IIYM Classes:Main Forum/Basic Charms/Names that Kind of Sound the Same

## Lucilucia (9/10)

Luci Simonetti

Luci strolled into Basic Charms, grinning as he swung his messenger bag, humming a tune under his breath. Unlike his facade shows, he was deeply distressed about something he had uncovered earlier but refused to show his true emotions, so instead, he sat down and started chatting animatedly with someone near him about the quiz that was coming up soon.

Lucia Wright

She was at the front, of course, her back arched straight and her pen was scrawling across a notebook with small, neat, cursive. Around her was a scatter of pens and highlighters, creating her notes multi coloured and highly organised. She was on top of this class, more so than 96% of the other people in there, and wasn't worried over the quiz. A section of her mind was taken up by a male voice, chattering on and on about the quiz and wondered how someone could talk so much.

Luci Simonetti

He shook his head when another student asked him if he was worried, all the while scanning the room as he answered. "I've been taking tutoring since I was twelve, this stuff is a piece of cake." Lucia briefly caught his eye as he subconsciously wondered why someone would need so many pens and highlighters.

Lucia Wright

She turned her face away, hiding the roll of her eyes. *Rich Prick.* She picked up a highlighter, highlighting a title, the heel of her shoe tapping against the floor as she waited for the class to start.

Luci Simonetti

He finished the conversation after assuring an anxious student they wouldn't fail and stood up to stretch and go confront Professor Lu about something. He passed over a packet of exercises the professor had given him the day before and asked for another one. Slightly surprised, Professor Lu flicked through the packet, astounded to see it all completed, and for what he skimmed, correct. He told Luci he'd give him another one after class and the boy thanked him before turning to return to his seat. He caught a glimpse of Lucia's notebook and kept himself from making a face. Instead, he just snickered as he passed her and sat down.

Lucia Wright

She turned her head to look at him, sneering slightly at the snicker, but kept her mouth shut. She knew him. Luci or some shit. ~~Name thief~~. Still. She didn't really care for the boy, despite him tying her at top of the class. It's not like she didn't need extra help from the professor. Plus, she thought looking at the box, looked like a show off.

Luci Simonetti

As he waited for class to begin, he took out his camera and started fidgeting with it, fine tuning things and taking pictures around the classroom. Lucia was in a few shots, but the focus was only on her once. He turned the flash off so it wouldn't startle anyone but anyone who looked in his direction could tell he wasn't just looking at his camera.

Lucia Wright

She turned her head, eying the camera, but quickly turned her attention back to her notes, summarising and summarising. She'd begun to think her life had become an endless summary and chewed on the end of her pen as her eyes scanned the textbook.

Luci Simonetti

Class finally began and Luci put his camera away and paid attention to the professor. Professor Lu announced that everyone would be partnering up to create a basic spell to help everyone familiarize themselves with the structure of spells before the test at the end of the week. He personally paired up people and when he was done, he simply said go and let the students move around and do their thing. And guess who Luci got? Lucia. He stood to move to a desk next to her and sat down, greeting her with a smile.

Lucia Wright

She gave him a tight lipped smile in return, flicking to a new page, writing the assignment's name at the top of page. "Creating a spell..." is cinch "...should take no time at all. Have you done it before?"

Luci Simonetti

"All the time," he chirped. Of course, most of the time it wasn't legally and he was hunting down a criminal. Eh, he had a whole entire book of his own original spells for different purposes. This was playing tag with a two-year old. "I like having spells handy when I'm setting up my camera. Saves time. Do you do it?"

Lucia Wright

"I find it fascinating," she said with a shrug, "so I do it from time to time. I have better things to do and really, if you think about it, there are thirteen billion people in the world. Whatever spell you create, you have about a 97% chance of someone else already creating it so I don't know if you could call it creation. Unless you're extremely lucky. Have any ideas of what we can do?"

Luci Simonetti

He already had an argument on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed it so he could get this assignment done quickly. "Ideas?" he hummed. He had just short of a million, but more than three-quarters of them were illegal. "A spell to scan an area and identify anyone in the area... We could do a mile radius?"

Lucia Wright

"Right," she said, "sounds good." Sounds a bit invasive and a bit...stalkerish but whatever, if it got this done then she won't say shit. "You ever done something similar?"

Luci Simonetti

He had done something extremely similar. In fact, the spell he had suggested was already one he had created, but pretending that it was a random spur of the moment idea would get him a solid A+. "Kind of. I'm not a big fan of stealth spells," he lied. His job thrived on stealth and speed spells. "But I think I have a good idea of what we should be focusing on the make the spell."

Lucia Wright

"Great," she said, elongating the word. Personally, she never liked either. She was a combat user and preferred that position. "Start us off, then."

Luci Simonetti

"So, the general structure of all spells. They need to have a purpose, check. Type of spell, we said it was Stealth right...? Check. Now we need the trigger word. Most trigger words are from ancient languages... That'll be kind of difficult."

Lucia Wright

"Know any Latin words? What about Festus," she suggested, writing the idea down in purple pen.

Luci Simonetti

Luci blinked, keeping in the laughter bubbling in his throat. "Festus... means happy in Latin," he informed her. "Unless this spell has something to do with happiness, I don't think it's the right word to use."

Lucia Wright

"No kidding," she said, biting back her own smile. "Then shoot one out. I'm not exactly fluent in Latin."

Luci Simonetti

"...Let's use a Greek word," he grinned. "Greek is rarely seen in spells. Or at least, the Mirrorworld version of Greek isn't. Surveillance in Greek is *epitírisi*... So, all we need is one and mile."

Lucia Wright

"Enas and Míli," she said instantly, writing them down in green.

