Mad Dogs

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by sonicfreak101

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Ivy and Demetri

Classification: Three Star Meister and Weapon


Nickname: Phobos and The Piano Man


Location: The Cave

Ivy was in a bad mood. Not that this was uncommon for Ivy, but the events of the day had only soured her mood.


“I can’t believe I didn’t get any good fights.” Ivy huffed. “I just got stuck babysitting Igor again. Dammit! I just want to hit something so bad right now!”


Ivy’s eyes scanned the group she was in. There were a couple people her she wouldn’t mind smacking in the head. Warren especially, who was a complete moron that Ivy wanted desperately to shove his face into a toilet. Ivy disliked most of the members in their group, but that was to be expected when you didn’t like most of the people in the academy. The only exceptions to this were her friends Honey, Igor, Kassana, and three students she hadn’t met before.


Demetri could feel the restless energy coming off of his meister in waves. As they followed Professor Hiro, Demetri opted to stay in weapon form since he didn’t want to bother walking but also for Ivy’s benefit. Since she was wielding him their soul wavelengths needed to sync. It was almost instinctual for them now to sync up and Demetri used his naturally calm nature to keep a lid on Ivy’s anger. He was sure that if it weren’t for him Ivy would have hit something, or someone by now.


As they neared their destination however, Demetri’s calm wavelengths faltered as he sensed something up ahead. A witch? Demetri thought, suddenly on high alert. What is a witch doing here?


Ivy could sense Demetri’s shock and scanned the area, ready to attack. Before them was a cave and just in the entrance was a women. She had pitch black hair and a bat-like ghostly creature hovering around her. Without even needing to ask Demetri, Ivy knew it was a witch. Finally, Ivy thought, her mouth pulling into a smirk. A challenge.


Ivy could barely make out the witch saying a very timid. "Hello..." Ivy huffed, eyeing her up. Timid this one. I hope she knows how to fight otherwise this mission will be a complete waste of my time.


Without having much time to react, two things happened almost simultaneously. One of the new students muttered, “This screams trap.” It was the boy who seemed to be partnering with Kassana for the time being, and unfortunately, Ivy couldn’t care one way or the other whether it was a trap or not.


And then Warren entered the picture. “Hello? Hello…? Well, that’s depressing. And here I thought maybe she was a witch or something interesting… I doubt that a witch would simply stare and say ‘hello’.”


“Idiot!” Ivy scoffed, hitting Warren in the back of the head with the hilt of her axe. “She’s obviously a witch!”


“Now ignoring that idiot…” Ivy faced the witch and pointed her axe at her. “I hope you’re ready for a fight because I’ve been itching to beat someone senseless all day.”


“Ivy,” Demetri sighed. “We don’t even know why this witch is here. You can’t just go around picking fights with people; it’s just as idiotic as Warren.”


“Shut up Demetri! I’m nothing like that shit for brains moron!” Ivy yelled at her weapon.


“Whatever you say Ivy.” Demetri mentally shrugged. He knew that no matter what he said, Ivy was going on the offensive. It’s just who she was and he couldn’t change it.


“Yeah, whatever I say is right. You know why?” Ivy asked as a sinister grin stretched across her face. “Because I do what I want.”


With that declaration, Ivy surged forward with her best berserker bellow as she swung her axe at the witch.


Legend:


Ivy talking/thinking


Demetri talking/thinking


Asa talking


Aeryn talking


Warren talking


@Sunbather @Violet Obsidian @DaughterofAthena @Pariah Stark

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Sunbather

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| Asa Vesper

​

The lanky, almost twig-like figure of Asa - one arm still lifted into the air like some sort of lethargic scarecrow - slowly rocking from one foot to the other, swaying from left to right on her heels. "Yes. Hello." It appeared that the loud boy's thinking offended her in the way she emphasized her greeting, though her entirely apathic, devoid of peaks way of talking made it hard to read much into her voice other than sheer boredom. One was lead to believe that such an interpretation may be the one and only truth, as Asa slowly twisted her body from the waist up, looking over her shoulder and back to the cave the witch was ordered to arrive at. For a moment, the absurdity of the situation had a few seconds to coat every person currently present, the silence only interrupted by the faint squeaking of the little demon swatting around Asa's head, until finally, she straightened her posture back into a more natural situation, now staring back at the students and their leader.


"I guess not then." The statement seemed disconnected, almost, as if it had no relevance, though it was the first hint Asa perceived, telling her that the group was not too fond of her. "Why would you not greet me?" she wondered out loud, though clearly not to anyone in particular rather than mumbling into the open space. Apparently a lack of social etiquette was currently the witch's biggest concern, however trivial that may appear to the students. Though subtle enough to escape the average person's eye, the attentive observer could see a slight shiver, maybe a flinch, as Ivy's loud voice scolded Warren. "Why would you all be so loud?" she asked, her eyes slighty squinting and the form of her veiled face pressing through the high collar - She was grimacing in discomfort. As Ivy dashed towards the witch without any further warning or hassle to examine the situation, Asa appeared not to so much as waste a though to the endeavour of dodging or moving. Instead, the little demon immediately flew by, deflecting the hit, but finding itself catapulted further into the woods and out of sight. "Why would you do that?" Again, the questioning. Same words, same voice. As Asa's glare followed her tiny follower disappear, her own body seemed to dissolve into thick wads of faintly violet smoke. A wave of it billowed around the attacker, seemingly clinging to Ivy in an attempt to blind her, while Asa rematerialized exactly where she stood before. "Why would you do all this?" Even now, targeted without warning, the witch's voice sounded the same it did from the very beginning.

@sonicfreak101

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by DaughterofAthena

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Professor Hiro Mitsaki

"This screams trap."


The red haired boy's words were the first to reach Hiro and although Hiro did not directly acknowledge them immediately, his own mind started analyzing things. He didn't sense any other souls nearby - he double checked, twice. He wondered what would have triggered such a thought in the boy's mind seeing as the witch was the only thing out of the ordinary was the witch. Although, the witch's presence itself could be enough with such a young student. He gave the boy a small nod, acknowledging that he heard although there wasn't much he had to communicate as far as any trap was concerned.


The more Hiro thought about the student, the more his eyes turned to him. Lord Death had just sort of thrown the boy into the fray and given him to Kassana at that. Hiro had to admit he was impressed that the boy had been able to make such a partnership work right away - he noted the weapon the boy now held in his hand. If nothing else, it kept her safe which meant Hiro only had two new students to worry about now. It certainly saved him some trouble.


For now, the boy seemed to be handling things well enough so Hiro's reply was simple when he finally gave it. "Be ready for anything." It wasn't much, but given that Hiro knew so little about the boy, there wasn't much more he could think of that would be appropriate to say before he turned his attention back to the situation itself.


A small crease appeared on the teacher’s forehead as he raised his eyebrows at the witch. Although he didn’t outright say it, he was quite surprised with her greeting and he found it rather out of place. That, of course, didn’t mean that he thought Warren’s approach to the situation - shouting it out loud for everyone to hear - was exactly warranted, though. He would have preferred to avoid that unnecessary outburst because the situation felt very precarious already.


His eyes flickered to his students as he realized how bad things really were. Almost none of them seemed prepared, and in fact, he was almost grateful for Ivy’s attack as it would give him a moment to figure out how to address the situation as far as his students went. He hadn’t expected a lot of them to freeze up; either they were terrified or they weren’t paying attention and it didn’t matter which was correct. It still created more work for him because he had to try and keep them safe regardless.


"Why would you not greet me?"


Hiro’s attention was drawn back to the witch as he once more looked at her in confusion. “Um… hello?” he mumbled, realizing that maybe this wasn’t going to be quite as much work as he had initially thought it would be. “I do apologize for the loudness of my students. They can get a bit…” he paused, searching for a word, “...rambunctious.” His voice certainly sounded as puzzled as he felt. In all his years, Hiro had never encountered a witch who hadn't immediately seemed to be troublesome. It went against everything he had ever learned, and he was supposed to be the teacher. It was... weird.


Hiro’s eyes dwelled on the back of Ivy’s head for a moment, hoping that the meister, stubborn as she was, would realize he was trying to resolve this peacefully. He doubted she would back off easily, but maybe if he spoke to her directly… “Ivy’s… always a feisty one,” he tried to make it seem as though he was talking to the witch while also trying to communicate to the three star meister. “She… she should know now that attacking head on won’t - won’t work.” Hiro gulped, hoping that Ivy knew better than to disobey him, at least in the current situation. He knew he wasn't the best teacher in the world and he knew many of his students didn't think too highly of him, but in this instance, he really did have their safety in mind.


As he spoke, Hiro was also moving through the group of students slowly. He came to the two newest ones first, tapping Undine and Aoi on the shoulder as he gestured for them to stay close to him because he was very unsure of what was going to happen next. Part of him wished that Ivy hadn’t attacked because she could have led a group into the cave; unfortunately, Hiro’s plan for that came a bit too late.


The only option left to him was to attempt further communication. Maybe there didn’t have to be a fight. “So, if you aren’t seeking a fight, then what brings you here? I can tell you my students are reacting because you’re a witch and witches don’t tend to be too friendly to them. I can’t expect them to be the kindest in return…”


Legend


Hiro Mitsaki


Asa Vesper


Aeryn


@sonicfreak101 @Sunbather @TheWeirdPhilosopher @T h e F o o l @Pariah Stark

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by The Succubi Queen

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Deryn Nicole Renoir

Nickname: Hummingbird


Status: Meister


Classification: NEW


Partner: Arthur Williams (temporary)


Mood: Apprehensive


Location: Specter Lab


Team: Miyako


Interacting with: Jessyka and Skylar (@Violet Obsidian)

Deryn had mostly avoided talking to Arthur as their team made its way towards the Lab. The two hadn't gotten off to a good start, and she had no intention of getting into an argument with him. It was only going to end up distracting them. So she was as silent as ever as they traveled, almost eerily so.


She nodded obediently as the professor headed inside. After all, they were still just students. They were here to back to Professor up if she needed them, not take a leading role in this mission. Or, at least, she and the other new students where. She ignored any attempts her temporary partner made to interact, and waited.


At the loud clanging sounds that erupted from the room, Deryn jumped, biting back a small squeak. The young girl hated loud noises- was terrified of them in fact. But she wasn't going to let anyone else know that. "I- uh, I saw a bug. A big. Scary bug." being scared of bugs was reasonable for a teenage girl. Being a weapons meister with sonophobia? Less reasonable.


With some trepidation following Jessyka's outburst, she slipped into the room. She wasn't going to ask Arthur to transform- not when the noises form earlier had already set her on edge.


"That was a rhetorical question, right?" The tiny girl asked Jessyka, staying as close to the door as possible. "Or have you actually already forgotten?" She finally got a good glimpse at the corpse and shuddered. Dead bodies where.... not fun. At all. She had expected to see a few in this line of work, but not so early- not on a simple trip to a lab. She didn't need to look at the note- Jessyka's inquiry had revealed its contents to them all.


