The Baneberry Academy rests on the outskirts of Moorhaven, surrounded on three sides by the thin woodlands that encircle the whole community. The exact border is clearly marked by an intricate fence of woven steel, the pattern seeming to wave like tall grass in the wind if one relaxes their eyes just a little. The front is dominated by a regal brick building complete with columns on the facade and enormous windows, which visitors must pass through in order to get inside - there are no other gates.

Several buildings in a similar style make up the dormitories and office buildings, while one holds classrooms. Additional classrooms, clearly added after the fact from their modern box design, squeeze up against the original classroom building, creating a couple of narrow alleys that surely no students make use of for nefarious doings.

Currently, the students are all assembling in the large auditorium building normally reserved for special events, as it's the only place the entire student body fits inside of at the same time. The burgandy carpet is showing its age but the wooden bench seating is well polished and the cushions have been recently replaced with all new faux leather padding.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the seating arrangements, with small gaggles of friends forming clusters that slowly merge into the crowd as more kids arrive and find seats.

Tiffany walked into the auditorium, distributing smiles and greetings as she went.  She wouldn't be social with everyone she met, of course, but it was too early in the year to discount anyone.  One never knew who might be interesting or important, after all.

 Felicia was running a little late, she sped through the woods in panther form. She came up onto the Fence around the school, she got close to the Fence and then transformed into Hybrid form and easily leaped over the wall. She landed and then checked her school clothes. She was wearing a black and white short sleeve blouse, and a flared black knee length skirt, with a hole in it for her tail.

 Felicia then walked into the auditorium and looked around she then saw Tiffany and headed over towards her. She would go over to her and say," Hi is it okay if I sit with you Tiffany?"

Anthony walked into the auditorium, looked around, and found a seat, halfway to the front and slightly off to the side. He paid little attention to who was around him, unless of course there was a pretty girl sitting all alone, in which case he would sit next to her.

He was wearing khaki shorts and a "Jelly Jam" t-shirt, and, as usual, smelled like pumpkins, cinnamon, and haystacks.

"Another day, new people, opportunity everywhere." he thought to himself, he grin widening. Turning to the girl next to him, "'Sup? I'm Anthony."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:58, Wed 11 Sept 2019.

"Of course!" said Tiffany, waving Felicia over.  She'd worn a bright blue dress for the day (It came to her knees-- a bit of modesty, although the neckline was more flattering) and a matching set of pumps, and continued to wear the gold jewelry she was fond of.

 Felicia smiled she was a little nervous but she saw quite a few students who definitely didn't look human. " Thank you Tiffany." Felicia takes a seat and her tail moves in front of her. " So what exactly is this all about, remember this is my first time ever to a human like school, I was home taught by my Parents."

Eliza did get dropped off at the outskirts of the school by their mom, who had already successfully guilted them into being a good student this time. For today at least. Eliza wasn't too embarrassed about having to repeat their freshman year, but they also hoped it wouldn't come up among peers. At least, the 'why' had nothing to do with academics, and there is a certain mystique to being someone who skipped school be a delinquent artist. At least, Eliza told themself that. She decided to go with her nicer black jeans, more sneakers originally marketed for skateboarders, plain t-shirt and a flannel jacket, the same she wore to the fair.

Their headphones in, they walked up to the school with the others dropped off by their parents or guardians. Eliza recognized a few of them from Tiffany's party, but not enough that they'd go out of their way to speak to them. Eliza had some sculpting clay in hand, and her backpack was larger this time around, meant for carrying notebooks, lunch and anything else their mom might have thought they needed. They spotted a few people they'd seen at Tiffany's party, but gave them a cursory greeting as the meeting entailed. 

Eliza waved and nodded to Tiffany and Felicia when they spotted the pair, and went to sit somewhere not far away, knowing Tiffany was probably still making rounds to all her other friends. She hadn't spotted Anthony until after sitting down, a few rows behind her. She tipped an imaginary hat in greeting to him, but didn't make any attempt to interrupt his attempts to make his move on the cute girl. 

At Felicia, Eliza thought loudly, *Hey, Felicia, How are you doing?* Eliza wasn't quite certain this was how telepathy or mind magic worked but the concept of trying to shout a thought inside their own head was entertaining enough.

"Well, it may be challenging, Felicia," said Tiffany, "but I'm sure you can manage.  If nothing else, I'm sure that the school can arrange a tutor."

In her world, tutoring wasn't normally done through schools, but Felicia might not have the resources for a private tutor, and Tiffany, contrary to popular opinion, did try to keep track of that sort of thing.

 Felicia was nervous and then after Tiffany said she might need a tutor, she says," The material should be okay, I mean I don't know any of the rules or what I should be doing in a real school, also if I need help could you tutor me Tiffany?"

 Felicia had no clue what to expect at a real school. Unfortunately Felicia can't pickup on Eliza's mental thoughts in her Hybrid form.

The pretty girl turned to him and smiled, showing pointed teeth, and eyes with vertical slits. She offered her hand, which was dry, and cool to the touch.Without a hint of overemphasized Ss, she answered,  "Ellen. Nice to meet you."

And then, introductions made, he settled back into his seat to listen to the presentation.

"I guess I could," said Tiffany, a bit surprised.  Well, then again, if Felicia was home-schooled, she might not know anything, and that would be a problem!  Tiffany hoped she'd be up to the task of teaching her.

...then again, this involved the cute, affectionate cat girl spending more time with her.  That notion appealed to her.  Why not?

"Yes, I'd be happy to," she said.  "Don't worry.  We'll get you through this."

 Felicia smiled when Tiffany agreed to help her, she was so happy she had met Tiffany and they where becoming friends. Felicia would say," Thank you Tiffany I should know the material I just don't know how you guys do actual school. I was reading online about books, classes, reports and there are certain ways of doing things. That is what I have no clue about. Thank you so much you are wonderful Tiffany."

 Felicia really liked Tiffany, she smiled and held her hand to say thank you, her fur was warm and her hands where a cross between human hands and a cat's paw, but Tiffany could see her claws in their retracted state. Her hand was very soft to the touch and Felicia moved with a grace only a cat could have.

Eliza's leg was kicked by some girl passing through the aisle. She was tall and pale, and they glowered down at her rainbow hair, "Stop fuckin' crowding the mindspace, hellspawn."

Eliza was willing to take the abuse, amused that she might have been annoying some undead cold-as-earth wannabe queen nothing, but bristled at the last. "What did you call me, corpse soldier?"

"Don't fucking start a fight you can't win, sulfur smut. Just fuckin' pipe down. And don't go swimming where other people can see you. It just makes some of us wanna die all over again." The girl walked on, joining another group of more colder-than-living boys and girls.

Eliza worked the modeling clay into something like a a fascimile of a stake and a heart in a speed that would shame a master potter but said nothing further.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 00:22, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

"That's certainly something that I can help you with," said Tiffany.  "Really, once you get the hang of it, it's not too hard, but I suppose that you'll need to have some help adjusting to things."

Tiffany found herself stroking Felicia's hand... the soft fur made it feel easy and natural.  She could get to like this...

 Felicia smiles and responds," Yes I know it isn't hard just need to be exposed to it, and thank you very much for helping me out Tiffany."
Tiffany was stroking Felicia's hand and she really liked it, it felt really nice and Felicia would begin to purr as Tiffany stroked her hand.
Then Felicia decided to be funny and she sent her tail to tap Tiffany on the shoulder away from Felicia.

The door to the auditorium opens again, two girls wearing old fashioned dresses with coordinated bodices each holding one door wide open for the third. The third, in a deep sapphire dress of similar design but much finer fabric, walks in with her head held high, completely ignoring the reactions her presence provokes. Her toadies close the doors behind her and follow at arm's length as she heads down to the very front and center, only speeding ahead of her to shoo people that were already seated out of her way...
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

Tiffany examined her.  Who was she?  Tiffany ought to know if anyone would...

22 to Gather Information on her with Well-Connected

Anthony watched as the stunning woman with the entourage strode past, and his eyes narrowed as he took an immediate dislike to her. Her bearing, her entourage, her... HER.

He shuddered and thought to himself, "Well, that right there is the thing that goes bump in the night. Probably who Tiffany wants to grow up to be. Pity."

Tiffany might have jumped at the unexpected tap on her shoulder, but for one detail-- she saw it coming.  Well, not "saw," but her sonar kept her appraised of how people were moving around her, and so she was ready, instead moving to clamp a hand down on the tail-tip when it touched her.  She might very well not be remotely fast enough, but she had to try.

And there she was-- Maura Ebonsgrove and her entourage.  Tiffany smiled at her, as was polite.  (The Ebonsgrove family was powerful, after all, and Maura had influence.)  Still, she'd made a promise to not tell Maura certain things, and she felt that Maura really limited herself by having hangers-on who were less talented than her.  It seemed better to her to have skilled associates and still make an impression by being at least as interesting as they were...

 Felicia did not expect Tiffany to put her hand down on the tip of her tail, and she jumped when Tiffany caught her tail, and she said," Ohh sorry. Sometimes my tail has a mind of it's own." She smiles and then says," Who is she the important girl there?"

"Maura Ebonsgrove," said Tiffany.  "She's a witch, and very good with potions.  She's also influential, as I imagine you can see for yourself.  Her family are well-known as witches as well."

 Felicia will look at Maura and then try to get a smell on her so she can track her. The Felicia remembered Lesleigh was an Ebonsgrove. Speaking very softly so no one but Tiffany can hear her," Is that Lesleigh's sister, I remember you guys talking about her family. She seems stuck up to me and thinks she is better than everyone else, that is what I see. Oh and by the way Tiffany good catch on my tail."  Felicia will move her tail under her hand to try and tickle Tiffany's hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Sat 14 Sept 2019.

"Tha-- aahhh!" Tiffany yanked her hand clear of the tail, and tried to stifle her laughter at being tickled.

"Yes, that's Lesleigh's sister," she said, quietly.  "Lesleigh did ask us to not talk to Maura about her.  It might not come up, of course."

Maura didn't seem the sort to go around talking to new students, after all.

Eliza wasn't paying too much attention as they glowered after the grave-kin cabal. She did eventually notice Maura because Tiffany and Felicia was looking but didn't stare long themself, having took enough time to realize that their research in studying teen behavior and cliques via movies didn't really help them glean much information, as the woman was likely not the head of the cheerleading squad.

 Felicia laughs when Tiffany moves her hand because she tickled her and makes a funny sound. When Tiffany responds to her question, Felicia says," I see why she doesn't like her that is for sure, well I have a feeling Maura would probably not even talk to someone like me."

 Felicia really liked Tiffany but wasn't sure how Tiffany really thought of her, Felicia knew Tiffany liked her but she didn't know how much she did. Felicia was very nervous of being in school but with Tiffany helping her she should be okay.

With the other students forcibly scooted out of the way by the pair of toadies, Maura makes her way to the front row and takes a seat, while her cronies take a seat about an arm's length away from her on each side. As soon as she crosses her legs like a proper lady, one of the minions gasps and points at her shoe, "My Lady, look!"

While the other minion gets up and roars at the surrounding crowd, demanding that the low-life responsible come forward to be punished, Maura herself stares at the oddly coloured shoe that totally clashes with her dress, not to mention being a different colour than her other shoe, with mute incredulity. Then she starts laughing, which makes both of the brown-nosing twits beside her freeze in place...

"...I am beginning to think that I really don't understand Maura at all," said Tiffany, watching her laugh.  Her hand idly stroked Felicia's tail if not prevented, but her attention was on Maura and her minions.  What had just happened there?

 Felicia had no clue what was going on with the Witch, and why she was laughing. " Umm I might be new at this but why is she laughing and her followers frozen in what looks like fear?" When Tiffany strokes her tail she likes it alot and she begins to purr as Tiffany's touch felt so good.

Anthony looked over at the sudden laughter, a brief expression of surprise on his face, as he thought to himself, “Well, that was unexpected. I believe the courtship has begun!”

And then he turned back to the amiable conversation he was having with the sharp-toothed (and forked-tongue, it turned out) Ellen and only paid peripheral attention.

"Well, she might see the humor in the situation," said Tiffany, still stroking Felicia's tail.  "...they are acting like they're scared of what she'll do, though.  Maybe she'll lose her temper with them in private."

 Felicia kept purring she really liked Tiffany's touch, no one has ever petted her tail before and she really liked it.
" Oh well she seems like a real bitch to me."

Eliza did finally turn more of their attention to the witch and her entourage, frowning as they folded the modeling clay back in on itself to become a formless mass. Eliza couldn't hear Felicia and Tiffany talking, and was trying to figure out if this was some sort of weird-normal ritual for a monster academy, or a weird-weird ritual.

