Plots: Serious, silly, random, oh my!

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Nurse's Office

"...That is, strictly speaking, better than nothing." Aikobaz notes, giving a little nod. "Before you begin, I must advise you that I do have a slight... allergy, I suppose would be the correct term... to various abjurations. It has not historically been a problem, and the worst I have ever experienced as a result of them is a persistent low-grade fever, but this is salient information to balance against the goal of a complete and thorough set of wards." She continues to stare straight ahead all the while, making intense eye contact with the wall. "...As you will, then."


Hallways

"People are kind to me." Koko points out, slipping her hands loose to count them out on her fingers. "There's everyone in the club, which I know sounds weird, because who would expect a bunch of bullies to be nice, right? Then there's Nana, Hope... and Aigothurz..." That last one comes out as a happy burble, and she seems to practically drool over the name. "Macan, Kol, Juibi, that roach girl who used to go here but I haven't seen in a minute... then there's that boy in Intro-to-Ro that seemed like he wanted to be but was worried about making things awkward with his girlfriend, because she was in so tight with you... oh, yeah, and Khannie herself, a little bit." She pauses, looking down at her fingers, which are already all splayed out in front of her; ten of twelve total, which seems to satisfy her. "And that's just off the top of my head!" She giggles. "A lot of the people here seem pretty nice. I don't know why I was so mean to them."

[bc56]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day
Nurse's Office
"I'm aware. It's in your file." The nurse unlocks one of the medicine cabinets and retrieves a jar full of black paste. "Let me see your hands and the back of your neck," she says. Once Aiko does, she marks arcane symbols on the back of both hands and the neck using the paste. A slight tingle betrays the presence of magic in the substance.
"There. Don't smudge that, and after half an hour, it will set into the skin and won't come out until the correct spell is cast on it."
Heading off any complaint from Aiko, she adds, "If not for your allergy, I would be covering you head to toe in these wards. As it is, these three will have to do."
The black paint has a silvery sheen to it, and in the right light it almost seems to glow.

Hallways
"That's what I meant by 'if you'd let them.' When you're mean to people when they're nice to you, they don't want to be nice. So could you... Stop? Stop bullying, just be nice to people, and then everyone will be happier, you and us." Mary suggests. It's worth a shot, right?
Who new the real way to get Aiko to loosen up and be nice would be through turning her into a succubus? If she'd known, Mary would've spiked her food with essence a long time ago.

[Halae]

[Undertree Manor]

Riftline doesn't travel all the way to the manor, sadly. It's a good hours walk from the station to our heroes' destination. Through the snow. Lex is bundled up pretty solidly, complete with a colorful scarf wrapped around his face. There's something deeply endearing about a slime dragon all cocooned up against the cold. But given how sensitive he is to extremes in temperature it makes sense he would be prepared. The walk is mostly though rolling hills with a light dusting of snow, so in all not terribly difficult.

They'll see the three in the distance first, leafless and bare, like a great many-fingered hand grasping at the sky. A dry, dead thing choked of life. As they draw closer, though, they'll in in for quite the sight. Surrounding the tree is a vast field of sunflowers without a speck of snow on them. And as soon as our heroes step into the field it will feel like they just walked into a bright summer day.

Over the cresting waves of hip-high yellow flowers they'll see the manor, a great and stately estate built into the once living roots and trunk of the tree itself. But like the tree, the manor is worn and dead, vibrant colors bleached like old bones. A heavy spirit of melancholy hangs over this place, a feeling of things lost never to be recovered.

[Undertree Manor]

As they trek through the snow, despite Skye's warm clothing and clear experience with walking long distances, she looks... upset. Like she's doing her best not to go on a rant about something. The way she tucks her face into her collar is telling; she's from a much warmer climate originally, and this place absolutely sucks in her opinion.