"Y-yes. 'Spread the word' is the mantra of the hypnosis victims. But why would that be written here? This cadaver won't be spreading much of anything. What caused all of this is a more relevant question..." Something didn't feel right. Why did it feel like something was screaming in her head- trying to get some message across to her deafened ears? She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had someone she could actually rely on here.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Pariah Stark

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Collab Post

DaughterofAthena & Pariah Stark


Kassana & Aeryn


Duo (Red Streak)


Cave Entrance


No tags
​

For a moment, Kassana had found a sense of peace and quiet. Her own mind was locked on to the wavelength of their teacher and she heard his response to her meister. 'We are ready for anything, right?' She tried to clarify with Aeryn. She still wasn't certain of this thing herself; what would happen if the witch was too strong? What would happen if Aeryn got dragged into a fight and she wasn't any use? She still didn't trust herself. She still had very little faith. Sure, she believed her meister when he had told her about his plan and it sounded like a very nice plan. For them to just sit on the outside and watch meant that she wouldn't need to be too useful. She just needed to keep track of their professor. However, Kassana could still see too many things that could go wrong, too many things that could destroy the plan.


And then the fighting started. It began with a boy. Kassana didn't know his name nor did she recall ever hearing his voice before which she briefly considered odd. Surely a loudmouth like he seemed to be would have never been able to remain quiet during class. Quickly, though, another voice added in to the group and this was one Kassana knew well. Ivy. Scary, strong and intimidating, Ivy was nearly a perfect match to Kassana's idea of a hero - if only she was a little bit nicer. She was certainly strong enough, stronger than Kassana ever believed she herself would be.


Ivy attacked. Kassana heard that much, and she quickly became flustered. 'Are we prepared?' she asked again, suddenly panicking. 'Ivy... she - she shouldn't... that's not smart!'


Aeryn attempted to cycle between keeping his attention on the present situation, which was admittedly simple at first. Hiro gave simple gestures to understand and Warren at the very least seemed to indirectly communicate that he couldn't use Soul Perception, and if he could, he chose not to. What was odd to Aeryn is that no one else seemed to piece together the oddity of the Witch not using Soul Protect. Between all these thoughts, he also had to find a way to handle the incessant questions of Kassana and try to remain calm as she only grew slightly more frantic. Then Ivy ran forward. She yelled, pretty much effectively explained that there was a Witch in front of them and alerted Aeryn to the fact that at least one member of this group lacked all tactical capabilities. Brilliant. But, likely worst of all, she spooked Kass, and Kassana happened to be a literal voice inside Aeryn's head.


'We're prepared,' Aeryn replied to her, 'Apparently, so is she. Just watch.'

“So, if you aren’t seeking a fight, then what brings you here? I can tell you my students are reacting because you’re a witch and witches don’t tend to be too friendly to them. I can’t expect them to be the kindest in return…”

​

Hiro finally spoke more than a short sentence. After the blatantly failed attack from Ivy, it also seemed that someone was finally thinking the situation through. Aeryn was quick to consider the worst possible scenario, but Hiro had a point. There could be another ulterior motif. Immediate distrust could be just as problematic as Ivy running forward like a madwoman. Aeryn pondered on this thought, but more over, he was hoping that words from Hiro would have some type of calming effect on Kassana. While he tried to calm her himself, a little more help would never be a bad thing.


'You're sure?' Kassana was still very hesitant, her panic throwing off her thoughts just enough that information wasn't quite clicking into the right places. There were a few things she picked out of Ivy's attack. First, it hadn't worked. Panic rose inside her. If Ivy couldn't hit it, that meant trouble. Second, the witch had... become smoke...? Kassana didn't quite know if that was right but it seemed to be what she had sensed. It was hazy; her panic made sure of that.


Hiro's words interrupted whatever thought process might have been going on inside Kassana's mind. 'Wait...' Kassana finally stopped to think for a moment. 'Aren't... aren't witches bad?' She tried to clarify her knowledge. 'Didn't... didn't the witch attack Ivy...?' Suddenly she wasn't sure if she had seen everything right. 'Why isn't anyone doing anything? Wh...why...what?' She tried to calm herself, realizing that her initial panic was uncalled for although now nothing made any sense. Nothing was fitting into the puzzle her mind wanted to put it into and it only served to make things worse as far as she was concerned. Kassana had no idea how to react to something she didn't understand.


Her brain flipped through the countless pages of things that she had read as she repeated over and over again what she knew for certain. 'Witches use magic. Witches are souls hunted by the DWMA. The Witch order is against the DWMA in every historical situation.' Over and over again, she repeated it into her own mind, not realizing that at the same time, she was repeating it into Aeryn's mind as well.


'But, do you know why, Kassana?' Aeryn interjected. Not that he couldn't stand the repetition, but that he needed to solve it. 'Witches are humans that can use magic, basically. Just like a weapon, they are just a different strand. There is a reason they are hunted, that the DWMA has a track record with them. Witches suffer from the Pull of Magic. The use of the arcane arts fills one with the urge to use it destructively and for that reason Witches don't tend to fit into the order that Lord Death would like to enforce. Do not just recite facts, Kassana; understand them. Not all Witches are bad. In fact, if you read your history, you will see that every generation has one or two meisters that are Witches. The dynamic has never been as simple as good and evil.'


'But then what do we do here?' Kassana was instantly flustered as her attempts to ground herself ultimately failed. 'Ivy attacked because she's a witch. Meisters are trained to hunt witches... right?' Kassana felt she was correct in that statement and even Hiro's words seemed to confirm that fact. 'Do we - no, we can't just leave her and ignore her... what if this witch is bad? How... wha - how do we know?'


While she very clearly understood the point that Aeryn was trying to get across to her, Kassana didn't like that it left her with literally nothing to go off of in the given situation. She wanted to help and for a while, she thought she had understood what helping in a situation like this would mean. Now all of a sudden she didn't. Now, all of a sudden, she knew nothing. She couldn't even use her brain anymore because this was different than anything she had ever read. Once more she was useless and as much as she already knew that fact, she didn't want to leave it at that.


'I don't know what to do....' she sighed, defeated.


'Do you think that Ivy does? Do you seriously think Warren does? They're acting off instinct. Your instinct is to fight her, too. That's what we've been taught. But, look at the situation. Watch Hiro, easily the most experienced of this group. Is he jumping forward like them? Meisters are trained to hunt Witches because nine times out of ten a Witch has become corrupt by the Pull of Magic, and the safe side is simply to deal with them. Most that aren't influenced by the Pull of Magic actually reach out to the DWMA and Lord Death to try and find their place in the world. Some use their magic to heal, some to learn - some not at all. The point is, in our natural environment, Witches are our enemies, but if we act blindly on that notion, we may make a tactical error.' Aeryn tried to explained to her.


Ultimately, he let out a similar sigh. 'Do you want the best answer I can give you, Kass? Watch Hiro close. You aren't responsible for this group: he is. His judgement will decide the fate of that witch if Ivy's axeblade doesn't first.'


'If Demetri doesn't...' Kassana corrected, suddenly aware that Aeryn simply hadn't known his name.


Kassana tried to slow down. She tried to slow down her thoughts and her panic and her mental habit of jumping to the worst possible scenario. Part of her, no matter how small, knew that Aeryn hadn't said a single thing yet that didn't make sense and that same part of her was constantly telling her she had to learn to trust him. She had to learn to trust someone or she would never get anywhere.


Calm slowly began to return to her. It was slow, but she found the peace that she had lost out of fear and confusion. There were things that she didn't understand. In fact, they continued to poke at her no matter how much she tried to ignore them because they reminded her that she didn't know what to do. Aeryn had said that no one knew what to do though. 'How do they do that?' It wasn't a question meant for Aeryn to answer; more a mere contemplation of her own. 'They... they seem so confident, so like they know what they are doing and I don't know if I could ever do that. And then, on top of that, they're wrong. How... how can they deal with that?'


All she needed to do was cast a simple glance at their soul wavelengths to see it, though. Their bond was strong and within it, there was such a simple thing. Trust.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Sophrosyne03

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Nicole Heimholtz

and

Ryoma Takagi



Outside the cave


Well this could have gone better… Ryoma thought as Warren continued being his loud obnoxious self, and there was Ivy taking her, attack first ask questions later, approach to confronting people.


Ryoma looked over at Nicole, who was very quiet and had a contemplative look on her face during the trek to the cave. Nicole now hadher hand cupped over her face as she shook her head in exasperation. Mitsaki-sensei was trying to defuse the situation with Ivy while staying close to the new students Undine and Aoi.


Kassanna and Aeryn looked prepared for a possible fight, but Ryoma could sense that either Aeryn or Kassanna were nervous about the revelation that the woman by the cave was a witch.


“Well this is just dandy,” Nicole hissed in his ear, “We are stuck with the ‘idiot brigade.’”


Ryoma didn’t dignify her scathing remark with a comment. Instead he positioned himself so that if the situation continued to escalate towards a violent confrontation with the witch, he could change into his weapon form for Nicole in a manner that would allow for a quick attack. Nicole moved in concert so the two students were ready for a quick strike against the witch if it came to that.


“This is a strange case / A timid witch in a cave / Is it what it seems?”

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Kyra

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Thalia “Aerodynamic” Travis

Location Specter Lab


Thalia wasn’t one to get nervous about going on missions. In fact, she was actually rather excited to be leaving the confines of the school. Sitting in class learning was fine and all, but every once in awhile it was just a terrible way to spend the energy she had. And Thalia’s boundless energy certainly showed with every step she took - it was more of a skip than an actual walk.


“So…” she tried to start up a conversation with her meister. “What do you think we’ll find? I wonder if there will be more people. Oh, oh, oh!! Maybe one of us will go mad… Oooooooooooo!” her eyes widened and she waved her hands around trying to seem spooky. She hesitated for a moment. “No wait… that’s a ghost sound. Well, maybe we’ll see a ghost - that would be cool too!” One thing was certain. Thalia was bound and determined to keep up her positive attitude.


When they arrived at the creepy looking laboratory, Thalia was not scared. In fact, when their teacher proceeded to leave them behind, the girl crossed her arms in front of her chest and sulked slightly. She didn’t want to stare at the building; she wanted to explore it. Nonetheless, Thalia did as she was told, her eyes examining the building from all possible angles. I wonder… if we got the right angle, could I circle the entire building or is it too big for that? It was a very errant thought in her mind, but Thalia was bored.


Everything about her demeanor changed as soon as they heard sounds from inside the laboratory. Thalia’s eyes widened as she started to charge into the building, although she stopped herself before she got close to the doorway. Smacking herself in the head, she mumbled, “You know better, silly me!”


“Kamryn! You coming?!” she called back to her meister as Thalia’s own body began to glow with her weapon transformation. She knew the two of them would be better off if she was in weapon form. Spiralling into the air, a boomerang came down - hopefully landing safely in the hands of its meister.


@SummerWolf

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by DaughterofAthena

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An Eerie Aura…

“I’m fine s-senpai. J-Just caught in my thoughts.”


They had been Skyler’s words. Innocent as they seemed, they were a lie and as his head continued to throb, it was almost as though he heard something - a voice inside his head. Not quite even that, though. The words weren’t that clear, but the taunting torment of it was enough to get the message across. Liar!


It was the truth. He had lied to his meister, right? He had lied to the meister who relied upon him for so much. She relied on him for friendship, for defense, for her own sanity. Tssk, tssk…


Once more, his head throbbed over and over again. Even in weapon form, it was too repetitive to ignore and the more he began to ponder it, the more Skyler would realize that this wasn’t just something coming from the fact that he hadn’t eaten. Everything - the space within his soul where he mentally dwelled - darkened slowly. It wasn’t quite black, but it was different… haunting… consuming.


