ic New to Freedom (IC, Open)

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

In a sitting area near the grounds-side exit was another face Kam recognized.  He sat on the floor in front of one of the plush chairs, and a magazine was propped up in the seat.  On the floor around him were about a dozen books, and a cursory glance would show they were filled with an assortment of charts and technical diagrams, though at least one seemed to be an astrological chart.  He'd look to the journal, flip through three or four different books, then repeat the process.  He muttered to himself as he did, half in English, half in the bright, sharp clicks & pops of Atlantean.

 

I will unlock your secrets, Car and Driver magazine!

 

As Kam and Muirne passed by, he made an exceptionally loud click-pop, clearly an expression of frustration.  He leaned back, falling flat to his back, stretching out his legs under the chair, and then noticed the others.  "Ah, hello, Kameron.  All is well with you, I trust?"

 

[angrydurf]

Kam continued toward the exit and paused as the boy greeted him.  "Hello, Heroditus, yes doing quite well."  he replied with an friendly smile.  "Muirne, Heroditus."  he introduced with a wave of his hand, "Muirne is going to be attending come Fall I'm giving her and Lad-, ah Dee, a tour of the campus and facilities."  he explained easily as he glanced over what the boy had been so focused on before their arrival.  "Heroditus started here just this past year."  he explained readily though held off any further information about the boy after his earlier missteps with Benny.  "We made it through the quad then the library here, I was thinking the gym then the dormitories and grounds."  he offered inviting suggestions from the other boy as to important locations to include in the tour.

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne nodded at Kam's admonishment, noting that down along with all of his advice about the library. She was humming quietly again, but stopped when she heard a series of pops and clicks. She looked around, spotting the source, a boy surrounded by books. She watched him curiously, and then he spoke to Kam, who replied and introduced her to him. Muirne smiled at the Atlantean boy. "Hello Heroditus, it's nice to meet you." She wanted to ask about the sounds he'd been making, but decided on a less potentially offensive question, "If you don't mind me asking, what are you reading?" 

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

"Oh!"  He withdrew his legs from under the chair and hopped up on his feet, standing at his full 6'4" height.  He bowed slightly to Muirne, giving her a closer look at his sea green eyes, "welcome to Claremont Academy, Muirne."  His voice was a bright tenor, "you are quite fortunate, for Kameron," he nodded to the young man, "is an excellent choice to show you around the campus.  Have you been to the Gardens yet?  They are quite spectacular."

 

At her question, he smiled at first, then his expression shifted to one of worry, then back to a (weaker) smile.  "Well," he began, slowly exhaling the word, "I am from Atlantis, which is under the ocean.  And, as I am sure you might imagine, our technology developed along very different lines from those of the Surface cultures.  So, I am here trying to learn about Surfacer technology.  In this case," he gestured towards his pile or research material, "the land vehicle known as automobiles, and in particular their internal combustion engine."

 

"And you?," he turned back to her, "is there anything in particular you would like to study while here?"

 

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne suddenly had to crane her neck upwards as Heroditus stood, her eyes widening slightly as she realised just how massive he was, despite apparently only being a year her senior. "Uh, thank you, it's nice to be here." She smiled brightly as another person commented on Kam's competence. "Janus mentioned something about the Kam being 'the best foot forward' for the Academy. All this praise might go to his head if we aren't careful. I didn't know there were gardens here, so I think I'll have to say I haven't seen them."

 

She saw his shift in expression at her words and a spike of panic hit, and her link to the Shattenwelt started to force itself open again as she watched him revert to a weak smile. She still had so much to learn and she clearly wasn't ready. She didn't know what she had said wrong. Her voice wavered slightly as she replied "I was not aware, I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I did not mean to pry." She wasn't sure how to respond as he began to talk about technology. She couldn't imagine, the most advanced thing she had done without assistance was find the way to where her village was on the laptop Dee had supplied her, and that had taken her nearly an hour. She realised after a half second delay that he had asked about her, and what she wanted to study.

