On a stuttering tongue, Elaine attempted to provide the girl with some response, although given how bizarre and unexpected her position was, all that streamed out of her lips was a wave of nondescript mumbling. The girl herself must have discerned the uncomfortable expression blanketing her face, as it was why, Elaine imagined, pink spots spiraled onto her cheeks and she released Elaine with a sudden exclaim, scrambling away with hands in front of her eyes.

"Sorry! So sorry! I got too excited there, didn't I?" the girl said, leaning forward in a bow so quick that Elaine thought she might accidentally throw herself onto the floor. "I didn't mean to, I swear. It's just, that I'm on a bit of a time crunch here. Now that I know the three of you are first years, well, I couldn't afford to let this oh-so-fortuitous opportunity slide so easily. Everything depends on this mission's success. No matter what, I have to make this mission a success!"

Custas arched a brow. "Just what in Althea are you talking about?"

"And what mission are you referring to?" Fearne asked as she stood next to Elaine. "Is it some kind of assignment for a class?"

The girl stood up straight and yelped! "Oh yeah, I should have explained that part first. You freshmen probably have no clue what I'm talking about, do you?" she nervously chuckled. She placed a hand over her chest, the corners of her wide grin stretching as far as they could. "First things first, I believe introductions are in order. My name's Casey, Casey Twinleaf. I'm the youngest daughter of House Twinleaf and heir to the rune factories in Hashpoint City."

Elaine cracked open an anxious smile. "Casey, huh?"

If nothing else, she sure had a boisterous Essence. Her wide, navy blue-tinted eyes sat inside of her roundish face sprinkled with freckles, and light hair—scrambled and unkempt—rolled over her ears and to her shoulders. Unlike them, however, she wasn't wearing her school uniform, rather, she had on a white-colored top accompanied by a tangerine skirt that reached halfway down her thighs, as well as a pair of velvet boots. Classes were over for the day, so it was reasonable to assume that not every student would want to remain in uniform. But was it also possible that senior students could dress in their own attire?

After Elaine gave Casey her name—Fearne and Custas followed her lead—the girl smacked a fist into her palm and chuckled. "Lovely, lovely. So, if you're here scouting for potential clubs to join, it'd serve you three well to know that I happen to be a club member as well. In fact, I'm the leader of said club."

Fearne's eyes split open. "Really?"

Casey's smile made the sides of her face dimple. "Yup! I'm the real deal. And this here is my trusted assistant, Raine!"

For a moment, Elaine was confused about who the girl was referring to, but it wasn't until she looked past Casey that she noticed another student standing only a few shuffles behind her. When their eyes met—his intense, green-colored gaze colliding into her—Elaine felt herself shudder, not because she necessarily sensed any hostility from him, if anything, it was difficult to get a solid read on him due to his indifference.

Even so, there remained something about his aura—his Essence—that put Elaine on edge, like the feeling you'd get from a complete stranger you'd pass by on a lonely street at the brink of dusk. That stranger wouldn't need to do anything for one to throw up their guard impulsively, but they'd do so nonetheless out of a reluctance they were conditioned to inherit. That was how she felt, and Elaine started as the student averted his gaze from her, tilting his head forward so as to rub the back of his neck.

But despite that...foreboding feeling that had left her as quickly as it pierced her heart, Elaine couldn't deny that he wasn't easy on the eyes. He was a tall boy with dark skin—hailing from Urista, most likely—that rose to be a head over most others present; Elaine would have to look up if she ever wanted to see his eyes again. His dark hair was mostly fixed into a ponytail that lowered past his shoulders, and, much like his apparent clubmate, wasn't dressed in the usual school attire, preferring instead to don a long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of black pants and boots, a crimson-colored tie dangling from his collar.

Elaine colored as he gave them all a nod. "Raine Patridge, a pleasure." His voice was as smooth as silk, seasoned slightly by a foreign accent that, with effort, Elaine could barely detect. As he looked at her again, her face sweltered to an even greater degree, and Elaine glanced away, brushing blonde hair out of her eyes.