OoC:
04:28, Today: Eliza Draper rolled 14 using 1d20+8.  Expertise: Magic .

This message was last edited by a game editor at 09:35, Tue 17 Sept 2019.

Maura's laughter fades and then she eyes her minions critically. "Well? You got so upset over a simple child's prank, don't tell me you're going to stand there without fixing it."

The pair verbally fall over themselves trying to find a workable incantation, and after a good thirty seconds of this Maura holds up her hands. "Enough. I'll wear it the rest of today as a symbol of your incompetence."

"But My Lady," one of the toadies, named Roberta, whines.

"Be silent. No witch did this, so it's not like it will be difficult to find the culprit once you stop being hysterical."

Nobody saw nor heard a thing.

Yet, on the small stage stands a lean and fit elderly man dressed more like a swashbuckler than the headmaster of a school. His gray hair is cut short and his face has more lines than Nazca, making him seem quite grandfatherly, but his beady little crimson eyes give away his lack of humanity. He doesn't need a microphone to be heard clearly throughout the auditorium.

"By which you mean, that you don't know how to undo it, either. Isn't that right, Miss Ebongrove?"

Maura startles alongside a good chunk of the student body, but swiftly recovers her composure and "harumphs" at the accusation.

"Well, we can get somebody to fix it for you, I'm sure. Ah, where'd my manners run off to? Good morning, everyone! Welcome to Baneberry! The name I'm using now, I'm sure you'll agree, is certainly not the best I've ever come up with, but I'm your headmaster, Drake Fiero."

Tiffany had started to reply to Felicia, but then the headmaster appeared.  She studied him warily.  He was teasing Maura in a way that implied that he knew her... but then, Maura's family was well-known.  He might well know them.  She didn't laugh at Maura's discomfiture, though-- it would be too easy for that kind of humor to become aimed at her, and she didn't want any part of that.

 Felicia looked at the headmaster was just there, she also held the urge to laugh, she could sense Drake was very powerful and she did not want to bring his wrath onto her. The only thing her parents told her of the Headmaster was be very very respectful, her parents where afraid and respected him that is all she had to know. She will also try and see how the headmaster smelled. She wanted to say something but actually she was trying to figure out how he got there without her noticing at all. Felicia was not afraid her parents had called her fearless but she was definitely in awe of the headmaster.

In reply to Felicia Zamon (msg # 36):

Anthony turned from chatting with Ellen, amused by the toadies, attracted to Maura, and wary of the headmaster, but he repressed his usually rambunctious nature in deference to the dragon’s foul temper and flaming breath. Maybe.

Eliza had started to pull out their phone to text Tiffany, who may have had a better view of what was going on, when the headmaster spoke up. Eliza may not be very familiar with their compatriots hiding among humans, but they felt they could confidently identify something that was a feeble human disguise. Eliza started to remember again that they were among peers - some that may hate them, sure - but peers none the less, and got excited again to see what the year would bring.

The students return their headmaster's greeting warmly for the most part, including many of the freshmen. The details may be hazy and prone to outlandish rumours, but it is well known that the dragon protects the students, and provides for any that are unable to pay their own way from his own pockets.

That sense of safety cracks in short order.

"Well, I'm not one for long speeches, so let me try and get to the point. You're all here at my school to find your own paths into the future, but that future is ever more perilous. The rise of technology has surpassed anything my clutchmates and I could have ever dreamed, and with it, those that hunt us grow ever bolder, ever more precise in their pursuit of our murder. I have heard that within the last year, in fact, they struck the Ebongrove house directly," he says, which instigates a wave of gasps and exclamations of disbelief.

He dips his head to Maura and says, "My condolences on the loss of your little sister. What was her name again?"

"Lesleigh."

"Lesleigh. Lovely name. I'm saddened that she'll never grace my campus."

He allows that mournful note to linger before he heaves a great sigh. "It's a shame to lose one so young and full of promise, but that is not the end of our sorrow. I have the permission of his clan to announce to the public for the first time that Lord Maksym has fallen. He flew into a rage after his youngest child was murdered by his long-time enemy, Lord Atkins, as the youth was preparing to begin his time with us and was himself slain by his partner, who simply goes by Tex."

Tiffany raised her hand.

"We've noticed some kind of spellcasters in town," she said.  "Ones that aren't attending this school.  Could that be related to this problem at all?"

Eliza wondered at the interesting display of information. People's names, clans, and families, thrown about as if they were significant. They knew the tradition of casting artifacts into the whirling aethers that lead to earth were not very reliable or natural transits, nor did it lead to much socializing among peers, but Eliza was suspecting that as they hid their proclivities behind the actions of an unruly child, they might hidden themselves from an organization of supernatural in the Chicago area was well.

Eliza instead began tapping at their phone a mix of thoughts and notes in shorthand, questions they ought to seek out the answer to in the coming weeks.

If Tiffany was pressed for more information, Eliza would volunteer that one kid's body was hot enough to cook steak on too, and they didn't see him here, he'd practically glow. Were there different sects of supernatural folk? Another question to add to their list.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 13:22, Sun 22 Sept 2019.

 Felicia listened to Tiffany speak, Felicia didn't know any of the names, but what she did know was that she had friends who where hunters and it could get bad if there was some kind of war. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, she has nothing to add that she wanted too at this time so she sat next to Tiffany loving that she was still playing with her tail.

"As expected of your lineage, Miss Cabot, you've hit the nail squarely on its head" he says, his hand starting a slow circling gesture that Tiffany had heard corresponds to intense thought. Then it stops.

"Well, I'll just come out and tell you all about it, I think. This is your lives we're talking about here, after all. So, at least of some you have surely heard the rumours that there are hunters here in Moorhaven. After all, what else would I be protecting you from, hrm? The simple truth of the matter turns out to be that there are a lot of hunters... in training," he says while slowly ambling from one side of the stage to the other. The surge of murmurs and hushed conversations rises but falls as soon as the Headmaster holds up his hands.

"They attend a different private school known as the Rainsford Institute. And have, for nearly as long as my beloved academy has stood. Your parents, those that graduated from here at least, all passed through this trial by taking heed of what your instructors will spend the next four years teaching you. Any questions?"

Anthony raised his hand. "I have many questions, but most importantly... are we are war with them? With them sticking their stupid school here, of all places? Certainly seems like they're picking a fight."

He exhaled, as if trying to tame the whirlwind of thoughts spinning around in his mind. "So, I guess I'm asking, what are your rules, in this matter?"

Although he thought to himself, in his best Morphieus voice, "Some rules may be bent, some broken."

"War? Certainly not!" he says with a small laugh of incredulity.

"Of course, as I say that, I'm sure there are a few of you that are planning how to get your hands on some juicy hunter meat, and there are plenty of them that would be delighted to have one of you in their literal sights. However, you will find that our focus here is on keeping you alive, and deliberately engaging in life or death struggles is the opposite of that," he says, meandering over to the other side of the stage as he does.

Tiffany nodded.  They'd probably retaliate or go hunting more intensely if some of their precious students were to go missing; keeping their heads down, at least at the moment, might be for the best.

 Felicia smiles at Tiffany, and whispers to her," The Headmaster knows you, of course he does you are a Cabot, did I get that right?"

Eliza glanced around at the other students, wondering if this was an explainer more for the freshmen here in the school, or if everyone had always known there was a rival hunter's school. She'd wondered at the wisdom of having the two schools so close, but maybe it was as natural as magic and nature, which abhor vacuums. She started to wonder if Scott was going to Rainsford as well. She hadn't asked, because she didn't want to draw attention to her attendance here.

In reply to Eliza Draper (msg # 48):

Anthony’s eyes narrowed as he heard the incredulity in the headmaster’s voice, and he thought to himself,  “Dude! WTF? A group of hayseeds puts a school to train people to hunt us right next to this place, and you see fit to mock me for even suggesting that that was an act of war? Maybe it was, and you just missed it? Well, screw that. Maybe we can’t fight them directly, but I have some tricks up my sleeve. We were here first, both in the local sense, and the larger sense.”

"Yes," whispered Tiffany.  "We're a big family; people know us, and we know them."

Which was more or less how her family did everything; it really was who you knew, not what you knew.

 Felicia smiled but what the Headmaster said bothered her, Kenzie was a Hunter and her friend. Felicia will stand up and say," What are we suppose to do Sir, with so many hunters nearby what if we run into one Sir?"

The news of the hunter's school doesn't seem to be much of a surprise, although there are a few that didn't get the memo it seems.

"Excellent question Miss Zamon - and yes, I know all of your names. Generally speaking, we teach that it's best not to be identified by a hunter in the first place, but should you be discovered we teach self-defence with an eye on escape. Well. I should point out that for many of you, killing a human makes your escape rather certain, so that's an option, but it's a troublesome option. You will typically need to relocate after being discovered, and if you kill your hunter you will have to relocate faster and leave fewer traces. Lastly, for some of you, when dealing with certain hunters, you have a very, very small chance of being able to talk your way out, but that's such a rare event that while I mention it here, I most certainly would not bet on it."

Eliza frowned at that, putting her phone aside as she mused aloud, no louder than a grumble, "So we are learning primarily to get into college, do work interviews, and build our 401Ks, while there's a whole academy for murdering us that we can to take an extracurricular on to prepare against. Ok-aaaay." Eliza wasn't all that bitter about the contrast. She had expected to go to normal high school, after all, and had already learned so much. The contrast just felt very lopsided. She wanted to learn dangerous things as well.

"We should work together to protect ourselves, then," said Tiffany.  "The hunters probably will; if they're organized, and we aren't, we're in a lot of trouble."

Teamwork was something that she understood well, both from her family and sports.  This was no time for lone wolves, no matter how much it was in the nature of some of the students.

 Felicia smiled that it was a good question and she was not surprised he knew her name, even for a school of Monsters a Bastet was very rare. Felicia knew this could be troublesome with her friendship with Kenzie a Hunter, she knew Kenzie would never harm her but she can't trust her Hunter Friends.

 Felicia will look towards Eliza after she made her comment, she would look towards the Head Master for his response, Then Tiffany added her comments and Felicia wanted to add," Yes we should have groups, or pairs work together for protection and knowing how these humans think. She should be organized to be able to protect us from the Hunters that shoot first ask second, but we are allowed to use our abilities or nature to get out of a Hunter's grasp without hurting them correct Sir?"

"Oh, I seem to have been unclear. You're perfectly welcome to slaughter the lot of them for all that I care, but, there are consequences for your actions and you should consider them carefully. That's why our courses emphasize evasion and escape; it has the least long term trouble," the Headmaster says with a broad gesture.

He meanders on the stage for a couple of paces as he says, "Okay, there's a timetable we should try to stick to, so if there are more questions we'll have to address them in your classrooms. Next, I would like to introduce Doct—"

He stops short and there's a momentary pause as he readjusts his thoughts. "Rather, I would like to introduce the school nurse, Miss Saphee."

She slithers onto the stage from the side, and there's little doubt that the pink scaled Lamia is indeed a nurse from her classic outfit and related accessories. This goes over with the male half of the student body as one might expect, with a handful of outright cat-calls and whistles, which the Headmaster leaves to her to address. She has to use a microphone, and while she has an accent her voice isn't especially sibilant as one might assume.

"Alright boys, I know that you're hormonal and all but you can keep it together better than that," she says, prompting a few laughs. While settling into a coiled position she says, "Good morning, everyone! I'm here to tell you all about our state of the art medical facilities and how we can accommodate all of your varied and unique physiologies, but considering the announcement that began this assembly, I'd first like to deliver a bit of good cheer. The reason that it's me on this stage instead of our dear Doctor Glenn is that he's had to make a house call. As of six thirteen this morning, our world has been blessed with a healthy new minotaur."


This news catches the dragon by surprise, though his delight is written large on his weathered face. "And the mother?"

Saphee smiles brilliantly and says, "Recovering fine."

Eliza clapped politely at the announcement of the newborn minotaur. They weren't very, but still somewhat - abashed by being as distracted from her phone as a good half of the other people in the crowd by Miss Saphee. Eliza had studied humans for years and the sense of community among so many different kinds of people without an obvious majority was weirdly out of place.

Eliza was around their cousins occasionally, one or two of them they'd played with as a baby. It was always an oddly charming part of mortal life, babies, even when they were terrible to be around. "Do they have a name yet?" Eliza found themself asking aloud, not sure if there was some etiquette, curious about how much information gets around this hodgepodge of inhumanity.

Eliza had no malicious interest in the information, and didn't mean to stir up any trouble by asking.

