Completed Friendsgiving 3.0

[Caeso Diemut]

Caeso brought her back to his arms with a grace which he would have loved to say was practiced and skilled. Unspoken, it could be so. But he knew it was something more akin to beginner's luck. However it may have happened, it felt good to finally be engaged in a proper dance. One way or another, Caeso would have to devise a way to get himself into regular dance lessons. Proctor Evangeline was the lead on that front now. A request to her, perhaps, if he could show with his magic the need for the lessons?

His hand found the small of her back again. And, as of yet, feet went unstepped on.

The evening was quite pleasant now. He had felt a little too warm inside of his noble finery, yet the temperature now upon the dance stage was pitch perfect.

"Now is the time to be thinking in detail of such matters," Caeso said. Not long ago, after the latest graduation (and the ensuing lockdown), they had all become the senior-most class. "Surely you have your own aspirations, Lumen. A grand goal, obscure perhaps but visible, awaiting outside of these stifling walls."

Lumen

 

[Soleil Verdane]

"Proximity!"

And, as if to underscore the point (maybe as well in response to the arm now around her waist), Soleil snaked an arm atop Corvus's shoulders. Her face was close to his, and her eyes, like twin deserts stretching to eternity, each basking in the glow of their respective suns, gazed into his.

"Good clue."

Little waves, like the migration of dunes by the ceaseless winds, fluttered down her cheeks, these fissures closing gently and seamlessly after a moment.

"Your anger? Charming! Your face? Handsome. Your eyes? *hic!* Sharp."

She smiled.

"But not number one. Guess again!"

Corvus Azura

 

[Lumen]

All-in-all. Caeso was shaping up to be a good dancer. Was it something nobles just had in their blood? Sure, there was room for improvement but, call her mildly impressed.

Over Caeso's shoulder she caught how things had progressed with Soliel and Corvus. Oh my, she was perched on his lap and stroking his face. She just hoped they would use proper protection.

Tawny-eyes settled back on her partner. Fingers itched to idly play with the ends of Caeso's hair but she stopped herself. "My mother was a well-known dreadlord, serving House Weiroon. One day, I would like to live up to her name. Be something she would've been proud of. To do that, I will probably serve after graduation."

Otherwise, what would she do? She would lead troops and battles into war. Defend Vel Anir. And maybe one day, they'd chant a different Adagio's name.

"And there are my younger brothers to think about," she mused quietly. She had family left she needed to take care of.

 

[Silas Artesto]

"A delivery? Fuck it, I'll take being the pony express over being a babysitter." Sometimes Silas forgot that usually even babysitting meant trouble, but at least he didn't have to look after anybody who couldn't handle themselves with Houri and Maz. They were both fairly competent as far as he could tell. Corvus shouted his name, offering him a drink to go with the last of his food, but Silas gave him a wave of declination. "Nah, I'll pass. This is getting a little..." Silas clicked his tongue and spun a finger at the side of his head.

One thing was certain, he was sure happy he hadn't eaten any of that strange-looking macaroni. The effects of it had turned a promising little get-together into what Silas could only describe as a clusterfuck. Hell, he doubted Corvus could hear him over Verdane getting ready to suck his face off.

Though admittedly, that might have been a pang of jealousy that affected his thinking. Ain't like he'd be keeping anybody company tonight.

At least they all seemed pretty happy. Silas had been so focused on his meal it looked like he'd missed out on any of the other fun on offer tonight, but that was pretty usual for him. It was strange, he kept hearing how he was some ladies man, but... Really, he found it difficult to connect with them all outside of missions.

Had to be missing something... Silas was hoping he'd find it here, but no, it confused him just like it always did.

Standing from his seat, Silas dusted the nice suit off, which felt pretty damned breezy compared to his usual wear, and stole a swig of the wine after all. "I'm going for a run then. I guess I'll see you two when it's showtime?"

