Ineffable Ascendancy (Cypher System test) [IC]

[Coniferous]

101.7 FREE FM

8:00 AM

Wednesday April 2st, 199X

The city of Queenboro is currently coming out from under an unseasonably harsh snowstorm, being touted by the papers as the April Fools Blizzard. Weather predictions had forecasted a warm but humid spring before the blizzard began from out of nowhere. The blizzard continued for three days, ending last night. While mild flurries are still expected for the morning, the out-look for the rest of the week is warm and dry with heavy rainfall commencing early next week.

Our top news stories this morning; lobbyists for the tobacco industry are still fighting new, harsher laws coming into force that will limit tobacco companies' ability to advertise to youth. Investigations are still underway in the disappearance of five teenagers from the greater Queenboro area in the last two months. Parents and authorities urge those with information concerning their whereabouts to please contact the local police department. Lastly, Jean Chretien will be touring the prairies this week in a bid to gain support in the upcoming election, while Gilles Duceppe and Preston Manning will be touring in Quebec.

Next up we have No Diggity by the Backstreet Boys, Ft. Dr. Dre.

Feel free to start your mornings. Today will be a day-in-the-life. I won't interfere much. It's mostly so I can get a baseline on how your characters act, feel, and their general personalities.

[GOALentertain]

Darrin woke to the buzzing of his alarm clock. Rolling over, he slammed his hand down on it, silencing the sound. 6AM. He threw on his running clothes, grabbed a protein shake and opened the door...to be hit with a blast of cold air.

"****!" he leapt backwards, slamming his apartment door in front of him.

He turned on the big black box of a tv-his roommate's. Across the bottom of the screen, he watched the ticker of closed businesses in Queenboro. The name of the college scrolled past. No class today. Darrin still wanted to get a run in, but the snow would make that harder than not. He instead headed out towards the local gym, where he'd run on the indoor track. He almost left the apartment once again when he felt a chill run down his spine. A chill that wasn't from the blizzard. Darrin grabbed his sledgehammer, fastening it on a belt across his back.

Besides, work wouldn't be canceled even if school was.

[spinningdice]

Leah groans as her as her radio alarm kicked in, she watches the motes of sound float over her before dragging herself out of bed and into the shower. A quick wash later and she's peering into the mirror, the roots are starting to show on her bright orange hair, going to be time for a re-dye soon.... maybe something a little darker next time, purple? She avoided eye contact with the face in the mirror. She'd looked herself in the eyes once and found what she saw... chilling.

Whatever, no time to think about that now.

She hastily throws some clothes on, fortunately she had very little that didn't match (well kind of), so need to need to think too hard there. She checked in her mom's room on her way out, her dreams were deep and hazy - working nights left her exhausted. She grabs her long leather jacket and backpack on the way out and sets off walking to school, nothing on the radio said school was closed for the weather, and if it was she could trek for a bit until lunchtime. The snow as dazzling in the light, but she loved it, the way the flakes intelaced into a whole, all different and yet coherent.

[Coniferous]

Upon arrival at the construction site, you're welcomed by co-workers passing around hot coffee and timbits (doughnut holes). The new housing development in South-Eastern end of Queensboro is running behind schedule because of the snow. The site manager calls for everyone's attention and announces that the work day will likely be cut short again by bad weather. With that in mind, he tells everyone to enjoy their hot coffee and then get to work.


The gates of St. Telesphorus First Nations Catholic School are open upon your arrival. The red bricks exterior is powdered with sticky snow while icicles hang from the roof and windowsills. As the buses arrive, a plow pulls into the schools parking lots to clear parking space. The groundskeeper, Mr. Pope, can be seen sprinkling salt and dirt on the ground near the entrance to the school to prevent students and faculty from slipping. The inside of the school is adorned with posters promoting the school upcoming uniform policy.

[puctheplayfull]

David's eyes open approximately eleven seconds before the alarm goes off. While it seems inconsequential, he makes a note of it in his notebook... "Just in case," he thinks to himself as he goes about his morning stretches. A few yawns and a quick shower later, and he is ready for the day.

Some pre-sliced pieces of mixed fruit from the fridge and a piece of toast and peanut butter make a healthy enough breakfast before David heads down stairs to open the shop. While the weathermen couldn't predict the blizzard, David had been sure something was off with the weather based on things he'd noted throughout the week before. This seemed like a good time for a sale, given so many people would need a good book to curl up with, so he was offering 10% off on just about everything in the store, except some of his older, more obscure books and manuscripts.

