** spoiler omitted **
Proving time and again that there ain't no rest for the wicked (and that the righteous don't get any either), Aananda's security feed bleeps at her. If she checks the blip, it comes up as:
"CODE GREEN: Infirmary Patient Elopement.
Patient Name: Vai Sunwake."
settro immediately reacts to the immense pain coming from vai, instantly teleporting to where she was, no warning to those he was walking with.
"What is..."
Settro then quickly notices that the source of pain left.
"Gone...."
The emotional pain has moved some distance away, though it's still quite palpable, even at this distance...
Before Settro can get an exact position for teleportation, all the feelings of pain vanish in an instant. Settro has the general area though, if he wanted to follow up.
** spoiler omitted **Proving time and again that there ain't no rest for the wicked (and that the righteous don't get any either), Aananda's security feed bleeps at her. If she checks the blip, it comes up as:
"CODE GREEN: Infirmary Patient Elopement.
Patient Name: Vai Sunwake."
settro immediately reacts to the immense pain coming from vai, instantly teleporting to where she was, no warning to those he was walking with.
"What is..."
Settro then quickly notices that the source of pain left.
"Gone...."
The emotional pain has moved some distance away, though it's still quite palpable, even at this distance...
Before Settro can get an exact position for teleportation, all the feelings of pain vanish in an instant. Settro has the general area though, if he wanted to follow up.
Settro teleports to whenever he can get to.
Shoshin steps into his basic mathimagica class early, looking for a spot to sit as he waits for class to start.
"It's alright," she said with a wry smile. "I think we could probably do with a proper sparring session too. I can't take long because I have to supervise the others, but I think I can spare a few minutes while they get started...no holds barred?" she asked hopefully."Sounds great. I live for this stuff. I can help with the supervison, when we're done."
adpn enters his usual defensive stance, already sizing Sadie up.
Sadie grinned. She created a small disc of force which she hopped up on to give herself a height advantage as she attacked.
"Thank you. I'm new. My name is Archena."
She looks at Raelle's painting.
"Um. I don't. I don't think that's fair. Elaine told me that art and music is about expressing what you feel and how you see things. Maybe this is how she sees the vase. This is like how she experiences the vase. You can kind of see the colors. And Elaine said that everyone sees things differently. Maybe she just sees things differently like shapes."
She seems to be explaining some of the philosophy behind the use if art itself, but doesn't quite have to vocabulary for it.
" It's kind of you to stand up for her, but I've seen Miss del Sol's painting style before. She is perfectly capable of creating a realistic looking painting. She simply chose not to today," the art teacher insisted before moving on to look at other paintings.
Raelle grimaced, frustrated. "But that is what it looks like," she muttered. "Its not my fault she can't see the underlying pattern of the universe and I can't turn it off."
** spoiler omitted **Proving time and again that there ain't no rest for the wicked (and that the righteous don't get any either), Aananda's security feed bleeps at her. If she checks the blip, it comes up as:
"CODE GREEN: Infirmary Patient Elopement.
Patient Name: Vai Sunwake."
Aananda was already entering the infirmary again and she took off for Vai's room at a dead run. But all she found was a crumpled piece of paper and a chill went through her as she read it.
::Mother, I need you to use Vai's crystal and scary on her RIGHT NOW.::
::Tam, please tell me you can get to the wall outside the west garden faster than I can. Just outside of school grounds. Someone gave Vai a note saying they could help her and she left the infirmary...only I have a murderer running loose at the school, luring girls off school grounds before stabbing them to death,:: she said, her mental voice frantic as she raced out of the infirmary and tried to catch up with where she thought Vai had gone.
Once all the children had finished their paperwork, Pyra filed them appropriately and also sent the letter to Kor.
"Alright, kids, let's get you lot to class. I'll take you there. You have a substitute teacher today, but I'm sure you'll get on just fine with both her and your normal teacher."
She led the way to another classroom and knocked on the door. A very pretty young woman with long red hair answered the door.
"Fieri, I have a few new students to add to this class. We've just finished their paperwork."
