[IC] Of Monsters and Men [Modern Fantasy]

[Mad Scarlet]

Chapter One: Welcome to the Night Garden

Time: Second week of classes | Fall Semester
Weather: Warm, but breezy.
Current Events: Hallesdale College Club's Fair

Everyone is encouraged to attend the Club Fair that is taking place in courtyard of the college grounds!

Monsters who are in leadership roles of the Night Garden must be at the booth to encourage "normal people" to join.

Humans that are interested in joining should go talk to the people at the booth, because this is a strange club with stranger people running it!

There is a spell on the "info" sheets so that monsters can see the message: "If you can read this, then we are your people. -- People of the Night"

[Mad Scarlet]

Afina dressed in a pair of red skinny jeans and wore a Fall Out Boy t-shirt. On the shirt were lyrics from their song Phoenix. She'd pulled her hair back into a singular, long red braid. Her eyes glimmered a vibrant green, but with every few blinks, it was as if they changed between other vibrant hues--every other color from amber to even an icy blue. She rested her elbow on their booth and then her cheek on her hand, leaning against it in slight boredom. Part of her wanted to slap every other member of the student council, but another part of her had already accepted their fate. It was "open up to new members" or "kiss your cult goodbye". She'd chosen the prior in order to prevent the club from being wiped away from campus like a smudge on a window.

A few random humans wandered over and looked at the info sheets provided and then scoffed. She could tell what they were thinking just by looking at changes in their eyes--a skill that she had possessed every lifetime that she had to suffer through. They thought the Night Garden was the laughing stock of campus, or better yet, a cult.

'If only they knew better... then they would cower at our feet... Oh, well. Shit happens, as the mortals like to call it.' She thought nonchalantly as she twirled a small strand of stray hair around her finger. Looking at her fellow officers, she couldn't help but dread the thought of their missing Secretary. They would need a new one... and it would most likely have to be a human to appease the higher-ups.

"The Night Garden is finally open to all students on campus!" She said in a somewhat cheery tone of voice, trying to get people's attention. "We offer a large variety of activities!"

[Mr_pink]

Bryan cycled at a rather slow pace to his campus. The sounds of Edwin Starr's 'Twenty Five Miles' rung out in his ears as he edged closer and closer to the school grounds. As per usual, he wore a rather baggy red and black zip-up hoodie, left open. Under the hoodie he sported a white t-shirt bearing the familiar Motown 'M'. A pair of jeans and some old sneakers sufficed for his bottom half, he never was one to dress up for something like school, just seemed like an extra-ordinate amount of effort for something that he should technically enjoy.

He finally made it to the entrance of the school, and locked his bike on a nearby fence before making his way into the hall. He really needed to get a car sometime soon. He was currently alternating between his old, rinky-dink bike and sharing his family car. His dream of a Toyota Trueno was still shining in his eyes though, and he hoped that he'd be able to afford one what with the numerous money gifts he'd inevitably get from extended family after finishing his college exams.

He looked around the club fair, it was bustling with various clubs and people milling about looking for a new hobby. Bryan walked past a few, bearing no heed to the 'young farmers club' or the 'neo-spartacist goth raver association'. Finally, something that didn't seem too awful caught his eye. Unfortunately it was 'The Night Garden'. If only he knew. He stuffed his hands into his hoodies pockets, walking over to the booth and peering down at the assortment of leaflets and whatnot laying on the desk in front of him. It didn't seem to awful, and at least it didn't involve something so serious as communist goth raves.
"So, uh, what is this club actually about?" Asked Bryan "It says here you play laser tag and all that, which sounds great and all, but I'm not sure I'd be up for it every night, to be honest." He said, taking out an ear bud with a hand before stuffing the hand straight back into his hoodie pocket.

