Fantasy Class Arms

[GummyWorm]

Somewhere underneath Aria Academy, the beam of a flashlight illuminated an old winding stone staircase. The only sounds that could be heard were leather footfalls against the steps, taken slowly and with caution. The air felt noticeably stale, mostly odorless but musty like a room kept sealed for decades. As the girl approached the bottom of the stairs, she directed the light to the interior of the chamber, revealing a disused workshop of some kind, already claimed by thick layers of webs and dust. Floating particles passed though the flashlight's beam -- she covered her mouth with her sleeve and pressed forward, now sweeping the room till her light focused on something shifting in the back of the room.

A massive stone hovered above the floor, rotating slowly in place. Upon its surface, various runes were inscribed in spaced out columns, though not in any recognizable language.

"So it is real..." she breathed, taking another step forward and reaching out with her hand. As she did so, the stone suddenly stopped moving. Then, it glowed brilliantly. Everything -- and nothing -- seemed to move all at once as the entire room vibrated with energy. The world became a distorted blur around her, and a low, rising hum permeated the space; the girl tried to step away, but shockingly found her limbs were completely frozen in place. With a brief but blinding flash, an arc of lightning blasted out from the stone and struck the side of her cheek, leaving a sloped imprint upon her face. She stared helplessly with panicked eyes as the resonating power within the room reached a deafening crescendo. And, though she didn't notice at the time, one of the runes on the stone completely disappeared.

---

Winter looked to the empty seat on her right again and let out a deep sigh. Jin was missing from class, as usual. He was among the few friends she'd managed to make at Aria, but he was always off fooling around somewhere so they didn't spend much time hanging out. She twirled a pen in her free hand as she waited for the math lecture to end, half paying attention and half gazing aimlessly out the window. Her class was near the edge of campus so she only really got a view of the wall that surrounded the perimeter, and the bed of flowers planted along its base. Outside, one could see rolling hills in the far distance and some high rise buildings, nothing fancy. Her next class, which was biology, had a room on the third floor and got some nice views of the coast but the teacher there was stricter so she couldn't spend too long spacing out.

"Ms. Sun, eyes up front if you please," Mrs. Rine said as she tapped her pointer against the board. Winter snapped out of her daydreaming. Spoke too soon.

"I was paying attention."

"No, you weren't. Don't lie."

Winter couldn't deny it, but she felt her face grow a little hot regardless. She didn't have to be that mean about it! And in front of the class, to boot...

"Okay, but..."

"Are you talking back to me?" she said sternly, tapping the board again. "I thought you were better behaved, but it seems your friend is rubbing off on you lately--"

CRAAACK!

The sound of splintering glass pierced the air, leaving the room in stunned silence as the class stared in unison at the newly formed fracture in their windows. Even Mrs. Rine, who normally would settle the students down in situations like this, appeared strangely unsettled. Then, before anyone could move or speak, the room was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense vibration -- the atmosphere grew a life of its own, warping the space around it. From below, the ground rattled violently beneath their feet, like the very Earth was being torn in two from under them. Color rapidly drained from the world like a fading canvas, and every thought became nothing, and every shape became formless before their very eyes.

Everything went white.

---

It was difficult to tell how much time had passed, but Winter wasn't the first one to come to. She lifted her head from her desk and felt a pool of drool hang from her lip, rubbing her eyes as she tuned in to the garbled voices all around her.

"Hey, look outside... do you see that?"

"Okay, I'm officially confused. What the fuck is going on? What just happened?"

"Where are we? Huh?"

Blinking away the blurriness, she glanced out the windows to see what everyone was talking about, and... trees. The rolling hills were gone. The high rise buildings were gone. Even the campus walls were gone, and the flowers with them. Instead, there was just... a lot of trees. Like they were in a forest, or something.

Wait, what?

Winter aggressively pushed aside her chair and ran up to the window, virtually pressing her face against the glass as her eyes darted around the unfamiliar environment outside. A wall of massive flora obscured anything below the sky -- a colorful line of great trees, bushes and vines towered above them and cast them into shadow, sparse sunlight sprinkled through the canopy in little rays. The classroom was uncharacteristically dark, due to the lights being out, and it was difficult to see further into the woods. Other than the hushed whispers between the students, the sound of bird calls reached them from the outside.

Where the hell are we... ?

 

[Ayren]

Talia almost breathed a sigh of relief after that flash of light, because she was getting tired of math class. It was one of the only subjects she didn’t like at all, probably because learning math didn’t come with any real-world practicality on its own. Plus, she just wasn’t that good at it. Too many eyes were on her in shock that she was taking organic chemistry and upper-level physics but hadn’t yet finished trigonometry. Plus, Talia has a feeling that there would be a pop quiz at the end of this class, which she could have been less anxious about.

But wait, what was actually happening? Talia’s thoughts were blocking out all the surrounding chatter. All the lights were off, so maybe there was a power outage? She took a look outside to see if there was a thunderstorm. The sky was crystal clear, but it was the ground that alarmed her: the surrounding buildings were nowhere to be seen, and replaced with a dense, dark forest of towering trees.

“No, please don’t start daydreaming now,” she sighed to herself under her breath. It wasn’t the first time she’d imagined something like this under stress, but this time seemed more vivid than ever before. Talia planted her head on her desk, unsure of what to make of the situation other than to remain calm for a moment.

 

[RacAttack]

A low sigh escaped Luke as he sat in his desk, a slightly irritated frown resting on his face as he ran his fingers through his messy hair. Luke's eyes stared down intensely to the notebook upon his desk and silently kicked himself for his sloppy hand writing. 'How can I call these notes!? I can't even read my own words for gods sake!' he thought to himself as the stress form his studies began to give him a terrible headache. Its only been a few weeks since he arrived within the academy and already he felt like he was drowning in work. Holding back another sigh Luke leaned back in his seat and stared up to the ceiling with an expressionless gaze. At first he loved the academy and the many interesting lessons they gave, but after a few weeks he's realized just how draining it could all be. Was he really cut out for this? Maybe he should have stayed in the states.

No, not yet. He's just started the next step in his life! Luke tore his gaze from the ceiling and looked forward to the front of his class, his current teacher giving a lecture on whatever their subject was with a strict aura of authority surrounding her. Luckily he sat in back corner so he would be able to focus on studying for other classes, well that is if he could ever read his messy hand writing. Pinching the bridge of his nose Luke tried to clear his thumping brain and listened as their teacher seemed to catch another one of his classmates up front spacing out. He felt slightly bad for them since he's learned how strict these teachers could be, but better them than him he supposed. With his pounding head finally calming down he looked back down to his notes in hopes to go over anything from his other classes. Before he could even get started though Luke sprang from his seat in shock as the classrooms windows shattered, his fight or flight instincts coming to life.

