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World of Darkness: The Academy - Chapter 5: The Loose Thread


Dawn OOC

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"You didn't call the cops or ambulance? I guess that makes sense. The school would want to control any adverse publicity and that's easier to do if it's been dealt with internally."

Jason looked down at the sword again, he could place the metal, it just didn't seem to be the right weight for the few white alloys he could think of off the top of his head.

"You said to the nurse that you spoke to her before she went unconscious? What were her wounds like, they all looked scratchs and things to me, nothing that would knock her out."

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It wasn't long before the door opened up and the Nurse smiled. "She's awake, and asking about you boys. You can take her out of her, and you should; otherwise, your friend is going to be in a lot of trouble. She's a bit woozy from whatever she had."

"Shouldn't you..." Mr Flynn stopped suddenly. "That's quite nice of you, Ms. Balinsky. Very... generous." He looked at the assembled students and janitor. "Shall we?" He waved toward the clinic door in a 'get-to-it' gesture.

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Sean gave Ms. Balinsky a relieved grin, glad for the interruption to his pacing and to hear that the woman was conscious again. "She's not our - Yeah. Thanks, Nurse Balinsky. We shall," the handsome jock added, turning to Mr. Flynn and giving him a nod before slipping his broad shoulders through the door.

Under the fluorescent lighting of the clinic, there was no mistaking the milky hue to the woman, sitting up on a cot, nor the glistening black of her eyes. Those have to be contacts - and one hell of bitch to put in and take out.

"Hi, nice to see you awake again," Sean said with a friendly, non-threatening smile - there was no telling who had done whatever it was they did to her. He approached closer, but made sure to stop out of her personal space... just in case. "Miss... uh... sorry, I didn't catch your name before... well, before. I'm Sean. Do you need help getting somewhere or to someone? I can give you a lift back to town, if you need it."

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Ravi stepped in behind Sean, giving the Nurse a smile before also scrutinising the now-awake woman. He stayed silent for now, letting others do the talking while he just watched. It seemed to him that Cassidy had appointed himself as this woman's protector, and the young nobleman in truth had no issue with that.

He already had a woman to protect, after all. Even if it was mostly from himself.

After studying the woman, he stood to one side and watched the others, in particular Flynn. For some reason, the man's words and actions were setting off a chord of unease in Ravi's animal hindbrain. Something wasn't adding up to him.

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"Name?" the woman focused those unreal eyes on Sean, and the young man felt an unpleasant shiver he couldn't explain. "I... don't remember it. I haven't remembered anything for days." She looked distressed, with reason. "I woke up in the woods-" She cut herself off, looking up at the nurse. "Can I please leave?" she asked Nurse Balinsky.

"Yes, if you boys promise to see her to where she belongs," the nurse said. "And if you promise to see a doctor about that anemisa. It doesn't appear to be from trauma, so I don't see any reason to hold you here. But memory loss is dangerous, so I want you to get checked out as soon as possible." She looked to Sean and Ravi again. "You see to it, young men. Make sure she gets the care she needs."

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"Ok. Well, let's get you on your feet then and out of here. Probably some fresh air will do ya good." Ryan moved over to the woman, "Sean, you wanna give me a hand here? Let's get out of here." Ryan was thinking there was more reason to leave than to say, the best of which being that the woman seemed ready and willing to do so.

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"No worries Nurse Balinsky, we'll make sure she's alright," Sean assured the nurse, moving up to the other side of the woman and giving her a broad shoulder for support, then glancing at Ryan. "No probs, Ryan. Here you go, Miss." Sean easily boosted her to her feet and began guiding her towards the door. "Getting outta here sounds like a great idea."

With Ravi holding the doors for them, the Sean and Ryan easily helped the woman outside, Sean taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "Well, it seems in addition to whatever happened to you, Miss, you also ended up getting the same fever-cold-flu-thing that the rest of us got. Our memories of the weekend and the beginning of the week are fuzzy too." Sean glanced at Ryan and Ravi, seeing their agreement with a nod.

