Teocawki Thread One: Hope Academy

[Quellian-dyrae]

Jane evidently didn't spot the head-shake. However, just as she released Erica's hand, Erica recovered her own grip, to hopefully keep her from moving off. Hopefully that would make her intent clearer without revealing her presence.

The fact that Patroclus was obviously signalling someone was another reason she kinda didn't want Jane scouting immediately. She didn't really expect they'd detect her, but no sense taking the risk when they didn't have to. And to be fair, if anyone in the class had a decent chance of spotting her, it was probably the psychic Ediz or the illusion-proficient Tsubaki.

So, whatever the secret was, it was something that Patroclus had a desire to protect. And the mere fact that they were asking about it was enough for him to be sending a signal to...someone. The tap on the temple suggested it might have been to Ediz, a request for a mindlink, perhaps? She watched his aura in her glasses. Ediz was a supernaturalist, so if he created a mindlink, unless it was cloaked, it should show up. And most mindlinks did include at least some limited transfer of emotion - Erica's glasses, supplemented by the psychic resonance of her visor crystal, were acute enough to differentiate between the unique feel of different peoples' emotions. By this point, she was as familiar with the general ebb and flow of her classmates' feelings as she was with their faces. If a mindlink was opened, she might be able to tell who was involved, by sensing the trickle of emotional energy that leaked into Patroclus' mind.

Unfortunately, what she couldn't do was overhear any potential telepathic conversation.

Outwardly, she responded to Patroclus' words with a brief look of disheartened disappointment, which she quickly hid behind a more neutral mask, a kinda flat stare that made it very clear that she saw straight through his attempt at deception. Or, well, she more-or-less hid it, anyway. Erica wasn't exactly the best at covering up her feelings, and even though she did logically recognize that his keeping it a secret wasn't anything personal...well, Erica's issues with the whole "making friends and fitting in" thing have been well-established by this point. The blatant fib still stung.

That being said, Erica was also very willful, quite capable of being manipulative when she wanted to be, and very conscious of her own feelings (when you go around all day seeing the emotions of others, you get pretty keenly aware of your own). Just because the feelings were real didn't mean she wouldn't use them.

Mists, if anything, that just made them even more useful.

"I mean, we were just curious," she said. Her tone wasn't offended or accusatory...it was more defensive, almost but not quite apologetic, coupled with a glance down and away from him. If anything, she looked and sounded concerned that she had offended him. "We...you know, thought it was something cool." Another beat, and she looked back up at him, meeting his gaze. "If it's, like, supposed to be a secret or something, you could have just told us that. I just don't see why it would be..."

Most people, faced with someone else having a negative reaction to something they said or did would try to at least explain things, maybe even make amends. It was just a natural social response. Hopefully Patroclus would react the same way...and maybe let something slip, or even try to undo it by sharing the information.

...Of course, it was a ploy that could work even better if, say, someone else backed it up with a more direct form of social shaming. I'm just saying.

Spoiler

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Let's throw some more Persuasion at him and see what happens! (1d20+16)[36], +5 if Attractive applies. I wanted it to happen and then it did! The Stonesmiths are having a good round indeed!

This is a pretty good setup for Grace to throw a Team Check if she wants (I'm thinking a sort of "Oh, gee, real nice, Patroclus!" sort of thing). She has the higher base bonus (...although actually, come to think of it, I think her Persuasion breaks PL ) so if she does want to then ideally she'd make the real roll. Probably safe bet is just to use the same die roll and apply her bonus instead? If so, Erica will Routine her part for +5.

EDIT: So, um, technically, if Grace does Team Check and substitutes her listed +20 bonus, and Attractive applies, then after all bonuses and the crit that actually comes to an effective 55...

[Hyperbolic sine]

Go ahead!" We're not -

The feelings - and the link with the demon - vanished before Rupert could finish.

"- the same." he wispered. Now that he could think rationally again, he considered the Demon's words and though that maybe, just maybe, telling the very source of his powers that he didn't want anything to do with it wasn't the smartest of moves; after all, no matter how many troubles his powers had caused him in the past, it certainly wouldn't do to suddenly become weaker after entering Hope Academy. And all that talk of dreams...what in the Mists was it going on about?

"I...uh...yeah, still here." he sheepishly replied to Id, the timing of the teacher's surprise too close to the communication breakdown to be mere coincidence, and slowly opened his eyes.

Spoiler: OOC

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Yeah, I'll take it. What is adolescence if not making bad choices and (hopefully) learn from them?

By one-time you mean that once it's triggered, it's gone from the sheet, right? Also, would arrays count as a single power or would each slot need to be activated separately?

[Llyarden]

"Drat!"

Ethan let the Void fade, feeling his Elemental powers bounce back to their equilibrium, and spread his phantasmal wings, streaking down the (mercifully straight) tunnel in pursuit of...Grace, maybe?

I really need to learn what powers everyone has...

