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

Kynan and Jaylin
-

The twins nodded in unison, both trying not to even glance at Gabe- the girl didn't seem to like them that much, but they did notice that she seemed to be a bit more accepting of them today than usual. That was good. Jaylin was the first to respond to Jaska.

"Cool! We usually just train together, since it's hard to beat someone who you have a constant telepathic link with. Like..." Without even glancing at Kynan, Jaylin swung a punch at his twin. Or at least where he had been. Less than a second before Jaylin's fist would have hit him in the face, Kynan had already ducked.

"Basically, neither of us have won when we fight each other- it's always a tie," Kynan shrugged. The memory of last night had already been tucked away to the back of their minds upon being with someone closer to their age- and a friend, at that.

So Kynan, if they offer for us to train with them, could we?

I doubt it. Gabe can do lasers, Jaska could probably do some wicked things with his animal meta powers, and Jake can make illusions. Even if we merged together in training with them it would be hard. Reading minds help you predict when to dodge attacks and such, true, but we can't do much in the offensive area.

Aw... We could still try.

True. Okay, maybe.

Yes!

-
Ene
-

Ene found herself wincing when she heard Tally's input on what happened to the guy. She had made an indirect point- the would-be murderer could have been anyone with any motive, only trying to make the motive seem to be related to Dacious. It could have been a person who had no reason at all, even. A thought came to Ene's mind that made her stomach twist into a knot.

What if it had been her?

No. It couldn't have been. She had been with Jake and Arianna last night, right? But what if she had changed her own memories to think that? No. She didn't use her power- stop thinking like that. She feels bad seeing animals hurt, the thought of hurting a human being was just out of the question. Besides, she wasn't some psychopathic person who would do something like that. It is just the anxiety of the situation getting to her. Since when did she start thinking about her power in such a way? She had never thought of her own memories being changed before- now she understood Jake's first reaction.

Ene subconsciously shook her head and looked up at Tally, "I-I guess you're right," she said uncertainly.

-
Len and Niza
-

"So tell me, hun," Niza leaned forward, elbows on her knees and hands on her chin, "What's it like at your home? What's your family like?"

Len cast Niza a bored glance before saying, "it's fine. We live on a farm. Those twins over there are my step brothers." He was mostly trying to prevent going into a deep conversation, really not wanting to be in the current conversation. He slowly stood up and quietly said, "I have to go speak with them."

"Could you tell me your power first, hun?" Niza asked, not using her power just yet. She decided to see if he would answer her first before using it. Luckily, he did.

"Pain manipulation," Len flatly said before walking off. He didn't care if Niza or really anyone knew his power, anymore- really there want any use hiding it. It wasn't that special of a power and a lot more people knew of others' powers.

Niza watched as Len walked off and smirked. The kid was bland and right now she didn't see how his power was useful. But there was a use for everyone.

Len walked up to Jaylin and Kynan before saying, "I'm gonna be standing over there if you need me," Len pointed at the side of the training hall opposite of where Niza was sitting as he spoke- he was really only saying this because he needed an excuse to get away from Niza. "... Just saying..." With that Len cast an annoyed glance at Niza before going to where he had pointed and leaning against the wall, arms folded and face holding a bored expression once again.

Gabriela Mya, & Jaska Din Valos.

Celo wrote:

"Cool! We usually just train together, since it's hard to beat someone who you have a constant telepathic link with. Like..."

"Basically, neither of us have won when we fight each other- it's always a tie,"

"That's because ya' two are more or less equals..." Gabe was the first to insert, throwing her little bit into their conversation. She wasn't that interested in their conversation, but that was too obvious to avoid noting. These two have a useful ability, Gabe had to say, if put into the hands of a good fist fighter. Though, telepathy or not, these kids stand a ghost of a chance against someone who knows what they're doing in a brawl. "Try fightin' someone else. Then ya'll know where ya' really stand." She followed up that statement, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one hip. Certainly she wasn't going to suggest that they fight someone like herself or Jaska. Both of them could trash these kids without putting too much effort into it. "And the best trainer is experience. I'll let ya' know. I wouldn't go chargin' headfirst into the first fight ya' got the chance to fight." Gabe wondered why she was giving out fighting advice to these brats. She barely liked them, and couldn't care less if these two got their assess handed to them by the next person they see. Perhaps it was the fact that she was easily the best fighter in here, hands down? The most experienced too? Top dog, no one steps up to her without getting a few bruises. That was all she had to say on the matter.

Before he got a chance to speak, Jaska's sister did it too. She spoke exactly like she knew what she was talking about - And yes, she did. From the way he's seen her fight even the scariest looking people. All while he's easily scared off by the first intimidating person. Sometimes Jaska wished that he could fight as well as her - But as he was told before, he shouldn't want to fight, only have to. Naturally, when she spoke, he listened, until she stopped, and Jaska had to ask the twins: "... Do you want to fight? Like to... practice?" Jaska had zero fighting skills, or experience, and it was causing a bit of insecurity.  

Obviously Jaska didn't understand that he was more dangerous than he thought he was. That was the only reason that Gabe could come up with as to why he would ask to spar with them. The boy was superior to even Gabe in some physical aspects. He has several knife-sharp claws on each finger, fast, agile, deadly, possesses a powerful form of pyromancery, and worse of all, has a hard time controlling himself sometimes. They're just two kids - But if things get too heated, Gabe and Jake can break it up if he became a bit too heated. "Probably not a good idea...." Gabe's gaze peered towards Jake, wondering what he would say, "Ya' got claws and blades and stuff. Not that good for sparrin'..." She recentered her gaze on Jaska while she spoke.


Jake Vin Valos.


Jake had hoped everything was alright, and it seems to be looking that way. While Arianna wasn't exactly talking, he could get a bit of her general disposition from her attitude. It didn't seem too bad, or else he would be leaving her be by now. He himself felt like crap. He couldn't protect Arianna at the very moment he needed to the most. On top of that, he should have been better back there. But he wasn't. Jake knew that if he was going to be Arianna's. That was something he wanted to fix today. Never again was he going to fail when he's needed the most. With that said, he should probably join them over there. He wouldn't want them to start without him! "So, me and . I was wondering if you could join us." A bold move - At least he thought it was a bold move. He wasn't sure of how Arianna would react. He had the feeling that she would think that this was what he wanted all along. When he only wanted to spend more time with her. "... But if you're fine over here... I'll just... Give you your space." He said, trying to make it seem more like an option.


Tally Allin Muliere.


What Ene said wasn't that much of a response. Just a nonchalant agreement. Tally kept an innocent look on her face and rolled her eyes. Of course Ene's thoughts spoke much better than her mouth did. As Tally's window into the inner-mind was superior to her ears. The girl's emotions changed to one of fear, as evident in the shift in her smell. Ene's thoughts changed and she wondered if she had changed her own memories, fortunately Tally was smart enough to piece the rest together. And she got exactly what she came for; the girl's power. Memory manipulation. Such an alienating power. Perhaps even more alenating than Tally's own telepathy! Interesting. It was something that she wanted to explore - But she was going to keep this to herself for now. A change of subject is in order. Now Tally wanted to know these people that Ene keeps thinking about. "Oh, I have to ask you, are you a friend of Jake's?" This was a bit of a gambit, and had plenty of variables. She was going to pretend that she knows this 'Jake' to actually get to know him from this girl, or at least get her thinking about him. Which was foolproof if Tally correctly reads Ene's thoughts and makes changes to accommodate. "I think I've seen you talk to him."

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna shook her head in response to Jake's proposition. She pointed at the black suit, then Jake's normal clothes. This was followed by tapping her throat (which prompted a wince and sharp flinch before she resorted to gesturing at her vocal cords in general). Not dressed like this. Not when I can't speak. She started to roll the face guard back up before realizing that Jake might take this the wrong way-like she was just putting out superficial excuses. Which she wasn't, but if he thought that, then...I mean, Arianna was shaken from what had happened the night before, but not to the degree that she and Jake wouldn't...would they? She didn't think so, even though some part of her, the part that felt good in the suit, was very afraid of what Jake could do-but the rest of her said-

Before she could complicate things further, Arianna pulled the face guard back down and gave Jake a kiss on the cheek, a fleeting, inexperienced, close-lipped, and entirely genuine kiss. This was followed immediately by a moment of intensely awkward, incredibly unsure silence for Arianna, who had absolutely no idea what you did after that, not to mention she didn't want Jake to stay because she still had to sort things out and why did she even do that this was

Arianna turned away, rolled the face guard back up, tried to envision the punching bag as a physical manifestation of how f*cking confused she was, and began pounding away in perfect rhythm again. It helped to drown out the noise of the Symphony, overbearing with the leitmotifs of the other students in the training room; the eerie ambient song that had settled over the Academy as of last night.

Valery Arsov

Valery, displaying the total lack of social aptitude he was known for, whipped out his phone mid-conversation with Cassandra and Vancey-Wancey. While Val wasn't intimidated by them (Val felt, in any given situation, he could encase himself in a thick block of ice and have a few seconds minimum to gather his thoughts), there were always people out there who were less inclined to dealing with Arena fights professionally (and yet casually). Besides, he was bored, and kinda felt like doing something with somebody-he would've hit up Jesse, but his roommate may have still been a little uneasy about Val given the alcohol incident of the previous night. Heh. Whoops. Val hammered out a quick text message to Drake, who was listed as "Plasma Guy" in his phone.

Blackmore, get your *ss to the training room. I am bored.

Val had an even mixture of pride and pragmatism: he wasn't about to face two people alone, winded from his own training session-but neither was he about to outright admit asking help from Drake. He sent the message (which was marked by Lil John going "YEAAAAAHHH"; this was a rather annoying feature of Val's phone that he'd set each time he sent a text. His means of integrating himself into American culture were...questionable).

Jake Vin Valos.

Spoiler:

Despite the fact that Arianna had rejected his offer non-verbally, he was going to leave feeling a bit better than he did walking up to her. He got the message that she didn't want to go train with them, but that was fine. She made her own choices, and he respected that. What he found unexpected was when Arianna kissed him on the cheek. He immediately found himself blushing - And at a loss for words. "Uhh..." He needed a moment to collect himself. Heh. He was acting like this was the first time he got kissed on the cheek - Or hell, first kiss ever. After he collected himself, he came Arianna a warm smile. "Alright... I'll be around if you need anything." He said as he walked away, and Arianna resumed punching the bag in a rhythm. But Jake couldn't help himself when he gave Arianna a tip. "Oh, and I wouldn't do that too much," He pointed at the punching bag, "You'll mess up your hands. You might want to get something like some gloves or some fighter-tape." With that, he waved goodbye to Arianna, before joining his siblings, whom had formed quite a group.


