Archive World of Darkness: The Academy - Chapter 8b: Books Are For Nerds

[Dawn OOC]

"If there are effigies," Brihn said as Ravi and her brother left, "then you'll need a plan to get them back from her. One for each of you."

"Including Swan?" Sean asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No, she is Caramine," Brihn said. "So long as the witch knew her Calling Name, she can do to her as she pleases. Though I'm not sure how she could have it, as Caramine do not share with just anyone."

"So how do we protect Swan?" Sean asked, getting agitated.

"You have to... wait," Brihn stopped, looking thoughtful. "You say Pritchard has been demanding Swan be turned over to her?"

"Yeah."

"With her Calling Name, she should be able to force her to do as she wishes," the strange woman said. "The fact that she can't is... very interesting."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean found his first known experience with magic to be rather... anticlimactic. Sure, Brahn's inflections gave him gooseflesh, but there was no sparks or glows, lightning flashes, no rumbles of thunder or truly unearthly voices, nothing... magical. Just some ribbon on the ground and then Brahn just claims, 'It's an effigy.' Sean was expecting... more.

But now they knew there were effigies of each of them, Ravi had certainly seemed to think what ever the hell Brahn had done had worked. Guess we'll have to make sure we dispose of our nail clippers and shit - they use stuff like that in voodoo dolls, right?

Swan and her Calling Name was just as much a concern as the effigies, although... The boy who ain't, the one in transition... "Um, making being so long away from where she comes from , or being here too long is changing Swan someway. Like... I dunno, something like a suntan, but deeper, eh? Enough that her Calling Name or whatever is changing too. That make sense?"

Or maybe, calling her something new, and her keeping the new name instead of her old one is doing it.

Brahn and Brihn considered Swan anew, then shared a look. Brahn shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps. It is unknown to us."

Keeping his hand on Swan's shoulder, Sean looked around at the others. "Okay, so Bitchard has effigies for most of us. How do we find them?" Sean glanced over at the Lheskian siblings again, then down at a Swan, giving her a smile and a comforting squeeze. She had known about golems, maybe something else would pop out - not that he wanted to force anything of course. If Swan wanted to leave her old life behind, Sean would do what he could to help.

"The effigies, they are connections to, uh, us, right? So can we backtrack that connection somehow?"

[Atomicweasel]

“We were just there.” Mari answered sensibly.

Renata blinked and stared numbly at Mari for a moment. “Well, it’s still way too lame in here. So. Come outside with me. Here, help me carry these.” Renata pushed the books into Mari’s arms as the lissome little teen rose uncertainly from her seat.

“I don’t want Ravi to think we’re spying on him.” Mari’s pointed protest fell on deaf ears. Renata took her by the elbow and guided her toward the rear of the building through the studio into the back hallway, ignoring the subtle reproach.

“Where you goin’?” Sean asked behind a frustrated sigh. Mari could only shrug back at him beneath her load of books.

“Just text me when you’re done with all the hocus pocus shit.” Renata called back over her shoulder. She pulled Mari down the hall and out through a side door to a little garden overlooking the woods. There were three stone benches, worn with age and the countless behinds of young art-students trying to paint or sketch the perfect Dalton landscape. Red and golden leaves littered the ground by the benches and crunched lightly under the girls’ feet.

Renata guided Mari to the middle bench, brushed some dirt away with her hand and sat. “You can just put those down there.” Renata waved vaguely.

Mari made a neat stack of the books and set them down on the edge of the bench, then took her seat next to Renata. She looked out past the garden at the trees, resplendent in the colors of fall, the leaves and branches outlined by the sullen orange light of the sun as it sunk through cottony clouds and began to dip behind the snow-capped Colorado mountains.

“It’s beautiful here.” Mari announced.

“Yeah,” Renata wasn’t looking at the trees or the cloud shrouded mountain tops. Renata was looking at Mari’s face, studying the gentle slope of her nose in profile, the curve of her lips—there was something sensual about the bruise that still marked the lower lip—the glossy brown hair that tumbled past Mari’s shoulders, the shifting hazel of her eyes. “it is...listen, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yeah?”

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Ravi and Brahn had come back in after barely two minutes had passed, Ravi resuming his seat in silence after noting both Mari and Renata's disappearance. For a few moments his manner was preoccupied and his dark features still, eyes gazing into the middle-distance. He'd remained quiet through the brief conversation, but at Sean's suggestion he stirred, green-gold eyes looking up at Brahn.

"In addition, how do we disarm them?" he added his own question to Sean's. "Is it a simple matter of destroying them, or do we need to take more exotic measures?" An idea occurred to him, and he paused to explore it.

"You found this in the Pritchard woman's office, right?" he asked Ryan. When the other nodded, Ravi pressed "And there were no others?"

