germans are annoying text it

[pathfinding]

[A; Bookstore]

It is an enjoyable morning where you're trying to enjoy your silence with books and maybe a sub-par latte. Instead, you have to deal with some jerk two tables away blasting some techno neo-classical dubstep monstrosity, made worse by that tinny static that overtakes anything heard second-hand through cheap headphones.

After the token glare at the jerk's direction, there is a hand dismissively waved at you. They don't even bother looking up from their book. "I know I know, final warning afore you throw me out, I'm almost done. Shoo now."

---

[B; Redbright]

Books are useless. Next idea on the list, go try the stupid famous school to help weirdos get a better handle of their powers. Fast forward an hour and an obscenely short interview, only to walk out with a rejection slip because humans are unwelcome here, chains forged of paranoia by entwin it's a normal school and he's normal. Well.

Ain't that hilarious.

Legal ways are out then. Time for being sketchy. Enjoy having your space invaded in any fashion of your choice at any time you let your guard down: sliding up against your shoulder, leaning over the back of your park bench, suddenly sitting next to you in the lunch room and eating your fries. Usual totally normal college exchange student stuff, not suspicious at all, obvs.

"Heeeeeey, so what are you? And how much do you pay a year, that's more important."

---

[C; Hobos kind of smell like shame - Closed to Kate]

The message is left at just before six, rambling and tripping over itself like what usually happens in those subtle fits of panic. Most of it is just obtuse nonsense - again, not new - but parts stand out. Left the wallet somewhere. Or it got stolen? Shrugs??? Also he's detained, no big. The spare house key is under the left bleeding heart this weekend. There's also a cat stuck on the fridge.

Maybe somewhere in there is a 'please don't leave me here' but really. Totally obtuse nonsense. She's just hearing things from the stupidity overdose.

When she actually turns up, the idiot in question is still in a holding cell, sitting cross-legged on a bench and staring vacantly into space. There is also a drunken scruffy dude sleeping on his shoulder. These two things are obviously not related. "Your sunglasses look stupid."

Comments

slams my face into C with the force of a thousand angry cats

[eternull]

She got up far too early to deal with this bullshit today.

It took a while for her to actually reach the police station, given six pm still felt far too early and she wanted to be completely sure that the sun was set before she set out - Kate might be appreciative that the little shit exists, but he still doesn't warrant an accidental sun-dusting, thank you - but regardless it's quick work to pay bail and re-obtain various personal belongings.

And she didn't even need to burn more of her remaining funds. Mortals and their various needs, sheesh. Such a hassle.

"Honestly, kitten, you seem quite fond of getting into trouble." One hand on her hip, the other tapping out her reply on her phone. Everything looks perfectly normal. Please ignore the dumbfounded expression on the nearest guard's face. Nothing to see here, move along. "Especially with that attitude. One might start to wonder who you upset this time."

we get it you're the crazy cat lady

[pathfinding]

"Kitten? Why the hell-" and then he looks over.

The expression is entirely of disgust.

"I knew they were stupid but not that stupid." Though the instant the gate is opened, sass be damned, he's already dislodged from the creepy homeless dude babbling about some italian girlfriend of his. And, not too much unlike a kitten, is already right up against Kate's arm like the most innocent personal invasion master.

The flask is immediately taken from her pile of spoils. "Besides, we allll know you're just mad you didn't get to upset the locals with me. Thanks for paying! Want dinner as payback?"

i have a reputation to maintain okay

[eternull]

She's tempted to snap back about her shades, but it's not worth the effort. He's a douche, her fashion sense isn't that bad, rude, go sit in the time out corner- oh, wait.

"Cheating is rude," says the vampire who decidedly scammed her way out of paying for bail. She's spent ages cultivating this level of casual hypocrisy, okay.

