PREP Highschool

Locales found within the main city centers; primarily Inside, Riverside, and Skyside.
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

Khannie scrunches her lips off to the side a bit as Mary talks, popping a chocolate pepper in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. The snack and Mary's statement end at about the same time.

"Doesn't SOUND like it isn't a big deal," she points out. "This is seriously bugging you. I haven't seen you upset at your mom like this before. What the heck happened, really?"

This level frustration from Mary is definitely new and different.

And, honestly, as former Magical Girls it's a good idea for both of them to keep tabs on negative emotions lest they get to overwhelming.

Khannie isn't sure if that would result in bad things but it is still probably something to avoid.

Tags:
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Detention
"It wasn't a date! I met with him because he said he wanted to talk about you." Mary counters. In her mind, it really wasn't. Aigothurz was the one who assumed it was. "We argued a little. Mostly about you. He cussed me out. Said you and I were both 'poisoned by the city' and a bunch of other things that don't make sense."

Study Session
Mary sighs. There's not much point keeping it secret now. Especially because Khannie's one of the few people who knows where Mary really comes from. "When mum brought me back as her daughter, I became the princess of succubi, right?" That's straightforward and to be expected. "Well, back then, she, um, did something to me. To make it so that Name wouldn't manifest. I found out about it last week. And, uh, also that it had, um, side effects. Things I'd noticed but didn't understand. Like how I wasn't growing up." She sighs again. "So I confronted her about it. But she wouldn't undo it." And so Mary took matters into her own hands. "I figured if I was more like a succubus, it might weaken or break the seal."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Keeper
Moderately Powerful Moderator
Posts: 3505
Joined: Jul 04, 2022 11:31 pm
Location: Brinstar

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Keeper »

Ironsmith wrote: May 08, 2023 6:00 pm [Parts Unknown]

"...You think so?" The vixen sniffs, wiping her snout on her paw. "You don't think he's going to be mad at me? He's scary when he's mad... really scary." She's still shaking in his claws, visibly terrified at the prospect.

[Crystal Dorms]

"Comparative Geography and Intro to Romance, yes." Aikobaz nods, putting away the cards. "...Both of which I would rather study alone, if it is all the same to you."
Parts Unknown

"Well yeah. I told you all what he was doing to me an hour ago and you all shrugged it off! But anyway don't worry. If I have to mention to him I know I won't tell him who told me."
It still won't be a particularly long list of suspects but still.

Crystal Dorms

"Fine by me! Means if you want to stay we could actually do something fun. Or do you not do fun?" Mac continues to sit there, drumming.
"Like I said, I have snacks."
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

"Right," Khannie echoes. That IS straight forward and expected.

And then the explanation follows.

Which is... kinda concerning.

"Well... I dunno how name stuff works but that sounds kinda concerning," Khannie admits. She considers that. And considers what Mary has been up to. "So it's like... your mom sealed the princess of succubus thing so you wouldn't get more... succubusy, yeah? Because she thinks you aren't old enough for that stuff yet. But the seal is ALSO stopping you from getting older, so you it's a catch 22?"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Study Session
"Yes!" Mary exclaims. "She think it's too dangerous, but I don't want to be 14 forever." It's some catch, that Catch-22. She shakes her head. "I don't know how I could make her see reason here. She's adamant about not wanting me 'corrupted' by it." Mary sees that as hypocritical. Sekhmet's got that exact same "corruption" and she's fine.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

"Yeah that would be weird, never growing up," Khannie muses. "I had trouble with that a bit when I was smaller. Pokemon don't... grow up normally? Like, not like normal people. They've gotta fight to get bigger and stronger and older and stuff. It's weird as heck. So me going out and decking bad guys-"

She smacks one fist into her palm.

"-isn't just something I do 'cuz I wanna be a hero. But I've sorta gotta do it to grow up. Which doesn't make a lotta sense but that's how it works."

Ugh.

Why do pokemon have to be so weird?

"But I dunno if making yourself more-"

Khannie makes a curvy motion with her hands.

"-is really the right idea. That might break what your mom did but it might break it WORSE, too."
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Study Session
That last suggestion gets a deep frown out of Mary. "I don't know. I don't know magic like mum does, and I don't think she even knows exactly what she did to me." She shakes her head and gives a faint smile. "Besides, I really do like being pretty." Then she sighs again. "But it still doesn't feel quite natural. And it doesn't seem to be working. I don't know what to do."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

"I'm not gunna be much help there, either; transmutation magic really isn't me thing at all," Khannie admits apologetically. "But usually if you don't know what someone did then trying to break it isn't a great idea."

