♥ In The Name Of The Moon! ♥ Schoolkid RESULTS! PG 57!

[Arrien]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Robin Goodfellow

Nicknames: People generally just call her Robin. It takes someone pretty damn foolhardy to make fun of her, because then they earn the master prankster's loving attention, along with their own nickname of "Target Practice", and that just sucks.

Gender: Female

Age: 15

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Sweets and candies, pastries and cakes; she's got a sweet tooth beyond compare, especially when it comes to fresh-baked goodies.

Hated Food: Mushy, bland oatmeal. YECH. Also, diet soda. Seriously, what's the point of that stuff?

Virtues:

Clever -- Or perhaps observant would be a better term, since in this case, it ends up as the same thing. Robin can intuitively pick out small, vital details from a situation and quickly find a way to turn it to her advantage. This talent is most often employed in the cause of her pranks, helping her to distinguish quirks in her unfortunate victims that can be exploited for a laugh, but also in her other hobbies as well; when she does investigations of the bizarre, or is feeling her way through a song for jazz, or trying to pick out the strangest bit of exotic snack food from the Mediterranean market downtown. Her capability in this respect is one of her most redeeming qualities, and certainly what her parents are most proud of her for.

Loyal -- There isn't a lot you can count on in this world. Robin doesn't need a lot of admiration from the masses, but could not exist without a few close friends to support her works - and she knows that you can't earn that sort of devotion without displaying it yourself. By what criteria she chooses these closest of friends can vary, but once she makes that connection, it's there until the end of the world. (Though of course, in proper dramatic teenage fashion, the end of a friendship is the definition of the end of the world, so that means little other than to illustrate her dedication not to let a friendship fall apart.)

Self-Assured -- To hit the level of [******** weird that Robin effortlessly achieves, one of two things must be true; you either have to be such a social reject that it doesn't matter what you do anymore, or be so confident in yourself that it doesn't matter what other people think. Which one of these applies to Robin really depends on who you're speaking to, but the bottom line is that she is fearless of being criticized. She enjoys the attention that her antics bring her, for one, and very easily de-values the opinion of those that would disapprove of her actions. In Robin's mind, the things that she does are things that most people would do, if they weren't so fearful of judgment - so why should she let those same people's opinions dictate her actions? Laugh up your sleeve all you want at her antics! She'll still go about her business of making every day a little stranger for the rest of the world.


Flaws:

Prideful (weakness) -- It isn't necessarily to say that Robin has a high opinion of herself (although she does), or that she requires your approval of everything she does (though she'd prefer it). It's more that she has a sense of dignity; a concept that there is a basic level of respect which is entitled to her, though on what merits she couldn't say for sure. And so if she should be treated rudely, or her works under-appreciated, her ire is quick to be earned. Sometimes this isn't much of an issue; she makes nasty faces at you from across the lunchroom, you roll your eyes, life goes on. But if you really get under her skin, then she has a habit of taking things a bit further (see Vindictive) - or sometimes too far. More than a few friendships have been lost over stupid matters of the ego, and Robin genuinely seems convinced that it was, for example, Susie's fault that they are no longer friends, and not Robin's for having sabotaged that science experiment which cost Susie her eyebrows for three months.

Vindictive -- Whether it be by insulting her pride or by offering injury to one of her friends, Robin's offense is quick to gain, and not without consequences. Robin is infamous for the grudges she can hold - not necessarily because of how long she can hold them, though her memory is long, but because of the tortures she can inflict once an enemy is drawn into her sights. Her keen interest in prank-pulling has grown from laughably childish jokes in her younger years to cruel and elaborate enterprises. Spiking people's lunches with hot peppers and sowing discord among their friends are the simplest forms of revenge; as a grudge matures, Robin will grow more inventive, custom-tailoring her tortures to the most hated people on her list. Most people who cross her come to regret it - and if they don't, they'd better at least make it look like they do, or else she takes that as a sign that she needs to try harder.

Capricious -- As a child, Robin was diagnosed with a severe case of ADOLS - Attention Deficit OH LOOK SHINY. Her parents had tried putting her on medication, and for several years, this seemed to help. However, once she reached puberty, concerns that the medication may have been affected her growth prompted them to take her off of the pills. Today, Robin is nowhere near as bad as she was as a child, but that doesn't mean that she has anywhere near the amount of focus or discipline that she ought to. Trying to get her to do a chore that she doesn't care for is futile; she'll just get distracted at the first opportunity (maybe the second, if she thinks that the work is supposed to be important), and that'll be the end of that. Classmates are quick to learn not to partner with her for projects, and her teachers ever despair of her half-completed homework. Even the things she loves and has the capability to focus on, like her pranks or urban legends, she is occasionally diverted from; for every item she successfully investigates, there are a dozen more research files on her computer that are forgotten about ('saved for a rainy day'), and too often plans she's made to get revenge for old slights are forgotten in favor of fresher ones.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Robin's eyes are purplish, maybe even lavender hue, and look deceptively sweet and innocent.

Hair: Sort of a light rose color. "Wild mane" is the most apt description of Robin's hair, "textured" or "shaggy" or "out of control" also being fair contributors. She's inclined to let it go wild, growing longish and unhindered by accessories.

Face: Oval-shaped, light skin tone, fresh look.


THE STORY ENTRY


Never the words that a teenager wanted to hear, sneaking up the stairs just a few minutes before midnight: "You're home late, aren't you?"

Evaluation. The moment of decision of whether to lie, how far to take the lie; the sinking realization that no lie would be believed. Robin's mind dashed through the possibilities quickly, discarding all viable falsifications. She simply didn't have a good explanation prepared. So she offered a truth instead.

"Yes, well." Leaning gently against the handrail, her eyes flicked to the silhouette of a man standing in the doorway of the kitchen. "It's quite a story, Daddy."

Her elusive efforts won back a quick little chuckle. "Yes, well, I'll bet that it is," her father concurred, tucking his hands into the pockets of his bathrobe and leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. He was relaxed, not concerned; teens will be teens, his nonchalance implied. Robin had lucked out to find him in such a good mood. "Well? Don't I get to hear it?"

"Well, Daddy," Robin answered, shifting around to face him better. In the dim light of the stairwell, he couldn't see much more than the general form of where his daughter stood - certainly, he couldn't see enough to tell that what she was carrying casually behind her back. "It is quite a long story, and I'm quite tired. May I tell you all about it in the morning?" Through the thin shadows, Robin's pandering smile glinted through.

Her father's voice hmmmed back at her thoughtfully. If he were any sort of scrutinizing parent, he wouldn't let this slide. But it was the story he was after, not the confession; she would have to be out a lot later than this to spark real worry from him, or else be caught by her mother. So he acquiesced. "All right, you can tell me all about it then. Sweet dreams, little Robin."

"Sweet dreams, Daddy." He caught one-handed her blown kiss; impish grins on each of their faces, they parted their ways. As Robin skipped the rest of the way up the stairs, she could hear the drifting sounds of her father tapping on his laptop keyboard in the kitchen, continuing work on his newspaper article for the morning deadline. He would be up most the night working on it, undoubtedly - and when morning came, he'd guzzle up his coffee, put on his best smile, and be waiting at the breakfast table to complete their conversation. He always made time for her stories.

This was one of the first times that Robin could remember, though, that she really wished he wouldn't.

The bedroom door clicked shut behind her. Her room, scattered with books and clothes and old stuffed animals, was unlit but by the monitor of her computer, running the SETI screensaver. Robin did not reach for the light switch, however. Cradling in front of her the smuggled prize, Robin's merry little bounce turned into an exhausted slump; she dragged her feet forward, shoving aside the mess of the floor. Every step was slow, slower, slowing, the effort for each one increasing exponentially from the one before it....

She completed the journey. Knees wobbling slightly, she gently deposited a scuffed-up digital video recorder onto her desk - and then promptly dropped into the loving arms of her computer chair. Her leg muscles ached sorely, but that was the least of her worries that night. There was a rip straight through the arm of her jacket - the gash underneath was mercifully thin and superficial, but looked worse than it was. Her jeans were covered in filth from beltline to pants hem, though, and some dark splotches had already settled in - nothing so innocous as mud - that would stain unless they saw proper laundering. Which would mean explaining it to her mother.

Robin wasn't going to inflict that torture on herself. Instead, she simply stripped the outfit off and dropped them into her wastebasket. Wrapping herself up in the top blanket from her bed, she returned to the computer desk and set herself to work.

The desk was strewn with papers - no good, she needed space to work, space to think. Atop of this stack was a detail of the latest in odd news, the meteorite hanging above Destiny City. This one she picked out from the rest, laying it solemnly beside her keyboard. With fingers too numb for grace, Robin shoved clear her keyboard of the rest of the scraps; blog printouts of conspiracy theories regarding the unusual taste of the water in Destiny City, tabloid pages detailing the arrival of the albino white werepig to the south (indistinguishable from normal white werepigs but for its red eyes), rumors of an alien child being raised right in the city's backyard. You know, all the bits and pieces of research any good urban legends buff needed to have on hand, just in case.

Now that the desktop was cleared, she could find her way around the computer. Flicking the mouse to shake away the SETI screensaver, Robin fished around on the desktop for the proper cable. The camera wasn't hers, mind you, but there'd been a time it had visited her house often enough that she'd invested in the connection cord for it; it had gathered a bit of dust since the last time, but it was still handy. Slot A fitted into the camera here, slot B plugged into the USB here, and quick enough, the video prompt popped up on her screen.

Video detected. Do you want to run Windows Media Player?

Robin's hand hovered over the mouse for several seconds, and she exhaled. She needed to stop thinking; there was no sense making this any bigger than it already was. Resettling the blanket around her shoulders, Robin dragged the cursor over the appropriate button, and began the tape.

The noise cut in swiftly -- "Wow. WOW, I mean, would you lookit that thing!"

Dim little dots of light filled the view; glints and sparkles scattered over a black linen sheet. The area was poorly lit, but that was the best way to see the stars overhead, after all. Among the constellations overhead, one particularly strong light was shining - no expected star was this, and no manmade satellite either. This bright object was a different class of creature altogether, and unremarkable as it might have seemed at a glance, a hand appeared in front of the camera to circle it as the star of the show (no pun intended.)

"There, you see it?" The hand withdrew, and in its place, a face appeared briefly before the camera - green-eyed, framed with tight brown curls, boyish and young. With a grin stretching from one ear to the other, the young teenager reported proudly: "I'm Kevin Brunswick of Supernatural Sleuths dot Com, and you're seeing it here first, folks! The fabled meteorite caught on film, right here in Destiny City!"

Robin knew the boy, better than she'd have liked to admit. They hadn't always despised each other so, of course. He'd been her protege - though he preferred to say partners - and had used his photography talents to record her investigations. For the better part of a year, they'd owned the field of paranormal investigation within Destiny City. Then the summer had come, and he'd grown more and more difficult to reach. Robin would later find out that Kevin had been using this time to cut in on her leads, cozy up to her sources, and essentially take all the steps necessary to render her research expertise obsolete. By the start of the next school year, Robin was distraught to find that some new blogger in town was stealing the traffic from her site - and furious to learn that it was her own little Watson that was the culprit.

And here he was. Scooping another one of her stories, right on tape. Somehow, though, Robin couldn't convince herself to be angry - just numbed, saddened.

"Now uh," there was a bit of a scrabbling noise while Kevin trained the camera upwards, focusing up on the bright dot in the sky, "meteorites. Big deal, right? I mean, you know, you look in the news, you find stories about cults and stuff, who believe that meteors are- they're alien spaceships, right? And there was a whole cult of people that just killed themselves when a comet was near, because they figured that was their trip home...."

One thing was for sure. When it was Robin in front of the camera, the dialogue was way more interesting.

"... Objects of mystery," Kevin's voice continued to narrate. "In some Pagan circles, people believe that the powers of the occult are heightened during-- holy s**t look at that!"

Narration, Kevin might be clumsy with. Camerawork, he wasn't. And what had caught his attention was captured perfectly on camera; a sudden bright streak in the air, tumbling and rotating, that launched itself toward the earth. The air filled with the massive shock of a sonic boom, light flashed - Kevin dropped, either by the force of the sound or sheer astonishment, and the camera kept rolling through the string of profanity to follow.

The meteorite? Or just a shard of it, more likely. It looked like had landed so close! Footage like this was unbelievably rare. Jealousy began to stir in Robin's chest - why was a jerk like Kevin the lucky shmuck to have gotten great film like this? Certainly someone else - like Robin - was more deserving! But ah, luck didn't pick her favorites by who had earned it - and after all, the brand of luck that this had turned out to be, well....

The somber mood of Robin's thoughts had no effect on the rampant excitement being piped through her monitor. "Let's go find it!" The camera jerked around, and then everything was swinging around and unsteady - Kevin had removed the camera from the tripod mount, hoisted his gear over his shoulder, and was jogging in the direction of the impact. His excited breath could be heard the whole trip, interjected occasionally with excited comments of Wow! Wow! I can't believe I saw that! and oh man oh man, I hope it's around here....

Coming to the crest of a hill, Kevin paused, apparently to scope out the area. If he was hoping for a glowing sign to lead him along, though, he was to be disappointed; everything around here was still and silent, perfectly normal and pleasant, in a state of nature.

The confused mumblings began. "It was around here, wasn't it? Gotta be," the camera recorded, while Kevin began to putter around and search through the vegetation. You'd think a thing like that would leave a mess behind, make it easy to find - but looking around here, you sure wouldn't know that anything was about. Kevin began wondering aloud, maybe it was further out than he'd thought-- "OH HOLY s**t." The camera came swinging up - not to try and capture sight of anything, but following the motion of Kevin's arms as he suddenly flung them out in front of them, backpedalling.

Robin's heart began to beat faster. She felt her hands, her feet, her lips all go cold, and buried herself a little more in her blanket. This had to be it - where it started....

She was right.

The next thing caught by the camera was it. That creature - monster, alien, whatever it was! Not human, not animal, but some bizarre state between. It was done up in the strangest frock, cloth cut into precise shapes that seemed designed not for modesty, but pure decorum. It towered high above the camera, easily a foot taller than the tallest man Robin could ever remember having seen in her life. Its hands were long claws, the nails of which clicked together by idle habit. It stood with a faint hunch, as though this bipedal form was not quite first-nature to it. It looked upon Kevin - the boy who, behind the camera, was gasping and squeaking, all but hyperventilating at the creature manifested before him - and it seemed well-pleased.

"Auva," the hideous thing murmured with an insidious smile. "I've found you."

The video frame was shaking badly in Kevin's hands now. His words were stammered and garbled, nearly impossible to understand, but seemed to form the expected protest - "M-m-m, m'naaaame izzn't...." Thump. Whoops - there went the camera, dropping right into the dirt. The angle of the world was now quite askew, but the monster was still clearly in sight as it dropped to all fours and began a languid advance forward. The tip of Kevin's right shoe disappeared backwards as he began to back away.

"Such big eyes you have, Auva! Have you been born into such weakness as this?" The monster chuckled throatily. It was posturing, teasing, testing - it observed the boy who was out of frame and grinned toothily. "Now what is that, Auva," it inquired of some unseen development, mildly scolding. "Weren't we getting along so pleasantly? And then you have to be so threatening... well then, what a terrible shame." Subtle shifts in the creature's posture were the only warning - sympathetically, Robin felt her shoulders bunching up, pulling the blanket a little closer to her chest - and then there was a blur of speed.

The creature was off-frame. Kevin was off-frame. All there were were the sounds; thrashing, scuffling, frantic footsteps on the soft ground. Indistinct and garbled were the words; Kevin's screeching for help, trying to bluff the creature away from him, while the monster just laughed and taunted him. But then a noise cut through, clear as the cloudless night sky overhead. A scream. The creature's scream.

Kevin came stumbling into the frame, panting and desperate. Considerably more scratched up than at first, limping badly from an injury to his left leg, but alive. In his hand was the silver glint of a pocketknife's blade; an analytical glance would reveal blood on it. The boy staggered off-screen; he hadn't gotten far, however, when the creature's pursuit drew it in-frame. It stooped and bristled, the amusement from before lost.

"You let that pitiful flesh control you?" The thing, beneath its snarls, sounded nearly indignant as it pressed its fingers against the long gash in its side. The cloth of its costume was tattered now, ruined, and it picked at the cut edges of its clothing with more irritation than it had viewed its fleshwound with. Kevin blubbered nonsensically from off-screen. The monster grunted, straightening itself out, and paced forward. "There is no need to fear death, Auva; this body was never meant to keep you!"

CLUNK. Hail-Mary shot from ******** nowhere; a heavy flashlight completed a high arc and struck the creature's head, then went tumbling and flipping away. Robin remembered thinking at the time - whoa, that was ******** cool! I wonder if that looked as cool as I think it did? She could now say for a fact that yes, indeed - it looked every bit as ******** cool as she'd thought it had.

She wasn't on-camera yet. Of course not; she hadn't known it was there, running. Robin wasn't a total camera whore, mind, but if she'd known one had been going at the time, she would have made a better effort to deliver her lines where it could hear here, stage herself to look properly dramatic and brave as she bullied the monster. But snatches of her blowharding came through -- ridiculous bluffs, like stand down, Mr. Wolfenstein, I came packing a silver bullet! and I've got a black belt in Voo-Doo, so get the ******** away from the stooge!

The monster, of course, hadn't been amused. The chances were good, in fact, that Robin would have had those threats made into her famous last words right then, but for one thing: Kevin. Flinging himself on the monster's back like a bat out of hell, stabbing down with that ridiculously puny knife of his.

This part, at least, was all captured on camera. The monster, Kevin, both screaming. Then came Robin, foot crunching the grass right in front of the camera. She grabbed something - she swore and tugged at it. Behind her was a demented rodeo, ended swiftly as the monster's claws rake deep into Kevin's arms. He screamed and let go - Robin started forward, dragging Kevin's discarded tripod with her. The creature whirled to face her -- KACHANG -- right in time to get a smack on the side of the face with the folded tripod. In the brief window of opportunity while it recovered from the shock, Robin discarded the tripod, produced a short little pocket knife of her own, and went stabbing in for the heart.

Just one problem. Robin was assuming she knew where the heart was on a creature that wore the human form like it was merely the convenient means of the moment.

The monster was injured - it howled - but it was not slain. It was not even incapacitated. One claw snaked around the girl's arm, jerking her away from the knife embedded in its chest; with a fling, Robin was sent tumbling away, hitting the ground hard and rolling into the thick branches of a low-lying bush. She came to a stop, and for some seconds, was reduced to moaning feebly.

If the creature had been so persuaded, this again, could have been Robin's final moment. Watching it now, she was horrified to think of how near to death she really had come - when she had been there, living it, everything had seemed so damned - so damned hazy. She went off her gut, and it had all just felt like she was doing what she was supposed to be doing. Here, though, through the slanted window of the camera lens, it was objective and simple. Robin should have died, at least ten times over. And the only thing that saved her now seemed to be the monster's disgust with the whole affair - it was fed up, simply put, and didn't care about one piddling human enough to follow her down to the bushes and tear out her throat.

So instead, while the girl began dazedly battling her way free of the bushes, the monster reoriented on its original target. There was no time for heroics now. Somewhat obscured by the angle of the camera, Robin could decipher nonetheless when its one claw wrapped around the boy's neck - harder to see, its other claw snapped forward. There was a spark between them, like a fuse blowing. Kevin howled, anguished; Robin screamed, frustrated; and in an unfocused blur, the creature went bounding off, clutching something against its chest. Dimly heard to the camera, but burning fresh in Robin's memory, were the words it had cast over its shoulder as it ran:

"Recover and return to us swiftly, Auva. Our time has come."

And then, it seemed the crisis was over.

