canaryrose

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-389

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-383

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-381

《 H. E. R. O. 》

Patricia giggled breathlessly, tightening her arms on Eliza. She really was alright! Heart soaring despite the situation, she swayed with the shorter girl for perhaps a moment or two longer than was necessary, dancing to some inaudible music that only she knew. “I love you.” It was said simply, but full of intent. Making sure no one was watching, Patricia pressed a chaste kiss to Eliza’s forehead, drawing away quickly and blushing. “Sorry. I’m just- I’m just so glad that you’re okay.” She fiddled with her own hair, spinning it around her index finger and smiling sheepishly.

Just then, a chorus of ringtones went off- Patricia’s among them. Hers was the original Samsung ringtone, as she had never bothered to go through the effort of changing it. Her eyebrows furrowed. Hadn’t their phones been taken? If not, then why hadn’t H.E.R.O just tracked them? Following Grace, she retrieved her phone and Eliza’s from Nero’s hiding place. It was purple, much like everything else she owned. She entered her passcode, reading the message carefully. It was an order from Powers. He wanted them to go to Club 27? To Kingsdale? Patricia didn’t even know where they were right now. This was going to be hard.

She saw Grace open a purple portal from out of the corner of her eye and blinked. Was there something out there? She should probably follow- it looked like Grace wanted them to anyways. Patricia went back to grab Eliza’s hand and to hand her her phone. “Come on, let’s get out of here,” she told Eliza. “Powers wants us to meet up at the Wings of Laws’s headquarters, for some reason. We can go home afterwards. Get some sleep.” Patricia gently tugged Eliza with her into the portal, going through to the other side.

As soon as she went through, she felt a slight nausea creep up on her. It was the same as every time she went through Grace’s portals, of course, but it got better every time. She didn’t throw up anymore, though, which was good! Still, though, it was sickening, and she had to stop for a moment to catch her breath. And her stomach. Once she recovered herself, she glanced up, looking at Grace and the person she was talking to. He didn’t sound like a villain- in fact, he sounded kind of delusional. Patricia rolled her eyes and strode forward, ready to introduce herself. If he was a hero, she might as well. She was just about to when she was interrupted- by a horribly familiar voice. She turned around, dread filling her chest.

Of course. It was fucking Starbright. Her mild annoyance turned to full-blown irritation, a vein twitching in her neck. And of course he had brought his fucking paparazzi. The teenage girl looked at the superstar with derision in her gaze, like he was an ant and she was the thing about to step on him. She knew exactly what he wanted. To claim their success, their own resourcefulness, for himself. Just like the Wings and everybody else, and there was no way Patricia was letting that happen. So she'd make a fool out of him.

Plus, his music really sucked.

“Of course you’re here,” she groaned, slinging her head back. “And you brought one of your stalkers. Great. He can’t be here, you know. Confidential H.E.R.O business and all. Not that you’d know anything about that.” She turned to Chad after his comment, glaring. “I’m Patricia, by the way, or Aria. Whatever the hell you want, I don't care. And he didn’t save us. We saved ourselves, because we’re real heroes, unlike this third-rate poser over here.” She gestured to Starbright, not turning her gaze from Chad.

Then, looking very irritated, Patricia strode over to the paparazzi, putting a hand very firmly over his camera and the other over his forearm. Then, suddenly, she yanked it away, tossing it down the street. It broke as it bounced, pieces scattering everywhere. Her original thought had been to mind control him, of course, but had quickly ruled that out as a little too villain-like for her. Wouldn’t want to be completely demonized. “You can go now,” she told him.

Patricia glanced to Grace, who was looking very starstruck right now. Figures. The girl did have Starbright posters in her bedroom. She stared at her, looking almost disappointed before speaking. “Grace,” she snapped. “Stop undressing this man-child with your eyes and focus. We have somewhere we need to be, remember? He's not even worth it, anyways.”

