[IC] Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna looked at the drink and slid to herself. She would never admit it, but she had never, ever had an alcoholic drink in her life. Not only because she had never had the chance to, but because it clouded the senses and muddled the mind. Still, she was... Curious. The elf had taken a sip, so she knew it was not poisoned... Unless the girl had an antidote and only took it for appearances. She found the idea unlikely, but still possible.
After a moments hesitation, she grabbed the brew and took a large gulp, then started sputtering as it burned down her throat.
After the drink Aruna decided to answer the elf's questions. She seemed like a good person, if a bit ... Rough around the edges. That she had run with bandits didn't surprise Aruna, but it posed the question, why did she leave?
"paranoia is a requirement for my survival, without it I would likely have been killed or gruesomely tortured and executed long ago. And my fears about the colledges safety standards are not without grounding, trust me. While it is true only an idiot would be worried about bandits in a place like this, for the reasons you meantioned, and others, the mages themselves... I don't really trust any yet. As for assassins...."
She looked deep into her cup. As if searching for something there. Then she took another big swig, managing not to sputter this time, but still making a face as it burned down.
"Let's just say I have experience with pissed assassins."

She noticed that there was a slight delay in her thinking and her thoughts felt... Heavier. Not much, but enough to notice. She didn't like the feeling, and slid the drink away from herself, hoping the effects would wear off soon. If there were a fight, she wanted her mind to be in peak condition, not drunken shambles. She resumed her watch over the crowd and waited for the elf's response.

[Pyromania99]

As Lyris stood, she spied over the rest of the dining hall. There were many different types of people. . . And things she had noticed on her way to the dining hall as well as the actual hall itself. Half-Snake people, Elves, Dragonpeople and . . . Some kind of stone thing, she had never seen before. . . It was a lot more interesting than being locked up in that house. Then, to her surprise, someone called out for her. It did seem to come from her head's level either, but lower. A small person. The ears betrayed the race, though the height might have been a great hint. The girl was a bit of a shock to Lyris. She wasn't sure if it was that someone talked to her, or someone so small talked to her. She put that aside as she answer the Snow Elf, "Oh, um, hello Aramir." She paused for the right words, rubbing her hands all over each other from nervousness.

After a few seconds of that she spoke again, "My name is Lyris." The Alanian found that simple was better. What next? Yes, that's it. "How are you, Aramir? I, myself, am quite fine. I do not know about you, but I am enjoying my time at this school so far. It's a far-cry from home though." Her voice carried a sense of nervousness in it for sure. It was the first big conversation she had with, presumably, someone her own age. Otherwise it was with her father or his minions, otherwise there was really no one at all to talk too. "N-not that it's a bad thing. I really didn't like home much." Her mouth sported an awkward smile and her eyes trying, but not quite successfully making contact.

[Ryonara]

After parting with Aruna, Mei went to get something to eat. She was unfamiliar with much of what was presented; so many types of meats! There was of course a large selection of vegetarian food as well, but the shear about of meat made her salivate. Meat was always something to be eaten in occasions. Even eggs weren't eaten unless for medicinal or celebration. Mei's diet consisted mostly of picked vegetables, fruits whenever the seasons allowed it, and mushrooms. the closest thing to meat that she'd eat regularly would be flavored broth. So Mei didn't pass up on the chance of grabbing the first thing that looked appealing and eating it with gusto. She tried to at least keep it civil, but the food she chose was a whole steak. She's never eaten a whole steak like this, so she had to use the knives offered to her to cut it into bite-size pieces. It was delicious.

Within minutes Mei had stuffed herself full and nearly vomited for eating too fast. But after the near-accident, she slowed down until she could eat no more. Resting up, she took in the sights and sounds of the feast. There was much chattering and such, and she could faintly hear music in the background, though that might have just been her imagination. As Mei wiped her mouth, she looked for someone to talk to. She spotted Aruna, and it already seemed like she was attracting a crowd. She saw a large black eyriser and the wood elf from before. Mei was itching for a fight, but since she just eaten she was also feeling very lethargic. Too full to fight but also too energetic to just sit, she looked for more people to try to strike up conversation with. But everyone she saw seemed to already be in the middle of a group, where as Mei was just sitting all by herself. It seemed very... Lonely. It reminded her of home, namely that this wasn't her home. She didn't know anyone here, and even Aruna was just another stranger who happened to know Mei's name. A sense of sadness took over her for a moment as she stood up and left the dinning hall.

Mei didn't go too far and simply decided to hang out outside under the moon and stars. There was some others around, but they were also in groups already. Once it seemed like Mei was on her own, she sat down on her knees and relaxed her shoulders, as though she was going to meditate. "That was a nice meal... Too bad I had to eat it all alone... Come on Mei, this is suppose to be your new life. You don't need to be afraid of anyone..." But as she sat there, her mind would flash back to the faces of her friends, dead and mutilated on the dirt road of Djarkel. Mei shook these thoughts off. "That's the past now. That has nothing to do with right now. Come one Meirin, just go in there and.... And... Do something."

[Lucius Cypher]

Tyrael Marchosias

Tyrael shrugged his shoulders at Mar's first responds to his question. He wouldn't deny that no one here would yield much use for the likes of Mar unless she suddenly grew an interest in evil magic and/or eating mortals. He should know, he regularly has to stop his own demons from doing either on gullible students. But perhaps that's what bothers Mar; she had no place here. Even Tyrael has some use not only as a professor, but as an enforcer/leader among the demons. He would have offered Mar to join him on his purges, but that would require her to go into the Ravine, which he knew was ill-advisable. Though he wouldn't call the Naga people "Sentimental" from his observations, he guessed that if he had told Mar the location of a ravine entrance, she would have moved into the Ravine instead of into the college. Personally Tyrael would have approved of it, since the Ravine isn't so bad to live in once you've carved out a place for yourself, but Mar had untapped mage blood. To leave it as it was would put her in more danger than she'd realize. And while Tyrael would hardly consider himself Mar's caretaker, he is concerned for her.

"I know." Tyrael's thoughts were occupied with how to make the college more comfortable for Mar. But everything he thought of would only remind her of her home, the same home she's exiled from. And all he wanted her to do is go into the Ravine with him and hunt down demons and other monsters. But even that would just make Mar isolated from others, instead of allowing her to interact with the people she'd be dealing with for the rest of her life. Unless she starts making friends to go hunting with her. That was an idea Tyrael thought would work. "But do not feel so alone." Tyrael didn't get a good glipse, but he did notice someone else catching Mar's eye. It was also at that moment he noticed the shadowy figure moving out of sight, and knew that it was one of Uicle's creations, no doubt commissioned by Khan due to that stunt with the other creature. Feeling that he's taken up enough of Mar's time Tyrael walked towards the dinning room. In case Mar still didn't understand his point, he spoke one more thing to her before he left. "Make friends."

