The flowers silhouetted against the snowy intruder in a strange, incongruous fashion. While they complimented the dazzling white ribbons of hair, they received only the burn of hidden malice in the wake of blazing ghostly blue eyes. Those eyes, narrowed and frozen, reflected the monotonously sway of the intruder's heart. Malicious and dormant; laying still like a demon, no, a magnificent white widow, waiting to bite any girl that came near. And whisk them away into her enchanting false web. She cared little for the passionate hearts of others. She would ignite the spark with her sinful touch, smother it with the malice of her own, then distinguish it without forewarning. She was a player of sorts, yes, but much rather preferred a spider. A white widow.

A small petal stripped from its pink ring of comrades and spiraled towards the spider. It slipped past all the silken threads, of course, but managed to snag her thick white lashes. Alice promptly reached up to dislodge it, squeezing the heart-shaped thing in between her index fingers with the lightness of a resting butterfly. Yet it crumbled in the wake of her venomous touch. She was not made to mend hearts. No, she was made to destroy them. To expose the desires laying dormant within. In the end, she found sometimes many were just like her. Love is a selfish thing.    

But was her heart any different? Nestled in a silken cocoon in the depths of her chest. Writhing and pounding against its silken snare. In truth, her heart was just as fragile. Though she would never come to realize it or open up to it without it being pointed out by the watchful eyes of another. She wasn't sure she would let anyone that close to her. Not even in her flirtatious little games. Her web was indestructible like her heart, or so she convinced herself to believe. The snowy girl opened her clenched palm and let wisps of broken petal fragments drift out into the wind.

Surely...    

The area was quiet and seemed off the beaten path, until she saw the bridge in the distance. Exploring the other schools has been a good idea, as she could analyze her challengers more carefully if she knew their environments. This area, much like the rest of the school nearby, seemed untouched by tradition and saved from competition. It was peaceful, but that wasn't all. It had a distinct air of sweetness in the air. Something that didn't seem to bother her, but also set some feelings of irritation into her. It was as if this area was designed for all sorts of happier times. So why did it irritate her?

She didn't think very long though. A new face came into view at that moment.  This one had a Miator uniform, making her an immediate rival. She respected the school and its students, but she also felt great challenge from this rivalry between hers and theirs that she had been thrust into. For just a moment, a smirk came to her, and the fire in her eyes. It quickly died back down into her usual cold glance, and she decided to investigate things herself a little bit.

if one were sharp eyed, they would notice a small gold ring in the place wedding rings usually go, and perhaps notice the certainty she carried herself with. It was impossible for her to size up what this new rival was thinking, but she did seem to be focused on something. And she was definitely similar in age. Yes, why not? Lion D'Incendie would grace this conversation. How to begin?

"What's caught your attention?" She's asked calmly, giving little emotion to the contact.

A voice stirred through the sea of blossoming pink flowers. It almost caught her by surprise. It appeared as if a soul had slipped through the hypersensitive threads of her invisible web. She needed to fortify a better guard. This would do for now, but certainly not in the bleary future. Short white fringes swirled in an odd flurrying angle as Alice turned her head to peer at the inquisitor. A girl - a fiery monarch - graced by locks aflame in a cherry red hue unfolded before her iced over eyes. Red orbs sporting a hue identical to the colorful locks seemed to burn with a faint passionate fire. It seemed suppressed, for the moment, but she had not failed to glimpse its flicker. This girl appeared to be a lively spirit. Emblazed with a fieriness that suggested that of a tiger. No, a lion.

"Nothing meretriciously important." The eloquent words tumbled out with an air of elegance past pallid lips. She spoke not to confuse nor daunt in this way, but rather to establish an air of elegance. She rarely spoke out of character, though upon the presence of another, and such a livid soul too, she pondered of what lay within that blazing inferno she pictured deep within the lionhearted girl. What made her tick? Such a question was vile in presence of a first meeting, though curiosity often ruled over forethought. So she would play a card and move a pawn to test the waters. Although, there were always a possibility of sharks. In this case, lions.  "Although, you have more than captured it as of now."   

Icy orbs scanned the girl's face. She had indirectly distorted the simple phrase into a sort of faint flirtatious statement, yet whether the girl recognized it or not was not of her highest interest. It was the reaction that really mattered. Body language, facial expression - even the slightest bat of the eye could relay a kaleidoscope of signs. Alice was well beyond adept at catching every one of them. After all, one glance into the eyes of another betrayed even the most internal of emotions. 