Which leaves them with two things.

It doesn't feel natural-
and
-Mary doesn't know what to do.

"Well the natural part is just like..."
Khannie begins only to trail off. How does she even start describing what she means. "I guess try to be yourself instead of who you aren't?"

Says the zoroark who spends nearly all her time disguised as a human.

"Especially since it isn't working. But maybe, and this might be a dumb idea, but you're a dragon too right? A dragon that can turn into a half-fiend girl. Maybe if you're in dragon-mode whatever your mom did wouldn't work?"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Study Session
Mary looks skeptical. "Even when I'm a dragon I'm still..." she doesn't really know the right words to explain this. That the dragon and the girl are both different expressions of the same fiendish being. "I mean, it's just a different one of my Names, so the seal would still be there," It's the only Name she's learned to reliably bring to the forefront. "And it doesn't feel right either. Whenever I'm dragony, I feel weird. Jittery, and uneasy. Like something important's missing." Mary doesn't turn into a dragon at the moment, because that would, as she just said, be uncomfortable.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

"Oh."

Idea shot down.

Unfortunately Khannie really doesn't know how demon things work. Which is, frankly, for the best. She has enough on her plate already. But this conversation has brought up a new important point.

"Jittery like something's missing..." she muses, mulling those words over as she eats one of her little steak-bites. What could possibly be missing? What do dragons have that-

Wait.

That's dumb it couldn't be that, could it?

Khannie glances around the room at the rather distinct lack of hoarded valuables.

"Y'know how I've got that piles of shiny pennies that Maridia snoozes on?" Khannie asks, waving at the chubby sleeping fairy dragon on top of her dresser. "She always got kinda restless without something like that. Do you think that might have something to do with it?"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Study Session
"That's ridicu..." Mary starts to say, but stops. Is it really? All the other dragons have treasure hoards. "It sounds ridiculous, but... Maybe? I guess we should see Dr. Lind about it?" PREP has enough dragon students to need a doctor specializing in dragons (she teaches a few classes for dragons too).
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Study Session]

"It's not as ridiculous as you might think; dragons are kinda weird about some things," Khannie points out, gesturing at Maridia by way of demonstration. "But yeah, let's go see her. She probably has, like, a dragon thermometer or something that measures how little treasure a dragon has."

Is that even a thing?

Khannie's imagining that it's a thing.

Wouldn't be the weirdest thing in the Nexus, that's for sure.
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Study Session -> Dr.'s Office
And so they leave the studying behind for a while.
Mary takes on her draconic shape as they move to the section of the caves that serves as Dr. Lind's office. Mary pushes open the door with a talon. "Hello?" The sound of paperwork can be heard from within. "Come in!" someone calls.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Dr.'s Office]

For the sake of dragon solidarity Khannie has swapped out her human girl illusion for her faewild dragon illusion. That should make things a little less awkward for Mary, right?

Probably?

Maybe?

Being in dragon-mode instead of teen girl-mode is definitely... different. The extra limbs make it a wildly unique experience. Not that being able to FLY when you feel like it sucks. Not even a little bit flying is absolutely awesome. But none the less human is still what feels most herself to Khannie. Even if the whole dragon thing is still stuck in her memories like a bit of food lodged between your teeth that you can't quite get out.

Anywho!

"Hey doc," Khannie calls out. "Mary's feeling jittery and I was thinking it's prolly 'cuz she hasn't got a loot-heap of her own. We wanted to make sure she's doing okay and stuff?"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Dr.'s Office
A little, sinuous, serpentine dragon rises to greet the students, still flipping through file folders. "Mary, Mary, Mary... Ah yes. Here we are," she selects one folder from the bunch. "You became a dragon 8 months ago?" "Yes." "You're due for a physical anyway, we only have the preliminary report from the nurse in the group who found you. Have a seat." Lind Wurm, MD (Medical Dragon) gestures to a large mat. Mary awkwardly sits on it. "Your friend thinks you're suffering from plutone deficiency. What do you think?" "I don't know. I feel jittery and tense. I don't sleep well." "That sounds like the right symptoms. Or you might need more virgins in your diet. Hard to tell with fire dragons sometimes. Say 'aaah,'" the doctor holds out a dragon-sized tongue depressor. "Aaaah" "Nothing looks strange there. Roll onto your back, I need to see your belly..." The exam goes on for some time, about a half hour. Khannie might want to give them some privacy for that time.
Finally, it is done.
"Mary, I can say with certainty that you are suffering from an acute plutone deficiency." "Can you get me medicine for it?" "No, it's more like a nutritional imbalance. You need to sleep on (or neighboring, as I understand your 'bed' is a pool of magma) valuables. Certain kinds of dragon just need that. It comes from our ancestors being tomb guardians."
"Where am I going to get enough treasure to sleep on?" Mary complains.

