[IC] Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

[WitchChild]

Haklo+Annabeth collab

Annabeth didn't really do much after Uicle dismissed her. The golem he gave her to use lead her to the dormatories, but she didn't have much of a clue which room she wanted. She was told that she may get a dormmate, but that was done at random. And she didn't really fancy the idea of having a stranger of unknown personality being her dormmate for the duration of her time at the college. So, she figured that she'd scout for a suitable partner at the feast. Many of the students were going to be attending, and if she was lucky she could find someone pleasant to room with. Or just make some friends, which was fine with her as well.

The feast was quiet a gathering. She was certain that the dinning hall itself was at least five times the size of the inn back at home, not even including how big their kitchen or pantry must have been. Their food selections was fit for royalty, and the drinks were simply divine. Annabeth was tempted to take some to her dorm, if she had one. She doubted that it would be this fine during most of the time at the college, but their efforts were not lost on Annabeth. As she ate a slice of some sort of roasted meat with a side of breaded onions boiled in oil, someone caught her eye. A tall, dark haired male. He seemed to be alone despite the others near him. He fit the broody stoic types she's see back at home, but most of them did it simply as an act. Seeking to make some conversation, Annabeth took a small drink of one of the college's alcoholic beverages and sought the man out.

Lord Haklo Thalen Desol, the only son of his father, Thalen Desol, was sitting at the gathering. His icy glare looked over each of those he could lay his eyes on and seemed to be categorizing them, filing them down for later reference. He wore a black jacket that reached with two gilded buttons. The jacket was made of soft yet comfortable cloth and underneath it he wore a velvet shirt that complimented the black of the jacket. He wore pants of similar material worn with a leather belt with brightly silver buckle. At the hip he wore a long dagger of blackened steel. At his left breast he wore a brooch of his house emblem, the black serpent getting impaled through the mouth by a golden sword. For the festivities, Haklo had his hair pulled into a ponytail with a band of silver. This richly regalia was his usual dress when it came to things like this. Although he would probably not choose to dress like this, he was raised as nobility and it was unbecoming of a Desol to show their face in other than their best.

To anyone that had less than desireable view of nobles might view his demenour as just oozing with noble arrogant pride. He ate politely and efficiently. Small pieces with knife and fork, napkin to dab away any sort of food remnants that got smeared across the corner of his mouth. He was eating salted yet very juicy poultry with vegetables and small cherry tomatos on the site along with some pork. He was drinking almost blood red wine with this food yet he didn't seem to show enjoyment, something along the lines of begruding duty to be there. Which it was.

He would've been more than happy to train his psychomancy powers in his family estate with his father but that wasn't an option so he had went without complaint. He had arrived at the collage with an enteroge of servants that assisted him to carry what belongings he would carry. Although he wouldn't mind carrying his belonging by himself or just have a single servant driving a wagon, the Desol family would not pass an oppertunity to show some of their power even if it just regarded the number of servants. Clothes was the majority of Haklo's luggage but also a few caskets of coin, all locked tightly with the finest of locks in Djarkal. The only way for someone to take even one coin would either need the key or smash the tough, polished iron bound wood. Another thing that followed Hako to the collage was a ceremonial armor of his great-great grandfather, Harken Desol as well as some weapons such as a bow of regular yet finely crafted wood and a steel sword that was still with the luggage. A sword would only get in the way of a gathering such as the feast.

Haklo looked up from his watch across the dining hall to lay his icy blue eyes on a black haired girl that, to him, seemed to be approaching him. He kept his eyes on her and got out of his seat to stand before her when she was to him. "May I assist you?" he asked of her. His voice, although not hostile or showing unpleasentness, it had a small tone that could only describe as cold underneath the surface if one was paying attention. It was also very clear but had a hint of a rasp that might become more emphisized in his later years.

"I was just wondering what a man like you is doing sitting alone at a feast. You're obviously not the type to fear conversation." Annabeth gently spun the drink in her hand around before taking another sip. "And surely someone as finely dressed as you aren't out of your element. So why such a lonesome aura from you?" Honestly Annabeth wasn't working with the most inteligent logic now that her mind has been addled a bit from the alcohol. But she could still think, just with less restraint. Remembering her manners, Annabeth bowed her head before looking back at the man. "That aside, my name is Annabeth Gulch. And yours?"

"Lord Haklo Desol pf Port Slaughter" Haklo said to the girl and answered her bow with one of his own as to be polite. "I tend to study where I am before I socialize. It seems that you have accelerated that process, Lady Gulch" He said, using a title for her as he reached for his wine glass and gave it a sip. "I assume you are here to train and study magic? What blood are you?" He asked a little bit bluntly.

Now, that was a question she was frankly unprepared for. Unbeknowest to her, Annabeth did not even know she was a mage. She was here looking for her brother. In fact, she needed to find Lucilia to discuss the fact. "Actually, Lord Desol, I'm not here as a student so much as I am... A guest. You see, I'm searching for someone actually. The college has allowed me to stay here, as the person I'm looking for once attended here." Suddenly Annabeth grew more solem. She did wonder where her brother would have gone. The way the letter was written made her think that her brother had died, but she was holding out on the hope that he wasn't. Which only begged to question, what happened? Annabeth quickly changed the subject as to not spoil the mood of the festival. "That said, I still intend to use my time here to the fullest. Magic is quite important in this world after all. And if you don't mind me asking, what is your magic?"

Haklo listened but occasionally looked around at other people that were a part of the feast, making stock of those he saw before returnint to the conversation. He took a deep breath at her question. "Much like my father, I possess Lues blood, psychomancy to be exact. Not a lot of things will be a secret to me after I leave this place with my time here complete." He said with a hint of vindictive glee that he didn't mean to show and tried to hide as soon as he could.

Annabeth smirked as he spoke about his blood. She knew that Psychomancy had something to do with mind reading, but she also read that there was a way for someone to resist their mind being read. Just to see if he spoke the truth, Annabeth decided to test his ability. "Is that so? So, Lord Desol, do you know what I'm thinking of right now?" Just to make it a bit easier for him, Annabeth consciencely took the time to think of something. "You seem to be the type who plans to do something naughty here. What's you're secret? I bet you could fit an entire steak in your mouth. Actually I think I ate a peice of horse a while ago, the meat was very tough, but at the same time tender. I should ask the chefs how they pulled that off. That reminds me, I need to see if I could save some of this for later. I wonder if they have ice boxes here..." Annabeth's thoughts soo began to trail off from her original thought into nonsensical randomness.

Haklo rolled his eyes at that and he activated his powers. He could somewhat make out her thoughts but with all the unguarded thoughts around him, it was kinda like trying to talk to someone in a loud bustling crowd. He did his best to single her thoughts out though it was hard and visibly so. He squeezed his eyes closed and a vein in his forehead bulged visibly. "Something about...naughty....my mouth....horse...tender...ice box" He said and then stopped when the thoughts got really unintelligable to him. It would've been easier if they were alone but with all those people around it was significantly hard to try and single a thought out.

