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The Seven School Mysteries



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Mageheart says...



The Seven School Mysteries

[ A Saeverse Production ]

Inspired by Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun


Image


-

Hey, did you know?

The school has seven mysteries.

They say if you find the story behind them…

something will happen.

-


There is one thing that both students and faculty can all agree on at Ravenwood Academy: the campus feels eerie no matter the time of the day. Ravenwood is buried in the depths of a dark, sprawling forest in the northeast of the United States. It is certainly a beautiful area to have a private school - the academy borders a lake that students can swim in when the weather permits. But the lake is deep and dark, and few venture out there when class is in session. And while the age of the campus buildings is one of the reasons the school is picturesque, students and faculty try to avoid the oldest hallways when on their own.

It’s unsurprising that Ravenwood Academy has bled a plethora of rumors and ghost stories. While new stories come and go with every few weeks, there are some stories that always remain in circulation.

The stories of the Seven School Mysteries.

The Seven School Mysteries are the most powerful of apparitions. All in Ravenwood know that you can never truly take advantage of them - you may be able to make deals with them, but you can never cross them. To get on their wrong side would result in certain death.

What the students and faculty don’t know is that the Seven School Mysteries are very, very real. You are, in fact, one of them. It’s your duty to oversee all of the supernatural creatures that reside in Ravenwood Academy.

But the rumors are changing.

Apparitions can’t survive if they don’t conform to their rumors. And while rumors do change fairly frequently, the rumors have taken a dark twist. If you want to protect all of the occupants of Ravenwood Academy - both the humans and apparitions - you’ll have to figure out who is changing them.

Your very existence depends on it.

If you're interested in joining this storybook, please click on this link or on the blue box in the upper right hand corner of the page. It'll bring you to the DT (discussion thread) for this storybook, which is where we'll be doing all of our scheming for the storybook! This thread is reserved for just the story posts.

[ The Seven School Mysteries ]

1. @Magebird
2. @TheMulticoloredCyr
3. @Stormblessed242
4. @SirenCymbaline
5. @SebiGhoul
6. @EverLight
7. @Liberty
mage

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roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:50 pm
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Mageheart says...



Eli Foster

Eli started the day like they always did. They woke up just before dawn, changed into their apparition form, and crossed from the dorms to the old, somewhat rotting clock tower. They were quiet all the way to the clock tower, but dashed up the seemingly endless spiral of stairs loud enough for the tower’s true occupants to hear them coming a mile away.

The second-to-last step threatened to give way when they put their foot down, but they jumped to the very top of the staircase with the ease of any apparition.

The other two Clock Keepers met Eli at the very top of the tower. There was a secret room there that only the three - and Syl, who Eli had taken to the top of the tower many times - knew about, but that wasn’t Eli’s final destination. What they wanted was what lay beyond the secret room that doubled as their domain. A platform just as secretive and forgotten as the room itself that looked out onto the forest that lay beyond the campus.

It wasn’t a big platform. But it was big enough for three apparitions to sit together and appreciate the sunrise, even on cloudy days like today. Eli plopped down in the middle; the other two members of mystery number one sat down on each side of them. Past, present and future all watched as the sunrise as it broke through the layer of clouds that hung in the sky.

“Was your walk over nice?” Alden asked.

Eli nodded.

“It was just as quiet as usual,” they said.

Alden already knew what their morning had been like, but Eli appreciated the sentiment - just as much as they appreciated when Dawn asked a second later, “Do you know what you’re doing today?”

They gave another nod.

“It’s the weekend,” they said, “so Syl and I are planning on hanging out. I might do some of my homework, too…”

“You did some last night,” Alden reminded him.

“And you can always do it tomorrow!” Dawn pointed out.

“You should enjoy today, Eli,” Alden added. The seemingly ancient apparition slowly got to his feet, his cloak fluttering in the morning breeze. “You only have so much time left at this school.”

They did have a point…

Eli shot up.

“I guess I could use the break,” they agreed. “But before I go, do you need any help with school mystery stuff? Syl probably isn’t up yet, and would understand if I needed some more time before we got together-”

“Go,” Dawn said, getting to her feet and pushing him with a surprising amount of strength for a little girl. Eli went stumbling into the domain. They glanced back at the two apparitions. Alden was giving them a kind, encouraging smile, and Dawn was impatiently gesturing for them to go already.

“See you later!” Eli exclaimed.

