--Planet, not a Diary! {Satire}

[Piefan]

Hooray weekends! Today was Saturday, and the first weekend since school began. Naturally, I don't ever bond with my family. Like, ever. Every time my parents try to talk to me, I spontaneously vanish and don't reappear until they're gone.

Haha, no. I just ignore them or hold brief conversation until they leave. Honestly, we're as different as... night, day, and carrots. One is the opposite of another, the other one is completely unrelated.

And I'm not just making up analogies at random, either. Mom and Dad are completely different. Like opposites. Meanwhile I'm just sitting here, not sharing a trait with either.

Anyway, soon after, my phone rang, and I picked it up.

"Hello! This is Thalia Jackson here." -Me

"Uh, right. Zavier talking. Look, you know how to play basketball, right?" -Zavier

"Of course! I'm pretty good at it, too. Why?" -Me

"I was gonna have a game with Scarlette and these other people I don't think you know, but we're kinda short of one player. You in?" -Zavier

"Okay then! I wasn't planning on doing much today anyway. Bye!~" -Me

Then I hung up, magically figuring out where I was supposed to go. After all, there's only one basketball court in the whole of the country. ^-^ When a place is rich enough that one of the lower-paid jobs can afford a large house, a (usually) often-used facility will obviously be nowhere to be found.

While on the way there, I saw Rose, walking along cheerfully. Strangely, she wasn't wearing her usual outfit. Because I'm such a kind person, and not because it's common courtesy or anything, I decided not to get in her way. She seemed to notice me, but she didn't bother to say anything, apart from raising her paw in a wave. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

"What're you up to?" -Me

"Uh, going to ballet lessons? Duh." -Rose

... Okay, I want to claim that's strange, but I think that would almost top the list of ludicruous claims I've made. Right below 'random person I dislike was stalking me despite no evidence'.

I heard Zavier's voice calling out to me, and I realised I was almost there. Running forward, I saw him, as well as a few others, sitting on a nearby bench and talking. I stared at them as I entered the court. I'd been unsure on what to bring/wear, but I'd ended up bringing nothing at all.

I mean, we are dogs.

"Hey, guys!" -Me

"Oh, hey. You came." -Zavier

"So, why is it that we're not warming up or something?" -Me

"Are you questioning our exercise methods? This has always worked for us." -Zavier

"... Huh. That's weird. Is that some special athletic stuff?" -Me

He opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Scarlette's voice rang out, and she ran up to us.

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late." -Scarlette

"Eh. We haven't even started, anyway. Aren't you usually earlier?" -Zavier

She shrugged apologetically.

"Slept in for three hours." -Scarlette

"What, seriously? Why... ugh, never mind. Scar, you're with me, him, and him. Thalia, you're with the rest. And... um... whatever your name is, you're the referee/umpire/whatever again." -Zavier

He pointed to everyone in turn, ending with one dog, less muscular than the others, with a thick pelt. The new referee frowned. He grabbed the basketball - which, yes, spontaneously appeared from nowhere - and tossed his head in a gesture for us to get ready.

I ran to one side of the court, knowing instantly what formation we were taking, in spite of not so much as having a brief conversation about this. This stuff just comes naturally to people here when convenient. I don't know, don't ask.

Scarlette got the first score, and Zavier the second. Soon after, it became somewhat more balanced - the other team was still in the lead, but they weren't scoring every two seconds.

The whole game was going along well, until I noticed a familiar dog walking along. He was still carrying his scythe, and still wearing that hoodie. His expression was still occupied with that anger, the fury of a thousand suns. His stride, although delicate, was filled with a coiled power that almost frightened me, combined with his unhidden willingness to destroy anything or anyone tha displeased him.



Of course, while I was busy observing all this, my team was screaming at me to continue playing as they ran around frantically. HAHA WHOOPS. I quickly got back into the game, joining them in runnning around frantically.

Then, somehow, the ball got over the fence, in the direction of him. For a few split seconds, it seemed like it was going to hit him, but just when it was ten centimetres from his head, he turned, using his scythe to slice it in a neat, perfect half.

"... Seriously, dude?" -Zavier

His shout was more than loud enough to carry outside, and the unnamed dog growled.

"It was about to hit me, I stopped it. Common sense." -???

"... No." -Zavier

"*sarcasm* Well, I'm sorry. What would you do, then?" -???