"No, man. I didn't see any." Ryan responded. The gleam of the light as it caught in Ravi's eyes was subtly jarring: the green iridescence was a visible reminder of the changes his friend had undergone. If he hadn't known about it, he might have missed the significance, but it was hard to ignore that padding back and forth behind the smooth symmetry of that face, looking out on the world through those eyes, was a beast that was also Ravi FitzCoventry.

"Maybe she has them in her quarters, then. Wherever she lives." Ravi suggested, turning a questioning gaze on the others present. "For all we know, perhaps she has a special place she uses for doing her voodoo. But first things first: Can you disarm that thing?" he pointed at the effigy in Brahn's hand.

"Oh, and someone please tell me that Renata hasn't dragged Mari off to confront Pritchard or go play Nancy Drew." he said with a certain dryness to his tone.

[Sylvia Dorn]

(Continued from 8c: "Shh.. We're Hunting Wrascally Pwritchawrds!")

And then, as the conference tried to deal with how best to thwart a witch, Sean's phone bleeped with the tell-tale notice of incoming text. A glance confirmed both the sender - Ms. Dorn - and the message.

Code:

I'm at the library.  Where are you?

[Dawn OOC]

"I know that I can do it in my laboratory," Brahn said.

"But here, we're not sure what purifying agents to use," Brihn added, as if finishing his thought. There was a chance that she was doing exactly that.

"With Beckett's spell book missing," Brahn added, "we're not sure what reagents will nullify the effigies."

"We need one of your world's practitioners," Brihn said, her eyes on the little doll. "Do any of you know witches who would be on your side?"

[SalmonMax]

In the movie in Renata's head, she didn't reply. Instead the music swelled as she leaned forward to gently press her lips against Mari's, while a storm of pink petals parted around them, carried on the breeze...

Unfortuately, in the real world, Ren's cheeks flamed as she abruptly wondered what she was saying, and how to get out of this. Inspiration struck!

"The library!" Ren blurted, then cleared her throat and said more conversationally, "That is...I want to apologize for what happened. Me... I came to the library to find you and overheard you talking but by the time I got there...you guys had other ideas for what to do with your mouths, so I backed the hell off. I should have left, I know, or said something...I just wasn't thinking right in the moment."

She sighed. "I'm really sorry."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"Uh... none that I know of. Sure, there's some we call witches-" Sean began in reply to Brihn, to be interrupted by his phone buzzing.

Pulling it out of his pocket, he grunted - it was a text. He must've been the only teen who didn't care for texts - he didn't see why people just didn't call. Plus, his phone sucked for making texts. Painstakingly, he tapped out a reply.

Code:

Sorry Ms. Dorn. Back in Art Room. Trying to break Pritchard's Voodoo magic.

Sean was going to try to type out a bit more, but just hit send when a name Brahn mentioned popped out at him. "Uh, wait, Beckett? You mean, Jason Beckett, the groundskeeper?"

[Dawn OOC]

"No, his grandfather," Brahn replied. "We taught him some of our magic and he adapted it to work with this world. Why is your small box beeping?"

"That is one of their communication boxes," Brihn said, smiling. "They can send their voices over the air, or words over the air. Like the whispered spell."

"But they need to box to work it?" Brahn asked, looking confused.

"Apparently," Brihn replied.

[Ryan Jackson]

"Hey! What makes a witch a witch?" Everybody looked up and saw Ryan dangling from one of the overhead rafters in the double high ceiling. He shrugged his shoulders, "What it's a legitimate question." They continued to stare. "What?! I was bored, you guys were all yapping away like chihuahuas, so I found something to do. Sue me for having a short attention span, blame MTV."

Brahn merely smiled his mysterious smile, the one Ryan usually saw after getting a year of his life scared away. "A witch," he said, "is someone who uses the natural magic of his world rather than the mechanical magic which you are all adept with."

At his side Brihn added, "Is there anyone who seems very lucky around here? Sometimes, luck is a sign of a spellcaster. Or animals born with two heads." Her demeanor was likewise mysterious, still almost, as though standing apart from the world somehow.

Ryan groaned in reply, "Yeah, two headed animals, got some in my dorm. Totally." His voice was laden with sarcasm. "Coming down!" He dropped from the rafter in a flip and landed in a roll ending standing next to Sean. "Seriously, somebody lucky? Who also happens to be a filthy hippy or some shit? That narrows it down ... none."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Well, that's just fucking marvellous." Ravi stood and began to pace, his agitation causing his personal space to extend by several feet. The werepanther's voice was underscored by a low growl that hovered almost on the subsonic, like a bass rumble to his words. "That bloody dried-up witch is running around with the equivalent of a loaded gun pointed at all our heads, and we don't know where the other effigies are or even how to disarm them. There's an otherworldly threat from people that feel they're entitled to come here and enslave us, and we can't even get organised because we're too busy chasing our tails trying to get the local authorities off our backs. One of the board of the academy happens to smell like a walking corpse. How the fuck do we know that Pritchard and Reaver aren't working for the enemy here?" He whirled to face the others, and from the feral gleam in his eye it was fairly obvious that the usually smooth and unruffled nobleman was reaching the end of a burning fuse.

