Monster Academy(IC thread)

[Togath]

Link to ooc (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14364927#post14364927)

You find yourselves on the bus to yokai academy, surrounded by other students. You've been heading through a dim tunnel for a few minutes now, though according to some of the returning students the trip is nearly done.
not fancy intro yet, but a bus seemed like an easy thing to visualize

[Elbeyon]

Behind Agni Urorson, there is a movement forward as Xiaoling Cheong moves up closer within talking distance to Urorson. Keeping her eyes loosely focused on the back of his neck and whatever he's looking at, "Hello! Mr. Urorson Agni." A hand moves out from behind him and up near his face, holding a pen. "My name is Cheong Xaioling. How old are you? Where are you from? Where did you learn to use chopsticks? How many brothers and sisters do you have? Are you married?

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook rests at the back of the bus, eyes closed as she dozed gently. She leaned against the window, the chill from the glass helping her sleep in the heated bus. She was extremely still, the only thing letting anyone know she was alive was the slight sound of her breathing.

[Astro_sol]

Lindsey "London" Irving loved staring outside windows, especially once in motion. It was one of the few things he actively enjoyed besides reading. However, his hobby was being made difficult by the white-skinned girl lying asleep next to him. Rook had taken the window seat at the back of the bus, and he didn't exactly feel like arguing.

The brown haired boy began toying with the large silver cross linked to the collar around his neck. It stuck out against the relatively nice clothes his mother had sent him off in. She'd said something about making a good first impression, and apparently this uniform was supposed to do just that. The undershirt was papery and itched, which made him feel the itch that sometimes came to his chest. His inner demon.

He couldn't smoke inside of a bus, so instead he simply brought out his Zippo and began to click it open and shut with one hand, while the other stayed unconsciously wrapped around his Rosary. He guessed that the soothing sounds of the engine would mostly drown out the clicks and clacks of the Zippo. The flame was up behind a seat, so if the bus driver - the creeper - took a random look back in the mirror, he wouldn't see anything.

He didn't know what to make of all of this yet. He, Rook, and his mother had been doing just fine. They were learning a lot on their own, and humans, while annoying at times, generally left them alone and vice versa. But thanks to his Rosary, he had to go to Monster Academy. He continued flicking his Zippo, his face drawn into a scowl from his line of thinking.

[Mekboy]

Red fidgeted restlestly. There had to be a better way of getting around than sitting still in this big metal box for what seemed like hours. The uniform didn't help either - it was far too restrictive. No way near enough freedom of movement. And it itched horribly. Not to mention smell - all machine-processed. But then again, it was all that she had that fitted now. Stupid lumpy human body.

Shifting in her seat for the hundredth time, she scowled. Were these things designed to be as uncomfortable as possible? And were they trying to drive her insane with boredom? It felt like hours since she'd been able properly stretch her legs.

"Ugh, how long is this gonna take?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Not long," Rook says to Red, probably startling all but London, "this tunnel is the last leg of the journey," she says, stretching as she woke up, "and they're not designed to be uncomfortable, they're designed to be mass produced and cheap. It's why I bought clothes that look like the school uniform rather than the actual uniform, London here didn't want to go with me when I thought of it so he has to suffer through with the standard uniform," she continues, rubbing sleep from her eyes, not even realizing she'd read Red's mind rather than hearing what she said, "I can help ya with that if ya want."

[Astro_sol]

London didn't let his facial expression change as Rook spoke. He could never really tell when she was asleep, so he just assumed she was awake at all times.

"It's just a jacket. Not that big of a deal," he said, giving it a few tugs before going back to flipping his Zippo. It itched, but nowhere near as much as the Rosary did.

[Green Bean]

Agni was fiddling with a quarter he found on the street on the way to the school bus. He flipped it with his right hand, while his left hand did a complicated dance as he grabbed the coin's infinitesimal strands of fate and played with them like a cat playing with a mouse. *tug* Tails. *tug* Tails. *tug* Tails. *tug* Tails. *tug* Tails. *tug* Tails. *complicated knot in the air* Edge.

He jumped a bit at Cheong's sudden appearance and missed catching the coin. The quarter hit the floor and bounced into his backpack, which jingled. He politely let her finish her stream of questions, paused in thought for a moment, and then replied all in one breath. "Fourteen, beneath Yggdrasil, I haven't, nine hundred and forty six sisters and three brothers, and nope! Nice to meet you!"

[Mekboy]

Spinning around to kneel on her seat, Red glared suspiciously at Rook. "I though you were asleep." she replied, sounding almost accusatory. Coincidence, right? She was talking to pretty-boy here. Just happened to mention it. Real weird.

[delta639]

(OOC: Shouldn't we get a Will Save or something against mind-reading?)

Briefly distracted by the conversation near behind her, Luhy looks up from the complex diagram of arcane sigils she's been sketching since the start of the bus ride. She's a bit surprised that they have already reached the tunnel, seeming to her that time flies- but then again, her brain's still having some trouble adjusting to a timescale smaller than geological. She's just happy she woke up in time for the bus.

"The pretty, sleepy girl's right about us being close to school," she puts forward, looking back down at her ritual and absentmindedly adjusting a symbol here and there. "No idea whether she's right about the clothes, though, but you can probably trust her on those too. I dunno. But yeah, anyway, we'll be at the school in no time at all, really."

She peers back at Rook over the top of her seat. "I'm kinda surprised you know that, though. Three of ya look like new first-years, unless I miss my guess. And I'm pretty sure I haven't seen you around before, sleepyhead. I guess you did your research?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I'm a light sleeper," Rook says, as she settled into her seat, "and I'm more of a trancer than a sleeper, I'm still aware when I'm asleep," she says, "also easier to hear people that way."

OOCNormally yes, but this is RP as an intro, just making it funny, like in the show

[Astro_sol]

London narrowed his eyes at the admittedly not-bad-looking blue haired girl. He automatically went into hound mode at her words. Why was everyone so intent on throwing the word "pretty" around?

However, no one had made any sudden moves towards Rook. As long as she stayed untouched, he'd be fine. He kept his glare up at the blue and red haired girls, unsure of what to make of them, especially this talkative one.

[delta639]

Luhy blinks in mild surprise at that, then tunes in briefly to the chatter filling the rest of the bus.

"Hmm. Well, all right, I guess there's more than enough people discussing the bus ride around us," she admits.

"Neat trick about the sleeping, though. Barely anything can get my attention when I'm asleep, and my father's even worse about that..." she muses.

"Anyhow. What're your three's names? I won't ask your races, or true forms or anything, because telling that's against the rules at the Academy." She sniffs the air absently. "Although whatever yours is, sleepy girl, you do a good job of disguising it. You smell pretty much exactly like a human."

[Astro_sol]

London snorted.

"You first."

[delta639]

"I'm Luhy, then, if you insist."

[Astro_sol]

London didn't let his face change as the girl spoke.

"London Irving." With that, he turned his head to look out the window again, distracted by the changing scenery. He briefly hoped this would be different than back home, when he was surrounded by female hangers on whenever he left the house. Rook was the only one he could really trust in that regard. Everyone here was new. That meant...just about anything, so he dealt with it as he always did. Put up another wall.

[Mekboy]

Forgetting about Rook briefly, Red gave a snort of laughter as London's face changed. Someone's a bit too protective of Monochrome here...

Grinning, she leaned further in. "Name's Red. You're already a student here, right? What's it like here?" Noticing the mess of symbols sketched out in front of Luhy, she carried on "And what's that for? They do art here or something? Weird looking piece."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Just call me Rook, everyone does," Rook replies, "and I'm not exactly normal," she says with a light smile, "let me show you, think of something, anything you want."

[delta639]

Luhy raises an eyebrow at London's response- if you can even call it that. "Ah, the 'strong silent type', is it? Or maybe that's an act you put on for your girlfriend's sake, hmm~?" She winks at the black-haired girl, then glances to see if that'll evoke any reaction from London.

"...Well, anyway. If you don't want to talk, kid, it's fine with me." Losing interest, she turns to the redhead now leaning in close to her.

"Nice to meet you, Red. That's right, I'm a second year here at the Academy. It's...well, um. It's a nice enough place, I suppose. Takes all kinds of creatures, including ones way stranger than you or me. Mostly, what we do is learn how to live among humans without getting ourselves caught. In a lot of ways, they structure the classes and such so we can learn to think like humans. Personally, I don't see why we should lower ourselves like that, but..." She shrugs.

Luhy follows Red's gaze down to her sketch. "Hmm, I guess it would look pretty weird to someone not familiar with the theory and such. We do have art classes, yes, miss Ishigami teaches them- but this is just a personal project. It's the outline for a magical ritual: magic's sort of a hobby of mine. Designed to summon..."

She trails off, looking over to Rook. "Actually, why don't you describe it, Rook?"

Edro:
Can't link pictures properly on my phone, but google image "Spider of Leng" to see what she's visualizing.
Edit: Figured it out. (http://images.epilogue.net/users/mcf/Leng_Spider.jpg)

[EdroGrimshell]

"A large purple and blue spider with the head and abdomen being connected rather than separated, with ten eyes, and very hairy," Rook says, "called the Spider of Leng. I don't see fangs unless the pedipalps double as fangs. They're from the Cthulu Mythos, from the Plateau of Leng."

[delta639]

Luhy's aqua eyes widen at Rook's description, and she lets out an impressed whistle. "Wow, you weren't joking then, huh? Haha, a mind reader...pretty impressive, think you described it better than I could have. And, er, about the anatomical issues- those might just be because the grimoire I looked in had inaccurate drawings. Human artists, you know."

She pauses, eyes narrowing slightly on Rook, and lowering her voice. "...You should be careful who you show that ability to, though. Everyone here's got secrets, that's why they're here in the first place, and a lot of people- ones more insecure than myself- might feel threatened by the idea that you can find theirs out. And you don't want to mess with plenty of people here, trust me." Luhy's gaze shifts over Rook, Red, and even London, and she shrugs, continuing in an oddly nonchalant tone.

"Some might even try to kill you. It's happened before, plenty of times. I hear that's a big deal for most youkai. But anyways, like I said...try to be careful, all of you. Just a bit of friendly advice from your upperclassman."

[Astro_sol]

London ignored the girlfriend quip. He'd dealt with all of that already back at home. He also ignored Rook doing her mind-thing, which didn't exactly bother him, but didn't really entertain him, either.

