this weird cult place.'
Her path had remained unobstructed so far, which was great. Until she, quite literally, ran into a tiny person. "Oof! Sorry bout' that." she squeaked.
She screamed internally when she caught sight of him, a short boy with deep red eyes that resembles a cat wearing the same expensive clothing as her who could very well pass as a member of Cabin 10 with his clear skin and pretty face.
"Oya? I've never seen you before." he murmured, his voice absurdly deep for someone with a baby face. "A new first-year, then. What are you doing outside of the ceremony?"
"Uh," Elyune gulped and forced a smile. "I, uh, I was looking for the toilet..."
She let out a nervous laugh, mentally slapping herself at the horrifyingly stupid lie. By the Gods, she could hear Travis and Connor laughing at her miserable attempt at trickery in her head. Elyune, herself wanted to bury her head into the ground and never see daylight ever again.
"Oh, is that so?" the boy gasped. "Would you like some help? Night Raven is rather large and it would do no good for you to get lost."
Maybe her dad heard her prayers, maybe the boy was too trusting, maybe it was a misunderstanding. Despite this, she gratefully thanked the gods for this boon as she stared at the smiling boy, who had fangs for some reason. She quietly followed the boy as he led her to the bathroom. She gave the boy a grateful nod and ran into the innermost bathroom, nearly squealing as she saw the ventilation window. It would be a tight fit, but she could make it work. Elyune placed the toilet seat down and got to work, pushing up the ventilation window and crawling her way out.
"Ah, Vanrouge-kun," the voice of the crow man greeted and she nearly lost her footing. "You wouldn't have happened to see a wayward student, did you? There is a new one missing from the ceremony again. And we haven't even opened their gate yet. Sevens, they're always so troublesome."
"Ah, Headmaster Crowley." the deep voiced boy greeted back. "I was helping a lost student find the bathroom. Perhaps they are the one you've been looking for."
Elyune carefully placed her feet in the crevices on the walls, thankful for the weirdly gothic structure the place had. She looked down below, her dark eyes narrowed as she counted the floors. She was somewhere on the second floor, about 15 feet off solid ground. Chewing her lip she slowly shifted her position, holding herself up with only one hand and leg as she turned her body. The frantic knocking on the bathroom door cut through her thoughts and she immediately jumped off towards a tree.
Her body slammed into the foliage the same time her foot got stuck on a branch. Horrible decision, now that she thought about it. The force of her jump and her unmoving foot left her hanging from the branch of the tree, a small grunt leaving her mouth as the beads on her necklace hit her teeth while her hands frantically caught her glasses before it fell and broke again. She flailed around for a couple moments, trying and failing to adjust back her new robes as it fell on her face, before a cough made her freeze.
"What in the name of the Sevens is going on here?" a stern voice asked, the end of the question punctuated by a loud meow. Elyune quickly held up her glasses to her eyes, the blurry figure transforming into a HD version in her eyes. A tall elderly man with grey eyes and impeccably combed hair stood before her in a black suit with long maroon robes, a brilliant and expensive-looking turquoise brooch sat below his neck. Elyune, on the other hand, could only focus on the fluffy feline in his arms.
"Cat," she said, very intelligently.
The black and white furred feline meowed at her. And Elyune, ever intelligent, meowed back. The elderly man simply stared as the back and forth meowing continued with a raised eyebrow.
"Neither Lucius nor I seem to recognize you." the man said, making them pause in their back and forth meowing. "That means you're a new student, then."
"Uhhh....." she laughed and waved her hand. "Nope! Absolutely not! I'm just passing by. From... From occult activities. Hahaha... "
Oh Gods, she thought as she trailed off. Elyune wanted to cry and scream and cry some more. She knew she was lying. The elderly man knew she was lying. Gods, even the cat was giving her a look that said it knew she was lying.
She was starting to get light-headed from all the blood rushing to her head. Yes, that was totally the reason she fumbled her excuses.
The elderly man, who she still doesn't know the name of, pulls out a bejeweled pen and flips her upright with a flick of it. Which, what?
"So, uhh, who are you?" she asked while trying to straighten the robes. Trying, because how on Earth do you wear these God's dammed things?
"I am Mozus Trein. I mainly teach the school's social studies curriculum. This is Lucius, my familiar." he sighed and with another flick of the pen, straightened out her clothing.