Aleks claiming a portion of her personal space is immediately taken into stride and used to deflect stares from the cops she didn't lure into a bite, treated as commonplace even if she really wants to snarl about it. He just wants his stuff back like a selfish brat, and it's easier to roll with it right now. But he better get off her arm when they get outside or so help her--

"I might need to take you up on that." Pride be damned. She can already feel the blood she snatched turning sour, eugh, what do they feed people around here. "These upstanding gentlemen aren't exactly my cup of tea, unfortunately."

a reputation of being a scruffy hobo that smells of shame. and cats.

[pathfinding]

Been there, done that, got bored. Besides she's being a jerk and says the vampire who decidedly scammed her way out of paying false claims and that one kind of came at a relevant time how magnanimous and oh he is totally picking on that one.

"Says the vampire who decidedly scammed her way out of paying for it." The few stares not deflected roll their eyes at that and go back to work. Siblings, or dysfunctional hatemance. Whatever, it's boring. Nothing to see here.

The admittance of weakness earns blessed silence in his head, and an extremely mocking noise of 'yes dear okay dear shut up dear' that every person in the world has heard at least thrice. "Keep it under nine percent, love, and I'll keep all the poor people away." And she's shooed out the front doors. The instant they're out of eyeshot is when the personal space is immediately upped from Absolute Zero to A Conspicuous Meter.

"Don't kill me."

wow rude her cats aren't hobos hdu

[eternull]

Aleks made a slight miscalculation when he decided to act on his oh-so-helpful foresight. Namely that for a fraction of a second, Kate hesitates; her eyes narrow, she misses a step, there's a distinct tinge of malice in the air that quickly gets reigned back in. Whoops.

It only gets worse when they get outside. The pleasant facade drops in favour of snapping around to stare at him, expressionless and cold and- "What did you do."

She'd fret about being too harsh, but... well. Kate's not exactly friendly on the best of days. All the same, she sighs and continues stamping down on the reflex impulse to lash out, it'd be a waste of resources if she lost her temper. For one, Liam wouldn't exactly be fun to deal with afterwards.

"I wouldn't kill you, kitten, honestly. You know that." That's. Slightly better? "But perhaps you'd be better served not immediately seizing my arm next time. For your own safety."

hey there i heard someone say they wanted a clara

[warmheartedly]

The boy whose french fries were stolen from didn't give an answer at all. He's content in giving a response in the way he thinned his lips in irritation as he moves his fries away from reach. His answer is very clear: No.

"It depends what you mean by that since that has a lot of meanings in this school!" At least the girl sitting next to him seems much more willing to talk, a pleasant expression on her face and having an overall wholesome demeanour thanks to her bright blue eyes, friendly smile, and the sheer pep in her voice. Maybe the latter is actually volume if the way the boy is pressing his ear is any indication.

"We should start off with Occam's Answer I suppose-- I'm Bianca. This is my friend, Nikolai," she points to Nikolai to emphasis her point. "Admission and the rates vary depending what you want to do here exactly. Take night courses? Take a full education here? I'm the latter but I am taking some special courses for when I join officially-officially Daybreak."

"She's just 'officially' part of it thanks to the fact she's seems to be almost involved in everything," Clara observes as she floats over to where the three of them were sitting, smiling at them in greeting. Whether or not Clara is being serious is hard to tell. Her voice mostly holds a tone of amusement due to noticing the way Nikolai is now keeping both his fries and his violin case out of reach. "One should also consider the additional costs of staying in the student quarters if they want to stay here. I like to think the added charges are reasonable but maybe it's just me."

claraaaa picks her up and hugs her

[pathfinding]

Nikolai gets looked dead in the eyes with the universal grin of Challenge Accepted. This grin is toned back to just bright smiles and sparkles as he leans around The Grump to talk to Biance. Poor boy is now stuck between two balls of sunshine. Rest in pieces.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm rather bad with English manners. I'm Aleks, nice to meet you two!" An extra bright grin is fired with letal intent at Nikolai. "I meant what year, though. New student and the like. I'm just worried for the bill they give. I already have a secondary diploma, but my school lacked the 'special courses'. Keep it in the family and all that. They lacked help for my control issues, though."

