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

Trace with whatever incredible luck he was having soon ended as he ran into a wall. The sudden change in his velocity was enough to make Trace realize he couldn't out run himself. Trace turned around, pressed his back to the wall and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground. He was breathing heavily partly from exaustion and partly from shock. I thought I had this. Why am I losing control again? This doesn't make any sense I can be anything but if its fictional I lose it. I mean I can be Robert Downey Jr. with ease but Tony Stark is another story altogether. Trace thought as he tried to calm down, he didn't quite understand what was going on other than he looked like a complete idiot at the cafe but at least the black out would distract from that.

Drake Deltori Blackmore.

Lieo wrote:

"Aaaand we lost her." Abraham crooned, making the "world's smallest violin" gesture with a satirical and mocking puppy dog face. "Maybe we should'a gone and bury her in the snow instead?"

"... Heh, don't you think she could have gotten a cold?" Drake says sarcastically, a smile on his face, "Besides, she wasn't worth the effort. She would have gotten butthurt either way." Now was the time to proceed deeper into the academy, before Mina comes back with her big scary friends and kills them. Either way, Drake was moving forward, he walked into the dorms. Naturally there wasn't much opportunities for mischief. However, once Drake's were wandering enough, he heard someone walking around. He turned off his flashlight, and gestured everyone else to do the same. "Shhh..." He put a finger to his lips. Their hallway was nothing but darkness, and someone was walking up with a flashlight. If he was quick enough... This was the perfect test for his shape-shifting training. The perfect test for his training.

Drake's skin quickly appeared like a molten silvery liquid-like metal, and he turned into a puddle on the floor. His clothes floated in the puddle. The liquid-like body of Drake quickly molded and shaped, quickly taking the appearance of a chair. Just a regular wooden chair, he didn't even take the properties of a chair. Drake as a chair, walked around the corner by moving it's 'legs' forward, which looked quite cartoon-y - But that's not important. What's important is, for this plan to work, the victim must not have any way to see through the guise, or else the whole thing will be rendered pointless. Fortunately the loser didn't pay too much attention to a chair randomly sitting in the hallway. Right when the scrub was about to pass, Drake stuck out of the table legs out (Temporarily taking the properties of the blast) metal and tripped him, sending the dude tumbling over. Now it was high time to give him the scare of his life.

Once he was on the ground, Drake shifted back to his amorphous liquid-like state, and jumped onto the random boy, appearing almost like a splash of water. Wrapping around his entire torso, everywhere but his head (He didn't want to suffocate him after all!). Drake's body ensnared him, and took the properties of blast metal should he lash out and try to get him. The guy was screaming like a little girl the whole time, shouting for help and profanities - Trashing around in an attempt to get him off. After Drake started to get bored, he released the boy, and slithered off his body. The boy took off down the hallway, while Drake tried to make his get-away before anyone noticed.

He quickly moved back to his clothes, and shapeshifted back into himself, putting his underwear where it should be as he changed shapes to avoid everyone seeing his massive dangalang (Which can cause suicidal jealousy in males). It wasn't long until he appeared as he normally did, except he was once again shape-shifted into himself. From here on in, Drake would stay in his shape-shifting form, since it's more useful than his plasma form when it comes to pranking. Drake was still half dressed, in nothing but his underwear.

His underwear had hearts all over them.

"Now, what do you guys think of that?" Drake said, as he quickly put on the rest of his clothes, a grin on his face. It was just a scare, no one got hurt, so he hoped no one got their panties in a twist ('their' being Seth and/or Vance).

Claire

Drawing on a girl's face was weaksauce. Claire did not find it entertaining in the slightest, as it required no real planning or strategy. It was just screwing with a sleeping girl. Drake could have done so many more creative things than draw on her face. His second prank, though, was much better. The kid ran of terrified and Claire laughed both at Drake's underwear and the prank. Still she wanted to show Drake up and show him that she was just as good if not better than he was. There was a natural competitive spark to Claire, and she liked people with a similar spark.

"Ok, my turn." she said, walking past the puddle of Drake. She turned down a hallway, holding the flashlights towards the ground, and snuck towards a student wandering the halls. Slowly she rose and the flashlights floated above her head, held up by her shadows. They appeared as a pair of giant glowing eyes to whoever was down the hallway. Claire cupped her hands over her mouth as the person turned and let out a terrible moaning howl. The person stared for a moment, perplexed by the sight, and began to slowly back away. They were tripped from behind by a shadow and fell onto their backside where they continued to back away from the approaching monster. They scrambled to their feet and their belt buckle came undone, causing it to slide off and hit the ground. A shadow grabbed them by the seat of their pants, restricting them, and another one unbuttoned their jeans. The shadows pantsed the target and kicked him roughly in the butt, causing him to fall forward, unable to get up. He grabbed his pants and ran off down the hallway, falling over the low pants every few moments.

"Now how was that?" Claire asked, leaning up against the wall and lighting another cigarette. The prank had gone perfectly. She felt accomplished.

Titus

Jake was obviously scared, and that made Titus feel much more powerful. The kid turned his back and went to walk away, obviously too much of a p*ssy to fight. He growled and took a few more steps towards Jake, clenching his fists as he did so.

"Did I say you could turn your back on me you little b*tch?" Titus barked at him "It's about time someone put you in your place as the sleazy magician you are!" Titus lunged at Jake and threw a muscle-packed punch at the right side of his chest. If it landed, Jake would have the wind knocked out of him and would probably be laid up for a while with a few broken ribs.

Eli, Ariella, and the Fourth Guest

"Thank God!" Ariella shouted as the lights went out. Eli looked around frantically, waiting for a flicker or the reappearance of the ghost girl. He knew that electrical issues was one of the telltale signs of a ghost being around, though the lights normally flicker or blow out, not simply power down like they had just done. This must have meant that the ghost had nothing to do with it. Luckily Sage was producing plenty of light. Eli didn't generally keep candles around and didn't own a flashlight. He sighed and grabbed the Advil bottle from the cabinet in the nightstand next to his bed. He poured Ariella a glass of water from the kitchen sink and walked over. She took the cup thankfully and placed two of the pills in her mouth. She downed them with a drink of water, and reclined comfortably on the couch, trying to look away from Sage's light. Eli looked over at Sage and began to tell him/her/it/whatever Sage was about what they were doing.

"About a week ago, Ariella and I ran into a ghost in the hospital. It was the ghost of a little girl, and she was crying. She appeared to have been looking for her mother. We followed the ghost to the ruins, but she disappeared after and we haven't seen her since. We're trying to track her down, and I figured that your aura-detecting powers would be useful, as I am the only one here who can see ghosts. Would you be willing to help us find her?" Eli leaned up against the wall and slowly breathed out. A puff of white vapor escaped his nostrils, catching his attention. It had gotten really cold in here. In a few moments it appeared as if the temperature had dropped twenty degrees.

"Um, guys?" Ariella said as ice crystals began to form on the outside of her cup "Is it just me or is it really cold in here?" Eli looked around frantically, trying to see whether he spotted the ghost. Ariella placed the cup down and put her jacket back on in an attempt to protect herself from the newfound cold.

"Maybe it's just the power going out?" Ariella suggested.

"It wouldn't drop that fast." Eli said "And it happened almost instantly. Sage, do you see anything?"

"Eli, I believe you forgot the fourth guest when you made your coffee run." A new voice said in a mocking tone. The voice echoed several times around the room supernaturally, magnifying each time. Eli's laptop speakers began to blare static, and then switched between several radio stations, several of which were in other languages. Finally, it stopped and a song began to play on the station 101.9.

Spoiler:

"Oh, I love this song." the voice said again.

"Show yourself!" Eli shouted, much to Ariella's discontent. There was a thumping noise as the stacks of yearbooks were almost spontaneously moved off of the desk and onto the floor next to it in a heap. Eli looked at the table and saw that there was indeed a fourth guest in the room, a sixteen-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the table. She resembled the little girl slightly, with the same blonde hair and silver eyes. Like the younger one, this ghost was entirely silver and was translucent, like a fading memory of someone sitting there. Eli actually couldn't tell if she was there or just a figment of his imagination for a moment. She wore her hair in a bob that curled inwards just as it passed the bottom of her skull. Her face was generally heart-shaped, with plump cheeks and a small mouth and nose. She was wearing a white tee shirt and a pair of jeans, though both were grey in her ghostly form. Eli would have almost said she was attractive if it weren't for the enormous bloody gash at her neck and silver bloodstains trailing down her shirt. She had a  smirk of satisfaction on her face as she stared over at Eli, and leaned back on her hands, revealing twin wounds of silver blood on both her wrists.

