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[Sandbox] Hammer Academy

Started by Aethyrium, October 20, 2023, 03:40:19 PM

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Aethyrium


Aethyrium

Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: October 15th | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - 3rd Floor, Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Grey sleeveless gothic dress w/ corset, Combat boots, Black mini top hat w/ feathers, bow, and lace
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena | Farrah

When Meena had suggested lunch, Lolo had been all for it. “I know where we can go!” She replied enthusiastically. Tugging Meena out of the dorm, Lolo described just the most beautiful little picnic. They’d sit under a warm cool autumn sun, while a gentle breeze washed over them and they could peer into the horizon overlooking Johtan. It sounded absolutely magical - at least, as magical as she could make it sound. She tried, really talked it up! They went to the mess hall, acquired what they needed for a little picnic basket - which wasn’t supplied, so they had to carry the food like normal people, but Lolo wasn’t about to let that stop them. Unfortunately she couldn’t stop the Artemis Sentry Units from denying them access to the wilds. “But… We won’t go very far!” She argued. Did the military automaton's care that they’d stay within line of sight of the wall? No. That they were champions in training and could certainly handle a rogue Hollow that dared get that close? Not even a little. All they cared about restricted access and that they didn’t have clearance.

Eventually, Lolo gave up. There went her grand plans for an autumn afternoon picnic. As they walked away from wall access, Marlowe rolled her eyes, “I just don’t think it’s as big a deal as they’re making it. It’s not like we’re going to get lost.” A little sad she wasn’t going to be able to do that with Meena, Lolo’s first thought was, “We should probably go back to the mess.” But as they passed a door that she knew led up, a whole different thought came to mind. They were about seven or eight paces past the door when she paused and swiveled around. “Actually… New idea. Follow me!

Up two flights of stairs, Lolo led Meena back to the third floor. For a moment it seemed like they might just be going back to their dormitory, until Marlowe walked right past the sterile hall that would take them there. They continued further and further east until a door hissed open in front of them and revealed the closed air skybridge that connected Hammer Academy to the Onyx Military Academy. Just across the way they would be in the military barracks area. But Lolo stopped about only about a third through the tunnel. “One of the knights,” A third year champion in training, “Wanted to impress and showed me this.” She giggled, and brushed her hand over the window sill. It took her a second to find it, but when she did a hidden display lit up on the sill. She tapped two of the buttons that illuminated and then took a step back.

That whole section of wall hissed. The glass window suddenly began slowly dropping into the lower wall. Then the wall panel itself lurched forward, and began to lower until a whole section of wall was just… Missing. Marlowe looked over at Meena and grinned. A faint hum, and a large square of hard light formed right against the open wall - an invisible pathway, except for the blue tinged edges that quickly disappeared inward. “Follow me.” She stepped out onto the air, but found purchase on the hard light platform. Ahead of her another square lit up and formed the next space. She proceeded ahead. When Meena got to the third square, the first disappeared and the wall segment to the skybridge began to revert to the way it was. The secret, invisible pathway had them walking in open air over the rest of the academy. It took them out almost twenty feet before turning to the left - where, about another fifteen feet away, was a patio that couldn’t be seen from anywhere else on in the academy. If you weren’t made aware that it existed, you’d never know.

So it wasn’t a grassland picnic, but they still had the sun and cool gentle breezes. They still had the horizon, but a lot more of the academy around them. The patio faced off the back of the academy, staring out over the wall and into the wilds. It wasn’t a large space, maybe enough for a team to be comfortable, certainly no more. A bench against the wall, a half dozen chairs and a long table. A few potted plants and a guard rail. That was it. As the platform closest to the patio manifested, the rail in that section lowered to create an opening and allowed them to step onto it. “Neat huh?” She said, while the rail lifted and the light disappeared.

So you and Farrah seemed better last night.” Marlowe commented as she set down the food she was carrying on the table and looked out over the wide open area of the island. “Sorry,” She glanced at Meena, “Not quite the ideal picnic I described.” Yet a little grin managed to creep its way onto her face regardless, “I’m sure I can find a way to make it up to you, though.

FyreFoxx

Character Name: Lyreilynn "Lyra" Xyrven Myalis
Date | Time: October 9th | Morning
Location: Hammer Academy
Wearing: White dress with blue overlay and sheer sleeves, decorative cloth belt
Tagging | Mentioning: Marlowe | Haim, Farrah


Lyra spent nearly the entire day on Sunday poring over a series of notes. She was alone in the dorms, hunched over one of the desks, scribbling away inside a freshly opened new notebook. The elf made it a habit to get new ones whenever she wanted a change in topic, and these notes… Well, these she didn’t want anyone else to see, nor to have them jotted down in one of her other normal journals. No, these were specific and private. She paused, tapping the end of the pen to her chin as she stared down at the page, not quite seeing the words already written as she mulled over her disorganized thoughts. Suddenly, she scribbled down another wild note, crossed it out, then rewrote it a little further down. There were a multitude of half-written sentences, tiny notes off to the side, and partial thoughts all over the page.
 
Flipping to a new blank page, Lyra put pen to paper again, trying to get her thoughts in order. After last night, when Marlowe climbed into her bed, it was all she thought about. No, not about her partner – much to Lolo’s displeasure, of course – but about her promise she made before the woman had finally retreated to her own bunk. She wanted to fix things, and she was going to do it her way, without involving the others. She felt a twinge of responsibility for what happened, so it was only right that she’d be the one to fix it, after all. She had let Ocean go and tried to stop her teammates from interfering. Had it really been to keep them from getting hurt? Or was it truly to keep her word to Ocean to let him leave unscathed? And what about when she stopped Marlowe at the end there? She could have attacked Ocean and the unknown elf and possibly rescued Mila, even though she hadn’t known Mila was there at the time. All of this could have been prevented if she had just not gotten involved. Was she really concerned about Marlowe’s safety? Of course, she was. If anything else, that part was true. She was scared of the damage that other elf could have inflicted.
 
Ocean.
 
Lyra frowned, crossing Ocean’s name out so many times it became a black box, before continuing her notes.
 
Wealthy gentleman. Mastermind? Boss? Why was he at Dazzle & Dust? Can I find him?
 
Called me ‘Silver.’ Why? My hair? Eyes? Can I make use of this name?
 
What is his connection to Hammer? Why did he think we were there to interfere? Interfere in what?
 
Who are the Crimson Jackals? What is their connection to Oc the gentleman?
 
Does he belong to the same group? Hired muscle?
 
Why did Mila seem to know them? Was she associated? Or something else? Knowledge of? What is the difference?
 
Lyra tapped the pen point to the page, creating a multitude of tiny black specks in a jumbled heap as she contemplated. She moved to the accompanying open-faced page.
 
Who was that elf that came to his rescue? What was that Shimmer he used?
 
The jet. Where did it come from? Military? From Onyx? Or somewhere else? Crimson Jackals?
 
Underneath the notes about the jet, Lyra began a rudimentary sketch of the flying object in question, trying to add as many details as she could remember. Seeing as her focus had been on Marlowe and keeping her from falling to her death, she hadn’t gotten a good look at it for long before they escaped.
 
A turn of the page, more pen taps to the blank paper. Lyra tried to recall the events from that night as best she could. She hadn’t really gotten the chance to see the elf all that well. But the thing about Lyra was her impeccable attention to detail. Between scouring old documents for even the slightest note-worthy hint towards her research subject, or finding the tiniest holes in fabrics to be mended, or designing the perfect form-fitting design to cover any body, she paid attention to every little bit.
 
On the back of the same page that held the notes of the jet just on the other side, Lyra started to sketch the face of the elf. The way his wild hair was blowing in the wind. The narrowing of his eyes as he sneered at them. That stupid smirk she wanted to kis—punch. She had to stop herself from suddenly wanting to scratch out the entire drawing, gripping her pen tightly as she felt her cheeks heat up.
 
With a halfway decent profile of the elf created, Lyra moved over to the next page across from it, this time deciding to draw Ocean. She had gotten plenty of time to view him, from their time in the store to the up close and personal encounter when he abducted her to the rooftop private affair. His image was far clearer in her mind than the elf’s and far more detailed as a result. Beside each portrait were tiny notes about things that couldn’t be accurately expressed, such as the color of their hair, their eyes, and possible age ranges.
 
With a frown, she glanced at the time on her phone, realizing that it was far too late in the evening now to be going outside. Sure, she could probably sneak out, if she were careful, but she really didn’t want to be anywhere outside alone at that time of night. It would be better to go in the morning, even if it meant she’d be skipping classes. She was sure she could come up with some kind of excuse. There was a ‘thud’ as she slammed the book closed with a determined look on her face, scowling at the remnants of the images of both Ocean and his elf companion still in her mind’s eye. She was going to fix this. Tomorrow. Slipping the notebook under her mattress, rather than under her pillow where a different journal lay hidden, she began getting ready to wind down for the evening as her teammates returned to the dorm.
 
*****
 
Monday morning came bright and early and it felt like Lyra had barely slept, her mind reeling over the possibilities of her future excursion outside the academy walls and just how she was going to slip away. Like clockwork, Marlowe got up extra early to start her morning routine, and for once, Lyra slipped out of bed to begin her own around the same time, instead of lounging in bed with her journal in hand.
 
She waited until they were all getting ready to leave the dorm towards the mess hall for breakfast when she approached Marlowe, setting a hand on her arm as she pulled her to the side. “Could… could you cover for me? I plan on skipping breakfast this morning,” she paused, gauging the reaction on her face. “As well as skipping the morning classes,” she continued after a moment. In truth, it may be all her classes that day, depending on how her search went, but she went for the safer option for now.
 
When Marlowe complained, adding in the fact that Lyra generally liked the classes, despite the feelings the others might have about them, she frowned. Perhaps Marlowe hadn’t been the best choice to ask, but who else was there? Haimehen was still in the hospital, Namid had closed herself off, and Farrah was so dejected that she was a walking husk. Lyra sighed, giving in. “No, you are right. I should not skip them…” Perhaps she could delay it until after dinner.
 
