Archive World of Darkness: The Academy - Chapter 10: Heart to HeartStone

[Dawn OOC]

The Daltonites in the guest lodge – those who had found sleep and were still in their rooms – were awoken by a sharp pounding on their doors. A male voice added, “Breakfast.” It was then that the guests of DoorHold smelled the heavenly aroma lingering in the air. It smelled a lot like fat and protein, made by someone with no understanding of good and bad cholesterol.

Those who stumbled out into the kitchen found that the table was piled high with food. Outside of Sylvia and Ravi’s door were neatly folded clothing that fit well enough. It was all rough-spun linen, wool or leather, much like they’d seen the Chiderans wearing. In fact, once Sylvia had put them on, she looked like a less-buff member of the race.

The breakfast was very hearty, full of meat and starches. The only drink was a milk; it tasted oddly meaty and was somewhat warm – fresh from the cow warm. It was also very filling.

Ryan meanwhile, found his class with Becor being interrupted by a servant. Becor fell silent as the door opened. The man who entered looked fey, with baby-fine silver hair and wide blue eyes. “Your friends are being served breakfast in their lodge,” the man said, blinking. “Would you like to join them…. Or sit here by yourself some more?”

[Jeremy]

Ray was already there when people were arriving in the kitchen room, having been quite used to the hours and times of meals by now. He was eating the meats and a kind of pancake with obvious relish, and swigging down a cup of milk to wash it all down. The Chiderans may not care much for the idea of a diet or Jenny Craig to be sure, but this beat out fast food in taste and health anyway. Besides, when this is your food for the past year, you grow to like it.

He seemed to be in a better mood, waving over those who came in. "Dig in! You'll love the pancakes especially."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan was exhausted. For the thousandth time he tried to grapple with the sphere of space. His night had been spent in learning the repeat lesson of failure. Over and over and over. A child of Becor's people could do this, he was told, why could not he? Ryan was a physical, active person, who was used to using his hands and feet to leap, hurdle, vault, jump, or climb barriers. Trying to mentally wrestle a ball of space was like, impossible, or something. Ryan strained, concentrated, relaxed, wished, hoped, begged; none of it worked, the sphere remained where it was, and Becor cultivated a bored expression. Becor tried again to explain, "It is the same as seeing what is unseen, but in reverse, instead of passively taking in what surrounds you must actively dictate where it is, how it moves."

Ryan stifled a yawn, his eyes red and watery. He sat there, too tired to try. "Again," Becor said. Heaving a sigh Ryan pretended to do just that, but instead he just "stared" at the sphere. Something changed. Holy shit! he thought. He could feel the sphere now, he was certain he could move it if he just...

The door banged open and a servant who looked like every insulting thing Ryan could associate with fairy barged with way in. “Your friends are being served breakfast in their lodge,” the man said, blinking. “Would you like to join them…. Or sit here by yourself some more?”

"GOD FUCKIN' DAMN!" Ryan exploded. He had been so close and then it was gone, like trying to grab an oil covered olive. He jumped to his feet and rounded the man, "Don' you people knock!?!"

"Does that mean you would prefer to sit here alone?" the servant asked, turning to leave.

"No! It means try knockin' next time. Where tha hell is everybody else?"

"As I said, they are having breakfast." He looked at Ryan, "You were not expected to be here, it was assumed you would be with the others at the accommodations."

"What? Nobody said nuthin' ta me abou' that," Ryan was starting to calm down but he was over tired and grouchy.

"Come with me then, I will show you."

"Fine!" Ryan stalked after the thing, Becor at his heels, invisible to all save him.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean and Swan entered the kitchen/messhall not long after the door on their door. They hadn't actually gone to sleep and so only needed to get dressed. For Sean, getting dressed was as awkward as getting undressed, his clothing not fitting right on his new curves and proportionals. And the awkwardness wasn't exactly lessened by Swan's covert, but unabashed, appraisal. Oddly enough, it didn't make the awkwardness worse either, just... different.

Walking into the kitchen/messhall, those there could see that though strikingly attractive new amazon still wasn't exactly pleased with his new appearance, he was somewhat more at ease. The shock of walking through the Door and finding a rather large pair of tits bouncing on his chest had worn off, if not grown palatable, and he didn't seem as stiff and angry as he had last night.

Swan on the other hand was obviously relishing the new Sean, her solid black eyes lingering on his tall and shapely figure, though she hid it behind a mysterious (and anything but innocent) smile whenever he glance back at her. Sitting down, Swan continued her role from last night and filled Sean a plate, which he accepted with a sigh.

"You don't hafta do that, Swan, I can manage," Sean said, his full lips twisting wryly. "Though I mighta need to be careful, reachin' across the table, now."

"Perhaps not, Sean, but I wish too," Swan replied.

The taste of the food certainly did justice to the smells, plainly, if well cooked, and not covered in a plethora of spices. If nothing else, being a Chideran among Chiderans, he would love the meals. There was something like a boneless steak, only it tasted mostly like bacon. The fried eggs were bloody huge, their yolks tasting like those back home, only more intensely. These are good - hope I don't find out they come from those Buffa-corns. The pancakes and homefries substitute were a little disconcerting with their greenish hue, but they were damn tasty, though the whatever-it-is-it-ain't-maple-syrup was so sweet he thought his teeth were going to explode. The 'milk' almost made him choke at first - it was much creamier than he was used too and he had in no way been expecting a liquid with a definite meaty bite. Huh, it's almost like meatshake. It should have been gross. It wasn't.

"The pancakes are good, Ray," Sean admitted, pulling another steak onto his plate and taking a big bite. "But I have to give these bacon-steaks the win." Even with a waist-line only two-thirds the size of his old one, his appetite didn't seem to have diminished at all and if the rest of the Chiderans were any indication, he wouldn't have to worry about getting fat. Not that I'm worried about that! He added another of the eggs to his plate, with a slice of the toasted, nutty bread, just to prove he wasn't concerned about it.

"Outta curiosity, Ray, what are the eggs and bacon-steak from? Oh, hey! Does anyone know if Ryan showed up from wherever he took off to?" His expression hardened slightly. "I saw the clothes outside th'other rooms, so I assume Ravi and Ms. Dorn returned."

At his side, Swan ate a more modest meal, drinking water instead of the meatmilk, watching Sean eat with gusto, a contemplative light in her dark gaze. Beyond Sean's unwavering support and aid of her, he also possessed an intriguing potential, if he there was a way for him to switch between his old form and new one, very intriguing indeed.

