Vitam et Mortem IC - Altsoba School of Sorcery

Glancing at the two of them, Kenlei then stared up at the desk she was working on. Duh! Carefully, she tipped the desk over and began working on that way like the other two. How stupid was she that she did tip the desk in the first place? She rolled her eyes at herself so hard she nearly fell over.

A giggle which scrunched her pert nose at the funny joke Blake said about all this nasty gum escaped her, mingling with the one from Charlie nearby, and she glanced over at the other girl, a smile on her face. “Yeah, he's the one with braces, and I really hope karma comes back to bite him on the ass.”

She blinked at his cute girls comment, and rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile still resting upon her mouth. This sounded like the Blake she remembered from middle school, and it was a refreshing change from the people she normally hung out with. Actually, both he and Charlie were.

As the latter came her way and began to look her over, Kenlei shook her head. “At least I look like I take care of myself instead of appearing like I just woke up. Do you...do you need a brush because I totally have one in my purse. A brush would do wonders for your hair, Charlie."
 
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The night and following morning had been stressful for Anna, if you wanted to be casual about it. She hadn't slept for more than an hour, the nightmares being too much for her to deal with. There hadn't been one that was the same as the other; one was on the bus, where Professor Topp hadn't been able to protect her; another was in the transportation building; another right in her bedroom, both before and after Eva left. All of them ended with a new death. She stopped trying to get to sleep when she woke up at five o'clock.

Someone was bound to notice that something was wrong, what with the bags under her eyes and the faint tear streaks down her face. Her pink-haired roommate, Opal, was a little tentative to ask, but she eventually did. Once she did, the waterworks started all again. Opal pulled her roommate into a hug, letting her sob out the story until she physically couldn't cry anymore. When it was all over, Opal told her to just stay in the room. "No," Anna mumbled. "I'm really hungry. I'll come to breakfast." In reality, Anna didn't want to be alone in the room. She knew that, realistically, there was no way a hunter would have been able to get her. But...it still felt way better to stick around others.

Opal offered Anna some sort of potion that erased the signs that she'd just been sobbing her heart out. When their suitemates woke up and were ready, they all headed down to the cafeteria. The rest of their rather large group was already there, speaking in hushed tones as they usually did. As Anna got closer, she heard a few snippets from their conversation.

"...duelling club..." "...Zach...killed..." "...hunters..." "...don't mention it..."

Anna stopped in her tracks, while her suitemates and roommate kept on walking. She couldn't face them. If anyone said anything, she'd start crying. She gripped her tray tightly, looking around the room for an escape. She just caught sight of the bright red cloak rushing out of the cafeteria. She'd never been so thankful for the fire sorcerer's quirks. She sped-walked after him, leaving her friends to talk about whatever the hell they wanted to.

She rushed to where he was sitting, putting on a smile. "Hiya, Heinrich," she said quickly. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too angry about her not coming to the forest. "How've you been?"



Maxine wasn't back in the dorm when Mia returned that night. Louise had apparently already told a professor, and she said that he'd already been and gone to go speak to the rest of the faculty. When Mia woke up in the morning, she half expected to find Max in her bed, having pulled some ridiculous prank. She'd get detention for a few weeks, for wasting staff time or something else, but she'd brush it all off, and bake brownies to apologise. But when Mia's eyes fell on the bed it was just as it had been the previous day, all messy and disordered.

The previous day, she had tried to be the level headed one. The one to take a step back and know just what to do. But it had been a full day, and every second she didn't know where Maxine was chipped away at her.

To just...disappear was unusual of Maxine. Sure, she liked to joke around, but she had never played a successful prank. She would always get caught out in some way, by leaving a massive bit of evidence right in plain sight or something like that. Maybe, maybe they'd missed something. So, Mia skipped breakfast, and sent a freshmen to deliver a message to Professor Bell that she wouldn't be coming to research, just for today. Together, she, Louise and Sarah clawed through their room, searching for that piece of evidence.

They found it. But it didn't elude to what they'd hoped.

Sarah was the one who found it. She shrieked when she read it, crying out, "Mia, Lou, look at this!"
Mia snatched it from her hand, desperate. She read it over, and her breath hitched in her throat. "Where'd you find it?" She asked breathlessly.
"Under her pillow," Sarah said, gesturing to the bed that they'd stripped in hopes of finding proof.
Louise grabbed Mia's wrist and pulled it towards her, eyes skimming quickly over the letter. "Eric? Eric, like her boyfriend, Eric?" Louise tittered. "He'd never hurt her! He gave her that ring and everything!"
Mia sat on her bed, reading the letter again and again. The date Max disappeared was mentioned, saying that 'I'll be there.' 'I hope everything is okay.' Something about 'the usual spot'. 'I love you.'
Silence hung around the room, grim implications crawling under Mia's skin. "Eric wouldn't hurt her," Louise reiterated, but neither Mia nor Sarah spoke.

