[Austria] Chapter 2.1 - The Sage of Doors & His Lovely Enchantress

[Zotsune]

When Kitsueki saw the sleeping bags and pillows she responded to Johann before he left to drop off the sleeping bags and pillows for the others in the next room over.
"Thank you Johann for the sleeping bags and pillows, I'll try and set this up somewhere I wont be in the way and then head downstairs to let you have your own space again. Maybe Reika-san can introduce me to some of the others since we were the last ones to arrive and I kinda blew up before properly introducing myself."

Kitsueki turned to Reika and asked sheepishly
"Would that be okay Reika-san? Also sorry about not using honorifics earlier, we never really used proper Japanese mannerisms in the Cherry blossom Forest and while I was panicked I forgot about them but I'm calmer now."

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

From the Living Room...

A sad child in Ute Krieger's house!? The universe ought to tremble whenever such a forlorn scene crossed her path. "Oh! No no no." Oma Ute approached. Lady Sumedha, sensing a woman of purpose, extricated herself from the path lest she be trampled. Opa Krieger looked on with a knowing smile of the events to come. The softest hands she'd ever felt gripped Drysi's, and sweetest face smiled down at her. "You cry your tears. Sadness is not for holding in. Now, come. Come." Ute Krieger pulled the triclops free of her girlfriend's grasp with one hand. Her other hand snagged one of Willow's. Before either of the girls new exactly what was happening, they were on their feet and yanked through a door that had not existed a second ago.

Just as abruptly, Oma Krieger released them and peered over their heads. Following her gaze, they could see the living room they'd only just departed. The door still stood there, open and disorienting. They were in the kitchen, as clearly evidenced by the simmering pot on the stove. "Krieger! Die andere!"

In the living room, Opa smiled. Vrey could feel the space around her bend in a way that similar to how she bent time. The contortion thrust her and Remarque onto her feet and through the door, which promptly vanished.

...Into the Kitchen
With that same dizzying speed, Oma ushered the girls to the table, seated them, blanketed each one, and tucked a small chocolate between their teeth. "It's okay." She patted Drysi on the head. "We are feste Frauen." She raised a fist and shook it as if wrestling the reins to the universe. "Strong, the spine of civilization. But to be strong we must eat!" With that, she turned away to finish dinner.

From the Living Room...
Lady smiled as the girls were whisked away, then settled into the spot where Drysi had sat moments ago. "So, Krieger, what do we know?"

In an equally quiet voice, he answered. "I don't know, but my ringer is set to max. You will know as soon as I do. But dinner is soon. Will you fetch the others?"

Lady paused less than a second, as if confirming something for herself and was surprised at the result. And though it didn't show, she was disappointed to be caught unawares by something so near. She pressed it down and rose to her feet. Like the children before her, Dr. Sumedha's eyes scanned the cascade of family photos as she ascended to the upper level. At the final image she paused and a brief sadness passed over her. Then she replaced her mask: a comforting smile and eyes that glimmered with certainty and hidden knowledge. "Children! Dinner."

...Upstairs
Johann's single visible eye lit up. "Dinner! C'mon! Oma is the best cook. Hurry!" The youngest Krieger led the charge with an eager pace, passing the guidance counselor with a beaming smile. "Thank you!"

[Straken]

Willow found her foot tapping as she chewed on the chocolate that Oma Ute had given her. She could get snippy with fellow students, her counselor, and even her mentor; but she would do her best to not get crabby at this granny. While her anger had cooled to a simmer she was still coming to terms that this house was a life boat. It had its charges and was now rowing away from danger. Willow had been sidelined, and being a little shit about that fact would only bring everyone else down. That wasn’t what her friends needed right now, and so Willow would change her cleats out for slippers for the time being. Looking over to Drysi, Willow gave a comforting smile.

