Monster High - The School Grounds

[NanoAer]

The Fae was aware of the curious glances she was getting from a few of the students around her, but she was suddenly very shy and didn't approach them. Why does everyone keep staring at me? Was it her outfit? Or the fact that she was new? Maybe it was because she was talking to an insect... Or maybe it was all of the above.

The Fae had a pattern that she habitually followed costume wise. Trying different colors and styles until she found one she was satisfied with that didn't make her stand out too much and didn't make her invisible... Maybe this is too much... Oh dear me...

Kai Merha

Hearing a familiar voice Ari turned and smiled gratefully. "Hello again Kai~" She chirped happily. "Today was a bit tricky but I think I Managed without too much trouble." She smiled, not mentioning the awkwardness of the looks she'd been getting or how a couple of the students had been subtly picking on her about her choice of style. Should I ask him if- No no... For some reason she didn't want to worry about her dress anymore. She'd try something new tomorrow.

Her dragonfly hovered then landed softly on her head and changed into a hair band. "What about you? Has the earlier um, situation been addressed yet?" Ari didn't really remember what had happened but was still eager to help if she could.  

[Glen da West]

The witch cousins of Glen da West and Rory Bludworth stood just in front of the doorway inside of the main hall of Monster High, the very one that led to a deep descent down into the Catacombs. Every so often, students in their and other Mad Science classes, strolled through the doors to begin their journeys for their Final Semester projects as per Mister Hackington's demands -- and none of them looked particularly hexcited to be doing so.

As Clawdeen Wolf and many others have testified, the Catacombs were dark, scary -- and dangerous. Of course, being from Oz and simply being who he was, all of that foreboding was completely lost on Glen as he himself was the only student who appeared actually 'giddy' at the prospect of venturing down into the depths to hexplore the previous (hopefully) unhexplored.

"I'm still not so sure about this."

Rory said with a timid tremor in his voice as he leaned (very) cautiously over at the banister to sneak a little peek through the wooden doorway that led from the school down into the catacombs. Every so often when another student would pass by, Rory could look through the gate and see -- nothing. Literally, nothing. Just darkness. He swallowed hard and turned to look at Glen who seemed to be fidgeting with anticipation.

"I mean, I've never been down there before."

"What do you mean? You've been down there plenty of times."

"At the SKRM track, sure! To cheer on you and Marcie! But we've never... I mean, I've never...."

"Relax Rorester!" Glen smiled, giving Rory a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder. Not TOO reassuring though. Couldn't risk a fracture, especially with such a daunting journey ahead of them. "You have your candle and GPS, right?"

Rory looked down at the candle in his hand, and his iCoffin with a GPS app feature. He nodded toward Glen who smiled.

"Hexcellent! And I have this..." He held up his wand and gav it a wave. "And the battery is fully charged this time! And a backup battery just in case! Oh! And a backup plan should we take a wrong turn."

"Like... what?" Rory asked, not liking the prospect of them taking a wrong turn anywhere down there and being lost for an unlifetime -- with no mirrors. That sounded -- DANGEROUS!

Rory's answer came in th form of a small squeak and the flapping of gentle feathered wings and Glen's 'pweshus widdle monster' Dorothy landed in a perch on his scalp and chittered hexcitedy. Rory looked 'up' past his brows to see the tiny flying monkey looking upside down at him.

Glen said, "Dorothy had an adventure down there once looking for Kai's pop! So I thought it'd make sense to bring her along. Just in case, y'know?"

Rory swallowed hard (again) and nodded, "Guess so."

"So! We ready?"

"As I ever will be."

"Clawesome!" And that being said, Glen took Rory by the arm and the two boos vanished in a swirling puff of green smoke ...

... And reappeared in total and complete darkness. A little green flash later and Glen's wand illuminated the vicinity, as did a little puff of red smoke and Rory's candle ignited with a flickering flame, casting dancing shadows on the caverns around them.

"Uh, Glen?"

"Yo."

"This doesn't look like the entrance."

"Oh it's not. I thought we'd have a better chance at getting the beast project if we started deeper in the Catacombs before the other kids could get here. AmIright?"