Of course, when they arrived at class, all four of them got shuffled out immediately and sent to the third floor office where they were reunited with Haimehen. It was bittersweet, each pairing taking it differently. Lyra wasn’t sure how to react around him so there was a sort of cold distance between them. Guilt and anger fought for control.
 
After the lecture from Shir, she was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of it, and doing it her way. Shir had effectively challenged her methods and she was going to right them. He was right about some things, though. Their team was their lifeline there in Hammer, and right now, it was fractured and fraying. They needed Mila back. And Lyra was going to find her. But could she really do it alone?
 
As they were dismissed, being told that all of their classes for the day were now cancelled, Lyra pulled Marlowe aside once more after the others had left. “With no classes for the day, nothing is stopping me from going now.” She wasn’t sure if she was informing Marlowe or trying to convince herself to leave the grounds. Lyra hesitated, biting her lower lip. It would be better to have someone with her and Marlowe was her partner, after all, but could she really tell her what was going on? Gripping the strap of the bag slung over her shoulder, the notebook with her notes and sketches from the prior evening tucked safely away, the small elf stood firm in her resolve. “Come with me. Outside the Academy. There is something I need to do.”

Théfaux
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Aethyrium

Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: October 9th | Morning
Location: Hammer Academy
Wearing: Black vested suit w/ long sleeve undershirt
Tagging | Mentioning: Lyra | Haim, Farrah, Namid

While it might have seemed like nothing, Lyra reaching out and touching her was genuinely shocking. “Huh?” She almost purred in her confusion, allowing herself to be led away from the others by Lyra. Unsurprisingly her mind went somewhere very different with the action than what actually played out - though any disappointment that might have found its way to her features was overwritten by confusion. Skipping breakfast would have been odd, but not a big deal. But skipping classes? “But you like classes…” She protested ever so lightly. It felt entirely out of character for her to ask. If Lolo were asked what Lyra’s favorite thing was, she’d have said studying.

The protest didn’t even come from a place of unwillingness. “What are you going to be doing?” If Lyra had pushed, Lolo would do anything she could have to assist. She just wanted to know what was up. But Lyra picked a different path, and instead of pursuing it, she dropped it. Rather than share, Lyra decided it was best to not involve her. Brow furrowed as Lyra turned to lead them to class, Lolo frowned at the back of her partner’s head. Why this again? Hadn’t… Marlowe took a deep breath. For the first time since they had met, she was feeling the dejection from Lyra. All of her little unreciprocated advances, teases, playfulness, and not once had Lolo been broken by Lyra’s insistence to not engage. But coupled with this? Especially after Saturday night… That’s what she got for hoping. Exhaling her breath, Lolo followed to class.

Now Marlowe wasn’t going to complain when professor Beach sent them away - one less day having to sit there and try to puzzle out what the Silenus was saying was one more day added to Lolo’s sanity clock. Besides, she really wasn’t in the mood to feel like an idiot. Unfortunately, she was a little bit dreading what they were going to be doing instead of class. It felt ominous, entering the office together. Was Moss going to return to get rid of them all? She spun to the door as soon as she heard it begin to open - seeing Shir was surprising.

But not nearly as much as seeing Haim.

A smile, warm as the sun, melted away Lolo’s building little ball of apprehension and, unlike her partner, she was not going to give him any space. Marlowe was the first one to shove her way through, and whether Haim wanted it or not, Marlowe was hugging him. She threw her arms around him - careful to not knock away his crutch, but not so careful as to not squeeze him. “Welcome back.” She said, turning her head and kissing his cheek before withdrawing - like she had said, more where that had come from.

Hearing everything that Shir had to say was hard. Leading with the fact that their positions at Hammer were safe was a blessing. No Mila. Suspects missing. Dead civilians. The damage. Marlowe shrunk a little more after each of those. His little digs at Farrah, Namid, and Lyra… Marlowe wanted to step in, but what could she say that they couldn’t? Given where she was when it had all happened, was her opinion even worth anything? It all weighed on her, but she was strong. Resilient. She could support it.

She didn’t know what they were going to do with a free day, but she was looking forward to it. A chance to hear how Haim had been. Maybe for them to all talk about things. For her and Lyra to clear the air with Farrah. But once more Lyra reached for her, and once more, Marlowe followed without question, holding back as the others went on with Haim. She looked at Lyra, renewed, and tilted her head to question - but Lyra beat her to it. So she was still going to go. Marlowe’s little button-esque nose scrunched, “Lyra, whe-” Then it changed. Lyra invited her. Lolo grinned ear to ear, and any reservation she had was gone. “I’m with you.” She promised.

Continued at…

Crash

#4
Character Name: Meena Tor
Date | Time: 10.15.1322 | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Dorm—>Hall —> Gate —> Hall —> Dorm —> Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Off-the-shoulder yellow mini dress with and strappy wedge heel sandals.
Tagging | Mentioning: Lolo | Vesper, Lyra, Haim


Meena had intended to ask Lolo about a way to help her connect with Lyra, who had been lukewarm to her arrival, understandably so. The situation Meena and Vesper found themselves thrust into was not ideal. As bad as it might have felt for the two of them, the trauma the team felt was undoubtedly worse. Meena did not want to force anything on Lyra, or with Haim for that matter, but…there was always a but…they were a team. At a minimum, they would need to be able to work together, even if they weren't friends. Ever the optimist, Meena was certain friendship would come with time. She was just worried about how much time the academy would allow.

This had been Meena's intent. But intention had very little consequence when Lolo was involved. Once the suggestion of lunch had left Meena's lips, she found herself pulled along by Lolo with visions of a beautiful autumn picnic in their immediate future!

Through the hallway they went, weaving in and out of squires, knights, and champions alike. The sunshine yellow hem of Meena's dress fluttered about her thighs, and her tail streamed like a streamer behind them.

"Apologies! Excuse me! Sorry about that!" Meena apologized as they rushed past at least one entire squire team, among others, arms filled with picnic snacks. The two women pulled up short when cut off by the ASU. Lolo was adamant about their need to access the wilds, and the Artemis Sentries were equally adamant that it would not happen.

The louder Lolo got, the more nervous Meena did, shifting a little on her cute wedge sandals (as if she needed any more height) and gently pulling Lolo away from the sentries before things got heated. Flashing an apologetic smile over her shoulder and mouthing "Sorry" to the guard while Lolo grumbled sullenly about the unfairness of it all.

"Hey. It's okay. I wanted to ask you about something anywaaaaaaayyyy." And they were off again like they were shot out of a cannon.

"Really, terribly sorry. Don't mind us. Hey. Your kinda cuuuuu…" Dress fluttering, tail streaming, and back the way they went. All the way back to the dorms, and out the other side, they flew. One hand in Lolo's and the other juggling picnic supplies. Until they stood in the skyway. It was a nice view, for sure, but an odd place for a picnic.

"Why do I think most of your stories start out that way?" Meena laughed and watched as Lolo moved her hand across the windowsill to reveal the hidden display. She made a mental note of the panel's location and what buttons Lolo was pushing for possible later use.

"Whoa." Meena's eyes grew wide as the wall of the sky bridge retracted, and she immediately ran right up to the edge to lean out. The unimpeded breeze tugged at her billowy sleeves and swirled her skirt about her thighs.

She was clearly impressed and utterly unafraid of heights.

Meena was right behind Lolo as she stepped out. Practically hopping from one nearly invisible panel to the next. Meena stopped on more than one occasion to look down at the courtyard below. When the first panel disappeared behind them, and they were quite literally suspended in mid-air, Meena gave a delighted giggle, hugging Lolo from behind.

"This is sooooo cooool," she said before they scampered around the side of the Academy building to the hidden balcony patio. 

Upon reaching the balcony, Meena set down her items and scurried around to look at everything, starting with the plants, of course. Meena knelt and spoke to them sweetly, letting her shimmer nourish them as she poured out some water for each. When done, Meena rushed over to the balcony's edge and leaned dangerously over the guardrail to see as far as she could see.

She raised up about as far as she could on her toes, the hemline of her dress scandalously creeping up the back of her thigh as she did.

Meena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Over the acrid smell of industry and innovation, the scents of the distant wildlands tickled her nose, earthy grass and floral scents touched by the sweet smell of autumn decay. Closer still were familiar cedar and citrus. Lolo. Who had begun to set up their picnic while Meena explored the small, secluded space. Lolo's observation pulled Meena from her olfactory revelry and caused her eyes to flutter open. She turned away from the dizzying vista and leaned her back against the balcony wall.

"Yeah.  Lunch went really well," Meena replied. "She is still hurting. A lot, but I think we made some progress." Meena was hopeful. It was some positive movement, where the only positives had been Vesper and Lolo for the first few days.
"I told her I would help her find Mila," Meena added. Leaving off the part where bringing Mila back could easily mean the end of Meena's time with the team. "I think that helped. I don't know. We'll see."

"Why are you apologizing?" Meena asked. "I asked you to lunch, remember?" She gave her newest friend a smile. Meena quite liked seeing the mischievous grin that foreshadowed Lolo's teasing innuendo. It would often bring a hint of color to Meena's cheeks. Of all the people Meena had met over the last three years, only Lolo spoke as plainly as her people back home did. It was refreshing…flattering…even comfortable. It could also be quite…stirring. Meena coiled her index finger toward Lolo, teasingly encouraging her to come closer. Taking Lolo's hands when she was close enough to do so. 

"If anything. I should make this up to you. You have been so sweet and kind since I arrived, and I want you to know that I appreciate it. Truly," Meena could already see the flirtatious retort incoming and leaned forward to place a quick kiss on Lolo's cheek.

"So, you owe me a picnic…" Meena said, with a little tap of a finger above Lolo's chest, "…and I will come up with some way to show you my appreciation," Meena said, pointing the same finger back at her own.

"Shall we eat?" Meena asked, easing herself around Lolo but not making any real effort to move out of her proximity before she finally snatched Lolo's hand. It was her turn to drag her friend towards the table Lolo had just laid out for them. It took a lot for the long-limbed Silenus to sit down in her short dress on a breezy day and maintain modesty, but Meena managed. The amount of thigh she was showing was impressive. 

