October Event Log

[magicademymods]

October Event Log Fall Cleaning Suddenly and without warning, the lighting in or near every building on campus goes red. A second later, a deep alarm rises in volume as the buildings begin to shake. The faculty barely bat an eye as they direct students to get outside quickly. "Fall cleaning," they explain wearily to those students who have never experienced this phenomenon. Older students offer their own explanation as they move: at some point every fall the buildings of the Magicademy rearrange themselves so the cleaning golems can repair their foundations, tend to the ground around them, keep them from sinking into the caverns, that sort of thing. Totally harmless. Well, until you realize no one knows where your House tower went. Or till you need to get to class promptly except Kedrigan Hall is in the middle of a lake somehow. Or till the Library of Starchime is down in the middle of the lab caverns and you have to try to study while students practice magic in the aisles. But it's okay! This will only last for a couple of days! You can get by, right? The Bonfire To say goodbye to the warmth and hello to the frost, the Magicademy celebrates the changing of seasons with a great bonfire. A massive conglomeration of burning wood sends flame licking up some sixty feet into the air, and the warmth pouring from the huge fire wards off any hint of cold from those nearby. By tradition, the bonfire burns till morning, and many students have bedrolls or tents or even straight-out beds parked nearby so they can take their spot in keeping it lit. Others have brought food and drink, enough to selflessly share with everyone. The whole things is one big party, really; House rivalries and personal animosities and music duels are all set aside for a night as the campus unites in solidarity. It's one of the nicer times you could ask for. This Is Halloween Bad news. Terrible news. The worst news imaginable. Headmaster Birony has found out about Halloween. Diatu Magicademy is nothing but orange and black now. Carved pumpkins wander the campus and aggressively pose for anyone who glances their way (or doesn't...). Spiderwebs litter every hallways and passage, complete with spiders that patiently move their webs out of the way and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience with a sort of weariness that says they know exactly who to blame for this. A twelve-foot-high menorah sits in the Great Hall, leading some to suspect that the Headmaster's Intimations to learn more about the holiday did not produce universally-accurate results. Headmaster Birony herself patrols the grounds like a madwoman, slinging extra spookiness wherever she passes and occasionally Discovering costumes straight onto the innocent students she passes. "Spirit of the season!" she yells before fleeing, candy and toilet paper left behind in her path. If by this point you are questioning whether the Headmaster ever does actual work, rest assured you're not the first, nor will you be the last, to wonder that. Research on the SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) SUNDERDOG! (Sunderdog!) This month's assignment, for those willing to undertake it: actually nothing disastrous! Instead, the researchers ask that you compare your world to another Sundered student's, then report back to them on the differences and similarities. They're most interested in magic styles, but anything you give them will have value!

Comments

[blue_ice]

Kaiba finds himself turning red, but the mask keeps that hidden. Thank goodness this version had come with a shirt...he clutched at his spear, peering at Yugi through the eye slits.

"Yeah. The headmaster really thinks she's hilarious, doesn't she."

He wants to check out the pumpkin, but there's the matter of what he came here for to address first.

"...speaking of her, did you tell her anything in particular about me?"

[puzzlers]

"I, ah, I bet she does. Halloween kind of seems like a holiday she'd really enjoy." As soon as he's standing back up he looks at the pumpkin to make sure it's alright. It doesn't seem to have taken any damage which is good. He had carved Gandora into it and it had come out pretty good, if he says so himself. He had wanted to see if he could find one big enough to do the same for Kaiba and his Blue-Eyes though he'd wanted to ask, since the subject was probably still a sore one...

"Huh? No. I haven't spoken to her recently. Why? Did something happen? Is everything okay?"

[blue_ice]

"Of course. All that folklore tradition about the macabre."

It's enough for him to roll his eyes. But he leans down to inspect the pumpkin anyway, smiling a little at the carving despite himself. Yugi really is a skilled artist.

But back to the question at hand. He holds out the offending object: a simple sugar cookie with 'happy birthday' written on it in blue. It's a few days early, but it still makes him bristle.

"How did she know?"

[puzzlers]

He cradles the pumpkin gently, because he doesn't want to risk it getting damaged again, especially since he doesn't want to have to go through the effort of carving a second one if he can avoid it.

When Kaiba reveals the cookie he blinks. Oh. Well the question makes sense now. Kaiba would have wanted to keep his birthday and there are only a few people who would know. Himself, Atem, by extension, and Noah... probably.

"Having had to register all of us in the school I can only assume she had to know somehow. Magic, maybe? I definitely didn't tell her. I haven't said a word to anybody."