"*eep*"

Rory turned around and the sight of a statue behind them caused him to jump back with a startled gasp. Glen turned around to see what had startled Rory and smiled.

"Oh HI Miss Crabgrass!" And he took Rory by the arm and the two boos started their hexciting adventure!  

[Kai Merha]

Kai glanced down at his iCoffin.

"I'm...not...really sure..." He replied to Ari, and then showed her the text from Harry. "What is THAT text speak for?!"

She didn't know either.

"I wanted to ask you if you had any interest in the BOJANGLES at all. That's the name of the planning committee for the Woestock Fearstival. It stands for...um...something something androids rights something or other." Kai couldn't remember what it was the acronym Harry had created stood for. To him, the word 'bojangles' meant something entire different. "Anyways, we were going to try to have another quick meeting this afternoon and find out if Harry got the musical acts he said he was going to. And resolve the whole 'location' issue."  

[Rorrim Rory Bludworth]

Glen da West

"Oh HI Miss Crabgrass!" And he took Rory by the arm and the two boos started their hexciting adventure!

Rory didn't consider himself a cowardly monster. A CAUTIOUS monster, yes, absolutely. Having a mirror-like complexion made him very cautious about anything that could lead to fracture, chipping or complete obliteration. But still, he yearned for experiences. To actually DO things instead of just watching them from the corners of mirrors.

Each thing he did, each experience he took part in, helped him conquer his fears and made him feel stronger. And that was what kept him creeping behind Glen as they made their way towards...somewhere.

"Ooops. Darn." Glen clucked his tongue.

"Oops? What oops?" Rory asked. Glen held up his iCoffin.

"Too far underground. The GPS just conked out. But that's okay! I have a hexcellent sense of direction!" Glen turned around and started walking.

"Glen?"

"Yes, cousin o' mine?"

"That's the direction we just came from."

"Oh! Right!" Glen agreed, turned around, turned again, and started walking.

"Glen?"

"Yes?"

"That's STILL the direction we just came from."

"Really?" Glen turned again, and again, and walked in the same direction. "Huh! It must be West. Whenever I get lost, that's the direction I always find myself going."

"Is this what you were looking for?" Rory called from the other side of the cavern. He flicked his fingers at his candle, causing the flame to magically grow brighter. It bounced off of his shiny skin and magnified the light.

Rory was standing in front of a large, boarded-up section of the Catacombs. A big, yellow sign was posted in front of it.

"KEEP OUT! THIS MEANS YOU!"

"We should probably do what it says..." Rory never questioned authority. After all, his mother was the most authoritarian monster he knew!

"Psssh, that's just a suggestion." Glen replied. "It means that all the really COOL stuff is down this way."

"Are you...sure?" Rory asked. To him, if you put a sign saying 'keep out' on something, that meant you wanted people to keep out.

"Sure, think about it! Mister Hack gives this assignment out every year, right? If they didn't close off SOME of the tunnels, all of the really neat stuff would already be discovered, and there'd be nothing left for future students! So, logically, some of the cooler tunnels have to APPEAR blocked off so that the more adventurous students - just like us - know where the challenge is! You don't want to spend all your time digging in the dirt and finding boring old mysterious keys that have no doors, do you? Because that's what most of the students do."

"I...guess...not?" Rory replied. Glen's logic DID make a sort of sense, from a certain point of view. If students had been exploring the catacombs for nearly two centuries, how DID they keep them from discovering everything already?

"And a-one, and a-two, and a-three!" Glen waved his iCoffin and the boards loosened with a loud 'CREAK' and flew off the entryway. "Let's go!"

Glen bounced inside of the now-open pathway. He stopped...paused, and backed out.

"Oops again!" Glen called to his cousin-in-magic.

"What now?" Rory asked.

"How rude of me! This is your first time down in the Catacombs! YOU should be going first!"

"Gee....fang you very much..." Rory replied sheepishly as Glen bowed aside to let Rory step into the murky darkness first...  

[Perry Hartley]

Perry shook his head and shoved Motthew forward.

