daybreakacademy | Here in the dark, in these final hours, I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power

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Here in the dark, in these final hours, I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power

WHO: Héctor, OTA Catch All
WHERE: Around the school
WHEN: Various times after the 9th and/or the Valentines dance
WHAT: Various opens in the late evening
WARNINGS: Standard spoilers

You can't turn around a bad day, week, month, year, decade... you can't turn any of that without trying first. And so, once the monster's beaten back, his lost arm is returned, and the dance wraps up, so begins his annual rejuvenation. It's his return to the grind, starting every January (late this year but, well, he's doing his best), when he goes back to the drawing board and renews his plans-- only this time, not just for his return home. He's got a few things in mind this year, and isn't that exciting in and of itself?

A - OTA

With his arm back in place and whole again (gone for that week of the 2nd to the 9th and leaving him looking more like a zombie to people than he'd ever let himself before), he can actually get back to repairing the other one who took some hits this past while.

Rather than steal from the shop class, this time Héctor has decided to break in. Which, considering how much they let him use this place for doing repairs around the school, it isn't really breaking in is it? He doesn't think so. And so, upon a work table, in the dead of night, he's lain out a broken guitar. He's got nails and tools, bits of wood and scrap metal, anything he thought he could need for trying to repair the old thing. The guitar's not going to sound good when he's done, but it'll be something.

Despite everything, he's not quite ready to give up on music yet. In fact, he takes to humming a little as he works, breaking into soft song only to quiet again into humming as he hammers and cuts and sands away at the guitar. Until he hears footsteps and abruptly stops, that is.

B - Aube

Not every night can be spent on fixing the guitar. He's still got occasional evening classes to TA for, things to mark, essays to read. On those nights, he settles in the Aube common room, quietly working this time.

Being nocturnal as he is means bad news for any kids sneaking out of the dorm late in the night. "Ah, ah!" He says to any looking a little too ready to go, eyes lifting from his work to them and brows lifting higher. "Did you text Bee for this little excursion?"

C - Aube

Of course, not every child getting up in the night is looking for rowdy adventure. He knows all too well by now that some of these kids have had more adventure than they ever asked or bargained for. Those quiet wanderers, or ones who settle in corners, they're no less apt to get his attention.

He gives them their moment of space and quiet. Just a moment. Then, trying not to scare or disturb them, he walks over, placing a hand to the back of any given chair and tilting his head down at them.

"Hey," He says, soft as he can. "You okay? Can't sleep?"

D - OTA

In the early mornings, for any early risers who seek him (and not one of the smarter or more experienced of adults in this place) he's of course there to tutor those who need it. He may not always know what he's doing with magic but he can work out a lesson and, more than that, he can work with kids.

He draws another example upon paper when he can't simply show it, and he presents it, explaining each piece and part. "Do you understand?" He asks.

Perhaps you're the one he's tutoring. Or, perhaps, you're catching him just as the last kid wanders off and he's gathering up the books and papers, time soon running out with the coming dawn. But he might have time for one more.

E - OTA

He doesn't know the first thing about this, any of this. He keeps telling himself he's not a fighter, but more and more he's coming to realize he might need to be. It's not just about him anymore.

That evening he finds himself in one of the training areas. The bow he takes up is tall and heavy, heavier than a guitar. He's got the dexterity for that and the experiencing of firing... his arm. But it's not the same and he hasn't entirely got the strength built in him for using this thing. He's not sure if he can build the strength or if what he's got is as good as it's going to get. But he can't see himself yet using anything else.

So, there he is in the range, practicing. His shots mostly miss but every now and again he gets somewhere and he's encouraged to go farther. He gives a little laugh of victory and surprise in these moments. Hopefully he's not interrupting anything.

Of course in all his focus, anyone interrupting him is almost certain to make him jump and yelp and send and arrow flying far off target.