 

"Well uhm. The main thing I want to get better at is controlling my power, since I sometimes transform without wanting to. I don't really know what outside of that I want to study, I'm still trying to catch up with the curriculum." She shrugged lamely as she admitted it, while she tried to wrangle the link closed.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Kaede Kimura

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Dee had continued to follow along with the tour as the students coming to see the new face came and went. There certainly had been a wide variety among the students they had seen so far, and while the Englishwoman felt it would be good for Muirne, she also knew it would be difficult for the teen as well given just how far removed this was from her previous life.

 

When they met the Atlantean teen in the library, Dee again felt the sense of panic starting to come over Muirne as she tried to talk with Heroditus. Easy Muirne, I do not believe you said anything to insult him, more he is frustrated with his reading. Dee offered Muirne telepathically.

 

Stepping up slightly, the Englishwoman picked up one of the car magazines Heroditus had set out and looked at the page it was open to. "Ah, the 3.9 liter twin-turbocharged Ferrari F154CD V8." She stated with her refined English accent. "Quite the powerhouse, even off the self, so to speak."The Englishwoman looked over at Heroditus with a small smile as she sat the magazine back down. "My suggestion, if you want to learn car engines, get one and spend time taking it apart and putting it back together."

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Heroditus smiled at Muirne's reply, "not to worry, no harm was intended by your question, and none was inflicted.  Any... discomfort I may have expressed is solely my own shame, at my unfamiliarity with Surfacer technology.  Which is a good reminder for me to keep at it," he nodded, "so that I may one day help both my people and yours."  When she mentioned her own abilities and studies, one eyebrow went up, "fascinating.  I would like to know more, if you would be comfortable discussing such things," he looked over to her guide, "once Kameron is done showing you around, of course."

 

When Dee spoke, he did a double-take at her, and she might have prepared herself for questions (or accusations) that her fame (and infamy) so often brought.  "Oh, I do apologize, madame," he bowed slightly to her, "I did not see you there.  Are you Muirne's parent or guardian?  Or are you to be a new faculty member?  Oh, ah, yes," he glanced back at his books, "yes, I do plan to do that, but I wanted to have some idea of what I would be getting into before I started taking anything apart."

 

She quickly realized, both from his body language and the barest skimming of his surface thoughts, that he genuinely had no idea who she was.

 

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne breathed a quiet sigh of relief that she hadn't inadvertently offended him. That's good to hear, thank you Síþwíf Dee. A small, wry smile came across her face at his admission of a lack of familiarity with technology. "I don't think you need to be ashamed around me when it comes to technology, I might be even less familiar than you." She nodded when he offered to talk after. "I think that would be nice. Where do you want to meet?"

She tried to keep up as Dee talked about the car in the magazine. She was pretty sure she'd seen one like it at the Estate when she was learning English, but she had zero clue about cars. She smiled slightly at Heroditus' reaction to her suddenly stepping in. "Síþwíf Dee is my guardian, she's here to have a look around before I come here."

[angrydurf]

Kam stepped back to give room for the students that would actually be attending together post his classes graduation to get to know each other a little better.  Having a few acquaintances had been quite the boon in finding a place here for himself and he was glad to have the opportunity to introduce at least one of hte better influences available.

 

He watched with some concern at Muirne seemed again to be on edge of, something, but it seemed the presence or interjection by the Lady Farrington calmed any discomfit adequately.  He nodded agreement with the Lady, "With many a matter of technology hands on experience will triumph over purely academic exercise."  he agreed readily.  "The principle is straightforward enough.  Fuel air mix a spark and controlled explosion in series timed and converted to rotational motion."  He offered an exceptionally readers digest explanation of the workings of such an engine.  "The gardens would be lovely this time of year."  Kam was pleased with the suggestion, "We'll have to stop by and see the blooms."

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Dee had long ago stopped caring what people thought about some of her, mostly, past escapades that had landed her often in some of the British tabloids and a few other similar media on mainland Europe. So when Heroditus did a slight double-take of her, she simply watched the teen for a moment before smirking slightly at his question as to whether she was Murine's parent or gardian. Murine provide a quick response, but Dee still responded as well.