That's no reason to turn away from it, of course. You don't shirk a duty once accepted. But this 'snow' business is terrible and cold and makes the entire journey much more difficult than it needs to be! The air shouldn't make your face hurt!

The relief is palpable when they finally spot their destination. Even a fight is better than this damnable cold. To confirm, she asks Lex, "This is the place?"

Her tone is a bit snappish, but she's clearly not upset at Lex specifically.

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Nurse's Office

There's no "almost seems" about it. As soon as the nurse gets the paste close to Aikobaz's skin, her veins start to glow a bright, borderline volcanic orange, and her skin is hot to the touch. Even when she finishes, the runes glow from the backlight of Aikobaz's fulminating blood, each one surrounded by a large, orange rash, itself glowing amd forming a significant outline around the symbol.

Despite what must be a very uncomfortable sensation, Aikobaz doesn't so much as flinch while the symbols are applied, remaining stock-still throughout the ordeal.

"Are there any particular hazards I should endeavor to avoid with this treatment?" She asks in a level, unbothered voice. "Since this is not a comprehensive ward, I can only assume there are things which you would have liked to protect me from but which simply are not viable at this time."


Hallways

Koko pauses a moment, tapping a finger to her chin contemplatively. Her wings droop and her tail stops swishing as she ponders Mary's proposal, as though all the energy in her body was being redirected to her brain for the most intensive calculation of her life.

But, after an agonizing minute, she perks up again. "Okay!" She declares, her hands going up in the air. "I promise I won't be mean to anybody again! Then we can all be happy!" She smiles. "That's all we really want, right?"

[bc56]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day
Nurse's Office
"These aren't general wards, they're specifically to keep your soul in your body and other souls out. They aren't going to protect you against anything else." That's at least straightforward. "They're weaker than I would like but given your reaction to them, I don't think it's safe to add more."

Hallways
"Just like that?" Mary wonders. "It might be hard at first, I understand if you slip up sometimes." Mary pats Koko on the back and attempts release the other succubus from the hug.

[Rebonack]

[Undertree Manor]

It's worth noting that as the pair are traveling Lex will pick up on Skye's notable discomfort and respond accordingly. He had fished out a small vial of pearlecent white liquid from his pack and offers it to Skye with a broad, goopy grin. "It's oil of frost resistance. Pour it on your fingers and rub it on your forehead. I packed a ton since I'm pretty sure we're going at have at least a few icy monsters AND because it helps cut the chill a bit."

The oil, once applied, won't make Skye feel warm. HOWEVER the air doesn't hurt anymore, so that's definitely a plus.

Regardless!

The manor soon looms before them.

"Yep! This is it! Hold on a sec," Lex says as he reaches into his pack and withdraws a short, foot long baton. He gives it a little twist and SPROING! A ten foot pole! He waggles the pole around across the threshold. Then pokes at a few of the sunflowers. When nothing immediately leaps out and tries to eat them he telescopes the pole in and stows it once again before hunkering down, waving his butt in the air, and leaping into the flower field!

"OH! Haha! It's all warm and sunny in here!" Lex laughs, hopping up on his hind legs so he's briefly visible above the chest-high flowers. "But it feels kind of depressing. Weird."

Definitely weird!

But this is a placed touched by the fae. The uncanny should be expected.


[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Juibi has been tracking Mary's scent after her fencing class ended. She thought it would be a good idea to tell her that Aiko was using succubus essence. It's DEFINITELY the same sort of magic as the stuff from Mary's version of hell so she should know! If only so she can tell her mom. Probably? It really isn't a full plan. Maybe two thirds of a plan, at best. But that's a start!

After a few false starts Juibi is pretty sure she's found her friend's most recent scent trail. She pauses every now and again, fanning her horns like a giant axolotl to make sure she's on the right track still. And that leads her directly to-!

MARY!

...and Aiko.

HUGGING!?!

Juibi immediately lights up.