Drake Deltori Blackmore.

Spoiler:

(Assuming that Seth and Drake were playing B-ball the whole time)


The best sport of all (In Drake's arrogant mind) was without a doubt, basketball. No other sport ever came close in terms of style. Not the macho-man football. Or the boring baseball. That said, Drake was in the middle of a monstrous dunk. He had the basketball in his hands, jumping into the air. He even had a cocky grin on his face, while hamming it up by screaming, "YEEEEEEAH, BOY!" The moment he was at the hoop, he slammed the ball right through it and made his descent towards the ground. Drake landed perfectly on his feet with a grin on his face. "That's what I call a textbook victory, boyo, and spider-weirdo!" He shouted, raising his hands into the air. Before he stopped his boasting when his phone ranged "I'm real full of it, full of it, full of it, full of it." A clip from Testosterone by Bush. One of his favorite songs. That specific song indicated that he got a text message. "Let me get that!" Drake ran over to his phone, swiping some of the sweat off his face. When he went over to his phone, he got a text message from Val:

Blackmore, get your *ss to the training room. I am bored.

Hmm... Appeasing offer. He was in the middle of a basketball game with Seth, and it just wouldn't be right if he didn't finish it. Though, he'd rather hang out with Val than Big Brother and Spider-tits. Ditching Seth would be good for his health. Drake turned to Seth, looking over his shoulder at him. "Looks like there's a change of plans." He walked over towards the door, "There's a meeting of my magnificent team in the cafeteria-" A lie, just in case Seth decides to follow him "-And as the team captain, I have to be there." He shrugged before he rushed out the door. Drake didn't want Seth to follow him around and cramp his style. The moment he was outside, well, he was already in his plasma form. The snow around him melted. He jumped up into the air, and began flight towards the training hall, leaving behind a brilliant trail of plasma - Which is what he was hoping to not have, but the trail disappeared after a little bit of distance.

In a matter of moments, Drake covered the distance between the Gym and the Training hall. All with the power of the stars. The moment Drake made contact with the ground, he turned human. He turned around to check to see if Seth or Vespera were around. If so, he would probably take evasion maneuvers to get rid of them. Once the coast was clear, he strolled into the training hall. It was funny. Drake was worried that he'd have Adam over his shoulder constantly - But his father has given him his space. All because Drake was a good boy that didn't warrant extra surveillance. But Seth, well, he didn't know what the guy's deal was. Whatever. The Blackmore walked into the training room, and saw plenty of familiar faces.

There was one group already formed, and it was hard resist not joining them. Naturally, Val would make himself known when he spots Drake.


Drake Deltori Blackmore, Jake Vin, Gabriela Mya, & Jaska Din Valos.

Spoiler:

"Yoooo, Gabrielle, what's up?" Drake announced his presence to the group. Running up to them, and smiling.

"Gabriela" Gabe snapped at Drake, intending on quickly correcting him. Her thoughts of Drake were indifference, but had respect for him because of his combat prowess. She watched him fight in the arena from time to time. His other two team-mates were good, but Gabe will never be able to take Val seriously. "We just... getting ready to train."

"... Hmph, would you mind adding an arena super-star to your team?" Drake offered

"Yeah, but like we like we told da' last guy," Gabe's eye peered towards Kynan and Jaylin, "We waitin' for Jake."

With a smooth, confident smile on his face, Jake rejoined the group, and saw that in his absence, three people had joined them, "Whoa, am I that unpopular?" He joked, "Everyone starts a'coming the moment I leave?"

"Yup." Gabe jokes, crossing her arms and giving him a smirk.

"Can we... uh, get started?" Jaska asked, raising one of his clawed fingers. He was a little nervous here. Usually he kept his head down when the big kids started talking. But he wanted to train, not listen to them talk.

"Heh! There's no rush, lil' bit." Drake says to Jaska, giving him a bit of a smile. He appreciated the kid's enthusiasm, but he wanted to talk for a bit. "How about you go warm up a bit? You can't train without warming up." He pointed at some training dummies in the distance.

Upon being told to 'warm up', Jaska took it literally. His body heat spiked, and the heat he gave off vibrated through the room. In less than a few moments, the clothes he was wearing started to burn and the shoulder of his leather jacket even caught fire. The fire danced vibrantly, of a greater heat and intensity than any regular fire.

Gabe, upon seeing that her leather jacket was on fire, erupted in anger. "MY FUC- GOD, JASK, MY JACKET! THOSE DON'T GROW ON BLOODY TREES!" She screamed, nearly swearing at him. She immediately ran over to him, and started patting out the fire.

"Hahahaha...!" Drake loudly started laughing, "That kid's a natural smartass, I can tell you now.." He pointed a thumb in the direction of Jaska. He personally wasn't sure if the kid was just being a smartass, or naive as hell, but Drake would have done the same thing. "So, what are you kids up to? Things have been a wee' bit cray lately." He shrugged

Even Jake found himself laughing, just at Gabe. He snapped back into a serious mode when Drake asked him a question. "Oh, well..." He looked at Arianna, remembering what happened last night. An image of that dark hallway filled his eyes. The sight of being bounced off a wall by Titus.... It haunted him. Made him feel weak. The image disappeared just as fast. With his sanity somewhat intact, he scratched the back of his head, "We're just enjoying our slice of anarchy..." He scratched the back of his head.

"Argh... I wish err'body would stop actin' like the Headmasta' daughta' is da' center of the fu- universe..." Gabe hissed, venting her anger from when Jaska set her jacket on fire. "Err'body can do whatever the hell dey' want right now."

"Heh," Jake laughed, "You remember the last time we were left without some... parental supervision?" He got a devious grin on his face.

"Hahahahahaha..." The two Valos laughed in synergy.

"Ya' that was a fun party..." Gabe giggled, "Too bad I had to set the place on fire."

While the conversation between the three Valos continued; Drake got the best idea ever. The kind of idea that would get him thrown off this island at lightspeed. The kind of stupidity that only Drake Blackmore would pull off. That's right. He was going to make this island a thousand times better. The only way to do that is to start a party that will tear this school down to it's foundation.

"Yeah... But you know... It was our house." Jake says

"So?" Gabe snarked

"We live there... and... I kinda like the place..."

"So?"

"I helped!" Jaska said, speaking about the fire. The strange thing about fire is that it's far hotter, and spreads faster, when he's near it.

"Guys!" Drake cut in, "I got an idea; that'll liven up the mood a bit." He laughed, "How about we, and some willing participants, throw a party that'll be one to be remembered?"

Suddenly the three Valos were interested in what Drake had to say. As they turned towards him and gave him varying looks.

"And how do ya' plan on that, O'Blackmore?" Gabe asked, skeptical.

"Simple. Everyone's off searching for Amimoore, for whatever stupid reason. We just need to get rid of the rest." Drake responded, eager as ever.

"Listening..." Jake said, as he slid his hands into his pockets.

"I can get rid of Adam. Easy. We just need to keep the party contained to one building and all will be perfect... Well, we could also do without the cameras..." Drake pointed at a camera, prompting the three to look as well. "You boys and girls in? It'll be a blast if we pull this one off!"

"Hmph, make sure there's plenty of good lookin' girls, and I'm in." Gabe agreed

"Perhaps... Just don't let it come back to us." Jake said

"... Yes?" Jaska just said.


Ray Judah Drager, & Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.


The group entered Rush's dorm, after finishing a rather uneventful mission at the headmaster's mansion. Immediately Dexter jumped up onto his bed, and grabbed his laptop and started mashing away at it. He seemed to have already lost himself in his own technological world. "Mission accomplished." He spoke, "Another job well done. Have picked team correctly. Yes?"

Ray walked into the room, leaning up against the nearest wall, before pulling out a cigarette and sliding it into his lips. As he lighted it with his lighter, he asked, "Is that all for today? What's the next course of action?"

"Highly suggest laying low. For now." Rush nodded his head, "Best we do that. Until searches are called off. Then we will proceed."

"So just chill for a little while?" Ray asks again, "Good, I was meaning to check out a few things."

"Team. Dismissed. For now. Will be here. Have to monitor surveillance bugs. Will be out once night falls." Rush stated, as he continued to hammer away at his keyboard. While he's leaving the uprising against Dacious, he still needs to make money by offering his services to the students. Just to get money for the luxuries that this school provides.

Jaylin and Kynan
-

The two boys nodded in unison as a reply to Gabe's words- the reasoning for why they took her words to consideration more than they would seone else's is simple- she seemed tough AND had an eye patch. An eye patch means your have been through a fight, right? (not my views lol- just childish reasoning~)

When Jaska offered for them to train with him, Jaylin opened his mouth to say something, only to hear Kynan telling him to wait. And with good reason, too. Gabe pointed out some traits about Jaska- like claws. Jaska was what they considered their friend, true, but they didn't think training with him would be a good idea. Both boys' eyes settled on someone else: Len. They both knew he would probably decline such a request, but decided to ask anyway. This being said, they left the group, not even hearing about a party.

-
Jaylin, Kynan, and Len
-

As the twins neared Len, he straitened up in posture to look at them. They both seemed much better compared to earlier after having just talked to some people- that's good. But Len knew the look in their eyes- they were going to ask him something he would say no to, more than likely. Sure enough, they did.

"So could you train with us so we can fight better?" Kynan was the first to ask.

"No," was the flat reply from Len.

"Please? We need to learn how to fight someone who isn't us!" Jaylin prodded.

Len just shook his head before explaining his reasoning with a list. "One- I can't just punch you two- my powers are natural for me, so I might accidentally turn off any pain and my punches might become more painful than normal for those feeling them, since pain felt from impact on my end would be nonexistent. Two- I can't just punch my brothers. Three- you don't need to learn to fight, even."

The third reason was, admittedly, questionable. And Kynan pointed out exactly why.

"You know there's kids here that are violent. We new to learn to protect ourselves, you know?"

Len was quiet for a momen before sighing. He was right. "Merge together..." Len mumbled. The two automatically did as they were told. Len slowly nodded before saying, "punch me."

Jaylin/Kynan hesitated before swinging a punch at their step brother right in the gut. He didnt try to ddge it- in fact, Len remained stiff, even after the punch, not even hunching over in pain. Len sighe and slowly turned off his powers to allow pain. A sore feeling came to his stomach, then it grew. But it wasn't as strong as one would expect from a couple of fit, athletic seventh graders.

"You're holding back, even though you know I won't feel anything," Lem concluded. Jaylin/Kynan hung his head... Or was it their? Len never knew about how to address them like this. He continued speaking. "I will not even try to train with you until you learn not to hold back." With that, Len leaned back against the wall. The twins... Twin... Whatever nodded slowly before grinning, "give us time, you'll see. Tomorrow we won't hold back." Len nodded, slowly smiling.

