Fantasy Augurium ~ IC

Out the rocker fast; unexpected turns from trapping warp-spawn out to steal shirts. One girl was barking orders talking about a "familiar" and another pulled a wand? Purple was just like the green bastard from before, Zak was sure but maybe they were right? The math didn't check out but blonde was attacking him over it.... Such an extreme-honest reaction; that-of knicked merchants after a steal, the reaction proving truth. So it seemed from it he'd fucked the goat on this one, made a bad call so to speak?? A rare misstep; not that it mattered now, the attack was priority one. It was a dangerous shot, a dark-tendril swept to slam. The kind of weighty blow that could crack a rib. Intense for a morning scrap but not fast enough to blitz, Zak was ready.

With black-mist and a hiss, Zak's left shone a cool gunmetal, tank-armored. It wasn't the most even creation and efficiently built it wasn't too; but strong? Aye it was compact and steeled, capable of stopping what came his way with a loud *THUD* -- as dark clashed dark.

It was a solid hit but this possession went to defense. The armor did its job and dispelling it Zak flashed backward, screeching to a halt with the jar left in no-man's land; amusing stuff. Another grand daily start with more angry eyes on him.... perfect. It seemed each day bred another enemy or rival, someone or three he'd pissed off or challenged; an unending line of people wanting to see him flogged. At this point it was one running joke...

And purple football? It was the punchline. So Zak, being he of no stakes and wonton jackassery, warkin supreme and maniacal idiot began laughing like a cracked-man, crying out -- "So dat!!!! Dat ain a sprite issit???" with straggling giggles and a finger pointing to the jar, adding on "At' ugly bastad, that's ya pet!?!" with a look of incredulous amusement. Talk about the worst stuff to say! Rage inducing words but Zak couldn't help it, the purple fucker was diabolical! It looked ike a scrambled piece of purple avacodo with ten days under a hot wasteland sun. Or perhaps a mottled bruise on a crackhead's lip that gained sentience? Or even a runoff pile with teeth out a dead dog's head, just diabolical and disgusting.

Before the beast was sketchy, worrying Zak because of its unknown origin, but to learn it was a familiar? This was jokes, it was a demon Muppet! So Zak laughed again like an ass, looking Taram and Pandora over with a beet-red face and a sardonic "Me most gracious apology fa knickin ya crystal fiend, thought him a sprite demon... Type at' took my shirt n' class. Lil andsome fella" he'd blurt with another giggle, finishing finally with "Bad's on me, swear it" as he'd come to notice his plate....

Or lack there of with food replaced by a slimy chewed piece of clothing. The bridge in his brow was furrowed so tight with annoyance it could strangle an Ultima. He was big pissed about that... Another wait in line? For fuck's sake.

Kyrenka Mook-LandStrider

The more the kid talked shit, the more Taram pledged to fuck him up later. "Ugly!?" The word came out as a furious shriek; she hadn't meant for that but she was losing her cool and fast. Tuffy made a few grunts as he tried to unsuccessfully dislodge his fat ass from the jar. Bending down to help him, the blonde cooed at him as she gently helped him slip out of the container. "You're OK, that's right. You're not ugly, you're my perfect little angel." Clutching him close to her chest, she let her familiar grab her mana tool and wave it around like a toddler as she snarled at Zak, "You think this is fucking funny?" Noticing his expression, she glanced at his ruined plate and gave him a vicious grin. "Maybe if you learned to take a few seconds to actually use your brain and pay attention to things shit like this wouldn't happen to you." Whirling around, Taram stalked away with a darkly muttered, "Idiot." Tuffy whined in her arms. He didn't like it when Taram got worked up like this and lashed out. She sighed as she gave him a light squeeze. "Sorry babe. Didn't mean to upset you." Taking her time since she had her familiar in her arms, the blonde grabbed a new plate and began collecting her breakfast again. Tuffy tried to grab her plate, but she held it out of his reach. "This is for me; I'll get you something just wait." She couldn't deny him completely though, so she passed him an apple which he happily accepted. It was a bit of an effort, balancing two plates and a familiar but she managed. She didn't want to put him down again with that guy still roaming around. Approaching an empty table, she placed Tuffy and the plates down in relief. Ugh, he got heavy. Now that she thought of it though, it was kinda surprising that he even fit into that jar in the first place. Clicking her tongue in disapproval as she watched her familiar shove an entire muffin into his mouth, Taram said, "You know, if you keep eating like that I'm gonna have to put you on a diet." Tuffy grunted around the food in his mouth, his displeasure muted by how puffed out his cheeks were. She chuckled and gave him a little pat before turning to her own food. If Pandora decided to follow them or not didn't really matter to her. There were other women around that were just as pretty.

((Interacting with Jet 's Zak | Mentioned Mook-LandStrider 's Pandora))

Ivan Timurovich
Dorms

Finally, the grumpy gus was awake, and he didn't seem at all enthusiastic about the hospitality that was given. It was actually strange to Ivan as he looked up from his phone and cocked an eyebrow in response. Seriously, it was common to make sure your roommate was healthy, wasn't it? For now, it didn't seem that his dorm mate was going to comment or even really interact with him or the spread, and so Ivan turned his attention back to his phone. Stocks, Fashion, bullshit politics, conflicts, and more were things that he most usually skipped through, since usually he would get word from the family if something was pertinent to his situation or the Family itself, but his scrolling stopped just as he got to the Magitech developments as he heard his roommate finally speak.

