PREP Highschool

[Thursday Violist]

Entryway

Kol looks up, glancing around nervously.
"Uh, no I wasn't paying attention. You uh, probably want to go find him. You could get in trouble for unleashing a zombie into the school if it bites someone. They're not the infectious kind, are they?"
Because that would be really, really bad.

[=> A Hallway]

Obsidian looks around the courtyard a little more, just in case the zombie is just playing a prank by hiding. "Um, it's more of the 'pungent and sour with sparkles' kind of zombie," she says. Which is, apparently, a type of zombie. She points at the other two zombies here. "Like these two." They look more like magically animated zombies than viral zombies, actually.

She hands the basket to one of the zombies, and then tells them in a forceful voice (like someone speaking to a not-fully-trained dog). "Stay. Stay" And she points downwards in front of them.
One of them sits, and then reaches into the basket for an egg.
The other one groans.

Obsidian leaves out the courtyard, "Bye! Nice talking to you!" she says almost as fast as she starts running into the hallways.


In the hallways, she starts calling out, "Hey, has anyone seen a lost zombie?" and she checks in doors and around corners.


[Also a hallway]

Said zombie happens to be in another hallway, still shambling.

[Keeper]

Entryway

Kol blinks as the girl runs off. That's uh. Weird.
Uh.
Kol gets up, gathers his things, and goes to find an adult to watch these zombies.

[bc56]

Detention
That's better.

...

Mary sighs. "Aiko... Do you need something to do?" You'd expect Aiko to fall asleep, like she does in class. But no, she has to keep annoyingly tapping.

[Ironsmith]

Parts Unknown

"Really? Because last I checked, she was last seen vanishing off the face of the planet. I've never heard of being such a bad date you made a goddess give up her position but I guess there's a first time for everything."
That one is a bit more of a growl. Kol was in middle school not that long ago. He's dealt with Your Mom jokes before. But he really thought Braeg would be above that level of petty.

Crystal Dorms

"Well, yeah. I figured you weren't really into ham." Mac snorts. He was going to use a different word but decided it would sound more inappropriate than the other option. He doesn't even flinch at the loss of his piece.
"I was hoping it would be a tiny bit more than that, though. Maybe a word starting with F, hmm?"

[Parts Unknown]

"Ah, well, that didn't happen until after you were born. Given that, I wouldn't attribute her departure to me."

"Hey! Too far!" The fox on Kol's back snaps, tail bristling furiously.

A murmur of agreement runs through the assembled fiendlings, a few of whom are spurred into being bold enough to openly flash out a thumbs-down.

[Crysal Dorms]

"Pork allergy." Aiko elaborates briefly, as though that would explain her disinterest rather succinctly. It takes her a moment longer to realize how that could be taken, but she doesn't elaborate further; there's no real way to address the concept without digging herself deeper into it.

"...Well. I don't suppose there's really any problem with us being... friends, no." Aiko continues, shuffling her pawn forward. "Novel though that experience may be."

Detention
That's better.

...

Mary sighs. "Aiko... Do you need something to do?" You'd expect Aiko to fall asleep, like she does in class. But no, she has to keep annoyingly tapping.

[Detention]

"Like you wouldn't believe." The empress rasps, a measure of relief in her voice that Mary both understood this and seemingly was about to do something about it. The tapping stops immediately, as well; that simple question is apparently enough of a break in the ennui to convince her to stop.

[Keeper]

Parts Unknown

This is exactly what Kol was hoping for. He takes the crowd turning against Braeg as his opportunity to break form.
"So about that. I've been talking to one of my big brothers. Thamar are born spontaneously from the creative fires of Adea. Which means that the Act and my birth would have been simultaneous. Not that there would have been a physical Act since she literally invented your Lesser Wood. Oh that's right, didn't you tell me that you were present for my birth?"