Fieri smiled at the new students and stepped back from the door so they could enter. Inside the classroom only a few desks were filled. A small, dark-skinned boy peered out cautiously from the book fort he'd surrounded himself with. A girl in a ruffled dress with golden ringlets was practically hiding at the back of the class. A small red haired girl smiled at them with open curiosity. A small boy seemed too distracted by his book to notice them and there was a ...a....a....thing sitting next to him.
"Come on in. Two other new students just arrived as well, and I was just going to have them introduce themselves to the class. You can join them."
She smirks a bit as the teacher leaves to check on someone else.
"Have you thought about getting glasses for that?"
::Tam, please tell me you can get to the wall outside the west garden faster than I can. Just outside of school grounds. Someone gave Vai a note saying they could help her and she left the infirmary...only I have a murderer running loose at the school, luring girls off school grounds before stabbing them to death,:: she said, her mental voice frantic as she raced out of the infirmary and tried to catch up with where she thought Vai had gone.
::Wha...? I'll be there in a few seconds,:: Tamrin replies as he calls forth his arcane talents and teleports directly to the wall, bringing up some of his own unique defenses as he appears.
His Caster is already in hand as he pulls out a visor from his duster and puts it on, its powerful divinatory sensors letting him see everything that cannot normally be seen...
::I'm here.::
A little while later, a small bird will flutter near Pyra and deliver the message that Kor agrees to meet with her over lunch in the cafeteria.
Jacob nods to each of the students in turn, then bows to Fieri. He now has his scarf on again, although his jacket is still tucked under his arm. "Hello, Missus. My name is Jacob Forgehand." The boy then hangs up his jacket on a coathanger and takes his seat.
Settro teleports to whenever he can get to.
Settro appears inside one of the school's gardens near the west border of the school grounds - a walled section to prevent hapless animals from stumbling into the occasionally dangerous gardens. After a few moments spent looking around, he spots a man teleporting in atop the wall bordering the school. The man seems very oddly dressed - in combat fatigues - but one thing definitely sticks out to Settro: he has a firearm drawn, and looks prepared for combat as he pulls a set of goggles into place.
::Wha...? I'll be there in a few seconds,:: Tamrin replies as he calls forth his arcane talents and teleports directly to the wall, bringing up some of his own unique defenses as he appears.
His Caster is already in hand as he pulls out a visor from his duster and puts it on, its powerful divinatory sensors letting him see everything that cannot normally be seen...
::I'm here.::
The goggles come into place as Tamrin looks around, though he wouldn't need them. Below him, gently laying in the grass a few feet from the wall is the form of his youngest daughter.. Her face betrays no emotion of fear or shock, and in her current position no wound is visible on her form, though the slowly pooling blood around her head - and the lack of the steady rise of fall of breathing - dashes the brief hope that she's merely unconscious.
Tamrin's extra sensors reveal nothing extra about Vai, though she is slowly bleeding heat away as her body begins to cool post-mortem.
Oddly, clutched to her chest is a leather-bound tome of some kind.
The goggles come into place as Tamrin looks around, though he wouldn't need them. Below him, gently laying in the grass a few feet from the wall is the form of his youngest daughter.. Her face betrays no emotion of fear or shock, and in her current position no wound is visible on her form, though the slowly pooling blood around her head - and the lack of the steady rise of fall of breathing - dashes the brief hope that she's merely unconscious.
Tamrin's extra sensors reveal nothing extra about Vai, though she is slowly bleeding heat away as her body begins to cool post-mortem.
Oddly, clutched to her chest is a leather-bound tome of some kind.
"No NO !!!!" Tamrin bellows out as he jumps down from the wall to land next to his fallen child.
Despite the white-hot rage seething within him, he knows he has to everything he can to find whoever did this to her...and evidently several others. Fighting every instinct he has as a father to pick her up, the elder Sunwake instead hits a button on his visor, making the device perform a recorded scan of Vai's body and everything within close proximity to her. After a few seconds a full 3-dimensional rendering of the scene in every known wavelength of the spectrum is recorded and sent to multiple encrypted locations for him to pore over later.
