March Event and Intro Log

[magicademymods]

March Event and Intro Log Golem On The Loose The rain never stops. Water and mud track all over campus. Diligent cleaning golems stomp about, mopping and scrubbing and polishing and then going back to do it all over again, and again, and again... One of them seems to have had it. The renegade golem bursts into Kedrigan Hall -- interrupting classes and disrupting labwork to furiously seize students and scrub every last scrap of mud and dirt off of them. All the halls have been locked off with "Under Cleaning" signs, and anyone who enters them meets with the golem's wrath, as it violently plays a pre-recorded message about not interfering with groundskeeping and deploys a giant claw-like tool to grab the interloper and put them back on unforbidden ground. The professors, who are after all completely immune to the golem's attention by its very design, seem to think this is a good learning opportunity for students. Is it? Horrible Spell Doom? "Are you sure you're ready for the test on Advanced Gaseous Discovery?" one upperclassman asks the other. "Of course I'm sure," the second says confidently. Whipping out a wand from a holster on her belt, she sweeps her wand through the air gracefully, pronouncing several Osmarian sigils as she draws them. Probably. "See, that's a blue cloud--" Said blue cloud, which puffs into being as the last syllable left her lips, abruptly doubls in size. Then it doubles in size again. And again. The upperclassmen, who have been in Diatu for several years and know exactly what this sort of thing means, don't hesitate. Not even stopping to share a glance between them, they run like crazy, leaving the growing cloud behind just as classes let out and students begin to enter the halls. But... surely it doesn't have any weird and wacky side effects, right? The Bala-inlota Parade (aka The Non-Horrible Prompt) To celebrate the start of the Bala-inlota season, Anastara spares no expense. The great parade and associated festival stretches the whole weekend, and the whole city puts on their colors and turns out for the fun. Enterprising vendors sell food, drinks, and souvenirs ranging from small and crude figurines to magical constructs that shine field displays onto flat surfaces so you can watch the action up-close! (Good luck affording that, students.) Practically any sort of entertainment you could want appears on the streets and canals of Anastara, and food and drink flow freely. Research On the Sundered With the arrival of the Sundered come those wizards engaged in research on their presence here, now set to investigate what brought them here and how to get them home. All newly-arrived Sundered students are asked to meet with representatives of the research team, to introduce themselves and relate what they will of their homes. In addition, the team requests samples of blood, hair, and skin -- carefully magically collected, and the researchers will sign in the presence of the Sundered a Glyphed contract that forbids them from using the samples for a purpose they know will be harmful. (They quite understand your reasons to be suspicious of this collection! And they will not compel anyone who refuses even given these conditions.) This month, the team has developed a Sundering spell that they warn is crude and unpolished, because the Curriculum is so unpracticed. They hope it will connect to your home worlds and establish a magical link they can build off of to open further passages. No promises! And to those who do undergo this spellwork... it has a certain side effect of confusion, as brief images from your home world flicker across your vision for a few hours afterwards. Wonders Await Diatu Magicademy is open to you in all its glory. Have fun!

A Special Note

If you thread out one or more scenes based on the confusion from "Research on the Sundered", respond to the comment on this post with a link to that thread. The results of this will be revealed next month! (It is, we're afraid, not a regain, lest your participation be based solely on that hope!)

Comments

Horrible Spell Doom

[shiningkindness]

Well that...certainly was unusual.

"Wh-What happened?"

Whether she was asking about the croaking rabbit, Cliff's shaky appearance, or the blue smoke still pouring from the building, it was difficult to say.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Spell gone wrong, I guess?" Cliff said that with one last cough. "I got a whiff of that blue cloud stuff, coughed a lot more than this, ran out here for some fresh air, and--this last part sounds really weird but--"

He gestures to the rabbit, who croaks again and starts to chew on a mouthful of grass, cleaning its face and ears as it does so.

"I hiccuped and that came out. And now Rounder thinks I'm going to replace him." Cliff gestures again, now, to the marble sphere that's still gesticulating at him. At least it doesn't flip him off...

[shiningkindness]

She glanced between the smoking building, to the rabbit and upset familiar, before walking over to him.

"Are...Are you okay though?"

While everything else would probably need to be taken care of eventually, making sure he was all right was the most important thing.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Other than suddenly having blue bunnyfrog, I think so. I don't feel funny or anything...but I hiccuped him up." He offers up a weak smile at that, and shrugs.

"Could be worse, but maybe I didn't get enough of a dose to get anything really weird happening to me." For which Cliff is eternally grateful.

"Don't you take in any of that blue stuff, though, it can't be good."