[spinningdice]

Leah scowls at the posters, attracting some odd looks from those around her - which she ignores, she's used to odd looks.

With a deep sigh she enters the school, bracing herself against the barrage of noise and sights. With her... whatever it was... people were hard to be around their anima or ego or whatever just barraged her continually.

She dumped her stuff in her locker and headed to class, a maths lesson - at least it'd be quiet.

[Coniferous]

Mr. Simpson came into to math class a couple minutes late, still shaking snow off his boots while retrieve a pair of loafers from a plastic shopping bag. After wiping some melted snow off his glasses he begins.

"Good morning class. Sorry I'm late-"

Before he can finish another student comes through the classroom door. It's obvious he had been running and stopped quickly before walking in. He gives a sheepish nod and smile to the teacher before finding his seat. Mr. Simpson continues.

"As I was saying. I apologize for being late. We are a little behind on the curriculum, thanks to mother nature. So today we will have to double down. We will be covering three chapters: chapters 9 through 11. If we can move through the content quickly enough you'll have some class time to work on the questions at the end of the chapters. If not, please note that they questions will be due next class as homework. Let's begin."

Mr. Simpson flies through the content of the chapters at a dizzying speed. It's obvious most of the class can't keep up. Some students have even started to doze off at the back of the room.

"So, who can simplify this equation for me?"

On the board Mr Simpson has written the following:

((2/3)+5)/4 + 1/2

[spinningdice]

Leah stares at the board and slides down into her chair a little, hoping someone else would pipe up. C'mon guys the math isn't that hard, I'm not even good at this stuff

[Coniferous]

Everyone moves on to their assignments, timbits stuffed into their mouths looking like chipmunks. The on-site safety representative walks through the chaotically assembled ranks, inspecting equipment and guaranteeing all workers are wearing the necessary safety gear: hard-hat, steel-toed boots, eye protections and visibility vests. The dull boom of construction equipment is accompanied by a sudden shift in the winds, with the chill of a Northern front carrying with it a dusting of snow that begins to fall. The collective workforce shivers and tuck up their shoulders with the coming cold.

"Let's move, ladies! We've got work to do and mother nature ain't done with us yet. Cover the foundations and get the walls up."

The supervisor roars, megaphone in-hand but unused, his voice echoing through the work-site like the voice of God.

"Anyone? Anyone?"

Mr. Simpson asks, a tinge of desperation in his voice. He rubs the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, getting chalk on his face. With no volunteers forthcoming, he turns towards the board to simplify the equations.

"Alright, so what we need to do-"

He starts, before being interrupted by the sound of the school bell crackling electronically over the P.A. system, signalling the end of one period and the beginning of the next.

Slightly flustered, Mr. Simpson announces to fleeing students

"Don't forget the chapter questions are due next class for homework. I don't want to see any empty workbooks. That means you Derek"

He chides towards a student with black spiky hair and limp, open schoolbag, who is quickly lost in the throng of students in the hallway.

[puctheplayfull]

Making his way down stairs, David flips the wall switches to turn on all of the shop lights. As the old bulbs are warming, and the room slowly grows brighter, he heads towards the front door, stopping only to turn on his counter computer. Looking out at the snowy morning, he smiles to himself, quietly estimating wind speeds and direction. "I'll have to find a newspaper to see how close I am later," he thinks to himself. Finally, he flips his window sign from closed to open, and unlocks the doors.

Once the shop is opened, he begins to busy himself with the morning chores... going through the mail, dusting, marking any new books and finding places for them among his shelves. While small, the bookstore is packed, with every spare bit of space devoted to shelving for books and a few manuscripts. The two exceptions are the front counter, where David's computer is now beeping to life, and the nearby rack containing magazines and comics.

[spinningdice]

Leah grabs her bag and puts her work away. She's not in any rush to get into the throngs in the halls, so she's last out of the class. She says a silent sorry in her head to Mr Simpson on the way out, the guy didn't deserve to be dyin' up there like that.

[Coniferous]

Time passes slowly as the day spins by. The snowfall dips near noon and busy workers can be seen rushing to and from fast-food stores for a quick meal before returning to their work stations till the end of the day.

During the lunch break a middle-ages women steps in. Her clothes scream middle management, as does her aged and misused brown leather briefcase. She dips her head slightly as a hello when she enters the store before browsing the shelves.Apparently unable to find what she's looking for she approaches the counter.

"Good afternoon. I'm looking for books on childcare." She pauses momentarily to clear her throat. "Uhh, for an infant, a couple months old."


