ic Organized Chaos! [Open]

[MoonSimply]

Carmen

 

"The feelings mutual, I've never been to one either," she responded back to Bert before glancing over towards Leon. She had met him before, a familiar and at the least friendly face for her to spot in a crowd. One could guess that she wasn't at home in a crowd at all and would rather be in its periphery, and if anything, somewhat above it, able to see over and know exactly where things are instead of getting lost in a horrid crowd that she wanted no real part of.

 

Her view on the paper boy quickly changed when he spoke of her being forced to room with Neko. For whatever damned reason there was, the two just didn't get along, almost like a strange sort of territorial dispute, "No estoy viv..." blurted out before stopping herself and calming down before speaking again. There was another new student, different. They seemed to have an accent as well, potentially from out of State or even out of country, "I politely refuse the terms."

Edited October 1, 2022 by MoonSimply

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko stared unblinkingly at Leon for a long moment - then bit him on the hand. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin but it definitely left a mark before she turned and ran away, scuttling on all fours past the crowd and up into one of the many trees that overlooked the quad. Up in the trees, her cheeks flushed a bright red, she settled herself on a branch and folded her arms around her legs. Oh! Oh he can tell, and he doesn't care! It was not the most traumatic thing that had ever happened to the timelost feline but for the moment she felt her heart break in her chest as she buried her face in her knees. 

 

For her part, Holly stared, eyes wide, then seemed to shrug it off. "Animal totems have that problem a lot," she told Leon confidentially, "I'm sure Claremont will help her. Is your hand okay?" she added sympathetically, reaching out to touch it. 

 

"H-hey, nice," said Bert, who seemed to be coming out of his shell a little around such friendly people. "Guess I'm not the only...one that doesn't look baseline," he added limply, obviously having edited himself as he spoke. "Hey," he asked, "w-what's your favorite song, Carmen?" 

 

Meanwhile, having made friends with Luke, Gwen was buddying up with the newly-arrived giant. "BEHOLD AND WELL MET! I AM GWEN JACKSON!" they  declared, clapping the ice teen on the shoulder. "From what realm do you hail!?" 

 

 

[Spacefurry]

Leon hadn’t noticed the look on Neko’s face at his teasing joke. He was busy trying to put Bert at ease. And his attempt seemed to work as the boy visibly relaxed. As Jonah approached he couldn’t not notice the boy.

“Lotta tall ones this year.”

He chuckled as he introduced himself.

“Jonah, huh? Ya, I’m gonna be calling you Big Blue.”

He chuckled as he checked his clipboard before smiling over at Carmen.

“I was kiddin-“

He started to say when Neko nipped his hand and ran off.

“Ouch!”

Leon yelped more out of surprise than pain. He looked back in time to see the cat girl flee up the nearby tree. He frowned a little before smiling back at Holly.

“It’s fine.”

Leon glanced at his hand then held it up.

“See, no harm no foul.”

He shot a glance back at the tree again, his expression softening. He gave Holly an apologetic smile and thumbed back at the tree.

“I should see to that before someone calls the fire department about a cat in a tree.”

 

Everyone else seemed to be getting along so Leon took the chance to slip away. He approached the tree casually. Setting the clipboard down he leaned against it and produced a piece of paper.

Humming quietly, he smiled as he began to hand fold it this way and that. A few moments later a simple paper butterfly sat in his palm. Lifting his eyes towards the branch’s above he gave it a little toss and it was airborne.

It’s paper wings flittering as it lazily circled upwards towards the huddled girl amongst the branches.

[TheAbsurdist]

Jonah watched the whole exchange, his eyes widening, and he then made an understated, "Huh." 

 

Then cane the swarm of activity, and he pulled his hand back, before Gwen smacked his shoulder, with a dense thunk as the impact of their hand was enough to sting their palm a little, he was skinny in that way of someone who grew recently and was starting to fill out. The big rangy, blue guy nodded at Gwen. "Uh, Denver, Colorado?" He didn't seem shy, so much as processing Gwen's exuberance.

