Achronum

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: The Feasting Hall
Grimore: N/A
Skills: N/A

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Nicholas nodded at Cal's decision, an eyebrow raising in response to his second point. “I do not write them off; I would have to give them a moment of thought to do so. What reason demands we bare ourselves to the scrutiny of those doomed to death before the turning of a century? The only thing they will leave us with are ghosts to follow us through the eons.” Nicholas replied, grimacing at Cal's observation. “He is a… problem. As foolish as a newborn baby and yet he wears the face of someone… someone who once tried to slay us. I do not know what to make of him.” Nicholas was not prepared to deal with those emotions in the empty hall and did not offer more to the story. Perhaps one day, he would offer it to Cal but tonight was not that. He would do it in the safety of his own domain with a drink or three and whatever manner of illicit substance he could get his hands on. Nicholas did trace the marks on Cal's back with his eyes, admiring what Cal so brazenly showed, before they were off again. If he hadn't already promised himself away, perhaps he would have lured Cal into an evening of indulgence.

Nicholas pressed his hand gently against Cal's for a moment. “It is his age, nothing more I am certain. I am sure there are things I have forgotten I once knew; my mind is not nearly as sharp as yours, and he has outlived both of us. Perhaps we can gather as a coven in his sitting room in the morning. He did offer us full permission and it will serve two purposes at once if it eases your concerns.” Nicholas suggested softly. He may not have the same cares for others but Cal had a special bond with Mikkail and if his friend needed his support, he supposed he could offer it to some degree.

The library was not far and at this hour, not particularly crowded. The more studious types were wrapped up in their work but it held far less that it had earlier. Nicholas navigated them back to the table they were at earlier, well situated in the spaces they would need to draw reference from. “Now, what did our… covenmates scrounge up between them? I do not know how star charts will assist, but I did have a brief, unpleasant interaction with the book he seeks in my earlier years. Perhaps we can use that to find a starting point. Though, between this and Jake and the Contest the other year, I would greatly appreciate it if my past stopped showing up. It bodes ill.” Nicholas sighed.

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Danni Kingston

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Location: Margaret Carter - Winter Carnival: SNow Tubing Slopes
Magic Items: Kingston-Grey Bracelet
First Day Fit: Black Jacket, shirt, skirt, and knee high black combat boots

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WHAM!!!!
Danni let out an ungodly shriek as pain radiated through him and he hit the ground, rolling back and forth as he sobbed. “OMG OMG I'M BLEEDIN’ I'M BLEEDIN’! RILLIE, CALL POPS, CALL PAPA, CALL SOMEONE! I CAN'T ‘AVE A SCAR! I CAN'T PULL OFF T'E RUGGED LOOK! I'D LOOK LIKE A MONSTER! I-” Danni laid out like a starfish, heaving pathetic little whimpers until the pain quickly faded away and he pressed against the tender spots, patting himself down after.“Wait, wait, ‘old on. False alarm. No blood, no breaks, no ruined clot’es! No need for t'e fam!”

Danni popped back up, a little fire to get him going, and shook himself to get the bits of debris off him from the ground. Somehow, his hair was perfectly tousled from the fall. He looked around and frowned. “But Millie! Dee said you were meetin’ Luna Snow. If you weren't meetin’ Luna Snow, who in t'e world is Luna??? Is t'is Luna?” Danni demanded, bouncing around the new girl. “Why are ya so confused? Are ya a timey whimey person? Are ya the person wit’ the lights? What's your beauty routine? Do you want some tips? Oh, do you wanna come ‘an'out wit’ us? Millie's reaaaaal good at sin'in’ so we could ‘it t'e karaoke. Oh! Maybe t'e music will brin’ back your memories, ‘cause like music is ‘ealin’ and all t'at right, Milli-illi-illi-pede? Oh, I'm Danni btw, t'is is t'e siblin’ Rillie, and t'at's t'e cuz Milli-illi-illi-pede. Do you wanna like, get somet'in’ ta eat? T'at can ‘elp too or like some ‘ot chocolate or- Hm, no can't do t'at. We made walls outta t'at.” Danni paused to look at Rillie.

“Could we still drink it? Like, can we water bend it into drink able chocey milk? T'at kinda sound fire rn, no cap.” Danni threw himself at April, clinging to them. “Pls. T'e water bent chocey milk. I need it.”

