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 Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:46 pm
Astaroth listened through the exchange with a slight frown on his face, mind taking that information and internalizing it. It was useful and could be particularly so in the future. It seemed the more he learned of the outside, the more he grew to despise it.
Daggart, on the other hand was swept up with Graphtas' story and stood when Lelaus called for applause, taking a step forward to clasp hands with the monster before him In a rare show of solemnity and seriousness, Daggart pumped the other's hand, offering a grateful smile, "Thank-you for telling us about your people." He wasn't afraid of Graphtas, how could he be? This was someone he rather liked and admired.
Had the monster not shown such aversion to touch earlier, Daggart would have hugged the Rakshasa but he wasn't stupid. A hand-shake would have to do.
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:18 pm
Abacus smiled as Graphtas nodded in response to his request, his expression shifting as swiftly as Graphtas' own into amazement. That -- what was him! He let out a low whistle in admiration and snapped his picture, studying the Rakshasa while listening. It was... nearly unbelievable. If Abacus wasn't there to witness it, he wouldn't have believed in his ability to shapeshift and take his form. But as it were...
Abacus searched Graphtas with his eyes, trying to find something out of place that would separate himself from his impostor. The only things he was able to use to differ them were their choice of neck ornaments (could Graphtas have made a fake camera? Probably, but it would most likely not bounce against him, and might appear to be part of the clothing and made out of some sort of a material other than what his was made out of), and their voice. Abacus didn't know if he should count the voice, since Graphtas made that slip with Fenna's question, but why not? If he could find a way to out-wit a potential Rakshasa-spy... That'd be something to look into later.
When Graphtas returned to his true form, Abacus took another picture and joined in the applause, grinning at him. "Thank you, Graphtas." He said before giving him a deep bow, "It was a pleasure to meet you, and an honor witness your kind's unique ability in person."
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 3:39 pm
Fenna listened attentively to Graphtas' answer, making every effort to commit the detail to memory as she joined her classmates in applause. Nine hateful shards... Could they be destroyed, perhaps, to free the Rakshasa from slavery? The professor had asked for no more questions, however, so that would be one question left unasked for now. She turned her attention to Lelaus, wondering what he would have in store for the rest of class.
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 4:02 pm
On the level of a story, Biwa was fascinated. But she could tell all too easily how real it was to Graphtas, and she slowly began to shrink back towards the back of the room. She let go of Eve's hand even as the other girl moved forward, hiding herself far back behind the others. She could feel his hatred and fear and loss, and she bowed her head, even as she clapped feebly. She bowed a little, too, but then stood looking down at her hands.
She was fortunate, so fortunate, to be what she was. For all the fear of being at war... she had so much more safety. She was disappointed with herself for how little she had appreciated it, seeing instead its flaws.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:13 pm
 Listening rather intensely to Graphtas' answer, Yalitza writes down every piece of information she can. Looking up just as the Professor tell them that Graphtas was done, she smiles nodding her head in respect. Turning towards Cashimer she chuckles as she leans in close so she can speak to him over the noise "Yes class is rather interesting, must say it might be one of my favorites right now."
Turning back towards the Professor, she was rather curious as to what might happen nest. She was hoping they would meet another, who had more stories to tell them.
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 2:03 pm
Lelaus bid Graphtas a fond farewell, and the Rakshasa was lowered through the floor and into the tunnels that would lead to The Temple, and safe conduct out of the City.
Then Lelaus turned to the class with a grin in place and a twinkle in his eye. "And now, my exuberant and inquisitive class," Lelaus purred happily, "I'd like to introduce you to Nata'ala, a Bael that lives here in the City."
There was a soft hum like the sound of a bumblebee in flight and then a crack of leather and suddenly there was a Bael, standing in the middle of the class. She cocked her head from side to side, looking about with beetle-black eyes at the students no taller than her.
"It might surprise you to know," Lelaus continued, "That Nata'ala has been in the classroom since the lesson started."
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Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:36 pm
Khamsyn slowly slowed his applause for the departing Rakshasa as Graphtas disappeared, eventually stopping just like the others. Wondering what the unpredictable Professor was going to do, say or show next, Khamsyn idly rocked his chair back onto it's two hind legs. The strange buzzing sound caught his attention, as it did the other students' for sure, and he started looking around for it's source. In his exhuberance, he nearly toppled backwards but saved himself at the last second. With a sigh of relief he raised his hand and started to speak to Lelaus.
"Professor? What's that..."
His question was cut off by the crack of a whip, or so it sounded, and the sudden appearance of the Bael. This time it was a whole lot harder to try and recover his balance as he felt himself falling backwards. He had it... almost... just... a bit... more... whoa... there...
Lelaus' comment that the Bael, Nata'ala, has been here the whole time was the nail in Khamsyn's coffin. He had that half second to realize he was screwed just before he crashed to the ground. Spry as he was, he popped right back up to his feet, righting his chair once more. He stoof there for another half second, pretending nothing happened as his face grew flush with another moment of embarrassment today. He then quickly took hsi seat and smoothed his hair nervously. Ironically, he finally smoothed the correct side, thus revealing to himself his bad hair day. His face flushed darker. This was not his day.
