ic (IC) School Daze

[KnightDisciple]

At the far end of the parking lot, a plain-looking sedan pulled up and parked; pretty clearly a rental car. A teenage boy got out on the passenger side, while the driver proved to be a woman somewhere around 30 (but one never demands specifics from a lady). The former looked very unsure, an emotion that seemed to increase when viewing the gathering not that far away. The woman, who shared some family resemblance, just smiled.

 

"Micah, it's okay. I know this is all overwhelming."

"How do you know, though? I mean..."

"I went to the Air Force Academy, remember? It's not the same, but it's close enough. Now, is that everything?"

 

Micah, as it was revealed, was wearing a sturdy backpack, had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and a large rolling suitcase held in each hand. A guitar case was lashed to the larger of the two suitcases. The young man gave a slight smile and let out a soft, shaky breath.

 

"Yeah, I think that got it, Aunt Janet."

"Oh my gosh stop I feel old, cousin."

An innocent, mystified look.

"But...you are?"

 

His cousin snorted and ruffled his hair, before grabbing him in a fierce hug that he returned.

 

"You take care here, okay? Stay out of trouble. Call if you need anything. I don't care if the local growly-cape person is bird-themed, you know I've trained with the best. You need help, I'll come, okay?"

"Okay, okay. I'll call Mom tonight when I'm settled and then I'll call you. Fly safe, okay?"

"Always do, cousin."

 

With one more hug, they part ways, the young man watching her pull out and drive off, exchanging waves one last time, before he sighed. This was it, the moment of truth. Gripping his bags, Micah turned around and started slowly walking toward the school entrance. Which meant he'd pass right by that big knot of students. Maybe if he just walked quietly they'd ignore him? 

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

 

The capabilities of the devices called cell phones still astonished Pan. Remotely talking to someone far away was not a common occurence on Neverworld, requiring giant viewscreens, but here it was commonplace to have a device that could fit in your hand or pocket that allowed just that, and so much more, from what he had seen. It was brilliant. 

 

Danica mentioned her previous roommate entering her chrysalis stage. Was that something everyone here did? If so, Pan would be more different from the people of Freedom City than he thought. Without thinking on whether it could come out as rude or not, he quickly asked the question that came to mind. "Do people here enter a chrysalis stage?" He paused for a second, before continuing. This world had many people with special powers, after all. It might just be something special to Danica's old roommate. "Or was it just your roommate?"

 

While waiting for a reply, Pan spotted another student moving towards towards the group. With a smile, he waved at Micah as a greeting.

Edited September 11, 2018 by RocketLord

[alderwitch]

"Broadsword," Janus replied with a lazy grin and the banked enthusiasm of a teen warming to their favorite topic. "Though I've been doing more saber of late. I've been having some trouble finding a good teacher since coming to Freedom City, and a breadth of skill is always admirable. Sabers are too light; bounce right off troll hide."

 

Janus mimed the stance, hand whistling through the air in a brief gesture of slicing, mimicking the differences. The bejewelled dagger on their hip was probably less for show than it appeared. Janus tracked movement out of the corner of their eye, noticing Micah as Pan did. Once the other boy had waved, Janus added in a wave of their own, encouraging Micah over to join the knot of teenagers before those bright violet eyes went back to Kam and the topic of martial arts. "Though if you're interested in a sparring partner, I'd be up for a few rounds. That Dakanan hand-to-hand style is lethal."

[KnightDisciple]

Micah just kind of shyly smiled and nodded his head as Pan waved at him.

 

'Just don't make eye contact and maybe the rest won't not-'

 

And then Janus tried to wave him over, and Micah just froze. He stood there, trying to figure out what to do. Part of him wanted to say hello, but part of him just wanted to haul his stuff inside and find his room and find a nook and just play and breath. So he froze, and he barely kept from pivoting his head around wildly. 

[Fox]

Elizabeth had outright pouted, but it was all in good fun. "That really does feel like cheating," she said, making at least a token effort to suppress a grin. "Where's the adventure in just having someone tell you something over the phone? Really useful, though, thanks! I have some paperwork somewhere in my bag, I just got a little too caught up to be organized, you know?"