"So, now that we've got the pleasantries over and done with," Custas said, stepping forward with a stern look that bordered on being angry, "what exactly do you want with us?"

"It's as I've said," Casey replied cheerfully, raising her hands. "I intend to recruit you guys as members of my club."

"Yes but why us, in particular?" Fearne asked. "Surely there are other students whom you could have chosen from? Why settle on us instead of all the rest?"

"Well, for one, Elaine here—it was Elaine, wasn't it?—did happen to run straight into me. Took me by quite a surprise. I thought a runaway boar had slammed into me," Casey chuckled, hands on her hips. Elaine winced from the embarrassment; charging through a room crowded with people probably wasn't her best move. "Anyway, that's all behind us. But to answer your question, Fearne, it's more true for us than for other clubs; convincing a student to join is extremely difficult. Freshmen like you are more attracted to popular and well-known clubs than small-timers like us. So, as you can imagine, we haven't had much luck attracting new members."

Ah, now I get it, Elaine thought. That must have been why she acted so wildly earlier.

"Yeah, it's a real shame but what else can we do, right?" Casey continued, shaking her head. "I was a newbie too, and so I know how it is to be naturally drawn to clubs that teach you how to animate dead rats or center around flashy duels. Humans that we are pulled towards spectacle just as strongly as our ancestors were addicted to practicing and studying magic during the Arcane Age. So I can't be mad at all these Blues chasing after what's most favored, however," Casey's hands bawled to fists whilst a heated storm of hatred sundered her cheery personality, her eyes turning narrow as her lips unraveled clenched canines, "don't these cowsucking sulmos realize that other clubs need attention too?! Honestly, how hard is it fer them to give us a shot in the spotlight?! It's not like they'll ever be short on members! It's so unfair!"

Sighing, Raine placed a hand over Casey's shoulder, and miraculously, that was enough to calm the girl down. Slapping herself on the side of her face, dispelling a breath from her nostrils, Casey managed another smile, though this one seemed more forced.

"Sorry 'bout that, got kind of carried away, didn't I?" she chuckled, poking out her tongue as she knuckled her scalp.

Elaine frowned. Where the heck did that come from? Remind me never to get her angry.

"Anyway, given how it's the start of the semester, it's crucial that we swipe up all the new faces before they're gone, you three included," she explained, motioning to the rest of the room with a hand. The place was still swamped, however, it was more apparent now than it was earlier that most had already decided which clubs they'd join, crowds of students gathering around a particular stall. "So, what do you say?" Casey asked eagerly. "Care to join?"

Before Elaine could answer her, Custas cut in with an artificial grin of his own. "That's all nice and good, but here's the thing, we're kinda still looking at the different clubs ourselves. There's a few of them we haven't checked out yet, isn't that right, Elaine?"

"Y...Yeah," Elaine reluctantly nodded.

"I hear what you're saying, Casey, but we can't just blindly team up with you guys when we haven't yet experienced everything this convention has to offer," Custas said, turning to leave, waving a hand over his shoulder. "'Those who are too hasty rarely reap the best rewards.'"

Fearne gave a smile, but she seemed to agree with Custas as she also started in his direction. "We'll visit your stall once we reach it. If we haven't decided by then, I don't see a problem with us joining you."

Elaine hissed a small sigh but departed after her friends, feeling conflicted, however, she froze completely as Casey—her head downturned and a fist trembling by her waist—caught her by the arm, fingers wrapping tightly around the wrist, adamantly refusing to let go. "Please," she whispered so quietly Elaine barely heard, "there isn't much time left. I'm no sulmo, I know by the time you guys make it to us there's no way you'd even consider my club a possibility anymore." Casey swung her head up and took Elaine directly in the eyes. Her eyebrows crammed against one another and her lips, why, it was as if some cruel shadowborn glued them together, splitting apart only for Casey to continue in a voice that squeaked. "I'm desperate. Please,...just listen to what I have to say. You'd do me that courtesy, wouldn't you, Elaine?"

