Fantasy The Hidden; Main Thread IC {Closed}

[Shining Wizard]

First year student Lucy Venus pulled the headphones off her ears as she boarded the bus. Sure, they didn't do anything against the memory-altering fog that surrounded the island, but listening to the ferryman whine about his ex-wife got old after about three listens. She had paused for a moment to look over this year's gaggle of idiots when the bus driver called out to her.

"Well aren't you just the CUTEST widdle-"

"-I'm not really in the mood for this, Sharon."

"Okay, sweetie. You have a super duper day for me, alright?"

"Ugh."

Pressing her way past the new arrivals, Lucy climbed up to the second floor, only to find her usual seat occupied by some cyclops dork too busy gawking at the lower level to pay attention. He probably wasn't even really missing his eye, and just wore an eyepatch because he thought it made him look cool. Sighing irritably, she sat down on the goober's lap and pulled out her smartphone, resuming her session of Endless Gacha Hell Inferno Edition.

"I'm definitely gonna get an SSR this time..." she mumbled, tapping through the menu.

Darth

 

[DrBones]

Soraya​

Soraya watched Artemis with concern. This is what public transportation is, isn't it? It's for common folk, so it's obviously going to be loud. A booming orchestra of accents and jeers rattled around the bus, but it wasn't anything particularly worse than one of papa's birthdays. Still, the dog-eared girl near her was shaking like a cat in a thunderstorm. Sensitivity to sound, difficulty communicating, overactivity... Soraya tapped her chin, deep in thought. Brother Faruq had the same problems. What did the servants say about him?

The right term popped into Soraya's mind. She'd learned how to work with Faruq, so if this girl had the same thing, it would be easy working with her, right? She just had to broach the topic the right way.

"Forgive me for assuming this, my friend, but are you... on the spectrum?"

TeikiFox

 

[Darth]

Gotras jumped slightly as he suddenly found a winged child in his lap. He was just as confused as the next would be, Gotras was speechless. The girl looked little older than ten, and she had her face buried in her phone. Unlike most children of the age, Gotras had never owned a phone, nor a computer. Human technology fascinated him ever since his earlier days of childhood. It seemed almost like magic; light and colors dancing across a glass pane. Gotras assumed that she was perhaps too focused on her toy to notice that the seat was obviously taken. The girl was tiny, and not like the normal appeal of a small young girl. She also had an odd look, one that made Gotras nearly forget her rude intrusion. She reminded Gotras of his young cousins he used to watch over back at his mountain estate. Gotras' heart softened and he spoke lightly.

"You could've asked me to move aside," Gotras said. "There's room on the seat for two."

Gotras was worried that the girl would be too distracted to notice. But he too was too distracted to notice something about the girl. The pint-sized thing had wings... And a tail... Something one would surely notice first when one meets someone.

A Succubus. I've never seen one before, let alone this close.

Gotras adjusted his eyepatch before trying to shift his weight to allow the girl to sit fully on the seat instead of his lap.

Shining Wizard

 

[TeikiFox]

Artemis​

"Forgive me for assuming this, my friend, but are you.... on the spectrum?" She asked. Spectrum... What spectrum? Does this have something to do with the clans? I looked at her with confusion before thinking my answer through.
"No?" I asked, more than answered. I had no idea what this spectrum was. It sounded.... as though it was something of importance to her. I pondered for a moment, before realizing I didn't know her name. But... that would be like going back in time... which is awkward. On the other hand, I can't really have a proper conversation if I don't know her name.....
I still wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation if I did know her name. Clan would be interesting to know, though. Is it a sensitive topic, though? Others hold their clan proudly on their sleeve, while still others hide it away. Interesting... Interesting, indeed. I giggled softly at how sophisticated I sounded in my head. This gave me a little confidence, so I went for it.
"What clan?" I asked, blushing softly and scratching the ear on my hood.

 

[DrBones]

Soraya​

Soraya's face fell. "Oh," she replied, disappointed. That answer wasn't very committed, was it? Maybe she doesn't want to out herself. Better to drop it for now!

