catmint

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

After a staff member of the university figured out what happened through Ambrose's babbling, he was whisked away and taken care of for about an hour. They tried to be gentle with Ambrose, trying to talk him down out of his panic. But they couldn't do much to help him, and instead concentrated their efforts on investigating the crime scene. Ambrose had been seated in a small back room, a gray blanket draped over his shoulders and a guard to watch over him.

They spent a couple hours in that room, and eventually they gave up trying to sooth him and instead started to grill him for clues. Ambrose basically shut down at that point, shaking and groaning in despair every now and then. The staff let him go after they gave up, ushering him to his dorm and setting a guard outside his room. Ambrose collapsed on the dorm bed laying still for a long time. For some reason, his roommate was no where to be seen, much to Ambrose's relief.

Finally, it occurred to him that he should let the others know what happened. With a weary sigh, Ambrose pushed himself up and fished his phone out of his jacket. His texts were short and straight to the point. Sam was on top of the situation in an instant, calling an emergency meeting. Ambrose whimpered to himself, not wanting to leave the safety of his room. But after a moment of talking himself up, he found the courage to push himself off the bed. Ambrose was sure the guard wouldn't want him to leave his room. So Ambrose retreated to the bathroom of the dorm and whispered the incantation of the spell to himself. His hands motions were shaky but he landed in the underground library with a thump.

Ambrose arrived just in time for Sam's spiel. "That thing has been watching us." He spat out, picking himself up and off the floor to take a seat. "It knew I would be there, it's trying to send a message." He paused and his voice dropped low, "Have you guys noticed anything strange? Maybe he has been leaving more subtler signs for you guys..."

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Withdrawn. Cold. Distant. All of these described Ambrose pretty well after what had happened to Caleb. The group had kept in touch over the last three weeks. It was mostly Samantha giving out updates on Caleb's condition, and Jeremy and Ariana continuing their research. During their meetings, Ambrose sat in the corner of the library. He had retracted completely back into his shell, closed off from the other members. Ariana had tried to make a friend out of him a couple times, but Ambrose had brushed her off at every attempt. Ambrose had thrown himself into his studies, barely getting sleep and instead spending most of his free time in the underground library to read up on whatever material he could get his hands on. Ambrose had been become a sort of a favorite among the freshman teachers, who had noticed his motivation and focus in class. But among his peers, he was more of an outcast. A mystery. None of this bothered Ambrose though, he was too lost in his own world.

Over the past weeks, Ambrose hadn't visited Caleb once. He couldn't bare to. It was too painful and anxiety-inducing to even try and think about Caleb. Whenever his mind wandered to him, Ambrose felt a whole knot of feelings. And not all of those said feelings were anger or hurt. Instead, he focused his mind on his school work.

Now, his last class had just come out of session. Ambrose didn't bother waiting around, packing his books immediately and fleeing the lecture hall. Today was a bit different, today Samantha had been spamming the group message about how Caleb was hopefully be free from the hospital soon. Ambrose strode across the building's halls, ignoring the students that streamed around him.

We should visit as a group!

Jeremy suggested in the chat, probably trying to garner affection from Samantha. Ambrose scoffed and rolled his eyes, tucking his phone away into his back pocket. Ambrose retreated to his favorite spot on campus to study. A small garden tucked away from the busier parts of the university, it even grew delicious fruits from the low-hanging trees. Ambrose found his usual spot and settled on a stone bench, pulling out his materials and started to go through his daily assignments.

But after a moment, a cold chill went over him. The sunny sky seemed to darken and everything went quiet. Ambrose felt the shift instantly, and his head snapped up, eyes scanning the greenery around him. "Hello...?" He called out hesitantly, standing up slowly. Ambrose inched his way to the exit, praying someone was nearby to hear his screams. But his blood went cold as he spotted the figure hanging from the tree. Strung up by their organs, the body swung in the breeze. On the trunk of the tree, the words "The Time Is Upon Us" were scrawled in blood. Ambrose covered his mouth with his hand, muffling a cry of fright. His muscles refused to move for a good minute until finally Ambrose was able to scramble out of there for help.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose had calmed his nerves, Caleb had access to the best care possible. Especially with magic at his side, and the doting attention of the headmaster. He shook himself from his daze and stood up, "I'm not sure there is anything we can do..." He murmured, his voice trailed off as Ariana fished her phone out of her pocket. Ambrose relaxed slightly, so he wasn't dead. It was a relief, even if Caleb wasn't out of the woods just yet. "I mean... We should go see him." Ambrose said hesitantly, unsure if it was his place to suggest it.

