MechA cademy [IC/PG-13/Co-Hosted by Skaia/Not Accepting]

[Skaia 578]

With tools in hand, Stella blushed as Kelsey made her comment, but seemed to be rather silent at it. Instead, the girl looked more downtrodden then anything, briefly looking away with the only words that she muttered in response to it being, "sorry..." Taking a deep breath, Stella turned her attention in full to the arm of her friend, getting ready to begin "operating" on it, so to speak.  She didn't really have much in the way of mechanic experience, though due to her own leg she had figured to read up on proper maintenance and in the process had gotten a bit interested in the topic as a whole. Yet still, having never done it before, she was nervous. Though she wanted to help, the thoughts of failure kept rushing through her head. If she had messed up there was a non-zero chance that she could accidentally break the arm. And then where would they both be? Yet still, the girl knew that Kelsey trusted her - which may have only added to the pressure - and she in no way wanted to betray that. 

So, after a few moments of just looking intently at her arm, Stella nervously said, "here, um, here I go." The girl instinctively went to bring the tools up to start tinkering with the arm, though as she was doing this she realized she had no idea what she was actually looking to tinker with. So, after a slight hint of embarrassment went across her face, the girl began to instead look more thoroughly at her friend's arm. Grabbing at it to help her move around, albeit awkwardly and meekly, Stella simply said, "um, excuse me, sorry." Until she seemed to notice what it seemed was locked up in the girl's arm. Beginning to fiddle around with it, a noise could definitely be heard as the girl seemed to have finished her work, backing away and saying, "so, uh...how does it feel?"

[LordCowCow 840]

Erica

As Erica went down what should have been the final floor to the ground level, something seemed wrong. The elevator, previously quiet, seemed to creak and shudder as it moved. As though it suddenly was made out of more primitive technology. And, when the door opened, it was even more clear that this wasn't supposed to happen.

She found herself in an abandoned hallway. Broken windows that had been boarded up let in a trickle of grayish light. The floor was covered in dust and debris, and various papers that lay scattered about.

The walls had peeling, yellowed, paint and in the middle of the hall a primitive cork-board had several fliers, also yellowed with age, pinned up. The writing was Illegible however. There were several sliding doors along the halls but most of them seemed locked.

She could hear a couple noises. From farther down the hall, behind one door, she could hear a piano playing. And on the other side of the hall, closer to her, she could hear sobbing.

If she left the elevator she would find that it was gone. Instead there was a staircase. However most of it was blocked off by what seemed to have been some sort of collapse of the ceiling above it.

---

Kelsey and Stella

Kelsey closed her eyes as Stella's fingers went to work. She was nervous, too, but she trusted Stella to know what she was doing.

"here, um, here I go."

She let out a gasp of shock as Stella began to mess around. She felt a slight bit of pain, but it was over soon, and in its place was an oddly floaty feeling. Since the accident her arm never felt quite right. It was hard to describe to someone with both limbs but it was both as if it was there and wasn't.  But as Stella worked on it she felt like it was gone completely again. It was a bit worrying and her other hand, her real one, trembled slightly at the thought.

But she continued to ride this out until Stella was done.

"so, uh...how does it feel?"

"Kinda...strange." She said, moving it about. "A little loose I guess. But hey, at least I'm not stuck. Was worried some birds would try and make a nest outta it."

As she waved it around she suddenly moved too fast. Slamming her arm down on the table and causing a small crack to form. "Ah, crap." She muttered.

"What in tarnation is going on out there?" The voice from before said. And then a man came out of the back. The first thing that Kelsey noticed was that the man seemed to have no legs. He was instead floating around on a circular tube-shaped object. The second thing was that he had massive, powerful, looking arms.

Lastly was his face. She saw a scar that was barely covered by his long, black, beard. He saw the two and floated over, muttering to himself, and Kelsey took a step forward to position between herself and Stella. "Uh, nothing?" She said, unconvincingly.

---

Vivian

As Vivian went about taking pictures, perhaps of the bird, perhaps not, she would suddenly be grabbed and turned around. A tall, thin, man shook her shoulder. Staring at her with wide eyes. "What are you doing? Didn't you know that device was evil? You're going to put a curse on us all, a curse!" He shook her again. "Don't you understand?"

Before she could get her bearings another figure, this one shorter, stockier, and female, came up. "Oh, not you again, get outta here you crazy coot! Go on, scat!"

The man hissed at her and then took off down the street. The people around seemed to step aside for him while not looking, clearly not wanting to get accosted by him next.

"Hey you okay?" The woman asked, leaning in towards Vivian. "That guy has been going around lately causing all sorts of trouble. Hope he didn't hurtcha any."

Vivian would be fine, of course, but, if she happened to check, she'd notice that her purse was now missing.

---

Chase

Sid waited for a response from his roommate for what felt like forever. Especially as he hadn't been too keen on talking in the first place. He'd only mentioned it because he felt like he should say something. But it turns out that Chase wasn't going to respond. The silence grew somewhat uncomfortable for the boy so he suddenly stood from his bed.