"And honestly, this is amazing," Meena said, looking around at the view from the table. Would she have preferred a quiet picnic in the grass? Of course. Meena loved the outdoors, but this was a magnificent second choice.

"So, was the Knight as impressive as the view?" Meena asked with a wiggle of her brow, absolutely intrigued by the prospect of a lascivious tale. Why read some fake romance when you can hear about the real thing?

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Aethyrium

Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: October 15th | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - 3rd Floor, Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Grey sleeveless gothic dress w/ corset, Combat boots, Black mini top hat w/ feathers, bow, and lace
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena | Farrah, Lyra, Namid, Mila

It was interesting watching Meena around plants. Lolo swore she could actually see them brighten up while she was close, and it was like they were reaching toward her as if she were a second, much closer, sun. “You would have been very popular in Evergreen.” She said quietly while watching her friend admire things, and going about laying things out for them. Of course, Lolo supposed that just about everyone would favor the sort of gift that Meena had. But more interesting to Marlowe than the way the plants reached up was the way Meena’s dress did, and with zero shame, Marlowe watched it creep further and further until she had as much back-of-thigh as she was going to get. She grinned to herself. All of her other companions, with perhaps a slight exception made for Farrah, were so conservative. Meena was eye candy that was ready to be enjoyed and Marlowe loved it. Had since day one.

Good.” She was glad to hear Farrah was on the path to opening up. Meena didn’t deserve to suffer the ire Farrah was holding for Ocean and his elven compatriot. Lolo refused to believe, despite the tension, that any real animosity existed for Lyra. It was just misplaced. “Everyone wants to get her back. We’re going to find her.” Marlowe hadn’t doubted that since the start. Even as they got further and further away from the incident without a clue, she was unshakable in her belief that Mila was okay and that they’d be reunited eventually. “Mila is crafty. You should have seen her play jokes on the professors.” There was no way they were going to be able to get rid of her.

As she set the last thing down, Lolo looked up to answer and saw the coiling finger. Subconsciously she did a little standing wiggle before approaching in a slow, and overtly seductive walk right up to Meena. It was still difficult to get used to how tall the Silenus was. Marlowe was tall. Farrah was really tall. But Meena? She was really, really tall. Marlowe looked to the side as her hand was taken and watched it be raised. “Well if you’re feeling generous, I can think of a few ways.” She barely got out before the kiss landed on her cheek. Marlowe seemed nearly immune to blushing, but the attention did draw a response from her. A sort of energy, a vibration, the same kind of inner coiling a cat did before it pounced. That’s what she was like when she started going, and that’s exactly what the kiss made her feel.

Lips parting, Marlowe ran her tongue along the bottom edge of her teeth and followed the finger that nudged her collarbone. “I owe you a picnic.” She repeated, nodding a little. Following the turn with her eyes, Marlowe looked up from it and met Meena’s gaze, “Deal.” Her voice was much quieter.

Meena wasn’t sophisticated like Lyra or the people that Marlowe had surrounded herself in Onyx. But she was genuine in a familiar way, and playful in a way that resonated with her. She was fun to play with, and it didn’t feel like the attention she showed was simply playful reciprocation, but genuine attraction. Lolo was reasonably confident that Meena was exactly what she’d been missing on gravity, and her addition was more than welcome. She was outright glad she was here. Even if that moment of realization caused her some guilt over Mila, and even Namid.

Is that an offer?” She murmured behind a giggle, falling inline with Meena’s tug and slipping into her own seat right beside Meena. Marlowe looked around, off into the distance, and reached for a roll that had been brought and set it on her plate. “I am really glad I learned about this place.

A terrible grin crawled onto her face and she laughed. “Well, if I had to rate the views…” Lolo leaned back in her chair and looked up at Meena. Lifting a hand she leveled it out holding an arbitrary point. “The knight.” She nodded, then lifted her other hand and held it a little higher, “The view.” She laughed. Moving her other hand like she was done, she quickly positioned it higher above the view by several inches, “You.” As though she planned it, her hands framed her face on the top and bottom, and made a picture of the quick wink she gave Meena.

Relaxing, Lolo went about gathering her lunch from the offerings they had brought with them. A couple traded dishes with Meena so they both got some of everything that they wanted. “He was very gentlemanly. Nothing torrid happened.” She almost sounded disappointed about that. “Actually his partner came and gathered him up before we had a chance to talk much. You know,” She leaned against the table, “At least the socialites of Onyx rarely had a reason to abandon you before everyone was finished.” Lolo rolled her eyes.

Gathering her roll, Lolo tore it open and gave it a quick buttering. “You know,” She said while spreading the butter, “You don’t need a reason to ask me to lunch. I’d just come.” Lolo glanced up at Meena, smirking, “But you said you had something you wanted to ask me?” Her knife clinked lightly against the side of her plate, “What’s on your mind? Other than me in this dress?” She snickered and took a bite.

Crash

Character Name: Meena Tor
Date | Time: 10.15.1322 | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Off-the-shoulder yellow mini dress with and strappy wedge heel sandals.
Tagging | Mentioning: Lolo | Vesper, Lyra, Haim

Meena watched Lolo's sultry walk towards her with some amusement and a lot of interest. She had no concerns with the closeness of Lolo's curvaceous body. She reveled in her new friend's sexuality and boldness. Had Meena not taken Lolo's hand to tell her how appreciative she was, she might have wrapped her arms around Lolo's waist instead. 

Sparkling orange eyes were drawn toward the languid draw of Lolo's tongue as she taped against her and drew Lolo's eye to herself. The low tone of Marlowe's agreement made Meena shiver ever so slightly in anticipation as they danced ever so closely to something much more fulfilling than a simple meal. 

"Deal," Meena said after the kiss. There was light laughter at Marlowe's murmured question. It wasn't until they sat down and Meena had plopped her chin in her hands, elbows resting on the table, that she answered.

"Yes," Meena said as if it was the most normal conversation to have over lunch with a new friend.

"It's an offer." One she hoped Lolo would be amenable to accepting. It was sometimes hard to tell with humans when they were serious or interested in only games. She felt more of the former than the latter from her friend, but Meena was smart enough to know that there was a lot that she didn't know about the other races and cultures of the world.

"But first, the Knight," Meena said, picking up a slice of apple and taking a bite while Lolo told her about the young man. She was a little disappointed that the tale was so positively pure. Curiosity was etched onto Meena's face when Marlowe brought up the city's socialites. It was something that clans didn't have. Meena's parents would be the closest analogy Meena had to the rich and noble families of other cultures, but they were not clan heads because of blood or money, and their station in no way guaranteed that any of their children would succeed them when they stepped down or passed on. Clan culture was a meritocracy. Sure, there were politics involved, but selfish or narcissistic leaders rarely lasted long if they neglected their clan's needs.

"I don't know how you do it," Meena admitted. "I just don't understand Onyx culture at all. People say lots of words they don't mean and lie, like a lot." It wasn't that people didn't lie where she was from, but it felt like it was much more acceptable to do so outside of the Tors. 

"I met a young human man in Emerald. When I was traveling to Onyx. He was a sweet guy. Beautiful eyes. Satisfactory length," Meena said, picking up a carrot that was a good approximation.

"Had a fun time for a night, and he was professing his undying love the next day. I had only known him for a week. Who does that?" she said in exasperation and took a healthy bite of the carrot. Sex clearly meant something different to outsiders. The Clans didn't have the same hangups about it as others did, apparently.

When the topic turned to the reason Meena had asked Lolo to lunch in the first place, she stuck her tongue out playfully. "I'll remember that, darlin'," Meena said, exaggerating her Torian drawl playfully. There had been a reason for the invite, that much was true, but she was enjoying the developments between them and couldn't resist the opportunity for just a little more. With the blunted tip of the carrot she had bitten into, Meena waved it up and down at Lolo.

"You out of that dress," she said with an appraising look. To be fair, Meena had a pretty good idea of what Lolo looked like out of what she was wearing, but so did the entire team if they woke up early enough. And they did.
With the overt flirtations of the day, it was no lie that it was on her mind. However, Meena was an intelligent woman. She could have more than one thing on her mind.

"But yes. I wanted to ask you how I can connect with Lyra. She has been really…standoffish, I guess you could say. I know I sort of came into all this at a bad time, and I wanted to give her her space, but I'm a little worried about training and everything, so I was hoping you could help me. Since you're her partner and you seem to get along well. Any suggestions?"

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Aethyrium

Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: October 15th | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - 3rd Floor, Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Grey sleeveless gothic dress w/ corset, Combat boots, Black mini top hat w/ feathers, bow, and lace
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena | Farrah, Lyra

As much as Marlowe wanted to say that it had come naturally, that really couldn’t be further from the truth. There was no one else here to hear her admission of truth, so Marlowe took a deep breath and shrugged, “Practice.” Looking up at Meena, Lolo smiled lightly, “Lots of practice.” She was no stranger to lies, or half truths, ulterior motives, and people’s double talk. Once upon a time they had been foreign to her, more or less, but these days she considered herself rather fluent - even if it wasn’t the style that she engaged with. No, Marlowe preferred overwhelming forwardness.

Lolo wasn’t sure why Meena’s forwardness in sharing about her Emerald escapade surprised her, but she attributed it to the fact that she really couldn’t imagine anyone else on gravity being so open. Farrah maybe, though she seemed more like the hint to the line and then keep it a secret type - coy! Eyes drawn to the carrot, she contemplated and nodded with approval. Meena was probably trying to make a very nuanced point about the behaviors of people, but that wasn’t the lesson that Marlowe took away from the anecdote. She blinked and tilted her head like she was confused, but the reasons for it were decidedly off key, because no one had ever professed love to Marlowe after a night together. So what was the takeaway? That Meena must be incredible in bed, of course! “Clearly you blew his mind.” She nodded.

Smirking, Lolo looked down at herself. She reached up and tugged at the little bow on her collar. The thought to reach back and unclasp the thing, giving Meena what she wanted occurred to her. But since that wasn’t the reason they’d been brought out, Lolo contained the instinct. For the moment.

