Who is the lamb and who is the knife?

Salve... Ah! I-I mean, that is... um, he-hello, my name's Ophelia... er, Ophelia de Santis... My... talent? Um, that's... I-I don't... I'm... a medium... a spirit medium. I-I'm not lying... I can communicate with spirits, I-I just want to help those that can't pass on, a-and I... I... pl-please don't... don't look at me like that. I'm... I'm not crazy... I... ... It's cold... ((Ah, hello! This is a side blog, so any asks will be sent from my main blog! u w u;; This is also one of my first roleplay blogs here on tumblr, so please bear with me if I make any mistakes, ahaha... ))

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

There weren’t many things in his bathroom because he liked to keep things neat and organized, so it didn’t take long for Kurai to get everything put away. “I apologize, that does not usually happen-” he cut himself off as he came back into his room. 

There was Ophelia, with the skull cradled in her arms. She was backing away from the bed, not paying attention to him, then turned to go to the door. 

"What do you think you are doing?!" It took only a few steps to cross the room, but by that time she had already opened the door and started to step out. Kurai reached out and grasped Ophelia’s arm roughly, pulling her back inside. 

[shslrosary]

Ophelia froze, one hand reaching out to grab the handle to the door, when Kurai's voice reached her ears. She cast a wide-eyed look over her shoulder, then quickly turned back around to fumble around with the door handle. The door opened with a click and Ophelia moved to flee from the room, prepared to throw apologies over her shoulder as she ran.

The person grabbing onto her arm had a different plan in mind though, it seemed. A startled gasp escaped Ophelia's throat as Kurai suddenly pulled her backwards. "Ah!" She stumbled back into the room, nearly falling over, but made sure to keep a steady grip on the skull.

'No, no, no...!'

She'd upset him, she'd messed up, she'd made him angry, she'd--

The spirit medium's eyes, if possible, grew even wider. "P-please, don't...!" Ophelia tried to shake off Kurai's grip on her arm, tried to pull away from him to make another break for the door.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai jumped, jerking his hand back, when a sudden loud clatter came from the bathroom. His gaze snapped to look at the open door, and he was obviously confused. “… What…?” 

He looked between Ophelia and the door a few times, then frowned. “Stay here and do not touch anything,” he said firmly before lowering his arm and walking quickly to the bathroom, disappearing inside.

Pretty much everything in the bathroom that could be knocked over had been. The poet cursed under his breath, a bewildered expression on his face, and began to straighten things up.

[shslrosary]

Ophelia let her breath out in a small sigh after a second, and she seemed to relax a little. Her posture loosened up... then she immediately tensed and straightened back up as Kurai addressed her, telling her to not touch anything. He disappeared into the bathroom before she could respond.

She stood there for a moment, completely still, then she blinked. Her gaze slowly drifted over towards the skull that was still laying on the bed nearby. 'That's... right, I could... but...' Ophelia glanced between the bathroom door and the bed, then hesitantly made her way over towards the bed.

'I...' Kurai would undoubtedly be upset with her if she went through with this, but... Ophelia reached out, fingertips brushing along the top of the skull. "Hello," she murmured softly.

She glanced back at the bathroom door after a second, weighing her options. Biting her lip, she turned back to the skull, guilt bubbling up within her as she reached out towards it. 'I'm... I'm sorry!'

Ophelia wasted no time in scooping the skull up into her arms, though she made sure to be careful to not accidentally touch or move the journal laying close by. She backed up a few steps away from the bed, then quickly turned around to leave the room. She made sure to keep a firm, but gentle hold on the skull as she moved, not wanting to accidentally drop it.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai shut the door behind Ophelia and then crossed his arms, looking a little displeased. She hadn’t even acknowledged what he had requested! He eyed her carefully as she approached the skull and, more importantly, his journal. 'I should have closed that, if she tries to touch it I can just… send her out. Yes. That would work.' But then, she stopped, and she seemed surprised. His frown deepened; it seemed like she had forgotten he was there. The nerve! 'And when she is a visitor in my room!' 

What in the world was she doing? She was just… standing there, and she was apparently uneasy. As was he. ‘This has gone on long enough.’