-
Ene
-

Ene looked at Tally in surprise. She hasn't expected a question about Jake. And the question somehow left her unsure. She would consider Jake a friend, but did he consider her one? He did invite her to hang out with him and Arianna last night (even if she did end up like a bit of a third wheel until the fight between Jake and Titus, but oh well). Ene hoped she was answering correctly when she slowly said, "Yeah," before asking, "Are you two friends?"

((I'll get Mina's post in later))

Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.


It was an hour or so after their mission, Rush returned to his room, recently fulfilling a very major job moments ago. One that might've been a less than ideal choice. Given that there might be a maniac on the loose, and the security might be the last line of defense. Whatever. Rush sat on his bed, legs crossed, and started mashing away at his laptop. He had the bugs that he set up in the headmaster's mansion connected to the laptop, so the moment when activity comes up, he'll hear it. That didn't take that long. Quickly enough, Rush heard a group of people enter the Headmaster's mansion. Possibly Dacious and his security detail. He continued to listen, as they left the range of the transmitter hidden by the entrance, and entered the one in his personal office, or second office. There was some chatter, but nothing interesting, just talks about finding Amimoore.

That is until a loud bang was heard. It was hard to get a good view on the area, hell, now Rush wished that he had installed cameras instead. Ugh. He'll have to make due.

"What was that?" Dacious asked, a cloud of footsteps entered the room. Followed by a cloud of shouting that was so overwhelming that Rush couldn't hear a thing - Well, Rush could tell that they wanted the new party to hold still.

Once the shouting ended, one man spoke, "Aw, giving me such a warm welcome when I'm the one that holds all the cards?"

"Who are you?" Dacious asked

"Hmmmm... A concerned party. You haven't been getting our messages, so, we have come in person to reevaluate the terms of my... superior's... agreement." The man spoke, in a very cocky tone, "You violated the terms of our agreement. That's why I'm here. Why your kids keep finding bodies..."

Wait what? What is this agreement? Are these the people the ones behind the murder? What the hell has Dacious gotten the school into? Whatever it was, Rush will figure it out. If it meant the death of him.

"I have no idea what the hell you are talking about? And I wouldn't act like you're the one in control when you have several guns trained onto your head." Dacious said.

After a moment of silence, the man revealed his name, "Bloodsucker... Don't shoot the messenger." After another few seconds of silence, which Rush had assumed Bloodsucker was doing a gesture of some sort, "My superiors are very disappointed in you, Dacious. They're telling me that you've started a little project on the side, and that's left them... rustled..."

There was some more silence, before Bloodsucker started laughing loudly, "We have something that will definitely change your mind..." He started laughing some more, and said in a joyous tone, "Since killing ten people since the new school-year started hasn't swayed you much. You sociopath!"

Ten people? Dead. Rush had a bit of disbelief, but this 'Bloodsucker' sounded crazy enough to put ten people in their graves. What's worse of all is that nobody said a peep about ten dead students. That's a huge deal. Hell, they only heard of the one kid, but he survived. And who are Bloodsucker's superiors?

"What could you possibly have that'd make me give into the demands of a terrorist?" Dacious arrogantly says, and it probably was not the smartest thing to say, Rush had to insert.

"Your child. Your blood. Your legacy. Amimoore. She's our."

Rush saw that coming, it just made too much sense for them to have Amimoore.

"Alright you bastards! Give her back this instant!" Dacious shouted, before the sound of several guns being trained filled the room.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha..." Bloodsucker loudly laughed, "You think some guns will scare us!? You must not be this silly. Just give us what we came for, you get your daughter back, and we leave you be. Is all of this worth getting brutally killed over, Dacious?"

"... Yes." Dacious said, before, from Rush's point of view, everything went balls up. The sound of an intense fire-fight filled the transmitter. Bullets, screaming, powers being used, it even sounded like a liquid was splattering all over the place. Before the Bloodsucker, and the rest of the Changeling unit, was reverted to a screaming wreck. "Now, this is just a simple use of my power." Dacious dominantly says, "I can wipe what little memory you maniacs have. I will be getting my daughter back-"

Another loud sound, like a blast of energy, filled the room, and then there was silence.

"Crap... They've escaped... The Changeling unit... Ugh." Dacious snarled, "Get me Adam Blackmore and the rest of the staff here, pronto. We are having an emergency meeting."

This meant one thing... Things have gotten very serious. There were so many questions Rush had, that he couldn't even think straight. He quickly ran out the room, hoping to find answers himself.







The Party.

The party song:

The party had begun by six o'clock on the dot. As it was quickly and heavily advertised, the student lounge of the dorms was the center of the party. There were plenty of people partying in the other parts of the dorms. Though, the party was strictly kept to one building, the dorms. Alcohol stolen, and smuggled into the school supplied the alcohol for the party, some of which was collected in the event of a wild party. The bass of the music loudly vibrated throughout the entire dormitory building - The DJ of the party was Eliza, whom Drake had convinced to DJ for the party. Due to some 'modifications' to the speaker system of the school, the music loudly boomed throughout the building. The entire security system was taken down by Rush, no cameras, alarms, or anything, would be activated. Basically meaning the students can do whatever they want without risk of getting caught. However, Rush would reverse all the damage he done at twelve on the dot. Everyone should enjoy it, it'll be the only chance they get for such a party. With Adam Blackmore out, they would definitely get this one in a lifetime chance.

Of course, everyone with a brain better leave before he shows up.


Drake D. Blackmore, Jake V., Gabriela M., & Jaska D. Valos.

Song for Drake and the Valos:

Tonight is the night that all our dreams come true on this stupid island. Drake thought to himself as she shuffled through the crowds of people. The most sh*t eating grin ever on his face. He had on a more proper attire for a party. His leather jacket with the skull on the back, black jeans, black combat boots, leather gloves, his tinted goggles resting on his forehead. Everything was going great. In fact, the kid that was attacked last night was the last thing on his mind, hell, one could say that he totally forgot about it. But whatever. His plans was to start his own special seat, for the coolest of all people. Because he didn't want to hang with a bunch of commoners that he never heard of. A Blackmore deserves more of that. He found himself some sofas, pushed them all together, and sat on one, kicking a small round table in front of himself. "Whoever wishes to sit with the champion, come on in!" He loudly announced to the group.

Fortunately, his announcement didn't go unnoticed for long. The Valos were walking around, looking for someone they knew, and they just found him, in the shape of Drake Blackmore. The three quickly approached Drake.

The first to approach was Jake Valos, who had a different outfit than before. He decided to take the flashier route, just as he did in every party. He had on one of his suits. Except, it was white, and had bright-red pinstripes, the shirt underneath the suit had a red shirt, and plenty else of the suit was red. On top of that suit, was an all-white suit jacket. He had on white gloves, shiny-white dress shoes, and a white, wide-brimmed fedora with a red band. Jake was, in other words, dressed up like a pimp, but with the class and style he's known for. In one of the pockets of the suit, his golden pocket watch was hanging out. "Sorry I was late. Had to wait for these two." Jake sent a thumb in the direction of Jaska and Gabe. He was quite excited for the party, in fact, he invited Ene and Arianna to the shindig.

Once again, Jaska had his bestial features concealed, because that was the protocol during parties, keep the animal-parts covered up so people don't get freaked out. He had on a large cyan-blue hoodie with black stars etched onto it, he had absolutely nothing else on under it, like it usually did, his wings were poking out the back. He had on black jeans, with no shoes on, his knife-like claws were bared. Jaska jumped onto the table with a thump, squatting down, digging his feet claws into the wooden table. He didn't say a word. Instead, he focused on the raging party going on. The smells. The sights. The sheer excitement. Everything was just so interesting to him. He had to say that he lost himself in the party. Jaska wondered if one day, he'd be old enough to attend these parties for himself, to feel human. To walk among them, as a person, not a predator, not a monster. Some day. The day he'd beat this curse. Hopefully tonight we won't have any incidents regarding his inner beast... The beast coming out here? With all these people? It'd be a bloodbath.

Making a more scenic entrance, was Gabriela, she jumped onto the sofa, and landed on her behind with a bang, and barely hurt herself. It wasn't anything she hasn't felt before. She had a cheeky grin on her face, and was confident. Because tonight, she wasn't going to leave here without leaving with a pretty lady for her dorm-room. Gabe had changed her attire too. She had on a navy-blue long-sleeved dress that went to her knees, and had jet-black heeled combat boots. She had on black gloves, like she usually did to cover those burnt hands of her. Fortunately this outfit did a great job at concealing those burns of hers, so hopefully no girls would be put off by that.

"Cool." Was all Drake said.

They then had a random conversation that I don't feel like writing.


Tally Allin Muliere, Ray Judah Drager, & Dexter 'Rush' Chertok.


Rolling around in roller-skates like a master into the party, was Tala Allin Muliere. But. Ugh. This definitely isn't what Tally had in mind when it came to a party. Being in a crowd of people this big definitely defeats the purpose of having headphones that dampen her telepathy. The rush of vibrant thoughts overflowing her head was painful. Nothing worse than what would happen if she happened to lose her headphones. She needed to find somewhere with slightly less people, a place where she can listen to people, without the background noise. While rolling around the student lounge, she found the perfect place, and the perfect people to talk to. Rush, and his man-friend Ray. Tally certainly knew him from the interactions they had in the past... It was less than pleasant, but Rush wasn't the type to hold a grudge, and truly, neither was Tally, long as it served her. She slowly rolled over to them, the further she got away from the crowd, the better she could hear their thoughts, and boy was it juicy.

Naturally, Rush and Ray were sitting away from the crowds, relatively. It was their style when they run into places like this. Even though it contradicted the fact that it was more of their style to avoid places like this all together. The pair were stuffed into a corner. Rush was hammering away at his laptop, while Ray was leaning up against the wall. Oddly silent. The first to break the silence was Ray, "... So why the hell are we here?"

"What? Party. Enjoy one-self. Do just that." Rush responded, taking a brief break from his computer, before he naturally continued.

"Bull. Sh*t. There's a reason why you're here. Just tell me now."

There was a reason why Rush was here. With the incident that Rush heard in the bugs, he knew that there might be an incident here. The Changeling unit, as they announced themself over the bugs, sound rather shady, and could strike. Since he was the one who is responsible for all of this, he needed to set things right. If anything went wrong, then Rush had a plan. "... Might have trouble." Rush said, as he quickly started closing his laptop dramatically. "Heard something over our bugs. Possibly supervillains have invaded island."