"OH WOW! You two made up that's wonderful!" Juibi gushes, immediately bounding over to the pair and rearing up on her hind legs to give BOTH of them a hug! Because hey if there's a BIG HUG going on then Juibi wants to get in on that action!

Thankfully she's wearing her skin suit because otherwise this would get both of the succubi slimey.

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Nurse's Office

"...I see."

The empress sits quietly for a moment, then, "That is all there is to be done, then." She slips off the examination table, her flats clacking against the floor as she lands without complaint. "Thank you for your assistance, miss." She concludes, giving a shallow, polite bow, before calmly making her way to the door, and back out into the school.


Hallways

The succubus, however, does not attempt to release Mary. If anything, her grip gets a little tighter when the other girl tries to let her go, a little whine escaping her as she buries her face in Mary's chest.

"Five more minutes... I never get hugged like this..." She groans through Mary's shirt. Behind her, her tail is wagging back and forth like an overexcited puppy.

The intensity of this wagging doesn't go down when Juibi adds her own mass to the pile.

"Ohayo, Juibi-chan!" Koko's voice reverberates through the slime. "You're looking extra goopy today!"

...Is that a compliment? She's at least saying it like a compliment.


Library

When I was young, it seemed the life was so wonderful, a miracle~
Oh it was beautiful, magical~

The music comes spilling over from a a headset cranked up just a bit too high, such that it faintly reaches the space beyond the ears it was intended for. Said ears do not seem all that remarkable themselves, apart from being an interesting shade of emerald green, but their attached owner likely looks quite familiar to most of the other students in the library. That look of concentration in those golden eyes is difficult to mistake, as is the little downward twitch in the corners of her glossed-over black lips, and if nothing else the distinctive styling of her golden jewelry is too much of a giveaway to ignore.

That is Aikobaz Bloodplunder, president of the Bully Club, subject of the ongoing student protests, teacher's pet, fencing officianado, chess prodigy, amateur augur, and general school egomaniac.

...At least, she looks like Aiko. Apart from the bit where she's so... old.

Not obscenely old, mind. Probably not even broadly classifiable as "old" at all, but much older than a high school student should be. The empress looks somewhat like she might be in her early fifties, albeit with more mileage than one would expect of pampered royalty. Her formerly black, satin-like hair is now a distinguished silver, with little streaks of black still running across the bangs and down her back. Her face looks a little puckered, with prominent crow's feet next to her eyes and marionette lines over her chin. Her fingers, more bony than usual, are wrapped around the latest in a series of tomes she's laid out on the table in front of her, most of which are opened and annotated in ballpoint pen.

Engrossed as she is in her work, Aikobaz is unlikely to notice anyone approaching her at first. But all it would take to get her attention would be a little tap on the shoulder.

[TeChameleon]

[Library]

A small figure occupied an out-of-the-way corner of the library, one of the study desks that didn't get a lot of traffic because the light wasn't great.

He was a fair bit smaller than the average high-school student- not even five feet- and his features were all-but-invisible under the hood of a slightly-outsized red hoodie, and there was a large pile of books on his left side, and an even larger pile on his right, and books were being swapped from right to left at speeds that would be alarming if anybody looked closely.

Eddie glanced over at where Aiko was sitting every so often- he was pretty sure that she had a book that he wanted a look at, and if anything happened, he was going to drift unobtrusively that way and check out her stacks in hopes of snagging the tome.

[quillpleasant]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day

Library

It's become a very common sight to see Darko in the PREP library, pouring over large stacks of old books. He'd usually give the excuse of 'studying' or 'homework', but in truth he tends to get through that sort of thing very quickly, and spends the rest of his time reading scientific papers on snail biology or trashy romance novels. Normal kid stuff. Right now he's sitting at a desk with a handful of books, his nose buried in Lord of Knaves.

Despite his usual shyness and tendency to isolate, the library is different. Maybe it's just being around books that's comforting, like there's knowledge to be soaked up. But it's probably just the fact that it's quiet. Darko isn't the biggest fan of loud noises- they make him skittish. Growing up in a big empty Theatre will do that to you.

