Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 3, 2009 22:06:20 GMT -5
((link))
Ellie felt a breeze pass her and caught a blur in her peripheral vision. Somehow recognizing it as a student, she raised her voice and called after it, "Hey! Three minutes til curfew! You should be getting to your dorm, please!"
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 3, 2009 22:09:52 GMT -5
Jaebi skidded to a halt-- quite literally-- and jogged back to face the healer. "Miss E," he said, only very slightly out of breath, "Professor Conall is missing. Is that good or-- or horribly, horrendously bad?"
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 3, 2009 22:14:12 GMT -5
Ellie's blue eyes widened visibly before she managed to compose her expression. "Right," she said, more to herself than Jaebi. "Honey, I want you to go back to the bay, please. You said it-- this is bad." She started to walk in the opposite direction, picking up her pace as she called over her shoulder, "Watch Keme for me, will you? I'm going to find help."
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 3, 2009 22:17:12 GMT -5
Jaebi watched her go, his mouth tightening into a straight line. He knew Ellistraaeln was nowhere near a fifth as fast as he-- she would take far too long to find help.
He glanced over his shoulder, in the direction of the sick bay. Kemekin would be fine. Something told him that, wherever Conall was going, he was not going to come back to the bay.
"Well then," he took a small hop and was off again, searching for an authority figure who was more capable of handling themselves against the old vampire. Something is going to happen...
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Post by ianharris on Sept 3, 2009 22:29:13 GMT -5
When he'd woken up at morning, Ian had been back at his home. His PREVIOUS home, the one he had come to Dunehelden from. He had wandered around his room for a full ten minutes before he realized that that was the hallucination and Dunehelden was real. It had taken him another forty minutes to break the illusion and return to Dunehelden. The entire incident had disturbed him. By this point in his stay at Dunehelden, he should be able to control his illusions, and the realism of the last one frightened him. He had been thinking about it all day.
He decided, as he was returning to his room, that he would go seek out Diana, his literature professor. He got along with and trusted her, and figured that if anyone could shed some light on that morning's incident, it would be her. So he had turned around and headed back down to see if he could track her down before curfew.
He was just entering the hallways when a blur swept past him, nearly knocking him over. For a second, he thought it was just another hallucination. There was no way anything could be moving that fast. But a morbid curiosity swept over Ian, and no matter how hard he tried to convince his feet to get back on track towards finding Diana, they just moved faster towards the direction of the blur instead.
Ian's last thought before rounding the corner was I can't believe I'm even doing this... I should go back to bed...
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 3, 2009 22:37:29 GMT -5
Jaebi's feet carried him past countless doors, most of them unlit. Of course. I'm still in the class corridors...
He was about to turn around and head to the teacher's lounge when he noticed a light shining from beneath the last door in the hallway. Jaebi ran to this door, pounding on the frame after finding the handle locked.
"Oi! Please open up! We have an emergency!"
He paused to let whoever-- if anyone-- was inside to respond, and in this short silence noticed the sound of footsteps behind him. He turned to see another student, unfamiliar to him-- but then again, most of the older students were-- rounding the corner at the other end of the hallway.
"Hey," he called, his usual shyness abandoned in light of the situation, "Have you seen any of the Professors? Our healer has gone to deal with an issue and she'll be in trouble if she doesn't get help..."
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Post by ianharris on Sept 3, 2009 22:47:53 GMT -5
This younger boy was almost talking too fast for Ian to understand, but he caught most of what was being said. He stopped walking and stood there for a moment, shocked and confused. Something really bad must be happening to this boy for him to be this frightened. Ian stretched out with his mind, checking to make sure he wasn't accidentally projecting an hallucination onto the boy's mind - he did not want another repeat of what happened to that Dylan kid at his high school. Content that he was not the source of the problem, Ian worked up the will to speak.
"I haven't seen anybody... not in the last half hour or so. I was just coming down here to talk to Professor Harrows... I was hoping she'd be in her classroom. Why? What's wrong?"