His tail lashes against the floor.
"You also told me that you were there when she sent me away eleven years ago. Funny story my brother also told me! Mom's been missing for eleven years! Because you know, when you spoke to me last you implied so heavily that she was dead but turning that conversation over in my head since seeing you, I realized you never said that word."
He bares his fangs.
"So, Daddy Dearest, would you like to inform me and the assembled clan of good Adean folk where my mother is? You know, since we're all family here. Or maybe at least the thirteen years of child support you owe me?"

Crystal Dorms

"Huh? But-Aiko, that's disgusting. We're like, fifteen." Mac seems genuinely horrified by the implications. He had been very deliberately avoiding the use of the word pork!
He does forgive her for the pig connection though since he practically baited her into it.
"Friends forgive friends for that sort of thing though so we can forget about that. Even if I would be slightly offended on who I'm hypothetically losing to." Mac certainly thinks that he's more attractive than a certain cricket-girl but he understands that Aiko might just like her partners thin and/or with exoskeletons.

[Ironsmith]

[Crystal Dorms]

"Yes, and... is there something inherently gross about kissing?" Aiko asks in return. Granted, that hadn't exactly been what she was thinking, but she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to save face.

"...And exactly whom do you expect you would have 'lost to'?" She continues, raising an eyebrow. "Because that's not a..."

Oh, dear.

It occurs to Aiko now that there's a list. Multiple people Mac may have assumed she had a romantic interest in. And not just him... the more she thinks about it, the clearer it becomes that she must have a reputation by now.

Oops.


[Parts Unknown]

The crowd falls silent again as Kol lays it all out. As far as they're concerned, the game of roasting is officially over. No more good-natured bandying of insults here. Just Kol calling out Braeg.

"...Heh." The fiendling smirks. "You know what? Why not. You've indulged me plenty tonight. You want to know where your mother is? I'll do you one better. I'll take you to her." Braeg extends his hand toward Kol, holding it out for clear contract-making purposes. "And I can show you how she got where she is and what she's doing there. Would that satisfy you, son?"

[Morty]

[New Staff]

"That thing used to be a person? What happened to twist her this way?" This manages to disturb even a fairly seasoned Sidereal Exalt. "If there is a dead body here, it'll be a hell of a thing to explain to the faculty."

[Rebonack]

[New Staff]

Oh boy that's a question.

"I... uh, I dunno how it works exactly. It's a Magical Girl thing," Khannie says, her tone still distinctly uncomfortable. How much should she explain? All the details? Some of them? "There's this... monster called Kyubey. He looks like a cute little magic animal but I dunno what he really is. I don't think anyone does. He finds kids that are hurting and offers 'em a Wish for making a contract with him to become a Magical Girl. Any Wish they can imagine."

Khannie ducks under some wires and tubing hanging from the ceiling, her eyes adjusting to the low red lights in the basement.

"What he doesn't tell us is that becoming a Magical Girl will eventually make us lose ourselves to despair. And then our soul hatches into a Witch. He harvests power from it. To help save the universe, he says."

Coming around the corner, there's a little hobbit girl in a PREP uniform slumped up against a storage locker. Her eyes stare off into empty space.

Khannie recoils as if struck, eyes misting with tears.

"Oh heck, Pagliacci... I didn't know..."

She didn't know the clown themed girl that well, but if she had known she was a student maybe she could have... helped? Somehow?

Khannie gives a sniff, brushing away the tears.

"Not dead, just empty. Her soul's not in her body. I don't think she's been down long."

Touching the hobbit gingerly, Khannie heaves a sigh of relief.

"Yeah she's still breathing. We've gotta get her to Sekhmet. She should be able to redeem the Witch and get her back into her body."

[bc56]

Detention
"Here," Mary sighs and pulls a book out of her bag. It's not a school book, but a heavy tome bound in leather with pages of yellowed parchment. "I'll need it back after detention."
The title, inscribed in flaking gold leaf, reads "The Compleat Guide to the Daemons and Creatures of the Nether Worldes."

[Earl of Purple]

[Whispering Sea]

Aiko's eyes snap open as she sits up straight, waking rather abruptly from her dream, followed by a loud bunk! as the top of her head bounces off the ceiling of the carriage. The empress lets out a rather unladylike curse as sne rubs at the sore spot, borrowing some vocabulary she'd overheard from Nana to make sure it's at least setting-appropriate.

