Estylwen

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Wingram Academy, Main Building
@Nanaya @ERode

---

"I've been given a special privilege in this... weeding out process. This divine culling."

The resistance this academy gave really was on purpose. But why? Why did they only want a few select Ethos?

Her expression darkened as she spotted the eyes watching her, keeping pace as she ran through the hallways. Was that how this student was keeping tabs on her?

All hints of the auditorium's location were destroyed. Maps, directories. Hastily torn away. It was either this student's doing, or some of the teachers who were heavily interested in causing more difficulty than they initially intended.

She felt a positive response while sending out an SOS on her telepathic link, her feet hitting the floor at a rapid pace. But, before she could get the full message out, something grabbed ahold of her. Her entire body froze up, and instead of turning the corner, she smashed into the wall of the hallway, a surprised whimper escaping her gritted teeth.

The dread set in instantly, her blood running cold as a new Voice spoke, either inside or outside of her head, she couldn't tell. She only knew blinding fear. The air was heavy with blood-curdling darkness. She couldn't see the hallway or the approaching Mannekins. She could only feel the claws digging into her skull.

"Time will progress apace, and as I am time, I decide when to move. You forget yourself. Perhaps a thoughtful begging will see you with more fortunate results."

"P-please don't kill me-" Was all she managed to think before she was released, her thin frame trembling, supporting herself against the wall as she tried to regain her breath.

The voice over the loudspeaker pulled her out of her existential dread just in time to see the glossy wig-wearing Mannekin sailing through the air, the space between them charged with static. She hissed, snapping back just in time, the bat catching the curls of her hair as it missed its mark by a hair's breadth.

The ground shook, tossing Ciara back as she took the full brunt of the shockwave. She landed roughly, rolling to a stop on the floor, body twitching as lighting sparked over her body. The air was charged with singed hair and dust. She coughed weakly, trying to drag herself off the floor. She could hear footsteps. A bat scraping the floor as the lead Mannekin drew closer, others close behind.

"I'm hungry." Came the child-like Voice, whining. It echoed her thoughts, feeling the ache in her stomach. It was more pronounced in this moment. It always was when she was in pain. Her entire body was covered in bruises. Her mind still felt sore. It hurt.

"I'm... hungry." She thought again, half-raised off the floor, squinting up at the Mannekin towering over her, raising the bat for a final strike.

"I'm... HUNGRY!" She cried out, her shadow reacting faster than the bat could be swung. Tentacles sprung at the leader Mannekin like a python, constricting around its torso and limbs, wrapping tighter as she gritted her teeth. Her eyes darted to the other approaching Mannekin, and another tentacle sprung forward, knocking them off their feet with a heavy blow.

Ciara stood, drawing the Mannekin closer to her. There was a maroon gleam in her eye, her expression darkening. She was so Hungry it hurt. Everything hurt. Her prey, squirming in front of her, was full of essence. Delicious essence. More so than the limp grass in her satchel. She wanted it... needed it...

She brought the Mannekin face level, tentacles squeezing tight enough that she heard a pop somewhere in its 'spine,' and the Mannekin went limp. Drool escaped the edge of her mouth as she leaned forward, preparing to consume it, to breathe its essence in.

Before cracks of thunder echoed behind her head.

She blinked out of a near-drunken daze, alerted to the sound of another Mannekin toppling over. Ciara looked over, finding the dark one with his pistol raised, entering the hallway from what appeared to be a classroom. He had shot down the Mannekins that had tried to jump her unaware as she was, well, fully engrossed at the prospect of Eating.

"It interrupted-" The Voice whined, recognizing her new friend, yet torn at the prospect of nearly being satisfied.

"It saved us." She thought, coming back into her senses a bit more.

Self-conscious. Hasily, she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, offering her friend a prize: the leader of the Mannekins, wrapped tightly in shadowy tentacles.

"It can't move. I think I snapped something in its torso. Do what you want with it."

Her eyes glanced at her friend's companion, the boy with winged boots. She recognized him from before. She stared curiously, noting he only seemed slightly banged up, before swatting at a Mannekin trying to attack him from behind. Her tentacle retracted, eyes veering to the Mannekin that was now sailing towards the far wall.

