A Lowly Wretch

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

Both Livia and the moth fey assured her that the true name for Eva's summon would be nearly impossible for her to pronounce it's name. Still, Nettle listened on as the moth fey sounded off it's name in the chirp of it's native language. She listened keenly, not just to the sound but more to the pattern within. Closing her eyes she leaned back a slight bit, going over the sound a few times in her head as she committed it to memory.

"Hhhh... I see." She contemplated the matter a moment before opening her eyes, directing her attention to both Livia and the fey.

"Hh... But perhaps we simply lack the hhproper instrument to hform such words." Lifting her spoon from the soup she gestured towards Livia, careful to keep the spoon above the soup it came from so as to not drip soup on the table or other people's belongings.

"The hhhuman voice is a hstring instrument after all."

_
She brought her spoon down back into her soup and raised up a spoonful. Just as she was about to eat the spoonful however she instead got a mouthful of pancake instead. Just the bit surprised by Eva's abruptness her eyebrows jumped that slight bit as her mouth filled with breakfast dessert.

"See, Nettie! Good stuff!"

Nettle took a moment to chew this food and contemplate it's taste. It was a bit odd since it's flavor profile was at odds with the soup she was just eating. Given how strong the soup's spice was the taste of Eva's pancake concoction was veritably muted by comparison. After some consideration Nettle finally swallowed her bite.

"Hhh... Taste's sort of hhlike a peanut butter and jelly hsandwich but without the jelly." Was Nettle's verdict. The cake component to the pancake as a base for the rest of the ingredients reminded her of the white bread they used in their sandwiches. The addition of peanut butter to the pancake provided the second of the three components to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich flavor. There wasn't a significant amount of syrup on the lone bite she was fed but it still felt more like a side-note to the main taste of peanut butter and pancake. In the end it wasn't bad taste wise but it certainly could be improved upon. Perhaps a nice layer of fruit jelly or a sweeter variety of syrup would improve upon this particular recipe.

_
While she was lost in thought a particularly impish feline entity taking an interest in her soup. Her attention was only drawn to the events taking place right beneath her very nose as a young man shouted towards her direction. Looking over she witnessed the scene take place, the unusual black cat creature sampling her soup and skewering a cube of meat from her bowl as it's owner tried in vain to restrain it.

It was quite evident that the creature was not of standard fare. There were a number of reasonable explanations as to how it was able to tolerate her spices. It could very well of been just a creature with morphic biology and a high tolerance for poisons, something likely to be found amidst House Bestia. It seemed unlikely but it could of been one of House Machina's machines crafted into the shape of an animal. If it was a summon of House Phantasma then it was most likely a spirit since matters of the physical impact them far less than it would for the other house categories. The mystery largely remained in the fact that she did not recognize it's summoner. She could not place a name to the face nor a house to the name.

For the first time that day the edges of her mouth pulled up ever so slightly.

"Hhhh... It is, hh... No issue." She reassured the young summoner. With her right hand she gently plucked a cube of meat from her soup, not a single reaction from her as the boiling broth singed her skin. She turned just far enough so her body was no obstacle between her and the strange feline.

"Hh... Where I'm from the scent of flesh hh... Draws many things. Hnot always tangible." With that said she gave the meat a casual underhand toss towards the mysterious summon. If it chose to it could easily catch such a projectile with it's carnivorous jaws. If not then the small portion of meat was on route to bounce off it's nose.

Having addressed the small surge of events she was directly involved in to some degree she finally ate the spoonful she had scooped up earlier. It had cooled on the spoon to a lukewarm state.

A pity.

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

Daisy

Though movement surrounded her things felt quite still as everyone waited in keen anticipation of the show. Like the eye of the storm it was a moment of unprecedented stillness.

Before too long however one of the figures she had kept her eye on came her way. He brusquely pushed past her, offering little more than a mild apology before setting off to his business elsewhere. Her grim companion turned it's hidden gaze towards the figure as he passed but she kept it in restraint with but a gesture. Even if the man wasn't too polite having Thanato intervene would create many problems and solve very few.

As he passed she took note of the fears which dwelt within this cloaked individual. Demonophobia and Nyctophobia. The letters themselves weren't precisely clear which meant there was more to them than what she could see. Still it was something, not a clue to be wasted.