[knighthawk]

Leopold couldn't sit still, part of his high energy lifestyle, so he was handing out the eight-by-eleven scrolls to anyone who didn't smell human. It wasn't a matter of knowing what a goblin smells like, its a matter of knowing what humans do and looking for someone lacking that. Usually it was in the sweat or the eyes, eyes darting around, the eyes of prey watching out for predators like him. He had handed out a dozen dozen of pages before circling back to the booth to reload, taking a moment off his feet to kibitz with the others.

"Any takers yet? Between the kids who want to fit in and the ones who want to stand out, this is a lot harder to do than I imagined. I got goosed by a granny coming out of the arts building and I swear she was imagining me for those nude paintings. What do you guys think? 'howling to a full moon' with me in a squat on a stool half changed-er changed out of my clothes."

He emphasized the last word as some newcomers came to the booth and broke into a smile that just didn't seem like it should sit right on his face. It wasn't a true predator grin, but the natural way all his teeth edged rather than sat flat or rounded like most humans, it was ether bad genes or cosmetic teeth. He flipped on the answer when asked.

[Mad Scarlet]

@Mr_pink@knighthawk

Afina looked up at the were-cat when he approached. She noted that he was doing considerably well for one who was more of a predator than most of the current members of the Night Garden. She did her best to give him a kind smile, one that held gratitude for what he was doing, and listened to his story. "I think you would look splendid. Perhaps you could rub some virgin blood on your face while you're at it? Give you more of a primitive look?" She was trying to joke around, but failed miserably. Funny comments and jokes were definitely not her forte. 'I'm too old for young creatures like him...' She thought haphazardly, remembering just how many eons she had been forced to spend on this earth.

Suddenly a human strode toward the booth and asked about the club activities. She glanced him up and down, sensing his mortality. She listened to his question, not moving her cheek from her hand. Once he'd finished speaking, she sat up straight and looked at him with piercing amber eyes, trying to judge his character, before answering, "The Night Garden participates in all sorts of events." She pointed towards where the downtown area of the city would be and continued. "We meet up at the Quills & Quivers most nights. We have study nights, movie nights, go to concerts, and even try to make a trip somewhere at least once a year--paid for in full by the club, of course."

She reached out her hand, trying to mimic what some of the other club officers had done when greeting someone and trying to buy them in. "My name is Afina, the president of the club." She hoped that he would take the offer to join the club, because having just one human would make it look like they truly tried.

[Mr_pink]

Bryan had never noticed the rather large fellow, grinning as if he had a gun pointed at his spine just to the left of who he had considered to be the club leader. He gave him a small, almost unnoticeable nod before returning his attention to, Afina. He had the strange habit of sort of moving his eyebrows when listening to someone. For example, he'd move his right eyebrow up while lowering his left in a sort of confused facial expression. Occasionally they would switch before finally resting back into their normal position. At the same time as this was going on he'd be biting his thumb nail, not out of nervousness or anxiety, but out of habit. The habit was strange both in how it looked and its irregularity. It would only appear every now and then, and Bryan would often never notice it unless it were mentioned to him.

His suspicion that, Afina was the leader of the club was confirmed with her final sentence. He shook her hand with his right, this time keeping it hanging at his side rather than shoving it back into his hoodie's pocket.
"I'm, Bryan" He grinned. He surveyed the room with his eyes, looking at the various clubs from afar. His father had practically ordered him to join at least one club, he said he hated him 'stinking up the house', but the real reason was, of course, to stop, Bryan from driving the family car and wasting gas all of the time. The club seemed better than most to, Bryan. It had no set goal or purpose, and he was sure that the reputation that preceded the group could not have been anywhere near as bad as it was made out to be.
"Sign me up then, I suppose. You'll need to give me directions to this 'Quills and Quivers' though, never even heard of the place." He said, almost joyfully.

[Major Ursa]

The bell jingled as the door opened, quietly shutting just a moment after. Reaching a hand into his pocket…this gestured was mainly for show, as the piece of round, blue hard candy produced had just been conjured out of the air. Mouth curling into a knowing smile as he held the piece up in front of his face, turning it to catch the slightest glint of light off of it, the way he regarded it with those dark grey eyes of his…as if it were a precious diamond. No one just kept their sweet bare in their pocket; the loose bits of lint would ruin it some, playing up the illusion that he did was almost enough to turn his stomach. Popping the bit of hard candy in his mouth and almost letting out a pleasured groan at to the flavour, he stopped himself short when he noticed a rotund woman trying to get his momentarily scattered attentions.

