[Open]

[chronobreak]

A. Redbright Institute

School might be out for the summer, but there are still plenty of students around. Some of them have dorms here, and others are just there for the summer classes. Regardless, Ekko is also there, keeping track of the underclassmen. Occasionally he has to guide a student to their classroom after they've gotten lost.

Sometimes he wonders why he took the position, but of course he knows why. It's just another small step in a quest for recognition. It's worth it. Even if he does have to deal with dealing with young kids.

Still, if he's needed or called for, he's there to help.

B. Everywhere

Ekko is seventeen and has about a year before he'll graduate. He knows that he wants to stay in London, and his grades are good enough for the universities here. But he also knows he's going to need a job. Which means there's a kid walking all over the place checking out stores and popping into them to ask for applications. Thankfully most have gone the way of electronic applications, but a few of them still have paper forms.

For shame.

He still takes them, slowly amassing a small collection of application forms over the day.

He may bump into people in his hurry to visit as many stores as possible. He could rewind so it never happened, but sometimes it's easier to just go with the timeline.

"Didn't see you there."

C. Wildcard

Choose your own adventure!

[Prose or brackets okay by me!]

Comments

[warmheartedly]

Besides sporting some bruised egos thanks to have their fellow snickering schoolmates nearby, the two seem to be okay as they launch into longwinded explanations of what exactly happened. ('I'm late for class!', 'I'm trying to be late for class!')

All the movement makes it a little bit hard for Clara to not bump into anyone, needing to duck and weave as she puts the things into the general range of their rightful owners. It's a lot harder than it looks and whoops she just went right through Ekko without realising it until too late.

"Sorry!"

[chronobreak]

"You were trying to be late?" Sometimes these kids gave him headaches rivaling the professors'. He feels for them, even if it doesn't quite stop him from occasionally running off.

But that's him and not these kids. "Get to cla--"

He shivers as soon as Clara phases through him, as though somebody actually had thrown ice water over him. But he does his best to compose himself, even as he shudders.

"Get to class."

[warmheartedly]

She's so sorry for that. It's never a pleasant experience for her too but it doesn't stop her from feeling guilty for doing that to someone, unintentional or not. Clara visibly winces and stays stock still for now, waiting for at least half of the party to go away before she tries moving again.

Despite their best attempts to explain why they would want to be late for class, mostly involving the nonappearance of their papers, the student shuffles off with a muttered affirmation while the other student springs off to their class after they breathlessly thanks Ekko and bids a good day to the perfect.

"Goodness. Children these days," Clara muses with some amusement before she looks back at him with a worried expression. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. I didn't meant to do that, honest."

[chronobreak]

He gets it, kind of. Honestly, he's skipped his fair share of assignments, but usually he'd just skip the class all together. (Don't be him, kids.) He sends the underclassmen off with a warning.

At least the Institute is full of enough magic for him to see and hear Clara just enough.

"Just cold, don't worry about it." He's gone through plenty worse.

[warmheartedly]

"If you say so." She had a good idea people were always cold in the wake of her going through them and she hopes that's only the case. She would just feel awful if something else happens. Especially to someone hardworking as Ekko here. "Let me know if you start floating yourself soon! I would hate to see you get stuck in a student's cellphone or the chocolate fountain."

... He probably won't get that joke of hers. Clara why. "Anyways! How are you? Busy as ever, I take it?"

[chronobreak]

As far as he could tell he just ended up chilled. It's not the worst thing that's ever happened to him, it's just a (sort of) minor inconvenience. "I'll let you know if I start hovering." He doubts it's going to happen anytime soon.

He doesn't get the joke so he just casually ignores it. Yep, that's the thing to do.

"A little less busy during summer. Less students running around." But he's still busy enough to herd around students.

[warmheartedly]

"If this is 'a little less' busy then I worry for you when school actually starts now!" She's forgotten how many students they're actually are thanks to her new job forcing her to be here more often in the night. Usually everyone is asleep at that point.

Well, some aren't and that's the point of her job. "I hope your workload at least has eased up a little. With everyone gearing up for graduation or something like that, it feels everything is moving by so quickly! Can't believe the school year passed. It feels like only yesterday Mrs. Redbright gave her speech in school."

[chronobreak]

"Don't remind me." There's probably half the amount of kids that run around running around the institute right now, so don't mind his grimace too much. The start of school is fast approaching and the only way he stays on top of everything he needs to do and keeps track of his underclassmen is by rewinding.

That's right, he's set to graduate next summer. It's exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time. "Don't worry, we'll be hearing it again soon. And then it'll actually be yesterday."

[warmheartedly]

As if to illustrate her point and Ekko's concerns, some more students had quickly rushed by without even warning people to watch out for a group of students running off to wherever they're going.

"Goodness! Everyone seems to be going somewhere today." Not that there's anything wrong with that long as they don't get hurt. Summer is supposed to be less work for all involved, not more. "Maybe she'll have a special thing to say about the school when she does so. I heard this year's summer programs will be quite ambitious in regards to looking for new students."

[chronobreak]

"Be careful!" He doesn't want to deal with these kids getting hurt because they're rushing to or from a classroom somewhere. Though as far as he remembers, the worst that's ever happened is some bruising. He really hopes it can stay that way.

"Really? Are we recruiting or something?" He considers it for a moment. It's probably better that young supernatural types get some sort of training. But he'd have to be dragged kicking and screaming if he didn't also want some direction by that point. "Isn't that what the outreach program is for?"

