Overlap [IC/PG-16/Accepting]

[radio414]

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?”
Job 12:7-9 (NIV)

---

Melissa didn’t ask the computers in her head the “friend” question again, nor did they offer any further reply. Instead, her dreams were more abstract, never fully solidifying into something describable outside of their emotional resonance. The sense that she had dreamed without remembering any of it was refreshing -- almost novel, if not for the fact that Melissa knew she must have experienced such a thing before arriving on Prana, before her and Zadkiel and Sandalphon’s introduction. When she woke up, she felt even more refreshed than expected, though it was a feeling that quickly faded back down to merely “pleasant,” cemented with such luxuries as a warm shower and clean clothes.

Fen was awake first, something Melissa knew even before she came downstairs by the smells wafting out of the kitchen and up into the dormitory area. “Mm, good morning,” Melissa said. It turned out, though, that Fen was busy typing away at her watch, which made Melissa realize she probably needed to check her own.

Mauvache was asking them for volunteer efforts, though in a way that made it seem like they were being voluntold. “I would like you to,” Mauvache wrote. Melissa knew what that meant, though, if it wasn’t what it meant, she probably would have volunteered for it anyway. And yet, worries cropped up regarding other parts of the message. Community service was fine, of course, but the phrase “Guardian’s growing fanbase” just served to remind her of her own burgeoning celebrity, unhindered from even the basest security that a show duel costume might have provided her.

But, in a strange turn, the message did not upset Melissa’s mood overall. It may have dampered it a little, but certainly not to the point she might have expected. She certainly didn’t feel like she was about to lose a breakfast she hadn’t even eaten yet. This, too, was practically a novel sensation for Melissa. Perhaps not the sensation itself, but certainly the fact of having noticed it. 

She sent a second assenting message following Fen’s. It sounded less stressful than some other days she could think of, all things considered. Of course, that meant that it probably wouldn’t be, but Melissa tried not to think too hard about that. She finished her breakfast quickly, and said, “I’d better go finish getting ready.”

Edited April 28 by radio414

[Chaos Sonic]

Trevor seemed to be the last one up, or at least to him it seemed that way. He had been toiling and burning the midnight hours. Firstly, he was finishing up another journal entry to chronicle his time here. It was the one thing that seemed to grant him a kind of peace and relaxation to an extent. Next, he was recalling his bout that day with that Dark Thorn Heartless. It had been a bit since he had seen a Heartless, sure... but a Pure Blood Heartless like that? That was one of the stronger ones, almost boss like... the kind that could amass a group of Shadows and Neo-Shadows and command them. And yet... here it was, terrorizing a carnival of all things. Needless to say, Trevor was puzzled and perplexed on why of all times and places, a Heartless would show up here on Prana.

These thoughts and questions plagued him throughout the night... along with the mysteries he had already been dealing with here, such as that mysterious room with whatever creature that was... the situation with the rabbit at the front desk... hell, even the fact that the police seemed to hate the Guardians like this. That and of course... the creation myth that he recalled reading about. This "Great Dragon"... so many questions, so little time, and almost no answers to be had. He did figure, however, that eventually answers would slowly show themselves, even if he had to dig for them himself.

But as was mentioned, Trevor seemed to be the last one up and once he grabbed his things, he made his way to the kitchen and proceeded to make himself a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long day... and he didn't even know it. He had his watch go off and there was a long message from Mauvache, detailing a message of gratitude for the day prior. But aside from that, there was a new request. "And what does our benefactor have today...?" he muttered, taking a swig of his coffee. Meeting and helping Team Wildlife doing some community service. For a moment, Trevor was going to decline it, as it didn't seem to intrigue him much... but then he paused. It was for the apparent growing fan base, which meant it would be beneficial for them to do so, to put themselves out there in the spotlight so to speak.

Trevor sighed, taking another swig of his coffee and sent a simple reply back: "Sounds like a fun time to me, count me in". He turned towards the other two, as he grabbed himself some of the food. "So seems our day is planned... somewhat. Any clues on who this Team Wildlife is?"

[LordCowCow]

After a bit the trio would move on to the park. It was more busy than the other times they had come here and their arrival drew some notice from the people strolling through it. No one approached directly but it was obvious that many of them wanted to. The weather was clear and sunny with hardly even any clouds in the sky.