[Sundered Echo]

Xyden picked at a strange cooked fish, the soft flesh coming away with ease in his long, sharp teeth. It tasted strange, completely unlike any of the fish he was used to eating. When he’d asked where it was from, he’d been told it was a rare specimen found only in rivers and lakes in Djarkel. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to scoff it all down and get more or spit it out in disgust, so for now he just picked at it. At least some of the things in the feast were proper meals though. He’d found a deep-squid meal that was apparently considered a delicacy by the Surface Dwellers but was in fact a common dish for his people. Another pleasant surprise was finding a species of seaweed that only grew in the presence of the heat and light that stemmed from the volcanic vents on the ocean floor. He wondered how they had managed to acquire it, but rather than letting it bother him he instead had eaten half of the total amount of the ‘delicacy’ savouring the taste of home.

The other thing that had put Xyden into a decidedly good mood was the rune he’d been given by the small Land-Strider called Val. It made sure his skin was always covered with a thin sheen of water, and while it wasn’t nearly equivalent to actually being submerged, it was far more pleasant than being dry. With that, he’d felt that he could leave his trident and the bronze parts of his armour behind in the temporary room he'd been allocated. Leaving the imposing shaped armour plates behind was a gesture of trust towards the college and its guardians, but he'd still felt his shark-leather vestments to be necessary. The humans seemed to have rule against wearing nothing that he didn't intend to break without understanding it. That and his armour was one of the few advantages he had over the female Naga should she decide to make good on her threat. He tried not to think about such unpleasantness in what was clearly meant to be a joyous occasion though.

In terms of drink, he was unsure of the purpose of all the strange smelling oddly coloured liquids, opting instead for the purest of waters. It was highly refreshing, especially since there seemed no limit to the amount he could get unlike in his travels to get to this place. Looking into one of the clear glass pitchers of liquid, Xyden couldn't help but wonder how many of the others here had magic similar to him. Rather than asking and perhaps offending a Surface Dweller with his lack of knowledge about their ccutoms he instead chose to try and control the water from the pitcher in a display of his ability, hoping others like him would see and investigate. He placed his hand on the rim of the pitcher and focused, forcing the water to run up the glass against gravity and onto his hand where it pooled in his palm, rising to a level where it should of spilled over, but instead retained its form. He made sure to focus only on the water in front of him, his experience with manipulating all the water in the area had apparently lead him near death, not something he wanted to replicate here.

Once he had drained half the remaining water from the pitcher onto his hand, he brought it close to his mouth and commanded the water to cross the small gap between his hand and his mouth. A portion of the water reached across and he felt the refreshing sensation of the cold liquid flowing downt he throat, but as he focused on that for a moment, the magic suddenly ceased. The water he had been holding in place with his magic splashed down his front, soaking the already damp Shark-leather on his chest. He chided himself for the slightly embarrassing display, but did not show any feelings towards these Surface Dwellers. Many looked at him with fear, simply because of his appearance, and that was how he wanted it to stay.

[Fallenreaper]

Khan

At Uicle’s amusement, Khan turned his head to look at the armored soul with a raised eyebrow. He noted the teacher held the goblet in hand and gently swirled it, it’s distinct and pepper smell fell a bit short of overpowering the dwarven ale. However didn’t mean it was any less harsh after all, it wasn’t called Dragon Spite for nothing. Most described it like drinking dragon’s flame, the effect just as hard and strong on the stomach to those never had to travel to Yarosmere. Khan’s first unusual experience with came from dare he never would take again. One glass was enough for him to last a life time.

Though right now, he rather drink that then Samuel’s medicine as he heard Uicle’s baiting. Casually he watched the necromancer lowered his hand and patted the metal head of the bulldog golem. The beast was gnawing vigorous, though quietly, a trapped metal scrape betwixt his paws. His steel teeth made soft grinding sounds followed by low murmurs, clear audible sounds the Golem enjoyed his prize. The moment shorted lived when Uicle glance the entering students, chatter and enjoyment seemed to fill the hall in the teacher’s wait until the last had arrived then found seats. His dark tone and threat indicated his irritation at the half elf student, Alaira, a fact Khan over looked. Mainly it was because of Uilce’s earlier comment.

The Headmaster’s mouth scowled at the duel mageblood user with a tightened jawline at his mentioned about the healer’s reaction. Despite the intense frown that disapproved the truthful matter, Uicle, who realized the Esyire’s glare upon him, turned to him. He seemed to give Khan the distinct feeling he was smirking while he raised the glass in a toast then set down. As much as Khan would’ve liked to avoid the foul stuff, the idea of interrupting the Opening Feast and being talked down by the old healer wouldn’t suit his image too well with the students.

Khan’s shoulders relaxed, reluctantly, when he answered. “Very well but my next glass will have to be stronger than this, at least in taste. As for Alaira, I have faith she’ll behave. Despite her blunt dislike of me or few others, she’s gotten a good heart and with time, she’ll temper that wild spirit of hers for better use. Until, it just needs time.”

No longer stalling, Khan’s not bandaged hand reached for a smooth glass vial. He brought it up to his mouth his teeth clamped down and seized the porous cork before he pulled it off. It made a small pop when it came away. His hand slowly drained the murky, colorless liquid into the still ale. The liquid rippled until the last of it sank underneath and once more appeared unchanged, the evidence hidden by taste and strong odor. After he set the vial down, the Headmaster’s fingers grasped the goblet and spin the liquid in a childish attempt to stall. Eventually he sipped the ale, his face turned up into a bitter expression mixed between disgust and dislike. It seemed Samuel had given him a much stronger batch then his norm. Khan forced it down quickly, his hand placed the goblet down just as fast with his comment.

Coughing lightly, Khan straightened up to give Uicle and slightly amused look. “Leave it to Sam to give me the stronger doses. I’m starting to understand why the students avoid the infirmary now…”

Mar

Where was he? Mar wondered in irritation, her patient driven short by the lengthened day and it’s end drawn closer. Her reptile eyes shifted through the students that pressed towards the soon crowded Dining Hall and the event soon begin. In reality, Mar didn’t need to eat as she had eaten a few weeks prior thus it was pointless to be there for the food, her reason was more because of Tyrael she had chose to attend. Otherwise she likely would’ve found some where dark and dry to stay until her room was done. The fallen Orc didn’t often request something of her, her mind set on answering this rarity and ensured to follow through with it. To her it seemed larger then it should’ve been but she did owe something to him for leading her here. If not for his interference with the council, likely her life would’ve been forfeited or worse.

Her tail was pressed against the Hallway wall to avoid tripping any students or provoking potential biped hotheads, something she’s avoided for now. At thoughts of provoking her eyes shifted to the still dark shadow that seemed to follow her around. Everywhere she went the thing seemed to follow her around like some stray dog or animal, provided endless frustration. It likely knew this and reported back to its master, whoever it was, a few times then returned. Or she lost its location only to have it find her again, the Naga wasn’t certain. She pressed her back firmly into the wall and arms crossed in front, her current appearance the same as her arrival. It would have to do, she cared little how others would view her lacking top or bare chest. For Naga this dress was norm.

