#I think the meridies might be too cold to join

[sca-nerd]

God I love a trebuchet. But we in the south lack the infrastructure for proper snow sieges, so we can only retaliate with the most rudimentary of snow baring weapons. OUR FISTS.

We got actual measurable snow here in Coastal Southeast North Carolina, which hasn't happened in over 10 years. Our parking lot got plowed, but they piled it in from the accessibility ramp for the sidewalk, so I was out there shoveling to clear it.

I was told I shovel like I'm from the North, and like I've done it before. I just laughed it off and said no, I was born and raised SENC. 😐 I didn't have the heart to say it's similar muscle strength and stamina to beating my friends with sticks and shooting them with arrows. I guess there's another benefit to heavy fighting in the SCA.

[shiro-sensei-14]

LWA Chariot and Croix: first meeting

LWA Chariot and Croix first meeting

This is a story I wrote for the Charoix week. I had fun imagining their first meeting. I will probably add one or two chapters later. English is not my mother tongue so there might be some inaccuracies.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from LWA.

Charoix First Meeting

Spring had returned, offering the students of Luna Nova a new school year. Chariot du Nord was walking on the path looking at the trees, admiring their rebirth after that long cold and snowy winter. Some buds had already popped up on their branches and Cherry trees were blooming. The thin pink cherry blossoms were flying all around her each time the wind blew. With her messy hair, she could bet she would bring a lot of them to class. She did not mind, she loved that season and cherry trees alleys were her favourite. So if she could carry a little bit of the beauty with her that would be just heart-warming. It was a warm and sunny day, the sky was deep blue without clouds. Ay, if only she could have spent the whole day outside instead of going to class. Alas, this was out of the question anyway. And her joyful mood turned a little gloomy while thinking of all the boring classes that were awaiting her. Especially the magical potion class; she was so bad at it that her teacher kept scolding her. She could be considered a danger since she had already provoked minor explosions.

Lost in her thoughts, not looking where she was walking, she suddenly stumbled on a root and fell heavily on the ground.

"Are you OK?" a voice asked behind her. Chariot turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a girl about the same age gazing in her direction with a worried look on her face. Chariot felt embarrassed of the situation and laughed nervously, brushing the back of her head.

"Yeah, it happens to me all the time" She immediately regretted to have said that, she should have looked dumb. The girl, however, did not laugh at her but inclined her head and observed Chariot's knees.

"You hurt yourself, I might have something for you." She fumbled in her bag and took out a bottle of water, a handkerchief, a patch and a tiny spray.

"Wow! You are well organized" Chariot observed with admiration.

"You never know what might happen"

While the girl was cleaning and disinfecting the scrapes, Chariot was glaring at her. She was taller than her, quite thin with nice figures. Her hair was long curly lavender and smelt of lilac; her big droopy green eyes were hiding behind glasses. Her moves were soft and precise. Her low voice matched perfectly with her maturity.

"There, it's done!" She offered her hand to help Chariot standing up. When she held it, Chariot felt a sudden flash in her chest, her ruby eyes met the jade ones and she gasped.

"does it hurt?" asked the unknown girl.

"N... no, I'm alright, really..." she babbled.

"Ok, Have a nice day then." The girl was about to leave when Chariot called her.

"Wait... Thank you." She said blushing.

"It's ok. Goodbye" And the beautiful stranger turned heels and walked in haste. Chariot was startled, she was wondering why her heart was fluttering that way. She could not get her eyes off of the silhouette disappearing afar.

The first period was about to start, all the students of the class 2 –B were chatting in small groups except Chariot. Usually she would be the one animating the class with her transformation skills, but today she was sitting at her desk, spacing out and looking through the window. She could not help thinking of this fortunate morning encounter and regretted not to have even asked for her name. She sighed heavily. When the all class stood in a military manner, she understood that her homeroom teacher had entered and she had better do the same.

"Sit down." Ms Anne Finnelan ordered firmly. "Today, I would like to introduce a transfer student, would you please come in?" Everybody was looking curiously towards the door when a lavender-haired girl came in with assertiveness.

