Faux Pas

Darius did his best to ignore her like always, but it became frustratingly difficult sometimes when she wouldn't shut up. Constantly the small spirit talked, and rarely would it react in any manner when Darius told her to stop. It was his first time on the island, and he was certainly nervous and definitely uncomfortable. It didn't help that he had a high-pitched voice whining in his head every few seconds that no one else could hear. Well, almost no one.

At one point, the small greenish glowing floating orb that constantly followed him zipped around behind him as if hiding. Even better, it stopped making noise. Soon after, a pair of young teenage girls walked by him, going in the opposite direction. They were talking about some sort of TV show but he didn't pay much mind to it. When a good amount of distance had been put between him and the girls, the spirit returned to her usual annoying self. Oooh what about her!? The spirit suddenly said as it buzzed around the head of a young woman who was sitting on a nearby bench. Unaware of the spirit's presence, the girl paid it no attention. A scowl crossed Darius' face, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued towards the entrance of the building.

The spirit slowly floated over to him, and remained level with his eyes. What, no good either? Come on, new school! New girls! And I bet a lot of them have cool powers!

Darius rolled his eyes. "I don't care. Knock it off already." The spirit whirred around his head before stopping at eye-level again. Darius continued walking towards the door. She made a frustrated high-pitched growl like a little girl who wasn't getting what she wanted. She began to say something else but suddenly zipped around to his back again and became silent. This time, she remained there until Darius actually entered the main hall of the building. "What's with you, anyway?" He asked in regards to her hiding.

I don't want anyone to see me! She replied. To this, Darius actually stopped moving and gawked at her. Some people here can see ghosts and spirits, you know! I have to be careful!

He blinked at her. "You can tell when other people have the ability to see you?"

Yes! Of course!! She acted like she was stating the obvious. Darius just shrugged and continued down the hallway, at one point taking out a small paper and unfolding it into a map.

This must be it, he thought, making his way to the end of the hallway and standing at a window, behind of which sat a middle-aged woman. She immediately looked up at him over her half-circle glasses. "Yes?" She asked in a bored tone.

"Uhhh.. I'm here to check in.." He said, without making eye contact.

He's here to get a beautiful wife! Hook him up! Yes! The spirit flew around the hallway in an excited tone, even at one point circling the clerk's head without her noticing. Darius ignored her. Go go go go! Get on it!

"Name?" Was all the clerk said. Darius hesitated and stuttered without actually saying anything. The woman sighed. "I need your name, kid. And your ID."

His face lit up at the mention of his ID, and he produced to the woman the photo ID he was provided before coming to the island. He didn't make eye contact or say anything. The woman frowned at him but, regardless, noted something in a book and gave him back the card. "Right. Welcome to Starlight Academy, Mister Zarland. Have a seat right over there and the guidance counselor will be right with you.

"T-thank you." He said, taking back his ID and shuffling over to the indicated seat.

"Oh, and one more thing, young man." Darius stopped in his tracks and partially turned his head, but avoided eye contact still. "Miss Drew is very big on manners. You'd do well to introduce yourself properly to her." He sighed before turning away towards his seat.

Not your type, huh? I guess she was a little old for you. But hey, nothing wrong with the motherly type! Let's check out the guidance counselor! A nice powerful position for you! The spirit flew around in a manner that one would get dizzy just watching it. Darius ignored her like usual.

After a few minutes, a young woman, perhaps in her early 30's, walked out of a nearby office and presented herself to Darius. Her nametag had the name "Renate Drew", and below her name it was noted in fine print "Guidance Counselor". She offered her hand to him and smiled. "You must be Mister Darius Zarland, yes? A pleasure to meet you. My name is Renate Drew, but feel free to call me Renate."

The young man avoided eye contact and didn't shake her hand. "Nice to meet you." He said quietly. Renate frowned at him and rolled her eyes.

Oooh come on!! She's a total babe! Go for it! She isn't even married! The spirit flew in circles around Renate's head without her noticing.

Renate led Darius into her office. He looked around for a moment before choosing the obvious seat in front of her desk. As soon as he sat down though, she glared at him. "Oh no, young man. Stand up so you can introduce yourself to me like a proper gentleman."

Darius froze, partially looking at her and avoiding eye contact. "W-what? Um, I'm sorry.. but I'm not feeling well." He quickly lied. "Can we get this over with?"

"What? Oooh no, mister. Come on. What did they teach you in the public schools? Come on now." She pulled him to a standing position and forcefully grabbed his hand. When he still didn't look at her, she squeezed it. Hard. He wasn't exactly a weakling, but it hurt. "Come on. Introduce yourself." She started. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Renate Drew. And you are..?" She glared at him.

"I'm uh.. yeah.. nice to meet you." A sudden shock went through his entire body.

"I can channel electricity young man. And there's plenty more where that came from. We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

Oooh man! We're getting it on now!! This is great!! Just give the lady what she wants, yeah!!