Entering the Dinning Hall, Tyrael immediately headed towards the teacher's table. It was also thanks to his arrival that the signaled Ryuchi to begin playing. He was located underneath the dinning hall, his piano the center piece of a large constructed series of tubes and tunnels that would allow his music to echo throughout the entire college. The acoustics of these tunnels took Tyrael months of planning and work, all for this one moment. More importantly, this would be Ryuchi's first time playing outside of Underhaven. Once Tyrael arrived at the teacher's table, he silently took his seat and simply looked out at the students, not really focusing on any one in particular.

[Sundered Echo]

Auriel had wondered how long it would be before someone decided to chat to her other than the Demon. She’d usually caught the attention of the men in the places she normally stayed by now, though she had to admit that with the various and obscure beings that seemed to have arrived she probably seemed quite plain to look at. Shoving a flame into a demons face and getting away unscathed though, that had drawn the attention she was used too. Even now a roguishly handsome human man in black armour approached her. She turned to face him as he spoke, idly stabbing tip of her dagger into the hard wood of the table, embedding it sufficiently for it to remain upright yet still easily retrievable.

“Crazy and lucky? Sounds like me.” She replied cheerfully as the man, Althalus, finished speaking. “Auriel.” She said, holding her hand out in one of the more universal greetings. “Zaad and I have our differences, but we’re great friends. Really.” She said with equal parts sarcasm and innocence. She didn’t really hold anything against him, even if he had just about attacked her. She suspected he might be holding something against her now though, given the turn of events. “The moment was just too perfect for me to pass up poking his ugly face with the candlestick. I’m sure he’ll get over it... Or get me back soon enough.” She said slightly more seriously this time, the grin still not having fallen from her face.

She noticed quite quickly that he had a rather scary looking metal mask at his waist that matched the armour he wearing. “Nice mask.” She said, leaning down as if to examine it, leaving a significant amount of cleavage in plain view for Althalus. “I think I’ve heard of it once or twice actually.” Rumours had passed through the Eanian capital a few times about a masked killer, some said he was an Assassin, some a Thief and she couldn’t resist the chance to bait this man out and see what he was really made of.

This place was too much fun. How she’d not realised that the people here might just be a cut above the common thuggery that usually accosted her in the inns and taverns she frequented was beyond her. Now she was here though, and she was going to have as much fun as possible while the chance was there.

[Frettzo]

Coco+Colette

'Uuugh...'

Coco struggled to slowly shuffle up the wall into an upright position. How could she have been so dumb? A Foreas that forgets to get sun, what a great thing to think of herself as. She found it hard to find energy, and she also found it difficult to exactly explain why even just one day without sun could affect her so much. 'Water should help me ease up this feeling.' She thought, finally managing to stand up. Sort of.

She clapped her hands and directed herself to the nearest faucet, stumbling somewhat along the way. Once in front of it, she dunked her arms and head into it as much as she could, and kept it that way for a while.

Colette sighed as she left the tarvern, she had finally finished her drink and felt the strong urge to leave the tavern. She looked up at the sky and walked some more. She stopped catching a female scent nearby, she stopped her walking and sniffed the air some more. 'Hmm I didn't smell this scent before when I came through here to look for Lucilia' she mentally thought as she followed the scent absently to the faucet where she was. She blinked seeing a female she didn't know standing there dunking her arms and head.

'Who is that... She smells sweet... Like the chocolate... My parents made before the change' she thought watching the female before her. Tired of standing around she decided to stop standing around and made her presence known. Her boots made their clicking noise as she came into view of the female and waited for her to notice that she was there.

Every few moments, Coco's leaves twitched lightly, but the twitching finished when distorted sounds reached Coco, and she realized someone was staring at her, and worse yet, right besides her.

So, in a sluggish movement, she pulled herself out of the water and quickly took handfuls of it and threw it at herself, doing her best to cover herself in the liquid. When she deemed it enough, she turned towards this... Lavender smelling female, and clapped her hands once more, just to make sure she was actually there.

"Can you... Tell me which species you are? I think I can smell some bat in there. Are you a friend of Lucilia's? I'm sure her bats have been around you." She said with only a slight interference in her speech due to the water coating her Artifact and her Rune.

Colette looked amused, the drink she was drinking earlier in the tavern with Tyrael was putting her in a good mood and it showed in her usually sad marroon eyes. "I guess you could say that...." she said trailing off leaning against whatever was behind her. "I am Colette Filiatrault...I am new here" she said perfectly calm, her voice was a a quiet but it still could be heard. "Who are you though, when I went through here earlier before I never caught your scent and my nose never misses a thing when it comes to scent?"

Coco merely tilted her head at the female's evasive answer to her queries, sniffing at her intently, and nodded once she introduced herself. Eventually she caught some scent of human in her.

"I am Coco Bean, a Foreas. I smell like chocolate, but that doesn't mean you can eat me. I'm just here... Trying to get myself some energy. I forgot to get sun the whole day, you see. That's like... Starvation. It's not good." She explained, the water she had coated herself is slowly being absorbed.

Colette took in her story and nodded when she had finished. She curtised herself "Pleasure to meet you Miss Coco" she said politely. She thought of the word sunlight and her smile turned grim. "I used to love playing in the sunlight...it was my favorite thing to do...until I changed into what I am today and have been for 2 centuries" she said in a grim and cold voice. She shook it off and said again. "But I don't care anymore, so have you always been here"she asked.

"Don't tell me you are a human ghost! Only a human can live so long if they're ghost!" She suddenly said, stepping back in a show of fear.

"I've heard stories about human ghosts, and... And they're scary! You know, ghosts throw stuff around and possess things! Don't possess me, please! I can... I can tell my bees to try to pollinate you? I don't know!" She said, starting to clap her hands more often to check for escape routes.

Colette sighed and shook her head. "I am not a ghost trust me, I am a full fledged vampire" she said unamused by her sudden assumtions about her being a ghost. She played with her long hair and let it out of its braids letting it go to her waist before running her hand through the silk light pink tresses.

"A... Vampire?" Coco muttered, slowly calming herself, before she perked up and her leaves followed, puffing out nearly instantly.

"Wow! Can you make bats just like Lucilia? Can I pet one? Will it fly around? Can I play with it? Do they have names? Can I give them new names if they have no names? Pleaseeeee make some bats! I want to pet theem!"

She nearly literally exploded with enthusiasm, her troubles forgotten in a bout of excitement as she skipped over closer to the female, probably breaking her personal space in the process, and started to touch her arms in search for a bat.

She chuckled. "Yes I do have bats though I did not make them I actually found them they are back in the my dorm with the rest of my things but I have not named them so you can name them as well" she said relaxing glad that someone accepted her and what she was. She smiled not minding that her personal space was being invaded by Coco.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Real bats." She said, carefully putting her hands on Colette's shoulders, and then shaking her gently. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go see them! I want to pet them!"