The next two periods blurr by until 30 minutes before lunch. The English teacher, Ms. Desdemona, is consumed by a lengthy diatribe concerning the genius of Shakespeare. She monologues passionately, pulling quotes from the book.

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them." She nearly weeps as the finishes the line. "Do you feel the power in those words? That is the power of 'The Bard', as he was called. Can anyone tell me what a bard is and what the difference is between a bard and minstrel?"

There is a long pause. Ms. Desdemona sighs loudly before beginning a second speech that is loudly interrupted by the growling of a student's stomach and the bell that signals the beginning of the lunch break.

The teacher gambles to herself as the class files out of the room, irritated at being interrupted mid-stream by the end of the period.

[spinningdice]

Leah smirks at the Shakespeare quote, sounded more like a euphemism than a philosphical point to her. She filters out to lunch, grabbing some food and honing in on the nerd quarter. She sits next to an overweight guy... Edmund, was it?, his aura was like a rigid shape confining a squirming mass "Hey Nerd, mind sharing table space with a freak?", she doesn't wait for an answer and sits down to eat. She ate her food slowly, it wasn't really worth savoring, but there wasn't anywhere else to be, not that she could reach in a lunchbreak anyway.
She watches the people in the canteen, while trying to pretend she's ignoring them.

[puctheplayfull]

David returns her nod pleasantly, and allows her to peruse the shelves of the shop uninterrupted. He makes note of her old briefcase, and nice clothes, taking in any other details he can especially as she approaches the counter. He does his best to smile politely at her. With each word he modifies the numbers running in his head, considering any tell tale signs of pregnancy, marriage, or perhaps someone leaving a baby on her doorstep.

To her question he replies, "I may not have much, but let me help you look." He steps out from behind the counter, and gestures her to one of the corner shelves, "Anything I have should be over here in health and fitness. If not, I'm sure I can order something for you." Again, he does his best at smiling, and follows her over towards the indicated section, running numbers based on the limited information he has about her to deduce anything he can.



Using Premonition to learn a random fact about the woman.
Intellect Pool -2 (16)

[Coniferous]

Edmund's response is a mumbled grunt and he shuffles over the make space. He is hunched and his arms are tucked in tight, making him as physically small in appearance as possible, as If someone was sitting on his back, forcing him smaller and smaller. His lunch consists of a small cheese sandhich and a can of flavoured water. He straightens slightly and turns towards you, as if to say something, but then returns to his previous position without making a sound.

Make a difficulty 3 perception check

[spinningdice]

Leah watches Edmund, "If you've got something to say, go ahead. Can't be worse than what most say about me." Leah tries to encourage Edmund, I need to smile, that's what you do in this situation right?, she gives him a half-hearted smile.

[Hypersmith]

Noon. Lunch, then I'm free for the rest of today.. With a deep stretching yawn, Abdu begins to loosen up for the rest of today. As he winds back into his normal posture, the tall young man scratches idly at his neck and looks about at the quickly emptying classroom. Wordlessly, he stands up and makes his way outside, tucking his pen into his jean pocket, but otherwise unburdened.

Eventually, he winds up outside, the chill wind biting into him. There is no reaction to it. The thought crosses his mind that he could go home and study, but instead he wanders, letting his stare become blank as he walks wherever his feet will take him. Eventually, he finds himself in front of homely looking bookstore, with signs indicating a sale. He had flitted into it a few times before, but never considered that he had enough time to read. Now, it might be good to get his mind off things. After a moment's hesitation, he presses his lips into a line and opens the door to step in, pounding as much snow off his shoes before he does so. He looks about at the plethora of good reads about him, and takes note of the slightly older man - around the same height as him - behind the counter. His eyes scan about as he looks for a cover to interest him.

[Coniferous]

Edmund straighten visibly at Leah's words. His whole body seems to Schalke slightly as he turns to face her, his mouth moving in a silent stammer. There is a nervous giggle before he points his index finger up, as if to explain something, but his mouth continues to simple move noiselessly as his eyes dart around trying to avoid eye contact. In the end, he simply end up scratching the back of his head and the only words to come out are:

"Ummm....uhh....err...wel...."

Intertwined with throat clearing and coughing.

As some classmates flitter out of the cafeteria, A tall, thin young man, with chocolate hair and hint of a French-Canadian accent, knocks against Edmund's should as he passes.

"What's the matter, Dantes? Cat got your tongue?"

Dominic then turns his attention to the group leaving the cafeteria with.