Viewed from the back, Kevin fell softly to his knees, his cries fading to mere gasps. Breaking across the screen in a sprint was Robin; the damaged tripod was cast aside as she rushed to the boy's side. It was hard to pick out little details on the film, like the worried crease in her brow as she fussed over the younger teen, but quick enough she seemed satisfied that he was not terribly injured. After several seconds, the image of the girl sighed and dropped to the ground, plopping herself down right by the boy. So quickly after the lethal threat, she relaxed enough to joke around.

"You b*****d, Kevin. Trying to beat me to the punch again...." The was-Robin giggled, a moronically relieved sound, and leaned her head over onto Kevin's shoulder. Then his hand pressed against the side of her head, shoving viciously. In front of the screen, the now-Robin winced as she watched her digital form sprawl over, not a bit of resistance offered in the full stupor of her shock.

That flash of passivism melted swiftly away, though. Snatches of an ugly, furious expression could be seen through Robin's mussed halo of hair - "What the s**t?! What the ******** s**t, Kevin?" Wound-up and angry, Robin rose up to her feet. "I just saved your ungrateful a**, you little ********! If that doesn't mean something to you, then--"

Kevin's head snapped around, and Robin shut up with a little gasp. The camera angle was all wrong - his face was entirely obscured by his hair - but from the way that Robin drew back, it was apparent that something was wrong. At the computer, the girl squeezed her eyes shut - something had been so terribly wrong --

Kevin was crumpling over now. The worst was coming.

It could have been a scene from a bad science-fiction movie, or a cheap anime flick. While the lady knight looked on in horror, her dude in distress began to scream. A full-throated sound of deep agony at first, the quality began to quickly degrade, as though the vocal cords were being ripped apart in the midst of the sound; the boy's body was consumed with a sinister light, dull red like the butt of a cigarette, and under the pressure of this energy began to change. The voice became a growling howl, and as more energy was invested in the horrific procedure, a sudden force picked up in the area - even while Robin had not yet lost her footing, the camera itself was caught by the strengthening gusts, and began to tumble away--

The screen sputtered with static, skipped through the darkened scenes to follow. Paused stills revealed only blurs of motion in gaps of static, if anything at all. After a few seconds of this malfunctioning, the feed resumed as normal.

It seemed unlikely that much time had passed since the skip began. The view was buried partially in thick underbrush; it was impossible to tell if the sliver of ground in the frame were the same area as before, or if the camera had traveled a significant distance. To be sure, there was nothing to be seen of the young videographer in the shot.

The scene remained like this for some time, unchanging but for an invisible breeze knocking about the grass blades. Then, hands wrapped around the frame, a finger pressing clumsily against the lens. The world was turned around, capturing a swinging shot of the nighttime sky and the bright streak of the meteorite above. Then there was only Robin's face, white and cold, staring down through the screen. The screen jerked unsteadily as she fumbled in the dark for the "power" button--

That was it. The end of the footage. The screen was black; the seconds kept ticking away on the screen, but the computer had already relayed all the video there was to share. And Robin found herself rocking in the dark, arms wrapped around her knees and blanket pulled tight around her shoulders.

It had been real. It had all been real. Not fancy or imagination or dream. She had an explanation for everything that had happened up to the point she'd arrived -- an account of everything she had seen....

Except for the worst part. Except for the part she least believed. The piece after the creature had left; when Kevin had become something else.

She played the part again. And again and again, from where the creature had gone running off to where the camera had spontaneously stopped recording. Kevin's mutating scream repeated over and over and over again, until her ears were drowning in its sound.

There was something strange that Robin noticed here, though, something she'd missed the first time she'd watched this film. When the monster had caught hold of Kevin, it had pulled something from him. It was just a little glint on the screen, like a pendant he might have worn over his chest, or a gem. Was that what it had been after? Was that what had caused Kevin to... change?

Robin didn't know. She didn't know, couldn't plan, couldn't imagine. She didn't even know what to do with the tape - the fact that she was responsible for it, that the fate and fame of this story was in her power, hadn't even occurred to her yet. All she could do was remain huddled in the dark, face nearly pressing against the monitor, and press replay one more time.

[Bluefire Dragonz]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Orah Gowan

quest thread

Nicknames: That one girl, Whatsherface (she doesn't really have 'friends' of the kind that give nicknames)

Gender: Female

Age: 18 (bday feb 16th)

School: Sovereign Heights (unless she'd fit better in Meadowview)

Fav. Food: Chocolate & Strawberries

Hated Food: Meat of any kind (she's vegetarian)

Virtues:

Sweet - Orah will give you a toothache, she's so sweet. She doesn't have a harsh word for anyone and is always full of encouragement. If you're trying, even if you fail, she'll still think you're the greatest. She has a smile and even a hug for anyone who wants one. Kind-hearted and warm, it can be hard to really dislike her... unless you're someone who dislikes warm fuzzies.

Generous - Orah will give you the shoes off her feet if you ask for them. If you need it, she'll give it, and gladly. It makes her happy to make someone's life better, either by giving them things to brighten their day or by giving her time to lend a helping hand or listen to a problem. She's definitely not a material girl.

Accepting - Orah will accept someone at face value, no matter what that person is like. You have green hair and a lip ring, but Orah thinks that ring is super neat and she wishes she looked that good in that color. She'll even try to like it too, 'cause it never hurts to give something a chance, right?

Flaws:

White Liar - Orah will often tell little fibs, what she considers 'white lies', in order to cast herself in a better light. These lies are nearly always about herself and things like what she likes, what she owns, where she goes and does, etc. All the girls are talking about their boyfriends, so she claims she has one that lives in Canada, then commences to tell a sob story about how hard long distance relationships are. Occasionally, she'll slip up and tell contradictory lies. Its part of why she has so few close friends, since she tries so hard to cover up how boring and ordinary her life is, and any one who gets close enough starts to realize she leaves a trail of lies behind her. She hardly even realizes she does it, and doesn't consider it a bad thing... it makes everyone happy, doesn't it?

Rose-tinted glasses - While Orah herself is fond of letting slip little lies about herself, she doesn't really consider them lies and doesn't like to think that others lie to her. Infact, she often intentionally takes things at face value, or slanted in a way that's a benefit to her, even if its not. If someone wants to be her friend, she'll take that friend gladly and overlook their faults or bad intentions. In effect, she lies to herself as much as she does to anyone else, by refusing to see bad things in her 'friends'. She's easy to manipulate that way, and an enemy posing as a friend could do a lot of damage while she looks the other way.

Needy - Orah's biggest fault is her deep-set need to be liked and wanted. Its the driving force in her life and the reason she does what she does and acts how she acts. If she's not with people she considers friends, she's usually depressed, and the thought of not being liked makes her miserable.

She'll do anything to feel liked and wanted, so usually has a difficult time saying no to someone she considers a friend. She can be talked into doing some pretty shady things if someone has a mind to, or she can be taken advantage of pretty easily. She'll give you her shirt, her shoes, and the money in her purse, if you say you REALLY need it.

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: dark brown, turned up a little at the outer corners. Large and soft

Hair: very dark brown, but not black, in loose waves to mid-back. If possible, a purple orchid in her hair over her ear, a couple shades darker than her clothes.

Face: sort of up to the colorist, but probably something soft and cute and rounded. Should be fairly dusky of skin, though a bit lighter than her hair. Think Arabic.
( OC ref, for inspiration http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/dreamy_baby2/orahportsig.jpg )

THE STORY ENTRY

Orah stared at the... thing in horror, her dark eyes wide and her flashlight's beam wavering as the hand holding it shook. It... it was huge! And ugly... and suddenly coming out here seemed the exact opposite of the best idea she'd ever had. A whimper slipped from her before she could contain it, but thankfully the whatever-it-is was more concerned with whatever it was doing...

A sudden movement and a roar that made the dark girl start and shiver, and suddenly the monster was turned profile and the object of its violence was.... Catrina? What the heck was she doing out here? And how did she get into a fight with that thing? A sudden fear for the other girl nearly made Orah choke and she swallowed nervously, taking an uncertain step back in the damp grass of the park. Okay, so, Catrina wasn't one of her friends, or even one of those people she got along with passably well... If she was being truthful, it was more like an 'I hate your face and everything about you' kinda relationship. But despite that, everything in Orah screamed at her to DO something. School rivalry aside, if she didn't do something, and quick, there'd never be a chance to make up and maybe, just maybe, be friends with Catrina... because she'd be a very dead Catrina.

Shaking all over, Orah fumbled to think of something, ANYTHING. Even as her mind whirled, her body acted on instinct, bypassing every neuron that screamed at her to run away, to find the police, to call animal control... and she found herself flinging her still shining flashlight at the creature with all the strength of her slender arms. And at that very moment, she regretted not staying at home in her nice warm bed where the closest she came to a horror like this was in a movie on her tiny TV set... because suddenly, that thing's eyes were on her and she felt like a bug pinned to a rock, the monster seemingly forgetting about her rival sprawled helplessly on the ground. Her light sailed, spinning end over end, and they both watched as... it fell pitifully short, landing with a bump and rolling over the grass. And before her terrified eyes... the thing started to smile.

I never got to say good-bye to my petunias... she thought wistfully as it reached for her.

[Never Crazy]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Alistair Delaney

Nicknames: "Stairs"

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Favorite Food: Fried Lasagna

Hated Food: Calamari

Virtues:

Resourceful - He has no map? No car? No phone? No problem! Alistair has a knack of finding solutions to problems, even if the methods might seem odd. Though it may be looked at as dumb luck, Alistair prides himself in trying to be a modern MacGuyver when it comes to solving his problems.

Optimistic - It’s pouring outside and Alistair lost his umbrella and his backpack in the rain and yet… he’s smiling? Alistair doesn't like letting the worst get him down. He looks at the glass overflowing in happiness rather than full or empty. Cheering people up with his sunny disposition makes his day. (Even if they weren't asking for it.)

Humility – Alistair won't put himself up on a pedestal and considers others to be as important as himself, even if he himself doesn't like them. That doesn't make them lower on the ladder in his eyes. Rather than beat himself up over mistakes he learns from them. Alistair won't beat himself up when something goes wrong or over-glorify himself when he does something great. He is thankful, not boastful.

Flaws:

Impulsive - Alistair has no fear into jumping forward into the unknown, even at his own risk. He has a theory that things will always look up, even if he’s going off a cliff. This can make him quite the fool when leaping before he looks and has gotten him into a lot of trouble in the past. Without warning what he thinks will be said and what he wants to do, he'll do.

No Poker Face - He can’t even hide it when he’s blushing. Alistair has never been a good liar, not even on the phone. When it comes time and he needs to bluff, he can’t. Not even with the ladies! No matter what the circumstance, when he has the need to keep a straight face he won’t be able to do it.

Squeamish of Blood – At the sight of blood Alistair is the first to back away. The deep red color drives his stomach to tighten and to feel sick or even faint. Paper-cuts can send him into hyperventilating spasms. It is something he tries to work through but has yet to overcome the oddly uncontrollable reaction. Larger wounds will have him on the floor in seconds. Rest assured, Alistair could never make it as a doctor.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Alistair has an uncommon genetic occurrence known as “Complete Heterochromia” resulting on his right eye being green while his other is blue. His eyes are round shaped and sit normally on the face, not receding under his brow or out too far. They sit equally spaced on his face, with prominent eyelashes.

Hair: His head looks to be full of wheat, with light blond hair that slinks down with its mild waviness to the middle of his back. From the front, his bangs are layered out softly with a mild widow’s peak. Most of the time he brushes it all the way through to give it a shine He prefers to not wear it in a pony tail but will do so if his outfit calls for it.

Face: Alistair has an oval face with a small protruding chin. His nose is elongated but is flatter, closer to his face. His cheek bones stand out and create a distinct subtle chisel to the face, but the rest of his face remains full, not sunken in like a skeleton.

STORY ENTRY:

God, why am I doing this so late? Now he was regretting his innate sense of curiosity. The flickering of his flashlight was making him wish he had rummaged around for batteries. “s**t, this won't do.” He muttered, slapping his hands against the plastic casing angrily. It was his own fault for not checking it before sliding on his pale green jacket and slipping out into the dark depths of the early morning. And what had spawned such a daring and reckless move?

Earlier that evening he had been enjoying a luke-warm bowl of ramen, courtesy of his absent-minded father, when the television began its four hour run of meteorite talk. The headlines had read, “Meteorite or Wrong?”, which made Alistair groan but it interested him regardless. After setting his noodles down and leveling the volume up he could hear the middle aged woman drone on about a supposed meteorite on their nighttime special. Meteorite? he thought, a grin cutting across his face. Now this is worth investigating. It had taken some time to procure a flashlight and find his buried jacket, which ironically he had squished into the couch and had been sitting on, and then sneak out of his home on the second floor in an apartment complex.

Silent was the street leading to the large park, except for an occasional taxi moving down a side street. Spooky. Alistair thought, smiling to himself. This was the sort of rush he loved. Now if only his god damned flashlight would stop acting up... Biting his lower lip in anticipation he quickened his pace underneath the archway towering over the western section of the city park.

Underneath his sneakers the leaves blowing over the path crunched and shattered. Though warm inside his jacket he could see his breath pant outwards and disappear into the chilly air. “Nice night to freeze to death.” He chuckled, smacking his flashlight again. “Now where was it?” He vaguely remembered a hill being mentioned in the news flash, though according to the other stations it was a complete hoax and hadn't happened at all. Alistair was determined to seek out the truth and see it for himself. Trudging onward through the damp path he stopped and turned his gaze upward.

Before him the hill sloped upward at an extreme angle. Taking in a deep breath he began his ascent of the grassy knoll. Something in the air was bothering him. Where were the investigators? Police tape? It was oddly unguarded for being one of the most interesting news stories he had heard in a long time. “Maybe they found nothing, got bored and went home.” He muttered under his breath cynically. Just as the top of the hill came in sight, and as soon as Alistair found his muscles begin to relax, Alistair stopped as his jaw dropped in awe.

Pungent. The smell is what first alerted him to the scene before him. As he held a hand over his nose his eyes widened at the sight. A smoking hole in the dirt was apparent, though what stood inside of it was neither stone or metallic. Standing in the small crater he could plainly see a standing figure staring opposite of his direction. Under the dim lights of the city his eyes took twice as long to adjust as he stood in awe over the crater. The figure was looking less human now, with dark brown, matted hair sticking out from it's slender body. Slender though it was it easily topped seven feet.

Bigfoot? was Alistair's first reaction, but he knew it couldn't be true. The feeling he got was cold, a deep chilling shiver that moved down his spine whereas Bigfoot theories usually held his attention and elated his intellectual self. No, this is different. Trapped by his own ticking mind, he kept his eyes at the creature. Abruptly its head moved off to the right. Horror drove itself straight into Alistair's heart like a stake into dirt. Sparkling in the light he could plainly see the creature's fangs dripping down with a dark liquid.

The upper lip of the creature quivered as a low growl echoed across the hillside. Rumbling, it nearly shook Alistair off of his feet. Crimson eyes scanned the area until landing on a bouncing light in the distance. Crouching back into the hole, it kept completely still. s**t, who the hell is that? Alistair thought, his knees still tense from the presence of the creature. A flashlight was bouncing up on the hill towards the crater. Faster it came, and then he heard it. “I don't see no god damned meteorite!” A deep voice echoed over the empty park.

Damn it, not him, not now. Alistair groaned lightly.

Over the slope the figure of a teenage boy stopped and crouched down before the smoking crater. Covering his own nose he proclaimed loudly into the evening. “WOOH that smells!” Alistair glared in his direction. Damn it Eithan, move! Now's not the time to be yourself. He screamed in his brain, but failed to move or shout a warning. It was too little too late as the shout had sparked the monster's attention and it hopped up on cue, taking down Eithan in one swoop of it's large body. DAAAAAMN! Alistair was in shock. Screaming could be heard as the victim flailed underneath the hairy beast, hitting his flashlight against it's face repeatedly. “GET OFF!” he shouted, frantically wailing as the creature ripped into his shirt.

Hissing, it spoke as in a whisper, “Give it to me. I want your life.”

The hairs on the back of Alistair's neck went straight out. s**t, he's gonna die... he thought. Not to say he particularly liked Eithan. In fact he was the one who had declared them “sworn enemies” and made sure to pick Alistair as his first outlet of anger and competition. Alistair never understood it, but it had made school life irritating as he was constantly challenged at wrestling and the like. Tiresome as it was, did he really deserve to be pulled apart by the long black claws of the mysterious creature?

“Hell no!” Alistair shouting, pulling the attention of the creature towards himself. Snarling the creature took hold of Eithan's shirt sliced through it like a warm knife through butter. “Hold on!” Alistair proclaimed loudly, taking his good-for-nothing flashlight and chucking it directly at the creatures head. Expecting it to fall he began a running charge. Fortune was not smiling on him this night. Rather than fall down unconscious the blow had only angered the beast, with the flashlight falling to the side and the beast blinking in furious confusion. Skidding, Alistair stopped and allowed an “Oh s**t!” to pour from his mouth.

On the floor Eithan was coughing and scrambling to crawl away from it. Sharp claws gripped a hold of his back and threw him nearby. Skidding on the rough grass, he rolled and glanced back towards Alistair, exasperated. The fight had changed drastically, now it was Alistair vs. freaky monster instead of a hostage situation. Gritting his teeth Alistair instantly regretted leaving his apartment.

Moving to all fours the salivating beast rushed towards him, biting into the air hoping to get a bit of flesh. Jumping to the side he barely missed a pit of teeth and landed into a thorn bush. Taking no time to register the pain, he searched frantically for a branch, a rock, anything... His hands gripped a thick branch of the thorn bush. “This might work.” He muttered, leaping out from the bush. Meeting his glance, the creature stood on all fours. The hairs on its back stiffened and it growled loudly at him.

“Stupid human!” It cried out, lunging back at him at breakneck speeds. Holding his ground he bent his knees, ready for it. “Alright big guy, come on.” He said, holding the branch in both hands.

“You wiiilll dieee!” It hissed, jumping into him.

With a split second he ducked and with his blond hair swaying in the wind smacked the branch upwards into what he thought to be creature's ribcage. Yelping in pain the creature fell, skidding into the thorn bush. Thrashing, it cried out into the night. Alistair moved back from it, branch in hand if it managed to get itself free. Biting into the thorns it cried more, turning its eyes backwards towards Alistair. “Futile attempt, human.” it growled.

“What are you?” Alistair said, panting and wiping sweat from his brow but still clenching onto the branch for dear life.

“Luck is with you this night, human, your life is meaningless compared to my prey. But rest assured, once the mission is complete, your life will be the first I feast upon.” An eerie grin filled its white fangs while its canine-like nose wrinkled back. The pungent aroma returned as the dark saliva dripped through its gaping mouth.

Alistair ignored the odor and moved into position for another attack, gritting his teeth. It was not to be as the creature suddenly vanished in a dark mist which wafted into the breeze soon after appearing. Fearing another attack on the vulnerable teen behind him he retreated to his side. “Damn it Eithan.” was all he could muster as he grabbed a hold of his arm, pulling him up with all the force left in his body. Eithan stared at him, silently taking in the face of his savior.

“Alistair?” he questioned, glaring at him.

“Before you get all self righteous and return to your usual dumb-s**t self you should leave.” Alistair said, his authoritative voice trembling due to the adrenaline in his veins.

Closing his mouth, the other boy moved back. “Don't expect me to thank you.” He said curtly. “As far as I'm concerned, none of this s**t happened.” Holding his shredded shirt to his body he took one last look at Alistair and ran off down the hill and back into the city streets.

Panting, Alistair dropped the branch to his side and immediately fell to his knees. “What a rush... guess it can only look up from here,” he said, with a nervous laugh, “Did it... really happen?” He felt a twinge of pain in a cold spot on his arm. Turning his head he noticed a large rip in his jacket. “Oh hell.” he said, shaking. “No, no no..” he said, placing a hand into it. Queasiness overtook him as his hand shot back with a dark, warm liquid upon it. Immediately he fell ill, swaying back and fourth attempting to regain his balance. “Blood...” he said cynically, “Why did it have to be blood?”