He turned back around and narrowed his eyes, though, once the blue-haired..."Luhy" was finished "warning" them. "We can take care of ourselves. Trust me." He gave a slight grin, one akin to the Cheshire Cat's.

He realized he could instill the fear of God into this girl, but decided against it. She was right, and he hated that. They needed to be careful. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of telling Rook that out loud, though.

[EdroGrimshell]

"It's something I only recently came into. I rarely use it for more than surface thoughts when I use it at all. Only time I used it foe anything more than that was when I was trying to figure it all out," Rook says, "I only use it as a party trick, I do respect people's privacy."

[Mekboy]

Red's eyes grew wide and grin grew wider. "Oooh... Now that's cool. I thought it was odd how you were talking about the uniforms."

With a snort of derision she considers Luhy's advice "Try and kill us? I'd like to see them try. I'm no pushover."

[delta639]

Luhy responds to Rook first. "That's probably for the best, but still. People might get paranoid regardless...your friend London can probably tell you more about that than me."

She nods to the young man, returning his grin with a predatory one of her own, and sensing some of his intentions even if she lacks Rook's methods. "I'm glad to hear you're so confident, London...but overconfidence can get you killed, you know. If you think you're up to defending yourself- and your friend here, perhaps-" she adds half-questioningly. "Maybe you'd be interested in a little sparring match later today? As a prelude to people coming at you that actually mean business. Don't worry, I'd go easy on you, and keep everything nonlethal." She laughs lightly, then turns to Red.

"You, on the other hand, I think I'd rather just ask about your confidence. What sorts of things can you do, Red?"

[Astro_sol]

London perked up, his eyebrows raising slightly. Finally, something interesting.

"Easy on me? Nonlethal? This's got to be a joke." He gave his rosary an extra violent tug. "Name the time and the place, girl." Yeah, so she was egging him on a bit. And yeah, it was working.

[Mekboy]

Red kept her smile fixed. "I thought we weren't meant to say what kinda monsters we are. Isn't saying what we can do sorta the same? Besides, what makes you so trustworthy?"

[delta639]

Luhy chuckles at the speed of his response, and reaction. Ah, now this should be fun, shouldn't it?

"All right, then. There's a graveyard a short distance from the first-years' dorms...and yes, it's there for a good reason. How does there, say...this evening, sound? Seven o' clock, perhaps. I'll give you some time to get settled into the school first, once opening ceremonies are done...boy."

She turns to Rook. "I don't suppose you'd want to come and observe? From a safe distance, of course. You can make sure I don't beat up your friend too badly," she adds- unnecessarily, perhaps, but she's enjoying the newfound prospect of getting more than sullen silence out of London.

Red's response gives her pause for a moment, though. "Eh...well, that's a good point. You don't need to tell me anything just yet, we have only just met after all. I have a feeling that you'll be using your powers against one student or another soon enough, regardless. Pretty much everyone does."

[EdroGrimshell]

"I'm not taking your Rosario off," Rook tells London, pulling a small book from her pack, "But I would like come by nontheless," she continues, then grins, "though, if I were to remove his Rosario he'd likely be able to take on most people at the school."

[Astro_sol]

"I'm not taking your Rosario off," Rook tells London, pulling a small book from her pack, "But I would like come by nontheless," she continues, then grins, "though, if I were to remove his Rosario he'd likely be able to take on most people at the school."

"I won't need it. I can take her on my own." He redirected his attention to blue-hair. "7 is fine. Graveyard is fine. You won't be, though."

With that, he imitated his companion, pulling out a thick tome entitled "Commentarii de Bello Gallico".

"Hail, Caesar," he muttered.

[delta639]

Luhy smiles at London. "We'll see about that, won't we? I'll be looking forward to this evening." She frowns as he pulls out a book. What, nothing more? Just an unwarranted threat and you're back to the silent treatment? Boring...

"You're welcome to it," she addresses Rook, "but you don't need to rule out the idea of removing his...'Rosario', is it? I might enjoy more of a challenge."

Lacking a book of her own, she flicks a finger upwards and telekinetically throws London's upwards out of his hands, a foot in the air or near enough. Smirking, she returns to putting the last touches on her ritual's drawing, but frowns as a stray hand movement knocks it off her lap and across the aisle, the magically-inscribed paper ending up beneath the feet of a short blond boy.

"Um...sorry, but could I have that back?" she asks Agni, pointing.

[Green Bean]

Agni noticed the weird paper that settled at his feet and glanced around for a moment or two before he noticed a crazy-haired girl pointing at him. He picked up the paper and frowned a bit as he rotated it back and forth trying to make sense of it. Then he shrugged, held the paper an inch above his head, looked up, and blew on it like it was a birthday candle. It wafted through the air, carried in a random pattern by air currents and the movement of the bus until it settled gently into Luhy's lap. "Enjoy!"

[Astro_sol]

London didn't move as the book shot out of his hands. He just stared at where the book had landed, which was not back where it started. It occurred to him that he knew exactly which page he was on, and where he was at - Caesar was waxing eloquent in his strategic slaughter of the Gauls - but that didn't change the fact that someone touched his book.

He felt his rosary's itching get worse as he focused on blue-hair.

"Girl," he said, barely keeping his voice level. "Pick up the book."

[delta639]

(OOC: Huh, I'd half-expected Agni to recognize the ritual/spell, Green Bean. Having Ritualist, Knowledge (arcane lore), etc. Ah, this is fine too.

Luhy's gaze follows the path of her paper with interest, and grins at the blond boy once it settles in her lap. "Thanks. Nice trick, too. What was that, wind magic or something like-?"

She cuts herself off at London's growling, and looks at the young man innocently. "Who, me? I do have a name, you know. But, well, since you asked so nicely..."

She mutters a syllable, and the book launches itself up from the floor as if thrown, forming a neat arc, clipping the boy's chin, and landing with a thump in London's lap.

"Hmm, that sounded kind of heavy. Sorry, I don't have the finesse of this guy-" she waves a hand in Agni's direction- "So, have to make do with what I have. Any more requests?" She smiles over at London.

[Astro_sol]

London felt something click inside. He felt trickles of power flow through him as he made eye contact with blue-hair. You don't look nearly depressed enough.

"No. See you after school." And he turned back to his book, keeping his ears tuned to hear the effects of what he'd just done.

OOC
Luhy, make a Will Save DC 18 against Despair; he's trying to get her maniacally depressed, and helpless in general. She's too perky for him.

Also, I was going to disregard Fear even before realizing you had Fear Immunity. Can't have a character run off in the opening scene if everything went to hell.

Please note this power is Insidious, Subtle, and has Mind Blank.

[delta639]

(Will save: [roll0])

Luhy is surprised to feel her smile falter as she looks at London, but as he looks back down to his book, that initial shock is crushed beneath a wave of sadness. The blue-haired girl feels a sob escape from her throat, and she looks down at her lap, suddenly unable to muster up the effort to continue messing with the boy.

"Ahh...what's wrong with me, all of a sudden?" she mumbles to herself, barely loud enough to hear. "Ugh, I'm pathetic- what, is just the prospect of fighting this guy getting to me this much? I'm so much weaker than Father, he never would've reacted like this. Maybe he was right to say I couldn't defend myself..."

OOC:

Lessee. Sustained (lasting) means I save each progressive round with a +1 bonus, until the effect ends, right?

[Astro_sol]

London didn't give a hint that he heard the girl's quiet sobs, except perhaps for the frown that slowly began to weigh down his face.

No. The girl had messed with him, she deserved it. Right? ...Right?

He certainly didn't feel any better.

OOC
Each progressive round that he's not paying attention to you, it's cumulative +1. If he's concentrating on you, you don't get the +1. It's each round, though, yeah.

Fortunately he's reading, so this shouldn't take too long. And you didn't fail too badly.

[delta639]

Luhy's oblivious to London's onset of regret, as well as his causing her condition to begin with.

The girl just continues muttering to herself, switching to an incomprehensible guttural language that nonetheless manages to convey hopelessness, and she pulls her knees up onto the seat to bury her head in, curling up in a ball. A couple more dry sobs can be heard coming from her, and it looks like she'll remain like that for a while unless stopped.

[Astro_sol]

London's book snapped closed with a crack.

"Bloody hell," he muttered. I didn't mean to hit her that hard. He leaned forward, getting out of his seat so he could reach her, pulling her chin so she could look at him in the eyes. He forced more power into them. The sooner this was over with, the better. "Look here, girl. Look. Calm down."

EDIT: Using dat Calm power. Do you even WANT to roll a save?

[delta639]

Luhy offers little resistance, easily letting her gaze be turned towards London's. The clouding over of her eyes dissipates, and she shivers unconsciously, a smile forming on her face once again.

"After school it- whoa, how'd you get over here so fast?" she says with a start, one blue tentacle extending from her hair and wrapping around London's wrist, pulling his hand down.

Luhy peers at him, smirking. "Hmm, not bad...speed like that, maybe I underestimated you some. Only a little, though- speed only means so much once you're caught. I expect you'll learn that, and a few other things too, this evening." Her tentacle uncurls, releasing the boy's hand.

She looks down at her curled-up legs and frowns. "Wait, when did I..." She shakes her head, and shifts back into a normal sitting position, tentacle waving London back to his seat. "Come on, kid, we're not quite there yet. You'll have time to try and get your hands on me later."

I'll pass on the save, obviously.

And I think that'll be all the posting from me until we get to the school unless someone else talks to me, you and I've kind of been monopolizing the thread. Mostly me.

[Astro_sol]

London said nothing as he returned to his seat. He'd rarely used that power at home, and especially now...

He didn't care. Nope. Not one bit. The British boy grabbed his book again and began reading with a vengeance. Thankfully, it wasn't damaged.

OOC
I wouldn't worry so much about that, as long as we don't start physically moving ahead in the narrative, but yeah this is a good stopping point for that spat. I figured it'd be OK since everyone else seemed preoccupied with each other, and their reactions shouldn't change the outcome.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook elbows London as he sits back down, "not the best idea, esspecially when they can't even remember what you did to them," she whispers, "it'll make her overestimate you and someone will get suspicious, eventually."

[Elbeyon]

He jumped a bit at Cheong's sudden appearance and missed catching the coin. The quarter hit the floor and bounced into his backpack, which jingled. He politely let her finish her stream of questions, paused in thought for a moment, and then replied all in one breath. "Fourteen, beneath Yggdrasil, I haven't, nine hundred and forty six sisters and three brothers, and nope! Nice to meet you!"

