GranspearZX

Arc's Notice: 1d20+6=17 And Arc's Intimidate: 1d20+11=15

"Feels like my stomach and my brain switched places." He did feel a little nauseous--nothing debilitating, but it wasn't the greatest feeling in the world. He was pretty sure it would pass. At least he wasn't drowning; this seemed a lot like swimming, just without the water. So, he 'swam' through the air. It was a surprisingly natural motion; he almost thought he'd have to resort to flapping his arms like an idiot to get around, but it didn't take much for him to get going. Stopping, however, was a little more challenging, and the burly bear found himself running into the tunnel's frame several times. "Can't imagine when I'm ever gonna be in space... there's enough here on Earth to worry about."

"That explains why I got sent to the Lab the other day," he commented, nodding at Erin. "Ah well. Right now, target practice is all I'm allowed to do on campus. There's... really not much point in me using the gym." He'd had a tour of the Lab in Hanover, and on top of that he was assigned to do a bunch of training exercises in their simulator. He still remembered the thorough chewing he got over going off alone... and then the follow up chewing when the administration realized how close he'd come to getting hurt or seriously hurting someone else. Perhaps there was some real merit to that whole 'team' thing. Marcus finished up relatively quickly--probably before anyone else, but he didn't take much food to begin with. Someone might swear he was a vegetarian. He stood up and looked at Morgan with clear skepticism. "...really." He could sense something sinister about that grin; instinct told him that it was the kind of expression with mischief attached. He put his jacket back on and shuffled out after Morgan, eying him warily before heading through the door.

"Polar bear? ...huh." Marcus smiled a little bit at that, but it did put a thought in his head. Could he use the Beast Rune's magic to assume other animal forms? Logically, he didn't see any reason that he couldn't... but he wasn't sure how. "Battle Planets? I think you mean Sta-aaah!" The sudden weightlessness and his feet coming off the ground surprised him. In seconds, he was upside down, flailing a bit to try and right himself. "...yeah, okay, this is just weird. Interesting... but weird." Of course, he was an eight-foot bear floating in space. Weird covered the situation pretty well.

Rene's snark and sarcasm was making the big bear's eye visibly twitch. He put a paw to his forehead and sighed, still very much in control for the moment. He started to say something but noticed the stray dogs. This deep in the woods, he was wondering why strays would have even been an issue. It was odd, but he doubted it was really all that uncommon. He moved, positioning himself between Rene and the dogs, staring at the pack... "Ten bucks says it's your food that's drawing them, Mr. de Saens..."

Arcane Knowledge roll? If that's the one, I'll just take 10 on the check (21).

"Are you sure you're up for this?" He frowned at Rene; Marcus was inclined to hand him the staff he was carrying to see if it would help. He was, admittedly, a little tired from the hike, but not THAT tired. If he had to guess, they'd walked several miles into the woods... No reason not to use his powers. "I'll... pass on the wine, thanks." He smiled. "Never been much for alcohol." He closes his eyes and extends his right hand outward, breathing slowly as he allows the Beast Rune to take over. There's a brief flash as he changes, wisps of light swirling about him as if his very soul were changing shape. When it ends, he was standing there as Arcturus. If anything, he actually seemed bigger than when Rene had met him... Arcturus frowned, sniffing at the air. "...I really need to get out more. I can smell something but I have no idea what it is. This is the first time I've been out here in these woods like this." He moved a bit closer to Rene, sniffing to be sure it wasn't him. It was some kind of animal... just what kind, though, he didn't have the slightest clue...

"...well, it's probably too late now. Cell phone reception out here is usually pretty bad..." Marcus stopped the car, not entirely sure where they were. He supposed that in the grand scheme if things, it didn't really matter. He got out and grabbed his stuff, stuffing his keys in his pocket and slinging his staff over his right shoulder. "Right. Lead the way, then, Mr. de Saens." He had no idea where they were going, but he was sure Rene had a better idea than he did. Whether or not that was comforting remained to be seen.

Most of Marcus's belongings were in the back, and he'd brought extra things just in case. Mostly a change of clothes, just in case, and his staff sat across the back seat. His spellbook and knapsack were on the floorboard behind the passenger seat, and he took stock of where everything was, leaving plenty of room for Rene to store his own stuff. "Hey, it gets me from point A to point B... Don't insult the car." It was his father's car, after all; he didn't look directly at Rene, but his eyes narrowed a little bit. "So, let me get this straight. You dragged me off campus because there's something out in the forest that might try to kill us. That about sum it up?" He chuckled, though in reality the revelation was kind of worrying. If Rene was seeing some future event based on focusing on that rune, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what kind of craziness he was driving into. "Geez. I wonder if I should've called somebody..."