"Good Morning, my name is Croix Meridies. I have been studying at Edwards Academy until last year. I want to develop my skills in traditional Magic; that is why I enrolled Luna Nova. I am glad to meet you."

"Ms Meridies, there is a seat available in the back of the second rank. This will be your desk for this semester."

"Thank you Professor Finnelan."

Chariot dropped jaws when she recognized the beautiful stranger. Her eyes were wide open and her look observed each part of the transfer student to make sure she was not hallucinating.

Croix sat at her desk without giving a glance to Chariot. She was two seats above her on the first rank on her right. Chariot could not focus on anything else than the newcomer. Her heart had started pounding again at her sight. She decided that she would properly introduce herself at the break but the students sitting around her monopolized her and she could not even approach her. The situation repeated itself after the second period. She would get her chance before the potion class since they had to change room to go to the labs. But once again, the class representatives and a bunch of noisy girls surrounded her, harassing her with questions. Croix politely answered but seemed annoyed by the situation.

They reached the lab and in groups of three they started working on a healing potion.

"Dear students, follow the recipe in the correct order. You were supposed to find the ingredients let's see what you have here. You will be marked on the quality of your components." The teacher analysed meticulously each ingredient before authorizing the manipulation. If one ingredient was missing or not correct, the students would lose marks but would be able to use the lab materials. Croix was not belonging to any group for the lesson so the teacher let her use the ingredients of the laboratory. She started on her own to melt raven blood, with oil and salt, then she added weeds from the enchanted swamp, a slice of cherry wood, a dose of wise person ashes and two litres of water from the same swamp. She heated the potion and mixed it all for the next two hours.

In the meantime Chariot and her team were having a hard time. They had not been able find the correct ashes so they had burnt a piece of wood and brought the remains to class. The teacher, who had a huge nose, immediately recognized the smell and yelled at the girls.

All the attention was focused on the trio and Chariot met Croix's look. She would have liked to vanish in an instant, shame invading her. She gulped and obeyed the teacher who had told her to fetch the correct ingredients. She was looking at the jars but the ink had faded and it was hard to read the name. She finally took something looking like ashes from the shelf and brought it back to her team. They could start the manipulation with relief. But when Chariot heated the mixture, a terrible smell came out of her cauldron. This was so awful that the teacher asked the students to evacuate the class for a moment. She used a magic spell to return the potion to something decent and opened all the windows with a single move of her wand. A whirlwind twirled above the cauldrons and the teacher pushed it in the direction of the windows. The atmosphere became breathable again.

The teacher called Chariot and shouted at her once more in front of the class. She was looking at her feet, shaking and feeling nauseous. She could not help imagining how Croix would be despising her and this thought made her even more desperate.

"You should ask for tutoring, it is unthinkable for a second-year student to be so careless! But I am not sure any of the students here would like to teach you."

"I will!" the low assertive voice came from the back of the class. Chariot once again felt that flash shooting through her heart. That voice was the one she had heard this morning. Croix was standing for her. She could not believe it, nor could the other students. Even if Chariot was popular among her peers, everybody knew that teaching her potions was hopeless. Only a newcomer could take the risk.

Chariot was all flustered and muttered a "thank you" in Croix's direction before looking back at her feet and joining her group.

After classes, the students were either joining their clubs or went to the library to make research. Chariot was collecting her books and notes when Croix walked in her direction.

"Let's go to the lab."

"Wh... now?"

"Of course now; you need practice. Don't worry I'll be there to help you. The teacher told me that we could use all the ingredients in the lab as long as we wrote in the registry exactly what we had used."

"Aren't you scared that I blow up the lab?"

"It's going to be alright, I'll be there and I have always been the ace of my class in Potions."

"huuh, How much did you get this afternoon?"

"100/100, as usual; I used to teach my classmates. I was the professor's assistant at Edwards. So I am not scared teaching you, even if you screwed up this afternoon." Chariot gritted her teeth at the last comment.

They walked to the lab and Croix opened her tablet. Chariot opened her eyes, she was not used to this modern device, especially in school. Of course she had a mobile phone but it was forbidden to use it at Luna Nova.