...Though probably not appropriate in any other sense.

Anyway. Ecbatana didn't seem to have presented her with anything too helpful. Aiko's walking into a comparatively ordinary coronation situation. She's not who the Loremasters were looking for and she knows it, so she isn't likely to pass Ecbatana's test, whatever it is.

...So what should she do now?

Well, immediately, there's not a lot to do. There's still quite a trek to the city itself, though it is at least now visible. Perhaps she could come clean, and tell the Loremasters where to find Hope, or perhaps she could play dumb and see what the coronation ritual actually entails so she can warn her sort-of-cousin.

In response to the cursing, however, the one-legged orc driver chuckles. "Not the kinda language the Ecbatanans would expect from their princess. More the stuff I'd hear back home, and then mostly from the elders. Nobody says 'aaaghzerkai' unless they've got grandchildren. Recommend you learn what it means, afore you use it again." Orcish is, however, a good language to swear in.

[Morty]

[New Staff]

Well, damn. There wasn't anything about it in any of the briefings. Maybe it exists outside of fate. Seems like the type. She'll just have to- oh, Maidens. Sekhmet? Just her luck. Sekhmet isn't exactly fond of her. And she'll be just thrilled to learn she's working as a janitor at her daughter's school.

"Carrying an unconscious student out of here is probably less bad than carrying out a dead one." She picks Pagliacci up without any apparent effort. "Let's get a move on."

[Ironsmith]

[Detention]

Aikobaz's eyes widen as she hesitantly accepts the book, looking over it with a mix of awe and... more awe, apparently. "...Mary, if I didn't think you'd find it horribly offensive, I'd kiss you." The empress squeals, hugging the book to her chest like a small, cuddly animal.

Then she regains her composure and clears her throat. "...I mean, thank you very much." She amends, attempting to take on a more gracious, regal tone.

She then carefully opens the book and begins looking through it, apparently intending to read through what is very clearly a reference volume all the way through, cover to cover.


[Whispering Sea]

"From what I gather, it's either a condemnation to the darkest pits of whatever you call hell here, or a particularly unsanitary act." Aikobaz replies, still rubbing at her forehead. "And regardless... the people of Ecbatana are expecting a Bloodplunder, are they not? Why would they not expect one who knows some... shall we say, lived-in Orcish?"

[Keeper]

[Crystal Dorms]

"Yes, and... is there something inherently gross about kissing?" Aiko asks in return. Granted, that hadn't exactly been what she was thinking, but she wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to save face.

"...And exactly whom do you expect you would have 'lost to'?" She continues, raising an eyebrow. "Because that's not a..."

Oh, dear.

It occurs to Aiko now that there's a list. Multiple people Mac may have assumed she had a romantic interest in. And not just him... the more she thinks about it, the clearer it becomes that she must have a reputation by now.

Oops.


[Parts Unknown]

The crowd falls silent again as Kol lays it all out. As far as they're concerned, the game of roasting is officially over. No more good-natured bandying of insults here. Just Kol calling out Braeg.

"...Heh." The fiendling smirks. "You know what? Why not. You've indulged me plenty tonight. You want to know where your mother is? I'll do you one better. I'll take you to her." Braeg extends his hand toward Kol, holding it out for clear contract-making purposes. "And I can show you how she got where she is and what she's doing there. Would that satisfy you, son?"

Crystal Dorms

"Well you did smooch a were-cricket in front of everyone. And hey, I'm not judging but that's not my thing. And maybe something going on with Aigothurz but he seems pretty cool." They're in a class together!
"Being clear, that was just a joke. I'm not gunning for your hand, and it would be extremely disrespectful to actually frame a relationship as a competition with someone else." He once again sounds serious at this.

Parts Unknown

Kol doesn't move a muscle.
"So you can strand me there forever too? I'm going to need a stronger promise than that."
Kol glances at the assembled fiendlings. Had they been aware of all this?