"Yeah, I can, but... ...right. Okay, I'll be there." Marcus's car wasn't much to look at really. Left to him by his father, he hadn't really had much occasion or reason to drive. He actually preferred to get around on foot if necessary--mostly because of the nature of his powers and the fact that he couldn't drive in bear form. He at least knew the best way to get to Wharton; he and his father had gone camping in those woods plenty of times. He'd heard of people being attacked and harassed by wild animals before, but he'd never had that problem... in hindsight, he wondered if his father had something to do with that. He had time to prepare, so he grabbed a few things; by now, he actually had tools that he could carry around with him. His book, bag, and staff were all he really needed... at least, he hoped so.

Marcus shook his head. "It's not that big a deal... I was born with it. Always thought it was just a cool looking birthmark... now I know better. But it's not exactly something I asked for." He shrugged nonchalantly. I guess we've got that runic magic bit in common, though mine usually requires specific words. It'd be a lot easier if it were all 'hocus pocus' and 'abracadabra', but that's what the Latin lessons are for." Already it was paying off; there were several spells he'd managed to pick out of the book his mother had left him, and he was much further along than he'd been several months ago. "There's a few things they can be applied to... Corbin's ring, your coat..." He nodded; it hadn't gone unnoticed. In fact, Marcus had been looking at it for some time, though he was hardly the sort to eschew etiquette and stare mindlessly. He blinked at Corbin and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. Part of the magic thing... a pretty big part of it, in fact."

"I don't know about this 'mighty' business, but..." Marcus smiled, shaking Morgan's hand. He could certainly see Morgan's bombastic confidence driving him crazy, but he could at least tell his heart was in the right place. He nodded at Corbin, grinning a little at the turn of the conversation. "You'd be surprised at how much 'myth' isn't really myth... Technically, I've seen the boogeyman. Or at least 'a' boogeyman. As for my methods, I'm... really not much of a fighter. Not that I'm above punching someone in the face, as you put it. Now when I transform, that's a whole different thing. Different mindset, literally." He nodded slowly.

Marcus grinned at Etain. "Potential. I swear, I hear that word way too often." He regarded Morgan for a moment, musing over his code name. Between that and his heritage, he couldn't have been the same guy he'd heard about. The spirits talked, and he wasn't so arrogant that he'd think he was the only one making waves in the magical world. This guy was just so... cocky. It was amusing and a little irritating at the same time. He wasn't sure how he'd managed to take on a Fomorian. Then again, he didn't really look like he could scare a nightmare spirit into running away from him either, and he'd managed just fine. "...inadequacy, huh? Hm..." Marcus chuckled. "I'm not sure about you specifically, but your name, at least, has been busy."

Arc's taking 10 on his Arcane Lore check, giving him a result of 21 for Arc. Crow would know that Marcus is the current possessor of the Beast Rune (yay fae gossip!). He'd also know that its power is remarkably similar to lycanthropy--transforms the user into a reflection of their inner nature, Marcus's being his bear form. He'd also know that it's not something that can just be copied; it has to pass from one person to another.

"TV? ...huh. That must've been when I was in Pennsylvania..." He really didn't want to say any more than that; Etain had tried to get it out of him once, but he still didn't really want to talk about it. It was bad enough that he was being forced to see the school's counselors after the close call and the subsequent fallout from it... He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, reaching around to scratch at his right shoulder. "Mm?" He looked up as Erin spoke, swallowing the celery he'd been chewing on. "My codename's 'Arcturus'... Arc works just fine though. Most of my ability is magical, I guess you could say. Spells, charms, the whole nine. There's also the whole transformation thing, but that's complicated." He smiled; complicated was quite the understatement. As long as no one asked for a demonstration, he was fine.

"A what?" Marcus had spent most of the day buried in his sketchbook. It wasn't entirely unusual, especially not recently. He was in his dorm room, his roommate was gone... really, he was having one of his better days, and was extremely reluctant to go anywhere. Still... he didn't mind Rene's company, giving him little reason to say 'no'. Especially not to free food. "Alright... picnic, huh? Just tell me when and where."

Marcus just stared at Morgan for a minute. Had he ever been in a real confrontation before? He wasn't sure what to say, though the Beast Rune was having a profound effect on his opinion. He merely grunted at Morgan's speech, absently chewing on a carrot. "I'm usually more worried about practical stuff. Like, say, keeping spirits from possessing little kids. Can't say I've ever been concerned with the looks on their faces." He had, of course, noticed Etain's tablecloth; until then, he'd forgotten why she never came to the cafeteria. He blinked at the sunflowers for a second, then realized where it all probably came from.

