I should warn everyone I'm not completely sure what I'm doing, but MinorFall requested I set this up. I'm looking at mostly a character-driven story here, but I'm open to ideas. The general rules apply -- no invincible characters, no controlling other people's characters, etc. I expect reasonably coherent posts, but I'm not going to kill you for grammar mistakes or typos. Goodness knows everyone makes them.

If you vanish, expect things to move on without you. If you know you can't post for a while, please let me know.

The basic idea of this rp is that there is a world of magic that hides within our own. A world of creatures very different from us, and some that are like, yet unlike, as well as humans with gifts. Most normal humans are unaware of the supernatural, though there are some who are close enough to know the secret, or who discovered it by accident.

I have a few base settings worked out so far. Our story begins in Fairhaven, a suburban college town. Locations around town to know are as follows:

Fairhaven University is a community college, but there is also a /special/ school located on the grounds -- one for students of various magics. This is the Fairhaven Boarding Academy, a private college attached to the main one.

The DiOrr Arts Center is home to most of the art classes, including photography, graphic design and drama.

The MacAnnel Building, known to locals just as "the Mac", is a squat two-story building on campus. It houses most of the STEM classes. Its signs have been vandalized so many times that the "Annel" part is unreadable, which helps maintain the informal nickname.

Loewe Center holds computer and IT centered classes. It's the Mac's taller, thinner neighbor.

The Maybelle Library is built mostly underground, with a large railing circling the sunken courtyard in the middle of the main section. There's a legend about a pair of girls who died falling into the Pit one winter. There really are two ghosts, one friendly and one not, but their story is a bit different than the legend.

Edward Stern Hall, usually abbreviated to "ESH" or just plain "Ish". The closest of the campus dormitories, located near the DiOrr. This is a normal dorm, though some of the less obvious magic folk stay here, particularly ones taking standard classes.

Sheffield Hall, the largest building of the Boarding Academy, is an older structure made of stone. Raia's office and the classroom where she teaches magic anthropology are both located in Sheffield.

-More college buildings may be added as they appear

Other places

The Daily Grind, a friendly neighborhood coffee shop. It's frequented mostly by the more magically inclined locals, as a spell on it discourages the normal folk from even noticing it is there.

Similarly, the Upstairs, a second-story bar and eatery, is thought to be abandoned by those that can't see through the spells hiding it. The single shop that occupied the first floor has closed and gone through renovations since the bar opened, and now holds the post office, a florist, and a cell-phone store (I'm open to changing what's downstairs, if someone wants to play a shopkeeper). The stairs up are around the back of the shops.

Fairhaven Memorial Library, a run-down two-story building that's been abandoned so long nobody remembers it ever being open for business. Somehow the town council never manages to get around to demolishing it. It would make a fine haunted house, what with the half-boarded windows and crumbling gargoyles on the roof. However, while the inside is in oddly good repair, nothing particularly scary ever seems to happen to those who break in or stay the night, despite the stories that say something lives there.

Character sheets are not my style. However, I do want an idea of the sort of creature you're playing, if you're playing something non-human, and how your version of that creature works. Our Monsters Are Different can be fun to play with. ^.^

The cast so far:

Amuné Ris - a young woman gifted with the Sight.

Jareth Sadi - Amuné's close friend, he seems to be a fairly normal human, though he knows about magic. He's a couple years older than her.

Raia Therust - a college professor, she teaches a few history and anthropology classes -- and for the boarding academy, she teaches magic anthropology. She is a half-spirit, and so vulnerable to binding spells, among other things.

Mary Russell - head librarian. Though Mary is human and doesn't have any magic of her own, she was, at one point, married to a doctor with healing magic. Her son, Maxwell Thomas, on the school's medical staff.

I recommend subscribing to the thread, so you know when there's a new post.

(( I'm fine with it. I love rping with you.))

(( Thanks for the ping! I'll definitely consider this, although, well, as you probably noticed during Morostide, I'm sort of prone to abruptly forgetting about things around here and accidentally dropping out of them, which is why I'm still hesitant at the moment. Maybe if is interested, she can remind me to post, or something? ))

(Oooo, this looks interesting! I want in! Would an angel girl be out of the question? If so, I might be a ghost girl.)