Looking to expedite her transition into refugee rather than soldier, Willow gazed around and thought to her own grandparents. The Kriegers reminded her a bit of her grands on the Fairburn side of the family. Cozy country folk that lived just outside of Shotley Bridge, very welcoming, handmade gifts every year, and fun holidays spent around the hearth type. Gramps was a retired stonemason, and Nann still worked as a baker in town. Her mom’s side was, well, less so. Posh Londoners proper, they rarely hosted gatherings, and when they did it was always very stiff and formal. Grandfather worked most of his life as a lawyer, but now mostly consulted; Grandmother was an analyst for some company Willow had never pried into. Willow hoped they were all safe. Willow turned in her chair.

“Is there anything I can do to help, Oma Ute?” Willow offered. “Never been keen on sitting around when others are working.”

[Kokuten]

Shell-shocked and fighting off a sensation of numbness in her body, Drysi stared on blankly as she was led about, sniffling on every other step. Her tightly wired, triclopsi mind was spiraling so quickly that it wasn't all that difficult to get her to the table. In her seat, she looked like a little ghost, the emerald color in her eyes now more a burnished sage.

Had she lost another person? Another important person?

It seemed as though the blanket had little effect, but when the chocolate was tucked between her lips, a little light returned to her eyes.

Bleddyn had not always been Bleddyn. For many years of Drysi's life, Bleddyn was Gram: a mentor, a caregiver and a safe haven from the mundane life her father promised her. Her grandmother had covered her in warmth and dried her tears, and Oma Ute's care took her back to those times when Drysi would play in her Gram's cottage in the woods. For a moment, she wasn't the tragic victim of her grandmother's betrayal, or orphaned of the master who had taken her grandmother's place; a master who had likely just died in battle.

She was just a girl in a normal world, in a normal house.

Drysi had been in a daze for several minutes, but her eyes had finally begun to track around the room. The chocolate, melting on her lips, began to climb into her mouth with every small bite. Her fingers tightened around Willow's hand when there had been talk of her getting up to help with the cooking.

"Thank you, Gram," croaked Drysi, as her tears took to a soft, steady stream. The triclops opened her mouth for another word before a certain clown came careening in from the hallway. Manon had not only overtaken Johann, but had slid down the rail on the stairway and cartwheeled back down the hall past the wash closet to come to a stuck landing with her hands in the air in the kitchen.

“Bonjour! I am Manon Laframboise! Entertainer, enjoyer of fine, German Men, and everywoman extraordinaire! I have come to partake of le cuisine locale! But first,” boomed Manon, a person who had never known enough grandmas in her life to recognize a good one when she saw one. She rolled on behind the chairs that Drysi and Willow were tucked in, and emerged back in everyone’s line of sight in a modest maid outfit, carrying a stack of plates, “Shall I set the table? I am not to be trusted with an oven, but I have dressed many a fine dinner for les petite enfants.”

[Zotsune]

As Johann rushed past Kitsueki following Dr. Sumedha's announcement a sense of relief washed over her. This was the first time in the few short hours she knew Johann his expression wasn't anxiety driven. If someone as tightly wound as Johann could be relieved by this food maybe she could let her guard down a relax a little. Afterall she was with adults who actually cared for the now displaced students.

"Come on Reika-san let's go down and grab a seat, I hope that there are a couple seats next to each other."

When Kitsueki walked past Dr. Sumedha, she thanked her for the announcement and continued down the stairs to the kitchen at a pace much slower than Johann.

Kitsueki approached the kitchen and saw Manon in her maid outfit. "I would like to be of use too, I can bring out the dishes or drinks if anyone is thirsty. It is the least I can do."

[Kai]

"S-Sure..." Reika responded to Kitsueki. The young girl was a warrior, she had spent her life training and fighting. She could fake her way through small social gatherings, but this- this was beyond the girl's realm of experience. She was split between a sense of duty to protect and stay with the new girl, but also the familial duty of protecting her cousin from the main family. She closed her eyes and shook her head, deciding that Katerina seemed to be doing just fine and it was better to help the new girl, especially since the only other person here she really knew was of course her cousin. As such, the raven-haired swordswoman followed Kitsueki's lead in finding a spot to sit.