Sean studied the woman, pale skin almost glowing in the gloom, shadows wreathing the depthless black of her eyes. "Uh... we can't just keep calling you 'Miss' or 'Hey, you'. You're white skin... like snow... your eyes..." Sean barely suppressed a shiver. He had seen eyes like that before, on one of the meanest, most pitiless animals he had ever seen in real life, not in a zoo. "How about we call you Swan? Just until we find out who you are."

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She was leaning against Ryan and he could feel the shakes that still racked her body occasionally. Without his support, she certainly would have fallen.

"I... very well," she agreed after a moment of hesitation after Sean's suggestion. "You may call me Swan." She looked around, her gaze becoming clearer by the moment.

Those strange eyes swung to Sean again. "What is a fevercoldflu?" Those impenetrable eyes watched him as she waited for an answer.

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Though that uncanny gaze gave him the willies, Sean stubbornly met it directly with his own stormy, grey-blue eyes. Her question caught him a bit off guard, but there was an odd inflection to her voice, an accent he couldn't quite identify. Maybe English isn't her native language?

"Sorry, 'Swan'" Sean said, emphasizing her acquired name, trying it on for size, "I meant, it seems you were sick, just like us. Don't really know what is was, so was trying to cover all the bases. Fever. Cold. Flu." Sean counted off the options on his fingers.

Sean moved back to Swan's side, adding his support to Ryan's. "So, where to? Anybody have ideas? I... might have someplace you can stay. For a few days, if you need to."

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Frida sat quietly on the one of the benches at the corner of the courtyard, bathed in the incandescent lighting of one of the lampposts that provided nighttime illumination to the Dalton school grounds. Despite the late hour she carried her violin, and she pulled the elegant case with the same careful respect she seemed to apply to all aspects of her life. Unaware of what was going on in the nearby building, Frida pulled the bow out of the case and applied a light coating of resin to it. Then she gently picked up the violin and laid it against her shoulder, tilting her pale cheek towards the chin rest.

Of course, she knew that it would be odd if anyone heard her, though she was hoping that by this time of night most of her fellow students were in their rooms. Perhaps they would hear her music and think it beautiful.. or perhaps they would close their windows and think it odd. Either way, it got Frida out of her own room, into the fresh air of the outdoors and away from the unsettling experiences of the last few days and the nightmares she'd been experiencing since her illness almost two weeks ago. It was enough to put even the eerily even-tempered artist on edge, and she was starting to wonder if whatever her illness had been had caused her to suffer some sort of mental breakdown. After all, she had rarely experienced nightmares, and never hallucinations. But now...

No sense thinking about such things right now. Play, and see if that gets your mind off of it.

Click to reveal.. (Frida's Music)
(Sans piano, if you please)

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And yet, as she placed bow to string and began to play, there were no airy or wistful pieces that she could bring to mind.. only the haunting melody of one of Chopin's Nocturnes. Across the campus, the young men and the strange woman couldn't see the source of the music right away - but they could hear the sound of the violin as Frida poured her newly-discovered passion and trembling fear into the piece, making even the normally lighter parts of the nocturne sound emotionally shaken and trembling.

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Sean's head snapped up, blue-grey eyes a roiling tempest, as his ears caught the strains of the compelling, mournful music. It stirred something in him, too ephemeral to be called a memory, but... something. Something that refused to resolve into clarity, but curled in on itself in maddening elusiveness.

Unconsciously, Sean began drifting down the side of the Learning Annex, Swan in tow, heading for the Quad and the source of the haunting melody. "If no one has a better idea, Swan, you can hang out at Vanessa's place, my... mother's house," Sean offered, though there was a distance to his voice. "There's no one there at the moment, and its gated, so you won't be bothered, while you try to figure out where you want to go."

