He's just scary looking. He's not mad. Stand up straight. Talk properly. "I... I guess I'm not used to people yet, and excuse me for saying, you don't... exactly cut a friendly figure. Pleased to meet you Enre, I am Vai Emkar." Vai blurts out quickly, curtsying and looking at the floor to hide her embarrassment.
Enre snaps his fingers and his clothing and armor change shape. He now appears to be wearing a black hoodie, with a picture of his skull helmet on it, black jeans, and some boots. On his head is a black and grey beanie with a picture of his mask on the front, around his neck are some dog tags. He than askes "This better?"
"Anthony-kun, Michael only came here today because he was worried about you. He's not trying to take anything from you."
"Could we please continue this conversation outside? Where there isn't a danger of the ceiling falling on us?" she added nervously. "And have I mentioned that I'm not a huge fan of small enclosed spaces?"
"Fine, just get out." Anthony says as he turns and walks back they way Michael and Kitty came, heading for the entrance/exit. Michael waits until Anthony is out of sight before turning to Kitty.
"Do you think we should go deeper and see why he doesn't want us down here, or follow him?"
"Anthony-kun, Michael only came here today because he was worried about you. He's not trying to take anything from you."
"Could we please continue this conversation outside? Where there isn't a danger of the ceiling falling on us?" she added nervously. "And have I mentioned that I'm not a huge fan of small enclosed spaces?"
"Fine, just get out." Anthony says as he turns and walks back they way Michael and Kitty came, heading for the entrance/exit. Michael waits until Anthony is out of sight before turning to Kitty.
"Do you think we should go deeper and see why he doesn't want us down here, or follow him?"
"Michael, how would you feel if it were you and Anthony-kun started prying into your things in spite of you asking him not to," she asked, sounding a bit exasperated. "Shuriken in the wall, remember? We should follow him. It's going to take him a while to trust you again, you know."
Khassar follows a group of students to where the memorial is being held.
Jim finds his way to the memorial as well.
"To be fair, if he's down here doing something he shouldn't be, it would be better to know about it." Michael says as he follows his brother, keeping close to Kitty so she doesn't get lost.
"Okay, Anthony, we're out of the caves now. Why didn't you want us down there?"
"I told you, the caves are mine now."
"That can't be all."
"It is!"
Michael says something then, in a language Kitty's never heard before, and it seems to shock Anthony.
"You still remember that?" Anthony asks. "I... I thought you had forgotten it."
"I only stopped using it when you did. Now will you tell me about the caves?"
"I... I turned the biggest chamber into a room. Got some wood and brick for the door. I thought that if things didn't change soon, I'd just move into the caves permanently."
"You were going to run away."
"...Yeah."
"Because I wasn't coming home."
"Yeah."
"You know Mom and Dad made me go, right? I wanted to stay here. I'm glad I didn't now that I've met Kitty, but I never wanted to go. I didn't even have any cool abilities or anything!"
Kitty watched, relieved that the two were finally talking at least.
Remembering what Kitty said about trust, Michael decides to go out on a limb.
"But... I do now. Sort of." He explains by causing the earth under him to float up, causing Anthony's mouth to drop open in shock. "This was how I was fixing the caves. Pretty cool, huh? I kinda borrowed it."
"How do you... borrow something like that?"
"I've got absolutely no idea, but it's got something to do with the fact I'm telepathic. I think."
"Maybe you can put that rock back together then."
"The one that messed up the caves in the first place? How did it break?"
"I don't know. It kinda fell apart after I moved it to the room. It looked neat, but now it's just a bunch of round rocks."
"I can try."
"So it's okay now for Michael to help you repair the caves? It's fine for you to have your own space, but nobody wants you to get hurt."
"And I owe you an apology. We got off on the wrong foot, and it's my fault. I am very sorry for throwing a shuriken near you, Anthony-kun. Just because something is acceptable in my family, doesn't make it okay here. I beg your forgiveness," she said, bowing.
"Yeah, sorry about that too. I asked her to throw it to see if that would keep you out of my room." Michael says sheepishly.
"Uh.. okay. I forgive you, since it was his fault. Besides, it's not like it's my wall you put a hole in."
Going back down into the cave, Anthony soon leads everyone to the room he made. Going from stone walls to a rather decent looking building shows just how much time he's spent down here in the last two years. He points out a table that has a pile of black, semi-spherical rocks on it.
"It's a bit warmer in here." Michael says as he looks over the rocks. "They might have been stuck together by something that melted or evaporated when the temperature changed." He gets them all as close together as he can before trying to get them back in the shape he remembers. Strangely, they don't even twitch. "Huh, strange, I thought any rock or earth would be affected by that."
"So you can't put it back together? I looked a lot better before it broke apart."
