Archive World of Darkness: The Academy - Chapter 7: The Way They Were

[SalmonMax]

Renata rubbed her temples, trying to keep her billowing irritation to a dull roar.

"Okay, now that we've decided the awesomely vital fate of a painting," she said, "And managed to thoroughly creep most of us out, way to go Frida, thanks for that...maybe we can get to the part where we actually tell each other about the stuff that the others don't know about? Swords and...I dunno, it sounded like you guys figured some stuff out while the rest of us were dodging werecats and campus cops."

"Lemme just get Mari though, so you only have to tell us once."

Holding her hand up in a 'stop' gesture, Renata quickly slipped out the door to stand beside Mari.

"You okay?" she asked, suddenly feeling awkward.

[Sylvia Dorn]

Watching Renata go after her latest sardonic quip, Sylvia felt a certain redness creeping up her neck. Whether it was anger or embarrassment, she wasn't quite sure, but the words that passed her lips afterward were telling.

"I'd point out that you weren't so much dodging werecats as the werecats were dodging you," she said to nobody in particular.

[Dawn OOC]

“How odd you are, child,” Yasu said, its voice just as gender-neutral as before.

Strange eyes came to regard Rosa. “You however, are normal.”

“Thanks,” Rosa said sarcastically, annoyed at being dismissed.

“That will not be something you thank me for, child,” Yasu said, his voice harsh. “As your friend squints at me and seems confused, I assume that she doesn’t know of us, the Hidden People. The Changed People. And as such, you will be bound to I and your friend, or there will be trouble. You two have tread upon a world you do not know, and you will know its rules.”

“You can’t threaten us.” Rosa’s voice shook but her chin lifted proudly.

“You should be more exact,” Yasu hissed. “I can certainly threaten you. You mean to imply that I should not, but that is also very untrue.”

[Atomicweasel]

“Mmm.” Mari nodded and smiled wanly at Renata. “I’m okay. I just needed to breathe a little. You know, like, come out here and make sure the sky still looks the same and it isn’t raining frogs or something.”

“I think you mean cats and dogs.”

Mari laughed. “No. Frogs. It’s from the bible.”

“Oh. Well, anyway we should—“

“I mean, yesterday everything is just normal.” Mari interrupted. She looked down and shook her head and her dark chocolate hair fell across her face so that Renata could only catch the barest glimpse of Mari’s expression, just the faintest suggestion of her lips. “And all I’m worried about is like keeping my grades up high enough for soccer and my Quinceañera party and getting along with my roommate...but now...” Mari trailed off with a shrug and sent a pine-cone tumbling away from her foot with a short sharp kick. “Now all of that seems so...”

“Trivial?” Renata supplied. The sun was filtering through the leaves of the big oak tree that the students called the Hanging Man. Pale fingers of dimmed light caught in Mari’s hair and stroked across the soft curve of her jaw line.

“Right. Trivial. I mean how can any of that matter if...” if your boyfriend turns into a panther and tries to eat you. Not that he really was. Not that he really had. Not yet.

Renata seemed to read Mari’s mind. “...if people can turn into leopards.”

“Panthers. Right.”

“Mari.”

“Yeah?” Mari looked up at Renata, and swept the long locks of her hair away from her brow.

“You can’t figure it out because it doesn’t make any sense, okay?”

Mari laughed sheepishly. “Yeah. Okay.”

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

Renata fell silent, trying to figure out how to get Mari out of her funk, and into a mood where she'd want to ingest even MORE weirdness. Finally she just decied to do the usual and dive right in.

"Well, Sean's about ready to tell us about all the shit that happened out where he was last night," she said. On irresistable impulse, she put a hand on Mari's shoulder and massaged it gently. "Think you're ready for more, or do you want to sit it out out here?"

Mari looked back over her shoulder and the waves of her hair fell back to reveal her impossibly perfect features; and a smile that was both heartwarming, and heartbreaking. Equal parts brave and grateful and afraid.

"I'm ready. Thanks Ren."

Renata smiled back, physically unable not to, and squeezed her shoulder. "Come on."

She had been gone only a few minutes when Renata came back in, Mari in tow.

"Okay, Sean. Bring us all up to speed. What happened after Frida and me left?"

[Autumn Keane]

"Yeah," Autumn murmured quietly, mistaking the grim set of Ravi's jaw for discomfort at the sight of the sterile white uniforms moving methodically around the dark, stained grass- grass that still bore traces of wetness hours later. "Pretty messed up, huh? Everybody's saying it was a bear." She shivered at his expression and was quiet for a long moment as they trudged along, hands thrust into her jeans pockets. It occurred to her rather suddenly that he might have been upset because he'd known someone who was attacked, and she winced inwardly as she realized how dumb she probably sounded.

"Um, look, I'm sorry. Did, uh," she glanced furtively back at the yellow tape and quickly turned her eyes forward again, being physically unable to look at him for fear of the expression he’d be wearing if she did. "Did you... know anybody? Who got hurt, I mean. Because I don't think it was a bear, you know, if that's what you heard, too. News travels fast, but gossip travels faster, and all that.” She laughed again, but her earlier flippancy was replaced by awkward nervousness; the lining of her pocket made a muffled rustling sound as she rubbed it anxiously between her thumb and forefinger.

What she didn’t do, thankfully, was launch into a tense, one-sided discussion about the behavior of black bears and their relationship with people. By a narrow margin, the innately human urge to talk about herself won out.

Her uneasiness compelled her to ramble, as they walked, about her recent arrival (nearly missing the start of the term), her roommate (who probably wasn’t completely lame, but it was too early to tell for sure), and her parents (rather tersely, as if it were a perfunctory topic of conversation she’d rather avoid). The words simply tumbled over one another in a loose torrent, running haphazardly from her lips into the morning air.