So he's quick to pick up on the noise, and he looks up to where Aiko is sitting. Or at least, he thinks that's Aiko. He's seen her around, mostly from a distance, and always thought she was way too intimidating to even consider approaching. But there's clearly something off here. Generally PREP students don't look that old. Not without... magic. And Darko knows a lot on that subject, as much as he wishes he didn't.

This, and his horrible need to be helpful, drive him to put down his book. What are you doing, Darko? And walk over. Stop. There's no need for this. And tap her on the shoulder. Noooo.

"Hi- sorry, are you okay? You look... a little under the weather." Darko is small for his age, and the overly baggy sweater and cuffed jeans he wears only makes that more apparent. He brushes his messy blonde hair out of his eyes and smiles nervously.

[Halae]

[Undertree Manor]

Skye thanks Lex for the oil! It very much puts her at ease - she's not upset when something is neutral, she can deal with neutral. But bad weather just upsets her.

Once they actually enter the manor, Skye says, "Carry yourself lightly, and remember the way to the exit. What you're feeling is something I recognize; it's a fae 'Freehold', which the rules of reality bow more to the rules of narrative storytelling than true physical mechanics. Things operate by tale in such places; my spear will be a 'weapon' more than a physical implement that inflicts damage. We may be able to turn this to our advantage, but assuming I'm correct, what you're feeling is the story that is already at play which we have stumbled into; a tragedy. Potentially a tale of horror."

[bc56]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day
"Five minutes? Aiko, we both have classes to get to," Mary points out.

And then the hug is joined.

"... Juibi, you don't notice anything different about Aiko?" Mary questions.

[Rebonack]

[Untertree Manor]

Not QUITE in the manor yet. Not as such. More like on the manor grounds. The overgrown field of sunflowers extends out from the building at the center some distance. But like Skye believes, they're still within the realm of its influence. Even with its masters withered and dead it still shape reality like wet clay.

Lex vanishes below the tide of sunflowers again, mostly because standing on his hind legs for long gets pretty awkward. So instead he sticks his tentacles up where they'll be visible.

"Sounds like narrative classes will come in handy! It doesn't feel very horror-y. Mostly just forlorn and AH!"

That AH! is accompanied by Lex jumping back when a mummified corpse rises up in front of them, its withered flesh an unnatural blue-white with wispy strands of white hair clinging to its head. Sunflower stocks are wound around it like vines, the bright cheerful yellow of the blossoms at odds with the feelings of loss the creature exudes. Even in death it is still unnaturally beautiful, wearing light mail fashioned from sunlight cast upon flower petals at the height of midsummer. In the creature's hand is a bright, shining weapon.

"What is your business in the duchess' grounds?" the dead faerie asks.


[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Now, it should be noted that Juibi wasn't focusing her gaze when she spotted a pair of colored person shaped blobs (one green and the other red) busy hugging each other. As a result her view of them was pretty vague; mostly she just recognized their scent.

"Hi Aiko! And thanks, I think!" Juibi replies brightly. She's not THAT goopy right now, is she? She tries to keep her cytoplasm nice and firm most of the time. Like well-set gel! Goopy is good for squeezing through narrow confines but you might drip on something and there's no sense in leaving a mess. But then Mary makes her comment and the slime dragon reacts by focusing her gaze.

Mary will no doubt recognize it immediately. The dark facets of the glittering, crystalline core inside Juibi's head begin sliding forward into two dark circles at the front rather than being evenly distributed over the whole surface. And her reaction is immediate as the pair of SUCCUBI! come into focus!

"Oh, haha, yeah! The wings and tail are new," she observes. "I was, ha, well, I was going to let you know that Aiko was using a bunch of succubus essence when I met her in fencing class this morning but I guess you found out!"