Luci Simonetti

"*Enas mili epitírisi*," he mumbled with a small smile that was darker than it was meant to be. "Let's test go ask if we can test it out, outside."

Lucia Wright

She looked at him briefly, her expression still neutral before shrugging, pushing the book closed. "Sure," she said with a shrug. "Why outside?"

Luci Simonetti

*Why not outside?* he snapped in his head. Instead of sharing the thought, he simply shrugged, wearing his grin again. "Fresh air is good for focus."

Lucia Wright

"...Alright," she said before standing up, slinging her bag over her shoulder, looking to the teacher to ask.

Luci Simonetti

Once they had received permission, Luci went ahead and made his way outside, tugging his camera out of his bag as well as his spellbook, which funny enough, he had enchanted so that only he could read it. Another one of his nonsense illegal spells.

Lucia Wright

She followed with ease, easily matching his pace, but didn't say anything, not really finding anything to say. She held her books close to her chest and walked with a straight back and her chin slightly jutted up.

Luci Simonetti

"So," Luci piped up, glancing down Lucia as he attempted to find some common ground between the two. "I heard from a few students you like to think of yourself as a future councilor or even an Empress. Is that so...? You look like... a very put together person if you get what I mean. Especially since you're color-coding your notes. I don't like color-code them or anything but..." He pulled out of his own notebooks out of his bag and flipped open to a random page to show her the majority of his writing was in green while important parts were in blue. "I do computer science and stuff, and this is like highlighting important sections in the code. Helps me focus."

Lucia Wright

She turned her head to eye the notes before shrugging, "I use the same system," she conceded, "different colour for how important how each topic is. I guess the word you're looking for is organised...?"

Luci Simonetti

"No, not the word I was looking for but close enough. I guess... but it's written in a specific way. Like, it's not even in proper English," he laughed. "It's in binary."

Lucia Wright

*That doesn't change the system itself. English, French, Chinese, Binary. So what?* She shrugged, her head turning away to stare at the school's ground. "I guess."

Luci Simonetti

"Has anyone ever told you, you're not very fun to talk to...?" he asked her. "Half of the time I see you, you don't look... happy to talk to people. Is this like a neutral expression or really don't like socializing?"

Lucia Wright

"I've been diagnosed with this thing called 'resting bitch face', it's very debilitating," she said, shooting him a small grin.

Luci Simonetti

Did she... just make a joke? His grin widened as he laughed. "A most unfortunate condition, but it must be useful sometimes."

Lucia Wright

"Sure, sometimes, it keeps people who aren't worth talking to away," she said.

Luci Simonetti

"I hope I'm not one of those people," he chuckled. "Intelligent friends are hard to come by."

Lucia Wright

"Since you supposedly had the guts to talk to me then no, you're not one of those people," she said shaking her head. "Not worth talking to people who are scared of a neutral face."

Luci Simonetti

"I don't blame them, to be honest... You walk around with like an air of confidence that you literally own this place so yeah, a lot of people are scared you're going to like stomp all over them." Luci exchanged his notebook for a holographic screen which was often known as Transparency Tabs. "You honestly don't seem like the type of person to willing to talk to people who don't benefit you in some obvious way."

Lucia Wright

"I can easily disprove that point," she said, ignoring the section of owning the place. She didn't own anything. Yet. Nor does she stomp on people, more like she walks over them, potentially poking their eye out with her heel. "I benefit nothing from talking to you."

Luci Simonetti

"Because I started the conversation," he said with a snort. "I'd be offended, but I don't show *obvious*benefits, so you're half accurate."

Lucia Wright

She looked at him, raising an eyebrow, "then what are the *subtle* benefits? Enlighten me."

Luci Simonetti

He held up his transparency tab and opened up his HC to sync it, so it would hover beside the HC screen. "Technically this is illegal, but shhh," he chuckled as he began to rapidly type, seemingly in mid-air. Other screens appeared around the two, and he began pulling up government files on different citizens, including three councilors, Lucia herself, and Professor Lu. He sorted all of that into one screen and then on another pulled up a list of archives that had been transferred to a digital platform. "Hm, this one looks new..." He blew up the article, quickly skimming it until he realized this was a report of one of the Enchantress' analysts. He didn't close it, just sighed. "Fuck. I'm totally getting killed for this."

Lucia Wright

Her mind was only half on him and she leant forward to grab his wrist, the one with the HC attached to it, and shoved in front of the screens to get a better look and scrolled through it, her eyes quickly devouring the words. "Why do you have a file on me?" She asked, her eyes flicking to the other screen before going back to the article.

Luci Simonetti

He laughed, shaking his head. He yanked his wrist back though since he liked having control of his own hand. "That's not *my* file. That's the *government's* file, sweetheart. The government records all the mages between the Mirrorworld and Earth. Of course, you have a file." He moved the article to his transparency tab and handed it to her. "You probably shouldn't read that... unless y'know, you want a target on your back," he warned. "But I'm not going to stop you..."

Lucia Wright

She waved him away, her mind utterly focused, and she was silent for a moment. "Outside force," she repeated, her brain ticking, "you know, there was that politician who died...wasn't he say something about this?"

Luci Simonetti

"Let me check..." he drifted off, moving screens around and typing furiously on some invisible keyboard. Eventually, he shook his head, "No connections. He wasn't talking about this incident, though it is similar in some terms..."

Lucia Wright

*I should dig deeper...if the government's hiding something...blackmail material.* "Could be the same force," she suggested, "still...how'd you get access?"

Luci Simonetti

Luci shot her a playful wink. "I'm a hacker, sweetheart. Been taught since I was seven and from there continued to learn on my own. I know everything about technology from the inside out." He compacted the extra screens as he closed windows, deleting traces and such. "Keep a secret for me and I'll get anything you need."