"Tch, whatever, I get it. You don't want nothing to do with someone like me. Bout what I expected." He started towards the door. "Why'm I always stuck with the stuck up ones." He said as he left Chase alone once again.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

Chase was too busy engrossed in his work for the moment. This whole day seemed to be just dragging on to him, but he figured just designing something or working on some stuff would be working to pass the time. And of course, he really didn't want to talk to Sid much more, namely cause it was obvious the guy honestly didn't want anything to do with him in general and Chase could see this already. So he kept pushing onward in sketching, but unfortunately, something got to him when his roommate spoke again...

"Tch, whatever, I get it. You don't want nothing to do with someone like me. Bout what I expected. Why'm I always stuck with the stuck up ones."

"Stuck up? What?" Chase paused mid-sketch and immediately began to stop Sid the best he could, only to possibly end up following him. "Time out for a second! I thought that was the end of the conversation. The whole 'everybody has a type' thing was pretty much the end of the conversation. And personally, I never once said anything like that. I could tell you honestly didn't want to be bothered with someone like myself so I took that as a hint to just keep myself quiet."

This whole thing was pretty petty to Chase, least in his mind anyway. There was no reason him being called out as being stuck up for just staying quiet and trying to be considerate of his roommate who obviously didn't want to be here to begin with nor being incredibly thrilled with him as his roommate either.

"If anything, I figured you wouldn't want to have anything to do with someone like myself." he continued. "Could I possibly answer that type question with what I think? Yes, but that would actually require me to know what I want like that...which I don't...at all. Surprising, yes...but it's the truth."

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica was... not really amused by the situation. She saw the situation in front and she was now certain something was trying to trick her and she was not happy with it. She was not gonna rule out anything, specially because she shared a room with a priest the entire trip... well, she called in a priest, actually. She checked her way out not being there and she was not going to try and hack her way out. She looked at the two options she had. <The piano may be played by whoever caused me to get into this place, while the sobbing may be a trap.> She considered going to the piano because it was obvious, but... <No. The piano is the trap. I would go there first.> She withdrew her fans and pulled them into the pockets on her sleeves as she headed towards the sobbing noise instead, opening the door with the utmost care. "Hello?"

[yui 575]

"Well helllooooo there, I'm Lois, suppose I'm the guard here or something. What's up?"

The boy hesitated then muttered something. The girl tilted her head. "Come again?"

"Um. My friend. No. Uh. A guy. A student. Classmate. You took something. Um. A bottle? I. Bring it back...um, sorry."

Lois turned to Sammi. "Translation?"

Sammi couldn't blame this Lois woman for wanting the simple version. This boy really had to work on his communication skills, as it turned out. Not much of a talker. Not that she knew of any ways to amend that. Surely there was a library book or something about learning to speak more confidently. This boy would do well to find something like that. But for now, the task of translating his mutterings and stammerings fell on Sammi. And even then, she wasn't quite certain what he was getting at, no matter how powerful context clues were.

"Basically, you took a bottle from a student and he wants it back." Sammi paused. "At least, I think that's what he's getting at."

---

This little bird, with its forked beak... was fascinating! Vivian had never seen anything like it before! Of course she had to take a few pictures of it! What sort of bird was it? How did its beak evolve that way? Surely she could find out more if she had a picture of it to use as reference. However, as she was minding her own, taking pictures, she was suddenly grabbed by a man she'd never seen before.

"What are you doing? Didn't you know that device was evil? You're going to put a curse on us all, a curse! Don't you understand?" 

"Uhh..." Vivian had once heard that that sort of superstition existed back when cameras were just getting started. To think it still persisted in this day and age. Luckily, Vivian didn't have to do much about it herself, as someone had intervened and driven the man off, asking Vivian if she was okay afterward. "Y-Yeah. I'm a-okay! Just a little surprised is all." Come to think of it, how was the repairs on Kellz's arm coming along? Vivian reached for her phone to check...

...

Uh-oh. Her phone was in her purse. Her purse which was now missing. It hadn't fallen off onto the ground near her. Which meant...

"He stole my purse!" she exclaimed. Vivian was never much for conflict, but she was even less for people stealing her things. She wasn't sure where this man had come from, but as long as Vivian had something to say about it, he'd soon learn not to steal from a Colian. Vivian darted off in the direction the man had run. Everyone seemingly going out of their way to avoid him was sure doing her a favor now!

[Skaia 578]

Stella let out a sigh of relief as her repair job seemed to be a success, only to then let out an "eep" as Kelsey's hand crashed against the table. Seeing that a crack had formed, Stella had gotten a bit nervous as to what she would tell the owner here, only for that situation to appear before her almost immediately. As the man came out from the back, the girl immediately tensed up at the imposing figure and couldn't quite form out words as Kelsey had said that nothing was going on here. Stammering a bit the girl said, "um, uh, well you see. I was just using the tools and um..." The girl glanced to Kelsey, then back to the table, and simply clapped her hands together, bowing her head saying, "I'm sorry."