Tiffany applauded at the news.  Some species might vanish from the world someday... Hers, well, probably not.  Not unless the humans carried through with their program of ruining the world before dying off, anyway, and something could be done about that.

 Felicia smiled at Tiffany, and then listened to the Headmaster, then the School Nurse Miss Saphee. She was very interesting for sure, when the guys did cat calls she didn't know why they where doing it but she figured it was a teenage boy thing.

 Felicia was happy a new Minotaur was born Tiffany clapped and she clapped with her. When Eliza asked the name she smiled and was happy Eliza was here.

Anthony spoke up, grinning. "Personally, I think 'Anthony' is an excellent name for a minotaur. Or, honestly, for anyone or anything. And Mazel Tov!"

Then he switched back to the previous topic and said, his grin fading, "What is the current state of the laws of this country? Are we here given the same protections as humans? I was born in this state, to parents who are citizens. I'm confused as to how there is a school training people to hunt us, any more than a school training people to hunt Native Americans, or African Americans, or..." he paused for effect, "Minotaur Americans."

The crowd takes this news with muted joy, the round of applause that Tiffany started taking a moment to reach its peak before dying off again.

"I do believe I said that further questions would have to be answered in your classrooms," the old dragon mutters loudly enough that there is no difficulty hearing him, even in the back.

"Headmaster, may I?"

"Of course," he says, taking a symbolic step to the side.

Saphee peers at Anthony for a long moment while she chooses her words. "I'll be blunt, since this is eating into the time I'm supposed to spend telling you all about our medical facilities and how you should all feel free to visit us. There are no Minotaur Americans. No Lamia Americans, either. Nor are there Centaur Americans, Harpy Americans, Bastet Americans, and a list longer than I am of others. Never forget, young man, that your legal status is a powerful advantage that many of your classmates lack. More than a few Witch Hunters have met their ends languishing away in a regular prison, even if, perhaps especially if they murdered their target. Human laws apply to humans and those that can pass for them."

She doesn't seem to be particularly angry, but her tone makes it plain that she hopes to drive this home and not have to repeat herself. The Headmaster steps back in then.

"Thank you, Saphee, that was very succinct. And speaking of humans, our good doctor is human, and I'll say that if humans are a required part of your diet, that you refrain from trying to take a bite out of him. I don't think even I would make it if she gets a loop around my neck," he says, indicating Saphee with his thumb. She responds with a "hrmpf!" and a downright sassy sway of her coils.

He laughs and says, "Poor sod is still oblivious, isn't he?" Saphee blushes brightly while he continues, "And speaking of oblivious, as some of you already know, not everyone is oblivious to the true nature of our Academy. Our reputation, which gives a lot of leeway for covering up accidents, is that we're especially good at straightening out the entitled brats commonly spawned from wealthy elites. In many cases, their own parents are alumni as well, but for some reason, they always leave it as a surprise."

He chuckles softly again before gesturing to the other side of the stage from Saphee. "They may not be for eating, but never-the-less allow me to introduce this year's fresh meat!"

About a dozen terrified teenagers of various descriptions are lead onto the stage by a black-furred wolfman wearing a tracksuit, their arms all bounds together by one giant set of manacles and chain, which the wolfman has no trouble at all jerking when they hesitate despite their combined weight. Growls, jeers, and howls of every sort erupt from the students, further terrifying the already frightened human kids. One, in particular, a small Asian girl with a granny dye job that's showing her roots, completely loses the ability to stand from the force of her trembling terror.

This seemed a bit much... and lacked an explanation.  Tiffany raised her hand.

"I'm a bit confused," she said.  "What do you mean by 'fresh meat'?"

Eliza Draper wondered that there wasn't more of a demonstration of freshmen given the nature of the school, but not quite this. At first, they glanced back at Anthony, figuring that he ought to be among the rich, spoiled brats to be 'straightened out', but it quickly became clear that he was definitely not among the condemned, 'so-to-speak'. Eliza even entertained that they might have been missed, but their parents were as dull as dirt.

Were these dozen pure humans without any exposure to magic? The trust fund babies of the go-betweens that served mankind and monster? Or the children of Renfield and Associates, kept isolated from whom their parents were devoted, like uninitated cult members? That Tiffany was confused is more surprising. Eliza was done asking questions, they'd been - as at the fair - spoken over by Anthony.

Monster society was weird. Eliza definitely much better grasped the intersectional and interpersonal strife of humans. Human privileged was easier to ken.
This message was last edited by a game editor at 12:05, Sun 06 Oct 2019.

Anthony nodded, saddened. Dragons. Lamia. Minotaurs. All manners of other beasties. Some, like dragons, and the Fae, who far predated humanity, relegated to second class citizens, or worse, thrown into the same trash heap as those destitute humans described as "illegal aliens," subject to all laws, but having pitiful few rights.

 Felicia listened and she knew she wasn't an American, she was born in Egypt, and came here when she was young. AS far as she knew her parents never told anyone Felicia was in the US now. Then they brought of the scared teenagers, Felicia felt very uncomfortable. She was about to say something when Tiffany did, Felicia wasn't a human lover but there where a few she really liked Kensie was one of them.

 Felicia felt really bad for the young asian girl, Felicia was about to run up and help the poor Asian girl but she squeezed Tiffany's hand and wait for the response to her question.

"I didn't think the joke was that bad," the Headmaster replies to Tiffany with good-natured chagrin.

"It was, though," Maura says, sending a hush over the crowd as she rises to her feet and makes her way up to the stage at a leisurely pace. She lacks the overwhelming vocal projection of the dragon, but in the sudden silence, it's not hard for her to reach even the back row. The pair of toadies she's left behind watch in utter discombobulation.

"If it wasn't clear from the context, these people here are all human, like me. Unlike me, however, they're powerless. This should be their first encounter with the uncanny side of the world. They've been thrown into the deep end and told to learn how to swim, or drown," she says as she walks over and stops in front of the small Asian girl, the three faculty members giving her the complete attention such boldness warrants.

"This one is mine," she says, indicating the cowering girl.

"Now Miss Ebongr—"

She turns her head to look the Headmaster straight in the eyes. "I said, this one is mine."

Hardly anyone dares to so much as breathe for a couple of heartbeats, and then the Headmaster shrugs and says, "As you wish."

The wolfman hesitates a moment but grudgingly complies, moving to unlock the Asian girl. As soon as she's released, she latches onto Maura's skirt and starts sobbing, which in turn prompts the toadies to begin screeching at her "audacity." Doesn't she know who she's clinging to so shamelessly...?

 Felicia watched and listened and oh it was a training thing, Felicia then when Maura seemed to take over and she chose the poor Asian girl. Felicia wanted to stand up and do something but the way everyone even the Headmaster backed down, she wasn't sure but she couldn't let that poor girl be under that witches control.

 Felicia will look at Tiffany and mentally send to her," Wont anyone stand up to the Bitch or Witch sorry. I can't let her torment the Asian girl, I am going to stop her."

 She will remove her tail from Tiffany and get ready to stand up, waiting for a response from Tiffany.

Well.  There didn't seem to be much of a choice about this; she didn't quite understand what was going on, but letting Maura do whatever she wanted to was too much.  She couldn't let that happen, or Maura would wind up causing trouble for everyone, and bullying the entire school.

"Maura," she said, firmly, "follow the rules.  Don't go skipping in line like that."

This might be a bit suicidal, but she was a Cabot.  She wasn't going to be pushed around, and, after all, she was tough.

 Felicia wasn't going to let Tiffany do this alone, she was not going to let her friend stand alone. Felicia stands up next to Tiffany and says," Yes I assume there is a normal procedure we all must follow the rules Miss Ebongrove." Felicia didn't fear anything or anyone, that sometimes has gotten her into a lot of trouble, but she was going to stand by her friend.

In reply to Felicia Zamon (msg # 69):

Anthony frowned. He detested bullying, and watching new students being paraded in front of of their classmates was unnecessary, and pointlessly cruel.


He spoke up then, and said, “Is this tradition, marching new students in front of the rest of us, chained like slaves, really necessary? Not two minutes ago we were told that we were being hunted like animals, like monsters, and then, for reasons passing all understanding, we act like monsters. This?” He waved his hand to indicate the (formerly) chained students. “...is monstrous.”

Eliza didn't *quite* envy the girl that had been given release to Maura. While Maura appears to be of the archetypal mean girl at the top of the school, there was something to be said for having someone who understands the school looking out for you. That is, presuming, the girl wasn't to be some token or slave.

Being at this school, Eliza was not so certain that the later wasn't the case. But still, Eliza did feel some sympathy for the poor Renfield Juniors on stage, as they were just as out of the loop on what was normal for the Inhuman American society as Eliza was. That everyone else in the jeering crowd seemed to be in on the joke was more disconcerting. If these humans were to be truly fresh meat, Eliza would prefer they weren't so scared. Frightened meat tasted of rancid tachyons.

Eliza had not planned originally to do anything in situation, even as Tiffany stepped up with Felicia to challenge the two. When Anthony also spoke up, Eliza understood quite clearly that they were in the minority of their peers with regard to moral uprightness.

Not for any selfless reason, Eliza slowly slunk up towards the stage with their backpack over one shoulder. Eliza took the chance to scan the crowds and stayed well away from the center of the Maura and Tiffany exchange. Eliza wouldn't step on stage, just meander up as if to get a better look at the humans in chains from the far side.

Maura takes a half-step in front of the girl she claimed as property, her hands out from her sides. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'll hav—!"

Whatever else she was going to say dies as the heavy chain mysteriously dissolves into fluid and splashes onto the stage. Those nearby or with really good noses can smell the sea salt plainly. Then Anthony starts giving his miniature speech, and it doesn't take long for several other students to put two and two together, all of their ire focusing on him. Most of the captive classmates, however, find this turn of events even more frightening and confusing. Several drop to their knees where they're standing, prepared to protest their innocence, but a handful gather their wits by the time Anthony is done talking and bolt back the way they came.

"Bob! After them!" The Headmaster gestures but the wolfman had already snapped out of his own stupor and took off running. Then he gestures at Anthony, Eliza, Felicia, Maura and Tiffany as he names them and says, "All of you are to go with Miss Saphee. Now!"

 Felicia watches as the chain melts away, she smells Sea Salt, Felicia just looked at Maura, and stood by Tiffany to defend her friend, and possibly more hopefully. Felicia shook her head she hated her short attention span.

 Then some of the kids on stage ran, then the Headmaster spoke her name, he seemed upset so Felcia wouldn't even think and move using her leaping ability and her full speed to get to Miss Saphee as fast as she could. As she was running and leaping to Miss Saphee she would say," Yes Sir"

In reply to Aeternitas (msg # 72):

Anthony chuckled, and shook his head, “I spy with my own eye, ‘Bob?’ Bob the werewolf?”

However, he stood up from his seat, and as directed followed Miss Saphee, giving Ellen the snake woman a wink and a grin before heading off. As he approached the group of students named, he nodded to Tiffany first, saying (with a smile), “Well, this is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into!”

To Eliza, he nodded and said, an amused expression on his face, “Eliza. As I believe I mentioned, associating with Ms. Cabot would be deleterious to your mental and emotional health, and already you’ve run afoul of the school rules. Tsk tsk.”

OOC: Anthony said no such thing. To quote Samuel L. Jackson, “That’s some bullshit.”

Finally, he turned to Maura Ebongrove, and inclined his head. “Ms. Ebongrove. So interesting to meet you.”

Well.  This was getting out of hand, and something was clearly going on with the administration.  They weren't telling the students things that they needed to know, apparently, and they were acting at the behest of the Ebongroves, showing clear favoritism.  Something ought to be done about that.

"I don't think I got you into a mess, Anthony," Tiffany said.  "I think you got yourself there, the same as you always do."

She went to Miss Saphee, of course.  But she failed to see how she'd violated any school rules... unless it turned out that challenging an Ebonsgrove was an unwritten one.

Eliza stood at the side of the stage, eyeing the suddenly freed humans with as much surprise and as good humor. Eliza gave one of them a gormless shrug when they caught Eliza's eye, as baffled as they were. When a few of them fled, Eliza made no attempt to follow or stop them.

Grinning widely at the local chaos, Eliza wasn't sure they were among the ones in trouble, until Anthony's comment confirmed it. They gestured in mock helplessness, her wide grin not leaving her face as she lied, "And I thought I was fitting in by scoping out which of them I wanted to pick as my assistant. Guess it takes bad taste in sneakers to be able to claim one." With that last barb aimed at Maura's earlier incident with the spelled shoe, Eliza shrugged again. "At least I'm in trouble with bad company."

As Eliza moved to assemble with Tiffany and Felicia before Saphee, they said to some of the captive humans still on stage, "Life gets weird sometimes. If you can't fight weird, it'll suit to become so."