“…I mean, it could be worse, you know? It’s not like there aren’t plenty of girls my age who are already knocked-up and dropping out of school. I haven’t even asked to get a tattoo yet!” she added with a touch of defiance. Suddenly, she paused, looking abashed as she shoved a few disheveled coppery waves out of her face and peered up at him.

“Um, sorry. I guess sometimes I forget to engage the filter between mouth and brain when I wake up.” Quickly, she added, realizing she’d been monopolizing the conversation and he’d been all but silent, “Are… you okay?”

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean's hand tightened in a fist, knuckles cracking. There wasn't anything he could do to help Frida dealing with the Dead, ghosts he couldn't see or hear. Ms. Dorn was still Ms. Dorn, only with real claws and growls rather than barks. Mari seemed to be aware that she was in real danger of being overwhelmed by it all - though really, they all were. And Renata was being a bit of a bitch, which he didn't need, having lived with three of them. He knew private school was going to be different, but he had never imagined how much.

When Renata returned with Mari in tow, Sean rolled his broad shoulders, then plopped down in a chair with a sigh, the wood and metal creaking faintly under his weight. After a moment of gathering his thoughts, he gave Renata a nod that included the svelte freshman at her side.

"Okay, here's what happened - just hold the questions till after," Sean began, running a hand through his short, midnight hair in a habitual gesture. "It was a long night and I'm sure I'm gonna forget somethin' anyway. Let's see, after you guys left..." Sean turned his eyes on Ms. Dorn.

"With you gone, Ms. Dorn, I took Swan to see her sword. It was... pulsing, causin' Ms. Dorn pain," Sean added for Mari's benefit before turning back to Sylvia. "When she picked it up, she felt a... surge I guess, vitality flowing into her. Some of her scratches and bruises even faded away. When I touched it, it didn't feel nearly as pleasant, it felt like it was... eating me." The handsome young man gave Swan a quick smile. "She decided to destroy the damned thing. So I took a pair of bolt-cutters to it... and it exploded into silver confetti and threw me into the garage door. Felt like gettin' swatted with a ten-tonne pillow." Sean snorted.

"After than, the night was settlin' down to whatever passed for normal nowadays, until Ryan came runnin' back, cryin' about-" He shot the lanky free-running a tight smirk. "-our latest visitor. It was Brahn, of the Lhesk, a sorta reverse Swan, with dark grey skin and white pupils. He said he had been tryin' to help us, but the 'Door' had been bared. It's through this 'Door' that he was able to reach our world from his. And he was tryin' to enlist our aid in fightin' the Caramine Empire." Sean sighed again, giving Swan an apologetic shrug. "Brahn told us that the Caramines are Swan's people. Her real name and title is First Wing Relana of House Iron Moon, of the Raven Division of the Caramine Army. But as far as I'm concerned, she's Swan." The look in his eyes was stubbornly protective.

"He also told why the Caramines are coming here - they're lookin' for victims, sacrifices - I'm not clear on this, exactly - for their 'Harvest'. And they've done this before, here, years or decades ago, but Dalton was able to broker a Truce somehow."

Seeing the expression on Renata's face, Sean held up a hand in surrender. "Yes. Yes! I know, it sounds completely insane and it doesn't stop there, either. He also said us - I don't know if he meant just the ones chosen for the 'Harvest', or the people here at Dalton in general - would start developin', erm... 'powers', either through blood or experience. And it seems true enough. Ryan's X-Ray-Dar, Frida's Deadsight, the Werecats. Even Pritchard and her golems. And who knows what else."

Sean stood back up, hands pressing against the table as he leaned forward, meeting everyone's eyes. "We do know some of us remember being chosen for the Harvest. It was during the Ice Cream Social, chosen by... Ryan, Swan, you remember douchebag's name?"

"He was the Shove-it-" Ryan snarked before Swan spoke over him, her voice tight and concise. "Shovat Mascai, heir to the Caramin Throne."

"Right, Shovat Douchebag. I was number One, Ryan Eight, and I think Ms. Dorn mentioned something about being number Two back at the house. And the cream on top of this custard-fuck is, Brahn and his sister believe we're the ones who can stop the Caramine Empire, once and for all. With their help and guidance of course."

Sean cocked his head at Renata, an eyebrow raised, silently asking, Well?

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"I'm fine." Ravi's face had relaxed, muscles flowing into their usual cool amiability as he continued to watch the examiners at work. "But no, I didn't know the man that got hurt. I'm pretty sure he didn't deserve it, however." Shimmering eyes turned on Autumn then, subjecting her to a long scrutiny before he smiled. He could hear the cops and examiners talking quietly a short distance away as though he were standing right beside them, and the words 'giant leopard' were coming up a few times. Fortunately, so were the words 'impossible' and 'so where is it?'

"I've never really seen the aftermath of an animal attack before. Bears, or cougars as some rumors suggest, are a rare feature in the English countryside." He gestured for them to continue on and, as they walked up the steps leading into the cafeteria, continued. "I'm just happy that no-one I know was hurt, despite a few whom I consider friends being bold or -" he smiled wryly "Well, let's stick with 'bold' - enough to actually get within spitting distance of the beast or beasts in question." His brow furrowed slightly as they entered the eating hall, the noise and scents of a few dozen students - all talking excitedly about the previous night - assaulting his senses. "Let's get some food."

The two of them joined the line and grabbed food as Ravi chatted lightly about his own newly-arrived-at-Dalton status and his last school ("Over-rated and underwhelming"). They grabbed some seats by the window, and Ravi looked out at a thankfully un-policed area of the Academy before starting in on his food. Peering up at Autumn through his lashes as he ate Ravi found himself staring a little and wondered why. She was pretty, certainly, but there was something about her that drew his interest (well, more than usual for pretty redheads.) Probably scent he told himself. She did smell good, to be fair, but then so had Mari and Renata. Ms Dorn had smelled intriguing, both rival and female.