Jeremy stood still for once, his head nodding vigorously. "Yes, we need to be there for Caleb and Sam." He said and began the motions for the teleportation spell. He was off in an instant, reappearing at Sam's side. Jeremy gasped softly at the sight of Caleb's mauled body, he set a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder. "It's going to be okay..." He managed out softly.

Ambrose sighed with frustration as he was left alone in the library, both Ariana and Jeremy already transported to the hospital room. "Goddamnit..." He grumbled, "You guys forgot about the newbie." Ambrose took a deep breath and thought back to the times he watched Caleb perform the spell. Concentrating enough to sweat, Ambrose went through the hand motions slowly before focusing his energy on the location he wanted to enter. And before he knew it, his surroundings had changed to that of the sterile hospital room. Except he had landing a bit misplaced, off in the corner and facing the walls. Ambrose spun around in confusion for a moment before realizing he had successfully completed the spell. But his moment of elation was deflated at the sight of Caleb. Ambrose had to hold back an exclamation of surprise at the sight of Caleb's wounds.

Ambrose kept his distance, staring doe eyed at Caleb from across the room. "Sam..." He began softly, unsure of what to say. "He's going to be okay right?"

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose swallowed thickly and flinched from Samantha when she approached him. He still only remembered her bloodsoaked clothes whenever she came near him. But to his surprise, her voice was soothing and level-headed. Ambrose first instinct was to bite back at Samantha, remind her that she was the reason they had gotten into this whole mess. But he took another shaky breath and bit his tongue. Sam was right, they needed to be in it together if they were going to get through this.

Ambrose nodded slowly, "Fine. I trust you." Ambrose said to Sam, holding her gaze for a moment. He turned his attention to Ariana, a stiff nod was his response. He didn't return the smile, instead his eyes were cast downward. Ambrose wasn't intending to be rude, but he was simply more absorbed with the reality of having to face that monstrous thing. The mere thought was bone-chilling, and truthfully, he just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend none of this was happening.

As Ambrose moved to join Ariana by the door, a thunder-cracking thud startled them all. When they turned, panicked gasps and exclamations broke out from them. Ambrose covered his mouth with his hand, as if holding back a yell or cry. Before anyone could move forward, Sam was there first, wailing for help. The cries were awful and bonechilling, Ambrose could only shut his eyes and hope it would be over soon. Luckily Ariana kept her head, reminding Sam of the medical wing. And just like that, they were gone.

Ambrose peeked open his eyes, still shaking from the bloody sight. "Oh god, oh god..." Was all he could managed out, collapsing down in a nearby chair. Jeremy had a similar reaction, mumbling something to himself over and over. Until finally he burst up, "What the hell are we going to do? We can't answer any of their questions! If he dies, then we're going to be in even deeper shit!" Jeremy cried out, pacing frantically. Ambrose shook his head, eyes still staring blankly at the wooden table in front of him. "Samantha will take care of it. She has to." His voice was emotionless, empty.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose didn't look up when Caleb returned. He couldn't afford to. Ambrose had realized how far he let himself out of control, and Caleb would only make him lose it all over again. He shook his head and continued reading through the material. The magic being explained was fairly high level for someone like him. But Ambrose was still learning from it. Absorbing it. Gaining an edge by having some kind of understanding of the magic the people around him performed effortlessly.

Ambrose was shaken out of his concentration when Sam pounded a fist on the desk. He shot a glare at her before returning his gaze to the reading. "Use it? That awful magic on Alex is what you mean right?" His voice was hostile, "Yep. He definitely did and almost killed his friend in the process."