Entering the Quad, Sean slowed to a meandering pace, eyes scanning the shadows. His gaze froze, body going rigid, when it fell upon a figure sitting on a bench, fair skin almost luminous under the lighting from one of the free standing lampposts, violin held to her chin, bow a deeper shadow across the gleaming, varnished wood.

"Frida?"

And suddenly, something clicked. Frida's sketches! Swan looks just like one of them!

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"What the heck?" Ryan had, reluctantly, allowed himself to be drawn along with no apparent destination in mind as he helped Sean with Swan. They'd entered the quad to find Freaky Frida playing violin. "Oh this night just gets weirder and weirder," he muttered under his breath.

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Swan flinched as the music floated over them. "That is unpleasant," she muttered as the violin hit a particularly high note for a moment. Her arms tightened around Ryan and Sean as she stumbled, and both boys grabbed at her to keep her upright. For a moment, the three of them were in what almost looked like a hug.

Swan's black eyes widened as she glanced up at Ryan, her eyes surprised. "I know your scent," she said, before leaning into him and drawing another deep breath. "Yes, yes..." she turned to Sean and did the same before declaring. "And you... I know your scent, as well. Who are you? Who am I? And why does your smell make me afraid?"

The exotically strange woman stared at them, her eyes confused and a little lost.

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"Huh? Whuh?" Sean said, puzzled, shaking his head to get the haunting music out of his ears, pulling his eyes away from the odd Swan to glance at Ryan for a moment. "I don't wear cologne, man. I don't smell, do I?" Sean bent his head slightly and gave a surreptitious sniff, but didn't notice anything offensive.

"You don't have to be afraid of us, Swan, I swear," Sean promised, his voice tinged with good natured regret. "Sorry, but we don't know who you are - we just saw you for the first time tonight... but maybe..." Sean's stormy eyes brightened as something occurred to him. "There is someone who might have something that will jog your memory. C'mon!"

Sean began gently guiding Swan towards Frida, still sawing away on her violin. When Swan tensed, reluctant to get any nearer to the source of the music, Sean tried to reassure her. "Yeah, I prefer The Offspring myself, but that classical stuff isn't that bad, really. Frida is weird, but pretty cool and-"

Approaching the nocturnal violinist, Jim rolling his eyes but still following and helping support Swan, Sean called out, raised voice crossing half of the quad. "Hey! Hey, Frida! You have a sec? I think Swan here needs to see your sketches - the ones you don't remember making? They might mean something to her, eh?"

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The music stopped mid-stroke, and Frida glanced up and over for the first time, noticing Sean and the small group with him. At first she reacted normally - well, for Frida at least. She lowered the violin bow and stood up, taking several steps across the campus towards the voice calling to her.

"Sean, is that you? And Ravi, what are you two- "

She saw the boys first as they stepped into the clearing, heads up and looking at her. But the figure they were half-supporting was glancing down at first, and it took Frida a moment to absorb the woman's appearance. She took a startled step backwards, her breath catching in her throat suddenly. First the images she didn't remember drawing of people she wouldn't have created.. then the hallucinations, the glimpses out of the corner of her eye or the feeling of someone walking near but turning and seeing no one there.. now this - her own eerie, ebony-eyed drawings come to life.

"Who - who is that? Where did you find her?"

This was a side of her that almost no one had any experience with. This was a Frida who was connected to the world around her, not distantly observing it. Two of the few who had were standing right there - Ryan had never seen her react like this - Ryan had never seen her react at all. Sean had experienced a touch of her frustration, and Ravi had brought her to intense passion - but this time, Frida was afraid. Her normally bland, dispassionate voice practically trembled with it, and her dark eyes - as inky black in the darkness as the woman Sean and Ryan held between them, though thankfully without the lack of sclera that made Swan's eyes so disturbing - were wider than normal, like that of a deer caught in a car's headlights. Her expression, like the music, practically vibrated with it.