Silently he stared at the broken windows with narrowed eyes, clenching his fist and preparing make a run for it if he had to. For a brief moment silence lingered over everyone in the room, only hearing his own heart and slow breathing within his ears. Before he could make a move the room began to shake violently and without warning. Luke stumbled back a bit and felt his fight or flight instincts kick in. This was a flight moment. Luke spun on his heel and tried to run to the door, but suddenly everything began to grow numb, the world losing its color and his body growing weak. The last thing he could remember was his head smacking the corner of another students desk and a bright white light blinding his vision before finally going dark.
---
A low groan was the first thing Luke could hear as he began to regain his consciences, a good sign that he wasn't dead. Not yet at least. Soon he began to hear the muffled voices of others near him and slowly opened his eyes. At first his vision remained blurred, but soon after blinking a few times he realized he had been laying on the ground. "Huh?" was all he could mutter with a groggy voice before trying to push himself up. As he managed to sit up a sharp pain filled his head and held his forehead with gritted teeth. His hand quickly snapped back and hissed in pain as a stinging pain suddenly assaulted him. With a confused glance he looked to his hand and saw a small bit of blood in the palm of his hand. "Shit," he hissed as he the small cut on the corner of his forehead began to let itself be known. He could feel a trickle of blood begin to run down his skin, but gave a frustrated grunt before applying pressure to his wound.

Soon his attention was torn away from himself as he remembered just exactly where he was. He noticed the other students crowding around the windows, speaking to one another with awe and confusion filling their voices. With his own confusion Luke approached the window, wincing slightly from his wound before brushing it off and looking out the window. His eyes widen in shock to see nothing but forest life. What happened? Where were they? Did he hit his head harder than he thought? Luke shook his head, not even realizing a trickle of blood slipping out from beneath his palm as he briefly forgot about his injury and let off some pressure. With a heavy sigh Luke lowered his aching head and closed his eyes. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

 

[GrieveWriter]

Yuki Nodamori
​

Yuki's eyes slowly opened, finding nothing but darkness awaiting them. She stayed like that for a moment before realizing that her head was down. Ever so slowly she leaned up in her seat to find that two notebooks were pinned under her arms to her desk. One had long, highly methodical strings of notes that looked as if they were interrupted part-way through. Of course they were, due to that sudden fracturing of glass drawing her attention in the middle of class. Right, how was that going again?

Yuki slowly let her gaze travel around the room, from one confused expression to another before finally settling on the window that many were staring out of. She ever so slowly blinked at the lack of a city beyond, the usual sight outside replaced with a sprawling forest. She gave another slow blink before her gaze traveled down to the other notebook she had been lying on. Right next to the intricate notes she'd been taking was a script that she had been drafting for the Active Theater Club. It too was in a state of in-completion due to the timely interruption of whatever had caused the shocking change in scenery. But upon staring at the notebook while many of her classmates were rife with confusion, Yuki sighed whilst letting her eyelids drift closed. She stayed like that for three more seconds before a grin spread across her face.

"So, the day has finally come for the moon to aid its heir in her grand escape." she said with a shrug before lifting her hands and slamming them on her desk as she shot out of her chair and pointed to the forest beyond "Bear witness my peers and tutors, your Celestial Emissary has been called upon by her Lunar Lineage!"

Though her initial outburst was overshadowed by the suddenly appearing forest, Yuki soon hopped atop one of the neighboring desks with one finger pointed to the sky as she gestured to herself, "Now marvel, as I grant you a full display of my ascension!"

She spread her arms wide whilst tilting her head towards the ceiling, eyes closed and a massive smile painted across her features that grew more and more uneasy the longer nothing occurred. She waited, as if some grand display of her lunar powers would reveal itself, yet soon she found herself growing confused by the lack of magic space abilities. Smile turning to a confused pout, she glanced around to find that nothing had happened. The student who's desk she'd so unceremoniously utilized for her display was none too happy about it.

"Damn it, Yuki! Take this seriously!" he shouted whilst gesturing wildly windows "This isn't one of your plays, something really weird is going on here!"

"Indeed," she agreed whilst hopping off of hid desk and rubbing a her chin "why would the Lunar Lineage attempt to reacquire their emissary yet not bring them fully to the Moon's embrace? It just doesn't make sense unless..."

She frowned, eyes narrowing before strutting over to her desk again and grabbing one of her notebooks and turning on yet another student, "Take a transcription, dear Squire!"

The student she'd passed her notebook to was another member of the ATC, who fumbled with it before giving a hesitant nod. Glancing briefly towards the window nervously, the student began writing as Yuki cleared her throat.

"Amidst the oration of Madam Rine's lecture, a shifting of celestial origin took place." Yuki recounted as she unzipped hr duffel bag and began rifling through it "It seems to have drastically changed the setting our building of assembly was placed in. Though initially assumed to have been a result of the Lunar Lineage, the possibility of it being Solari in nature must be entertained as well. Further investigation is required to ascertain the full length of the shift."

The moment she finished speaking, she rose up and drew a baseball bat from her duffel bag which drew concerned looks from one of her neighbors, "I thought you were told to stop bringing that thing into class?!?"

Yuki looked to her and smirked as she zipped up her duffel bag, "To forego the proximity of my Celestial Cudgel would be disrespectful to my heritage in ways I doubt you could understand, good lady." Sanding up with her bat on one shoulder and her bag on the other, Yuki strolled towards the door whilst briefly glancing towards one of her classmates, "Would someone be so kind as to see to Sir Carver? It appears he was injured in quite a precarious manner during the shift."

With that she opened the classroom door.

"Woah woah woah, where the hell are you going?" another classmate asked, with Yuki glancing back and raising an eyebrow.

"Someone must ascertain the characteristics of the shift which just took place, I see no reason it should not be a Celestial Emissary such as myself." she giggled before taking her leave, already making her way through the halls towards the main entrance of the school.

GummyWorm Ayren RacAttack

 

[GummyWorm]

Winter held her fingertips against the glass pane and looked over her shoulder.

Oh. It was just Yuki. Again. Still, she smiled a little, watching her leave the room with a shake of her head. Carver... who was that again? She swiveled her head around and saw a boy had joined them at the window, bleeding from a head wound.

"Whoa... hey, are you okay?" she asked, now face-to-face with Luke. Ah, that's right; Luke Carver. Last names didn't stick with her too well. She was used to seeing injuries, but not really on other people -- it didn't look very serious, but she felt herself wincing at the sight of it nonetheless. "I've got some bandages, if you need one. Here, I'll get something for you." She parted from the window and crouched down over her bag, rustling through its innards. "A bad feeling... What do you mean?"

Winter unlatched a small, see-through plastic box and picked out a bandage and some disinfectant. It was decorated top to bottom with cute, glittery stickers and the first aid equipment inside was equally saccharine. Evidently, it saw a lot of use.

"I kind of want to go outside and see what's going on," she said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "You don't think we should?"

---

As Yuki strode confidently in the direction of the front gates, the current state of the campus became apparent to her: Students and faculty alike were curiously poking their heads out windows and opening doors, some standing around near their respective classrooms and others wandering cautiously toward the main entrance. The gate itself and most of the wall seemed intact, but a survey around the perimeter would reveal that it tapered off near the back of the academy, where normally it rounded out -- a cleanly cut, three meter wide gap in their defenses. The reason for its disappearance was, of course, unclear.

A hand shot out and seized Yuki by the wrist. She was abruptly pulled behind a pillar, under one of the open hallways. It was a student; James Mardsen. One of the academy's most talented pianists, hushed her by signing with a finger over his lips. His face was panicked, but there was visible effort to keep himself calm. Something in his expression showed he recognized the girl -- not really in a good way -- but his eyes motioned toward the front of the school and drew attention to something in the distance.

"Quiet, and stay low," he whispered, leaning his head out slightly from behind cover. An eerie wind seemed to howl through the vacant fields of the school, the usually populated mermaid fountain at its center just as empty. The campus covered no small amount of ground so it was hard to make things out clearly from their position, but something that looked vaguely like a black dog could be seen blocking the way out. It seemed to be eating something.