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 3, 2009 23:03:24 GMT -5
Jaebi's shoulders slumped ever so slightly upon hearing this. He took a deep breath to steady himself, running one hand through his hair. "Um...Okay, you know about Creeps McGee, right?" The name felt odd on his tongue-- though his peers used the pseudonym frequently, Jaebi himself had never actually called the vampire that. Or by name, for that matter.
"Sorry, I mean Professor Conall. He's been terrorizing students since he got here; he very nearly took advantage of a University student and the Healer, he's been using his powers on witnesses..." then he added, thinking of Nina, "and he reenacted the witch burnings with a friend of mine... actually burnt her-- forced a fire mage to do it."
Here, he paused again. He needed to find someone to help Elliestraaeln. "He's been in a coma for a few days-- when he... ehm... attacked the healer, she put him to sleep-- more forcefully than she meant. But he's awake now and probably thirsty... I mean, he's a vampire..."
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Post by ianharris on Sept 3, 2009 23:15:35 GMT -5
It took every drop of every reserve of Ian's courage and willpower not to simply pass out on the spot. Instead, he leaned against the wall, breathing deeply and trying to make his heart slow down. The scariest thing so far at this school had been his encounter with the psycho librarian. But this... this transcended scary. A deranged vampire loose in the school? No wonder this younger boy was so frightened. Of course, Ian could win a contest for "worst reaction to scary things" by a long shot, and so he willed himself to remain something close to calm.
"...I ...uh ...um... uh... do you think... vampire?..." Ian slapped the side of his head, took a deep breath, and tried again. "Do you think this... Conall... do you think he's anywhere around here?" Please be on the other side of the castle. Please be on the other side of the world... "And somebody should tell the... uh... no wait... vampire?" Ian realized he was stuttering again, and fought to maintain composure. He prayed for something to intervene on this conversation...
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 3, 2009 23:31:18 GMT -5
Diana didn't hear what was going on in the hallway ahead of her, but she could see the two boys conversing. One of them in particular looked like a total nervous wreck; she recognized him as the new arrival from a few days ago... Ian something.
Are you two alright?[/color] she signed as she drew close enough for them to see her hands. You should be in your dorms; it's getting late.[/color]
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Post by ianharris on Sept 4, 2009 0:03:46 GMT -5
Ian knew that he should probably sign back, but his hands were shaking too badly, so he just blurted out what was on his mind. His hallucination this morning would have to wait... this Conall thing was more important. A lot more important.
"I was coming down to see you and I nearly got ran over by this person and..." Ian realized he was talking really fast, so he willed his mouth to move slower. "... he said that some vampire named Conall was up and running around and that was really bad. More than really bad. Disastrous."
It suddenly occurred to Ian that all this might be just another hallucination. It was possible... he's had some terrifying visions before. But psychotic vampires on the loose wasn't something he'd seen before. If this was a hallucination, then his mind was stepping up a notch. Ian shook his head and mentally slapped himself. If this was a hallucination, he wasn't in any real danger. But if it wasn't... he would have to assume it wasn't and deal with it... assuming he didn't pass out first...
"I don't want to die..." He muttered to himself. "I just got here... I like this place too much..."
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 4, 2009 17:32:21 GMT -5
Jaebi walked forward to stand side by side with Ian, squeezing the nerve-shot boy's shoulder with one large hand. He didn't know how to sign... He settled for looking directly at Professor Harrows and speaking clearly.
"Miss E went off as soon as I told her about it. She's either looking for help or has gone after the vampire herself."
His shoulders tensed slightly at the thought. He had heard what Nina had gone through-- and Elliestraaeln was far more delicate than little mage...
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 4, 2009 17:54:57 GMT -5
Diana went white. She knew well that Ellie was a delicate creature, but from what she knew of the incident with Conall in the faculty lounge, she had held her own against him before... But that was then. Conall was awake again, and probably after Ellie with a vengeance...
She tried to keep her hands from shaking as she signed, I'm going to go and find Ellie. Ian, come with me; Jaebi, run and find Vincent--Professor Hawk. Then we can find Veronique together. She'll know what to do. Now hurry![/color] She took Ian's arm and led the way down the hallway at a run.