"How?" was all he could stammer in regards to Nata'ala.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:07 am
Aysel's eyes widened, and her fingers flew to her lips at the rather sudden appearance of this new creature. She wondered briefly if it had been her- Nata'ala, that is- who had made the whip-crack noise, or if it had been some sort of mechanism that had allowed her to appear and disappear, and shuffled forward to get a better look. "In the room?" she repeated curiously, swinging questioning eyes to Lelaus. "Does Nata'ala have the ability, then, to become invisible at will? What...how?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:29 am
Surprised? No. A little uneasy? Absolutely. Arwen regarded the new addition to the class room - or not so new, since she'd been here all along - with a small amount of discontent. She thought she might have read of these 'Bael' before, but no doubt the Professor had information to share that she hadn't found in a book. The girl was finding it hard to be surprised much anymore, after the whirlwind of events that occupied her recent memory. Ever silent and without much in the way of spoken words, Arwen diligently tied up the last of her notes with Graphtas and began fresh with the Bael known as Nata'ala.
Eve turned at the loud crack of sound, muscles bunched to keep from jumping. Wide, bright eyes skimmed over the muscled body and satyr legs, immediately intruiged. "Hello, Nata'ala," she greeted the being politely, not even sure if that was the proper way to greet a Bael. Well, the class was for learning, was it not? She supposed she'd find out soon enough.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:05 pm
Fenna hadn't noticed the hum, but the crack startled her terribly. Her body spasmed with an instinct to duck and cover, emitting a frightened "Eek!" at the sound. But... There was something new in the class. As soon as she got over her shock, she examined the Bael in fascination from where she stood. Such tiny hooves... how did they keep their balance? How did they walk? Or did they just fly? According to the professor, this creature had been there the whole time and only now could they see... it? Him? Her?
"Nata'ala was in here the whole time... hiding?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:23 pm
Poor Biwa had been startled almost out of her wits, but she at least managed to keep her feet. Still, she hugged herself tightly, shivering. Had the... thing... Bael... been watching her? Had it seen how scared she was?
"Na-Nata'ala..." she murmured, quietly, a little weakly. Best to acknowledge it and try to slow her heartrate.
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Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:00 pm
Abacus watched as the Rakshasa left the room, eying the floor with interest. Was it just this room that could do it? Did that mean there were more passages all over? Abacus turned his attention from the floor to his camera whereupon he began unloading the film. He looked up as Lelaus hinted at the next creature, and nearly dropped his film in surprise at the creature that appeared before him.
Abacus let out a soft whistle at Lelaus' words. "That's pretty useful," he remarked, turning his attention from the Bael to his camera again in order to replace it with a full roll of film. "Where was Nata'ala? No, wait, don't tell me -- that would ruin the point of being invisible, wouldn't it?" He laughed, grinning before making a short bow towards the creature in question. "My apologies, I've forgotten myself. Welcome to our class, Nata'ala, I hope I am pronouncing your name correctly."
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:25 am
Nata'ala kept in motion, constantly tap-tapping her tiny hooves on the floor as she constantly adjusted her balance and cocked her head this way and that as various students in the room addressed her. When Abacus bowed to her, she awkwardly bowed back, flapping her wings a little nervously so as to not fall over completely.
Her eyes were bright beetle black the whole time, blinking frequently as she watched everyone in the room with utmost caution.
Lelaus just chuckled and waved a hand. "Nata'ala was perched up top the cabinets. The hummingbird hum you heard is the sound of her breaking throguh the illusion and into plain sight. Bael invisibility is unique in that it's a natural state of their biorhythms and is maintained by healthy blood levels. A Bael can break out of its natural invisibility by making a conscious effort to produce a hormone similar to our adrenalin. The hormone permeates the air around them, cutting through and offsetting the other naturally occuring discharges of their blood, creating a hum, and then visibility. The crack is the sound of a Bael opening their wings suddenly. Snap a leather belt sometime, the sound's much the same." Lelaus grinned from ear to ear and lounged fox-like against a cabinet. "As you may have noticed, Bael cannot speak. So, what would you like to learn about the Bael, or Nata'ala?" Lelaus asked, perking his ears for questions from the class.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:22 pm
Still reeling from the emotional story of Graphtus, it took Cash a few minutes to re-gain his composure and to tune back into the class. Indeed he was rather surprised to learn that the creature that Lelaus addressed as a Bael- Nata'ala, was her name it seemed- had been in the room the whole time. "What is a Bael, exactly, professor?" the Journeyman asked, looking from the creature to their teacher. "Are they capable of anything besides being invisability?" It felt odd, talking to Lelaus, rather than the creature, since they had been allowed to speak directly to Graphtus. Why couldn't Bael talk, he wondered? But he hadn't wanted to ask too many questions, so he would save that for later.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:53 am
How odd, to go from a creature which was basically on the same level as intelligence of them, to this interesting, but mute creature. Lior pursed his lips a little and shifted awkwardly. How odd to know that it was so easy to be snuck up on. The journeyman folded his arms over his chest and sighed softly, eying the Bael with interest. She didn't look very dangerous, so she didn't hold his interest quite so well. "Where are they typically found, Professor? And how could you know if one is about before they make the effort to be visible?"
Ubel was startled as well, having jumped just slightly at the cracking sound, which he was informed just moments later was the sound of the Bael's wings opening. Such a strange creature, really... Ubel leaned in a little more, watching her curiously. Then he popped open his notebook and began to ever so lightly sketch, wanting to keep a memory of how the Bael looked.
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