"Were you trying to leave?" he continued, probing the girl as his gaze fell to her bat with concern. "Better not."

GrieveWriter RacAttack Ayren

 

[RacAttack]

An uneasy feeling crawled into the depth of Luke's gut as he scanned the academies new surroundings, his mind trying desperately to form any logical answer, but it made no sense! None of it! What was that earthquake, the color draining from the world, that bright light? Did he just hit his head too hard? Maybe he was in coma, or maybe even dead? There no way this could have happened in their reality! What the hell was happening!? Luke's struggle to answer his many questions was interrupted as voice filled the classroom with a familiar tone of crazy. A low sigh escaped him before looking over his shoulder to see Yuki spouting more of her insane nonsense. He may not have been at the academy for long, but he's seen just how insane that girl could be. She's not dangerous though, just... odd. In the past he'd usually try to collect information about people like her, but that part of his life was over. He'd just keep his distance as he usually did with everyone. A small frown came to his face though as he heard her call him 'Sir Carver'. "Don't call me that," he muttered, before wincing at the stinging sensation coming from his head.

"Damnit," he hissed through gritted teeth before glancing to his left to see another one of his classmates approach him with a bit of concern in her voice. It took him a moment to remember her name, but it quickly clicked in his head. Winter was the girls name, or was it Sun? One of two sounded right, but he's never really approached her before. He arched a brow as he looked at her and slightly lifted his palm away from his wound to give her a better look. "Obviously not," he replied with a neutral tone. A low sigh escaped him as the stinging pain began to make him irritated and clicked his tongue in annoyance. A brief flash of surprise came to his face as she offered to get him a bandage and eyed her curiously for a moment before nodding his head. "Uh... sure, thanks," he said before letting his stoic expression fall back into place.

As she searched through her bag for the bandages Luke leaned against a near by desk while keeping pressure on his injury. His eyes continued to stare outside, concern clear in his eyes as he started to try and figure out what was going on. Winters voice brought him out of his thoughts as she asked why he had a bad feeling about what was going on. A snort of amusement escaped him as he waved his free hand towards the completely new forest surrounding them. "I mean this doesn't make sense. There's no way an entire damn forest can just appear out of no where like this," he said before pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a heavy sigh. "Plus that freakish earthquake, the colors draining from the world and us being blinded by that freakin bright light!" he growled in frustration before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath, doing his best to calm his nerves. "Just doesn't feel right," he finished before looking back to her to see that she retrieved a decorated plastic box keeping minor medical supplies safely within it. He held back an amused smirk at the cutely decorated box before allowing her to treat his wound.

After a few pained winces and irritated curses under his breath he gave a small sigh and gave her a thankful nod. Luke ran a hand through his messy hair as she wanted to go outside to investigate and let out a breath through his nose. "I don't like it, but it beats sitting here doing nothing I guess," he muttered before pushing off the desk and making his way out of class, assuming Winter was following him. Luke remained silent as they made their way down to the main entrance, being social with others not really his top priority. To find out what was going on topping everything in his life at the moment. Luke's eyes scanned the surroundings near the front gate and noting that the only thing out of place was the gap within the academies walls. He wanted to get a closer look at the cleanly cut gap, but paused as he spotted two figures hiding behind a pillar to their right. Instantly an uneasy feeling filled his gut and held out a hand to stop Winter if she was a bout to pass him. "Hold on, somethings not right," he muttered in a low voice before looking towards the front gate. Luke felt his body began to tense up as he could vaguely spot some type of figure in the entrance, reminding him of some sort of animal. "What is that?" he asked aloud while feeling his fight or flight mode preparing to kick in.

GummyWorm GrieveWriter Ayren

 

[Xillia]

An exasperated sigh escaped as the billows of blonde locks overflowed from the hastily adorned crop top, azure blue eyes peering up at the mirror. Met beneath the otherwise fox-like gaze were circles of purple proportions. The darkened crescents were met with the tips of fingers in an irritated tug, the murky reflection caused the woman's gaze to droop down towards the sink. Inhaling sharply, the scent of bleach and other chemicals immediately rushed to her nostrils, prompting her aforementioned hand to expand and cradle half of her face loosely like a newborn. It was the end of her shift, and yet, the inexplicable toll from the night shift had really declined her demeanor. It wouldn't be so bad if she just pressed her cheek against the cold of the sink for half a minute, would it? Gandering that the probability of her passing out again made for the embarrassing shock that jolted her backward to glancing at herself once more, upright and with a more studious and scrutinizing stare.

Four months she'd been at the academy, and for four months the elongated hours and minimal paycheck had depleted her of most of the strength she had. Even still, coupled between the rising bills for student loans and the chump change food she had been surviving off of, she was alive and could sustain. The present only prompted a reminisce of the past, one where she sat at a fine table, and always rolled her eyes at her father's scolding, what she wouldn't do to punch the disrespectful twerp in the mouth. That life had long since gone, along with the people that had driven her irritants in her childhood. Chewing down on her rose-shaded lip, she cupped her heart-shaped chin with her free hand, turning her head side to side. Nothing remarkable aside from the lack of sleep's presence on the underbelly of her eyes. Her fingers slid to her nose, where she tapped at the slightly uptilted tip and remarked with a hearty laugh.

"Still got your nose, mom."

A shame all of her sense were spent in the janitor's closet. Exhaling her held breath, she knelt down, letting her messy golden hair fall loosely over her shoulders, stooping down to rummage through her duffle bag. She'd only managed to get the job off of a recommendation, but still, her record followed her wherever she went. The very reason she had been kept on the overnight shift was so she was kept around the absolute minimum amount of contact available. It wasn't like anyone wanted an offender with 'assault' slapped into the middle of impressionable teenagers, though she knew the drill. The loneliness was a friend too isolated to herself and whatever bottle she delved into when she got home in the mornings. Though this time was different, Ryoko hadn't shown up that day and she was asked to extend for only a while longer, waiting until classes were in session in order to properly do her job and stick to her quota. Now, it was quitting time, a blissful release from the menial labor kept up throughout the nightly cycle.

Her fingers slipped in between a black band in the bag and she stood, extending her extremities wide enough to fit her already coned hair through. Letting the long locks fall back, she snapped her hand out and tightly held the loose mess into a more singular clump. Zipping up the duffle, she grasped at the strap and hoisted it over her shoulder.

"Just another day." She muttered absently to herself, rising until her knees locked into place, taking one last glance in the mirror to ruffle up her bangs so they hung just beneath her brow. "I look like a dog, I really need a shower."

Then, just like that, the closet began to shake and Claire paused, throwing her arm out to the wall as her propelled motion slammed the side of her head into it, groaning in pain she slumped to her side, the impact taking out the lights. Blinking her eyes a few more times, something even more bizarre came from the event, a bright light flashed and her breath hitched in her throat. Just like that, she was out.

