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Open Black Moon Academy - School for the Gifted

Medicine, eh? Serena didn't know if she could buy into that. Sure this was a strange place (a kid wore a flipping hazmat suit, for christ's sake), but why would he have it in a flask of all things? Medicine came in bottles, they didn't need to be put into a flask.

Then again, people were entitled to do as they pleased. It wasn't her place to judge whether or not he could put his medicine in a flask. Maybe it had sentimental value or something. In any case, it wasn't her concern... For the moment, anyway. "Well, drink up, I guess. You look like you could use a lot of the stuff." She shrugged. With a sigh she got up and made for the door, but stopped quite suddenly and threw out her finger, hovering it not an inch from Priam's eyes. "BUT!" She glared at him. "If you insist on being this boring all the time, I'll have to resort to DESPERATE MEASURES." Okay, maybe she overdid the drama on that last bit, but whatever, it worked. She lowered her finger and turned away and took another step towards the door.

And then she immediately snapped back around and was so close that now her nose and Priam's actually touched, and gave him one last menacing glare. Then without a word, she turned and strutted from the room, determined to have a good hunt even if her roommate was a complete and total bum.

There was a boy waiting out in the hallway. Maybe for his roommate, or maybe just anybody to talk to. "Hey, you're... Uh... NiiiiigellllNnnnnnnaaaate – NICK, you're Nick, I think. I'm Serena, but I think I might have told you earlier... Well, whatever. My roommate's a sloth, but not, you know, ACTUALLY a sloth. I guess metaphors aren't well advised in a place like this? But yeah, how'd you like to go searching for this cafeteria? Sounds like fun, right? And your roommate doesn't seem to be with you, soooooo... Yeah!" She beamed at him. Normally, if she were to judge Nick by his looks, she'd say he was probably very much like Priam. Boring and unmotivated. But she reminded herself that she could never know for sure.
 
Priam sighed in annoyance at Serena's overly dramatic warnings. A smile flicked across his face after she finally left the room, only for that smile to fade when he could still hear her rambling at somebody else. Typical, he thought, thirteen other students in this group, and I'm stuck with the biggest chatterbox of them all. Still, I got her out of my hair for the time being. Might as well enjoy what quiet time I can get, he looked down at the book, and I'll go out looking for the health office after I finish this chapter. Hopefully she'll be long gone by then.

All things considered, he thought that he was lucky to simply get those overly dramatic warnings, considering how she'd made her entrance into the room.. Luckier still that she hadn't pressed the issue of his "medicine," considering how close of a relation the stuff had to his condition. Too much prodding from someone like her, and Priam might let slip something about his condition that he really shouldn't let sl- No. Can't think like that. Can't overthink things within the first twenty-four hours of being here. Just ignore her as much as possible for now, and hopefully she'll take some hint somewhere along the way that I'm nowhere near the extrovert that she is. Nodding to himself in affirmation of this plan, Priam settled himself in, letting himself be drawn back into the book he so greatly enjoyed.
 
"An acceptable approach. Your logistic skills are remarkable; the fact that this was said by the great Gundam Tanaka makes them much more obviously so. Shall we depart, then?" He turned to the stairs, his scarf and coat swishing extra-dramatically for theatrics. There were other students out in the hall, he realized; he decided not to approach them.

"Let us ignore the others. At this accelerated pace, we shall trample the world in our efforts!" He grinned and walked off towards the wide and ornate stairs. He didn't turn back, but his hamsters did, the Four Dark Gods popping up their heads from their resting places in his muffler to look at Katie and the others. Sun-D, in particular, was particularly interested in Katie, remembering their spar of sorts. She looked at her curiously.

Gundam passed down the stairs and examined the hallway before him. It seemed to go on for quite a while; he couldn't see the end of it, although his vision was limited from the steps of the stairs. There was an entrance to another hallway before him as well, and despite there being light coming from the ceiling, candles hung on the walls. Almost certainly decorative, although they were lit... over all, it was an odd atmosphere, as the halls were as extravagant-looking as the lobby. And, partially engrossed in that atmosphere, Gundam lost any sense of strategy. He walked off the stairs and headed just slightly to the hall on his right; he had picked it at random. "Shall I enlist the help of the Four Dark Gods to help us in our search? There is certainly much ground to cover."
 
Katie followed Gundam, trying not to think about how hungry she was; she would chew on something, but she didn't have any gum, and things that weren't made to be chewed were terrible ideas to chew anyway. She wondered if the hunger was an effect of someone or something in the Academy, because she didn't remember being quite so hungry before this excursion. In any case, she reached out mentally to the other students they passed (in their efforts to trample the word she couldn't believe this guy) to see if any of them had any idea what they were doing. Aside from subconscious, half-formed logic chains not unlike her own, no one had had any better luck just yet. In the case that this challenge was some sort of race, Katie felt a small (self-actualized, of course) spot of relief knowing that they were, for all purposes, ahead of the game.

She reached out to the four hamsters--sorry, Dark Gods of Destruction--as well, not wanting to pry too far into their minds but finding at least basic information as they walked. In particular, the fox--Sun-D, that is, was eyeing Katie just as curiously. Katie smirked internally and glanced back at the...presence. Their eyes met, and Katie attempted, as she often did, to place her own thoughts into the processes of another mind, but as every previous trial, her efforts proved fruitless. The only mind under her control was her own, and without totally overpowering another mind (and being phased out to boot), there could be no shared action; simply Katie as an observer, listening through the windows of another's mind.