"Alright, you have seen him." Kurai said after a moment, unfolding his arms. He stepped towards her and reached out to touch her upper arm, having decided against just grabbing her and pulling her away. The way she was acting was making him uncomfortable, it was too quiet and she was jumpy acting. "That is enough; you are dismissed." 

Ophelia, the door is that way. 

She hadn’t even said anything to the skull yet, so why did she come in? “You have not said a thing, and you merely asked to see him, so your purpose is fulfilled. Even if you spoke to him, Yorick would be unable to respond to you. So…” Yes, this social interaction had gone on long enough; he wasn’t used to having people in his room.

[shslrosary]

Ophelia turned back towards Kurai after a moment, wondering why he'd gone silent. As soon as she turned to look at him, however, he started to speak again, and began walking over to her. He reached his hand out towards her, and Ophelia blinked, startled, and jerked backwards, her hands flying up in front of herself defensively.

Dismissed? What...? Had she made him angry?

"I-I'm sorry? But... I didn't, I... I don't..." her words came out shaky and jumbled together, and Ophelia found herself taking a step backwards. She regarded the male in front of her with a nervous look, then glanced at the skull, then back towards Kurai. "I-I..."

'Wait--'

The sudden, and loud, noise of many things falling over in the other room - the bathroom? - pulled her from her thoughts abruptly and made her jump. 'Wh-what?!' A surprised look replaced her anxious expression, and she had to swallow down the startled scream that threatened to rip itself from her throat. Her widened eyes darted over towards the door to the bathroom, which had been left open, and she held her breath, suddenly nervous again.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

The poet hesitated for a moment, then nodded briefly, his expression still uncertain. “Alright.” He cast a few more glances at the skull, and then stepped back, holding the door open to allow her to come in.

Kurai’s dorm room was painstakingly neat, but ‘eccentric’ would be the best way to describe it. Judging from his decorations and overall feel of the room, he definitely had an interest in the more morbid and darker side of things. The skull was right at home with the other things placed around the room; black and dark blues were everywhere he could put them. Books… there were a lot of books, arranged neatly on the shelves, and his journal lay open next to the skull at the foot of his bed, with the pen laying next to it. The robe he was usually wearing was folded neatly in half and laid across the back of the chair at his desk. 

He shifted slightly and tugged at the high white collar of his shirt while he waited for her to come in. “Just… Do not touch anything, I would rather not have my belongings disturbed.”

[shslrosary]

Ophelia waited for him to walk into the dorm room, and then, slowly and cautiously, she unclasped her hands and went to follow him. She hesitated, only for a moment, in the doorway, then moved further into the room.

Curiosity tugged at her, and she was unable to help herself for glancing around his room once she'd entered. The colors were the first thing she noticed, but, considering the room's owner, she wasn't too surprised by the darker shades. Ophelia turned her attention towards the books next, blinking when she saw how many were lining the shelves. 'Ah...' Her interest was piqued, and she wanted to go over to see what types of books they were, but...

The spirit medium tore her gaze away, and her eyes settled upon the garment that was laying on the back of a nearby chair. 'What...? Oh.' Kurai's robe. Come to think of it, there had been something different about him, that she hadn't been able to quite place her finger on... Well, now she knew.

'But, where's...' Ophelia looked away from the desk and chair, and almost immediately her gaze fell upon what she'd been looking for. The skull was resting at the foot of Kurai's bed, right next to an open journal. Ophelia blinked, went to move over towards the skull, but paused, nearly jerking in surprise, when Kurai spoke. "Ah...! U-um," she stuttered, glancing over towards him. She'd... completely forgotten he was there. "Right... y-yes, I won't, um..."

'But, I need to...' Ophelia glanced back over towards the skull again, biting her lower lip nervously. 'I can't...'

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai frowned skeptically, still staring at Ophelia. “Returned to their body, you say? I am not keen on plummeting through floorboards into the netherworld once more simply to return an object to its original location. Surely you would not expect me to do so.” Besides that, there was the fact that he had gotten used to “Yorick’s” company and rather liked having the skull around. Though the company provided by the skull was negligible, by speaking to it as if it were actually listening, he created an illusion of companionship that was enough to settle him. 

