Posts by Lingering Darkness

Alekto blinked as he realized Purple looked nervous. "You okay?" he asked after a pause. "You seem kinda . . . edgy-ish."

"Well . . . you could always get to know them, then. It's not your fault if you can't remember them. And your memory might come back gradually or maybe seeing someone from your past might bring back memories." There just might be a few spells that could bring back your memories, but I'm not sure if they'd work . . . You did come back from the dead, and I don' know how magic would react to that, Alekto added mentally.

"Oh." Alekto hadn't thought of that. "Well, if that someone wasn't a friend, they'd probably either ignore you or treat you as someone other than a friend. You could probably deduce friend from foe just by how they greet you . . . Unless you've made any horrible, conniving, twisted, manipulative enemies, I mean," Alekto said, his tone teasing. He obviously didn't think that Purple could make any enemies fitting that description; it was written in his tone and words and on his face.

This was the part Kaji hated. Fear was an emotion he enjoyed seeing on anyone's face; it was part of who he was and what his species was like. Happiness, rage, resentment, those were all emotions Kaji was indifferent to. But sorrow? Misery? Sadness? That was an emotion Kaji hated, despised, loathed. But what could he do? This time, Era was awake and Kaji couldn't do anything without possibly exposing himself other than play with shadows. So Kaji scowled, glaring at the ceiling, as if this were its fault, before he cast a few shadows on the wall opposite to Era- and made them into shadow puppets. Birds and fish and dogs flew, swam, and ran across the wall. This is just to get Era comfortable, to get her feeling safe. After that, she'll be more vulnerable to fear, Kaji told himself. It would be a decent tactic, too, if that were what he was planning. It is what I'm planning, he told himself as the shadow puppets continued their dance on the wall. But, deep down, past the shadowy depths of Kaji's Shadow Kitsune heart, he knew he was trying to comfort Era. He just thought that if he ignored it enough, the feeling would go away.

Kaji blinked and let his shadow puppets melt away. The one time Kaji was actually trying to be comforting, it seems all he managed to do was make it worse. But he was a Shadow Kitsune and comfort wasn't something Kaji could give easily. So he stayed where he was, perched on the corner shelf, masked by the darkness. He heard the shower being turned on, and he didn't move. Though he was a Shadow Kitsune and he did haunt humans, Kaji did have some morals; he'd leave Era alone. It seemed to be something she needed.

Alekto smiled, but paused for a moment. "You know, we could go grab something to eat, if you want, instead of heading directly into the chaos of town," he mused. "In case you wanted to ease your way into city-life."

I should probably be giving her nightmares, Kaji thought, but the idea didn't appeal to him like it usually did. Unsettled, Kaji did what he knew he was supposed to do; he sent a few shadows to haunt Era's dream. But, strangely enough, Kaji knew he was being soft when he let the shadow take the shape of horses and only sent them to calmly graze on darkened grass. Kaji was a Shadow Kitsune; he wasn't supposed to be soft on the human he was supposed to be haunting. But he was, and Kaji didn't have the heart to change it. I'm just being lazy, he told himself. I'll do worse tomorrow.

"So, what would you like? There's a cafe with coffee and pastries and things, there's a place that sells breakfast food all day, or there's Chinese takeout, or McDonald's, or there's Wawa with an assortment of things to eat . . ." Alekto said, listing a few of the food places he knew that were around.

"Okay dokey . . . Breakfast food sound good to you?" Alekto asked with a smile.

((Erza Scarlet, your character is accepted, but please keep her from killing anyone. Hehe. The asylum would also be keeping any physical weapons out of her reach, so she could have brought weapons with her, but they'd probably be kept out of her reach. Please keep that in mind. But, I do like how descriptive your profile is. Thank you for joining.))

Lingering stopped in the pavilion and sat down, grinning. No one was around and Lingering could almost forget the fact that she had no idea where she was or why she was there. Almost. But it was good enough for her. Lingering traced her Izleri, she could feel her Bri moving beneath the markings. She cast a look up to the sky. Oh, Goddess, what am I doing here? Why? But Lingering wasn't raised in a Dyut tribe, so she didn't know too much about the ways of her Goddess. She could only hope that the Goddess was watching.