"It... looks kind of delicious." Said the Voice, watching the winged boot boy with interest.

"It... does..." She thought, eyeing the boy curiously, her face a blank. She painfully remembered she had been interrupted before Eating the Mannekin of its essence, and was still somewhat Hungry.

But...

"Attention, all students. The time is now 9:30 AM on March 1st of the Sacred Record..."

She glanced at the dark one, a serious expression in her eye, trying to swallow the Hunger gnawing at her chest.

They had other problems.

Iris Ascendis

*excitedly working on a post. should be ready in 1-2 hours.*

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Wingram Academy, Walkway and Main Building
@Nanaya @ERode

---

Hatred.
Scorn.
Grudges.

She felt the eyes of the nannies of the orphanage, tightened and cold. She felt the hands that threw her out of her home, the wind hitting her face as the door slammed shut. She felt... the Hunger. Always.

For once, the Voices remained silent in the face of new hatred, unsure whether to take comfort in it, or fear it. For Ciara, she lost her breath as a layer on knowledge was added to her perception of the janitor. No one was as they seemed, not even him. Maybe... as essence approached essence, she could finally be understood, as her understanding of the janitor deepened.

"I'll see ya around, kiddo. Hope you're one of the good ones. It'd be nice if ya were."

Ciara hesitated at the door, staring, her eyes unfocused, dread settling in her stomach. The knight, flying through the sky, and Ciara's insatiable Hunger. She had wanted to taste the good one's essence as badly as she needed to breathe.

Ciara's head bent, her frame slightly stiffening.

"... I hope so too." She murmured, before pulling the door wide, and diving into the main building.

The 'receptionist' caught her eye instantly. A cold, unseeing stare. Around the corner of the hallways she could see new forms of mannequins creeping up, slowly closing the distance from across the foyer, overcoats billowing with every movement.

"Came to the wrong school, fool. Turn back now and the Mannekin given to me will not destroy you so mercilessly! I'm a merciful god, so I'd rather not have to thrash you, you see."

She scoffed, eyes searching the walls and corners of the foyer for the source of the loudspeaker and subsequent hidden eyes the voice may have been using. Her hands slowly inched to the daggers on her hips as she took a cautious step back, lowering her stance a bit.

"From the sound of your voice... you're another student, yes? There's enough seats for everyone, why cause trouble?" She said, eyes watching the ominous mannequins edging closer.

Slowly, her shadow shifted, darkness creeping down her arms and coating the blades of her unsheathed daggers, extending the tips into a type of shadow blade hybrid.

Her eyes narrowed, addressing the mannequins directly. "Come on, then."

As if on cue, they all rushed her at once, one leaping over the receptionist desk and the others crossing the foyer in mere seconds. As the first bat swung for her head, Ciara stepped back, and was consumed by shadow. A half second later, she reappeared from the shadows behind them, swiping with her dagger. One looked almost surprised before toppling over, cut clean in half.

She took a breath and swiped again, stepping to the side on nimble feet as two mannequins swung at her again with their bats. She could feel the wind whistling as she narrowly dodged, burying her blade into another mannequin and dislocating its arm from its body. Her feet moved in circles, almost appearing as a dance as she weaved between bats.

She took another breath, and disappeared in her shadow. As nimble as she was, one wrong move and she would be down on the floor, out cold. She daren't tempt fate. She reappeared again further down the right hallway, leaving the rest of the mannequins in the foyer as she sprinted, hoping to to get as much of a head start as possible before they would catch up again. She kept an eye out for a map or directory of the main building, having a strong feeling she was, indeed, in the right place.

And, most importantly, she willfully pulled on the telepathic link between her and the dark one. She packed as much information into it as possible, similar like if she was handing her new friend a piece of paper with vividly punctuated data. A snapshot visual of the red building with its golden plaque, "Main Building." A second snapshot of her pounding footsteps through the hallways of said building, looking over her shoulder at the very threatening mannequins with their bats.

She hadn't seen the auditorium with her own eyes yet. But she trusted Michael. So, she went on a limb, and tried to follow up with a simple message.

But, in that moment, her mind and her thoughts became paralyzed.