"So other than chasing cats into strange boys rooms, what are your interests?" he asked Autumn with a smile, adding "You seem well convinced that the attack wasn't a bear. Was that an informed opinion?" Green-gold eyes studied her face and eyes as he took a bite of his breakfast.

[Autumn Keane]

Autumn's brows had knit together in obvious consternation as Ravi so casually remarked upon the audacity (or lack of survival instinct, in her opinion) of his friends, but she filed her thoughts away for a more appropriate point in the conversation. Methodically peeling the crispy, lean strips of bacon away from the fat, she mulled over his question.

"Well," she began, rubbing the aromatic grease from her fingers onto a paper napkin, "I like being outdoors, mostly. I guess I've always been kind of a tomboy... running, jumping, climbing trees. Camping. I used to go bow-hunting with my dad a lot." She trailed off, her oceanic gaze distant for a long moment, fixed on some invisible point over his shoulder. The memories were all but visible in her eyes, and it seemed that if only he moved just slightly to one side, he would be able to see them reflected there in shades of blue and green and grey. Suddenly, she blinked, and the moment passed, and she was smiling a tiny, crooked smile as she dipped her head to push what passed for scrambled eggs around on her plate. "Anyway, um, they let me bring my bow. I guess there's an archery range here, so at least I can use it as one of my extra-curriculars. And, yeah, I used to run around the park with my dad or one of the other guys he worked with, and I learned a lot about basic survival stuff. You know, what to do if you get caught without shelter, or how to find north, how to start a fire, what you can eat and what you can't, what to do if you run into a wild animal." She shrugged, a diffident gesture born of self-consciousness; being poster child for the Wilderness Girls didn't exactly inspire your peers, of the male or female variety, to beat a path to your door. The redhead chewed a shredded strip of bacon in what was, to her, a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Black bears," she added, more quietly, "or any other wild animals, really, tend to avoid humans. Unless they're caught by surprise, or threatened, or they've learned to associate people with food, most of them would rather just get out of Dodge." She shook her head, frowning, idly turning another mutilated piece of bacon in her fingers. "It just doesn't make sense that something like that would have not only wandered onto the campus grounds, but eat-" She blanched, hastily correcting herself. "Attacked someone without being provoked. The circumstances would've had to be pretty severe... starvation, disease, something like that. I mean," she continued slowly, her lips twisting as she chewed the inside of her cheek. "The horses were attacked, too, so it's not completely out of the question, but if it was really a bear, and really starving, I don't think it would've just left the kill there to rot. If it was injured, or sick, it wouldn't have gone after the horses."

Autumn looked up at him suddenly, her pale, clear eyes serious and inquisitive as they met his. No anxious blush flooded her lightly freckled cheeks this time, and her gaze was startlingly direct.

"Does that make sense?"

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

"Very good sense." Ravi nodded, taking a sip of juice. "I'd heard that a number of horses had been attacked, and it sounded to me like a fox or weasel had gotten into a henhouse, you know? A predator gone crazy? That doesn't sound like a bear to me, though I'm not an expert." He leaned back, plucking a strip of bacon from his plate with long dextrous fingers and chewing on it thoughtfully, his gaze on her. "Maybe it was just crazy."

What came next wasn't really something he'd thought out; there was a strong element of playful devilment in it, as well as an urge to skirt danger. After all, the girl was a hunter. Wouldn't it be fun if...? Arrogance, mischief and boredom made for poor bedfellows.

"In India, they say that a leopard is bold enough to climb in through a window and steal a child, that they have no fear of men like other animals." he said conversationally. "They've also like to eat horses." He tilted his head to one side, gauging Autumn's reactions. "I admit, a leopard here seems unlikely, but..."

"Ravi FitzCoventry?"

The question came from a thick-bellied, pock-faced man with a thin, scrubby beard and moustache that ringed his mouth, topped off with dirty brown hair and a pair of eyes that in another face might have been attractive but here, swallowed up in the fat folds around them, simply seemed piggy. He also stank of stale coffee, stale sweat, and unchanged underwear, Ravi realised with growing distaste as the man moved to pull up a chair and sit at the table he and Autumn shared.

Detective Kuhlman smiled and nodded at Autumn as he sat, trying not to ogle the redhead's braless attributes. Christ, at least she wasn't a model like the other girls here, though she had a healthy outdoorsy glow to her that warranted a second glance. The guy, though...

Detective Kuhlman didn't like the guy.

Whatever else he was (and he was pretty sure that he was a pervert after interviewing Misses Palacios and Hodges), Kuhlman was a cop. He had a cop's instincts for trouble, coupled with a father's instinct for guys he would let his daughter date over his dead body. Looking at the tumbled black hair, the cafe-au-lait coloured skin, and the gleaming green eyes the detective mused that in this guy's case, his daughter would date him over his, that is to say, Ravi's dead body.

It wasn't the good looks. Not at all. Nor was it the languorous sensuality. No sir. It wasn't the fact that something about the well-groomed, beautiful young man screamed 'MALE' in a way that made him definitely not a harmless teenaged prettyboy... Actually, kind of was that last part and the rest besides. Ravi FitzCoventry might be from a blue-blooded family back in Ye Olde Englande, but Kuhlman didn't see a chinless trust-fund baby with more money than balls. There was something dangerous about him, a sense of the detective's that was heightened when the youth turned a narrowed gaze on him like a laser over the affable smile on his lips.