Face-planting forward the blond hero went silent as he succumbed into fainting. Leaving him to wonder after recovering... had it been real? Was there truly a monster of that caliber running wild in the city? Or had it all merely been a side-effect of bad ramen? Despite the reason or the how, Alistair refused to speak of the incident again, allowing it only to exist within his nightmares.

[xo -- k a i r i]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Peyton Candace Scott

Nicknames: Peyton doesn't see the need to shorten her name, it's right just the way it is. Occasionally people will turn her own habit back on her, however, and refer to her as 'Scott'.

Peyton has the habit of calling people by their last names instead of their first, such as 'Hey, Smith!' as opposed to 'Hey, John!'. Just...incase you didn't get that xD;

Gender: Female

Age: 19

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Tuna Linguini, with a sprinkling of parsley on top.

Hated Food: Jelly, or jellied sweets. She just doesn't see how anyone can enjoy eating what is basically just animal bone.

Virtues:

Agreeable ;; Peyton is remarkably easy to get along with, down to the fact that she's so agreeable. Does she agree that this top looks absolutely adorable? Oh yes, of course it does! Does this piece of work look alright? Well, fix those two spelling mistakes and it would look perfect! She tries to be as honest as she can, so if you ask her something that she just can't agree with (which is rare, due to how impressionable she is, see below), or that she can't agree with without hurting your feelings, she'll try to avoid the question, and eventually end up excusing herself from the conversation as an alternative to giving an answer.

Eager ;; An eager beaver, that's Peyton. Always willing to try new things, be they food, sport, anything. She'll try anything once, and is usually pleasantly surprised when she ends up enjoying it. If there's something to be done, Peyton is the one wanting to start early, wanting to get going before all of her enthusiasm fades. Earlier you start, earlier you finish, and she'll often use such a fact to entice others into being just as eager as she is.

Adaptable ;; Peyton is the improvisation queen - original idea not go quite to plan? Just ask Peyton and she'll come up with a new one! She has the innate ability to think both inside and outside of the box, and so can quickly come up with a solution to most problems she has to face. Of course, some can take longer to come up with than others, but Peyton's a fairly determined soul and will always try to come up with something.

Flaws:

Impressionable ;; Oh what was that? You think that sparkly top she's been saving up for for three months is a little too flashy? Well, perhaps you're right... Oh, and the 5000-word essay she stayed up all night to perfect on the reasons for voting against war is a little silly, because without war there wouldn't be peace? Seems a bit of a simple argument, but she can see your point and it does kind of make sense... And she really likes the way you've done your hair, she'll wear hers like that tomorrow! Needless to say, Peyton is more than a little impressionable, easily influenced by other opinions or thoughts. It's not that she's self-conscious, no, it's a little different. Peyton's perfectly happy with herself the way she is, and is a friendly, sociable girl. She's just not the best at making decisions, so often siphens off of other's decisiveness in order to both make her mind up, and make a good impression. This can often make it hard for her in group discussions, or when asked specifically for her opinion, as she'll stumble over her own words and struggle to find an answer unless someone offers a suggestion.

Nosy;; Peyton is curious. But you know, not just 'Oh I wonder what she's doing?' curious, but full out 'Oh, she's doing something and I don't know what it is, LET'S GO FIND OUT' curious. She's nosy, to put it bluntly, and always wants to know what you're doing. You can't really do secret around Peyton, since she'll find out one way or another, whether it's by eavesdropping or by bringing it up in casual conversation and tricking it out of you. She's quite sneaky with how she does it, and she doesn't then tell everyone else what she's heard. Or at least not purposefully. But the fact that she knows is enough to piss most people off, especially when they didn't want her to.

Loud ;; Not necessarily loud as in she speaks in a volume higher than necessary, although she does do that occasionally. No, Peyton's loud in the way that she complains out loud. A lot. She's hungry? You'll know about it. Her leg aches? You'll know about that too. And you know what, if she drops the hint that she's hungry or in pain and you don't pick it up, or you ignore it, she'll just say it again much more bluntly until you do get it. She enjoys sympathy and is always wanting some, be it for something serious or more benign. If a conversation goes quiet, or she's generally feeling awkward, she'll break the silence by complaining about something - she really, really doesn't like awkward silences.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Soft and circular, a deep amber/hazel.

Hair: Something similar to 207, although feel free to play around. Black, possibly with a coloured stripe like in the ref. Up to colourist <3

Face: Heart-shaped face with pale skin. She's a fan of make-up to make her skin look a little pinker, and is also usually seen with eyeshadow.

(Also if possible, could I specify she had the uniform with the tie as opposed to the bow? If not, no worries)

THE STORY ENTRY

At first, this had seemed like a great idea.

Seeing a real-life, up-close METEORITE?! How much more exciting did it get!?

But now, after tripping over numerous twigs due to ever-fading, unreliable beam from her flashlight, realizing how hungry she was, and how friggin' COLD it was (why didn't she pick up a coat?!) Peyton Scott was beginning to think otherwise.

Picking her way through trees and bushes, she finally reached her destination - the grassy hill in the middle of the park, where she'd watched the meteorite fall with her brother's build-your-own telescope kit. Why it had been in her room, she didn't know, clearly the little snot had been in there at some point in the last few days. Probably looking for his camera - she wanted to see what pictures he had on it! She'd heard from a friend of a friend that apparently, he had a girlfriend. And he protected that camera like a child would it's favourite toy, so there was clearly something on there he didn't want her to see. And she'd been right, of course. Such an adorable picture, of him with a rather pretty girl...

Oh?

Who were they?

Suddenly aware of two silhouettes on the hill, Peyton stopped at the base, frowning as she looked up. That was far too big to be a human being, surely? She adjusted her flashlight to try and get a better look, fiddling a little, whacking it against her palm a couple of times until the beam was bright enough to vaguely illuminate the foreign figure. And boy, was this new.

Fur?

FUR!?

What kind of frickin' creature stood on two legs, was huge like that, and had FUR!? She would've just assumed it was a bear, no problem. Except, well, y'know...she was in the park. In the middle of the city. The zoo was at least a mile away, and besides, she was sure there would have been a radio bulletin or something if a wild animal had escaped. Besides, after a little closer inspection, it became very, very clear that this was no bear. It wasn't like anything she'd ever seen before. A scream soon broke her fazed expression, flashlight glare adjusted once again to shine over the second silhouette, which was considerable smaller and pathetic-looking against the monster-bear-alien-thing.

No way.

Was that...surely not?

Patricia Junwit!?!?!?!?!

Her sworn arch-nemesis from back at Meadowview, from the time when she'd played that horrible prank...Peyton had been walking around with green hair for WEEKS! And all because she'd just happened to find out through a friend of a cousin of a friend that her new pet poodle hadn't been pedigree...and then had accidentally blurted it out to all her Crystal friends. By accident, of course! She felt anger begin to boil in her blood, as it always did when she set her amber eyes on that conceited, snotty, spoiled face...

But the anger was quick to fade when she saw the blood. The monster seemed hurt, but that wasn't stopping it from attacking Patricia, and she didn't stand a chance.

Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap.

C'mon, Peyton, think. Think like your life depends on it! Ohwait, it did, crapcrapcrapcrapcrap. She couldn't run, that would get it's attention! But it wouldn't take long for it to notice her after it was done with Patricia, either. Surely the only option was to attack it, a surprise attack? It was too busy with Patricia, it wouldn't notice if she just crept up behind it...weapon. She needed a weapon. Peyton winced, mentally blocking out a second scream as she quickly searched around herself for something to attack it with, adapting quickly to the situation. A large tree branch...perfect. Well, no, not really perfect, but it was the best she had so she'd have to work with it. She used slow movements to pick it up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

********, it was heavy.

"Owwww, my back," she hissed slowly under her breath, knowing full well no-one was around to listen to her complaints but feeling the need to anyway. As if to...confirm to herself that yes, she was in pain. She hoisted the branch into the air, stumbling to the left a little with the weight, wincing as she paused in the hopes that the monster-bear-alien-thing hadn't noticed. Luckily for her, it hadn't.

Unluckily for Patricia, that was because it was still attacking her.

Peyton hobbled forwards little by little, taking small pidgeon steps in the hopes of keeping her balance. The branch was heavy, and it would have been far easier to drag it, but that would have created a hell of a lot more sound. The gradient of the hill wasn't making things any easier, Peyton having to shift her weight in order to keep her balance. She was nearly there...soclose! Another step, and another, and another... And with an almighty 'THUD!' the branch landed squarely on the creature's head, Peyton screaming as hands instinctively curled up over her head, knees bending as she crouched down to make herself as small as possible. She wasn't really sure why...it just felt right. The monster gave an almighty roar - she could've sworn she heard words, but to be honest she wasn't particularly listening, since she wasn't expecting an articulate monster - before it stumbled to the left, giving Peyton a very clear view of Patricia.

And boy, was she in a state.

Blood, everywhere. Whether it was the monster's or hers Peyton couldn't quite determine, but judging by those slashes across her arms and chest a fair amount of it was hers. Peyton's eyes grew wide - boy, this was it. The creature was dazed, off to the left a couple of (pretty huge) steps down the hill, shaking it's head and trying to get it's sight straight. She looked up to Patricia, down to the monster. Up, down.

"RUN, JUNWIT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, darting forwards and snatching Patricia's hand in her own, taking only a second to freak out over the fact that she now had blood and other disgusting things on her before she was off down the hill, on the opposite side to the monster. She heard booming footsteps, it must have been following them, but she didn't look back, didn't stop running. She was practically dragging Patricia, not having a clue whether she was conscious or even alive, all she cared about was that she, Peyton, got as far away from that horrible thing as possible!

And suddenly they were out of the woods, and on the road. There wasn't anyone around, it was too late, but Peyton still kept running, took and right, then a left. She didn't even know where she was going! But finally the sound of the footsteps faded, her breathing got heavier, her legs ached. Peyton slowed to a stop, gasping air into her lungs, dropping the limp hand she'd been clinging to as she leaned back against a wall, hand on her chest as she concentrated on calming herself and getting her breathing rate back to normal. "********, I'm so hungry..." she mumbled softly to herself, eyes finally straying to the limp, seemingly-lifeless body beside her. There was so...so much blood. Peyton's legs suddenly felt weak beneath her as they gave way, a sob breaking out of her throat as she sank to the ground, body beginning to shake. Was she dead? She couldn't be... Peyton had tried to save her! She hated her, hated her for what she'd done, but she didn't deserve to die! Not like that, not by a monster...

And suddenly she was up again, running. But this time she wasn't dragging anything, wasn't holding anything. Tears clouded her eyes as she ran all the way back home, back into bed, curling up into a fetal position under her covers, shuddering and sobbing until she finally drifted back off to sleep.

On the local news channel the next day, the story about the meteorite was overshadowed, by the suspected murder of local schoolgirl Patricia Junwit.

She'd tried.

[Infinities]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Salazzar Slaan

Nicknames: Sal; Salazzar

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Steak. Rare.

Hated Food: Lasagna

Virtues:
- Honorable: " If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be facing me, and you'll be armed." Salazzar doesn't talk behind peoples backs, doesn't go behind peoples backs, and you always know where you stand. This follows through in everything he does- from fencing, to brawling, to sports, to schoolwork. He isn't going to cheat, even if you do.

- Confident/Strong: There is little to no hesitation in anything he does. It doesn't matter if he seems to be right or wrong, when his mind is made up he isn't changing it for anyone.

- Serious: Salazzar doesn't ******** around. Work and play are both handled with the same bland precision.

- Observant: Thanks to being antisocial, Salazzar has little else to do but read and observe. He watches people; watches the way they move, the way they interact with others. It is a game to him, but it is one that comes in handy sometimes, should he choose to take advantage of it.

Flaws:
- Antisocial: Salazzar is Arrogant. Haughty. Intimidating. And above all, he doesn't want to know you, he doesn't have to know you.

- Know-it-all: Salazzar's "studious" nature and keen observational skills mean he tends to know a lot- both about classwork and about people. It is only about the classwork that he speaks, his aura screaming superiority. Salazzar keeps all the other secrets he knows to himself- and most of them will follow him to the grave.

- Blunt: If you're a dumbass, you probably know it. If you are weak, you probably know it. If he thinks you need to brush your ******** hair- he's not afraid to be a hypocrite- he'll tell you. Please do not confuse this with a lack of tact, he has tact; this is an unfortunately too-common personal choice not to use it.

Neither a flaw nor a virtue:
- Curious: Salazzar is curious, something hard to tell for some through the many layers of ballsy, boring, and bastardly. And curiosity can be good- he is an eager participant in research for all those essays the teachers have them do; And curiosity can be bad- he's not afraid to stick his nose in places they may not belong.

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: His eyes are almond-shaped, narrow. They are an almost blood red color. They are not soft eyes, they are the eyes of a young man who knows what he wants- and who is determined to get there.

Hair: Black; shaggy; shoulder to mid-back in length. His hair looks more like a messy animals pelt than human hair. Brushing it is the least of his worries, and cutting it hasn't been done in.... who ******** knows?

Face: Ovalish face, a bit of a square jaw. Pale skin. Very strong features, not soft. No freckles, no unusual marks. Medium-size ears. Usually scowling.




THE STORY ENTRY
People had been talking about it for days. Talking about it in places they shouldn't, like the library, or outside his dorm room, or in the office. A meteorite, in this town? That was something Salazzar had to see- something he would see. He dug out an old camera and tripod, not anything fancy but serviceable. The tripod would keep the images steady, unlike his overexcited hand would. A good location for quiet... the hill in the park?

With his plans set, the dark-haired young man slipped out of his door, locking it securely behind him. The walk to the park wouldn't take him too long, strides long and confident. He knew where he was going, oftentimes he would spend a day reading in the park under a tree. He thought he heard noises as he approached, which made him scowl. As he grew closer, the noises became sharply pronounced.

Fighting. Combat. Screaming. This better only be two little shits out past their curfew that he could, and would, send home to their mothers. Another scream made his normal frown deepen. It didn't sound like two little kids, however he may hope it to be so. He moved closer, the long stride picking up until he was running toward the noises.

What he saw made red eyes narrow and the thin upper lip curl with derision. He knew the piss-ant on the ground. Marcus, an old "friend" from High School. And was that... a wookie? Now, he knew the jerk had been a strange one, with strange tastes, but a wrestling match with someone in a wookie costume took the cake. A closer, more careful look made his throat dry up. That blood wasn't fake. And that girl laying so still on the ground wasn't laughing. Her body was oddly twisted, and he didn't think her eyes were open, or her chest was rising.

And that blood he'd assumed was fake, wasn't so fake. Fake blood didn't gleam like that, like something wet and visceral, worming across the ground like a slow-moving snake.

He set down the old camera slowly, not wanting it harmed. Gripped the tripod in his right hand, the metal making a creaking noise that sounded as loud as a shriek in his ears. Now, it was one thing to hate someone enough to want to beat the life out of them with one's own hands, and quite another for some freak in a wookie suit to be doing it. He moved closer, quietly, not wanting to alert the enemy to his approach.

Salazzar could smell the blood before he got there. It was salty, metallic, made his nostrils flare in distaste. Another step closer, and he knew something else. Whatever was fighting Marcus wasn't in costume. A costume would be soaking up the blood, not letting it run over fur and flesh until it dripped into a too-bright crimson puddle at their feet. There was a huge gash across the creature's right side, a grievous-looking wound; Marcus was in much worse shape. He was dangling from the monster's large hands, barely even struggling anymore.

No closer. He was as close as he could afford to get before there wouldn't only be one body there. He stood, giving an inarticulate, gutteral cry as though to announce his presence. The creature turned, saw him, and flung his currently former enemy away with a cry of response.

What the hell had he just done? He didn't have much more time to think about it before the beast was moving for him. Fast. Damn fast, for a creature spilling blood from the side. He gripped the weapon he had in one hand, held his position. When it ran for him, he pulled a stupid, and flung himself to the right side, using the tripod to stab into the beast's side. Where it stuck.

Next thing he knew, he was being backhanded across the face. Tenacity was the only thing that kept him holding on to the weapon. He wasn't used to this. It was down, dirty, and bloody. He let his body fall to his knees, gripped the tripod and shoved. Pressed the tripod as deep into the open wound of the monster as he could, until he could feel the crack of bone. He had to duck down to avoid the beast's claws. It was shrieking now, and falling.

Somehow, Salazzar managed to force himself from his knees to his feet and stumble towards Marcus and the girl as the monster shrieked and flailed weakly behind him. He could see it, crawling toward him. Oh, ******** no. A running start, and he kicked the beast in the face. There was a crunch, another spray of blood, and another weak scream from the creature.

"Marcus!" he dropped down next to the othe guy, glancing back at the beast as it weakly shifted on the grass. It was obviously too late for the girl, her eyes were glassy. But he was feebly breathing, raspy. Salazzar felt another snarl coming on and instead lifted the boy into his arms. He might be able to make it to the hospital in time, as long as Chewbacca didn't get back up.

[Lady in the Golden Wood]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Karalia Solasta

Nicknames: Kara

Gender: Female

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Ice cream, who doesn't?

Hated Food: Super super super spicy things, why would anyone eat something that makes his/her ears feel like steam is pouring out?

Virtues:

Free -- Kara is herself. She is free of all prejudices or influences. If fact, she can really care less about what other people think of her as long as she is doing what she thinks is right.

Blunt -- Trying to wheedle out compliments? Well, unfortunately, you've talked to the wrong person. Kara is so blunt that she usually blurts out exactly what she thinks of you and well...she doesn't have the most optimistic view on humanity.

Calm -- She can stay calm in pretty much every situation, or is it because that she is half asleep most of the time so she couldn't really understand what is happening anyway? Nevertheless, she usually carefully analyzes a situation before entering it and knows her limits. It takes a lot of things to make her panic.

Caring -- Though it seems as though she could really care less about most people, Kara does display a bit of kindness though seemingly nonexistant. She will help a person in trouble even though she may not like the person much in question.

Flaws:

Lazy -- Sleeping in class? Scrambling to do homework last minute in the morning? Yeah, that's Kara. Though she is intelligent, she is the epitome of laziness and pretty much zombies throughout the entire school day yawning. Yet her grades are still good so the teachers aren't completely onto her yet.

Cold -- She isolates herself. Not as if she actually intends to, but she does seeing as she is tired pretty much all day and a tired person hardly ever talks aside from yawning. The fact that she is stuck in school all day hardly makes life better so she usually has very grumpy replies to any questions put force.

Thirst for Adventure -- Though she really is lazy, Kara is thirsty for adventure. This often combats with the fact that she is apprehensive about dangerous situations, yet she is addicted to the feeling of adenuline and pretty much anything that makes her free of this "boring life."

Apprehension -- Though she can remain calm in pretty much any situation, the unknown unnerves her. She likes things solid and no surprises. Good surprises are good but bad surprises...She hates them. Though she accepts the future, she can not combat it unless she knows what is in store for her and that is impossible.

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Large and soft, violet eyes

Hair: Long straight black hair (to mid-back), sometimes tied up in a messy bun near her neck. Slight bangs.

Face: Light skin color, no pale, but light. Round face, a bit angular, perfect complextion, no makeup seeing as she's a lazy bum.
THE STORY ENTRY
They say that queer things happen at night. In the deep darkness, monsters lurked, waiting to pounce out at any unsuspecting victim. Well, of course they do. Do you expect monsters to be popping out in broad daylight and screaming their heads out at people? The girl grinned. Now that would be pretty interesting. A hundred times more interesting than living in some mundane school in some mundane town even if she did have to run for her life every other second.