[LordCowCow 840]

Chase

Sid paused, shoulders hunched, as he glanced back at the boy who had followed him into the hallway. "Sheesh, didn't need to take it so seriously." He muttered. After a moment he half-turned towards Chase. "Look, it's whatever. You do you and all that crap." He scratched his head. "I'm just tryin...look I'm just trying okay? Gotta try and make the best of this crap." He shook his head. "Just go back to yer notebook."

---

Erica

The room the girl entered looked like an old-school classroom. Small, four-legged, desks. All pushed off to the side. A chalkboard at the far end.

The sobbing came from what seemed like a girl in a school uniform. Long hair draped over her face as she cowered on her knees, rocking back and forth. With several cardboard cutouts of students, looking like they were laughing, surrounding her.

---

Sammi

"Basically, you took a bottle from a student and he wants it back."

"Huh, you got all that? Nice work kid!" The woman gave a thumbs up. Then she tilted her head in thought before turning around and into the station. She came out with a metallic cylinder. "This thing? Sorry, no can do. Lot of rules here, lot I don't agree with, but this one is pretty important. Kids like you shouldn't be drinking alcohol. Your friends are lucky I didn't report em, why don't you tell them that?"

The boy gave a terrified look and stammered out "I-I can't...s-say...that."

The woman didn't seem to be moved much. She shrugged. "Well, you're not getting this back. Sorry to say." She looked over to Sammi. "Did ya need something? Oh, oh, wanna come in and take a look? There's some pretty funny footage you can look through."

---

Vivian

As Vivian tried to dart off the stocky woman stopped her, grabbing her by the wrist. "Hey, hey now, don't be hasty." She said. "You don't wanna get mixed up in something dangerous do ya? Especially if it means getting too far from those friends of yours yeah? Why don't you just stay back here. I'll go after him and get your stuff for you. What do you say?" She gave a big grin. Still holding onto Vivian's wrist, a bit too tightly for comfort.

---

Kelsey and Stella

Stella would hear a slight groan from Kelsey as Stella apologized. She shook her head. "Hey, no, it's not your fault." Then to the man. "She didn't do anything wrong. I messed up okay? So just let her go alright?"

The man grunted and floated closer. Looking between the two. Eyes lingering on Kelsey's arm and Stella's leg. He started to reach forward and Kelsey tensed up.

"Let her go? Really think that's gonna happen?" The man said, voice a low growl, as his arm raised.

And then he reached out and patted Stella on the top of her head. "Hahaha, it's just a little crack. What do you think a workshop is for if not to fix things? How could I be mad at a cute little junior mechanic. I bet you came here to learn from the best didn't you? Don't get enough kiddos trying to learn the art of mechanics these days!"

---

OOC

Spoiler

Just another reminder. Most of my posts will be pretty short. So if you're hoping for more you'll have to come to me about what you want to do.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

The situation was kind of weird in part, but Erica was not going to let the weirdness of the situation hit her. "This is affecting her. Maybe it is something supernatural. I'll have to deal with it first." She went to one of the cardboard cutouts and, producing her fans, swatted it away, making it fall on the floor. She eventually went to all the cardboard cutouts and swatted them away with her fans, one by one, or even several at the time. She, of course, was imitating the show she became a fan of much to her chagrin, "Cyber Shinobi Ramen-kun", battling like she was one of the female ninjas in the show. Once she swatted them all away, she got between her and the cut outs. "<You all better stay down if you value your lives.>" She glanced at the girl behind her. "Are you okay?"

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke's head swerved to look at whoever was calling him...

OK, well that woman was clearly larger than him. Valid assessment, but it didn't make "little man" chafe any less to hear.

"Tch. Yeah, sure." He waved a hand absently and turned back to the counter, where he received his sandwich and stepped aside. No sense wasting my time on these choffers, He thought to himself. A perfunctory "thank you" to the bread guy-- which he was now, irreversibly, in Kansuke's mind-- and he turned back to the towering cat-woman.

"Go right ahead, lady." He said, looking over the cafeteria for a spot to sit with his food. He usually tried to sit so he could see the whole room, preferably with his back to a wall-- anywhere else made him feel like he was being watched. Probably his dad's fireteam training at work, now that he thought about it.

While he waited, he took a bite from his sandwich. It wasn't quite like the railway sandwiches he grew up eating on his homeworld, but the distinctions between it and the genuine article were so minute, there was no reason to complain about it. Eyeing the cat-lady, he found his eyes wandering to her companions. Bodyguards? She's probably staff. No sense walking around like that otherwise...

[LordCowCow 840]

Erica

"Are you okay?"

The cardboard that Erica knocked over didn't move. Nothing seemed to change. They merely flopped down as cardboard would do. Landing with a light thud on the floor of the classroom. The girl didn't respond at first. She had stopped sobbing when the cutouts had fallen down but she was still holding herself as though trying to keep her body together.