Spoiler: OOC

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Free: Switch Eyes of Twilight to countering Light instead of Darkness.
Free: Switch to Wings of the Eclipse, Positive Energy Overload and Consumption Aura.
Move + Standard: Start chasing after the Aether aura, moving a total of Distance Rank 7 or until I find the Stoichye (or, y'know, faceplant into one of the tunnel walls.)

[Thokk_Smash]

It's as if Roy's hands have a mind of their own, entirely separate from his own well of mixed emotions and thoughts. Amidst suggestions from Elita, a new mask begins to take shape, based on his previously-made backup mask and some mad scientist inspirations from the depths of his brain.

"Like I told Donald--or at least, I meant to say this--I'm glad that I was wrong," he says with a small, genuine smile. "He seems like a good guy. A little overconfident, a bit prone to bluster, but sincere. Open. It seems as though he's a good partner, and I know he's lucky to have you as a partner as well. I'm glad my first impression was wrong, and that Donald didn't hold it against me."

He gently holds the new mask on his fingertips, turning it this way and that with a pensive look on his face. "Speaking of impressions..." he thinks as he settles the mask back down. Part of him wants, now that Elita seems to have calmed down, to confront her about what he's done to make her nervous, and what he could do to fix it. Yet, his big mouth had already driven Donald to run away, and so he keeps those thoughts inside.

Instead he gives the mechanism the eye for one last time. He's added everything that he could think of to improve her quality of life while using it, while maintaining or increasing its efficacy. Still, Elita is the one who knows her mask inside and out. She'll have to be the final judge. He offers the new mechanism to Elita for her to inspect herself. After a minute or two, he pipes up, "What's the verdict?"

[Zelphas]

Erica

Jane doe stops moving as you tighten your grip, drifting back slightly to your side. "O-oh... oops..."

On your other side, Dawnlight scoffs. "Wow, Patroclus; I know you've been hanging out with Ediz a bunch, but I thought you'd help him get better at talking to people."

Patroclus grimaces, looking away from you. "All right, that wasn't funny, got it. Look, it's nothing that bad, we're just not sure how--" he breaks off, wincing slightly. "It's not even all that interesting yet. It's a--it's a project I--Ediz and I are working on. We're still getting the fine-tuning down, but once it's done we planned on showing it off to the class anyways. It's just--it's not really... ready to go yet."

Spoiler: Insight (your bonus covers it)

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The wince wasn't one of pain, at least not really; it looked like someone wincing in reaction to a loud noise next to their ear.

Everything Patroclus is telling you is the truth, more or less; it's definitely not the whole truth, though. And he's a little shaky on the we part of telling the whole class; he at least had plans to tell at least some people.

Also, your Insight catches what you at first register as two bursts of anger, happening at the same moment and completely separate from Patroclus' emotions... but that must have been feedback from the Elementalist power on your forehead or something, because when you trace back the emotions after the outburst you only catch the calculating watchfulness of Ediz. Such a strong burst of almost childish anger certainly matches the Psionic Supernaturalist in the brief bits of emotion you've gotten from him before.

Rupert

Id grunts in response, keeping one eye on Calvin and Elita as they sit with their eyes closed. "Haven't run into that before... have you tried Awakening before now? Your Transformed side might just be a... light sleeper," he suggests, making a halfhearted attempt at a joke. "Still, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Best anyone can figure, the Transformed 'creature' is an idea the Transformer had in childhood, when they first started figuring out their powers. Ones like yours, or like Squires' there--" he points over to Calvin, who looks more-or-less normal until you see the utterly alien shadow stretching out behind him, opposite where his shadow should normally fall. "They're charged with some negative stuff, but don't forget that they came from a kid's idea of what they should be. Now that you're older, you can see through 'em better--at least, that's what I've seen from other people with similar troubles."

Ethan

Pelting down the tunnel, you soon come to a large chamber set as far as you can tell in the very center of the maze. The room is roughly circular, with six tunnels branching off of it including the one you just entered through. The ceiling slopes up to about three times the height of the other tunnels, drawing to a point in the center of the chamber.

In front of you and to your right, Dawnlight spins, a small rock of blue-white stone clutched in one fist. She is glowing brightly, making the room nearly as bright as day. She darts towards the nearest tunnel--and bounces off of a smooth pane of glass that seems to have set into the tunnel's mouth. As she reels back, momentarily surprised, Wyn Glazier walks through the glass wall as though it was mist, the pane heating and collapsing into swirling sand around his cloaked form.

Behind you, one tunnel wall collapses under a black-clawed fist as Magnus rips his way into the tunnel.

