Second Wind [Arctic's Awakening]

Another night, another Cadet. That's how it usually went ever since the Royal Guard's announcement. Julius was in his desk, perusing the documents and reports collected for himself. While Alex simply sat in a desk with his feet on the polished wood of the surface as he worried his thumbs away at some flashy video game in his hands.

It's been a few hours since they the day classes have already ended in Seven Stars. Many students would be at home doing their own business, but not these Cadets.

They were waiting for someone. But certainly, it was just the same old, the same old. Someone would come, give the same speech as always of why they joined.

It's the still the same old stuff as always.

Well... This seemed to be the place. Arctic would stay outside the door for a moment to think over her decision one last time in her head. She had been contemplating this for a long whilst now, she'd always seen herself as a protector of her brother. Yet as much as she could protect him socially, she doubted if anything ever truly happened that put them in harms way she'd be able to do much to save them... She wasn't sure if this was the best decision, or even if it was a good decision at all. Yet something always kept this idea at the back of her mind, and something had dragged her all the way out here tonight...

She'd turn to look down the corridor, she still had the option to leave here and now and continue her life on as it had always been. She knew deep down her mother and father wouldn't approve of this choice and Natsu himself would worry for her if he knew. But it wasn't for her, it was for them. She knew the cadets learned how to protect people and that's what she wanted to do. It was her decision to make, and with a twist of the door knob and a light push on the door. Her decision had been made.

Both Alex and Julius noticed the twist of the doorknob and the creaking of moving wood. Someone had finally come in. To Alex's disappointment, he finally set his entertainment system to the side. Julius set aside his more clerical duties to fold his fingers, as if he had been waiting patiently for her. It was a good thing that for this evening, one of the newer Cadets was present.

As the girl stepped into the room, her eyes would first meet with the man who was sat with his fingers folded together. He looked an awful lot like the pictures she had seen of the Prince, she wasn't entirely certain at first, she knew what her eyes saw but she really hadn't expected the Prince to be the one waiting for her to come here, she expected someone... Well someone else. She didn't know who but she felt honored that the Prince had spared time to greet her into the cadets. As the Prince addressed her, Arctic would first bow her head slightly to the Prince before doing the same for the other two people who were standing in the room out of politeness.

"Thank you for the warm greetings." The girl would say, a hint of timidness was caught on her words as she spoke but she tried to sound as confident as possible despite how nervous she felt about the situation. "My name is Arctic Breeze. I've been a lifelong citizen of Endymion and have always appreciated the Queen's protection over the city. I-I k-know t-t..." The girl would pause for a moment to take a deep breath in and out to calm her building nerves once more. "Sorry. I know that the cadets serve to protect the city and all of the people of the city. And I'd like to do everything that I can to help out with keeping this city safe."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Breeze. I am Julius Lamecia, I manage the Cadets in this city," the Prince introduced himself to her. He knew that she likely was aware of who he was. But it was only a courtesy to introduce himself as well. When he heard of her reasons, the man gave a satisfied nod. It was hardly the least common reason, but it was good enough for him. "Very well. Miss Breeze, we will now begin."

He grabbed the goblet full of his Mother's blood. The process should be familiar to Shiina as she experienced it once. It was going to be a painful process, but it was one that every Cadet was required to experience. After all, this was where their potential would be awakened. Julius held the goblet towards the girl.


As she did so, even after taking the goblet from him, Julius would soon watch as mind-numbing pain began to flood her very nerves. The liquid was sweet, but soon to be bittersweet as the sensation wracked against her sanity. Julius noticed there was something wrong, but something familiar.


As Arctic was writhing from the pain more violently than the other Cadet recruits, he began to draw his blade. It was her own Shadow trying to consume her very ego, and soon she would become a Demon. With a quick flourish, inches of steel dug deep inside her skull. The metallic intervention stopped the transformation, but it allowed the Shadow to continue consuming her.

Instead of becoming a demon, the hidden inner self that she locked away from the world was soon free. Julius pulled the sword out and walked back to observe the result. He watched to see the new 'Arctic' become accustomed to her awakening.

Instructions:

Arctic would bow her head once more to both the Prince and to the girl who had introduced herself, glad that her stutters hadn't completely screwed up the first impressions they had of her. "Thank you." She'd say simply. The girl wasn't actually entirely sure what the process of becoming a cadet involved, or why she would need assistance with it. Although she couldn't say she wasn't happy to have someone there to help her if she did mess up anywhere along the way. Kneeling down, she'd begin.