Which made it all the more obvious when something large passed across the sun and made its way towards them from the sky.

A large, winged, lizard descended on them from above. The people around stopped and pointed in surprise as the beast, twice the size of a horse at least, circled the area and dove down towards the trio.

It landed with a great gust of wind and let out a screeching noise.

Once it had landed they saw that a woman with short red hair was riding on its back. There was a long handed axe strapped to the beast's side and, when the woman jumped off and landed on the ground, they'd see there was a tome of some sort dangling from a strap on the woman's waist.

"Greetings!" The woman said and raised a hand toward them. "You're the newbies huh? I'm Rona, member of Team Wildlife. This is my partner, Cormag. We came ahead to tell you what was going on before the rest of my squad showed up."

She put a hand on her hip and examined them all before nodding, "I'm sure you're all still a bit confused about this place. Takes people some time to really get used to it." She hooked a thumb towards herself, "if you need anything just ask Big Sis Rona and I'll be sure to help you out."

Spoiler

Trying to move along more consistently but still don't wanna info dump too much at once.

Also don't forget to get any dialogue from each other you want before heading out, and probably reply to Trevor's thing.

As usual ask me whenever for lines and such. I'll explain what the things will be doing next post unless one of you asks Rona then can get some info on that earlier if you'd prefer.

 

[Skaia]

As the other two made their way downstairs, Fen gave a standard friendly greeting to them before she put a hand to her chin and thought on Trevor's question. "Well, um, their name is Team Wildlife and I don't know anyone more...in tune with nature than Kasayee." She didn't really know any other druid in general and the girl's magic itself had about as much to do with "wildlife" then anything else she could think of. There was also Constable, though the girl grimaced at the thought. Was it insensitive for her to think of something that was clearly bestial in nature but had some form of sentience as "wildlife?" The girl furrowed her brow and closed her eyes, a hand to her chin as she was clearly deep in thought for a moment before she opened her eyes and remembered she was in the middle of a conversation. "Oh, right. Um, yeah. So, her and Constable I would assume would be people we could meet. Though, this world has already shown plenty of surprises so..." She would leave the option to be wrong open. 

---

Not too long after this the group had arrived back in the park proper as they got ready to find out what they would be doing. Soon after that, a shadow cast across the sky that prompted the girl to look up. The girl's body tensed immediately, the sight of a large beast circling them putting her on edge, until it finally landed in front of them. The creature was large, far larger than any beast of burden she could think of, and bore a distinct resemblance to a dragon. Most of the dragons that Fen had been aware of, though, would have easily dwarfed the creature in size and they all had a certain presence about them that was notably missing from this creature. 

She could not study it any further, though, her sight was obstructed by a woman suddenly appearing in front of it. Though, as she looked at the woman properly she had realized that they had actually just been riding the dragon the whole time. The girl refocused her attention on the newcomer, Rona as she was named, and gave a smile and wave to her. "I'm Fen, and these are the rest of my companions of Team Manna," she gestured to the others. "It's a pleasure to meet you Rona." Her smile then broke into a nervous laugh as she took the girl's last comment. "This world is quite, well, different from my own so I'll be sure to take you up on your offer if the need arises."

Her expression then shifted to one of curiosity as she asked, "so, um, does your team usually partake in community service events like this?"

Rona's expression froze a moment then she laughed it off. "Well, some of them don't, well, they like to conserve their energy. It's, er, easier to get them to do certain things I suppose."

"Ah..." The girl had thought about her earlier comments on who the other members of the team might be as she said mumbled out, "my condolences." As she looked away from Rona after that her eyes drifted back towards the draconic creature, Cormag, as she saw fit to continue studying the beast. 

[radio414]

Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.
-Revelation 12:3 (NIV)

---

Melissa had seen dragons before. Of course she had. Duel Monsters was chock full of them, and though the game had somehow transported itself to Prana by some other name, she was from a world obsessed with the sport. If there was some manner of dragon, from wyvern to hellkite to snapjaw, she had seen it rendered in full three-d by a hologram. But that still had not prepared her for the real thing, all flesh and blood -- as far as she could tell, anyway -- flying, landing, standing before her. It was a truly singular experience, one to treasure for as long as Melissa could hold on to it. She hoped it was the same for everyone else, especially the onlookers they had attracted on their way into the park. 

