Academy 218 - IC (Act 6: Reverence and Inspirational Misery)

Claire, Neal, and Titus (ie the resident buttmonkey)

As usual this time of day, Claire was smoking. She was leaning up against the wall of the training center, a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth and her arms crossed about her chest, making her look rough and imposing, not like someone you want to deal with. Just above her was a light that casted a whitish glow down at her and causing three strong shadows to appear in front of her. Neal happened to pass by, and decided to walk over and say hello. They had become friendly with one another in the past week, as they were in several classes together.

"Sup DaVinci." she said with a puff of smoke.

"Sign says no smoking, you know." Neal mused, smiling and pointing at the metal sign on a post a few feet away. Claire rolled her eyes and one of her three shadows vanished. The sign made a loud creaking noise and was torn from the post. It went sailing across the sidewalk outside of the training center and bounced off of the wall of another building.

"I don't see a sign." she replied, smirking "Cigarette?"

"No thanks. I don't smoke." Neal shook his head and held his arms out at his sides. He spoke with his hands quite a lot, something that Claire joked about commonly.

"Oh come on!" she replied, blowing another cloud of smoke into the air "Don't be boring!"

"Dude, do you know how many carcinogens are in one of those? It's like smoking a tumor!"

"Everything's a damn carcinogen!" Claire retorted, still smiling "The sun is a f*cking carcinogen! Soda is a carcinogen! Hell, even air is a f*cking carcinogen! Live a little, man!" Neal frowned, and looked at the cigarette. He remembered this feeling as peer pressure, something that teachers had always told him not to follow. She had a point, though, and Neal did want more friends. He grimaced uncomfortable and finally gave in.

"Fine." He finally said, smirking and leaning up against the wall next to her. Claire produced a cigarette from her pocket and handed it to him. He looked at the stick skeptically as she took out a lighter and met his eyes. "Just this once."

"We'll see."

"Claire..." Claire laughed as she lit the cigarette and replaced the lighter in the inside pocket of her jacket as Neal slowly raised the cigarette to his mouth. She met his eyes assuringly, nodding her head as he reluctantly placed the end of the cigarette in his mouth and inhaled. Immediately his lungs and throat began to burn and he pulled the cigarette away. He fell to his knees coughing, and Claire busted out laughing. He shot her a venomous glare and rose to his feet again, the cigarette miraculously still alight.

"I hate you so much right now." he seethed, looking down at the cigarette with disgust.

"That always happens the first time you smoke." Claire replied "Trust me, you'll get used to it." Neal glared at her once more and rose the cigarette back to his mouth, not believing that he was going to do this again. Once more he inhaled, and the smoke filled his lungs. It was unpleasant and slightly painful, but he felt a sort of relaxing vibe to it. Slowly it began to feel better and better until finally Neal exhaled, sending a cloud of greyish gas into the air.

"So what do you think?" Claire said, smiling eagerly.

"It's okay, I guess." Neal replied, smirking as he rose the cigarette back to his mouth. For a few moments they smoke in silence, Neal occasionally coughing and Claire showing him how to knock off the burnt remains when they got too long on the end. Soon enough, someone began to come lumbering down the sidewalk, a frown on his face and his chest puffed out with rage.

Spoiler:

"Yo, is that the asshole you beat up?" Claire said to Neal rather loudly.

"Yeah." He whispered, looking the other direction. Neal really didn't want to have to fight this guy again. While it was slightly entertaining to kick his ass, the guy really did not seem like he would be easy to beat a second time. He could get in trouble too. While Megan may have covered for him the first time, Neal was sure that an outdoor battle outside of the training center would most definitely alert the authorities. Claire had other ideas, however.

"Hey meathead!" Claire yelled out as loud as she could "Was it fun getting your ass kicked?!" Titus turned his head and saw Neal standing there next to a girl in a leather jacket. Immediately his fists clenched and he began to walk over to them, smashing through the post that the no smoking sign had been on. Neal shot Claire yet another venomous look, and she smiled back deviously. This was a test that she often used back home. She wanted to see if Neal had the balls to fight the guy.

"Hello, Titus." Neal spat, not making eye contact with the hulking beast.

"You hurt me." he said "Nobody hurts me and lives."

"He's still alive." Claire retorted, drawing another dirty look from Neal.

"Look dude." Neal replied "I'm not going to waste the energy to kick your ass a second time. Just go eat some raw egg or something why don't you?" Titus growled menacingly as he got within five feet of Neal. Neal instinctively summoned his shield as Titus swung his baseball mitt-sized fist at Neal. The fist met the shield and left a sizable dent. Neal stumbled back and braced himself on the wall. Claire moved out of the way towards the doors of the training center, not wanting to get punched by Mr.Roids.

"I'll leave you guys to it, then." she said, slipping in the door. Neal snarled and rolled out of the way as Titus punched once more, this time hitting the wall and cracking several bricks. He cried out in pain as Neal stood with shield at the ready. He couldn't get in trouble for simply defending himself from Titus, afterall. The round Captain America-style shield vanished and was replaced by a romanesque tower shield. Neal held it up and blocked yet another punch. The shield dented and he felt a terrible pain as the shock from the hit traveled up his arm. He stumbled backwards and fell onto his back as Titus approached. Neal held out his hand and a wall sprung up from the ground between himself and Titus. Titus punched the wall several times, but it held fast. Neal scrambled to his feet as Titus took several steps back and ran at the wall full speed, his arms crossed over his chest and his shoulder ducked, bracing for impact. He smashed the wall to smithereens, sending shrapnel flying. Neal held up the shield as Titus moved to punch him. The behemoth moved to strike when he suddenly found himself unable to move his arms.

"That's enough!" Claire barked, two shadows now restraining both of his arms. Titus felt a kick strike the back of his knees and he fell forward, unable to get up due to the force restraining his arms. Claire walked up to him from behind and kicked Titus in the back of the head. Neal's shield disappeared as he took several steps back. Claire kicked Titus in the right armpit with full strength, and he gasped as one of his ribs cracked. He lunged backwards, pulling the shadows (which were weak due to the low amount of light) into the air and swinging a punch at Claire. A purple shield appeared between them, deflecting Titus' punch and sending him wheeling backwards, his fist throbbing. Neal and Claire stood side by side, ready to take him down. He looked up as Claire kicked him in the face, and found that both of his arms were being restrained by purple chains attached to the sidewalk. He pulled with all of his might, cracking the sidewalk and pulling the chains out of their fixtures. The chains vanished into dust as Neal took several steps back, the tower shield reappearing.

"Let's just end this now before someone gets hurt." Neal said "Neither of us want a trip to the detention center, okay?" Titus snarled and felt his ribs heal. Neal had a point, though; five days in the detention center wasn't fun, and this guy was dangerous. Getting shot at with arrows hurt wasn't a fun experience. He crossed his arms about his chest and sighed.

"Fine." Titus finally said "I'll kick your ass some other time." He turned around and stormed off through the flurrying snow. Claire laughed heartily and crouched down to throw a snowball at the retreating Titus.

"Put the damn snowball down." Neal hissed at Claire as his shield disintegrated. She rolled her eyes and dropped the snow.

"Fine." she replied "Let's go inside. I'm freezing my tits off out here." She began to walk towards the doors to the training center, a smile on her face. Neal had passed the test. He reluctantly followed her inside. Once they arrived inside, the two paused in front of a window at the side of a training room. A loud roar could be heard from the inside as Drake battled through Adam's winds. Claire's eyes lit up when she saw Drake. He was the perfect combination of attractive and ballsy, two things that made Claire like him quite a bit. She bit her lip and looked over at Neal, hoping he didn't notice her.

"You can drop the act." he said "You are extremely obvious."

"Oh f*ck you." she sighed, punching him in the arm.

"Wouldn't you rather save that for him?" Neal smirked and took a step back as Claire swung at him again, her cheeks flushed red and a half-smile on her face.

"You're an asshole." she snapped at him, trying to suppress the guilty smile but failing.

"Why don't you go train with him?" Neal asked "He seems like the type that likes to fight."

"Are you f*cking nuts? He'd fry me!" Claire retorted, looking at Neal as if he were insane.

"Nah. Everyone has an off switch, especially the son of a trainer. If you fight him, he will be able to restrain himself enough that you don't get fried. Claire shrugged and looked over at him. It seemed as if Adam had just sent him sprawling. Fighting Drake would be a good opportunity to hone her skills further and to make friends- maybe even more than friends- with Drake.

"Eh why not." she said after a few seconds "You gonna be okay if I go fight him?"

"Yeah I'll live. I'm content with watching." Neal replied, leaning back against the wall. Claire walked over to the door to the training room, her stomach filled with butterflies. Neal gave her a thumbs up and nodded reassuringly. Claire took a deep breath and opened the door. She tried to picture that she was back home with her crew. They always filled her with confidence, and as she thought about them her cheeks returned to their normal color and her nerves steadied.

"Hey Mr.Blackmore!" Claire said "Mind if I intervene? I wanted to work on my powers some and I can't find any of the other trainers." Neal watched from the window, his head leaning against the pane.

Eli and Ariella

Eli and Ariella were sitting at a table in Eli's dorm that was covered with books. A laptop sat in front of Ariella, and she was scanning through the school website, trying to find anything about a little girl who had died with her mother on campus. Eli was flipping through an old school yearbook from about ten years ago. He scanned the pictures carefully, trying to find anyone who matched the little girl's appearance. He found nothing, and closed the book rather loudly, sending a flurry of dust into the air.

"Nothing." he sighed loudly, tossing the yearbook at a pile of similar ones next to the table "There's something odd about this."

"There are still ten years worth of yearbooks on the table." Ariella said, looking up from her computer and gesturing to the stack of yearbooks.

"Yeah, but it wasn't that old of a ghost." he replied "It hasn't been around for more than five years tops."

"How can you tell?" she asked.

"The longer a ghost has existed in ethereal form, the paler it gets. This ghost was relatively dark and still had a bit of color in her, which is how I know that I'm looking for a girl with blonde hair. An older ghost, say, one that's fifty years old, is much paler and has no color to it, only greyness." Ariella shrugged and looked back down at her computer, a puzzled look on her face. She was just as unsuccessful. The website had no records of any girl that fit Eli's description, nor were there any articles about the death of a girl with those features. She sighed similarly to Eli's sigh and lowered the screen of her laptop. She rested her head in her left hand and looked down at the table. She had a sinus headache, something that occurred chronically for her since she was a child.

"Are you alright?" Eli asked "You don't look well at all."

"I'm...I'm fine." Ariella weakly replied "I get these a lot. Stupid headaches. It'll...go away eventually."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Um...well coffee usually helps." she said "Would you mind getting me a...white chocolate latte from the cafe?"

"Absolutely." Eli smiled reassuringly and rose from his seat "I'll be back in a few minutes. Just relax. Turn the lights out if you want. Your health is more important than a ghost."

"Thank you." Ariella replied, smiling weakly. Eli was so incredibly kind at times that all Ariella could do was smile. They had only known each other for around a week, and already she knew that he was a fantastic person to be around. Eli opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. The door closed behind him as he turned right and began to walk towards the stairwell. About halfway down the stairs, he had an epiphany. His eyes widened and he smiled widely. Of course! Sage could detect auras! He/she/whatever Sage was could be very helpful in finding where the ghost girl went. He took out his iPhone and sent Sage a text (he had obtained Sage's number during the week) saying:

"Hey, can you come to the dorm in a few minutes? I could use your help with something." He sent the message and continued to walk to the cafe through the gently falling snow.