[Ironsmith]

[Crystal Dorms]

"That does seem to be the consensus here, yes." Aikobaz agrees, stroking her chin and advancing her pawn. "It's... a very different custom from what I am used to, separating relationships from personal merit like that. Not that it's unheard of, but the most prominent examples back home are... not respected."

tak! Goes the pawn, a little more forcefully than is necessary.


[Parts Unknown]

None of the other fiendlings, even the fox on Kol's back, can seem to look him in the eye.

"If I swore to bring you back safely, cross my heart and may Absum himself strike me down if I lie, we both know it would not be enough." Braeg replies, tapping his temple. "You can't trust me to keep any promise I make. But, whereas there is nothing I can accomplish by stranding you there that I can't also accomplish stranding you here, the smart conclusion to draw is that you're in for a penny anyway and may as well take the proverbial pound."

[bc56]

Detention
"Seriously, I need that back afterwards. It's my mum's and it's valuable." Aiko probably knows how valuable it is.
The book is more than just a reference manual, it's also richly illuminated with images of questionable veracity. It's written from the perspective of an exorcist or demon hunter, with information about the behavior and weaknesses of particular demons. Unfortunately it's unsorted, so the whole book would have to be searched to find a specific entry.

[Keeper]

Crystal Dorms

"Well, I mean...would you rather boys treating you like some prize to be fought over? It sounds pretty demeaning to me. The nice thing about being the son of two adventurers and looking like this is that if someone asks me out they actually mean it, you know?" He pats his belly while he moves his pawn. He's not really expecting drama from being the son of the...well one of them is the drama teacher so maybe he should.

Parts Unknown

Kol turns to the assembled fiendlings who suddenly seem to not want to look at him.
"Is he going to try to kill me?" he asks them bluntly.

[Ironsmith]

[Crystal Dorms]

"...Have you ever actually had anyone fight over you?" Aiko asks, looking up at Mac as she slides her pawn forward. "I want you to think about this for a moment. Have you ever been in a position where at least two people have looked at you and decided that they had to have you, so badly, that they went up against each other for your affections?" Aiko watches him for a moment, attempting to gauge his reaction, before continuing. "It's not a bad feeling. And while there are going to be some shallow gits that are only interested for the money or the clout, they're not counting on dealing with someone who practices divination in her spare time... such as it is. I could weed them out like that. Which leaves me in a position where I can have some number of sincere suitors at once, and even if I eventually decide not to accept any of them, I still get the benefits of being highly sought-after. So tell me, Mac, exactly what am I meant to prefer to being prized?"


[Parts Unknown]

"Um..." "Uh..." "Maybe?" "Fifty-fifty."

Braeg chuckles and shakes his head. "If you would rather go on not knowing, by all means. But the offer is on the table. It's on you to decide whether it's worth the risk or not."


[Detention]

Admittedly, going through the rest of detention, Aiko won't be able to get much farther than the first few sections, which she seems to find a fascinating read. It doesn't really matter; she can revisit the book in her dreams at any time, now that Mary's done her the courtesy of not only showing that it exists but creating a set of circumstances under which she'd have it.

When detention finally ends, Aiko returns the book, barely managing to hide a smile. "...Thank you for your generosity, Brignole."

[Earl of Purple]

Whispering Sea

"Have you considered that maybe it's both? It's an old practice, nobody's carried it out in at least a century. The predecessor of the predecessor of Aighothurz the Great stopped it in the Bloodplunders, and it didn't last much longer than that. You called the roof of my carriage such a despicable coward and traitor that it deserves to be killed, eaten and shat out to feed the worms, trapping its soul into a cycle of reincarnation until it moves back up the food chain and gets a second chance to be a decent person." Which certainly hits upon several unsanitary details and also traps a soul without giving it a chance to ascend to the afterlife. A second life as a person may also end in death of disease, which Nana Bloodplunder is known to fear; she believes a fate like that results in rebirth as a star, distant, cold, lonely and hostile to life that still knows warmth and love. "It's one reason the city-dwellers don't like us. You see their guns? Orcs believed them to be cowardly weapons, sorcerous and evil. It wasn't until we learnt how to make the powder ourselves that we discovered it wasn't, despite what our shamans had said, made from ground-up bone and ghostgrass ash." A habit of eating any musketeers or arquebusiers killed in battle would tend to make those who field musketeers and arquebusiers rather upset.