[Jeremy]

Ray took a sip of the meatmilk before he nodded and explained. "The big buffo-corns are what you're eating." He told the Chideran/ boy/girl as a forkful of steak was consumed. "There's a flying lizard about the size of a turkey, that lays the eggs we feast on." A question was in his eyes as he looked to Swan. "Not that I'm suggesting there's anything wrong, but what's her story?"

"Swan was a Caramine warrior. She made a choice and isn't anymore." Sean replied, suddenly taking on a protective tone. Ray nodded and dabbed a slice of pancake into the juices of the meat. "That's fair enough to me." One less face for me to worry about seeing in my dreams. For all his fantasy novel notions, and the element of Aragorn that still lurked in him... fighting was more brutal than Conan at times, or at least it felt that way. Twelve minions and two Caramines.

The thoughts must have cut into his face a little, because when Swan and Sean looked at him a bit oddly, he shook it off and smiled. "Sorry, was thinking of something distracting. I heard that Ravi and Ms. Dorn have made it back. Ryan... dunno." Dunno equals unfortunately, hell no.

[SalmonMax]

At that point, Renata came around the corner and poked her nose in, sniffing at the air. Her eyes lit up on seeing the food, and she quickly picked a random chair to sit down in.

"I take back everything I ever said about this world," she said happily. "It's just a big Denny's. One Rooty Tooty, please..." She started flicking pancakes onto her plate, and then moved on to the other goodies. "I am so hungry right now," she explained. "I saw this weird sort of...lizardy thing flying by when I got up, and for some reason I was thinking it'd probably taste like chicken." She popped a little sausage link into her mouth, chewed it with relish, and swallowed.

"This stuff's really good!" She looked around at the others at the table, then added belatedly, "Good morning everyone."

[Atomicweasel]

Mari padded into the breakfast hall next, yawning, her bed-tousled hair brought to heel by a hastily made pony tail. Under her white furs she wore the same clothes she had worn the day before. At first she hardly seemed to know where she was going, walking in a dazed line toward the table. The closer she came, the more clearly the glow could be seen. It was as if the sunlight had chosen to announce Mari’s coming, spilling through the small cracks in the wood, suffusing her in a hazy radiance.

She was almost to the table before Mari’s half-focused eyes settled on Renata. “Ren!” Mari hurried to her side. “Are you okay? Where did you sleep? I was really worried about you.” Though Mari herself was still shivering from the sharp morning cold, the hand she shyly laid on Renata’s arm was warm.

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

"I found a cave not far off," Renata replied with a perfectly straight face. She gestured towards one of the walls to indicate direction. "I slept in there."

Mari's eyebrows raised in alarm at this. "Wasn't it cold though?"

Renata nodded. "It would have been freezing," she said, "if there hadn't been a bear in it."

Now Mari's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Bear?!"

"Yep. Giant cave bear. Big as a semi truck." Renata held up a finger. "But...it was hibernating."

Horrified, Mari looked up at Yithaja. "You have giant bears here?!"

Yithaja calmly regarded Renata for a moment, then looked at Mari. "I do not know what a 'giant cave bear' is. She is not being honest with you."

"Oh jeez, whatever," Renata protested. "It was a JOKE, okay? I was kidding.You guys are always so serious!"

"Renata!" scolded Mari as she took her hand back. "I was really worried!"

Ren sighed and reached out to take Mari's arm before she could scoot away. "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean anything by it. I found an empty hut and stayed there. It was fine. Come on, sit down. Where's Ravioli?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Present, but not at all correct."

The words were half-yawned, half-drawled out as Ravi sauntered into the breakfast hall. Wearing a white linen drawstring shirt, coupled with a black leather vest and pants and finished off with a pair of knee-length boots, the only thing missing from the ensemble was possibly a hat to complete the image of the type of buccaneer that had nothing better to do than lounge around on the covers of torrid romance novels, smoldering and waiting to rescue some hapless virgin from peril or, and more probably, her virginity. The smile he gave everyone caused blushes, thoughtfulness, or knuckle-whitening, depending on the predilections and temperament of those present. Possibly the worst part was that the incorrigable youth displayed no hesitancy or timidity in his body language, practically swaggering in to breakfast after like a tom cat might after having left a squirrel on the doormat.

"Good morning, all." he greeted them as he grabbed two plates and swiftly filled them with meat, eggs, pancake-things and more meat, topped off with the syrup. Sitting down on the other side of Mari, so she was bracketed between him and Renata, he slid a plate in front of her and poured them both some milk. Mari looked at the mountain of food on the plate in dismay.

"I can't eat all that!" she protested, her smile and faint blush equally warm as she glanced from the plate to the tall youth beside her. Ravi merely smiled and stole a sausage link from her plate, eating it whole.

"I'll help." he told her in his usual insouciant manner. "I'm starved." He glanced past Mari to Renata as though noticing something different about her manner. "How was the cave?" he asked with a good-natured smile. "They can have lousy room service."

[SalmonMax]

"Room service is for the weak," she retorted amiably. "Besides, you know how these things go. Young, beautiful princess alone in an enchanted wood? I just had to do a cover of 'Enter Sandman' and all the birds and squirrels brought me whatever I wanted."

She tried some of the milk and frowned, trying to decide if she liked it. "It's kind of goaty. Ever had goat milk?" She grinned at Ravi. "I guess you just have the whole thing."

Despite the teasing, her words lacked the spite and venom they would have had before. She really did seem to just be kidding around this time.

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Haven't eaten a whole goat yet." he said evenly as he tucked into his food, eating in quick, almost delicate bites. "I had some curried haunch of goat when I visited Nepal once. It wasn't bad." He quirked an eyebrow at Renata, wondering where her good humor came from. She seemed at peace for the first time since he'd met her, the aggressive bristle having left her posture and gaze. "I ate a deer the night I first changed, though." he added thoughtfully as he chewed.

"You mean...?" Mari looked at him askance.

"Yes." Ravi topped up his milk. "Chased one down and killed it, then ate it." He glanced round to meet Mari's wide hazel eyes, his own green-gold ones mild.

"Raw?" she asked. Beyond her, Renata snorted back a laugh at the shocked tone. Ravi winked at her, then looked back at Mari.

"That's right. And without a good red wine, too." he shook his head as though in regret. "I'll never be able to watch Bambi again."