@AnnoDomini




Ringing. If she ever stopped to take a moment to think about it, a ringing sound was the closest, most apt description of what it was that was echoing through her mind. There was a ringing in her ears.


It wasn’t even just a ringing, though. With the ringing came her own fears as the sound that had drawn her into the building repeated itself over and over again in her mind.


Fear… imagine what it would be to live without it…


The words were almost too clear. They didn’t belong there and it didn’t seem that anyone else heard them. No one was reacting to them. Nope, Deryn would quickly come to the conclusion that the whisper came to her alone. Surrender your fear…


@The Succubi Queen

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Violet Obsidian

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“Evening Star” Warren Langston

Location: The Cave


“Oww!” Warren exclaimed as Demetri’s hilt hit him on the back of the head rather hard. His hand flew up to rub at his hair although that didn’t really help much and he would no doubt have a bump for a while afterward.


The boy was left to watch as Ivy charged into the fight as his eyes flooded with jealousy. What I wouldn’t give to join in that fight right now… he withheld his whining. Dammit! Where is Rita!? Even Warren knew that without his meister he didn’t stand a chance against the girl who was, apparently, a witch.


Slowly, Warren’s eyes turned to a glare at the back of Ivy’s head as he watched her become consumed in the witch’s smoke. He chuckled softly at that. Then his eyes flickered to the cave as he tried to think of what he should be doing now; where he should go, what he should say. Why were they even here in the first place? He scratched his head as he searched for an answer, a memory and finally, it came. Heh… I’ll show you all I’m not a shit for brains moron!! Warren wanted to scream it out loud so badly. Surely someone would stop him, though and then everything would be ruined.


No, Warren couldn’t say anything. He had to keep it to himself. He had to prove himself here the same as he did anywhere else. Then they would worship him like they all ought to.


Slowly, the boy began to make his way to the back of the crowd, moving behind everyone in the group while his eyes remained focused on his classmates to make sure that none of them saw him. If they did see him, he wanted to make sure they weren’t the type to cause a fuss about it. And just inside the cave, the roof of it concealed him from the light as he continued to move deeper.


@Stamper @Sophrosyne03 @sonicfreak101 @DeadgurlXD @Arkytior @Cephalo @TheWeirdPhilosopher @T h e F o o l

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by DaughterofAthena

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Jayce "Pharaoh" Hammerkin and Alessandra "Wolf" Volkov

Alessa smiled weakly at Jayce’s change of tone. She understood that he was trying to change the mood. She could easily say she didn’t like their somber atmosphere either. With a sigh, she watched him turn towards their group that was about to leave. ”Even so…” she murmured under her breath. ”I still want to be there for you…”


Jayce’s head turned back to her, hearing her say something although he hadn’t quite caught it entirely. Instead of asking about it further, Jayce held out his hand to her, open and friendly. “Are you coming?” he asked. “It looks like they’re getting ready to leave and we don’t want to get left behind.”


Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, Alessa smiled and took his hand, nodding in agreement. ”Right!” she chirped, shoving all her saddening thoughts away. They were about to go on a mission! She didn’t have time to worry about anything other than whatever her job may be. It was time to focus!


”Well what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”




Walking up to the rather creepy looking building, Jayce was not intimidated by it although he had been on missions before and he knew what to expect to see. The boy watched as their instructor walked inside, signaling for them to wait outside and when she vanished through the creaking door, Jayce looked back to Alessa. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, unsure of whether she would be scared or not. He knew he was scared when he went on his first mission.


Taking in a shaky breath, Alessa knew that, in truth, she was not alright. But, she had to try to overcome her fears.


”I-I should be okay.” she told him in a shaky voice. Knowing she was convincing even to herself, she added as an afterthought, ”Soon...”


As if to deny her claims, there was a loud clanging echo from inside the building, ringing an unknown music that played over and over and over again. It was a sound, that when matched with its current site, could chill bones.


Startled, Alessa jumped, letting out a small shriek. Eyes widening and heart racing, her arm snapped up, her hand grabbing at the material of her shirt above her heart, in a pathetic attempt to calm the beating organ.


”Wh-wha….what was t-that…?”


Jayce’s entire body jumped as well at the sound although his attention quickly turned to his meister at her shriek. He put his hand on her shoulder, trying to be of some comfort, while he hastily replied, “I - I don’t know.”


He looked back towards the building, watching as some of the students rushed inside to investigate the scene. “We don’t have to go in… i-if you don’t want to,” he offered, again trying to be of comfort. “But if we do go inside, I’ll make sure you stay safe. I promise…” It seemed like the promise was for his sake as well as for the sake of his meister.


Nodding hesitantly, Alessa forced herself to breathe deep, trying to calm herself down as she drew whatever strength she could from her partner. “U-uh...m-maybe….we should...go look from the doorway…?” she offered. ”So we uh...c-can get an...idea of the s-situations?”


Jayce nodded as he held his hand out to her again. “Are you ready then… to be a meister?” Seeing who had already gone into the building, Jayce was sure now as as good a time as any for him to transform. She had to start learning and with all the chaos that had consumed the first day of their partnership, now didn’t seem to be too bad of a time.


Jayce didn’t exactly wait for a response either. He didn’t want her to hesitate, to change her mind about deciding to be his meister or to change her mind about at least investigating the situation further. The transformation trickled through his body like water running over stones, his body glowed silver for a single moment before his figure was replaced by the weapon that he was - an egyptian sword in Alessa’s hand.


At the sudden weight in her hand, the redhead gasped lightly, her gaze shooting down towards her partner who had transformed. ”A-amazing…” she murmured in awe, staring at the weapon in her hand.


It took her a few moments but eventually she grasped the hilt tightly, attempting to swallow any fear she currently felt. While she knew she couldn’t get rid of it, she knew she could focus on the task at hand. Nodding to herself she started for the door where a few other students had already started towards.


”I can do this…” she muttered, slowly peering into the room.


Jayce was doing what he could in his meister’s hands. Although it would probably take her more time than they had to learn to truly recognize his presence, he had already begun using his own wavelength to strengthen Alessa’s own, hoping that in some way, it would help to keep her calm and help them both to get through whatever was inside that door. ‘Yes you can,’ he sent the thought to her as a whisper, not intending to scare her, not even quite intending for her to realize the thought came from him; rather, intending to try and boost her own confidence to a degree.


As they drew closer to the lab, another thought occurred to Jayce. He had no idea what they were going to see, but if there was to be a fight, they didn’t belong anywhere near it. “And… Alessa,” he spoke out loud this time, “if a fight does start, find Malakai or Jessyka. Stay behind them… they won’t like it, but you’ll be safe.”


Twitching slightly in surprise, she glanced down at the blade in her hand before calming. ’Right…’ she thought. ’Weapons can still talk despite being in their weapon form.’


”O-okay, got it.” she replied.


Biting her lip, she stepped forward into the room. At a first glance she could instantly tell that it was a mess and that something bad most likely had happened. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she continued her glance around the room, spotting Jessyka and Skylar as well as Deryn nearby.


Alessa’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of her professor stopped by the wall, a hand covering her mouth as she stared at something in the middle of the room. Slowly she followed the redheaded professor’s gaze, until she saw it.


There in a pool of his own thickened blood, lay the dead security guard.


Her grip on Jayce’s hilt slackened, her eyes wide as she stared at the sight, unable to move. Mouth dropping open in horror, she started to shake lightly, emitting a strangled high pitched noise for a moment before she needed to breathe.


Struggling to take in a breath, another attempt at sound escaped Alessa’s throat before she dropped to her knees, barely able to keep a hold on her partner.


Collab With: @Arkytior


Tags: @AnnoDomini @Violet Obsidian @The Succubi Queen

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Violet Obsidian

​

Jessyka “Bullseye” Volontari

"That was a rhetorical question, right?" Jessyka heard the voice of another member of the group although she couldn’t place a name to it off the top of her head. "Or have you actually already forgotten?"


Jessyka chuckled slightly before she looked up with a smile on her face and spat, “Yes! That was a rhetorical question. Thank you, though, for actually answering it,” the slight hint of sarcasm on her tongue was constantly evident although it was quite possible that something like that could go unnoticed.


Considering the rest of the girl’s statement, Jessyka glanced down at the body once again, curious to the same thing although she quickly spotted the memory device and she grabbed on to it and held it up for the girl and anyone else who happened to be in the room to see. “Perhaps this will hold the answer,” she suggested. Her eyes flickered to their professor for a moment, wondering what Miyako would recommend she do with such a thing.


The meister’s head jerked towards the door as she heard someone else walk in and she was slightly disappointed to see that it was just another new student. It got even worse when that new student decided to collapse at the mere sight of blood. Oh jeez… she sighed while casting her eyes down to Smoky. Are we the only ones here who are actually prepared for a mission? she didn’t directly ask her weapon the question although she knew he would hear her thought just as well as she did.


“What do you think, Smoky?” she asked her weapon out loud. She didn’t quite know what they were supposed to be doing in here and as more students came crawling in, there was a greater chance that the scene would be destroyed.


@The Succubi Queen @AnnoDomini @Arkytior

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by The Succubi Queen

​

Deryn Nicole Renoir

Name: Deryn Renoir

Status: Meister


Classification: NEW


Partner: Arthur Williams (Temporary)


Mood: Terrified


Location: Specter Lab


Team: Miyako


Interacting with: Alessa (@Arkytior), Jessyka (@Violet Obsidian), Jayce (@DaughterofAthena), Smoky (@AnnoDomini)

Deryn froze as the ringing in her ears began to resemble a voice, as it delivered a message to her. "Without fear..." the idea seemed tempting. To not jump whenever someone yelled or made a loud noise- to not want to curl up and hide whenever she heard a gun shot- to be free of those horrible visions that haunted her dreams as a child. She almost just wanted to..


But then someone was speaking to her, and she was pulled away from the alluring voice in her ears. "Do you really think that will hold answers? What if it was left behind by whoever caused this for some purpose? If I were the villain in this situation, I would certainly-" her attention was pulled away again as one of the NEW students collapsed to her knees, the sight of the body too much for her. Deryn heard the whispers again.. without fear- Alessa could certainly go without fear right now. She felt a surge of protectiveness- if something went wrong, the girl would be in a lot of trouble if a dead body messed her up like this.


She walked over to the collapsed girl, sinking to her knees. "Hey, are you ok? I think you should go back outside. Can you walk? Or do you need someone to help you? Can your weapon help?" She wasn't sure if Jayce could hear her, transformed like that, but he might need to help her out of the room if Alessa wasn't able to walk. Nothing had happened to indicated danger yet, but she didn't feel like the two would be very much help at this point.


Without fear... with each passing moment, the voice's offer seemed more and more tempting.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by AnnoDomini

​

Skykar "Smoky" Emerson


Skylar closed his eyes and started to grip his head. He tried to find the voice. It didn't sound like his own. "Who's there?" What was happening, it sure wasn't normal. But Skylar still taught he could ignore it.


That was, until it started to make him question his protection of his master. "Shut up!" He screamed, it could be heard by the whole room, as this time it wasn't in his mind, he yelled it out loud. He could feel cold sweats on his face, as his pain became greater.