Iris Ascendis

Yesss. Should have a post up later today.

Iris Ascendis

The new posts look super awesome! Especially Iraleth's well-meaning restraint.

Iris Ascendis

Ciara Ventura

Wingram Academy, Walkway
@Nanaya @ERode

---

The quietness in her mind after ghosting away from the plaza led Ciara to believe one of two things. Her new friend had excellent mastery over his inner thoughts. Or, the inner rantings of a mad mind weren't shared. Only willful thoughts.

At this revelation, the Voices relaxed a bit as Ciara took in her new surroundings. Briefly, she looked behind her. It was peaceful, despite the utter chaos she could hear faintly echoing through the campus. None of the mannequins had followed her, to which she was grateful. They had focused all of their attention on her new friend, she assumed.

She had to attribute the otherworldly stillness of the moment to the raised circular platform with its "Leyline Attunement Zone" sign. It had caught her eye the moment she stepped off the walkway.

The next thing that caught her eye was the humbly dressed man sweeping the pathway. He waved, and she self-consciously waved back. She stared at him curiously as he spoke, taking in his worn and slightly torn leather armor and his tattered cloak. Most importantly, she took in his aura. Curiously enough, it was simply... heavy.

"It's not appetizing..." The Voice, childlike, had a slight whine. She had to agree. She couldn't tell whether this man's aura was light or dark. She could only tell it had a certain... quality to it. She couldn't place it.

"Ya didn't hear it from me, but the auditorium's somewhere in there. I mean, probably, anyway." he said nonchalantly, to which Ciara faintly smiled at.

If that was true, it meant her search was nearly over. She wanted to confirm it for herself, and then she would let her new friend know. The dark aura didn't actually shoot her, after all. Clearly, in this academy, good friends meant either facing a swarm of 'mobsters' alone, or having someone else take the brunt of the attack.

For Ciara, that meant quite a bit.

"Blue, by the way. The blue crayons definitely tasted the best." The man said, hands tucked in his pockets. She watched the broom clatter, wrestling with herself to refrain from catching it with a tentacle. She disliked senseless noises, after all. She had to assume it was impolite to mess with a tired and trusted tool of someone who worked at the academy, and so left it be.

As he spoke of blue crayons, her head tilted curiously. For a split second, her mind blinked out, and she vividly saw little hands scrawling over a tattered piece of parchment with the worn stub of a blue crayon.

She blinked, her eyes tightening subconsciously. Memories were... hard to remember.

There was a pause as the man fell silent. Her head perked up. It was her turn to speak. Her eyes flickered to the "Main Building," down the walkway, the street, back to the golden pillar, before settling back to the man.

"I think... I'm in the right place, then." she said softly. "Thank you."

This rugged adventurer put her mind at ease a bit, but she had to remember the events leading up to her arriving on the walkway. Nothing in this academy was as it seemed.

Now, she was faced with a dilemma. Her eyes stared longingly at the raised platform with its golden pillar. She ached, yearned for, and was beside herself with raw emotions. She had to go touch the pillar. It wasn't out of want, but out of necessity. After all, she had spent two days sitting on the outskirts of the academy, trying to adjust to the artificial leylines here. If there was a way to calibrate herself even more closely, preferably without falling paralyzed for an unknown length of time, she had to have it.

Her eyes shifted back to the main building.

No.

She had a mission. The chaos of the campus grounds wouldn't allow her to think too selfishly. She had to locate the auditorium. Quickly.

Ciara stepped up closer to the main building, turned, and gave the man a polite bow. "Thank you for guiding me, I'm going to go look for the auditorium now."

As she stood, she lightly smiled. "I'm Ciara, by the way."

With that, she opened the door to the main building and entered, eyes tentatively scanning for another indication of where the auditorium was, if the cloaked man's information was right.

Iris Ascendis

Well, one torpedo boy is taken care of. *drools*

Iris Ascendis

"If I could, I would [stop] this madness."

Ciara Ventura

The fire of a distant gunshot. It was lost amid the display before her disbelieving eyes.

A cardboard sign pointing the way to the auditorium, nearly knocked over in the rush of puppeted mannequins wielding all manner of mad chef tools.