Elaine shifted her feet uncomfortably. Maybe it was her puppy dog eyes or how she was now quivering her mouth, but for some reason, Casey reminded her of how Liam got whenever things didn't go his way. That sulmo could be incredibly annoying on the best of days and absolutely unbearable on the worst. Still, there wasn't anything in the world she wouldn't do to help him if his luck ever soured.

Sighing, Elaine slowly spun her head over a shoulder towards Custas and Fearne, the two staring from afar with curious looks. "I did almost run her into the ground," Elaine cringed. "The least we could do is hear her out, wouldn't you say?"

Fearne shared a conflicted glance with Custas, only for the boy to lift his hands and mutter something to himself. Fearne smiled at him before paying Elaine with a laugh. "Well, okay. If you want to."

Custas frowned. "As long as they're quick about it, I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Hear that, Casey?" Elaine said kindly, taking the girl in both her hands. "You've got our full attention."

"Really?!" she exclaimed, leaning closer as she did. "Great! No, this is perfect! I'll fill you guys in on everything! But first, we should probably go somewhere a bit more private."

"Private?" Elaine asked. "What did you have in mind?"

*

* *

Elaine had never been to the fourth floor of the academy before, and if she had, it was only in passing. There wasn't much about it that differed from the other floors, though. The hallways looked the same, linear pathways stretching into the distance with squarish, stone-tiled floors as arched doors spotted the walls on either side of them, as were the occasional stone statues of sorcerers of ages past, their petrified stares aimed sternly at whoever passed them.

Every now and again, however, the hallways stretched apart into large open areas shaped like a rhombus or rectangle. Elaine estimated that each was over fifty feet wide, meaning a fair number of students could fit inside at once. Strangely enough, there weren't that many students around. A larger number of professors and gray cloaks marched the halls, which more than likely had to do with the Club Convention.

As they reached one of the indoor courtyards, afternoon sunlight flickering through windows built into a wall, Elaine discerned a draft of wind as it caused her hair to flutter ever so slightly, indicating that somewhere around the room there must have been an opening that led to the outside. At the center, perched atop a grassed platform was what Elaine first perceived as a fountain of some kind, but as they neared it, she realized it was in actuality a pedestal, though it wasn't holding anything of importance, just the long-dead branch of a tree she couldn't decipher.

Pillars twice as wide as the wheel of a carriage extended from the floors to the ceiling as, in the far corner of the courtyard, she spotted a flight of winding stone stairs which, Elaine guessed, would take someone from the fourth floor to the fifth. Some students scattered the space, sitting on stone benches with textbooks in their laps or moving in small herds as they spoke quietly amongst themselves or leaned against a wall, twiddling their wands in a hand.

But they didn't linger in this courtyard for too long. Instead, Casey had brought them to a room not far from it, down what was left of the hallway and into a corridor on the right. "Welcome my friends," the girl said excitedly, grabbing the handle and thrusting the door open, wood smacking against the stone on the other side, "to the Aire Club!"

Honestly, Elaine didn't know what she was expecting, but it was a quaint little room not much larger than her bedroom back in Page, although she was fairly certain that the dormitory rooms beat this one in size. Multiple bookshelves pressed up against the walls—though their racks were alarmingly vacant of any texts or novels—with box crates of either paper or plastic stacked on top of them. 

Meanwhile, directly at the center of the room was a long table with three chairs tucked underneath either side of it and another chair at its head on the opposite side. Once Elaine stepped inside, however, she realized the table was actually four smaller tables pushed together.

"It's not much," Casey chuckled in a giddy voice. "But we get by with what we have. The school is invested in giving larger budgets to the more popular clubs, so we'll have to scrape by with limited supplies for now."