 

[Vasha Drurcius]

Vasha lightened her grip, internally grimacing a bit. The idea of changing back set her on edge, but... Yeah, the no talking thing wasn't going to work.

Letting out a long, slow breath through her nostrils, Vasha gently kneeled to let Zinnia off her shoulders once they got behind a tree near the edge of the party. At least with their line of sight blocked she could avoid some notice.

Once Zinnia got off, however, Vasha's skull made a rather unsettling cracking noise as her bones shifted- shrinking and reshaping back into a more humanoid visage again. Her skin and scales slackened, dried, and flaked away, and as the spikes fell away, new locks of pale hair fell back around her shoulders. The same happened to her hands and shoulders- her dress hanging a little more loosely around her now but thankfully not much the worse for wear. The same could arguably be said for Vasha, but even with this minor of a change, the consequences could immediately be noticed. Her face twisted in a grimace of pain as an ear-splitting headache pounded in her skull, and she moved to sit down, her fingers rubbing against her temple.

"Works like tha'..." she rasped as her jawbones snapped back into place, blinking a few times to refocus her eyes and looking to Zinnia with a slightly wary expression at revealing the vulnerability her powers caused; though she forced herself to relax a bit. She wasn't the type to take advantage of blackmail much like the other students from what Vasha was aware of.

"So... you 'change' thoo huh?"

 

[Maseno Luana]

Transportation? Houris brows furrowed. Missions, she had come to learn in the few months she had been back, were a far different breed to the types she had been used for whilst in the asylum. Back then, she had been used as nothing more than a weapon. Delivered to battlefields where the tide was going in the enemies favour and unleashed as a sudden, nasty surprise. For five years she had thought that that was what missions were, but since returning and having gone on a few now, she had learnt that they were far more complicated. Sure, the task appeared as straightforward on paper as before, but they never ended up that way. Missions were not as simple as genocide.

Houri was worried it was the latter she was only good at.

Her nerves resulted in her shovelling several mouthfuls of the mac and cheese into her mouth as the others talked over shared missions. It was as she was reaching for another helping when she heard Zaires words.

What... do you mean you put mushrooms in this?

Welp, cat's out of the bag as they say. Maseno's brows lofted over a wash of amusement before he openly bit into some concern. He'd not touched the mac & cheese and hadn't intended to for reasons, but it seemed it would be getting the better of his sister.

And Silas, with all the timing of a God, decided to depart before shit could hit the proverbial fan.

Maz eyed the other Initiate then nodded, "In the morning, then."

But back to Houri, "They are mild hallucinogens," he offered her gently, "how much did you eat?"

 

[Oryyn Black]

He locked eyes with her for several moments, it was incredible to think that someone who was made of sand had so much behind their eyes.

Corvus sighed as he poured himself a new drink. Yep, there was the dagger to his pride he had opened himself up to. He should have seen that one coming. He just smiled, laughing at the situation.

That meant he still had to find an answer, but Corvus was drawing a blank. He had named most of the boys in their class that he could think of...Was Soleil into girls also? If that was the case then he had already lost this, so better to just stick with men.

"Um, so it is someone older than us? Have you ever talked to Zael?"

Soleil was sand, right? And sand liked hot things, and Zael did all that fire stuff. It made sense.

Soleil Verdane

 

[Houri]

They are mild hallucinogens, he offered her gently, how much did you eat?

Houri looked down in panic at her plate where there was perhaps one forkful left of the healthy two ladle serving she had given herself.

"Too much," Houri replied glumly. Since her return to Vel Anir and the Academy, she had discovered far more about the fractures of her mind and whilst she had some trouble believing the voices were not real, that they were all a part of her, she could understand that on a simple plane someone whose emotions were tied to their magic should perhaps not eat something that made them unpredictable.

"I should... go too," whatever the effects it would be better to suffer them alone.

Maseno Luana Zaire

 

[Zaire]

Zaire felt his cheeks turned red, feel shame run all over his face and making his skin feel way too hot. He needed to get out of here, and fast. Everyone at the table seemed to be leaving, shortly after he had made his thought-whisper announcement.