Now, why exactly was she walking in the middle of the night anyway? The was so late that in her vicinity, there was nothing to be heard but the light footsteps of the girl and the gentle rustling of leaves.

Where is it? It looked like it had landed around here...somewhere. Kara shone her flashlight near her feet as she walked, her eyes scanning the ground. That meteorite...It looked so big, it couldn't just have disappeared.

The park was empty. Well, what do you expect? People to be running around and playing on the swings? It is past midnight... But was the park really empty? What if there was something lurking in the shadows, waiting to leap out at her. Kara gripped the flashlight tighter and continued to focus her energies on hand as she wandered uphill, her eyes scrutinizing the ground for the single sign of a meteorite. There was no use in worrying about anything that will probably not happen anyway.

It was a sudden loud piercing scream that made Kara jerk her head up. It had been close...very close. Her eyes darted towards the direction the scream had come from. Up ahead there were two figures nondescript in the semi-darkness though one seemed to be bigger than the other.

A click. She had turned the flashlight off. The world seemed to be very hard to keep in focus until she realized and let out a breath that she had no idea she had held. Slowly, Kara could see the figures more distinctly now. One was clearly larger and what was that, fur??? And the other, a smaller slighter figure. They seemed to be fighting. What was this? Some stupid version of Twilight or something?

She almost let out a derisive snort before stopping herself. No, no. Whatever is up ahead is dangerous... She blinked. Dangerous? She seemed to pause no more than half a heartbeat before moving her way slowly and quietly towards the two figures.

You're being stupid...stupid. Absolutely reckless. Who knows what's up ahead? But nooooooooooooo, you're just walking all happy dandy towards whatever just made that scream earlier, aren't you? You're going to get your-

The scene played itself before her. There was that bigger figure that she had seen. It was covered completely in dark matted fur. Red eyes seemed to burn like coals from the place where the face must have been but thankfully, the eyes seemed to not have noticed the newcomer's presence, instead, they seemed to be focused on another figure...

Alec Zukofsky? That goddamn annoying guy who bugged her constantly just for the heck of it. Yeah, it was him. That guy whose name seemed to make her blood curdle at the very thought. It was him that now stood before her, blood dripping through a cut on his chest that was quickly staining his white shirt. It was he who had screamed.

The grass was stained with a dark liquid...blood. Blood. He must have been bleeding for awhile.

"Kill...kill..." A dark hiss seemed to eminate through the darkness as chills swept down her spine. It was the big hairy furball but it was strong, even in the darkness, she could see its muscles bulging out. There was no chance of survival for the stupid idiot by himself.

Don't do it, don't do it. Don't be a stupid idiot like him. You're going to die. She ignored it. Taking a deep breath, she calmly stepped right in the middle of the battle. Time seemed to stop as she took in both the double take of the monster and the surprised look on the idiot's face. Wish I had a camera...

"Hey Alec. Surprised seeing you here at such a late hour and getting beaten up by some stupid furball." She said which made the face of the idiot even more hilarously cartoonish. "Look here, I'm not here to save your sorry butt, I'm just a nice person who doesn't want people getting beaten up like you are by some stupid giant furball."

The "stupid giant furball" hissed in anger, but Kara hardly paid any mind to it. She was probably going to die anyway so there was really no point in respecting a stupid giant furball was there? She shot a glance back at the bleeding idiot, he was still there.

"CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND ENGLISH???? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOT!!!!" And as the last syllable barely left her lips, she felt a collision to her side. The monster had attacked when she was looking towards the other direction and she was the stupid idiot that was dripping blood onto the ground now. Just great.

Gritting her teeth against the throbbing pain on her side, there was bound to be a couple broken ribs, Kara straightened herself up. The monster was preparing for his next attack. Kara held her ground. There was no use in running, the monster would get her before she could even make three steps. The idiot was gone by now. Good riddance. At least he was going to be alive for the moment.

Then the monster attacked and and Kara smashed the hand that was holding the heavy metal flashlight straight into the monster's eye. There were several small cracks. Her fingers were broken. Then there was an enormous shriek of pure agony as the monster tottered. Taking the chance of its confusion, Kara made a run for it.

Surely the idiot was gone far far away by now, and now there was just her running as fast as she could down the hill. She could hear heavy pounding behind her and she knew instintively that the monster was chasing after her...and quickly catching up.

Thud. Kara ran a few more steps before she turned. The monster had fallen with not a single scream from its lips. Behind it in the semi-darkness, there stood Alec Zukofsky. The idiot had not ran. No, now he was holding a metal spear that Kara noted to be from one of the park's fountains and dripping from it was a dark liquid she knew to be blood.

"What was that?" Those were the first words that left her lips.

"Can't tell you." The guy seemed to avert her sharp gaze as he stabbed the spear right through the fallen beast. Blood still dripped from the cut on his chest.

"Well, that's annoyiing." Kara frowned. That thing was dangerous and of course the stupid goddamn idiot doesn't even tell me what the hell it is. She turned,"Bye. There's no point in staying to talk."

"Hey Kara! Yo-"

"Shuddup. I saved you, you saved me. We're even. No extra feelings." She continued to walk away before she suddenly heard laughing and then a moan of pain from behind her. She turned. Apparently the idiot had doubled over laughing his head off until the fact that he had several broken ribs stopped it.

"What???" There is a reason that I hate him.

"I wasn't going to say thank you or anything."

Kara rolled her eyes, "So what were you going to say?"

"You're still dripping blood, you know?"

Ah s**t.

[beinine]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Cassie Hall

Nicknames: Cass, mostly by family and close friends.

Gender: Female

Age: 15

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Anything that has organic stamped on it!

Hated Food: Poptarts, more like pooptarts amirite ahahah. Haha.

Virtues:

EFFICIENT- Cassie knows the best routes to use when playing Pacman, the easiest shortcut when doing math problems, the fastest way to de-thaw turkeys. She works hard to hardly work, and she expects the best! If there is a ‘better’, quicker way to get things done she is all over that like icing on a cake.

UNINHIBITED- Cassie is a firm believer of enjoying yourself before your parents find your report card or some terrorist in a short skirt gets you. She is always happy to laugh awkwardly between even more awkward moments. That weirdo telling bad jokes to anyone within listening distance? Yeah, that's Cassie! Openly gossiping in the middle of the school?? Completely! Singing loudly in the middle of a crowded area with a karaoke mic? Yes. Make a failed attempt at starting a wave in a stadium? Uh, don't tell anyone later. Societal norms don’t hold Cassie down!

SOCIAL- Always accommodating, Cassie tries to make room in her social life for everyone. Her old friends, strangers, new students, and even that creeper in the corner of the cafeteria! She loves nothing more than idle chitchat and just being in the company of other people. Most of her conversations are peppered with corny jokes and weird ice-breaker puns.

ZEALOUS- Cassie buys something at every fundraiser. Cassie shows up for every orientation. Cassie smuggles in air horns to all the local sporting events. Cassie is willing, able, and eager for any chance to show just how passionate she is about, well, anything!! Just tell her what color to paint her face.


Flaws:

SPOILSPORT- Not everything comes handed on a silver platter, and Cassie can’t stand it. Most of her confidence has been built up from motivational orientations and the fact that ~everyone is a special snowflake~. Whenever Cassie is just not good enough or doesn't get her way she is absolutely crushed, and doesn’t appreciate it when people are not equally unhappy at this injustice. She’s got no qualms about marching right over to start raining on your parade. Guys. Guys. GUYS. HOW DARE YOU ENJOY YOURSELVES WITHOUT HER :< STOP BEING SO HAPPY YOU GUYS

IRRATIONAL- If given the choice between a dollar now and fifty tomorrow, Cassie would be all over that single. She never thinks to the future- why would it matter, after all, if she is in the present? Cassie tends to make her decisions based on what would make her happiest right now. Right this instant. She doesn’t really consider long term results or consequences. After all, someone else can always deal with those! Right? Right.

EMBARRASING- Cassie is that friend you sometimes wince at and pretend you aren’t associated with at parties. She sobs, loudly, during Lifetime movies. She blurts out the most cringe-worthy jokes at the most inappropriate moments. She will let loose a torrent of babbling to the person sitting next to her, even as they try to ignore her. Cassie is too shameless to care.

IMPRESSIONABLE- Cassie isn't dumb, really, but she certainly isn't the sharpest tool in the toolkit. Her parents have impressed upon her the importance of keeping an open mind!! since she was little, so Cassie does just that. How Cassie feels on a topic depends a lot on who's talking at the time, although she will adopt an opinion if it's pushed at her enough. She tends to comes off as wishy-washy and a total tool.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: A light gray, almond shaped.

Hair: Curly orange hair! It is usually kept tied back in some way. She would cut it, but it is just so much easier to find a cheap hair tie than a little trim.

Face: Round face, usually red with excitement.

THE STORY ENTRY

Cassie wasn’t sure what she expected.

The news had been plastered all over the local station, spinning in a repetitive marquee consisting of meteorite meteorite meteorite jesus christ did you hear it is a meteorite. It seemed to flow into every conversation, drummed through Cassie’s mind even as she struggled through a math test she was sure she failed. Everything was drowned out in the din of meteorite excitement, and Cassie found herself getting caught up just as easily.

It was too good to be true, perhaps. As quickly as the news got out, so did conspiracies. They proclaimed the meteorite a big hoax, some government plot to waste the taxpayer’s money just like the Sailor Senshi. It made too much sense for her to disregard! It was a meteorite, after all. Terrorists happened. Stuffy uniforms happened. But a meteorite? It was just too unbelievable- but Cassie in the end still found herself scrambling past trees and waving around a flashlight like a madman, seeking said meteorites. She wasn’t sure what to believe anymore, but she was determined to prove someone right by the end of the night.

Her new found shortcut through the park, cutting through the city-planted trees and past the more conventional routes, brought her to The Hill half an hour later than she expected. Cassie paid no mind to the crushed passage behind her, the previously pristine snow now patterned with dragging footprints and painted with mud. She looked around once, twice, just to check for anyone else who got the same idea as her.

Miraculously, she saw it before it saw her.

Big and towering and just plain funny looking, Cassie wondered if it was a Sailor Senshi. She had never seen them before; the newspapers with photos were always snapped up as quickly as they were made and seemed to always depict them differently, and google images had not helped at all. All of them varied in quality, style, and even what was being pictured. As far as she knew, the photo of Greg’s girlfriend with senshible shoes was just as likely a Senshi as the sketch drawing of the orc with sailor tattoos.

It was reasonable to assume the creature a Sailor Senshi; it was dressed weirdly enough and was certainly not normal, and Cassie knew enough about Sailor Senshi. They usually attacked first, generally robbed you blind and left you in the hospital (if you were lucky) in some scheme to get you to pay more to their underground government. God, forget the meteorite. It was a Sailor Senshi. It was a Sailor Senshi and she was going to get hurt if she wasn’t careful.

Her eyes darted as she tried her hardest to not move, not shake, not get its attention, and then all her thoughts stopped. A perturbed gaze landed on the comparatively smaller figure by the Senshi. It was- it was… Nancy. Nancy, the girl Cassie hated since forever. The girl down the street who was always just a bit prettier, better. Her unofficial archnemesis Nancy, who was looking tired and beat up and two shades from death.

A mixture of anger and satisfaction ran through her. Nancy deserved it- every single hit for every wrong, real or imagined, against Cassie. It would have been justice, maybe, if Nancy didn’t looked so determined to fight back. She looked about ready to martyr herself, pushing her body to not fall over.

Cassie looked on with indignation. Nancy would be a hero, if anyone else saw her. Nancy would be a hero because she was in the right place at the right time and, and that just wasn't fair, and why did she always seem to get all the glory-

Grinding her teeth, Cassie adjusted her grip on her flashlight and started forward. She could do it, she could totally do it. “I DON’T BELIEVE IN SENSHI, I DON’T,” she shouted frantically. It would work, the tabloids said it would work so it would have to work.

It didn’t work. Cassie’s noisy interruption only drew two incredulous looks towards her. Nancy looked exhausted, but seemed a bit worried for her. Her mouth moved up and down; she was too tired and strained to voice her thoughts loudly. Cassie wanted to wipe the annoying expression right off her face. She gave a superior look to Nancy, and received bewilderment in return.

In the mean time of facial exchange, the creature had somehow gotten within reaching distance of Cassie. Nancy was too weak, too weary to be much of a threat to it anymore. Cassie hadn’t known that Senshi were so… furry, but it was hard to process the thought when she began to see stars.

Her breath caught, and she struggled back to her feet. “I don-” Cassie started, clearly sticking to her guns. She was stopped short by a weak blow to the stomach, and she doubled over in pain. Cassie gasped for breath, and barely managed to throw her flashlight in the general direction of the creature’s wound. It missed, badly, and landed too far for her to reach. Another swipe, to her arm. Dazed, Cassie thought she heard something pop.

“Stop it,” she said hysterically. “Stop it!” Cassie made futile attempts to defend herself, scrambling away, but she was too stunned by its initial attacks. The creature tackled her to the ground, probably hoping for a more stationary target. Cassie tumbled backwards and, still confused, groped the ground for leverage.

Her hands met the now-muddy flashlight and she grasped it like a lifeline. It was too slippery for her to get a good grip; Cassie realized accurately throwing it was out of the question even as she was beaten into the ground. She fumbled with it, unsure of what she could even use it for, and eventually Cassie managed to switch it back on.

The lights flickered, at first, before turning on fully. Cassie slashed the light across its face, and she wondered for a wild moment if it would work like a light saber.

It didn’t- the creature only drew back in surprise. The flashlight was comparatively brighter than the starlit night. It did not stay confused for long; Cassie was barely able to get in a vague feeling of terror before the beast collapsed to her side, Nancy hovering over her like a big damn hero. Something lay stabbed into the creature, probably from Nancy.

“Are you okay, Cass,” Nancy asked, all pale and concerned and brave.

Cassie’s face soured in irritation and a bit of gratitude and respect, but she quickly set it back into a neutral expression. It hurt too much to make faces. It hurt too much to do anything, really. Aaaarrrgh, she moaned internally.

“Aaaarrrgh,” Cassie moaned, always one to voice her thoughts. This was so not fair.

[Sleet Tempest Snape]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Lexus Fae Levêque

Nicknames: Lexi

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Strawberries dipped in sugar, cause chocolate is just...no.Too much chocolate, which isn't really much, is just sickining.

Hated Food: Blueberries, the smell is enough to make one ill.

Virtues:
Quite -- Lexus is quite and not just when it comes to talking. He doesn't make much noise in anything he does, it's not something he gives any attention to though. He's simply, over a long time, become this way naturally. Perhaps a good thing for sneaking up on people? Not that Lexus would ever so such a thing, at least not on purpose. Could certainly come in handy when not wanting to be caught by something...or someone.

Protective -- Not something that would normally seem to fit Lexus. But infact he is quite protective, he's just selective of who he's protective over. He has a rather black and white view on who.what is innocent and what isn't and thus shouldn't be protected. While not the sort for physical confrontation he will inject himself into a situation in order to protect someone, even risking his own health if he feels the person in need of protecting is innocent and thus in need of his protection. Not the wisest thing of course, but Lexus would rather see an innocent person remain so.


Flaws:
Opinated -- While normally not a social person, he dislikes talking to people unless he absolutely needs to, he will talk to people. If a discussion were to turn to certain things one would find Lexus to have very strong opinions on things, certain books, art, fashion, and what is proper in the way of clothing and speech even. He will, if in discussion, bash what he finds to disgusting and won't hide his distaste, so perhaps this can also be considered bluntness.

Easy to scare -- He's had abusive parents and their are things which scare him, or cause him to submit. Raised hands to him, raised objects, in a threatening/aggressive manner? Lexus will look for a place to hide, if no where can be found...duck and cover? While he'll protect other people, innocent people, - something he can't help himself from doing, he won't protect or stand up for himself and this lands him in a load of trouble due to this easy to scare nature of his.


DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Pale blue, think aquamarine. Their not narrowed but not overly wide either.

Hair: Pale blond, nearing toward a white blond. His hairs short and brushed to the side, his bangs falling half into one eye.

Face: Fair skin and gentle, soft, features his face being heart shaped. A small birthmark under, and to the outside, of his left eye.

THE STORY ENTRY

Why was it that the one time he sneaks out of the house he finds trouble? He'd simply been going out to see the stars, despite the ambient light making it so few stars could be seen. He hadn't asked to find trouble, much less trouble of this....nature. He wasn't sure what word, if any, could describe what he was seeing let alone feeling. Though Lexus figured the best word for how he was feeling was off kilter.

If someone had ever told him he'd see something like this...he'd have told that person to find themselves a padded room. Of course, thankfully perhaps, he wasn't ever likely to have such a conversation being that he didn't talk to many people. But that wasn't the point. The point was that the one person who made his school days miserable was being beaten by....something he could only describe as a large big foot in clothing. The problem with that was...that big foot wasn't real, right? If tomorrow he were asked if big foot were real he knew what he'd be answering...and it wasn't 'no' either.

Watching the fight for a moment longer Lexus made his decision quickly. While this was his school enemy, and not someone he'd ever consider innocent he also didn't like this obviously unfair fight and with one of the beings, since one certainly wasn't human, was so obviously inhuman and capable of who knows what. Holding his flashlight by the small wrist cord on it, used so it could hang from his wrist normally, Lexus ran toward the two, lifting the metal flashlight by the strap he took a swing at the creature, hoping that by hitting it he would pull it's attention from the other completely and focus it fully onto himself. With himself between the creature, monster really, and Jade he stood there his pale eyes taking in the creature now fully. This really didn't look good for him....it was a lot bigger.

While he somewhere, mentally, registered just how bad this could turn out he was physically swinging his flashlight at the beast even as Jade shouted at him, asking if he was insane. Maybe he was? He didn't know, than again given what he was doing...it was a likely thing really. Rather than answer he found himself crying out as he took three claws across his chest, and right shoulder. Landing on the ground pale eyes staring up terrified suddenly, this bought of courage fleeing from him in record time. Ignoring the blood escaping his body, his eyes too busy being firmly trained on the monster that was snarling, saliva dripping from jowls he didn't notice his flashlight being taken form his hand either.

While he lay there, well half lay and half sat there, watching in terror, waiting for some killing blow to be delivered, Jade had rushed the beast with the light and started striking it repeatedly till it was brought down, due to a hard shot to the temple. Pulled, or dragged perhaps, to his feet quite suddenly, at least for him, he was pulled away from the unconscious monster.

With the other babble speaking, adrenaline the cause for this, he was letting himself be pulled along as he shivered and shook from nerves. Wanting nothing more than to curl up somewhere nice and dark. That being on his mind he did just that as he suddenly pulled himself and thus Jade, into an alley they were passing at some point during their escape.

"That wasn't real...it couldn't have been." Camely Lexus whispered words of self assurance. Anything to assure himself all was right and he had not just seen all of that.

It seemed that this was the perfect time for the blood he'd been dripping, and oozing, from his acquired battle wound was noticed by the dark haired Jade. With the other pointing it out he almost wanted to comment about having to make himself a new shirt to replace this one. Rather than that though he found himself simply nodding. He needed bandages for it and he needed home....badly. He needed his bed and his covers so he could curl up and hide from everything as he tried, desperately, to process all of this.

[Miliardo Kason]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

SECTION ONE

Name: Theodor Vinzent

Nicknames: Theo

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: MEAT! Steak, sausage, chicken, ham, you name it he probably likes it.

Hated Food: Those questionable things, like scrapple and hotdogs… that’s not real meat but tries to play it off that it is.

Virtues:

An Eye For Detail: Be it setting up a shot, trying to pick the right lense and settings for his camera, or working on a school project Theo always works on the details. Some might find it being a nitpick, always trying to fix that one detail that could easily just be ignored, but for Theo those things are how you perfect a project.
Theo is great for giving a list to, he will follow it to a T because of this, instructions are read, checked, double checked, to make sure everything is right and if something went wrong he will go into it and tweak it till it is.