"S-Stop mocking me!" This time, this he said it in his mind, paying no attention to what was going on around him. "S-Sorry... What did y-you say senpai ?" Pain was clearly visible in his voice. But, he couldn't let his meister down.


@Violet Obsidian

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by SummerWolf

​

Kamryn 'JJ' Vessot


1-Star Meister


DWMA EAT Student
​

​

Partner: Thalia Travis


Mood: Determined, Focused


Start Location: DWMA


End location: Specter Lab


Tags: @Kyra @Violet Obsidian


@The Succubi Queen @AnnoDomini @Arkytior

Kamryn let Thalia drag her over to the group, with a determined smile. When they began to pull out, she followed, keeping pace with her weapon who seemed to be skipping more than walking. “So… What do you think we’ll find? I wonder if there will be more people. Oh, oh, oh!! Maybe one of us will go mad… Oooooooooooo!” Thalia's eyes widened and she waved her hands around, making Kamryn laugh a bit at her attempt to be spooky. "No wait… that’s a ghost sound. Well, maybe we’ll see a ghost - that would be cool too!” Kamryna smiled, and grinned at her partner's last sentence.


"It would be awesome if we met a ghost. I mean, that's something that only happens once in a life time, you know? Right? I just hope we don't go mad. It doesn't seem pleasant. I wouldn't be able to enjoy my pocky anymore!"She replied, as she pulled a new pocky stick out from wherever she was keeping them.


The secenery around them changed slowly, and they came across a creeepy looking laboratory. The professor left them outside, and Kamryn groaned at not being let in right away, and smiled noticing her weapon's reaction. Her mind wandered aimlessly as she observed the outside of the laboratory.


Sounds rang out from the laboratory, snapping Kamryn back from her thoughts, and she eyed the building in wonder. Students started rushing in, but she stayed where she was. It wasn't until Thalia rushed forward as well, that Kamryn grinned and started out running too, not to far behind her partner. “Kamryn! You coming?!” The young weapon called back, and she nodded, before mentally smacking herself. Thalia was in front, and wouldn't see that.


As Thalia changed into her boomerang, Kamryn fully reached the door, catching her weapon easily. She nodded, and smiled. "Alright! Let's go see what's inside!" She shouted, rather perky seeming to find this whole thing fun. Inside though, she was scared, as she should be. Thalia the boomrang in hand, she rushed into the building. However, she soon drew to a stop.


A body, laying in a pool of it's own blood, in the shape of an X, next to the main computer greeted them. There was a note, though she was too far away to tell what it said. One of the new students seemed to be breaking down, with someone else trying to help them. It seemed they were all trying to piece together a puzzle, one that she wanted to help solve as well. She worked through it in her head and started moving. Her face had grown focused, serious, and determined. Moving carefully around other students clustered, and the scene as to not disturb much more, she came up next to their professor. She stopped next to her, and looked towards the body again, eyeing the seemingly lost students, and those that also trickled in. She could now see the note clearly, and her eyes narrowed, factoring the words into the jumbled mess her brain was working to figure out.


Strangely, a nagging feeling was present, and a voice, almost like a whisper seemed to be in the air. Learn the word… spread the word… It was asking for trouble, for action, and Kamryn narrowed her eyes at the body, note, and the entire thing, trying to avoid getting pulled in. "Thalia, do you feel... er hear... that too?" She whispered, loud enough for her weapon to hear, probably Professor Miyako, and anyone else that bothered to listen. Only now she noticed on of the other students had been holding something. It looked like a memory device of some kind, and it seemed to be in question "Oi! Jessyka right? The one holding the device? Where'd you find that?" She asked, as she hadn't been in here long enough to know weather it was found her or not, though she suspected the former. It may hold answers, or it may be some kind of trap too. This whole situation was not sitting right, and the whisper like voice wasn't helping.

Legend

Kamryn thinking


Thalia Speaking


Kamryn speaking

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Sergeant Sass

​

Alexis “Lexie” Traynor and Alexander “Xander” Traynor

Before, at the DWMA

Weapon: Lexie “Masquerade”

Weapon Form: Bo Staff

Meister: “Dynamite” Xander

Mood: Anxious for Something

Interacted With: Aeryn ( @Stamper​

Xander had watched the scene with curiosity from a balcony that overlooked the city. Although it was a fight he greatly wanted to join, it was a part of his prerogative and his hatred for the DWMA to avoid protecting them whenever it was possible. They made him feel more like a prisoner than a student and so he decided that he would play the role of the prisoner for now and merely watch even when it was probably recommended that he help instead. Or at least, that had been his plan until he saw his sister Lexie run to join the group that Lord Death appeared to be sending out on a mission. What is she thinking? She can’t go off without a meister! She’d get herself killed!


The boy sighed before he pushed himself away from the railing of the balcony, turning to make his way back into the school before he vanished in the maze of hallways that would lead him down to the rest of the group. His sigh was loud and audible as he walked through the crowd of students once he made his way back outside, slowly working his way towards Lexie. “Lex!” he called out to her.


The girl jumped at the sound of her brother’s voice, her arms instantly flying into a protective position in front of her own body as her head jerked. “X-Xander…” she mumbled softly. “You… you aren’t supposed to be here.”


Xander looked over both of his shoulders and then glanced around them curiously. “I’m not supposed to be here?” he questioned. “It looks like there are a lot of students here and I don’t see any reason why Death would prohibit just one. Surely you missed the memo. I’m a student here too, Alex!” The boy spat the name at the end of his statement because it wasn’t precisely Lexie’s name. It was their name. It was the name the siblings took on when their souls were together, when they were weapon and meister.


Lexie hesitated. Her eyes glanced to the rest of the students and every one of them seemed to have a partner. The girl wanted to be helpful, she wanted to go on the mission, and she wanted to make friends with some of the newer students that were there. Maybe one of them would make a good meister, unlike her brother Xander. Then her eyes turned back to him.


It was almost as though he read her mind. Being twins, some would say such a thing was even possible. “You know you want to go,” he played on her desires. “And you know I know how to fight with you. And… you know that I’m going to go anyway because there might be a good fight in it for me. Surely, you don’t want me to go alone…?” His words were a torment to his twin sister because they were true. He knew it and she knew it. They brought forth the simple truth of their relationship. Regardless of how cruel he was to her, she still loved him because he was still her brother.


Fast Forward to the Cave

Xander and Lexie had been hanging out in the back of the group. Lexie’s aquamarine bowstaff practically glowed in Xander’s hands, reflecting her eagerness to get involved in something bigger… something more. What’s that!? Lexie couldn’t contain her excitement from flooding into her brother’s mind.


Xander, for his part, ignored her. His eyes were already taking in the whole situation, analyzing it, putting the puzzle pieces in their rightful places and discarding the extras. From the conversation, he could elicit that their opponent was a witch although based on what he had seen, she didn’t seem to be violent or to have violent intentions. That’s odd, Xander remarked to himself although he didn’t bother explaining himself to Lexie even though he knew she would no doubt ask about it.


What’s odd? True to his expectation, Lexie did indeed ask.


“Shut up,” Xander whispered out loud to her as he whacked the side of her weapon form against his hand. “I’m trying to figure that out!”


The chaos of Lexie’s mind was instantly silenced by the growling undertone of her brother’s voice as the chaos was replaced by something else - fear. Fear, not of the witch that she knew was standing in front of them or of the unknown trials of the cave they would soon enter; rather, it was fear of her brother himself. Remember, Lexie, you wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t here too… coming without any meister at all would’ve been too dangerous.


Now feeling more in control of himself due to the silence within his own mind, something he greatly appreciated, Xander moved his way closer to the front of the group that had clumped together where he proceeded to watch as the outbursts occurred one right after the other. First Warren decided to be an idiot. Then Ivy decided to correct him before proceeding to be an idiot herself. Xander rolled his eyes and sighed loudly while their professor made moves to fix the situation.


Great… he sighed to his sister within the bond that they shared as a weapon and a meister. His eyes scanned through the group, looking for anyone who may have had some semblance of a plan and he didn’t see very many people who looked the least bit prepared. Half the students aren’t even transformed… don’t they know that a witch is someone they should be prepared to fight even if we don’t know all the details?


There’s a pair over there, Lexie interrupted his thoughts shyly. I… I don’t know them, but he’s just been standing there watching and from the look in his eyes, he’s thinking as well. They look… well, they look like us.


At first, when his sister started speaking, Xander’s mind grew hostile as he expected her to tell him something he already knew or something that would be just as useless although his attention was quickly drawn to the weapon and meister pair that his sister had picked out of the crowd. Lexie was right and Xander moved his way towards them, glimpsing Warren sneaking off into the cave out of the corner of his eye although he made no comment on the matter when he first noticed it. For a moment, Xander just stood there, next to the boy whose name he didn not know, while he watched the witch, waiting for her to reply to their professor’s questions.


“Hey!” he proceeded to call out, practically demanding the witch’s attention. “Are you going to answer or shall we attack once more!? You may have dealt with Ivy’s first attack, but all of us can pack a lot more of a punch than one attack may lead to believe!” His words were a threat, plain and simple and he could feel his sister cringe internally as he said it, however, Xander did not acknowledge her further.


Rather, his attention turned to Aeryn although he did not know that that was the redhead’s name. “Did you see that one idiot ran off?” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “And what do you think of this… this witch? You’ve been standing here watching and I must say I missed some of it.”

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Pariah Stark

​

Collab Post

DaughterofAthena & Pariah Stark


Kassana & Aeryn


Duo (Red Streak)


Cave Entrance

@Sergeant Sass
​

One breath. Then another. Kassana worked hard to keep her focus locked onto Professor Mitsaki even though she could feel the tension growing as moment after moment passed them by, silent and uneventful as ever. Although she was nervous about what would happen, and she knew that her meister would no doubt sense that nervousness, Kassana was beyond trying to hide it because she was beginning to learn that it didn't work.


Even in her intense focus, though, Kassana could feel others moving around them. Some students seemed to be growing restless. A few pairs moved to the front and although Kassana could not recognize all the souls around her, she could feel their very presence and sometimes it was hard to ignore. There was one pair in particular that grew closer and closer to them before she could quite literally hear them standing beside her and her meister. Even in her curiosity, she tried to continue focusing on Professor Mitsaki. Sighing internally, Kassana decided to ask one more question, not out of panic like she had been before, but rather a mere request. 'Will you let me know what's happening... I-I'm curious and...' she didn't quite know how to explain it, but she knew she would draw some small comfort from knowing what was going on.


Aeryn kept his eyes focused forward. If the witch made another move, it would not go unseen. Observing his enemy - or in this case, his target - was the centerpiece of his combat style. Nine times out of ten, as Aeryn repeatedly told Kassana, the result of a Witch meeting a Meister would be a combat scenario, so it merited this eye. Every swift move or slow sway, every word that spilled from her mouth, every single pulse of her Wavelength. Everything was taken in by Aeryn. He paid most attention to how she reacted to Ivy. How she dodged, evaded, parried or blocked oncoming attacks. Those actions were key to learning about her, and those actions could give insight to her magic. She was a Witch, so understanding her Magic and what logic it followed would likely be the most essential part to defeating her if such became the case. To Kassana, this intense focus would permeate every part of Aeryn's mind and form a solid rock inside their shared mindscape.