"On top of everything else, I killed a man being mind controlled by Pritchard. Let's say that together. Mind controlled. She took control of a flesh and blood man and got him killed. And that blasted twit Hodges thinks that we should work with that woman?" There were hints of moisture in Ravi's shimmering eyes, clues that he wasn't quite as insouciant about the deaths as he pretended, but he blinked them back and carried on. "If she hadn't been playing 'Mother knows best' and erasing our memories left and right, maybe last night wouldn't have happened. Maybe I've changed before, but I didn't remember because of that bloody woman's meddling-" he paused, then shrugged. "Okay, maybe not. She was shocked out of her skin when she saw me start to change. I remember that clearly - she wasn't expecting it. But still, she's got her claws in everything that's gone wrong so far. If Sylvia and Frida don't have any luck with diplomacy, I say we track down her hidey-holes, steal every trinket and effigy the old weasel has stored, and then when she's de-fanged we grab the old bitch and shake her like the rodent she is till her false teeth rattle!"

[Frida Ricci]

Frida stepped into the room quietly as Ravi spoke - while his enhanced senses heard the sound, they also caught Frida's scent. To everyone else she entered too quietly to notice, and it wasn't until Ravi had finished his rant that she spoke, startling most of the others with her presence.

"I would consider diplomacy to be a failed experiment."

She was upset. Most of them wouldn't be able to notice - it was little clues, a tenseness in the muscles and a strangeness in her gaze. Nothing likely to alert any of those present, save Ravi. Any change of behavioral pattern in Frida normally went unnoticed by those around her, her parents being the exception. Most people just chalked it up to weirdness. But he could smell the distress, the undercurrent of fear radiating off of the young artist. He could sense the tenseness, knew that were he to reach out and touch her she would probably jump. Unlike the innocent, emotive Mari, Frida didn't run to his side for help or comfort or reassurance - even though she desperately needed it. She just wasn't used to relying on anyone else for such things, it didn't come naturally to someone so introverted.

"She is unreasonable, in a rather fundamentalist manner. She says she believes she is doing what is right, and that I can disagree with her all I'd like but she will handle the situation how she pleases. She refused to answer most of Ms. Dorn's questions.. although the conversation wasn't completely un-educational."

She briefed them what she and Sylvia had learned - the parts about Wilbur Dalton, about how he refused to pay tribute to the Caramines when they first came through the gate. About how he prepared a group of the students - the same "Young Adventurer's Club" the others had discovered - to deal with them when they returned, and how apparently twelve students had died, including several who hadn't been involved at all.

She trailed off briefly as she thought of Sherry, knowing she must have been one of the twelve, wondering if she had been part of the "Young Adventurer's Club" that both Pritchard and Sean had mentioned. There was a long silence before Sean chimed up, oblivious to Frida's internal turmoil and impatient from the interruption.

"Frida?"

She jumped slightly, eyes widening briefly before focusing back on Sean. She cleared her throat slightly in embarrassment, but continued speaking.

"Sorry. She claims it's war. Perhaps she's right, I don't know. But she seems unwilling to compromise, or to listen to reason regarding Swan here, or any other otherworldly visitors. She says they will all be killed. Her goal is to close the door permanently. And now, to figure out how to deal with these abilities we seem to have developed. And she will do whatever she feels she must to do so."

She left out the conversation she'd had with Sherry.. she hadn't really told Frida anything that she didn't already know. She wanted details. How did people die? What had the club, and Wilbur Dalton, done to try and stop them? Why did they fail? Why did the Caramines harvest people? These were the answers Frida wanted... and so far neither the living nor the dead seemed to be able to provide them.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean listened to Ravi and Frida - giving the girl a grin as she joined them - his eyes darkening. It didn't seem like reasoning with Pritchard was going to be feasible, but being such a bitch, they should have expected that. When Frida ran down her info dump, Sean shook his head, his eyes going from Brahn and back to Frida, her gaze wide and distant.

"Brahn, didn't you say the Doors can't be closed forever? Erm, 'pressure' or whatever will force them open again, maybe in another place? And not all of us have developed these 'abilities' or whatever." Sean stood up from his slouch against the wall, and began pacing to work off some agitation.

