Dragonfire: Celestia

Chapter 13: Corruption

Albedo and her team were busy in Arumi. They had just found Lui, a mysterious child kept behind closed doors. But that wasn’t all that was happening in the world. Back in Celestia, Chichi-Chichi had just woken up. In the classroom! “Uh oh! I’m definitely gonna get written up again for this!” He thought to himself. It seemed classes had ended for the day, as there was only one other person there. The class itself was pretty typical. There were desks lined up throughout for the students, and a teachers desk on the far side of the room. It retained the typical design of Celestial buildings, with an entirely white interior and exterior aside from some occasional carpeting. This design almost mirrored Greek architecture in its own right, though the buildings were closer to medieval England’s structure. There was a blackboard behind the teachers desk with three phrases written on it. The first read “the rest of your life.” Chichi-Chichi stared blankly at it. He vaguely remembered the beginning of the lesson, before forgetting it again. The second read “the elephantine concept.” He stared at this one with confusion on his face.

“Do they HAVE to pick the biggest words possible? I mean…ARE those even words?” He thought to himself. He read the third, and felt a sense of dread. It read “Chichi-Chichi, please report to detention.” He sighed. “Well, if anyone asks, I didn’t read it on the way out.” He thought to himself. He walked towards the door, but stopped when he heard crying. Though everyone else was gone, Lisa was at her desk. She had her face in her hands. D and Ina both went to war as well, leaving her all alone. And in light of her status as a bully, she had no other friends. A sad reality to face, though perhaps this was justice for all the lunch money she stole? It was a hard time for everyone, however. Many of the students had to go to war, by choice, or by law. Maybe that was what this “elephantine concept” was? Chichi-Chichi didn’t dwell on it, and instead exited the academy. Upon doing so, he found many students talking to each other just outside. Classes must have just ended, or else there wouldn’t be this many people lingering. He didn’t pay much attention, until he saw a student practically forcing newspapers into people’s hands!

She was around his height, with lighter skin that had no blemishes whatsoever. Her skin was perfectly clear. She had indigo eyes, with dark blue hair. Her hair had white tips, with a neatly kept style. It was parted in the center, going down to her shoulders on either side. It was trimmed closer to the front, going down just below her eyes. Though this shorter part of her hair was only the strands that rested against her temples. The rest was all shoulder length. She had long golden horns protruding from her head, pointing towards her back. She had a long golden tail as well, like the tail of a lizard. She was a pure blooded Celestial, meaning that she had the blood of Laufi herself within her. Thus, she had some draconic features. She wore the school uniform, and held a stack of newspapers that was almost comically large. She was wrangling some poor sod, trying to get him to take one. The sight caught his eye, but he thought nothing more of it. He walked past them, but stopped for a moment when he heard someone call out to him! “Wait! You! Stop!” They exclaimed! The pretty lass hauling around newspapers rushed in front of him, blocking him! “You look like a reasonable and upstanding citizen! Don’t let Celestia’s other news outlets fool you! This war wasn’t abrupt, it was planned! Take this newspaper!” She exclaimed. Her voice was between being medium pitched, and high pitched, with an intense tone.

“Uh…who are you…?” Chichi-Chichi asked, “Kaede, from the journalism club! But don’t let those bafoon’s influence you! They think I’m stupid, delirious, injudicious! But they are the imprudent fools! Not me! That’s why I’m officially publishing a new newspaper for the academy, and soon all of Celestia! Indigo News! Take a paper, and support us today!” She answered. She was confident, if nothing else. “Uh…I don’t really read newspapers…” Chichi-Chichi said, “G-wh-I…wh-why?!” Kaede asked, “Uh…I don’t know…” Chichi-Chichi answered, “W-Well, let this be a start! Here take it! And enjoy it, too!” Kaede exclaimed, forcing a newspaper into his hands! Suddenly, a Knight grabbed her on the shoulder! “Alright, that’s enough panhandling for today.” He said, “Unhand me, you barbaric troglodyte! Just because you have the brain of an ape doesn’t give you the right to give into primal urges and start fondling me! The Lunarium newspaper is a free one!” Kaede responded, “Free to talk about IN-ACADEMY BUSINESS. Now come along, little lady. I think we need to have a nice long talk about your ‘news.’” The Knight said. Not planning to get involved, Chichi-Chichi walked off. He put the newspaper in his robe, and made his way back to his chambers within the castle.