"Speaking of," Custas said, glancing around the place, clearly unimpressed by how bored he looked, "I thought you said this was a club? Where are all the other members?"

"Well, assuming you three want to stick around, this is pretty much everyone."

Custas whistled. "Man, you guys really have fallen on tough times, huh?"

"That's putting it lightly," Casey sighed as Raine quietly shut the door behind them. "But it wasn't always like this, you know. I recall when the Aire Club was among the most popular and well-respected clubs on campus. Oh, you should have seen it. It was so inspiring." Casey hung her head as she sauntered over to the far end of the combination of tables, brushing her fingers on the wall as she did. "Good things hardly last forever though, and I was in for a rude awakening when it was that I completed my first semester."

Fearne frowned. "What exactly happened to this place?"

"Where to start?" Casey chuckled. "The Aire Club was originally the brainchild of one Thurman Madeira. He managed to strum up a group of students through his charisma and nice personality to form what is now the Aire Club. He was also the person who recruited me." Elaine discerned Casey's blush as she uttered that last part but remained silent as the girl continued her story. "With him as our spearhead, the club was a success...but realistically speaking, Thurman wouldn't be a student forever, and when it came time for him to graduate, well, to put it bluntly, the club just fell apart. None of us could do what Thurman could. He was the glue that bound us all together, you know. Soon, more members quit until I was the only person left."

"And now, you're trying to restore the club to what it used to be, I reckon?" Elaine asked sympathetically.

"I can't just let it disappear like this, I just can't. Not after everything Thurman and the others have sacrificed." Casey bawled her hands into fists on the table as she leaned over it, a voice as hoarse as sand jetting out of her grimace. "I'll save this club. I know I can! Unfortunately, though, its fate isn't ultimately up to me. No club can function without members. Raine here was kind enough to agree to join but...other than him..."

Elaine nodded in understanding. "This is why you were so desperate for new members, right?"

Casey had a pinched look on her face. "Yes, and it hasn't been easy for us. Especially given how many more clubs there are. No matter what I tell them, the blue capes seem far more interested in the more popular clubs, whilst older students have already joined clubs or are not fond of joining a doomed club like ours."

"You said the Aire Club used to be popular, yeah?" Custas inquired, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Well, I have to ask, what exactly do you guys do anyhow?"

Replacing her forlorn expression, Casey beamed a smile as she slammed a hand over her chest, the redness on her cheek roaring from a barely traceable ember to a magnificent inferno. "At its core, I guess you say that the Aire Club is that of a support group!" she told them all loudly. "We're dedicated to improving the lives of every student on campus! Whether it be misplacing your ID key or struggling to ask your crush out on a date, we members of the Aire Club pride ourselves on solving any problem you have to offer!"

"I...Is that so?" Elaine said bemused. With how confidently and swiftly Casey had spoken, it made Elaine wonder if the girl had already rehearsed that speech, and had committed it to memory.

"So, essentially," Custas snickered, "this place is like, what, a discounted version of the Student Council?"

All of a sudden, something snapped! within Casey, and where once stood an excited and friendly girl now materialized a monster with bared fangs and a look that could slay a dragon; a merciless imposter wearing the skin of what once had been a normal student of Glyph. "The Student Council," the girl growled, holding a fist before her, veins writhing like worms on her forehead. "Those goblin-kissers wouldn't know the first thing about helpin' others! All they're good for is pissin' me off! They think they're so high and mighty 'cause they got favor with the headmaster! Sunder them! Sunder them all to the Shadow!"

"Man, I must have struck a nerve," Custas said nervously.

Fearne flinched beside him. "Scary..."

Elaine heard shuffling behind her, and a second later, Raine leaned in close to whisper into her ear. "Word of advice," he spoke softly with his polished voice, "you guys might want to refrain from mentioning the Student Council. As you can see, Casey doesn't exactly have the best relationship with them."