"Sorry, Anthony. I could take a few pieces back to Avalon to see why I can't put them back, but that's it." Michael explains, still trying to figure out why he can't affect the rock. "Anyway, this place is neat. I never thought of making a chamber into a room before."
"You think so? It didn't take as long as I thought it would."
Kitty looked relieved when Anthony said that he would forgive her. She really didn't want Michael's family to hate her.
"You must be very good at building things, Anthony-kun," Kitty said, looking around the converted cave. "I do not think I would even know where to begin a project like this."
"The door should be last. It's a hassle to get things down here through a door. Besides, I had a lot of time to get things right."
"Nothing caught fire this time?"
"No! I wish you would stop bring that up too, it was one time!"
"What was one time?" she asked, confused.
She sighed contentedly and stretched. "As much as I would love to spend all day in bed with you, I'm thinking we should probably get up and get dressed," she said with a playful smile. "It's almost lunch time and my stomach is complaining about having skipped breakfast."
She kissed him again and then slid out of bed, opening drawers in the dresser to pull out clean clothes.
"It's been a while since I wore baggy clothes like these. I've gotten used to the tight clothes that won't rip or catch fire when I have to move quickly. Anyways....I'd like to tell Taron first, if it's alright with you. About us I mean. After what he did to himself to save me it only seems right."
"Okay, so here's the deal. Absolutely, positively, without question, no scolding. Stuff came up. Jiminy is out cold and likely to stay that way for a while. And I heard you guys totally rocked last night," she added smiling at her bandmates. "Way to go, and thanks for covering. I mean it, Dennis," she said glaring at him as he started to talk. "No scolding. I just need you to trust me that it was important and I'll fill you in on the details later. The cafeteria isn't the best spot to be discussing these things." She sat down at the table and sighed. "I'll just wait for the line to clear out a bit. I could really use some comfort food about now and it always takes forever to convince the cooks that I really can safely eat charcoal briquets and that I think they're really, really tasty."
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"No running in the halls! A little joie de vivre is permitted, but not if it puts you and/or others in the infirmary," she snapped. "You there! Just what do you think you're doing? Put your fellow student down this instant! Dwarf tossing is NOT permitted on school grounds. Even if the dwarf says it's okay! Detention for the both of you."
Doesn't move, then groans and throws a pillow at her
"I suppose we should go eat..."
Looks at this robe on the floor...
"I'm just gonna keep the human form between us for now, ok? I don't wanna lend to any dragon hysteria per se. It's alot of change at once, I think."
He hops down out of bed, shifts to his kobold form, and dons his robe.
"And this way I don't have to wear pants!" He winks at Ephebe
Thinks for a second, regarding Taron.
"That sounds fair. He was able to recover before, so he will again, right?"
After the ceremony, turns to Nala. and smiles.
"Lunchtime, then. Shall we?"
She bit her lip. "I really, really hope so. Kam seemed to think that he would. So probably."
She quickly made the bed and then headed into the hall, making a beeline for Taron's room. She knocked loudly.
After the ceremony, turns to Nala. and smiles.
"Lunchtime, then. Shall we?"
"Yes. If it's okay with you I'd rather just get lunchboxes and then find somewhere else to eat. The cafeteria is...probably my least favorite place in school actually. They'll give you the food to go if you ask. And there's so much less chance of wearing it that way."
"Yeah I suppose killing other students for being rude should be avoided" he says with a grin.
"We can do that. I like the garden, myself..."
Quickly follows Ephebe
She smiled just a little. "Well, then, we can have a picnic. Seems appropriate for a date."
She headed for the line, sticking close to Ryuzo, asked for lunch to go and was handed two boxed lunches by a busy lunchlady too harried to even notice who was asking for what.
She managed to get back through the crowd with no more than a couple of 'accidental' shoves thanks to Ryuzo's presence, and headed for the gardens, not stopping when she got there. She kept walking for a while until she came to an especially secluded spot underneath a huge willow tree.
"Okay, this should be good."
"This is nice. I usually do katas in the mornings in here. I've trained outdoors most of my life, so I like coming here. Do you want Vasya able to roam?"
"This is nice. I usually do katas in the mornings in here. I've trained outdoors most of my life, so I like coming here. Do you want Vasya able to roam?"
"Yes, as long as she can do so safely. She doesn't like being cooped up in my room all the time."
Nala sat down cross-legged on the grass and set down the lunch boxes in front of her. "So. Would you rather eat first or have the uncomfortable, at least for me, conversation about how it was I got into so much trouble here at school in the first place."
The fox appears on the ground next to Nala, as the clone sets her down and vanishes...