Mia suddenly stood up, still holding the letter. She nearly sprinted to her desk and snatched a picture frame off the surface. A photo of her and Maxine from when they'd met up that summer. They'd taken enough selfies that Mia's phone had ran out of memory. She'd gotten the best one printed out and framed; the two of them, tightly pushed together, smiling big genuine smiles and holding up two ice creams, thankfully in a way that didn't cover up any of Maxine's face. She slipped the picture out the frame. She pulled out her wand, and drew a square around Maxine's part of the picture, duplicating just that part. She scrambled for paper and glue and a black sharpie, and put herself to work.

MISSING

Maxine Dawson

Last seen Friday night, 6th October

Age: 17

Height: 5'10" Weight: 140lbs
Hair: Dark brown Eyes: Brown


If seen, please tell a professor,

Mia Al-Hashim, Louise Pattison
or Sarah Talley

She stepped back from the desk, the picture of her best friend glued right in the middle. Someone had to know something. Mia held the poster up to her suitemates. "Help me duplicate these. We'll go around, and we'll stick them up all over." She sniffled just a little. "Somebody has to know something." Her voice cracked, but she wouldn't let herself cry. Together, the three suitemates copied the missing poster over and over until they had enough, for now. If they ran out, they could just make more.

Under other circumstances, Mia would establish a plan of what parts of the school the group would take. But she just wanted to get the posters up. "I'm going to give the Headmistress this letter," she said, holding Eric's response tightly enough that it creased. "You two will be okay to hand them out?"
Sarah nodded. "Yes, we'll be fine." She glanced at the letter, opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again. On trips into the town, she had seen Eric playfully lift Maxine up a few times, totally effortless. If Eric had wanted to hurt Maxine...it wouldn't have been difficult for him.
"I'll see you later. I'll come around to help once I'm done." With that, Mia turned on her heel and rushed towards the headmistresses office.

Once she arrived, she knocked primly on the door. Trying to keep it together. If she walked in blubbering, what were the chances the headmistress would take her seriously?
 
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It was late, but the headmistress would still be in her office. The door would open and she would be reading at her desk, peering down at some papers through her thick framed glasses. Even sitting, she was an imposing woman.

She gestured for Mia to come inside and then raised a finger indicating that she should wait for a moment. "... Don't want to lose my place," She murmured, eyes skimming quickly over the document. When she reached the bottom she marked something in a purple pen and then she looked up to see who had entered her room. "Miss Al-Hashim," She greeted, finally. It took her a moment to recognize the face and then to put a name to the face, but then it was there and then understanding dawned.

"You are here about your suite-mate, then?" A chair would appear in front of her desk, Professor Hunt indicating that Mia should take a seat.
 
It was an unusual experience for Mia to be afraid of a teacher. There was only really a few, since the others she either shared a mutual respect with or didn't know at all. Among the ranks of the few that intimidated her was the Headmistress. She prayed that she would mind her manners.

She forced herself to smile politely as she waited for the headmistress to finish up. Every second killed her a little, but she waited. She closed the door behind her without turning around as she stepped inside, quietly waiting. She nodded as she perched on the seat. "Yes, headmistress," she answered the question. She stared at the letter in her hands for a few seconds, and took a deep breath. "My suitemates and I were looking through Maxine's side of the room. We were hoping to find something that showed where she went." She held out the letter to the headmistress, finally loosening her death grip on it a little. There were creases where she'd been pressing.

"Eric is her boyfriend. They've been together for three years now." She didn't say anything more, hoping that the headmistress would be able to read it and fill in the blanks in the best possible way. She understood that her brain was maybe not in the best state to make assumptions.
 
a couple of days prior... (Collab by Brooke and I)
"Eva, eva!" Ishade was calling her. He didn't like seeing her so quiet and... cold, although it was normal for her after what'd happened. He didn't know where she'd been going but it was late evening time. He had a basket floating behind him.

Eva blinked and turned at the sound of her name. She was surprised to see Ishade and... wasn't 100 percent sure where she was headed but she offered her other best friend a forced smile, "Hey, Shade."

"I was going to have something to eat outside in the forest. Do you want to come with me?, I could use the company" He said, offering her a smile. Because nooo this wasn't prepared at all.

"Um." She wasn't in the mood to be company, but she also couldn't refuse a friend and it was not in Eva's nature to not be there when someone was asking her. There was some geuininess to her smile as she nodded, "Okay, sure."

He nodded and started walking, she was still so quiet... "How are you doing?, like... for real. How are you?."

"I don't know." She answered, honestly. "In some moments I feel... Okay. I was even happy last night." She turned just a tad pink, but that could easily be the cold. "But... we were attacked. Out of nowhere. And I killed a person. A living, breathing, human."

Ishade sighed... well, now they had another thing in common. "I'm sorry to hear that. I kinda... wish i could've been there to help instead of staying home. But its... i think you shouldn't be that hard on yourself. They were going to kill you if you didn't defend yourself, you know... this doesn't make you any worse, and we're not going to think badly of you because of it. I'm not, i'm sure Nito wont, or max, or monique..."

"I wasn't even trying to kill him. It just... happened. I was prepared to defend myself and I just remember feeling so scared and Anna asking me what to do and it just... happened." She shivered a little and wrapped her cloak tighter around her.