Without much thought, Zaire went to shove his fork off of the table. The perfect excuse to bend down, grab the fork, and then run away before anyone would realize he was even gone! Kress be damned, he was such a genius sometimes. Really, he was like the Alistair in this group. As he slid his whole forearm on the table, causing him to knock over his glass of wine and the wine bottle that Corvus had brought, Zaire watched in slow motion as his half-eaten plate was tossed onto the ground along with his fork.

He winced as he heard the plate shatter.

“Oh silly me.” He thought-whispered again before laughing hysterically for three seconds (exactly three seconds only!) “Let me just clean this up.” He scooted his chair back, almost fell off his chair, and then dealt down on the floor, beginning to pick up the broken plate. Each and every piece, no matter how big or small they were. Making his way under the table, noticing how dark it was, and remembering that it was night, Zaire curled up.

A quick nap would be fine, right? Yeah, a quick nap was good to have. And off he went, to the land of dreams.

 

[Caeso Diemut]

"And an admirable goal it is," Caeso said. Steeped in fine tradition was Lumen's stated aspiration, yet the Revolution had stripped her of the capacity to officially serve House Weiroon as had her mother before her. The true amount of damage that insolent cretin Talus Morid and his fiendish ghoul of a wife had wrought upon Vel Anir would likely go untold.

Mayhap the day would come when all things were righted, and Lumen could swear that fealty openly to House Weiroon instead of a gaggle of filthy footmen. Until then, one could only do what one must.

And there are my younger brothers to think about.

This actually gave Caeso pause. A literal pause, as he stopped dancing for a moment before he realized he had halted and then eased back into it.

"My apologies, Lumen," he said. "It was merely surprising, is all. Consideration of family is not something one hears often in the Academy."

And even though Caeso was a staunch supporter in the merits of the old way, he maintained that the Academy's oppressive tendency—save only in the case of nobles—to sever an Initiate entirely from their family was its greatest shortcoming.

Lumen

 

[Soleil Verdane]

"Zael? No. Not him."

She swayed a little in Corvus's lap, her head swinging side-to-side. Not to the slow tune the band was playing, no, but perhaps to some rhythm she had going in her own head. Or maybe it was simply the wine settling in, wreaking the same mischief on her imitation body as it would on one of true flesh and blood.

"Muscular—always nice. Likes to fight—also nice. Enjoy conflict! But him? Not clever. Does trouble, gets caught. Intentionally. Why? Will never understand."

Also, he made plenty of jokes, but Soleil had difficulty in knowing when to laugh and when not to laugh, what was a joke and what was not. But she didn't know how to express that to Corvus, so she left it out.

Her smile returned, her cheeks rising. "One more guess. Hint! Yes, older than us. Want another hint?"

Corvus Azura

 

[Oryyn Black]

There were so many older Dreadlords that he did not know or speak with often. He would have spent the next several minutes trying to remember names if not for Zaire's sudden antics down the table. For most of it, Corvus could care less, but Zaire had knocked over one of the bottles of wine.

"C'mon, man! You can't be that fumbling." Corvus let out a sigh as he looked down at the spilled drink. He reached over and grabbed the wine that he and Soleil had nearly downed by themselves.

"Yes, one more hint. Just one. I can do this."

Soleil Verdane

 

[Soleil Verdane]

One more hint. Freely given.

"He's dead."

Her smile was unbroken.

And then, as if realizing that it was the incorrect gesture for the moment, her smile receded. Soleil assumed a somber expression.

Corvus Azura

 

[Oryyn Black]

"Oh, um, I'm sorry."

Corvus' smile dropped, not exactly sure how to react seeing as Soleil's smile only faded after several seconds.

He knew of several upperclassmen that were dead, so that did not narrow it down much. He went with the option that seemed to have the most people like them He had remembered him smiling more than much of the moody upperclassmen.