Ariella, meanwhile, had turned off the lights in the dorm and was laying on the couch, attempting to take a nap in order to alleviate her migraine. Her jacket and boots laid in a heap next to where she was laying. She wore a wrinkled yellow tank top and blue skinny jeans with several small rips in them. Her breathing was shallow and laborious as she tried to keep her head from pounding. Her vision had gone slightly blurry, and she occasionally saw bright flashes of light. Every sound in the room, from the whirr of the heating vents to the slam as the door closed was magnified tenfold. This was a particularly bad migraine, though she had experienced worse. All she could hope is that Eli returned soon with that coffee.

Valery Arsov and Felina

"You cannot be serious."

"Stop being rain on parade. Now listen, I held up my end of the deal. Now you do yours."

Felina's eyes widened a bit, her lip curling back slightly. "You are an imbecile-"

"Look, if we are getting into a contest of who knows more English, you c-"

"There is no way I could even fit through there, Valery! Look at me! Then look at that!"

Valery, holding a half-hearted glare at Felina for a moment or two, let his eye flicker up to the air vent, which was perhaps two feet by two feet. Felina, nearing five hundred pounds and sitting on all fours (and, while she may have had the exact same facial expression of an angry housecat who thinks he rules the world, she at least had the muscle to back it up) and glaring right back.

"Okay, you are maybe a tiny bit too big."

Felina hissed softly, an action she wasn't entirely aware of doing. Val, who wasn't often frightened, did fear a slight smidge of fear at the jungle cat rearing up at him, but he tried to remain calm. "Big like, your tail would get in the way big," he said. "Not like...f*ck it, neither of us can fit. Who else is small enough for this?"

Felina mulled it over for a second. "The little one? The young beast?"

"That's like half the freshmen, Felina, be more specific."

"He has wings."

"...that's like half the freshmen, Felina, be more-"

"Bah! Forget it." Felina rose, leaning back for a moment to limber up before turning to leave. The necklace hanging over her jumpsuited chest swung back and forth, distinguishable from her fur only due to the glint of the lights on the maintenance hall.

"Fine! P*ssy! And I mean that literally, too!"

"F*ck yourself!" Felina snarled back, speaking in an enraged blend of Spanish and some more obscure language, lost to all but a few linguists with far too much free time.

"Go eat catnip and choke on a ball of yarn...or something, I don't know, f*ck you!" Valery shouted in Russian, not bothering to try and quiet himself. Not like there was much of a point. When freezing cold water came pouring through the pipes and made every guy and girl bathing in the Academy scream all at once, they were pretty much gonna know who did it. "Okay, let me think. Catwoman has said no, so she will not be of any help. Drake cannot do much here. I do not think Abe can, unless he can turn into very small rock." Val paused for a moment, considering the ventilation shaft. "Eh. No. Maybe Vespera could make spiders do it, but I do not like spiders, so that is a no. There is little winged kid that Furball mentioned, but I do not know who the hell that is. Maybe Titus could friendzone the ventilation shaft out of the way for me. Oh, wait, there's Lance, he turned into metal during the Arena...this is made of metal..." Val grinned wickedly, delivering a few quick jabs to the air in front of him in victory. "Aha! I love this school sometimes. Aw, sh*t, where the f*ck is that kid going to be..." Valery rubbed a hand across his facial hair, thinking of where someone he barely knew would spend their free time. "...hm. That's not going to work either. Maybe I could try...the hole isn't that small."

Felina had long since wandered out of the small maintenance hall where Valery stood, futilely trying to think of a way through the ventilation shaft into the locked room with the water heater that he knew was on the other side. She walked down the halls, feeling...pressure. Not physical pressure, but...something gnawed away at her. The jumpsuit felt too tight. Something was watching her, even though it was an empty hall.

She was going outside. Taking off at a light jog, Felina quickly moved to the nearest exit and bounded out into the snow, taking off for the woods around the school.

Arianna Madrigal

Coming later

Trace was sitting in the cafe, he hadn't been back the the arena in over a week, oddly it felt like he had already spent a large amount of time there. Trace also hadn't paid much attention to anyone he met that day in the past eight days. Trace was looking through a deck of cards that was a little bigger than the one he had over a week ago, he reached for a medium sized hot chocolate that was on the table, taking a sip of the molten, sugar filled beverage, before placing the cardboard liquid containment unit back down. At this point anything could be happening around Trace, with everything that he had seen this week, he didn't think anything would surprise him.

Ray Judah Drager, Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.

Celo wrote:

"I guess I'll leave you guys alone, then. But what I was going to say in the café earlier in the week I'll explain to you, now- I was going to offer up my assistance in some way. I can find out things about people if I just listen. I, also, because of that know several kids with... Interesting... Powers. Memory control, mind influence, you name it. I figured you might find that some of them would be useful. But okay. I'll just go. I'm sorry for wasting your time and once again sorry for the trouble I caused in the café. Anyways, don't worry- I'll keep whatever it is that I heard a secret."

"If..." Maybe Ray and Rush were a bit too hasty. Ray was looking down at the floor at his snow covered shoes, he was still bleeding quite a bit. Actually, the pair had left a convenient little trail of blood. This wasn't the first time they've their asses handed to them on a silver platter. But the state of their asses weren't the subject at large here. Ray had pretty much just pushed away the only help that seemed available. With Jasmine injured and out of commission, they have been in the dark about information. Ray walked forward, a hand outstretched, "Hey chick, wait!" Hope I'm making the right choice here. With Jasmine probably arrested for attempted murder and fear mongering... "Boy Genius, do your thing." He whispered, giving Rush a bump.

They both walked over to her. Rush was front and center yet again. He was going to be the one that recruits Mina in place of Jasmine. "Mina. We got off on wrong foot. Yes. Miss Cheng. Likely incarcerated until further notice. Could use replacement. You. Best option. Yes. Have noble goals. Dacious. Not whom he seems."

"Far as we're concerned Miss Cheng is out of the picture. But if she gives us any trouble I can take her down."


Amimoore Black Dellamorte, & Elizabeth Stacy Prezelin.

True Night wrote:

"Hello. My names Eric." It looked like the two were in an awkward conversation. The black haired girl looked like a dear in the headlights. "I'm not interrupting anything... am I?"

This boy is new. Amimoore thought to herself as she observed Eric's thoughts for a moment, as she's gotten over her previous fear of her using her telepathy on random people. He only walked up to them because he wanted someone to talk to, he didn't find either of the girls that attractive. It was, to be truthful, better than just using the girls for his own self gain. She liked that. Maybe this boy can be of use. A cheery, friendly smile, had moved up Amimoore's face, "Nope, not at all. I'm Amimoore Dellamorte. Nice to meet you."

Eliza was quiet, and kept her eyes on Eric, a look in her eyes that was a different kind of fear. Like she was in between running her ass off or fighting at the drop of a dime. Her usual behavior. Since new people frightened her, especially of the stranger variety. This boy looked odd to her... His jaw. Was metal, like he was in a horrid incident and it required metal substitution. It made her concerned of what he was into - It was intimidating. For Eliza, she wouldn't need surgery for such an injury. One good thing about this d*mn power of hers. She didn't say a word, but kept her eyes on Eric.

There was a brief awkward silence, as Ami was expecting Eliza to introduce herself. But she was too shy to do so. "... And this is my friend, Eliza." She said, rather awkwardly.

Say something. Amimoore mentally urged Eliza.

She was told to say something, so Eliza said the thing that was on her mind, "... What happened to your jaw? Or your leg... ?" She looked at Amimoore, then Eric, with sad eyes, "... I mean if you don't mind me asking... I wouldn't ever need any... prosthesis .... Ever."

"... Car accident." Amimoore said, blankly.


Jake Vin, & Jaska Din Valos.

Celo wrote:

"Aw, how cute!"

"They're pretty good. I, um... think I'm doing best in art, though."

"Well how about you? Um... Anything interesting happen in your first week? Meet any interesting people?"

The comment about how cute Ene made had Jake blushing. He tried to play it off by laughing like it was a funny joke, hoping that she wouldn't press on about it. While Jake and Arianna are friends, they aren't dating, at least not yet, unless their previous endeavors were called 'dates', but he wasn't going to get ahead of himself. "Good, good." Jake says after Ene said that her grades were doing good. Jake's grades were just fine, he was getting straight A's and B's. Though, he wasn't concerned with grades, he treated this place as more as a country club for Meta-humans. Jake wasn't going to say that, though. He felt like talking about the trip to the ruins, because it answers the question of what they did on their first day just fine. "... Well, let me tell you about our little field trip on the first da-" He was interrupted by Jaska,

"Jake..." Jaska says to his older brother, giving him the sad eyes. "... I don't want to be reminded..."

"Alright..." Jake said. He was about to ask something else, when one of the creepy girls approached him.

True Night wrote:

"Hello everyone. Your a skilled pianist Jake, takes the edge off of things."

Jake turned to Vespera, an older woman, gothic attire, obviously kinda odd compared to the other people that he talked to - Hell, Jake made friends in everyone, one way or another. But, regardless of her appearance, he couldn't turn down a compliment, "Oh, thanks. I had tons of time to practice, Vespera." What a weird name.

When Vespera approached Jaska was immediately set off - His instincts told him that he was in he presence of another predator, a older and more experienced predator. It put him on edge, made him attentive and ready for action. He went from lying down on the piano to sitting on it, his exact posture was very similar to a stone gargoyle. Hands in front of him, rested on the piano, and legs bent to the side. He was unaware to the fact that he was digging his claws too deep into the piano, and left some pretty deep gashes in an otherwise perfect piano. Jaska leaned in forward towards Vespera, and took in some deep sniffs through his nose. She smelled like the perfume that his mother put on constantly, at least to him. He had come to despise the perfume- Where is mommy? -over months of smelling it. "Ew... You smell like perfume...." Jaska said as he quickly pulled back away from Vespera, and covered his nose. One drawback to Jaska's enhanced senses was that they could be upset with anything that triggers them if it's strong enough.


Gabriela Mya Valos.

Gabe's cafe song:

The next person to elbow their way into the cafe was none other than the illustrious Gabriela Valos. She swung open the door with more force that she should have, making quite a loud and noticeable sound. It was her way of 'announcing' her presence. Gabe's heavy black combat boots could be heard stomping, and if one traveled up her legs, they'd notice that she was wearing a black thigh-length skirt. Which would get her a few questionable glares in this whether since her legs are exposed, but she's cold resistant. Gabe had a leather jacket that was zipped up, and if it wasn't, it would reveal a pink shirt. She had on black gloves like she normally did to cover her burn scars. So generally she looks like a Brazilian biker babe stereotype. She wasn't in too good of a mood right now, and she doesn't care about anyone here; she just wants them to f*ck off, and leave her alone. As Gabe marched through the cafe to find the most secluded table, her death glare from her sole eye traveled from person to person. It was fairly obvious, but she was scanning the room for someone she knew, at least. Only to find no one that she gave two ratfucks about. There were the two ugly, weird looking mofo's getting their order taken by a bombshell of a waitress (I wouldn't mind giving her my order). Then there was this random boy with brown hair, green eyes, kinda tall, alone, sitting in one of the chairs. He was virtually worthless to her, so she didn't pay him any mind.