 

And before he could Leon added the whole Big Blue, and that is when his brows furrowed into an impressive display, heavy as they were and deep set as his eyes were. Annoyance crossing like a thunderstorm, but it didn't quite get to his voice, "Huh. Yappy." And to his credit was only a small bit of cold on the warm day.

 

Fixing his face as Leon went off to only add fuel to the fire, he looked back to everyone else, Gwen included, "Yah, Colorado, mo-," he caught himself on the first Dutch syllable, "...mom was a professor there. Though she's at FCU now that I am here."

 

Though he almost made a sympathetic face to Bert, but well that guy was paying more attention to Carmen. Which, fair.

 

"Anyone here local and know of any good climbing gyms?"

[Nerdzul]

On 9/14/2022 at 4:34 AM, Avenger Assembled said:

At that moment, a puffy cloud of pink butterflies formed nearby, took a humanoid shape - and promptly transformed itself into a slight, slim figure with pointed ears and bright pink hair cut short. "What ho! Holly, who are these fine specimens?" Holly quickly introduced Gwen, whose pronouns were they/them, a traveler and mystic from the realms of the fae. Gwen beamed at the phrase, then admitted, "My mother was, I am a Butterfly in the garden of such magic." Their eyes set on Luke and they declared, "Is that a dragon in manflesh? I have one of your kind in my service. How wonderful! Why did we not hang out with them before?" 

 

 

'A dragon in manflesh...' "Sounds almost dirty you know." The young man teased playfully. "Anyway, Luke, aka Nightscale, at your service. Gwen. Holly, nice to meet, you two" He grinned, bowing his head a little and saluting the newcomers. "You have dragons in your garden? Sounds cool. " He chuckled. "I should definitely pay a visit one of these days..." He added enthusiastically. "I mean if you would have me." He continued, enjoying Gwen's enthusiastic attitude, besides it was not like he was swimming in chances to meet others of his kind. 

 

"That's cool." He smiled at Simon's shapeshifting demonstration, tempted to show off a bit himself, but unfortunately that would have required clearing out the area a bit, or finding some place where he could fully stretch his wings... Next time...  

 

On 9/13/2022 at 3:29 PM, Spacefurry said:

“There you are.”

He addressed Luke and gave his roommate a fist-bump and teased him with a wave of the clipboard he was holding. Luke hadn’t been the only one who had pick the wrong day to volunteer.

“Having fun yellin at the noobs? I could hear you across the promenade.”

 

"Yeah definitely. You should try sometimes." Luke grinned, waving at his roommate, nodding as he realized that the boy had volunteered to help with the mess as well. 

 

Speaking of which, apparently there was a situation forming between a bunch of freshmen that required his attention... The boy shook his head, deciding to forget that he himself had gotten into fights at school as well during his first year. "Duty calls..." He bowed his head again and saluted the group of students.  

 

... 

 

Angry growling could be heard from the courtyard as the teenage dragon did his best to quell the commotion, with his characteristic patience and understanding (none of it), but eventually, the situation seemed to calm down and the boy did manage to return among the small crowd of friends at Neko's and Owain's stand. Noticing that the crowd has grown in his short absence.

 

"Hey... What's up noobs?" He greeted the newcomers, with a wide grin. "Hope Leon is not scaring you too much about Claremont." He teased, his attention shifting toward Neko now hiding on topo of a tree. Uh... ok... He winced

 

19 hours ago, Spacefurry said:

“I should see to that before someone calls the fire department about a cat in a tree.”

 

 

"Well we should call a superhero or somethin'" He smiled, confident that his roomie will find a way to defuse the situation (especially after that day at the pool). "Oh wait..."

 

12 hours ago, TheAbsurdist said:

"Anyone here local and know of any good climbing gyms?"

