Hero

Persona ~ The Beholder

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Finding the way back was a lot easier said than done. The fog wasn't helping things, either, further fuddling both eyesight and sense of direction. Not that she really had any in the first place--she still used her GPS to find her way to the grocery store--but she wasn't about to tell Laurence that. What they needed to do was stay calm, and she had to admit that much wasn't too hard. The only thing that really made her uneasy was the fact that she had no idea where the right direction to go was. But if they wandered around long enough, they were bound to find something, right?

With that in mind, Cara took out her cellphone again. Even without service, there was supposed to be some sort of emergency line, wasn't there? After messing with it, however, she found it was just as useless. It was worth a shot. As she pocketed her phone again, she swore she heard music. She assumed she had left her music playing, but it wasn't coming from her.

Looking up at Laurence, she could tell it wasn't coming from him, either. "Do you hear that?" She asked him, looking around. It was a familiar melody to her, sounding like it was a little muffled, but she swore it didn't sound too far away.

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_{Checking up on @LetMeDoStuff}

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅 & 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉

As Harun remained in the hallway for a moment, a pair of footsteps alerted him to someone else approaching. The same guard that had escorted Lakshmi away had returned. He no longer held the previous stress he had before, instead looking more impatient than anything. He briefly looked at the room for a moment before looking at Harun once again.

"Since you have time to loiter, you're clearly not utilizing your time wisely. I suggest you focus if you still want your pay at the end of the day," He stated harshly. "The heat has our guests feeling faint. You clearly have nothing better to do, so follow."

Turning without waiting for a response, the guard would lead Harun to a room occupied by the cities finest in both material possessions and people. While the rest of the palace wasn't lacking in opulence, it was clear this room was meant to impress. From fine rugs splayed about to the many statues placed precariously, there was an abundance of wealth in items alone. Some would argue that the people within did compare, however--finely dressed nobles from around the country were seated on a number of different couches with the exception of the sultan on his throne.

On one of the couches closest to the throne sat an olive skinned gentleman with sharp eyes and features. There was something about him that came off as insincere--his every movement seemed calculated, every word spoken only after a considerable amount of thought was put into it. Still, anyone that interacted with him seemed enraptured, a little afraid, even. Considering he was one of the sultan's most politically powerful men, perhaps his position held some weight.

He finished speaking to someone before bringing his attention to a very disinterested Lakshmi, whose eyes seemed to be staring at a particularly fascinating spot on the wall. He ran his hand under her chin, her eyes snapping to him with a dark look, though he seemed to enjoy it.

At that point, the guard shoved a large fan into Harun's hands. "The khedive needs refreshing. Go to him," He barked his order.

ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴩᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴩɪᴅᴇʀ ʟɪʟɪᴇꜱ

Amida was pleased to hear Hikari's resolve, letting out a hoarse-sounding chuckle before clearing his throat. "You needn't worry this time; you've done plenty," He reassured him. "Fortunately, you have the same spiritual prowess as your ascendant. The demons nearby would have to be bold to approach us now even if they had the numbers."

He gazed at the red hues in the sky for a moment before he turned back to the young man. "Even with other villages nearby, they've always seemed to have an eye on our humble home. I've always wondered why," He mused out loud. "They've tried time and time again, almost as if they were after something. At first we believed it had been one of our ancestor's heirlooms, but even after sending them away for safekeeping, the demons continue trying to get into Shiroiwa."

His expression darkened as he let out a sigh. "In our youth, your grandfather and I tried to solve this mystery. We and...what was that young lady's name again?" He paused, shaking his head. "I can't seem to remember. But the three of us felt there was something more to their attacks, some motivation that if resolved could bring our home peace. But after she disappeared, your grandfather let it be. I suppose I can't blame him; so long as the barrier keeps us safe, why go through all the hassle?"

Of Blood and Magic

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Enamored was one way to put it, but not the word Eris would've used. The blond had to admit he was a little more invested in finding out why his phone was blowing up instead of the conversation at hand. Or he was until Max made his comment. Either the kid was smarter than he thought or he was sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Since he did catch the kid with his tongue down Plant Boy's throat he wouldn't put it past him, but then again, trying to seduce Ismene was about as effective as trying to put the moves on a houseplant.

Maybe he was being presumptuous, not everyone was trying to get into other people's pants. But with his earlier warning and previous conversation, Eris could deduce that the kid wasn't a complete idiot. Initiative indeed, even if he didn't want to admit it. For someone who probably thought everything was a pain, the kid was sure a pain himself. Oh well, Eris would be lying if he didn't enjoy that.

This time he would respond to Ismene's latest email, though afterwards he gave Max his full attention, clearly intrigued. Instead of half-assing he should full-ass his playfulness, it was such a refreshing change from the usual grumpiness. "I'm offended, it's supposed to be Wells and Eric against the world, not you and her," He whined, throwing Max a pout. "If you're trying to make me jealous, it's working." He couldn't help but tease.

Text to Max from Ismene

> Maybe. I'm convinced it's yet another stipulation to entangle them further. I'll update you once I have more information.