Ishade smiled at her, a sad smile. "Accidents... happen, but maybe try not to think about it so much?, and to take care of yourself. Never forget that."

"I can't not think about it. Every where I look I see his face, eyes wide with surprise. If I'm not seeing his face, I'm seeing Zach's."

"It'll... pass, I'm sure. For now lets just relax a bit." He'd say, setting down the picnic basket on the soft grass of the clearing they'd been walking towards.

Eva would clear some snow from a broken log and take a seat propping her chin up in her hands. "Tell me about your weekend."

ishade took a couple of middle sized thermos from his basket and offered one to Eva. "Hot chocolate. And... well. Gregori and I were camping, we did some stargazing and everything. It was grand. Very entertaining." He'd answer, smiling.

She took the thermos, holding it with both hands. "That's great. So you two are friends or...?" She knew it was a sensitive topic, but she didn't want to assume anything, either.

"Friends, friends." He answered, blushing. "How are Nito and you doing?"

Her cheeks colored slightly again. "How'd you know?"

"I think... i don't think theres many people who haven't. You spend plenty of time together and you seem... you seem happier, i'm glad that he's making you happy." He'd grin, amused. "Do you prefer chocolate or caramel muffins?"

"Yeah, but everyone seems more concerned with the fact that I am supposedly mourning Anthony's disappearance." She paused. "I'm not, you know. Chocolate." Eva wouldn't look at him, waiting for the judgement and confusion. Why wouldn't she be concerned about her boyfriend being missing for over a week now?

Ishade rummaged through the basket. "Well, I've heard things... and i didn't know Anthony, so i can't really say anything. But if you don't miss him, or mourn him, It's clearly because you're better off without him. And because... he must not have been a very good person." He'd sigh, and offer Eva her chocolate muffin.

She took the muffin. "Many, many people would disagree with you." Sighing, she took a small nibble. "Anyway. I wonder what they're going to do about the next tournament." She'd hate for it to be canceled like the Banff trips.

"I have no idea... but if it isn't safe, maybe its best that it doesn't happen" Ishade answered, taking a big bite off his own muffin and licking his lips. mmm... caramel.

She shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know. It might depend on why it happened. I overheard Topp saying something about the Russian team professor that he might have found some hunters. I don't know."

"Aren't the russians the ones that literally always cheat and always get away with it?."

Eva rubbed at her ribs, absently. "Yeah, those assholes."

"If i ever get to fight one I'm gonna punch their face"

"Ugh. My first round Friday was against one of them. Pretty sure he was using wind magic to stop me from breathing. And he broke my ribs." She couldn't even find it in her, in that moment, to be angry.

"Bastard" Ishade growled. "It's over though, at least for a while... How are your ribs, though?"

"Uh, better. Probably just in my head that it hurts. They healed pretty well."

"That's good to hear." He started drinking some.hot chocolate with a humm. "Have you ever considered meditation?, or yoga?, it could help ease things off your mind."

She snorted, "Sorry, no. I'm good. I'll deal with things eventually, but no. No meditation or yoga."

Ishade chuckled. "It works sometimes though!, it worked for me."

"Hey, I believe you but if either of my parents found out I was doing either, I would be yanked out of this school faster than you can say pixie dust."

"Whaaat?, whyy?" Ishade asked, arching an eyebrow

She raised a brow back, "my parents are very traditional Italian. Catholic, despite the fact that we can do magic. They would have a fit if I were involved in any 'hippie nonsense'."

"Oh. I guess im just not used to that. My siblings and I are pretty open minded and... not very religious." He answered, amused.

"They're not very closed minded to everything. Just a little particular, and if it's not going to help me in the future or help produce a gaggle of grandchildren, they're not interested."

"Oh wow... thats... I don't think your parents would like me or my family very much"

"Why? You're not preventing me or my siblings from producing offspring or having a bright future?" A thought occurred to her and she giggled a little.

"Why did you giggle??" He was also laughing a bit but didnt know why.

"Just pictured my mom's reaction if I told her I was dating Nito." That last part slipped out and she blinked. "I mean, we aren't. Not really, he would like to and so would I but that's as far as we've gotten." She took another nibble of her muffin, the second bite.

"Thats cute" snother chuckle. "And what I meant was like... they might not like how we are and all. And... wouldnt your mom like Nito, though?"

"She'd love him." Eva corrected, her brow furrowing. "What do you mean how you are? If we dated, then they might care about your upbringing."

"Pfft. Lets stop talking about how much your parents want grandchildren" he said. Continuing to drink chocolate.

"That's all I hear from them." She effected a slightly higher sounding voice, imitating her mother. "Eva. You must get good grades so you can marry smart Italian boy. Get good job and make a large family."

More laughter from ishade. He even lied down, holding his stomach as he laughed. "Oohh mmmy goddd"

She lowered her voice so should imitate her father, next. "No boys until after school, Eva.' Then usually my mother will whine that they met in high school. It becomes a whole thing."