[SalmonMax]

"Without getting hungry, you mean," Renata added helpfully. "So okay, Ravi, I have to know...when you're a giant manther, and you eat a big old deer, and then turn back...are you really fat for awhile? Or do you have to like...upchuck all that extra meat? Because it seems to me that your stomach must have shrunk by...a lot. Where's it all go?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean clenched his jaw as he watched Ravi swagger in with his insouciant demeanor in full effect, and only a little part of the reason was because Ravi's clothes seemed to fit him better than his own did. Knuckles whitening around the heavy table knife and two-tined fork, he gave him a dark-eyed look beneath lowered, sable brows, which Ravi sloughed off with custom arrogance. It was the death of a woman at his hand (his claws!), just for giving Mari a kiss, weighed nothing! Sure, if someone gave his girlfriend unwanted attention, he'd be annoyed, angry even, and it could get physical, but not to a maiming or eviscerating degree. Right now, it felt like Ravi was portraying all the callous disregard that those with a privileged upbringing felt entitled to.

But Ravi was a friend - he hoped he could keep considering him one too - so Sean stayed silent with as much grace as he could muster. He'd gotten a look at how hard and cold the worlds beyond the Door could be, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Nor did he have to like the fact that Ravi took it as a license to act however he damned well pleased - being able to turn into a wild animal wasn't an excuse to act like one, unless he expected to be treated like one. Which, really Ravi would only take as a challenge, a dare.

But as Ravi, Renata, and Mari continued with the light-hearted banter, Sean ground his teeth (which also felt different), his irritation rising with the lot of them. It was like neither of them cared, or if they did, it was purely sympathy of Ravi's 'plight,' condoning his behaviour. Oh, you can't blame him! He's a were-panther, that's what were-panther's do. Finally, he couldn't hold his tongue anymore, slapping his knife and fork on the wooden table with thump. If no one else was going to say anything about the panther in the room, he would.

"That's it! Really? Nobody's gonna say a thing 'bout what happened at the bar?" Sean growled tightly, his sapphire gaze taking in Ravi, Mari, and Renata. "Ravi completely overreacts and guts a woman and you guys are laughin' 'bout him eatin' Bambi now and where the meat goes?" Seeing Mari opening her mouth to protest, Sean held up a warning finger. "And before you say he didn't mean it, that's what every guy who goes too far beatin' his wife or girlfriend says."

His eyes shifted, focusing purely on Ravi, wary and concerned, not just for himself, but for everyone from Dalton, Ravi included. "Seriously, dude, I don't mean to rag on you, but you killed a woman, just 'cause she kissed Mari. Are we gonna have to walk on tiptoes around you, afraid of gettin' you mad or disagreein' with you in case you go all claw-claw-bite on our ass? What are you gonna do if someone cuts in front of you in line or keys your car or you stub your toe?" Sean took a steadying breath, hands knotting into fists on the table. "Or even in the case of something a little more serious. For whatever reason, you get into a fist-fight, a schoolyard brawl, will your first instinct be to go lethal? You didn't see the look on your... face, Ravi. You were berserk. I was honestly afraid you weren't gonna stop with the one Chideran and that we were your friends wouldn't matter in satisfyin' the bloodlust. Maybe the Chiderans could have stopped you if they really wanted to, but I - we - couldn't. Is it gonna be something we have to worry about?"

[Atomicweasel]

Mari looked from Sean to Ravi and back again as silence descended over the room like a blanket. She had wanted to tell Sean that she had spoken to Ravi, that the death of Selih, the death of anyone, was not a joke to her. But those words, spoken under the furs of their shared bed, in the privacy of their room, were not for everybody. What Ravi felt after killing Selih, only Ravi could know, and only God could forgive. She prayed that he felt remorse. She prayed that he could learn to control his demons...

She had learned what could happen when he felt provoked, when his baser emotions took charge of him and transformed him. Sean was more right than she could know. Her questions were fair, but Mari feared how Ravi would take this confrontation. She feared the worst.

Quickly, before Ravi could answer, before his anger could take root, Mari twisted around in her seat and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Sean’s your friend. He...um, she...Sean’s worried about you.” she urgently, and earnestly, reminded Ravi.

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

"It matters," Renata said to Sean. "But getting upset and screaming isn't going to help things now." As if conscious of the Devil's realm suddenly becoming locked in ice, and the moon turning sapphire blue, she paused. Then she finished with, "I figure Ravi and Ms Dorn need to practice their thing. I've never seen her change by accident, or kill anyone. Maybe she can teach him her trick."

[z022]

"You might recall that Selih had an axe and was hardly pulling her own swings, Sean. And it wasn't just a kiss. She was challengeing Ravi over Mari." Lucia's voice was cold and distant. She could normally be aloof, but this was darker and harder. "And yes, from everything the Chiderans have said, this is something we're going to have to worry about. Those of us that have...have changed," she held up her own arm, two or three inky-black tendrils lazily slithering over her cocoa skin, "are going to have to learn to control our powers and those that haven't changed are going to have to learn to be careful around us when we're dangerous."

She sighed and sat down at the table, the other two sitting down next to her. "Sean, you got a pair of tits and an in-y when you used to have an out-y," her voice had come back to being almost normal, though the overachieving Daltonite wasn't usually this casual, either. "And once you get to this HeartStone place and do whatever rite or trial or whatever it is you do, you'll be some superhuman Amazon. From what I've seen, you'll be strong, resilient, and be given a special weapon. Or create one. I didn't get the details there. But, mostly, you'll still be like a human. Just a bit...more. Ravi? Sylvia?" me? "They're. Not. Human. So you can't think of them that way. Not if you want to stay friends with them. Or stay alive around them."

She picked up a knife and a fork and slid a pancake onto her plate, not quite looking up Sean or the others. "That's just how it is. We know some rules now, and the Chiderans seem to know quite a bit about...Beast-Skinned...is what they said, I believe. We'll ask them for more information while we travel, as well as speaking to Ravi and Sylvia." She nodded her head in Ravi's direction when she mentioned him, her first acknowledgment that he was even in the room. "The Chiderans lost someone yesterday. They showed us how they handle such things and what Ravi's accountability to them was. Yell and scream and get pissed off all you want because you were raised as an American on Earth, but remember that we're not in America or even on Earth. Don't be friends with Ravi anymore if you can't handle what happened. I suggest you go back home and transfer from Dalton if that's the case, though; you don't seem like the type to be able to resist the Door if you're that close and I don't think what happened with Ravi is going to the be the worst of what we see, or even do. Remember, the peace treaty with the Caramines has expired and we're seeking allies to oppose them. We've declared war. Again. So eat your breakfast and think real hard on what you can and can't handle."

