Death's Office

Leaving her office Altessa did a happy dance as she praised herself for the wonderful job she had done with the pairings thus far. She had managed to piss off Mina, the woman wouldn't stay mad at her for long. The moment something else bad happened her attention and anger would be fully focused on that. Mars would make sure that she loosened up a little and she would be the firm side of their pairing. Her cousin had yet to find his weapon but she wasn't worried about that. He was a capable if not neurotic individual. Someone would find a place in their heart for him and she couldn't wait until he recovered from his little "episode" outside her office earlier so that she could watch the insanity unfold.

The other students seemed to be having good times with their partners and she hadn't heard that anyone had killed the other yet. She smiled happily at the memory of Mina yelling outside her office when she had discovered that her name was on the list. She was pleasantly surprised when the woman didn't barge in and demand that she change her mind. Not that she would have but it would have been an amusing scene. Things were going swimmingly and Altess knew that this was going to be one of the best years that DWMA ever had.

@Wendy Judging from the crowds gathering outside of Death's office he guessed that pairings had been announced and considering the multitudes, Wraith came to the conclusion that his name must be somewhere on it. There was no other reason he could see for such excitement, especially from the ladies. It wasn't every day that one lucky person could be paired with one of his skill and reputation. Even by the second week he knew they had heard the rumors about the half-shinigami prince with the face of an angel and that was just about the only reason he would consider for being excited.

At this point his curiosity was getting the better of him and he just needed to know who was picked to be his partner. There was only one problem:all of the people. In order to see this list he would have to go through the mass of unclean and smelly peasants which already had his skin crawling. He did a quick mental check and knew that even he didn't carry around enough hand sanitizer to cover himself in so he would just have to come up with something.

Even with all of his capabilities he could not see a clear path to the list without coming into contact with one of them so he did the only thing he could think of. He lifted his dark hood over his perfectly styled hair, wincing inwardly at the damage it would do to his image but war came with sacrifices. Wraith pulled his sleeves over his hands and held onto the ends before glancing around one last time for bearings. He tugged the strings tight and it closed around his face, his vision going black as he made a bolt for the list. His body collided with those of the other students as he hurtled towards his target but he didn't stop until he was forced too, having knocked himself unconscious when he head came into contact with the solid wall of the office.

@Mars Mina snorted at him. "Stupid idiots the lot of them thinking that they can change me. I didn't create three death scythes by being a sweet little angel after all." Her attitude was part of the reason that she was still alive after all these years and her love of teaching was overshadowed by the will to keep the future generations alive.

Hearing him talk about his soft side made her squeeze his arm again before kissing him softly on the cheek. "I know you're soft love. Some times I think you need to be a little bit harder on people then you are." She teasingly lifted his arm and squeezed his bicep. "And what do you mean muscles? You're all skin and bones!"

@Mina "Yeah well I think you and I both know that I don't have the fear of God in me, at least not from you." he reminded her and laughed at the mental image that she provoked. "I can see you doing that. Your therapist probably can too." Mars didn't really think she had a therapist or anything like that because if anyone had tried to send her to one she probably would have set them on fire with her eyes. Although she hadn't done it yet, at least in his presence, he sincerely thought that her looks could kill.

As they walked back to the dorms he smiled and shook his head at her. "You should also know by now that I am soft and I just pretend to be otherwise." he commented softly. It was meant as a joke but there was more truth to that statement then he would ever dare admit to. "Besides, if that happens I can just show off my muscles."

@Mars The kiss made her blush slightly. "I always care just some times in a more quiet way then others. Apparently after last year and putting the fear of God into some of my students the faculty decided that it was a good idea to send me to anger management. But you know what they say, when life gives you lemons beat your therapist over the head with them."

Squeezing his arm she started leading him back towards the dorms. "You know...if you keep doing these sweet things for me people will start to think that you've gone soft."

@Mina Mina had been one of his oldest friends so he knew better than to really take her seriously. She was there when he lost his meister and had even come to visit him when they had found what was left of him after the battle with the witch while he recovered. Not many had done that and many more so blamed him, or worse, blamed Pearl for the tragedy. It was something he still couldn't put into words. Anger, sadness, and shame never seemed adequate enough.