"Sorry to bother you at breakfast, but I was wondering if you'd mind an informal chat, Ravi. It is Ravi, right?"

"To my friends, yes." FitzCoventry responded with a faint smile. He fought off a surge of nervousness at the sight of the cop. Of course they'd be going around talking to students. "And you are?"

"Oh, sorry. Detective Calvin Kuhlman." The sweating man pulled out a notebook and pen. Ravi stared at it for a moment, then at the detective.

"How can I help you, Calvin?" The young man said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Kuhlman coughed and started to protest that he was Detective Kuhlman when on duty, but that would kind of ruin the whole 'informal' thing he was going for. The last thing the detective wanted was the snot calling his family's overpriced lawyer. He glanced at the girl.

"Oh, it's okay if Autumn stays, isn't it? After all, this is just informal." Ravi gave the older man a charming smile that managed to contain a lot of tooth.

"Uh, sure." Little shit. Kuhlman turned a page in his book and clicked his pen on. "I was wondering if you saw anything last night, Ravi." His piggy eyes regarded FitzCoventry keenly.

"Afraid not." Ravi shrugged. "I'd gone to bed early, you see, and my room is on the far side of Lancaster from the Quad." Kuhlman made a note.

"So you didn't hear any of the commotion? No shouts, no screams? It was quiet noisy last night, as I understand." The detective pressed. Ravi shook his head, smiling a little.

"Sorry, no. I took a couple of those herbal sleeping aid tablets" He looked at Autumn for a moment, smiling abashedly, before returning his gaze to the cop. "I've had trouble sleeping since I came to Colorado. Nightmares. I blame the thinner air."

"Sorry to hear that." Kuhlman said, almost meaning it. "So you didn't see or hear anything last night, is that correct?"

"That's right." Ravi's face was pleasantly calm, but his eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. Kuhlman smiled and drew a plastic bag out of his coat.

"Can you identify this for me?" he asked mildly as he set it down. A cold feeling in his stomach, Ravi leaned forwards. The glint of gold resolved into the ruined remnants of a signet ring, the crest on it still remarkably intact. Ravi stared at it for a long moment, his features blank as his mind raced.

Three black lions passant. Or, as he'd realised earlier today, leopards masquerading as lions.

Click to reveal.. (zomg blag it!)

Presence and Subterfuge + 2 for Striking Looks - 1 for Pred's Bearing, -2 for Ferocity, -1 for Feral Heart rating = 3 dice

Spending 1 WP for +3 dice.

1d10=8, 1d10=4, 1d10=5, 1d10=7, 1d10=8, 1d10=10

poppin' 10

1d10=7

3 succs = Quick recovery! He doesn't look instantly guilty, and seems to be as puzzled as he's pretending to be.

"Why yes, it's my signet." Ravi blinked after a short pause and looked back up at the detective, a faintly astonished expression on his face. "I couldn't find it this morning when I was dressing. Where was it?"

"A short distance from where the attack took place." The detective told him somberly, poking the bag with his pen. "Funny thing is, it looks like it was crushed or something." He fixed his eyes on Ravi, who returned the gaze with a mixture of confusion and dismay in his own green eyes.

"Can I have it back?" he asked, then immediately shook his head. "I suppose not."

"Not yet." Kuhlman confirmed. "It's technically crime scene evidence." Besides, you can probably afford replacements out of your pocket change. "Any idea what this was doing there?"

"None." Ravi shrugged. "Someone might have taken it while I was asleep or in the bath last night. I usually keep it on my nightstand." He stared at the ruined ring, which looked as though something had burst it open.

Kuhlman made a note of that, then closed his book. He didn't really believe that the FitzCoventry kid was involved, despite his questioning. The ring was an anomaly, something that might have been there first. It had looked as though someone had trashed it and thrown it away. Probably some kid that didn't like the English guy, Kuhlman reflected, getting at him through some petty act of theft and vandalism.

"After you're done with it, I'd appreciate it back." Ravi not-quite-requested, but politely enough.

"Of course." Detective Kuhlman nodded as he rose, scooping up the baggie and tucking it into his jacket. "I doubt there's really much call to hang onto something like this for long. I'll file a note of your request, and the department will be in touch when we're done with it."

"Thank you, Detective." Ravi nodded in return. Kuhlman tucked his chair back in under the nearby table and bid them both good morning before leaving them alone with, Ravi inwardly remarked, only his sour smell for company. He looked at Autumn.

"Well, that solves that mystery." he said lightly, though a frown furrowed his brow. The ring must have flown some distance from him when it had burst off during his transformation, which explained why A) it wasn't bloody and Mari and Renata hadn't found it. "I was wondering where that ring had gone. My father's not going to be too happy about it's theft, but that's life."

[SalmonMax]

Renata sat on the windowsill, intently focused on Sean. For once there was no sarcasm coming out of her, no petulance or bellicosity. In their absence she was actually more than a little cute. She'd be even cuter if she smiled...but that was not to be.

She was quiet though, as she gave herself time to go over what Sean had said and rearrange it into something she could make sense of.

"So," she said finally, "It's the Daltons, us, against the Caramine. They can only come here through a magic door somewhere on campus. There's a third group called the Lhesk who may be trying to help us. We also have a Caramine here, who's some bigwig except that she's lost her memory. Sometime, we don't know when, her people are gonna break thorough that door and steal Sean and Professor Dorn, and a bunch of other people. But we're supposed to stop them, because we, or some of us at least, are getting weird powers. That about the size of it?"

Sean checked off the tics in his head and nodded; she'd hit the main points.

Ren sighed. "You guys, you have to admit we're over our head here. What makes Brahn trustworthy? Who's to say Swan, AKA Relana Douchebag, isn't some kind of deep cover operative to spy on us before they come get us? SHE might not even know!"