 

"Ouch, I am old, but not that old." She said with a small smile. "To have a daughter Murine's age I would have had them when I was younger than any of you. I might have been sneaking out at night from the fancy boarding schools my parents sent me to have fun at that age, but not that much fun."

[Dr Archeville]

Artificer

 

Heroditus forced a smile at Kameron's explanation of the workings of a combustion engine, irritated at both his own lack of knowledge on the subject and at the seeming ease with which Kam rattled it off.

 

And that is not even his field of study.  Hold: is that what I sound like to others?  Hrm.

 

"Yes, I... had figured out that much, thank you," he replied uneasily, "but the specifics are what is eluding me.  The composition of the fuel, how it mixes with the air, how the spark is generated, how the explosions are controlled.  Though," his voice relaxed a bit, "I did find the conversion to rotational motion bit to be rather straightforward."

 

He looked back to Muirne, and his smile grew a bit warmer, more relaxed.  "We could meet at the gardens, once your tour is over.  How much longer should that be," he looked back and forth between her and Kameron, "another hour?  Two?"

 

"Oh, I do apologize, again," he replied to Dee, bowing to her.  "I am, ah, not very good at gauging Surfacer ages.  Your skin is so dry, compared to Atlanteans..." he trailed off, looking around awkwardly until he settled back on his pile of research.

[Kaede Kimura]

 Muirne was entirely lost as Kam explained about how a combustion engine works, and even more so about the questions Heroditus levelled about the specifics. She was still trying to catch up with modern mathematics and science, let alone how a car engine works. "Uh, I'm sure you'll manage Heroditus." She managed a sheepish smile "But you both completely lost me, so you can't be doing too badly." She blushed a bit as Dee talked about having fun, but tried to laugh it off.

At Kam's mention of going to the gardens and Heroditus' suggestion of meeting there, Muirne nodded, "I suppose it would be a good place to end the tour then, since it would be for everyone." She smiled at Heroditus as he settled into his pile of books, "I suppose we should let you get back to work, it was nice meeting you. Talk to you later!"

[Tiffany Korta]

White Lioness

“Should I tell them about the electric cars like we have back home? Or would that complicate thing further?” Àjàṣorò whispered slightly amused to her brother.

 

Still she should really try and help show this newcomer around, she was a new student around her not that long ago really.

 

“I always enjoy the little Zen garden we have here, it’s a garden without plants where you can meditate… I guess you’d describe that as calming the mind. It’s a nice place to just slow down and enjoy the moment.”

 

Not a good start, still she was making an effort.

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Dee resisted the urge to rattle off answers to the many additional questions Heroditus had about internal combustion engines and their operation. After all, they were here for Muirne to see and experience the school she would be spending the next few years at, the Englishwoman was just there to observe and be able to assure any concerns of the other Vanguard members.

 

When Heroditus offered her an apology about not correctly ascertaining her age, Dee waived it off. "Don't worry about it, I can recall a time where most adults seemed to be either old or really old." She replied with a small smile as she waited for the tour to move on to the next location.

[angrydurf]

Kam tactfully ignored Heroditus' faux pas as he was corrected by Murine and Dee he was thoughtful for a moment processing the clever atlanteans questions and having not the wherewithal of the Lady Farrington to leave questions unanswered.  "Well the intricacies of the energetic oxidation at the chemical level or details of stoichiometric pressures may be beyond the scope of your study in this instance?"  he suggested carefully focusing thankfully on recommending study methods rather than simply rattling off the specifics.  "Instead perhaps take as granted that fuel mixed with air can with a spark be coerced to react explosively."  he focused on the fundamentals having always found such a grounding useful himself in his own studies.  "Beyond that it is simply belts or gears to see to it that ignition of the fuel happens at the proper time."  He shrugged as Heroditus went back to his studies and winced as he realized he'd fallen to lecturing a bit once more.