The warmth of her hand in his made him smile and he lifted it to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on her milky white skin. "As you wish." he replied with a slight smirk and turned, moving her hand to the crook of his bent arm as he intended to her to the dorms. "Besides, I think you have thrown your fair share of objects my way. It's been a while and I was beginning to think you didn't care anymore."

@Mars "Fun...not exactly the word that I would use for it but it'll be something alright." Mars had been through a lot and she could see that the loss still hung heavily on his shoulders. His upbeat attitude hid it well but it was there none the less. His flirting remark made her smirk and his threat brought one of her own to her lips. "You just try it. we'll see how far it gets you."

She glanced from the things for her room, to him and back before throwing caution to the wind. Taking his hand in her empty one she smiled. "Well of course you may, but I warn you good sir that the flipping will be loud and several things may also be thrown in the process and I'd advise you to keep your distance."

@Mina "Darn right you are not protesting me." he joked as he turned to his comrade and shook his head. "I can tell this year is going to be bonkers but that is part of the fun, right?" At least that is what he told himself but deep down he had a feeling it would end up being far more dramatic than that. The darkness he still carried sort of tinged everything, even the lighter moments, with a sort of bittersweet sadness.

Still, he tried to keep the mood light by winking at Mina. "You know if you keep flirting with me like that I might have to call your bluff one of these days." he chuckled as he turned to her and bowed, offering her his hand. "My lady, shall I you to the dorms where you can proceed to flip ?"

@Mina The motion in front of her face made her pout but she continued to look at the two teachers in awe. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair. Some people had all the luck. Not that she was disappointed in her partner but rather she really just wanted to be with Mars, even if she knew that it would never happen in a million years. Such a fate was a hard thing for the younger woman to swallow and she simply sighed as she gave up that dream.

With Styx's arm around her she felt some comfort and nodded slowly as he escorted her away from the board. Her bare feet scuffed along the floor but she decided not to let it get her down. Nyx had him anyway and that was enough. "Well, since it is your treat I guess I should let you choose what we are eating." she replied and offered him the best smile she could muster.

@Mars Turning questioning eyes to him she shrugged. "You realize, Mars dear, that it was not to my partner that I was protesting but to the fact that my name is on the frickin list to begin with." She caught sight of the few students who were still around and several more approaching that hadn't caught her little outburst. "But you are correct that there is no reason to frighten the young ones anymore then they already are on their first day."

Causing a scene like this in the hallway wasn't her style anyway. With a flip of her hair she placed a smile back on her face. "This year is already promising to be VERY interesting. How about we let this play out and see what becomes of it hm?"

@Styx Oblivious to the looks of the students all he could do was stare at Mina. Not that his reaction was much different, just a bit more subdued. Then he got slightly offended and stuck his hands in his pockets as he tried to figure out how to deal with his tempestuous new partner.

"Mina, darling, your frightening the children." he cooed to her softly, swallowing his own pride for the moment. "You know I am not any more thrilled about this than you are. Maybe we can talk to Lord Death and get out of this. Or just wait until the time is up and not kill everyone."

@Nyx Inside Styx was doing his version of the happy dance. It started off with the worm, then moved on to something that an octopus might do moving straight into a jumping twirl as if he were a dolphin breaching the surface...until he saw the way that his partner was staring at one of the teachers who was looking at the board. He didn't like the way that she was looking at him. At the approach of another teacher, who's shout of dismay had the faint of heart fleeing from her wrath, the look of his meister turned to something he couldn't give words. It was time for an exit strategy.

He waved a hand in front of her face trying to draw her attention. When that wasn't giving him the results that he wanted he looped an arm around her shoulder and flashed the teachers a brilliant smile. "Sounds as if you two have a lot on your plates right now. I think my new meister and I shall get out of your hair and have a celebratory lunch on me."

@Mina Guessing by Styx's expression he was at the very least not disappointed in their pairing and that gave her a small glimmer of hope. If they could work well together she would turn him into a death scythe in no time and she would be one step closer to being like her idol: the teacher Mina. Of course Styx wasn't her first choice but she didn't see any point in telling him that. Her ideal weapon was someone a bit older and more experienced...that was when it hit her.

Before she replied to him her eyes went wide and she went to look for his name. Scanning the list quickly she found it and inside she couldn't help but to be a little disappointed that he wasn't with her. However when she saw his partner it wrenched her emotions, becoming similar to a swirling ache of jealousy and respect. There was nothing she could do but sigh and judging by his comment behind her he was having a similar feeling.

