Turn off your mind. [DAPPLED]

Eris's stomach growled as he walked through the hallways of Foresta, ignoring his hunger as he watched the students walking by. The young man was content all the way up until the souls started talking to him once more, as per usual.

You should get something to eat.
Athena is right, if you don't your bones will break.
That's ludicrous! Let him do what he wants.
Food is necessary.


Sighing lightly, Eris turned in the direction of the dining room - knowing now that he wouldn't be able to avoid his hunger with the souls discussing what necessary things a boy his age should be eating. Ignoring all of the advice as he walked into the room, Eris went straight for a hardy meal - putting some steak and mashed potatoes on his plate and soon taking a seat off in a corner by himself. Clad in a loose fitting grey t-shirt and snug blue jeans, Eris looked as if he had just rolled out of bed with surprisingly messy looking hair.

Steak is not that healthy, sweetie.

"It is meat, meat is fine for me to eat right now." Eris spoke out-loud, his tone relaxed as he cut out a few pieces of meat to chew on. Eris had gained a few glances from others as he had spoken out-loud, although most of the students around didn't seem to be too phased by the young man just yet. Resting near his feet as he ate was a worn out looking messenger bag that held all of his dolls.

Rather than tentatively walking throughout the halls of Foresta as Iris so often did between classes and during her lunch break, she found herself sprinting after a trio of boys in desperation. One of them clutched her beloved necklace in his palms, all of them emitting obnoxious cackles of victory as they dashed into the cafeteria with the emerald-eyed girl trailing after them. She was donned in her simple, black leggings and paled, green sweater, ending at her feet with those signature combat boots that moved surprisingly well. She skidded on the marble tiles of the lunch room as they sharply veered to the right, her expression brimmed with anguish as the leader of the boys leapt upon a table beside the one a solitary man had been established.

Iris remained on the ground, reaching out her hand feebly and attempting to plea for him to return it, however she was only able to whisper, "P-P... P-P-P-Pl.." The male, dressed nicely in a preppy, almost uniform like wear swung the white quartz around carelessly in the air, causing Iris to draw in a petrified inhale. "What, 'ya can't ask for it back? Whatcha' gonna' do, then? Cry for me?" he taunted with a snicker, the other two males joining in as they flanked him atop the table. Her eyes began to grow somewhat misty as she tried to snatch it out of his hands with slow, trembling swipes, however the boy was always able to yank it away at just the right moment. The only possession that truly correlated Minnie into her life and her only source of stress relief was in the grasp of a malicious, neon-red hued boy with sinister, black undertones. Nobody paid much attention to the boy talking to himself at the other table, however the boy who held the necklace only muttered, "Keep quiet over there, would 'ya? Try keepin' your weird sayins' to yourself." Iris was far too consumed in fear and dismay to pay any mind to this, though, simply shuddering violently and desperately doing her best to retrieve the necklace from the lofty boy.

Eris had remained completely ignorant to the happenings near him, all the way up until the point one of the boy's teasing Iris said something snide to him. Eris glanced in their direction - taking in the situation surprisingly quick. He ignored the young man talking to him, which promptly caught the attention of Leto.

Are you really going to let him talk to you like that?

"I don't see any issue with it," Eris mumbled to Leto as he continued on with his lunch. Glancing over at the activity happening near him once more, Eris's eyes drifted over to the young woman who was being teased - beginning to feel that both Athena and Leto were wishing to get involved. Without bothering to talk any more, Eris leaned down and reached into his bag - pulling out two female looking dolls. One was dressed in red while the other wore white clothing that looked almost like armor and that hide the dolls face. "Leto, if you set anything on fire you're going back in the ring."

Whatever, you barely ever let me fight anyway.

Eris shook his head and took a deep breath, seeming strained just for a moment as the two dolls before him came to life - the doll dressed in red wearing quite an aggressive expression while the one in white appeared to be expressionless due to only her mouth being shown. "I'm not intervening, you two do what you want." Eris said to the two dolls. Athena smiled slightly and patted the young man on his arm which was laid down on the table near her. "That's fine, darling. Don't strain yourself to much with us!" Leto snorted at Athena and after that was off to confront the one teasing the young girl. Athena on the other hand quickly made her way toward Iris - moving with surprising speed to jump in front of the girl, holding her arms out in a protective manner.