Straight To The Point: Theo might not talk a lot with other people on his own, but if he’s ever asked his opinion when he gives it, it will be straight to the point. Anything else is just beating around the bush and wasting time.
The way he sees it if someone wants his thoughts on the matter why sugar coat it or spend the time trying to phrase something to be politically correct? Soft spoken and quiet like always Theo will offer his point and back it up with his reasons and carry on. Great when someone needs an honest opinion but it does have a few draw backs…

Anything For A Friend: Theo doesn’t have a lot of friends, so when he finally gets over being shy and untrusting to make one he will go as far as he can to keep them around for they might be the only ones he has. Even if the things he does to keep them around could cause trouble for others. Not to say Theo is easily persuaded to do something against the rules, but if it’s the difference between friends and not he will usually take the dive if it means keeping someone around he trusts a little longer.

Parkour: The idea of getting from point a to point b, the flight in fight or flight mindset. Theo has a bad habit of sneaking into places that he doesn’t belong for photos. As a result he has a mindset that applies some of the ideas of Parkour, while he isn’t able to leap and jump around like people better versed in this activity he is more then capable of climbing and jumping fences, buildings and trees to get where he wants to go. He’ll also use it if he needs to get away from a bad situation, why fight when you can climb that fence in the back ally to get away from the situation?

Flaws:

Curiosity Killed The Cat: Theo can't say no to something interesting or forbidden especially if it makes for a good photo, this can lead to risk taking since that view from the Crystal Academy would look great from the rooftop… just have to get past the whole school to get a good shot… The price for his curiosity though can be steep. When doors say restricted area, and yellow police tape says do not cross getting caught can result in another ride in a police cruiser home with a long scolding from his parents. Not to mention one of these days his luck might run out and that condemned buildings going to fall right on top of him mid shot.

Paranoid Self Image: Ever get the feeling in a quiet room, everyone's looking at you? And not because you’re the cool kid, that when someone leans over to whisper to a friend it's about how your hair looks stupid and your clothes don't match? That's Theo's head for you, he always feels like someone isn't happy with him. Being picked on as a kid for the typical glasses and books stereotype had lead to him having a horrible self image of really being that lame guy who can’t play it cool with anyone. As a result he hides behind his camera doing the only thing he feels like people like, taking good pictures.

Camera Shy: You would think if someone loved to take pictures they would love to be in them too? WRONG! Theo hates seeing pictures of him, it’s bad enough when your mental images of your self are horrible but to suddenly see them all confirmed in highly detailed images that will last forever unless burned / delete, well that just won’t do. Of course most of this is in his head, he does take a decent picture, but no matter how many people might compliment it he always see’s the flaws in his own image, even if he’s just making them up himself.

[i Weakness –]Distant: Having been picked on and preferring to hide behind his camera Theo has started to draw away from people, taking longer to trust people and not always fitting in social situations. When other people would be out at a party he would be the wall flower who would slowly try to move away from the crowd and not be seen. When approached he often has trouble making eye contact when talking with someone he doesn’t know. His habit to speak straight to the point here is a weakness sometimes driving people away before he can let them have a try. Or at least starting the relationship off to a rocky bitter start where he appears only as an outcast jerk.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Brown and half closed, as if he’s always thinking about something or half walking in a dream. He also wears black halfmoon glasses.

Hair: Dark brown leaning towards black, his hair is straight if not slightly messy spiking slightly in the back and around his bangs.

Face: A round face with light freckles

THE STORY ENTRY
It was another day like any other, class was over and the other student’s had long left the art departments photo room leaving him alone to work. Negative developed and in hand he slid into the comforts of the dark room, pausing only long enough from his task to flick on a small radio, someone had decided the dark room got rather quiet sometimes and stuck a small radio inside, of course the LED screen was covered in electrical tape for the sake of the pictures, but that didn’t matter much since it was always on the same mix station that almost everyone at the school seemed to enjoy. It just so happened that while he was working and a song came to an end that a report came on, it was nothing at first except something caught his attention pulling him away from the developer. ”That’s right, tonight is the night, it’s been predicted for a while now, but tonight is the night to see the meteorite tonight in Destiny City! Don’t miss it, it’s a once in a life time shot! Now back to the latest hits on Destiny City Radio.”
Meteorite, tonight? At once his mind started to click off location’s building’s he had visited in the past, hills, the park! It was just far enough away to blot out some of the pollution from the city. Pacing back and forth he tapped his chin pondering how to go about it. The curfew was not law per-say, but everyone knew what happened after dark. Crazy terrorist and monsters ran loose about the city and police were not too fond of teenagers running around at those hours. He would need more film from the other room, maybe a telephoto lens. In all of his plotting though he had forgotten about his photo floating in the developer, by the time he turned around he watched as the last hints of dark grey fade into black. “God damn it,” he said with a hiss, a wasted piece of photo paper. His planning would have to wait a bit, first he needed to finish this project.

So it wasn’t till a few hours later that Theo slipped back out the dark room, a series of damp prints were slipped into a drying rack as he started gathering, a few rolls of film, signed out a telephoto lens (while lamenting on the need to buy his own) before heading back to his dorm. The rest of the day was uneventful though, another class later that night, dinner at the sub shop down the street. All of it just wasted time ticking down to the plan for the night. Soon enough students started to leave, heading home or to the lounges around campus, even to the dorms to turn in early in hopes to catch a glance of the meteorite from their windows. Theo had other plans though. Sitting alone in his room he started to pack, his camera bag emptied out to make room for the larger lens, a flash and just the camera it’s self. The extra film locked in canisters stuffed into his pockets, and one carefully loaded into the camera just before packing it in, tonight was going to be one of the best shots he would get, nothing would stop it.

EEEE EEEE EEEE EEEE!!! His alarm rang out it was time, 12:30 enough time leaving him an hour or so to get to the park and set up, it wasn’t too far, and had left his bike parked on the far side of the building, just below his room. Cracking his window he leaned out glancing around, he knew a few of the people below his room would see him slipping down the fire escape, one he even stopped to say hi to now and again, they normally didn’t care about his late night exits, it was even a known fact that he snuck out to take shots at hours that would be considered a risk. So with a practice routine Theo slipped out his window camera bag slung around his shoulder as he snaked his way down, thankfully it seemed like most people were asleep, maybe someone was up, he didn’t even notice as he made his way down the ladders. No one else should be at the park, not with the police so paranoid, I’ll just take the bike path from here to the park, no one should think twice about that. A few minutes later he was off, his bike wheels quietly humming and crunching up a few leaves as he made his way to the park.

Sure enough the trip went unhindered, most the watches were in the city it’s self, which he only cut through briefly when leaving the bike path. Quietly he crept through the grass his bikes chain soft and wet with the morning dew, bike chain clicking with every few steps, he lived for this. Then something seemed to thud in the distance, a dull thump, like something being dropped from a distance? Slowly he lowered his bike going on foot, crouched low to the ground, maybe the police were out in the park? The sound hadn’t repeated, but it was still strange. Glancing about he found the perfect tree, a few low hanging branches and a nice thick one pointing towards the clearing he could use for a perch. It took only a run and a leap before he was pulling himself into the tree setting up his camera, it was then that everything went crazy.

Someone came running out of the trees into the clearing, whoever it was they didn’t look so well, they stumbled and swerved, one of their arms looked broken it seemed “HELP, SOMEBODY HELP!” The voice was familiar, he couldn’t place it and slowly he raised his camera to get a closer look when the monster came charging out after the figure. It was massive, covered in fur with arms that looked more like the branch he was sitting on, maybe a small tree it’s self. Without another thought Theo was taking pictures, the rapid chime of his camera going off the flash flickering from a distance, the beast seemed to pay no mind, focused on catching the figure. Theo panned to catch a shot of who it was chasing, and that’s when the voice clicked.

It was years ago, they were just kids barely even twelve yet…
“You’re such a loser, stupid four eyed freak. Why don’t you and your Nazi daddy move back to Germany?” the bigger boy’s smile was wicked and cruel as he waved the book before Theo’s face, it was Harry Potter, but German, his father had been teaching him since he was young if only to understand his heritage and that it wasn’t all that bad. “Jacob give it back! And my dad’s not a Nazi!” He stood up reaching for the book which was pulled away dangling just out of reach as Jacob shoved him down. “Oh yeah he teaching you how to be a mini Hitler? If your old man ain’t some Nazi then why you reading a German book?” The words cut like a lash, Theo’s father was nothing like that, but everyone made the joke, and Jacob would rub it in like salt to a bleeding wound. Always mocking him, always taking his stuff and beating him up. “You’re just mad because your dad’s a drunk!” the words were out before Theo could stop them, and even as they left his mouth the world was spinning. His glasses cracked, his nose felt like it was crushed, and blood started to roll down his lip as he fell back, his book torn and tossed at his side. “Don’t you ever say that again you filthy nazi.”
…and it never ended from that day
The mocking tone never stopped, mocking his father’s ‘second hand trash shop’ being told to get back on the boat. It killed him inside, broken glasses, torn books, graffiti on his locker all of it came rushing back, sure he was going to Hillworth and out of his hair, but did that really make it better? Seeing him in a blue moon walking down the street brought back memories. After everything you did… was it right? No, none of that! No time for this, he turned slipping the camera to his bag glancing up as the monster let out a howl, the crippled body of Jacob laid broken and twisted on the ground in the middle of the clearing. Adrenalin was now coursing through his veins, the monsters was focused on him slowly lumbering towards the tree.

“s**t, s**t, s**t ah s**t!” he muttered over and over as he dropped down running for his bike. The beast was now sprinting, its massive body picking up speed howling, covered in Jacob’s blood. The whole thing soon became a blur, the ground flickering under his feet, the howl of the beast as it crashed into a tree seeming to shove it aside sparing Theo just enough time to ride off into the dark. The ride home was no better, a fear that just ahead the beat would leap out and attack again.
Still he made it none the less, climbing back up his fire escape, no care for the noise he made, the meteorite long forgotten to him as he slipped through his window falling into his bed. The next day he was free of classes, the whole night seemed like a dream and Theo chalked it up to that. Just one really bad dream as he shuffled into the lab fumbling through the process of working in the black bag, but that’s when the dream came to an end, the negatives said it all. A series of shots depicting a fuzzy beast easily attacking Jacob, tossing him aside like a rag doll and Theo had let that happen. Without another thought he rummaged about the room finding a lighter, burning the long strip of negatives, burning the only evidence of the boy’s death and the monster , but more so to try and burn the guilt from his mind.

[Moving Pictures]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Bearach Deòrsa

Nicknames: Barry (preferred)

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Grilled Salmon, Fruit Smoothies, and Green Tea

Hated Food: French Fries, Cole Slaw, and Mayonnaise

Virtues:
-Patient: Even-tempered by nature, Barry possess an incredible amount of patience. He could easily be characterized by the old saying: “Slow and Steady wins the race.” Thanks to his kindness and determination, he is amazingly accommodating and tolerant with people and activities. Barry personally believes that everyone goes at their own speed and it isn’t his place to rush them or make them feel hurried. This virtue benefits him greatly when combined with his dedication as many goals can be reached given the proper amount of time. However, it greatly hinders him when time is a factor and his group must take action or make a decision.

-Kind: Benevolent and polite, Barry is a good friend to have around. If someone drops their books in the hall, then he is the first to stop and help them pick up their belongings. When a friend forgets to bring their lunch or doesn’t have the money, Barry is glad to buy them dinner or share his own food. When his friends are asked to describe him, they wouldn’t use words like aggressive or rude. His kindness doesn’t stem from a great love of people, but from the personal notion that it isn’t his place to ruin everyone’s day. This can quickly change if someone really hurts his feelings or does something to keep him from completing his goals.

-Independent: Barry is no stranger to taking care of himself. He has been standing on his own two feet and looking after himself for as long as he can remember. Whether it is doing his laundry, cooking his own meals, or making sure his school assignments are completed in a timely fashion, Barry doesn’t need a supervisor or guardian to get through his day. Thanks to his distant parents, Barry has grown up a little faster than most and obtained a certain level of maturity that some of his peers haven’t reached. While this has benefited him by allowing him to think and act on his own without parental guidance, his independence didn’t exactly help him when it came to people skills and personal relationships.

-Focused: If Barry had a middle name, it would most likely be determination. He puts everything he has into his goals. His extraordinary skills as a gymnast are all thanks to his merciless training and practice. The same can be said about his near perfect grades. While some may say he is just a gifted learner, those who know what goes on behind the scenes would see that he works very hard to keep his gymnastics and studies in check. This works in his favor most of the time, but it can greatly hinder his personal life when he chooses to spend his time in the gym instead of trying to improve his social standing with his peers.


Flaws:
-Shy: Barry is a very bashful young man. People skills never really developed thanks to his absent parents and he never gained them elsewhere. He is very inexperienced when it comes to dealing with new people and tends to be very quiet and polite. While not frightened or intimidated by others, he just naturally tends to avoid being the center of attention and prefers to stay in his comfort zone of close friends. His inexperience in dealing with people becomes painfully apparent in more personal social settings and not when it comes to displaying his skills as gymnast as he can easily tune out the world and focus on himself.

-Tunnel Vision: The major downside of his focus and determination is that he tends to shut out everything else around him. When he is presented with a task, he pushes everything else to the side. Combined with his wealthy background and bashful nature, many of his peers say that he is rude or arrogant, since Barry often loses sight of those around him when he is training, studying, or working to complete a goal. In the past, he has accidentally stepped on others feelings and pushed them aside to make sure his goal is completed. While not intentional, it nevertheless burned a few bridges.

-Low Self Esteem: Barry isn’t the most confident young man. He takes what others say about him very seriously, both the good and the bad. It is very easy for him to feel inadequate when others put him down and insult him. While this may keep him from gaining a massive ego or selfish nature, it attributes to his shy nature and keeps away from social situations. His self esteem issues does leave him wanting to improve himself and correct the faults that others see in him; however, thanks to his independent nature, he won’t change who he is as a person just to stop some nasty comments.

-Vindictive: Barry sees himself as a pretty decent guy and while he doesn’t think he is the best thing since sliced bread, he feels he commands a level of respect and decency. So, when someone insults or crosses him, he can be a very nasty customer since he feels he is already doing a great deal to stay out of other‘s hair. While not a outwardly violent person, he is very happy to make sure his personal brand of justice is served. This manifests itself as tripping someone in a crowded hallway, “accidentally spilling soda on them as they pass, or making sure their new crush hears about how dreadfully disgusting they are. Revenge may not come tomorrow, but Barry has patience and enough determination to make sure that they get what is coming to them.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Almond shaped, bubblegum pink

Hair: Short, Thick, Styled to perfection, Dapper, and golden blonde

Body: 5'8, Very Athletic, Beach Tan skin

Face: Heart shaped, strong features, masculine, and slightly squared jaw

THE STORY ENTRY
“Fight or Flight . . . Fight or Flight . . . FIGHT OR FLIGHT!” Barry’s mind was racing, screaming, and just plain stunned at what was before him. He was only a few yards away from what he could only describe as an incredibly impossible event and he wasn’t talking about any meteorite. He couldn’t yell, he couldn’t move, and he certainly felt like he couldn’t breathe. He wanted to run, run back to his dorm, run back to his house miles away, but honestly, he wanted to run back to reality.
But this was reality. That piece of crap bully dangling from the creature’s hands was proof enough that Barry wasn’t having some crazy hallucination or dream.
Barry came up with a thousand and one questions as he stood stunned only a few yards away from the creature and his old rival. “What or who is that thing? What is it wearing? Is that a Halloween costume? How the hell did Julius get tangled up with a creature like that?” The more questions that raced through his mind, the more apparent it was that he didn’t have any answers and he wasn’t going to get them by standing in the shadows while something ripped apart an old high school bully.
As his hands trembled and grew cold, his mind presented the first question again: “Fight or Flight?” It was a daunting choice and Barry needed an answer. Both were viable and equally dangerous. “Fight it is, no one likes a coward.” He spoke the words softly to himself. Adrenaline shot through his veins as he carefully placed the flashlight on the ground and took a deep breathe. He kept telling himself he couldn’t let someone die right in front of him. He couldn’t let that happen. However, as he removed his constricting jacket, he couldn’t muster up the conviction to charge forward. It wasn’t cowardice. How he wished he could just say that he was too afraid to jump in and join the black and blue club that the creature and Julius were well on their way to creating. He pleaded with his mind to find something to keep him from jumping between the two figures that stood illuminated by the moonlight before him. Was he really going to have to put himself in that kind of a position for the bully that had spewed out poisonous comments and lies for his entire high school career? It just didn’t sit right with him. Sure, he could rationalize helping a family member, a friend, hell, he could even rationalize helping out a complete stranger, but this wasn’t a complete stranger. This was Julius, the moron who had always gone out of his way to insult Barry.
A minute or two had gone by since Barry stumbled into this crazy scenario. There wasn’t a soul besides them in the secluded spot. If he had just been able to view the meteorite, then he would be thankful for that solitude. However, the seclusion had turned into a curse. Barry desperately wanted someone else to show up and fend off the creature that was well on its way to butchering his old rival. But no one was coming and he knew that. He knew it all too well. This was going to be his moment, his decision and he couldn’t bring himself to make the right choice. He just couldn’t do it, he couldn’t save him. After all, what were all those years of bullying for? They certainly didn’t facilitate a sense of longing or importance into Barry’s mind. What Barry really wanted was revenge and this situation was definitely going to satisfy that craving in his mind.
Another minute passed as Barry contemplated his options in the shadows and the situation was becoming incredibly desperate. It was very obvious that to him now that he would have to step in and do something if he wanted Julius to live. The two figures before him were becoming sluggish and sloppy. Both were at their limit and he would be the deciding factor in the encounter.
Barry bite down on his lip hard and shut his eyes. It was a freezing cold night, but he could feel the sweat build up on his forehead. He didn’t think anymore and it was a relief in some ways. Quickly he grabbed the flashlight and charged toward the strange creature that stood only a few yards in front of him. If his years as gymnast were going to come into play sometime in his life, then this would be that time. His agility and speed were impressive, but his delivery was more than sloppy as he hastily jumped behind the creature and swung the flashlight down. He was lucky, very lucky as he heard the “THWACK” sound the flashlight made as it hit the back of the creature’s head. But this wasn’t enough and Barry kept his eyes shut and wildly swung the flashlight at the creature. Barry sometimes heard the same sound as the flashlight made contact again with the back of the creature’s head and neck.
He just kept swinging with everything he had and he kept thinking: “That son of a b***h doesn’t deserve my help and I don’t want to give it to him!” As he kept swinging the flashlight, he heard the unpleasant sound of bruised flesh smacking against the flashlight. His stomach lurched and he couldn’t help but want to throw up as the sounds only got more unsettling.
After a few short seconds, all Barry heard was the swift sound of air between each thrust and opened his eyes to see what lay before him. The creature was on the ground with a very nasty head wound. Whatever it was made for an even weirder vision up close. Its wacky yellow hairstyle and pink plush skin combined with what looked like a reject Halloween costume, made Barry’s head spin or stop spinning. He wasn’t sure just yet where his mind had been.
Julius lay on the ground a foot away from the collapsed monster. Barry carefully maneuvered around the monster and came to stand over his old rival. He was breathing and his injuries didn’t look fatal. At least fatal to Barry, whom didn’t possess an once of medical knowledge. However, this was enough for Barry. He still didn’t really want to save the unconscious jackass that lay before him and he certainly wasn’t going to go out of his way anymore than he had. Oddly, Barry felt satisfied and calm. He looked around to see if anyone had come to witness the strange event, but still no one has arrived. Barry then tiptoed over to his jacket that lay only a few feet away. Once he had the garment in his arms, he looked back at the two figures and noticed that Julius was trying to get back on his feet. This didn’t really move Barry and so he turned and started to run back towards his dorm. He really could bring himself to care whether Julius made it back somewhere safe or that crazy monster got right back up and made bacon bits out of Julius. As far as Barry was concerned, he had done too much already and he was getting the hell out of that mess.