"Hello, Eli." she said.

"Oh, um, hi." Eli stumbled in reply, taken aback by the ghost's increase in age "Sage, are you seeing this."

"So I'm a this now?" she replied sassily, sliding off of the table and walking across the room with her arms crossed over her chest "Jeez. Someone's dead for seven years and they get called an object!"

"Um..sorry. Her." Eli corrected himself.

((One suckish, half-frogged post by your's truly))

Mina
-

Mina just continued walking until she finally made it to her dorm room. She felt around her desk until she found a flashlight in the bottom right drawer. She carried the flashlight into the bathroom, holding it with her left hand and trying to wash her face off with her right had as she looked in the mirror. She turned the knob on the sink and cold water splashed onto her washcloth. Mina kept the water running as she scrubbed at her face, glaring at the mirror all the while. Once every bit of marker except for one smudge that was on her jawline (it was probably the "of" smear from earlier) was gone, Mina placed down the washcloth on the edge of the sink, continuing to glare at the mirror.

This was not something that Drake was going to get away with. Oh, no. No one messes with Mina Cheong to that extent and gets away with it. Mina's mind swam with ideas. Then it clicked- the girl she had seen tell a guy to give her five dollars- she had influence powers. Mina smirked, deep in thought. She could be of some assistance.

...She could think more about it in the morning, though.

Mina yawned and walked to her bed, not even bothering to change or thinking of the power outage. She switched off her flashlight and fell asleep.

-
Ene
-

Ene felt relief when Arianna spoke up, as well. She cast her a grateful look, considering that if it had only been her and not Arianna who spoke up, her request probably wouldn't have been taken seriously. She opened her mouth, about to speak up when another voice was heard.

The first reaction from Ene? Jumping a bit in surprise. She slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice. Wasn't it the guy she had seen kiss Arianna's hand when she and Niza were approaching the group on the first day? Yeah. That's it. Uh oh... Was he wanting to fight Jake? Ene's eyes widened, nervous, as she began to follow Jake as e began to leave. The guy didn't want him to, though, and began to swing a punch at him. Ene found herself frozen from fear as she watched.

Amimoore Black Dellamorte.

Spoiler:

While taking this scumbag to the detention, Amimoore felt an odd presence going on around her. Like, it was difficult to put her finger on it. She found herself stopping and turning back to look around - It was a stupid idea since she could barely see. It almost felt like a good four people just appeared out of no where, various corners of her mental map. Their thoughts were scattered around... She tried to tune in on one. Amimoore detected thoughts of... Oh god.

Before she could even finish her line of thought; several darts hit her back.

Immediately Amimoore felt weak, it was the result of whatever the hell she was just hit with. Her vision blurred, and her legs felt weak, she was using every last ounce of strength to stay on her feet. She tried to desperately defend herself, creating an orb of psychic energy, suddenly, all of her powers cut off. As of now, she was a normal human... Albeit drugged. There was one thing left to do, scream as loudly as possible and hope to god that someone comes up to help. Amimoore's scream was muffled by someone, a woman with blue skin, grabbing on to her mouth.

"Now, now sweetheart..." The woman with light-blue skin said, her voice was a chilling calm and mature whisper, almost sounding sadistic. "Save the screaming for later. You'll need it." Amimoore's vision was blurry, but she could make out a little bit of this woman. She was average heighted, had icy-blue skin, wore this black leather outfit with a hood that concealed most, if not all of her features, her face had a confident smirk, it really made Amimoore feel as if she was in for a world of hurt. In her other hand was a Accuracy International L96 bolt action sniper rifle. Heartbreaker.

"W-wha... Who are you...?" Amimoore stuttered, "... J-just leave me alone..." Her eyes fearfully peered to the sides. Apparently the woman's three allies had converged on them.

Worse of all, one of them didn't even appear to be human. He... Whatever the hell it was, appeared like one of those creepy mannequin dolls, barely human. Except taller than everyone else with oddly long limbs, and it was seemingly made entirely out of ceramic. No facial features whatsoever, and joints were balls. Coming out of the top of it's hands were two thick blades. Whatever the thing was, it got really close to Amimoore, and appeared to have scanned her. "She is fading out of consciousness. My drug is doing it's job." The Mannequin said, which told her that he was the one behind shooting her. The Mannequin's voice was electronic, monotone, inhuman... Which, if she wasn't about to pass out, made her wonder if he was even human to begin with. Before Amimoore could do anything else, the Mannequin put a finger to mouth (Or where it would be) as a gesture to stay quiet.

The other two members of their little group of villains tended to the mook that Amimoore had incapacitated. Since her powers were disabled, the telekinesis that was keeping him floated was gone, and he dropped to the ground. The third member of their group, Flashbang, had a boot firmly planted on his back. Her outfit was a black leather longcoat, and sunglasses, a cigarette in hand, and a cowboy hat on her head. Her skin was a icy-blue color, and she had this cold expression on her face. She looked just as threatening as everyone else. "Keep still, you scream, and we'll make this a lot more painful than it had to be." Flashbang said, her tone was annoyed. The kid stayed quiet, out of fear of what would happen.

The Mannequin shambled away from Amimoore. The way he walked looked like he was about to fall over and could barely keep himself standing, yet, he didn't trip once. He stood over the boy, scanning him. "He'll be the next omen." The Mannequin says. He then shoots the boy with a dart that came out of his finger, and then he started feeling drowsy. The Mannequin then opens up the boy's mouth and uses one of his blades to slice off his tongue. "No screaming." The Mannequin then started systematically slicing the boy to pieces, starting with his eyes.

Seemingly the last member of their group, who seemed to be the most normal, hell, she was even the same age as Amimoore, Contessa was the only one who hadn't spoken or done anything. Short, normal skin,  and body armor, she was just standing there watching. She was probably a sociopath, just from the way she just watched herself. "There's no one around. So go nuts." She spoke confidently, like she knew what she was talking about.

"That's why I like you, Tessa. You're our rat when the buzz comes swinging." Heartbreaker spoke, "Now, you payed for this show, you're going to watch it..." Heartbreaker turned Amimoore's head to the boy she just captured getting mutilated one body part at a time, and forced her to watch. "... From start to finish..." She could barely see anything, and she's staring away, but every second of it was torture. "Welcome to the world of the Changeling Unit, miss Dellamorte." Heartbreaker laughed, "I hope you enjoy your stay."

Minutes later, the group vanished in a flash of light. Every last one... Except for the now injured boy, who was lying spread eagle on the floor. Worse of all, Amimoore Black Dellamorte was gone. Taken by the newly named 'Changeling Unit'. For whatever plan they may have.


Jake Vin Valos.


It was a reflex action.

A solid titanium wall materialized between himself and his friends, and Titus. He was half-prepared for a fight with Titus, seeing that was exactly why he was looking back to begin with. "The hell is your problem!?" Jake shouted in response, his teeth gritted. He wasn't going to lie to himself when he said that he was a bit scared right now. However, he was in this kind of situation before, and was confident in the fact that his ability could protect him. The problem was that Jake had zero means to retaliate, well, honestly, he didn't want to fight back. F*ck what these meatheads think, there's no point in getting his ass in trouble over such stupid things such as this. Titus deserves all the trouble here.


Drake Deltori Blackmore.


"Oooooh boy!" Drake says, as he slid his jacket back on. He watched the whole thing, and wasn't. Pantsing. It was such a perverse and boring prank. Though, he was mostly trying to play it off as Claire's prank being lame. "You must enjoy the sight of little boys in their underwear!" He laughed it off, slapping a hand on Claire's shoulder. He then leaned up against the wall, "Next time, wrap their pants around their legs, Shadow Dancer. That'd be way more fun to watch."


Sage Lucas Pimm.


Sage had quietly listened to the explanation given to them by Eli when they asked why they were called here. Apparently there's a ghost that wasn't at rest around these parts, unfortunate. Not all souls get to the other side successfully. There was few ghosts or such presences detected here since their arrival. "Yes. I will do my best to assist you." Sage said, a jovial smile was on their face. That's when things got cold, it was all so sudden, and odd. Usually the temperature goes down when the power goes out, because the heat was turned off with the power. When asked whether or not they saw anything, Sage got a little confused. Sage was just about to agree with Ariella when she said that it was because of the power going out. "I..." They awkwardly forced out, "... Don't see anything." They shook their head.