---

When she next came too, the room was pitch black, and at first, thinking she was dead, began to panic. But her sense of touch remained as she felt around the rest of the room, letting her eyes trail around, contemplating on whether or not the impact on the wall had killed her eyesight, though a sliver of light managed to shine from beneath the door. She approached cautiously; was it a tremor? It would certainly explain the electrical failures. Her hand raised to cup the knob and with her chest swelling in anticipation of the sight of the mess she'd later have to clean, she pushed out. The light wasn't nearly as blinding as she thought and her eyes had to adjust to the dimness, though on either end of the hall, there seemed to be enough natural lighting to diminish total opaqueness. Nothing of note, which puzzled her, no frayed portions of the building, no debris on the floor from the impact that surely would've knocked something loose from the ceiling. Now with more curiosity than sense, she turned right, the sounds of muffled shrieks and guffaws tickling at her ears. Just what was going on? Had the school been bombed or something?

Her pace gradually picked up until she had reached a steady jog, nearer and nearer to the light she became until at last, she was halted in her tracks, frozen at the sight. Lying before her was something unlike anything she'd seen, and definitely unlike where she had been when she was still doing her job. Blinking a few times, she rubbed at her eyes, it must've been an optical illusion, though when she squeezed them shut and opened them again, the same image burned into her mind. "No, that's not right, that can't be right." Staggering backward, her shoulders touched against the wall and she slipped down it, eyes as wide as saucers staring off into nothing. Just where the hell were they? Maybe she was dreaming, maybe it was an illusion from the lack of sleep.

The drilling pain in the side of her head surfaced, drawing a consoling hand to it, wincing at the touch. Something sticky and cold was there. When she glanced at her fingers, the sight of her own blood caught her breath once more. "Not dreaming..."

Craning her neck back to glance upwards, she reached a hand into the pocket of her frayed denim short shorts. The pack of cigarettes was still there, and in the shock of the moment, drew one out and propped it in between her lips. Instinctively grasping at her lighter, shaky fingers managing to strike a fuse that sent her into a long cycle of puffing and exhaling.

"No... Fucking... Way."

Her eyes fettered shut as the butt of the cigarette fell from her lips. And just like before, her world slowly started to envelope itself in blackness, though this time, she had the open wound in the side of her head to thank.

 

[GrieveWriter]

Yuki Nodamori​

Making her way through the halls, Yuki leaned her bat on her shoulder with one hand whilst using the other to greet the concerned masses around her. It seemed she hadn't been the only one eager to investigate, with her sharing words with several of her fellow students on her way. Several were ATC members, who were subjected to guidance and encouragement of the Yuki variety.

But eventually, she made it outside. With eyes once more sizing up their new surroundings as she continued her overly-casual stroll towards the main entrance, slowing down only when she took note of the animal near the gate. She was unable to consider it further, as soon she found herself being dragged behind a pillar. Her bat was raised in an instant, readying to pummel her unforeseen attacker until she recognized him as one of the Academy's star piano-players. As the head of the Active Theater Club, Yuki often had many dealings with other groups and clubs in the Academy. As such she knew a surprising number of the more active individuals than most, he was no different. Despite him hushing her, the moment she recognized him she smiled and lowered her bat. She leaned upon it whilst looking him up and down and giving a nod.

"Ah Sir Mardsen, I see I was not the only wanderer drawn out by curiosity." she nodded before leaning over him to follow his gaze back to the animal "You will find your assertion incorrect though, the Celestial Emissary you see before you sought only to investigate the shift which dragged our place of learning here. At least, that was the goal until I took note of your beast friend over there."

She gestured with her bat towards the animal before leaning on it as she examined it with a smile, "Don't figure it wandered into our noble academy from the lush woods beyond, do you? If so, it would hold no small amount of clues on where our little locale has been shifted to."

GummyWorm

 

[Tetro]

Another day, another lesson. Felix was in his little world, jotting down notes while the class went on. It was dull. So unbearably dull.

"Ms. Sun, eyes upfront if you please."

Felix turned his gaze ever so slightly to Winter, noticing her snap out of her little wonderland as soon as Mrs. Rine called her out. The poor girl didn't deserve the verbal berating she got so often. When Rine made mention of her friend rubbing off on her it forced Felix's eyebrows to furrow ever so slightly. Before Felix could speak up in Winter's defense, the sound of splintering glass made him turn his head, staring along with everyone else. He began to stand, wanting to move away from the windows just in case. Before he could take it all in, the ground shook and vibrated. He felt something bad was about to happen. "...Oh, fu-"

Before he could finish, everything went white.

~

"It seems to have drastically changed the setting our building of assembly was placed in. Though initially assumed to have been a result of the Lunar Lineage - blahblahblahblahblah"
Felix awoke to Yuki's incessant rambling. He got up from the ground with a slight groan. He was still deciding what was worse, Yuki, or getting knocked the fuck out.

Yuki. The answer was Yuki.

He kept calm, collecting himself as he looked outside the window he was just sitting next to. Don't freak out, don't freak out. He kept repeating in his head while others in the class freaked out. Before he could say something, Yuki and a few others were leaving. Yuki was right in that things needed to be checked out. He just didn't know why she had to say it in such a way during a time like this. Felix followed after those that left, taking his pack with him just in case.

~

After catching up he kept back with the others as they all looked at what seemed to be a kind of animal eating something. He took note of who he was with now. Luke Carver, a nice guy if you got past the stoicism. He helped Felix out a bit after he lost his brother. Then there was Winter Sun. Whenever Jin wasn't around Felix stepped in to keep others from picking on her whenever he could help it. Then there was Yuki, and James the pianist. Felix tried to avoid the artsy kids as much as he could. They were a bit much for him. Yuki was entertaining though, to say the least. "Hey, is everyone alright? What is that thing?" Felix spoke in a hushed tone, staying back along with them.

GummyWorm GrieveWriter RacAttack

 

[GummyWorm]

As they watched, the beast began to perk up its head and sniff the air -- the wind direction had changed. Now, the mild scent of summer heat that clung to the students in the hallway traveled toward the gate. It dropped to a more defensive posture lower to the ground, letting off a single guttural snarl before disappearing into the darkness of the woods, dragging along its quarry with its jaws. The only trace of it that remained was a long, messy trail of blood that painted the floor.

Winter swallowed in horrified realization. That was a student it was eating.

Even from their relatively safe distance, she couldn't help but reflexively stagger back from what she had witnessed. She didn't feel relieved that it was gone. No, all she managed to feel was a sick pit in her stomach and a choking feeling in her lungs. It almost felt like a dream -- in fact, she couldn't be sure that it wasn't. Her hands gripped her bag tighter to her body, suddenly feeling incredibly vulnerable. Suppressing her shivers, she turned to others.

"Hey, we should..."

Her eyes widened. A slender, black whip lashed out and grabbed Luke's leg in the blink of an eye, slamming him to the ground and dragging his body rapidly across the concrete. There, they saw it; an identical black beast... ! Where did it come from? Did it slip through the gap in the back wall while no one was paying attention? The creature pinned his body to the floor with a single paw, applying enough pressure to knock every last ounce of breath out of him. Even on all fours, it towered at a hair-chilling height that was nearly level with the students surrounding it. Its thick, black fur was matted with glistening sweat and its bared teeth revealed massive, rotting canines.

A shiver ran down Winter's spine. Every nerve in her body screamed for her to run away, but only one thought could occupy her mind.
We have to save him!

Almost without hesitation, both she and James rushed forward at the same time, hoping to at least push the thing off and pull the boy to safety. With the two of them flanking on either side, maybe they could do it? Her heart pounded like a drum as she surged forward with that singular goal in mind, focusing all of her attention on what lay before her. As if expecting this, the beast's tail curled behind itself and abruptly snapped forward with the strength of a shotgun -- James' head was instantly separated from his shoulders, sending his decapitated body buckling and collapsing into a bloody heap. Winter shrieked and pulled her body back, desperately skidding and kicking her feet against the floor to stop her own momentum.