[~InfinityTrust~]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Suloea (sue-low-ee-ah) Pachis

Nicknames: Sulo ("But you WILL address me by my full name. Sulo is reserved." )

Gender: Female

Age: 17

School: Crystal Academy

Fav. Food: Curry

Hated Food: Fish

Virtues:
Loyal -- No matter what the situation, if Sulo decided to protect someone or something she'd stand her ground till the end- which she would only allow to be success.
Compassionate -- Though Sulo tends to ignore other people and generally show a side of "thick-skinned"ness, often she will swallow her pride and help them when necessary, whether she likes them or not.
Calm -- Even under intense pressure Sulo can stay collected, and find a plan with ease.
Intuitive -- Sulo is acute at sensing and understanding situations and people (though that doesn't always means she'll be sympathetic about it). She's fairly intelligent.

Flaws:
Ill-tempered -- Sulo is impatient and can easily be set off by immaturity or stupidity. She usually contains her anger, but it still exists and causes her to miss important things she wouldn't miss otherwise.
Emotionally Inept -- Poorly equipped at communication dealings, Sulo can't handle herself when she becomes emotionally overwhelmed. Often she'll just run away from the situation, and fall further into grief if fleeing conflicted with her loyalty.
Misfortune -- Sulo is a magnet for rotten luck. Because of her good intuition, she often senses when bad luck is about to strike her, and she senses it through a stomachache. Thanks to this she's very pessimistic.
Pessimistic -- That's what she is.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Thin(not Asian thin though) eyes, and round irises that are white-silver.

Hair: Navy blue, with a few gold and white highlights that are mostly around her bangs. Her hair is held back in a thin, single braid that goes a little past her waist, but is only braided a few times at the top.

Face: Heart-shaped with pale, freckle-less skin and a constant stoic expression. Ears are normal sized, and a little pointed but not noticeably.

THE STORY ENTRY

Sulo's attention perked as she intently listened to the newest rumor spreading through the classroom. A meteor sighting in Destiny City? She rubbed her chin in thought- it was a school night, so surely most people would be in bed. Which would mean... if she went, she'd have the view to herself. Sulo smirked from under her hand. When was the last time she got to watch the sky peacefully and alone in a grassy plain? Yes, she would just have to go. She glanced at her classmates' disappointed faces ; they all seemed like goody-goodies that could never break a rule. Sulo closed her eyes for a moment. When was the last time she broke a rule...? Erggghhhh... Suddenly she had a bad feeling in her stomach. Not good... actually, maybe I shouldn't go after all... She looked over towards her roommate, whom was sleeping. A large vain of Sulo's head popped with aggravation, and memories of being kept up by her roommate's snoring filled her head. That's it, bad premonition or not, she was going.

Once darkness fell and everyone was asleep, Sulo fumbled about her small room for a flashlight. Freezing when her roommate slightly stirred, she quickly continued to search once the snoring continued. "Eureka," she whispered to herself as she held up the small flashlight. Now what else did she need? A jacket, obviously. It was probably going to be freezing. Grabbing her heavy and long coat she tiptoed on out, hiding behind every corner and making sure the coast was still clear with every chance she got.

The park was quiet, except for the occasional rustling of leafs. Sulo turned off her flashlight and looked for a good spot to sit, but was soon disrupted by two yells. They weren't hard to find, as one of the two were pretty hard to miss. Sulo turned her flashlight back on to take a better look. Tall, dark, and... hairy? Sulo cringed. What kind of monster was that thing!? She shone her flashlight on the other person. ...Impossible. Her rival? What's she doing here...? And from the looks of it, she wasn't there for the same reason Sulo was.

Sulo was tempted to just turn and walk away. Why should she bother or even care? After all, it was her nemesis. And my classmate... Sulo bit her lip. Dammit! Her softer side was showing- Sulo had to help her. No... I will help her. She gazed at the giant; and he didn't seem to notice her yet. What to do, what to do... She looked down at her coat, and an idea hit her. It was a little crazy, but it would buy them enough time to run away together at least (like hell she was going to play decoy and run from it all alone).

Sneaking up behind the giant with her large jacket in hand, she stared it down. How to get its attention...
'Hey, look!'
How lucky, her nemesis directed his attention to Sulo for her.
As the beast turned, Sulo jumped and covered its face with her jacket. With lighting fast reflexes she grabbed her rival's wrist and ran for all her legs were worth. I really wanna punch her (Sulo's roomate) right now! But it was funny, because for some reason Sulo really felt like laughing at her own rotten luck too.

[Kolina]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!


Name: Vesper Lytton

Nicknames: V

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Birthday: October 27

Fav. Food: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Hated Food: Sushi

School: Crystal Academy (Received a scholarship)

Hobbies:
Theatre - Ever since she can remember Vesper had been a part of the theatre. Her mother was always a part of a community theatre and helped out backstage and onstage so needless to say Vesper was at the theatre more often than not. As she grew up, Vesper began to take part in the shows as well. She began backstage helping with props, sets, lights, flys, and whatever other odd ball jobs she could find. Finally, when she was 7 she got to be in a show. Since then she was hooked and fell in love with the stage and everything above it.
She began to read as many scripts as she could get her hands on and started to take some after-class drama classes at school. It was obvious that Vesper had a passion and talent for drama. That hobby of her had obviously become an obsession and when she was older, Vesper was given a scholarship to attend Crystal Academy because of her talents. Thrilled to say the least Vesper took the opportunity since there was no way her parents would have been able to afford the school.

Sewing - Being in the Theatre, Vesper learned how to mend costumes and from that slowly learned how to construct her own outfits and costumes. She highly enjoys playing with different fabrics and prints to make herself new outfits. The issue is, she rarely has the money anymore to indulge in this rather expensive hobby of hers.

Reading - Fantasy novels are Vesper’s great weakness. She loves to dive into a story that can sweep her away into a land that is not her own. Stories soaked in magic to fantasy romances and mythical animals, Vesper will read it. She can sometimes get so engrossed in a book that she becomes totally oblivious to the going-ons around her.

Gymnastics - When she was younger, Vesper found herself being intrigued with a different type of stage, the circus. This lead to her taking gymnastic classes. These classes did her well, especially with her small frame, as it helped build some muscle for her and made her quite flexible. With getting into the Crystal Academy, Vesper found her time to dedicate to this hobby slowly dwindle. Now she only ever manages to go practice and stretch out a few times a week and usually not for very long.

Virtues:
Optimistic - Always cheerful and nice, Vesper looks at the world through rose tinted glasses. Always happy and with a smile on her face Vesper can almost always make someone else smile along with her. And, with extra energy to spare this girl will just bounce around anyone until she can turn their mood positive. Plus, with such a small stature and slight frame, who wouldn’t smile at such a little, energetic girl? Right?!

Loyalty - Once dedicated to someone, Vesper is loyal until the end. The girl can be almost viciously loyal when it comes to friends and family. The last thing she ever wants is to see any of them unhappy or in pain. Now, how this loyalty lies when it comes to ex boyfriends has yet to be tested but Vesper strongly believes that if a relationship doesn't go well it's not meat to be...so why not be friends? Then again, that could just be her naive side shinning through. Needles to say though, Vesper is certainly a friend no one ver has to worry about turning traitor.

Details - Vesper is attentive to details. It’s something that comes form being in the theatre. The more attentive to details you are the better a character, prop, set, or whatever else will look. This applies to her ability to watch people and remember things that most people wouldn’t remember.


Flaws:
Nicety Facade- Vesper can be way too nice. She’ll actually go out of her way to appease people. She doesn’t like to be on anyone’s bad side. This means she’s always trying to appease everyone which can run her thin. It also means that Vesper is not always being herself. More often than not, the girl has a strong façade up that is meant to make people like her but can also completely cut her off from finding really good and true friends she can trust. Not to mention Vesper's natural optimistic view of the world can be blown out of proportion at times as she sometimes tried to overdue her attempts to satisfy people.

Commitment issues - Should I get this....no this one is cuter....oh but I LOVE how this one looks.! Needless to say, Vesper can have commitment issues when it comes to big decisions in her life. She doesn't like to rush headlong into things that seem life-changing to her...now...what can be considered life-changing to one person can be something totally different to another. Making friends...ok...a little scary at times and somewhat intimidating, after all, who knows what said friends will do? But that's where her loyalty creeps up on her. Once she feels that you're trusted there's little to no commitment problems when considering you a friend. Boys on the other hand are a completely different subject. The mere thought of one possibly liking her can give Vesper anxiety. Clothes...hey, those things can be life-changing too!...At least to Vesper they can be...Needless to say, Vesper doesn't like to jump headlong into thrings without first thinking everything through.

Past Shadows - Vesper has major issues with the death of her mother. Since she was there and survived, she feels guilty for not trying to do more to save her mother. Any converstaion about mother's can make the girl visibly upset, but she does her best to hide it. If Vesper's mother is brought up specifically there's almost no way to stop the flow of tears. The girl has such a heavy heart over the death of her mother and just can’t get over it.

Physical Description

Eyes: Big and round and a Candy apple red.

Hair: X White in color and extremely long, flowing down to her knees, Vesper keeps it in good condition. She loosely wraps her under layer of hair with a ribbon that is always accessorized to match her outfit. The layer is wrapped tight enough to make a ‘tube’ like appearance that is finished off with the ribbon near the bottom to make a bow. The bit of hair left at the bottom, unwrapped, makes a ‘bon-bon’ look. (Feel free to play with this. The pic is only a reference to better explain what I was wanting. It's suppose to look cute.)

Face: Oval shaped with her features being soft and gentle. Vesper looks younger than she is. Almost doll-like with her small structure.

Body: Vesper is small. She only stands at about 5’2”. Her body structure is quite petite and tiny. She looks as if a good breeze may just blow her right over. Her skin is a soft peachy tone and gives more to the dall-baby look.

Fashion: Liking feminine things, Vesper can often look like a living, walking doll in some of the dresses she wears. She loves frill and lace but won’t take it to an excessive level…often. Usually though, she keeps to a moderate level of femininity with her outfits and is almost always in a dress or skirt of some sort.

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The Story Entry

“Oh how exciting!” Vesper practically bounced down the sidewalk with the amount of energy she was trying to contain. A meteor! A meteor could possible be visible in the sky tonight and she’d be lucky enough to see it! All Vesper needed to do was get to the park before nightfall. Then she’d just nestle down in her ‘super secret’ stargazing location and wait for it. With her flashlight nestled in the faded green blanket she had, the petite girl was set for a night of sky watching. Thankfully she had lucked out and the theatre was dark for the next two nights before they began work on the upcoming show. Yes, Vesper was quite sure she would have a wonderful spectacle tonight and, hopefully, the other girls at school would have seen it too to give them all something to talk about tomorrow. The girl giggled happily as she stopped at the crosswalk that led into the park.

There were quite a few people still left in the park despite the sun having just sunk behind the horizon. Some were couples, others were young kids with parents, and some just a group of school kids enjoying each other company and playing games. Of course, several of the remaining people would probably start heading home, at least the school kids. Not too many looked interested in the possible night show, but there were certainly a few who looked to have hunkered down for a night of waiting. None of them had as good of a spot that Vesper was going to have. The lights I the main part of the park were just going to be too bright for a good display of the meteorite. The further away from any lights she was, the better. Of course, in a city, there was always going to be ambience light around her but Vesper wanted to get the best view possible.

Vesper finally reached the other side of the park. There wasn’t a soul in sight over here, then again, there were very few lights once you trudged off the path and into the sparse trees. Hidden in those trees, Vesper knew of a small hill that was her destination. The only thing there that could possibly obstruct her vision was a lone tree, but she could maneuver around it if needed.

Hardly containing her excitement, Vesper moved up the hillside as quickly as her small legs would carry her. As she began to reach the top though the sounds of voices became clearly audible. “Oh no!” She whispered to herself as she slowed her pace. “Could someone have gotten here before me?” That thought saddened the girl for a minute or two before she realized that whoever was there surely wouldn’t mind sharing the hill. There was certainly enough of it. She’d just stay on the opposite side of the tree as them. But, as Vesper reached the top of the hill where the tree stood, she realized something was horribly wrong.

“Lidia…” What was Lidia doing here?! That girl was the last person that Vesper would have wanted to see. She and Lidia always seemed to be competing against each other when it come to show roles. They were both the same character type and both of them have very similar acting styles that they were always vying for the same roles. Needless to say that the two girls did not get a long well and had quite a rivalry, but the sight of the…whatever it was in front of Lidia made Vesper’s stomach sink. A creature…no, monster was standing over Lidia and definitely did not look friendly.

Ducking behind the tree, Vesper took deep breaths to help calm herself as she slowly sank to the ground with her back to the unwavering vegetation. What was it?! What could that…fury monstrosity be! Vesper hiccupped and quickly cupped her hands over her mouth as she sat there calming herself.

“Sacrifice yourself to me…” The voice was deep and raspy and made Vesper freeze all movement, even her breaths. Carefully, so as not to gain any attention, she looked around the tree’s trunk and saw Lidia backing away from the approaching monster but for each of Lidia’s three steps, the monster took one and quickly gained ground. Before Vesper could even think of anything to do, the monster reached out and grabbed Lidia around the neck. “No..” Lidia attempted to yell but her voice was only a strangled yelp.

Vesper could only watch in horror. What should she do? Should she jump in and try to help? But what if the monster just grabbed her too? If she ran would she get away without being spotted? Could she leave poor Lidia like that though? As much as she didn’t like the girl, Vesper certainly wouldn’t want her to be killed! Turning away from the scene, Vesper buried her hands in her hair, clutching at her bangs as her mind raced with more and more questions and indecisions. All the while, Lidia was being strangled to death by that monster! Would she be any help? What could she possibly do? Distract it? Maybe that would work! Then she could grab Lidia and run for it! But…how to distract it…

In a last minute, spur of the moment, and before Vesper really even knew what she was doing, the tiny girl grabbed hold of her blanket and charged at the creature. Not expecting such an attack, the monster was startled by the blanket being roughly thrown onto it’s head and dropped Lidia in the process. The dark-haired girl gasped, clutching at her throat, but had little time to gain her breath before Vesper grabbed her hand and pulled with all her might to get the taller girl up onto her feet. “Run!” She yelled as she pulled Lidia along with her, only stopping a fraction to grab her flashlight.

The two girls moved down the hill and through the tree’s as quickly as they could. Lidia finally gained a little of her senses and kept pace with Vesper before beginning to outrun the smaller girl. “Hey, wait!”

The creature roared and violently threw the blanket from it’s face, tearing holes into the fabric with its’ claws. Gold eyes scanned the hill but caught no sight of the girl and whoever had been it’s attacker. Angry that his prey got away , the monster began running down the hill in the same direction as the girls, his monstrous form breaking branches off trees and he tore through the woods.

The sound of the creature in hot pursuit of them brought tears to Vespers eyes. Her poor lungs were on fire but she dare not stop! Lidia was already quite a way in front of her and seemingly had forgotten the tinier girl behind her when Lidia found a large tree with some low lying branches and, to the best of her ability scrambled up into it. “Hurry up Vesper!” She said as the sound of the monster grew closer.

Using her momentum, Vesper jumped as high as she could and, with Lydia’s help, was pulled up into the tree. “Hurry we got to get higher!” Vesper said not mere seconds after getting her footing. She and Lydia climbed higher into the tree until the branches would no longer support them. Clutching to each other, all rivalry long forgotten back on that hill, the girls practically held their breath as the monster barreled past the tree’s base. It stopped a short distance from them, and Vesper watched the creature the best she could through the leaves. It was so hard to tell what it was doing! The leaves were just obstructing her view too much!

With a howl of frustration the creature was lost as to which way his quarry went. Admitting it’s defeat…for now, the monster disappeared in a dark cloud of mist.

Vesper had seen the creature just…vanish. As much as the leaves blocked her view she was certain that the creature hadn’t just walked off, it just seemed to melt away into thin air! With the monster gone though, Vesper let out the breath she was holding as he racing heart tried to catch up to her heavy breathing. “I think…it’s gone.” She said through her gasps for air as she looked to Lidia who was pinned between Vesper and the tree trunk.

“That’s…that’s good.” Lidia was in no better shape and the two girls sat on that branch for quite sometime as they caught their breath and waited to see if the furry monster would come back. Finally after some time Lidia grew tired of her position and practically pushed Vesper away from her which nearly knocked the girl off the branch. “Alright, I am going home.”

Vesper practically glared at the girl, as Lidia began to climb out of the tree. “You didn’t have to push. I would have moved if you wanted me to.” She said in as nice as a tone as she could muster after the trying evening she had. She also began to her descent out of the tree, and finally landed on the ground just where Lidia had been before the taller girl began to walk off.

Stopping in mid stride, Lidia turned around abruptly, tears shinning her eyes with an angry scowl upon her face. “Don’t think that this changes anything!” With that Lidia turned back around and stormed off with Vesper standing under the tree watching her.

Sighing, the pale haired girl looked up to the sky and couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face. “I knew I’d see the meteor tonight.”

[McFroglegs]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Dickon Madhava Zahradnik

Nicknames: He'll answer to both d**k and Zahradnik.

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Candy Apples

Hated Food: French Cuisine

Virtues:

Resilient - Despite the many, many times that Dickon has failed or had his heart stomped all over, he's not managed to become jaded. Despite the many times that the Perfect Night has turned out less than perfect, he still approaches each new one with as much enthusiasm as the last one. Like a perennial, Dickon just keeps coming back for more. His resilience is largely due to his seemingly unending fount of wishful thinking. Deep down he is convinced that things will always work themselves out for the best in the end, as long as you don't give up trying. Even if you have to wait a really, really long time.

Hard Working - Dickon isn't afraid to get down and get his hands dirty to achieve his goals, which is a good thing when your goals are shooting as high as Dickon's are. Dickon somehow manages to juggle his academic, athletic, and social lives to such a degree that, while he hasn't achieved his goals yet, they aren't completely outside the realm of reach either. This also includes maybe, possibly, admitting that he's terrible at chemistry and could really stand some tutoring.

Comfortable to be Around - Dickon is a social creature who portrays himself with such a put-together ease that it makes it easy for others to relax around him. He knows the power of a friendly smile or encouraging word and he's quite loose about giving them out. Small, simple gestures most of the time, though he dreams of the day when he has a reason to stand outside a girl's window with a boombox. He oozes an aura of Nice Guy. Not Cool Guy or Badass Guy or Guy I Must Date OMG Guy. Just.. Nice Guy. (He wishes he was Ferris, but he is far more Cameron.)

Image Conscious - Dickon lives by the philosophy that image is everything and first impressions are what you have to live by. His appearance is always very carefully and intentionally put together and he isn't afraid to use concealer on his pimples for the sake of aesthetics. He has the ability to properly gauge what image is appropriate in a given situation, though he always errs conservatively towards professionalism. This likely rubs some people as Dickon having a haughty vain streak, but it's far more about a desire to impress other people than personal pride and snobbery.

Flaws:

High Expectations - Dickon's expectations and reality rarely line up. He can take a casual comment and twist it in such a way that he only gets out of it what he wants to hear. You think he's a complete shoe-in for an award? You're harboring a serious crush on him? He KNEW it! This is great news! Why didn't you say so sooner? Really, Dickon doesn't even need that much encouragement. A mere look can SURELY convey the depth of your longing for him, so don't mind him if he shoots you an awkward googly look back. Dickon is a complete hopeless romantic, seeing the world in the way he wants to see it, and expecting everyone else to see it that way too. Chalk it up to youthful naivete if you must. Wait.. what, what do you mean you only like him as a friend?!