Another, larger, shock went through his body. "Ahh! Okay! Okay! My name is Darius. Zarland." Happy now!?" He partially glanced at her but still didn't make eye contact. Renate just sighed.

"Fine." She let go and sat in her chair, while pointing at his own. "Sit. We'll make this quick."

Darius sighed and sat down, looking around the room. Aww man! You totes hurt her feelings! Look at her! She's broken! The woman actually looked more aggravated than anything else.

She pulled out a folder and began looking through records. "Ahh yes, expelled for sexual harassment. Well, we're off to a good start, aren't we? On the bright side, we don't expel too easily here at the Academy. We have, in our opinion, far more fitting punishments for those who break the rules." She snapped the folder shut with a snap. Darius jumped at the sudden noise and reflexively looked at the guidance counselor.

Aaaaaaaand here we GO!

He stared at her for only a second. Then, he suddenly stood, a determined look in his eyes. "Mister Zarland? What are you doing? Sit, we aren't done yet. I was only teasing you, young man." She smiled. "Whatever you did in the past, this is a fresh start." Darius moved around the desk, his captivating stare towards Renate continuing. "Darius..? What are you-" He then, without warning, pulled her into a standing position, wrapped her in his arms, and gave her the most romantic kiss the woman had ever experienced.

Oooh man! Woo woo woo woo! The spirit circled the two of them as if trying to put on a dazzling light show.

Meanwhile, a classroom down the hall heard a very loud noise subsequently followed by the sound of a young man crying out in horrible pain.

——

Darius sat in the classroom with a few other students. One of the boys moved over and looked over his shoulder before whispering to him. "Man, detention on your first day! I heard you kissed Renate!." Darius didn't say anything, he just sat there with his head on his desk.

"Woah, that dude kissed Renate!? Damn he has some balls!" Said another guy in the back. Darius lifted his head, a scowl on his face. A very large red hand print was visible on his left cheek, and signs of being electrocuted covered his body and clothes.

The green spirit floated in front of Darius. What a productive first day we've had! This is wonderful!

The young man snapped. "ZEPHYRUS!!! Before the spirit could react, he grabbed the floating green orb and smashed it against the desk, as if crushing a bug. The other people in the room just looked at him awkwardly.

The humanity.... The little spirit said as it fluttered to the ground like a piece of paper.

((Note: I am writing this post in assumption that Abel cannot see things on the spiritual plane, such as ghosts, etc. However, based on Abel's profile and powers, it would make sense to me if he could. Based on your post it seems that he did not notice Zephyrus, though. If Abel can actually see spirits, Zephyrus would instead go into hiding [if possible] and wouldn't be so loud out of fear of Abel noticing her. Please let me know for certain if Abel can or cannot see her, and I will be sure to take it into account accordingly. In the meantime, if he can see Zephyrus, please void out the parts where she talked and assume she was silent. Thanks! ^_^ ))

Zephyrus the spirit twitched as it lay on the ground, but Darius paid her no heed. At first, he ignored even the person who had introduced himself to him, too. Darius was never sociable, and a lot of people had a first impression of him that he was cold. Thus, when he finally realized that Abel was talking to him, he simply blinked in his direction a few times.

"Oh... uh..." He fumbled his words for a moment before finally saying something of worth. "Yeah.. My name is Darius... Zarland. Um.." He looked around the room, then at Zephyrus for a moment - who had slowly floated into the air again - then back at Abel. "Nice to meet you." This was so much easier, talking to a guy. He didn't have to worry about his pact agreement coming into effect.

Aww, it's just some dude. Who cares? Zephyrus echoed this out fairly loud, confident no one but Darius could hear her. Who cares! Who cares! Dudes can't give birth to babies! Not usually anyway~ Darius ignored her. It got easier in time to do that.

Although, Darius had to admit to one thing. He suddenly felt a lot more comfortable with the idea of talking to other guys. Maybe part of him just loved seeing the annoying spirit get mad at him. Or maybe he just knew that it couldn't be any more awkward than forcing a girl to kiss him and get called out on sexual harassment.

"Err... so uh, you're new too?" He asked Abel awkwardly, trying to get a conversation going. Not that he would usually be so quick to try and talk to people, but maybe this guy had a cool special ability? Everyone else on this island seemed to have one. Would it be rude to outright ask what Abel's was? Yeah, probably. "You wouldn't know any good places to get food around here, would you?" Well, it was the first legitimate question for Abel that he could think of.

The guy JUST said he was new, too! Why would he know that?? Think, dummy! Just go to the cafeteria or something! Jeeeez!

"Uh..." He shrugged, unsure. "Yeah... I guess I'm up for that." He somewhat reluctantly agreed to join Abel. "I mean, if you've got nothin' better to do." It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to gain some friends. He was never one to have many friends in the first place, but considering how the only person he knew here was Zephyrus, having one or two others to hang out with wouldn't hurt. His main concern right now, though, was the classes he had been signed up for. He hadn't really planned on going to college past high school before he came to the island, partly because his grades weren't very good anyways and partly because the clan he came from tended to take on jobs normal people didn't, and those jobs didn't have use for a college education. Truth be told, he was worried about just what he had gotten himself into. Was leaving his home the best choice?