"What?!" Ray shouts, before closing his mouth to whisper, "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Was in such a rush-" No pun intended, "to investigate. To stop party. My own hastiness. My own greed. Has put people in danger... No good."

"Great. F*cking terrific." Ray shook his head in anger. What was Rush thinking when he got paid to turn off the security? At easily the worst time ever. "... You better have a plan in case anything goes wrong."

"In fact, I do." Rush reached underneath his chair and pulled out a beer can. But it wasn't a beer-can. It was a tear-gas bomb that Rush had placed into a beer can. He had them scattered, strategically hidden, all over the student lounge, and because of their camouflage, no one would be none the wiser, unless they know what they're looking for. "Tear gas. Anything goes wrong. Will detonate. Party will be over in seconds."

Obviously Tally got enough information from these two's thoughts. She knew everything that Rush knew now. What is the 'Changeling Unit'? Perhaps there might be a worse threat out there. A threat that could be quite detrimental to Tally. All thoughts of mischief that she had. Replaced with a need to help these people. To save her own ass, she wouldn't be doing this if it didn't serve her. Immediately Tally roller-skated over to the two, and sat down next to them, getting some curious looks. "Look..." There was no point in beating around the bush, "I know what you know. About these supervillains that have invaded the island."

"God dammit!" Ray snarled, "Not again... Uh, we can talk this out, right?"

"Yes. Or else I wouldn't have come over here, silly." Tally gives the two a toothy grin, "I can tell you when someone is about to pull something shady. Unless you don't want my help, and be in the dark when someone starts shooting up the place or something."

There was no choice... Since the girl knew something, they definitely had to accept, or risk this information going into the wrong hands. "Agreed. Welcome. To my team...."

"This will be the start of something awesome...." Ray sarcastically says, as he rolled his eyes.


... The big, the bad, the one, the true Changeling Unit.

Spoiler:

A bright flash of light could be seen on top of the library, which had a surprising view of the dorms, and to that extent, the party. When the flash of light faded, several members of the Changeling were revealed, the ones that kidnapped Amimoore were among them. The Mannequin, Contessa, Heartbreaker, Flashbang... Along with three other members of their sinister organization.

One was a freakishly tall (Over seven feet tall) Hispanic man, wearing a brown trench-coat and cargo shorts, he had no shirt underneath the trenchcoat which exposed his muscular chest. He took one step forward, and put his foot on the side of the roof, he looked down upon the party. "Looks like they're having one hell of a party. Like nothing's wrong. I'd really hate to spoil their mood. But hell, they're making it too easy for us." He stood straight up, a vicious smile on his face. When he opened his mouth, his overdeveloped canines were exposed, almost like he was a Vampire.

Heartbreaker quickly got on the edge of the roof like her friend, got on her knee, looking down the scope of her sniper rifle. She had Drake within the sights of her sniper, aimed at his big heart, with one quick flick of her finger, Drake would be dead. But killing wasn't the goal of tonight's mission. "Blood-sucker," Heartbreaker turned to the Hispanic man, revealing that he was the one that's their apparent leader, the one who lead the attack on Dacious' mansion, "They're easy picking from up here. We could cause a scare, let them run around, and grab whoever's dumb enough to be alone." A hint of today's plan.

"No." Bloodsucker responded, "Let's have a bit of subtly... Let's sneak around, nab whoever strikes out alone, then bring them to the secret spot. It's easier, quicker, and, we can't get implicated for anything."

"Sounds like a plan." Heartbreaker says, "But you know, I'm not good at the whole, muscle work thing." She focused.

"Right." Bloodsucker says, "You'll stay up here with Bang, and keep quiet. Tell us if you see anything interesting." He then points at Contessa, "You, since you can blend in, you sneak into the party, and tell us if anyone's going alone. Everyone else, let's have a competition... However gets the most stupid drunk kids, wins the grand prize.... But, that's a secret..."

The rest of the Changeling unit went into action. Conducting their sinister plan that now apparently involves the kidnapping of students.

Jackson
He wasn't at the party(no surprise there) in fact for the majority of the day he was in the library leafing through books in the fiction section picking out a few and sitting down to read them he didn't even know there was a party nor would he care regardless. Eventually he got hungry so he went out to the halls to snag something from the vending machineDanget there's nothing but health food would it kill these people to stock a few chocolate bars?" he thought a little peeved as he noted the machine's rather limited selection. He decided to stroll along to see if he could get anything better in other machines.

(Short post sorry bout that)

Ene
-

Ene didn't want to go to the party she had heard so much about- that was an absolute definite. She disliked the idea of being around so many people that could possibly find out about her- mind readers. Maybe someone could read powers. Ene foun her shoulders tensing up at the thought.

Instead she was walking around the campus, unsure of what to do. She noticed a kid (Jackson) leaving a vending machine. He seeme a couple years younger, and just appeared average to her. Ene was hesitant as she approached, "um... Looking for something in particular?" She was indicating how he had just left the vending machine without really anything. She felt nervous approaching him, of course, but he seemed... Friendly enough. At least she didn't feel like being alone like sh did earlier when Tally spoke to her.

-
Jaylin, Kynan, and Len
-

How is it we always end up in alike outfits?

I dunno, Kynan- maybe because we have the exact same taste in things and have the exact same feelings?

True. Okay, you got me. Maybe tomorrow we should try to dress differently.

Okay, sounds fun!

...You're going to dress the same as me on purpose because I said that, aren't you?

Do you even have to ask?

The twins were both in plain T-shirts (Kynan wore a black shirt, Jaylin a dark blue one) and both wore black jeans with some plain sneakers- different from their usual athletic attire. Walking with them into the lounge was an annoyed Len- annoyed was an understatement, really. He had really, really, REALLY not wanted to go to the party, but then his brothers kept nagging him, and Bre saying she was going didn't help.

Len was wearing a plain white button-down, long-sleeved shirt with some faded light jeans that covered a pair of brown steel-toed boots. His pale blonde hair had been combed down to touch his eyebrows. Len looked around the room with his bored expression. Alcohol was on one table. He glanced down at Jaylin and Kynan, who hadn't noticed it. Good. If he saw them give that stuff so much as a second glance he was going to send them back to their dorms... If they listened. He mostly just wanted an excuse to leave this place and not feel guilty for forcing his brothers to leave. Len sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for Bre.

-
Niza
-

Niza was in the perfect environment for her- the party. Full of underaged drinkers. If anyone gets drunk, they're easy to use her power on, usually. If they understand what she is saying, that is. Niza was wearing a dark blue tank top with a red leather jacket over it. She wore some dark blue skinny jeans that were tucked into some black boots that went up her legs to almost touch her knees. Her long black hair was down, as usual, and resting in waves. She smirked as she walked over to the table holding different alcoholic beverages, nodding at the person she recognized as one of the teaching assistants (what was his name? Sid? Sam? Seth?) and took a small glass, herself, taking a small sip of the liquid. She was careful in how much she consumed, however, not wanting to become drunk should an opportunity to use her power appear. Niza remained where she was before speaking to Seth.

"Looks like a lot of people are surprised seeing you here, hun," she smirked as she took one more sip of her drink before sitting it down on the table before holding out a hand, "I'm Niza, by the way." She also nodded at the girl he was with, making sure she knew that she was aware of her presence, as well.

-
Bre
-

Bre smiled softly as she walked through the campus grounds towards the dorms, not really in any rush. She had spent the day pretty much relaxing; walking around the campus and such. She was wearing a dark blue dress that went to her knees with some white leggings under it, her boots covering the bottom of her leggings. She also wore her white NorthFace, which was zipped up to keep out the cold. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail though she also wore a white headband to pull back any loose strands of hair.

Bre was excited about the party- like, really, she had been wanting one here ever since the first day of the new school year. And she was hopefully going to get to dance with Len- even if he did hate large gatherings of people, being a bit anti-social. Bre didn't care, though- she was going to have him dance with her. And hopefully tell him she liked hi- wait. Maybe not go that far. She found herself blushing, though it was hard to tell with the cold having already added a pink tint to her cheeks.

((Bleh post. Bleh))

Gabriela Mya Valos.


Mid conversation, Gabe was looking around the party, because their group had no chicks. It was a total sausage fest. Which was a no-no since Gabe is a person that'd rather burn off a sausage. She needed to find a chick, or else she'd go to sleep tonight without a way to relieve the buzz she was going to get from all this partying. Thankfully, Gabe managed to spot her brand new best bud, Kate. With a big party like this, they're going to have lots of fun. Gabe got up off the sofa she was sitting on, dusting herself off, and getting herself ready to engage Kate. "I see one of ma' friends, gonna' chat her up real quick...." She licked her lips, before grabbing a bottle of beer and walking over to Kate.

"Yeah, that's cool." Jake said, looking over towards Kate.

The second that Gabe approached Kate (and Cassandra, but Gabe didn't really care about her) she slapped a hand on Kate's shoulder, and gave her a toothy grin. "Heya, sugar-lips!" She said in a joyous, but somewhat flirty, tone. "Ya' enjoyin the partay? I know I am." She kept that grin on her face, and seemed confident as ever. "I know ya' can serve drinks pretty well, but I have to ask..." Gabe then grabbed on to Kate's arm and was seemingly pulling her towards the dancefloor, "... But can ya' dance?"


Jake Vin, & Jaska Din Valos.


Yet another boring conversation that Jaska was forced into. He found it boring because it was nothing that he could talk about. It was just him idly waiting for something to interest him - And waiting wasn't something that Jaska could do. He was twiddling his thumbs, tapping the tips of his claws together. Quiet, and looking around. The only thing that was keeping him from leaving was the rule that he wasn't allowed to leave the sight of his older siblings under any circumstance. Which made everything even more painful than it should have been. However, Jaska was given a golden opportunity to leave once Gabe did, and Jake redirected his attention just for a few seconds. Which was all the agile Jaska needed to leave. He did a quick flip over the sofa, feet in the air, landing on all fours, and he quickly crawled out of the way.

The only thing preventing Jake from knowing that Jaska left until it was too late, was the fact that the little boy lacked subtlety. He saw Jaska's feet in the air, and quickly jumped up to his feet. "Oh no you don't! Get back here!" The last thing he wanted was to lose sight of him as easily as he did during the blackout last night. A worse idea was him getting lose in a party like this. He quickly saw Jaska, and ran after him... Well, this suit he was wearing was obstructing him more than anything.