It was too late. The tail's return stroke slashed deeply into her eyes, permanently blinding her.
"UuuaaaAAAAAAAAGH! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!" Sobbing, Winter pressed her forearm against her bleeding eyes and swatted and nothing, stumbling around like a drunk and crashing shoulder-first into the side of a wall. "I can't see... ! Someone help me!"

Then from the side, someone dashed into action. Local delinquent Jin Kubo braced his grip on the floor with his shoes and swung a metal folding chair and smashed it into the beast's face with a resounding CLANG! The creature recoiled in surprise, temporarily staggering off of Luke. Sensing it was outnumbered, its tail curled around him and lifted him off the ground. Then, still carrying Luke, the creature slinked off into the forest. Huffing with heavy breaths, Jin looked to everyone who could hear him -- including the shocked students and faculty watching from the windows.

"We're going after him!" he said confidently, readjusting his slippery grip on the chair leg. "Someone take care of--" He looked at James' corpse and the crying, blinded Winter and felt himself wince. "Someone... take care of her... !" One of the female students opened a classroom window.

"I'll take care of her," said the girl. Tasha. Someone who didn't take this class, but had appeared on the scene regardless. She wasn't well recognized at the school, but the strange new tattoo on her cheek would not have gone unnoticed to anyone who knew her by face. Jin nodded, directing his attention to the others.

"It's okay if you're afraid right now, but I'm going after him even if I have to do it by myself!" he proclaimed, beating his chest with his fist. "Anyone with the guts to follow my lead... grab a weapon, anything you can find. I'm not coming back without him." With a wary gaze, he surveyed their faces in anticipation of their answer.

Ayren RacAttack GrieveWriter Xillia Tetro

 

[Ayren]

Talia was beginning to come to her senses. To say that the classroom (and whole school) was in a fluster would have been a massive understatement. Going through the ideas in her head, it seemed like the only conclusion was that she had accidentally drifted through some kind of quantum tunnel and woke up in some sort of alternate universe. But before she could even ask her classmates if they knew how to bring her back, she realized that everyone else was as bewildered as she was, and Talia didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more frightened.

She couldn't quite decide how she felt, but a spike of adrenaline caused her to spring out of her seat and follow a group of students down the hall. They were already dozens of paces ahead of her, so she had to sprint over, breathing heavily and once tripping over a potted plant that had fallen over the floor. That was a rude awakening, but she braced herself with her arms and stood back up, continuing toward Luke, Felix, Winter, Yuki, and James.

"Guys, slow down!" she shouted from behind, just before turning a corner. "We have to go find out what happened! We need to see if we've been sucked through a worm hole or quantum leap or something! Come on, let's go back and..."

She turned the corner, and saw the classmates staring out into the woods in horror. She could sense the fear on their faces even though they were facing the opposite direction. The next logical step was to glance into the woods and try to see what they might have been so afraid of. It took her a moment, but eventually, Talia caught a glimpse of just the tail of some huge creature disappearing into the shadows of the dark forest beyond. She almost screamed, but covered her mouth just in time, figuring that a scream might attract its attention. As she started to come to her senses, Talia listened to Jin and realized that the creature had killed James and carried Luke off into the woods.

"I... I'll come with you!" she shouted from behind the rest of the crowd, as confidently as she could while still holding back terrible fear. "Who's with us?"
GummyWorm

 

[Tetro]

Felix stared at the body that was being dragged away. It was a student... Felix simply sighed and lowered his head in respect. He wasn't a stranger to death but it was still a sad sight to see. When he looked back up, Luke was being dragged suddenly by another black beast that came out of nowhere. SHIT! Felix rushed to help with Winter and James, getting only a few feet towards the monster before James lost his head. Felix could see it preparing another strike and so he jumped to the side, tucking and rolling just fast enough to avoid being hit by the second swing of its tail.

"UuuaaaAAAAAAAAGH! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!"

"Winter!" He called out, looking up to see her covering her face. He felt relief wash over him to see her alive, but when he saw the blood coming from her eyes the worry came back. With perfect timing, Jin came and landed a clean blow against the beast. Felix got up, going over to Winter to check on her. "Winter, it's Felix, you're gonna be okay, Tasha is gonna take care of you alright?" He tried to reassure her.

Without any hesitation, Felix dug into the back of his pants, pulling out his brother's pocket knife. The size of it was impressive. When he flicked the blade out it looked like a small dagger. "I'm in," he called out, rushing over to Jin before turning his head back a little to call out, "anyone else? Let's move! You saw what those things can do, Luke doesn't have much time!" He turned around once he was next to Jin, looking at everyone else to see who would be coming besides Jin, Talia, and himself. He looked over back to James' body, "someone... get James..." There was a sadness in his voice when he shouted that last part. James didn't deserve to die, especially not like this.
GummyWorm

 

[RacAttack]

A chilling shiver ran up Luke's spine as a creeping sense of dread began to rise into his chest while he looked to the odd creature in the distance. A familiar voice soon reached his ears from behind and quickly shot up his hand to quiet Felix as he questioned what was happening. "Later," he stated firmly in a hushed voice. Swallowing his nerves Luke dared take a step forward, keeping his hand raised to the others behind him to stop them from following his lead. Before he could build up the nerve to take another step he froze in sudden horror as he could finally make out what that thing was devouring below it and felt his heart began to race. "Fuck..." was all he could whisper in shock before taking a wide step back as the creature snapped its ugly head up towards them and letting a feral growl slip from its bloodied teeth. Luke watched in a mixture of horror and relief as the creature decided against coming after them and dragged their catch away into the forest. A heavy breath escaped his lungs as the danger seemed to pass for now. A trembling hand ran through his messy hair and felt his mind race with several questions. Where were they? Who was that poor bastard? More importantly what the fuck was that thing!?

Luke paused for a moment and looked over his shoulder as Winter began to speak, but before she could finish he saw a look of shock and horror in her eyes. Luke felt something wrap around his leg and looked to both Felix and Winter with horrid realization. "RUN!" he screamed in terror before being slammed to the ground and dragged along the ground at great speeds. A shout of fear filled the court yard as he was pulled away by whatever had caught him before being pinned down with incredible strength. Luke gasped as he felt his lungs become void of air and stared up in wordless horror as another one of those monster bared its terrible teeth down at him. His eyes widened in fear as this seemed to be the end and closed his eyes, not wanting to see it coming. 'Damnit! Damnit! Not like this, not after everything I've gone through to get here! Please not like this!' his thoughts cried out in despair and anger as he felt the creatures paw nearly crush him beneath its weight. Just as he thought his end was to come he snapped his eyes open upon hearing people approach the creature and saw the others surrounding the monster, looking to try and save him. A sense of dread filled his racing heart as he saw the creatures deadly looking tail rise from behind it and looked to the others in fear.