It was around this point the teacher finally came into the classroom and the lesson started. Immediately, Zephyrus and gone into retreat and stayed out of view. She barely said a word, either. Did that mean the teacher could sense spirits? Or did one of the last-minute students walking in have that sort of power? Either way, he was relieved he didn't really have to put up with Zeph's garbage the entire class. Not that he comprehended the lectures very well, anyways.

"Uh.." Darius seemed a bit unsure when Abel asked him a question. Nervous, probably. He was never good at making friends. Plus, Zephyrus would probably screw it up for him somehow. He needed to get rid of her somehow. She had to follow his orders, so maybe he could come up with a really difficult task for her? He felt bad bossing her around, but the stupid spirit deserved it after everything she put him through.

Darius seemed to space out for a moment, but managed to reply. "Yeah, let's go. I don't have anymore classes today. Not sure about you guys?" He stood up and looked between Abel and his other friends. The teacher of the class was still sitting at their desk, and Zephyrus had yet to come out of hiding. Maybe the teacher was the one who could see spirits, after all. "I could really use a bite to eat, though."

He managed to come up with an idea to get rid of Zephyrus, at least. But he had to verbally command her, and he didn't want anyone to overhear him. Why? It was just awkward, maybe. He just didn't want anyone asking about it. "Oh, uh.. I just need to go to the bathroom real quick. I'll be right back, alright?" He shrugged and walked off toward the restroom in the hallway.

Once he got into the restroom, he walked into one of the stalls. He heard someone walk outside, and it seemed like he was alone. He still didn't see Zephyrus anywhere. Oh man, how awkward it was when she tried to converse with him when he was using the bathroom. Apparently, spirits didn't care for stuff like that. "Hey, Zeph, you there?" He waited a moment, but just as he started to grow concerned the green energy orb emerged from the wall and appeared right in front of him. Her sudden appearance caused him to nearly lose his balance. "Woah, don't sneak up on me like that!"

But I'm just sooo happy you called for me! What do you need? Advice? Did you find a girl!? Oh boy!

"Uhh.. yeah, sure. Why not." He shrugged, lying. Most humans would probably not believe him, but the spirit rejoiced as if she had never heard better news in her life.

What!? Really!? Oh my! This is wonderful! She flew rapidly around his head over and over again, laughing in excitement. Tell me everything! Her name! Age! Sizes!? Interests!? How many children do you think she could give you!?

Darius put his face in his hands. Maybe telling her this wasn't such a good idea. "I'm going to order you to find a seven... no! Eight leaf clover!"

W-what...? The spirit stopped dead and just hovered in front of him.

"This girl will love it! I know she will! Don't return until you have one. Okay? Thank you, Zeph! Bye now!" He 'patted' the spirit on the head and turned around to exit the stall as quickly as possible. He was afraid of her complaint.

But to his surprise, I'm going to get you the most beautiful eight leaf clover ever! was all he heard. What a relief.

Darius exited the restroom, intent on finding his new found friend again. Part of him actually felt excited! Assuming his new friend didn't decide to ditch him, "Yo, sorry about that!" would be what he greeted Abel with upon his return.

Meanwhile, in the restroom, a guy stood at the sink washing his hands. Was that dude just talking to himself in the stall? was all he could think about. What a weirdo...

Food preferences? He didn't have to think long for that one. "I'm always up for anything fried. Rarely have it, though... err, strict parent." More like strict society. Where he came from, to eat something without nutritional value was practically sinful. The few times he managed to sneak it was blissful. "But uh.. if you got somethin' else in mind that's fine I guess." He shrugged, part of him afraid of somehow offending his new-found friend.

Walking with Abel made him wonder just what power the guy had. Everyone here had one, right? Come to think of it, what power did Darius really have? Without Zephyrus, he couldn't do much besides see ghosts. Not having Zephyrus was normally something amazing for him, but part of him began to realize just how dangerous this was. He had no way of recalling her, and he couldn't really defend himself very well without her either. He heard rumors of monsters in the darker part of the island, would he be safe without his wind spirit? Would Abel protect him?

—

Meanwhile, somewhere on the island...

Eightleafclover-eightleafclover-eightleafclover-eightleafclover —- OH! You! Sir!Zephyrus flew over to a lonesome wild boar feeding on some berries. Where might I find the nearest clover patch? The boar clearly heard and saw her, for it looked up and stared at her. However, it made no other move. It just sat there chewing on its mouthful of berries. Um... Zephyrus just floated in front of it for a second. I don't speak boarese... do you know English? Or maybe —

Her words became muffled when the boar suddenly chomped down on the floating green orb of a wind spirit.