[shiningkindness]

Glancing at the building again, she nodded.

"R-Right..." Then she knelt down beside him. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you...maybe want some water?"

She couldn't do much else to help, but she could imagine that coughing up a rabbit might make the throat a bit itchy.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

He sat back and rubbed his hands over his face a bit, though he kept an eye out for both the rabbit and Rounder. He wasn't sure if he trusted Rounder to not just...shove the rabbit into himself and run off. That also would not be good.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that, so thank you, miss." Cliff nodded at her, then. "I'm Cliff and my familiar is Rounder. I don't know what to make of the rabbit, though."

Honestly he feels a little protective of it. He coughed it up, after all.

[shiningkindness]

With a smile, she nodded. "I'm Fluttershy. I'll be right back."

Holding up a hand with a 'wait just a moment' gesture, she hurried off to get him something to drink.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Well, he had no plans to go anywhere at the moment, so that worked out.

"I am not replacing you," he reiterated to Rounder. "You understand magical mishaps, right? This was one. I plan to take the bunny to a teacher, and if he's not dangerous--and if he doesn't disappear in a day--I'll just get him taken care of somehow. You are my familiar, not him."

As if to drive the point home, he grabbed the marble sphere and set it in his lap, despite his familiar's arms flailing in surprise. Cliff still kept an eye on the rabbit--he didn't want it wandering too far off--but for the moment he was content to wait.

[shiningkindness]

For a moment, the rabbit does start to wander off. But it doesn't get too far before something almost rubbery rises from underneath it, moving through the ground to bring the rabbit back over to Cliff.

As it sinks back underground, Fluttershy returns with a cup of water, kneeling beside him again and offering it to him.

"Here..."

[nomoremistergneissguy]

He stares at where the rabbit was gently coaxed away from taking off by something underground. There weren't any signs posted on campus about anything dangerous...

He isn't the quickest, but he also isn't slow. And with his own example of odd familiar right there, he arches his brows when Fluttershy returns.

"Thank you," Cliff said, accepting the water first and taking a few sips, still keeping an eye on that rabbit. He even reaches out to grab it and settle it closer to him when it tries to move away again. At least it doesn't do anything more than continue eating the grass. That's okay.

"Say...you don't happen to have a weird familiar like Rounder, there? Something underground?"

[shiningkindness]

With a smile, she nodded. "You're welcome."

She was also watching the rabbit, and was considering asking if she could pet it when he spoke up again with his question.

"Hmm? ...Oh! I do, yes. Her name is Ballet, the Land Whale."

As she spoke the familiar's name, the whale rose up from the ground more, looking at them with her good eye.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Oh, there you are! Are you shy?" He grins down at the land whale, before he nods to Fluttershy. "Sure, he seems harmless. If it's even a he, I'm no good at these things."

Which just made him chuckle. He wouldn't have been so clueless with his powers, but that was the way things were.

He turns his attention back to Ballet, and smiles at her. "I wanted to thank you, dear lady, for helping me corral this scamp. Your assistance was invaluable." And though he was seated, he still made a little bow, gesturing at the blue rabbit.

Which let him see Rounder gesticulating out of the corner of his eye. He straightened. "What is with you? Why is everything me trying to replace you? Ballet is Fluttershy's familiar and you're mine! I'm not trying to get rid of you, sheesh!"

[shiningkindness]

Sitting in the grass, she reached out and let the rabbit sniff her hand. When it decided she wasn't a threat, she gently pet it.

"Ballet isn't really that shy. She just prefers being underground."

The land whale gave a low rumbling sound in response before diving back down a bit, leaving only the dorsal fin visible. Then she looked at the other familiar with a puzzled frown.

"He thinks you're trying to replace him?"

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Oh. Well, land whale, that sort of makes sense. Water whales don't like being beached on ground, maybe she feels that way when she's out of it." Though if she doesn't dart away, Cliff would reach out to run gentle fingers up Ballet's dorsal fin, briefly.

By now, the marble sphere was clearly sulking, arms crossed in what could only be its front. Cliff sighed, and nodded.

"I mean, I have no idea why, I think he's cool. I try to treat him well and not overwork him--he can carry things inside himself! But I don't want to overburden him. Maybe he feels offended by that? I don't know if he was made for me, or what. Like if he wasn't, was his old owner mean to him? It's hard to say."

He wanted to be a nice master, darn it!

[shiningkindness]

Ballet moved slowly to let him run his fingers over his dorsal fin, and Fluttershy smiled as the whale gave low, pleased rumble.

At least until his familiar started sulking again, and she frowned a bit.