The round, chipmunk cheeked woman he recognised as a customer, she gestured down at hi—ah. Laughing easily as his gaze went down, it seems he stepped out with his usual apron was still on over his dress casual. Bringing it back up, his warm grey gaze went to the woman as he reached behind him to untie the apron, “Thank you, am I ever grateful you pointed this out…” Devilishly charming smile, and a bit of a haughty wink, the man pulled the apron off, lightly mussing his dark hair in the process. To say the least, this was one interesting way to leave his shift.

Apron on his arm, a long finger hand was reached out to lightly pat the woman on the shoulder, as if she was an old friend. Rolling the round piece of candy over his tongue, the sweetness dancing along in his mouth more lavishly than any hot blooded woman on a stripper pole, his lips parted for him to ask in a smooth tone of voice, “Yes, I remember this charming face of yours, now. You were the one who bought the box of cupcakes, a dozen all vegan for a good friend? Did your friend enjoy them, thoroughly? You told me she was quite the avid fan of…”

--------------------

Apron on his arm, free hand in his pocket, the man stopped before a few stalls. A small map had been given out at the front, from a quick glance one stall representing a baking club stood at the very end, but…he was in no rush to join even that. After all, there was class, and actually job to attend to. Then again, skipping out of the opportunity to share sweets…perish the thought!

The odd sport here, a billiards club there, something involving mathematics…that would be helpful to some humans, surely. Catching sight first of the stall’s representative, half-lidded eyes going along her form, there was almost appraising look from Aram. As if, this dark haired man were undressing the red haired young woman with his eyes, though the motion had been out of habit rather than out of lust. Then, his eyes flicked over to do similar to the youth with the skinny physique, tilting his head slightly. Maybe in the past, maybe. Eyes wandering one last time to the—ah…

"So, uh, what is this club actually about?"

Bringing his attention to the handouts as the younger man asked about the club’s activities, Aram pursed his lips and lightly sucked in a breath when he read the ensorcelled message upon each sheet. One in every town, it seemed. Giving them each their own charming smile, he removed his hand from his pocket and reached for the stack, carefully picking up two info sheets.

"The Night Garden participates in all sorts of events." … "We meet up at the Quills & Quivers most nights. We have study nights, movie nights, go to concerts, and even try to make a trip somewhere at least once a year--paid for in full by the club, of course."

Eyes moving along the page, his gaze lifted again to rest on the skinny man, “Google it?” The tone was of friendly teasing, before his eyes went over to the red haired young woman again. Aram popped a piece of hard candy into his mouth, “This club is quite extravagant, and the people running it, well…more so. Such a gorgeous red, like the ruby skin of a ripened sweet cherry, so rare.”

Smiling, not quiet caring enough at his own words, he turned the paper absently as if looking for more information, “Pardon me, but may I ask?What was the attendance like last year? If I recall correctly, the Night Garden is…notoriously particular about letting in new members. What has changed?”

[Mad Scarlet]

Afina was slightly taken aback by the way the human listened to her words, but she could tell that he was unafraid of speaking with a total stranger. Part of her was glad that he wasn't a shy soul, as they were the hardest type of humans to deal with. She blinked a few times when he reached out to take her hand and give it a quick shake. Her eyes shifted to a startling ivy green, reflecting her surprise at his easy-going behavior. "Oh, um. Of course." She held out the sheet that asked for first and last name as well as cell phone number and email, just so that the club could get a hold of them if they had a sudden change in plans. 'What an odd human...'