Well, it wasn’t right to say that they had “attracted” the onlookers. But there were onlookers, even if they were trying to pretend that they weren’t. Melissa could see the occasional glance sent her way, and could feel everyone’s gaze even when she wasn’t returning it. Part of her wished she hadn’t figured out that “head on a swivel, and let the computers help parse everything” trick. It just made them all easier to spot. So she tried her best to just focus on the dragon, on the majesty of God’s creation.

Her focus shifted to the woman on the dragon’s back, Rona, as she dismounted and greeted the three of them. Fen took the first half of introductions, as was her right as squad leader, though Melissa still raised a hand in a little wave and a “Melissa,” when gestured to. The wave became a gesture of her own when it was her turn to speak, motioning out towards all the prying eyes and asking. “Are… they part of what we’ve been asked to do today? Is that why they’re all here?”

Rona said, “Oh, no, those are just your standard onlookers,” and waved at some of the more obvious ones.

This was not the answer Melissa wanted to hear, though on balance, she wasn’t sure exactly what answer she did want to hear, so she returned her focus to Cormag the dragon, shifting closer to him as she did so. The more Cormag took up of her field of view, the less she had to think about everyone else. Recalling what little she had learned so far of Prana’s mythology, she asked, “Is Cormag from your world or did you meet him here?” Then, blurted out as an addendum, with her arm already half-raised, “Can I- can we pet him?”

“Yeah, Cormag has been with me since I was a kid,” Rona said. She reached out her hand and Cormag craned his neck down to rest his chin on her palm. “Sure, you can pet him. He’s a bit of a grump, but don’t let that fool you.”

Melissa looked at Rona, then at Cormag, arm fully outstretched in front of her now, and took a step forward. Cormag growled at her, which got Melissa to yelp, but seeing Rona tut out half a laugh somehow managed to embolden Melissa instead of embarrass her. She took another step forward, and ended up with her hand on Cormag’s nose. Cormag still glared at Melissa, but he didn’t snap at her or pull his head away either. Melissa, for her part, at least gave Cormag the dignity of returning his eye contact.

 

[Chaos Sonic]

"Well, um, their name is Team Wildlife and I don't know anyone more...in tune with nature than Kasayee. Oh, right. Um, yeah. So, her and Constable I would assume would be people we could meet. Though, this world has already shown plenty of surprises so…”

In all honesty, Trevor figured that Kasayee and Constable would be two relatively good ideas for this Team Wildlife, so perhaps they'd see those two… after all, they'd at least know someone, which was better than not knowing anyone at all. But with this in mind, Trevor and the rest of Team Manna were off…

---

And when they arrived at the location… lo, a dragon descended from the heavens with it's rider hopping off. Trevor did have to admit, it was a pretty impressive and grand entrance to say the least… he was almost a bit jealous on how amazing that was.

“Greetings! You're the newbies huh? I'm Rona, member of Team Wildlife. This is my partner, Cormag. We came ahead to tell you what was going on before the rest of my squad showed up. I'm sure you're all still a bit confused about this place. Takes people some time to really get used to it. if you need anything just ask Big Sis Rona and I'll be sure to help you out.”

Rona and Cormag… they were an impressive duo just from the first look and at face value, but nevertheless, what caught Trevor's eye was the tome she had on her hip. It seemed like his Cabanomicon, to an extent. It did seem interesting and a bit of a strange thing for a axe wielder to have. Least, that was his thought anyway…

Once the others of Team Manna introduced themselves, it was his turn, he figured. "Trevor Masters, apprentice to the sorcerer of the 777th degree, a pleasure." he tipped his hat and bowed slightly, before tossing it back on his head. He had to wonder… why did he continue to introduce himself like that? Had it become that much of a habit for him to introduce himself as Master Balthazar's apprentice? …a stupid thought, of course it was. But even in this world, why continue to address himself as such when no one had heard of Balthazar Blake, apprentice to Merlin and a sorcerer of the 777th degree? In any case, he brushed these thoughts off and continued. "I do have to ask a few things, though apologies for me throwing out more questions for you to answer when you just got here." He paused, before pointing at the tome that Rona had. "That tome you have with you... are you a practitioner of magic yourself?”

Trevor noticed her visibly stiffen a moment before taking a breath and relaxing. "Why yes, I count magic among my combat skills! Of course I can't exactly show you here ahaha!”