Had she taken even MORE since an hour ago? She wasn't a succubus then!

[[brackets lover]]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

And where there's dark(o)ness, there's light. One cannot exist without the other, as they are both codependent. This light, of course, refers to Asami, a very small boy sitting at a computer a fair distance away from Aiko. He preferred to remain a girl during class and other such school activities, but after school he was a boy most of the time. "Hey, Darko-senpai, check it out! I can afford an orbital strike system right now," he giddily calls out to Darko, a gleeful smile on his face.

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Hallways

"But... hugs..." Koko whimpers, still looking doe-eyed up at Mary. What kind of person would rather go to class than give a poor, neglected succubus hugs? What a terrible decision to have to make!

Her gaze shifts over to Juibi, looking up into the newly-coalesced orbs that seemed to serve as her eyes. Oooh that looked neat. She kind of wants to see what that feels like, seeing how cool it was to just come together like that.

...Hm.

Poke!


Library

The aged empress looks up from her studies, removing her earbuds and tapping the little button on the cord to pause the song while she parses his request, looking at him with a critical eye.

"...Hm." Aiko says after a moment, lowering her copy of We Are Three: Understanding The Freudian Tripartite. "Darko. Stage magician, fourteen years old. Some background in magic, minimal application to the fields of Somnimancy, Parapsychology, and Demonology. Mediocre academic, nonrigorous. Conclusion... weighed against the opportunity cost of explaining the situation, it is unlikely your assistance will produce meaningful acceleration to my research."

Aikobaz folds her hands in front of her. "Would you like to proceed regardless?" She asks flatly.

[quillpleasant]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day

Library

As Asami calls out, Darko winces at the noise, but still raises a hand in greeting and smiles. It's fine, he's just playing some game.

It is a game, right? Darko doesn't want to think about Asami using an actual orbital strike system. "Just don't aim it at the library!" he whisper-calls back.

And then Old Aiko rattles off an unflattering description of his skills, making him feel rather like a frog on a dissection table. A mediocre academic? He's a straight A student! He doesn't dwell on the fact that he doesn't know what somnimancy or parapsychology are though.

"Um... yes? I think I might surprise you," he says, with uncommon confidence, "What are you researching?" Darko glances down at the book she's reading. "You haven't been magically split into three different personality aspects or something, have you?" he says. It's meant to be a joke, but he's not discounting the possibility.

[[brackets lover]]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Asami raises an eyebrow at Darko and lets out a slight chuckle. "Baka."

[bc56]

Aikobaz's Very Bad Day
"Juibi, how much did she take? She won't give me a straight answer and as much as I like her new attitude, it's kind of concerning how different she's acting." Not to mention the changed appearance.

And then...
"Aiko! Careful! Juibi's not safe to touch like that!" Not super hazardous, mind you, but not safe.

[Halae]

[Undertree Manor]

"We seek a treasure housed within," Skye says, and beats the butt of her staff against the ground, "For the sake of helping a friend, we must obtain it."

Best to speak in absolute terms in this case. Don't want to give the fae leverage. Skye is, thankfully, quite on the ball with this sort of thing.

[TeChameleon]

[Library]

Eddie froze from where he'd been trying to slide a book out from Aiko's unread pile.

Withdrawing his hand carefully, he frowned. The expression wasn't really visible under his hood, but he tried. He didn't know who any of these people were, really, but the older one was being straight-up cruel to the younger one. The little golem might not really get it with a lot of organic interaction, but he knew bullying when he saw it. Besides...

"Freud? Ew. What are you actually researching, besides maybe the reasons that weird old perverts shouldn't be allowed to set the tone of psychological research for half a century or more?" he spoke up.

Assuming that the local Freud was similar to the one back in his home dimension, anyways. Odd as it might seem, he'd actually done extensive reading on psychology, back in the early days of his time out in the world. He had been trying to understand humans better, but had mostly come away from it with a lasting dislike of academic language and a seething hatred of Freud.