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Jaebi Lyckander
Keme
Academy Freshman: Cheetah Shapeshifter
This secret side of me, hid under lock and key; I keep it caged but I can't control it.
Posts: 200
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Post by Jaebi Lyckander on Sept 4, 2009 18:02:46 GMT -5
Jaebi had bolted in the other direction as soon as he had seen Professor Harrows sign the word Hawk-- it was one of the few he recognized.
Okay, find Professor Hawk. Would he be on patrol? Jaebi's mind raced faster than his feet. His best best was to check the courtyard first. With that thought in mind, he headed towards the gym, through which was the closest shortcut to the courtyard short of jumping out a window.
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Post by ianharris on Sept 4, 2009 18:17:14 GMT -5
The most eventful moment of Ian's fourth day of high school was a pop quiz in math. If he were to put the two next to each other, his fourth day at Dunehelden would win, hands down. In high school, he was never dragged down a dark hallway in the middle of the night, in pursuit of a healer who was being threatened by an insane escape vampire. Yes, Dunehelden won, hands down. Ian could barely keep up with Diana (a good reason, he thought bitterly, to start working out more) as the two bolted down the hall in search of the healer.
Within a minute, Ian was out of breath, but he forced himself to keep going. He could feel his lungs and heart fighting to keep him standing. Come on... He thought grimly. Can't let this teacher beat you...
Distracted as he was by his failing body, however, Ian couldn't help but shake the feeling that he was being followed. Every so often, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something darting around in the shadows. But every time he would turn to look, the shape was gone. Ian swore under his breath.
Fine time for my hallucinations to start up...
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 4, 2009 18:30:43 GMT -5
Diana cast her eyes left and right, wishing, not for the first time, that she had learned to speak clearly. She couldn't rely on her voice to get Ellie's attention, if they did happen to find her...
She quickened her pace, seeing something moving up ahead. Ellie? Please, please let it be...
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 4, 2009 18:38:15 GMT -5
Ellie, reaching a corridor she recognized as the one she had gone down only minutes before, whirled about in exasperation and started to jog the way she had come. She stopped dead and jumped visibly at the sight of the two figures approaching her, and her hand flew up to her chest to calm her heartbeat.
"Oh, Diana!" She ran to close the distance between them and had to catch her breath. "Conall has woken up-- I can't find anyone anywhere--"
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 4, 2009 18:43:17 GMT -5
Diana tried to catch her breath as she signed frantically, her hands shaking. We know. Jaebi told us. I thought Conall might have come after you. You haven't seen him... that's both good and bad. We need to find Veronique and warn her, now![/color]
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 4, 2009 19:18:15 GMT -5
Ellie frowned. "She's not in her office," she told her. "That's the first place I checked." She straightened, finally with her breathing under control. "I tried looking for Vincent but he's nowhere inside."
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 4, 2009 19:21:22 GMT -5
Diana bit her lip, signing rapidly. He could be out on patrol... have you checked the courtyard? My gardens? Anywhere else?[/color]
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 4, 2009 19:26:18 GMT -5
Ellie shook her head. "I haven't been outside yet... I heard someone yelling for him outside, though. Perhaps that's where Jaebi went?" Her expression was shot through with a sudden bolt of horror. What if Conall was outside? Jaebi could surely outrun the old vampire if given the chance, but if he were ambushed...
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Diana Hawk
Ireth
Ass't Principal; Head of Shapeshifters
You told I had the eyes of a wolf; search them and find the beauty of the beast.
Posts: 262
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Post by Diana Hawk on Sept 4, 2009 19:38:47 GMT -5
Diana didn't want to think about what would happen if a student were caught outside alone. Vincent could hold his own in a fight well enough, but a freshman? She doubted that. If Jaebi is outside looking for Vincent, maybe Vincent is with him already.[/color] The thought comforted her a little.
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 4, 2009 19:42:37 GMT -5
Ellie shut her eyes and went quiet for a moment, listening with all her might. She had heard no more yells from the windows in a while... That could mean that Vincent had indeed found Jaebi, or...