Gabe grabbed on to a chair close Trace (Know what's best for you and stay away) and sat down on it. In her own special way. She leaned back in the chair far as possible, and kicked her boots up onto the table, getting some snow on it. But literally Gabe gave zero f*cks at all, because she'd take her business elsewhere if they had a problem. This may seem surprising, but she pulled a ball of yarn out of her coat and started knitting. Just knitting randomly, like she normally did when she was bored or annoyed - Which right now was a mix of both. She waited for of the many staff here to take notice of her and take her order. She needed a coffee - No. F*ck this coffee crap. She's always hated the taste of it. She wanted some cold hard alcohol to really get her day rolling. She remembered stealing it all the time from the Valos manor all the time.

But here, this place was dryer than a rat's asshole.

She knew who has it. The only problem was getting it. Maybe her time will come soon.


Drake Deltori, Adam Leo Blackmore.

True Night wrote:

"Good evening Mr. Blackmoore, Drake. Hope were not intruding."

The moment the door opened, Adam turned his head towards the door and looked in the direction of it. It appeared to be none other than his assistant Seth, and Vance. Drake acted like he was in the middle of something illegal and dropped everything he was doing and stood next to Adam. Adam was fine with Seth and Vance training in this particular room. "You are not." Adam pushed his glasses up his nose, glancing at them before turning his attention back on to Drake.

Drake had kept his eye on the pair. He hasn't been talking to either of them lately. Seth, because to be honest, the dude had the zero personality, and was easily one of the most boring people here - Drake isn't the type who likes boring. Vance because, well, they haven't had any chances to chat. "... Nice to see you." Drake said to them as they walked by.

A few moments after Seth and Vance; another person comes in. Fortunately for Drake, this person was a girl that piqued his interests...

Maxx wrote:

"Hey Mr.Blackmore!" Claire said "Mind if I intervene? I wanted to work on my powers some and I can't find any of the other trainers."

Now this was a great turn of events. A hot, rough, biker-girl had just strolled his way and was in the perfect situation in order for him to woo her - She wants training, and he'd work her alright. He just needs to play his cards right and she'll be right where he wants her (Unless she's a lezzer). Drake pushed his tinted goggles up to his forehead and gave her a confident, cheeky smile. "Why hello there..." He spoke in a near flirtatious tone.

"Yes. You have come to the right place, I will give you some private lessons." Adam says to Claire as he folded his hands behind his back and looked at Drake. He knew what Drake wanted, what he was going to do, and Adam knew how to stop him. Because right now, Drake is his deputy assistant. Keeping Drake in line was easy, just put him down the moment he gets a little overenthusiastic. Adam nodded towards Drake, "And he will help. Now-" Unfortunately Adam had played right into Drake's game.

"Heh, time that we toss out his old-fashioned teaching and pull out my kind!" Drake walked backwards away from his pair of lovely associates. He was going to pull the biggest, flashiest transformation - In order to impress Claire. After he was a sufficient distance, he raised his fist, and slammed it on to the cold ground - In the middle of the move, he tried to switch into his plasma form, only for absolutely nothing to happen. "...Can I get my d*ck up?" He mumbled to himself, silent enough so that no one hears him. He rolled his eyes after realizing his error, he was still shape-shifted! Like an idiot. He groaned as his skin turned into a metallic silver color, and then it reverted back. But, the moment that he was 'human' again, he decided to change with a bang!

The Drake Blackmore special.

A massive Chinese dragon made out of a bluish-white color erupted from behind Drake. It rose high up into the air, and dropped down and landed like it ate Drake. Then the dragon had exploded into several smaller Chinese dragons that wrapped around him making a dome. The plasma dragons had faded away, and Drake was walking out of all that with the most smug look on his face, and he had an unmatched swagger. Okay, that displayed tired the f*ck out of him - He felt like he was going to fall over. But that didn't matter, he was sure he impressed Claire so well that he'd be surprised if she hadn't started taking her clothes off immediately. One thing was for sure; the heat was f*cking unbearable!

Fortunately, Adam had drastically altered the air to decrease the heat transfer through the air. The burning hot display did nothing to burn anyone in the room, or even discomfort them. A blank, annoyed look had made it's way on to Adam's face. He adjusted his glasses and said to Claire, "This is your first lesson; conservation. Such flashy... Entrances... Serve no purpose, and waste energy. Now, change into something a little for suitable for training, this isn't a real battle. You will burn everyone participating." The part about transforming backwards a little bit was merely just a shot at Drake's ego.

That smug grin flipped upside down as Drake stopped dead in his tracks and crossed his arms. He reverted back into his human form by a major leap. Only his hair, eyes, hand, feet, shoulders, and nipples were transformed into plasma - With plasma infused blood flowing through his veins. It's how things always were. Adam tells him how to do things correctly (Subjective, at that) and he does it.


Sage Lucas Pimm.


While they should not have come back here, there was an irresistible urge to head back to the ruins and give it another look, alone. Sage was standing in the snow in front of the building, angel mode activated. Bright, glorious wings of solid light came out of their back, and a shining halo was floating above their head. They gave off an immense light in all directions, that could be seen far away... Which is why they should get out of here and head back on to campus. Sage started to float a few feet off the ground, rising quickly. Only for Sage's phone to ring meaning they got a little text message from a friend... As there were literally no one else that Sage gave their phone number to other than Gabe and Eli. Sage stopped for a moment to reach into their back pocket and pulled out their phone, an iPhone, and read the text. It was from Eli.

Maxx wrote:

Hey, can you come to the dorm in a few minutes? I could use your help with something.

For a moment, Sage wondered what Eli would want from them. Meh. Better if they save the questions for when they get there. They continued to rise up into the air, and turned around, back towards the campus. They flew at an evened pace, faster than normal since it was the return trip. Upon getting to the dorms, Sage landed on their feet and their wings and halo disappeared - They would have been gone by the time Sage stepped inside anyway. They slowly walked towards the halls of the boy's dorm, getting glares here and there, but they were merely brushed aside. They made it to their room, unlocked and opened the door, causally taking a step inside. Flicking the lights on was the first thing that Sage did, since darkness was a very unnerving thing to be in. Of course, Sage's mere presence causes all lights to get brighter, so the lights overhead glowed with an even brighter intensity. Which would be quite irritating to everyone but Sage, whose power gave them a natural resistance to bright lights and all their ill effects. However, upon a brief inspection of their room; they realized that the Ariella girl was lying on their couch, unannounced. Worse of all, she was almost naked. The awkwardness soon hit Sage as they tried to piece together why she's in the room like this - Eli didn't seem like the type to fornicate. They had backed up against the door, standing on the balls of their feet. They had only one thing to ask, "... Put some more clothes on please, it is immodest." Sage asked, their hair was glowing with a bright light.

Mr Allen J wrote:

"Hey chick, wait!"

Mina stopped, facing away from the duo with a somewhat smug smile on her face. She had a feeling they would be needing help, and her statement hopefully made them want to "recruit" her. She let her smile fade and turned around to face them with tired eyes. She stretched a bit and yawned as Rush began talking.

Mr Allen J wrote:

"Mina. We got off on wrong foot. Yes. Miss Cheng. Likely incarcerated until further notice. Could use replacement. You. Best option. Yes. Have noble goals. Dacious. Not whom he seems."

"Far as we're concerned Miss Cheng is out of the picture. But if she gives us any trouble I can take her down."

Just what Mina wanted to hear. Well, minus the Dacious part. He did seem a bit unusual, though, so it didn't surprise her- just look at his daughter. She had a screaming fit at the beginning of the week. Goodness, that was annoying. She had never really eavesdropped on him before, though. She wasn't sure what his powers were and didn't want to risk being seen by him and getting expelled or something.

"Okay," Mina yawned once again before answering, "I'll work with you guys. The Dacious part doesn't surprise me, really." She paused a moment before deciding to go ahead and skip to the main points. First thing she decided to do was reveal her power completely. "First off, my power is basically that whenever I fall asleep I can walk around in a spirit form and not be seen- hearing conversations and all that dumb junk. Also my skin hardens to make it more difficult for me to be harmed in my sleep." She tapped one finger against her arm, as if doing so proved a point. "Which is why I fell asleep when Jasmine attacked me." She rubbed her eyes and yawned yet again. She wasn't used to so much talking. She forgot how much energy it used. Ugh, so annoying.

"I suggest that we speak about the plans and everything else in private, though. After you two get cleaned up. It's stupid to stand around attracting attention with blood on you." She sighed after yawning one last time, done with her yawning fit... For now.

-
Ene
-

Ene glanced curiously at Jaska, then back at Jake when he was asked by Jaska not to mention... Something. She wasn't sure what it was, but whatever happened on the first day was something that made Jaska uncomfortable and sad. Poor guy. Ene was about to try to change subjects when a girl in dark attire approached them.

When she greeted them, Ene wasn't sure how to react for a second. She would normally consider the girl creepy or something in the looks area, but for some reason... She just didn't seem to be that creepy it confused her for a second, but Ene quickly smiled. "Um... Hi," she greeted, nodding at the girl- Vespera, she realized was her name since Jake had said it.

She heard Jaska saying that the girl smelled like perfume, though Ene couldn't smell it. It must be the super-senses thing he had- She must not be wearing that much perfume; but enough for Jaska's senses. Thus, Ene pushed the comment to the back of her mind.


((Quick post -derp-))

Jake Vin, & Jaska Din Valos.

True Night wrote:

"I can see that. So what songs to you know?"

It took a little bit of thinking to figure. The problem was that he has so many songs. Jake has been practicing piano for years, and only had skills worth crap for a few years. "Plenty. I know a lot of old songs, you know, the classical compositions. I also try covers of some of the other songs I like...." Jake faded off, he stopped before it looked like he was talking too much about himself, and his piano skills. He peered towards Ene for a moment, her awkward greeting caught his attention. Man, this girl could use some confidence. He thought to himself as he looked at Ene.

True Night wrote:

"Sorry you don't like it, you must just be extra sensitive."

"No..." Jaska says, still clenching his nose. He wanted to leave this woman, and her bad perfumes behind. Her mere presence set his instincts off, telling him a hoist of things. His animal instincts told him a ton of things that he should know. A lot of things he barely understands, or simply conflicts with his ten-year-old wants and needs. The only thing stopping him from leaving is the fact that ever since the incident at the ruins, he was strictly told to stay near Jake and/or Gabe at all times. Out of fear that he may transform where there may be no quick ways to turn him back. The only choice was for Jaska to deal with it, until she leaves. "I can smell really, really good. I could smell you from over there, you're just much wor-"

"Jask, enough." Jake cuts in, before Jaska says anything that offends Vespera. He was hoping for a subject change that didn't revolve around his piano skills (To avoid looking like he's a smug snake that's only interesting because of his piano skills), or Vespera's fragance - Because neither Ene or Jaska are going to provide a change a subject. He was a bit cut for a topic. So he had to ask the first thing that came to mind, "So, do you play any instruments yourself?"


Ray Judah Drager, & Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.

Celo wrote:

"Okay," Mina yawned once again before answering, "I'll work with you guys. The Dacious part doesn't surprise me, really." She paused a moment before deciding to go ahead and skip to the main points. First thing she decided to do was reveal her power completely. "First off, my power is basically that whenever I fall asleep I can walk around in a spirit form and not be seen- hearing conversations and all that dumb junk. Also my skin hardens to make it more difficult for me to be harmed in my sleep." She tapped one finger against her arm, as if doing so proved a point. "Which is why I fell asleep when Jasmine attacked me."