Tam then reaches down (with a hand that has only just stopped shaking) and gently pries the tome from her hands. Blinking back tears, he opens it, keeping his senses (and magic) aware for any nearby threats...
Tam's scan pulls in all the details of the surrounding area, saving it to his memory banks without trouble. As he flips the book open, something inside causes it to fall open to a particular page...
The page itself is completely blank (as is the rest of the tome, if checked), though resting inside is a single, orange feather. A primary flight feather from a young adult Firebird, almost unmistakable.
She smirks a bit as the teacher leaves to check on someone else.
"Have you thought about getting glasses for that?"
"Do they make glasses for out of control psychic talents? Because if they do, count me in."
Jacob nods to each of the students in turn, then bows to Fieri. He now has his scarf on again, although his jacket is still tucked under his arm. "Hello, Missus. My name is Jacob Forgehand." The boy then hangs up his jacket on a coathanger and takes his seat.
"Welcome, Jacob. I'm Mrs. Sunwake. Which of you would like to introduce yourself next?"
Aananda finally caught up, running striaight through the wall, when she saw that she was too late. She stopped just short of where Vai lay lifeless on the grass, falling to her knees. She felt like all the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her heart literally hurt. Power surged around her causing the ground to tremble for a moment. She tried to speak but all that came out was a squeaky sob.
::This can't be happening. This can't be real. She didn't have to do this. This doesn't look anything like the reports described the other murders...Why? Why would she refuse and then do this...it doesn't make sense,:: her thoughts whirred out of control as her mind refused to process what was happening.
Alys turns back to the elf boy and steps into a clear space, bowing slightly with one hand on the handle of the wooden katana, the other holding it next to the hilt of the other katana at her waist.
Ehos grins at finally getting to actually practice, returning the shallow bow with one of his own before sliding his datapad away, and dropping into an offensive posture. At very least, he could work off some energy from his rather emotionally intense weekend.
Not hesitating once Alys is ready, Ehos leaps directly in with something of a reckless streak. The sword is obviously not his favoured weapon, though he has all the grace of an acrobat in combat.
Despite the white-hot rage seething within him, he knows he has to everything he can to find whoever did this to her...and evidently several others. Fighting every instinct he has as a father to pick her up, the elder Sunwake instead hits a button on his visor, making the device perform a recorded scan of Vai's body and everything within close proximity to her. After a few seconds a full 3-dimensional rendering of the scene in every known wavelength of the spectrum is recorded and sent to multiple encrypted locations for him to pore over later.
Tam then reaches down (with a hand that has only just stopped shaking) and gently pries the tome from her hands. Blinking back tears, he opens it, keeping his senses (and magic) aware for any nearby threats...
Settro looks at the man funny, and considered at taking, but with the man's cries and rage, he comes up to see what happened.
"****. Can I not prevent /anything/ around here?"he asks the corpse.
Fieri smiled at the new students and stepped back from the door so they could enter. Inside the classroom only a few desks were filled. A small, dark-skinned boy peered out cautiously from the book fort he'd surrounded himself with. A girl in a ruffled dress with golden ringlets was practically hiding at the back of the class. A small red haired girl smiled at them with open curiosity. A small boy seemed too distracted by his book to notice them and there was a ...a....a....thing sitting next to him.
"Come on in. Two other new students just arrived as well, and I was just going to have them introduce themselves to the class. You can join them."
"Hello!" the cheery boy in a mostly bleach-white robe chimes in. "I'm vis. Glad to meet you all. I can't wait to start to get to know you." he has a band around his waist holding a scroll and a small pouch. His robes touch the floor, and his hands are covered by his long sleeves. Around the end of the sleeves and the bottom rim of his robes is a small, orange flame pattern. His hair is a bright yellow, and extends down to the base of his neck in the back, with the tips of his hair dyed white.