"Milkshake?" Ivan asked, nearly chuckling. "No, no. Is protein shake. Chocolate, protein, little sugar, milk - tastes like what strong feels like. Try."

That having been said, Ivan picked up his own and took a swig, the result being his visage appearing to be quite pleased with the shake itself. He sat it back down on the table before gesturing to the food before them.

"Eat up," he continued. "Is balanced for good progress in strength training and endurance. Many proteins and good fats, with little bit of carbs for little extra boost."

After another few seconds of sipping his shake and reading through the Magitech R&D news, Ivan locked and pocketed his phone to dig into his own plate. The sweet, salty, and savory flavors actually complimented each other better than he thought he would do last time, but he was no slob. Ivan took his time to eat, and throughout the endeavor, even without any kind of kerchief to protect his shirt, his uniform was still spotless. Not a single crumb or drip of his meal gravitated itself towards the exposed portions of his white undershirt or tie, and that was even as he sat back in his chair to eat.

"So, how was morning routine?" He asked after patting his lips clean. "Didn't see you around school grounds for morning run."


Kyrenka (Interacting with Guiren)

Tuffy either hadn't noticed or didn't care about the teacher behind them and kept eating. Taram bit back an annoyed sigh as she half turned towards Artor. She knew who he was, she was going to be his TA after all. Out of all of the teachers to get busted by, he's probably the best one. She didn't want to think about what'd happen to her if Diana had saw her instead. Gesturing to her plate, she tonelessly asked, "Can I finish my breakfast first? Or should I just bring it with me to your office?" No use in fighting when she had been caught red-handed. As long as she cooperated, she wouldn't get kicked out of her TA spot. She had worked way too damn hard to lose that. He's probably going to anger management counsel me of something. She honestly didn't need it, but the blonde understood that it was probably a rule or something.

((Interacting with ManofManyRoles ))

Guiren watched his roommate take a swig of his own protein shake. He had never had one before, but yeah protein shake made more sense than breakfast milkshake. He wan't really here to become a gym rat, but the more time he spent here the more he realized that it might be necessary to buff up a bit. The dark-haired man had gotten used to his peers having weaker mana pools than him, which made them easy as fuck to push around. Things were different here. He wasn't specical; people with strong mana pools or unique abilities were a dime a dozen at Augurium. If I want to keep up, I need to bulk up. Taking a swig of his protein shake, Guiren immediately sputtered and choked on its grainy texture. "Ah fuck!" Coughing a few times, he glared at the offending drink in his hand. "It tastes like fucking chalk!" Letting his gaze slide over to Ivan, he added, "And you didn't see me because I don't do morning runs." Slamming the drink onto the table a good distance away from him, Guiren gladly replaced the taste in his mouth with a few gulps of coffee. Reaching over for the thing that looked like pancake, he took a cautious bite before deeming it safe enough to eat. Who does he think he is? My friend? Is this some sort of romantic thing? Now that was creepy. He didn't need friends and he sure as hell didn't need a boyfriend. Ivan was going to be disappointed sooner or later and it might as well be sooner.

((Interacting with Osuka 's Ivan))

The female humans outburst At Vulma’s question was surprising for the curious Arachne. Enough so that he Ended up dropping a majority of the food on the plates he was carrying, Vulmar frowned after he realised what he’d done wasting that much food was just a horrible thing... then again these people seemed to have a lot more of it just everywhere so it prob wouldn’t matter too much... right? His attention returned to the anger female Once he put down the now mostly empty plates. “I apologise if my question was.. insensitive, I was just curious..“ he replied with a basically rehearsed line, his questions had gotten on the nerves of other species a lot before he’d gotten here. “But going back to what you said, iv got no clue what passes as normal around here..and iv seen a walked bird person here too soo... I’m just trying to work out what normal is for here” he said calmly ".. and besides, look at me in the out of place one walking around with double the limbs and yet to me you all have one set of arms is weird.” he said this giggling a bit at how dumb what he was saying sounded waving his six arms to emphasise the point he was making quickly stopping after he realised it looked kinda stupid. “but err.., aside from that... what’s a marshmallow?” Vulmar changed the subject to the odd little... fruits thing... "I assume its edible... right? is it like a plant? fruit or something?" he's marshmallow question was more directed towards the male (siggie) that was cooking the things.

Ivan Timurovich

Dorms


Ivan had almost choked on a sip of his coffee as he watched Guiren react negatively to the shake that he prepared, and it was about the funniest thing he had seen the past few days. The poor guy didn't re-shake his drink before, and after allowing himself to laugh for a few moments, he stood to pick up the shake and then held up an index finger. Without saying anything, he would disappear back into the dorm kitchen to make it smoother for his roommate. Instead of the normal ratios, Ivan dumped a small amount from the container down the sink before washing out and then reassembling the blender. Afterwards, he would dump the rest back into the blender before adding more milk and running the machine so that the powder would be more broken down.

It only took a minute at most before he returned, the shake somewhat darker with the introduction of a little more chocolate, and after handing it to Guiren, he would gesture.

"Try it now," he encouraged. "Won't be chalky this time. More chocolate and milk in the shake. Afterward, we should talk about morning run. Is very important - body is temple to self, and to train it is to show love and respect towards self. Not making it best it can be reflects in self-esteem."