"Okay, so we definitely need to get our hands on these magical doohickeys. Seems like we have two options to disable them. Either go to Brahn's Lab or see if Jason has his grandfather's... spellbook laying around and with his memory wiped, doesn't realize what it is. Oh, and Ms. Dorn just texted me, she'll be here soon, maybe have more to say about Pritchard."

Sean focused on Ravi, giving him a shake of his head. "As for Bitchard... fuck 'er. We get these effigies - and considerin' how much effort it's takin' to break 'em, she can't replace 'em quick - she's de-fanged as you say. I wouldn't trust a word she says. Brahn gave us another option to find out more about the Caramines and what they want.

He said these Chiderans resisted them and leafing through the Adventurer's stories, looks like they were known to the Daltonites too. So why don't we go ask them about this?" Sean's mouth tightened, his gaze going inward, his voice dropping. "I think my mother is one of the Chiderans and I think she took my sisters back there. I can't contact my Dad, but she was around when all this shit happened, she could tell us."

Stormy eyes of greyish-blue sharped as the muscular young man focused on Brahn and Brihn. "Unless you can tell us what the Caramines want, what they're looking for, what the Harvest is for."

[Sylvia Dorn]

"I think that would be an excellent idea," Sylvia said as she stalked into the room.

"Pritchard was less than forthcoming with the details," she explained, looking around until her eyes focused on Frida. "Though I'm sure Miss Ricci has given you an account of the conversation."

Her stalking never quite stopped; instead of heading for a chair, the teacher settled into pacing.

"We also need to get Swan someplace safe. A very clear and deadly threat has been levied against her by Pritchard. Frankly, I think we need to find the Door, as well as whatever key will take her someplace safe." Eyes with an uncanny reflective nature turned to the two ebon-eyed aliens. "So as Sean said, this is where you come in. We need information and a travel plan, and quickly."

[Atomicweasel]

“Don’t worry about it.” Mari tilted forward, her legs bent back under the bench as if she was going to launch herself. She leaned into the breeze and the wind shot through her hair and mussed it across her face, half-hiding a faint-blush. The memory of that secret library kiss sparked a dozen other images and they paraded through Mari’s mind in a jumble as she sat on the stone bench beside her friend and gazed out over the Rockies and wondered what was real and what wasn’t. Ravi stretching out on the couch in the study lounge. Ravi taking his shirt off at soccer practice and passing it to her, like a trophy. Ravi chasing her through the woods. Ravi gazing into her eyes like he wanted to lose himself in her. Ravi biting her lip at the movie. Ravi menacing and terrible and pouncing. Slavering. Wild. Murder written in green and gold.

This is the most messed up weekend ever. Mari concluded. She glanced at Renata, who was looking at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something more.

“It’s no big deal.” Mari managed to add.

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[SalmonMax]

The look that Renata was giving her wasn't expectant; it was enraptured. Maybe it was the wind playing with her hair, or a trick of the light across her features, but for a moment Mari's beauty struck Renata like an ogre armed with a telephone pole. She was shell shocked. And, as always, that resigned slithery voice in her brain started to whisper, Too bad it'll never happen. Not for you. Not with her.

But this time something else awoke within her...something that she hadn't felt in a long time. Something that said, I'm not giving up. The thought was quiet and serious and firm...and Ren felt the words searing into her. Like iron transforming into a magnet, she felt the mismatched pieces of herself line up and pull together and become something greater than the sum of their parts. She could only be pushed so far before there was nothing left to do but push back. She could only live in fear so long before there was simply no fear left to feel.

Even looking at Mari was different now. Where before she'd felt empty longing, now she felt determination. She was going to fight. She was going to pull out all the stops. And if Mari went with someone else in the end, it was going to hurt like a motherfucking bitch...and she would survive.

Unaware of the content of Renata's mind and heart, Mari offered her reassurance and blinked as a grin spread over Renata's face. It was somehow more...honest than usual, without a trace of sarcasm or smirk. It was open, and it was joyous, and it was beautiful.

"You know," Ren said to Mari. "I don't have a lot of experience with good friends, or people being nice to me, believe it or not." Her smile turned up at the corners, a self-deprecating roll of her eyes suggested she knew of no good reason not to believe it. "So...thanks. I owe you."

She stretched and looked left and right to make her neck pop. "Want to go back in, or head out? I'm kinda worried we'll miss the secret of the universe if we don't make another appearance."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean watched Ms. Dorn pace around the Art-Room like a stalking animal - it was a little menacing. It was sort of like when she gave you that look when you haven't gotten your homework done and you only had a lame excuse for why, only the menacing part came from watching her, not her watching you.

"Uh, Ms. Dorn, Brahn already told us where the Door was," Sean said, standing straighter as green eyes were leveled upon him. "It's in the store-room in the attic of Lancaster House. And... we know a Key, the Key for the Chiderans. Well, we know two Keys, we also the Key to get back home." Sean told Ms. Dorn what the Keys were then nodded at the Lheskians. "They've said the Chiderans held off the Caramines. They should be able to hold a single Witch if they want to, right?"