Then they were gone, rushing down the steps they had darted up only minutes before. When they were a few steps from the bottom, they jumped - letting their apparition powers take the brunt of the fall. As they left the clock tower and skidded around the corner into the hallway beyond, they let their form go from apparition to normal student.

The plan was to meet in the forest a little after breakfast. The dining hall wasn’t even open yet, so Eli had a little time to kill. They wandered aimlessly through the hallways, giving the occasional hello to the rare students and teachers in the actual school building. They even ducked into the nurse’s office to say hello to Miss Enid before heading towards the dining hall.

Everything was going great-

-right until Eli tripped and almost fell flat on their face.

Eli struggled to regain their balance. They didn’t want to end up in the nurse’s office so early in the morning. Arms waving about wildly, they somehow managed to stop themselves from falling.

They spun around.

There was an apparition sitting up against the wall, her knees pulled close to her chest. The floor around her was dry, but it looked like she was soaking wet. She was wearing an old school uniform, too, even though the uniforms hadn’t been used for years. But the uniform didn’t look like the kind of uniforms the school had actually used - Alden had a few of those tucked away in the domain.

Eli glanced down the hallway.

No one was coming.

They turned back to their apparition form.

“Hi,” Eli said, giving a wave.

The girl gave a startled little yelp and scooted away from them.

“Don’t be afraid,” Eli reassured her, raising their hands up in mock surrender. After a moment, they realized that they probably looked terrifying with the combination of the cloak and the mask. They slowly lowered a hand. Pushing back the hood and removing their mask, they sat down a short distance near her.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” they promised. “I’m one of the school mysteries - it’s my job to help apparitions like you whenever I can.”

“...Mysteries?” the girl asked.

Eli nodded. “Yeah. Ravenwood Academy has seven school mysteries that watch over the school. All of us are apparitions in some way. Most of the mysteries are single apparitions, but I’m part of the Clock Keepers - we’re the only trio.” They looked her over. The uniform was almost like the one that Alden had, but was slightly different. “Are you new to Ravenwood?”

The girl stared down at her lap.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just woke up in the bathroom yesterday. There...There were some girls in there. They didn’t know I was there, even when I was standing right behind them.”

She held her head in her hands and ran her fingers through her dripping wet hair. “I don’t remember anything from before then,” she said. “I...I thought going somewhere else might help me remember, but…”

The story was ringing a bell.

In homeroom a few days ago, one of their classmates was talking about the newest rumor circulating the school: there was a girl who had drowned in the girl’s bathroom on the first floor. Eli had told Alden and Dawn the moment they got to the clock tower that afternoon, but a little bit of digging had revealed that the girl had never existed - despite the popularity of the rumor.

Eli took a deep breath.

“Apparitions have to follow rumors,” they said. The girl scooted a little closer to them, but still kept staring into her lap. “Like...um...if someone started a rumor that my hair was bright pink, it would become bright pink. I could try to fight it, but I’d eventually have to give in and accept my new hair. Sometimes, apparitions can be formed by strong enough rumors.”

They glanced over at her.

"I think you’re one of them,” they said.

She looked up at Eli, eyes wide. “What...what does that mean for me, then?”

Eli faltered.

“I’m not sure,” they said. “I’m not an apparition like you. But even though regular, living people have the strongest control over rumors, we still have some control depending on how we interact with people. You get to choose the way your rumors go.”

Eli got to their feet and held out a hand.

After a moment of hesitation, the girl took it.

Her hand was so cold and wet, but Eli fought against the urge to draw their own hand away as they pulled her up. “I’m Eli,” they offered. “I’m not always there, but you can go to the old clock tower if you ever need help with being an apparition. Alden and Dawn - the other two Clock Keepers - can help you, too.”

The girl gave a shy, hesitant smile.

“...Thank you,” she said. “I...I think I’ll take you up on that offer soon.”

Eli returned her smile with one of their own.

They opened their mouth to say more, but then they caught a glimpse of their phone in their pocket - the dining hall was opening up in a few minutes. Their eyes widened in alarm. If they didn’t hurry, all the good food would be gone until they refilled the plates; Eli couldn’t wait that long for it if they wanted to meet Syl on time.

"I have to go now,” they said, “but I’ll see you around campus!”

The girl’s goodbye fell on deaf ears - Eli was already running down the hallway.