"NO!" he screamed with whatever strength he could muster, but in the blink of an eye the creature tore the head from a student he somewhat recognized and severely hurting Winter. Luke gritted his teeth and glared up at the monster with immense hatred before clutching onto its fur, a pathetic attempt to resist its strength upon him, but in the moment he wanted to tear the thing to pieces. Before he could let his rage grow though his eyes widened in shock as what looked like a metal chair slammed into the side of the creatures head and sucked in a heavy wave of air as the monster stumbled off of him, giving him a chance to finally breath. Luke looked to his savior and recognized him as Jin, the trouble maker around campus. He'd have to thank him later, but with a burst of adrenaline Luke attempted to scramble away to safety. His freedom would be denied though as the monsters tail wrapped around his waist and pulled him into the air. "Fuck!" he shouted in rage while struggling against the monsters tail, punching and scratching at the tail wrapped around him. It was no use though, that much was clear as the creature began to slink away into the forest with him.

Once reaching the forest edge it began to bound away through the foliage, whipping Luke around like some useless luggage and tightening its hold around him. Luke gritted his teeth as he felt the pressure around his rips grow and let out a frustrated shout. There had to be a way out of this, there had to be a way! Instantly his panicked mind remembered his multi tool in his back pocket and hastily tried to pull it out. Being flung around by the things tail made it difficult, but by some grace he managed to pull the tool from his pocket and desperately released a small knife. With gritted teeth he plunged the knife into the monsters tail and let out a surprised shout as the monsters hold on him loosened and sent him flying onto the forest floor with a heavy thud. Luke gasped as the fall took a bit of air out of him, but the monsters enraged growl from behind quickly reminded him of the situation and shot up from the ground in a full sprint away from his attacker. He dared a glance back over his shoulder to see his bloodied multi tool laying in front of the monster as it glared towards him with an angry snarl and whipped its tail towards him. Luke barley managed to avoid the deadly appendage with a side step to the right and bolted deeper into the forests foliage.

The creature let out a chilling howl before its thundering footsteps began to rapidly chase after him. Desperately Luke looked for a way to safety before spotting a cluster of trees and vines that looked too narrow for the monster to fit through. With no other option he sprinted for the trees with all of his strength and determination to survive. The creatures heavy panting began to grow closer behind him and the whiz of its tail raced by Luke's head with deadly speed. "Fuuuuuck!!" Luke cried out in panic before finally reaching his destination. With a grunt he dived between the narrow gap between the trees and tore through rather weak, or thin vines. As he scrambled away he heard the creature smash into the trees and looked back to see its massive form struggle to follow him through the narrow gap. An angry and vicious growl escaped the beast as it clawed and thrashed in attempts to follow, but to his relief it seemed he managed to buy himself sometime to escape. It wouldn't be long until it managed to break through, but all he needed was this chance to gain some distance.

With heavy breathing Luke scrambled away through the cluster of vines and ducked as the beast tail once again lashed out after him, just barely missing him and crashing into a near by tree. A spray of splinters pierced Luke's right arm, making him grunt and grit his teeth in pain, but before he could watch his footing he felt the earth beneath him disappear. With no warning Luke let out a surprised shout before tumbling down a rocky hill and tearing through a few throne vines. Through gritted teeth Luke did his best to endure the pain before finally coming to a stop, slamming hard onto the cold forest floor and feeling the air in his lungs once again leave him. A low groan escaped him as he rolled onto his back and stared up to see nothing but this damn forest nearly block out the sun. Through his heavy breathing Luke could hear his heart pounding and couldn't help but let out an exhausted laugh at the fact that he was still alive. For now at least. Several small scratches and cuts covered his body, his clothes torn and dirtied while several splinters remained stuck in his right arm. He hissed in the stinging pain, but decided he'd survive for now. A familiar howl echoed in the distance before a loud crash and crack followed. It broke through. It's coming.

With no intent to die here Luke forced himself up to his feet and quickly surveyed his surroundings. Nothing but foliage and more of this bullshit forest! An irritated sigh escaped him before deciding his best plan was to keep moving. After picking a random direction he began to jog deeper into the forest, praying to whatever might be listening to get him through this shit show.

GummyWorm Ayren

 

[GrieveWriter]

Yuki Nodamori​

Yuki's eyes locked to the beast as it raised its head to sniff the air. It turning to look at them afterwards was to be expected, what wasn't was just how it reacted. Strangely enough Yuki's expression failed to fall at the sight of the human corpse it was feasting on, even though she recognized them as one of the classmates she had in her last period. Instead, her grin shifted to an irritated frown when she watched the beast grab her dead peer and flee.

Even if it was a beast unfamiliar to her, the way it moved brought to mind numerous biology lessons. And there were several reasons why an animal would flee with its prey. Which was why she spun around to look behind them mere moments before another one of the beasts whipped its tail around to attack Luke.

Hopping back away from the creature at first, Yuki watched with mounting irritation as it pinned Luke beneath it, her grip on her bat tightening. But instead of leaping to attack the animal, Yuki squatted down whilst laying the tip of her bat on the ground in front of her. She watched the animal's movements and studied its form, expression remaining unchanged as it bared its teeth to try scaring them off.

But it seemed like several others were more inclined to jump in, Winters and James charging the beast even as Yuki held out a hand to stop them, "Hold on a-"

But it was too late, with only two swings of the animal's tail James was dead and Winters had been brutally blinded. Yuki would've wrote her off as a lost cause at that point if not for the sudden appearance of one of the school's more notable delinquents, Jin Kubo. Raising an eyebrow she watched as his sudden assault with a chair seemed to kickstart the animal's fight or flight instinct into the other direction, with it fleeing soon after. The problem was that, just like the identical animal before, it seemed eager to protect its catch. And so Luke was dragged off kicking and screaming into the forest beyond. It was then that Yuki stood up and leaned her bat on her shoulder again. She glanced back towards the hole in the wall that the second animal likely came through, but then narrowed her gaze as Jin began giving orders. However, after listening for only three seconds her classic grin returned in full force as he began asking the surrounding students to help him save Luke. As more announced their inclination to join his mission, Yuki tucked her bat under her arm and began applauding.

"Bravo! Bravo!" she declared before drawing her bat from her arm and approaching, "with this many warriors in tow, collecting our stolen peer should be far less of a trifle."

As she approached the assembled group, she sidestepped the growing puddle of blood coming from what was left of James, glancing down to it for a moment as Felix pleaded for someone to help him. Yuki agreed with that course of action for one very important reason, and so raised both her arms as she turned to face the assortment of students and staff assembled at the windows and halls around.

"Your Celestial Emissary must join the hunt for our peer, ladies and gentlemen. As such I decree that the rendered form of Sir Mardsen and this bloodied ground be cleansed by the time I return." she turned and began making her way to the forest, still calling out behind her whilst giving a wave with her free hand "After all, its only a matter of time before the smell lures in other hungry beasts, and I'm unsure if I'll be here to save you from them. Would be unfortunate to have even more peers to avenge, especially with that hole in our haven's perimeter."

But Yuki shrugged as her eyes fell to the woods, finding exactly what she'd expected. Even without the bloody marks and the paw prints, Luke's captor was far too large and left in such a hurry that the bends and brakes in the trees and shrubs immediately displayed the path it took. Gesturing towards that path with her bat as she looked to the others that Jin had assembled.

"Come along then, fellows." she began jogging along that path "We shall see Sir Carver found by the end of this venture!"

One way or another

GummyWorm Ayren RacAttack Tetro

 

[GummyWorm]

"Report." Paladin Riane accepted the letter with a gauntleted hand, reviewing it as she kept an eye on the messenger.

