[Alex]Hello, Monday.

[tessa]

[Still thinking up a template thingy...]

Tension. She could sense it all around her. You didn't even have to talk to some of the kids to see what was going on in their heads. At times, Freya just wished she'd be able to get rid of the tension, the raw hate burning within so many students. She could understand the reasons, but she still thought that this was too much. Just too much. They were not gods to take some one's life. And what was going to come out of it? Some fire kid actually kills Nell and then what? Charge of murder and a lifetime in prison? But oh well, at least the others will feel better? And what about the rest? If that girl were to die, was it really going to be better? Sooner or later the guilt would start eating them alive. And they would only suffer until they slipped into depression or paranoia. Who would choose such a fate? Who would want that? Show me at least one student there, who craved of being tortured by guilt for the rest of their life. She just couldn't help the anger, boiling up and pinching her every time she thought about it. All this mess because of an unapproved fact? Well, she had not been there, but she doubted that everyone else knew the exact truth about it all. She doubted more than a handful of people knew it, really. If the truth were out, it would've gotten to the staff and if Nell really had committed a murder, she wouldn't really be wandering the halls, now would she? Of course, the cops shouldn't really start snooping around this place. And it also didn't need more attention. What were they all thinking, anyway? What if a real fight broke out? How were they supposed to explain a fiery, bloody mess to the public, anyway? Really, sometimes she got sick of the drama. This time it had gone overboard so much, that... then again, who was she to question that girl's death? She could understand the hate and why someone wouldn't want to listen to reason, but... not on this scale. It was all going to blow up in their face. And no, that is not a metaphor.

Sighing, she snapped her fingers again, creating a small flame. It was a little harder to control because of the mixed emotions, but she soon go the hang of it. Making it reappear and disappear with each snap of her fingers. She had to admit, it calmed her down. Sitting in one of the chairs and playing with that flame. It was so small and fragile... like a little heartbeat. She always found herself to calm down near fire. Of course, it wasn't a problem in the fire common room, but still... her own flames seemed to relate. They were a part of her and when watching those, she felt as if seeing her own state from the side. Well, it was hard to explain, really.

Tell you the truth, she had no idea why she was up so early, anyway. Her classes wouldn't start for at least the next two hours. Perhaps, it was just her need to think... And besides. When most of them were sleeping, she could at least pretend as if everything were fine. A pathetic excuse... a pathetic idea, even. But you couldn't really blame her for wanting the best for her people (as dramatic as it sounds). For her, the fire students were a family. No matter what, they still had an element to keep them together.

"Well, I guess the silence is nice while it lasts..." she let out, before a sigh. Well, there was no one to say it to, anyway. Well, except the flame, that is.

[alexandre]

Alexandre was sleeping in that morning. He'd been up all night discussing war and battle and injury. A lot of the younger Fire students were being terrorized by the Water elementals--he supposed that his enemies were trying to make a point, get it across to the Fire element that this was exactly what they were doing to make them uncomfortable. It was working. Alexandre's gut twisted as he was shaken into awareness by one of the girls, complaining that her little sister had taken the brunt of an attack. Alexandre had been forced to drag himself out of bed despite the fact that he was barely conscious, heading down to the medical wing to check that everything was alright. Everything was not okay.

Upon entering the Wing, several pairs of eyes turned to glare at him. Thankfully he was flanked by a couple of the Fire students who would not allow their enemies a shot at their leader--like bodyguards, he supposed--but it was still very uncomfortable as he sat down and waited. At last they would allow visitors, and he and the girl's sister went in to make sure that she was alright. Bruises from a thick vine covered her arm, suggesting that it had been used as more of a restraint than an attack without the Earth elemental realising how tight their hold was. It was these accidental injuries that were the worst. It reminded everyone with chilling finality that death could be every bit as accidental. A Water student could force too much water into your lungs, a Thunder student could shock that slight bit too hard. Deaths in war were rare, but considering everyone was out to kill Nell it felt like there would be death eventually no matter the outcome.