Marcus smiled faintly. It was a little bit forced; things HAD gone badly after that. "Yes, well... It was sort of a trial by fire thing. Next time I know what to do. And what not to do." Despite the fallout from that day, he'd learned that being invisible didn't mean much if you just stood in the same place... or if your mind was wide open. Already he was working on something to fix that little shortcoming--the Shield Rune pendant was certainly going to help. He couldn't help but think that it wouldn't have happened if he'd just worn the thing that day...

Marcus looked between Erin and Corbin. He couldn't beat her in arm-wrestling? She didn't really look it... but then, he didn't look like he could pick up a car, either. Looks could certainly be deceiving. He was modest in that he didn't really pick up much to eat--at least, not in comparison to Morgan; Marcus still had considerably more than most average people might be able to eat. He often joked that he was eating for two. That wasn't entirely untrue. "My... abilities aren't quite as flashy as all that. Although I could probably make something that looks like it." He'd of course, need a lot of materials and a couple of months--years, probably. The first item he'd ever made took nearly a week, although he admittedly was correcting mistakes most of that time. That's what was in the notebook Etain had returned to him--design notes.

"Sure, no problem..." There was something definitely different about Marcus; if nothing else, whatever limiters the Beast Rune still had on it were significantly diminished. Marcus's war wasn't with his magic. It was with his own sense of pride and realization of his own weakness. The line between himself and the rune were even more blurred than when he'd met Etain. God only knew what that would do to him in the long run. He had no idea what Etain said to Professor Quinn; he could pick out words, but not enough to have a clue what they were saying. Still, Etain had been nothing but trustworthy. Marcus didn't have a reason to think otherwise. He turned the green and gold-trimmed tome around and pushed it towards Quentin. "I've been able to pick some stuff out on my own and practice with it... I think I get the idea of how this is supposed to work." He had a lot of help from other mystics, of course, but he felt he needed to do more on his own. He felt like something of a stray in the magical community, picking up scraps of knowledge from whoever would throw them. Marcus realized just how overly dramatic that analogy sounded even in his head, but sometimes... "I managed to work an invisibility spell out of it once. It worked... sort of."

(Withdrawing edits until after February PP rewards are finalized.)

Marcus turned to face Etain, blinking at the offered notebook. It was his, alright; there were varying scribbles and sketches all over the front cover, with "M. Irons" in graffiti-style lettering right across the bottom. "Oh! I knew I felt kinda light... Thanks, Etain." He smiled as he reclaimed the lost notebook, tucking it underneath his right arm. For a minute he wondered how she'd managed to find him afterward, and so quickly at that... but then he realized how silly a question that was. "Say, we're about to grab something to eat... you're welcome to join us if you want."

She can tell. It was in the back of his mind as he sat there, fading in and out of the conversation. Marcus was unusually reserved, but he was at least trying to be otherwise. He certainly wasn't going to sit in his room and sulk about it for the rest of his life. He didn't think there was any real way Etain could tell what had happened to him, but somehow, he suspected otherwise--Beast Rune intuition, perhaps. The same one he'd ignored before, and that dismissal brought him to where he was at the present. He might've been okay if Professor Quinn hadn't started rambling; the diagrams actually gave him a little bit of a headache looking at them. "Wow. Um... huh." He was starting to feel dizzy and inexplicably frustrated; it had nothing to do with the Beast Rune directly. He was just having trouble concentrating. He unstrapped his book from his shoulder and put it down in front of him.

"Rookie champion, huh? ...hm." Marcus wasn't entirely sure what that meant. He wasn't about to question it; he really hadn't a clue what those Irish words meant, so he defaulted to his smile-and-nod social defense. "Me? Did a little wrestling my freshman year at FDR, but nothing since then. Thought about it, but... it might end up badly for somebody." Marcus smiled. He wasn't trying to be arrogant or anything, but the honest fact was that he could already see himself switching forms in the middle of a fight. Hell, he'd done it once before already, shifting in a frenzied rage. The details were still a little bit fuzzy, and what he remembered, he was embarrassed to talk about. God only knew what would happen if he really let loose on someone. He hadn't even fully tapped into what the Beast Rune could do--or for that matter, what it could do to him. "I just know enough to defend myself. That's good enough for me most days."

"I know I would." Marcus smiled, pulling the shirt and jacket back up over his shoulder. "I don't want to end up like..." He stopped himself, not entirely sure he should've even said that. Rene seemed like a nice guy and all, but did he really need to know what his father had done to land himself in Blackstone? Even if it was 20 years ago, it was still new to Marcus, and that made all the difference. The last thing he wanted was to be judged for his father's mistake, especially considering it wasn't his fault. "So far I haven't had any major issues with it, but... better safe than sorry, I guess."