[blue_ice]

"Mm. I didn't think you would. My stepbrother's been acting quite suspicious lately, and I had to eliminate you before taking a better look at him."

He finds a nearby bench and sits, awkwardly smoothing down his skirt. "That's incredible work, Yugi. You really are an artist. And a mystery I'd just love to unravel."

It's a good thing Yugi can't see his expression because he's slightly flustered.

[puzzlers]

"He could be..." planning something. Kaiba's probably already drawn that conclusion, but Yugi keeps himself from saying it just in case. "I wanted to do something just the two of us. A nice dinner, if anything. And then we can spend the remainder of the evening together. I figured you wouldn't want to do anything crazy anyway."

He looks down at the pumpkin. "Ah, thank you. It was a bit more difficult than I thought it would be and, uhm, this was my third attempt. H- Haha. The first two came out terrible, so they were... discarded." He turns red, embarrassed. "I still have a lot to learn, but it was kind of fun. I thought we could carve another together, which I why I was coming over."

[blue_ice]

There's a proud little smile on Kaiba's face...and he finds that he's finally able to lift the mask and look at him properly.

"Let's carve the perfect pumpkin. And if we should fail, we can still cook the guts."

He reaches over to give Yugi's hand a squeeze. "And...that sounds like exactly the birthday I want. As strange as it is to celebrate with someone other than Mokuba. Every year, he used to cook up a new scheme to pull me away from my work for the day...or for a few hours, at least."

He usually sounds sad when discussing his brother, but there's some amusement in his tone now.

[puzzlers]

"When you put it like that, Kaiba, I'm not really sure that I want to." He laughs. "But there's a small pumpkin patch in town. We can find the perfect pumpkin and then get to carving. I figured we could keep them in each others dorms as a reminder or something, so, here, this one's for you." He offers the pumpkin to Kaiba with a smile.

"If we were back home I would probably offer to make you dinner, so we could stay in, but here that's kind of... next to impossible. And I'm not sure I could cook as well as some of the chefs in these restaurants besides. I don't really have much practice." Yet. He probably would have been working on that had he had the opportunity. "You have a favorite place here? And I hope you're not going to make me work to pull you away." He jokes.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba gently sets a hand on his Gandora pumpkin. It's a sweet gesture.

"Mm. There's another place on the outskirts. We've both made enough of a name for ourselves there that the townsfolk will still accept us...you've heard the rumblings, right? That they're turning students away because we're too involved with dragons?"

He leans over to give Yugi's cheek a kiss. "But trust me, I'll be more than happy to spend the day with you."

[puzzlers]

"I have heard... I guess it's gotten really bad, huh? I've been trying to stay out of it, but I know some students have done a lot of meddling..." He's done his own fair share of meddling, so he's really not one to talk, he just hasn't really gotten into it with the Ghost Dragon yet.

Yugi smiles at the kiss. "I'm glad to hear that. After class then?"

[blue_ice]

"Yeah, you have," Kaiba grinned, nudging him in the ribs. "And I'll look forward to it...though waiting all day to see you will be...difficult..."

He's trying so hard to keep a straight face. But it's fully how normal it's become to spend time with him.

"Maybe I'll even have a new and improved costume by then."

He tosses his cape over his shoulder and strikes a pose, continuing to be ridiculous.

[puzzlers]

"...well, it is a special day, so if you were up for it I wouldn't mind skipping class. I'm not really sure how you'd feel about that though."

Yugi has to stifle a laugh when Kaiba strikes a pose. "Hopefully we won't be dealing with the costumes by then, though it'll be closer to Halloween so who knows. It might even get worse." He should probably find some wood to knock on. "Maybe we can find some costumes of our own choosing... though I, ah, guess mine isn't too bad?" A mummy isn't the worst thing in the world. He only looks marginally ridiculous.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba flicks his tongue out as he thinks. Hm. It's not something he's dared to try before, at least not here...but he hasn't been rebelling nearly enough lately.

"I'll do it. I'm sure I won't miss much. On the other hand...I'd miss a lot more if I wasn't with you."

He pulls Yugi in for a tight hug on an impulse. Not that he's usually overly demonstrative, but he's just so...deceptively innocent like this.

"Can I make some suggestions?"

[puzzlers]

That sure was easy! Yugi looks pleased that Kaiba’s decided to go along with it, especially since it gives them more time together and if something else were to go wrong, then they’d have more time to sort it out too. “I think between the two of us we’ll easily be able to catch up on a single days work, and I don’t think the headmaster would get too upset knowing you skipped out on your birthday, of all days.”

Yugi smiles and presses closet, returning the hug. “Yeah, of course, the days all about you, so suggest away, Kaiba.”