Following Gundam down his hallway of choice (sure it wasn't the most efficient way of searching, but what should it matter which area they searched first?), Katie found herself wondering how Gundam was with other animals. The large amount of supplies seemed to imply that he was quite experienced with mammalian care, at the very least, but as all she had seen were hamster supplies, it was also possible that the Dark Gods of Destruction were simply influencing him (or even ordering him) in order to ensure they received the proper care.

"Shall I enlist the help of the Four Dark Gods to help us in our search? There is certainly much ground to cover."

Katie started; she realized that she couldn't see where the surrounding area ended at all, in either direction. The school hadn't looked that big from the outside, at least not that she could see, how many mind-altering phenomena were there around here and how could she make them stop--

"That would actually help, yeah," Katie said, rubbing her temple and navel again. "How are they going to let you know if they found something though? And how fast are they? Also can they coordinate like some sort of grid effort between them, or are we sending all four of them, or half of them, in groups? And what if the entrance is some sort of hidden door that's noncircumventable by hamsters or dragons/elephants/falcons/foxes?"
 
"I have a theory, this Moriarty guy is an evil mastermind. I mean, who is so much of a jerk that they hide the food?" Raisa began packing Brighton away in her bag. She didn't know how safe the room was, and she wasn't going to try to test it. She didn't care about any of her other things. But Brighton was one of a kind, and valuable. She didn't wnat him falling into the wrong hands. "I am totally with you in the food thing."

"Another thing, I'm curious as to how Darth eats, I mean... Does he have like, a feeding tube?"

She made her way to the door. "Coming? We'd better hurry. I bet the others are hungry too. I don't want to show up late and find that the four evil hamsters of doom have eaten all the pizza."
 
~ Reneé

"Er...personally he kind of rubs off as a Nick Fury kind of guy. You know, wanting the best for those working/learning under him, but in a 'Survival of the Fittest' kind of manner..." Reneé replied, his 3DS now entering his pocket. "I dunno, it makes sense that, by being able to locate something, such as a cafeteria, we'd be more...oh what the hell is it called? Something about...oh right, it would help our sense of direction."

"How Vidal eats?" Reneé mused, "Uh...its likely they have a specific area where he can safely get out of his suit, and just eat. Its more than likely he's immune to his own toxins. I dunno. Seems like they have all sorts of precautions..."

"Yeah, yeah, where to?" Reneé said as he followed Raisa out the door. "Does Brighton have, like, a GPS, or some sort of food detector?"
 
"Food detector... I should have thought of that," she said with a smirk. "Sadly no. For right now he's stuck in the computer, I plan to give him his own hardware soon.And the GPS would work, sadly, Black Moon Academy doesn't want to agree with Greyhaven's satelites."

"Sooo... I got nothing. I would assume it's on the first level, I mean, who puts a cafeteria on the second floor?"
 
((Alright guys, super long post. Sorry about that. [insert lame excuse] Let it be noted that despite that I said there were two weeks in-game from new students arriving and returning students... returning, we're gonna jack up the timeline now and those guys will show up. Feel free to throw in other students as NPCs whenever you need to. Let's see if the pacing can't change within a few days, eh? Welcome new peeps, get to posting. I'm sure a post this long will bring up questions because I can be unclear and stupid sometimes. Bear with me, please. Anyway, longpost action go.))

It seemed like people were starting to disperse. Good. And Eris still hadn’t said a word to him since they were in the basement. That was fine with Nick. I better get moving before she decides to change that, I guess. A shame, really. He’d been hoping to tag along with someone (with the exception of Eris and that Gas Mask kid), but it looked like he was going on his own for now.

And then, almost as if on cue, came the chatty girl from earlier. Serena. Wonderful. On second thought, it might have been better if he had just gone alone. Then again, a second person couldn’t be that bad. He had to get used to it. She identified him by name, albeit with a bit of trouble, and he only nodded in response. She had the same idea as him; get a partner and start searching. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.” He shrugged. “Come on. I have a plan of sorts. Just follow me and keep your eyes open.” He turned and headed back down to the ground floor.

He figured it had to be centrally located, so that meant it would be near that entrance they’d come in earlier, most likely. He’d search around that area on the first floor to start. If he didn’t find the Cafeteria there, he’d move up one floor at a time. It won’t be so simple as just a door tucked away. What kind of test would that be, then?

Nick started by moving to the entrance. The door to the basement was shut with a sign reading “CLEANING IN PROGRESS” slapped on it with tape. It made sense for the Cafeteria to be nearby, somewhere easy to access from anywhere in the school. He had counted five floors from the outside with the windows, though there might be a few rooms on a sixth floor, like an attic or something. In which case, the next most likely place aside from near this area was on the third floor.

He figured it was best to not overthink it just yet, though. He walked down a hall running north-south, and looked in all the open doors. Those that were closed, he just opened a crack and looked in. They were classrooms, it seemed, or study rooms for students, and some seemed to be teacher offices. Nothing but a few lights, tables and chairs. And the hall itself sometimes had a small table and chair, a painting here or there, or a plaque with names on it, and a few empty spaces. He found the hall was quite large, though. He hadn’t seen the building in its entirety, and he figured it was quite large, but this was impressive. Not quite the size of a normal school, but certainly large enough for a hundred people to live. Maybe more. It was hard to say.

He turned to his left at the end of the hall and continued walking silently, more or less ignoring Serena (if she was even following. He found it rather easy to block people out). The Shade occasionally whispered to him, if it saw something “neat.” It was the Shade that drove him to a rather small door, with three old wooden chairs next to it. They were significantly less comfortable looking than the others he’d seen, without cushions and half-rotted. The door had a name printed on the foggy, scratched glass. “PROFESSOR BYRON MORIARTY.” Well, the man didn’t keep his office very up to date, apparently. Nick was about to open the door, just to look inside for the sake of curiosity, but stopped with his hand hovering over the handle. There were voices inside.