When Althalus’s form finally showed himself, Mar’s body would’ve drawn from the wall and slither towards him. It was a causal gesture that would seem harmless though she wasn’t sure if his quick quips or jest would change that, her mind still unsettled by being in a strange place. Right now, it wouldn’t take much to earn a tail smack from her.

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna nodded affirmative as Ssarak excused himself to get his food. She didn't fully trust him yet, but his excuse for the mishap made sense. But if he wasn't trustworthy, then she wanted him close all the more. While she waited for Ssarak she continued to sip her soup and watch the crowd, the false matches against the other students were becoming one sided. There was only so much you could deduce from someone's armor and weapons, and fighting someone effectively requires more. Thus, she had kept getting matches that she was unsure of how they would react, leading to multiple possibilities that only made the process more complex and frustrating for her.

As she waited, she idly wondered what the demonstration everyone seemed excited about was going to be. Images of dancing fire and shimmering ice floated through her head. The thought of magic excited and terrified her. It made it possible that someone very unassuming could be a huge danger, and you wouldn't even know it until you were dying. But at the same time it was an amazing tool she could use... That was, of course, if she even had mage blood.
If I am a mage, I wonder what blood I'll have.

She pondered on such thoughts until Ssarak returned and when she asked his question she answered politely, but curtly.
"I'm not sure what the demonstration will be but I think no matter what they do it will be... Interesting to watch. And I too would like the insight as to what I may be capable of."

[Freeshooter92]

With Aramir dismissed, Alaira left on her own. She found craploads of variety in all the food, and was a tad irritated at how long it took to find something a little less fancy. Not to mention the overall 'decadence' of the place. Gods, we're already treating these guys like nobles. I mean with this and that 'perfect room' button thing.. When I was a little girl, you had to deal with what you got. She thought. If anything, something about this place had this too easy, too good to be true atmosphere. But she didn't let it bother her much, since she at least knew that these lessons would be extremely difficult to compensate. Hell, she was sure some of these mages were just here for the free food and shelter. At least mostly free. it would be a little more free for herself if she didn't constantly destroy things.

Satisfied with her comparatively modest meal, Alaira's next task was to find a seat. There were quite a few to choose from, and quite a lot of variety in the various new students near said seats. Most of them looked pretty tough, but by far one of the most intimidating was that huge black Eysire. And... was that the Half-lizard girl from earlier? Heh, it was! Well this ought to be good. She moved towards the seat next to her, and with a twirl she planted her lance in the space between the large stone plates that made up the floor. "So, it looks like ya haven't been killed. Fancy that." She said as she took her seat. "Well, it's almost like you were worried about nothing." Still, for all her bravado, her guard was up. This act had gotten her stabbed way too often for her to be all that relaxed.

[Crossark]

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna didn't give the girl who sat down a glance. She kept her eyes forward, watching the crowd and exits. Her tail slid silently up the leg of the table, wrapping around it like a snake might. From here she could flip the table to use as a Shield or break the leg to use as a club. She also readjusted her position so that her knife would be easy to reach in It's shoulder sheath under her arm.
"Not yet, anyway."
She turned her head to look at her new guest. She seemed to unpredictable for Aruna's liking.
"Is there something I can help you with?"
Aruna knew she was being rude, but she had had enough excitement for the day, and this girl seemed like more... Excitement than she could handle. Her demeanor and tone seemed to shout danger, And it did not escape Aruna that this was the same girl who Kahn had berated about fighting. She kept herself in edge, but tried her best to keep her muscles relaxed, lest her would-be enemy know she was prepared.

[Lucius Cypher]

Tyrael Marchosias

Before the newcomer arrived, a different figure stepped from the shadows. Tyrael approached Mar, his hands resting by his side. He was somewhat surprised to see her here at the feast, but given that she was hiding herself, it was obvious that she had plans to be elsewhere. Or at least wanted to. She seemed to be waiting for someone, and he contemplated whether he should greet her or not. He honestly had no reason to, even when he remembered about the message Khan sent him via whelp. He always knew Mar was a confrontational type and Tyrael cared nothing about it. Hot-headed she may be, she wasn't so foolish as to resort ton violence so openly like before. If she was the type, she'd never survive hunting in the Ravine, where their prey would often mock them before dying from their wounds. Still, Tyrael did feel that he should at least ask her what made her so intense. Rarely has he heard of her being so brash like that, but perhaps there was still more to her that he didn't know. It was entirely possible. "Stakling new prey?"

Lucilia Riovas

When the Feast rolled by, Lucilia immediately went to ensure everything was in order. All the food stuff was in, drinks prepared, security detail was up, emergency responds ready. She invested a lot of resources for today, and she wanted to make sure it went over smoothly. By the time the students were allowed in, Lucilia was sitting at the teacher's table with all the others. She had been one of the first to notice Khan's little injury and chastised him for mishandling a demon like that. But at least he took the time to get it checked... Now if he only took the time to take the medicine prescribed to him. He seemed to struggle to drink it, making the vampire smirk. "Well Headmaster, perhaps if you had just asked one of our many guardsmen instead of summoning a demon, you could have avoided that." She was simply joking of course, and now that Khan had taken his medicine Lucilia decided to move onto a different subject. "Do not worry Professor Uicle. Given the fact that more than half the attendees are young adults and that we have enough ale alone to drown a manwhale, I've already taken precautions for damages. Let's just make sure to keep it contained in the halls, yes?"

Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth snapped out of her train of thought when Haklo told her what he picked up. Much of it was jumbled words that didn't make much sense together. She could easily say that he was wrong, but not only was he correct, she knew it would be better to simply agree with him. Something to stroke his ego. "Oh my, you caught all of that? Well sir, your magic is indeed impressive." Curiously, Annabeth wondered what Haklo planned to do with this sort of magic. He did seem to be blue-blooded, so she could imagine the possibilities. Quest was, did he? "What do you plan to do with your magic, Lord Haklo? Surely you're not just going to leave it for parlor tricks and entertainment."

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak had finally decided to start cutting into his largest slice of meat by the time the Forest Elf arrived and started speaking to Aruna. He did not know who this woman was, but his first impression of her was quite different from most others he had met. For one, she decided to forgo any of the customary greetings before speaking to Aruna, which seemed to indicate they knew one another. Although, by Aruna's tone, they did not exactly seem to be friends. The other, and perhaps most obvious thing he noticed was her appearance. Forest Elves were not quite as small as most of the other races (from an Esyire perspective), but this one was larger than even most of her own kind, and her muscular build easily indicated she was a warrior of some type. Given her impressive stature, with a few scales and a set of wings, she could almost pass for a small Esyire.

Ssarak could see that Aruna was not too thrilled to see this Forest Elf, but as he had no idea who she was, he decided not to assume anything about her. Instead, he maintained his usual demeanor for dealing with strangers. "Greetings." He said in a polite tone with a friendly smile.