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bryan, and we'd be happy to have you join us." She did her best to smile and appear as friendly as some of the other club officers lined up in the school's courtyard. She was about to answer his question about where Quills & Quivers resided when another showed up. Her eyes flashed amber when the demon made his presence known and she could almost immediately tell what he was, but not the kind.

Without looking away from Aram, she said, "It's 320 North Eden, between a second-hand store and a small health foods mart." She weaved her fingers together and set them on her lap. As she listened to the man's compliments, not breaking her now stoic expression. Then she proceeded to say, "I appreciate the compliment, but I am not a fan of cherries."

He asked a question about the Night Garden's former picking and choosing of members and she nodded, trying to push the conversation elsewhere. "Indeed, we used to be very picky about our members, but... we decided that having more members would open up for new ideals and activities." SHe wouldn't admit that the club had been forced to open up to new people. "We have approximately ten or so members on a regular basis. People come, people go."

[knighthawk]

"I think you would look splendid. Perhaps you could rub some virgin blood on your face while you're at it? Give you more of a primitive look?"

"Good luck finding a virgin these days, Remind me to get your 'once bitten' for movie night next week."

"So, uh, what is this club actually about? It says here you play laser tag and all that, which sounds great and all, but I'm not sure I'd be up for it every night, to be honest."

"The Night Garden participates in all sorts of events. We meet up at the Quills & Quivers most nights. We have study nights, movie nights, go to concerts, and even try to make a trip somewhere at least once a year--paid for in full by the club, of course. My name is Afina, the president of the club."

He let her do the talking and waited for a breath to fill in the gaps. She may be the president and senior of staff, but sometimes she missed a beat when connecting with people. He waited for them to shake hands before he offers his hand in greeting as well.

"Part of the clubs mission is to provide a group people can come to at any hour to not be alone, we do activities all the time to keep people from falling into gangs and drugs and stuff like that. Lots of people here are out of town or out of state for the first time, holidays and familiar nights can get depressing when you are all by yourself while still surrounded. Leo, I'm on the football team, the club helps support the 'Friday Night Lights' by taking up a bench row at home games."

[Teddiplier]

Arte paused her video game after being lost in her thoughts for awhile. She turned on her phone to check the date, and found that she was correct. Today was the day of the Club Fair. She stretched her arms, and looked out the window. Luckily it wasn't too far of a walk.
She saved her game, then walked out of her dorm room and locked the door behind her. As Arte walked to the door, she walked in front of the hall mirror and made sure she still had her necklace on.
Yup.
Soon, she was in hearing distance of The Night Garden's booth.
...y taking up a bench row at home games," Leo was saying as Arte walked up to the booth. There were talking to two males, one of them at least bound to be a human.
Arte hated to interrupt, but did so anyways.
"Hey, Afina. Leo. Sorry I'm late. Didn't realize what today was," she said, scratching the back of her head all cliche like. She turned to the two males, not knowing how much of a conversation had gone by.
"Hi, I'm Arte. Artemis Midstark, actually, but you can call me Arte. I'm the Treasurer of The Night Garden." she smiled to them.

[Major Ursa]

"I appreciate the compliment, but I am not a fan of cherries."

Noticing the change in Afina’s demeanour, Aram shook his head and laughed, momentarily glancing sidelong at the other two nearby, “You…don’t like cherries? That’s too bad…I do.” Opening his mouth, hard candy gone, the incubus wore a devilish smile as he bit a certain round berry between his teeth, rolling it back over his tongue as he shut his mouth. The reality? Conjuring real fruit was a fractionally more difficult, as opposed to candy…but if it was sweet, well, the gloves could stand to come off every now and then. Still, it was evident from a different sort of energy to humans, she wasn’t.

