Nia turned her face completly to Raven and smiled again. She didn't want to talk with this new girl. Besides, she didn't know the reason why Crysta was acting like this towards Nia and the thing that she was so close to Raven... She killed the thought in her head, no, she wouldn't get jealous, there was no reason for that.

"I am glad, we can't show Shinu that we can't do anything without him or that we are scared of him now, right? That's why it's best to just enjoy yourself and not talk about him."

She said to Raven obviously wanting to cut the convo between Raven and Crysta as she was fixing one of her ponny tails.

A sudden, sharp rapping rocked the room. As all heads in the room turned around to the front of the lecture hall, the small, mousy-haired man standing at the lectern gave a short cough. He was arrayed in brown robes, and looked up at them all with small, brown eyes. He seemed relatively young, not nearly as old as some of the other instructors that seemed to live in their classrooms.

"Good... good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to leadership class. Now, if you could please take your seats so I can see if everyone is..."

"No need for that, Cleston. Everyone that needs to be here is here." The professor jumped as a dry, reedy voice seemed to speak from the blackboard. A minor distortion of the air appeared before the wall, and a crimson-robed form seemed to walk straight through the blackboard.

The man began to stammer, "Er-... Professor Valandanon! I was informed by the headmaster that you were ...ill, and confined to bed... I was instructed to..."

"But as you can see, my dear boy, I'm perfectly sound. You can go now. I'm sure you have other things to do." The elf stepped past Cleston, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. On closer inspection, it was apparent that Erk was not "perfectly sound." He seemed rather... charred.

The magenta locks hanging down around his head were a bit dimmer, and several were a bit singed. His robes concealed most of his body, but his hands drew instant attention; they were webbed with cracks and bright, vibrant red lines. On the whole, he looked banged up.

Ignoring the stammering youth behind him, Erk stepped forward to the lectern and began to speak to the class, his voice as crisp as always.

"You all know why you are here, whether it is because you wanted to learn to step up and take charge, or for any other reason. We will begin now."

With an absent flick of his wrist, a piece of chalk rose from the tray mounted below the board, and began to write: "Professor Valandanon" All the while, the bent mystic continued to speak.

"As I'm sure some of you are aware, I am an advisor of this Garden, and have served here since its conception. I will be your instructor in this course. If everyone would please rise and come down onto the lecture hall floor." Erk ended with a sweeping glance at everyone in the high-ceilinged room. He was a bit surprised that there were more people here than had been punished. He wondered how many of them were simply missing a class.

Raven had noticed Erk's appearance as soon as he appeared before them. Something had happened to him, and because of what happened Raven figured that it was because what happened with Shinu. Raven then sighed and got up, his chair falling back onto all fours. He then walked down to the floor.

Kira pushed his chair back as he got up, nearly slamming it into the wall. He followed suit as Raven did, following him down onto the floor. He was surprised to see Erk was the lecturer. He was thinking that it would be someone else, someone who was not quite so high up on the garder chain of command.

Nia shook her head looking as Raven and Kira followed the orders obviously getting mad that it was Erk that was teaching them. She got up from her chair and walked behind them.

Faina ran down the hallway. She was late to leadership class. And her eyes were red from all of the crying she had done lately. Damn!

She skidded around the corner and everyone was filing around the room. Well, she couldn't be THAT late.

Catching up to one very angry looking Kira, she slipped her and into his.

Are you alright?? What'd I miss?

Psh, I could do it. She giggle.

Where are we going? What did I miss?

Cyrus looked at Erk's injuries, wondering where htey might have come from. He wasnt mad at him for the whole incident in the last mission, and was amazed that he wanted to teach the class so badly, even in that condition.

Cyrus quietly pushes his chair in and walked to the lecture floor, still holding his right arm.