"Hmm...is it gonna make me lose my appetite? I'm kidding! Go ahead, Nala. I already heard the short version, but I'd like to hear what happened from you as well."
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"Well, you already know that I was not exactly raised in a loving environment. As far as I knew making friends meant forcing people to obey you. A rather cold view of things, and I should have known better. Or at least been able to learn more quickly. But I didn't."
She drew her knees in close and wrapped her arms tightly around them. "I was assigned Ephebe Sunwake as my roommate when I first got here last year. I hated her right from the start. She had family around her all the time, family who loved her. Oh, they tried to hide that they were family. I guess they didn't want people to think that they were playing favorites since her parents and uncles are teachers. But it really didn't take long to figure it out, especially with Nagina acting as a apy for me. That's my previous familiar."
"Anyways, I was doing research on spells. I already had several students in my thrall and I was starting to amass a following. I was researching variations on true seeing. Lycans are hard to detect that way because unlike other shapeshifters they have more than one 'real' form. And I found the lycans here to be the best followers. They were the strongest after all. So the spell worked great, which is how I found out that Ephebe was really a dragon. I was horrified. I'd heard the stories of dragons. They made my mom look civilized in comparison. So I ran. And then I ran into him. I'd tell you more if I could, but he put a geas on me. I can't say anything about who he is or what he looks like or anything or my entire memory goes poof. I mean everything. Total amnesia. Ironic, really, that I got taken in by someone even better at messing with people's heads than me."
"He convinced me that he was my friend. That he was going to help me expose the truth, etc, etc. Anyways, to sum up, I was an absolute misery to her over the next few months, systematically isolating her from everyone (for their own good, or so I convinced myself), eroding her self-confidence. My mother would have been proud," she said, grimacing. "But after the summer break, when she came back....she seemed different . Not as easy to bully. So he had me...step things up. It ended with an assassination attempt. He tried to poison her and framed me for it. I...I can't say I was innocent. I'd always intended to expose her for what she was, and I didn't expect people to be understanding about it, but I hadn't got as far as deliberately trying to kill her."
"I expected to be expelled, but for some insane reason her family actually forgave me. Well after they made me release all of my thralls anyways. Turns out the dragons were actually nice to me even though I didn't deserve it and the people I trusted hung me out to dry. Wasn't a very nice realization. As far as I know there are still some of them wandering around, the followers of that guy, but I can't point them out."
"That's pretty much the whole story. I'll answer any questions if you have them."
"Ha. Lycans. There are much meaner things out there..."he says with an evil grin.
"Ooooh. Getting busted for poisoning the whole faculties' niece. I imagine that was sobering. So, the staff here are dragons? Doesn't say that on the brochure...I've always wanted to see one..."
"Nope, I have no questions. You didn't say anything deceptive, so, thanks for that. I like the brutally honest you."
He stands up
"Since we're having a full disclosure moment..."
He takes a few steps back and changes into his were mole form.
"I, am Ryuzo of the Kato family of the Mole clan. Those of us that carry the tranformation trait, are Zoanthropes. We are a higher form of natural shapeshifter than a normal lycan-type, but more rare. We are a clan of assassins, trained from birth. Those of us that can shift, are specially trained to blend those arts with our forms. That's pretty much me in a nutshell. My family sensei sent me here becasue I was above the norm, even for shifters. They thought I should come here and be among other people like myself, that are special. There's been a ...complication... since I've arrived here, but all in all I don't regret coming here. Especially since meeting you. Well, is this too wierd?"
She tilted her head and studied him coolly. "A year ago I would have run away screaming. I like to think I've grown up a bit since then."
She stood up and hesitated. "May I?" she asked, waiting for his assent before reaching out to touch his fur.[/] "It's soft."
[i]She sat back down. "Well, as you can see, no running or screaming. Since you didn't run from me even when I told you the whole truth about me, I will return the favor."
"And as a point of clarification, the entire staff isn't dragons. But there are dragons among them. It's complicated, and honestly I never was quite able to entirely untangle the truth of who is or isn't what in Ephebe's family. But her mother is definitely a dragon. And the Headmaster definitely is not even though he's her uncle. Since you seem to like brutal honesty," she said with a half-smile, "I would not want to end up lying by omission."
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Jim, not having a true understanding of the emotion known as "Sadness" is unmoved by the ceremony. As it finishes, he decides to try another one of the fantastic things the cafeteria serves up known colloquially as "food." Although he gains no nourishment from it, he enjoys the sensation of "taste", and even more so the sensation of "smell", whereas he had only previously smelled grease and burnt ozone in the laboratory.
Vai smiles, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable. "Yes, much better. You're not nearly as scary like that." [i]Vai replies, thinking he's kinda cute too. The thought makes Vai blush, though her hair does a decent job to hide that.