This close Erica could smell something. A stale, musty, smell, coming from the girl. A few moments later the girl slowly raised her head.

And revealed that she had no face.

Then she was gone. And the room was back to normal. Desks lined up in neat rows. With a layer of dust on top of each. And no cardboard.

She could hear a chuckle. But couldn't tell where the noise was coming from.

---

Kansuke

While he couldn't sit close to the wall there were several spots apart from the others, where the only thing behind him was a wall, so Kansuke would have a place where he was somewhat comfortable.

Though he didn't get to have a whole lot of time for himself before he was joined at the table. Sitting to either side of him was one of the large males that had come in with the feline girl. Across from him a third sat down. Though he moved over a bit so that the girl could sit directly across from him.

The girl set a platter down, filled with smoked fish, and began taking chunks out of them. With her mouth partially full she pointed at Kansuke. "So, newbie, I want to know what your deal is. When we came in here everyone was giving you the stink eye. You already get on everyone's bad side first day or something?"

[Asriel Dreemurr 38]

"I see, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. I knew this might happen when I accepted your entrance. You'd be Xa'tok then?" The Chapaaya was not as surprised to be recognized as perhaps was expected, he had made sure that the school knew he was coming long in advance after all. "I'm not sure how much you know about this place. But there is supposedly a spirit of sorts in the center of the planet. It had been there since...before I came here, at least, but not much is known about its origin. Any attempts to contact always ends with the initiator sick in bed for weeks without even so much as catching a glimpse of them. I'd ask you avoid a similar fate. I can't let a student come to harm after all!" Now that was surprising, that someone uninitiated in the ways of the spirits knew about it. Arnold knowing was one thing, he had spent time in the void between the stars in the company of Xa'tok's people. It made sense that he would have picked up on Chapaayan knowledge. How potent was this spirit that even the uninitiated had encountered it? More over, how much could the young Shaman achieve now that he knew he was the only one thus far to even see it. The strange mesh of flesh and metal was stuck in his head, and for a moment Xa'tok got the feeling that the spirit was watching him. For once in his life, that sensation did not bring him comfort.

"I do not mean to offend," he answered the Principal at length, "but I was merely seeking the company of the lesser spirits of this place. Ever since I was small they have flocked to me, and suddenly being looked upon with suspicion is an adjustment I would prefer not to make. I do not think you can help me with that." That wasn't it of course, but that was the reason for his attempted confluence. "Though... this may be an odd question, but what was the first tribe- no tribe isn't right..." he spent a moment scratching the side of his head. "Culture? Culture. What was the first culture to settle this world?" 

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Her eyes opened wide as soon as the girl showed her face... or rather her lack of such. In a blink, though, she was gone. As well as the entire place. "<Unless I suddenly wake up from a coma induced by poisoned tea, and in that case I shall punish a certain tea seller back at home, this is not something I should look a logical explanation for.>" She didn't react to the chuckle and instead went to leave the room. She was wrong with her previous assessment, as apparently everything was a trap in there, so doing anything was to humor the specter. "<Well, forget this, let us try and face that specter.>" She kept her fans drawn as she went to leave the room because things were certainly not looking up for doing things the normal way.

[LordCowCow 840]

Xa'Tok

"but I was merely seeking the company of the lesser spirits of this place. Ever since I was small they have flocked to me, and suddenly being looked upon with suspicion is an adjustment I would prefer not to make. I do not think you can help me with that."

The principal stroked his beard as Xa'Tok spoke. He didn't confirm nor deny this. Merely waited patiently for the boy to continue. The question that Xa'Tok asked seemed to amuse the man somewhat. "The first people eh? The question isn't as odd as you might think. Though I doubt you would've known that. You see we don't really know. The first settlers who came here found that there were already buildings and signs of some sort of culture that lived here long before they arrived. No one has yet uncovered exactly who they were, though. Perhaps Miss Charlotte would know better, she's the History teacher after all, but I don't think there's a solid answer to your question yet."

He gave the boy a smile. "But be careful if you ask. She might drag you off on one of her adventures."

The man leaned back. "I used to wonder about them myself. Who they were. What they did. Why they're gone. But nowadays...well, I'm more worried about our future instead of our past. Guess that happens when you only have so much future left." He gave a small chuckle after this.

---

Erica

The girl left the room and found that everything was quiet. The piano that had been playing before had stopped. She noticed that there seemed to be another set of footprints in the dust besides her own.

The silence was growing more oppressive by the moment. She thought she could hear her own heart beat.

Th-thump, th-thump, th-thump.

Then she realized that it wasn't her heartbeat. It was a heartbeat but not her own. It was much to loud. And sounded like it was coming from behind her.

Before she could turn to check, however, the door across from her slid open and a young man, the one who had called himself Merlin, came out of it. He smiled at her with a bit of a confused expression. "Well then, didn't think there was anyone else here. I see you stumbled on something interesting on your first day." He tapped his chin thoughtfully then nodded. "Well, guess I should get you out of here, shouldn't I?"