"Come on, we'll take you back to the dormitory," he told the girl. Her sister held her hand and glared daggers at every Earth student in the waiting room. Some looked regretful, others fearful, still others smug. The medical wing was always filled with tension due to the fact that there was an unspoken agreement about it being an area of peace. This silent contract between the two alliances was tense but understood by all. Any elemental breaking it risked punishment by their side of the war. It had been that way for decades in the school and Alex doubted that it would stop now, no matter what they were fighting over or who was in charge. In this case, he and his partner had authority over the Fire elementals. If any of them broke the sacred agreement of peace, Alex would make sure that there was some sort of reprimand.

He parted ways with the sisters as they entered the dormitory, those that had accompanied him in the effort to bring her back also dispersing themselves into their own separate activities. Alexandre sat down on the couch, sighing and messing the back of his hair with a hand. Someone spoke from nearby, and Alexandre narrowed his eyes a little. Who was she? Freya, Freya Frost. As the leader he knew the names and faces but he had never really been personally acquainted before. They were in the same class, however. She was usually too nice and soft-hearted from what he'd seen. At least for a Fire student. "It won't last long," he said dryly.

[tessa]

Freya hadn't really been paying attention to people who might or might not have been in the room, while she spoke. To be honest, there hadn't been anyone around the last time she did check. Of course, she was slightly surprised to hear someone reply. She knew that voice. She did, after all, have to know the voice of their leader, no? More then that, her classmate. Yet, they hadn't always been in the same class. Perhaps she was mistaken, but wasn't it Alex who got held up a year? At least, she could've sworn it was him. She didn't know exactly because she had not really followed every step the guy made. For her, it was a must to know about the female leader and while she had a very, very healthy interest in boys, she didn't exactly run after all of them.

"Alex..." she began, only then to remember they hadn't really spoken and she should probably show more respect. "-andre..." she added close enough but that one moment was probably a lost cause already. And she hoped he didn't expect her to call him 'Sir Blackthorn' or anything. Yet, she did have to admit, it was a nice surname. Really, who would go and want t mess with a Blackthorn? Just think about it. The name itself told you he could sting and wasn't white or fluffy... In this case, it might just be entirely true. Well, minus the 'white' part. Come to think of it, judging from Freya's last name, she was supposed to be a heartless bitch. Yeah, they already had those in the academy... and oddly enough they were said to reside in either the thunder or the fire dorms. Odd, wasn't it? Well sure, almost every fire student had anger issues. And if you catch a girl on the wrong week who just happens to have anger issues and the ability to control fire, it can turn out to be a living hell, but surely it wasn't that bad. After all, Freya did happen to know other fie girls. On nice days.

But would you look at Alexandre... the guy looked like he did not know the definition of 'rest' at the moment. Perhaps it was just the slightly messed up hair and the just barely noticeable bags under his eyes. Maybe he drank lots of fluids before going to bed? Then again, who was she kidding? No wonder the leaders would look bad (and thank you god for not letting her say it out loud) during this war. "Morning..." she would've added a 'good', but it probably wasn't. She guessed no one got extra positive mornings these days. Also, she would've added ‘sunshine’, but she had no idea how quickly he could get mad... Wouldn't want to pull a lion by its whiskers, so to say. He was, after all, her leader.

Making the flame disappear, she smiled at the guy. "Sleep well?" Well, she couldn't act as if she didn't care. She did not see some of his actions fit. Well, most of the actions, if you count from the start of this silly war, but she couldn't just turn her back. The boy was a leader and most of the times, they had to do what seemed right at the time. Also, she figured a lot of students had grown into the idea of getting to Nell. How would it even stop in an instant? The most idiotic thing that had been done was the declaration of this war. She couldn't turn back time, so she couldn't flat out hate him. That would not be rational, don't you think?

And actually, she was happy she got rid of the flame when she did. The little flame had started to grow while she wasn't concentrating on it. She might've just torched down the chair she was sitting in.