Roy

Elita takes the mask and turns it over with a critical eye, her former hesitation all but forgotten. "I'll have to see how some of the newer metals hold up for insulation, but just at a first look this should do at least as well as my newer models; if these alloys hold up to degradation, it may be even better!" she exclaims, excitement coming clearly through the current mask on her face. "I'll be right back!" She turns towards the fume hood, stopping after a few seconds to turn back. "You know, you aren't--I mean, I knew you weren't, I knew that, but she--nevermind. Be-be right back." A slight green flush appears on her cheeks above the mask before she turns back to the fume hood.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Rupert glanced at Calvin's shadow, wondering if he was in his same situation. Probably not, though. He was aware that the main culprit was, more than the fact that he could Trasnform into a demon, that he had been stuck in demon form for years. Still, he found himself hoping a little...and then immediately chastised himself for having hoped someone else had been through that.

"No, I...no, don't think so." he replied to Id. "But I, well, I had to learn how to turn back. Before that, well, I basically grew up Transformed. That...might count, I suppose."

"So, um..."

He hesitated - after all, if the Demon had managed to surprise the professor, it could very well be that asking would put him in an even more awkward position...at best - but then, considering nothing in the way he had been treated at Hope really warranted those kind of doubts, he gathered his courage. "The Demon...I...I spoke with it, sort of. It kept calling me its dream. Does...does that mean anything?"

[Llyarden]

Ethan drifted a couple of feet off the ground, wings outstretched as he regarded his fellow competitors. "So..." he said aloud, looking between each of them in turn before focusing on Dawnlight.

"Now what?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Switching Eyes of Twilight back to countering Light concealment, just in case it matters.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica accepts his apology with a kinda-awkward smile and a little nod. "I understand," she said good-naturedly. Although after a moment's thought, she added, "Well, but, hey! I mean, if it's based on the dorm I imagine it's like a...you know...thing sort of project, right? Like, something involving some physical object or location that the dorm has? And obviously if you and Ediz are working on it it's Supernatural in nature. Magical objects are, you know, kinda my jam. If you guys ever want a consult I'd be happy to help!" She kinda expected Grace, with her augmentative powers, could make a similar claim, but she wasn't going to speak for her. That might reflect an expenditure of effort greater than she wanted to invest in this little investigation, after all. ...Especially since if Erica could wheedle her way into helping she could always just tell Grace what she learned later.

Spoiler

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Let me know if I should throw any more Persuasion to try to get on the team .

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy gives Elita a beaming smile at her initial declaration. Finally, he'd managed to do something right today. The smile slips, ever so slightly, when Elita continues on in an apparently-flustered manner. There's few doubts as to who 'she' could be a reference to.

Fingering a foil wrapped package in his backpack, Roy takes a deep breath. He gets up and leans against the wall near the fume hood. "You'll, ah, notice that I added something to the mouthguard that I hadn't, eh, mentioned," he says, and he's glad Elita can't see the flush that creeps onto his cheeks at his own stammer. "It's a one-way, semipermeable membrane. I tried to make it as resistant to corrosion as possible, but it probably won't last as long as the mask itself. But it should allow most materials through, except those too similar in corrosive potency to your gas."

Roy's hand unconsciously drifts up to scratch the back of his head nervously. "I noticed how you have to eat by yourself, and I thought, well, that flipping sucks. So, if it wasn't too presumptuous, I thought that the membrane would let you eat meals with other people. You absolutely don't have to keep it, and I can see if I could repurpose the material to some other area. I, ah, also brought some food for us to munch on. Tinkering on an empty stomach is no fun." Ah, and now he's babbling. Nailed it, there, Stonesmith.

[Zelphas]

Rupert

"Hmm... I'm guessing you wanted to be 'normal' then, growing up? That maybe it was a dream of yours?" Id says, nodding slightly to himself. "Could be as simple as that. Part of you can't believe how far you've come from where you were before, so your Transformed side's reflecting that."

"Don't forget that demons in myths were creatures of deception," Whippoorwill pipes up suddenly from near your shoulder, having flitted up to the conversation at some point unnoticed. "We use terminology referencing sleep when we talk about Transforming--Awakening, etc.--and the most powerful lies are the ones that have a little truth in them. Your Transformed side is a bit more... antagonistic than most, but trust me when I say we all have to deal with our own little whims."

Ethan

Manus takes a few more steps into the main chamber, opening his eyes and squinting at the brightness. With a quick gesture, he closes up the wall behind him as well. Dawnlight looks quickly around for the other entrances, but Wyn has already begun sealing them with sand and glass, even as Manus moves to stand bodily in front of another entryway. Dawnlight takes another quick glance around, before looking to you and shrugging.

"Umm... rock-paper-scissors?"

Spoiler: Insight or Deception DC 18

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As Dawnlight glances around, you noticed that her eyes lingered on the pointed ceiling for a long moment.

You know... this labyrinth really isn't that deep underground, and that's a pretty high ceiling. With a solid enough hit, someone could probably tear straight through to the surface, so long as they could distract their opponents long enough to open up the hole.