Show her your big hammer, she’ll be goo.” Despite how it sounded coming out of her mouth, in this particular case she was being quite literal. Marlowe took a deep breath and looked down at her plate. Lyra was a complicated subject, and she wasn’t sure that she was actually the best person to ask. Lolo had gotten through to Lyra through relentless persistence. But had that really connected them? She wasn’t so certain. Picking at some of her food, Lolo thought quietly. “She likes plants.” That was something Meena shared with her, Lolo though. So two things. “And Arcanite, and magic.” Maybe Meena knew about those things - Marlowe certainly didn’t. “Don’t take it personally,” Lolo managed with a smile and glanced at Meena, clearly about to say something more. Unfortunately her eyes widened a bit and she peered past the Silenus, seeing what was coming just before the gentle sound of the railing lowering itself down.

Aethyrium


Artanis Mellow

Velvet Smoke
S T O R Y T E L L E R

October 15th, Late Morning (~11:30pm) | Hammer Academy - Skybridge Balcony Patio
Meena, Marlowe |

Artanis and Velvet opened the skybridge door, and Velvet squealed with excitement. “It really is here!” They stepped out onto the hard light platforms, watching them disappear, and walked to the joint of the pathway. There they paused, only because Artanis stopped and Velvet bumped into him. “Hu-Oh!” She blinked, meeting Marlowe’s gaze.

Oh great.” Artanis rolled his eyes. He shoved hands into his pockets and continued across the platforms to the patio. “Well if it isn’t the faker and the charity case.” He stepped forward just enough to give Velvet room to slip in beside him. He looked at Meena and offered a sympathetic smile, “Sorry. If it helps, you should have been here from the start instead of this one.” He nudged his nose in Marlowe’s direction.

Velvet brushed against Artanis’ back as she slid past him on the patio. She furrowed her brows as glanced up at him, “Artanis…” She whispered, giving him a little nudge of her elbow. Smiling awkwardly, Velvet offered a little wave at the pair of gravity girls, “Sorry, I heard about this place and wanted to check it out. I didn’t think anyone would be out here. We can go…

Scoffing, Artanis stepped in to herd Velvet inward a little more, but opened the way to the exit to Meena and Marlowe, “Don’t be ridiculous Velvet. If anyone should go it’s her. You’d think after she lost her teammate she’d have gotten the clue that she isn’t cut out for this and left. The least she can do is leave now.

Crash

Character Name: Meena Tor
Date | Time: 10.15.1322 | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Off-the-shoulder yellow mini dress with and strappy wedge heel sandals.
Tagging | Mentioning: Lolo, Artanis, Velvet | Lyra


“Well, he was clearly insane if he thought I was going to marry him just because we had a nice row in the hay loft,” Meena chuffed. “Silly that,” she observed. In the Tors, marriage, sex, and love were not enmeshed as tightly as they were in other cultures. Marriages were often arranged for political reasons or necessity when a tribe grew too large to sustain themselves in their territory. Monogamy was not expected in these arranged marriages, and the partners would often seek out other tribe members for romantic partners. That is not to say that monogamy was frowned upon. It was a matter of personal choice between partners. Meena’s parents had chosen monogamy in the form of soul bonding.

Soul bonding was akin to what other cultures would call traditional marriage. It worked for them. Her best friend’s parents had multiple spouses. Neither was seen as preferred among her clan. Tor clans tended to lean one way or the other as like-minded individuals often congregated together. 

Being surrounded by relatives did not leave a lot of opportunities for young, curious, and, let’s face it, horny teens to experiment, so when clans would gather for large moots and celebrations, things could get a little crazy. Again, this was not seen as a negative. Marriages often sprung from these gatherings, and casual experimentation was common. Any pregnancies that arose from these liaisons were considered a blessing to the mother’s clan and raised within her clan like any other children. This led to a relatively laissez-faire attitude towards recreational sex. One not shared by everyone outside of the Tors.

“Excuse me?” Meena’s eyes bulged, almost choking on her carrot. Her brain must have been in mid-shift. The mental image that popped into Meena’s head was decidedly inappropriate. It wasn’t until Lolo mentioned Arcanite and magic that her gear clicked into plan and caught what Lolo meant. Meena had tried talking to Lyra about plants that first night, but it hadn’t gone so well. The pretty elf had been understandably distracted and clearly disengaged from the conversation. Perhaps she would try again now that there was some separation from recent events.

Meena nodded finally. Heart of the Mountain. The Arcanite. That made sense, too.  Again, she nodded, waiting for Lolo to continue, but the woman’s sudden pause and widening eyes caused her to tip her head curiously and follow her gaze to the two new arrivals.

Meena recognized her fellow students as members of Team Mockery. Artanis and Velvet, if she remembered correctly from class. She was sure the diminutive Silenus, with the cute kitty ears, was Velvet. Meena made it a point to learn every Silenus’s name at the Academy. She was less confident of Artanis. She often got him and Azir mixed up when it came to Mockery. Meena had intended to introduce herself to all the other squires eventually. However, her time had been consumed with reaching out to her own team and finding her footing within it.

When the boy opened his mouth, it cleared up all doubt. Artanis.  Meena’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the boy’s comments. She had heard plenty of the sort from other students. Charity case, last in, first out, scrub. Meena wasn’t going to lie. It hurt. In her naivety, Meena had expected to be welcomed with open arms by the other students.

They all had the same goal, after all. Why wouldn’t they be supportive and encouraging? Sadly, more than a few saw it solely as a competition and everyone who was not on their team as the enemy. Artanis was clearly in this camp.

Meena’s orange eyes shifted towards Velvet and her awkward apology. She favored the woman with an appreciative smile even as her rude compatriot cut Velvet’s apology off and suggested that Meena and Marlow should leave.

Meena set her carrot down and wiped her fingers off on a napkin before she shifted on the bench, carefully swinging her legs around the edge to face the Mockery students. She smiled politely as the etiquette of hospitality dictated. A host was to be polite and accommodating as long as the guest maintained decorum. Meena had learned to give non-clan members some leash as the dictates of hospitality were not as common in the lands away from home. Artanis was already taking up all that slack. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to hang himself.

“Good morning,” Meena offered with a pleasant smile that didn’t entirely reach her eyes. She pointedly ignored Artanis’s rudeness in favor of saccharin politeness.

“I’m Meena. I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself sooner, but it is nice to meet other squires,” she offered, holding her hand to Velvet first and then to Artanis. 

“I don’t see a need for anyone to leave, and we have plenty of food if you would like to join us,” Meena offered. “I ask that you keep the rudeness to a minimum if you decide to stay. Marlow has been such a beautiful hostess, and I am rather enjoying myself. It would be a shame to have such a wonderful day ruined.” Meena was leaving out precisely whose day she felt would be ruined, but visions of dangling Artanis over the side of the balcony were swimming in her head as she politely smiled.

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Aethyrium

#10
Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: October 15th | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - 3rd Floor, Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Grey sleeveless gothic dress w/ corset, Combat boots, Black mini top hat w/ feathers, bow, and lace
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena, Artanis, Velvet | Silk

As a rule, Marlowe tried to get along with everyone. That hadn’t always been true of her, but it was something she had put concentrated effort into, and for the most part she had been successful. Lolo had transformed herself into a personification of affability - even though she didn’t know the word. But Artanis? He was hard to get along with, more, she didn’t want to get along with him. He’d lost that interest upon their first meeting. And every subsequent one just made it worse. It was extra strange, to her, because it seemed so targeted and yet she couldn’t find any reason for it. Maybe she’d stolen his girl once upon a time - or his boy, she supposed, she certainly wasn’t picky. Regardless, Artanis was becoming one of her least favorite people… Ever.

Faker alone wasn’t enough of a jab to make her wince, but calling Meena a charity case really ground her gears. Marlowe’s hands tightened on the edge of the table. It wasn’t polite to go around breaking jaws in polite company, but they weren’t at the Marble Ascent and this certainly wasn’t polite company. Unfortunately, that quick rise of steam got cooled with the very next words. Maybe that was true. It kept her from getting up and making a scene. Her eyes snapped to Velvet, whom she had a little experience talking with - Silk might not have been interested in letting Marlowe touch her ears, but Velvet had been very amiable to the request. It was kind of her offer to leave, but Marlowe would have been happy to share the space - even if her little get away with Meena was interrupted - if Artanis could keep his damn mouth shut.

But he couldn’t.

The second dig hurt more than the first. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought exactly that more than once - even after talking with Lyra and acknowledging it wasn’t her fault. She pretended to be a debutante, maybe she was pretending to be a Champion too. If she wasn’t a pretender. If it had been someone real on that rooftop… Marlowe looked down. Suddenly, she didn’t want to be here anymore.

She supposed that Meena’s offer was probably the right one, even if she wished the Silenus hadn’t offered it. Marlowe looked to Velvet again - Artanis could jump off the balcony for all she cared - and gestured at the picnic collection. “We didn’t get a chance to lunch last time, you really are welcome.

Aethyrium


Artanis Mellow

Velvet Smoke
S T O R Y T E L L E R

October 15th, Late Morning (~11:30pm) | Hammer Academy - Skybridge Balcony Patio
Meena, Marlowe | Lyra

Velvet reached and took Meena’s hand - or rather, she allowed her hand to be taken, because in comparison it was quite tiny. She smiled back to Meena, and it did reach her eyes. “Velvet.” She introduced herself, and knowing full well that her partner was not going to do so, she lightly dipped her head in his direction, “And this is Artanis.” Her instinct was to continue to apologize for him, but if she had learned anything about him in the three weeks since they’d been partnered it was that she’d run out of air before she finished apologizing for him. “It’s nice to meet you.” She glanced to Marlowe, “And see you again!” Her voice lilted with a tiny giggle.

Contrary to Velvet’s assessment though, Artanis did take Meena’s hand and give it a good solid shake - not even one of those aggressive, dominance asserting ones. But mostly it was because it showed a level of acceptance to Meena that he wouldn’t - and didn’t - extend to Marlowe. “Hostess huh?” He took his hand back and deposited it into his pocket. “Well, that actually is a position you’re probably suited for.” Artanis… Complimented? No, definitely not that. “When you’re finally done playing Champion, maybe you can serve us dinner. You like doing rounds, don’t you?