@Hitman@Amethyst@Duoya@Jumbus

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-375

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

Calypso exhaled, relieved. Drugs terrified her, even magical ones. It wasn’t the actual high that she feared, though- it was getting caught. So she was thankful that Dakota had listened to her protestations before going out into the woods and doing it anyways. She wouldn’t want Dakota to be caught either- covering for her would be a nightmare. At Dakota’s compliment, she grinned sheepishly and giggled. ”No, you.” She shoved Dakota lightly with one hand and laughed at her (not that funny) joke. Then, her face grew wistful. She had something to say. “But seriously, I agree. This summer should be awesome. We kind of all grew apart in our teen years- maybe this’ll give us all a chance to connect again as a group. We’re stuck together for the rest of our lives, after all.”

Calypso lifted her head when she heard a voice nearby that she quickly identified as Maggie’s. “Hey… mind if I join you two? Kate and Isolde are telling ghost stories, which isn’t exactly my scene,”Maggie said. Calypso’s face lit up with another full smile, and she waved Maggie over, patting the ground next to her. “‘Course we don’t mind! Come on, sit down right here, I don’t think we were planning on telling any ghost stories anyways. But we’re still having fun! Yeah, ooh, like that bracelet, mhm. Astro is such a good boy.” Calypso booped the ferret’s nose and laughed.

But then, a very unwelcome voice, unlike Maggie’s, sounded from nearby. Calypso’s eyes, too, snapped to Summer, who was yelling about… the bracelet? Summer’s fury was obvious. The way she insulted Dakota almost made Calypso furious, too- Dakota wasn’t a thief!- but she managed to take a breath, planning to speak somewhat calmly and rationally to her, but Dakota spoke first. Calypso sighed. As much as she loved her friend, she was not very… diplomatic. “Dakota,” she hissed. “You’re not hel-” Before she could finish her sentence, though, Summer had rushed towards them in a fit of fury, shoving Dakota roughly into the ground. “HEY!” she yelled, her own temper mounting. She looked up at Summer, lips pressed together in a hard line and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She would’ve cast something (a forcefield or a binding spell, she was thinking, nothing violent), but before she could… a weight disappeared out of her arms. Calypso glanced down, startled. But that startle turned to horror. Astro was gone. She looked up, frantically glancing around for her tiny charge. She found him quickly, but not in the way she wanted to. Her heart dropped like a stone. Summer had somehow snatched Astro- Dakota’s familiar- from her arms, and held his tiny body in the air, taunting Dakota with it.

Calypso jumped up from the ground, preparing some very not-nice words for Summer. But then, Dakota went into action. Dakota disappeared and turned into a blurred figure for less than a second, feather-stepping up to Summer. Calypso watched, half awestruck and half horrified, as Dakota roundhouse punched Summer in the face. What she wanted to do was stop the fight- like Charlie and Jeremy were trying to do, bless their hearts- but… she saw Summer let go of the ferret. Shit! Calypso cast a spell in a split second, choosing the first one she could think of- Magic Hands. It was a fairly common spell among witches, uncomplicated, but hard to keep up for long. Shimmery, transparent yellow arms shot from directly under Calypso’s real arms. They extended the entire way in a flash, catching Astro just before he hit the ground. They came back in much the same way, shrinking back into Calypso’s torso until Astro was neatly deposited into her own hands. After the spell was over, she gasped for breath, holding the squirmy ferret tight in her hands. But the energy she gave up was much less than it usually was. Plus, her magic had felt… different. A tinge of something foreign that had not always been there.

Nevermind that. Calypso glanced to Charlie and Jeremy, giving the both of them a thumbs-up but subtly shaking her head. They had the wrong approach. “Dakota!” she yelled, stopping for a second to breathe afterwards. “Astro’s fine- come on, you know Summer’s not about to stop being a bitch! It’s probably not hers, yeah, but it’s probably just a little piece of costume jewelry or something! We can get one just like it for five dollars at Claire’s or something, it’s practically worthless. Not worth fighting her over!” Calypso yelled at her friend, trying to get her to see reason. She held up the ferret. Hopefully that would put some sense in her.