Stripping the flesh of the tiny piece of fruit from the pit, the corners of Aram’s mouth twitched up to grow his amiable smile, “As it looks like are perfect spots open in my schedule, I have no reason not to join. I feel as if my eyes have been shut for the longest time, thank you for opening them, Afina.” Annunciating her name more playful that pointedly, a good natured laugh, he looked at the two other males. Opening his mouth for his own introduction—

"Hey, Afina. Leo. Sorry I'm late. Didn't realize what today was,"

Brow quirked up, turning a slight, he tiled his head without his smile diminishing in the least, "Hi, I'm Arte. Artemis Midstark, actually, but you can call me Arte. I'm the Treasurer of The Night Garden." Looking this young woman up and down, before looking back at those who had already assembled moments ago, the (ex)incubus licked along his top lip as he drummed his fingers on the apron on his arm, “Yes, a real pleasure meeting you all, it really is…it has been rather rude of me, hasn’t it? My name is Aram Pollux…”

Grey gaze flicking back to the president of the club, “Will you be needing my contact information? Some of the other clubs had mailing lists, though not all.”

[Skai]

@knighthawk

Maria strolled through the club fair, smiling at the hustle and bustle of campus. She was happy to be back. This summer had been packed with her photography internship and family, but now she was able to focus on school and her friends. She wore her usual get-up: a black, flowery summer dress, a soft, white sweater cardigan, beige socks, and boots with a slight heel. After brushing her golden hair back behind her shoulders, she crouched down at the start of the club fair.

’Snap!‘ Her camera clicked as she captured an image of the busy campus. She checked the image to make sure it was focused correctly, then stood continued on through the fair. She stopped at different booths, offering to take their picture for them and handing out her little side-business card. Maria was eager to get customers, and also considered joining a club or two while she did so. Of course, she was already a part of the Photography club, but she wanted something new this year. Something exciting. Little did she know, she was about to have a very exciting year indeed.

Maria beamed as she saw her club’s booth, near the booth for the notorious Night Garden club. She took a few pictures of her friends and hugged the president. “Hey, guys! Reel ‘em in today, okay?” Her friends waved her along, telling her to get back to work. Maria simply laughed, shrugged, and continued on.

Her camera clicked once more as she took an image of a few new students checking out a few flyers from a club. Then her attention was caught by the amount of people at the Night Garden stand. It was an odd sight, compared to the past two years of the club fair. Her blue eyes sparked with curiosity and she stood, walking over to the stand.

“Would you like for me to take a picture of your stand?” Maria asked the man sitting behind the booth, since the woman seemed to be occupied with the other students. She had a bright smile on her face, her friendly personality shining through. She’d never taken pictures of the club fair before, so she was hoping to get a picture of the busy stands. Which, surprisingly, was this one.

[Mad Scarlet]

@Major Ursa@Teddiplier@knighthawk

Afina nodded towards Leo and gave him an appreciative smile, her eyes changing to a calm blue, "You took the words right out of my mouth, Leo." She said this quietly before noticing the demon playing with a cherry in his mouth. Part of her wanted to scream at him and tell him to stop acting so foolishly in front of the humans, but she appeared to be cool and collected as normal. "You seem to have an apatite for sweets, perhaps you could teach us how to make them? Your apron tells me that you're a baker of some sort." Inwardly, she slapped herself for being as quick as she was. She'd forgotten that most humans ask each other what kind of jobs they had rather than simply picking up every other detail from their personality and appearance.

Then Arte appeared and saved her. She was grateful that the friendly Midstark was able to bring the situation back in hand, as Afina was terrible at keeping up conversations. "She's the one that makes sure all of our accounts are able to get us to the concerts and the like." 'Why do I always have to state the obvious...?' She wanted to shrivel up and pretend that today had never happened already, and it was only eleven in the morning. 'Why do I have to deal with so many humans...'

Then the demon introduced himself as Aram and asked if contact information was necessary. She nodded and held out the sheet toward him, "Yes, we would prefer to be able to contact you in case you miss a meeting or if something... comes up."

