Heritage

Initiative: 1d20+1=10

Lulu twitched slightly at Janus' touched, and she slowly raised one index finger, as if to say 'wait'. By small increments, her breath rate began to become more visible, and in less than a minute, she opened her eyes, which bore a hint of concern as she looked over at Prince of Fortuna. "Ah'm sorry, Janus; ah didn't mean to upset you." Then she sat up and stretched like she'd just taken a nap. "Well, there you go! It's not just some kind of magic trick; if you need to hold your breath a long time, it's pretty darn useful. Or if you get poisoned, it can buy you some time." She shrugged. "So, if you ever want to practice, ah'm your gal."

"Oh, maybe ah could get my daddy to play," Lulu said wryly in response to Selena's comment about Crown Royal; it was obviously a joke, but there was a hint of genuine bitterness as well. "As far as the rules stuff goes, ah Skyped with my cousin Randy in Pensacola? He's played, and he gave me lots of pointers. Ah rolled up an elven cleric, Nature domain, so ah guess we should be pretty good on healin'." She placed a big bag of tortilla chips on the table, and put out salsa and cheese dip. She also brought two liters of Coke and a bag of grapes, as a healthier alternative.

Group 2 Lulu listened to what the other students in her group said, occasionally nodding along. "Ah think you're touchin' on a big thing there," she said as she pointed at Veronica with her pen. "There's some powers that might have more potential for abuse than others; should that impact registration? Like, ah can read minds, and do a whole lot of other stuff; ah can understand why some Fed might think that makes me dangerous. And believe me, it...can be abused." She closed her eyes for a few seconds to compose herself, as unpleasant memories rose to the surface. "Or if you can, ah don't know, shoot fire out of your eyes," she continued. "Is that so different than havin' a gun in your pocket all the time? And how does that compare to someone who can just...change the colors of stuff? Like that's their only power."

By this time, Estelle had joined Queenie by the door, lowering herself to ground level. As of now, her golden hair floated around her, almost as though underwater, ready for even the slightest sign of trouble to act. "Mr. Smokey here said that you provided him with a certain substance, perhsps s type of fuel, which may be linked to an explosion that nearly killed several people. Can you tell us a bit about this material, and describe it's properties?"

Group 2 "First off, ah ain't makin' no one sign a piece of paper they don't want to," began Lulu in her group as she shook her head. She was wearing one of the sweaters Mrs. Harrow bought her, a white one that went well with her plaid shirt and low black boots. "That's just a gimme. Now, as far as how ah feel about the rule...ah think she's need a little context, know what she mean? Like how does the ACLU feel about it? Why do we have this law now?" Leaning back in her chair, she used a bit of the Sight to look over at the first group, where both Adam and Janus were seated. If only she'd gotten here earlier, she could've been sitting in the Cute Boy group...

Miracle Girl's in college, so whatever that is, she's in. She also has an irrational hatred of assassins.

Lulu grinned at Selena's arrival; they didn't see a lot of each other, being two grades apart, but since the assembly they'd always been friendly whenever they bumped into each other around campus. "Hi Selena! Hope you got some pepperoni in there!" In reponse to her comments about her costume, she shook her vigorously. "Oh Lord, no! Ah ain't got time for all that cuttin' and sewin'; this here's just a psychic projection, is all." She closed her eyes, and for a few seconds all her adventuring gear and elvish features faded away, revealing the oversized T-shirt, sleepy pants and socks beneath, then the illusion returned, complete with the smells of metal and treated leather. "Pretty cool, huh?" Lulu raised an eyebrow and started backward for a second when Ashley scanned her, but otherwise offered no complaint; she wished she had an older sibling who was that protective!

At the Dangers' offer of assistance, Lulu just smiled, shook her head and waved a hand dismissively. "Oh bless your hearts, but it's fine; ah just need to take Driver's Ed and get a permit, is all. Best to be all legal and above board, know what ah mean?" She wasn't terribly surprised or hurt by Janus' disinterest in mediation; he was obviously a man of action, with better things to do then lay around doing breathing exercises. However, she was delighted to see Veronica's interest had been piqued; it meant she had something to offer to the sophisticated world traveller, and made her feel a bit less like a dumb hick. "Okay, well, obviously this isn't somethin' you can just learn in one session; you got to practice and whatnot. The key is to be willin' to let go of all your worldly desires, and just be in the moment, just like them Buddhists say. You do it in four stages, focusin' on your breathin' as you slip away." Lulu lay on her bed, hands folded on her chest, and closed her eyes. "Now just so you know, ah'll be in full control of the trance; it can look a little scary from the outside, but ah'll be perfectly safe." A mischievous smile touched her lips. "It's especially scary if you and your girlfriend come home drunk off your ass and stagger into the wrong bedroom; my brother Kyle still ain't over that." Then the young redhead became quiet as her breathing slowed, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. Little by little, her breath rate became slower and slower...and slower...and slower...until...it just...stopped. Lulu laid there, unmoving, like a beautiful corpse.

Tagged!