"Is it Drastus?"

Soleil Verdane

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Her smile came back once the last guess was presented, for the game was continued.

"No. Not Drastus."

And that was it. The third guess.

"Aw," she said. "Game over! No special reward. Maybe next time!"

Soleil looked back and found her wine glass and, seeing as Corvus now had the (spilled and close to depleted) bottle, held up the glass for him to pour her another drink.

"Answer? Charon." She trilled her tongue, the sound more high-pitched—and distinctly feminine—than usual. "Him? Killed well. Enjoyed it. No remorse. Good Dreadlord! Lovely. Very handsome. Very attractive, all around. Me? Thought of him. Naughty things."

"Naughty" was the word she'd learned to most succinctly express those kinds of urges.

"But Charon? Dead." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Friends come, friends go. Now? Need new number one."

Corvus Azura

 

[Oryyn Black]

Charon. Charon? Which one was that? Was that the one that always gave him headaches? He was never sure if it was an ability or just the way the guy looked. That answer essentially affirmed something that Corvus had already been thinking.

Soleil's scale for hotness was just how well and most likely she thought they were likely to kill people... Definitely weird.

"That's a shame. I hate disappointing pretty women made of sand, but that is just the way it goes sometimes. So, who are you looking at for your new number one? I heard that the kid in our class named Fish is a right wacko."

Soleil Verdane

 

[Lumen]

She halted as he did, nearly bumping into him. A smile dipped in sadness flickered across her face. “Maybe I was lucky because I had a little more time with them before my magic showed.”

Before she killed her father.

Face hardened as she thought about his drunken rages. Who he took his anger out on. It had always been aimed at the younger boys.

Every so slowly, her face smoothed back into a neutral expression. “Are you close with your family?” She could hear the song beginning to slow. She realized she didn’t know the specifics behind when Caeso started at the Academy. And wasn’t his family big into wine making?

 

[Caeso Diemut]

Caeso was glad that the current tune played by the band had slowed to its slowest pace—the cue, as it were, built into most pieces for the dancers to slow to their greatest extent as well and come together close to an equal extent. It was the easiest part of any slow dance. Good, because Caeso had some difficulty concentrating on his efforts.

The hand which held Lumen's own squeezed almost imperceptibly. Almost.

"I keep regular correspondence with my father, occasionally my sister and my mother, and they in turn keep my extended family appraised of my progress in the Academy."

Of his older brother Quinctus, who had been enrolled into the Academy at the same time as him, he said nothing. The subject still troubled him greatly, even if he kept it repressed. Even saying that he was the heir to House Diemut now, unless prompted, was too much.

He tried to ease the topic gently away. "My father has been saving a special wine, a two hundred year old vintage, to be opened upon my graduation."

Lumen

 

[Soleil Verdane]

Soleil took Corvus's hand and used it to pour herself a little more wine.

"Don't know," Soleil said, passing right over the suggestion of Fish as her new number one. "These things? *hic!* Discovered, not decided."

She downed the renewed glass of wine in her quick manner, her smile reemerged after she was done, and the look in her eye became a touch...impish.

"Now me? Guess you," Soleil said in a husky manner. "Same game. Three tries. I guess right? You, something special, for me. Sound fun?"

Corvus Azura

 

[Oryyn Black]

Corvus smirked as he brought the bottle to his lips, ignoring his glass, and then cast her a flirtatious raised eyebrow.

"Something special? Now, what could I possibly offer you that would be considered special?"

She was as likely to ask him to bathe in the blood of his enemies as she was to ask him for a kiss.

As for someone he liked, Corvus had no idea. All the girls were nice, but...that was really it. None of them screamed out pick them. Most of the girls in his year ranked higher than average on the crazy scale to begin with...Oh, wait he had one.

"Ok, take your guess. Or do you want a hint?"

