The Ruling

[demonanaphone]

Whatever it was Ralph happened to be doing in the middle of Swordfighting, it left her swinging not far past Kalinka's head as soon as the Slayer landed in the Headmistress' office with a flurry of white and blue orbs. Kalinka did not seem to react, however, and simply continued looking down into her collar from her seat before the desk

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[ralph_ashton]

Ralph gave a startled exclaim when she suddenly saw someone's head dangerously close near her sword. She didn't even notice who it was until she saw the green hair. A few seconds later after that discovery, she heard Paige's voice.

Her expression became wary as she looked at the Headmistress. Ralph lowered her sword and sheathed it. She didn't reply immediately, but glanced first at Kalinka. Though her expression didn't change, the woman grumbled irritated in her mind. Of course the other girl had been transported here first. She probably said everything already.

"She's been nagging me about things for a while now," Ralph said in a monotone voice, her cold grey eyes fixed on Paige's face now. "I can take only so much nagging before I lose my temper. So. That's what happened. She got on my nerves. I got angry. We fought. End of story."

Ralph folded her arms across her chest. "So. Go ahead. Say the punishment. You made up your mind about it anyway, didn't you?" she said bitterly.

[demonanaphone]

"You're not easy to help." Paige sighed, before leaning forward over the desk. "Listen. High school or not, you're a grown woman, someone who just left the military from a war zone, threatening to kill sixteen-year-olds and little girls, and while attacking one of them? And hitting your own supposed 'girlfriend.' In the real world, you get arrested for that, and for damn good reasons. People with military training snap all the time, so if you're that easy to tick off, you probably don't need to be around my kids

[ralph_ashton]

Ralph listened to Paige without actually hearing her. Her face remained emotionless and her eyes stared into some distance.

"Military has nothing to do with it," she said in the same monotone voice. "And I try to be friends with people, not 'frolick' with them, as Miss Wellington suggested. But the two of you already have an opinion about me. I don't even know why I try to explain things. Go ahead and suspend me for a week. Expel me. Do what you want. I don't care."

[demonanaphone]

"Frolic?" Paige's expression became fairly neutral, amused but still as angry.

"Gay merriment." Kalinka defined the word in a low tone.

"I know what it... Never mind, whatever you want to call it." The Headmistress sighed again, somewhat annoyed. "I'm sure Haruka and the others care about what happens to you." Her voice cheered up somewhat. "So, I've decided the main part of your punishment is having to go through their final exams. That should be enough for anyone, and I wouldn't have you miss them for the world. Just don't start any more fights, or you won't be coming back here again. Okay?"

[ralph_ashton]

Ralph's defensive and stand-offish manner weakened a bit at that. Her expression softened a little into a grateful look. "I understand it, Ms. Matthews." After a moment's hesitation, she added, "Thank you."

[demonanaphone]

Paige relaxed into her seat. "Don't thank me just yet. I've decided the other part will be something special, just because it's you, Ralph. You can return to class whenever you find your way there. Garden." With that quite simple word, Ralph disappeared into another burst of lights, landing in a random, unfamiliar part of St. Catherine's living garden maze.

(OOC: It was hard to resist. >.>)

[ralph_ashton]

Ralph blinked first, but sighed with resignation when she found herself in a maze similar to the one Michiru had created. She still smiled to herself, a thankful smile. She had been given a second try, another chance. For a change, someone in a high position listened to her. Maybe this Headmistress wasn't as bad as all the others.

"Just..." Ralph jumped back to avoid a branch that had been creeping towards her. "Did it have to be another living maze?"

OOC: Paige may or may not have listened to her, but that's the feeling Ralph has. XD;

[girl_in_a_tree]

Kalinka walked up behind Ralph with her arms crossed, mostly watching the squirming ground, or perhaps her collar. Orbed away in much the same method, the other girl had simply landed around the corner, but also taken a moment to enjoy a nearby, natural arrangement of flowers.

"She must know I can leave here without a problem." The speaking was mostly to herself before she looked up to Ralph. "And I love the garden. Perhaps tolerating you is meant to be my punishment?" Thinking of it longer, Kalinka was somewhat amused. "But I don't loathe you nearly that much when you aren't flirting with or injuring anyone. Do you have any idea how to free yourself of this place? I'm not certain I can be of any help, my way."

(OOC: Paige is very tolerant of kids, but she likely has some trouble thinking of Ralph as one~)

[ralph_ashton]

"It's all a part of me," Ralph replied with a shrug. "Though it may surprise you to find out I don't hurt people all that often." She took a good look around and sighed.

"The only other living maze I've ever visited was something Michiru created. That was one of the first trainings I received here. So to be honest, I have no idea." She prodded with a foot at a piece of wood. "As long as there are no flesh-eaten plants, it'll be alright."

Ralph put her arms behind her head and turned around. "We'd better start walking, I guess. Unless you know where the exit is."

OOC: I swear, my fingers lead a life on their own. >< I meant head, not back.

[girl_in_a_tree]

Michiru's training? That explains a few things.

"The exit has a habit of moving. Either way, I wouldn't be walking." Kalinka clicked her heels together, causing little sparks along the ground as she looked to the sky. "It's much easier to... 'Hop.'"

The green girl wasn't entirely sure what she meant was obvious to her less-than-favorite person. "That is, I suppose your options are wading through understandably defensive plants for God knows how long, or giving me the opportunity to experiment in preventing the electrocution of another human being whilest riding lightning through the air." A heavy sigh fell from her lips. "After all the trouble I went through not seriously wounding you, I'd hate to do so by accident now."

[_nogooddeed]

((OOC: Just click your heels together three times. and say there's no place like home.

I couldn't resist. ><))

[girl_in_a_tree]

(OOC: That was the idea. ;P ...I can't believe I typed "whilest," but I'll be lazy and leave it since it already has a response. DX)

[ralph_ashton]

Ralph stared at the girl. Sure, she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. But to become a kind of guinea pig for that and running the risk to be electrocuted? Hell no!

"I'll walk. I got out of a maze like this before, I'm pretty sure I can do it again. Nothing has attacked me so far and no ground has disappeared under my feet, so I'm sure I'll make it."

Just when she said that, the earth beneath her opened into a big hole and Ralph fell several feet down with a startled exclaim.

OOC: Just had to.

[girl_in_a_tree]

Kalinka stood there blinking for a moment, as if the event hadn't entirely registered, until she eventually leaned over the pit before her. "You were practically asking for that."

The younger girl's eyes searched the darkness, unable to make anything out. Besides that, she figured she wouldn't be much help even if Ralph were injured and trapped. At least, there wasn't any way that she could think of immediately. Thus, she simply worried for her own curiosity. "Is there, anything interesting down there?"

[ralph_ashton]

"Yes, very interesting." Ralph groaned softly and sat up. "If you're looking for a light snack, I can bring some worms for you." She shifted slightly and finally searched with one hand under her body. "I think I've broken a bone..."

The woman removed a large white bone, looking frighteningly human, and threw it up at Kalinka. She got up as well and searched the wall for something to hold on. A few minutes, Ralph sat beside the pit, her face and clothes messy and smeared with mud.

[girl_in_a_tree]

Reflexively, Kalinka ducked backwards, and if her guess on what the object happened to be was correct, she definitely did not intend on catching it. The person's remnants flew with an odd spin and bounced into one of the bushes behind her, missing her head by less than an inch. "Disrespectful..." She muttered, before looking Ralph over and attempting not to smile. "I take it you're physically unharmed, then? More fortunate than whoever it is that used to be." The green head peeked over the edge of the pit once again.