Vai isn't really moved by the funeral services, but she has the decency and respect to keep quiet and pay attention.
"What was one time?" she asked, confused.
"I was putting together a real simple chair -four legs and a flat board really- when it caught fire. I don't how it happened and I didn't do it, but no one let's me live it down." Anthony explains as Michael snickers.
While several dirty looks and whisperings are directed towards him Khassar keeps quiet and observes those around him. He knows how people tend to relate ravens and other corvis birds as symbols of bad omen so
it does not bother him. The main observation he makes is how this ceremony is different from the few he attended while working in the temple.
When it is over he goes to the cafeteria for a salad for lunch.
She bit her lip. "I really, really hope so. Kam seemed to think that he would. So probably."
She quickly made the bed and then headed into the hall, making a beeline for Taron's room. She knocked loudly.
Kam opens the door, looking annoyed until he sees Ephebe.
"Hey. Checking on Tare? I don't know how long it'll last, but he woke up and was happy to see, which is a great sign. Who's he?" He asks, pointing to the now-human Krays.
She bit her lip. "I really, really hope so. Kam seemed to think that he would. So probably."
She quickly made the bed and then headed into the hall, making a beeline for Taron's room. She knocked loudly.
Kam opens the door, looking annoyed until he sees Ephebe.
"Hey. Checking on Tare? I don't know how long it'll last, but he woke up and was happy to see, which is a great sign. Who's he?" He asks, pointing to the now-human Krays.
"I'm glad to hear Tare is doing better. Um, there's something I need to tell him. I...I thought it was only right that he be the first to know," she said, barely suppressing a smile.
"What was one time?" she asked, confused."I was putting together a real simple chair -four legs and a flat board really- when it caught fire. I don't how it happened and I didn't do it, but no one let's me live it down." Anthony explains as Michael snickers.
Kitty giggled. "Well, it was probably Michael's fault," she said with a wink.
"I would never! He was still inside the house! Do I have to tell you how bad it is to have an open fire inside a tree?"
"Actually... we were all at a lake. I remember because the sand under the chair turned black."
"Given the way this conversation has suddenly turned against me, I'm going to go work on the cave system now." Michael says as Anthony starts walking toward him with a menacing gleam in his eyes. Michael steps back into the stone just before Anthony gets close enough to swing at him.
"That's the second time I've been able to convince we were somewhere else when something happened." Anthony says to Kitty, grinning mischievously.
Kitty doubled over laughing. "Oh, that's just too much, Anthony-kun. He's not going to be sure he can remember anything right."
"So....any other strange things happen around you?" she asked. "I ask because these power things tend to run in families. My onee-chan can dimension door at will. Which I think is a much better than being invisible all the time whether I want to be or not."
"I'm glad to hear Tare is doing better. Um, there's something I need to tell him. I...I thought it was only right that he be the first to know," she said, barely suppressing a smile.
"Sure, come on in." Kam says as he opens the door. Once inside, it's easy to see Taron propped up on pillows and smiling weakly as Ephebe and Krays.
"It's good to see you're both okay." He says softly, his voice rough. "Almost makes this massive headache lessen."
Ephebe smiled broadly and sat down on the bed beside Taron. "I'm glad to see you're already doing so much better. And thank you so so soooo much for finding me, for putting yourself through this in order to get rid of that guy for good."
"That's why I wanted you to be the first to know. I've bonded. With Krays. I didn't realize it was possible to be this happy." ^.^
"So....any other strange things happen around you?" she asked. "I ask because these power things tend to run in families. My onee-chan can dimension door at will. Which I think is a much better than being invisible all the time whether I want to be or not."
"Well I, uh..." Anthony suddenly seems a bit shy. "I can see in the dark a lot better than I used to. I don't even need light to get around down here anymore. I can also make a bit of light if I concentrate really hard. That's why there isn't a visible light source in here. I think Michael and I are the only ones with powers in the family. At least for enough generations we forgot about it anyway."
"Wow," Kitty said. "I'm impressed. That's a really useful power to have, Anthony-kun. Not crazy powerful or anything, but handy to have."
"I can see in the dark too, but that's because I'm a tiefling. One of my ancestors had...we'll call it questionable decision making skills."
"Copycat. I was the first to bond with someone who had scales." Taron replies, almost getting a scolding tone. "Does this mean I can go beat up the other one now? Because you just need to say the word. And maybe wait a few days, maybe a week."
Ephebe laughed. "No, don't waste your time, Tare. As bad as it hurt at the time, I'm glad now that things didn't work out with Spin. He did me a favor by leaving."
"Krays is definitely the right one for me."
"But I'm glad you're feeling better enough to be threatening to beat up the other guy," she said, giving Taron a quick hug.