"That makes sense," Ray starts off, "I just thought you were crazy." He looked at her as she explained her power. A very useful power indeed, he had to say, but he didn't think it was the smartest idea of spilling her powers just so early. Well, not the two of them. Mina telling them her power was actually good for them. Since now Ray can think of ways to counter it - He also assumed that she didn't tell them all of her tricks. It would be easy to take her out, should they get into a fight. Ray's power is strong enough to pierce most forms of defense, but he didn't know how hard she gets.

"Odd. Useful. Could function as spy. Yes. Ray fulfilled that niche. Before. Not as effective. But you. Could be much more effective. Yes." Rush says, he wiped blood from his nose. He was still bleeding pretty badly.

"Now, I don't think that we shouldn't spill all our secrets until you prove your worth." Ray says, he was still a bit skeptical. While he did enjoy the idea of adding another to their crew to replace that worthless sociopath.

Celo wrote:

"I suggest that we speak about the plans and everything else in private, though. After you two get cleaned up. It's stupid to stand around attracting attention with blood on you."

"Yeah... Hmph. Perhaps we should." Ray looked around, his eagle-eyes scanned the area around him. He saw that there was no one even in eyesight, and even if there was, it's too dark to discern the blood on them from this far away. Still, they didn't want to repeat the same mistake that went down in the cafe. "Look, we'll head back to my room. I don't think my room-mate's around." He said, as he gestured for his crew. They started walking towards the dorms, getting all sorts of looks as they made it inside. They made it through the dorm-rooms and made it into Ray's room in a short-ish amount of time. Ray was the one to step in first, opening the door, walking in, and slamming it behind him. He was happy that Vance wasn't here. Walking home beaten to half to death, and with a chick that they almost got murdered, might cause for some awkward conversation. Ray started taking his jacket, and gloves off, while Rush did the talking.

"Can get cleaned later. Discuss. Yes. Discuss our plans and terms..." Rush says, sitting down on Vance's bed.

"I'd like to get this in the clear real fast: our rules; we don't harm civilians, innocents, whatever you want to call them, and we don't cause big scenes to draw attention to ourselves. Follow these two rules, and heh, you won't pull a Jasmine."


Amimoore Black Dellamorte, & Eliza Stacy.

True Night wrote:

"Oh yes, I'm sure your both wondering about this."

"I got grazed by a hitmans bullet."

This story of his only caused Amimoore to roll her eyes. It didn't take a single use of her telepathy to tell that this was one of the new boy's fantastic stories to impress the ladies... Or maybe this was all a clever plan to make them think that he was just telling tall tales. Some people have things that are dark, things that they want other people to know. They just mask it in obfuscating stupidity. Amimoore was going to let Eric have that secret hidden, until it becomes. She didn't say anything, she just watched as the scene unfold.

Being socially awkward, and a little dense due to inexperience, Eliza almost swallowed the story. She was trying to mask that fear and try to sound interested to mask it. She didn't really think this over too well. The boy was kinda scary - People don't walk away from losing their jaw just like that. "Oh, really...? I wonder how you got in the situation to begin with...." Then she immediately regretted asking, probably going to rile him up a bit, "... Uh, yeah, never mind." She was looking for a reason to leave, actually. She didn't want to just walk away, yeah, she needed a reason so they wouldn't feel like she just blew them. Perhaps culling her anxiety a bit would only take a subject change, "So, how do you like this school so far...? I don't really like it here. The people are scary..." It wasn't too uncommon for Eliza to let slip about how she really felt about the academy, regardless of if it wasn't appropriate or not.

Mina
-

Mina smirked at Ray when he said that he thought she was just crazy. She would have thought so, too, had he been in her case. When she first saw Ray, she thought he was annoying. Like she did for everyone. That opinion had yet to be changed. She knew that Rat and Rush didn't trust her yet, an she was fine with that. She didn't trust them, but she went ahead and told them her power. She could easily find out if they were planning anything against her, and if so... She had knowledge of several interesting powers she could use against them, an could easily find metas with powers stronger than theirs- from what she had seen at the café, she could tell what some of Ray's was, and all it would take is a bit of snooping to find out Rush's.

Then they started heading towards Ray's dorm room. As they walked, Mina slipped her headphones over her ears and turned her iPod on low, glaring ahead with the usual tired expression she had. Once they arrived at Ray's room, his roommate not being present just as he had said, Mina remained standing. She already felt more tired than usual-sitting down would just be the perfect recipe for her to sleep. She slid her headphones off her ears and let them rest on her shoulders as Ray discussed their "terms". Mina held in a scoff at this. Like she would actually try to kill someone? That's something only an idiot would do- why kill someone if all it would do is cause a bunch of problems? You would have to make sure there is no evidence, and then you would live I fear of being caught. Not to mention that it would be a waste of needed energy.

Mina nodded slowly in response. "Alright," was her only reply. "So," Mina crossed her arms and leaned against a wall, "What exactly is the complete situation? Or do you wan me to 'prove my worth,' first?" Really Mina didn't care what they wanted her to do- as long as it was nothing perverted (and these two certainly didn't seem like the type, so she was sure that she was fine, there) and as long as she got to listen in on something interesting.

-
Ene
-
-will have to wait...-

Abraham Gene

Man, oh man, what a week! Filled with kicking ass and womanizing, womanizing and kicking ass – though never at the same time, because that can be interpreted in any number of ways and can get you arrested for more than half of them. But seriously: Abe and his team were undefeated. They were the champions, knocking out the enemy or forcing them to throw the towel before the timer had run out. Abe had even given himself the opportunity to take a couple of single matches against opponents, them kids thinking that Abraham wasn't so hot when he didn't have his buddies... needless to say it wasn't long before he was caught up with and brought to the ground. It was an easy match! Abe had much thanks to give for the training routine he had forced himself into. While the earth bending was extraordinarily effective against his opponents, it was energy draining and redundant. He had forgotten for a moment how much more fun it was to take them head on with your hands and leg. Combine martial prowess with, literally, a rock solid body and it yields excellent results. 

The only problem that had directly presented itself to Abe was Jake and Arianna's pending... “relationship”. He didn't like that they were spending so much time together or how he was always being blown off. That was just plain disrespectful! Who did this Jake guy think he is? He overheard some gush about a “knight in shining armor” at some point and... eugh! Gag inducing! That guy could barely lift a seventy-pound weight! Seventy! How pathetic does one have to be to not curl seventy pounds? Ugh, he's have to show Ari what a real man was like at some point, because this is the kind of guy that grows pansy flowers in his bedroom and probably rubs lotion on his baby bottom because the toilet seat chafes. The ridicule aside though, and honest to God, how could anybody trust him? The guy was an illusionist, hasn't anybody heard? How could know for sure, or trust him for sure, that this dude was anything that he makes himself out to be? They talk about a knight in shining armor? A knight doesn't warp the perceptions of those around him with silly magic tricks. No, he sticks them with a God damn pointy piece of metal, because that solves the problem permanently and prevents the princess from getting kidnapped again. Keep chimerical ploys inside a child's toy box, such things are not suitable for the real world!

That aside, everything was fine. Perfect, even. Hunky dory! He got a couple of questions about “when are you going to have that rematch with Vespera and Cassandra?” To which he would reply, “who?”. Because here we face the facts: Abe had forgotten about them. Just like that. Just eliminated from his mind. But he wasn't an amnesiac, no, he'd remember as soon as their names were said if given a moment. They weren't worth his time, they were childish and didn't address their problems, preferring instead to play and run away. It wasn't even a match, it was a test of skill to see who would have what it takes to become top dog? And guess what baby: it's team Headstrong! A mediocre name, but Drake had grown fond of it and God forbid the dude whines like a baby should Abe ever touch it. He was cool though, Abraham was very satisfied with his team. They all got along exceptionally and all three of them were powerhouses. One man armies of three, even. Three armies. Three armies on one team. That is what it's like being top dog, you can't just pull all the weight – and that's exactly what they had Vance doing the first match. Honestly, Vance wasn't that bad a guy, he just had the misfortune of being associated with them. But be that as it may, he was still on their side. He was still an enemy.

Enemy? I have enemies now? Sheesh man, get your act together. Abe thought to himself in amusement. Enemies... enemies! The very idea of it was hilarious! Abe never had enemies, nobody ever measured up, not even these folks, but they sure did have the gall to challenge him and the team... what a joke!

But where to go? Ah, some exercise would be good, either challenge a guy in the arena or simply hang out in the training room. But the latter option lacked improvisation! And a record! Adding another point to his record would be nice, yeah. The arena sounded like a pretty good choice. But which poor sap would fight him? That was a problem. Big black guy with a high score walks up and starts challenging you? Pfft, tough chance. It narrowed down his options, but he could check out the training rooms, if anything, to check out a handful of people doing their thing. Watch them. See what makes them tick. Use what they know and what they can do against them or work his way around it. That too had its advantages over just fighting. Say, didn't Drake say something about training with his daddy or something? Oh what the hell, it probably wouldn't hurt to check how he's doing. If he's busy, watch him for a couple minutes before he goes off doing his own thing after. The lounge? Jake's might be off doing his piano thing. Illusions, pianos? Gosh! What a girl.

Before leaving his dorm, he reached down into his duffel bag to grab a bulky, rectangular adobe brick and slid it into one of the inner pockets of his leather jacket. He learned about his new roommate not too long ago. Some blow hard named Eric, seemed like nothing special. He had half of his actual jaw left from whatever freak accident it was that fucked him up. But hey, as long as the new guy didn't touch his stuff – and that included the hundred pound bag filled to the brim with bricks (which should hopefully surprise him [maybe even scare him] as soon as he tried touch it, move it, or carry it) – they shouldn't have any problems.

The trip was short; the trip was brief, it was brisk, he learned the path from his room to both the arena and the training room like the back of his hand. Nothing notable along the way, maybe a familiar face or two. The familiar sounds of the training room's clamor had echoed off its walls and into the surrounding hallways... sounded like a busy afternoon! A quick look around the lobby showed a handful of kids splintered off into groups, other students were rolling it solo in the actual training rooms, and others were still sulking by themselves even with it being a little over a week of being here. Pfft... losers.

But this... this is what he was looking for! A small window was planted, only enough for so much people to watch at a time. It was swarmed by bottom feeding locusts that called themselves boys, but Abe knew the truth! Ass kissers, the lot of em! He watched their eyes widen in awe as a red glow illuminated the training room and through the glass, which bedazzled its beholders with clinquant glittering. It did little to impress Abraham however, who had apathetically shoved aside a couple of the spectators. He was by no means concerned by their reaction to him. A lot of ass kissers were oft-times meek and meager? The odds of one rising up? Ha! So little, so little! This point of his was proven by being glanced at with a scowl, which Abe had met in turn with a smirk and snicker. So little, so little! Now what were they smilin' at... oh! Oh. Looks like Drake was showing off his dragons again – and what's this? A girl! He's showing off his dragon to a girl! What a dirty boy. Play it smooth Drake, play it smooth. Make sure to show off some of your Sheesh, I've got some stories to tell.

Oh, but how to tell him? Charades? Charades! Abe frantically waved his hands in front of the window to grab Drake's attention from outside, pointing in the direction of the girl in the same room as him, followed by twirling his fingers around. The twister, man, do the twister! Chicks dig twisters, especially twisters on fire. A bro always has another bro's back, and Abe's always eager to hook a brother up – just as long as they aren't his own prey.

Good luck Drakey-boy, you'll need it!