As Wadanohara took to her piano the crowd drew to a silence, drawing her attention up to the performance about to take place. She listened on to this woman's musical stylings but her attention wasn't fully on the music itself. Daisy still held concern regarding the other, shorter figure that had accompanied the one that had bumped into her earlier. Every so often she would cast a glance aside to her, keeping an eye out in case there was more to these two than they let on.

Her guardian simply loomed on, ever watchful for dangers to his master.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

Having arrived to the cafeteria alongside her two roommates she made her way down to the stalls no faster nor slower than her company had. Her selection of breakfast included a nice mild soup of mixed vegetables and meager cubes of cooked beef which was paired with a nice cup of boiling water. While neither of these choices were all too stunning for their flavor profile on their own Nettle had purpose in picking the more bland choices for her meal.

While Nettle's hands were steady like a surgeon's her gait was a little off-set by the heaviness of her boots. Her teetering back and forth to the sway of her steps started the fluids set upon her tray to wobble with her rhythm. Eventually this culminated in a small portion of the soup slipping past the bowl's edge and landing squarely on one of her thumbs which was securing the tray to her hand. While the soup was hot enough to be at a boil her reaction to the substance running down the side of her thumb towards her wrist was borderline non-existent. The only real acknowledgement Nettle gave this incident was when she finally sat down, setting her tray upon the table with the remainder of her breakfast choices still in their containers, where she lifted her now unoccupied hand to her face. She ran her tongue up the wrist to the tip of the thumb, licking up the spilt soup which had definitely scalded her hand to a degree. While it wasn't apparent she did feel the burn it gave her. It was just the matter that such pain was of paltry concern to her. Pain was meant to be a warning sent by the body to let it's host know something was wrong. She knew the cause of the pain. Hence, it was unnecessary.

"So how goes your summons, Nettle? Trouble with yours this morning?" Livia asked, sitting across from her. Nettle shook her head simply, most of the long hair which hung down her back swishing gently with the motion while her bangs remained piled upon her lap.

"Hhh... Hno trouble. H-A student asked for a solution and I hh... Provided one." Nettle always put a fair amount of thought into her words, her speech deliberate if somewhat halting. While she was rare to misspeak she was somewhat open to getting interrupted by more chatty students. 'Twas just one of many challenges provided by life within the academy.

As she spoke Nettle had reached into her bag and produced a few items from it without breaking eye contact with Livia. A couple wooden containers which mildly resembled pepper shakers and a tea bag were set in front of her, just before the soup and hot water. Glancing over to Eva as she returned with her bounty from the breakfast stands she dipped the tea bag in the boiling water. Letting the tea steep she opened one of her spice containers and took a pinch from within, sprinkling the herbal ingredient into her soup without taking her attention away from Eva and the dessert she called breakfast. Once a proper amount of the first spice was added she started applying her second ingredient into her soup.

_
"Good Morning, Miss Livia. Miss Nettle. Please pardon my presence."

"Good morning... Hh... Floofel." Another subject of Eva's naming conventions this summon was. She held no objections to it but she had wondered what the summon itself felt on the matter. She contemplated this as she finished applying her spices to the soup.

"Hhh... If I hmay ask, what did you call yourself before Eva hsummoned you?" She asked the moth fairy largely out of curiosity. While looking to her summon as she awaited her answer she idly stirred her soup with a spoon, mixing the ingredients together so it was properly diffused throughout the solution. With her opposite hand she gently fanned a portion of the steam rising from her tea cup to gauge how far along the tea had brewed.

"Good morning everyone!" Odhra chimed as he came up to their table, taking his seat by Livia.

"Hhh... Good morning Odhra." She recognized him from her second session class. He had a particular interest in medicine as well as the arachnida class of arthropods. Much beyond that she couldn't say. Turning her attention back to the moth fairy she lifted her spoon up and gently sipped the stock. The spice provided a nice simmering heat with notes of a savory sweetness to the flavor. Of course what was a pleasant heat for Nettle was in fact so spicy for most other creatures that it could potentially kill were another to try even a sip. Given her body's natural anti-toxin measures the effects of this spice were highly muted to her so she was able to appreciate the other facets of spices normally untouched by others on account of their lethality.

Quite early into her tyro year her fellow students learned quite well not to steal any food spiced by her. The incident where this came to light involved a summon who had stolen a food item from her plate and collapsed shortly after as it's airway seized shut. The staff managed to resuscitate it after it's summoner got it to the medical ward but the event still sent a clear message to the rest of the student body. She was lucky to have fairly accepting dorm-mates to sit by since most students typically gave her some distance wherever she sat during mealtimes.