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"Steady there." Ravi was at Frida's side in one smooth motion, taking her elbow gently with one hand while resting the other on her shoulder. He kept his voice soft and reassuring as he continued. "Yes, it's a bit of a shock, I can imagine. But this young woman is no less disoriented and frightened."

Leaning close, he murmured in Frida's ear, his breath warm on her night-chilled skin. "She's been attacked, and we don't know by whom or what, nor does she. Something is definitely amiss. But Sean's right - Your sketches might jog loose some memories for her."

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The violin music had been bad enough. It wasn't that Miss Ricci wasn't good - she was - but the high-end of the scale had always set Sylvia's teeth on edge.

Now the music had stopped, only to be replaced by yelling. In the quad. At night. And that was quite enough.

From the library, the educator stormed, sculpting the words of admonishment that she would use to bring the children once more to heel. At a brisk stride, she approached the group, and called out in a voice that while not loud could somehow cut through any conversation and nearly to the bone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will remind you that this is an institution of learning, that behind me is a repository of knowledge, and that the best use of the two is not achieved when people insist on loud noise after hours when those who are focused on an education are trying either to study or to get some well deserved sleep.

"Miss Ricci, your playing is lovely, and we have a wonderful conservatory for exactly that. Misters Jackson, Cassidy and FitzCoventry, I hope you are all ready for tomorrow's lesson, or at the very least more ready than you were today. And Miss...."

Her words faltered as, for the first time, she truly took in the pale girl in their midst. Her clothes looked almost like a uniform - and not a school uniform - though for what, Sylvia couldn't imagine. Her skin wasn't just pale; it was chalk-white. And those eyes... they send a chill up Sylvia's spine. The entirety of the girl was naggingly and incongruently familiar, and that set every instinct of the House Mother on edge.

For some reason - she certainly couldn't possibly put a word to it - Sylvia sniffed the air as she approached the strange girl; somewhere in her subconscious, a hint of recognition was had, even if her conscious mind wondered why on earth she'd just done so.

"You... you are not one of our students," she said in a marvelous statement of the obvious. Curiosity and concern mixed in her voice, threaded through with a hint of something that might have been a warning. "Who are you?"

((ooc: aw, crap. I completely missed that this was a Friday. Oh well; let's just run with it. Fear is a great motivator...))

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It's Friday. Boarding school has classes on Saturday?! That blows monkey balls.

Sean looked at Ms. Dorn strangely, staying close to Swan's side. "Uh, Ms. Dorn, she's not a student here - at least, I don't think so - and she doesn't remember who she is. We're calling her Swan for now. Me, Ryan, and Ravi were heading off campus - we have a pass! - and found her, nearly unconscious on the ground. Seemed like... like she was attacked or something."

When Ms. Dorn began to open he mouth, Sean quickly added, "We've already gone to the clinic. The nurse said the amnesia isn't from trauma. We on our way to find someplace were Swan could to rest when we heard Frida playing."

The brawny jock pointed at Frida with his chin, his hands being occupied. "Frida, you have those sketches that I thought might help Swan jog something loose in her memory, since some of them share the same, uh... unique characteristics."

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Swan's arms tightened around Sean and Ryan, and both of them felt her tremble against them. She seemed even more afraid of Ms. Dorn than them.

In Ravi's hands, the sword pulsed. It wasn't a movement; it was as if an electrical shock had run through him. At the same time, Sylvia felt a twinge in the strange scar on her side.

"I am lost, very lost," Swan said to the group in general. "It is all strange, and I fear... I fear you all as my mortal enemies. But I do not know why! What is going on? Why can I not remember?" There was real panic in her voice; she was close to flipping out. The boys suspected that it was only because of the drug in her system that she hadn't already.