[Ironsmith]

[Whispering Sea]

Aikobaz nods along with the explanation, though it'll probably be difficult to tell from their respective positions. After the orc finishes, there's the distinct chk sound of an empress sucking her teeth, followed closely by "Well, it seems as though I still have much to learn about this place."

Aikobaz shuffles in her seat, assuming a more comfortable position, and looks up at her driver. "...Whereas we have some time," she begins, "How about you tell me some more about yourself? There's a fair chance we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I would like to get to know you."

[Earl of Purple]

Whispering Sea

"My father was born in Mahuza, after Aigothurz the Great conquered that city. My grandmother was a widow, and Mahuza... There were a lot of empty houses at the time. He lived there for much of his childhood, until the Great's death. Mahuza immediately rebelled, killing the adult orcs and driving the rest out. My grandmother's skull is one of those still lining Mahuza's walls. My father- and many others- fled to Ecbatana, where they were raised as foundlings. My father joined the city watch, and my mother was a priestess. She retired from the clergy when she had me. I have a twin sister, who is is a priestess of the Maiden as my mother was, and I also joined the Watch. An explosivist. I lost my arm and my eye in a rocketry accident, so I was transferred to royal service. Fighting is trickier now, so mostly I do paperwork and logistics. I also designed a new type of cart that can mount more rockets on it, and developed a safer fuse. I volunteered to be your driver, and the goats like me so I got the job. Anything else you wish to know?" Another place that Aikobaz hasn't heard of, though since the entire Whispering Sea was part of the Bloodplunder Empire there's going to be a lot of those.

[Ironsmith]

[Whispering Sea]

"Well, I'm sure there are many such things, but what stands out to me is that while you've managed to tell me a great deal about your ancestry and something about your life before you came on this journey, somehow your name has gone unsaid."

Aiko gives a tight-lipped little smile, though again, it won't be visible through the carriage. "But so long as we are sharing stories... were I to tell you mine, could I trust you to keep it in confidence?"

She'll probably still edit out the really embarrassing parts, of course. But a genuine bond with the driver doesn't really seem like a bad idea, all things considered.

[Earl of Purple]

Whispering Sea

"You're royalty, y'highness. I'm not. Ecbatanans don't give their names to royalty unless asked, with the exception of dukes and their immediate families, viziers, generals, the Royal Priests, and the Masters of the Loreguilds. The people powerful enough angry princesses can't order them hanged without really good reason. If someone introduces themselves t' you, they're somebody important or an ambassador representing someone important and foreign. My name is Captain Oswald Arghor, of the Royal Rocketry Brigade." Although technically Oswald is breaking the cultural taboo on name-giving, Aikobaz insinuated she wanted to know it and didn't know the cultural background behind it.

"No, your highness. You can't trust me to keep it in confidence. Until you've sat the throne, if a general orders me to tell them of what we've spoken of, I need to carry out that order. I mean, I don't, but that opens me to punishment. You're a prospective royal, putting you on the same level as a duke. You can order me- and other soldiers- to do any non-military task you wish, so long as it don't conflict with an existing order, but anything a general tells me to do takes precedence." So she can't order the guards escorting the wagon to do anything that would interfere with her safety, most likely.

[bc56]

Detention
"No problem," Mary replies, suppressing a laugh. If she'd known she could win Aiko over by loaning her books, they might not have fought to begin with. "Good luck on your exams."

[Keeper]

Crystal Dorms

"It's a matter of perspective. If multiple people are courting you, sure I guess. But if they're seeing it as a competition, that means that they're seeing it as a thing where the other person is their opponent and what you actually desire isn't nearly as important to the equation. And that SHOULD be the most important part of the equation. That they actually care about that." Mac moves his pawn with a shrug.