Timidly, the girl would stand back up and take the goblet, watching as the liquid swished back and forth from the movement of passing from one person to another. "I-is this...?" She'd begin to question before holding her tongue. The last thing she wanted to do now was to seem rude or speak out of turn. Y-yet she was a little concerned by the drink handed to her. It didn't look like any typical red wine or anything of the sorts. It made her shiver a little just looking at it. But after another deep breath in and out, the girl would raise the goblet and drink. Little did she know then that she'd just drawn her last true breath.

"GAH!" A sudden sharp and shooting pain would drive itself into Arctics head, causing her to double over in pain and lose all sense of focus as to what was happening around her. She felt like screaming but couldn't find the air in her lungs to do so, she felt powerless, scared, confused. Like nothing she had ever felt before. Something was attacking her from the inside and it wasn't letting up its attack. The pain was unbearable and the girl had all but lost where she was and why any of this was even happening in the first place. The only thing she could concentrate on was the agonizing pain that-

The sharp pain was clashed with another as Julius's sword struck through the girls skull. She'd stop wincing from pain and instead stare blankly at the ground from her tucked over position. She wasn't in the slightest sure what just happened, where she was, what was even... Then she'd look up. Everything felt different now, different... Strange... But oddly correct. She was still in her human form at this point as the sword had stuck her before the full transformation could kick in. Her head was fuzzy still though...

The glare of the moonlight glanced Julius' glasses. He sheathed his blade, noticing that the process has been complete. The girl was clearly confused, it was understandable. The process wasn't widely known outside of the ranks. "It appears that you have finally awakened to your gifts. Now, let's test them out."

He drew a scroll near him by the table. By unfurling it, it brought into reality the creatures that lay dormant inside.

Werewolf, Level 7:

Vampire, Level 7:

Grasping her head with one hand and placing the other on the ground to help stand herself back to her feet. Arctic would slip over herself and fall back to the ground, still too disorientated to know how to keep her balance. "Urrghh..." The girl would hold her head as she sat where she fell, looking up briefly as the Prince spoke. "G-gifts...?" The girls eyes would widen both from shock and disbelieve from what happened next as what seemed to be just a scroll seemed to suddenly bring two creatures into being.

"H-hey, w-wait! What!?" The girl would push herself with her hands to further the distance she was sitting on the ground from the demons that had just appeared in front of her. T-this was not at all what she was expecting to happen here. Suddenly the girl would feel a weird tinge in her hands and be alarmed when her eyes met a paw instead of her usual hand when trying to see what was wrong. Her entire body would begin to feel strange as she literally shrank to half her usual size and taking on a new form entirely.


The now much higher pitched voice of Winter would meekly whisper before trying to get up again. This time, when the girl tried to pick herself back up, even more confused than before she'd find herself instead floating a few inches off of the floor. "I..." She'd sigh lightly. "I'm just gonna stop questioning this." At this point she might as well think whatever that was she drank she had an allergic reaction to and she was either dead or dreaming in a coma. Or this whole event was a dream in the first place.

After looking herself over and confirming she was either dreaming or insane. The new Winter would look down at the shining gem that hung on a necklace around her neck. "I wonder what this is for..." She'd mumble to herself as she poked it gently and a bright light suddenly shot out of it directly into Shiina. To which it was only at this point since Winter transformed that she even remembered that there were weird creatures she was meant to be afraid of. "A-ah! I'm sorry!" She'd call out, not fully understanding what she'd just done.

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"I-it helped? Then that was what I totally meant to do!" Winter would call out as she watched Shiina summon some sort of demon like thing of her own to her side and start shooting fire at the enemies that took before them. This was all still very confusing and totally not what she had expected to happen when she came here today. L-like who would even expect this? How could anyone know this was what was in store for them and how was she expected to know right off the bat what she was meant to do...

The small leopard would wince slightly as the second lot of flames burned the enemy, she had always hated the heat and she could feel the heat of the flames from where she floated. Winter would look down at her jewel again which seemed to sparkle with a more blue colour this time around. She wasn't aware of how she was doing it but it seemed knowing how to use her powers were coming out of an instinctual reflex. She'd grab a hold of the necklace with both paws and hold it out in front of her towards her enemies as a wave of ice shot out at them.

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