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

@Darkmoon Angel A question: In regards to the figure than bumped into Daisy, what fears would she see above him?

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

The moment was short-lived as Evangeline promptly apologized in her unique manner before helping her back onto her feet.

"Hhthere is no problems. I am unharmed and..." She opened her bag, scanning over her various tools and samples amongst other things of great variety. "My hitems are intact. Hyes... No problems."

"Good morning as well, Nettle. I apologize on my sisters behalf. Perhaps breakfast would be good for the three of us?" Nettle observed the brief discourse between Livia and Eva regarding her apology, her deep green eyes drifting over to Eva then back to Livia once more. Eva added that she was ready for food as well.

"Hyes... It is hgood. I shall come and partake in breakfast with you both." Nettle turned to depart from the their dorm only to see Max standing out at the hall during his exchange with Evangeline. She didn't note him as he was another face among many but seeing as they passed each other often in these dorm halls he had always struck her as being rather tense. Nothing stood out too strongly but he rarely seemed at ease.

_
When the other two were ready to make their way down to the cafeteria she joined them, following along until a student she didn't recognize approached her. He complained that her companion Nidhogen had left too many apples about the place. Given how many apples were scattered about the hall they were currently in that certainly explained their unusual proliferation. Her mild expression unchanged by this sudden quandary she was posed she brought her left hand up, folding her right arm under the other to support it while she tapped the side of her jaw in contemplation. Looking up her eyes drifted from the left to the right and slowly back again, searching through her brain as she considered the possible solutions to this issue.

"Hh-I shall only be a moment." She looked to Livia and Eva, addressing them before turning her focus back over to the apples in the hallway. Putting her hands together, her fingers lacing over one another at the ends, she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Oublex, The Teeming Spirit, please heed this call...

The air before her seemed to shift, some evanescent force manifesting just barely beyond the scope of human sight. Like transparent smoke filtering into a bottle it coalesced into a singular mass. Dropping onto the floor from only inches above was a small torrent of worms. It was as though they were dripping through reality itself as they manifested in endless droves. Instead of spilling away from each other however these writhing invertebrates seemed to form up, held together by this unseen mold imposed by the force creating them. The rate at which these worms were manifested into reality escalated unto a point where the tower they were forming seemed to surge up into a singular trunk. Once this mass reached a total height of ten feet with a respectable diameter of six feet this small tower of writhing strands ceased to grow.

The mound shuddered as three deep depressions formed along the surface facing Nettle. Two were circular forms meant to depict eye sockets while a deep crease formed what were meant to be lips. It bent forward as though to look down upon she who summoned it.

_
<"Wwhhyy hhaass thoouu ssuummoonneed mmee?"> It spoke in a deep, booming voice that seemed to echo from far deeper within this living mound than would be physically possible. Each word was slow and labored as it's weighty lips bent to pronounce them. It spoke solely in Nettle's native tongue, it's deep powerful tones heaving with the heavy abundance of H's.

<"Oublex, The Teeming Spirit, I humbly offer this feast of apples to you."> She spoke, her words rife with wispy breaths as per the nature of her native language. The mound, every inch of it's body constantly writhing with it's swarm, stood silent as though judging her words for a solid few seconds.

<"Yyoouu sspeeaak ooff ooffeerrss buut I hheeaarr aa rreequueesst.>"

<"It can be both. Do you accept this bounty of fruit?"> After that it took another moment or two as it considered her offer.

<"Iit iiss aadeequuaate."> With that it finally took motion. The quivering mound flattened out lengthwise, rearranging it's form into a long worm shaped mass of smaller worms. Stretching out a fair distance it continued until it was about as about a couple feet in diameter. Now in it's more mobile shape it started to crawl down the length of the hall, it's shuddering body undulating across the smooth stone floor. As it went it sowed worms about the hall, little strands cast off from it's body at the numerous apples which littered the hall. The worms it scattered along it's path crawled upon the littered fruit, getting to work on eating their way through it. Oublex would follow the trail of apples left in Nidhogen's wake, scattering it's swarm about to better feast upon the fruit the other summon had left.

With that finished Nettle set off to catch up with her two dorm-mates. The three made it to the cafeteria before long.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

Nettle was approaching the door when she turned only to see the pale young face of Evangeline lunging towards her at high velocity.

Thud.

The sound was of course her falling to the ground underneath Evangeline, caught fast in her grip as she bowled her over. She looked down to the one pinning her as she rambled on about pancakes and syrup.

