[Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Archives of Occultus Magica's beginnings, ten years prior to the current story.
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CadetNewb
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[Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by CadetNewb »

It was, more or less, just another day at Nishi-Ku Academy as far as most people were concerned.

At this moment, it was class time, just a few minutes away from lunch break. - if they all did decide to gather, it'd be perhaps the first time they'd all talk to each other since meeting up at Percy's home of course. The first since their fight with Caoránach. The first since Ruarc had his familiar kidnapped. This didn't matter to the rest of the world of course; it was for all intents and purposes unnoticed. As it was meant to be. The ebb and flow of daily life continued uninterrupted by their own struggles despite this. Students were fighting a desperate battle with math, science, and more, as they always did. Teachers called out individuals to be interrogated for the right answer, while the boys watched the girls exercise when it was their turn to take a break and vice versa. To most people, it was just another day at Nishi-Ku Academy.

Of course, Duncan didn't fall under the category of 'most people' and neither did the rest of the misfits he found himself with the other night. Tensions were bubbling under the surface despite the normalcy that they all showed on the surface. With Caoránach on the loose, nobody knew what would happen next. They were all ill at ease, and anybody with an actual care in the world would see that. Yes, some of these idiots were not as ill at ease as they should have been, but that was perhaps due not fully realizing just what they were dealing with. And what's worse, it felt as though...something new was in the school.

That faint, spicy whiff of magic was in the air again, and it seemed to not even be trying to hide. Or, not as one would normally anyways; it was near, but in which direction, or how close, nobody could quite tell for some reason. All any of them could tell was that it was just near. The minutes, then seconds trickled away as the clock's arms moved by ticks, one by one as time itself ran out.

RIIIIIIIIINNNG!

It was lunchtime.
Kalshion
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Re: Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Kalshion »

Sakura sat calmly on a stable branch, she was in a tree just a few feet within the schools property. The tree had quite a number of branches and leafs in it, making it dense enough that she hoped no one would notice her. Like most days, Sakura left her home early, defying her fathers orders to never leave the house, she hated those orders - especially since he meant she had no friends to speak of nor could she make any. Sitting there, thinking to herself, Sakura watched the students in the distance.

This had been the furthest she'd ever gone from her home, typically she never ventured beyond a certain distance due to her concerns for both the shrine and her pet kitten, but she had decided to take the chance and so far things were looking good. No one had noticed her, and that was making her feel rather confident, and with that confidence in mind she tightened her grip on her bow and looked around for a place that she could pull her prank at. She could attach one of her runes, a rune known as a 'cracker', and fire it at the wall. She'd lose the arrow of course, but she could replace those easily since they were made out of wood. Right now though, having heard the bell ring, she decided to just hold off - firing an arrow while students were out and about would bring some much unneeded attention.

Therefore, while she waited, she relaxed her back against the tree and closed her eyes to relax a bit, the gentle sound of the birds adding to her already relaxed state.
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Straken
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Re: Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Straken »

Ruarc sat in class with a distinct look of boredom on his face. Everything was pretty much back to the way it had been before his brief stint in captivity, except for Laoise was still missing; this in turn lead to his look of boredom. Since his separation from his familiar he had been focusing most of his attention on trying to locate magical signatures. He had picked up a new one that he couldn’t place, but he ended up discarding for the time being.
Other than the obvious grievance there was not much for him to complain about. His teachers and classmates had welcomed him back with smiles and well-wishes, believing that he had been away due to sickness. Friendly faces and unconditional kindness was always a nice thing to find.
The lunch bell was a very welcome sound. The druid was craving some fresh air, or at the very least a breeze, and he was hoping he could bump into the other mages to get their opinion on the magical signature. Promptly after the bell sounded Ruarc stood and made his way out of the room while dismissing requests from other students to eat together.
After making his way through the crowded halls Ruarc was greeted by a gentle breeze once he had left the building. With the crowd dispersed he began to stroll around a bit in hopes of running into one of the others.
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Kokuten
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Re: Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Kokuten »

"Do you feel it, Percy?" asked Zulan to the young school-boy who had just pulled away from a little extra-credit work to go eat lunch.

"I do. It's overt. It's like they don't even care." responded the stolid boy, striding down the hall with a bag lunch in his hand.

"Perhaps it's Miyuki, she still has a very loose hold of her power."