Her legs remained stiff and rigid as a low, sideways curtsey was bestowed upon the blazing red haired girl. She would have continued lower, but her ankles, which to any other person would be screaming in biting pain from an extensive morning practice, refused to cooperate. So she bent at the knees and feigned the remaining rest with a tilted swoop of her torso. Small twin braids dangled in front of the mass of silvery hair and all but seemed to shudder when white lashes flickered up to reveal the pair of blue eyes once more. Was that a ring on the girl's finger? It appeared so. "Of whom do I have the honor of being in the presence of ?"

She spoke highly of the girl, yet the connection didn't register within her. Not yet, at least. It was all planned forethought and play; a necessary element in her devious little game.

That was certainly different. The way she carried herself reminded Raion of Vincenness a great deal. However, there was something else there that felt different still. A sort of lingering tone that she subconsciously caught and consciously ignored. Whatever the inflection, the words must be taken at face value until proven untrustworthy. Innocent until proven guilty. There was no need to think more deeply about it than that, especially when she was prompted with a formal greeting - one which she returned without hesitation as if it were something she had done her entire life. Following it, a sort of sizing up glance which lasted only a moment. Yes, this girl was her age. San would do. 

"Honoo." she began. "Honoo Raion. Salutations."

Her aggressive side was dormant for now, unless one took stiff and regurgitated greetings that way. Still, she hadn't had a proper lady greet her since Vincenness, so it was a nice change of pace that a whole year without it couldn't make up for. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she appreciated the formality, but she wasn't about to express such things, especially to a stranger.

"And to whom am I speaking? Surely someone so proper can't be Miator standard."

And just then, the aggressive tone came in. She sort of half growled the word Miator, as it was her rival school currently and she lived for challenge. 

Honoo Raion. An interesting name for a so far interesting girl. Alice scrutinized the girl, associating the label with the face. Whether she would remember that name or not was up entirely to the outcome of this encounter. Regardless, having already heard it, she would, as human nature dictated, remember it somewhere in her mind. But it was the relative importance - the impression - that administered the final say of which predominated from the recesses of her shadowy mind.

The aggressiveness that was next present at the proceeding mention of Miator went to no surprise to the snowy widow. She watched that flame she had previously glimpsed dormant in the girl's eye ignite to a steady fierceness that she found quite impressive. Dazzling, even. It appeared as if she had an abhorrence to Miator. If not an abhorrence, then a dominating role in the rivalry that had been forged between two of the three schools occupying the large campus. So Honoo-san was a Spica student? Then that tepid raging inferno would be obviously flaring at the Miator student. Indirectly, of course, until stated otherwise. But Alice would not mind being burned. She had been ravaged by the flames of other's so many times she had developed a numbness to it. An immunity of sorts that no amount of heat could melt. Because she was adept in putting up a guard, for she had the inability to feel pain. And that wasn't always a good thing.

"Honoo Raion? Quite a lovely name." She had broken up the name into soft syllables as to not state it incorrectly. It was all about form and impression, and having not stopped to run it through her cluttered head, she had to subconsciously risk an ace. Though it was hardly noticeable even to the most discerning of ears. "Himeno Alice." She allowed for a soft pause then, "I have the misfortune to relay that I am a marionette of Miator. Although I find little fondness of its constrictions and overall disapproval of womanly independence."  

A slender finger uncurled at her side to pin a stray encroaching petal between a digit and her scarred palm. There was a soft silken tear as ivory nails pressed down ever so gently to pierce its delicate pink frame. What would this lion girl think of this new information? It had her curiosity blazing.    

There was something she was missing here. All of the information as it came seemed like tangible proof on its own, but there was something she couldn't place that had her a tad confused. She masked it well enough with a bow though. "Alice-San, then. A pleasure." she parroted as she had done so many times. Perhaps it was her nature, but upon the mention of Miator standard her expression turned from a smirk to a neutral. She seemed to express herself in stages. Though, she had to confess that it was a bit presumptuous of her to immediately get angry at a student of her rival school. The competition mattered more than that. It was all in sport. She had to be careful not to lose her head that way, as this was her first time truly competing with another school. Alice seemed like she meant no harm by their meeting anyway. Besides, her word choice was quite something. Marionette hm? So, she was strung along there. The same fate as Raion herself, in a way. Given the choice, she would have remained at Vincenness.

"Nobody is a Marionette by force." she said calmly, her eyes closed. "Some people just enjoy being strung along, while others see nothing better for them and accept fate. Those people are cowards."

As if to emphasize her admittedly harsh statement, she crossed her arms and allowed herself a small growl again. Perhaps at her own thoughts.

"You're no coward, or you wouldn't be talking to me. If you want something, fight for it. Nobody earns respect by idling life away."