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: The Feasting Hall
Grimore: N/A
Skills: N/A

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Nicholas watched Cal flirt with the children before they wandered away, even his brother in tow. “Hm. Barty must find them amusing; he'd rather let a man die than help him for free. My sympathies to them.” Nicholas chuckled once the group made their way to the dungeons. “Perhaps he'll even let some of them come back vaguely sane this time.”

Nicholas considered the question, but there really only was one answer. “The library. We may need additional resources to make sense of what they found; I'd rather have everything on hand than need to take notes or disrupt our focus because we took an extended trip away from our workspace.” Nicholas decided, leading the way out of the hall before he reconsidered. “We also could step into the Professor's study if we think finding a way to decode his language could be of use? The message he left may help us in this. Though, we may well have time to do both. We'll start with what our covenmate brought us and we'll see how our time takes us. You left the material in your dorm? Then we shall be off.”

The trip to the dorm and then subsequently to the study was unhurried, Nicholas happy to enjoy the stroll after the meal. He enjoyed them when he had the opportunity to indulge and when they stopped at the shifter's dorm, he waited at the door and watched Cal collect his things.

“Did your last meeting with the Professor quell your concerns or should we continue our prior conversation?”

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Danni Kingston

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Location: Margaret Carter - Winter Carnival: SNow Tubing Slopes
Magic Items: Kingston-Grey Bracelet
First Day Fit: Black Jacket, shirt, skirt, and knee high black combat boots

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Danni’s eyes were screwed shut as they both screamed, praying that the family wasn’t watching the stream; otherwise, if they survived this, they were so so so grounded. He wasn’t ready to die, he wanted to do so many things: he wanted to win next year’s Contest, he wanted to go to the Valley of the Moon, he wanted to have a croissant, he wanted to play with Amelie, he wanted to take a nap in his bed, he wanted to-

The screaming didn’t stop as they touched down safely, Danni needing a little time to register they were safe and alive. He cracked open one eye as his screaming dwindled and took his face out of Rillie’s back. He patted the ground a few times to make sure it was real and then hopped to his feet laughing. Danni dragged Rillie to their feet and yanked them around in a twirling dance. “We’re alive, we’re alive, WE’RE ALIVE!” Danni laughed like a madman, repeating it over and over hysterically. “T’at was so scary! I t’ought we were goners for sure! I just ‘ope t’e fam wasn’t watchin’- OMG T’E STREAM!” Danni dove for the phone, snatching it up as he read through the chat.

“Sorry ‘bout t’at everyone! Def a little touch or go right t’ere for a sec, but we’re all safe and sound!” Danni pondered over April’s question. It definitely wasn’t Percy; that’s the only not Boyf he could think of considering how much the internet insisted that GreekFire was a thing. “No, Spicy’s port doesn’t feel like t’at, ya know? Its more like POP ya know? Like, everything is just in t’ere all at once kinda deal. T’is was like, super gentle comin’ down. Like, so gentle I didn’t even notice it at first. Kinda reminded me of Vicky when she flew me around so maybe it was ‘er? I’ll ‘ave ta ask! And t’en t’ank ‘er wit’ 100 hugs ‘cause like, def our ‘ero!.” Danni nodded decisively and then explained to the chat.

“Vicky ‘as t’ese fancy t’in’s t’at like, make ya float so I t’ink it was ‘er! We’re all gucci, Sauna Boi. Not a single ‘air ‘urt on my perfect ‘ead, see?” Danni made sure Chase could see him from all angles and then peered at a new chat notification from him texts,clicking on it and screaming, yanking Rillie over. “NO faaaaaaair! Milli-illi-illipede gets ta meet Luna Snow?! I want ta meet ‘er too! OMG, we could get t’em ta take photos toget’er and get t’eir autographs! We gotta- I gotta- Okay bye chat, love you, have fun, don’t do t’is at ‘ome unless ya ‘ave really great friends!” Danni ended the stream and fired back a text to Dorian and Millie before he grabbed April’s hand and booked it for the fortune teller’s tent, snow tube forgotten.

Millie, Dorian

“MILLIE ODNGTB YOUY DARE MOVE! I”:M COYUMING!!!!!!

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: The Feasting Hall
Grimore: N/A
Skills: N/A

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Nicholas finished his meal in relative peace, ignoring the chattering of the table. He was certainly uninterested in the mysterious head beneath the school; they'd survived this long by avoiding trouble, not searching for it, and he found no reason to change his ways now. Cal mentioned a tea that would be beneficial to Willow in some way and his attention was caught at his explanation of the Professor's direction. Offering chaos magic to a thing of madness? What a strange plan.

