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?"

[girl_in_a_tree]

As if on cue, Kalinka tipped over directly into the miniature pitfall, hands unseen to her nudging her body just far enough to do so. She didn't yell or scream, but she did release a short gasp before tumbling headfirst into the muddy, unofficial grave. It was needless to say that for this particular girl, being there next to a decaying skeleton was especially not her idea of a pleasant resting place. Scrambling back up, much more quickly than Ralph had, she grumbled various annoyed sounds without bothering to speak a word. The one Kalinka blamed for her fall was obvious, though the true culprit wasn't anyone she suspected

[ralph_ashton]

"Kali-" Ralph started when she saw the girl disappear in the pit, but broke off when she heard someone laughing. The only problem for Ralph was that she saw no one else. Or no... that wasn't entirely true. Very vague, very flimsy, right there... The woman narrowed her eyes, though it did not exactly improve her sight.

"I am starting to see things?" Ralph murmured to herself. "I can't remember I was drunk last night." She rubbed irritated over her forehead and thus missed the girl kicking Kalinka down again.

"Kalinka? You need help?" But she froze when she heard someone clearly talking to her. "Well sorry that we're have more agility than you do," she said angrily to what she thought was empty air. It made her feel just a little ridiculous, though

[girl_in_a_tree]

The ghost of a girl simply blinked at Ralph for a moment, not having expected to be seen or heard at all. It took her enough effort just to touch anything. She soon began hiding behind Kalinka as the other girl moved, keeping up the ruse for as long as possible.

Kalinka simply lowered her eyes while she stood there, holding half of a wooden bow. The other half dangled down by a string, up until it was cast back into the trap beside its owner. "It can't be my fault if I was shoved to begin with, and I don't see who else you're planning on blaming."

Without bothering to get much further away, the lightning Kalinka was so fond of toying with shot through her in a quick burst, popping the mud caked onto her clothes off as brittle shards of glass. The next step was simply dusting off her sleeves and legs.

[ralph_ashton]

"It wasn't me, I told you that," Ralph snapped. "I wasn't even anywhere near you to push you." She fell silent for a moment. Then she wrapped her arms around herself and mumbled, "Besides, I don't think we're alone here. I heard someone else talking, but I can't see her. And no, I'm not crazy."

The woman made an irritated gesture. "Anyway, get away from that pit before you fall into it again."