Fantasy PHANTASMA: SCHOOL OF THE STRANGE

[CSA]

"Well, Susie, I slept just fine but Anya had a bad dream," replied Lily, rubbing Anya's back. As the Neko looked up at Lily with those big, dark, beautiful, innocent, sweet eyes of hers, the Alraune somehow knew that she would never eat Anya no matter what.


"O-of course you'll be OK! I promise, Anya," said Lily, pulling the Neko into the biggest, warmest, most genuine hug she could possibly give.


How Lily could have thought for even a second that there was maybe some scenario in which she could have eaten Anya, the Alraune had no idea. Well, there were no more doubts.

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Oh well." Susie stated as she brought the brush down the lengthy mane that was her hair. "Well, I'm glad you slept well and uhm, f-feeling better Anya? You'll probably forget the bad dream soon-ish, possibly. Really don't keep the knowledge of dreams for all too long." She said as brushed her hair again.


After some more brushing, she returned to brush back to her desk. When suddenly, a box poofed into existence right on-top of the desk, alongside a pair of forums underneath it. The small care-package was wrapped in plain white paper, and had a note attached to it. "Oh! Form is back." Susie noted, as she glanced at the note on the box. She smiled upon reading it, "Ahhh..."

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"Oh, yeah!" Anya lifted her head off of Lily's chest.


"Lily, we need to get those forms signed so we can go on a field trip." she said.


"Did you get yours? Or mine? Hopefully both."

 

[CSA]

Lily looked a bit jealously at the box that came with Susie's signed papers. Her parents probably really loved and cared about her, which was basically no fair because she was pretty sure that every other kid at this school had a totally fucked up family life.


Lily looked down at Anya, who had seemed to cheer up rather quick when she remembered the field trip. The Alraune scratched her behind the ears.


"Well, since I'm your guardian for now, I think I can sign your slip. Also, since I'm an adult I can probably sign my own slip too. Do you have it with you, or should I copy mine?"

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"Oh, it's in my bag, I think." Anya said, standing up. Of course, this was a bunk bed and she immediately bonked her head on Lily's bunk.


"Ow..." she rubbed her head, and tried to step out of bed. "I'm okay."


She ran to her bag, tripping over herself, to immediately stand back up and rifle through her backpack, a container filled with various drawings, pencils, and papers of varying import. She pulled out the permission slip, now covered in wrinkles, and handed it to the alraune.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced at the forms and idly flipped through them. After that quick check of the forms, she began to open the care package the folks sent. She digged in her fingernail as she made an opening of the wrapping paper, and quickly proceeded to tear it off. After finishing the process of removing the wrapping paper she placed it on the desk, as she began pulling at the tape keeping the box shut.

 

[CSA]

Lily tried to say something when Anya was about to stand up, but wasn't fast enough and Anya ended up bumping her head. Lily winced, asking, "Are you al-" before Anya tripped over herself and Lily winced again. Lily said that she would protect this girl, but had no idea how much protection the child required. This might be tougher than she thought.


The Alraune accepted Anya's paper, and walked over to the table, grabbing her own form that her flower spit out. Lily signed each one with 'Lilium Darlingtonia', and handed Anya's back to her.


"Alright, that's probably good. Be more careful though, huh? You'll make me worry."

 

[Cadin shadow lord]

Isaac silently scolded himself he hadn't given his field trip papers to his parents yet, he immediately turned around and went back to his dorm sending his parents the forms hoping they would respond quickly.

 

[Blumenkranz]

Natalya jumped back in horror as she saw a ventilation panel opening on its own. Although she quickly recognized the man in a suit coming out of it, the teacher was still shocked: she had seen a lot of things in her life, but people coming out of ventilation conducts by that was not one of them.


A field trip all of a sudden? With a confused expression, still unsure about what was happening there, she tried to reply to Richter. "A field trip? On Sunday!?". Of course, Natalya had other plans for today. "Shouldn't students and teachers alike rest during weekends and socialize betw..." - Natalya reevaluated her words. The old vampire's stare was enough to convince her that any objections were futile. A forced smile tried to cover Natalya's worried expression. "Yeah, yeah! A field trip, sounds good! Were are we going? Do I have to grab anything?" - said Natalya, as she stealthily made her way to the door - "You know what? It doesn't matter. I like surpriseGOODBYE!".


