Ww - the coming storm

Vent gave Marco a few fake punches to the ribs while he had him in a headlock.


"..... Well, welcome to the academy!" He said gleefully, a big smile on his face.
 
Leslie jumped at the sudden appearance of Marco again, bowing her head to him. She found it strange though, how oddly friendly they had just suddenly become. Were most wizards like this? The family she had served certainly wasn't. "as to you, Mister Highland. And thank you Sir."
 
:: Marco chuckled and threw an arm around her ::


Marco: "hey, drop the "sir" okay? titles make my skin crawl"


::he got her in a light headlock, enough to hold her, but not tight enough to hurt her ::


Marco: "relax! why you so serious!?"
 
Leslie squeaked a bit freaked out by the sudden gesture. On reflex she bit down on his arm and wiggled out of his grasp frowning at him, unlady like but she could deal. "Please don't do that..."
 
:: Marco's arm had no marks, and he could see damage to Leslie's teeth ::


Marco: "easy now, calm down..."


:: the part of his skin that she bit had gone gray, like concrete ::


Marco: "oh and you don't wanna bite a mage, we're as likely to harden our skin or catch on fire as not"
 
Leslie folded her arms over her chest and gave him a look she had seen the family she had served give to others when they looked down on them, trying to make themselves seem threatening. "ANd I'm as likely to rip you a new one as not, Now please Mister Highland, may I get through, I would rather like to leave this place..."
 
:: Marco put his hands in his pockets and stood to the side ::


Marco: "go ahead, i won't stop you... i mean, its not like you work fornightrise, ever since they were crushed and all..."


:: he opened a door for her, it lead into a hall with an elevator ::


Marco: "the code for the express elevator is 3378B4D4"
 
Leslie froze for a second, where had she heard that name before....Night rise. Where, oh yes....they had worked for them didn't they? She made a face of disgust and stepped away from Marco heading for the stairs instead. "Elevators are for those who can afford it." She muttered under her breath, carefully leaving a small trail of sand behind her so if she ever wanted, she could go back to that spot.
 
Steven's gleeful laughter was cut short by Alec's sudden tackle. As he plummeted to the ground he was about to chew her out,but suddenly the air semed to explode in goosedown feathers,and the fall merely felt like being pelt by fresh marshmellows.


Steven's laughter continued,and said after about a minute, "Nice trick,Alec! Now,c'mon! Let's get to the harbour! I can smell the meautiful Atlantic air already!"
 
:: Marco cast a spell of invisibility and levitaion, and followed Leslie, wondering why she was leaving the sand behind her ::


Marco: {what the hell is she leaving that sand there for...?}


:: as she got down the end of the hall, the non-express elevator opened, a tan-skinned elf came out, wearing a suit ::


Elf: "morning, miss"
 
Alec laughed and rolled off him. "yeah yeah yeah." She giggled as the two were pulled to there feet by Zaria. "Lead the way Cap'n." She saulted Steven.


~


Leslie jumped back in fright before bowing to the elf, "Good Morning." She put a cap on her sand gourd for the time being, feeling that the small amount she had left would be good enough to find this place again.
 
They reached the center of the city in the matter of an hour. Here,the streets wer lined with performers,all looking to show off their hobby,and hopefuly get scouted. One group in particular caught his eye; Four parkour runners were using the cluttered plaza as their course,and were amazing at it. Steven turned around and faced Alec and Zaria. "Halifax has quite a few street performers,just like any other city! I remember coming here with one of the supervisors at least once a week,just to watch the free runners. The way the move...It's art in motion. Sometimes I wonder...What would my life have been like if Nightrise didn't give a damn about me." Steven paused a bit with his final remark,and pondered this thought deeply. After a minute,he leaned against a wall,letting Alec and Zaria take in the sights of the main plaza.
 
:: Marco was looking at the sand on the ground ::


:: as leslie got into the lift, he wentin with her, still invisible and floating, he retreated into a top corner, so she would'nt bump into him ::


Marco: {normally i would have just escorted her to the lift.... but she knows something about nightrise... and she was leaving a trail of sand... shes up to something}
 
Zaria smirked, "Its pretty, I'll give you that." Alec smiled, "It's more than pretty. It's.....indescribable. "


~


Leslie sighed, leaning against a wall of the lift and rubbed her eye while yawning. She needed to find a place to crash for the night that wasn't just another park. Looking at the gourd of sand, she tilted it and smiled softly at the sound of the sand moving inside it, like a mini sand storm was brewing inside it. "I wonder if this place has a room I could use for the night...I'd pay it back and all but i dunno. Doubt this place likes street scum that much." She made a face, not even aware she had just spoken out loud to herself...
 
Vent sighed as Leslie and Marco left.


Looks like Marco had something new to do, he thought rolling his eyes.


Why does every girl I meet have to be weird.... Or stupid? Vent thought with a bit of a scowl, and a tiny pout.


He kicked a desk lightly, and perked back up. It wasn't like him to let ANYTHING bother him.


With a blank look, Vent strolled out of the room, and out into the main foyer, taking in all the old sights he'd missed.


