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Post by HungryHunter on Mar 28, 2015 17:42:24 GMT
Table of Contents: Gates are Open: p. 1-4 Picture Perfect: p. 4-8 Meet the Parents: p. 8-12 Footprints of the Founders: p. 8-20
May I Drink With You?: p. 20-22
AvA: p. 22-31
The Problem is over for Dinner: p. 31 - 35
Let the Games Begin: p. 35- 44
No Hard Feelings: p. 44- 47
Gates are Open
The chill of winter was still in the air, but the sun was shining, an appropriate feel for the first day back from winter break. Students coming back from their homes filed in by the dozen, all passing a slender redhead leaning on the tall tower on the end of the school's great outer wall. Alexis Primrose gave occasional glares to the other students, laughing when they shied away, not daring to meet her eyes. Yep, her reputation hadn't faded over the two weeks everybody was gone. Of course, it was something else she cared about now. She scanned the crowd carefully. ___ Kasume stuffed herself into a uniform. It was formal. She despised it. The sleeves were baggy and white. The black ribbon around her neck was tight. The pantyhose under her plaid skirt just felt bizarre. She had no pockets, so it was all purse for her. She hated this outfit more than she could describe. She had been able to hang around in whatever she wanted for two glorious weeks of wandering the town and goofing off in her dorm. But alas, it was back to stuffiness and misery. She held a cell to her head as she shrugged an arm into her sleeve. "Eri-chin, please. If you don't wear your uniform, I can't be seen with you. Okay then, you know what? Fuck you. Sit alone." She didn't like throwing a friend under the bus, but her family had ways of keeping tabs on her in public, and a friend decked only in leather would land her even greater surveillance, keeping her from anything fun ever. She hung up and switched numbers. "Hey, Emma? I have to cancel our spar. I won't have time to shower and change before school." ___ "If I can find Adam, I'll ask him today." Hammond told Terry as they entered the school gates, making sure his hat was impeccable. "Are you sure you want to be on the guard?" Terry raised an eyebrow, looking as bizarre as usual in his long, striped hoodie and multicolored hair clips on one side of his black hair. "Come on, we're the best investigators the school has!" Terry frowned. "Please don't involve me in this." "Come on, Terry, we're a team! You are my only partner!" Terry rolled his eyes but gave a faint smile. "We'll see what he says." Hammond gave him a quick kiss. "You can't fool me. I know you already memorized the rules." Terry shrugged, but his smile grew as he stuck his face back in his book. This seemed to be shaping up to a good semester. Now, where was Adam?
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 2, 2015 6:31:03 GMT
Strolling confidently into the school's main gates, Ashlea Primrose turned her head up high as if she owned the place. She had enjoyed a relaxing winter break at their parent's house, but it was time to come back and show the world how great she was once again. Absolutely nothing could stand in her way now.
___
"Aw, come on. I can beat you to a pulp in no time flat! Haha, I am just joking. It's fine, you free this afternoon?" Emma asks, seeing if she can reschedule their spar.
___
Standing proudly at the school gates, a man dressed in a shining white and gold uniform surveyed the crowd with a smile, welcoming back the returning students and his fellow comrades in the guard. Various female students waved as they passed by him, prompting him to wave back. Being the captain of the guard, Adam was a prominent figure at the school, and was well liked by most people.
Looking over to his right, he notices someone approaching and smiles. "Welcome back, miss Stanton. How was your break?" "It was great, captain. My family went out to the beach, and we saw a great white shark! Of course, I managed to prod it away from the tourists with my own sea creature." She says, grinning slightly. Adam couldn't help but chuckle as his vice captain. "That is wonderful to hear. Ready for a new semester?" "You know it."
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 2, 2015 14:26:01 GMT
It looked like the girl- woman now, she supposed, as much as she could act like a child, was going to show up late. She better not have gotten lost in the woods. A bit of panic entered Alexis' head before she managed to look at the thought rationally. There was no way the big dummy would get lost in the wild. That was her natural habitat. Still, Alexis was bored. Then she saw a shorter girl, so similar to her in general body shape, hair color, and other looks, walking proud as can be. "Lagging behind me as usual I see." She slipped in front of her dear little sister.
___
Kasume looked at her schedule. "Yeah, it shouldn't be too rough after school. In the meantime, if you're bored and don't mind stinking more than usual, you could head down there right now and see who's around. Beat your ass later!" She turned her phone(one advantage of her family-it was a damn nice phone) off and took to the halls, face falling into an impenetrable mask. Kasume was now simply the newest drone in the Akiyama family line.