"Wow, does the Head know that you are using this device here?"

"I am a modern girl, I believe in technology. I am sure that we can mix the benefits of traditional Magic with new technologies."

"Well, don't claim that too loud, Luna Nova is very conservative you know, you'd better hide this."

"Nobody will see us here, and all my notes and books are recorded on the hard drive. Look, this is my favourite book of potions. Select one recipe from the first chapter."

Chariot browsed the pages by flipping her finger on the screen and selected "enhanced speed potion" Croix sat beside her and started explaining the importance of the choice of the ingredients. Chariot was feeling the heat of her body and had difficulties focusing on the lesson. She wanted to touch her but did not dare. Croix was passionate when it came to science and without thinking she put her hand on Chariot's thigh, the latter letting escape a gasp of surprise. Croix did not expect that reaction and looked a little embarrassed. She wiped her glasses to try to appear composed.

"Now, find what you need to prepare the mixture and write this down here." Chariot was climbing on the ladders, reading each pot, each jar until she found the components

"Very well, now I will show you the importance of the moves. Potions are not just adding elements together, there is a way to do this, let me hold your wrist."

"heee?" Chariot was destabilized; never a teacher had talked about the importance of the moves, even less had physically guided her to make a potion. Croix stood behind her and leaned on her, her arm following the shape of Chariot's.

"You are so tense, relax. I want to see this wrist become lax. Come on!"

"So...Sorry. Hem uh... li...like this?"

"yes, let's mime it before..." and like a choreography, Croix guided her partner with her natural elegance. "Up and down, up and down, softly, softer, yes, like this, go on, don't stop. Without me now." Croix released Chariots wrists but remained clung on her, her hands on her shoulders. Chariot could feel her breath on her neck and started being nervous again. Croix caught immediately her hand and led her once again. Then she stepped back and observed her student.

"Now with the elements, don't be scared, you've rehearse the move enough." And Chariot repeated the hand choreography with the ingredients this time.

"Good now, you just need to heat it up. 100 degrees, no more ;for two hours. Yes done! So I will go to the library and come back in two hours. Don't make a mess!" Croix winked at her while Chariot had opened her mouth to protest.

"Croix! You are not going to leave me like that, are you?"

"there's nothing more to do than to check. I'll leave you my tablet if you want to read more about potions." And she left without listening to her classmate.

There was nothing else to do so Chariot decided to follow Croix's advice. She browsed the book and found a chapter concerning emotions. "Love Filter". She suddenly thought that could be something fun to create. The image of Croix invaded her; she was totally under her spell. Her heart started bouncing again at the remembrance of her embrace while guiding her. How hard it had been to remain focused while her entire self wanted to hold her back. She started dreaming of the moment she had felt her breath in the neck and had longed for a kiss. There was no doubt, she had fallen for that newcomer, and it was love at first sight.

"Maybe if I could make that potion, she would feel the same." She was thinking aloud with a cunning smile on her face. She looked carefully at the recipe; it was quite simple with few ingredients, maybe the teacher would not even remark she had taken a little more. The heating time was short as well, forty-five minutes.

"come on Chariot, let's go!" she started rushing all over the lab, found easily the ingredients and started to place them before a second cauldron. She repeated the moves several times before starting the mixture.

"Ok, we're ready, let's heat it... 120 degrees. The timer is here, Go!" Chariot was going from one cauldron to the other, from time to time, giving a little twirl with the spoon. She was looking anxiously at the door; she had suddenly thought that Croix could come back earlier.

But the first timer rang. She used a pipette to transfer the liquid in a tube she hid in her bag. She washed the cauldron, hid all the materials she had used and cleaned the bench. Everything was tidied up as if she had never used anything else.

Five minutes before the end of the second timer, Croix came back to the lab. Chariot was pretending to be focused on her potion. Croix took her tablet and consulted the history of the pages visited. She realised that Chariot had spent more than an hour on the Love filter page. She smirked and put the tablet on the table. The timer rang.

"Ok, then turn off the gaz. Take a pipette and the tube rake. Fill in the tubes. Now your potion is ready."