Jeremy stood up from his spot and strode to Ambrose's side, knocking the books to the side. "Can you at least like you care Caleb is going to get himself killed? A Tuchlucha is one of the worst demons we could have possibly run into!" Jeremy snarled at Ambrose.

"I'm not his baby sitter!" Ambrose shot back, bending down to pick the books back up. "Stop acting like I know what the fuck is going on with him. You all know him better then me!" Ambrose stopped himself, wanting to scream more at them. He took a deep breath, "But.. You're right. We need to get him back. Make sure he doesn't blow this for us." Ambrose met the gaze of Samantha, "You know him the best, you're going have to lead us." Jeremy nodded, relaxing finally and turning to face Samantha as well.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose stepped into the room hesitantly, and noticed Alex already seemed on edge at the mere sight of him. He opened his mouth to greet him, but was cut off by Alex's question. Caleb responded quietly, and Ambrose's companion didn't seemed surprised by Alex's outright denial. "Hey!" Ambrose burst out when Caleb's arm suddenly shot out and grabbed Alex by the shoulder. Alex's body was limp in an instant, head lolling back. He stepped forward to stop Caleb, he genuinely thought he was going to hurt Alex. But the chilling glare head him in place. What was to stop Caleb from using that power on Ambrose?

Ambrose stood frozen by the door, watching with widened eyes. He had witnessed so little of the magic world, and until now it was a beautiful place. Now he realized it was just as dirty and dark as the world he came from. The room's temperature dropped instantly, and Ambrose unconsciously shivered, gaze pinned on Alex's face. Ambrose wanted to scream out, tell him to stop hurting Alex. But he was pinned by fear and shock by the raw power emitting from the two.

It was only when Alex stopped breathing that Ambrose was able to push himself forward. He dropped down by Caleb, watching helplessly. "I can-" He was cut off as Caleb handled the situation with some more of his magic. Ambrose had many friends who had accidentally overdosed or otherwise, he learned how to resuscitate a person just because so many people in his life often needed that kind of help. But apparently it wasn't necessary here. Ambrose stumbled back to his place by the door, breathing heavily as he tried to gather his bearings. Alex shrieked and ordered them out of the room.

Caleb stalked by Ambrose with a smug look, shoulder knocking into his. Ambrose trembled, jaw tight as he met Caleb's challenging gaze with his own. He glanced back at Alex, "I-I'm sorry..." He mumbled and scurried out of the room after Caleb. He came out just in time to see Caleb running a hand over his face, sighing heavily. Ambrose stomped to Caleb, "You know, I'm glad I didn't get involved with you. You're obviously some kind of psychopath willing to kill your friends for this kind of shit." He hissed viciously, words dipped in poison. Ambrose
spun on his and stormed off back to the library, returning back to Ariana and Jeremy in a huff. He wordlessly took a table in the corner of the underground library. Ambrose pulled off a pile of books from the shelves, dropping them on the table before opening it up and started pouring over the material. This time he had a different objective in mind. The classes he had wouldn't prepare him enough at the rate they were going. He needed to learn on his own.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose's teeth were bared, almost animal like. Caleb's coldness only made him want to explode further. He could feel the tension between them, thick enough to slice a knife through. His grip only tightened as Caleb took a step back, and it took very ounce of willpower to not pull him back. He wanted to crash into Caleb, get him to listen, get to stop acting this way. But Caleb's hand moved to remove his own from his shirt collar, and as soon as they touched, Ambrose snatched his own hand away.

Ambrose hazel eyes stared piercingly at Caleb, as if daring him to look at him again. "Fine. I'm coming." He snapped. "But I need to know." He took a shaky breath, "Are you acting this way because I shot you down?" Ambrose asked, his tone was hard, but his expression had grown soft. Ambrose finally looked away from Caleb as well, "Because if it is..." He swallowed thickly and seemed to find his resolve and anger again, "It's no excuse for this kind of recklessness."