 

He offered a gentle smile to Muirne, "Apologies miss."  he expressed with contrition, "I did not mean to grow sidetracked."  He slanted a look at his sister as she suggested discussin the electric vehicles more common in thier own homeland and shook his head.  "Point taken Àjàṣorò."  he acknowledged ruefully taking her comment as a gentle jibe at his own overly enthusiastic aid, "We'll leave you to your studies Heroditus."  

 

With that he led them out of the library and gestured toward the Gym building offset from the quad and main campus buildings.  "The gym has equipment to train the body as well and some even up to the task of the enhanced physiques of some students."  he explained as they started to make their way in that direction.  "If your abilities lie significantly in excess of human norms there are more secure facilities for special study but for the average and even exceptional this is quite well apportioned."  he noted as they came to the entrance and slipped in.  "Restrooms and lockers for changing if necessary."  he pointed out off the lobby and waved to the attendant at the small snack kiosk off the lobby.  "Handy if grabbing a workout between classes and you need a post workout pick me up."  he indicated with the voice of experience.  He was if anything overly diligent in his own physical studies.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

As the tour had reached the gym, Dee had excused herself to use the restrooms at the entrance, mentally letting Murine know she was experiencing a wave a nausea. When Kam continued the tour on into a large room of the gym which housed not only various gymnastics equipment, but also a rock wall along one side. The ceiling of the room rouse high into the air, well over two stories in height to accommodate the rock wall.

 

Currently another Claremont student was present in this part of the gym, towards the back section of the room. Veronica Danger was wearing a belt attached to two long bungee ropes. The teenager Danger was gracefully rising and falling almost the entire height of the room on the bungee ropes. As she rose and fell, the teen alternated between a series of either front or backward rotations, stopping the rotations and relaxing her body slightly at the apex or lowest points at times to slow her momentum, only to speed it back up when she brought her arms back in close to her body and began flipping once more.

 

The teen was dressed in her typical attire, khaki cargo shorts, a black T-shirt and a pair of well-worn hiking boots. Her long brown hair was back in a braided pony tail, to ensure it stayed out of her way during her exercise.

 

As Veronica descended once more, halting her rotations, she spotted the tour group. "Hey Kam, Àjàṣorò." She called out before the momentum of the bungee ropes sent her back upwards once more. As this started, Veronica began a backwards flip, tucking her legs in slightly and bringing her arms up to the ropes to shift her weight back, so instead of rising straight back upward she was carried backward where she flipped over to land on a small platform as she grabbed the handrails to stop herself and began unhooking the bungee ropes from the belt around her waist.

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne thought she had been lost before, but now she was barely even sure if Kam was speaking the same language as her. She did manage a smile at Kam's apology. "It's fine, I'm not opposed to you helping other people." She waved goodbye to Heroditus as they left. She noted Kam's explaination of the gym down, "I'm not superhuman outside of my transformation, so I'm sure that I won't need those, but I will definitely use the gym itself." she said with a smile

As Dee left, Muirne let her know through the mental link that if she should need anything Muirne would be willing to help, but continued with the tour. Muirne drew a small map of the gym as she passed through the rooms, pausing as she watched a girl flip through the air as she jumped across the room attached to a pair of bungee ropes, greeting Kam and Àjàṣorò. Muirne decided to wait for them to respond before doing or saying anything.

[angrydurf]

Kam offered Dee a polite nod as she took her leave and continued the tour certain she'd manage to catch up when she needed to.  "Well the normal Gym should be more than sufficient for your needs than."  Kam agreed readily and continued on to show the weight room and some of the indoor courts for various games Muirne was likely unfamiliar with.  When they entered the vaulted room with the rock wall and gymnastics equipment he paused to watch Veronica's delicat aerial ballet waiting for her to complete her dismount and call out to them before he dared interrupt her concentration.

 

"Veronica!"  He greeted warmly and gestured to his ward of the moment, "Muirne here will be starting n the fall, just helping her get the lay of the land as it were."  he explained and nodded to the high flying student.  "Muirne, let me introduce Veronica Danger."  he offered watching the younger students reaction with some care.  Alot could be gleaned from a persons reaction to meeting a member of that famed family and he'd not paid sufficient attention when Janus had introduced himself.

