"Ye've gotta be feckin' kiddin' -!" Ainsley began as the pasty nitwit pulled his fecking spine out of his back, brandishing it like a whip, cutting her words off with a painful crack across her front. She managed to cover her face, but that didn't do much for the gash she now sported from shoulder to torso, blood turning the crisp white blouse red.
She'd never actually seen a Dullahan before. Heard about them, sure, but hearing was often a bit different from seeing, especially when the tales around her parts often had an edge of embellishment. Harbinger of death and all that, load of rubbish. Just a silly hill-folk arse that could pop off their head like a hat.
This, though - it was a bit of a fight or flight moment, yeah? Little different from the rat, bit more justifiable, but -
But fecking hell, Aisling was watching, and she wasn't about to look like a weakling nancy fool in front of Aisling.
"Oooh, I'm so scairt, I'm quakin' in me shoes!" Ainsley snarled - hiding the fact she was a wee bit nervous about the whole ordeal. Ducking under his whip, she moved to headbutt him in the side as a distraction, then latch her sharp teeth onto his whip-arm.
It's okay. New schools were always tough. That's what everyone said, at least. It was completely normal for Eve to feel like this, right? She wouldn't know, it was her first time actually at a school. She was homeschooled. That's okay, right? Right. It was totally normal to feel light-headed, like her heart was beating a mile a minute, a little nauseous, and she felt light-headed, too. No, no. She already noted that. Agh! The lights had turned off, too! She was probably sticking out like a sore thumb, what with glowing in the dark, and, and glowing, and nobody knew her, and what if people didn't like her? Surely everyone had already found friends and they'd leave her out to dry, then she'd have to stay alone the entire year, or even her entire time here and someone pulled his own head off!
Oh god oh no, he was fighting, too, with some sort of drowned spirit. Was this part of a normal school life as well?! Eve turned away from the ghastly spectacle, ducking her head down, trying to take up as little space as possible as she gave the brawl a wide berth. She tried not to draw any more attention than her own light hadn't already attracted. What if they found her to be a nice target? Even a stiff breeze could pick her up and toss her around, what would a monster do to her? She hurriedly shuffled into one of the lines of seats and sat down, hunched over and with her hands gripping her legs tight. She peeked over to her neighbour to the right, a normal-looking girl with a book in her hands and a mouse on her lap. That was nice, it meant she wasn't going to bother her. Ah, not that she was a bother, just that she wouldn't confront her or anything. Wait, was she bothering her? She was staring wasn't she? Maybe it'd be best if she tried introducing herself. Okay, okay. Calm down, speak clearly.
"H-hi, ah, Eve. N-Name."
She instantly regretted every single word that came out of her dumb mouth.
Another dreadful year of teaching stinky, uneducated children. How exciting.
After a well deserved vacation with his wives in Transylvania, DRACULA was back at Wimbleton after claiming the former year to be his last. It was embarrassing to admit it was better to teach than the monotony and solitude of his castle, and though he'd never say it out loud, sometimes he even had… Fun there.
The Count was making conversation with some of his colleagues when a familiar scent filled his nostrils. Kelpie blood. A bit too fishy for his taste... It didn't trigger his unsatiable thirst, but it wakened his eternal annoyance of children doing stupid shit. In a surprisingly high speed he approached the students who were making a scene in front of the entire body of the academy, his red cloak swaying behind him, covering his feet with grace, in stark contrast with the abnormal wrinkles on his hands and face.
"What do we have here..." he said with an ominous yellow smile, analyzing the transgressors. New students, the three of them. "I assume you weren't warned of the Academy's rules… Or the punishment that comes with disobeying it. What are your names?”
Cailet was fairly relieved that whatever was happening seemed to be happening without her. There were some things that she just wasn't interested in being included in - especially since the fight had apparently turned physical now. Cailet was very much not a physical fighting sort of person. Cailet was a "still gets given the kids' menu at restaurants by default" sort of person, and a "picked last in gym class" sort of person. Also, maybe even more relevantly, she was entirely human and not able to do any of the weird things a lot of the other kids could do.
Like, for example, pulling off her head and ripping her spine out of the empty hole. Cailet just stared for a moment - she didn't mean to, but it was hard not to. A very quiet "...Cool..." escaped her, hopefully one that no one else heard, because it probably wasn't polite to think that sort of thing was cool, or to comment on it. She didn't know the rules here, and fitting in was already difficult.
Oh, no.
Someone else was sitting down next to her. Cailet really was not good at this. What if she ended up alienating absolutely everyone in the whole class before the opening ceremony? What if really no one liked her? What if she failed all her classes and got expelled and-
...Oh.
The other girl sounded really nervous. And awkward. Cailet knew exactly how that felt. "Oh... hi." That was an excellent and not at all awkward opener. Name? Cailet had been warned about names. Things went weird with names. There was a lot in the Goode Childe's Guide about giving your name to strangers Creatures Moste Foule and all that.