"Well, assuming I had that quick of a reaction time, move out of the way and throw it back? Duh." -Zavier

"Then you're an idiot." -???

"And you're a hypocrite." -Zavier

"BURNNN!" -Me

"Shut UP! You think you can insult me and get away with it unscathed? My power is unmatched! You-" -???

"Prove it." -Scarlette

"... What?" -???

She seemed irritated as she spoke, glaring at him through the fence.

"The most you've done that could be considered 'powerful' is slicing a rubber ball in half. There are plenty people who could do that. So prove you have power." -Scarlette

"And why do I need to prove myself to you?" -???

"Because you don't want to be thought of as insane?" -Scarlette

"... That's a very logical point. Now shut up; you're making me realise how little control I have over this world."

He seemed for a moment as if he would stab her with the weapon, but he just turned around and ran with inhuman speed in the opposite direction, disappearing into the shadows. A brief moment of silence passed before Zavier spoke.

"Moving on from that, who won?" -Zavier

"I think you and your team totally won, Zavier! I mean, you were in the lead." -Me

"Fair point. Referee?" -Zavier

"... Yeah, what she said, black dog with fire on his back. Also, you and the dog who usually wears a floppy hat totally owned the guy with a hoodie." -referee

"I have a name, you know." -Zavier

"So do I." -Referee

the whole of this post was done with minimal research, until it came to editing, at which point I decided to keep it as it was and just point out all the errors. I don't even play basketball, lol. Or any other sport.

New poll is up in the fanclub.

[Piefan]

Whoo! Today was the fundraiser/family bonding thing! Did i mention that? I think I did!

Once again, early riser. I woke up early today, before even my parents. Since I pretty much had nothing better to do, I chose instead to run around the house, burning off excess energy. I think I'm on a constant sugar rush or something.

After a while, the rest of my family got up, though not before i'd gotten dressed, covering myself in glitter and putting on a masquerade-esque mask.

Yes, dousing oneself in glitter is a common thing here. We all keep large stashes of it in our store rooms, and whenever we want to go for an important event, we roll in it until we're sufficiently sparkly.

Anyway, we took off without much ado, barely talking along the way. We don't really have much of a perfect relationship, after all.

When we reached the school, Rose was standing at the entrance with the principal, doing... nothing, actually. I'm guessing she noticed us coming and decided to greet us.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Jackson! And Thalia. Thanks for arriving early, but we're not entirely ready yet." -Rose

"Oh, that's fine! Is there any way we could help?" -Mom

"Oh, no, we're fine! Thanks for the offer, though!" -Rose

"THANK GOODNESS" -Me

Everyone turned to stare at me.

"... I didn't just say that aloud, did I?" -Me

"You did. Congratulations." -Rose

"... Oh. That was still pretty funny, though, right?" -Me

"Um, no. Look, Thalia, if you'd like to do something (in spite of you openly stating that, no, you do not want to help), Zavier's helping to organise this. Go meet up with him. Maybe he'll need something. Mr and Mrs Jackson, this is a mostly student-based organisation, but you could see if the food's going alright in that tent over there." -Rose

She pointed to a booth, from which smoke billowed, rising rapidly into the skies.

"I have no idea why, but I get the feeling it's not."

While my parents screamed and ran around, I looked around for Zavier, who was standing behind a curtain near the podium, staring at the stone ground. I greeted him with a smile, and he returned it.

"Wait, so you're helping organise stuff? That's a surprise." -Me

"Yeah, but I saw Rose's plans and stuff, and if it went her way, this whole thing would be about as cheerful as a funeral." -Zavier

"Pfft, how bad could it possibly be?" -Me

"Bad. Really bad. I think the music was going to be Adagio for Strings or something. The CD's over there, listen to it if you'd like." -Zavier

"Uh, no thanks."

I glimpsed the fire on his back touching the silk curtain, which didn't burst into flames, strangely. I stared, mesmerised and curious, before he coughed uncomfortably.