Then that's when Eli started shouting for... Something, they were unsure of what was going on anymore. That's when Sage started sensing an unearthly presence entering the room, and disrupting everything. They went on guard, ready to weaponize all the light in the room. Then it became apparent that this spirit was the same ghost that Eli and Ariella had found weeks back, from the way he talked about it. The problem that Sage had was that they can't actually communicate with ghosts, only sense their exact location. Which meant that Sage was just about useless here in comparison with Eli. "No... I know that 'this' is here." They answered his question weakly, that feeling of uselessness seeped into their voice.

Valery Arsov
(sidenote: if any of you are Crimean/particularly sympathetic to our homeboys in Kiev, this is a trigger warning, Valery's going to be making annexation jokes sooner rather than later)

"Gabe? Gabe is not my girlfriend. However, I am very single," Val paused to knock back another shot of vodka, picking up exactly where he left off-in fact, to delve off into a mini-tirade on Val's vocal patterns, his cadence and rhythm were totally undeterred by this. It was as if his drinking was simply a breath he'd taken in the middle of a sentence, or an annoying build up of saliva that he needed to swallow. Alcoholism is interesting, no? "...starting to feel a teensy bit buzzed, and quite honestly, I feel like we could be good couple. I mean, no depth perception, we both have funny accents, and we both like drinking my liquor and hitting on my friend Jesse. We have all the important things in common, you know?" Val, however, did not piece together why Gabe was in there, and merely assumed Jesse was being naive. After all, Jesse should've known by now that Val did not let himself get tied down to any one woman. And by "did not let himself", I mean "cried himself to sleep every night" and by "get tied down to any one woman", I mean "because the loneliness hurt so bad".

"Hey, no, why are we making my Eyepatch Lady Friend leave?" Val asked, curious as to Jesse's sudden emotional about-face. I thought you were going to use Danny Phantom charm and sleep with all three like total player. But now you are making them leave. "Hey! Lady MacBeth! Don't just steal my liqu-" Val stopped short of shouting down the hallway. "Oh, son of a b*tch. No one appreciates my bootlegging, damnit! It takes time to smuggle this much cheap liquor in. Jesse, my friend, this is what I would call bullsh*t. I do not care if people come in and drink a little, I think this whole 'over 21' thing is stupid, anyways," Val appeared to be speaking mostly to himself as he created a wine glass made of ice, held it gingerly with a pinky extended, and began sipping whiskey from it, "but don't steal it and run. I mean, I do not want to be an..." he paused, closing his eye and sounding it out. "en-ay-blur."

Felina

Felina struggled to suppress laughter as Jaska puffed himself up, tried to match her in terms of imposing physical presence. Oh, little one. I could see us getting along, perhaps. However, as tactless as Felina normally was, she didn't want to offend Jaska-the majority of her brash nature was reserved for regular people. Whether it was a violent response to the kinds of prejudices most people had when dealing with a giant cat or her isolated youth, Felina didn't have a lot of charity for the regular metas of the Academy.

"Jaska. Hm." Felina didn't comment, merely sat for a moment and pondered it over. Jas-kuh. The name sunk into her mind, becoming synonymous with his smell and the sound of his footsteps and the way his wings tore through the air and his voice. Jaska.

What he said next, however, was foreign-the idea of appearing stronger than your adversary she could understand, that was something on Felina's level, but losing control was not. Sure, she got what it meant, and could understand letting rage or jealousy or passion guide one's hand instead of reason-Felina's brand of reasoning, anyways. No, it was like Jaska was talking about losing control of his gift...which Felina also didn't understand. Why would you try and control that? Perhaps the little one had not been in any fights, any real struggles. You didn't try and "control" those. Talk of tactics and retaining cold reason when blood was shed was nonsense, in Felina's opinion. The only way to win a fight, to truly end a struggle, was being more fierce than one's opponent. Being above pain and below thought, letting thousands of years of instincts take over.

Why would you control that?

"Just...don't feel like killing something?" Felina asked, a blatant mixture of confusion and disapproval in her voice. "Fine. I think you use the term...leftovers. You can have mine." Felina turned and began moving at a quick pace to the nearest exit, nudging the handle with her paw and pushing the door open. She moved through the snow, unaccustomed to the cold weather but acclimating fairly quickly. "Jaska. Where are you from?" She asked, curt and failing miserably at the nuances of small talk.

Arianna Madrigal

Jake Sounded truly sorry, which assuaged some of the fear in Arianna's heart. Still, her heart was racing as sheltered little rich girl Madrigal realized something:

the boy she'd been holding hands with for a week could do some truly fucked up things to her. He could convince her that boiling hot water was freezing cold or make her think she was walking across a sidewalk when she was stepping off the clock tower or...or...

...or worse. Arianna didn't like thinking about worse. Her pale skin, hidden to Eliza from behind the illusory veil, flushed a bit more as she struggled to keep her words steady and her tone from giving away too much of her fear. She knew that the kids here were powerful, but...but...

But Jake was no different than Titus? Just a different kind of strength she had no hope of stopping...

"It's okay....it's just a prank that went awry is all." Arianna said, crossing her arms across her chest, eyes avoiding Jake's or Ene's. She brushed some of her hair back behind her ear and twisted her foot on the ground a bit, humming very softly to herself.

Oh. Speak of the devil.

"Titus," Arianna said, trying to feign some courtesy into her voice, albeit the guilty, nauseous feeling she had from seeing Eliza so terrified and her own fear of Titus (and now Jake) made that a difficult endeavor. Still, even as stressed and worried as she sounded, her voice still sounded beautiful in a strange way. Arianna was melodic when she cried, symphonic when she screamed. The acoustics of the hallway just didn't seem to matter, much as the laws of physics hadn't protested when Val froze his vodka solid (an interesting flux in the Song that Arianna might've noticed had she not been making trouble in the dark). "Jake's not a weakling," she replied, some of her disgust fading in place of defiance.


The defiance, however, quickly faded in place of something. Arianna was never one to entertain morbid thoughts, but what she'd seen with Eliza had her thinking of people's potential for malevolence. Closing her eyes, she listened close to the Symphony

the hallways were soaked in blood somewhere-

shutting out the stray verses and notes that crossed by her consciousness

somewhere a baby giggled and began humming along to her mother's lullaby

and focusing on the Song around her. Yes, Titus was real. Not one of Jake's forced hallucinations, not a trick of the light. But beyond that, something else occurred to her. There...there was no power...which meant that...no cameras. No security coming.

If Titus were to do something, then....

Arianna latched onto Jake with something that was more parts fear than it was romantic attachment. "Jake. Jake. Please. Let's go. Let's go. Ene, come closer. Let's go. Please." Arianna, never one to display an iron will in times of crisis, struggled to stay relatively quiet and keep from running on and on. The Song began to sound more frantic, hysterical, as if its composer were trying to etch down the final measures whilst on fire.

Then Titus struck.

Arianna screamed-didn't Titus see how close she was to him?-and staggered back, falling backwards the same way she'd once mocked stupid girls for doing in the horror movies. Arianna frantically kicked her way backwards, watching as Jake constructed a titanium wall between their group and Titus. The same demonstration of Jake's abilities, a few minutes earlier, might've given Arianna a panic attack, but was now extremely comforting.

Still...they were only illusions. Titus could get through. Arianna took a few deep breaths, trying to compose herself. She...she had to help. Had to do something. Think. Think. think.

snow alone in the snow so cold throat Christ my throat

Arianna clamped her hands on either side of her head, shutting out some of the noise of Jake and Titus and looking rather feeble in her semi-fetal position. She began to sing, putting thoughts of what using more of her power would do, how much of the barrier between her conscious mind and the Symphony it would tear down, and focus on the situation at hand. Arianna began to sing something that, strangely, sounded like the exact opposite of the music you might listen to in order to get pumped up for game or power through a tough workout. She Sang at Titus, reaching for his portion of the Symphony and trying to make his tendons tighter, his muscles as cold and unyielding as they would be before warming up. Sure, it wouldn't stop him, but if she could make the juggernaut shred his ACL sprinting at them or sprain his wrist pounding at that steel wall, it might make Jake's job a little easier.

And besides, there was nothing else she could think to do besides run, and as terribly afraid as Arianna was-of Jake and Titus and the dozens of horrific ways this scenario was going end in her mind-that...that wouldn't be right. Arianna, shivering and feeling rather desperately that she was getting on the first boat back home as soon as the power was on, continued to sing, trying to make Titus' muscles betray him as best she could, trying to pacify the fury and bloodlust in his Song.