After having said his peace and seated himself once more, Ivan decided that he would address another elephant in the room after having made himself comfortable.

"Is this odd?" He asked, his voice flat but the brow of his right eye raised. "Cannot help but get feeling that you think there is ulterior motive here. Is common Occidens Hospitality to make food for eh.." He thought for a moment, scratching at his chin as he did so. "Not friend, but basically roommate. This is not so with other places?"

Kyrenka (I'm sorry they're short for now - they're kinda just sitting around and having a uh... Conversation?? XD)

08:50 Program Classes Patronus (Teacher - Ellania Marens "Miss Fortune") - Kitchi, Gavin, Ian, Venissa, Ivan, Nyara, Chepi, Guiren, Willow, Ivanna, Avia, Zak Insidiator (Teacher - Mikael Malmqvist) - Nayr, Arik, Kira, Talvyn, Aswad, Hira, Leanan, Yanvara, Steve, Ahmar, Lee, Issac, Marielle, Cayden Magister (Teacher - Alexander Artor) - Mavior, Liliana, Miranda, Ariu, Colette, Lavka, Locoma Artificis (Teacher - Khonsu "Soup") - Xelon, Siggie, Pandora, Jade, Thomas, Yua, Vulmar, Rhonas Dux (Teacher - Diana Collens) - Maria, Nikea Defectus (Teacher - Octavia) - Omar ​

As the time for breakfast neared its end, teachers were geared up for the first program class of the season.

Ellania, the Patronus teacher, was pleased that she had the honor of teaching the Protector Program. Generally speaking, these kids planned to stay on the school's payroll after graduation, so they could be people she would actually get to know - assuming they stuck with it. It gave access to higher-level combat training than your standard Pugnator class, which was in line with her interests as an ultima as well. No boredom here!

She was on The Ring long before class officially started, trying to come up with a gameplan for her class. She had more than ten students, a decent number for her to handle, but not too many, so she could still give them individual attention. Come 08:50, time for class to actually begin, she cleared her throat, "Alright! For those of you who don't already know me, I'm Ellania Marens, better known as the ultima 'Miss Fortune'. I'll be your teacher for this season. Anyone who's actually here on time, thank you. We aren't going to be having this Patronus Program in the same area of The Ring as you've had your exercise or your Pugnator class, assuming that's what you had before. Most do the two as a pair."

"Instead, we're heading over to the sectioned area," she explained, motioning off to her left, the students' right. Faintly in the distance, a large wooden wall that separated off an entire swath of the ring, size unseen, stood. "It's about a mile out. A good little morning run is the best way to wake yourself up, stretch your muscles, and get a little exercise in... so let's jog to it. To make it a little more interesting, the first two students there will get to be the group leaders! Use magic if you want, but don't start shit between each other for this. Alright? Alright."

With that, she was off, and with her, she assumed, the students as well. Ivanna and Venissa quickly fell behind, but neither of them was particularly worried about coming in first anyway. Ivanna felt like it would be more interesting to be part of a team than to lead it, and Venissa was horrified by the idea of being in charge of people and in the limelight. She didn't know what the group leaders would be expected to do, or what any of this entailed. She didn't even have an inkling as to what they were doing next! So, no. No team lead for her... not that she could catch up even if she wanted to.

Ellania herself was there in a blur of wind and movement, impossible to keep up with. She wasn't even bothering to hide her speed. Once she stopped at the gate with a cloud of dust, she turned to watch the students' approach. She was interested to see who would come in first and who would come in last. She had high hopes for the two NRNA giants, for Ian, and for Ivan, but there was always an opportunity for something different to happen, for her to be surprised.

(( EldridSmith Kyrenka Mook-LandStrider Osuka Please wait to post until everyone has rolled!))

Mikael Malmqvist stood near enough to Ellania's class to be able to hear her speak. They were both heading to the same area, and the other teacher seemed to have some interesting ideas. He was quiet while he waited for class to begin, for the bells to ring, as it were. 08:50 in the morning, and he could only imagine some of his students were tired. He, likewise, had a good spattering of students. More than ten of them.

Once class time had begun, he gently cleared his throat and spoke quietly so that everyone had to hush to be able to hear him, "Hello students. It's a pleasure to meet you all - those of you who I haven't already seen around. I am Mikael Malmqvist, and today I am your Insidiator professor. This course is known as the 'spy' program, but I assure you it is much more than that. You all want to make changes in the world around you, whether that is with a corrupt government, an assassin group, politicians, hunting, or anything and everything in between. You are meant to leave this program as a jack-of-all-trades. I want you all to understand swiftly, however, that this is not a program for the faint of heart. This will get dark. You will get dirty. You will do things that you find morally questionable... but if you believe in your cause and your goals, then you will need to learn how to reach them by any means necessary."

He paused, looking at each of their faces as he allowed that to sink in. Out in the real world, Insidiator graduates likely needed to be able to kill people in their pursuits. For the greater good... whatever that 'good' happened to be.

After allowing for a pause, he cleared his throat again and spoke once more, "I think we ought to follow Patronus's lead and have a little competition like they're having. You'll be working in small groups, and every group needs its leader. No, running is not a good way of deciding who would make the best leader... but you don't know each other yet and you hardly know yourselves, so little would be appropriate anyway. Running will be good enough for today... plus it's a little fun. At the moment we have thirteen students, though that is subject to change over the course of this class, so we will have four groups. Three of three, one of four. The first four people get to be group leaders, with the first person to the wooden gate getting to be the leader of the group of four."