Loudly clapping her hands together, Velvet opened her eyes wide and just jumped right in, “It’s great to have you here, Meena. I’m sorry about the circumstances though.” Her burst of energy diminished some. “If your team needs anything, we’re here to help.

Artanis scoffed.

This looks great, but we wouldn’t want to intrude.” Actually she would rather have liked to stay and chat with the girls. Unfortunately, playing mediator for Artanis was a full time job and doing so while trying to enjoy company would have been disruptive.

Don’t be ridiculous Velvet.” Artanis said, pulling a seat and slipping into it, “We’ve been invited.” He looked up at her and nodded at a seat. “Besides, I’d like to get to know our newest squire. I’m sure if Marlowe can’t keep up with the conversation, she can always go chase her little elf friend. She seems amazingly well equipped in ignoring her, but keeping her occupied at the same time.” Artanis reached and snagged one of the rolls and looked up at Meena, “Unless… Oh. Did Lyra already rope you into dogsitting for her? Must be a gravity hazing ritual.

Sighing, Velvet reached back and grabbed the back of her neck awkwardly. She really tried to offer an apologetic smile to both Marlowe and Meena. “Artanis, I’m sure they’re just getting to know each other. It’s lunch. Please.” She set a hand on his shoulder and squeezed as she dropped into a seat.

Hmm,” He mumbled around a bite, looking at Marlowe, “Found someone else to lie to huh?” Swallowing, Artanis looked up at Meena, “Has she told you about her glamorous life yet? It’s a great work of fiction.

Crash

#12
Character Name: Meena Tor
Date | Time: 10.15.1322 | Late Morning (~11:30am)
Location: Skybridge Balcony Patio
Wearing: Off-the-shoulder yellow mini dress with and strappy wedge heel sandals.
Tagging | Mentioning: Lolo, Artanis, Velvet | Lyra


“It’s an absolute pleasure,” Meena offered the giggly Velvet as they shook. Her fellow Silenus appeared as genuinely delighted meeting them as Meena was meeting other squires. Well, as delighted as Meena was to meet Velvet. Artanis was turning out to be a bullying little poop with no decorum or manners. Meena thought he might redeem himself from his ridiculous demand for them to leave when he accepted Meena’s offered hand but no. He chose to instead insult her friend, insinuating that Lolo was both promiscuous and that her promiscuity was in some way flawed. 

“A hostess doesn’t serve, Artanis,” Meena replied. “That’s just silly.” She wasn’t sure what a hostess’s duties were where Artanis grew up, but hosting others was the height of hospitality. Servers served. Hostesses were the beating heart of decorum and grace. It was an honor to host others in the clans. A savvy host or hostess could crown clan heads, and a bad one could tear a clan apart. 

The loud clapping drew Meena’s attention. This time, her smile was more genuine. Velvet seemed to understand the rules of hospitality much better than Artanis did. Something Meena appreciated. Even if it might have been unintentional. 

“Thank you. It has been hard on them,” Meena said, offering nothing further, however. It wasn’t her place to accept help for her teammates, not without understanding what they needed to heal from the tragedy of losing two teammates. “I wish my admission to the academy had been under better circumstances,” Meena admitted as she sat beside Lolo.

“I understand. Perhaps another time we could…Oh. It looks like you are joining us,” Meena had been ready to accept Velvet’s offer to leave them to their picnic, but apparently, Artanis had other plans. Once again, he insulted Lolo instead of accepting the role of visitor that he had been gifted.

“I said you were welcome to join us if you could keep the rudeness to a minimum. Where I come from, the rules of hospitality are sacred. 

Hosts provide food, water, and shelter. Guests offer respect and gratitude. Is that not how it works here?” Meena asked, hoping her point was being made and Artanis was on rocky ground.

She found Lolo’s hand under the table and laced her fingers into it, giving it a squeeze. Meena wasn’t sure if Lolo was quiet because the rude boy’s words had struck a chord or if she was trying to keep herself from throwing the little shit over the side of the balcony. Either way, she wanted Lolo to know she supported her.
Clearly, Artanis didn’t understand or didn’t care as he continued on being the absolute ass he clearly enjoyed being.

Meena gave Velvet a sympathetic look.

“I am sorry.” She offered the pretty Silenus squire. To be teamed with someone like Artanis would be a terrible fate indeed. Now, Meena wasn’t going to sit here and let him tear into her friend like he was. She also wasn’t going to do what she was pretty confident he was trying to get them to do, which was pummel him silly and get in even more trouble with the school than Gravity already was. 

Had Meena acted out like a snot-nosed little brat back home to a host, her family would have found themselves sleeping with the oxamel. It was only a generation or so ago that Torian law allowed the host to slit a guest’s throat for such a willful violation of hospitality. Torian Silenus took hospitality that seriously.

Artanis’s insinuation that not only was Lolo a liar but that she was a dog to be tolerated was too far, even for one as courteous as Meena. Her smile fell from her face. She set down the cracker she layered with cheese and wiped her fingers on her napkin.

“I seem to have lost my appetite, Lolo,” Meena said, her orange eyes focused on Artanis. It galled her to give him what he wanted, them leaving, but staying would end badly. She would rather it be her choice to leave than Lolo’s. “I apologize, but would you mind escorting me back to the dorm? The air up here has gotten stale.”

Meena let go of Lolo’s hand and slid from the bench, waiting for her to stand before looping an arm into Lolo’s. Her eyes finally left Artanis’s and glided over to Velvet, where they softened. The poor girl. She just couldn’t imagine.

“Ms. Velvet. I hope to see you again under less trying circumstances,” she offered. If Lolo joined her and led her away, they wouldn’t even fully cross the hard-light bridge before Lolo could make out muttering from Meena’s lips.

“Jerk…lucky I didn’t dangle him over the balcony…make him scream for his momma…rude…stupid…round-eared…Jerk-face!”

~End scene~

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Aethyrium

Character Name: Velvet Smoke
Date | Time: October 16th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Hallways
Wearing: Cardigan, collared shirt, pleated skirt
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena | Artanis, Marlowe, Sandie

Velvet wasn’t sure what class belonged at eight in the morning, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t history. Or maybe it was just history taught by Sandie. More than most, Velvet appreciated the woman’s energy, but there was no shaking the feeling that it was a lot for right after waking up. The alternatives weren’t much better, but she imagined that if the headmaster swapped survival and history he’d see better results across the board. But what did she know, she wasn’t an educator. She could hardly manage to keep a single person on the right path, let alone nearly two hundred. She glanced at Artanis at her side while the professor wrapped up her lecture. Trust your betters, Velvet reminded herself. These people knew what they were doing - they had been doing it long enough that it was outright foolish to assume she knew better. Still…

She looked to Sandie zipping back toward her desk as she dismissed the class.

That look brought gravity’s little gathering into her peripheral view - they were harder to miss now, with Meena being present. She towered over virtually everyone. Was it everyone? Velvet quickly looked around the class, thinking that Meena was indeed the largest squire. That made her laugh to herself. Sandie’s dismissal came and rather than getting up, Velvet turned and busied herself with Artanits - bugging him for this and that and holding his attention just long enough for Marlowe to escape the class. The scarlet-eyed flirt might not have known it, but ever since Velvet had picked up on Artanis’ behavior around her, she had made a point to cause little distractions and delays that would keep her out of her partner’s gaze where and when she could. “...Actually, I have it right here. Sorry!” Velvet said, holding up a pen, and stashing it in her bag. Whether the behavior was for Lolo’s benefit, or simply because she didn’t want to deal with Artanis’ mood wouldn’t have been clear to anyone - but she liked to think it was a bit of both. “Actually, can you take this for me?” Velvet shoved her bag into Artanis’ chest. “Thanks. I need to…” She gestured with a thumb over her shoulder. “See you in Wilt’s class.

Turning while he grumbled, Velvet bounded down the steps that divided the class room in sets of three. One. Two. Three. Floor, where she narrowly swiveled around Tay, “Oops, sorry Tay!” She called, keeping her momentum and slipping out the door. Finding Meena in the crowd was easy! So Velvet bounded after her, passing others on the way. She was surprised to find that she wasn’t with the rest of gravity - and not heading toward Wilt’s class. “Good morning, Meena.” Velvet said, as fell in beside the other Silenus, hands folded behind her back and upturned a bright smile at the woman. “I uhm,” She looked back over her shoulder to ensure that Artanis hadn’t gotten it in his head to pursue - why she thought he would was beyond her. “I wanted to apologize again. For Artanis the other day. Really, I’m sorry we ruined your picnic with Marlowe. He can be a real…” She pursed her lips, “Handful.” The word squeaked, it was the nicest, gentlest way she could put it. “Anyway. Don’t take it personally, it’s really not about you. I don’t know exactly what his deal is, but she sure stirs something wild up in him. So just, sorry, heh.

shengami

Character Name: Haimehen
Date Oct. 15 | Time: Morning (~9:30a.m.)|
Location: Engineering Lab
Wearing: Mismatched Sweatsuit (grey bottoms, pink top), rubber shoes, engineering spectacles, headband
Tagging: Open(Mir?)| Mentioning: None |

Haim's breath caught as the gears slowly ticked away. Each tiny metallic click was counted, "One hundred three... four... fi- Gods!" He sat up straight and flipped the magnifying lenses on his spectacles out of his vision as the device did nothing. Nothing! "Gods of Light, where is my calculation off?"

He threw down his sprocket tightener and pulled his schematic to him. He eyed the mechanism, briefly, and then focused on the section he was testing. He'd machined all the gears himself, filed and polished them, fit them together, but they weren't functioning as intended. He picked up the tightener again and used the thinner end to trace the connections again. "Yes yes, the Eiger configuration triggers the Daisy-Welt system. Standard. Then the Half-marque custom bit. Looks like it should work. Here the part I dreamed up-" He bit the end of his tongue and traced the gears again. He pulled a notebook close and looked over his maths again. He went back and forth like that several times before throwing the schematic down again. It all looks fine!