And I want answers from my Mother... Did she already give me answers that Bitchard made me forget?

Click to reveal.. (Keys)

Chideran World: A piece of Leather Thong and something shaped like an Arrowhead

Dalton: A White Feather and a piece of Paper with thoughts written on it

[Sylvia Dorn]

Sylvia smiled. It wasn't entirely pleasant; there was a hint of something more than just a thirty-something teacher involved in those curved lips.

"Then we have a potential destination. Brahn, you've been to that world apparently. What sort of reception can we expect - particularly with Swan in tow?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

When Ms Dorn had entered the room and started her own pacing, Ravi had fought back the faint rumble he'd felt in his chest and sat down, folding his arms across his chest as he sat back and listened to the planning unfold.

And watched Sylvia.

It wasn't an apprehensive look that shimmered in the younger werepanther's gaze. Nor was it challenging or hostile. The well-shaped planes of his face darkly impassive, the most apt description as he watched Ms Dorn stalk with predatory smoothness back and forth was appraising. Appraising her for what, with what in mind - now that was the mystery.

As Sean added his opinion Ravi nodded agreement, without taking his eyes from Sylvia.

"We have the effigy Pritchard made of me, thanks to Ryan. We can either hunt down the others now, before she has time to relocate them, or we can explore our other options." He unfolded his arms and stretched as he stood, fingers flexing as they reached for the ceiling. "I'm inclined to say lets go and meet with these Chiderans, personally. Let Pritchard wonder what we're up to, let her fret. If we keep chasing her, we're reacting rather than acting, and she can call the tune. Lets make her chase us instead."

[Dawn OOC]

Originally Posted By: Sylvia Dorn

"Then we have a potential destination. Brahn, you've been to that world apparently. What sort of reception can we expect - particularly with Swan in tow?"

Brahn was quiet for a moment. "Let it be a measure of the hatred against the Caramine and not the irrationality of the Chideran when I say that they would kill her on the spot."

"Perhaps if she were a prisoner, or appeared to be," Brihn advised. "If she appeared to be under your control they would not hurt her."

[Sylvia Dorn]

A frown devoured Sylvia's smile. "I take it there's no good way to explain to them that Swan is essentially a defector?"

Sighing, she asked, "Is there someplace we can take her? Someplace where she won't be shot on sight or hauled back to the Caramine? Because our options for keeping her safe here are pretty limited so long as there's a concerted effort by Pritchard - and presumably the rest of the Board - to see her killed."

[Dawn OOC]

"You might be able to convince the Chiderans that she is a defector," Brihn clarified, "but they might attempt to kill her before you could explain. That is why I made my suggestion."

"Again, it is a sign of how hated the Caramine are," Brahn said.

[Atomicweasel]

“Sure, let’s head back in.” Mari agreed with a warm smile. She stood up off the stone bench and pushed herself up into a stretch of her own, twining her hands behind her head and raising her arms up straight and lifting onto her tiptoes. She finished with a little yawn and turned to follow Renata back into the Arts building.

“And you don’t owe me anything.” Mari assured Renata with a laugh. “Especially not for being your friend.” The two girls came strolling back to the mural room where they found Ms. Dorn and Frida amongst the others.

“Oh. Hey.” Mari greeted them.

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Ravi glanced over as the two girls came back in, smiling a little at Mari's breezy greeting to the others. As she came back to sit by him, Renata in tow, he glanced at Swan consideringly.

"We cannot leave you here with no-one to look after you and you not having the memories you need to defend yourself." He began, glancing from her to Sean and back again as he went on "Would you be willing to act as a servant, a prisoner indentured to one of us? Sean perhaps, since he has been taking care of you so far." Ravi's lips quirked wryly as he considered that the muscular athlete probably was equal parts intrigued and gentlemanly outrage at the thought of Swan serving him.

"Naturally, it will be a ruse, but one that will let us take you with us on our travels to meet with these Chiderans. Is it acceptable to you?"

[SalmonMax]

"Travels to meet the what-who-dens?" Renata asks as she plops down in the seat on the opposite side of Mari from Ravi. "Someone fill us in."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean quietly seethed. After everything Swan had been through, the idea of asking her to let herself be bound or whatever and possibly risk her life so they could talk to the Chiderans - his Mother - struck a deep nerve. He knew Brahn was just telling them what they could expect and was giving a pragmatic suggestion, but still, it came off cold. His hand tightened into a tight fist at his side as he took a protective step closer to Swan.