What was it she had asked? "What clan"? Was she asking who her family was? Or was she-- oh. Right, the 'Clan'. This was... expected. She had hoped it would take longer than it had for racial politics to come into the conversation.

"Genie," Soraya replied glumly, "and you?"

 

[TeikiFox]

Artemis​

"Genie, and you?" She asked. She looked to be quite disappointed. I inwardly kicked myself at deciding to bring this topic up.
"I'msorryIdidn'tmeantooffendyouIthinkit'scoolthatyouragenieI'venevermetagenieoranyothermagicalclan." I exclaimed quickly, huffing softly at the end. I looked back up, but realized that I hadn't answered her question.
"I don't know the ways of the Hidden yet. Sorry. I'm a wolf." I whispered, head dropping. I don't like making people sad. It makes me sad. I think it's because I observe way too much. She still seemed a little glum to me, so I attempted to change the topic. Of course, this could just make her more angry. I sighed and looked back at her from time to time.

DrBones

 

[Duwang]

Leon reached his hand out, hovering over Torrin's palm to grab her wrist instead, shaking that. He had a tight grip, though he didn't actually squeeze as much as one might expect. Actually, looking at his forearm, one might even come to the conclusion that Leon had barely put on any force at all, at least on his part. "Ah. Cool." He answered, then quickly pulled away to readjust his seat.


"So. Where you from? I always thought that I just came from the woods. All this human stuff is weird. They have all this freaky technology that lets them do all these things that their own bodies can't do. I got off a plane this morning. You know how that felt? It was great! I got to kick back, spread my legs to give the boys a little air, rest my knees on the seat up front. The nice lady even gave me free drinks and snacks! If that's what it's like being a dragon, I think I can understand why they are the way they are."

 

[Fluffer]

Yumi's fuzzy ears twitched as she got off the ferry, one of the last few, dragging a roller suitcase behind her. Even its light weight slowed her down; most of the students had already filed onboard a double decker bus. How odd, she thought; she had no idea they were in the United Kingdom. Though perhaps it was more odd that an academy priding itself on its non-human nature would transport its students with such a mundane piece of human equipment. Not that she minded; the fox always wanted to ride one.
With a few tiny grunts, she hauled her luggage up the steps and paced slowly down the aisle, trying to find an empty seat.

 

[AGent87]

Torrin gripped the dude's arm in return, grinning despite herself. A warrior's handshake! She'd seen them in movies and read about them in books, but had never actually gotten to do it in real life. She had always been too worried that she would come off as a nerd, and here this guy was doing it like it was the most natural thing in the world! It was a good firm grip, too, very unlike the softer hand shakes she was used to back in her old life. Torrin was liking this Hidden thing just a little bit more than she did before. Of course, it might just be their normal handshake, but even so, it satisfied the nerd in her. She'd have to look it up when she got the chance though. I wonder if there's a Hidden Customs & Courtesies for Dummies somewhere? Torrin gave herself a mental shake and tuned in to what the guy was saying. She really didn't like being surrounded by strangers, but in this seat she was having a one on one conversation and she could handle that.
Torrin chuckled and shook her head. "I keep forgetting that most of y'all stay away from humans. That is just so mind-boggling. And yeah, planes are pretty awesome. If you think riding in one is cool, you should try flying one. I mean, sure, no one believes there such things as dragons, but the freedom of the open sky? I'd want that, too. At least in a plane, it does all the work. You just have to sit back and enjoy the ride." She slouched down a little and crossed her left ankle on top of her other leg, getting more comfortable. "I'm actually from a couple of different places. My mom had houses in Florida and northern California, so we spent time at both. I grew up on mountains and beaches. It was pretty sweet. How about you?"

 

[CallSign]

Hope was soon made doubly glad of her decision to sit at the front of the bus as rambunctious passengers at the back began shouting. The distance reduced the volume enough to not be a problem for her, and she paid it little mind. None of it was directed at her and she was still feeling the phantom rocking of the waves, so it was best for her to focus on stopping the swaying.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her mind out of its focus and brought her attention to a figure standing beside her wearing a coat and holding a card toward her. "Oh, I already got one of th-" Hope started, raising the letter in her hand slightly, before noticing the text on the card. A slight blush rose to her face. "S-sure, help yourself," she said, shifting over to make enough room for the newcomer to sit comfortably.