“…said he’d be here on time today.” It sounded like a woman, and Nick could only assume Moriarty was late for something.

“Oh, calm down. He’s probably working with the new students.” Came a gravelly response. “His little program this year will be a lot more intensive than previous years. I’m told he won’t have much time to spend on us.”

Another voice entered, now, deep and grim. “That’s what I’m for. Forget Byron for now, he’s not your concern. We should be focused on our job.

“Alright, fair enough.” The first voice responded with a hint of defeat. “I just think that this crap’s the reason why the Alpha has never had to double up as a babysitter.”

“Actually, he’s a professor.” The second one said matter-of-factly.

Enough!” The third barked. “Now, you’re sure of what you saw, Alan?”

“Yes, sir.” The second said, his tone shifting. “Smoke in the woods at dusk, and then one of the fugitives near dawn.”

“Which one?”

“I couldn’t confirm. But they weren’t any mundane, and no friend of the Academy would have fled from me like that.”

There was silence for moment. Then the third spoke up again. “I want you to get word out to the other Hunters. We’re on High Alert, and I want scouts hidden at the gate at all times, no exceptions without the Alpha’s word. Are we clear?”

Nick was surprised when not two, but five or six voices responded with a definitive, “Yes sir!”

“Enjoying yourself, Nick?” Said another voice behind him. Nick felt like he could’ve jumped out of his skin if a hand hadn’t immediately covered his mouth. “No need to scream, now.” It was Moriarty. He had his hand over Serena’s mouth as well, a good thing considering her tendency to never shut it. “I presume you have questions, but they’ll have to wait. To make it all short, the school has a few protectors. You were supposed to meet them in a couple of weeks, but from what we heard, things are sounding rather urgent, yes?”

“Weren’t you downstairs?” Nick asked as Moriarty pulled his hand away.

“Well, obviously I came back upstairs, didn’t I? It isn’t that hard, you know.” Hardly giving Nick or Serena time to react, he grabbed the two of them by their collars, bunching their clothes together in his right hand.

Moriarty opened the door, and the three people inside turned to him. All of them wore masks with old, worn paint. At one time, Nick imagined they were very bright and colorful, but now the paint had yellowed and peeled. “About time you showed up.” Said the man who’d held the third voice. Several of them eyed Nick, with his collar still being held tightly by Moriarty.

“I was busy downstairs. One of the new students had… Let’s call it an ‘accident,’ today.” Moriarty smiled. “It’s okay now, though. For the most part. Might have to get out one of the old mats for a bit, though. Now, I was eavesdropping with these sudents for a bit. Good call, by the way, with the guards.”

“… Should I leave?” Nick asked, his voice sounding small and tiny all of a sudden.

Moriarty laughed. “Nicholas, my dear boy, you should be in the cafeteria by now. Really, for as intelligent as you all appeared in your dossiers, not one of you has had a thing to eat yet. Give me a moment. Hunters, you are dismissed.” With a salute, the three masked ones went through the door into the hallway, their footsteps making not so much as a whisper. Moriarty picked up a phone sitting on his desk and hit a couple of buttons before lifting the speaker to his mouth. His voice echoed throughout the entire school, yet Nick did not recall seeing a single intercom.

“Attention students, this is Professor Moriarty speaking. It’s time you got your daily dose of learning. Fun fact 1: Your mind is your greatest asset. Fun fact 2: The solution to any problem can be found by thinking creatively, but sometimes the answer can be staring you in the face. Have a nice hunt.” With that, Moriarty slammed the phone down with a smug grin.

Nick stared at Moriarty in a state of confusion. “Didn’t you basically say that earlier?”

Moriarty nodded. “I did indeed. And I’ll continue saying it until each one of you understands it. You see, you may have heard those things before, and you might think you already knew that. Yet you all think in box of sorts, and I want you to all think as individuals so that you all have something to contribute to one another.”

“… So, I don’t suppose you could just tell me where the Cafeteria is?”

“Now there’s a new idea.” Moriarty tapped his chin. “It may not seem like it, but it really is. Most students assume that because finding the Cafeteria is a ‘test,’ that they won’t receive help. They also assume it will be difficult. But it isn’t like an ordinary test, is it? You could starve to death, after all. When your life is on the line, you need to be willing to ask for help, or things will be a lot more complicated, yeah?” Nick gave no response. “Well, you get the point. Never rule out getting help from anyone. And never rule out the simplest possibilities. That’s the primary lesson here, and one that will be taught several times over the year.”

After that little mini-lecture, Moriarty gave them the details to the Cafeteria and (quite literally) tossed Nick and Serena out of his office. After regaining his balance and narrowly avoiding ramming his head into the opposite wall, it seemed high time they got some food.

He walked back to the entrance rather briskly, and up the stairs to the second floor where the doors to the Ballroom stood, and where the Headmistress had come from when they arrived. In front of the doors were three tables with four signs. The largest read “WELCOME BACK,” and the others were distributed to the tables. Students Nick didn’t recognize were coming in, and heading to a table based on their year. They gave their name, and were handed a small stack of papers with room number, schedules, and everything else they needed to know about a new year at the Academy.

So the others students had arrived.