"Really?, wow... my brother has only ever had girlfriends, I think hes with a woman called Beatrice now. But like... for some reason you can't argue with my brother. Unless you're me, or my sister." He snorted. "I remember I used to leave my socks around the house and if I didn't pick them up he'd hide them... I ran out of socks."

"I've got eleven other siblings. I've learned how to get them to do what I want." She grinned, looking a little more like her usual self. "Yeah, they kind of knew each other when they middle school age, but started kind of dating when they were around 11 and just... stayed together throughout high school. It's actually pretty sweet."

"That's cute. You're right." He answered. "My brother almost had to quit school to take care of my sister and I. But in the end we just stayed with a host family until he finished. Hes great, but don't tell him I said that"

She crossed an x over her chest. "You're secret's safe with me."

"Thanks" He'd joke, finishing his muffin and sitting up.

Other than the two bites she had taken Eva had not touched her muffin, or her drink for that matter. But she, too, stood and brushed off any dirt from sitting on the branch.

"Got any plans for today?, hanging out with Nito?" He'd ask, casting a spell on the basket so it would follow him around.

"Probably." She shrugged. "Maybe just practicing at the lake. What about you?"

"Maybe meditating... it sounds like a plan to me" He answered.

She followed after, tucking her half eaten muffin and thermos back into the basket. "Thanks for the bit of a break."

"Anytime Eva, whenever you need to talk, I'm always available" He'd answer, grinning, and patting her shoulder lightly.

Shade was simply roaming the halls, alone as usual. He'd be headed for the forest, and he saw one of the posters about Maxine on his way there. That was... strange, too many people were disappearing nowadays, inside the school what made it even worse. He shook his head and headed outside, not really knowing if he'd be meeting someone there or perhaps not. He could really never be sure, perhaps Henrich would be roaming around?; He'd heard he practically lived in the forest but the 12th grader hadn't seen him much, even though he spent plenty of time there as well. Perhaps they just frequented different parts, it didn't matter much.

He'd remember the info. About Maxine's disappearance and just go into the forest anyways. Humming to -black parade-.
 
Heinrich's head would snap back around at the strange voice calling behind him, his eye's wide and fierce looking. Glancing back to the other student much like a wild animal caught in the trash. His hair was greasy, sticking up all over the place; there was a smudge of dirty on his face from where it had been pressed to the ground in sleep the night before. Heinrich's clothes were wrinkled and looked like he might have forgotten to change at some point during the weekend.

He clearly hadn't been expecting anyone to talk to him as he was largely avoided like the plague by the student body at this point. Understandably so; he didn't exactly socialize anymore. It would take a moment to realize who it was. After the school trip he had been non-stop training, the only deviations being for food, classes, and sleep (mostly passing out to the point of exhaustion in the forest). Even when he went to classes he would stay in the far back of the room, away from anyone. "U-uh, Hello?" The words felt foreign on his tongue and the movement to form the words felt awkward, slow.

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Vivian woke up with a start, someone was touching her. She jolted upright, startling her Meghan as she did. Looking around the room, Vivian would notice the light outside; Or lack thereof. It was night time, How long had she been asleep? She sat there a minute trying to recall the past night, what happened after her shower..

Meghan had left the sleeping draught on Vivian's desk, taking some of it for herself to help with her own sleep. By the time Vivian entered the room Meghan would already be fast asleep. How Vivian would envy her in that state, so blissfully unaware of the screeching that plagued the room. Marie would continue her string of obscenities and assaults to Vivian; The shower would have no effect on drowning out the noise.

"WHERE ARE YOU? WHY ISN'T THERE ANY LIGHT? VIVIAN YOU WHORE!! WHEN I GET OUT I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Marie's screams only echoing in Vivian's head. They were psychically linked after the Ritual to remove her brain, which made it difficult for Vivian to hear her own thoughts; Vivian needed to regain control of the situation, and fast. Luckily the sleeping draught left by Meghan would do the trick. Pouring the rest of the bottle into the jar holding the brain, Marie's screams would start to fade as she went into a magically induced slumber. This would give Vivian a few hours to work, at least that what she surmised given its potency. It was the best chance Vivian would have and probably the only chance with Meghan around.

Grabbing her books and notebooks, she would frantically look to her previous notes; The runes and charms she had scribbled into them earlier would be her ticket to controlling the brain. As she looked through the texts of her books, she would begin looking at the Sleep and Awake runes. Next she would look into Nightmare and Dream runes, hoping she could find something of use in them. After finding the right runes to use, she quickly went to work carving; Careful not to mess any lines up, she moved her hands meticulously, carving the various symbols into the metal lid of the jar.

It would take two hours of non-stop work, but she would eventually have four runes carved in the lid. One rune for Sleep, One rune for Awake; Two smaller runes Nightmare and Dream were attached to Sleep. Hopefully those wouldn't be needed, but Vivian might need to Condition Marie to behave. She would also carve a small metal necklace with matching runes, allowing her to activate the jar remotely from a short distance.

With her work done Vivian would rub her eye's, put her materials and books away and Pass out; For the first time in days, she would sleep in silence.
 
