[Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

The story unfolds around Osaka, Japan, with the unlocking of one girl's hidden potential, and a gathering of Young mages whom are destined to change the fate of the Earth.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

Post by Kokuten »

"That's not a bad idea if you want half of us to be wrong," bluntly answered Drysi to Katerina's plan, sighing a bit dramatically to the other girls suggestion. For the sake of success, and ensuring the team's grade, it was ideal! But the Welshgirl wanted success in one fell swoop. She wanted all of them to be right, and on her idea no less! Why was everyone so sheepish? They were on the school grounds, there was no reason to play it safe. The Scribe wanted to contest the decision, but Katerina was one of Willow's friends. She'd probably just hit her, and Drysi had only one set of glasses. There was no time to debate with the meaty fists and foreheads of brutes.

Thinking about it only seemed to frustrate the Triclops, so she cast her hand in the direction of the of the path her stone dictated was the correct one. "Fine, we'll do it your way. I'll take our future gardener and the rubix cube."
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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Vrey fell from her tree in a manner that - from one moment to the next - she had been in the tree and then she was on her back down on the ground with her legs curled and askew in the air. The odd teen let her both her arms and legs thump heavily against the ground as she stretched her body with enough force to drive small puffs of dirt ahead of each tense motion.

The girl stared up at the sky with her entire body's countenance rigid and then deflated and relaxed with a long huff.

"We should await. Day and night pass but do not fast: gobbling against both the tock-tock of impatience and our blanket green." Vrey moved her head, chin and cheek scraping into the soil, so she could look down one of the well shaded paths the group was going to split down. "Frost bit-" The bald girl clacked her teeth together as she spoke. "-our maze would reveal much to the grey."
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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Continuing her role as observer, Laoise smiled as she watch the group deliberate. It was good to see since it showed that each student was considering their abilities, as well as the abilities of their target. While she couldn't lead them to Ruarc, she had been given permission to supply supplementary information as a teacher's aide. "That all depends," Laoise began, speaking to Drysi. "Magic detection is very useful for finding active sources of magic. When detecting people it comes down to their skill versus power. Someone with a lot of power but not much experience would give off a very notable reading. An individual with more skill than power would have the opposite effect. This relation is what determines a mage's degree of control. So, which do you think Mr. Flynn could be categorized as? More or less control?"

As the white haired woman spoke, she gestured between the two paths. "In the case of splitting up, I will go with Katerina and Johann, that way each group has someone familiar with the paths."

Willow was listening intently to the lesson, wishing she'd had her notebook with her. When it was concluded, she turned back to Drysi with a somewhat tired look in her eye. While it seemed like she had something to say, she instead walked over to Vrey and extended her a hand. "This is our only other class today, and it is Friday, so I think we would be the ones getting waited out. Mr. Flynn can probably manage himself out in the wild for a weekend. So, shall we? If nothing else it is a pleasant hike."

Laoise turned back to Johann and Kat, and gave them a smile. Walking over to Chuffy, she knelt down and pet the dog's head. "What do you think?" She asked, one familiar to another while looking down the pathway, noting the occasional scattering of flowers.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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The splintering roads peeled apart, Drysi all too eager to get a move on after staring down Willow. It had been a tense moment of doubt and mild spite, as the druid scared the scribe sometimes, as did many others. Brutes, all of them, she thought, more likely to lash out with their fists than their words, holding back for that one moment. Hiding intentions behind well-wishes and words.

I am my grandmother's daughter, mulled Drysi, tearing down the path that separated them, but I won't share her mistakes.

Then, she began to snicker, an evil noise coming off her lips as she felt more comfortable with the distance between her's and the one with the counselor. She began pulling papers out of her bag, and a separate ink-well to slot into her bag.

"He heh heh heh, fools," smirked the scribe as she began to walk along, writing down a potent sparking spell onto a piece of paper. Her three, brilliant green eyes were completely absorbed in what she was doing, a malevolent glow about them. "Have fun following trails and flowers... Bwe heh he he..."
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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Katerina seemed pleased that Laoise had decided to go with her and Johann, feeling like it meant they were probably on the right track with her plan, rather than Drysi's. After all, the scent of a specific flower was probably harder to mask or fake than a magical presence was.

Well then, Johann, was it? Shall we get going? This will probably still take a while and there's only so much time." With that, she looked back at the other group, noticing Drysi and getting a bad feeling about the girl's actions. "Well, she is an odd one, so i can't judge her just for acting differently from the others," she thought, keeping her misgivings to herself.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

"Yes! Johann! And you are... Kat... erina? Katrina? I'm sorry, I've forgotten." He scratched at his headwear for the umpteenth time that day. The boy matched her pace, though he was eager to move quickly. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could get back to real studying. Not that Mr. Flynn was a bad teacher! It was just... well, traipsing through the woods wasn't really the German's idea of effective learning. He honestly preferred the indoor classrooms to this sort of communing-with-nature, learning-by-osmosis stuff. Nature had never done him any particular favors, so he wasn't particularly inclined to pay it any dues.

Chuffy, meanwhile, was having a moment with Laoise. He panted happily at her attentions and gazed up into her eyes. His empty sockets were astonishingly effective at conveying emotion. And something else... in that brief shared moment Laoise was pulled deep into those vacant pits. A somber feeling crept into her, a sudden sensation of momentum as though she were being flung forward with inhuman force, and the sounds of crushing metal and shattering glass.

Then it was gone, and they were just two familiars sharing a small smile. Chuffy gave her an appreciative sniff, then trotted off to catch up with his boy as if nothing had happened.
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Gwathdraug
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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A shoulder smooshed against Drysi's shoulder as Vrey was suddenly besides and pressing her body up against the cackling triclops. The bald teen bent at the waist and twisted so that her face was intruding between the blonde girl's vision and the papers she was working on - unblinking grey eyes set in an emotionless face staring up at Drysi.