Erica

Patroclus considers your comment for a moment, nodding slowly. "Well, Ediz fou--thought of the idea, so I don't want to take that away from him. I'll see if I could figure out a way to run it past him so that he won't expect a favor in return. No promises, but... you could probably--" he winces again. "---help. Excuse me a second; I've gotta go yell at a psychic, and they cheat when you're only yelling at them in your head. Sorry, I can be right back." He starts turning back towards the door to the dorms, muttering under his breath. "Rooks and ravens... when there was only one voice..."

Roy

"You..." Elita is at a loss for words for a long moment, her hands automatically flying up to look over the new addition to the mask. "That combination of--and with--I've been trying for--" She abruptly turns away from you, her head slightly bowed, falling silent for a long moment. "Um, umm... sure. I can kind of eat anything; I think I accidentally swallowed some uranium once, and growing up that's why I thought my eyes were so green--I-I mean I don't have any allergies, and-and-and I can't really get sick, and even if you were trying to poison me you couldn't--not that I think you would try to--I mean--I--please stop talking, E.C..." Elita slowly winds down.

[Llyarden]

"Well, here's an idea," Ethan remarked, watching the group seal off the exits from the chamber. "We could all start squabbling over the Stoichye, and presumably eventually one of us would get away with it and win, and the rest of us would get nothing."

"Or," he continued, "we could all win. Take the Stoichye up as a group. Sure, it would mean none of us would get a whole pie, but it's better than getting no pie at all, right?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Ethan might not have quite gotten the whole 'competition' part.

Persuasion: (1d20+15)[19], probably +5 for Attractive 2 against some of them. Maybe Ethan doesn't quite believe in cooperation either.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Id's answer reply was, other than absolutely plausible, so mundane and harmless that Rupert almost felt disappointed. Well, not disappointed disappointed, of course. Just of slight case of "huh, that's it?" jerk reaction, but nothing past the level of he himself barely being aware of it; mostly, he was relieved.

Then he gave a start when Whippoorwill suddenly started speaking near him, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded in acknowledgment of her words.

"So, uhm..."

He glanced at Elita and Calvin, still (as far as he could tell) tackling the partial Awakening.

"...what do I do now?"

[Quellian-dyrae]

"I help you with your project, you guys satisfy my curiosity. Sounds like a fair exchange of favors to me!" Erica answered cheerily. She gave an understanding little smirk and a nod. Look, Erica and Roy may have been close, but they were still siblings. Sometimes they argued. Sometimes those arguments were telepathic. And sometimes they got annoyed and hung up on each other.

However, she pointedly let go of Jane's hand once he turned back for the house. That sounded like it would be a discussion worth knowing about.

Meanwhile, she considered the bits that Patroclus had let slip. That they had found something was more-or-less what Erica expected anyway. But what did he mean by there only being one voice? Did it have something to do with that odd emotional feedback she had sensed? Did Patroclus already have something in his head? ...Or had this little project of theirs expanded Ediz's powers somehow, allowing him to partition his consciousness kinda like Professor Renatus did?

She considered the emotional and psionic energy she felt leeching through Patroclus's aura more carefully, as he walked inside. Maybe there was a clue there...

Once he had gone inside, she turned to Grace and asked, "What do you think?"

Spoiler

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Both my Detect Supernatural and Detect Emotions senses are Analytical, so I'm gonna try and study the bits that seemed to be coming from Patroclus and see if I can detect more about them. Rolling Insight and Expertise (Magic) as either Perception substitutes per Feature or for purposes of conducting the analysis, whichever is more appropriate.

Insight: (1d20+18)[19]. I'm sorry.
Expertise (Magic): (1d20+16)[17]. What?

[Thokk_Smash]

There are many ways Roy could react to Elita's fluster. He considers them all for a split second before he gives a small but genuine smile. "Well, then, c'mon back to the table when you're ready. I baked some thermal bread for us." he says, and practically skips back to the table himself to pull out the foil-wrapped package. Within are two loaves of thermal bread, baked earlier that day. They technically didn't need to be wrapped in foil: 'thermal' isn't just a name, they're capable of keeping at a fresh-baked temperature for up to a day.

He breaks off a piece of one loaf and begins to munch. The familiar, savory taste rolls over his taste buds, and he closes his eyes for a brief moment in contentment. He can almost imagine he's back home, mom and dad both still whole and happy. "This type of bread was a staple at my and Erica's Magellan," he says when Elita comes back to the table. "Relatively simple to make, lasts awhile, and fills you up without feeling like a lead brick in your stomach. Let me know how you like it."

As he munches, he starts speed-sketching on a blank piece of paper. "So these are the materials I used for the food membrane, and what I did to fiddle with 'em so they'd be just right," he says, outlining the materials and process he had taken to make the semipermeable membrane. "If you see anywhere there could be improvement, throw it at me. And hopefully its degradation speed and quality can give us some useful feedback, too."