Soleil Verdane

 

[Maseno Luana]

Seemed he would be following his intentions of only dropping in for a visit afterall. Maseno glanced after Silas' departing form, then turned to ask Zaire a question only to find the seat where he'd been moments before completely empty. The table had grown a measure quieter and calmer as others filtered off to dance, to skate, to converse.

He'd gotten a few bites in, said hi, made his appearance, and now?

I should... go too, whatever the effects it would be better to suffer them alone.

"I'll walk back with you," he offered to his sister, placing fork and knife on his half-empty plate. Ensuring Houri made it back to her dorm after too much mac and cheese was one thing he could most certainly do.

 

[Zinnia]

Set down and ride over, Zinnia leaned up against the tree and observed. Woah.

Lizard turned back to human in a process that Zinnia could not be sure was really happening, or if it was just part of the crazy trip she was currently embarked on. Cracking bones and swelling flesh were made even more vivid by the poison coursing through Zinnia's veins, and she sat watching the changes somewhere between fascination and horror. It all looked and sounded painful and unnatural, and also a bit like a beat of a song that she started to tap on her own leg. No, no, focus!

So... you change thoo huh?

Zinnia's gut lurched like she'd been on a boat. Reflexively she pulled down on her beanie and a brief moment of sobriety was granted to her, fleeting as it was.
"Wh-wh-what?? No, nonono, I m-mean, we're all...ch-changing in some way or another, right?!" She panicked, feeling a bit like she was hyperventilating. "J-just normal...teenager stuff, ha...hahaha..."

She felt ill a she laughed weakly. What a stupid slip up.

 

[Houri]

Houri stared at her brother then, reluctantly, nodded.

Oh Gods was it starting already? She just had to walk, to put one foot in front of the other and appear normal. Nobody would know a thing then. The result was her almost gliding retreat like that of the nobility she had come from, though she was glad of Maz's arm beneath her hand. That was real. The swirling colours beneath her feet... that she wasn't so sure of.

Relax... said a soothing voice she didn't recognise. Isn't it beautiful?

As they left the party Houri glanced up towards the skies which had become alight with extraordinary colours that danced in waves of greens and blues and purples. The furthest south the Dancing Lights had been seen in over two centuries. Somewhere in the city, the Astrologers guild were busy punching the air in jubilation.

 

[Vasha Drurcius]

Vasha opened a hand toward the girl in a vague calming gesture, her other hand still at her temple as she sat down across from Zinnia. Her gaze wandered back to the others behind Zinnia- the sparse table now that everyone had for the most part eaten (and at that moment her stomach rumbled quite loudly...damnit) and, satisfied that no one was about to jump them, slid her gaze back to the nervous girl.

A tired sort of smirk crossed her lips. "I'm noth going tho ea' you." she murmured, her tone taking on an extremely rare teasing tone, before she settled. "Jus'... a bi' curious is all." Vasha stated a bit more honestly, then exhaled and looked away to try and reduce the pressure on her by not looking at Zinnia directly. "You thon' ge' to pick wha' you are born with. Buth, ith's yours. An' yours alone at leas'. Your power is wha' you make of ith."

She winced slightly as the headache panged particularly harshly along her jaw and the back of her skull, the runes carved into her bones burning. Slowly, it was fading though... slowly. Hidden away under her skin. Always itching and grating and changing...

What she wouldn't give to have just been born with these powers... Caeso had been right about it being a curse. But she didn't have any other choice.

Zinnia

 

[Lumen]

So he had a sibling. She had to wonder what kind of pressure Caeso had, being from a noble family. Her own pressure had been to prove herself to House Weiroon and in a way, still was. Since they'd agreed to care for her brothers instead of turning them out to the orphan houses. A debt she'd probably spend most of her life repaying.

And one she'd never question if it was worth it.

"Your father must be proud of his son to save a wine for him," she said quietly. A much different father than her own had been. And on that note, the music slowed to a stop. She found herself staying in his arms for a longer moment.