Fey walked up the path to the school nervously. She had never went to a school before. Her parents had always taught her at home before they moved here. Now with work they never had the time. Finally they broke down and took her to the school to get registered and today she headed there to move in and get settled. She knew that homeschooling was frowned upon so she was a little scared about how people viewed her.

Along the way coming from another direction she saw another person coming up the path towards the school. This person didn't look too intimidating so she picked up her pace to catch up to him. "Hey, I'm Fey what's your name," she asked as she came up behind him.
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Oren jumped not expecting someone to greet him before he even got to the school. He turned to see a girl with pinkish purple hair standing there with her belongings in tow just like him. She must be new to the school just like me, he thought to himself. "I'm Oren, are you new to this school too," he asked her as they resumed their journey to the school.
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"Yes, I am," she replied as the entrance to the school came into view. "Oh, I wonder what it's going to be like here! I've never been to a school before", she schreeched in excitement as they entered the school premises.
 
Jera would find the eyes staring back at her to far colder than any look she might've thrown his way. If her gaze had been ice, than Nito's were winter personified, a shimmering cascade of impossible blues and so completely indifferent, impassive, and uninterested it bordered on insulting. Or it would be, if that wasn't how the cyromancer stared at everyone who graced his presence, save the one across the table from him.

It surprised him that this girl didn't know who she was. Most knew him by general appearance alone, more so once reputation was brought into it. With wild, feathery, raven black hair longer than most of the female students, the sapphire amulet that hung around his neck, and the aforementioned eyes, Nito didn't exactly stick to the background. Still, he would hate to be rude. "I go by Nito Benedictous. I pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."

Socialization wasn't exactly his strong suit. Unsolicited socialization even more so. If they were strangers, it was all but an impossibility for him to open up and act like a normal person around them. In his four years at the school, only two individuals had ever gotten past the frosty veil that seemed to separate him from the rest of the general populace, and one of those people was family.

Instead of wasting any more words on Jera, Nito would instead focus on collecting the papers and articles that the younger girl's arrival had disturbed.
 
Blake

Blake looked between the two girls and laughed, “I think Professor Loray believes that all the students here are degenerates, so she wouldn’t bother to check that someone would sneak into detention, only sneak out.” He pointed to the pile of gum he’d started collecting. “Beside, I’m doing a good deed.”

He was, indeed, helping clean the gum off desks, after all. He winked at Kenlei. “You both are cute. Very different types of cute, but cute nonetheless.” He resumed scraping at the desk whistling a short little tune before continuing. “Anyway, I really am here because I had nothing better to do. I was bored. Thought, why not?” He did come to Charlie’s defense and shook his head, “Nah. The wild hair is a part of her charm.” Don’t ever change.

Headmistress Hunt

The headmistress took the letter from Mia’s hands and read over it, slow and careful. Rereading it a few more times before she set the letter aside and leaned a little forward to examine the student before her. “You think that Mia snuck off the school’s campus to meet with this…” She picked up the letter to read the simple signature once more, “... Eric? Do you know how she might have gotten off campus?” that was a problem, indeed. If students were sneaking off campus, they were putting themselves in direct danger. Look at what had happened after the dueling tournament. In some ways, though, it eased her fears a little. If kids had found a way off campus, then that could also explain Anthony and Bea and Marie. She needed to close whatever secret way off campus the kids were sneaking, she needed to up security.

Of course, there was nothing for sure that indicated that it had been hunters but the time and location… and then there was this boy, who very well could have been involved. “These two have been together for three years? Tell me everything you know about him. Last name, what does he look like? Do you believe he would ever hurt Maxine?” She reread the letter once more, “It looks like she requested that they meet. Do you know why she would ask for such a meeting, at this time?”
 
Hazel snatched her book and followed after Sophie, pushing through the library doors as she began to look for her friend. She knew that she'd gone somewhere else to give her space while she was studying, but she wasn't quite sure why she would be here, of all places. She wandered around for awhile, searching the corridors and between rows of books until she spotted the back of Sophie's head. She approached her friend, but she froze as soon as she saw a pair of older students staring at their suitemate. She didn't really know anything about them, but Sophie seemed to be nervous, and the way Jera was staring at them made her wonder what they were like. "What's happening?" She whispered, glancing back at the older kids again in confusion.
 
Jake Mascaretti's head was spinning with Halloween plans...more like Halloween pranks. Having decided to skip out on Advanced Potions, his least favorite of all the classes, Jake positioned himself on the front steps, cigarette attached to his lip and sketchbook on his black jeans-covered lap. Gray hoodie was up, and the golden blonde pretty boy hair flipped forward and out. Scooching down on the step until his knees were propped up high and his shoulders hit against the step behind, the firebug began to scheme.

Once every year since sixth grade, Jake played a little prank which one of his best girl friends (after discovering it was he who had smuggled two hundred hissing cockroaches—which were surprisingly difficult to find for a sixth grader—into the girl's dorm after light's out) had deemed 'The Prick's Tricks'. The name had stuck as he played one big trick year after year, and now entering his eleventh year, it was time to beef it up a bit. Knives and chainsaws just wouldn't cut it (pun intended), and spiders, though always a big hit with the ladies, were too small-minded for an experienced prankster like Jake. No, he needed to think bigger and wider. It had just been released in the theatres, and last year he had read reports of creepy ass clowns popping up all over the U.S. attempting to lure children into wooded areas, so that was a possibility.