"Is Scarlette coming?" -Me

"Nope. She mentioned she had better things to do." -Zavier

"Such as?" -Me

"I don't know." -Zavier

"Weren't you her best friend since childhood or something?" -Me

"Yeah, but she's changed a lot since then. She kinda seems like she'd have been an Emo if she'd managed to actually get a few words in before Rose sorted her." -Zavier

"Really? She doesn't seem that emo to me. Why are you friends with her then?" -Me

"Eh." -Zavier

He waved a paw dismissively, offering no other comment. Deciding he probably didn't need my help, I stepped into the sunshine, seeing my parents nearby. Rose was screaming at them:

"WHY WOULD YOU THROW WATER ON SMOKING SALMON?" -Rose

Ugh... not their fault. I mean, she totally should have warned them. It's not like the equipment used would have already indicated that, or the fact there would've been no visible fire.

Turning around, I saw someone running towards us - though he seemed familiar, I didn't recognise him.

"Hey! You have the speech and stuff, right? We should have opened some time ago, now hurry up." -???

"Ugh, alright. Thalia, did Zavier tell you what music he chose? No? Doesn't matter anyway." -Rose

Then she shouted, practically shattering my eardrums.

"HEY ZAVIER, GET THE MUSIC READY." -Rose

"I'm literally one metre from you, you know. Talking normally would have worked just as well... with the bonus of not hurting anyone's ears." -Zavier

"Whatever! Just get it done!" -Rose

She scuttled up the podium as several entered the courtyard. Families talked amongst themselves about subjects unknown to me, their excited buzz making the school noisier than usual.

"Good morning, all, and thank you for coming here! I assure you that the school board is very grateful for your presence - each and every one of you. It means a lot to know that you care enough about your fellow people to take some time out of your day to attend this. I believe you all know the reason as to this fundraiser." -Rose

"We do?" -Me

"Regardless, I would like to recap it to you, if only for the sake of posterity. Although this carnival was held to raise money, it will not be going to the school. It will, rather, be sent to the scientists of the world who work so hard. Perhaps you have heard of these stories, perhaps you have not, but several people have been mysteriously disappearing before our eyes. The phenomenon has not been explained, but the researchers will, hopefully, do it soon." -Rose

.. Talk about wall of text.

"Until then, we mourn for the loss of several people - primarily children who have yet to see the world. I - we - hope that you understand how dire the situation is. It is nothing to joke about, for these people's fates are unknown. They could be lost somewhere, injured, or worse. This may seem too dark for a speech told during a carnival, but I do not tell you this because I want you to rejoice. I tell you this-" -Rose

... and that is where the music came in.

"BECAUSE I'M HAPPY
CLAP ALONG IF YOU FEEL LIKE HAPPINESS IS THE TRUTH!"

(Why yes. It did start in the middle of the chorus. Shush you.)

"..." -Rose

"..." -Everyone

"... Zavier?" -Rose

No sooner had she said this than the music changed to what seemed to be a funeral march. Still the crowd remained silently confused, and Rose sighed.

"Ah, screw it. Just go. Celebrate and stuff. I'm gonna go find my friends." -Rose

... She has friends?! :O

... The equipment used for smoking salmon was cheap enough that it produced a buttload of smoke? *shrug*

[Piefan]

A small dragon stalked silently along the perimeter of the platform, only barely staying balanced as he stared at the neverending abyss. Should he lose his footing, he would suffer the eternal fall - plummeting rapidly, flailing in a desperate attempt to find purchase on the ground.

Not that he was worried; they would save him. They always did.

Something pushed him back to safety, and Shadow looked up to see the steely eyes of his owner staring down at him. "Shadow, stay," ordered Yveltal. "He is getting annoyed, constantly having to get you back."

If not for his white hoodie framing his upper figure, it would have been nigh impossible to see him. Spreading dark wings against the equally dark backdrop, Yveltal waited. He did not speak, for no one had yet arrived to speak to, nor did he move, save for an occasional twitch of his feathers. He was getting impatient, though he did not show it - Shadow only knew from their ever-active telepathic bond.

(They had tried breaking it, once. A long, long time ago. It had failed, and they never made another attempt.)

A blue orb of light manifested in front of them, fading as a familiar face took its place. Golden eyes glared at Yveltal, only paying a brief glance to the dragon behind him.

"Oblivionwing."

"Beta."

For whatever reason, the two often referred to each other by their last names, and for some time, their titles. That had been short-lived, however. They could not be bothered wasting so much time on pleasantries.

Something grasped him by the tail, lifting him upwards. Alarmed, Shadow opened his mouth, whipping around to bite whoever had grabbed him, but a voice cut him off.

