Scribe of Thoth

Of Blood and Magic

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“Apparently the Arena Master doesn’t take kindly to rule breakers. I think the one who got on his bad side tonight is still underground. I can tell you more later if you want. Otherwise it was pretty standard, mostly a skill evaluation. Do you have any combat experience?”

Max doubted schoolyard fights that were broken up before anyone even landed a solid punch counted, and dodging energy blasts in a classroom sounded more like 'running away' than 'combat'. He never thought quitting karate when he was like eight would come back to bite him in the ass.

"No. This might come as a shock to you, but most people don't consider magical combat as a possible career path for themselves." He muttered flatly, looking over to Varis as the leech began impatiently trying to get them to leave. Seemed like a bit of a tight schedule to be on just to pick up a package, unless it was being personally delivered. Whatever, he didn't care, he just wanted this excursion dealt with so he could pick up his focus like he wanted.

The mage stood and followed behind the two vampires wordlessly, rolling his eyes at the crowd of fans started to get restless. He almost told them off until he noticed Eris too seemed to be intent on ignoring them as well. Either Cinnamon had him on a leash or he was eager to pick up this delivery as well. He hoped it was the latter; he didn't want to be under the purview of some loser that was at the beck and call of a Sinnenodel.

Max sat down beside Aaron with an unamused grunt. He really didn't want to talk to the Retriever and his prying questions any longer, but he figured sitting anywhere else would open him up to interrogation from some rabid fangirl wondering why he's hanging out with her favorite professional liar. At least he didn't have to look at any of them from all the way up front; though the view of the back of two vampires' heads wasn't much less rage-inducing.

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@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Of Blood and Magic

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Max didn't even bother looking in Varis' direction as the vampire offhandedly berated him. Astorio chewtoy, right. As if that uppity goliath was doing anything but posturing to mess with Flower Boy. Though, Cinnamon clearly had pull around here if they were letting him teach a class, and getting into an altercation with him would hardly do anything to Max's benefit. He doubted the arrogant leech would even get properly offended; he'd probably write off any retort Max had as quaint. Better to keep his poker face and not reveal his cards yet.

His gaze lazily followed the undead duo as Varis moved to start rifling through the Retriever's wardrobe or something equally inane - vampires really were like prepubescent schoolgirls, weren't they? All they did was gossip and play dress up with their dolls. He shifted his eyes toward Aaron scrutinizingly as the light mage sat across from him. He hadn't spoken yet, but he clearly wanted to talk. Lovely.

The silence was awkward enough that Max was almost grateful when the Retriever finally talked. Innocent question, felt like small talk. All that suspense and buildup only for the Retriever to reduce them to bored wives forcing conversation in the kitchen while the husbands were off watching sports in the other room. What was he supposed to say? He was getting shot at? Some vampire was dangling him around like a chew toy? He discovered he had a talent for ripping chairs apart? None of that would do in a room where he didn't trust anyone.

"I had a... prior engagement. Took longer than I expected. Did I miss anything important?" Max offered the question at the end only as an afterthought. He highly doubted they covered anything of importance on the first day, if his other classes were anything to go on. At best they covered arena etiquette and procedures, all of which were no doubt mind-numbingly simple and were only covered for such a long period for the benefit of some scatterbrained moron that would disobey the rules regardless. Really he just wanted to keep Aaron talking so he wouldn't be asking prying questions.

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@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Of Blood and Magic

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Max stared at Eris in his usual apathy as the vampire started manhandling his face. He was tempted to roll his eyes at the bizarre flirtation, but he figured a reaction was exactly what the leech wanted. He waited patiently to be released, then watched in similar silence as Eris typed out something inane on his phone. Max supposed the vampire probably felt slighted at his lack of attentiveness and decided to flaunt himself on social media so his rabid fangirls would shower him with adoration. Oooh, and he got to have his choice of focus as a treat, did he? The mage was tempted to just pick out the most expensive thing he could find out of spite.