___
It turned out no detective work was needed to find Adam. He stood at the gates, greeting the entering crowds. "I'll handle the talking." Hammond made clear, adjusting his hat to make sure he looked good. Terry didn't disagree. "Hey, do you have a moment?" Hammond asked the Captain of the guard without a moment wasted.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 2, 2015 17:16:20 GMT
Resisting the urge to groan, Ashlea confidently flips the right side of her hair, then folds her arms across her chest. "Lagging behind you? No, I am going well beyond you, Alexis!" Ashlea declares, pointing her right pointer finger at Alexis.
---
"Right, I will beat YOUR'S later!" Emma says before Kasume hangs up. Well, hopefully she will have more luck at the dueling club. Walking out of her room, Emma takes off down the hallway and makes her way to the dueling room, opening the door. Hopefully there will be some good challengers today!
---
"Of course, what do you need?" Adam asks, looking down at Hammond. Kelsey just watched from the side, looking for anyone that needed help finding their way around.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 3, 2015 3:58:55 GMT
Alexis snickered. "Cute, sis. Man, I should have given you a sense of reality for Christmas."
___
The dueling grounds were in a wide room, empty except for the stands, leaving a massive space open in the middle, large enough to fit several of the smaller stages scattered about the room. The lights were always cinematic in here, lighting the stages just right so that every drop of sweat shone like star. Today very few people were using the room besides a few pairs sparing in the smaller arenas. Currently, the most interesting figures weren't even fighting. A brown-haired girl in a big orange hoodie stared with big eyes at an older girl with pink hair, seeming to drink in every word she said.
___
Hammond put a hand on his hat, respectfully removing it. "Captain of the School Guard, I'm Hammond Rosenberger and this is Terry Travere. We are the school's greatest researchers and unshakable by anything, and we have a proposition for you." Hammond's ego was as clear as day. While not the worst, he had always been one to think himself cooler than her really was.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 3, 2015 11:10:25 GMT
"The only reality is I am going to be stronger than you! I am already better in the looks department." Ashlea boasts, running her fingers through her hair. "Though...why are you here? I figured you and jungle girl would be in your room by now."
---
Glancing around the room, Emma is disappointed to see there weren't many people here right now. But it makes sense, most people were unpacking their stuff for the new semester. But what was...oh no.
"-and then they mix in a virgin cat. Now you know how pasta sauce is made." The pink haired girl says to the younger girl in the hoodie. "Hey! What sorts of lies are you telling now, Daphne?" Emma asks, remembering Daphne's reputation.
---
Adam lowers his eyebrow slightly, but admires the formality. "Alright, what can I do for you both?"
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 3, 2015 14:25:27 GMT
Alexis snorted. "Really, sis? You still have your baby fat for fuck's sake. And, need I remind you, have never been on a second date." She glanced at the crowd of students, still not seeing the one she was looking for. "And actually, I'm still waiting for her. She was camping over the break, and I have no idea if she's even going to be back in time for the speech." She looked annoyed at her friend's lack of punctuality.
___
The other girl remained stock still, bare legs hugged to her chest and a teddy bear leaning on her side. "What's a virgin." Her voice was so utterly without inflection that it didn't even sound like a question. She gave Emma a passing glance, but the girl who knew so much seemed more interesting.
___
"We would like to join the guard, Captain. Like I said, we're the school's best investigators. Remember the frog incident? We could have figured out who was behind that. And surely there will be more occasions where people who can figure out the real story will be useful."
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 3, 2015 16:52:49 GMT
"I don't have any baby fat, and who cares about dates?! Not me!" Ashlea says loudly, causing a few people to look over, then go back to their business.
"Typical Becky. She is probably watching us right now from the bushes or something. I just imagine stuff an animal would do, and it is a pretty good prediction of her most of the time."
---
Daphne smiled evilly, looking at the other girl. "Well you see, when people really like each other, they take handfuls of nails and shove them in their-"
"THAT'S enough of you!" Emma shouts, attempting to take a swing at Daphne. The older girl only giggles as she disappears into the shadows, and reappears outside the arena, beginning to walk away."
"Sorry about that, that girl lies about pretty much everythin'. I'm Emma, what's your name?" She asks, offering a handshake.
---
"But of course, we are always looking for talented new recruits. You two have quite the reputation, nearly winning the couples tournament earlier. I can't accept you right now, but..."
