Planet Daltain

-1st person-

24 days later,

"Settle down." Said Rein, who practically slammed his work materials down onto the podium. All the whispers immediately stopped, and it was like you could hear a pin drop. "As you all should remember, we're going to planet Daltain and I believe you've all prepared appropriately?"

There was a shuffle, and I could see some students nodding their heads.

Crystal, however, seemed mortified.

("We needed to prepare?!") She signed to us, probably not wanting to cause a commotion. I nodded my head slightly.

("Wasn't it obvious?") I signed, raising an eyebrow as I tilted my head slightly.

("No, no it was not!") She replied, ("How am I going to prepare in less than an hour?!")

("I kind of expected this, so I prepared for two. There's no need to worry.") Vincent remarked, his ears reddening.

Crystal seemed ready to hug him to death, at this point. Her eyes shone brightly and she also seemed touched. I held back a giggle as I watched them.

("Oh, so considerate of you to help her.") I teased, grinning. Vincent rolled his eyes as if unimpressed

("Atleast I was kind enough to pack for her.") He retorted, furrowing his brows.

("Atleast I trusted her.") I reply, still smiling as Crystal looked back and forth between us.

("Alright, I'm flattered that you're this kind but can you guys actually get along? What happened to the bestfriends who made me feel left out?") She signed, looking back at Rein.

("Nothing, he just got angry cause he doesn't like being teased.") I replied, rolling my eyes slightly. ("How about we actually listen to the Instructor now?")

They both nodded their heads, accepting the change of subject as I turned to Rein again.

"As I mentioned earlier, you all will have the chances of death. This is because you will mainly be fighting monsters and working together. Any arguments you have will cause discord, and maybe even a painful death. Betrayal is also possible, so don't even trust your teammates." He glanced at me, and I smiled. "We'll be using one of the ships, they are high quality so you'll get a good rest for a few hours before we arrive at the planet. Also, don't forget that you can have fun while on the planet. The thing is, you also need to do your mission. I won't be helping you unless necessary, and I won't interfere even if you're being tortured. Your lives are your own, but I will interfere for this time if you are going to die under my watch."

I nodded my head slightly, and stood up as soon as he gestured for it. I turned to the group, my eyes grazing over Vincent, Crystal, Sayna, Devron and Lilith. Morrigan and Xhenia weren't here since they were by Rein's side probably also ready to help if needed.

"I'm sure you're all ready for the 'trip'." I said out loud, and they all nodded. "Follow me, we'll board the ship first."

I turned around and began walking to the field, where the ship was waiting. The others followed closely and obediently, like sheep to a shepherd.

---

A few minutes later,

I board the ship, looking around and finding a room for us to stay in while we waited.

I sat down on the couch silently, and was soon followed by the others.

"You know, this is actually kind of snazzy!" Crystal exclaimed, ignoring Devron and Lilith taking their own corner.

"Never say that again." Vincent said, cringing visibly.

"What, snazzy?" He shuddered, literally.

"Just please, never say that again." He said, holding a hand up and speaking seriously.

"..." She stayed silent, realising the power she held in that moment. "Snazzy?"

"Are you deaf or something? Please, just stop." He said, shuddering yet again and she turned to me.

"Is there something wrong with the word sna-"

"Stop!" He covered her mouth in that moment and I just shrugged my shoulders, holding back a chuckle.

"Maybe he just finds it weird?" I suggested, looking at Vincent.

"That word is the most cringiest, crustiest, jumpscare-worthy word on the face of this planet. It is old as fuck, and I would rather hear a nail scratch on paper than that word." He said, barraging insults at a single word as if it killed his family.

"Really? I think the cringiest word is rad." I remarked, and Crystal nodded her head.

"Sorry, Vince, but I'm with Ray on this one." She said, finally prying Vincent's hands from her mouth.

"Yeah, I'm also with Ray..." He said, clenching his fists as even remembering the words were cringeworthy. I chuckled.

"What happened to hating the word snazzy?" I asked, tilting my head slightly and amusedly.

"That's cringy, but rad is just... No. I would rather have my fingernails be pulled off one by one than listen to you guys say these crusty ass words." He said in a deadpan tone and I burst into a fit of laughter.

"Ah, that's rad!" Said Crystal, before she burst into laughter, holding her stomach and leaning over as she almost fell on the ground.

"Fuck!-" Vincent held his ears, trying to block out the sound as he shuddered visibly. "I'm actually going to fight you!"

I grinned, yet kept laughing.

---

A few hours later,

I heard a dinging, indicating that we'd arrived to planet Daltain. I stood up and walked out of the room first, looking around and automatically walking to go out of the ship as I yawned slightly.

The others followed me, and we soon all looked around at the lush forests and civilisations.

"Ray, are you sure you haven't been here before?" Asked Crystal as she looked around.

"Yeah, I'm sure..." I mumbled, unsure myself as I also looked around.

"That's freaky." Remarked Vincent, who was surprised enough to use a word he classed as cringy.

"Yeah, if you haven't been here before, then how is everything as you described?" Crystal turned to me first, then Vincent, then Lilith, then Sayna, and then Devron.

All the Daltins that were waiting to greet us had four fingers, and looked exactly like humans. By their side were spiritual creatures, constantly changing forms as they wished since Daltins were powerful enough to sustain the form changes.

Wait... And how did I know that?

Probably just simple inference.

"I think I know what we'll spend our free time doing..." Mumbled Vincent, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah, we'll be looking for something that surprises Mr 'I haven't been here before'." Crystal said, as if it wasn't obvious. Vincent flicked her forehead and she held the spot that she was flicked on.

"More gently next time, and why the fuck would you do that to me without even a warning?!" She yelled, holding her fist up as if ready to retaliate.

Vincent rolled his eyes.

"You were being predictable, so I just felt an inexplicable urge to flick you." He said as if it was something that made sense.

"I will actually..." She held her fist up higher, ready to hit him as I rolled my eyes and watched the two from the sidelines.

"Maybe he just wanted you to not state facts next time?" I suggested, pushing her fist down with a grin.

"Hm... Sure..." She said sarcastically.