Her mini-speech concluded, the in absentia Student Body President proceeded to do just that, with the occasional longer-than-socially-polite look at Ravi and the far more common stare at the black coils playing over her arms.

[Ryan Jackson]

"Wots all dis 'bout Ravi killing sumbuddy?" Ryan asked as he shoved aside the "door" and moved into the room with a sour expression on his face. His guide, if they could be called that, had spent thirty minutes trying to make Ryan lost, an effort that failed because Ryan was able to keep multiple reference landmarks within his mental sight at all times. After that he had made a lame excuse and bailed on Ryan after giving him fake directions that lead the student and his shadow to the local stables. Ryan's foul mood hadn't improved much as he had wandered about looking for somebody to set him to rights again.

"Food good," he grunted grabbing a plate and piling whatever was available onto it. "So," he broached, "You killed somebody? Guess tha' whole were-kitty thang, ain't workin' out so hot, eh?"

[Atomicweasel]

“I don’t agree with what you said.” Mari spoke up, her soft voice carrying across the table. She ignored Ryan as best she could and looked straight at Lucia. “Whatever else he is, Ravi is human,” her little hand stayed on Ravi’s shoulder, and the sunlight trickling through the uneven beams of the roof grew brighter, lending Mari an almost halo of light. “Ravi isn’t just accountable to the Chiderans.” she shot him an apologetic look, but forged ahead, “what he did affects all of us who care about him, and it affects him too...and Sean, you’re right, but Ravi needs our help right now.”

Mari turned to face Ravi now, gripped his shoulder more tightly. “None of us should have to...go through this alone and, I don’t know who you are or what’s happening to you,” Mari addressed Lucia, “but just because we’re fighting Caramine doesn’t mean we have to become them.”

__________________

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

[Jeremy]

Ray sighed and put down his fork. "Sorry," he said brutally with a sudden iron cold look that he had adopted when going against the Caramine raids, "but Lucia really couldn't have said it better. And for that matter, you couldn't have said it better, Mari. You don't know what is going on for Ravi right now, and the Chiderans have a much better idea of what is, as with much of everything beyond the Door compared to us. Frankly, whatever we do or say doesn't mean anything if Ravi loses control again regardless. It's his job to keep control. It may affect us all, but this is not our place to backseat drive on him. Anyway, we'll have time to talk about this later... I think the issue that is more important to discuss right now..." He transferred a less brutal but still unhappy look at Ryan.

"Someone here apparently left and didn't care to come back until now. I think he needs to account for himself."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan looked up from his plate, his head turned to focus on Ray but he managed to keep eating as easily as if his eyes were on the food before him. "Fuck," he said around a mouthful of food. "You," he added after swallowing. "Listen up new guy, I don' owe ya, or any a' tha rest y'all, anythin'. Y'all di'n't bother ta leave me a fuckin' note sayin' 'oh hey Ry, we're all gonna go an' kill us some Cimmereans, come on over ta tha bar ifn ya want in." He punctuated his statements with his fork and knife both, "So ... meh to you."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Ravi gently removed Mari's hand from his shoulder with a smile which, despite being as charming and polite as ever, was belied by the hard look in his cat-shaped eyes as he glanced around the table. Lucia received a courteous nod for her words, and the smile became a touch more genuine for a moment before he looked at Mari.

"I can speak for myself." he told her in a quiet, calm tone that nevertheless communicated anger kept in check somewhere in it's subharmonic rumble, even as he kissed her on the cheek. "Please let me do so." Mari met his gaze, a little surprised and hurt, but nodded. Then Ravi looked at Sean.

"As Lucia so correctly states, I am not human anymore. Whatever Mari wishes. I don't feel human, and my responses will not be human. And for the record, I have stopped myself killing innocent people. Everyone else in the hall last night. Mari, Renata, and Frida when I First Changed, and Lucia when she was actually tussling with a hungry panther over a dead horse. I wanted to attack you last night, but I didn't. I also wanted to hurt Selih, and I did. My control isn't the issue. You sit there pontificating as though civilisation is some universal standard that everyone has to adhere to or they're not playing fair." Ravi snorted slightly, never taking his eyes from Sean's. "If it had been some burly, bearded man, a bully with scars and foul breath that had grabbed Mari and kissed her to provoke a fight they felt confident of winning, I wonder how deep your outrage would be? You're only so upset because the bully, Selih, was female. Because you, Sean, are sexist."

He motioned Yithaja. "The Chiderans are warriors. As you might become, if I understand rightly. They understand that people die, sometimes deservedly, and sometimes not. Yithaja, what would have happened to me if I'd challenged Selih and not been Beast-Skinned? If I'd put up my fists?" Yithaja grinned as she chewed some not-bacon.

"She would have beaten you within an inch of your life." the Chideran said, shooting Sean a wry look. "And if you had let the insult pass, she would have sought another way to gain the fight she wanted. Or else you'd have earned her scorn and public ridicule."

"Thank you." Ravi inclined his head to the beautiful warrior, then looked back at Sean. "So stop crying like a spoiled little girl. We're here to stop a bunch of conquering, murdering scumbags from invading our world and turning us into hand-puppets, without the courtesy of lubing us up first. If you think we're going to do that by challenging them to a friendly game of football, then your brain must have been left in Dalton along with your balls."

"And I'm not human, Mari. You need to deal with it," he looked at her severely, then back at Sean, a challenge in his eyes "...and so does everyone else. I look human now, sort of, and I talk and I reason, but my drives and instincts are predatory. Ms Dorn is the same, only perhaps not quite as ferocious. Perhaps it's a function of gender, perhaps a matter of personality. I don't much care. What I do care about is my friends, and all of you will be damn glad of having a 'monster' on your side when the shit really hits the fan." Still not sparing Sean from his gimlet stare, Ravi picked up a piece of steaklike meat and tore into it with a flash of white teeth.

[SalmonMax]

"I dunno about Sean," Renata remarked, "But I'm pretty sure I'm not sexist. Not like that anyway. But I still understand the idea of 'excessive force.' You were right to fight her. You were wrong to kill her. It didn't have to go down that way. And I don't care if you're human or not, but if you want to live with humans, then we need to agree on some ground rules, don't you think?"

