ic [IC] Skeletons in their Closet

[Darksider42]

Lilly did not look very convinced. "You sure? It looks like you can barely stand." She said as her vines uncoiled from her hands and fell to the ground, rapidly growing brown as they were robbed of whatever forces Lilly tapped into to make them exist. The thorns themselves would break apart before puncturing skin. "I don't know. I found this weird crumbling wall marked with old ward sigils. Next thing I know that... Thing broke through and I guess you can guess what happened after that." It was weird having an actual conversation with someone, even if it was one with subject matter this strange with a boy that has wings and talons.

 

"Look, we should get you to the nurse first. Maybe tell one of the teachers whats going on. I don't know if we can take on anymore of those things." The fact their fight did a number on some of the school property was already getting her worried she might face expulsion. She was not in a rush to return to Thornwood High just yet.

[olopi]

PC

 

 

Jann listened with full interest, intrigued by what was going on, especially once Lilly mentioned the wards.  The shaking further subsided, by now his legs were halfway stable. He took a first step forward, still using the staff to hold himself up, but not hanging into it anymore. “I’m fine. “

 

He continued listening to Lilly’s suggestions, but when the nurse was mentioned he looked slightly uncomfortable. “No, no nurse. Been there too much recently, cannot risk it. Do you want to tell this to teachers? Will not end well for us, probably. “

 

Jann took a few more steps forward, moving closer to Lilly. He sounded quite excited, as he retracted the quarterstaff, making it shrink back down into about hand-size. With one swift movement, it wandered back onto his waist, where a few more segments that looked the same hung.  His movements were more stable, even if the shaking hadn’t fully disappeared yet. “There’s a mystery here. Let’s figure it out. “

Edited November 19, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

"I dunno, I find being turned into a charred corpse to be a worse than a few angry teachers." Lilly rolled of her eyes and let out a long sigh. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and now everything should should have felt a minute ago was starting to catch up to her. She paced a bit, rubbing her eyes. "Look, do you actually know anything about wards or magic? 'cause I only know enough to know when something is up and thats about it." She did not like the idea of going back down there after doing everything she could to get out in the first place.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Darksider42

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Jann frowned a bit, but continued to speak, sounding as honest as before. “No idea when it comes to magic. “ Either way, he walked towards the stairs at a slow pace, taking each step individually.  He looked down, at the crumbled rocks, and back to Lilly. “Come on, something is up here. Don’t you want to know? If we tell teachers, we’ll never learn what it is, why this thing appeared.”

 

Jann’s attention quickly went to one of the windows. It looked totally fine, and nobody seemed to be outside, so he took the first step down the stairs. “Are you coming? If we wait too long something might happen.” Jann slowly made his way down the stairs, carefully taking each step. His body didn’t look as injured as before, but it was clear he still was, even if he was able to hide it. After a few steps, he bent downwards, picking his training sword back up, shoving it into the space between his pants and waist. It had certainly seen better days, parts of it black from the fire.

Edited November 20, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Hope seemed to enter Lilly as he acknowledged he knew little. Only to experience it being extinguished as he continued onward. She let out a long, exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in a vain attempt to calm down. "Look, that thing broke through some pretty old wards. If there are more then the whole school could be in danger. We need someone with magical knowledge to fix it before something else goes wrong and people get roasted alive." She told the determined Avian, exhaustion starting to be replaced with frustration. Not waiting for a response, she turned around and started heading for the door. 

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Jann acknowledged Lilly, and watched her turn away. He began to walk up the stairs again, taking each step a bit faster than before. “Wait.” He’d reached the top step quite quickly, and looked at Lilly. “I will not go down there alone. If I cannot convince you, I will come with you instead. “

 

He walked up to Lilly, his expression returning to something more neutral. From the closer distance, a few small bruises all across Jann’s arms were visible. Quite a few scars, some bigger some smaller accompanied them, making the skin of his arms look like an artwork of some sorts. His face was pointy and lacked scars, and his hair wasn’t hair, so to say. It was cut quite short, but from the looks of it, it was actually feathers, much like the ones on his wings.

 

 Jann extended his hand towards Lilly, as a proper greeting. “Lilly, correct? I’m Jann. “

Edited November 20, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly slowed down enough for him to catch up, but she did not stop. It was starting to feel like she was on a time limit now. OK. Maybe he's not crazy after all. Still things became a bit awkward when she found herself shaking hands with Jann. Self-consciousness was once again began to slowly creep back into her mind now that nothing was immediately trying to fry her. "Uh. Yeah that's right." There were many questions in her mind about him, but now was not exactly the best time. "So...Anyway, I'm guessing you've been here longer than me. Who do we talk to about impending doom?" In a place full of teenagers who could not control their powers, she figured there was someone you talked to in case someone exploded.