Hope's thoughts were just turning back to the phantom motion - which had begun to subside due to the sudden distraction - when a large green fellow in quaint clothing adjusted a chair and sat facing her. His gaze seemed to stare through her, and Hope's overly excited mind sent her imagination running wild about what he might want. She broke eye contact, shifting her view to the floor between them, but immediately looked back up when he began speaking in what sounded like an old and somewhat slurred dialect of Draconic. Don't most dragons just use English nowadays? Something was up.

As she struggled to make sense of the unfamiliar term "diapsid" and the odd usage of "bask" in Draconic, the green man cleared his throat and changed to an even more slurred version of English: "If'n y'mand qui bask o float ain't mah place t'judge whatcha call yer folk, if'n ya'll cows -maybeh bull buuuh ya frames ain't grand nuff ta be suggestin' dat so je crois you cows, y'from?"

Hope thought as quickly as she could to piece the two statements together. Because speaking Draconic normally made Hope's voice hoarse for the rest of the day, she decided to proceed speaking English. "My family and I live in the Himalayas over in China. We don't often hunt for bovine meat there, but when we do I tend to go after cows over bulls. Bulls have too much fight in them, see, so carrying them home is a bit difficult, and if I just kill them when I find them the taste is ruined. And uh, I'm not sure why you want to know so badly, but I like to relax - er, bask - in sunny, warm places where I can read or play games until I fall asleep. But enough about me. Where are you from? Your Draconic speech is rather odd to me."

Hubub101 Scion

 

[Scion]

Krr​

D-draconic!? Well sure Crocodilian was related to it, but Krr knew its proper tongue of Crocodilian was the superior language. Sure some said their language was "oldfangled" or a "relic of a bygone era" or several other numerous complaints. It was a well known fact that Crocodiles had hardly changed in their evolution over the aeons of time they were present on this blue marble. Well also the sharks, they deserve a bit of credit for that as well. The heritage of the greatest Order in all of the taxonomy, Crocodylias spanned over eighty three and a half million years ago, and ever since then they had hardly changed due to such a brilliant design and culture. Guuruuraaa, as one of the mostly scholarly and interested in some outside events, speculated that the distinction from dragons as many know them came as a result of weaker crocodiles being unable to find refuge in the swamps and thus were forced to take to the skies. Krr had no reason to doubt one of its elders regarding that.

So to say the least, it was understandable as Krr distinctively curled its lips in a brief display of scorn. But dragons were better than true outsiders, at least they came from the same general swamp. "Uuurr-" began Krr once again breaking into the proper dialect, and stopping itself. "Ahvoir- I's getchanya, ya'll schpeack in New Crocodilian, I schpeack in True n Old Crocodilian, ain't so bon in dat dere vieux tongue. Fer er- bulls n cows i's er... ya'll not uh pods, hatchlins droite? S'bout uh, personal vents if'n y'all catch da drift."

With that Krr left a pause, but still maintaining complete eye-contact with Hope and the smooth-skinned creature. "Buuuh nuff on dat, ain't mal-élevé, I were taught manners n y'all asked me a que-sti-an. Mah bask n me 're deviens da Bayou of Fluhreeda, nice ol swamp thar. Grand n muddeh. S'name Krr." growled out Krr making sure to drawl out the pronounciation for Hope and Axus to properly say, or at least try given their lack of knowledge in the Old Crocodilian dialect.

"Whatchalls noms? N was er float?" Krr said using the left hand to point at Axus. "Pareil wit yas?"