"You named it Shadow." Kris Beta's voice was mocking as usual, carrying an edge of anger to it. He held him at eye level, examining him. "The dragon has shadow powers, and you named it Shadow. How original."

"He," Yveltal corrected. "Shadow is a male. Besides, you are quite a fine one to speak. You named me after some character in a video game. And then you made me an entirely black dog with wings." As feathers fell from his wings - a flaw in his design - he breathed, folding them neatly against his back.

"So you still remember when you were created." Summoning his scythe out of thin air, Kris held it in front of Shadow, and Yveltal flinched. Seeing that he was making no move to rescue him, the dragon trashed, whipping his tail back and forth, until the dog lost his grip. "But that's not the point. We were trying to capture Earth, weren't we?"

There was no verbal reply, only a slight nod.

"I told you we were supposed to kill her." His eyes narrowed. "And you disobeyed me."

"We were in the middle of a crowd. We would have lost the element of surprise, even if we did get rid of a minor obstacle."

"I don't care." Raising his scythe, Kris slashed, and Yveltal darted backwards to dodge the gleaming blade. "You're my golem. You're supposed to do what I tell you. It's the only reason you were created."

"But then you gave me free will." Red eyes glittered ominously, in stark contrast to the more petite-looking dog opposite him, who followed up with a series of what would have been killing blows. Gripping, between muscular paws, the dragon, Yveltal spread his wings and flew.

Shadow had seldom before experienced flight. His owner preferred using his shadow powers to escape unseen, as opposed to flying. Here, however, there were no shadows, only the cold, neverending darkness. Raven-black feathers drifted downwards, but still he remained, slowly beating his wings.

"Besides, according to you, I am your best work. I imagine you have extremely low standards, then. Every skill I have ever gained?" He dodged another attack only narrowly, soaring far above the ground. "I had to learn myself. You gave me next to nothing."

Shadow made a noise of disdain, though he moved little for fear of being dropped. From that distance, Kris appeared as little more than a brown blob, a fact which somewhat amused him.

That was not to remain, alas. In this land, where he could conjure anything using only his will and his magic, getting up was only a matter of creating a chain of platforms up to their level. In an instant, he was in front of them, glaring with all the fury in the world. "You happened to be a rush job," he hissed.

"And you happen to be outrageously incompetent." Before Kris had the opportunity to respond, Yveltal was off, as quick as a falcon and as agile as a cat. "How long have you lived, and how many universes have you taken over?"

"How many have you?" A pause, then he added, "You could never do as well as I have, because your powers are useless. Have a blind person? Shadows mean nothing to him. I could very well leave you here if I wanted to, and you would never escape."

"Magic is nothing compared to wit and intelligence. Genghis Khan of the Milky Way captured several countries, and would have likely continued with the rest of the world had he not been bound with such a brief lifespan." Though both Shadow and his owner knew that was probably false, Kris had never bothered learning more about most galaxies' history, so the argument was still effective.

"But you could never." His gaze was piercing, boring into their skulls like a laser. Then a smirk spread across his face, and he dropped the weapon, which plummeted to the ground with a thunk. "Let's try something, then, with Earth. If you take over it before I do, you win. Otherwise, I do."

"And what are the stakes?"

"You win, I'll leave you alone for the rest of your life, and provide for you portals to wherever you need to go, as long as I'm not busy. I win..." He paused, his smile widening. "That will be decided."

Shadow silently pleaded for Yveltal to agree, but he was still apprehensive. "And why would I believe that you would keep to your promise?"

"Stakes are stakes, and a contest is a contest, neither of which I'll betray. Besides, I lose nothing from this deal. And I'd probably just kill you anyway if you don't."

Hesitant, Yveltal edged backwards, but Shadow nudged him urgently. "I... will agree."

The black dog trashed his wings as a sudden gust of wind blew him downwards, barely stopping himself from falling face-first onto the ground. Kris leaped off his platform, landing roughly as he turned around. "Good. Come on."

~☆~

In the dead of night, a creature awoke in her owner's room. Something strange was happening; she could sense it. True evil had not come to the land for a long, long time, but it had arrived now. A Nightmare being, most likely.

Glancing at the sleeping form of her companion, sprawled awkwardly on her bed, the creature crept towards the door. Though it was dark - the blinds were pulled fully over the windows, blocking what little moonlight would have seeped through - her sight was more than good enough to overcome it.