[Atomicweasel]

The light that swam around Mari, swirling like motes of dust, vanished in the blink of an eye. Mari lowered her gaze, seemingly regarding the overflowing plate Ravi had put before her. She put her hands in her lap and sat in crushed silence for as long as she could bear. That turned out to be about ten seconds, before shame, frustration, and despair drove her to her sharply to her feet. She hadn’t tasted so much as a bite of the food. “I need some air.” She mumbled, walking briskly from the food hall, until she reached the doors and stepped into the frosty welcome of a new day.

No sooner had she rounded the corner than Mari broke into a run. She had always been fast. Now she sprinted between the huts, over white powdery fields. The frost of the night before had made a hard crust on the ground. Mari’s light footfalls cracked, but did not break through, the thick packed snow. She dashed up a rise, and stood between two trees, looking down into a virginal forest. Fit though she was from her lifelong devotion to soccer, her breath came in pained gulps. The cold was so sharp; it felt like she was swallowing glass right into her lungs.

Mari slipped to her knees, her long improvised fur cloak pressing into the snow. Her sweat was icy against her skin and dizziness was making her head spin. He is Human, Mari insisted, looking up at the cool crisp sky. Please, God, help me make him see! How could she get through to him? How could she reach through his anger and his pride to touch the heart she knew he had? I won’t give up. Mari vowed. Her tears were hot against her cheeks until the wind caught them and froze them on her skin. She wiped them away with hands gone numb. Being human was a choice, and Ravi had to understand that it was his to make. It wasn’t his curse that defined him, but how he bore it.

Sitting alone in the snow, nursing her wounded pride, Mari never considered the possibility that she might be wrong about Ravi, that he could choose wrong over right. She believed in him…even if he didn’t believe in himself.

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

"Aw hell..." Renata muttered. "I'll get her, you guys keep...whatever you're doing."

She trotted out of the hall and looked around, managing to spot Mari just as she rounded a corner and settled into her sprint. As she got to the same corner and watched Mari running off, Renata hesitated. Maybe Mari was better off working all this out on her own. Maybe everyone needed a little alone time in the woods to sort this kind of shit out.

But then again, how often did Mari go running off without Ravi? Lately she'd been surgically grafted to the manther's hip. Ren didn't think she'd get another chance to speak frankly...and it was pretty important that she take the opportunity. Mari could go have an epiphany some other time.

Renata broke into a jog after Mari, not bothering to try to catch her, since she knew Mari was faster on foot. She'd get there soon enough.

And sure enough, after a few minutes, she stumbled over Mari sitting in the snow with red eyes and cheeks flushed with cold. Renata nodded at her and leaned against a tree. "Hey. Uh, got a second?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Ravi frowned as Mari left in an obvious pout, then as Ren followed her he sighed and leaned one elbow on the table, still eating and with his previous good humor evaporated, thunder and lightning dancing in the green pools of his eyes as he glanced around at the others.

"You know what? Sylvia asked me to come back last night." he told them bluntly. "She asked. She didn't command - or at least she tried to, but that didn't get her very far. So when we both calmed down she tried appealing to my better nature and pointing out that I was needed. Which is the only reason I returned. I was this damn close to pissing off into the woods by myself until you'd all left. And why?" He tossed down the pancake he was chewing on and scooped up his plate, standing up. "Because I don't need this shit from you. Between Mari insisting that I'm 'human really', Sean reading the riot act like he has a right to dictate sweet fanny adams to me, and Renata deciding that the panther needs a leash on him, this is exactly what I expected when I returned. So let's get one thing fucking clear." He glared around at everyone, that aura of primal menace darkening his expression into something like a snarl.

"Fuck your 'ground rules'. 'Claw this person, don't claw that person'? I think not. Here's my rule: Don't poke the panther with a sharp stick, and you get to stay in one piece. As my friends-" he looked around meaningfully at everyone present as a certain bitter curve came to his lips "- you naturally get leeway, certain permissions that others do not. I won't hurt you, any of you, unless you are trying to hurt me. That's my rule. You chew it over and decide whether or not you can stand my company. Personally, I could care less right now. I'm going to eat over there. The sanctimony at this table is getting cloying."

Suiting action to words, Ravi stalked to the table at the far end of the eating hall, plunking down his plate and cup with an audible *thud* and sitting with his back to them all as he continued to eat.

[Ryan Jackson]

"What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Ryan grabbed his plate. Managed to fit another four servings onto it, and moved down to the end of the table, dropping his plate with a thunk next to Ravi.

"Dude, what up?" Ryan grabbed a pancake, shoving other foodstuffs into it like some kind of mad burrito roller. "What tha heck happened last night? For reals, 'cause, y'know, I wasn' there. An' what wuz all that bee-ess about?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

For a minute or two Ravi continued to eat, acknowledging Ryan with a nod but remaining silent... but for the rumbling growl that his friend could clearly hear emanating from somewhere deep in Ravi's chest. As fearless as only Ryan could be the lanky teen still didn't press, realising that inside the sulking aristocrat was a pissed-off animal. His patience was rewarded as Ravi slowed his rapid consumption of the cholesterol-fest on his plate and sighed, the growling dying away.

"Well, when we went to the drinking hall..." he began, then highlighted the events leading up to the fight, then what he remembered of the fight itself, which was surprisingly a lot, considering his enraged state, and then controlling himself to flee into the night rather than attack someone else. Then he gave the short, grooming-free version of Sylvia finding him, calming him and talking him into returning. "...and so when I come in for breakfast, everything's fine. Even Renata is being okay with me, until the grand dame of Dalton back there decides to tell me how unacceptable I am. It just..." he shook his handsome head, then shrugged.

"They don't get it, and don't want to get it. I'm not human anymore, Ryan. I feel that, bone-deep. They feel it too, which is why they're doing the human thing. Either control it, drive it away, or destroy it if it can't live our way."

[Autumn Keane]

Inwardly, Autumn groaned as she polished off the cup of thick, protein-rich milk and pushed her empty plate back. She was still unsettled, to put it mildly, about the events of the previous night; how much was live, and how much was Memorex? It didn't help that her headache had returned full-force, pounding at the back of her brow relentlessly, and her bruised hands with their raw, bloody knuckles ached.