[Rebonack]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Juibi is booped more or less where 'between the eyes' would be on anyone else. Of course she doesn't really have eyes but hey! Whatever works, right? Juibi feels like very firm jello spread over a ridged wire frame. Also slimy.

Koko's finger gets slimed!

It feels kind of tingly.

"It's not too big of a deal," Juibi reassures Mary. "Because I come to school-!"

Then she reaches into her hip bags with a tentacle and pulls out A BOX OF BAKING SODA!

"Prepared!"

She holds the box out to Koko and shakes it a few times. "Hold out your hands and I'll give you some soda. Just rub your hands with it and it'll neutralize the acid."

Should Koko do so she'll soon find the slime on her finger fizzing and bubbling. It sort of tickles!

[Rebonack]

[Undertree Manor]

"If you seek the treasury of the duchess then you must prove yourself worthy," the shriveled corpse replies. "If you survive the trial of summer you may proceed."

Hoo boy.

There are sunflowers shaking and earth churning as a small army of armed mummies begin popping out of the ground like-

Well.

Not like daisies.

Like sunflowers, maybe.

Two of them raise their weapons and advance on our heroes.

[Ironsmith]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Hallway

Koko recoils from Juibi, though based on the timing and the wide-eyed expression she throws in Mary's direction, this has less to do with it being at all unpleasant and more with a sudden, shouted warning. "Eep!" She squeaks, clutching her hands under her chin.

Of course, this brings up questions almost as soon as Mary finishes describing the danger.

"Not safe? What do you mean, 'not safe'?" She asks, looking over the globule of green slime on her finger. What's so not safe about this? It smells a little funky and it feels a little weird, but it's not hurting her. Really, it kind of reminds her of lime jello. She kind of has to wonder what it tastes like, and that thought is intrusive enough that she brings the globule tentatively up to her lips...

And then Juibi mentions the acid.

"AIIIIIEEEE!" Shrieks Koko, wagging the finger around like crazy in an attempt to fling it off. "AAAAAAAA GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!!!"

The advice to let Juibi pour a little baking soda on it goes unheeded. She's too busy panicking at the FLESH-MELTING ACID ALL OVER HER HAND.

Library

The empress blinks in mild surprise at Darko's guess. "...Hm." She hums briefly, steepling her hands. "I had not considered the possibility of an intuitive understanding of the situation. But then, the unanticipated is why I say 'unlikely' and not 'impossible'." Aikobaz looks over Darko a second time. "...Very well. Yes, it would appear as though I have been, as you have said, split into three. The evidence I have leads me to conclude as much, though some of it is subjective experience and I do not have the means to present it before you at this time." She closes the book and sets it aside. "At this stage, I can only speculate as to the exact parameters of the division. Freud's analysis seems to be a reasonable approximation, based on the information I have available. I believe I have already encountered one of my counterparts... though where she is at present, I cannot say for certain."

She flips the book back open, to its table of contents. "Based on her reactions to the world around her, and what I have been able to observe about myself, I postulate that we are, in broad strokes, the divided Id and Ego of the psyche we once collectively composed; the basal, emotional, instinct-driven portion of the brain; and the logical intermediary between the Id, Superego, and reality, respectively." She looks back up at Darko. "This is, of course, still highly speculative. It may well be that the trifurcation is built on more abstract concepts than these. This is simply what seems most likely, given the available evidence."

If she's at all upset by Eddie's interruption, she doesn't show it. She barely seems to even acknowledge his presence, doing nothing to interfere with him taking one of the books if he still tries to do so, and not responding to his criticisms of her choice of research material. If not for the fact that her hand movement have been accommodating the space occupied by his head, it might not have appeared as though she even saw him at all.

[bc56]

Aiko's Bad Day
Hallway
"Aiko, calm down, just rub some of the stuff on it and you'll be fine," Mary tries to gently grip Koko's goop-covered hand by the wrist and maneuver it over to the carton of baking soda.