Nevertheless, he shrugged and followed along as Eris continued toward their destination. He was placated; he'd have a focus and Eris would leave him alone if he had a friend to play with during their little town excursion, though he had no doubt whoever they were meeting was likely to be just as annoying as him. As they kept walking closer to the noble dorms, Max occasionally shot a curious glance toward Eris. The mage didn't expect him to be meeting with a Sinnenodel, of all people, especially for a simple package pickup. He was definitely playing at something here, though Max couldn't fathom what.

"How this relationship works is entirely in your hands, you can be smart and sarcastic and get punished...or you can be quiet and obedient and get spoiled. Up to you, I'll have fun either way." Excellent plan, try to buy his loyalty with trivial bread and circuses. Typical vampire.

"I was being honest, Eric. I figured not having to constantly guess at what I'm really thinking would be a welcome change from all the two-faced sycophants you no-doubt talk to all day." Max offered in an uncharacteristically helpful tone. He wasn't necessarily lying - being blunt was easier to him than playing with his phrasing to say what he wanted to without actually saying it. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure vampires could even comprehend the concept of 'honesty'. Eris might've thought it was a weird cake flavor or something.

He turned back to the door just in time for... oh, lovely, the Retriever. Count Cinnamon must be Eris' partner in crime for the moment. He vaguely remembered seeing them converse at the end of Treaty Law from around Victor's gigantic physique, but he didn't think anything of it at the time. Eris was in luck, it seemed; as amusing as making the leech look incompetent in front of Cinnamon would be, he'd be setting Eris - and unfortunately, himself by proxy - up to play nicely into whatever machination this smarmy Sinnenodel no doubt had for the night. Besides, Max was perfectly content to spend all night in complete silence if the Retriever was going to follow them around like a lost puppy. He could do enough sucking up for the both of them.

Max offered Aaron little more than an acknowledging glance as he entered the dorm. He wasn't entirely sure on the protocol here. Was he supposed to follow Eris into the study, or was he supposed to just stand out here and let them have their privacy? Aaron didn't give him any clues to go off of either, having run off to... somewhere. Was Max supposed to follow him? He decided to take his chances and stand in the entryway until told otherwise. Being alone in a room with two leeches sounded like torture.

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@Hero@Obscene Symphony@Achronum

Of Blood and Magic

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"It looks like there is a lot you need to be informed of when it comes to our relationship, but I'll have to set down the rules for you later. Fortunately for you, to town is where we are going tonight."

Max rolled his eyes. Yeah, yeah, no peeing on the carpet, no tearing up the furniture, be a good little doggy. As if he was going to listen to anything this D-list wannabe said. Other than that, he was content with the plan Eris presented. As long as he got his focus, he didn't really care where the vampire dragged him off to that night, bar whatever kind of pants-less, sordid affair this horny parasite would turn feeding into. The mage's schedule had been mostly cleared after his affinity had presented itself, given that he no longer had a reason to vigorously research magic anymore, and he'd yet to formulate a clear plan as to what he needed to do next.

There's one stop I need to make before we go. Come along, I'm not one to be late."

"Now that, I know is a lie. Or are you honestly gonna tell me with a straight face that your little entrance earlier was a pure blunder on your part?" Max questioned, keeping his eyes lidded and unenthused but arching a brow challengingly. He then shrugged nonchalantly, waiting for Eris to keep walking. "Don't leave me in suspense. You need to go shopping or something?" Max couldn't think of any other reason to head into town, especially after Eris had just arrived, but he supposed the actor's vanity could be pushing him to go buy a whole new wardrobe. That, or he just wanted to be seen in as many places as possible to get his fans talking. What a hack.

