Night Raven College: Trial Start!

*An ambush from a Redhead with bedhead

('It does look different compared to last night.") Kokia mused when they finally reached the street Crowley had taken them down the previous night. She reached a hand down to smooth down a bit of fur that had begun to rise on her partner's neck. "It was quieter last night, huh, Waiho?"

The Cruel Pokemon huffed at her words as he focused on the swarm of students who whispered at their group as they passed.

From multiple questions of, "Who is that?"

"Is that the strange person who made us wait from last night?"

"I was told they set the Mirror Chamber ablaze last night with their familiars."

She felt a sense of bemusement as the whispers continued, ("Wow, I can't believe these guys gossip more than the kuku wahine(1) at the Malie Garden.")

It seemed that even with all the gossip around them, Grim was too preoccupied with his new surroundings to notice. "Wow, so this is Main Street, huh? This is incredible! Hmm, why are these statues here anyway?" Grim said the group walked closer to a statue with a large regal woman in what Kokia would describe as a chaotic old Galarian-style dress one of higher standing would wear. Although, was that a heart scepter in her hands or an oversized heart-shaped lollipop?

Walking to stand beside Grim, Kokia read, "The Queen of Hearts, a queen who ruled over a maze of roses and brought the rule of law to a chaotic kingdom, Under her strict leadership, no rose was off-color, nor was any playing card soldier out of step..." Trailing off, she looked back to the statue, studying the face closely as something in the deepest parts of her mind stirred for a fleeting moment.

Watching from her side, Waiho watched his trainer's gaze slide toward the rest of the statues with the look she always gets whenever her mind wanders, as she is prone to often do. Yet, something felt off this time. "Liepard?" (Kokia?) He questioned her while reaching out his tail to touch her hand.

"Huh? You guys don't know who the Queen of Hearts is?" A voice questioned. Snapping Kokia back to attention and Waiho to press himself against her legs at the sound of footsteps approaching them.

("Damn, can't believe I spaced that badly; I didn't notice someone coming close. Thought I was getting better at not letting that happen.") Kokia chided herself as she and the two cats turned around to see a boy with a messy bedhead approaching them.

Grim glanced back at the statue before questioning the person speaking to them. "Queen of Hearts? Is she some kinda big deal here?"

Chuckling, the boy gave them a wide, toothy grin. "Long, long ago, in a huge rose maze, she strictly ruled over a mad kingdom where her order was above all else. If any of her rules, roses, or playing card soldiers were even the slightest out of line," the boy dramatically ran a finger across his neck, "she would order an immediate decapitation!

Grim and Waiho's ears flattened at his words, "Wah?! Decaption?! That is seriously messed up!" Grim exclaimed in shock at the harsh punishment.

The redhead chuckled. Pretty cool, though, right? I'm a big fan, an' who would bother to obey a queen who was kind all the time?"

The whole losing your head thing made Kokia think back to her history class, one of the few classes she paid attention to back then. The thought of old Kalos a few centuries ago popped into her head. "Keeping the status quo to insane levels, huh? Wonder how long it would take for someone to not be able to bend anymore and end up snapping..."

Completely enamored with the new information he was getting, Grim didn't listen to Kokia's mutterings. "That's true. A leader needs to be strong." With a glance at the other six statues along the street, Grim turned back to the redhead, who stood relaxed with a small smile. "What about the rest of these statues here...uhhh."