((Hm, I'm thinking that angels as a species would be okay, but not as divine beings from Christian lore. The supernatural community has far more gods and goddesses than most rl religions.))

((Yeah, that's what I planned on. I'm not religious in the slightest, but a certain Snow Princess we both know also happens to look like an angel

[ah yes, hello everyone.]

Nunque:mentally unstable demon spawn (half-demon).

Nalta Wolfe: swordsman wielding Aegis, the spirit sword.

I have a human female, perfect balance and 360* vision I haven't played in awhile

((This is gonna be fun!! :D

I might change that second one

(( You're more than welcome to join!

bounces on Let me know if I worked this okay

Right, let's get this show on the road. Once again, I'm not planning on herding people. Mix it up as you see fit. If anyone wants pre-existing relationships with people, you're welcome to work those out via PM or whatever suits your fancy.

I recommend subscribing to the thread, so you know when there's a new post. Not everyone pings all other players every post. ^.^))

Middle of Campus

The young woman seated on the bench rubbed her eyes and covered a yawn, despite it being midafternoon on a crisp spring day. The man next to her, older by a couple years, watched her with a concern frown. There was enough space between the two that it was clear they were not a couple, though they were good friends. "You've been out of it all this week, Amuné. No more dodging -- what's going on?"

Amuné let her hand fall and turned to look at her friend, pale grey eyes shadowed. Her face was neatly framed by light brown hair cut in an angled bob to just past her jaw. "I've been being hit with visions in my dreams lately, and they're making it hard to get a good night's sleep." She shrugged.

The young man straightened up, brushing ruddy hair back from his freckled face, the gesture not helping the mussed waves. "Is it bad?" He knew about Amuné's gift of Sight, though he was aware it was a difficult gift at best, and often closer to a curse.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so, Jareth. Just...someone's calling me. I can't see his face, but he's trying to reach me, and I can't manage to call back. And when I try to use my Sight, things get so very muddled around him." Amuné shrugged in a "what can you do" gesture.

"Any idea why that is?" Jareth asked, scratching his head. The woman considered a moment before slowly nodding. "I think...I think he's like me, Jareth." "Well. That should be interesting. I wonder -- Amuné?" Jareth cut himself off mid-sentence as his friend's gaze flickered, a sign he'd learned to recognize. When she focused on him again, he leaned forward. "What did you see?"

The woman got to her feet. "Him, calling me again. But this time I could tell where." "Where?" Jareth stood as well, grabbing his bookbag. "The old run-down library at the end of town. He was on the steps." "It'll take forty-five minutes to walk there from here!" "Then we should hurry."

The Daily Grind

The woman seated in one corner of the coffee shop tucked a few stray hairs back into her neat bun and turned the page of her book. Raia Therust was taking some time to herself, now that her classes were through for the day. Despite appearing to be late twenties or early thirties, the professor's hair was pure white -- and had been so since her birth. In fact, most of her coloring was muted, from her pale skin, light blue eyes, and thin lips with just the barest hint of color. Not needing to be cloaked by illusion here at the coffee catering to the supernatural, the swordbelt at her waist was clearly visible. Two weapons were sheathed there, both crafted of black metal but of very different designs. One was a hand-and-a-half sword with outspread dragon wings forming the crossguard and a blueish-green gem centered between them. Celtic interlace decorated that scabbard. The other was a knife that favored function over form, solid and simple.

Raia herself had something in common with both blades. She dressed simply, in plain slacks and blouses with only subtle decoration, but she conducted herself with elegance and grace. She was a serious woman, for the most part, tending towards the cynical, though she still could be cheerful. It was just that she didn't often seem to be. Her personal ethics were unyielding, and she had a reputation as a strict teacher, but the students who weren't put off by her lack of tolerance for shenanigans often found her an excellent instructor, with a passion for her subject. She was demanding but reasonable, with a willingness to help those who needed it as long as they weren't being lazy.

Still, she wasn't the best at making good friends. She had a few, of course, but not many, and so often found herself drinking tea alone with a book at the Daily Grind.

