Morning Routines [Open]

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspPower and adrenaline flowed through Saber’s veins faster than his blood could pump. He felt the heat of his energy moving and could feel his body ready to burst. Combat was something he had learned to flourish in because of his previous line of work, yet it was not something he indulged in. It was his way of life and it was all he knew. The instant the “Professor” turned her back; Saber’s fighting instinct immediately popped into his mind. His body twitched and the boy took a step forward. The thoughts of where to target, locations of vital organs on the woman’s body, flooded Saber’s mind like a virus. His eyes scanned the short figure and energy flared in his arms. Two bright explosive collections of his blue ammunition formed above the boy’s palms. He was ready to fire.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspOne thing held him back though; consequence. If he fired now and potentially blew the woman to pieces, what would happen? Would he be put under arrest? Would he be crucified and thrown off the island? Aside from those possibilities, what if this woman really was a teacher? If she was, then most likely she had some sort of power on her own. An attack could cause her to become hostile, far more so than she may have been during their verbal standoff. Saber would find himself in an unfavorable position against a force that he may not be able to withstand with his current power ability. An additional condition that would be against him was the weather. The air around him was draining his energy slowly as he fought to keep warm. That energy wouldn’t be able to be used towards combat if he wanted to stay alive.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspAnother possibility was that the woman was someone important somewhere; a High-Value Target. Should he kill her, or even injure her in the slightest, Saber could spark something bigger than himself. He could put his home country, the island, and even himself at risk for some unknown force to attack. The woman had appeared out of nowhere and Saber still couldn’t trust her words that she was a teacher. This woman, this… Aurora Silivasi… Saber needed confirmation of some sort. He needed to get closer; he’d have to play nice.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspWith her back to him and her attention on the wolf-creature which had started to flee, Saber “disarmed” himself and cut off the energy flowing out of his body. He retracted the natural-flowing force back into his veins and returned to focusing it on keeping Mother Nature from taking his body from him. He adjusted his short-sleeved, brown shirt and tucked it comfortably back into his desert pants before walking carefully through the snow. He strode out onto the ice and pushed some energy into the hardened blue sheet to help it handle his weight. It crackled beneath the pressure, but it held firm. Well, it held at least until Saber reached the other side where Miss. Silivasi was standing. For the instant he stepped off, the ice fell out from beneath where his last step was. The rest of the lake suffered no damage, but a second small hole had been formed alongside the first hole where the wolf-creature had appeared from.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThe boy didn’t say a word as he walked up to the tree he had fired at and placed his hand softly up against its bark. The upper section was charred from the impact of his strike, but it wasn’t to terribly hurt. Of course, that was only on the outside. When Saber connected himself with the tree in order to repair the damage, he felt the pain of the immobile creature as well as its sadness for being struck. It had been awoken from its long slumber because of the damage and the internal conscience of the natural beast was in shambles. Saber frown at the white noise he heard and shut his eyes. Healing the tree would be a bit more difficult than the last one, which wasn’t as confused but more understanding of Saber’s action.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspWhen his life-line synced with the Tree’s, Saber was immediately put under an interrogative spell. He was bombarded with whys, whos, and whats. His mind was invaded by a booming voice which questioned every thought he had and his energy was sapped away vigoriously. The Tree discovered its assailant, and it was angry. Saber grit his teeth and clutched onto the bark as he tried to keep the creature calm as he repaired the damage done. Yet it was no use, the tree was awake, it was strong, and it was pissed. Before Saber could repair too much of the damage, he had already been robbed of nearly sixty percent of his overall energy pool. This tree was an Elder.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspKnowing this, Saber had no choice but to disconnect. He cut the energy line and ripped his hand from the tree, tearing off some of the bark. A short line of a mixing blue and green light followed the piece of bark until Saber released and dropped the object. He staggered backwards, distancing himself from the greedy tree until he forced himself to stop at the edge of the water. He felt exhausted, his head light, and his vision was blurry. His crystal eye was of no use and broke down automatically as the manipulator attempted to get his systems back under control. The boy conducted a quick evaluation check and affirmed the thoughts he had about his position; he was no longer in any condition to fight. Saber was vulnerable and he was on the verge of falling over in the cold. It was already straining him to keep himself warm. The tree’s theft didn’t help.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“Fine.” Saber muttered as he looked down from the tree, his eyes diverting to the blonde haired mystery a few paces away from him.