In the mean time, Leto had closed the distance between her and the young man teasing Iris - bringing fire to her miniature doll hands - promptly throwing fireballs at his ankles. As this happened Eris's body tensed and his attention became more focused on the fight then his food.

Bewilderment filled Iris' features at the next event that occurred. Two... Toys, it seemed had leapt into action, one standing defensively before her and the other relentlessly attacked the taunting boy. Immediately, he rose up at the sight of the flames, dropping the necklace and bounding off of the table. "W-Woah! I didn't k-know action figures could fight," he growled, attempting to appear calm but his voice both stuttering and cracking in random areas. However, he simply shook his head, not going for the doll, but instead the boy that had released the wretched creatures, "C-Call 'em off er I'll rip of 'ya head, boy!" His cry echoed throughout the cafeteria, and Iris, meanwhile, had only lurched forward enough to snatch the necklace back into her palm, keeping her eyes locked upon the two boys. He'd just helped her, however now he was the one fixing for a punishment. One of the other duo that had joined the preppy boy in his attempt to go after the student who'd released the pestilent dolls.

"S-Stop!" she murmured frantically, trying to move past the doll before her to approach the group of students now beginning to flock to the boy at the other table. However, she was stopped by the second goon that had originally accompanied the antagonist, as his broad build prevented her physically from getting any closer to them. Besides, at this point, Iris was too afraid to use her abilities to harm others, finding that it might only cause the decline of her mental stability to quicken. Nevertheless, however, she tried using her powers faintly in an attempt to frighten him away, lifting up her hand and conjuring an icy blue, thin veil of energy around her palms. However, she didn't dare come in contact with him, and felt the power fizzle as her fear for the other boy grew. The boy before her laughed darkly, before turning his head to observe the scene behind him, yet glancing at Iris every so often.

"I can do a lot more than fight," Leto hollered up at the boy with a wicked smile - Eris seeming to have a harsh expression as this was happening. Athena in the mean time followed after Iris as she grabbed her necklace, Eris's expression turning blank as he was yelled at.

You're probably going to get hit.
So what? We haven't seen him fight in awhile.
I would like for that to be avoided.

"I'm not fighting anyone." Eris muttered to himself as the boys started to surround him in a menacing manner. Athena watched Iris for a moment, her expression growing more and more concerned as she tried to stop what was happening. "Please leave that to me, dear!" Athena hollered up at the girl as she stood near her feet. Making a motion as if she was taking a deep breath, a devastatingly large amount of light started to radiate from Athena - causing Leto's fireballs to fizzle out and Eris's back to straighten and tense up. In the next moment, a large humanistic figure of light replaced where the doll had been standing (with the doll itself at the heart of this light figure). Now in a form that equaled the size of the humans around her - Athena grabbed the shoulder of the boy that Iris had tried fighting before and sent a punch at the boys jaw.

Did you tell her that she could do that?

"I believe she did that on her own," Eris spoke out-loud once again - still seeming to ignore the threatening figures around him. The amount of power that Athena had drawn from Eris though to do her little trick, made Leto's doll fall lifeless to the floor.

Damnit! Things were just getting interesting too!

Shockingly enough, the minuscule doll before her began to enlarge into a silhouette consisting of light, distributing a powerful blow to the boy before them. He staggered backwards at the raw power of the punch and fell into a nearby chair, a bit dazed and disoriented temporarily. Iris nodded a brief thanks to the creature that had been conjured by the other boy, stepping forward as the two boys from before surrounded the soul-casting student. "Dale! You ain't got no right fightin' my boys like that!" the leader yelled angrily, aiming a punch at the boy's cheek as his "friend" rushed worriedly to the other, dizzy member of their gang.