"Impressive, perhaps I might have to see that in action at a later date." Trevor chuckled. Why was she suddenly stiffening up when he mentioned that... perhaps another time would bring this answer and more. "In any case, what exactly will we be up against and or doing today?”

"I was going to wait for everyone to get here but I suppose I can fill you all in. There's two main tasks today. The first will pit some of us up against a terrifying foe....going to a local school to speak with the children there. And the second..." She fiddled with her watch and a holographic display appeared of a large mansion. "This mansion was abandoned a while ago and its become overgrown and unwashed over time so the city asked if we could help out getting back into shape!”

When Mauvache mentioned community service, she really meant community service. Trevor nodded, crossing his arms slightly. “So dealing with children or mansion renovations? Seems simple enough really… which would probably mean it isn't at all.” he stifled a small laugh, before clearing his throat. “No matter, Team Manna should be able to handle these tasks without any issue whatsoever.”

[LordCowCow]

Cormag locked eyes with Melissa as she pet him. After some time, while he didn't ever appear to enjoy it, he seemed to accept her petting him and the light growl, more of a grumble, faded away. Though  Melissa would notice the beast's eyes darting up and over her shoulder on occasion. And when they did he flattened down a bit and arched his back as if preparing to dart up and grab something that no one could see.

Rona noticed this but didn't think much of it as she replied to Trevor's  “No matter, Team Manna should be able to handle these tasks without any issue whatsoever.”

"Oho? A confident one are you? Well as the veteran team here you don't have to worry too much. We, well some of us, are willing to take responsibility for any issues. Just relax and the job will be done before you know it!" She gave a bit of a sheepish smile, "though, yeah, maybe there are a few complications. You see..."

Just then they could hear a "waaaaaaaiiiiiiiit I'm coooomiiiiiiiiiiiinngggg hold onnnnnnnnnnnnn!" from all the way across the park.

A dark haired girl with bright eyes came running up to the group and practically crashed into Cormag. The wyvern merely growled and took a few steps away to avoid the girl but seemed more annoyed than angry. "I'm totally not late right? It's not my fault! I was on my way here when I saw someone giving out hot dogs. For FREE. Free hot dogs! How could I pass that up without having at least ten? Oh! That reminds me." She dug into a bag and pulled out a handful of hot dogs wrapped up in some sort of film and handed them out to each of them, including Cormag, and smiled apogetically. "I know there's only a couple each but I think the guy was getting mad at me for taking too many. Which is crazy right? I mean who can't eat that many hot dogs?"

Rona sighed. "You haven't even introduced yourself, Hana. Priorities, remember?"

"I know! And hot dogs are priority one! Plus, you just introduced me!" She smiled at the group and shook her head, "she's silly isn't she? But heya, I'm Hana!"

[Skaia]

Fen glanced towards Melissa and Cormag, curious to continue observing the two's behaviors, as she listened to Rona and Trevor talk. The squad leader perked up as Rona had mentioned the details of the mission they were on today. While she wasn't exactly experienced with dealing with kids, she thought of herself as something of a pro when it came to cleaning old abandoned and dilapidated buildings. Fen chimed in along with Trevor, echoing his sentiment. "Yes, you can leave up any mansion cleaning to us!" 

 As Rona began to voice some concern on complications said complications manifested themselves. Fen watched curiously as the new girl ran in. She was reminded of someone riding a temperamental horse that they have very little experience in handling, one that would pull its rider along and crash into every which obstruction it could. Only in this case the girl's body was the unruly horse. 

Though both her introduction and the way she spoke was more reminiscent of a hurricane. As such Fen was taken by surprise as the girl produced a myriad of hot dogs, a food that had a likeness to the kind she would find at the park from yesterday, and handed them off. With a slightly befuddled, "oh, um, thank you," the girl looked at the food and examined it as Rona and the new girl, Hana, continued back and forth with each other. 

She could appreciate someone who put food as a top priority and simply smiled to the girl as she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Hana, I'm Fen. Uh, the leader of Team Manna," she repeated herself. As she took a bite of her food, the girl said, "oh...it's delicious." She took another bite, then looked to Hana curiously. "I'm not familiar with this kind of meat though. Do you know what kind of dog this is?" 