"I think we should reconsider talking to Pritchard. We don't have to tell her everything yet, but at least she seems to be trying to protect the school and students."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan nodded, "More or less. Though I think there's more that we're forgetting." He modded to the painting which was still creeping him out. "Something wiped out our memories. I can barely even recall the social where all this took place. I'd put money down that the other people that got picked to be sacrifices to the Caramels," he smirked, refusing to say it correctly, "don't even remember, or if they do I bet weird shit's been happening to them too."

The senior looked around to the other students and Ms. Dorn, "What I don't get it the whole super power thing. I mean why only some of us? Ravi, myself, Ms. Dorn, but who else? Why haven't you turned into some kind of crazy metal man Sean? Or how come you and Mari haven't started flying around shooting lasers from your ... whatevers, Renata? It doesn't make any sense, especially you Sean, you got picked, Ms. Dorn and I got picked. We've gone all X-men, why haven't you?"

[SalmonMax]

"My whatevers?" Renata asked, eyebrows raised. She shrugged it off though, as Ryan's question brought up an interesting point for her.

"I wasn't picked, I don't think," she said. "And Mari wasn't even AT the social." Renata looked over at Mari and smiled. "I'd have remembered that much."

With a glance back at Ryan she went on, "And I haven't done anything weird. Mari, what about you?"

[Sylvia Dorn]

"There are others, Mr. Jackson. What they do may be somewhat subtle or rather different - such as Miss Ricci's newfound view of the dearly departed - but there are most assuredly others."

Sylvia paused at that point, considering carefully what to say next. When she did, it was in a carefully level tone of voice.

"I believe that perhaps Miss Hodges has a point. Ms. Pritchard is not going to give up on this matter; that much is clear. And this Mr. Reaver is a fair indication that at least a good portion of the Board of Directors is quite aware of the unusual history of Dalton Academy. That said, I don't trust them. I think perhaps a careful meeting would be in order, in conditions that are inopportune for any sort of an ambush on Swan - or any of us, for that matter."

[Atomicweasel]

“I definitely don’t have any...um...powers.” Mari looked wryly at Ryan. “my whatevers haven’t shot anything at anyone, or anything like that.” She blushed and tugged at the hem of her skinny hoodie, pulling it straight and then giving a little cough into her fist and crossing her arms over her budding breasts as if she really feared they might suddenly open fire. “I mean, I can’t remember what happened before Friday. There’s like a few days that are just like...” Mari’s eyes drifted back to the terrible and beautiful mural that Frida had painted. “gone...but I just figured that was the stomach flu everyone was getting. The fever and everything.” Mari was so soft-spoken that the others had to strain to hear her.

“I guess that’s pretty much it. Well...” The beast’s hot breath hit her face with the stink of death. It roared, and Mari knew its hunger and its rage. As it ripped into her flesh and she screamed, Ravi’s eyes looked back from its face. “and there was the dream. I guess. I had a pretty scary dream.” Mari bites her tongue, chews her swollen lower lip. She wasn’t quite ready to tell them she had shared the dream with Ravi.

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

Renata quickly went over to Mari's side and stood in solidarity with her fellow Non-Powered Person. She bumped shoulders with the shorter girl and asked, "What happened in it?" she urged.

"Who knows? It might be important. Frida paints a picture...maybe your thing is dreams, you know?"

Mari answered Renata’s shoulder bump with a willowy sway that culminated with a timid little nudge of her own.  “Mmm.”  The blush Ryan had put on her face deepened, blooming rosily beneath her golden tan.  “I dunno.  It’s...kinda personal,” she cut a sidelong look up at Renata, transferred her hands back to the pockets of her shorts, and hastened to add, “and it was only just one dream.”

Renata grinned. "Oh, THAT kind of dream. All right, nevermind then," for now. "I hardly ever remember my dreams, but anyway, the point is Im kind of feeling like Mari and me are't really...IN this. Like, we're just outside, looking in. All the stuff you're talking about is stuff we're watching, not taking part in."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan shrugged his shoulders, "And before last night I couldn't have told you that you have three quarters, a nickle, and either a penny or a dime in your pocket." He paused, rolling his eyes, "I can't tell cause they're almost the same size."

Ryan looked at the only "adult" in the room, although by law and almost any cultural measuring stick Ryan was an adult as well. "What kind of meeting? And where can we be sure that Bitchard and Corpse-boy aren't going to sneak in and do bad things? I'm all for trying to sort this shit out, but I think we're not going to get far unless Swan remembers something or we can find Bran and get some real answers out of him."

[z022]

"Whoa, hey, back it up you two. Starting a fight with cops crawling around - starting a fight at all is a bad idea." Lucia was still blinking from her double vision, but put herself between Rosa and Yasu.

She planted her hands on her hips, very much resembling her mother at the moment. "Now, what's this about being bound to you? I'm not sure what you are, except that you kinda look a like a cross between someone normal and a bookkeeper from like the 1800's. Well, you look like both of them, and I've got to say that that's almost the weirdest thing I've seen in the past couple of weeks."

She shook her head, lips set in a thin line and hands still on her hips as she continued. "And while I'm sure there's all sorts of mysterious talking-arounds about what you are or who the Hidden or Changed people are, I really don't care right now unless it tells me where my mother is." She tilter her chin up, aristocratic despite her questionable heritage, and waited for Yasu's response.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"Well, despite everything else, Bitchard and the Corpsenator are still administrators and we're still students, they can't just make one of us disappear without raising more questions," Sean offered - and hoped was right. "Those without any official records - like say, someone from another dimension like Swan here-" Sean placed a hand on the milky-skinned woman's shoulder protectively, "-wouldn't be so lucky. I could hide her somewhere while Ms. Dorn and whoever else is willing goes speak with Bitchard."