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“We’ll play it your way.” The boy hated to admit it, but he didn’t have any choice. Without a physical weapon to fall back on aside from his fists, there was no way he could stand any chance against the woman. In addition, he was starting to realize how much of a fool he was for raising his weapons against a woman in the first place. His adrenaline was truly getting to his head.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspAir escaped Saber’s lips slowly and heavily as he sighed. His chest collapsed and his body felt heavy for a moment until he refilled his lungs with fresh oxygen. It was as if he was resurrecting himself from the dead. The tree he had just tussled with had almost sent him to that astral realm, so Saber was extremely thankful for being able to pull back. Even so he still felt dead. For that moment after he essentially admitted that he would submit, Saber could barely feel his body. His mind was scattered and his thoughts unable to be collected. He couldn’t control his energy and the boy knew full well what could occur should that happen for too long. Death would be certain, as his central core would perform an action much like a small super nova. Should that not occur, he’d most likely freeze to death.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspRelaxing and taking in a death breath helped Saber regain his mental footing. He took several, causing his blood to flow as it normally had, with each cell full of its stable load of oxygen which would be dispersed amongst his body. The adrenaline flowing through his veins was dissipating, and the rampant energy streaks were beginning to return to his core. For Saber, it felt like his recovery was taking hours as every moment was painfully elongated. Yet, he knew that on the outside, Saber had only taken a handful of breaths. The eternity he felt, that time-lapse, was something he had felt only a few times before. It was a frightening thing because the Manipulator knew full well how unstable he was.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThe scientific experiment, the abnormal man-made war machine, Saber was constantly on the edge of life and death. One false move, one false attack, one false trigger and his chest would blow apart like a nuclear bomb. It was disturbing to know what could happen to him, but he had to live with it. Just as he had always done after the tests were finished. Remain calm and soldier on, that was all he knew how to do and right now; it was all he could do. The blonde-haired woman in front of him would not wait for his petty excuses and he would not make her. Saber had to save face, at least a little bit.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspHowever, when the boy saw a piece of cloth being tossed his way, Saber realized how much of a horrible position he was in. His arms moved slowly, far too slowly, and the cloth actually hit him right in the chest. The ball of cloth, thrown at a speed he could have been able to catch with his fingertips normally, soared right passed every chance of capture that Saber could put up. When it touched his torso Saber nearly collapsed. He was in shock of what had just occurred and stared at the woman’s cloak as it unraveled on top of his forearms. How shameful. Yet Saber was thankful and he slowly pulled the object which would provide warmth around his shoulders.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspWith the cloth set and Saber finally able to conjure up a slight bit of energy to protect his toes, he felt ready to move once more. It wouldn’t be for long and Saber would have to head for a building immediately, but it was better than falling over. Thankfully it seemed that the woman, Miss Silivasi, was intent on returning to shelter as well. Saber shut his mouth and didn’t attempt to argue. The fool didn’t try to act defiant either by standing around. He knew that he’d have to return to the school at some point, so he figured it would be best to carry on now. With the cloak thing nestled tightly around his torso, Saber began to follow Miss. Silivasi, moving up to a bit of a rear flanking position. He didn’t want to walk beside her, but didn’t wish to stray too far behind.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspAdding a bit more to Saber’s luck, or working against it, the proposition Miss. Silivasi have given him earlier seemed to crop up again. She wasn’t going to ask him much, but the woman was willing to open herself up to questions again. Saber had many question, hundreds, which he wanted answered. Although he knew full well he wouldn’t be able to ask nearly eighty percent of them. Those types of questions were reserved for private meetings, higher-ups, and his brothers back at the base in the United States. The rest of course, Saber felt comfortable with asking anyone. Something was bothering him the most though, and Saber wanted that itch to be scratched the most over everything else.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“This is an island for the abnormal, the gifted, and the supernatural...” Saber muttered as he glanced up towards the school, his eyes focusing on the front walls of the distant buildings.