 

All the talk of swords and cocoons was interesting, but the newcomer had caught her eye. He'd stopped! That wouldn't do, everyone was supposed to be making friends. Maybe, she pondered, he needed directions.

 

Her hand was already in her pocket; her smile went ear to ear as a set of cartoonish, five-foot, neon-bulbed arrows snapped into being, each pointing to the next in an attempt to curve his path toward the rest of the student body like some kind of Looney Tunes take on Las Vegas advertisement signage.

[angrydurf]

Even the relatively unflappable Dakanan raised a brow at the mention of a chrysalis as the reason for the absent prior roomate.  "Ah that is good to know."  he answered with an honest smile, "Happy to have a friendly face when questions come up."  he paused thoughtfully, "Any teachers to avoid?"  he asked with a conspiratorial grin that was the sort of thing that was not included in the handbook after all.  With a glance to Pan he shook his head though playfully explained, "Only once they've consumed enough milkweed to guarantee full toxicity."  his laugh made it clear it was not but playful jest.

 

He astutely took in the other student clearly not wanting attention and provided exactly that he wasn't here to force socialization on anyone and then there were neon landing lights.  Blinking once at the display he turned to Janus, "So Trolls, that must be a challenge even for a Danger."  he complemented.  "I'm not sure I'd be much challenge but I'm happy to see what I might learn of your techniques I only dabble really."  which was an abject lie of course.

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

"Oh, I completely appreciate the longing for some adventure, but believe me, going to wait in the line over at the administrative building is rather quite the opposite."  Veronica replied with a smile at Elizabeth's feigned disappointment about getting the information on her room assignment so easily.  "Besides, it provided an additional benefit of ensuring that Prudence remains at the admin building a bit longer and out of Janus and my hair."  The teenager then added.

 

It was then that the young Danger spotted the other teen walking nearby.  But before she could react, Elizabeth provided some not-so-subtle encouragement for the young man to make his way over to the group.  Veronica added a wave and a friendly smile of her own as part of the invitation to join the group busy chatting away about various topics.

[Electra]

"Oh no," Danica told Pan earnestly. "Most people don't have a chrysalis stage, but she was infused with butterfly DNA when she was a baby to save her life and now they think she's going to be some kind of butterfly person when she grows up. It was really experimental!" she added cheerfully. "I'm hoping she has really pretty wings when she comes out, that would be radical!" 

 

The group was starting to get a little crowded now, definitely more people than she could keep up with all at once. That was okay, at least everybody seemed really friendly! Danica backed up her segway, careful not to run over anybody's toes, and wheeled around towards the campus. "Does anybody want a tour? I can show you where the most important stuff is! The teachers are all good," she assured Kameron, "but I spent two hours wandering around campus the first time I tried to visit the greenhouse and that was no fun. If the rest of you are going straight to the dorms, I'll see you later!" She wheeled off a little, clearly ready to get a move on. 

[RocketLord]

Forever Boy

Oh, Pan thought he would fit in just great here. He returned a grin in response to Kameron's joke. And then the giant neon-bulbed arrows appeared from out of nowhere, pointing the newcomer that Pan had waved to join the rest of the group. "Ha! That's awesome!" He was already starting to like his fellow students here. And they had such wonderful tricks. He couldn't wait to see what everyone else could do. Without thinking about it, he found himself hovering a few inches above the ground, golden sparkles falling from his feet to the ground below him. 

 

And a butterfly person! He would love to see that! The hum of the segway reached his ears, and he found his eyes drawn to it again. If Danica was offering, he would surely take her up on the tour. Sure, he had the map and directions, but it was always so much better to experience things in person. "I'll go!" He floated over to Danica before realizing what he was doing and landing next to her. He could always find his room later, after all. 