Meanwhile, Iris had watched the ruler of the trio wind up his fist and preparing to throw the punch, yet she was only able to lunge forward and grab onto his shoulders fruitlessly in a meek attempt to drag him away from Eris. However, this only threw off the aim of the punch and did nothing more. He smirked then, "Your girlfriend tryna' stop me er somethin'? She ain't strong enough." She was easily shaken off of the boy, helplessly witnessing the battle proceed. Iris was already shivering uncontrollably and viciously, for doing something even as bold as that was incredibly rare for her... However, she disliked violence even in minute amounts. Anything to avoid the brutalities of a battle was what she yearned for. At the leader's statement about a girlfriend, Iris shook her head hastily, unable to speak as a result of her high anxiety levels. Instinctively, her fingers brushed against the jagged edges of the quartz, permitting her flesh to open and spill a few drops of blood. Something had to be done to release the stress, else she wouldn't know how to cope.. Especially after such a racy statement like that had been uttered by the cocky boy.

Eris's attention was focused on Athena moving to the next threat, not noticing Iris's attempting to defend him. It was when the fist of the antagonist connected with his arm that a sharp expression, quite out of character with Eris's normal bland expressions - ripped across Eris's face and the young man stood up in a jolt. The sudden amount of energy from the puppeteer though, caused the power to be sapped from Athena - and just as Leto did, Athena's doll fell lifeless to the floor. Within the next few moments, Eris's hand flew out to catch the throat of the young man who's fist had connected with his arm.

As his hand connected, Eris slammed the boy against a wall close to them - his face the true picture of rage and loathing. "So, who is strong enough?" Eris asked with a surprisingly even tone despite his expression and the fact that he was most likely stopping the boys air flow.

Stop this, Eris. He didn't even hit you that hard.
That's right, Eris. Please, don't do that to him.
Kill him! Kill him!
Would you shut-up for one moment.

"I don't care what you have to say," Eris bit out as his tone took a bitter side - finally expressing some sort of emotion.

He's not worth it, Eris. Getting in trouble is not worth it.
Gaia is right, darling. Please, listen to her.
Eris, this is a petty thing to do and you know it.
Whatever, do what you want! Choke out of his life! This is fun.

Eris shook his head, quickly moving his arm away from the boy and turning away. Instead looking for his now lifeless dolls that had fallen to the floor.

The green-eyed girl could only gaze on as the scene unfurled before her eyes. In a flash, the boy that hadn't aimed his punch well now was slumped against the floor, gasping for breath as he shivered, a pale comparison to the once malevolent and arrogant young man he'd been before. She took a tentative step forward, wondering who he was talking to when he spoke, yet feeling the weight of guilt press down upon her shoulders. If she hadn't lost her necklace in the first place, none of this would have occurred.. Iris felt her throat constrict with emotion as she spoke, her voice just audible enough for Eris to hear, "I-I... I-I'm v-very s-sorry, I-I take full r-responsibility f-for.. F-For this i-incident.." It only seemed fair that she should be the one to take it upon herself to do something.

It wasn't over, however. The one other boy that hadn't been harmed rose up swiftly from his comrade's side, and rather than fighting someone he knew he'd have no chance against, his blow was aimed at Iris' stomach, which it connected with fairly well. It was all just a move to let at least one person know not to mess with them. The girl stumbled backwards, seeing that she was already incredibly lightweight, and was careened into the wall behind her as one of her arms closed around her abdomen. The boy had moved surprisingly quickly, for it all occurred within a few moments due to him having been quite close to Iris to begin with, and with his new-found yet blatant confidence now attempted another punch at Eris' head. Although it appeared well aimed, he'd launched his heavyset body forward to add more power to the blow, which slightly unbalanced him. Iris now, wincing, attempted to move forward and call for aid to prevent the battle from taking place, but the ache in her stomach prevented her from taking more than two steps.

As Eris first picked up Leto's doll and the moved to get Athena's doll, the young man barely noticed Iris talking to him. Eris seemed to be stuck in his own head all the way up until the point of watching the fragile girl before him get punched in the stomach and then the same attacked aim a punch at him that ended up connecting with his cheek bone. The punch stopped Eris in tracks, despite looking like the type of guy that did not fight - he had taken the hit quite well. With a sense of rage washing over him once more, Eris aimed to grab the wrist of the boy that had punched him - his full intention being to break the boy's hand and wrist. As he did this, Eris seemed almost blind to what he was doing - his expression almost suggesting that he was a stranger to himself. Such extreme emotions didn't fit in with such a calm person.