Her mother is fabulously wealthy. Too bad they just had a disagreement.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Dr.'s Office]

Khannie will hang out in the waiting room while the exam is going on, reading Dragons! magazine since there isn't much else laying around. The article speculating on the personal life of some famous dragon named Megeshi is cover article and it's a nice reminder of just how crazy varied dragons are in the Nexus.

In Khannie's opinion Megesh's big black crow-style wings look neat-o. A storm dragon, huh? How cool is that?

But eventually the exam is over and Khannie will scoot back in again to support her friend and maybe offer some suggestions!

So, it sure sounds like Khannie was right on the nose. It's a feeling she remembers herself from the prank Fortuna hit her with. And she recalls it sorta vicariously through Maridia, too. It definitely wasn't fun. But! It's easy to fix, right? Well. 'Easy' in finger quotes.

"I need to finish my Action Archeology project still," Khannie helpfully points out. "I got a place picked and everything. There'll be lots of loot, probably. Enough for a not super huge dragon to heap up next to her bed? Maybe you could be my partner for the expedition Mary?"

Typically partners are chosen from another member of the Action Archeology class but that isn't strictly required.
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Dr.'s Office
"That sounds good," Mary can do that. "Should we do that now?" Mary shifts on her talons awkwardly. Even though it's her problem, Khannie has basically placed herself in charge. And she's the one who knows where this ruin or whatever is.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Rebonack
Empowered Revenant Poster
Posts: 3796
Joined: May 16, 2022 3:14 am

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Rebonack »

[Dr.'s Office]

Is it really a shock that Khannie would take charge?

She's a cape.

Solving other people's problems is kind of her whole THING.

"We should do that soon," Khannie clarifies. "I need to get my archeology gear together and you need to finish the maths."

Those horrible maths.

Why couldn't Khannie have just forgotten about that like a reasonable person?

She flashes a smile at Wurm. "Thanks Doc! We'll get Mary what she needs!"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Dr.'s Office
"Fiiiine."
One math assignment later the two of them can head out for the dungeon.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
User avatar
Thursday Violist
Coffin-Bound Aged Poster
Posts: 657
Joined: Aug 17, 2022 5:44 pm

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Thursday Violist »

[Entryway]

A mysterious person appears!
Well, okay. She's not that mysterious.
Obsidian appears to be a young adult, with black hair and gold-and-purple eyes. She peers into the front door's windows She heard there were a bunch of dragons here, and...yeah, she's really wanted to see more dragons. Closest she's got to that is a barmaid and some random hot guy she met at Vigil. But, yes. She can definitely sense that there's more dragons in this building than she's ever met in her entire life.

Obsidian, as it happens, is also a dragon. But she looks human, thanks to the magic of magic. Probably nineteen or twentyish years, so...not really a candidate for high school.
She's also got a basket that has a speckled (snake) egg and a blue (bird) egg and a pink (chocolate) egg and a white (turtle) egg in it.
And...
three zombies approach her from behind, following her.

Obsidian enters.
Ironsmith
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2997
Joined: Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Ironsmith »

bc56 wrote: May 09, 2023 9:44 pm Detention
"It wasn't a date! I met with him because he said he wanted to talk about you." Mary counters. In her mind, it really wasn't. Aigothurz was the one who assumed it was. "We argued a little. Mostly about you. He cussed me out. Said you and I were both 'poisoned by the city' and a bunch of other things that don't make sense."
[Detention]

"What about that doesn't make sense?" Aiko asks, sounding lightly amused. "The more people there are surrounding you growing up, the more people touch on your upbringing, the less like your natural self you are at the end of it. You absorb traditions, thoughts, attitudes and expectations in quantities and at speeds you can not possibly hope to process. Your own voice gets drowned out by the sounds of all the others around you, and you're left to try to piece together a comprehensive worldview from hundreds of thousands of parts that don't fit together." Aiko smiles and shakes her head, just barely holding back a laugh. "Country living isn't like that. Aigo's used to people who have lived in a much quieter world and learned from it directly, or were taught by local sources of wisdom, instead of from a friend of a friend who also heard from another friend." She clears her throat and straightens up, forcing her expression to turn a little more serious. "It sounds like he was frustrated with you. Like he didn't think you were making any sense."
Earl of Purple wrote: May 09, 2023 11:26 am Outside- The Whispering Sea