---

Jesse Sutor

Oh come on, this game is ridiculous. Jesse muttered to himself, his back laying on the bed as he stared at the ROM-playing emulator that was stretched over the screen of his laptop. Most infuriatingly, a Masquerain went and dealt two critical hits to his Cradily. Two! Really, that is just ridiculous and there is no need for such blasphemy in this world. Games hate him, no matter which one it was, his luck just sucked – especially in Pokemon. He one time found a shiny Ponyta, he caught it, and then save file got corrupted for some reason! May the odds be ever in your favor! Jesse mocked inside his head. Well the odds weren't in his favor! In fact, they were quite the opposite and were deliberately psychopathic in their quest to make him as miserable as possible!

Now might be a good time to turn off the game.

All things aside, it was a fair enough week. His grades were good, he hung out with Lily and Merry and formed a strong (platonic) relationship with the two of him and things were rolling pretty smoothly! What's more, he was beginning to learn more about his own ability. The apparitions were flexible and versatile in their capabilities due to their psionic nature, and it was a matter of creativity in what he is able to do with him. However, it's been agreed that he starts off slow. Nothing flashy, work on the foundation with simple tricks before getting to the harder stuff. So why not start off with basic mind reading? Of course, not actual mind reading! The surface thoughts only so that Jesse doesn't accidentally delve too deep. Er, rather, the apparitions. The apparitions were doing the reading and they forwarded that information to Jesse. So far, the only people he has bothered to read as of yet were his two friends, which they had consented beforehand as long as certain parameters and boundaries were followed. These boundaries were respected, naturally. On the other side of things, the command is a little more complicated to work out than asking for directions since Jesse needs a sheer, concrete idea of what he wants for the command to be carried out effectively. There's nothing concrete about a metaphysical plane.

The talk with Amimoore was, oddly enough, made some fair amount of progress. He had made it clear that Lily was no longer to be harassed by her and he seems to have gotten the message across. While his own father is one hell of a knuckle-head, he did at least appreciate the opportunity to learn how to argue and manage him – because he was one of the hardest case scenarios, so in comparison, confronting Amimoore was a breath of fresh air. While the talk may have no gone over completely smoothly, it went excellent as far as Jesse is concerned, just as long as Lily stays out of harm. He might not be the smoothest talker in a casual circumstance, but he sure did have a way with ending a problem when he came to it!

The phone had rang melodically in his pocket for a brief period of time, its sudden burst of life instilling a brief expression of surprise in Jesse. He paused for a moment and held his breath as he reached for his phone and see who the message was from.

He relaxed when he found it was Lily who had messaged him, followed by jittery excitement.

Wow, nobody called or messaged him. Like, ever. He talked to his mother of course and it's borderline impossible to get through forty-eight hours without hearing from him. But aside from family, it was nobody. What a happy change! The contents of the message read about a meeting place followed by a smiley. On her? Pfft, nah, he can't do that. Having people pay for him just felt awkward. Though he didn't really have a steady income of money coming his way... does the school have services he can take up and get paid? Because that would be excellent. Exceptional, even. Now how to respond? Oh, of course, a dorky joke.


He looked back at his phone and smiled before typing in, “Sure, no problem! I'd rather be sitting on the chairs though.”

Click and send. Hehe. Hopefully she got it, it amused even himself a little bit. On her? No thanks? Aha, what a riot. But, er, in any case he should wrap it up with the computer and start heading over. He took a glance at it and narrowed his eyes before giving the little digital Masquerain creature a venomous glare before folding it up and into his bag. Ha! Now it's dark and you can't see. And you'll be alone forever. Victory was never so sweet.

Jesse did grab his wallet before leaving though, he doesn't have the intention of Lily paying for every meal or drink he has. That's a horrible and guilty hole he doesn't want to be in, and quite frankly, he was fairly sure none of them was capable of a steady income in this place. That's why Jesse had to find a job soon. Of course, the Academy did cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, but for everything in between, they were on their own. There was also the matter of luxuries. Luxuries had to be paid for. Quite frankly, luxuries are pretty nice – that's why they're called luxuries, and he'd like to be able to get get some for him and his buddies.

But what could he possibly get a job in? That was the real question. This was a topic he ought to save for later and focused his attention on getting to the cafe; they should be okay with spending a little pocket money for now, but they couldn't live off of it.

The route to the cafe had become crystal clear after a week of being here at this academy, the path was obvious to him and the teachers were fairly nice. Mr. Blackmore was kind of a hard-ass, but he was a person he could learn to avoid if need be. That aside, the guy was actually fairly okay. He wasn't not nice, he just took his job seriously. That was pretty worthy of respect in Jesse's book. Lily's story of him when he first walked up to the doors had warped his perception of him, of course, and Lily had every right to be upset with him. Jesse was also aware of why Adam behaved in such a way, but that doesn't necessarily excuse him from any of the blame.

Finding his way in the open courtyard resembling cafeteria, he found Lily in the opening with her purple hair. He met her with a smile as he paced himself over to catch up over the day.

Drake Deltori, & Adam Leo Blackmore.

True Night wrote:

You are correct as usual Mr. Blackmoore, but you must admit only an experienced user could pull off such precision. Granted that were this a fight, Drake would have just thrown in the towel. However, in the training room I consider it good practice."

After Seth had spoken, Drake threw a very cheeky glance at Adam, only for Adam to counter with a face of contempt. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I would have never have met that level of skill without the Big Cheese over here, and his teachings." He finger quoted 'Teachings' in the name of sarcasm. To be honest, Adam was barely around at home, he was working here in this academy - These tricks were things that Drake learned himself, with his own kind of training (Hint: Beating up bad guys). To some day put them to good use. Good use would mean showing off. Which means that right now he's putting them good use.

"... True," Adam agreed with Seth. He looked at every person in the room, before continuing. "However, I do disapprove of such techniques. Regardless of how good a single person has gotten with a power, showing off is not a practical use."

At the corner of his eye, Drake had saw Abraham peaking through the windows, doing some sort of gesture. He was trying to look at Abe, while still trying to figure out what the hell Abe was even trying to tell him without looking like he was taking his attention off. Spin? No, uh.... Spin her? No that doesn't make any f*cking sense. Turn around? He tried to quickly put together what Abe means without looking like an idiot. Then a light bulb was turned on in his head. Wait... THE TORNADO! He remembered that move when he pulled it during one of the arena fights. "Now... Time for me to piss off our teacher with more flashy moves!" Drake quickly put more distance in between himself and the group. Before he changed into his complete transformation.

"I adapted this move from our teacher and his silly little air manipulation..." Drake raised a fist high up into the air, enshrouding it into a orb of plasma, and brought it down onto the ground. The moment his fist touched the ground, a pillar of plasma formed and enshrouded it. In less than an instant the pillar started spinning fast like a tornado - Ultimately it started to look like one. The tornado started moving around in a circle, with Drake inside steering it with sheer willpower. A few moments later, Drake jumped out of the tornado of plasma, towards the group. It appeared more like he was thrown out of it because of how fast he looked, and the angle. Other than looking totally bad ass, the move had zero use in the arena. While he was flying through the air, he started to transform back into his normal self. Landing on his feet less a few feet away from them. "Nailed it!" I bet you're just about ready to drop your panties, Sparks.

Adam once again impeded the heat transfer through the air. To stop anyone from getting cooked alive. He also cooled down the air around Drake's plasma stunts.


Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


Lily walked into the cafe with an actually cheerful grin on her face. She didn't pay too much attention to everything going on in here. Hell, there could be a brutal murder and she'll be in too good of a mood to notice - Or care. She just had to share this good news. Lily found the nearest empty table and 'claimed' it for her friends. She gabbed the menu and waited. When she saw Merry and Jesse arrive, Lily raised her hand up into the air and waved it so they'd see where she was. By the time they started to sit down, Lily just couldn't help herself. She just started, "Guys, good news, I finally found them. My family. I haven't talked to them in years and it feels so great knowing that they're doing great."


Jake Vin, & Jaska Din Valos.

True Night wrote:

"It's perfectly okay, I don't mind." She turned to the boy. "If you can smell really good really really good, that means you are sensitive. I might be able to do something."

Getting the A-okay, Jaska didn't waste any time in asking the questions that were on his mind - Well, technically instincts. He wanted to know why she was setting them off. "Like, what are you?" He asked, bluntly, not aware that he may have been rude in the way he phrased it. The way he said it was suggesting that she was inhuman - Though she was inhuman in the same way that he was. "I keep getting bad feelings when you're around." He gave her a curious, interested glare. If he was older, more experienced, and had a better control of his instincts, he probably wouldn't be asking these questions. Instead, suppressing (or ignoring) them, or using them to his advantage.

There was the need to silence Jaska, but at the same time Jake wanted to know what Jaska was talking about. Your animal instincts. Funnily enough, Jake probably had a better understanding of Jaska's instincts than he did. Those instincts of his were helpful. Helpful enough that Jake knew to listen to them. He remembered a time in Black Fall when they were stalked - Jaska was able to use his senses in correlation to his instincts to determine that he was being followed. Which meant that Jake had to guess that this woman was bad news of some sort. Too early to tell, but he will find out eventually.

True Night wrote:

"I admit that I haven't, but I can improvise."

"I'm a little rusty."

Both Jaska and Jake looked curiously on while Vespera created strands of shadows between her arm and body. Forming some sort of twisted harp. She made some sort of twisted eerie song (I wasn't surprised that a woman like you would make a creepy song). Jake thought that it wasn't that impressive - But she did say that she was rusty. "Cool. So you can make an instrument anywhere?" Actually, I can do the same. Expect it'd be waaay less legit.

The sound merely irritated Jaska's sense of hearing. Like, is this woman trying her damn near hardest to upset his senses. He needed a nose plug.


Elizabeth Stacy Prezelin.

True Night wrote:

"You're not talking about me, are you?" Eric let out a jovial laugh to make it seem like he was kidding. "Nah, I know what you mean. It's a tough crowd, haven't made many friends yet."

Yes I am talking about you, but... Maybe you're less scary.... She thought to herself as she tensed up. There were plenty of internal things that Eliza picked up upon. "No... Maybe..." Eliza said, taking Eric's comment seriously. "Haven't you thought about it? We're on an island full of living weapons." She turned her attention to Jake's group around the piano table. A pianist in a suit, a younger boy with wings and claws, a young woman who weaves strands of darkness, and some random girl. A perfect example of what she meant. Eliza blatantly pointed at them. "Just look at them. I bet they could really cause some damage and kill people if they wanted to... Especially the little boy with the claws, he looks like a monster...." She put her hands together before the crowd could notice her. The last thing she wanted was to get the attention of another group of people. Especially since she was speaking ill of them.


((Couldn't think of anything for Amimoore to contribute, so she'll just watch))


Ray Judah Drager, & Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.

Celo wrote:

"Alright," was her only reply. "So," Mina crossed her arms and leaned against a wall, "What exactly is the complete situation? Or do you wan me to 'prove my worth,' first?"