Goodbye, Elven, thought Lissi. I will return soon.

And the Dream Companion slinked into the moonless night.

hoodies are the symbol of supernatural stuff here. Everyone who wears one - Kris and Yveltal so far - is evil and from another universe. Excluding Zavier. I think.

More relevant: So yeah, Yvel's pretty much Kris's golem (according to Google, they're from Jewish mythology, but that wasn't what I had in mind; mostly Minecraft-type stuff) given free will. Why, exactly, Kris felt a random urge to create a golem, nobody knows. But he's immortal, in addition to having unlimited power in his little dimension, so you can't say he hadn't the ability to do so. Yveltal was created using darkness and shadow, giving him its powers.

Also, I swear I do remember all the reader-submitted characters, and they will appear soon. I happen to have the perfect place for them.

[hxneystorm]

Oh my god yes.
So much yes

YESSS

[20lait1]

How you describe the Yvetal's personality... totally awesome! I can't describe how awesome it is

[frankie (dup)]

Are forms still open? If so, how many characters? Or did I miss that?

This is going great by the way, I'll definitely be stalking and waiting.

[Piefan]

Yes, forms are still open. I don't have a set limit yetmbut probably abour five. ^^

[Piefan]

As the speech ended and the crowd dispersed, I spotted Zavier emerging from the curtain. Running to him, I skidded to a halt on the rough stone ground (which is completely possible, yeah) just before we collided.

"Hey, Z!" -Me

"Oh, hey, Haidah." -Zavier

"So what was up with the music?" -Me

He cringed slightly, looking around.

"Ugh. Can we not talk about that? I'd kinda assumed the speech would just be praising herself or something, and then bam. She pulls out that sad stuff." -Zavier

"Yeah, that does sound like it would be pretty weird." -Me

"... Hey, where's your parents?" -Zavier

"I have no idea! I'll probably just walk home once this is over --- I doubt they'll mind." -Me

".-. That's weird." -Zavier

"Maybe. Where are your friends?" -Me

"If you haven't noticed? I'm an Outcast. I have a grand total of two friends, if I include you. Those people we played basketball wity? Still don't want to be seen with me." -Zavier

"Yeah, but true friends..." -Me

Seeming annoyed, he looked over my shoulder, pointing behind me.

"Hey, look. Rose is over there." -Zavier

Instantly, I felt a surge of aggression as I whipped around, seeing Rose standing in the middle of a large group of other dogs. It happens to be instinct for me to absolutely hate popular people, for no apparent reason.

By the way, I must add that I am a completely reasonable, non-biased person. No exceptions.

I struggled to calm myself down as she approached

"-cheerleading was so hard. Like, are the teachers conspiring against us or something?" -Rose

"I, like, know, right?" -Random popular girl

"Not to mention ballet class... ugh. Terrible." -Rose

"... Screw this, I'm outta here." -Me

I scurried off, bumping into a familiar cat in the process - Khairul. He was standing at a game booth and facing away from me, his tail swishing against the ground. He leaned on one paw against the counter, muttering something.

Wondering who he was talking to, I creeped inconspicuously around him, seeing another cat - either PPS or just way younger - standing in front of the booth, grasping a ball in one paw. Behind the counter was another dog, who stood to the side, watching her.



"Just throw the ball already." -Khairul

"But I gotta aim first! D:>" -???

"Stop portraying facial expressions with your speech." -Khairul

"Why? :'(" -???

"Because biologists all over the world are screaming in pain right now. I also suggest you stop mocking me with your outrageously expressive voice." -Khairul

"But then I wouldn't be me anymore! D:" -???

"... Seriously, though, stop." -Khairul

"But why would I do that? >:)" -???

"It ceased being funny years ago." -Khairul

"Well, yeah, but so did most of the jokes in these stories."

"... Stories?"

She snickered and, without saying another word, tossed the ball forwards. It landed neatly on the target (which, of course, I didn't mention at first). The lady at the booth passed her an adorable little cat toy, which she held up in triumph.



"Hey, guys!" -Me

"Who are you?" -Khairul

"... You sit with me at lunch." -Me

"That does not ring any bells." -Khairul

D: "Y U no remember me?" -Me

"Well, I guess if you keep talking with that grammar, I could be forever traumatised, and therefore remember you for the rest of my life." -Khairul

"Sounds great! And who's that?" *points to kitten* -Me

The cat answered with a grin, holding her front paw up to her chest.