F - OTA

At some point before the library's closing for the night, he's managed to surround himself so thoroughly in books that he's built something of a wall around himself. His hand is half tangled in his hair and his brow is knit with concentration, pencil tapping absentmindedly in his other hand as he reads. The books seem to be all about defensive and offensive runes and spells.

"Wait, what?" He straightens up, flipping pages back, and then to his current page, comparing them. "That doesn't make sense, how can you-- what?"

G -[Closed to Orihime]

"Orihime?"

The call comes with a knock. Finally, at long last, he can repay this girl. He's ready at her door, smiling in his newly repaired clothing and holding a bag of tools and materials (nabbed from the shop class as usual).

As the door opens he laughs and say, "Repair service! Is now a good time?"

H - St. Valentine's eve - [Closed to close CR and/or those who ask first]

He's only been here so long, only saved up so much and a lot of it goes towards his hopeful plans. But for this, he can spare a small expense.

The shopkeeper had eyed him curiously, as exhausted and nervous as he'd appeared to be that morning of the thirteenth, pushing the limits of his magic into the day. He knows, in some sense, that he shouldn't. He really, really shouldn't.

But it's the first time in ten years he could do anything and... well, she deserves something. After ten years she deserves so much and a simple carnation or rose just isn't cutting it. Even this doesn't quite but... he can't push more, because even with this, the best gift he could give is his distance.

The note simply reads "for Imelda Rivera" in fancy calligraphic script. He presses the tiny card to his lips then places it back into the bouquet. It's a bright one, colorful, with full, giant blooms. There's soft pinks and bright ones, oranges and reds and blues, greenery, and vivid purples-- her favorite. It'll remind her of home, he's sure.

Off he goes into the night, bringing his delivery to the Lumiere dorms. He just needs to leave it at her door and go. So far so good. He won't get to see her reaction like this, but that's fine. She doesn't need to be happy with him, he just needs her to be happy. That's what he tells himself as he slowly and quietly works his way back, turns the corner-- and freezes, a deer in headlights as the second worst thing that could happen here, does.

I - Other, Make your own

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Yuya offers a thumbs up, steadying himself firmly. "Okay, Odd-Eyes, let's go!"

And Odd-Eyes goes, shifting up on his feet before dashing to the doors. Yuya tightens his grip with alarm.

"--wait, Wait! Don't bust through the doooor!"

They come to a sudden halt right on front of the door, and with a little growl Odd-Eyes reaches with his claws to carefully open the door.

He doesn't expect the sudden jolt forward and he's left scrambling for a tighter grip on the boy. And maybe, not exactly getting it either. He slides back on the dragon, arms going to grapple. He only just hears Yuya crying out in protests and then they're skidding to a halt-- loosening the last of his grip and sending him tumbling down the dragons back. He manages to just barely grasp the dragons tail, keeping him from entirely falling off.

He catches his breath, then slowly climbs back up. "...Are you sure this is safe?"

Yuya looks over his shoulder and reaches to offer Hector a hand back up with a brief laugh. "It's safe, it's safe! Maybe we should run a little slower?"

If only because the lack of a saddle means Hector's grip is a lot more precarious. "Um.. have you ever rode a horse or anything before?"

"A little slower would be good," He agrees, releasing a breath. He accepts the boy's hand back up.

There's a pause. "I... borrowed a horse once." He and Ernesto had wanted to see if they could stand on the horse's back, like surfers.

That had been a bad idea.

"It was a long time ago."

Edited 2019-03-11 07:00 (UTC)

Good enough.

"Well, you can ride kind of like that? Er, there's no reigns but you can hold onto his shoulders if you'd rather sit instead."

Odd-Eyes snorts, and Yuya absently pats his head. "And we'll go slower... you said it's east, right?"

He opens his mouth but ultimately deigns not to explain how he's definitely not going to ride like that. Instead, he'll just get back around the thing's shoulders. He holds on tight.

God, he's too old for this.