"Oh," she pushed her glasses up. "Er, nice to meet you, Mr Trein."
She gave the man an awkward wave and an equally tense smile.
"I believe you have a ceremony to attend to then. Do ensure that you refrain from indulging in such frivolities in the future." Mr Trein sighed and gestured vaguely. "Off you go now. I have some things I need to tend to."
He turned and walked away from her. Elyune adjusted her necklace and immediately bolted towards the opposite direction. Her encounters were relatively lucky today, no one catching her yet in this creepy place.
She should've known. She should have known she'd get caught the moment she thought of that. She's been in this half-blood gig for too long to not know how likely bad things happen. Because just as she thought she'd escape, the pretty, deep voiced vampire boy appeared out of nowhere.
"My, so this is where you went, little one." he giggled while upside down. The little vampire twink was floating upside down in front of her. "The Headmaster has been running all over searching for you, you know."
The sound of someone cracking a whip reached her ears and Elyune jumped to the side. The whip missing her completely, until it swerved and wrapped itself around her.
"Of all the students I've dealt with, you're the first with temerity enough to open their own gate and step out of it. Much less run off to explore Night Raven on your own. Does the very notion of patience elude you?" the voice spoke from behind her. The same man who captured the monster from earlier now held her captive.
"Ugh, damn it." she pursed her lips. Clarisse was right, she should've just stabbed first and asked later. It would have saved her a whole load of trouble had she just started with stabbing the two, obviously not human creatures surrounding her. Gods above, she wanted her knife or something.
"No matter." the man pulled his whip with a click of his tongue, annoyed probably. "Your orientation has already begun. Let us return to the Mirror Chamber."
Elyune let the man drag her, along with the monster from earlier, down the path to wherever the ceremony was taking place. The flaming blue monster was still struggling beside her. The boy from earlier, Vanrouge, trailed beside the man.
"So, like," her voice cutting through the silence. "Who are you guys? Pretty sure I've never seen you two before. Did Linda get stuck down there or something? Is that why I got to deal with you two instead?"
The two of them, tall crow guy and little vampire twink, both stopped to stare at her.
"Well, now this is new." Vampire twink says.
"Have you not fully regained consciousness?" crow guy asks. "The timespace teleportation must have addled your memories... Well, these things happen, I suppose. We shall explain it to you as we walk then, Vanrouge-kun?"
"This is Night Raven College, a place for students all over the world who demonstrate a rare aptitude for magic." said the vampire twink. "I am Lilia Vanrouge, the Vice Dorm Leader of Diasomnia, one of the seven dorms in this school."
"Indeed. Night Raven College is the most prestigious academy of its sort in all of Twisted Wonderland. And I am Dire Crowley. Having been entrusted with its care by the chairman, I am the headmaster." crow man said.
"Only those who the Dark Mirror perceives as having a talent for magic are admitted to the college. Those who are selected are summoned to the campus through those 'gates', which can appear anywhere."
"A black carriage bearing one such gate should have come to meet you." Lilia said.
Elyune tilted her head slightly and while she remembered horses, she also knew monsters were after her, so she simply shook her head at Lilia's questioning look. It could've been a stayr or pegasi for all she knew. An action that received a look of bafflement from the boy.
"That black carriage serves to receive a student chosen by the Dark Mirror. It too bears a gate that connects to this campus." crow man, however, didn't notice that. "And as you know, sending a carriage to meet someone on a special day is a time-honored tradition."
"No. No, I didn't know that." she deadpanned. "This is a kidnapping. I was kidnapped."
Lilia held his smile, and was starting to look more and more unsure as they spoke, scrunched eyebrows and all. His eyes kept sliding to Crowley questioningly, unsure if Crowley was the madman or she was. A perfectly valid reaction, she must say.
Elyune would rather deal with a new Godly pantheon than deal with whatever Crowley was spouting. Now, she couldn't even be sure if they were mortal or monsters.
"I most certainly did not!" Crowley screamed as he slammed large double doors open, revealing a dark room full of hooded people. "If you must know, I was searching for the new student who'd failed to show for orientation." he huffed. The whip around her loosened and she immediately scooted away from him, glancing around.
"You are the only one who has yet to be assigned a dorm." Crowley turned her. "Step up to the Dark Mirror, and be quick about it. I'll watch your tanuki."