He gestured for her to follow and walked up to an open window that Erica wouldn't have seen there before. He pulled himself up and with a "Exit stage right." dove out of the window.

Spoiler

If Erica follows, or doesn't, let me know before you post Zeta so I can give some more info.

 

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica was wary of what happened around her, so she kept her fans at the ready, now really wishing to be a victim. She could hear the heart beat and she was sure something was gonna happen at her she got ready to lash behind her with her fan-

"Well then, didn't think there was anyone else here. I see you stumbled on something interesting on your first day." She was so focused on the thing behind her that she was surprised by the one named Merlin coming from one of the doors. She blinked confused.

"Uh... yes... How did you-?" Erica was left with the question hanging as Merlin got into his deep thought.

"Well, guess I should get you out of here, shouldn't I?" Before she could reply, he led the way to a window she was sure she haven't seen before. As soon as he dove right in, she went there. She pretty simply pulled up and went in. Landing in the ground floor was nice, though she still wondered where she fell from. She pocketed her fans and thought out loud.

"What just happened?" She wanted hard to not follow with it, but she was really not wanting to suffer from that every time she rode the elevator.

Edited December 13, 2019 by ZetaRESP

[Skaia 578]

Stella had figured that Kelsey would try to take the blame for it instead of her, though she still couldn't help but feel like it wasn't really Kelsey's fault to begin with either. All the same, Stella froze up as the man moved over to her and put his hand on her head. Bracing herself for the worst, the girl was soon visibly confused, cautious yet relieved all at the same time as he patted her on the head. There was something odd about him calling them junior mechanics, and what he had said prior made the girl pause for a moment. However, she soon managed to recover and simply said, "well, no, we didn't really come here to learn. I just uh...well, wanted to help my friend and all and uh..." Stella looked to Kelsey and then back to the man asking, "are you like, a teacher or something?"

He snorted. "No way no how. I ain't never stepped into a classroom before."

The statement made the girl go visibly wide-eyed at sheer of notion of such an idea. Confused, the girl stammered out, "so...where did you learn mechanic stuff then?"

"I picked up some tools and some parts and whacked at it till I figured it out."

"I see...I guess that's one way to...but to have a whole..." Stella had no idea what to make of this man. Since meeting Kelsey, she had become aware that there wasn't everything practical in the world to be learned solely from books and class. But she would never have associated something like "street smarts" with the idea of mechanics. Not really sure what to make of this man's incredibly gift for machines and fixing things, she instead went back to the topic that started the conversation. "Well, I want to apologize again for what happened to your table and I don't just want to leave it like this, but uh...i don't want to whack it until it's fixed so, would you be able to tea- uh, show me what to do for it?"

"Well, I wouldn't mind you whacking about, but I suppose I can take a crack at it."

Looking at the table yet again, Stella seemed to try to pump herself up as she said, "thank you."

[LordCowCow 840]

Erica

"What just happened?"

Erica's question drew some attention from several students who were making their way towards the elevator. After Merlin waved them off they just shrugged and continued onto it.

Merlin took Erica by the hand and led her out of the building and off to the side. "Well, that IS the question isn't it?" Merlin said. "I don't know that I can really explain it properly." He tilted his head to one side, then the other, thinking it over. Then he gave a short nod. "I suppose you could say I don't really know. One might say it's a ghost. But that's not quite right I don't think. It's not like some spirit of the dead come to haunt the elevator. It's more of a....presence. You know the type. A thingy that is there but isn't really?" Merlin looked at Erica a moment before shaking his head. "Right probably not. Okay so picture this. There's this thing. It exists somewhere around here. But not in the usual definition of the word. I call it the Sandman. It has been here for a few years from what I can tell."

He paused, then got closer to Erica, uncomfortably so. A few students passed by, glanced their way, but paid them no attention.

Once they were gone Merlin stepped back. "Sorry about that. This isn't something that should be heard by too many you know. See, best I can tell, this thing gets energy from tension. And if it gets enough it drags people...wherever that was. It's different each time but it's the same place really. Far as I know no one has ever been hurt by it but can never be too careful."

He smiled at Erica. "Exciting first day isn't it?"

---

Stella and Kelsey

The mechanic, presumably Rusty Rick, floated on over to the workbench. Kelsey stepped to the side to let him through, pressing up against Stella, and the man leaned over the bench. He scratched the top of his head and muttered to himself. Letting out the occasional grunt.

Kelsey leaned over towards Stella. "Hey, you really wanna learn from this guy? Wouldn't it be better just to learn from the school? I rusty might be more than just a name for his store if you know what I mean."

Rick, meanwhile, had popped out a wrench from his floating device and nodded his head. "That arm of yours is pretty sturdy to make a dent like this isn't it? Good construction, for sure, good on ya."