[alexandre]

There weren't really any formalities behind being a leader except for the fact that your students were expected to show you some respect and mind their manners around you. Cussing out or insulting the leaders could often result in some sort of punishment--or at least the shamed leader would wait until you did something worthy of reprimand and bring down their authority twice as hard. But really, as a leader Alexandre was pretty relaxed. He would enforce the curfews and try his best to make sure people left the dormitories on time in the morning, but he didn't run his element like an army or anything. He wouldn't get you into trouble for looking at him funny if you were having a bad day.

"You can call me Alex," he said mildly, though he sounded drained and bored and just not in the mood for anything but sleep right now, "I really don't care." He had went through that phase of insisting that Alexandre sounded too formal once, and then he'd flipped it around and insisted everyone call him by his full first name. This had all been last year, before he had gained the title of an elemental leader or anything. Now he really didn't give a damn what he was called. Some called him Blackthorn, a few people called him Al--now that was something he'd quickly put a stop to--but most just stuck to two titles that could be switched between depending on your mood. His surname didn't really have any legacy behind it. Some families had reputations in the Academy and you'd recognise a classmate's surname in a book on the Academy history that made references to their parents, grandparents, or even relatives further back. The history books weren't something that Alexandre really read much of, however, as he'd never been much of a reader. Alexandre wasn't illiterate or anything, he just wasn't very interested in libraries or reading or anything of the sort.

Instead of verbally responded to her 'morning', he just nodded dully. The Fire leader wasn't in the mood for pleasantries at the moment, he felt sick and tired and drained and everything that someone shouldn't really be feeling at this time of day. He'd enjoyed being an elemental leader up to this point, but now that he realised what it was like to lead during war, he might have been all too happy to revoke his position to someone who had more incentive to lead. It wasn't that he was lazy or didn't want to be a leader, perhaps, but it was due to the fact that he was realising his decision to fight may have been the wrong one. Dealing with karma was not fun. Sighing, he decided that he was being rude by practically ignoring Freya and managed to return a very unenthusiastic, "Morning." Yes, yes it was morning. It was a shit morning and a terrible morning and acknowledging the fact that he still had the rest of the day to suffer through wasn't his favourite thing on the agenda.

She asked if he'd slept well, however, and he turned to glower at her. 'Really?' his gaze seemed to suggest. "Do I look like I've slept well?" he grumbled. He knew that Freya was usually nice and figured that she might just be making snide remarks to make him feel guilty or something. He wasn't in the mood for that today. "No one sleeps well in the middle of a damned war, especially not when their freshman are being assaulted. Tell me, Freya, did you get a good sleep last night?" His tone was perhaps more venemous than he'd intended, but that was what happened when you poked an irritable Fire elemental. "Because if you did you might as well go enjoy your damn day somewhere else. I'm not in the mood."

[tessa]

Freya didn’t know what to expect from the guy. It was early and for some reason the person, she’d expect to abuse the sleeping hours the most, was sitting there, almost in front of her. Well, she didn’t know the reason but certainly knew it had nothing to do with her. The two hadn’t had a normal conversation since… well, probably never. She didn’t remember. Perhaps, they had exchanged ‘Hello’s and ‘Ya got a spare pencil?’ but she doubted the latter one. As much as Freya liked reading, she didn’t really study for her life. Then again, she hadn’t seen Alex with a real book in his hand. Maybe he reads in his room? Oh, oh, what if it’s something he didn’t want people to know? For example, he could be a major fan of Twilight or Harry Potter. Oh, there came the mental image. Alexandre Blackthorn, wearing a robe, a pointy hat and those round glasses. Perhaps it was her lack of sleep which made her imagine this so clearly. Either way, it was funny as hell. The girl just tightened her abdomen and kept it in. No laughing at the leaders. At least, no making fun now. It was a depressive time but laughing about a mental image this early in the morning wouldn’t be good. She really doubted Alexandre would find himself getting imagined in a Potter get-up funny. Come to think of it, the fact Freya even thought of something like that would just be wrong… on so many levels. That would lead to wondering what on earth she was thinking when wide awake and that might lead to a lot of mixed emotions.

