[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/KzmdUGG.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/MzIHaGw.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/C4njhfP.png[/img] [/center] [b][code]Grand Ridge Academy - Conference Room.[/code][/b][hr] 


As Britney listened to everyone's various sounds of intrigue and other such concerns, she felt this whole meeting turning around. Going just where she wanted it to. Still, she knew that they were doubtful of her knowing this. As Aliana said, it sounded like she has firsthand experience. Which was true... but at the same time not very true. Still, she had planned for this from the beginning and knew exactly how to put an end to all the doubts. She walked over to her white leather bag which she had casually set in the corner and bent over and dug into it for a second. She pulled out a black book - an old book with a golden lock - and casually sauntered over to Rien, before she opened the book, and presented it to Rien.

"It's not in any library," Britney said, unaware that she was being somewhat smug. "But, yes. I [i]do[/i] in fact have a handy book." This elected a snort from Claire.

It was a diary, scrawled in a distinct handwriting that made it just about legible.

[hider=The Diary][quote][i][b][code]Hey there, don't know any better way to phrase this; but my name is John Reid - the (hopefully) previous Guardian of this town, to help guide the next generation of this town's Awakened so you can do your job. If you don't know what the hell a Guardian or an Awakened is, I'll get to that. I have to get the basics out of the way soon as possible. I'm hoping that by the time you're reading this, I'm dead. If I'm not, by any chance, dead and you're reading this anyway, then damn it. But if I am dead, let me say that there's a lot more to Farmer Hill than you think, and I've spent the last thirty-something years of my life keeping it safe from supernatural danger. Hence, why I called myself the Guardian of the town. I know I'm gonna die one of these days, and somebody else is gonna have to keep this town - AND it's secrets - safe or a lot of people are going to die. Which is why I wrote about all the things you'll need to know so you're not going into it blind like I did. And there's going to be a whole lot of messes that need cleaning up. From the magic itself, to the monsters that lurk in the woods, and to your job.

But, let me start with the two most important things: the magic. I don't know what it is about this place, but there's some kind of mystical force flowing through it. I don't know, but it allows certain people to unlock a potential within them - or "Awaken." A potential to see the world for what it really is, and not just that, an Abstraction. What's an abstraction? A magical abilities that reflects the user in some way. Maybe you're shy, now you can become unnoticeable. Perhaps you're impatient, you can now teleport. It'll reflect your personality or mindset in some way - whether you like it or not. Anyone who has Awakened has a little black mark on im' somewhere, called a sigil. And only an Awakened can see it.

There's a bit more to it than that. Have you noticed that you're seeing things that nobody else can see? Having dreams that seem less like dreams? Or hearing things that you shouldn't? Don't worry you're not crazy, that's just all apart of being an Awakened. You can see the world for what it really is, kid. Simple as that. One thing that the Awakened can do is see things that normal people shouldn't, such as most abstractions, or the little monsters of this town. Those dreams are a retro cognitive ability, the power to see into the past, it's really important. Trust me. It'll save you. 

Now that you know about your tools, here's your job [Page ends][/code][/b][/i][/quote][/hider]

That was where the book seemingly ended. From there, a great deal of the pages were torn out, and the rest were blank. As if somebody was trying to hide something. But, from there, Britney passed the rest of the book around for everyone else to read.

When it was Claire's turn to give it a read [i](This handwriting looks a lil' familiar if that makes sense)[/i], her finger lingered over the name John Reid. She held her mouth open as if she had something to say, but she merely muttered to herself, "John Reid...." The name was in fact familiar to her. He was one of the big farmers in town, apart of the little defacto council with the mayor. He was always trying to help people stay on the straight on and narrow... but, even he had to realize this was one thing he couldn't fix.

"I'm not sure how familiar you all are with John Reid, but he gave me this book and was a very close friend of mine," Britney said, as she looked at everyone here. "You know that dream with the two kids? Well..." She awkwardly shuffled in her feet, as she put her hands together.

"... He was the boy in that dream we all had, and he's [i]dead.[/i] Nobody knows who killed him or how he died."

The words made Justin shudder. It reminded him of the death of a certain somebody, and how nobody knew anything. He sighed, but there was a question on his mind... "Wait, where's the rest of the book?" Justin said as he shuffled through the book, "I don't think there's just one page, is there?"

So, John's dead? It made sense that he was the boy in the dream - they didn't look all that different. But, if Britney was going where she wanted. That was when she narrowed her eyes, and said, "And what's this all even mean? You want us to become the Guardians of this shithole?" She asked, "Sorry, not interested, and I doubt anyone else here is interested." She looked around the group to various responses.

Claire had a point, and Britney wasn't going to ignore it. "And I'm not asking you to do no such thing," Britney started off, "But, what I'm asking you all is help getting to the bottom of this - I want help helping me solve his murder, and to find the rest of his book because..."

She looked off to the side, "... there's a lot of threats out there that John was keeping at bay, and once they figure out that he's out of the picture, they're going to come after us before [i]we[/i] can become a problem for [i]them[/i]." 

She shuffled her feet, "So, I'm certain that the best ways to handle them are in that book."


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[sup][@Mike73][/sup]
[b][code]Grand Ridge Academy - Outside the Conference Room.[/code][/b][hr]


Upon seeing Grant, Lynette immediately smiled at her friend. She immediately greeted him with a [i]'Hello'[/i] in sign language. It was one thing that Lynette prided herself on, her incredible sign language skills all because of her mother's disability. It wasn't something that she could flaunt here due to the lack of people that even knew what she was doing. Still, Lynette understood Grant's nonverbal communications, as well. He asked her if she had found something incredible. That was true, she was on the verge of something incredible. She wasn't willing to share it easily, however.

[i]'On the verge of something unseen,'[/i] Lynette communicated with him with a smile, [i]'But, I need to see something first - you said you made the sound go away?'[/i] She asked, she didn't think it was wise to flash her newfound ability with anybody.


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[sup][@Mike73][/sup]
[b][code]Farmer Hill - Downtown, Near Sucre Café[/code][/b][hr]


The alleyway was veiled in a supernatural darkness of sorts that didn't let any light pierce through it. As Jasmine stared into the abyss of nothingness. In an instant, she heard the sounds of absolutely heavy footsteps and a fleshy, dragging, sound. In a moment, the darkness faded away as Scott Reese stepped out of the shadows, holding the dead body of Callie Kingston with one hand, and a bloody blade with the other. He looked at Jasmine, and dropped Callie's dead body, and used his free hand to wipe the blood off his hand. 

Suddenly, the streets seemed empty. Not a person walking, or a car in the street. Was it a dream? Or some other ability that Scott had? He looked at her and grinned as he raised his blade above his head to bring it down on her.

His master's voice tells him that she's a target, too, so he should kill her now.