Well, the bushbaby has large eyes, and eyes are a bit of a theme throughout the city. A common motif in mosaics, murals and even graffiti. There's also usually a bushbaby on the statues decorating the public spaces of the city; not as the main depiction, but sat on the shoulders of robed loremasters, clinging to the legs of armoured soldiers, and cradled in the arms of nobles- many of the latter are female, but not all of them. The bushbaby itself rarely leaves the antechamber of the throne room, where it sits on the altar and is attended by naked servants with painted skin, occasionally feeding it grapes, elephant milk, and blood from criminals imprisoned in the dungeons. It never seems to sleep, and only moves to eat or watch its favoured servants.

If Aikobaz looks inside the carriage, there's eyes hidden in the internal decoration, glimpsing out at her.
[Outside - The Whispering Sea]

Oh, lovely.

So, clearly this creature is important. If Aiko had to guess based on this information alone, she'd assume it's a sacred creature of some kind, possibly viewed by the locals as an envoy or incarnation of the gods. She's not going to get anywhere without its approval.

...Hm.

She's taken it for granted that she's not going to pass its test on the basis that she isn't a blood relative of the previous princess. But presumably, the Loremasters have been using blood relatives all this time, and it still hasn't been working out. Maybe the bushbaby is looking for something more abstract?

Aiko turns her vision back further, looking for successful coronations and watching to see how they played out.
Keeper wrote: May 10, 2023 1:13 pm
Parts Unknown

"Well yeah. I told you all what he was doing to me an hour ago and you all shrugged it off! But anyway don't worry. If I have to mention to him I know I won't tell him who told me."
It still won't be a particularly long list of suspects but still.

Crystal Dorms

"Fine by me! Means if you want to stay we could actually do something fun. Or do you not do fun?" Mac continues to sit there, drumming.
"Like I said, I have snacks."
[Parts Unknown]

The vixen poofs into a cloud of earthy green smoke, returning to a curly-haired little girl sitting in Kol's claws, looking up at him with a little whimper and tears in her eyes. "Promise?" She sniffs. "That you won't tell him? Like, for real promise?" She holds up her hand, pinky finger extended. "You have to mean it if you promise me. Please."

[Crystal Dorms]

"...I do 'fun'." Aikobaz replies with a little frown, sounding almost offended at the insinuation. "I do fun all the time. It simply is not my highest priority." She crosses her arms. "I am not a little girl anymore. I cannot spend my days pushing around Arimaa pieces and going to the market with mother and singing little songs on the toilet. I have responsibilities. Tasks that take time and can't be put aside." She clumps the book shut. "So if I am to have fun, it must be squeezed in along those tasks. I can't just drop everything and..."

She looks up at Mac, a knowing frown forming on her face. "...Don't say it." She mutters. "'Aiko, that's what not doing fun is, if you can't make time to enjoy yourself you're going to burn out.' Again, I haven't burned out in the years I have been living this way- 'but you have, you're unpleasant to be around and you can't relate to anyone, just because you're not tired doesn't mean you're not burnt out.'" She crosses her arms and stares at Mac for a moment. "Am I predicting this properly so far? Because if I am, then we can skip to the part where you challenge me to a game so I can't back down from it without losing face and we can skip the conversation needed to get there."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
User avatar
Keeper
Moderately Powerful Moderator
Posts: 3505
Joined: Jul 04, 2022 11:31 pm
Location: Brinstar

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Keeper »

Parts Unknown

"She's my mom, you know. I'll have to ask him about it eventually. But if he catches on that I found out, I promise I'll never tell him who told me." Kol extends a claw.
He really, REALLY wants to just go up to Braeg and ask where his mom is, but he'll have to be...
subtle.

Yup, they're doomed.