Kelsey winced a bit. "Yeah guess so." She muttered. The girl gave Stella another look and mouthed "very rusty." to her.

"Alright, I know just what to do. Watch and learn girlies this is how a real pro does it." He then proceeded to raise the wrench...and bring it down on the workbench. Right next to the dent that Kelsey's arm had made. And just like that the dent popped out and ended up smooth as before. "There we go. Told ya didn't I? Just gotta whack a few times till you figure out what you're doing."

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke looked offended by the fact that he was being penned in. "Oh for the love'a-- can I catch a break today?" He grumbled, jostling for elbow room. Internally, his mind was racing, paranoid.

Great, Kansuke cursed internally, these goons must be some kind of security-- and I'm on the wrong end of the stick. Gotta be careful what I say...

"Worst thing I've done since I got here is speak my mind and cuss a little. If anybody's got a problem with that, they can take it up with me themselves." He took a bite of his sandwich, pointedly not making eye-contact to curb his nervousness -yes, nervousness--at being surrounded like this. If this position, all they'd need to do to take him down is employ decent co-ordinated hand-to-hand combat. He was good, sure, but not against this many people. Hopefully he wasn't in any trouble and this cat was just curious.

"What's it matter to you?"

[yui 575]

"Hey, hey now, don't be hasty. You don't wanna get mixed up in something dangerous do ya? Especially if it means getting too far from those friends of yours yeah? Why don't you just stay back here. I'll go after him and get your stuff for you. What do you say?"

There was something Vivian knew about people helping one another. Something very important. "Helping" and "doing it for you" were not one and the same. That, combined with this woman's grin and her tight grip on Vivian's wrist, was giving the girl a bad feeling. And people that gave other people a bad feeling like that, probably weren't to be trusted. Besides, while she wasn't really used to it being caused by other people, Vivian had experienced her share of danger. "Thanks for the concern, but I can take care of myself," Vivian insisted, shaking herself free of the woman's grip before darting off in the direction the purse thief had gone.

Though she had to admit, she didn't like the possibility of a bad person ahead of and behind her.

---

"I-I can't...s-say...that." 

"Well, you're not getting this back. Sorry to say. Did ya need something? Oh, oh, wanna come in and take a look? There's some pretty funny footage you can look through."

Alcohol? That was something the boy hadn't brought up when he was explaining his situation. Though, given his nature, Sammi wasn't even sure he knew. "I don't need anything, no," Sammi answered, waving off the security woman's question. The security footage wasn't really much of Sammi's concern, and she was pretty sure students weren't supposed to be going in there all willy-nilly anyway. More to her immediate concern was the boy. The one who Sammi's attention swiveled over to.

"You didn't mention that you were here trying to pick up confiscated alcohol. For that matter, did you even know what weas in the bottle to begin with?"

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

"Well, that IS the question isn't it? I don't know that I can really explain it properly." Erica saw as Merlin struggled to explain to her what happened. "I suppose you could say I don't really know." That answer was kind of pathetic for her, but then he continued going.

"One might say it's a ghost. But that's not quite right I don't think. It's not like some spirit of the dead come to haunt the elevator. It's more of a....presence. You know the type." Erica nodded slowly, starting to picture what was going on. After all, her planet had a religion where lots of things were explained by creatures of old called Youkai.

"A thingy that is there but isn't really? Right probably not. Okay so picture this. There's this thing. It exists somewhere around here. But not in the usual definition of the word." She kept hearing the attempt at explaining and yes, it sounds like a Youkai, alright... then he stopped his explanation and got closer, making Erica feel a bit uncomfortable and even blushing as red as her kimono due to the closeness of the two. She then noticed the students coming on the corner of her eye and leaving, and then Merlin stepped back from her.

"Sorry about that. This isn't something that should be heard by too many you know. See, best I can tell, this thing gets energy from tension. And if it gets enough it drags people...wherever that was. It's different each time but it's the same place really. Far as I know no one has ever been hurt by it but can never be too careful." She nodded in acknowledgement.

"So it is like a kind of Youkai, right? A strong one..." She looks at the building she just left and the shivers ran down her spine, not feeling really good.

"Exciting first day isn't it?" Erica looked at him saying this and simply placed her hands in her sleeves, rubbing them gently on her upper arms to relieve the tension.

"Too much exciting for me. Must find relax." She started to walk off the building towards the mecha field, trying to ease the nervousness of her mind and body. This was NOT the first day she wanted to have.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Sheesh, didn't need to take it so seriously. Look, it's whatever. You do you and all that crap. I'm just tryin...look I'm just trying okay? Gotta try and make the best of this crap. Just go back to yer notebook."

Chase began to exhale greatly, running a hand through his hair. He took a few moments, trying to process everything at this point as well as calm down, not wanting to do that again. He let out another sigh before, looking over at Sid. "...maybe it was my fault there. I'm sorry, I honestly don't tend to just do things like that...least of all to someone I barely know and have no huge issues with."