But she had to be honest, these threatening mannequins were the best thing to happen to her. She could use them. Spinning slightly in the rushing air, her foot came to rest on the chest of one mannequin before smashing it backward, toppling two to three other puppets as they broke Ciara's fall. She lept back as more mannequins closed the gap, her feet firmly set on the plaza grounds.

"The beatings won't be too severe, for what it's worth~." The same, unseen voice. Ciara had to assume it was one of the teachers of the school. She made a face, staring down the mannequins preparing to lunge at her, having recovered from 'softening' her landing.

That was when a glint caught her eye.

Her eyes widened as a distinct clap of thunder rang out, pinning her heart to the floor of her ribcage. Smoke blew off his gun as her eyes recovered from the flash. She followed the line of sight, watching the mannequins get explosively sent back again. Perhaps this time, they wouldn't be so keen to stand up as quickly.

So he wasn't aiming for her. Then... why?

“A truce,” he said simply.

A smile that wasn't her own pulled at the corners of her lips. A Voice that wasn't hers cackled madly in her mind. She wasn't sure if it was intoxicated from the prospect of nearly dying, or if it was simply excited to work with a dark aura.

"We can't die." The Voice chided her. She could feel the gleeful pride in its voice.

"Real shame, that." She thought wistfully, trying to keep track of two conversations as the dark one spoke to her.

There was a knock in her mind, which she 'opened' the door to easily enough. A trip in Ciara's mind was, well, unlike most minds. If one had to describe it, there was the presence of Ciara, and then there was something else. Like a sea of oppressive black from which angry red eyes stared out in a haphazard manner. Like a patchwork of different entities.

The Voices were immediately silent, simply staring hard as the dark aura's voice resounded in Ciara's mind.

“Do you agree?”

Ciara's head tilted curiously. It was... interesting, to say the least. She was used to hearing voices in her head, but not like this.

"I agree." She thought, quickly and simply, detecting the impatience in his tone. Amidst the battlefield, there was no time for reason. Even if a part of her wondered if the dark aura would notify her if he found the auditorium.

She would have to trust him on this.

Howling from above. She looked up just in time to see. No, to feel. It was, it...

It couldn't be.

"I want it!" The Voice shrieked in Hunger, forgetting its game of playing silent while 'guests' were in Ciara's mind. "Give it to me!"

The Voice was, of course, echoing the very thoughts Ciara was having, staring up hungrily at the aura of the half-elf, soaring above them. It was so crisp, so bright and clean, so full of delicious, delectable Light. And, it just so happened...

Her bouquet of Light was getting torpedoed by a reckless child with winged boots. Any second, they would collide, and her Light would be hurt. Her precious, precious Light...

"Save the Light! I want it!" The Voice howled in visible agony.

Ciara wiped her chin of the drool that had escaped her mouth unbidden, her eyes scrambling. As quick as a flitting shadow, black tentacles soared up into the sky. With pinpoint accuracy, they latched onto the ankle of the boy, stopping his senseless spinning in the air. The tentacles pulled, lowering him a few feet in the air so he cleanly flew a hair's breadth underneath the beacon of Light, saving both of them from a harrowing accident.

Visibly fighting with herself, she let go of the boy and retracted the tentacles, stepping back and disappearing into her shadow.

"What are you doing?! The Light is back there!" The Voice snarled angrily.

She was maddeningly Hungry, but she had a job to do. The dark one, the auditorium. She had to find it. That meant ignoring the Voice. A dangerous thing to do in her line of work. But she knew, deep down, she could never give the Voice what it really wanted.

"Ha, you think I don't know the Light will be here in our new residence? You just wait." A deeper, darker Voice spoke, more intelligent than the previous.

She shivered, her shadow trembling a bit as she moved. She really disliked this Voice whenever it showed up.

She appeared for a split second on the walkway, emerging from the shadows there before disappearing again, appearing again within the next area of the campus. She kept her eyes open for another sign, or any indicator of where Wingram hid their auditorium.

Iris Ascendis

I was hoping it'd be my turn this weekend. Wishes do come true.

Very excited for the next round. Working on my post as we speak.

Iris Ascendis

Posts are looking great so far!