[Zelphas]

Ethan

The three other Elementalists blink at you in surprise. Wyn makes a noise like small pebbles bouncing down a cliffside from underneath his hood, the shadowy part of his face looking slightly thoughtful. "I don't think--" Manus begins--

And Dawnlight, spinning, fires a ray of pure Aether at the pointed ceiling above you. With the sound of a small explosion, the pointed top of the roof bursts outwards, the Aether blast from Dawnlight fades into natural sunlight shining through a sizable hole in the roof of the labyrinth, leading directly outside. Dawnlight gathers Aether to herself, preparing to fly out of the hole... while only holding the Stoichye with one hand.

Spoiler: OOC

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You can attempt a Disarm check this round to steal the Stoichye from Dawnlight as though you had the Improved Disarm Advantage.

Rupert

"Well, we do have a capabilities checklist we could run you through; we usually like to do that after an Awakening session, though we can wait until next class period to let you adjust," Whippoorwill suggests, producing a clipboard from seemingly nowhere. The board is comically oversized in her hands. "Otherwise, the obstacle course is still open, if you choose... Id, would you count Mr. Reid's session as successful?" she asks suddenly. The hairy man responds with a grunt and a shrug.

Whippoorwill turns back to you with a beaming smile. "Well, there you have it! You are free to go and spend your afternoon however you like, if you wish."

Erica

Spoiler: Insight Results

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Demon Possession.

No wait, that's Rupert...

Honestly, this has you stumped. Nothing you've run into before explains that odd spike at the beginning of the burst of anger. Feedback is your best bet at the moment, but even that sounds shaky to you.

Jane Doe stands still for a second or two, before going "O-oh..." and drifting away towards the End Dorm after Patroclus. She vanishes inside a few moments later.

"If it was only Ediz, I'd say that we should be worried," Dawnlight replies confidently, keeping her voice pitched somewhat low. "Not that he's... a bad guy, or anything, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't worry about the potential complications if he found something useful... or interesting. Wit Patroclus, I'm less worried, although... you guys were still off with Glory and Overgrowth a couple of days ago. One of the second-year guys made a comment about Patroclus being 'just an Evocator', or something, and he didn't react well to that... I'm sure this is unrelated, though!" she finishes hastily.

Roy

After a long moment, Elita hesitantly walks up to the table, the new filtration system installed over the central part of her mask. First order of business: Aesthetics. The cloudy grey-green filter doesn't look bad, per se, but you can definitely think of some ways to make it blend better with the mask's new aesthetic.

Elita sits silently down at the table, gently picking up the bread loaf. Her eyes remain fixed on the loaf, flicking over two you every few seconds or so. After another long moment, Elita breaks off a small piece of the loaf. Reaching up towards the mouthpiece, she holds the small piece in place for another long moment.

There is a sudden, wet sucking sound, and the bread loaf disappears into the semi-permeable membrane. Elita's cheeks don't move as though she is chewing, but the distinct sound of bread tearing and ripping can be faintly heard underneath the wet sucking sound. Finally, the sounds taper off. Elita swallows. She is looking down at the floor, her cheeks completely covered with a glowing sickly green blush.

[Llyarden]

"Rude!"

Ethan's wings stretched out to their full extent as he propelled himself up towards the escaping Aether elementalist. Aether and Void energies coiled around his hand as he reached for the Stoichye, the contrasting energies crackling and popping and bathing the room in bright, strobing light. He wasn't going to actually hurt Dawnlight, of course, but the sudden disruption in the Stoichye's elemental balance as he got close might catch her off-guard long enough that he could tug the Stoichye from her loosened grasp.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move: Fly up to Dawnlight.
Standard: 'Attack' Dawnlight with Touch of the Void and Solar Flare, using the Damage as a disarm attempt, selectively excluding everyone (including Dawnlight) from the Area Affliction, and critting on a 19+: (1d20+8)[20]. DC (1d20+8)[18] Strength vs Disarm on a hit.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica scoffed a little at that. Patroclus could output enough power to float a building for half an hour. She would have loved to be "just" an evocator growing up if it meant having that kind of oomph. Erica's artifice had never lacked for versatility and finesse, even before she had learned about her affinity for Flux crystals. But if her childhood had taught her anything, it was that versatility and finesse didn't count for squat if you didn't have any muscle behind it. Power mattered.

But putting that aside, Grace raised a good point, however much her natural confidence drove her to dismiss it. Were they being secretive for the sake of being secretive? Or because they were doing something dangerous? Surely, the professors knew about whatever the End Dorm's secret was, and wouldn't have left it in place if it were dangerous, right?

*Flashback to being dropped out of an airship and into a live-fire combat exercise for the entry exam.*

*Flashback to several full-contact superpowered brawls being used as tests.*

*Flashback to sending students out to shadow heroes on live missions.*

*Flashback to "I will respond to every attack past this point as though my opponent was using lethal force." and "Don't worry; for your first year, you only have to kill me once."*

...Yes. Surely.