Hubub101 CallSign

 

[KnightOfNight]

Madeleine's jittery new friend sat after some hesitation, likely intimidated by the overwhelming power of her evil eye. Considering the possibility of the girl dropping the necklace, Madeleine opted to put it on her herself. "It ensures safe travels." Her apparently nameless friend's nervousness was starting to worry her. It couldn't just be because of Madeleine's evil eye, so what was causing it? Could it be? Could she have been so pulled in by Madeleine's coolness that she...

Before she could finish that thought; a rude, ignorant girl cut her off by yelling at her. Setting her bag to the side and placing the clove of garlic on her silent friend's lap, Madeleine turned around on her knees in the seat. The first thing she noticed were the pronounced fangs of the rude one but was unfazed by them. "I, Madeleine of the Evil Eye, do not answer to you. I will not throw any of my belongings out of the window, so if you are bothered that much by something in my possession I suggest you throw yourself out of the window!" Her grandmother always told her witches should be kind and helpful, but also to never let someone turn you into a victim. As she prepared herself for a possible conflict, she noticed a piece of gum in the other girl's hair.

"Friend, do not touch your hair. I will fix it soon enough." Checking her own hair, she felt nothing but did find some gum on the back of her hat. "You dare?!" Madeleine quickly grabbed another clove of garlic and a piece of nettle from her bag before standing on her seat. "You dare attack us?! Apologize now before it is too late!" More often than not, Madeleine's imaginative point of view helped her out or at the very least didn't put her and everyone around her at risk. This was not one of those times, but with all the magical defenses she placed on her body she felt invincible.

littleberry Scion

 

[Hubub101]

Well... this was happening...

He had taken his seat with a grateful nod and a grin, glad that the girl did not question his method of communication. It was good to see others who were interested in the aesthetic and structure of this majestic place. He had little time to observe more however, as a green person, presumably a fae of some variant, turned to face them. Axus felt himself twitch ever so slightly at the introduction of an additional person, but he did his best to hide it. It was nothing personal, just the fewer people the better in his book. He did however do his best to listen to the dialogue, having little to offer as he could not understand most of what the green one was saying. Draconic and Crocodilian were mentioned, it sounded like some kind of French to Axus. He could make out bits and pieces though. What was this about cows?

In any event, when the large one finished speaking Axus had adjusted enough to get the sense that he was asking for names, though he got little else. This presented a problem. While he would never automatically assume anything, it did not seem that the fae was the reading type. Additionally, Axus could not, to this day, wrap his head around sign language. He figured it was best to try anyway. Worst case scenario, he requests the girl to be a translator of sorts.

He reached into his coat once more and pulled out a slip of paper different from his cards. He revealed it to be a sticker as he peeled off the back and stuffed the trash in another coat pocket. Then, he stuck the paper to his chest and, once satisfied, looked up with a grin. The sticker read, "Hello, my name is: Axus Windico." He turned his body so both could see his name clearly.

 

[Scion]

Charlotte Paige Rhodes​

​

"Sssss!" hissed out the vampiress, as she once again scrunched her nose while narrowing her eyes at the pitiful being that tried to call her out while releasing more of that horrific aroma. For what? She totally wasn't the aggressor that dweeb started it. Slowly she rose from her seat as she bared out her fangs, letting her lips curl as to let this Madeleine get a good glimpse at them. "Oh! Oh you think like, just because you give yourself an emo descriptor and try to latch onto scene kids, you think you got yourself a real bra and not a training one and think you can start dishing out to me!" Charlotte Paige Rhodes briefly held out her hands and glanced at them vertically to make sure her nails were still beautiful as always. If that nerd made her have to clean them out because she had to instigate the use of gum warfare...

"Ha me!? Thinking you can talk sass to the one, the only, the beautiful-" Charlotte Paige Rhodes took the time to dramatically flip her hair as she brushed through her thick, luscious, mane of hair that went through shampoos and conditioners that most of the dweebs here could only dream of affording. "Charlotte Paige Rhodes? Ha, I'm wasting my breath - scratch that lack of breath explaining this cause ya like know why tramp? I don't need to dare to attack. I attack who I want. When I want. Whenever I want. It's my natural right, my right as your better. And your uggo and totes geek vibes are sickening me to the cooooore..."