[Pyromania99]

Lyris pulled her wings in and snuck into the Dining Hall all in hopes of not being spotted by certain eyes. The surroundings of the feast were mostly different for Lyris. She wasn't all too sure about what to think. Either it was the people that surrounded her or the building itself. Ever since her flight from home she had been trying to get use to people. An indoors life had left her with a great curiosity of "school" and "people". The stories she had heard from her father's demons didn't help in that respect. Oh yes, her father. He was someone else to keep an eye out for. If he found her he might just. . . No. Lyris would not allow it. She will stay at this school with or without his consent. At age 20 now, she could easily make her own decision. . . At least that was her belief. In reality she sometimes needed someone to hold her hand.

It is a feast however! A feast where she didn't know a simple soul. Maybe it wasn't that fact that bothered her. It was more along the lines that she didn't know how to really talk to anyone else. Truthfully she had never talked to anyone besides her father and the minions he controlled. Of course she had time to on her journey of freedom but most of her travels were on the untraveled roads. She looked around for someone to talk to, but she was at a loss of who to go to so she decided that food would be a good idea. She hadn't at since. . . When was the last time she ate? Earlier that day? It mattered not as she had food now. All kinds of different! More than she was use to at once. After grabbing something, Lyris made her way over to a place where she could let out her wings a little bit. It was annoying having to keep them confined without some kind of binding. With little else to do, no one to talk to, the Alanian practically stood in a corner keeping to herself.

[Sundered Echo]

Red eyes watched the Wood Elf pick at her food, her dagger stabbed the rather rare cooked meat as juices dripped from her chin. It fell down and stained onto the table yet she still seemed eager to shove more in than her mouth could hold. A surprise for Zaad, he thought her mouth was big enough the way it could snap comebacks. Maybe meat was too much for her, he mused a bit. It took only seconds for his body edge around from her back and face leaned in over her shoulder. His timing perfect just when she had her mouth filled with another large bite. A wickedly delight grin flashed across his sandy lips.

“You sure like your meat thick, don’t you, Doll Face?” Zaad said in a cheerful tone.

Auriel had to resist the urge to turn her bloody dagger on the demon. She’d been enjoying the meal immensely, for a number of reasons. Firstly, she hadn’t eaten in quite some time, over a day by her reckoning and before then all she’d had was travel rations, hardly anything anyone should live on. Secondly, there had been a poncy noble looking human across the table from her. He’d been pointedly eating with the fine knife and fork that’d been provided, even dabbing at his mouth with a little piece of cloth. She found it incredibly fun to have been eating so crudely with her multi-purpose dagger right in front of him, a rakish grin plastered on her face. She wasn’t usually so messy, but she’d made an occasion of it for the noble who thought he was better than everyone else. Of course, now the bloody demon had decided to rear his ugly dust filled head and try and ruin her fun.

She calmly finished her mouthful and wiped her chin with the back of her hand before looking at the demon. “At least I can get meat, thick or thin, however I like it.” She said, cutting another piece off the meat in front of her with her dagger.

“Hahaha, but it doesn’t look like you can handle it. Ill practiced at eating it, I take it?” Zaad commented, quick and to the point. He wasn’t bothering to be polite in any sense. On a note, he didn’t expect her to hold back either.

His eyes shifted to note where the Elf had been looking earlier. His eyebrow lifted on two of his four eyes, uncertain for the reason she would’ve been staring or the fact what she found interesting about the male. The guy looked like a snot nice rich boy to him. One in a million, nothing to make him stand out yet the Elf seemed fixed on him.

“Stare hard enough at him, he might notice you.” Zaad softly chuckled.

“Or maybe he’ll realise he’s even more of a prick than you, and even less likely to get any company for the night.” Auriel said by way of reply. She turned her chair to face the demon then, stabbing at the piece of cut meat with her dagger and bringing it to her mouth, making a show of enjoying it as she ate. She was fairly sure the demon was incapable of eating normal food. Once she’d swallowed, she spoke sarcastically to the demon. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company Dusty? Tired of shouting at gargoyles? Everyone else get sick of you?”

“Nay,” He said, clearly enjoyed her foul mood around him. After all, it was a demon’s bread and butter to make mortals miserable. “Doll, just thought I would get a kick at seeing you bite off more then you can handle. It’s rather cute how you try to use that big gob of yours. There is a limit how far it stretches after all, didn’t you know?”

His form shifted and sat against the edge, naturally nearest he could. His eyes shifted over to the head table just in time to see Khan flash him a warning glance and then followed by the Esyire’s voice echoed within his head. Naturally the Boss was wary about him. His black arms crossed over, his mouth turned up into a frown while he listened to the Demonomancer’s question. Likely Auriel’s ear would only caught Zaad’s half of the conversation since.

“Yeah Boss? I’ve not done anything...except for talking. Yes, did that. Nothing there save for a few students necking by the wall. I left them alone…” Zaad then added in a lower tone, “Mostly.”

In truth he dumped a bucket of cold water over the pair, their forms still nice and sopping wet when he left. The expressions on their faces had been well worth it all. Even if he hated water. Of course the Boss saw it differently and literally chewed his ass out, the demon looked slightly uncomfort while he remained silent. When the conversation with Khan finally ceased, Zaad couldn’t help mumbling in frustration under his breath about being scolded for something about water and having fun.

Auriel apparently didn’t need to reply to the latest series of insults. No sooner had she opened her mouth to speak than the demon was contacted by her boss. From his appearance and uncharacteristic silence, she guessed he’d done something and wrong and was being scolded for it. She sat and smirked while he was silent, leaving the half finished meal on the plate. She was beginning to get full, and she decided it was time for a drink. Before she could act however, the demon seemed to be muttering, and she thought to take advantage of the situation before he could get any more insults in again. “Have you been a naughty little dust cloud then? Ruined your bosses plans? It must be so fun having someone holding your leash all the time, making sure you never get a chance to get away with anything fun. Like this.” She said, reaching over and picking up one of the ornate candle holders. She shoved the flame into Zaad’s face, grinning as she did so.

Fire danced and seared his face before he could reply. Pain erupted and crackled as once more his face turned to glass, the sand fused into a crystal matter that was a crude sculpture of his original. That little bitch! Zaad nearly snarled. His temper naturally flared as his head whipped back to her. His eyes reddened by the fury in his face, his hand had immediately flicked into a claw and had been about to slap the wench when Khan spotted him. The Headmaster had been about to answer Lucilia when he felt Zaad’s pain as well as anger. His eyes widen and the Esyire abruptly stood, his deep voice when he barked a command.

“ZAAD!”

The demon stopped immediately, his hand just inches from carving a new smile into Auriel’s pretty little face. He growled, feral and ill tempered, then struggled to lower his hand. The words he spoke were simple. “Bitch if you only knew what price he paid for that control… or the fact I’m the mildest of them. It’s not over, not by a long shot. He doesn’t know everything and no one flays me twice and gets away with it.”

With that his body moved forward, vanished into the nearest shadow quickly. Khan’s standing body watched the demon fade and finally was gone before he once more sat down.

