things that go bump

[blue_ice]

who: Seto Kaiba and you
what: Spooky late night sneaking around!
where: Purifeul tower or the hallways of the Magicademy
when: After good students have gone to bed
warnings: none anticipated. Maybe some spoopy ghosts later.



Of the many things Kaiba dislikes about life at Diatu Magicademy, the dormitory arrangement nears the top of the list. He usually makes himself scarce in the Purifeul tower, retreating to back corners to study or holding the pillow over his head. After spending most of his life cherishing solitude, enjoying giving others a wide berth, to be so crowded in is a real pain.

((prompt a: for purifeul))

Fellow students in Purifeul tower will find him in the common room long after he's supposed to be in bed, drawing circles in front of him with a wand. There's sort of a hazy barrier around his chair, and it's intended to keep the sound out, but in practice it's creating a weird reverb effect in the common room, along with the slight chime of bells. Have fun with that, late night snack seekers!

((prompt b: for all late night wanderers))

As far as anyone else who walks the castle at night? They'll find Kaiba hiding at the base of a staircase, sitting at the edge of a moonlit patch on the ground. He's trying a different spell here, one that results in a cloud of golden glitter coating him and the entire patch of ground.

He huffs, brushing it from his hair. That is not the intended effect...but he does suddenly feel a little more relaxed. That part, at least, is intended. And should anyone approach, he'll lift a hand to attempt to dismiss them. "Despite appearances, it's under control."

Comments

b.

[puzzlers]

"...!" Yugi hadn't been expecting to run into someone else out this late, so he bristles when he hears Kaiba, a sheepish laugh follows as he apologizes for... no real reason. It's just an unintended and very much automatic reaction.

"It's under control..." He echoes as he looks at the glitter, but he decides not to press the matter. Things have been a bit strange between them recently and he's not really sure how to dispell the awkward tension that really only seem to get worse with each ( brief ) encounter. "Carry on then."

[blue_ice]

And there's Yugi. He seems to be back to normal...physically, at least, but there's a distance in his expression that bothers Kaiba. What is his problem? And does it have to do with why he's wandering too?

He wants to ask a hundred questions, but he starts with the most obvious.

"...where are you going so late?"

[puzzlers]

"I'm just going for a walk." He has no real destination in mind, but when his mind wanders he can't help but wander too. He looks to the moon, giving it a smile, because the campus is also so peaceful at night. During the day there are too many people and between the professors, the students, and the spells he just can't think. Now, however, he has nothing but time.

"If you're busy don't let me keep you."

[blue_ice]

"If you qualify failed extracurricular magic tests as 'busy', then I guess I was. But when I hit a rut, rarely, sometimes I pull back and try the problem again later."

He looks up at Yugi again. "...I wouldn't mind a walk."

He knows things are strained between them, and he hates it, but he can still hold out hope. He can still push back the sharp edges. Maybe that 'failed' spell dust meant something after all.

B

[king_of_egypt]

Finding himself unable to sleep either Atem decided to go for a brief walk along the corridors. There wasn't really anything weighing heavily on his mind, although losing a game of cards to a cat would have been a good enough reason to question your life decisions, cough but he was enjoying the quiet of the night. It was hard to believe how these halls could be so crowded during the day and vacant at night.

At first he failed to notice the figure ahead of him, but when he heard who it was and saw what had happened he couldn't help but chuckle at the other's expense.

"I never realized that you wanted to be immortalized in gold glitter, Kaiba. Most people would commission a statue or a painting."

[blue_ice]

And there's the pharaoh, amused at his misfortune again. Kaiba's bristling might have been genuine once, but there's enough gladness in seeing him regularly again that the grumbling no longer has a bite to it.

"I'd choose glass for my memorial. Gold isn't my style."

It just wouldn't feel right, and as he looks up at his once-lost friend, there's a glimmer in his mind about why. But he sets that aside to brush the mess off of himself as best he can.

"Looking for something out here? Other than my magical...errors?"

[king_of_egypt]

At least there isn't anything malicious behind the amusement.

"Why do I have the feeling you're questioning my own aesthetic."

Again, he's not being serious but they both knew that out of the two of them, Atem was more likely to be donning the glistening metallic substance.

"No," Said with a shake of the head. "Not a thing." Although, at some point he should like to explore the grounds more thoroughly. There might be much to be gained through further knowledge of it. "I was just going for a walk." The thought that Kaiba was practicing magic outside of class and so late at night had Atem thinking that he needed to up his game. Sure, this wasn't a race but he still felt a slight competitive edge, even when it came to magic.

[blue_ice]

"Maybe I am." Kaiba laughs, but it's gentle, softened by his exhaustion and this changing bond between them.

He looks up at Atem, considering this. "So...you're just walking," he confirms. "Is this a nightly thing?"

B

[bearshermark]

Luminary.

Never before had the title stirred such a dreadful, disquieted feeling in the pit of his stomach. It pulled him out of bed and led his feet down dark and empty hallways. His new bodyguard wouldn't approve, but Eleven was an adult and he brought his sword everywhere just in case. Hendrik's arrival only reinforced his paranoia.