She smiled and led her out of the hallway and led her towards the tower where her room was and opened the door. She turned on the desk lamp and the sounds of bats filled Coco and her ears as she smiled fondly at her pets. She sat down on the bed with the cage which was filed with three bats. "I only have three two girls and one boy so be careful" she warned.

"Aaaaw! They're so cute!" Coco cooed as she listened to the bats' sounds and did her best to recreate their forms in her mind.

She jumped lightly on her spot before she bent towards the cage, smelling their individual scents before carefully putting her hand against the cage's bars. "Can we take them out?"

"Yes they wont fly away" she said opening the cage for them. The flew out and landed gently on Coco the females nuzzled her as the boy just sat there watching Coco with a unreadable expression of it's cute furry face. Colette awed at this and smile. "They like you at least I know the females do but the boy its hard to tell"

If Coco could smile, she'd be beaming right now. But instead, her body and leaves twitched as she dropepd onto Colette's bed, with the bats nuzzling her on all the ticklish places. IT was when one of them moved towards her elft shoulder pad and tried to pry it open that she stopped twitching and gently grabbed the bat, nuzzling it herself.

"Don't go there, that's only for bees or other Foreas, you little criminal." She said with a short noise, resembling a laugh, coming from her body.

The bat nuzzled her and flew off around the room going to Colette's shoulder nuzzling her. She smiled and petted it with her finger tips as the other two nuzzled Coco with affection.

After a short while, Coco sat up and grabbed one of the two remaining bats, gently placing it on top of her head before waving the other off towards Colette. "You know, I love bats. They're so nice to touch, like little balls of fur. The fact they understand how I manage to move around is just a plus!" She said, leaves lightly quivering in a mix of anxiety and excitement.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes and thats why I love them" she said softly as she petted the one on her shoulders affectionately before looking at Coco. "You are welcome to name them if you wish to" she said.

"Let's see..." Coco muttered, grabbing the one on top of her head and petting it, being reminded instantly of the scent of human hair as soon as she sniffed it. "She's... Hair. The others, Leaf and Nose. The male, well, you can call him Sil, for Silence." Coco said, before letting Hair free to fly over to her friends. Standing up, Coco stretched out.

"I want a hug from another Foreas now. Or at least I want to touch a plant. Do you know where I can find pla- Right! The Dining Hall! I'm sure I smelled some decorative plants over there!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands before exiting through the room's door.

Moments later, she peeked back inside, looking at Colette. "Colette, are you coming?"

"Oh sure let me put them back in there cage" she said before gently coaxing them back in their cage, a unreadable expression sat on her pale face as she turned to Coco. "Can you allow me to change out of my dress it will only take me a few minutes to do so" she said before grabbing something and entered her bathroom to change.

'Hmm this is the first time I ever talked to someone without anyone trying to kill me...' she thought as she changed into a black velvet dress that reached her knees and haltered around her neck. She let her hair stay down and she put a black hair bane in her hair that held a black flower on it, which was fake. She stepped out of the bathroom and looked at Coco.

"Ok...lets go" she said calmly.

"Alright," Coco said, having waited quietly the whole time, "You human vampires are strange. Why hide just to put on your clothes? Do your clothes hide weapons or riches? I honestly don't see the point to it. I much prefer moving around freely without any kind of strange human cloth on my body." Coco said, shrugging, before walking out.

Colette listened to her before following her out. "I was taught that it was a polite thing to do when you had a guest in your bedroom" she said softly as she side glanced her. "Even in I am a vampire I could never forget my lessons as a human child" she said as they reached the enterance to the tower. "If you were in my shoes, even you wouldn't forget such lesson forced upon one's self...." she said walking out the door a grim expression on her youthful face.

"I wouldn't! It's silly, it's not like we have anything to hide. Our pads are protected by our shoulders, aren't they?" Coco mentioned, pointing at two thick pieces of bark seemingly growing onto her shoulders. "So there's no reason to wear any kind of protection. Besides, I can smell and hear you, so why hide? I know you're there." She said, shrugging.

"Well I am unlike you, I cannot grow such parts in order to protect my sensitive parts, that is why I wear clothing, plus I can protect some parts of my body from the sun which you feed off, because while the sun gives you life, the only thing the sun can give me is a painful and slow death" she said coolly not stopping her footsteps.

"That's strange. Do you get pollinated all the time, then? Doesn't it exhaust you to produce so many seeds? If your pads are exposed all the time... I guess that's why you wear clothes."

"Anyway, let's stop talking about pollination, lest I remember spring of last year."

Along the way to the Dining Hall, Coco started feeling weak again. Each step was harder to take, and she could already feel the need for sun, but she tried her best to ignore the sensations and keep going. After a few minutes, they had reached the Dining Hall again, and Coco sniffed the air a few times.

Colette looked around and sighed. "So what now" she asked looking at Coco who was sniffing the air and sighed again.

Coco turned towards Colette and ponted at one of the Tables with the huge amounts of food.

"You might want to eat something, we'll speak later. I must... Do stuff. I think" Coco said, rubbing her neck awkwardly at forgetting her reasons for returning to the Dining Hall, before walking off in the direction of the nearest table with plants, leaves and vegetables on it.

[Luna]

Colette

Colette sighed watching her leave before she went to the corner in the back of the Dinning hall and leaned against the back wall watching everyone in a sad expression that reached deep into her eyes. 'Why is that I feel sad, why do I feel fear...is it because I fear loosing into my instincts and attack her...or something else' she thought as she watched everyone having a good time with her maroon eyes before she tipped her head back closing her eyes in attempt to rid the emotions that she was currently feeling. Her nose twitched taking in all the scents of everyone in the room and prevented herself from getting a head ache from all the overwhelming scents that was abusing her poor nose before she opened her eyes and looked around the Dinning Hall again.

[Rtron]

Aramir

Well, the girl certainly seemed nervous. Though, Aramir assumed it was because she was just shy. As Lyris finished talking, Aramir gave her a bright smile, in what she hoped was a friendly manner. "I'm doing fine, thank you Lyris. And for what it's worth, I'm not to attached to my home either. Mainly because it doesn't exist anymore. She added silently, keeping her smile on her face. "Though, compared to the Frozen Plains, this pace seems kind of closed in. And warm. Mainly warm in fact. It makes for a refreshing change of pace from unending white and cold to constantly changing seasons and room color." It was true. Now that she wasn't freaking out over a lack of silence, or being lead about by another Elf on a tour, she could actually take time to appreciate the variety of colors and warmth and shapes of the rooms. Just the variety in general really. The Frozen Plains was usually unending white with the occasional hill or glacier to break the monotony, and it made one forget that there was actually something called diversity in the world.