"Noted..." Elaine whispered back to him, watching Casey snap a pencil in half out of frustration.

"To get back on topic," Casey exhaled, brushing the sweat from her face, "I have until the end of the day to amass more club members. If I fail, those Student Council sulmos will shut down the club for good. The Aire Club would be no more..."

"The end of the day?!" Custas exclaimed. "That doesn't give you much time at all!"

"Yeah, I won't sugarcoat it. I'm in a real bind here," Casey said, staring at her shoes. "If I don't meet their requirements before the day's end, everything Thurman created will be destroyed with no trace. We'll be kicked out, and they'll give this room to the stupid Rock and Polishing Club from the sound of it."

Custas glared. "Okay, I refuse to believe people are more interested in learning about pebbles. I swear, you goldbloods make no sense to me."

"Casey," Elaine said, starting for her. "How many members do you need?"

"Five in total, that was what I promised."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about. "Elaine pointed a thumb at herself as she smiled. "You can count all of us in."

Casey shot a look of pure astonishment at her. "Really?!"

"Yeah," Custas muttered. "Really...?"

"After hearing your story how can I refuse," Elaine beamed.

"Th...Thank you!" Casey cried, and Elaine started as she wrapped her arms around her, pulling her in for a surprisingly constrictive hug. "I don't think I've ever met someone as kind as you, Elaine! There's no need for a debate. I hereby welcome you as a full member of the Aire Club!"

Elaine croaked a grin. "Happy to be aboard."

"Well," she heard Fearne smirk, "if Elaine's joining, I guess I will too."

"Great! Thanks a lot, Fearne!" Casey exclaimed.

Fearne closed her eyes and smiled back. "No problem. I've never been a part of a club before. This sounds like it could be fun."

"How about you, Custas?" Elaine asked, finally managing to pull free of Casey's embrace. He must have felt partially embarrassed, or at the least, somewhat awkward as he shuffled in his spot, not entirely sure where to put his hands.

"Eh, what's the harm?" Custas sighed, starting for them. "I suppose I can join too, particularly if it prevents the Student Council from tearing the club down."

Casey hopped in place, clapping her hands. "Yes! This is perfect! Now all we need is one more member and we'll be untouchable."

"Another member?" Elaine said, confused. "But I thought you said..."

"Club leaders don't technically count as members themselves," Raine explained.

"So in other words," Custas said, a hand caressing the bottom of his chin, "we still need one more member, don't we?"

Casey nodded. "Pretty much."

"Then what are we doing just standing around here for? Let's go and find them!"

"Elaine's right!" Fearne added. "The Club Convention hasn't ended yet. There might still be stragglers looking to join."

"And there's gotta be some other students on this gigantic campus of ours," Custas said, snapping his fingers. "Alright, we've got ourselves a game plan. Fearne, you check the convention room again. See if you can flag anybody down. And Elaine, you can try the Front Gardens. There's usually a lot of students hanging out around there after classes. Meanwhile, I'll try my Luck on the upper floors."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Elaine agreed, and Fearne shot him a thumbs up.

"You guys," Casey said, trembling as if she were about to explode. "I'm so grateful for you all supporting me. You have no idea what this means."

"Don't go thanking us yet," Elaine said, placing a hand over the girl's shoulder. It might have just been a trick of her eyes, but it looked like Casey was on the cusp of crying, water bubbling behind every blink. "Once we saved this club from extermination we can cheer and laugh as much as we want. For now, let's stay focused on the task at hand."

"You're right," Casey said, rubbing her eyes with her wrist. "Okay you three, consider this your first official mission as members of the Aire Club." With a hand on her waist, Casey pointed at them with a resolute smirk. "Go off and find me a student willing to join our ranks!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Elaine barked at the same time as Custas and Fearne, and without another word exchanged, the three of them bolted out of the room with the speed of a fox in hunting, determined now more than ever to spare the Aire Club of its seemingly predetermined fate.