@Sylverblu

Nodding happily at Alason, Anwen nudged aside the nearly-invisible bark slab. It slid neatly to the side, revealing the cavity. It was quite small, only six or so feet in diameter at the widest point. It was dominated by the bed, the mattress of which seemed to be constructed entirely of thick, fluffy moss. All of the furniture was grown out of the tree itself, and only a very few objects were unnatural. The only noticeable one was a large, impressive sword that hung on the wall, gleaming dully and carved with floral motifs, a string of thorns running across the blade from a rose on the hilt. Depositing Cloud on a small nightstand with extraordinary gentleness, she turned to Alason.

"Here we are! Welcome to my tree!"

She set herself to getting something to eat for herself, simultaneously giving Alason a firsthand view of her powers as she once again sang raspberries from their vine. Almost as an afterthought, she held out a handful to the well-clothed man. "Want some?" Without pause, she plopped the pile of berries down next to Cloud's sleeping form. She stripped herself down to her undergarments, sighing happily at the air on her skin and tossing herself on the bed, conveniently forgetting the lack of any chairs for Alason to use in her abode.

"So," she asked from her prone position, "what's your house like?" She assumed that he lived on the supernatural side of the worldly divide, and in her peculiar mind she envisioned an ominous tower surrounded by dark clouds and circling ravens, heedless of the obvious anachronism that Alason's classy suit would be in that atmosphere.

The smile on Jack's slipped when Sapphira started a statement to answer his question. And more. He had his own assumptions for how her family may have died, but hunters doing it wasn't something to brush off. Considering the risk posed, he never even considered them for ending his problem. Not those years ago. He wasn't afraid of them, but he knew how effective the good ones were.

It was just too bad he had trouble figuring out exactly how to remark to such a revelation. One usually commented an apology to something of the nature. Like they had anything to do with the loss. The practice was confusing to him, but it seemed necessary. Sometimes. Considering how angry she seemed thinking of it, it seemed worth necessary.

"Sorry to hear that," he said sincerely, even if it was after a few moments. The words always felt alien when he said them; he could manage the sincerity, practiced so hard to manage it, but it never made it feel any more real. Nola said it would come with time, but it never really did. He was fine with that. "It must have been hard. I can empathize with that."

Right, time to move past the subject. Hopefully. Move onto more pleasant interactions. He didn't bother getting his smile back into place; it was wrong given the levity of the last exchange. It did disingenuously flare up for a moment. "Right, so, how about some eggs? Or waffles? You're not on a health kick are you? I mean, protein and carbs are best for getting a day going if you need the energy, but - you know - sometimes people just think losing weight instead of staying fit..." Okay, he was trailing. Still, he started for the food line anyways. "I moved into my dorm early and was able to dine here a few times so far. The food here is amazing."

At hearing Jack’s apology, Sapphira let out an audible sigh, the rest of the anger deflating from her. “I honestly don’t need to hear pity. It doesn’t make me any stronger than I already am,” she replied. “There’s nothing I can do about the past, so I choose to look forward. I choose to protect people so maybe they don’t have to feel the pain of loss.” She inwardly wondered what pain he experienced in his life to be able to empathize with her so easily. However, she wasn’t going to ask. If he ever wanted to talk about it, she would be there to listen.

He quickly changed the subject, something he seemed pretty adept at. She smiled a little as he began stumbling on about food. “I’m not too picky,” she replied as her eyes scanned the array of food. She decided upon a hearty breakfast burrito and a glass of orange juice.

Once they had their food, she then looked around the cafeteria for a good spot. There weren’t a whole lot people in cafeteria, so there were plenty of open seats. She decided that a spot further away from the Fitzroy pack would be preferable. Granted, with their excellent hearing, they could probably hear the conversation she and Jack were having regardless of where they sat in the cafeteria. She gestured towards a spot a few tables away from where the telekinetic man (Tony) and the woman with dark magic (Penelope) were. @Nightfury Kat

@arca9

Séamus watched as Julian flexed his arms. "Damn!" Séamus gasped, trying to look surprised, "You're bigger than I expected!" As they went around, Séamus made sure to compliment Julian on his lifting techniques, the amount of weight he lifted, and anything else he could think of.

"Did you do anything special to get so big? Any special exercises or routines or anything?" Julian asked,

"It's mainly just because of the literally decades of time I've been putting in, but it's also the vampire blood in me," he told Julian. Suddenly, he thought of an idea that could be to his favour, "Actually, there's something I could do to help you. It's risky, but if it works, it'll make you blow up with muscle."

..

Blast! Jack managed to not let it show through, but he mentally cursed himself for trying to uphold that stupid tradition people had when hearing bad news. See, this was why he didn't understand it - having pity shown because of injustice of the past didn't make one stronger. At least she seemed willing to move past it quickly. Thankfully so.