"Hhhh... H-I find hthe selection of tree saps havailable in the academy cafeterias are quite hlimited in variety." She gave her own insight into the topic at hand, no sound of perturbance in her tone despite being trapped in Eva's grasp.

"Hhadmittedly I have hnever eaten... Hhh... Panned cake before." As she spoke a small stowaway peeked it's head out from her satchel. It was a long black millipede with white tipped legs. It nimbly climbed from the entrance to her bag out onto the dorm floor, sashaying swiftly across the gap between her and the door before crawling underneath it. Out into the hallway it breached, escaping ever still down the hall to the stairs where it began it's descent into the school proper. All the while Nettle had failed to notice, her attention for the most part consumed by the presence of her two dorm-mates, one of whom had yet to let her back up.

She didn't have anywhere to be immediately. Her only concern really was the state of condition the contents of her satchel were in after taking such a fall with her.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

Through their eyes she watched, set by set like the screens of a camera network. In the relative security of this bathroom in the generally empty hallway Sophia was able to survey the land far greater than she did earlier that day. Well secluded she saw all.

The first sight to catch her notice was a girl dressed in a semi-dress leotard of some form in a top-hat, sparkles lighting the path behind her in a dissipating trail. She did not seem too keen to obfuscate herself from observation so there was little impetus for her to maintain watch over her knowing that she could locate her at a later time with relative ease.

The second sight was another magical girl, this one dressed in military formalwear with green hair and tanned skin. This one seemed a bit more wary of her environment. Sophia contemplated the possibility that she might be looking for something or possibly someone but the more likely answer she concluded was that this was likely just the girl being concerned with running into her fellow contestants on this very contested night. Nonetheless she would need to be careful with her raven's placements lest she draw the green haired one's suspicions.

Then there was a blonde haired girl.

Wait. Something changed.

As she attempted to survey the blonde haired one this magical girl vanished from her view. In surprise she flitted to multiple different ravens all within their proximity in the hopes of catching another glimpse of the girl but the effort was in vain.

What happened?

This was an alarming development. Without being able to observe her she could not tell if the girl was even aware that she was being watched. This recent development raised a wide number of concerns.

What if she could trace them back to me? What if she's able to teleport anywhere she wants at will? Is she coming for me!?

Sophia took herself out of her summon's sights for a moment to glance around the pitch black bathroom. Her sight was well adapted to the dark as a result of her general affinity for darkness but she could see no other company in this room. She was alone... But was she?

She took to watching through her ravens but she narrowed the general area of her view to the last location of the blonde haired girl, the area surrounding the hotel she was in and of course the forest where the other mysterious figure had fled after spying on her.

So early into the competition it would be tragic to lose here. Anything less than securing the wish for herself would ultimately be a total failure for her. However the fact that she was facing such difficulties so early into this battle royale painted a grim look into the future of what the following evenings in the Hex Night held for her.

The Gray Garden: A Crow's Revenge

Excellent to hear. I shall see to writing something up in the near future.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

I should be getting a response up in a similar time frame.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

She began to stir as a small hairy leg was placed upon her shut eye. The tarantula had crawled up upon her during the night, now sitting on her face as the morning light drizzled through the gaps in the vines covering her window. As she opened her one free eye she could see her little roommate looking straight back at her with all eight of it's own.

After a moment of stillness Nettle calmly lifted her arms up from her sides. She laid one hand flat in front of it and used the other to nudge the spider forward gently. With it having crawled up onto her hand she carefully placed the tarantula upon the trunk of the pygmy tree that grew directly above her head.

The waters trembled ever slightly as she rose from the pool of murky water she slept within. The pool was just deep enough to cover most of her body when she was laying flat but shallow enough that she did not risk inhaling water while she slept. The roots of the pygmy tree trapped the water to form this pool. The floor of her room was covered with rich, dark soil that all served as the base for all the plants which grew upon the floor of her room. The soil at the bottom of the pool was rendered a soft mud upon which a species of moss that thrived underneath shallow water grew. The moss helped to hold the mud together without sacrificing it's softness making for a nice bed to sleep upon. At least it was for those who do not mind the bugs, bacteria and other facets that come into play with all of these organic elements present. That pretty much meant only Nettle for the most part.