Lucia Wright

She tilted her head, wondering if she should trust him, but curiousity got the better of her. "I'm listening."

Luci Simonetti

"One, you can't tell anyone, I don't care if it's your best friend in the whole world or a stranger, you absolutely cannot tell anyone I'm a hacker or else the deal is off," he began, powering off his HC. "Two, don't share what I showed you today. I'll... send the article to you in more secret means if you want to look through it more, but don't share it with anyone else. And believe me, I'll know if you do."

Lucia Wright

*Blah, blah, blah, wants secrecy, typical.* "Agreed," she hummed, "that all?"

Luci Simonetti

"No. Did you think I was going to let you off which such an easy deal? You're going to help me capture a criminal and break into the Empress' palace... We can split the bounty. Or you can take all of it. I don't care. I only need the information."

Lucia Wright

She stared at him with a frown before shaking her head, "no deal," she said, "I don't want a criminal record under my name. Sorry."

Luci Simonetti

"It's a shame you don't trust me... Infiltration is my job, and I'm not just talking about hacking. I won't let you get caught, promise."

Lucia Wright

She tilted her head asking, "you know I want to be a politician, so why do you think I'll ever believe a promise?" She crossed her arms over chest looking at him with a frown. "Why me?"

Luci Simonetti

Luci glanced over his shoulder and looked around the hallway before snatching Lucia's hand and leading her to the pathway that led to the roof. "Watch your step," he warned, climbing the ladder and opening the hatch, before crawling out. Whilst he waited for Lucia, he turned on his HC and began to bring up all the other screens again, resizing them and placing them on the ground so they were easy to see. A quarter of them were observations Luci had recorded about the Dreamscape, one of the screens featured the door that led to the Enchantress' quarters, another were camera stealthily placed around the city and September Peak Academy. The last showed a room of children and teenagers ranging from ages seven to eighteen, fighting each other and adult trainers. He spun around to look at Lucia. "Swear to me, that you will not repeat a single word of this to anyone else."

Lucia Wright

"I don't have to do anything," she said, after reaching the roof, "shouldn't have shown me if you think I was going to spill it." With that, she gazed at the screens. "A child army," she guessed. "Trained by the empress herself. Are you one of them?"

Luci Simonetti

He tilted his head, giving her a look that clearly indicated *Duh*. "They've existed for like thirteen years, and no one knows shit because the moment someone finds out, they usually get killed the following week or something like that. Which adds a risk, because she's—" he paused to switch the hallway monitor to a picture of the Enchantress he had managed to take when he snuck in before the school year began. "—always watching."

Lucia Wright

She got the clue and she adjusted her position, crossing her arms over her chest, scowling over at him. "You never answered my question-Why me?"

Luci Simonetti

"Simple, because you're smart, and we need smart people to take pyscho-bitch down." He combined some of the screens and brought up profiles of other students around the city. "You'll be the strategist," Luci said, glancing at her. "Every good functioning team needs a strategist, and you'll be perfect. Plus, practice for when you become a politician." Wrapping his arms around his legs, he sat down and stared at the screens with a darker forlorn look on his face. "To be... completely honest with you... I chose you because I think you're the good version of—" he nodded his head towards the picture. "—her. You won't break where she did."

Lucia Wright

She took another look at the woman and bit on her lip, "who even is she?" She asked. She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, not really knowing anything about the woman who wasn't the Empress.

Luci Simonetti

"Elizabeth Cassiopeia Tusslewood... Ring a bell?" He was hoping she'd pick up the named from Heathen History, and he didn't doubt that she would.

Lucia Wright

"She *died*," she said instantly, "two hundred years ago. An assassination."

Luci Simonetti

"Which is what everyone thinks happened," he muttered, standing up. "She's... powerful. She's always been, actually. If they thought they were going to get rid of her that easily, I don't know what they were smoking." He slipped his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. "But I don't underestimate... She's managed to keep herself half alive, but what means, I don't know... but that's where you come in. To get rid of her, first, we need to figure out what's keeping her from passing on."

Lucia Wright

"Unlike her, I have no desire to keep myself half alive and half dead. Have you tried chopping her head off? Or is she like the monster from Frankenstein and can just stitch herself up."

Luci Simonetti

"If chopping off her head would stop her, believe me, someone would've already tried. Anyway, we're going to steal documents from the Empress' Palace... Other people... I'm making sure other people will help too." *Whether they like it or not.*

Lucia Wright

"You just said involving people will get a target on their back," she said, "why not just do it yourself?"

Luci Simonetti

"Don't you think I've thought about that?" he proclaimed, his tone taking on a hint of anger and frustration. He sighed, crossing his arms. "I tried to steal it... There's too many security measures, too little time, and only one of me. I almost died... I-I don't want to bring it upon anyone else but I can't... I can't do it by myself."

Lucia Wright

She stared at him, waiting for him to get, well, less emotional. She didn't have the patience for mental breakdowns. "Right," she said slowly, "and you know these people, right?"

Luci Simonetti

His eye twitched, Lucia's dry attitude was something he was going to have to adapt to. "Don't bother asking questions with obvious answers, Wright."

OOC: I hate her even more than before, I didn't know that was possible

OOC: LOL rip Lucia

Lucia Wright

She clenched her teeth. "Dragging strangers into it? *Nice.*"

Luci Simonetti

"Wow, your assumptions are even more off than I thought they'd be... Well, I guess everyone deserves the element of surprise at some point. Even if it's for stupid things."