He stared at the mechanism and heaved a frustrated sigh as he tossed the tool onto the papers again. He put his hands up in front of him palms toward the device and crossed his eyes. Out. Out. Empty! He let out a long breath through his nose to clear his mind and then leaned over the array of gears on the clean board. "Maybe mock up the whole mechanism? Maybe they aren't working in isolation for some reason?" That'd take me all day and tomorrow! "What did you do, Namid, and why can't I figure it out?"

He shot up off the tall stool and started pacing. The device was one of the traps that he and Namid had made for their exam together. The gravity bomb had been a brilliant plan, but she'd mocked it up while he was working on his beartrap idea. As such, he'd not seen how she actually machined the parts or fit them together for the prototype. She'd also taken the prototype with her when she left. He was lucky to have found a copy of the schematics in a stack of blueprints from that flurry of activity. Is it an incomplete early model? He scanned the paper for any indication of model number, not that it'd make sense to him. It was a useful idea and green arcanite was far easier for him to handle than black. He growled again,

And yet, there was a warm, fuzzy glow building in his chest. He grit his teeth as a wave of excited energy threatened to explode out of him. His eyes felt like the vibrated in their sockets and his brain was on fire. He loved the puzzle of it. He'd been at it for, he glanced at a clock, over an hour now and made little progress. He moved to his unrolled toolkit and took a small tuning fork from a small array of them. Most engineers didn't include them in their kit; actually, none did. Haim only did due to his shimmer. He tapped the fork against the table and held the ringing device close to the gears. He watched waves of sound ripple out, bounce off the gears, and then pursed his lips. He tapped it again and set the gears into motion. He started counting the rapid little clicks silently, his lips writhing, and watched the sounds.

There!

He set the fork down and charged the gears. In a matter of seconds he had the tiny thing out of its place and under microscopic inspection. Each tooth, each valley, the plane, and the angle of contact. "Je t'ai eu, espèce de salaud." He leaned back and sighed. There was no telling that the flawed gear was the only culprit. He glanced at the fork and grunted. He should have watched through the entire process instead of getting excited. But the angle of contact on this one was off by a few degrees and that could explain why the mechanism wasn't firing. He looked at the schematic and saw the gear was made according to specs. Namid must have found the same flaw and either corrected it without noting it or made a new schematic. The latter implied that there would be more changes to discover. He heaved a sigh. Namid had been careful and smart, she'd have done things right even if they'd been in a crunch at that time.

He set the small gear down and looked at it with pity. It served no function now. A part without a machine to belong to. Worse than useless. The best it could hope for was to join a miscellany box and maybe finding a purpose again in some future project. Haim smiled as he recalled the small box of collected parts he used to play with as a teen. He'd made plenty of strange things from all the abandoned things. He frowned and realized that there'd be no next generation to experience the same. A regret stuck somewhere in his ribcage and he grunted as it burned him.

He pulled his notepad to him and started to do the maths again slowly, working carefully, until he had the right gear design. It's take him another half-hour to hour to machine the part. He eyed the manufacturing end of the lab and stood slowly to be about it.
Am I on the hunt for a story? - Not really...
O/os
My General LFGs
My Worlds
My Poetry Thread

Aethyrium

Character Name: Mir Glenn
Date | Time: October 15th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Engineering Lab
Wearing: White tee, Oversized patterned open-face sweater, Baggy blue bootcut pants, Assorted bracelets and rings
Tagging | Mentioning: Haimehen | Kiba, Aujus, Autumn

Ardor, Mir’s weapon of choice, was broken apart into its most basic components on one of the desks - his desk, he claimed it - of the prowler dormitory. Ever since Friday when Aujus - Kiba’s sabertooth wolfdog and battle companion - got ahold of it, it hadn’t been acting right. It had taken all of the day before figuring out exactly what the problem was. Ultimately he had discovered a coil had been knocked loose when the iron-jawed mutt had ripped it from his hand and smashed it against the ground. That would have been an easy fix, but it had come into contact with two pieces of black arcanite, completed the circuit and superheated itself into being deformed. Not only had the coil been ruined, but the two crystals had been badly damaged in the process. So in addition to finding the problems. Mir had to go into Onyx proper and retrieve the materials he needed to fix Ardor before classes - Illinite, a special metal for his coil, and a black arcanite crystal big enough that he could cut it down into two pieces that would fit into the weapon.

He looked at the meticulously laid out device and frowned. While the rest of his team was out doing whatever fun they were up to, he was going to have to spend the better part of the day working. Sometimes he wished he had picked a less maintenance intensive weapon - all Autumn ever had to do was periodically sharpen her sword, how hard was that? Grabbing his tool kit - a rolled up leather bundle with straps that kept everything secure, like a painters kit - and the materials collected the day before, Mir made his way to the engineering lab.

There were enough people that needed the facility that it was never a good bet you could be alone in the lab, but Mir had really thought that on a Sunday morning he would be. So when he quietly opened the door and saw Haimehen, he blinked pale eyes just in time to hear him curse in satisfaction at it. He quietly laughed to himself, and half smiled. If nothing else, at least Haim was enthusiastic about his work. Mir approached from the rear as he rose, “How do you know it fucks mothers?” He questioned nearer the end of his approach, peering down at the blueprint that Haim had laid out. “Is that what you’re designing?” His words were innocent and light hearted - and his read of the schematic told him no, but it was fun to ask anyway.

The bundle was under his arm, tucked against his side, while he held the small block of dark polish metal and the palm sized hunk of black arcanite in one hand each. “This is interesting.” His voice was light, soft. Reaching out with a hand curled around the metal, he extended a finger and mapped it along some of the circuitry paths, quickly puzzling out what some of the design intent was. “Is it your design? I’ve never seen…” He tapped his finger against the part Haim had dreamed up, “It reminds me of a collapsing two-wave distributor, but… It seems like it’s actually functioning as an inductor?

shengami

Character Name: Haimehen
Date Oct. 15 | Time: Morning (~9:30a.m.)|
Location: Engineering Lab
Wearing: Mismatched Sweatsuit (grey bottoms, pink top), rubber shoes, engineering spectacles, headband
Tagging: Mir  | Mentioning: None |

Haim had been hip deep in the problem when the voice registered. His eyes sprang open and his attention refocused. It was not normal for him to miss things like the presence of another person in his vicinity.

Then he re-refocused back to the design, "Oh, yeah. Er, I mean, no. It was Namid's design. It's one of the reasons that I am struggling. She had a different perspective than mine." He pointed to the section he had been mocking up on the gear-board. "This was the only thing that was missing from a full design. I think we jury-rigged the device's activation the first time around, but I wanted a more stable method, so I designed this." He chuckled and traced the work he'd managed so far. He smiled at the subtle compliment in Mir's voice.

Tilting his head, he regarded the Prowler team member briefly. He was cute enough, for sure, but it was the words that were the most interesting. It was something that he had been missing with his team. Someone to talk shop with. Since Namid had left and he had stopped talking to Lyra. Since he'd left the University for the Academy. He knew some of the other squires had a similar focus to him, but he'd not sought them out yet. "Not too common for a human to know elven." His eyes flicked down to the bundle the man carried and his eyes lit up.

"Anyway, yes, it's a modified version of the ignition system I use in Feu and Fureur. It balances and activates the soft arcanite I use in my ammunition with considerable efficiency and prevents damage to the casing. Modifying it to fit this gravity bomb is proving an exercise in frustration though. It doesn't help that I barely understand Namid's designs. I mean, I understand them but some of the techniques are-" He frowned at the designs. He needed a break.

His eyes slid to the bundle again and he smiled slowly, "Black arcanite? That's a big crystal though. You're going to cut it down? I've no skill with the black. Stuff likes to activated and zap me out of spite, I think. Pity as its uses are manifold. And Ilinite... Oh! Are you working on Ardor? I've seen it a few times, but not close." He shuffled and looked up to Mir, "What's the issue?" Then he realized that snooping into another team's weapon might be viewed as rude or espionage.
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Aethyrium

Character Name: Mir Glenn
Date | Time: October 15th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Engineering Lab
Wearing: White tee, Oversized patterned open-face sweater, Baggy blue bootcut pants, Assorted bracelets and rings
Tagging | Mentioning: Haimehen |

Namid…” He remembered seeing her, briefly. But as not a member of his team, or of any particular relevance to him, she had more or less slipped from his mind. “She left, right?” All Haim had to do was nod, and Mir let it settle at that.

Well,” She smiled gently at the elf, “Maybe I’m not a common human.

Attention falling back to the design, Mir pondered on the design some more while listening to the explanation. He could see what was being talked about, and also why such an enlarged version would be complicated. “Hmm. So you want something reloadable. Interesting.” Mir leaned over the blueprint and studied it a bit more closely. It’d take more than a brief eyeballing to solve the issue, but it was still enjoyable to capture the major elements of the design in his head. “Unfamiliar?” He assumed it was the unspoken word.

Straightening, Mir traced Haim’s eyes down to his bundle, then held up the hunk of Arcanite. “You have a good eye.” He praised with another smile, “I am, yeah. Aujus got a hold of it during practice, broke one of the more delicate pieces and dusted my black arcanite in the process.” Ardor was a sort of toothy elemental canon; a heavy weapon that used arcanite ‘teeth’ to create circuits and fire raw elemental energy - a lightning launcher, a flamethrower, squirtgun, and windblaster all in one. “Need to recreate the coil,” He held up the Illinite, “And make new teeth.” Mir set the two raw materials on the desk. “I have the whole thing torn apart back in the room.” He nudged his head in that direction. “Should be an easy enough fix, just time consuming.” Far worse damage could have been done for certain.