Aananda finally caught up, running striaight through the wall, when she saw that she was too late. She stopped just short of where Vai lay lifeless on the grass, falling to her knees. She felt like all the air was knocked out of her lungs. Her heart literally hurt. Power surged around her causing the ground to tremble for a moment. She tried to speak but all that came out was a squeaky sob.
::This can't be happening. This can't be real. She didn't have to do this. This doesn't look anything like the reports described the other murders...Why? Why would she refuse and then do this...it doesn't make sense,:: her thoughts whirred out of control as her mind refused to process what was happening.
If she had mounted the wall, Tamrin might have just been able to prevent Aananda from seeing their daughter like this. Instead, all he can do is put an arm around her and hold her.
::I don't know either. But we'll bring her back, Aananda. We WILL bring her back. And I promise you that when we find out who did this, I'll make them wish that Mezzenbone himself had gotten his claws into them before I'm done::
He lets go of his wife and carefully closes the leather tome (with its contents) and puts it in an interior pocket of his duster. As he does so, he gently puts an arm around Vai's head and shoulders and lifts her up...
Settro looks at the man funny, and considered at taking, but with the man's cries and rage, he comes up to see what happened.
"****. Can I not prevent /anything/ around here?"
he asks the corpse.
Hours of poring over security footage and school records in wake of the last attack on the school have afforded Tamrin, if not a photographic memory of all the students at Avalon, at least those who have contact with his family. Especially during times when his family is hurt.
It is with this fortunate recognition that he stays his hand and does not fire the rather....unpleasant shell loaded in his Caster.
"You shouldn't be here, young man," he says as he picks up Vai very protectively. "And prevention appears to be a growing problem where this murderer is concerned. But not for much longer."
"I shouldn't be here? Really. I'm attracted to pain. She was in a lot of it, but I didn't catch her before she teleported away. I tried to follow, but the emotions went cold. Now I see why. I was trying to help her. Trying to help those in pain. Now... Would you care to let me touch her? I happen to be able to raise her."
Settro is a little bitter, and a little downtrodden, but mostly seems rather upset and sad. Practically like looking in a mirror, as far as emotions are concerned.
"I don't know what that means." She shakes her head.
"Worth a look around, though, right?"
"As much as we want Vai back right now, that cannot happen...yet. Both for her own sake, and for giving us any chance of finding her killer."
He sighs heavily as he holsters his Caster and finishes picking her up.
"But if those were your intentions then you have my apologies, and my thanks for trying to help Vai."
If Vai's wound is inspected, it appears to be a direct and precise strike into Vai's brain stem from the back of her head. It would've killed her virtually instantly and painlessly.
"As much as we want Vai back right now, that cannot happen...yet. Both for her own sake, and for giving us any chance of finding her killer."
He sighs heavily as he holsters his Caster and finishes picking her up.
"But if those were your intentions then you have my apologies, and my thanks for trying to help Vai."
"It's nothing... I've got to get back to my other group I was with. Helping them delve after a kidnapped student. Hopefully, there talking to the headmaster now."
Kedikai climbs from the water and drys himself by shaking like a dog. "Hmmm." He says, "I feel like I am supposed to be doing something."
"What were we doing again?" He asks Syrah.
"I don't know... I just couldn't stay in the buliding much longer." Syrah replies quietly, following him and bending the water from their clothes.
When settro returns Dave asks him "so where'd you port off to?"
"A boat! We were going for a sail!" he exclaims, "See any boats we can use around here?"
Ehos grins at finally getting to actually practice, returning the shallow bow with one of his own before sliding his datapad away, and dropping into an offensive posture. At very least, he could work off some energy from his rather emotionally intense weekend.
Not hesitating once Alys is ready, Ehos leaps directly in with something of a reckless streak. The sword is obviously not his favoured weapon, though he has all the grace of an acrobat in combat.
Alys is not terribly skilled, but she is enthusiastic and a small grin lights up her face as they spar. After a very short time, Ehos can tell that if she manages to get some practice and teaching under her belt, she will be a dangerous swordswoman.
Fei, thankfully, appears to be out of immediate view within a modern facility of some kind.