@Hitman@KaijuBaragon@Danvers@Rabidporcupine@Melissa

《 H. E. R. O. 》

“Oh, thank God,” Patricia muttered as Brie came running up with the keycard. She stepped out of the way for Rumi to unlock the elevator doors. It was almost as if Patricia was imitating Eliza- she fidgeted with her hands, nerves running high. If any of the few video games she had ever played were accurate, this would be the big boss fight. And Eliza and Grace’s lives hung in the balance. Realizing what she was doing, Patricia shook her head. Was she so tired she was making video game references now?! Caffeine would be tempting later, but what she really needed was some sleep. Drug-induced sleep didn’t count. As the elevator reached the top, she went to the front of the group, ready to sing and knock Nero the fuck out.

But then the doors opened… and Nero didn’t attack. Patricia blinked, looking around, confused. Grace must’ve knocked him out, she deduced, because he was lying on the ground looking battered in the corner. She only half-listened to Grace talk, eyes focusing in on Eliza, taking in her injured state. Grace was right. She didn’t look too hot. Her face still slackened with relief, though- she didn’t appear dead. If she was hurt, she’d come back from it. But it still wrenched her heart.

Patricia nodded curtly at Grace. “I’m on it.” She rushed over to Eliza and tugged on her zip ties. “Give me that!” she snapped at Tom, snatching the boxcutter from his grip as soon as he was done with it. With all the care and gentleness in the world, Patricia snapped away at the boxcutters tying Eliza to the wall, making sure not to get her skin. Then, as the last zip tie fell off, Patricia wrapped her arms around the shorter girl and lifted her off the wall, embracing her.

“Ellie. Ellie. Ellie, come on, babe,” she soothed, hugging Eliza tight. She knew that she might be feeling some sensory issues right now, and she didn’t really know how to deal with that, but she figured hugs and pet names might be an okay place to start. “It’s okay. You have no idea how happy I am you're safe. Are you okay? I saw it on the TV and I wanted to punch him in the face so bad but I couldn't but now I can but I didn't because I want to make sure you're alright and I was so worried oh my God...” After her tirade, she glanced over to Nero, debating in her head whether to go over there and talk to him or not. Her power would be good for getting the truth out of him, and she was secretly relishing the idea of mind-controlling him, but… this was more important. She loved Eliza more than she wanted to inflict her revenge. In fact, she wanted to kiss the other girl right now… and she almost did. But she could save it for later. After all, they were still a secret- so she settled for hugging. Hugging was good. Hopefully.

@Amethyst@KaijuBaragon@Hitman

Men vs. Women Race to 1000: Version 2.0

-373

Wellington Academy ₊*

---

_{Location: Rest Stop -> Front Gates Interactions: Elysia @alexfangtalon Date: August 24th, 6:25 AM -> 7:00 AM}

---

Just a little before 6:30 AM, a white Pilot pulled up to the rest stop. There was an Uber sticker on both the rear and passenger windows of the car- it didn’t belong to a parent. The driver was far too young to be one anyways. There was a high-school aged girl in the backseat, too, dark-skinned and curly-haired. Ramona had hired the Uber to drive from the airport to Wellington Academy. The car stayed parked at the stop after it had pulled up, the engines still going. Then, after a minute or so, the back door popped open and Ramona hopped out. With a heavy grey duffel bag already slung over her shoulder, she raced to the trunk and popped it open. With effort, she planted her feet in the ground and hefted two suitcases out, dropping them on the ground once she was done. Once everything was out of the trunk, she gave a thumbs-up to the driver and he drove away, leaving her alone at the rest stop.