Oh baby, it's still super cool in here.... He thought, barely able to supress his idiot's grin.


He kept on walking, and went right out the front door. The short walk through the beautiful front gardens was cut short by the bust Chicago street.


Vent grinned.


I guess I missed that too, he thought, glancing at all the cars that passed.


He started to walk down the street, before a strange presense caught his attention.


Vent stalled, at a crossroads. Normally, he'd immediately go chase whatever caught his attention, but he wasn't feeling very 'normal' at the moment.


Suddenly, the presense spiked. It wasn't demonic, but it wasn't nice.


Then came the explosion.


A few blocks away, a gas station had exploded. Rain of fire and debris hurtled towards Vent's direction. He scowled.


Looks like I can't just ignore it now.... He thought, wind swirling around his hands.


"Ventus!" He shouted, a wall of wind stopping the debris, and launching it off into the distance. Vent didn't really care where it went. He immediately started to sprint towards the source of the explosion.
 
:: it was at this moment, when the elevator came to a sudden stop, the lights went out and a speaker came out of the wall behind her ::


Speaker: 'miss Fitz, you have been selected to join our organisation, please proceed t the CEO's office."


:: the elevator began rising again, towards Artemis's office ::


Marco: {what the hell....?}
 
Leslie jumped a bit at the sudden darkness and the voice, thinking for a split second that the thing had been hijacked and the voice was going to tell her that the she was going to get dropped to her death inside the thing. "The....ceo?" She tilted her head, rubbing the base of her foot agaisnt her ankle.
 
:: it took a short while, but the elevator came t the C.E.O's office, it opened to a massive room, 2 floors high with 2 levels, the sides were lined with dozens of people in helmets working on computers, and at the head of the room, an almost golden desk with a man in a black suit sat, Marco shimmered into vision behind him ::


Marco: "what the hel are you thinking?"


Artemis: "calm down, you'll see"


:: Artemis beckoned Leslie over ::


Artemis: "Miss Fitz, please... come over, have a seat... Marco get our guest a nice cola"


:: Marco grunted a rough "yes" and came back a little bit later with a glass of ice-cold coke ::
 
Leslie nodded her head and scurried over to the man who had called for her. Looking at the nice chair that was there for a second she simply folded her legs underneath herself and sat on the floor, still able to see him. Keeping her eyes on the ground, she waited for him to say something as her fingers silently drummed agaisnt her knees.
 
:: Artemis chuckled to himself, he twirled his finger, causing Leslie to be lifted from the ground by an invisible force and setting her back down on a soft leather & fur-lined chair, Marco placed her coke on the small table next to the chair on a coaster, next to some salted peanuts ::


Artemis: "please.. help yourself, but listen as well"


:: Artemis leaned back ::


Artemis: "you see, as you well know, this is no normal school, nor is this some potty school of magic, this is an institute of supernatural forces, magic is just one of these forces..."


:: he gave her a second to sip the coke and maybe have a peanut ::


Artemis: "and the fact that you actually got in to the inner sanctum of this place speaks volumes about you... Marco, would you care to continue?"


Marco :"when i looked over you before, i saw your timid exterior, but judging by what i saw, you had a cruel life, this has made you strong on the inside.. i believe that is the source of your strength"


:: this was Marco in business-mode, 30 seconds all-business ::
 
Nodding her head, and trying not to worry about getting the chair dirty, and not even touching the drink as she really didn't know what it was, Leslie listened carefully, though a bit confused. "I apologize, Sir, ah, Sirs...but what does this have to do with me?" There was an actual tremor of worry in her voice as her eyes flickered between the two of them.
 
Marco: "the point is... we're offering you the choice to become a mage"


:: Artemis nodded ::


Artemis: "i believe your parents are down in the lobby right now, if you stand up to them, you can join us, you'll never be hurt without reason again, you will be strong... all you have to do is say "no" to you're parent's abuse"


:: Marco took her by the arm and lifted her out of the chair ::


Artemis: "make the choice, if you accept our offer, and say no, Marco will take care of the rest.. he will also escort you to the lobby"


:: Marco took her by the hand and lead her to the elevator ::


Marco: "come on"
 
Leslie's eyes widened with fear at the mention of her parents. She hadn't seen them since they had chased her away when she was about 7, she could barely remember their faces that well. Letting Marco lead her there her mind swirled making her feel dizzy, Inside the elevator she looked at Marco timidly, "Why would you want a street rat as a mage?"
 
:: Marco sighed ::


Marco: 'i know it may seem strange of someone in my status but... us mages, including my family don't give a damn about status"


:: he held her dirty hand up ::


Marco: "status, wealth and the such... mean nothing to us.... what matters is what is on the inside... and that is why we contacted your parents, to see if you have the strength to say "no" to their abuse, to show that you can stand up for yourself"


:: they reached the bottom, the door opened and her parents were standing there, they didn't seem happy ::
 
Leslie nodded her head before the door opened and she involuntarily took a step back and flinched, expecting to get hit.
 

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