"Anyways, where are you from?"

[Pyromania99]

Lyris knew close to nothing about the Frozen Plains other than that they were probably what they sounded like, frozen flat land. She thought the Elf said something, but couldn't make it out. . . She didn't feel like asked her to repeat either. Then she asked where Lyris was from. How should she answer? Technically, she could have said the mountains over by Ghannos, but she felt she would have been lying. During her flight from home, she never really thought about where it was at so she couldn't easily tell where that was. "That's something I don't think I can really say. . ." She told the Elf. It's not that she didn't want to tell. . . But couldn't. It was an otherwise undisclosed location that Lyris didn't know of. "B-but, umm, the. . . the warmth is good, right?" She couldn't think of what else to talk about really. "You said you were from the Frozen Plains right and. . . Umm, well. . ." She paused briefly before continuing, "Sorry, I'm not all too great at talking to others I've not met before. You must excuse me." Maybe the Elf could help her learn.

[Freeshooter92]

"Whatever." Alaira was not one for politeness, that's for sure. Alaira listened to Aruna's little spiel, and couldn't help but be amused. Then came the laughter. "Look girlie, do you have any idea how many guys have put a price on my head? Tons!" She more or less shouted, in her usual boisterous manner. "But I'm still here. You know why? It's 'cause I beat down anyone that tries to change that! Why run when you can fight?! 'Sides, an ambush is just like a surprise party... 'Cept, you know... with more blood." She paused to take another swig. Ah yes, that nice warm feeling you get when the ale starts to work it's magic, but not so much you start stumblin' around. "So what I'm sayin' is, Stand yer ground, If those Bastards get ya all scared, then that means they win rig- BY THE PIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Alaira had finally begun to slur slightly, but she believed her words, sober or not.

However, it was then she noticed some plant... thing enter. Luckily, her shouting didn't draw too much attention, what with the noise of the place. She made some sort of gesture that probably meant 'I'll talk to you later' or 'I'll be right back' to Aruna and the Eysire, before leaving to investigate the creature. She had managed to approach, but not anywhere near stealthily, not that she was trying. "Okay, I'll bite. What the hell are ya?" She said, equal parts caution and drunken confusion. She hated plants, and now it looked like some kind of plant-person. Come on! They already grow everywhere, get stuck in her boots, and make all these nasty poisons those godsdamn assassins are so fond of, now they could move? has the world gone mad?! Why, if it weren't for the fact you need the plants to feed the animals people eat, she'd have attempted to destroy them all!

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak Dyreackthanose

---

Ssarak continued to listen quietly to the Forest Elf and Aruna's conversation, finding it difficult to find a way to contribute himself. Evidently, both of them had been the target of failed assassination attempts in the past, which seemed surprising, if a bit unbelievable. Ssarak had never been the target of such attention, though he had found himself on the field of battle many times. Ironically, he probably deserved an assassin's blade in his back more than either of them for his actions. Perhaps if he had remained in the Scorched Lands, one of the members of clan Xhoth would have found it necessary to have him killed, if they were even aware of his role in the event. Before leaving, he knew the leadership of clan Dyre intended to initiate peace talks with their rivals to halt the escalation of bloodshed, but he did not know the result of the talks, or if the clan leaders had revealed his role in the massacre. He still missed his homeland, but it was perhaps for the best that he was away from it.

Eventually, the Forest Elf saw something that, while it was somewhat interesting to Ssarak, seemed to capture her full and undivided attention. It looked like some sort of humanoid plant, and was quite unlike anything he had seen before, but even so, her reaction seemed rather excessive. The Forest Elf left just as quickly as she arrived, brushing off himself and Aruna with only a slight gesture so she could go berate the plant being in the same aggressive tone. Ssarak was beginning to believe that tone was actually her normal speaking voice. Ssarak took another drink of Ember, then glanced over to Aruna. "She seemed to be quite the...brusque individual." He commented simply.

[Frettzo]

Mar

Mar noted his shrugged response had agreed with her on one thing: no one was worth hunting here. However it was his last that seemed to hit the root of her frustration. He seemed to see right through her and that slightly disturbed the Naga at how transparent she was. Home was all she found herself thinking about when she was truthful with herself. Something wishful and painful all at once, from days curled upon the heated sands to hunts with the Huntresses and Hunters. All that was long gone now and she had to face that fact now.

Her eyes followed the fallen Orc’s grey body towards the Dining Hall until he disappeared. His final words echoed in her head, her hands tightened and finger dug into her arms. Mar’s head turned to the sounds of merriment, plates clashing and music start to ring from the festivities within. Tyrael’s words were easier said than done for her. Was she being a fool? Mar wondered before the irritation had started to edge within her heart, her chest inhales while she turned quickly upon her coils. Immediately she nearly smacked into the emerging Dwarven teacher that has scolded her earlier!

Val looked up to the raised Naga that had backed up a little, her head several feet above her own. The red haired biped squinted at Mar then spoke, her own arms crossed and foot tapped impatiently. “What ye doin’ out ‘ere? Git’ yer scaly arse in ‘ere and stop bein’ afridy cat! I’m headin’ out to git some bandages and if yer still out here…”

The Naga’s eyes widened at the left off comment while she backed farther, the smaller biped started to shuffle off down the hall before she vanished. Mar glared slightly after her retreated back but made no aggression other roll her eyes. It seemed there was no other choice, her body sighed at the lacked options then started to slither into the Dining Hall.

Coco+Mar

Coco instantly lifted her head up, dropping the piece of bread she had been pushing against her face onto the table. She stood up from the table and sniffed at the air, then listened intently, and perked up once she confirmed her thoughts- The half snake half-human female from earlier that day!

Another energy spike rushed through her body as she recognized the scent, pushing her to jog towards the half-snake half-human and, with quivering leaves, clap a few times while in front of her. Just to effectively feel her form.

Unlike earlier, the being was disarmed. That was good, as weapons made Coco feel uncomfortable to some extent.

"Mar, was it? I am Coco Bean, a Foreas. I smell like chocolate, but that doesn't mean you can eat me. I think I introduced myself already, right?" Coco said quickly, numerous bread crumbs sticking to her face, results from her attempt at eating a loaf of bread.

The clapping sound caught Mar's attention, her head jerked suddenly to the side and spotted the strange biped approach. It looked like someone had taken a tree and carved out a faceless woman, her shoulders covered in bark like pads and slight what seemed to appear for hair leaves flowed behind her, She jogged towards her with leaves a quiver, excitement in her appearance that had Mar eyeing her carefully. Her head tilted slightly curious while the odd creature, a Foreas she recalled, had started to talk.

It seemed the odd student had attempted to eat and failed, her head held only two slits were her nose should've been. Mar's tongue flickered out. A small, slightly forked serpent tongue came out then retreated back in. The heavy and deeply rich smell registered upon her mind, her head nodded in agreement for a moment then spoke.