Lucia Wright

She rolled her eyes, looking away whilst doing it, "whatever...might I put out there that we're strangers. No matter what that file says, you don't know me. I really have no reason to do this."

Luci Simonetti

"Doesn't matter. You can walk away for your own selfish reasons, but that's not going to stop anything. We barely have a full school year to get shit together and act before the psychopath does. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not burn alive."

Lucia Wright

"So she's out for the world, huh? Going to make it burn heavenly fire."

Luci Simonetti

"No, she's planning to burn, torture, use any means of execution on politicians, regular adults, college students... really anyone who opposes her in any way shape or form or shows even the slightest sign of injustice or corruption, isn't going to live to see another day if she takes over for good. And since you're talking to me, you're a target now, so walking away won't be so easy now."

Lucia Wright

"How rude," she said, "kind of cruel, you know? Come out here to make a stealth spell and you put a target on my ass."

Luci Simonetti

"Called strategizing. I have an obsession with planning ahead. You'll see soon enough." He crossed his arms. "So you'll help?"

Lucia Wright

"Don't really have a choice, do I?"

Luci Simonetti

"Ah, that's the right answer. So, all I need you to do is show up at the cherry blossom river in the park at ten P.M. That's the set time and location for the meetup. I won't show up till everyone else does, so unless you show up last, don't expect to see me early on."

Lucia Wright

"I'll come last," she said instantly.

Luci Simonetti

"...I feel like I should object, but alright, knock yourself out."

Lucia Wright

She took a look at him, studying his face, before shaking her head. "I'm going to assume you have that spell ready?"

Luci Simonetti

"I've always had the spell ready," he said nonchalantly. "It's *mine*. I have a whole spellbook of spells... technically they're illegal but let's ignore that."

Lucia Wright

"For some reason, I'm not surprised," she muttered, "it's not like you have another illegal activity going on."

Luci Simonetti

"Well if I'm asking you to help me break into one of the most secure places on the planet, I should at least tell you stuff about me... so, hm... I'm a hacker, you already now that... I have an illegal spellbook, I used to be a child assassin, I'm also a bounty hunter... What else am I missing? Oh yeah, my parents are bounty hunters... there's more, just can't be bothered to remember right now. To be fair, I think illegal activities run in the family."

Lucia Wright

"Are you ever worried that I'll hand you in?"

Luci Simonetti

"Nope, not a bit. I benefit you and if you try, I'll know beforehand."

Lucia Wright

"Right," she said. She doubted that but she wasn't going to argue over it.

Luci Simonetti

"Great, we're on the same page... Hm, let's do this stealth spell and head back before Lu comes after our asses."

Lucia Wright

"Why bother? You already know it works."

Luci Simonetti

"Because it's a spell *you're* going to use in the Empress' Palace. So I want you to be able to know exactly how it works."

Lucia Wright

She narrowed her eyes. "Alright," she said, stiffly, "what's it called."

Luci Simonetti

*"Custodia circumdant unum."*

Lucia Wright

She repeated it, holding her amulet whilst she did so.

OOC: you can't spell xD

Luci Simonetti

The area illuminated itself in pink before the layers below them and beyond burned away from vision, revealing the students and staff as well as visitors around them. Names wrote themselves in the air in thin pink cursive above people as Lucia looked at them. "This spell is so convenient."

Lucia Wright

Her eyes gazed at it, "it is," she agreed, searching through the students before pausing as she found a familiar name. *Huh, she's actually gone to class. For Once.* "You're pretty good...making spells, that is."

Luci Simonetti

He was silent for awhile, not because he didn't have a response for her statement. No, it was because he couldn't take his eyes off of someone. "Thank you," he replied, distracted. "After doing it for so long, you don't really have any other options but to improve, right?"

Lucia Wright

"Yeah..." she said before shaking her head, her eyes going back to Luci, and followed his eye trail.

Luci Simonetti

*Addison Maverick* wrote itself above a teenager sitting in the back of the Elementalisum: Water classroom. Luci crossed his arms, trying to hold back a scowl to no avail. "Maverick... I wish I could've killed that egotistical bastard when I could," he hissed to himself. "Disgusting. The history of the Island of Demeter calls for respect but I can't respect the Councilor of it."

Lucia Wright

"Um...as much as you don't like someone, it's usually not okay to murder them for it," she pointed out, "and..." she trailed off. She knew of him and hadn't really gone near him. "What'd he do to you?"

Luci Simonetti

"Of course I said that out loud," he chuckled, quite darkly actually. "...we just have... history."

Lucia Wright

She frowned, growing wary, but tried to ignore it. "I won't even ask," she said.

Luci Simonetti

"Good choice," he said with a click of his tongue. "Let's go back now."

Lucia Wright

She wandered back into the school, her mouth shut, not sure on what else to say.

Luci Simonetti

Luci returned to his desk without much of a say either. When the two were called up to demonstrate their spell, Luci was the one who cast it, using a dumbed down version that allowed them to see through a couple of walls.

Lucia Wright

After the presentation, she waited for the bell and slipped out of the classroom.

Luci Simonetti

As Luci gathered his stuff, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Lucia was leaving, so he went after her. "Hey," he greeted her.

OOC: they should be friends :3 or at least... as close as friends that lucia can let them be lol

Lucia Wright

She turned her head to look at him, blinking, "uh...hey?" She asked. *I thought we were done?*

Luci Simonetti

"You..." he drifted off, refusing to meet her fierce gaze. "Want to be a politician right?"

Lucia Wright

She hummed at this, accepting she was having to converse with him, and turned her gaze away so she didn't crash into anything. "I believe we've discussed that before but yes, yes I do."

Luci Simonetti

"...Hm, can I take a couple of photographs?" he asked, pulling his camera out of his bag.