As soon as the opposing, once calm boy had grasped his arm and dealt the finishing blow, he felt himself shriek in the excruciating pain that followed, cutting it off after only a few moments. Iris winced a bit, but had flinched just as badly after the punch had connected with Eris' jaw. It seemed that the boy's hand had been broken, for it hung at an unnatural angle and whenever he attempted to move it, a jolt of pain would course violently through his body. Iris spoke softly and worriedly, her voice barely above a whisper as it cracked and faltered sporadically, "I-I'm s-sorry... A-Are you.. A-Are you a-all r-right?" As just a typical human being, she was somewhat concerned for the boy who'd been sticking up for her all this time.

Iris wasn't able to move very quickly, her breathing quick and shallow due to the severity of the attack she'd endured, yet she ambled forward a bit nevertheless. In her perspective, it was up to her to ensure the boy's safety, seeing that he'd just aided her tremendously. As she shuffled, she continued to utter small apologies beneath her breath, her anxiety already having surpassed a comfortable level. This resulted in her quaking to be so profound that she couldn't even grasp upon the quartz stones slung around her neck anymore, her throat constricted.

The boy that had once been incredibly smug and confident now had crumpled onto the ground, glaring up at the young man with resent. Iris stepped around him as she continued to straggle forward, inch by inch, in an attempt to reach the individual that had assisted her. An arm was wrapped around her torso as she moved, lessening the aching ever so slightly.

Just as the boy who had hit him before, Eris showed no remorse for what he did - but instead went back to retrieving his doll. As he grabbed Athena's doll, Eris finally noticed Iris talking to him - turning to the girl he nodded. "I'm fine," the young man's tone had gone back to mellow and even - making it hard to believe that he had caused such damage before. Pausing for a second though, Eris glanced back to notice that the girl that had been the victim in this all was having difficulty. It didn't seem as if this girl had warranted the teasing at all, so with a momentary hesitation Eris started to walk toward Iris with the dolls of Athena and Iris in hand.

That's good, you should talk to her.
She seems shy.
That's not bad though.
It's whatever makes Eris happy.

"Thanks, Poseidon." Eris mumbled to the only other male in his head. Turning his attention back to Iris while standing a few feet away, Eris held his hand out toward the girl. "Do you need help?" he asked in a patient and slow tone.

Oh, I want to talk to her! Can I?

"No, you can't. You already had your chance." Eris spoke briefly, as he turned his face away from Iris for a moment as if he were talking to someone standing right next to him. It was a strange thing to witness, because while he switched between speaking to Iris and then talking to himself - the young man held a quite reasonable and normal expression on his face.

At his kind gesture, Iris offered him a brief, indebted smile, shaking her head and murmuring softly, "N-No, y-you don't h-have to t-trouble y-yourself.." Guilt weighed down her tone considerably, which eliminated the usual airiness to it. So, the girl continued her slow shuffling, each painstaking step causing her face to contort slightly. However, she paused momentarily at the boy's odd outburst, however, having experienced similar feelings when others gazed upon her for speaking colors aloud. For a moment, she wondered if that was directed at her, causing another, habitual apology to slip from her lips gently.

However, her heart froze as the three boys, now having recovered enough to move, rose up, glaring at them yet their voices full of fear. "I-If we see either o-of you again, you'd b-better be ready!" the leader cried, his voice squeaking and cracking, followed by a collective "yeah!" from the other two. Still, rage was evident in his voice. Iris' throat clenched inwards a bit, fear filling her countenance. Would she be able to fend off all three of them again? She'd barely escaped them this time, and even if her abilities could overpower them, it wasn't something she desired to use against students. But without the energy, she was painfully weak... Biting her lip, Iris' eyes lingered towards the ground, unable to stop quivering at this point. The trio of ne'er-do-wells had fled then, not wanting to stick around to see their reactions it seemed. Drawing in a sharp breath, Iris anxiously felt her fingers over the quartz, only slicing into the flesh for a moment before realizing that Eris had been able to witness the act of nervous release, pulling her now bleeding fingers away from her sweater with an embarrassed sigh.