 

"None that beats what we have at school..." The young ma suggested. "I mean, got everything for people like us, plus more..." Plus, since he got superpowers normal gyms weren't exactly an option anyway. "For me, it sure beats trying to bench press cars at the junkyard." He smiled. Yep. Definitely. 

 

"Welcome by the way." He added, introducing himself to Maddi, Bert and Jonah, shortly thereafter.

 

Edited October 4, 2022 by Nerdzul

[Thunder King]

Cat-Sith

 

Simon wasn't quite ready for the crowd that gathered, and, so, slowly slipped away. He doubted anyone noticed, or cared all that much. Then, Neko climbed up the tree.

 

He slipped in to cat form, walked around the tree, and hopped up the other side.

 

He climbed on to a nearby branch and curled up comfortably.

 

"Don't mind me." He said, one yellow eye glancing at the girl. "Just enjoyin' one of my favorite spots on campus. I ain't good with all these people just yet." 

[Tiffany Korta]

Maddie Madrigal
The sensible thing would have been to gently sip the drink, to get used to the tastes before delving into the deeper depths of taste sensation. Maddie wasn’t on to go into any challenge half hearted, kinocking back the drink and shivering at the burst of tastes on her tongue. It was like a bing blind and then suddenly seeing everything in minutes details.

 

“Another, please!” more than that and she’d probably have to work off the energy for the rest of the day

 

“I am from a place I believe is called here Terminus, not as exciting as this place called Denver I’m sure!” she felt clever at her attempts to include this new person in her conversations, it was still weird to have to deal with people as equals but she really was trying.

[Avenger Assembled]

Owain provided the second drink, pleased at the girl's enthusiasm - so much so that he decided to let the money for this one slide. Neko was the one who liked to play the merchant; he was just offering hospitality to his guest, temporary though that status may be. He raised an eyebrow at the evident gravity in Maddie's words, recognizing their weight if not their meaning. "Indeed? And what brings you to this realm?" he asked with a young lord's solicitousness, his gaze starting to flick around behind her as he looked around for Neko. 

 

Her cheeks flushed red, Neko folded her body underneath herself, perching neatly on a branch that looked like it should never have been able to support her weight. She looked at Simon with slit eyes and made a feline noise that said "<This is bad!>" 

 

Gwen followed Luke, all ebullient charm as they circled the boy like someone admiring a prize blooded stallion "Aye, in my mother's fae realm. Here I have but my own magics. How did you come to be here, and in human guise?" Gwen got as handsy as Luke would allow, running hands down the boy's back like someone feeling the lines of that horse. "And what put you in this form?" 

 

When Leon appeared below, his first glimpse of Neko was her ears, poking out above the curve of the tree limb she was perched on. Slowly her face slid into view, big yellow eyes, cheeks flushed pink - and then slowly, she sunk back out of view. 

 

[Thunder King]

vCat-Sith

 

Simon signaled something resembling sympathy, and moved no closer to Neko. He did, however, make sure she knew she wasn't alone, unless she wanted him to leave. He wasn't entirely sure what happened, but he could tell she was upset, so he decided to sit up in the tree to keep her company.

 

He stretched, and curled up. He kept his eye on Neko, letting her know he was just going to be there.

[MoonSimply]

Carmen

 

Watching as Neko stormed off in a fit, Carmen just stood there, watching as the fellow feline-based heroine literally climbed up a tree to keep away in seclusion. Leon had to an extent deserved a little reprisal, but not a full-blown bite to the hand. Part of her wanted to go over and help her but threw out the thought. Her being there would only make things worse, far worse, and the only way to make things better would be time. Time of was something she had near forgotten was in short supply as she attempted to slyly and slowly begin to inch away. It would be better if she were to just fall back into the larger crowd, getting to her first class or whatever the orientation they were having her do was for.

 

 

[Spacefurry]

Leon didn’t notice cat-Simon as he scurried up the tree. He was more focused on the glimpse of the rare and elusive ‘tree-bound-catgirl’. He grinned a little as she sank back out of sight. The paper butterfly fluttered around a few moments before landing lightly on one of her ears. Pulling out another few sheets Leon started folding again.