"Yup. Straight on east," He says, voice a little high with strain.

More like too dead.

Yuya ushers Odd-Eyes along, and the dragon lumbers at a slower pace--more like a jog than a run. These directions are vague so he's just going straight east unless he has to swerve around a building.

Yuya glances over his shoulder. "I'm Yuya, by the way. I don't think we've really met before?"

That too. He's grateful for the slower pace in light of either.

"Ahah, I'm Héctor. Mucho Gusto, Yuya. We probably haven't met, no. I TA the evening and night classes, so I don't tend to see most students except los vampiros and the ones who don't sleep when they should." The latter being far, far more common. None of these kids seemed to sleep when they should. If he could sleep in the night again no one would ever catch him wasting that.

"No, I don't take any evening classes... but a friend of mine does, if you've ever seen a bear?" He grins cheekily, mostly just expecting a passing familiarity if anything.

"So you're awake at night and sleep during the day or something?"

"Gongenzaka, sí. Good kid." Fussy about rules but still. Nice to hear the guy had so many friends.

"That's right. Back when I lived in the outlands, me and the others, we always tried to travel and keep moving in the night. Night's when everything stirs, you know? Got back to earth obviously but it's hard to break a near decade long habit, even if I miss the sun."

"Well... if you drink enough caffeine, you can stay awake long enough to see it again." Or just sleep on a more normal cycle on the weekend. Yuya believes straight forward that it's just habit preventing it.

"There's a lot more light in the spring. Are you new to the school?"

He laughs. "Not so literal there, muchacho. I see El Sol in the mornings. Possibly evening too with spring. Really looking forward to summer. But trust me, coffee or no, I'm going to look and feel like I'm run over no matter what if I'm staying up."

If only it were as easy as coffee. He's not sure it would be so if it really was just habit.

"I got here the semester before. Newish, I suppose. You?"

"Muchacho," Yuya parrots under his breath, like saying it out will help him decipher the meaning. He assumes it's something like 'young man'? The other words are easier to guess from context.

"I've been here a couple years... it'll be three when the fall starts again."

"There years, huh? Not too bad then. Is that how long you've been..." He trails off, looking up to the sky as he considers how to put it. "Aware? Of this world and all this stuff? Magic stuff."

Dragons... He's not sure if those three years would explain the impressive training or the lack of it.

Yuya shakes his head. "No, my dad was a mage. My mom isn't, but when I started using magic without realizing he had to explain it. And I learned from a group of Tamers, that's when I summoned Odd-Eyes."

He pats the dragon's head absently, since they're moving slow enough he doesn't need to maintain a vice grip. "But I guess I didn't know how big it all was until I came here."

"Oh! Half-mage!" He sounds pleased by this. "My girl's a half mage!" He declares. "Back home."

A mage father though instead of a mother. He tries to imagine a world where he and Imelda's roles are reversed but... can't.

"It is a lot bigger than it seems at first isn't it?" He says, a little wry and a little amused. "I think I learned about when I was... seventeen? Sixteen? Some time around then. But even then I wasn't really in all this mess until I ended up in the Outlands ten years ago. Crazy just how crazy things can get."

"You weren't?" Yuya's brows raise. So does that mean he's not the mage? Well, it would explain why he's just plunking away at arrows instead of fireballs or something.

"Is she going to attend the Academy, too?" He wonders what it'd be like, if he had his mom or dad here... he has Gongenzaka, so he isn't alone, but having a parent so close and experiencing the reality of it with you is different. He's so occupied with that thought that, briefly, he misses the implication that Hector only got out of the Outlands recently.

"Haha, nope! Not even a little!" His laughter soon dies.

"Ahhh..." There's a hiss of breath. "...Nnnno. Probably not." His brow furrows He falls silent for a moment. "She's got a life back home, you know? She's got friends and family... and... to be honest, as nice as it would be to see her, I..." His mouth presses to a line. This isn't really something he can say without being blunt about it.