[Mr_pink]

Bryan watched as the group began to grow before his eyes. Unfortunately, the first chap who joined the group was, Aram. Someone who, Bryan disliked the look of as soon as he had seen him. He wasn't one to judge by appearance, and often worked around his instinctual feelings towards a person knowing that you should never judge a book by its cover. The 'google' comment flew over his head like an airliner, but what really got to him was the upfront flirting. It confused, Bryan in a strange way, but mostly angered him. To tell the truth, Bryan had never seen anything like it. As much as he disliked it, he had to say, the amount of confidence that Amon carried with him was impressive. Bryan never really considered himself to be confident in any way, and in fact, he kept quite a lot of his feelings inside, for fear of what people may think of him. Nevertheless, Bryan was no man of action and said not a word of action against Amon, just knitted his eyebrows slightly.

His expression returned to its usual one of absent minded happiness. He listened as, Leo explained the group in more depth. He certainly defied the stereotype of the meat-head bully 'jock'. Or at least, from what Bryan knew of him so far. He gave a small wave at his side to, Artemis as she arrived on scene. They all seemed like nice people, par, Aram. But, Bryan had been wrong about people in the past, and in his experience people he had hated had soon become good friends, and this time could be no different.

His eyes wandered about as he waited for the contact sheet to be passed from Aram to him. Soon he spotted a small flyer, less well-made group of flyers sitting just behind the leaflets. It seemed that the group needed a new secretary, and had yet to put up the flyers around school. Actually, had they? Bryan could vaguely remember seeing that somewhere, as a matter of fact, did he see it today? He closed his eyes, and rubbed the inside corner of his right eye with his thumb in deep thought. Well, it wasn't like it mattered, he opened his eyes and considered what he was about to say before finally saying it.
"Oh, are you guys looking for a secretary? I'm majoring in English and I'd be more than happy to help if the roles still open" He offered, his familiar grin returning to his face.

[Major Ursa]

"You seem to have an appetite for sweets; perhaps you could teach us how to make them? Your apron tells me that you're a baker of some sort."

That was…something about that was pleasing to hear, between ‘sweets’ and ‘baker’. That earned a box of cupcakes from him. The first club meeting, perhaps he should bring them then. Patting the folded apron in a rather fond manner, Aram shook his head and took the piece of paper in hand. Reaching under the apron, feeling around for one of the pens he kept in a pocket; he uncapped the writing utensil and neatly began writing his contact information....

"Oh, are you guys looking for a secretary? I'm majoring in English and I'd be more than happy to help if the roles still open"

Quirking a brow up without removing his gaze from the sheet, adding the last few digits for his cellphone number…the other new member of the club seemed pretty enthusiastic, or was it ambitious? Capping the pen and tucking it away, “Sounds like everything is conveniently falling into place, for your club…Bryan sound highly confident that he is qualified enough to take on secretary. He has me convinced.” Aram set the piece of paper back down onto the surface of the stall’s counter…along with two blue candy lollipops on little wooden sticks. Why? Sweet loving gluttony demon, that’s why.

[ravenDivinity]

Odell ↣

Odell stood by the LGBT group's booth with an assortment of brochures and pamphlets, tucked neatly under his left arm. They had assembled not long after he arrived at Hallesdale College's fair. He liked to think it was because he sought more involvement, but really he'd forget about most of them in the next day's hectic. Now, Mr. Dunkirk certainly did care at least some, but nobody could realistically pin any sort of responsibility on his flighty tendencies that followed him from boyhood to adulthood like a disease-ridden stray dog. Nonetheless, Odell would form a tenuous promise to attend the LGBT association's next meeting although, really, there were no real promises.

While Odell's eyes glossed over the latest tri-fold in his hands, the rep made some smalltalk. "Y'know, it's a little weird that the Night Garden is here."

"Wait, really?" Odell tore his mind from the paper. "Where?"