Eli soon realized that they’d never make it on time if they didn’t take a shortcut. Screwing their face up in concentration as they ran, still in their apparition form, they weighed the pros and cons of using one of their three time freezes of the day.

Then they decided it was better to use it up than make Syl wait. Like Alden said, they couldn’t waste the limited time they had.

One time freeze and an incredibly fast morning run later, Eli was the first person let into the dining hall.
mage

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roleplaying is my platonic love language.

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Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:19 am
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EverLight says...



Oia Sagittarii
_____________________________________________________
Andromeda Centuri

Oria sighed.
Her room looked a mess. Papers were strewn about everywhere, and fast-food containers littered the wood floor. To make matters worse, her father was coming to visit, and he'd be...disappointed with the current state of her room. However, she really needed to work on her latest experiment. With the intention of doing just that, she reached for her clipboard. But, after a moment's thought, she put it back. Science could wait (unfortunately), cleaning her room could not. She bent down, picked up an old carton of Chicken, and threw it in the trash. Then she gathered some loose papers...and hesitated. These are my first research notes on the Dark Matter Anommoly. How could I throw those away? She thought, then sighed. If she couldn't throw them away what could she do with them? Her storage units were full of research papers already and...
A knock sounded on the door.
Great. Just great.
Her dad had arrived.
...
Leroy took one look at her room and shook his head with disapproval.
''Oria Sagittarii. How many times do I have to tell you-clean up this junk!''
He picked up a piece of paper that was covered with random scientific notations and threw it away.
Oria looked on in horror.
''Dad!'' she exclaimed. ''Those were my earliest scientific notations! I was 6 years old when I did those!!''
Leroy shook his head once more.
''Well, those ''scientific notations'' were laying on the floor, young lady. There is absolutely nothing adult or intelligent about that.''
Oria narrowed her eyes.
''What would you know about what is or isn't scientific? Are you Albert Einstein all of the sudden?''
Leroy laughed.
''No'' he replied, ''But I am your father.''
Oria scowled
''Then don't call my science papers junk.''
Oria tapped her foot. She was beginning to feel impatient. She had more important things to do than deal with her father...Or maybe she told herself that because she didn't want to acknowledge the tense ball of stress forming in her stomach...
''Dad, I've got things to do...'' she began.
Leroy narrowed his eyes at her unease.
''Which reminds me of my reason for visiting you.'' he straightened. ''I've caught word that you made your teacher steal 20,000$ from the bank and that you may be responsible for the disappearance of some kids. Because you are supposedly a minor there's no warrant for your arrest as of yet but...'''
Oria was not responsible for anyone's disappearance but as for the whole money situation...
''That was a big misunderstanding.''
Her father hardened his glare.
''Well okay, it wasn't really but...'' she cleared her throat. ''But I uh...I have nothing to do with any missing student.''
''But you did have something to do with the 20,000$ dollars your teacher supposedly stole?''
There was a story behind that but...Oria sighed.
''Dad.'' she pleaded at last. ''Just...leave.''
Their eyes met for a tense 10 minuetes, then Leroy must have seen the conflicting emotions of fury and anxiety in her gaze, because, albeit reluctantly, he did as she requested and left.
...
Oria sat at on her bed, removed the diamond necklace she wore around her neck, and fingered it. What would her mother think of her now? Would she be proud of her? Or, lovely thought, would she be disgusted with her? Probably she'd be disgusted thanks to Andromeda. She shuddered. Andromeda, the curse of being part star, the cause of all her trouble, the one who urged her to steal, murder, and lie, the one who gave her the most guilt...and unfortunately, her alternate personality. Oria put her necklace back on, pulled out a mirror, and looked at herself. A girl with odd eyes (one eye the color of fire, the other the color of nebula), a regal expression, and ginger hair stared back at her. She didn't look like a monster. But she knew a monster lurked inside herself, hidden deep in the shadows of her heart...or where ever evil lurked within her. Oria shook herself. She couldn't waste time thinking about Andromeda or the things she'd done. She had to focus. Being one of the most powerful apparitions at Ravenwood Academy, and one of Seven Mysteries, Oria had a job to do.
She sighed.
Being one of the most powerful apparations, and one of the Seven Mysteries. The fact that apparitions who out-ranked her existed made her feel alone sometimes...and it also irritated her, because she knew who the number 1 Mystery was. Oh, she knew she should respect the aforementioned Mystery because they were NO. 1...But how could she respect them when she identified as Mystery NO. 7? The lowliest of the low, the youngest of the young...okay, maybe she wasn't that young, but still-being a star-blooded adolescent had its disadvantages, and she felt as though no one understood her. Oria tried to tell herself that there were people who understood her, such as her best friend Nyx, but the problem was Nyx seemed to be the only one in the world who accpeted her. For what must of been the tenth time that day, Oria sighed. Oh the joys of being Oria Sagittarii... she thought wryly.
I'm winning at life!