"No major movement from the enemy yet," the Diogene messenger nodded, holding his fist to his chest. "There is some minor activity in the surrounding encampments, likely only collecting firewood and water from the river as usual. We have a potential lead on one of their supply routes, though the captain suspects it may be a trap."

"I see." She rolled up the parchment and tucked it away for further reading. "Anything else?"

"There... appears to be a strange disturbance in the forest. We aren't yet sure where it came from, but an entire settlement appears to have sprung up overnight."

"... Pardon?"

"It is as you hear, Lady Riane," he assured her. "There may be some manner of sorcery afoot. We have sent scouts to investigate the matter."

"As if things needed to get even more complicated," the paladin groaned. "Fine. You're not sure it's Yucarna?"

"It is unclear. The architecture is unfamiliar."

"Then I hope you told those scouts to hurry. We can't have some unexpected party interfere with our counterattack at a time like this."

---

Under a candle's warm flame, light flickered and bounced against the page of a manuscript, pinned to the table by soft, delicate fingers. Princess Lilia Diogene sat hunched over, fingers combing through her hair as her eyes continuously attempted and failed to absorb the words. Her short-term memory wasn't bad by any means, but recent events have left her... troubled. The sound of knuckles rapping against the door reached her ears, but she pretended it hadn't -- her concentration faltered even more. Another series of knocks, louder this time. The princess sighed.

"Come in."

A young man in a fine tailored suit excused himself into the room and bowed deeply, though she neither looked nor cared. "Your Highness."

Lilia uselessly turned the page over and back again, then shot a tired glare at the attendant behind her. "You may speak."

"Thank you. Have you memorized the script, your Highness? The soldiers have been gathered outside for nearly an hour's time. I do not mean to rush you, but I feel compelled to remind you that the heat is rather brutal today." She scowled in response, turning her head away and looking down at the manuscript again -- the same one she'd been trying to fit into her head since morning.

"This is such horse shit." Curling her fingers, she snatched the paper and crumpled it into a little ball.

"Y-Your highness?" the man stammered, watching her toss it against the wall in frustration.

"Fuck this. I'm going to make something up. If father has a problem, he can take it up with me later." Excusing herself from her seat, she flattened out the folds in her dress with her palms and adjusted her cuffs to meet at her wrists. The attendant watched in stunned silence as she crushed the balled script under her heel and crossed the line of sunlight into the balcony. The sun beamed brilliantly amidst a clear blue sky. Below, thousands of Diogene soldiers formed orderly platoons and stood upright like statues, showing no sign of exhaustion even under the blistering summer heat. Not bad at all... she observed, pressing her gloved hands into the marble banister. These men seem quite disciplined already. Do they really need a morale boost?

"Men! Your Highness has arrived!" decried a voice standing before the masses. In nearly perfect unison, each and every single one of the soldiers dropped to one knee and lowered their heads in Lilia's presence. A small grin formed on her lips, briefly. She waited a few moments to admire the view, then peeled off the rail and straightened her back.

"All rise!" she ordered. In flawless execution, the soldiers picked themselves up in one motion. She held her head high, looking down with confidence and an emboldened spirit.

"Your crown princess, Lilia Diogene is here! I begin this address with a reminder: A reminder that you are standing here today, with your loved ones safe and sound, because your fathers and grandfathers before you once stood here to deliver our holy empire from wicked invaders time and time again. And this time, it is no different. Your enemy is the Yucarnan Kingdom, drunk on power they haven't earned and with bloodlust they wear like a badge of honor -- they've slaughtered your neighbors, stolen your land, ravaged your women! If Verstad were to fall here, there is no telling what may befall the tens of thousands of years of history Diogene has toiled building, building into the beautiful society we know and treasure today. Treat your coming battles with all the ferocity and pride of a man defending the last bastion of mankind, down to the last tooth and nail, against the beasts that have waged war upon us! Drive them back to their masters, and let it be known that they have sunk their jaws into the foot of a giant! And from this day forward, your heel shall come down! LONG LIVE THE DIOGENE EMPIRE!"

The crowd roared into a thunderous battlecry, pumping their fists in the air and spurring on their comrades. With a sense of accomplished high, Lilia turned her back and walked calmly back into her room, letting the red balcony curtains sweep gracefully closed behind her.

 

[GummyWorm]

"Hold on just one second! Where do you all think you're going?"

From the intersecting hallway, footsteps from student council president Mason Roe and his posse of student board goons could be heard coming their way. They had been watching from the sidelines, waiting for the right moment to emerge and assert themselves. He pushed his spectacles up against the bridge of his nose, staring down at Mardsen's corpse with a mix of unfavorable emotions before scowling and turning to those gathered.

"We've just been attacked by god knows what, and your first instinct is to charge into the unknown like a bunch of crazy, suicidal morons?" he sneered.

"Jesus Christ, we don't have time for this," Jin groaned, scratching the back of his head impatiently.

"What are we going to do if the school gets attacked again, hm?" he challenged, crossing his arms. "You'll risk it all just to try and save one student? We need everyone to organize, a-and defend -- and then, when we have everyone together, we can nominate a leader and formulate a long term strategy. This is not the time to be scattering at the first sign of trouble." Mason eyed Yuki suspiciously, staring her down condescendingly; or at least he would be, if he weren't shorter than her. "And you especially better not get any bright ideas. You've got a nasty habit of pulling other people into your games, but the rest of us are through putting up with it."

With the council having arrived to exert their dominance, a handful of students that had volunteered to save Luke began meekly backing down; even in an unfamiliar situation like this -- or perhaps especially because of this unfamiliar situation -- the social hierarchy the academy had been built upon seemed to remain strong.

Mason's eyes squinted and identified the present faces. "Felix. Come on now, what's all this? You're smarter than this."

He looked to Talia. "And you. Your specialty is archery, isn't it? I've seen you on the sports field -- surely you wouldn't leave without a bow? Let's all be calm here, and rational." Pointing to Jin, he continued, "Not like this idiot trying to get everyone killed."

Jin clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. The prick had a point. Wasn't gonna change his mind any, though.

"Well?" Mason said, drumming his fingers against his arm. "Can I have your vote of confidence in staying here until we, as a school, can regroup and form a plan?"

Ayren RacAttack GrieveWriter Xillia Tetro

 

[Kio.exe]

Isabel came too, surrounded by trees. Had she been...kidnapped? The last thing she remembered was walking into the academy, and then the world went white. She snorted. Kidnapped on her first day? That was a record. And now she was...here. Her dark brown hair had come out of her twin braids and was hanging limply down her back. Isabel stood, brushing leaves and dirt from her body. Gods, it was boiling out. Had it been this hot this morning, when she had left for the school? She didn’t think so. She looked down at her skinny jeans, sneakers and hoodie. No, definitely not.

Where was she? Why would her kidnapper just...leave her here? It was odd. Something dropped into her eye, blocking her vision. What the heck? Isabel wipes at her eye, but more of the liquid flowed into it. She glared down at her hand, and gasped when she saw it was covered in blood. Frowning, she reached up and winced at her fingers were met with a deep gash, across her forehead.

Suddenly, shrieks filled the forest, some human, some most definitely not. What was going on? She headed towards the noise, and was met with a gruesome scene. A huge black..dog? was hovered over a boy, and several others were running towards them. Isabel ducked behind a tree, hoping they didn’t see her. What if they were her kidnappers?
—
Nathaniel Baker, the academy’s resident “lady’s man” and “bad boy”, lay asleep on one of the schools many couches contained within the lobby, oblivious to what was happening around him. He grumbled a bit as concerned voices ran past him, but he didn’t bother to open his eyes. He was skipping Calculus for a reason, after all. He wouldn’t let his nap time be ruined by some idiot brained lackeys.