Katerina followed everyone in and found a chair, but chose not to sit in it, yet. she grasped firmly at the bag she had brought, and took a deep breath before unclasping it and beginning to pull out packages. these went on the seat instead of her won person, swiftly creating a pile of neatly wrapped presents that could never have reasonably fit into the bookbag that now hung at her side. "Oma Ute, If you don't mind, I'd like to hand these out once everyone's been served."

[Mr. Blackbird Lore]

Coming Down the Stairs
Lady allowed herself a small smile as she followed the children back down the stairs. Her eyes traced the photos on the stairwell a second time, pressing pieces of the littlest Krieger's puzzle into place in her mind.

In the Kitchen
She lingered at the step between living room and dining room and immediately noticed there was simply not enough room at the table. Oma Krieger, sensing the uneasiness in the room, rapidly fired off a series of orders and responses in an effort to regain control.

"Nein, nein! Sit, child, and tell me about school!" she ordered Willow.

"And you!" she ordered Manon with a wave of a wooden spoon. A chair came from nowhere and scooped her legs out from beneath her. Opa's stead, heavy hand kept the stack of plates from toppling and aided the clown in setting them on the table.

"And you!" she ordered Vrey, who fell into the nearest seat with Remarque. "No dogs!" Remarque looked at her. She sternly stared back. The dog whined and conceded, settling at his master's feet under the table. "Guter Hund."

"Wolfgang, the table is much too small." She waved at it dismissively. "Fix this while I finish these labors." Then she turned away to the stove.

Opa Krieger nodded and raised a hand toward the far wall, as if he wished it to go away. And the wall stretched. Then the table stretched, and the floor beneath it, until it was sufficient length for everyone to sit and eat. The children, already seated, would have a moment of confusion. Their eyes told them they ought to feel the movement as their chairs were spatially relocated, but there was no sense of movement. By the time the thought was completed, the transformation was finished. Extra chairs emerged from portals to fill the extra space.

Wolfgang reached out to set the table, but Lady spoke up. "If I may." Her first overt display of telekinesis in front of students was to set the table. Like Willow, she loathed being coddled. Unlike Willow, she was old enough to force others to respect her independence. A loud ringing, like an old corded phone erupted from Opa's pocket. He excused himself to take a phone call.

The table was set. The guests were seated. The food was brought to table. The Kriegers sat at their customary places at one end: Oma at the head, Opa to her right, and Johann to her left. On Johann's side were Manon, Willow, Drysi, and Vrey in that order. To Opa's right were Lady, Katerina, Kitsueki, and Reika in that order. Remarque, sensing opportunity, seized the final seat at the end. Remarkably, Oma Ute permitted this and even fetched him a bowl for food and another for water.

While a reunited family and displaced friends a world away sat to share a hearty stew in a small Texas ranch, a similarly reunited family and likewise group of displaced friends gathered in an Austrian home for potato goulash. Johann was the first served, and the first to audibly, "Mmm!" Once everyone at the table had a chance to make their own assessment, Opa Krieger cleared his throat.

"The Crisis Action Team called. The details are not perfectly clear, but Safeholme was not the only institution to be assailed. Several major universities and faculties throughout East Asia were similarly attacked. Like Safeholme, most were able to evacuate their people, but a few... were not so lucky. And our hearts go out to their families." He paused momentarily to let the children digest that information.

For his next part, he focused on Lady. "The prevailing theory is that all these attacks have been orchestrated by a group of rogue psychics, likely also positioned in East Asia-- China, they suspect. And the prevailing theory posits that this wave of attacks is premeditated; that this is only the first wave; and that they intend to achieve arcane supremacy in Asia."