Crystal Dorms

Aiko's porcine companion gives her a very flat look.
"Honestly I was going to suggest I play you some music or something. Or we do some cooking or something. I had been assuming you didn't know any games well enough to beat me."
He scratches his chin with one hand while his other taps at the floor.
"Honestly I'm not sure trying to corner you into a game would be very fun. It's not really a game if there's some sort of weird societal pressure to make you do it."
His gaze slowly rolls around back to Aiko.
"Unless of course you're implying that there is no actual pressure, and it's what you want to be doing."
User avatar
Earl of Purple
Transcendent Soul Poster
Posts: 2022
Joined: Aug 01, 2022 3:59 pm
Location: Amongst the Folk from the North
Pronouns: He/Him

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Earl of Purple »

Outside- The Whispering Sea

The most recent coronation was a long while ago; the fashions visible in the crowd are different, and the one-legged candidate is visible- though she's twenty years younger, and has both her legs. The person sitting on the throne is a haughty, black-haired woman, with an aristocratic nose and piercing amber eyes. She's wearing a pair of leather trousers and a brass breastplate, and a brace of pistols are lying on the floor next to the chair. The gold-painted priests arrive, carrying the bushbaby's cushion, place it on her lap. She leans away from it, visibly uncomfortable at having the primate on her lap. After a half hour of waiting, they bow to her and the room erupts into applause. The bushbaby waves its hand, and a simple circlet of copper and silver wire wrapped around each other manifests about the princess' head.

The next one is very different. There's more nudity; individuals with a physical resemblance to later nobles (as in, these are former heads of the same families) are clad in just loincloths, there's far fewer soldiers and most of those are obviously injured and all are young for their rank (if Aikobaz has figured out their symbolism). The loremasters are as imperturbable as ever, and joining the group are a number of orcs and humans in boiled leather and fur. A large pewter pot has been placed near the jade throne, and there's a corpse lying with its face in pot, blood spilt nearby. A massive orc with dark brown skin sits on the throne, a foot resting on the corpse's back, a bloodstained hatchet in his lap. Stood next to him is a woman in her early twenties with brown hair and familiar blue eyes, an equally familiar flail at her waist, as she holds a five-year-old half-orc with wide eyes. The princess-candidate is a child, who looks scared; an older girl, in her late teens, is standing next to her with her hand on the girl's shoulder, clearly her sister- they share the same ochre skin and dark hair. The priests look nervous as they approach, although the bushbaby is apparently unconcerned. Nobody says anything for ten minutes before the child-princess smiles and the circlet seen on her successor manifests on her head as the bushbaby sucks its thumb.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.

Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Ironsmith
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2997
Joined: Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Ironsmith »

[Parts Unknown]

The girl nods and gives Kol's pinky-claw a little shake, before apparently deciding that isn't enough and surging forward, wrapping her arms around the dragon's neck and pulling him into a tight hug. "...Thank you." She whispers into his shoulder.

Meanwhile, the bat drops back down and hovers near Kol's other side. "Hey! What gives? Are we done playing already?" She demands, apparently oblivious to her sister's distress.


[Crystal Dorms]

Aiko raises an eyebrow at that. "That was your assumption, was it?" She challenges, theatrically rolling up her sleeves. "Then you know nothing about Empress Aikobaz III. During my first semester at PREP I was the undisputed queen of the chessboard and very nearly bested a dedicated duelist at Duel Monsters. If it hadn't been for that thunderstorm, the match would have ended quite decisively."

She decides not to mention that, at the time, the odds favored that Micah would have won.

"And I've bested hundreds of top strategists at Arimaa, including Death himself." Aiko finishes. "So by all means. Give me a challenge."

[Outside - The Whispering Sea]

Those ochre-skinned girls mean almost nothing to Aiko; she can guess at their identity from the context clues, but those clues also summed up just about everything she knew about them.

The orc she recognizes, though, even if she needs a moment to piece together his identity from the presence of Nana Bloodplunder in her early years (which, Aiko mentally notes, makes her wedding night story a bit more bearable in hindsight).

The bushbaby crowned Aigothurz. The original Aigothurz.

Who was definitely not at all related to the royal family before then.

In the waking world, Aiko lets out a relieved sigh. If Aigothurz was crowned by this process, then clearly blood wasn't the primary issue here, and she might be able to sit on the throne regardless.

But she can't glean any more from the vision than that. So there's really only one thing left to do.

Aiko turns her vision forward, to prophesy about her own coronation, what she's in for and what the result will be.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
User avatar
Keeper
Moderately Powerful Moderator
Posts: 3505
Joined: Jul 04, 2022 11:31 pm
Location: Brinstar

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Keeper »

Entryway

Luckily for Obsidian today is a visiting day so she won't get stopped at the door. Though the zombies are probably drawing some eyes.
In the immediate courtyard of the school is a rhinoceros-sized purple dragon with a thick horn on his nose. He is snoozing on a small pile of homework.
Well, Obsidian's mission is accomplished. She has found a dragon. But is she daring enough to wake him?