Well, she supposed, there wasn't much they could do but wait and see what they decided. Or what Jane learned. Whichever worked.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Spoiler: OOC

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Look at me, I poke people and then post everywhere but here. Way to go, me. Way to go.

Rupert stared at the ground, silent for several seconds as he considered his options. Having a conversation with the Demon itself had left him somewhat uneasy, so getting back to the dorm was a tempting proposal...but...

But no. He didn't come to Hope to be passive. He needed to put in effort.

"No, I...I'd like to run through the checklist, if it's all the same to you."

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy's friendly smile doesn't drop as Elita, reminiscent of a frightened animal, hesitantly takes his offered bread. He continues to smile as her...mouth(?)...takes in a scrap of bread and devours it. His only reaction to that, with that non-judgmental smile, is to offer a large, slightly-wet belch.

"It's good, right?" he asks with a little self-deprecating chuckle at his own belch. On the brainstorming paper, he puts under the "To-Do" heading, after "Fiddle with color profile--neutral skin tone??": "Sound-dampening material in membrane".

[Zelphas]

Ethan

Dawnlight is a little too slow in turning to fly out of the newly-made hole in the ceiling, and you manage to catch the hand with the Stoichye in it just as she turns away. The stone responds to your touch by letting out a burst of Void and Aether energy, a nearly-inaudible hum issuing out as the two conflicting forces pour from the same source. It jumps slightly in your and Dawnlight's hands; Dawnlight scrambles to regain her hold, but since you were prepared for the sudden shift you seized the Stoichye firmly and tore it from her grasp, winging out of the hole a moment later. Behind you, the earth crumbles and shifts a moment too late to impede your progress, and a stream of sand flies past your arm, stinging slightly as it brushes your skin.

"Looks like Mr. Donati takes it today," Professor Masson declares, his tone amused. He is standing next to the hole you just flew from, a steady wind swirling around him ever so slightly. "Good showing for your first day; I'll be lookin' forward to seein' you in the combat drills."

A few seconds later, Dawnlight soars out of the hole in the ground as well, her light dimming slightly as she emerges into the daylight. She lands with her back to you, her back straight and still for a long moment... before she spins around with a grin and an outstretched hand. "Aw, I was so close! Well done... hey, have you picked out a Hero name yet? If not, you should totally play off of your light-dark motif, you know? something like Chiaroscuro, or Paradox."

Erica

After a few minutes, Jane Doe's patch of nothingness wanders towards you again, the disconcerting blot in reality drifting along in a confused matter. It comes to a halt next to you, standing for a few long moments. "Oh! Umm... you can see me?" The grass rustles beneath you.

"Jane, dear, it's Grace. Erica asked you to go into the End Dorm and look around for anything interesting," Dawnlight prompts, her voice very gentle. The look on her face is a mixture of almost sisterly affection and concern, but she schools it into simple interest quickly.

"Erica... Oh! Y-yeah... um, um, the tall boy went to talk to the boy with sharp eyes... they were in front of a door; I couldn't get past them, the boy with sharp eyes notices... sometimes. They were talking in their heads mostly, I think--w-well, the tall boy was shouting a little at first, but the boy with sharp eyes never answered back. Um, th-then the boy with sharp eyes went into the door, and the tall boy went after him. I was going to follow him, but the boy with sharp eyes walked up behind... and, and so I came back outside."

"Thank you, Jane. That was a lot--" Dawnlight began, only to break off as Patroclus came back out through the door. The tall boy walked up to the two (well, three) of you, shaking his head ruefully. "So, I've got good news and bad news," he begins. "Ediz says he's 'willing to hear a proposal'; he's not rejecting your inclusion outright, but he expects to be paid for it. Can you give me a little while? If I can get 'stuck' on a--on what we're working on, I might be able to convince him that bringing you on will be worth letting you know about... about what we're up to," Patroclus suggests, shrugging slightly.

Rupert

"Very well then, Mr. Reid; let us begin with item one on the list..." Whippoorwhill proceeds to run you through a fairly standard series of physical exercises and Transformer techniques, all making sure that your capabilities are in place. Throughout, though you feel for that other presence, it does not appear; your powers seem to work just as they always do, coming under your control at your command like always.

Easy as dreaming.

Roy

"Y-yes.." Elita answers nervously, slowly looking back up at you. "It-it is. It's really good." It's hard to tell, but after knowing her for nearly a month at this point, your fairly sure that Elita is smiling.

The rest of your meal passes with...somewhat less awkwardness than before (with Roy and Elita being the ones eating, there was still some awkwardness, of course.)

The Following Saturday

When the four of you had returned to your dorms on Friday night, a leaf the size of a decent-sized rug had been laying on the floor of the living room. Written by the veins of the leaf was a message from Glory and Overgrow, instructing you to meet them three miles outside of Hope city proper on a crossroads in the middle of the farmlands of the Inner Ring bright and early on Saturday morning for your first day of specialized training. (There had also been a postscript daring any of you to take the leaf and turn it into tea to drink, which you could listen to or ignore at your discretion.)