"I think she's safer at home," He says. "I'd rather that, over anything." He doesn't want Coco, or any of these kids really, to go through the things he has or that he's seen. Not that he has much choice in the matter either way.

He shakes himself, grinning at Yuya. "But you seem like you're enjoying yourself here! And I know this place is the best possible for more than a few of you! I've certainly learned a lot."

It's not a statement that surprises Yuya, because she probably is safer back home. If it wasn't his mom's best choice at the time, she probably wouldn't want Yuya here either. But by now, it's his choice to put himself on the line to protect everyone else.

His expression softens a little, but he still smiles. "Yeah. Since my mom doesn't have any magic and I got an invitation... but I'm really glad I came. You're right, I've learned a lot too!"

Also it's a rich school with tons of benefits, it's the most luxury he's ever experienced.

"But at least you can see her doing the school breaks, right? We're not here all the time."

He wonders what they think, these parents back home, for the kids who actually have that much. Did they worry a lot? Did they even fathom the scale of what there was to worry about? He worries enough about Coco dealing with the mundane.

He's glad the kid takes to that redirection and takes his words well enough. He doesn't mean to insult those people who let their kids here. He's just not sure it's the choice he'd make.

But then, soon enough, Yuya's taking it right back. There's a split second in which his face freezes. Then, "Ahah. Well. It's kind of complicated. Real boring adult stuff, you don't want to hear about it. But I've got plans to get home. I'm hoping I'll see her soon." And when he does he probably won't come back. Whenever that happens.

"Complicated?" Yuya raises a brow, piecing together the first assumption that comes to mind. "Are they making you stay here right now?"

If his blight issue isn't as normal as a lycan or something, maybe the school wants to keep a closer eye until they're sure it won't spread to be a problem? Yuya has no idea what happened in ten years in the Outlands, but the supervising staff at the school probably does. "Maybe she can visit you here instead? Is she old enough for that?"

Edited 2019-03-24 16:36 (UTC)

He makes a drawn out noise that wavers between becoming a yes or a no and ultimately sounds like a creaky door hinge. "...Kiiind of sort of in a way..."

The deal was for them to study him. He hadn't actually intended on keeping that end of the bargain. That didn't mean others were allowing him to go home.

"I don't know, she's fourteen. That's kind of young to get on a plane and travel alone."

"She's fourteen?!" That's actually older than Yuya was thinking, and he looks surprised.

"Oh," He starts softly with realization. "You only got out of the Outlands recently, didn't you?"

That means he's probably been missing for her, and Yuya's chest feels very tight with sympathy. There's upset written on his face, before he sucks in a breath and tries to smile. "I fly here and back home all the time alone, so I think she can definitely handle something like that. You know, the school has a family day in the summer where they make space to let people visit."

The sudden blurting makes him regret... well a lot of things. It hits him how many pieces he's left out to be gathered. Saying he was from the outlands could hide the blight (at least, he figured it could) but it very clearly outlined his absence. And his absence from his daughter specifically, a daughter who is already half the age of what he looks to be, ill-health aside.

He winces visibly and looks down, anywhere but Yuya himself. Suddenly the bow he's looped over himself is very interesting and he goes about fidgeting with it and adjusting things. He doesn't actually have an excuse for the rest of Yuya's suggestions. Just a sick feeling in his stomach and an ache in his heart.

"...We'll see. Like I said, It's a bit complicated." He forces on a wide smile when he looks up then. "But don't you worry about some old guy like me. I'm clever enough, I'll figure it out. I mean, I did get us this great flaming arrow idea didn't I? This is going to be muy chido!"

Yuya looks down, his expression becoming pensive.

"Okay. I--" bet she wants to see him, but the words stick into his throat. Yuya turns back forward with a noncommittal sound.

"... How much farther is it?" Actually, are they even going the right way? Odd-Eyes has just been marching in a mostly straight line with no direction.

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