Great. He didn't get away from Jake, and is being followed by his older brother. Nonetheless, Jaska was determined to not sit in one spot this entire party while they talked about boring stuff. Fortunately, there was a crowd of people to blend into... If he does this just right. Jaska quickly ran into the crowd of people dancing, quickly taking off his bright and vibrant hoodie, which hit the ground rather fast. He then activated his camouflage as he blended into the crowd of people. He got in an angle where he wouldn't be seen by Jake, covered by the dancers. Standing still, he was utterly invisible, except for the pants that was more or less floating. He was counting on the fact that he would blend into a more vibrant crowd of being. The movements of the people dancing was certainly exciting, and distracting enough. A few people bumped into him, but he was fine with that.

This was certainly a plan that worked well. By the time Jake ran onto the dancefloor he had already lost track of Jaska. He looked around, but couldn't spot him. "Dammit!" He hissed through his teeth. He saw Jaska's hoodie on the ground, and he quickly walked over to pick it up. Great, now Jaska was walking around alone in a crazy party, and shirtless. Jake certainly wasn't going to give up here. No. He'd have to keep looking. The boy couldn't have gotten far... Well, he could have gotten pretty far by now, but that wasn't the point. Jake would keep searching for Jaska, and hope that he's alright. Also yell at him a little bit for doing this. Jake scoured the party, looking up and down for Jaska.

Mission accomplished. Or so it seemed. Jake was looking for Jaska, but he managed to lose him, just long enough for Jaska to strike out on his own. He was familiar enough with Jake's scent to easily be able to avoid him. Just like his mother taught him to do; lay low when being hunted, blend in, don't do anything that'd stand out. Unfortunately, he didn't have the foresight to realize that he gathered a bit more attention than he thought - Being a shirtless ten-year old in a party after all. His wings were folded and compacted, rested until he needed to fly. Now... He also didn't have anything to do here, actually, he might go find Felina, where ever she may be. Jaska started walking around, hunched over slightly, and trying to remain out of sight. Like a true predator before the strike. He had managed to see plenty of familiar faces while roaming the party. There was Seth, but Jaska could care less about him. Near him was the spider-lady with the weird name.... Vespera or something like that? That girl that was in the training hall, talking to Seth. He saw Bre hanging around, and was almost tempted to go talk to her. He also saw Gabe talking to another pretty lady. What really caught his attention was Kynan and Jaylin. The only two male friends he has in the academy.

"Hey guys." Jaska greeted the twins, walking up to them with a smile that bared his sharp teeth. Before they responded, he put one claw tipped finger to his lips, and let out a less than subtle, "Shhh..." Looking around in the process, "I'm hiding from Jake. Don't make too much noise, or he'll find me."


Drake D. Blackmore.

True Night wrote:

"The champ, huh. I admit you put on a good show in the arena, been meaning to make your acquaintance. The name's Eric, nice to meet you." His introductory statement was directed all of them, not just Drake. "Quite a party, heard we got you to thank for it."

An eyebrow was raised in the direction of Eric when Drake was addressed, before he crossed his legs and gave him a smirk. "You know it, bud." Said to answer the first two sentences of Eric. He was almost inclined to put a cigarette in his mouth, but, hell, he was going to get drunk off his ass later. By then, his kidneys will be ruined. Might as well add some ruined lungs on top of that! "Well, name's Drake Blackmore, you definitely should have heard the name." Drake saw that the Valos had left on their own. Well, he certainly did look when Jaska flipped over the table, and Jake got up to run after him. A shame. Instead of talking about that, he focused on his conversation of boasting with Eric. Because this party is all about him. "Now, now..." Drake says, with a grin, he then throws his hands up, "I don't want to take credit for this.... No really, I don't want this to come me in the ass later!" He spoke in his usual sarcastic, joking tone.


The Mannequin.


Unfortunately, the first people to be targeted by the Changeling Unit would be Jackson and Ene. Their presence, all alone in the library, made them more than easy targets. They were pursued by the Mannequin, who stayed a considerable distance away from them, but his robotic body easily allowed him to keep track of them without eyes. His ceramic hand on the corner of the wall, he peeked around the corner, sticking his blank, emotionless face, around the corner. Before he retreated back around the corner. If he was going to kidnap these two, he would have to get closer, and stay undetected - Which would be more than easy if they stay in this one spot. If he got through that part, all he would need to do is inject them with a few tranquilizing chemicals, and they'd be the first to be bagged by the Changeling Unit.

Jackson

"....Uh I'm looking for chocolate all they really had there was crappy health food." He then added a little awkwardly "uh hi I'm Jack" his hands consciously went up to his face feeling the need to feel to see if he was all "normal". He disguised the gesture as rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. "Wow the weather sure is cold right?" Jackson groaned inwardly as he said it realizing how stupid it sounded. "I mean of course it's always cold but it seems especially cold today..." "shut up you sound like a idiot". chimed his ever so berating mind.

Valery Arsov

Valery was making his way to Drake, slowly and seductively.

By that, I mean he was "accidentally" bumping into every single female partygoer on the way there, earning several furious glares of both the ladies familiar with Val's antics and the guys trying to dance with said girls-Val hit on everyone with no impunity. He was wearing a white t-shirt, tight against his bulky frame, and blue jeans-nothing particularly fancy, but Val was never really that fashionable. This was about as classy as he got.

"Who is coming in your *ss, Drake?" Val said, loudly and with zero regard for whatever conversation he was interrupting. He took a sip from his flask-because Val enjoys indulging in stereotypes-and, as if he'd been smoking and not drinking, puffed a mist of crystallized alcohol. "Heh. Chemistry is my b*tch," Valery muttered. He looked back and forth between the two, sizing up Drake's Mad Maxx garb and Eric, who seemed to be checking out the party's female contingency with Arsovian dedication-and Val could've sworn he saw Pirate Lady scamper off just before he got here. It is so cute that she is afraid of me. We could make beautiful pirate children. "Hope I am not interrupting something. I know Drake gets nervous when he talks to cute boys so I came over to help him." Valery took another sip from his flask. It's not even 7 o clock yet. I think I may actually be an alcoholic.

Felina

Felina heard of the party-and even if she hadn't, she would've been able to smell the nauseating aroma of liquor and pheromones from half a mile out. No, there was nothing of interest there. To Felina, exciting was being out on her own outdoors-or at least with a few close friends. None of those were to be had at the Academy, however.

Felina sat on top of the belltower, watching the snow fall on the Academy grounds around her. It was...peaceful. When one spent most of their free time hunting down and killing Mother Nature's children, it made one more inclined to appreciate her beauty. More than a few snowflakes were caught in Felina's fur, but they didn't bother her. They melted quick enough.

Tail flickering back and forth, nigh invisible amidst the black sky and shadows of the tower, Felina watched people scamper across campus, scurrying towards one party or another, and savored the fact she didn't have to talk with any of them.

Arianna Madrigal

Something folded up and papery-specifically, a folded up piece of paper-poked Jake on the side of the neck. The Symphony was a wild cacophony of energy and passion, amplified by the music Eliza was blaring from the speakers around the lounge.

It was loud enough and distracting enough to mask the fact that, outside of the overwhelming energy of the party, there was a very ominous nocturne, whispering just beyond the edges of Arianna's perception. Outside of the frenzied chaos of the party, she might've noticed it. But there were far too many things on her mind to bother with the Changeling unit, too much fatigue from training earlier and too much stress over dressing for the party.

The note simply read-Nice suit! with a little smiley face. Arianna herself had dressed up, not knowing what the dress code for a party like this was. They didn't really have ragers where she was from-their parties tended to lean more formally than informally. Still, she hadn't wanted to come in a ballroom gown or something, and was wearing a flattering black dress, heels, and had played with her hair just a bit to get it looking nice ((is my total ignorance of women's fashion showing yet?)). She grinned happily at Jake-which was tricky to manage with the cough drops in her mouth. She didn't really expect them to soothe her Voice, but it was worth a shot-and, speaking of shots, there wouldn't be any alcohol tonight, either. Not that Arianna was a drinker-something about hard liquor just seemed like it could mess up your voice. Same for smoking-tobacco or...other herbs.

She had a small notepad and pen tucked into a purse hanging subtly around her shoulders, containing not much else. She figured if she left it unattended, a thief wouldn't care enough to just steal a notepad. No sense in bringing money or anything, either.

Her mood significantly improved from earlier in the afternoon-and a few hours of mulling things over having improved her opinion on Jake and the meta-hangover alike, Arianna was ready to dance-although it looked like Jake wasn't. Her brow furrowing, Arianna glanced around, looking for Jake's usual partners in crime. When she had Jake's attention, she tilted her head to the side and then put one hand over her eye, followed by pantomiming wings (she felt a little silly doing this): Hey! Where are Gabe and Jaska?

Ene
-

Ene nodded, racking her brain trying to think of where in the academy they might have chocolate. After a few moments of silence, not really paying attention to Jackson's words because she was too busy thinking, not noticing his awkward conversation starter, though even if she had noticed Ene wouldn't have cared. She was even worse at starting conversations. Ene finally spoke up.

"I, um... Don't know any place that has chocolate bars, but the café has chocolate flavored things, if that helps." Ene was silent for a moment before adding in, "Someone at that party might... um... have some in their room... I'm not going to the party."

-
Jaylin and Kynan
-

The twins both turned around when they heard a familiar voice, wearing matching grins. Their friend Jaska had just approache them, but they ha to remain quiet so Jake wouldnt find then.

Jaylin piped up first, "Well he-" he realized how loud he was for a second and said in a quieter tone, though he figured most other voices in the building could drown it out, along with the music helping out. But he decided to e a bit more careful. "Well hey," Jaylin said, this time in a normal tone of voice, "You like the party so far?"

In truth both of the boys found the party a... Disappointment. It wasn't as fun as they expected- maybe older kid find it interesting, but they didn't. They were just looking for an excuse to leave, and both thought maybe Jaska would want to leave, too.

((Short post. Super busy))

Jake Vin Valos.

Spoiler:

"What the-" An odd paper hitting him in the neck sure was surprising enough, it was just unexpected. He quickly grabbed the piece of paper, and stretched it wide open to get a good view of the note's contents. Hoping that it wasn't just some clumsy partygoer throwing away his trash. Nice Suit! Jake was almost tempted to say thanks if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't know who gave him the note. He looked up to see Arianna Madrigal, the target of his affection. He folded up the note (For reasons that were unknown to him, and ) and stuffed it into one of the pockets of his suit. Jake had completely forgotten that he was looking for Jaska - That priority was shoved aside the second he saw Arianna. He swallowed his pride and took a few steps towards her. "I'm glad that you showed up, Miss Madrigal." He smiled, before he looked at her dress, "That's a nice dress you got there." Not the best dress that Jake has ever seen, but he wasn't that full of himself to point that out. He was about to make a comment about his own suit, but all he could do was crack a joke or two. I should have used a bowtie!