Saturday morning had arrived, and the four of you were at the crossroads bright and early; your teachers, it seems, have yet to arrive.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Rupert wasn't particularly keen on drinking the tea on an unknown leaf, so he ignored the postscript, and would express - though somewhat timidly - his reservations if someone else wanted him to take up the challenge too. Still, he wouldn't be too hard to convince, especially if outnumbered.

...

"Um...is...is this the right crossroad?" Rupert asked, looking around to see if he could spot any incoming professor.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Perception (who knows what they're trying to pull here) (1d20+8)[13].

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica noticed Grace's concern...and her own grew quickly as Jane gave her report. She didn't say anything, but there was a wary surprise on her face, and she cast Grace a quick, querying glance. She knew that Jane's power occluded her from the memories of others...but she had no idea that it might be affecting Jane's own memory.

She wanted to ask Grace if she was going to be okay, but then Patroclus came out. She nodded understandingly, and cast him a kinda conspiratorial smile when he made his suggestion. "Sounds good," she said.

--

Haha yeah, no, Erica wasn't going anywhere near that. Fact was, even if she were absolutely sure Overgrow's sense of humor could be trusted - and she remembered the mold, so no, no she wasn't - she tended to avoid mind-altering substances as a matter of course.

Her childhood encounters with Nancy had left her understandably wary of external mental influences.

...Or anything that could increase her chances of doing something embarrassing in public.

...Or harmless practical jokes.

...She may have had some issues.

--

"Mmm...pretty sure," Erica answered. She wasn't too terribly surprised to be there before their teachers. After all, Glory and Overgrow were top-ranking Heroes; not a huge surprise that they might be busy.

[Thokk_Smash]

The rest of the impromptu meal is, for all of its inevitable awkwardness, a fun one for Roy. With fingers crossed, Roy tentatively considers today a success.

----

Roy considers the, rather large, ginger leaf with a raised brow. "Well, we don't have to drink it ourselves," he says to himself with a shrug. ~"Hey, 'Ri, I know you don't want to touch it, but could you just keep an eye on it with your Resonance and let me know if any Elemental auras try to get onto me?"~

With the utmost of care to keep from letting his skin touch any part of the leaf, Roy bustles about preparing various types of ginger tea. One he steeps a bit longer than the others; one he adds lemon and lime and other flavors to offset the bitterness of the ginger; one he adds in hot sauce and ketchup and makes a mental note to make sure to offer Overgrow that one. He arranges a half-dozen or so thermoses and fills them up each with a different brew, marking them with his own shorthand on what each is.

----

At the crossroads, Roy taps his visor and looks around. "Yeah, seems about right," he says with a shrug.

Spoiler

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Routine an Expertise (Cooking) to make good teas (and to mask the hot sauce from being visibly obvious) for a 26.

Roy's visor is set on Enhanced Visor Crystal. Perception with Extended 1, Rapid 1, Counters All Concealment: (1d20+18)[26]

[Llyarden]

"...combat drills?" Now, it wasn't like Ethan hadn't had any training at Salient, but, well...so far it seemed like Hope Academy was a little more...enthusiastic about such things. So there...may have been a little bit of nervousness in his voice that he did his best to hide.

He turned back to Dawnlight as she landed. "Um..." The relief on his face when she wasn't offended at his theft (and that he hadn't inadvertently hurt her with the conflicting energies issuing from the Stoichye) was probably quite evident. "I haven't really thought about it, to be honest," he admitted. "'Chiaroscuro' seems a bit difficult to shout out in an emergency, but 'Paradox' is pretty cool. Thanks for the suggestion."

***

Ethan hadn't seemed particularly concerned about the leaf...at least until he read the postscript. After that he made sure to stay kinda at arm's length from it - maybe two arms' lengths, once Roy went and took their mentors up on their 'dare.'

"Well, it's not like we're late or anything," he pointed out, content to wait until their teachers turned up.

[Zelphas]

The teas are quickly prepared; a discerning eye would likely notice that the Spicy Tomato Ginger Special (tm) is slightly thicker in consistency than the other teas, but otherwise the teas are nearly indistinguishable in look and differ only slightly by smell. Whether or not they differed in taste... would require experimentation.

----

Rupert sees the figure walking towards them from down the road towards the group, though Roy's enhanced senses discern the specifics of him first; it seems to be a tall, thin man just on the other side of middle age, with long silver-white hair slicked back in the hairstyle that was popular in Hope a few decades ago and a neatly-trimmed and curled mustache that is still a black so deep it is almost blue. The man's clothes don't mark him out as a farmer; sturdy, thicker clothing in shades of blue and black, suitable for traveling in the crisp autumn weather but not for working in the fields.