He paused glancing back at the skull again. “So… were you requesting Yorick’s company?” Kurai wasn’t exactly used to people coming into his room, nor was he looking forward to it, but Ophelia was one of the least offensive people thus far. So if that’s what she wanted, he would let her in, but he made no move yet. He was waiting for her answer.

[shslrosary]

Ophelia had started to nod slowly when Kurai began speaking, but then paused as another confused expression washed over her features. 'Netherworld?' "U-um, that's... no, I don't, that's why I can..." she trailed off as he glanced over his shoulder again. 

'Ah...' She wrung her fingers together, glancing away for a second, but turned her attention back to Kurai when he spoke again. "I..." Yorick's... company? Ophelia blinked. 'Well, I suppose...' Realizing she hadn't vocally answered the question, she nodded. "Um, yes. Th-that is... if you don't mind?" He already seemed a bit annoyed, and she didn't want to agitate him further. He'd... gotten rather upset at her before, when they had all been trapped down in that building. She didn't want for that to happen again. 'But...'

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai stood there, staring at Ophelia expectantly and somewhat disdainfully. “I was rather expecting empty darkness, or perhaps some sort of bird,” he mumbled under his breath. 

Finally, she looked up and stammered what she had come for. The skull? He glanced back over his shoulder at the object in question, then turned back to her. 

"I do indeed have it." He frowned slightly more as he looked her up and down. "What business do you have with Yorick?" The poet hesitated. "And I… I was not the one who removed the skull from its body, that is on Goichi I would assume. I merely brought it to the surface, and from there to here."

Kurai glanced over to the side, and it seemed like he may have been a bit sheepish, no matter how much he tried to disguise it. “I brought it with me because I was concerned that perhaps in the time it would take to return Yorick to their body, the elevator would depart with only four students inside.”

[shslrosary]

Ophelia watched as Kurai turned to glance over his shoulder, looking over at what she assumed was the skull. Curious, Ophelia leaned over a bit, trying to peer past him into the room, but immediately jerked back to her normal stance whenever he turned back to her. "A-ah..."

She blinked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Yorick...?" she echoed, her voice a mere murmur. Was... he making a reference? To Hamlet? "U-um..." Goichi? Ah, he meant the guy... the unnerving one, right? Ophelia nodded, a nervous look crossing her face once again. "Y-yes, I didn't mean... I-I'm sorry."

Kurai suddenly looked away, and Ophelia blinked at the slight change in his expression. 'Yorick? Again?' Wait, was... was he calling the skull Yorick? Why...?

'Four...? But...' Had he thought that he was going to get left behind?

Well, Souda had kind of threatened to leave them all down in that place, hadn't he? 'Right...' "I g-guess I can understand that... but, um, shouldn't... they should be returned to their body..." Ophelia folded her hands together in front of her, anxiously intertwining her fingers together. "I-I can..."

'You can do this,' she tried to reassure herself, 'Just convince him to give the skull over, and...'

[dr-dodgingbullets]

Alas, Poor Yorick! (Closed for Ophelia)

Kurai lay on his stomach on his bed, his hand propped up under his chin, absentmindedly twirling a pen in his fingers. He stared at the notebook open in front of him, then over at the skull sitting about a foot away. He was stuck on the last couplet of the poem; that’s all he would need to complete it, but nothing he came up with fit right.

He laid the pen down with an irritated look on his face, then turned his attention back to the skull. “What possessed the English to put together this preposterous language?” He sighed and then paused, the quiet filling the room again.

“It is a lot simpler to just explain things to you instead of writing them down.” Kurai sat up, picking up the skull and looking at it. “Nothing feels like it belongs at the end of this poem, it just does not…” he hesitated, trying to think of how to word it. “It does not fit right with the rest. Everything is wrong.” Poetry was frustrating; either it was an effortless masterpiece unfolding, or it was like pulling teeth. He’d never had anyone to bounce ideas off of before now, but this wasn’t exactly like having a living, breathing person who could respond to him.

