Fregoli Delusion? Guess Not.

No time for play recently. Study, study and more study. No time to practise, no time to talk, no time to explore. But it would be over in just a few more days. They were already half done with their papers and looked forward eagerly to the time of pure leisure. These thoughts were distracting Styx, in the middle of their Languages exam. She appreciated the effort Acheron must have put in to learn Common, Cain being his first language. She wondered what Cania looked like. She shook off such thoughts and continued with her paper.

Solciro, having finished his papers awhile back, sat back against a tree. He leaned against it, feeling its wood and every rough detail. Like the rest of the Terra family, he was very much into nature. It felt good, just leaning back and just being there. He put a hand onto the ground and sifted through the soil. He lifted some to his nose. It was soft and loamy with a smell so very vibrant and full of life. Good soil. The sun was warm, uncomfortably warm for most others but just right for him. The grass below him, the tree behind him, the sun above him and all his future ahead of him. Glorious and wonderful, the day was. His sister would have disagreed about the sun, he thought. Lunare much preferred the moon, the cold and the dark. Thinking about his sister, his mood slightly darkened. She was spending so much time now with that... Cain. He could feel them even now, through that link that all twins had, that she was having a great time with that faceless thing. Relax, he told himself, relax. Racism, I mustn't be racist. Still, it was hard to accept someone so profoundly different. Those spindly fingers, those... alien, liquid eyes. So inhuman. And he had heard the tales of their endless depths of depravity, torturing for joy, murdering for pleasure. But at least this one hadn't shown anything of the sort so far, he told himself. Yet. Call no man happy till he is dead. Don't judge until it's all done. He just hoped his dear little sister would be fine.

Lunare was having the time of her life, learning how to pick locks from Acherus. They were breaking into Cocytus' locker as part of her practice and just to annoy him. In the chilly corridor, she was perfectly at home. She was aiming for Specialist Magic, particularly of the Frost domain. Her brother would be going for the Fire domain. She had had little experience with members of other races save humans and elven parents weren't exactly known for their lack of discipline with their offspring. Being out of their control was a new and rather intoxicating experience for Lunare. Freedom, after all, was the most addictive drug. For Acherus, it was rather odd for him as he was more used to working only with Acheros and he was explaining everything every step of the way to her. Abit of a hassle, but he could only begin to imagine the possibilities with a partner or at least, a partner with a humanoid body. Acheros was simply amused by the whole thing and was simply perching close by, keeping an eye out.

Styx was training. She didn't tell anyone or show anyone. But the most anyone knew was that she was coming out of the hand-to-hand combat practice room daily with sweat covered all about. And it didn't just seem to be unarmed practice against one of the combat dummies, she was metally fatigued as well, not just physically. One time, she was almost fainting as she stumbled off to the cafeteria, causing alarm in all her friends. Now that they had finished their exams, there were no more classes and everyone could do whatever they wanted during lesson times. But it was odd. Now that they had time, they didn't know what to do, save Styx, and nobody knew what she was doing.

Lethe sat on the grass. The heat was starting to get a little unbearable and she chanced it. She took off her hoodie and hoped that no one would touch her. Feeling the wind in her hair, she knew it was worth it and smiled. It had been quite awhile since she had felt the wind on her skin. A crow nearby squawked. Lethe was reminded of Lacier and the circumstances of his death. But she had finally managed to let him go, finally gotten over it. She would still grieve for him, but she wouldn't be so helpless when faced with a death again. Turning her head, she saw Solciro under the shade of a tree and decided to join him. After all, the sun was beating down and she was close to sweating, and she didn't like sweating.
Walking over, she sat down beside him and leaned against the hard bark.
"Hello."
Solciro opened an eye. He woke up.
"Oh hello there. How did you do for the Tach?"
"I don't know. Actually, I don't even know which subjects to take. Only Dream-weaving."
"Dream-weaving? That's cool. I'm taking Specialist Magic in the Fire domain and Higher Magics. I want to be a fire mage but with other fields of knowledge."
"Dual eh? Interesting."
"But I'm having several doubts. I could be a fire mage as I originally planned, but I feel like druid would be suit me more."
"Why not both then? Take Spec Fire and Druidism?"
"Well, who ever heard of a druid who casts fire spells?"
"Go ahead and break the mold. I hate it when people stereotype. And anyway, fire is as much a part of nature as anything else. Trees enjoy small fires. The large artificial fires are the one that hurt the forests."
"True... What you say makes a whole lot of sense. I guess I will. Thanks."
"What for? I merely stated the facts."
"For boosting my self-confidence I guess. For assuring me that what I'm doing isn't wrong."
"Sure. No prob there. Any thoughts on what I should take for second subject?"
"Uh, well, what're you interested in?"
"I was thinking Shapeshifting but I'd probably gonna be the only non-werewolf there. I don't want to be the odd one out." Again, she thought to herself. I am not going to be the oddball again. Not again.
"Yeah. I've heard stories about the Shapeshifting class. The non-weres get bullied like nobody's business. And it is nobody's business. Best not to take it. What else?"
"Combat ain't my sorta thing, really. Maybe Higher Magics?"
"Any domain you particularly like?"
"Umm... Nope."
"Then you could go all-rounder for Higher Magics. If you're interested in any one of them, you could go Spec Magic."
"Hmm, now that you mention it, I've always rather liked the Enchantment school."
"Oh you're picking by spell schools rather than elemental domains aye? The thing is, you have to select your discipline too. If I'm not wrong, Enchantment is split into Charms and Compulsions."
"What's the difference?"
Solciro was in his element, having studied the entire magic system before. "Charms are more passive and less overt. It lets you influence the subject's attitude to you or anyone else. On the other hand, Compulsions forces the subject to a certain action or avoiding it. Also, Compulsions are more offensive-based and the teachers teach those spells which hurt by affecting their minds and emotions. The downside here is that Compulsions are a one-shot thing and once the compulsion has been fulfilled, the spell wears off. Sort of like a geas of the old stories. Also, compulsions are quite obvious and once detected, may be dispelled by someone else of a similar strength or stronger. On the other hand, Charms can't actually force someone to do something they don't wish to do. Charms can only make a person do something if they don't have any negative incentive against it. So you could say that Charms is the prod while Compulsions is the push."
"Umm..." Lethe blinked. "Wow. Kinda confusing. You studied up on all that?"
"Yeah, I wanted to know if I was missing on anything I would like."

