Shaky Beginnings

**Shaky Beginnings**is the second chapter of the *Beginnings* arc, the second chapter of *Season 1* and the second chapter of the Lorecraft series. It started on November 4, 2017 and finished on December 5, 2017.

## Plot

The group has lunch together, with Lewis commenting on the others' eating habits. Zeva, eating too quickly, accidentally swallows her fork. Carol then smacks Zeva on the back, causing her to spit it out, flying like an arrow into a poster on the wall. Lewis feels he's made a terrible mistake to be friends with these people, burying his head in his hands. Sara then wonders if Zeva does archery, to which she replies she's more experienced with throwing weapons. Carol then shows off her gauntlets, after which Sara comments she has two wakizashi she uses, but forgets their name. After Amelia asks if there's anyone who uses magic rather than weapons, Sara exclaims she uses magic as well, jumping on top of her chair and thrusting her arm forward, after which her fist catches on fire. Lewis snarkily asks Sara to not burn down the place. Zeva then pulls a small cylinder from her coat and asks if anyone knows about scrolls. Sara reassures Lewis she knows what she's doing, claiming to excel at Fire Magic. Amelia then comments she's proficient at various elements of Magic. Zeva then slides the cylinder back into her coat, her question ignored. Lewis then turns to Zeva, stating he does know about scrolls. The two have a back and forth exchange until Sara interjects, suggesting to pay a visit to the library, saying she was going there later anyways. Lewis throws another snarky comment at Sara regarding her burning down stuff, to which Sara asks why he always expects the worst of her. Though Lewis ignores it, Amelia comments that Sara somehow managed to lose her roommate when they were right next to her. Sara is caught off-guard by this, going uncharacteristically quiet. She sadly talks about it, even barely giving a reaction when Amelia points out where Sara's roommate is. Sara gets up from her chair and leaves the food court upset, which Lewis lampshades. Natalie approaches the group after Sara leaves, struggling to speak. Timidly asking where, Lewis tells her Sara went back to their room. In response, Natalie simply nods, running to her room as fast as she can.

When she gets there, Sara is sitting on her bed, with signs present that she's been crying. Upon realizing Natalie's there, she acts very cold and distant to her, stating she simply wants to be friends, and to not be alone anymore. Back in the food court, Zeva wonders what to do now, to which Lewis say to just be patient and wait. In Sara and Natalie's room, Natalie says she wants a friend, but her ability renders her unable to. Sara asks what she means. Natalie explains what her Resonance, the unique ability a person has, is. She is capable of hearing people's thoughts, but cannot control this, therefore being forced to hear every single thought, from every single person that's within a certain distance of her. She continues explaining how it's detached her from society, leaving her with an extreme lack of social skills. After hearing all of this, Sara gets up from her bed and puts a hand on each of Natalie shoulders, confidently stating they'll find a way for Natalie to control her power. Reassuring Natalie that Sara still sees her as a friend, she states she's going to help her. Sara then tells Natalie she can go do her own thing while she's going to return to the others. Not receiving a response, Sara realizes Natalie is unconcious. She instantly runs back to the food court, asking for help before anyone can even react to her returning. Lewis is the first to answer the call. Sara tells him to get the school nurse, while she goes and checks on Natalie, with Amelia saying she'll accompany her.

Upon arriving in the bedroom, Amelia checks on Natalie, moving her hands around her body to try and see how she's doing. After finishing, Amelia gasps for air. Sara asks if she's okay, which Amelia confirms, for both herself and Natalie. Amelia does however state she does need to go to the infirmary, followed by a sharp rapping on the door. The nurse enters the room with the rest of the group behind her. The nurse discovers her mana levels are very low, asking if she's been using any kind of magic extensively, which Sara confirms rather ambiguously. The nurse summons a stretcher, stating she'll need the help of one person to carry Natalie to the infirmary, with Sara answering the call immediately, still keen on helping Natalie in any way she can. Carol cracks a few jokes, assuming Natalie to be fine, to which Amelia doesn't respond kindly to. After concluding Natalie will be fine and there's nothing to worry about, Carol and Amelia decide to go back to their room. To Amelia's surprise, Carol picks her up and puts her on her shoulders, saying Zeva isn't around and she needs a shoulder buddy. Amelia still protests, to no avail. Carol is quick to leave the room, her warning not being enough to avoid Amelia bonking her head on the wall above the doorway. Carol quickly brings them back to their room, with Amelia wobbling the entire way, saying she's going to be sick.

When Lewis catches up to Sara and the nurse, he asks what happened? Sara tells him about the low mana-levels. Lewis states he knows that already, instead wanting to know why. Sara unconvincingly tries to lie to Lewis that she doesn't know, with Lewis pointing out she's a terrible liar. He does concede however, that Sara doesn't want to reveal the secret of Natalie's Resonance. He backs down, but not before assuring Sara she will tell him someday. When the reach the infirmary, Sara suggest they leave Natalie alone for the time being, having reminded herself that Natalie is forced to hear every thought of every person near her. Lewis questions this, with Sara begging him to trust her just this once, after which he complies, and they both leave the infirmary.

## Cast

* AGNerd-Bot – Carol, Lewis
* 9Blades – Mizu
* Gameboy – Zeva
* DoubleDubbel – Sara, Nurse Collins
* The Phoenix – Amelia, Natalie
* cardioid – Alex