'I would normally advise you to sense it yourself, but since I told you to focus on our leader, I suppose I will. Take note that in the future, learning to keep focus of multiple targets will be an absolute must,' Aeryn responded to her answer. At all times, he felt like a mentor to her, and this was no exception to such. She was past the point of needing constant support, which was good, but that only opened up another door. 'Warren ran into the cave, Ivy attacked the Witch, our leader is still assessing the situation and the group seems to be shifting its position. No one is hurt, although some people are making rash decisions. In the midst of this, it appears the Witch is trying to have a conversation. I'm not for sure beyond that.'


'But, I do have a question for you, Kass,' Aeryn said, now changing the subject some. He could easily split his focus. Being highly observant and accustomed to existing inside a mindscape made this type of interaction somewhat second nature to him. He felt that if he could engage her in conversation, slightly take her mind off of things, then she might relax more. She might stop overthinking. She might become more at home on the battlefield. 'This right here. Some kids, thirteen and fourteen, fighting deadly opposition from the DWMA. This is common in the EAT classes... how do you feel about it? Children at such a young age being trained to be lethal warriors in our society.'


Kassana was a bit surprised by the oddity of his question. It didn't seem like her to be something that should have come up in their current situation and it didn't seem like something she had ever expected to be asked her opinion on, if indeed she even had her own opinion on the matter. 'Hmm...' she took a moment to think. 'I think it is a life that most of them - no, most of us - choose to take.' Kassana flipped through her mind, recalling all the books she had read on the school before being sent there as a student herself. 'Yes, not everyone has a choice in coming to the school, but not everyone is forced into this life - this fighting and violence and fear. It's... its a choice for most. I...' she hesitated for a moment, 'I want to be a hero to someone, someday. That's why I'm here.'


'And... I don't want to be a lethal weapon, persay. I just want to be helpful and based on everything I've read this - this fighting and violence - is needed; it's necessary to help people otherwise only more harm will come out of it.' The more Kassana thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn't quite sure what she thought about some things, but she did trust her books. She trusted them more than anything. 'What about you?' Kassana turned the question around, curious to see what he thought about it. 'You don't seem afraid... you seem - familiar - with it.' Although she wasn't quite sure how to describe the feeling she got from her meister, Kassana was fairly certain that he wasn't uncomfortable with the situation.


'I have no idea,' he replied to her. He had listened to every word she said. It made sense. She wanted to be a role model. She said hero, but what she really meant is that she wanted to be something - someone - young girls just like her could look up to. Someone who said "I don't need to be a scythe to be great at what I am"; Aeryn began to understand her on a psyhcological level. While she wasn't a bombshell, she was pretty. But, she had a certain insecurity. A certain lack of confidence in her form. This obviously came from her weapon forme as a slingshot. He began to understand that she was a young girl that likely always had some type of confidence issue, but she wanted to overcome it. She told him she wanted to become someone others would look to, but Aeryn was sure she wanted to be that so that she herself could look in the mirror and be proud.


'Heh,' Aeryn added, What I mean to say, Kass, is that I legitimately don't remember why I'm here. I have no clue why I became a Meister. I just don't. I can't really explain much more, either. In fact, I envy you some. I would love to have an answer like you do. Whether you realize it or not, your resolve is quite a bit stronger than mine. You say it looks like I'm not afraid, but that's because I don't know what failure is. You can't risk failing of you don't know what success is,' he explained to her. For the most part, it was true. Admittedly, he made it a play on words to try and make his point somewhat more clear. To emphasize what he wanted to communicate. But, it was nonetheless true. Aeryn has long forgotten why he originally became a Meister.


Kassana struggled with what he said for a moment. 'You don't... remember?' she repeated, feeling rather silly that that was the only thing she could say. In truth, it was a terrifying thought to her, to not remember one's purpose, one's goal. The thought of being helpful was the only goal she could ever remember having and it was what drove her everyday, ever since she had arrived at the DWMA.


Very confused by where this was leading, Kassana decided to approach it a different way with a different concept. 'Failure is... failure is when you dont meet your goal... your purpose. And success is when you do meet it.' Kassana stopped herself there when she realied something. If he didn't remember why he was a meister, then did he have a goal? 'But I guess... if you don't remember, then do you have a goal? Is there anything you want... a purpose or... anything?'

“And what do you think of this… this witch? You’ve been standing here watching and I must say I missed some of it.”

​

One of the Meisters that was shifting around from earlier spoke up, seemingly asking Aeryn a question. While little else was going on the brief time Aeryn and Kassana had their internal discussion, this is the moment that broke the conversation. Not only would it be rude not to reply, but the entire point of his previous conversation was essentially to try and relieve some stress from Kassana through conversation. Bringing up a new topic. If they could have a conversation with someone else, it might just do the same thing. Not to mention, Aeryn wasn't sure what Lord Death would and wouldn't allow him to say. He didn't exactly give Aeryn a set of rules when he was allowed out of the room. He was more or less just drug along and told he would get to go on field testing.


Nevertheless, Aeryn was quick to respond. 'I do, but it'll be another time,' he replied first to Kassana. After that, Aeryn made a quick leap beside Xander who himself had inched up closer to Aeryn. This made a conversation significantly easier and made them appear at least somewhat unified as a team. "First off, name's Aeryn. Kass here," he said before nodding his head to his slingshot, "is my partner. Good to know names. Our brilliant friend that ran into the cave is Warren. He apparently didn't believe the Witch is a Witch at first; means he probably can't even use Soul Perception. He actually thought things through before that; he realized that she wasn't attacking us and that it was odd. Not for sure if he's a special kind of smart or a special kind of stupid, but either way, he's special. Ivy just went in for an all out assault and failed spectacularly. At the very least, it was useful in discerning the reactions from the Witch. Kass and I have decided to wait here as back-up in case anyone gets hurt or if we need to provide cover from a range, but with Warren running off, that plan has a slight stitch. Ivy is significantly stronger than Warren, but I don't know if she can take the Witch. My judgement call is to support Ivy instead of following Warren; higher chance of success. Overall, I'm waiting for direction from our team leader unless I absolutely have to act. I would suggest doing the same, but I won't stop you from doing whatever you want."


Kassana listened to Aeryn's explanation while her attention strayed to the student beside him. 'Xander,' she informed her meister, recalling that he didn't seem to know a lot of names, which made sense considering Aeryn had never been in any of their classes. The rest of what Aeryn had explained was familiar to her, either from a conversation that she and her partner had or from things that she had observed herself.


Deciding that not much more was going to come of that conversation, at least for the time being, Kassana once again returned her attention to Professor Mitsaki and as she had thought, he wasn't very hard to find. She was slowly learning that it was possible for her to familiarize herself with the wavelengths of others and it made them much easier to sense. Aeryn's too, was something she didn't think she would likely forget any time soon.


Then, briefly remembering the last thing he had said to her, Kassana repeated, 'Another time.'

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by DaughterofAthena

​

Let the Chaos… BEGIN!

“Shut up!” Skyler’s scream rang through the entire room, echoing continuously for far longer than it should have and what followed was simply silence. Pure, uninterrupted silence filled the air, its presence haunting and inviting to those that remained outside.


Unfortunately, the silence would not last because at the same time it appeared that there had been a breath of life, a spark of existence, a signal of chaos. It sounded like typing on a keyboard and if anyone looked, indeed there were keys being pressed… although no one was actually there to press them. A swivel of the computer mouse next to the keyboard and the computer screen came to life.


At first it was merely a bright white light, blinding to stare into although the actual light of it didn’t expand much further into the room itself. However, even that didn’t last more than a moment before it slowly began to grow immensely in color, in vividity, in intensity. Even further behind the light, there was something else, something that possibly would make the situation much worse than it already seemed to be. It was a deep and low growl and as the light dimmed down, the growl only grew louder.

Spoiler

The low growl did not come from nowhere. Unlike the light, unlike the typing, unlike the hauntingly inviting silence, the sound had a source and the source now stood in front of the students in the lab. It was a dog… maybe. A demon dog from hell would’ve been a more apt description of it. The smile on it’s face was insane… no, not insane. It was mad.


And sure enough, madness came with it. The room was flooded with a thick feel in the air, a thick feel that weighted the students and their professor down, biting at their minds, their psyches, their sanity. Spread the word… that’s all you have to do and the fear will go away… spread the word… The words whispered in the air, whisking away all thoughts and feeling of calm as the growl of the dog only grew louder before all of the tension he seemed to be building came out in the loudest of barks, furious, angry and mad. Mostly mad.


Madness… it is all it takes to wipe out all of your fear… the voice continued to taunt Deryn’s mind. Spread the word. Spread the madness. Free yourself from fear. @The Succubi Queen


Do you feel that? The voice was almost a perfect echo of Kamryn’s own words, repeating back into her own mind over the growl of the ever smiling dog. Do you hear that? It’s the power of madness. The power to save the city. The power to end all and free all… @SummerWolf


Although no voice would repeat in his mind, the throbbing of his mind continued on as it echoed the pace of his heartbeat. And the pace of his heartbeat would only grow worse as his fear increased despite the stability of his meister - his meister who now stood at the forefront of the action that was about to take place. And surely the memory of the echoes in his mind would not be so quick to leave him behind. @AnnoDomini


The growl of the dog would be even louder and fiercer to the girl who happened to be standing right next to its seemingly physical form. Dripping from it’s mouth, lines of slobber would come to coat her hand, dripping on to the weapon that she was holding even before the dog so much as moved. The moment to stare at each other hardly lasted long enough to be noticeable though, because almost as soon as the dog could see her, it lunged straight for Jessyka, the growl still emanating from the back of its throat. @Violet Obsidian


Other Tags: @Kyra @Stormborn Targaryen @Arkytior @Refaulted @Ariettie

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Violet Obsidian

​

Jessyka “Bullseye” Volontari and ”Smoky” Skyler Emerson

Skyler’s headache was getting on his nerves. Closing his eyes, he could still hear the voice that was still present in his mind. Fear installed itself in Skyler when he saw, with the help of the eye on the gun, what lay in front of them. “What th-” His voice soon gave out, as fear started to seemingly grip his throat. When he saw the creature leap out at Jessyka, Skyler did something foolish. Turning out of weapon form, he placed himself in front of Jessyka, his arm being in the place of the gun handle.


Skyler would not know fear as teeth ripped into his abdomen, tearing the shirt that he wore to shreds although that wasn’t the half of it. Piercing skin where pearly whites - still smiling at the joy of the taste of flowing scarlet - that sent a wave of pain throughout his entire body, tingling every nerve that the incisors so much as tickled. And the absence of fear wasn’t due to the madness that continued to tear at his mind; it was, instead, due to the pain of it all. The pain of such a thing was sure to override all other emotions, all other thoughts, all other contemplations of existence, as the dog’s teeth clamped down hard before they ripped themselves out of the muscle into which they had embedded themselves.


“No…” Jessyka couldn’t even bring herself to scream as she saw it happen because it was too fast for her to do anything about it. Her weapon had practically leapt from her grasp and though she had reached out to grab Smoky, to bring him out of the way, her hesitance had slowed her down, had caused her action to be too slow. The growl of the dog ceased to ring in her ears the moment it’s teeth sunk into her partner and she winced when she heard the teeth tear their way back out.