The rep shook his head in the direction of the off-kelter group, and Odell met eyes with an odd sight. He had only heard of the group in conversations with fellow students, and even then, all those mentions were just name-drops and no detail. The most Odell understood was that Night Garden met at some bookstore in town a lot. Beyond that, well, the group was just a part of the background noise on campus. It had no real significance as far as Odell was concerned, and their actual activities were a vaporous mystery. Weirder so was his distant gaze, and yet something was more peculiar about that ragtag group across the way, something drew his attention. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Well, that's weird. Didn't think they'd ever open up. I wonder what's different this year." The rep mouthed some contemplative word of agreement, drawing on some air of curiosity, and Odell opted to abandon that booth and head for whatever he next saw that drew his attention. "At any rate, I'll see you..." His eyes dropped to the tri-fold for guidance. "...Thursday? Yeah. Well, I'll see you then!" And just like that, Odell's presence was absent from the booth and there on the trail for his next stop. His path took him further through the courtyard, and as he continued, the allure of Night Garden's booth became stronger and stronger.

Well, it's not a bad idea... He was almost there, a half-commitment to the goal. Odell Jefferson Dunkirk, for one of few chance moments, stopped in his tracks and pondered.

[Mad Scarlet]

@Mr_pink@Major Ursa@ravenDivinity@Skai

Afina was slightly taken aback when the human that had introduced himself as Bryan offered to fill the secretary role immediately. Her stoic expression broke into that of slight wariness and finally, into one of relief. 'Maybe... it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a human as one of our officers... It may even teach some of our people some respect for humans...' Her eyes glimmered a brilliant blue, shining like a pair of sapphires. "So you're an English major as well?" She inquired lightly, somewhat ignoring Aram's comments, but give him a pointed stare. "As am I, and because I am one, I know when we'll have someone who's willing to put forth extra effort as an officer. We've never had a newbie immediately become an officer, though... but perhaps we'll have to give some this year." She looked to her fellow club members and officers before another human wandered up to the group.

The girl seemed very flamboyant with her camera and very cheery about everything that was going down today. She gave the girl a welcoming smile, finally getting used to giving into the mortal action. "Um... of course! We would love to have our picture taken." Then another boy started making his way to the booth almost immediately after the photography girl. She felt swarmed and slightly overwhelmed by the mortal's presence. "But first, let me give you and this other chap a handout!" It was the only thing she could think of before her brain went into panic mode.

'Everyone's making their way here to mock us... scoff at us...' Her paranoia was taking over. 'What do they want from me?!'

Alas, nothing but a friendly smile stayed upon her freckled face. "Greetings! Take a pamphlet and come to our opening meeting tomorrow evening!"

'Oh, Ministry help me... We're doomed.'

[ravenDivinity]

Odell ↣

@Mad Scarlet

Odell, in his approach, watched the redhead quickly become more and more anxious as he and other students encroached upon the booth. She played it cool with courtesy and smiles, but Dunkirk—and likely the rest of the 'audience' of sorts—found her agitation and paranoia apparent in the cadence of her timorous voice. A photographer similarly came to the booth, and just as Odell approached, the rep interjected before any picture-taking—"But first, let me give you and this other chap a handout!" "Greetings! Take a pamphlet and come to our opening meeting tomorrow evening!"—and another handout was quickly in sight. He tucked away the LGBT group's pamphlet with the other ones in his bag and grabbed Night Garden's with his free hand.

Those plans seem a little impromptu... Odell reasoned that the club rep was really just trying to salvage some sanity where it was not truly threatened. Her flustration was so brutally obvious in her quivering manner that he nearly pitied her plight, but he said nothing and did nothing and preferred to give her more space by drawing attention away from her anxiety. As Odell read the handout scrutinously, he mouthed its words on his lips, voice below a breath, and piped up with some offhand, perhaps pedantic commentary. Indeed, something was suspect about the club, and in the back of his mind, Odell wondered if he was really just joining some kind of cult. "People of the Night sounds a little ominous, don't you think?"

Something was off, but Odell couldn't, for the life of him, pick apart what it was. He inspected the paper closer and asked, "What sort of activities do you guys do?