She nudges the pen closer to him, "Wow! That's a lot of sisters, you should have no problem finding a women then." She covers her mouth letting out a small giggle at the last statement. "Whats Yaggdrasil like? I'll teach you how to use them later and nice to meet you!" If at this point he doesn't except the pen she'll slide back into her own chair, but if he accepts she'll continue onward.

Onward:
"How did you do that trick with the paper? Could you teach me? What club are you going to join? What type of food do you like?

[Astro_sol]

Rook elbows London as he sits back down, "not the best idea, esspecially when they can't even remember what you did to them," she whispers, "it'll make her overestimate you and someone will get suspicious, eventually."

London lowered his book a hair to match Rook's gaze and reluctantly nod. It had been a bit...hasty, but that girl had pushed a lot of his buttons. Still, her words about keeping their identities secret rang true. He'd have to be more subtle in the future.

[Mekboy]

Grin never fading, Red watched the unfolding events excitedly. Now this was interesting. Shame it couldn't have happened earlier - something to help the trip pass. Pretty-boy was certainly an odd one. Hopefully she'd get to see the fight. Luhy, though seemed a bit of a special case. "Whoa Tentacles, mood swings much? You always this weird?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Doubt it," Rook says, turning a page in her book, "you'll get it later."

[Green Bean]

Agni was all too happy to keep bobbing along in Cheong's babbling brook of conversation. "Huh? They're not women, they're my sisters. And Yggdrasil is a really really really really really big tree. And I'd love to learn chopsticks."

He took her pen a little gingerly. Gifts back home, at least from anyone in his age range, tended to leak or explode or plunge the house of Lancaster into a civil war. You know, fun little pranks. "What, can't everyone do that?" He grinned and stuck his tongue out. "I dunno about clubs yet. I'm good at music, and maybe there's a sewing club or something. I'll have to see. I like sushi! Are you going to join a club? Where are you from?"

[delta639]

Luhy glances up from her drawing to give Red an odd look.

"Well, we're all pretty weird here, but I am kind of known as...huh, mood swings? What do you mean? I've been pretty much like this for the whole time, haven't I?"

[Mekboy]

Red returned the look. What was wrong with these people? Rook didn't seem bothered in the slightest and London was just sitting there reading lie nothing had happened. "You curling up and crying yer eyes out ring a bell at all?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Probably not, that was London's doing, it's a bad habit of his when he gets angry. He's not a bad guy, but is a little hotheaded. He also knows better to use that ability on me after what happened last time," she says, then elbows London lightly again, a signal he should apologize.

[delta639]

Luhy frowns at Red's response. "Um...no? I don't have cause to cry- ever, really, and I'm pretty sure I would remember something like that-" She halts, as Rook's soft voice cuts in.

Then her eyes narrow, and she glares at London, noticeably annoyed for the first time. "Excuse me, but just what did you do to my head? I wouldn't ask, but I apparently can't remember any of it."

[Astro_sol]

London peered over the book, his face still impassive. "I dunno. Maybe whatever you are doesn't mesh well with me. I've had that effect on people before." He fixed blue-hair with a stare. "You sure about this after school deal? I'm not really feeling it anymore."

Bluff checks, bluff checks, bluff checks

[roll0]

[delta639]

Sense Motive: [roll0]


Luhy matches London's stare with her own, eyes flashing crimson briefly as she does so.

"Uh huh. Nice try, kid, but your friend Rook already made it clear that there's a bit more going on than that. I might not remember the details, but I know you have some 'ability' which you used to make me cry, of all things, and which you apparently use often enough to be a bad habit."

The blunette scoffs. "And...what, you get some sort of mental-emotional sucker-punch in on me, get your token bit of humiliation for the girl who's messing with you, and now you're ready to walk away. Yeah, I've seen that kind before, London. You know, I realized that you're overconfident, maybe a little aloof...but I didn't think you were a coward." She grins at him, and mutters a short incantation, raising mental defenses in case he tries that trick again.

[Astro_sol]

London shrank further into his book as she spoke. Great. He loses his temper, loses it too well, and now it's just the humiliation conga.

He would have lost it again, but after dealing with the inevitably messy aftermath of his last display of power, he was done. He slowly closed his book.

"And are you expecting an apology? You messed with me, so I mess right back. I do it too well, and you're the one wanting an apology?" He felt his hackles raising, as well as his Rosario getting warm. He had to calm down, Rook was right. He took a deep breath. "So you still want to meet after school? Fine. I'll come. We'll do this all over again, probably with the same result."

Goddammit, I never meant to humiliate her. I just wanted her to stop.

Goddammit.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook sighs as she snaps her book shut, "that's as close to an apology as you'll get, only people he'll actively apologize to are myself and our mother," she says, "took him almost six months before he'd even indirectly apologize to me."

[delta639]

Luhy exhales. "As a matter of fact, I never actually asked for an apology. I don't generally think they're necessary, because people rarely manage to offend me. So normally, that little personality quirk of his wouldn't be an issue.

However...London, you do realize that all I did was throw a few jibes and do a party trick with your book, right? If you want an apology for that, which you do seem to, then sure- sorry, but I didn't mean anything by it. Publically driving someone into existential despair seems a little more- extreme, shall we say- than my variety of messing with you. But still, I'm fine without an apology...I'd prefer to show you your mistake. I'll see you this evening, boy- but honestly, I expect the result to be the other way around."

She gives Rook a glance. "But, it is nice of you to try and intercede for your...brother? Adopted brother? Whichever- I'll refrain from going too far for your sake."

[Mekboy]

Practically clapping her hands in joy, Red butts in. There was something that was just hilarious about the situation. For her at least. "Yeah, real jerk move there, pretty-boy. I ain't seen anything like that before, and I grew up with some right blockheads. No way I'm missing this!"

[Astro_sol]

London snorted again. "You like the sound of your own voice, don't you?" he muttered, referring to blue-hair. He didn't really care. He'd let Rook take care handling their...living situation.

Red-hair got a blank stare. "Are you sure you don't wanna have a go, too? I could take you after dealing with bluey here."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Adopted, sort of," Rook says, "I was collapsed outside their clinic, couldn't remember a thing before that, so, ended up living there since and became part of the family. I think it was just over a year ago."

[Mekboy]

Red giggled. Too much fun, even if I do have to get involved myself."If you're offering it. Sure you me to go right after her? Wouldn't want me with an unfair advantage now would we?."

[delta639]

Luhy ignores London's response- she's said all she's going to for now, to him at least. "Huh...interesting," she says to Rook. "Lucky that you were found by another household of monsters- who knows what could've happened otherwise."

"If you want to watch, Red, go ahead- you already know the time and place, anyway," she tells the shorter girl beside her. "But I doubt you'll have a chance to fight London, here, unless he's an expert at fighting while beaten unconscious."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Only if I take the rosario off," Rook replies, reopening her book.

[Mekboy]

Red snorted derisively. "Hey, knock yourself out."

OOC: Red has no idea what a rosario is, let alone does.

[Elbeyon]

Agni was all too happy to keep bobbing along in Cheong's babbling brook of conversation. "Huh? They're not women, they're my sisters. And Yggdrasil is a really really really really really big tree. And I'd love to learn chopsticks."

He took her pen a little gingerly. Gifts back home, at least from anyone in his age range, tended to leak or explode or plunge the house of Lancaster into a civil war. You know, fun little pranks. "What, can't everyone do that?" He grinned and stuck his tongue out. "I dunno about clubs yet. I'm good at music, and maybe there's a sewing club or something. I'll have to see. I like sushi! Are you going to join a club? Where are you from?"

"I'm sure they'll find someone for you eventually, not be with you." she says with a childish grin. "Sorry, must of translated that wrong. My English is bad. I'll get better though and Wow!" Her eyes lighting up as you describe the tree, "I want to see it someday, I don't think I've seen a tree that big. How do the squirrels even get to the top!? What type of tree is it? Are there acorns? How big are they? How big are the leafs!? Have you ever tried to make a boat out of them? How dark is it at the bottom of the tree?" She continues on enthusiastically for some time, asking question after question, enjoying the topic more than she should.

As her questions wind down, she taps the side of her head a couple times while trying to remember what he said earlier before she went off on a tangent, "I'm from the middle kingdom." A huge wide grin crossing her face before she covers it. "And there are a lot of fun clubs.. I'm not sure which one I'm going to join yet this year. Last year I had a lot of fun swimming, but.. who knows! Maybe we could make a club for singing and sushi! I could even teach you to use chopsticks as the first club activity!"

[Green Bean]

"Honestly, I've got no idea - I've only ever seen the roots. I've heard there's a squirrel, though. There's usually light around our Well." Agni's usually pretty quick, but even he's have difficulty not being swept away by the stream of questions.

"The Middle Kingdom? You mean Midgard?"

[Elbeyon]

She gives a faint and fading "Maybe." then falls into silence. Seemingly lost in thought before she gives a weakly secondary reply, "Also called the People's Republic of China." as she eeks out an answer her eyes drift away from his neck out towards the window.

[Astro_sol]

London turned to Rook, also done with blue-hair.

"I doubt it'll come to that." But I'll still want you there if things go to hell, he added mentally.

To red-hair he replied flatly: "See you, then." He was just making so many new friends today. With all of that said, he buried himself back into The Gallic Wars, unabridged.

[Togath]

took me a while to figure out how to start up, I've decided to aim for sandboxy, since it's easier to adlib if needed in one

After about a minute more the tunnel finally opens up to a mid sized forest of trees, seemingly in autumn despite the time of year, to the right of the road you can see the coast, mostly made up of cliffs, but with a few sandbars or outcroppings of stone along it.
The bus starts to slow and pulls up next to a simple wooden notice board, next to a scarecrow-like effigy. Standing beside the sign stands a tall muscular man with unkempt hair and thick sideburns.
As the doors open he says in a somewhat guttural voice; "Welcome to Yoaki Gakuen, I am Mr. Tem, the physical education teacher here. You have about an hour before classes start, in order to learn the layout of the school a bit. if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

[Green Bean]

Agni clapped his hands with delight. "I knew it!" He couldn't help but notice Cheong's sudden quiet, but before he could ask, the bus arrived.