[radio414]

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
-2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)

---

Not that Melissa expected Cormag to behave like a dog or some other furry animal when offered such a classic show of affection as “a booped snoot,” but the dragon’s behavior still flummoxed her. The initial reaction, the growling and nearly biting her hand off (an exaggeration), she could see. There were other animals that, in Melissa’s experience, could be so moody (okay, so maybe she did expect Cormag to behave a little like a dog, then). What Melissa did not expect was the side-eye she kept getting to some invisible, intangible thing (things?) behind her. She even looked a few times, following Cormag’s eyeline, but couldn’t see anything. And the behavior persisted even when she stepped away from the dragon, returning to the rest of her team. The weirdest part was that Cormag didn’t even seem hostile, just that something had overtaken his hunter instincts and she just so happened to be the catalyst. She hoped to clarify herself at some point, but without even knowing what the problem was (and not speaking dragon), it was hard. Really, the not-knowing made it worse. It meant she had to sit with it. But then again, she sat with a lot of unknowns all the time. At least Rona didn’t seem to care (or, at least, didn’t do anything about it). If she wasn’t worried, Melissa could at least try not to be.

There were other things to worry about anyway, like the prospect of dealing with children. Dealing with the Sunday school kids was always the worst part of church youth group. Melissa fortunately had always managed to weasel her way out of appearing in any of the skits they would put on during the children’s sermon, but just the act of corralling them was effort enough. People saw her nun outfit and assumed she was some sort of abbess, destined for instruction, never really understanding what the word “anchoress” meant even after Melissa explained it to them. In fairness, some of that might have been the mumbling, but still.

The other thing, the house restoration, that seemed fine.

Any further instruction, however, was interrupted by the surprise appearance of another member of Rona’s team, who said her name was Hana. While it wasn’t the point, it was nice to see Cormag react with a bit more annoyance to somebody else -- it helped Melissa set a further baseline for activity, plus “being run into” had to be worse than what Melissa had been doing. Getting waylaid by food seemed like a poor excuse for tardiness, and Rona seemed to think so too, but Melissa didn’t say anything out loud, and accepted the hot dog when offered.

Fen asked what was in them, which gave Melissa pause. “There’s a saying where I’m from:” she said, “Don’t ask how the sausage is made. I can make a guess later, if you’re truly curious, but to avoid saying something too unappetizing right now, I guess the best way to put it is that they probably found a way to use as much of the animal as they could.”

She tried to get off the subject as quickly as possible. “Anyway, it is nice to meet you, Hana. Thank you for the food,” she said, though she knew that one, it was likely a fool’s errand, and two, the alternative was talking about their assignment some more, and, given first impressions, Melissa was pretty sure Hana and the rest of Rona’s team were ready to talk about anything but.

Edited June 3 by radio414

[LordCowCow]

"Whoa, a human leader!" Hana said, then scrunched her face up, "wait, no, that's the norm isn't it? I always forget that!" Her face lit up when Fen enjoyed the hot dog. "Ooooh we're gonna be buddies! Anyone who likes food is a buddy in my eyes!"

"I'm not familiar with this kind of meat though. Do you know what kind of dog this is?" 

“Don’t ask how the sausage is made. I can make a guess later, if you’re truly curious, but to avoid saying something too unappetizing right now, I guess the best way to put it is that they probably found a way to use as much of the animal as they could.”

"I don't think it's any dog!" Hana tilted her head, "well, I dunno actually. I'm not sure what kinda meats are here...isn't that amazing? I thought I had eaten all the food there was back home but now I'm in this place with food I couldn't ever even think of! Have you had a fishicle yet?"

Hana smiled at Melissa, "it's nice to meet you, miss nun! Oh are you a healer? Like, from one of those fantasy games? I could never play those for long I would always get stuck and there's so much reading just let me whack the goblin with a stick ya know?"

Rona cleared her throat. "Our companions should be here any second now, once they are we can figure out how we want to split up these tasks."

As if summoned by her words they could hear the sound of feet padding along the ground and they saw Constable, with Kasayee draped over his back, running up to them.

"Leader!" Hana called out, "we were just talking about dogs!" 

Spoiler

Okay so to be clear it'd be best to split the group I feel. 7 in one scene sounds awful.

There's still some info to be had about the jobs but can do that on site or in your posts however feels natural.