Sean turned to Renata, nodding in acknowledgment of her concerns, if not with full agreement. "I don't fully trust Brahn either, but at the moment, I'm willing to believe the Caramines are both our enemies. And he even if he's hiding things - and I'm sure he is - he still knows more about what is going on then we do. As for Swan, until I have proof otherwise, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt - she's been every bit as messed up as we have. You didn't see her when we found her bleeding on the ground, nor see her face when she realized what her sword did."

The look Sean directed at Renata was resolute and emphatic before he turned back to Ryan, mouth twisting in a crooked grin. "And powers? Really Ryan, some of us were already gifted beyond the common man," Sean said flippantly, flexing a thickly muscled arm. Despite the glib tone, there was an apprehensive light in his eyes. Radar might have been cool and he wasn't sure about being a were-cougar, but seeing dead people wasn't, nor was having nightmares.

"And messed-up dreams don't count either - I've been having those lately too," he shared with Mari, grinning with camaraderie, though Mari sincerely doubted his dreams were anything like hers... He didn't seem the type.

[Dawn OOC]

Rosa was frowning at her now, but before Lucia could ask, Yasu spoke up. “I will tell you all, if you all agree to be bound,” he/she said. Those strange eyes settled on Lucia again. “Though I suspect that you will not need the binding. You seem… changed yourself. I’m not sure what you are, but I know that you are more than human.

“Regardless, agree or not,” Yasu replied. “Do not, and I will trouble you no further. Do and I will give you all the information you desire. Within my own limits. I suspect… strongly… that your mother was keeping secrets from more than you.”

[z022]

Lucia bit her lip and glanced at Rosa, doing her best not to look to the woods around them for the comfort of Ahvia's presence. She crossed her arms, "What exactly do you mean by binding? And I don't speak for Rosa; she makes her own decisions."

The last was said emphatically. Lucia didn't like the combative energy between the two, but she needed both of them. Rosa because she was her best friend and Yasu because he/it was the last link she had to her mother right now.

[Atomicweasel]

Mari tried not to stare at Sean. She didn’t want to seem rude. Most of all, she didn’t want Sean to think she was the least bit captivated by his flexing display. That would only encourage more such displays. It seemed like every time she saw him, Twice Mari. You’ve only seen him twice, he was flexing a muscle at her. Or someone. Mari had an image then, of Sean standing in front of a full length mirror, flexing at his reflection, pumping his arm this way and that, making his abdomen ripple. Straining until he was red in the face and all his veins stood out. She made her lips into a straight little line to avoid a burst of laughter. If Sean were in a crowded theater and a fire started, Mari was sure he would take the time to flex before leaving his seat. If he were aboard a sinking boat, on his way to the bottom of the sea, would he spend his last few moments on this earth to strike a pose? He would, Mari knew. Because he was such a...boy. Let he (or she) who is without sin cast the first stone. Mari reminded herself. Could she truly say she’d never belittled herself with Pride? She had only to blink her eyes closed to see a whole procession of her most brilliant soccer goals replay themselves in her mind. The bicycle kicks. The flip throw-ins. The taunting supremacy of her dribbling skills...it was the worst kind of showing off. How could she judge Sean?

Mari’s hazel eyes considered the big handsome jock before her. He probably had no other measure of success than his own body. He probably depended on it for every ounce of ego he had, probably wrestled with a terrible insecurity. Mari felt suddenly and deeply ashamed herself for her uncharitable thoughts. Sean was probably reaching out, desperate for some approval he lacked and Mari was giggling—albeit inwardly—at his expense. To right her wrongs she answered Sean’s grin with a sweet smile, a smile so bright and warm and good that Sean could feel its heat all the way across the room. It went through his eyes and into his veins and made his blood surge with newfound strength. The smile was so much more than a smile. It was pure. It was a religious experience. It was rapture...and then it was gone, and Mari was just a cute freshman with an infectious grin and nothing more.

__________________

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

[SalmonMax]

Renata shrugged at Sean. "I dunno, man. I'm hearing a lot of 'I agree with you, buts' coming out of you...which is just an overly polite way of saying you disagree with me. And I'm fine with disagreement, especially with this stuff since, like I said, none of it really affects me at all. I'm just a...like a contractor. You guys need help, so here I am. But I'm not personally involved."

"So here's my help. Figure out how the door got locked the first time. Take this Brahn or Bran or whatever his name is, and throw him out the door. Do the same with Swan. Then lock it again. Simple. Safe. Smart. With the door shut, people lose their freaky-deaky powers and can get on with being regular people again. Alien invasion thwarted. All's right in the world."

"If you still need a big glowing arrow to follow, if you want to find out how to lock the door, go see the one who locked it...Mrs Pritchard."

She folded her arms and smirked. "So you wanna pay my consulting fee cash, check or charge?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

In the face of the sugary sweetness of Mari's pure smile, Sean's slightly self-mocking grin softened, sharing the moment with the svelte freshman. If he was feeling a trace of regret at being passed over by the Freaky-Power-Fairy, it faded under the light of Mari's smile.

Listening to Renata giving her advice, Sean leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms and smirking back. "Sorry Ren, not paying up yet. There's one problem - well, at least one problem with that... It's only a temporary fix. You just want to leave this problem for whoever else comes to Dalton later?" Sean shook his head. "I don't think I can do that... not the least because I don't want to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life, wondering if the Door has been broken open and the Caramines are coming after me for their Harvest."

[SalmonMax]

Renata shrugged, her nonchalance a reminder that she was under no such pressure.

"All right, so we're off to see the Pritchard, then?" she asked, looking at Sylvia. "Seeing as how she's probably the only one who knows what's going on who's mind is intact."