Sean was about to tell Brahn where he could shove his suggestion, when Ravi offered his counter-proposal. It was still a leery idea, but was marginally less disturbing than the original one. Sean looked down at Swan and took her hand, stormy eyes meeting her solid black ones directly.

"We don't have to do this, if you don't want, Swan. We can find another way, and we still have other things to deal with too. The Chiderans aren't our only options. But if you agree, I'll do everythin' I can to keep you safe, I swear."

Before Swan could respond, Mari and Renata trooped back in, Renata demanding a recap. Still irritated with having to ask Swan for more after she already lost so much, Sean answered unthinking.

"Then you shoulda stuck around!" the thickly muscled athlete snapped before he could bite it back. Instantly, a bashful expression crossed his handsome features as he ran a hand through his raven-dark hair. "Sorry, sorry!" he apologized honestly. "Just a lot's happened."

He began ticking points off on his fingers. "The effigy-voodoo dolls are linked to us. Brahn can't disarm 'em without going to his lab or with a spellbook we're not even sure Jason Beckett knows about. Oh, I'm not sure, but I get the impression that just breakin' the damn things will work. We don't know where the things are. Pritchard isn't going to compromise and she's a danger to Swan."

He began counting on the other hand. "We do know where the Door is and have the Key for another world - and our own. The Chiderans have resisted the Caramines and might be able to help us. I'm pretty sure my mother is a Chideran and that is were she went. We're plannin' on tryin' to go talk to the Chiderans because my mother was here durin' the previous, uh, invasion and can tell us more and to get Swan away from Pritchard's clutches."

Sean took a deep breath, then stretched his back before giving Renata and Mari a crooked grin. "Now you're up to date, more or less."

[SalmonMax]

Renata took her time digesting that, her eyes focused on the windows behind Sean.

I don't get it...why are they all so totally devoted to Swan? Sean at least, she thought, might actually have a thing for her. But that didn't explain anyone else. She could see giving her the benefit of the doubt, even though she herself was more cautious. There was a difference between giving a stranger the benefit of the doubt, and following her into another dimension.

Thinking about Swan, something occurred to her.

"Swan's lost her memory," Ren muses, "does that mean Pritchard has a doll of her too? I wonder how she swung that."

Then she shrugged. "I think we should read these things before we go visiting worlds. Who knows if they're friendly?" Ren gave Sean a nod. "Your mom might even be one...but that'd mean she left. She could be a criminal or an exile or something."

She tapped the pile of adventure logs. "This is where I think we should start."

[Dawn OOC]

"I will play Sean's servant, if it will help," Swan said. Her expression wasn't entirely happy, but she was at least willing to do what was needed. "What will I need?"

"You can wear a collar," Brihn said. "The Caramine use those to denote slave status; if you have one, it will mean that you are not acting on your own. That will buy enough time for Sean to explain the truth of your presence to the Chiderans."

She glanced at them. "Do any of you own a collar?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Not currently." Ravi said dryly, then mock-stared at Sean and Ryan. "Especially, and I wish to make this plain, one with a little bell on it." His lips quirked in a smile, and he sat back in his chair once more, glancing past Mari at Renata and nodding her way.

"I agree with Hodges: it would be daft to go blundering into other worlds when there might be something useful in those journals. We should at least examine them for anything about the Chiderans. Consulting a guidebook is a good idea even if you're just going to another country: going to another world entirely... well that just raises the importance of good preparation." His gleaming, too-reflective eyes came to rest on Renata as he spoke, holding her gaze for a moment before looking at the others.

"Let's do it this way: we stay here for a little bit and learn what we can about these Chiderans. With all of us together, and Brihn and Brahn advising, we should be able to go through what's available swiftly. Then we go and gather what we need for travelling - clothing, food, tools, and a collar for Swan's disguise. We move around in at least groups of three - too large for Pritchard or Reaver to easily contain - and then we meet up again later. And we go exploring." He looked around at their faces. "Does that sound like a plan?"

[Sylvia Dorn]

"I'd say so," Sylvia offered. "I'd frankly like a look at these journals myself. I take it you really hit paydirt at the library."

She stepped over to peer at the stack of paper Renata was indicating, and finally reached out to pick up one and start reading. After a moment, she muttered to nobody in particular, "Needs an editor...."

[SalmonMax]

Renata started shuffling through them as well, separating out stories by her dad, and stories by Ravi's dad. After a few minutes of sorting she offers a few to Mari.

"Feel like a little light reading?"

Then she was all business again, looking around at the others.

"One other thing we can do...call our folks. I mean, if they went through all this and got out alive, they must know at least SOME stuff, right?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean started looking through the folios, looking for anything written by his father. If his mother really was a Chideran, it stood to reason his Dad had written the most about them and besides... it was his Dad.