​

KnightOfNight

 

[sophie.]

When the vampire and witch girls began to hiss and yell at eachother, Evelyn thought about pitching in and breaking them up. Before she could even analyze the thought, she broke into laughter. Loud, obnoxious laughter. Were they seriously fighting over this? She almost fell into the isle from laughing so hard.

“Evil eye?” She continued to laugh, gasping for breath at some points. “Natural right? Are you two mental?” The teenage girl began to dial herself down, wiping the tears from her face. “Whoo, some people just can’t handle their egos,” she muttered to herself.

Evelyn realized that she might have caused a minor scene, drawing attention to herself, so she slid down a few seats so she was closer to the windows on the bus.

mentioned:
KnightOfNight
Scion
possible interaction:
anyone

 

[Duwang]

It was a surprise for Leon to hear that a Hidden actually interacted with humans. It only cemented in his mind that, whatever she was, she was definitely inferior to his kind. He felt a sort of pity for her almost, having to be used to mingling with such lowly beings. Granted, all beings were as lowly as the humans to Leon. Still, he nodded in sympathy.

"THAT'S COOL DUDE. I'M FROM...Uh... According to my passport... United States of America? That's the uh. Hold up." Leon reached into his right side pocket to produce a cell phone that looked way too small for him to use properly and seeing him twiddle around with it using his sausage fingers only confirmed this. After minutes of prodding at the screen, Leon presented the picture to Torrin, sticking his phone right in her face. "THIS PLACE." He pointed to a GPS map depiction of the United States.

As he showed Torrin the picture, Leon's mind wandered off, looking at the other students. They were all pretty ugly.

 

[DrBones]

Soraya

"It must be nice being a wolf," Soraya smiled, "folks must not expect much from you."

Soraya drummed her fingers on her lap uncomfortably. Keeping this conversation flowing while ignoring the... the everything going on around her was becoming difficult. She could just tune out everyone around her, but that would look improper. Regardless, this conversation was not going anywhere nice; maybe it was time to change the subject.

"So where are you from?" Soraya asked hastily, "There aren't many wolves in the Emirates-- I never bothered to figure out why, but I'm sure there's a good reason."

TeikiFox

 

[Darth]

As Gotras moved over a seat to allow the succubus a seat, the confrontation between the witches and the vampiress had, unfortunately, escalated into a full-blown screaming match. He turned to face the commotion only to see one of the witches facing down the agitated vampire.

"I, Madeleine of the Evil Eye, do not answer to you. I will not throw any of my belongings out of the window, so if you are bothered that much by something in my possession I suggest you throw yourself out of the window!" she shouted. The young witch then suddenly notices the pink slime of gum-wad in the other witches hair.

"You dare attack us?! Apologize now before it is too late!" The witch's eyes went mad with fervor. A look all-too-familiar to Gotras himself. This reaction, obviously, did not sit well with the vampire. She unveiled her fangs again, and let out a vicious hiss.

"Oh! Oh, you think like, just because you give yourself an emo descriptor and try to latch onto scene kids, you think you got yourself a real bra and not a training one and think you can start dishing out to me!" The vampiress flipped her hair, in a sort of over-dramatic way that made Gotras frown.

"Ha me!? Thinking you can talk sass to the one, the only, the beautiful Charlotte Paige Rhodes? Ha, I'm wasting my breath - scratch that lack of breath explaining this cause ya like know why tramp? I don't need to dare to attack. I attack who I want. When I want. Whenever I want. It's my natural right, my right as your better. And your uggo and totes geek vibes are sickening me to the cooooore..."

Good lord, she's conceited too? I should've guessed that much. I thought someone's repulsiveness stopped at being ill-mannered. Suppose I was wrong.

Gotras saw that the situation was a bomb that had no chance of being defused. It would be lucky if either just sat down but by the looks in their eyes, that was definitely out of the picture. Just then, another voice made itself known. Gotras turned to look. It was the elemental from earlier. She had some words for the group as well.

“Evil eye? Natural right? Are you two mental? Whoo, some people just can’t handle their egos."