The Ballroom, Nick found, was quite impressive. And just as Moriarty had said, a wide set of stairs were on the west end of the room, with three double doors at the top. Opening them proved his directions were correct. It wasn’t particularly fancy; it was still a cafeteria, after all. But Nick could see how they could spruce up the place on a moment’s notice if they needed to. There were just some plain tables and benches, and it looked like you got all your food in the back end. There were a few vending machines aside, as well.

But there was nobody else inside. No cook. And no food. Nick pondered this, as after all this trouble, it seemed he should get something. He frowned and turned around, going back into the Ballroom, hoping to see a chef or somebody waiting to surprise everyone (as ridiculous as it sounded, he didn’t have any better ideas). But in the ballroom, was only one greasy man, strolling in through the eastern doors (which Nick had been told led to Madam Eastes’ Office).

“I bet they told you to find the cafeteria, didn’t they?” He purred. “ Crazy, isn’t it? The cook’s out right now, apparently. A bit disappointing, really. Guess he’s making some huge dinner for tonight.”

“And who are you?” Nick was getting some unpleasant feedback about this man from the Shade.

“I’m a friend. I want to help you, and all your pals.” The man grinned.

“Doesn’t do much for me as an answer.”

The smile on the man’s lips turned to a rather frightening scowl for the briefest moment. He covered his eyes and took a deep breath before chuckling. “My manners.” He shook his head. “My friends call me Dee. Listen, you’ve probably not been here long, but you know something’s up with this place, right? It isn’t right. They’re keeping you in the dark. Not telling you things. I think that’s just criminal, don’t you? If this place is about learning, why have so many secrets, am I right?” Nick shrugged at this. “Of course I am.” The man continued. “They want to control you, to bend you into a shape that fits into their little gift-wrapped box. Like a baby toy. They want to turn a square into a triangle so it fits in the hole they want it to.”

“That’s a strange way of putting it.” Nick cocked an eyebrow.

“But you didn’t deny the truth of it.” It was true, Moriarty seemed hardly the trustworthy type. But Nick didn’t trust people that the Shade didn’t trust. Even if Shade was interested in something, he hated anything that endangered Nick, and by extension, himself. “Listen, there are answers here. With as many secrets as this place has, there are always records. I need someone like you and your new friends to help me get them out.”

Nick only stuck his thumbs in his pockets. “Why are you so interested?”

“A friend asked a favor of me. I need to get the truth out to do it. You understand, I’d do anything for my friends.”
 
~Reneé

Reneé opened his mouth to reply, only to hear an announcement over the P.A. Wait, they had a P.A.? Huh.

"Wait. Staring us in the face? That implies that the solution may be simple, and thusly, obvious. Oh dammit, of course that's what this was. Not a test to find your way, but to think of things in the most simple manner first!" Reneé exclaimed to no one in general, but seemingly aimed at Raisa. "Come on Raisa, its got to be in an obvious, and rather easy to access place. So...I bet its near the entrance!"

Reneé ran excitedly as he made for where the entrance was, his right hand having grabbed Raisa's rather tightly, pulling her along. His ADD was obviously kicking in, as he wasn't paying much attention anything beyond his goal.
 
Quitterie cut through two younger girls to pick up her schedule and room assignment. Considering that each year was so small and people drifted away from the table when they got their sheets, that was probably unnecessary, but there was a totally important reason for her to do that. One of the girls was holding onto a balloon that Quitterie could push out of the way as though it were in her path... a little bit harder than necessary. Where it coincidentally hit the edge of the paper of an older girl with exactly the right powers and—

BANG

The squeaks of surprise weren't despair, but they were amusing.

The girl who had been holding the now-popped balloon shuffled away while the girl who'd been holding the paper cleared her throat and loosened her hand from the sword on her back. If she was going to say anything, though, she was distracted.

"...looks like I'm with you again," a kid with an eyepatch told her. "Some coincidence."

"Indeed," his roommate said.

The other turned his head to Quitterie. "Hey, you get a repeat too?"

Quitterie glanced at her own sheet. "Yep. Could be a trend."

"Tch..."

"I haven't seen Warblade since we arrived," the swordswoman said.

Quitterie just shrugged, having lost interest in the conversation because of something far more interesting. She'd been looking over at the other table, and she'd been tracking one of the girls at the edge of the crowd.

Something... tragic... had happened to the girl in the past summer. You could see it in her eyes, and the pause before she noticed others and smiled. So naturally Quitterie was drawn to her, before they drifted to their separate rooms. "Heeey, Miki~"
 
"We are alone. There is nothing else."

"Never get tired of that one," Priam said with a satisfied look on his face. Closing the book, he picked himself up from the bed and drew up his hood. Serena's incessant chattering had faded around when he'd finished reading the first flashback in that chapter, so he figured by now that it was perfectly safe to actually head out and search for the health office.

As he descended the stairs that he'd taken up to the dorms, he started pondering locations that it could possibly be. It would have to be somewhere in easy access in case of emergencies, and nowhere on an upper floor sounds like it would fit the criteria of easy access. Even the third floor would probably be pushing it... start with the first floor, and work your way up. With this in mind, Priam soon reached the first floor, and started to run through the hallway, looking at each door in hopes of seeing one adorned with the sign "Health Office."

Therefore, if a door was closed and blank, Priam didn't even bother opening it. That, unfortunately, was a description reserved for most of the doors in this hallway. On the occasion that doors were open, he caught a glimpse of a classroom, or some kind of lounging area, or an office filled with an assortment of goods that Priam was in too much of a rush to identify. Priam soon reached the end of the hallway with no success in his search, and the next hallway didn't fair any better. Priam was beginning to grow frustrated, and was about three-quarters down the third hallway when an announcement rang out over the intercom.