At the daily grind, there was a girl with white hair fast asleep in an armchair near the fire. This was Arin, a regular at the coffee shop with the groan-inducingly punny name. As a matter of fact, nobody was really sure where she lived because she spent all her time at that coffee shop when she wasn't at school. She had a pure white school uniform on, with a white blazer and a white mini-skirt. Her eyes were a piercing golden color, not that anyone could see them at the moment. She even had white stockings, however her shoes were a dark brown leather. She rested by the fireside like she always did at this time of day. Arin happened to be an angel, meaning she had gorgeous white feathered wings sprouting from her back. These wings were flat against her back at the moment

"Dilly dally, shilly shally." Nunque repeated to himself in a low tone. People were staring. But then they always did. A man appearing to be in his mid twenties wearing what was once a straight jacket that now was a white jacket with broken straps and really long, torn sleeves was an interesting site alone. Toss in waist-length, blood red hair, amber eyes, and an unusually wide grin, and you've got a sight for concern. At least the hospital had been kind enough to provide him with durable sweatpants instead of those God-awful scrubs.

As he waited for the other to come, he rocked side to side as he hummed a tune with no particular melody. This was to pass the time, but it quickly began to bore him. He looked around to see someone approaching him, but it was not the one he was waiting for. This one was wearing all black except for the piece of metal pinned on his chest. "What kind of armor is that?!" Nunque shouted as if this man were to be the laughing stock of the town. His question was followed by hysterical laughter as he let himself fall to one side and roll on his back.

"What're you doing here, sir?" The man in black asked. By then, Nunque had almost forgotten the man. In a moment he went from his laughter to observing the clouds.

"I am waiting for the future. She comes to me as we speak." He replied, pulling his legs to his chest and hugging them there as he lay on his back humming his directionless tune.

The man in black accessed his radio and spoke, "dispatch, I'm going to bring this guy in. Yeah, from the complaints."

With that, Nunque shot up into a sitting position, his hair covering his left eye as the right fixated on the man with hostility. "No. You will not." He said. The forced, childish high pitch in his voice before was gone and his true, smooth, baritone replaced it. He wasn't even going to hurt the man..

... Until he touched the gun at his side.

Entering the coffee shop, Nalta observed two women. One was clearly of the species that called themselves "angels", but the other had a less evident look to her. Both of them had white hair, despite their supposed "young" age. Nalta himself only looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. He was tall, but not overly tall. With shoes on he stood at six feet, however he rarely wore them, putting him at five-eleven counting the body of his hair which was a light, sandy brown. He wore it in an unruly fashion that seemed to attract females all too often. He thought it a shaggy, unruly mess that was simply layered, nothing more. It seemed it made him some kind of heartthrob, which he hated. It also complimented his metallic gold eyes well, which mad this matters worse.

He rubbed his eyes, careful not to irritate the black, circular dermal studs under his left eye as he did so. They were precious to him. Once his eyes were satisfied he approached the counter to order. Adjusting his wide-necked, gray, thermal shirt and checking the fly of his black, rude-fit jeans, he quickly assessed the two of them and ordered a simple columbian roast.

Mel eyeballed the distance between two trees near Fairhaven's campus, she had a slack-line over her shoulder and she wanted to practice her skills. Until recently she had never noticed how balanced she was, never falling from the line. It was a different change from learning to ride a bike when she was little and constantly falling down. The slack-line made things fun for her, because even though the line would wobble under her movements she felt as if she was walking on normal, solid, ground. Deeming the trees to be an adequate distance apart she attached the line before jumping up on the line.

She closed her eyes as she walked, thinking of the world around her. The wind tugged at her long, black braid. She grinned a little bit, the wind made it a bit of a challenge to focus on her footing. The sound of the cars passing by, people chatting as they passed, and the trees rustling in the wind encouraged her to use her other trick. The feeling was a difficult one to describe as she 'saw' all of the world around her. She could see the large oak tree behind her all the way to the one in front of her and back. It was almost like looking at a panorama. Her trick allowed her to walk the line even with her eyes closed. She pointed her toes with each barefoot step, her view of the world allowing her to know exactly where to place it.

Outside Fairhaven Memorial Library

Jareth and Amuné came into sight just as the officer reached for his weapon. The young woman thought fast, and called, "Ah! Officer, you found him! Thank you!" She dashed over, putting herself enough in the way that it would be difficult for either member of the squared-off pair to get at the other. "Sam, where have you been?! We've been looking all over for you." She fussed over Nunque, acting like a concerned sister. "Come on, it's time to go home."