"As you likely heard Ellania say, don't start shit with each other. That doesn't apply to this program. Use whatever means you wish to get ahead. To win. Don't kill each other, that's all I ask. Just understand, if you make enemies, you'll need to keep track of them. Underhanded tactics can get you so far... but it can spell your demise if you play things poorly," he explained, turning towards the gate, "With that - go!" He fell through one of his own portals that had appeared suddenly beneath him, popping up beside Ellania after only a second.

"This is gonna be fun," he said to her.

She smirked, "I wonder how much of a pain in my ass your class is gonna be... what you have in mind, devious little gremlin."

Mikael grinned back at her, taking the tease with pride. He hoped his class could be devious. He really did.

(( Peckinou Aelia Aeldyne Steve Freeling Huntertabbysandshark3 Kyrenka Osuka Likewise, please wait to post until everyone has rolled.))

((I will do the other classes in separate posts. These were both on The Ring so they fit together well.))

Khonsu's or Soup's class took place on the first Trade Island, surrounded by shops on either side and just across the street from the shop Yua called home. The building they were standing in was clearly a shop as well, the sign outside saying "The Student Store", but it was differently set up than your average shop. It was clear this one was to teach. He had a little less than ten students. Good for a team, he thought. Soup stood, leaning against the counter of the shop, dressed as flamboyantly as he always was. A partial kimono barely covered the top of his chest and ended right after the top of his hips. A black bodysuit of some sort kept him decent, but only just as it sculpted his ass and legs to a degree that should have been illegal.

He looked demure standing there, gently playing with his fox familiar that crawled about in the air and nuzzled his face. Anyone who already had the pleasure of having one of his classes, however, knew that he was anything but demure. He was a whirlwind of energy, most of that frustratingly sexual, despite the fact that he didn't actually do anything untoward. He was very touchy, preferring to comfort his students with a hug or combing their hair.

The half-noble yawned as the bells rang through campus and looked at his students with feline curiosity.

"Hello hello~" he chimed in effeminate tones, "Welcome to the Craftsman Program, better known as Artificis. You all are here to learn how to use your powers for everyday uses. You aren't like those people who want to punch everything they see, you might want to run a business, invent things, craft, or perhaps even be a mercenary. All in all, you wanna make a profit at the end of the day so you don't have to worry about where your next meal is coming from. I respect that, and I think more people should. I am Khonsu, but you can call me Soup if you'd like, my dears."

"As you can see, we're in a mock shop. This is the best spot to start. There are many different directions one could go with the Artificis program, so I'm going to try to cover as many as I can. There are thousands of people that live and shop on these islands, and not all of them are students. The Trade Islands are bustling metropolises even while classes go on. They are cities. This is the first thing you must understand. On your way here, I'm sure you saw many people. There is a huge possibility for profit, as long as you play the market right," he explained, much more serious in demeanor than he had been in other classes, "I need to split you guys up. First and foremost, which of you wants to be the Shop Manager?"

"We're going to need a Shop Manager - this person is going to be in charge of the store. Do not take this role if you don't know if you can handle it. Management is not for everybody, and some people downright hate it. If you're wanting to one day be the CEO of some big company, you'll need to know how to manage people. The Shop Manager will handle the handing out of money, and will have the final say on what the shop is going to sell, etc. We also need Inventory Specialists, who are going to head out into the Trade Island with the money that the Shop Manager gives to them, and get items for the shop. That or buy materials and craft items yourself. Depends on what you wanna do. You'll need to think about what you want the store to sell. What sort of items, what sort of clientele, what sort of price range, etc."

He took a breath and sighed out, "Customer Representative is next. Another big role. Yes, that includes being a cashier, but you need to know how to get people in. One thing we will be doing is selling silver tokens. You'll need to decide what the tokens are for, make deals with other shops, food places, whatever, and sell them. It affects your scores in the end. Though you decide this stuff as a group, Customer Representative will be the ones actually talking to people and pulling them in. Last but not least, we need at least one person to be Security. Some of you may want to be mercs. Mercenaries need to know how to deal with people too. They need to learn how to make a sale, and how to make sure they aren't getting ripped off. There are a lot of people that try to steal from this little shop. They think it's easy pickings. You need to make sure it's not easy and actually catch the assholes."

"To recap. One Shop Manager. Some Inventory Specialists. At least one Customer Representative. At least one Security guard. Each of you can also add your own personal stock if you're the sort that makes things," he stated again, eyeing them, "Again, who wants to be Shop Manager? If more than one of you do, then you'll have to vote for it."

After a bit of discussion, Jade was made Shop Manager. He motioned for her to come up beside him and handed her a shiny nametag that read Store Manager. Just below that, as she took it, her name would materialize. "Alright," he said, "You know the stuff to do now. Take the tag that describes what you want to do, and Jade, take it from here. Tell them what you think the gameplan should be. Make sure to discuss as a team as much as you can, employees that don't have a say anything are unhappy and it affects profits." He stepped away and leaned against the wall behind the counter, beside the door to the backroom. His fox familiar had hopped down and was carrying a basket to each student so they could pick their nametag.