So yes, she decided to let that slide. And for a moment, she figured it was only natural that he wouldn’t reply. After all, being a leader might make one tired of the constant greetings and such. Sure, it was a little rude but it was too early to criticize anyone, she figured… well, almost anyone. This didn’t change the thought of Alex making a huge mistake by this declaration of war.

Freya had glanced back to her earlier target – the empty space on the wall – when she hadn’t received a reply. Well, perhaps that was how their first real conversation was supposed to end? Without even starting? Perhaps, she had to try and approach the guy from a different angle. Right, what would Seth say to him? Then again… she didn’t want to attempt ‘guy-talk’ with Sir Blackthorn. Indeed, that’s what she’d call him in her thoughts. The big, mighty leader of the fire folk. She didn’t mean it as some sort of a tease. Nope, she just thought it fit the guy, for some reason.

He replied to her greeting which resulted in her turning her light-blue eyes back at him. So, they might actually have a shot a conversation. That was great. She couldn’t help but smile, really. You see, she just wanted to know the opinions in this war matter before pointing fingers. Yet, after talking with Nell and Josh, she had felt her blood boil, she wouldn’t really go against Alex… Crappy choices or not, he was her leader and the Fire kids had so far been her real family. Honestly, she had spent more time in these dorms than she had spent with any of her foster parents. Yet, no one really knew that. Therefore, it was only natural that she seemed too soft or too weird. Really, she didn’t care. Her self-esteem was low before that too, thank you very much.

Yeah, he had terribly misunderstood that question, now hadn’t he? Yet, Freya was not the person to go and feed every explanation into someone. Well, she had figured for it to be a rhetorical question… or rather, a small joke. She didn’t mean to point out that his decision of war was a mistake, which it was… but oh, you get the point. Why was it that with these ‘really easy to anger’ fire guys, they always figured you’re just trying to piss them off? As if it was the sole purpose of everyone. Like no, really. Freya, obviously, woke up with an intention to tick off Sir Blackthorn every day. No really, she woke up and actually asked herself on how to do it. And every time she did succeed, the girl could go to bed with a smile on her face. Just once, she’d like to shake people like that. Yes, shake. As in, grab them and move them back and forth rather quickly, making it a shaking. Weird or not, she just felt an inner need to do it one day.

As for that question in return… She only frowned lightly. At that moment, she couldn’t help but think it was a little childish. And probably, it showed on her face. However, she did answer. ”If I would’ve slept, I’d still be doing it.” she gave out with a sigh. Nope, she wasn’t going to argue this early in the morning. Let him hiss at her or whatever. Deep breaths, less temper. Right. ”Sorry,… Alex, I didn’t mean it like that… I guess I was just wondering how you were… I think, I got my answer.” she said, a kind smile gracing her lips. Well, no, she was not about to leap at him with comforting words. The girl was glad he still had the energy to actually be mean. Well, while it might not make sense to most of you, she was just glad he was being a ticked off fire student. Wanting to shake them or not, she really couldn’t live there without the short tempers.

”It isn’t worth it, is it?” she asked in a calmer tone, her smile slipping away and her gaze slipping back to the wall. He can go off about her asking stupid questions but he was partially responsible for this war in the first place. She just wanted to know if he was still as anxious to get to Nell as it had started out to be. She certainly hoped not. He had just mentioned some of the results. It would be stupid – no, there wouldn’t be a right term to describe the insanity going on in his head if he really figured it was still the right path to choose. No really, who would go for ‘Yeah, no matter we all might kill each other in the end! Let’s do it for an unproven fact!’ with all due respect, Freya would probably try to punch him if that were the case. Right now, the blonde just hoped for the right answer if Sir Blackthorn would even grace her with one.