Blam! The door closed behind the girl instants before she sighed in relief. For some reason, Richter made her really uncomfortable, and his mere presence made the hairs of the back of her neck bristle. A regular person would have probably attributed it to his looks and mannerisms, but Natalya was pretty sure it was because he had a recorder with him at all times. She had a sixth sense for these things, after all.


Now, where was that other teacher's bedroom? Ah right, the garage. Weird place to sleep, but hey, it wasn't like anyone in that school was normal in the slightest. Entertaining the thought of how weirder could this year get, Natalya calmly headed towards Achim's most possible place to be in.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Achim heard his phone ring, grumbling a bit he glanced at Junkyard as he held out his left hand for her to remain silent. Walking around his bike he knelt down as he checked the exhaust pipe, as he answered the phone. "Talk to me." Achim stated out as he took a good look at the pipe. His face contorted into an angry expression. "They WHAT?" He howled out as Junkyard looked at Achim nervously.


Achim stood back up as he walked around the bike as he analyzed the frame. He paused for a moment as he took a less openly aggressive tone, but still maintaining a calm fury. "Which one of them did what now?"


His calm fury was quickly shattered and replaced again by the raging fury, "YES I'M CONFIRMING YOU JACKASS. DETAILS YOU UNWANTED SON OF A CRACK-WHORE! Give me the details! Now." Continuing his walk around the bike he stood to the right of it as he stared at instrument panel of the motorcycle for a moment. "Oh." Achim said with a devilish grin on his face. "Oh, I see... Go on, keep talkin'." He glanced at Junkyard who was laying fully on the ground and seemed agitated.


Moving up to Junkyard he knelt down. Achim moved the phone away from his mouth as he spoke in a slightly hushed whisper to Junkyard. "It's fine girl. Just business. Soon, you will get to play." Junkyard upon hearing the world play opened her mouth as she began panting, and ran around on the asphalt.


Calmly he spoke as he held out the phone again, "Now then, once... Bad News? You were saying THAT was the good news!?" Mortified at the news he heard, he gritted his teeth. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT BASTARD I'LL..." He shouted out as out of the corner of his eye he noticed Natyala in the garage. Shifting unnaturally into a calmer tone of voice, he spoke again into the phone "I'll call you back. Got other things to deal with. ...Make sure you find him quickly now." Click.


Achim returned the phone back into his plain leather jacket, which he affectionately referred to as the 'Stealth' Jacket. Junkyard jumped up and rushed towards Natalya, slobbering the entire time. With a quick whistle, Achim glanced at Junkyard who immediately sat down but stared at Natalya eager for attention.


Giving a simple wave with his index and middle fingers he greeted Natalya. "Hello, Heello." Extending out his hands in a fairly grandiose gesture, he smirked. "So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, you have graced upon me? Greasemonkey work? Or just the exchange of pleasantries? Either which way." He gave a satisfied grin, "The pleasure will be all yours."


He returned his attention to Junkyard as he swaggered on up closer to Natalya, making fairly loud stomps from his military boots. Once he swaggered on up close, he pet his loyal mongrel's back. "So..." Achim said with a grin, "Whatcha here for doll?"


------


Waaait a minute... Susie thought to herself. Are they...She paused for a moment as she lost her train of thought. Opening the flaps of the box she looked inside and pulled out the contents inside. Within the box was a nice sized bag of candy, and a card. She took the card and opened it, as a picture slid out. Returning the card back on the desk she plucked the picture and looked at it. "Heh, ah, they chose that one..."


Susie glanced back towards Anya and Lily, "Oh, you got your forms right?"

 

[CSA]

Lily nodded at Susie. Certainly she and Anya had their forms, though whether or not the school would let Lily sign both of them remained to be seen. It would probably be fine, because their school was crappy, but who knew?


"Yeah, we've both got our forms. I suppose that the thing you just got is yours? There's a whole package there. Did your parents send you some good stuff?"

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Oh! Yes!" Susie smiled as she gave a nod, "They sent me a nice card, one of the family photographs and..." She reached over on the desk as she grabbed the bag of candy. "A bit of candy." Holding up the bag she opened it and pried in it. "Let's see, ooh Toggi. A few Galaxy Bars... Toblerone. Some gummie sharks, and..." Susie continued prying through the bag of candy, "Some other stuff."