He did wonder what was going on, however. Why did they sound so worried? Was everything alright? He snorted. What did he care, right? That’s what every one thought. Nate only cared about himself. It wasn’t true in the slightest, but he wasn’t about to tell anyone that. It kept them from asking questions, and it kept him from caring about anyone. Last time he had, they’d been murdered. His parents and his little sister. Maggie. He pushed them from his mind. It was dangerous to dwell on them for too long, his mind still too dark. He clenched his eyes tighter as tears threatened to spill out.

 

[Ayren]

Talia was almost relieved at the posse of student councilors that had showed up to replace that ravenous beast, if the pain of James's death wasn't sinking into her soul. All she could do for now was bite her tongue, hold back tears, and hang her head as she listened to Mason's speech.

Mason's comments about not being prepared really did resonate with Talia: let's be real, she probably couldn't handle an angry housecat with just her bare hands, let alone whatever that monstrous creature was. Her bow and arrows were just on the other side of campus. But something about his hesitancy to look for Luke at all didn't sit right with her.

"You're right about forming a plan," she said to Mason, now raising her voice. "But it'd better be a quick one. Everyone go around the school and gather whatever weapons and tools you can find. Maybe some food, too, and grab a compass from the physics classroom. You'd better believe we're gonna search for Luke. We've already lost one person; we're not gonna lose another this easily."

GummyWorm RacAttack GrieveWriter Xillia Tetro

—

Lillith stood silently behind the trunk of an enormous tree, listening to the conversation of the Diogene paladin and messenger. Some of the conversation was lost to her, since she was barely interested in hearing another word from the organization who killed her father. But eventually, they said something about a settlement that had sprung out of the ground, and her ears perked up with excitement. She had no obvious guess what it could have been: maybe it was a clan of kobolds who dug their tunnels to the surface, or an encampment of Yucarnan refugees. But either of those groups would be better to hang with than the alternatives, which were pretty much limited to Diogene humans and trees.

She crept away from the tree and into the forest beyond, and waited for the paladin to go inside a nearby building and for the messenger to head back down the road. After several minutes of lounging in a rock by a pond, she fluttered her wings and took to the sky, on the lookout for this new settlement. She let the four winds take her wherever they saw fit, grinning with pleasure as she drifted through the air. I wish Father allowed me to fly more often, she thought to herself, before shaking her head at the thought of her speaking ill of him. Eventually, she came across a peculiar sight: a clearing in the woods, occupied by a handful of buildings made from wood and stone that were so methodically and smoothly structured that she was almost afraid of them. Almost. Lillith flew down and sat on a branch near the top of a tree, not far from what appeared to be a group of human teenagers in strange clothing arguing outside. She sat far enough away that she couldn't tell what they were saying, in order to avoid being noticed, but she was afraid that a pair of keen eyes might be able to spot her anyway.

 

[GrieveWriter]

Yuki Nodamori​

Yuki paused right at the edge of the forest once that all ti familiar voice rang out, but unlike many she didn't turn around to meet Mason's gaze. Instead she continued staring out into the forest beyond as he spoke. One hand landed on her hip as he went on, the other leaned her bat on her shoulder again before ever so rhythmically drumming along its handle. As Mason tried talking down the rest of Jin's volunteers, Yuki drummed her fingers along her bat's handle faster and faster. It only slowed once Talia spoke up, with Yuki tilting her head to the side before suddenly looking up towards the trees. Scanning the canopy as Talia spoke, Yuki eventually spun around with her Bat raised to the sky.

"An Emissary such as myself cannot be satisfied without all of her angles covered," she declared with a chuckle "Let us do both at the same time!"

She lowered the bat and set it before her as though using it as a walking cane, "If that's how ya wanna play it..."

She twirled it around beside her while glancing over to Jin and the others, "Bunkering within our haven could be hazardous without eyes beyond the gates, so during your search, do try to learn something of where we've been shifted. But dear Macy is correct, I cannot deprive my peers of their emissary."

Without missing a beat, Yuki cupped one hand to her mouth and called out towards the school, "Nora!"

Not three seconds later, a hoarse but passionate voice called back, "Y-Yes Emissary?!?"

Yuki's gaze almost immediately locked with a pair of wide eyes watching from a second story class window. Nora Ressen, one of the few students who seemed to buy into Yuki's shtick, even amongst the ATC. She almost seemed to brighten when Yuki looked to her, only to shrink as other pairs of eyes were drawn to her by the exchange.

"Round up the lads and ladies and get to the athletic equipment, my peers deserve protection in the face of danger." she ordered "And would you kindly get some folks on the roof to survey the area before another of those beasts gets the drop on us?"

"I..." Nora's gaze darted around for a moment before nodding fervently "Yes Emissary!"

As she scurried off, Yuki turned back to Jin and the others, "I could arm you properly for the quest if you could risk the wait, dear adventurers. But either way, I shan't allow our haven's destruction in the meantime."

With her piece said she finally turned her gaze back on Mason and his crew before gesturing towards the splotches of blood still on the ground with her bat, "The beast which slew Sir Mardsen and made off with Sir Carver probably entered from a notable gap in our haven's defenses. I'd certainly hope you have someone working on fortification before coming out here, Macy."

GummyWorm RacAttack Ayren Tetro Xillia

 

[GummyWorm]

Jin merely scowled and adjusted his loosened uniform, turning his back to the school.

"Bastard."

With that, he broke off into a run and vanished behind the treeline in pursuit. Tasha, with the help of another student, began to carry the debilitated Winter away somewhere, likely to the nurse's office. Mason's sour mood seemed to soften instantly, and he patted their backs with a hearty clap.

"Good call, good call," he nodded in agreement. "Maybe I was wrong about you, excuse my behavior. The rest of us can shore up our defenses. Speaking of which..." The boy snapped his fingers at the class watching from the windows and pointed at the gap in the wall. "Let's get that covered up, shall we? We can figure out a more permanent solution later, but for now some stacked desks and chairs should be enough to keep things of that size from breaking in again." His eyes wandered toward the gate. "And who the hell left that open? Somebody go close it! Take a weapon, too -- the other one might come back for seconds."

It was hard to tell if anyone here truly considered the council president a leader, but there was no denying that his words were spurring initially idle students into action. Children, and even some adults, began to shuffle out of their classrooms to assist in the effort of blockading the wall, while others hesitantly made their way toward the gate.

"We'll meet at the auditorium in fifteen minutes," Mason decided, catching his fist in his hand in a manner that was almost reminiscent of Jin. "Things will be easier once we have everyone in one place." Content with his orders, he spun around and left the others to their devices. From the intersecting hallway, Tasha watched him leave with narrowed eyes...

---

"Luke! Hey, Luke! You out there buddy?" Jin cupped a hand to the side of his mouth and called out into the forest. Firm dirt crunched underfoot; hasn't rained here in a while, by the looks of it. Ducking under and pushing aside overgrown foliage, he opened up his ears for a response -- either Carver's, or from a potential predator. In the darkness of the forest, the spare pins of lighting breaking through the treetops above guided his way through.

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