Ramona could barely keep her eyes open as she tugged her suitcases over to where she thought the coach would pick them up, staggering the entire way. At this point, she had been awake for… she checked the leather watch on her wrist and sighed. 20 hours. It wasn’t that the flight from Miami to Vermont had been that long. The plane ride had taken only five hours, and she had spent half of it trying to sleep and the other half trying to read Chinese literature. So it hadn’t been that. Rather, it had been all the extra time. She had gotten to the airport three hours before her flight, and it had laid over in Philadelphia, which took another two hours. A
Starbucks had been her guardian angel in Philly, but apparently it had been too early for the coffee shop in Burlington to open when she landed. And, even then, she hadn’t had enough time to get coffee once she landed- she had had to race across a deserted airport to her 4 AM Uber. The drive to Wellington Academy had taken them winding through dark, unpaved mountain roads for nearly two hours, with no coffee in sight. So now, at 6:30 AM, her eyes were trying their best to betray her by closing and lulling her into sleep.

With her bright yellow-painted nails, she pinched the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist, jarring herself back to being three-quarters awake. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she glanced around and nearly lost her breath. The New England wilderness was only missing a blanket of snow to make it a proper winter wonderland. Even here, from the road, it was breathtaking. Mountainous and covered in what seemed to be some sort of tree, it was radically different from the wilderness of Florida. The sun was steadily rising It was August, and it was cold even now. Realizing the chill, Ramona tugged her zip-up jacket closed, sticking her hands in its pockets. Maybe she had brought too many tank-tops for the climate here. As of right now, even her current outfit didn’t seem to be enough- a black zip-up hoodie from Hollister, exercise pants, and slides with socks. She was wearing sunglasses, too, which didn’t seem to be too necessary. She took note of the other students around her, dark brown eyes skimming over the few other students that had arrived this early. She yawned, anxious for the coach to arrive.

She had been waiting for this moment for what felt like eons, although she knew she had only applied 6 months ago. This school sounded perfect to her. Ramona was good at math and science and history, sure, but what she loved was languages. And it turned out that trying to focus on things that she didn’t love led her to crash and burn. But no school except Wellington would let her forgo the general curriculum and instead pursue her interests. It had been a miracle when she had been accepted, and now she was here- actually here. Or about to be. She wondered what her classes would be like. Or her roommate- it said on the information sheet she had been given that her roomie’s name was Evelyn Albright. She liked to imagine that her roommate spoke a language that she didn’t know yet, but she had looked her up and found only mentions of piano competitions and recitals. She hadn’t been able to find any videos, though. That was probably her thing, her special Wellington skill. Ramona just hoped that her piano playing wouldn’t interrupt her studying.

Finally, the coach pulled up to the rest stop. Ramona had never seen a coach before, and was honestly kind of expecting a horse-drawn buggy. But, much to her disappointment (?), it just kind of looked like a bus. Not wanting to take too long, Ramona let everybody else go before her, finally dragging her heavy suitcases and bag onto the coach with her and sitting in one of the front seats. The seat beside her was left empty, so she could scoot over to the window seat and gaze outside without any feeling of guilt.

The scenery seen from the Wellington coach was even more beautiful than from the road. Ramona watched, captivated, as the coach cut through the slim forest road, the boughs of the pine trees brushing against the windows. The thin morning light filtered through the forest, casting leafy shadows on the windows. The coach bumped as it went over rocks and divots in the dirt path, and when Ramona thought that it couldn’t get any cooler, a tunnel appeared ahead. She pressed her cheek to the window, aiming to see what laid ahead of them. The tunnel appeared to be the entrance into the Academy- after all, that was what it said. Her ears popped, and she made a squeak of discomfort. And then, it passed through the tunnel. A gorgeous mural covered the insides of the tunnel. Ramona pressed her hands against the window, wanting a closer look, but it disappeared within seconds as the coach sped past the tunnel and started to struggle up, up, up, further up the mountain. I didn’t think that mountains could be this high, she thought, hands pressed to the window as the coach struggled through the path.