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@Hero

Arkus Academy

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Zach watched Richard's spectacle of an introduction with a curious tilt of his head. Sirocco seemed to mirror the gesture. The formality and gesticulation came off as a bit eccentric, but Zach put little thought into it. He was more concerned with the explanation the blond was giving. Toying with artifacts one didn't understand, especially if they hold a potentially malicious being, was an endeavor that was practically asking to end badly in Zach's opinion.

Though, it seemed like Richard was going about it in probably the safest way possible; he'd be under the oversight of the Academy while he studied the tome, and whatever demon was locked inside would have little chance to spread any corrupting influence with such a high concentration of powerful mages nearby. Zach couldn't necessarily fault him for wanting to unlock his family's legacy, even if it was likely the legacy of some foul warlock.

"But speaking of pacts, would I be right in thinking that you and Sirocco have a pact together, Zachary?"

"Ah, yes, you're correct. He's a good little scout, among other things," Zach scratched the owl's head affectionately as he spoke, "Though I do hope to expand my menagerie a bit while I'm here, my magical arsenal's a bit more lacking than I'd like right now. And just Zach is fine, if you prefer, I'm really not picky."

As the call to disembark came, the blindfolded boy gave a brief wave to the duo with his hand that wasn't supporting Sirocco. "I think that's our cue. I'll catch up with you later, maybe," Zach offered, though he was looking directly at Richard rather than Arael. Well, what passes for 'looking' when one has a magic blindfold on, in any case. He really had no intention of consorting with such a blatantly proud warlock, and he definitely didn't see himself and the girl getting along even if they did. Zach was a bit wary of Richard's own probably-demonic situation too, but not the boy himself.

Zach shifted his arm a bit as he turned away, signalling Sirocco to shift back to his perch on Zach's shoulder. He quietly exitted the ship along with the crowd, though he didn't go out of his way to avoid the duo he was talking to despite his earlier farewell. The instructors that arrived to greet them at the airfield seemed friendly enough, though none of them seemed to teach subjects he held much interest in. The mention of choosing rooms struck him as a bit odd, though. Was there a difference? He'd assume all of the rooms would've been identical. Perhaps location?

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@Katthaj@Lord of Evil

Of Blood and Magic

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"You are just adorable. You think I'm lying? What reason do I have to lie to you?"

Aside from the fact that Eris was a vampire, Max really couldn't think of one. At least not until he knew more about what Eris was even doing at this academy. The vampire knowing what Morrigan looked like wasn't exactly solid evidence, but without anything to the contrary to go on Max had to assume he wasn't lying. The administration could've at least informed him or something. Pretentious leeches probably thought he wasn't even worth the bother when they could just have his new master come up and tug on his leash.

"You all have a game, lying just isn't your ideal move this turn." Max muttered back, blatantly brushing off his shoulder where Eris had touched him. He'd go along with it for now, it wasn't like he could be punished for being deceived. This was a bother but a vampire was a vampire at the end of the day, it didn't really matter who was lording over him.

"I assume you want something, since you're not-so-subtly trying to drag me off in another direction." The mage stopped walking outright and finally turned to face Eris. He kept his face impassive and dismissive, like this scenario was a minor annoyance rather than an actual problem. In some ways, it was. Like hell he was going to squirm for another leech today, and besides, he was still on the lingering tails of a good mood after getting his affinity to work so splendidly. "If you're hungry or something, make it quick. I need to head to town and buy something I can use for a focus."

A focus was the primary thing on his mind right now, he had no room to bother with anything else. The progression of his magic was paramount to everything, and he didn't want to interact with leeches a second longer than he had to without knowing in the back of his mind he could skewer them on the nearest metal object with little more than an angry thought and a flick of his wrist.

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@Hero

Of Blood and Magic

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Max entered the arena just long enough to hear the vampire in the middle - Max assumed he was the one in charge - telling everyone to get out. He really needed to stop making a habit of showing up there right when the action ended. The mage promptly turned around and exitted the arena with minimal gawking. Wasn't like he could get a quick make-up lesson from the instructor when the only purpose was to knock each other around. Besides, he had better things to do.

