Find your Balance (Invite)

She had never, in those far-off distant days, known that shinigami underwent such ....training. The shinigami of old had been .....heathens, knaves, the kind of scum that employed whatever underhanded tactics necessary. The notion of a formal academy was ....jarring to say the least. She felt out of sorts, which meant that she fit in with the other handful of Substitute shinigami in her class. If she had a mirror she probably would have been a bit dumbstruck by the sight of herself. Garbed in the female uniform of the Shinigami Academy student. Nothing she herself had ....ever really imagined she'd actually get to wear. Or would WANT to wear. Yet here she was.

She lightly tugged at her red hakama thoughtfully, wondering how ridiculous she'd look to those back on earth before she heard the chime in the distance. Right... She glanced to the weapon at her waist and swallowed a bit anxiously. It had been a few days since she'd received her Asauchi and it was .... weird being so close to one of these things. She was to spend every waking moment with this thing, and in time.....it would develop into a weapon she'd use to keep the balance.

"You awake in there?" She murmured under her breath, lightly resting her hand on the hilt and wincing a bit as she felt ..... an odd sensation, one that made her remove her hand. Supposedly it would take time before she could hear the voice of her Zanpaku'to. She wasn't sure if she was looking forward to that....... Sighing, she turned her attention forward and strode down the hallway as her peers moved alongside her, heading away from the classroom. Another day another lesson about protocols, history and .... a lot more than she had expected. Her brain already felt like goop. She needed to relax. She adjusted her path and started moving toward one of the doors leading outside. She wouldn't have another class until this afternoon. Better time than any other to unwind a little.

Lerna had admittedly been pretty absorbed into her own internal dialogue, and the subtle fear of having such a weapon right at her hip being all sentient and shit. It was at that moment that a particularly small woman promptly slammed directly into her chest, a brief instant in which she was thinking :Is someone touching my chest?

And then she looked down to see the girl on the floor, three swords dropping all over the place. She furrowed her brows, completely perplexed. Was this girl .....STEALING Zanpaku'to? She wrinkled her brow for a moment and let out a grunt, reaching down and picking up two of the swords in question, then furrowing her brows at the girl on the floor. "Sorry, didn't see you coming. You uh..... there a reason you're carrying all these?" She asked the woman with a tilt of her head. She offered the girl a hand to help her get up if need be. The girl seemed.... a little ....well okay Lerna had also not been paying attention. So she supposed she could understand the girl maybe being a little scatterbrained. Maybe it was just a mistake? Either way, she'd get to the bottom of it. Not like she had anything else to do for the rest of her afternoon.

Lerna raised a brow as it seemed this girl was in the middle of ....something? Her face lit up and Lerna could only assume that she had some kinda embarassed reaction to slamming into her like that. Not that she minded, it wasn't like shed been hurt. All the same, it WAS however her turn to furrow her brows just a little when she noticed the .....gesturing. Was this girl mute? Her lips pursed for just a moment and she glanced between the girl and the swords. She didn't speak sign language, but it seemed like some sort of explanation. On one hand: This seemed incredibly bizarre. Was she holding them for someone? That seemed to be the most liable answer. Right?

All the same, she did not relinwuish her hold for the time being, and continued to consider the situation. She might need an interpreter.... But for now. "I think you should probably put these back where you found em. After all, these are supposed to be our weapons for our entire career." She murmured, rubbing her chin and then glancing down to the swords in her hands. She reached out, offering them back, however, wen Kyukaku would grap them, she'd lightly reach up and put her own hand on theirs, a firm expression on her face.

Ugh. Shinigami HAtchlings. It was weird and disturbing to say the least. But even so, this little mite was still too......green to be the sort of disgusting sort. She didn't even feel TOO surprised that some shinigami would try to use three swords. But, she seemed so strangley....innocent. Perhaps she could guide her. "You should have had the lecture, right? I know you Normal Shinigami students have different classes, but they were pretty clear about things when thyey gave them to us Sub Shinigami. We will spend most of our lives with these swords by our side. Pouring our minds and souls into them. Our spirit energy is what will nourish the spirit inside. And in turn, those spirits will live in our souls.:" She pursed her lips, sighing. "I'm still learning myself. But .....having your spirit energy split four ways? between your swords and yourself? Not only that, but having THREE spirits in your head? That doesn't really seem reasonable. Or....yaknow.....safe." She murmured, before releasing the girl's hand and the swords themselves.

She sighed, scratching the back of her head. "This ain't gonna work..... well it aint like anythings gonna happen right away. I guess I'll just have to track down a teacher to ask about it later. In the meantime uh....just...be careful with those." She noted, reaching around and frowning. Fucking.....pocketless ....Ah here. She smirked, reaching into the gap in her hakama to peel out her phone. "Here, you guys know how to use things right? Sorry I don't know sign language, but go ahead and just type up what you're saying? Least for now." She offered. Did the girl know how to use the keys? She could only hope.

She paused, furrowing her brows for just a moment when the girl spoke up. She was confused? Her eyes drifted down to her zanpaku'to and briefly she began to wonder. Was it usual for them not to hear it's voice straight away? She scrunched her nose just a little, not sure if she should be worried about that.... but for now she decided that she wasn't going to fret about it too much. All the same she sighed. Jeez, these students from the Rukongai didn't get jack all? Who the heck was running this place that people were just HANDED Zanpaku'to without being taught the basics about them? The more that this girl talked the more she was sure this was some sort of mistake.

"I really don't....ugh.... You DO know that your Zanpaku'to is alive right? Alright I don't have the uhhhhhhh qualifications to go through all of the minute details. But just....take care of those for now got it? And ....." She was about to warn the girl about pouring her spirit energy into them. But .....let's be real, based on the girl's responses she probably didn't even know HOW to do that, so she decided not to worry about it.

"Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll find a teacher and figure out what this is all about later. Where were you even going in such a hurry anyway?" She figured she'd ask. May as well get all the info she could outta the girl now, so that if need be she could find them later, right?

Lerna was not like...... a mind reader. She had pretty sharp senses by virtue of her snakelike attributes, .....admittedly that was something she aught to try and delve further into that venue. But, all the same, seeing the girl lean down and listen to the swords, which then promptly turned into the girl suddenly getting so spooked that she dropped her swords, prompting a roll of Lerna's eyes as there may as well have been a neon sign that said 'this is a bad situation' all over the place. She tried to think, imagining a teacher that specialized in Zanpakuto's. And then her mind DID drift to one thing she'd seen on the syllabus. A special class with a pretty intensive requirement for entry. Something she had been very interested in but flat out just didn't qualify for.

If anyone was qualified to figure this stuff out it was her right?

"It's fine. To be honest I actually was on my way to talk to one of the teachers. I was hoping to get into a class, may as well have someone to come along. " She hummed, starting to move and usher Kyukaku along. Of course, she ABSOLUTELY was guiding the girl directly to Murasaki to tell on her. Did she have good, concerning intentions? Absolutely. But technically she was kinda tattling on the girl. And even if Kyukaku decided to peel off and do something else she still had every intention of going through with that.

All the same she did.....feel a bit uncertain. She glanced down to the shorter girl and canted her head to the side. "Buuut I'm a little surprised how a little gal like you wound up in here. Not that you don't probably have potential, but you don't really seem the type for ....this kind of job. What made you want to be a shinigami?"