"Miyuki is aware of her mana leaks, and she's taken care of those leaks. Ruarc is enough of a traveler to mask any energies. Duncan is too underhanded to just broadcast himself like that. Sensei is mindful of his strengths, too, so there are only a few potential targets." explained Percival, side-step a pair of girls as he made his way to the outside. Out of the edge of his vision, he thought he had caught sight of Ruarc, but he dismissed it in favor of finding a place to sit. These days, it wasn't hard to find a spot to himself, the stoic, serious expression he wore while communing drove off most requests to eat lunch together from others.

"Hana?"

"Watanabe is still unaware of her magical potential. Normally, Mages who possess potential will show it unintentionally, but until they actually notice it, it's barely noticeable to others. Either Watanabe is immensely powerful, or it's not her."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself."

"Being a non-mag amongst mages forces you to make up for you lack of mystic potential."

"You always sound frustrated when you mention that."

Percival didn't offer much of a response as he took a seat on the bench that he and his other friends usually sat at. The tree swaying above always offered a calming atmosphere. The Welsh-boy could feel Zulans hesitation as she began to speak again.

"Do you want to talk about --..."

"Is Aurus doing alright?" came the sudden response to her query, shifting the subject quickly. The boy pulled out his ham sandwich, peeled of the plastic wrap. He took a bite into the sandwich, with Zulan still a little pensive. The way it felt, Water God wanted to pursue this small blotch in his past, but she knew her place in the matter.

"He's steaming in his realm. He won't speak much, and when he does, it's not even words. I don't think he's taking the incident too well."

"Mmm..." Percival took a bite of his sandwich.

"I know you don't like us being in your head all the time, berry. But... You know, you can always talk to me. You shoulder a lot for us, and I'd be more than happy--..."

"Keep a bead on that magical signature, I'm feeling something else. Faint, secluded. It's on the edge of the school-grounds. Someone's watching."

Zulan didn't seem to have much to respond with that. For a few moments, it felt like she was going to speak again, but Percy slowly felt her fade back with the other three presences in his mind. Percy, on the other hand, simply ate his sandwich on the bench, alone for the first time in that day.
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Kai
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Re: Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Kai »

Miyuki, upon hearing the bell, Looked about for Hisoka and Hana- and remembered that they were to be out of class for the next few days, after a particularly powerful spell had been cast upon them by Percy's parents to alter their memories of the events. While this initially had bothered the girl, she had by now come to terms with the procedure and realized that it was definitely best to keep those two out of the loop- Hisoka and Hana were too logical and timid to even begin to try and understand magic, and she figured that at least until they matured a bit, the knowledge would probably do more harm than good. at least, that's how it was explained to her, but she felt that she could trust Percy's parents on the matter.

Gathering up her things, Miyuki quickly deposited it all in her locker, grabbing a sack lunch and a bottle of Morning Rescue! out of her locker, and rushed outside, waving at Ruarc as she rushed past him, before settling down at the table next to the somewhat dour Percy. First, the jet-haired girl opened her drink, and took a swig, thirsty as she was, and then she looked to see whom else was coming, before turning to Percy again.

"So.. Umm..." she began, noticing that Percy seemed to be in a different mood than normal. She quieted down for a moment, and then whispered "Do you feel any magic or something? You look a little different." To be completely honest, Miyuki couldn't tell if there was any more or less magic than normal around lately, and the light buzz of mana that had been secretly blended into a common drink (it was amazing that none of the nonmags realized they were drinking magic with their morning cereal) didn't do her any favors on using her as of yet untested and possibly non-existent ability to detect magic when not being actively magical herself.
Kalshion
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Re: [Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Kalshion »

From her perch in the tree Sakura continued to listen attentively with both eyes closed, she could hear some birds singing in the distance along with some chatter from a few of the school students, she could even hear other chatter that she assumed was from an adult or two somewhere close by. With a small sigh, she opened both eyes and stared up at the sky, then glanced down at the ground below - no one was there yet that she could see form her little position.

She then began to think of where she could possibly go to find a better vantage point.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Clop-clop, clop-clop. Clop-clop. Clop-clop. Clop. Clop-Clop. It was an uneven rhythm the nameless midnight Steed beat upon the sidewalk. Spying no proper place to tether her ride, the southwestern rider brought it to a halt beside a tree- the tree one escaped suburban prisoner occupied. Jane either did not notice or paid her no heed, instead dismounting. She did not tether the horse, knowing full well he would wait or wander as he was wont to do. Jane's focus was the school, and stoically did she stare at it, evidently deep in contemplation; the top four inches of a wheat stalk hung lackadaisically from her lips, lilting to the left; A tumbleweed bounced past her ankles on a light breeze.