Gotras couldn't help but agree with her statement, but he didn't believe those words would solve the problem. Just more fuel for the fire.

Gotras stood up, he was tall for his age, taller than most. He called out over the commotion and hoped his voice wouldn't stutter like it usually does.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Do you all think we were sent here to argue with each other? Are we here to simply bicker about our petty differences like senile old men? For god's sake, it's the first damned day. Some of us are tired and nervous, can this not wait?"

After Gotras finished his words, he realized that he might've just made a mistake. Gotras felt his face go red with heat. He tried to stay confident, and stand tall.

That sounded a lot cooler in my head.

Piss! I looked like a damned fool.

More fuel for the fire...

Scion
KnightOfNight
sophie.

 

[AGent87]

Torrin had to wince, again, as the dude next to her shouted, again, before his volume dropped, again, to something resembling normal. Seriously, what is with this guy? He must have come from a pretty big family. She watched as he fiddled with his phone (it was sad how comical his difficulty with the unfamiliar device was), and then jerked her head back as he shoved the phone at her face, banging the back of her head on the window. Ouch. "THIS PLACE." he boomed again. Double ouch, dude seriously needs a more reliable volume control. Torrin put a finger on the screen and carefully pushed it out of her face. "Yep, yep, that's the US alright. That's where Florida and California are." Seeing that he didn't really seem to be paying attention to her at the moment, she took the opportunity to sit up and glance around the bus and take in her surroundings.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to the back where a girl was screaming at a couple of girls across the aisle a few rows back. Were those fangs?! One of the girls being yelled at was standing up and shouting back, like shouting ever solved anything. At least Torrin could see where the smell of garlic was coming from. Isn't that a little overkill? I'm going to be smelling that for weeks. The girl still sitting next to her looked like she wanted to just curl up and disappear. Was that a wad of gum in her hair? Wow, looks like I missed a lot. Then another girl a few rows up started laughing hysterically at their antics and Torrin had to smile at that. I feel ya, my dude, that drama is ridiculous. Suddenly the girl seemed to think twice about calling attention to herself as she got quiet and surreptitiously scooted away from the aisle. It was her turn to look like she wanted to disappear.

At least everyone else on the bus seemed a bit more mild-tempered. For the moment. Torrin slid back down and got comfortable again, closing her eyes. Are we there yet? But as soon as she closed her eyes, a loud voice from the upper deck started yelling too. With an exasperated groan, she looked up to see who was being loud now. It was boy with black hair and a gnarly scar on his face. She definitely agreed with him, though. Closing her eyes once again, Torrin hoped they would get to their destination soon.

 

[TeikiFox]

Artemis​

"It must be nice being a wolf," she smiled softly, "folks must not expect much from you." I glanced at her in confusion. What? I'm sorry... I didn't realize people thought that way. Then... again, I haven't spent much time.......... with......... people. I started shaking as the thoughts of my possible family flew through my brain. Before I truly started having spasms, though, she asked another question.
"So where are you from? There aren't many wolves in the Emirates-- I never bothered to figure out why, but I'm sure there's a good reason."
"Uh.. I'm not sure where I'm from. I just stayed with other wolves. Not as in the clan, but as in wolves wolves... Uh... yeah..." I blushed and hid my face in embarrassment. Great job! You've successfully figured out how not to respond to a question! Keep practicing! I laughed at myself in nervousness and scratched the back of my head.

I don't think she realizes that I have no idea how this Hidden society works. I wish I hadn't made her feel sad.

I wish I had a family of sorts.

 

[littleberry]

Snow
Interacting With: Scion KnightOfNight sophie. Darth Mentions: TeikiFox Radio_Rat66.6 Fluffer Duwang AGent87 Shining Wizard DrBones Hubub101 CallSign

​

There… was… gum… in… her… hair… Snow breathed in, closing her eyes slowly as she bit her lip, raising her head to pull the sticky gum from her blonde locks. Some was left over but what could she do? She looked behind her at the Vampire. Nothing against a top five ANGRY clan member. She was upset over the garlic, understandable. But Witches relied on their spells and ingredients and talismans. If anyone ever demanded Snow give up her channeling crystals… oh she would lose it.