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Tue Apr 28, 2020 12:42 am
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SirenCymbaline says...



Enid Ó Glacáin

________________


The nurses’ office and the Nurses’ Office laid claim to the same geographic location, but they were not the same place. One was a room. The other was a Domain, a battered doorstop between the world of the living and the dead.

But for our purposes, the nurses’ office was a simple office, which, like the rest of Ravenwood, refurbished once in the 1950’s and stopped there.

Yellowed lace curtains flapped over arched, church-like windows. The cot creaked, the chairs creaked, and the door creaked. On the desk was a dinosaur of a computer that hadn’t been touched since it was made, and a fax machine lay beside it in similar condition. Both machines were barely visible to begin with under an excess of enthusiastic pot plants.

These pots and posies of wildflowers stuffed every corner, adorned every surface. All fresh, all cared for, standing at each side of the door like guardian angels.
Miasma theory was as dead as the school of thought from whence it came, but it brought Enid comfort all the same to keep this one tradition alive.

All was well in Ravenwood, and all fell into place, or by God, she would shove it into place. With her herbs and her knowledge, she would keep the young ones strong and healthy, however hard they threw themselves into asphalt, down trees and stairs, and God knew what else.

Nyx was her most frequent visitor, a master of improbable stair-related accidents.
Today, the girl trotted into the office, stuck her arm out in the air, and proclaimed, "I have a scratch."

In preparation, Enid pulled out her spectacles.

Thank God, it was only her biweekly scratch. Enid counted her blessings, resolved to relocate her magnifying glass for next time, and dabbed the scratch with disinfectant. "There you are, Nyx."

"Aren’t you going to give me a band-aid?" said Nyx, in dismay.

Enid disposed of the cotton ball, and returned the disinfectant to the cabinet.

"Child, you don’t need a dressing."

"I want a band-aid."

Enid sighed, and pulled out a box of band-aids with little cartoon animals on them.

Nyx pouted. "I don’t want that one." she said. "I’m not a baby."

The old Irishwoman gave the child one of her award-winning incredulous stares.

"...Alright. Theonewiththehorseonit." Nyx mumbled.

“There you go, dearie.” said Enid, handing her the one with the horse on it.

“Aren’t you going to put it on? You’re the professional.” said Nyx.

“I think you can operate a band-aid, child.” said Enid, flatly.

“Pleaeeaaase,” said Nyx, lower lip wobbling gratuitously.

This sparked a frightening twinkle in Enid’s eyes.

“Oh, come to think of it,” said Enid, a wicked grin twisting her thin, wrinkled mouth, “This may not at all be enough. I think you might need a good dose of castor oil.”

“Eeeeewwwww,” cried Nyx, zooming out the door already, “Noooooooo!”

“Or perhaps, a bloodletting.” said Enid lovingly, to nobody in particular.

A couple of freshmen waiting at the door gulped in unison.



Soon after Nyx had left with her prize, Peg shoved into the room. Peg was a tower of a youth, and a brick one at that. Their glare sent any remaining stragglers who had come to hunt for bandaids scattering into the halls.

They sat on a free chair, backwards, and stuck out their thin muscular arm without a word. The wrist was bruised a deep plum purple, with some grazing on top.

Enid frowned. “That’s the third time this week. What the devil are you doing?”

“Nun’a’ya business.” Peg grunted.

Enid folded her bony arms. “You sound like a child who wants to walk around with an open wound.”

Peg started to get up.

Enid got up and fussed them back into their seat.

“No, no, stay where you are.” she snapped. “We can’t let the dratted thing get infected.”

Peg obeyed, and quietly allowed Enid to clean and disinfect the bloody little graze.
“Ow.” said Peg. Like many a warrior, Peg’s stoicism would falter in the absence of enemies to impress.

“How is it,” Peg mumbled, as Enid wrapped a bandage around their wrist.

“Ghastly,” said Enid, “We’re lucky you didn’t need me to amputate, I’m all out of whiskey.”