"My name's Fatin! Khairul's sister!" -Fatin

"Unfortunately, yes." -Khairul

"Unfortunately? I'm pretty sure that you actually love me." -Fatin

"... No." -Khairul

She laughed merrily, and I found myself kinda liking her. She was like me, in some ways, although different in others. I followed them around for most of the carnival, until the sun was setting and I headed home, beginning to spend half the day writing in you.

it's the eighth post and I'm not even close to the climax. The fact that this is my fastest-paced story says a lot about me...

[Piefan]

Hey hey hey! Today was a pretty normal day - I ate, went to school, and yadda yadda yadda. As it turns out, Khairul sits in front of me in Maths, so I spent most of the lesson poking him in the back, though he seems more focused on learning than anythinf else. More importantly, we have a new addition to the Outcasts! :D

I'd arrived at Outcasts HQ in between periods, spending a few moments to just sit around and admire the atmosphere. I know I haven't described it before, but it's actually quite nice.

Half of it is occupied with a large, circular table, surrounded by several chairs, where Zavier and Scarlette were playing Uno when I first saw them. A quarter of the room has a bunch of storage space - comic books and stuff piled into a cabinet, a coat rack, and some random stuff leaning against the wall. The remaining third has a bunch of empty space.

(Can you tell how amazing I am at fractions?)

From what Zavier's told me, most of the stuff was bought by the outcasts themselves. The only thing the school provided was the room, but the past year people didn

As I sat there, the door creaked open, and a familiar dog walked in.



"Arianna? What're you doing here?" -Me

"Existing. Breathing. Sensing. Perceiving. Thinking." -Arianna

"... But seriously, weren't you a Nerd?" -Me

"I was. As it turns out, however, Rose is outrageously sensitive. She also threatened to expel Kris for implying her mother is a llama." -Arianna

"... Well, welcome to the club! :D I hope you enjoy your stay. Please submit any complaints to the customer service counter, and thank you for joining Outcasts Incorporated." -Me

"You have a customer's service counter?" -Arianna

"No, actually. Have you seen Scarlette and/or Zavier recently?" -Me

"I would assume there's more than one person of either name in this school. But no." -Arianna

"Huh. I haven't seen Scar in a while; I wonder where-" -Me

A knock sounded on the door, and Scarlette entered. As she saw the both of us, she paused.

"Am I interrupting anything?" -Scarlette

"Nope!" -Me

"Good." -Scarlette

"Hey, Arianna, what's the Nerds HQ like?" -Me

"Different from that of the Outcasts, simply put. I believe the furniture here was mainly paid for by its members? In the Nerds headquarters, the school paid for most, if not all, of it. Of course, it was mainly cheap stuff, suited primarily for helping the Populars and Jocks with their homework." -Arianna

"Huh. So Rose only helps out those who can do stuff for her?" -Me

"Yes. But enough about this matter. I've only just moved here, so I know next to nothing about it. What's it like? Any significant social taboos and such I should be aware of?" -Arianna

"Nope, nothing. The opinions of this country pretty much reflect whatever the majority of the world thinks. Winters and autumns here are pretty harsh, though, which might be worth noting. Right, Scarlette?" -Me

"He. I recall, when I was about seven, me and Zavier going on a playdate while it was snowing. Zav-" -Scarlette

As she spoke, the door was flung open. Within two seconds, and before she could continue, a black figure entered in a sprint, ramming into her.

"WE AGREED NEVER TO SPEAK OF THAT AGAIN!" -Zavier

"AGH!" -Scarlette

The force had thrown her off her chair, and she landed unceremoniously on the ground.

"... Oh, right, sorry. You're fine, right?" -Zavier

"... Yes. Weren't you literally on the other side of the school two minutes ago?" -Scarlette

"Well, yeah I was. But that was two minutes ago." -Zavier

He paused, turning to me.

"Hey, Haidah, how're you doing?" -Zavier

"Great. So what were you saying, Scarlette? About the playdate?" -Me

"Nothing. She was saying nothing. It all went fine and it was totally not worth talking about." -Zavier

ಠ_ಠ -Me

Though she said nothing, Scarlette seemed mildly annoyed at him as well. Her expression was almost a glare, but he seemed not to notice.