Vaguely, she remembered the students talking in the lodge, making plans that were disrupted by the (panther's) roar. Everyone for miles had heard it, probably, but she.... Autumn had felt it, in a way that defied explanation the way walking through a door into another world did. It was like a switch had been thrown in her brain and in her belly, like a fire struck that consumed all it touched, and she had been grateful that they'd all gone dashing off to see what had happened, because the looks on their stupid human faces had made her want to beat the ever-loving shit out of all of them. She'd never gone looking for a fight before, but something in her had wanted blood, and the tiny rational part of her brain had wept for joy to see the opportunity go running off into the night.

After that.... cold. The shapes of huge trees in the dark, the scrape of rough bark on her bare knuckles as hot tears streamed down her cheeks, fueled by the liquid-hot rage that had boiled over. No direction, no purpose, just... ice, and fire, and pain. She didn't remember going back to the Chideran outpost, but she must have, because her next memory was of being numbly shuffled into a warm room where, presumably, she'd slept.

"You know, it sucks that this woman died," she began soberly in the quiet that followed Ravi's pointed departure to a separate table, "and I don't know the reason, and don't care to. But they're making us breakfast and treating us like guests. These women are warriors, and death stalks them at every turn, way more than it does those of us going to expensive private schools on Earth. If they thought it was cruel, or unjust, I don't think we'd be getting their hospitality. That's not a free pass to do whatever we want, but it does mean we're gonna be dealing with a lot of people," she paused, wincing as she exhaled against the pain in her head, "or whatever they might be, who look at things differently. What happened was between Ravi and the Chideran woman. If anyone's got a right to be pissed off at him, it's them."

With that, she rose, adding, "Look, if everyone's so up in arms and divided over this, why don't we just ask Yithaja and see if she's got anything to say about it? I'm headed out to see about some weapons, though. We're gonna need 'em."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan grunted, "Guess I ain't human then." The bizzare pancake burrito thing was almost done, which was saying something because Ryan was still building it even after the initial silence and then recounting of the prior evening. Ryan didn't speak anything other than those five words until he'd finished the thing and taken a first bite, which was large enough that Ravi could have sworn that it was physically impossible. Ryan chewed thoughtfully and then swallowed. "This!" he pronounced, holding the massive thing up, "Is good!"

The others at the other end of the table looked at him as he was used to being looked at; like he was slightly mad, entirely brainless, and with at least a little bit of envy that he could be so thoroughly Ryan without fearing the repercussions from society for being different. During all this Ravi was left to ponder Ryan's words, and wonder if the senior was wiser than he realized, or simply making a joke. Possibly both.

"I wasn' there, I didn' see, so alls I gots to go by is whut y'all tell me, but ... seems like tha res'ta them jus' don' know whut ta do 'bout it all." He took another massive bite of the burritiosaurus. "Me? I figger we's all, wha's the sayin'? Off tha map? Yeah. How's this any dif'rint from if ya found out you were allergic ta peanuts? They gonna 'spect you ta keep eatin' PB&J's jus' cause tha lot o' them do?"

[Jeremy]

Ray rose too, regretting ever opening his mouth on the discussion. Not that it made any difference. "Me too. If the Caramines happen to send one of their monthly raids along, I definitely want a sword with me. Maybe a spear too. The minions do tend to keep their distance so you can't gut them when it comes to close quarters. Still, I got at least three that way." The implications of those words did not matter at the moment too him, nor anyone else's reactions.

He nodded to Autumn. "Care to follow me?"

[Autumn Keane]

He nodded to Autumn. "Care to follow me?"

"Sure," she replied easily. She was more than ready for some fresh air; breakfast wasn't settling as comfortably as she thought it would, though she was sure it was nerves... or maybe portal-lag, or whatever the trans-dimensional equivalent of jet-lag would be. Or, she reasoned, it could be the headache, or the flash to a commons-area filled with the stench of half-digested food from the shredded intestines of the woman on the floor. Autumn's knees buckled, throat burning as the eggs and sweet cakes she'd eaten were expelled violently onto the ground in front of her, leaving her choking and sobbing like a child. She knelt there, stomach heaving convulsively as her fingers sought purchase vainly in the frigid snow. She shoved clean handfuls of the stuff into her mouth, spitting it out again in an effort to rinse away the taste of bile.

"I-'m okay," she coughed, unsteadily getting to her feet. Had she seen that, and not remembered? She didn't think it would be possible to forget the image, or the smell, as she and Ray moved slowly onward.

[Dawn OOC]

"You should finish eating so we can leave." Their red-headed Chideran pushed off the wall she'd been leaning against. "You can bicker while you ride." Without waiting for a reply, she left after Ray and Autumn.

"Are you passing out our weapons now, male?" Yithaja emerged from the hall behind them, looking annoyed at Ray. The young man sighed; the Chideran could take offense at literally anything and it was hard to tell what would set them off.

"I was only showing her the way," Ray said politely, the words clearly mollifying the fiery woman. She nodded at Ray.

Yithaja seemed to ignore Autumn's vomiting; Ray knew that the Chideran sometimes ignored a woman who didn't look or seem strong so that she could keep some face. "What do you use, Autumn?" Yithaja asked as they walked. "We have weapons from around the worlds. I'm sure we can supply your desires, so long as they are not boom-sticks."

Ray blinked. He'd never heard the Amazons reference firearms, even using slang from an epic B-movie. "Boom-sticks?"

"Black powder, General Dalton called them," Yithaja snorted. "Before you ask, we have none. They cannot be bound, they are empty fury and noise."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"That's how it seems." Ravi responded with a smirk, but the smirk died as he picked at his food. Then he looked at Ryan's construction and, grinning slightly, started trying to build one of his own.

"You know what the really daft thing is?" he asked rhetorically, his voice subdued. Ryan, his mouth full of pancake-bacon-egg-burrito-y goodness, could only shake his head as Ravi stacked bacon and eggs on the current layer. "Nobody asked me whether I wanted to kill that stupid woman. I mean, obviously a part of me didn't care whether she died or not in the heat of the fight, but I didn't go into the hall thinking 'What would really top off my evening would be to eviscerate an Amazon. What a capital idea!'" Ravi rolled his eyes. "I mean, seriously. I got mad, I wanted to hurt her, beat down the challenger, you know?"

Ryan nodded, watching as Ravi rolled up his burrito-thing in preparation for taking a bite.