I know what you mean about black arcanite.” He laughed softly. “Everytime I try to use most of it, it doesn’t go right. Or tries to fight back, ha. I do alright with white, but I prefer to let my tech handle it all regardless. Just don’t have the Soul for it I guess.” Mir pulled his bundle away from his side and set it on the table. He clicked a few buckles open and untethered it, allowing him to unroll the whole thing and show his collection of tools inside - most of which were immediately recognizable. They weren’t new, in fact, some of them looked a little worn, like they were well used and perhaps hand me downs. “Have you ever worked with one of these before?” He plucked a long file-like device from the back that had two planes, sort of like scissors. It was reminiscent of a more standard stabilizer that was used to help keep arcanite from activating while being worked on. “People swear by the new stuff, but I think this design is better.” He offered it over for Haim to take and inspect if he wanted, “You can’t buy them anywhere anymore, but we could make you one. It guarantee it’ll help if you want to mess with black.

shengami

#18
Character Name: Haimehen
Date Oct. 15 | Time: Morning (~9:30a.m.)|
Location: Engineering Lab
Wearing: Mismatched Sweatsuit (grey bottoms, pink top), rubber shoes, engineering spectacles, headband
Tagging: Mir  | Mentioning: None |

"Right? It's like the stuff has a mind of its own and is trying to hurt me. I'm pretty comfortable with arcanite release for anything other than black. But, yeah, working through tech is-" He searched for a word for a moment and then, interrupted, reached for the tool. He was still half-searching for a word, so he over-reached a bit and his fingers closed on Mir's more than the tool. It snapped his attention into sharp focus and he blushed a bit. His bi-colored eyes looked up to Mir's face, the blush deepened, and then he adjusted his grip to take the tool. "Ah, er, what was I saying? Right! Working through tech is more cute." He chuckled and stared a bit before pulled his gaze back down to the workbench.

His gaze snapped back up as panic overwhelmed his brain and locked it in place. He juttered free like a car trying not to stall, "Comfortable. I meant to say comfortable. Not cute." He blushed furiously and hissed air in frustration. It was just nerves and maybe he'd been thinking about Lolo too much recently. He looked very deliberately down at the workbench, No kidding, not a common human. Are there any common humans at this place?

His chin firmed up and he focused on the tool, "I've seen these before. I think my grandmother had an old set of them. She didn't often have a caused to work with arcanite, mind, but it came up from time to time. Especially later on after Nexus Corp. came out with that efficient blue arcanite powered water purification system? Buncha farms got those." He stuck his tongue out between his teeth and flipped down one of the lenses of his spectacles. Then, carefully, he pulled over a small container and flipped open the lip to reveal a green arcanite crystal intended for the trap he was working on. Carefully, he used the tool to pick it up. He saw how the rough surface helped to grip without grinding. The response of the tensioner was responsive. The lock was intuitive. He gave the arcanite a light shake and it held firm. He hummed happily, "Oh, that is stable. Neat."

He replaced the arcanite and then used a towel to wipe the tool off. Anything was better than focusing on the faux pas he'd managed. He turned the tool end for end and offered it back handle first being careful to make sure there would be no accidents this time. "I do have a fondness for older tools. The presence of the artist is more-uh, present? I don't know. Like, I feel that my fine motor control- I mean, the AS-X-14 is really stable and insulates well but I can't feel the arcanite as I'm working it. You know? Hands on is just, better? Even if I get the occasionaly spark or ember." He shrugged and accidentally looked all the way from shoes to hair in one sweep just trying to move his gaze. He coughed and reached up to tuck a bit of hair behind his ear and then looked away.

Why did everything have to be awkward? Things had never been awkward with Nici. Because I had eyes for no one else He chuckled and sighed. "Annyywwaayy... Yeah, if you have the design? I think I have some good steel in my supplies. Does steel work for the design? It felt rigid enough when I used it. But it could have been an alloy, I suppose. Ilinite? Some imbued alloy? Dentite? Oh, Terronite? " He felt the spark in his brain turning over again. He glanced at his design out of the corner of his eye, Terronite? Interesting...
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Crash

Character Name: Meena Tor
Date | Time: 10.16.1322 | After History 101
Location: Between classes
Wearing: Long-sleeved cream, turtleneck bodysuit and black plaid mini-dress with white socks and cream boots.
Tagging | Mentioning: Velvet


It had been a rough morning. Meena had been out until early morning and still felt terrible about being a homewrecker. Not a real homewrecker, mind you, but real enough to Ireena, and really wasn’t that enough?

Meena should have known the lying would end badly, but she had done it anyway. Thought that it was all just a goof to get information. She doubted Farrah or Vesper would have seen it in the same light.

It had worked, and they had gotten some information, but at what cost? Ireena was an innocent. The pain Meena caused her was real. Meena was having a hard time reconciling it on top of lack of sleep and the stress of working with a team that didn’t seem to want to be a team at all.

Meena likely would have been a mess as she left history class if it hadn’t been for the boundless energy of one Professor Beach to wake her up in the morning. There were a lot of grumbles from her team and others about Sandie, but she was a thousand percent Meena’s favorite instructor.

Meena was contemplating a run by the cafeteria to try out Professor Beech’s morning pick-me-up when the smell of vanilla tickled her senses. Vanilla was one of her favorite scents. It wasn’t native to the Tors. The first time Meena had smelled vanilla was in Ruby Cove. A little bakery on the corner of Brigandine and Slip Streets had been resting vanilla sponge to cool. The baker had chased a young Meena away for sniffing his desserts and weirding out the customers. Ever since, she could easily discern vanilla, even amid so many other scents.

It was how she knew Velvet had rounded the corner. She had caught the sent the day before when Velvet and Artanis had interrupted her picnic with Lolo.  Meena was still pretty upset about it. Not so much because it had been cut short. That was bad enough, but it was how rude and insulting Artanis had been to Lolo.  Meena’s anger wasn’t misplaced, though. Velvet had been sweet and apologetic, even if she had no reason to be. 

Vanilla teased her senses more now that Velvet and her hurried stride fell into step with Meena. Meena slowed her distance-eating stride so Velvet didn’t need to skip-step to keep up with her. She looked down at the pretty cat-eared Silenus and gave her a welcome smile. 

“Good morning, Velvet,” she offered pleasantly, glancing behind them as Velvet did and curiously lifted an eyebrow at her fellow squire. “Ahh,” she said as the realization dawned on her when Velvet apologized for her partner’s behavior. 

“You have nothing to apologize for, and I am not the one that needs the apology,” Meena said, waving off Velvet’s apology as they walked. “But thank you.” It was clear Velvet had been rather mortified by her partner. It wasn’t her fault she was stuck with him.

“Well. He would do himself a kindness to keep his stirrings to himself,” Meena snorted. “Lolo has been nothing but a good friend since I got here. It is hard not to take that sort of thing personally.”  Artanis’s behavior was just another thing Meena couldn’t reconcile with her somewhat naïve idea of who and what a Champion was. In her mind, Artanis shouldn’t be here. He clearly wasn’t Champion material, and yet here he was. It didn’t make much sense, and she shook her head to clear it.

“It’s okay,” It wasn’t, but Velvet wasn’t the reason, and Meena wouldn’t hold her accountable for it. It just wasn’t who Meena was. “But I would rather not talk about Artanis right now if you don’t mind. I would much rather get to know you. I haven’t had much time to talk to another Silenus at the Academy. I can walk you to class, or we could have lunch sometime if you’d like. Or, if you still feel you must make amends, you could help me at the East Quarter Soup Kitchen this weekend,” Meena offered. 

"Sorry, you must survive at least 3 games with me before we can chat like this."
Congratulations, you've unlocked Flirtatious Crash! - Envious

Aethyrium

Character Name: Velvet Smoke
Date | Time: October 16th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Hallways
Wearing: Cardigan, collared shirt, pleated skirt
Tagging | Mentioning: Meena | Cub, Doya

Maybe there was truth in that, but she still felt a bit responsible for Artanis. Regardless, Velvet smiled at Meena and appreciated her understanding. And though it was true that Lolo needed an apology too, part of this one had been a facade just to converse with the newest Silenus. Though she firmly believed that Meena deserved one too - Lolo might’ve been the target, but it was Meena’s moment too that had been ruined by it. “I wish he would.” She admitted, shaking her head. “Sometimes I just wanna…” Her little buttonish nose scrunched and she held both hands forward like she was holding something and pushed them forward, “Smoosh tape over his mouth!” She laughed, ending it with a sigh and shake of her head. That probably wouldn’t go over well.

You know what, I don’t mind at all.” She beamed. “Well I’ll definitely let you walk me to class.” Velvet looked ahead down the hall and thought back to her time before Onyx. “And, maybe I can join you at the soup kitchen without amends?” Closing one eye, Velvet glanced up at the much taller woman, “Don’t think I’ve met another squire who’s interested in that kind of thing.” She was of course, but it wasn’t something she’d done much of since coming to Onyx. Somehow it felt a little less needed - or maybe she’d just let herself be distracted.

Back home,” She began to volunteer - Meena had said she wanted to get to know her! “I worked at a community center in the harbor. There were a lot of displaced folks. People with nowhere else to go.” Velvet swayed as she walked, hands locked behind her back.

There aren’t very many of us.” She peered around the others around them, most of whom were human. “I feel very lucky to have been teamed with another. Even if Cub can be a bit of a handful.” She grinned and shook her head. “The other day, he slimed us. Well everyone but Doya, she was off with Professor Whyte already. Ugh, it took like thirty minutes to get it all out of my hair.” Shrugging big and slow, Velvet moved on - the situation hadn’t irritated her anywhere nearly as bad as it had Irona. But that was likely because she had grown up with a couple of pranksters. “I was surprised to see the Academy bring in two new squires after everything that happened. You must be very lucky to get the chance!

She winced. Maybe that sounded wrong. “Not that there’s anything lucky about what happened, I mean.

Aethyrium

Character Name: Mir Glenn
Date | Time: October 15th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Engineering Lab
Wearing: White tee, Oversized patterned open-face sweater, Baggy blue bootcut pants, Assorted bracelets and rings
Tagging | Mentioning: Haimehen |

It wouldn’t surprise him in the least if people in the future discovered that Arcanite did have a mind of its own. Some kind of mystical sense of purpose. It felt like they were always discovering new things about Arcanite, new ways to use it, interface with it, integrate it, so why not that? “I always felt like each type had a personality to it.” He added thoughtfully, even though he wasn’t sure that he could truly explain it. Each type of Arcanite felt distinct though, like a general handling wouldn’t be good enough.