"Complete situation..." Rush mumbles as he grabbed on to his chin and thought about it for a moment. He was unsure of whether or not Mina would be trustworthy. There was still the suspicion that she could be playing them along for information. Still likely. Mina. Has not proved allegiance. No good. Must test. "... Recently acquired information. Yes. Suggesting that Dacious forged student records. Records altered to state departure. But have bee hastily modified. Theorize they're still on island. Yes. Reason? Not sure... No good. Must find reason. Yes. Soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Ray had found his way to the bathroom, half naked (His jacket and shirt removed), and had grabbed on to the wash cloth and washed the blood off of him. He faced the mirror and saw all this blood. He then pulled out the peroxide, and cotton swabs, soaking the swabs in peroxide. He looked at his various injuries, and ran the peroxide coated swabs over them. "Argh!" He loudly groaned as it started stinging like hell, that horrid sizzling sound was icing on this cake. Ray was no paramedic, but he's gotten his ass handed to him more times than he could count, and he knew how to patch himself up to a degree. He repeated this process with all of his open wounds, until there was none left. Ray had bandaged up the rest of his wounded body - He fortunately keeps a first-aid kit on him at all times. He looked down at his jacket... They had blood on them, and torn up. He needed a change of attire. He walked out in the scene with Rush and Mina and went into his drawers and put on a T-shirt and a thick black sweater. "You should get cleaned off too, Boy Genius. You don't want to get infected."

Anthony Bellichini
Jackson wasn't too much in the way of conversation and Anthony didn't really want to try to make him feel forced to talk ,Anthony saw trace a few tables over sipping a drink sitting near him was one of the Valos kids. was about to get up when a gorgeous girl walked up to the table.

True Night wrote:

The two boys Jackson and Anthony stood out as prime picking, so she strutted on over.

"How is the coffee this evening? Is there anything I can do for you?" She let the words roll off her tongue with a sultry undertone. Her posture seemed natural enough, but also gave them prime view of her goods. Were they standing they'd be able to look down her shirt, not that she'd let them. After all it was just a tease.

Jackson visibly choked on the hot coffee when he Kate walk over as he sputtered and gagged trying to breathe a few thoughts came to his head "Wow is she actually talking to me" uh um sure I well yes..." Jackson had little to no experience with girls so he was caught up in Kate's charm pretty darn easily "um can I have a croissant?" Jackson had no idea what that was but it sounded somewhat smart.  
as she went back to retrieve his food Anthony sighed "wow man you really fell for the bait".

Jackson glared at him "I have no idea what you mean" .

Anthony rolled his eyes "Man she's playing you to get more money to make her end profit a bit higher" he made he rubbed his thumb and middle finger together as he said end profit.

Jackson "What about you why weren't you charmed into buying the restaurant you saw how hot she was"
Anthony chose to take a long sip of his copy before he spoke "Hey I'm narcoleptic not dead sure shes cute but it doesn't take a genius to see when someones getting played.he happened to look over a few tables and see Trace hey why don't you come talk to trace hes a pretty chill guy and he's got a kick@ss power".

Jackson looked down at his feet "um i'll stay here".
Anthony shrugged his shoulders "suit yourself but do yourself a favor don't let this chick rob you".
with that Anthony got up and walked over to Trace's table and sat down. "Hey Trace hows it going?"

Trace was shuffling through his cards, looking up he noticed Anthony. "Good I guess, I'm not aware of anything really intresting that happened since we met at the arena." Trace said as he pushed his cards together into a neat stack, he noticed the card on top of the deck was a Charizard, it was obviously a fake, Trace took the orange dragon and held up it so Anthony could view the art work. "Turns out breathing fire as one of these things leaves you parched. Who would have known?" Trace said with a comideic tone.

The walk to cafe became almost burnt into Merry's mind. The once confusing twists and turns of the academy was now a series of paths to her. The cafe especially so. Despite how large the school was, there were only a few places that were any fun to hang out at. Thus the cafe was the most popular spot for students to gather at after, in between and even during classes. As she navigated her way onto the path towards the cafe, Merry shot Lily a quick text, telling her she was on the way and to save her a seat at the table. Her feet seemed to lead Merry as she bobbed and weaves through groups of friends, luckily not running into anyone while she was distracted texting.

Merry was excited to see what had Lily in such a good mood. They hadn't had much time to chat this morning, between classes and other responsibilities around the school. It pleased Merry to know that she had been in good spirits, over the week Lily seemed to be doing a lot better, even in school work. Animoore had seemed to be leaving her alone, much to Merry's joy. She was afraid that there was going to be some huge confrontation or fight or something. That was one of Merry's drives to start training her power, which she was going to make herself do after she hung out with Lily and Jesse for a bit.

It didn't take long to get to the cafe, Merry by now could figure out the quickest way to get to where she needed to get to. She peeked into the cafe, looking around for her two companions. It didn't take long for her to spot them, Lily being especially useful in this situation by waving to her to get her attention. Merry made her way over quickly, taking a seat across from Lily and Jesse and setting her bag down on the table. She dug through her bag for a moment, retrieving her wallet. There was no way she was going to let Lily pay for her snacks, it wouldn't be fair. Merry had family to send her money.

Merry listened to Lily speak with a grin on her face. Lily looked so excited that she could burst, and Merry understood. "That's awesome news Lily!" Merry wished she could put into words how happy she was for Lily. Being without family contact would be torture to her, so knowing that Lily had family that she could be in contact with was wonderful news. It really showed how much of an improvement Lily was going through, and would continue to go through. "You must feel so relieved to know they are safe!" She held out her hand for a high-five.

Mr Allen J wrote:

. "... Recently acquired information. Yes. Suggesting that Dacious forged student records. Records altered to state departure. But have bee hastily modified. Theorize they're still on island. Yes. Reason? Not sure... No good. Must find reason. Yes. Soon as possible."

Mina nodded, her head almost seeming to lull back and forth as if she were asleep. "So what you want for me to is find out about this, somehow- maybe even Loren in on Dacious, himself?" Mina yawned, "I can do that. Do you know what Dacious' power is or am I left in the dark on that?" Mina asked the last part so casually one wouldn't guess it as because she was worried about her power. Even if people that could see spirits saw her, it wasn't a big deal considering usually they can't hurt spirits. However, this is Dacious. Who knows what would happen if he saw her eavesdropping?  

Mina held in a smirk when she heard Ray tending to his wounds in the restroom. She waited as he came out of the restroom, holding her tongue instead of making any snide remarks and instead waiting for Rush to reply.

-
Ene
-

Mr Allen J wrote:

"Like, what are you?" He asked, bluntly, not aware that he may have been rude in the way he phrased it. The way he said it was suggesting that she was inhuman - Though she was inhuman in the same way that he was. "I keep getting bad feelings when you're around."

Ene felt herself tense up at Jaska's statement. She didn't know much about his powers, but the way he wastalking about this Vespera girl made her uneasy. She shifted around uncomfortably and glanced around nervously. At least Jake was able to keep some sort of conversation going about music. She didn't know much about it, though, so she felt even more awkward in the conversation. The most she could thin of to do was try and distract Jaska from his senses that seemed to be getting bothered by te Vespera chick-maybe try and distract him with a conversation.

"So, Jaska," Ene began, using a pause to try and think of something to say, "What do you think of the Academy, so far? Have you hung out with those twins, Jaylin and Kynan, anymore? Made any um... new friends or anything?"

She just sent a handful of questions towards Jaska in an attempt to converse, though she wasn't the best at it. She just hoped she was able to help distract him from whatever thoughts he had about Vespera's unusual character.

Claire

Claire's pupils dilated completely as she watched Drake's fireworks show. He was quite possibly the flashiest mutant she'd ever seen, flashier than anyone in Black Fall, at least. She was fairly certain that he was showing off for her, something that made her even more confident. He'd only be showing off like this if he liked her, meaning that her chances were exponentially increased. Everything else that was going on in the room was more or less ignored as she watched Drake's plasma storm. She smiled, and all four of her shadows extended in the overhead lights. One of them vanished and flew across the room quickly. It grabbed the shadow of Drake's leg and pulled down to pull him towards Claire.

"Alright hotshot." she said, smiling playfully "Let's see what you've got! Or are you scared to hit a girl?" She cracked her knuckles loudly and her remaining three shadows released themselves from her and made a line between herself and Drake. This left Claire without a shadow completely, something that looked quite bizarre in a bright room. This would be Drake's test right here. If she kicked Drake's ass with ease, then he'd have no chance with her. But if he put up a good fight or won, then he'd be worthy of her affection. Her shadows began to almost comically do a series of different stretches and warmups to prepare themselves for fighting Drake. The fourth shadow that had grabbed his leg now joined the line. They were ready to fight.

Ariella

"SON OF A B*TCH!" Ariella's head practically exploded as the lights blared, searing her eyes and causing the pain of her headache to increase drastically. Sage's voice and her own scream rattled around in her head and reverberated off of the walls of her skull. She grabbed a pillow laying on the couch and chucked it rather inaccurately at Sage before falling off of the couch ungracefully and landing face-first on the ground. She grabbed her jacket and pressed it over her eyes to keep the light from harming her anymore. Her brain burned with pain and she writhed like a snake as it coursed through her head. She could hear her temples pounding on the walls of her mind and winced with each pulse.

"I have a migraine you jackass!" Ariella cried out "Turn the damned lights off!"

Eli

Eli arrived at the cafe and immediately walked up to the counter. He scanned the restaurant as he waited for a cashier to arrive. He looked particularly incredulously at a Brazilian girl with an eyepatch across the room who was being waited on by a girl who seemed to be flaunting her particularly large cleavage. Eli didn't like people who acted like that. Women who flaunted their genitalia like that disgusted him. It was an obvious sign of promiscuity and insecurity. It prompted lust and sexual desire in those who looked at her, something that Eli hated. If a succubus herself were standing there Eli would think no different of it. He heard a man behind him clear his throat and he turned around to see a rather depressed-looking cashier waiting.

"Oh sorry." Eli said "Could you get me a large white chocolate mocha, a large caramel latte, and a medium black coffee please?" The cashier nodded and typed the order into his computer. He charged Eli eight dollars and fifty cents, and Eli took the money from his wallet. He left about two minutes later with a beverage carrier containing three coffees and began to walk towards the dorms.

Drake Deltori, & Adam Leo Blackmore.

True Night wrote:

"I think now would be the perfect time for you to get in some sparring, what do you think Mr. Blackmoore?"

This was actually the perfect idea. The best way to get Drake to shut up, and tone down the arrogance and ego a great deal. He would have expended valuable energy showing off. The energy he could have used to fight at full power during. "Yes, It is. Drake, Claire. You are free to spar." In case things got too intense, Adam would step into the mix and separate them.

Maxx wrote:

"Alright hotshot." she said, smiling playfully "Let's see what you've got! Or are you scared to hit a girl?"

Spoiler:

"Hey what?!" Drake said as someone pulled him towards Claire. If it was Adam, he surely would have heard it... And would have been flying through the room. He was then face to face with Claire - She was challenging him to a fight. He then utterly ignored everything else that was said and done in the room. His gaze was on Claire and Claire alone - And then the shadows she had stretch in front of him. An attempt to intimidate the mighty dragon known as Drake Blackmore? Impossible. There was nothing in the world that could possibly intimidate him. So you're a shadow bender? Oh yeah, that's going to be my nickname for you... Shadow Dancer. Challenge accepted. Drake took a few steps backwards. He raised his arm and wagged his finger back and worth, with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Ah, Claire, you should know that a Dragon's flame can't be easily tamed. It burns all in it's path without mercy or sympathy!"

Drake spoke his little opening taunt as he transformed. He had a different idea in mind instead of spraying plasma everywhere. He was the one that was determined to get a grasp on this shape-shifting. Why let that time and effort go to waste? Drake's skin turned into a liquid-y silver substance, similar to molten metal. This substance quickly and perfectly took the appearance of Drake's skin. He had shape-shifted into himself. It would appear that he hadn't done anything at all - But while he looked normal as he did, he had all the advantages of Megan's power. Strength, healing, durability. All his. Just to give him an edge in this fight, his body mimicked the properties of the blast metal that composed the training hall. While still light as flesh. "But I'd hate to give you any scars... So I'm chaining this Dragon today..." Drake crossed his arms and gave Claire a cocky grin, before leaning forward, putting his weight on his knee and pointing a finger at his face, "But you... You can give me as many as you like."