"Yes, it's not hard to smell on you. As for eating you, Naga digest meat better then chocolate." Mar kept to the short point attempting to carry out Tyrael's request and suggestion.

Coco had unconsciously mimicked Mar's head tilt, and soon afterwards, the Naga, as she had just described herself as, spoke. For a moment, Coco was proud that her scent was so powerful and distinctive, but soon a pair of questions formed in her mind.

"Are all Naga half-snakes? Can Naga be vampires just like Lucilia? I also noticed you are not carrying your weapon- Why? I think it's nice of you, weapons kind of make me uncomfortable." Coco said, having tried to throw in some kind of friendly words once she noticed Mar's... Tight stance, or was it her short, forced speech?

Mar's eyebrow questioned when the Foreas started to sprout questions. Her arms folded, the tail curled underneath as she attempted to remain perfectly still. Bipeds seemed easily rattled by movement and this one seemed to fired off then Mar was use to, the smaller green creature picked up her nervous energy. She really tried to force her coils to settle down through sheer will yet it seemed fruitless. Her fingers just dug in a little more, once again her sentences came to the point.

"Yes and I never met a vampire so I've no idea. I left it else where." said as she noted the Shadow Golem flicker across the wall, it's presence has seemed to sense her mood. It seemed to move and hovered closer, the Naga slightly tensed the moment she spotted it.

"... Why don't you speak more?" Coco asked, puzzled as to Mar's apprehensive speech and supposing she was tensing up because of herself. "Do you dislike my scent? I just want to speak to you, and if I'm making you uncomfortable, then how am I supposed to ask you the questions I've in mind? They would make you more uncomfortable!"

Coco sighed, confused and starting to feel weak again. The rush would wear off soon, and deep down, she knew it.

Mar let a pause of silence linger between Coco's rapid succession of questions that seemed endless. Even if they were managable with only a few at a time, Naga rarely questioned each unless it serve a purpose and current there wasn't one. There was no danger or threat, unexplained event or hunting to be done. If it was for the fact she was determined to follow Tyrael's request was she respected him. However all this creature seemed to do is chatter and made it rather hard to retain her calm.

"We don't speak often unless of danger or survival. Instead read each other's body language." Mar started out, her voice even for the moment, "Your scent is a little too...strong for my tongue and distracting. Even among the other aromas within the room, they all create a rather hard to stomach smell to my taste."

At Coco's sudden sigh causing Mar to flick out her tongue again, noted a lessen strength in the scent. "You scent lessened..."

So these Naga were quiet beings... How could they manage to live without using their gift of speech? These days, Coco could not even imagine how she had managed to live her first year without saying one word. She couldn't help but wonder why Naga were so reserved, and she also couldn't help but wish to have an opportunity to visit a Naga settlement.

Oh the great memories and experiences to come of that! Maybe she could even learn how to use her tongue to smell! 'Wait... I don't have a tongue...'

"Oh..." Coco muttered in reply to Mar's sudden realization, rubbing her left arm awkwardly, "Yeah, it did, I guess."

Coco lightly inclined her head upwards, and kept speaking. "I kind of need some sun."

Mar took a moment to consider the Foreas's need and what could've been used. Sun she used herself, but only for heat and she was doubtful there would be much to aid in that. Maybe Tyrael might have something to aid the creature's suffering or at least know someone who would. Unlike her, he knew at least some of the staff and their unique skills. Someone was bound to be helpful.

Her eyes shifted about, spotted the familar sight of the fallen Orc. Naturally he wasn't looking her way at the moment so she failed to gather his attention. "I'm not sure who could help as I only know one of the teachers. A fallen Orc named Tyrael. He, however knows more of the teachers and maybe they know who will help you. Though it might not be ideal to utter many questions at him."

He head fixed towards the Teacher and seemed to indicate where he sat, a faint hope this might end in a neutral note at least.

"I don't know... I mean, it's my fault, as I didn't get enough sun at day. it'll be over tomorrow when sun comes up and shines upon me. Besides... I've already formed about three questions to ask to teacher Tyrael." Coco said in response to Mar's worries, if they could be called that. She noticed the direction her head faced and put a little bit of focus on locating the thing she was looking at, but ultimately dropping the efforts once the sounds and scents all messed up with her senses.

"If you have a snake tail, does that mean that you can do what snakes do? Crush things and stuff?"

"Yes, out coils can crush bone into powder usually. We can move across the desert easily and stand it's heat better then most, even tolerate the Ravine's harsh environment. Suffering however harms you, doesn't it? Or do you feel no pain?" Mar tried to reason, her coils tucked underneath and forcefully settled down.

"It's not pain. It's... Weakness. A lack of energy, it's like starvation in some extent. There's not much I can do about it, just... Wait it out. There's light here, for sure, but it doesn't feel the same. It's not as bright." She said, turning her head towards the nearest torch, then shivering lightly. "Why do you ask if I feel no pain? Do I sound tough or aloof?"

"You're not flesh and blood so pain might not be something you feel. Like certian demons." Mar said matter of factly as she pulled back upon the subject of Coco's acceptance for her weakness. That wasn't something an Naga would accept when even there was a chance to change it. "Then why merely tolerate it? You should at least seek some relieve even if it's faint and unlikely, rather then leave yourself vunerable."

"Well-" Coco started, but soon found herself at a loss. How should she describe it? The feeling of the warm sun so gently touching and licking your skin, the energy she gained from it, and the calm that was so often a companion of sunny days? Was it even possible to share such an experience through mere words?

"It's because sunlight touching your body is among the best sensations in the world, to have its warmth coat all of you and embrace you in such a way that you're energized..." Coco said, rubbing her hands together in a wishful way as her leaves were pressed against her skin.

"It's worth the wait. Sunlight is just that good of a lover."

Finally, the Naga was relieved when this time the questions had halted. At least for the moment and the Naga's coils visibly stilled, rested comfortably. Mar couldn't help a little, faint smile at the thought of sunlight. It brought back memories of her days just standing in the desert, her skin dry and heated by the rays overhead into a nice warm glow. That smile faded a bit when the memory clashed with the fact she wouldn't be able to do that again. Her shoulders sank a little visibly but nothing else betrayed her pain at realizing this.

"True, even a subsitute isn't a permanant fixed. However, this night..I think it's night, only lasts for a short time. Why risk wasting a chance to enjoy just for tonight? Then you can get your fill of sun tomorrow morning though I'm not sure how bright or benefital it will be in the days to come. Better to prepare for the long stay after all..."

"This place is weird. I haven't felt too much sun since getting here, so you may be right. Does this place have a day? It's been a long while. Also..." Coco said, tilting her head to one side as she stepped closer to Mar, noticing her changed stance and posture.