The unexpected fondling he felt across his upper back seemed to beg to differ, unfortunately, and before he knew it some leech was hanging off him like a bad date and trying to drag him off on some asinine fancy. Max half expected Decagon or Decimal or whatever that idiot in the trenchcoat from yesterday's name was to be back for a second round of flirting, and definitely not that actor from earlier.

"Maxwell Alderman, I presume? I'm sorry to inform you that there's been a change to both your current situation and standard of living. Your former partner agreed to a buyout, placing you in my capable hands."

Max gave him a sideways glance, barely deigning to turn his head in acknowledgement. A buyout? Was he just a commodity to be bought and sold whenever it struck a vampiric whim now? Not that he could blame Morrigan, Max was hardly pleasant company, though he didn't think the Embraced had the balls to actually do anything about it. This theatrical hack must've given him quite the bargain. Or Eris was just lying. Vampires spun deceptions as surely as fish swam, and one who made an entire career out of adopting false personas and putting on a spectacle with them was doubly untrustworthy.

"What's your game here, Eric?" He questioned in a flat tone, deliberately messing up the name, "This is the first I'm hearing of this little development, so you'll forgive me if I don't take you on your word." Actors loved attention, it was the entire point of the stage. Blowing Eris off seemed like the easiest way to be rid of him, honest or not. Besides, Max didn't have time for this right now, he needed a focus first, then he could deal with whatever petty nonsense this leech was playing at.

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@Hero

Arkus Academy

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Zach stood a bit rigidly as he listened to the girl, more out of habit than anything else. What exactly was a 'Rarkel'? Some kind of spirit? No, it seemed like it was talking to her at that very moment; if a spirit were present he'd at least be catching a trace of it with his blindfold. Zach's face shifted from polite passivity to vague disdain. Oh, she was a warlock. And not one that sounded very 'in control' of her situation. This demon was probably playing her like a fiddle.

"I was just curious about the applications into my own magic," Zach started, a bit more tersely than before, "I thought I had a spell that worked with nature spirits the same way. Guess I was mistaken." He was hesitant to compare anything in his arsenal to a demon's handiwork, and he doubted this girl even knew how that spell worked herself. It would be pointless to conjecture about the similarities of the two techniques any further.

He easily slipped into a more lighthearted tone when he responded to her second inquiry, "As for the blindfold... this'll probably sound a bit ironic, but I kinda need it to see. Sort of." Not technically false; while he was quite capable of seeing without it, it just helped him see better. And if he'd conveniently left out the details of it letting him see mana, so be it. No need to tell a warlock too much about his tricks.

Zach then turned to Richard as the other boy seemed to be making a spectacle out of inspecting him, holding his gloved arm forward toward the blond. His owl, which had been more or less still beforehand, obediantly made its way down his arm to rest on the falconeer's glove, tilting its head from side to side as it began to inspect Richard in turn. The Witchhunter's Sight easily betrayed that the book Richard was carrying had at least some kind of magical properties, though the blindfolded boy couldn't tell what without seeing his spellwork in action. Maybe it was some kind of focus or a magic lock to prevent theft.

"He's real. I'm Zachary, and this is Sirocco. We're both very pleased to meet you." Zach answered in a much more jovial tone. Sirocco continued staring - he didn't look very pleased. Or... very anything. He was a pretty stoic owl.

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@Katthaj@Lord of Evil

Arkus Academy

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Zach's attention shifted upward as the disturbance in the air seemed to grow. Whatever it was, the magic around them looked like it was converging into a singular point above the crowd. Surely this was expected, given none of the security seemed particularly phased. Zach was a bit surprised to see a person manifest at the site of the spell, though. He couldn't imagine teleporting into a moving airship was easy, or teleporting anywhere for that matter.