Celo the Impossible wrote:

. "So..." She sat down on one of the beds in the dorm room. "...How's your first week here been?"

Oh we'll let's see  I almost got caught looking like my true self,had several horrific nightmares,avoided social contact for the better part of time,and tried desperately not to let anyone know about my secret. he thought but what he said was "Oh you know basic schools stuff learned a little and stuff." He wasn't going to tell her how he really was going and you Breyer believe there was no way he would tell her about his power. He would never tell anyone that "how about you?" He casually yawned and then winced he was in
Lot of pain but he could hang onto this form but that was not true. Suddenly all the pain came at once barreling onto his pain senses. "NO!" He said. "NOT NOW" he gripped
His
Forehead as his cells began to reverse themselves his akin bleached back to its original color, the webbing grew and umbrella'ed over his finger gaps,His ears and hair sunk in to his flesh as his bone structure took its proper shape. Then it was done "Don't look at me" he sobbed through his round teeth.

Mr Allen J wrote:

Leon Maddox Vahan, & Megan Emma Jervious.

Ink wrote:

I was just on my way back to my dorm and the lights went out.  Is something wrong?

The note was read by Leon before Thorn even presented it. So he didn't need to look at it himself. He didn't really show much of a response to Thorn's note, except, he spoke answering her question, "Other than the fact no one can see more than two feet in front of them; nothing at all." He said, sarcastically, with a half-smile on his face.

Since Leon apparently wasn't going to take the note, Megan reached over and grabbed it, scanning it thoroughly. Then she looked up at Thorn. The writings of a note were no more valuable and trustworthy than words spoken out loud. It wasn't that Megan didn't believe her - The last twenty students they talked more-or-less said the same thing. It was just that Megan has getting bored. She felt like having a bit of fun with the mute snake girl, and she was interesting so far. "Oh? If you're going to your room, then how about we escort you?" This was said in a feigned skeptical tone, perfectly mimicked by Megan in order to play Thorn along. "It is our job to make sure the students go about their, and in the dark, you'll have a problem maneuvering." She started laughing, "One slip, and you'll be needing a hospital visit!"

Only a light chuckle came from Leon, like he knew exactly what Megan was doing.

Thorn stares at the two of them for a moment. She didn't know how genuine this was. One of them was rather blatantly putting on some sort of act. Her head tilts upon observing them further. Then she scribbles in her notepad that she can essentially see in the dark so she doesn't bump into things. She 'd be fine returning to her room on her own. Their tone wasn't exactly comforting. The skepticism is particularly off-putting. Not wanting any trouble, she slowly turns and starts on her way back.

Ene
-

Ene remained frozen for what felt like forever though it probably wasn't even a moment, as Jake had made an illusion of a wall. She took a step back from the wall separating them from Titus.

"Stop!" She yelped, probably the loudest she had spoken since first arriving at the Academy. She was scared of the fight worsening, of someone getting hurt, of getting in trouble... Really she was scared of a lot of things going wrong, at the moment.

This being said, when Arianna began to sing, Ene felt her fears begin to subside. The song wasn't affecting her, no- it was more like she felt a bit comforted. Like a, "Thank goodness- everything is going to okay," feeling. Basically, relief. She knew that the girl could calm people somehow with her singing, so maybe it would work in this case an help to peacefully end this fight. Actually, it wasn't a fight quite yet, considering no one had gotten hit, but Ene considered it one. She stared anxiously at the illusion Jake had crafted, waiting to see what the outcome would be.

-
Niza
-

Niza just sat an watched as Jackson transformed to what she believed was his normal form, judging from the, "No, not now!"s and the, "don't look at me!"s.

Niza tried to guess his power by watching- a type of shapeshifter. Maybe partial, only able to switch between two forms? Perhaps. He could be of some use if his powers are ever needed. Perhaps there is more to his powers than just shape shifting. She should find out later.

Niza smirked before standing up and walking towards Jackson. She cast him an amused expression as she neared.

"There are animal metas at this school that look a lot stranger than that, so what makes you think there's something bad with that form? This school is made for metas, hun. You really think looking like that will make you be viewed differently?"

-
Len and Bre
-

When Bre had arrived at the twins' dorm, the mischievous duo had shooed Len out to hang out with her. Bre felt grateful for them to be trying to get her and Len to have some alone time. They walked down the hallway, flashlights in hand, basically making small talk. Len had thankfully gotten comfortable enough around her to talk a lot more.

"Sorry me and my brothers kinda left the lounge when the lights went off- we didn't really want to get pranked or anything by some idiot."

"Yeah, I understand. I ran into two interesting kids- Niza is nice, but I'm not sure if she is actually trying to be nice or not... I mean, it seemed fake. And then there was, like, this one boy who just seemed to be concentrating on something else. I think he was using his power, but I dunno."

The two continue talking, unaware of the real reason the twins had shooed them away.

-
Kynan and Jaylin
-

You really think we should be doing this, Jay?

Yeah- why not? It's like we're detectives! We just need to find some clues or something.

Well, Len told us to stay away from the headmaster. Let's do that for now until we find out the reason he said that.

Okay. So we are looking for clues where we know there isn't.

Well, there might be.

True. Anyways, maybe we could check the woods outside the school?

Dude- at night? During a power outage?

How about during the daytime?

Okay. Tomorrow.

Awesome! So let's go check that hall!

The twins walked right past a hall that led to a dead body, which was good for their young minds.


((Made this earlier. Tell me if I misse anything))

The path Trace had taken to his current resting place had been a confusing and conveluted one, but he had decided that he needed to ask his "deep" though provoking questios in the comfort of his own home or dorm room anyways. He would only have to deal with Titus there, who Trace guessed would probably be trying to prove himself as the alpha male over some twelve year olds. It seemed about right anyways. Trace got up from the ground and wandered halls, lost in thought. After a few corners Trace's plans were cut short after he almost slipped on what appeared to be water. Taking a look, Trace realized it was blood he had stepped in, and the body it belonged to was close by. "HOLY, F*****G SH*T!" Trace shouted as he jumped back in shock, he wasn't sure whether to stay or run either way it looked bad. How much physiological trauma did he have to go through today?

Anthony Bellachini
Wait where did they go? He wondered as he swung his arms down and landed on his feet he had lost them when he blacked out for a few seconds he was awakened by cold unforgiving impact of the floor on his torso. He decided his best bet was wandering until he found someone. "Hey anyone here?" He called down the halls.

Quote :

"Celo the Impossible


Niza just sat an watched as Jackson transformed to what she believed was his normal form, judging from the, "No, not now!"s and the, "don't look at me!"s.

Niza tried to guess his power by watching- a type of shapeshifter. Maybe partial, only able to switch between two forms? Perhaps. He could be of some use if his powers are ever needed. Perhaps there is more to his powers than just shape shifting. She should find out later.

Niza smirked before standing up and walking towards Jackson. She cast him an amused expression as she neared.

"There are animal metas at this school that look a lot stranger than that, so what makes you think there's something bad with that form? This school is made for metas, hun. You really think looking like that will make you be viewed differently?"

Yeah like you"ll ever understand at least you walk in this world without fear of hate and fear from your appearance. He was surprised that she if fact had stayed instead of walking away in disgust. "People fear what is ugly, society is and will always be skin deep it's a sad fact but unfortunately a true fact." Jackson got up and went to his desk he then picked his rubix cube, as he sat he faced Niza he began to slot the cube absentmindedly.

You know it's funny I believe I could be anyone else with my ability but the only form I will never be comfortable in  is my own flesh and bones."

Abraham Gene

T-1000 bear hugs, pantsing, and tying shoelaces, oh my. Truly, they were all top of the line pranksters.

It was needless to say that Abraham wasn't particularly impressed by their antics. It was bull-headed and forward, which sounds hilarious if one were to hear Abraham say such things (given his own nature), but it wasn't clever. Sure, maybe they were a little funny, but none of them were pranks of the century. Given how Drake was left in his underwear, he was no less pranked than the other guy he just tormented! His heart-printed underwear provoking some low laughter from Abe. Then there was Claire seeking verification from Drake for her own witless endeavor - of course - and then there was Sheep, jumping in on the bandwagon. Shoelaces. On the stairs. Yawn. Now coming back for approval? Predictable. Abraham answered him with a shrug, followed by a remark. "You would'a done the same job if you punched the guy in the face or pushed 'im down the stairs."