[alderwitch]

"Prudence is our assigned majordomo from Aunt Rachel," Janus provided the explanation for how their relationship to the rather tense personal assistant worked. Janus blinked once at the lit up arrows, cocking their head to the side to study the bit of magic before deciding it was harmless. Janus offered to the other Danger, easily, as they had little love for more formal tours and that sort of structure if it wasn't mandatory. "If you want to go on the tour, 'Ronnie, I don't mind taking your bags up to the room with mine."

 

Their violet gaze slid back to Kam and a drawl deepened their accented English, "Yes, well, Claremont is known as the place for dabblers and dilettantes, no?" Sardonic amusement lacing the words made it clear that at least that lie, Janus spotted easily. Giving one elegant wave of their hand, Janus dismissed the matter rather than make a 'thing' of it. "As to trolls, only during mating season really, then they're hell on the fields. I'm missing this season, unfortunately."

 

There was real regret that laced Janus' tone briefly, not so much in missing battle, but rather in that it was the first year since becoming a full fledged fighter, that Janus wouldn't be guarding their brother's back. Janus reigned it in, offering a small smile to deflect onto lighter topics, "I'm sure everyone is bound to have bouts of homesickness in a boarding school."

Edited September 11, 2018 by alderwitch

[Azuth65]

Giving a quick wave to Micah, trying to welcome the boy into the gathering.

 

"I've been here a few years, so I'm good on the tour.  Though, I wish the administration had listened to my suggestion to paint some signs on the roofs of some of the buildings to help us find things more easily from the air.  Nobody ever gives directions in three dimensions," the magnetokineitc complained.  To Danica she added, "When you get back to the rooms, want to grab a pizza?"

 

At Janus' comment about homesickness Selena had to suppress a chuckle, "When I first got here, homesickness set in within days.  It didn't help that almost nobody here spoke Spanish or Korean when I got here and my English was... pretty bad.  Almost a good thing home is fifteen-hundred miles away, kept me from trying to sneak home on weekends."

[KnightDisciple]

When more students waved him over, Micah scuffed his feet and started inching forward...and then suddenly gigantic neon arrows appeared in the air to literally guide him to the group. He had to suppress the urge to turn around and walk away. Then he had to suppress the feeling that would result in property damage and lectures from Aunt Janet. 

 

Instead he took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and steadily walked toward the group, even as some of them split off to follow a girl on a Segway. He stopped a few feet away from the group, awkwardly shuffling and managing his bags.

 

"Um. Hi. My name's Micah."

[angrydurf]

Offering a sympathetic smile Kam nodded, "Being far from home is never easy, Moreso when missing family."  he offered in commiseration.  He glanced to Veronica, "But you are not alone and those left behind still have one another yes?"  he added trying to brighten the slightly somber mood.

 

At Danicas offer he perked slightly though didn't commit he still had a bag to see delivered and was unsure how many others might get more use out of such a tour.  "I should get my mags to my room but I may catch up."  he replied as Micah approached.  turning to the somewhat skittish and closed off student he offered a small bow of greeting and spoke softly, "Kameron."  he introduced though let the others add their own introductions so as to not overwhelm.  "Are you a returning student as well?"  he enquired diplomatically though from the trepidation the Dakana prince doubted it.  But the question would lend a perception of strength to the other boy and perhaps help struggling confidence a subtle if somewhat standard diplomatic technique.  

[Fox]

Elizabeth's eyebrows, white as the rest of her hair, shot up at the offer. "Ooh, tour, yes please!" she said, pulling the strap of her bag higher up on her shoulder as she set off after the segway. "And, uhm," she paused, spinning around on her heel to point at Veronica with one hand and at Micah with the other, "fair enough, tidy hair is important. And hello, Micah! I hope you make friends!"

 

Everyone deserved friends.

 

She finished the spin, stumbling forward a little as her bag pulled her a little off-balance; her physical therapist would have chided her for that. No harm done, though; a couple quick steps caught her up, and she was making polite but enthusiastic inquiries into the facilities as the neon arrows dissolved into the void behind her. "A greenhouse! Are we allowed in, or did you have to wander because we can't visit properly?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

When Danica offered a tour for anyone that was interested and Janus offered to take Veronica's things up to the room, the teenage Danger shook her head slightly.  "I appreciate the offer Danica, but I should finish getting my things up and maybe unpack a bit before I start exploring the campus."  She replied, giving Janus a small smile as well. 