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Frida was silent at first, seeming to draw some measure of calm from Ravi's reassurance, though she still seemed hesitant. But finally she nodded slightly, glancing at Ms. Dorn briefly before turning back to the odd-looking woman. When she spoke her accent was brisk, as if she were attempting to distance herself again, to pull back to a place where she could control her emotions and reign in her reactions again.

"I don't know. No one does. But we all seem to have forgotten things, so at least you're not alone in that regard. I will go up and retrieve the pictures, so that we can all look at them again. Perhaps she will remember something we do not. But my room is too small - take her to the library, I'll join you there in a moment."

And with that, Frida turned, placing the violin and bow back in their case and snapping it shut quickly. Then she picked it up and headed off towards Lancaster Dorm, her steps smooth and swift, as if she wanted to put as much distance between herself and the strange woman as possible.

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The twinge in her side didn't help Sylvia's mood one bit. But this girl - this strange and frankly unnatural girl - was lost and hurt and utterly alone. Some instinct took hold, something that could have been mistaken for maternalism, and with an effort, Sylvia managed to calm herself somewhat and even show a bit of softness.

"Alright, Miss... Swan. We aren't going to turn you out on the street. There are a few girls' rooms open in Lancaster; we can let you stay in one of those until we learn more. For now," she said, turning back to face the library, "Miss Ricci has made a request, and given the hour and lack of patrons, I've no reason to deny it." With that, she began leading the little group to the library.

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Sean shrugged and eased Swan towards the Library, keeping his voice low and consoling, hoping the fierce academician wouldn't overhear. "Don't worry about Ms. Dorn, her bark is a lot worse than her bite. She won't hurt you and I- we won't either, I swear. We'll get everything figured out."

He had been willing to offer his mother's house as a place for Swan to stay, but if Ms. Dorn was able to swing her a room at Lancaster, that would probably be better. Denver was an hour away and Swan probably didn't have a car, or at least, didn't remember where it was.

At the threshold of the Library, Swan stiffened with hesitation, but Sean just gave a light chuckle and coaxed her inside. "Nothing scary here, 'cept for the number of books that no one reads. You won't have to worry about any more unexpected company. You shouldn't have to, anyway."

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Jason trailed along at the back of the group keepinh an eye out for any more unexpected people. He was concerned about the behaviour of both Flynn and the nurse. few people on the staff were keen on Flynn and his strange chopping and changing of views was out of character for him, as was the Nurse not immediately calling in the authorities.

Sean and Frida's comments about sketches that Frida had drawn of someone similar to the strange looking Swan did little to ease his mind. Nor did Swan's sudden declaration that she felt that she was surrounded by mortal enemies. As the group made it's way into the library he began to list resources for possible makeshift weapons in the building, although he was unsure whether he might have to use them against Swan or her mysterious attackers.

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It almost felt as if the ground weren't beneath his feet as Everett ran. He could see the group assembled just ahead. Ravi, Sean, Ryan, Jason, the mysterious stranger and others now. As he approached he slowed and ran a hand through his hair. "Hey what's up? I'm back."

Click to reveal..
RL issues are all cleared up. I'm able to post regularly.
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As Jason and then Everett integrated into the little group, Sylvia (whose hand was upon the well-worn handle of the library door) was caught in another moment of deja-vu. An uncanny feeling arose that they'd been together like this before, complete with "Swan" or whoever she really was.

Despite the growing feeling that something was very wrong - and yet also right - she managed a classic Miss Dorn glare at the two latest arrivals.

"'What's up' is that we are going to try and resolve a question about a guest. As you're here, you may as well come along." She pulled open the heavy door, and led the assembled into the faintly musty interior of Dalton's library.

It was a place where the scent and silence told of more books than one could hope to digest in a dozen lifetimes. Row upon row, shelf upon shelf, they stood with dignity, bearing mute witness to countless eager hands and young minds. The hall was empty at this hour on a Friday, and the little group made its way over to a large round table to wait for Frida.