 

[CSA]

"No way, I'm so jel," said Lily, getting up and walking over to see all the stuff Susie's parents sent her, "You know, sometimes I almost forget that you're European. Then you say something in French or tell me the names of the candy your parents sent you."


Lily looked over the great bounty, and couldn't help but feel a bit envious. The Alraune didn't particularly need candy or anything, but there was obviously a level of love and care that went into picking things out for a package like this. Lily couldn't help but want even a fraction of that love.


Not that she had mommy issues or anything, though. Lily was so perfect and not at all messed up. It would just be kind of nice is all or whatever. Lily only sort of cared.


"May I see the picture? I'm a little curious," said Lily who, while not wanting to become any more envious, also kind of wanted to see if Susie's mom was pretty.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Opening the bag, and prying her hand in Susie plucked out a single gummie shark. Idly she moved it around as if it was swimming, before tossing it into her mouth and eating it. After she swallowed it, she glanced back towards Lily as she was walking up to her desk. She swiveled on the simple chair and shifted to gaze towards Lily and Anya. "Well, Europeans and America are fairly similiar to each other, in various ways. It's a perfectly reasonable assumption, I'd suppose. Or, ah, rambling." Susie reached back into the bag as she pulled out another gummie shark and quickly ate it. "Oh! I doubt I'll be able to eat all this candy, so if either of you want some, feel free to ask." Susie said as she nodded towards Anya and Lily.


As Lily approached she kept the picture hidden underneath the bag of candy. "Oh!" Susie turned to face Lily, and gave a nod. She glanced towards Anya, "Oh yes, Anya, do you want to see the picture as well?" Glancing back to Lily she spoke, "Ah, small detail about the picture, before I show it. Papa in this one has his older model Cyber-arm, I know he doesn't use that one, well at least on a constant basis, any more." She tilted her head to the side as she pondered for a moment, "Think he still has it, because he admired the quality of the design, even though the one he has is better. I think it, well the one in the picture, was a CATCo model."

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"I wanna see~!" Anya sang, bouncing over to the elf. She never realized Susie had a family too. Lily probably had one, too. She wondered how big they were.


Bigger than Anya's, probably.

 

[CSA]

Lily looked over at the bouncing Anya when she called out, and then back to Susie as the Neko came near.


"Wow, your dad has a Cyber-arm? That's kinda cool," said Lily, shuffling to get a good look at the picture. Lily wasn't too interested in Susie's dad, but she was always interested in robo-arms.

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced at Lily and Anya who came bouncing over excitedly. She moved the bag off the picture as she held it out so the two of them could see.


The background of the picture was the always iconic Eiffel Tower. "Right then! So anyway, here's the family then." Susie first gestured towards the large man on the right. "That is my Papa, Maximillien, though many just call him Maxie. Though I prefer calling him Papa." Maximillien Bellerose was a rather enormous individual, both in height and in muscle. Unlike his Elven brethren he was far more muscular, with a body that was well honed. He had a thick shaggy mane of black hair. He had a strong looking jaw-line, and a clean shaven face. He also had bright golden eyes, which had some crows feet beneath it. His nose was sharp hawk-like. Maximillien in the picture was dressed in a black blazer with red buttons, a pair of khaki pants and brown derby shoes. His left hand was bright cobalt in color, and was producing a small green LED glow from the palm. He was smiling, showing pearly whites, with the canines both upper and lower sharpened.


"And here is Mama, Gwendolyn. Or Gwen. I just call her Mama. One of the few pictures she isn't wearing a dress or skirt of some sort. She prefers them." Susie said as she pointed to her mother. Right next to Maxie was a rather curvaceous and well endowed woman, more so than Susie. She had a rather youthful appearance. What really separated her from being seen as younger than she was was her child-bearing hips. Her eyes were light cerise, and were evenly paced above her button like nose. Her thin lips were curled up in a tranquil smile, as she glanced towards Maxie lovingly, as her straightened black hair was blowing a bit in the breeze from that day. Gwen had her toned left arm intertwined with Maxie's cybernetic one. Gwendolyn's nails were polished a deep purple and were immaculate in their appearance. She was wearing a rather simple white blouse, and a pair of snug skinny jeans, and a pair of cyan flats. Around her right hand she had a gold chain bracelet.