It didn't take nearly as much study to realize her outfit wasn't the same. It was true that she still donned the cowboy hat, leather duster, and dusty leather boots, but beneath that Jane was sporting the student uniform of NIshi-Ku Academy. Her hair was pulled into a small bun. Fortunately for those on the campus she'd also had the situational awareness to stow her weapons on the Steed's saddle.

When her eyes finally alighted upon Miyuki and Percival, she nodded to herself and plucked the remainder of the wheat stalk from her mouth to be tossed to the wayside. She tipped her hat back, earning a better view of the area, and worked up a genuine smile. She addressed the summoner and elementalist with, "Afternoon!" in perfectly understandable, albeit heavily accented, Japanese. Then she took her seat, sweeping the jacket away with the flourish of one hand and tucking her skirt beneath her butt before it settled.
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Straken
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Re: [Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Straken »

Sure enough, not long after leaving the building Ruarc saw Percy sitting down, watched as Miyuki waved as she passed him by, and he even spotted Jane. Jane came as somewhat of a surprise though, given her general appearance and her horse standing around for all to see. For what it was worth, seeing the group made Ruarc brighten up a bit and pick up his pace.

”Makes me feels a little silly though considering I was worried about people seeing Laoise,” Ruarc thought to himself as he strode passed the horse. The Irishman smiled as he made eye contact with the horse as it reminded him of the horses that still comprised the main mode of transportation back home. From the edge of his vision, he noted something in the tree above the horse. His gaze lingered on the form a while longer as he continued forward. Before turning away Ruarc made out a person sitting in the tree, a young girl from what he could tell.
Ruarc dismissed any notion of investigating further, as he had only just recently convinced Miyuki and her friend that he was not a stalker or a creeper. At least he hoped he had managed to convince them of his innocence.

“Hello Percy an’ Miyuki, and even Miss Desperado,” Ruarc said as he greeted the group with a slight grin and a wave. With the bench occupied, the Druid leaned against the nearby tree and crossed his arms as he began to relax in the fresh air. Without the confining walls around him he took another opportunity to glance around to see if his eye could pick up anything new, but all he saw was blotchy haze; and still there was no hinting as to Laoise’s whereabouts. With a sigh he once again stopped trying and turned his attention to the others.

Miyuki was speaking to Percy in a hushed tone that he couldn’t quite make out, Jane had just taken a seat, and Duncan had yet to make an appearance. Feeling like it would be rude to barge right into Miyuki and Percy’s conversation, he focused instead on the newest magical arrival.

“Good to see ya left the revolvers out of your uniform,” Ruarc said as he spoke to Jane. “Sorry about suddenly tossing you the other night, by the way.”
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Mr. Blackbird Lore »

Jane cocked her head toward the Irishman and grinned. "Don' need to apologize. It got the job done, if I rightly recall." Then she shrugged. "No need to scare the nice folks, 'specially the kids." Although she was honestly feeling rather bare without the weight of her guns on her hips, discretion was the better part of valor.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Episode Three] Going the Extra Magic Mile

Post by Kokuten »

"My head is buzzing." was Percy's response to Miyuki. The Welshboy took another quick bite of his sandwich, tapping his finger rather rapidly on the table. He seemed distracted, if not tense. The meta-magical presence hanging over the school caused him to dip into mild paranoia. The events of the last few days, combined with the kind of students found and this institution made for an equation of trouble.

Percival sighed, and confided something in Miyuki.

"I wish I could go a week without feeling trouble looming over our shoulders."

The Welshboy thought he heard a horse, just then. Though he dismissed it, only to catch sight of Jane leading a horse to the tree near them. His eyes widened, permitting the first show of emotion on his face all day. This was, of course, utter shock. Did anyone in the school have a sense of normalcy? Did anyone have a sense of subtlety? Was he the only one who tried to hide the fact that he was strange compared to non-mag society?

"Y--You... Your hat, your... horse!? How did you even get that past the front gate!?" said Percival with incredulous shock on his face, just barely noticing Jane's skirt, and as such, the rest of her uniform. "You're... a student here!?"

He saw Ruarc fast approaching, coming to sit with them. Finally, some sensible, experienced back-up. The Druid would obviously be able to see what was wrong here.
“Good to see ya left the revolvers out of your uniform,” Ruarc said as he spoke to Jane. “Sorry about suddenly tossing you the other night, by the way.”
Percival deadpanned, staring rather blankly at Ruarc, before gesturing both hands rather firmly at Jane.

"Are we just accepting this!? We met her just yesterday! Today she's a student! She brought a horse to school." said Percy, his beret bouncing as he continued to firmly establish his point.
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