As the doors open he says in a somewhat guttural voice; "Welcome to Yoaki Gakuen, I am Mr. Tem, the physical education teacher here. You have about an hour before classes start, in order to learn the layout of the school a bit. if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

Agni jumped up and down, hand thrust in the air. "Oh me! Me! Uh, where is everything? Like, maybe lockers and classrooms first, but also the cafeteria and the gym and the clubs and the pool. Oh yeah, do you have a pool?"

[Astro_sol]

London slammed his book shut, shoved it into his bag, and waited until the general rush passed before hopping off the bus. At the unkempt hair-man's words, he shrugged and began wandering towards the main building, waiting until he couldn't see any adults before lighting up a cigarette.

He made sure Rook was nearby, or at least within eye-shot. Couldn't have his Rosario-remover wander too far off.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook shrugs after she gets off the bus and follows after London, no need to stay about here. With her and London both having good memories, they would get the hang of it very quickly.

[delta639]

Luhy places her ritual carefully in her bag, then exits the bus quickly, giving the teacher a quick wave hello. She looks around absently, not seeing much point in staying for the new students' introduction, and planning to head off somewhere on her own.

She's distracted, however, by the energized voice of the blond boy who'd picked up her drawing on the bus, now jumping up and down rather noticeably. He's pretty excitable, huh?... she thinks, watching the boy with an amused smile.

She pauses for a moment. Well, it's not my job to play tour guide for the freshmen, but...hmm, I still want to ask about that magic he pulled earlier. Couldn't hurt to give a little help.

A slim blue tentacle extends from Luhy's hair and taps Agni on the shoulder. "Asking where everything is's a bit of a tall order, you know," she says, smirking. "But we do have a pool, at least. Mr. Tem will probably be busy here for a while, but I could show you where it is. I'll probably be heading over there myself in a minute." She speaks loudly enough for Cheong to hear as well, assuming the blue-haired girl is still nearby.

[Mekboy]

Glad to finally be off of the bus, Red spent a while stretching. Stupid long journeys. Stupid lack of leg room. Glancing around, she spotted London. Best stick around someone she knew. Besides, she seemed to get along with him.

[Togath]

Agni:
Tem chuckles slightly at Agni's excitement "There's a map of the grounds at the entrance. I've got to stay here and help other students, but Mr. Kotsubo might be free, you can probably find him somewhere near the kendo club"

[Green Bean]

"Cool!" Before Luhy wandered off, Agni took a quick trip over to the school map to get a quick visualization of the layout.

[Astro_sol]

Glad to finally be off of the bus, Red spent a while stretching. Stupid long journeys. Stupid lack of leg room. Glancing around, she spotted London. Best stick around someone she knew. Besides, she seemed to get along with him.

London raised an eyebrow at the approaching red-head. He blew a waft of smoke in her general direction. "What, you wanna have a go already?" His sounded tired, not eager.

[Mekboy]

Wafting the smoke from her face, Red looked confused. "Course not, pretty-boy. What gave ya that idea?" She paused for a moment. "What's the reason for that?" she said, waving a finger under the cigarette.

[Astro_sol]

London thought a bit at her answer, then shrugged. As for her question, he took a moment to think, then decided he could tell her at least that.

"The smoke's good on my lungs. They weren't built for clean air."

[Mekboy]

Interest piqued, Red grabbed the cigarette from London's mouth. Holding it between thumb and forefinger, she examined it.

"You have to breathe smoke so you stick burning stuff in your mouth to compensate? That sounds... really dumb."

[Astro_sol]

London gave the red-head a dumbfounded look, then snatched the cigarette back. "No one asked for your opinion, ginger." He took a quick drag. "Did no one teach you manners?"

He chose not to point out the obvious hypocrisy in the statement.

[delta639]

Luhy sidles along behind Agni, bare feet hovering a few inches above the ground.

"Got your bearings straight, kid?" she asks, peering over his shoulder. "I don't think it's too easy to get lost here, but can't hurt to get a look at the map I guess."

"So, the pool's right there-" she jabs a finger at a point on the map. "-and I wanna get there soon before the swimming club fills it up. So, c'mon..." She starts floating off in the direction of the pool, bidding Agni to follow her.

"Do you have a swimsuit with you, by the way?" she asks over her shoulder. "Oh, and that girl you were talking to on the bus- Xiaoling Cheong, was it? Or Cheong Xiaoling, maybe...I forget how it works sometimes with all these human languages. Anyway, I think I've seen her around school and the pool a few times- think she'd want to come with us?"

[Green Bean]

"I dunno, only one way to find out." Agni waved both his hands over his head. "Cheong! Hey! Come with us! We're going to go see the pool!"

[Togath]

London/Red/Rook(area description):
London ended up finding a spot away from some of the hustling crowds, just past an outcropping of the building(which looks somewhat old and has a Victorian style to it's architecture, as well as a rather odd shape) facing the woods, which are filled with several odd, and somewhat unnerving decorations, such as dangling ropes(aged as if out here for centuries), what appear to be grave markers, and a large amount of rather unruly groundcover(mostly consisting of bushes and ferns, with moss in place of grass in some spots).

on you way to the spot London settled for, you did see a few interesting students; a rather stocky boy, with an overlarge jaw and somewhat feral eyes, a girl wearing an eye patch, and possessing hair of an odd, brownish-grey colour, walking beside a classmate with dark green hair and completely black eyes, nearer to your location you spotted an older male student--probably a third year--with a tall, but nearly skeletal build, standing near the entrance watching the first-years.

[Mekboy]

Red laughed. "Nah. Didn't need 'em at home. Besides, that's what I'm here for, right? To learn how to act all human." She gestured at the woods. "Nice place they got here though. Real friendly looking."

[Astro_sol]

London glanced at red-head. "Do you even want to act human?"

While she dealt with that, the British boy looked around the school, letting his eyes linger on the students, and longer on the boy with completely black eyes. Aren't we supposed to look as human as possible? Dumbass. They certainly seemed to be going out of their way to make everything creepy. He eventually turned to Rook. "So what do you think? I think it's almost got a charm to it." His face face looked bored, and his tone of voice hadn't changed from speaking with red-hair.

[EdroGrimshell]

"It's interesting, that's for sure," Rook replies, taking note of the students, "but the students here don't know the first thing about hiding as humans," she says, "you need to actually make yourself look like an average human if you want to blend in."

[Astro_sol]

"I thought that'd be obvious," London replied, much louder than necessary so his voice could carry. "Aren't those supposed to be guys older than us? They must be real dumb buggers if they can't even pull of a decent human disguise."

[Mekboy]

Red scowled. “What’d be the fun in that? If ya ask me, just looking the part would be enough. But no, apparently I gotta learn -” she made air-quotes “-‘proper manners’ and all that junk. Ridiculous.”

With London's outburst, her grin returned. “Aw, look who’s the one making trouble now.”

[Astro_sol]

"Why do you even bother, anyway?" London asked in a quieter voice, honestly confused. Of course, he was learning how to blend in because...he wasn't exactly sure, actually. He'd grown up around humans with his mother, yes, and he'd done just fine acting the anti-social part, and the Rosary helped him keep most of his powers in check. Luhy had been wrong, earlier; he didn't use his powers on humans...at least, not often. There simply wasn't any fun in it. Humans were too weak to be any fun. Rook excluded, at least for the weak bit. Rook was odd like that.

He ignored the "trouble" quip. "I mean, humans make better monster disguises every October. Some of these guys suck worse than humans, can you believe that?" He gave Rook a glance. He'd gotten to the point, he hoped, that she understood that she was an exception to all of this "human" business.

[Mekboy]

"Don't have much choice. If I wanna leave home, I've gotta learn to blend in. Pretend to be human. New body and everything. Real stupid rule - a human couldn't find me if I didn't want 'em to." She shrugged "It's better than staying though. Real boring there. At least I'll have some freedom."

[Astro_sol]

"New body? You don't just take human form?" asked London absentmindedly. None of the other students seemed to be taking his bait. Ah, well. He began moving towards the main building, ready to give it a general look-see.

[Mekboy]

"I wish! I'm stuck with this ugly lump now!" Red complained. Leaning in close, she poked London "You mean you ain't stuck like that, pretty-boy? Ugh..."

[Astro_sol]

Before red-hair's finger could touch London, he had grabbed it between two fingers. "Don't touch," he muttered, and tossed her hand away. "I'm stuck while this is on," he said, pointing at the Rosario. He stormed ahead quicker, finishing the cigarette and tossing it away without caring where it went.

[EdroGrimshell]

"He can't take it off himself," Rook says, "honestly I've always looked human, you know the kind," she continues, "like succubi or yuki-onna. They look mostly human even in their natural forms," she avoids actually saying she's a monster, half-truths helped her blend in more.

[Mekboy]

Ignoring London for the moment, Red raised an eyebrow. "You've always looked like that? Real tough break there. Never heard of either of them monsters though. You know a lot about that kinda stuff?"

[delta639]

Luhy waits for a few moments, glancing between Agni and the milling crowd. Then she shrugs. "Doesn't look like she heard you, kid. Eh, well, she knows where the pool is, she can come find us if she wants. Come on."

She leads the blond boy inside the school grounds, giving a wave to Rook and Red as she passes them, and a curt nod in London's direction.

"I'm Luhy, by the way," she mentions to Agni. "Luhy Galt, I'm a second-year here. I'm still wondering, by the way- how was it you pulled off that trick on the bus with my drawing? Using magic on the air currents, or something like that? Telekinesis?"

They head inside, quickly advancing to the pool. "And here it is!" she says with a grin, pointing at the large pool through a window. "Changing rooms lead right inside, that's the boys' one." She points to the leftmost of two doors, and heads into the other. She quickly changes into a blue-green bikini and heads into the pool area, waiting for Agni to come out as well.

[Green Bean]

Agni was a little hurt that Cheong ignored him, but he shook it off with a smile. Luhy was probably right, she just couldn't hear him. As they crossed the campus, he was quickly back to his cheerful self "Oh, that? I made it meant to happen. Like this!"

He pointed at an open spot on the grounds; some inconsiderate visitor had dropped a cigarette butt on the field. He concentrated for a moment, and his fingers twitched a bit. As the two of them looked on, a small songbird dove for a bug, missed it, and managed to snatch up the litter. The bird realized its mistake and released its 'prey', but the butt nonetheless had enough momentum left to carry it through the air and into a nearby trash can.

"See, you just have to knot the fates of the trash can and the garbage together, and the universe sorts it out. My family's a lot better at it than I am, though; my knots only last a couple seconds unless I really concentrate, so it only works on stuff that's like right there in front of me."