"Start the party Miss Sparks," Drake started off, "Don't be afraid. I'm ready as I'll ever be."


Eliza Stacy Prezelin, & Amimoore Black Dellamorte.

True Night wrote:

"Of course I've thought about, and you're right."

"Yeah that little boy does look like a monster, and that other girl. The tall slender goth one. Her eyes are glowing blood red even now. I'm not sure about you, but I've seen her in the arena. Turns into a giant spider."

Spiders. Eliza didn't like them. What she thought was even worse were people that can turn into them. Like, she imagined someone just turning into an arachnid, quite eldritch, version of themself. That's even scarier. Eliza made a mental note to avoid that woman... And the one with the wings, he's probably dangerous as hell too. It was best that she keep to herself. Worse of all, Eliza didn't have much in the offensive arena, she knew. However, while she lacked offensive power, she's extremely tough. Hard to kill with even using the most lethal methods. The idea of the arena actually intrigued her. Not that she wanted to even fight there. Just to know what exactly she's up against, should they inevitably fight. She didn't bother mulling about the kids at that table. Eliza went right to the subject at hand, "Arena? I've heard about it... Like do kids fight there for people's entertainment. That sounds barbaric."

True Night wrote:

"What about you Amimoore, what do you think? I'm new here so."

Amimoore's general opinion was mere dismissal, or even irritation. She was observing everyone's thoughts, and saw that Eliza was scared about the fact that she was scared of the school. Then why are you here...? She was just about to call her out - Then it came to her. The same thing that she's seen a thousand times before. Eliza doesn't want to be here, but circumstance has forced her to come here. In which case, Amimoore thought that she should, "There's nothing to be afraid of. No matter how powerful the person, they'll leave you alone if you mess with them." ... Most of the time.

Easy enough. For a girl like Eliza who wants nothing more than to be left alone, a viewpoint like that seemed simple. "Okay... I'll be fine then."

"So, what are your powers?" Amimoore asked the pair

There was another twinge of fear creeping up Eliza's spine. Her question brought back memories, and she didn't want to talk about out here - With these people. So the best thing that she thought off was to quietly dismiss it, "Um... It's hard to explain... Actually, I don't know what it really is." This was the best she could come up with.


Gabriela Mya Valos.

True Night wrote:

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. What'll it be?"

I'd like you. With no clothes. On this table. Gabe thought to herself as she gave Kate a thinly veiled half-smile. Seemingly Kate's presence cased Gabe's mood to change completely. It's good that you left two losers and gave me some eye candy. Kate was certainly the attractive girl, and the way that she had her. She almost felt like she was in love at first sight! Gabe put her ball of yarn away, tucking it into her pocket, and put her feet back onto the ground. Despite her internal gushing, she needed to actually order something. "Oh me? I'd like a cocoa latte..." Gabe said, but she was too blunt and unsubtle to go without asking for Kate's number. She looked around the room, just to see if there was anyone too close to hear her and start laughing at her sexuality (That happens, and this cafe's going to be a battleground. Again). Apparently the loser with the long arms had walked over to the boy in the table not too far away, they were too interested in the conversation to care. Gabe spotted a lanky boy with blond hair staring at her, or Kate, didn't matter. What did matter was some blond haired cunt was staring. That really soured her mood, that half smile turned into an irritated glare. She threw Eli a look that was, no doubt, pure "f*ck off" - The usual kind of death glare. But quickly reverted to a more flirtatious mood. She spoke in the most flirtatious tone she could, "... And maybe your number." The implications were obvious.



Sage Lucas Pimm.


It was so hard just resisting the urge to make the lights much brighter.

But the inner smartass in Sage was suppressed because they were too busy panicking. The screams of pain really made them feel bad, because they had hurt someone... But the pillow being chucked at them had really made them reconsider. Sage moved to the side "Hey, hey, hey! No need to yell, Princess." Sage said Princess sarcastically, just letting what they really want to say out. They flipped the switch off, letting the darkness return to the room. However, a dim orb of light had came forth from the inner-light within Sage's chest. Because of Ariella's actions, they didn't exactly feel that sorry for her. If you have a problem, then you can leave. This is my room too. "I had no idea... But let me help you up." Sage walked over and tried to help Ariella back on to the sofa. They weren't that strong, so it was a little challenging.


Jake Vin, & Jaska Din Valos.

True Night wrote:

"Were not too different you and I. Believe it or not, I've been getting a bad vibe off you since before I came over. As you get older you'll get better at putting your instincts aside."

"What... Do you mean?" Jaska was suddenly curious, even more curious than before. What did she mean by they aren't so different. He wondered if she meant.... While Jaska wasn't the brightest kid out there, his instincts and his already available knowledge was enough to make a connect. "You get the same feeling about things? Like when you're um... being followed, or hunting...?" Jaska almost finished the question with 'someone' but that would be too off putting.  He spoke in an unsure manner, making obvious that he still had some doubts, or didn't wholly understand his instincts. But from the looks of things, Vespera did - Hopefully she didn't have the same inner-beast that he did (Now that would suck). Either way, while Jaska did hear Ene's attempt at a distraction, he choose to ignore them, instead he focused on Vespera. "... Do you think I'm a monster...?" He had to ask, Vespera, prompted when she said that he got a bad vibe from him. And honestly; he knew that he was a monster - Just the kind that manifests and brings ruin to all.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess that Vespera was a similar animal type to Jaska. "You must be another bestial-type, I believe?" Jake had to ask, which he was confident in his theory. But he had to divert attention to his little brother when he asked that question. He almost automatically said, "You're no monster, Jask." Though there was a bit of doubt in his voice. Because, he knew that it was true in a way - So true that he found it hard to lie to even himself. Especially after the rampages that he went on in the past that left him with scars. Then he noticed that everyone was totally ignoring Ene in favor of Jaska and Vespera. Now that would be rude to ignore her like this. He leaned in towards Ene and said, "You best ask those questions later, when he gets interested in something; it's hard for anyone to distract him." It truly is a futile effort.

((Dropped the other conversation line because it was awkward))



Carmen 'Lily' Santo.


High-fives and things of the sort weren't exactly Lily's thing because of her power. Because it was all touching. But she couldn't care less right now, so was too happy, and she had her gloves on. So Lily went through and high-fived Merry (With a disturbed cringe). "It's the best news..." Lily said, her voice enthusiastic, "I have somewhere to actually go back home to now!" Lily's tone was at first cheery and ecstatic, but then after she thought about it, she wasn't that happy deep down. She hasn't talked to them and years, and since she doesn't have any further grasp on her powers, the same incident might repeat itself. "But... I'm going to stay here. At least for now."

Claire

'Oh, you are SO getting my number after I kick your ass' Claire thought to herself as Drake morphed back into his normal form. It seemed as if he were trying to go easy on Claire, something that he would greatly regret after he was laying in a heap on the floor. She admired his courage, though. He had guts, and she liked that. The problem now would be that the absence of Drake's light would weaken her shadows. They'd still be able to move as fast, but their strength would be slightly impaired. It was a good thing that the overhead lights were bright.

"Suit yourself." Claire said "Don't take it easy on me though dragonmaster. I'd rather not scar your pretty face up too badly!" She snapped her fingers and the shadows flew into action. Two of them dove at each of Drake's shadow's arms in an attempt to restrain him, and a third released a spinning kick at the back of his knees. The fourth shadow launched a punch at Drake's gut. Claire stayed around seven feet away from Drake in case he shrugged the shadows off. She hoped he wasn't going to underestimate her and stay in normal form. That would be extremely boring and would make him far too easy to beat.

Ariella and Eli

So apparently Sage is on his period Ariella thought as she slowly rose to her hands and knees. She allowed Sage to assist her in laying back on the couch, her ears still ringing and her eyes still burning despite the fact that the lights had gone out. She felt bad for how she had yelled at Sage. She had just been blinded by her own pain so much that she hadn't remembered that he had feelings too. Ariella wouldn't be very appreciative if Sage had done the same thing to her.

"I'm sorry." Ariella whispered weakly "It just really freaking hurts." Ariella figured that this would be what Eli would tell her to do: apologize. He'd then probably give her some BS parable about "controlling her emotions" while simultaneously praying the rosary and beating himself in the back with a cat-o-nine-tails.

Speak of the devil (or angel), Eli opened the door to the room to find Ariella half-dressed with Sage's arms on her. He froze in place, his eyes fixed on the scene with a combination of confusion and anger. Sage wasn't the type of person to steal someone's girl (yet again, Eli wasn't 100% sure if Sage was male or not) and Eli had made it clear to him that he liked Ariella. Anger began to fill Eli's heart as Ariella met him with startled eyes. This could not have looked worse on her. Eli's mouth hung open and he locked eyes with Ariella for at least ten seconds. All he could think was what the ultimate Hell is going on?

"Um...dude, Eli." Ariella began "It's not what it looks like. Angel-boy her blew my eyes out with his light mojo and he was helping me up." Eli could tell she was telling the truth thanks to his aura. He shook his head as if trying to shake off the shock, and sat the coffees down on the table which their books were laying on. He handed Ariella the mocha and Sage the black coffee.

"You are my hero, Eli." Ariella said graciously, taking a sip of the coffee. The caffeine would sooth her headache, with all hope.

"I think I brought some Advil with me." Eli said "I'll go grab it. Don't try anything when I turn my back." Eli smiled at this last part, and nodded to Sage.

"Good evening Sage." Eli said "I got you a black coffee if you want it. Wasn't sure how you liked it. I'll explain what's going on in a moment." Eli rushed off towards one of the drawers next to his bed where he believed a bottle of Advil was.

Drake Deltori Blackmore.


"Normal form? Ha. You think I'd get into a fight like this if I was unarmed?" Drake said as he stood straight up and crossed his arm. He was going to let Claire preform her little attack. Since he had a feeling that whatever she pulled would merely bounce off of the metal-like Drake. Two of her shadows had rushed him and grabbed his shadow, he had let himself get grabbed. Oh, whatever shall I do!? He sarcastically thought to himself as the shadows launched an attack at his knees and his gut, or more appropriately, his shadow. Due to his metallic body, the shadows attacks had done next to nothing. It probably would have slowed him down if he was plasma, or wasn't mimicking the properties of blast metal. He balled his fists, and slammed them together, hard as he could. Creating a satisfying metallic clang. Drake then ran at Claire, there wasn't that much of a distance in between them. He had his arms extended for a grab.



Sage Lucas Pimm.


"Apology accepted." Sage said the moment that Ariella apologized. That was the end of it, no rants or speeches. They had little control over how bright things get, nor did they know that Ariella was even in this room. By the time that they had helped Ariella to her feet the door opened and... There was a probably angered, or confused (Sage didn't know) Eli standing in the doorway. Now this was an awkward situation - Worse of all, Sage rarely felt any of those urges in regards to Ariella, and, well, anyone. Then again, from the look on Eli's face, he didn't know. "Um... It's not what it looked like." Sage mumbled, quietly. They had a wave of nervousness overcome them, to the point where they looked quite guilty when they were truly innocent. Just suffering from bone crippling nervousness. Thank the heavens that Ariella was able to sort everything up. They were finally able to relax. A deep breath came out of their mouth.