Snowflakes gently landed on his hands and got caught in his dark dreadlocks, as well as the black fibers of his pea coat. Acknowledging the weather outside, and how he was getting covered in snow, reminded him that it was f*cking cold. He shoved his hands into the warm wool of his coat. He lived in Boston for Christ's sake, and Boston got weather like this too - just not as bad! On top of his experience with snow, he had a wool coat layered over a leather jacket over another shirt, and it did damn skippy to help him stay warm. That of course likely had to do with him not being as proactive with the pranking as the kids off to the side. Which was strange behavior on his part, one that Drake might notice, and something that other students (that do not know Abe) would take and assume him to think that he was above such childish play. He did good to hide it, but internally, he couldn't help but feel antsy. Restless, even.

The boredom had become too much. "Listen ladies," Abe started with particularly half-hearted enthusiasm, "I'm cold, I'm bored, and as soon y'all find something that doesn't involve taking of a bunch o' kiddies' clothes, hit me up. But until then, I'm gonna go in n' outta the cold here and find something to do." Abe then pointed to Drake. "You a'right with that? Think you can handle your girl there without some babysitting?"

This was of course just a friendly jab at Drake, the usual jargon. He did not particularly care what Sheep or Creep had to say about his leaving, but it was better to let Drake in on what his plans were before he just up and went, their friendship at least had that. The team often times worked independently from one another outside the arena, Val not being here was proof of that. How was Ari doing anywho? Probably swooning over her false "knight". Ha, what a joke.

---

Jesse Sutor

That blinding flash Gabe made in a sudden instant was definitely enough to make anyone temporarily lose their minds, especially when everyone's eyes had already adapted to the darkness. This was exemplified by Lily, who had shut her eyes and yelled with profanity. It was enough of a chance for Gabe to escape, which he could tell by her roughly brushing passed his shoulder. Unfortunately, Valery's explanation was lost in the sudden commotion. When everyone's senses had returned, Valery started chasing her out the door, only to stop short a few feet away from the doorway. Lily was sweet enough to include him in her defense, but ultimately unnecessary.

Valery's objections, though? He was a cool guy, damn near the epitome of tolerance. But of all things and all times, this was not something Jesse felt he had the time for. Damn his objections! Jesse, appearing exasperated in all its forms, tossed his arms up in the air alongside an exaggerated shrug. "Sorry man! But look: girl or boy, I'm not gonna have some person lie their way into our room and disrespect us even further and let them stay. That's ridiculous! What's worse is that they came in to steal your stuff."

Jesse set his hands down and ended the emphasizing gestures he was making as he spoke, giving himself a chance to breathe and relax as he sighed. This allowed him to talk a lot more gently, which was a huge contrast in comparison to the borderline hysterics he was just in.

"Just... try to keep your stuff low key, okay? That girl had to have heard it from somewhere, and I don't want any of the faculty knocking our door down all of a sudden."

Jesse was pretty sure that Valery would understand where he was coming from, after all, he was a cool dude. Russian or no, the guy was still pretty aware of how bureaucracy worked American style. He was also pretty sure that Val knew that this was as much Jesse's room as it was his own. Surely, the concepts of space, privacy, protection and all that jazz wasn't alien to Russia in any way. After all, it was a modern culture too.

Kynan and Jaylin
-

The twins had passed the hall with the bloodied boy in it, and would have been fine, not noticing the body one bit. Never seeing a body without fingers, a tongue, eyes... They would have been just fine. Until it was heard. A scream. The two exchanged glances and slowly turned around, Jaylin already merging with his brother as a way to easily read minds.

Kynan slowly walked towards the hallway the scream had been heard echoing from, ready to run if the situation called for it. He felt his palms become sweaty from nervousness as he got closer to the hall. Another voice was heard. This one sounded surprised, but not in a good way- surprised in a way that it sounded like he had just seen something he wanted to un-see. Kynan stopped.  If it weren for Jaylin's encouragement, he wouldn't have walked around the corner to see wha was there. The twins wouldn't see the horrific scene.

But he did. Kynan's eyes widened and he stared in horror at way lay before him. He only saw "Dacious" on the boy's stomach before turning around. Jaylin was freaking out, just as he was.

A dead body! Dacious was on his stomach! This is bad, Kynan, really bad. We could get killed!

I know- we need to get out of here before anyone sees us and tries to kill us! What if they want to kill us for seeing what we shouldn't have?

I don't know, man- we have to go! We have to be careful and do... Something! We gotta go! We gotta go!

Jaylin's voice in Kynan's head was frantic and laced with sobs. Kynan's voice would be the same if he were to speak. They needed to leave. They needed to leave. Why wouldn't his feet work!?

Fear was gripping the twins' stomachs... Well, currently it was just one stomach. They both reacted the same way in this situation- freaked out so much that they were petrified with fright.  They had to do something quickly- not just stand there! They had to go! They were to scared to go... They had to do something.

Kynan's voice was hoarse as he finally spoke, not looking back at the two older guys he had seen glimpses of when he entered the hallway. "I-I... He... He.... Dead." He found himself mumbling words, getting caught finally by tears falling from his eyes. His shoulder's shook as he silently cried. Jaylin would be doing the same if he weren't merged. His feet were still frozen in place. The one time they wanted to leave most, they couldn't. Both continued to freak in their minds. Kynan didn't even realize e was addressing him and Jaylin together instead of addressing just himself when he spoke "J-just... Don't make us turn around."

-
Niza
-

Niza just stared at Jackson for a moment. Was he really using that for an excuse? The opinion of others actually mattered? Niza found herself letting out a dry laugh.

"Yeah, society is a judgmental, twisted thing. I should know..." She was one of the ones of society that used people to get her way. She was one of the ones that was part of the twisted majority of society. She was also one judged by society, as well-girls called her names, saying that she slept with guys in order to get them to do stuff for her (which was wrong, in fact. Niza wouldn't stoop that low). She figured they were just jealous that she actually looked good and could get guys.

Niza crossed her arms, remaining where she was. "That's the thing, though. You can either choose to hide from everything, never live life, and be in constant fear or not care about twisted society and actually live your life." Niza smirked, not even realizing that she was actually trying to help someone without thinking of how it would help in manipulation for once.

"Your choice."

Celo the Impossible wrote:

-
Niza
-

Niza just stared at Jackson for a moment. Was he really using that for an excuse? The opinion of others actually mattered? Niza found herself letting out a dry laugh.

"Yeah, society is a judgmental, twisted thing. I should know..." She was one of the ones of society that used people to get her way. She was one of the ones that was part of the twisted majority of society. She was also one judged by society, as well-girls called her names, saying that she slept with guys in order to get them to do stuff for her (which was wrong, in fact. Niza wouldn't stoop that low). She figured they were just jealous that she actually looked good and could get guys.

Niza crossed her arms, remaining where she was. "That's the thing, though. You can either choose to hide from everything, never live life, and be in constant fear or not care about twisted society and actually live your life." Niza smirked, not even realizing that she was actually trying to help someone without thinking of how it would help in manipulation for once.

"Your choice."

"I once thought it was. Niza.....but that was proven false to me the day I tried to fit in.." "Should I really be telling her this? you know what f*ck it I'm tried of all this might as well tell someone. It was bright and sunny that day everything always seems fine at first before the world is dropped on you head you know?" Anyway I happened to be looking out my house window some kids were playing basketball ....it looked fun and I wanted to join but I know what my dad said "Stay away from the outside people aren't quite ready for you yet Jack" every day I wonder why I didn't heed my dad's warning...I figured that as long as I looked
Normal it would be ok,that they would never know and I would be safe, so there I went deciding to play with the "cool kids". I had fun until that basketball hit my head and brought my happy little world crashing down."
"The kids screamed you would have thought they had seen the boogeyman or something ans I guess in a way they had. Everything afterwords was a mad rush my parents locked all the doors and windows but that didn't stop them from crashing through. I'll
Never forget that one cop's face he was blonde green eyes he looked young was probably his first day or something. He leveled his pistol at my chest blabbering about "killing the monster or something...I heard the gunshot and saw my father leap in front of me.....everything was so vivid my father's lifeblood bright scarlet soaking into the carpet my Mother's piercing scream flowing through the air the squawking of those damn cop's radios...It was all
My fault."