Parts Unknown

"There were complications." Kol says simply to the bat, sitting there and allowing himself to be hugged. He'll sit there for as long as she needs.
Which may be a bit but that's fine. He's kind of just killing time until Braeg lets him go, after all.

Crystal Dorms

"Hm. You're either being metaphorical, or you managed to get yourself offed already and had to result in the game strategy once already? That's both impressive and a little distressing."
Mac goes over to the closet and flicks it open with one of his feet. There are quite a few game boxes inside. Mac seems to be taking his time leafing through all of them.
"what kinds do you actually like?"
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Detention
"That's silly," Mary comments. "Just you have more or less people influencing how you grew up doesn't make you more or less 'you.'" She points at Aiko. "There is no you who didn't grow up in a palace and become empress at a young age. And if there was such a person, she'd be a completely different person." Mary thinks the whole argument is based on shaky ground. "If you grew up completely alone without anyone, you'd be a feral child, almost unrecognizable as a person. Is that your 'natural self?'"
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Ironsmith
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2997
Joined: Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Ironsmith »

[Parts Unknown]

"Did Fiona fall and scrape her knee again?" The bat asks, poofing back into a straight-haired girl and resting against Kol's flank.

The ex-vixen nods, keeping up a whimper. "Cousin Kol already kissed it and made it all better." She says seamlessly.

"Hmph. Well, whatever." The bat-turned-girl shrugs and turns to go. "I'm going to get back and grab something to eat. You two do whatever, I guess."

[Crystal Dorms]

"'Got myself offed'?" Aikobaz raises an eyebrow. "There are many ways to die, Mac, and not all of them are the result of one's actions. For example, a young empress might find herself on the receiving end of an assassination attempt, or a fishing accident, or an illness. Mind your words on the matter; another who doesn't know you so well might take offense."

She pauses and looks over Mac's shoulder (or under, depending on the exact angle) at the game collection, quietly impressed by its sheer size and scope. Here is a seeq who takes fun seriously. "Nearly any of these will do." She says. "They're all quite competitive in nature, or at least they are with only two players. That is sufficient for me."

]Detention]

"I suppose that's a fair point." Aiko concedes. "The me that grew up in the palace would not be half so humble nor half so understanding as the me before you today." She smirks a bit, internally chuckling at her own joke. "But the underlying point, that growing up in a city shapes one's worldview, sometimes to their detriment, is valid nonetheless. It isn't a difficult concept to grasp, even the way Aigothurz explained it." Her fingers tap against the desk rhythmically as she thinks. "It never ceases to amaze me how many different languages are embedded in the common tongue."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Detention
Mary shrugs. "Say anything like a hateful madman, and your ideas come off as hateful madness." That's unimportant at this point though. It's all in the past. "Well, yeah. The Nexus does the whole thing with everyone understanding each other." Mary's pretty sure Aiko isn't speaking English right now.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Ironsmith
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2997
Joined: Aug 01, 2022 12:46 pm

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by Ironsmith »

[Detention]

"...Yes and no." Aikobaz frowns. "When I listen to you, I hear flawless Astran. And while I'm speaking in Astran back to you, I'm sure you hear something else. But that does not mean you will always hear what I am saying, or vice versa." She gives Mary a little shrug. "There are obvious examples; if I just say nonsense at you, I'm sure it's just as baffling in your language as it is mine. Akanta akursa aoi no hana." She pauses a moment, making a little "you see what I mean" gesture. "But then there are things like what happened with Aigothurz. To you, what he said was nonsense. To me, it was as clear a message as could be sent. We both heard the same words but took completely different meanings from them. And though I've seen it happen many times in my life, it still never ceases to fascinate me."
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
User avatar
bc56
Poster from Beyond the Veil
Posts: 2727
Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha

Re: PREP Highschool

Post by bc56 »

Detention
"Hey!" Mary gets it now. It's a dig at her intelligence, a much more subtle one than Aiko normally uses. "The message was clear enough," she argues, "That he hates the city, hates city life, and hates people who want to live in cities," She's not done with her point, "It's the idea behind it, that city life is some sort of spiritual poison that makes people hate each other? That's the nonsense."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Post Reply