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Blah blah blahing with @Scribe of Thoth

Deleted

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Current Mood in One Gif

Persona: The Rod of Asclepius

Sorry for the double post, but next week we'll be moving onto the first day of classes. Feel free to wrap up any interactions or react to the weirdness that just happened. Even characters in their rooms could have seen the event outside, so don't feel like it had to be missed if your character had decided to go off on their own!

Persona: The Rod of Asclepius

Ms. Suzuki split her attention between the grumpy secretary and most students that passed, offering a few warm words of welcome. Rio didn't entirely understand why the woman put so much effort into it, but at the very least she got the gist of what she was going to be doing. And by that she meant she was probably going to ditch as soon as she had the chance; no way was she going to spend all her free time at a computer doing nothing but talking to people on her free time. Besides, hardly anyone even approached her--anyone that came around was more interested in getting to their dorm or talking to Ms. Suzuki.

And speaking of the devil, the old hag had finally given her her full attention, positively beaming at Rio's unsatisfied look. "Alright then, I expect you right here after your classes tomorrow," She informed her cheerfully. "If you don't show up, I'll have to go looking for you, so make sure you're on time, alright?"

"Mhm," Rio only offered a noise of confirmation, all too glad to slip out of the desk and snatching her own room key. Walking towards the hall with every intent to spend the rest of her free time in her room, she jumped as a nearby girl squealed loud enough to be heard over the entire lobby's chatting. "Look at that!" The random girl had practically screamed in excitement.

Rio nearly ignored it, but the flurry of yellow and blue outside had definitely caught her attention. What the hell was that? Despite her initial impulse to ignore it, she found herself following a few students outside. Said flurry had been a massive horde of what looked like butterflies, each colored yellow and blue and fluttering in a straight path. Rio quirked an eyebrow, watching as they seemed to fly straight towards the roof of the school. Whatever kept them all together at that point seemed to release them, as each of the little flyers went each their own way, as if they had intentionally wanted to scatter.

A few had actually decided to fly back towards the dorms, and a multitude of students were hastily trying to grab pictures of them. Rio blinked slowly, still surprised by the display, but for some reason she felt like she had actually seen the butterflies before. They didn't look like the usual swallowtails, and they definitely didn't usually travel in such huge packs. Actually, they reminded her of that chick with the long nosed weirdo from the dream she had. The girl had a hairpin that looked like a butterfly, too. But it was just a weird coincidence--and admittedly she hadn't really thought about it until now--and hearing everyone fawning over bugs was starting to get annoying.

Still, it was a really weird coincidence.

Of Blood and Magic

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Lilie followed the little cat with a lot more energy than before. She ignored the cold biting at her cheeks, more occupied with making sure she didn't lose track of where the thing went. Her surroundings did look a little familiar, but she couldn't say she knew exactly where they were. Sure, she had gone hunting with her dad a few times, but she was way more likely to get herself lost in the woods than mapping out a path and remembering where she went. So much so, in fact, that she only realized they went back the way they came when they reached the clearing. At least the wildlife recovered! It was weird that it was relieving to her, but she had felt so bad that the forest had to pay for her failure.

The multitude of colors made her stop in her tracks as she shut her eyes, disabling the spell as she shook her head. The multitude of colors was shocking, to say the least, and as she watched the cat absorb everything. What sort of magic was this? Light? And here she thought it was more about little orbs and stuff, though Aaron did mention once that there was more to light magic than that.

She let go of Ben as she approached the cat, frowning. Was it trying to tell them something? Before she could ask, she gasped as it grew in size. At first she thought it was going to turn out to be some sort of panther, but seeing its full size made her hesitate. But it wasn't angry at her, instead growling at something she didn't realize she had missed. More whispers? She thought that they were part of the other challenge, what were they doing here?

The cat/tiger chased down the source. "Ah, wait! What's wrong?!" She called, moving to chase after it before stopping and remembering Ben. She turned to grab his sleeve and pulled him along as she broke into a run, knowing a vampire would easily be able to keep up.

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Taking on the challenge with @Bert Macklin.

ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴩᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴩɪᴅᴇʀ ʟɪʟɪᴇꜱ

"There you are."

The voice was old and shaky but a familiar one to Hikari. Many a volunteer had come and go to offer their services to the shrines, but few had the same honor as Amida. He had dedicated the entirety of his life to overseeing the shrine's care in their humble village and at one point was in charge of its upkeep. Nowadays he delegated himself in sweeping the area, claiming it helped keep him active in his old age. He had seen three generations of Lunari Priests and had every intention of seeing the next as well. His family had left Shiroiwa no Mura some time ago, although he insisted on staying.

As he approached the young priest, he held onto a small cloth bag. Its color was a striking red with several characters stitched onto it--even on a glance Hikari would be able to tell that it was his last name.

"A gift left by an admirer too shy to approach you directly," He explained with a chuckle, shaking his head as he offered the bag to the priest. "At least, that's my assumption. It was left behind when the crowd went about their days and clearly intended for you."

Joining Hikari in admiring the view for a moment, he let out a sigh. "Thanks to you, the village will be safe again for a little longer. But I always wonder if we ask too much...I remember your grandfather pushed himself as well."