[alexandre]

Alexandre scowled deeply at Freya. She was all cheeriness and smiles compared to him, and the irate Fire leader really couldn't care less about her. "Because of course I'm psychic and I knew that," he snapped sarcastically, rolling his eyes. How was he supposed to know that she hadn't slept last night? It wasn't like he stalked every single Fire elemental to see what they did before and after they went to bed. He also didn't give a shit if she thought he was childish. If anything, she was the one who had started this conversation with her 'joking' remark, one that he hadn't found funny in the least. He was sour and had a temper just like any normal Fire student would have. "If you're going to assume I know everything you're thinking, go to a damn psychic and talk to them, because I don't." He didn't look at her, instead glowering at the fireplace. He stared at it until the flames jumped to life, coaxed forth by the embers of a dying fire from earlier. Keeping the flames burning gave him something to focus his anger on so that he didn't totally go off on this girl. She was angering him for indescribable reasons. Didn't she understand that this was how the Fire element worked? You didn't bug people here.

The scowl on his face only increased in severity as she continued to talk. God, did this girl ever shut up? True, she hadn't said much to him, but when someone was irking you it was almost as if every word they said grated on your subconscious mind and attacked your buttons. She was pressing buttons even Alex wasn't aware that he had. He had a longer fuse than some in the dormitory, but it still wasn't a very good idea to bother him when he was upset. "If you were wondering how I was," Alex spat, "a 'how are you?' might have worked a little better." She might still have gotten a glower and a snapped remark, but it was better than asking him if he'd slept well when he'd obviously been through hell and back thus far with this stupid war. "Or you could have just kept your thoughts to yourself. Ever tried that?" He was moody and irritable, tired and irate. Freya likely wasn't going to get a positive response out of the Fire leader no matter how much she poked and prodded him.

He turned his intense glare onto Freya when she spoke. "If you want to talk about the war, go skip off to the flower children and leave me be," he spat. This was what happened when you pushed his temper to the brink. Everything you said started to irk him, everything you did was as annoying as nails scraping down a chalkboard. "I'm not going to say anything about it. I don't give a damn if it's worth it, you're not an elemental leader and so I won't have this discussion with you." He was sick of arguing with Elaine and watching his element suffer, sure, but it seemed that Freya had chosen the wrong path when it came to speaking to him. They were not friends--they didn't even know one another. He didn't trust Freya as a confidant and didn't even trust her as someone to vent to about this stupid war.

[Sorry for the length--Alex can't ramble as good as the others xD]

[tessa]

Fine, fine, he was grumpy, she got that. But honestly, she was there, early in the morning. He had responded earlier, that no one should be able to sleep well, so that last response just wasn’t needed, in her opinion. Tell you the truth, she did not know what to think of the guy. Was he really grumpy enough to not spit things out only for the sake of the last word? Well, Elly was confused. She expected some things out of her attempt to converse with the guy, but this was not one of those. What was she supposed to get. Was she supposed to get hurt or intimidated by that or something? Well, she knew respect but she wouldn’t curl up in a ball and start crying. No way, the fire leader was that irritated, right?

And quite frankly, he reminded her of a little child. She heard the responses and didn’t bother to retort to the first ones. She really imagined a child sitting in his place, his arms crossed over his chest, his cheeks puffed and his eyes drawn to some corner of the room, a frown sitting on his forehead and all his words going along the lines of ‘I don’t wanna!’. The resemblance was surprising. She still didn’t look back at him. He might snap at her for looking too, so she just kept silent and listened, her hand sliding over her lips from the side, in order to hide the corners of her lips curling up. No, no, she wasn’t laughing at him or anything. And no, she gained no pleasure from getting barked at. She just really imagined her ‘kid theory’. Please understand, it really did seem amusing to her. It was official. Her lack of sleep definitely increased her potential to imagine things so much more clearly.

But, that last bit… she had to say, the girl shot him an immediate glare. She had probably never done that before. Indeed, up till now, she had tried her best to keep her anger suppressed no matter what. Or at least she tried. But this time, she just couldn’t help it. She didn’t even feel bad about getting angry at him, you know. It was only because of a few words too, but to her, he had no right to utter them. As the leader, he shouldn’t ever dare to utter the words ‘I don't give a damn if it's worth it’. ”Then who does?” she asked immediately after those words left his lips. Tell you the truth, there was so much compressed anger beaming from her tone, it was surprising she wasn’t ripping things apart with her teeth.