Skylar’s mouth was open wide, letting out a bloodcurdling scream. His back arched, his eyes closed shut, he only felt the teeth ripping apart his torso, as the fear was gone. He never felt such a pain his whole life, it was too great to be summed up in mere words. His feet giving in, he started to fall backwards, feeling his consciousness slipping away.


Jessyka reached up to catch her falling partner, one hand on his back to slow his fall and the other behind his head to make sure that didn’t suffer too much damage. “Why did you do that, Smoky?” she cried out. “We… I… we could’ve fought it together. You know that I know how to get out of the way…” She wanted to yell at him; she really really did. She wanted to curse at his stupidity and slap him over and over for making her feel so useless, so weak. Somehow, though, Jessyka just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t cause further harm to the weapon who was a part of her own soul.


Her head turned up to the dog that had decided to make a meal of her partner and the meister’s eyes turned to fury although there was nothing she could do. She could hit it, but Jessyka didn’t know how to throw a punch. Jessyka could barely bring herself to keep her arms wrapped around her bleeding partner; her own body was starting to react to the fear it brought into her own heart. All she could do was kick herself back, away from the dog as she tried to vanish into the back of the room, hoping that she could somehow keep her partner out of further harm - although more than enough harm had already been done.


“D-Don’t you dare touch her!” Skylar barely had the power to hold himself awake, but he still managed to spit something out. “I-I can still transform, a-” A loud cough was heard, as Skyler spit out blood, using his left arm to swipe some from his mouth. “-Kick your ass! Even if I die!”


“No, Smoky,” Jessyka muttered to her partner, still crying. “You-yo-you’re hurt.” She put her hand on his chest, saturating her own skin with his blood in the process. “Please stop this! Yo-you d-don’t need to protect me… not now, not ever. We’re a team!”


Jessyka’s head swiveled around as she looked for someone, anyone, who could do something… fight the dog, save Smoky, tell her what she was supposed to do… because she was at a loss for actions. The low growl of the dog still filled her ears and she wanted it to stop. She wanted it to stop so badly, but it wouldn’t and there was nothing she could do about it.


Or so the meister thought. The low growl repeated in her mind and then there was another sound… a sound so awful that mere memory of it was haunting. Skylar’s scream replayed in her mind, bloodcurdling, echoing, a lilting lullaby of pain that played over and over in the girl’s head in such a way that it seemed it would never come to an end. However, over the top of it there was a whisper… gentle and soft. Madness can give you the power you seek… the power to save your friends… the power to win… just give in. Spread the word.


Jessyka’s hands rose up to cover her ears. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. She wanted to slice everything that had ever dared to scream into tiny little pieces to end the noise in her head. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!” The meister screamed to the sky, her arms no longer holding the collapsed figure of her weapon partner because they were flailing in the torment of what she was continually enduring. Her eyes went livid and then for a single moment, her entire body froze.


Skylar fell backwards on the ground when his meister let him go. He could still hear his meister scream, although all sounds started to fade away slowly. Is it the same reason I was screaming? raced through Skylar’s mind, feeling his strength fading away.


Collab with: @AnnoDomini and @DaughterofAthena


Tags: @SummerWolf @Kyra @Stormborn Targaryen @The Succubi Queen @Refaulted @Ariettie

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by DaughterofAthena

​

Outside the Cave...

Collaboration with Sunbather

​

Um… hello? I do apologize for the loudness of my students. They can get a bit...rambunctious. So, if you aren’t seeking a fight, then what brings you here? I can tell you my students are reacting because you’re a witch and witches don’t tend to be too friendly to them. I can’t expect them to be the kindest in return… Hiro Mitsaki

Are you going to answer or shall we attack once more!? You may have dealt with Ivy’s first attack, but all of us can pack a lot more of a punch than one attack may lead to believe! Xander Traynor

Asa’s neck had swayed to the side in a rather uncomfortable looking manner, as her piercing eyes flickered back and forth between a man who appeared - and then confirmed - to be the leader and that awfully confident student. A few squirmish steps followed, before Asa’s stranglehold onto her own wrists loosened and she directly stared at Xander with her eerily empty eyes. “You’re too loud.” Her lips barely moved, yet her words were said with great emphasis, appearing weirdly command-like. Xander’s words themselves seemed to be of no worry to the witch, as Asa did not give him a second look, instead towards Hiro.


“I…”


Asa fidgeted around, eventually gripping into her long, cloak like attire, as if she had to hold onto something so tight that her distress poured out of her clutch. The frowning grimace spoke a clear language - Asa wasn’t too happy with sharing her mission’s details. Instead, she focused on a string of words that stood out to her.


“You always attack us…” Her tone was sulking. “Yet I’m not doing anything to you. You’re kind of rude… Why would you do that?” Her accusing words mixed with the almost childlike pout gave her a comical appearance, making the ensuing silence all too awkward.


Hiro sighed and once more his eyes fell to the back of Ivy’s head as he regretted not having stopped her attack before it even happened. Turning his attention to the witch as she spoke, he couldn’t help but notice the oddities about which she carried herself. She didn’t seem to fear them and she didn’t seem to be unable to deal with them either; in fact, judging from the way she had dodged Ivy’s swing, Hiro was fairly certain that if she did want to fight, it wouldn’t be the easiest task in the world to keep everyone who was there safe.


Finally, Hiro reiterated, “My students have had enough experience with witches in the past to know better than to leave one free to attack them from behind without knowing their intentions. So, why are you here? Why just stand by and watch us approach?”


Asa began to mumble barely audible words over and over again. “Rude… so rude…” Almost like an impulsive chant, she upkept the mantra, and if she had spoken any quieter, one may have been inclined to believe she was trying to cast a spell. Nevertheless, against the odds of her own words and the absent-mindedness in her eyes, the witch seemed to have paid attention just fine. “Because I was… I was told to come here.” she replied in the tone of a murder confession. Her oddly elongated left arm wrapped around her upper-body, Asa stumbled back a bit, still dodging any and all direct eye contact. “What would I do instead of watch you approach?” Her question seemed genuine, as if she was requesting help in devising a gameplan. “Why would I do something else?”


Hiro shrugged, becoming very confused at the entirety of the situation that faced him. Glancing around at the other students, he wondered if any of them were just as confused as he was. None of his confusion showed through, it couldn’t because he was their leader and if he seemed out of control, the others would not be at all comfortable in their situation. However, just because none of it showed through didn’t mean it didn’t exist.


“Most witches seem to know to fear a group this large from the DWMA,” he sighed. “Although apparently you do not. You did not hide… your soul was left in the open for all to see and my students are not so fresh as to miss the wavelength of a witch.”


Hiro watched her for a moment as he slowly began to realize that she wasn’t a threat, at least not to their group. “I’d rather not fight you if we don’t have to, and it doesn’t seem like you want to fight either…?” he left the statement open, almost hoping for confirmation of it. “So what do you want? Do you seek the tome same as we do? There is nothing else of significance within Deanna’s cave, nothing that I am aware of.”


Asa’s posture had taken a hit once more, her back awfully hunched. “I…” She brought her almost arachnoid-like hand up to her face and bit down on her own finger’s knuckles, stressed out and unsure how to behave. Stuttering a few shreds of attempted communication, Asa eventually gripped into her pitch black hair and nodded reluctantly. “Y-yes… I am…” Her breathing hitched, then became short and fast in response to her confirmation.


Her panicked expression disappeared from view as she twisted three quarters of her body and turned around to look at the cave entrance. “I c-can’t get in…” There was a sense of despair and hopelessness in her speech now, one that was not present just moments ago. “What do I do?” Again, that childishly innocent sincerity sounded through her question, helplessly begging for aid from her - more or less - opposition.


Hiro raised an eyebrow and turned to glance at the cave, just barely seeing the figures of Roland and Warren disappear into its depths. Can’t get in…? It seems they are not having the same problem… His attention turned back to the witch as he analyzed her further. She seemed very uncertain of herself and almost… almost afraid. “It seems that we can,” he replied, making his voice loud enough that he hoped Warren and Roland would hear him. “Although we need the tome as well.”


Hiro watched her closely as he spoke, wondering what kind of reaction she would have although he added further explanation, “It contains information that Lord Death requires. That is why I’m going to send my students to retrieve it and bring it back to Death City.” Hiro’s eyes flickered to the students around him, hoping they would understand that although he was speaking to Asa, that statement was meant for them. He knew well enough that he could handle the witch if needed, now that he had spoken to her more in depth.


Asa had remained relatively still as Hiro spoke. Then, however, her head followed Hiro’s glance, causing her own eyes to widen a little. “No!” She screamed out in what seemed to be a mixture of panic and anger, and rushed towards the entrance of the cave. Her hurry didn’t suit her behavior nor body at all, making her appear goofy at best and flat out uncanny at worst. Her hand reached out to where Warren’s figure was a few yards ahead of her, only for her to sink to the ground out of thin air. “Ooou… Hmph…” Holding her hand against her covered up face, Asa seemed to be hurting. A few moments of silent suffering passed. Then, the witch’s head turned towards Hiro. “I have to get it back! If I don’t, they’ll…” She bit down on her lower lip and, though none of the weapons and meisters around her would be able to see it, caused herself to bleed just a little bit. “Please…” The totem seemed of utmost importance to the lanky witch, though she remained ominous in her intentions in its possession.


Hiro made a step towards the witch as she moved towards the cave, his eyes suddenly filled with a certain motivation although as soon as her inability to enter proved to be true, his body calmed slightly. “They’ll… they’ll what?” he asked. “Lord Death requires the book. If we do not have it, some of our students will die in the madness that plagues the city. The book is also of historical importance to our school,” Hiro explained although he was beginning to hesitate a bit. Although this witch did not appear to be a threat, it also seemed that there was someone else involved. And with no idea as to who that was, he was suddenly afraid that he had already said too much.


“If you were to return with us or to us later, I am sure some of the pages could be transcribed for you,” he decided such a thing was fair to say, “after we have looked through them and determined their true importance. Professor Deanna Jones hid it for a reason and we need to find out what that might be.”


Asa breathed heavily, constantly motioning back and forth between desperately staring at the cave’s entrance and Hiro’s face, his words washing over her and taking their sweet time to sink in. “I…” Her mind went to the orders she had received. Surely, if she arranged for the book’s content to be available her doing would be considered a success? Afterall, her order had never been to prevent the academy from getting it… right? The witch propped herself up and slowly staggered up from the ground.


Her mind went through the possibility of fighting them all, but she was sure such a task would be her end. And, even if it wasn’t, the stress of a battle was something she wanted to avoid under all circumstances anyways. Finally, after a what seemed like an eternity, her head moved and she slowly nodded. “I… Okay… I guess… If I get the pages after you, that’s… that’s fine…” The bit of her face that wasn’t hidden seemed to wrestle with the feelings of guilt and fear, but she continued to nod. “P-promise me…” she requested in her - once again - weirdly genuine tone.


Hiro nodded, thinking carefully about how to word his next statement. “So long as the information does not pose a threat to the DWMA or the general population at large, it shall be made available to you in full.” Hiro glanced around him, hoping that by this point, most of his students would have realized he knew what he was doing and proceeded to retrieve what they had originally came her for in the first place. “You can even follow us back if you’d like,” he offered to Asa in addition to his previous statement.