She refused to think about the alternative. "I think you're right," Ellie said, to assure both Diana and herself. "If that's true, then we really do need to focus on finding Veronique. Do you... know where she goes after hours?" Somehow the idea of the Headmistress in a room meant for a teacher didn't quite fit. Surely she had quarters elsewhere.
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Conall
Ireth
Ding dong, the witch is dead~
"Please do as I say, or I'll rip your throat out. How does that sound?"
Posts: 576
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Post by Conall on Sept 4, 2009 22:04:27 GMT -5
Conall cast his wild-eyed gaze left and right, forward, backward and up. Anywhere but down. The floor had mouths in it. Dozens of mouths full of teeth like a shark's, multi-layered. He darted from side to side to avoid them, jumping over them, slipping on their wet, gaping lips, their lolling tongues tripping him.
He stumbled, falling to all fours, his hand in one of the mouths. He cried out in disgust and yanked his arm away before the teeth could close around it. Scrambling up again, he stared all around him. Oh, no, now the bloody WALLS were melting... There were swirling vortexes beyond, green and purple, voices shouting out through them, black hands reaching out from the pulsing, sparkling depths to drag him in. Clutching at his hair, he hurried on as he left the hungry floor behind him.
All of a sudden he froze, lowering his hand from his head. A clump of hair was in his hand, tangled around his fingers. It was his own hair. He jumped and dropped it to the floor, watching it turn to dust. He reached up to his head again, lowering his hand again, full of hair again. Again and again he pulled out his hair and dropped it, where it turned to piles of dust. The janitors would be angry at him... he didn't stop until he had rendered himself bald, and ran on, whimpering.
He tripped again, and stayed down, twitching. He itched all over, like he had contracted chicken pox again... it had almost killed him the first time. He curled up and moaned, clawing at his arms and legs, tearing the skin. There were worms underneath, green, slimy maggots putrefying his muscles, nibbling at his bones. He screamed and tried to dig them out, but they latched onto his fingers, chewing the skin around his fingernails. He ground his hands against the floor, trying to squish them, but they merely flattened out and grew more nibbling mouths. He stood up again, hands flailing, trying to shake them off. That seemed to work. Now he just had to keep them from following him.
He turned a corner and pelted onward, nearly running into the figures standing in the hallway ahead. Harpies, three of them, covered in bits of shredded flesh, reeking from the gore of their latest kill. The nearest one had eyes like black pits. This must be their leader. Conall cowered before it, not daring to meet its merciless, hungry eyes.
"Please don't eat me!" he whined. "I've just escaped from the worms in my arms, and the hands in the vortexes where the walls used to be... and the floor! Did you know there are mouths in the floor?!"
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Post by ianharris on Sept 5, 2009 12:59:38 GMT -5
After he and Diana had finally found the healer, Ellie, Ian had kept his mouth shut. It wasn't exhaustion - Ian's body and mind were wide awake - but rather than Ian wouldn't dare interrupt a conversation between teachers, especially since he had nothing to contribute. So he had stood awkwardly next to Diana and watched as the two teachers attempted to decide their next move. For the first time, probably in his entire life, Ian had wished this were simple school drama... at least that wasn't threatening. At any second, he had been expecting Professor Hawk to arrive with Jaebi, and then this whole mess could be over and done with.
However, the man that had come full speed from around the corner was definitely NOT Professor Hawk. Ian was forced to take a hasty step back to avoid being run over for a second time. The man collapsed to the floor and cowered before a very confused Ian, muttering something about worms and vortexes and hands in the floor. Ian knelt beside him.
"... uh... it'll be okay... I think..." Ian looked back up at the two teachers behind him. "Do you think maybe he's seen Con-"
Ian stopped talking the second he got a good look at Diana and Ellie. Their faces were white, and a strange mix of both fear and rage. Ian suddenly realized exactly who the man writhing in front of him was. He hasn't seen Conall. He IS Conall. Shit! Ian felt his legs snap up and back away, but his mind was blur. And that last word kept repeating itself in his brain, over and over... and over...
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