Sorry Miza you're not my psychologist I shouldn't be dumping this all on you,but thank you for listening anyway." I choose to remain like this because it's what my parents would have wanted and because it's safe". As he said the word this he morphed back to his casual form.

Gabriela Mya Valos.


Kate. Kate. Kate. Gabe repeated in her head to allow herself to remember Kate's name, especially in a drunken state like herself. However she had a clear enough head to get something as a name right. The one arm around Kate had tightened, before she spoke, "Kate!" She loudly says, which would have pointed a few eyes in her direction if there were more people around. Gabe was actually pretty glad that Kate wasn't a total prude that would sell her out (Because enough b*tches in this place have a long pole up their asses!) was good as it got. Maybe there might be some chemistry between us. Gabe didn't waste any time in grabbing on to Kate's arm and pulling her along to Gabe's room - Gently, she certainly wouldn't want to hurt those pretty little hands of hers! This was a task like no other. Balancing stolen alcohol with a pretty lady friend while drunk - Well, it isn't as impressive as she would like to make it seem (This isn't the first time, or last, so Gabe is a bit experienced when it comes to this brand of zany schemes).

Thankfully the pair went unnoticed as Gabe lead Kate drunkingly through the hallways of the school. Gabe had little perceptibility left, but enough to read the room-numbers on each door until it counted down to her room. She released her grip on Kate, and walked over to the door, and tried to shove her keys in... Well, she had a bit of a problem getting the key in the keyhole, and it was quite obvious at this point. Because of this, Gabe was starting to get angry, though she was trying to not show it for once. "Heh, I wonder if my room-mate would love this liquor..." Gabe says, her voice was full of forced bravado - Bingo! Her train of thought ended there when Gabe was actually successful in getting the key in there. She turned the keys.

Every last bottle of alcohol she had was placed on her bed... Now came the actually difficult part. Hiding all of this. There was little places to put it that wouldn't be obvious or out in the open. If this was just Gabe's room alone, then she would be A-okay with that, but she has to share a room with some chick and doesn't have a clue who she brings through their room when Gabe's not around. Meh. Actually Ariella's kinda hot, and Gabe would have bagged her by now if she wasn't lugging around that ugly guy Eli who acts like a f*ckin' holier-than-thou prick constantly. Ugh. It'll be Ariella's lost that she'd never have felt the gentle touch of a woman. Gabe was storing the booze - surprise - under her mattress because she couldn't think of anywhere else right now. The placement wasn't elegant, but it'd do until she sobers up and gets a clear enough head to put it back correctly.

Gabe left one bottle out, a large bottle of whiskey, which she left on the table. She just couldn't forget about her guest! She then walked over to her kitchen and pulled out some shot-glasses that she had smuggled into the school on the very first day (Oh really, security must be THAT lax if I got these in here). Wiggling her hips there and back. Gabe put the shotglasses on the table, one for herself and another for Kate. "Ah, kept ya' waitin', huh?" She says with a toothy grin.


Dexter 'Rush' Chertok, & Ray Judah Drager.


Even the most subtle uses of Eric's power didn't go unnoticed. Rush didn't even need to look to notice that Eric swapped out his finger for night vision. Technology just... resonates with him like that. Just as a gesture, Rush covered his eyes with a flat palm. "Made changes. Exchanged flashlight. For night vision. Very interesting. Yes." Before putting his hands back where they normally are. Smiling slightly.

"Heh," Ray said, laughing a bit like he found the whole scene humorous, "Looks like you found your new best-friend, huh?" He looked, before throwing his hands up into the air, "I understand. I've been replaced." He was being sarcastic as always. Usually how he responds to everything.

"Yes. Might as well. Eric likely more-efficient." Rush responds just as sarcastically, "All machines are."

"Lovely, looks like I'll need a new sidekick." Ray ends their exchange with that.

"Now. Excuse me. But appear to have forgotten formalities. No good." Rush says, replying to "Given name: Dexter. Street name: Rush. Would enjoy being called by the latter. In addition. Referred to by many nicknames by my partner."

"And I am Ray Drager. It is nice to meet you."


Eliza Stacy Prezelin.


After the little scare, Eliza didn't waste any time in making her way back to her room. The only place where she feels safe. The mutations done to her arms gradually reversed themselves, the moment that she knew the danger was over with. It was rather perturbing that someone choose to play a prank on her like that. Even though she could have lost herself to her emotions rather easily back there and hurt someone... Which wouldn't be that bad of an outcome. The lights are out, and Eliza stays in the background anyway. She could have torn the prankster in half with those arms of hers. One thing that people will find out is that she never stays down. Eh. Better that she stays out of fights, and lets this one incident slide. The moment that she gets into a fight and finds out more about her... The more they'll want to test their own strengths, on her. Or at least that was what would go down in her mind.

A few minutes later, Eliza made it back to her room... Or she hoped she did. She didn't really have a good grasp on the school yet - Especially when it came to the room that she's going to be staying in for awhile. No choice but to try. She put her key into the keyhole, and, surprise, the key went in and she managed to turn it. Perfect. Eliza then stepped into her empty room (Good, I'd like to fall asleep before she gets here) and disrobed. She slipped into her pajamas and slid into her bed.


Drake Deltori, & Adam Leo Blackmore.


((When Maxx posts))

Niza silently listened to the boy. Crap. She couldn't manipulate him, now. She felt too guilty knowing this about him. This is probably why she avoided heart-felt conversations. While she did manipulate sad-looking people (Ene, for example) she usually didn't hear their sob stories and this didnt feel guilty. Now, however...

Niza moved back and sat down on the bed that Jackson wasn't sittin in and reset her chin on her hands. She was quiet for a few moment before finally speaking.

"Your parent wante you to stay inside because they said that the world wasn't ready for you, hun. They didn't say they liked you better in whichever form- parents don't do that. Unless, of course, it's my mom." Niza smirked, "now how about this world, hm? The Academy. I'm pretty sure a ton of metas felt the same way but now they can walk around freely in their forms. This world is ready."

Niza felt a bit like gagging all of a sudden. Since when did she get to be so nice? She was going to need to get a drink later on or something to stop worrying about others. Really, it was sickening.

Thorn didn't bother from there on. If ninjas attacked, it would be either their worst mistake or a great favor to the school. She turns and walks off toward her room. It wasn't far, at least. She'd be rid of these two soon. On the way, her mind begins the wander about, further and further away from these two and the school's darkness. So many tests to study for. She had to work on filtering her venom. There was nothing she could do about the toxin, though. She ought to clean her room when she got back as well. Suddenly, though, her mind returns to current events. If they were so bothered with students being attacked, then why didn't she pass any other students being chaperoned?

Titus

Spoiler:

Hehehe...All too easy Titus was somehow able to stop his hand before impacting the wall. He pulled his hand back and kicked the titanium wall as hard as he could in the exact center. The force of his kick shattered the wall, and it faded with a loud crash. Titus walked through the hall uninhibited, cracking his knuckles as he walked. There was a dull pain in his right foot, most likely a bruise from kicking the wall down. It would heal momentarily. Titus grabbed Jake by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him several feet into the air, much like a bully in a movie. He held Jake up to his face, and snarled. "Think you're f*cking tough, conman?" Titus seethed "I'll break your f*cking neck!" he launched Jake full speed at the wall with all of his strength.

Eli, and Ariella

"Tell him/her/whatever the hell that is to calm their tits." the ghost said, casting a venomous look over at Sage. "I'm not going to hurt you. And I have a name, you know. My name is Lucy." Eli, completely caught in the moment, blinked a few times and then turned to Sage.

"Lucy says to calm down." Eli said, before turning back to the ghost. Ariella stared at Eli with a look of confusion on her face. He shrugged and looked back at Lucy.

"Um...nice to meet you, Lucy." he said "I'm Eli. We mean you no harm. We wish to help you."

"I know." Lucy replied "Being a ghost kinda sucks."

"I would imagine it would suck." Eli replied "So, do you know why you came back?"

"No. I don't really remember much about before I died."

"Well you were asking before about your mother, assuming you were the same ghost."

"Oh, um...really I don't remember. I'm sorry." Ariella soon gave up on staring sense into Eli and laid back on the couch, clutching a pillow over her face to guard her ears and eyes from stimuli. Her headache had began to subside but was not yet gone. It would take a while until it vanished fully.