Staring me in the face, eh? Priam looked at the doors around him, well, unless this school thought it would be an ingenious idea to not label the doors to the health office, I don't see how that helps me. Priam started to quicken his pace, Hell, I still don't even know if my lack of ability to eat makes me exempt from finding the cafeteria - this is all just a theory, and I could be shooting myself in the fo- his train of thought was interrupted when he turned the next corner and nearly walked right into some kind of statue. Surprised, Priam jumped back, and was about to grumble something about idiots putting a statue in the corner of a hallway when two things occurred to him:

1. Statues, as a general rule of thumb, have clothing carved onto them, but this "statue" was clad from the shoulders down in imposing red and black armor.

2. Statues, as another general rule of thumb, don't move, and after seeing Priam nearly walk into him, this "statue" was approaching him.

So this statue wasn't a statue at all, but rather an enormous man. An enormous man that was walking toward Priam.

Every instinct in Priam's body screamed at him to run, but one look at this man's face quelled those instincts. The man's face was not one of annoyance, but rather of interest. "You're new here, I take it," he said, "I see this routine every year. First they're sent on some wild-goose chase by that fox Moriarty, next thing you know they're scattered all over the school; so many of them don't even have a remote idea of where anything here is. Judging by that look on your face, you're one of those lost students too, correct?"

Priam weighed his options. On one hand, this man claimed to know all about the routine that new students went through, so chances were that he was expecting Priam to confirm his suspicions; confirm that he was out looking for the cafeteria; he'd probably be left to his own devices afterwards, no better off than he was prior to this encounter.

On the other hand, the man might feel more inclined to help Priam if he knew that Priam was actually looking for the health office (not to mention that Priam's instincts were urging him to be honest with the man that looked like he could snap Priam in half with little effort.) "Actually, I was feeling a bit under the weather," Priam said, "thought I'd go look for the health office." The big man's expression changed to a look of slight surprise before it became one of... concern, perhaps. "I see. Well then, allow me to escort you there. I certainly wouldn't want a new student to fall ill before the year even began." Without waiting for a word of either protest of gratitude from Priam, the man continued on his way down the hallway Priam had just finished looking through, Meaning that I was looking in the wrong place this whole time, Priam realized grimly, just as well, then, that this guy wants to help me. Falling into step behind him, Priam remained silent as they made their way through the halls. He saw, as he caught up to him, that the man had an ornate black axe strapped to the back of his armor - another reason that Priam felt very wary of him he certainly has that "security guard" look about him. Wonder if all of the guards here are like this one.

They soon reached the stairwell, and the big man looked back to see if Priam was still following him; seeing that Priam was also eyeing his axe, a wolflike grin appeared on his face. "Admiring Damask, are we? I'm not surprised - he's one of my most prized creations. A pinnacle, in fact. I made him over twenty years ago, and he's never let me down once. Nowadays, I tend to only bring him out for special occasions - a weapon like this only deserves to be pitted against the most deserving of foes." Seeing the now-confused look on Priam's face, the man laughed. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? Name's Tarquin; I teach Weapons Studies here at the Academy," he turned around again, "it's an elective, but I like to think that it's one of the most useful electives out there. After all, if you're going to fight, getting yourself a weapon isn't a bad idea."

After that introduction, the two continued on in silence, which was only broken after they went through the doors to the second floor: "For a new student, you don't strike me as the curious type; you haven't as much as asked me why I'm walking around the school in full armor - which, before you do ask, is a preference to always be prepared. After all, you never know when a fight could break out here." They turned another corner; this time, there were several students in the hallway, who cleared a path at the sight of Tarquin. "Now, assuming they haven't moved it again, the health office should be... ah, here we are!" Tarquin stopped in front of a door clearly marked with a red cross, "eastern hallway of the second floor. I'd mark that down for future reference, so you don't have to get escorted around by another faculty member." At this, he turned around, and continued back the way he came, not even waiting for as much as a word of thanks from Priam.

"That was interesting," Priam muttered, opening the door, "still, got me to where I needed to be." Seeing that a short line of students was already near the receptionist's desk, Priam made his way to the back of the line, and waited for his time to be called. Hopefully, whatever concerns he had would be put to rest by the time he left this office.
 
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There is a PA? She had a moment to think before Reneé went off on a rant. He was talking a mile a minute. Raisa just stared at him, waiting for some sort of translation. Okay, maybe that was a bit of a hyperbole. She understood him, but his sudden excitement caught her offguard.

But he was thinking the same thing I was, that it'd be somewhere, well, common. She was about to agree with him, her hand about to point a finger up, when all of a sudden she felt Reneé's hand take hers. She let out a cry for her momentary loss of dignity, which honestly sounded more like a yelp, and tried to keep up as he pulled her along the hallway.

She let him lead since apparently he had some idea where he was going. Raisa on the other hand had no clue. She guessed he was taking her to the entrance, at least, that's where she'd go.
 
“Oh, great! Let’s go.” Serena was only pleased to have a partner. She followed Nick, chattering as they went. Commenting on how nice a painting was, or mentioning that the hallway smelled like it had been cleaned nonstop for days with ten gallons of Pine-Sol. Nick didn’t seem one for conversation, but at least he was better than Priam. She ought to have kicked that boy for being so boring. But if he wanted to only acknowledge the world in his book instead of actually living life, then she supposed she couldn’t really stop him.

When Nick stumbled onto Moriarty’s office, she was a lot more excited than he was. She was wearing a huge grin while she listened through the door, her ear pressed up against the wood. Whatever it was they were talking about, it sounded serious.