Ambrose walked around Caleb, this time taking the lead without looking back. "Come on, let's just this over with." Ambrose couldn't really figure out his own feelings for Caleb. There was no denying he was attracted to the man, but even if he was mentally stable, he wouldn't be able to commit to anyone.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Jeremy smiled slightly back at Ariana and nodded. "Right, right." He said and tore his mind away from the girl that he hopelessly loved. He sat down and started to pour over the books. He was a fast reader, and his assigned job definitely suited his abilities. An eye for detail and fantastic reading comprehension. It's why he often excelled in his classes.

Ambrose was right at Caleb's heels when he spun around abruptly. He almost walked right into him at the sudden stop. A flash of hurt crossed his face as Caleb spat his reply at him. But his expression quickly hardened into a concrete mask. As soon as he was done, Caleb turned back around. But Ambrose, impulsively, snatched at Caleb's collar to pull him back. His grip was tight and white-knuckled, jerking Caleb towards him.

"No. You listen to me, I'm not going to let you drag us down further. You promise me right now we're going to at least talk to Alex before even considering your bullshit forbidden magic." His voice was controlled. Measured. But it barely covered the smoldering emotion behind it. AMbrose's face was mere inches from Caleb's, his eyes boring into Caleb's. Most wouldn't expect such behavior from the quiet introvert. But most didn't know Ambrose was all fire and passion. It was just most of the time, Ambrose had control over himself. But under these circumstances, he could barely keep it together.

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose shook his head and leaned back slightly his in the library chair. His arms crossed over his chest as he listened quietly to Samantha. He noticed Caleb spotting him, and he also noticed how quietly Caleb's gaze snapped away from him. It stung. But it was expected. So Ambrose swallowed thickly and tried to refocus.

He stiffened at the mention of forbidden magic, doing stuff to mess with people's minds didn't seem like a good idea to him. "Why the hell can't we just ask Alex?" Ambrose hissed, but flinched when Samantha jabbed a finger at him. Ambrose bristled at the accusation, "You really going to try and pin his shitty attitude on me?" Ambrose snapped back, rising up out of seat momentarily. Jeremy stood up in unison, challenging Ambrose to take a step forward. Thankfully, Ariana stepped between them, diffusing the situation successfully. Ambrose huffed and fell back to his chair with an annoyed scoff.

He cast a scornful glare between Caleb and Samantha as they came to the agreement. "He's right, I'm probably just dead weight." He protested. Ambrose shook his head in disapproval in response to Samantha, before standing up and following Caleb out the door. He didn't really have a say in the matter it turned out.

"Are we really doing this?" He hissed at Caleb in frustration, trailing at his heels. "I know I'm new at this, but they probably banned that kind of magic for good reason! It's only gonna dig a bigger hole for us if it goes wrong in any way." Ambrose tried to reason, "I don't understand why we can't just talk to Alex."

BlackBrick Academy [CatMint and Winds of Fate] - {Mature}

Ambrose went through his first day in a haze, barely able to concentrate and unable to shake off his migraine until the afternoon. He had managed to take a couple key notes in the what seemed to be the tougher classes, but other then that, he felt so behind already. Ambrose hate his lunch alone, which consisted only of a large cup of coffee and a piece of toast. Through the day his thought were a mess, jumping between Caleb and the massacre. Both large reasons why he couldn't focus on much.

Finally his last class came to a close and not long after, a text message informed him of the meeting place. Ambrose sighed and rubbed his temples, deciding to drop his things off at the dorm first before heading down to the underground library. He arrived later then everyone else, and when he poked his head into the room, everyone had found their spot around Samantha. Despite how much Ambrose distrusted her, he couldn't deny the charisma she oozed. She seemed to take up the room with her personality. Jeremy was captivated by her as well. He was seated right by her, staring up at her with puppy dog eyes. Caleb was off in the corner of the library, staring off and unfocused. Ambrose hesitated before taking a seat in the back, away from the rest of the group. Ambrose did a small wave, "Hey, sorry I'm late." He mumbled, a bit embarrassed everyone else was all settled. "So, what's the plan?"