"I, Madeleine of the Evil Eye, do not answer to you. I will not throw any of my belongings out of the window, so if you are bothered that much by something in my possession I suggest you throw yourself out of the window!"

Madeleine of the Evil Eye? What a strange title. Snow bit her lip harder, wringing her hands together as she looked at the two arguing so loudly. She tried to call to Madeleine, wanting her to settle down. This was sooo not good. “Ma...Madeleine…”

"Friend, do not touch your hair. I will fix it soon enough."

Snow tried again. “Madeleine…”

"You dare attack us?! Apologize now before it is too late!"

Snow flinched, peeking at the Vampiress… who was very very very not happy. Then there was someone laughing. Oh god… Snow pulled in tighter. Now she and the other Witches would never be taken seriously. How would they ever get along? What was King Huo thinking??

"Ha me!? Thinking you can talk sass to the one, the only, the beautiful Charlotte Paige Rhodes? Ha, I'm wasting my breath - scratch that lack of breath explaining this cause ya like know why tramp? I don't need to dare to attack. I attack who I want. When I want. Whenever I want. It's my natural right, my right as your better. And your uggo and totes geek vibes are sickening me to the cooooore..."

Finally, with a commanding tone, the Dragon from before stood, taking charge of the situation as Snow assumed Dragons did.

"Hey!" He shouted. "Do you all think we were sent here to argue with each other? Are we here to simply bicker about our petty differences like senile old men? For god's sake, it's the first damned day. Some of us are tired and nervous, can this not wait?"

This would have to wait. The bus rolled to a stop outside of the most beautiful building Snow had ever seen. Waterfalls, many old styled buildings with their walls covered in vines, gardens, and so much more all up against a cliff of rock stood before them clearly though the large windows on the top. There seemed to be three main buildings with small house style architectures standing off to the side.

“Oh wow…” Snow breathed out, standing up and she went to the empty seat across from her, pressed against the window to look. Standing there in greeting were seven teachers and one woman who held such authority and dignity Snow knew immediately she must be the Headmistress. The witch driver called out to all the passengers, letting them know they were to leave the bus now and stand outside for further instructions from the Headmistress.

 

[CallSign]

Crocodilian? Hope recalled learning about an ancient "brother" race to the dragons, but all her teaching had said they were on the same level as other beasts. As she heard it, the race fell victim to their own pride, believing themselves the absolute apex of their environment and decided to stop advancing while the dragons worked tirelessly to improve. The result was crocodiles remaining stupid beasts while the dragons reached strength rarely matched by any on the planet.

Hope was still unsure about the matter of cows and bulls - Krr's clarification of "personal vents" only worsened the confusion - but this Bayou place from which he hailed seemed quite wonderful just from the way he spoke about it. Everything he said seemed to be spoken with such intense pleasure... And then it clicked.

"OH, SEX! YOU MEANT SEX!" Hope exclaimed, forgetting her surroundings in her epiphany. Her voice returned to normal volumes as she continued. "I'm slightly put off that you can't tell I'm a girl, but Daddy did always say not to judge books by their covers... Anyway, my name is Aeri, but most people call me Hope. You can call me whichever you like more, I guess. This silent boy beside me is... I don't think I got his name, now that I think about it." She turned to question him, only to be met with a newly-donned name tag. "Oh. He's Axus, apparently. Nice to meet you both, Axus and *ahem* Krr."

Hope coughed, having not prepared herself well enough for the quick switch between human and reptile vocals. As she did, her scaled shoulder bumped the frame of her chair, emitting a soft click. Suddenly she sat bolt upright and, as the others watched, her scales faded away and were replaced with a "regular" outfit for a girl her age, leaving her looking like a human. Oops...

A slight lurch alerted Hope to a perfect way to draw attention away from her mistake and its subsequent solution. "We're here!" Hope hopped out of her seat and made her (very short) way off the bus.

