BANG!

"EEEEEEEEK!"

BANG! BANG!

"EYAAAARGH!"

BANG!

"YIKES! RUN FOR IT, GIRLS!"

Freya just stared blankly at the girls who ran away from her, covered in what seemed to be cherry blossom pink splotches, courtesy of the paintball gun she has just used. It was a new model; it had less noise, pellets with better trajectory in accordance to wind resistance and it had a new magazine clip feature that normal paintball guns didn't have. It was an expensive model, but Freya was able to afford it...mainly because she was starting to get complaints that the old models she used hurt a lot more. Well, she mused quietly, putting her gun away, it isn't my fault they always choose to stand within point blank range of me whenever I shoot them. It's for their own good, anwyays...they were late for a club function.

In some sick and twisted manner, Freya thought she would be helping her fellows along by becoming some sort of spartan captain of sorts, who gave them ultimatums so they could improve on something or get their butts moving on a prokect they worked on. It was her own version of tough love. Freya was raised in an environment where you either sank or swim and, in this case, if you sank not only would you drown, but you'd be eaten alive by sharks as well. It was for these girls that she kept up being the 'Frigid Bitch of the West' and tried to get them to be the best girl they could ever be.

Now she was all alone outside the dorm, sitting at a patio table set up on a sort of veranda connected to the building. It was a bright, sunny day and all was quiet, with the exception of birds chirping in the distance. She picked up the book she had borrow from the library, one no one would have thought she would seriously pick up and read: a book of children's stories. She was halfway through the tale of the Nutcracker for the umpteenth time and she still loved it.

Saburo was enjoying the sunny day. Her thoughts were still on recent events, however. Her body still tingled if she thought about it, and really, it was hard to get her mind through everything that had happened in this first week here at Shokushu. Girls, monsters... it was insane, and she had definitely been undergoing a level of stress she'd never known. She was preoccupied, and terribly so, and anyone who saw her as she walked down the dorm would be able to tell something was wrong with her. Well... not wrong. Because she wasn't really upset, that wasn't it at all.

But she couldn't help thinking about everything that had happened. Maybe she'd been lucky, and hadn't encountered the truly terrible beings. But even so, she hadn't liked being raped by a monster... though, the feelings she'd felt... it reminded her of the girl she'd stayed with those first few days, and was still talking to whenever she saw her. So it wasn't so much that she was traumatized... it was just so much to process! And so much pleasure, too, even if mixed with stress and fear...

Regardless, Saburo's aimless jaunt came to an end, when she saw the commotion. A girl shooting... something at the other girls. And they were running away! She stayed back, behind a tree she'd just so happened to walk past right when she heard it, and watched. The girl was just sitting there, focused solely on reading a book now, it seemed. What kind of girl was that? And what was she doing? And what was that thing she'd shot at them? And what was the book she was reading?

Okay, so Saburo had gotten curious. So sue the curious little kitten, it's what happened. What she did next, though, was interesting. She walked up behind the girl. Her shadow just happened to be such that it went over the book, indicating the girl's presence quite clearly. Saburo leaned over a bit, looking at the girl. Perhaps a little close for comfort, but then Saburo was never one to think much of those sorts of moors.

Well hi. Sorry to bother you, but... I couldn't help but see you sitting here reading, and I'm wondering what you're reading?

Just as Saburo finished her sentence there came a flash of something shiny--made out of what looked like metal at a glance.

BANG!

About five meters away a bird squawked as it was hit by a ball filled with paint, its plumes how a bright pink color as it chirped indignantly. Freya sat in her chair, still reading her book, which was held in one hand, while the other was over her shoulder, a paintball gun resting within it in a rather 'casual' grip. The white haired student blinked when she didn't hear the telltale shouts of one of the girls looking over her shoulder (Note: the reason she shot was because Saburo was looking over her shoulder and young ladies shouldn't be looming in such a manner). Not even taking her eyes off the page that she was reading she said in a drawl, "Ah? Seems as if I missed..."

She took away the gun, putting it away wherever she kept it.

She flipped to the next page.

"When approaching someone, it is polite to introduce oneself first, before making any personal inquiries," Freya stated coolly, as if she hadn't tried to shoot someone. "That being stated, my name is Freya Williams and I am reading the tale of the Nutcracker. And you might be?"

That bang. It whooshed by her before she could even react. But even so she followed the shot, and laughed a little to herself. Well, that was very fast, and very skilled! She didn't even think of the possibility that she was the target. Well, she thought she might be, and she wouldn't be surprised if she was shot too, but what she didn't anticipate was that the girl would miss, even in error. She'd seemed too good for missing, at such close range. Nevertheless, she placed her attention back on the girl as she spoke, and smiled the whole time.