Auriel poked her tongue out and made a face as the demon withdrew. She’d manage to thoroughly piss him off now, and she turned back to finish her food, a satisfied expression on her face.

[Konan375]

Leith was starting to get a bit bored. Watching the people around him was definitely interesting, but without having to do something, the feast was starting to get a bit dull. With a sigh, Leith got up from the table and went to see the selection of drinks.

As he headed back to his table, sipping a cooled mint juice that he had come to enjoy while he had lived with Rehm, Leith noticed a Naga, at least, he thought it was, manipulating water. When the Naga's ability quit on him, drenching the front of his shirt, Leith snorted in amusement, and accidentally inhaled some of his drink. After a few minutes of coughing and trying to get his breath back, he decided to make his way over to Naga. He walked up to the table and smiled at the Naga.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

The sound of shouting took his attention away from the Naga. He was surprised when it was Khan that had shouted. He followed the Esyire's gaze and saw something that looked like a shadow disappear into another shadow. I wonder what that was

[Sundered Echo]

Xyden had decided he liked the strange river-fish. He rapidly finished the previous dish and was about to reach across the table for more when someone nearby seemed to start choking. He whipped his head around to find the source of this strange noise and was greeted with the sight of a very pale human who seemed to be having trouble breathing the air. He could relate somewhat on that count, breathing above water was certainly not a pleasant thing to do, but even he had so far managed to avoid actually choking on it. For a moment he wondered whether he should help the human out by dunking his head underwater where he'd find breathing much easier. Right as he decided he should, however, the human seemed to recover. A few moments later, Xyden remembered that Surface Dwellers generally couldn't breath at all underwater anyway. With that, his fins rustled a little as if to say 'how strange' and he turned back to his food.

Moments later, he suddenly heard the same human asking if it could sit next to him. It seemed his slightly disastrous display had attracted some attention after all. He looked down at the human for a moment, but before he could reply, a shout rang out across the room and there was a minor commotion that quickly ended. Xyden swung his head about quickly looking for signs of danger. When he found none, he turned back to the human and spoke. “You may sit... where you wish... Land Strider.”

He then picked some more of the fish and put it on his plate, tongue flicking out to savour the smell of it before once more turning to the human and asking a question of it. “Do you control the water, Land Strider?”

[Rtron]

Althalus

He wasn't sure if the Runemaster had bought his lie about having made more than a few enemies(which was true),one of them was particularly stubborn(which was also true), and that same one had connections to a Necromacer who had set a Shadow Golem to follow him(which was a lie). The greatest lies always had at least a little bit of truth in them, after all. She had created the Rune for him easily enough, but she didn't seem to quite believe him. Maybe he was just being paranoid. But she had seemed doubtful, and that made him nervous. He had no idea who had sent the Golem, why, or what connections they had. Maybe the dwarf would mention it to them and whoever had created the Golem would put two and two together and go into more..direct methods of getting whatever they want from Mar. Thus, as he walked from the Runemaster to the Feast(following the flow of students to the Dining Hall), he occasionally glanced behind his back, and kept a hand near his hidden knives. There wasn't a room for him to put down all of his arms and armor, so he was still carrying it around. And besides. Trusting in the College's protection was well and good, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Althalus let out a small sigh of relief when he saw the doors to the Dining Hall, and spotted Mar. A small grin crossed his face at the state of her dress, and the looks she was getting from the students. Especially the boys. Before he could go over there and make a suitable remark, the demon from before stepped out. Tyrael, Althalus remembered. Rather than interrupt the meeting conversation between the two of them, Althalus moved where Mar could see him and waved in an attemp to draw her eyes. When she was finally looking at him, he gave her a self-satsified smirk, mouthing 'Got it'. It was a small thing, about the size of coin. It was carved onto a piece of wood, which was rectangular and small. Easily hidden in a pocket..or whatever the Naga used for pockets. Replacing it in his own pocket, Althalus gestured to the Dining Hall. If she wanted the rune, she'd have to go into Feast herself. He certainly wasn't waiting around while she chatted with her friendly killing machine. Walking into the Hall with a final parting wave, Althalus entered just in time to see a Forest Elf shoving a candlestick into another Demons face.

As the demon was drawing back his claws to impale the girl, and Althalus was drawing a knife from his armor to throw, the Esyire at the head of table bellowed at the demon, who was apparently Zaad. The demon immediately stopped, and Althalus warily sheathed his knife as Zaad retreated into the shadows, the girl sticking her tongue out at him and returning to her meal, a smile on her face. Well of course, Althalus couldn't just leave that be, could he? Walking over and sitting down, he grinned at her. "Not sure if you're crazy or not, but you're certainly lucky. Then again, I've also been called a crazy lucky bastard on occasion. I'm Althalus."

[Konan375]

Leith chuckled at what the Naga called him. "Land Strider... I've been called many things, but Land Strider, that's new." He looked at the Naga closely. He didn't look like the Naga that he had heard about, but he had the simmilar qualities of a Naga. Going with what he looked like and what he had called him. Leith came up with a guess of where the Naga had come from.

"I never knew that there were Naga in the ocean. The only Naga I've heard about were the ones that looked similar to humans. And to answer your question, yes, I do control water. I noticed your little," he coughed into his fist as he remembered his little coughing fit before continuing. "Exercise and decided to come over."

He put his hand over his cup and pulled a bubble of the juice out of the cup. It stayed there for a moment before dropping back into the cup, splashing some of the juice out of the cup and onto the table. Leith stared at the spilled juice with a dejected look on his face. "Aww...I was trying not to spill anything." He looked back at the Naga.

"My name's Leith, by the way," he said as he held his hand out to the Naga.

[Freeshooter92]

Not yet? The hell do you expect lady? What, bandits are gonna get ya?" Alaira asked, laughing. She found this girl hilarious, given her rampant paranoia, when there was nothing to be feared. "I used ta run with a group o' bandits ya know. Even they aren't stupid enough to attack a fortified castle full of gods-damn wizards." She added. She really did, though she kind of... snapped and killed the rest of them early in her career when they killed a kid and his mother. But, bandits are small time. So, assassins? Assassins won't just kill anybody. You'd have had ta really piss somebody off for them to even give a shit." Alaira continued. Well, this didn't seem to be working. As it turns out, brute force is not the best way to help with psychological problems.

Alaira took a moment to study the girl. She seemed wound really tight, like she was about to explode, or run off. The girl kept her eyes forward, as if the act of making eye- contact would get her killed. But she did notice the way she seemed to be scanning things, and that every time she looked at somebody, she seemed to quickly give them the once over. About four times. Of course, she merely smirked and spoke; "Gods, you're a lot more paranoid than I thought..." With that, she left. However, it wasn't long before she was back. "You really need ta relax girlie. Here," With that, she more or less slammed a pint of... something by the girl. "Dwarven ale, the good stuff. Technically the Dragon spite stuff is stronger, but that crap'll burn ya up before it can even get ya drunk." She said with a wink. However, she feigned shock and took the pint back real quick, before taking a swig from it. "See? I didn't drug it or anything." She said, smirking. It was at that point she noticed the full-Eysire again. This guy was a quiet bastard wasn't he? You'd think such a big guy would be easy to notice. "Heh. Hi I guess..." She said. Well, he seemed polite at least. She could save the inevitable beatdown for whenever the bastard finally started acting like a scumbag. "I woulda brought you some if I had an extra arm." She said simply as she took a swig from her own glass.