Claire

After muttering something about underpants, Claire fell silent and went to sulking against a wall while smoking a cigarette. She noticed that the rock guy had wandered off, but didn't say anything to him. He seemed pretty chill, but hadn't really talked to her much so he didn't really know anything about him. Drake still looked pretty good by Claire's judgement, so she figured she'd stick around him. She silently followed him around, leaving puffs of cigarette smoke behind her as she walked. Soon they arrived at a grizzly and terrifying scene. Claire's eyes opened up wide as her flashlight beams reflected off of the blood on the wall. She dropped her cigarette and stared transfixingly at the corpse of the dead man in front of her.

"Son of a b*tch." was all she could manage to say. A crowd of others seemed to congregate around the body. Claire was going to check his pulse, but figured that there was no need. He wasn't just merely dead, he was really most sincerely absolutely positively really f*cking dead. Claire had seen death before and had witnessed some pretty bad injuries at the hand of fire, bullets, and switchblades. This made everything she had seen look like papercuts. She stood in a state of awe for a moment, and then turned to Drake, the color completely absent from her face.

"Jesus Christ." she choked out "W-where's Adam?"

Felina

"Don't hum," Felina snapped. "Anything with ears worth a damn will hear you half a mile away." as they drew closer to the forest, Felina's senses dialed up a few notches in acuity. The edges of leaves sharpened, her depth perception more accurate, the smells and sounds of the forest clear and revealing. She sniffed the air, black paws falling silently on the snow around them. The little one was exuding pheromones, fear and hunger, the kinds of primal thoughts that radiated off a predator's body before they struck. But Felina was not worried. Jaska was stronger than she had anticipated-but not strong enough.

Felina mulled over the knowledge of Jaska being an American. Hm. Perhaps he was from one of the few wild places left there. Far to the north, she knew, and a few secluded pockets in the west...but she doubted it. If the boy had really been putting his gifts to good use, he wouldn't have the strange qualms over using his gifts that he did. So perhaps he was in a city...that would explain things. Felina, mulling over the psychological complexities of her new acolyte, sprung up a good five or six feet onto a thick, relatively low-hanging branch. Her yellow eyes flickered around for a moment, ears perked up. She stayed motionless and alert for perhaps a full minute before a change in her posture-muscles tensing, lips pulling back, tail flickering back and forth slowly-signaled that she had found her prey. Springing to another branch, she hesitated for only a split second before dropping to the ground and taking off at a quick trot to her prey, Jaska presumably following her.

The deer was perhaps twenty yards away. Felina stayed low to the ground and moved quietly, getting behind the beast before making her move. She took one step, then two, then burst forward. Felina took a moment to build up speed before pouncing the deer from behind. Her weight, landing squarely on the deer's back, snapped a few bones on impact, but a moment later, her fangs had pierced through the deer's skull from behind, rendering any minor injuries (like a broken spine) moot. The deer crumpled and Felina surveyed her handiwork for a moment, smiling devilishly. A rather nauseating mixture of blood, brain fluids, and saliva dripped from around her mouth, and Felina cast a glance up at Jaska.

"You can hum again. Sure you're not hungry?"

Arianna Madrigal

Her siren's song having seemingly no effect on Titus, Arianna was forced to very quickly change her Song as the fight rapidly shifted in Titus' favor. Having broken through the forcefield, it looked like he was about to send Jake threw the wall-Jesus Christ, is he trying to kill him?-a fresh wave of terror started rattling Arianna's stomach and pumping her heart in double-time, but she forced herself to focus. It...it really looked like Jake could die here. So she needed to not panic like a total coward and do something to help. Anything.

Ene's voice was a faint detail, something she didn't really notice, like breathing or blinking. Arianna changed her song mid-verse, trying to react to the fight that was going on-and the exertion showed. Immediately, Arianna sunk a little lower to the ground, a general fatigue setting in through all her muscles as she rapidly jumped from one thread of the cosmic symphony to another. Instead of trying to calm down Titus, she focused her efforts on lessening the effects of his attack on Jake. She didn't think she had enough juice to help Jake more than once-maybe twice-but if she didn't help him now, Titus holding him up by the shirt collar like any 80s movie douche would, there might not be a second time. Arianna rapidly changed her voice to something mellow and classical, her voice somehow sounding like a symphony coming out of one set of lips. This was primarily due to the fact that Arianna was reaching for multiple parts of the Symphony at once-the Song told her that Titus was about to throw Jake, the same way that it told her Ene was as terrified as she was, and that someone else had been watching their fight a moment ago.

This time, Arianna didn't reach for Titus-she reached for everything else. She sang into the wall opposite Titus, the one Jake would be sent flying into, and she sang into the muscles of his body and the air between him. She tried, desperately reaching for a dozen different portions of the world around her at once, to optimize the conditions of his hitting the wall. Her voice was at once a lullaby to soothe the pain receptors of Jake's body to sleep (or at least dull them for a few seconds); a mournful piece that thickened the air, made the friction and resistance more of a factor than they normally should be, and finally, something that made the thick concrete of the wall a smidge more pliable.

Second skin dark and deadly

The Symphony was deafeningly loud, now, Arianna's face in visible pain as an intense exhaustion swept through her body, coupled with something akin to psychic tinnitus. Images and thoughts and people and places were blurring in and out of the Symphony, their Songs overpowering that of the world around her. It took, quite literally, all Arianna had to focus on her protective melody for Jake, and it wouldn't offer more than a few seconds of assistance at that. Arianna was doing more than burning the candle at both ends-she was dousing it in gasoline and throwing firecrackers at it. The end result would be no physical or supernatural strength to fight Titus with-and the thought of the hand-kissing boy doing what he wanted with her was enough to make Arianna scream (were she not already singing so intensely), but she, in the brief window for decision making that was available, felt Jake was the best option. Maybe he could cloak them all again or make Titus think that he was dead and scare him or something, but not if he was knocked senseless-or even killed-by being thrown into that wall at a couple hundred miles per hour. Arianna didn't know if what she was doing would work at all, but she was desperate enough to try.

Valery Arsov

"Yeah, I am beginning to see your point," Valery muttered, closing the door somewhat angrily. Val wasn't really angry that she wanted the liquor-I mean, he practically gave it away, because chatting it up with new kids over a few beers or doing shots with somebody was a great conversation starter, and extroverted Valery felt that was more valuable than a few dollars' worth of cheap liquor. That being said, Gabe had robbed him of that-just grabbed the booze and ran. Who did that? If she'd asked or anything, Val would've given it to her. CENSORED. Some people are *ssholes sometimes. "Yeah. My bad, I think is the right expression. Usually people are pretty cool about it, but Irish girl has to go and be massive b*tch. I'll keep the bootlegging on the low-down for now. Oh, and if faculty does come knocking at door, do not worry. I will totally take blame. I do enough retarded stuff around here on a regular basis that nobody will really be surprised. Just act like you didn't know or something. But yeah, I'll stay a little quieter. My bad, Jesse." Val clapped Jesse on the shoulder, coming around to realize that his open-door policy was being imposed on his roommate as well. Val was usually pretty considerate, but his continually open social life had blinded him to that. "From now on, I will do illegal sh*t in someone else's room, eh?"

Adam Leo, & Drake Deltori Blackmore.


"... Now, you are not leaving here until all of this is gone." Adam sternly says, to his little crowd of pranksters. He was outside in the cold, after severely scolding these people for... Spray painting one of the outside walls with graffiti. A very immature and uncreative prank. After he busted them, he's now making them clean off the walls, in the cold - Just to throw salt on the wound, Adam even made the area much colder, while encasing himself in a warm bubble of air. He intended to stand here until the wall is clean... That is, until he got a text from Seth. He wondered what it was.... "Another murder?!" Adam loudly says, out of sheer surprise. This was something else. This text messaged had a detailed description of the scene. This was something much more serious than these stupid kids pulling a prank. Not even saying a word to these kids, Adam floated up into the air and immediately made way towards the dorms. He didn't waste any time, he knew where it was.

Lost in the moment, Drake didn't say a word. He just stared. More and more people showed up at the scene... Claire, Seth, Vance, Kynan, Jaylin... He felt bad for them. They have to see this middle finger to all things good. One thing was certain: a f*cker is going to pay! Doesn't matter what anyone says, no one ever stops Drake from administering justice, and this was crossing lines. Regardless of the reasons to caused anyone to go to such depraved levels. His fists balled, as they started glowing with a plasma-hot light. It almost looked like Drake was about to explode.

Maxx wrote:

"Jesus Christ." she choked out "W-where's Adam?"

