[IC] Modern Mages IC

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

Adam had done his job during the assault. Firing back on assassin and monster alike.
Now with a few prisoners, he watched over the interrogation. Clenching his right hand into a fist, extending his pointer and little finger, he began drawing in light. Forming a small blade of solid darkness.
Adam had always been a bit of a bully. He enjoyed being in a situation he could control. Probably because he was pushing the trauma he experienced as a child onto those now he deemed beneath him. “Now...” walked up to one of the more stoic looking assassins. He wanted to show they were serious. He grabbed the right hand of the assassin with his left hand and the shadow blade lashed out taking off three fingers. The blade made of darkness, dissipating as the assassin’s pinky, ring finger and middle finger fell to the ground. “How much is she paying you?”

@Sanity43217

The man made no sign of pain. "We don't feel pain. Anyway, she's paying us in magic and other things. If you want a number, we're getting three million dollars worth, if we would have succeeded, that is."
"What else do you want to know?" The man asks. The other man, who was about to speak, also started to talk. "The Supreme magically gave us the power to fight and kill like master assassins despite all of us being civilians."
"Well, if you want to call prisoners civilians."

[Phi Chisym]

Lithy

Organized chaos - that's how Lithy would describe the activity within the estate. There were healers urgently moving throughout the grounds, the newly healed heading inside to find their friends and help out, and others taking on the task of watching their prisoners while all waited for their instructors to announce the next step. Lithy waited calmly, trying her best to remain patient as the activity began to calm down around her. She was nervous without Amos taking control of her confidence. He was - resting, rolled up in a ball within her arms. This short battle took a lot out of them both - her last little effort used a significant amount of magic to guard so many people. So, as Amos rested, Lithy tried to be... social without feeling paranoid about everybody.

"Why do you and that cat share a scent?"

"AAAHHH!" Lithy jumped in her boots and whipped around, catching her heart in her chest as she found Soul behind her. "Soul!" Taking a deep breath she stilled herself. Amos barely moved. Her brow folded confused, "Share a scent you say?"

"Also earlier it was as if another person spoke with your mouth. Is this a common occurrence for you, or is this a problem we should be wary of?" His curiosity was strange to her, but Soul was a different sort. He was unlike the others within their student body; one who walked absence of an aura she could understand- hell, she should have been able to sense his presence! Soul was just a difficult book to read - yet, an interesting one. Timid as she was, she gave Soul a welcoming grin. This was the first time she's really spoken with him since becoming acquainted. She should get to know her other classmates. These days, tucking herself away from the world wasn't a good plan anymore.

Taking a moment to soak in his question, and finding the right words for him to fully understand, Lithy nodded with a nervous grin, "Amos... is a special kitty. He and I share a bond; he's my Familiar. At times, when I require his assistance, his spirit will connect with mine to boost my abilities. He can either share my form with me or during dangerous moments, take full control of my form while - my spirit - steps away to execute various attacks." Giggling, a sign of relaxing just a bit, she shook her head, "And no... it's not a problem. That's just part of my abilities as a Vessel - a collector of spirits."

Just then, Miss Emelia stepped within the large circle of students and prisoners in the large entrance of the estate. "You are in the presence of a large gathering of real, powerful witches, both male and female. I would suggest you cooperate with our questioning." With the number of students and instructors around them, power in numbers, even Lithy could read from their captors' auras how intimidated they were. And to add to their fear, Adam, another member of the elite student body she's never had the chance (or the courage) to meet, stepped forward to seize the hand of one of their attackers. He held a blade of pure darkness, one Lithy's never fathomed could ever exist within this realm, and placed it near three of the assassin's fingers. The man squirmed, fighting off the 'Bad Cop' interrogation, but he kept his lips sealed.

Lithy intensely watched with an uncomfortable touch of deja vu - quickly closing her eyes and turning back around towards Soul. The situation was just... far too personal to her. She's been on the other end of a blade far too many times.

[Blackwolf]

Soul could hear voices all around, whispers as if they were right next to him, footsteps, he could smell the magic flowing through the building. He left his senses on high alert, keeping them empowered to watch the captives. The one who shared her scent was standing before him, answering his question, he looked down, it did appear magic was shared between them. He was silent for a moment he lifted his arms, twisting them around looking at them and tilting his head "I do not feel I would enjoy that. I find comfort in knowing my own actions" he said. He found the calm beat of the assassin suspicious, he couldn't help but wonder if they were like him. "Though knowledge of a constant companion. I can see the advantages of such an arrangement."