He picked out a couple of things - a bit of scrambled eggs and toast, a few pieces of fruit in case he found Ariel and she hadn't eaten much, and a protein bar for later - as well as a bottle of water and a bottle of orange juice for his breakfast. He paid for both of them, shelling out the money without a second thought. There was plenty to be said when someone could pull out a wad of cash and just thumb off an amount without blinking; he didn't care for any of it considering she probably came from something similar. He hadn't heard of many families like his - that dealt in shady business at best, and made enemies like most made friends - that didn't have loads of cash; it would be more once he had his parents legally declared dead and could collect on their insurance too.

The fruit slid into his jacket pockets - wrapped in napkin to keep them from getting covered in lint - as soon as they got to a table. He hadn't cared where they sat, and having it be beside one of the Guardian Auxiliary demonstrators and someone that looked like she was likely to break someone if they looked at her wrong, seemed like a much better choice to sit near than most others. He had questions for the Guardian Initiate anyways.

But that would wait.

"So, what kind of classes are you scheduled for? Being an Initiate, are you planning to stay more toward combat and Guardian Training Program courses, or are you going to be branching out into other class types?" He took a gulp of his juice. "I'm curious to see if we might have any courses together. I hear it's always good to know at least one person in your class." Especially since he knew he and Ariel didn't share a handful of courses. He'd prefer to know at least one person in each course if he could.

@TheIrishJJ

All the complimenting Séamus was doing of Julian's lifting convinced Julian that Séamus admired him and therefore was a good person to be around. This, along with the endorphins from the workout, put Julian in a good mood. He thought about starting school, and instead of feeling dread of the workload, felt excitement about learning new things. He thought for the first time that summer that he was ready to go back to school. After Julian asked Séamus how he got so big, Séamus' answer sparked Julian's curiosity, and he greedily pressed Séamus for more. "What is it? Could you do it now?" Séamus' statement that it was risky didn't slip past Julian's attention, and he wondered for a second whether he could really trust Séamus. Séamus was a vampire after all, and he had heard rumours about vampires during his time at the school. He decided that Séamus was so muscular, so he must know what he was doing, and complied with what Séamus told him to do next.

@arca9

"What is it? Could you do it now?" Julian asked. Séamus grinned the widest he had grinned in a while. He couldn't believe that someone could be so gullible. In ten minutes, Julian would be eating out of the palm of his hand, and be that was just the first step in the plan.

"Of course I can do it now, just follow me," Séamus told Julian, and began walking to the bathroom. "You see," Séamus said, "vampires have this chemical in their body. It's great for building muscle and getting taller, and it also helps with another thing," he told Julian, winking, "So all I need to do, is bite you, and inject some of that into you." Séamus could see that Julian was looking worried. "Don't worry, it won't hurt much at first, but then it'll stop hurting completely. And the best thing, is that once it's in you, I never need to put more in. It'll just stay there forever, and so will the benefits." he reassured him with lies.

As they entered the bathroom, Séamus led Julian into a stall, locking it behind them. He grabbed Julian's shoulders, "Try to relax, it'll hurt less." Then, Séamus leant into his neck, piercing the skin with his fangs. He sucked some blood, about one pint, being quite thirsty. This, along with the venom that flowed in when Séamus stopped sucking, would be enough to make Julian pass out, but not a dangerous quantity. As soon as Séamus let go of Julian, he slumped against the wall of the stall and down to the ground, unconscious. When he woke up, Séamus would be able to tell him anything, and he'd believe him.

@TheIrishJJ

As Julian followed Séamus towards the bathroom, Julian got the idea that they were about to take some illegal drugs or steroids. Séamus started to tell Julian about the chemicals in a vampire's body, and how Séamus would have to bite him, which sounded to Julian like something similar to injecting drugs. Being the party-lover that Julian was, he did have some experience with drugs although he didn't know which ones, but he had never bothered with steroids because he thought his werewolf genes allowed him to get strong enough. He was a little nervous about what Séamus was about to do. He wondered if anything permanently damaging could happen, since Séamus said the chemical would stay in his body forever.

In the bathroom, Séamus grabbed Julian's shoulders, and Julian was surprised at how tense they were. Suddenly, there was a sharp stabbing pain in Julian's neck. Julian gritted his teeth as stars appeared in his eyes, his body rigid despite Séamus' advice for him to relax. He felt the blood being sucked out of his body and realized Séamus was letting his vampire side take over. Was Séamus trying to kill him? Julian tried to struggle against Séamus' jaws but found himself too weak to move. He felt a sensation of falling, but the world went dark before he hit the ground.