Nyx turned and glanced almost wistfully at Mars, biting her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to come up with something to say. Nothing reached her emotionally addled brain that just got more distressed as she saw her idol make her way over to the list. Mina's displeasure made many of the other student's uncomfortable but Nyx just wanted to shake her and tell her how lucky she was to have such a capable partner. It wasn't her place though and instead all she could do was hang her head as she took a step back to let them have their space.

@Mars On her way back to her classroom with an armful of decorations for the new year Mina was fighting her way through the herd of students who were hovering over the list of their pairings. She smiled remembering her first year of school when she had fought to be the first meister to the list in hopes of seeing a cute boys name there. Things hadn't worked out so well for her that first year although she had became good friends with the cute little blond girl that she had been paired with. The list was of no consequence to here, of course, because she had always worked solo and had told Death to keep her out of his hair brained schemes. He had mentioned that he would be pairing her up this year and she had just laughed and walked out.

Seeing several of her students around the board she decided to sneak in and see who they had been paired with. Giving them a hard time was always fun when they got partnered up with someone they couldn't stand. Granted they would have a chance to switch their partners but for the first week or two they were stuck with one another. Smiling broadly as her eyes flicked down the list she was unpleasantly surprised to find her name there. Her eyes quickly darted to the name next to hers. "WHAT?!" Her proclamation sent most of the students hustling out of the way.

@Styx Passing by the headmasters office was normally something that went without notice because, by and large, most people tended to avoid the area unless explicitly asked to be there but there seemed to be quite the gathering. At first he didn't know what all the fuss was about but then he remembered that the school year had just started which meant, new pairings. A lot of the time he didn't even pay attention to such things and kept his name out of the hat as it were but this year it was different. He had decided to take a risk and filled out an application but he doubted that he would be paired with anyone. It's not like people were clamoring to be his partner or even his friend so he didn't put much thought into it.

Well, he was passing through anyway so he decided to check. With a sigh he waded through the students, ignoring the elated and sometimes disappointed reactions to get to the page. His keen eyes quickly found his name inwardly he tensed before he glanced over to see his partner. "You've gotta be kidding me." he mumbled and brought his hand up to his face, gently pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. It seemed that things were going to get more interesting that he had originally though.

@Nyx He waited for a moment, ladies first after all before searching the list himself. She didn't seem overly upset with her partner and he prayed that it wasn't one of the dickweeds that he hung out with. Those guys were bad news but he figured if it would have been she probably would have gotten angry and stormed off to find someone to fix it.

His eyes traveled down the list until he got to his name. Directly across from it sat hers. He did a double take just to make sure he was reading it correctly. After his brain confirmed that was right he pressed his face as close to the paper as he could get it. There had to be some kind of mistake. Maybe his eyesight was failing him because there was no way in hell that he could be this lucky. No matter how he looked at it the name didn't change.

Stepping back from the board he smiled at the girl who would be his partner. "It seems that a celebration is in order. After all it isn't every day that two promising individuals such as ourselves get an opportunity to be partners."

@Styx As they headed towards the office she couldn't help but to notice the dramatic increase of the feline presence in the area. It seemed that the strange boy wasn't even joking when he said he was a cat magnet, a trait which she had to admit was downright adorable. Well, at least they didn't follow them all the way into the office or that would have been a little strange.

As she slid off of his back with a soft smile she waved at some of the other students who had apparently already found their pairs before making her way to the list. With her pointer finger she slid down the pages until she found her name and then slid across to see her partner. At first she didn't know if she read it right so she repeated the process but no, it was right. Inside she was thrilled but she wasn't sure how he would take it and just stepped back to let him see for himself. Maybe if he didn't react too harshly she would celebrate.

@Nyx The journey to the office was rather eventful.Cats had appeared seemingly out of nowhere to follow the weapon for a short distance before returning to their business. They had also passed by several other students along the way. Some of the were talking about who they were paired with, others were distracted by a fight that had broken out, and others still were whispering at the sight of them. Styx paid them no mind as he ran the shoe less beauty to go and see what fate the pairings had given them.

Skidding to a halt in front of the list he gently set Nyx on her feet. "We are here milady. Shall we see what the future has in store for us?"