Will say that Hana and Constable will be going with the kids and Kasayee and Rona the mansion.

 

[Chaos Sonic]

---

Now Trevor was dealing with Hana and her myriad of hot dogs... oh and Constable and Kasayee as well. But right now, he couldn't help but snicker slightly at the little 'hot dog' conversation the three girls were having. And surprisingly, Melissa was the one who made sure not to mention anything about how things were made... Smart move...

"Honestly, it doesn't matter what they're made of or how they're made..." Trevor chuckled, taking one of the offered dogs. It had been so long since he had one, and he knew there were ones that were simply amazing back in Arcana Cabana. Oh how he longed to be there again... "...these things are just good period." he said, taking a bite of it. Yup, it tasted like he remembered. Though it may have been one or two levels above the ones he had back home... either way, a good hot dog was something no one could beat whatsoever. "Oh, apologies... my manners...." Trevor cleared his throat and directed his attention towards Hana. "Trevor Masters of Team Manna. The team's resident sorcerer. A pleasure to meet you."

"As for the two options... if I may..." Trevor continued, directing his attention now towards the two options. "I wouldn't mind assisting with the mansion clean up. However, I'm free to help with the children as well. What do you two want to go with?"

[radio414]

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
-Luke 9:1-2 (NIV)

---

Between the twin factors of Melissa being so in the habit of occasionally dressing like a nun (especially on an assignment like this one) that it had reached the point of unthinking impulse and the fact that Prana had an entirely different theocratic system that Melissa was still only scratching the surface of understanding, she could not help but flinch when Hana addressed her as “Miss Nun.” It was only a light flinch -- a blink and a shiver that one could easily attribute to shyness or anxiety -- but it was simply the terror of being known. It passed quickly, especially once it was clear that Hana enjoyed hearing herself talk too much to properly identify Melissa’s role in Team Manna. Melissa still blushed all the same. “I guess I have the capacity to be a healer, though I thankfully haven’t had to put that to use yet,” she said.

The word “I” was a small fib, but it was easier to explain than the alternative. Maybe that was something Melissa would think about later, but for now, in the moment, she was more distracted by the arrival of even more of Hana and Rona’s compatriots. Thankfully, there was less need for introductions and that sort of chatter, because they were already familiar faces. Hana called the canine one “Leader,” but Melissa recognized the Stoutland as Constable. The other, who hardly needed an introduction, was Kasayee.

After a few more greetings, Trevor asked how the groups were being split up. Things did not seem so trivial that teammates might stay with teammates (otherwise, why wouldn’t Mauvache simply have given each team their specific task instead of this first meetup assignment?), and though Trevor himself was noncommittal, the rest of the two teams did start moving to form more proper separate intermingled groups. Somehow, perhaps because she was near Hana, perhaps because she had backed away from Rona and Cormag after the dragon had reacted strangely to her presence, Melissa ended up in the group headed off to speak with Prana’s children.

To ask to switch meant another string of explanations, none of which cast Melissa in a favorable light. Even falling back on stereotyping herself (she was sixteen, after all, and what high schooler wanted to be associated with someone still in elementary?) was not the sort of thing Melissa wanted to put out there. Instead, Melissa tried to focus on steeling herself for the ordeal. The computers in her head had agreed with her when she said she was improving at something like this. That in itself was an expectation to live up to, even if, here in the park, she didn’t feel like she had improved at all.

Constable was also in this group. Maybe the kids would be distracted by the dog. It was only slight solace (because Melissa didn’t really believe it would happen), but Melissa held onto it all the same.

Edited June 17 by radio414

[Skaia]

Fen's curiosity was only peaked further as Melissa had tried to keep her from prying any further about the strange hot dog, and was only stoked by Hana's own admittance to not knowing what went into it. There was little that Fen had found unappetizing, though in her years of her culinary adventure she had realized her sensibilities weren't always the most common ones in this regard. The girl looked back to Hana, "oh, I haven't had anything like a fishcicle before." She couldn't help but wonder if it was just a frozen fish on a stick, but that hardly seemed edible to her. 

All the same the task to split up and actually do what they came here to do had fallen upon them. Melissa had found herself moving with Hana and Constable to go assist with the children. Fen had no basis to really go on but she had a feeling that the girl was probably good with kids, or at the very least children would enjoy being around her. For herself, the girl walked to go with Rona and Kasayee. "I feel like my skills would be best suited here. Oh, do you happen to know if there's a cavern under this mansion?" 