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Jann actually looked a bit dumbfounded at that question, unsure what to make of it. “I have no idea. So far, trouble has found us every time.” He paused, going through a few options in his thoughts. After a few seconds, he spoke up again. “I do not know, but I assume we can talk with any teacher, correct? They will probably have some idea. We could also ask some classmates. “

 

“Have not been here very long. Impending doom has not been a problem so far. Of course, we could also do it like in the movies and simply pull a fire-alarm. Chances are somebody will come to see what is happening. “

 

Jann pulled out a phone from a pocket. It was quite a fancy one, only recently released. It was in a special case, probably pretty expensive too, which looked like it would shield it from impacts. He checked the time, then turned off the screen. “If we hurry, we may still find a teacher. Otherwise, it might be more complicated. “

Edited November 20, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

"Oh." The slightly disappointed look she gave made it clear that was not quite the answer she was looking for. "Fire Alarm might work but that could get people to panic. Like to avoid that for now." She told him as they raced between the buildings. Memories from the school tour were starting to come together in her mind. "We should head for the Admin building. Might run into someone along the way if we are lucky." Some of the faculty live on the school grounds after all so there were better odds of finding help there than anywhere else.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The two students made their way towards the admin building. It was a fair distance away, and they would pass by a few other buildings along the way. At a reasonable pace, accounting for Jann still being injured, the two walked down the length of the main school building, soon passing by the outside of the library. Usually, not many people were hanging around the area of the school building itself, but not seeing a single person anywhere on the grounds outside was quite strange. Jann made a quick comment about it being a bit empty, but continued on all the same.

 

As the two passed around the corner of the chapel, they could see the Zen Garden come into view, looking quite tranquil. And for the first time in a while, they saw people again. A few were hanging around outside the gym, sending some glances to the two of them. And, sitting on one of the benches by the Zen Garden was Joaquin, the assistant teacher for French and Spanish, who according to Jann had recently started working at the Academy.

 

He was a young man, short black hair, looking quite well dressed in his sweater/jeans combo. He saw the two approach, and figured something was off, calling them over. His voice was soft, with a noticeable French accent, yet easy to understand.

 

“Hey guys. Any problems? You look a bit disturbed.”

Edited November 22, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly ignored the students. It was almost second nature to block out people staring at her by this point. The attempts at walking as fast as possible, combined with everything else today were starting to make her feel a bit tired. The sight of asome sort of teacher on the other hand did give her a bit of a boost in energy. "Um. Yeah." She replied as she approached. "A flaming stone...Creature...Thing just broke out of a wall from the basement. We managed to fight it off but we need to see someone about it right away before something else goes wrong." Her attempt to articulate what just happened made it plainly obvious this was a new experience for Lilly. "Also I think Jann might need to see the nurse." She said with a glance at the burn on his arm.

Edited November 22, 2016 by Darksider42

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Joaquin listened carefully. He followed Lilly’s every word, first looking amused, but said expression quickly turned into concern. He got up from his bench, walking over to the two teens. After quickly looking around, he addressed them. “Okay. Are you sure this is true? I’ll notify the staff, they’ll probably want to talk with you about this. “

 

A quick pause, him probably going through the proper procedure in his head.  “For now, I want you to not mention any of this to anybody else. I don’t know what it is, but we don’t want to spread any rumours, those never end well. Until we’ve confirmed anything, keep quiet please.  Stay clear of the area, too. One of the teachers that know more about this will probably come to talk to you in a bit, so be ready for that. “

 

His attention turned towards Jann, who was trying to hide the burn on his arm, but then Lilly drew attention to it. “Same goes for you. Doesn’t look so good, you should go to the nurse, I agree with that. I don’t know what happened, but a routine check-up after it would probably be a good idea. Goes for both of you, now that I think of it. Never know, after all. “

 

As he finished speaking and waited for a response, he took his phone out of his pocket, and began typing a message, probably directed to the staff-members.

Edited November 22, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly listened and nodded with everything Joaquin said. A lot of it was stuff that did not surprise her considering the situation. "OK. We'll keep quite about it. I'll get Jann to the nurse then." She herself was perfectly fine, even with the close calls the fighting brought on. She turned around and started heading for the nurse, trying to suppress a yawn.

 

Along the was, the silence was starting to get to her. "So...um.." It seemed like she was trying to pick her words carefully. "How did you get wings anyway?"

Edited November 28, 2016 by Darksider42

[olopi]

PC

 

 

 

Jann followed, taking slow steps. He still looked a bit shaken, but he had regained most of his naturally fluent, graceful movement. His reply came quick, and almost sounded a bit practised, as if he’d been asked that exact question a lot and by now just had a standard answer. He also spoke with less of an accent during those few sentences, further hinting towards that very

scenario.

 

“They are natural. All of my people have them, they are part of our nature.”