"I am here." Adam immediately says, pushing his way through the crowds and looking at the corpse. By the gods; it was far worse in person than in the pictures. Adam wasn't staring at it, he immediately went to work. He disrupted the sound in the room, making it much more quiet, then shouted loudly above everything else in the hallway, "This is official school business! Clear the area immediately!" Wasting no time, he sent a powerful gust of wind down the hallway, it was strong enough to move everyone off their feet, harmlessly. In less than moments, the hallway was cleared of everyone but himself and Seth. He immediately tended to the wounded student. He knelt down to check his pulse... Surprisingly, he was still alive. Either he's really tough, or whoever did this wanted him to be alive.

Adam's arrival made Drake come to his senses before he did anything irrational. Making his fists stop glowing. He allowed himself to be pushed away when Adam summoned a gust of wind. He knew that it was truly for the best at this point. This was something out of his hands. He let a deep breath go out through his nose.

Rushing past Drake was a team of medics and security officers. They brushed by Drake and bumped into him, while he stayed still.

"... What the hell is wrong with this school?" Drake thought out loud, just in case anyone was around to hear him.


Jake Vin Valos.


No... The thoughts ran through Jake's head. Titus was strong. Very strong. Strong enough to kick through what was essentially a thick wall of titanium without so much as slowing down. That was something worthy of being afraid of. Now all the thoughts whirling around in Jake's head all involved getting the hell out of here. If he can easily break through defenses, then Jake would have to rely on the other half of his ability. Deception, and deception alone. Unfortunately, Titus had already followed up that other attack by grabbing him before he could react, and lifting him up by his shirt. He had spat out some trash talk. The only person who thinks they're tough is you. He thought to himself, gritting his teeth.

"Girls run!" He loudly shouted, turning his head to the side at Arianna and Ene. It was the only thing that said. He was certain that Titus would beat him to an inch of his life. But the last thing he wanted to see was this meathead of a man turn his attention to them and do something drastic - Like what he feared and attempted to rape them.

"Do your worst..." Jake muttered under his breath, a confident smile on his face, hoping that they would get away in time. That's all that mattered now. Titus can do anything he wanted to Jake, in the end, he'd be the one getting thrown off the island. That's when Titus did just that: his worst. Jake was tossed at the wall at high speed and force, and slammed into the wall. Strangely enough. Whether it was lady-luck shining upon him or something else; it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He hit the wall, bouncing off of it, and slid down on the floor. Even though Arianna helped god damn it hurt. His back was on fire. He was too stunned to think straight really, everything was blurry, and he was hurting. He prayed to god that he could gather the strength to get up and save Arianna.


Gabriela Mya Valos.

True Night wrote:

"I got a friend that has hooch, nothing good like this though. When I've gone for for months without though, I typically make do." Kate took the seat prepared for her and waited to be poured some. "SO I've been waiting a very long time, and a minute longer isn't going to kill me."

A smile had crept up on Gabe's face, because she knew that this was going to be the start of something beautiful. Apparently Kate wasn't a first time drinker (We'll see). So it hopefully wouldn't go as horribly wrong as the incident with Merry did - Actually, in hindsight; that was f*ckin hilarious. She will tell Jake and Jaska all about how she gave Merry alcohol. Jake will love it. She poured Kate some whiskey, before pouring herself some. Before she quickly rested her behind on the opposite side of the table, and found herself staring at Kate. Hot damn she's hot. She took a sip out of the shotglass, instead of well, taking a shot. There was a bit of silence in the room, merely because she was gawking Kate. "Well, honey, if tha' alcohol doesn't make it too hard, can ya' tell me a bit about yourself?" Gabe leaned in over the table, towards Kate. Hoping that Kate, in return, wouldn't ask about her eye. Ugh, brings back memories that should stay in the heads of herself, Jake and Jaska. Hell, she would end of killing someone over it all. "... Like... How long have ya' been 'ere? And have ya' done anything interestin'?" She didn't feel like talking about powers... Because the subject, quite frankly, annoyed the hell out of her at this point, and would cause her to snark with something along the lines of 'Let me use it on you and you'll find out!' Because Gabe didn't care about people's powers anymore.


Sage Lucas Pimm.


Sage rolled their eyes. Already this ghost was being in an inconsiderate houseguest, even though they can't see it. "I'll calm down when I'm certain you aren't out to attack us..." Sage muttered under their breath, taking a sip of coffee almost immediately after the final word came out of their mouth. Another conversation between Eli, Ariella, and apparently the ghost was named Lucy. It was so odd and strange seeing two of their friends talking to someone who's functionally invisible to their senses. Hm. Apparently she's looking for her mother. Well Sage has been here for over six years. They've gotten to know a lot of names. "... I don't know if you can hear me..." Sage said, nervously as ever, feeling like they're about to make a fool of themself, "... But do you know your last name? Someone else might if we ask them - Or oh, Dacious or Amimoore might help us."


Dexter 'Rush' Chertok, & Ray Judah Drager.

True Night wrote:

"I was going to head back to my dorm. Caught a trouble maker, and my partner decided to take him in solo. What about you two?"

Well, we just done three things that should get us kicked off this island. Ray snarked internally. He started laughing under his breath. He wasn't going to say a word about their little adventure earlier today. Just because he had a feeling that Eric would rat them out (He 'caught a trouble maker' not a good sign) if he told him... And it would just be generally stupid.

"Our day?" Rush asks, looking around, "Full of sunshine. Puppies. Kittens. Yes." He laughed for a few seconds, before abruptly cutting himself off. "We went out. To ruins. Looking to investigate them. Yes. Hoping to find interesting results."

"Boy Genius..." Ray hissed at Rush, peering at Rush.

"Results. Inconclusive. Unfortunately. Cold too. Hate the cold. Too cold. Had to leave. No desire to get sick. No good. No time for that." Rush spoke the line of thought mechanically, "Ruins. One of many mysteries... Of the 218. Intend to unlock them all one day."



Jaska Din Valos.


Like the obedient child he is on the inside; Jaska immediately stopped humming, and remained quiet. Which made this harder than it had to be. All he had to do now was stand here and . But did she really have to curse? Gabe was bad enough. Either way Jaska meekly followed Felina around until they've made it to the forest that surrounded the campus... He's been in here before. Whenever he goes on a hunt, and the time he went on the big ruins expedition. Whenever he comes here... he becomes more alert, and on the move. Paying attention to every last detail in this place. Because now he is the predator... The apex predator.

He sensed the deer, long before it came into his field of vision, and probably before Felina sensed it. Felina was the first one to attack it, Jaska stayed out of it. His skin changed to blend in with the environment, and almost immediately, he was effectively invisible... Until one looked at his clothes that were still visible. Not that his prey would notice. Felina had already killed it in a gruesome display. While any other ten year old would have been disgusted, Jaska was relatively unphased. It was something that was hardwired into him, it was natural. Hell, he was behind gruesome killings of many animals, even beloved pets, and didn't show any remorse. When offered to get something to eat... He was still indecisive.

Okay, well. Maybe just a little snack.

Jaska walked over to the dead deer and squatted down, bending his knees. He then ripped open the deer, using a combination of his claws and strength. He opened up the deer's ribcage for it's contents to spill out. The guts were disgusting. He wanted the meat. Unlike say, other predators, Jaska was at least taught table manners. He used his claws to tear off chunks of flesh, then moved it into his mouth. He increased his body heat a few notches, just to cook the meat.


Megan Emma Jervious, & Leon Maddox Vahan.


Just by one look inside of Thorn told Leon that she wasn't exactly too content with her chaperon. That was a tragedy. But the pair are really bored right now and it appeared that no one else is starting trouble right now. Leon's phone shook, telling him that he got a text, "Hm?" He flipped it open and looked inside... Immediately he knew that trouble was over the horizon yet again. Beneath his shades, his eyes widened, "... Oh boy."

Megan leaned in, trying to get a peak at her phone, "What is it...?" She asked, whispering.

"Another murder...." Leon trailed off, trying his best to keep his voice down. Thanks to the information given to him by Seth, he managed to use his Eye of Provenience to spy on the area. It didn't look pretty. "... Looks really bad." Which he immediately knew was an understatement.

This was yet another surprise for today... And definitely more interesting than her previous interest. It also required her immediate attention, so they'll have to let Thorn do her thing. She looked like a girl who could hold her own from the moment she got here. "Oh, um, darling, we really have to go. We were bored and we saw you and thought you were interesting, but we have business to attend to! So I wish you the best in your travels!"

With that, they ran off towards the scene.