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Swan entered slowly, but she wasn't looking at the table. Her eyes went to the books, her unreal eyes wide. For the first time, she didn't look afraid, but in awe. Slowly, she turned to face them. "Who's house is this? Who could own so many books, or read them all?"

Her hands rose and hovered over the dully colored spines, their bright colors worn away by time and use. She looked past them, her eyes going still wider when she realized that there were more rooms than this one, all full of bookcases. "This must the house of a king!" she murmured gravely.

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Syliva's brow furrowed. Amnesia was all well and good. But amnesia to the degree that it wiped away basic references like libraries was a different matter. Where in the world, she pondered, is this girl from?

"It's not a king's house," she said in a careful voice, trying for compassion. "This is a library: a place where we keep books for everyone's use, so that all of the students at Dalton Academy can have access to them. It helps everyone have an opportunity to learn."

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It's Friday night and I'm in the library, Renata told herself with a mental sigh. What's wrong with this picture? She settled lower in the excessively comfortable chair tucked into a reading nook and pulled her legs up under her. Curled like that, and reclined as far as the wall would her go, she thought she might actually get some sleep.

It was Blaize's fault. Their little roommate's agreement not to burst in on each other was exploding in her face. Over the past week she'd had to camp out in the library three times. It's not that the library was bad. It was a spacious, sprawling building that was dim and silent and empty at this time of night. A perfect place to catch a few hours...er...good night's sleep.

Until she heard people talking. Renata frowned. Was that Professor Dorn? She crept to the bookshelves and peered warily around the corner just a hair to get a glimpse of what's going on.

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After a few long moments of awkward silence as the eerie young woman digested the massive amount of knowledge contained in a single building, and the others waited impatiently, the doors to the library opened and Frida stepped in. She was holding her silver art tube, and she made her way over to a table as everyone gathered around her. Back in her room she had sorted the pictures, glancing through them briefly before rolling them up and packing them in the tube again. So when Frida unrolled the drawings out onto the table, the one that would make the most impact of them was the one she had placed on top. It was, of course, the young woman with them - identical down to the smallest detail, from the trim of the uniform to the black inkyness of her eyes.

Originally Posted By: Frida Ricci
They were done in what appeared to be a combination of pencil and oil pastels, in order to capture the intensity of color differences between skin and eye colors. First was Brihn, followed by her brother Brahn, with their pale skin and black eyes. Then there was the trio from the Ice Cream Social. There was one of the head of Vena's tribe of Amazons, along with eerily accurate drawings of the other ones who had been there. Finally, though with a moment of hesitation, she hung up drawings of Sean's mother and the two girls.

Finally, Frida stepped back, surveying her work. Underneath each drawing, in handwriting so refined it was almost Regency-era (though Sylvia knew that, irritatingly enough, that was what the girl's handwriting looked like all the time), was written an identifier for each person; names for the ones Frida knew, and titles for the ones she didn't. Each drawing was eerily perfect in detail, and looked identical to the actual person, no matter how short a time Frida had observed them for.

Of course, the woman they were all calling "Swan" wasn't the only one in this particular picture. There were three others, all men, standing in an arrowhead formation with the tallest one slightly in the front of the other two, and the black-eyed woman a couple steps away, as if she had been standing near them, but not necessarily in step with them.

Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC
They were all normal-looking enough, wearing modern clothing, but their bearing was odd, eye-catching. They walked arrogantly through the crowd, making no attempt to communicate. Instead, they seemed to be content to look, milling through the crowd.

The flankers were identical, twins by their appearance. They had straight brown hair that was cut to one length and parted down the middle. Their brown eyes and physique didn’t make them stand out, but their swaggers more than made up for their normalcy. The one in the middle was the tallest, with blond-streaked brown hair. His dancing green eyes roved over the crowd, assessing boys and girls alike with a probing, penetrating stare. It wasn’t necessarily sexual, but it was oddly and uncomfortably possessive.