Lucia Wright

She raised an eyebrow, breaking into a smile, "I think you already have some," she said. "From before."

Luci Simonetti

"They weren't of you," he explained. "You were in some, but you weren't the focus."

Lucia Wright

"Why me?" She asked, "and fine, if you really want me to be the focus."

Luci Simonetti

"I'm going to write an article. About you. And submit it to a paper. All good things, don't worry," he explained coolly. "It'll help if you have a good rep."

Lucia Wright

"I have a good reputation already. If you don't notice...." she trailed off shooting someone a smile who had called out to her, "...I have friends."

Luci Simonetti

"You do realize the only thing your school reputation is going to protect is your faith that no one's going to backstab you in the future?"

Lucia Wright

"I'm aware of that," she said, "quite aware. Thanks for your offer but I don't need your help. I plan to go to College afterwards. Politics isn't too close."

Luci Simonetti

"I'm not giving you a choice, Wright. Learn to go with the flow, you can't control everything." He restrained himself from flicking her forehead and settled with just rolling his eyes. "I don't care whether you're going to college or not. That has nothing to do with this. Just... Mmph, just follow me."

Lucia Wright

"...sure it is..." *I don't want people to know me just yet. Plus...these things tend to come back and bite you in the ass.* "I want to read the article before it goes anywhere near a publisher," she said. "And I can certainly try to control everything."

Luci Simonetti

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You're so uptight you could be the dean of an all-girls private school." He started heading down the hallway towards the Main Hall.

Lucia Wright

"Ew," she said, "I'd hate to be at an all girls school, I'd claw my eyes out." She followed with ease, tapping her fingers against her thighs. "Why *are* you so insistent on helping me?"

Luci Simonetti

"Why are you so insistent on asking questions about every single one of my motives?" he replied in a mocking tone, holding back a scoff.

Lucia Wright

"Because you just asked me to break the law. Could use the photos to photoshop me in some place to make me take your fall," she joked.

Luci Simonetti

"One thing you'll found out about me: I like to stay humble. If I get caught, I get caught. There's no point lying, it only makes it more troublesome. So you don't have to worry about that."

Lucia Wright

"It was a joke, dumb dumb," she said, snickering, "if you try to, I will shove a pole up your ass. And I'm not worrying about it. I doubt you would."

Luci Simonetti

He made a face. "Your sense of humor concerns me, Wright."

Lucia Wright

"Your lifestyle concerns me," she muttered.

Luci Simonetti

"When you get forced to join an army of assassins, then you can talk," he fired back in a hushed whisper.

Lucia Wright

"It's still concerning."

Luci Simonetti

"I'm going to pretend that's because you're concerned about me and not yourself."

Lucia Wright

"I'm concerned in both areas," she said. "You know what you learn after a while? That it's human to care about yourself and your own safety, no matter how 'selfless' you make yourself out to be. So let's not pretend I'm not."

Luci Simonetti

"Yay, more life lessons. These never end do they..."

Lucia Wright

"They do when you die," she said, grinning at him lopsidedly, "then they stop."

Luci Simonetti

"Gods, you're darker than me," he hissed in surprise. "What do you watch dark psychological films as a hobby or something?"

Lucia Wright

"I'm not that dark," she said, "I do like a good horror movie, though. Hitchcock is great, classic. 'IT' is also good. Of course, they're all Earthen movies."

Luci Simonetti

"I'm not even surprised," he muttered. "Do you visit Earth often?"

Lucia Wright

She shook her head, "nope," she said, popping the 'p', "don't plan to either. Staying in Mirrorworld."

Luci Simonetti

He raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised. "Not even an occasional visit? Why?"

Lucia Wright

She shrugged one sidedly. "I don't exactly have a reason to go back. Anything that place has has been trumped by this world a thousand times over. I have everything I need here."

Luci Simonetti

"I suppose... But wouldn't you want to check in at least once in awhile, to see if Earth has started World War III yet?"

Lucia Wright

"I think I'd hear about it from other people here who'd be snickering about Earth and it's childish wars," she noted, "plus, if they start it, all the more reason to stay here."

Luci Simonetti

"Funny, since life's going to get all the more eventful here."

Lucia Wright

She paused, "that's...true," she said carefully, "maybe I should visit Earth."

Luci Simonetti

"Such selfish decisions," he teased.

Lucia Wright

She grinned at this. "What do you expect?" She asked, snickering. "I'm a selfish bitch, haven't you heard?"

Luci Simonetti

"A black mean girl... because of diversity," he clicked his tongue. "Nice."

Lucia Wright

She rose an eyebrow at him, a bit miffed at that, "actually," she said, "my mean streak came from my dad." She pulled out a photo of a man with curly red hair, paler than milk.

Luci Simonetti

"Damn, he needs some milk. That's some pale ass skin, is that even healthy?"

Lucia Wright

She snickered, "he's Scottish," she said as an explanation, "I think it's genetic."

Luci Simonetti

"Forget Rudolph, you light up Christmas Eve night with his skin... Make him a Christmas decoration."

Lucia Wright

"Oh cut that out," she said, holding her books lighter, "that hair could have been mine."

Luci Simonetti

"I... do not want to imagine you as a redhead."

Lucia Wright

She grinned at this. "Don't. It'd be a terrible vision."

Luci Simonetti

"Yeah, I think I figured that part out already." The exited the Main Hall, walking out into the courtyard where Luci paused to scot the perfect place for a picture for the article.

Lucia Wright

She looked around the place, before back to him. "So," she said, "avid photographer by day. Assassin by night."