Though the interrogation with the assassins was picking up. He watched as the man cut off the fingers, the taunting of as he watched without reaction. He turned back to Lithy before him as her state started to change, her breathing altered as she was watching what happened. His head tilted to the side some as he looked at her. He wasn't sure what had caused it as he remembered someone who was helping him telling him what to do "Everything is fine" he said his voice tone actually shifting as he spoke softer than normal, and it didn't ring with the same somewhat unnatural clarity

[Phi Chisym]

Remy

It was an instant relief when Emelia's spell rushed throughout the grounds. All of Remy's muscles were taut as his aura energy was released to the masses, but when the Librarian's attack struck, his energy exploded like an agitated volcano shooting up in the air. An audible crack echoed along with an agonizing scream as his muscles popped and Remy's body dropped like a stone from the air. He landed on the bed with a thud, almost bouncing off the edge. Unconscious and breathing shallow, Remy's mind wandered across the realms and back again, not quite isolated within the room anymore.

"Remy, Remy baby wake up."
A voice... he was hearing things now? Remy felt so numb in his stupor, he could barely understand the words or the sensations present...

"Open your eyes, listen to the sound of my voice."

Familiarity - his eyes began to flutter. He wanted to see the face behind that voice. Was it...?

"I'm here. Open your eyes."

A groan left his lips as Remy fought to regain his consciousness. He was drained of mana and could use a strong B12 shot for energy, but the presence beaconing him back to the surface urged his body to recharge and pull itself out of the deep. He wanted to see Yuri's face...

"Remy, come back to me. I can't lose you. I... Remy if you can hear me, I love you, and I need you."

He was going to say something... His body shifted unconsciously, sending another agonizing shock of pain up his back forcing his red, blood-shot eyes to widen in a silent scream. Breathing to calm the sting, and eyes fluttering to adjust to the dull lights in the room, Remy found himself held in Yuri's arms.

"...Yuri...?" His voice was feeble and the tone of his skin held no color. But as soon as his dull eyes readjusted upon Yuri's face, everything seemed to return to the surface of his mind - including the voice he heard in his waking dream. Instantly, Remy's eyes lightened to sweet pastel pink. "Was that..? Did you say..?" Weak, stuttering; not sure if he was still wandering within his subconscious or if he woke up to the best daydream ever?

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

Emelia stepped up to the interrogated individuals.

Adam had done his job during the assault. Firing back on assassin and monster alike.
Now with a few prisoners, he watched over the interrogation. Clenching his right hand into a fist, extending his pointer and little finger, he began drawing in light. Forming a small blade of solid darkness.
Adam had always been a bit of a bully. He enjoyed being in a situation he could control. Probably because he was pushing the trauma he experienced as a child onto those now he deemed beneath him. “Now...” walked up to one of the more stoic looking assassins. He wanted to show they were serious. He grabbed the right hand of the assassin with his left hand and the shadow blade lashed out taking off three fingers. The blade made of darkness, dissipating as the assassin’s pinky, ring finger and middle finger fell to the ground. “How much is she paying you?”

@Sanity43217

Emelia looked at Adam a little disappointed. "Okay that's enough." Waving her hand, the men's fingers regrew. "What? Prisoners? What exactly are you saying?" She asked. The man who was previously maimed answered. "Well basically we were all in prison. The Supreme as she called herself, Madam Muir enchanted us, told us about some kind of ritual magic she was going to use on the Hill Top, the only spell she said that could work. The Hill top was magically transported to this dimension and when we wiped everyone out, she would teleport in and collect everyone's blood, maybe steal everyone's souls and then leave."

"Obviously that isn't going to work now. So what are you going to do with us?"

[Blackwolf]

Soul spoke out returning to his normal way of speaking looking from Lithi over to Emelia as addressed her, his flat tone having that unnatural clarity that made it easy to hear as it even seemed like his presence in the room was more noticeable as he was speaking "If I may make a suggestion, I recommend we kill them, our the ability to trust them is low. More than likely they will simply be repeat combatants if let go. Reducing the number of potential threats would ensure the best chances of survival. Holding them could also be problematic depending on supplies and manpower. THough In truth I do not know enough of those things to make any strong judgment on the viability of holding captives." He finished his statement lowering his head to Emelia, as he "Step down" to clear the floor for others, his presence even seemed to fade back down.

after he finished speaking through Soul could feel his senses fading. He would need sleep and food soon. He had neglected them since he came to the school. Choosing to maintain himself with mana, but between evacuating, traveling to the manor, and now the attack. he was pushing near his limits. His hand gripped his sword, his breath was steady and controlled, though only thouse close to him would note any abnormal behaviour as he was was hiding his presance, making himself less noticeable to those at a distance from him. Those of already weak awareness even forgetting he was there.