The entire time there's been the sly cat stretch, completely unashamed at the continued attempt to steal the poor trapped sparrow's fries, then there's a snarky comment about the 'official' status. Except neither of them spoke. The freeze is supernaturally still.

It was a voice and there's nothing there, but there's a depression in the world. Too much mass in too small a space and his eyes are locked dead with Clara's as the empty space moves by. "...Yeah, definitely control." Pop quiz, control practice. The mask keeps chatting casually while the rest is focused on trying to See the fourth member. Kind of burns.

But all that matters is Nikolai's fries remain unharmed. This is the important part.

"Special courses are always more expensive. But Daybreak sounds interesting! Are you also sorted by your talents? Healers, research, all that?"

i can't wait for aleks and kate to scandalise clara in the future

[warmheartedly]

Nikolai looks like he wants out of this wild ride as he continues to lean against Bianca, not giving a damn that it looks like he's resting his head on her shoulder despite the almost comical height difference between them. The girl seems to pay no heed to Nikolai's aggravation, quite intent on being the best answerer for Aleks.

"Oh! I'm sorry-- That makes a lot more sense. We're definitely not new students. I'm going to be graduating next year along with Nikolai." The aforementioned witch nods in agreement as he looks back at forth Aleks and Bianca, almost loudly wondering if he could find a way over the girl so there's more distance. "It's good to hear you're interested in getting more practice with your powers! It's always important to be a master of them.

"In terms of how we're grouped, the school here and the Circle thinks it's for the better that we all have different people in a group and you learn all together at the same time from my experience. That way you're get used to working with different powers, different people. Does that make sense? I think it does."

Nikolai is in agreement of the sentiment since while Bianca is dealing with the answers, he's dealing with observations here. He keeps his eyes on Aleks to protect his only meal of the day and he noticed the way his eyes followed the spot of where Clara is.

Keeping one hand on his fries still, he fumbles for his phone to text out a message and shows it to him: You heard her, yes? Mrs. Seville?

rest in pieces clara's belief that all kids are good kids

[pathfinding]

"Yes, you understand! It's difficult not being able to utilize my abilities well. Congratulations on your graduation, by the way!"

So far, not a bad foray. Confirmation that the school actually welcomes supernaturals, Daybreak works in larger cooperated cells than separated covens, and they're witches so the chance of getting caught now is relatively minimal. So whether to go for the circle or the school, hm.

...

No assistance, either. Damn useless powers. Alas, the comment to be fired back at Bianca is cut off by the phone being shoved at him. It immediately derails whatever there were regarding the circle or the school and the total loss of the presence-

Almost loss. "Yes? I think? Was she the..." The lack of descriptor comes with a vague gesture over the two witches' shoulders. Word, word, what's the english word, to hell with it- "The naseweis one?"

please don't break her mind thank u

[warmheartedly]

"Thank you! The school has done a marvellous job in helping me. I bet they can help you too if--" Her words are cut off of by the strange exchange between her friend and the new face. Her eyebrows shoot up as she looks at them both, the expression becoming more puzzled as it goes on. She officially looks a little loss one at the use of the German word, looking to Nikolai for help on that one while she wear a polite if confused smile.

His reply is almost immediate as the message pops up on screen for the two (technically three) of them to view: It means number of things. Tinker Bell. Cheeky. Nosy.

"Tinker... Oh! Excuse me! I'm not a fairy," Clara says her objection in an almost offended tone, as if taking it personally that someone would mistake her for someone from the other realm. No offence to those she knows as faeries who happen to be her friend but surely someone can tell she isn't a fae. Not by a long shot. Sure. "I happen to be a ghost."

Which. May not be Aleks' point in the first place, Clara, but good job.

"Security," Bianca quickly explains to him to clear up the air. "The school does it's best to be welcoming and open to everyone since we're all about supporting and helping each other."