"Quickly now, this way," Saphee says before slithering ahead of the kids while the Headmaster remains behind mollifying the increasingly angry crowd. She leads them backstage and into a narrow service hallway utterly lacking in the admittedly faded finery of the public side of the auditorium before she chooses what turns out to be a classroom possibly dedicated to art or drama classes given the hodgepodge contents. Maura and the as yet unidentified girl come in last and go directly to the other side of the room, well away from the others. Maura is leading her by the hand and didn't seem to notice the outrage of her (former?) minions at all and had simply scoffed at Anthony's greeting.

Saphee closes the door firmly and settles onto her coils with a soft sigh. "Okay, this has turned into a mess, but nobody is in trouble right now. Let's have a nice, calm discussion about what happened and come to a resolution, shall we?"

"We can start with the fish telling me what on Earth she thinks I was doing wrong," Maura says with a huff, prompting a mild expression of exasperation to cross Saphee's face.

Eliza watched the crowd get more incensed, wondering what exactly was the agitation. Did Eliza really just walk into a school of barely contained malcontent in the middle of civilization or were they just as annoyed but less culpable? They didn't hate the idea but Eliza wasn't prepared for it, and they really needed to start brushing up on their enchantments to defend themself.

Eliza asked Saphee, ignoring Maura's cheap jab to ask, "So, do we just treat Renfield's kids like slaves and chattel? I'm more versed in mundane, modern human societies and this wasn't, like, really in the brochure my parents got." Eliza spoke as they wandered towards one of the racks of costumes.

 Felicia looked at Saphee and she said," Well for one why where they in chains, and why did Maura get to just choose, when none of us knew what was going on or why they where brought out, I thought it was wrong when we where not told anything Miss Saphee."

 Felicia tried to give a nice smile but her razor sharp teeth just made her look more like a monster herself. She will mentally send to Tiffany," I don't like Maura and I am behind you, I am your friend and will protect you with my life."

In reply to Aeternitas (msg # 77):

Anthony smiles at Nurse Saphee, and shrugged amiably. “What is the problem, Nurse Saphee? Or, rather, what is it, this important matter that troubles you so? It seems clear that this is a simple matter of the best and brightest students in the incoming freshman class, getting to know each other. An impromptu gathering, if you will. Much ado about nothing.”

"Maura, clearly you weren't following the rules," said Tiffany.  "You jumped up and picked someone, and not only did you not wait for the teacher to explain what was going on to the new students, he wanted to stop you and for some reason didn't.  That's not fair, and I objected to it."

Saphee blinks at Eliza. "Er... The only students here are Baneberry Academy students. They're not going to be kept in chains like that. As barbaric as it is," she says, turning her attention to Anthony with a nod to his earlier outburst, "One of the reasons that the tradition hasn't been overturned is it keeps the new students from hurting themselves or others while they're panicking. As Maura said, they've been thrown into the deep end of the pool."

Maura glowers at Tiffany. "How am I supposed to know what that man is thinking? He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants because the only person that could stop him is my mother, not that she cares about him in the slightest."

She then turns to the small Asian girl and inspects her condition before leaning down slightly. "How are you? And what's your name?"

"Seong. I'm okay," she says, although one may be forgiven for doubting how okay she really is from the tremor in her voice.

 Felicia listens and and then Maura speaks about the Headmaster, then she talks to the Asian girl nicely. Maybe she read Maura wrong or is she doing this for us, Lesliegh said her family are dark witches, so she will watch Maura closely but give her the benefit of doubt for now, she was being nice to Seong.

 Felicia will try not to show Seong her razor sharp teeth, she smiles and says," Hello I am Felicia nice to meet you, we will not hurt you Seong." She will hold out her paw which looked like a human cat hybrid hand.

Tiffany sighed.

"...I don't understand why the headmaster acted that way.  It doesn't make sense.  Maura, you don't seem to have any more right to 'claim' someone than I do.  I may have jumped to some conclusions, for which I apologize, but Maura, why did you think that you could 'claim' her like that?  She's just another student here.  Acting that way lacks class."

She made a mental note that the headmaster's behavior was likely to be unpredictable.  That was dangerous, but she'd have to be adaptable.

Eliza pulled a costume off the rack, a blue puffed sleeved dress with a white pinafore, holding it up and as if modeling it for Seong, a sympathetic look on their face as Eliza did so. "And Seong went tumbling down the rabbit hole." Eliza lowered the dress and addressed Seong and Maura. "Nice to meet you both. I am Eliza Draper."

They put the Alice dress back on the rack and said, "It is good we didn't leave the others behind to just get killed, but they are all going to be claimed by now. I presume it wasn't you, Anthony, that dissolved the chains to water? I wouldn't presume, but worked iron - no matter the magic source - usually takes some preparation to transmute."

In reply to Eliza Draper (msg # 85):

Anthony frowned as he looked at Eliza. “Certainly not. Ridiculous!!”

Then he turned to Tiffany and Maura. “What is all this ‘claiming’ nonsense? Of course, it depends on what you mean, exactly, by ‘claiming’. Do you use the term as a synonym for, ‘Seong is now under my protection’, which would be a noble endeavor, or do you mean to turn her into one of those vapid, chattering ninnies currently following you around and clearing your fellow students from the chair you choose to insert your lovely derrière into?”

Then he turned to the nurse. “I remain unclear as to why the administration deemed it necessary to split us off from the orientation meeting?”

OOC: Anthony did it and he’s lying through his teeth.
19:41, Today: Anthony Arkham rolled 23 using 1d20+7.  Anthony: Deception.

Seong makes a noncommital noise of greeting while Maura's gaze rapidly scans between the various other kids. Saphee sighs and says, "What Maura has done is actually unusual but not unheard of, and in fact, it seems to be common for Ebongroves."

"Naturally," Maura says with a tone that more than implies that she thinks the rest of the people in the room are idiots. "The powerful do what they like, while the weak can only lick their boots or watch helplessly. I wouldn't know about the former, it seems to be a Cabot thing, but I have tasted the latter and I decided that never again would I simply watch."

"Maura, that's not helpful," Saphee says with her hands going to the approximate location her hips would be were she bipedal.

"I'll see if I have a care in one of my purses. And speaking of cares, Felicia was it? Have a care and take a less frightening shape, already. You are a shapeshifter, aren't you?"

"We're here for two reasons. One is because some of you are suspected of being responsible for the chain transmuting into water. The other is to try and nip this feud you seem to have your heart set on in the bud, Maura," Saphee says with an exasperated sigh.

 Felicia will listen and when Maura slams Tiffany, Felicia speaks up and says, " Maura that is not nice, I know not all humans are like you Maura, but you give good humans a bad name. You should want to help and protect those they can't protect themselves that is what the Goddess Bast teaches."

 When Maura asks if she can take a less frightening shape, Felicia smiles and transforms into her house cat form and goes up to Seong and will rub against her leg. Felicia will send Seong, " Is this better I will not hurt you."

 Felicia will send to Miss Saphee," Miss Saphee I smelled a strong odor of Sea Salt when the chains where turned into water, does that help? I did not change the chains, my Mother is the only known Bastet to actually wield magic."

(OOC- How does Anthony smell to Felicia?)
This message was last edited by the player at 10:10, Mon 14 Oct 2019.

"It's good to be clear about your views, Maura," said Tiffany.  "I'll keep it in mind for future dealings with you.  You've been very informative, and your clarity will be remembered."

She regarded the others present carefully, and nodded.

"I'm sure that we'll all remember this conversation in dealings with you in the future.  That aside, it seems premature and even random to bring all of us here on the theory that we had something to do with the chains being transformed.  This is clearly the work of someone with very powerful magic, and probably someone who acts on impulse without a care for the consequences of their actions.  That counts out most of the people present... surely you have records as to who's a powerful spellcaster here?"

She didn't stare pointedly at Maura, but her tone of voice made it clear regardless.

Anthony rolled his eyes. “Excellent. We’ve transitioned to the ‘veiled threats for polite society’ phase of the meeting, and with that, I am officially bored. Can I leave, before someone breaks out a sternly-worded memo? We’re mere moments from longing glances and unrequited love.”

Eliza still poked through the costumes, looking like they were really considering which one they might try on. They wondered if they got pulled in just out of suspicion of trying to be part of the scheme or part of the feud.

"Felicia, you are your own being, but you don't need to transform because Maura asked you to. I feel for Seong too, but she's also not going to get a better introduction than this. Better than her peers out there, at least, and she has to learn we are all people." Eliza paused and pulled out what looked like a fuzzy lined bomber jacket and considered it.

Eliza shot a glance at the girl Seong still seemed to cling to. "Maura didn't ask Nurse Saphee to move away or leave, I notice."

"Even if you didn't do it, it happened while you were making your objection," Saphee says before turning to Eliza. "Eliza, what were you doing walking toward the stage?" She doesn't so much as blink at Felicia's telepathic contact. Maybe. It might mean that Tiffany did it, or it might mean that somebody wants us to think that.

Maura dismisses Tiffany's commentary with a vague wave of her hand, turning to Seong and Felicia as she says, "There now. Nothing to be afraid of, right? And when you've calmed some we can try again with the humanoid form."

Seong, for her part, seems confused by the telepathy and doesn't manage to send any responses. She does bend down and pick up Felicia, gingerly and hesitantly, before cradling her in her arms and petting her softly after pushing her vaguely white hair out of her face. She's skinny, but not painfully so - Felicia can't count her ribs as she could Lesleigh, and Seong isn't struggling to carry her weight.

That sorted for the moment, Maura turns to Eliza and says, "Of course I haven't. She's not in my way... Try that on, Eliza. It should suit you."

Saphee slips an ipad out of a pouch on her belt and starts tapping on it as she waits for Eliza's response.

 Felicia will send back to Miss Saphee," Yes that makes sense, but who here has the magic to do that Miss Saphee, I don't know the Autumn smelling boy, he seems  interesting but dangerous Miss Saphee."

 Then she will mentally send to Tiffany, " I think someone wants to try and blame you, when the chains disappeared I smelled Sea Salt, who here can do that, who is the Autumn smelling boy Tiffany do you know him?"

 Felicia will let Seong pick her up, she wont fuss at all, and when she pets her she will begin to purr loudly. She will try and make Seong as comfortable as possible.

 Felicia will send to Eliza," I don't mind it is helping Seong cope I want to help and protect her, Maura is being very nice surprisingly."

 Felicia will cuddle with Seong and when she thinks Seong is ready she will lick her and keep purring.

 Felicia will look towards Anthony and mentally send to him," Hello I am Felicia I am the kitty, who are you and why do you smell like Autumn?"

Eliza paused when they were called out, as if forgetting that they didn't just wander in after the others. "What was I doing?" They asked, as if they weren't certain. "Well, when everyone else seemed to get into the, ah, fervor of terrifying the Renfields, I as confused as the others here. And when Maura claimed one for herself, I figured it might have been part of the tradition as well?"

When Maura ordered Eliza, Eliza gave Maura a cold measuring look and glanced at Felicia a moment in Seong's arms. The jacket went back onto the clothing rack. Eliza continued rambling, "Anyway, Tiffany and Felicia are friends, and if they'd committed some desperate faux pas and the school turned on them, I might have made a distraction, or else I was thinking I might claim my own assistant as Maura had, to spare another poor lost soul. Fear tastes terrible, so it probably would have been to their benefit as well. Better lapdog than chattel. Is there a class on inhuman political theories? I only studied human ones before now."

Eliza responded briefly to Felicia, *You're choice. I don't take orders from people condescending to me.*

Anthony chuckled. "Of course I get blamed for things that merely happen when I'm talking. I know my words are powerful, but there ARE limits."

Anthony started then, jerking slightly more upright, and looked down/over at the cat. He said (aloud), "Do I? How extraordinary!"

Then he smiled and continued, "Since you asked nicely, my name is Anthony Arkham. Our family compound is in Gloucesterport, where we've lived since the settling of Massachusetts. Yep, yet another old New England family, like the Cabots, and the Ebongroves. I am, in fact, directly related to H. P. Lovecraft, and that lineage as well. It's a strange mix, that sometimes combines in a strange way."

"I don't really know about smells, or what magic could have done this," said Tiffany.  "The chains seem pretty dumb, but whatever.  This whole thing is looking like a misunderstanding more than anything else, not helped by the school explaining things poorly and selectively enforcing discipline.  I'm sorry for anything that I misunderstood here, and for any trouble that that caused, and can we get on with things?"

At this stage, she certainly didn't care who'd transformed the chains.  That was their business, and it had been fairly pointless in the end.