[Levythelevy]

@Mad Scarlet @Skai

Tyler woke up to the sound of his alarm rattling off the bare walls of his small room, the cramped quarters echoing the sound to an almost uncomfortable level. His hand shout out and gently tapped the snooze button three times, silencing the alarm until the next day. He rose quickly and began to stretch out the tension and stiffness in his muscles, letting out a small sigh of relief as he felt the simple motions dislodge the soreness in his limbs. Turning his head, he looked out at the color coordinated calendar that served as his only decoration on the walls. The first week was highly structured with classes and studying period set aside with a small check next to each completed task. However, on this day, besides the normal colors of red, green, and blue, the sight of yellow dominated the morning. The words "Club Fair" were clearly written and underlined so there would be not doubt as to the importance of the day's event. His heart responded with a low and powerful pulse that resounded through his body, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to arise ever so slightly. He dropped down to check under his bed, but seemed to think the better of it. Instead he opened his dresser filled with a large quantity of clothing, all of excellent quality and spotless. He selected a simple pair of blue running shorts and a sweat absorbent shirt that had a been a present from the track coach at his high school. The sound of a gentle tick drew his eyes to the clock on his desk. If he left directly after his morning routine, he should have plenty of time to make it to the club fair and back before his classes. Soon after, Tyler left the humble building he slept in, and tried to outrun the first rays of dawn sneaking their way across the world.

-

By the time he had finished his overly complex and long route to the school, the sun had fully emerged into the sky sending warm waves down to gently heat its surface. The sound of voices overlapped one another as he slowed to a walking pace at the entrance to the fair. Tyler offered up warm smiles and greetings to those who knew him, though the smiles never quite reached all the way to his eyes which were scanning every booth reading every detail that he could. He had just finished looking over the photography club, when he spotted a large cluster of students blocking his view of the next one down. A voice filled with a flustered panic just under the surface loudly called out that they could meet tomorrow evening. However, to Tyler at any rate, some of the student he could see seemed strange. One of the faces he could make out sitting inside the booth had teeth not flat, but all edged. Another, a tall black haired student had set down some paper along with some lollipops that he did not think he had seen him holding before or pull out from a pocket. He shifted a few steps forward and saw the sign, "The Night Garden." He took a step forward, but it seemed that one of the photography students was setting up for a shot.

"Excuse me," he gave a friendly smile and waited for her to finish her shot. When she was done, he walked around the other student blocking the way and examined a flyer laid out on the table. He flicked his eyes up to, he presumed, the owner of the flustered voice. His eyes lingered a moment on her red hair, before coolly stating, "I will be joining your club. Here is my contact information." His tone rang with finality that seemed to brook no further need for discussion on the matter outside of an acknowledgement. At the same time, he slid a high quality business card across the table.

[Mad Scarlet]

@Levythelevy@ravenDivinity

Afina looked up at Odell, giving him a slight glare. [i]'I have no idea what he is, but he's one of us... Possibly a shifter?'[/b] Her eyes swiftly turned into a light purple as she did her best to scan him up and down. 'No, no, no... definitely a witch of some sort. Sulky bastards they are...' Her eyes returned to being a vibrant blue-green again as she did her best to stammer out, "We participate in all sorts of events--most of those partaking late at night for all the night owls on campus." She cleared her throat, but her tongue was still in knots. "W-we try to do a plethora of events, like late night laser tag and study groups. We also try to make it to concerts and various other night life events throughout the year--all paid for by the club, of course, as we do get a surprising amount of funding. Anything that you find interesting, I'm sure we can get around to at one point or another." She wasn't lying when she said that the school gave them excessive amounts of money, but she had her ways of wrapping the silly old codgers in the financial office around her little finger.

Then a human boy walked up. The air around him sent shivers down her spine, but she turned to give him a friendly look and smile. "H-hello, we are representatives of the Night Gard--" He slid his contact information across the table in the form of an expensive business card. Rude. "A-ah! How lovely! I'll make sure that you are added to our emailing list. We'll be meeting tomorrow night at Quills and Quivers for our opening meeting." She was getting more flustered by the second. Had she been in her true form, her feathers would most definitely be ruffled. Oh, goddesses... help me...