[WindsOfFate]

Ying and Yang

Yuri held Remy as his energy subsided. He had to admit his boyfriend was strong, very strong, and yet no one would ever think Remy had such immense power. He was the definition of a hidden weapon; however, his power was like a double-edged sword. At this moment, Yuri understood that Remy was vulnerable to outside influences. The remaining tattoo on his back was evidence that something was wrong and that he needed medical attention. Remy was weak in his response to Yuri, but Yuri never let go of him. Somehow he'd help him, he'd protect him and after all of this was over, they would vacation and spend more time together. Remy was the one for him. He knew it, and as much as he wanted to just relish the moment they were in, he knew Madame Muir wouldn't stop and he had to make sure she was stopped, for the others and especially for Remy.

Leaning forward, he kissed Remy on the forehead and smiled.

"I said I love you," Yuri said. "Do you have the strength to get up? I can dress you."

Yuri looked around the room noticing the sigils had burned off the wall and the windows. He made a mental note to learn more about Remy's abilities to make sure he could be more help. He knew they would need to regroup with the others to make sure they had some sort of plan against Madame Muir and at this rate if they didn't do something they'd be dead. She'd managed to find them swiftly, but somehow they would get away. They had to.

[ActRaiserTheReturned]

Soul spoke out returning to his normal way of speaking looking from Lithi over to Emelia as addressed her, his flat tone having that unnatural clarity that made it easy to hear as it even seemed like his presence in the room was more noticeable as he was speaking "If I may make a suggestion, I recommend we kill them, our the ability to trust them is low. More than likely they will simply be repeat combatants if let go. Reducing the number of potential threats would ensure the best chances of survival. Holding them could also be problematic depending on supplies and manpower. THough In truth I do not know enough of those things to make any strong judgment on the viability of holding captives." He finished his statement lowering his head to Emelia, as he "Step down" to clear the floor for others, his presence even seemed to fade back down.

after he finished speaking through Soul could feel his senses fading. He would need sleep and food soon. He had neglected them since he came to the school. Choosing to maintain himself with mana, but between evacuating, traveling to the manor, and now the attack. he was pushing near his limits. His hand gripped his sword, his breath was steady and controlled, though only thouse close to him would note any abnormal behaviour as he was was hiding his presance, making himself less noticeable to those at a distance from him. Those of already weak awareness even forgetting he was there.

@Blackwolf

Emelia shakes her head. "Absolutely not. I have the power of Lectio animo, I can tell they are being honest. I can read their intentions. Although some of them cannot be trusted, others of them are in fact coerced into this situation."
"I see we detain some and let the others go." Anatole steps in, "I can see the wisdom of both arguments."
"Kill them all and let God sort them out could just turn out to be a way to make other enemies."

[Phi Chisym]

Lithy

Touch and go - Lithy's awareness of her surroundings sat on the edge of falling over the edge of her PTSD. The screams of the assassin who lost his fingers for holding his tongue echoed throughout the room, almost causing Lithy to take a knee to avoid panicking. Her breath ran sharp and quick and her eyes closed to aid in maintaining her balance. She was already exhausted, hungry, and anxious about getting to a more secure place; if there was one... Now, this! The blood wasn't the problem, nor the gore of the act. No, she just knows far too well how the assassin feels right now.

"Everything is fine," Soul noted, pulling Lithy's attention towards the softer tone that wasn't normal for him. It was - strange, but comforting. Blinking back to reality, Lithy stood frozen, staring at her classmate almost as if she barely heard him... Then, she drew in a deeper breath and released it along with her past fears, and gave Soul a reassuring nod. She's still not use to others being considerate around her; it was much appreciated. Everything is fine... for now...

Emelia looked at Adam a little disappointed, "Okay, that's enough." Waving her hand before the damaged assassin - returning his fingers where they once were, unharmed.

Lithy was shocked. "She has regeneration?" she whispered in awe, wondering if any of the other students see the Librarian use such a high-level healing spell before. Silently, she listened further as Emelia gained more information from the assassins, learning that many were prisoners of Madame Muir. She enchanted them to attack, then teleported Black Hill Top into an inner dimensional trap! How was any of that even possible? The woman had already set plans in motion for the very location they were supposed to be safe... They were sitting ducks just waiting to be roasted! Lithy's senses were on high alert, now more than ever. If that madwoman was able to pull this off once, how possible would it be for her to attempt again?

"We'll never be safe - no matter where we go," Lithy hissed under her breath.