The girl then  looked back to see that Trevor had remained undecided, fine with going in either direction. As the leader in times like these it was up to her to delegate, though they were already evenly split enough as it were. As such the girl came to a decision herself. "Trevor, why don't you go help out Melissa." He was a mage of various tricks so he could probably keep their attention if things got out of hand. If nothing else she figured they'd be entertained by his usual introduction. 

Looking back to Rona and Kasayee the girl smiled. "Shall we go?" 

[LordCowCow]

The Children

If one were set out to find the perfect example for the word "cacophony" one might be hard pressed to find a better one than a classroom full of children.

The classroom itself was not particularly large to begin with. It was attached to an equally small school that almost felt tucked away in some corner of the city. On the way there, through Hana's questionable translation of Constable's noises, they learned that this school was one of several set up for children orphaned by attacks from the invaders from other worlds.

This might explain why the children seemed to range from four to ten years of age.

But of course children, regardless of age or upbringing, when put into a room and told to focus would do exactly not that.

As soon as they saw the Guardians enter, many recognizing Constable immediately, they began to all speak up at once.

The teacher, a small, harried looking man with a tiny hat and a long mustache, was trying to settle them down to no avail. He glanced over at the four Guardians with an apologetic but pleading gaze as if hoping one of them could do something to at least lessen the chaos.

---

The Mansion

Rona offered Fen and Kasayee a ride on her wyvern, though Cormag didn't seem so keen to transport all three of them. At first Kasayee had seemed unwilling to go at all but after Rona said something Fen couldn't quite hear she seemed much more motivated and transformed into a bird to set off (and had to be reminded she doesn't know the directions).

When they arrived at the mansion it was very clearly overgrown and boarded up. An fence of some sort of energy surrounded it but the mansion itself looked much more low tech. It was located atop of a hill and even the stone steps leading up to it were cracked and partly overtaken by flora.

When they arrived Rona dismounted from Cormag and asked him to wait at the bottom of the hill as they set about to business. Fen would notice some saddle bags that Rona took off that seemed to contain equipment they'd need to clean up the building. 

Kasayee started straight for the front door, ignoring everything else, and Rona let out a sigh. The wyvern rider glanced up at the mansion and Fen would notice she seemed to pale at something she saw.

Looking in the same direction Fen would notice something behind one badly boarded up window. A bit of movement and perhaps the outline of a person.

"Right...I guess I should mention. Another reason that no one has come to clean this place up." Rona gave Fen a strained smile, "apparently its been haunted for years."

[radio414]

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
-James 3:1 (NIV)

---

Melissa took note that Constable’s note for the school was that of tragedy, that the children they were visiting were orphans because of the extradimensional attacks plaguing Prana, leaving out whether it was also a consequence of the battles that Mauvache’s guardians were waging against them or if that statistic was on the decline. She supposed that all conflicts beget casualties, and that it was her job to minimize them, but Melissa couldn’t help but feel a little responsible. Of course, though this was technically Constable’s information, it was still fed to Melissa and Trevor through the medium of Hana’s translation, which, in Melissa’s brief impression, was unreliable, even if Constable never seemed to try and correct her, so though it was another factor to consider when approaching the schoolchildren, Melissa tried not to get too stressed about it. At least, not more than she already was for this particular assignment.

That said, her stress proved a perfectly reasonable reaction to the scene unfolding as the four guardians entered the classroom. Children of all different ages had been already overruling any semblance of order, and now that new and exciting people had entered the arena, including one canine (Melissa wondered how Constable might react to being called “fluffy” - well, she didn’t have to wonder any more -- it was already happening), the classroom was anarchic. There was some sort of authority, but he was trapped behind his desk in the front corner of the room. It was a scene Melissa was all too familiar with.

Her familiarity did, at least, give her some ideas for solutions, at least. Melissa stepped forward, positioning herself as as much of the center of attention as she could handle, braced herself, and clapped a simple pattern. Clap. Clap. Clap-Clap-Clap.

The children did not respond in kind, which was surprising to Melissa, though, now that she thought about it, why would she expect something like that to transcend universes? Duel Monsters had to be the exception, not the rule. Worse, now she felt silly for even trying. Some kids were clapping, but it was more of an applause for want of something to applaud rather than understanding what she had been going for.