If he were bothered by the overreach on Haim’s part, he didn’t show it. Mir’s eyes focused like his, crossing lines at the point of contact. Then they flickered to the reddening of the elf’s face. It wasn’t the touch, but the blush itself, that made Mir feel a little warmer in the cheek. He swallowed, passing the tool off, an awkward laugh caught in his throat. And a blink. Cute? Well he supposed that tech could be cute. Comfortable made much more sense. Mir’s wide smiles were marked with deep dimples, and always filled with the bright of his teeth that he displayed like a badge. “Isn’t it?” He said, watching Haim play with it.

Mir was a bit shorter than Haim himself, maybe an inch or two. His clothes were loose and a touch flamboyant, both in design and fabric. He wasn’t fashionable in the way that Lolo was, but he knew how to slap something together. He was a petite man, with soft features - even in his hands, he probably never worked a farm like Haim had. Mir’s accessories weren’t the only things decorating him, he also had about half his nails painted - four on the right hand, a black with white tip with a single inverted one. On his left hand pinky and thumb were two different shades of blue, one dark like the ocean and one light like the sky. “Yeah, I like to be up close and personal when I’m working.” His tools seemed to indicate that he worked on a very precise level, rather than anything that required a lot of torque. “My work suffers without my touch.” He was sure that anyone could tell the difference between his work depending on how he had gone about doing it.

Not with me, but I can send you a copy.” Mir grabbed his phone from his pocket, “Let me have your number, I’ll send it later.” He waggled it in his fingers, then held it out for Haim to input. “Steel will do just fine. Though making it out of Dentite would be smart, I think.

Mostly at the same time Haim seemed to recognize it, so did Mir. He looked over at the design, “You know Terronite would help prevent damage to the casing, and then you could…” He bit his bottom lip and leaned in right beside Haim, brushing against him. He pointed at Haim’s part design, “...Yeah, you could probably redesign this a little. Without,” His finger traced a circle around one component, “And instead fit the rest of it around a standard balkner-plate. That should let you scale it easier, and keep the damage resistance.

shengami

#22
Character Name: Haimehen
Date Oct. 15 | Time: Morning (~9:30a.m.)|
Location: Engineering Lab
Wearing: Mismatched Sweatsuit (grey bottoms, pink top), rubber shoes, engineering spectacles, headband
Tagging: Mir  | Mentioning: None |

Haim followed Mir's logic and was mesmerized. Barely noticing the brush against him, he leaned into it. But not into it, rather into the project. Almost literally putting his head together with the smaller man. He nodded. "Right.. Right! Exactly. The inherent grounded nature of Terronite allows me to allow for..." He quickly grabbed a pair of pencils and handed one to Mir while motioning at the design. He quickly circled the indicated part that would be redundant. He then did a quick redesign of the gears surrounding that point, "I wouldn't need to insulate for fear of feedback from the arcanite. Rather, the balkner-plate would function as an amplifier if you made this and this change. Added a capacitor here. See?" he grinned sideways at the other mind he was interfacing with and then pulled a notepad close.

His hand flew as he made the calculation. "Add in the VonWinkle constant. Subtract the... factor here... and the output is..." The pencil tips splintered as he tapped and then circled a number, "My power output goes up by a factor of two point six one. Which makes the final output... uh, 10 milliarcs and some change. More than enough- No, too much." He followed along to the next section of the design and circled a part. "The Erewhon Bridge can't handle that output. It's meant for miniaturized structures anyway." He tapped the pencil's long eroded eraser against his chin.

As he pondered this next problem, he became aware of the warmth pressing against his shoulder and the tickled of something across his neck. Mir was leaning over to look at something and his hair was tickling his collarbone. A smell filled his nose and he felt something pulse far south of his overstimulated mind. His eyes went cross-eyed for a moment as part of his brain was thoroughly distracted: Didn't he just ask for my number for some reason? He inhaled deeply and stared at the back of his neck. When did necks become sexy? Gods of light, if you have any pity for me, let this man also like men.

But the rest of his brain, free of conscious weight, chugged along and dinged again. "Wait, That's it. the Erewhon Bridge was incorporated in the initial design because it was compact, not because it's other characteristics were needed!" He leaned in next to Mir, glanced sideways with a shy smile, and then wrote in big block letters over the part 'Twin-Oscillating Bridge.' He tapped it twice and raised his eyebrow at the other man to gather his reaction. He pushed the pad half-filled with Haim's math toward the man.
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Aethyrium

Character Name: Mir Glenn
Date | Time: October 15th | Morning (~9:30am)
Location: Hammer Academy - Engineering Lab
Wearing: White tee, Oversized patterned open-face sweater, Baggy blue bootcut pants, Assorted bracelets and rings
Tagging | Mentioning: Haimehen | Falkner

Of his teammates, only Falkner had any real technological knowledge. Mir hesitated to call it expertise because while Falker had a degree of educated understanding, he lacked any appreciable technical skill. That was pretty common from his team leader, the man was shockingly well read and familiar with an absurd number of topics. But a lot of that knowledge was cursory, and most of it lacked real experience. Mir could talk with him, but only to a certain extent, and there was no ability to really share - except as far as Falker was interested in learning for the purpose of understanding. Someday, that man was going to be an incredible scholar.

Mir never seemed bothered by the casual closeness displayed as they worked on the plan and exchanged thoughts. He took a pencil and leaned in, following Haim’s movements by ghosting them from above, making sure he was following along. He nodded as he spoke. “Yes, right.” While Haim worked on a notepad, Mir actually drew on the schematic itself - he was doing a different calculation, almost preempting Haim’s work and coming up with the figures that Haim would need for his own work. There was a bit of an artistic stroke in Mir’s work, as he drew simple but distinguishable mock ups of some adjustments that would need to be made. “Mmmm…” Mir narrowed his eyes on the circled part. He could think of a few ways to correct the one problem, but each came with its own other considerations - so it ended up being like going down a list trying to find the right one.

Haim got there first. “Oh that’s smart.” He sketched inside the circle a crude map of the Twin-Oscillating Bridge “Are you familiar with the works of Nikki Tesla? It’s older stuff, not used much these days. Most people consider it dated with most of Torgol’s work.” He shrugged, and turned to look at Haim - only really then coming to understand just how close they had gotten. He swallowed and blinked twice, “Uhm.” Two colored eyes were really interesting, he thought to himself, staring at them. “Tesla’s Postulate isn’t as flexible as anything Torgol came up with. But…” He hesitated, studied the elf’s face, before finally getting himself to look back at the blueprint, “If you introduce it instead of…” Mir elaborated on some minor adjustments to the bridge that would convert it from the from its standard design to one incorporating this more archaic - niche, but not irrelevant - design and construction would actually increase the stability and power of the trap, without sacrificing anything. Or at least, without sacrificing anything that this particular trap would care about.

Leaning on the desk, Mir looked once more at him and smiled back, still soft. “Fabricating all this is going to take you like a week, you know that?” Turning more so that his back was the desk, Mir put his hands on the edge and supported himself so he was more properly looking at Haim, rather than craning his neck, “It’s nice to talk to someone who gets it.” He giggled. “I’m Mir, by the way. You going to put your name and number in my phone, or would you rather write it down.” Mir eyed the pad.

shengami

Character Name: Haimehen
Date Oct. 15 | Time: Morning (~9:30a.m.)|
Location: Engineering Lab
Wearing: Mismatched Sweatsuit (grey bottoms, pink top), rubber shoes, engineering spectacles, headband
Tagging: Mir  | Mentioning: None |

Haim was just coming to the same conclusion on the fabrication time when the other man repeated his question. For a long moment, Haim ignored the question though. Not completely, he held up a single finger and shot a look begging for a minute. He ran his eyes over the design again saw that he'd need to start by working through a new set of blueprints. But, if everything worked as it looked like it would, the trap would be effective and more powerful than originally designed. He grinned madly.

Then he reached down and grabbed a pencil to scribble a series of number on a blank page, tear it off, and fold it in quarters before more than a digit or two could be read. he then turned to the other man and raised an eyebrow. "First, that was ridiculously satisfying. I'd started to forget what it was like to talk with someone who-" He twisted his hand in the air trying to summon the word. Then gave up and shrugged. He glanced at the bundle Mir had set off to the side and raised his eyebrow. He licked his lips and glanced at the man's face, locked with his eyes a moment.

He wasn't sure that he had any right to the thoughts in his head or the things twining in his gut, but they were there either way. And he'd been realizing lately that maybe he'd been a bit rash about how he'd ended things with his previous friend group. A long, very fraught conversation with Haliy last night had hit that nail squarely on the head. He'd ended the conversation by promising that he'd not be so distant with his former friends. That he might even consider a talk with Nicialan. He supposed she wanted him to be a bit more apologetic. But, whatever had existed between them was gone now. Whatever future they might have had, he'd snuffed it out. There was no going back, only forward.

He flicked his hand to hold up the slip of folded paper between the first two fingers of his left hand and smiled very mischievously. His right hand snaked out to grab the front of the man's shirt just over his navel between forefinger and thumb. Haim tugged himself in close. He pressed momentarily up against Mir personal bubble and then broke it. One knee pressed against the space between his legs and, as he drew in close, the hand released his shirt to snake around his hip and press lightly against the small of his back. Their faces were ships passing in a fog. So close that Haim felt the little hairs along Mir's cheek like phantom tickles. He nipped at Mir's jaw line just below his ear then at his earlobe and breathed hot air into his ear like whiskey into a glass, "Sure, you can have my number, but ONLY if you promise to use for something other that sending me those schematics."

He drew back just far enough to brush his lips dryly across Mir's and then reached down to slip the paper between the top of his pants and his hip bone. He was being as forward as he had ever been. he felt the pressure to fold under the cringiness. "I really, really want to help you with your- parts, too." With a final nip at the end of Mir's nose, Haim stepped back and struggled against the blush and giggles rising in his chest. He was giddy enough to feel drunk. Still, he directed his gaze to Mir's package and project. "Up to you, Cutie." He sent big eyes at Mir waiting for an answer. But his heart was going a mile a minute. He could hear it, see it, feel it. He was nervous; he'd never been so bold. Now he was worried that he'd been too bold.
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