Standing up from the pool the strange mixture that the water now consisted of dripped from her wet body back into the pool, mixing back into the swirling composition of white, black and translucent blotches. This was of course a result of her adding special salves and other herbal mixtures into the liquid, giving it a nice refreshing feeling and scent while also helping to keep the pores of her skin splendidly clean. It was a far cry from the benefits that dining upon the Caregiver's special stew held but that particular meal was now in limited supply ever since the Caregiver disappeared from their lives. As for the sweat and oils from her body those were taken care of by the roots and moss which happily dined upon the water's rich mixture. While this meant she had to refill the pool after each day this also meant every night she'd rest in a clean, healthy mixture.

_
Though she was introduced to the concept of towels during her year as a tyro she never found such things all too useful. They just wipe away the water along with all the beneficial ingredients she put in said water. She much preferred to let herself dry naturally. That way the water would evaporate but leave the herbal mixture on her skin which prolonged it's usefulness.

As she sat cross-legged upon her carpet of vines, moss and reeds she brushed through her hair with a comb she had made by gluing together two pieces of wood using a particularly sticky sap which hardens with time. The hairs of the brush were particularly stiff whiskers harvested off the giant bodies of Stranglesun Swamp rats that were found dead in the stranglebriar vines and then stuck between the pieces of wood where they're held fast. After working out any tangles in her glistening cascade of moss green hair she got up, now dry for the most part, and went over to the pile she left her clothes in.

She started with a long cloth which she used to wrap around her chest and hips with. The teachers had informed her partway into her tyro year that covering certain areas of her body with undergarments was an expected social norm, especially when wearing robes, so she got into the routine of using a cloth wrap to cover these specified regions of hers. After that she simply slipped on her earthy brown robe, stepped into her oversized hide boots and hung her satchel off the shoulder before stepping up to her door. A small tangle of stranglebriar vines hung in front of the door and several spirit charms and dream catchers hung not only from nails embedded in the door but across the walls of her room and just over her vine-tangled window. These charms and wards she has crafted are enchanted with effects designed to ward off unwelcome spirits from many different venues of approach. These were just a small few of many arcane secrets the Caregiver had imparted upon them. A little something to make life more livable down in the swamp where not all the dangers were always strictly natural.

While stranglebriar vines were notorious for grappling and killing prey for nutrients she knew them well. A big part of surviving these lively thorned lengths was to simply not agitate them. Motion aggravates these vines, especially when caught within them. Calmly she gently lifted them aside like a curtain before opening her door and stepping through, careful not to simply drop the vines as she lowered them with due caution so as to not agitate them.

_
Now out of her room and into the dorm proper Nettle approached the bathroom on her side only to find it locked. Upon testing the handle to discover this a sing-song voice called out to her in response to the knob's rattle.

"One moment~!" The response of her dorm-mate was shortly followed by the unlocking and subsequent opening of the bathroom door. Striding out past her was Tinita Drendle, a fellow student in house Phantasma who was settled in the room on her side of the dorm. With her curly blonde locks bouncing on each step she strode past Nettle with a spring to her stride as always.

"Good morning Nettle~" She merrily greeted Nettle despite not slowing in the slightest in her pace as she approached her own room. Upon her shoulder sat her summon, a cat with long golden fur and a pair of angelic wings. It was playing a soft harmony on the golden harp it carried while it rode almost weightlessly upon Tinita's shoulder. In truth the cat was actually a divine spirit summoned from one of the many heavens. Probably a heaven for cats.

"Hhh... Hgood morning." Nettle answered back plainly in her usual breathy drawn out accent knowing that regardless of her answer Tinita was unlikely to stop and chat. Unlike a fair portion of the students she was familiar with Tinita had class for her first session and she often liked to eat breakfast early so she could arrive early to class as well. It was part of Tinita's efforts to impress the teachers or at least such is how it appeared to Nettle. She didn't hold any strong opinion on her about that. She didn't really understand it but there was also a lot of social intricacies that weren't familiar to her either.

Now in the bathroom Nettle went about her morning bathroom routine as usual. She always made her own toothpaste and after rinsing her mouth out she'd take a type of small dark herb that secreted a transparent, odorless resin which was poisonous and rub her teeth down in it. She found it did a good job at killing off bacteria. It didn't effect her any so all she knew of it were it's benefits.

After she was done she stepped out and proceeded towards the door. She was in no hurry herself since she didn't have class for her first session but food was starting to sound quite welcome to her stomach. In measured form she ambled coolly for the front door.

Just an average start to another normal day at L'Mordryn Academy for Nettle.