One thing that was for sure is that it'll take awhile for Jake to get used to the whole silent treatment, and the sign language. Aw, I hope you aren't going to give me the silent treatment all day! Fortunately, he was smart enough to piece together Arianna's message - Albeit, it required him to think on it a bit. She was asking about his brother and sister, and where they've gone off to. That, or she's asking about his opinion on pirates and birds. Here goes nothing; "Oh them? Gabe went off to go chat up some girl-" Jake directed a thumb in the direction of Gabe and Kate, "-And Jaska... He's probably gone back to his dorm-room." He was hoping this was the case and they wouldn't find him drunk on the ground - Or eating someone in his Beast-form. Whatever. Jaska probably left. This wouldn't be the first time that Jake totally allowed Jaska to roam without supervision to hang out with Arianna - And he really didn't want to do it again. But Jake only had one chance here, and with Abe around, he didn't want to blow it. "They'll be fine. But I have to ask..." He put his hand out for Arianna, "Would you like to dance?" Hopefully this won't backfire in his face!


Drake Deltori Blackmore.


Valery Arsov has just joined Drake's company ever since the combined departure of the Valos. Drake merely chuckled at all the gay-jokes Valery is making about him. It didn't bother Drake because (disregarding a few times he got really drunk) he's ladies only, and that's what matters. "Heh, Val, you forget," Drake pointed at his crotch, "Ladies only. I should get that tattooed on my abs." He started laughing before he moved on to the next subject. "Heh, but what do you think of my celebration?" He put his arms out, shrugged, and gave Val a cheeky grin. "You know, we should go find Abe, and assemble Team Headstrong - Except, instead of breaking skulls, we'll be getting all the sexy ladies and drunk off our assess. The way I like to party."


Jaska Din Valos.

Celo wrote:

"Well hey," Jaylin said, this time in a normal tone of voice, "You like the party so far?"

Hmph. Jaska personally didn't care for the party. It definitely wasn't in his age group to enjoy. On top of that, the sheer smell of underaged alcohol was assault on his sense of smell. That was a perfect reason to leave the party. "I don't like it here. That's why I'm leaving." He answered, meekly. There were probably better places for him to be. Places where he can hunt and be free. "I'm going to go outside, you wanna come?"


Blood Sucker.


"Great, I get to play with the kitty-cat." Bloodsucker smirked as he looked up the tower, his body reeking of the most foul blood out there. His target was Felina, who had made the unfortunate mistake of being alone during this hour. It should be simple enough disabling her, and getting her to the meeting spot - But the first obstacle would be getting up to where she is without getting detected. However, Bloodsucker was no ordinary human. With one leap, he managed to cover two stories, he then jabbed the claws at the tip of his fingers into the concrete walls, before he threw himself up a few more stories. Quickly making his way to the top.

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna grinned, rather happy that Gabe wasn't there-because Gabe was kinda scary. Although, given recent events, Arianna felt a strange mixture of jealousy, admiration, and fear of Gabriella: she was powerful. Perhaps not the most powerful at the Academy, and perhaps lacking in subtlety or non-combative skills (from what Arianna had seen) but, regardless....

...if Arianna had been firing off lasers rather than singing, Titus would've been in the burn ward rather than...wherever he was right now. She didn't see the Hulk walking around in the party, which made things far more enjoyable. Had anyone reported him yet?

And Little Jaska! Arianna thought Jake's baby brother was kinda cute, if incredibly mischievous. Her initial fear of the boy had faded a way a bit, as she'd seen he was a good kid, just had his moments of...really not being a good kid. While her voice may have been gone, she was fairly certain she could handle him if he did transform again-tucked inside her purse, along with the notepad, was a harmonica. Not her favorite instrument, but she could work a little magic with it if the occasion arose.

And then Jake asked her to dance! She was more of a slow-dance kinda gal, but she wasn't about to turn Jake down on account of that. Grinning, Arianna took her hand (the language that needs no words to be understood) and followed Jake onto the dance floor. Unfortunately for the Valos boy, he was going to need to try to keep up: Arianna might've lagged behind in the Arena, but if someone threw music into the equation, she could hold her own. Seamlessly, she moved her body to the beat in perfect time, staying close to Jake and enjoying the atmosphere in general. And, in a way, her voice being worn wasn't too bad: as loud as the party was, it'd be really hard to carry on a conversation, anyways.

Ah. The music was loud. Jake was looking pretty, hmm...dapper, in his suit. Titus was nowhere to be seen and the Changeling Units (and the ominous score that followed them in the Symphony) was nowhere nearby.  

Life was pretty good.

Valery Arsov

"Heh. That is good idea for a tattoo. I too have a tattoo. I have a butterfly right over my *ss." Val zoned out of the conversation for a moment as a particularly good-looking girl in a particularly tight dress walked past. "I love this country. Ah, yes, this is pretty good party. I mean, not to be a d*ck, we usually have better ones back home, mostly because our liquor's like, eighty five proof. But yes, let us find Abe. Team Headstrong will be Team...um..." he floundered for a moment. "Ah, screw it. We'll have girls, that's the important part. What is the point of being the best fighters in the school if we don't get any chicks, right? Just imagine how much better off we'd be back in the Roman days or something, I think the gladiators got some like three times a day. Until they died. I am rambling! We should find Abe."

Felina

The wind.

There was something on the wind.

It was close.

Felina was not used to being hunted-she was nearly always the hunter. A mixture of years of superiority and a intuitive caution rose up: on the one hand, there was nothing in the jungle that had ever posed threat to the cazadora. On the other hand...

Felina glanced at the falling snow around her.

This wasn't the jungle.

Drawing back away from the edges of the clock tower, Felina drew back within the shadows, sniffing the air tentatively. Something was coming closer, yes and....the smell was outside the tower. Not...within. Someone was scaling the tower. Jaska, perhaps? No, it didn't smell like the boy. Not at all. This was someone different-and why weren't they at any of the parties or-

Ah. The girl. The headmaster's runt who had gone missing. Of course. Perhaps they were seeking more easy prey-they would not find it with Felina. Readying herself for a fight, Felina stayed, primed and tense, ready to lunge out at whatever appeared before her.

Voiceless Narration

At that moment, Ene's phone began to buzz. She had received a text message from a blocked number. Upon looking down at it, one would see that the message said the following:

Rm 213, dorms. I suggest you hurry.

-J

Eli

Eli found himself outside, walking down a snow-covered path in a snow-covered landscape to nowhere in particular. Parties weren't Eli's thing. He never went to teenaged parties because they always meant trouble, and trouble was not something Eli liked getting into. In truth, he had attended one or two in high school back home in Black Fall, and both times he found himself leaving early simply because he could no longer stand to watch his friends and acquaintances get drunk and high out of their wildest dreams. Ariella was there now, which troubled him deeply. He trusted the girl as much as he could for someone who he had just met a week or so before, but he knew peer pressure would win. She would be drunk tonight. Hell, maybe she'd even wind up in bed with some attractive stranger. Eli quickly shoved this thought out of his head. No, she'd be alright. Ariella could control herself.

Ariella and Claire

Not really, no. Ariella found herself sitting on a couch in the lounge next to two people she didn't recognize. On the table next to her was a glass of water, the only one she could see. Everyone here was getting drunk. She had dressed up especially for this occasion, something that she didn't do often. She donned an aqua-colored cocktail dress, the length of which she was sure Eli would not approve of, and on her feet was a pair of silver heels. Her makeup looked almost expertly-done and her auburn braid was laying across her left shoulder. As the person on the couch next to her let out a drunken laugh, Ariella flinched. Further and further into her shell she shrank until the man next to her got up and left with a woman. She wouldn't think about what they'd be doing.

Down flopped Claire Sparks into the seat right next to her, a swaggering, tough-looking chick with black-dyed hair and a leather jacket that reeked of cigarette smoke. Ariella coughed once or twice as Claire sat down at turned her head. She looked mildly intoxicated, and had a beer in each hand, one of which wasn't opened.

"Ya look lost kid." Claire said to her.

"Um..." Ariella stuttered, obviously intimidated "Yeah, parties really aren't my thing."

"Lighten up. You'll have fun if you let yourself. Just open the shell. I'm Claire by the way. Claire Sparks." Claire looked like she was extending a hand for a shake, but instead Ariella found Claire handing her an unopened bottle of beer.

"Want one?" Claire asked "It really decreases stress. You'll feel better." Ariella winced at the beer and withdrew a little away from Claire.

"I don't know..." she said "I don't really drink." Claire found this slightly humorous, and pressed the bottle into Ariella's open hand.

"Oh come on! Just try it!" Claire said loudly "Trust me. What's your name?"

"Ariella D'Angelo." she said "And I'm fine, really. I don't want that beer."

"You don't know what you want until you take it." Claire replied, smiling deviously "That's a nice dress you've got there. Shows off your legs." Ariella was taken aback more by this. So now she was being hit on by a drunk, smoking, tomboy lesbian. Great evening.

"What? Um...thanks, I think." Ariella twisted nervously as Claire's eyes travelled down her body.

"Okay. See? You accepted that compliment. And you feel better now, don't you?" Ariella shrugged, her face flushing red slightly.

"I mean, I guess, um..." Claire cut her off.

"Dude, just calm down and drink the CENSORED beer. Don't worry." Claire looked up and saw Drake and Val talking together. Gabe smiled deviously as she looked between Ariella and Drake. He'd be able to help the kid loosen up, if anyone could. Claire put her arm around Ariella and pulled her up off of the couch rapidly, sending her stumbling forward a few steps, beer still in hand.

"Come on." she said "I'll introduce you to my crew." She took Ariella by the deltoid and pulled her over to where Val and Drake stood.

"Yo, Metal cock!" Claire said jubilantly. 'METAL WHAT?' Ariella thought to herself, wincing as she saw the boy. That was an odd power "I didn't know you were here, Drake! I've been looking for ya! This is my friend Ariella." She half-shoved Ariella in Val's direction and took a few steps towards Drake "I think Ariella here needs some positive encouragement to drink that beer." she whispered "She's being all loner-y. Think you can help a girl out?"

Neal

Despite his normal antisocial demeanor, Neal had decided to abandon his art project and go to the party. He was leaning up against the wall with an opened beer bottle in his hand that he hadn't drank a drop of. It seemed to him as if alcohol at a party was simply a conversation starter, the one thing that all of the people there had in common. Therefore, simply holding a beer and not drinking it would make it appear as if Neal was part of the group without him actually getting drunk. Or at least that was the theory. He scanned the room, looking for someone to talk to, when he spotted Jake chatting with a girl he presumed to be Arianna. Jake had mentioned the girl before, that she was attractive and that he thought that he liked her. The kid seemed a tad nervous as they danced to an upbeat song, and so Neal decided to play the wingman. He sat the beer down on a table and walked over.