”With all due respect, Sir Blackthorn, you have no right to utter such words. If you don’t give a damn if it’s worth it, we’re fighting this because of a whim? By the end of the year, no students will be left. But hey, maybe by then you will know if endangering everyone in this dormitory is worth it or not. So, yay, at least something will be good. A few more scars, deaths… but no, no, no rush.” she spat, her words overflowing with sarcasm and traces of hate.

The girl left her seat, standing straight and finding it impossible not to glare at him. ”And I would go discuss this with the earth kids but no – wait, that’s right – we’re in the middle of a war with them because people started a war based on an assumption and mixed emotions!!” Yep… she was mad. Like, fists and jaw clenched mad. Her eyes glaring daggers(which looked a little intimidating since they looked ice-blue at that moment) and her tone mixed with obvious anger and despise. This.. this… KID was just impossible. Who made him leader, again?

”I don’t expect you to suddenly tell me everything or just open up as if it were some cliché soap opera. Just think a little before you speak, Alexandre. And I don’t care if I get some divine punishment for speaking my mind. Come to think of it, you could just give me a burnmark now so at least you could say you did what you had to.” she hissed the last few words, feeling her body heat up. Who cared if he was having a bad morning, it was one of those rare times when Freya had really gotten angry. Sure, this might end with shouting. So what? Even if an accident happened and she were to get really hurt, so long this girl was only afraid of spiders, thank you very much.

[alexandre]

Alexandre cocked an eyebrow at her--Sir Blackthorn, really? He shook his head irritably, aware that this girl was starting to grate on his last nerve. Why the hell had she even carried on the conversation if she was this opposed to him? Freya had made an off-hand remark and Alex had dryly replied, there had been no need to continue conversing past that point. "I'm not a knight," he muttered. Wasn't it a little stupid to give people nicknames like that? Juvenile, even? "And what do you mean, I have no right?" he scoffed. "It's not like you have authority over what I can and cannot say. I am voicing my opinion because you asked it--why question me if you can't deal with my answers?" Bluish eyes narrowed with intense irritation. This girl irked him. It wasn't often that Alex got mad at his own--generally the Water and Earth elementals pissed him off, and he could be civil around the others.

When it came to a subject of temper, this very confrontation proved that Alexandre had one. He just wasn't as immediately aggressive as he had a reputation for being. He was a leader as well as a teenager, so he had to exhibit some amounts of self control when it came to a girl like Freya. He could feel his rage burning as if she was stocking the fires with a fine supply of wood, and the leader clenched his jaw. What did she want from him? If she was looking for an agreement, this wasn't the place to get it. Alexandre wasn't agreeable if he had a separate opinion from your own. He would speak his mind.

His features slipped into an even more prominent scowl. "We are fighting," he hissed, "because we have an alliance to uphold. Don't like this? Try to convince the Thunder element to back down, they won't listen either." He was incredibly frustrated with Freya right now and the fact that she seemed to think of her own opinion as being superior to his own. People needed to stop attacking him for being the only one responsible for this war! The two Thunder leaders would have went ahead whether he wanted them to or not, and the female Fire leader had practically demanded that they support their allies. He'd just agreed with her. Why didn't Freya attack the girl? Why Alex? Especially on such a stressful day when he was clearly upset about the freshmen being targeted.

Oh, so she was on Earth's side? She would go talk to them if there wasn't a war? That decided it--Alexandre was done with this girl. She was technically disregarding his authority as leader by attacking his character, and she wasn't in agreement with the Alliance on top of that. Alex may have been doubting his views on the war, but that didn't mean he was going to sit down and admit that to someone who had no authority. "Then announce your betrayal," he challenged, narrowing his bluish gaze at her. "If you have such a problem with my element, my alliance, then don't stay." He was frustrated, so he was ready to make his threats. He usually didn't jump on people like this, but she'd managed to infuriate him quite quickly. "Either you're with us or against us, Freya Frost. If you're that fond of the flower children, go see if they'll be tolerant--I'm certainly sick of you."