As much as she believed that with all her heart, she had to admit to herself that she was being slightly hypocritical. She unconsciously started to spin the ring on her finger with her thumb as that realization set in. Still, there was no logic in not doing what you wanted. So, maybe she had pinned this girl wrong. Maybe she was a coward. Even if that were true, she was on the line of cowardice and strength. otherwise she would have abandoned this conversation earlier.

"How do you plan on cutting those strings, then?" she asked almost accusingly, her eyes opening for the first time since she began speaking. She took note of some unfitting marks, but she couldn't really pinpoint them too well. She was too worked up to really analyze details like that.

Alice stifled a physical twitch. She had never been regarded outwardly as her first name before, certainly not upon first meaning. But flaring up over something so trivial would only exhaust pretentious energy. And a spider could afford little lost energy in the riptides of maintaining a proper web. Though, she found little interest in ensnaring this girl in that silken trap. Perhaps it was just out of a twinge of her frozen heart, though it fell monotonously all the same. In honesty, she found something intriguing about that blazing spirit. It blazed with a fiery light far more marvelous than the feline beast it emulated. A marvel indeed.

She listened to Raion as she began to speak, hanging onto each word as they were casted into the empty atmosphere. She spoke powerfully, and while her nature wished to take little heed of her words, her mind betrayed tradition. A coward she was not. Maybe somewhere with some convincing deep within her heart, but nothing of direct appearance or matter. Neither was this girl. Not with that impressive forge shuddering inside that being.

The girl did have a point. Idling was not a way to live one's life. When the board was present, it was wise to move a pawn. What direction mattered not as long as productivity was being conducted. Alice had spent countless time brooding over life's game. Perhaps too much time. Wasting away in the decaying recesses of her mind. Drifting through the days with productivity yet a vessel driving her numb feet. Though she never once cast herself into its coursing pre-determined river. She had strayed much too far beyond its cloudy eternal horizon into the darkness beyond. And it was there that she was stuck; ensnared to remain into light chased it away. A light that would probably never liberate her from the darkness of herself - of her own conscious self-destruction.   

"Perhaps that is so. With cowardice evolves puppets, and puppets, idle monotony." Then a question was asked of her, and those dazzling red eyes aflame with that same scarlet inferno once more flickered open to the world. Icy blue interlocked briefly with their blazing red glow. How to cut the strings? Everyone had their own methods. Spiders were established on threads of their own. And these marionette ones were not of her own direct foraging. "Eradicate the threads and establish a new overtop its crumbling foundations." She flicked a hand as she spoke, never once letting her gaze break from the lionhearted girl's. "A downed spider cannot establish any sort of future without first snipping from the binding present."

Blue orbs slithered down to the petal snared in between glistening claws. She loosened it ever so slightly, letting it flutter teasingly in the breeze. The white lace crowning her head haloed around her shadow darkened face in its windy wake. "What is it, if I may ask, that you plan on fighting for, Raion-san?" That had to be the first time she addressed someone by their first name. It was uncomfortable, yes, but she rather liked the lion spirit burning within the girl.

Truly lionhearted.

Indeed, it appeared she was accurate. No cowardice, but merely uncertainty came through to her in that response. Was it really, or was she just so sure of herself that anybody who wasn't as sure as she was came off that way? Well... No sense in brooding about it. She listened intently. Eradicate, now that was a word to use. Surely the meaning was less malicious, but the need for such words was probably great. Nobody said something so full of power without meaning it. Whatever she had to remove from her life, she had to do so with complete ferocity. However, she would also go on to explore the fact that she retained the foundation of the source in her plan. That was a good idea, in truth. It was important to never forget where one came from, but always move forward. Look to the future with passion, and the past with fondness.

There was a certain way that she captured the description in her head. Spider imagery? So, that is how she saw herself then. Well, fair is fair. Raion's name literally meant Fire Lion, and she had grown to fit that name quite well. What did Alice mean? Surely a Western name, so perhaps it held some imagery to spiders in the west? Ah, well. Inquiries like that were reserved for friends, the title of which she had only given to those back at Vincenness. Even the Cub was not a friend, but a person under her protection. Certainly that information would spread and garner silly rumors, as would her dramatic declaration of war to Shoka, but all of that was currently unwritten conjecture.

Another question that she had almost missed. What did she fight for? How observant.

"Worth." she nodded with a wry smile. "I will take over Spica and lead it into an era of competitive success."

Surely that wasn't it, but it's all that she needed to share with a stranger. Well, okay, one more thing.

"I'll be issuing challenges to all of Spica's top athletes and popular girls, and when time comes for Student Council elections, I will win. With that power, I'll make Spica into a name to be feared by any other school that dares challenge us."