Of course, there was no reply, no suggestions to help or anything. Not that he’d necessarily listen to the suggestions at all, it would just be different. The poet propped his arm on his knee and rested his chin on his hand, just looking at the skull. Maybe he was dealing with a creative block because he was supposed to be helping research for that stupid paper… No, that couldn’t be it. He dismissed the notion as quickly as it appeared. “Alas, Yorick, if only you could speak to me!”

In all likelihood, if the skull were able to answer him, he would get aggravated and avoid it like he did most people, or it would try to avoid him (like most people did).  

Then, a tentative knock sounded from the door, and annoyance quickly became obvious in his features. Kurai put down the skull gently on the foot of his bed, then stood up and went to the door. He paused before opening the door, not really wanting to deal with people, but finally opened it.

“Oh.” It was her.

[shslrosary]

Ophelia stared nervously up at the name plate on the door she was currently standing in front of. This was the right place, but... 

She bit her lip, her apprehension increasing with each passing second. Then, the spirit medium blinked, glancing away from the door. "A-ah..." After a moment, she turned her attention back towards the door and, hesitatingly, she reached out, lightly rapping her knuckles against it. Hopefully he'd hear her...

A few seconds passed, then the door finally opened. Ophelia nearly flinched back, already regretting this. Kurai stood in front of her now, and he seemed miffed about something. 'I... maybe this wasn't a good idea...' He was staring at her, most likely wondering what she wanted.

Right. Ophelia took a second to calm her nerves, then tried to meet Kurai's piercing gaze.

"I... u-um..." she stuttered, wanting to just apologize for bothering him and leave instead, but... "Why... did you take their... um, the skull? I-I mean... it's... can I see it? Please?" Ophelia dropped her gaze, shifting her stance nervously. "I mean, if you still have it...?" She knew he did; she was just stumbling over her words at this point.

The spirit medium fell silent for a moment, then glanced back up, half-expecting for Kurai to shut the door in her face.

[oztheblackrabbit-deactivated201]

questions about your character.

[shslrosary]

♥ - What does ‘love’ mean to them? ♠ - What are they afraid of? ♦ - What is one thing about them that they are most proud of? ♣ - What is one thing that they find embarrassing? (About them, others, things in general) ★ - Do they prefer daytime or nighttime and why? ☾- Are they prone to nightmares or dreamless sleep? ☼ - Something that/Someone who makes them happy. ☁ - If they’re caught out in the rain how do they react? ♪ - Are they musically inclined? ♫ - What kind of music do they enjoy? ✓ - How do they react to praise? ✕ - How do they handle rejection? ☺ - Do they prefer sour or sweet treats? ❄ -  Favorite season and why? ☮ - Do they have an idol or someone they look up to? ❤ - Do they have a love interest? ✖ - Who is someone they just cannot stand? ♔ - Do they value loyalty? ♕ - Do they trust easily?

[shslrosary]

You don’t have asks open, but do all the things. Also fix your askbox.

F uck;; Uhh, it's fixed now lmao.... my bad;;

Send ✚ for a HEALTH headcanon.

Ophelia isn't exactly the healthiest person around. She rarely, if ever, exercises, and seems to have issues with sleeping, if the bags under her eyes are anything to go by.

Send ♕ for a CHILDHOOD headcanon.

Ophelia was taught at a young age, by her mother, to be a kind and helpful person. And, as a child, she tried to be just that. Even now she's still kind and helpful underneath her initial distrust.

Send ✿ for a HAPPINESS headcanon.

Ophelia is a shy and gloomy person by nature, so making her happy can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. She enjoys reading, however, and has a fondness towards plays, operas, and other such things.

Send ␛ for an ANGER headcanon.

Ophelia rarely gets angry. In fact, she's more likely to get upset or exasperated than angry. If, by some chance, you were able to anger her, then you must have done something pretty bad.

Send ♆ for a BODY headcanon.

Ophelia is a tad underweight, and is really bad at doing anything athletic. She's a bit self-conscious about her body, and usually wears clothing that hides most of her skin.

Send ϡ for a MENTAL STATE headcanon.

Ophelia's mental state probably isn't the best. Whenever she's upset over something, she usually tends to dwell on it for a while. She usually tries reading or listening to music to get her mind off of whatever's troubling her.

Send ღ for a LOVE/SEXUALITY headcanon.