“Not me.” Peg grumbled. “The thing.”

“What thing?”

“The thing.”

“Child, I don’t know.”

“I’m not a-” Peg jerked to the side in their annoyance, and accidentally pulled on the bandage. A little whine surfaced, and was quickly cut off.

“The bird.” Peg said quickly, to get it over with.

“Oh! The bird!” Enid cried out, then, “Oh, please don’t pull on that, I’m not finished- oh, yes. The bird.” She decided to finish what she was doing before saying anything else.

With Peg’s wrist disinfected and secured, Enid stood on her chair, and opened the medicine cabinet above the cot.

Inside was a shoebox with airholes poked in the sides. Enid removed the lid, and quietly invited Peg to look inside.

Wrapped in a nest of towels, cuddling up to a water bottle, was a blackbird with its wing in a splint.

Enid studied Peg’s face as they looked on the bird. Peg had nonchalantly carried the bird in themself with utmost care, only a week prior. Equally nonchalantly, they came to check in on it almost every day. And something would soften in those sharp black eyes.

Worry satiated, Peg slunk out without another word before Enid could shove a lollipop in their hand. A tiny ‘thank you’ sounded at the closing of the door, one that tried to be mistaken for the wind.

Enid knew the rumours that surrounded Peg. That they were forced to stay on all these years due to bad grades. That their parents were negligent, abusive, embarrassed to be known, or any number of these things.

Rumours could twist a child. As a rule, they twisted apparitions. Enid wondered what this meant for Peg. There was only so much that Enid could put on Eli, and there was only so much that she could do herself. She wasn't here to pry into the lives of these children. She could only let them in, and patch them up a little. Maybe too little.
That was the thought that she tried to carry through.

The realisation that Enid ended up on was that two of the students she had treated today had run off before she could give them a customary lollipop. Another little tradition was going to rust.

So she gave one to Principal Leroy Scott when he next passed her by.
Bad souls have born better sons, better souls born worse ones -St Vincent





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Lib says...



Hayley Nyx Oakley


The moment Nyx dashed out of the nurse’s office, she scrunched up her nose. “Castor oil is disgusting.” She headed towards the front door, hoping to get some fresh air before another accident occurred.

Right then, in the hallway that led to the front door, Nyx spotted a young student rushing in through the front door. He looked very flustered and his books were sticking out from his backpack.

Nyx smirked.

“Showtime,” she said in a singsong voice under her breath.

There were still many other students walking about, so Nyx easily blended in with the rest of them and quickly hid behind a marble pillar. The pillars were cleaned so well by the janitors, that this pillar specifically showed Nyx her own reflection. She gently stroked her black and brown braided hair and grinned, showing off her devilish fangs. Nyx blinked, and looked away, trying hard not to get carried away by the reflection. She could stare for hours.

Upon closer inspection, the student looked less familiar by the second. Even better. Calmly, she walked away from the pillar and concentrated hard on what she was about to do.

She snapped her fingers from behind her back.

A few seconds passed and she heard a thud and smiled gleefully.

Nyx had successfully snapped up an object that would stand in the student’s way and trip him. She was hoping it was a rock and nothing too serious. Suddenly, she got flashbacks of the time when she lit her family’s own garden on fire.

It was an accident, mind you.

She shook her head. “No matter.” She huffed and walked towards the young teenager to help him up. Just because Nyx was a trickster, didn’t mean she didn’t like helping out. When she neared the boy (no one had helped him up yet, he was still gathering his things), she saw that the object was only an innocent rock.

She sighed in relief.

“You good, kid?” she asked, sticking out her hand.

He flinched when he heard her voice. “Y-yeah, I’m okay.”

“Well, get up then, what’re you waitin’ for?” she grabbed his elbow and heaved him up. He was visibly surprised at the strength she had. “No need to gawk at me.” She scowled. The boy looked away instantly. Nyx bit the inside of her cheek to control her laugh. She bent down and stuffed the rest of the boys’ books in his bag. Then she handed it to him and he lowered his head slightly before scurrying away.

She trotted out the doors and breathed in the fresh morning air. It wasn’t too cold, it wasn’t too hot. It was just right. Even though it was only March, the sun was out and shining, and bright green grass poked out of the earth.

Nyx’s stomach grumbled angrily. “Alright, alright, to the dining hall we go.” She rolled her eyes.