But Cailet didn't have to be the judge of everything. She poked Algernon. "What do you think?" Okay, that question would have been a lot less weird if the girl sitting next to her couldn't totally hear what she was saying even if it was quiet. Oops. Algernon didn't seem to be worried about her social dilemma, and gave a squeak of assent. Whether that meant that saying her name was fine or just that he thought he could eat the other girl before anything bad happened was anyone's guess, but at least it was a vote of confidence, right?
"I'm Cailet." Hopefully that sounded more like a statement and less like a question. "This is Algernon." It was so much easier to talk about him and not herself. "He's a mouse, mostly. Are you... new here? I am."
Post by xXxStitchesxXx on Dec 5, 2022 20:36:12 GMT
“I’m used to being cold.” The short haired girl replied. She folded her hands calmly in her lap, her gaze now fully locked on the fight at the front of the room. “This is quite a show, anyway. Hard to be cold when you’re so well entertained.” She leaned forward when the boy who had taken over fighting with the kelpie suddenly ripped his own spine from his body, whipping it out like a lash.
“That’s so neat.” Both of the twins said. Ellie turned to look at Eden, the question about the horns forgotten as she saw how ill the girl must have felt. She was quick to move back into an upright position, no longer enthusiastically leaning forward.
“Oh, yeah, I mean, it’s super gross. But also a tiny bit cool. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a monster like him before.” Ellie couldn’t help the pitch of her voice rising or her giddy tone as she tried to reassure Eden. It was then that the Count stepped out from the shadows, and both girls fell silent. They looked over at Aaron, making sure he was all right given the Count’s… peculiar tastes.
And to those Gods I will speak bluntly, We have an accord if you ever touch or harm him Please rest assured, you may not fear a man, But by the end to a woman, you'll kneel and plead Because I'm more than my mom taught me to be.
Even as Eden was bemoaning the casual decapitation that had occurred some distance away, the twins had the exact opposite reaction. Ellie made an attempt to conceal her fascination, but it was unconvincing at best. That was fine, though. Whether she particularly liked it or not, Eden was accustomed to the macabre. She wasn't the only one who found it offputting, though. Nearby, another new student voiced her agreement.
"She's right. You shouldn't do that here. And it is gross."
Eden's eyes widened, and her hands quickly flew up to cover her mouth. She hadn't intended for her voice to be heard by anyone except for herself, Ellie, and perhaps a handful of decrepit spirits lurking in the floorboards. She certainly hadn't counted on it carrying through to the physical world and being heard by anyone within earshot.
The realization that she had spoken out loud, for everyone to hear, was jarring. Too jarring. Just as her nerves had kept her anchored firmly in the spiritual realm when she woke up this morning, shock now pulled her just as mercilessly back to corporeality. With a muffled "Eek!" of surprise, Eden felt herself plummet from her hovering position, landing firmly, solidly in the chair underneath her.
His whip cracked through the air, slicing a neat cut into the kelpie girl. Crimson began to seep into her blouse, and for a moment Sulyvahn almost began to feel bad. Her hands hand gone up to protect her face, and in that moment he could almost see her as someone who was scared, who might have pushed too far.
That line of reasoning immediately ended after she sank her teeth into his whip arm.
"You fuckin-" Sulyvahn tried to jerk his arm out of her mouth, but she was latched on tight. Dark smoke began to leak from the wounds and around her teeth as she simply latched on tighter. "Fucking. Scarlet for your ma for having ya, stupid fish!" With one last pull he yanked his arm free, the kelpie's teeth leaving gouges that leaked black smoke.
"Oh you're banjaxed now you little-" Sulyvahn's threat was interrupted by the arrival of yet another figure, tall and ominous, draped in red and clearly older than the rest of them. Oh gods, a teacher.
A yellow grin, containing no joy, was levied there way, and a pair of fangs were on full display. Sullyvahn's whip hung loosely on the floor as he faced the vampire. Normally he wouldn't give out a name, fairy rules and all that, but he didn't really have a choice.
"Sullyvahn" he murmured, loud enough so that only the teacher could hear.
Oh, Ainsley bit back! And, this time, the aggression was justified- she wasn't the one to escalate, it was just a response to the dullahan's... idiocy. Aisling kept her distant position, watching the fight intently, until her attention was drawn by a sudden motion off to her side. A new figure, it seemed. Something strange, something dead, something that took her attention almost immediately, prompting a complete shift in tone- her passive aggression evaporating into quiet, worried apologies.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"
She rushed away from the scene towards the girl who had landed in the chair.
Aaron wasn’t interested in the fight that was happening, and that was probably coming to an end with the Count’s interference. He could feel Nelle’s eyes on him (Probably Ellie’s as well) as a cold shiver ran over his body.