He didn’t say anything at first, but when it was obvious she wasn’t going to say anything he decided to start.

“I’m sorry.”

He make another fold.

“You know I wouldn’t actually try to get you moved.”

It was the only thing he could think of that he had said.

As he waited to see if she would respond all he could think about was how, ever since the pool, this weird tension had been growing between them. He blamed himself for it. He had started reading too much into little things, he thought. Owain’s words still bounced around in the back of his mind. Maybe he should just ask her… what was worst that could happen?

He paused mid-fold as a couple worst case scenarios tumbled around his head. Neko didn’t seem the type the balk or laugh, maybe an anonymous mention she could share in one of her streams. His smile faltered a little.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Spacefurry

[TheAbsurdist]

Jonah took the rabidly developing scene in stride, in that mostly he was feeling on his back foot about all of it. Oh, there is some sort of backstory I am missing, this is why I dont watch television.

 

Gwen flitted away with Luke to the other guy, leaving processing, but he was also being addressed by Maddie and he looked to her, and by extension Owain. "Oh, uh Denver? Its okay for big city. I liked Boulder better. But I like the mountains. Climbing, and, ha obviously, snow."

 

He was about to look to Owain before he realized, "Oh! I don't know either of your names, but I'd like some lemonade." He shifted his bags off his shoulder and to the ground, as he rummaged for a wallet in his fanny pack. 

[Nerdzul]

"And how come you found yourself in our land?" Luke asked back. "Not that I mind, by the way." He teased.

 

"Myself... Dark wizard stole my egg. Wanted to raise me to like eat his rivals or somethin'... You know, the usual evil wizards stuff. I mean, almost understandable if you think about it." He joked.

 

"Kept me human for a while, but then the spell kinda broke." That was perhaps a bit of an understatement, but it was not like he was gonna narrate his whole life story. "Still, there are perks to keeping this shape, you know? I mean, for a starter people don't run off screaming when they see you." He chuckled, plus he still felt way more comfortable in his skin that way. "Am I right?" He grinned, yeah, Gwen definitely didn't feel like she was running away from him, quite the opposite indeed. Now Luke certainly wasn't the kind of teenage boy that minded having some attention, quite the opposite in fact and yet... He could not avoid his cheeks assuming a slightly brighter coloration.

 

"Hey..." He protested when he felt Gwen's touch sliding down on his back, the objection though was more playful than embarrassed. . "I can give you a ride one of this days you know?" He tossed shortly thereafter. "Assuming my girlfriend doesn't mind."

 

Edited October 9, 2022 by Nerdzul

[Avenger Assembled]

Neko slowly reappeared up top, first the ears, then the rest of her. She studied Leon, watching as he shaped the paper below into a perfect shape, and then slowly climbed back down the tree, digging her hands into the tree trunk to slow her descent for just a moment. She stood next to Leon, tail switching nervously, then said, "Okay." She folded her hands behind her back, glad that there were no teachers closing in on them, and gave him a small smile. "You okay Leon?" 

 

"Oh, I am of this realm. My mother was exiled from the Summer Court an eternity ago, and so met my - father here. Wait a moment, wait a moment, did you say that THERE ARE TWO DRAGONS HERE!?" boomed an excited Gwen. The butterfly fae slipped their arm underneath Luke's and gave him a hopeful look. "Can I meet her?" 

[Nerdzul]

"Being an dimensional exilee is pretty badass"  Luke chuckled. 

 

"Wha-?" Luke winced at Gwen's enthusiastic reaction, although, he did not really stop them. "Two? I mean I do know another dragon, but... You mean Muirne? My girlfriend? She isn't a dragon... She is human..." He objected. "And a superhero herself." For a moment he wondered if he should introduce the two of them, but to be honest, he wasn't that sure if it was gonna be a good idea, for now.  "I don't think that she has arrived yet..."