Once in the dining hall, she saw a couple of students she knew pretty well. There was Theo, Oria, and Eli. Yesterday, she had sat with Theo and played - more like screeched - the violin. The day before… she couldn’t remember. Nyx didn’t have the best memory. But since Oria and Eli were facing opposite of each other on different tables, she decided to sit beside Oria.

Hopefully they got pizza for breakfast today.

Which wasn’t very likely.

So Nyx snapped up two slices of pizza, offering one to Oria, smiling innocently. A halo might as well have been hovering over her head. “Want one?”

“Is this some sort of prank?” Oria asked suspiciously, biting back her smile.

“Pinkie promise it’s not,” Nyx said.

“Alright then.” She took it and smiled. “Thanks.”

Nyx smiled and bit into the pizza. Delicious.
*insert quirky signature here*





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Teddybear says...



Peg skipped a stone over the surface of the lake. The ripples spread out, bigger, but also smaller, overlapping and eventually vanishing back into the mirror-smooth surface of the lake that never used to be like that.

Well I heard that when the kid was...ya know, the lake went completely still. Like the calm before the storm.

Ever since one of the students - Peg had no idea who - started that new rumor, their lake had been like this. No more choppy little waves or cute little ducks coming to play on the surface. Just one big mirror they could skip rocks on.

They tried another and, plunk. Not even one skip.

They grumbled something under their breath that they wouldn't say in front of their grandma and stuffed their hands in their skirt pockets, going to trudge back up to the school. It was lunchtime and they'd already skipped breakfast. Not that they had to eat, but they liked eating. Most people liked eating, there was nothing weird about it.

The cafeteria, of course, was packed. Full of people, dead people, living people, non-people, people who were actually half-giant-burning-space-ball, but mostly just plain people.

"Nice kilt," a new student with bad taste snickered sarcastically. A cold look from Peg send the blood from his face scurrying down to his shoes. At least his completion now matched those of his more-experienced friends.

As Peg walked away they heard one of the older students whisper to the newbie, "Dude, that guy beat up some kid behind the lake shed yesterday."

A moment ago, Peg had done no such thing, but now, with the horrified eyes of the new student on their back, they noticed that their good hand was sore. They didn't have to take it out to know that they had gotten themself a fresh set of bruised knuckles. Great.

They stalked over to their usual table - a dilapidated old thing that hadn't been replaced or fixed up since the cold war - and sat down on the creeky old bench. It croaked like an old toad as Peg shifted to dig the granola bar they'd stuffed there out of their pocket. Snacks for people watching.

"People watching is the only skill you gotta make sure you're real good at. Anything else, you can get people to do for you, but you gotta know people all by yourself." Pops always had the best words of wisdom, but these people were a bunch of future dewdroppers with their noses buried so far into their own business they hadn't an interesting thought left in their skulls. They were just wandering about bumping gums, not a scheme or plot so much as implied anywhere to be heard.

Well, most of them. A little collection of wild cards had Peg behind the eight ball. Not-a-one of em were real students, even though most of them pretended to be part of that crowd. Mysteries, they called themselves, and Peg, despite their frequent, silent protests to that stupid title. It sounded like something you call a bunch of pre-teen schoolkids who spend their days weaving friendship bracelets and pretending to be reincarnated historical figures or whatever to feel special.

This group was plenty to grown for that nonsense.

Peg was shaken from their thoughts when one of the wannabe-kiddos in question tottled up to their rotting table with a little something clutched in their hand. It was round, a bit shiny, and probably not something Peg should be worried about, but these 'mysteries' (still a dumb name) were getting pretty frisky lately, and one could never be too careful.

"Hi," the kid said, what was their name again? Ellie? El....Elrond...Elroy...Eliza...Eli. A lie. Their name sounded like 'a lie'. When Peg tuned back in they'd missed most of the next sentence, but the kid was gesturing to their shirt with one hand and offering the little round thing to Peg with the other.

Both in their hand and on their shirt were pastel pins reading "they/them" in a generic, probably dyslexia-friendly font. Eli's was bright blue and pinned proudly to their shirt like it was an award for something unimpressive they did at the local fairground. The one they offered Peg was likewise tacky and brightly colored, the only difference being the color purple instead of blue.

A little warm feeling appeared in their chest as they looked at it. Of course, the pin itself was stupid. A tacky pride-fest handout that wouldn't last a week if it was put on anything like a bag where it'd be put through the stress of everyday wear and tear. Still, the gesture behind it was nice. Maybe this mystery wasn't just a kid pretending to be a dead Egyptian Pharaoh in their treehouse.