The phrase arcane supremacy was likely one most of the students had not heard before. Mage warfare and strategy was a rare and niche area of study in this civilized era. But it wasn't hard to make an educated guess within the given context: someone was staking their claim.

Ute's face soured, as if the goulash was foul. Johann's gaze sank into his bowl. Lady's demeanor was as unreadable as ever, but it was clear that she was deep in thought. "Wolfgang... What about Hong Kong? The Institute of Elevated Research?" The old man frowned and shook his head. "No word from Wei Fang- or anyone else."

"Thank you." Lady was anything but grateful for this news.

[Zotsune]

When the table moved and food arrived
Not yet having sat down at the table, when the walls and table grew she stared in amazement. She knew magic can be used in myriad ways but has never seen any one practice it with such precision before. She took a seat next to Katerina once one became available. When the food arrived Kitsueki didn't say anything but her face looked grateful for all the things these strangers had done for her.

When Opa Krieger gave the update
Kitsueki looked around at all of the solemn faces not fully grasping the situation herself, she broke the silence when she asked what she thought was an innocent question. "Opa Krieger-san is there any way I can get a letter to my eldest sister? Out of all of my family she was the only one who cared for me, even smuggled me out of the Grove yesterday to get me to Safeholme this morning."

[Kokuten]

Manon whirled around, getting a very preferable seat as reward for her labors. She took in the news with the same placid reception she always did. Resilient to a fault, she dug into her own bowl of goulash, the room not quite there just yet for a joke. Instead, she looked around the room at the others, taking in the reactions, and the lack thereof.

Then her eyes settled on Johann, seeing the weight drag his head down. She tilted her head to one side and extended her hand just ahead of his face.

"Look," said the clown, her palm up. She whirled the hand around, and when it came around palm up again, she was holding the bud of a flower, "you found something beautiful looking in ze most unlikely place."

She set it to his shirt, "I think it suits you."

Drysi looked up from her food, having only been staring into the bowl.

"The Menagerie will do something," the color in the druid's eyes began to return, "They were all there. Mr. Flynn, Ms. Miyuki, Ms. Smith, Ms. Alstad. That's the whole group. There's no way they'd let anyone get away with this."

[Kai]

Kat watched in a bit of amazement as the room and table setting simply became big enough for the whole group, chairs appearing from nowhere to include everyone. still, her own chair held a pile of packages and she refused to sit, even when the phone rang and the bad news was broken to the group. Katerina's mind had been made. She had been off on her own, literally shopping the last time something horrible had happened, but she was here now, and those gifts she had bought would not go to waste. Taking Oma Krieger's silence on the matter of her question for permission, the blonde began to hand out the presents to those whom they were to be given.

In front of Johann and Drysi were set similar packages, although Johann's was a bit heavier (They could tell by the solid thunk it made when Kat placed it on the table, despite her best efforts to be gentle) Willow's package was of a very different shape, but sounded nearly as heavy as Johann's. For Vrey, a rather large box was set down, but instead of a thunk there was the distinctive crinkling noises of plastic wrappers as the contents shifted inside. And lastly of the packages, and the smallest (although those who could sense magic would sense quite a bit from the small package), went to Manon. Noticing there were additional guests in the Krieger home, in the form of her own cousin and a new girl, Katerina did feel a bit bad for leaving them out, and rummaged in her deceptively small bag before pulling out a couple of items. One was a piece of paper with some markings on it and the Michizaki clan crest, which she gave to Reika. It seemed like nothing, but the other Mahouken Practitioner's eyes seemed to light up at it, and to Kitsueki, a Jade amulet of protection that Katerina had used to wear, but no longer felt she needed.

"All of you, thank you for being here, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to be around to help before. There's a whole mess going on out there and I think it's only fair that I do what I can to make sure you all have what you need to survive in it, even if we aren't all together to support each other. even those of you we've just met, I sincerely hope that we all have the best going forward."