Huntertabbysandshark3 Jet Mook-LandStrider EldridSmith ManofManyRoles

-

I gritted my teeth and quickly passed a wrist over my lip to wipe off the trickle of blood. Oh, and apply a little magic, that would never hurt. My head was dizzy, my mind was dizzy. I felt myself die a little inside. How many times did I refuse to go insane already... Why did I keep refusing, when everything was pushing me towards madness ? Pretty sure the voices in my head would agree; no point in denying their existence anymore. After all, insanity is one big happy family, they say. Yeah. I only had to snap, to fall over and join them. It would be so much better. I wouldn't suffer, I would not be in pain. All there would be would be calm, and happiness too. Maybe lingering sorrows, for a very short while. And there would be no coming back. Once you jump into the pit, after all, there is no climbing back.

The melody stopped here, the lyrics too. No. It would not do. It would not be a good piece. It was not the kind of family I wanted. It was not the kind of madness I wanted. Even if I kept refusing this madness, I would die inside a little everytime. Every time I denied this fundamental truth, it was like denying 2+2 = 4. It was an affront to reality. But I would do it. If I had to step down into madness, I would not stare into the pit; the pit would stare into me, and I'd stare back at it. I would walk down step by step. Everytime I would shatter, and stay whole. Deeper and deeper I'd go. I would never allow myself to reach an end. I would force reality to recognize my sanity, until the point I would be unable to walk down anymore. But it wouldn't happen in a lifetime.

Right now, I was going mad, but I'd go MY way, and that's all that matters. I drawled lowly, addressing the other boy with a yawn. "I'm... sorry... It's one of those bad days."
And as things went, one bad day is all it takes to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.

-

It was like a celestial orchestra. The violins in the first rows, then the cellos and the heavies. Flutes and clarinets on one side, brass instruments on the other. The conductor in the middle, waving his baton at the musicians - it was a nice baton, long and dark, polished wood. One may wonder if it ever had the touch of women's lips, considering the shine of it; but there was a dent in it, a scarlet mark, hideous, though it was not very noticeable. All the musicians seemed normal, wearing long clothes and white powdered wigs. Their skins were dark, studded with many a shining star upon dark night. Their hands and lips were flawless in being and in acting. The music was unfolding perfectly, and the spectators were satisfied. All nobles they were, clad in rich fabrics and opulent dresses; hidden behind silken masks of bee and dragonfly, too. Some ladies had fans, but most kept it folded, lying onto their lap as they listened; most lords had their fingers clasped, and not much more. One, though, stood out a little. He was in the left lodge, sitting alone, clad in gold and black. He did not look apathetic like the rest of the audience. His long golden hair was flowing behing him, giving him an angelic appearance. His burning, piercing gaze was striking the back of the neck of the conductor, as if something was wrong. His aura, too, was strange; no one had ever seen such power. It was as if he made all light brighter by his presence alone.

The piece was coming to an end, and the music slowly faded down. The audience clapped solemenly, and they started chittering among themselves as the musicians were preparing the next piece. In the celestial canopy above the theatre, a star went out. Nobody noticed, obviously. There was a bit of movement in the right lodge, but no figure appeared, and nobody seemed to notice. Another star went out, but nobody witnessed it either. Then a third lazily flickered out, followed by a fourth and a fifth. Nobody paid any attention. The golden lord kept staring at the conductor, who tapped his baton against his lectern, to signal the next piece. In a few seconds, the room went silent. Not even flies were heard. The conductor raised his baton, and prepared to lower it.

"Messires !"

In the thunderous silence, a voice shattered perfection.

He was there, in the right lodge. Standing tall, a foot on the balcony. Ivory fingers, alabaster face, and eyes so dark the night could drown in them. His clothes marked him as a pure spaniard; the large feathered hat, the swashbuckler costume and the long boots, as well as the thin rapier by his side. If he was not a skeleton, he would make a fine man - he was a great skeleton, though; polished bones, silvery ribs and a pristine skull that shone nicely under the starlight. He was holding a lute, or so it seemed. No lute was like this, thin and metallic, with a leathery shoulder strap. No lute looked so ominous either, with a shaft of red and black, and a spiky head. No lute could endure being wreathed in flames either.

"I have an announcement to make !"

There was a wave of action in the spectator seats, that spread through the rows. All the men had rose, looking for their own blades. To no avail. The skeleton kicked something over the handrail; it was a ladder made of the rapiers of the sires, tied together with linen rope. He walked it down, then stopped at mid-height. Only one of the noblemen still had a sword. Ominous-looking it was, like a wasp's stinger. A silent question rose from their lips behind the mask they wore, and the answer came back lyrically. The skeleton started singing, drawing a few forlorn notes from his hellish lute.

"Listen to me, O mighty Lord of the Flies

For there is something that to you I must teach

In this fine evening, I will shatter your skies

In nine alexandrines, césure à l’hémistiche"

He jumped down the ladder, and a hollow whistle came out of his bony mouth. As he took a step, he unleashed a riff from his strings, and the violins from the orchestra went up in black smoke. The smoke coalesced slowly, revealing the shape of a man, twisted and gnarly, an affront to the meaning of reality. It felt too human, yet too alien.
The skeleton jumped forward, unleashing another chord, annihilating the drums, shattering them in thousands of metal shards, that another note gathered together into another homunculus of the unholiest kind.
Then came the third bar of the solo, and the brass melted into sludge, reforming into some abomination akin to a spider wrought out of blades.
Then came the fourth verse, and the woods went in a hearse, that did not bother to drive away. The grim reaper on the coachman's sit seemed to tired to even stir the vehicle.
Finally, the skeleton jumped on the conductor's lectern, and with a swing of the edge of his lute, beheaded the baton man. From the decapitated corpse, a cloud of black dust emerged, forming the shape of the most terrifying smile known to man over a featureless face.
The skeleton sang again, with a voice ominous and looming over the immobile audience, and audible contempt and amusement.