The pool was everything Agni thought it would be, and he said as much. "Awesome! I'll meet you out here!"

He changed quickly and met Luhy out on the pool deck. His bathing suit is...interesting. It had white and red horizontal stripes running up its length, and the cut is clearly circa 1920 at the latest. It also had a skirt, with knee length bloomers underneath. He smiles a little awkwardly, a little embarrassed but not overly so. "My aunt's a great seamstress, but she's only knows a few patterns. She mostly just resizes hand-me-downs. Are you a good swimmer?"

[delta639]

Luhy listens to the boy's explanation with interest, eyes lighting up at the bird's behavior and cigarette butt's movement. "Oh, now that's a lot cooler than I'd expected! You actually interfere with the fate of the universe on a manageable level? Wow...I don't suppose that's something I could learn, is it?...nah, probably not, I'd need to be closer to my dad's power I think. Well, maybe eventually."

After changing briefly, Luhy meets Agni out on the deck, where she...gives him a blank stare. "I, um, don't think I've seen that kind of swimsuit before. The ones on most of the boys here are a lot smaller, and..." She smiles uncertainly at him and shrugs. "Well, it probably doesn't matter much, anyway. Human clothing's mostly for show, right? Swimsuits probably aren't much different."

With that, she jumps backwards into the pool, a wave of water splashing up towards Agni. She paddles around in it, giggling, several limb-length tentacles extended from her hair. "Ahh. Well, I'm not as good at it in this form- the body's all weird in terms of buoyancy and stuff- but the water's still where I was from to begin with, so I guess I'm a decent swimmer. What about you? Want to try a little race, maybe?...Just to the end of the pool and back, something like that."

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook takes a seat on the bench near the edge of the pool, "I don't swim," she says, a hand raching behind her collar to touch the spade shaped mark on her neck.

[Green Bean]

"Sure!" Agni dove in with a splash. "Wow, I've never been in a real pool before! This is great!"

Without waiting for any kind of signal, he took off for the other end of the pool. Of course, he was clearly completely untrained, and he inched along the lane, the water roiling as he flailed along.

[Astro_sol]

London followed Rook to the pool. "My swim trunks are in my bag. Which is in my room."

He took off his shirt and sat on the edge of the pool, letting his legs sit in the water. "Eh," was the only sound he gave at getting his uniform's pants soaking wet.

He stared into the water, toying with his rosary.

[Mekboy]

Red took a distainful sniff of the air, wrinkling her nose. "We're expected to swim in that? Stinks of chemicals. No way I'm going in there." Taking a seat next to Rook, she surveyed the swimmers, quickly spotting Luhy. So much for 'keeping human form'.

[delta639]

(OOC: So, neither of us actually have ranks in Swim, but judging by respective modifiers...)

"Yeah, it's nice enough. Nothing compared to the ocean, obviously, but- hey, you started early!" Luhy calls playfully to Agni, and sets off for the other side herself.

Her form is rough, similar to Agni's, but the multiple limbs and greater strength contained therein propel Luhy to the end of the pool several seconds before Agni reaches it. Aww, no challenge here... she thinks, turning to face him and holding up a hand. "Time out. You seem, um, kinda new to swimming, kid. Can't you...I dunno, tie your fate to the end of the pool or something? To make this a little more interesting, you know."

She looks around, seeking inspiration, and her eyes alight on the girls and London by the poolside. "Hey, Red! Hi, Rook! What, did you follow us over here? Come on, if you're at the pool you should at least try getting in," she calls, waving a tentacle at them.

[Mekboy]

"Hey Squidhead. I was just following London here." She glanced over at the boy in question. "Apparently he decided to come here for a staring match with the water." She gave a slightly disgusted look at the water. "You really happy swimming in that stuff? Smells wrong. And who's yer friend?"

[Astro_sol]

London suddenly smiled. "Squid-hair." He chuckled, still staring at the water. He had a new name for the girl.

What was he going to do here? Being at home was easy. Just ignore the humans and they typically ignored you. Only now he was surrounded by monsters, who apparently didn't really care about that "keep human form" rule he'd read about. He wasn't worried, per se. Just confused.

He continued kicking his feet in the water. He didn't mind getting his pants wet, but he didn't need to be stripping down just yet. It'd probably cause a scene.

[delta639]

"Squid-" Luhy starts, before glancing down at her tentacles. "Oh, right. I should probably put those away, shouldn't I? Just forgot I guess, I'm used to having them to help me swim." She shrugs, unconcerned, and the appendages retract into her wet hair.

"It does smell a little strange, huh? From what I've heard, the school puts a few things into the water to make it more like human pools. Don't worry, it's not harmful or anything, and you get used to it pretty quickly. Um-" She looks to Agni, a small frown playing across her face. "What was your name again, kid? I don't think I ever caught it."

"By the way..." she says, looking back to Red. "I'm pretty sure the school has spare swimsuits around here somewhere. That goes for any of you who'd want to try 'em out. Might even be in the changing rooms there...I don't know, I didn't look too closely. Interested?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I don't swim in public," Rook says, London would know why that was, he'd seen the tattoo, it was one of the few things that could get to her, most of the spotty memories she had were of thoe marks and the people with modified versions of them. But all of them were nightmares, things she'd rather not have remembered.

[Green Bean]

"I could, probably, but fate doesn't have much to work with in my swimming skills." He kicked off again, not much faster but a little less clumsily this time.

He made it to the end of the pool where everyone else had gathered. "I'm Agni, it's great to meet all of you. It's too bad you don't want to swim, it's fun. How about you, really hot guy? Didn't you bring a bathing suit?"

[Astro_sol]

London actually glanced up at Squid-hair. "I'm not wearing something from a public changing room. Sorry since you seem so eager to get me to strip." It was as if his face were stuck in stoic.

[Green Bean]

"Aww, your loss." Agni kicks off, showering everyone with water.

[Astro_sol]

London looked down. "Ah." His uniform was soaked. He furrowed his eyebrows. That was a good school uniform that just got drenched in chlorine.

He jumped into the water, his eyes lit up with...something, perhaps a sick form of glee. Whatever the case, he was beginning to grin as he sloshed his way towards blondy.

"What'd you say your name was, kid?" London had a slasher smile if he'd ever seen one.

[Green Bean]

"Agni!" He was treading water now. "You know, you probably should put on a bathing suit first, it's going to be hard to swim in that..."

[Mekboy]

Quickly stepping back from the spray of water, Red's giggled at London's reaction. "Hey Agni, if I were you I'd start running now! From what I've seen of Pretty-boy here, he ain't the best when it comes to tempers! Rook, he always this easy to rile?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Not always, he's just nervous, Rook replies, "if you really want to see him on edge you need to do or say something that will get under his skin," she has a bit of a smirk when she says that, a mischievous one that London would recognize instantly even if he couldn't directly see it.

[delta639]

"And people say I'm full of myself. From the sounds of it, boy, Agni here would be more interested in that than I would..."

Luhy stops talking as she notices the course of events things seem to be taking, and paddles back a couple feet in the pool to watch the fireworks. Might as well get a better measure of London while I can. And Agni really needs a better sense for danger if he's going to survive here, so I'm not going to interfere.

[Mekboy]

"Aw, that's why yer so grumpy? We making ya nervous?" Red chimed in, clearly enjoying herself.

[Astro_sol]

London felt a chill coming from his neck. That'd be Rook. He could ignore her, easy; it came with living with the girl. That'd take getting some use to, here. They weren't a hallway apart anymore.

As for the rest of them...

"You keep telling yourself that," he said in an aside to Squid-hair. He couldn't look her in the eyes, though, making her cry still didn't sit well with him.

"And Agni, was it?" he turned back to blondie. He kept grinning as he sank down into the water, until he was fully submerged. Below the water, he let his eyes meet Agni's. I'm scary, aren't I?

OOC
Fear Emotion Control on Agni. DC 18.

[Green Bean]

"Yep!" Agni was a little put off by the whole underwater glowering thing, but to each their own, right? He waited patiently for London to surface so they could talk.

[Astro_sol]

London frowned as the kid most certainly did not start wetting himself in fear. Okie doke. He could work with that.

He moved forward all of a sudden, grabbing blondie by the legs and tugging down.

[Mekboy]

"Oh now this is good! You show 'im, Pretty-boy! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Red chanted, swimsuit forgotten. Maybe it wasn't that different from home at all.

[Green Bean]

"Wh-*blrbl*!" Agni plunged into the deep water. Fortuitously, he overcame his panic quickly, and when he passed near London, he reached out and enveloped his fellow student in a bear hug (which considering his size is really more of a cub hug) and dragged him down with him. Agni couldn't help grinning; his first day and he was already making friends!

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook sighs, pulls a cane from her jacket. It quickly glows green as she walks over to the pool and taps it on the edge of the pool. All the water split and left Agni and London, soaking wet, on the dry floor of the pool, "Okay London, come on out before you regret it," she said with an all to happy smile, and an evil glint to her eye that he'd know VERY well, because he'd been on the recieving end before and it had not been pretty.

Boost on Device to enhance the Strike and get Element Control (Water) to split the water.

[Astro_sol]

London looked down at the kid. Then back to Rook. Then over at Squid-hair, Red...and back to Rook.

He gulped.

Then he smiled. He (almost) calmly pried the kid off of him. "Lucky day for you, then," he said, and began to make his way back to Rook, sticking his hands in his pockets. He was soaked to the bone, and the only thing keeping him from shivering visibly was sheer willpower. He climbed out of the pool and stood next to Rook.

"I need to go change," he said, avoiding her eyes.

[Mekboy]

"What? Don't stop 'em! This'll be gold!" Red complained. Great. First chance to see London in action, and someone had to go ruin it. "Don't listen to her!" she called out half-heartedly. She doubted London would listen. By the looks of it, Rook kept him pretty well under control.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Want me to get you instead?" Rook says to Red, that creepy smile turned on her now, and the fact she was keeping a full pool of water separated down the middle and not spill over was a pretty good display of what she could do, "Agni, you might want to step out before I let go of the water. It's hard to control it all as it is, letting it flow back in slowly would be a task that'd take far more concentration than I can currently muster."

[delta639]

"Don't worry, I got him," Luhy speaks up, currently hovering in mid-air since the water she was in was displaced.