"Look everyone, Edmund's having a lover's quarrel with his girlfriend." with a juvenile emphasis on the last word.

He gives Edmund a hard slap on the back, sending the smaller boy's torso forward onto table, covering his sweater in leftover food.

You can see Edmund's aura tighten and wind around him like a snake, as it begins to pulse with a heart-beat like rythme, growing a carmine hue.

Edmund's face also takes on a reddish hue and the blue rises to his cheeks.

[spinningdice]

Leah gets to her feet, "I don't recall inviting you to the conversation. Now if you can apologise, and be on your way, I'm sure we'll all be good." her body tightens instincts readying her for a fight, though she'd rather he backed down.


Not sure if you'll asking for a roll, but if required Leah will expend a level of effort, I'm guessing it's Intellect, unless you'll be nice and let me use might (with my 2 edge in that). [roll0]

[Coniferous]

Not sure if you'll asking for a roll, but if required Leah will expend a level of effort, I'm guessing it's Intellect, unless you'll be nice and let me use might (with my 2 edge in that). [roll0]


What action are you going for? Initiative or intimidating?

[spinningdice]

Sorry, Intimidation

[puctheplayfull]

As the bell above the door rings, David stops his attention bouncing between the shelves and the woman to look at the newcomer. Offering an only slightly awkward wave, he smiles at the young man. "Welcome. Please look around, if you need a hand I'll be with you in just a moment." He then turns his attention back to the book shelf and his current customer, scanning the titles for anything on childcare, and occasionally glancing in her direction as she does the same.


Make a difficulty 3 perception check
Being trained in any task involving finding or noticing small details should drop the difficulty to level 2.
[roll0]

In addition, spending 2 Intellect points on his Premonition power should have given him a random fact about the woman without a roll. You may have already taken that into account, but I wasn't sure. That said, the 'random fact' could be just about anything...

[Coniferous]

You can see Dominic recoil after your statment. Surrounded by friends and peers, he's reluctant to backdown. It becomes obvious he can't stand his ground in response to your vigour, though, and he backs away with a couple of nearly unnotisable retreats, sliding his feet back a couple of centimetres.

He gathers himself and tugs on his jacket to adjust the fit.

"Th-this...I..."

With a glare towards Edmund, he says:

"I'll see you later, musketeer."

He raises his hand to deliver another smack, but glaces at you and rethinks the move. With a bull-like snort, he marches out, his cohorts in tow.

The woman clearly works in a middle management position. A ID badge hangs under he blue wooden sweater, which rests open at the front, missing a middle button. The ID badge identifies her as a Government of Canada or liaison. Based on the average government lunch break and the time, she either drove from the northeast end of the city or walked. The moisture and snow on her boots and clothes, plus her lack of jacket, denotes that she must be working nearby. It's possible she is either a liaison with a near-by R&D company or is doing community outreach with social services down the street.

Her posture is straight, with a slight slouch at the shoulders. The skin is pale, understandable for the weather recently, but lacks the usual new-mother-glow. Her interest in the books is desperate rather than cheerful. Considering her age and the average ages of marriage and child birth in the city, based on StatsCan date from three years ago, this is statistically would not be her first child. The desperate need for literature on the subject is inconsistent with an experience parent. Maybe she missed a birthday or is babysitting, but the child isn't hers.

Based on clothing, some second-hand, position and government deductions, her budget will be limited. Attire is conservative and casual, but not stylishly casual. Budget will range between $20-$49. Anything over $50 will seem too large of an investment. Stereotypical, but her skin tone and glasses suggest she's an avid reader, maybe a coupon to encourage repeat business. It could take the edge off a larger purchase.

Wedding ring suggests she's married, but overal demeanour feels single. Partner is dead...or maybe ill. Could be a red herring to deter a lech at work.

[spinningdice]

Leah Kao, a Weird Explorer who Sees Beyond

"Well, I'm sure Dominic will remember that. Maybe try and slap me down later. See you around Edmund" She kills the rest of her break finding a secluded corner and 'reading' her latest acquisition from the bookstore. As her English classes attest she gets the impression what she sees on the pages isn't always what everyone else sees, though with mass-market text books it's not too bad, or even old stories retold many times.
These books though have passion and life poured into them, along with the weight of so many readers before her.

[Coniferous]

The rest of the bay buzzes by in a rapid but empty blur.