Another thought which had occurred to Jake was to somehow manage to blanket the school in darkness and terrify the living Hell out of the kids; however, that was simply a dream. Perhaps it would be better to go with the clown thing. Clown costumes were easy enough to rig up.

As these dark thoughts and more flitted through Jake's brain, the sound of a chirping voice caught his attention. Glancing over one side of the sketchbook, he took note of two newbies walking together toward the school, no parents in sight. Sweet.

Rolling himself to a standing position, he tucked the sketchbook under one arm, took a drag from the cigarette and stomped it out on the steps. Then he trotted the remaining way down the stairs toward the couple, a huge smile spreading his face from ear to ear. “Sup?” he greeted, “I'm Jake, your welcoming committee.” Lie. “We've been expecting you.” Possibly a lie, possibly not, after all, he didn't know these two. “So what years are you going into? I'm an eleventh, declared fire.” He chatted as he led them up the front steps to the main doors, the most charming smile still upon his baby face.

Jake was by no means a mean guy. Sure, he liked a good prank that scared the crap out of people, but that was a once a year thing. He did not make a habit of terrorizing the youngsters or newbs on a daily basis, but he was also not above being completely fake to them one minute and real the next time they saw him.
 
Oren heard the sound of footsteps approaching as they headed towards the building and looked up to see what was most likely a student heading their way. The student introduced himself as Jake a year eleven fire sorcerer. "My name's Oren. I'm going into the eleventh year. I'm a declared water. Nice to meet you." They guy smelled strongly of cigarette smoke and going up the steps he saw the freshly put out cigarette right there as they passed it.
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"I'm Fey. I will be a twelfth year. I declared earth. This is my first time getting to go to a school so I'm very excited to give this new experience a go......," she trailed off as she realized she was starting to yammer. "Sorry I'm nervous," she apologized though it probably wasn't needed. The smell of cigarettes wafted by her as she went up the steps. She hoped that Jake didn't always smell of cigarettes or else she might need to keep a can of "smell goods" on her.
 
Charlie quickly backed away from Kenlei, holding her hands on her mop of hair as if to ward off the other girl. "Nope! I'm fine, thanks!" She says, almost worriedly as she backs off a bit further to Blake. She wasn't a fan of hairbrushes, they hurt and besides, she was happy how she was. Didn't need no hairbrush or lipstuff, she was fine as she was dang it!

Looking at Blake as she spoke, she was surprised and actually kind of happy when he called her cute. It wasn't something often said to her, for some reason. And he liked her hair too, so it can't be that bad. Pointing a finger at herself, she raises her eyebrows in mild disbelief. Turning away from the duo, she gives a mildly surprised look at the floor before returning to scraping.

"I can't believe you came here because you were bored though," she comments to Blake as she moves on to her third desk, pointing her scraper at him. "Kenlei had a pretty cool reason, but you came here because you were bored? Heh, and I thought I was weird." She says, smirking and chuckling a little at Blake before going bake to scraping at the desk.

She actually kind of liked these two, she decided. She wasn't the best with talking to people, but she found it was better than those stuck up teachers she ended up with half the time.
 
Anna froze when Heinrich turned, clamping her lips tightly together so that she wouldn't gasp aloud. Last she had seen of him, he had been just a normal quiet, shy, and damn awkward guy. Now when she looked at him, it was like a totally different person. "Jesus, Heinrich," she whispered. She reached out and put a hand on his upper arm, as if to stop him running away. "What happened to you? You look like hell."

Still holding his arm, he lead him gently towards a bench. She felt a pit of guilt in her stomach. She'd spent close to zero time with him since the Banff incident, and since then, he had ended up like this? She shouldn't have stopped going to the forest. She pulled him down onto the bench with her, sitting her tray on her lap. Around now, she would normally start up the small talk, but with the look of him she couldn't bear to do it. "I'm sorry Heinrich, but...you look a mess. And you've got...dirt, there." She pulled her sleeve around her hand and rubbed at her own cheek to show him where it was, or maybe how to do it. He looked really out of it, maybe he needed that sort of guidance.



Mia waited stiffly in her seat for the headmistress to finish reading. Her palms were sweaty, and she was shaking a little even if she didn't want to admit it. She wrung her hands in her lap, quiet. She'd been dreading the question Hunt asked: how did Maxine get of campus. She bit her lip. "I've heard of ways off campus. I know that there's more than five, but..." she glanced away from the headmistress, then to her lap, "...I don't know where any of them are. I never really cared to find out, I guess."