Jareth wasn't quite as quick as his friend, but he was able to figure out what Amuné was doing after only a little bit of mental stumbling. This must be the person she'd seen in her visions, and she didn't seem inclined to let him wander off. Still, the man was strange -- and was that a straightjacket? What was Amuné getting them into? But it was too late to back out now. "Sorry about him, officer. Sam here, he's...well, he's got some problems, y'know?" Jareth tapped a finger to his head.

The officer looked to be split between relief and irritation. He wasn't going to need to resort to force to handle the guy, but the two kids should never have let the man wander off in the first place. And no doubt he'd have paperwork to fill out about the complaints back at the station. "Do a better job of keeping an eye on him, next time," he said sternly. "He nearly got himself arrested." With a last glare at the crazy "Sam", he turned to go.

Amuné waited until the policeman was out of sight before fixing the stranger with an intense gaze. "You're lucky we got here as quickly as we did," she said, looking him over from head to toe. "I've got questions, but I suppose they can wait until we're somewhere less...public." She eyed his jacket, and sighed. "And there's no way we can get you back to campus dressed like that. Here, Jareth, can he borrow your coat? You're wearing a sweater underneath, aren't you?"

Jareth nodded and shrugged off his jacket, holding it out. Amuné took a step back. She'd been careful not to actually touch the strange man. She'd never encountered another Seer, and she had no idea if physical contact with him would trigger a vision. Yes, she was able to control her powers far better than back when any casual touch could trigger her Sight, but there was no sense in risking it. Even now, her attempts to block out visions could be overwhelmed, as evidenced by the fact she'd not been able to close off her mind from this stranger the past several nights.

(( I don't have anyone on campus right now, though I might be able to dig someone up. Or we can see if one of the others wants to put someone there.))

, I didn't want to put her at the cafe, if nobody else posts near or on campus I can always just have her pack up and leave. :)

Arin remains asleep in the armchair. She had only half-finished her hot cocoa before she'd passed out. Her wings, which were normally flat against her back while she slept, where outstretched, indicating she was having a particularly good dream. Funny thing about her wings, it never took too much to hide them. All it really took was a simple mini-veil. Regular people couldn't see through it, but supernaturals could. Convenient, and easy.

[img align=left]http://s26.postimg.org/aikc98vwp/Theo_HA1.png[/img] The bell on the coffee shop door jingled as a new customer pushed their way inside. This individual was surprisingly well dressed for how haggard they appeared underneath. The aromatic scent of stale cigarettes and strong liquor overpowered even the boldest coffee roast as they passed the tables on their way to the counter. Crossing the room in a few strides, they tossed the long tangle of dreadlocks they wore in a sloppy ponytail over their shoulder to reveal a strong jawline that boasted a few nicks.

Leaning onto the counter to the apparent distaste of the cashier, his voice was deep and scratchy and he spoke slowly. “I want the largest, blackest sludge I can buy with this.” He said as he slammed a five dollar bill on the counter. His face looked like it had seen better days. Straight across the bridge of his nose lay a set of freshly laced sutures, and the bags under his eyes indicated he hadn’t slept in quite some time. Despite the fact that he looked like he should be sauntering into a hospital rather than a coffee shop, he eyed the barista lazily from his slouched position. Pushing the currency forward purposefully he withdrew his badly bruised hand and lifted a brow.

If didn’t take long for them to pour his drink. Lifting the cup to his lips while the staff looked on in horror, he finished the scalding liquid in about five large gulps. Setting the cup down he retrieved the previously ignored change and flicked a quarter at the barista who was still staring with an open mouth. Honestly he couldn’t have been the weirdest thing these people had seen all day, there was an angel asleep in the adjacent corner for crap sake.

Squinting over at her he realized that she was wearing a glamour, and not a very complicated one. On second thought... He reached up and touched the bridge of his nose and realized that his sutures had started bleeding again. Turning back to the barista he grinned as they stifled a yelp. “I’ll take another.” He set another five on the counter and watched as the workers sprang into action. Anything to get him to leave.

Speaking of the angel girl asleep in the corner, Arin was just waking up at that point. She took one look at the grotesque man and instantly shifted around in her seat uncomfortably. The man was quite frankly scaring her a little