He had a point though, Sid had barely done anything to really upset him so there wasn't a concrete reason, aside from him just not 100% liking the way that he was apparently called stuck up and not even doing anything wrong there. So having one of those tension breakers and getting upset at his new roommate wasn't something that really should've been prioritized in his mind.

"Look...maybe we both got on the wrong foot with this whole thing." Chase continued, sighing again. "And we're sort of stuck with one another, not in a bad way, mind you. So maybe we should get on the right track between us and things may be a bit smoother. I dunno..."

[Skaia 578]

As the man began to get his tools and looked towards the table, Stella looked to Kelsey as she voiced her concerns about learning from this man. Stella chuckled a bit at her comment, but simply said, "well, I intend to learn from school, but there's no harm in learning from both if I can. Right?" As the mechanic made mention of Kelsey's arm, Stella looked about as uncomfortable as she did, though continued to watch in anticipation as the mechanic began to go to work on the table. Needless to say, she was left dumbstruck as the man hit the table with the wrench. And it was fixed.

She blinked. Once. Twice. And stared at the table. "You may be on to something Kellz." After she recovered from her brief period of awe she looked at the mechanic and said, "um...well, thank you. I uh, I think I've learned something valuable today." After paying the man for the use of his work station to fix up Kelsey's arm, she simply said, "thank you again." Then, looking to her  friend she said, "well, I guess we should go meet up with Vivian now."

[LordCowCow 840]

Kansuke

"Worst thing I've done since I got here is speak my mind and cuss a little. If anybody's got a problem with that, they can take it up with me themselves."

The girl chuckled at that. She rested and elbow on the table and then her chin on her hand. Watching Kansuke with those feline-esque eyes of hers.

"What's it matter to you?"

"We got ourselves a rather frisky first year don't you think boys?" The group all laughed at the same time, in the same tone, and volume. "You see, kiddo, I'm kind of a big deal around here. Me and my boys are the ones who're supposed to cause everyone else trouble you see. I guess you could say we run this place. So if some newbie comes in and thinks he's hot stuff, well, I gotta make sure he knows his place don't I?" She then flashed him a toothy grin, one fang showing, and continued to stare him down.

---

Vivian

"Tch, come back here!" The woman said as Vivian made a break for it. She was fast and the woman struggled to keep up as they made their way through the crowd. Though she didn't seem to mind too much about knocking people out of the way as she approached. So Vivian wasn't able to fully shake her off as she followed the man.

Which eventually led her down an alleyway. Where the man was leaning down, clutching at his knees, catching his breath.

He stood up and turned towards her with a scowl on his face. "You really shouldn'tve come here girlie."

Then the woman came up to the other side of the alley. Trapping Vivian between the two. "I tried to warn you didn't I? But now you've made a scene. How about you just walk away and forget all about this eh?"

---

Sammi

"You didn't mention that you were here trying to pick up confiscated alcohol. For that matter, did you even know what weas in the bottle to begin with?"

The boy shook his head vehemently. "I-I was just told to get it. I didn't know what it was...p-promise." He bit his lip and trembled slightly as he mulled over what to do next.

The officer shrugged. "Well, if you want to check it out, just knock, I'll be in here." And with that she stepped back into her office and the door slid shut with a hiss.

"Ah, wait..." The boy was too slow and quiet to stop her from closing the door. He shifted back and forth and his eyes flicked to one side then the other. "I...what should I do? I'm not supposed to come back without it..."

---

Erica

"Youkai, not a word I hear very often. You must be from a rather unique place." Merlin said, smiling wider as he looked the girl up and down.

When she started to leave he hurried forward and placed himself in front of her. Walking backwards as she went on. "You know. If you want to relax I'm sure I can find a nice place for us to get away for a bit. You could tell me more about this...youkai business. What do you say?" He flashed her a bright smile and raised an eyebrow.

"And I can answer any questions you have. After all I probably know more about this place than anyone but the principal, if you'll allow me a moment to brag."

---

Chase

"And we're sort of stuck with one another, not in a bad way, mind you. So maybe we should get on the right track between us and things may be a bit smoother. I dunno..."

"Er, yeah, maybe." Sid muttered. Neither of the two boys seemed to be entirely comfortable, or confident, in the situation. There were several stilted silences between each statement. But Sid, with a shrug of his shoulder, hooked a thumb towards the room next to theirs. "So that actor guy. Really seemed to rub you the wrong way. Kinda surprised you didn't say nothing when that uh...what's his name, the big dude who yelled at him. The student all the girls have been glaring at. When he got up in his face."

---

Kelsey and Stella

"well, I intend to learn from school, but there's no harm in learning from both if I can. Right?"

"I guess, but..." Kelsey's voice trailed off as the man went to work. But when he saw what that work entailed she couldn't help but laugh.

"You may be on to something Kellz."

"What a weirdo." Kelsey said, her tone more amused than anything, and she shook her head.

"um...well, thank you. I uh, I think I've learned something valuable today."