She felt like she could’ve wet herself when Moriarty showed up. It was wise of him to cover her mouth. He brought the two of them in, and let the masked people inside go about their business. After making an announcement (she wondered where the speakers were), he gave them instructions to the cafeteria. Nick lead the way back. “Well, that was interesting, wasn’t it? He doesn’t seem as bad one-on-one, or… Two-on-one. But yeah, he seems alright.” Of course she never got a response. But they reached the cafeteria easy enough, and got to see some new people coming in along the way. “I bet the other students are super nice here.” She said. Again, Nick seemed to ignore her.

“WHERE THE HELL IS THE FOOD?!” She screamed when they got inside. Not a person inside. Why would Moriarty send them here and not have food waiting on them? Man, it would be so much cooler if this was more like Hogwarts. Hogwarts would be an awesome place to go. But noooooo, instead of wizards, god gave the world malaria. Beautiful.

Well, she wasn’t leaving without a token. A token of the edible nature. She found that one of the vending machines had bags of jerky in one row. So she bought three and pocketed two of them, ripping the third open and following Nick back into the ballroom.

The man they found in there was… Strange. And Serena, naturally, wanted to trust everyone in this school, but this man sounded like he wanted this place ruined. Or dramatically changed. She had to admit, a warmer welcome would have been better. He said his name was Dee, and she wondered if that was his name or an abbreviation of a really silly name. “Um… We’ll think about it, I suppose?” She scratched her ear and put another piece of jerky in her mouth. “I guess. I think I’ll go stand outside the door and tell our classmates the cafeteria’s freaking empty.” She started to walk to the door, and gave Dee kind of a wide berth. At the door, she turned and asked, “Ey, what do we do now that we’ve found it? Cause I really don’t know where I should be right now…"
 
~Reneé

Reneé smiled inwardly as he noticed Raisa was keeping pace with him, and hadn't even noticed her initial yelp of surprise. A short consideration to let go was pushed away as he rounded another corner and came face to face with a man who seemed mildly startled by the near collision.

"I take it your a couple of the new students?" The man asked, taking a short step backwards. "Hmm, Moriarty, why do you lead them on such a foolish search for something so easily found?"

Reneé chuckled sheepishly, his eyes shooting downwards to his feet. "I'm sorry sir, I hadn't seen you there...I was on my way to the entrance hall..." Reneé apologized.

"Well, no harm done. My name is Leon Argent, I teach Anthropology and the Occult. And you are?"

"Re-Reneé Crowley, and this is Raisa." Reneé stammered. He found it oddly uncomfortable around this professor.

"Ah, you're the parasitic pyrokinetic. Interesting combination of abilities. Your parents professions are probably a bit of a blessing for you. Souls to fuel your flames, seems like something that would have been much more...powerful a few centuries ago." Leon observed, his gaze centering on the lock over Reneé's right eye. "Regardless, I hope to see you in class."

"Oh, professor? Was I right in assuming that the cafeteria is by the entrance hall?" Reneé asked quickly.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, its right behind the ballroom. Unfortunately the chef is currently indisposed, and thus there's actually no food currently available." Leon replied.
 
Gundam laughed loudly and dramatically, sounding almost like a cartoon supervillain. "My Dark Gods of Destruction will forge a path anywhere, even through the depths of Hell! And once they find their quarry, they will race up through the nine rings and report back to me! While they are on their mission, they shall stop at nothing to find the cafeteria! Oh, my most foolishly companionable human, there can be no issues with communication once they do. I know them well."

"Assemble, my Dark Gods!" He walked to the intersection of the three hallways and spread his arms wide, Sun-D and Cham-P appearing on the hand pointing to the hallway on the left, and Jum-P and Maga-G facing the forward one. "For now is the time to seize the moment... now is when your help is needed most! Scour the catacombs of this forgotten castle for its most obscure, well-hidden secret - the cafeteria! It is no small matter, but for those of your caliber, the accursed room will reveal itself out of fear... head forth, dark apparitions, and transform!"

Maga-G and all the rest jumped before tranforming and finished before landing (with the first more meeting the ground than landing, as he grew mostly downward), with a glow that obscured their bodies to those who were able to see them; outwardly, it was invisible as well. They headed off in the halls they were facing beforehand, with Cham-P and Jum-P flying ahead, leaders of their respective groups. Gundam turned back and beamed. "Hahaha! See their determined run, and brilliant determination! Such is the Final Chase of the Damned! The Cafeteria in the Pit of the Underworld will not evade us for much longer!"

Softening his smile and straightening his scarf, he added, "As you were inquiring, in their domestic forms the Four Dark Gods of Destruction may keep pace with even the fastest Syrian hamster... that is, they may sustain up to two and half miles per hour. However, in their true forms...! They are truly a force to be reckoned with. The speed of a peregrine falcon, Indian elephant, grey fox... of course, nothing can comprehend a dragon. I have been able to estimate, though his preferred choice of size does make it difficult, as his stature may change with his mood and his wingspan as well." He turned back to the hallway he and Katie had alone and took the lead, passing by doors which were, generally, numbered in Roman numerals and nothing else.

---

Meanwhile, in the hall directly in front of the stairs, Jum-P and Maga-G passed by a large, open ballroom. Whether or not they were able to read them, there were banners hung up on top of desks reading "WELCOME BACK" and the years of returning students. Unsure of whether this was the cafeteria, they decided to investigate; Maga-G lumbered into the ballroom while the door was empty, and Jum-P examined the students outside with a critical eye. She perched above the door frame, an odd place for a hamster to be seen, but above the reach of most students.
 