Frida had captured the image immaculately, though the pride and haughtiness of the woman in the picture was a far cry from the huddled, frightened-seeming one that the boys had found that evening. Underneath the top drawing the students and Ms. Dorn could tell there were several other pictures - including, Sean suspected, the ones of his mother and sisters.

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"Is that me?" Swan asked, reaching out to touch the drawing. She seemed to miss the lettering, for she didn't respond to her name written under her image. Her gaze lingered longer on the image of the three, particularly on the men pictured. "I... I do know them. But I don't know who they are. Why is that information denied to me?" She sounded angry and frustrated, and for a moment, she looked more like that image on the page. That moment faded quickly.

"Wow," Mr. Floyd said suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended. "Things just got really freaky. Ma'am?" The last was said to Frida. "Where did you get these drawings?"

Before she could answer, the front door of the library opened again. Only Renata recognized the woman who stalked in at the head of security - the graying blond teacher who had startled her outside of the science annex. "Excuse me," she said softly, her eyes roving over the group, "the guest will have to come with me." Without waiting for an order, the security officers moved around the table, intent on flanking Swan. Their strange guest looked truly afraid as they shifted into position.

Click to reveal..
Depending on responses to this, this may be your last out-of-combat actions. Sadly, Jim's going to be out of town, and Ravi has been really slow to reply, so this may slow down even further. I'll try to keep it rolling without excluding people. Your patience is appreciated.
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Something triggered inside of Sylvia; before she quite knew what she was doing, the teacher was at Swan's side. With a reassuring hand upon the strange girl's arm, she faced the guards.

There was a hint - just a hint - of an audible growl. Not enough to be defined as such really, but combined with the determined look in her eyes, it could set one back on their heels.

"Excuse me," she said in a level but dangerous voice, "but exactly where do you think you are going to take our guest, and for exactly what reason?"

Click to reveal..
Damn Den-Wardens and their damn protective instincts....

Intimidation + Presence + Willpower; this is where the -1 social penalty becomes a bonus instead (humans get nervous around folks like Sylvia).

(09:07:18) ChatBot: (Sylvia) rolls 7d10 and gets 8,6,6,1,10,9,7.

(09:07:24) ChatBot: (Sylvia) rolls 1d10 and gets 2.

Three successes to intimidate the guards. I'm guessing they can throw Composure + Resolve to resist.

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Something similar, but not entirely so, was triggered inside Ravi. There was something interesting here, a mystery that needed unravelling like a ball of tangled yarn. Who was 'Swan', and why did Frida have drawings of her with two similar people? This was interesting - a break from the banal humdrum of life. Admittedly, Ravi's attention span was short enough that two hours spent without flirting with an attractive female qualified as a 'banal humdrum life'.

But now this woman had come in at the cusp of revelation and brought the security team with her. This was also interesting: why the campus security? Why the 'dangerous treatment' the men were giving Swan? And if she really was that dangerous... why not the police?

More importantly, why did the greying woman want Swan to 'come with her'?

"I'm with Ms Dorn here." the tall nobleman said in a soft, malicious purr as he stepped to Swan's other side with a faint smirk on his face. He was angry at the high-handed tone being taken by the older woman before him, which manifested as withering contempt levelled at the interlopers. "As far as I know, Swan hasn't hurt anyone. Quite the opposite, in fact. Is there some good reason for-" he glanced dismissively around at the security guards as they moved to encircle their quarry "-all this drama?"

Click to reveal..

Presence & Intimidaton + 1 for Predator's Bearing + 1 for the same reason as Sylvia wink

1d10=10, 1d10=9, 1d10=4, 1d10=3, 1d10=8, 1d10=10, 1d10=3, 1d10=7

poppin' 10s

1d10=4, 1d10=2

4 succs

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Sean felt his chest tighten with apprehension, like bands of steel, as his stormy gaze fell on Frida's oil and pencil pictures, recognizing them instantly. Under the clear depiction of Swan - who he was beginning to think was hit harder on the head than anyone thought - Sean was sure rested the detailed renderings of his mother and sisters. Somehow, impossible as it was, the female half of his family were connected to the strange black eyed woman, however tenuously.