They pulled up to the gates a few minutes later. The doors of the coach popped open, and Ramona gazed out for a moment or so, marveling at the exquisite gates. She caught herself doing this and then, groaning, pulled her duffel back onto her shoulder and hauled her suitcases out of the coach, muttering a “thank you” to the driver before hopping out.

Attempts to focus on getting to where she needed to be were not enough. Instead of looking for the other incoming students, Ramona trudged up to the statues and simply stared. She cocked her head. They looked vaguely… Greek? Roman? Like goddesses of some sort. Athena and… she couldn’t quite place the other one. Before she quite knew what she was doing, her right hand was touching the statue. She yanked it away quickly.

She looked around for a moment more, finding the spot where she had been told to wait for her cottage leader and standing there. She was a bit too tired to initiate conversation, with anyone, so she chose not to.

Then, a shorter girl approached her, holding out a notecard. Ramona blinked. Did I drop one of my flashcards? But she was sure that her flashcards were in her supplies suitcase… she took the card, reading it, and popped her head up. Her mouth formed an “o”. She was mute. And from Zinnia Cottage!

“Oh, it’s awesome to meet you! I’m Ramona Hernandez.” She waved to the younger girl, smiling widely and naturally. “That’s funny, because I’m in Zinnia Cottage too. I don’t think you’re my roommate, though. I’m a sophomore, but I just enrolled this year…” Ramona trailed off, glancing to the side.

“Anyways, since you’re, uh, mute, do you speak ASL? Sign? Whatever. My Wellington thing is that I’m a polyglot. I’m trying to learn ASL right now, but I’m not very good at it, like, at all. It’s kind of hard to practice and stuff because it’s not written or anything and I have to memorize all the… nevermind. Just wondering.”

The Sisters of the Dying Branch

A soft smile came onto Calypso’s face as Dakota spoke. Her words didn’t make her feel completely better, but that gut-clenching mortification was somewhat diluted. Calypso tugged down her hood (which was quite adorable) and rolled out her sleeping bag parallel to the fire. “I guess. Thanks, though. You’re way too nice.” Dakota would find herself wrapped in a crushing side-hug a moment later. Luckily, Calypso had washed her face of vomit after the ritual, so the hug was not accompanied by the aroma of Calypso’s regurgitated dinner. She let go after maybe a moment too long and leaned back on her hands, surveying the rest of the group. Most of them were sitting by the campfire, talking to each other. Maybe she’d go join them in a moment! It was kinda cold over here… and the dark undergrowth was starting to creep her out.

Her attention was snapped away from the rest of the group by Dakota again- and this time, Astro too! Calypso cooed at the little rodent. Never having been able to settle on her own familiar, she had instead always fawned over those of her peers. Astro was one of her favorites. Even if he was a little bitey. “Ooh, yes please!” Calypso squeed, extending her arms for Astro to climb onto her. Tiny claws dug into her arm as he climbed up it, and she laughed, picking the little squirmy monster back up and putting him against her chest, which he promptly snuggled against. After getting Astro settled, she glanced back up at Dakota and scrutinized the bracelet. “What a lucky find! It’s totally pretty- you should keep it. I bet it would impress, like, a boy or something.” It looked kind of familiar to Calypso, but she shoved the thought aside. She must’ve seen it on the Internet or something. “Astro is such a good boy for finding you that bracelet!” She made kissy faces at the ferret, who only responded with a cackle.

When Dakota asked to go deeper in the forest and get high, the smile dropped off of Calypso’s face. She bit her lip. Then, Iris spoke up very loudly, and she bit her lip even more. Drugs made her nervous, and so did the woods. The both of them combined, though? Even more nervous. “You know, I don’t think… that that’s such a good idea? It’s just... the woods, and who knows what’s out there at 1 AM? Also, um…” She struggled to come up with an another reason as to why they should not get high in the forest, and her eyes alighted upon Charlie. He had just said that loud thing about not getting high, though. “Charlie’ll totally snitch. Maybe some other time, though?”

@Hitman