Up until now, it had been a pretty fun day. Adam had knocked on Lulu's door that afternoon, and asked her if she'd like to join him on a trip to the West End, which had a some cool shops, including a new game store called The Gaming Goat. The excitable redhead was one of the most enthusiastic players in his campaign, so not surprisingly she leaped at the chance. They started off with coffee and pastries at Silberman's Books, which was really cool and offered a 15% discount to Claremont students (a happy surprise). Lulu poked around in the New Age and Occult sections, and found them both surprisingly well-stocked. After making a few purchases, the two teens popped into Thanks For The Memories (a little pricey for Lulu) before heading over to the Goat, which was really cool. Role-playing and boardgames covered one wall, while card games and miniatures covered the opposite. The sales counter and snack machines were at the back, leaving the whole middle of the store filled with gaming tables, most of which were filled with gamers in intense play on this Sunday afternoon. After much browsing and a few pick-up games (there was a really good licensed Freadom League deck-building game), the Claremonters headed out, purchases in hand, in search of sustenance. They ended up at a sandwich shop called Pickles that made simply massive hoagies, and Lulu brought her appetite, chowing down on a meatball hoagie, cheese fries and a Coke. She liked Adam; true, he wasn't drop-dead gorgeous like Janus (who was, really?), but he was good company and easy to talk to, two major checks in the plus column. She wasn't sure how much dating she would do sophmore year, but a girl could do a lot worse than spending time with the tall, awkward boy with the shy smile. After dinner, the two teens were still talking about their day and how the campaign was going so far, not really too cognizant of the time or their surroundings. After about twenty minutes, they finally came to the conclusion they were good and lost. Looking around at the boarded up storefronts and chain link fences, Lulu chewed on her lip as she peered at her phone, the day's shopping now safely tucked into her bookbag. "Well, this can't be right; wasn't the bus stop this way? Ah don't recognize anythin', and ah got no signal." She looked up as they heard muttered voices. "Oh, there's someone over here; maybe we can ask for directions." But the scene they came upon looked anything but friendly, and Lulu unconsciously dropped into a crouch and lowered her voice. "Oh my Lord...are they drug dealers or somethin'?" She reached up and cautiously pointed at the Woman in Black. "That girl ain't right at all; she's some kind of telepathic dead spot, which means she's either a vampire, robot or some kind of witch or somethin'. What do we do?"

Made a nerdy edit to my post after I figured out scale armor gives you disadvantage on Stealth checks, so I went with studded leather instead. I figure she has a cousin in college who plays, and he helped her make her character ? ?

There was a rapid knock at the door. Opening it revealed...an elf, or more properly, Lulu Beaumont's idea of an elf. The pretty Alabaman was standing in the hallway, grinning like a little kid and wearing what appeared to be an elaborate costume. Her hair was long and blonde, and she had graceful pointed ears. A silver circlet in the form of leaves rested on her head, and she wore a suit of armor, a leather coat and skirt covered with studs of fine steel, shaped to look like acorn caps. On her back were slung a shortbow, a quiver full of arrows and a shield, and a blackthorn club hung on her belt. Based on the various design flourishes, it was a safe bet she'd seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times. "Hi Adam! Ah hope ah'm not too early!" She held up a shopping bag, which looked incongruous in her gauntleted hand. "Ah got my character and ah brought snacks, too! Everyone online said you need to bring snacks."

Even though Miracle Girl might seem like the obvious choice, these two threads back in the day showed Grim (and me!) that she has something unique to offer in terms of disaster relief. I don't see this as a full-time position, but she would definitely offer her name up as a DR/RT reservist.

"Well sure, but only because I tricked him." Casey petted Centurion a little, even though her heart wasn't really in it; she guessed he seemed okay for a cat. At Dancia's question, she sat up straight and looked thoughtful. "Ooh, good question! I mean, to be honest, I could happily fly everywhere, because I love it so much, plus it just saves so much time. Do we need to maintain appearances at all? If not, sure, let's fly!"

At the mention of driving, the Alabama teen nodded in shared enthusiam. "Oh, ah love drivin', too! And ah'm a real good driver; hell, ah been drivin' since ah was twelve! Daddy used to put me on his lap and let me steer while he worked the pedals. He taught me stick, because Daddy always said automatic transmissions are for two kinds of people-" Lulu stopped herself before she finished her father's credo, because it was not at all nice. She smiled with a touch of embarrassment. "Well, Daddy said all kinds of things. 'Course, ah don't have my licence yet, so we got to straighten all that out first." At the mention of new experinces and new adventures, Lulu reached out to lightly slap Veronica on the leg several times. "Oh, oh, ah know! Do either of y'all know how to go into a meditative trance? If you don't, ah can show you! Ah learned it to help me control my powers!"

Lulu smiled as she dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex from her purse. "Ah know. Ah'm tryin' to...stay positive, focus on the road ahead." She rolled her eyes and waved hands dramatically. "Ah'm just...on a bit of emotional rollercoaster, ah guess. Am mean, ah'm real thankful for everything you and Ms Summers have done for me, no mistake. Hopefully once classes start, ah'll be be too darn busy to feel sorry for myself. Oh, bless your heart, thank you, ma'am!" The sales lady had returned with a wonderful pair of brown booties, and Lulu eagerly dug them out off the box and paper to try them on. Once she had them on, she practically lept to her feet in excitement. "Oh, aren't they just?"

