Riven Wight

They Live Among Us (Vampiricchild x Siaya)

Victoria smiled when Alex winked at her. “No, but it’s always polite to ask. I mean, maybe one of these times you’ll already have other plans.” She watched him push his chair back into place, which reminded her to do the same.
She moved to stand beside him as he spoke again. “Yeah, that’d be great. I think I can remember the way back, but it’s better safe than sorry.”
Besides, she always felt far more comfortable with him by her side. Safe, even. Though the sun had yet to set and the usual unofficial curfew had not come around, the thick clouds cast an eerie grayness over the city, the kind that often bought night sooner than normal. Though she had never said it aloud and did everything she could to hide the fact from everyone--even Alex--she had had a fear of the dark for as long as she could remember. Perhaps, she had long since reasoned, it was because she knew what lurked in the shadows of society.
She went to the door and opened it. “Ready?"

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Thayva returned Serapis’ hug.
“Huh.” Her brows lifted and the corners of her mouth pulled down in mock
surprise as she placed a hand on her hip. “Must be a day that ends in ‘y,’ then.”
She followed him into their small study, where they kept their more important scrolls and other documents. Two small, crude desks sat on either side of the room, hers strewn messily with various papers, books, ink bottles, and a couple quills and unlit candles from the night before that she had yet to get around to putting away.
Thayva began to tidy it up a bit. She glanced over at Serapis as he opened what she recognized as the most recent finance report.
“So?” she asked through a sigh, crossing the space between them. She placed a clawed hand on his shoulder and tried to get a good look at the report. “What’s the damage this week?”

* * *

In the halls, the three female elves stuck close together, their pace slightly slower as they whispered among themselves.
“Are Tor and Nick in or out?” the youngest, a redhead who looked no older than twelve or thirteen, whispered to up to the tallest, who looked about a year older than her. “We can’t do it without them.”
“Nick’s in,” the older girl answered, casting a quick glance around to make sure none of the staff were close enough to hear as they neared the dining area. “Says he’s been working the spell for it all week. He thinks he’s got it down.”
“Tor was a bit too excited for it, I think,” the middle-height and eldest of the three by a couple months interjected, her short blond hair tied back in a tight pony tail, “but her last class keeps going long, so she might be late.”
The redhead nodded approvingly as they entered the mess hall. Boys of many races sat at the tables, with girls trickling inside as they got ready. Only a couple tables were dominated by single races, likely more by accident than intention, with the others a healthy mix of friends and siblings. A couple dracon adults walked the tables, making sure the meal remained peaceful.
The girls slowly made their way to the large table at the head of the room, where an adult of each race stood behind an array of food fitting for their ilk.
After receiving a plate of various fruits and nuts, and a glass of water from an elven man dressed in a green and brown robe, they went to one of the few remaining empty tables and sat, cross-legged, on the provided cushions.
“What about you two?” the youngest glanced between her comrades as she picked up a rather ripe strawberry, her voice still low. “Have you gotten the spell down?”
The middle girl frowned. “I’ve managed to make a pastry vomit its filling, but not explode. I squished it when it started complaining.”
The oldest girl choked on her water. “You made it talk?”
The middle girl scowled. “Well… if you want to count pained groaning as talking, then yes.”
The oldest girl grinned. “Well, at the very least, it will make people panic.”
The three fell quiet and looked up as a boy, his ears slightly pointed, and a lizardwoman joined them.
“When’s this thing happening, Kai?” the lizardwoman asked, her yellow eyes shifting slightly as she leaned forward over her plate of meat.
“Don’t look so suspicious, Tor,” the red-headed scolded with a frown. She cast a quick glance around to be sure the adults still stood too far to hear amidst the din of other voices. “During lunch. When the staff switches. We’ll have a couple minutes before they get back.”
“It usually takes a minute and a half,” the male elf, Nick, whispered. “The quickest I’ve counted was last Wednesday. Only about a minute and ten seconds.”
Tor looked to him. “I’m not sure if I should be impressed or a bit scared that you actually counted.”
Nick shrugged and started picking grapes from a stem and popping them in his mouth.
“Remember to sit away from each other during lunch,” the middle girl reminded, changing the subject. “It’ll give us better range.”
The five fell quiet as a dwarf boisterously joined them at their table.
Kai smiled and participated in the conversation as it turned to classes and training, excitement buzzing in her stomach.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Sounds great! And really? That's cool. Great minds think alike?