Easily Crushed (weakness) - When Dickon goes down, he goes down hard. And thanks to his high expectations and hopeless romanticism, this is not a rare occurrence. When the Molly Ringwald Du Jour does not realize her deep feelings for him and the dance floor doesn't suddenly part so the two of them can meet, then it is clear that the World Must Be Ending and Dickon's Life Is Over. Dickon's Life Is Over at least once a month and when it is, he goes into fullblown post-breakup depression complete with lying in bed all day, listening to "I Want to Know What Love Is" on repeat, and walking around in a general fog, whether or not an actual break-up is involved. This generally lasts about a week before he snaps out of it and is ready to go through the whole thing all over again. (See Resilient.)

An extension of this is that Dickon is simply an overemotional boy. He feels all emotions at 110% whether they be joy, sadness, or anger. Not unlike other teen boys, Dickon is prone to bouts of tantrums that involve punching walls and anything else that gets in his path. And while his highs are high, his lows are low. It's a wonder he hasn't tried to pull something stupid enough to land himself in Hillworth. But that would likely involve actually falling in love first. Dickon is simply in love with love.

Walled Off - Dickon loves being around people, he loves the attention they give him, and he loves giving attention back. The boy is certainly not lacking in friends. But when it comes down to it, it's all a superficial closeness. Dickon is more than happy to let people see the outside packaging, but rarely does he let them through the gates to see what is inside (in short, his flaws and obsessions). Keeping people at a distance isn't something that he consciously does and it's not terribly apparent that he does this unless someone knows him more than just casually. To most people, he's just a socialable guy that's really (REALLY) involved with school functions that's fun to hang around, but the more time someone spends around him, the more they begin to wonder if he's really that shallow or if there's anything else going on inside that head of his. The whys for this behaviour are mostly a pathetic jumble of wanting people to like him, wanting to appear his best, and not wanting to let anyone stomp all over his daisies feelings. (Dickon might think his Life Is Over constantly, but he's never actually let someone in far enough to really do a lasting number on him.)

Sheltered - Not in the sense that he doesn't know about the birds & the bees or what other naughty things his peers get up to, but world politics? Anything that extends beyond his bubble? He should care, why? Dickon's world view does not extend beyond stuff that doesn't directly effect him. What? More of that senshi stuff? Why are you still talking about that, WE HAVE A DANCE TO PLAN. (If this sounds really self-centered, it is.)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Golden chocolate brown. Narrow. Friendly.

Hair: Dark brown-black that turns a deep reddish-pink in the sun. Curly and longer (about chin length), but well maintained. Worn parted to the side. Wears it pulled back into a short ponytail in professional and formal settings. (style reference)

Face: Medium tan skin from his Czech-American father mixing with his North Indian mother. A scattering of dark freckles. Angular, square face shape. Any pimples are mercilessly eradicated through a stringent skincare regimen and the use of concealer. Always clean shaven. Wears a pair of black glasses that make him look like a British librarian, though he swaps in contacts when he's trying especially hard to make a good impression.

THE STORY ENTRY

"Cause your friends don't dance, and if they don't dance, well they're no friends of mine," Dickon sang quietly along to his MP3 player as he used his flashlight as a microphone. The song wasn't coincidental, having been picked specifically as part of his victory celebration for coming up with the perfect dance theme idea in honor of the recent meteorological phenomenon.

The theme? Wish Upon a Falling Star. Yup, perfect. (If by perfect, he meant cheesy and cliché, like every other dance theme.) He grinned and gave himself a mental pat on the back every time he said it in his head. Just because his Sovereign Heights peers were generally more concerned with, you know, prepping for college didn't mean there wasn't also time for dancing. (That sentence ended with several exclamation points when it originally was thought in Dickon's head.) All he needed now was to talk to some official types at the school and get a little bit of research in for the decorating committee.

Research, of course, was why he was out now armed with his trusty flashlight and "Greatest Hits of the 80s" playlist. He wiggled his hips along to the beat as he walked, lost entirely in his private world of self-congratulation when he heard some grunting and groaning that was loud enough to get past the lyrical stylings of Men Without Hats.

It was dark and wooded, so the logical explanation was that he had just walked in on a couple knocking #28 "Get Laid in Public" off their list of Things That Must Be Done in Life. (A not terribly original, but very descriptive name Dickon had given to his ever growing list of life experiences mostly drawn from overexposure to unrealistic movies.)

A female scream followed, and it wasn't one that sounded at all like it was enjoying things. Dickon sped up his steps, but made an effort to remain undetected. If he was about to play hero, he needed to know what he was running into.

That's when he saw her. Laura Reynolds.

Laura Reynolds had the distinction of being the first woman to break Dickon's heart when, way back in fifth grade, she checked 'No' when he had passed her a note reading 'Do you like me? Check yes or no.' If that hadn't been bad enough, she had then told Randa Williams who told Helen McGill who told THE WHOLE SCHOOL (or so it seemed) and Dickon's crushing failure had become public knowledge.

To make matters worse, she hadn't gone on to Crystal Academy, instead joining him at Meadowview and then later at Sovereign Heights. Every time he saw her in the hallways, his chest tightened and he felt like curling up and dying. Her smile was his kryptonite and he was convinced that they shared a connection where the more depressed he was, the more joyful she became.

As he watched her now, he felt himself seizing up inside again and the happy buzz he had been feeling earlier had completely disappeared.

Laura's most recent boyfriend was Chuck Scarpetti, better known as Neanderthal Chuck in Dickon's mind. This is who Dickon initially assumed the other half of the current conflict was. But on second glance, he didn't think Neanderthal Chuck was quite so hairy. (Though the actual Neanderthal Chuck had definitely not received his nickname for having a waxed back.)

No, this was not Neanderthal Chuck. And this wasn't a love tryst gone awry that he had just walked into.

Laura screamed again as she tried to fight back against the thing that wasn't Neanderthal Chuck. Dickon was poised in the perfect position to do something, as the creature's back was to him, but he didn't move. Rather than instincts kicking in, he was lost in the haze of self-loathing he experienced whenever he was anywhere near the vicinity of this girl.

A thought slowly found its way through the fog: if he did nothing, if she died here, he would be free of the power she held over him forever.

Then another thought found its way in: if he saved her, she would have to be grateful. So grateful that she would completely forget about Neanderthal Chuck and realize everything she had been missing in Dickon Zahradnik. And wasn't 'Save a Damsel in Distress' #16 on his list of Things That Must Be Done In Life?

The time to make decisions had passed and a sickening snap broke Dickon from his reverie. Finally instincts kicked in and he hurled his flashlight at the creature. It let out a cry and dropped Laura as it retreated deep into the woods. Laura did nothing to catch herself from falling and crumpled to the ground.

Dickon ran over to where she had landed, intending to help her up and announce himself as her hero. But as he leaned down near her he realized her neck was turned to an unnatural angle and her eyes were unfocused, looking somewhere beyond. That's when he looked further down her body and saw the gaping wound where the creature had torn through her shirt in search of something inside her chest.

Dickon's mind blanked aside from the words 'Oh s**t' set to endless repeat. His knees gave way and he fell to the ground. Finding himself so much closer to Laura's mangled corpse, he couldn't stop himself and began retching.

When he finally regained control of himself, he crawled away from her body and sat up, pulling his knees tight against his chest. His MP3 player had the unfortunate tactlessness to begin playing "Bust A Move" and he yanked the earbuds out in disgust. Did this make him a murderer? He could have done something to save her, but he hadn't. And now she lay unnaturally still on the ground, no more than a foot away from him.

And what now? Did he run, or take responsibility? Run, run, run, his body answered. He stood shakily, holding onto a nearby tree for support and was unable to take his eyes off the once vibrant, vivacious, and completely cruel Laura Reynolds. No, he told himself, he couldn't run. He had to take responsibility.

He swallowed and steadied his resolve as he walked back to her. Reaching down, he lifted her up gingerly and her head fell backwards now that she lacked the life to support it. It was completely unexpected, though it shouldn't have been, and it took everything in Dickon's power not to get sick again. As he readjusted his hold on her, he saw the blood that was now on his hands and panicked, dropping Laura without a second thought.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't be the hero he saw in movies, carrying the dead heroine in his arms as he returned her stoically to her loved ones. Every time he touched her, it made him sick to the stomach. And there was so much blood. He'd never realized how much blood a person had inside of them.

He reached into his pocket, hand fumbling with nerves, and pulled out his cellphone. After punching in three quick numbers, he hit the 'talk' button and waited for a voice to come on the other end. He didn't actually hear what the woman who picked up said, just recognized that there was now another human being to share his horror with.

"There's a body in the woods," Dickon managed to get out before finally bursting into hysterical tears.

[Akina Tokuwa]

Name: Hanna Catherine Nowicki

Nicknames: None.

Gender: Female

Age: 21

School: Sovereign Heights (with aspirations to become a high school guidance counselor)

Favorite Food: Shellfish, with a particular soft spot for blue crabs and mussels.

Hated Food: Anything with hot peppers or water chestnuts in it.

Virtues:

She is 21, going on 40~ – Ever since she was little, Hanna has been regarded as mature for her age. For her fifth birthday, she asked for her father to fashion some airbags and seatbelts for her Barbie car. When she was ten, she ate two handfuls of potato chips and then refused to get in the pool at her family's reunion until a full thirty minutes had passed. Hanna always uses the cross walk. Hanna obeys the rules of the road. In college, she has never had embarrassing photos pop up on her Facebook because she finds it immature. While other friends her age might squander their college time drinking and blowing off class, Hanna would not. She can see the big picture. Hanna is mature enough to understand that the things that she does in the present might not be the things that she wants to do, but they are the things that she should do for her future. This makes her very discerning for a 20-year-old and allows her to examine how to handle a situation from multiple angles without giving in to impulses. She can be a voice of a reason to steer others in the right direction, or at least the more sensible one.

Team Mom – Hanna has brought the orange slices and juice boxes in her purse for the movie. Hanna remembered your back pack for you, don't worry. Hanna ironed your dress shirt because she knew you would forget. Hanna knows it is your birthday and baked you two dozen cookies spelling out your full name in your favorite color of frosting. In short, Hanna is the Mom. Capital M. She is the girl who will show up at 2AM to pick your drunk a** up from some stranger's house, and she will shoot you steely gazes in the rear view mirror in silence before inevitably telling you it was good that you called her instead of driving. She attracts needy personalities like a magnet in a room of paper clips, and that is just fine by her. Please, bring it on. She would like to mother you. It makes her complete. Hanna is mature and responsible, and it is very important to her that those around her take care of themselves and make good choices. Now get in the van, it's time for soccer practice.

Protective Team Player – Hanna believes that anything can be accomplished with a little elbow grease. She also believes that you don't have enough elbow grease on your own and could probably use some of her elbow grease to get the job done. Despite her tendency to worry about the affairs of others and all the things that could go wrong on a given day, Hanna is happy to help anyone at any time – whether that is moving into their new apartment or kicking a nasty drug habit – because she believes that she is capable of creating great and significant change in people's lives. (It’s why she wants to be a guidance counselor.) She may believe that the plan you are going to try is doomed to fail – and she will probably tell you so – but she will still go with you to make sure you are okay. Hanna is a protective person who believes that 95% of the world is not nearly cautious enough. Rather than cast you out into the ocean to sink or swim, Hanna will paddle alongside you, even if you both end up drowning. She will hold your hand when you go to tell your boyfriend off, even if she is squinting and murmuring awkwardly the whole time. Even if she thinks you are wrong, wrong, wrong, Hanna would never abandon a friend, or leave them to suffer alone. On her own, Hanna can be meek, but if one of her friends (or anyone, really) was unjustly threatened, Hanna would not be able to stand idly by. She would be compelled to say something, or to do something, even at the risk of personal cost. This is especially the case when she believes someone is being picked on who is incapable of properly defending themself.

Serene Listener – Hanna is a top notch listener. She can sit on a couch with a bag of potato chips and hear about your day at the veterinarian's office with the undivided attention of a nine-year-old watching Hannah Montana. Not only does she want to show how much she cares about your problems (and therefore, you), but these stories that people tell to her are like little Lifetime movies in themselves playing out for her entertainment. The more drama a person has in their life, the more Hanna wants to be friends with them, or at least have a conversation. Hanna lives vicariously through others on a daily basis, whether that is celebrities or movies or commercials, and her friends are not exempt from this. They do the things that she wishes she had the testicular fortitude to do, but because it is them and not her, Hanna can see the outcome of the situation without having anything personally at stake. She is always willing to listen to the problems of others, no matter how long and complicated, and she is even more willing to tell them what she thinks about the situation, even if that advice is largely just warning them how their actions could backfire horribly.

Flaws:

Captain Rub-It-In – Hanna is a responsible young lady who just wants everyone to do what is best for both themselves and others. And if they don't? She will “I told you so” all day and night until Princess Serenity comes back and asks her to stop. If someone makes a mistake, Hanna is not the kind of person who will soften her opinion to make them feel better, even if she is trying to “be there” for them. She will never say pacifying things like, “Oh, it's okay. You will be a stronger person now.” No, she will stare at you flatly and say, “You shouldn't have done that. Now go deal with the consequences like a big girl.” After all, she told you so. Why are you upset? Perhaps you should have just listened. Perhaps you should have made a better decision. It isn't that she is cruel. Hanna simply doesn't understand why people insist on doing stupid things when it is obvious that the outcome has a low chance of actually turning out the way that person wants. In her mind, a person will never learn if they don't feel really crappy about their mistake first – and that is what she wants: for everyone to learn to be more responsible. This can make her seem cold and unforgiving to others, and many friends will avoid coming to her in a time of need for fear that she will simply chastise them for failing and make them feel even worse.

Adverse to Adventure – Adventure is dangerous. Safaris are adventures. Lions are on safaris. Lions eat people. If I go on a safari, a lion might eat me. This is the kind of logic that makes Hanna an unenthusiastic person when it comes to adventure. It doesn't matter if it is a roller coaster or a cage fight – Hanna wants no part of it. She is a wet blanket when it comes to doing something a little zany, and if she goes, chances are she will be warning everyone at each turn that they should go back. The bottom line: Hanna does not like to take risks. She wants the sure thing. If she was on a game show and she could have $100 or a chance at a brand new car, Hanna would take the $100. A chance at brand new car is not actually a brand new car. She'd rather walk away with something rather than nothing. This characteristic makes it very hard to motivate her to do something risky, even if the reward for its success would be quite great. Others might view her as boring or uptight for this. If left to her own devices, Hanna would just sit at home and read or watch a Lifetime movie.

Tightly Wound Worrywart – All of her life, Hanna has been high strung. She might start hyperventilating if a teacher moved up a test date. She might obsess for days if a friend neglected to invite her to a party that she was certain she would be asked to attend. In a combat situation, Hanna is not the Cool Cucumber. She is not smiling confidently as she sweet talks a room full of Negaverse agents. She is the HOLY s**t I'M WORRIED. She is maybe peeing her pants a little. Hanna will think about all the ways that something could go horribly, terribly, awfully wrong. Movies like Final Destination both terrify and fascinate her. The same responsibility that makes her so cautious and mature in her day-to-day life has created a Worst Case Scenario mentality in Hanna that is hard to shake. That knowledge of what could happen almost paralyzes her. She doesn't want to see her friends go running into a situation where something double plus ungood could happen, and if she is going too, her palms will be greased up with her own sweat in less time than it takes Charonite to say, “Kill them all.” This excessive worrying drains her self-confidence, making her mentally weak in situations where danger is afoot.

I Can't Quit You – Hanna has a need to fix things, especially people. She has advice to give, and it is good – so listen up! If Hanna finds someone who she thinks is crying out for help, she will run to them and do all that she can to put their life in working order. Her past boyfriends have all been total losers: drop-outs, drug dealers, and assholes. She will stay with them for a year while they spend her money and cheat on her because she wants so desperately to make them better. (Older Hillworth boys, watch out. She will probably boyfriend shop in your hallways.) It is incredibly easy for those people to use Hanna and take advantage of her willingness to help them. For some people, this level of determination would be a great thing, but in Hanna's case, it is very destructive. She exhausts herself emotionally on people, and in the end, she is left with nothing to show for it except hurt and disappointment.

In most relationships, Hanna is doing a lot to improve the other person's life, but very rarely does she get that same improvement back. She does not understand that a healthy relationship involves benefits on both sides. The worst part is Hanna has probably given the opposite advice to some other girl, telling them to dump some loser, but in her own case, she cannot see the connection, insisting that it is different with her situation. Even in the case of the Negaverse, Hanna will likely believe that the corrupted agents can be “fixed” (with her help!), especially ones like Serandite or Bixbyite who look like such little girls to her. It is possible that she might even TRY to un-corrupt them through sheer virtue of really good talks and self-affirming positivity. This is very dangerous (and stupid), but it is the one area where Hanna seems incapable of taking her own advice about making smart decisions.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Vibrant purple, round.

Hair: A cool-tone, very pale pastel -- perhaps teal, maybe pink or lavender. Even white/silver would be fine by me. (Pretty flexible on that. Go with what looks best in your opinion.) Length falls somewhere around her chin or slightly below. Texture is straight. Perhaps a side sweep of bangs. Always decorated with hair clips or a headband like this: [x] [x] [x]

Face: Round, full, with upside-down lips and small ears. If her ears are visible, she would be wearing earrings. Skin tone is a warm beige.

THE STORY ENTRY

Story Entry

Normally the only stargazing Hanna liked to do was contained in the pages of US Weekly and on Perez Hilton. She could sit for hours on end reading about the failures and intrigue of faces famous enough to be familiar, but far enough away to leave her guilt-free for getting entertained by their misfortune. But that was before a meteorite rocketed (allegedly) through the skies above Destiny City and landed (allegedly) in her favorite park. Plenty of people planned to go in search of the mystical moon rock, but Hanna hadn't. At first. She didn't do risks. The self-imposed curfew that most Destiny City citizens followed existed for a reason. There was danger. People were dying. Only a reckless fool with a taste for idiocy would actually run off alone in such a climate of crime.

But then she read her horoscope.

It told her that a celestial event was going to disturb her life around the 6th, but she needed to swallow down her fears and grab adventure by the horns to open up a month of luck and love. Typically, Hanna didn't consider herself the type to be swayed by something like astrology, but the forecast for her future was eerily specific that month. Kind of... on the nose, actually. Her sudden burst of willingness to do something unwise was only intensified by her boyfriend Thomas.

Thomas was the kind of guy who mothers warned their daughters about – but he was also the kind of guy who mothers were usually right about too. Hanna met him in the Tutoring Center. She was a volunteer and psychology tutor. He had been assigned mandatory community service in the Center after lighting four Port-A-Potties on fire in downtown Destiny City. Others might have thought Thomas was a waste of air, but Hanna saw more. She saw a top notch gentleman just waiting to burst forth like a beautiful, beautiful butterfly! He just needed some help. He needed Hanna's help. Clearly.

But earlier that day, Thomas called her “a complaining stick-in-the-mud with no spirit for life” while they sat sipping milkshakes that Hanna had paid for, on a date that Hanna had arranged. Stick-in-the-mud, eh? Hardly. Then the “Port-A-Potty Arsonist” dropped her like a bad habit without so much as an explanation, leaving her to drown her sorrows in a malted milk beverage alone. Great self-esteem booster. Really great. After the Tommy heartbreak, Hanna could use a little luck and love in her life, even if it meant taking an uncharacteristic risk.

Indignation set in Hanna's brow as she walked through the park, shoes squick-squick-squicking over the wet grass. There was a hill up ahead where she used to play kickball when she was in junior high. The lights from the street lamps didn't penetrate the spot totally, making it one of the better places to see the stars. A little stargazing, a little deep breathing, maybe a Lifetime movie or two, and Hanna would get over the Tommy situation. Yes, it was plan.