Ophelia's never really been in a relationship before. She's had friends, sure, but never an actual romantic relationship with anyone. It could be due to the fact that she's never really formed a strong enough bond with anyone to show any interest; she's demisexual.

Send † for a RELIGION headcanon.

If you hadn't already guessed it, Ophelia is Catholic. However, she and her father, a Catholic priest, don't have the same views or thoughts on certain things.

Send ✄ for a PET PEEVE headcanon.

Though she would never say it aloud, Ophelia doesn't like it when people are loud or invasive. 

Send ☂ for a FOOD headcanon.

Ophelia likes most spicy dishes, as well as pastas and soups.

[fearcomeswithimagination-deacti]

Headcanons

[shslrosary]

Send ✚ for a HEALTH headcanon. Send ♕ for a CHILDHOOD headcanon. Send ✿ for a HAPPINESS headcanon. Send ␛ for an ANGER headcanon. Send ♆ for a BODY headcanon. Send ϡ for a MENTAL STATE headcanon. Send ღ for a LOVE/SEXUALITY headcanon. Send † for a RELIGION headcanon. Send ✄ for a PET PEEVE headcanon. Send ☂ for a FOOD headcanon.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

This House Better Not Be Haunted

A look of fear crossed Ophelia’s face when the wooden boards beneath her feet began to creak and splinter, but, before she could do anything, the floor gave away. “Ah…” Her eyes widened, but she hit the ground before she could scream.

"Ah!!" Upon hitting the ground, Ophelia let out a pained noise and immediately reached for her side, curling up slightly. "I-I’m alright!" She coughed, wincing as she pressed her palm up against her left side. "<I’m alright…>" She reached up with her other hand to push back her bangs a bit, and blinked when she noticed that her glasses were missing. "Ah…" They must have slipped off when she had fallen. She didn’t really need them to see, but…

Ophelia pushed herself up, wincing again as her side throbbed in pain from the sudden movement. She slowly went to stand, and glanced around. The others seemed alright… that was good, but where… “Ah!” Her glasses lay a few feet away, and, for the most part, seemed undamaged. She sighed, relieved, and reached for them.

After slipping the glasses back onto her face, Ophelia finally took in her surroundings. It was brighter in here, and… what… were those… podiums? 'They're gold…' Was that a throne? Ophelia blinked, furrowing her brow in confusion. “Wh… Where…”

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai nodded slowly, a spark of interest in his eyes betraying the fact that his hostility was waning. “<Yes, I have visited there before. The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an exquisite example of architecture and fine performance.>” He frowned slightly, realizing his pronunciations weren’t as accurate as they had been before. It had been awhile since he had spoken Italian in conversation, after all. 

“The old building is made of brick and stone, / mortar and wood and metal. / It remembers the forest / that became a field / that became a city…” Kurai began to quote, lifting one hand a little and holding it palm up. He remembered the awe he felt at the majestic building, at the performances he was able to see there with his family for his father’s work. He paused, leveling a judging gaze at Ophelia before shifting back to Italian. “<I assume you have attended many performances there.>” he spoke almost condescendingly, leaving no room for questioning. 

[shslrosary]

Ophelia looked back towards Kurai at the mention of the opera house. She blinked, nodding slowly in recognition. So, he'd been there before? What a coincidence... Actually, considering that it was the most popular opera house it Italy, maybe it wasn't that big of a coincidence, but still...

Her attention was drawn back to Kurai when he started to speak again. She tilted her head, blinking slowly as he quoted... a poem? What? He suddenly stopped, however, and turned back to her with a look that made her fidget nervously. What now...? 

"<W-What? Oh...>" Though a bit confused and wary at the sudden change in his attitude, Ophelia nodded. "<Um, yes. Mo... Mother liked to go there often... and I-I usually went with her.>" Just the mention of her mother brought a fond and warm look to her eyes. 

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai looked slightly less agitated and more confused when Ophelia spoke. “Yes, of course I speak Italian. Did you think I was some sort of imbecile who only knew one tongue?” She probably was Italian herself, then, but pretentious enough to toss around insults in languages she thought no one else understood. He was a little miffed that she thought he was that uneducated. 