 

He held up his hand, once more showing off his, for lack of a better term, talons. The joints were bulky than those of average humans, and his nails were quite pointy.

 

“You refer to my people as “Avians” down here.”

 

Jann had returned to his completely neutral, hard to tell expression and voice, with him just following along on the path towards the Nurse. It probably took only something small to get him more active again, but for now he simply followed along, probably focused on something else.

Edited December 3, 2016 by olopi

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The two teens entered the waiting room, as somebody else was currently treated. The voice of the Nurse, always nice and pleasant, greeted them from beyond the door, getting slightly muffled in the process.

 

“Hey guys. Will be with you in a second, or is it an emergency? Who’s visiting, I’ll get the folder already, makes it quicker.”

 

She became more quiet, but because of how quiet the rooms were in the first place, it was still possible to hear her, giving orders to the person she was currently treating.

 

“Okay, hold this right here real quick. “

 

The waiting room itself was pretty nice. A small room, with a few tables and two couches along all the walls. A bookcase stood in the corner, displaying various magazines of all sorts. And on the walls, where there wasn’t a window, there was a poster. Health Advice, PSAs and some feel-good. As he walked through the door, Jann’s hand went out to grab one of the magazines on display, a movie one by the looks of it. He didn’t reply to the Nurse’s question however, instead quietly sitting down and beginning to read the magazine.

Edited December 3, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly realised too late that her question might have come off the wrong way. The almost scripted response seemed to only hint that. "Oh, I've never met an Avian before." Was really all she could reply before entering the Nurses office. After that she simply sat down and tried to distract herself with her phone, a quick glance at the reading materials provided showed nothing that held her interest. "How often do you come here anyway?" Another awkward question, but one she felt she needed to ask. With all the scars, I'm guessing a lot.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

Jann was pretty good at hiding his emotions. His body didn’t really tell much, he seemed to be pretty focused on the magazine. Either way, he still responded, sounding a bit absent, uninterested. “Hm. Occasionally. Been here a few times before. “

 

From outside the waiting room, the two could hear the nurse again, talking with whatever student currently was being treated. “Okay, looks good. “. Then, she once again spoke a bit louder, addressing the two students in the waiting room. “Is that you, Jann? Again? What’s it this time? With you in a second.”

 

The door from the treatment room to the hallway opened, and somebody stepped out, judging by the sound. The nurse seemed to open a drawer of some sort, and after only a few seconds, opened the door leading to the waiting room. Her eyes scanned the room, and soon focused on Jann, who had by now put his magazine down on the chair next to him. She looked perhaps just a bit upset, but judging by the file she was holding in her hand, she was prepared. She shook her head, sounding perhaps a bit disappointed. “This isn’t supposed to be a place you visit weekly, you know?” Immediately, before Jann could answer, she turned her attention towards Lilly. “How about you? Also injured?”

Edited December 11, 2016 by olopi

[Darksider42]

Lilly raised an eyebrow at Jann as soon as the nurse came in. Ok, that is a weird definition of the word occasionally. 

 

She turned her attention back to the nurse, putting her phone away. "Oh. I'm fine honestly. I was just making sure Jann got here." Other than some exhaustion from the events of the day, it did not seem that Lillian was in danger of dropping dead. She was starting to wonder if other Avians were as stoic as Jann. He certainly did not act like Talona, Except the charging into danger part anyway.

[olopi]

GM

 

 

 

The nurse raised an eyebrow at Lilly, overall contributing to her sceptical expression. She took a few steps closer, checking Lilly from afar. “You do look alright, but are you sure?” Then, she came even closer, touching Lilly’s arm for a second, and looking at her face. The Nurse backed up a few steps again, nodding he head. “Looks like you’re right. Which brings me to.” Dramatically, she turned her entire body to the side, looking straight at Jann now.  Much like before, she approached, but she did not need to get as close to figure out something was wrong.

 

“What did you do this time? It’s better than the last few times alright, considering your shirt’s still intact, but you’re not looking too good.” She flipped open her folder, allowing Lilly to get a quick glance inside. It had three or so different pages of handwritten text, various sections separated by a line, indicating a different date. And it looked like Jann was, in fact, here quite often.

 

As Jann slowly walked to the door, into the other room, the nurse once more turned towards Lilly. “This could take a bit. It’s up to you if you want to wait, but if you want to come back, I suggest doing it in about 40 minutes, if my first glance is correct, it’s not his biggest injury so far.”

 

With that, she left the room, closing the door behind her. Through the walls, she could still be heard. “Okay, tell me what happened. You’re not covered in blood like last time, so it wasn’t that bad, right? Oh also, can you hold this?”

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile…

 

 

[“Your Highness, a message by the one formerly known as the Raven. It concerns your son.”]

 

 

~ Fin ~

Edited December 13, 2016 by olopi