Ace dragged his suitcase over the cobblestone, wary of how it damaged the bottom. The wheels rolled against it, falling into the creases between each stone with a clickety-clack, which he found irritating, but not enough so for him to act on it.

The estate was beautiful. Even the gates seemed to have been carved by hand, and fine hands at that, so intricately. It seemed strange to him that he even noticed the ornateness of something as simple as a gate, but it was indeed beautiful.

The building itself was much more impressive. It rose from the ground in several floors-- Ace counted six-- and it looked as if each white brick had been hand carved into a perfect rectangle. Well-kept hedges lined its perimeter, and the grass was plush and green. He pulled his suitcase up the marble stairs, tapping each step loudly as it clambered onto one.

Even the doors were of rich mahogany, the golden doorknobs hosting not so much as a single scratch. Ace wrapped his hand around it and twisted it, letting himself into the school.

A few students hurriedly buzzed about, excitement poured onto their faces. The intercom blasted into his ears, a smug voice speaking a single word: "...hunt." Confused Ace approached the first person he saw. It was a stout man with thin limbs but a large belly, full cheeks and large lips. "Excuse me," Ace said, tapping the pupil on the shoulder.

He turned around to face Ace and winced, falling to the ground. "My lord," he panted. "You really scared me." Ace bit his lip. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Ace purred, slightly offended. He hadn't even tried to scare him! "What is it we're doing?"

The boy chuckled. "Ah, you're just arriving, aren't you?" Ace nodded an affirmative. "Well, at the moment, we're searching for the cafeteria." Ace recalled hearing the word "hunt" over the intercom.

"Why search for it?" he asked. "Why not just ask?"

The boy shrugged. "I dunno," he replied sheepishly. "That hardly seems allowed."

Ace grinned. "And there are rules to this hunt for the cafeteria?" The boy shrugged again.

"Um, I have to get back to the hunt. Nice speaking with you," he said quickly, and hurried away.

Ace chuckled, and continued walking until he found someone that looked like faculty. He was unshaven, but his stubble still looked clean. He wore professional garb, a red tie wrapped around his neck neatly. "Where's the cafeteria?" he asked. The man shrugged. Ace sighed, exasperated. "Well, I'm just arriving. Where should I go?"

"Cafeteria," was all the man said before walking off.

Ace searched the man's mind for his fears, ready to attack him, then restrained himself. He couldn't be so hasty. Instead, he rolled his eyes and paced about, searching for the hidden cafeteria.

This was getting off to a great start.
 
"Okay, Mister Haddock, you can go now. Next!"

The voice jolted Priam out of his minor stupor. The line seemed to have moved faster than he thought, as the student in front of him (who had no standout features sans three metal spheres in synchronous orbit around his head) was already walking away from the desk. Approaching the desk, Priam lowered his hood and said: "Priam Malack, first year. Had a few questions about a... medicine that I was told would be issued daily."

"Just a moment," the receptionist said, typing into the computer in front of him. When he was finished typing, he eyed the screen for a few moments, then looked back at Priam, then to the screen again. "Your... medicine was given to you shortly before leaving the residence of... Tony Allister, correct?" Priam nodded, "Yes, though I had some concerns regarding it only being issued daily. Worried that if something should happen to my daily supply, that I won't have sustenance until the following day." The receptionist shook his head, "I'm sorry, but it's Academy policy that substances such as this only be given on a strictly daily basis," he looked at the screen again, "given the ingredients that this substance appears to be made of, it's likely that we only have a limited quantity as it stands. Surely you were told that you'd have to conserve?"

This was far from what Priam was hoping to hear. "I was," he said, "but it seems inefficient. Thought it would be more convenient if I had a supply that was easier to attain." The receptionist nodded in understanding, "It is an inefficient system, but we don't want to run the risk of the substance running out before we have another backup readied." Given the measures that I've already seen... suppose this shouldn't surprise me, Priam thought, grimacing, Suppose I'll just take as good of a care as possible of the flask.

Seeing the disappointed look on Priam's face, the receptionist offered a sympathetic smile, "Look, it might not be much consolation, but let me give you a bit of help for your current task." Task? Priam wondered, what task could he be possibly- oh, right. The Cafeteria... what good would going there do? Priam opened his mouth to say something, but the receptionist beat him to the punch: "I've read about your condition; trust me, there's no meal going on at the moment, so it doesn't matter. It certainly doesn't mean you're exempt, either; you're not the first person to ever go to this school who can't eat normally." Priam was taken aback, but said nothing, instead electing to nod and listen while the receptionist gave him directions to the Cafeteria. "Do you have any questions," the receptionist asked after he had finished giving the directions. When Priam shook his head, the receptionist smiled again. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow morning, Mister Malack. Next!"

Drawing up his hood again, Priam exited the health office. West stairwell next to the Ballroom, west stairwell next to the ballroom, he mentally recited, turning down a corner, past the stairwell that he and Tarquin had walked out of, turning another two corners, and there he was, in the Ballroom. Already there was a massive crowd of students, all of whom were lined up at a series of tables. Treading carefully so as to not accidentally bump into these returning students, Priam managed to reach the staircase with next to no attention being drawn to him. Steadily ascending the stairs, Priam opened one of them at the top... and Serena was on the opposite side of that door.

Typical
 
Nick stood opposite to the man who said he was “Dee.” He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and sighed. “I’ll think about it.” Was all he said. Dee seemed satisfied with this.

“Tell all your friends, too.” Dee grinned.