"His last name is Chauvet," she said. "He's around six feet tall. He's very well built, but still quite fast-" she paused. Strong, and agile. Maxine didn't like people asking questions about-

No. She couldn't just jump to conclusions, just because of her research. Not like Maxine would know if Eric was one of those, anyways. Besides, he would have killed her already. She continued. "Yes, strong, but still fast." She went on to describe him in further detail; his short brown hair, green eyes, pouty lips and thick eyebrows, whatever she could remember from the last time she'd seen him (though that had, admittedly, been ages ago). She hesitated before answering the next question. "I don't think he'd hurt her. They were...they really liked each other. Maxine said they were going to get married. Whenever they were together they were just so...in love." She shook her head and sighed. "I...don't think he would have hurt her."

She glanced at the letter, lips set tight. "I don't know why she would have gone. I mean, it could have been anything. People going missing, or maybe she wanted to figure out a way they could go to the Halloween dance together. I think she was a bit angry about that."
 
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Jake smiled charmingly, of course at both of them, “Nice to meet you, too. An eleventh like me and a twelfth. You two are going to love it here. The people are great and the teachers are so friendly, especially Professor Loray who you should chat up as much as possible. She loves to hear all about us kids' lives, ya know? I think she's living vicariously through us.”

As the girl,...uh...Faith...something like that, Jake had a terrible memory for names of new people, began to ramble, he smiled and simply nodded. “Homeschool, huh? This will be a big change, I guess, but not a horrible one. It's pretty cool here, but don't get caught with an iPod or any other electrical anything. They seriously hate those things here.” He kept his own tucked in a specially sewn pocket on the inside of his hoodie.

“Do you all have any questions orientation didn't answer?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kenlei moved to the next desk, tipping it over with a noisy clatter though she did truly try to set it down gently. “Yeah, I guess we all kinda are doing a good deed because I really hate putting my fingers on gum while I'm working...or really any time. But now that I think about it, you really are doing a good deed. I mean, I can't speak for Charlie, but I wouldn't be caught dead doing this on my own without someone making me.” She wrinkled her nose as a piece of gum went flying into her hair causing her to swat and shake her hair until the gum fell out harmlessly beside her.

When she looked up, it was quick enough to catch Blake's wink which made her blush a bit with a smile which quickly turned into a laugh at the horror on Charlie's face at the word 'brush'. “Well, I mean, I can't entirely disagree with you, Blake, as there is a messy hair style, but it is, ya know, styled with gel or something.

As Charlie gave Blake a hard time about being weird, Kenlei chuckled, one fist banging down on the handle of the scraper to get off a particularly sticky piece which ended up flinging only God knew where. She turned her face this way and that, looking for it. Unbeknownst to her, it was stuck right on the top of her forhead where her hair met her skin.
 
Klaus had been spending some of his free time practising outside, and when he saw Jake approaching some new students... he walked there immediately. The guy had a reputation. He'd get there soon enough to listen to him talk about professor Loray.
"Jake, what have kinda potion mix have you drunk?" He'd ask, arching an eyebrow with disaproval and skepticism.
"Hello, by the way, I'm Klaus... and you might not want to talk to professor Loray that much, she values hard work and silence more..." he'd make sure to explain, giving Jake a glare.
 
Blake

Blake shrugged. The truth was he knew a lot of people in their grade but he wasn't really close with anyone. So, it's not like he had anyone to hang out. "Well, I'm kind of having fun with you two, so it's working out so far." He flashed them both his sweet, honest, smile and moved on to the next one, carefully tipping it to the side.

When he next looked up Kenlei was looking frantically around and he saw a piece of gum stuck to her face. He stifled a snicker and exchanged a look with Charlie before clearing his throat. "Hey, uh. Kenlei?"

Headmistress


Professor Hunt listened with an attentive gaze as Mia detailed out Eric. Occasionally she'd make a note or nod her head. When it seemed that the young student had finished she straightened up. "It is hard to say what happened, but this all helps very much. It's possible while sneaking off campus she ran into a Hunter or something else happened. It's good that you came to us with this." She nodded again. "This helps us expand our search beyond the campus." Unless there was nothing else, she would start to lead Mia back to the office door.

Whenever the young sorceress did return to her dorm, there would be a small pile of envelopes waiting for her on her bed. Two letters were from Chris. One was dated Friday and the other was dated Sunday.
 
Oren looked up at the newcomer. If it hadn't been for him they probably would have fell for the prank. "Thanks man. I would have totally fell for it too. I'm Oren and this iiisss.....huh, what was your name again?" The last part was directed at Fey. He was bad with names taking anywhere from hearing it three times to ten times to remember it. "I'm sorry. I'm bad with names. I'll remember it after about three or so times hearing it." He felt embarrassed.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Oh he's one of those people, Fey thought to herself remembering back to her childhood when she would play with the pranksters. "I can't believe I almost fell for that one. Thanks, I'm Fey by the way. This is my first time attending a school. I originally was being homeschooled." She looked back at Jake. "We may be good friends. I used to hang out with pranksters all the time when I was younger."
 
Jera stayed still as she waited for her response, eyes sharp as she took in dark hair, frostbite eyes, and the demeanor that made her relax slightly. His was a type she was familiar with in a familial sense, even if she was not familiar with him as a person.

Movement beside her brought her attention to her suite mate, meeting her eyes and taking in the worry that filled them. Jera smiled to the girl in response. A twist of the lips that was meant to reassure the girl, but came off a little forced due to anger that still plagued her.