"Oh hey Jake." he said before turning to Arianna "Hello there. I'm Neal, a friend of Jake's. And who are you?"

Jake Vin Valos.


This wasn't the first time Jake's got to dance with a sweet young girl. Like Arianna, he was a person who enjoyed a nice slow dance. It was simply much more romantic. Dancing to heavy techno beats was exciting, dancing to the rhythm was something else - But nothing compared to a nice romantic eye to dance. But Jesus. Arianna danced like a master. He almost found himself slipping a few times. Nothing that'd be too noticeable, hopefully. He almost wanted to make an illusory duplicate of himself dancing - But nah, that'd be cheating! "Heh, you're a pretty good dancer, I gotta say." He panted out the sentence. He was still finding it hard to keep up, but maybe a bit of 'romantic conversation' could break the silence and keep things going. "Y'know, I prefer slow dances. There's just so much excitement here, that you can barely focus on anything else!" He had to voice an earlier sentiment. Even as things got so intense here, he couldn't help but . "But maybe we could find somewhere a little private later-" I really hope she doesn't interpret this as 'I want sex' "-Get some nice music, and have a slow dance? I can supply the disco ball!" He winked at her. Jake was almost tempted to make an illusory rose. Everything here was going so great, even after the train-wreck that was last night. Abe is no where in sight. No one else. Just himself and Arianna - Exactly what he wanted.

Like all good things, it just had to come to an end. Neal approached Jake, and while the Valos boy was trying to shut out everything else, and focus on her. He rather jolted when Neal approached and said something to him. Not out of surprise, more of a 'F*ck me' kind of emotion. He was hoping to spend this time alone with Arianna, no interruptions whatsoever. Neal was a third wheel, and Jake was going to get rid of him soon as possible, without seeming like a complete ass that is. Because nothing's worse than sounding like a douche when you're around your favorite lady. "Oh yeah..." Jake tried to play it all off, and let Neal realize that he's the third wheel here. He handled the introductions, "This is Arianna, a friend of mine. And Arianna, this is Neal, my room-mate."

There was a little message that Jake had to get to Neal really fast. Courtesy of an invisible illusion, Jake managed to project speech straight to Neal, hopefully without Arianna hearing it. The voice spoke quietly, like a whisper, "Hey, she literally can't talk right now. Just to let you know. She strained her voice during an incident last night..."


Dream-walker.


"You shouldn't be out here all alone...." A strange voice spoke to Eli. Sounding like a man, a woman, a child, and a demon, speaking all at once. The message just appeared in his head, implying that the Dreamwalker had telepathy. The Dreamwalker didn't make his appearance just yet, but he wasn't too far away, he was hiding behind a building. Just to make sure that Eli wouldn't be able to touch him. Eli started floating a few inches off the ground. Before the Dreamwalker relayed another telepathic message, "Don't scream, I won't hurt you..."


Blood Sucker.


The moment Blood-sucker rose to the top of the tower, he collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. This was all a rose, of course, he was reaching into his jacket to pull out a syringe full of tranquilizer agents. Though a big cat like her might need a double-dose. The plan was to act friendly, make her let her guard down, get close, stab her with the syringe, and let Flashbang take her away. The cat lady already looked to be on guard, which meant that things might not good exactly as plan. However, little did she know, she would fighting on a small battlefield, and her opponent would need one hit to win. "Hello there," Bloodsucker started, in the most friendly tone he could, it sounded genuine, "I just saw you up here, and wanted to know if you wanted to have a chat, yes?" All while Bloodsucker advanced towards her, slowly, but ready to turn his ominous walk into a sprint. He can close the distance pretty fast. Charging her with a syringe, or a knife.

Jaylin an Kynan
----

When Jaska asked them if they wanted to go with him outside, both quickly nodded at the same time.  

Looks like we're in luck, Jay.

Instead of answering Kynan with thoughts, Jaylin rushed to get out of the building. "Yeah, lets go," He quickly agreed as he turned around, heading towards the exit. Both were glad that Jaska didn't seem to like the party, either.  It was boring, uninteresting, and had a bunch of older kids there, which made them feel... surprisingly awkward. When they never really feel awkward in such circumstances, really. Oh, well. They both figured it would be more interesting if they were older...

-
Bre and Len
-

Len was looking around the crowd for Bre when he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He just slowly turned around to see Bre, wearing her sunglasses, as always, and smiling at him.

"Hey," she warmly said. Len wasn't sure why he found her looking... More attractive than usual? Why did them place suddenly seem warm? Was his face red? His face was red, wasn't it?

"So where are the twins at?"

"Uh... Somewhere. They're fine, I'm sure. Probably hanging out with Jaska." Despite seeing the transformation Jaska had performed, Len was pretty cool with his brothers hanging out with the animal meta. It was only an accident caused by the stress of the situations, after all, right? And Jake and Gabe were usually with Jaska, so they could keep an eye on things. Len's train of thoughts were broken by an unexpected question. (Well, it was mostly unexpected to only him, not really others)

"Want to dance?"

Len felt his face heat up more. He managed out, "sure," before the two walked into the crowd of students.

-
Ene
-

Ene felt a vibrate from her phone and jumped, letting out a squeak. She slowly looked down, realizing it was her phone. Who was J? Jake? Jaska? Ene figured it was since she didn't know anyone else in school with "J" named that could have her number. But why was it blocked? And the Dorm number? Ene wasn't sure whose room that was. Should she go? But what if it was a trap?  It could be some kid doing some lame prank or something- yeah. A "prank". Like that kid was "pranked" and ended up all bloody. It was just a prank.

....

But what if it wasn't? What if it really was Jake or Jaska?

.... Only one way to find out

Ene sighed and looked at Jackson. "I-I um... Gotta go. I'll see you around, though, okay? Um..." Ene looked around nervously. It would be rude to just leave him, right? "Um... Or do to want to go with me? I'm just going to the dorms."

Valery Arsov

Hah! Valery is waiting until Drake gets off his leather-coated ass and posts, American swine!

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna grinned as Neal approached-well, that's not entirely accurate. She was grinning the whole time, mostly from the euphoria of the party and, well, dancing with Jake in general, but she tried to give Neal a friendly smile. She didn't know the kid but she knew walking up to people could be really unnerving-her first few hours at the Academy were full of that kind of awkward silence.

Arianna started to open her mouth to speak and her throat was racked with pain, interrupting the smile for a moment. Ah. Ahhhh. It was, though, not as severe as it had been earlier, and Arianna felt as if she could speak, but it wouldn't have been audible over the blaring music. Arianna promptly shut her mouth, massaging her throat for a minute, and resorted to grinning and extending a hand to shake. She tapped her throat and shook her head to get the message across-One hell of a sore throat, Neal.

Oooh? And Jake had complimented her dancing. Well, wasn't that gentlemanly of him. She bowed her slightly and gestured, as if to say, Well, you're not so bad yourself!, but that was merely to be humble: given her power, it was pretty obvious Arianna was a superior dancer. It would've been like challenging Jake to an illusion making contest. And, luckily for Master Valos, the idea of Jake slipping away with Arianna went straight over her head-the girl was well-intentioned, but still a bit naive when it came to boys-even if the abducted child, dead body, and possible attempted rape of the night before had shattered her naivete about what was capable of happening at this school.

That was one of the reasons she was really glad she'd come to the party-with such dark whispers and rumors going around, well, Arianna was giving some serious thought into leaving the school. Just up and going before something terrible happened to her. Before Titus...

She felt herself go cold in the middle of the dance floor, full of body heat and liquor fumes. She would be stronger next time. Titus wouldn't know what hit him. She'd keep telling herself that, at any rate.

And going off somewhere quiet for a slow dance? Well, that was the kind of thing that might make the terrors of the night before seem a little more manageable. Arianna nodded her head enthusiastically, then pausing for a moment before whistling one or two notes-And I can still supply the music. I'd play the violin, but that might make dancing a little tricky. Arianna wasn't too annoyed by Neal's third-wheeling presence, but was also eagerly looking forward to their little slow dance.

If only she knew...

Felina

To some, Felina's reaction may have seemed something of metagaming.

These people do not know Felina, who would enjoy using this as a default response to anyone-let alone someone approaching her alone on a quiet night, with rumors of murders and abductions about.

Felina let out a roar loud enough to be heard from the bottom of the tower, rising up and flexing all her muscles, fangs clenched and ready to pounce. She stared at Bloodsucker, taking in his scent and the sound of his footsteps on the floor and the way he looked. Felina felt the usual surge of power and confidence-that her record was unbroken thus far, that every beast she had fought, she had beaten-but forced herself not to be overconfident. Her roar might've silenced the jungles she called home, but it may not work on this foolish, foolish man.

"If you take another step, I will paint this clock tower with your blood."

Neal

Abort! Abort! Fission mailed! It appeared as if Neal was not being the wingman, but the most dreaded of all professions; the third wheel! "Oh..." he let escape from his lips as he received Jake's message. "Sorry for cutting in. Just wanted to say hi. I'll leave you two to your dancing. It was nice meeting you, Arianna." Neal half-shuffled away, a semi-wounded look upon his face. Rejected again, this time by an underclassman. Once out of Jake's range, Neal sighed loudly and flopped down on the couch moments before occupied by Ariella and Claire. What was the point? Nobody gave a sh*t about him here. Hell, nobody in the entire school gave a sh*t about him. If he vanished off the face of the earth, it would matter little to anyone. Sighing again, with a hurt expression on his face resembling that of a basset hound's. He walked up to a table where the liquor had been placed and grabbed a bottle of Ciroc vodka, deciding to drown his sorrows in alcohol. When he returned to his seat, it had been taken by two other people. He walked over to a pile of coats in the corner and grabbed his button-down olive green military jacket. Neal slipped the jacket on, buttoned it up with shaking hands, and slipped the vodka into his left inside pocket. If the people here really cared that little for him, then he'd go back to his room and get waisted. Another bottle of vodka went into the right pocket of the jacket, and he left the lounge, travelling en route to his room.