"wow, I have destroyed nothing today."

"Let's test it!"

"Oh... shall I drink it?"

"Are you crazy? Never use it on yourself first, test it on a mouse."

"A mouse? Do you want me to turn into a mouse, this is one of my specialties!"

"Baka! No way! We are in a lab, I suppose there are mice for your biology lessons."

"hem, I have never worked on them personally, I am against animal testing!"

"Well, my dear, when you are a scientist, you have no choice if you want to make research."

"I am sure there are plenty of other ways to test especially with your new technologies."

"There are but not for everything, not yet. I am working on it on my spare time. Well in the meantime, let's find a mouse"

"The Professors lab is over there but we cannot... hey how did you open that door?"

"New technologies... no I'm joking, the door was unlocked." Croix sneaked in the lab and found a second room with hundreds of mice in cages. She opened a cage and stole a mouse.

"Croix! If we are caught we might be expelled!"

"Tsk, there are almost a thousand mice over here; they will not make the difference. Ok now take a pipette and give the potion to that little buddy."

Chariot executed the move reluctantly, her hand was shaking. A drop fell in the mouse's throat. Suddenly it escaped from Croix's hands and rushed like a rocket all around the lab!

"It worked! It actually worked!" Chariot was ecstatic. Croix was observing carefully the little living being when it abruptly stopped and fell on its flanks. Chariot wondered what was going on. Croix took the little mouse listened to its heart.

"It's over, she's dead."

"WHHHHHHHAAAAATTTTT?" Chariots eyes started filling up with tears

Croix put the mouse on the bench and rushed to Chariot and took her in her arms

"There, there" She patted her head while pressing her against her body.

"I killed her, I killed her..."

"We did, and I am responsible."

"How did that happen, I followed strictly the recipe, you followed me, why? Why?" she said crying.

"Because there was one last step that you neglected, it's the amount of product compared to the size and weight of the user. Even a drop for that little being was too strong, she had a heart attack. Do you understand now why I forbade you to use it on yourself? Your potion is a success, for a Human being, but you need to calculate accurately the dose before using it."

"You knew and you let me do it!" She yelled.

"I know this is cruel, but with this shock, you will not play with potions anymore. Now give me that love filter and let me destroy it before you kill someone."

"HEEEEEEEEE?" she stopped crying all of a sudden and quickly wiped her eyes.

"I know everything dear, erase the history of my tablet if you do not want me to find out. Who did you want to use it on?"

Chariot was startled and could not articulate a word, she was all flustered.

"Hey, relax, I won't tell anybody. You shouldn't need a love potion, you are just adorable as you are."

"Stop mocking me."

"I am not, Chariot du Nord. I like you. When you fell this morning, I immediately fell...for you. There was something disarming in you that attracted me."

"You are making fun of me, how could you fall for somebody so clumsy, useless... and a mouse killer!"

Croix burst out laughing.

"You see, that's exactly why I have fallen in love with you. You are real, Chariot, sincere, and super cute."

"huh? You think I am cute?"

"yes, indeed!"

"well, to be honest, I think you are hot and I kept thinking about you all day."

Chariot tightened her embrace.

"Why do you think I offered tutoring. I wanted to be with you."

"So why did you leave me for two hours?" Chariot whined.

"I am taking my tutoring seriously; this was part of the lesson. I had let my tablet on purpose, knowing that you would have tried something. I did not expect the love potion though. Well, wait... You intended to try it on ... ME?"

"Huh em... yes." Chariot answered with a little voice hiding her face in Croix's shoulder.

"BAKA!" Croix lift Chariot chin and kissed her lips. Chariot blushed at first but kissed her back. they held each other, their hands rubbing softly one another's back. The kiss became more intense, Croix bit from time to times Chariots inferior's lip. Their tongues were dancing and playing hide and seek. Both of their hearts were racing and desire growing.

"Let's go to my room, I have no roommate."

"Me neither... maybe we could ask the administration to be together."

"It would be fantastic."

Chariot this time was the one to kiss Croix first with all her passion. She then held her hand and led her to her room.