Following Renata's comment, Sean self-consciously shrugged a broad shoulder, his grin twisting wryly. "Yeah, I s'spect my parents know plenty. But Vanessa's on the other side of the Door, as far as I can tell, and Dad went to Venice with his girlfriend, so he's out of reach."

The handsome, muscular jock sighed as he leafed through the adventures of the Young Adventurer's Club. "I suppose I could shoot 'im an e-mail, in case he ever bothers to look at it... Shit, I should probably say something to Blaize too, she's Candi's sister."

He saw the looks turned his way. "Yes, yes, I know, Dad's girlfriend is called Candi - at her insistence - let's just move on, eh?"

[Ryan Jackson]

Originally Posted By: Ravi FitzCoventry

"Let's do it this way: we stay here for a little bit and learn what we can about these Chiderans. With all of us together, and Brihn and Brahn advising, we should be able to go through what's available swiftly. Then we go and gather what we need for travelling - clothing, food, tools, and a collar for Swan's disguise. We move around in at least groups of three - too large for Pritchard or Reaver to easily contain - and then we meet up again later. And we go exploring." He looked around at their faces. "Does that sound like a plan?"

"No. That's sounds boring as fuck." Ryan had been quiet, clambering around the room like a jungle gym but now he made for the door. "No fucking way am I sitting here reading some moldy old crap just because your parents wrote it back in the fuckin' day. Guess what people, shit changes, and in thirty odd years it changes a lot, notice the lack of bell bottoms or polyester in our wardrobes. Anything that's in there is thirty years old and about as accurate as peeing in the wind. I'm outta here." He stopped at the door, "I learn by doing, and anybody who wants to come with is welcome to do so."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

He cocked an eyebrow up at Ryan's outburst, then shrugged as the restless athlete stopped by the door.

"Suit yourself." he said smoothly, picking up the first journal on the pile before Mari. "I'm not much of a bookworm myself, but I'd at least like to know if there's any dangerous taboos 'over there' before we end up neck deep." He grinned at Ryan. "You want to dash off and be the appetiser, sold into slavery, or ritualistically killed for being the wrong star sign that's up to you."

With that, he flipped open the book and started to skim through the contents, looking for anything to do with Chiderans and Sean's father's girlfriend/ future-wife Vena. Green eyes ran over the pages searching for a key word or phrase, and when he finished the first book he reached for another.

Click to reveal..

Research roll:

Int + Academics roll

1d10=2, 1d10=6, 1d10=3, 1d10=8

1 sux

[Sylvia Dorn]

"Ryan, hold up."

It was an odd mix between Ms. Dorn's "command voice" and something considerably more caring, and that in and of itself was worth noting.

"The last time someone went off on their own in this, it was Lucia Blake. She wound up stuck in another world for a while before she could find her way back.

"I know how you prefer to learn. I've certainly watched you skip enough physics classes to go do your own experiments with velocity and gravity on, above and around the general campus." A trace of playful scorn quirked her eyebrows. "But in this case, that method of learning can quite literally leave you stranded a world away."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"Dude! You think I want to read this stuff?" Sean called out after him, slapping at the sheaves of paper with the back of his hand. "I feel like I'm lookin' at my Dad's old, fuckin' porno-mags! Sorry, ladies," Sean quickly apologized, turning towards the women before glancing back at Ryan lingering by the door.

"Yeah, some stuff will have changed, and some stuff won't've. I don't much about the taboos and culture stuff, I just wanna know what, uh, 'Chidera' is like so I can pack for it. Is it mountainy or deserty or foresty or wintery or what? In movies and books and stuff, Faerie-land doesn't really have seasons, right? So what's written here, about what the place is like should still mean something, eh?"

Sean picked up one of the folios and started leafing towards his father's story. "Besides, it ain't gonna take long, we're just lookin' for keywords, then skimmin' 'em. Just give us a few minutes, bud. Going through as a team is better than one at a time." Sean nodded at Ms. Dorn. "Like Lucia did." He nodded at Mari and Renata. "Or even so we don't hafta go through things again."

Click to reveal.. (If Needed)

Research Roll (Int + Academics), if needed: 3d10.hitsopen(8,10 )= 1 success

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan's jaw dropped and he slapped his palm into his face in exaggerated disbelief. "Didn't say I was gonna go traipsing about through tha door now did I? That one of your kitty based super powers? Jumping to conclusions?" Ryan shook his head, "If you really wanna know, don' waste your time with thirty year old crap written for a lame magazine, call your folks and ask them. Duh. Anyways, I'm out, y'all got my cell if ya need it." Ryan slipped out the door quietly, almost like a ghost and was outside in a matter of minutes crossing the quad in long strides that ate up ground with remarkable speed.

Continue to follow Ryan's adventure in Ryan's Derring-Do...