She swoops over to Agni at the pool bottom and grabs him underneath both arms, hoisting him up out of the pool and dropping him off at its side. "Pretty impressive," she says offhandedly to Rook. Both with the pool and your control of London- not to mention the smile. Not bad.

[EdroGrimshell]

Once everyone is out of the pool, Rook lets the water flow back into the center, it looks like rapids mixed with whirlpools as she releases water from both sides. She pulls up the cane, the glow fading to nil, before she puts it back to her coat, "it's not something I do often," she says, "I've used it, maybe, three times in the last four months now. London's only been on the wrong end of it once, but it makes it a lot easier to keep a lid on him when he goes to far," she says, her smile seeming less unnaturally evil now.

[Mekboy]

Red shrugged at Rook's show of power. Naturally she felt she had to one up it. "Hey, fancy magic there. You really need a focus? Where I'm from that's pretty basic stuff." She clicked her fingers, and watched them turn to fire, allowing it to consume the majority of her arm. "Course I know some pretty advanced stuff. I can hold this for hours."

Illusion fun. Will save vs 14 to disbelieve once you have reason to think it isn't real.

[Astro_sol]

London frowned and whipped off his shirt, sending water whipping out, not really caring where it went.

"You can stop picking, now," he said. "And it wasn't all that bad," he said, referring to that first incident. "I don't hit you just cause I'm scared of you." He let it drop at that, though, as he turned to Red-hair.

"Right, fancy, magic, yay," he said, brushing past her to wander down the hall til he found his dorm room, and consequently his other clothes.

[Green Bean]

Agni was disappointed that the fun had apparently come to an end. He called after London as he left. "Hey, wanna hang out some time? I hear they have these things called movies here and they're fun!"

Asumming London didn't come back for more conversation, he adjusted his skirt and directed his attention over to Red "Oh that's a pretty cool magic trick." Agni didn't particularly care if it was an illusion or real - it still looked neat and that was what's important.

[delta639]

Luhy doesn't bat an eye as she's splashed with water, but her gaze does trail over to Red's arms, and she notices that the "flames" there flicker just a little too late.

"Yeah, don't listen to London, Red. I think it's quite a good illusion," she tells the shorter girl. "I'm not as skilled with the subtler sorts of things myself...as you can probably tell from things like my human form."

She looks to Rook. "And you'll probably be needing to draw on that power a bit more frequently while you're at the school. Just saying."

"And you're reacting...well to that guy, Agni, considering how he was acting towards you." she addresses the blond. "Was that asking him out just now? Kind of seemed like it."

[EdroGrimshell]

"It's not magic," Rook says as she passes Red to head out the door, "that's all natural skill."

[Astro_sol]

London leaned his head over to look at Agni, raising an eyebrow. It was the most they'd gotten out of him, facial-expression wise.

"Did someone drop you on your head as a kid?" He shook his head, starting to mutter to himself, but making it a bit too loud. "I'm cold, I'm wet, and I just want a freaking change of clothes..." he trailed off, eyeing Rook coming out too. He shrugged and turned to continue his search for his room.

[Green Bean]

Agni shrugged at Luhy. "Sure! I mean look at him, he's so pretty!"

He turned bright red as a thought occured to him. "...oh! Don't get me wrong, though, I think you're really pretty too. I'd love to go to the movies with you some time!"

Agni glanced over at London calling, who it seemed hadn't got away quite yet. "A few times, I think, but my sisters usually made sure I landed in something soft. Why?"

[Astro_sol]

This time London didn't even slow down as he continued. "The...what?" His pace didn't falter as he began to rub at his temples. He needed another cigarette.

[delta639]

Luhy blinks at Agni a couple times in surprise, then shrugs. Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at that. There are all kinds of people here, anyway.

"Ehm...it's a nice offer, kid, and I'm flattered, but I think I'll pass. I'm not really interested in that sort of thing, not that anyone tends to believe it..." She looks away uncertainly, giving Rook a quick wave as she follows London away. R'lyeh below, how am I supposed to deal with this kind of situation again...? Oh, wait, I remember now.

"I mean, as friends sure, I guess, but no more than that. Sorry." She glances back to Agni and gives him a tentative smile. "And- take my advice, you might want to drop the head-dropping thread of conversation where it's at. Red's probably going to be using it against you already, unless I miss my guess, don't need to give her more ammunition."

[Green Bean]

Agni nodded like he understood and didn't look too disappointed. "Well, the offer's still open. Y'know, depending on how the next few days go!"

He looked confused at the second part of her statement, though. "I don't get it, what's so bad about Red?"

[Mekboy]

Red scowled, letting the illusion flare up into nothingness before starting her excuses. "Still basic stuff. I can do way better. Besides, do ya have any idea how hard making real-looking fire is? Took ages to learn that..." she muttered sullenly.

Her usual grin quickly returned as she listened to Agni. He was pretty likeable for an idiot. She put on her innocent face, wrapping an arm around Agni's shoulder. "Me? Use this against my good friend Agni here? Why would I do that?"

[delta639]

Luhy gives Red a suspicious look. "Well, given how a few seconds ago you were cheering on London against him, not to mention how you've been acting towards the rest of...oh, never mind." She shakes her head minutely.

"Nothing's really bad about Red, as such," she tells Agni. "She just seems a little more...um...abrasive than you, for example. I don't especially mind, though, and from the looks of it you won't either." Although maybe for different reasons, she adds mentally.

[Green Bean]

Agni matched Red's gesture, putting his arm on her shoulder and beaming. "See? Nothing to worry about! We'll all be best friends!"

[Mekboy]

It suddenly occurred to Red putting an arm around the soaking wet boy might not be the best idea. "So, you guys staying here? I might hafta go find something to swim in." she said, pulling away.

[Astro_sol]

As they walked, London turned to Rook. "Are you going to go back to swim? I need to at least change. I dunno if it's a good idea if I go back."

[Togath]

London, Rook(walking to the dorms);
the grounds are still filled with new students, though they have dispersed a little bit more, you also notice that a few clubs have started trying to recruit new members.

Agni, Luhy, Red;
"I'm surprised there's already someone here" "didn't expect the new arrivals to head here so soon" says a rather plain looking girl with brown hair standing near the entrance to the pool.

[Mekboy]

Red shrugged. "Tour sounded boring. Squidders here mentioned a pool, seemed fun. Hey, you ain't new, right? Don't suppose ya know where I could find a swim suit? Don't wanna get this any wetter."

[Green Bean]

Agni rushed forward to shake the newcomer's hand. "Sorry, I'd never been in a pool before so I just had to try it. I'm Agni, it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"

[Togath]

Agni, Luhy, Red:
the girl chuckles lightly at Agni's enthusiasm "my name's Skeld, I'm one of the members of the swim-team here."
"I could probably find you a spare, we usually keep a few extras around" she says to Red.

[Astro_sol]

London looked around at the clubs, ignoring his soaked state, still wrenching water out of his shirt and jacket.

"See any clubs you like?" he asked, directed at Rook. "I'm sure they have a Librarian Club or something." He sounded vaguely hopeful, and he made sure to keep his own eyes out for such a club. It'd be interesting for him, too.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Two so far," Rook says, pointing out the science club and occult club, "would much prefer a book club over them, but they'd work if we don't find it."

[Green Bean]

"Oh cool, there's a swim team. Well, I guess that makes sense 'cause the school has a pool. Still, that sounds awesome, you must be really good at it!"

[Togath]

Agni, Luhy, Red:
"I'm about third place in the club, behind Wun-Jei and Lira" says Skeld, she appears to be a bit amused by Agni's enthusiasm

[Mekboy]

Red nodded and wandered off in search of a swimsuit. "I'll just go and get changed then."

[Astro_sol]

London shrugged. "I guess we could go check them out," he said, ignoring his own wet and half-clothed state. He could always change later. "Which first?" he asked, already walking towards the science club.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Doesn't matter much, the Science Club is closer so check that one first, then the Occult Club, then look for the Book Club, easy enough."

[Togath]

London, Rook:
at the science club's booth you can see a tall boy with brown hair and dark skin, as you approach he sets down a book he'd been reading and says "ah, are you two here about the club?"

Agni, Luhy, Red:
while Red is getting dressed Skeld sits by the edge of the pool and says "would any of you be interested in joining the swim club?, We have a few spaces available, as a few of our members graduated recently"

[Green Bean]

Agni shook out his shaggy hair, misting everyone around him. "Thanks, but I'm not a very good swimmer. I can still cheer you on, though!"

[Astro_sol]

London shrugged. "I suppose." He threw is wet shirt over his shoulder. "What can you tell us about it?" He looked over the stand to see what all they had.

[Togath]

Agni, Luhy, Red:
"thanks for the compliment, we could use some support, as we've always been one of the smaller clubs" she adds on a slight sigh near the end.

London, Rook:
"We're a relatively new club here, Jun's our founder and he's only a second year. We mostly have been studying human sciences, as it seems like useful knowledge for fitting in amongst them. Jun also prepared a few pamphlets with more detailed information give me a moment and a I could get you two one" the boys shuffles around under the booth for a moment before pulling out a cardboard box holding a sheaf of folded papers before pulling out two. "here you go, they have our schedule, main meetings are on Friday and Sunday, with events--should we have one--usually on Saturday, as well as information about the members".

Information about the basic details of the pamphlets(if I get more time/feel well enough I’ll post better details in the ooc later);
the section detailing the club itself seems a little vague, but the title of the pamphlet[Yokai Gakuen's Human Psychology and Sciences Research Club Informatory Pamphlet] seems fairly descriptive, as far as you can tell anyway...

[Mekboy]

Having found and changed into a spare swimsuit, Red wandered back to the group. Crouching near the very edge of the pool, she dipped a tentative foot into the water, before sitting down to let her legs dangle, still a little suspicious of the smell. "So, watcha been talking about?"

[Togath]

Agni, Luhy, Red:
"I was telling them a little about the swim team here" says Skeld

[EdroGrimshell]

"Psychology, interesting," Rook says, "We have two other clubs we will look at and consider before making our decision."

[Togath]

London, Rook:
"No problem, I understand" says the boy.
slightly further down the hall to come to the ocult club's booth, a much better organized one then the previous, and staffed by a young girl, probably a first or second year, and the older, very thin and tall boy you saw earlier.

[Astro_sol]

London blinked. "Ah, so there's a cutie. And one of the kids who can't seem to quite pull off human. 'Sup? This is the Occult Club?" His voice didn't betray any teasing; he was anything if good at keeping his voice level.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook gives a slight bow, "Good morning, we are here to inquire about the club activities here," she says in a much politer cadence than London.