Adam reaches into his jacket, and pulls out two pieces of paper. "Fill these out, and drop them off at a guard station. We will do a short interview, and if all goes well, you may just join our ranks." Adam puts on a polite smile as he finished his explaination.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 3, 2015 20:42:39 GMT
"Really? Than what's this, miss round face?" Alexis poked Ashlea's cheek, prodding at its squishyness. "And don't change the subject from your lonely ass. Becky wouldn't do that. She'd-" A red blur slammed into Alexis, flattening her. "ImissedyouImissedyouImissedyouImissedyou!" The far larger girl clung to the stunned Alexis tight, rolling around on the path with her, drawing more eyes than even Ashlea's outburst.
___
The wide-eyed girl watched the confrontation with wide eyes, hand straying the the hilt of a sword laying by her side. It appeared that she didn't need to get involved, as her source of information fled nearly instantly. She only showed any further reaction when Emma offered her hand to shake. She shied away from the offered appendage, shifting her attention to it instead of Emma's face. "I'm Marigold. What's a virgin." She was still very curious about whether the quality of "virgin" had anything to do with pasta.
___
"I can promise we won't let you down." Hammond took the forms, handing one to Terry, who didn't even look up from his book. They walked off to get to the speech, Hammond practically bouncing once they turned the corner. "This is it. Our first big step." He tried to remain cool, but his excitement was getting through to Terry. "Calm down a little. We still need to do the interviews. Now here." He gave Hammond an identical copy of the book he was reading. "It's about interviews. I was expecting this." Hammond rolled his eyes and put the book in his backpack. Not everything could be learned through books.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 4, 2015 1:31:57 GMT
"Hahahahahahaha! She wouldn't do what now? Bahahaha!" Ashlea snickered to herself, enjoying the public humiliation Alexis was getting.
---
Putting her arm down, Emma looked at Marigold with a puzzled look. Was this girl sheltered before coming here?
"Uh...well...it's a person who hasn't slept with another person...in a particular way. ANYWAY! I see you're watching the fights. Want to spar with me?"
---
Adam smiled as they left, happy that there were two potential recruits to the guard on the way.
Inside the building, a yelp was heard behind Terry and Hammond. "HEY! Watch where you're stepping!" Says a green-haired girl with long, floppy dog ears. She was clutching a long green tail in her hands, looking at Hammond with a glare.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 4, 2015 4:55:26 GMT
"She'd do exactly this. Becky, off! You smell like the backside of a barn! Have you bathed at all over the break!?" Becky shook her head and tried to snuggle close. "No. Don't care." but little pillars reached out of their shared shadow and held Becky up. She gave her laughing a sister a glare, then looked at her dangling friend, hair filled with twigs and sawdust, clothes tattered and stained so much she couldn't tell what color they were originally. Then a sadistic grin crossed her face as Alexis stood. "I know you've been lonely and want to cuddle, but I'm not touching you until you're cleaned up. So in the meantime..." She flicked her finger, and the shadows turned Becky around and lobbed her at Ashlea. Becky's only response before impact was a betrayed look.
___
Marigold didn't let her confusion cloud her face. It wasn't like not having her questions answered was something new. Just being allowed to ask them at all was. She decided to just ask somebody else later. "I'm only interested in cooking. But I guess we do fight here." She slid to the ground, one arm hooking around her teddy bear, the other grabbing her sword. After a moment of hesitation, she put the bear down and pulled a knife from a hidden holster. She was more interested in a fight than she let on. Her only form of interaction with other people her age up till now was in training, so what better way to understand them? She just couldn't express it like she wanted to.
___
Hammond startled at the yell, with Terry just giving the source of the noise an inquisitive look. "Oh... I'm sorry. Is it- are you okay?" Well, this was new.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 4, 2015 17:51:28 GMT
"H-Hang on!" Ashlea yells, noticing Becky being turned around and then lobbed at her as if she were a sack of potatos. Ashlea quickly dives out of the way, landing flat on her stomach on the grass.
"Dang it sis! Don't throw people at me! Especially smelly ones! Oh great..." She says, groaning as she notices a faint line of grass stains on her white uniform. "No matter..."
Casting a fire spell pointed at herself, Ashlea is engulfed in flames, but she didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. After a few seconds, she cancels the flames and reveals her new outfit without grass stains.
"By the way...why didn't you go with her camping? I thought you two were friends?" Ashlea remarks, smirking.
---
"Great! Let's go!" Emma says as she takes off onto the stage closest to them and adjusts her gloves. This was going to be great, a new challenger! I wonder what her summon is, and how she fights?
"Ready when you are!"