"Come on, let's get this over and done with. "

The pair descended into the catacombs and Perry dug through his pockets for a flashlight to light their path (not that Motthew needed the light).

"How many students you think they lose down here a year?" He asked with a vicious fanged smirk.

Motthew just shrugged. "Well I hope you're not planning on getting lost."

Perry rolled his eyes. "Man, i've got much better things to do than wander around this dump the rest of my unlife."

He juggled the flashlight and camera as he tried to snap a quick shot of a flock of bats swooping past. The camera clicked, the flash illuminating the cavern brightly. The bats screeched off and Motthew blinked spots from his eyes, readjusting his dark glasses just in case his lab partner decided to pull that sort of stunt a second time.

Which Perry seemed to have decided was a great idea as he strode on ahead snapping shots ever so often with the camera hanging around his neck.

"So, i'm thinking we head down. " He indicated a deep crevice ahead. "Make some use of both of us being able to fly."

"Are you sure it's safe to go down there?" Motthew quirked an eyebrow at the over enthusiastic Peryton who just started to laugh.

"Of course it's not safe! this is the catacombs man! Nothing down here is safe! " He did however note his partner's uncertainty and added. "Look, i've been down this way before, there's a small opening a few hundred metres down, leads into a whole labyrinth of tunnels. I figure it's a good place to start our hunt for this uhmaaaazing thing" He waved his free hand for emphasis.  

[NanoAer]

Ari beamed, "Of course~ I would absolutely love to join... Eh... What did you call it? Bojangles?" She laughed a tad nervously, then grinned. "If it means I can be of some help then most definitely yes~" It would also mean being a part of something instead of just being alone all the time...

While the Fae was still curious about the Catacombs exploration she remembered the two boys from earlier talking about. Ari would probably find out in her own time.

"Harry... That's The Erlking's son, yes?" The changeling has heard of, but never actually met the Erlking. Ari rarely ever visited the Fae Realm since her switch. She would only hear things through the Sprites and Pixies that came to and fro.  

[Kai Merha]

"Yeah, that's him! You know him?" Kai asked. NeverNever must have been a pretty big realm, he supposed. Harry and Ari didn't look one jot like they belonged to the same monster race. "He actually just started here at school two days ago. He's...an interesting guy."  

[Motthew Clendenin]

Motthew glanced down into the crevice as Perry went on almost excitedly. Even with his night vision, he still couldn't really see the bottom.

"Well, we definitely didn't come down here just to turn back. Let's go for it then. " Motthew smiled at Perry.

Perry grinned and laughed once "that's the spirit! Come on, then." he said as he stepped ahead and flew down into the hole.

Motthew smiled and flew down with him. He pushed his glasses up into his head so he could see better, since Perry was far enough ahead with his flashlight.  

[NanoAer]

Kai Merha

Harry Herne

Ari shook her head, "Not exactly, but I have heard of him and his father. But not enough to really know them, I suppose. The name is familiar that's all." She suddenly became very interested to meet Harry. "Since my birth I haven't really been able to return to the Fae realm.." I don't even remember what it's like...

It was that or she was too afraid to go back... having been chosen to be casted out at such an early age. Ari didn't feel like either realm was home to her. In both she just didn't belong... at least that's what she believed.

She smiled despite her thoughts. "Then I cannot wait to meet him~ Oh and of course, everyone else in the BOJANGLES."  

[Kai Merha]

Arillena

As Kai and Ari were talking about BOJANGLES, Glen da West zipped past them....and then zipped past again, heading back down into the Catacombs.

Kai raised an eyebrow at Arillena.

"Something tells me some THING is going on in the Catacombs today." He wandered over to it and peered down at Glen's rapidly retreating form. "Probably something sort of crazy."

Kai checked his phone again. No more responses from Jewels, Harry or the rest of BOJANGLES. He looked at Ari and gave her a slightly smirking grin.

"Hey, you wanted to see the Catacombs, right? How about we continue the tour down there and scout some locations for Woestock?"  

[NanoAer]

Kai Merha

They're... Chasing? Their Project? Why didn't that sound good... At first the elvish girl had a bad feeling- but then again, she'd been having bad feelings all day.