For what we would have in there, what about a sort of hospital wing? Maybe two small conjoined rooms, one with, say, four or five beds, and the other where our healer/whatever we decide to call them in this setting can sleep and store all his/her medical supplies. Which would mostly be herbs and whatnot. And maybe a spell or two hidden up his/her sleeve, depending on the character's race?

For another idea, what if they were mostly self-sufficient? Give them some acreage, and let them have a small farm and orchard somewhere around there. It could also provide an extra means of income, provide an extra learning opportunity for the orphans. They would still have to go into town every now and again to pick up some supplies they wouldn't make there, and of course for the orphans for when they decided to accept any of the jobs. Just a thought.

Oh, and I didn't answer the massage question. How about separate rooms?

By the way, sorry for disappearing last night! I started to get extremely tired, so ended up just signing out.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

@Aristocles
*Blinks.* Second floor? Oops. I have them on a fourth floor. Made it a big place. My thought was fourth floor for them, third floor for staff who I was thinking it would be more convenient to have on-site, the second for the kids, and the first for everything else. Should I edit my post?

I think you pretty much covered it for the time being. I can't think of anything to add to that!

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

The morning sun began its slow climb into the sky, marking the beginning of the day as it yawned over a forest. Even so early, a heavy, humid stickiness clung to the new summer air and settled on the lush grass and trees. Light and shadows pooled around a large, four story mansion filled with spires and iron decor around the wood of the house and clay timber roofing. A wraparound porch created a nest for shadows trying to flee from the oncoming day.
But even the shadows quaked, startled, when noise erupted through the mansion.
“Up, up, up!” strong voices called through the halls as the bare feet of the various day staff padded the floors.
Groans and moans of protest erupted from the orphans slumbering in their beds. Roommates snapped at each other as they tried to blame the others playfully for keeping them up with snoring, or talking in their sleep. A pillow war broke out in one of the boys’ quarters, a few feathers flying before a fully grown kobold brought it to an end with a booming, “Knock it off, and git ready for yer day! The sun’s a shinin’ and the day’s a burnin’!”
On the other side of the house, a small group of young girl elves tittered in a corner, already up and dressed for their day.
A woman Halfling, the elven girls only a couple inches shorter than her, eyed the group of three suspiciously.
“What’re you three up to?” she inquired, crossing her arms and trying to look as intimidating as she could.
The girls only beamed back at her.
“Just getting ready for classes!” the youngest, a petite girl who moved with the grace of her race, answered sweetly.
The woman’s eyes narrowed further. “Go on, then,” she said slowly after a moment. “Get to breakfast.” She jerked her head toward the door, and the three girls headed out while a lizardgirl rolled out of bed and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
Upstairs, in quarters crawling through the uppermost spires, Thayva groaned and let out a loud yawn. Her serpentine tongue stretched out of her mouth, before she licked her lips.
“It’s morning already?” she muttered, glancing out one of the many windows and regretting staying up late the night before. Her mind, still fogged with sleep, finances, and names, took a moment to fully register the fiery rays streaking across the sky.
Checking to see if her husband, Serapis, still slumbered, she decided to grant him a couple extra minutes of rest before trying to arouse him. As quietly as she could, she got out of bed and quickly got ready to tackle whatever joy and mayhem the day would bring. After all, today marked the first true day of summer.
Once she finished with her morning routine, she returned to Seprapis’ side of the bed and sat near him. She placed a gentle hand on his scaly back and leaned toward his head.
“It’s time to get up, dear,” she whispered soothingly. “The day awaits!”

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

Yep! Them's the rules in the house! :-)

I don't see a map being too terribly necessary, at least at this point in time. Maybe just some sort of list of the important places, and a picture and/or quick description of it, with a general location. Good idea, though. Maybe keep a watch on if the exact routes become an issue. Thinking of, how many floors would we want this? I'm thinking the dracon family would have an attic loft or something to themselves, and am imagining the building and grounds fairly large. And put the boys on one side of the house sleeping-quarter wise, and girls on the other?

I would love to start it out, if you would like.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

@Aristocles

Oh! Alrighty. My bad. To make sure I have this all straight now regarding the humanoids:

Boys: Daily Outerwear: shorts and sleeveless shirts, with long pants stored away for those rare occasions when they are really, really needed. After all, some are dwarves and halfings, for crying out loud, so should have higher tolerances with that. Humans and other soft-feet creatures are given sandals to wear. Nightly: A pair of light shorts for sleeping.