[Green Bean]

"Are you a good swimmer? You should join!"

[Togath]

London Rook:
"This is indeed the occult club" says the tall boy, "now what precisely is it about my appearance that strikes you as inhuman, Mr Irving?"
"Don't be so rude to a new student, Kleski. You always end up scaring them away from the club" says the girl in a cheery voice

[EdroGrimshell]

"You look like slenderman with a face," Rook replies in a bored tone, "trust me, being that tall and thin is not healthy, at best you'd pass for a freakshow in a circus. We should know, we've been living among humans for quite some time now and haven't seen any like you."

[Togath]

London, Rook:
"I suppose you have a point there Ms 'Rook', I've got to work on my apearance a bit..... I've started rambling a bit..." says Kleski, letting out a short sigh on the last part, "Back to the point; Our club focuses on researching the occult, or at least methods used by the witches, or the psychic methods used by the occasional human that possesses or has been trained in them. Sound interesting?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"Extremely, as a psychic myself, I'd be most interested in the studies," Rook replies, "Even if I don't join the club, I would be willing to help with your study into psychic abilities"

[Mekboy]

Finally slipping into the water, Red began to doggy paddle inexpertly, staying near the edge of the pool. Didn't seem too bad. Certainly not what she'd expected given the smell. "Swim team? What sorta stuff do ya do then?"

[Togath]

London, Rook:
"I'd welcome your aid, Ms Rook, as you have a few talents of your own already from what I can see"

Agni, Luhy, Red:
"we train for swimming races mostly...so not that exciting a suppose, but it is one of the more normal clubs here"

[Green Bean]

Agni happened to glance at the clock. "Oh wow, it's later than I thought. I wanted to check out some of those other clubs before class started. Be right back!" He walked (safety first on the pool deck!) quickly over to the change room.

[Mekboy]

Red considered the idea. Training. Pfft. She liked swimming, but if there was one way to make something boring it had to be turning it into work. "Yeah, does sound pretty dull." A thought struck her. "There's lots a clubs here, right? Can ya be in multiple clubs, or just one?"

As Agni wander off she called after him. "Leaving so soon? Fine, but ya me a race."

[Togath]

Agni, Luhy, Red:
"In theory you can be in as many clubs as you wish, though it's usually only plausible due to schedules to be in two to three"

London, Rook:
-Rook's sense motive result;
you notice Kleski seems to lack any motivation...a bit odd in itself...and from a glance, he also appears to not be using anything to disguise his form currently.
He also knew both your name, and London's family name despite not having been introduced.

[Green Bean]

Now clad in actual pants, Agni bids farewell to the gang by the poolside before heading off vaguely in the direction of the dorms.

[Astro_sol]

London shrugged. "I guess it sounds interesting. What do you think, Rook?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I'm curious," she replies, "but not really about the club," she looks at Kleski, "How did you know our names when we didn't give them? And how did you know London's surname? And you don't really seem to be concealing your actual form all that much either."

[Togath]

Agni:
Wandering towards the dorms he passes a white haired man in a plain suit, probably one of the teachers preparing for the school year.
wandering further he finds the main entrance of the dorms, and several booths mostly advertising some of the more active clubs, as well as ones that tend to thrive at events such as this, such as cooking or photography.

London, Rook:
"as I said, we research some of the interesting psychic abilities a few humans have obtained, as well as the more mundane...well mundane to us, magic of the witches and warlocks" he says calmly, "as for my attempts to change my appearance, I happen to have had luck enough to end up a race close enough to pass for a strange human" he then moves to rest his chin on his hand before saying "that was an interesting trick earlier at the pool...just where'd a human learn that?, I don't believe I've seen it before..."

[Green Bean]

Agni headed over to the booths. He'd be good at a music or art club, but there was no reason to only look at stuff he already knew how to do. This was Yokai Academy, after all. There was bound to be lots of unusual clubs you couldn't find anywhere else.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook raises an eyebrow, "it's something I've had for a while, since I woke up almost a year ago," she replies, not even denying the accusation, "I don't use that particular one very often, it is difficult to maintain. On another note, I'd prefer you not say I'm human, it gives the wrong impression," she says, her eyes turning neon green for a moment.

[Astro_sol]

London took a step forward at the human comment. "I'd prefer you shut the hell up." He jerked his head to the side. "We should go, Rook."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Have a good day, Kyasha Ningen," Rook says as she follows London, using the Japanese term for Slenderman, "and please excuse London, he's a little protective of me at times. I will at least consider this one, it seems interesting."

"Let's head to the book club now," Rook says when she catches up to London.

[Mekboy]

"Gotcha. Seems good." Pushing off, Red starts on a couple of lengths. While not quite reaching Agni's level of flailing and spray, it's clear she's not much of a swimmer.

[Astro_sol]

"Yeah. Maybe this one won't have blokes who know more than they rightly should." He glanced back at the Occult Club members, specifically Klesky. It was easy to tell that there was murder in his eyes. He'd never had to kill anyone before, mainly because it'd never come up, but London wasn't sheltered, not when it came to monster behavior.

"I may end up paying Slenderman a visit, later," he said quietly, just loud enough for Rook to hear.

[Togath]

Agni:
You are able to find the art club quickly, it's simple booth having a few painting's nearby showing off it's work.
A tall boy with black hair is standing nearby, talking to another shorter boy while gesturing towards one of the paintings.

London, Rook:
walking away you pass a man with white hair, dressed in a simple suit, he appears to be heading towards the occult club's booth and talking to the slenderman-esc boy.

Luhy, Red:
Skeld chuckles slightly Red's swimming. "I'll come join you for a bit" she says, and heads towards the locker room "just need to change quickly"

[Green Bean]

Agni didn't want to interrupt the conversation the two boys at the booth were having, so he drifted over to the other paintings to take a closer look.

[Togath]

Agni:
the artwork is of surprisingly normal subjects, such as flowers or portraits of students, including one of the shorter of the two boys.

[Green Bean]

Agni gradually made his way over to the two conversing boys. He waited for a lull in the conversation before speaking up. "I don't wanna interrupt, but who did these awesome paintings? They look really great!"

[Togath]

Agni:
"just a moment" says the shorter boy before going back to the taller boy for a moment "if that doesn't sound like a deal...how about you arrange meeting between me and your older sis?". "for the last time. No!" says the taller boy in an angered voice before walking off.
"So what did you want?, A painting?, Or were you interested in the club?" says the shorter boy, turning back to you.

[Green Bean]

Agni raised his eyebrows at the sudden heat in the others' conversation, but decided not to mention it. "Are they your paintings? They're really really good. But yeah, I want to join up! I mostly do sketches, but I'm pretty good at them."

[Astro_sol]

London nudged Rook. "Who's that guy? Can you get a reading on him?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"There are some people I don't want to get a read on, he's one of them," Rook says, "I just get a feeling from people sometimes, when I get those, I won't go anywhere near their mind."

[Togath]

Agni:
"most are, and sure, no problem, I'll add you to the roster...what would you like me to register you as?, Some guys here are a bit finicky about using their real names, so I've gotten in the habit of askin' newbies that"

London, Rook:
The man in white quickly finishes talking to the boy, and wanders off down the hall in the opposite direction from where you're heading.

Luhy, Red:
after a while Skeld comes out of the locker room, still in her normal clothes, and with a worried look on her face, "I've got to go...something’s come up with my younger sis.." she says before she starts to rush off, tripping slightly on the wet poolside, slowing her pace slightly.

[Green Bean]

Agni scratched his head in confusion. "It's Agni, but why don't people like giving their names? Oh! Are there, like, wizards here who can curse you if they know your true name? This is the coolest school!"

[Mekboy]

With a scowl Red continued a few lengths as Skeld hurried off. The novelty of the pool was wearing off a little, and besides, now she had no-one to annoy. Only one solution to that! Finding herself a towel, she dried off and changed, leaving the borrowed swimsuit where she'd got it. Damp hair coalescing into its usual spiked mess, she strode off in pursuit of the clubs Agni had mentioned.

[Togath]

Agni:
"It's more some of the artists here are a bit nervous about bein’ misunderstood...while certain things can make money, they can cause odd rumors about the artist as well, if you get what I mean" says the boy with a tilt of his head.

Red:
Red is able to reach the main entrance of the dorms, encountering not many notable people, other than a plain looking girl talking to a white haired man in a simple white suit, near the entrance to the men's dorms.
At the event grounds, she finds several booths mostly advertising the more active clubs, as well as a few that tend to thrive at events such as this, such as cooking or photography.

[Astro_sol]

London frowned. Rook, scared? Naw. But she recognized a threat, and he felt fires stirring within him. His rosary itched.

"I'mma follow him. I don't like people knowing about you." With that, he quickly turned around and began to keep pace with man in white, without taking into account Rook's reaction. He couldn't keep his face from contorting into a scowl.

[EdroGrimshell]

Rook sighed, "oh Lindsey~" she says in a sing song voice, making sure to keep it low enough that only he'd hear, "you're really going to run off on your own when we're in the middle of something?"

Yamato Nadeshiko at it's best :smalltongue:

[Astro_sol]

London froze at the use of his proper name. As well as that tone. He quickly turned around and marched back to Rook, his voice a frenzied whisper.

"They know what you are! What if they target you?" He tugged hard enough on the rosary that his choker lived up to its name. "You're just gonna let that guy walk? He has to know something."

[EdroGrimshell]

"I realize that, but, he could have just told people rather than telling us that he knew," Rook replies, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth that indicated amusement, "I plan to speak with him myself, I think he's more curious than malevolent at this point in time, if you want to cause an incident that is more likely to make him spill it, or for you to do so yourself if you get to into the fight," Rook continues walking at this point, still intent on finding the book club, "It may seem odd to you, being impatient as you are, but I have my own way of handling these things. Besides, I'm not exactly normal, with my abilities, I'm sure no one will complain about me being here, esspecially with my earlier display," she says, refering to parting the water in the pool.

[Green Bean]

Agni looked at the paintings, then at the boy, then at the paintings again. "I don't, actually. Get it, I mean."