[Dawn OOC]

"Perhaps not all should go," Swan spoke up. She'd been following the conversation quietly, listening to the back and forth. "The Pritchard seems to not be omniscient; keeping her in the dark about our true numbers seems to be wise. And I agree with Sean - I would prefer to stay away from her as well.

"Perhaps a handful should go, while the rest consult the kingly library for more information? If your parents were involved, perhaps there is something more available about that in your halls of knowledge."

[Dawn OOC]

“It will not restrict her free will,” Yasu assured. “It will provide real consequences for her breaking her trust with me. And I will trust her, in the time-honored ways of our hunted people, or you will have no more help from me, only unanswered questions.”

“So what are you talking about?” Rosa said. “Do I have to sign a contract in my own blood?”

Yasu chuckled. “Not quite. But your soul will be bound to mine or a year and a day, and during that time, you will be bound to keep my secrets. I give you my word that I will put no further sanctions or requirements on you,” the strange being told her.

“OK, let’s get going then,” Rosa said. “What do I do?”

“We need privacy,” Yasu said. “Somewhere to not be seen. Can you provide this?”

[Ryan Jackson]

"Uuuhhhh," Ryan elegantly put forth, "I think we should think about this a little more. I'm not saying we shouldn't see what that creepy bitch knows but maybe we should think about this a little more, um, three dimensionally?"

"Meaning what?" Sean prompted not following Ryan.

"Meaning that one or more of us should stay here and maybe try to br-, err, sneak into her office and see what they can find while the rest of us confront her. Heck maybe a third group should look for the door while we know she's away from campus? We should find Ravi and draft him into this too, he's part of it for sure, I can't think he wouldn't want to help."

[Ravi FitzCoventry]

As he wandered out into the morning sunshine and slipped a pair of shades over his scintillant green eyes, Ravi was in a temperamental state of mind.

On the one hand, he was fairly sure that he'd managed to deflect official suspicion of his involvement in last night's goings-on. Additionally, he'd had breakfast with a comely young woman wearing no bra, which was always one of the best ways to start the day. Making new friends and deflecting trouble both lifted his spirits.

On the other hand... Autumn had seemed reluctant to speak after the cop had come over for his 'informal' interview, damn him. She had finished her meal and then, smiling, had made her excuses and gone to get showered and changed after her tree-climbing exertions. The bovine little man had definitely put a dampener on the morning. To dampen Ravi's spirits further, the forensics team was still combing the ground of the quad, a reminder of his misdeeds the night before.

"Damn it all." he muttered sourly, looking around for some diversion from his mixture of guilt and annoyance before setting off in a random direction through the loose knots of students standing talking in hushed tones around the crime scene perimeter.

Almost immediately he noticed the effect he was having. The nearest crowd of kids shifted and eddied as he moved through them, made uneasy by something that they could not consciously pinpoint, but still felt was there. A girl glanced his way and stared until he smiled at her, then dropped her gaze hurriedly and turned away. He felt the eyes on his back as he passed her, heard the whispering nearby as clearly as if he were the one being whispered to, rather than about. He could smell nervousness and arousal on the wind and found it distracting, an intrusion on his peace of mind.

Father, you might have prepared me a little better for this. he mused sourly to his absent parent. Then he wondered: hadn't much of his life been a preparation for this?

"Proper grooming is what separates higher animals from lowly beasts." his father had always told him. Another tidbit came to him then,

"You are always going to be a little apart, Ravi." the older man had told him one sunny day as the pair, father and son, had watched cricket at Lords on Ravi's eleventh birthday. "You are a lot like your grandfather, and he always has walked his own path. Your mother worries, but I understand, as does grandmother."

"Is this like my having grandfather's eyes?" the boy, dark-skinned from spending the first half of the summer in India, asked earnestly. "Both grandmother and my aunts made a lot of fuss about my eyes." He looked at his father, his expression inquisitive. The elder FitzCoventry just smiled slightly without taking his gaze from the cricket.

"Very much like having his eyes." he told his son, a hint of pride in his voice.

All the clues were there, Ravi realised as he wandered aimlessly, hands in his pockets, around the Academy grounds. He'd always been groomed for this... this Change, just without the few crucial blanks filled-in. As he mused over this revelation, Ravi realised that the time was coming when he wouldn't be able to put off talking to his family for much longer.

It's coming, but it's not quite here yet. he told himself. I want to have a firmer grip on this thing before I go blurting out "Guess what happened to ME at school!" And in that vein...

He looked around, eyes narrowed as he realised he'd wandered back towards Lancaster House. Now, where would Ms Dorn and Ryan be? If I remember rightly, he, Sean and Swan had a strange night too from what he blurted out when he came to my room...

[SalmonMax]

"Sounds like a dumb plan to me," Renata said with her customary tact. "Save the breaking in for if she won't play ball. Otherwise you piss her off right when we're finally making friends. Besides, you can climb walls, but do you know the first thing about picking locks? Alarms? You're no criminal, Ryan."

She took a deep breath and reiterated, "We don't all have to go, but I think Ms Dorn should, and maybe one or two others. Oh, and probably not Ravi," she pointed out to Ryan. "Seeing as how the last time she saw him, he was trying to take a bite out of her head."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean blinked. Oh, right, Ravi went all catty because of Pritchard threatening Frida. "Well then, maybe just the threat of him bein' there will keep Bitchard from tryin' to pull a fast one," Sean told Renata, tone sounding not the least sympathetic to Pritchard's plight. "And I think Ryan's idea was to take a 'look around' when we know Bitchard isn't kickin' around."