They picked up the pin and flipped it like a coin, snatching it from the air in a smooth motion that lead directly to them stuffing it in their pocket.

They gave a grunt of gratitude and stood, the seat of the old table creaking as they rose. They paused, gave Eli a final nod, and walked off.
formerly TheMulticoloredCyr

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Overwatchful says...



ALEXIOS



Alexios sat at the cafeteria table with Eli, Nyx, and Oria. They were talking amicably, Nyx taking large bites of her pizza in between sentences. Alex listened with only half an ear. His mind was on other things.
Today marked the fifteenth year since Alex had died. That was not something your average college student thought about.
But he wasn't your average college student, Alex reflected grimly. He wondered how young Jonathan O'Carrick was doing. It would be his fifteenth birthday today. He'd probably be going out with his friends tonight, having cake that he could actually taste, blissfully unaware that he was using someone else's soul. Alex sighed quietly.
Don't think about that, he told himself. Focus on something else.
There had been a new apparition yesterday. It had been a tall man with a flaming skull for a head. He had strode through the hallways during the lunch, holding a coiled chain in his hand. Who would have come up with a rumor like that? Most of the rumors were of ghostly girls murdering people in the woods, or werewolves stalking the hallways at night, not literal demons.
Alexios started as he realized his tablemates were staring at him.
"What?" he said, turning to them.
"You're quieter than usual today." Eli commented. A few escaped wisps of their blue hair hung down on their forehead.
Alex shrugged. "My head's in the clouds, I guess." Or in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Eli gave him a look. "Sure."
Nyx perked up. "Oh look, there's the new kid! What should I do to him?"
"Uh, nothing?" Oria said flatly.
"Oh, come on." Alex said slyly. "Look at those shoes. A guy who wears those deserves to be tripped, at the least."
The guy's shoes were outrageous. The were green and purple striped, with white toes. And even Alex could tell that they clashed horribly with his red shirt.
Oria looked at him, surprised.
"Alex!" She exclaimed. "It's not his fault he's color blind!"
"Ah, so you admit he's color blind."
"Of course I do. Shoes like that should be burned."
Alex gave a small smile, which was pretty much all he was capable of in the ways of laughter.
"You know," Eli said in what Alex thought of as their "nerdy voice."
"I was watching this anime last night where the main character was wearing this outfit..."
Alex turned out. It wasn't worth listening to Eli ramble on. Who cared what Gorku-or-something-like-that was doing? Nyx was pretending to listen, but she was still following the new kid out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly a rusted tin can popped out of the ground in front of his feet, and he tripped, his backpack disgorging its contents all over the floor around him. Nyx stood up quickly, and made her way over to where the new kid lay sprawled.
"Again?" She asked innocently. "You really can't watch where you're going."
The kid blushed as she helped him gather his books. Once they were done, she gave him a light pat on the shoulder then sent him on his way. She pranced back to their table, a grin on her face.
"That was fun!" She exclaimed quietly.
Oria rolled her eyes. "Poor guy."
"He deserved it." Alex said dismissively, turning back to his eggs and bacon. He took a bite, it was bland, like always. He sighed again. Six more years of life. That was all he had. And he had chosen to spend it eating bland eggs and listening to anime nerds.

When lunch was finished he waved to the others then made his way to his math class. On the way he passed three human girls who started giggling when he made eye contact with them. Alex had to deal with stuff like that a lot. Girls would leave notes on his door, or ask him to come sit with them at lunch, or offer him snacks and candy they were eating. Alex always refused. It wouldn't do him any good to get into a relationship, if he was only going to die in six years.
Stop thinking about that. He told himself sternly. He straightened his shoulders and turned left towards his classroom, but stopped suddenly as he saw the flame-headed demon striding down the hallway. None of the humans reacted, but one of the other apparitions scurried away in fear as the demon approached them.
The demon seemed to be looking for something, or someone. His skull head turned from side to side, scanning each face as it passed him.
What is going on? Alex wondered, cocking his head. He sighed yet again. Today seemed to be a day for sighs. Guess I better find out what it wants.
He started striding down the hallway towards the demon.
I'm going to be so late for math.
Quite... Overwatchful
Previously Stormblessed242 :mrgreen:








I feel like if I was the mafia I’d leave a voicemail.
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