"... Can we just discuss something else now?" -Zavier

"No." -Me

"Yes. Have any of you seen Kris Beta around? He's the only one of the Outcasts I... haven't met." -Arianna

"Nope. Or at least, I haven't. Scar? Haidah?" -Zavier

"Who's Kris?" -Me

ಠ_ಠ -Zavier

"Do we actually only have five Outcasts? Considering Rose seems to hate just about everyone who breathes, and the school has about a thousand pupils, I would expect at least a fifth of them - around two hundred - to be in this group." -Scarlette

"... That's actually pretty logical. Buut back to the topic! Who's Kris?" -Me

Zavier frowned, waving a paw.

"Remember the basketball game?" -Zavier

"Ohhh, him! I think I saw that guy lurking nearby the gym." -Me

"Thank you." -Arianna

And without missing a beat, she stood and ran off with surprising speed, leaving us staring at where she had sat.

_____
I ship Zavier and Thalia, but I'm not sure what to name it. I don't like Zavlia or Thavier or anything like that - combining names is kinda weird. I've seen people name ships after traits of both characters, though, so... Zavier has fire on his back, and Thalia has a kind heart. The pairing is now named FIREHEART! Wait, no. Well, I like fire, but Thalia's also the star of the story. FIRESTAR!

... On second thought, let's combine their names.

[Piefan]

I hate PE. DDD:

Since it's only the second week, today was the first day we actually did anything in it. The first/previous lesson basically consisted of the coach taking note of all illnesses and stuff that prevented people from taking part. Since this country is relatively athletic, and therefore healthy, we had exactly zero of those.

I was standing nearby Scarlette and Zavier, talking about... stuff as we waited for the coach. I couldn't actually pin down the subject, honestly. First we were talking about the guzheng club, then apples, then illnesses. In particular, a story Scarlette had heard about.

"-so then she got sick and spent most of the day vomiting." -Scarlette

"Did she die?" -Me

"... Haidah, we're talking about my mother. This story happened years before I was born." -Scarlette

"Well?" -Me

"Um, yes. She died." -Scarlette

"Oh. That's bad, right?" -Me

"... Never mind." -Scarlette

Just then, the coach walked in. The class quieted down upon his entrance - most of us are kinda scared of him. He's tall, muscular and seems more than willing to beat a kid up for disobeying him. At first, though, I didn't really notice him, and continued chatting. Zavier joined in thr conversation, while Scarlette suddenly stopped talking.

"NO TALKING!" -Coach

"Holy crap, that was loud." -Zavier

"NO. TALKING." -Coach

"Alright, alright, sheesh." -Zavier

"NOW EVERYONE PAIR UP!" -Coach

We scrambled to find a partner, the room buzzing as people began talking once again. Since my little circle of friends consists of three people, I didn't think I could choose Scarlette or Zavier. They've known each other for longer than I've known either of them, so their friendship would be stronger. I walked up to some random kid; a purple dog grasping a sword in her mouth.

Something I should mention is that weapons are basically commonplace in this school. We aren't exactly the safest place around, so carrying around a sword is considered perfectly normal. Unless it's an ominous-looking person with it, naturally.

"Would you like to be my partner?" -???

"Sure, sounds great! ^_^" -Me

"Good." -???

Together, we walked to the middle of the room, and I looked around for Scarlette and Zavier. Surprisingly, they weren't together - she was standing next to Khairul, while Z was beside Rose, who talked incessantly. He seemed visibly annoyed, though it quickly faded when he saw me.

"Hey Thalia! You'll team up with me next lesson, right?" -Zavier

"Hell yeah she will." -Rose

"I didn't even say anything." -Me

"Your point? I hate PE. Heck, I'm the leader of the school, I shouldn't even be here. 'Sides, you're the one who's his friend." -Rose

>:U Rude much? Still, I didn't have the chance to protest - the coach whistled loudly, and once again, we fell silent.

Apparently, he'd left the room some time ago to get materials, because sveeral scythes lay against the walls. A ripple of confusion spread throughout the room, murmurs sounding - what exactly were we supposed to do with them?

"NO. FREAKING. TALKING. *points to scythes* EACH ONE OF YOU, GRAB ONE, UNLESS YOU ALREADY HAVE ONE." -Coach

"???"