 

With a brief wave to those who started off immediately with Danica, Veronica then turned her attention to Micah.  "Hello Micah, I’m Veronica Danger, so very nice to meet you."  She said in greeting with a friendly smile.

 

As Selena talked about her difficulties when she first arrived at Claremont, and in particular her language issues, Veronica gave a small understanding nod.  "Overcoming a communication barrier certainly can be difficult at the start when you are some place new.  Your English certainly benefited from the experience."

[TheAbsurdist]

And approaching the group at a reasonable rate of speed on her long board was the tall, and very blonde Corinne Conrad.  Not world famous daughter of Amir al-Misri.  They were occasionally on speaking terms.  She was returning from practice, and subsequent food run that garnered her an avocado smoothie.  The green drink in one held up hand, the other holding her dufflebag back a bit from moving about while it hung from her shoulder.

She paid idle attention attention to her surroundings, making sure that she wasn't going to hit everyone, even as she made her way to the front gate, in her nuevo-bohemian glory, a pastel and floral patterned sundress, with 3/4 length black leggings with printed roses on them, and a pair of pink low cut pink converse sneakers (she had a million of them).

As she approached the group, she smoothly stopped and kicked her board up to catch it with the non-smoothie holding hand, and slurping noisily at her own personal, and very green, ambrosia.  "'Lo."  Managing an easy smile to the group, her cheeks slightly flushed from the warmth and the ride over.

[KnightDisciple]

"No, this is my first year here. It's nice to meet you, Kameron."

 

Micah seemed to gain enough confidence to speak more clearly and calmly.

 

"I'm just...I'm from a fair bit aways, the Midwest. Or South. Depending on how you look at it."

 

When Veronica formally introduced herself, he blinked, then became...not quite awestruck, but along that path.

 

"Wait, Danger as in the Danger family? Wow!"

 

 

[alderwitch]

Janus offered Selina a lopsided smile, their mouth quirking to one side, "I'm afraid my home is even farther away than that. I'm lucky, though, that I have family close by." Janus said with a tip of their head towards Veronica. As Micah adjusted to the small knot of teenagers, Janus offered their hand once Veronica had finished making her introductions first to Micah and then to the approaching Corrine with a warm smile, "My name's Janus. This is Kam... and I'm sorry, remind me of your name?"

 

That was added to Selina to allow her to make her own introductions rather than having them made on her behalf more than any faulty memory for the taller Danger descendant. "The very same Danger family, indeed. Veronica and I are both cousins from Rex's branch of the family. From what I gather, Ace will be our nominal in-loco-parentis since both of our parents are, hrm, abroad. Though, really, all the power lies in Aunt Rachel's formidable hands. Would you like to meet him?"

[Azuth65]

"Yeah, making the switch was tough.  My parents tried to do the tri-lingual home thing back in Guaynabo, given how much of the world has been half brute-forced into using English because of the Internet, I get it now, but we fell back on Spanish a lot.  Or Korean, depending on if dad and I felt like trying to pester mom," she commented with a chuckle.

After being gently 'nudged' that she had forgotten to actually introduce herself she hastily added, "Shoot, sorry, I'm Selena Kwon.  I'll be Danica's roommate up in three-oh-two."  Rather than offering a hand to shake, she instead raised her right in a hand sign familiar to any fan of science-fiction television, "Live long and prosper."  With a slight grin, adding, "And before anyone asks, no, I'm not trying to add Klingon to my listed of languages."

 

Resuming her cross-legged position in mid-air she asked, "So, aside from learning how to break people in half with their bare hands, any of you guys have any hobbies?"

[KnightDisciple]

Micah shook of the "met a famous person" daze. He gave Janus a slight smile as he juggled bags until he could shake their hand.