Sean looked around at the others, trying to gauge their intents. "I'll go with Swan to the Library - Not many will think to look for me - us - there. Frida, since you dorm in Lancaster too, would you go see if Ravi is around and willin' to join in... this?" The broad-shouldered junior turned back to Renata and the svelte freshman standing by her side. "If you want to stay clear of Pritchard but don't want to be left out of the loop, I'd say come with us to the Library, but it's up to you guys. That sound good, Ms. Dorn?"

[Ryan Jackson]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"Sounds like a dumb plan to me," Renata said with her customary tact. "... Besides, you can climb walls, but do you know the first thing about picking locks? Alarms? You're no criminal, Ryan."

Ryan's gaze coalesced and became oddly shifty, "My legal representation would likely prefer me to plead the fifth." He paused, "Which I do. However a boring dead guy once said, 'nothing ventured nothing gained', so I don't see a good reason not to at least try." He listened to Sean's reply and nodded, "Yeah if we know she's not home it should be pretty safe. An' if Ravi is gonna go all 'saucer of milk and scratching post' around Bitchard then don't bring him. Or bring him for insurance," he shrugged, "whatever works."

[Frida Ricci]

Frida's gaze shifted with the conversation as she watched the others vocalize their opinions. She considered going to the library with Sean and the others in order to attempt to research Dalton's history.. but the events from last night kept playing in her mind, that unpleasant tug of subconscious warning as Pritchard had reached for her right before Ravi had attacked. She wanted to understand what was going on.

"I'll go with Mrs. Dorn, if that's alright. I leave it to her to decide whether Ravi should accompany us. On one hand, we don't know if he's calmed down sufficiently from last night's situation to attempt another confrontation with Mrs. Pritchard and whomever might be accompanying her. On the other hand, the combined presence of both yourself and Ravi, Mrs. Dorn, might encourage more truthful and forthcoming discourse. Shall I call him?"

With that she pulled out her cell phone and attempted to power it up. She sighed slightly upon realizing the battery was dead, then shrugged.

"Mundane concerns have not yet abandoned us in our hour of oddity. I suppose we could check Lancaster dormitory, and if he's not present, then I can call him from there once I plug my cell phone in."

[z022]

"There's the dorm room, but that's not really all that private and someone would probably tell the House Mother that I had a strange man with me. Or the cops." She mused for a moment, tapping her lip as she thought. "How about just deeper into the woods? We can steer around where the cops are looking for whatever and find a secluded spot."

She looked over to Yasu, her head still aching from trying to reconcile the double images. "Does that work for you?"

[SalmonMax]

Renata handed Frida her cellphone and gestured at it. "Give him a call. I think it's a mistake to bring him, but I'm far from in charge, and you guys'll do whatever, so I'm not wasting my breath. Just call him and lets get something done today."

[Sylvia Dorn]

"All things considered," Sylvia interjected, "it might be best not to have Mr. FitzCoventry and I both in attendance at this meeting. We seem to have certain..." she hesitated for a moment, a slight blush beginning to show "...territorial issues that might impede a productive meeting."

She looked around at the little group, then said to Swan, "Mr. Cassidy is quite right; you shouldn't attend, either. I think your idea of researching in the library has merit, and Mr. Cassidy is probably the best one to stand with you in that. Perhaps Mr. FitzCoventry could be convinced to join you." She immediately regretted her choice of words, but there was nothing to be done for it.

"So, aside from Miss Ricci, who will be coming with me?"

[Ryan Jackson]

"Well, I'm still gonna check out her office. Worst case I waste my time not getting inside." Ryan cracked his knuckles for emphasis and he did and it was not difficult to think that he would get into Pritchard's office one way or another unless every way was barred and locked.

[SalmonMax]

"I'd say the worst case would be that you trip an alarm, panic, and get stuck somehow for the police to pick up," Renata says, evidently having no trouble not believing Ryan would get into Pritchard's office, "But that's your cross to bear, not mine."

She shrugged, then diffidently added, "For what it's worth though, good luck."

[Atomicweasel]

“I can call Ravi.” Mari suddenly blurted, more vehemently than she’d intended. She quickly whipped out her cell-phone and dialed, looking up at Frida to announce, “I’m dialing right now,” just in case there were any doubt. Mari paced a tight circle while she waited for Ravi to answer, glancing sidelong at Ryan. “I don’t really get what’s going on still...and I dunno, maybe you know a lot more than I do, but I don’t think you should go breaking into anyone’s office. That’s illegal. I don’t want to be a part of anything like that, robbing people and whatever just cuz they might be in on something when we don’t even really know anything about anything y—hold on, it’s ringing.”

Mari stopped her pacing and stood still, one hand holding the cheap Verizon cell-phone to her ear, the other tucked beneath her arm. “Ravi?”

__________________

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

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean's dark brows crooked as he gave Mari a wry look, but there was something sympathetic in his blue-grey eyes. He didn't want anyone involved with all... all this if they could avoid it. That's why he hadn't really mentioned anything to Blaize yet. "I'm sorry Mari, but if you haven't gone to the cops yet about what it seems Ravi and Ms. Dorn did to that guard, I don't see how you can quibble about Ryan just taking a look around. He's not gonna take anything." He gave Renata a tight grin. "And doing it now before Bitchard expects it seems like a better way to avoid gettin' caught, don't you?"

Sean gave Ms. Dorn a nod. "Me and Swan will leave now then, so we aren't all seen leavin' at the same time. Whoever else wants to look around the Library - Mari and Ravi? - you guys can meet up with us there. Later guys, and seriously, be careful."

He gathered up Swan under an arm, peeked out the door, picked up the painting supplies they ended up not using, then slid out with the former Caramine in tow. He was planning of circling around the Admin building so he could drop of the painting supplies and coincidentally, completely avoiding the Quad.