"I am naught but herald to this great five-man band

They are the knife and the snark and the knight so fair

They are sloth, they are shade, and they bring you despair

And by those five that in madness unite… Comes your end"

He lunged forward, unsheathing his blade at the Lord of the Flies. For a tense second, one might have thought that it would end it all - it was pure insanity. He was the king ! It made no sense that someone would dare and stand up to him. But the skeleton did not care one bit. Using the Lord's shoulder as a platform, he jumped over the audience. When all gazes turned up, they merely saw a hat flailing aimlessly in the air... Before a dark, skeletal feline emerged from under it. Skeletons wore well those days. It had dark bones, and dark claws. Its fangs were black and shiny.

The cat jumped back over, using the wall as a support, towards the golden lord in the left lodge. Time seemed to freeze as it landed, and gave him a lick on the cheek with a spectral tongue. It turned away, towards the depth below, and the voice of the skeleton roared once more, this time charged only with contempt and hatred. It was as if the one who spoke held nothing but disgust for the assembled audience.

"You will live this one more day, O your majesty !"

Strangely, the voice sounded both like a lute riff and like a cat's mewling. As if... The skeletal feline then jumped towards the arcades, and swung its claws, rending the celestial sky. As it disappeared through the rifts, the stars fell down on the assembled spectators. The golden prince was frozen in fear, and finally did the five monsters ride out.

Thus fell the curtain.

-

In the corridor, the Leanansidhe staggered. He felt suddenly nauseous; he cocked his head to the side, and a familiar sound came to his ears. He hadn't heard his cat in... a very long while. So as he felt the need to sit down for a few seconds - "Hey, wait a second please, I'm not feeling very well" he said to the person by his side - he could not help but look around intriguedly. And thus it came; pristine white fur, shining grey eyes and little pink paws. The Leanansidhe extended a hand, and the little feline ran towards it, cuddling against its long-lost master's palm. Lea hazily muttered a few words to the beast. "Yeah... good girl... Been a long time". Then he addressed the other boy, Xelon. "So uh, ... Oughta do the presentations, I guess. So yeah, Xelon, this is my cat Maeb. She's very nice and cute and cuddly and..." An apologetic smiles bloomed on his lips. "Sorry if I get a little excited, I hadn't seen her for a year or so." Hushedly, he stirred the white cat. "Go, give him a cuddle."

From Lea's point of view, Maeb merely surged forwards, leaping onto Xelon's vest, and snuggling him on the cheek with her nose.

From Xelon's point of view, it was hell. Something with the appearance of a black cat skeleton had appeared, and had surrounded Lea. Its mewling was low, and terrifying, hellish and alien alike. It sounded both like a bass riff and like a thousand knives being sharpened on human bones; its purr was just as eldritch. The beast threatened to tear off his head, just like it had done to the butterfly it held in its gaping maw. To a spiritus caster, this was nothing else than sheer nightmare; there was no escape, no way to leave the embrace of the infernal beast. But it merely leaned forward, and slowly, a thread of dark, cold... something came out from between the fangs, licking gently the boy's cheek, before vanishing.

A low voice, childish and cute, shattered the vision.

"Sheesh, stop scaring him, you meanie... Anyway, Xelon, we should go to class now..."

As Xelon blinked, he saw Lea poking a very normal white cat that had jumped down from the former's shoulders. The cat stared at Xelon innocently.

Soup was absurd, a parody production of rainbow inflections; just.... why? Good lord his pants were skin tight and Jade hated it. This was sexual harassment by proxy, a test for male students to see who looked. It had to be cause' Soup buzzed horny as hell. It was so unprofessional, and Jade didn't respect it even if she could relate to the last bit; but not with this much verosity! It was MDMA, pink love smog, Cupid's roofie arrows and "50 Positions to Save Your Marriage"; but all at once. Unreal! They had Love Guru teaching business, sigh.

Nothing was normal in this deranged place, Soup least of all!

At least he'd given Jade manager, she was the obvious pick with her ruthless pedigree; a natural at it and boy did she look the part. Efficient and stern she sharp-strode from the group, dime-stopping with a pivot to face them. It was robotic beside her slight up-tilted jaw and condescending "downward" look toward the employees. What a motley gang of people they were, even hosting a multi-armed she-beast! The disorder made Jade's nose crinkle but this wasn't the time or place so Jade took in the rest, stopping again over one with a magi-tech arm. A cute adornment for a cute little girl....

Jade wanted to rip the arm off and reverse engineer it but it wasn't the time for that either. Nope, now was the time for a little speech to rally the troops and explain the gameplan, opening -- "To know the draw we must know the market. Normally I'd posit Magitech, but you're...." she'd pause with a smirk, settling for -- "Hardly experts in the field... Instead we will find what is under-served and what is inefficiently sold because that's where we can destroy the competition! We find that trade, learn it and outperform the idiots who took their market share for granted!" intense-told with obsidian sharpness and a sharks drive. It covered the big mission but to answer untied ends she'd close with -- "As far as job titles, pick them yourselves. I've never met you people, if I choose it's blind so pick it yourself. Just do your job well or you'll sweep the floor".