Kn: Life Sciences roll: 1d20+8=12 Nope, Estelle can't place it.

"Not a problem," Estelle said as Queenie went to pack up; she remained hovering in the air, arms folded as she coolly stared at 'Smokey'. She had a very bad feeling about all of this, and didn't like the sound of this 'greenfingered chick' at all. Using several thin strands of hair like fingers, she discretely sent a text to Agent Pepper via the datalink on her forearm. BELIEVE WE'VE FOUND SUSPECT. TAKING US TO HIS SUPPLIER. HE MAY BOLT IF HE SUSPECTS TAIL. TRACK MY GPS. WILL CALL IF NEED BACKUP. When the master chef returned, the blonde heroine nodded crisply. "Yes, lets." She followed along as before, like a Martian tripod crossing the dry Texas landscape. When they arrived, she squinted at the dilapitated farmhouse all covered in plant life. Leaning over, she muttered to Queenie. "If by any chance she's some sort of plant controller, we're in trouble; she has a lot of raw material on hand." There was a sickly sweet smell on the wind, but Gossamer couldn't place it.

Lulu was surprised at how many students were still talking amongst themselves; hadn't the heard the headmistress? Here was a lady who didn't put up with foolishness, and some of these kids were still chatting! Then she heard a bit more talking, and despite herself she had to see what was going on, so she used the Sight to to take a peek without rubbernecking'; the very perceptive might notice her eyes, while still pointed towards Ms Summers, had gone slightly out of focus, but they might attribute that to mere boredom. She witnessed what looked like a tense exchange between a beautiful glowing girl and a girl in a wheelchair; she wasn't able to figure out everything, but it appeared the paraplegic girl was very uncomfortable, so much so that she actually left the assembly! Of course, part of Lulu really wanted to figure out what happened by reading one or both of their minds, but she promised herself she wouldn't start poking around any of her fellow students' heads here at Claremont without permission. That just lead to trouble. So instead, she returned her focus back to Headmistress Summers, vowing to ask around after the assembly to find out what happened and who was involved.

Lulu appeared enraptured as Janus described his home dimension; it sounded like something out of a Disney movie, all carriages, ballgowns and swordfights. The romantic in her wanted nothing more than to listen to him talk wistfully of home for hours, but she honestly wasn't sure if her poor heart could take it. "It sounds simply magical, Janus; no wonder you miss it so much." Though the handsome prince hadn't said those words out loud, one didn't need to be a telepath to pick up on his obvious homesickness. "Ah miss my home, too; not my actual home, 'cause it was a nest of cottonmouths, but the sleepy little river town ah'm from? Yes ma'am, ah miss that very much." The apple tree had discretely faded away earlier, and now Lulu closed her eyes as she was surrounded by a cloud of night; lightning bugs bumbled around in the air, and sounds of crickets and frogs and lapping water could clearly be heard. There were damp swampy smells mixed in with the heady fragrance of flowing trees, and the very air itself took on a hint of a humid Southern summer night. Lulu breathed in deep, self-inducing a powerful wave of nostalgia. "Mmm...home is the smell of our dreams..."

I wanted to do this a long time ago! Add Lulu to the mix, if that's okay. Class to be decided, as she is a total noob. Edit: maybe cleric?

Still feeling a bit dizzy, Casey managed to find her seat and not spill either coffee, a goofy smile still plastered on her face. "It's nice to meet you, too!" She flopped her hands down on the table, using a bit more strength than she intended, causing it to shake violently. The coffees danced about, but miraculously didn't spill, though there was a blur of motion for just a split second right before they righted themselves. That was close! Get it together, Case! You have a job to do and an obligation to help this student, no matter how cute he is! The blonde heroine turned to Raphael and smiled. "You know what I find it very helpful to do before I study? A little deep breathing exercise. Won't you join me? You take a deep breath through your nose for a count of three, and then slowly exhale through your mouth on a count of three. Want to try it?" And demonstrate it she did; hopefully this would help her calm down and clear her head enough to focus on the task ahead.

At the suggestion of reading Janus' mind next, Lulu went bright pink, which was quite apparent on her pale complexion. "Oh, ah, read you? Ah mean, ah, ah could, it's just -" The telepath could hear the blood roaring in her ears and her vision swam slightly. Normally, she was very comfortable with slipping into people's minds, often far too comfortable, but when it came to someone she was attracted to, she never could; she was far too scared to see what they thought about her to ever risk it. "It just, uh, it just takes a lot out of me, know what ah mean? Right now, more than one a day is just too much; hopefully with all the trainin' and stuff here at Claremont, ah can, ah can do that...more often." It was an obviously lie, and she knew it was obvious, but that's where she had to leave it right now; maybe one day she'd have the confidence to it, but that day was not today. Nervously twisting her hair with both hands, the young redhead gamely tried to change the subject. "So Janus, tell me more about this kingdom you grew up in; did you say it was called 'Aruvia'? What was that like?"