Whether Bianca actually believes it or is just spouting out the pamphlets' words as she's taught herself to do is hard to say but she seems quite passionate over the subject.

A

[trybelieving]

"I don't have the authority to throw you out, nor the interest in ruining anyone's morning." It's not that she wants anyone to leave, she just wants him to be a little more considerate. "But now that I have your attention, will you please turn that down?"

It's distracting, to say the least. Clearly, he's noticed.

[pathfinding]

Poor dear. She made the mistake of accosting someone who is immune to most threats. A finger is pointed in her direction. There is still no attempt to look up.

"I can't hear you."

...Well. There goes that ide- "No, I'm not turning it down."

A page turns. Two options, a liar or someone terribly used to the conversation being played out here. Either way there is one constant: Poor Tink.

Moonlight Trysts; Closed to Cooper

[pathfinding]

Getting used to it or otherwise, the Eyes have always been mostly useless, giving sympathetic warps of some unknown person's memories or the weather for the Thursday after next in Hawaii. Being the juicebox for a couple of melodramatic morons hasn't changed that. It's only upped the frequency. There's still a vast amount of Useless to deal with, but every so often there's one-

-held in gilded cages forged of power and prestige, kept close on leashes like the starved wolves-

No, even that was kind of useless, but an obvious useless. A useless that nags in your head and stays there for the entire month you sit and listen to the city lights whisper slanders, your roommates sit around like drunk and incompetent idiots, and - like always - there's some egomaniac witch running the show. The whole thing feels like home used to.

Which is exceedingly no bueno. Liam did mention some type of amazing date with a vampire before disappearing into the depths of the booze well, but either way there are obviously more drunk and incompetent idiots floating about. The question is how do you hunt down a hunter.

Easy.

Be the dumbass human who sits on a park bench at midnight, one, two in the morning. No witnesses, no nearby lights, no easy ability to get help, and on top of it is too busy playing phone tetris to pay attention to their surroundings. Literally the perfect prey.

The chance of demise is 83%, slow and painful, Our morals are out of place here.

...This was highly unwise.



Meh. Yolo. Seventeen is still pretty high.

[emotioneater]

It's a typical night for Cooper. He isn't in the mood to call up Nancy or get one of Islington's little hanger-ons to chew on for the night. No, he needs his prey with a little bit more kick to their systems. The park is always a good place to start. If nothing else, he can find a homeless bum that nobody would ever miss, but those tend to be a bit smelly for his tastes.

When he spots Aleksander sitting there on a park bench, he knows he's found the perfect prey. Alone, young, distracted, and with not a single person in sight. He might as well being wearing a sign that says, 'Eat me.' Cooper creeps up with stealth that under the circumstances is probably more habit than really necessary.

He doesn't bother with any introductions or attempts at seduction. That's for those younger and prettier than he is. Instead, one hand grabs Aleks by the wrist and the other goes around his throat. His fangs are out now and there's an unfathomable expression on his face. He forcibly pulls the oracle up until they're a few inches apart. "Scream an' I'll snap your neck. Stay quiet and you might live through this."

[pathfinding]

Eighty one.

There's no reaction to Cooper's advance - not surprising, humans are stupid an oblivious like that. The odd part is there's no reaction after. Just the same detached stare worn by someone who is entirely unsurprised. Because he really isn't.

"Hang on a second," and Cooper is then completely ignored for the time it takes to wrest his cell phone with his free hand and pause the game. Priorities are important! Eighty six okay not that important. The phone is dropped and then the stare is focused entirely on the other again. Any care towards being held hostage or being threatened with fangs is completely nonexistent.

Though the being strangled is annoying. Air is necessary for speaking, ugh, why did he get such a stupid vampire-

"Okay, sorry. Thanks for waiting!" how in the nine rings of hell is a human that calm in the face of supernatural threats what the diddly dang fuck- "But before you possibly kill me however, are you with the Nest?"