***
It was a night of the full moon, nine years ago.
Aaron was a twiggy kid, human amongst monsters with little to no knowledge of his abilities - an easy prey for his stronger, flesh eating classmates. Maybe they were just messing with him or maybe the werewolves hunting him through the school's hallways were gonna eat him alive. Aaron didn't know, but he knew it'd hurt either way, and so he ran like his life depended on it.
Taking a hard turn to the left, he hit an obstacle and fell back on his ass. The small boy glanced over his shoulder and saw the terrified look on the wolves' faces, as they cried and ran in the opposite direction and for a second, Aaron felt relief.
He looked up and saw Dracula staring down at him, his face covered by his own shadow. Aaron opened his mouth to thank him, but the vampire was quicker.
"You shouldn't be here." He said in a monotone. It was past curfew, perhaps it was what he meant.
"I'm sorry, I… They were after me and I-"
"I mean you don't belong here." That shut him right up and the vampire smirked.
He found himself not being able to move, as if he was hypnotized. Dracula's eyes were locked on something - Aaron's arm, or rather the scratch on his skin, and the small leak of blood running down.
Aaron stared as the vampire's eyes glew red, and started shaking as he reached down to grab his pulse. He yoinked the boy up and licked the blood right out of his skin. Something snapped.
Suddenly regaining control over his body Aaron pulled back, releasing himself from the vampire's grasp and running away without looking back, the Count's evil laughter fading as the distance between them grew.
Since then, Aaron avoided Dracula outside of the classroom.
Now he had it, huh? Ainsley dug her teeth into the bastard's arm, dark smoke pooling around her mouth, clinging with desperate anger as the Dullahan tried to pull away. She was so determined that she didn't notice the ominous cloaked figure approach, a tall, brooding shadow that settled over the fight like a suffocating shroud. Only when he spoke did she finally glance away from her target.
"Aivfry," she mumbled through a mouthful of skin. The Dullahan yanked his arm away, and she dropped, spitting the frankly disgusting taste out of her mouth.
"Ainsley."
Guy must be a teacher, huh? Or some kinda staff. Towering, pale, and - like everything else in this fecking place - surrounded by an air of danger. The kelpie girl squared up again.
"He feckin' started it. Wanted a spat, so I gave it."
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away!
Oh, the sweet smell of fear. That was it, what kept him coming back every year, despite the boredom of his work.
Dracula allowed the changeling to go, focusing on the other two fae in front of him. The dullahan seemed to recognize a threat when he saw it, the kelpie… Perhaps she’d demand more effort.
“Sullyvahn and Ainsley, is it? I am Dracula.” He enunciated every syllable and clasped his hands together. “History professor of Wimbleton Academy. Welcome.” He turned to Ainsley.
“I must let you know, there’s a time and place for things here at Wimbleton. You will resume your spat tonight, 10 o’clock. Don’t be late, or the punishment will be even more severe.” His smile widened as he finished his sentence. With a final stare at the duo he turned away, with the same grace from before.
Above the noise and rabble of the crowd came a crack like thunder, and the lights around the hall went dim. From the stage, a faint glow bloomed, forming quickly into the shape of a robed man, body translucent and wreathed in light. He approached the podium, arms spread wide, a warm smile on his face.
"Welcome, students. I am Cian - headmaster of this academy. Perhaps you can call me the - school spirit." By the air of the returning students, it was obvious he made this joke every single year. "I have roamed these grounds for thousands of years, and, with hope, will continue to for thousands more, ushering you of the arcane and occult into sanctuary. Before we begin our year, I have a few things to bring to attention to those of us who are new guests in our walls.
Firstly - passage off the estate to Aelwyd, while allowed, is not to be taken during class hours, and going beyond the bounds of Aelwyd is grounds for suspension.
Secondly - this castle is large - larger than one might think. While this is a place of safety, danger exists here, and wandering off to places you have not been told to go carries a certain risk."
His eyes twinkled.
"That being said, I value a curious mind. There is no punishment for exploration, beyond whatever terrible fate you bring upon yourself.
Now, thirdly - and most importantly - our school divides you into two houses, as ascertained by your tarot spreads the lovely Anastasia provided upon acceptance to this school. Those of you returning already know where your loyalties lie, while those of you who are new were doubtless a little confused by the differing colors of your uniforms, hm?"
He held his hands out, one to the far left of the room, the other to the far right.
"I wish for all of you bearing red to gather yourselves on my left - yours is the house of the Solstice, the fiery highs and frigid lows, the apexes of the seasons!
And now, for all of you bearing blue, collect to my right - yours is the house of the Equinox, a period of balance, the line between earth and air!"
Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn't there! He wasn't there again today, Oh how I wish he'd go away!
