Announcement

[Robinwing]

Sunny glided through the water with her usual ease, her webbed hands doing most of the work. If she had been paying any attention whatsoever to the world above the lake, she'd know about the darker clouds creeping over a mountain in the distance, heading her way. But, of course, she wasn't. She had her favorite book of freshwater wildlife on a grey rock on the side of the lake, right next to her blue notebook and pen. If anyone were to look inside the book, they'd see pictures of freshwater fish to be found in lakes in this part of america. If they watched for long enough, they'd see Sunny practically leap out of the water, grab the edge of the rock, look in the book, then scribble something in her notebook. The scribbles were the names, both common and scientific, of fish she had found down in the lake.

Underneath the water was her favorite place to be, Sunny decided. She wore a simple blue one piece swimsuit, and a water proof watch. Around her waist was a sort of utility belt, with a waterproof camera, a waterproof flashlight, and a few other things you'd expect to see with an oceanographer. She swooped down, pulling out the flashlight, to look in a small hole under some rocks. Her assumption was correct, there was definitely something calling the hole home. She was just reaching 9 minutes using her gills, so coming up would have come soon anyway. She pushed up from the top of the roof of the hole, heading for the surface.

[Garden Trio]

Sunny may have been the only one at the lake at first, but by the time the girl surfaces, she would not be alone.

At the water's edge, there would be three figures waiting, watching the water with curiosity. How long they have been there was not known, but it may have been for no longer than 10 minutes. The tallest of the three figures was a pale girl with obvious pointed ears and dark green hair, dressed in the most brilliantly colored kimono. The patterns seemed to move when she moved and wrapped her in the splendor of autumn colors.

On either side of her were a pair of dolls, one that appeared to be a boy in Victorian clothing and a top hat, and the other is a girl doll with long brown hair and wearing a green frilly dress. Both dolls had red and green glassy eyes, albeit in the opposing position. All three of then stared at the water's surface, the bubbles becoming more numerous as they begin to see the girl surface. Beneath the water, Sunny would be sure to hear three voices.

"Are you certain that it was a student?"

"Of course! Don't doubt my perfect eyesight! Though this one is not any of the familiar ones."

"Neh? Sou nah...Nyu?"

[Robinwing]

Oh, she heard the voices, but she heard them too late. She burst out the water, gripping the edge of her rock, and looked at the strange trio. Her legs were still in the water, so a quick escape was near if need be. She wasn't thinking of this though, she was just not good at lifting her whole bodyweight with her arms.
"H-hello." She said, trying to be chearful. Looking around, and seeing only two dolls she asked.
"Who were you talkng to?" She started pulling some of her hair, to hide her gills.

[Garden Trio]

A blond girl busts through the water's surface, surprising the elfin girl easily as she may have been expecting a creature of sorts. But wait, the girl clings to a rock and appears to be rather human...but how did she stay underwater for so long? Question that would have to be withheld for now.

"H-hello.” The girl’s greeting is cheerful if not a little nervous. Nia stares, searching the girl’s face for a moment before her face breaks into a smile. Friendly!

“Hai!” Nia greets back cheerfully, a pale delicate hand peering from the long sleeves of the brilliant kimono.

"Who were you talking to?"

The elfin girl’s smile fades and she presses her sleeve to her mouth in worry. Just as she made the gesture, a pair of voices speak up.

“See? I told you it was an unfamiliar student!” The high-pitched, haughty voice came from the doll in the frilly green dress, her porcelain face locked in a condescending expression. Yes, the doll is even pointing at the girl in the water.

“So it is...but there is no need to be rude to her, Holly.” A softer and more polite voice that could be mistaken for either gender came from the doll dressed more boyish Victorian wear. The pair of dolls that had been with the elfin girl could move and talk. They stood two feet tall, elegantly crafted and appeared so life-like that it was almost hard to believe. The female doll called Holly glared at the blond girl in the water, turned away with a “hmph!” and pattered over to the elfin girl, swaddling herself in her robes. The elfin girl looks on and stares back at the new student, her hand still covering her mouth, her face a somber expression.

The more polite doll glances over back at the girl and tips the top hat to her. “Forgive my sister...she can be a little rude but she means well. I’m Viola, that was my sister Holly, and the lovely lady in the robes is our owner Nia. You’re quite brave to swim in Lake Nica by yourself.”