Maura's gaze flicks between Felicia and Anthony but she doesn't comment on the apparently one-sided conversation. Saphee cringes at her iPad and then slides it back into the pouch it came from. "Well, I think it's clear that this isn't going to get anywhere at this rate, but I'll point out to all of you that you're in the same classroom, so I'm going to have a quick chat with your teachers before class begins."

Saphee checks her watch, a plain mechanical one made of silver that she wears on the inside of her wrist. Simultaneously Maura sighs and says, "I see. Then you'll be wanting peace in the classroom."

She turns to Tiffany fully, straightening up such that she can truly look down her nose at her as she says, "Very well, I'll accept your apologies and refrain from further remarks on your quality as a person."

"Ugh, I have been thinking this the whole time, but you really are just like your mother. Did you know that?"

This outright stuns Maura such that her mouth hangs slightly open as she stares at Saphee. Her mouth moves briefly but nothing that can be called a word comes out of it as her brain processes this information. Then she softly says, "I see."

She looks back at Tiffany and speaks haltingly. "Perhaps I was too harsh. Please accept my apology."

Saphee's eyebrows rise so high one might joke about them coming clean off her head.

In reply to Aeternitas (msg # 97):

Anthony chuckled. "There are tales told of Maura's mother. She is a figure of legend. Powerful, canny, unpredictable, certainly formidable, and certainly capable of wiping insects like myself off the face of the planet with the merest thought. I know of NO stories, however, that speak of her kindness and compassion. If Maura has indeed placed Seung under her protection, that perhaps the similarities are not so stark."

Then he shook his head, as if to clear it. "But what do I know. I'm just a guy who apparently smells like a pile of leaves, so there's that. OK, I'm off to class. Tchau."

==> exit to class.

"I... didn't think we got dismissed. Does he even know where our class is?" Eliza said as they watched Anthony leave while lifting a fake kris that could have been from any number of plays.

They glanced at the others as if to confirm that they weren't completely crazy, but shrugged. Eliza asked Saphee, "Do you know what they named the newborn minotaur? Do we have any sort of magic or temporary glamours that make the less human of us pass effectively? Or are most of us effectively confined to the shadows?"

It should be possible, Eliza was certain, but spells that would account for Saphee's tail without causing people to trip over it would have to be more than minor magic. Eliza wondered at how long monsters could remain hidden in a modern surveillance state if they didn't have a fake ID and faux appearances.

Saphee doesn't move out of Anthony's way, exactly, which is probably her expression of displeasure at him taking off on his own, but she doesn't stop him, either. Distracted by the apparent resolution of the budding feud between Cabot and Ebongrove, at least for the moment, she takes a moment to gather her thoughts and respond to Eliza. "You would have to ask the family. Even if I knew it, it wouldn't be my place to share, just like it's not my place to tell people how to get in touch with them if they didn't give me permission beforehand. I'll take well wishes and the like and pass them along the next time they come in or for Doctor Glenn to deliver when he next makes a house call," she says, shifting slightly on her coil as she regards Eliza thoughtfully and prepares to answer the next bit.

"It's mostly the latter, I'm afraid. The magic that would simply conceal my body, for example, doesn't prevent people from tripping over me. Similar magic used on a minotaur wouldn't change the fact that they can't fit through a typical doorway without some manoeuvering. A true transformation is a difficult thing to create, and they have to be highly individualized to the user and the time and place they'll be used. You can get them from powerful witches if you can pay their prices, assuming the ingredients are even available; part of the price tag is purchasing expensive and rare things to go into the potion," she says, then looks in the direction Anthony went. "The exception being faerie lords. Their magic is unlike that of other uncanny folks and is quite capable of standing toe to toe with great witches. Their Kings and Queens are among the few with power rivalling Catriona Ebongrove's."

"That's a fair question," said Tiffany.  "Good wardrobe can do wonders, though.  I can try and arrange some things through my family-- we work with skilled and discreet tailors to help our older family members get through social situations without awkwardness.  It's really amazing what the right hat or coat can accomplish."

 Felicia smiles at Tiffany, and sends back," Thank you very much the help would be so wonderful."

 Felicia will be playing and keeping Seong calm as everyone else talks and then Maura apologized and Felicia was taken back by that but was happy to see it. Felicia will then finally move away from Seong and transform back to her normal form and look at Seong," I will not hurt you come on my name is Felicia , this is Maura, she will show you around."

 Felicia then looked at Miss Saphee and says," What do we do now Ma'am?" She will look at Maura and smile and send to her mentally," Miss Maura you are not what I expected I am sorry, if Seong needs more time with my cat form please let me know."

Eliza nodded as turned away from the props, "How very. I wonder how that's going to play out in the next couple decades. If we all don't destroy the planet ecosystem by de facto presence before then, it should be very exciting if we can't innovate like humans have. " Eliza said this more like a professor considering the rise of neoclassicalism in art, rather than an issue of potential war between humanity and not. They idly flipped the weapon around between hands, without any noticeable dip in skill between their left and right but without any particular regard for safety either. " Power, like the energy of the universe, is not static."

The fake knife ended up back in the bin they found it in, and, as if compulsively needing something in their hands, Eliza pulled out their phone instead.

"...Power can shift, can't it?" said Tiffany  "But I think it has inertia; it's not something that easily moves from somewhere that a great deal of it has gathered."

She took a moment to look Seong over herself.  The poor girl was having a rough enough day as it was; she hoped Seong was resilient enough to recover.

Maura's eyes narrow as Tiffany engages in the conversation without acknowledging her apology, but she doesn't glower for very long as she reacts to Felicia's telepathy with an upraised eyebrow. "I had wondered what was happening. I assume that you know better than to go digging around in my mind, but consider that a warning not to, just in case. Your apology is accepted and I thank you for the care you have shown Seong."

Seong, while still clinging to Maura for safety, slowly reaches out to touch Felicia's fur with the tips of her fingertips. "You're really soft. Is your... Is taking care of your fur similar to human's taking care of their hair?"

Saphee shrugs her shoulders and slides a few feet away from the door while uncoiling in preparation to leave and says, "Well, I'll lead you all to your classroom if you're ready."

 Felicia smiles at Maura and mentally sends back to her," I can only communicate mentally Miss Maura I can not read minds, and it was my pleasure to help Seong, she seems nice and just need a little help. If you need me to help please ask Miss Maura."

 Felicia smiles without showing her teeth at Seong as says," Thank you I am glad you think it is soft, well I take baths and use shampoo it is like taking care of hair all over your body, I do get warm in the summer that is for sure." Felicia will kneel down to be on her level so she is less intimidating and she says," Would you like to hug me, I will never harm you Seong."

 Felicia will listen to Miss Saphee and then add," I am ready to head to class Miss Saphee."

Eliza shrugged, not sure how deep into philosophy they wanted to go among those who might fear to lose it, particularly Maura. "Oh I'm just a teenager going on about nihilism, Tiff. Nothing really, matters, anyone can see."

They appeared to be playing some game on their phone, but it obviously wasn't taking up all of their attention, as Eliza's eyes glanced around as they spoke.

"I suppose we should get going to class," said Tiffany.  There was clearly going to be quite enough going on; it ought to be interesting to see how some of it panned out.

Maura replies to Felicia's telepathy with a small nod, while Seong hesitates to reply about the hug, still clinging onto Maura like a security blanket. The moment passes as the decision to go to class is reached, and Maura takes Seong's hands and firmly places them on her arm in a more dignified manner before fussing over her white hair and following the others. Saphee leads the way, slithering out in front of the kids, but waiting for them to catch up with her torso before continuing, her long body running alongside the trail of students and beyond by a couple of feet. She points out a couple of things in passing, such as paintings and trinkets on display in the halls, and quite relevantly indicates the large field through a huge window and says, "Oh, you don't have to worry about being seen here even in broad daylight. That fence is fairy magic that confuses people and distorts their memory. Even the hunters have a hard time with it sometimes."

Fortunately for Anthony, there are also a handful of paper signs posted in the hallways which give directions based on your year and then your name as you come closer to the classroom. The room itself is one of the newer semi-cubic buildings. The interior is quite cozy, with walls painted in a soft green as a complement to the blue carpeting. The room is furnished with a trio of large tables that are pushed together and surrounded with chairs, a round low table surrounded by bean bags, and a handful of other objects to sit on with some surface nearby suitable for placing objects. There's a large television on one wall, and a quartet of locked cabinets along the back wall. Once the last of the kids have come in, there are approximately two-thirds of the seats filled. In the corner that houses the round table sits the pale girl that snapped at Eliza earlier and a couple similarly pale-looking apparent friends. "Ah, fuck. Now the room smells like brimstone," she says with a smug grin that rapidly vanishes as a person the size of a small to mediumish dog drops down from the ceiling, suspended by a silken thread from their lower body, prompting a small shriek from the pale girls.

"Now, now, let's not start with that on our first day, please and thank you," he says before disconnecting entirely and skittering across the floor while he fixes his tie - it's alignment an inevitable casualty of his ability to move along walls and ceilings. "Come in everyone and find a seat while I chat with the lovely Miss Saphee."

Saphee's smile tilts and she says, "You never change, Gerald."

Anthony found a seat at the one of the larger tables. He briefly considered joining the PNGs (pale nasty girls) but decided against it, thinking to himself, "Not sure they're amusing enough to bother with..."

He sat in his chair, hands folded in front of him, to all appearances ready to learn, although his internal monologue was much different. "Now. What to do about those vampire chicks? Crossbows and wooden stakes for the class? I wonder how they feel about garlic? Hmmm... perhaps I should stop watching mediocre, and probably inaccurate  horror movies. What *would* bother them?"

Tiffany, in turn, was smiling at everyone warmly, and greeting any students near her.  Making friends was good, and she was very social-- and there were always advantages to making connections.  No question about that at all.

 Felicia will follow Miss Saphee into the room, she will smile at the other kids, she will see Tiffany making friends , Felicia is a little more reserved. When the Vampire girl makes fun at Eliza, she will look at the girl smile and show her teeth.

 Felicia will take a seat net to Tiffany when they sit down. She will get a smell on all the students within her range of smell.

Anthony looked over at the PNG and asked, politely, “You seem to have a problem with my friend. Do I need to pay attention to you?”

Eliza was distracted by their phone initially, frowning about something they were reading up on and in the midst of a furiously typed response when they registered the comment.

Eliza's first reaction had first been the flaring fury of there being a demon in the room, and clearly looked around to find the offending person... before settling on the same psychic vampire that they'd already dealt with in the auditorium.

Eliza's response came all at once at as Anthony finished speaking up for them. One hand raised in a clearly rude gesture, Eliza looked as angry as any of them had ever seen, "Shove a stake up where the sun don't make your skin glitter like a diamond, sunshine. Already making specist comments, looks like some human derivatives don't fall far from their racist trees."

Eliza phone was already shoved into a pocket, both hands end up open as if they were already about to square off. Eliza didn't even seem to remember there were still professors in the room.

Momentarily distracted by Anthony's politely worded question, the pale girl turns back to Eliza and flashes her a fanged grin. "Anytime you human lovers want to get put in your place, feel free. I'll give you the first shot," she says, while the rest of her cohort get similar expressions. One that noticed Felicia's bared teeth earlier seems to have singled her out with a glare.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Saphee says with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't think I need to."

Seong cowers behind Maura, trembling in fear while Maura has a decidedly bored version of an incredulous expression. "Kill each other somewhere else, will you? We have lessons to take, after all."

Anthony laughed delightedly, and answered the pale, nasty girl who seemed to be the group's spokesperson, "That's the spirit! Shout your despite into the wind! Bravo! Well done, I say!"

He chuckled, and as he turned toward the arachnoid teacher in preparation of a morning of enlightenment, concluded with, "This should be fun."

 Felicia looked at the Vampire girl that gave her a bad look back, she looked at her smiled and shook her head and took her seat next to Tiffany. Tiffany smiled when Maura took charge and told them to stop, she added," Yes let us begin our lessons." She smiles at Maura and then smiles nicely and warmly towards Seong.

Tiffany frowned at the disruption... she didn't want to make the assumption that violence was about to break out, after all.  But she watched and waited, tensed to make a move and back up Eliza... if necessary.

She really hoped that it wouldn't be necessary.

Eliza rolled their eyes as they realized this was less about demons than being teens, "Oh gods, no, I don't eat garbage. Just go have your dreams of world domination with your billionaire slash fanfic." Their metaphorical hackles lowered, Eliza was a little relieved. Eliza could handle teen drama, that what they wanted, or so they told themself. And Eliza wasn't sure they could eat magical undead. Certainly not a group of them at once.