"Oh, you poor thing." She held a hand out to the other familiar, and if he would let her, she would definitely pet him. "What has you so worried?"

Her tone is gentle, filled with genuine curiosity at what could be wrong that the familiar felt he would be replaced.

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Fluttershy might not understand the gestures, much, but Rounder at least makes an effort. Then again, this is Fluttershy. Seems like he lost his former good master to old age, got given to a younger master who was cruel, and ran away. And now he's with Cliff.

Cliff just stares blankly at all the gesturing. He's sure he's missing something, but he's not sure what.

"...did you get any of that?" he asks Fluttershy. "Because I sure didn't, except for the point at me."

[shiningkindness]

In all honesty, she didn't quite understand everything, especially without the Equestrian magic helping her understand creatures. But something about the gestures and the feeling behind them gave her a good enough clue, and she can't help scooping him up and hugging him.

"Oh, you poor thing!" she exclaimed. "No wonder you get so upset! You've really had a difficult time, haven't you?"

[nomoremistergneissguy]

Rounder flailed just a little at the sudden hug, but he quieted quickly because he didn't really want to inadvertently flail too hard and hit Fluttershy. She's a lady, and nice! He patted her cheek gently.

As for Cliff, he realized she'd figured something out, and so he just arched an eyebrow at her. Clearly she was comforting the little guy about something. He just hoped it wasn't something he'd done. He figured probably not--he and Rounder hadn't been together that long--but there might be something he just didn't know about that was a faux pas.

So, no need to rush any of that.

[shiningkindness]

She continued hugging the familiar, gentle and as comforting as she could, and glanced up at Cliff.

"It seems like he's had a couple of masters before you," she said softly, loosening her hold on Rounder to let him down if he wanted to. "And the most recent one before you was...not very good."

[nomoremistergneissguy]

That made Cliff grimace. "Really?" He looked over at Rounder, who rolled carefully down to the ground--and immediately hugged Fluttershy's leg.

"Dude, I like you. I'm sorry your other master was a bag of doorknobs, but I'm going to try and work things out with you. I don't want to get rid of you and I don't think you're a nuisance or anything bad like that. I think you're pretty cool, honestly, and you've already been a big help to me. I don't think I own you or anything, but you're my familiar, okay?"

Though heavens help Rounder's old master if Cliff ever found him or Rounder ever pointed him out. Cliff didn't have a flash fire temper and never had, but this was the sort of thing that could start the slow burn to set him off. He'd have words with the guy, at the very least.

"Thank you so much for your help. I know even all the time I tell him good things isn't gonna fix everything overnight, but at least I have a better idea. We'll get through it together, but you did give me insight I really needed. I'm grateful." The smile Cliff gave her then was very, very real.

[shiningkindness]

She gently patted Rounder, then glanced back at Cliff with a small smile.

"I'm glad I could help in some way."

Then she glanced at Rounder again. "And you...I know you're worried, and we understand why, after all that's happened to you. But please...try to put more trust in your new partner. He wants to do his best for you...so you should too."

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Me too." Cliff laughed, then. "Rounder's been great! He's just been super uncertain of me, and a bit surly when I ask him to do things, but like you said, he's been treated poorly. So I can't even be mad."

He'd be pretty upset if he'd been treated badly, then once he came back to a safe and familiar place, be shoved at some new, weird kid and basically told to suck it up and do your job. He could relate to Rounder's issue.

As for the familiar, he gave a gentle and affectionate bonk to Fluttershy's leg, then repeated the gesture with Cliff, who crouched down to rub his hand over the familiar's surface.

"It's okay, buddy. I want to be friends, but we'll take it at your pace." He looked up at Fluttershy, then. "So what's your story, now that he's no longer out of sorts?"

[shiningkindness]

She couldn't help but smile as Rounder gave him the affectionate gesture. It certainly didn't fix everything, but it was a step in the right direction.

His question had her glancing up, a bit confused. "Huh? My story?"

[nomoremistergneissguy]

"Well, yeah, I'm curious." Cliff laughed a bit at that. "Trying to make new friends and all, and you stopped and helped me. I haven't been here very long."

He shrugged a little. "I suppose it's a really abrupt way to ask. Sorry for that. But I've always sort of been blunt, I guess. My twin--younger sister--she's the talker and the charismatic one." Cliff was the one who usually hung around and nodded in all the right places while Kat talked. But he couldn't do that here.

[shiningkindness]

She blushed a bit. "O-Oh...It's okay. There's...not really much to say, though. I really love animals, and learning about all different sorts of creatures. And it just...looked like you needed help."