Though confused, I did as said. Walking over to the rows of scythes, I chose the bluntest one I could find, handing another to my partner. She swapped it for her sword, which she used her paw to toss across the room. Despite how utterly dangerous this would be under normal circumstances, and the fact that nobody with a lick of common sense would do that, it landed safely, without harming anyone, on the ground.

Once we were done with that, we gathered again in front of the coach. I waved towards Scarlette and Khairul, who mouthed something at me, waving a paw. Unfortunately, I can't lipread, so I just smiled back, hoping he hadn't told me I was going to die or something like that.

"WE ARE GOING TO PRACTISE SCYTHE COMBAT TODAY. BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WANT YOU TO SPAR WITH YOUR PARTNER TO GAUGE YOUR SKILL LEVEL. ANY QUESTIONS?" -Coach

Without raising her paw, Rose spoke.

"Aren't we a high school? Meaning we're mostly 14-17 years old? I know we're supposed to be old and trustworthy enough to handle a weapon, but actually fighting with it should cause a whole lot of danger, especially since most of us are completely untrained. We could get heavily wounded or something. And that's assuming nobody here feels malice for anyone else, which would make things even worse. We're talking downright torture here." -Rose

"BUT-" -Coach

"And what skills does this teach that are worth the danger? How to fight with scythes - as in, the ones for farming? War scythes are supposed to look different, I'm pretty sure. In what situation would we ever need to use them in combat?" -Rose

"..." -Coach

"..." -Zavier

"..." -Me

"..." -Khairul

"... Now, then, let's start. Who wants to go first?" -Coach

"We would."

In the silence that ensued, I turned back to the source of the voice - Arianna. She was standing next to Kris, who grasped the same, glowing scythe. She herself was carrying a normal one, fashioned from the same steel as the rest of us.

"Good. The two of you, come up." -Coach

And no, he no longer gets caps.

Kris and Arianna walked confidently towards him. At his orders, they stood opposite each other, about half a meter apart. Crouched on all fours, glaring fiercely at each other, weapons clutched between clenched teeth, they seemed to mean business. And not the "I want to win to look good" kind; the "I seriously hate you" kind.

For a few moments, neither moved, only staring into each others' eyes as if trying to predict what they would do next. The coach coughed awkwardly, but then, Kris attacked. It was with just as much force as you would imagine - he ran towards her, scythe quite literally glowing as he swung it.

He missed. Arianna leaped backwards, dodging the weapon with ease. Some kid behind her moved to let her pass. Just as well - not long after, Kris followed up with another attack, which would have taken off the kid's head if he had still been there.

This time, she did not dodge. Neither, though, did she get hit. She held up her scythe, which blocked the incoming strike, then parried (which is indeed possible with that weapon, yeah). He ducked easily.

He was the one to land the first hit - a long gash, running from her shoulder to a few inches above her elbow. Blood dripped from it, not that she seemed to feel the pain. As soon as he had withdrawn, she swung, a vertical strike impossible to duck from. A cut resulted in his face, and he hissed with pain.

Both backed up, a gap forming between them. This time, it was larger than at the beginning - at least one metre.

By then, a trail of blood had fallen to the ground, staining the wooden ground with crimson. Needless to say, we were holding our breath by that time, most silently cheering for Arianna. Which I could indeed glean from doing absolutely nothing. B)

The silence that had descended was abruptly broken by Kris, who was screaming a battle cry. Charging forwards, he hit her with the blunt end of the scythe. The blow was enough to send her flying, ramming into the other wall with a loud thud. Given the speed just before the impact, the hard material of the wall, and the fact that she had just been hit by a long, wooden pole, it should have been impossible to get up from that.

She got up from that.

Her scythe had fallen beside her, and she picked it up, beginning to return the attack in a killing blow. Kris was again charging towards her, brandishing his weapon.

"ENOUGH!" -Coach

He stomped his paw, loudly enough to echo throughout the room. Arianna side-stepped the attack, staring intently at the coach. She blocked the ensuing attacks with some trouble, never taking her eyes off the teacher.

"STOP. We get it. You people are good at this. Now, I want both of you to get to the nurse's office, and get the janitor here to clean up the blood." -Coach

He turned to us.

"Class is dismissed." -Coach

What, I hear you ask, is the relationship between Kris and Arianna? That will be revealed in the next episode of... The Planet.

... Nah, it actually takes, like, 5 posts until that happens.

Thanks to 20lait1 for editing the fight scene.