[emotioneater]

The complete and utter lemming-like lack of self-preservation instinct is strong in this one. Why does nobody ever take him seriously? He is a terrifying creature of the night and he demands fear! Or, at the very least, a little bit of respect would be nice. Instead, he gets to deal with this crazy teenager.

He's about to say screw it and bite into the lemming's neck anyway when he hears the question. That stops him right there in his tracks. Oh boy. This just got a little more interesting He loosens up the hold he's got on Aleks' neck. "Yeah. Baron Cooper, if we wanna get inta proper titles 'n all that. Now, who are you 'n how do you know about the Nest?"

[pathfinding]

How Predictable, rolls in with the white noise of the tide and vanishes under the surface of the same tide. But that's fine. Only for now. Vampires have tended towards the more interesting lot.

"Baron, huh?" Come on, there has to be something to work with regarding thunderstorms in the southern region will cause major delays on all major highways and roads below sea level, with caution that is utterly useless, at least give a location. Time to wing it.

So Cooper gets the bright sunshine smile of the Not Nice variant. "I'm Aleks and I know about the Nest through an acquaintance of yours. Liam. Would you prefer Cooper or Baron?"

Whatever he picks, he's not getting it.

B

[chronobreak]

He gives the stranger an odd look. Sure they get new students all the time but he usually knows about them. And the nerve, eating his food- he slaps way the kid's hand.

"High enough I'm not willing to share food with a stranger." Sure it's cheap cafeteria food, but food's important and he appreciates being able to have it. Even if Redbright's tuition wasn't that high he's still not willing to share.

With street rats? Sure. With people he's just met? Hell no.

[pathfinding]

Wow.

Rude???

"Hello, my name is Sasha. The friendship ritual is complete." It's the single most monotone voice to ever come out of a person. It is also immediately drowned back out by the smile from beforehand, "Or should I pay you instead?"

If Ekko has not gotten any pings the person next to him is full of bullshit, it's probably pinging right now. Loudly.

[chronobreak]

Rude as hell, considering the guy stole his food.

"Doesn't work like that." Don't worry, his bullshit meter is working just fine. He covers his fries with his free hand and considers if it's worth it to turn back time to prevent Sasha from even getting one.

[pathfinding]

There's a very quiet 'hmm' at the comment, eyes closed, and the black comes with flashes of considers if it's worth it to turn back time to pr

"That's a bit extreme." There's no change in the idle tone or the completely unconcerned facade. Both hands are steepled for his head to rest on, innocent of all sin. Totally. "I'm sure there's a class somewhere talking about not using your gifts for such petty reasons, or some other nonsense."

A

[veratrum]

ALEKS.

[He'd realized when he'd woken up that the german wasn't at the house. And hadn't been the last few nights. Only in the evenings. Alone.

What had followed was a frantic hunt through london until the tiny seer was found, and unceremoniously scruffed.]

What are you doing.

[pathfinding]

[Like always, there's the kneejerk reaction of locking up in place at the name and looking up with the expression of someone who got caught being a terrible person when excuse you he did nothing wrong ever okay???

(he did everything wrong)]

Nothing? [Wait, no-] Well. Something?

[veratrum]

'Nothing'? [He resists the urge to shake Aleks slightly, and it's rewarded by the revised answer.]

Getting put in the drunk tank isn't 'nothing'. If you're bored, say something.

[But he puts Aleks down. It's difficult--a month isn't that big a deal to him anymore--why not spend it drunk and morose? But to a human...it's only been a century, and it's still difficult for him to wrap his brain around it. Bah, what good was time, anyway?]

[pathfinding]

It wasn't the drunk tank! It was disturbing the peace and trespassing!

[That does not make it any better.

One he's set down, there's an automatic reaction to nitpick at his clothes and hair to get them back into Unruffled Perfection. Okay, illusion of composure regained, so both hands are folded behind his back and it's the usual figure of pristine certainty Liam has the non-luck to butt heads with sometimes.]

Regardless, if I am bored I will find my own means to spend time.