@Lemons

It's not as though the pseudo-condominium wasn't well designed, after all, the subtle grading of nature into furniture was rather pleasing to the eye, but the small quarters, the lack of any separate rooms... and speaking of separate rooms, Alason had to wonder: "Do you not have a bathr-," ah, a silly question. A solid pat confirmed that the moss which constituted the bed was at least on par with his own mattress, if not better, but Alason's critical eye turned to wonderment upon seeing a rather out of place sword hanging on the wall. Foregoing tact, he ran his hand along the blade, feeling, hearing, tasting the metal with the tips of his middle and forefinger, a pattern of seemingly infinitely complex flora running beneath his hand. Drawing it back down, he rather cautiously examined a permanent living fixation to the guard - a red blossom - from which trailed a web of thorns. Curious.

Alason was whipped back into the present by Anwen asking him something, though he did not quite catch what. He pieced it together, however, when she extended a handful of fresh raspberries. She placed them on a table to his left, and he was about to reach out and grab some when he noticed the spiraling form of a sleeping squirrel. The internal debate as to whether or not to still reach for the fruit was quickly ended by harrowing thoughts of rabies and needing to explain to his mother how he had followed a stranger to her treehouse in the woods and was bitten by her pet squirrel when he accepted her magical fruit. Perhaps I'd best not, he resolved, and placed his hand back at his side.

"Forgive me if I'm insulting you, I'd just rather not-" Alason stopped, his mouth open perhaps two centimeters, as he realized that he was about to apologize for a social faux pas to a woman who had just, somehow without him even noticing, stripped down to the layer most minimally permitted to not be a crime. "Never mind."

When Anwen asked him what his house was like, Alason wasn't quite sure how to answer. Rather, that is to say that he knew what his home was like, obviously, but why was she asking? It isn't as though he lives in some stone fortress surrounded by gargoyles and ravens as he walked about the corridors, filled with erect assemblages of dark, knightly armor, wearing mystical robes and chanting necromantic incantations. However, with a quick perusal of her face, Alason realized something quite pitiful: that's exactly what she was imagining.

"I-," Alason contemplated lying, just for the sake of a story a touch more fun than the insufferably grey reality of his life, "I just live in one of the apartments. Second floor, room 208. That's about all there is to it." Despite his best efforts, Alason couldn't help but let a hint of blush bleed from his cheeks.

@arca9

Séamus leaned down, and picked up Julian's limp body, putting him over his shoulder. "Damn, he does need some more muscle, he's so light," he said to himself. Séamus walked back to his room, with Julian over his shoulder, making sure to go via corridors that would mean they wouldn't be seen. After a while, Séamus was back at his room, and he opened the door. "Anyone here?" he called out, but thankfully the room was empty. He put Julian down on his bed, and waited for him to wake up.

@Sylverblu

Anwen pouted, quite disappointed. "That's all? Really? No zombies, or ancient magical artifacts with the power to destroy worlds, or even a half-decent potted plant?"

Upon further introspection, she didn't know quite what she'd been thinking, but...this was the first person she'd ever actually hosted in her home, so she had no idea whatsoever what the standard practice was. What did she do? She'd asked him what his home was like, and been quite disappointed by the answer. Her head dropped to Cloud, and she stroked the small body for a moment before jumping up declaratively. "That's it! Tomorrow I'm coming to your house! You said Room 226, right?" Her pout stretched into an enormous smile. "I'll be there at noon or whatever!"

With that said, she walked bouncily over to the wall and grasped the sword. After a moment, the bindings of wood holding it in place receded and she pulled it away from the wall, walking up to Alason. "I saw you looking at my sword! It's pretty, isn't it?" She held it out to him in a clear invitation. "Oh!" she added hastily, "but don't touch the thorns!" With that somewhat mystifying warning, she walked over to the "door" and stood for a moment, looking out. "I know it looks kinda out of place, that's the sword I used whenever a Hunter found me in the woods. That was a long time ago..." she trailed off, the smile in her voice fading away. "They called me—us—evil spirits. And there hasn't been an us for a very long time."

Her voice began to wobble as her emotions began to run unchecked. "I...killed a lot of people. Why did I kill them?" She began to shake with faint sobs, bouncing from one emotional extreme to another with extraordinary speed. The walls of the tree suddenly began to constrict in on themselves as she cried, dropping to a sitting position as she let her head fall. The gap sealed up, and the furniture began to shrink away into the encroaching walls. They slowly crushed in towards the two as they were left in complete and total darkness. A great groaning emanated from the wood around them as it began to contort even further away from its natural shape and crush inwards upon themselves as Anwen's usually completely forgotten self-loathing began to emerge from its dark pit.

"Why?" she shrieked, her voice magnified tenfold in the tiny space, "why didn't they just go away? I didn't want to hurt them!"