Ten feet from the hill, Hanna stopped dead in her tracks. Standing at the top, swaying oddly, was Vanessa Livingston – the bane of Hanna's existence since the sixth grade.

The feud started when they both ran for class president, and Vanessa won. It got worse when they both ran for Honor Society secretary in seventh grade, and Vanessa won. It became a real problem when both ran for Scrapbook Club secretary in the eighth grade, and Vanessa won. In high school, Vanessa beat Hanna for volleyball captain, star of the school play, state science fair, and valedictorian. She even got into the prestigious college that Hanna applied to and was denied from. It wasn't that Vanessa was mean to Hanna; she was just ridiculously successful. And Hanna seemed to always have the misfortune of being reminded that, no matter how much she tried, Vanessa Livingston would always beat her.

And now she had beaten her to the stargazing hill too.

Anger and jealousy boiled up in Hanna's veins. She had half a mind to chuck her flashlight at the girl's blond head and challenge her to a duel, but maturity over rode the impulse. She settled for shooting a steely gaze at Vanessa's back. Confrontation would do nothing here, and Hanna had no desire to share the space. She had just started to turn around when Vanessa made a strangled sound and fell to the ground as if she had been hit. In the darkness, it was hard to make out shapes, but once Hanna noticed the hulking figure descending upon Vanessa, she could not fathom how she missed it before.

The creature could only be described as alien. It stood at least two feet over Vanessa's head with gruesome exposed canines and a tail as thick as a tree trunk whipping violently behind it. Fur hung off it in shaggy layers like some kind of mutated wildebeest, and a long gash left its left side dripping something black and thick across the ground.

And from where Hanna was standing, it was obvious that it was about to kill Vanessa Livingston.

Fear gripped Hanna. Her hands were oozing puddles of sweat in an instant, and she had to work very hard to keep her knees from banging together. Vanessa won everything else, maybe she could just fend for herself? Out on the hill, the beast grabbed Vanessa's arm and gave it a yank. She screamed. The noise made Hanna shiver. If someone else was with her to shout encouragement, Hanna would already be out in that field, but left to her own devices, the meek girl was having a hard time summoning up the courage. Another scream from Vanessa did it for her.

Bursting from her not-so-hidden hiding spot, Hanna broke out at a run, waving her hands over her head like a drowning victim. “HEY! HEY! HEY! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!” Her knees were shaking, but they kept moving, weaving a tight pattern she thought would confuse the monster. As much pain as Vanessa Livingston had caused her, Hanna could not resist helping someone who could not help themselves. She always helped old ladies with their groceries. She always donated to the ASPCA when the Sarah McLachlan commercial came on. This situation was more extreme, but it was cut from the same cloth.

The alien started to run toward Hanna, leaving a crumpled Vanessa down on the mound. This was the part where Hanna's plan ended. Part One – Distract the monster. Well, she'd done that. But now what? It barreled toward her like a runaway train (probably coming back), and Hanna stumbled, sliding chin-first over the ground. The alien let out a bellow. Hanna clamped her hands over her ears, shivering until she was certain she would die from shock.

“Hanna!”

A voice screamed to her from across the park, Vanessa's voice. Hanna was too scared to look up to meet her death, which she was certain was coming. A life of caution would be undone by a single act of recklessness – how terribly, horribly ironic. A stronger person would have kept running or maybe fought harder, but Hanna was too scared to move. Her joints locked up, and her heart beat out of control. Maybe she could die of a heart attack first? She braced for impact, thinking of her family and wondering how on Earth her friends would get over their problems without her there to coach them through it...

But the blow never came.

One glistening eye peeked over her arm. The monster was not chasing her. It had turned back around and was advancing on Vanessa with more fervor than before. Hanna sat up. What had happened? The answer was a shoe lying a few feet from her. It was Vanessa's. She had... thrown it? She had thrown it to stop the monster? Vanessa was running in the opposite direction, leading the beast away with her. Hanna jumped to her feet, hands clenching to fists at her sides. She picked up the shoe and chased toward the monster, determined to repeat the bravery that saved her life with the same success as Vanessa had. Summoning up all of her courage, she planted her feet hard and flung the shoe at the monster. It sailed through the air in a high arc, cartwheeling in tight circles.

And it missed its mark. By a lot.

The monster lifted Vanessa, squeezing her until blood ran out of the girl's ears. “Vanessa!” Hanna screamed, trying to race toward them. In her head, she shouted apologies for ever hating the girl for being better at winning things, for being more likable, for having the kind of hair that Disney princesses got to have. The grass glistened with water from the earlier rain, and Hanna slipped. Each time she stood, she simply fell again. It took her two minutes to get close enough to lay a hand on the monster.

What followed went like this:

Hanna laid a single hand on the alien's tail.
The touch sent a tremor through the tail and it flicked.
The impact sent Hanna flying backwards.
She landed in a dense grouping of bushes.
Vanessa screamed.
The monster ripped Vanessa in half like a phone book.
Then Hanna blacked out.

When she awoke hours later, Hanna was not certain if she had survived, or if what she remembered had happened at all. Then she noticed the cuts from the branches of the bushes covering her exposed skin. She felt the sting of what could be a cracked rib in her chest. The sun was rising, and the clouds were out. It was as if the world had bleached away the horrors from the night before. Crawling forward, Hanna rose to her feet, glancing around the empty park for Vanessa. “Vanessa?” she asked. No one responded. Retracing her steps, Hanna came upon the spot where she had last seen the girl. She knew it was the right place by the familiar shoe resting in a puddle of blood beside a clump of blond hair.

Even when it came to being brave, Vanessa Livingston still won. Even if it meant she died.

[Blue Eyed Melloon]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Castille [ka-steel] Brenna

Nicknames: She hates nicknames!

Age: 16

Birthplace: Pullman, Washington

Heritage: Scandinavian

Birthday: March 7

Gemstone: Aquamarine

Blood Type: AB-

Fav. Food: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream, Thai Food (Specifically: Pineapple Chicken), and Pumpkin Pie

Hated Food: Mushrooms, Curry, Plain Milk

School: Meadowview

Hobbies:

Photography- Castille loves to take pictures, and pursues a career in photojournalism. Since she has yet to obtain this job, she occupies herself by taking discounted senior pictures for the high school, and has even taken pictures for a wedding or two. Her favorite subjects are not ones that stand and pose for the camera however. She enjoys taking candid shots, moments when a person's true feelings and happiness come through for all to see. Castille also enjoys taking pictures in black and white, using programs to add a splash of color to one object in the picture.

Castille Says: "I love adding one piece of color to an otherwise black and white object. In an otherwise dull, monotonous day ritual, there can always be that one moment, or person that adds a bit of spice to your life.

Reading Manga:- Castille is a bit of a bookworm, and manga is her choice of reading, followed by science fiction. There isn't much more calming or relaxing to her than curling up in her room with a book and a cup of hot chocolate. Her favorite genre is shoujo, and she has read the whole series of "Full Moon wo Sagashite" , "Ceres: Celestial Maiden" and "DearS". But if your going to talk to her about manga, don't say anything about "Chibi Vampire". She's still reading it!

Castille Says: "The shoujo genre is my favorite out of all of the others because the heroines always end up happy in the end...They get the guy, defeat the enemy, and live happily ever after.. Plus shoujo heroines always have the cutest outfits! *sigh* I wish I were a heroine. Getting to save the world would be so much fun! "

Volleyball:- Castille loves sports, but volleyball is by far her favorite. As a young girl she played for a youth team, and her position of choice was a libero, or digger position. She would spend hours diving to the ground to save a ball that was too low for some of the taller girls to get, and her knees were constantly bruised from hitting the ground. Now she is part of the school team, in the same position that she played as a child.


Castille Says: "Being on the volleyball team is the best! The feeling of being on a team, the whole group striving for something together. And I love when my muscles are sore! I feel like I have actually done something."


Virtues:

Open-minded: Castille doesn't like to judge, and welcomes people openly into her conversations. Because of this, she has a vast circle of friends that she keeps close to her, and she hates to leave anyone out of the loop. She believes that everyone has some good in them, it just takes the right person to bring it out. That person being her.

She also likes to try new things, especially if it involves helping someone else out. It may be as simple as trying a new recipe that one of her teachers raves about, or taking salsa dancing lessons because one of her friends was too embarrassed to do it alone. Most of the time she takes it a step farther than the person originally intended, making enough of the recipe to share with the entire class, or dancing with her friend in the school Talent Show.

Castille Says: "Those lessons were fun! And that Basil Chicken recipe turned out to be harder than I thought...."

It's all about the Balance!: Castille has a knack for multitasking. As a student, this means she can do multiple classes' homework at the same time. She can also take notes while finishing up her homework from her next class that's due in twenty minutes. At home, she is able to cook dinner while chatting with her friends online and watching her younger brother. She can also hold multiple conversations at once, which helps if four friends are talking to her at once. As a senshi, it wouldn't be hard for her to keep up with her normal life as well as saving the town from youma and the Negaverse.

Castille Says: "Who can be bored when you have volleyball practice, cooking lessons, and a sleepover with friends that night?"

Oh yeah? And then what happened?: Because of her friendly and warm nature, people often come to Castille with their problems, and she is always willing to sit with them on the couch, sharing a gallon of ice cream and listening to them rant about how their boyfriend doesn't appreciate them, or how a sibling is always treated better than them. She is always willing to give them her point of view, but will ask if they want it or not...she doesn't want to rile the person up and cause conflict. In her mind, if the worried person can smile, and maybe laugh a little at the end of it, then she has done her job well.

Castille Says: "I feel bad when someone is having a bad day. Even if it's not my fault! Since I am happy, why can't I share it with others and make them happy too?"

Flaws:

Enough Pride for all the Lions in the Zoo: Castille has a hard time taking advice from others, and it's even harder to get her to ask for help. Since her family divorced, she took on the idea at a young age that she can do it all by herself, and this is a hard thing for her to shake, even now. If she has trouble with a math problem, she will stress herself (sometimes to tears) about it until she either gives up completely, or gets it right. Not once does it enter her mind to ask someone else, because she believes that asking for help shows that she is unable to handle it herself, and makes her look weak. If her serve is off, she will hit the ball until she figures it out, and will sometimes even ignore what the coach says because listening to the advice would mean she needs help.

Castille Says: "The person I ask for help from isn't going to be around forever, giving me a hand when I need it. Better to just learn it on my own, then I won't need them at all! Why rely on someone else?"

Jack of all trades, Master of none: She likes to have multiple things going on at once, and in a way this is good because she can multitask. Unfortunately, most of the time she is unable to give her full attention to any one thing at a time. So her homework remains half finished (sometimes not done at all), her drawings are not colored, and that book she was going to read lays by her bedside gathering dust. Sometimes she pushes herself too hard, and not everything gets done to it's fullest. But she is always ready with an excuse to explain the lack of commitment "I was doing it, but then I had to go......" Her family especially sees this side of Castille. Her father is always asking her why her grades are lower than they should be, and is treated to an excuse or silence.

Castille Says: "Sometimes I get a little stressed, so I have to skip over some things....But I always come back to them! ....most of the time...."

Tick...tick...tick...BOOM: Castille hates causing conflict, and will avoid an argument almost at any cost. This means all of her nasty thoughts and feelings build inside her, where she goes over them over and over again, analyzing and emphasizing the feelings in her mind until they are so huge to her, that she explodes. This leads to shouting, nasty comments, lots of swearing, and usually tears. She tends to hold grudges, even if she doesn't show it. Castille will continues to be pleasant and friendly to the person, but she will be cursing them in her mind. Her lack of assertiveness when it comes to being stepped on leaves her doubting herself and her abilities a lot of the time, and the whirlwind of emotions spins again.

Castille Says: "I'm fine, I really am! It's not like it hurt my feelings or anything....... *stupid b***h*"

Why not take your own advice? Castille can be a bit of a hypocrite. She can't stand the sight of people biting their nails, but if you catch her in one of her rare bored moments, her fingers are in her mouth, nibbling away at her cuticles. She gives love advice like she is a master of relationships. "Oh, just give it time, everything will come around...you have to talk to him, let him know what you feel" But when it comes to her own relationships, she will remain silent, and let her emotions build up. Although her friends must surely see it, they don't bring up her hypocritical nature. Whenever it comes up in conversation, Castille gets defensive, and often will refuse to talk to whomever brought it up for a few days, until she is sure they "get the message"

Castille Says: "...........are you calling me a hypocrite?"

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION


Hair Color: Blonde, with large stripes of deep red. The underside of her hair is also the same shade of red.

Hair style: This (Number 160) style, but a little bit longer...

Face: She has an oval face, small ears and freckles that create a mask-like look around her eyes. She has thinner lips and white, straight teeth. Or they better be, her parents spent enough money on the braces to fix them.

Eye Color: Dark Blue, sometimes she's been told they are gray.

Height: Short, around 5' 2"

THE STORY ENTRY

The story of the strange meteor had burned through the town like wildfire, leaving scalding embers of questions in everyone's mind. Since no one she knew had seen it, Castille took it upon herself to find the strange object the next night...

Until an unspoken curfew took hold of the town, and she was confined to her house when the sun went down. This curfew showed no signs of letting up, and after a week, Castille was going stir crazy. "I need to get out!" She said one night, throwing down the book she had been feebly trying to read to pass the time. She rose and quietly opened her door, listening for sounds downstairs. The only thing she could hear was the faint ticking of the wall clock shaped like a dinosaur in her stepbrother's room next to hers. She shut the door quietly, and jumped over to her closet, pulling out an over sized, dark brown sweatshirt with cartoon owls on the front. Next came the black Vans with neon pink penguins on them. After a quick once over in the mirror, she grabbed a flashlight from the depths of under her bed and her camera bag off the bedside table that was it's home in her cluttered room. She slid the window open, jumping out onto the rooftop and then sliding the window almost shut behind her. It took some maneuvering, but she managed to scramble off onto the roof of her car parked below and, praying she didn't dent it, took off down the street. It was quiet on her road, with only one or two cars passing her as she walked while looking up at the sky. Here in the middle of town, the stars tiny flickers of light were drowned out by the overpowering artificial illumination of street lights, porch lights and headlights. Castille sighed, stopping at an intersection while the classic red hand blinked on the other side of the crosswalk. She took this time to pull out her camera, checking to see if it was still in good condition while simultaneously admiring it for the thousandth time.

She held in her hands a Canon EOS D40, a far cry from her tiny Olympus. It was a professional camera, with interchangeable lenses, the bulky kind that you have to manually turn to zoom instead of push a button. It was her pride and joy, given to her by her dad and stepmother for her 18th birthday. And now it was going to help her get a photo of the mysterious meteor that plagued the townspeople.

Her target was a hill in the center of town. It was just high enough above the light pollution that the stars could be seen, and she figured that if anywhere, this was going to be the spot where the meteor could be seen best. But as she climbed the hill, she heard rustling and growling. She froze, flashlight beam pointed to her right. Her heart started to race quickly, and a cold sweat broke out along her spine. Was it a dog...? She heard whimpering, and then a scream tore the air in half. She fell to the ground, wrapping her camera in her arms and squeezing her eyes shut as the scream echoed and bounced off the trees. An unearthly howl split the echoing scream, and Castille cried out, her cry fading with the howl. Then there was silence, a creepy 2am silence where not even the air stirred. Castille rose from her position on the ground, walking almost bent in half to the top of the hill, where she froze with fear.

It looked like a scene from a horror movie. A GINORMOUS furry creature stood over an immobile girl wearing the same school uniform as Castille's. Her hands went to her mouth as she screamed, the camera bouncing painfully against her chest from the strap around her neck. The flashlight hit the ground, bouncing away, the beam o flight illuminating furred skin on the creature's broad back. The light got the beast's attention and it spun around, head weaving side to side. It spotted the retreating beam of the rolling flashlight and it growled, lowering to all fours and chasing after it. Castille remained where she was until she was sure that... thing was gone before running over to the immobile girl. "Wake up!"She said, prodding her shoulder. "Oh god, please don't be dead!" She shook her gently, taking care to avoid moving her neck, and the girl finally stirred and moaned quietly. "Shhh!" Castille said, covering her mouth "You don't want that thing coming back! So you have to be quiet. I'm gonna help you get outta here, then we have to go to the hospital. Unless.." She dug in her pockets, feeling nothing but her keys. "Of coarse." she sighed, looking back at the girl "I have to forget my phone now."

The girl slowly moved, testing out her arms and whispered "Castille?". A car drove by below, oblivious to the event taking place on the hill, and the moon came from behind a tiny cloud that blotted the sky. Castille was right when she had thought the girl was from her school. It was Jenessa Solden. Castille gasped, taking a step back. Jenessa?! Not the same Jenessa who copied off of her World History test, then lied and said Castille had copied off of hers when she got caught? This girl almost got Castille kicked out of school! She noticed that right now, this wasn't the cocky, arrogant Jenessa that gave her grief during school hours. This Jenessa was in a lot of pain. Her face was cut and bruised, and a torn uniform showed a growing blue mark that was a couple broken ribs in her side. She had trouble breathing and moving her right foot. Castille sighed, and came closer to the girl, saying "If we get out of here alive, you owe me so much." Janessa nodded, and her face went pale as she slid into a faint. Castille sighed again, and was just about to try and lift her when another howl flew over her head.

She turned to see the creature standing not 10 feet away, eyes glittering angrily. She opened her mouth to scream, but her throat was closed with fear. The creature took a step forward, baring long, dangerous fangs, and Castille grabbed the closest thing: her camera. As the creature ran at her, she raised the camera, and took a picture. The flash was bright, and the beat was lost in white for a moment. She could hear it growl, and saw it stumble backwards, covering it's eyes. She stood up and took another as it lunged. It missed her, white spots clouding it's vision from the sudden burst of light.

Castille took this opportunity to run down the hill, into some trees. She could hear the beast snarl and follow. When she ht the other side of the trees, she paused, grabbing at a low hanging branch and pulling it back as far as it would allow. When that one snapped she swore, rubbing her arm where the branch hit her, and grabbed another, thicker one. She again pulled back and as the monster came close, she let go. For a moment she felt a twinge of amusement as the branch hit the creature across the stomach, knocking it over while it snarled. Just like in the cartoons Tyler watches. she thought, and she picked up the branch that had first broken. Swinging it over her shoulder, she hit the creature on the head, and it went silent. She froze for a minute, making sure it wasn't going to leap out at her like the monster does in horror movies before she tiptoed around it and run back up the hill to Jenessa.

She managed to find Jenessa's purse laying a few feet away, and located her phone. She called the police, telling them a dog attacked her. Once she hung up with them, she ran the entire way home. She had some trouble clambering back up onto the roof from her car, but after a failed attempt or two she managed to get into her room. Sighing with exhaustion, she stripped off the torn, dirty sweatshirt and put on her comfiest pjs, landing face first on her bed. She winced as the camera bit into her side. Her camera...

Her head popped off the bed. her camera! She took a picture to blind the creature! Castille leapt of her bed, bounding over to her computer and plugging in her camera. For a few minutes she waited impatiently as the pictures transferred.....

The top two were dated that night, only a couple hours ago. She clicked on them, hoping to get a good look at whatever had attacked Jenessa......

But she was sorely disappointed. The picture was blurry and only a brown deformed shape was visible. It simply moved too quickly. Sigh swore again and clicked the second, and almost screamed again. Again it was blurry, except for the eyes. The angry, burning eyes were clear as day among the masses that she assumed were trees. She quickly closed the picture, Unplugging her camera. Without shutting her computer down, she rose and went to bed, though sleep was lost on her. The eyes that stared back from the picture would haunt her more than the meteor.