[Robinwing]

Sunny's eyes widened when what she had thought were just posable dolls started talking, one pointing at her while she spoke. The girl in the robes seemed nice enough, though. She listened to the doll, slightly hypnotised.
"I'm Sunny, but how am I brave for swimming in a lake? I didn't see any predators." She replied. At the back of her mind she wondered whether she should shake hands with Nia, the dolls, or all of them. Only at that moment does she notice Nia's face.
"what's wrong? You okay?" She asked, tilting her head to one side, and, for only a moment, forgetting her gills. In her mind, there were bigger fish to fry.

[Garden Trio]

It seems the dolls might be used to not being seen, given how few students had actually seen them. Rarely would they be out right now, but the days were slowly cooling off and soon they would have to relocate. This was how they came across the girl swimming in the lake in the first place.

"I'm Sunny, but how am I brave for swimming in a lake? I didn't see any predators."

"Sunny is it? A fine name. What I mean is that lot of strange things have happened in the lake, many we have witnessed being we are the gardeners. This campus is quite strange like that. But how odd that you did not see anything."

"I just think this one is starting up trouble! The students are so careless and reckless!" Holly rudely drops in her two cents, getting an annoyed glance from her sibling doll. The pale elfin girl looks at the girlish doll with a nervous smile and pats her head - calm down, darling. Sunny notices Nia's face and directed a question to her.

"What's wrong? You okay?"

"Neh?" Nia looked surprised, even confused by the question and then she presses her sleeved hand to her mouth again with a forlorn expression on her face. The more polite sibling doll tips the top hat again as a quick pardon and walked over towards the elfin girl. They exchanged a few words in an odd language, pretty but sounded nothing like any language on earth, for a minute or two before Viola addressed Sunny again.

"Ah...Miss Nia is quite worried you would see her as rude for not speaking. You see, the faculty of this school is still teaching her how to speak the native language, but she has not quite grasped it yet. So usually my sister and I translate for her if she does not understand."

Viola pauses to look at Nia, who nods slowly then looks at Sunny. The poor young woman hoped she was not offended in any way.

[Robinwing]

"Sunny is it? A fine name. What I mean is that lot of strange things have happened in the lake, many we have witnessed being we are the gardeners. This campus is quite strange like that. But how odd that you did not see anything."
It hadn't occured to sunny that anything dangerous besides predatorial fish could be down there, so she hadn't looked for anything else.

"Ah...Miss Nia is quite worried you would see her as rude for not speaking. You see, the faculty of this school is still teaching her how to speak the native language, but she has not quite grasped it yet. So usually my sister and I translate for her if she does not understand."
"Ah, that's okay. I would do the same thing if i didn't understand the language." She grinned up at Nia, understanding her a little. At around this point she remembered what she had come up for, snapping her fingers, she looked down at the book. To find that the fish she had seen either wasn't native, or hadn't been discovered.
"That's odd..." She murmured, flipping through the book a second time to make absolutely sure she hadn't missed it.

[Garden Trio]

"Ah, that's okay. I would do the same thing if i didn't understand the language."

Tones were everything to the elfin looking girl, as the way a person speaks and expressions were all she had to draw on. It was so frustrating living in a nonverbal world. Sunny's gentleness eased her discomfort. She understood, thanks to Viola's efforts, and that had pleased her. As long as she didn't come off as rude...

"That's odd..."

Nia's dark eyes widened as she understood the gist of the expression. Questioning! Was something wrong? She tilted her head curiously.

"Neh?"

Sunny's tone also caught Viola and Holly's attention, the former more than the latter. But even the moody Holly's glass eyes moved to Sunny's direction in a sidelong glance. Viola however was a little more direct.

"What was odd, Sunny?"

[Robinwing]

What's odd, Sunny? She heard from Viola, but she was still looking down at the book.
"I saw a fish in there but, it's not in here, either it hasn't been discovered or it's not native. The first idea is highly unlikely, but could happen, with the size of this lake. The second suggestion is a lot more likely, since people are dumping unwanted pets all the time." Sunny explained, whilst a mantra played in her head. You know for a fact that was no unwanted pet, it had to be te length of your arm. She flipped through the book again, trying to find it. This shouldn't happen.

[Garden Trio]

"I saw a fish in there but, it's not in here, either it hasn't been discovered or it's not native."

"Not native?"

"The first idea is highly unlikely, but could happen, with the size of this lake. The second suggestion is a lot more likely, since people are dumping unwanted pets all the time."

An odd smile crosses the doll's face. Maybe it wasn't exactly that...The school had not always been in Buffalo, so it would be quite possible that the species of fish from Japan may have mixed among with the native ones. But that was something that was not too well known about the school - one of its many secrets and mysteries! This would probably something to verbalize.

"Well, it could also be that this place isn't native at all either. The species from it's previous location and this current location may have caused a mix."

