"How did they know?!"

Inferno.

Emotion once concealed by a monotone voice finally released with a thud against a wall of stone. Nabi's mind raced with the possibilities of why or how, fighting against her mind's attempts to slow down. A shivering ripple passed through the wall as the girl retracted her fist.

The glow of her crimson gaze dulled as a calming sigh escaped her lips. From the corner of her eyes laid Guisei resting on a couch. Within the dim lit room she still saw the glow of his his golden eyes observing the sight.

"Actually… All we need now is a plan, it doesn't matter anymore," she muttered under her breath.

She found comfort in a couch across from Guisei's, letting the ruby red fabric envelop her. A single flame lingered, that of a candle resting on the table between the two. Guisei looked over to Nabi, carefully. Her eyes were closed as if deep in thought for a moment, a familiar sight to him.

"Let's hear it, Nabi," Guisei said.

A familiar chime filled Nabi's ears as she saw Guisei extend his arm above him, watching the golden fireflies of his Reiju swirl around him. The boy let his sight wander to the unlit fireplace, letting the fireflies focus around his hand.

Shape, Composition, Function, Formation. Visualize, Execute.

The thoughts echoed through Guisei's mind as a replica of the candle before him appeared within his palm. Like a blade in the dark he slashed across the candle's fire with his replica, releasing it into the fireplace to set it ablaze.

"The hell did she even want out of us anyway?" Guisei asked. His golden eyes flickered back to Nabi, carefully analyzing her demeanor. Her eyes examined a map; the crimson traced each pathway as if searching for someone's whereabouts.

"The trial that Zephyr spoke of, the one they refer to as Prota. They want us to find the other two candidates and complete the Trial of Axía, but I guess the nobility leaked that info here," Nabi said, "Surprising no one, makes this that much more difficult."

Guisei let out a chuckle, possibilities were almost like an endless river to wander down in his mind.

"This'll be fun then. Nobody ever liked playing games that were easy after all."

"You're forgetting the other two that we have to find, Greed," Nabi said with a sigh, "Even on top of that we'd still need to amass a legion somehow on top of merit to qualify for those trials in a semester."

Nabi let her mind swirl through the possibilities, guided by the crackling voice of the flames. The girl sulked in her chair as she watched Guisei toss a knife into the air, narrowly catching it before the blackened metal reached his face.

"What do you think, Greed, about all of this?"

A voice that held the apathetic and empty cold of winter resonated with the light hum of flames that filled the room, capturing Guisei's wandering mind. As the black blade neared him it slowly broke down into golden light mirroring the sparks from the fireplace.

"At least the way you described it… This will be easy enough: Get enough merit to qualify us, a group willing to die for our cause, and the other two, after that, we leave this place like all our other memories… It'll be just like our other missions."

Intrigued at the idea, Guisei rose a brow at Nabi, reassessing his analysis.

"Don't tell me you're worried, right?" He asked with a slight chuckle.

Apprehension, like the fickle form of the fire Nabi's will seemed to match the flames as she looked up at the ceiling, inscriptions laid above her from students who'd been there in the past.

- MASK'S WON'T HIDE -

A freezing cold slithered up her spine.

"It's not that. I just.. Don't think it'll be as easy as the other times...."

An echo of a familiar voice filled Guisei's mind as he let out a sigh at the sight of Nabi, collecting his thoughts. At the sight of her crimson eyes he offered words that ran though his mind, ones that were barely his own.

"If worst comes to worst, we can leave it up to lady luck, we have been gambling with our lives for a long time anyways."

Nabi stifled a laugh.

"I haven't heard that one from you before."

The warmth of the fire seemed to envelop the two, a sense of peace filling the void of cold between the two. Guisei closed his eyes despite knowing that such feelings never last in a world like this and like the glass vase near them, the peace was shattered.

Guisei and Nabi's eyes flashed to the corner of the room to see a glass with a rose broken on the floor, yet no one to be found. The flames of the fireplace roared louder as if dancing with the presence.

A chime filled the air followed by the harsh crackle of lightning. Guisei allowed Reiju to flow in the air, sparking , as he let a black blade shoot towards the wall near the vase, embedding it deep into the stone wall.

"Aiiieeeee!"

A youthful voice cried from around the wall, Nabi's gaze locked onto the sight only for it to dull.

"You might as well come out now; we already know you're here," Nabi returned to her same cold cadence as she watched a girl's violet eye peek out from around the wall.

At the sight of the violet, Guisei lazily sent another blade in the direction of the girl bringing forth another scream despite the blade missing her. Guisei chuckled under his breath slightly at the reaction.