Girls: Daily Outerwear: Either a simple ankle- or half-calf-length dress or a blouse and skirt. Soft-feet creatures have sandals. Training: See the boys' daily wear. For physical training only. Nightly: A medieval-style chemise.

Did I get that correct?

Yes, yes they do. XD Darn lizardpeople and their simplicity.

You know, I wasn't even thinking about that being good for an open RP. Yeah, I can see where the setup for this could potentially breed a group RP, if it works out. If we did that, though, we would probably want to do sections in the first couple OOC posts describing the important parts of the mansion, including the building itself. I can add that onto mine as we go, if you want. Keep the ducks in a row.

WOO!!!! *Throws confetti in the air. Because I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with confetti as of late.* It's always a bit easier to work out the kinks when you actually run into them. At least, that's what I think! I don't really care who starts it off. How about whoever gets something typed up first?

Could always use that as a stand-in title until a better, more catchy one comes up. I keep thinking of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children with this. Heh.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

@Aristocles
Sounds good! So. Lizardboys and girls: Loincloths, because you can't tell anyway. Humanoid Boys: shorts and short-sleeved shirts, with long pants stored away for those rare occasions when they are really, really needed. After all, some are dwarves and halfings, for crying out loud, so should have higher tolerances with that.

On to humanoid girls. I kinda feel bad about the leotard thing. Heh. If I get too overbearing or anything, just kick me or something. I'm running on like an hour of sleep right now in the past about 30 hours, and my biological clock doesn't like to let me sleep during the night. Didn't get much more than that the night before last, either. So I'm all kinds of mental wonky at the moment. I might need that good kick.

I totally understand where you're coming from with the leotard aspect. You would have to know what you're doing to be capable of fighting in a dress. It isn't impossible (and even easy if you practice enough... well, not you, unless you're training to fight in a cloak or are actually Scottish). With a loose enough skirt, people can even fight with great skill while in a dress, but it would potentially be a hindrance for a beginner. With the way you were typing, were you talking leotards for everyday wear or something? Anyway. What about having that extra outfit, like a single pair of shorts and a shirt shoved in a closet or something for the beginner girls to change into only for training? I don't think you said anything either way about that. If you did, my apologies. It would make seeing footwork easier, and eliminate the skirt mess for beginners.

Oh, good. Glad you're okay with that. Maybe we can come up with a better title for it or something.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

How about a few in storage to be handed out upon request? I mean, either way, they could choose whether or not they wanted to use such protection. Ooh! Or, what about pants that cinch up into shorts? Just a thought.

Eh, to me, even in fantasy, it has to make some sense, to stick with one time period or another, even if that period is created with some sort of addition that would allow them to have more advanced technology. Like steampunk. I mean, it's fun when you have that whole old-timey theme going on, then throw something more modern in there for kicks. But, actually pertaining to this roleplay, personally, I'm against them also because of impracticality with how I imagine they would likely be training--that's a lot of exposed flesh for hand-to-hand combat. Remember, we also said there will be humans here. Even a thin layer of fabric sometimes lessens a blow by a small amount... Plus I think they just look tacky, but that's really besides the point.

Oh, I had an idea, so edited my first post on here. I would appreciate it if you would check it out and let me know what you think! I couldn't think of anything better to call it, so I plugged the title in there until one of us might think of something more old-fashioned sounding.

Mystic Orphanage (Aristocles and Siaya Dragalorn)

@Aristocles
Oh! Cool. It's honestly just text on a picture. Easy stuff.

Eh, it was fun to say, anyway. XD

I was thinking the boys would have the shirts to wear whenever they wanted. If it's going to be a humid climate, though, I figured they would be taking those off fairly often when working outside, or even inside. The pants part is more me thinking, if you liked the orphanage being located more in a forest area, I think it would be unwise to NOT have a pair of pants laying around for them for special occasions where they need to travel through the woods, like maybe they take on odd jobs in the town or something when townsfolk request their help, thus earning a little extra money for their pockets? I know I wouldn't be likely to go hiking in a forest without a pair of good boots and pants.

Hmm. What about dressing the girls like the guys for training? Like, give them a day dress, then a pair of pants/shorts and a shirt specifically for physical training? Like you do in gym class in public schools... I don't know how many liberties you want to take, but I think leotards are a relatively modern garment. More Victorian era than Medieval. I mean, it's a good idea, but we would be stepping about three- to five-hundred years from the Medieval theme for those.