[SalmonMax]

Renata started 'air drumming,' moving her hands in the air as if playing a drum set. As she played, she started saying, "Douche douche douche douche," in a steady rhythm, making a bass beat.

After a few seconds of that she grabbed another handful of books.

"I'm taking these back to my room to read. Sitting here, everyone talking, it's making my urge to grab a rifle and find a bell tower spike dangerously high. Lets meet for breakfast tomorrow and we can share what we learned."

[Atomicweasel]

Seated next to Ravi, Mari made an effort to keep the emotions off her face. She didn’t roll her eyes impatiently at Ryan’s posturing. She only faintly blushed at Sean’s comparison, flipping through the book she’d taken from the pile and sending a puzzled glance his way. I don’t get it. She thought, but did not say. There was nothing pornographic about the books that she could see. Mari’s resolve was most sorely tested by Renata’s douche song. She had to curl her toes tight into her sneakers and raise a hand to her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. The mirth reached her eyes and sparkled there, but Mari didn’t want to celebrate or encourage Renata, even though a cruel and unchristian part of her wanted to loudly fall in tune with the cadence and message of the invisible drums, oh my God, I know, right!?

“Bye, Ren.” Mari looked up and carefully dropped her hand from a tight little smile. Don’t shoot anyone.

Mari turned back to her book and slowly turned the pages, reading through the accounts of the Young Adventurer’s Club. As she read, she fidgeted. Her thighs brushed together under the table and another unchristian thought popped into her head.

“So...do you wanna go back to the library?” Mari asked Ravi innocently.

__________________

Height: 5'1", Weight: 102 lbs, Hair: Dark brown, Eyes: Hazel, Striking looks 4, Dexterity 4, Presence 4

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Mmmhmm. Fine idea. The seating there is certainly more comfortable." He answered as he glanced up from the page he was running his gaze down and looked sideways at Mari, gleaming emerald meeting soft hazel as his lips curved upwards very slightly. That faint smile was warm and inviting and ever-so-slightly wicked, as though he knew what she was thinking. Mari fought the urge to blush and grin, instead biting her lip and dropping her eyes with artless coquetry to Ravi's chest. That didn't help overmuch - white lettering on the t-shirt proclaimed proudly that "Your Daughter Is In Safe Hands", which merely caused her to dwell on what it was like, being in Ravi's hands...

In truth, it wasn't much of a choice for Ravi, either. Privacy and a comfy couch shared with Mari somewhere in the library vs hard plastic chairs and a reading circle was no contest. He glanced at the others and made up his mind, scooping up a handful of the journals in one hand and taking Mari's hand in the other as he stood.

"Study date." he casually announced in a sing-song voice as he headed for the door, waving the appropriated notebooks in the air and gently tugging the lovely teen along behind him as she fought the urge to blush crimson and giggle. "We'll read through these, then check out a few more." He let go of Mari's hand long enough to open the door for her with a flourish, grinning over his shoulder at the others. "Text us when you're done here, and we'll talk over our findings over lunch. Studying always makes me hungry." A final insouciant flash of strong white teeth in a tanned face and they were gone.

"This is better." Ravi sighed. Through unconscious agreement they'd steered towards that familiar reading nook where they'd first met, and now the lean youth was relaxing into the comfortable couch, head tilted back to catch the sunlight from the window on his face and gorgeous eyes smiling at Mari as she sat beside him.

"It is." Mari replied, suddenly a little shy now that she had him all to herself. Her slender fingers were twined around his strong brown ones, his clasp on them gentle and warming. She had a flash of the other night: that Kurt guy crying as these same fingers were strangling him, Ravi's eyes shining like balefire, and she shivered. Growing up where she had, she'd seen tough guys. At least, she'd seen guys who presented themselves as tough guys - swaggering and posing, catcalling as she walked past even though they were five years or more older than her, the skeezes. Ravi didn't look like them, didn't act like them, and he certainly didn't talk like them. There was something about him though as he half-sat, half-lay on the couch beside her basking in the sun. He radiated contentment and pleasure at her company, and looked as though some romance novel cover artist had thrown him there for a still-life, but there was a feeling of something else about him, a ferocious core that had been unmasked and now couldn't be covered up. Maybe he and the beast were one... But he could control it. She'd seen him stop mid-pounce. He didn't have to be a monster.

"Cold?" Ravi asked, mistaking Mari's shiver. She smiled and shook her head at him, but didn't protest when he curled a long arm around her shoulders and snugged her close to him. Mari got comfortable against him as picked up a book and picked up where he'd left off, but made no move herself to read the journals. Ravi became aware of her soft breathing and felt the weight of her gaze on his profile. He turned, his eyes curious as they met hers again.

"What is it?" he asked gently, his face inches from hers, the golden highlights in the verdant pools of his eyes shimmering.