Susie pointed to the herself on the left of her Mom. "That's uh, me." In the picture Susie was dressed in a T-shirt with a band logo which had a laughing devil figure on a pile of skulls. She was wearing a grey pleaded skirt, and stockings with the familiar smiling skull pattern and some spiked boots, which went up to the middle of her ankles. She had her knees pressed together as she gave a V sign with her right hand and was smiling. "I was going to see an, erm, concert later that day."


She then pointed to the figure on the right of Maxie. "That's my younger, but not too much younger Sister Reine." She looked fairly similar to Susie, in facial structure. She had her hair tied up into a pony-tail. She wasn't not as curvy as Susie, nor as well endowned. Under her eyes she had an assortment of light freckles. Reine inherited her father's hawklike nose, which brought attention to her deep blue eyes. Reine was wearing a navy blue hoodie, with the hood kept down, and a pair of jeans with a large tear on the right knee. She was giving a slight smile as she looked off into the distance, and held a worn book in her right hand, which she was glancing at.


She pointed to two other children standing in front of her parents. "My brother and sister, Jacques and Alexis respectively. Jacques is the youngest of the family. Alexis, uses this to taunt Jacques at times, when she's not playing hopscotch and the like." Susie stated. Jacques stood on the right. He was a small boy, even for his age, of five. He was a pale and wiry looking boy, with a thin frame and scraggly hair. Jacques was dressed in a light blue shirt and a pair of brown shorts and some black crocs. Jacques didn't look into the camera, with his gold eyes, and he was holding tightly onto a rather worn teddy bear.


On the left of Jacques stood Alexis. She had a fairly short hair style, and it was straightened. She stood taller than Jacques and appeared around the age of nine. She was dressed in a bright pink t-shirt and a pair of brown shorts and wore a pair of flip-flops. She was beaming a large smile as she had her eyes shut. Alexis was missing her upper left canine. She held out her arms wide, as if she was going to give someone a hug. Her skin was fairly tanned, as compared to her younger sibling Jacques.


"Anyway, uh, yeah, that's the family. I don't remember exac-" Susie blinked as she pondered for a moment. "Yeah we were going to have a picnic, and Mom decided to get a picture in front of the Tower. Cause, everyone has to a picture in front of the tower."

 

[ComradeSenpai]

"What tower?" Anya asked, looking over the portrait. Susie must have had a smart family, if they could convince her to dress normal. She made a mental not that her stockings matched her panties. This information would no doubt be useful in her never ending quest to create the perfect dress-up outfit.


"Is there some evil doom tower where you lived? Is it like an elf thing?" she asked.

 

[MechaGhoul]

"Huh? No. The Eiffel Tower, just a famous landmark that the tourists enjoy." Susie clarified. "Our house is, just a house really. I didn't live in any spooky towers or anything like that. Though, my Uncle Giles spoke fondly of building his own tower to live in. But I am sure that was in jest."

 

[CSA]

Lily looked and listened surprisingly intently, given that she usually didn't pay much attention when her teachers were explaining things. For some reason or another, she was actually interested in Susie's family.


"Wow, even if it's not the newer model, that's still a really cool arm," said Lily, "Your dad's kinda manly."


"Way too manly for an Elf. It's almost as if not all Elves are lithe and girly, and are instead individuals that I shouldn't all shove into one box of attributes. Shit, am I racist? No, no I'm perfect. Susie's family is just weird. Anyways..."





Lily found herself drawn to the image of Susie's mother. Somehow, she was even more impressive than Susie was. And it wasn't just her chest, she was a very attractive woman all around. The only thing that kind of killed it for Lily was the loving look she was giving Maxie. Even though Lily might break up Susie's family in an instant for a chance at that, she doubted that even she could do so.


"Dang, Susie. Your mom is-"


"Wait, what am I saying? If I started outwardly crushing on her mom, things would get super weird."





"-A very classy lady. She looks super respectable. I'd like to meet her some time."


Moving farther across the picture was an image of Susie that Lily couldn't really keep herself from giggling at.


"Wow, though. You're dressed just so... different than normal. It's a little odd for me, but not in a bad way at all. I really like this look. You should dress like this more often. It's kinda hot."