 

"Nice to meet you, Janus. And...uh, thanks for the offer, but maybe later?"

 

He seemed to take the offer well but was definitely a bit overwhelmed. He tilted his head a bit at Selena's gesture, and opted to give her a thumbs-up.

 

"Um. Yeah. Long life and all that. And, hey, nothing bad about knowing more than one language. I'm bilingual, though it was kind of a requirement growing up where I did. And, um, I...can fix cars?"

 

He then regarded Corinne.

 

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself, I'm Micah. It's, uh, nice to meet you."

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica gave an agreeing nod as Janus responded to Micah’s question about whether she had meant the Danger family.  She then turned her attention to the tall newcomer who had rolled over on a skateboard. "Hi, Veronica."  She said by way of introduction.

When Selena asked about hobbies the teenager smiled.  "Well, I am not really here to learn how to break people in half, but hobbies?  I have a few.  Rock climbing, base jumping, riding, SCUBA diving, spelunking, hiking, translating hieroglyphics, and stargazing, among others.  How about yourself?"

[angrydurf]

Kam offered a friendly nod to the girl on the longboard, "Quite the conveyance."  he noted with mild interest as Janus introduced him.  "I take it you are not however new here either."  he'd note from her clear comfort in the environs.  Shaking his head slightly to Selena he lightly refuted, "I would not say it is the application but the discipline that I find the most interest."  he let it drop however realizing that discussing the finer points of combat philosophy was perhaps not the best way to fit in as a relatively normal student.

 

"In my free time I usually try to get out in nature, hike, swim, climb."  he shrugged slightly, "I imagine here it will be less easily attained and I'll have to adapt to new environs."  He nodded to Corinne , "Perhaps take up the skateboard."  

[Azuth65]

As sevral of her new schoolmates mentioned aquatic hobbies Selena grinned, "Maybe we can organize a beach trip some weekend before the weather turns.  I've got my surfboard in storage unit my parents are renting nearby.  But for hiking, Kam, there's some excllent trails in the state forest.  Trails I admit flying over more than actually hiking but you get what I mean.  Not sure about rock climbing."

 

Shrugging she added, "I have a few more interests leaning more towards the nerdier side.  There's a couple collectable card games I play, video game- wait, translating hieroglyphics?"

[alderwitch]

Janus considered the question for a moment, before answering slowly, "I don't really have that much in the way of hobbies. My, ah, duties at home kept me fairly busy until I moved to the Manor this summer and then I've spent much of that trying to make certain that I was familiar enough with the local idioms to not stand out too poorly. I watched a lot of television mostly." Really one of the quickest ways to get a feel for societies expectations. "Like Kam, I shall have to adapt. I do like driving, though I may have given my aunt a few new gray hairs in the process of getting my license."

[TheAbsurdist]

There was a roll of Corinne's shoulders in a shrug, as she kicked up the board and tucked it under the arm not occupied by her duffle.  "Oh, yeah, I'm Corinne, I dunno if I have a roommate yet.."  She frowned, slightly, as she gave a thoughtful slurp of her green smoothie.  Sweet, sweet, ambrosia.

 

"Yeah, it's my secondish year here.  Senior, I guess I am s'posed to show you things, or something."  She shrugged again, in an elegantly minimal effort.  If any of the prior conversation had an impact it didn't show.  "There's plenty to do outside of school, you can surf a little at the beach, the park and boardwalks are good for skateboarding.  But, like, I have precious little free time, what with dance, and school, and the extra classes, and gymnastics... I mean, not less busy than back home in L.A."  Corinne idly kicked at the ground with one foot, a bit of fidgeter it seemed.

Noisy slurp.

"I'm sorry, like, not really the best person to be an example, I am just wanting to get the controlling my powers down, and not ruin everyone's day, and stuff..."  She pursed her lips, and made an expression of 'I am out of my depth.'  "That and I am still recovering from the summer..."  She blinked and shook her head.  "Ah, you guys might have heard of my dad?  He goes by Asad."  At this she nods sagely.