The temples were closed at such late hours, but maybe the library would still be open. Much as he loathed his Language paper, the droll nuances of linguistics would at least give him something else to focus on. And so, books tucked under his arm, he trudged his way downstairs.

And promptly jumped out of his skin.

Eleven flattened himself against the wall, heart beating a rapid tempo in his chest, and eyed the unexpected figure silhouetted in the moonlight.

"H-hello?"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba flinched too, dreading discovery by a professor. Not that he particularly cared about the colormarch, but a punishment would be...embarrassing.

It becomes apparent that the intruder is not a professor when he's so easily startled. Kaiba doesn't exactly recognize him, but he rolls his eyes and calls out.

"I don't bite, you know. Too tired to bother with it."

[bearshermark]

It takes him a beat - two - to peel himself from the wall. His books are gripped defensively over his chest, but his breaths begin to steady by degrees and he takes a cautious step forward.

"Maybe you should sleep then?"

A

[outofyourshadow]

As someone born from the shadows, Lena always felt more comfortable at night. Maybe it was something that she should have tried to break, if only to as much distance between her and a certain witch as possible, but there as something about the atmosphere at night that one couldn't get during the daylight hours. Something calm and serene in the quiet darkness.

And even if she did want to break the habit of staying up late, having a familiar that was nocturnal made that difficult.

Still, she was surprised by the sounds she heard in the common room so late that evening, when most of the other students had gone to bed. But while she intended to leave it alone, Nectormancer darted off to investigate.

"Hey, no...get back here!"

[blue_ice]

There's a shadow approaching him. Kaiba jumps a little, but he forces himself to relax. It's a passing-through familiar, how dangerous could it be?

"Hm. Did I wake you?"

He doesn't really expect an answer.

[outofyourshadow]

The familiar doesn't give him one. It flutters around Kaiba for a moment, as though trying to get a feel for him, before flying up to hang upside down from the ceiling just as Lena entered the common room.

"Would you get down from there?"

B!

[tachyonme]

It's not that Mizael can't sleep, but rather, between the dreams that are either memories or generally unpleasant and it being very annoying to have to sleep so often, he just doesn't want to. And since it was beginning to feel like he'd have trouble retaining anything if he kept reading tonight, he's out looking for a spot to practice instead.

And it seems he isn't the only one out practicing magic in the dark. And not succeeding, apparently, if the man's reaction to getting caught is anything to go by.

"If you say so." And that's a shame, because he'd only wandered over to see the effect better...and he'd kind of like to know how that was done. "What was it supposed to do?"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba would very much like to say 'yes, I do say so', but he's aware that he looks ridiculous right now.

"Sleeping powder. I'm also willing to accept calming powder as a result, but this manner of conjuring is ridiculous."

Magic is ridiculous in general, he thinks with a huff.

A.

[grim_heaper]

Sho hadn't been to bed yet. He had been in the library till they sent him off, so he had come back to the dorm, and as usual was ignoring the other students. Or the fact that they might actually exist or matter. Which meant that he was taking apart chairs and pillows for art supplies. Quite noisily, actually. He was smashing the chairs against walls and the floor to break them apart, a bullhorn hanging from his belt.

A.

[blue_ice]

...oh wonderful. The mathematics professor was obnoxious enough during the day, did he have to bother him at night too? He was being even louder than Kaiba himself was.

"What did our dormitory furnishings do to you?"

Re: A.

[grim_heaper]

"They're garbage. CRUNCH. Add them to the heap!"

He punched a fist into his palm.

b

[nobodys_puppet]

Xion had waited until Axel was asleep, before sneaking out of her dorm. She couldn't sleep, and she knew why. There was something that she had to do. She was trying to cling to the shadows as best she could, still not used to people seeing her. Her hood was up as she slipped through the halls. She didn't approchim him, but seemed like she was trying very hard to keep him from noticing her, pressing against the wall as she passed.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba was hyper-aware of his surroundings in the quiet, so he definitely sensed that something was off, even if he didn't immediately recognize what it was. A shadow shifted. Was it a ghost?

"...what?"

He attempted to conjure a light to investigate. This spell went better than the first one, but only just, a gentle blue light floating at his side. And one of the shadows was definitely a lumpy shape. He sighed.

"That's one way to hide."

[nobodys_puppet]

She froze. She tried to remember that it was okay for people to see her now. But old habits died hard. She took a break then forced herself to speak. "I... am trying not to wake anyone..."

b

[gender_neutral]

Someone was heading back to the dorms from the library, arms over full. Willard was behind V at the moment looking like an over large somewhat deformed person dressed up to look like a japanese Oni, with patchy blue body paint, a horn held on by a loose strap, a paper third eye glued to his forehead. His arms were filled with the books that V wanted but could not carry. "What appearances would make this seem to not be under control?" V asked, confused, stopping to do so.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba spared a glance upward. That strange person with her multiversal theory...and an even stranger familiar.

"I don't make a habit of rolling around in this. But it's a test."

[gender_neutral]

"Rolling around in what...?"