It was pitch dark outside, the perfect time for a sneak attack. Neal took about five steps when he remembered what lurked in the dark: Titus. It wasn't safe out here with that hunk of meat walking the halls. So, Neal tried out a trick that Megan had taught him before. His body began to shimmer purple, and a halo of light surrounded him. This was unprocessed psychic energy that would act as a sort of shield if anyone jumped out and attacked. It drained a lot of power, but Neal was planning on going into his room and crashing, so it didn't matter much to him. Just to be sure, Neal summoned his trusty three-tailed hooked whip. He fondled the whip in his right hand, and clenched its handle tightly. In his years at the school, the whip had come to be a sort of security object to him. The weapon had served him through so many fights that it made him feel stronger just by holding it. He mounted the steps and began his way to the second floor, where his dorm was. He sniffled slightly, and appeared fish-eyed, a sign that tears were brewing. Neal should have been used to it by now; this was his life. Even at the freak school, he was a freak.

Eli

Eli's face froze with terror as he began to float away. He found himself relatively unable to move, pulled towards the building by a force that claimed he would be unharmed. It resembled what Eli thought the devil would sound like. There was nothing he could do. He was trapped without any way to escape. None of his powers worked long-range anyways, so he relaxed and let the monster take him. He clutched the scorched wooden rosary in his pocket. It had belonged to Leila, but she vanished and nobody knew where she went. He found it laying in the snow outside of the hospital, burned. He quietly said a prayer as he floated.

"St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and may you, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."

Spoiler:

The song changed.


Jake Vin Valos.


Despite getting exactly what he wanted, Jake felt a little bad that Neal left all the sudden. He'll have to discuss this with him, later. "I will be seeing you around." Jake said to Neal, one eye was turned to his room-mate, before he turned back to Arianna. He did enjoy this little break from dancing, but he definitely just had to continue. His soft hands grabbed onto Arianna's, and he whispered to her, "May we continue, or should we go somewhere for that slow dance? I'm a little excited for it, I have to say." He gave her a warm smile, while looking around. Somewhere else would have to be somewhere that isn't that private. Given the events of last night, he didn't want to be somewhere that they'd be easy pickings for Titus or whoever the f*ck messed up that kid last night. Jake certainly didn't want to get drunk off his ass, because he was never the type that liked the taste of alcohol, and bad things happen when people got drunk.


Jaska Din Valos.


Hopefully Jaska won't get yelled at too much for leaving - But everything else in his head was telling him to leave while he had a chance. Once the twins began to walk out the room, Jaska quickly followed, activating his camouflage, his skin blended in with the environment until he was more-or-less invisible. They went outside quickly enough, and under the veil of the shadows, the young bestial felt alive. He slowly stepped in the snow, and it melted and sizzled underneath his feet. He looked up at the night sky, and fully extended his wings that were more than three times his own height. A fearsome display. Jaska then took several steps forward, stepping out of his shoes, baring his claws, pulled down his pants slightly to reveal his prehensile, blade-tipped, tail. "So, what do you guys want to do."


Drake Deltori Blackmore.


Before Drake could get a chance to hammer away a barrage of texts directed at Abe, Miss Sparks from last night showed up, with a friend! He got that special feeling. Like he was one step closer to a threesome. A grin had etched it's way across his lips. "Heh, I don't got a CENSORED of metal, Claire," He quietly laughed under his breath, "I just get really hard when I fight." He brushed a strand of his black hair out of the way of his face, before laughing. "Allow me to introduce myself," Drake prepared himself for one of his usual introductions, "Drake D. Blackmore, captain of Team Headstrong, and the grand Champion of the Blackmore Family, nice to meet you." That was all Ariella needs to know. Ariella needs encouragement to drink? Well, Claire came to the right person, because there's no one better at such a task than Drake. He grabbed a random bottle of whiskey, before presenting it to Ariella, "C'mon, you don't have to drink a lot, that's just unhealthy." He laughed slightly, "Just one glass won't hurt a soul. Hell, I was feeling that same damn way-" Not exactly, I just downed a whole bottle of vodka and wound up in a hospital for two weeks! "When I had my first drink." Who knows, maybe she'll get with Val tonight - Oh god, yes, that idea was genius already. Val just needs to make sure that he won't freeze her with his d*ck, or else Drake will have to step in and... 'fix' that. Heh. Hahahaha! With his 'dragon' most certainly.


Blood-Sucker.


The plan wasn't going as plan right off the start, Felina is hostile right off the bat. Even Bloodsucker had been so kind to her! Naturally Bloodsucker was more open to this change of events than the boring plan. Like she asked, he stopped right in his track, not because she asked, because he had another plan in store. "... If you do that you've lost this fight." He reached into his jacket, towards his waist, obviously pulling out a weapon. He pulled out two large combat knives, one for each hand. They were dirty, and stained with blood, obviously used recently. He gave her a grin, one that bared his teeth, "Listen here, Miss Putty-cat," He started off his threatening message, taking slow steps towards Felina, "This can go two ways; you politely come with me, or there's going to be a bloodbath up here."


Mannequin.


The pair appear to be going their separate ways. Which made it easy for the Mannequin to target them. The girl left the strange boy behind. The Mannequin quickly contacted their sniper, Heartbreaker,  "Heartbreaker, one's heading out towards the dorms. Target her immediately." His voice couldn't be heard from his location, as it was a message being silently relayed. He quickly went after them, they would be handled by Heartbreaker the moment they step outside, it's just that he wanted to keep up with them. The Mannequin quickly adhered to the nearest wall using van der Waals force, climbing up onto the ceiling. He was near-silent at his speed, which was fast enough to close the distance between himself and the pair. Unless they look around, they wouldn't have a clue he was there - But you'd be surprised how many people don't look up.



Dreamwalker.


Very good. Eli is just being quiet and compliant enough to make this easy for everyone. "Gooooood boyyyy...." The Dreamwalker dragged out his words. A needle came out of no where and jabbed Eli in the next, injecting him with tranquilizers that'd quickly travel through his blood, until he was unconscious. Both Eli and the Dreamwalker disappeared in a flash of light. With the Dreamwalker continuing his mission and aiming for whoever was alone.

Merry had never had such a bad headache before. She didn't really feel that sorry for herself, curled up in ball on her bed with the lights off, she had brought this upon herself. Drinking was a really bad idea, one that she was most likely not to try again, as much fun as it was and as confident as it made her feel at the time, she became anxious once she was done. And now she couldn't even find the energy to move, probably overdosing on headache medication. At least Lily had been tolerant towards Merry, she would have to remind herself to thank her roommate for taking care of her during her moment of stupidity.

She opened an eye, groggily, looking at the alarm clock next to her and wincing in the red glow. Gosh she hated herself for going so far without eating or drinking something afterword. She had read about how to get over a hangover, as a way to help out a friend who was in a similar situation to the one she was in now, and everyone told her that eating and drinking nonalcoholic beverages during or after would help the hangover. Sadly she ignored for own knowledge, thinking that sleep would help. Merry let out a soft groan as she turned herself over in her cocoon of blankets.

Jackson
"Uh sure um let's go. Jackson felt awkward as he tagged along. "So a party huh that sounds.....fun". yeah a loud room full of possibly drunk meta humans and people talking to you,sounds like a real hoot" as he walked beside her a few nervous gestures could be seen he kept pulling his brown coat up even though it wasn't loose, he closed and opened his hands several times, he didn't like being so...so exposed and there was that ever so slight feeling he was being watched be he figures that was just his nerves talking. "So... Powers? Wait never mind don't tell me uh forget It never mind". really of all topics you picked that one?"

Arianna Madrigal

Arianna noticed, vaguely, that most of the Symphony was very, very faint, but Jake's Song was quite loud-and it was sounding rather like the music that blares when the hero gets the girl at the end. Arianna absentmindedly waved at Neal-blissfully unaware of the boy's suffering, and turned her focus back to Jake. His hands were warm and soft and generally rather nice to hold-she grinned, thinking of the last time she'd held his hand, over a week ago, when Jaska had, uh, had his little accident. These were far better circumstances to be holding hands under.

She gave his hand a little squeeze and gestured towards the door, not needing the paper to convey her desire for a slow song. Her presence at the party had been kinda short-lived, and that was totally okay with Arianna.

Arianna paused for a second, seeing that Jake's bow tie had gotten a little askew during his dancing. She reached up with her free hand and straighten-

blood was spewing out where the bow tie was like a f*cking geyser and the tuxedo had turned black and sunk into his skin and-

Arianna shut her eyes tightly for a moment, forcing the strange interjection of the Symphony, some horrific mix of sight and sound (and taste, salty and metallic and terrible) out of her mind. Arianna turned her eyes back to Jake, the cosmic interference having passed quickly enough (aside from a dull ache in her vocal cords) and gave him a wide grin, hoping she hadn't alarmed him. Let's go have that slow dance, Mr. Valos.

Valery Arsov

"Encouragement, to drink?" Val sounded aghast at the prospect, although Val wasn't entirely sure how he sounded, because the buzz in his head was making listening to his voice pretty difficult. "Why, you heathens!" Val said, snatching the beer from Ariella's hand. "How dare you corrupt our nation's youth-" He said, drinking about half of it before handing it back to her. "Terrible rude of all of you. Of course, it would be ruder to take from a lady without repaying her." he pulled his flask out and filled her cup back up, making it an infinitely more potent drink that it was before. "Ah. None of you know chivalry."

And he couldn't let Drake steal all his thunder with introductions, now could he? "Captain of Team Headstrong? Please, my friend, you are my waterboy!" Val said these sorts of things with such good-nature (and, along with the frequent self-deprecating comments) that it was really hard to take him seriously or get pissed-remarkably, the boy with a fondness for drinking and being boisterous had avoided a great many fights, possibly on account of his charisma, possibly on account of his somewhat intimidating stature. "But I am glad to meet you, Ariella. I am Valery Arsov. I am strongest man in all of Russia, and, uh, also Russian diplomat to America. Sorry about Snowden and stuff. But really, very nice to meet you Ariella. Do not drink if you do not want to, someone needs to drive me home." He paused for a moment. "Actually, yeah, go ahead. All you want. Hey, Drake, who is your lady friend? And also, metal d*ck? And here I thought I was the only cyborg here."

Felina

"This goes two ways, runt. I eat you starting from your head or from your feet." Felina was aware of the inherent restrictions in fighting on the top of a clock tower-namely, that if she overshot her target or got too carried away, she was really going to be counting on that "Cats don't hit terminal velocity" business. However, she wasn't totally restricted-and as long as she kept her momentum going downwards, she was fairly confident the safety rails around the balcony would keep her from scampering off (if she did, well, she was going to start clawing like crazy and hope death-by-falling was painless). "And I told you not-" Felina launched herself forward mid-sentence, her pounce betrayed only by the flickering of her tail beforehand. Upwards of four hundred pounds of furry death went for Bloodsucker with the force to knock a truck over, claws extended, fangs bared. Felina was ready to catch herself if she started to fall, and also on her guard against surprises: she had a grim feeling they weren't about to send regular humans after creatures such as her.