When the figure reappeared again on the railing, Zach finally got a good look at her. Definitely foreign, given those eyes, which was a bit surprising given that Arkus Academy had just recently opened to the wider world beyond Cresia. She must've been a special case; no newcomer would be an assistant to the headmaster.

As Zach expected, this woman's antics seemed to be commonplace enough, given the captain's familiarity with her. No need to be unsettled, then. What was unsettling was the girl with a horde of specters following her around as she walked across the deck. Must be some kind of golemancy or horrifying-looking nature spirit, he assumed. Despite their wraith-like appearance, Zach doubted any necromancer would be so bold as to have an undead creature floating blatantly alongside them. Other students in the crowd seemed to be giving them uncomfortable glances, so he could safely assume he wasn't only seeing them because of his blindfold.

Curiosity got the better of him after watching her converse with another boy for a few minutes, and the blindfolded boy quietly approached Richard and Arael. He didn't catch what they were talking about; he was too enraptured by the creatures standing behind her.

"Pardon the interruption, you two," Zach started, his blindfolded gaze turning as he pointed rather bluntly at the reapers, "I'm just a bit interested in your magic there. I've never quite heard of a technique that makes something so... err, creepy? Is that by design?"

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@Katthaj@Lord of Evil

My Hero Academia: Chaos Age | Open

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Mitsuo stood quietly during the staff's introductions. He was expecting some oddballs among the faculty, given most of them were apparently former vigilantes, but he definitely wasn't expecting a foreign military official or an unsettling man in a space suit. Not that he found either of them unlikeable as of yet; Spacenaut-sensei was intimidating only in the air of mystery he carries with him, and paramilitary training was something he already expected from UA, given the rigor of what superpowered crime fighting must entail. Though, admittedly, he wasn't particularly looking forward to it.

That's exactly why the presence of the government intermediary didn't shock him too much; he had no doubt this entire hero program would be regulated extensively. However, Mitsuhide's immediate insistence on quirk evaluation and clinical tone made Mitsuo slightly resent the man. The way he spoke was like the students were just being reduced to whatever exploitable power they brought to the table. Quirks were tools, not identities, and classifying the students only by their quirk was overly pragmatic to the point of callousness. Mitsuo couldn't fault the staff too much, though. Their quirks were why they were here, and it would be silly to dance around the topic for very long, as much as Mitsuo would've liked to.

The boy continued on along with the class to the demonstration area in similar silence. A bit pathetic, he supposed, to be antisocial here of all places, but the antics that had already occurred while they were waiting for the teachers to begin weren't exactly acts he was keen on participating in. At least this was supposed to be an icebreaker, he could take interest in someone's quirk as a starting point for conversation. The mutants completely unsettled him, but one of the more normal-looking people must surely possess a power he'd find interesting.

He was tempted to ask right away about the pet carrier that Mori-sensei threw into the arms of one of the other students, but he figured he could wait after the girl's demonstration. Maybe she talked to dogs or something. The first volunteer seemed eager and sure of himself, so he probably had a powerful quirk. Mitsuo averted his eyes as the torrent of flame shot upward from Katsuro. Powerful quirk it is. Wait, did he say 'constantly emit'? Fire Hazard was aptly named, this guy was a ticking time bomb. How did he cook? Were there precautions in place or should Mitsuo just get used to the sound of fire alarms? It was an impressive display, sure, but not when he had to live near the guy.

The second girl's quirk was pretty impressive too, it looked kind of like his own but with less of a punch - pun not intended. At least, he assumed; none of her projectiles made contact with anything, but it seemed like they just transmitted the force she projected in her movements into an outward blast. And she was Zhao-sensei's daughter, judging by the last name. He could only assume she had a solid grasp on her quirk, or at the very least combat in general.

Feeling secure enough in his quirk now that he'd seen more people with vaguely similar abilities to himself, Mitsuo made his way to the forefront of the class, not quite making eye contact with any of them. Public speaking wasn't really his strong suit, especially when it had to do with his quirk. He wasn't eager to go back to being 'fireball boy', even if that would likely be overshadowed in its absurdity by the rest of the class. Seriously, there was a walking wad of bubblegum and a talking cactus.