[Spacefurry]

Leon was a little lost in thought and hadn’t heard Neko climb down at first. To his credit, when she did speak from beside him he didn’t jump or even flinch. He turned his head to look at her.

“I’m okay.”

He said, his smile returning.

“I was just worried you might not want to talk to me anymore, and it made me sad. I’m glad I was wrong.”

Was he being corny? Yes. Was he being sincere? Also, yes.

The paper butterfly still perched on Neko’s ear fluttered its wings. Leon turned to face her holding the small folded paper box in his hand, offering it to her.

“Can I show you a trick?”

He flashed her a grin.

[Avenger Assembled]

Owain gave Jonah the lemonade and exchanged the money, eying the other boy with great interest. "You will find it a striking drink," he promised Jonah, "there is no touch of real lemon or sugar in it, but the flavor is impressive. I would not drink it as mine sole beverage, but tis a pleasant enough way to spend the time." 

 

"My dad," said Gwen, putting some venom in the last word, "said I couldn't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend until I turn eighteen. He's such a cop.  You know,." they went on smoothly, "I bet he'd hate it if I was spending lots of time with you. He wants me to be more normal." 

 

"Yes." Neko folded her hands and looked at Leon expectantly, tail twitching slightly behind her, as if she wasn't quite settled yet. 

[TheAbsurdist]

Jonah smiled at Owain, at his general expression and exuberance. "Thank you Owain, I do like the artificial flavor stuff." As if to prove the point he took a drink from the cup and he glanced at the others if just because Gwen's raucous declarations made him look to them.

 

Maddie also had a boisterous energy, and while he didn't think of himself as shy, Jonah could probably best be considered 'retiring'. Or, as he preferred it 'goes with the flow.'

 

He looked back to Owain, "I'd offer to keep things cold, but I am not great with all the powers and I might freeze... ah, you." He laughed sheepishly, at that and rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand.

[Nerdzul]

On 10/21/2022 at 3:30 AM, Avenger Assembled said:

"My dad," said Gwen, putting some venom in the last word, "said I couldn't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend until I turn eighteen. He's such a cop.  You know,." they went on smoothly, "I bet he'd hate it if I was spending lots of time with you. He wants me to be more normal." 

 

 

"Eighteen? Come on we are not in the middle ages." Well... "Said the dragon to the fae." Luke chuckled.

 

"Indeed and he wouldn't be the first..." He smirked, yep, back at his old school, 'somehow' very few parents were eager to see their daughters hang out with the wanna-be gangster (at least it wasn't the same case with Muirne adoptive ones). "Normal is overrated if you ask me." He shrugged. Yep, especially here at Claremont, speaking of which, the boy threw another glance at Leon trying to woo Neko from her perch on the tree. "So what do you have in mind?"

 

 

[Spacefurry]

Leon couldn’t help but grin a little wider as he saw Neko’s tail twitch.

‘Well… here goes everything.’

He thought to himself and mentally forced himself to breathe normally.

“This trick requires a little audience participation.”

Slowly, he reaches out to take one of her warm hands. Placing the small paper box into her palm he reaches for her other hand. Taking that hand, he gently places it over the box, hiding it from sight. Cupping Neko’s hands in his own, he looks up from her hands to smile at her. Lifting her hands he bows his head slightly, taking a small breath and pursing his lips as if to kiss her fingers.

Instead, he gently blew across her fingers. Neko could feel the paper rustle in her palm and Leon slowly released her hands and took a half step back. He gave her a smile, waiting for her to open her hands.

 

When she does, in her hands the box is gone and in its place a small paper branch with two tiny buds fits easily in one palm.

“Hmm.”

Leon gives a feigned look of contemplation and leans a little closer, as if to look closer at the tiny branch.

“One of those should have opened. You know, I think I read in a book somewhere that a kiss can open a flower.”

He says in what he thinks is a joking tone, thinking Neko would look cute giving the tiny bud a little peck.