Parts Unknown

"Alright, fine. But just know that I wasn't lying about talking to my brother. Or that I called for help. If I don't get back soon, expect to have the place flattened by a Thamar's heel."
Those two facts are actually completely unrelated, but Kol wouldn't be a member of the family without a little healthy lying his claws off.

[Ironsmith]

Whispering Sea

"You're royalty, y'highness. I'm not. Ecbatanans don't give their names to royalty unless asked, with the exception of dukes and their immediate families, viziers, generals, the Royal Priests, and the Masters of the Loreguilds. The people powerful enough angry princesses can't order them hanged without really good reason. If someone introduces themselves t' you, they're somebody important or an ambassador representing someone important and foreign. My name is Captain Oswald Arghor, of the Royal Rocketry Brigade." Although technically Oswald is breaking the cultural taboo on name-giving, Aikobaz insinuated she wanted to know it and didn't know the cultural background behind it.

"No, your highness. You can't trust me to keep it in confidence. Until you've sat the throne, if a general orders me to tell them of what we've spoken of, I need to carry out that order. I mean, I don't, but that opens me to punishment. You're a prospective royal, putting you on the same level as a duke. You can order me- and other soldiers- to do any non-military task you wish, so long as it don't conflict with an existing order, but anything a general tells me to do takes precedence." So she can't order the guards escorting the wagon to do anything that would interfere with her safety, most likely.

[Whispering Sea]

"I see. And would I be correct in assuming that, once we reach Ecbatana proper, the officials there would be bound by more or less the same parameters?" Aikobaz asks. If that's the case, then she has some tasks in mind already for when they get there... but no sooner. And if it's not, she would really like to know that before she attempts to throw her proverbial weight onto a noble that outranks her. Nothing undermines authority faster than obviously having no idea what she's doing.

Detention
"No problem," Mary replies, suppressing a laugh. If she'd known she could win Aiko over by loaning her books, they might not have fought to begin with. "Good luck on your exams."

[Detention]

"Likewise." Aiko replies sincerely. "...And I would have it known that the offer I made to come over to study is still viable, if you are interested."

With that, the empress turns and walks down the hall, out of the scene.

Crystal Dorms

"It's a matter of perspective. If multiple people are courting you, sure I guess. But if they're seeing it as a competition, that means that they're seeing it as a thing where the other person is their opponent and what you actually desire isn't nearly as important to the equation. And that SHOULD be the most important part of the equation. That they actually care about that." Mac moves his pawn with a shrug.

Parts Unknown

"Alright, fine. But just know that I wasn't lying about talking to my brother. Or that I called for help. If I don't get back soon, expect to have the place flattened by a Thamar's heel."
Those two facts are actually completely unrelated, but Kol wouldn't be a member of the family without a little healthy lying his claws off.

[Crystal Dorms]

"Really? Is that the nature of a competition?" Aikobaz raises an eyebrow. "A conflict between two or more parties with no ultimate objective, no rules of conduct, no referee? Does approaching it as such make one a skilled competitor?" She reaches down and moves one of her pawns straight from its starting position all the way to home, giving Mac a tight-lipped little smile. "As much as my suitors would be vying for my affections, I would be choosing between them. Why would I crown as victor one who cannot even keep sight of the goal? As both a prospective life partner and a monarch sharing responsibility, that would be a poor choice; choosing no suitor at all would be preferable." She gives a little shrug. "Competition allows me to see them while stress-tested, in a controlled environment. I can see how much they are willing to sacrifice, how creatively they can solve obstacles, how deeply their affections run, and how honorable they are overall. A single courtship leaves room for deception, but this... this brings out the best, and the worst, in people."

[Parts Unknown]

Braeg gives Kol a little smirk. "Is that so? Well, I wouldn't worry about it overmuch." The fiendling raises his hand and snaps his fingers, and once again, the world is caught up in a cloud of earthy green smoke.

Right before it's filled about halfway up Kol's chest with putrid bogwater.