And the only link was he could see was Frida.

Sean turned the weirdly gothic-but-not-gothic Frida, mouth opening with a question when they were interrupted by security lead by an older woman with greying blond hair. Well, so much for the library being free of unexpected guests.

With a concerned, apologetic shrug for Swan, noting her fearful tension, Sean stepped away from the table they had all crowded around to see Frida's sketches. He glanced at the pictures once more, for a moment itching to swipe the renditions of Vanessa and his sisters before anyone saw them, then put on an easy but firm grin on his handsome face as he focused on the older woman who seemed in charge.

"Oh, sorry Ma'am. Nurse Balinsky has already seen Swan and discharged her into our care," Sean said amicably, nodding at Ravi and Ryan, despite his Bitch-dar tingling. His broad shouldered stance projected a stubborn earnestness. "If she's not supposed to be on campus, well... we were just about to head out anyway." The muscular jock reached into a back pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "We have a pass, see?"

Click to reveal..

Trying to keep it cool, trying to get the Science Teacher of Doom just to let us leave. Relax everyone. laugh

Presence + Persuasion: 5d10.hitsopen(8, 10) = 1 success

Striking Looks, if susceptible: 2d10.hitsopen(8,10) = 1 success for a total of 2 successes.

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Everett did his best to remain casual. He could see this situation degrading right before his eyes. They appeared to be stuck between teachers encompassing opposite ends of the spectrum. There was Ms. Dorn, who Ev could have sworn growled and whoever the hostile new arrival determined on taking Swan into her custody was.

A strange feeling spread from Everett's chest to his limbs as Sean handed the pass to the teacher. He didn't know what the feeling was but he hoped Sean's gambit would appease her and this feeling would subside. It was like his mind was moving a mile a minute. He threw a casual look and wink at Swan. He was almost certain she wouldn't understand the gesture but hoped it would reassure her.

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Frida had glanced up at Mr. Floyd, and been about to respond, when the security detail strode into the library and began making their demands. Doing her best to hide her nervousness - and for once, glad of people's general inability to understand her nature and therefor dismiss her as eccentric and not worth bothering with - Frida rolled up the drawings and placed them back in her tube quietly, sealing it back up and holding on to it for now in case they had to run for it or something. The drawings were precious to Frida now - they felt like her contribution, her piece of the puzzle.

She waited quietly, her gaze focusing for long moments on each of the parties involved in the confrontation. Her eyes studied Ms. Dorn and her uncharacteristic mannerisms, Ravi and his smooth, predatory defensiveness, Sean and his valiant attempt at placation. Almost distractedly, and quite a bit belatedly, she even answered Mr. Floyd's question, her murmur to him very faint.

"They're mine. I drew them, I can tell. Even if I don't remember it."

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"This woman is dangerous," the teacher said. Her cold gaze leveled on Sylvia. "She's killed before, and we should get her into custody before she remembers that and repeats her herself."

"I have not!" Swan cried, but there was a heart-rending doubt in her voice. "Why would I kill anyone?"

"Rwen," the woman said sharply and Swan jerked as if touched by a hot wire. "You will come with us."

Swan shook her head, but froze. As a security guard grabbed at her, she started to cry, but didn't try to move away.

Click to reveal..
Initative everyone. This shit just got real.
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When his hand connected with her arm, Swan's demeanour changed. She twisted to the side and brought her elbow up into his nose. As the guard staggered back, Swan ducked back, toward Sean.

"Don't let them take me!" she cried, her voice tense with fear.

Click to reveal..
Swan's attack: 1 sux, 1 bashing damage

Renata, you're up - giving you until Monday evening to post.

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