With a curiously tilted head, Asa looked around the group of students. “M-maybe… I, uhm…” Her eyes flickered over to her little demon that now slowly flew back, enchanting her for a moment or two. With a sudden motion, her hand reached out and snatched the pet out of mid-air. “We have to get back… Maybe I… I’ll come with you later… Please… please be careful with it, yes?” It seemed the safety of the totem was of utmost importance to her, for whatever reason. With these words, she slowly backed up, as if to prepare her exit, dropping any and all caution, which clearly hinted at a lack of intent to fight or - in this case - even a lack of interest to defend herself.


@Stamper @Violet Obsidian @Sergeant Sass @Pariah Stark @Orikanyo @sonicfreak101 @DeadgurlXD

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by TheWeirdPhilosopher

​

Undine Isle


So... There was a witch.
​

Undine had weaseled out that fact way before anyone said it out loud thanks to her nifty soul perception; she still didn't understand fully how it works, though. Surprisingly, she wasn't as invested in this revelation as the others around her seemed to be. But after having a run in with madness, falling into a pool of blood, and then taking the corpse of whom the red bodily fluid belonged to, to a morgue with just minutes to spare before heading off on a field trip; all on an empty stomach and with the promise of ice cream

Code Name: Dine Isle


Rank: NEW/NOT Student


Location: The Lone Classroom


Weapon: Aoi/Ponytails


Status: Hugging the Ground

seeming very scarce after all that had happened.


Well, the thrill factor that everyone was caught up on was lost Undine.


At this point, all the purple haired girl wanted to do was go home, eat her pantry bare, and then, maybe, tomorrow she could flip her shit and bawl over everything that had happened on her very first day at the DWMA.


But that was tomorrow.


Undine would have to admit that the majority of what had happened (since the witch's arriving) she had tuned out, staring blankly into space as she attempted to think of anything but food. Food. Mmm, that sounds nice. She was of course failing. I could really go for a sandwich. Or... Like, five sandwiches. And an ice cream. I REALLY want ice cream. It wasn't until the witch began to speak once more that she actually decided to listen to whatever was going on between her and their professor. The witch seemed to be having a meltdown over not being able to get into the cave. Which made Undine curious about why that was, no to mention, it made her even more curious to see this totem inside the cave.


She grinned giggling lightly as she nudged her partner. "Hey, Aoi, she reminds me of you when someone sneezes near you." Her voice was just barely a whisper as she teased him; not wanting the witch to potentially hear and freak out even more.


A bit of discussing later and the nerve-filled witch was agreeing with whatever the professor said and Undine perked up now that the threat (she assumed) was neutralized. She hadn't missed the sight of Warren and Roland slipping into of the cave from the corner of her eye and was eager to follow; standing around had made her a bit anxious. "Well, this is fantastic! Not- Not that the witch not being able to reach the totem is a good thing," She quickly fixed her mistake. "For her... But more so that we've made a compromise and... You know what, I'm just going to follow those two, now!" Undine shot a grin at the others and darted after the two males.


She had only entered the cave and was catching up to Warren and Roland when she tripped on her toes and face-planted the cold ground. Welp, she had definitely held up longer than she'd originally expected... Undine made no signs of moving anytime soon as she laid with her cheek smushed pancake style on the hard cave floor.

"Nnngghh..."

​

@Violet Obsidian @T h e F o o l @Orikanyo

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Sergeant Sass

​

Alexis “Lexie” Traynor and Alexander “Xander” Traynor

On the Move?

Location: The Cave

Weapon: Lexie Traynor

Meister: Xander Traynor

Overall Mood: Concealed

Tags: @Pariah Stark @DaughterofAthena
​

"First off, name's Aeryn. Kass here is my partner. Good to know names.” The beginning of Aeryn’s brief monologue set Lexie at ease in her brother’s hands; she had been nervous about what silly things Xander might decide to do and she had been unsure as to whether or not there was anyone who would have been able to stop him from his violent tendencies. And Aeryn’s words put that nervousness at ease.


‘It seems we do have a few smart students in our midst,’ Lexie commented to her brother. ‘He seems to have a decent handle on things. I’m surprised I don’t remember meeting him earlier… in classes and such.’


Xander continued to completely ignore his sister’s comments even as he considered his own response to Aeryn’s statements. “True, it is good to know names. I’m Xander and this,” he gestured to the bo staff he held, “is Alex. Actually, we together are Alex.”


Xander could feel Lexie wince internally as he used that name to describe their partnership. However, he also knew that she could feel his subtle silent threat to her, the wrath contained within his soul that would keep her from objecting, that would keep her quiet and keep her out of his own personal affairs. Slowly but surely, Lexie was coming to regret the fact that she had agreed to come with him. She wanted to talk to people, to be seen for who she was rather than to be seen as merely a weapon that Xander would use as he pleased, but such a thing was something he would never allow. Even when he wasn’t physically hurting her, Xander insisted upon control.


Nodding along with everything else Aeryn had said, Xander turned to watch as well and it actually happened that as he turned to face the witch, his eyes met her gaze as she spoke to him. “You’re too loud.”


‘I’m too loud!’ Xander kept his thoughts to himself seeing that Professor Mitsaki was trying to take control of the situation. That’s what Xander believed leaders did - asserted their control. Whether it be subtle or direct, it was all about control with Xander. And from what he could see, Professor Mitsaki was using his words for control, but Xander didn’t like it. “Isn’t he telling her too much?” his objection was quiet and likely unheard by their professor. “And… to let a witch come back with us…?” He very obviously didn’t like the idea.


“That is why I’m going to send my students to retrieve it and bring it back to Death City.” As their professor looked around, Xander could almost feel the teacher’s eyes dwelling on him for a moment and that was all the reason he needed to venture into the cave. He feared that if their teacher actually had a moment to talk to him, Xander would find himself to be in a lot of trouble for being there with his sister.


“Well, you said you were waiting for direction from our leader and that sounds like a direction to me,” Xander stated bluntly. “You coming?” The boy started walking into the darkness of the cave without looking over his shoulder.


As he turned around, the slightest whisper came from the weapon in his hand. “Please…” Although it could not be seen, Lexie received a stern glare from her brother in response although it was to a point where Lexie didn’t care. She didn’t want to go into a cave of strangeness alone with her brother.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Pariah Stark

​

Collab Post

DaughterofAthena & Pariah Stark


Kassana & Aeryn


Duo (Red Streak)


Cave Entrance

@Sunbather
​

In Kassana's focus on Professor Mitsaki, none of his conversation with the witch was lost to her. Actually, she was probably understanding where there professor was coming from with some of the things that he said better than some of the other students were given the fact that her focus was on his soul wavelength and his soul wavelength alone. Sure, her perception still needed work - a lot of work - but there were things that even a newbie could grasp with ease. And Kassana was quite surprised to realize that nothing their professor said was hostile; he was actually trying to sympathise with the witch standing in front of them, trying to work with her to produce the best possible situation.


Her memories flashed back to the few classes she had been in that were taught by Professor Mitsaki for a moment, confused as to whether or not she was seeing the same person. In classes, it had always seemed like he never wanted to be there. All of his lessons were poorly constructed at best, his teaching style was entirely bland and he had paid her almost no attention at all. And she knew the last part because she had never once been yelled at by him for reading completely unrelated material in the middle of the classroom. Now she was watching Professor Mitsaki and she felt like he was completely different. He was kind, and he was observant - somewhat - and he seemed to care about something.


Briefly, Kassana wondered what the other students saw now in their professor and she thought back to something Aeryn had said earlier. 'Take note that in the future, learning to keep focus of multiple targets is a must,' he had said. She wished she knew how to do that. She wished she felt confident enought to try to focus on both their teacher and some of the others, but she just didn't feel like it was possible. Sighing internally, she decided it would be best to maintain focus on their professor for the time being.


While he could feel that Kassana had a few mixed feelings - yearning to push her boundaries, some impression of the professor and an odd feeling of ease from the lack of hostility - Aeryn was becoming somewhat livid. If the field in front of them were a chessboard, then their professor would have just toppled over half his pieces just to make a move. Prior to his short speech, there was no knowing if the witch knew of the situation at the DWMA - but she did now. Obviously, the Witch wanted the book for the same reason and regardless of which pages of what informaton she wanted, giving it to her was dangerous. It was easy to read between the lines and understand she was working for a greater force. If she was part of something - anything bigger than her - than agreeing to give out information was nothing less than a liability.


"In one fell swoop, you explained the drastic situaiton at the DWMA to this Witch. What if she didn't know, professor? Listen to her; she's obviously answering to someone else. What if they didn't know? What if you let her go and she explains what she just heard to someone that then orchestrates another attack? She is a Witch, after all, and Witches work with other Witches," Aeryn began to rant. Not loudly, but definitely sternly enough to make himself known. In fact, it sounded like he was scolding the professor if nothing else. "You even want to give her information? Knowledge is power; anything from that book can do us no good in the hands of a Witch," Aeryn added. From a strategical standpoint, Aeryn felt his professor - their leader - just wasted so much leverage.


"What are you thinking?" Aeryn asked. Asked aggressively, even. Not the type of aggression Ivy had. This aggression was almost demeaning. Insulting, even. Aeryn hadn't been outside Lord Death's room long, nor did he know this professor, so his judgement of him right this second was immediately based off his actions, and objectively his judgement of his professor was quite poor.


In a single instant, Kassana's attention was torn away from their professor at an unfamiliar, yet easily identifiable feeling of distress, and surprisingly, it was coming from her own meister. At first, Kassana was completely and utterly confused because Aeryn had, up until this very moment, been extremely calm and collected, someone who she could draw comfort from, and now it seemed as though all of that was gone.


'Aeryn!' her voice cried out through their mental link. She didn't precisely understand what was wrong; she didn't even catch most of what her meister had said as she had been a bit distracted by trying to figure out what she was supposed to do and what could have suddenly turned his demeanor to something that was almost angry. Her mind ran through what their professor had said once again, searching for something - anything - that could have been wrong of their teacher to say because if there was something, she truly did not see it. She tried to remember what was supposed to be in the book in the first place even because that may have been of some importance in their situation.


'A cure to the madness...' she whispered, more to herself than for Aeryn to hear. Of course, she had no idea what else could have been within the pages of the tome, but she didn't see how that alone could be bad in anyone's hands.


Kassana decided that she wasn't going to get anywhere with her own thoughts so she returned her attention to her meister's soul, trying desperately to figure out what was going on and why he might be so distressed about anything. He had said he was going to watch their leader, watch and wait for Hiro to act or for him to tell them to act. From what Kassana remembered, Aeryn had seemed quite certain of that resolve - that it was the best way to go - and now everything she knew about him had changed. 'What happened, Aeryn? Why is everything suddenly so wrong? I know... I know Hiro told the witch what's going on at the DWMA and I get that that could be wrong, but - but...' Kassana didn't even know what she wanted to object to. She just knew that she didn't like the feeling that rushed through her own body as Aeryn became upset.


'Not every answer can be found in a book,' Aeryn told her. 'You have to look at reality to understand. First and foremost, Kass, recall what this Witch has mumbled; something about what "they" will do to her if she doesn't get it back. Who is this "they"? Why do they want the book? Witches work with Witches and this Witch seems submissive. Notice she dodged attacks with no counter attack and waited for us to arrive because she is clueless. She is an underling. A weakling. She answers to someone. Now, Hiro just told her that people at the DWMA are sick and hurt. Students aren't well. He needs a cure for Madness. What if this Witch reports to her superiors and they launch an assault? What if they intend to hit the DWMA while its weak? They now know it because Hiro wasn't watching what he said; he tried to compromise in a way that set us back. These aren't things you can learn on pages or in books; it's common sense you have to realize out on the field. So, yes, I'm a little irritated because through my eyes, someone who doesn't just see teachers as teachers, he just put the DWMA in even greater danger.'