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak silently listened to the Forest Elf give her...reassurances to Aruna about their safety, though from Ssarak's perspective, she seemed to be going about it the entirely wrong way. The literal meaning of what she was saying was that they would be safe in the college, but her tone seemed almost...hostile, or at the very least rude. He knew even less about Forest Elves than he did Humans. Was her behavior normal for them, or was she just a crude individual? She was armed, though that was not exactly rare among the student population at the moment. Some probably did not yet have rooms, and others just did not feel like parting with their weapons. Ssarak had left his arms and armor in his room, as he preferred to defuse tense situations without escalating to violence. She did offer Aruna a drink, albeit in a rather forceful way, and she did have enough courtesy to warn her about the strength of Dwarven ale. Due to the friendly relations between Dwarves and Esyire, Ssarak was familiar with the drink. It wasn't the strongest ale available, but it was close.

When the Forest Elf finally addressed Ssarak, he remained polite, despite her general attitude. He grabbed his bottle of Ember and held it up slightly. "It is no issue, I have one of my own. Thank you for the consideration, regardless." He said before taking a drink. It was quite hot, but it was nothing he wasn't used to, though it could cause rather harsh burns for the unprepared.

[Fallenreaper]

Mar

Irritation and unsettledness weren’t a good thing in a Naga, even worse in a homesick one. It created mistakes and usually gotten her kind killed. That was something she didn’t want but it didn’t make the emotions go away. She was taught these feelings were terrible to have, confused and weakness, that it was better to shut them off. However it was much harder here than in Mesa Gaan to do that. Humans showed them daily and the fact a strange male and his careless words had riled her up, it only made everything that much worse. Even now she could recall the disturbingly strong anger it had drawn from her several hours ago. Tyrael had only seen her in a place she was comfortable and well suited for. Here at Twilight it was different. There was no familiarity for her to connect to. No desert, no hot sands, not even a Ravine entrance to erase her mind from the troubles she left in Mesa Gaan.

Her eyes flickered with slight disappointed at whom had actually approach then it quickly vanished. Her body held low out of respect and the fact Mar didn’t find Tyrael’s presence threatening. Rarely did she ever make a mistake this bad. In her mind in her state, she had almost thought Tyrael was Althalus until he stepped out of the shadows. At mention of stalking new prey, her eyes relaxed a bit as her voice replied. “I doubt there’s little here would’ve been worth hunting, unlike the Ravine.”

When she spoke about the Ravine, Mar felt a slightly pain she tried to hide visibly. However it was hard when someone been around her for a long time. She after all rarely showed this side during Tyrael’s stay in Mesa Gaan, but it had occurred at least once. Naturally, it would’ve been difficult to spot right away as well as the reason at first. It didn’t help her pride made it hard to come out and admit it completely. The familiar movement caught her eye caused her to jerk her head to the side, motioned at the black shadow hovered nearby. It seemed to grin at her and then skirt to the opposite wall, clearly not attached to anything in particular. That itself didn’t help her mood in the least as she doubted Tyrael would’ve liked being followed himself. They both were survivors and hunters, fighters to the end and beyond.

It then she noted the human male walking closer from behind the Fallen Orc. Their eyes made a brief contact as he mouthed the words ‘Got it’, his hands held a strange wooden rectangular piece no larger than coin sized tile, gestured to the current Activities within the Hall. Then that bastard male disappeared right in… Mar’s teeth fought not to grind together at his foolishness, mainly since she was finding harder now to remain calm. The only thing that brought any sense of her former home was Tyrael and the last thing the Naga enjoyed was being force to be babysat, a notion she knew he only tolerated for knowledge.

“This Twilight, after all, isn’t home. No there’s little to no familiarity for me here to draw upon.” Mar clearly hurt when she admitted the weakness but it was best to put bluntly then draw it out.


Khan

Khan tried to hide the sheepish look he held back since when Lucilia had first chided him. Despite the firm and rather motherly charm, he wasn’t use to having others concern about his wellbeing just yet. After all, for a great potion of his life the Demonomacer had only he to look after so it was rather unusual thing to have others concern about his well fare. It was in truth his own fault as he could’ve summoned Zaad or Rathel, even worn gloves, instead of dispatching a simple Bone Imp to notify Tyrael. Even Lucilia’s suggest was better yet he hadn’t wanted to bother the guards for something so minor.

His throat still raw from the cough, now under control, Khan merely gave her a slight grateful smile. “Yes that is true. Yet why send an already busy guard on the task when a simple Bone Imp would do? Though currently, I’m rather surprised Rathel isn’t here yet. He does enjoy these types of events as he gets to chat with the Herbamancy students about their Mageblood capabilities. Mainly in provided a little extra help to other novices struggling to adjust.”

Out of his demons, the teachers had only seen and interacted with two: Rathel and Zaad. When Zaad’s name flashed across Khan’s mind, his eyes immediately spotted the sand demon’s presence as the creature made his way over to one of the student’s table. Those students in his way had departed like a red sea, none dared to touch him, and their eyes stared until he stopped. This made the Headmaster’s body tense at his demon’s unknown motives. He didn’t want Zaad to cause trouble or provoke the students, a specialty of his unlike Rathel who would’ve been more pleasant company. That little worry became one that would soon earn merit. After the conversation and verbally ripped Zaad after his little prank upon the Student body necking by the wall, Khan had just turned his head away to speak with Lucilia when he heard Zaad give a mental howl of pain in his head. The Headmaster turned in time to watch the demon’s face turned to crystal and hardened, crackled from the unexpected heat as he gritted to stop his howling in pain reaching the air. Immediately any words Khan had ceased as he rose, his chair sent back and clattered to the floor loudly. It had caused a few teachers at the table to look at him in alarm while his voice bellowed across the Hall.

“ZAAD!” He barked an order that made the demon stop.

It was rare the demonomancer would sound so furious or even raised his voice, something Alaira or other older students would acknowledge that someone was in deep, dark trouble from the normally patient Headmaster. His knuckles tighten into fists pressed into the wooden table, his eyes glared at the demon, the cold and anger radiation off him, until the demon spoke one last time then took his leave. It meant Zaad would be stuck in the Inferno for several weeks after this rather than roam the halls in future. A mild punishment compared what might’ve been if the demon had actually harmed a student. His hand bled a little, the red dripped through the bandages that now started to became colored. His breathing slightly heavy while he once more calmed his fear edged to his mind. His body slowly lowered to the chair Val, one of the few teachers chuckling over his wrathful show, pulled back up.