Luci Simonetti

"Former assassin," he corrected her. "I'm a *bounty hunter* now. Totally different things," Luci chuckled. "But yes, I started doing photography when I was taken under the Enchantress' care in her... er, army. It helped calm my nerves."

Lucia Wright

"How many of them are there? Like are you the only one in the school?"

Luci Simonetti

"Dunno, never really looked into it. But I personally know there's a couple of them here. Because I personally know them."

Lucia Wright

"Are they still assassins?" She asked, "should I be worried that they'll come slit my throat in the middle of the night?"

Luci Simonetti

"There's only one defected assassin that I know off. All the others are active, so yeah, if the Enchantress finds you a threatening target."

Lucia Wright

"I doubt she'd find a high school student threatening, so I think I'm safe."

Luci Simonetti

"I'm starting to discover a lot of people have unrealistic standards for a half-dead psychopath. But whatever lets you sleep at night."

Lucia Wright

"Surely there are more dangerous people than a student whose only law she broke is stealing a library book."

Luci Simonetti

"As long as you know stuff, you're a target unless you have a spell at hand that erases memory?" He assessed the scenery and briefly envisioned the type of photograph he wanted to take. "Whoa, you stole a library book? So scandulous."

Lucia Wright

"Exactly, so I blame you," she said, "and I know, right? I'm just waiting for the police to break down my door."

Luci Simonetti

He laughed. "What book did you steal?"

Lucia Wright

She was silent for a moment. "A textbook," she said eventually.

Luci Simonetti

"Oh a textbook... Wow, I'm surprised the police haven't hunted you down yet."

Lucia Wright

"They can't find the evidence...I sold it," she said biting her lip.

Luci Simonetti

"You're even worse than me," he teased.

Lucia Wright

"Oh, definitely, you don't even come close to me," she said seriously.

Luci Simonetti

He erupted in laughter, throwing his head back. "You're amazing."

Lucia Wright

She cocked a smile at him. "Believe it," she said.

Luci Simonetti

"Why didn't I meet you earlier?" He cracked his knuckles and adjusted his camera so he could hold it more comfortably. "Stand in front of the tree, please."

Lucia Wright

She did as he said. Not taking it quite seriously yet, she poked her tongue out and touched the tip of her nose with it.

Luci Simonetti

He chuckled. "Unless you want an article on you being a fun-loving go gotter, I don't think that's the right pose. Neat trick though."

Lucia Wright

She slipped her tongue back into her mouth and winked, "got to have something up my sleeve for a party."

Luci Simonetti

He failed to hold back another laugh. "When I host a party, I'll call you, kay?"

Lucia Wright

"I'm sure I'll be the life of it," she said.

Luci Simonetti

"That's fucking fantastic," he laughed. "Make a fierce pose. Who do you want people to recognize you as?"

Lucia Wright

"Michelle Obama, who else?" She asked before striking a pose.

Luci Simonetti

"But you're not," he pointed out. He had only taken one picture when he decided he didn't like the pose. "Change it... it doesn't convey enough confidence."

Lucia Wright

She rolled her eyes before changing the pose.

Luci Simonetti

He took a couple of more pictures and than sifted through them, deleting many he didn't see fit. "One more round?" he asked her.

Lucia Wright

"You could just tell me how to pose."

Luci Simonetti

"No... hinders my focus. If I told you to pose, the picture doesn't feel real. I need it to feel authentic."

Lucia Wright

She slipped onto one of the low branches of the tree, swinging her legs, "it's never going to be authentic unless you catch me unaware."

Luci Simonetti

"...Then do some shit and distract yourself," he shot back, annoyed.

OOC: oml just take the picture

Lucia Wright

She rolled her eyes, looking away to gaze around the campus.

OOC: fight me okay, photography requires focus

Luci Simonetti

He stood there for a few seconds, narrowing his eyes as he studied the setting. He found his window of time and took a couple of shots. "You can come down now. I found some things I can work with."

Lucia Wright

She slipped onto the ground. "About time," she said covering her mouth as she yawned, "my legs were going numb."

Luci Simonetti

"...How...?" He rolled his eyes and ignored her, turning around to head to the gates. "Well, I'm going to go home so you enjoy your afternoon or something."

Lucia Wright

She hummed, adjusting her books, "yeah, guess I will, you too," she said, "don't get...arrested."

Luci Simonetti

He shot her a charming grin. "I haven't been arrested for six years, I'm not starting now."

Lucia Wright

She burst into a fit of laughter which her hand flew up to cover. "Oh, whatever," she said before turning on her heels to walk away.

Luci Simonetti

He shook his head, smiling as he left campus.

## Park And Rec

Lucia Wright

She stood in the park, her heel tapping against the ground impatiently. She figured it was Luci who sent the text. Who else would it be?

Luci Simonetti

Luci spent his sweet time making his way to the park, to the meeting spot, the largest willow tree in the whole park which was rumored to be infused with Sol which is why its leaves were golden. It was impossible to miss among the masses of pink cherry blossom trees that were losing their cherry blossoms and it was visually appealing to look at. He strolled leisurely throughout the park, singing something to himself, an Italian lullaby, as the tree came into view, and with it, Lucia.

Lucia Wright

She was wearing a simply, pale yellow dress, a denim jacket thrown over it. Black, strapped heels giving her another few inches. She'd straightened her hair and had pulled it back into a ponytail and, like always, her freckles were covered by makeup. She'd liked looking at the blossoms but had found herself taking cover from one of the trees as it was the only place she was protected from the falling petals. Finally, she saw Luci and smiled in greeting. "Sup, bounty hunter?"