"You're more relaxed! I can tell you like sunlight as a topic. It makes sense, since you mentioned your kind move well in deserts, which means you live in deserts. How is the desert sun like? Is it stronger? Does it make you want to sleep in calm?"

Naturally the question shoot off caught the Naga off gaurd, released in her relaxation when she believed the questions had ceased. Mar sighed at the Foreas lacking sense, her body forced to lower at a slightly less agressive height. The Shadow Stalker seemed to edge closer then before now. That didn't help and Mar had started to feel trapped again, something that never drew anything other then ill happenings.

"Your first concern is tending to yourself rather then questions. Questions can be repeated when you're not starving. Don't you agree?"

"I..." Coco began, sighing, "Right, you're right. Tyrael, right? How does he smell like?"

"Hot and rather sulfuric with a heavy male musk to it." Mar answered promptly, her mind knew it well enough to recognize it most time and differ it from other orcs. "Currently he's sitting at the head table."

"Right... Ugh." Coco muttered, shivering lightly at the memory of the Syphis creatures' scents. They did smell hot and sulfuric, to some extent. Coco stood in front of Mar for a few moments, before nodding and walking away, right towards Tyral, but not before saying her thanks.

"Thank you, Mar. You're very helpful. Hear you around."

Coco Bean

Oh the overwhelming scents and sounds. Such beauty shadowed by such confusion and weakness. Most of the shadowing was caused by her own state of starvation, though. So there was really nothing to blame but her own silly excitable self.

But her weakness apparently wasn't strong enough to just focus on one thing, survival, and instead, a sudden, loud shout caught her hearing.

BY THE PIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Perking up, Coco Bean listened intently. A huge... Being. Its form was strange in Coco's mind, as she couldn't tell if it was a feminine male or a masculine female, it was probably aided by the fact that she couldn't catch the creature's scent, or at the very least discern it from the bunch of other scents in the room. So she wouldn't know its sex until later.

"Okay, I'll bite. What the hell are ya?"

Coco's leaves quivered nervously at the being's shape and height, not to mention her tone of voice. She inclined her head up towards the being's, trying to actually figure out what it was. After a moment of nervous silence on her part, Coco figured it out. Human, possibly female.

"Um..." Coco said quietly, taking a step back and rubbing her fingers together in her nervousness. "A Foreas?"

[WitchChild]

Haklo couldn't help but look around once more and notice the liveliness of the festivities and he took note of the things he saw. The teachers and the such, apparently other students that were seemingly showing off their powers. He looked away and then glanced over at the other side fo the table from him, at the she-elf that had been eating like a barbarian and seemingly taking a quite a bit of interest in him, even before she had to indulge a four eyed friend of hers. He made a note that she notice that he knew of her interest in him by looking at her with an arched eyebrow before returning his attention to Annabeth.

"Well, Lady Gulch, like my father before me and his father before that, I intend to use my abilities to further my family's hold on Port Slaughter, to keep the riff raff in check as much as possible. There is a reason why the Desol family have been in charge of it for so many generations" He said with a small hint of family pride. "I do not see the point of doing mere parlor tricks with such powers other tahn to waste the potential. Chances are that my father would tear my psyche apart just for thinking such a thing" he added, not exaggerating on the part about his father. "What about your brother? What sort of magic is he practicing?" he asked before he turned to the she-elf on the other side of the table. He was about to ask of the elf who had been staring at him would rather want to watch and stuff her face or join in but apparently she had already engaged in a conversation with someone, someone in black armor and mask. He also took note of their names, Auriel and Althanus. He took note on how they talked and his eyebrow arched when the man talked. He wasn't quite sure due to the mask but from what he could assume by his accent and way of speech, it was likely he was looking at a "kinsman" of sort, a citizen of Port Slaughter or at least grew up around those parts. He could be wrong but Haklo was good at guessing those sort of things. He also took note of his baring. Haklo assumed over confidence that may or may not be justly placed. The she-elf was obviously not dainty in any definition of the word it seemed. This is what he surmised in a few moments before he courtiously turned back to Annabeth, giving her a small apologetic bow of the head for ignoring her for the brief space of time.

[Sundered Echo]

Xyden / Leith

Xyden listened to the humans introduction. He seemed unphased by Xydens appearance or manner, something that seemed uncommon among humans. That on its own immediately made Xyden respect him more than most Surface Dwellers. "I am known as... Xyden." To the best of his knowledge, it was custom among humans to exchange names upon meeting. He did find it strange that the human would speak of knowing the Naga as he did though. Few people knew of the Ocean Naga, and that did not surprise him, but after his encounter with Marya, he was wondering quite a bit about what other Naga might've survived. Hydromancy forgotten for the moment, he instead focused on this new potential source of information.

"I did not know of Naga anywhere... other than the depths of the Ocean. Tell me what you know... of the other Naga." Xyden asked probingly. He doubted he'd get quite as much as he'd like from this human, but any information was good at this point.

Leith sighed at the question. "I don't know much about the Naga, just from stories I heard as child. All I know is that the ones that I've heard of look like they're half snake, half human. The illustrations I've seen aren't exactly..." he paused as he searched for the correct word. "Becoming, to put it nicely." He chuckled.

"Actually, you're the first Naga I've ever talked to, and until today, I'd never even saw one. Esyire's for that matter, too." Leith shook his head as he took a sip from his cup. "This has been quite a day for me, and it's just the first one."

It was a shame that this Leith Land Strider didn't know more of the other Naga. He'd have to find someone else to ask, but he didn't know where to start, so he simply left that subject for now. His head and shoulder fins twitched slightly with his disappointment, but he shrugged it off. "Most humans... seem to fear speaking to me... You are the first brave enough. Tell me... What do you know of... Hydromancy?" Xyden cut to the chase, largely uncarring for the Land Striders observations about what he hadn't seen until now. He was still unconfidant even of the word, and he hoped it wouldn't show too much.

Leith leaned back in his chair as he thought about what he knew about Hydromancy. "Again, most of this is through stories, but I've heard of and experienced more with Hydromancy than I have with Naga. I've heard that water isn't the only thing we can manipulate. But I haven't tried with anything other than water because I don't know what'll happen if I try. I know what I can do with water, and until I get some training, I don't want to experience what I did when I tried moving too much water. From what I heard, Hydromancers can control blo-" he paused for a second as he fought down the urge to gag.

Leith frowned. He wasn't sure why that had happened, but he had the feeling that if he tried saying it again, he would have the same problem. He decided to change the subject.

"As for your earlier comment. You gave me no reason to fear you. Sure, you look intimidating, but looking intimidating shouldn't be what causes people to fear. The actions behind the look should generate the fear. Unfortunately, most people don't think that way, and you've probably seen what fear can do to some people."