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“…many others I assume are here in situations varying from abandonment, banishment, and some who have run away from the world, afraid of what it has to offer and others who had seen its hidden horrors and run away from those terrors.” A light ting of pain crossed Saber’s mind as he considered the lives he had affecting himself. He had killed fathers, mothers, sons, brothers, sisters… all under orders for a nation which had turned its back on him.

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“I also assume some are here simply to enhance themselves. If this is true…” The boy held his tongue for a moment, letting his mind process his words carefully as he picked them out.

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“…then why should I feel at home here? I see nothing but sorrow and loneliness within those distant walls as my fellow ‘students’ search for some sort of safety net to fall back on. Why have we been brought here?” The boy didn’t expect any specific answer, and he wanted to ask the woman why he was there more specifically. Yet he knew he couldn’t.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThis woman was a teacher, should Saber trust her words. She was not the principle or the person whom had invited him to this island. That question would most likely be avoided if he asked it now, but the least he could ask for was something more generalize. He didn’t know much about this island until he was notified of his transfer to it. For all Saber knew, he was a part of another research operation. Gaining a bit more knowledge of this island and his surroundings would be something key to his next move. A strategy of survival and a plan of sorts were both already beginning to form in his mind. A plan which Saber had high hopes to develop while he lived here.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThe school seemed to move further and further away with each of the steps Saber took. Fear of getting stuck in the snow, frozen again like he had been in northern Siberia at one point, made him cringe. It was a pitiful experience and one that didn’t need to have occurred. Yet three weeks in that chilling snow swamp was the more horrendous thing he could ever have experienced. Although this island was much small and there was refuge just out of reach, Saber could feel his body reacting; His breathing sped up and forced him to relax his chest, the heart in his rib cage thudded against the bones, his eyes blurred slightly and darted back and forth between the snow where he stepped and the school ahead of himself, his skin turned into ice as the energy pool inside of himself became more and more strained. The boy was forced to redirect his energy to his core vitals. This was no life or death situation, but Saber could feel his mind starting to collapse.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“Oh I hate the weather.” Saber thought to himself as he released a sigh. He glanced over to the woman who was a little ways ahead of himself. Maybe he should have dressed a little more for the weather.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspWith a sharp breath, Saber closed his eyes and took a bit heavier of a step forward, burying his foot into the snow and caused his boot to touch hard dirt. The instant his heel thumped against the ground, several blue lines shot out from beneath his pants and darted into the snow and earth. The blue lines connected with green and Saber began to drawn life out of the area around his lower leg. The energy from nature around his legs was quickly molded and adjusted to match his own blueprint before being thrust into Saber’s own lifelines. When he had to take another step forward, Saber swiftly disconnected the lines from one foot and opened them in his other. Each step was fluid and brief, just as they had been doing before so he wouldn’t have to adjust his walking pattern. However, Saber could feel warmth slowly coming back to him as he pulled more and more into his body.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspNow that his body was beginning to stabilize, Saber turned his attention to the Teacher. After he asked his question, she seemed ready to speak and answer him. For Saber, the perfect answer was a complex one which would have allowed him to avoid any interaction with others. Something along the lines of the school not being a home, but just a place of refuge, or maybe a place where abnormal people just end up. As the woman spoke, Saber found that the answer she was giving him was indeed not what he was looking for. It saddened him to think so but at least he had asked, and at least she had answered. A month ago if Saber asked a question, he could have been nagged at for questioning authority. It seemed the privilege of civilian life had its perks.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspIn the end, Saber didn’t walk away from his question empty handed. He learned that not everyone here was here by choice, but a few were. Like the woman speaking, some were here to teach. Saber could bet that others had come here for the same reasons she had said; safety. Maybe some didn’t have a home and this place was it. It was a tough thing to wrap his mind around at first, but Saber could understand. He may have been a complete idiot with common sense, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t received an education both book wise and morally. Society was a harsh thing, and without the military Saber probably wouldn’t have been able to get along with anything. Though, without the military Saber wouldn’t even be where he was. He wouldn’t have been through what he had been, he wouldn’t have met the people he did, and he wouldn’t have gone through that program. And the military is what he was thankful for because without it, he wouldn’t have had that experience. Saber’s internal conflict between his love and hatred of the military made him smirk.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“It seems this school has more to it than I thought.” Saber muttered as he looked up towards the buildings which were coming much, much closer now.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThe walls which had been raised from the island’s grounds were objects which Saber saw as doors. He looked at them with curiosity and fear, but he also looked at them with a sparkle in his eye. It reminded him of a feeling which he had been forced to keep locked up inside of himself for years, a feeling which he was trained to never show again. That feeling was something he’d most likely be reprimanded for, but it was one that he had full intentions of taking the reins of. This school was a place like none other he had been to before and the soldier inside of him felt uneasy. He didn’t know a thing about it and there was no one supplying him any intelligence he could trust. With that in mind, he’d have to take things into his own hands.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“I only have one other question for you, Miss Silivasi.” Saber flexed his jaw a little and scanned from one building to the next, searching for something within the walls.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“Where is the library?”