Except for maybe Felicia, she wasn't sure she could count on the others being so magnanimous to help her. Anthony didn't like them, Eliza was pretty sure, and Tiffany had her reputation...

Eliza closed their fists, rubbing their fingers together in a sudden lack something to do. They looked around the room to see if there were any more isolated humans looking terrified at the appearance of a giant spider and a snake woman. Eliza didn't really need a minion, but they would at least offer a little help if needed.

If there weren't anymore in their class but for Sophie, Eliza would just find an empty table end, knowing they made enough of a display already.

Eliza notes that there are only a handful of other kids in the classroom, all of whom are highly interested in not being involved in the contest of wills and prejudice. There's a boy with small horns on his head and cloven feet sitting at the large tables, a girl with glasses sitting on a bean bag she's pulled away from the low table where the undead group has concentrated, and finally, a second boy that might be human sitting at a small desk of the traditional classroom style. These three look especially pensive.

"Garbage? Who're you calling trash you damn—!" she starts to say but suddenly her mouth clamps shut. Her crimson eyes swiftly lock on Maura, who has raised a single finger.

"And just who are you glaring at? You're frightening my little Songbird," she says, before flicking her finger downward. The pale girl lurches forward onto her knees, shivering from the strain of her resistance, but ultimately finds herself prostrated on the floor. "That's better. One should never tell another to learn their place until they're familiar with their own, wouldn't you agree?" Maura then turns to Seong, who is staring in wonder and says, "We'll have a seat here," before guiding her over to a small couch sometimes known as a loveseat as it only fits two. Seong doesn't object, still a bit wide-eyed with awe.

"Miss Ebongrove, please release your classmate," the instructor says, and with a flick of her finger, the pale girl is free to move once more. She elects to remain silent with her jaw clenched in tightly leashed fury. None of her comrades make so much as a peep of protest, either.

"Right then. Hello students! My name is Gerry and I'll be your primary instructor during the homeroom period. There are several other tutors that will be floating in and out of the room and I'll introduce them as they come up. Right now, we need to take some simple assessments of your prior education, so I'm going to pass out the tablets and walk everybody through the process of setting up your accounts and taking the tests."

Tiffany frowned.  Maura shouldn't be doing that... she wasn't sure about what to do about the magic, though.  She didn't use magic herself, but magic had vulnerabilities at times.  Calling Maura out again wouldn't lead anywhere good... but there was something that she could try.  It might work, it might not, but either way, she'd learn something about Maura's magic.  And she might also draw attention to what that witch was doing...


It wasn't anything major, of course, but she got out a pen to write something down, but then fumbled with it, throwing it point-down at Maura's shadow.  Hard.

Eliza didn't offer comment or complaint to Maura's abuse of the other classmate, glancing at the shadows just momentarily. They'd already decided that Maura wasn't any more on Eliza's side than anyone else was in the room. Eliza looked a little flushed with the scene as it was, though if it was just their rage fleeing - or self-awareness filling the void - wasn't obvious.

To avoid another scene and more personal embarrassment, Eliza sat away from the cloven hoofed classmate, instead deciding to sit at a small coffee table near the mostly human kid at the desk. They flashed a short grin, half to gauge future engagement, half to try to show she wasn't actually going to bite anyone's head off. Today, at least.

Eliza wondered at the idea of taking progress testing on the first day, among peers. They wondered how obviously the scores would be shared. If this was going to be that kind of school.

Eliza resolved to beat the deadbeats, at the very least. They pulled their phone out to tap out something. To Tiffany, Eliza texted, “oof how embarrassing. Don’t bother pretending to be my frien, btw, Im gonna compete with Anthony on alienating everyone possible”

 Felicia wanted to get up and rip the Pale girl to little bits, she wouldn't eat dead flesh that is for sure. Then Maura stopped the Pale girl, and put her in her place. Felicia smiled at Maura but she also knew not to completely trust her at least not yet. Felicia wasn't sure about Maura using magic like that in school but why would she risk it not for Eliza maybe for Seong, she would watch Maura and she would smile at Seong.

 Felicia then smiled at Tiffany when she dropped her pen, Felicia was going to use her tail to pick it up for her but Maura picked it up with Magic. Reacting to Maura's response to the pen Felicia sends Tiffany a mental message," Tiffany I was going to get your pen, but Maura she is almost acting nice but I still don't trust her, but it seemed like she thought you did it on purpose though Tiffany, that is absurd."

 Then Gerry spoke and they where suppose to do testing on their educational background. Oh boy Felicia was nervous she was technically home schooled by her parents her whole life, she knew one thing she would pass the Ancient History course for sure. The rest of the courses she might need a lot of help Felicia wasn't dumb or super smart she was pretty average intelligence. She would then wait for Gerry to hand out the tablets and get this testing done with, she was getting hungry.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:57, Wed 27 Nov 2019.

Anthony has had plenty of time and is active elsewhere, so I guess he can backlog a little if he wants.

Tiffany's pen lands squarely in a thin shadow on the ground, stopping before it can penetrate the carpet. The impact causes a ripple effect to pass through the shadow, making it darker and heavier, until it resembles a solid object extending from Maura's hand. She is quite clearly unamused as she lifts her other hand and with the flick of a finger, another nearly invisible shadow picks up the pen and drops it on Tiffany's desk. "Drop something?" she says while the first shadowy arm returns to nigh invisibility.

The boy manages to return Eliza's smile, albeit with effort. The shadow arms and pens flying across the room don't seem to be helping his nerves in the slightest.

"Right, well, at this rate I had better pass out the tablets before things get more heated," Gerry says with a sigh.

"Here, I'll help," Saphee says with a smile as she positions herself rather pointedly between the feuding students.

"You're as angelic as always, Miss Saphee," he says while skittering over to unlock the cabinet that houses the electronics.

"If you're already familiar with how these work, please go ahead and start the Academy app and register an account. You can begin the assessment tests as soon as you're ready but don't take too long. There's five in total, one each for English, history, mathematics, occult lore, and the science test is a lot longer than the others. You can work in groups if you want to but you're not being graded, so you don't have to worry about failing."

This message was deleted by the player at 14:23, Wed 27 Nov 2019.

Eliza introduced herself to the other kid, since they weren’t exactly trying to present themselves as the kid who liked to pick fights with whole cliques, “Yo, I’m Eliza. I moved here from Chicago a few weeks ago and had no idea I was going to Monster High, for what it’s worth. Small towns, who knew?” More or less back to good humor after the mercurial turn to fury, Eliza more or less was willing to pretend the posturing never happened.

Eliza also motioned to Felicia to catch her attention and tried to connect telepathically. Eliza tapped their own head twice for emphasis and thought loudly at the Bastet, *Hey, Felicia, don’t hesitate to ask for help or hunker down over here if you still wanna hang after the undead wanted a bite of me. I’d be happy to help ya use these newfangled machines.* Eliza knew that Felicia wasn’t actually ancient, but she was raised to be so.

 Felicia wasn't sure what to do, she really liked Tiffany, she was amazing and so sweet and she was the most beautiful person she has ever seen. Then Maura seemed to be a bitch but she also seemed to know what she wants, and she is being so nice to Seong. Felicia was wondering if Maura was trying to be different than her mother, but Lesliegh also did not say nice things about her sister. Felicia was confused, then when Tiffany dropped her pen,Felicia thought it was totally by accident but Maura picked it up like Tiffany might have done it on purpose but Felicia didn't see it that way. Wow Felicia thought this was going to be harder than she thought being in High School with other people. Her whole life she was taught the Bastet way and the basics to deal with Humans, she knew she would do well in History especially Ancient History because her parents lived it, the other classes she really hoped Tiffany would help.

 Felicia opened the tablet, she had a computer so technology wasn't completely foreign to her but it wasn't her best abilities though, hunting was so much easier, she chuckled to herself. She looked at the tablet and was starting her tests when she saw Eliza pointing to her and her head, she was trying to open mental communication. Felicia smiles and opens the connection and she listens to Eliza. Felicia sends back," Oh my thank you Eliza Tiffany was going to help me but it seems her and Maura are squaring off and I don't know if I want to choose sides. Some of this I have no clue about, now History if you need any help that I know. Oh I would love to rip that vampire to shreds, if she hurts you at all she will feel the wrath of my War Panther form."

Felicia then smiled at Eliza and sent back again," If I need help I will ask going to the History one first, if you need help with that one just ask. Lets hang during lunch since our eating habits are closer than most likely the others." Felicia smiles and starts the testing with the History section.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:18, Mon 25 Nov 2019.

Anthony took the tablet, oblivious to the kerfuffle between Tiffany and Maura, and set it down. He ran through the steps to create an account, and then began to take the subject matter tests.

The crushing banality of standardized tests threatened to overwhelm him, but he soldiered on.

Tiffany said nothing.  She'd hoped that her pen might disrupt Maura's magic, but it was looking like there was little that she could do about the witch-girl.  At least as yet... she'd regretted it every time that she took action so far, so she'd wait.

Eliza attempted to give the impression of a head shake over the telepathic connection, “ Oh no, fam, don’t worry about it. Not sure if this is like prison or normal high school, but if you fight one of my battles then you would have to fight em all. Besides, I think they were just being asshole racist, not, like, actually racist. And feel free to poke me about any of the other topics. I passed most of my normal classes easy, I just, ah, failed to attend most days. I’ve got room over here next to the nervous human if you can’t find space next to Tiffany. And sure we can eat together. I don’t need something live for at least a few days and will eat normalish food til then, but you won’t turn my stomach, promise.“

Eliza poked at the tablet for a bit, not loading the test software immediately to see what kind of locks they put on the school hardware and internet access.

OOC:
Eliza is going to see what parts of the school network and internet she can access before doing the test. She’s not doing any hard programming but is interested if the tablets let her access school or teacher files or websites that might otherwise be blocked, from google to websites with textbook answers like Chegg.com

09:12, Today: Eliza Draper rolled 13 using 1d20+6.  Technology, poke at network security

Eliza finds the school tablet to be locked down like a medieval princess's chastity: Everything a student could want for their academic efforts is readily available, complete with all of the apps and even access to peer reviewed journals for sources, but anything else is harshly forbidden. The academy app itself is fairly intuitive to use for anybody that has grasped the basics of a smartphone, which apparently excludes Maura as Seong has to give her a crash course on the most basics of basics - starting with the need to touch the screen with her actual finger and working their way up from there.

Assuming anyone investigates, they find the school wifi uses the same usernames and passwords they just created in the academy app, but when using their own devices the restrictions are lessened to about what one would expect in a department store or shopping mall's public wifi - no games and no porn but everything else seems to work.

Gerry and Saphee have a quiet conversation that could easily be overheard by anyone focusing on them instead of their tests, and then Saphee takes her leave.



No roll required if you want to eavesdrop on the teachers but for obvious reasons I'm not typing it all up unless somebody actually listens in. If you do I'll make it worthwhile, though.

I'd like to know how well you see your character performing on the tests. If you're stuck for inspiration on how to quantify that, remember that this is a reverse classroom, so you can simply specify an approximate grade level if you desire. I'm setting up stuff for the next class behind the scenes in the mean time.

 Felicia will set up her account and get ready to start the tests, she will activate the History test first. She will then stop her testing and just make it look like she is moving on but wont start the test, she will try and listen to the conversation between Gerry and Saphee, once Saphee leaves she will then start her history test. She thought that test was extremely easy, but that is one thing her Parents knew well was history they told her all their stories through the centuries. (She would be at a Junior or Senior level in history.)

 Felicia would smile and then try the Occult test, she did fairly well but somethings mostly about magic she wasn't that good in. Any section on shapeshifters and Bastets she would do very well in. Felicia was happy with her score she just needed to learn more about real magic.
(She would score not training in magic and the rest Sophomore level.)

 Then Felicia did the math section, basic math she was extremely good at maybe it was a cat thing, but she had no experience with advanced math just basic math. She did above average on what she could answer. ( Basic Math very high level, advanced math below Freshman level.)

 She then decided to try the English test, she didn't think she would do too great in this, since her native language was Ancient Egyptian. She did okay slightly below average for a freshman. ( She would score Freshman level on English.)

 Then Felicia got to the Science test, her parents didn't teach her much about real science they didn't really believe it, except computers they had one of them, Felicia bought it actually. Anatomy she would do okay in, if their was a cat section, she would ace it, natural sciences like surviving in the forest, hunting, she would do very well at that. For the rest of the sciences she would score fairly low.
( Her score would be overall below Freshman level, listed as untrained.)

 When she was done with her tests she would wave to Gerry and say," I am done what do we do now Sir?"

Anthony is smart. Way too smart for his own good.