"I'm, uh, Himaru Mitsuo," He toyed with his glasses nervously as he spoke, head tilted slightly downward, "My quirk's called Will-o-Wisp, 'cause that's what it looks like... i-it'll make more sense when I show you." Smooth.

Mitsuo turned around to overlook the concrete platform and held his arm outward in front of him. He positioned his palm vertically, generating a soft teal glow in the center. The light drifted forward to hover in front of Mitsuo's palm as it grew in size, now an incandescent orb about the size of a baseball. He looked around the scene in front of him, then tilted his head to look at the teachers with a lopsided frown forming at the edges of his mouth.

"Um... sorry, do you have a moving target or something? O-or a stationary one... I guess." Mitsuo timidly asked, still holding his wisp in place.

Spacenaut stepped onto the concrete platform with a representation of a smile on his visor. :) "I can help you with that, young man." his radio-like voice stated in a gentle tone, positioning himself behind Mitsuo and raising a forward facing fist outwards over his shoulder. "I'll fire a rocket. Don't worry, it's not live. Let me know when you are ready."

A panel on his forearm opened up, and the munition loaded itself into place. A hand grenade sized rocket ready to fire at Mitsuo's word.

Mitsuo shifted the fingers of his outstretched palm, forming an L-shape with his index finger and thumb. A rocket should fly more or less straight, he shouldn't need to work out any angles or do any complex movements. Easy shot. Hopefully. Don't miss. Don't miss.

"Ready. Diagonally upward is fine."

fwoosh!

The rocket shot forward from Spacenaut's arm and continued on a straight path towards the top of one of the pillars.

Mitsuo shifted his arm to follow the path of the missile, tilting the 'L' a bit for a better gauge on where he needed to shoot. Though, with a simple projectile like this, he was capable enough to wing it with relative ease. Mitsuo's posture visibly relaxed at this, and he shifted his arm forward in a subtle pushing motion to send the orb flying on a path that looked like it intersected with the rocket's trajectory. However, as the wisp got closer, it became clearly noticeable that Mitsuo had intentionally aimed too low.

The boy nonchalantly gave an upward flicking gesture with his hand, diverting the wisp's path into an upward curve that would allow it to impact with the rocket from below. Upon contact, the orb erupted outward in a fiery blue explosion, though only about a foot in diameter. The dented and scorched remains of the rocket recoiled uselessly into the arena below as Mitsuo turned back to face the class.

"I can generate explosive projectiles from my hands and... control them telekinetically, I guess? They're not very big, but they hit pretty hard and they're accurate, so..." His voice trailed off. He really didn't know how to make any more of a sales pitch for his ability than what he'd already demonstrated.

Mori-sensei loudly oohed at the show, the blue explosion glinting in her eyes as she stared up at Spacenaut and Mitsuo. "Bravo, Mitsuo-kun! Such an impressive degree of control over a beautiful looking quirk! I wonder how well you could do with multiple wisps, or maybe just one big one! Spirit bomb!" the woman's arms raised into the air as if she was calling on the energy of the world.

Spacenaut too gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, feeling that his confidence wasn't really befitting of a student that capable. ೕ(•̀ᴗ•́) "Nice shot, son. Next time I'll make it harder for you." he returned to his place off of the platform.

Katsuro could be heard crushing his water bottle in his hands, though his expression was largely unchanged.

"Thank you, sensei." Mitsuo bowed his head sheepishly and went back to stand with the rest of the class. In his eyes, there was no need to get congratulatory over that. It wasn't like he did anything particularly challenging, that was just how his quirk works. Both teachers raised good points, though. Multiple wisps were a literal headache to try and control, and a hitting a less-predictably moving target would've been a far more impressive demonstration.