Slowly but surely, the person revealed themselves. A young girl with dark brown hair resting on her shoulders. She wore the same black uniforms that the other students wore with a purple tie carefully laced around her neck. Nabi let her gaze shift to the silver emblem on the edge of her skirt.

"H... hello, I'm E… Erena, Erena Xestis."

_________________________________________

Inferno.

The flames of the fireplace let out a demonic roar as Nabi slid on her gloves. Pressure flooded the room, a murderous gaze rested upon her face beyond the cold apathetic eyes she had trained on the girl.

Guisei calmly put a hand in front of Nabi, as he let his eyes carefully examine the girl before them. Erena, frightened by the sudden tension, hid back around the corner of the wall. Her violet eyes peeked out, stealing a glimpse at the two as if they were wildlife, only to hide back when their gazes met.

"You mind saying that again," Guisei asked, "A wannabe king bastard told me that if you get caught eavesdropping, you might as well own up to it instead of hiding behind a wall like a scared kitten."

Erena's ear twitched slightly upon hearing Guisei's voice. She peered at the two from beyond the wall with catlike eyes.

"I'm...not a cat," she mumbled quietly.

"Then if you aren't a cat, you got a name. What was it again, Serena or something?"

The girl swallowed her worry, allowing herself the jump from behind the corner; she seemed to glide with the sound of the flames as they shifted from roar to a quiet hum. She stumbled slightly, bringing her head down to a bow, keeping her hands behind her back. When she spoke, her voice was high.

"I'm Erena...of House Xestis, I've only been here for two years... please don't kill me…" Erena said shyly.

Guisei and Nabi looked at each other with disbelief, their minds in sync as they knew there was no way this could be a second year. Erena continued, her speech rapid, causing her to stumble over more and more words as she spoke.

"I'm sorry… I can be a bit of an airhead at times and ended up wandering around when I get bored....and after that speech, I mean who wouldn't be bored. So I went wandering around the school halfway through, then I got lost because I only showed up around the second semester of last year, so I found this room and I heard two people walking in, then I hid…"

The two looked at her as Guisei would try to put up a hand to get her to stop. Nabi slowly stopped his arm.

"I tend to ramble….. Sorry," Erena said, bringing both hands forward, pressing the tips of her fingers together, her anxiety building.

Perplexed at the idea that they let someone like her eavesdrop on them, Guisei analyzed Erena closely. The fire stabilized, and Guisei shook his head, annoyed that they allowed themselves to feel in danger from such an individual: a bubbly brunette who couldn't tell why she was somewhere without telling them her life story.

Nabi straightened up once she saw the girl's hands out front. She mirrored Guisei's annoyance and confusion. Her crimson gaze flickered to the silver emblem that hung from her skirt that only gave more questions than answers.

"How much did you hear?" Nabi asked.

The girl rested her finger on the bottom of her lips as she watched Guisei and Nabi. Her mind began to slow from the frantic rambling that permeated her mind growing more calculating as time went on.

"Well… I remember some stuff about you two wanted to make a plan, I guess," The presence of Guisei and Nabi grew like twin heads putting more pressure onto the girl.

" I… Mean there's also the stuff with the trials, but I have pretty bad memory at least according to my mom...please don't kill me... so I don't really remember much after that." Erena said, quickly waving her hand in front of her trying to dispel any worry.

The two looked at her and then at each other. Their eyes wavered between caution and confusion. Nabi shook her head as Guisei drew a line across his neck. The girl responded by making a gun with her fingers, and in response, Guisei put a finger to his lips.

"I can always help… If you want," Erena said, breaking the silence of the nonverbal communication between the two.

"No, this is satisfactory," Nabi said, voice trailed off into the distance as she thought of something.

"Erena?"

"Pyro," Nabi replied, finding a nickname quickly.

"Pyrrha might work better if you really want to give her a nickname, you know, Nabi," Guisei said.

"Not at all," Nabi replied as she walked back to her bed. She plopped onto the black fabric, allowing it to overtake her before remembering the other two who persisted in staying, "also, could you both leave. Apparently, it will test both us; and the people a year ahead tomorrow, so you need rest, Greed."

"Right, I guess I'll take a stroll around the academy or something, then find somewhere to rest."

Erena slipped out of the room, watching the two become occupied. Guisei allowed his eyes to watch the flames of the fireplace, allowing the girl to leave before he did as the door shut. The fire dimmed, and Guisei's mind thought towards the day ahead. Tomorrow would be cold.