Huntertabbysandshark3 Mook-LandStrider EldridSmith ManofManyRoles Deathkitten

Perpetually tired, Mrs. Octavia actually walked into the classroom late. She set a massive thermos of coffee down on her desk and looked at her nearly empty room with a big sigh. Just one right now, huh?

She held up a finger at Omar and began setting her desk up, setting her bag down, and setting a cup on top of her desk which she poured some of the coffee from the thermos into. "Want a cup?" was the first question she asked, and if he said yes, she would oblidge. If he said no, she would shrug. Either way, she drank her own cup like a nicotine addict taking a long drag from a cigarrete.

The cup clinked back down against the wood of her desk and she eyed Omar once again, "So, we've gotta get you up to speed, yeah? I'm Mrs. Octavia. This is gonna be a crash course in all things modern that you don't quite understand because your upbringing sucked. It's not gonna be very fun. I think we should start with the foundation of everything and just not bother with the faffing about. Yeah?"

She stood and motioned to the board behind her, "Mathematics. The foundation of everything. It's literally what makes the universe run... so there's that. From your file, you're limited to a very elementary set of math knowhow. At the very least, you need to be able to survive the real world. You need to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. These are very useful when it comes to everyday use due to money. If you want to pay someone, you wanna make sure you're using the right amount. If you want to open a bank account, you need to understand percentages, fractions, etc."

Octavia turned to the board and drew a simple table labeled addition. She wrote to the side of it afterward, making sure Omar could see, "Addition is the simplest. There's paper in your desk and writing utensils. Take some out and follow along. We go along the top of this table and pick one of the numbers, so let's say five. Then, we go along the side of the table and pick another number, let's say seven. We then just find where they meet, and that's how much they add up to. In this case, that's gonna be 12. We can start here and practice this table until you have it pretty well memorized. Okay? Most harder addition is gonna be based on these numbers. Even something really big like... I dunno. 214+152. 2+4. 5+1. 2+1. Going from right to left. So, 366. But that's just an example. We'll get there once you're ready."

"I want you to come up with ten different addition problems based on this chart and their solutions. We can go through them together afterward. Let me know if you have any problems and feel free to ask me questions about it."

EldridSmith

Sergei - Insidiator class site - 8:55 - Interacting with Insidiator class, specifically Aelia Aeldyne 's Marielle

Well, that was off to a good start.

As with most mornings, the Augurius campus Islands were blessed with a mystic, serene aura surrounding its ancient, magnificent crystal towers. At one of such islands, however, that atmosphere was briefly broken. The sound of hurried steps echoed across the gleaming glassy walls as a young boy made haste towards his class. His hastily put-together uniform was evidence of his transgression, corroborated with a motive from the heavy bags in his eyes - first impressions always counted the most, a wise lady once told him, and his excessive worrying over the matter throughout the night proved to be his very downfall.

Upon arriving at the wooden gate, a quick inspection revealed that Sergei had just missed a sizeable part of the class introduction. His gut told him he had just missed something important, so he tried glanced at the others to try and understand what was going on. He immediately caught up on some remarkable names there - Kawin, Owens, Spada - his gaze prolonging itself at them as he related their Idiosyntcratic countenance to faces he knew all too well. He could recognize the traits of the so called Big Players just about anywhere, having been catching glimpses into their exclusive and opulent life even from within the censored confines of the Khan Republic. And as far as the others went, he could only hope to understand them better through conversation when the opportunity arrived.

Either way, now came the time to introduce himself to them. Sergei put a hand over his hips, opened a giddy smile and lead with a snicker. "Oh, good!" He said, a short pause to pant as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "And 'ere I had me buggin' that I'd come too early!"
Then, Sergei faced the Spada girl. She was the one who intrigued him the most since, as far as he knew, the Spada lineage had all but been extinguished from the face of the Earth by reasons a commoner like him could only rely on whispers and rumors to speculate on. And yet, there she stood, taking breath right in front of him. To her, he said:
"Hello, lil' miss!" He stopped a moment to stare at the jewel in her forehead, intrigued, then asked: "Would'ja be so kind to catch me up on what I missed?"

Liliana was way out of her element this time around. She had gotten too comfortable with being latched to Venissa's side. Now that the shyer girl was gone, the brunette had shrunken in on herself as she avoided looking at anyone else. It was hard making new friends, that's why it was so much easier to just latch herself onto one person and sticking with them. It's not a good long-term option though. Realistically, she knew that; but she still did it anyways. At least she was able to look up in order to pay attention to the teacher as he talked. The fear of being called out for not paying attention much stronger than the fear of making eye contact. Of course, her anxiety quickly turned to disgust as their teacher plunged his hand down his familiar's throat and pulled out papers and pens. Oh thank goodness I have my own. It was always best to be prepared, but today she was thanking the higher powers that she was prepared right here and now. Eagerly whipped out her own notebook and pencil so that Artor and his supplies stayed away from her, Liliana dutifully made up five questions. It was mostly simple since she didn't want anyone to fail, and she hoped that nobody else had anything incredibly difficult.