"You're back. Was my information accurate?" Jack asked, rather lifeless she felt.
"Yes, of course. Your information always is."
"Yes I know. But it's always nice to know for sure."
Alice stepped forward.
"I see you've brought my implements back. I trust that they worked?"
"Indeed. I can always trust the quality of your items. In fact," Raewyn paused. "The demon gave more information and knowledge than we needed."
You're going to ask her, aren't you?
"Oh? Such as?"
Raewyn sighed. "Don't take this wrong Alice, I'm just curious. I know you're not human. But I always assumed you were an elf or some such using magic to disguise yourself. But the demon has told me that you're not... not anything that we know. What are you?"
Alice nodded. "I knew you'd ask eventually. Follow me."
Sounds ominous to me.
She led Raewyn down a winding staircase, carrying a torch to light the way. Down they went, into a damp, dark and cold room, suspiciously similar to a dungeon. Alice went to the centre of the room and sat down. She motioned for Raewyn to do the same.
"It is safe to talk here."
"I thought it was in your shop."
"It never is. It's just that they don't care about what you're doing."
"Alice. Who's they?"
"I am a Doppelganger."
Raewyn's blood froze.
Oh bless us. We're blessed. Demons had a warped sense of swear words and Libys was no different.
"No, Raewyn, relax. sit down. Look into my eyes. I am one of the last of them. I haven't had any contact with the survivors, if any, of my kind in years. I was lucky enough to escape the Doppel-hunts. I had no knowledge, so I masqueraded as a child and enrolled myself in that school we both went to. Raewyn. Believe me. You're the only one I can tell this to. Please don't betray that trust." She got up and walked over to a wall and took something.
Raewyn stayed to her seat on the floor and just stared at her numbly. Alice walked back, the item revealed to be a long and immaculate sword with a simple hilt with no guard and a handle of obsidian. The blade itself shone in the weak lighting provided by her torch.
"You're going to kill me." The words fell from her mouth without her intent to say such.
Kill us, don't forget me.
Alice lifted up the blade, a chilling sight considering her appearance as such a child. She pointed the blade at Raewyn and lifted it to her eyes. Raewyn's gaze was firmly fixated on the blade which, if Alice so wished, could cut into her head and kill her in a moment with just a twitch. Abruptly, Alice pulled back the sword and reversed it, offering it to Raewyn. Raewyn grabbed the handle and stood up.
"I wouldn't kill you. You are... my friend. Take the blade. Use it, as often as you will. By this day and age, nobody will recognise it." Alice turned and dropped to the floor cross-legged. "It's an old weapon. But it will serve you well. Chances are, if another Doppelganger sees you, he or she will attempt to kidnap you and interrogate you about how you got it. It's a minor downside to the strength of the sword though. Not that many of us out on the streets anymore. Shouldn't be noticed." Alice stood again. "You're curious, aren't you? About what I really look like."
Alice's petite form suddenly grew taller until she was just over Raewyn's head. Her skin turned grey and her features faded. She looked similar to a Cain, except that she had no horns or vents by her throat. Just a blank mask with eyes that bored into Raewyn's soul. Her scalp was as hairless and bald. Her clothes dropped off to reveal an androgynous body with no genitalia. Smooth, unmarked and lean, Alice was a sight to behold. Somehow, with no orifices, she contrived to speak. "Draw."
And with that, she lunged forward at Raewyn.