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspAs he began to anticipate heat and warmth within the large walls of one of the Academy’s buildings, Saber lowered the amount of energy he stole from the land around him. He had gathered enough to pull himself out of the figurative red zone and he was fairly confident in his ability to remain alive for another minute or so of being outside. As much as he was used to the world and its natural antics, Saber was quite certain he could have lasted almost an hour on the bare minimum amount of energy before suffering any physical damage. That was probably the most natural thing about him, and that was what he was most happy for after everything; he was still a human-being. However it was almost second nature for him to begin to rely on the injected abnormalities after even a moment of discomfort. It made him feel more like a monster because of it.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspStill, that abnormality had got him this far. How he used the powers bestowed upon him, as well as what he did after being released was up to him. Now as Saber stepped inside of the building behind the woman he had been talking to and following, he listened to her directions and made a swift mental note of it all. During his morning workout, Saber had been able to circle the grounds without being bothered so he was able to create a mental map of the overall school layout. The next step would be to do the same with each individual building by walking through the halls. That would take time, and he’d have to do so much more subtly.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp“Thanks for the directions. I’ll be taking my leave now.” Saber bowed his head slightly to the woman before turning his back to her. He straightened up his posture and nearly marched down the hall, but relaxed slightly as to not be too stiff.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspFor him intelligence was the most important thing in any situation, even while in school. Right now he needed to learn as much about his surroundings as possible. Whether it was from a person or a thing, Saber needed to pull this school apart one way or another. He needed to figure out its layout, find the more secure and elusive hiding spots, as well as the locations with the best visuals of the surrounding areas. Aside from the actual physical school, Saber needed learn the professors by name and face as well as where they could be found, he had to learn about the key students in the classes, and he had to figure out the school schedule; class times, class locations, organizations of the classes, and the layouts of the different rooms at specific times. Thirdly, he needed to find out the locations of the different rooms based on their type; music room, gymnasium, cafeteria, regular class rooms, the teacher offices, as well as the distances between each of the rooms. Saber would go as far as learning the distances between each of the desks if he needed to. All of the subtle information most people didn’t pay much attention to; Saber had to figure out somehow without catching to much attention.

<p>&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbspThe library was a good start if he wanted to get a foundation beneath himself. In nearly every library there were maps, history books, and sometimes newspapers. He’d be able to use those to figure out layouts as well as the people who were of key interest. Everything else would fall into place afterwards. One day at a time, Saber would bust down the walls, break every pane of glass, and unscrew every nut and bolt until he knew the Academy inside and out. Once he was able to establish that, he’d be able to move forward. It would take him several weeks to accomplish his goal, but when it was all over he would be able to move about this foreign land without having to look over his shoulder. He was already on edge enough.