Such confidence. It earned a fragment of respect from the snowy girl. Perhaps a little more than she desired to extend, but it was admirable nonetheless. Though it had been Raion's answer that had struck her interest far more. Worth? So that was it. Everyone started out at the bottom. No matter how elegant or skilled or devious one was, they were nothing but dust meant to gather in the shadows of the so called "greats" until proven their worth. Similar to a spider establishing a web. The arachnid begins with nothing but empty space, but with perseverance and work, it can thread a silken snare far grander than its endeavors. That is, if the right amount of focus is given. A spider with no initial drive - no blueprints to head its task - will only fall tangled in its own miserable attempts.

Still, that was quite a goal for one girl to accomplish. Alice wondered about the possibility of success. Though, at the manifestation of that powerful spirit within, she found herself pondering little over the possibility of failure for her and more over he underlying fortifications that were required to build her beginning foundation. Surely, a girl as strongly spirited and hearted as her could accomplish such a task. As long as she had the appropriate companions to back her. That was if she preferred not to work alone.

"That is quite an admirable goal. Though for a strong girl such as yourself, I suppose it will not hinder you in the slightest." The lioness had a quite impressive future in mind for the blazing white school of Spica. A name to be feared, eh? It probed another curiosity that she could not help but voice. "How, may I inquire, shall you secure success in such a task? Or perhaps have you not a desire to share such salient information with a stranger?"

It was perfectly acceptable if the girl did not wish to share any further information. Understandable, too. There were various motives Alice desired to keep to herself as much as the girl probably preferred to withhold as well. Raion's confidence was definitely admirable though. Try as she might, she couldn't help but even feel the slightest envious of her blazing self-confidence. But such was that of a stately lion.

She seemed to be getting through. Excellent. One more self determined person on this campus couldn't hurt. Hell, if she could influence more people to cut their strings and be free, maybe she could even make the rest of the schools worthy as well. It was a long shot, but surely she never let that idea get in her way. No no, long shots were the most satisfying to make.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling a Miator." she growled the word out again, lower though. "I am issuing challenges to the top athletes of Spica. Whether I win or not doesn't matter. What matters is the recognition that I will never give in or back down from any fight. That alone should secure my position as the head of this pride."

To emphasize her statement, she pounded her chest with a closed fist, an audible thump echoing into the conversation.

"And when Spica is under my protection, we will dominate the athletics competitions all over!"

There was no need to hold back now. She had thought at first that hiding her information would benefit her, but this Miator would be no threat. She may even be support down the road. Allies were great to have, and so she made absolutely certain that her message was received clearly. Maybe she should say more? Something crucial. Something to cement her confidence in herself and her passion to achieve this goal.

"As of right now, I've defeated a star Tennis player and will be facing an archer tomorrow. The day after, I'll be fencing the team captain. I've even issued my challenge to be a better leader than Shoka-sama to her face. I will not back down, not for any reason."

That growl again and then a powerful, fiery stance. Success through athletic competitions? Alice had never really mused that as a route to endeavor success by, but this girl really seemed to know what she was doing. A lion could easy carve a fiery path. Though it was the direction, not necessarily the intent, that judged favorability. Raion appeared to be striving the right direction. Whatever that may be as of now. A light in the darkness of Spica. A challenger against that one ominous prince she had heard so much about upon arrival. This girl was more impressive than she first surmised.

"I applaud your beginnings, Raion-san. Remarkable, indeed, but no surprise of a girl of your powerful presence. Best of luck in your endeavors. Though with that driving spirit, I doubt you will have much use of my warm wishes."

She spoke genuinely this time - something she rarely did. She had been seared by that fire within the girl. Awe-stricken by her confident light. Raion was truly a remarkable being. So much so that she concluded within herself that she would cease any attempts to ensnare her in her trapping web. Lions did not belong snared up. They deserved to be wild and free; to run wherever there please so as it enhances their blazing title of hierarchy. Raion deserved no less.

Ivory nails unclenched to permit the small petal they had pinned to drift from their biting grasp. It swirled with newfound hope on the fingers of the breeze before gliding far up into the broad sky above. She could not; would not; attempt to break that burning spirit. No, even that would be far more than immoral in her acidic orbs.

"You have quite an impressive spirit, Raion-san. I pray you never let it burn out or be distinguished." The compliment rolled unnaturally off her tongue, as she was not used to such genuine truth, but the inflection voiced an honest warmth. The foreignness of the complimentary tone burnt her mouth, yet she paid little mind and felt nothing. Because such a confident, blazing spirit deserved praise and recognition.