Jin stretched and scratched his head lazily, musing his already unruly white hair. He waved to the male that had entered the courtyard, but didn't say anything. He grinned slightly, but, then again, Jin was practically always ginning.

Kaji could tell that Era's dream had taken a turn for the worse. A frown tugged slightly at his lips, but Kaji hid it, even if no one could see him. But Kaji, even though he knew he shouldn't, got down from his perch and picked up a pen and paper. Scrawling a "It's okay; it's just a dream. I promise." onto the paper, Kaji took a more corporeal form and started to shake Era awake, watching for the slightest sign that she was about to wake. Kaji set the paper down beside Era and took a shadowy form and fled to his perch on the corner shelf as soon as it seemed like Era was going to wake up.

Alekto grinned and offered his arm to Purple. "Shall we then, m'lady?" he asked, a stupid smile on his face.

"Great, let's go!" He set off, leading Purple alongside him, heading towards the breakfast place. Somewhere along the way, he started humming We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz! on a sort of loop.

Everyone has to go to high school, right? That’s just normal. Elementary school to middle school and then middle school to high school, and then it’s high school to college, right? That’s just how it works.

Everyone has some kind of quirk, right? That’s normal, too. There are little habits or something that makes them different from everyone else, because everyone’s different, right? That’s also how it works.

There are always exceptions to every rule, aren’t there? That’s just how it goes. There are rules that everything abides to– well, almost everything. But that’s just how the human race works, right?

Yes, it can be hard to swallow; the human race is changing. Homo sapiens sapiens is no longer the most modern adaptation of the human race. Yes, it is still, by far, the majority of the human race, but, with time, the genes that separate Homo sapiens sapiens from Homo sapiens maiores will swap; the gene for Homo sapiens sapiens will become recessive and Homo sapiens maiores will be the dominant gene.

Just wait a few centuries or so. You’ll see. In fact, the entire world will. No longer will the children that inherited two recessive genes be classified still as Homo sapiens sapiens, a species which they are not. No, they will be known as Homo sapiens maiores, as they truly are!

I even have a school for them; they are so different from their peers, after all. Smarter, faster, stronger, better than them. They have a high school now, where they can be amongst others like themselves! Where they won’t have to be ashamed that they are different, that they are unique! And the classes are specialized for their abilities and schedules are personalized for the benefit of the student.

Now, there are four different sub-classifications of the Homo sapiens maiores species. The first is Maiores corporis. This classification has physical gifts. Manipulating the physical world through physical kinesis or having physical divergences on or in the body are included in this area. Enhanced speed, strength, or stamina fall under this category as well. The second is Maiores mentis. This classification has mental gifts. Manipulating one’s mind or another’s mind, or manipulating the physical world with a mental power fall under this category. Emotions, thoughts, dreams, and memories fall under the power of Maiores mentis. Clairvoyance and other “clear” senses are also possible gifts. Kinesis like Telekinesis, Cogitokinesis, Mnemokinesis, Neurokinesis, Oneirokinesis, Pathokinesis or Patho-ergokinesis, and Pensikinesis can also be gifts. The third sub-classification is Maiores spiritualis. This classification has ethereal gifts. This includes manipulating one’s inner energy. This is called many things, depending on the Maiores spiritualis’s energy. A few examples are qi, chakra, aether or ether, and aura. Variations of using these gifts are called astrakinesis, etherkinesis, and quintessence. “Clear” senses and dream manipulation, while usually attributed to the Maiores metis classification, can also be seen in the Maiores spiritualis as well. The fourth and last sub-classification is Maiores medeis, with gifts of magic. A few forms of kinesis that do not fall under physical are included in this category, such as mystokinesis. Other gifts included in this sub-classification are spells or chants, symbol magick, magick energies, and necromancy, or being aided by the dead.