At Serena’s call, Nick turned to face her. “Just a moment.” When he turned back to Dee, though, he was gone. It wasn’t as though it would be hard to vanish here. The whole estate had plenty of places to skulk in. Can’t believe he’d go and pull a Batman on me. That’s… Really cliché. “Alright, Serena, we may as well go now. God knows where.”

He took a few steps to Serena, and saw Priam had arrived. That should spice things up. Yeah. Definitely. Before he could get very close, however, there was a woman who came to a stop between them. Not just any woman, of course. The Headmistress.

“Oh. Uh… Hey.” Nick’s voice was almost as small as when Moriarty had been holding his collar. The Headmistress didn’t look particularly happy, and he wondered if she was always that way or if he had mistakenly crossed a boundary.

“Nick.” She nodded to him. “I thought I saw you speaking with someone.” She kept flicking her eyes back and forth, looking for this supposed someone. “So,” She turned to face him directly, her tone shifting to a sudden friendliness. “Tell me honestly, what is your impression of this school?”

He felt a lump in his throat. Naturally, he was probably supposed to tell her how great things were, right? “It’s… Different.” He said with an affirmative nod. “Very different from what I’m used to.”

“Different?” The Headmistress raised her eyebrows, mulling over the word. “I suppose.” She then turned to Serena and Priam, her hands clasping behind her back. “And Serena, Priam, I hope you two can get along as roommates. Priam, you look terrible. I hope that medicine can at least put some color in your skin.” She gave her head a tiny shake. “If you have any complications, come and see me.” She turned and took a few steps away from them. “Now, just as soon as your classmates arrive, we can discuss plans for leaving the Estate. Moriarty and Pope have plans for you. And you’ll be bringing along a second year student as an extra guide. Think of her as a T.A.”

With that said, the Headmistress went back to the tables where everyone was getting their information, bouncing between them to welcome students at random. Most seemed rather happy to see her. Nick breathed deeply and came closer to Serena and Priam. “That was interesting.” He said plainly.

The PA turned on once again, and Moriarty’s voice echoed through the school once more. He sounded a little too smug, honestly. “Aaaaattention Freshmeat! If you do not get your backfat into the cafeteria in ten minutes, you don't get to come on our awesome field triiiiiip. That’s all for now.”

After it shut off, it came on again, and Nick recognized it as the voice of Professor Pope. “It’s not a field trip.”

Once again, Moriarty’s voice came on. “Shuttup, it’s a field trip.”
 
Raisa gave a little wave to the teacher as Reneé introduced her. He looked young, at least, younger than the other staff members she'd seen so far; probably late twenties to early thirties. He was wearing a purple v-neck tee beneath a button down black shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and then jeans and black converse shoes. His hair was black, and Raisa couldn't help but notice his blue-grey eyes. She also noticed the numerous accessories on his person. He wore two necklaces and pendants, one she recognized as Egyptian, a black leather wrist band on both wrists, each with a sort of symbol emblazoned on them with metal, she also noticed a anhk tattoo on his right forearm.

So apparently Moriarty liked putting students through needless paces. Good to know. Apparently finding the cafeteria wasn't a bit mystery, somehow it had just turned into one.

"Behind the ballroom," she said with a little roll of her eyes, "right."

Argent nodded. "It was good to meet you both. I hope to see you in class."

"Uh, right," Raisa muttered. "Sorry, mojo and stuff isn't exactly my thing."

"Ah, right, Raisa Winters, the technopath right?" Raisa nodded. "Well, knowing the well, weirder side of things can come in handy, especially in a school like this. I mean, it's a class about the supernatural, and aren't you supernatural? Paranormal?"

Raisa paused. He had a point. Just today she'd seen and met people who could absorb souls and use them to fuel fire, walking biohazards, a kid with fuzzy gods, a girl with a dirigible... maybe it was a good idea to know what else she'd walked into when she applied to this school. "You got a point there," she admitted.

Just then the PA went off again, and once again Moriarty's voice echoed through the halls. "Aaaaattention Freshmeat! If you do not get your backfat into the cafeteria in ten minutes, you don't get to come on our awesome field triiiiiip. That’s all for now."

Raisa glanced at Argent. "What kind of school has a field trip on the first day?"

He shrugged. "Paranormal."

"Right." Raisa turned back to Reneé, who had gone quiet all of a sudden. He seemed a bit uncomfortable, was it Argent? "Fire boy, we should get moving, apparently there's a field trip." She raised a brow, he didn't start moving. "See you," she murmured to Argent as she grabbed Reneé by the hand, dragging him toward what she assumed was the ballroom.
 
~Reneé

Reneé hung his head slightly while Leon and Raisa spoke. Leon had something about him, something about perhaps his amulets were making Reneé feel uncomfotable in a strange way. ...And of course the cafeteria doesn't have any food prepared. Reneé somewhat blanked, his thoughts having wandered due to the absence of food, and attempting to avoid his discomfort, and thus the announcement over the P.A. went rather unnoticed on his part. Reneé soon found himself being pulled along by Raisa, much like he had been with her, an expression of impatience seemed to have appeared on her face, and Reneé felt his face increase in warmth, he was blushing in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Raisa. I-I don't know what happened..." Reneé sighed as he tried to apologize, "So...what's going on? You seem to be directing us towards the ballroom, so...something's happening at the cafeteria?" 'I can't tell her that Mr. Argent made me feel that way. Not yet at least, I need to figure out why that happened...he said he taught about the Occult? Hmm...' Reneé thought to himself as he allowed Raisa to continue guiding them to the ballroom.
 
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