So as he contemplated how he would make this interesting, an idea came to him, and he set to the test with enthusiasm and energy, and completed it fairly quickly.

Except, it will turn out, not a single one of his answers were correct. Not. One.

He had, for reasons passing all understanding, decided to offset each correct answer by exactly 1 spot. The answer to question 32, which was "B, Concrete", he had listed as "A, Abstract", and the answer to question 61, which was "D, Corinthian", he had listed as "C, Ionian'.

Each answer offset by exactly 1, and decremented, in all cases. B, became, A, and A became E, wrapping around.

He was feeling quite smug by the end of it. Certainly the proctors of the test would be stunned by the fact that not a single answer would be correct? After all, with five choices for each answer statistically he should be expected to get 20% correct, just guessing.

He waited to hear what the answer to Felicia's question would be.

Eliza was never very good at multiple choice tests. Conceptually, they understood that humans liked to put things into boxes, but for them, their otherworldly self, they were from a world of nuance and insubstance, where the only absolute was the heat death of the universe.

So they kind of relied on Eliza for this sort of thing, and Eliza - the original owner of their body - was just okay at tests. Distractable, they tried to listen to the teachers chat for most of the start, or checked in with Felicia to make sure she felt comfortable using the technology. When Eliza finally realized how much time they might be wasting, they rushed to try to catch up to where others seemed to be.

History, given their mother's career and Eliza's own interest in Art and the context around it, was her easiest subject. Math and Science were next, as she was naturally pretty clever, and math was pretty integral to how they did magic.

It was acually in English that Eliza struggled the most, primarily because it was so specifically such a contextual-cultural issue. They could read it and comprehend fine, and probably explain it, but when suddenly asked to identify typos, grammar, or punctuation failures, it tended to befuddle Eliza. The sentence just needed to make sense, why does it matter if it's in passive voice?

Eliza's magical understanding was secondhand from Eliza's body companion, but would be oddly, patchwork. Easily "magical college" level on a conceptual level, but struggling with one or two strange specifics. Figuratively, they knew how to multiply in magic, but didn't understand division, and had to take extra steps to convert everything to a form that Eliza could manage. The answers were right, but if any work had to be shown, it was a far more complicated answer than was necessary.

(OoC: I sort of expect Eliza to get a solid senior level in history (art knowledge and their mother is a historian, junior in Math and Science, and freshmen in english language (Higher in reading comprehension). Eliza is very knowledgeable in magic but has strange gaps in early or mundane skills because of their origin being off Earth. She's probably slow or worse in testing than reality because being nuerodivergent doesn't always lend itself well to tests. )

Tiffany sighed, frowned, and concentrated.  She was reasonably bright, but not an actual genius, and unlike some students, she'd been through the school system already.  She was from a privileged background, and while the circumstances of her family life changed their long-term goals markedly from how pure-bred humans operated, there were expectations of schoolwork.  It actually calmed her down a bit-- this was familiar; this was solid ground.  She focused and ground out the work.

I think she'd do pretty well on all standard subjects; average adult-level Int and a lot of good support stuff, plus the many benefits of an upper-class background.  (Tutors, plenty of time to study, good nutrition, etc)

I'm gonna just, bypass the whole conversation between Gerry and Saphee. It won't cause any problems for anybody to skip it, but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Anthony, Eliza, Felicia, and Tiffany all finish their tests before Maura and Seong, in no small part due to the aforementioned lack of familiarity with modern technology the Ebongrove girl has. "If you're done, you can go ahead to lunch early. The app will show you your schedule if you need it, but you can't take the tablets out of this room," Gerry informs the class at some point during this process.



The cafeteria, should the students elect to go there for chow, is a comfortable cafe style room with plenty of space for the kids to move around and sit in the booths and tables, although not every such booth or table has a seat for the larger-bodied species. Orders are made from several touch screen kiosks mounted on the walls, which print out numbered tickets, which are in turn shown on a large flatscreen when the order is ready to be picked up. The menu isn't exhaustive, but it covers all of the bases well, and there are various self serve counters with cereals, salad fixings, and pastries as well.

Tiffany went through the cafeteria line.  This wasn't really good food, of course, but it was here, and she could eat it.  She tended to load up on the proteins as much as she could-- she was a growing young lady, and her hybrid genetics put her metabolism into overtime-- and she was trying to be healthy, so she got some greens on the side.

But where to sit?  She looked around to see where the others were.

 Felicia would get up quietly when she was done and follow Tiffany to the cafeteria. Felicia would look for special orders, and order either live food or raw meat to eat. Once her food was done she took her tray and walked up beside Tiffany, she then said," Hello Tiffany is it ok if I sit with you, I also asked Eliza to join us as well, if that is ok?" Felicia then points to a large open table, so the others could join them when they where done with the tests.

"Of course," said Tiffany, picking a table that had room for them all to sit together.

Tiffany finds that there no such line, as multiple ordering terminals are available when she enters. All of the students present right now appear to be freshmen, released early to lunch once their tests are complete.

The menu accounts for the carnivorous nature of some students, offering large portions of meat as entrees without accoutrements of any sort. These include various organs not generally eaten by humans, which contain vital nutrients, and a notice in the menu system reminds students browsing this section to be mindful of their diet in much the same way that the software encourages picking fruits and vegetables for the omnivores.

Eliza was enamoured with the show of advanced technology in contrast with the mythology of consumers. They took their time and ended up ordering two full meals, neither light but both cooked, having skipped a breakfast that morning, something they rarely did. Live food could wait until later that evening. They weren't behind yet, but would need to feed on something smarter than a rodent in the next couple days. Eliza figured two cheap human meals couldn't be more expensive than the raw liver on the menu.

Eliza waited for their food before heading over to Tiffany and Felicia's seat, steeling themself to not be embarrassed by their burger, fries, and two slices of pizza. "Heya, how the tests go for you two? Also? So weird sitting with other people at school. I'm used to finding a small corner to hide away in."

"But now all the things that hide in the shadows are in school together," Tiffany pointed out.  "Why hide?"

She took several rather savage bites of her food.

"I think I did all right on my tests," she continued.  "I'm a pretty good student."

Eliza shrugged, "Oh there may have been a time  where I took down all the bathroom signs in the school and installed them on rows of the school bleachers rows. Some people get offended at the impropriety and you can't eat people on school property. I'll have to find out what kinds of places around this school would be good for hiding from monsters who don't enjoy art."

 Felicia smiled and sat with Tiffany and began to eat, trying to be as neat as possible. Then Eliza joined them and she smiled, after her question she responded," I did ok on some things, English and Science I did poorly, and this is this first time I have ever been in a real school.

 Felicia smiled and listened and said, " Well you hide to scope out your prey and access it's strengths and weaknesses and then exploit them. I can hunt either way hiding or straight forward, I prefer my War Panther form for combat."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:01, Sat 19 Dec 2020.

"Could be an interesting challenge," said Tiffany.  "Looking for hiding places here, I mean.  We don't have to hide now, of course, but if you want the option..."

She looked around the cafeteria.  There would be options, here and there-- overlooked corner tables might do, underneath them would be better, or perhaps behind serving stations.

Eliza gestured sympathy with her hand to Felicia, "Test suck. I've lived human's fascination with testing for like 5 years now, and they never get less boring."

"I'll bet you have never had to hide from anything before," Eliza responded to Tiffany. "Thanks again, though, for inviting me to your party. I can't imagine finding out I was going to a school for predators at the opening ceremony, and not know that uh, we all are kids one time."

 Felicia lowered her head," Well some of those things my parents never taught me, they dont believe in science, and English is my second language, my native language is Ancient Egyptian."

 Felicia smiles at Tiffany and adds," Oh there are many places to hide and I can also cheat, transforming into cat form I can hide much better. Well I think Tiffany is too beautiful she shouldn't hide." Felicia smiled at Tiffany and then finished her meal.

 Then Eliza thanked Tiffany for inviting her  to her party, Felicia then added," Yes thank you for inviting the both of us, and you have been so nice Tiffany thank you very much."

"Oh, not at all," said Tiffany.  She was, of course, quite pleased with the flattery.

"I'm just glad to have some reliable friends," she continued.  "Navigating this school is going to be tricky enough as it is."

"I imagine that there is less of an emphasis on getting STEM jobs for us here at least, so you'll be fine. Science isn't anything but magic with numbers applied, 's far as I can tell. Only real way to create from nothing is art." This last was said with some presumed authority not obvious to anyone else.

Eliza did gesture, "Things should be interesting around here. You think Anthony went to go start more shit with that Ebonygrave girl?"

 Felicia smiled at Tiffany's comment on having reliable friends, " Yes I am so happy to meet you both I would be lost in this school without you two." Felicia smiles at both Tiffany and Eliza.

 After Eliza's comment she replied," Well I dont know a lot about magic either that is my mother's thing. I will just do the best I can, ummm what is a STEM job Eliza?"

 Felicia looked around for either of them, it a very smelled filled cafeteria it was hard for her too see if either was in the cafeteria just from smell.

"Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics," Tiffany explained.  "The high-tech fields that usually try and snub girls out of them.  You can often find boys who want to explain that delicate lady-brains can't deal with the math."

She did look around for Anthony.  Where had he gotten to?

Eliza points to Tiffany in acknowledgement between bites. She doesn't seem to be having any issue keeping ahead on food between talking. "Exactly. Humans in the US, at least, seem to believe that unless can provide the appearance of functionality in a small office environment, looking at computers and processing paperwork to be approved to allow for you to file different paperwork, your basic needs are probably not worth being taken care of  - unless you are already rich, of course. And you have to go into debt to earn the privilege of staring at these computers for a STEM degree, so as to prove your dedication to looking at computer screens."

Eliza shrugged. "Given the money spent here, I assume the kids here are either privately wealthy. The rest of us are expected to learn live on the outskirts of human society without blowing cover."

 Felicia listens to both of them and then replied," Oh ok thank you, I am good with basic math, I guess my cat brain likes basic math. So I have two strikes against being a girl and being a monster." Felicia giggles then replied to Eliza," I dont know I would want to do that." Felicia said thinking that would be very boring, " Yes I guess I am here to learn to blend in."

"And that's something we can both help you with," said Tiffany.  "I've been raised around human society, and so has Eliza.  Working together, there's no reason you won't be able to learn how to avoid suspicion."

Well, she hoped so, anyway.

Eliza asked curiously, "Are you planning to go back home once you graduate, or does your kind go on some sort of wayard journey period where you have to experience the world for a while?"

"I am just hoping to get through the next few years without getting a crime podcast made about me, personally, and work on my art skills. Human materials and physics are an interesting challenge."

 Felicia smiles at Tiffany and responds," Well thank you, both of you, but mostly among humans I will be in house cat mode, I can't blend in in this form can I?"

 Felicia looked at Eliza and replied," Well my Parents sent me here when they where summoned to Egypt, I have a Temple of Bast I must protect, so I must stay in the area and the more I know about the humans and how to blend the better chance I can protect the Temple of Bast."

 Felicia smiles at Eliza and says," You are a great artist I still have the figurine you made me t the Temple. Yes human physics seem a lot different to cat physics I have noticed that." She tried to make a joke but wasnt sure if she did it right, being human was going to be harder than she thought it would be.

Tiffany looked Felicia over carefully.  Thoroughly.

...She might be getting a little bit distracted there, actually.

After a moment, she cleared her throat.

"It might be harder," she said, "but with the right clothes, you could get away with it.  That's my plan, too.  I might take a gap year and travel.  I'm not sure about that."

Eliza hadn’t missed Tiffany’s distraction but didn’t comment just like their time in the pool. They did have a thought though. Eliza finished their meal(s) already, and wished she’d eaten more than that guinea pig in the last couple days.

“Yeah, we could probably sneak you into some midnight movies with a little work. Say, since you are more or less stuck here unless you get a replacement, are you here for the forceable future? Does the tribe plan to expand here? Or are you alone for the foreseeable future? Are you allowed to date outside your kind while you wait?”

The chain was tenuous, but they hid a smile behind a sip of their the chocolate milk they’d saved for last. It wasn’t something the Prince thought of, often, but when they were more awake, it’s fun to meddle a bit where they wouldn’t think of it. They approved of meddling usually.

Anthony walked in, looking no the worse for the wear for epically poor test performance. In fact, he had a slightly smug expression on his face, as if he knew a secret that no one else did, which was usually true anyway.

Grabbing some food from the line, he walked over to join the others, singing a vaguely familiar "Tubes" tune to himself.

"May I join you?" he inquired, always civil to all, unless they were a pompous vampire, in which case all bets were off.

"Sure thing," said Tiffany, making room for him.  "How were the tests for you?  I think I did all right."