They managed to assess the situation. Eli had simply left to get them some delicious coffee. Well Sage wasn't the type to drink coffee like that, but since Eli got it, it would be rude to turn it down. "Thank you." Sage said as they grabbed the coffee and took a little sip out of it. The conversation went silent as Eli dug through his drawers, which once again made them feel awkward. So Sage said the first thing that came to mind. "I was at that creepy place on the other side of the island when you called me. You know, on the first day I tried to explore it with some friends..." Then Sage thought back to when they were face to face with a rage monster that likely would have killed them (And everyone else) if it wasn't for Arianna. "It didn't go too well..." They faded off.


Ray Judah Drager.

Celo wrote:

"So what you want for me to is find out about this, somehow- maybe even Loren in on Dacious, himself?" Mina yawned, "I can do that. Do you know what Dacious' power is or am I left in the dark on that?"

"Yeah, but not now," Ray said to Mina, butting into their conversation. He pointed towards his bathroom, face towards Rush. He spoke in a commanding tone, "Boy Genius, get washed. I'll answer all her questions for you." He crossed his arms and looked directly at Mina as Rush went into the bathroom to get cleaned off - Well, just get the blood off of him. His clothes were usually so dirty that the blood wouldn't stand out that much.

"A reliable source," I.E. The jackasses we had to fight in the tunnels. Ray rolled his eyes up into his head, and his tone was quite annoyed, indicating that his source was a cause for head aches. "Told us that his power is to play with people's minds. Not really sure, but it'd make sense." Ray thought about it. The fastest way to reach the top of the ladder would be to make everyone think that you've earned it. He theorized that Dacious altered the minds of whoever to get his position, and used it for evil. "But for tonight, we're going to wait for... Morning. Before we get started again." He didn't want to let on that there's technically another accomplice in the mix. "But yeah, you could be our little mission control. The two of us do the action while you watch and give us directions."

Arianna Madrigal

"Hey, Jake," Arianna said, playfully tussling his hair as she approached the grou-

Wait. Wait. Wait. How...how did I....how did I get here...?

Arianna opened her eyes. She was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling of her dorm room. She was not in the lounge. She was not running her hands through Jake's hair. She was not noticing Jaska talk to some creepy chick.

Arianna closed her eyes.


Vespera was playing a song of some sort. There was a huge dark beast running across the snow. A ventilation shaft being shaken angrily. A

Arianna blinked open again.

The Symphony had been acting up. Since she exerted so much of herself calming Jaska several days back, Arianna hadn't felt entirely herself. It was nothing really major-aside from the little episodes like this one. At least it wasn't an existential crisis, like Jake's-Arianna knew that what she was seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, knowing-it was all absolutely true. True on a cosmic scale.

Arianna's strange visions weren't something she could control at whim, or even entirely useful. Random flashes of sights and sounds and smells, like bits of the Symphony playing a few notes ahead of where they were supposed to, occurred to her periodically. They were hallucinations to anyone else-but they didn't make Arianna question her sanity. When-as best her strained metahuman abilities would let her-she listened close to the Symphony, it confirmed she was sane. She couldn't tell whether her glimpses were of the future or the past or the present or who or what or anything. The strange waking lucid dream of talking with Jake had been the most coherent vision she'd seen yet.

Something cold and excruciating plunged down her throat and butchered the insides, making Arianna sit upright and clutch furiously at her neck. Tears of pain welling up in her eyes, she choked out a stifled cry for help before, flailing wildly, she rolled off the bed and landed in a heap on the ground. Arianna squeezed her eyes shut the crippling blast of pain subsided a moment or two later, her soul drifting out of touch with that part of the Symphony.

Was....was that...she'd never felt pain like that before in her life. Was it happening to someone else, somewhere else? Or was it...no, no, it couldn't be her future. Couldn't be. What could even cause that?

After a few moments of panicking and attempts to control her breathing (something Arianna was quite good at, given her extensive vocal lessons), she managed to settle herself down a bit. You have no idea what all this means. You're just sensitive to the Song is all. Nothing to worry about. This is just soreness after a workout.

Getting dressed to head downstairs, Arianna privately wondered how painful getting torn apart by Jaska really could've been. She had some fear for the kid, now. Even though she'd successfully soothed him, ended his rage, she had no desire to see him like that ever again. Christ, it was horrifying. Not to mention if she'd been too tired to finish the song...

Arianna went downstairs, humming to herself as she walked through the halls. The Symphony was louder, now, harder to ignore, but lots of people and activity (and Jake) tended to help her shut it out a little better. It was hard to sleep at night-the universe kept whispering to her, trying to tell her its secrets like they were staying up late at a sleepover together, spilling out their hearts to each other.

"Hey, Jake," Arianna said, playfully tussling his hair as she approached the group. The Lounge was loud, vibrant, and full of life and noise. Perfect! Paying attention to conversations and trying to suppress the butterflies that had suddenly been set loose in her stomach (and chest and legs and arms and face and-) helped keep her mind off things. Everybody was in the middle of a conversation, so she wouldn't butt in. Maybe when there was an opening, or somebody talked to her. She didn't want to be "that girl", you know?

Ene
-

Ene sighed as Jaska became accustomed to Vespera, smiling a bit. Her smile fade and her expression became serious when Jaska asked Vespera if he were a monster. She chose to speak up, even though she wasn't in the conversation. "You aren't one," she stated firmly. She didn't know Jaska that well, but the one thing she would never consider him as is a monster. he seemed too nice and innocent to ever be considered a monster. She then turned to Jake, smiling once again.

"It's fine- um, I only wanted to distract Jaska when his senses were acting up. He seems fine, now." Ene looked up as she heard a familiar voice- Arianna. She smiled at her roommate politely. "Um.. Hey," she nodded towards her in greeting.

Ene now felt more relaxed- she was around people she knew, and Vespera didn't seem that bad. Creepy, a little, sure, but she was okay.

-
Mina
-

Mr Allen J wrote:

"A reliable source," I.E. The jackasses we had to fight in the tunnels. Ray rolled his eyes up into his head, and his tone was quite annoyed, indicating that his source was a cause for head aches. "Told us that his power is to play with people's minds. Not really sure, but it'd make sense."

Mina smirke a bit at the way Ray reacted wen he spoke of his source of information.  She had to force her smirk to turn into a serious expression when Ray tevealed the Headmaster's power. She wanted to still smirk- it the headmaster could only play with minds then she was safe from being seen, after all. But if she were o continue smirking after hearing the power, Ray migh become not e suspicious of her than he already is. Then Ray sai that they were going to wait for morning before taking action. Mina nodded once again- she needs the sleep, so if she could sleep through the morning, as well, that would be nice.

"Sounds good," she yawned, standing up straighter instead f leaning against the wall like she had been.

Then Ray explained that she would be like mission control, giving them information as they pretty much did the dirty work or something. Mina smirked once more- being compared to such a thing made this seem kin of fun, actually. Though, of course, Mina would never admit to this. She spoke up one last time. "Okay. So if we are doing this tomorrow, where would you like to meet for it or whatever?" She slowly stretched before yawning once more- she really needed to speed this up so she could go to be, already.

((I'm sorry about all the short posts- I'm just super busy atm))

Abraham Gene

Abraham laughed softly to himself as Drake saw his cue and followed through with the suggestion, illuminating the whole room with a warm glow, the spiral striking the ground reaching from the ceiling before expelling its conjurer from the vicious, hot spiral and dissipating upon itself. Drake himself soared through the air before making a good, solid landing on the ground before his peers! Aha! That'a boy! Who cares if the move wasn't one hundred percent practical in the arena, at least it was pretty good for picking up girls! With Drake's flashiness and Abe's own coaching, clearly it wasn't much of a problem to get the boy a girl at the beginning of the second week of being here at the academy. The academy itself, Abe thought, was somewhat over-hyped. The only thing thing about this place was the training curriculum! As for everything else, it was the same boring routine and woebegone students. He had half a mind to just up and leave this dump were he not under strict orders to remain here and not to return until he was more “consolidated”. Oh please.

Now, he hadn't much of a clue what was going on inside, so it was a surprise when they both fell into stance and the girl did something with her shadows and brought Drake closer to her. What was this? Some weird mating ritual? White people are so weird – ironically speaking, of course; it was a joke! But when some particularly energized moves were being dished out, it only served to confuse him even more. Wait, wait, wait! What? What was Drake doing, were they fighting? Why the hell would he be trying to fight her? Damn it Drake! Bang her, don't hit her! Okay, so they had similar meanings, but hasn't this guy ever heard of slang meanings? Drake is totally going to ƒuck her up! Way to abuse my help, man!

He jumped off the platform next to the window and quickly made his way to the entrance of Drake's particular training room. Upon entering his head in, he was able to get a full view of what was going on: Adam was passively overseeing good-looking and Drake doing their thing. Here, Drake was holding off on his plasma in what he gathered was just a sparring match. Weird. Girls did that sort of thing? This one must've been one of them toughies judging by her attire, neither of them really seemed upset or anything. Well then, looks like Drake scored himself good this time! He fully stepped inside to have a more heads-on spectating experience; he wasn't really sure if Adam would care or not, or if Abe was even allowed. Being a team was likely just a handshake agreement and nothing in papers, but hell, Abe felt as if he had some right to be here and watch his teammate's progress.

In the same room, Abe noticed mister stick-in-his-butt and the sheep off to the side doing their own thing, something with a bottle and Sheep taking on a more aqueous appearance. Huh. Drake sure did have peculiar choices in friends or acquaintances or something. He payed them little-to-no heed, the sense of superiority he had over them practically dripping off of him impertinently, as though they were beneath his very gaze. He hadn't given Sheep much thought through the week, but he did come up with a couple ways or tricks to combat an enemy he cannot hit directly. It wasn't something he though he'd use often, his primary method of offense being more than effective for the job. But it did work in great synergy with Valery's flurry.

More importantly, Abe was caught up in Drake's sparring match. He watched as his teammate lunged towards the girl for a grab, granting cause for Abe to give a tease and boisterous laugh. “Hey man, keep her intact for later!”

The implications of such banter weren't exactly subtle, as was the purpose of the tease and perhaps make them both uncomfortable during the fight... or if they really were both meant to be, take it in stride! But it was something Abraham found humorous, and so he stood off to the side commenting on the spectacle and quietly laughing to himself.

---

Jesse Sutor

"I'm happy for you." Jesse said, meeting Lily with a smile, but the tone in which he had said it fell and would indicate he had something to follow up with that sentiment, this time with a more inquisitive tone. He was concerned about something, namely for her going back to a family she hasn't even talk to in years, that had to be pretty weird. There was something more to it that bugged him about it. Nothing personal and it was at the tip of his tongue, but it didn't quite follow through. "But, er... actually, wait, no, never mind. I must've forgotten what I wanted to say, I'm being silly. Go ahead."

God damn it, what was it? Something popped into his brain for just a hot second, something that gave him an idea and left just fast enough to piss him the hell off. Whatever it was, it must've been something. He was glad that she found her parents again, he definitely wouldn't want to force her to stay here if it wasn't what she wanted, but something about meeting parents after years of not even talking rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps it would come back to him later.

"So anyways, how did you manage get back in contact with them?"

Now that he thought about, and this is a different question that came to mind, how did she manage? Is there some kind of technological wizard around here? That kind of tracking would take some major experience in software, unless Lily just so happened to stumble upon them somehow. That sounded less likely, though.