"Juibi, how much essence did she take?" Mary reiterates her question. It's important. Aiko could be in real danger, not like the acid.

[quillpleasant]

Aiko's Bad Day

Library

Darko blinks in surprise at the golem's interjection. He was pretty sure he'd never seen him at PREP before, and he looks too young anyway. But he certainly doesn't sound young- most ten year olds aren't criticizing Freud, if they know about him at all.

"Hm... I can't say I know all that much about Freud. But I think that the most important thing would be to figure out why it happened. Did you just wake up like this, or was there some kind of incident that led to it?" Obviously it has to be some kind of magic, but that doesn't exactly narrow it down.

"If you're missing the Superego, then maybe it would be a good idea to look for your other selves? If all three of you were together you could at least work as one mind in three bodies, that might help figure it out." Darko thinks for a second, then smiles. "Of course, that might also lead to a horrible argument. My brain argues with itself all the time, so if I could fight myself physically as well as mentally, I totally would."

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Seeing that he was being largely ignored, Eddie grabbed the book he was interested in, sliding it out of the pile so deftly that nothing moved save for the books on top sinking a few inches.

Leafing through it at speed, he pondered whether or not to get further involved. With a mental shrug, he decided to give it a try. Eddie might not be great at reading humans, but having been lynched far too often, he was fairly sensitive to behaviour that might lead to a child getting in trouble, which usually was what sparked his being attacked. Darko's didn't line up with what he'd expect for a child interacting with a staff member, which meant that this was probably another student. Since he was pretty sure that high schools didn't usually have mature students in amongst the regular student body, he took a guess and spoke up.

"It might be a Hecatean Trine Manifestation, too. Or whatever lunar or fate goddess thinks she's being clever this century, anyways. You mentioned three selves; if between the other two, one is your normal age, and the other is either much older or much younger, depending on whether you yourself are a manifestation of the mother or the crone, it seems likely."

Having said his piece, he continued to leaf through the book- if he wasn't interrupted, he'd be finished it in a few minutes and return it to its place.

[Rebonack]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Koko's finger is not melting.

It doesn't even sting, really. Just has that slightly tingly sensation. But now she's panicking and flailing around and this is all very silly.

"I don't know, I didn't think it was much," Juibi replies as she attempts to apply some of the baking soda to Koko's finger. "It had just worn off when fencing class was starting and Aiko went to the nurse. She must have taken more between then and now?"

A whole BUNCH more if this has happened.

Actually turning into a succubus would require a BIG dose. Potentially a lethal one if this is permanent.

But then again, Koko really isn't acting like a 'normal' succubus. That much Juibi is certain of.

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

Hallways

"EEEE!" Koko protests as her finger is covered in baking soda, only to stop and stare when the two start reacting, covering her hand in an altogether-too-interesting fizz. It helps that she isn't actually in pain and can watch the show without her finger falling off. And it is a pretty interesting show.

...Hm. Baking soda is edible, right? She kinda wonders what this tastes like...

But before she can answer that, she finds herself in the middle of a conversation about her without her input. Which, of course, she had to remedy.

"Hey, I didn't drink any!" Koko protests, putting her free hand on her hip. "I did a thing with a wand this morning and that's it! That other thing was just a dream and I didn't drink it in the dream, either!" Her tail swishes back and forth irritably as she speaks, inadvertently putting it on a collision course with Mary's leg.

Library

"...That is a possibility." Aikobaz muses. "Given the explicitly magical nature of the split, it may be prudent to examine more mysticism-adjacent avenues." She rubs her chin in thought. "My counterpart was younger than I am, though not younger than we originally were. She was also a different species, however. I remain a Zenithian, while she was some manner of demon; a succubus would seem most likely on context, but I would not discount fhe possibility of her being something else."