Leah's classes come to a close with the freeing sound of the final bell. She sees Dominic watching her until he disappears from sight behind the closing doors of the school. Her evening closes with the soft thud of two hardcover bindings of a book meeting and the click of a simple reading-light being turned off. Sleep comes quickly and is filled is the chaotic ramblings of a dream that seeps away, like so many others, leaving only foggy recollections that within minutes of waking are banished by the light of day.

David finds an easy read within his customer's price range. She thanks him and departs, a little too quickly. He makes a note about her appearance and purchase for future references. He cleans the shops and spends the rest of the day hastily seeing to customers who poor in from a tourist bus. Lost, the driver and tour guide fed them a line in broken Korean about the historical significance of his shop. An obvious lie, but David wasn't going to turn away the business. He managed to piece together parts of the language by listing to the tourists and guide, impressing both as he deals with them. By late afternoon it has been the shop's most profitable day in exactly one-hundred-and-eighty-nine days. The tour guide thanks David for directions and giving the guests little-known details about actual historical landmarks near the area. Unlike his day, his evening is quiet and he fades of the sleep, uncharacteristically still dressed and sitting in his favourite chair.

It becomes clear after a couple minutes that the store owner is too busy to deal with Abdu. If there as any doubt it is put to rest when David's eyes meet his with an apologetic glance. Afterwords Abdu finds himself wandering around town, eating his wait in cheap, delicious street food. Before long the evening has vanished and Abdu finds himself feeling groggy on his way home. As he approaches his home his vision begins to distort and the thought crosses his mind that he might have been drugged. With an languid and shaky hand, he unlocks the door and collapses against it, inside, feeling darkness begin to engulf his senses. Barely able to move and filled with the dread that consumes prey in the wake a predator, he just manages to lock the door before his vision fails him. He hears his own head thump loudly against the floor before all his other sense fade away.

[Coniferous]

101.7 FREE FM

8:00 AM

Wednesday April 3st, 199X

Respite from the city's claustrophobic blizzard was short-lived yesterday. Heavy flurries coated the city yesterday morning but beautiful clear skies and jump of ten degrees is expected for today.

In more somber news, the body of one of the missing youths has been found. Cherry Newman's body was found past exit 15 heading north, leaving Queenboro, at two-o'clock this morning. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of death.

There was also a rash of break-ins and what are being reported as wild bear attacks last night. Animal Control is perplexed by the events, noting both the size of the reported bear and its location so close to the center of town.

Anyone with any information concerning these two incidents is urged t contact the local PD.

To get you started on your day today, we have Can't Nobody Hold Me Down by Puff Daddy.



As Leah's alarm rings she flees her home in haste. Last night's slumber left her dreary-eyed and she unintentionally hit snooze on her alarm. With a dry piece of toast clung between her teeth, she races from her home. She gets to school just as the first bell rings. With sweat still dripping from her face, he sheepishly enters her first period class. What greets her eyes is a scene from a B-rate horror movie. Edmund is standing over Dominic, his aura ablaze, consuming the room with a colour completely unlike what Leah experienced yesterday. It's obvious Edmund threw the first punch and Dominic isn't sure how to respond. You can see Edmund's aura build in size and darken as Mr. Simpson is lecturing him. Suddenly you see the aura all apart and drift to the floor like confetti as Edmund opens his mouth, as if to yell, but instead of sound a wreath of flame cascades from his lips. The flame lick at the desks and musky carpet of the classroom but catch Dominic full force and the screams of students and faculty alike are drown out by the ringing of the fire alarm and roaring of the flames as it devours anything flammable in the room.

As dawn peeks beyond the horizon David it awoken by the sound of frantic knocking from downstairs. With look at his watch, it's obvious to David that the shop won't be open for at least another three hours. His clothes feel like microwaved leftovers and the realizations dawns on him that he fell asleep last night, sitting upright and without changing. This flies in the face of his carefully calculated evening schedules. Scratching his head he rises from his chair, his bones creaking in protest to the evening's place and position of rest.

At first the radio sounded like a muffled conversation. As the news broadcast continued it grew in volume, or rather Abdu grew in awareness. By the time the music began to play Abdu realized the volume was cranked to full blast and the ringing of the music would likely anger his neighbors. As he rose to shut off the radio his limbs were hit with a familiar lethargy. There's a moment of panic, as he goes over the dates in his head, doubt as he confirms that there won't be a full moon for almost another three weeks, followed quickly by fragmented recollections of last night and the scene before his eyes currently, with claw-like gashes in his wall and tatters of clothing covering the floor. Banging on the door from an irritated neighbor bring Abdu back to himself, realizing he hasn't shut off the radio yet.

