Chapter 1
"Thanks for the nice etching." Athena said, her fingers running over my work. "You didn't have to do that much."
"I did."
"Why?"
"To show you how much you mean to me." I replied, she grinned, before pushing herself into me. I held her for several minutes, glancing at all of the names on the wall. "I'll do an even fancier job this time, next year."
"I'll expect something stunning." Athena murmured, still burying as much of herself into me as she could. "W... We should help Wolf get started for next year."
"We've got time."
"You just like holding me."
"Why wouldn't I? It's not everyday a goddess gives a man their divine attention."
"I'm not a goddess."
"You're better than one." I replied, still holding her.
"Alright, we need to go." Athena murmured after another few minutes, giving me a look that ordered me to not push my luck. "We can do more of this tonight."
"Sounds like an upgrade."
"Not like that! Glup!"
"Glup?" I raised an eyebrow as her face went redder than Pyrrha's hair. "Volim te."
"Why do you have to be so adorable?" She hissed.
"I love hearing you speak Serbian." I said, she stared at me. "What does glup mean?"
"I...It's a term of affection." She stammered.
"Then I can call you it?"
"I'm not a boy, so no."
"Oh... It's for boyfriends?"
"Yeah." She replied.
"Then we'll see each other tonight." I nodded finally releasing her. She stared down at me for several more quiet moments, before pulling me along with her towards the others. "Wolf! We should get to work."
"Ah. Yes." Wolfgang stood up, glancing around. His eyes stopped on me, my heart sank a bit. "Kurt?"
"Yes, Wolf?" I responded,
"Let's get... Uh, let's get Rebecca to look around." He ordered.
"On it." I nodded, glancing towards the group of four of my friends.
"Zenith and Josh... join me at the door." Wolfgang ordered. I glanced back at him before joining Andy, Noriega, Rebecca and Valentino.
"He wants me to look around now?" Rebecca asked as I approached.
"He does." I nodded. "Just find us a cafeteria, and a few other spots."
"Alright." She nodded, glancing at Noriega. "You ready to look?"
"I'm right here." Noriega replied, sitting across from her. Andy held her hand as Valentino and I prepared our notebooks. "Alright. We're ready, Becca."
"Here we go." Rebecca murmured, her eyes suddenly glowing yellow before she shut them. "I see the cafeteria."
"I do too. Straight down the hall, left at the end of it. Double doors at the tee-stop." Noriega added.
"That's exactly it..." Rebecca agreed. "Just two doors down to the left is an artifice shop."
"Perfect." I said, glancing at Valentino. "What do you got?"
"A decent enough drawing." He replied, showing me his notebook. I glanced at mine. "Looks like we got where we're going."
"I'll go brief Wolf." I said, standing up. "See you four there."
"See ya." Valentino nodded after me.
"Hey, Wolf! I've got the cafeteria." I said, most of the council were still around him. Athena walked over to look over my shoulder. "Also found an artifice shop."
"Fantastic. Rebecca has quite the gift." Wolfgang nodded, looking around. He cupped his hands, taking a deep breath. "Council! Back to us real quick!"
"Already another vote?" Bailey murmured.
"You get used to it." April nodded. "What's up?"
"We will be moving to a cafeteria soon. Then along to an artifice workshop. Kurt will attempt to map everything out once Rebecca has had a time to sit down." Wolfgang said. Everyone nodded, a few glances towards me. "Before we set off. Four wide did us well. Do you think we should continue with it?"
"I think it'd be wiser to keep our mobility." I advised. "We only chose four because we didn't need maneuverability in the hallway."
"Do we really need maneuverability?" Nick asked, glancing at me. "When have we ever used it?"
"We haven't yet, but incursions start this year." I replied. "We may use them there."
"Or we could use the improved defense." Omar replied.
"True, but we need to reach a defendable room, instead of fighting in an open hallway." Pyrrha argued. "Three should be the way to go."
"Let's put it to a vote?" Athena offered.
"Alright. Wolf, take us into the vote." Wolfgang said.
"Say four or three." I said, while opening my notebook. "Athena?"
"Three."
"April?"
"Four."
"Bailey?"
"Four."
"Xavier?'
"Three."
"Omar?"
"Four."
"Pyrrha?"
"Three."
"Nick?"
"Three."
"Not that it changes much, but I also vote three." I said, glancing at Nick with a nod. "Three it is."
"Alright. We'll see how we feel about it later in the year and revisit it." Wolfgang nodded, glancing around at everyone for a moment. "If there isn't anything else. We should set off for the cafeteria in a little bit."