[warmheartedly]

"We are supposedly. There's been talks about in the staffroom. With a batch graduating this year and another batch preparing for their graduation after theirs--" She gives him a look at that point, knowing he'll be part of the latter, "--it wouldn't hurt to bring in some more people who need help. Especially given how eventful the last few months have been."

From rogue vampires to shady clinics preying on people and then some! Clara is behind the idea of getting people new to their world here soon as possible for the potential student's protection.

[chronobreak]

He will be, and he's been gearing up for it, making sure his grades are in order and trying to see his options. Ideally he'd still be in London. There's a good support system for the supernatural here and he'd like to be close to it.

"It's been a trip, that's for sure." He chews on his lip for a moment before speaking up again. "If they need help with the younger kids they're trying to bring in, I'm around." He tends to work well with people around his age or younger, especially when it was first impressions.

[warmheartedly]

"Will you? That would be excellent!" Clara exclaims with joy, clapping her hands together. "This will look great on your resume, I bet, so you'll get something out of this still.

"Hmm. Would you be interested in joining the group who talk to the potential students for a bit then? I'm sure they'll welcome all the hands they can get for this." Especially considering the scope of what they want to do! It's quite ambitious and Clara doesn't know that much about things like trajectory or things like that.

[chronobreak]

"'Course I will." Metahumans, shapeshifters, all those supernatural types are like him in one way or another. What would he be if he didn't start to get involved? (Considerably less busy.) When it comes to helping out other confused teenagers, Ekko's always willing to lend a hand and some time.

"I could do that, definitely."

[warmheartedly]

"Great!" Clara looks quite happy for it, glad there's another helping hand for this little school mission. "I'll let the head of the outreach program know about this. Is there anything, anyone, you're interested in helping out with the most?"

It doesn't hurt to want to help all the metahumans, shapeshifters, and all the other supernatural types. It also doesn't hurt to have a speciality when it comes to speaking with certain confused newbies of their world.

[chronobreak]

"Meta-humans, or street kids," those are the two closest to where he stands. He's both, so reasonably he can understand how they feel much easier than any other supernatural species. "That's a pretty big group, right?"

[warmheartedly]

"That is and you maybe working with some other people to make sure you don't spread yourself thin." It never hurts to work in a group, does it? Not in her opinion. Cooperation is everything to her. "There are a certain few that come to my mind when you put those two categories together. Hopefully we'll be able to recruit them to Redbright so they have a place to rest and stay."

[chronobreak]

"I know all about spreading thin, don't worry about it." When you have the option to redo a couple minutes in time, why wouldn't you use it? Maybe even overuse it, in Ekko's case. He wouldn't mind being overworked if it was for something like this.

"If they're on the streets they'd appreciate having a place they can really call theirs," Ekko might have a home and parents, but he's spent plenty of time running around with the street rats and gangs of London. At least, enough to understand where most of them are coming from.

[warmheartedly]

She gives him a look of concern but she trusts him and takes his word for it, knowing better to doubt the students here in Redbright considering who they were after all. "Alright then. I think I should tell this to... Bianca, right? Bianca Aster?"

Most likely. The young lady seems to be involved with everything despite being Ekko's age herself. "I'm sure she'll know what to do and where to go and how long exactly it'll take for this to be done. Witches are quite fastidious, I can't help but notice."

[chronobreak]

"That's the girl," He's pretty sure anyway. Ekko might not be involved in everything the way Bianca is, but he's involved in a few things at an aggressively intense level.

"They seem to get into everything, one way or another," just a gentle, fond jab at them.

[warmheartedly]

Knowing the ribbing is a playful ribbing, Clara smiles and tries not to laugh. Thank goodness no one is paying attention to her much. "Good thing you'll be with them. Who knows what will happen to them if you don't join them!"

Probably be in trouble, most likely. "Will you be also going with the group to attend the guardians ceremony in a month?"

[chronobreak]

Ekko smiles back, pleased with the smile he coaxed out of her. At least the underclassmen are actually at their classes now. "With witches? Probably trouble!"

The guardian ceremony? He considers it for a moment, it's not like he's going to end up as one and he's never been the biggest fan of law enforcement. "I might. We'll have to see what happens."

[warmheartedly]

"I'm sure with you around they'll be safe and sound," she jests, "which is why I'm hoping you'll go with them to the ceremony with the others but it's your call."

Last thing she wants to do is push him into something he didn't feel comfortable with. "We should, shouldn't we? Everyone has been so excited for it! Those in the staffroom at least. I know some of the teachers are taking bets on the guardians." A disapproving cluck from her here. "A lot are riding on the bet that there'll be no fae."

[chronobreak]

"Just like they should be." And if Clara puts it like that, he feels like he has to go, even if he technically doesn't. Gotta protect the people he really cares about, after all.

"People take bets on that stuff?" He feels like he shouldn't be surprised. "There's probably a reason fae don't usually get into it."

[warmheartedly]

"They do, apparently. Probably because they're bored."

She places a hand on her cheek and tilts her head to the side, looking a little concerned. "It's just-- It seems a little unfair is all. If we're supposed to work together, why aren't we allowing opportunities for everyone?"

Surely a fae would be a good guardian. Lots of magic, connections maybe, and they can travel around in the Other Realm from what she understood. No need to pay them for travel costs.