A shiver ran down Xydens spine at the thought of using his power to control substances other than water. From the human's reaction, it seemed he also found the idea somewhat disturbing. On the one hand he found it strange that anyone would consider controlling anything other than water when there was so much of it around. On the other, it was repulsive and sickening to use anything else as a weapon or utility. People should be more civilised than that. Still, he nodded respectfully at the description given. It was useful information.

He did, however, have words on the subject of fear. "Being dominated fear... is the domain of lesser beings... animals. Thinking beings do not allow themselves to be ruled.... by emotion. You are stongest... when your mind is calm." It was the wisdom of the Naga, taught to them by their Goddess. He doubted the human would be able to follow it once the situation became murky though. Even some Naga had trouble with it, much less a mere Surface Dweller.

Leith listened to the Naga's thoughts on fear. It made sense, and while Leith didn't quite agree with some of it, it was good advice. He looked over at the head table and smiled when he got an Idea.

"How about we have a friendly wager? Nothing big like money. Just like... a favor. Within limits, of course, but it'll help pass the time. What do you say?"
Xyden was confused by that. He didn't know what a wager was. He wondered if it was a human custom of some sort, though, to him, the time seemed to passing just fine without help. "What... Is a wager?" He asked, curious to find out about this new custom the human expected him to participate in.

Leith smiled at the question, then frowned as he tried to figure out how to explain it. When he figured it out, He went to a nearby empty table and grabbed three empty cups and a vine of grapes from it. He went back to the table and placed his aquired items on the table. He looked at Xyden and started explaining what a wager was.

"A wager can be seen as a game of sorts," he said as he took a grape off the vine and covered it with one of the cups. He then put the other two cups on either side of the cup with the grape. "It can be between two people, or many." He started to slowly move the cups around and made it so that the cups were mixed up. "But before the wager can take place, there has to be a cost. Be it money, food, or whatever. The winner will get something, and the loser will lose something. As you can probably assume, not many people like to make large wagers. Mainly because they might lose, or, depending on the game, it was fixed for them not to win. In this example there is a winner, and there is a loser, but because this is an example, we don't need to have something to give the winner." Leith gestured to the cups.

"Pick a cup."

Xyden watched with curiosity as the human retrieved some grapes and three cups and began explaining, placing a grape under one of the cups. He followed the grapes cup carefully as it was moved around the table. It was not unlike watching a small bottom dwelling fish move rapidly from rock to rock to avoid detection. His tongue flicked out to taste the air, but with the many strong smelling foods around he couldn't detect a single grape that way. That was unfortunate. He kept his eye on the cup as the Leith Land Strider finished explaining. It seemed this custom was meant to revolve around chance, something Xyden, and indeed all Ocean Naga, were not fond of. Taking chances in the depths usually got you killed.

This time though, his hunters reflexes seemed to be proving true. He reached out and picked up the left hand cup. Under it was the grape. He looked back at the human then and spoke "I... Understand. What is the... Wager... you wish to make with me?" He was uncertain as to wether he would accept whatever the human said, but he couldn't decide without knowing.

Leith smiled. "The wager will be this," he said as he pointed towards the head table. "We pick who we think will do the Hydromancy demonstration, easy enough. In this wager, we can both lose, which will mean that neither of us will have to pay. As I said before, would a favour, within limits, be an acceptible trade off to the winner?"

Xyden looked at him with slight concern at the mention of a favour. He didn't like the idea of being beholden to anyone here on the surface, particularly for something so vague as a favour. He did have many of the gold circles the surface dwellers valued though. To him, all the staff looked much the same - none of them looked able to swim. How could any of them understand how to control water if they could not be enveloped by it first? He would be guessing in this, but the reward of having the human beholden to him was possibly useful. "I will play this game. If I win... I will take your favour... If you win... I will give you... coins. I have many."

Leith nodded at the Naga's terms. It didn't really matter to him what was wagered. He just wanted to have some fun. "Alright, I guess we have a deal." He held his hand out to the Naga.

Xyden looked down at the offered hand in confusion. Was this another human custom? It seemed there was much he did not understand about the Surface Dwellers. Then he turned away to examine the front table, the one with the teachers. He looked at each in turn. The Short one was not the Hydromancy teacher, he knew that, because she was the Rune Master. He doubted any of the winged creatures could be masters of water. That left the armoured dark one and several humans and some more short beings, these ones much slighter than the ones he'd seen before. Small things generally were able to swim easier, less to weigh them down and stop the water. Maybe that one was the best choice then. "That one." He said, pointing to the Snow Elf woman at the teachers table.

Leith chuckled silently to himself as he brought his arm back. He watched as Xyden made his decision, nodding and making a mental note to himself. He looked at the head table and tried to see who could have what ability. He looked at the intimidating looking man with hair that made is seem that he had been struck by lightning and shook his head. That wasn't the Hydromancer. Leith had no clue who the Hydromaner was, so he just made a guess.

"I'll say it's that guy," Leith said as he pointed to the youngest looking man at the table. He looked back at Xyden and smiled. "And now we wait."

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna watched her latest companion stumble off to look at a plant creature. The elf had a roughness about her that Aruna didn't care for, but she seemed like an individual who was honest, not out if any kind of moral code, but just because they didn't give a damn what you thought. That trait was something Aruna admire
if she could get over her apparent bloodlust, she'd make a good ally. Until then, she's to dangerous to trust.
Aruna looked at Ssarak as he noted their departing guests character. She ran her fingers through her plain black hair and sighed.
"She is definitely brusque, but she seems as though she has good intentions...."
She glanced at the elf.
"Mostly."

She picked up her bowl and stood, making sure her tail was unwrapped from the table leg.
"If you will excuse me Ssarak, I need to refill my bowl."
She walked away from the table and towards the food, blending with the crowd as she went, trying to remain inconspicuous.

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak nodded to Aruna. He did acknowledge that the Forest Elf at least seemed to be trying to help, so her intentions were at least positive. However, Ssarak was well aware that intentions did not excuse one's actions. Were intentions all that mattered, then he would be a hero to his people, instead of an exile and a murderer. He was a living example of how the greatest evils could be committed with the best of intentions.

As Aruna left to refill her bowl, Ssarak finished off one of his steaks and moved on to the seafood. He looked around at the crowd as he ate, trying to distract himself from the rather depressing line of thought his mind seemed to be going down. There were so many different people of all shapes and sizes; there were races that he had never seen before, and others he had never even heard of. Humans and Elves, Esyire and Half-Snakes, walking plants and Winged Humans, all of these beings and more were crowding the dining hall; he simply could not tell which were of the races of Tien, and which were demons. In this environment, that line was blurred beyond recognition.