The area immediately around Kol seems to be a marsh of sorts. Tall mangroves grow in every direction, their roots dipping down into the murky water to anchor them against unseen ground. Jumbles of mossy stones poke up through the water's surface, providing the occasional departure from the trees and the muddy, foul-smelling water.

"Oops. Overshot just a tick." Braeg chortles from a nearby cluster of stones. He's sitting with his boots resting on the ground next to him, his feet just barely in the water. "Oh, well. Hope you don't mind taking a brief swim before we go to see your mother." He points back over his shoulder, gesturing to a series of warm lights off in the distance, their source still a bit indistinct. "Don't worry. She won't mind the smell. If anything, I might have done you a favor."

[Keeper]

Crystal Dorms

"Yeah but it sucks all the actual romance out of it!" Mac insists.
"When someone's trying to compete with someone else there's still that feeling that you're a goal instead of someone they just want to be with and if you actually kiss they're going to be thinking 'yeah, screw you other guy' instead of actually thinking about just you.
And you can't get mathematical evaluations for love! You're just turning it all into politics. And politics are not romantic. Absolutely kills the moment just thinking about it."

Parts Unknown

"It's fine. It's only natural that someone like you can't help but always bring me to the nastiest, dirtiest places." Kol rumbles. The muck turns to clean-ish seawater around him as he starts to wade through it. Though he does eventually get tired of that and just takes off with his wings.

[Ironsmith]

[Crystal Dorms]

Aikobaz gives him a look that makes it very clear she's trying her hardest to avoid a snarky response to that. "...I'm the Empress. Everything I do is politics." She points out, scooting her pawn along... within the bounds of the rules this time. "And putting that aside... suppose for a moment you had more than one suitor. One does not need to be the ruler of all she surveys in order to find herself in that position." She looks up at Mac and gives him a little frown. "What would ensue, if not a competition? One cannot simply be partner to all of them. There simply are not enough hours in the day. Is one meant to reject as many of them as early and as quickly as possible, so that only one has their affections tested? Does one form an orderly line for consideration? And how does one form that line in the first place, if not by merit of preference... which in turn lends itself to competition?"


[Parts Unknown]

"That attitude isn't going to do you any favors with your mother." Braeg points out, hopping alongside Kol, moving from stone to stone like a horned frog. "Filth? Muck? Those are things to be held in contempt. All around you here, there is life. Life which your mother had a rather extensive hand in creating." He grins. "It might behoove you to at least try to appreciate it."

[Keeper]

Crystal Dorms

Mac folds his arms, looking away.
"There's still probably a way to talk to these people instead of turning it into a tournament."
Aiko can probably call it a win that he doesn't seem willing to further argue the point.

Parts Unknown

"Braeg you literally just said it smelled bad don't you try to pin this on me again." Kol seems pretty done with him as he continues flying low towards the lights.

[Earl of Purple]

Whispering Sea

"Yes, y'highness. Though mostly you'll be hobnobbing with viziers an' dukes, I imagine. Most princesses of Ecbatana do, even if they appoint a regent to actually rule. A risky move, that. A regent can't be dismissed, nor hung, but you can order 'em killed. Defenestration's historically popular, Aigothurz the Great lived up to his name with one." So Aikobaz could appoint someone (if she got the job) to do the actual work for her, which might help avoid stepping on cultural toes. And she could then order them killed if they do things that really disagree with her.

[Thursday Violist]

[A Hallway]

After checking a few classrooms (some of the students are secretly (or sometimes not-so-secretly) undead! It made it hard!), Obsidian finally discovers where the mindless zombie has wandered off to.
The short branch hallway between the music room and the gym.

"Ah! There you are!"

She strides up to it.

And then slaps it in the face. "No! Bad. Don't wander off!" She then grabs the zombie by the chin to make sure it's looking at her. "No. You. Follow me."

She glares at it a little more.

Then, turns around to find her way back through the hallways to where she left the other two zombies. "Heel!" she commands the zombie, as she points downwards behind her.

It, of course, starts following her.