"I do not simply speak it, either; I have a full volume published entirely in Italian, as well as volumes in several other languages."  He looked away for a moment, an awkward pause hanging in the air before he glanced back at her. "<I assume that you are Italian?>" Aside from the accent, his Italian was nearly flawless.

[shslrosary]

Ophelia blinked, a bit bemused by his response. "Um..." He still seemed... offended. Ophelia bit her lip, reaching up to grasp at her rosary. "I'm... sorry?"

He continued talking though, so Ophelia slowly turned her gaze back over towards him. "Ah." He knew a lot of languages then. Was he... a language interpreter, possibly? Maybe that's why he had gotten so offended? Ophelia blinked, then shook her head. No... it didn't really seem to suit him.

He'd looked away now, so Ophelia assumed their conversation was over. She fidgeted, wondering if she should leave, or...

Kurai suddenly looked back over, and Ophelia blinked at the question he asked. "Ah? <O-Oh, yes! I'm from Palermo... ah, that's... Palermo, Sicily...>" She idly rubbed her rosary, glancing away.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

[shsldarkpoetry]

Kurai was snapped out of his inner monologue when Ophelia said something. He stiffened, then turned back to her, putting his hand flat on top of the notebook. “Stop?” Irritation was clear on his features. “What for? Was the rustling of the pages too much for you?” 

The girl’s face flushed and she began acting sheepish, and with good reason. “Do you have a problem with that?” Really, someone who was offended by something that small was one of the people he was being forced to work with? 

This was going to be a horribly long, drawn out month. 

"What kind of research are you going to be able to do if you are unable to handle something as simple as that?" Kurai was clearly offended. "A man by himself can do the work of three." 'Especially at the rate this seems to be going. I was not expecting a pleasant experience with any sort of group assignment, but this is already starting out worse than I had anticipated. The sooner we get this settled and I can break off, the better.'

[shslrosary]

"A-Ah..." He'd heard, and what made it'd even worse was that he apparently could speak Italian, or at least knew enough to understand what she had said. Ophelia looked up, a somewhat panicked expression on her face. "N-No! I didn't mean... I-I... I wasn't..." she trailed off, nearly trembling now.

He looked angry, or at the very least clearly annoyed with her now. Ophelia dropped her gaze back towards the desk. "I..." With each sentence the dark-haired boy spoke, Ophelia found herself just wanting to sink into the ground and disappear. She hadn't meant to upset him... She reached up, tugging a bit at the fabric of her scarf, and tried to bury the lower half of her bright red face into it. "I'm sorry." Part of her was hoping he'd leave her alone now, and just walk away in annoyance or something, but...

He'd understood what she had said, right? So...

Against her better judgement, Ophelia slowly lifted her head again to look over to Kurai once more. "Y-You..." she paused, taking a breath to try and calm her nerves. It didn't work. "You speak... Italian?"

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

[shsldarkpoetry]

Research, well, that was something at least. Kurai’s frown became a little more pronounced, though. “That’s all? Can you write something about what you uncover?” If all she did was research, then he’d have to count on her research to build his part on, most likely. 

He looked away with a look of distaste. “Ne quid expectes amicos, quod tute agere possis.” The Latin had a distinct Japanese accent to it when he spoke, but it wasn’t too overpowering. If you knew Latin. “For what thou canst do thyself, rely not on others.” He was starting to wonder if it might be better just to fail that class. After all, it was only gym; not all that important, and failing it would be less of a hassle than putting up with this idiotic group project.

Kurai flipped through the pages of his notebook idly, thinking. Perhaps each of them could take a specific era, do the research, and write that one segment. After that, the paper could be assembled from whatever parts ended up written, so that each part could be judged independently if necessary. He pressed the knuckle of his index finger against his lips. 'In that case, I could take the beginning. The paper would start out solidly, with my attention to detail, and it would be graded with a favorable attitude. It would not matter if the rest of the paper looked like trampled Swiss cheese after that, because my portion would have reached a standard much higher, I am sure, than anything these others could throw together.' Yes, that would probably be the best course of action. It would be better for his portion to be scored before the teacher got a bad taste in his mouth from the writing the others would (theoretically) turn in.