Unfortunately, while Ssarak was observing the crowd around him, he became distracted and one of the inherent abilities of his mageblood slipped into action. Suddenly, his mind started reaching out to those around him, reading into their thoughts. For the most part, he felt the emotions and inclinations of those around him without mental barriers, all of them. All of the joy, sadness, curiosity, pride, anger, pleasure, pain, hope, and regret. All of it swarmed his mind at once, overwhelming all of his senses. There were some words mixed in with the emotions as well, but with the sheer number of people around him, they all jumbled together into incoherent noise, like everyone in the room was shouting in his ear all at once. All of this combined gave him a massive, splitting headache, causing him to lean forward onto his hands as he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and rubbed his temples, quite obviously in pain. For the moment, he was unresponsive as he tried his best to attempt to reign in his blood and stop the mass of voices from assaulting his mind.

[Rtron]

Uicle

He chuckled at the Headmaster's face, not offering any comment. It was after all, true. The elderly healer would have made the doses stronger as a form of reprimand. Not that Uicle could see any other way for him to do it. Khan having obvious advantages over the healer. Briefly, his attention was distracted as his Shadow Golem reported being repelled by something. It couldn't tell what, but it was forced back away from the Naga it was supposed to be following. No matter how hard it tried or strained, it couldn't reach her. Bewildered, it turned to it's creator for help. Before Uicle could investigate the cause of this repelling, the Golem broke through, or the whatever was causing it stopped, or something. Regardless, it began to follow the Naga again, unhindered. He spent a while longer trying to puzzle out exactly what had happened to his Golem to make it unable to complete it's objective. Nothing. He could find nothing to indicate what stopped his Golem, and if it had been intentional or simply accidental, a spell or Rune gone wrong. Giving up, Uicle returned his attention to the table conversation.

Lucilia was speaking to him. "I hope your precautions are enough for a drunk, angry Forest Elf. Alaira has a nasty tendency to break things that are supposed to have precautions against breaking set against them." He was notably less..tense. Here, it had been proven repeatedly that for whatever reason, Aarem didn't enact his curse on the Feast Night. Whether the Gods had their own party to attend to, or someone else was deciding that Uicle dealt with enough of the curse the rest of the year and took pity on him, Uicle didn't know. What he did know, was that he could touch glasses, sit in chairs and walk about without anything bad happening that would kill a normal mortal. Taking another smell of the Dragon Spite, Uicle briefly let himself drift off into better memories. Before he had sold his soul to the God of Evil, and then caused years of suffering, only to reject the God and lose his body. Uicle was jerked from his reverie when he heard Khan roaring at Zaad, one of his demons. Apparently, the demon had tried to kill a student. While he had no doubt that the Headmaster had things under control, Uicle decided to take a few more..precautions. Golems made from steel were put on standby, ready to break up any fights or chaos that might happen. Shadow Golems were placed in the crowd and around it, ready to delay any violence. It always payed to be wary, after all.

What mainly drew his attention, however, was the fact that Alaira, the endless source of ire he was stuck with, was talking rather loudly and drunkenly with another student that seemed to be a walking plant. "I really, really hope Alaira's doesn't decide her hate of plants extends to walking, talking plants. Because I really don't want to puppet walk her out of this gathering.."

[Ryonara]

Mei came back into the dinning hall after some time to gather her thoughts. So far she's been able to stay awake and not succumb to her random narcolepsy, and she aimed to make sure it didn't come back at an awkward moment. As she returned, she immediately looked around for someone to talk to. She spotted Aruna but decided to avoid her for now. There was always the teachers, but it would look strange if she just walked up to them, wouldn't it? But Mei was determined to make a friend tonight, even if she had to do something embarrassing. But before she could, she did notice someone who seemed to be in pain. It was a large black Esyire, who Mei did notice was speaking to Aruna earlier. Mei debated in her mind what might be wrong; he looked in pain, but why? He showed no physical injuries, perhaps he was simply hungover? but no, even though Mei never drank alcohol, she knew at least that most people don't get hungover until some time later. Surely this Esyire wasn't such a lightweight? Concern overtook Mei's initial desire to make conversation as she went over to the large creature.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" Mei went over to the massive draconian. Under most circumstances Mei would be a bit scared talking to someone like him, especially since previous encounters with Esyire's never went well (usually because they're bandits). But Mei did not care so much for the past, and was worried that this person was in great pain. But she's never dealt with someone who's suffering from alcohol headaches, if that's what is even wrong with him.

[EliteCommander]

Ssarak heard the voice of someone beside him, though with the shouting in his head, he couldn’t make out what the person said. He turned his head and looked at the Human beside him, his eyes watering from the intense pain he was in. She appeared to be concerned, so she probably had been asking if he was alright, or perhaps if he needed help. He had been ill prepared for this situation. Although he had experienced accidental mind reading plenty of times before, it had never happened in a place so crowded. He couldn’t have imagined what it would be like to hear so many thoughts and feelings at once, and now he was paying the price.

Ssarak groaned in pain, trying to concentrate enough to at least think about how to stop this madness. Eventually, he reclaimed enough of his senses to at least give a response to the Human. “I…my head. Too many thoughts at once.” He said before managing to think of a new strategy. He needed to find something to concentrate on, something to put all of his mind’s attention in one place, instead of on the thoughts of those around him. He stared at the human, deciding to focus on giving her an intelligible response.

“I am a…psychomancer. I have a terrible headache brought on…by my abilities.” He said, the pace of his words slowing significantly by the end. Closing his eyes once more, he started breathing in and out deeply, trying to calm his mind. He shifted his attention from talking, focusing all of his thoughts on the simple act of breathing.

[Toxic Diamond]

Aruna grabbed her food and she began to head back to the table she had been sharing with Ssarak, but she had to stop with her back to the wall. she just stood and scanned the room. she had seen something... She wasn't sure what it was she had seen, but her instincts were telling her that something was wrong and she had learned to trust her instincts. Aruna kept scanning the room, looking for what she had registered. She calmed herself and began to think.
All the students are here for the demonstration, most seem rather interested. So, look for someone who is either disinterested, OR someone who-

Someone bumped into her, hard. She immediately tore her knife out of it's sheath and pressed it into the throat of an acid green male Esyire who consequently dropped the cup he was carrying and spilled it's contents all over the floor, and onto both their feet. She didn't move, but just kept her eyes on the Green Esyire before her. She was just about to ask what he wanted when he slowly drew his hand under his leather jerkin, she pressed harder with her knife, but he only pulled out a small leather pouch that jingled when he moved it. he spoke in a shaky voice. "P-please, just take it, I don't want trouble."

Aruna, felt a little sick when she realized what the Esyire thought, then she noticed that students around them were staring at her with wide eyes. she dropped the knife and silently walked away, leaving her food on the ground where she'd left it. she started back to Ssarak, with her cheeks warm and cherry red, but then she noticed that Mei was sitting with him, and she quickly just left the room entirely, to get some air.