“Ye tellin’ that demon, Khan. Ol’ dirt clod had been a rite pain in the arse lately and cannea say I dinnea enjoy that. Though ye might’ve scared the pants offa ‘em novices wit ye shoutin’. Ah’ll git some fresh bandages for ye and ye stop the bleedin’ while Lidda gits ye somethin' to eat, nea fittin’ for a Headmaster to be sportin’ a bleedin’ injury durin’ the Feast.” Val scolded the Esyire with a slight mirth. Clearly she found the whole event amusing unlike Khan, her short form shuffled towards the door and passed Althalus who headed straight for the red haired Wood Elf. Along the way, she gave the Vitamancer teacher a nudge to her task. Lidda had been sporting a rather odd appearance, her looks seemed like a Wood Elf yet she was colored like Djarkel's lands themselves, in black and white colors. The Dwarf woman just shook her head at the teacher standing out before she headed out the door, it would only take time until Lidda was mimic some of the more exotic Student's appearances.

Sitting down, Khan’s uninjured hand went to his temple where he gently rubbed it. A slight headache felt like it would soon show its ugly head any moment. “Sometimes I think the Bone Imp is easier then dealing with the headache Zaad seems to cause. I’m only hopeful that female Naga isn’t causing more trouble. At least Alaira knows how far to take her violence and when to cease, even if she chooses to pretend she doesn't.”

He made a mental note to later have a conversation with the Wood Elf, both to determine her status as well as warn her against provoking Zaad. It might’ve ended well this time but didn’t mean it would always do so. Which reminded him of another student to check on, Ponders. His eyes noted for the first time the Golem lookalike standing near a tree like creature, seemly locked in conversation and rather relieved to see he was adjusted enough to socialize. That eased a little tension and the urgent need for now. Strange how many unusual students they have had recently, wondered how the other students would react to each and every one of them.

[Frettzo]

Coco Bean+Ponders Rocky Mordent XXVII

Ponders was so busy watching the rest of the room that he didn’t notice possibly one of the most interesting new developments in a long time. He was caught completely by surprise when a being-not-of-flesh suddenly grasped at him. His first reaction was to pull away from this sudden contact, reforming into his humanoid form as he did so. He focused all his attention on this new thing, this being-not-of-flesh, seeking to identify it. It looked like a tree, covered in leaves of a colour not like those that grew nearby, yet it was shaped like a person. It seemed to have a face, but no features, just bare bark. He’d never seen anything like it before. He hadn’t even read of it.

A quiet subsonic rumble rolled off of his form as he thought about this new thing. Finding such a strange new thing to learn of was quite the treat. The question to ask now was obvious. “What are you, little plant?” he rumbled in the audible range of sound.

’Wow!’ Coco thought quickly as the bunch of floating rocks rearranged itself to show a rather huge rock thing. It was tall and bulky and solid, and it sounded really strange. It let out a nearly imperceptible rumble which pushed Coco into a curious silence until it asked a question in a rather strange voice. With a rather deep tone of voice it spoke via methods unknown to her, leading her to close the distance between them both to a mere three feet to catch more of the rock’s noises.

“Uh…” She began, at a loss of words for a moment before recovering herself.

“I’m Coco Bean, you can call me Coco, I’m a Foreas. I smell like chocolate, but that doesn’t mean you can eat me. I can shock things, pretty much like an electric eel. What are you? I mean, you’re a rock, but how can a rock speak? Can you see me? How do I look? I heard a strange sound, it was like some sort of humming, can you make more sounds like those?” she asked in a rapid succession, inclining her head up at what she thought was the rock’s head.

So many questions! Ponders was overwhelmed by the torrent of queries, unprepared for such a response. He tried to start at the beginning of her questions, hoping she wouldn’t get excited and interrupt him midway. “You need not worry. I am incapable of eating. Or smelling. I am one of the Awakened Harmony. My name is Ponders Mordent and I am the Twenty-Seventh.” He didn’t really understand how he spoke or generated sound, so he left that question unanswered and moved on to the next one. “I can see you. You look like a human shaped tree… Quite fascinating. I am surprised you can hear. Fleshlings do not hear all of the song. They don’t understand. I am able to make many sounds. From the highest of high-” He demonstrated, softly, so as not to break any of the glass nearby. “To the lowest, the sound the mountains make.” He demonstrated again, still keeping his voice soft to avoid damaging things with the subsonic sound.

“I have never heard of a Foreas before.” He was starting to form new questions based on her own descriptions already, but first he asked those he’d thought of earlier. “How can you speak? You have no tongue nor mouth, and you are not of the Harmony.”

This rock, or Awakened Harmony number Twenty-Seventh Ponders Mordent as it had recently identified itself, was fascinating. In fact, it was more than fascinating, Coco had never heard anything like it! And even though she was eager to ask more questions, she chose to keep silent and listen to the rock’s sounds and words, humming lightly in surprise and interest as it demonstrated its wide vocal range.

“Well,” She began, poking one of Ponders’ arms a few times out of curiosity about the texture once more, before pointing at her necklace, which held her Artifact along with her new rune, “I’ve got something we Foreas call Speech Artifact. We build them after our first year of life, when we visit the Great Tree for the first time. Lately they’ve been malfunctioning, so I came here and got Val, the nice Rune Master, to help me fix it.”

“Wait, fleshlings? That name’s so much better than the one I had for them! And less offensive, too. I’ll adopt that expression, thank you. Anyway, I’ve got another question…” She said, now trying to catch any strange scent about Ponders.

“Awakened Harmony? Why that name? I mean, I can guess that Harmony is there because you seem quite calm. But Awakened? Were you asleep before? Twenty-Seventh, as well? Are you the twenty seventh to wake up? Are there others like you around? Do they sound and smell just like you?”

“Also, can I call you Rocky?”

Ponders was still having trouble keeping up with the exuberant and energetic nature of Coco's questioning, and this time thought to ask his own question before answering any and taking his mind off it. “Do your kind often possess what fleshlings call Mageblood?”

The question asked, he moved on to answer hers again to the best of his knowledge. “Some beings have said 'quickened' would be a better word to describe us, and that is, to some extent, true. My thoughts move far faster than those of my creators, the better to learn of this world and of or from the fleshlings. When my time is complete, I will rejoin my creators and tell them of what I learned, but slowly, that they might understand. The name Harmony was given to us because of the sounds my creators make when they speak to each other, sounds I can make at a much faster rate. I am the twenty-seventh to rise in this cycle. Tweety-six of my brothers preceded me, and fifty-four followed. Now we are scattered across this land, learning what we may. They appear similar to me, though every one of my brothers is different in his own way. I know not how they smell. Neither I nor they nor my creators can smell. We sound however we will, but we all possess the same ability to make sound.”

He did not know what to think of the last question. He had two names, both seemed simple and useful enough to him. Why would he need to be called something else? He decided to ask about it by way of answering. “Why do I need a new name? Is Ponders not a good descriptor?”