[Hypersmith]

Abdu groans lightly and rolls over, falling clunkily to the ground. With rising panic he totters to his feet and cranks down the radio, leaving it a soft mumble. He looks with increasing worry to the gashes in the wall as he moves towards his apartment door, trying to recollect himself enough to speak aloud. As another round of knocks bangs at his door, Abdu begins to speak, clearing his throat and raising his voice to be heard through the door. "Who is it?" He casts a glance back at the tattered clothes scattered around the apartment, listing costs for repairs and thinking of how to cover when his landlord comes knocking.

[spinningdice]

Thoughts run though Leah's mind, Is this real, have I finally snapped?, she ducks back into the doorway out of sight of whatever is going on in there, then peeks back around, while slipping her knife out of her backpack and into her jacket pocket. No need to have it on display, but close to hand....

Assuming the vision hasn't changed, she calls around "Hey Edmund, are you in there?"

[Coniferous]

An unfamiliar voice calls through the door, with a name you recognize with passing familiarity.
"It's Adrian, your neighbor. Thank God you turned your radio down. It sounded like a break-in last night, then your radio this morning, and Sebastian said you looked drunk coming home last night. What the hell has come over you!"

Calling out to Edmund has no effect. Turning to face the entry way, the smooth surface of your knife in your pocket gives you some comfort. In the classroom nothing is visible beyond the smoke and flames that have now engulfed everything. There's no noise you can hear beyond the roar of the fire and ringing of the fire alarm. As you shift your weight away from the door you begin to notice the heat. Your clothes are drenched in sweat and the in changing your position you have become aware that the soles of your shoes are sticking to the floor, likely beginning to melt.

[Hypersmith]

Abdu pulls off the remains of his clothes, throwing them into the room, leaving himself in only underpants. He cracks open the door, blocking the view in with his body, "Sorry about that er... Adrian. It's been a tough week, but I don't recall it being that bad. Must have gotten roped into something dumb last night." He chuckles awkwardly. "You know how college is. You sure the noise besides the radio was coming from here? I'll have to check thoroughly to make sure I wasn't robbed if so."

[spinningdice]

Well... anyone in there is just gone. It's not a thought Leah can process at the moment. Realising there's nothing she can do she turns and runs from the heat. She considers keeping running, get out of the town, go find somewhere quiet to think, but decides she'd rather not be counted among the dead and missing... even with weirdness going on, and goes to the usual fire assembly point.

[Coniferous]

With an irritated shrug, Adrian makes a tsking sound by sucking air between his teeth, exasperatedly saying "Look...just keep down, or something, alright? This is a quiet building. We don't want any trouble here. If you want to party and get into shenanigans, there are dorms more suited to your type of behaviour. " He marches back down the hall to his room, shaking his head. You see and hear the door close loudly behind him.

You make your towards the fire assembly point, in the middle of the recreation yard at the back of the school. You see homeroom teachers and their students gathering at their allocated points. As you approach, you can see that they are all clean and unscathed, none of them showing any signs of contact with the fire that erupted in your classroom. You can sense their eyes on you as you move towards the allocating meeting point for your class, devoid of any people. As the adrenaline wears off you can feel a shiver of cold run up your back as the sweat brought on by the heat of the flames cools with the outside breeze. While not covered in soot, your clothing shows blackish spots and minor fraying from burned threads. The grips on the bottom of your right shoe are mostly melted away and the tips of your shoelaces on that side have vanished, replaced by scorched nobs. As your ears cease to ring you can hear deafening silence sprinkled with hushed murmurs.

[spinningdice]

A large part of Leah wants to flee, get away from all the people, let her process what happened alone... But that would lead to more questions and more trouble and more **** to deal with.

Her eyes search over the crowd, looking to see Edmund, or Dominic, or Mr Simpson, maybe this was all just a new nightmarish development of her oddities.

assuming she doesn't see any of them...

She approaches one of the teachers, what am I supposed to say here? "Mr Simpson's class, there was... some sort of explosion, I was still near the door... I don't think... I couldn't help." she speaks quietly, looking at the ground.

[Hypersmith]

Abdu sighs in relief, leaning back against the wall. He wonders what to do in the wake of this destruction, and why the sudden transformation. What can be done?

He stands up and crosses the room, picking up clothes and beginning to tidy his room as best he can before getting dressed, determined to make his way back to the places he visited yesterday - either something he ate triggered this, or someone knew far more about it than he did. About an hour later, on his way down he looks about the streets for a newspaper, hoping to catch up on any other odd events that happened that night.