Said tanuki growled and struggled in it's confines, thrashing and flailing. Elyune carefully made her way to the mirror and a theatrical mask engulfed in green flames appeared. A mask in a mirror that looked like it crawled, or rolled since it's a mirror, out of Snow White.
"State your name," it commanded.
“You…” she felt her voice crack, unconsciously slipping back to her native language. ‘You talk??’ she internally shrieked.
“Yuu…” the mirror said.
Right, name. The thing wanted her name. Was she going to give it? No, definitely not. Names had power. Mr. D beat that into every camper's skull really early on during all their stays in Camp. And, did it just say Yuu? Did the mirror take what she said as her name?
“The nature of your soul…”
Wow, it really did. This is fine, she thought even thought it hardly was. It wasn't a lie, but also not a truth. Eye contact, hands steady and even breathing. Deceit coming to her as easily as breathing. It was their fault they made assumptions.
"... is unclear to me."
"What?" Crowley gasped. Murmurs started getting louder and the newly named Yuu suddenly realised that there were a lot more people in the room.
"I sense no magical power from this one." the Mirror continued. "Soundless. Colourless. Shapeless. Obscured. I cannot discern the shape of this soul."
Obscured. The Mist was still protecting her, she realised, which meant they were mortals. Mortals who could wield magic separately from the power of Gods, but still mortals. Which meant her Celestial Bronze was immediately out of the question. Gods, damn it all.
"Therefore, no dorm would be appropriate."
"That's absurd! Are you suggesting that the black carriage went to receive a person who cannot even use magic? The student selection process has not erred once in its century of existence! How could this have happened?" Crowley gasped.
"I feel the need to add that I've never agreed to coming here." Elyune deadpanned towards the frantic, possibly only adult in the room. "No consent given. Send me back."
"ME! Let ME have this student's seat!" the tanuki monster squealed, somehow escaping the whip's hold.
"Everyone, get down!" one of the hooded people shouted.
"Someone catch that blasted tanuki!" Crowley screamed as chaos broke out. Bright blue flames engulfed the dark room, setting furniture and people on fire. Said tanuki was running around and burning things. Some of the people in the room were interestingly calm for someone trapped in a blazing, collapsing room. She even spotted two who were arguing, one with tanned skin and the other who was physically sparkling.
"I'm sorry, were my instructions unclear?!" Crowley screamed again. The tanned one looked as it he were bored and pretty boy flat out ignored them. She grabbed onto the man's sleeve and pointed to the rampaging monster.
"If I get that thing, you gonna send me home?" she asked, head tilted and with an air of faux nonchalance. Faux because the whole room was on fire and no one thought to pull out a fire extinguisher or something. A very obvious lack of critical thinking skills here.
"YOU! You're the one who broke the rules and brought your familiar here. You should take responsibility and curtail it's behaviour immediately."
"That thing ain't mine, you dumb crow!" she snapped. "I've never seen it before in my life. Now, do you want it dead or what? Sheesh, you're the most incompetent kidnapper I've met."
The few select individuals that remained in the room snorted when Crowley sputtered. The tanned guy was so obviously enjoying the chaos, the pretty one let out some snickers while a floating tablet made a weird giggling sound. Elyune squinted at the one who snorted. Lion ears were on his head.
Lion, Panthera Leo, was a large cat; ergo, she was looking at a cat boy. 'Wonder what I'd be like if I can pet him,' she thought blithely. 'Then again, that's probably rude.'
"Now, wanting it dead for this would be an overstatement," he composed himself. "I'd like you to capture it, preferably alive."
"You gonna get me home if I do?"
"Yes, yes! Now please capture the thing before the entire Mirror Chamber is reduced to ash." Crowley wailed.
She turned to the arsonistic ball of fur that was being chased by a hooded red haired boy and the one with silver hair. They had some sort of standstill and Elyune took that moment to chuck the closest thing to her at it, a fallen lamp. The lamp flew in a beautiful arc, it's metal side slamming the monster squarely in the head.
Crowley screamed as the creature and the lamp slammed into the wall, the lamp shattering and the monster falling on the ground unconscious. One of the hooded boys let out a whistle while the silver haired one clapped politely as he surveyed the damage. Now that she thought about it, they were all boys. Pretty, yes, but boys nevertheless.
"There, got the damn thing." she shrugged. "Wasn't so hard."
The silence that followed was near comedic.