"And to answer your question, Darko... yes, to both." She gives a little nod. "Our unified form had the ability to mix lucid and prophetic dreaming techniques to create a sort of miniature reality that we used for exploring hypothetical circumstances. We had an interaction with a vial of succubus essence within the confines of this dream, which directly preceded my awakening here and seems to be a likely cause. How this occurred is not, as of yet, clear, but there is little use in denying the sequence of events leading to now."

[TeChameleon]

[Aiko's Bad Day]

Library

Eddie looked up from the thick tome he was more than halfway finished already, his shoulders sagging and his head tilting, managing to convey baffled shock, even with his face being almost invisible.

Despite all the big words and overly-logical approach, she... hadn't considered mystic causes for a magical split?

Wut.

Granted, lucid prophetic dreaming sounded incredibly interesting, but mostly for reasons of his own curiousity. He wasn't sure if dreaming connected to the astral plane in this reality... for that matter, he wasn't sure if it worked that way on his home plane, it was just something he'd read about... but... hmm.

"Two things." he started. "First, you've mentioned one counterpart a number of times, but only talked about a third one as a... hypothetical, I guess? Have you seen or interacted with a third manifestation of yourself, and if so, what were they like? And second, succubi are generally considered dream demons, correct? Is it possible that your miniature reality attracted one, with unintended consequences when magics mixed?"

Given that Eddie himself was an unintended consequence of when magics mixed, at least partially, he had an ingrained wariness of that happening that he'd carried pretty much since 'birth'.

Once he had finished saying what he wanted to say for the moment to Aiko, something that Darko had said a moment ago caught up with him, and he blinked. Turning to face the other boy, he said "Wait, your mind is so divided that you think that if you duplicated, you would fight? That sounds..." he cast around for a word. "Awful?" he finished.

[quillpleasant]

Aiko's Bad Day

Library

"Oh yeah, the fates! You know your stuff," says Darko to Eddie, impressed. Man, why didn't he think of that possibility? It seems an obvious theory in hindsight.

He's also not sure what a zenithian is, but then again, if he paused to ask questions about everything he'd probably just get ignored or dismissed as ignorant. Better to focus on what he can bring to the conversation.

"I do actually know about lucid dreaming, Tall Pig taught me how to do it. Since dreams are so linked to your subconscious, then maybe your actions in the dream triggered a manifestation of your magic, which caused the split. Even if you don't think you have magic that could do that, you might just not have discovered it yet." Darko knows all about magic suddenly manifesting and causing problems.

He looks a little surprised at Eddie's question about doubles. "Well yeah, of course. I mean, I'm always thinking stuff like 'I'm the worst, I hate myself' or remembering every little mistake I've ever made over and over. If there was a physical version of me, we'd definitely fight, and we'd probably both lose somehow." He chuckles, clearly amused by the idea.

"But yeah, in this case I think finding the third piece of you is important, since without that we're working with incomplete data. Where did you run into your second version, and did she say where she was going?"

[Ironsmith]

[Aikobaz's Very Bad Day]

A zenithian is, presumably, whatever Aikobaz is. Not a human being, exactly, but shaped very similarly, to the point that it'd be easier to list the differences, such as the emerald green skin and the twelve fingers. Other students have been known to occasionally mistake Aikobaz for an orc, a fact she would probably resent more if she weren't so closely associated to one of the more popular orc-kin in the school.

"I would not discount the possibility." Aikobaz replies, staring down the space between Darko and Eddie, not seeming to quite know how to address both of them at once. "However, I do not, at present, have any leads as to the whereabouts of my counterparts. I have not even met one of them, and the other was only briefly in the same dream-space as myself; we have not physically interacted, nor has she announced her intentions beyond leaving the dream." She looks down at her wrinkled hands. "I woke here, in the library, which is neither where I fell asleep nor where the dream took place. Limited though that data may be, it suggests these are items of no correlation."