In reply to Tiffany Cabot (msg # 160):

Anthony chuckled, and replied, enigmatically, “I answered precisely as I meant to. I assume the school administration will wish to speak with me, but it is over, in any event.”

 Felicia smiled at Tiffany as she looked over her, and seemed to take longer than needed which made Felicia smile. Felicia replied to Tiffany," Oh you think I could go out in this form, that would be amazing Tiffany. If you travel do you want a kitty companion?"

 Felicia turned to Eliza, she asked a lot of questions at once and just took them one at time. " You really think you both could do that, it would be amazing. Yes Eliza I am here for the fore seeable future, I do not know if we are expanding, I am not sure there is a Bastet mate for me out there. My Parents did not say when they where returning if at all so yes I am alone to protect Bast's temple. As far as dating outside my kind there is no rule against it, there have been half breed Bastets before but they can never be a temple protector." Felicia smiles at Tiffany and then back to Eliza.

 Then luckily Anthony joined them, Felicia smiled and said," Yes please join us Anthony." When Anthony said he answered how he meant too and they might be calling him she added," Oh so you didnt answer correctly on purpose, yes they might wish to talk to you for sure if they figure it out you didnt answer honestly, may I ask why you would do that Anthony?". Felicia smiled but she forgot about her feline sharp teeth and her smile was more intimidating then friendly but the rest of Felicia's face and body language said she was happy, she definitely did not know how to smile around humans as too not be intimidating with her very sharp teeth.

In reply to Felicia Zamon (msg # 162):

Anthony shrugged, and then he seemed to focus a little, and when he spoke, it was oddly measured, and sober. "There are many reasons: Boredom. Irritation at those dumb vampires. A somewhat itchy compulsion to be contrary. But ultimately, the crashing reality that I'm probably immortal, which I just recently found out, and thanks for that mom and dad, and that this... this life, this existence, this..." he waved his hand around vaguely indicating his surroundings, "EVERYTHING... is all there is. I'm a little afraid that the weight of my existence will become a burden and eventually I'll turn into a tree and cease to be."

He exhaled. "So I confront vampires, and screw with tests. Exceptionally mature, I know."

"I'd love a kitty companion, Felicia," said Tiffany, smiling.  And why not?  There were many ways that could work out, but as far as she was concerned, all of them were good.

"Immortality is something that you might have to figure out a strategy for, Anthony," she continued.  "I... won't die of old age.  We don't.  But we're accustomed to the idea, at least.  It's natural for us."

Eliza pulled out their cellphone and began tapping away at the screen, doing nothing in particular but keeping their hands busy. "Hm, well, until the heat death of the universe, of course, the ultimate end. We all die then. Unless, well, someone can stop it. Of course, I'll only be alive as long as this body holds out, then I get sent back home. I'll have to make another vessel before then."

  Felicia looked at Anthony and said, " Oh ok I guess that works, I am also immortal as long as I am a Protector and in favor of Bast I do not age and immune to disease. I also have nine lives as well so i should be around for a long time as well."

 Felicia looked funny at Anthony he was a strange one for sure. When Tiffany replied she would love a kitty companion Felicia smiled and replied, " That would be amazing and would you have to keep me in a traveling cage?" Felicia smiled and giggled but it wasnt like a normal person her razor sharp teeth made her smile look a little frightening then friendly, but everyone could tell Felicia was happy.

 When Eliza spoke Felicia just smiled she thought Eliza was wonderful, but the other person was a bit strange and when she mentions a new vessel, Felicia asks," You need to make another vessel, you actually made Eliza?" Felicia looked confused.

Anthony paused, debating whether to settle back into "callous douchebag," but like sun, briefly peering through the clouds, he maintained this oddly forthright lack of a facade and said, "Apparently... I was always a possibility. A deeply rare, recessive gene combination. I'll outlive entire generations of my family, and then some, so I can understand why they didn't bother to mention it. I'm literally one in a... very large number."

He sighed. "I'm struggling to find anything that matters."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:19, Sun 03 Jan 2021.

"If you don't want a traveling cage, we could find a disguise for you," said Tiffany.  "Older members of my family do that anyway..."

She considered Anthony's situation.

"Well, you need goals," she said.  "Something to do with your time."

Eliza was apparently focused on their phone as they answered, "I found me in a bit of pottery my mother had been curating from Pompeii. It was my vessel to this plane, crafted with a dozen or so souls. When I tried drinking water from it, I-" Eliza paused, as if realizing they were getting the pronouns confused. "Um, they er, came in direclly and we became 'we'. Gotta make another vessel that won't get tossed in a landfill before this body dies." They gestured, "Else it means hoping someone summons her, er, him from the nether."

Eliza perks up at Anthony's existential concerns, "You never get bored committing yourself to stopping something inexorable. I'm going to be a part of making sure the universe doesn't go cold through dissipation. Some of the best monsters were most remembered by dedication themselves to something mad." They paused, "Wait is Dracula real? Is that history or...?" They looked to Anthony and Tiffany, assuming they would have some Transylvanian 'cousins' or something.

 Felicia smiled and said," Well you need to find something that matters to you if your immortal, I protect my temple and praise Bast, that is my calling as a Temple Gaurdian. "

 Felicia smiles at Tiffany and says," I wouldnt mind being in a cage for you Tiffany, but maybe we can work on a disguise so I could actually be with you Tiffany, but I still have to keep watch over my Temple though Tiffany. " She looked sad that she might not be able to travel a lot with Tiffany because of her duties.

Eliza piped up, unable to hold this one in, “Well, you know Felicia, you could always travel as Tiffany’s emotional support... kitty.”

Tiffany giggled, had a thought, and blushed brightly.

"Well," she said, "Leaving all that aside, the temple is more of a problem.  How long can you be away from it, Felicia?"

Anthony noted the expectant expression on Eliza's face, and his eyebrows went up. "Well I surely cannot say. Vampires are real, obviously, unless they continue to irritate me and bully other students, but... whether Dracula himself exists, is a question better put to them. My hunch is that the entire saga was made up out of whole cloth, that in reality they grew out of the shit of some demon and decided that THAT story was not goth enough for them and their idiotic 'Apex Predator' narrative. Poseurs and charlatans, one and all."

Eliza grimaced at the word 'demon'. "No, they are not so low as to be even fractionally as disgusting as demons. Vile things, completely and utterly. Not even proper monsters, just bottom feeders to chaos." They shook their head head, "At least vampires had the decency to have changed and grown since they were first manifest, human to more than human. If they do have some predator complex though... The Apex Nethers have a saying though, 'Being the best of one thing means you are are for lacking everywhere else.'"

Eliza frowned, shoving a lock of brightly colored hair out of their face and saying, "It sound better in Abyssal."

 Felicia looked at Eliza and replied," An Emotional Support Kitty what does that mean?"
 Felicia smiled at Tiffany and then when Tiffany asked her how long she could be away from her Temple. Felicia actually didnt know she has spent every night of her life at the Temple,  would have too consult Bass on this, she thought. She then said," I do not know that answer I will have to pray to Bass for guidance. " She hoped she could spend some time away but she didnt think it would be long that was her job protecting her Temple.

 Felicia smiles as Eliza and Anthony talk about vampires and Dracula, she just nods and smiles at Tiffany.

"Well, you should find out," said Tiffany.  "Otherwise, planning how you could travel doesn't really matter that much.  And that would be a shame."

For Felicia, but also for herself.  She wouldn't mind traveling around with a cute girl, even if she had fur sometimes... Better to cuddle, really.

Anthony smiled, as he sat back and contemplated the words of his newest acquaintances. It was clear, as he scanned the room, that he had managed to form a "clump" with these people, for better or for worse. While it was true that their words made sense, and seemed wise on the surface, he wondered in his heart when they would betray him, and how. He resolved to keep a watchful eye open, and reminded himself to be careful with what he confided. He had not revealed his true nature, nor the full extent of his powers, and resolved to keep both things in that way.

Finally, he set his brooding aside for a moment, and said, "I do not speak Abyssal either, a fact I have never regretted, even now."

The background noise of the cafeteria fades substantially as people stop eating and talking to watch the drama unfolding near the entrance. Unsurprisingly, Maura is at the center of it, with Seong clinging to her arm nervously as she looks around the expansive room. The toadies are back, and apparently, they're back to bossing people around on Maura's behalf - not that she gave them any such instructions.

And then, without fanfare worthy of such a glorious prank, the toadies shoes spontaneously transform into jester shoes, complete with bells on their toes.

You may not recall, but I have not forgotten your private line in post number 37 of this thread. =^.^=

Tiffany blinked in surprise.

"I did not," she said, "in the least expect that to happen.  Did one of you...?"

 Felicia heard the commotion, she watched and when the Toadies shoes changed. She looked at Tiffany, then to Anthony. She wondered who did it?

Anthony shrugged, and said, “Perhaps someone cast a spell, revealing the character of a person through their footwear? I, to be clear, could not cast such a spell. In case you were curious. No, if there is such a spell caster, they may be here... in the very room... passing unnoticed.”

He grinned again, and said, “Should a caster of such a clever spell show themselves, I might be tempted to signal my approval in some surreptitious way. Or, perhaps in an overt way! I am whimsical like that.”

Tiffany gave him an odd look.

"I don't think I can parse that sentence well enough to figure out if it was an admission, a brag about knowing the person who did it, or what," she finally said.  "Eh, whatever.  Just so nobody gets in more trouble.  Too much drama around here as it is lately."

In reply to Tiffany Cabot (msg # 182):

Anthony chuckled. "Isn't 'drama' our defining trait, as high school students? My father once commented that we collectively are... how did he put it... 'Often wrong, but never in doubt.'"

Then he glanced over at Maura and her collection of toadies, and said, "I bridle at the implied hierarchy, and dislike bullies intensely, whether living or not quite dead. So long as they give me a wide berth, coexistence is possible."

 Felicia smiles and says," I have never been to a real school before is it always like this in every school, yes there seems to be a lot of drama for sure. Well I can not cast magic I did not get that from my mother."

"I wonder if we could learn how?" Tiffany pondered.  "There's magic that's traditional for my kin that humans don't really use..."

A lot of it was fish-related, granted, but not all of it.

It doesn't take long for everyone else to notice the prank. For their part, the toadies both shriek in indignation and embarrassment. Peals of laughter echo around the large room and many people get out of their seats so that can take a closer look as the fiasco unfolds. A dozen or so of the bravest jeer and make comments along the lines of "Stuck up bitches!" and other insulting comments directed at the four girls. Seong clings to Maura tighter, who simply stands tall and apparently unmoved amidst the furor, at least for a moment or three.

"Silence!"

And it was so, even the most dimwitted of the assembled students rapidly withering under Maura's glare and shutting his mouth.

"I don't know who you are," she says, scanning the room, "But you've gone too far with your joke. They might be empty-headed bootlickers, but they're my empty-headed bootlickers."

Toadies gonna toadie, apparently, because even being so directly insulted while being defended seems to make the pair unreasonably happy.

"Undo your magic and I'll let it slide this time. Well, since you seem to have a shoe fetish, I can also walk on you like the insignificant gravel that you are if I must." she says, smirking broadly.

A handful of faux wolf howls and other catcalls of that sort erupt from a table of beastmen types in the back but everybody else keeps their mouths shut.

In reply to Aeternitas (msg # 186):

Anthony sighed, and said to the table, sotto voce, "She really is quite extraordinary. Unfortunately, she knows it. Pity."

"It's almost a shame," said Tiffany.  "She's not quite as bad as she could be, though.  I think she'd be better of without the toadies-- they're half the problem, at least."

 Felicia watches and really respects Maura and Seong was still very close to her. Felicia looked around to see if she could tell who might have done it. Felicia wasnt up on high school antics. " Yes she is and yes that seems to be the problem at times. " Felicia turns to Tiffany smiles and adds, " Yeah yeah she could loose them for sure." She smiled at Tiffany.

Anthony will speak up, addressing Maura. "What purpose do the 'empty-headed bootlickers' serve? Ornamentation? Menial tasks? Emotional support? Practicing having minions for your probable ascension to a position of power?"

He shrugged. "Generally, they seem to be more trouble than they're worth, with little benefit."

Not waiting for an answer, he turned slightly back to his table and said, "I've been curious about that."

"Emotional support, if you ask me," said Tiffany.  "Supportive friends are good, even if the relationship is flawed."

 Felicia smiled and her sharp teeth showed, and she replied," I agree Tiffany it must be for emotional support but I think there is more to Maura then we know and she is treating Seong very well so far." Felicia just watched and then added," So where are we suppose to go after we are done here?"

Tiffany checked her schedule...