Eris watched Iris as she responded to him, noticing the tone she held as she spoke. Why was it that she was trying to suffer through pain by herself? The thought made the young man pause, but his thinking was quickly interrupted by the souls in his mind because as usual. It was so common for his thoughts to be review by the other five other people in his head, that it was rare for Eris to even feel irritated by this.

You should just pick her up.
That's crazy! Don't do that.
I'm telling you, she'll totally go for that.
That's highly inappropriate you know.
Just say you're helping her.

"What does it even matter?" Eris found himself speaking louder than usual just as the boys he had fought tried to threaten the two of them. His eyes glanced over at Iris for a moment, just as the young girl was cutting her finger. The action surprised Eris, although the emotion didn't register on the young man's face - so his expression instead remained blank. Slowly closing the distance between them once more, Eris knelt down near Iris - holding one arm behind her knees and the other near the middle of her back.

Good! Now go on in for the kill.

In swift and flawless movement, Eris angled himself so as to pick up Iris princess style. The action appearing to be quite gentleman-like, but would also catch any female off guard.

[OOC; Since you were offline I left this last bit open ended so you could decide what happened. I hope you enjoy my post! *_* ]

As expected, a blank and almost confused expression befell the boy's features, causing Iris to grow all the more disheartened. Here she was, attempting to right her wrong, and she'd already dug herself deeper into the trench of her mistakes. Her eyes darkened slightly then, her thoughts swirling chaotically about in her mind. The blame had fallen upon her own shoulders, and thus she must find a way to correct this horrid flaw in her day. Reality seemed to slip away from her then, wondering just how she would worm her way out of the situation. If the Headmistress were to confront her about it due to the boys' complaints, what in the world would she say? There didn't seem to be anything proving her point, and it would be rude to request that this boy vouch for her..

However, her thoughts were interrupted as she felt something press upon her back and legs. What was it? Iris peered over her shoulder for a moment, only to release a sudden squeak as she was elevated off of the ground into the young man's arms. Although she was rather thin, perhaps just a tad too light for her age and height, she knew that this was placing weight upon the boy that had just saved her only moments ago. As she contemplated this, she was silent, her hands drawn together and bent towards her face, but as soon as she realized this, she spoke softly yet urgently, "D-Don't s-strain y-yourself, s-sir! Y-You d-do not h-have to do th-this, I-I don't w-want to s-slow you down.. I-I'm sorry, y-you c-can go on a-ahead, i-it's okay. I-If you need t-to g-go s-somewhere, d-don't l-let me stop y-you.." She was unable to shift her position due to the sharp pains that would shoot through her at the slightest movements, thus she had to remain quite limp. A bit flustered and unsure how to react, Iris fixated her eyes upon the boy, wondering what his motives were to picking her up and if her weight was too great for him to manage.

It was a strange sensation as Eris held her that the young man was experiencing. Her stuttering was almost endearing to him in a sense and the way she politely called him sir caused the young man to look away from her a moment - hiding what appeared to be a small tint of a blush. As he looked back her as the expression disappeared, it did seem as though Iris was in a lot more pain than she was trying to let on. "You're not heavy." Eris commented to the girl lightly as he started to walk toward the exit of the dining room. "I'm going to take you to the nurse," as he spoke Eris made his tone simple and very light - assuming that if he sounded to harsh he would scare the girl.

Look at you, being oh so manly.

"You told me to do this, she's injured anyway." Eris spoke out-loud once more, briefly realizing that Iris could probably hear anything he said to the souls in his mind if she wanted too. The thought only made him feel a little disconcerted, due to the strange feeling he was having in his gut while holding her.

You know this is called liking someone.
Oh, is it true Eris? Do you really like her?
He doesn't even know her name yet...
So romantic!