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Once Veronica had unhooked the bungee ropes, she had slid down the ladder up to the platform and made her way over to the tour group as Kam introduced her to the visiting student. The other teenage Danger gave Murine a friendly smile as she focused on her. "Wonderful to meet you Murine, I am sure you will find this a wonderful experience once you begin in the Fall." There was the slightest hint of an accent as she spoke.

 

"Good idea to visit before you actually start. There is a lot to take in, and it might not always get covered in the orientation tours at the start of the school year."

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne returned Veronica's smile, "It's nice to meet you too.  From what I've seen I do think I'll like it here." She nodded as Veronica continued. "It was Síþwíf Dee that set up the tour, partly because everyone back home wanted to know what it was like. I'm glad she did, since having a chance to see what it's like here is definitely going to help." She gestured to her notepad full of directions and descriptions as she said this. "If you don't mind me asking, are you related to Janus, or is the name just a coincidence?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica chuckled slightly as Murine asked about her relation to Janus. "Not a coincidence at all, Janus is my first cousin. Even though they lived most of their life outside of Prime, they visited enough over the years that we grew up close." The teenage Danger responded.

 

As Murine mentioned her visit being in part for the benefit of others back home, a slight look of curiosity came to Veronica’s face. "So where is back home?" She asked. "Your accent sounds mostly English, but with a slight variation."

[Kaede Kimura]

Muirne smiled wider as Veronica talked about Janus, "That's nice to hear." Muirne chuckled lightly at the question about her mixture of an accent, "I'm from Kent, in England. The accent is because it was Síþwíf Dee and her fiancé Breogo¹ Erick who taught me to speak English, so I have a mixture of their accents. What about you, where are you from?"

 

¹Prince, Lord or ruler

[Thevshi]

Veronica Danger

 

Veronica’s smile widened slightly as Muirne asked where she was from. "The answer to that rather depends on how you define what it means for someone to be 'from' any particular place." The teenage Danger answered.

 

"My mother is French, my father from here in Freedom City originally. I was born in the south of France, but after I was a year old, my parents began traveling again, taking me with them on archeological digs, scientific expeditions and humanitarian missions all over the world, with just some good old exploring mixed in as well. I have been to every continent, travelled to some of the most remote places in the world and all manner of locations in-between. In fact, my time spent here at Claremont has been the longest I have been in any one place for one continuous amount of time since I was a year old."

[angrydurf]

Happy to give his voice a rest while Muirne chatted with one of the more reliable students at the school Kam too the opportunity to observe the girl's reactions a bit more closely.  She'd not reacted to Janus beyond the reaction everyone had to Janus, but here she clearly had no idea who the Dangers were.  Which was possible certainly but unusual at the least.  Between that and her earlier slip ups it became rather clear she was not from around here, or perhaps from around now, when she spoke of being from Kent and yet learning English from the Lady Farrington and her husband ensured she was not from this worlds modern Kent.  Perhaps one of those displaced realms where history led to the isles not speaking English, though more likely time displacement.

 

He was sufficiently distracted by his theorizing to have remained silent a potentially awkward length of time.  Though he'd not been addressed directly at least.  "Well traveled hardly covers it."  Kam agreed readily, "She's an expert on more regions and cultures than most adults have visited."  he praised with an easy grin.  And thus quite the resource for anyone not familiar with modern Prime.

[Kaede Kimura]

She cocked her head at Veronica's statement of not being 'from' somewhere, but quickly understood as she provided details. She thought to her visit to Canterbury with her father. It had seemed so vast and distant from her village, yet it wasn't even a long way in terms of the size of England. Yet Veronica had travelled to every corner of the world. "I can't imagine what that must be like, this is the first time I have left England, and I haven't even seen much of that." She smiled as she listened to Kam's addition although her expression hid some worry, as she felt like the boy had been studying her, but she hadn't had any reason for suspicion of the boy. Putting the concern aside she continued the conversation, "That's really impressive. Do you miss travelling so much?"