---
The green-haired girl only frowned at Hammond. "Yeah, I am okay. But you stepped on my freaking tail. There are nerves in here, you know." She says, swishing her tail back and forth.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 4, 2015 19:16:30 GMT
Alexis cackled at both her friend and her sister. Becky picked herself up grouchily. "Mean..." "Hehehe... And I have gone camping with her. Care to explain why that's not ever happening again?" Becky nodded. "Bugs and trees." "Yeah, thanks Becky. Bugs are self explanitory, but as for the trees, Becky only sleeps in them. Do you know hard it is to sleep in a tree? Cause now I do! And there were snakes, so I couldn't sleep on the ground."
___
Marigold jumped clear over the ring, landing with grace on her end of the ring. "You don't have a weapon."
___
"Again, I'm sorry, Ms..." Terry interjected his help. "Midori. She's a first year in my house." Hammond nodded. "Ah, a first year. Have you been to the auditorium, or do you want to tag along with us?"
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 5, 2015 5:35:58 GMT
Ashlea's grin only got wider. "I know, you told me all about it last time you went camping with her. You looked like a complete mess! I think I still have some pictures too...somewhere." She giggles as she finishes her sentence. "So, you're going to the speech dressed like that?" She asks, looking at Becky.
---
"Ah, but I do." Emma replies, pointing to her right fist. "These gloves have spikes in them, see?" Suddenly, a small row of spikes pops out of each of her knuckles. "I AM a boxer, if you couldn't already tell. Are you ready?" Emma began to hop back and forth between her feet, getting warmed up to fight for the first time this semester.
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"How did you...oh, must have been the ears and tail, right? I always forget I'm pretty easy to pick out of a crowd." Walking over to Hammond, she offers her hand to shake. "Haley Midori, first year Zhenfeng, as your friend has said. Who might you two be..." She sniffs the air around Terry. "...and you smell like books, sir long hair."
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 5, 2015 6:38:56 GMT
Alexis' face got a little more grouchy. She ignored the comments on her last trip and turned to Becky. "Not if she wants to sit next to me." Becky glowered. "I'll bathe." "You'd better. Come on Becky." Keeping a respectful distance, she began to lead Becky away. She noticed the Captain and Vice Captain of the guard just as she was coming up to them. "Heyyyyyyy Adam. You have fun on your break? You still as cold and stiff as before, because I can burn some of the coal I got and warm you up." Becky edged away when Alexis started chatting. Here she went again...
___
Marigold just stared at Emma's fists. "Okay." She raised her sword at shoulder level, showing it to be oddly chisel-shaped, moving the other arm over her chest, knife held ready. Without warning, she lunged forward, stabbing for the center of Emma's chest with the chisel-shaped blade. She would rather not let Emma attack.
___
"Pleased to meet you, Haley. I'm Hammond Rosenberger and this is Terry Travere, the best investigators in the school." Terry blinked at Hayley's comment about his scent. "You can smell that well?" He tilted his head and closed his book. "What a useful skill. What does Hammond smell like?" His eyes were lit with untamed curiosity, and Hammond had the feeling his boyfriend would be lost finding every book in the library on anthros the moment he had free time.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 5, 2015 15:50:51 GMT
Adam simply shook his head slightly at Alexis's suggestion. "I had a nice time on my break, yes. But there is no need for any coal burning, miss Primrose." Adam replies. Over to the side, Kelsey appeared to be satisfied with Adam's response to Alexis, smiling slightly.
"But enough about me, how was your break?" He asks, giving a small wave to Ashlea as she passes by.
---
Reacting to Marigold's advance, Emma places her arms up like a boxer's guard, and pulls her body to the side. The blade still sliced a little of her side, but missing a direct hit was worth it.
"Nice, first hit. But now it's my turn!" Now that the distance between them was closed, Emma pulls her right fist back and attempts to jab it into Marigold's left shoulder, then follows up with a hard left hook with her other arm.
---
Sniffing the air around Hammond, Haley's face produces a small frown as she backs away. "Well I can tell you're a poison manipulator or recently fought one, because you have a nasty scent on you. But other than that, I can tell you spend a lot of time with this guy..." She points to Terry with her tail. "...since I smell his scent on you as well."
Before she could start teasing them about other scents they have on them, her ears perk up and she darts her head to the end of the hallway. "You said you were investigators, right? Follow me!"