The man slows as he catches sight of your group, raising a hand in greeting. "It isn't often that a first-year Cell from Hope Academy comes out to visit the farms so early in their career; good morning to you!" he calls out cheerfully, deep brown eyes crinkling in a smile over his beak-like nose. "Would you mind some company while you wait for your mentors to arrive? I don't have far to go today, and companionship is a rare and wonderful gift on the road."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica kinda blinked as the man approached them. That was...a little unexpected. ...Was it that obvious that they were a first year Cell? Surely their antics hadn't given them reputations, right? Not that spread beyond the school, anyway...?

Given some of the reactions they had gotten from some of their antics, she could only hope that was true.

"Oh, hello there, sir," Erica said politely...if noncommittally. "I'm Erica. And you are?" she asked, extended a hand to shake.

Spoiler

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Erica's perfectly friendly and polite and charming and not paranoid at all.

Evaluate: (1d20+18)[20].
Detect Emotions: (1d20+18)[19].
Detect Supernatural: (1d20+16)[20].
Well Informed: (1d20+16)[20].
Assessment: (1d20+12)[19].



EDIT: What. The. Literal. FLIP!?

[Hyperbolic sine]

Was the being a first year Cell it really that obvious? ...well, probably. This being Hope, it seemed like it'd be a safe assumption for a group of four teens, waiting in the middle of nowhere on a Saturday morning.

Plus, the man did seem to be sincere, so there appeared to be no need to be tense...the fact that Rupert kept feeling otherwise was surely because he just wasn't used to be approached with friendliness. He really ought to change that, though, or he'd never graduate from being a loner.

"M- Morning." he greeted back. "If you don't mind waiting..."

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy gives the man a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Roy." He offers a hand as well, and midway through the handshake a lightning bolt strikes his mind.

His facial expression doesn't change, his hands don't twitch or give an indication of his thoughts. As his hand comes back, he lets it slide naturally past his temple--surreptitiously activating his communication crystals. To the others, he thinks, ~"So, don't freak out guys, but this guy reminds me of a story I've heard sometimes, specifically about the area around Hope's farmland. Sooooo, like fifteen years ago this guy Hoshea Abel tried to figure out how to control Tribs and accidentally got his entire Cell killed because of it. Now he, like, wanders Hope's farmlands near his old lab and talks to random passersby, and when the topic of Tribs come up he gets all deranged and stuff."~

~"So, ah, this guy may not be that guy. But it takes a Hope graduate to know Hope students, and, like, it would be just our luck. I mean, seriously, it's either the insane former-Hero or else Overgrow is pulling one over on us."~

"What brings you to this neck of the woods, sir?" he asks out loud, smile impeccably polite and friendly.

Spoiler

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Swapping to Enhanced Connectivity to mentally tell the rest of the gang that things just got a bit more interesting.

[Zelphas]

The older gentleman gives Roy a knowing look as he speaks, his small smile never faltering. "Forgive me for showing my age, but it is pleasant to meet young people with such a good grasp of manners these days," he says with a small self-deprecating chuckle after the group makes their introductions, shaking hands as they are presented to him and walking over to the base of a large tree nearby. He pats the tree companionably for a moment, then turns to sit down at its base with a light sigh.

"Oh, I do a fair bit of traveling, even in my dotage," the man replies to Roy, settling himself more comfortably at the base of the tree. "At the moment, I suspect I am later than a new acquaintance of mine wishes I would be to a meeting, but I like to teach when I can, and patience is a valuable lesson." His smile turns into a cheeky grin for just a moment, somehow seeming to invite the four of you in to share with him in a secret joke. "Don't worry; I should be gone before your esteemed instructors arrive. I wouldn't want to impose upon your first lesson together.

"Oh, and please excuse an old man's eccentricities," he continues, tapping his head with one long finger. "Mental Paragon--would you believe some fool was trying to call us all 'Megaminds' back in my day? The fads that come and go... My powers run primarily towards dissection of minutiae, and I've honed them over the years to a scalpel's edge. Long stretches of time without pleasant company means that I tend to gloss over a few niceties, so my sincerest apologies if I seem to be prying into your personal affairs."

Spoiler: Insight DC 24

Show

The man knows what Roy just figured out, just as though Roy said his mental communication aloud to you all. He's unfailingly polite and does seem to look at you with a genuine interest of having a nice discussion, but he also deliberately avoided Erica's question.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Rupert still found someone else's voice in his head to be somewhat unsettling, and what Roy had to say wasn't helping any. Also...

"Uhm...why do you say first lesson toghether? The year started a while ago."

Well, if the man was a mental paragon, perhaps it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that he could tell. But it sounded oddly specific, and he couldn't really fathom how he could have come to that conclusion before the lesson even started.

Spoiler: OOC

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Deception (1d20+18)[38] to keep up the poker face, so that the man might doubt himself without any actual lie being told. Crit. 43. This is going to be worthless, isn't it?