The rules of the school were pretty simple. Stay to your group, don't fight outside of it unless training exercises require it. When you fight in your group, nothing more than a split lip, bruises, and maybe a busted nose would be allowed. It was also frowned upon to fight in your group as they would potentially be your strongest allies if war ever came. Frowned upon didn't mean completely banned. 

Of course, they had to stick to their schedule and go to their regular classes. If they were sick one of their group mates would tell the teacher and they would be excused and maybe checked up on by a healer, depending on the severity. Respect the teachers, don't cause chaos, no burning libraries, and no cussing. 

Easy enough.

A bit more was explained about the school as well. Instead of changing dorms at the end of the year, the dorms themselves would move. The first year dorms would move to the position of second year. Second would go to third, third to fourth, fourth to fifth. The fifth year dorm would move to first.

The complicated spells used to create the layout and change would not be explained. Nor should any replicas be attempted.

Their powers would be strengthened in intense sessions with their teachers. As such, their calorie intake would be monitored closely to avoid unnecessary weight gain as well as malnourishment. If the students appeared to be gaining too much weight and could not train because of it, their kitchen rights would taken. If they lost too much weight or weren't gaining enough (for the ones who didn't have enough to eat before they came), they would have all meals in the mess hall. If their group chose not to before that.

It was added that with the amount of grueling training they would do with magic and to hone their physical fitness, it would be nearly impossible to eat too much. 

Every one of the thirty-two students sat, staring with apt attention at the headmaster as he spoke.

He was a man who demanded attention from all in his presence. From his blood red and black robes that brushed the floor to his long, dark hair and his black eyes to his pointed ears that suggested recent ancestors who were not entirely human. Danique hadn't heard of that bit. She wondered what other species' blood was in his veins. 

She glanced to Luca for a reason she couldn't explain and saw him staring at her. He didn't look away when their eyes met. Danique turned her attention back to the headmaster.

Headmaster Flinte. 

One of the most powerful magic weilders in recent history. 

That title was easily and quickly being taken up by Zaria.

Danique still held firm to her vow never to use the full force of her magic. Or anything close to it. No matter how much the sun on her back during the long summer days seemed to beg her to unleash her hell full force on this world and the horrors it held.

She would be the beauty and her twin the monster. Or so Zaria said. Danique didn't like the title of monster for her sister, but the brutality she could muster towards the slightest inconvenience did seem to point to it being fitting. 

The raven-haired girl also wasn't sure what about extensive scarring and tattoos screamed "beautiful!" but whenever she brought that up, Zaria would simply tell her in that calm voice of hers that the analogy didn't have to be perfect.

Headmaster Flinte left the room once he'd explained the rules and the teachers walked to their group's assigned tables. Their schedule was written on a piece of parchment. They'd spend the first week determining skill level in each course they were to take. No one was expected to be too high. Reading, writing, arithmetic, none of it was a skill they were likely to learn unless they came to a school like this one. Some couldn't even write their names.

Four days of courses and training and then a day to train only. The next two days would have training but it wouldn't be as extensive. Those were their days of mostly rest, if they chose for them to be.

That would be their basic schedule for five straight years. 

No trips home. 

Not that the twins minded that.

At the start of third year, when they should definitely be done maturing physically, they would have armor made specifically for them. In the mean time, their training clothes would be made after measurements were taken the next day out of hardened leather. 

"That will take a few months. You'll have to be patient and careful without the protection it will give you," Mrs. Sword instructed, "You are dismissed. Take the rest of the time before lights out to get to know each other better."

That was another thing. They had a "lights out" but it was not in any way enforced. As long as they stayed in their dorms.

The group left quietly. Hoku and Callum had already become friends and were muttering amongst themselves in the front of the group. Aurora trailed to the back, seeming to understand the discomfort the others felt when she was near. Danique slowed until Aurora caught up with her, and then kept pace. She didn't say anything as she looked the blonde girl over.

"Do you need something?" Aurora asked after a moment. No annoyance laced the words. There was barely any curiosity.

"Can you control when you look through memories?" Danique hadn't meant to ask that. She hadn't meant to ask anything. 

Aurora nodded, "Usually. I've done it on accident before but then I wanted to, I just wasn't aware."

Danique nodded back, but didn't respond. She didn't sidle out of reaching distance of the girl either. Something gave Dani the sense that Aurora wasn't too fond of her power. And that was something she understood completely.

"Anything else?" Aurora inquired when Danique stayed silent.

"No. That was all."

Aurora gave Danique a look but didn't say anything else as they traversed the bridge to their dorm. She left the gathering room the rest of the group was, giving the explanation of going to wash off when she was asked where she was going. 

Her clothes were starting to bother her. Most of her wardrobe irritated her scars. She wondered if that would be worked around for their training leathers. Hopefully. 

In the bathroom, she stripped off her outer clothes, leaving her undergarments, and rubbed the area on her calf and  that had been burned the worst. A lot of muscle and flesh was still missing from the area. Her tighter pants made from a smoother fabric did a poor job of hiding the missing tissue, so she had worn the more uncomfortable pair that was loser at the bottom for the meetings. 