"I'm not happy she's dead. I'm not particularly sad, either, mind you. What I *am* is happy that I won the fight, and didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve to die, but when you play with sharp objects you get cut. She wouldn't be moping around if she'd killed me: she'd be celebrating with hot girl-sex on a panther-skin rug." The last line was delivered with a wry grin as Ravi took a bite of his concoction. "I don't remember getting any hot girl-sex on an Amazon-skin rug." he said indistinctly around his mouthful.

[Autumn Keane]

"Well, I'm better with a bow than anything else, so that would probably be ideal," she replied slowly, trying to focus on the conversation at hand rather than the throbbing behind her eyes or the unpleasant taste in her mouth. At least Yithaja hadn't embarrassed her; she felt stupid enough for puking her guts out right in the open like that, and there was something about the act that always made people feel vulnerable and helpless. "I'm not sure guns would be practical, anyway. Lots of moving parts and noise, and a need for supplies that probably aren't available in most of the places we'll be going. I've got a knife I can use, if I have to, but I've only ever hunted before." How different is it going to be, killing something that could hold a conversation with you, instead of a deer?

[Ryan Jackson]

Ravi's burrito was not up to standards. The pancake tore and the contents spilled out in a way that some may have seen as entirely too reminiscent of the night before. "You have much to learn you padawan," Ryan intoned, and Ravi blinked; his friend did a very good Liam Neeson. Ryan shrugged, "Mebbe you oughta tell that ta them?" He took a swig out of the "meatshake" drink and then looked at it. Ravi could almost see the gears turning in the older boy's head and knew what was going to happen next. Ryan Took the burritosaurus in one hand and poured some of the meatshake into the business end with the other, and then took another impossible bite. "Holy crap tha's good," he mumbled.

They ate in silence for a bit, Ravi attempting to rebuild his damaged breakfast roll, much to Ryan's amusement. Finally Ryan decided to change the subject, figuring that maybe Ravi could stand a change of topic too. "So... why the hell din' you guys leave me a note or sumthin'? I when' back ta tha meetin' room an' it was all dark, and cold, an' ... an' .... an' they took all the food away!"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

Ravi blinked, then looked a little contrite. He'd been so caught up in his own drama that he hadn't thought about Ryan.

"Well, those of us that were at the hall left the meeting before everyone else... But the others must have gone running out when I started roaring." Ravi supposed. "So no wonder the place was empty. The Chiderans must have cleared everything away and closed down for the night. Wait..." he looked askance at his friend. "You did get a place to sleep, right?"

"Nope." Ryan said grumpily.

"Oh hell." Ravi said, shaking his head. "I suppose everyone thought you'd just catch up, and that you were off doing Ryan-stuff." he smiled wryly, then his expression became curious. "So what were you up to?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean's face hardened at Lucia's counter, but in against Ravi's sharp and condescending retort, his pale face flushed deep red with fury. He clenched the end of the table to stop himself from trying to throttle his friend possessed of all the arrogance of a cat and then some, the thick wooded creaking under the strength of his grip. He bit down on his tongue to stop from saying something he would regret, but it was an effort. He wanted nothing more than to return Ravi's piercing goads with a fist to his face, but that would have been the height of hypocrisy considering his earlier questions concerning Ravi controlling himself. Still, the fine line of his jaw quivered.

The accusation of sexism almost made him choke, every comment about his new gender stinging like darts, and the number of people that appeared okay with him killing a woman over what was essentially a bar brawl shocked him. Ryan joining Ravi when the Manther left to sulk felt like a betrayal, even as Ravi's withdrawal let his anger begin to cool instead of being released explosively.

He wasn't naive - he understood what was going on, realized what it could come down to. If he had to, he wanted to believe he could kill a person, one who was trying to kill him or one he cared about... One who deserved it. People hadn't even listened to what he was saying, asking. The lethal mentality was worrying, but he could learn to deal with that, if not condone, he hoped. From what he had seen, and from Ravi's own admission, he had stopped himself from turning on his friends. Which would have been admirable... except it shouldn't even had been a battle in the first place. And eventually, you always lose.

Finally, Sean stilled, growing calm enough to talk without yelling, though only Lucia was really left at the table with him. That was fine, Ravi had his super panther hearing too, probably; he didn't care if Ravi heard him.

"I'm Canadian," Sean eventually said in a low, though still feminine, voice.

"Pardon?" Lucia said.

"I'm Canadian, not American," Sean corrected the Student Council President, "but that's besides the point. I'm callin' bullshit. Claimin' you ain't human is a complete cop-out allowin' you to act however you damn well please. Not that Ravi needed th'excuse. We were all raised for sixteen to eighteen years as humans - presumably - to varying degrees of sociability. Suddenly developin' superpowers doesn't mean you can act however you want. Some usin' 'roids builds insane muscle, but it doesn't excuse 'roid rage." Sean stabbed his steak with more force than strictly necessary, quickly finishing his plate.

"So is sayin' everyone else has to watch out 'cause you guys can't control. That's like sayin' everyone around someone with a gun should duck or anyone on the road with a drunk driver should be ready to jump. Which is good advice, but the responsibility is with the driver and the guy with the gun. That's what I was askin' Ravi. And had he said he could control himself, I woulda believed him until he demonstrated otherwise." Sean downed the rest of his meatmilk, stacking his cup on top of his empty plate and stood up.

"And another thing, I don't fuckin' appreciate the criticism to my resolve in dealin' with the Caramines. My father and mother were involved with the previous conflict, my father may have even instigated it. I'll do my duty and do what I can to help clean up the mess and stand by my teammates and comrades in the doing. But I want to point out, I'm the one with a redeemed Caramine at my side." Sean gave Swan's hand a squeeze, then lifted an arm, pointing at the other side of the room. "He's the one who killed one of our possible allies."

Sean picked up his and Swan's dishes, looked around for someplace to place them, and coming up empty, settled to setting them back down at the end of the table. "I'm gonna wait for you guys on the road, trail, whatever," Sean announced, slinging his pack on his shoulders and heading for the door, Swan at his side. He gave Ravi a small, sharp nod in passing. It wasn't an apology - he didn't believe he owed one, his questions were valid - but an acknowledgment that he might not know everything that was going on in Ravi's head. "Let's go, Swan."

Throughout the conflicting personalities, Swan had kept her expression carefully screwed to neutral. It wasn't her place to dictate their reactions, but she hoped they would come to mutually palatable resolution. Otherwise, the unity of the Caramine Empire would overwhelm them entirely. "As you wish, Sean," she agreed, stepping out into the brisk, chill air, snow crunching underfoot. "Though I suggest we follow Yithaja. I do wish a weapon. One thing they are all correct about it that this is a dangerous world we are in."