Every student takes the generic classes that all students, no matter the school, take. But they are also given extra electives depending on their sub-classification to choose from. The generic classes are as followed: Math; Algebra II for freshmen, Geometry for sophomores, Pre-Calculus for juniors, and Calculus for seniors, English; strong writing, reading comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary skills are taught during all four years, Science; Physics for freshmen, Chemistry for sophomores, Biology for juniors, and then a science elective for the seniors to go further into a science field that interests them, History; World Geography for freshmen, World History for sophomores, US History for juniors, and Government/Economics for seniors, and then each student chooses a Foreign Language to pursue for all four years; the choice is from French, Spanish, German, Italian, or Japanese. Then there are the special electives dependent on the student’s classification.

The students that fall under Maiores corporis can choose electives from the following to help them with their gifts: Physical Kinesis, Shapeshifting, Flight, and Strength or Speed Control. The Maiores mentis can choose from these electives: Mental Kinesis, Teleportation, Telepathy, Empathy, Mental Manipulation or Mental Projection, Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Clairscent, Clairtangency, Clairgustance, Clairempathy, and Dream Manipulation. The Maiores spiritualis can choose from these: Qigong, Quintessence, Astral Sight, Astral Manipulation or Astral Projection, Clairvoyance, Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Clairscent, Clairtangency, Clairgustance, Clairempathy, and Dream Manipulation. The Maiores medeis can choose from the following: Magick Kinesis, Magic Control, Spell Casting, Symbols and Signs, Necromancy, and Masking or Glamoring.

Kaji stared at Era for a long moment before realizing he still had the pen and some paper in his hands. He wrote in a sloppy script "Are you sure you'd like to know? I could be the boogeyman, you know." and drew the shadows back from the piece of paper as he let it drop to the floor.

"Hmm?" Alekto asked as the bell on the door rung, as if to greet them, or maybe to sound the alarm. "Oh . . . Uh, hehe. 'We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz'," he replied, singing the last part. "It's from the Wizard of Oz, a favorite movie of mine," he said, almost bashful. Alekto then waved to someone behind the counter and steered towards his booth. He frequented the restaurant often, and the staff knew him rather well now. He even had a booth that was considered "his."

Alekto nodded. "Yeah, we should." He smiled as he slid into the booth. "What's a favorite movie of yours? We could have a movie marathon or something sometime and watch a bunch of favorite movies of ours," he said with a grin.

"See, your memory could be coming back gradually! Sure, it's only a movie title, but still." Alekto smiled, and picked up one of the two menus on the table. He didn't actually need to read it, he already knew most of what was on it, but still. "What do you think you want?" he asked, still looking over his menu.

"The homemade chocolate chip pancakes are the eighth wonder of the world," Alekto said with a grin. "They're a scientific phenomena of their own." Alekto loved the pancakes here, but the chocolate chip ones always were the best. "And you can add powdered sugar or maple syrup, if you want. But they taste amazing without toppings, too."

Alekto grinned and the person behind the counter that he had waved to earlier meandered over.

"It seems like Lek's got a friend now, eh?" the waitress asked, raising an eyebrow at the two while pulling out a pen and small pad of paper, a small mischievous smile on her lips.

"Yeah, she's a friend; what of it, Kiyre?" Alekto asked lightly.

"Nothing, nothing," Kiyre said, holding her hands up in a gesture of mock-surrender with a grin. "Now, what can I get for you?"

"Two homemade chocolate chip pancakes, please," Alekto said. "But you'd better be at least six feet away from them while they're baking; I don't trust you around pancakes anymore," he teased.

"Great, now it's you and Ma both on my case about that! Once, just once, Alekto Varlak! Once!"

"Yeah, once and a batch of charcoal disks," Alekto replied with a grin.

"You enjoy being this infuriating, don't you?" Kiyre accused.

Alekto shrugged. "What can I say?"

Kiyre rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I'll be back with those pancakes soon. Anything I can get you two to drink?"

"Hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream for me," Alekto replied, before turning to Purple. "You want anything to drink?"