Ice eyes turned towards the second person seated at the table. Following Sophie’s eyes when she looked there as well, the young sorceress felt herself relax at the warm stare she found herself receiving from the older student. Clearly the girl had missed what had transpired. Sophie didn’t seem to have noticed either, she simply seemed concerned about Jera. The dark-haired girl stopped for a moment, thinking. With two people in the dark on what had happened, Jera needed to take a step back and figure out a separate way to handle this.
Taking a breath, Jera pushes her own emotions aside and took in the situation.

The boy, Nito, was obviously of higher standing. She was sure she’d heard his name around, but as one who never paid gossip much mind, she found herself at a loss. She’d much rather riddle a person out for herself then let others tell her what to think.

Haughty, cold, and closed off like his magic.’ Her mind whispered to her. There was no way this boy was anything but an ice mage, it was the only magic that suited his personality. ‘Not all bad though, he is human after all.’ The girl softened slightly, remembering the look this boy had given his girlfriend. There had been no ice there. He was giving her the same look he’d given the mouse though, as if she was under him and a mere nuisance to be dealt with. It wasn’t the first time she’d been regarded as such and it wouldn’t be the last. It wasn’t something she would ever let bother her though, and the boy was soon to learn that.

Jera would correct his ideas about her, but it was more fun being unknown at the moment.

Next she turned to the girl at the table, the smile she was getting from her making Jera want to return it in full. Smile truly instead of the forced formality she was wearing now. The brown eyes seemed soft as they stared at her, and Jera took a second to admire the soft beauty the girl was graced with. She knew she’d seen this girl around the school before, but had been too caught up in her own world to properly catch her name. A disadvantage, she knew, but one she intended to remedy.

Kind, yet troubled.’ Was the only thing her mind supplied her with. Jera had nothing else to go off of, she did not know the girl well enough yet and it was the only thing she’d been shown. Again, she worried about the shadows under the girl’s eyes, turning to examine the boy’s shadows as well. This is why she’d tried to help in the first place, and this is why she should continue to help.
Jera sighed quietly as the boy bent to start cleaning the mess she’d made. Originally, she’d planned on letting him do all the work in petty revenge, but now she couldn’t bring herself to be so rude. Not when she knew there were things already dragging on the boy. She glanced back at Sophie for a moment, taking in the blushing girl still staring at the one seated at the table and shook her head slightly. Such silliness, she wondered why Sophie was blushing.

Bringing herself back to the task at hand, Jera put her wand away, flexing her hand that had been so stiff gripping it before rounding the table and bending to help gather the scattered papers. She kept her eyes down as she helped the boy, not wishing to acknowledge the glare she knew she’d be receiving.

“Indeed, a pleasure Nito.” She started quietly, voice even as she released her anger at him. “Yet I think I deserve a small apology.” Her ribbon stirred with small swirls of wind. “The mouse was sent to be a relief from what stress you two have let plague you, yet you sot to destroy it. It only meant well, and you rejected it’s warmth. I gather that you are an ice mage, but everyone could use some warmth every once in a while, don’t you think?” She glanced up at him then, pausing her work to make her point clear. “Nature is something each of us works closely with. Each of us with one part of it, but you cannot forget it’s whole. To use one part of nature is to respect it all, Nito. As someone who seems to pride himself with what he can do, shouldn’t you understand that most of all?” She let that sink in before standing with her half of the papers in hand, setting them on the desk with a smile to the girl that sat there.

“I only sot to comfort her with a small gift of peace. If it disturbed you so, you’d only needed to speak up. Instead you chose to destroy a gift given of kindness to one who you so clearly love.” She turned again to look at the boy, expression neutral, the anger gone out of her. A small tug brought the mouse out of hiding, the small creature skittering up Jera’s robes to sit on her shoulder, curling into her neck and watching Nito with weary eyes.
 
Mia pressed her lips tightly together at the Headmistresses verdict. She'd been hoping that the professor would provide a hunter-less explanation, but that had been a little too much to pine for, she guessed. "Thank you, headmistress," she said resignedly, and then left the office.

Why did she feel so guilty? She'd done the right thing. Now they knew better where to look for Maxine. They had a better chance at finding her now. It was at a sacrifice though, she realised. Surely, Eric would be taken in for questioning about it now. But that didn't mean anything. He could just tell them if she turned up to their spot or not, and where she went after if she was there. Or maybe, he'd be able to tell them exactly where she was. That. That would be even better.

Still, her heart hurt.

She returned to her dorm, heading to her room. She meant to go to her desk and start to copy out more posters (or maybe even edit it to include the new information) but some all too round, all too beautiful handwriting caught her eye. She froze for a moment, one hand holding her wand and hovering over the poster. The guilt only grew as she dropped her wand to the desk and rushed to her bed and the pile of envelopes. She picked up the two of them, holding one in each hand as if weighing them for their worth. She perched on her bed, slipping her thumb under the sealed layer and tugging it open, slipping the letter inside out onto her lap. She picked it up with hands just as greedy as always.
 
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