No, she would have to explain herself first. It was easier said than done, but, swallowing down a lump that was forming at the back of her throat, Melissa picked out a single child near the front of the horde, who couldn’t be older than seven or eight, and approached them directly. “This is a game I like to play sometimes,” Melissa said. Other kids around her focus were competing for her attention, but Melissa stayed firm. “When you hear a grown-up clap a pattern, you repeat back the pattern you just heard. And then -- and this is the important part -- you listen, because who knows? They might clap again, and you don’t want to miss out, right? Does that make sense?”

Melissa was sure that the child’s vigorous nodding was more that they had received special instructions from the school’s guests of honor, but the other kids around them were already giggling with each other with their hands out, so she returned to the front of the room and extended her arms out in front of her. Clap. Clap. Clap-Clap-Clap.

Her focus kid, and maybe a few others, responded. Melissa tried again. Clap. Clap-Clap-Clap. Clap. Clap-Clap.

Even more kids were noticing now, and it wasn’t like it was hard to figure out the rules of the game. Clap. Clap-Clap. Clap-Clap Cla-Clap Clap-Clap.

And, for the finale, three simple beats: Clap. Clap. Clap.

Just like that, Melissa had the room’s attention. “Good morning,” Melissa said. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with it besides introduce herself, though. “My name is Melissa Ashforth.” It occurred to her that she hardly qualified as a “grown up,” but she also remembered some summer camp counselors that she’d had that, when a camper asked how old they were, could only respond, “Old enough to be your counselor.” She was old enough to be here, with whatever responsibility entrusted upon her, and maybe that was enough. “With me today, I have a my fellow Team Manna member, Trevor Masters, apprentice to Balthazar Blake, Sorcerer of the 777th degree,” -- she hoped she suppressed the sing-song intonation that might betray how ingrained that particular introduction was -- “as well as Constable and Hana from… excuse me, Constable and Hana who I will let introduce themselves in more detail. It is nice to meet you all.” 

[Chaos Sonic]

He wasn't expecting what they walked into... but Trevor found himself with the others in a classroom full of rambunctious children. Even the teacher looked to them to help with the chaos. He was trying to figure out how to do so, prepping to potentially start casting some magic to get their attention... except Melissa took the lead on it. It shocked Trevor to say the least on that... she seemed the most quiet of the group that it didn't cross his mind that she would be like this with the children. It began to even impress him in the long run, another hidden talent among his team members.

“With me today, I have a my fellow Team Manna member, Trevor Masters, apprentice to Balthazar Blake, Sorcerer of the 777th degree,”

That sounded like his cue to him. "Miss Ashford was kind enough to introduce me, but I'll happily reintroduce myself." Trevor smiled, tipping his hat slightly before flipping it off ans bowing. "I am Trevor Masters of Team Manna, apprentice to Balthazae Blake, sorcerer of the 777th degree. And what does that mean? Well..." He flipped his hat upside down and shook it for a moment, before flipping it again and suddenly having a small series of confetti popping out from it and swirling in a small fashion around. "Let's just say... I'm full of magic!"

Some of the kids start to point, "look, magic!" but some of the other seem to not think its a big deal, some of them going so far and saying that anyone could do that much magic.

"Anyone can do magic, is that what I'm hearing?" Trevor asked, snapping his fingers as the confetti went right back into his hat, like nothing ever happened. He pointed in the direction of where those murmurs were coming from. "You... are actually right, somewhat. Magic is possible for many, but you need a good mentor and teacher to guide you."

"Ew, studying." one kid calls out and some of them begin to chant, "no studying, no studying"

Trevor was mentally facepalming at hearing this. He wondered if this was what Balthazar had to go through with him... he honestly hoped not. "Now hang on, haaaaaaaang on!" Trevor said, holding up his hands giving a chuckle. "I did say you'd need to have a good mentor to guide you, but that's only half of it. The other thing... and it's a big thing... you need heart. Magic can come from the heart..." He held his hands in front of him, showing there was nothing there. "That's a strong kind of magic... and you can do wonders with it." Soon his blue gemmed ring began to glow, as he threw his hands above his head and had a Blizzard spell turn to a small kind of light snow.