The young monk crouches down quietly, looking at his attire. His nanosuit shifts slightly, becoming a very flat matte gray-black, non-reflective and inconspicuous.
He begins to take in his surroundings when he feels something...two presences. One he recognizes as the aura of the other Vai. The other, however, gives him pause as he recognizes it too. He last felt it at Avalon a few days ago, but to be out here means only one thing.....
Hope has chosen a new Champion.
From his hiding spot, Fei can hear the voice of his meldanya, perverted both by age and long years of hatred and anger. She snorts through her draconic muzzle before speaking, displeasure obvious in her voice. Speaking to the Champion of Hope: "Well, it seems one of our fellow Champions has taken it upon themselves to remove our spy. Lumos is annoyed, though we may still be able to work this to our favour."
Alys is not terribly skilled, but she is enthusiastic and a small grin lights up her face as they spar. After a very short time, Ehos can tell that if she manages to get some practice and teaching under her belt, she will be a dangerous swordswoman.
Ehos grins in a somewhat manic way as it appears that the pair seems more evenly matched than he could've hoped for, though more often than not his recklessness is what earns him a smack with Alys' practice blade. Temeperence would do him a world of good.
During a reprieve (after several minutes of back and forth), Ehos motions to pause and draws out the datapad, his hand a little tender from a poorly blocked blow. 'My name is Ehos. You're pretty good at this.' comes the sterile words of the datapad, and a grin from the anything-but-sterile elf.
Mel lay down on her bed. working on the specs of the school nanites showing Arthur what she is trying to do.
Eventually she sets things down, realizing that this stuff can get boring after a while. lying on the bed, (looking rather cute actually)
Arthur, Are you always so...I don't know the right word, but so trchnical? I mean yeah we are both smart and technical, but to be trully innovative, you need to open your mind to what is not thought possible.
she pulls up the basic specs of the nanites in the school. look at these, what do you see, is it just a bunch of numbers and limitations? or maybe, like me, you can see untapped possibilities.
you see, people like us need each other, the thinkers and the dreamers. So, instead of dwelling on what you, and the school's nanites can't do, lets look for what the could do.
she then starts to break down the algorythems of thier programming to find was to put her theory to the test. lets do this together. ok?
flying along over the mountains Lang looks down and notices a small village nearly surrounded by mountains. only one road leads to the village. Lang looks like he was about to head towrds the village but a glance toward teh tired Ephebe, he decides it best to continue on.
looking toMidori and Sara, That is Chen village. they keep to themselves. they teach a very special for of martial arts, centered in incapacitating the enmy and not killing. many have tried to learn from them, but Master Chen does not teach the style to outsiders unless they can prove themselves worthy of being taught.
They sometimes come to the temple during ceremonies to give demonstations of thier style. it really is awesome to watch.
We will be at the Temple very soon. I can almost make out the landing area in the distance.
"But if it means that less people get hurt, why don't they teach it to everyone?"
Sara wonders aloud, before getting distracted by the approaching temple.
"He he he. I wanna see it soon."
She bouncing in the saddle with excitement.
Tybalt stares at the ceiling of his room, not cleared to leave until the remaining radiation has circulated.
He's likely to be there a while with him being where it built up coupled with the relatively slow pace of his biology.
He turns to the side and curls in tighter. Even Jer can't be in the room as his insulation only goes so far against the low temperatures required for Tybalt's medical ward.
Lewis beats his wings hard and fast to keep up with the group.
He doesn't want to be retrograded again, but he doesn't want to slow down the group or ask for help either. He wants to prove that he can do stuff on his own.
"what and give up what makes them special? having a power like that is only an advantage if not everyone has it" Grim chimes in, telling his views on the matter.
"hey, I can be creative, just look at Hermes, Dude's a work of art," he says defensively boasting in his usual style then continues in a quieter voice, uncharistically unsure of himself "and I draw a little, none of it's any good, but I.. it relaxes me sometimes"
Mel is silent for a second, then You can draw? she grabs a piece of paper and a writing instrument, handing them to Arthur. Draw a picture of me. she says with a smile.