Meanwhile, Holly happened to be listening but portraying herself as completely uninterested by the conversation, looking away the moment anyone looked at her. Nia was seeming to get the gist of the situation, pointing to the water and trying to add to the conversation.

"Sakana. Nihon."

"Correct Nia! Japanese fish, and the fish that are native to these waters. I don't think any of the students here would drop off unwanted pet fish in here."

[Robinwing]

"Well, it could also be that this place isn't native at all either. The species from it's previous location and this current location may have caused a mix."
Sunny hadn't thought of that, but... Wait a minute.
"How is this place not native? Buildings don't tend to affect wildlife unless they pollute or are built in dumb places." She said. Surely the lake can't be from somewhere else. Then she had another thought, maybe it wasn't an unwanted pet.
"Have any unnative animals ever escaped from the school?" She asked, setting the book on the rocks.

[sugoisake]

She had not been long there, listening to the conversation. Normally, Amber was not one to go near the lake; she was one of the few who witnessed the odd and eerie things that emerged from the lake - water spirits, several white hands emerging from the water, strange lights...

Not so much this time. Conversation drew her to the lake, only to find three familiar figures and one girl who was unfamiliar to her. What were they all doing, the girl with wings wondered to herself. The girl was looking over a book of some kind with one of the dolls, the other was frowning yet listening to their conversation and the elf girl in the brilliant robes spoke about fish. Amber's dark eyes widened, she could speak in normal words? Last she remembered of the elf girl, all she heard was gibberish.

Time to make herself known. A tawny haired girl with small white wings, a dress of the style of gothic lolita - smooth black, supple ruffles, white lace. Black stockings, black mary-janes; simple but cute. Her eyes are dark, darker than anything should be, but she smiles in a distant but friendly way.

"Maybe the lake likes you." Amber says.

[Robinwing]

"Maybe the lake likes you"

Sunny looked up after hearing that from the other girl, wondering what she mean't. She turned to look at the newcomer, covering her gills as quick as she could. She gave a curious, but slightly nervous, look.

"What do you mean "Maybe the lake likes you"?" She asked. She looked back over the lake. Maybe she meant the wildlife...?

[Garden Trio]

"Have any unnative animals ever escaped from the school?"

Viola's understanding of that question took on its own train of thought. Unnative animals? Well, given how there were a few students with exotic pets, those were accounted for. And then the doll wondered if the creatures that existed in the Forest of Itami would fall under the category "unnative animals". Before Viola could voice her opinion on that, Holly rustled movemet caught her attention - for all of her stubbornness and critical eye that simmered when fallen upon humans, she was easy to startle.

A girl with wings had joined them, one that they had made contact with in the past under harrowing circumstances. Viola tipped her hat to her and Nia greeted her with a smile and a shy wave of her hand. Only Holly took issue with the girl's arrival, ignoring all the prattling Sunny and her sibling had been doing.

"You again! How long were you lurking!" The doll pointed at her in an accusing over dramatic fashion. " I hope you and your little boyfriend have been cautious since the last incident. Careless students, I swear!"

"Holly..." Viola says with a slight tone of disapproval. The siblings really were so different. Holly was never above chastising a student when given a chance. Nia stood between the winged girl and Holly with an expression of mild panic - please, please calm down she appeared to suggest through non-verbal gestures.

[sugoisake]

"What do you mean "Maybe the lake likes you"?"

Amber caught the girl's subtle gesture to cover whatever was on her neck, however she did not have enough time to wonder about it. There was a hint of slight discomfort on the winged girl's face. Would explaining the meaning of her words make her out to be a complete weirdo. It was already odd enough that she had come back to this lake after the many bad encounters here.

And then one of the (walking, living) dolls approached her. The doll barely stood to feet tall, but the look on her porcelain face was rather intimidating either way.

"You again! How long were you lurking! I hope you and your little boyfriend have been cautious since the last incident. Careless students, I swear!"

"Eh?" Genuine confusion. Lurking? Boyfriend? Well, she knew what "incident" the doll was talking about, but the other two needed pause. "Ah, it's not like that...I was around and heard voices is all. And I have been more cautious."

In one way or another.

Amber looked to the elfin girl in brilliant colored robes, certain that the patterns had a life of their own when she moved. Or maybe it was optical illusions?

"No worries." Amber says with a warm smile and turns her attention to Sunny to answer her question. Having time to think about it, she could answer without giving off waves of strangeness. She had wings, there was little else that she needed.

"I feel the lake is an entity of its own. So many strange things have happened, at least in my experience, so I stopped visiting this place for a while. You were swimming without problems, ne? That is why I feel it favors you."