And Freya spoke, and spoke in such a dismissive tone, that it actually annoyed Saburo. She WAS firing on her! Well, she expected that, since she'd seen her shooting others. Still, it was a little annoying. She was only trying to be nice. And then, she started chastising her like a little girl! Well that REALLY annoyed Saburo. Her hands clenched for a moment, and she glared for a brief moment, before melting back into sunny friendliness. Well, perhaps she was only trying to be helpful, after all. It didn't seem she knew much, and it WAS true, anyway.

Oh? Is that right? Well, I'll remember it. My name is Saburo, and I apologize for making such an error. She walked around and bowed in front of the girl, not mocking her but trying to be accommodating. I'm sorry, really, for annoying you. And I haven't read that story... is it any good?

"Apology accepted," Freya replied, tone dead and about as chilly as temperatures at absolute zero. So far, her snow white face had been in the fairy tale book the entire time, not even bothering to face Saburo--at least not just yet. But when it seemed that the girl didn't have much common sense to sit down (then gain, anyone with common sense wouldn't come ten feet of Freya, if they could help it) at the parlor table with her, then she would actually have to face her. Sigh.

Putting the book down delicately on her lap, she slowly turned to face Saburo. Twas a pity, for Freya truly did have a face worthy of the name bestowed upon her by her mother, however, she was completely emotionless in expression. Still, it seriously wouldn't kill her to smile at the girl who was trying to be nice to her.

Of course, the neutral expression was probably the closest thing to a smile that Freya could get when it came to strangers.

"Saburo? No last name?" she inquired, that clipped accent of hers more pornounced than her sister's. Freya tried to be as refined as possible, to be a good rolemodel for her sister as well as others who looked up to her....though those were few. Freya's ice blue eyes--they were once as blue as the sky, the old school myth would say about Freya Williams, before they were frosted over along with her heart--gave the other girl a once over, taking in her dark har, odd garnet eyes and the dress she wore...

Those eyes narrowed, as if finding something else about the girl inexcusable.

"Hmph. It's a child's story, but I heartilly enjoy it, for one of my favorite ballets is based off of this story," she expained. Putting the tome onto the parlor table, the white haired woman stood up with the utmost poise, before circling Saburo, her eyes staring at her intently. 'Part of the story involves a little girl who fell in love with a doll--a nutcracker doll--and how he simply came to life. The story is about their struggles together. Eventually, after much merriment and hardship, they end up together as King and Queen years later."

Saburo, of course, was completely unself-conscious about any of Freya's thoughts. She had no real clue she was being rude, or that Freya thought she was being rude. She grinned as Freya spoke, happy to hear the words Freya was saying. She thought it a kind of victory, of sorts. Even if she was giving a disapproving glare, even if she affected herself with airs, the girl was still talking, and not shooting in the least. She'd assume that as a definite victory, and felt deeply pleased.

So she listened to the story, smiling the entire time. She seemed to enjoy the description just a little bit too much. And so she sat down, across from Miss Freya, listening to her as she spoke. When she was done, she nodded, looking at the book, practically beaming.

Huh, wow. I've never heard of that story before. It sounds wonderful. Anyway... she looked up again, smiling brightly and cheerfully at the girl. She really DID need a distraction, after all. She wondered idly if all the girls were as affectionate as the ones she'd met so far...

... my last name, since you asked, is Tepidona. It's really good to meet you, and I'm really interested in those books and things... I hope I'm not bothering you too much, talking like this, but thank you for missing, anyway. Even if it wasn't on purpose!

"Hmph." Perhaps it was that 'sister sense' of hers acting up, but when Saburo mentioned her last name red flags suddenly started waving in her head. Possibly, in her well-placed paranoia, the silver haired woman was putting suspicions they had no place being in. Those icy eyes narrowed at the girl sitting there with such a happy-go-lucky attitude, betraying the irritation she felt for the girl there in front of her. Maybe she should just shoot her again, out of principle. Saburo's back wasn't nearly as straight as it should be while sitting down...

"No need to thank me. Thank providence that I missed. I rarely do." It must be a new record, for Freya usually said little unless there was a lengthy explanation involved, or something caught her attention. And Saburo barely did. It was mean and cruel, but Freya did mean well in her own roundabout way. Helping the girls to become better women was a good thing, wasn't it? Not everyone was carefully brought up as she had been. She sat herself back down in her seat, legs crossed at the ankles daintilly. "And do not worry about speaking to me--most try not to out of fear." Ah, so she DID know she was driving people away and did understand that her rough actions weren't being taken too well.

"Which makes me believe that you haven't heard the rumors about me yet," Freya stated covnersationally, picking up her book again and opening it up, this time onto a different fairy tale, this time of Sleeping Beauty.