((Mentioned ManofManyRoles 's Artor and Deathkitten 's Venissa))

Hand of 2s this was shitty, the damned Jacks had Moon late with their snatch n' grab. Being tardy didn't matter in-itself but the bad press and maybe a teacher on his ass too? Great, more people thinkin him the local detriment.... They were right with the dust up but being late? That wasn't his fault God damn it and it made him look the flake. Fuckin' Jacks.... they'd forced his ass back on the line for more food and now he'd have to scramble.

"Why not eat what Artor grabbed from the familiar's gut?" you might ask Zak to counter. A fair question answered with "Bout I tat FUCK OFF on ya fo'head?" -- because he wasn't eating anything fished out a stomach. In the slums he ate bad but never that; and here at the school? Zak was Hollywood n' living large with big standards these days. So not only was it a no it was a fuck no as he tossed it over-into the bin like a mouldy sock. He half wanted to chase the Jacks too but they were off who the hell knew where and time was ticking.

Damned clock was racing it felt! He'd have to take to-go, walking brisk and eating too. It wasn't ideal but he'd make Patronus as the race closed with his teeth working a mouthful of food.

What terrible timing!

Horrible truly! But hot damn the sandwich was good! God gifted chefs and flavor-focused he'd grumble -- "Fuckin-chalked! Notha late.... well...." pausing as he bit into his mobile meal; chew talking -- "A bets I dust ya, runnit back slow foots?" Clowning as he dug into his dwindling sandwich again, walking past Ellania without apology.

Deathkitten EldridSmith Kyrenka Mook-LandStrider Osuka

“Hey it’s ok everyone has bad days just gotta work through it” Xelon replied cheerfully trying to at least make his roommate feel better, he hated when people wherein a bad mood around him, he only ever made it worse if he didn’t try to help out, another reason for his perpetually chipper attitude. They both kept going only for Lea to stop suddenly for some reason once again xelon’s face turned to worry apparently they where not feeling well? “Are you sure your just having a bad day maybe your sick?” He asked with a concerned tone. his expression quickly changed from concern to almost fear, something kinda like a cat skeleton appeared wrapping itself around Lea, the sounds it produced were bone-chilling let apparently it was his roommate's pet cat? yeah... of course just a trick of the light.. Xelon forcing himself to smile “awww that is cute, Maeb does look really adorable, don’t worry so much about being over-excited ya seen your pet a-“ his basically forced kind words were cut off by maeb, it had suddenly jump onto him.. it was hard to describe exactly how he the feeling the eldritch horror cats vocalisation and appearances shook xelon to his core. Yet instead of scream or moving or even wince... he just smiled but it wasn’t a normal one, it was the type either a crazy person or serial killer would make. Xelon really didn’t have any other way to cope with fear or most negative feeling... aside form just pretending to be happy. But it was when the thing licked him was what really seemed to break him for a moment... he just laughed... and kept going even after the thing disappeared. Yet looking at it agai... it was just a cat... yeah... he was just imagining things yeah... “dont... worry I wasn’t that.. scared.. yeah we should get to class” xelon spoke almost normally yet the slasheresc smile remained


Once he had gotten to class Xelon had gotten back to normal well.. almost, he wasn’t as hyper-energetic everything felt a lot slower for him... and only a slightly creepy smile remained on his face as he continued to try a process what had happened only a little while before. The teacher, however, was very distracting although that was a good thing in xelons mind the guy knew how to get his class to watch him... god did his outfit look tight... but undeniably hot for lack of a better term, Xelon could feel that both had a similar overly energetic attitude towards life... although that was too true for him right now.


with mr soups explanation of the signed task of running this store altogether, Xelon zoned out for a while all through the discussion of who would be the manager and barely listen to much as his mind fall back to the cat once again. Jades address managed to snap him out of it, and he promised himself that he would focus.... maybe he could customer rep? He was good with people... then Again he could aways make things worse.. xelon thoughts were interrupted by a girl with a magitek arm, making a couple of suggestions about the store... a clothing place or a book place... yeah that might do, right? “Umm... guess what about those silver tokens? We still need to sell those? Maybe we could make them a sort of sovereign? Or... does anyone know metal work? We could carve something into them for sovereigns,” xelon repled with a somewhat question tone as it seemed everyone might have forgotten about that part... even if it was one of the few things xelon actually heard “oh umm... also... maybe I could be the customer representative? Well that’s if no one else wants to”

Omar looked at the coffee curiously for a while, he had never tried it even at Pandora's. He nodded his head and cautiously took a drink. It was very bitter but better than what he was given in Egypt. He grabbed a pencil to begin writing but it snapped under the pressure as he began writing. He grabbed another to try again but it also snapped. He went through 7 pencils before he was able to scrawl down the problems in his crude handwriting.
1+1=2
2+2=4
3+3=6
4+4=8
5+5=10... and so on went the pattern to 20.
"I finished." He says holding out the paper (with his normal arm) for her to see. His other hand nervously fidgeting with the glowing mass of doughy glass as he looked at her.
His mind wandering back to the fight between Pandora and Taram and he already disliked her. His negative emotions channels into his art slowly forming the face of Taram... but far more twisted and sinister. For the first time I'm his life he felt the drive to harm. His mind soon brought out of his trance as the teacher began speaking, causing him to drop the piece, which shattered causing him to panic. "S-Sorry! I'll clean it up." He says immediately dropping to do so, the lingerie fear of authority and punishment still deeply rooted within him.
Interacting: Deathkitten
Mentions: Kyrenka Mook-LandStrider