“Unless you wish for solitude, I would join you, Cal. The sooner we complete this distasteful mystery, the better and I would not care to idle about if we could set ourselves to the task.” Nicholas stated as he finished his drink. It had been some time since a stout had been on their menu. Perhaps their next trip out they'd find an interesting brew. “Plus, I may be able to offer some insight into what our covenmate found that younger memories may have left out.”

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Danni Kingston

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Location: Margaret Carter - Winter Carnival: SNow Tubing Slopes
Magic Items: Kingston-Grey Bracelet
First Day Fit: Black Jacket, shirt, skirt, and knee high black combat boots

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Danni's confusion was left behind at the top of the ramp as they went flying, cackling wildly as he kept up the flames to push them forward. He should have flown over the carnival years ago - it was such a pretty sight and the weightlessness of letting them move freely without anything pushing them up left butterflies in his stomach. It was like that amazing moment before the drop on a rollercoaster when you hit the pinnacle and everything else, everyone else, all the problems of the world just fell away before you went hurling into the ground.

Danni blinked.

The fire flickered out.

He glanced at the chat.

Oh no.

“OMG RILLIE, WHAT ARE WE GUNNA DOOOOO!” Danni screamed as they fell away from the crest of their flight, the concrete of the school ground rushing up to meet them. Danni flailed as the butterflies poured out as screams and he wrapped himself around Rillie. He tried, he tried so hard, but he couldn't muster the flames to stop them. He did, however, manage to get a single jet of flame to pop out long enough to send them into a spiral. “OMG SAUNA BOI TURN OFF T'E STREAM, TURN OF T'E STREAM!!!!” Danni screamed as they plummeted to a stoney death.

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: The Feasting Hall
Grimore: N/A
Skills: N/A

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Nicholas glanced across the other table where the artificer boy spoke to his brother and him. Nicholas could not recall ever carrying a conversation with HIM that invited the familiarity with which he spoke, but things were strange at these tables already. “I do not know of who you speak so I doubt we offered an invitation.” Nicholas replied plainly, ignoring Cal's plaything and his brother enjoying this back and forth they'd found themselves in. Certainly leave it to Barty to enjoy playing with the prickliest thing in the room. His attention however, was certainly torn away to the door.

Three magpies flew in on a violent breeze and a cascade of fallen leaves trailed in their wake. Even Nicholas couldn't help but chuckle at their chosen resting place, the boy with the spirit of a tree coursing through his veins an appropriate choice. The working of omens were old magic, far less often these days as the world buckled beneath steel and concrete and apathy, but his memory had not faded enough to forget it was one of ill tidings, related to death, and Nicholas sent an I told you so stare across the table to his brother. However, Rohan seemed familiar enough with it himself and he turned his attention back to his dining companion.

“Barty prefers roughhousing to pleasantries. It is simply how he is; she will adjust or she will leave.” Nicholas shrugged, not offering any further explanation into his twin's nature. “Disney is an entity that offers children's fantasies for coin. Their Princesses are royalty that are frequently found favored from nature spirits and animals as an indication of purity of heart and wellspring of kindness.”

Nicholas glanced across the table at Cal, a questioning look sent his way as the room chattered about heads and birds.

Camp Lava Lake

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Location: Camp Lava Lake Campground
Skills: N/A
Outfit: Outfit

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Aster grabbed some of his own food and nearly jumped out of his own skin at the sight of Em covered in filth. “Yes, it's bearable for now.” Aster answered, offering her an aggressive side eye as well. “But to be clear, it's acceptable for humans, not swamp things so please make sure to rinse off before entering.” Aster took a bite, humming contently as cheesy goodness filled his mouth. He'd had to sit there while smelling it cook after scrubbing his hands raw getting stains of who knows what and mildew and dust and insect carapaces out of the cabin before anyone could actually survive in it. He remembered however, that Marco had specifically added a hot dog for him to try and he grabbed one hesitantly.

Aster rolled his eyes at where he found Zeke's shirt. “Yes, yes, we're all glad whatever tension there was between you when you first showed up is resolved. Yay for the happy couple, but all it took was an hour? I feel like we've just witnessed some sort of record.” Aster drawled, forestalling his first taste of a hot dog. It was a bland looking thing. It reminded him of a sausage without the obvious spices mixed into the meat. It was firm to the touch and he couldn't quite place the meat it was made of and it looked, for all intensive purposes, like a dog toy. He sighed and used a knife to cut a piece off, popping it hesitantly in his mouth. He chewed, confused at the flavor, but ultimately wrinkled his nose and pushed it away.