[Griffalo]

Noel was hurrying through the corridors of Claremont, a wrinkled printout clutched in his hand. He looked harried, confused as he kept looking from the paper to the doors and walls. "Can't be late, can't be late..." His Bostonian accent was thick, clothes worn and slightly ill-fitting, as if the wearer was trying to blend into the background as much as possible. His backpack was slung over one shoulder, the standard JanSport at first glance, but on closer inspection it was some off-brand.

 

That was the thing about impressions, he thought. You only get to make one. He wasn't exactly joining with the new intake, so he felt the weight of impressing those around him. The least amount of time he could spend as 'the new kid' the better. He just hoped he didn't alienate absolutely everyone on his first day. His father had predicted as such very succinctly - 'Who the hell would wanna be friends with you?'

[MoonSimply]

Carmen 

 

Having left the scene of some of the other Claremont students that she was familiar with and was now walking around the halls, attempting to find one of her classes. Due to her being a new student, she'd have to do orientation every other day for the first hour. A mix of teaching about the meanings of being a hero while also attempting to bring students into the Claremont family. She really didn't want to do this, having preferred to take the Art II class at this hour instead of some boring class like this one was. This frustration combined with the usual in dealing with Neko prompted her to be partially unfocused as she roamed the halls, her keen feline senses failing her as regular Human emotions clouded her mind, making it far harder to concentrate to weave through the crowds.

 

Carrying her books in hand with only a small pack for the larger and heavier materials for class, Carmen would not see the Noel as she knocked into him, knocking the books out of her hands. An embarrassing event, the usual temper replaced now with a slight panic and timidness as her day was slowly turning towards the bad, "Soy tan estúpido (I'm so stupid). I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

[Griffalo]

Noel

 

The collision caused him to stumble and wheel about in the corridor - he managed to keep his footing, just barely. Almost immediately, he was on his hands and knees, picking up the books that had fallen onto the floor. He was almost submissive as he did so, as if he were afraid of meeting her gaze.

 

"It's all my fault, really. I wasn't paying attention. Let me pick those up for you." He scrabbled about, nervously piling the books together. "I'm sorry, it's my first day and..." His voice trailing off. He risked looking up at the person he'd collided with and was surprised - though not frightened - to see the cat creature standing over him. Almost certainly another student, which was a small mercy. It could have been a teacher, which would have created the worst impression imaginable.

[MoonSimply]

Carmen

 

"No no, I have it, you don't have to do that for me. It's my fault," she says as she comes down, seeing him look up to her as she tried to pick up her books. She was on her hands and knees now as well, grabbing an Algebra book that had fallen over and was just a little too heavy to be in her backpack than she felt like having in there. For someone of her strength, it didn't much matter, but awkward positioning aside, she'd rather be comfortable than have bad back later. It appeared like telling him not to help her was out of the question, seeing as how quick he responded to helping get her belongings off the floor.

 

By the time they'd finish, her arms were once again filled with her textbooks. Standing back up slowly, she'd look him over, blonde hair and looked roughly as old as she was. Brown eyes, slightly taller than she was by a small margin. Most notably of all, he was Human compared to herself, that seemed more like something out of a cheap horror movie, "Thank you."

[Griffalo]

Noel

 

He smiled awkwardly once Carmen had picked up all her books. "Sorry, again. I'm Noel, by the way. I'm brand new, only started today so I'm still learning where everything is." Thankfully the girl didn't seem to be offended, but it wasn't the ideal way to greet someone. Still, the girl he'd bumped into was definitely the most interesting person he'd met so far - in a good way. 

 

He nodded to the heavy books. "Can I carry some of those for you? They look heavy, and it doesn't take much skill to be a pack mule." The same awkward smile again at his own joke, but he felt her eyes scanning him, as people often did. The temptation in the past would have been to hide behind illusions, present a more agreeable, confident face. But no, he had to weather the scrutiny. He'd made a promise to himself to let people see him as he was, rather than what he thought they might want.