Before they could reply, Haley takes off down the hallway and around the corner.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 5, 2015 17:04:02 GMT
"It was fun. I got to hang out with my dear sister more than usual. Isn't that right, sis?" She prodded the passing Ashlea. She didn't mention that Ashlea had refused to actually hang out with her and she was desperately lonely. "How was yours? You miss me, pretty boy?"
___
Marigold recoiled as the fist touched her arm. Yes, it hurt, but that wasn't all. She ducked under the hook and swung her knife at Emma's gut, too close to properly utilize her sword.
___
"Yes, I am a poison manipulator. And a case? We're always happy to help!" His eyes lit up with excietment and he charged off after her, Terry in tow.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 7, 2015 10:26:33 GMT
"I didn't hang out with you at all, Alexis. You were too wrapped up with Netflix or whatever. Pleasure to see you again, Adam." Ashlea says as she strolls along toward the ceremony. Why the heck was Alexis acting like her and Adam were some kind of close friends?
"I miss most of the students here, miss Primrose. But I had a good time with my family, signing up for an internship in Seattle. I see miss Lloyd had an adventure." He motions to her dirty complexion.
---
"Gotcha!" Emma yells as she leans in to the knife, taking the pain in order to get in close and deliver a swift jab into Marigold's gut.
---
"What do you mean you never heard of me? I am the school's toll officer! Each new semester, everyone has to pay me 20 dollars. So come on, fork it over!" A large male with a long purple scythe towered over a fellow student, who seemed to be frightened.
"Hey! Get the heck away from him!" Haley calls as she rounds the corner, her tail swishing behind her as she confronts one of the most notorious bullies in the school; Evan Poole.
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Post by HungryHunter on Apr 7, 2015 14:20:53 GMT
Alexis gave Ashlea a swift glare. "It was your choice to not talk to me! Which is odd, considering you don't have any friends. You'd think you'd get what social interaction you can." Her smile was meaner when she turned back to Adam. "Yeah, I can see you as an intern. You're nice and obedient and seem to be happiest when you don't get paid." Becky didn't look at Adam when mentioned, staring at a wall. She had never liked Adam. "Oh, you smelled her? Yeah, she goes camping when I'm away. I was just taking her to get cleaned up."
___
This girl was clearly insane. Without treatment, a blow like that wasn't just agonizing but potentially fatal, and she had purposefully took it and even made it greater. Marigold took her own gut wound, driving the wind out of her lungs. The little spikes weren't was damaging as her knife was to Emma, but her fear kicked in again. She couldn't fall back. She had to keep pushing. She twisted her knife and moved her sword across Emma's chest. She couldn't effectively swing it, so she just used it for leverage. She wanted to knock Emma over, then stab her through the abdomen with her chisel-shaped sword.
___
Following Haley, Terry and Hammond immediately saw the issue. Terry raised a hand and fired off a concentrated burst of wind, strong enough to stagger Evan and get his attention. Hammond tilted his hat and pointed, making sure he looked cool. "Evan! I will not let you hurt anybody. But if you want to make an attempt, try us." Hammond pointed his thumb to himself and flicked his head back. Terry waved to the first year. "You'd best leave." The two summoners remained in normal positions, but the tensing of their muscles made it clear they were were ready for whatever reaction Evan had.
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Post by Vapovile on Apr 12, 2015 15:31:16 GMT
Ashlea glares back at her sister. "I have plenty of friends, unlike you! You don't have any besides Tarzan over there." Ashlea motions towards Becky. Luckily, a someone places their hand on Ashlea's shoulder before she could blow up further.
"Welcome back, Ashlea. I see you're wasting no time catching up with Alexis." Audrey gives a polite wave to Alexis. Adam only sighs as he looks at Ashlea's older sibling. "No need to be rude, miss Primrose. But having her cleaned up before the speech is wise. Anything else I can help you with?"
---
Seeing that Marigold was clearly terrified of her tactics, Emma grits her teeth as she leaned the opposite direction that Marigold was cutting to keep upright, and steps forward to lock her right leg behind Marigold's left and pull backwards. She wanted to knock Marigold down and start pounding her into the ground, or choke her into submission.
---
"What, and let you two have all the fun? Not a chance." Haley says, glaring at Evan. The offender only chuckles, shifting his attention to the three new summoners. Suddenly, he swings his scythe and slashes apart the wind blast before it could reach him.
"Aw...look at this! I am being threatened by a wannabe, a crossdresser, and a bitch. Are you sure you want to fight me? Dueling outside of the arena is forbidden, but you white knight probably already know that."
Twirling his scythe, Evan gives the three an evil grin. "So, are you determined enough to break your precious rules?"
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