“I will not partake in that anymore. I don't know what is in it and I certainly won't put something like that in me. Let the cat have his fill.” Aster waved at it dismissively, guesting at Demi.

Avengers Academy: X of Swords ⚔️

Danni Kingston

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Location: Margaret Carter - Winter Carnival: SNow Tubing Slopes
Magic Items: Kingston-Grey Bracelet
First Day Fit: Black Jacket, shirt, skirt, and knee high black combat boots

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Danni looks at April confusedly as they threw themselves into the tube. “Rillie, what t'e ‘eck? I was tryin’ ta take t'e ‘eat for ya. Or were ya pullin’ my leg when ya told me ya weren't interested. Omg, did ya think I was trying ta steal ‘er from ya? Omg, Rilliiiiie I wouldn't do t'at! Do you wanna do a do-over, like I can tots my goats like trip or somet'in’ and ya can look sups cool savin’ me or somet'in’ or like, I can like ya know do somet'in’ else real dumb and like, try ta do a cartwheel down t'e slope and ya can be like She-’ulk and save me or like… do, somet'in’ but don'tcha worry I'm not gunna try ta steal yur gal!” Danni promised, crossing his heart and holding out his pinky to pinky promise.

“Omg!” Danni screamed as shadow hands appeared, nearly bumping the tube down the slope as he tumbled in. He thrashed around for a second, trying to reach his phone as it stayed in place, and he ended up halfway onto April with Amélie screaming with excitement at their roughhousing while she tried to bite at the pair of them. Danni squinted at the screen and beamed. “Aw Sauna Boi, you really do love me.” Danni blew a kiss at the screen and winked.

“Make sure Bennie Boi gets all bundled up in t'e blankets and give ‘im extra cuddles for me!” Danni instructed cheerfully before he wiggled his way off April and plopped down behind them, legs bracketing them. “Okay chat! It me, HotShot, and my favorite sis Cascade ‘ere ta try and do some crazy stuff! Today, we're gunna try out ‘hardest ta break t'e world record snow tubing speed! What's t'at record, you say? I don't know so we just gotta go fast and ‘ope we're doin' it right! And I think I spy a Vicky down at t'e bottom! Hiiiiiii Vicky!!!” Danni waved eagerly, shifting the tube forward a little further.

“Whelp, nothing else ta do but get goin’ now and no where else ta go but down!” Danni conjured fire in his hands, stuck his arms out behind him, and let as much fire loose as he could. The wind whipped around them and they shot past the other tubes like a rocket, Danni cackling wildly as Amélie balanced on his shoulder and spread her wings and caught him in the mouth.

Strange Academy: Journey into Mystery

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Location: The Feasting Hall
Grimore: N/A
Skills: N/A

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He regretted opening his mouth.

The deluge of information spewing from Jake's mouth felt like someone shining a light in his eyes: meaningless but overwhelming. People did not speak to him in such aggressive bursts, even Cal kept their conversations calm and on point with thoughtful, considerate insight when they weren't flirting, but Jake just said anything that came to mind. Nicholas checked out of the conversation after the first few sentences and an attempt to involve him in some strange calming ritual that he desired to have no part in. He patted Jake on the head as he finished up his story and turned his attention to the mystery meat everyone seemed so enthralled in.

Nicholas cut a piece off and took a bite, rolling it around his tongue to get the flavors. Finley was correct - it tasted like it had been hunted fresh. Nicholas shrugged and continued. It was not unlike the food from simpler times, before the age of refrigeration allowed for fatty animals to be slaughtered en masse and shipped around the world, when you ate what was local or you starved. He took a sip of his stout to wash down his meal and sighed at the news a head was found. He glanced at his twin, sending a thought across their link.

I knew we should have abandoned this place when we could. There was a contemplative pause. But perhaps, an opportunity. We have yet to gain a favor from Connie.

“My brother is playing a poor joke. He is speaking to you.” Nicholas grabbed Jake's hand, where he was waving it aggressively at anyone he could, and held it under the table. "Practice your breathing exercise and settle down. In fact, I believe Willow could use it as well. She seems particularly anxious again.” Nicholas nodded towards the moth girl. She'd been a nervous wreck since the library; Nicholas wasn't particularly knowledgeable in the Sight but what little divination he'd attempted early in his life was exhausting and he had no doubt she was overwhelmed with the ghosts that lingered in these halls.

“I have not seen them hunt during my outings into our woods nor have I seen signs of traps.” Nicholas offered in response to Finley.