Post by xXxStitchesxXx on Dec 8, 2022 21:31:51 GMT
She slipped in from the hallway, taking her place at the head of the room, her long cape trailing behind her. A few students looked up at her as she entered, but she held a finger to her lips and winked, and for the most part, they dismissed her late entrance. Anastasia shook out her hands then clasped them, pointing them downward as she examined her house of the year. The Solstice house, her children dressed in red, stood before her on the left side of the main hall. There were many of them, but a few in particular stood out to her. She mentally ran down her student log as she looked out at them.
Nelle, her twin Ellie, Aaron, and Eden were all returning students. She knew them from the previous year, and they had been very in touch with the ethereal planes when she had taught them. There were three new students who she was able to place immediately. A girl with a mouse on her shoulder, a siren with blue hair, and a younger girl with a strange, visual aura. Her newest students deserved the same love and care she extended to her older students. Unlike the Equinox house, which seemed to constantly be at odds with itself, Ana tried to teach qualities like teamwork and self love.
She tuned in just in time to hear her name, and gave a deep curtsy, drawing out her cape until she looked like a graceful bird. She straightened back up and gave a reassuring smile to the group of new students.
On the other side of the group of red, Nelle gently nudged Aaron. “Are you freezing up? Do you need water?” From within her bag, she withdrew a bottle of water, not waiting for his response. She quickly passed it over to him, trying to keep the look on her face neutral, despite her growing worry for her friend. He and the Count didn’t have a good history together, something she didn’t know too much about. She’d never asked for details, but knew about the vampire roommate and his overall dislike of vampires.
And to those Gods I will speak bluntly, We have an accord if you ever touch or harm him Please rest assured, you may not fear a man, But by the end to a woman, you'll kneel and plead Because I'm more than my mom taught me to be.
Oh, wow, they were actually starting. There was thunder and... well, not lightning, but light anyways. The room had gone dark for a moment, except for Algernon's eyes, which were glowing red again. Apparently he wasn't a fan of drama. Cailet was, though, and she started to clap a little bit before realizing that no one else seemed to be doing that and quickly sitting on her hands and trying to pretend she hadn't been doing anything of the sort. The glow had turned into a person, or at least something person-shaped, and apparently he or it was their headmaster and they were welcome.
And he was thousands of years old, that was interesting. Had this castle been here for thousands of years? If it hadn't, had he been roaming the place where it was going to be for thousands of years and someone had just built a castle around him? Cailet started to raise her hand to inquire about this, and then realized that maybe this wasn't the best time for that sort of question if she didn't want to get branded terminally dorky.
It was probably too late for that.
He did say they were welcome to explore, though. Cailet sat up quite straight at that - she loved exploring places. Of course, there was the warning about doom and all that, but Cailet had Algernon, and if there was any doom lurking out there... well, he'd probably eat it. And some pigeons. And... now they were getting sorted into houses, which was exciting. Cailet looked down at the color of her uniform - red - as if she hadn't been fully aware of that when she'd put it on this morning. Still, maybe it had changed? The school was weird, after all.
Nope, still red. That meant Solstice. Maybe she could knit Algernon a little scarf or something... except Cailet's attempts at knitting had gone about as well as her attempts at magic, so far. Possibly worse. There were some horrors that simply could not be untangled.
Best to forget the scarf idea. She supposed his eyes could count, even if they weren't red all the time.
Maybe she'd meet someone else who could knit him a scarf. Cailet glanced over to shy Eve as she was rising - Eve was wearing red, too.
"Come on, let's head over together." It seemed like a better idea than going alone. Cailet gathered her things, assuming Eve would be following her. If not, well, she'd just be talking to herself, and it wasn't like that hadn't been happening all the time lately anyway.
In a blink of an eye, Dracula appeared by the spirit’s right side. While the Solstice stood for stupidity like friendship and rainbows, at the Equinox house resourcefulness and wits were held in a higher regard. That’s why when the ties in the uniforms of the students he’d cornered earlier turned blue he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
A tsukumogami and a prince were the two remaining new students. The prince especially piqued the count’s curiosity.
“I’m fine, Nel.” Aaron said, cursing himself in his head for being so transparent, but accepting the water bottle she’d handed to him. He was so out of it he hadn’t realized their ghost friend had materialized by their side. “Look, she’s back. Glad to see you, Eden!”
Hoping the brunette’s attention had shifted, Aaron sighed and took a sip of water, while rolling his eyes at the Headmaster’s annual joke. With the count at the other side of the room he was able to calm down and take a look at who their new housemates would be.
There’d be three new students joining them this year, it seemed. Two of them were the girl he’d seen earlier and the person by her side who seemed to be… Glowing? That was a first, when he thought he’d seen everything. The third person was also a girl, with blue hair and a heavy book on her lap. She was cute. Aaron looked away, drinking another sip of water.