Though at first Coco was very excited to listen to Ponders, she soon ended up confused. So many questions were the ones that popped up in her head that she couldn’t help but feel a little sad. She still listened carefully to Ponders, of course, but made it a priority to just ask less things, lest she suffer unnecessary anxiety or extra excitement.

Of all the things Ponders mentioned, Coco couldn’t understand a third of them. So instead of just shooting all her questions at him, she chose to answer his questions, and even throw in a bit about herself.

“Well… I’ve no idea about Mageblood. I had never heard about it, I had never been through a memory of it either. It leads me to believe that it’s not very often. Though I could look into it when I travel back to the Great Tree, which prompts me into telling you,” She said, “I’m supposing your creators are huge rocks like you, and if you share what you know with them… Maybe our creator, The Great Tree, is your creators’ friend? I mean, we put our memories into the Tree, and you put yours into your rocks!”

“You don’t need a new name, anyway. I just thought it fit you. Because it sounds simple, just like your rock’s textures.” She explained, referring to his query on the nickname she wanted to give him.

Why did this rock, Ponders, have to be so painfully interesting?

Ponders stood and processed the new information, Coco seemed to be, thankfully, slowing down. He hadn’t thought about the idea that a name could be as simple as describing his appearance. It was fitting enough, though he still preferred Ponders. “Alright. If you think this name describes me well, you can call me by it.” He said to Coco. The idea of the Harmony being in some way linked to Coco’s Great Tree was an interesting one, one he’d have to think about later at length. For now, he was content merely to entertain the possibility and explain to Coco the nature of the Harmony. “My knowledge will be absorbed by the Harmony when this cycle ends… I and my brothers are the tools by which the harmony learns of the world around it, but we are far lesser than them. Alas, I cannot speak to them to ask if they know of your Great Tree. Their minds are too immense to notice my voice.”

Ponders had noticed that the Foreas kept referring to smell instead of sight. He thought that perhaps this being, who did not have her senses cluttered by sight, would be the best one to answer one of his long held questions. “Coco, what is it like to smell?”

Coco was glad that Ponders had agreed to being called Rocky. It was a good name, after all! Who wouldn’t like to be called Rocky? She mentally laughed at such thoughts, once more listening intently to Ponders as he explained about his cycle and the Harmony, his huge rock creators. It was a very interesting topic to her, given her own experiences with The Great Tree.

Then Ponders asked her what it was like to smell. ’How am I supposed to answer that?’ She thought immediately, shrugging at his question.

“... What’s it like to see, Rocky?”

Ponders looked at Coco, slightly disappointed that she couldn’t answer him. He’d just have to go on wondering. “You make a good point Coco. How can one describe something one knows intrinsically? Something someone else cannot even begin to know?” He wondered what else he could ask the Foreas, but in the heat of the moment he was finding it difficult to formulate new questions. Later, when he’d had a chance to think, he’d no doubt have a barrage of questions matching her own to deliver. For now though, he just asked “Are you enjoying the event?”

Coco merely stood besides him, listening out for the whole bunch of activities and people around, and eventually, her shoulders deflated slightly and a sound resembling a sigh was heard coming from herself. She rubbed her neck for a moment before speaking, “I don’t know. I mean, there’s so many new scents, sounds and things to learn, but… I don’t feel good with it.”

“You would think that so much excitement would make me happy, but each second I spend away from the great forests or even indoors, here, makes me feel… Weak. Maybe I just need some sun or water. I just want spring to come so I can go visit other Foreas.” She said, leaves laying completely against her skin.

Ponders couldn’t quite relate to what the Foreas was saying now. They seemed to be even more different being than before at this moment. He just turned and gazed out at the crowds again. He didn’t know what to say. Other peoples feelings were not one of his strong points.

Coco crossed her arms over her chest, hunching over slightly as if in cold, waiting for some kind of reply from Ponders Rocky for a few moments, before turning her head towards him and excusing herself. “I’m sorry, Rocky, but I really have to go. I’ll catch you around, but for now I’m not feeling very good.”

And with that, she walked at a brisk pace towards the exit.

Coco Bean

Coco felt bad. She felt weak on her feet and fleeting on her thoughts. For a while she wondered around the Dining Hall, trying to find out what was making her feel so bad, but once she found no trace of anything poisonous to her, she decided to just leave the room. The huge variety of scents and sounds was surely messing with her, or so she thought.

In her mind, she went through a large list of possible causes, some plausible, while others were outright silly. But it wasn't until she had walked far enough from the Feast that she had to lean on the Hallway's wall and rest a bit.

"I don't get it... Am I sick?" She asked herself, crossing her arms over her chest and shivering lightly.

"Let's see... Today I by travelling through those thick trees, then I fought the Syphis, then I was spoken to by Xiah... I came here and..." She listed quietly, stopping and rubbing her face gently as she groaned. "And I didn't get any sun."

Immediately she let herself slide down to the floor.

[Rtron]

Aramir

The world was a collection of kneecaps and shins. Aramir tried to navigate her way through the crowd, to get what food she could. She really did! But there really wasn't much headway one could make in the press of bodies, when one was only the height of their kneecaps. Eventually, she gave up in despair and headed towards the barrels of alcohol. If she couldn't eat, she could at least try this 'Dragon Spit' or spite, or whatever it was called. Like so many other things in her tribe, alcohol wasn't found in abundance. Wasn't found at all to be perfectly honest. So, she was interested to try it, to say the least. Out of all of them, the Dragon one sounded most interesting out of all the options. With minor effort(thank the Gods someone had thought of the Snow Elves and their heighth!) she managed to get a small goblet and fill it with the peppery smelling drink. It wasn't a bad smell, in fact, Aramir quite liked it. The rumble of the crowd and the general abundance of torches and light helped keep her fears at bay, and preventing another instance like the one in the courtyard.

Which, all in all, was a blessing. She didn't know if she'd be able to recover from embarasing herself again. Too many questions, not enough of a want to answer them. Goblet in hand, she glanced over to the gathered tables. People were still moving about, and while there were chairs for her size, she didn't want to risk trying to walk through the land of shins and kneecaps again. So, she moved to the side of the crowd, looking for somewhere she could watch the proceedings and not have to dodge or alert those around her to her presence. Eventually, her eyes spotted a girl all by herself, in a relatively empty corner. Aramir did a double check, not quite trusting what her eyes told her. The girl had..wings? At least, Aramir thought those were wings. Odd. But hey, she had just seen walking dragon people, snake people, and she could have sworn she saw a bunch of floating rocks. A winged human was certainly not the strangest thing she had seen today. Besides, she needed to make more friends than Alaira. At least, she thought the Forest Elf was her friend. A well known, relatively friendly acquaintance at the very least.

Making her way over, Aramir put herself beside the girl, only remembering in the nick of time not to lean back while she had her bow on. Alaira's tour was..conclusive in some ways, but it had failed to show her where her dorm was. Thus, she was left carrying her gear. Or what was on her back, anyways. Smiling up at Lyris, she said "Hello! I'm Aramir. Who are you?"