 

[Shining Wizard]

Lucy's eyelid twitched as Cyclops manhandled her, nominally to get her off his lap but more likely because he was a filthy lolicon that just wanted to feel her up. His obvious pedophilic urges aside, the young man was brimming with sweet, sweet (with a burnt sort of savory note) vitality and, besides this, was an excellent seat warmer. That, and his attempts to move Lucy were really just making the problem worse, since it just meant she was now sprawled across both ends of the cramped bench in a manner not entirely dissimilar to a largish cat.

Not bothering to take her eyes off her game (she almost had enough mana fragments for her first five star!), Lucy hooked one leg over the young spastic's shoulder and swung herself into an upright position as he stood up, so that she ended up perched atop his shoulder. Skimming a little life energy off the top as she used the boy's head as an armrest, Lucy stopped tapping her phone for a few seconds to speak softly to her mount.

"I'm sure you realize, Mr. Cyclops, that you'd be a lot more credible if you didn't shout at them from the second floor?"

Darth

 

[DrBones]

Soraya looked out the window over Artemis, and looked over the school grounds. It was extravagant. Excessive. Extraneous! Every effort had been put into making the place look as luxurious as possible, and it showed. It reminded her of how clients to her father would almost drool when they thought of the possibilities he could give to them. Everywhere Soraya looked, she saw another nit to pick at.

"Look at it," Soraya tutted, "so overdone it might as well have gold leaf on the roses. Waterfalls, new-growth vines, gardens even in the shadow of the cliffside-- it all must be done with magic." She pointed at one of the groundskeepers busily tending to a cherry tree on the green. "You think he's one of us, or is he a human? Do they have the servant barracks next to our homes? Oh, so many mysteries!"

Soraya brushed her blouse into order and shook herself awake. "Phwoo! Alright, my friend; now is the challenge. For these occasions, manners are important! Walk with the crowd, and make eye contact with the most important one-- unless someone less important is looking right at you, then look them in the eye." Soraya paused, and gave Artemis a grave look. "You are a wolf, good at being the follower, right? Imagine the principal is the biggest girl in the pack, and do what will come naturally!" Soraya lifted herself out of her seat, and began marching in step with the crowd leaving the bus.

TeikiFox

 

[KnightOfNight]

Madeleine clenched her jaw tight as the vampire laid into her with insult after insult. She was so far off it would have been funny if it wasn't so irritating, she wasn't emo or scene and the bra remark was just unnecessary. Before she could loser her temper, someone behind her started laughing and joking about the silly and bold claims of the vampire. It was comforting to know she wasn't the only one that thought the vampire was crazy. Then someone from above called the crazed vampire petty and old which brought a smile to Madeleine's face. "The only right a parasite like you has is to desperately cling to others for survival while you pray to go unnoticed by them."

As the bus came to a stop, Madeleine looked back to where her friend was sitting to make sure she was alright, but she was gone. "What? Did she get scared and run?" Turning her focus back to the vampire, she pointed a finger at her before speaking to her. "I don't have time for you, Leech. My friend is lost and I must find her before something happens to her."

She grabbed her bag and staff before getting off the bus to start the all important quest of finding her lost friend. Unfortunately she had gotten a late start on getting off the bus and found herself stuck in the crowd waiting around outside the bus but didn't seem to notice it. "That girl is always getting herself in trouble, what am I going to do with her?" Musing to herself as if she knew her for more than the short bus ride, she wandered aimlessly through the people.

Looking back at how she dealt with the talking leech, Madeleine couldn't help but feel proud. She must have looked so cool standing on her seat and talking down to the bully. Oh, maybe that's what happened with her friend? She was so impressed by how cool she looked, she didn't run away but instead moved somewhere else to get a good picture of her. Taking a quick look over her shoulder to see if the girl was back there was all it took to walk into someone. It was a smaller girl who was being lectured to by a knowledgeable girl with a dignified air to her. "Ah! My apologies. My spirit wards were being assailed on all sides and I was distracted."

littleberry Scion TeikiFox DrBones