Luci Simonetti

He couldn't help but grin, at what... he didn't know. The greeting? Her voice? Her clothes...? Suddenly he felt underdressed in his black jeans and blue dress shirt, with a grey sweater draped on top of it. "Go around saying that and you might as well call the police to arrest me already," he chuckled, approaching her. "Going somewhere fancy later?" he asked, holding back the admiration in her voice, and the urge to say it she looked amazing in what he assumed was supposed to be casual wear.

Lucia Wright

Her expression turned into one of playfulness, her lips pulling into a smirk. "Oh, yes," she said nodding, "the library is very fancy. And like they'll ever believe me if I told anyone what you do."

Luci Simonetti

"Tell the librarians there I say hi, they absolutely hate me." He smiled, shaking his head. "They'll investigate me all right, but they won't find anything, so you have a point." He nodded towards the large skyscrapers to the right of the park. "Shall we go?"

Lucia Wright

"Are you the type of person who's always loud in the library?" She asked, "how do you even get Librarians to hate you?" She glanced towards the skyscrapers and hummed. "Your job makes you pretty rich, huh?"

Luci Simonetti

"Nah. Pretty quiet actually. Librarians hate me 'cause I keep messing with their catalog system," he explained. Luci shrugged, glancing at his penthouse. "I mean, Bounty Hunting is a job that requires agility, stamina, and intelligence. All of which I have. Plus, I'm a former assassin, can hack, and pretty much know Central City inside out. It's not that it makes me rich, I just know how to catch the big shots."

Lucia Wright

She rolled her eyes. "It makes your rich enough to afford that. Don't they...question you, though? People are usually pretty old to afford those apartments."

Luci Simonetti

"They stopped questioning me the moment I glared at that woman at the front desk." She scratched the back of his neck. "I didn't threaten them or anything though. So don't worry."

Lucia Wright

"Wasn't worried at all," she said, beginning to walk in the general area of the skyscrapers.

Luci Simonetti

"That's great..." Luci led to the way, beginning to sing softly to himself again as he walked to the other side of the park. At some point, he began singing in English, a random song he'd heard on the radio once: "*...So conquer all your fears and doubts, the future's waiting for you now... I hope you past your last test, with the little hope you have now... So lay silent little child... close your eyes and dream of flying sheep and shooting stars... The future's waiting for you now...*" At that point, he was on autopilot, stuck in his own thoughts as instinct took over and directed him to where they needed to go. *The music... the music will save you.*

Lucia Wright

Her mind was elsewhere but she still acknowledged the singing but didn't recognise the song. Still, she felt calmer with the music and she began to tug at the sleeves of her jacket.

Luci Simonetti

He'd begun the last refrain some time ago and felt abnormally calm with himself. He should come to the park more often. He doesn't take the time to appreciate it's mental healing properties.

Lucia Wright

They left the park, onto the streets. "So, is it as 'prestigious' as they say?" She asked.

Luci Simonetti

"Hm...?" Drawn out of his thoughts, he looked at Lucia, slightly confused.

Lucia Wright

"I hear it's really good architecture," she said, "inside and out. Better than the rest of the place too...this city seems to pride itself on its architecture, to be honest. I grew up in Detroit," she confessed, "most of the city's a dump."

Luci Simonetti

"Wha..." Then it clicked. "Oh, ooh. Yeah. After the Great War, they pretty much went on a remodeling spree. Everything's designed so they can easily interchange things with more modern technology or redesign whole parts of buildings quicker and more efficiently. But if you think this place is impressive, you should up north to the Island of Athena. I'd doubt you would have words to describe that place." He started toying with his sweater sleeves as he talked, his ADHD kicking in. "I grew up in a small countryside-ish village which was visually nice to look at and stuff... but they weren't very up to date with infrastructure... Then I bounced around cities where everything was so compact the streets didn't even clarify the sidewalks... This place was a breath of fresh air."

Lucia Wright

That didn't really answer her question but she shrugged it off. "I guess," she said, "I can relate. It's a lot more...peaceful here. Atmosphere wise anyway."

Luci Simonetti

"I think everyone here has come to a decision that war stinks. And it costs a lot of money. And it takes too many lives. And it's just all around pointless. When you have that universal thought that war is absolutely fucking useless and solves nothing, it's not that hard to come together as well... human beings."

Lucia Wright

"Some people in Earth have that too," she said, "a good proportion. It's just the people at the top who really like war. Plus the loyal followers and patriots. But a good chunk think war is useless."

Luci Simonetti

"Ah... sigh, people in power. I dunno, it must be entertaining to them or something. To see their citizens play toy gun with actual guns in the middle of Iraq or something. And then the mindless followers who whole-heartedly believe any decision their leader makes is the best one... Lord help me. Believe it or not, I used to be like that. But I blame more of my young age and inexperience with the world in general. Hell, I used to worship the Enchantress like she was the greatest gift to the universe despite how much I disagreed with her decisions."

Lucia Wright

"Good thing to blame. Kids are easy to influence," she said, "easy way to gain a following: raise them from birth. And it wasn't entertaining...they just wanted all the natural recourses there. I mean, Russia only supports the Syrian government for the port there."

Luci Simonetti

"I was under her care for like, what? Six years. My perspective of her has changed drastically in that period because I'm the one thing she doesn't want—curiousity. True, true... But negotiation and trading exist. If you want natural resources, you shouldn't have to attack people for them. A peaceful and respectful negotiation should work, and if they don't agree, they don't agree. Leave 'em alone."

Lucia Wright

"If only people held that perspective," she said, "world would be a better place. Maybe you could infiltrate Earth, take it over and achieve world peace."

OOC: lol they'd be a great political power couple

Luci Simonetti

"Only if you do it with me," he mused, not particularly concentrated on anything he was saying. He was on autopilot again, thinking, walking, and talking. Anything was free reign. "You'd be at *great* at achieving world peace."