[Mekboy]

Red started to wander among the stands, looking for something to pique her interest. Some sorta sports club maybe? They were all probably about training and stuff like the swimming club had been. Newspaper? Depended how serious they were about it and what writing she'd have to do. She smirked to herself. She'd probably a make a pretty good interviewer. Art club? Again, depended. She'd done a little at home. Sculpting had been fun, but if it was all just landscapes and portraits and stuff that was boring. Spotting a familiar looking face at the art booth, she strode over.

"Hey Agni. Watcha doing?"

[Astro_sol]

London huffed and shoved his hands in his pockets, one of them bulging with his shirt. "Well. I still don't like taking the chance. And I know you're not normal." He resisted spitting on the ground. "But neither is anyone else here. And I kind of need you," he said, tapping his rosary.

[EdroGrimshell]

"That's more of a reason not to run off like that," Rook replied, "besides, we might get a challenge from anyone looking to see if I'm human or not," she whispers to him lightly to him, "if it gets to be a problem, we go to the headmaster, he wouldn't have let me in if he didn't at least believe I deserved a chance here, though I doubt it'll be a problem."

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"well, it's mostly that.."
---
"Hey Agni. Watcha doing?"
---
"ah, this a friend of your's... Agni?"

London, Rook:
while you're talking the man moves farther away, heading left once he reaches the corridor, though he stops for a moment before leaving to glance at London for a moment, before scrawling something on a small notepad and heading out of sight behind the corner.

[Green Bean]

"Yep, Agni. It means fire or something. This is my friend Red! Red, this is, uh, sorry, but what was your name?" Agni paused to let the boy introduce himself before continuing. "Anyway, I'm signing up for the art club! You should join too! Though apparently you're supposed to use a fake name or something?"

[Mekboy]

Eyebrow raised at the 'fake name' comment, Red surveyed the paintings on display. Hmm. Maybe not her kinda thing. "Yeah, was thinking about it." She turned to the boy on the stand "So... what kinda stuff do we get to do? Is it just like, ya know..." She gestured towards the display. "Or do we get to do other stuff?"

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"Though apparently you're supposed to use a fake name or something?"
"its completely optional"
"So... what kinda stuff do we get to do? Is it just like, ya know..." She gestured towards the display. "Or do we get to do other stuff?"
"We have a few people interested in photography, and we do pen and pencils sketches as well, we are also allowed to sell our works on the school grounds"
In a slightly embarrassed voice he continues; "the reason for the pseudonyms is because while you can make a good profit selling commissions to otaku, doing so can also earn you a reputation as 'that guy who draws pictures of little girls in skimpy outfits', even if you aren't drawing smut--which is against the regulations to make anyway--the stereotype is still there"

[Green Bean]

"That's...really weird. And kinda sad." Agni shrugged and added his (real) name to the signup sheet. "Still, painting and drawing's fun, and I want to get better at it. How about you, Red?"

[EdroGrimshell]

"I'm thinking of actually joining the occult club," Rook says, once Kyasha, as she decided to call him, was out of sight, "besides the fact that he's there, I think it'd be an interesting one to be a part of, more so than the science or book club. Plus, we could find a bit more about your abilities if we go into it," she says, nudging London, "I won't always be around to take that thing off, you're going to need to learn how it works eventually so you can get around it."

[Mekboy]

Red made a face. "Ehhh... Dunno really. Not really that into drawing. Was hoping for a bit more, y'know, sculpting kinda stuff." With a shrug, she put down her name on the sheet. "Ah, why not? I'll give it a try."

[Astro_sol]

London fingered his collar.

"I'm aware," he replied. Meeting Rook, and unlocking that new level of power...he'd initially been using her, flat out. But he did kind of owe her (which was actually most of the reason he flat out did as she said). And it was comforting, having a...he guessed he could call her a friend. He'd never thought about it, but they lived together at home for a while, and they did things that friends usually seemed to do.

"Use them as they try to use us. Very you," he said, with maybe a hint of warmth. "Fine. I'm in. But yeah, the sooner I can take this thing off on my own, the sooner I can stop having you follow me around." He said the lie without even a blink.

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"That's...really weird. And kinda sad."
"Aye, it's an annoying stereotype"
---
"Ehhh... Dunno really. Not really that into drawing. Was hoping for a bit more, y'know, sculpting kinda stuff." With a shrug, she put down her name on the sheet. "Ah, why not? I'll give it a try."
"Thank you for joining, miss" says the boy, a bit cheered up due to the new member, "we usually get together on friday and saturday, so you could probably look into the sculpting club as well if you're still interested, they meet up on saturday and sunday, so you'd be able to attend at least half the time

[Mekboy]

"Oh, they've got their own club? I'm gonna check that out then. You coming, Aggers?" Without waiting for a response, Red wandered off in search of the club's stall.

[Green Bean]

"It was really nice to meet you! See you at the first meeting!" Agni ran off after Red before she could get too far away. "Keep your eye open for weird clubs too - I'll bet this school has all kinsd of crazy stuff!"

[Mekboy]

"Ooh, nice thinking. Smarter than you look, ain't ya?" grinned Red, taking a better look at the surrounding stalls.

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
amongst various sports cubs or a newspaper club, you also spot more unusual ones, such as one focused on making fancy costumes, labeled the "Dandies and Dames Club", and another that looks to involve small robots, which the club owners appear to be putting into gladiatorial matches in a small fenced off area. From the sign nearby, it appears to be called the "robotics club" an oddly simple name considering the circumstances.

Finally after a bit of search find the sculpting club, it's booth decorated much like the art club's with products for sale, largely small, often painted ones of animals, both mundane and monstrous, as well as a few of plants, both normal and... fanged?.
attending the booth is a tall boy with pale blond hair and fair and, currently examining a half finished statuette of a wild boar.
"ah, hello there, excuse my manners" he says, in a thick Scandinavian accent, "here about the club?", and as he turned to you, you are able to see that he appears to lack an eye in his left socket, though it's mostly covered by his hair, which looks to have been brushed or combed to cover the empty eye socket.

[Mekboy]

Eyes immediately and none too subtly drawn to the empty socket, Red nodded. Thrusting a hand forward in greeting, she introduced herself. "Hi. I'm Red. Wanted to sign up."

[Togath]

(late response due to things being hectic the last few days, and a bit of writer’s block)

Agni, Red:
Pushing his hair over his eye socket a bit, the boy sets down the small statuette, still only uncooked clay, and reaches for a small pad and pencil, "name please?" he asks cheerfully.

[Mekboy]

"Red. Just Red. You in charge of this club then? Or did they just leave ya to mind the stall?" Pausing for a moment, she gave in to curiosity. "And what's with...?" She gestured at her own left eye.

[Green Bean]

Agni, standing behind Red, waved cheerily. "I'm Agni. Your accent sounds really familiar!"

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"And what's with...?" She gestured at her own left eye.
---
The boy chuckles slightly, giving the sense people often ask, "I lost it in an incedent a few years ago, and soemthing like a missing eye is a bit harder to hide than a present but inhuman feature.."..
"as for my acent, I lived in Denmark for several years as a child, I take it you too have spent some time in Nordic countries?"

[Green Bean]

"Denmark, Denmark..." Agni furrowed his brow as he tried to remember his Midgard geography. "Oh right, you guys used to worship our neighbours. Small world! So you've been attending Monster Academy for a while, right? What's it like?"

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"It's a bit quirky compared to human schools, despite most of our teachers and students trying to learn about them, and a lot of newbies seem to have a bit of trouble with the "look human" part, often ending up with strange hair or eyes, eye colour I mean, not the eyes them selves" he chuckles slightly at the end of his comment.
"So what are you?, Asir?, Vanir?, Duergar?"

[Mekboy]

Red snorted. "Yer telling me. Seems half the people here can't even get the proportions right, let alone the face. Shame I had to go through so much bother to look like this really."

[Green Bean]

"Uh, not any of those things. I guess you could say I'm Norn of the above." Agni waited for everyone's no doubt uproarious laughter. "I hope none of my sisters were listening. Ygvie said she'd destine me to get run over by a truck if I made another pun like that."

[Mekboy]

With the revelation that he'd intended to be funny, Red made a face at Agni. "I think ya sister has the right kinda idea." Almost as an afterthought she added "Any chance of an explanation? Some of us didn't waste time swotting up on their monster knowledge before coming here."

[Green Bean]

Agni blinked. "Oh right, I figured everyone knew about us. We're the Norns. Like corns with an N. We're a kind of spirit but also giants, sorta? It's complicated. My three grandmothers oversee Fate and keep the world tree from rotting; they govern the rise and fall of civilizations, the destinies of the gods, that sort of thing. Then below them there's me and my sisters. We mess around in the mortal world, bestow blessings and curses, decide the winners of game shows, that sort of stuff."

[Togath]

Agni, Red;
"sounds like an interesting role, my kind is not quite as.. noticeable, nor quite as appreciated"

[Mekboy]

"'Kay. Wow. Destinies of Gods. Big stuff then. Can't say I was expecting that." laughed Red, more than a little surprised. "Ya sure about the giant part? Ya ain't exactly, well, giant, are ya?"

[Green Bean]

"My grandmothers are actual giant giants, but the rest of us are human sized. It'd be hard to hang out in the mortal world if we were ten feet tall. How about you two? Are you spirits too?"

[Mekboy]

Jumping at a chance to talk about herself, Red began. "I dunno what you guys'd call my type. I just know we're faeries. Don't know any more specific than that. We've sorta got our own world alongside this one. Ya just gotta know the ways a getting there." She paused, before continuing with obvious pride. "Anyway, I'm pretty important myself - my mum's close enough to the Queen to be chosen as 119th in line to the throne, and dad actually got an audience with the king's son once, and nearly spoke to him too! I reckon that makes me 'bout 2,000th in line, 'cause I was pretty much the most important kid." She laughed again. "All the others wanted to be my friends. Course I didn't just let 'em be friends with me. Gotta be careful 'bout hangers-on just wanting to be mates with the 2,000th in line. They had to show they were proper friends. Course they were all stupid morons anyway. Happy to just live there forever. Boring, right? I wanna see stuff and do stuff. Besides, I'm 2,000th in line! Practically royalty! I can do what I want. So I'm here!" She beamed at Agni and the sculpting kid, proud of her explanation.

[Togath]

Agni, Red:
"I've heard of your kind as well, if I recall there's at least some relation between our kinds", he chuckles again, "since we're talking about what we are--and don't worry, it's not actually as rare as the school intends--my people are creatures such as the Banshee or Dullahan, announcers, though not necessarily bringers, of the deaths of humans"