At first, all Kassana felt was relief. Aeryn was explaining things to her again and that was certainly a start to getting back to "normal"... whatever that was. 'All I've ever known is books...' she answered simply at first, feeling tiny in a situation involving giants that couldn't even see her. She didn't like the fact that she felt like she knew so much yet none of it seemed to be of any use to her and once more, she really really wanted to help. 'So, the DWMA is in danger,' she repeated. 'What can we do about it? What Hiro said isn't wrong... if the book contains a cure to madness, then we need it.' She remembered the sight of the madness that had infected some of the school's own students and a shiver ran through her at how terrifying it had been. Her attention turned for a moment to the witch who was walking away. 'And she could lead to an assault from whoever she's working with...' Laying the problems out in front of herself, Kassana looked at the pieces they had.


'What can we do?' Aeryn repeated. 'What can we do?!' Aeryn let out an audible chuckle before raising the slingshot weapon he held in his hand. He pulled back on it, then poured his Wavelength into the leather pad designed to hold the ammunition. From his rage and irritation shone a bright, red light that glowed in his hand while he kept the slingshot drawn. 'Well, to make it simple, we kill a Witch. It's about time I showed you all the strength you have locked up inside yourself that you keep from showing, Kass. From hereon in, don't worry about Soul Perception. Don't worry about arguing. Focus on the energy that I pour into you, and make sure it shoots straight every time.' Aeryn then looked over to Hiro. "I think it's time we fixed your error," Aeryn said with a grin before he darted forward at the witch that walked away. He had her exact Wavelength pinned down with his Soul Perception. If she made a move under her cloak, even, he would make sure he saw it. And, unlike Ivy, he had no battlecry. He intended to get in range, fire, and keep firing until the Witch was no more.


At this point, there was one additional thought running through his mind. A thought kept to himself. A thought Kassana wasn't ready for. 'The Will of Saren must be complete...'


Kill a witch. The thought of it sounded exciting and for a moment, Kassana was more than happy to oblige her meister. She could feel the power that flooded her own being as Aeryn poured his soul wavelength into her weapon form and for a moment, it terrified her. She could feel the rage that filled it. Even moreso, she could feel everything he said - it was more than just hearing him say it. It amplified it. And through Aeryn, Kassana could see the witch almost as well as her meister could. Kassana was finally going to be helpful; she was finally going to be useful. And it excited her.


So many thoughts flooded through her and Kassana made no effort to contain them, no effort to restrain them. Flowing through her like adrenaline itself, she let them be. 'What will it be like to kill a witch? Will she fight back?' So many things existed that she didn't know, that could be answered in this very moment. And yet, an answer came to her right away, before the first shot was even fired, from a memory. '...it doesn't seem like you want to fight either.' It was something Hiro had said and it came back along with something else. 'She's an underling. A weakling.' Kassana thought about it for a moment, realizing that no, the witch would not fight back.


While Kassana had her reservations, Aeryn had absolutely none. Driven by the frustraiton caused by Hiro and even Saren, whom had his own motivation for wanting to fight this Witch, Aeryn was rearing to get this fight going. Even if Kassana was right, even if the Witch didn't fight back, Aeryn had no intention on letting her go. In fact, if he gave in to Saren, he had no choice. If she didn't fight back, then to Aeryn, the fight would be all the easier. Maybe more dull, but still easier. If Kass refused to fight with him, he would end this Witch alone. That was his resolve. Before it got to that point, Aeryn released his first explosive shot from the slingshot, letting the red streak of his Wavelength, amplified significantly by Kassana, fly directly at the Witch from behind. There was no honor in war.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Sunbather

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| Asa Vesper

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Asa had began to slouch away, off into the copse's covert, intent on, for now, disappearing and reporting her success - Or at least what she perceived as such. One would be inclined to believe that her head was swirling with thoughts, but, on the contrary, Asa's mind was a blank. As such, she was more than open to suggestions and notifications of her surrounding - One that quckly came in the form of her demon's alarmed squeak. There was no time to turn around, though her eyes buzzed with the sound of the particle being shot her way, impossible to evade.


Accordingly, her lanky and thin frame was pushed into the ground, the hit excerting force into her back - straight and perfectly landed, as Asa did not move whatsoever, not even so much as an attempt. Sure enough, many of those present most probably were surprised at the scene unfolding, and accordingly obscure was the picture of the witch, now laying on the flow, immobile. Surey a single hit wouldn't have sufficced? But Asa continued to lay like a corpse on the earthy ground, not moving so much as a finger. The chubby demon flailed midair, hastily rushing around the still body. Until it vanished.


Out of newhere, her body dissolved once again, remaining out of sight for more than a minute.


"Don't", it sounded out of nowhere, just a second before she materialized again, now standing right where she laid prior, strucken down by Aeryn's attack. Now fully upright, her appearance appeared considerably more hostile, more offensive. In the blink of an eye, she vanished several times, each fractional reappearance followed by a word. "Don't." - "Do." - "That." - "Why." - "Would you." - "Do."


Just as her sentence was about complete and she had morphed her body throughout the entirety of the present students, she appeared right in front of her attacker, towering over him with eyes so soaked in hatred that they appeared to darken. "That?" Her back hunched, so that her face was hovering right in front of Aeryn's, she stared at him with a piercing glare, twitching from the effort of holding herself back from eradicating the boy. After a few seconds of eye contact, Asa disappeared in thin air again, this time not appearing anywhere close.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Kyra

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Thalia “Aerodynamic” Travis

"Thalia, do you feel... er hear... that too?"

Location: Specter Lab

Classification: Weapon

Form: Boomerang

Partner: Kamryn Vessot

Mood: Grimacing​

Thalia wasn’t quite sure exactly what she heard. It was way too quiet, faint and weak. That didn’t mean that she didn’t hear it - she did. She just didn’t understand what it was well enough to quite respond with any more than a simple, “Yes?” If she had eyebrows at the time, they would’ve raised in confusion; however, boomerangs do not have eyebrows.


What happened next happened fast. It was almost too fast. Bright lights filled the room and as they faded, there was a dog. Granted, this already didn’t look like the kind of dog that Thalia would want to run up to and pet. The deep growl emanating from the back of its throat and the oddly creepy smile upon its face were enough of a warning to stay away. And if appearances alone were not enough of a reason to stay away, the sight of Skyler being attacked and the sound of the weapon’s bloodcurdling scream was more than enough.


‘Alright, Kamryn,’ Thalia now spoke directly to her meister through the link of their souls, through the bond that they innately shared because they were partners. ‘Time to do something about this. If no one else is going to take action, then we must.’


Thalia scanned around the room from the blinking eye on the tip of the boomerang as she figured out where everyone was. With Skyler and Jessyka out of the way, Thalia didn’t see any reason why they didn’t have a clear shot although that wasn’t exactly what she was looking for. Thalia searched for Professor Miyako, presuming that if anyone intended to do anything, it was their team leader. Failing to see her through the crowd though, Thalia only saw one option. ‘Throw me!’


@SummerWolf @Arkytior

 

[Lady Warlock]

Original Post by Pariah Stark

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Codename: Cardinal


Partner: Kassana Silverstream


Classification: One-Star Meister [EAT]


Location: Cave Outskirts


Tagged: No tags

Aeryn was sure that a single shot would not be enough despite seeing the Witch take it directly. More than Ivy accomplished, at the very least, but that thought was for another time. Aeryn was consumed by the moment. More accurately, Aeryn was consumed by the Will of Saren, and Saren wanted this witch dead. He wanted to prove a point. Aeryn was more than happy to oblige. In the brief few moments that the Witch laid on the ground, Aeryn had already prepared another shot, and had full intentions on firing in. However, the second red streak that flew through the air missed. The Witch had dissolved into the ground, and the red blast did naught but create a small crater where she once laid.


Aeryn did not just watch the Witch with his eyes as she used what he believed to be her magic to disappear and reappear in front of him. He felt her reappear, her felt her moved using whatever method she was by feeling her Soul each time she did. He felt not fear as he did this, either. Instead, he observed her Soul, how it vanished, how it reappeared, how she seemed to be dissolving from place to place. Given more time, Aeryn would have toyed with the idea of firing where he predicted her being. Given more training with Kassana, Aeryn would have tried a scattershot to at least hit her regardless. Unfortunately, Aeryn had neither of those things.


Aeryn was sure she would go on the offense, and he began to prepare himself for such. His entire body was tense and he was on edge to dodge whatever strike the Witch would throw from whatever angle he felt it coming from. That was it, too. Not what he saw, but what he felt. When the Witch appeared in front of him, finishing whatever mindless rant she seemed on about, Aeryn was already charging his Wavelength into his palm. Seeing the damage a blast from Kassana did at a range, he was sure it would do more harm than good up close. She was right in front of him, her eyes locked onto his, and Aeryn reacted quickly. A few brief seconds of their eyes had them locked, and Aeryn realized she wasn't attacking - so he did. He thrust his palm up into what would have been her midsection, but before he could connect, she was gone. Entirely.


He didn't feel her Soul. He searched the entire area as best he could, hoping for her to reform herself as she had done repeatedly in front of him, but she didn't. Aeryn knew that feeling already; he had it memorized. Anger and rage seethed throughout Aeryn once he hit the realization she was gone. Not only was Aeryn angry, somewhere down deep inside, so was Saren. Their combined anger caused his Wavelength to spike, and in a moment of heated frustration that might even impress Ivy, Aeryn thrust the hand he meant to thrust through the Witch into the ground. His Wavelength crackled through it, shooting up and causing cracks only a little smaller than the one his combined blast with Kass had created. Aeryn felt no fear, not once. What he felt was rage. Silent, unadulterated rage.

[/color]

The Dark Korner

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Saren, Szar, Nariel

"I wanted that Witch..."

"She wasn't really worth it..."

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"Maybe she was. Why did you even care, Saren?"

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"It had nothing to do with her being a Witch, Nariel. No need to be defensive. It's just... Aeryn let us get paired with a slingshot. Admittedly, she has some force behind her, but Aeryn is more..."

"...melee?"

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"I was a looking for a nicer word for dull, but that works. Needless to say, I wanted to prove something. Our idiot leader just let her get away, and I wanted to make a point of it."

"Do you believe it is our wisest decision to behave with such petulance right after Lord Death has allowed us outside of his room?"

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"Besides, we just made headway with Kass. Why put that on the line?"

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As if I would have let Aeryn get anyone hurt."

"Aside from himself, you mean."

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"He'd get himself hurt anyway. Not the point. Do you think you acted wisely, Saren?"

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"Are you questioning me, Nariel?"

I'm merely saying you may have acted rashly, not incorrectly.

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"Even if so, what of it?"

"Now we're just another hot-headed kid trying to prove something. Aeryn was composed before then, but you wanted to make a point. We could have came out of this appearing to be the most capable instead of the last to react."

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"We will meet that Witch again and her soul will be ours. Aside from that... this game is far from over."