Smiling she nodded. "Sure~" Ari was extremely curious about what on earth was going on down there- she was glad that Damyn wasn't a cat at the moment. She started to follow Kai when she paused. Oh, hang on...

"Let me do something real quick," She said before closing her eyes. In seconds she was covered in a thick shadow that fell over the pale girl like a veil. When it dissipated Ari stood wearing something much more suited for exploring than her lengthy skirt.

show spoilerhide spoiler

Because I don't feel like Changing my Avatar~

"Okay~ That should be easier." The Aqua Clad elf grinned. "Lead the way~"  

[Harry Herne]

"Stay zen, dude. Stay zen..."

Harry looked at the doohickie that was supposed to let him talk to Kai.

"Look, corpserate device dude. I don't like you and you don't like me but I need to hit up my BOJANGLES!"

Harry started poking the iCoffin again. First, he accidentally sent a text that said:

Quote:

HKDGARGLEBLARGLEDA*^$DS!

Then, Harry accidentally shared a video of a dancing plastic toyman dressed as a bat:

Quote:

DARKNESS! NO PARENTS! CONTINUED DARKNESS!

"What was that!? I demand you let me talk to Kai! I know your queen, the very cherry Atomica!"

Finally, Harry accidentally took a way too close video of his face and texted it out:

Harry

LET ME TALK TO KAI OR YOUR ATOMIC QUEEN...WILL...uh....BE VERY CROSS! I NEED THE BOJANGLES! GAH!

 

[Marceline LaGhede]

The school day was nearing its end, and Marceline busied herself in the Mad Science lab with some hextracurricular work. Hunched over a flask of brownish liquid, she slowly, very gently twisted the burner knob beneath it to turn on the flame, slipping a thermometer into the neck. Her eyes followed the mercury as it rose in the thermometer, and just as it hit the right temperature, the brown liquid began to bubble and turned a bright fuchsia. Perfect, Marceline smiled, that's exactly what needed to happen; she jotted it down in her notebook along with a few other details, then put her pen down and took a deep breath. Here came the hard part.

She steadied her hand before reaching toward a tube rack at her side, carefully holding between forefinger and thumb the rim of a vial of clear liquid. Gently swirling it, the liquid inside began to glow a vibrant blue. Good, she thought, the phytoplankton haven't un-died on me! Marceline had collected a few vials of these tiny creatures while on a date with Rory, and she'd been looking forward to hexperimenting with their biogloominescent properties... with this particular hexperiment, it required focus and a steady hand... Turning down the flame on the burner, she stirred the pink fluid with the thermometer and double-checked the temperature. All the conditions were perfect; all that had to be done was a slow, steady pour of the phytoplanktons into the fluid... Her hands shook a bit, nervous that a miscalculation could ruin the whole thing; one more deep breath and she tipped the vial into the flask. Little by little, the liquid turned a hot pink and began to glow brilliantly; Marceline smiled, it was working--

*BZZT!!! BZZT!!!*

Her iCoffin was loudly buzzing on the desk beside her. She jumped at the noise, causing her to spill the remnants of the vial into the mixture too quickly; the pink fluid turned an inky black and a tiny puff of sulfuric smoke rose through the neck. Letting out a groan, Marceline reached for her iCoffin.
"Hello?" Marceline pinned the iCoffin to her ear with a bone shoulder as she tried to scribble down her notes on the failed concoction. "Oh, hi Papa... oh, nothin' really, not anymore... what's up? ... Oh, Cryptmas? ... y'know I hadn't thought 'bout it, school's been kinda buryin' me lately... I'll have t'ask Rorrim if he's got plans but I'm sure we'll be able t'make an app'rance... Y'know, mirror travel 'n'all... Yes, Papa.... I know, Papa... j't'aime, Papa... Bye. "

Marceline dropped the phone into her lap as her father hung up on the other line. She stared at the black liquid that once glowed a gore-geous pink and figured it was time to call it a fright. She cleaned up and packed her things, and with her bony thumb she tapped out a hext message to Rory...

To: Rorrim Bludworth

Hey! You out of the Catacombs yet? Meet me at the front stairs later!