Looking at the picture as a whole, Susie's family seemed surprisingly big. Like, really big. Big and loving. It made Lily more envious than she thought she could be, but she wouldn't let it show. Besides, this was surprisingly nice.


"Reine looks a lot like you. I bet you get along really well. And the two youngest are really cute. Your family seems really nice; you must love them a lot."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie paused for a moment as she looked up, before turning to face Lily. "If I recall correctly, that model has the middle finger as a mini blow-torch, the index finger a small razor, the thumb has a decent magnet, the ring finger has a screw-driver, and the pinky has a laser pointer." She gave a quick nod and a smile, "She is, though I'd really need to show you one where she has her skirt suit, heels, and tied back hair for that. Or cocktail dress."


Then came Lily's remarks on her appearance in the picture. Her face flustered, "I u-uh, it was for the erm, band. Cover band really. P-plus it wasn't as cold out. I mean, it ah... I mean, I do er, wear things like that uh, when the weather is nicer." She paused with fairly neurotic expression before she shook her head. "A-anyway! Er yes, I do get along quite well with Reine. If I recall correctly, she was reading up on a Criminology Book that day. And." Susie tilted her head as she clapped her hands, "They are, aren't they? And they are a really nice family, and that I do. Kinda feel bad I hadn't called them recently..."


 



"Silent treatment eh toots? What did ya see a ghost, gremlin, vampire or a Killbot or somethin'?" Achim inquired before shaking his head. Grinning wickedly he moved a bit closer to Natalya, "Or did I give you the bit of fright?" Achim chuckled, "Awww how cute. If its the later anyhow. Though if its the former and ya saw a Killbot, wouldn't mind getting my hands dirty. Or Vamp, tell me it one of those Vampires, yknow those beast ones who can actually ride a bike."


Junkyard happily barked as Achim swiveled his head to glance down at her. "Not now girl." He paused at Junkyard looking at him expectantly. A smile crept on his face as he pet his mongrel again. He glanced back at Natalya, "Anyway I don't wanna keep yapping on, cause I got a busy schedule. So again, whatcha here for doll? Cause I can't keep chatting up cuties when concerning conundrums continue to commence."

 

[CSA]

"Yeah," murmured Lily, her eyes fixed on Susie's mother, "You'll have to show me another picture."


"I hope that didn't sound as creepy as I think it did."





"Uh, anyways, I do understand that you can't wear stuff like that during winter. But looking at this outfit, I'm kinda excited for summer now," said Lily, turning her gaze to the Susie in the picture. The Alraune then went over to her laptop, plugged her camera in, and brought up the picture they took last night. She then turned the screen towards Susie.


"You should really send your family this," said Lily, smiling, "You can call them too, but I bet they'd be overjoyed to see a picture of you and your new friends, even if we are doing something kinda weird. We could print it out, and Anya and I will even sign the back if you want. Nothing says 'I'm doing fine' like Susie in a swimsuit with a Neko and Alraune maid at her side."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie glanced at Lily for a moment, and before blinking. "I er, w-well, it ah-" She just stared at the picture from last night, on the computer screen. "I er, u-uh, w-well I know they'd be, yes quite happy about um receiving a picture with me and my new friends. And, I'm sure they'd uh appreciate the signing of the back. B-but I don't know if that sends the 'I'm doing fine' message, er though."

 

[CSA]

Lily stared at Susie for a few moments before looking back at the picture on the screen, and then back to the Elf.


"Susie, your family must know that you're a rather quirky girl. Now, that's not a bad thing at all. I really like how unique you are, and this picture," Lily said, tracing a gentle finger around the image with some affection, "It shows more than just friendship. It shows a certain closeness and understanding. Would you strip down and get in nothing more than a swimsuit for just anybody? No, and your family knows that. The image tells them how close you feel to us. And the maid costumes? It shows them that we're rather quirky girls too. Girls that their beloved daughter or sister can openly talk to about anything, whether it's hobbies or school troubles. It most certainly does show that you're doing fine, but it says more than that. It shows that you've found friends for life, who care about you and who would never let you come to harm. I don't think that there's any better picture to reassure your family, Susie. I'm sure they'll love it."

 

[MechaGhoul]

Susie paused for a good moment. "Well, yes. Yes they do. A-and er there ah, could be er other factors that could er..." Shaking her head Susie glanced back at Lily. "Ah, you are right."