Danique wiped the sweat and whatever grime had gathered from the week on the road with a cloth before she put on the form fitting clothes. She guessed they'd have to learn about the weakness it gave her sooner or later. And who would be checking out her legs? No one. That should be the answer.

She pulled her hair up before she went back in the room the others were gathered in, padding nearly silently on bare feet.

"You do look more comfortable in that," Hoku grinned at the half-done hair, the smile fading slightly as, on the way down to look at her bare feet, he caught the disfigured shape of her leg. When he met her eyes again, one earthy brown and the other watery blue, it was back full force.

"Ok..." Sora began, "I know it's rude and all to ask about scars if the person doesn't volunteer to tell you what happened, but generally the scars aren't that extensive. You met us today, but I'm curious and kind of concerned about it."

Danique shrugged and sat down at the empty chair to the right of her twin, "Mentally ill teacher."

"That's it?" Aurora asked so quietly it was barely a murmur, "No explanation beyond that?"

"I don't think we push it," Alannah said. 

She still didn't seemed to be bothered by anything. While the eyes of most of the group had darkened at the prospect of a teacher doing that to what must have been a really young child, Alannah's didn't. It seemed like she was floating on a cloud, completely independent of the rest of the world.

"Why not?" Callum demanded. He'd noticed it to.

"Well, like Sora said, it's disrespectful to ask about scars. Danique can tell us when she wants to."

"I get the sense you know. Somehow," Zaria remarked.

Alannah flitted her eyes to the stoic figure sitting at the head of the table. The red- no, now they were pink, orbs didn't quite match the smile she gave. And she didn't reply. 

"Are you keeping something, Alannah?" Aurora ventured.

"Possibly," Alannah smirked.

Everyone at the table stiffened. Clearly, no one liked that prospect.

"As long as you keep things from us, we can keep things from you," Luca said quietly, though Zaria was sure she could see the slightest bit of rage flickering in those calming eyes.

Alannah scoffed inwardly. Sure they could. She stepped out of the way as Aurora lunged for her, but in her attempt to wait until the very last second, Alannah had timed it wrong and the girl brushed her fingers against her arm. That was all she needed.

The visions in her mind narrowed down as the girl's blue eyes began to glow white and she gasped. Oh, the amount of information that would be running through her mind right now. The glowing eyes hadn't been specified in her visions. Not surprising. She hadn't looked for it. Not like she'd looked for information about the twins.

The room seemed to erupt when Aurora collapsed with her hands on her head. A twinge of pity ran through Alannah. She shouldn't have tried for dramatics. Even living with the visions, she had a hard time shutting them out and being able to focus on the world around her. Just when her visions honed in on something.

"Don't touch her until she's turned her powers off. She doesn't need anymore information running through her mind right now," Alannah ordered, stopping Sora before she could grab Aurora's shoulder.

"Why should we listen to you?" Sora growled, pulling out of her grasp. She didn't reach for Aurora again, though.

Alannah looked to the twins, both partially risen out of their chairs. Danique would be putting it together right about-

"Dreamteller!" she exclaimed, begrudging respect and surprise tainted her voice.

Alannah grimaced and nodded. Of course, this was a possible future, she knew that. She'd just been hoping she could keep her secret for a bit longer.

"Surprise," she muttered, looking down and tipping one side of her mouth up in a half-baked attempt at a smile.

"I didn't realize dreamtellers could see such specific futures. And not especially when they were awake," Luca mused.

"Well, they're not supposed to. But, let's be honest, the twins aren't supposed to the number of powers they do either."

Luca tilted his head in acknowledgment, "Fair point."

At this point, Aurora's mind had processed at least most of the information, and she was looking at Alannah with fear in her eyes. 

It wasn't fear of the girl herself, but of the futures, the oh so easy truths she'd seen in her mind.

Alannah gave the once again blue-eyed girl a small, sad smile and shook her head, telling Aurora what she'd already known. 

Don't tell the others.

Aurora nodded and grabbed onto the table to pull herself to her feet. Sora hovered but Aurora waved her off, insisting she was fine.

"Well," Zaria, the more serious and terrifying of the twins started, eyes flashing with mistrust, "Do you mind telling us what you saw?"

Great Spirits, where could she even begin?

Great Spirits indeed, her mind whispered.

Aurora met the dreamteller's eyes again. They shone with just as much warning the second time around.

"Here," Callum said, scooting his chair a bit closer to her, "You look as pale as a ghost."

Indeed, the blood had leaked out of her face. Whether it was because of the battering ram of memories, thoughts, and visions that had slammed into her brain or the contents of them, she wasn't sure.

She took the chair and clutched her shaking hands in her lap, "I don't know if I can put words to everything I saw," Aurora whispered, her throat raw like she'd been screaming, "But what I can, I'll tell you."

Small lies. 

Because she could put words to what she'd seen. And she wouldn't need more than one.

Destruction.