"Obviously that isn't going to work now. So what are you going to do with us?" The assassins knew they were stuck there, but - frankly - they're in a better place, right?

When Soul spoke to the crowd, his typical flat canter had returned. It had Lithy wondering if the walking spirit recently learned about how the tone of one's voice can express more than a single word... All of his suggestions were wise, but Lithy wasn't sure about any of them except death. The whole idea of dealing with these men again truly was an irritating thought, but she was not concerned about them.

"Um... well, the assassin did say that Muir would bring them back if they were successful here," Lithy's voice was timid but easily heard. Even though Amos was asleep in her arms, she was still nervous about talking before such a large group. "They're stuck... She's not going to bring them back. And, frankly, do they want to return to prison, or be freed?"

Staring at the responses of the assassins, she wondered if any of them wanted their lives back. "If they are bounded to a Contract of Truth, to never return to Muir or attack any innocent life for her sake, then it'll be possible for them to gain their freedom, and us... a day of peace? Maybe?" Folding her arms around herself for comfort, Lithy cringed, "But, I'm more worried about those ghouls more than the assassins... What were those things? And where can we go to stay safe, if Muir's capable of just transporting our entire location to - another realm of her choosing?" That's crazy!"

[Blackwolf]

Soul listened to everyone speak as he kept his presence low, though he didn't have the strength to fully hide from them even if he wanted to he acted more of habit than anything. As he listened their voices rang out, screaming in his head. A random concussion would drum in his head. Some one jumped and was startled as the creeking board screamed in his head. His hand was trembling as he felt cold. His body temperature lowering. His mana reserves were, low and for some one who used magic to make up for having half of a soul, he looked drained of vitality.

He turned to look to lithy"The ghouls were cannon fodder. As monsters go they were weak," he stated though intending to reassure her his flat tone made it, hard to fully inturrpet. That said though at least to him it was the truth Even operating at the minimum as he had been he was able to overpower those gouls so he figured they were some low monster, they didn't even seem to have innate magic. He looked right back to Emelia before speaking again. "If I had to guess. They sent only disposable units in order to test our defenses. Get an adequate gauge of how secure we are and also to test who of us would be the biggest threats" he paused for a moment speaking. His eyes blinking rapidly, before closing for a moment and opening back up and continuing "We can only claim this as a minor victory, but If it wasn't for the select few who were able to act in the chaos this would have been much more of a massacre...." The light in the room was starting to burn at his eyes again, closing them before opening them up. A constant drone and ringing in his ears before he opened speaking "...but it would be safe to assume that our enemy has learned more from this than we did." he continued " I recommend we move forward with some plan of action, whether it be for cups with holes or some other thing. If all we do is react we will eventually be backed into a corner"

He "Steped back" again Rubbing his eyes he looked tired and aged. the light was starting to burn through his eyes lids. That ringing was growing louder as that humming and buzzing grew more and more intense. It hit him like a wall. He gritted his teeth, he couldn't maintain his senses anymore as they dropped down. It was like a concussion grenade went off inside his head. The world slowed down, everything got quiet and at the same time loud mixing together as his pupils fully opened up and light burned his eyes. He felt like he was going to vomit, he had kept his senses so high for such a prolonged period to suddenly dropdown. He focused as he was slowly adjusting to the world around him once more.

[Phi Chisym]

Remy

Leaning forward, Yuri kissed Remy on the forehead and smiled, "I said I love you."

Those words... They were so simple, yet so complicated. Nevertheless, they create the most beautiful statement ever spoken within the English language. So much meaning and passion are tied within those three words... even more so being spoken by the man watching over him. Remy blushed, flushed with the realization that Yuri meant it... truly meant what he said. The charge of adrenaline gave him a second wind well enough to brighten his features with joy. Slowly, he arched his neck up towards his Love, softly pecking Yuri's lips with his to show him just how much he loved him back. But even that action seemed to cause more unknown pains. Remy hissed under his breath when their lips parted.

"Do you have the strength to get up? I can dress you."

"Yes... I think I can... stand." With his arms around Yuri's neck, Remy attempted to find his feet only to cry out fiercely as his movements awoke a scorching pain down his back. His knees buckled but he held his place, "GGAAHHHH! My Back!" Tears whelped in his eyes again as he worked to control his breathing; the unknown 3rd-degree burn made its appearance known to him. "It... burns! What the hell.. did I do to myself...this time?"

Remy's used to these moments - falling unconscious to wake up finding himself damaged or the room torn up. Granted, starting magical school helped to eliminate such events happening daily. But recently, when he did have an episode like this, he ends up damaged, weak, and unaware of what transpired around him. He felt more like a burden than a helping hand...