Lucia Wright

She snickered, "perhaps," she said, "or I'd convince them to give me everything they have and leave them in ruins."

OOC: truee

Luci Simonetti

He smiled, stifling a laugh. "...Then I'll make you second in command," he conceded. He turned to look at her, studying her face. "Hey Lucia," he started softly. "Why do you like politics so much?"

Lucia Wright

"Oh please, I don't do second in command. More like you'll be my second in command and hack into all our enemies data base and force them to agree to the peace treaties. Cause you found all the information for blackmail." She said with a grin before pausing and shrugging, "I don't know, really, when I was a kid, it was cause of all the white men dominating the scene but...now I just want to cause it interests me."

Luci Simonetti

"Oh you'll definitely be second in command under me... I don't hack for anyone but myself sweetheart." They reached the entrance to Royalwood Penthouses, and he reached out his hand to hold the door for her.

Lucia Wright

"And I'm not second in command to anyone," she shot back, brushing through the door and into the building, "certainly not to you."

Luci Simonetti

"We'll see about that," he hummed, entering the building. The door closed behind them and Luci lead her to the mirror that would take them to his apartment.

Lucia Wright

"The only thing you'll see is my shoe when I step all over you," she beamed, following him.

Luci Simonetti

"Oh fuck off, such absurd hopes" he snorted, disappearing through the magical film of the mirror.

Lucia Wright

"Not a hope, just reading the future," she said after reappearing on the other side.

Luci Simonetti

He rolled his eyes, deciding that affirming his dominance was too much work and headed down the hall. Luci's penthouse was in simple terms, large and gorgeous. A deck surrounded the apartment with various entryways to it. A majority of the walls were windows which overlooked Central City. The furniture was modern and clean, as if it was brand new. Around the place were holograms with binary and other sorts of code running up and down them. There was a couple panels installed in the walls that weren't made of glass, and every room was generally humungous.

Lucia Wright

She glanced around the place, her eyes running through the code, but couldn't figure it out so she turned her attention else where. "Those panels should totally have a secret compartment behind them," she said, her hands trailing the panels. "Have you used this place much?" She asked, "furniture looks like they've barely been touched."

Luci Simonetti

"There is," he confirmed with a simple nod. "...I clean to keep myself sane. I clean... too much. But I can't stand messy places. I don't know why. Maybe it was instilled in me when I used to live in foster homes. I-I can't... stop myself." He exhaled, squeezing his eyes shut as if reliving a terrible memory. "Anyway," he breathed out. "You're here for a reason. Let's go to the computer room."

Lucia Wright

She looked at him briefly, a flash of slight concern crossing over her face but it was gone when he changed subjects. "Yeah...sure," she breathed out before pushing slightly against the panels, in a last attempt to get them to open.

Luci Simonetti

```
turned on his heel, walking around her and heading down the hall to a door created completely from strings of code. He reached out, pressing his palm against the code. It swirled around his hand and began to cover it. He reached out with his other hand for Lucia's. "C'mon."

```

Lucia Wright

Her eyes flicked down to the other hand before allowing her hand to slip into his, tentatively and wary, her eyes turning to eye the door and the strings of code.

Luci Simonetti

The code swallowed them hole, transferring them to a world where the only rules that existed were the rules of computers. "Don't let go of my hand. If you get lost in here, there's a good chance you'll never find your way out unless you understand how this place works. And you don't."

Lucia Wright

"How....daunting," she muttered. "I wasn't going to," she conceded, "let go, that is."

Luci Simonetti

He paused in his stride, biting his lip. He shrugged it off and kept walking, looking for what he needed.

Lucia Wright

She kept up with his stride, looking at everything around her.

Luci Simonetti

"Know what that is?" he asked, pointing at the blocks of numbers that passed by them.

Lucia Wright

She looked at it before shaking her head, "code?" she guessed.

Luci Simonetti

"Well, of course. Everything here is code. I call them WBS, which stands for 'White Blood Cells'. The computer room is like a human body, except it doesn't have a conscience, so it's not artificial intelligence. I have to manipulate it or it can't function. The WBS weed out any virus that manages to get here, which is a rare occurrence, so they usually just float around monitoring and rearranging things."

Lucia Wright

She listened, nodding at periods. "How...useful."

Luci Simonetti

"Dangerous for you, too. If I wasn't here, I'm pretty sure they'd attack you. You'd be a goner in seconds. I'll have to give you clearance when I get the time..."

Lucia Wright

"So in here I'm nothing but a virus, classic," she muttered before grinning, "so you're like my knight in shining armour," she joked.

Luci Simonetti

"More like IT guy in casual clothes, but knight in shining armour works too," he snickered.

Lucia Wright

"An It guy makes me think of a smelly old dude stuck in an office at some high school," she muttered.

Luci Simonetti

He laughed. "Knight in shining armour it is," he conceded. "You know... computer skills would benefit you. In an age with such advanced technology, politicians who were involved with technology often tend to gather more attention..."

Lucia Wright

"I know enough of it that I can use it well," she said, "I just have no idea how to hack or program."

Luci Simonetti

"Everyone knows how to use it. That's the point. At least knowing some of the minor functions would benefit you greatly. A huge concern here is tech. Know how tech works and you're almost guaranteed a good campaign run."

Lucia Wright

"I guess I found my campaign manager," she said with a twitching mouth, edging onto a smile.

Luci Simonetti

"Ah, never been interested enough in politics to consider a job in it... but you may change that."

Lucia Wright

"I already have," she said with a beam.

Luci Simonetti

"Oh hush, if I admitted that out loud you'd get an ego."