"I know, I know, Swan," he grumped tiredly, turning to follow after the red-headed amazon. "I don't have a problem with people defendin' themselves. Doesn't mean I have to like it what we have to do about it."

"You may want to consider finding a weapon for yourself too, Sean."

Sean snorted, looking down at a balled fist, smaller than he was used too.. "I've never learned to use anything more than these. I never thought i would need to."

"And there are weapons that can compliment your talents," Swan urged, her obsidian eyes determined but understanding. "I am sure the Chiderans possess such, Let us go see."

Sean sighed, defeated. He had to admit, he didn't much care about facing a truly wild beast-skinned or... or an armoured Caramine or whatever they were going to face with just his bare hands. "Fine."

Composure + Resolve Roll

Resolve + Composure: 4d10.hitsopen(8,10) = 1 success)

[Frida Ricci]

Frida'd had trouble sleeping.. as usual. She slept, but as she slept she dreamt in shades of gray, nightmares where she was surrounded by people she knew, and yet none of them knew she was there. She tried to speak, or scream, or touch, and they neither heard nor felt. It was if she had been trapped on the other side of death, unable to return to the world of the living. She woke to the pounding on the door, but drifting off to sleep for a bit longer, her frazzled nerves seeking retreat in the warmth and privacy of the bed the Chiderans had provided. So when she finally woke, it was later than the others, and she was alone in the room where Autumn had already been sleeping last night upon her arrival. She stood up and hurried to dress herself in the warmest clothes available to her, though she had brought no makeup to conceal the faint marks of restless sleep that marred the pale skin beneath her eyes.

She passed Sean, looking pissed, as he left the breakfast room with Swan, but said nothing. She felt a faint stir of surprise upon seeing how few of the students were in here - did I really sleep that long, or has everyone else slept in as well? - but brushed it off. She walked over to the table with the food, which now held very few occupants, and after a couple moments survey, she placed a few things on a plate, and poured herself a glass of the milk. She glanced towards Ravi briefly. Though she didn't realize it, her heartbeat picked up just a touch upon gazing at him, and she forced the knot in her stomach aside. She'd expected him to be sitting with Mari, but instead he was seated next to Ryan, appearing absorbed in conversation.

Her loss. Just because we can't be lovers doesn't mean I can't have breakfast with him. We're friends. To hell with her if she has a problem with that.

So she made her way over to the table and circled around it, setting her plate down gently across the table from Ravi and Ryan, and sitting down behind it to face them. Her smooth, if somewhat unearthly voice was almost a pleasant contrast compared to the conversations Ravi had experienced so far today.

"Sean seemed upset - is he still angry about his new breasts?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"He's angry about a lot of things." Ravi looked up from his latest attempt at a Ryan-style burrito and smiled with wry warmth at Frida. She was a sight, and a sound for sore eyes, and in his current mood Ravi wondered why the hell he was with Mari. She was completely wrong for him, with her frailty and her willful naivete. Hector was right - sooner or later he would hurt Mari, and maybe it was better all round to get it over with if she couldn't accept him as he was, claws and all. "He, and others, are morally outraged that I'm not repentant in the slightest about killing someone in a straight fight last night. Someone who, I might add, asked for that fight. Not that Lady Chablis was there, of course. So when I tell him and aforementioned others exactly where they get off the sanctimony train before it hits something coming the other way, he sticks to his childish argument that-" and here Ravi's voice took on a mocking falsetto "'Just because you have superpowers doesn't mean you can act as you want!' Whatever that means. I don't think he quite understands that I don't act however I please. I restrain all sorts of impulses from moment to sodding moment. Just like he and everyone else do, except my impulses tend to be stronger, and sooner or later something gives if the pressure's kept on." Ravi took a large bite out of his breakfast roll-thing and grunted in satisfaction as it failed to fall apart, holding it up to Ryan in triumph. His friend nodded a slow, Jedi Master-like approval as Ravi finished his mouthful.

"Someone, a trained someone, someone who lives to fight, lost their life last night because they picked the wrong battle, and Sean, Renata and Mari are all waffling about how wrong it was and how we can stop it happening again. Next they'll be insisting I go to Lycanthropes Anonymous." Ravi took a drink and smirked unpleasantly. "Hello, my name is Ravi and I'm a werepanther. I know it's a sickness, because my so-called friends insist that human beings don't go around killing people in bar brawls or changing into large feline shapes when outraged. I want to be human. They're so... non judgemental and free of hypocrisy." His eyes shot open in mock surprise. "Oh. Wait. They aren't. That's animals. Isn't that bloody amazing? How fucking remarkable is that?! I don't care that Sean's a warrior-woman with a Caramine love slave, or Renata's yearning after Mari, or that you, Frida, see dead people or that Lucia appears to be one with the shadowy darkness from beyond. I deal, and I accept that you're my friends and that's all that sodding well matters. Score one for the morphically-different." He took another pointed bite of the thing in his hand.

"Anyway, enough of my grumbling." he said around the mouthful. "I was just asking Ryan how his night went. How was yours?" he asked Frida.

[Ryan Jackson]

"Oh hell." Ravi said, shaking his head. "I suppose everyone thought you'd just catch up, and that you were off doing Ryan-stuff." he smiled wryly, then his expression became curious. "So what were you up to?"

Ryan turned to look at Ravi, in typical guy fashion he'd not so much as taken an eye off his food except when he needed to make a point, now the full weight of his gaze settled on the other student. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Oh, you know, Ryan-stuff."

"Dude?"

"Dude," Ryan replied solemnly, "I could tell ya, but then I'd hafta kill ya. Top seekrit." He held up a finger to his lips. He was acutely aware that Becor was watching and listening, and given the failure of the prior night's effort, Ryan wanted to keep his tutor around a little longer. He was spared further questioning when Frida sat down with them.

"Sean seemed upset - is he still angry about his new breasts?"

Ryan suppressed a smiled and a malicious laugh, "Did Sean score a hot Amazon chicka?" He looked around the room, even going as far as to stand up, "Where is Sean anyways? I ain't seen 'im since we got here yestaday." He sat back down and shrugged, "Rav, you ain't makin' a move on tha new chick are ya? She wuz some hot piece a' ass." His head turned just so he winked at Ravi without letting Frida see, letting the other boy in on his joke, and hoping that he'd back him up.