"Ha, no problem, anytime! Well, not really, I'm a busy man! Can't spend all my time training kids. Especially not after that last girl...well anyway, come back anytime even if it's just to tinker about. If you don't mind being around a weirdo that is." He gave Kelsey a wink and the girl blushed. Realizing she had been overheard.

"well, I guess we should go meet up with Vivian now."

"Y-yeah, lets." Kelsey said. But she recovered soon enough and, as they left, waved back at Rick. "Thanks for the help, weirdo!" She said. Not mockingly but instead with an ever so slight hint of respect.

As they went outside they realized they had no idea where Vivian had went off to. Asking around got them a general idea but nothing concrete. Then they noticed some people shouting and some kind of ruckus happening. Kelsey turned towards Stella. "Hey, wanna check out what's goin on? Could be fun."

[ChampionZero 62]

Kansuke continued to stare at the table as she spoke. She was... just some older student running a clique of delinquents? A bunch of meatheads so high off their own fumes they don't know what to do with themselves but harass the underclassmen?

Kansuke felt some fumes of his own rising-- like a gas leak filling up a hab-block, one spark away from blowing out the walls and demolishing everything in the  immediate vicinity. What kind of person came to a place like this just to act like a schoolyard bully? What kind of emotionally stunted, south-of-the-border IQ, dross-hound thug comes to a mech-pilot academy JUST to disgrace it with that attitude? It was despicable. It was pathetic, it was...

He let his eyes rise up to meet hers for the first time since she sat down. His face was a mask of annoyance, but there was a stirring giddyness in his head-- a halo of cold lightness running from temple to temple, like his blood had gone alkaline.

"Are you done?"

Edited December 18, 2019 by ChampionZero

[ZetaRESP 5]

ERICA KATRIANNE SAPPHIRE (RIKA KATORIAN SAHIRA)

Erica saw him getting in her way and she simply stopped. She was surprised by his approach, which was rather shocking her. The slight ruffling of her locks was a show of it. She looked a bit big eyed at this and she then took a deep breath and considered her options. Apparently, what happened was targeting her, probably because of how tense she was. She couldn't fulfill her mission in this state, so she needed to get the presence fixed. She also decided that... well, she better not go run off like that alone if that youkai was still around, and if he was right about his statement, she had better chance with him than on her own. "I accept" She gives a formal bow at him.

[yui 575]

"You really shouldn'tve come here girlie."

"I tried to warn you didn't I? But now you've made a scene. How about you just walk away and forget all about this eh?"

Vivian glanced back and forth, between her two assailants. The man who ran off with her purse, and the woman who was clearly an accomplice of his. Not trusting her was the right move, after all. He's out of breath. Outmanuevering him should be a piece of cake. Not sure about her, but she doesn't look super in shape. Even if she's strong - she might be - I'm clearly faster than her. If I'm going to act (I have to), speed's of the essence here. Vivian could make this work. Yes. In that moment, Vivian reviewed the three goals in her mind.

1. Get her purse back.
2. Escape her would-be muggers.
3. Meet back up with Kelsey and Stella.

Getting out of here will be the tough one. One thing at a time though. Vivian - were this not a situation as serious as it was - would probably just laugh a little at the woman's comment about making a scene, and point at her cohort and point out that he was the one making it a scene before she did, with that unfailing smile. But this was in fact as situation as serious as it was. And so instead, Vivian - smile well and gone - glared coldly at the man of the two before immediately rushing him. Not in a straight line of course; that would be stupid. Her space was limited, but there were still walls she could bounce off and that was plenty for the nimble Vivian to work with. In this situation, it was probably best to aim for the man's middle area. His stomach, ribs, and elbows. Yes.

And that was exactly the general area Vivian swung her foot in once the man was in kicking range.

---

"I-I was just told to get it. I didn't know what it was...p-promise."

"Mhm, mhm..." As the security officer shut her door, Sammi pondered over the situation this boy now found himself in. And quite honestly, she didn't give a rat's ass what happened to him. He was getting caught up in some trouble yes, but at this point he should probably have brought it up with a staff member. It wasn't her problem. However, something about this was bothering her.

"I...what should I do? I'm not supposed to come back without it..." 

There were a lot of tactics Sammi was told she could use for the sake of gathering information. Disguise, coercion, even interrogation. But deception wasn't something she approved of, even if it was through omission. Least of all deception that didn't offer any real benefit to the one doing the deceiving, and involved strongarming what was clearly someone who had nothing to do with it. That was what was bothering her here. Plus, these other boys were in clear violation of school rules. They were going to end up getting in trouble anyway. The degree to which was beyond her, and frankly, she didn't trust the principal or vice-principal to distribute an appropriately level of punishment. From what she could tell about them, one would be too lenient, and the other would be too harsh.

And that leaves me. Joy.

Well, if it wasn't an official punishment, the degree to which she punished them was entirely up to her, right?

"We're telling them the truth," Sammi reluctantly answered. "Both of us. Take me to them."