[shslrosary]

That's all?

Ophelia flinched, her gaze falling back down towards the desk once more. "I..." Write something? "I s-suppose... th-that is... um, yes?" She was no novelist- her expertise lay elsewhere- but her writing wasn't awful.

Ah, he was talking again. It wasn't Japanese though... Wait. 'Latin?' Ophelia blinked, glancing back up curiously. Then, the meaning of his words sunk in and she winced, looking away from him. He... really didn't like this whole scenario at all, did he? Not that she could really blame him...

She heard the sound of pages being flipped and, curiousity getting the best of her once again, looked over towards Kurai. He was flipping through a notebook, but it didn't really seem as if he was writing anything in it, or reading. He actually looked like he was lost in thought. Ophelia blinked, briefly wondering what he could be thinking about, but then furrowed her brow. "Fermare." she muttered.

...

"Ah." She hadn't meant to say that out loud. She blinked once, twice, then her face exploded in color and she quickly ducked her head, hoping that Kurai hadn't heard her.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

[shsldarkpoetry]

After Kurai sat down in the desk and made his introduction, he looked up from his notebook and turned to the girl who stammered her name behind him. She and the other girl were both clearly not Asian, and part of him wondered where they were from. He didn’t exactly want to ask though, it would be better to work on his own. But they had to divide the work somehow, right?

"How will we be dividing the workload?" He addressed Ophelia with a displeased frown tugging at his lips, picking her because she looked less angry than the other girl, and was the closest. "I will not be held responsible for more than my fair share, and dividing the assignment properly from the beginning assures that I won’t be left to pick up the slack." He glanced at the other two males in disgust; he was fairly sure he had seen them before, and if he was right, there would indeed be a great amount of slack to make up for. 

Fantastic.

[shslrosary]

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Ophelia turned her head. She nearly jumped when her eyes locked with the black-haired boy sitting nearby. He was the one that had asked the teacher something, as well as the one who had introduced himself... in a rather odd way, if she were to be honest. He was looking at her now though, and it was beginning to unnerve her.

Thankfully, the dark-haired male spoke, though Ophelia found herself a bit bemused by his manner of speech. 'Dividing the workload...?' He really didn't seem to thrilled about the the whole idea of a group project either, she noted. Not that the other three looked any happier about it themselves though...

It seemed the boy in front of her- Kurai?- seemed to have no faith in anyone else doing any work though. "I-I..." Ophelia bit her lip, glancing down at the desk again. She wasn't sure about the others, but... "I can do research... o-on the history of the school." She was good at finding books, as well as other sources, to help uncover the truths and mysteries of things such as their current assignment.

Hopefully her answer had satisfied the other. Ophelia chanced a glance up to read his expression, hoping she hadn't somehow made him grumpier than he already seemed to be.

[dr-dodgingbullets]

I Work Better With Dead People

The trip to the classroom was uneventful enough, but Ophelia trudged towards the room as if she had just been given a death sentence. Shame and dread bubbled up within her as she slowly entered the room. She hadn’t meant to fail the classes, but physical and group activities just were not her forte. She was glad the school was giving her a chance to redeem her grade, but the fact that she didn’t know exactly what this remedial class entailed was making her nervous.

It didn’t help that there were other students there. Ophelia inhaled shakily, trying not to meet any of the other students eyes as she took a seat. Eventually, the unnerving teacher at the front of the room started to talk. Ophelia glanced up briefly, but almost immediately her gaze was drawn back towards the desk in front of her. Her fingers twitched as the teacher continued his speech, and by the time he’s finished speaking she’s tugging nervously at the rosary around her neck. The project itself is fine, and something she can handle, but… ‘A team?’ Ophelia stares down at the desk, biting her lip. ‘But…’ That’s exactly one of the things she was failing at; what, were they hoping by making her work with these students that everything would be solved? That she would suddenly turn into some social butterfly? She frowned, still staring down at the school desk. 'This isn't going to work…'

Finally, after a few minutes of silence, Ophelia risked a glanced towards the other students. Even though this whole thing was to surely end horribly, she might as well introduce herself, right? “I’m…” she paused, glancing away nervously. “My n-name is Ophelia.”