"Fun. If it will not attack you must be first to break out the boundaries." A small lock of confusion wavered across the interloping girl's face before she nodded and then withdrew herself. With a spin - in the middle of which both girls' backs touched - Vrey pivoted around the triclops and was now walking normally on her other side. Seemingly content with the interaction that had just been forced upon her classmate, Vrey kept pace with Drysi while humming to herself softly and strongly out of tune.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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With their courses set, the two groups set off. Drysi's group started up the path her detector indicated, leading the teens up the slope of one of the low foothills; whereas Kat's group began down the other path into the shallow valley, guided by Chuffy and the rowan flowers. A gentle breeze was blowing through the trees, causing filtered sunlight to dance around them. The birds continued their songs, squirrels ran through the boughs above them to take a look, and the occasional rustle could be heard in the foliage off the path. A couple times on their hike a cottonfly approached Drysi's inscription, curious about something it must have been giving off; and every time it would approach the glowing stone would brighten and dim in turn. Willow just smiled, enjoying the ambiance if not necessarily the company. After almost ten minutes of walking the path left the tree line and the group found themselves on a bluff overlooking the valley. Free from the trees the sun felt much warmer as it continued to rise, and they could see a wooden rail guarding the path while guiding them around a small curve.

Past the bend, Drysi, Vrey, and Willow found a small field with a spring in the middle along with the source of the glow Drysi had been following. Around the spring were half a dozen different types of faeries in varying amounts. Some were small buzzing creatures that faded in and out of reality as they flit around the clearing. There was a couple of deer-like entities that were drinking the water; from broad antlers sprang a few leaves and tree flowers, while their fur seemed to shimmer in the noon sun. A couple looked like small motes of light skipping over the surface of the water. Of course, there was also a modest flock of cottonflies that looked to be napping around a cottonwood tree.

Willow almost gasped in delite as she looked around. There were yet more faeries she had never seen before, and even at noon atop a bluff the air felt incredibly cool and crisp near the spring. "Wow!" she said as she began to approach the water. "Mr. Flynn hasn't shown me this spot yet! It's so pretty!"

Upon inspection, the group would be able to notice a bench near the large cottonwood, and stuck to the bench under a rock was a note. In tidy writing, it read:
Welcome to the Faerie Well, students. One of these faeries has a clue which
will help you locate me. They are all docile, but many shy away from humans.
So your goal is to find the right faerie, and the figure out the clue it has to give.
Best of luck.
~Flynn
Katerina's group walked for a similar amount of time, making their way down a set of steps worked into the hillside with timbers. Once they had reached the lower path they reached another crossroad as the path found the shallow river running through the valley. One path lead them upstream, the other downstream. Chuffy's nose would pull the group downstream, and to reinforce this through the trees a clearing could be seen.

Once through the tree line, the two students found themselves on a stoney shore with what appeared to be an old fire ring of stones in the center. Tucked between two rocks was a folded note.
This is my favorite spot to fish, and is a great spot for camping.
In the ashes of the fire ring is a small box containing a clue.
Find a way to open the box. Here is a hint:

What hides in water,
and waits in glass,
but when you leave doesn't last.
It may only be seen,
but never felt.


Wisdom is a virtue,
~Flynn
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Kai
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

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"It's Katerina, but you can just call me Kat," the blonde answered the awkward necromancer, laughing in a friendly manner as they made their way down the path, "It's quite alright if you've forgotten; the wonderful thing about a name is that you can always give it and never run out of it." with a chuckle she continued walking, taking keen interest in the reanimated canine and its ability to track scents despite not having any nose to speak of. She hummed as they walked, enjoying the time spent in the forest- her normal world was in the city amongst offices and business on trips with her parents, or in the quiet, orderly suburbs with only the faintest hint of nature.

Upon finding the fire ring Kat seemed to find a little joy- the river and the clearing were just so, well, "Charming, isn't it?" Katerina asked Johann, twirling around lightly on her feet before noticing the not and picking it up, reading it carefully. she furrowed her brow for a moment at the riddle, handing the paper to Johan before she began to concentrate, using some of her earth magic to try and gently turn the soil within the fire ring, attempting to bring up the box without disturbing too much. She failed, but only somewhat, knocking a few of the stones in the fire ring out of place with her churning, but patiently continued looking for the box this way.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode 1] A Practical Morning Exercise

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Johann smiled back at his partner. "Oh, I like that. It's clever." The walk wasn't terrible and Chuffy was not only having a good time, but performing admirably. Kat's kindness was also helping him relax. All in all, the German giant was having a good time, outdoors or not.

As for the fire pit, "It's... Nice, I guess." His tone indicated Johann did not feel strongly about his own opinion. He balked at the slip before taking it with hesitant hands. The next words came out as a murmur. Reading aloud helped him with his dyslexia, but he was ashamed and trying to hide it. There boy didn't stutter or slop words until the end: "Wi-- wisd-- dididi-- Wis. Dom. Is a virtue."

For a small moment Johann forgot his dyslexia and pride surged within his breast. "It's a ridididid, a ridid-- a riddle! I'm great at these." He read the paper a second time. "It's a refff, a rerere..." He huffed with frustration. "Refefef, a reflection!" He was beet red by this point and couldn't bring himself to look at Katerina or Miss Flynn. Instead, he turned toward the river. Chuffy nuzzled beneath his empty hand and was rewarded with eat scratches. "Chuffy could dig it up, probably," he mumbled, spark snuffed as quickly as it had been lit.
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